MOSCOW (AP) Russia's foreign policy chief on Friday blamed what he described as aggressive U.S. policies for growing global tensions, noting Washington's reluctance to extend a key nuclear arms pact. Sergey Lavrov, who serves as acting foreign minister in the wake of Wednesday's resignation of the Russian Cabinet, said this week's meeting of top U.S. and Russian diplomats on strategic stability didn't achieve any immediate results, adding that dialogue is continuing. Russia-U.S. relations have been at post-Cold War lows since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea. Speaking at an annual news conference, Lavrov said that the U.S. has stonewalled Russia's push for extending the New Start nuclear arms treaty that expires in 2021. The agreement is the last U.S.-Russian arms control deal still in place, and Moscow has argued that its demise will remove the final barrier stemming an arms race. We will act strongly to avoid depriving the world of agreements that control and limit nuclear weapons, said Lavrov, who has was appointed foreign minister in 2004. We stand for the extension of the New Start treaty without any preconditions, he said. I hope that the Americans hear us, but we haven't received any coherent signals from them. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has pushed for China to join nuclear arms cuts, but Lavrov described the idea as unrealistic. He pointed at Beijing's refusal to discuss reductions in its nuclear arsenal, which is much smaller than those of the U.S. or Russia. Lavrov emphasized that the U.S. push for Russia to encourage China to change its mind doesn't make sense. We respect the Chinese position and we won't persuade China to change it, he said. Turning to other issues, Lavrov criticized Britain, France and Germany for caving in to pressure from the U.S. over a nuclear deal with Iran. Earlier this week, the three countries reluctantly triggered the accord's dispute mechanism to force Iran into discussions over its violations, starting the clock on a process that could result in the snapback of U.N. and EU sanctions on Iran. Story continues The three nations are being pressed on one side by Trump to abandon the agreement like he did unilaterally in 2018, and on the other side by Iran to provide enough economic incentives for it to continue honoring the deal. Lavrov noted that the European Union boasted about creating a mechanism for trade with Iran bypassing U.S. sanctions, but never put it into action. He described the move by Britain, France and Germany as a dangerous turn, arguing that the three nations used the moment of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran to blame Iran for all what happened. Following the U.S. drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran announced what it said was its fifth and final step in dropping its commitments under the 2015 deal. Iran said it would no longer abide by any limitations to its enrichment activities. Turning to Libya, Lavrov said he expects the warring parties in the North African nation to observe a lasting cease-fire after their talks in the Russian capital earlier this week. He explained that the talks in Moscow between Libya's rival leaders focused on a document spelling out conditions of a cease-fire that could serve as a basis for Sunday's Libya talks hosted by Germany. Lavrov said he plans to attend the talks in Berlin, which will be attended by both Fayez Sarraj, the head of Libya's U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, and his rival, Gen. Khalifa Hifter, Sarraj and Hifter attended Monday's talks in Moscow, but didn't meet directly. Their relations are tense, and they don't want to be in one room together, let alone talk to each other, Lavrov said. He added even though Hifter refused to sign the cease-fire document that was signed by Sarraj, the most important outcome of the talks was that the truce was still holding. " Tornadic activity" was reported in parts of the UK on Friday as temperatures across the country are set to plummet over the weekend. Heavy rain and strong winds battered several coastal villages in Hampshire, causing damage to homes, fences and walls. The noise from the extreme weather front is reported to have woken residents from their slumber overnight in Barton-onSea and Ashley. People posted images on social media of the trail of destruction left behind after the strong winds, including torn down fences and damaged roofs. While some forecasters said radar images supported the tornado claims, the Met Office said it was yet to confirm the weather phenomenon. Met Office spokesman Marco Petagna said: "Until we get photo evidence of a funnel cloud or tornado we are unable to confirm the reports. "But, the radars show some very heavy showers around 4am in Hampshire which can lead to tornados forming." "And it has been a very showery day so far," he added. Over the weekend the weather will become much calmer, with conditions likely to be dry and sunny. However, because of the high pressure expected over the coming days, temperatures will dip considerably due to the lack of clouds in the sky. "It's going to be a much quieter weekend, with the high pressure looking to be unusually intense, highest in the south west of England," Mr Petagna added. "The all-time record for highest pressure in the UK was 1053.6 millibars in 1902 and we are expecting the pressure to reach 1050 millibars this weekend. "So, we could experience the highest pressure in at least 20 years." "What that means is that there will be a lot of dry weather with a lot of sun around but, it will be chilly. People should expect fog and frost overnight," Mr Petagna added. The settled weather will remain in the south well into next week. 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. Commercial Court to proceed with $2.3 bln claim against Tatfondbank in February RIA Novosti, Maxim Bogodvid 12:10 17/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 17 (RAPSI) The Tatarstan Commercial Court has scheduled a 141.39-billion-ruble claim ($2.3 billion) lodged by Russias State Corporation Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) against ex-Tatfondbank chairman Robert Musin and ten other persons formerly in control of the bank for February 18, according to court records. Earlier the application was put on hold because of paperwork irregularities. In substantiation of the claim, DIA cites the facts evidencing that the persons in control over the bank committed actions aimed to defraud it of its assets, in particular, to form simulated debts, replace valuable assets with unrealizable ones; purchased non-marketable securities; transferred liquid assets in trust of an affiliated organization and made other dubious deals. Besides, the persons in control of the bank failed to undertake measures aimed to prevent Tatfondbank bankruptcy, the DIA statement reads. As a result, the financial standing of the bank has been seriously undermined, what was the reason, the claimant believes, of the situation where it could not meet the demands of its creditors. Earlier, the Tatarstan Commercial Court has extended the procedure of sale of property of Musin for six months. On July 18, 2018, the court granted a motion of Tatfondbank and declared Musin bankrupt. Before that, the court initiated a procedure of restructuring Musins debt. The DIA sought 16.7 million rubles ($255) from the banker. Notably, Musin is charged with embezzlement. According to investigators, in August 2016, employees of the bank provided false data to the Central Bank of Russia to obtain a credit and subsequently embezzle the funds. Later, the money was transferred to the accounts of affiliated companies. Investigators believe that overall damage in criminal cases against Musin reaches 50 billion rubles (about $765.6 million). Thirteen cases over abuse of office opened against Musin are allegedly connected with embezzlement of 18 billion rubles ($275.6 million) belonging to Tatfondbank. Criminal prosecution In July, the Investigative Committee reported that Musin would stand trial on charges of abuse of office. According to investigators, in December 2016, Musin siphoned liquid collateral security amounting to more than 20 billion rubles ($315 million) prior to the appointment of temporary administration in the troubled bank. Thus, he caused damage in the form of credit outstandings worth over 7 billion rubles to Tatfondbank, the statement reads. Over 19 billion rubles have not been returned, investigators claim. There are 517 volumes in the case against Musin. Moreover, investigators believe that the defendant was involved in other crimes. The total damage caused by Musins actions is estimated at more than 53 billion rubles (nearly $835 million), according to the Investigative Committee. A court has seized his assets worth more than 4.2 billion rubles. The ten foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered Friday in Vietnam during an annual summit to discuss regional and international issues and to set priorities for the rest of the year. As the rotating chair of the bloc, Vietnam is expected to push for discussions on the South China Sea, where several ASEAN nations have overlapping claims with China. China's intensifying its military presence on the expanding artificial islands in the contested water and recent deployment of ships to Vietnam's and Malaysia's exclusive economic zones have sparked concerns. Other regional agenda issues include Myanmar's plan to repatriate Rohingya Muslims from refugee camps in Bangladesh. ASEAN consists of 10 nations including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. EU Ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis speaks at a news conference in Beijing, China on Jan. 17, 2020. (Jason Lee/Reuters) EU-China Investment Agreement Negotiations Enter Critical Stage: EU Ambassador BEIJINGNegotiations on an investment agreement between the European Union and China are progressing and have entered a critical stage after six years of talks, a senior EU official said on Jan. 17. Progress in being achieved month after month, in a deal in which the EU is seeking more market access for European businesses in China, Nicolas Chapuis, EU ambassador to China, said in a news briefing in Beijing. Sabine Weyand, the European Commissions director general for trade, said in Brussels in December that negotiations were moving at a snails pace, the Financial Times reported. European companies called on EU policy-makers on Thursday to toughen their approach to China to secure a level playing field for European businesses. Both the EU and China have said they hope to conclude negotiations in 2020. China is prioritizing its diplomatic relations with Europe, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said in December, highlighting Beijings efforts to become less dependent on the United States after months of trade tensions. Chapuis also said he had been given assurances by the Chinese regime on Thursday that the recently signed Phase 1 trade deal between the United States and China would in no way affect European businesses. On Wednesday, Washington and Beijing scaled back their 18-month trade row, which has hit global economic growth, by signing an initial agreement under which China will boost its purchases of U.S. goods and services. The European Union will be watching whether the deal complies with global trade rules, the EUs trade chief said on Thursday. The devil is in the details, EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan told a conference in London, speaking by video link from Washington. He added the details were, so far, a bit sketchy. The EU, which labeled China a systemic rival in 2019, will hold a series of meetings with China in 2020 including a high-profile summit in Leipzig in September where Chinese leader Xi Jinping will join European leaders, said Chapuis. The EU is Chinas biggest trading partner, and China is the EUs second biggest. By Gabriel Crossley In Belfast the number has dropped by over 20%. The number of beds available for hospital patients on a daily basis across Northern Ireland has fallen by 10% over the past decade, new figures have revealed. In Belfast alone the number has dropped by over 20%, from 2,402 in 2011 to a low of 1,967 in 2019 at a time when waiting lists are rising. The figures have been released after it was revealed that almost 5,000 people died while on a health service waiting list in Northern Ireland in the last year. Read More The number of deaths is increasing year on year, rising by almost 50% since 2014. In the last five years more than 22,000 died while waiting for treatment, The only health trust area to have seen the number of available beds rise during this period is in the South Eastern trust, with 943 beds available in 2019 compared to 927 in 2011. In the Northern trust area 1,046 beds were available on average each day in 2011, but that number fell to 1,014 in 2019, though the figure has recovered from an average low of 966 in 2016. In the Southern Trust area the number fell as low as 893 in 2018. For 2019 the average number available was 913, recovering during a 12 month period, but thats still well below the average 997 that were available each day in 2011. In the Western Trust area the number of available beds has dipped below 900, with 896 available compared to 999 in 2011. TUV MLA Jim Allister said the fall in the number of available beds for patients across the health service has become a major issue and has called on the new Health Minister Robin Swann to act urgently to reverse the downward trend. This huge rundown in the number of available hospital beds over the last decade is both the consequence of deliberate Executive policy and has been a major contributor to the current crisis. Since 2011, at a time of rising need, there has been a 10% reduction overall and a staggering 20% in Belfast. And, then, some are surprised about persistent stories of patients waiting for beds. This Stormont made policy has failed. Together with the folly of ending pay parity it has led us, in significant measure, to where we are. Yet, is bed reductions set to continue as Executive policy? Among the muddled sound bites it seems to me it is. The Health minister needs to clarify if under his tenure we can expect to see this reduction continue or be reversed? The Department of Health has been approached for comment. With so many events happening lately, people have a chance to showcase the current trends in fashion in Ghana. This is especially true for women that keep up with the changing fashion wears. Whether you are attending a wedding, a formal dinner, a casual birthday party for a friend's child party or just hanging out with your girls, it is imperative that you bring your 'A' game as far as fashion is concerned. You want to be the trendsetter and not the backbencher that waits for others to unleash new styles every time. This can be difficult at times not to mention the dent it can cause to your pocket. However, you can easily make it work for you. Get the idea from the celebrity designers pieces and work with your local tailor to create the same if not better. First things first, check out some of the trending fashion in Ghana. Source:gstatic.com For the lovers of art and fashion trends, keeping an eye out for what is happening is crucial. This is the only way to tell what is new in the world of African wear for men and women. It is important to stay updated, especially with the current fashion styles in Ghana. Things change and you could easily be caught off guard or unprepared. It will be very embarrassing to be seen wearing an outdated fashion trend yet you are clueless. The current fashion in Ghana is dynamic and revolutionary as it just keeps on getting better. There is no way to tell which direction it will go next. Designers seem to be on the edge of their seats all the time as they come up with excellent pieces for their customers. Check out these ladies African wear styles and you will know what exactly this means. There are also fabulous Ghanaian African wear styles for men. What's important is to pick what you like best. READ ALSO:Long African dresses for ladies Current fashion in Ghana Source:pinimg.com Ladies fashion has for a good time been the pacesetter in the fashion industry. Actually, fashion was a female dominated industry, until men discovered the secret behind being unique and breaking the monotony of a simple pair of trousers and a shirt. Right now, African wear mens design is also a thing. Men seem to have woken up as many seek attires that not only bring out their masculinity but also make statements silently. Every self-respecting man today takes extra care on their personal grooming. Actually, for both genders, African print styles seem to be an option that everyone is embracing. One good thing about these African print styles is that they will never go out of style. While it is true that they may not trend in perpetuity, you can be sure that you will never go wrong in an African attire. Days after the attire stops trending you will still be relevant in it when attending a wedding or a family gathering. This assurance is what makes the African wear a favorite for many. Regardless of the design you choose, you can be sure that your attire will be a perfect representation of the African in you. Have you seen how the Japanese kimono looks so good in African print? So, if you are looking for a hack to have the attention of everyone back to you, give Ghanaian African wear styles a try and you will have all necks craning towards you. Generally, Ghanaian fashion is setting the pace for most African countries. Both ladies and men African wears are being embraced effortlessly across Africa. Ghanaian fashion is among the most common, especially the mens African wear styles from Ghana. This is one evidence of Ghanaian fashion setting the pace for men African wear styles globally. With a little background, we can thus move into examining the fashionable African dresses. Here are some of the African designs on social media that you won't help falling in love with. 1. The sweetheart neckline Ankara maxi dress Ghanaian women should never complain about not finding a piece that will make them look good. This dress is the ultimate definition of style and beauty. The sweetheart neckline Ankara maxi dress is just what a curvy lady would go for. This is one of the many African print dresses styles that is meant to leave men drooling at the African beauty in it. It is a dress you should not give a second thought about. Get it for your next date with the girls if you want to be the envy of the group. It is one of the best casual African print dresses you can have in your closet. Apart from your casual date with the girls, this yellow dress passes for an excellent wear to a wedding. The bright color works perfectly for any skin complexion. Talk of its unique sweetheart neckline which is just what every girl would love to pull especially if they want to show off a little cleavage. The slit too is a killer. This is one of those Ghanaian straight dress styles that will leave every man staring at you. 2. Mermaid goddess design Source:pinimg.com If you are looking for something that will make you feel like a little Disney princess then this is it. The covered neckline brings in some form of decency in this dress. This is one of the most elegant African print dresses. Not only are the colors bright but also speaks a lot about the occasion. This dress definitely would kill the show if it were a wedding. 3. The mermaid Ankara dress When it comes to gowns that show class, this is the climax of style and beauty. Right from the name itself, the mermaid imitates the shape of thee creature. This is one dress you can wear to church or a party. The length of the mermaid is what gives it the sense of class. This is one of the most fashionable African dresses to wear to a wedding. The mermaid Ankara maxi dress is a perfect idea for a wedding gown. Imagine how good it would look. Check out the different mermaid dress variations. a. Blue ankara print gown Source: pinterest.com The blue color is just what everyone would fall in love with considering that it represents royalty. The color is warm and captivating. The print on the dress is also fascinating. It might look simple but has a subtle touch of sophistication at the same time. You can easily wear this to a wedding or even a church function. The length of the mermaid Ankara dress brings out the aspect of decency. If you have been wondering how Ankara works magic on African print dresses, then this should answer all your questions. b. Yellow midi mermaid dress Source:aliExpress.com This works well for ladies that want the long dress without the ground flowing effect. This black- yellow sleeveless mermaid dress is a definition of true workmanship. It is decent, figure-hugging and alluring. The lady wears it with confidence in the knowledge that she looks stunning without necessarily being provocative. It can be done. All thanks to the Ankara print that allows for such creativity to be birthed. c. Off shoulders purple Source:luulla.com This simple yet exquisite mermaid dress style is a true definition of a beautiful African princess. The pattern is warming to the eye and gives the impression that the wearer of the dress has a kind spirit. To bring in a little excitement, the sleeves of the dress takes an off shoulder design allowing the wearer to show off a little skin. It is a perfect dress for a woman in her mid-thirties. In case you feel a bit shy, then you can throw on a black jacket. This is a look that would be great for a relaxed office day say, on Friday or Saturday. 4. The halter neck maxi Ankara dress For those that love to flaunt a little skin, the halter neck Ankara dress is a must-have in your closet. Not only is this dress stylish, but it also brings out the aspect of the class. One added advantage of this dress is that it goes so well with any body type. The halter neck maxi Ankara dress is perfect for weddings or a girls day out. It is one of the most fashionable dresses any lady can ever own. Consider the following variations of the style. a. Simple midi halter dress This dress defines the simplicity of the style. The blue seems to be perfect for this dress as it enhances its beautify. Then there is the flowing detail that makes it a bit funky. In case you want something that can double up for an easy day with your friends and later work perfectly for a date with your love, this would be perfect. Be keen to wear this on that busy day that you can hardly make it back to the house to change. b. Red flowing gown This dress is for the woman that loves to stand out wherever she is. The little black lace detail makes the halter neck design look exceptional. In fact, the design extends to her waist drawing onlookers to her. Paired with a simple clutch bag and nice heels, this dress would make you the talk of the evening event you attend. The magnetic effect of the dress allows you the opportunity of not wearing too many accessories and still look fabulous. c. Yellow halter sundress This simple floral dress is perfect for people that love colors. The bright colors make the dress appear lively. It can work well for a weekend family outing. It perfectly suits younger women. 5. The love triangle V-neck Ankara dress This features as one of the most common Ghanaian African wear styles for ladies. The neckline of this dress is V-shaped. This dress comes in different lengths; the maxi, midi or even the midi lengths. Each one of these lengths works just perfectly and is determined by the wearer's preference. Variations of the dress can lead to a bare back or at times it could be collared or even long sleeved. Check out some of the dresses in this category. a. Simple v-neck The dress is a simple love triangle V-neck design. The color of the dress matches the size of the print. It actually brings the rich color of Ankara print. The V-neck design makes it qualify to be one of the casual African print dresses. This dress can also be worn to church apart from the social places like weddings. b. Long sleeved v-neck gown This v-neck mermaid red flowing gown is excellent for the slim lady. It is both decent and stylish considering that it exposes very little. It can work as a perfect red carpet wear for celebrities. If you wear this no one will doubt your impeccable fashion sense. c. Plus size v-neck gown Source:gstatic.com The plus size woman is not left out when it comes to this sexy design. The pic above is a perfect example of how a true plus size African woman can wear this design decently. The white and green printed V-neck dress makes the lady appear confident and sure of herself. The dress's height allows you to wear your favorite comfy flip flops without looking odd. If you are looking for comfort and style intertwined, this style will do the magic. 6. Kente shirt dress Fashion is all about creativity. The Kente shirt dress brings out the creative side of fashion. From the name, the shirt dress is an imitation of a shirt, just that it looks a bit longer than a normal shirt. This is a very comfortable casual African print dresses design. It is a versatile wear which makes it common. You can wear it to church, a friend's meeting or even to work on easy weekends. The secret is to learn how to wear it best. Check out the different ways that the kente dress shirt stands out. a. Plain Kente shirt This long shirt can be worn on its own. It is slightly above the knees. You can wear it comfortably especially if you are a small sized kind of woman. Perfect for a weekend wear. b. Simple shirt dress The square patterns make the dress appear slim fitting. You can wear this button down shirt comfortably. Alternatively choose to wear tights under it. African print tops Apart from dresses, ladies can also rock African print tops. There are several designs for these tops. They include; 1. The Ankara peplum top This can be rated as one of the most common African print tops. Depending on the print of the fabric, the top can be worn with a pair of jeans or a skirt to bring out whichever intended look one goes for. This top can serve both casual and official wear. The yellow color of the top, in this case, is bright enough, so pairing it with a dull colored jeans would do just fine. READ ALSO:Perfect wedding colours combinations in Ghana 2. African print crop tops African designers are full of surprises. Who ever knew that African print crop tops would trend and look this good! For instance, this crop top looks so gorgeous and chic at the same time. The playful nature of the attire is proof that the top can be worn by anyone. Pick a color that you love and pair it with your favorite jeans. The crop tops can make some of the best chiffon styles in Ghana. Check out the following African print crop tops to appreciate cool African skirt and tops styles and probably learn how to pair your favorite crop top. a. Fancy crop top with black pants This is something only daring women can pull. It is common among teenagers and younger women. b. Green printed crop top Also a favorite for younger girls and women. This top is party friendly. It is chic and sexy. c. Brown crop top with skirt This is a crop top that a mature woman can wear. It is paired with a skirt and covers up most of the upper part of the body conveniently. A corporate executive woman in this would be revered for her great sense of fashion and style. This is one of the skirt and top styles that cuts across all ages. Men African wear Fashion designers for men fashion wear have done more than enough work to see to it that men fashion is not left behind. Several designs have been brought to the table to suit different occasions. These men African wear are seen in different pieces of cloth to bring out the unique and diverse nature of Ghanaian print. Here are some of the Ghanaian African wear styles you should give a try this 2018; 1. The kente cloth short Kente cloth is one of the richest African print that Ghana boasts of. The cloth comes in a whole range of colors whose prints also vary. It is perfect for making different attires for men including pants and shorts. The short is not only comfortable due to the texture of the fabric, but is also classy. It gives a guy the chance to show his masculine legs, while embracing African culture. 2. The Ankara blazer Just like ladies, most guys today wish to always look unique and have the attention of ladies. Most men find pride in looking good. The Ankara blazer will help you achieve this goal. This common African wear men design gives a unique sense of style. It breaks the monotony of your monochrome colored blazers. 3. The kaftan This is one of the most common African wear designs for men shirts. The Kaftan is not very new when it comes to African designs wear for mens shirts. You can have the shirt a bit more detailed by considering embroidery around the neckline. Use a thread that matches the color of the print of the fabric. This is a perfect outfit for typically any occasion. READ ALSO:Best fashion dresses in Ghana Source: YEN.com.gh RIDLEY TOWNSHIP Ridley High Schools acclaimed Drama Group rose to new heights when its recent production of the Broadway musical The Drowsy Chaperone was performed on the stage of The Strand Theatre in downtown York during the Pennsylvania State Thespian Festival held at York College earlier this month. More than 150 students, staff and volunteer parents traveled to York after packing up the entire set of the Ridley production, all of the costumes, sound and lighting equipment and props and the schools pit orchestra instruments. Once there, this mighty groups work took on a new taskreassembling the entire show at The Strand Theatre within a two-hour window just prior to curtain time. Christina McGovern, who is now in her 20th year as director of the Ridley Drama Group and International Thespian Society Troupe 2103, explained that Ridley was selected for the honor through a lottery. You find out in the spring (of selection) and you have until fall to get ready. It really does take a village to do it. McGovern said. The conference location changes each year and there are about 1200 people at the conference. The Strand Theatre is an Equity Theatre and that was wonderful for the kids to play in a professional theatre. Cast member Joey Kovach agrees with the director. It was very cool to perform at a professional theatre. It made me feel very accomplished, the 4-year RDG veteran commented. Kovach said a career in theatre is in his future and he plans to stay involved in regional theatre. In the RDG no one feels anyone is better than anyone else, Kovach said. McGovern said she was astounded by the positive feedback via social media about Ridleys stage presentation. The Twitter feed was insane. A full day after the show and people were still tweeting. One girl said she would come from Pittsburgh to see our show next year, McGovern said. While at the conference, students competed in a variety of events and there were top winners in the Ridley group. Technical Team members Robbie Geddes and Danny Lynch won first place in the Cable Relay, and the Technical Team, with members Kevin Donegan, Joshua Geddes, Stacy Alfieri, Abby Spraker, Lynch, Robbie Geddes, Matthew Leake and Marissa Kennedy, took first place overall as a team for the entire event. Ethan McKellar won a $200 cash award for his technical theatre portfolio judged by professional theatre artists. He was also named All Star Cast member from the musical production and is currently working on a documentary of the entire experience. Kayla Boamah, Mackenzie Cannon and Lindsey McCue all auditioned for senior performance scholarships and Boamah qualified with a superior rating to compete at the national level in the state Thespians adjudication process. Donegan was named Technical Hall of Fame honoree and Cannon was named Performance Hall of Fame honoree. Ridley High Schools ITS Troupe 2103 achieved Gold Honors status, which is the highest achievement for a troupe, as a result of its activities, outreach and community service projects. Nicole Kopko is president of Ridleys ITS Troupe 2103 and a state Thespian officer. She represented Ridley as a student thespian officer, attending two prior meetings on site to organize the conference in York. She worked during the conference as a representative of the Educational Theatre Association and PA State Board. McGovern is a permanent member of the PA Thespian Adult State Board and served her 17th year as committee chairperson in charge of Scholarship Auditions for the conference. She is in her 20th year as ITS Troupe 2103 sponsor. McKellar admits he was star struck when he first walked on stage at The Strand Theatre. I was like wow, he said laughingly. Ive been involved in the RDG since I was in fourth grade. It was really cool to see the progress Ive made. McKellar said his goal is to become a director in the theatre. I got into my top (choice) schoolPace University in New York, he said. But I applied to the University of the Arts in Philadel;hia and Widener University. Im definitely leaning toward Pace. McKellar was thrilled with his selection as All Star Cast member at the York conference. Parents are always going to tell you you did good, but to see 1200 people tweeting about how well you did,he added. Kopko called the entire York conference mind blowing and one of the best experiences of her life. We were assigned to do a job (at the conference) and that was what we focused on,she said. The Drowsy Chaperone is billed as a musical within a comedy. Set in 1928, the show debuted in Toronto, Canada in 1998. It opened on Broadway in 2006 and won five Tony awards and seven Drama Desk Awards. The Late Show has some suggestions to spice up the Democratic presidential debates. "Tonight was the last debate before Democratic voting begins in February," and "for the first time in the election cycle, the Democrats had an all-white debate stage," Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's live Late Show. "Once again, J.Lo. was robbed." Former Vice President Joe Biden "admitted he was wrong" to vote to authorize the Iraq War, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) "provided some historical context," he said, and he ribbed Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) for flubbing her "local example of women succeeding in politics." But "the big story heading into the debate tonight was the falling-out between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren," Colbert said. It flared up over a disagreement on whether Sanders told Warren a woman can't win the White House in 2020, and "when Bernie was asked about it" at the debate, he "categorically denied the charge." Asked to respond, "Warren brought down the hammer," he said, joking that the men on stage had collectively lost more than 10 elections after her answer. "To a lot of young Democrats, the beef between Bernie and Warren must feel like seeing your parents getting divorced" or "R2-D2 and C3PO become enemies," Trevor Noah said at The Daily Show. "Bernie was sticking to his story that he never said a woman can't be president," and Warren shot back that "maybe none of these men could be president," he marveled. "Not since Kill Bill have I seen one woman obliterate that many men in one fell swoop." Warren "definitely won this exchange, although it would have been a much cleaner victory if she didn't come back a few moments later to create one of the weirdest moments we've ever seen in a debate," Noah said, showing her and Bernie's "unnecessary, nitpicky" fight over whether 1990 was 30 years ago. "It felt like we were watching an old couple fight in a diner." Story continues But "other than what we just saw, there wasn't much new in this debate," Noah said. "They touched on health care, trade policies, impeachment, and to be honest, it was more of the same ... All in all, today's debate wasn't that exciting. And I guess this is what happens when you only have white people at your party." He ended with a devilishly clever strategy for Mike Bloomberg. Watch below. More stories from theweek.com Late night hosts can't believe Trump's Ukraine 'henchmen' left a 'literal paper trail' of impeachment evidence Lev Parnas: Devin Nunes was 'involved in getting all this stuff on Biden' Lev Parnas denies tracking Marie Yovanovitch in Kyiv, says she was never 'in danger' US congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, one of four high-profile progressive female lawmakers known as "The Squad," opened up Thursday about her struggles with alopecia, revealing on video for the first time that she is now bald. In an interview with The Root, the 45-year-old representative from Massachusetts said she felt it was important to talk about the issue publicly because as a black woman, her political brand had become synonymous with Afrocentric hair styles like Senegalese twists. When she first adopted the look, she predicted it "would be filtered and interpreted by some as a political statement that was militant," she said -- but it quickly won praise among black girls and women. "I walk into rooms and little girls are wearing t-shirts that say 'My Congresswoman wears braids,' and we receive letters from all over the globe," she said. Lately, however, Pressley had been forced to switch up her style, experimenting with lace-front wigs, which she said was a result of dramatic hair loss that she first noticed last fall when she went for an appointment to get her hair retwisted. "From there it accelerated very quickly. I've been waking up every morning to sink fulls of air," Pressley said, leading her to turn to home remedies like wearing a bonnet and sleeping on a silk pillowcase, all to no avail. "I think it's important that I'm transparent about this new normal," Pressley said. - Racial disparities - Alopecia is the medical term for baldness, but the word is more often used to refer to alopecia areata, a common autoimmune disorder resulting in unpredictable hair loss. It develops very suddenly, and can lead to a complete loss of hair on the scalp, known as alopecia totalis or, in rare cases, the entire body (alopecia universalis). It is sometimes permanent but often treatable through corticosteroids that suppress the immune system. This differs from "traction alopecia" that can be caused by tightly pulled hairstyles that stress the hair roots. The loss can be permanent if the follicles are scarred. A July 2019 study from the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that African Americans experience alopecia areata at a higher rate than other racial groups, with researchers suggesting the cause was an interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Pressley lost her final strands of hair on the eve of the House of Representatives vote to impeach President Donald Trump in December. After casting her vote, she hid in a bathroom stall, feeling "ashamed" and "embarrassed." "I also felt that I was participating in a cultural betrayal" because of the girls who had supported her previous braid styles, and felt she owed them an explanation, despite her husband and others saying it was a private matter. "The reality is that I'm black, and I'm a black woman, and I'm a black woman in politics, and everything I do is political," she said, adding that going public was part of her journey toward acceptance and empowerment. Members of "The Squad" and others praised Pressley on Twitter. "You are stunningly gorgeous and a magnificent black queen," wrote fellow Democrat Ilhan Omar. "I know women and young girls around the world will wear their crowns more proudly today because of you. Your courage is inspiring and I am so proud to be your sister in service," Omar wrote. Ayanna Pressley said she felt it was important to talk about the issue publicly because as a black woman, her political brand had become synonymous with Afrocentric hair styles like Senegalese twists live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Three public sector companies - GAIL, Power Grid and GNFC had telecom licences - at some point and therefore are likely get statement of dues from the government. However, Gajendra Singh, director-marketing at GAIL and Chairman of IGL is certain that they won't have to pay any AGR dues. The Supreme Court on January 16 dismissed review petitions of top telecom firms including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea seeking review of its earlier order asking them to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past statutory dues by January 23 saying it did not find any "justifiable reason" to entertain them. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Singh said that they would need to check applicability of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) rules on the company. "At some point of time we had a licence with us but our licence was not to provide services to the end-user. We use our telecom systems for our captive requirement, particularly for our real-time pipeline monitoring," he said. "We are now checking with our legal advisor whether this applicability will be there for PSUs, and particularly to GAIL," said Singh, adding that they were in continuous discussion with government over impact of Supreme Court judgment on AGR. Source: CNBC-TV18 When Nixon Raphael was forced to leave his home country South Sudan in February 2014, it was the second time in his life that he became a refugee and as the conflict also interrupted his possibilities to continue his studies in medicine, it truly deprived him of hope and spirit. My dream was to become a doctor to help this new nation. My country. I wanted to be a gynecologist, because in South Sudan there is a very high infant and maternity mortality, so in this way I would be able to help and contribute. It was so sad to be forced to leave again, says Nixon. Growing up, and for 17 years of his life, he and his family were living in exile in Uganda, but were then repatriated to their home region, which is now South Sudan. When Nixon was forced to flee again, his life was in grave danger, he explains, as he was one of the whistle blowers, testifying about the crimes and atrocities committed in South Sudan. My family was assassinated. Im now the only boy left in my family, he says. Nixon is sharing his story sitting at a bench in the cafe at the large, buzzling campus of University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and its a story of exile and hardship, but also one filled with so much ambition, drive and resilience. He came to Ethiopia six years ago, and to begin with he was living in Sherkole Refugee Camp close to the border with Sudan and South Sudan. But now, 31 year old Nixon will soon be graduating as a pharmacist from the University of Addis Ababa. I was very depressed before. I lost my family members. I lost my hope of becoming a doctor. But the scholarship to join university gave me back hope to look at the future with energy and optimism. My parents are illiterate, and I will be the first person in the family to graduate from university. Nixon is one of the approximately 1,400 refugees currently enrolled in tertiary education in Ethiopia one of the largest refugee hosting countries in Africa, home to refugees from mainly South Sudan, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia. As refugees we have lost all that we have, but the one thing that can give us back hope is when we can be educated. In Ethiopia, two programs offer scholarships to tertiary education for refugees. They are both facilitated by the Government and linked to the countrys progressive Out of camp-policy. One is financially supported by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, via contributions from Denmark, supporting 622 students in the 19/20 academic year. The other is supported by the so-called DAFI-program, which is mostly funded by the German government and currently supporting 815 refugee students in Ethiopia. At the Global Refugee Forum in December 2019, Denmark pledged to contribute and partner with Germany in supporting the DAFI-program, allowing for even more refugee youth to access scholarships and continue their education. See also: Northern Europe turns solidarity into action The need for expanding and diversifying scholarship opportunities to tertiary education for forcibly displaced youth is obvious and urgent as more refugees are graduating from secondary education. Today, only three percent of refugee youth globally have access to tertiary education, compared to 37 percent of their peers. Figures that UNHCR and partners are determined and committed to improve and so recently adopting the ambitious 15by30-strategy. The aim is to ensure that 15 percent of refugees have access to higher education by 2030. To Nixon Raphael, there is no doubt that education is very important to refugees and the outlook to rebuild their home countries at some point: As refugees we have lost all that we have, but the one thing that can give us back hope is when we can be educated. If refugees are educated, they will become the best leaders, because they have experienced conflict, they have endured every form of hardship, and they will never want anybody to be in the same situation, so they will fight for peaceful and durable solutions. The soon-to-be graduate is deeply involved himself in advocating for refugee education and encouraging refugee children to pursue school. He is the Refugee Youth Coordinator at the University as well as the Representative of the Refugee Youth to the United Nations Economic Committee for Africa, here tasked with contributing to programs that will empower refugee children in the country. Each year he arranges a trip for his fellow students from the different health departments to visit one of the refugee camps in the country. The purpose is for his peers to learn about the refugee situation and see how people are living in the camps as well as to provide voluntary services in health care centers. But he also wants to inspire the children in the camp. I wanted to show those young refugees what I have become, as a way to give them hope and mentor them to follow their own ambitions. I want them to seek education to get skills and become self-reliant, he says. Being a refugee is not a limit. We are physically in exile, but our brains are not. We can train it and engage it. For the future after his graduation, Nixon dreams of engaging in programs to promote education in the camps even further. And also, hopefully, to return home when its safe again: Honestly, I really want to go back to my country and contribute, perhaps become a leader in the health system. I cant be a refugee forever. But its still unsafe for me. Nixon with the group of volunteer students who participated in the trip he arranged to visit and provide health care in the Sherkole Refugee Camp. Photo: Private. I wanted to show those young refugees what I have become, as a way to give them hope and mentor them to follow their own ambitions. I want them to seek education to get skills and become self-reliant, says Nixon Raphael, refugee from South Sudan and currently a student at University of Addis Ababa. UNHCR / Elisabeth Arnsdorf Haslund Nixon with three of his fellow students, providing free health care at one of the health care centers in Sherkole Refugee Camp, where he spent several years himself, when he first arrived in Ethiopia as a refugee. Photo: Private Nixon has been elected Representative of the Refugee Youth to the United Nations Economic Committee for Africa (UNECA) as well as United Nations Youth Advisory Board Ethiopia. Photo: Private. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter As COVID-19 moves from epidemic to pandemic status, we discuss what implications this may have for all of us and describe how experts have reacted. We also share some coping strategies for anxiety. Share on Pinterest The WHO have reclassified COVID-19 as a pandemic. What happens next? All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially changed their classification of COVID-19 from a public health emergency of international concern to a pandemic. COVID-19 is the name of the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. What does this change in classification mean? In a press briefing yesterday afternoon, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, explained that the organization has been assessing this outbreak around the clock, and we are deeply concerned, both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death, Dr. Tedros went on to explain. So, if the plan is business as usual, can we expect any major changes imminently, and what can we do as individuals to navigate the challenges that we may face going forward? What makes a pandemic? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) use the word epidemic when talking about an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population in that area. Pandemic is an escalation and refers to an epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people. Many people may be familiar with the term pandemic in the context of flu. The CDC explain that a flu pandemic happens when a new version of the influenza virus infects people easily and spreads efficiently from person to person in a sustainable way. During the 20th century, the world saw three flu pandemics. Estimates put the number of deaths from Spanish flu, in 1918, at around 50 million worldwide. Asian flu, in 19571958, caused around 1.1 million deaths, and the 1968 Hong Kong flu pandemic caused about 1 million. The most recent flu pandemic was in 2009, when a novel influenza strain called (H1N1)pdm09, more commonly referred to as swine flu, spread around the globe. In the first year after the virus emerged, it resulted in around 60.8 million illnesses, 274,304 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths in the United States, according to CDC estimates. Across the globe, during this period, the CDC estimate the number of deaths to have been in the region of 151,700575,400. At the time, school closures and social distancing took place in an effort to slow the spread of the virus within and across communities. Vaccine development was extraordinarily fast, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving four H1N1 influenza vaccines by September 2009. COVID-19 is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus. Yet, while this change in status may leave us feeling worried, the WHO and other experts are taking a measured look at the term. Dr. Tedros was clear in his assessment of the situation: Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHOs assessment of the threat posed by this virus. It doesnt change what WHO is doing, and it doesnt change what countries should do. We cannot say this loudly enough, or clearly enough, or often enough: All countries can still change the course of this pandemic, he went on to say. So, how have other experts reacted to the situation? [The WHO] have decided that the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic now warrants being referred to as a pandemic, Nathalie MacDermott, Ph.D., an academic clinical lecturer in pediatric infectious diseases at Kings College London, in the United Kingdom, noted, adding, This decision will likely have been made on the basis of the majority of the worlds continents now seeing significant and ongoing person-to-person spread of SARS-CoV-2. The change of term does not alter anything practically, as the world has been advised for the last few weeks to prepare for a potential pandemic, which has hopefully been taken seriously by all countries, she continued. Yet, she adds that The use of this term, however, highlights the importance of countries throughout the world working cooperatively and openly with one another and coming together as a united front in our efforts to bring this situation under control. Meanwhile, Prof. Mark Woolhouse, Chair of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, in the U.K., explained that COVID-19 is likely here to stay for some time. [The WHO have] now confirmed that COVID-19 is a pandemic. The statement also says that this does not change their advice on how to respond and that urgent and aggressive action is required by countries with significant outbreaks, he said. An important word missing from that statement is sustainable. It is now clear that COVID-19 is going to be with us for a considerable length of time, and the actions that we take must be actions that we can live with for a prolonged period. Turning the tide Dr. Tedros had some very clear messages for countries around the world in his press briefing. Even those countries with community transmission or large clusters can turn the tide on this virus. Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled, he observed. The challenge for many countries who are now dealing with large clusters or community transmission is not whether they can do the same its whether they will, he continued. Some countries are struggling with a lack of capacity. Some countries are struggling with a lack of resources. Some countries are struggling with a lack of resolve. Michael Head, Ph.D., a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, in the U.K., weighed in on this, noting, [The WHO] stated that some countries are struggling with a lack of resources, but also a lack of resolve. This is clearly a direct indication that they consider many countries have been slow to scale up their responses. He continued, The characterization of the situation as a pandemic may mean that we see countries feel incentivized to implement further, larger interventions, such as banning of public gatherings, sooner than would they were otherwise planning to. Dr. Tedros chose these words for the final part of his press briefing: Theres been so much attention on one word. Let me give you some other words that matter much more and that are much more actionable. Prevention. Preparedness. Public health. Political leadership. And most of all: people. Were in this together to do the right things with calm and protect the citizens of the world. Its doable, he concluded. VISUS Industry IT, a Bochum, Germany-based spin-off from VISUS Health IT GmbH from the healthcare sector, raised a seven-digit funding round. Backers included Grunderfonds Ruhr, NRW.BANK and High-Tech Grunderfonds (HTGF). The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations. Led by Peter Rosiepen Managing Director, CEO, VISUS Industry IT digitizes industrial test procedures via its test data and report management system JiveX NDT and provides a standardized archiving and distribution of the results. Images, inspection reports and documents are stored in JiveX NDT in a revision-proof and standardized manner in DICONDE format. The structured data pool in JiveX is therefore a qualified base for teaching systems with artificial intelligence. With the JiveX NDT system, VISUS Industry IT supports inspectors and operators in their daily evaluation of test results, integrates IT systems and test equipment, ensures a revision-proof archive and provides a data pool for artificial intelligence evaluations The company serves customers in the energy sector, oil & gas, mechanical engineering and testing services. FinSMEs 17/01/2020 The indictment of five men in the US for allegedly running an international network that purchased sensitive goods for Pakistan's nuclear programme not only posed a threat to America's national security interests but also to the delicate balance of power in the region, according to a senior US law enforcement official. The US Department of Justice on Wednesday said a grand jury has indicted five, all associated with the front company 'Business World' in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, including an 82-year-old man, for operating an international procurement network to export US-origin goods for Pakistan's nuclear programme. The five were identified as Muhammad Kamran Wali, 41, of Pakistan; Muhammad Ahsan Wali, 48, and Haji Wali Muhammad Sheikh, 82, both of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; Ashraf Khan Muhammad of Hong Kong; and Ahmed Waheed, 52, of Ilford, Essex, United Kingdom. None of them has been arrested, although arrest warrants are pending. "The defendants smuggled US-origin goods to entities that have been designated for years as threats to US national security for their ties to Pakistan's weapons programmes," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers. "The alleged behaviour of these five individuals presented more than a violation of US export laws, it posed a potential threat to the national security interests of the US and to the delicate balance of power among nations within the region," according to Jason Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations. According to the indictment, between September 2014 and October 2019, the five operated an international procurement network of front companies that existed to acquire US-origin goods for the Advanced Engineering Research Organisation (AERO) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). They exported US-made goods to the two Pakistani entities, placed on the US Commerce Department's Entity List, without export licenses in violation of federal law, the officials said. The indictment identified 38 separate exports from the US over the years by the five involving 29 different companies from around the country. None of the US companies is alleged to have been complicit in the illegal exports, a statement from the Justice Department said. Meanwhile, in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said on Friday that Pakistan was trying to verify facts about the individuals indicted by US for alleged export of items of restricted categories to entities in the country. She said Pakistan saw reports about the indictment of five individuals alleged to have exported items to some Pakistani entities on the US Department of Commerce Entity List. "We have received no official information from the US and are trying to ascertain the facts. The identities of the individuals have not been shared with us. There has been no effort to verify any facts from us," she said. Farooqui said Pakistan was not in a position to comment without having details as there had been instances in the past when restrictions were placed on Pakistani entities on mere suspicion. "In many cases denials have been made based on 'catch-all' provisions for items which were not even on any control lists and were intended for purely peaceful uses and socio-economic development, she said. She said Pakistan has genuine socio-economic development needs involving utilisation of equipment, items and technologies, some of which might also be dual-use technologies. "In such cases, we ensure that we follow all end-use certification requirements and provide guarantees against any misuse or diversion. If there are any additional requirements/guarantees required, we are always willing to consider those, she maintained. While Pakistan was denied of technology, "one country in our region has been provided waivers and special status for access to sensitive technologies," the Foreign Office spokesperson said, referring to India. She said this has led to the development of advanced military weaponry and posing a threat to the strategic stability in South Asia. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Its a tantalising morsel from Katikatis archives. Burned down by arsonists 30 years ago and buried beneath a housing estate, then reincarnated and now sitting in a dilapidated tin shed at Sulphur Point. Its the Katikati railway station once a bustling stop-off for people and produce on the east coast main line and then consigned to history books and the March 2015 edition of the NZ Model Railway Journal. Thats what piqued Brian Smiths interest. I saw the article about Katikati railway station there were photos and a floor plan, says the long-time Tauranga railway modeler. And that was just enough. I thought: okay I am going to make that. And after six or seven months of patience, a steady hand and total commitment to minutiae, the station was reborn at a 1/64th scale. No Grand Central or St Pancras mind you but delightful in its Kiwi simplicity and an important nod to the evolution of the mural, avocado and kiwifruit town and the steam trains and railcars that once called by. NZR is the modeling genre maybe after the New Zealand Railways Department, forerunner to KiwiRail. NZR is what hooked Brian Smith and thats what sets this modeler apart. Most modelers are drawn to British and American layouts. Not Brian. Hes Kiwi to the core. NZR through and through. My layout represents a small window in New Zealand rail history logging trains of the late 1950s and early 60s, from Murupara to Mount Maunganui. Geograhically, Katikati railway station didnt quite fit Katikatis 40 kilometers north-west of the Mount and logging trains didnt pass through Katikati. Just people on the Taneatua Express three days a week, and cut timber, produce and petrol. I built the station without a thought as to where it might end up. Might have been on my layout, then again He took the scale replica along to the Tauranga Model Rail Club and all those enthusiasts pre-occupied with British and American layouts. They looked at it and said: crumbs we better do something about having an NZR. In other words, a New Zealand component in the clubs British layout. And there it is today. British rail on one side of the layout and NZR the Katikati station and rail yards on the other. It took 22 years to build the East Coast main line through Paeroa, Karangahake Gorge, Waihi, Katikati and beyond to Tauranga and south east into the Whakatane district. Nature threw up a full bag of engineering challenges - rivers, harbours and swamps which demanded bridges, tunnels and cuttings. Today, a concrete and wood bridge abutment sits in a paddock off Highfields Road housing development where SH2 snakes out of Katikati and off towards Waihi. Its perhaps the only remaining physical reminder rail once served Katikati. That and a slideshow on the Community Archives website which is a constant reminder trains rolled seamlessly through a town where road traffic is now snarled. That slideshow tells of rail characters like stationmaster Bob Hampton, assistant Betty Brake and traffic assistant John Heke who unloaded two or three wagons of parcels and goods into the shed each day. There was Jim Golding, the electric signal maintainer and Jock Elvin, the ganger in charge of the permanent way which they called the track. They all live on. But then at 4pm on September 12, 1978, just hours after the ceremonies marking the opening of the Kaimai tunnel, the last train rumbled out of Katikati. The rail link was axed and the track torn up. The Katikati station sat there as a sad monument until it was torched by arsonists in May 1988. The modeler Brian Smith passed through Katikati on steam trains several times on his way north to see grandparents and once on his way to Papakura Army Camp for compulsory military training. You left Taneatua about 8am and got to Auckland about 5pm. There were lots of stops for pies and cuppas. Thats why we have such good rugby scrums fighting our way to the counter in a railway cafeteria. Now the Katikatis rail history is celebrated in working miniature the station proper, the jigger sheds, toilet building, dog box, tool boxes and various sheds used by track maintenance crew all carefully crafted to 1/64th scale by Brian Smith. A significant amount of time and attention, says the very satisfied modeler. The Katikati rail yards will come to life again at the Tauranga Model Railway Clubs annual show at the Mount Maunganui College Hall tomorrow and Sunday between 10am and 4.30pm. To see the slideshow yourself, visit: www.westernbay.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/455 Update 5:10 p.m: Mobile police have arrested Christopher Pitts, 54 and Mia Proulx, 42 in the shooting at Super Inn in Tillmans Corner Thursday afternoon. Both are charged with second degree assault. Original story 2:57 p.m: Mobile police are currently investigating the shooting of a man at a motel in Tillman Corner Thursday afternoon. Mobile Fire-Rescue responded to the scene at the Americas Best Value Inn at 5480 Inn Road at 1:07 p.m. in reference to a man shot in his lower extremity. Officials say the victim is approximately 20-years-old. Police say that two men were arguing in the parking lot of the hotel when one man pulled a gun and shot the other. The victim was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Mobile police are currently investigating the shooting, the gunman has yet to be located. Were going to get back to living life, even if it kills us Another day, another chapter in Oregons ballot measure wars. Marion County Circuit Court Judge David Leith reinstated two climate change and clean energy initiative petitions aimed at the November ballot that had previously been rejected by Secretary of State Bev Clarno, who had ruled they violated a constitutional clause thats says ballot measures can only deal with one issue. Initiative Petitions 48 and 49 would require that Oregon produce all of its electricity using renewable energy and carbon free sources by Jan. 1, 2045. They also mandate using fair labor standards for jobs created by that transition the second subject that Clarno found problematic. Leith overturned Clarnos ruling, saying the two measures satisfy the single-subject requirement, and that the labor and equity provisions could be encompassed within a single subject with the clean energy mandates. Clarno is now one-and-one in her recent trips to court to defend her ballot measure rejections. Last month, a different Marion County judge upheld Clarnos ruling that Initiative Petitions 35, 36 and 37 violated the single subject provisions. Those measures, filed by environmental groups, would have tightened the state's aerial herbicide spraying laws, restricted logging in landslide-prone areas and prohibited conflicts of interest for appointees to the state Board of Forestry. The groups have since re-filed narrower measures. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has declined to represent Clarno in the lawsuits, forcing her to hire outside counsel. Michael Gillette, a retired Oregon Supreme Court Justice, represented Clarno in the suit filed by the clean energy advocates. Clarnos office could not be reached to determine if she plans to appeal. Leith issued an injunction blocking Clarnos ruling. Backers of the measures can now resume the process of getting a certified ballot title from the attorney general and then gather the necessary signatures to qualify for the November 2020 ballot. Climate change activists are using the petitions as leverage on lawmakers to pass similar climate change policies in the upcoming short legislative session. And if they dont, the initiatives are Plan B. 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. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2020) - Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: PEX) ("Pacific Ridge" or the "Company") announces that it has signed an earn-in agreement with Aurico Metals Inc. ("Aurico"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Centerra Gold Inc. to acquire up to a 75% interest in the Kliyul and Redton copper-gold porphyry projects, British Columbia (the "Properties"). "We are excited about the discovery potential of these very well-located projects, within a prolific mineral and mining belt" commented Gerry Carlson, President of Pacific Ridge. "The Kliyul project hosts some promising gold-copper intersections from historical drilling on the Kliyul Zone (see table below), with numerous other untested targets within a four-km long altered and mineralized corridor." About Kliyul Kliyul is a 6,000-ha advanced exploration project located 50 km southeast of the Kemess mine and 5 km from the Omineca mining road and power line in one of the most geochemically anomalous areas for copper and gold in the Quesnel Terrane. The property contains several Minfile occurrences, including four major target areas: Kliyul, Bap Ridge, Ginger-Shadow and M39, each representing an interpreted porphyry centre over a 4 km strike length. The Kliyul Zone is the most intensely explored of these, with 33 drill holes (5,524 m) drilled since 1974, most of which targeted a near-surface Cu-Au magnetite skarn zone. Deeper drilling in 2015 encountered a porphyry gold-copper system. Drill highlights are shown in the table below: Ref Hole From(m) To(m) Width(m) Cu(%) Au(gpt) CuEQ(%)* AuEQ(gpt)* A KL-5 10.8 68.3 57.5 0.32 0.99 1.14 1.38 B KL-6 30.1 78.9 48.8 0.31 1.33 1.41 1.71 C KL-7 20.0 71.0 51.0 0.17 1.19 1.15 1.40 D KL-93-4 46.0 102.0 56.0 0.34 0.89 1.07 1.30 E KL-93-5 16.0 76.0 60.0 0.26 1.34 1.37 1.66 F KL-06-30 22.0 239.8 217.8 0.23 0.52 0.66 0.80 G KL-06-31 346.0 378.0 32.0 0.21 0.62 0.72 0.87 KL-15-33 32.5 194.9 162.4 0.20 0.26 0.41 0.50 H KL-15-34 37.5 90.0 52.5 0.24 0.17 0.38 0.46 I KL-15-34 123.0 368.0 245.0 0.18 0.53 0.62 0.75 J KL-15-34 280.6 301.0 20.4 0.39 2.55 2.49 3.02 K KL-15-34 426.0 465.7 39.7 0.20 0.66 0.74 0.90 L KL-15-35 331.0 380.0 49.0 0.16 0.22 0.34 0.41 M KL-15-35 399.5 462.8 63.3 0.26 0.28 0.49 0.60 N KL-15-35 414.0 433.5 19.5 0.43 0.56 0.89 1.08 O KL-15-35 474.7 502.0 27.3 0.11 0.18 0.26 0.31 *CuEQ = ((Cu(%) x $2.65 x 22.0642) + (Au(gpt) x $1,500 x 0.032151)) / ($2.65 x 22.0642) *AuEQ = ((Cu(%) x $2.65 x 22.0642) + (Au(gpt) x $1,500 x 0.032151)) / ($1,500 x 0.032515) The property displays classic alkalic copper-gold porphyry alteration and mineralization patterns. Geological interpretation, supported by a variety of geophysical surveys, including IP, magnetics and magnetotellurics, suggest the potential to significantly expand the size of the Kliyul mineralized system, including the main porphyry mineralizer. The Company is planning a comprehensive data review prior to laying out the 2020 exploration program. About Redton Redton is a porphyry copper-gold property that adjoins Kwanika Copper Corporation's (Serengeti Resources Inc. and Posco International Corporation) Kwanika property along its eastern and northern boundary. The property is road accessible in a proven porphyry belt, underlain by rocks of the Hogem Batholith within the prolific Quesnel Terrane. The Redton North target is a coincident magnetic and IP chargeability anomaly located 2.5 km north of the Kwanika Central Zone deposit (Measured and Indicated Resource of 223.6 million tonnes grading 0.27% copper, 0.25 g/t gold and 0.87 g/t silver containing 1.32 billion pounds of Cu, 1.83 million ounces of Au and 6.27 million ounces of Ag - Serengeti news release, March 3, 2019) and is ready for drilling. The East Swan target, 1 to 2 km east of the Kwanika Central and Southern Zones, is a zone of high conductivity and magnetic anomalies. Ground magnetic and IP surveys are being considered to define drill targets. Acquisition Terms Pacific Ridge has the right to earn a 51% interest in the Properties by making cash payments of $100,000, issuing 2.0 million shares and spending $3.5 million on exploration by December 31, 2023. The Company then has the right to increase its interest in the Properties to 75% by making payments of $60,000, issuing 1.5 million shares and completing an additional $3.5 million in exploration by December 31, 2025. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval. Vancouver Resources Investment Conference Pacific Ridge invites you to visit us at Booth 1108 at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference ("VRIC") to be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West (1055 Canada Place, Vancouver) on Sunday, January 19th and Monday, January 20th. About Pacific Ridge Pacific Ridge has assembled a portfolio of highly prospective gold and base metal projects located in the Yukon and British Columbia, where its board and management team have a track record of success. Its holdings include the Mariposa, Eureka Dome and Gold Cap gold exploration projects in the Klondike-White Gold District, Fyre Lake Cu-Au-Co massive sulphide deposit in the Finlayson District and the Spius Cu-Mo porphyry in southern British Columbia. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Gerald G. Carlson" Gerald G. Carlson President & CEO Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. For further information, contact: Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. Gerald G. Carlson President & CEO Tel: (604) 687-4951 www.pacificridgeexploration.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The technical information contained within this News Release has been reviewed and approved by Gerald G. Carlson, Ph.D., P.Eng., President and CEO of Pacific Ridge and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 policy. Forward-Looking Information: This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling and other activities and events or developments that Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. ("Pacific Ridge") expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the exercise of the options and future exploration plans and expenditures. Although Pacific Ridge believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These statements are based on a number of assumptions including, among other things, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, that one of the options will be exercised, the ability of Pacific Ridge and other parties to satisfy stock exchange and other regulatory requirements in a timely manner, the availability of financing for Pacific Ridge's proposed programs on reasonable terms, and the ability of third party service providers to deliver services in a timely manner. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Pacific Ridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51615 By ANI SAMBHAL: A couple in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district has found a unique way to show their support for the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the newly enacted Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Mohit Mishra and Sonam Pathak, who are getting hitched on February 3, have put a Hindi line in bold letters on their wedding card saying, "We support CAA and NRC." ALSO READ | Allow right to peaceful protests in Varanasi: Amnesty urges Modi, Yogi Several protests had erupted across the country after the implementation of CAA, which 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. The NRC is a register maintained by the government containing names and certain relevant information for the identification of all genuine Indian citizens. On the apex court's order, the NRC identified illegal immigrants from Assam. Though this has been a state-specific exercise to keep its ethnic uniqueness unaltered. Since its implementation, protests have erupted in several parts of the country. We have taken notice of a certain statement circulating on both social and traditional media purporting to be communicating the position of the PNC on the infamous decision by the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission to compile a new voters register ahead of the 2020 elections. Let me state unequivocally and without mincing words that the PNC's position on the compilation of a new voters register since 2016 remains an unrepentant NO. This position of the party has not changed in 2020 since the Electoral Commission has not been able to offer any convincing, compelling and constructive reasons in their quest to ditch the existing register compiled in 2012. It is the considered opinion of the Party that besides the time constraints as well as the cost elements, the proposed introduction of facial recognition technology cannot beat the existing biometric technology deployed for the existing register. We, therefore, do not see the sense and need to support an inferior technology as against a far superior existing technology. On the basis of common sense, we are thus compelled to join the calls for the Electoral Commission to drop the proposal to compile a needless new register. Through this statement, we implore the media to disregard that caricature of a statement released under the hand of Emmanuel Wilson creating the impression that he is stating the official position of the PNC. Is it not curious that a Communications Director would sit in the comfort of his home or wherever to issue a statement on behalf of the party without the approval of the leadership of the party? As an appointed Director of Communications, he must be communicating on the instructions of the party leadership especially on a matter as important as this Voters Register proposal. Unfortunately, in his quest to glorify himself, he hurriedly put together a statement that is riddled with inconsistencies and inadequacies rendering it substandard thereby ridiculing the PNC in the process. The PNC is open to fair and frank engagements with the EC at the IPAC level as well as any other forum that would help to shape and strengthen the electoral system of Ghana to enable the EC conduct, supervise and deliver free, fair, transparent and credible elections as mandated by the constitution. Thank you. ..Signed... Bernard Mornah (National Chairman ) A judge has sentenced former U.S. Rep. Christopher Collins to 26 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to an insider trading scheme. U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick in Manhattan sentenced the 69-year-old Republican on Friday afternoon. Collins' lawyers said he was sorry and should face no prison time but prosecutors had said in written arguments to the judge that he should go to prison for nearly five years. An emotional Collins addressed the courtroom during the afternoon sentencing hearing. 'I violated my core values and there is no excuse,' he said as he apologized to his family, constituents and to the FBI for lying to them. 'I stand here today as a disgraced former member of Congress,' he said. 'My life has been shattered.' Chris Collins, former U.S. Representative for New York's 27th congressional district, exits the New York Federal Court after after being sentenced to 26 months in prison A stunned Collins walks out of court after learning his fate. He tipped his son off about a failed clinical drug trial that was not public knowledge, allowing him to dump his stock Collins, the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in October 2019 to charges of insider trading in relation to securities of Innate Immunotherapeutics Parnas was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for insider trading Although Collins faced a maximum of five years in prison for each of the two charges, prosecutors agreed as part of a plea deal that a reasonable sentence would be a total of less than five years. 'I don't view this as just a spur of the moment loss of judgment,' U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick said during the hearing. They said that Collins and his son, Cameron, were worth a total of $35 million when they conspired to sell shares in a pharmaceutical company before devastating news was made public. The trading, prosecutors said, enabled Cameron Collins and friends to dodge $800,000 in losses. He was the company's largest shareholder, holding nearly 17 per cent of Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd shares, a biotechnology company headquartered in Sydney, Australia, as well as a seat on its board. Chris Collins, a former U.S. Congressman from New York has been sentenced to 26 months in jail after pleading guilty to taking part in an insider trading scheme. He is pictured on Friday Former U.S. Rep. Chris Collins arrives at federal court for his sentencing on Friday. Collins pleaded guilty last fall to insider trading and lying to the FBI Collins was attending the Congressional Picnic at the White House on June 22, 2017, when he received an email from the company's chief executive saying that a trial of a drug the company developed to treat multiple sclerosis was a clinical failure. Collins responded to the email saying: 'Wow. Makes no sense. How are these results even possible???' the indictment said. It said he then called his son, Cameron Collins, and, after several missed calls, they spoke for more than six minutes. The next morning, according to the indictment, Cameron Collins began selling his shares, unloading enough over a two-day period to avoid $570,900 in losses before a public announcement of the drug trial results. After the announcement, the company's stock price plunged 92%. Knowing that Innate's stock would plunge when news got out, Collins 'from the White House lawn' tried to reach his son to tip him off so he could sell his shares, prosecutors said. CBS News footage captured Collins, circled in red, on the phone on the White House South Lawn during the time frame prosecutors charge he was talking to his son about the stock They said he then conspired with family members to claim Cameron Collins and friends sold shares because they were spooked by a temporary halt in the trading of the stock rather than because they knew the stock price would fall 92%. His lawyers had urged the judge to spare Collins from prison, citing his contrition, advanced age, charitable works and a low chance that he would commit any more crimes. 'Chris comes before the Court humbled, penitent, and remorseful,' the lawyers wrote. 'The public humiliation will follow Chris and mar him for the rest of his life.' 'I understood I had a duty not to disclose confidential information,' Collins, 69, told Manhattan federal judge Vernon Broderick as he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and making false statements in October. 'I regret my actions,' he said of leaking confidential information to his son Cameron in an urgent phone call made from a White House picnic. 'This is something I will live with for the rest of my life,' he added. Prosecutors used phone logs to prove that Collins passed on information, related to a drug trial for a product meant to combat Multiple Sclerosis, to his son, who soon initiated stock sales. He was convicted for trading on insider information while a board member and a stakeholder of Australian biotechnology company Innate Immunotherapeutics. He is pictured on Friday After learning a drug had failed a clinical trial, Collins told his son who sold the shares before news became public saving them $800k in losses. He is pictured arriving at court on Friday CBS published footage of Collins attending the White House picnic at the time he allegedly got the stock information. He was pictured speaking on the phone just as Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner walks by. Collins had represented western New York since his election to the 27th Congressional District of New York in 2012 and was one of the first members of Congress to endorse Trump for president in the 2016 Republican primary. He did so before it was clear the business executive had any chance of winning the nomination, saying the country needs 'a chief executive, not a chief politician.' He resigned when he decided to plead guilty to a single conspiracy count in October, but prosecutors faulted him for campaigning for a re-election race he won after his arrest and then continuing to serve. He has maintained close ties to the White House and acted as a surrogate for Trump. The annual Youth Parliament Programme run by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs every year is set to go online as the country celebrates 70th anniversary of adoption of the Indian constitution. The Ministry of Parliament Affairs has partnered with the Human Resource Development Ministry for making the programme online through the web portal of the National Youth Parliament Scheme. The off-line Youth Parliament programme is being implemented since 1966 in schools under the Delhi's Directorate of Education, NDMC schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and universities and colleges. "Around 18,000 students of 300 educational institutions participate through off-line Youth Parliament programme every year. So far, the programme was organised in competition format which was limiting the participation of the institutions and thus not fulfilling the core purpose of the scheme in the desired manner. "For overcoming this limitation, which is impeding the expansion of the scheme, the ministry has developed a web portal of the National Youth Parliament Scheme to increase the coverage of the programme manifold to hitherto untouched sections and corners of the country," a senior HRD Ministry official said. President Ram Nath Kovind had launched the web portal in November last year on the occasion to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Constitution being celebrated as 'Samvidhan Diwas'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) But her publicists had disappeared. She gave the samples to her driver, seated in a black S.U.V. Were trying to convert people to the vegan way, she said. Im already a vegan, he said, nibbling politely. Ms. Coolidge flounced back into the store, where Ms. Vargas flourished a new treat: a whipped cream made from coconuts. A self-professed whipped cream enthusiast, Ms. Coolidges bedroom eyes went avid and wide. Lets try it, she said, shaking the bottle with vigor. Before she could spray it right onto her fingers, Ms. Vargas brought over paper cups. This is delicious, she said, her voice deepening to a purr. Ms. Vargas offered her a swirl of the stores vanilla soft-serve ice cream, and Ms. Coolidge sprayed more whipped cream over the top. This couldnt be any more fun, Ms. Coolidge said. Peoples idea of vegan is, like, kale. Though she splits her time between Los Angeles and New Orleans, she has been contemplating a move to New York, where she lived and waitressed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The soft serve confirmed it. People are being urged to hand in their bushfire-damaged cash to the Reserve Bank of Australia to receive a payout. RBA assistant governor Lindsay Boulton said it was important people start organising their damaged cash now as the refunding process would take time. Mr Boulton said the best way for people to claim back their cash was to place what was left of the damaged currency into a zip-lock bag labelled 'bushfire' and take it to a bank. People are being urged to declared their bushfire-damaged cash with the Reserve Bank of Australia to receive a payout 'The bank will ask them to fill out some paperwork, which is really around getting contact details from the claimant,' he told ABC News. The cash will then be forwarded to the reserve bank who said the processing time will vary depending on the amount of cash and how damaged it is. If the cash was damaged inside items such as a wallet or a tin, the RBA suggested people include it with the money. The expected delay is due to the huge scale of the fires that has destroyed thousands of homes and could generate an unprecedented number of claims. 'The amount of property damage through the bushfires on this occasion has been higher than we saw in the Black Saturday bushfires. So it may well be because that that we see higher claims.' After people hand their damaged cash into a bank, it will be forwarded to the Reserve Bank who said the processing time will vary depending on the amount of cash and how damaged it is However the increased use of electronic currency could see a reduction in the claims. 'People don't use banknotes the way they did ten years ago, so that may suggest it may be less,' he said. Mr Boulton said if the damaged note is fully intact people should be able to claim the full value. RBA assistant governor Lindsay Boulton (pictured) urged people to declare their cash as soon as possible as they are expecting a large amount of claims However, if a note is found to have already been damaged before the fires a reduced value would be given. This would mean that a $100 bill that has been torn in half before being burnt would only return $50 to the person making the claim. For people looking to make a claim the necessary forms can be found here. A group of men who broke into a northwest Houston home as a family slept early Friday morning pointed a gun at a young girl and pistol whipped her father, according to family members. Officers were called to the apartment in the 10000 block of Neuens Road shortly before 1 a.m. to reports of a home invasion in progress, according to police. Four men had reportedly broken into the home and held the residents at gunpoint demanding cash, police said. Taking fish oil supplements may improve sperm quality in healthy young men, a new analysis suggests. Researchers studied 1,679 Danish men taking physical examinations for compulsory military service. Their average age was 19, and 98 of them reported taking fish oil supplements during the previous three months. Compared with those who took none, men who took fish oil supplements for at least 60 days during the previous three months had higher sperm count, a greater proportion of normal sperm cells, higher average semen volume and larger average testicular size. They also had significantly lower follicle-stimulating hormone levels and lower luteinizing hormone levels, both indicators of better testicular function. There was also a dose-response effect for fish oil: Those who took supplements on more than 60 days had better testicular function that those who took them less often. Granddad of Girl Who Died in Cruise Ship Fall Knew Window Was Open: Royal Caribbean Family lawyer says Royal Caribbean's legal motion is 'baseless and deceptive' Royal Caribbean said a northern Indiana man knew that a cruise ship window was open before he picked up his granddaughter, lost his grip, and dropped her to her death in July. The family of Chloe Wiegand, who was 18 months old when she died, has sued the cruise operator, alleging the company should have placed warning signs in front of the open window. The girl fell about 150 feet on a docked Royal Caribbean Cruise ship in July in San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, the firm said in new court documents that Salvatore Anello, the girls step-grandfather, knew the window was open and said he leaned his upper body out that window before he picked up Chloe, WANE-TV reported. Royal Caribbean filed a motion asking the federal court in the Southern District of Florida to dismiss the familys suit. This is not a case of an unknowing child approaching an open window and falling out because the window was defective or improperly positioned. Rather, this is a case about an adult man, Chloes step-grandfather who, as surveillance footage unquestionably confirms: (1) walked up to a window he was aware was open; (2) leaned his upper body out the window for several seconds; (3) reached down and picked up Chloe; and (4) then held her by and out of the open window for thirty-four seconds before he lost his grip and dropped Chloe out of the window, the court motion said. A family lawyer for Wiegands parents, Michael A. Winkleman, told The Epoch Times that the firms motion to dismiss the case is baseless and deceptive. It is clear that Royal Caribbeans tactic is to blame Chloes grandfather rather than to accept that Royal Caribbean did not implement industry standards for toddler safety aboard its ships which ultimately led to Chloes tragic death, he said. Royal Caribbean has premised its defense in this case and its blame on Chloes grandfather by supplying two deceptive views from its CCTV cameras to the court and the Puerto Rico authorities. In response, the family is seeking to ask the court to force Royal Caribbean to release all surveillance video footage relevant to the case, he added. Royal Caribbean said in court that it included photos that purport to show Anello leaning out the window through which the girl fell moments later. When he arrives at the open window, and while Chloe is on the floor, Mr. Anello leans his upper-torso over the wooden railing and out of the window frame for approximately eight seconds, Royal Caribbean wrote in court, NBC News reported. Because Mr. Anello had himself leaned out the window, he was well aware that the window is open. A lawyer for the Wiegand family has not responded to a request for comment. Other than the lawsuit filed by Wiegands family and the Royal Caribbean counter-claim, Puerto Rican prosecutors have charged Anello with negligent homicide for the childs death. He was arrested in October of last year before he was released on bond. Anello and the girls parents have both denied the charges in news reports. They are confused as to why the focus is on Sal when the bigger question is why Royal Caribbean wasnt following the standards for the windows that are designed specifically to prevent a child from falling, Winkleman told The New York Times in October. A convicted sex offender has been charged in connection with the disappearance of an Alabama woman whose body was found in a shallow grave weeks after she left a bar with two men and then texted a friend to say: 'I feel in trouble'. Fredrick Hampton, 50, was charged on Thursday with abuse of Paighton Houston's corpse after the 29-year-old's body was found dumped in the shallow grave on January 3. Hampton is not yet in custody and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. He has not been charged with Houston's death. Fredrick Hampton, 50, was charged on Thursday with abuse of Paighton Houston's corpse after the 29-year-old's body was found dumped in the shallow grave in Alabama on January 3 It comes after Houston's body was found wrapped in fabric and buried in a muddy, shallow grave in the backyard of a home in Hueytown, about 15 miles outside of Birmingham. Authorities said Hampton has links to that home but did not elaborate. Investigators started searching the home after receiving a tip about Houston's disappearance. At the time of the search, neighbors said the home used to be occupied by an elderly man but he had been taken away by family a while back to receive care. Houston had been missing since December 20 when she was last seen leaving the Tin Roof bar in Birmingham at 10.45pm with two heavy-set black men. Authorities said Hampton was initially taken into custody on December 28 on suspicion of kidnapping but was released two days later investigators failed to gather enough evidence to charge him with a crime. Houston's body was found wrapped in fabric and buried in a muddy, shallow grave in the backyard of a home in Hueytown, about 15 miles outside of Birmingham Houston had been missing since December 20 when she was last seen leaving the Tin Roof bar in Birmingham at 10.45pm with two heavy-set black men. She later sent a text to a friend that said: 'idk who im with so if I call please answer. I feel in trouble' Authorities said Hampton has links to the home where Houston's body was found but did not elaborate. Investigators started searching the home after receiving a tip about Houston's disappearance. Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Deputy Chief David Agee said on Thursday they have evidence Hampton and Houston were together the night she disappeared after leaving the bar. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office has not yet determined the cause and manner of Houston's death. They are awaiting additional testing, including toxicology results. Agee said preliminary results show there was no physical trauma to the body that would have led to her death. There is evidence Houston died the day after she was last seen, according to Agee. She was believed to have been at the bar with co-workers and friends have said she didn't know the two men she left with. Houston has been missing since December 20 when she was last seen leaving the Tin Roof bar in Birmingham at 10.45pm with two heavy-set black men Houston sent a text message to a friend just after midnight that said: 'idk who im with so if I call please answer. I feel in trouble'. Her mother, Charlaine Houston, had previously described the text as 'very concerning'. In the weeks after her disappearance, her family said her bank account went unused and that her phone went straight to voicemail. Her family had posted social media pleas for information during the search and a $10,000 reward - put up by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and Crime Stoppers - was being offered at the time. Hampton was previously convicted in 1992 on first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy charges, according to Jefferson County records. He served 20 years in prison before his release in 2012. Amid the controversy over Sanjay Raut's statement about ties between political leaders and the underworld, senior crime journalist Baljeet Parmar on Friday said that there were no links between Karim Lala with either the Congress party or Indira Gandhi. Parmar further said that the only time the underworld don had met Indira Gandhi was when he went to the Rashtrapati Bhawan as an assistant with the noted actor, scriptwriter Harindranath Chattopadhyay, who was there to receive his Padma Bhushan in 1973. "The first question I asked Karim Lala, in his interview which I took in 93, was about his relationship with Indira Gandhi, as I had seen a photo of the two in his album. He had said that the two had met by fluke once and had talked just twice," Parmar told ANI here. "Noted actor Harindranath Chattopadhyay had taken Lala as his assistant to the Rashtrapati Bhawan in 1973, where he had gone to receive his Padma Bhushan. In those days, you were allowed to take two associates with you. After the ceremony, Gandhi was introduced to Lala by the actor and they exchanged pleasantries. He was introduced as the leader of a faction of Pashtuns to the prime minister," Parmar added. The senior journalist said that photos of the meeting between the two, in which Chattopadhyay was also present, were given to the underworld don by the noted actor. "Chattopadhyay had sent the photos of Lala meeting Indira Gandhi, which were clicked by the Rashtrapati Bhawan's cameraman. Lala had even forgotten the year in which the meeting (with Gandhi) took place. The first time it was published when my article came out," Parmar said, claiming that Karim Lala had not attached any importance to the photo. He also said that the don had no interest in either entering or influencing politics and had largely stayed aloof from the political leaders. Lala was involved in smuggling, narcotics, gambling, forced property evictions, and extortion rackets in Mumbai for over two decades. He died in 2002 at the age of 90. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Outsider Art Fair, up at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea until Sunday, is still one of the best deals in New York: compact, but filled from edge to edge with things to see. You can brush up on the heroes of the genre work by self-taught artists with a stunning Henry Darger panorama at Andrew Edlin at booth D14, and a gorgeous, never-before-shown Martin Ramirez drawing of a cowboy on a rearing purple horse at Ricco/Maresca (A11). You can make new discoveries, like the off-center flower paintings of John Maull at Tierra del Sol (B1), or the eye-grabbing shopping-bag paintings of a retired Peruvian parachute trooper who goes by Juda Ben Hur at Gabby Yamamoto/Espacio (B5). This year, its 28th in New York, the fair has also introduced a diffident handful of curated booths, including the writer and curator Paul Lasters Relishing the Raw: Contemporary Artists Collecting Outsider Art (A8), in which Mr. Laster teases out suggestive connections between contemporary artists and their own personal collections: Its like listening to a British Invasion rocker talk about his favorite blues records. Below are seven of my own favorite booths to get you started, but youre almost guaranteed, just by setting foot in the door, to find something I overlooked. The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has blamed a fault on its Tema-Accra transmission line for the outage experienced in parts of the country on Today Friday, January 17. It said the fault resulted in its generation facilities tripping and subsequently resulting in unstable power supply to customers. GRIDCo said it detected the problem at 12:20pm but by 2:30pm, it had resolved it. The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) wishes to inform the general public that at 12:20PM today, one of our transmission lines from Tema to Accra developed a fault. As a result, a number of our generation facilities tripped, leading to outages in Accra and other parts of the country. Our Maintenance team responded immediately to restore the affected transmission circuits and power supply has since been fully restored to all parts of the country at approximately 14:30PM. GRIDCo apologizes for any inconvenience caused and remains committed to its mandate of delivering reliable power supply, GRIDCO said in a statement. Many customers on Friday complained about experiencing intermittent power outages which they feared could affect their electrical appliances. The development comes after a blackout experienced on Wednesday night in most parts of Southern Ghana. There is yet to be an official communication from companies within the power distribution chain to that effect. citinewsroom The competition is heating up on 'Dancing with the Stars Ireland', with Kildare represented by former B*witched star Sinead OCarroll and Big Brother Winner Brian Dowling as the show enters its third week. In week one, Rathangan native Brian and his dance partner Laura Nolan performed a sassy, well-coordinated Salsa to Lizzos Juice, delighting the audience and the judges, earning them 16 points. In week two, During rehearsals, Brian promised to "give it 150%" to his performance and he didn't disappoint, with Laura choosing the Salsa because she felt it really suits Brians personality. The judges praised the duos efforts, with judge Julian Benson describing the performance as a sassy Salsa. Sinead OCarroll of B*Witched fame team up pro dance partner Ryan McShane for the American Smooth to with Steve Lawrences Bewitched, impressing the judges to receive 21 points. Speaking this week as they prepare for week 3 of the popular dance competition, Brian and Sinead discussed their hopes for the show. Its pretty full-on, very physical, but I love the routine of it all. Ive been interested in taking part in the show for years, its the biggest show on Irish telly right now and its aimed at a family-friendly audience at 6. 30 oclock on a Sunday night, which is wonderful and my nieces are loving seeing me on it, explained Brian. He described his professional dancing partner Laura as a joy to work with. Its Lauras first year on Dancing with the Stars Ireland but she is such an incredible dancer, shes full of energy and precision, especially in ballroom dancing. Shes a joy to work with, we go for lunch and we can just switch off, too. Im giving it 150% and I couldnt imagine doing it without Laura, said Brian. Brian said that his family have been hugely supportive of him being on the show, and in the coming weeks his family will also gather in Rathangan on February 23 for the annual Run for Rosie event meeting at 12 oclock at the community centre. The race is in honour of Brians mum Rosie, who sadly passed away from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) on February 21, 2018. The race will include a 3k, 5k and 10k and a buggy run for a worthy cause for the Family Screening Centre at the Mater Foundation, last year we raised almost 30,000, he said. Meanwhile, talented Newbridge native Sinead OCarroll has said that everyone is getting on well behind the scenes on this years show. Were all getting on really well, the banter is great we all go out for lunch which is lovely. My dance partner Ryan has been amazing, hes very calm and relaxed which has made everything so much easier. When I was growing up in Newbridge, my mum and dad used to do a bit of ballroom dancing, and when we were kids we used to watch a programme called Come Dancing which was a real treat, so to be doing Dancing with the Stars for me is amazing, she explained. Sinead also said that she was absolutely delighted to have gotten a score of 21 last Sunday from the judges. I was shocked with the score, I was in a bit of a daze afterward, but it was so great and we were delighted with it,she said. Talented Sinead is best known for her part in superstar girl group B*Witched, who, in the late nineties and early noughties, hit the top of the charts with catchy songs including Rollercoaster and C'Est La Vie. Mum-of-two Kildare natives Brian and Sinead fly the flag on 'Dancing with the Stars' has also appeared in Fair City, and runs her own stage school, Star Academy in Greystones. This week the pressure is on for the celebrities as the first elimination draws closer on Sunday, 19 January, from 6.30pm on RTE 1. A few weeks ago, I met an old friend who is a professor. We discussed various issues, but when the subject of Antifa came up I was surprised by what he said. He stated that the acts of violence committed by Antifa are justifiable because we know what fascists have done and should do anything to prevent that from happening again. When I mentioned that some of the people being assaulted are ordinary Americans wearing MAGA hats, he merely said maybe Antifa should be more specific about whom they target. Justifying Antifas violent actions is nothing new. I have heard or read enough similar statements that I was starting to think new members of Antifa and its fan club in academia, the media, and in the Democratic Party, all receive the same flyer instructing them how to respond if anyone criticizes their acts of violence, even when journalists and bystanders are among the victims. But now someone I personally know and consider a rational, intelligent person was justifying political violence. It made me think that we have reached the point where apparently normal people believe violence is an acceptable way to resolve internal political differences. This is a disturbing development. In a civilized society, freedom of speech and open discussion enable those with different views to learn from each other and consider their own positions from a more critical perspective. However, where threats, intimidation, ridicule, and political violence are the norm, open discussion is suppressed, and progress is hindered. Ironically, those who support Antifa, mob violence, and ending freedom of speech, and are intolerant of those with other views, often call themselves progressives, while theirs are regressive thoughts. They are regressive because this goes back to the days of kings, dictators, street brawls and political chaos, when dissent was not tolerated and anyone could arbitrarily be attacked, imprisoned, or killed. Antifa began a century ago in 1921 as a front group under the direction of the Soviet Union to incite a Communist revolution in Germany. In 1923 the Politburo of the Communist Party in Soviet Russia held a meeting to plan an armed insurrection to overthrow the struggling democracy in Germanys Weimar Republic. Following the Politburos instructions, the German Communist Party formed its armed movement to silence rival political parties through violence and to overthrow the government. The party named its movement Antifaschistische Aktion. The party chose the name Antifaschistische Aktion, now known as Antifa, because an Italian Marxist fell out with his nations Socialist Party, founded his own party, and took power in 1922. Although he still held leftist views, nationalized 75% of Italys economy, and expanded the states social safety net, he believed that a hierarchy should be part of society and ignored the dictates from both the Socialists in his former party and the Communists in Moscow. For this heresy, his new party was branded as a rogue movement. His name was Benito Mussolini and he was the founder and leader of the Revolutionary Fascist Party. This was another socialist party, which French socialists supported but the Soviets condemned. Even before seizing power, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was never very tolerant of other socialist parties; after it seized power, it executed those parties' members. For the communists, the word fascist came to mean renegade socialist and eventually became a derogatory term to be used in attempts to vilify anyone they disapproved of, socialist or not. However, contrary to what we may have been told, fascism was never a right-wing movement. The reality was, and still is, that fascism is a socialist political ideology of the left. Antifa was one left-wing movements battle against another left-wing movement. Similarly, the National Socialist German Workers Party, usually referred to as Nazis, was also a socialist party of the left. National Socialist Germany under Hitler provided citizens with subsidized health care, housing, day care, vacations abroad, state jobs, a social safety net, and strong gun control laws. Factions within the party also advocated nationalizing the economy. Unlike the fascists, the National Socialists wanted to eliminate social classes and advanced a social experiment to achieve that goal. Nevertheless, the communists in Germany and the Soviet Union still called them fascists and considered them bitter rivals. The reality is that the communist, National Socialist, and fascist governments were ideological siblings -- totalitarian, one-party states, which focused on collectivism, and centrally planned economies, where individual rights had to be given up for the collective good. Considering these facts, any accusations that Trump and his supporters are fascists or Nazis are absurd. The President is a businessman who favors limited government. He has also recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, has a Jewish son-in-law, and a daughter who has converted to Judaism. However, facts do not seem to matter to the delusional. Members of Antifa claim they oppose fascists, or those that they label as fascists, because they are oppressive and violent, while simultaneously expressing open admiration for Joseph Stalin, one of the greatest mass murderers in history, who took total control of the Soviet Union in 1929 after having his rivals executed or assassinated. Dr. Norman Naimark, a Stanford University historian of East European Studies, and author of the book Stalins Genocides has stated that estimates on the number killed under Stalin run from 15 to 20 million. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a Russian historian, Nobel Prize winner, and author of the book The Gulag Archipelago, argued that the number killed in the Soviet Union was as high as 60 million. The total number of people communist regimes killed in the 20th century has been estimated to be 120 million. When a commission from the U.S. met with Stalin to inform him that clergy in the Soviet Union were disappearing, he said the clergy were being exterminated, but that the problem was they had not all been exterminated yet. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Alexander Yakovlev, a former Politburo member, led a human rights commission that concluded that 200,000 Russian clergy had been executed. Millions of Christians were executed or worked to death in gulag labor camps. Millions were also victims if it was suspected that they did not support the state. Black vans would appear at about 3:00 AM and the secret police would haul people away, never to be seen again, as their families screamed. Soviet citizens could not leave the country and even needed an internal passport for domestic travel, when permitted. When the Soviet Union attacked Poland, it sent 1.7 million to the gulags. When it invaded Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, 1.2 million disappeared in the Siberian camps. Some of the victims were worked to death mining for gold in sub-zero temperatures in Siberia while others were sent to camps for immediate execution. This included women as young as 17 years old. In the 1930s, over 170,000 ethnic Koreans living in the Soviet Union were deported, which resulted in 40,000 dying from starvation and exposure, due to their race. Other minorities in the Soviet Union, such as Chechens, Turks, and Romanians, also suffered from deportation and ethnic cleansing. This is the ideology Antifa embraces, as shown by the hammer and sickle whenever its supporters appear. They also use it to justify assaults against people wearing MAGA hats (people who want less government and support individual rights), allegedly to prevent bad things from happening again. The irony is truly Orwellian. The hammer and sickle should always remind us of the Socialist terror, the atrocities, and the 120 million killed in the name of Communism. (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden called for the repeal of Section 230, part of a U.S. law that protects internet companies from liability for content their users post online. In an interview with the New York Times editorial board, Biden said companies should be responsible for libel on their platforms. The former vice president focused his ire on Facebook Inc., the largest social-media company, and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg. Section 230, a provision of the Communications Decency Act passed in 1996, should be revoked, immediately, Biden said. The rule has allowed internet giants to take a hands-off approach to content on their sites, but has also spurred free expression online. Overturning Section 230 could make internet companies far more cautious about what they let users write on their platforms. Smaller websites could be hurt the most. Read more: The 26 Words That Helped Make the Internet a Mess Technology companies have lobbied to protect Section 230, but there have been successful efforts to weaken it already. Congress passed a sex trafficking law in 2018 that chipped away some of the protections. Bidens remarks to the New York Times, published Friday, came as part of the newspapers presidential endorsement process. He focused particularly on Facebook. It is propagating falsehoods they know to be false, Biden said. You guys still have editors. Im sitting with them. Not a joke. There is no editorial impact at all on Facebook. None. None whatsoever. Its irresponsible. Ive never been a fan of Facebook, as you probably know, Biden added. Ive never been a big Zuckerberg fan. I think hes a real problem. Other Democratic presidential candidates have expressed concern about Section 230. At tech industry conference SXSW, Amy Klobuchar said, It is something else that we should definitely look at as we look at how we can create more accountability. Biden also said the U.S. should embrace some privacy protections like those in Europe, where citizens have more rights to remove negative content about them posted online. Story continues To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Newcomer in San Francisco at enewcomer@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, Andrew Pollack 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. The Kwaebibirem Municipal Assembly (KMA) of the Eastern Region under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration awarded a contract for the construction of a new administrative block for the municipality at a cost of GH1.447,183. This was in spite of the fact that a fairly good administration block was already in use. According to the current Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Seth Antwi Boasiako, the contract had to be terminated because the assembly was wasting its meager resources on it. The contract was awarded to Kingdwosco Enterprise Ltd in 2011 under then MCE, D.A. Osae, and it had been executed to the foundation level. Responding to queries at a sitting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament in Accra on Wednesday, the current MCE said he was compelled to abrogate the contract because he realized that the project would not give the financial strength for the assembly to undertake other social infrastructural projects. Mr. Chairman, when I assumed office in 2017, I found out that the cost involved was too much even though it was not a priority project. On top of that, the contractor too had taken the assembly to court for a judgement debt after the payment for the work was delaying, he said. He explained that his administration, therefore, paid the judgement debt of GH120,074 and abrogated the contract for a possible review. According to him, in total, the assembly paid an amount of GH313,691 including the judgement debt to the contractor for work done on the sub-structure. He said apart from that, he met a debt of GH240,000 left by the NDC administration when he assumed office in 2017. He, however, said that he continued with other projects left by the previous administration and completed them. He mentioned the new lorry park at Kade, two classroom blocks at Bomso and Kukubi as the legacy projects which he inherited and completed. ---Daily Guide TAGAYTAY, Philippines - An erupting Philippine volcano remains life threatening despite weaker emissions and fewer tremors, an official said Friday and advised thousands of displaced villagers not to return to the danger zone. The Taal volcano emitted weaker ash and steam explosions Thursday and Friday, the sixth day of its eruption. But despite the seeming lull, continuing volcanic quakes, the drying of the crater lake and other signs indicate magma is moving beneath, said Maria Antonia Bornas, an official with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. When there is an explosion, that will be life threatening, especially if people get very near, like on Volcano Island, Renato Solidum, head of the the institute, told The Associated Press. The volcano since Sunday has remained at alert level 4, the second-highest warning, indicating a hazardous explosive eruption is possible in hours or days. Solidum said assessing whether the volcanos restiveness has eased may take up to two weeks. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from areas now under a security lockdown, and soldiers and police have been stopping desperate villagers from returning to retrieve belongings and save their poultry and cattle. Police have allowed batches of residents to check their homes for a few hours during the day in some high-risk villages. Jerick Oco, a 21-year-old who worked as a tourist guide on Volcano Island, which sits in the middle of Taal Lake south of Manila, was relieved to hear that the volcano was calming down but said poor villagers like him face more daunting problems, like finding new homes and jobs. They should help people retrieve belongings from their homes instead of blocking them. They should help them restart (their lives) again, Oco said. Many houses and farms are damaged by ash, though no deaths or major injuries directly caused by the eruption have been reported. Authorities have reported one traffic fatality on an ash-covered road and an evacuee dying from a heart attack. About 125,000 people fled their homes in hardest-hit Batangas province, more than 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Manila. At least 373 evacuation sites were crammed with the displaced and needed more face masks, portable toilets, bottled water and sleeping mats, according to a provincial disaster-response office. The governments main disaster agency reported a little more than 77,000 people were displaced in Batangas and the nearby provinces of Cavite and Laguna. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear. Among those displaced were about 5,000 people who live on Volcano Island. It is a popular tourist destination renowned for its stunning view of the volcanos crater lake and lush hills teeming with trees and birds. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has recommended that villagers should not be allowed back. The 1,020-foot (311-meter) Taal is the second-most restive of about two dozen volcanoes across the Philippines. The archipelago lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the string of faults around the ocean basin where much of the worlds seismic activity occurs. ___ Gomez reported from Manila. Associated Press journalist Joeal Calupitan contributed to this report. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 00:25:44|Editor: yan Video Player Close SUVA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The China Cultural Center in Fiji and Post Fiji jointly launched the Year of Rat stamps here on Friday to celebrate the arrival of the Chinese New Year which is to fall on Jan. 25 this year. Speaking at the launching ceremony held in the China Cultural Center in Fiji, Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Qian Bo highlighted the importance of the stamp launching, saying that "the zodiac stamps have witnessed the friendship between China and Fiji, deepening cultural exchange between our people." For his part, Joseph Nand, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts, said that launching the stamps is an event that reflects the strong relationship shared by the China Cultural Center in Fiji and the ministry. Sun Jie, director of the China Cultural Center in Fiji, said that the center has cooperated with Post Fiji for the stamp launch for five years now, and he is happy that they are able to launch the Year of Rat stamp this year. The Rat is the first of the 12 zodiac animals in the Chinese zodiac cycle, symbolizing wealth and surplus in Chinese culture. The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday stepped up its efforts to shift the administrative capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam, even as farmers of the capital region intensified their agitation in protest against the move. The government advanced its state cabinet meeting to Saturday to approve the report of the ministerial committee constituted to work out the roadmap for the shifting of the capital city. The committee members had a meeting with chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy at his Tadepalli camp office in the morning and submitted their report. The cabinet meeting was originally scheduled to be held on January 20, an hour before the commencement of the special session of the state assembly to adopt the resolution on the capital shift proposal. An official in the Secretariat familiar with the development said the exercise for the shifting of the administrative capital would begin soon after the assembly session concludes, on January 22. The Republic Day celebrations this year are being held at Visakhapatnam. Governor Bishwa Bhushan Harichandan will unfurl the national flag on the Rama Krishna Beach Road in Visakhapatnam and the chief minister and all his cabinet colleagues will attend the ceremony, the official said. Meanwhile, the farmers of Amaravati, under the umbrella of Amaravati Joint Action Committee are gearing up for a showdown with the government to stall the capital shift move at any cost. The JAC called for a Chalo Assembly rally by men and women on January 20 when the assembly session begins. We shall intensify our agitation till the government withdraws its proposal to shift the administrative capital from Amaravati, JAC chairman Sunkara Krishnamurthy said. The JAC leaders also met the Governor in the afternoon and sought his intervention in retaining the capital city at Amaravati. We explained to him our struggle to save Amaravati and also the highhanded behaviour of the police in crushing the movement, the JAC leader said. The opposition parties including the Telugu Desam Party, Jana Sena and BJP, are backing the protests held by the Amaravati JAC. The police are making all efforts to set up tight security to avoid any untoward incident. On Friday, the opposition parties took part in the bike rally following a call given by the JAC. Nara Lokesh, CPI Narayana and other leaders took part in the bike rally. On the other hand, thousands of farmers thronged the office of AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) at Thullur to submit their representations in writing on the state governments plan on the capital city, as the deadline fixed by the government to receive such representations concluded on Friday. However, the high court extended the deadline for submission of grievances to the CRDA till 2.30 pm on January 20. The court was acting on a petition filed by some farmers seeking extension of the deadline. They also wanted the court to give directions to the government not to act on the high-power committee report. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON BOSTON - A Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor is denying accusations that he misled the school about two $50,000 gifts he facilitated from Jeffrey Epstein in 2012, arguing that institute officials had full knowledge Epstein was the donor. In an online statement published Thursday, Professor Seth Lloyd called the accusations completely false and said he followed the schools policies to the letter when he accepted Epsteins offer to support his scientific research. It was Lloyds first public comment since MIT placed him on paid administrative leave Jan. 10. I never hid the identity of Epstein as the donor prior to the donation being accepted, Lloyd wrote. I facilitated the submission of the donation approval request to the MIT officers exactly so that they could vet it. MIT knew that the donor was Epstein and fully approved the donation with this knowledge. Lloyd declined to comment further. The allegations against Lloyd were published in a Jan. 10 report by Goodwin Procter, a law firm hired by MIT to examine the schools relationship with Epstein. The report found that Epstein donated $850,000 to MIT between 2002 and 2017 and visited the campus at least nine times. Three senior officials became aware of Epsteins donations in 2013 and considered cutting ties, the report found, but they ultimately approved the gifts as long as they were kept quiet. The report alleges that Lloyd accepted two $50,000 donations from Epstein in 2012 but purposefully failed to inform MIT officials that Epstein was the source and had been convicted of sex crimes in Florida in 2008. Professor Lloyd knew that donations from Epstein would be controversial and that MIT might reject them, the firm found. We conclude that, in concert with Epstein, he purposefully decided not to alert the Institute to Epsteins criminal record, choosing instead to allow mid-level administrators to process the donations without any formal discussion or diligence concerning Epstein. Lloyds account says he put Epsteins agent in touch with MIT officials, as instructed by his department, but never hid the source. As evidence, he published portions of a June 2012 email that Lloyd says was sent by an MIT official to Epsteins accountant. Many thanks for your message on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein; we look forward to receiving the first installment of his gift, the MIT official wrote. The investigative report says Lloyd later admitted to breaching his professional duties, but Lloyd disputes that, saying, I made no such concession. Lloyd separately received $60,000 as a personal gift from Epstein in 2005 or 2006, which the report called a possible violation of MIT policies because it was not processed through the school. Lloyd says he used the money for research and believes he followed MIT policies. He also sought and received $125,000 from Epstein in 2017 to support a sabbatical, but investigators found no fault in his handling of that gift. MIT officials provided a statement from Goodwin Procter standing by the firms report. To the extent Professor Lloyd disagrees with the report, we are fully confident the findings in the report are consistent with the evidence and information that we collected, including from Professor Lloyd, the statement said. Epsteins ties with MIT have roiled the campus and led to multiple resignations over the past year. In total, the school received $750,000 from Epstein after his 2008 sex crimes conviction and continued to accept his money until 2017. Of that total, $525,000 went to the MIT Media Lab, whose former director, Joi Ito, resigned last year. 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. Lloyd previously issued a public apology to Epsteins victims, and on Thursday he reiterated his remorse. None of this in any way diminishes my lapse in judgement in accepting Epsteins donations to MIT in the first place, he wrote. I stand by my previous apology for these mistakes of mine and take full responsibility for them. I ask only that I be judged for what I actually did, no less and no more. Shutterstock illustration The following Cumberland County restaurants were found to have violated Pennsylvania's health and safety regulations during inspections between Dec. 22-28. Inspections are overseen by the Department of Agriculture. The department notes that in many cases violations are corrected by the restaurant before inspectors leave. Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration AMC CAMP HILL 12 3431 Simpson Ferry Road, Camp Hill Date: Dec. 23, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: --Two of three hand-wash sink areas did not have paper towels. Corrected on-site. --Observed employee touching popcorn with bare hands on shelf above open bags of popcorn in holding unit. --Dust and grease accumulation on filters of hood system over popcorn machine and catch bin. Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration DENIM COFFEE 1 S. Hanover St., Carlisle Date: Dec. 27, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: Out Violations: --Person-in-charge does not demonstrate adequate knowledge of food safety in this food facility as evidenced by this non-compliant inspection. --Observed raw shell eggs stored above ready-to-eat foods (tomatoes, cheese) in the upright refrigerator in the back kitchen. --Observed dried food debris on the underside of the deli slicer. --Food facility does not have available Quaternary ammonium sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration. --Cutting board on the sandwich unit is scored and discolored. --Chlorine chemical sanitizer residual detected in the final sanitizer rinse cycle of the low-temperature-sanitizing dishwasher was zero ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required. --The quaternary ammonia concentration in the sanitizer bucket was zero ppm, rather than 200-400 ppm as stated on the manufacturers use directions. --Observed an accumulation of burnt food debris under the sandwich grills and on the wall behind them. --Observed clean dish racks stored on the floor in the back kitchen area. Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration MOUNT FUJI RESTAURANT 149 N. Hanover St., Carlisle Date: Dec. 27, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: --Observed plastic wrapped around a damaged knife handle which is no longer cleanable. --Time in lieu of temperature being used as a control for potentially hazardous foods (sushi rice), but the logs are not up-to-date. --Area around the hand-wash sink in the back kitchen is no longer smooth and easily cleanable. Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES, AERIE #1299 26 E. High St., Carlisle Date: Dec. 23, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: --Refrigerated ready-to-eat, time/temperature-control-for-safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the walk-in cooler, is not being date-marked. Don't Edit Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration IDEA COFFEE AT WALDEN 121 Walden Way, Mechanicsburg Date: Dec. 23, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: --Unwrapped and unprotected single-use wooden coffee stirrers stored in the customer area. --The food facility does not have the original certificate for the certified food employee posted in public view. Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration NEATO BURRITO MECHANICSBURG 5238 Simpson Ferry Road, Mechanicsburg Date: Dec. 23, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: --Observed shelving in can-opener area, with an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue, debris on non-food-contact surfaces. --Observed deeply scored cutting boards not resurfaced or discarded as required. Was discarded and replaced at time of inspection. --Wall just outside the new walk-in cooler area is made of "raw" cinder block and is not a smooth, easily cleanable surface, due to the installation of new walk-in cooler. It is scheduled to be re-covered. Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration NIKOLI'S PIZZA & CATERING 3904 Old Gettysburg Road, Camp Hill Date: Dec. 23, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: --Dust accumulation on fan cover of condensing unit in drink cooler. --One set of shelving is rusty in walk-in cooler. --Dust and grease accumulation on filters of hood system. --Loose/broken rubber door gaskets observed on the bain-marie and pizza-prep cooling units. --One plastic cutting board has brown discoloration and excessive scoring from knife cuts. Replaced with new board. Corrected on-site. Don't Edit No violations were found in the following eight restaurants during their inspections. Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration GREEN MOUNTAIN GENERAL STORE & DELI 4640 Carlisle Road, Gardners Date: Dec. 27, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: None Don't Edit Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration TRINDLE THRIFT & DISCOUNT 1003 W. Trindle Road, Mechanicsburg Date: Dec. 27, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: None Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration AMERICA'S AUTO AUCTION HARRISBURG 1100 S. York St., Mechanicsburg Date: Dec. 26, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: None Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration HOMEWOOD SUITES HOTEL 5001 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg Date: Dec. 24, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: None Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration BUHRIG FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORY/BUHRIG'S GATHERING PLACE 25 East Main St., Mechanicsburg Date: Dec. 23, 2019 Type: Opening Compliance: In Violations: None Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration MCDONALD'S #2449 4230 Trindle Road, Camp Hill Date: Dec. 23, 2019 Type: Regular Compliance: In Violations: None Don't Edit Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration PREMIER CATERING 17 S. 35th St., Camp Hill Date: Dec. 23, 2019 Type: Complaint Compliance: In Violations: None Don't Edit Shutterstock illustration RAJ PIKE MGMT CORP. (SUNOCO & SUBWAY) 1257 Harrisburg Pike, Carlisle Date: Dec. 23, 2019 Type: Complaint Compliance: In Violations: None 'Surviving was a miracle': Iran's missile attack on Iraq base Ain al-Asad Air Base, Iraq, Jan 14 (AFP) Jan 14, 2020 Waves of ballistic missiles, soldiers hunkered down in bunkers for hours, intense shock waves -- a top US commander said he reacted to Iran's unprecedented attack against an Iraqi base with "disbelief". In an exclusive interview with AFP at the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq, Lt. Colonel Tim Garland said his superiors had given him "a couple hours of advance warning" last Tuesday night that an attack by Iran was coming. "My first reaction was shock, initial disbelief," he said, sceptical that Iran would be capable, and willing, to conduct a bold attack on Ain al-Asad. The airbase was targeted in retaliation for the US killing top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad on January 3. The base is one of the largest in Iraq, with 1,500 US troops making up the bulk of a coalition presence directly adjacent to thousands of Iraqi forces. Getting those forces to safety was an act of quick thinking and coordination across the army and air force commanders at Ain al-Asad, Garland said. By 11:00pm (2000 GMT), US and coalition forces had evacuated from their sleeping quarters and offices, and were hiding out either in fortified bunkers or dispersed across the base. They waited, tense, for over two hours. But not even their commander expected the strength of the blasts that came next. "When the first round came in, it was the loudest, most powerful noise I've ever heard," Garland told AFP. - Shockwave 'bowed door' - "There's something unnatural about the air. The way it moved, the way it heated up; the shock wave that came in and bowed the door in and bowed it back out," he said. Starting at 1:35am and for the next three hours, around five volleys of ballistic missiles slammed into the base at varying intervals. "I have not been that scared for a long time. It's been a while," said Garland, who has served multiple tours in Iraq. "We didn't know what it was going to look like -- if there was going to be a carpet bombing effect," he added. When the strikes quietened around 4:00am, commanders and soldiers emerged from their bunkers to fires burning across the base, more than a dozen impact sites but -- miraculously -- no casualties. Two soldiers who had been in guard towers were blown out of their positions but only suffered concussion, the commander said. "How they survived was a miracle of God," Garland remarked. He said the volleys that hit the base were timed in such a way as to trick soldiers into thinking the bombing was over. "It was just enough time to make you feel safe. It was my opinion that it was intended to inflict casualties," said Garland. Hossein Salami, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said on Sunday the missiles it fired in the early hours of Wednesday were not aimed at killing American personnel. By Monday, most of the impact sites had been cleared. A bulldozer was piling up the last of the twisted metal and debris from the last site, located by the base's airfield. A soldiers' living quarters had been totally pulverised and still smelt of charred metal. Soldiers who lived there told AFP they had lost all their personal belongings -- clothes, books, pictures of their families and mementos they had carried through more than a decade in the military. But given the intensity of the strikes, Garland said, they were lucky. "Theatre ballistic missile strikes. That's unprecedented," he said. Barron Trump was dressed to impress in an olive green bomber when he headed to Florida with his parents on Friday, and he seems to be taking style cues from this mother, Melania, who has worn a strikingly similar outfit. The 13-year-old, who now towers over his father, President Donald Trump, had on a $150 flight jacket from Alpha Industries over a black top and pants when he walked across the South Lawn of the White House and boarded Marine One with his family. Melania, 49, sported a similarly-colored bomber over an all-black outfit when she traveled to Texas with her husband in 2017 to survey the damage from Hurricane Harvey. Scroll down for video On the go: Barron Trump, 13, was seen leaving the White House with his father, President Donald Trump, and mother, first lady Melania Trump, on Friday afternoon Lookalikes: Barron wore a $150 green flight jacket from Alpha Industries over a black top and pants (right). His mom donned a nearly identical outfit when she visited Texas in 2017 (left) Added touch: Barron topped off his look with a pair of $80 black New Balance 574 sneakers Quick change: The trio descended the stairs from Air Force One in Florida, with Melania wearing a different ensemble Off they go: Barron, who chose not to change his outfit, followed his parents down onto the tarmac, while his mother battled the hem of her dress as it blew around in the wind While the first lady paired her outfit with heels, which were ridiculed at the time, he opted for $80 black New Balance 574 sneakers a brand he has worn time and time again. Barron's latest outfit undoubtedly resembled the one worn by his mom, but he also seems to be developing his own sense of style as he gets older. His bomber jacket came with a red zipper tag that said 'Remove Before Flight,' and it seems he did just that. The teen also wore a green jacket, khakis, and a gray pair of New Balance sneakers when he and his parents arrived back in Washington, D.C. earlier this month after their holiday celebrations at Mar-a-Lago. Growing boy: Barron towers over his parents, and he seems to be taking after his half-brother Eric Trump, who is also taller than their father at 6 feet, 4 inches Travel outfit: Melania looked ready for spring as she left D.C. in a $1,570 pink camel hair coat from Max Mara, but by the time she arrived in Florida, she was set for summer in a white dress First son: Melania smiled brightly while Barron gave a small wave during their walk Catching up: Trump chatted with Vice President Mike Pence as they exited the Oval Office ahead of their flight Gesture: Trump rested his hand on Melania's back right before she stepped on Marine One As the Trump family walked across the South Lawn on Friday, Barron trailed slightly behind his parents, who were holding hands, before catching up with them. Melania looked ready for spring in a $1,570 pink camel hair coat from Max Mara, which she paired with burgundy leather boots and a matching Hermes Birkin bag - however she changed her ensemble during the flight and looked much more summer appropriate by the time she arrived in Florida. The first lady was seen descending the stairs of Air Force One wearing a white short-sleeved dress with floral embroidery down the front; she paired the demure look with a pair of matching white heels. Trump, meanwhile, donned his signature navy suit and wool coat, though he opted for a blue tie on Friday instead of red. Fatherly love: Trump placed his hand on Barron's arm and let Melania step on the helicopter ahead of him Following: Barron was right behind his father when he stepped off Marine One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland Wait up: The first lady was a few steps behind her husband and son Next stop: Barron appears to have waited for his mother before following his dad Entourage: The Trump family was seen walking across the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews Plans: Trump is to attend a fundraiser for the Trump Victory Fund at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday evening At the age of 13, Barron is already taller than his father, though his impressive height should come as no surprise. His dad has previously said that he is 6 feet, 3 inches, while Barron's mother is 5 feet, 11 inches. Barron looked to be a few inches taller than both of his parents, even with Melania wearing high-heeled boots. The youngest Trump seems to be taking after his half-brother Eric Trump, who is also taller than their father at 6 feet, 4 inches. Melania was the first to board Marine One, and Trump had his hand on Barron's arm before he walked ahead of him and followed his wife up the stairs. The president gave a wave before stepping inside the helicopter, with his youngest son following close behind. Side by side: Barron walked next to his father as they boarded Air Force One together Saying goodbye: Trump couldn't resist waving to the crowd before stepping inside the aircraft His turn: Barron took a cue from this father and also waved goodbye Come on: Trump reached for his son before walking into the aircraft Say hello! Trump waved at the waiting crowds as they landed, while Barron chose to keep his eyes trained on the ground Family affair: Trump beamed happily as the trio walked down the stairs after landing After a short flight, they landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland where they were seen walking across the tarmac together. Barron followed close behind his father and boarded Air Force One with him. They both gave waves to the crowd before entering the aircraft. The president is spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago before the Senate impeachment trial begins next week. Shortly after his arrival in Palm Beach on Friday, he is to attend a fundraiser at his resort for the Trump Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee between his campaign and the Republican National Committee. The Ministry sent the mercy petition to the President on Thursday night, hours after it was received from Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal's office for review. New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sent the mercy petition of 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder case convict Mukesh Singh to President Ram Nath Kovind, the MHA said on Friday. The MHA got the petition after the Delhi government on Thursday rejected Mukesh's mercy plea and forwarded the file to Baijal's office. A Delhi court on Thursday had directed the Tihar Jail authorities to submit a report regarding the pendency of the mercy petition of Mukesh, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora asked the jail authorities to submit a report under Section 840 of the Delhi Prison Rules stating the action taken regarding the mercy petition of Mukesh and regarding the postponement of the date of execution. However, the judge refused to change the date of execution as of now. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had refused to interfere with the death warrant issued against the four convicts. Mukesh had moved the Patiala House Court, appraising the court regarding the pendency of the mercy petition before the President and seeking postponement of the execution date. Judge Arora had issued notice to Nirbhaya's parents and the state. The 23-year-old woman was brutally gang-raped and tortured on December 16, 2012, which later led to her death. All the six accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused was a minor and appeared before a juvenile justice court, while another accused committed suicide in Tihar Jail. The remaining four were convicted and sentenced to death by a trial court in September 2013, and the verdict was confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014 and upheld in May 2017 by the Supreme Court, which also dismissed their review petitions and curative petitions. rak/skp/ By Bernadette Christina JAKARTA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - SoftBank has offered to invest up to $40 billion in the new capital city Indonesia plans to build on Borneo island, a minister said on Friday, though the Japanese tech conglomerate said no figure had been suggested yet. Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced in August plans to move the administrative capital to East Kalimantan province, on Borneo, to relieve Jakarta from "a heavy burden" due to overcrowding and pollution. Indonesia has previously put the cost of moving the capital at $33 billion, but Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia's coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, said Softbank Group Corp had offered up to $40 billion. "So we'll negotiate over the structure (of the investment). It could amount to $30-40 billion," he told reporters. A spokeswoman for SoftBank said the group had not suggested specific numbers, echoing comments by CEO and founder Masayoshi Son last week. "We're not dicussing the specific numbers yet, but a new smart city, newest technology, clean city, with a lot of AI (artifical intelligence), that's what I'm interested in supporting, Son said during a visit to Jakarta last week. Pandjaitan said he would discuss the potential investment further with Son further on Monday at the World Economic Forum gathering in the Swiss resort of Davos and that President Joko Widodo will likely decide on the agreement in February. Widodo said on Thursday that a planned sovereign wealth fund to finance infrastructure projects in Southeast Asias biggest economy will raise at least $20 billion once established, though Pandjaitan said it was still under discussion whether investment would be channeled through the sovereign wealth fund. Widodo discussed plans to establish the fund with Abu Dhabis Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed al-Nahyan last weekend during an official visit to the United Arab Emirates. Sovereign wealth funds are typically used by countries to direct funds from resource wealth such as oil, though Indonesia also plans to invite foreign investment into its fund. To help attract investment, Indonesia has asked Abu Dhabis crown prince, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Softbank's Son to advise on plans to move the capital, ministers have said. Planning minister Suharso Monoarfa said this week that Softbank was interested in providing self-driving vehicles for the capital. In June, the self-driving car joint venture of SoftBank and Toyota Motor said it plans to begin operating in Southeast Asia this year. (Additional reporting by Fransiska Nangoy and Sam Nussey in Tokyo; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Ed Davies and Simon Cameron-Moore) LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Clarivate Analytics plc (CCC), a provider of trusted insights and analytics, announced Friday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Decision Resources Group or DRG, a provider of high-value data, analytics and insights products and services to the healthcare industry. The acquisition is for $950 million from Piramal Enterprises Limited, part of global business conglomerate Piramal Group. The company said the purchase price includes $900 million in cash and approximately $50 million in Clarivate ordinary shares to be issued following the one-year anniversary of closing. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Clarivate earnings in 2020. DRG specializes in enabling pharma, biotech and medical technology companies to achieve commercial success in complex health markets with the creation of effective patient-centric commercial strategies. The combined business will offer a one-stop shop for Life Sciences customers, helping them to improve the commercialization of life-changing therapies. Clarivate expects the acquisition to increase its total company revenue by 20 percent, deliver approximately $77 million in annual Adjusted EBITDA before the pursuit of any revenue synergies, and drive DRG's Adjusted EBITDA margins towards Clarivate's total company target of greater than 40 percent. Further, Clarivate reaffirmed its standalone 2020 financial outlook. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Prime Minister Hun Sen with family. Back row, from left to right: son-in-law Sok Puthyvuth; eldest son, Hun Manet; youngest daughter, Hun Maly; second son, Hun Manith; former governor of Phnom Penh, Pa Socheatvong. Front row from left to right: eldest daughter, Hun Mana; Hun Sen. Over the last two decades, the leading lights of the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) have been quietly amassing international property portfolios worth millions of dollars. The existence of this real estate network was until recently entirely undocumented and what has been reported so far has been described by one analyst as the tip of the iceberg. Over the coming year, Radio Free Asia will publish a series of articles documenting the opulent homes Cambodias ruling elite maintain outside of the Kingdom. These houses, it has been suggested, often serve as safe-deposit boxes and money laundering vehicles for ill-gotten gains, but also as potential safe havens should the current regime in Cambodia collapse. Politics, a lucrative pursuit The size of the countrys economy has increased almost eightfold since the end of the Khmer Rouge insurgency in 1997. However, the luxury apartments, homes and villas held overseas by top CPP officials and their family members are far beyond the means of ordinary Cambodians, 35% of whom still live in poverty. In 2009, Cambodian political scientists Kheang Un and Sokbunthoeun So painted an unflattering portrait of their countrys ruling class. They consider the countrys government institutions and natural resources as their personal domains to be used for garnering political support, maintaining patronage networks, and accumulating wealth, they wrote. The revelation that senior Cambodian civil servants and politicians have millions of dollars sunk in foreign bricks and mortar will be viewed by many as further proof of Kheang and Sokbunthoeuns assertion. Most official salaries in Cambodia amount to mere hundreds of dollars a month. However, it is one of Phnom Penhs most open of secrets that the true value of public offices lies in the rents, bribes and favors that can be extracted through them. The real estate uncovered by RFA and other outlets would appear to be indicative of just how lucrative high office can be. Family and well-wishers celebrate the 43rd wedding anniversary of Hun Sen and his wife Bun Rany in January 2018. Source: Hun Manys Facebook page Somewhere to retreat to Cambodia currently ranks 161st out of 180 countries in Transparency Internationals Corruption Perceptions Index. While corruption can be hugely profitable for office holders, it may also prove those officials downfall. In 2016, the CPP secretly commissioned an Israeli political consultancy to conduct public opinion surveys in Cambodia. Their findings were leaked to the press in 2017, revealing that corruption was a serious concern for an electorate which already favoured the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Five months after the publication of the secret polls, the Cambodian supreme court dissolved the CNRP. For powerful individuals in autocratic countries, owning overseas real estate is often about having somewhere to retreat to in case of regime change, according to Jason Sharman, a Cambridge University academic specialising in cross-border corruption. Sophal Ear of Occidental College in California believes that is what took place in the case of Cambodia. If anybody wants to hedge their bets then thats the insurance youve got to have. Youre going to have your [home] in Phnom Penh and then youre going to have all the excess capital, the bulk of it, hoarded away in Swiss bank accounts, Ear said. And then you might want to enjoy it a bit and buy the mansions. Most of those mansions as well as townhouses, apartments and ranches are located in stable democracies, such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. In choosing to park their wealth in western real estate markets, Cambodias ruling classes have participated in a global trend. A Cambodian family living in a shelter on a garbage dump in a Phnom Penh suburb in 2015. Credit: RFA Living it up in Moneyland Oliver Bulloughs 2018 book Moneyland documented the ways in which dirty money from corruption has become almost indistinguishably mixed with legitimate funds in the global economy one of the many ways in which it does so is through Western real estate. You see this in all kleptocracies, you steal at home and you bank abroad, Bullough told RFA. The possibility of somebody doing what youve done coming to power and stealing everything is something that youre going to be very aware of. Therefore, youre going to want to insure yourself against that. One of the great advantages to a kleptocrat of sequestering their riches in London or New York real estate is that the housing markets of Western metropolises are experiencing an ever-expanding bubble. Ironically, that bubble has been fueled in large part by kleptocrats using those cities penthouses as grandiose piggy banks. The well-heeled districts of Mayfair and Manhattan have become vehicles through which the worlds unjustly rich can not only launder but also double their dirty money. For Ear, who was born in Cambodia, the homes uncovered by RFA are essentially the proceeds of crime and ought to be returned to their rightful owners. What theyve earned are the returns on their investments, but the original investment was not theirs to make, said Ear. Hopefully, justice will be served and the folks who deserve those properties, the people of Cambodia, will be able to enjoy those ill-gotten assets. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Oil-to-telecom major Reliance Industries beat Street estimates in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2019. The company reported the highest-ever quarterly consolidated net profit of Rs 11,640 crore for Q3FY20 against a CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 11,333 crore. The company's net profit jumped 13.5 percent year-on-year (YoY) against Rs 10,251 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The numbers were up 3.36 percent sequentially as in the quarter ended September 30, 2019, the company's net profit was at Rs 11,262 crore. The third-quarter results for our energy business reflects the weak global economic environment and volatility in energy markets. Within our O2C chain, downstream petrochemicals profitability was impacted by weak margins across products with subdued demand in well-supplied markets. Refining segment performance improved in a difficult operating environment given our continuous focus on cost positions, high operating rates and product placement," said Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries. Here are top 10 takeaways from Reliance Industries' Q3 scorecard: Revenue climbs sequentially: For the December quarter, RIL achieved revenue of Rs 168,858 crore, a YoY decrease of 1.4 percent as compared to Rs 171,300 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company attributed the decrease in revenue to a 10.6 percent decline in O2C business revenues, with lower product price realization and a 6.6 percent fall in Brent crude price. This was partially offset by continuing growth momentum in consumer businesses. Petchem segment revenue softens: Consolidated revenue from the petchem segment slipped 19 percent YoY to Rs 36,909 crore in Q3FY20 against RS 45,619 crore reported in the same quarter of the previous financial year. Sequentially, the numbers were down 4.23 percent against Rs 38,538 crore reported in Q2FY20. The segment's EBITDA declined 24.43 percent YoY and 18.76 percent QoQ to Rs 7,252 crore. Refining segment's revenue up sequentially: Consolidated revenue from the refining segment slipped 7.18 percent YoY to Rs 1,03,718 crore in Q3FY20 against Rs 1,11,738 crore reported in the same quarter of the previous financial year. Sequentially, the numbers were up 6.67 percent against Rs 97,229 crore reported in Q2FY20. The segment's EBITDA climbed 11.64 percent YoY and 15.39 percent QoQ to Rs 6,530 crore. Organised retail remains up: With a YoY jump of 27.41 percent, the company's organised retail segment continued rising during December quarter, coming at Rs 45,327 crore against Rs 35,577 crore for Q3FY19 and Rs 41,202 crore for Q2FY20. The segment's EBITDA jumped 62.32 percent YoY and 17.44 percent QoQ to Rs 2,727 crore. Digital services revenue rises: The company's digital services revenue climbed 36.16 percent YoY to Rs 17,555 crore in Q3FY20, against Rs 12,893 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. On a sequential basis, the numbers were 6.18 percent up. The segment's EBITDA jumped 43.5 percent YoY and 9.56 percent QoQ to Rs 5,833 crore. The digital services segment includes the provision of a range of digital services in India and investment in the telecom infrastructure business. EPS improves: Basic earnings per share (EPS) for December quarter was Rs 18.4 as against Rs 17.3 in the corresponding period of the previous year. Outstanding debt increases slightly: The company's outstanding debt stood at 3,06,851 crore ($43.0 billion) compared to Rs 2,87,505 crore as on 31st March 2019. JV with BP: BP and RIL signed a definitive agreement relating to the formation of new Indian fuels and mobility joint venture. The venture is expected to be formed during the first half of 2020, subject to regulatory and other customary approvals. The venture expects to expand from RILs current fuel retailing network of over 1,400 retail sites and 30 aviation fuel stations across India to up to 5,500 retail sites and 45 aviation fuel stations over the next five years to become the most preferred provider of automotive and aviation fuels. The retail network will operate under the Jio-BP brand. Jio Platforms setup: RIL has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), for digital platform initiatives. RIL invested Rs 1,65,000 crore in the wholly-owned subsidiary through OCPS and Rs 4,961 crore in equity shares. The subsidiary has acquired RILs investment of Rs 64,450 crore in Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL). This New-age Digital Technology Platform entity is proposed for holding all digital platforms including RJIL, the digital connectivity platform. This will enable access to world-class technology platforms across healthcare, education and agriculture. Framework Agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC): ADNOC signed a Framework Agreement with RIL to explore the development of an Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) facility in Ruwais. As per the terms of the agreement, ADNOC and RIL will evaluate the potential creation of a facility that manufactures EDC adjacent to ADNOCs integrated refining and petrochemical site in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi and strengthen the companies existing relationship supporting future collaboration in petrochemicals. ADNOC would supply ethylene to the potential joint venture and provide access to world-class infrastructure at Ruwais, while RIL will deliver operational expertise and entry to the large and growing Indian vinyls market, in which it is a key participant. (Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust, which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd) HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / Camber Energy, Inc. (NYSE American:CEI) ("Camber" or the "Company") today announced that it had scheduled its 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on March 11, 2020 at 10:00 A.M. local time at 1415 Louisiana, Suite 3500, Houston, Texas 77002. The record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, and any adjournment thereof, is planned to be set on or around the close of business on January 28, 2020 (the "Record Date"). More information regarding the Company's 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be disclosed in the Company's preliminary proxy statement which the Company plans to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission shortly. To be timely, pursuant to the Company's Bylaws, as amended, and Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, any notice of business or nominations with respect to the 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders must be received by the Company at its principal executive offices at 1415 Louisiana, Suite 3500, Houston, Texas 77002, Attention: Corporate Secretary by no later than 5:00 p.m., Central Time, on January 27, 2020. Any such stockholder proposal must be submitted and must comply with the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Company's Bylaws, as amended. Additional Information and Where to Find It As noted above, in connection with the Annual Meeting, the Company will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") a proxy statement and other relevant documents. It is anticipated that a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials ("Notice") relating to the Annual Meeting will be sent to each stockholder registered in the share register of the Company as of the close of business on the Record Date (provided the Company may alternatively, in its discretion, send each stockholder a form of the proxy and the Company's latest annual report). Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the Internet or request a printed set of proxy materials will be provided in the Notice. The Notice (or proxy, if the proxy is mailed) also will provide instructions on how to submit a proxy over the Internet or via mail. This press release does not constitute a solicitation of any vote or approval. Stockholders are urged to read the proxy statement when it becomes available and any other documents to be filed with the SEC in connection with the Annual Meeting because they will contain important information about the Annual Meeting. The directors, nominees for election as director, executive officers and certain other members of management and employees of the Company may be deemed "participants" in the solicitation of proxies from the Company's stockholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the Annual Meeting. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be considered participants in the solicitation of the Company's stockholders in connection with such matters will be set forth in the definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC. In addition, you can find information about the Company's executive officers and directors in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2019 and the aforementioned proxy statement. Investors will be able to obtain a free copy of documents filed with the SEC at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors may obtain a free copy of the Company's filings with the SEC through the investor relations section of our website (http://www.camber.energy), under "Investors" - "SEC Filings" or by directing a request to: 1415 Louisiana, Suite 3500, Houston, Texas 77002, Attention: Corporate Secretary. About Camber Energy, Inc. Based in Houston, Texas, Camber Energy's (NYSE American:CEI) is a growth-oriented, independent oil and gas company engaged in the development of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids in the Texas Panhandle. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.camber.energy. SOURCE: Camber Energy, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573472/Camber-Energy-Inc-Sets-Date-For-2020-Annual-Meeting-of-Stockholders The outbreak of nature is increasing all over the world. As a result, relief camps have been opened in Fiji due to the warning of the storm so that people can be shifted here. Please tell that on Friday, strong winds have been warned here. Please tell that for the last three weeks, due to the storm here, the life of the people has been disturbed. Police said that due to this relief camps have been made. let us tell you that the Meteorological Department has expressed the possibility of a cyclone Tino on Friday. In the midst of all this, two people went missing on Thursday after trying to cross a river. Apart from this, the locals here are preparing to shift to Shelters, while the tourists from outside are leaving their resort and reaching the capital Suva till the air services start again. According to the Meteorological Department on this matter, Tino is becoming more dangerous due to the operation of Fiji's second largest island, Vanua Levu. The department has predicted strong winds, heavy rains, coastal flooding and flooding in low-lying areas at a speed of 130 kmph. People are now preparing to shift to relief camps. Nischal Prasad told the news agency AFP that he will soon shift to the relief camp with his family, just waiting for the storm to stop. Apart from this, he further said that I had lost my house in Sarai cyclone that came in December and my family is almost homeless. It was a very dangerous experience for me. A tourist Inna Kostromina told that she had left her resort and shifted to the capital Suva due to warning of heavy storm. I think we are much safer here. Police said that a man and his daughter, about 10 years old, were swimming and trying to cross the river, but they got trapped in the high currents of the flood. Also Read: We are not ready for peace with India without resolving Kashmir issue in just manner: Pakistans FM Donald Trump's warns Iraq, 'If America goes out then it will be ruined' Land Slide caused devastation in PoK, 152 died so far Syed Akbaruddin makes big statement, says, "China in a closed room on the issue of Kashmir" UPP Group Holdings Limited (UPP), the UK's leading provider of on-campus residential and academic accommodation infrastructure, and its Parent Company UPP REIT Holdings Limited, today announces the appointment of Elaine Hewitt as its new Chief Executive Officer. A Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Elaine joins UPP from NHS Property Services Ltd where she has been Chief Executive Officer since 2015 and was responsible for managing and servicing a 3bn asset portfolio, some 4,000 properties, 5,000 employees and an annual income of more than 700m. NHS Property Services has raised over 300m in the past three years alone through real estate disposals which has been reinvested in upgrading the NHS estate. Prior to this, Elaine held the position of Group Property Director at BT Group PLC where she managed the largest corporate portfolio in the UK, delivering services to 7,000 properties globally. As well as having considerable private sector experience, Elaine has also held public sector roles, notably Crown Representative in the Cabinet Office for Property and Facilities Management across Government. Elaine will join the Business on 1 April 2020, succeeding current CEO Richard Bienfait, who announced in September 2019 that he would be leaving the Company at the end of January 2020. Richard is departing UPP to take up the role of Chief Financial Officer at Mace, the international construction and consulting company. Robert McClatchey, Chairman of UPP Group Holdings Limited, said: "Elaine's appointment as Chief Executive Officer comes at an important moment for the Company and the wider student accommodation sector. In an increasingly competitive market where affordability and quality are high on the agenda, not just for students but also for regulators of higher education, her considerable experience and expertise in delivering facilities and property services will reinforce UPP's position as the leading on-campus accommodation provider. I look forward to working with Elaine to continue to drive UPP's long-standing and successful strategic focus on the delivery of controlled, value-accretive growth." Elaine Hewitt said: "I am delighted to be joining UPP at such an interesting time in the evolution of the UK higher education sector which, like the NHS, forms a vital part of the national fabric and economy. I am looking forward to building on the achievements and successes of my predecessors, working with members of its talented team and delivering on UPP's strategic commitments to operational excellence, long-term partnerships and generating value for reinvestment in the future growth of the Business." UPP has over 36,000 rooms in operation or under construction through long-term, bespoke partnerships with 15 world-leading universities. In 2019, it successfully reached financial close on a 139.7m deal with existing long-term partner the University of Exeter to design, build, fund and operate 1,182 high-quality bedrooms on the University's East Park campus. The year also saw UPP reaching financial close on a deal worth 43m with St Modwen Developments, Swansea University and Swan Global LLP, for the acquisition of the freehold of 411 rooms at Bay Campus in Swansea. UPP is majority-owned by PGGM VERMOGENSBEHEER B.V. (PGGM). PGGM provides services in the field of pension management, integral asset management and executive advice to pension funds and has a long-term hold position with respect to UPP. The Company currently manages pension assets worth 215bn for different pension funds and is administrating pensions of 4.2m participants in the health and social sector of the Netherlands. ENDS View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005040/en/ Contacts: Lodestone Communications: Harry Padfield +44 (0) 7896140920 h.p@lodestonecommunications.com A picture taken on January 13, 2020 at the Ain al-Asad military airbase, one of two bases hit by Iranian strikes on January 8. Photo: AYMAN HENNA/AFP via Getty Images Though President Trump and the Pentagon initially stated that there were no casualties in the Iranian strike on U.S. forces in Iraq on January 8, The Atlantics Defense One reports that 11 American troops were wounded in the retaliatory missile attack. According to military and Defense officials who spoke with the site, the soldiers were medically evacuated this week to military hospitals in Kuwait and Germany to be treated for traumatic brain injury and for continued monitoring. Out of an abundance of caution, some service members were transported from Al Asad Air Base, Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, others were sent to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, for follow-on screening, Colonel. Myles Caggins, a Combined Joint Task Force spokesman, said on Thursday. An unidentified senior Defense official added that the transported service members were still experiencing some symptoms of concussion over a week after the strike still well within the time-frame of post-concussion syndrome. Shortly after the strike on two bases in Iraq, which served as retaliation for Trumps extrajudicial order to kill Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, the New York Times reported that service members at the two bases hit were warned in advance that missiles were en route, allowing them to fall back to concrete shelters. Still, one member of an Army drone team told NPR that he was knocked to the ground by the blast. In part because of the no-casualty count, President Trump effectively declared victory after Irans volley of strikes, allowing for the swift de-escalation of the conflict. Hopefully for all parties involved but especially for Iraqis expected to bear the brunt of a U.S.-Iranian proxy war the injury report will not change the presidents opinion. Meanwhile, military operations in the region are returning to their normal, forever-war state: On Wednesday, the U.S. military resumed joint operations with Iraq, less than two weeks after the government in Baghdad voted to expel all U.S. forces from the country. India need not seek solace in China's economic growth slowing to a three-decade low of 6.1 per cent despite impacted by trade war with the US as it is still growing at a faster pace, said experts. China's economy grew by 6.1 per cent last year, the lowest growth rate in 29 years, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday, as weak domestic demand and the bruising 18-month-long trade war with the US took toll on the world's second-largest economic giant. India's GDP, which had been growing at a faster pace than China till recently, is estimated to expand by 5 per cent during the year ending March 2020, the slowest in 11 years. A UN report on Friday said continued structural reforms are necessary to boost growth in India. According to it, the combination of fiscal stimulus and financial sector reforms, boosting investment and consumption, is expected to support a recovery in the economic growth. "We should not seek solace in the slowdown in Chinese economic growth, given the domestic constraints as well as low visibility of a pickup in the investment cycle," said Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist, ICRA. While releasing a UN study, Nagesh Kumar, Head, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, said fundamentals of the Indian economy are as strong as ever, and the growth should start picking up in the coming years, said. Rohit Azad, assistant professor of economics at JNU, said China is affected because of the global slowdown as a large source of its growth was the global market. "India on the other hand is more affected by domestic factors like stagnant rural incomes and economically unreasonable shocks like GST and demonetisation," he added. Eminent economist and former union minister Y K Alagh said China is a middle income country and at its level of per capita income 6 per cent plus is high growth. "India's lower growth performance this year was on account of fall in Investment share in GDP, first public, then also private. "But this is reversing in this quarter with the stimulus after the July budget last year taking effect," he said, and added the current quarter performance of the manufacturing sector is encouraging. All eyes are on now Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman, who is scheduled to present the Union Budget 2020-21 on February 1. Industry and other stakeholders are expecting the government would announcing big ticket reforms as well as investment boosters to prop up the slowing economy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An 11-year-old girl has been left with second-degree burns after she 'used a candle to take part in a fire challenge'. The child, who has not been named, from Pinellas County, Florida, gutted her home during the deadly dare. The blaze started in her bedroom and three other people were in the house when it set alight two weeks ago, but they made it out unscathed. Scroll for video The child, who has not been named, from Pinellas County, Florida, gutted her home (left and right) during the deadly dare The girl's sister Monessia Rhoden said on a fundraising page: 'Sadly, my 11-year-old little sister was severely burned in the fire trying to extinguish it, and is now In Tampa General hospital burn unit. 'Luckily, no one else was hurt, but my sister is facing a long, painful road to recovery.' Her mother added her daughter had second-degree burns on her hands, stomach, thighs and chest, underwent surgery but was released from hospital on Wednesday. The fire challenge sees people film themselves dousing their bodies in accelerant and lighting it. Cops probing the blaze think it started when she took part in the dangerous social media task. St Petersburg Fire Rescue Deputy Fire Marshall, Lt Steven Lawrence told Fox 13: 'Common sense says don't pour a flammable liquid on yourself and then ignite it. 'What it's gonna do is it's gonna heat up your skin and eventually the alcohol is gonna burn off.' He added: 'But it's also gonna destroy your skin tissue and the areas around that, it's gonna start to heat up and basically you're gonna melt your own skin and cook your own skin.' Youngsters are challenged to pour liquid on themselves and set themselves on fire in the insane 'craze'. It has resulted in people requiring surgery and life-support treatment. In August 2018, a 12-year-old girl from Detroit burned 49 per cent of her body in the bizarre trend. Timiyah Landers performed the challenge in front of two friends at her home in Detroit, Michigan, after her mother had made them pancakes. Tamiyah Landers, 12, was in hospital with burns to half of her body after setting herself on fire in 2018 as part of the 'Fire Challenge' The counter top where Tamiyah set herself on fire in 2018 is shown (left) and her phone (right). She is thought to have used a cherry scented Bath and Body Works spray to douse herself Within minutes of her mother leaving the girls alone, there was a 'loud explosion' and Timiyah became engulfed in flames. Her stepfather put her in the bath and immediately began spraying water on her body while her mother tore off her burning clothes. Timiyah was put on a ventilator in intensive care and bandaged from head to her knees. President Trump has a new target for his Twitter ire Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei on Friday morning called Trump a "clown" who is only pretending to support Iran's people, and criticized the Trump-authorized killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In Khamenei's first time leading Friday prayers at the Mosella mosque in Tehran since 2012, he said Iran's retaliatory missile strikes were a "slap on the face" to the U.S. that demonstrated Iran's "power." Trump responded with a tweet on Friday evening, adding the zinger that Khamenei had "not been so Supreme lately." The so-called Supreme Leader of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020 Aside from the schoolyard taunt, Trump threw in a vague threat, noting Khamenei "should be very careful with his words!" That will surely calm the simmering tensions between the two nations. More stories from theweek.com Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel dissect Trump's impeachment defense, 'all-star defense team' The strongest case for Joe Biden Boeing goes from bad to worse GOODRICH, MI A Goodrich woman is set to make her second appearance on ABCs version of the reality singing competition American Idol In a YouTube video posted Thursday evening, 21-year-old Genavieve Linkowski announced she was contacted to audition for the show whose new season is set to begin airing Feb. 16. She previously appeared on the show in 2018, wowing the judges and receiving a golden ticket to Hollywood for her rendition of Jason Mrazs song I Wont Give Up. Goodrich teen to be featured during Hollywood week on American Idol Its not something I knew I would do again, but one day I got a call and I prayed over it, said Linkowski in the video. I thought about it. I talked to my parents. I talked to a lot of people. I kind of just came to the conclusion that this is just another opportunity for Gods light to shine, for my sisters light to shine, and for me to just share my story, she added. If I get to do that, Im all in. If I get to point others to Jesus, then that is what Im all about. Corinn Linkowski, Genavieves sister, died Feb. 17 following a head-on crash four days earlier at M-15 and Coolidge Road in Atlas Township. She and her sister performed together on their Haven Avenue YouTube channel and were being considered as a duet for the NBC reality show Americas Got Talent, a discussion the family was having the night before the accident. Wherever they could do it together, thats what they wanted to do, Craig Linkowski, the girls father, previously told MLive-The Flint Journal. Genavieve always wanted Corinn there. Goodrich teen who died after head-on crash remembered as kind, caring Genavieve Linkowski has continued to perform around the country including the National Anthem at Detroit Lions games in September 2018 and December 2019. Its seriously such a high honor that they trust me to sing one of the hardest songs to 65,000 fans, she previously said. Other performances have included the National Anthem at Jimmy Johns Field in Utica, a Michigan regional softball tournament in summer 2019, and twice for Market America. Im really, really excited to see where this takes me, said Genavieve Linkowski of the new shot on American Idol. She mentioned there is talk of a possible album in the future, but no specific details were immediately available. Former American Idol contestant from Michigan shines during National Anthem performance at Lions game Viral video helps land Goodrich teen on American Idol reboot Mumbai serial blasts convict, who went missing while on parole, was on Friday arrested in Kanpur by the Uttar Pradesh special task force, state DGP O P Singh said. Ansari, 68, convicted for the 1993 blasts, went missing on Thursday while on a 21-day parole from Rajasthan's Ajmer Central Prison. A missing person's report was lodged at Agripada police station in Mumbai. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONTINUES PROGRESS TOWARD REPOSITIONING COMPANY MIAMI, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Cansortium Inc. (CSE:TIUM.U) (OTCQB: CNTMF) ("Cansortium" or the "Company") today announced that the Company has amended the terms of its existing $12.9 million Promissory Note due December 1, 2020 (the "Amended Note") and simultaneously satisfied its other obligations due to the lender under the Amended Note's original terms. The Amended Note has no amortization, does not begin paying cash interest until April 1, 2020, matures on December 1, 2022 and is exchangeable into common shares at any time at a price of $0.60 per share. Over $12.0 million of other contingent liabilities have also been restructured using shares previously returned by the founders, significantly reducing the Company's liabilities without dilution to existing shareholders. Neal Hochberg, Chairman of the Board and of the Special Committee, emphasized, "The completion of this first phase of the financial restructuring is a major milestone for the Company. It extends approximately $12.9 million of near-term debt while reducing amortization, significantly improving available cash flow to fund growth. Additionally, the use of a portion of the founders' shares to reduce over $12.0 million of additional liabilities also significantly improves the balance sheet and the Company's working capital position. "The Company is also in active discussions with multiple capital providers and strategic operating partners. Cansortium's primary growth focus is Florida, where we currently have 18 operating dispensaries, with plans to continue to open new locations. The Company also has assets in Michigan, Texas and Pennsylvania. Growth in these markets will include strategic investment from operating and capital partners. Additionally, the Company recently announced agreements to sell non-core assets in Canada and Puerto Rico, subject to customary regulatory and other required approvals." Mr. Hochberg concluded, "The Company is now better positioned to pursue its growth opportunities. As previously announced, we have also undertaken significant cost adjustments and best practice initiatives which have materially improved the Company's cost structure and productivity. This progress over the past several months has completed Phase One of the Operational and Financing Restructuring of Cansortium initiated by the Special Committee of the Board of Directors in October, 2019. It allows the Special Committee to move to Phase Two of the restructuring plan as part of its ongoing commitment to create value for all Cansortium stakeholders." About Cansortium Inc. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, and operating under the Fluent brand, Cansortium is focused on being the highest quality cannabis company in the State of Florida driven by unrelenting commitment to operational excellence from seed to sale. Cansortium has developed strong proficiencies in each of cultivation, processing, retail, and distribution activities, the result of successfully operating in the highly regulated cannabis industry. In addition to Florida, Cansortium is seeking to create significant shareholder value in the attractive markets of Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where the Company has secured licenses and established operations. Cansortium Inc.'s common shares and warrants trade on the CSE under the symbol "TIUM.U" and "TIUM.WT.U", respectively, and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol (OTCQB: CNTMF). Investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com. Forward-Looking Information Certain information in this news release, may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "an opportunity exists", "is positioned", "estimates", "intends", "assumes", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in the public documents of the Company available at www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. SOURCE Cansortium Inc Related Links www.cansortium.com WASHINGTON The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang says she was sexually assaulted by an obstetrician while she was pregnant with the couples first child. Evelyn Yang said in an interview televised Thursday by CNN that the assault happened in 2012 and that she was initially afraid to tell anyone. She and 31 other women are now suing the doctor and the hospital system, saying they conspired and enabled the crimes. Yang said she was encouraged to speak out after seeing the positive reception she and her husband had been getting on the campaign trail by being open about their sons autism. Something about being on the trail and meeting people and seeing the difference that weve been making already has moved me to share my own story about it, about sexual assault, she told CNN. Yang said she first began seeing Dr. Robert Hadden in New York in early 2012. As the months went on, Yang said, Hadden began asking her inappropriate questions about her sexual activity and spent more time conducting examinations. When she was seven months pregnant, Yang said, she believed her appointment was done and she was getting ready to leave when the doctor told her abruptly that he thought she might need a cesarean section. She said Hadden pulled her to him and undressed her, then used his fingers to examine her internally. I knew it was wrong. I knew I was being assaulted, she said. But Yang said she just kind of froze and didnt react. I remember trying to fix my eyes on a spot on the wall and just trying to avoid seeing his face as he was assaulting me, just waiting for it to be over, she told CNN. After the doctor left the room, she left the practice and didnt return. Haddens lawyer has denied Yangs allegations in legal filings. His attorney declined a request to be interviewed by CNN. Yang said she initially didnt tell anyone what had happened to her. She said she blamed herself, thinking she must have done something to invite this kind of behavior. Months later, after the couples son was born, Yang got a letter in the mail saying Hadden had left the practice. Curious, she looked him up online and saw that another woman had made a police report accusing him of assaulting her. She said she realized then that she wasnt to blame for his actions. This was a serial predator, and he just picked me as his prey, she told CNN. She said only then was she able to reveal the abuse to her husband. In a statement Thursday, Andrew Yang said he was proud of his wife and no one deserves to be treated as she was. When victims of abuse come forward, they deserve our belief, support, and protection, Yang said. I hope that Evelyns story gives strength to those who have suffered and sends a clear message that our institutions must do more to protect and respond to women. He later tweeted, I love my wife very very much. Evelyn Yang said several women came forward with similar stories about Hadden, and she learned the Manhattan district attorneys office had an open case against him. In 2016, she said, the DAs office agreed to a deal with Hadden in which he pleaded guilty to one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual assault. He also lost his medical license and had to register as the lowest level of sex offender. Yang said she felt betrayed by the plea deal, which allowed the doctor to avoid jail. The counts he pleaded to didnt involve her case, she said. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement to CNN, Because a conviction is never a guaranteed outcome in a criminal trial, our primary concern was holding him accountable and making sure he could never do this again which is why we insisted on a felony conviction and permanent surrender of his medical license. Yang and 31 other women are now suing Columbia University, where Hadden worked, along with its affiliates and the doctor itself, saying they actively concealed, conspired, and enabled Haddens crimes, according to CNN. The lawsuit claims that medical assistants who worked with the doctor knew of the abuse but didnt intervene because of a power imbalance and lack of training, CNN said. Hadden has denied the additional allegations in court papers, CNN reported. Columbia University and the hospital system are fighting the lawsuit on procedural grounds, according to CNN. A university spokeswoman told CNN in response to a detailed list of questions that the accusations are abhorrent and they deeply apologize to those whose trust was violated. ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. PRP for Hair Loss Bay Area PRP therapy for hair loss is an innovative option for many Bay Area patients. SHVI PRP Therapy, the leader in innovative hair loss treatments based on PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) at https://svhi-prp.com/, is proud to announce a new website. The new website is a "microsite," focused specifically at the use of PRP to mitigate hair loss. Many Bay Area consumers are open to cutting edge technologies, and PRP is one option in their hair loss journey. "PRP therapy for hair loss is an innovative option for many Bay Area patients," explained Miguel Canales, surgeon and founder of SVHI PRP therapy. "Even more important, a patient who seeks out a consultation with me on hair loss will be able to review the entire range of options from PRP therapy to hair loss to hair transplantation. I will work with each patient to create the best treatment program for their hair loss needs." Persons who would like to learn more about the company can visit the new website. In particular, they can focus on the page specific to PRP therapy can visit https://svhi-prp.com/prp-therapy/. Another option is to read the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document at https://svhi-prp.com/faq/. That document explains as follows. Hair thinning in women, which affects nearly 40 million American women, is mainly due to heredity and can start any time after puberty. However, we also know that female pattern hair loss can be strongly influenced by age, nutrition, stress, surgery, medications, illness, social/lifestyle factors, hair care and more. As hair follicles weaken and stop producing hair, hair loss occurs. Remarkably, PRP for hair loss can impact the hair itself, often resulting in hair rejuvenation. PRP or Platelet Rich Plasma for hair loss is an in-office, non-surgical, treatment derived from the patients own blood that can be performed in about an hour. After the area of concern is identified, evaluated and measured, standardized medical photos are taken in the photo suite. Special gentle and sterile techniques and equipment are used to separate and concentrate the platelets and plasma from a small sample of peripheral blood. PRP contains growth factors and cytokines that have been shown to be responsible for stimulating and enhancing hair follicle function. The scalp is prepared with antiseptic solution and anesthetic (a ring block, not simply local anesthetic gel) is used to completely numb the scalp. Small injections of the PRP deliver the powerful platelet-derived growth factors into the skin at the level of the weak follicles. Electronic, mechanical microneedling is performed. ABOUT SVHI PRP THERAPY SVHI PRP Therapy is a Bay Area company based in Foster City, California, that offers PRP for hair loss to clients from San Francisco to San Mateo, Palo Alto to Redwood City, Redwood City to Burlingame and beyond. Clients who are suffering from hair loss and are seeking innovative therapy come to SVHI PRP Therapy to explore their options, including PRP therapy for hair loss. The company offers a no obligation consultation on hair loss with Dr. Miguel Canales, a recognized specialist in the hair loss industry including hair transplantation. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama called on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here at his official residence, and held a prayer ceremony for peace and well-being of one and all, official sources said. Kumar accorded a warm welcome to the exiled Buddhist monk, and presented him with a bouquet and 'angavastram', following which they posed for pictures, they said. The Dalai Lama thereafter offered prayers before a Bodhi tree at the chief minister's 1, Anney Marg bungalow - along with other Buddhist priests, making affirmations for all-round peace and prosperity. Several dignitaries like Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary, legislative council officiating chairman Haroon Rashid and state minister Ashok Choudhary were also present on the occasion. As a parting gift, the chief minister presented the monk with an idol of Lord Buddha. The Dalai Lama visits Bihar every year during December-January as part of an annual retreat during which he offers public discourses at Bodh Gaya - where the Buddha had attained enlightenment more than 2000 years ago - and also conducts the "Kalachakra" tantric initiation ceremony. Last week, the chief minister had called on the Dalai Lama at the Tibetan temple in Bodh Gaya, and apprised him of his government's 'Jal Jeevan Hariyali' campaign. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. 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 Thailand detected its second case of a mysterious SARS-linked virus in a visitor from China, health officials said Friday, as authorities ramp up airport screenings ahead of an expected surge in arrivals for Chinese New Year. The 74-year-old Chinese woman is being treated at hospital after presenting with symptoms at Thailand's biggest airport Suvarnabhumi on January 13, according to the health ministry. She was diagnosed with pneumonia linked to the new coronavirus, which has stirred alarm after killing two in China and hospitalising dozens. It has also been detected in Japan. "People don't have to panic as there is no spread of the virus in Thailand," the ministry said in its statement. The woman, whose condition is improving, arrived from the central Chinese city of Wuhan -- believed to be at the epicentre of the outbreak. It came after Thai doctors diagnosed another Chinese traveller with mild pneumonia on January 8, later confirmed to have been caused by the new virus. The World Health Organisation has said "much remains to be understood" about the coronavirus from the same family as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which claimed hundreds of lives more than a decade ago. During the upcoming holiday period, more than 1,300 passengers are expected to arrive in Thailand daily from Wuhan alone. Chinese poets pose for a photo at the Lion Rock in Sri Lanka. (Photo/People's Daily Online) Nine Chinese poets arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Jan. 4 for an exchange activity, which saw them visiting the countrys world cultural heritage sites. On Jan. 9, they attended a seminar in Calcutta, India, and exchanged views with their Indian counterparts. The activity, named Long March of Chinese Poetry, was launched in 2013. It has been held in more than 10 countries including South Africa, the UK, France, Romania, Fiji, Vietnam, Laos, and Zimbabwe. As a cultural exchange activity under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, the activity is expected to be held in 100 countries to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between poets of different countries. (Adds details, quote from labor minister) By Marco Aquino SANTIAGO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Perus labor watchdog has found McDonald's Corps Latin America franchisee Arcos Dorados guilty of six "very serious" violations of local safety and health laws following the deaths of two employees in a restaurant kitchen. The Labor Ministry's regulating body (Sunafil) proposed that the company be fined $254,000 over the deaths. Arcos Dorados, which operates all 29 McDonald's restaurants in Peru, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Alexandra Porras, 18, and Carlos Campo, 19 were electrocuted earlier this month in Lima, while cleaning the kitchen. Protesters have taken to the streets carrying posters bearing the victims' photos and slogans reading: "Justice for Alexa and Gabriel." They were a couple who had been working for the fast-food chain for several months, according to their families. The government has improved business health and safety regulations in response to the case, Labor Minister Sylvia Caceres told a news conference Thursday. The current system of one inspection of companies per year is being replaced by as many spot inspections as necessary, she said. "We have to discourage companies that violate labor standards," Caceres said, adding that further measures were under consideration. Arcos Dorados, which operates McDonald's restaurants throughout South America and the Caribbean, said last week that McDonald's stores in Peru would remain closed until it finished its own investigation into what happened. (Reporting by Marco Aquino Writing by Aislinn Laing Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Leslie Adler) NEW DELHI: While efforts are on to rehabilitate thousands of Kashmiri Pandits, who were forced to flee Jammu and Kashmir during the nineties, countless stories and chilling accounts of the horrors they faced at the hands of Muslim fanatics in the erstwhile state keeping shaking our conscience. Human rights activist and columnist Sunanda Vashisht had once testified before a US Congressional panel about the atrocities faced by the Kashmiri Hindus during the 1990s. Vashisht, a member of the minority Hindu community from Kashmir, claimed that she was herself a victim of the worst ethnic cleansing witnessed in independent India. She then narrated the heart-wrenching details about a young engineer named BK Ganjoo, who was was brutally murdered and how his wife was forced to eat rice soaked in his blood. The young man had concealed himself in a rice container in his attic when the terrorists came looking for him. The terrorists shot him through the container and forced his wife to eat the blood-soaked rice, she told the US panel. On January 19, 1990, Kashmiri pandits had to flee their homes in the face of threats and violence that they were being subjected to by the Muslim fanatics. Live TV As per the recorded accounts of the Kashmiri pandits who left Jammu and Kashmir, the Islamists had a very specific message for the Sikhs and Hindus. A message which said, "Ralive, Tsaliv ya Galive (either convert to Islam, leave the land, or die)." While there is no official count of the Kashmiri Pandits who fled the land during the 1990s, according to different estimates, 5 to 7 lakh Kashmiri Pandits left their homes. The displaced Kashmiri Pandits were left with no choice than to leave their homes and move to other parts of India, particularly to the refugee camps in Jammu region of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. As per a documentary produced by Creative Hindu Alliance and Mohan Wanchoo, testimonies of Kashmiri Pandits who left Kashmir and are now settled in America talk about the horrors they faced in Jammu and Kashmir during that phase. One among them, Aditya Bakaya, spoke to Zee News about how terrorists shed blood under the guise of demonstrations by Muslim women and stones were handed to small children as young as 6-7 years. People like Virender Haque, Neerja Sadhu, Shashi Tikoo Ganju, and Neerja Haku are some Kashmiri Pandits who have seen this phase very closely and have suffered the pain of leaving their homes and city. It was revealed that in 1990, preparations were made to make Kashmir slaughter of Hindus. Pakistan TV channels were played in Kashmir at those times. These channels use to run propaganda against Hindus. Now, these Pakistani channels are completely banned in Kashmir. The above claims have been made by Kashmiris, who used to live in the region in the 1990s and are recounting the atrocities they saw or faced to Zee News' popular show DNA. However, Zee News does not claim these to be facts. Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, has met with Poland's Ambassador to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki. Poland stated that it was ready to assist with the investigation of the Boeing 737 crash in Tehran. This was reported by the press service of NSDC. "We are neighbors, we have a common history, and we must cooperate to make our countries strong and powerful," Oleksiy Danilov said. The parties also discussed the preparations for the visit of the head of Polish National Security Bureau, Pavel Solokha, which is scheduled for the end of January. As we reported earlier, 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 of 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. PROGRESSIVES CLAIM THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AS THEIR OWN & PLAYOFF VICTORY AGAINST THE TITANS WILL ALSO BE A WIN AGAINST PREZ TRUMP!!! Credit Where It's Due: Clarie McCaskill Successfully Started New Career As Commentator This is Claire McCaskill's No. 1 piece of advice for career re-launchers Women who want to reinvent their career at midlife (or beyond!) have so much to offer. Yet oftentimes, they get in their own way. "Don't go at it with the attitude that 'I'm not sure I can pull this off,'" former Missouri senator said on Wednesday's "Morning Joe" when asked her best advice for women over 50 who are looking to restart their career. Inside The Impeachment McCaskill explains the importance of the Senate floor's 'ghostwriter' As the Senate accepts the articles of impeachment, former Senator Claire McCaskill explains the role Elizabeth McDonough, the first woman parliamentarian of the Senate. McCaskill Talks Ukraine MSNBC TORCHES CNN, Dems for Not Making Debate About Lev Parnas, Ukraine News Late Tuesday, MSNBC made sure to express their anger and disappointment with not only CNN, the Des Moines Register, and the moderators, but all six 2020 Democratic presidential candidates for skipping over newly-released impeached documents from Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas and refusing to make it the focus of the debate. Branding Prez Trump McCaskill: Trump Will Be Known as a President That Was Impeached for the Rest of His Career | Breitbart Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) asserted Wednesday during MSNBC's live coverage of the House vote to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate that President Donald Trump "hates" that he will be known as a president that was impeached "for the rest of his career." | Clips Apropos for #TBT and shared by one of our. . . The Missouri power player adorns herself with a flashy and sharp Chiefs pin as she presents the case against Prez Trump.As we noted previously, given. . .Meanwhile the competition inside the beltway is getting tense during this election year. Here's a rundown and a glimpse of recent commentary related to the former Missouri politico and now Missouri pundit who continues her reign as a power player.Check the links from "many sides" of the debate:You decide . . . Bhasan Char is ready for habitation, everything has been put in place, Bangladesh refugee, relief and repatriation commissioner Mahbub Alam Talukder said Dhaka: A Bangladeshi island regularly submerged by monsoon rains is ready to house 100,000 Rohingya refugees, but no date has been announced to relocate people from the crowded and squalid camps where they have lived for years, officials said on Thursday. Flood protection embankments, houses, hospitals, and mosques have been built on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, officials said. Bhasan Char is ready for habitation. Everything has been put in place, Bangladesh refugee, relief and repatriation commissioner Mahbub Alam Talukder told The Associated Press. The island is built to accommodate 100,000 people, just a fraction of the million Rohingya Muslims who have fled waves of violent persecution in their native Myanmar. About 700,000 people came after August 2017, when the military in Buddhist-majority Myanmar began a harsh crackdown against Rohingya in response to an attack by insurgents. Global rights groups and the UN called the campaign ethnic cleansing involving rapes, killings, and torching of thousands of homes. Foreign media have not been permitted to visit the island. Saleh Noman, a Bangladeshi freelance journalist who recently visited, described a community emerging there. "I saw a market with about 10 grocery shops and roadside tea stalls. Some were selling fish and vegetables", he said. All is set there with a solar power system and water supply lines. Bangladesh is a low-lying delta nation. The island, 21 miles (34 kilometers) from the mainland, surfaced only 20 years ago and was never inhabited. The Bangladesh navy has been implementing a multimillion-dollar plan to bolster the swampy island, which is submerged for months during the annual monsoon season. International aid agencies and the United Nations have vehemently opposed the relocation plan since it was first proposed in 2015, expressing fear that a big storm could overwhelm the island and endanger thousands of lives. Mostofa Mohamamd Sazzad Hossain, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangladesh, said Thursday the agency is not ready to endorse the relocation and is waiting for a chance to visit the island after a November trip was canceled. "The UN has emphasized the importance of undertaking independent and thorough technical and protection assessments that consider safety, sustainability, and protection issues prior to any relocation taking into place. The assessment process should include onsite visits to Bhasan Char", Hossain said. The current refugee camps near the beach town of Cox's Bazar are overcrowded and unhygienic. Disease and organized crime are rampant. Education is limited and refugees aren't allowed to work. Still, most Rohingya are unwilling to return to Myanmar due to safety concerns. Government officials did not have an estimate of how many refugees would be willing to be relocated to the island. On Thursday, two Bangladeshi contractors involved with the development of the island described construction there. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. "We have built quality infrastructure. Bangladeshi villages have never seen such good work. This is like a modern township project", one contractor said. "We have built multi-family concrete homes, hospitals, mosques, schools, playgrounds, and roads. There are solar-power facilities, a water supply system. We constructed raised concrete buildings that could be used as cyclone shelters. Many trees have been planted", he said. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly told the UN and other international partners that her administration will consult them before making a final decision on the relocation and that no refugees will be forced to move. Bangladesh attempted to start sending refugees back to Myanmar under a bilateral framework last November, but no one was willing to go. The Rohingya are not recognized as citizens in Myanmar, rendering them stateless, and face other forms of state-sanctioned discrimination. A UN-sponsored investigation in 2018 recommended the prosecution of Myanmar's top military commanders on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the violence perpetrated against the Rohingya. Myanmar is defending itself in the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands, after the West African nation of Gambia brought a case backed by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, Canada and the Netherlands. Gambia in its submission said there was a serious and imminent risk of genocide recurring and called for emergency measures to prevent Myanmar from committing any further atrocities or erasing any evidence. The court is expected to deliver a decision on 23 January on what measures should be imposed. Kamal Hossain, Bangladesh's top government official in Cox's Bazar, said on Thursday that discussions attempting to convince refugee families to move to the island are continuing. "We are ready. This is a continuous process", he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Fri, January 17, 2020 09:05 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32278a51 2 Science & Tech Instagram,direct-message,social-media,desktop Free Instagram has announced that Direct messaging for the desktop version of the platform is in the works. Slowly but surely, Instagram's desktop platform is gaining features previously exclusive to the mobile version of the application; the latest feature in development for the browser version is Direct messaging. On Tuesday, the Facebook-owned company said that it is "currently testing Direct messaging on the web, so you can read and reply to your messages from wherever you are." The feature -- which will be basically identical to its mobile counterpart -- is rolling out for a small collection of users to test out ahead of the global public launch. Read also: Instagram reveals biggest trends of 2019 DMs, but make them desktop. Were currently testing Direct messaging on the web, so you can read and reply to your messages from wherever you are. pic.twitter.com/VJ06EpETxG Instagram (@instagram) January 14, 2020 Users will be able create group conversations as well as send stickers and other content just like they can on their smartphones. Such an addition will streamline the Instagram experience across devices and possibly even across platforms, a change that would support Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's vision to combine the messaging services of Facebook's Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Though the company did not comment on when browser-based DMs will be available to the rest of the world, it should hit the platform over the next few months. 92-Year-Old Woman Murdered by Illegal Immigrant Who Should Have Been Deported: ICE Chief U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting Director Matthew Albence on Friday said a suspect accused in the assault and murder of a 92-year-old woman earlier this week should have been deported long ago. I have to plead with the city of New York to cooperate with us to keep this city safe, Albence said, adding that ICE officials have been trying for years to get New York City to cooperate with its policies. So, today I plead with the people of New York City and all other sanctuary cities throughout this country. Let ICE help keep your communities safer. Allow ICE to prevent crimes such as this sexual assault and murder, he remarked in his press conference. Officials said 21-year-old Reeaz Khan, from Guyana, sexually assaulted and killed Maria Fuertes, the elderly woman, in Queens. But they stressed that he was in the United States illegally and should not have been in the country in the first place, according to a statement from ICE on Tuesday. He said that Marias tragic situation will be repeated and said sanctuary policies will enable such crimes to occur in the future. In its statement, ICE said Khan was arrested by the New York Police Department in November 2019 for assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Officials lodged a detainer with the NYPD but it wasnt honored, the federal agency said, and Khan was released after he was arraigned due to New York Citys sanctuary policies. However, the NYPD disputed ICEs claims and said it didnt obtain a detainer in regard to this individual, according to the New York Times. The citys detainer law says that officials have to turn over violators to ICE if they are convicted of violent and serious offenses, and ICE has to meet legal and due process requirements under the law, a city official told the NY Times. But Albence, in his press conference, stated that ICE does not need a judicial warrant to issue a detainer, or to make an arrest. He continued: To be perfectly clear, not only does ICE not need a judicial warrant, there is no judge or magistrate anywhere in this country who has the authority to issue a judicial warrant for a civil immigration violation. When ICE lodges a detainer and issues a warrant, the individuals in question have already been arrested for a criminal violation and booked into jail, Albence continued. New York Mayor Bill de Blasios spokeswoman, Olivia Lapeyrolerie, said the mayors office mourn with the family of Ms. Fuertes If Mr. Khan is convicted, the city will cooperate with federal officials in accordance with local law. Following ICEs initial statement, Lapeyrolerie criticized what she described as the politicization of a tragic crime. The Tolkien Society on January 16 announced the death of Christopher Tolkien, the son of The Lord Of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien. Christopher was 95-years-old and was his father's literary executor. He had also edited much of the author's work published posthumously back in 1973. Tolkien Society's Chair, Shaun Gunner said in a statement, Christophers commitment to his fathers works have seen dozens of publications released, and his own work as an academic in Oxford demonstrates his ability and skill as a scholar. Millions of people around the world will be forever grateful to Christopher for bringing us 'The Silmarillion', 'The Children of Hurin', 'The History of Middle-earth' series and many others. We have lost a titan and he will be sorely missed. READ: Best Ian McKellen Movies That You Can Watch If You Are 'Lord Of The Rings' Fan Christopher was born in Leed, United Kingdom, on November 21, 1924, and after a childhood in Oxford, he joined the Royal Air Force during the Second World War after which he was stationed to South Africa. According to the Tolkien Society, he was an accomplished academic in his own right and was a lecturer on Old and Middle English as well as Old Icelandic at the University of Oxford. Christopher had also worked on his father's manuscripts and helped publish 'The Silmarillion', which chronicles the origins of Middle-earth and its people. He continued to edit his father's unpublished material as recently as 2018 with 'The Fall of Gondolin'. READ: 'Lord Of The Rings' Unveils First Cast For The Amazon Series 'Window into Tolkien's creative process' The statement of Tolkien Society read, Tolkien studies would never be what it is today without Christopher Tolkiens contribution. He revealed his fathers grand vision of rich and complex mythology. He gave us a window into Tolkiens creative process. He also provided scholarly commentary that enriched our understanding of Middle-earth. He was Middle-earths cartographer and first scholar. While speaking to an international media outlet, the publisher HarperCollins said that the 95-year-old was devoted curator of his father's work and the timeless and ongoing popularity of the world that J.R.R Tolkien created. The publishing house further said that Christopher was the most charming men, a true gentleman and it was honour and privilege to know and work with him. READ: Best Fantasy Novels You Should Read If You Are A Fan Of 'Lord Of The Rings' READ: Lord Of The Rings TV Series Search For 'weird-looking' Actors To Play Orcs President Ram Nath Kovind has rejected Delhi gang rape convict Mukesh Singhs plea for mercy. The presidential rejection of the mercy petition on Friday came hours after Home Minister Amit Shah recommended rejection of Mukesh Singhs petition to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mukesh Singh, 32, had filed a last-minute petition to President Kovind for a presidential pardon that could spare him the gallows. A Delhi judge had ordered his execution on January 22 along with his three other accomplices who were convicted for gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedic student on her way home. The formal order by President Ram Nath Kovind, who was obliged to go by the advice of the Cabinet - in this case, the home ministry - has been issued and is being be conveyed to Tihar jail authorities, people familiar with the development said. But the mercy plea may have already delayed the execution of the four convicts. Also Read: 2012 gang rape verdict: The men who killed the Delhi braveheart A Delhi judge, who was hearing Mukesh Singhs plea for cancelling the death warrants issued for 7 am on January 22, had yesterday pointed to the law that gives death-row convicts 14 days time to prepare for their execution. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora, who had on January 7 issued a black warrant, is expected to rule on the execution warrant later in the day. People familiar with procedures to deal with death row convicts say that the execution of the four convicts would be delayed every time a convict files a mercy plea. The three other death-row convicts - Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Thakur (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) - are yet to file one and can do so at any point. Also Watch l 2012 Delhi gangrape victims mother urges PM Modi to order convicts hanging Mukesh Singh was the cleaner of the bus that the paramedic student boarded on 16 December 2012 night along with a friend. They had watched a movie at Saket and were on their way home. She was gang-raped and tortured by the six people on the bus, sparking public outrage across India and bringing thousands of people onto city streets to protest the failure to ensure womens safety. She died on December 29 at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. One of the six got away with a three-year-jail term because he was a juvenile when the offence was committed. The sixth, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide. The six were convicted within a year of the crime. But it has taken years to decide the appeals that they filed. Mukesh Singh filed the mercy petition this week after the Supreme Court rejected his curative petition. The petition, which had come to the city government for its comments, was recommended to be rejected by the state government. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters that his government had made its recommendation to reject the petition at lightning speed. The recommendation was formally forwarded by Lt Governor Anil Baijal to the home ministry last morning. Home Minister Amit Shah took less than a day to clear the file and sent it to President Kovind for the final orders. Welcome to todays edition of Which Came First, the Partnership or the Pun? Capitalizing on a product idea that seems to have been waiting for the taking for at least five years, Ben & Jerrys has announced theyve officially collaborated with Netflix for a new ice cream flavor called Netflix & Chillld. The Vermont-based ice cream brand describes the new flavor as an indulgent production starring peanut butter ice cream, sweet & salty pretzel swirls & fudge brownies. They continue, Whether youre streaming a laugh-out-loud comedy, an edge-of-your-seat drama, or a hey-I-didnt-know-that documentary, its not complete without a tasty treat and a few of your favorite friends. Netflix & Chillldwhich is sold both as regular ice cream and in a non-dairy versionis currently available in pints at retailers, online, and in Ben & Jerrys Scoop Shops. Courtesy of Ben & Jerry's Meanwhile, you may find yourself wondering, Wait, what do peanut butter, pretzels, and brownies have to do with Netflix and chilling? The brand suggests that these flavors are the kind of thing youd reach for while watching your favorite show: a bit of salt, a bit of sweet. But wouldnt maybe, like, popcorn make more sense? And/or maybe something associated with romance? Candy hearts or chocolate kisses or even red wine? (I could make some R-rated suggestions, too, but Ill stop while Im ahead.) Of course, this isn't Ben & Jerrys first TV-related flavor. Previous iterations have involved much more extensive puns, though. For instance, Jimmy Fallons flavor is The Tonight Doughfeaturing multiple types of cookie dough. The Stephen Colbert flavor is Americone Dreamfeaturing waffle cone pieces. Compared to its predecessors, the new Netflix and Chilll'd moniker doesn't seem to demand a specific roster of ingredients. All ice cream is chilled, after all. Icy chunks wouldn't be an ideal mix-inthey'd probably just hurt your teeth. At the same time though, doesnt it seem like such a broad pun could have offered up a blank canvas to really get creative? Regardless, if your night of Netflix and chill goes according to plan, that pint of ice cream will likely be Disregarded & Melllting anyway. So we guess the ingredients really arent all that importantthough we could never argue with the combo of sweet and salty. By Azernews By Abdul Kerimkhanov A member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul Gosar, has condemned the killing of 147 Azerbaijani civilians by Soviet troops in Baku on January 20, 1990. "I rise today in remembrance of the 30th anniversary of the events in Azerbaijan culminating in what is now known as Black January. In January 1990, the former U.S.S.R. attempted to continue to suppress freedom and impose its political will on the people of Azerbaijan. At that time, however, the people of Azerbaijan decided that they had enough of Soviet control and resisted," Gosar said in a statement made on January 15. The senator reminded that the attack was aimed to crash Azerbaijans independence movement. "While the Azeris used peaceful protests and calls for freedom, the Soviets responded with guns and tanks. These actions resulted in 147 civilian deaths, with hundreds more wounded and imprisoned. "This tragedy only emboldened them in their cause, carrying on the mission of their countrymen which culminated in their August 1991 independence," he said. Gosar reminded that Azerbaijan has been the U.S. friend and ally since its independence in 1991. He urged other senators to recognize Black January and join in the honoring of allies in Azerbaijan and their quest for liberation. Black January, also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on a civilian population of Baku on January 20, 1990, following a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. According to official estimates, 147 Azerbaijani civilians were killed, 800 people were injured and five people went missing. However unofficial number put the number of victims at 300 dead. In 1995 Gorbachev apologised to Azerbaijan by stating: "The declaration of a state emergency in Baku was the biggest mistake of my political career." In a resolution of 22 January 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR declared that the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 19 January, used to impose emergency rule in Baku and military deployment, constituted an act of aggression. Black January is seen as the rebirth of Azerbaijan. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Five years ago, in a routine display of trash talking, Tesla Inc.s Elon Musk made a now infamous quip about how hard it is to manufacture automobiles. Cars are very complex compared to phones or smartwatches, he told German newspaper Handelsblatt. You cant just go to a supplier like Foxconn and say: Build me a car. He may be proven wrong. Foxconn Technology Group, through its Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. unit, will establish a joint venture with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, the Taiwanese company said in an exchange filing Thursday. While not yet signed, they expect their 50-50 enterprise will develop and manufacture electric vehicles and engage in IOV (internet of vehicles) business, referencing a growing ecosystem of connected cars that share location, weather, traffic and vehicle information. Hon Hai would be responsible for design, components and supply chain management, Chairman Young Liu told Debby Wu of Bloomberg News. Foxconn might not actually do final assembly, he said. If youve ever visited Foxconns global headquarters on the outskirts of Taipei, youd know that the prospect of the company designing cars is disconcerting. It truly is one of the ugliest office buildings in the world. So lets hope Fiat Chrysler takes the drivers seat on that. However, components, supply chain management, and manufacturing are right up Foxconns alley. The company makes most of Apple Inc.s iPhones and iPads, as well as a lot of the electronics that go into cars, including Teslas. Teslas then-head of vehicle engineering, Doug Field, whose resume includes Apple and Ford Motor Co., in February 2018 subtly dissed the Foxconn-Apple relationship. The model at Foxconn was very different from Tesla, because the Taiwanese company uses manual labor to achieve economies of scale quickly. The iPad is a product whose simplicity is orders of magnitude below ours. Field returned to Apple later that year. Story continues Lets agree, cars are indeed more complicated than tablets or smartphones. But Ill say that theres no way Elon Musk could churn out half a million handsets per day, consistently, with quality and on time. By contrast, Foxconn, because of the reasons Field outlined, could be well placed to leverage its 40 years of experience in manufacturing, scale and manual processes to get Fiat Chrysler to mass production of electric vehicles quicker than almost anyone in the world. After all, Foxconns giant workforce and scale mean its the only company that can churn out 5 million iPhones a week at launch every year for the past decade. With scale comes not just cost advantages but supply-chain leverage, an important element when youre hunting down parts that may be in short stock. Batteries, for example, have been a bottleneck for Tesla deliveries in the past. But when your client list includes Apple, Dell Inc., HP Inc. and a dozen other companies that need batteries by the container, suppliers are likely to put you higher on the priority list. Given that theyre the largest cost of an electric vehicle, solving both the supply problem and then using scale to force costs down could give Foxconn and Fiat Chrysler an edge. Having electric vehicles more readily available and delivered on time might even take the gloss off the cult of Tesla, which is driven in part by the difficulty of getting your hands on one. Yet Fiat Chrysler needs to ensure that Foxconn doesnt mess it up. Its known to be domineering in partnerships, with an obsession toward efficiency and cutting costs, rather than value-added branding. Its venture with HMD Global Oyj to revive the Nokia name looked promising until Foxconn executives started pulling rank, overruling those who truly knew how to design and market phones. Many of the talented members of the consortium left and the brand is unlikely to see the revival that many had expected. Sure, Fiat Chrysler is taking a risk by betting on Foxconn. But the U.S.-Italian car company doesnt have much to lose, and knows that it has little time to waste. Chief Executive Officer Mike Manley is hoping to merge with Frances PSA Group, and told investors in October that electrification could happen on a grand scale after that. Its also likely to join a self-driving car venture being set up by BMW AG and Daimler AG, Bloomberg reported this month. Such plans necessitate the kind of electric vehicle technologies it doesnt currently have. Foxconn doesnt, either, but between them theres every chance the two companies can develop or acquire whats needed. If Foxconn really wants to make it in electric vehicles, it will need to learn from Fiat Chrysler the importance of good design, marketing savvy, and brand mystique. In other words, a little bit of Elon Musk. Just not too much. To contact the author of this story: Tim Culpan at tculpan1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Patrick McDowell at pmcdowell10@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Tim Culpan is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. He previously covered technology for Bloomberg News. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 01:31:50|Editor: yan Video Player Close SOFIA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A roundtable discussion on the achievements and challenges of Chinese language teaching in Bulgaria was held here on Friday. More than 80 representatives of universities and schools from 12 Bulgarian cities, including six of the eight largest cities in the country -- Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Ruse, Stara Zagora and Sliven -- participated in the event. "China and Bulgaria have a long history of educational exchange and cooperation, which is an important part of the development of the bilateral relations," said Chinese Ambassador to Bulgaria Dong Xiaojun at the opening ceremony. According the Dong, four Bulgarian universities are currently offering courses on Chinese language and culture, while four Chinese universities are providing courses on Bulgarian language and culture, both contributing to bilateral cooperation. Meanwhile, an increasing number of Bulgarian schools now offer Chinese language courses, and Beijing high school students could choose to learn Bulgarian, "which will undoubtedly lay a stronger foundation for the development of friendly relations between the two countries," he said. Prof. Anastas Gerdjikov, rector of the Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, said that in recent years, the interest in learning Chinese language and culture has increased significantly. This was mainly due to China's economic development, as well as the policies of the Chinese government, he said. By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press Members of the media in the press gallery watch a television monitors of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaking to members of the Senate for the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP WASHINGTON The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump has barely started and already journalists are getting a glimpse of how hard it will be cover the event under harsh new media restrictions imposed by the Senate. Thursdays impeachment events were largely ceremonial, with the Senate formally receiving the articles of impeachment from the seven appointed managers from the House of Representatives. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the full Senate were also formally sworn in. The trial begins in earnest on Tuesday. Thursday also served as a preview of how the new restrictions will warp the daily functioning of the congressional press corps, who are accustomed to approaching senators as they walk through the hallways or emerge from the Senate subway. Security was heavily beefed up with at least 10 uniformed Capitol Police officers where there are usually one or two manning the so-called Ohio clock corridor" just outside the Senate chamber. In the Senate basement, where reporters often wait to ask senators questions, at least a dozen officers gathered to enforce the new rules, which were set by the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, Michael Stenger. Stenger was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., talks to reporters just after the start of the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)AP All throughout the Capitol building, reporters were prevented from stopping to wait for senators or talking to them outside the designated media pens. Senators were also given cards by the Capitol Police that suggested phrases for fending off unwanted approaches, including Please get out of my way" and You are preventing me from doing my job. The Standing Committee of Correspondents, representing credentialed congressional reporters, has already appealed unsuccessfully to Senate leadership and the sergeant at arms to reverse the restrictions. On Thursday, many of those reporters turned to social media to air their grievances. Several recounted instances of friendly interviews with willing senators who were interrupted by security. Miami Herald reporter Alex Daugherty reported on Twitter that he was talking to Florida Republican Marco Rubio about aid for Puerto Rico when they were interrupted by security and prevented from continuing the interview. McClatchy correspondent Emma Dumain was mid-conversation with Indiana Republican Mike Braun when they were told she would have to step behind the press pen ropes to continue her interview. Dumain wrote on Twitter that Braun was happy to accompany me to my cage so he could finish his thought. The free speech group PEN America decried the media limitations on Thursday, calling them an unacceptable effort to block the free flow of information at a time when information is necessary to the functioning of our democracy.'' PEN Americas Washington office director Thomas Melia called the limitations really amazing and pointed out that the House of Representatives just conducted a weeks-long and equally acrimonious" impeachment investigation of Trump without such restrictions in place. If it ain't broke, don't fix it,'' he said. What exactly is the problem that's being solved here?'' Melia said it remains unclear exactly who is pushing for the new restrictions and said it seems to be an extension of Republican Party animosity toward journalists that comes straight from the top. Where did this come from? Who conceived of this as a useful and appropriate step, he said. It feels like an institutional escalation of the White Houses systematic denigration of the press. Rajkot, Jan 17 : Australia captain Aaron Finch commended India for their performance in the second ODI here on Friday. India levelled the three-match series 1-1 with a 36-run win that followed a 10-wicket drubbing they received in the first ODI in Mumbai on Tuesday. Admitting that India were the better side on the day, Finch said, "They played very well. I think we were one wicket shy of what we needed throughout the bowling innings, but they were world class," he said. India set a target of 341 for Australia and the visitors looked to be on track when Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne put up 96 runs for the third wicket. Smith ended up falling two runs short of a century, while Labuschagne was dismissed on 46. "The way Smithy started today, and nearly got through to the end, but not quite. Marnus and Smith, the only time they're apart is when they're asleep. I think on these tracks, it's important to capitalise when the batsman gets in," said Finch. "You just have to make sure that when you get in, you capitalise and go really big. We were just slight behind as the run rate kept going up," he said. The final ODI will be played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 19:16:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close China's first total hip replacement surgery assisted by a domestic robot is completed at the Beijing Jishuitan Hospital What is the point beyond which its too late to wish someone a Happy New Year? If I hadnt e President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy petition of Mukesh Singh, one of the convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape case, ANI reported President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh, one of the four men convicted in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, sources said. The rejection came soon after the Union Home Ministry forwarded the petition to the president on Friday morning. Mukesh is one of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case had filed the mercy petition on Tuesday The Union Home Ministry on Friday forwarded to the president the mercy petition of one of the convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape case, recommending its rejection, officials told PTI. "The Home Ministry has forwarded the mercy petition of Mukesh Singh to the President. The ministry has reiterated the recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for its rejection," the official said. The Delhi LG had sent the mercy petition of Mukesh to the Home Ministry on Thursday, a day after the Delhi government recommended its rejection. The four convicts Mukesh Singh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) were to be hanged on 22 January at 7 am in Tihar Jail. A Delhi court had issued their death warrants on January 7. However, the Delhi government had informed the high court during a hearing that the execution of the convicts will not take place on 22 January as a mercy plea has been filed by Mukesh. Friends of a missing 14-year-old girl used Snapchat to help cops track her down to a motel room in California and rescue her three men who drugged her before kidnapping and sexually assaulting her. The victim contacted her friends via the messaging app telling them she had been kidnapped and was being kept in an unknown location. Her friends were able to track down the girl through Snapchat's location services which, if the user has chosen to share their location on the map, updates the device's location every time the app is opened. Albert Thomas Vasquez, 55, Antonio Quirino Salvado, 34, and Hediberto Gonzalez Avarenga Salvador, 31 (left to right) The girl was tracked to a room in the E-Z 8 Motel in San Jose where she was being held by the three men and called the police. Police in California arrived on the scene to find Albert Thomas Vasquez, 55, leaving the motel room and the victim held inside. Vasquez met the victim Tuesday morning in Capitola and drugged her to make her 'incapacitated', San Jose Police Department stated in a press release on Thursday. The suspect then allegedly called two accomplices Antonio Quirino Salvado, 34, and Hediberto Gonzalez Avarenga Salvador, 31, who helped place the teenager in their vehicle against her will. The victim's friends were able to track her down through Snapchat's location services which, if the user has chosen to share their location on the map, updates the device's location every time the app is opened The girl was tracked to a room in the E-Z 8 Motel in San Jose (pictured) where she was being held by the three men. Police found Vasquez leaving the motel room and the victim held inside Vasquez sexually assaulted the girl in the vehicle before driving her to the motel where he assaulted her again, officials said. Vasquez was arrested and taken to Santa Clara County Jail. He has been charged with a string of felonies including kidnapping to commit rape, digital penetration with a child under 14 years with force, false imprisonment, lewd act with a child 14 or 15 years with force, and rape by intoxication or controlled substance. Salvado and Salvador were arrested the following day and charged with kidnapping. Vasquez was arrested and taken to Santa Clara County Jail (pictured). He has been charged with a string of felonies including kidnapping and rape by intoxication or controlled substance. Salvado and Salvador were arrested the following day and charged with kidnapping Police have asked anyone with information about the case to contact Detective Anthony Barajas of the San Jose Police Departments Sexual Assault Investigations Unit at 408-277-4102 or to call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line on (408) 947-STOP (7867) U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper reacts during a joint news conference with Japan's Defense Minister Taro Kono at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., Jan. 14, 2020. Reuters The Pentagon claimed Thursday that much of the costs shared between South Korea and the United States to station American troops on the peninsula directly benefits the South Korean economy. The comment by Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman comes a day after the allies concluded their sixth round of defense cost-sharing negotiations without an agreement due to wide differences over how much of the burden Seoul should carry. Washington has demanded a significant increase in Seoul's financial contributions, along with payments toward the cost of rotational troop deployments to the peninsula, which were not included in the previous deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement. "We've continued to push on this since President Trump came into office, and we continue to see it, whether it's in the Middle East, whether it's in Europe, whether it's in Asia, that we expect our allies to pick up a little bit more of the burden," Hoffman said during a press briefing at the Pentagon. "One thing I'd point out with South Korea is much of the monies that are part of that cost-sharing actually go back directly into the South Korean economy in terms of goods and services procured there, the hiring of foreign service nationals who are able to work on the base." Fishermen in China casting their nets in the high sighs can rest easy if their catch of the day is not good: They can still make money by netting foreign-made underwater spy devices and turning them over to the police. At least 11 fishermen from eastern Chinas Jiangsu did exactly that in 2019. Between them, they fished out seven suspicious devices from under the water off the coast of Jiangsu and got a certificate and cash rewards from the national security authorities, local media reported. Earlier this week, the 11 were felicitated at a function in the Nantong city of Jiangsu province. Details of the cash rewards were not shared but a government circular issued in April 2017 had announced cash incentives ranging from 10,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan ($1,500 to $73,000) for information on spies or spying activities. Jiangsu has been giving such awards to fishers for three consecutive years. In 2018, nine devices used for espionage were found and 18 fishers received rewards, the nationalistic tabloid Global Times reported. In the latest case, unidentified national security authorities told state media that seven devices made in other countries were found. They had various espionage functions, posing a serious threat to Chinas national security. The countries of origin of the devices were not revealed. Some of the devices netted could collect information on hydrologic characteristics of the sea and map the seabed, and others could collect data on a ships sound print, which can then be used for military purposes such as detecting submarine and ship movements and early warning detection, as per the media report. In 2018, nine similar devices were reported to the state security ministry, six of which were foreign devices capable of underwater investigation, identification and spying, according to state news agency Xinhua. According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, in an indication of how much the fishermen may have received, a fisherman in Lianyungang, northeastern China was awarded 50,000 yuan (US$7,300) for discovering underwater devices in January 2018. Jiangsu, a province in central-eastern China has a coastline of more than a 1000 km along the East China Sea, facing South Korea and Japan. China expert Alexander Neill told the BBC that the devices probably came from the US Navy, the Japan Self-Defense Forces, or potentially Taiwan - this is a big area of rivalry. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON WASHINGTON One of the newest members of President Trumps defense team, Robert W. Ray, has had pointed words about the highest office in the country: No person is above the law, even the president of the United States. But that was nearly 20 years ago when he succeeded Ken Starr as the independent counsel investigating President Bill Clinton. Mr. Starr is also a late addition to the presidents legal team for the Senate trial, which starts Tuesday. At the time of those remarks in April 2000, Mr. Ray faced criticism for drawing out the Clinton investigation when many believed he should have been wrapping it up. Mr. Ray was a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York when he was called to replace Mr. Starr and had plans to indict Mr. Clinton when he left office for the same crimes considered during Mr. Clintons impeachment. On his way out of the Oval Office, Mr. Clinton and Mr. Ray struck a deal that would prevent Mr. Clinton from being prosecuted in connection to his affair with Monica Lewinsky, an unpaid White House intern, in return for surrendering his law license and paying a $25,000 fine. The Concern Women Ghana has sent a petition to ECOWAS, asking the regional body to intervene in the ongoing wrangle between the country's electoral commission and some political parties over the compilation of a new voters register. The CWG believes the earlier the ECOWAS steps in, the better it would be for the country to avoid electoral disputes as it heads to the polls in the December. Eight political parties opposing the new voters register have already taken to the streets of Tamale in the Northern Region to express their disappointment against the move by Electoral Commission (EC). In a statement, signed by its Executive Secretary Annette Enyo, the CWG wants the matter dealt with as the EC is being "suspected by a section of the populace as planning to disenfranchise some citizens". "One thing is certain, matters concerning elections must be addressed in a timely manner to prevent its spread throughout the system of governance hence our decision to petition the regional body for our noble leaders to intervene immediately, the CWG said in a statement. It has expressed confidence in ECOWAS as their intervention will "annihilate this evil called election violence". "We have no doubt that ECOWAS has more than what it takes to annihilate this evil called election violence starring us in the face sooner than later, by advising the Electoral Commission to cooperate with political parties and other major stakeholders." Below is the full statement SECRETARY-GENERAL THE HEADQUATERS OF ECOWAS 101, YAKUBU GOWON CRESENT ASOKORO DISTRICT P.M.B 401 ABUJA, NIGERIA TEL: (234) (9) 31 47 647-9 E-MAIL: [email protected] 15th January, 2020 PETITION CALLING ON ECOWAS TO CHECK THE ZERO COOPERATION AND UNDILUTED AUTOCRACY EXHIBITED BY THE GHANA ELECTORAL COMMISSION WITH RESPECT TO COMPILATION OF NEW VOTERS REGISTER FOR 2020 GENERAL ELECTION We write to invite your attention to a serious development in Ghana which could distort the normal social order in the region. The Electoral Commission of Ghana, which has had a long and honourable record of holding free and fair elections, is being suspected by a section of the populace as planning to disenfranchise some citizens in the much awaited December 2020 general election. The independence, fairness, impartiality and efficiency are perceived by this section of the citizenry to be compromised today, thereby endangering the integrity of our electoral process which is the very foundation of our democracy. One thing is certain, matters concerning elections must be addressed in a timely manner to prevent its spread throughout the system of governance hence our decision to petition the regional body for our noble leaders to intervene immediately. We are appealing to the regional body to ensure that the government, the opposition parties and the body in charge of elections organisation, adhere strictly to our electoral laws and processes as well as the regional body's protocol on Democracy and Good Governance especially. Article 3 of the protocol states; "The bodies responsible for organising the elections shall be independent or neutral and shall have the confidence of all political actors. Where necessary, appropriate national consultation shall be organised to determine the nature and structure of the bodies" And Article 8 states; "Member states shall use the services of civil society organizations involved in electoral matters to educate and enlighten the public on the need for peaceful elections devoid of all acts of violence". Ultimately, the Constitution of Ghana allows the Electoral Commission to operate as an autonomous body, however there is also provision for stakeholder engagement apropos change in Electoral processes so as to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections. There is a decision by the Ghana Electoral Commission to compile new voters' register. This was followed with a fierce backlash from political parties, Civil Society Organizations, Voices of concern and some individuals from the ruling party. Some believe the Electoral Commission is conniving with government to rig the coming general election in December. Known apolitical Civil Society Organizations/Policy Think Tanks have "cautioned the Electoral Commission to be careful not to plunge Ghana into chaos over its decision to compile a new voters' register barely 12 months to the crucial general election". Some also see this decision of compiling new voters' register as a retrogressive move taking into account the infrastructure deficit we are facing as a country. As women group, we are deeply concerned about the current body language of the Electoral Commissioners in the midst of fierce protests from almost all political parties and other major stakeholders concerning this decision of compiling a new register. Repeatedly, the Electoral Commission has neglected that magic of employing 'ad idem' so as to reach a consensus with all political parties on the issue of the new voters' register. The commission (from the chair to the last man on the organisational chart) had positioned itself such that they are not ready or willing to listen to voices of concern. The Electoral Commission had indeed put forward cogent reasons and outlined some challenges with the old voters register which according them merit compilation of a new voter register. What we find intriguing is that, the old register has been used by the Electoral Commission to successfully elect over 6,000 District Assembly Members and over 30,000 Unit Committee Members on December 17, 2019 (barely a month ago) in spite of these challenges highlighted by the Commission. This same old voter register has been used to conduct a referendum to partition some regions in Ghana in the year 2018. The question is, "Are we being told that these recent elections that saw us using the old register are illegal, fraudulent, invalid? Certainly, there might have been some challenges with our current biometric registration devices but these challenges were competently resolved by the Electoral Commission with zero complaints. We recall that the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) under the leadership of the current Electoral Commission Chair, Mrs. Jean Mensa, advised the then chair of the Electoral Commission Dr. Afari Gyan against compilation of new voters' register during election years. She, in a report sent to Dr. Afari Gyan stated that "Things done in a rush are susceptible to costly mistakes. Indeed such crash activities are a recipe for distrust, tension and raising of unnecessary alarms over issues that could ideally pass without many qualms from the key stakeholders." Surprisingly, Mrs. Jean Mensa today is contracting herself by doing just the opposite of what she stood for few years ago. She has maintained the commission will compile a new register in an election year despite concerns from some major political parties and Civil Society Organizations. What raises eyebrow is the fact that the Electoral Commission which by law must be neutral had some of its top officials publicly and openly showing hatred for some political parties and contestants in the next general elections. Major political parties made up All Progressive Congress (APC), Convention People's Party (CPP), Progressive People's Party (PPP), People's National Convention (PNC), Great Consolidated Population Party (GCPP) Eagle Party and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) joined forces under the name Inter- Party Resistance and demonstrated on Saturday, December 11, 2020 against the Electoral Commission's decision. It is insanely evident that this much suspicion of the Electoral Commission by major political parties could lead to rejection of the December 2020 elections should the Electoral Commission neglect calls by Civil Society Organizations, Political parties, IT Experts/consultants et cetera to rescind its decision. This is where our worries come as women who do not wish for and cannot stand election violence. The drag in and drag out over who won an election breeds violence and our group is concerned about the vulnerable, women and children especially. What we suggest as possible solution is a table discussion for ECOWAS to give hearing to the following key players and major stakeholders: 1. Electoral Commissioner and her deputies 2. Representatives of all political parties 3. Independent and neutral Civil Society Organisations / Policy Think Tanks 4. IT Experts / Consultants (Local and International) 5. Former Electoral Commissioners We are deeply saddened by the manner in which the Electoral Commission is handling this issue. What has changed after spending so much of the tax payers money in conducting the limited registration, an exercise that allowed first time voters to be captured. And this was done with the old register. Why spend so much on a register that would be done away with in less than a year? We regard ECOWAS as a strong representative that wields the power to intervene and ensure Ghana's Electoral Commission avoid needless suspicion to ensure peace and stability now, during and after 2020 general elections. We have no doubt that ECOWAS has more than what it takes to annihilate this evil called election violence starring us in the face sooner than later, by advising the Electoral Commission to cooperate with political parties and other major stakeholders. We are confident that our petition would be given the urgency that it deserves. Thank you. Signed: Annette Enyo Executive Secretary (+233(0)200951910) CC: ALL EMBASSIES ACCRA - GHANA Australian shares continued their rollicking start to the year on Friday, lifting for a fourth consecutive session to fresh record highs, this time powered by big gains in the miners. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 22.3 points, or 0.3 per cent, to close at 7064.1. For the week, it gained 1.9 per cent. Combined with last weeks 2.9 per cent surge, the index logged its largest two-week advance since July 2016. Year to date, its now gained 5.7 per cent. The combination of ample monetary policy support, diminishing macroeconomic risks and an expected rebound in global growth is keeping risk firmly on, said Kyle Rodda, market analyst at IG Markets. Having been led higher by technology, healthcare and financial stocks in previous days, it was the turn for the materials sector to drive the local market higher on this occasion, largely reflecting big gains in the iron ore miners. Rio Tinto rallied 1.8 per cent to $105.24 after releasing its quarterly production update. Rival BHP Group also rose 1.2 per cent to $40.60. Fortescue Metals made those gains look small, surging 3.7 per cent to $11.41, closing at a fresh record high. Better-than-expected Chinese industrial output, retail sales and fixed asset investment data for December only added to the bullish mood. The monthly data indicate that momentum improved heading into 2020, said Martin Rasmussen, economist at Capital Economics. The broader materials sector gained 1.2 per cent, closing at the highest level since April 2011. Outside of the miners, consumer staples rallied 1 per cent. Costa Group jumped 4.7 per cent to $2.70, leading gains across the sector. Woolworths rose 0.9 per cent to $39.04 while A2 Milk lifted 3.3 per cent to $14.68. Healthcare and information technology, two of the big gainers earlier in the week, rose 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively, closing at fresh highs. Pilbara Minerals was the largest gainer on the benchmark, surging 8.6 per cent to $0.38. It had fallen 10.3 per cent in the prior two sessions. Agri chemicals firm Nufarm slumped 10 per cent to $5.48 after delivering a downbeat trading update, making it the worst performer on Friday. For the session, 109 companies rose, 75 fell while 16 were unchanged. If an Iranian missile brought down a Ukrainian airliner, it would be at least the fifth such shootdown since the early 1980s. U.S. officials said Thursday that it was highly likely that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed the jetliner late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. They suggested it could have been a mistake. In the past, nations whose military forces shot down a plane sometimes said it was an accident, such as mistaking an airliner for a warplane. Several shootdowns occurred during times of high political tension that might have invited errors. The Ukraine International Airlines jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran. Iranian officials quickly blamed a mechanical problem, but the timing coming just hours after Iran fired a missile barrage at U.S. forces in Iraq raised suspicion that the airliner might have been shot down. Similar events in the past include: 2014: A Malaysian airliner flying over eastern Ukraine was hit by a missile that Dutch-led investigators determined was fired by pro-Russia rebels fighting Ukraines government. All 298 people on board died. Three Russians, including a former officer in a Russian intelligence service, and a Ukrainian were charged with murder. 2001: A stray missile fired by Ukrainian forces during a military training exercise brought down a Siberia Airlines plane over the Black Sea, killing all 78 people aboard. Ukraine reached a settlement with Israel for compensation. Many of the victims were Israelis who had emigrated from Russia. 1988: A U.S. Navy cruiser, the USS Vincennes, shot down an Iranian airliner flying over the Persian Gulf. All 290 people aboard Iran Air Flight 655 died. The U.S. said the accident occurred when the Airbus jetliner was mistaken for a jet fighter. The government eventually apologized and eight years later agreed to pay compensation to victims families. 1983: Soviet forces downed Korean Air Lines Flight 007 after the plane strayed from its planned route between Anchorage, Alaska, and Seoul, South Korea, and entered Soviet air space. All 269 passengers and crew on board were killed, including a congressman from Georgia. The incident inflamed U.S.-Soviet relations, which were already tense because of the Cold War. Families of some passengers received settlements from the airline after filing lawsuits in U.S. courts. In addition to confirmed shootdowns, there have been many other crashes that governments or witnesses believe were intentional acts and not accidents, but some doubts remains about those causes. Anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List launched a $52 million effort on Friday to support President Donald Trump's reelection bid, a day after Planned Parenthood pledged $45 million to support candidates in favor of abortion rights. The amounts represent the largest election spending in both groups' history. SBA List, via its super PAC Women Speak Out, will use the money to canvass key battleground states: Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. "The stakes of this election could not be higher," SBA List spokesperson Mallory Quigley said in a statement. "Democratic contenders for president are lining up to support abortion on demand, and even infanticide, and declaring war on even the most modest pro-life policies. Meanwhile, President Trump has governed as the most pro-life president in our nation's history." Multiple states in 2019 tightened the restrictions on abortion. Other states, like New York, Virginia and Maine, expanded abortion access. In January 2019, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Reproductive Health Act, which allows persons to receive an abortion after the 24th week of pregnancy in cases where the health of the person is in danger on the line or if the baby would not survive the birth. Previously, the law only allowed an abortion after 24 weeks if the person giving birth would not survive. Trump once identified as "very pro-choice," saying in a 1999 "Meet the Press" interview, "I hate the concept of abortion. I hate everything it stands for. I cringe when I listen to people debating the subject. But I still believe in choice." But during his 2016 campaign, the president sought out anti-abortion voters, appearing at rallies and major fundraisers and vowing to defund global family planning efforts at the United Nations. "From now until Election Day, our team will go door-to-door visiting traditional Democrat voter groups who may simply be unaware of the Democrats' support for extreme pro-abortion policies," Quigley said. "Our focused, battle-tested voter outreach method will ensure we reach the voters who can provide President Trump and pro-life Senate candidates the winning margin on Election Day." Planned Parenthood's super PAC on Thursday unveiled a $45 million plan to support 2020 candidates in favor of abortion rights at the presidential, congressional and state levels. Read more: Planned Parenthood will spend $45 million in 2020 elections to support abortion-rights candidates Both efforts come after a volatile year regarding abortion. Republican-led states last year, emboldened by the Supreme Court's new conservative majority and Trump's anti-abortion policies, passed 59 abortion restrictions. Also in 2019, a wave of state-led abortion bans defined the year in reproductive rights news. Each was temporarily blocked in court, but some states will appeal to higher courts. Read more: The battle over abortion rights: Here's what's at stake in 2020 Experts project 2020 could be just as volatile. The Supreme Court in March will take up its first major abortion-related case with Trump's appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh on the bench. The high court will review a 2014 Louisiana law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the facility where the abortions are provided. Opponents said it would effectively leave one abortion provider for a state with about 4.6 million residents. On Jan. 2, 207 lawmakers, including two Democrats, filed an amicus brief in the case, urging the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion. Blaupunkt, the German manufacturers of audio equipment, has launched their new BTW Pro truly wireless earbuds in India. The earbuds come feature packed with Qualcomm AptX HD, Bluetooth 5.0, voice assistant support with dual mics and IPX7 ratings. With Qualcomms AptX HD, high bit rate streaming becomes possible that improve the audio performance of the earbuds, including voice calls. Two microphones work in tandem to record clear voice and block external interference at the same time. For controls, the earbuds have touch sensitive area for full media control when in use and will auto pair when taken out of the case. The headphones feature an IPX-7 Water and Sweat Proof that will protect the earbuds from heavy splashing and rain. And in the battery life department, the BTW Pro boasts 6 hours on a single charge and a total of 36 hours listening time with the including charging case. The Blaupunkt BTW Pro TWS earphones comes in two colours, black and grey and is available for purchase on Amazon for Rs. 6999. Commenting on the launch of BTW Pro in India, Sukhesh Madaan CEO, Blaupunkt Audio India said: Blaupunkt has always tried to meet the standards of Indian market and expectations of the consumers. The competition in the Audio segment for Wireless Bluetooth earphones and headphones is already very high. And now, Blaupunkt with their 20+ years of experience in the Indian market and innovation is all set to raise the standards of audio experience. I am confident and excited about our latest launch, BTW-01 Pro that it will do wonders in the market. All our previous offerings with Envent as our India partner for Audio products, we believe that our TWS Bluetooth earphones are a perfect companion and an all-round product for the millennials and Gen Z, with advanced features and technology. Source Amazon changes tac, talks of creating a million jobs in India A day after Jeff Bezoz, founder and CEO of online marketplace Amazon, boasted of plans to invest $1 billion in its India business, Bezoz said the new investment will help the company create an additional 1 million jobs in the country. Bezozs change of tone comes after commerce minister Piyush Goyal pointed out that Amzon is investing more money to recover losses and is not doing the country any favour. Amazon, like other major foreign investors face criticism that their investments do little to accelerate economic activity or create employment and are solely aimed at maximising profit a kind of jobless growth that creates wealth only for the investor. Speaking at an event on Thursday, Goyal said investors in e-commerce space should not try and look for loopholes in the existing framework of laws that regulate business in the country. He also said that a probe into Amazon's activities has already been initiated and the company is not doing India any favours by investing $1 billion in the country. Amazon's business practices, which came under the radar after several small traders complained about the e-commerce firms excessive hold on the market. Other players like Wal-Mart-owned Flipkart are also being investigated by the regulators in this regard. "I have on more than one occasion, said this to the people of India and to all investors, that to please follow the letter of the law and the spirit of the law," Goyal said in a tweet. Amazon, the worlds largest online marketplace, plans to create one million new jobs in India by 2025 through continued investments in technology, infrastructure, and logistics network. We are investing to create a million new jobs here in India over the next five years, CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement during his high-profile visit to India on Wednesday. Weve seen huge contributions from our employees, extraordinary creativity from the small businesses weve partnered with, and great enthusiasm from the customers who shop with us and were excited about what lies ahead, he added. The jobs created both directly and indirectly will be across industries, including information technology, skill development, content creation, retail, logistics, and manufacturing, and are in addition to the seven lakh jobs Amazons investments have enabled over the last six years in India, the firm said in a statement. Earlier on Wednesday, Bezos had announced plans to invest $1 billion to help bring 10 million traders and micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) across India online. The investment would also help add $10 billion to the countrys exports by 2025. According to Amazon new job additions will be in software development engineering, cloud computing, content creation and customer support. The company has steadily grown its employee base since 2014, which has grown four-fold now. Last year, Amazon opened a new campus building in Hyderabad its largest outside the US and the largest building globally, spread over 9.5 acres and can accommodate 15,000 employees. New hiring will also support Amazons operations in areas such as logistics, engineering and facilities management, packaging, and customer fulfillment. Job creation and skill development are priority areas for the government The Indian government has prioritised job creation and skill initiatives including the training of more than 400 million people by 2022 in rural and urban areas. michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today archived recording (barack obama) We have the most votes and the most diverse coalition of Americans that weve seen in a long, long time. [CHEERING] michael barbaro The Obama coalition has become almost mythic within the Democratic Party archived recording (barack obama) There are young and old, rich and poor. michael barbaro for having united first-time voters, people of color archived recording (barack obama) They are black and white [CHEERING] Latino and Asian and Native American. michael barbaro and moderates archived recording (barack obama) They are Democrats from Des Moines, and independents from Concord, and, yes, some Republicans from rural Nevada. michael barbaro to win the presidency. This year archived recording (bernie sanders) We ended up winning more votes from young people [CHEERING] black, and white, and Latino, and Asian-American, and Native American more votes from young people than Trump and Clinton, combined. [CHEERING] michael barbaro Bernie Sanders is betting that he can win the presidency with young voters and people of color, but without the moderates. To do that archived recording (bernie sanders) This campaign is listening to our brothers and sisters in the Latino community. [CHEERING] michael barbaro hes counting on winning over and energizing the Latino vote. And the ultimate test of whether he will be able to do that is in California, where Latinos are the single biggest nonwhite voting block in the state. archived recording Were not only going to win this nationally, were going to turn this state into a Bernie Sanders state so we can make the reforms we need. michael barbaro Young Latinos in California overwhelmingly support Sanders. But to become the Democratic nominee, he will need all Latinos. archived recording (alexandria ocasio-cortez) I call him Tio Bernie. Maybe to my goddaughter, hes abuelo. Maybe to some others, hes brother. michael barbaro My colleague Jennifer Medina went to California with The Dailys Jessica Cheung and Monika Evstatieva to see how that effort is playing out. archived recording (alexandria ocasio-cortez) But hes my Tio Bernie Sanders. michael barbaro Its Friday, January 17. O.K. So Jenny, tell me about this reporting trip. Where did you go? jennifer medina So back in December we went to South L.A. to a working-class neighborhood, mostly black and Latino, and we went to this quiet block. [dog barking] jennifer medina Lots of little small houses, very neatly kept jennifer medina Its beautiful. monika evstatieva It smells like flowers. jennifer medina with flowers in their front yard and citrus trees. monika evstatieva Quite a lot of lemons. jennifer medina And it was a Saturday morning, people walking their dogs and hanging out. And the only noise, really, was the planes flying overhead to LAX. michael barbaro [LAUGHS] And why were you there? jennifer medina So we were there for an event called Tamales for Tio Bernie. michael barbaro Tio as in uncle. jennifer medina Tio as in uncle, which is sort of the affectionate way a lot of young Latinos have begun referring to Bernie Sanders. And it just sort of speaks to the intimacy and affection these young Latinos have for Sanders. So theres these little events all over California that are basically designed to get people who are already excited strategizing and figuring out how they can convince friends and family members and people they live around to be as excited as they are. What the Sanders campaign is really counting on is that these little events will have a ripple effect. So say you get 20 people to show up, but each of those people will convince five other people to vote for Sanders. And those people will convince another five people to vote for Sanders, and so on. So we get there, and we see people taping up signs to the fence, and sort of milling about. Its just a handful of people who are here so far. jennifer medina Hi. speaker Hola. Como estas? jennifer medina Theyre setting up folding tables and chairs, and theres a little, small blue tent. And there is a lot of food. michael barbaro And are there tamales, as promised? jennifer medina There are indeed tamales. There are big bags of tamales, steaming tamales ready to be doled out to whoever comes. alfonso ruiz Alfonso. jessica cheung Alfonso, nice to meet you guys. jennifer medina So the organizer is Alfonso Ruiz, who is 28 and works in city government here in Los Angeles. alfonso ruiz Well, I live here, so this is my house. jessica cheung Oh! alfonso ruiz [LAUGHS] This is my house. jennifer medina And Alfonso immediately seems a little bit nervous. jennifer medina Have you ever hosted a campaign event before? alfonso ruiz Well, this technically is my first time. speaker Sorry, man. I did not know you were that famous, bro. jennifer medina As were talking, people start to show up. And everybodys a little bit confused why were there with these big microphones, talking to their friends. speaker You were anti-Bernie a few years ago! alfonso ruiz [LAUGHTER] Shut the [expletive] up! speaker I told you. I told you alfonso ruiz Hes lying, hes lying. speaker since 2016, bro, hes going to be president. alfonso ruiz I was supporting him since day one. Yeah. I believe in Bernie. Ive been following. I was involved with him in 2015, in the primary. And now Im here. jennifer medina Why did you get involved? You said youve been following him since 2015? alfonso ruiz 2005. jennifer medina 2005. alfonso ruiz When he was the first independent congressman. jennifer medina How old were you in 2005? alfonso ruiz I was, like, in high school. jennifer medina O.K. alfonso ruiz I was barely going into high school. But thats the moment when you had the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war. I was tired of the Democratic michael barbaro So Alfonsos been drawn to Sanders since 2005. jennifer medina Yes. Alfonso really represents what Ive heard from a lot of young Latinos here in L.A., which is that they were really first drawn to Sanders over his stance on the Iraq war. jennifer medina So in 2005 you were alfonso ruiz Against the Iraq war. jennifer medina against the Iraq war. alfonso ruiz What I started noticing was there was no difference in between policymakers in terms of Democrats and Republicans, and they all blindly voted for this war that, at the end of the day, sent a lot of working-class kids to war, a lot of South Central kids, a lot of kids from Boyle Heights, a lot of kids from that we have nothing else. If you live here, if youve been around here in the early 2000s and late 90s, all we saw was drive-bys, shootings, and people being killed. And when we see the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, there was basically no difference into what their policies were going on. So thats why, at the end of day, I feel like Bernies talking above and beyond, because he showed it from day one in from what he did in Burlington to what he voted in Congress at the time. jennifer medina So it really represents what got many young Latinos first really excited about Sanders and explains what makes them so excited now. alfonso ruiz So for Bernie, he goes straight at the issue, the core, which at the end of the day is greed, corruption and lack of funding for our neighborhoods. And he knows that because he grew up in Brooklyn. And theres a lot of similarities, like I said. And then Ill mention this. Yeah, hes a little guerito, but jennifer medina Can you explain what you mean by a little guerito? alfonso ruiz Hes white. But still, hes your tio. He knows what it is to grow up poor. He knows what it is, so thats why I have faith. michael barbaro They identify with him. jennifer medina They really identify with him. michael barbaro What exactly do you make of that? jennifer medina They identify with him in spite of the fact that hes many decades older, that hes from this East Coast state that many of them have never been to, and they identify with him because of his immigrant roots. His family immigrated, and hes talked much more in recent times about his family coming from Europe to Brooklyn to escape persecution and anti-Semitism. And a lot of these young Latinos see in his immigration story their immigration story and feel really excited by that. michael barbaro So its resonating? jennifer medina Its resonating, definitely, and it has really big consequences. It has had meaningful impact on the rest of the race where its drawing away from candidates you might expect Latinos to support. jessica cheung Im really compelled by the thing that you said which is what compels you about Bernie is the immigrant story. Theres another presidential candidate who also embodies the American dream jennifer medina So at the time we spoke to Alfonso, there actually was a liberal Latino in the race. jennifer medina Julian Castro. And I wonder why Bernie over another American dream candidate? alfonso ruiz Ah. jennifer medina And who identified as a Chicano, as a Latino. alfonso ruiz He does. He does. Its hard because I think, like yeah. jennifer medina Do you feel guilty about it? alfonso ruiz No, I dont feel guilty. Its just more like well jennifer medina Im just sensing some guilt in your voice. alfonso ruiz Yeah. No. I think its like, ahh! I think its more like if I had seen him more as politically out there as Bernie in terms of the policy, really, really out there, I think Ill be supporting him. But its just in my mind, Im considering him a little bit moderate. michael barbaro Hes saying Castro just didnt speak to the things that I care about. jennifer medina Right. Castro just wasnt out there enough for me. Castro wasnt loud enough, early enough for me, and Castro doesnt represent the exact kind of policies or didnt represent the kind of policies I want to see strong enough and early enough. A lot of the Bernie Sanders young Latino supporters really like him because they see him as being passionate about the same things for decades and decades. Theres actually a sort of hobby, side hobby, of watching these old Sanders tapes from the 1970s and 80s. michael barbaro And seeing how much they have not changed to now. jennifer medina And seeing just how consistent and how his message is still the same 30, 40 years later. jennifer medina Can you tell us just about I mean, I know its called Tamales for Tio Bernie, but tell us about the event. Why did you decide to host this, and what are you hoping to do today? alfonso ruiz So for today Im trying to get all my friends that are already involved, see how we can collaborate, how we could talk about more ways to get more people involved in the neighborhoods, specifically in these neighborhoods, because what I did notice in 2015 when he first ran, I had never seen any of my friends in this block talk about presidential candidate. But then people were talking. We were just sitting around, have drinks right here in the house, play beer pong, and then talk about it after. Like, hey, who are you supporting? But I was more surprised of how much his message stuck to people in my neighborhood. jennifer medina The strategy is just to have this sort of casual conversation, the same kind of conversation that was happening in 2015 that had nothing to do with the official campaign. Hes trying to replicate that now officially and bring a bunch of people together over food and talk about Sanders, and then take it up a notch and talk about how can they convince people who arent already into voting or into Senator Sanders specifically to do so? michael barbaro And why is that the approach? What do we need to know about the Latino vote in California to understand the strategy? jennifer medina So Latinos are the biggest nonwhite ethnic voting bloc in California, and they really could swing the election if they show up to vote. But historically, Latinos have had a much lower turnout, and the Latino vote is quite young compared to average voters. So typically presidential campaigns or any campaign, for that matter have not necessarily catered to Latinos and certainly havent gone into neighborhoods like South L.A. So these people are really trying to figure out how they can convince people who are not super engaged, who might not even know that there is an election in March and who are just more preoccupied with things like working two jobs and getting food on the table and just dont have time in their day-to-day lives to pay attention to politics. alfonso ruiz Oh, theres my dad. Papa! jennifer medina [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina So Alfonsos dad, Maximo, comes home from his shift as a machinist. Maximo is 66 years old, and you could tell right away that hes really proud of his son and really kind of happy that somethings happening in his driveway, but hes also a little bit confused. maximo ruiz [SPEAKING SPANISH] michael barbaro Right. Again, the microphones. jennifer medina The microphones. jennifer medina Who do you do you have a favorite in the Democratic primary? maximo ruiz Biden. jennifer medina Biden. maximo ruiz Biden. jennifer medina Why? maximo ruiz Why? I think hes doing better than Sanders, no, Bernie Sanders? jennifer medina Why do you think hes better than Bernie Sanders? maximo ruiz Im not sure. michael barbaro So Alfonsos dad is not on the Sanders bandwagon. jennifer medina Definitely not. He feels pretty committed to Biden, and you can hear its just this sort of comfort level. Its almost more emotional than anything else. maximo ruiz Biden is the most Biden is more on television. jennifer medina Thats what I thought. maximo ruiz And then it come from Obama, you know, vice president, very famous, better. jennifer medina And he hasnt convinced you yet? maximo ruiz Who? jennifer medina Your son. maximo ruiz No. We havent talked about it much. jennifer medina You dont? maximo ruiz No. jennifer medina Biden is who he knows. Thats who he sees on TV, and he thinks of him as the vice president coming out of the Obama administration. And Maximo really represents what I hear a lot from older Latinos, which is they see that connection to the Obama administration as a really good thing. But among the younger set, they feel really disillusioned with the Obama administration. michael barbaro Why? jennifer medina They think of Obama as being deporter in chief, this nickname he earned because of the deportations that happened under his administration. So they see the Obama administration as something they want to move away from, not back to. alfonso ruiz And thats what Im saying. Its hard to convince older people because they know him. Like, thats it. Like, at the end of the day, voters just vote on people that they already know. jennifer medina So as weve been standing there talking, a small crowd has gathered. Its about 15 people. Everybodys gotten their food, their coffee, and taken their plates and sat down at this table. And alfonso ruiz All right, hey, everybody. jennifer medina Alfonso walks over and starts to kick it off. alfonso ruiz And we can go around and just say your name and why you support Bernie. jaime So my name is Jaime. Ive been a Bernie supporter since his first run. mia My name is Mia, and Ive been supporting Bernie since 2016. julian Hi, Im Julian. The reason I support Bernie is because hes by far the most genuine and trustworthy candidate out of anyone running. speaker 1 We take absolutely every opportunity we can to talk about Bernie, so even if that means talking to a group of men or of people at a taco stand. speaker 2 I dont have any problem talking to anybody on the street, you know, to the person that sells tamales or the ones that are selling nopales to the homeless person. speaker 3 So wherever Im at, if Im in an Uber or Im in [SPEAKING SPANISH] or wherever Im at, Im going to just turn around and start talking to someone about the presidential election. speaker 1 This is our community. Were not showing up to a meeting. They totally did not expect it, and they said, who is Bernie Sanders? And so were like, thats a great question. Let us tell you who he is. Hes amazing. michael barbaro So theyre basically comparing notes on how to pull off this strategy that you described. jennifer medina Right, and theyre kind of talking about what works and sort of sharing victory stories. Theres a lot of pride in people talking about who theyve managed to convince, including their own parents. speaker My dad is all about self-responsibility, self-reliance, not relying on the government, not needing anything from anyone. They grew up in a different era, and they dont believe that everyone should have, quote, unquote, a handout. And I tell him, thats not someone giving you a handout. You have rights, and everyone should have equal access, and thats what were fighting for. So this past April he became a citizen, and hes going to vote for the first time in his whole life. Hes going to vote for Bernie Sanders. His first vote is going to Bernie Sanders. And that is so powerful. michael barbaro Im curious if Alfonsos dad, a Biden supporter, is hearing all this, since this is happening in his own driveway. jennifer medina Alfonsos dad has kind of been standing there the whole time but playing host. Hes making sure everybody has enough food and that everybodys comfortable and really standing there and taking it all in. Hes had this kind of shy smile on his face the whole time and clearly listening to everything. But as things start to wrap up, one woman turns to him and says speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina Well, what about you? Are you going to support Sanders? maximo ruiz [SPEAKING SPANISH] speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina He sort of tries to brush her off and change the subject, and Alfonso kind of chimes in and says alfonso ruiz [SPEAKING SPANISH] [LAUGHTER] jennifer medina No, no, not my dad. Hes not convincable. michael barbaro So even the son admits that, in this case, his dad is a little bit of a lost cause when it comes to Bernie. jennifer medina Thats right. maximo ruiz [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina And its really indicative of the challenge that is facing Alfonso and all these supporters. Maximo told me with a great deal of pride that he has voted in every election since he became a citizen in 1986. So heres somebody who votes all the time and is going to be casting a vote but wont be for Sanders. They cant convince somebody who is a prime voter. speaker 1 [SPEAKING SPANISH] monika evstatieva Nice to meet you. michael barbaro And if Bernie doesnt win California? jennifer medina And if he doesnt win California and if he doesnt win Latinos in California, its really a bad sign for the campaign, because theyve put so much effort into it and really made clear that this is the way they think they can win. michael barbaro So the question is if young Latino voters cant convince someone like Maximo to vote for Sanders, can this strategy actually work? jennifer medina Exactly. michael barbaro Well be right back. O.K., Jenny, where did you go next? jennifer medina I dont know that this matters jennifer medina So we drive about an hour deep into the San Fernando Valley. gps navigation Turn left onto San Marino Street. jennifer medina This is a part of L.A. that is much more rural than what you typically think of. People here have ranches and horses and trailers. jennifer medina Theres a car in the driveway. jessica cheung And an R.V. jennifer medina And an R.V. Well, these are people who have horses, so they need those. jessica cheung Oh, yeah. jennifer medina And this part of Los Angeles has a much more conservative and libertarian streak. We also know that many of the voters here would be first-time voters, so people who havent shown up at the polls before. But again, the Sanders campaign needs all Latinos in order to win, so they are here to convince these people too. And this event is targeting charros. michael barbaro And what are charros? jennifer medina Charros are Mexican cowboys. Theres a big community of them in this part of L.A. speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina So we get to this house, and we go up to the door. And as soon as we get to the backyard, we see all these guys standing there in snakeskin boots and big belt buckles and big cowboy hats. And it feels just like a party. People are all sitting around this pool. Again, theres lots of food here. Its very casual. michael barbaro And whos hosting this event? joseline garcia Hi, Joseline. jennifer medina Jenny. joseline garcia Nice to meet you. jennifer medina So this event is being hosted by Joseline Garcia, who is a staffer on the Sanders campaign here in L.A. Shes in charge of college outreach, but shes decided to do this event because of people her father knows. Her father is a charro, and she got him to invite many of his friends. And once again the Sanders campaign is really using younger voters to reach out to older voters and try to get them into the fold. joseline garcia [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina So Joseline starts the event and gathers everybody, and theres also rafael navar [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina Rafael Navar, who is the state director for the Sanders campaign in California. rafael navar [SPEAKING SPANISH] michael barbaro So the head of the entire Sanders campaign in California is at this little house gathering. What do you make of that? jennifer medina It just goes to show how important all of these small events are to the campaign, that you have the state director with a couple of dozen people here to make the pitch himself. rafael navar And this campaign has prioritized people that look like this country and let folks in, not just Latinos, but other people of color. The diversity and beauty jennifer medina So Joseline and Rafael open it up rafael navar [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina and go through the Sanders platform. Many people here are hearing about this all for the first time, and its a lot to take in. They go through joseline garcia [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina Medicare for all rafael navar [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina tuition-free college. rafael navar [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina And they speak for several minutes. rafael navar [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina The charros are standing there with their arms folded, sort of nodding, but rafael navar [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina as they close and open it up for questions, the questions start coming really quickly. speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina How is the Sanders campaign going to help their small businesses? speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina What will they do about the potheads they see on the streets? speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina And they ask a lot about taxes. speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina And what they really want to know is, how are you going to get the money for this? Am I going to have to be paying more in taxes? speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina And the Sanders campaign replies to them rafael navar [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina by talking about the Green New Deal, arguing that that will help small businesses. joseline garcia [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina They talk about how Medicare for all would mean that employers dont have to pay for employees health insurance. rafael navar [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina And say, look, the people who are going to be taxed are the millionaires and billionaires, not you. rafael navar [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina But its becoming really clear, though the charros are nodding their head and being really polite, that these answers arent really convincing them. Ultimately, these are progressive answers for conservatives. joseline garcia [SPEAKING SPANISH] michael barbaro Jenny, I guess, listening to all this, Im trying to figure out if this strategy makes sense to you as a political reporter. The first event I understand. Young Latino voters who are passionate about Sanders want to help spread the word and maybe convince older Latinos why this guy is in their best interest. But this event feels different. These are voters who need to be convinced of so many things, right? They need to be convinced to care about politics. They need to be convinced that a progressive candidate is somehow in line with their more conservative values, and they need to be so convinced that they go out and vote on Election Day, maybe for the first time. jennifer medina I definitely agree and totally hear the skepticism, and theres real reason to be skeptical. Theres no question that the strategy absolutely relies on getting new voters and convincing people who have never voted before and who dont see politics as part of their everyday lives to show up and vote in the primary for Bernie Sanders. joseline garcia [SPEAKING SPANISH] [APPLAUSE] [music] jennifer medina So when the event wraps, I make a really quick beeline to this group of charros and focus on one who had asked the most questions. jennifer medina [SPEAKING SPANISH] jennifer medina His name is Victor Trinidad, and hes dressed in all black wearing cowboy boots and a big belt buckle. jessica cheung And youre wearing a cowboy hat. victor trinidad Thats right. jennifer medina Do you consider yourself a charro? victor trinidad No. I have a horse. jennifer medina So? [LAUGHTER] victor trinidad Well, I dont know if thats being a charro cowboy. jennifer medina A cowboy as opposed to a charro? jennifer medina And it becomes pretty clear immediately that he is somebody with a fierce independent streak. jennifer medina What are the most important issues? You asked about small business, right? victor trinidad Yes. jennifer medina So what are the most do you own a small business? victor trinidad I do. jennifer medina What kind of business do you own? victor trinidad Landscape. jennifer medina So the most important issue for you is how to grow your small business? victor trinidad What do they offer, yes, for small businesses? jennifer medina What did you think of the answer you heard tonight? Did you feel like there was an answer to your question? victor trinidad Not what I wanted to hear, just because its kind of a short answer. I think it has to be more detailed and its more to it. jennifer medina And so do you know who youre going to vote for? victor trinidad Not really, and Im just going to follow and see who is going to get my vote. Maybe its him. I dont know. jennifer medina So hes telling me, maybe Ill vote for Sanders victor trinidad But Im definitely going to vote for sure, yeah. jennifer medina but Im definitely going to vote. jennifer medina So why are you voting this time? victor trinidad Well, for the first time, Im going to vote just because I experience a lot of racism that I wasnt used to prior to Trump in office. So that kind of just motivated me to just to vote against this behavior. jennifer medina And this is something we see a lot in the Latino community right now, which is much more enthusiasm about voting because of Trump and because of what people are experiencing. jennifer medina Whats happening now that you didnt feel like happened before Trump? victor trinidad Just dirty looks, saying bad things that I dont want to say. Thats about it. jennifer medina Are you registered as a Democrat? victor trinidad No. jennifer medina What are you registered as? victor trinidad Independent. jennifer medina So you have to request a ballot to vote as a Democrat. Did you know that? victor trinidad I think I get ballots from the mail, but I choose jennifer medina Right. victor trinidad Oh, I have to be registered? jennifer medina To vote in the primary this is a confusing California thing to vote in the primary, you have to request a ballot if youre not registered as a Democrat. victor trinidad Thats crazy. I dont think Ill do that. jennifer medina You dont think youll do that? victor trinidad Im not going to register just unless something truly motivates me. jennifer medina And you didnt hear anything tonight that really motivates you? victor trinidad Going to have to hear from the other guys. michael barbaro Jenny, this does not seem like a good sign. jennifer medina It does not seem like a good sign. And it goes to show that while a lot of Latinos are very eager to vote against Trump, its much more difficult to get them to show up in a primary and vote for somebody else, and its not an easy process. jennifer medina Hi. How are you? Im Jenny Medina. Im a reporter with The New York Times. miriam cuesta Jenny? Im Miriam. Hi. jennifer medina And youre Jenny also? jennifer najera Jenny, yes. Nice to meet you. jennifer medina So we speak to two young women, Miriam Cuesta and Jennifer Najera, who are both college students, and both are die-hard Bernie supporters. jennifer medina Do you use the term Tio Bernie? miriam cuesta Oh, Tio Bernie? jennifer najera Tio Bernie? miriam cuesta Yeah. jennifer najera Tio Bernie. Tio Bernie, yeah. miriam cuesta Theres always someone in our family, a tio, an uncle, who you just get along with. You know. You understand them. You know, they might be different than you. So Bernie, hes seen a lot as just an old white man, but he still comes from an immigrant family. And so we understand each other. Even if our battles were different, hes our tio. We get it. He understands us even though he doesnt have to necessarily live us. jennifer medina And they both brought both of their parents tonight. miriam cuesta Yes, I brought my mom and my dad. jennifer medina Where? Where are they? miriam cuesta Over there. jennifer medina Oh, with the leather jacket. jennifer medina But as were talking jennifer medina Is she a registered voter? miriam cuesta No. Neither of my parents are. jennifer medina it becomes clear that her parents wont vote. jennifer medina Are they ever eligible to vote? miriam cuesta No. jennifer medina O.K. miriam cuesta So thats another perspective that I feel like I think the majority of the people here are eligible voters, and we are not. jennifer medina And, in fact miriam cuesta So all three of us are not. So its jennifer medina Youre not an eligible voter? miriam cuesta No, I am not. jennifer medina Miriam herself cannot vote. jennifer medina So what are you doing? If you cant vote, what do you do with your energy and your activism? miriam cuesta Exactly, yeah. I think thats one of the reasons why I am so active, because I cant vote. I cant even legally donate money to any campaign, and so all I have left is to put in the time and energy. So I started a club on my campus. I started knocking on doors. We started making calls. We started asking just strangers on our campus, do you support Bernie? If you do, make sure youre registered. By this day, youre going to vote. If youre not, let me answer some questions. Let me educate you just in general, just plant a seed. Thats how I can contribute to him. If I cant vote, at least I can get another person to vote for him in my place. jennifer medina And then as I talked to Jennifer jennifer medina Are you eligible to vote? jennifer najera Yes, Im eligible to vote. jennifer medina she can vote. jennifer medina Are your parents eligible to vote? jennifer najera Theyre not eligible. jennifer medina But her parents cannot. jennifer najera So just coming here tonight, I wanted to humanize it for them, let them know that politics isnt just evil and corruption. Its community, community building, bonding with people, hope, all of these things that we hope to spread with the campaign about Bernie. jennifer medina And so this just stuns me, that, of half a dozen people Im speaking to at this event of maybe 20 people, five of them five out of six of them cannot vote. michael barbaro And why cant they vote? jennifer medina They cant vote because theyre not U.S. citizens. speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH] michael barbaro Jenny, what do you take away from these two events that you went to in Los Angeles? What should we take away from these two events that you went to? jennifer medina It goes to show how complicated the Latino vote is not just in California but in the United States, which is its young. It is mixed status. There are people who are citizens and people who are not. There are English speakers and Spanish speakers. Its a huge, varied group, and it requires a lot of outreach to get the kind of enthusiasm to show up at the polls and make a difference. But if you multiply these two events by a thousand, you can imagine this movement spreading throughout California and really tipping the scales to the Sanders campaign. So what theyre really trying to do is create this brand-new coalition that brings in all sorts of new Latino voters, both young and old. And if it works, it will probably seem almost obvious in retrospect. But what these two events show us is just how challenging and labor intensive the work is. michael barbaro Which is why the question of the Obama coalition without the moderates is being tested in the Sanders campaign. jennifer medina Right. If this works, it could revolutionize the way Latino voters are thought of. If it doesnt, then the Sanders campaign loses. michael barbaro Jenny, thank you very much. jennifer medina Thank you. michael barbaro Well be right back. archived recording (john roberts) At this time, I will administer the oath to all senators in the chamber in conformance with Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the Constitution and the Senates impeachment rules. michael barbaro Heres what else you need to know today. archived recording (john roberts) Will all senators now stand or remain standing and raise their right hand? michael barbaro On Thursday, the Senate formally opened the impeachment trial of President Trump as Chief Justice John Roberts swore in the bodys 100 members as jurors. archived recording (john roberts) Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God? archived recording I do. michael barbaro Moments later, the sergeant-at-arms announced the rules for the trial. archived recording Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. All persons are commanded to keep silent on pain of imprisonment while the House of Representatives is exhibiting to the Senate of the United States articles of impeachment against Donald John Trump, president of the United States. michael barbaro With that, the Senate paused the trial until the beginning of next week. archived recording (john roberts) The Senate, sitting as court of impeachment, is adjourned until Tuesday, January 21 at 1:00 p.m. [GAVEL] michael barbaro Cookie Preferences Cookie List Cookie List A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website when visited by a user asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting for our advertising and marketing efforts. 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Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 23:05:34|Editor: yan Video Player Close TOKYO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Japan's suicide rate dropped from a year earlier to a record low in 2019, marking the tenth straight year of decline, the National Police Agency (NPA) said in a report on Friday. According to the agency, the number of suicides declined 4.2 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, to 19,959 cases, with the figure falling below the 20,000 mark for the first time since comparable data became available. The statistics showed that women committing suicide hit a record low in the recording period at 6,022 cases, 528 less than the previous year, with those of men down by 353 instances, at 13,937. The largest number of cases were registered in Tokyo at 2,107, followed by Osaka at 1,191 in the recording period. Saitama Prefecture, meanwhile, logged the third-highest number of suicides at 1,100, the data showed. Of Japan's 47 prefectures, Tottori booked the lowest number of suicides at 80 cases. "We need to face up to the reality that as many as about 20,000 people took their own precious lives," Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Katsunobu Kato said. "To realize a society where nobody will be forced to commit suicide, we'll promote countermeasures steadily," Kato told a press briefing on the matter. The health ministry said its preventative measures so far have included the provision of consultation services for younger people utilizing social media platforms. New Delhi [India], Jan 17 (ANI): Acting on the information received regarding the fake manufacturing unit, the Delhi Police seized 90 plastic bags of washing powder (Tide and Surf Excel), 74 plastic bags of Tata Salt in Delhi's Alipur. The police raided a plot in Alipur after Sanjeev Bahl, authorised representative of Surf Excel, Tide and Tata Salt filed a complaint. On searching of premises, 90 Plastic Bags of washing powder (Tide & Surf Excel), 74 plastic bags of Tata Salt, 31 Plastic Bags of Rappers ( Tide, Tata Salt and Surf Excel) and two packing machines were recovered and seized. During the course of the investigation, Rajesh Kumar, ACP revealed that the Mukesh Garg (42) had taken the plot on rent to manufacture these fake recovered products. The accused is on the run and it was revealed that Mukesh Garg also has some previous cases filed against him. An FIR has been filed under Copy Right Act. The team has been formed to nab him. Further investigation is underway. (ANI) Mr. Hudson was killed on August 11, 2019 as he transported luggage in the unlit area of the ramp outside Gate E3. The dim area outside the E Concourse prevented Mr. Hudson from seeing a piece of fallen luggage laying on the ground directly blocking his path. When the 24-year-old airline employee approached the obstruction he turned the luggage tug in an attempt to avoid colliding with the luggage. Unfortunately, the feeble lighting on the ramp prevented Mr. Hudson from seeing the luggage early enough to safely maneuver around it. Mr. Hudson's vehicle collided with the luggage and flipped over, crushing him beneath its weight. Alex Hilliard stated: "There is a needless and preventable danger being ignored by American Airlines as employees continue to put their lives in jeopardy. American Airlines knew of the inadequate lighting, and the danger it presents to all those working in the area, yet they chose to stick their head in the sand, as Mr. Hudson and other personnel continued to work in dangerous conditions. The inadequacy of the lighting created hazardous conditions that many airport personnel reported prior to Mr. Hudson's death." The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation into the accident and focuses on the adequacy of lighting in the area surrounding Gate E3 as well as other areas around the E Concourse. For some time, baggage handlers and other airport employees have complained of near-pitch-black conditions around the E Concourse. Workers considered the unsafe conditions surrounding Gates 30-38 so shockingly dangerous they began referring to the area as "Death Valley." At a hearing held Wednesday by the House Subcommittee on Aviation, CWA Local 3645 Vice President Donielle Prophete called on Congress and American Airlines to address serious safety concerns for airline workers. During her testimony, Prophete noted that inadequate lighting on the tarmac, a concern repeatedly raised by her local with Piedmont management, likely led to the tragic death of Charlotte ramp worker Kendrick Hudson in August, 2019. The tug Hudson was driving hit a piece of baggage that had fallen on the tarmac, causing the tug to flip over. Prophete also presented the Piedmont Safety Report to the subcommittee, which highlights the widespread safety problems at Charlotte Douglas Airport. The Report states severe understaffing and failures by management to address safety hazards increase the risk of injuries and deaths. Despite repeated instances of CWA local union and airport agents raising safety concerns about the lighting to airport management and executives of American Airlines and The City of Charlotte management prior to Hudson's death, no action has been taken to fix the lighting issue. The Piedmont Safety Report also cites to a new survey of nearly 500 Piedmont agents across the country, with a focus on Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Almost all agents are concerned about safety with 94% reporting that safety is a very serious (63%) or a somewhat serious (31%) problem at their station. More than half of ramp agents report working frequently with defective vehicles, 34% in every shift and 20% in most shifts. The primary vehicles cited were tugs, vehicles used to move aircraft and other equipment like carts that cannot move independently, and belt-loaders, equipment with a conveyor-like ramp used to load and unload baggage and cargo from an aircraft. Over forty percent of ramp agents report they often lack time to thoroughly inspect ground equipment before use. Half of ramp agents report working on certain areas of the tarmac with insufficient or poor lighting. Sixty percent of ramp agents report that some of the painted lines on the tarmac are poorly defined and hard to distinguish. Ramp agents are at increased risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) due to loading and unloading baggage quickly and sometimes with defective belt loaders. 62% of agents said they had told management about a safety concern in the past six months. Of those agents who reported safety concerns, 77% said management failed to resolve their safety concern at all (46%) or did not resolve it quickly (31%). According to CWA, the insufficient lighting hazard had been raised at various "Roundtable" meetings over the past two years that the airlines set up to hear about agents' concerns. The insufficient lighting hazard had also been raised by Vice President of CWA, Donielle Prophete, and other members of the local union's Executive Board at the monthly department meetings with airline and city management. CWA has requested the airline make the following changes to ensure worker safety: There is adequate lighting on the tarmac at all stations; All baggage carts have operable closures on the curtains to contain baggage; The painted traffic lines are visible, clear, and regularly maintained; and Safer tugs with greater stability and improved safety features are provided. ABOUT HMG http://www.hmglawfirm.com/ SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW WITH ALEX HILLIARD, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING THE HUDSON FAMILY Contact Annabel Garza at 361-765-3345 Cause No. 19-cvs-23322 SOURCE Hilliard Martinez Gonzales, LLP Related Links http://www.hmglawfirm.com An airport worker examines a flybe aircraft before it takes off from Liverpool John Lennon Airport in Liverpool northern England, May 19 , 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble Flybe on Friday defended its government rescue package, saying that it had negotiated an arrangement that any business in financial difficulties may use. The rebuttal came as Ryanair (RYA.L) CEO Michael OLeary doubled down on his criticism of the regional airline. OLeary called the the deal unfair on competing operators and said Flybe was not a viable business. Media reporting of the arrangement Flybe has come to in order to pay its debts to [HM Revenue and Customs] has been inaccurate, Flybe said in a statement. The airline was thought to have negotiated an extension on more than 100m in unpaid air passenger duties, but Flybe said on Friday that it has agreed a payment plan for a debt of less than 10m. READ MORE: Ryanair threatens legal action against UK government over Flybe bailout This agreement will only last a matter of months before all taxes and duties are paid in full, Flybe said. The extension, known as a time-to-pay arrangement, is essentially a debt repayment plan for outstanding taxes. All companies can attempt to agree a deal with HM Revenue and Customs for extra time to pay unpaid taxes. But OLeary told the BBC that it was unfair on all the other UK airlines that the government was stepping in here, and said that a similar deal should be extended to other operators. This is the government misusing state funds to discriminate in favour of Flybe. It is in breach of competition rules and it is in breach of state aid rules, which is why the government is covering up the deal, he said. He said that the consortium that owns Flybe, known as Connect Airways, needed to put another 27m into the company. But he noted that Connect Airways, which is owned by Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Aviation, and Cyrus Capital Partners, had already put 110m into the airline last year. READ MORE: BA-owner IAG files complaint with EU over Flybe rescue package They have burned their way through that in 12 months, so 27m will be gone by the end of March. Story continues And then what? Flybe is not a viable business, it never has been. It has lurched from reconstruction to reconstruction. The boss of the low-cost carrier called Flybe a small operation and said that other airlines would step in to cover its UK regional flights if it folded. If Flybe folds, as it inevitably will in exactly the same way as we did after Thomas Cook and Monarch Ryanair, EasyJet, BA, Norwegian and others will step in. We will add more flights, there will be no loss of regional services. The main airlines in the regions are us, he said. Famed tattoo artist Kat Von D announced Thursday that she was selling all shares of her cruelty-free cosmetic company KatVonD Beauty to her partners of 11 years, Kendo. In a note to her 21.9M social media following, the 37-year-old new mother admitted she 'can't do everything at the maximum capacity' and it was a 'difficult' decision to make. 'I decided I wanted the makeup line to continue to thrive and grow, and I believe Kendo is primed to do just that,' Kat (born Katherine von Drachenberg) explained. It's over: Famed tattoo artist Kat Von D announced Thursday that she was selling all shares of her cruelty-free cosmetic company KatVonD Beauty to her partners of 11 years, Kendo 'Great change': In a note to her fans, the 37-year-old new mother admitted she 'can't do everything at the maximum capacity' and it was a 'difficult' decision to make 'The transition for you, my loyal customers, will be seamless. In order to avoid any confusion with such a big change, Kat Von D Beauty will take a moment to rebrand itself, so you will start noticing the change from KatVonD Beauty to KvD Vegan Beauty.' The Mexican-born, Cali-raised vegan had been criticized over her use of the controversial lipstick names 'Celebutard' and 'Selektion,' which was a term used by the Nazi regime. Kat has also been blasted over her controversial stance on vaccines and for her feud with make-up rival Jeffree Star. She continued: 'The transition for you, my loyal customers, will be seamless. In order to avoid any confusion with such a big change, Kat Von D Beauty will take a moment to rebrand itself, so you will start noticing the change from KatVonD Beauty to KvD Vegan Beauty' Controversy: The Mexican-born, Cali-raised vegan had been criticized over her use of the lipstick names 'Celebutard' and 'Selektion,' which was a term used by the Nazi regime Rebranded website: Kat has also been blasted over her controversial stance on vaccines and for her feud with make-up rival Jeffree Star To soften the blow of her news, the high school drop-out Insta-storied a cute video of her 14-month-old son Leafar Von Drachenberg Reyes eating peas. Von D and her second husband - Cholo goth rocker Rafael Reyes aka Leafar Seyer - will celebrate their second wedding anniversary on February 21. Kat was previously engaged to two cheaters - reality star Jesse James and DJ Deadmau5 also known as Joel Zimmerman. Cute kid: To soften the blow of her news, the high school drop-out Insta-storied a video of her 14-month-old son Leafar Von Drachenberg Reyes eating peas September 24 family portrait: Von D and her second husband - Cholo goth rocker Rafael Reyes aka Leafar Seyer - will celebrate their second wedding anniversary on February 21 The 5ft9in brunette divorced fellow tattoo artist Oliver Peck in 2007 after four years of marriage and also dated Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx. Aside from motherhood, Von D has been hard at work prepping to release her album in the spring, which will be followed by an international tour. The LA Ink alum and her business partner Rebecca Mink are also focusing on her vegan shoe line, Von D, handcrafted in Florence, Italy. Excited? Aside from motherhood, Kat has been hard at work prepping to release her album in the spring, which will be followed by an international tour (pictured December 31) Pakistans foreign minister said during his visit to Washington that the United States should remain engaged in Afghanistan even if it eventually pulls its troops out of the war-torn country. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on January 17, cautioned Washington not to return to a policy of neglect of Afghanistan in the manner seen after 1989, when Soviet troops pulled out under pressure from U.S.- and Pakistan-backed Islamic guerrillas. "Do not repeat the '80s," Qureshi said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Even if there is a successful agreement, challenges will remain there, so the United States and its friends and coalition partners will have to have a more responsible withdrawal," he said. "They should remain engaged -- not to fight, but to rebuild," he said. U.S. forces have been in Afghanistan since their 2001 invasion to drive out the Taliban following the September 11 terror attacks in the United States. The Taliban controlled Afghanistan at the time and harbored Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attacks. U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his desire to remove the estimated 13,000 U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan in Americas longest war. Over the past year, Islamabad has helped facilitate the talks between U.S. negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban in Qatar, where the militants have a political office. But the talks have repeatedly stalled, with Washington calling on the group to reduce violence, among other things. Earlier in the day, Qureshi said in a video message that the Taliban has shown "willingness" to reduce violence in Afghanistan, calling it a step toward a peace deal between the militant group and the United States. Pakistan was the main backer of the former Taliban regime and maintains contacts with the extremists. The Taliban militants have given Khalilzad an offer for a temporary cease-fire in Afghanistan that would last between seven and 10 days, AP reported, citing Taliban negotiators. "They are pragmatic and not foolish. They are also fatigued," Qureshi said of the Taliban. With reporting by AFP, dpa, and AP Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 00:34:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese Ambassador to Romania Jiang Yu and Romanian Culture Minister Bogdan Gheorghiu sign a bilateral agreement on prevention of theft, illegal excavation, and illicit import and export of cultural property on behalf of the two governments at the Romanian National Library in Bucharest, Romania, Jan. 17, 2020. The agreement, aimed at preventing illegal flow of cultural relics, will play a positive role in the international community's efforts to protect human cultural heritage, according to the two governments. (Xinhua/Chen Jin) BUCHAREST, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- China and Romania signed here on Friday a bilateral agreement on prevention of theft, illegal excavation, and illicit import and export of cultural property. The agreement, aimed at preventing illegal flow of cultural relics, will play a positive role in the international community's efforts to protect human cultural heritage, according to the two governments. Chinese Ambassador to Romania Jiang Yu and Romanian Culture Minister Bogdan Gheorghiu signed the agreement on behalf of the two governments at the Romanian National Library. "Through this approach, we become aware of our role and assume responsibility in protecting the legacy of future generations," the Romanian official said after the signing ceremony. "It is our duty to ensure that all objects that make up the cultural heritage are unconditionally protected from illegal property," said Gheorghiu, adding that the agreement protects both cultures from heritage theft. The Chinese ambassador said that the bilateral cultural exchanges have become a positive impetus for the improvement of China-Romania relations, and enhanced the friendship and cooperative partnership between China and Romania. The ambassador said China will continue to work with Romania to strengthen cultural exchanges and cooperation to advance the cultural development and prosperity of the two countries. Indiana must list same-sex parents on their childs birth certificate, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday in a 10-page opinion that took 32 months to issue. The case, Henderson v. Box, is easy to resolve under Supreme Court precedent. In his decision for a unanimous panel, Judge Frank Easterbrook explained that Indianas parentage scheme unconstitutionally discriminates against same-sex couples. When an opposite-sex couple has a child, the law grants a presumption of parenthood to the father and lists him on the birth certificate. But when a same-sex couple has a child, the law denies that presumption and forces the second parent to undergo the arduous, expensive process of adopting their own child. Thus, when a woman married to a man uses a sperm donor, her husband is deemed the childs father. When a woman married to a woman uses a sperm donor, by contrast, her wife is denied legal parenthood. Moreover, a child born to married opposite-sex couples are deemed to be born in wedlock, while children born to same-sex couples are considered to be born out of wedlock. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These rules, Easterbrook wrote, run afoul of the Supreme Courts decisions in Obergefell v. Hodges and Pavan v. Smith. In Obergefell, the court required states to recognize same-sex marriages; in Pavan, it protected the equal rights of same-sex parents, ordering Arkansas to list married same-sex couples on their childs birth certificate. After Pavan, Henderson should have been an easy case: Indiana engaged in the same discrimination that SCOTUS found unconstitutional in Pavan. Yet the 7th Circuit panelmade up of Easterbrook, Diane Sykes, and Joel Flaumspent 32 months mulling the matter, as Slate reported. In an email earlier this month, Easterbrook told Slate that the difficult case was being actively worked on. His decision implies that the panel may have dragged its feet because it contemplated asking the Indiana Supreme Court to clarify technical questions of state law. But the panel decided against it because no court could save the state statutes by rewriting them. Advertisement Advertisement Fridays decision ends a long period of uncertainty for Indianas same-sex parents. A lower court blocked the Indiana law in June 2016, directing the state to list both parents on their childs birth certificate, regardless of sex. But same-sex parents still lived in fear that the 7th Circuit could reverse that decision, allowing Indiana to remove the non-biological parents name from the birth certificateand revoke their legal parenthood. It is possible that Indiana will appeal the decision to SCOTUS. It seems unlikely, though, that the justices will have an appetite to reverse Pavan less than three years after it came down. (Notably, too, Chief Justice John Roberts, a dissenter in Obergefell, did not dissent from Pavan.) As Henderson illustrates, the federal judiciary must remain vigilant against state efforts to diminish the equality of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. It may not have been easy for Easterbrook, Sykes, and Flaumall conservative Republican appointeesto strike down Indianas scheme. But their decision was plainly compelled by precedent. As other courts defy SCOTUS in the hopes of shifting the law rightward, the 7th Circuit deserves credit for providing justice, however overdue, to Indianas same-sex parents. TAHOE CITY, Calif. - A man killed in an avalanche at a Lake Tahoe ski resort on Friday was remembered as an avid skier familiar with the picturesque mountains along the northern California and Nevada border. Cole Comstock, 34, of Blairsden, California, was caught in the avalanche that seriously injured another skier on some of the steepest terrain at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort, where a series of expert runs snake through trees, past cliffs and down narrow chutes. The avalanche occurred the morning after a storm dumped 11 to 22 inches (0.28 to 0.56 metres) of snow. You have to be pretty skilled to get over there in the first place, said Sean Kent of Reno, who was at Alpine Meadows Friday and has skied the affected area before. Its fickle. It comes with the territory. Theres only so much you can do. Comstocks family said in a statement to the Sacramento Bee that he had been skiing for 11 years and grew up in the nearby town of Quincy, California. He deeply loved his friends, his family, and, above all, his wife, their statement read. He supported everyone with all of his heart and was a true example of unconditional love. Placer County Sheriffs Sgt. Michael Powers said the injured skier had serious lower body injuries and was airlifted to a Lake Tahoe hospital for emergency surgery. Powers said a ski patrol was on scene in the rugged area almost immediately, where others at the top of the run said two skiers had been on the hill below them in an area within the ski resorts boundary. I know at least one of the victims was partially buried by snow, Powers said. When you get conditions like this, there is always a risk of avalanche. The Sierra Avalanche Center had warned of dangerous avalanche conditions for all elevations following the storm. Its website said there was a high degree of uncertainty in regards to snowpack instability near and below treeline. Search and rescue crews scoured the rest of the mountain with dogs after the avalanche. Authorities did not believe there were any more victims. Snowboarder Rex Mulvaney of Reno said he noticed some areas had been roped off and people were heading back down the mountain. I knew right away something was wrong, he said. They dont usually close something as soon as they open it, like five minutes later. The cause of the avalanche was under investigation. The resort said avalanche-prevention work had been performed in the area before it was opened to skiers for the day. The tragedy came at the start of a busy holiday weekend where hundreds of people flock to ski resorts surrounding Lake Tahoe, oftentimes enduring hours-long traffic backup and treacherous road conditions to reach the regions snow-covered slopes. An avalanche at Alpine Meadows in March 1982 killed seven people, including several employees of the ski resort. It struck several buildings, including the main lodge and two chairlifts, and buried the resorts parking lot. One woman was discovered after five days, buried in the remains of the ski chalet. Alpine Meadows, about 7 miles (11 kilometres) from Tahoe City, is next to Squaw Valley, home of the 1960 winter Olympics. The two resorts are co-owned by Alterra Mountain Co. and operated as Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows. On its website, Alpine Meadows touts itself as a picturesque playground for families and off-the-radar thrill-seekers. The property has more than 100 trails across 2,400 acres (971 hectares), groomed runs and chalet-style lodges. ___ Associated Press writers Daisy Nguyen in San Francisco and Cheyanne Mumphrey in Phoenix contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Cole Comstock is the deceased victim. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 The University of Pennsylvanias Lia Thomas competes in a swim meet against Dartmouth and Yale on Saturday. (Kylie Cooper) After undergoing hormone replacement therapy, Thomas has posted fast times for the University of Pennsylvania's women's team, sparking debates from the starting blocks to online message boards to cable news networks. We are thrilled to be headed to the International Builders Show in Las Vegas, stated Lauren Huffman, Director of Operations and Co-Founder of evoVisit. The hard work and dedication of our leadership and team shines through all of our new technology..." Tech startup evoVisit makes its official debut in front of 75,000 building industry VIPs at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas during the week of January 20, 2020. With a suite of innovative technology designed to manage every aspect of the home buying experience, the startup company frees up sales agents to do what they do best: close the sale. evoVisits products include proprietary technology such as an integrated tour scheduler, lead reengagement platform, chatbots, and a post-visit review management system. The company will launch into the active adult age division of the building industry first, allowing them to target the largest group of buyers in the business. The company originally got started in 2018 while working extensively with builders and developers across the United States to continue their product development. In the summer of 2019, evoVisit was one of 8 companies accepted into Silver Moonshots, an accelerator program designed for startups focused on building technology solutions for active adults and boomers. Now, in the early stages of 2020, evoVisit is ready for the official launch of their suite of products. We are thrilled to be headed to the International Builders Show in Las Vegas, stated Lauren Huffman, Director of Operations and Co-Founder of evoVisit. The hard work and dedication of our leadership and team shines through all of our new technology and we are excited to be able to officially share everything we have worked on with the leading builders in the nation and overseas. Our hope is that evoVisit is to be one of many startups that blossom from the city of Frederick. Following their appearance at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas, the startup plans to roll out sales efforts across the United States and internationally. For a more in-depth look at evoVisits suite of products, pricing packages, demos and more visit their official website at https://evovisit.com/. Continue to follow their journey on social media @evovisit. About evoVisit Founded in 2018, evoVisit is the first Visit Relationship Management system designed to turn homebuyer inquiries into sales. With a SaaS Platform that allows higher conversion rates within a shorter period of time, the company uses their proprietary technology to coordinate the visit experiences that people want with the communities that are selling homes. In 2019, the company was one of eight companies accepted into Silver Moonshots, an accelerator program designed for startups focused on building technology solutions for active adults and boomers. Their offices reside in beautiful downtown Frederick, MD. Tates trip was delayed, however, so she sent the socks at a later date to the Washington D.C. correspondent to The Charlotte Observer, who then forwarded them to the president. The war was over, but Wilson had fallen ill, so Tate thought the red socks might yet take a message of cheer to the sick president. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Imagine Hawkins surprise and delight when she received the following letter, dated Jan. 17, 1920, which incidentally was also her birthday: My Dear Little Girl, The President has asked me to thank you most warmly for sending him the socks and to tell you that it is always a pleasure to him to be remembered by his little friends, particularly now that he is not well. Faithfully yours, Edith Bolling Wilson Hawkins family history goes back a long way in the Enola community in Morganton. A note regarding the article written by Laurie Johnston, curator of the North Carolina Room, follows her genealogy back to the 1820s. Hawkins married Gravis Marshall Smith in 1930, and the couple went on to have seven children. Poteat remembers hearing the story about the socks as a little girl. My mother was happy that she learned to knit, Poteat said. Tammie Gercken can be reached at tgercken@morganton.com. Rio de Janeiro (dpa) - International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach on Monday expressed faith in local organizers ahead of the Rio Games and also defended the decision not to impose a blanket ban on Russian athletes in connection with doping. Bach spoke at the formal opening of the 129th IOC Session at the Citade das Artes venue, with the working sessions running from Tuesday until Thursday. The Rio Games August 5-21 take place amid a deep political and economic crisis in Brazil which led to construction delays and financial constraints in the build-up. "It has been a long and testing journey to get to this point: for all stakeholders of the Olympic Movement, for our Brazilian friends and for the IOC," Bach said, speaking of "challenging" final preparations but "unparalleled efforts" of Brazil. Looking at the Russia doping crisis, he said: "If proven true, such a contemptuous system of doping is an unprecedented attack on the integrity of sport and on the Olympic Games. "Because of the seriousness of the allegations we could not uphold the presumption of innocence for Russian athletes. On the other hand, we cannot deprive an athlete of the human right to be given the opportunity to prove his or her innocence." Shari Wilson stared down the coffees stacked on the shelves in Randalls and wondered how anyone could possibly deal with so many options. There were plastic Folgers containers one on top of the other on one shelf (hazelnut, classic, 1/2 caff, decaf, Colombian), blue Maxwell House below those (wake-up roast and morning boost) and, on the very top shelf, the McDonalds blend that had somehow made its way into grocery stores. And she wasnt even looking near the Starbucks bags. Oh wow. Itd just be easier to get the instant. Holy crap, she muttered, one hand on her hip and the other on her chin. This was Wilsons third trip to the grocery store since getting into temporary supportive housing with Catholic Charities in December. Wilson, 58, had been on-and-off homeless for about four years with short stays in friends apartments, in housing that didnt work out and in jail after a DWI breaking up the time mostly spent in a tent. When she first confronted a coffeemaker in Catholic Charities kitchen, she realized shed forgotten how to use it. It is so weird, she said You go to the grocery store and youre like youre used to buying things that are sealed or just one of something you can eat right then. I have a refrigerator and I buy one thing at a time. On HoustonChronicle.com: Photos: How to survive homeless Wilson felt like an idiot until her caseworker told her that shed seen others go through the same readjustment period. The housing first model is accepted by most policymakers and social workers as the standard for helping the homeless: Give people housing without any strings attached, such as mandatory sobriety programs. But that housing, experts say, should be accompanied by supportive caseworkers to help people make the transition from an experience as traumatic as homelessness. You have people say, I offered someone housing and they didnt take it the first night, so they dont want housing. I understand it much more as an understandable response to the trauma of homelessness, said Margot Kushel, director of the University of California, San Franciscos Center for Vulnerable Populations. When someone has leukemia, we dont give them a week of treatment and say, Oops you relapsed, youre not going to get better. Everyones experience is different: Some people who had lived on the streets get their keys and slip easily back into a housed routine. Others struggle. Its part of the reason why we and people across the country try to make sure homelessness is brief as brief as possible, said Chad Wheeler, CEO of supportive housing organization Open Door in Lubbock. One day in homelessness is traumatic. On HoustonChronicle.com: Families of the homeless deal with grief, guilt and fear. They largely do it alone. Some people experiencing homelessness encounter something called mental permanence, Wheeler said: A person in a highly stressful environment has to focus on survival rather than getting out of that situation. Habits formed trying to survive while homeless are hard to just turn off with an apartment. Wilson still has habits she formed living in a tent. Her room is meticulously organized because in a tent, she had to grab for her things in the dark. One drawer of her mahogany dresser is stuffed with socks, which were among the most-valued items under the U.S.-59 overpass. She cannot throw them out. Most of her clothes are still in plastic bags. Amenities like the shower (You can actually get up and walk right to bathroom you dont have to put clothes on.) and the air conditioning (Its right beside the bed but I just get under another blanket if I get cold.) are a marvel. She sometimes forgets about them. On HoustonChronicle.com: Im a Texan. Not trash: Austins homeless navigate the battle between the city and Greg Abbott She still carries her knife on her, even in the gated complex. If shes in her first-floor apartment, she leaves the door open. When she moved in, she couldnt deal with the quiet. She was out smoking a cigarette and sipping on her coffee (instant) one morning when one of the other women came up behind her and said a soft hello. Wilson jumped up and snarled Jesus Christ. Wilson has a doctors note from early December diagnosing her with major depressive disorder. Sometimes she looks around and feels guilty: Why, she wonders, should she be housed when all her friends are still under the bridge? At Randalls, Wilson picked out hazelnut coffee for what she thought looked like a good price shes not quite sure what that is anymore. She grabbed one of three coffee filter choices (Why are there so many kinds of coffee filters?) and marveled at the many types of Special-K cereals before turning down what she called new and undiscovered territory: The frozen food aisle. Then she saw it: A frozen Red Baron thin & crispy pepperoni pizza for $5.49. She couldnt remember when shed last had pizza. She had to have it. Wilson carried her three plastic bags filled with pickles, butter, frozen French fries, mustard, the pizza, lettuce, ground beef, her favorite seasoning, the filters and the hazelnut coffee for $46 total, the most shed ever bought back to Catholic Charities on a bus. Maybe shed screw up making the coffee. But she had three cups of instant left over to get her through, and either way, she had the pizza. sarah.smith@chron.com Greece openly voiced support for Moroccos initiative to grant autonomy to the Sahara region saying the proposal is serious and credible The remarks were made in Rabat by Greek foreign minister Nikos Dendias following talks with his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita in Rabat. The Greek minister also expressed his countrys support for the UN process to reach a political and mutually acceptable solution to the Sahara dispute. We encourage all parties to continue their commitment in a spirit of realism and compromise, said Dendias. The Greek Foreign Minister also highlighted the role of Morocco, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, at the regional and international levels, as a provider of peace and stability and an engine of growth and development in the region and in Africa. The ED on Friday said it has searched the premises of a former Mumbai-based chief engineer of the BMC and recovered documents related to purchase of a property in Dubai in an alleged illegal manner. The central probe agency did not identify the officer. The raid was conducted on "specific and reliable information" under the provision of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) at the residential premises of an ex-chief engineer of the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a statement from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said. It said that during the raid "incriminating" documents linked to "illegal acquisition" of a property held in Dubai has been recovered. "It has been stated by the former chief engineer of BMC that he purchased the property in Dubai, located at Park Island, Bonaire Marsa, Dubai (measuring 89 sq mt), for Rs 70 lakh in 2012." "The property is held jointly in the name of the person, his spouse and son," it added. However, the ED alleged, that no such documents identifying the value of the property purchased in Dubai could be furnished by the officer. "He was not able to explain the source of funds and also the mode of payment for purchase of the property," the agency said. As per the documents recovered during the search, the said property is on rent and fetching an income of AED 65,000 (about Rs 13 lakh) yearly to the officer, the ED said. The agency said it has also got evidences that an amount of Rs 40 lakh was transferred by the officer to his married daughter (a US national) under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). "Investigation to identify his source of fund is being conducted," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced today a $250,000 USD donation to the American Red Cross from the Wells Fargo Foundation in response to the recent wildfires that continue to have a devastating impact on Australia and its residents. The donation is earmarked for the American Red Crosss sister entity, the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which is one of the key lead organizations leading the relief effort. Our thoughts are with the people of Australia who are impacted by wildfires, said Jafar Amin, Wells Fargos regional president and head of Corporate and Investment Banking for Asia Pacific. Wells Fargo is committed to supporting relief efforts for those who are being displaced or who have lost homes, as well as for those who are vigilantly trying to save people, homes, animals and property. The company employs more than 100 team members in Australia within Wholesale Banking. Wells Fargo serves customers in multiple business lines across the country. Team member assistance Wells Fargo has activated assistance for team members in Australia via its WE Care Fund, which provides grants to team members who face a catastrophic disaster or financial hardship resulting from an event beyond their control. This program is available to those affected by the Australia wildfires and is intended to assist those team members who do not have other resources to help themselves. About Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargos vision is to satisfy our customers financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,400 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 32 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 260,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortunes 2019 rankings of Americas largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories. Additional information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com | Twitter: @WellsFargo. * The American Red Cross name, emblem and copyrighted materials are being used with its permission, which in no way constitutes an endorsement, express or implied, of any product, service, company, opinion or political position. The American Red Cross logo is a registered trademark owned by The American National Red Cross. For more information about the American Red Cross, please visit https://www.redcross.org/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005517/en/ Israeli aircraft bomb Gaza Strip for 2nd time in 24 hours Iran Press TV Friday, 17 January 2020 2:10 AM Israeli military aircraft have carried out a fresh round of airstrikes against targets in the northern part of the Gaza Strip as the Tel Aviv regime continues with its acts of aggression against the besieged Palestinian coastal sliver. The Israeli military said in a statement that a combat helicopter attacked infrastructure used for by the Hamas resistance movement late on Thursday. No immediate reports of casualties in the aerial assaults were available. The statement added that the attack was conducted after two balloons with explosives were flown from the Gaza Strip into Israeli-occupied territories earlier in the day. Video published by Israel's Kan news network purported to show Hamas members leaving a post ahead of the strike. Israeli police said at least two clusters of balloons carrying explosive devices were launched from the Strip into the southern sector of Israeli-occupied territories earlier in the day. One of the clusters apparently landed in an open field and the other got tangled in a tree. Sappers were called to the scenes in the Sdot Negev region east of Gaza. One of the devices purportedly went off as the sappers arrived at the scene. The explosion caused no injuries or damage. Late on Wednesday, Israeli warplanes carried out several airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, targeting a number of areas in the north and the northwest of the coastal enclave. Palestinian media reported that one of the airstrikes targeted a Hamas position. The attack caused an explosion and material damage to nearby buildings. Another attack targeted areas in Jabalia and Beit Lahia in Gaza's north. Gaza has been under Israeli siege since June 2007. Since 2008, Israel has waged three wars against Gaza, where two million Palestinians live under a 12-year Israeli blockade. Thousands of Gazans have been killed in each of these deadly wars. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A sponsor of rugby league club Rabbitohs and customer of troubled technology group iSignthis is under criminal investigation for allegedly running a $100 million trading scheme that has ripped off Australian customers. South Sydney Rabbitohs "official foreign exchange" sponsor EuropeFX is the first direct iSignthis customer to be accused of operating an unlicensed investment scheme in Australia that has allegedly caused harm to consumers. The famed South Sydney Rabbitohs have a financial arrangement with EuropeFX but have gone to ground when asked questions about their "official foreign exchange" sponsor. Credit: iSignthis, which offers 'know your customer' services and payment services to a range of online trading platforms, has been previously rocked by a series of revelations that linked the clients of its customers to alleged investment scams. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) launched legal action in December to shut down Maxi EFX Global (which trades as EuropeFX) and two associated companies, BrightAU Capital (which trades as TradeFred) and Union Standard International Group (also known as USG), following concerns the entities were involved in illegal online trading schemes. Victims' Governments Demand 'Full Cooperation,' 'Justice' From Iran By RFE/RL January 17, 2020 The foreign ministers of five countries that lost citizens in the downing of a Ukrainian passenger airliner in Iran last week have demanded that Tehran hold a "thorough, independent, and transparent" investigation into the tragedy. The ministers from Afghanistan, Britain, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine made the remarks in a joint statement issued after a meeting in London as they put pressure on Iran to give a full accounting of what happened to the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737-800. After initially denying it shot down the plane, killing all 176 people aboard, Tehran eventually admitted that its forces "unintentionally" struck the airliner with a missile after it said it veered toward a sensitive military site. "The eyes of the international community are on Iran today. I think that Iran has a choice, and the world is watching," said Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne of Canada, which lost 57 nationals in the disaster. Champagne told reporters that the ministers "stand in solidarity and speak with one voice" for the victims and families. "We are gathering the facts and hard evidence, using all of our networks including our overseas partners and working through our people on the ground in Iran, in order to put a full picture together and deliver the result we all need -- justice, for the memory of victims of #PS752," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko tweeted. Ann Linde, Sweden's foreign minister, said the group expects "Iran's full cooperation." The group of five nations, assembled by Canada, asked Tehran to conduct the process of identifying victims with dignity and transparency while respecting the wishes of families in regard to the return of bodies. Most of the victims on the flight that departed Tehran for Kyiv were Iranians or dual citizens, many of them students returning to studies abroad or families returning home after visiting relatives in Iran. Prystayko said he had discussed the repatriation of the bodies of Ukrainian victims with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. A Ukrainian Interior Ministry statement said the bodies of all 11 Ukrainians -- mostly members of the crew -- who were killed have been identified and will be sent to Ukraine on January 19. With reporting by Reuters, dpa, and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-canada -sweden-afghanistan-britain-demand- iran-plane-justice/30382250.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 Senate trial of President Donald Trump began Thursday with the ceremonial swearing-in of Chief Justice John Roberts, who will oversee the proceedings, followed by the administration of an oath to the 100 senators. But for all the invocations of history and the official formalities, Trumps impeachment and trial avoids the extreme danger to democratic rights posed by the increasingly authoritarian character of his government, with its open resort to criminal actions both at home and abroad. Indeed, the trial begins just two weeks after Trump openly carried out an illegal state killing: murdering Gen. Qassem Suleimani, one of the most influential figures in the Iranian government in a January 3 drone strike. Trump could have been charged with leading a criminal conspiracy to subvert the Constitution, seeking to illegally prolong his term in office, fomenting violence against political opponents, and scuttling the Bill of Rights. But the Democrats, instead, have chosen to impeach Trump for holding up military aid to Ukraine and slightly delaying the timetable of a long-running operation by the CIA to expand military operations against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at the White House in Washington, October [Credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster] For all the sober faces on the House Democrats who delivered the two articles of impeachment to the Senate, the impeachment campaign has taken on the character of a farce. The Democrats dont expect the Republican majority in the Senate to hold more than a perfunctory trial of the charges. This would be followed by a swift vote of acquittal, allowing Trump to declare himself vindicated and possibly strengthening his political position. While Congress is going through the motions, Trump is holding rallies where he employs fascistic demagogy to create a mob-like environment. On Tuesday night, on the eve of the final House vote to deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate, Trump ranted at a rally in Wisconsin, celebrating the murder of Suleimani. Speaking like the gangster he is, Trump vilified Suleimani as this son of a bitch. He went on speak of the Democrats in similar terms, describing them as demented, crazy, and loony, and denouncing them as "socialists" and traitors. This diatribe came the day after Trump retweeted a doctored photograph showing Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dressed in Muslim attire and standing in front of an Iranian flag. Nothing approaching language of this sort has ever been used by an American president. His words are an open incitement to violence against those he deems his enemies; and they have political consequences. On Thursday, the FBI arrested three white supremacists, two of them ex-soldiers, who were preparing an armed assault on the Virginia state capitol, using a gun-rights rally set for next MondayMartin Luther King Dayas a screen for their actions. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency, warning of another Charlottesville, the 2017 neo-Nazi riot in which an anti-fascist protester was murdered. Trump praised the white supremacists as good people. The impeachment process is itself unfolding in an atmosphere of violent threats and provocations. This week an associate of Trumps attorney and ambassador-at-large Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas, has come forward to reveal efforts to conduct physical and electronic surveillance of Marie Yovanovitch, then the US ambassador to Ukraine, who was viewed as an obstacle to Trumps efforts to obtain political ammunition from the Ukrainian government against Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden. The position of the Democrats is completely feckless. Even as the impeachment process gets underway, they work hand-in-hand with the White House on key questions of economic and foreign policy. Only hours before the beginning of the Senate trial Thursday, Senate Democrats voted overwhelmingly for the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, sought by Trump to intensify trade warfare against China and Europe. House speaker Pelosi has sent Trump an invitation to appear before Congress and deliver his State of the Union address. The Democrats continue to propound the reactionary fantasy that Trump is an agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, rather than the expression of the turn towards fascism by powerful sections of the American financial aristocracy. They claim that they are acting to protect the legitimacy of the 2020 elections. But it is becoming increasingly clear that the elections will be held under conditions of threats of violence against Trumps opponents; and there is no reason to assume that Trump will accept the outcome of the vote on November 3, should he be defeated. At his rally in Wisconsin, he repeated his threat to seek to stay in office indefinitely, regardless of the US Constitution. It is striking that the Democrats have never explained what they intend to do if Trump is acquitted and remains in office. His assault on democratic rights will continue, and he will be emboldened to intensify his efforts to instigate the growth of a fascistic mass movement. There is no way that the interests of the masses of working people can find expression in a conflict between the fascistic Trump and his Democratic opponents, who act as political attorneys for the CIA. For the vast majority of the population, the impeachment process is completely detached from their real political and social interests. There are many reasons for workers to oppose Trump, but his delay of the CIAs timetable for a war in eastern Ukraine, which could trigger a confrontation with Russia, is not one of them. The removal of the Trump administration is urgently required. But a genuine struggle against Trump requires the independent mobilization of the working class against the entire rotten structure of American capitalism. This is what the Democrats are determined to avoid. They want a shift in certain aspects of imperialist policy, particularly toward a more consistently confrontational approach to dealings with Russia. But the Democrats and their Wall Street paymasters absolutely oppose any change in policy, either within the United States or internationally, that undermines the power of the ruling class and impinges on its wealth. The criminal character of the Trump administration is a symptom of the putrefaction of American capitalism. The United States is stricken by the twin cancers of historically unprecedented social inequality and decades of military aggression overseas. The only cure is an independent revolutionary struggle of the working class, based on a socialist and internationalist program. This article was adapted from Jonathan M. Katzs newsletter, The Long Version. Subscribe at katz.substack.com. I dont know if we needed a seismic metaphor for the state of Americas empire, but the ground under Puerto Rico is giving us one. Hundreds of tiny earthquakes have rattled the main islands south coast since mid-December. Most have been barely perceptible, but the relentless shaking is taking a toll. Thousands of people have left their homes, fleeing landslides and in fear of whats to come. The strongest so far, a 6.4-magnitude tremor on Jan. 7, killed at least one elderly man. It also knocked out the islands largest power plant, Costa Sur. The commonwealths electrical authority said it could take a year to fix. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trumps reaction has been keeping with the active hostility hes shown throughout his presidency to the millions of U.S. citizens in the territory, which has only grown worse since he was criticized for his callous, fatal response to Hurricane Maria in 2017. He took weeks to declare a major disaster, but not before his administration tightened the screws on Puerto Rico even more, suspending its legally mandated $15-an-hour minimum wage for relief work and inexplicably blocking any spending on the electrical grid. Disasters, its often said, are never really natural. Theyre formed in the friction between geologic forces, human frailty, and the environments we build (or dont). Puerto Rico, a centuries-old product of slavery and colonialism, has spent the past 121 years as a colony of the United States. In recent years, the territory has effectively been the victim of an internal offshoring pump-and-dump scheme. The federal government encouraged mainland businesses to relocate to the islands with a series of tax breaks, then allowed the territorial government to borrow money for infrastructure by issuing tax-exempt bonds. Then it pulled out the rug, ending the tax breaks, and forcing Puerto Rico to turn to ever-riskier bonds from mainland banks, many of whom have been sued for underwriting them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Puerto Ricos unrepresented population was never given any say. The seven-member Financial Oversight and Management Board created by President Barack Obama implemented a strict austerity regime. Corrupt local officials siphoned what was left. The result has been a 43 percent poverty rate, higher than all but six of the 3,142 counties tracked in the states by the U.S. Census Bureau. This in turn sparked a death spiral as people fled the islands. From 2009 to 2017, Puerto Ricos population fell by 12 percent. Advertisement Advertisement Thats when Hurricanes Irma and Maria plowed through. Supercharged by global warming, the later storm was particularly ferocious. Still, much like the earthquake swarm, damage to buildings was minimal. The real disasterwhat cost the lives of most of the 2,650 to 3,290 people killedwas the blackout. Advertisement The storms exposed something Puerto Rican engineers had known for years: The islands electrical infrastructure is old, inadequate, and obscenely set up. Seventy percent of the main islands electricity generation is in the south, in decrepit facilities such as Costa Sur, an oil-and-gas behemoth built from 1962 to 1973. Seventy percent of the energy is used, on the other hand, in the north, primarily in the San Juan metro area. The system depends on a precarious, 1,100-mile-long system of transmission lines, running over the mountains in between. Advertisement Advertisement When I was in Puerto Rico just after Maria, everyone involved in the response agreed: The priorities were to get the electrical grid working as quickly as possible but also rebuild it in a way that would last. Mike Byrne, the head coordinator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in that disaster, told me: We should take a breath and do it the right way when we build it back, you know? Looking at this 50s and 60s technology, weve made some advances. It would be a sin not to take advantage of what weve learned since then and build that into the system. Advertisement Advertisement Disasters are formed in the friction between geologic forces, human frailty, and the environments we build (or dont). Instead, Trumps administration and his preferred allies in the Puerto Rican government frittered away time, money, and peoples lives. The reconstruction was so shoddy it didnt even need a geologic disaster to tip it over. In April 2018, seven months after the storm, a piece of construction equipment tripped a wire, plunging the entire island back into darkness. Advertisement That this would happen was predictable from the start. As Trump and Congress withheld more than half of the $40 billion obligated for hurricane relief, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority awarded a $300 million, closed-bid contract to a tiny, troubled electric contractor, the only discernible qualification of which was that it was headquartered in then Interior Secretary Ryan Zinkes tiny hometown of Whitefish, Montana. The contract was canceled once the public became aware of it, but not before the contractor had overcharged wildly for man-hours and expenses. Zinke resigned a year later under a cloud of other corruption investigations. Advertisement Advertisement And Whitefish Energy hasnt even proven to be the most blatantly corrupt electrical contract of the relief effort. Another brand-new company, Cobra Acquisitions LLC, secured at least $1.8 billion in federally reimbursable contracts to rebuild the electrical grid. This past September, federal agents arrested Cobras former president, Donald Keith Ellison, along with Ahsha Tribble, FEMAs former deputy administrator for Puerto Rico, who led the energy infrastructure recovery under Byrne, and Jovanda R. Patterson, a former FEMA deputy chief of staff. Three face charges including conspiring to commit bribery and disaster fraud. Cobra is a subsidiary of Oklahoma-based Mammoth Energy Services, which specializes in servicing companies engaged in the exploration and development of onshore unconventional oil and gas reserves. It had no previous electrical infrastructure experience. In a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mammoth admitted its losses on the U.S. mainland had been partially offset by earnings from operations in Puerto Rico, pending the resolution of the criminal case. Advertisement Ellisons lawyer told the Washington Post that the indictment criminalizes normal business and personal relationships that are not criminal under the law. A FEMA spokesperson confirmed to me that Tribble is still a FEMA employee. Asked if she still has any responsibilities or power to assign contracts, the agency responded that it cannot comment on personnel matters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The links dont stop there. Mammoth has paid at least $390,000 over the past two years to the D.C. lobbying firm Akin Gump, according to the database at the Center for Responsive Politics. One of the Akin Gump lobbyists working for Mammoth, Karen Goldmeier Green, also represents several Puerto Rican clients, including the conservative-leaning Puerto Rico Statehood Council. She also represents Empresas Fonalledas, the company of San Juan real estate mogul Jaime Fonalledas, which paid Akin Gump at least $6 million since 2009 as part of a multifront lobbying effort in favor of the fiscal austerity bill and creation of the Oversight Board.* (The author Nelson Denis has theorized that Fonalledas, a major GOP donor, was trying to protect his investment in Puerto Rico bonds from bankruptcy.) Advertisement Green did not respond to emails asking for comment about the links between her clients. These cycles of incompetence and greed have produced endless irony. The austerity crisis led to budget cuts at the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, which is now entrusted with monitoring the earthquake swarm. More significantly, frustration over the corruption and fecklessness of the hurricane recoveryincluding an apparent influence-peddling scheme regarding post-hurricane contractsled to massive protests and the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rossello. The territory has been through two acting governors since. Advertisement It is no wonder that bridges are now collapsing, the Puerto Rican scholars Yarimar Bonilla and Jose Caraballo-Cueto wrote in the New York Daily News.* It wasnt lost on many that Puerto Ricos earthquake season has coincided with the 10th anniversary of the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti. Haitis quake was a far larger disaster, releasing eight times more energy than the largest in Puerto Rico so far, and unimaginably more deadly. But they do have some elements in common: the hubris of the response and the hypocritical shifting of blame for corruption from Washington to the client governments representing populations of color. Advertisement Advertisement One other detail reminiscent of that earlier disaster is confusion over earthquake terminology. Namely: Should the temblors terrifying Puerto Ricans and exacerbating the exodus of people from the island be called aftershocks, foreshocks, or a swarm? That all depends, the U.S. Geological Survey says. Aftershocks are just smaller quakes that come after a larger quake. If it turns out that the true catastrophe is yet to occur, then everything that came before will be recategorized as foreshocks. Its only looking back that you can really take the measure of whats happened. Putin Signs Decree Appointing Mishustin as Russia's Prime Minister - Kremlin Sputnik News 15:28 16.01.2020(updated 16:45 16.01.2020) The entire Russian government resigned on 15 January, with ex-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev saying this was done to enable President Vladimir Putin to implement the goals outlined in his address to the legislature. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to appoint Mikhail Mishustin as the country's prime minister, the Kremlin said. The Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved on 16 January Mikhail Mishustin's nomination to the post of prime minister. 383 deputies voted for the candidacy of Mikhail Mishustin for the post of prime minister of Russia, none were against, while 41 abstained, according to the results of the voting. It became known earlier in the day that United Russia, which has a majority in the legislature, Just Russia, and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia decided to back the candidate, while the Communist Party of the Russian Federation decided to abstain. Prior to this, Mishustin made several comments regarding Putin's new initiatives that were outlined in the annual address to the Federal Assembly, stressing the need to focus on the effective implementation of national projects and investment in cost-effective infrastructure. The decision comes after Putin a day earlier proposed the candidacy of Mishustin, then serving as the Federal Tax Service head, to the post of head of the Russian government. On 15 January, Putin announced a new focus on rejuvenating the economy and improving the quality of life of the Russian citizenry during his address to the country's lawmakers. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address But the sense of turbulence here has not diminished. It is as if the city and the country are bursting at the seams with tragedy after tragedy. A large number of passengers on the Ukrainian flight were dual citizens of Iran and Canada. Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, forthrightly noted, I think if there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families. Many fear that tragedies like the shooting down of the airliner would pale compared with the horrors a war between the United States and Iran would unleash. Iran is in the midst of a decisive argument with itself. The people who poured out into the streets in November because of the sharp jump in the price of gasoline, the people who choked the streets of Tehran, Ahvaz, Mashhad and Kerman mourning General Suleimani while shouting anti-American slogans, the people who again came out this week to protest the shooting down of the Ukrainian jetliner and the false statements by officials before an admission of error by the Iranian government, they all are Iranians engaged in a struggle for the soul of a nation. It is uncharted territory for every one of them, exacerbated by the unbearable threat of a war with the United States that may diminish at times but never goes away. What Iran does with itself is ultimately the business of Iranians. They dont wish President Trump to rub salt into their recent wounds as he tweets about the brave, long-suffering people of Iran. Nowhere has this been more evident than a statement by the protesting students at Amir Kabir University who, while condemning internal suppression, let it be known: During the past few years, Americas presence in the Middle East has produced nothing but increasing insecurity and chaos. And in the cafes, on social media, in universities and on the streets, average Iranians as well as state officials are torn between thoughts of revenge and bereavement, dissent and extinguishing the current internal and external crises. Salar Abdoh, an Iranian writer, teaches at the City College of New York. Out of Mesopotamia, his novel about the war in Syria and Iraq, will be published in the fall by Akashic Books. 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. Yogev Shetrit has become smitten with New Mexico. The Israeli-based composer and drummer will make his third trip to the state for a performance in Placitas. I really like New Mexico because of how magical it is, he says. I think for my next tour, Im going to try to do more concerts in Santa Fe and Taos. Shetrit will perform with his trio on Saturday, Jan. 18, in Placitas. He will perform songs from his latest album, Serenity. Im excited to finally have my sophomore album out, he says. After I released my first album a few years ago, I had a few compositions left over. These needed to be on an album, so I began to work. By 2019, I knew it was time to release the album. Music has been a constant in Shetrits life. He began studying classical music, playing piano, and eventually that led to his playing flute. Then he added guitar, drums and percussion. Shetrit composes on piano because its easiest for him, though hell pull out the flute on some occasions. When Im composing, Im owning every aspect of it, he says. For me, its always going in at my full potential and then pushing forward. Its amazing to me to see how far I can push myself. Serenity features compositions inspired by his life. I wrote the song Aba for my father, he says. Then there are two songs which are about my son and daughter each. They mean so much to me, Im constantly inspired by them. I also composed a song about Yemen culture. I really like the Yemen rhythm. The album contains nine original compositions and one cover song. I decided to take Besame Mucho and make it my own, he says. Im not interested in doing a lot of covers, but this song always spoke to me. Shetrit is looking forward to playing the house concert in Placitas because it will have an intimate feeling. I tried to play a club, and it didnt work out, he says. We will slow it down and create a performance that everyone will like. Anytime I get to play in New Mexico, it is wonderful. I will always to come back a few times a year. YOGEV SHETRIT TRIO WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18 WHERE: 10 Morning Star Court, PlacitasHOW MUCH: RSVP uis required at DollD1@man.com, then $30 at the door. Seating is limited. A second person died in central China after being infected with the new SARS-like virus that's sickened dozens of people in the city of Wuhan, while another traveler to Thailand was found to have the novel coronavirus. A 69-year-old man died Wednesday at a hospital in Wuhan after a two-week illness that progressed to multi organ failure, the city's health commission said late Thursday. Thai health officials said Friday a 74-year-old visitor from China tested positive for the pneumonia-causing virus, the second case reported this week in the Southeast Asian country. The infections, along with one in Japan reported Thursday, have heightened concern that the outbreak is spreading. The novel coronavirus has captured international attention because of similarities with the one that sparked Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, 17 years ago. Unlike SARS, which killed almost 800 people, the new virus doesn't appear to spread easily between people. Much remains to be understood about the new coronavirus, which was first identified in China earlier this month, the World Health Organization said in a statement Thursday. "Not enough is known about 2019-nCoV to draw definitive conclusions about how it is transmitted, clinical features of disease, or the extent to which it has spread," the Geneva-based agency said. "The source also remains unknown." Municipal health authorities in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people, have reported 41 cases of pneumonia caused by the 2019-nCoV virus. Twelve patients have been cured and discharged, five are being treated for severe illness, and two have died. The rest are being treated in isolation wards in hospitals around the city. No new cases have been detected in Wuhan since Jan. 3. A man in his 30s, who lives in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, was hospitalized with pneumonia on Jan. 10 and discharged with a mild cough five days later, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Thursday. Prior to returning to Japan on Jan. 6, he'd spent time with an infected person in Wuhan, and developed a fever on Jan. 3. The latest case that emerged Friday in Thailand, like the previously reported one in the Southeast Asia country, is a Chinese visitor from Wuhan. Both had no contact with live animals, according to Suthat Chottanapund, director of the Bureau of Risk Communication & Health Behavior Development at the Department of Disease Control. 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. Both cases were identified through airport screenings, Suthat said, and rigorous diagnostics were used to identify the virus. Testing was done at two separate labs, with one specimen taking 24 hours, and gene sequencing was used to compare with what Chinese authorities have released. "We're being cautious," Suthat said. "But we're very confident in our screening process and are following the international developments very closely." The new patient is receiving treatment, officials said. The initial case, reported Monday, has been treated and is awaiting clearance to return home. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 18:58 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32295773 1 Business erick-thohir,SOEs,Jiwasraya,Asabri,insurance,Jokowi,OJK,corruption Free State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir said he has received several threats since becoming a minister, particularly after taking stern actions over alleged corruption cases that involved two state-owned insurers, Asuransi Jiwasraya and Asuransi Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (Asabri). Threats are becoming my daily consumption, especially after the Jiwasraya and Asabri case unfolded, he told reporters in Jakarta on Friday without giving more details on the matter. Despite the threats, Erick pledged to keep doing his job properly and give the best he could to improve the SOE performance by implementing good corporate governance (GCG) principles. I will do this job lillahi taala [for almighty God] and will continue to give the best I can for this job, he said. Both Jiwasraya and Asabri have been implicated in financial fiascos after losing trillions of rupiah through investment mismanagement. The mismanagement even led to Jiwasraya's failure to pay out policies that had matured in December last year totaling more than Rp 12 trillion (US$878.7 million). The Attorney Generals Office (AGO) launched a corruption investigation and on Tuesday arrested five people, including the insurers former president director and two businessmen, for their suspected roles in alleged corruption at the insurer. Meanwhile, Asabri suffered a loss of about Rp 10 trillion from plunging stock investments, sparking a similar corruption allegation. The social insurer for the National Police, the Indonesian Military and employees of the Defense Ministry, however, claimed the situation was only temporary and would not affect its ability to pay out on customer claims. In an abrupt change, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD, who was the one who first announced the company's losses, said on Thursday that the commotion over Asabri should stop as the legal process was currently ongoing, kompas.com reported. President Joko Jokowi Widodo, on a separate occasion on Friday, called on the public to give the SOEs Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) a chance to resolve Jiwasrayas case. [Jiwasraya] has been ailing for so long, so the resolution will not be instantaneous, he said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. The SOEs Ministry is also devising plans to save the ailing Jiwasraya that include the establishment of an insurance holding company that would provide a cash flow of Rp 1 trillion to Rp 2 trillion. WIND POINT Newport Development has been instructed to trim the housing density and possibly reshape the private roadway and main retention pond of a proposed condominium development on the former Wind Point Elementary School site. About 25 residents attended a Wind Point Plan Commission meeting on Wednesday night at The Prairie School auditorium, called solely to discuss Newports preliminary plans for a 48-unit, high-end condo development at 290 Jonsue Lane. The commission did not take action, nor did it expect to. Rather, the meeting was called to see a presentation about the proposed 14-acre development and give Newport owner Ray Leffler guidance as he works toward a finished product. Leffler seeks a rezoning of the property, currently zoned Institutional, to R(residential)-4 which would allow multi-unit housing. Newport tore down the school last year. Leffler said he hopes to start construction sometime this year and build the project in stages as buyer demand warrants. He said he expects construction of the entire development could range from about 2 to four years. Newport has proposed 24 one-story, side-by-side condos which would be priced at the low $300,000s to low $400,000s. They would surround a large central detention pond and have a private loop road running throughout the 14-acre complex. In its current form, the development dubbed the Villas at Wind Point would add about $18 million in assessed valuation to the village. The condos are planned to range in size from 1,691 to 2,132 square feet, with two-bedroom, two-bathroom and three-bedroom, two-bathroom options. Four different layouts are currently planned. Overall, the chief cause of concern from some residents is the proposed density. Leffler said, as proposed, his development would create 3.4 units per acre. The Wind Meadows condo development, by comparison, has more than five units per acre, he said. Despite that, one resident, looking at the site illustration, commented, This looks like a sardine can and packed in water. But Leffler said, This is way less density that would be allowed under R-4. This is single-family density in an R-4 setting. Nancy Washburn of Land Development Administration, who is working with Newport on the project, said at one point, We use your (village) code to determine what density could be built. To those who asked why Leffler would not just build single-family housing on the property, he replied that condos such as these are something Wind Point currently lacks. Many of the units would have no front stoop, doorways wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and showers with flat entryways. We want most of them that way so people could age in place, he said. Seniors were a major component (in focus groups) when people asked us about bringing condos to Wind Point, Leffler said previously. Traffic concerns The only site access would be via Jonsue Lane, a point of some concern voiced by some who attended Wednesday. Those who live along Jonsue Lane expressed an expectation of having heavier traffic there than the school had generated. Leffler disagreed, saying traffic would be less. He said no traffic impact analysis is required. For those who live just north of the development, in particular resident Bill Halliday, a big concern is the proximity of the proposed private loop road to their backyards. As drawn up, the edge of that road would be 15 feet from the rear property lines of two full and two partial neighboring properties. Commissioner Brian Biernat made a suggestion that would address both that point and the density issue: He suggested Newport remove the three northernmost buildings and their six units and bring the loop road in toward the pond, thus pulling it farther from the northern properties and slicing the total number of condos to 42. Commissioner Karen Jansson said she thought the central retention pond, drawn with very straight lines, could be more creatively shaped. Washburn asked if the commission would accept R-4 zoning. Generally speaking, yes, Village President and Commission Chairman Susan Sanabria responded. At the meetings end, Sanabria asked Leffler what he thought of the feedback hed heard. He replied, Very helpful. The villages Architectural Review Board is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 28 at The Prairie School to view and comment on the proposed buildings. After that presentation we will be making revisions to the plan, the layout, and tweak our buildings to submit for the February Plan Commissions consideration, Washburn said Thursday. At that meeting, they will be voting to make their recommendations to the Village Board for zoning and the amendment to the village Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 3 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The protest at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) entered 35th day on Friday with protesters, mostly women, continuing to raise their voice against the amended law. The protestors included new mothers and elderly women. Rihana Khatun, who was at sit in with her 45-day-old baby, said she was seeking justice. "She (the baby) was 12-days old when I joined the protest on the first day. It has been more than a month now. I am sitting in cold and rains with her to get justice," Khatun said. She rejected allegations that the protestors were getting paid. "I am not here for money, I have come here for justice and for our country," she said. Another woman Tableen has joined the protest with her two-month-old baby in the chilling cold. Tableen said the protest will continue till the government accepts their demands. An 82-year-old woman Bilgis was at the protest site. "We will not get up till the government fulfil our demands", Bilgis told ANI. Protesters have installed a giant iron cut-out of India's map with the text stating "We the people of India reject CAA, NPR and NRC." Pawan Shukla, a student, said the cut-out was installed last night. "We all made it because we feel whatever government is trying to impose on us is wrong and we reject this law". "Also, we are collecting and arranging things from our houses, we are not backed by any political party. We are not taking money or help from outside," Shukla added. The Sikh community has also started 'langar seva' for the protesters and serves food twice a day. Apart from that, people have also distributed fruits to demonstrators in a show of their support. Announcements were made at the demonstration stating that protest was not backed or funded by any political party and "please don't give money to volunteer nor will they accept it". 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.) UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, on Thursday breathed a sigh of relief over the fact that Yemen emerged from the recent Gulf crisis unscathed. "Since I last spoke to this council (on Dec. 12), our region has been going through a crisis, the consequences of which have threatened the gains we have been observing in Yemen. Fortunately, the immediate crisis seems to be over," Griffiths told the Security Council in a briefing. He was referring to the extraordinary tension at the beginning of the year between the United States and Iran after the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. In retaliation, Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at two military bases housing U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. "I venture to say that through the actions of many people, Yemen has been kept safe from such crisis for now. This achievement... is based on a consensus that Yemen must not be affected by regional tensions," he said. "Most importantly, in this time of crisis, we have seen no major acts of military provocation in Yemen. This is remarkable. Indeed, it has been one of the quietest weeks of the war in Yemen since the war began (in 2015)." In the past few weeks, apart from one airstrike, there was very limited military movement on the ground and there were no drone or missile attacks on neighboring states, he noted. "So I hope it is not premature to say that Yemen has emerged at this time unscathed." This achievement has not come by chance. Yemeni leaders and leaders of the region have deliberately exercised restraint and withheld from acts of provocation, said Griffiths, the UN secretary-general's special envoy for Yemen. The de-escalation is no small thing, and the fact that it has been sustained even during a period of regional crisis is notable, he said. "These efforts should not be judged by whether they achieve a perfect ceasefire, but by whether the parties' energies are directed thereto, away from war. However, experience also tells us that military de-escalation cannot be sustained without political progress between the parties." Yemen has been in civil war for almost five years, pitting Houthi rebels against government forces. Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition force defending the internationally recognized Yemeni government against Houthi rebels allegedly supported by Iran. Griffiths showed optimism about the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement between the government and the Southern Transitional Council and the earlier Stockholm Agreement between the government and Houthi rebels. The parties' recommitment to time-bound measures to support the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement is a positive sign, he said. "I'm fairly confident that the implementation of that agreement is moving in the positive direction." Despite an unsatisfactory record of implementation of the December 2018 Stockholm Agreement, the United Nations and the parties remain committed and as active as ever to implement the commitments, he said. Although violence continues in the southern districts of the Hodeidah governorate, the relative calm at the front lines in Hodeidah city shows that the measures to enhance the de-escalation measures are working. "This is something we can build on," said Griffiths. There has been considerable progress with regard to the entry of fuel ships in Hodeidah and the collection of revenues, he said. Griffiths also sees the possibility of the start of "mercy flights" negotiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) with the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels over many months. These flights will transport patients who need medical attention unavailable in Yemen to agreed locations abroad. "In recent weeks, the WHO has benefited from an extraordinary array of diplomatic support to make these flights happen. We are now very close to seeing the first flight move 30 patients who are waiting in Sanaa for their treatment," he said. Griffiths expressed his intention to convene the prisoner exchange committee, which was created under the Stockholm Agreement, in the coming days. He was encouraged by the release of six Saudi detainees by Houthi rebels on Jan. 1. All the positive developments support the urgent search for a political solution and the end of the conflict in Yemen. That pursuit is not dependent on the success of any of them but reinforced by the success of all of them. "With each positive step, we are brought closer to formally launching political consultations between the government of Yemen and Ansar Allah," said Griffiths, using the official name of the Houthi movement. "And indeed the significance and meaning of these initiatives that I have alluded to only become real in the context of the political solution to end the conflict." "Yemen has been brushed by potential tragedy from regional tensions and, so far, appears to have emerged unscathed. This is evidence of the leaders' desire to keep Yemen safe from such tensions, but it's a fragile safety and one that needs our diligent and continuing attention if we are able to produce that promise to the people of Yemen that this year, they may see the peace they so evidently deserve," he said. YEREVAN. The European Union, like other international structures, is following closely the developments. Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, said this in a conversation with reporters today, answering the question whether they follow the events surrounding the Constitutional Court (CC) and whether they see any elements of political persecution against CC President Hrayr Tovmasyan. She added, however, that they do not comment on current cases. The EU envoy said they are aware that the Ministry of Justice of Armenia is in close contact with international structures, and in particular with the Council of Europe. To the observation that the EU had made regular statements on Armenias domestic political issues before, but not now, and whether the EU is not concerned now, the ambassador said that if they make statements on clear cases, but they do not interfere, and she would be surprised if there was interference with a particular current case. Wiktorin noted that there are substantial efforts to reform Armenia's judicial system, the EU backs it, and this fact is very important to them. The envoy added that she sees interest and close cooperation with Armenia in human rights issues. When asked when she said she was impressed with the progress made in the reform of Armenias judicial system does she also mean the early retirement law for the current CC judges, Andrea Wiktorin said that now all of these components are in the process of being drafted and they see a course of a process of review of the judicial system, it needs to be developed in parts, and next week a delegation will come and will look in detail to this progress. MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Sezzle Inc. (ASX: SZL), the US-based alternative payments leader, is pleased to announce that as of 16 January 2020 (US time) the State of California Department of Business Oversight ('DBO') has formally approved Sezzle's application for a lending license in the State of California. This approval ensures that Sezzle is able to continue to operate seamlessly in the State of California, further solidifying the company's position as the leading US-based installment payment platform. Charlie Youakim, Sezzle's Executive Chairman and CEO, made the following statement regarding the State of California Department of Business Oversight's approval of Sezzle's lending license: "We are delighted with the result we achieved today in California. We believe the speed with which we were able to attain this license speaks to the positive relationship that we have with the DBO. We appreciate the DBO's help with getting to a resolution, and we're excited to work with them in the future as we continue to expand our consumer-friendly service to more California residents." Prior to receiving the lending license, Sezzle was operating in California under a retail installment structure whereby retailers initiated the installment loan and transferred the loan to Sezzle to service. The DBO lending license approval allows for a seamless transition of services from this prior structure to the direct lending structure Sezzle is operating under currently. About Sezzle Inc. Sezzle is a rapidly growing fintech company whose mission is to financially empower the next generation. Sezzle's payment platform increases purchasing power for consumers by offering interest-free installment plans at online stores. This increase in purchasing power for consumers leads to increased sales and basket sizes for the more than 7,500 active merchants at Sept 30 2019 that offer Sezzle in the United States and Canada. For more information visit sezzle.com Sezzle's CDIs are issued in reliance on the exemption from registration contained in Regulation S of the US Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) for offers of securities which are made outside the US. Accordingly, the CDIs, have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act or the laws of any state or other jurisdiction in the US. As a result of relying on the Regulation S exemption, the CDIs are 'restricted securities' under Rule 144 of the Securities Act. This means that you are unable to sell the CDIs into the US or to a US person who is not a QIB for the foreseeable future except in very limited circumstances until after the end of the restricted period, unless the re-sale of the CDIs is registered under the Securities Act or an exemption is available. To enforce the above transfer restrictions, all CDIs issued bear a FOR Financial Product designation on the ASX. This designation restricts any CDIs from being sold on ASX to US persons excluding QIBs. However, you are still able to freely transfer your CDIs on ASX to any person other than a US person who is not a QIB. In addition, hedging transactions with regard to the CDIs may only be conducted in accordance with the Securities Act. SOURCE Sezzle Related Links http://sezzle.com Non-violent groups including Greenpeace and Peta have been listed on a counter-terrorism document that was handed out to schools and hospitals as part of anti-extremism training. The groups that support animal rights and the environment were listed in the same document as neo-Nazi and far-right groups, that was produced by government group Action Counters Terrorism. The guide is used across the UK and is aimed at tackling those who could be at risk of committing terrorist offences. Now police say groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace were named on the documents in order to help their officers protecting crowded places at times of protest. The images above show the non-violent groups that were included on the government list Greenpeace were included on the Environmental Groups sections and its executive director has hit back at the fact that the group was named Last week the guide had been uncovered by the Guardian, and police told the newspaper that the inclusion of such groups had been a local error. Dean Haydon, deputy assistant commissioner has now said that they dont consider the groups to be extremists or a threat to national security. Despite this, the non-violent groups appear in the same 24-page document as the National Front and National Action, both of which have faced bans for terrorist violence. Other groups listed include Sea Shepherd and Stop the Badger cull which has previously been backed by Queen guitarist Brian May. The right-wing groups that were included in the guidance are pictured above in the Counter Terrorism policing document Activists from PETA stage a demonstration outside a venue during London Fashion Week in London, Britain, September 13, 2019 Mr Haydon added that he did not believe membership of these groups should be flagged to the Prevent group. Counter Terrorism Policing creates a range of guidance and documents for use across the whole of policing, not just by Counter Terrorism officers or Prevent practitioners. We produce these documents to help frontline officers and other colleagues make informed decisions including protecting crowded places at times of protest. The Signs and Symbols document which has become the subject of a Guardian article today was produced to help police and close partners identify and understand signs and symbols they may encounter in their day-to-day working lives, so they know the difference between the symbols for the many groups they might come across. We need our CT officers, front line police colleagues and partners to be able to understand what organisations people may be affiliated with, and what their aims and activities lawful or otherwise are. Extinction Rebellion (members above) were one of the groups included and they have questioned why they were added at all The executive director of Greenpeace has now hit back at the document, stating that it tars environmental campaigners and terrorist organisations with the same brush. John Sauven added that this would not help fight terrorism. This is while Peta claimed the action was dangerous and Extinction Rebellion questioned why they had been included in the document at all. Other groups that were listed, that have no known link to national security included the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and anti-fascist and anti-racist groups. The guide, which also features symbols which are often associated with white supremacy, such as the swastika, was created by Counter Terrorism Policing in June 2019. On completion it was sent to doctors and schools, as well as safeguarding boards up and down the country. One teacher told the Guardian that the document is vague and forces teachers to come to their own assumptions as to why non-violent groups have been included on the list. LANSING The State of Michigan has filed a lawsuit in Washtenaw County Circuit Court against 17 defendants for damages and injury caused to the state due to polyfluoroalkyl substances. The lawsuit is the first legal action the state has taken against manufacturers of PFAS. The defendants named in the lawsuit include: Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co., also known as 3M DuPont The Chemours Co. and is subsidiary Corteva Inc. Dyneon LLC Archoma entities Arkema entities AGC Chemicals Americas Inc. Daikin Industries entities Solvay Specialty Polymers, USA LLC Asahi Kasei Plastics North America Inc. The suit asserts that the defendants deliberately concealed the dangers of PFAS and withheld scientific evidence and intentionally, knowingly and recklessly sold, distributed, released, transported, supplied, arranged for disposal or treatment, and handled and used PFAS and PFAS-contaminating materials in Michigan in a way they knew would contaminate natural resources and harm Michigan residents. We bring this action today on behalf of the people of Michigan, said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in a statement. It is our responsibility to protect our residents and our states natural resources and property by preventing and abating hazards to public health, safety, welfare and the environment and by placing the responsibility for this massive undertaking with those responsible for creating the problem. The complaint contends the defendants knew or should have known that PFAS persists in the environment and does not degrade, PFAS would accumulate and build up in animals and humans exposed to it, PFAS is a known carcinogen, and continued manufacture and use of PFAS would result in continued and increased levels of it getting into the environment. Chemical companies have known for decades that PFAS compounds dont break down, build up in the human body, and exposures can lead to illness, yet they never warned Michigan consumers or manufacturers of the unintended consequences associated with using these forever chemicals, said Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Director Lisel Clark. The Associated Press reports that Michigan is the third state to file a broad-based suit against multiple manufacturers over PFAS contamination. It has been confirmed at 74 sites across the state and cost Michigan at least $25 million a year in recent years for investigations and cleanups. According to the Centers for Disease Control, PFAS are man-made chemicals that have been used in consumer products since the 1950s. They have been used in non-stick cookware, stain resistant fabrics and carpets, firefighting foams, water-repellent clothing and products that can resist water, oil, and grease. They are called forever chemicals because they take thousands of years to degrade. Exposure to PFAS is correlated with several serious health effects including: Decreased fertility Pregnancy induced hypertension Liver damage Thyroid disease Cholesterol level problems Immune system problems Increased likelihood of cancer Corteva, which has an office in Midland, did not return a request for comment. IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CPT Group, Inc. announced today that the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri has preliminarily approved a proposed nationwide settlement in Smith, et al. v. Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., No. 2:18-CV-04004-MDH, a class action alleging that Atkins Nutritionals' representations in its labeling, marketing, advertising, and sales of its products that contained any sugar alcohol (including but not limited to maltitol) or polyol (including but not limited to glycerin) were unfair, deceptive, and/or unlawful because, according to the plaintiffs, Atkins Nutritionals' statement that sugar alcohols have a minimal impact on blood sugar is not accurate. While agreeing to the settlement, Atkins Nutritionals disputes the allegations in the lawsuit and denies liability to the plaintiffs and the settlement class. No court has found that Atkins Nutritionals violated the law in any way. The settlement agreement includes agreements by Atkins Nutritionals to relabel products containing sugar alcohols or polyols, reformulate certain products to reduce or eliminate maltitol, discontinue certain products, and keep these changes in place for set, minimum periods of time. The settlement agreement also establishes a $3.8 million settlement fund to pay claims by settlement class members, administration costs of the settlement, the plaintiffs' attorneys' fees and costs, and service awards to the named plaintiffs. If you purchased Atkins products that contained any sugar alcohol (including but not limited to maltitol) or polyol during the "Purchase Period," you are part of the settlement class (a "Class Member"). The Purchase Period is from January 1, 2013 to April 27, 2020 for purchases in New York, Missouri and/or California, and from January 1, 2014 to April 27, 2020 for purchases in any other state. Under the settlement agreement, Class Members are entitled to a cash payment from the settlement fund for their purchases of any of the following Atkins products during the Purchase Period: Chocolate Covered Candies, Chocolate Peanut Candies, Milk Chocolate Caramel Squares, Peanut Butter Cups, and Chocolate Caramel Mousse bars (the "More Than 10 Grams Of Maltitol Products"). Class Members who timely submit a valid claim form with qualifying proof of purchase of the More Than 10 Grams of Maltitol Products during the applicable Purchase Period will receive an amount equal to 25% of the average national purchase price for each More Than 10 Grams Of Maltitol Product evidenced by the proof of purchase. Class Members who timely submit a valid claim form without qualifying proof of purchase will receive an amount equal to 10% of the average national purchase price for each More Than 10 Grams of Maltitol Product purchased during the applicable Purchase Period, with total recovery capped at $100. To recover a cash payment, Class Members must submit a Claim Form by April 27, 2020. Claim Forms can be found at www.ANIClassSettlement.com or can be requested by calling 1-888-531-0208. If you are a Class Member and want to keep the right to sue or continue to sue Atkins Nutritionals on your own about the issues to be resolved by the proposed settlement, you must submit a written Request for Exclusion. If you submit a Request for Exclusion, you will not get any settlement payment that you may have been eligible to receive, and you cannot object to the settlement. Any Request for Exclusion will need to include your name, address, telephone number and signature and be mailed, postmarked no later than April 27, 2020, to Smith, et al. v. Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. c/o CPT Group, Inc., 50 Corporate Park, Irvine, CA 92606. If you are a Class Member, you also can object to the settlement. An objection must be submitted to the Court by April 27, 2020. Class members who exclude themselves from the settlement cannot also object. This is only a summary of the settlement. More details are in the settlement agreement. To obtain a copy of the settlement agreement or learn more about the proposed settlement, please visit www.ANIClassSettlement.com or contact the settlement administrator at 1-888-531-0208. Contact: CPT Group, Inc. Smith, et al. v. Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. Settlement Administrator 50 Corporate Park Irvine, Calif. 92606 1-888-531-0208 SOURCE CPT Group, Inc. Related Links http://www.ANIClassSettlement.com A new online petition posted Monday asks President Donald Trump to sign an executive order creating a War on Drugs Service Medal. The petition would create a "total force" award to recognize active-duty, Reserve, Guard, auxiliary and state service members who fought in the "War on Drugs" any time from June 18, 1971, to the present. As of Thursday afternoon, only two people had signed the "We the People" petition. Former President Barack Obama created Change.org-like petitions nearly 10 years to let Americans submit their ideas to the White House. If the petitioner collects at least 100,000 signatures in 30 days, the White House will give an official comment on it within 60 days. Previous petitions over the last two years have included subjects like "Do Not Repeal Net Neutrality" and "Impeach Nancy Pelosi for crimes of Treason." Thomas Marriott said that he started the petition in honor of his father, retired Army Lt. Col. Dr. John Marriott, who served as brigade surgeon, 2/504th Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Task Force Pacific in Operation Just Cause. Marriott said he is a member of 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 6th Brigade with the Texas State Guard, a state militia that is not subject to federal activation. He emphasized that he was acting on behalf of himself and not the organization. Related: Green Beret Unit Receives 27 Valor Medals After Afghanistan Deployment More than 250,000 service members have served in the "War on Drugs" since President Richard Nixon declared that drug abuse was "public enemy number one" in 1971, according to Marriott, who describes himself as an entrepreneur and soldier from Austin, Texas. He estimated "America's second longest war" has cost more than $1 trillion and killed or wounded at least 5,000 Americans. "The War on Drugs deserves more recognition," Marriott wrote in a statement. "It has killed more American civilians via overdose than the civilian casualties of the War on Terror, World War I, World War II, Cold War, Civil War, Indian War, and the Revolutionary War combined -- and counting." In Marriott's vision, the proposed medal would be circular and slightly larger than 1.3 inches in diameter. The front, inspired by the Helmand Province Campaign against Taliban insurgents, would show Marines moving through a poppy field. Marriott estimates more than 2,000 Americans have been killed or injured while fighting in the poppy-growing center of Helmand, Afghanistan. "Defining one image that does it justice was nearly as monumental as the epoch itself. Our solution to the infinite complexity was absolute simplicity. No embellishment or sublimation. Just unadulterated reality," he wrote on his website warondrugsmedal.org. The back of the medal would have the American eagle surrounded with 50 stars; the ribbon would be white, red and black, Marriott said. It represents the "fight between good and evil;" the red stripe would take up 6% of the total width, representing the current U.S. veteran population. Marriott has until Feb. 12 to collect at least 100,000 signatures to prompt a White House response. Other medals created by executive orders include Obama's Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal and President George Bush's Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct John Marriott's military job title. -- Dorothy Mills-Gregg can be reached at dorothy.mills-gregg@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DMillsGregg. Read more: Destroyer Commander Fired After Navy Loses Confidence in His Ability to Lead Sacramento, CA After scrapping former Governor Jerry Browns plan for a twin tunnel water project, Governor Gavin Newsom is now proposing a smaller single tunnel project. The Associated Press reports that Newsoms administration this week filed a formal Notice of Preparation for the project, which is the first step in the lengthy environmental review process. The tunnel would pump water from the San Joaquin Delta to Southern California. State officials have not released a projected price tag for the tunnel. The revamped plan is expected to be smaller and carry less water than the initially proposed twin tunnel, which was projected to cost around $20-billion. The twin tunnel plan was a signature project of former Governor Brown, but Governor Newsom dropped the plan during the early months of his administration. The AP reports that talk of a new single tunnel project has received early criticism from groups like the Sierra Club and support from the California Building Industry Association. Justice A.T Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, on Friday, sentenced one Tarila Ebizimor to seven years imprisonment for obtaining money under false pretence to the tune of N4 million. The convict, a supervisor in the Security Department of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was prosecuted by the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a four-count charge. Mr Ebizimors journey to prison began sometime in August 2013 when he paraded himself as personal assistant of the managing director of the NDDC and obtained the sum of N4 million from the petitioner on the pretext that he will help facilitate the award of road construction contract to him. One of the charges against him reads: That you Tarila Ebizimor on the 13th day of August, 2013 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this honorable court did fraudulently obtain the sum of N2,000,000 (Two Million Naira), which said sum was paid into your Fidelity Bank account No. 5330259983, by a means of transfer from Gods Grace Haulage Limited on the pretext that you were to facilitate the award of road construction contract from Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a pretext you know to be false and thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 1(i)(a) of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act. T he bodies of seven people have been found in a mass grave in an indigenous area of Panama after a suspected exorcism. Residents had been rounded up by 10 lay preachers and tortured, beaten, burned and hacked with machetes, authorities said. Ten people were arrested on suspicion of murder and prosecutors announced on Thursday they were investigating. Local prosecutor Rafael Baloyes described a chilling scene found by investigators in the remote Ngabe Bugle on Tuesday. "They were performing a ritual inside the structure, Baloyes said. In that ritual, there were people being held against their will, being mistreated. About a mile from the church building, authorities found a freshly dug grave with the corpses of six children and one adult. The dead included five children as young as a year old, their pregnant mother and a 17-year-old female neighbour. Baloyes continued: "All of these rites were aimed at killing them if they did not repent their sins. "There was a naked person, a woman, inside the building, where investigators found machetes, knives and a ritually sacrificed goat, he said. The rites had been going on since Saturday, and had already resulted in deaths, Baloyes said. Police reportedly freed 14 members of the Ngabe Bugle indigenous group who had been tied up and beaten with wooden cudgels and Bibles. All the victims, and apparently all the suspects, were members of the same indigenous community. Ricardo Miranda, leader of the Ngabe Bugle semi-autonomous zone known as a Comarca, called the sect "satanic" and said it went against the region's Christian beliefs. "We demand the immediate eradication of this Satanic sect, which violates all the practices of spirituality and co-existence in the Holy Scriptures," Miranda said. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. They were basically Yes Men, presiding over billions in tax breaks given out by the state. A new report by a governors task force on the states troubled Economic Development Authority charged that the agency had a culture with a less-than-rigorous approach of evaluating applications by companies vying for New Jersey tax incentives. And part of the problem, it said, is that the award of tax credits were tied to the authoritys own revenues. Although we have not identified any instance in which the EDA willfully awarded incentives in clear violation of legal requirements, we have observed numerous instances of the authority working to get to yes, as more than one EDA employee described, said the Tax Incentive Task Force in an 88-page report released Thursday. At the same time, the task force said the EDAs manner of administering of New Jerseys tax incentive programs failed to maximize the intended economic benefits to the state. The task force was appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy last year after a critical report by the state comptroller concluded the EDA may have improperly awarded, miscalculated, overstated and overpaid credits to a number of companies involving literally billions in state funding. Those awards were intended as incentive packages aimed at encouraging companies to move to New Jersey, create new jobs, or keep businesses from moving out of state. But abuse was long pervasive in the program. Much of the focus of the task force has been on incentives that went to businesses tied to South Jersey power broker George E. Norcross III. Attorneys for the task force have charged that legislation meant to spur economic development in the state was re-written in part to benefit Norcross interests in Camden. According to the new report, shortcomings in how the agency evaluated tax incentive applications may have resulted in improper awards to companies. The EDAs institutional approach, set by senior management, is generally pre-disposed towards approving projects and granting relatively higher awards, an attitude that trickles down through the organizational structure within the EDA, the report said. In fact, the report said investigators found EDA underwriters were warned against or even criticized for asking too many questions of an applicant. The task force pointed again to the approval of nearly $40 million in incentive payments to Cooper Health System, which it has repeatedly questioned in the past. Norcross is chairman of Cooper. The EDA failed to subject Cooper Healths application to an appropriate level of scrutiny, and the result was that Cooper Health was awarded millions in incentives for which the health system did not qualify, the report said. The EDA had such inadequate processes and procedures for evaluating applications that it overlooked open and obvious red flags, the report said, adding that based on improper conclusions, Cooper Healths award ballooned from $7.15 million to $39.9 million. The report charged that the EDA failed to accurately determine whether other applicants were actually at risk of locating jobs outside of New Jersey if denied incentives. Due to the agencys deficient evaluation process, companies applying for tax incentives may easily misrepresent their relocation intentions without fear of likely consequences. There is evidence that certain companies obtained millions of dollars in awards based on assertions that they would move to out-of-state locations that were never genuinely under consideration, the report said. Noting that the vast majority of companies that applied to the EDA for tax incentives retained consultants who are well aware of the shortcomings in the EDAs at risk evaluations, it said many were willing to exploit those failings. The issue was raised in an October task force hearing, in connection with a food service company who was advised to include an alternative site outside of New Jersey in its Grow NJ incentive application when, in reality, the company had no actual intention of relocating. Cooper Health officials have said the hospital systems tax incentive award was appropriate, justified and legitimate, and Norcross firmly defended it during testimony before a state Senate committee hearing in November. The task force in its report cited his testimony. Norcross told the committee Cooper Health had been clear with the EDA from the start that none of its jobs would be relocated outside the state. The report disputed that, noting that Cooper as part of its application provided the EDA with a proposal letter for the health system to lease real estate in Philadelphia. Cooper officials said they were told to do that by an EDA staffer. But the task force said the EDA employee in question denied the allegation. In a statement, Norcross said the report reads as a justification by someone who has billed state taxpayers in excess of $11 million and is defensive about being sued by the same companies hes smearing, referring to Jim Walden, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor who serves as lead counsel to the task force. The award of tax incentives to my firm was previously investigated by the United States Attorneys Office, which determined no further action was warranted, he said. We my firm and its partners have always complied with the letter and the spirit of the law. Nothing in todays document changes that fact. Tim Sullivan, the current CEO of the Economic Development Authority, said the agency has already taken a number of steps to address issues identified by the new report, as well as the earlier report the task force issued in June 2019. Our foremost obligation is to be stewards of taxpayer resources, and the work of the Governors Task Force has been integral to our efforts to improve the EDAs performance," said Sullivan. Murphy has been an outspoken critic of the states economic incentive program, which he maintains wasted far too much taxpayer money and created far too few jobs. The key incentive programs expired in June, but the Legislature has been seeking to extend them. Murphy has called for reforms, including incentive caps which are opposed by the Legislature. Proposals to reform the programs have been stalled between the legislative leadership and the governor for months. READ THE TASK FORCE REPORT Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. For me, Thursdays events started with a chance meeting on New Years Eve. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion For me, Thursdays events started with a chance meeting on New Years Eve. "Hey, professor," said a familiar voice, one that had greeted me every morning in my first-year introduction to native studies class. It was Jeff (not his real name), a University of Manitoba student from Sagkeeng First Nation. I had lost touch with him, gone among the thousand other faces that came after. But, here he was, in front of me, on New Years Eve, in a small tent city. That night I was walking with Mama Bear Clan, delivering food and warm clothing to the dozens who sleep outside on Henry Avenue and Martha Street. Walks with Mama Bear Clan are always emotional. Its front-line work with some of Winnipegs most marginalized. Its also challenging because its Canadas history of violence laid bare. Winnipegs "homeless" consists almost exclusively of Indigenous people, and some Ive known since the 1990s (working in street-level mental health services). Seeing a young Ojibwa guy I had taught however, struck me deeply. Jeff had lost a lot of weight; his face looked like it had experienced a few rough years. He was smiling at me, though. We talked for a few minutes. I offered him gloves and a sandwich. I badly wanted to ask how he got here, but that was his business. Then, we hugged. "Bye, professor," he said, walking away. "Call me, man. Any time," I responded, giving him my phone number and the money I had in my pocket. He laughed, and told me he didnt have a phone. Then, he hugged me again. SHANNON VANRAES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES A teepee, erected in honour of Matthew Allan Sutherland, served as a warming shelter for homeless people living in a makeshift camp near the Manitoba Metis Federation building in downtown Winnipeg until in burned down this week. I started crying. "Ill find you, professor," he said, comforting me. Despite other walks with the Mama Bear Clan since, I havent seen Jeff. I looked for him again Thursday afternoon, after I heard officials from the City of Winnipeg had ordered the removal of the tent city. For months, more than 15 homes have been built near Main Street Project and the Salvation Army. Residents say that around 60 people live at the outdoor site, on and off. Some tents house heaters, lights, and candles. Its not the first tent city in Winnipeg, but its been probably the most visible which is likely why its received the most scrutiny. After a cold snap in November, a downtown advocacy group called the Urban Knights and Ladies partnered with students and staff from Stonewall Collegiate to build the community two warming huts. Made of plywood, the Knights hoped to provide a safe, warm place for relief on cold nights. Days after they were installed, police removed the huts, arguing they violated fire codes and bylaws. This prompted advocates to donate newer tents and a teepee, as a mid-December cold wave dropped temperatures to life-threatening degrees. Just before Christmas, elder Walter Richard donated a second teepee in honour of his nephew, Matthew Sutherland, who was part of Winnipegs downtown community before he was killed Oct. 31. It became known as "Matthews Place" and housed a sacred fire and ceremonies. On Jan. 3, there was a small fire in one tent (caused by a candle), damaging one teepee and resulting in one person taken to hospital. On Tuesday, Matthews Place burnt down. Residents say it got too cold to constantly man the fire inside. No one was hurt. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Adrienne Duduk, director of housing at the Main Street Project checks on Darren Flett's tent, helping him move to a friends tent so that the city can start cleaning up the site Thursday morning. Activists immediately promised to rebuild the structures but city officials announced an end to the community. On Thursday, construction crews began removing all structures and possessions, and promised to finish the job Friday. By the time I got to the site, around two-thirds of the homes had been removed. Bulldozer tracks were everywhere. Possessions were strewn around, alongside single shoes and ripped jackets. In the snow, I found a bubble pack of pills belonging to Farron (in case anyone knows him, his medicine is at Main Street Project). Where Matthews Place once stood was a tiny replica teepee, a small expression of resistance and a reminder of the life in tent city. It wasnt a bunch of squatters. It was a place people could go when governments, politicians, and everyday Winnipeg cast them aside or, worse, forgot about them. It was a home. I spent the afternoon visiting organizations. I found no place to sit in Main Street Project. They were so busy at the Salvation Army, staff working overtime. The North Point Douglas Womens Centre an organization suffering from provincial funding "reorganization" opened on a day it usually doesnt. I called politicians and if they responded I asked where the former residents of tent city should go. Most said existing shelters. I asked them if they had ever spoken to those citizens who told me how unsafe, crowded, and unsuitable many shelters are. I asked them about any new commitments to deal with the mental health needs, safety, or housing needs now created. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. I asked them what was the plan now. Their silence was deafening. I could hear utter, complete heartlessness though. I spent the rest of the night looking for Jeff. If you read this, Ill find you, man. Im sorry we failed. niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca Sydney (AFP) - Australia will lose billions of dollars in tourism revenue as international visitors cancel trips in droves due to bushfires raging across the country, an industry body forecast Friday. The number of travellers booking visits to Australia has fallen 10-20 percent since the fires began in September and the slump will cost the economy an estimated AUS$4.5 billion ($3 billion) this year, the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) said. "International visitors are cancelling because of fears around air quality, safety and the impact fires have had on our tourism offering as well as a lack of certainty on how long it will take for us to recover," ATEC Managing Director Peter Shelley said. Global media have given extensive coverage to the wildfires, which have killed at least 28 people, burned an area larger than Portugal and blanketed the key tourist cities of Sydney and Melbourne in toxic smoke. ATEC said the disaster had hit travel from the US, UK and Europe the hardest, coinciding with the December-February period which traditionally sees 50 percent of the annual tourist bookings from those markets. Shelley said the industry and government need to urgently get the message out that many key tourism destinations are largely unaffected by the fires. "There is no doubt our industry will take a hit," he said. "The sooner we can communicate a strong, positive message, the better." Australia's conservative government, which has come under intense criticism for its response to the fires and to the global warming which scientists say has been a major contributing factor to the crisis, has announced an AUS$2 billion "bushfire recovery plan". Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that this would include a significant boost for the tourism industry, with details to be unveiled next week. Tourism Australia was forced to suspend an upbeat advertising campaign launched in the middle of the crisis featuring pop star Kylie Minogue after the ad was met with incredulity about what many saw as poor timing. The next weeks elections to the urban local bodies in Telangana are going to be the biggest challenge for the two national parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to prove their respective strengths in the state. The polling for 120 municipalities and nine municipal corporations will be held on January 22 and the results would be declared on January 25. For Karimnagar municipal corporation, however, polling will take place on January 25 and results will be out on January 27. While the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is sitting pretty it has already won 77 wards unanimously in various municipalities the Congress and the BJP are struggling to put up a strong fight. They have not been able to find the right candidates in several places. The state election commission figures show the Congress could not put up candidates in as many as 200 wards and divisions and the BJP in around 400 places. We did not have sufficient time in the selection of candidates as the SEC announced the schedule at very short notice. We shall support like-minded independents wherever we dont have our candidates, a senior BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity. However, both the Congress and BJP are looking forward to putting up an impressive show in the municipal elections as they had done during the Lok Sabha elections held in April last year. While the Congress could win three parliamentary seats, the BJP sprang a surprise by winning four, defeating stalwarts like Kalvakuntla Kavitha, daughter of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, in Nizamabad and B Vinod Kumar, a close aide of KCR, in Karimnagar. However, the jubilation of the two national parties was short-lived, as the TRS bounced back in the gram panchayat, mandal (block) parishad and zilla parishad elections held in June 2019. The ruling party had captured all the 32 zilla parishads and 90% of the block parishads. We are going to repeat the performance in the municipal elections. We shall not rest until we capture all the 120 municipalities and 10 municipal corporations. That is going to be our goal, TRS working president and KCRs son KT Rama Rao had said during a preparatory meeting of the party last week. The Congress, which released its vision document for the municipal elections on Thursday, is focussing on the alleged neglect of civic infrastructure in several municipalities during the TRS regime and large-scale corruption in the administration. We shall fight on the issue of failure of TRS government in fulfilling the electoral promises and lack of development in urban local bodies, former minister and PCC vice-president Mohd Ali Shabbir said. The party, however, is apprehensive that their candidates might not match the money power and arm-twisting tactics of the TRS. Already, the TRS lawmakers are luring our potential candidates with money power to see that there is no competition. They are spending money in crores, a Congress spokesperson, who refused to be named, said. On the other hand, the BJP is focussing on the districts Adilabad and Karimnagar, Nizamabad it had won the Lok Sabha elections where there is a possibility of polarisation of Hindu votes. It is trying to capitalise on the incidents like the recent communal violence in Bhainsa town in Nirmal district, part of Adilabad LS constituency to win over the Hindu voters. We shall go to every voter and explain to them the need to elect the BJP members in the municipalities so that the people would get the benefits of the central schemes, BJP spokesperson K Krishnasaga Rao said. Political analyst S Ramakrishna said the Congress should win at least 25% of the total municipalities and corporations if it has any ambition of coming to power in the 2023 assembly elections in Telangana. But the BJP cannot expect to win more than 10%, because it doesnt have the cadre base in the state, Ramakrishna said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Haiti commemorates deadly 2010 quake in anger and bitterness Port-au-Prince, Jan 13 (AFP) Jan 13, 2020 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." To reduce bottlenecks and fragmentations in service delivery, Nigerias Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has unveiled the Health Insurance Under One Roof. The Executive Secretary of NHIS, Mohammed Sambo, shared the strategy with the leadership of the State Social Health Insurance Agencies at a recent meeting in Abuja, according to a statement by the schemes spokesperson, Ayo Osinlu. The concept recommends the clear definition of scopes of health insurance in Nigeria, and the determination of who covers each of the segments between NHIS and the state agencies, the statement highlighted. Mr Sambo said the formal sector remains under the purview of NHIS, while the State Health Insurance Schemes (SHIS) takes charge of the informal sector population at the grassroots, which is closer to the state government system. He, however, explained that in the proposed arrangement, the development and deployment of ICT solutions, as well as Information, Education and Communication activities will have overarching and cross-cutting status, providing overall support services for the operational and management processes of health insurance in Nigeria. NHIS Conundrum NHIS was established to reduce out-of-pocket spending for health to the barest minimum but has not lived to that mandate. Because of this, SHIS was birthed. READ ALSO: Lagos, Niger, Delta, Anambra are among about 20 states that have begun implementation. However, there is yet to be a clear-cut synergy on how NHIS and SHIS will operate either jointly or independently. The greatest impediment to speedy attainment of universal health coverage in the country remains fragmentation of resources, policies, efforts and strategies, Wednesdays statement read. This will not only result in loss of time and energy, but is in total contradiction of the most significant principle of health insurance which is pooling. To facilitate the finalisation of the details of this concept and receive inputs for strengthening it, the NHIS boss announced that a retreat will be held in the second week of February, to generate a framework for developing a set of conditions to produce a system for the effective operation and administration of Health Insurance Under One Roof. The new strategy appears to be familiar with the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR), a policy designed to integrate all PHC services under one authority. Airport CCTV pictures have emerged of the two men accused of helping fugitive businessman Carlos Ghosn escape house arrest in Japan and flee to Beirut. Michael Taylor, a former US Green Beret, and George Antoine Zayek, a former member of a Christian militia in Lebanon, were caught on camera at Istanbul airport as Ghosn changed planes en route to his final destination. Turkish prosecutors say Taylor and Zayek accompanied the 65-year-old former Nissan boss on the first leg of his journey from Osaka to Ataturk Airport, a smaller airfield in the Turkish capital, on a private jet. They claim Ghosn changed aircraft on foot before taking a second private plane to Beirut, while his accomplices went across town to Istanbul's main airport. Michael Taylor, front right, and George Antoine Zayek (rear), were caught on CCTV at Istanbul Airport in Turkey while allegedly helping Carlos Ghosn flee from Japan to Lebanon Turkish prosecutors say Taylor (left and right) and Zayek accompanied Ghosn on a private jet from Osaka to Ataturk Airport, in Istanbul, then crossed town to board a commercial flight at the city's main airport Taylor and Zayek then checked in and went through security, where the CCTV images were taken, before boarding a separate commercial flight to Beirut. Turkey has arrested five people as part of its investigation into the escape, including employees of MNG, the private jet firm used by Ghosn. The firm says its aircraft were used illegally in the escape and has filed a criminal complaint. Taylor, who used to be a U.S. Special Forces counter-terrorism specialist, is now a private security contractor who has protected powerful people and companies, as well as secretly helping the U.S. government. The 59-year-old has previously rescued hostages and is said to be well known in the private security contractor world. Ghosn fled Japan hidden inside a music equipment case to escape what he has described as a 'plot' against him Taylor's company, American International Security Corp., was once hired by the New York Times to help rescue one of its reporters, David Rohde, after he was kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The reporter was held in Pakistan for seven months before managing to escape himself in 2009. Taylor also served a 14-month prison sentence in Utah in 2012 after pleading guilty to wire fraud in a multimillion-dollar military fraud scheme. He was arrested after allegedly calling an FBI agent and asking him to stop a federal investigation into his security company. Taylor was being investigated over a bid-rigging scheme to get $54 million Defense Department contracts. Taylor, who denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was a legitimate businessman, took a plea deal. When he was released from prison in 2015, the government gave him back the $2 million they had seized from him. Taylor made headlines last week when it emerged he had been hired to help Ghosn flee Japan where the ex-Nissan boss was awaiting trial on multiple counts of financial misconduct. The security contractor is believed to have been on the private plane that flew out of Japan with Ghosn hidden in the music case. A team of 15 private security contractors hatched a plot to smuggle Carlos Ghosn out of Tokyo and onto a private jet to Lebanon via Turkey His partner in the operation was Lebanese-born George-Antoine Zayek, who was a member of a a Christian militia in his home country during the 1980s, the Wall Street Journal reports. Zayek has previously held positions in security firms linked to Taylor. Months of planning went into plotting the ex-CEO's bid for freedom, that saw lax airport security exploited as well as a route through Russia used to aid a smooth passage to Lebanon. Members of the team made more than 20 trips to Japan and surveyed at least 10 airports before noticing a security loophole at the terminal reserved for private jets at Osaka. As a result Ghosn was able to launch a 300-mile dash from Tokyo to Osaka on board a bullet train before being smuggled on to a private plane hidden in a large crate used to carry speakers with small holes drilled in the bottom so that he could breathe. A jet then carefully traveled though Russian airspace for as much of its 12-hour journey as possible to avoid South Korea, which has an extradition treaty with Japan, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. Ghosn was reportedly wearing a hat and a surgical mask when he was smuggled out of his home in Tokyo and onto a bullet train to Osaka. Ghosn is now holed up inside a mansion in Beirut with wife Carole (pictured, security outside) and says he plans to fight for justice from the country Japanese authorities seemed to have no idea Ghosn was no longer in the country, and the Bombardier jet landed in Istanbul's Ataturk Airport at around 5.30am local time on December 30. He changed planes in Turkey to avoid arousing suspicion as a direct flight from Osaka to Beirut could have been flagged to authorities. Taylor did not travel to Beirut with Ghosn. The former Green Beret has close ties to Lebanon because his wife is originally from there. Two of his sons are also believed to now live in Lebanon. Ghosn claims he was forced to flee Japan to escape a 'plot' against him, which he claims was hatched when he planned to sell part of Nissan to partner Renault. He claims he was denied justice in Japan, where the conviction rate is above 99 per cent, and instead intends to seek justice in Lebanon. The former executive is currently holed up at a property in the city with wife Carole. Festival performance: The Southern Illinois Music Festival Orchestra performs at Carterville High School Performing Arts Center. (Photo provided) Southern Illinois Music Festival earns national award for American Symphony by Jason Franchuk CARBONDALE, Ill. Southern Illinois University Carbondales Edward Benyas turned a surprisingly refreshing phone call he received about six years ago into a conductors dream. The result was a significant award for himself and the Southern Illinois Music Festival. Benyas, the festival founder and Artistic Director, recently learned that American Symphony received third prize in the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of Music. The award recognizes and rewards the best performances of American music by ensembles and individual artists worldwide, based on submitted recordings. Our 15 year old Southern Illinois Music Festival is the only professional summer music festival in Illinois south of I-80, said Benyas, who is also a professor of oboe and conducting in the SIU School of Music. This award gives national recognition to our decade and a half of artistic excellence, and support of American music, all in residence at SIU Carbondale. Award also honors World War II veteran, composer The award also honors the late composer Lionel Semiatin, a World War II veteran who composed much of the score while on World War II battlefields. The award, announced recently, recognizes the musical festival for promoting Semiatins music in 2014 and 2015, including the American Symphony world premiere in June 2015, Benyas said. Benyas said Semiatin, who was from White Plains, New York, first contacted him in 2014. Benyas believes Semiatins work is likely the only chamber orchestra piece written on the battlefield by an American World War II veteran. Benyas is a military history buff and said he was immediately moved by Semiatins initial phone call. He noted that like many conductors, he regularly receives calls from composers wanting to get their work performed. Semiatin created his compositions between 1944 and 1975, in time for the nations bicentennial. Semiatins work stood out for being jazzy and Gershwin-like, Benyas said. Semiatin was born in Ireland and moved to the United States when he was 3 years old. He landed in Normandy about a week after D-Day, according to reports, and eventually assigned to the chaplains office overseas in part because of his musical abilities. Composer able to hear some of his work performed Semiatin, who was retired from a 30-year role as executive director of the Temple Israel Center in White Plains, visited Carbondale in 2014 to hear three of his pieces performed during the 2014 music festival during a D-Day 70th anniversary concert. He died in 2015 at 98, two months after his entire American Symphony premiered in June. Benyas said he received an email from one of Semiatins daughters recently, praising Benyas for capturing the essence of what he had in mind when he wrote it the expansiveness, potential and huge energy of our nation. It was special enough to earn a special judges citation for championing Semiatins music. We recently received an interesting article from Mike Potter, former director for the Military Aviation Museum in Pungo, Virginia that concerns the re-construction (on museum grounds) of the original airfield watch tower from the WWII USAAF airfield at Goxhill in England. This tower is historically significant, because RAF Goxhill became the first fully-operated U.S. airfield in Britain during WWII The First of Many RAF Goxhill Watch Tower by Mike Potter, Military Aviation Museum As we approach the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, it is worth remembering some of the herculean efforts that went into crafting that Victory. Not including the period called the Phony War, the British had been in a very real shooting war for almost three full years before America entered the conflict. For several years, British casualties among women and children outnumbered those of British soldiers as terror was rained down upon them from the skies. The whole of Britain was subjected to rationing and mandatory National Service and every man, woman, and child in England was provided with a gas mask through their Civil Defense organizations. The war became a deeply personal one for every citizen as Europe collapsed and left the British Isles and their Commonwealth supporters virtually alone. When America came into the war as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor, her military forces were few in number, and all of them were unprepared, inexperienced, and un-blooded. General Ira Eaker, who would become the commander of the new Eighth Air Force, arrived in London just months later in early May of 1942 with six staff officers, no airplanes, and no airfields from which to operate. By the end of the next year, he would have 4,000 aircraft and 185,000 men in combat, an organizational and industrial feat of the highest order. With untested pilots and new aircraft came accidents and mistakes. The top brass knew that it would be folly to put these pilots directly into action. They needed a finishing school for combat fighter pilots to give them an understanding of flying conditions in England, how to fit into the air traffic control systems being used, and they needed practice missions and advice from experienced pilots before going operational. At the same time, the Royal Air Force struggled mightily to provide the hundreds of new air bases and the aircraft needed to defend their island, but early in 1942 they had several new airfields that were underused. The new base at Goxhill in North Lincolnshire, across the Humber river from the city of Hull, was a perfect location relatively near the English Channel, but well north of the main arena for air combat and, it was available for immediate use. One month after the seven USAAF senior staff officers set foot in England, RAF Goxhill was turned over to the Americans. Just a month later, Americans began occupying the new USAAF Goxhill with General Eisenhower, Lord Portal, and others in attendance to mark the occasion. And, while no one recalls sending them an invitation, on the very morning of the handover, a lone German bomber delivered a solitary large bomb with exquisite precision in the middle of the intersection of the two main runways. Even Lord Haw-Haw had assured them a visit quite soon, so security was evidently an issue from day one. USAAF Goxhill Americas first airbase to be handed over in its entirety by the British military, served exclusively as a fighter training base from Spring 1942 until the end of 1944. For the first year, entire new squadrons arrived to be trained as a unit for 30-60 days before moving on to their initial assigned bases. After that, the base received thousands of newly trained pilots to acclimate them while serving as a Combat Crew Replacement Center for the 8th and 9th Air Forces. The Fighting Scouts of the 8th Air Force also trained tour-expired bomber pilots at Goxhill to fly fighter planes to serve as advance weather scouts and tactical advisors in real time with bombing missions. By the end of 1944, Americas first dedicated airfield in England was no longer needed. Air superiority was firmly in place all over Europe, and while the USAAF was not operating with complete immunity from losses, a dedicated training base was no longer needed. Fighter planes and pilot losses were manageable enough to devolve the in-theater training needs to the established squadrons in what became known as Clobber College. At wars end, as with many airfields, it took some years for Goxhill to return to civilian hands, but 50 years after the war it was recognized by many as the most undisturbed and complete wartime airfield still extant. There was a brief, but sadly unfulfilled project mooted at one time to restore much of the base as a historic tourism site. It was around this time that Jerry Yagen, the founder of the Military Aviation Museum in Pungo, Virginia dared to conceive of finding a suitably iconic wartime structure to bring to his museum to form a piece of living history at the center of his still-growing collection of vintage military aircraft. The full story of this adventure would take up a long article by itself, but suffice it to say it was not an endeavor for the weak of heart. While this project will continue to develop, the former USAAF Goxhill tower is now fully rebuilt in Pungo. It has been refurnished and well equipped with hundreds of period artifacts from England that will allow visitors to experience a walk back in time for themselves with a minimum of distraction by traditional interpretive exhibits. The museum is quite proud to preserve and showcase this instantly recognizable piece of history in order to remember the Anglo-American partnership that shaped so many lives over a span of several generations. The list of people and organizations that have helped in this project is quite long, but we must acknowledge the generosity of the late Goxhill historian Ron Parker and his family in sharing his extensive collection of Goxhill materials, and the advice and assistance of the Airfield Research Group in the U.K. in making this project so authentic. Many thanks to Mike Potter for this article, and to Jerry Yagen and the Military Aviation Museum for having the courage and fortitude to take on this important historical project. Estate planning attorneys will agree, its better to die with a properly drafted Will than to die without one. If you dont have one, consider getting one. You will want to direct your assets to those persons whom you wish to receive a legacy as opposed to relying on the alternative, which is a default plan arranged for you by the State of Texas. You will also want to name an independent executor along with successors in the event the first executor fails, refuses, or becomes unable to serve. You may also want to include special trusts to provide for family members who are disabled as well as trusts for minors and perhaps adult children. Here are three big considerations you may not have thought of before that may require changes to your estate plan or motivate you to get one. Years ago, the exemption equivalent, which allows a person to leave a certain amount of money to beneficiaries tax-free was much smaller. The law required a person to either use it or lose it. For example, if in 1987, when the exemption equivalent was $600,000 per taxpayer, a couple was forced to use a by-pass trust in order to shelter the first $600,000 upon the first to die in order to take advantage of the exemption. The exemption will be $11.58 million in 2020. Additionally, the law has changed regarding use it or lose it. While there may still be relevant reasons to use a forced by-pass trust in a persons Will, in some cases, it may be time to eliminate it. Secondly, consider implementing planning to exercise some control over your assets after you pass away. Lets say George and Martha have three children. George dies leaving his assets to Martha, then Martha dies leaving all of her assets to their three children. One of the children, Susan, dies after her mother. Susans Will leaves all of her assets to her husband, Frank. Frank later remarries. The new bride may be spending Franks money and depending on the circumstances, may burn up all of the assets, leaving nothing for Susan and Franks children. Would George and Martha want their assets to be used by a stranger instead of going to their own grandchildren? Thirdly, you could have a heart attack, a stroke, or an unfortunate incident, such as an auto accident. Those events can happen suddenly with no warning. You were healthy and then suddenly you become severely disabled. We should all plan like it might happen to us. Why would a person want to pass up the opportunity to prepare documents such as powers of attorney for property, powers of attorney for health care, living wills and medical privacy documents? Becoming the subject of a court supervised guardianship proceeding which becomes a matter of public record for all the world to see, not to mention the unnecessary expense and frustration of a guardianship that could have been avoided had you just taken care of preparing the appropriate documents. And why would you want to procrastinate making a Will and then die suddenly not ever having taken time to make your Will? Now your family will have to pay more for a more costly probate proceeding. Reuters Four companies sued Facebook Inc in US federal court on Thursday for alleged anticompetitive conduct, saying the social network inappropriately revoked developer access to its platform in order to harm prospective competitors. The plaintiffs sought class-action status and unspecified damages, according to a filing at the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Facebook faced an existential threat from mobile apps, and while it could have responded by competing on the merits, it instead chose to use its might to intentionally eliminate its competition, said Yavar Bathaee, a partner at law firm Pierce Bainbridge and co-lead counsel in the case. (Also read: Facebook sued for discriminating on the basis of gender, age for financial service ads) (Also read: California reveals Facebook probe, accuses company of hampering the investigation) The filing is an escalation of Facebooks battles with small app developers that had built companies based on access to its user data. Facebook cut off access for certain apps as far back as 2012, while still allowing access for others. (Also read: Facebook, Google under scrutiny by the EU on data collection, monetisation practises) Thousands of pages of damaging internal emails have emerged from a similar lawsuit filed by Six4Three, the developer of a now-shuttered bikini photo app. Facebook has described the Six4Three case as baseless. Facebook did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the latest lawsuit. The social network also faces multiple investigations into possible antitrust violations by regulators around the world. (Also read: Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple to be grilled on tougher lines by EU antitrust regulators) ALBANY Two more New York residents have died due to vaping-related illnesses, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said. Cuomo issued a statement Friday announcing the state Department of Health's confirmation of the additional deaths, of a woman in her twenties from New York City and another woman in her fifties from Ontario County. "These deaths are tragic and they are also preventable. We know smoking and nicotine are dangerous, and it's becoming tragically clearer by the day that vaping is too," Cuomo said. "State DOH and its Wadsworth Center Laboratory are doing groundbreaking work getting to the bottom of this unacceptable situation and we will continue using every tool at our disposal until these illnesses and deaths stop. In the meantime our message on vaping remains unchanged: if you don't know what you're smoking, don't smoke it." While the Department of Health's investigation of the latest deaths is ongoing, officials have determined both are associated with vaping. This brings the total number of vaping-related deaths in New York to four. A Manhattan man in his 30s was the last person who died from the use back in November. Officials have said he had a history of using e-cigarettes and vape products, but did not provide what specific type were used. The first death, of a 17-year-old boy from the Bronx, was reported in October. Nationwide, there have been 60 deaths from vaping-associated lung injuries and 2,668 hospitalizations altogether, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Jan. 14. In New York, there have been 230 possible cases of vaping-related lung illnesses reported to health authorities since August, according to data published by the state Jan. 7. Of those, 150 are confirmed and probable; the rest remain under investigation. In the Capital Region, anywhere from nine to 25 cases are considered confirmed or probable. Additional cases are under investigation. Federal and state officials have linked the vaping illnesses to vitamin E acetate, a thickening agent used in black-market THC cartridges, but have not ruled out other agents and products. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The latest deaths come amid an ongoing battle between the industry and state lawmakers on banning flavored electronic liquids. The state's Public Health and Health Planning Council issued a ban on the sale of certain flavored electronic liquids in September, a day after Cuomo signed an executive order banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and related products. Last week, the state Supreme Court struck down New York's ban. The decision by acting state Supreme Court Justice Catherine Cholakis found that the state had overstepped its authority and that regulation should be handled by the Legislature. Bethany Bump contributed to this report. We Aussies like to refer to our home as the lucky country, but for the last few weeks, with bushfires raging wild, unyielding, relentless it has seemed anything but that. Every day we are witnessing horrifying images of families displaced and homes destroyed; of entire towns crowded onto beaches under blood red skies; of the gallant efforts and immense bravery of volunteer firefighters; of koalas and kangaroos injured by the great flames, searching desperately for water. The eyes of the world are on us as we endure, in real time, the blistering and catastrophic effects of the climate crisis. In fact, some observers have said Australia is the canary in the coalmine of global heating. We have yet to know the full cost of this national emergency, but the numbers so far are almost too much to bearat least 28 people are dead, including three firefighters, and the BBC reports more than 6.3 million hectares have burned. Thats more than twice as much as the 2019 Amazon and 2018 California fires combined. Endangered animals Ecologists at the University of Sydney and WWF Australia estimate that more than a billion animals may have been affected. This includes many species already endangered before the fires began. The picture from the air is almost equally appalling. Satellite images show the smoke plume is so large its reached New Zealand, which is more than 2,000 kilometres from Australias east coast. The air in Sydney and Melbourne, our two largest cities, has become as poisonous as smoking cigarettes. We have bushfires at this time every year, of course; they are a vital part of maintaining our forest and bush ecosystems. But weve certainly never seen anything like this. The combination of extremely high temperaturesin mid-December we recorded our hottest day on recordand a very dry spring have created an inferno. Make no mistakethis is not usual; we have never seen this before and we simply dont know how its going to play out. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has said the fires are so intense, they are creating their own weather systems. And fire season has just begun. What is happening in Australia right now has shocked me to the core. The fires are not far from where my family lives. There is a real sense of hopelessness. Seeing the grief this causes is something youd never wish on anybody. Feeling connected to my homeland and seeing it so quickly destroyed is devastating. I grew up surfing on the Gold Coast in Queensland where I was fortunate to be surrounded by nature, pure and untamed. Our beaches are simply the best, and the state is home to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the natural wonders of the world, and one which is already being devastated by the intertwined effects of global heating. Australia's nature is precious Ive never taken my natural birthright for granted. I know that nature is precious. Its one of the reasons I decided to become an Ocean Advocate for the UN Development Programme. Australias nature is particularly precious because our diverse and incredible ecosystems are unlike anywhere else on Earth. The frustrating thing is that we know what the world needs to do to fight climate change. The science on this is clear. As reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we must ensure that global temperature rise does not go beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius. We must cut global emissions by 45 per cent by 2030. We have little time to take the decisions needed to get to that point. The challenge is great, but it is not impossible. The bushfires can provide an opportunity for Australia to step up and lead the world on climate action. Nations need to band together. The earth must be put first; nature and humanity must re-align. Our home is on fire and in Australia the alarm is ringing. Loudly and clearly. Weevery one of usmust step up our efforts and do everything we can to prevent the catastrophic effects of the climate crisis. Our future is at stake. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to examine, within three months, the representation of BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking the establishment of Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) in every tehsil (revenue subdivision) of the country. A bench, headed by Justice NV Ramana, said the courts cannot decide on the issue concerning the nature of school to be opened at any location, but it can direct the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to decide on the matter within three months. Live TV The petition said: "The low fee structure of Kendriya Vidyalayas will help the poor students in getting a quality education along with an exposure to the competitive world. The establishment of KVs will also encourage the nearby schools to provide better education as they will face competition." Upadhyay has challenged the Delhi High Court order and directions needs to be issued to the Centre to set up a KV in each tehsil in the country. In October last year, the Delhi High Court said it is a policy decision, and instead of courts, the government should take a call on it. The plea said there are 5,464 tehsils but only a total of 1,209 KVs. New Delhi [India], Jan 17 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday disposed of a petition filed by wife of late Kannada writer MM Kalburgi seeking a Special Investigation Team probe into his alleged murder in 2015. Umadevi Kalburgi had filed the petition after Karnataka government told the apex court that the charge sheet has already been filed in the case. Kalburgi was shot dead by unknown assailants at his home in Kalyan Nagar, Dharwad district in Karnataka on August 30, 2015. (ANI) According to a new study published in the latest issue of The Lancet, this week, more people across the globe are dying of sepsis than earlier believed. A team from the University of Pittsburgh and University of Washington schools of medicine led the research along with their colleagues from different disciplines. Image Credit: WHO The study was presented at the Critical Care Reviews annual meeting in Belfast today and researchers have noted from the statistics that sepsis is killing more children in poorer regions than earlier known. The team found that there have been a total of 48.9 million cases of sepsis around the world in 2017 and of these 11 million have succumbed to the infection. This means that one in five deaths or 20 percent of the deaths across the world are due to sepsis, write the researchers. Sepsis is an overwhelming form of generalized infection that affects all the major organs of the body. In this condition the infection triggers a massive immune response and the effects of the overactive immunity can damage the major organs that may prove life threatening. Many survivors of sepsis may go on to have co-morbidities and other lifelong ailments and disabilities. Kristina E. Rudd, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor in Pitt's Department of Critical Care Medicine, who led this new study said, I've worked in rural Uganda, and sepsis is what we saw every single day. Watching a baby die of a disease that could have been prevented with basic public health measures really sticks with you. I want to contribute to solving this tragedy, so I participate in research on sepsis. However, how can we know if we're making progress if we don't even know the size of the problem? If you look at any top 10 list of deaths globally, sepsis is not listed because it hasn't been counted. She is also a critical care physician at the UPMC. For this study the team looked at data on sepsis from the Global Burden of Disease Study which looked at the global prevalence of the condition and the analysis was performed with a collaboration of researchers from Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 looked at 282 causes of deaths across the globe but does not look at sepsis per se. Sepsis is excluded from the list because it is an intermediate cause of death say the researchers. This means that sepsis is caused by an underlying cause such as a cancer or a severe pneumonia etc. explain the researchers. This new study took into account the GBD 2017 data because there have been gaps in knowledge regarding the actual prevalence of sepsis including those that occur within and outside the hospitals in the poorer nations. The team explained that till date the data from hospitals were reported only from the high income developed nations. This meant that the actual disease burden could be the whole of the ice berg whose tip was reported say experts. For this study the team looked at sepsis incidence, prevalence and sepsis associated mortality from the year 1990 to 2017. They found that in 1990 there were 60.2 million cases of sepsis which resulted in 15.7 million deaths across the world. In 2017 the numbers had declined to 48.9 million cases and 11 million deaths a drop by 19 percent and 30 percent respectively. Lower respiratory tract infections were one of the commonest causes of sepsis the team found. The team also noted that 85 percent of the cases of sepsis in 2017 were reported from low or middle income nations with largest number of cases reported from poor regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, the South Pacific islands near Australia, and South, East and Southeast Asia. Women were more at risk to die of sepsis than men and there was a high incidence of sepsis during early childhood and 4 in 10 cases of sepsis occurred in children below the age of 5 years. Study author Mohsen Naghavi, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., professor of health metrics sciences at IHME at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in a statement said, We are alarmed to find sepsis deaths are much higher than previously estimated, especially as the condition is both preventable and treatable. We need renewed focus on sepsis prevention among newborns and on tackling antimicrobial resistance, an important driver of the condition. According to lead author Rudd, So what is the solution? Well, to start with it's basic public health infrastructure. Vaccines, making sure everyone has access to a toilet and clean drinking water, adequate nutrition for children and maternal health care would address a lot of these cases. But sepsis is still a problem here in the U.S., where it is the No. 1 killer of hospital patients. Everyone can reduce their odds of developing it by getting the flu shot, and the pneumonia vaccine when appropriate. Beyond that, we need to do a better job preventing hospital-acquired infections and chronic diseases, like diabetes, that make people more susceptible to infections. She added, Finally, for people in high-income countries who want to help reduce the rates of sepsis in low-income areas, we need to support research into treatments and advocate to our elected officials for the importance of supporting sepsis prevention and control efforts in low-income communities. The study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the British Columbia Children's Hospital Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Fleming Fund. Proper structures must be instituted to ... Friday, January 17th, 2020 (6:44 am) - Score 4,953 Last year a new full fibre developer called F&W Networks, which is being supported by retail ISP partner Hey!Broadband (H!B), cropped up with an aspiration of deploying a 10Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to over 1 million UK premises by 2024 (here). Now their first roll-out seems destined for Horsham. Until recently very little was known about F&Ws roll-out plan, except that they intended to target areas that are currently not served and not planned to be served by competitors with FTTP networks. The market town of Horsham in West Sussex now appears to be first on their list, which makes sense since at present the best you can get in the town (part of it) is Openreachs G.fast network (they also have a little FTTP). NOTE: Cityfibre s Dark Fibre network will also be passing through part of the town, albeit initially only for the purpose of connecting public sector sites ( here ). Last week F&Ws partner ISP revealed that theyre getting ready to connect our very first customers in Horsham, although weve struggled to spot related street works activity in the local area. Customers can expect packages that cost from 35 per month for speeds of 250Mbps (50Mbps upload) or 40 for 1000Mbps (symmetrical upload), which comes with unlimited usage, a wireless router, an 18 month contract term and parental controls. Initially the operators usual 150 installation fee will also be free and we note that their customer support will only be available between 9am and 8pm (Monday to Friday) via phone. Otherwise the roll-out is expected to cover 5,000 premises around the towns centre. ALBANY New York is on track to receive nearly $215 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to support local homeless assistance programs across the state. The funding is part of $2.2 billion in nationwide grants to support programs through HUDs Continuum of Care program, and more than half of the funding for New York will go to New York City boroughs. The grants will support more than 6,500 local programs serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness across the country. TROY, N.Y. Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) and SUNY Empire State College entered a new transfer agreement. HVCC President Dr. Roger Ramsammy and SUNY Empire State College President Jim Malatras signed off on the partnership Friday morning at HVCC. Upon commencing the agreement, graduates of HVCCs Chemical Dependency Counseling program can seamlessly transfer to SUNY Empires first-of-its-kind Bachelor of Science in Addiction Studies program. I think a partnership like this is critically important because you have such a demand in society. Then the question for us in higher education is, well how do you help address a demand in a real and meaningful way for people in our communities who want to do something to combat the opioid crisis for instance, to get involved and be helpful? It often takes additional credentialing and degrees, Malatras said. To that end, with its launch this year, the program aims to prepare students to become skilled addiction treatment specialists while helping them advance toward becoming a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor. The program is built around courses which address fundamental aspects of how addiction affects individuals, families, and communities, while examining the assessment, treatment, and prevention of substance misuse. So with Hudson Valley and Empire State working together like this we create a seamless opportunity for people in the workforce to improve their credentialing or students coming in for the first time saying, I just want to be involved and help address a societal issue thats really one everybodys minds. We create a one-stop-shop basically for the student to make it as easy as possible, give them all the academic components and all the strengths of both of our schools combined together, is a winning combination that should be replicated everywhere quite frankly, Malatras added on the importance of the agreement. Malatras also emphasized the significance of having that SUNY system partnership. I think its really important in todays society frankly in the social media age in your mobile phone age where were all part of the SUNY family, students come in because of the SUNY name and then the particular colleges within in the SUNY system, its incumbent upon us as presidents of campuses to make that experience as easy as possible for the students who just want to better their lives, Malatras remarked. I think President Ramsammys commitment to doing that manifests itself right here today in that commitment and I think our college communitys commitment to work together, which doesnt always happen because people have competition of whos going to get the student, to us its we want to give the best experience for the student and the student experience that they want, so thats what were here for and I think thats why its so important for the SUNY system to do these types of partnerships, Malatras noted on the commitment between the two. Ramsammy also voiced the vital ability of the agreement to enable students to stay on track in this field, while maintaining a balance with life, work and school. When these kids graduate at the two-year level, the hardest thing for us is to keep them focused on that job, simply because the pay grade is so low that they find themselves being pulled in two different jobs in order to maintain and still be able to practice what theyre doing, Ramsammy noted. Now, with the opportunity to go on to get a four-year degree, they will expand on that and focus in on having a job that means something to them, Ramsammy added. Malatras echoed those sentiments on being able to cater to the needs of students in todays world. I think what both of our colleges offer, you have a student population thats much different in many ways now, families, working families, children, they need flexibility, they need ease to make sure they have opportunities no matter where they go and this does that for that type of student whos working a job where they believe in the mission of the job but they want some career ladder opportunities, Malatras said. By working together we present those opportunities for students in an easy seamless way with a SUNY price, with very low affordable tuition and with a lot of financial assistance where often times the only way to get that flexibility is to go somewhere else to an out of state school with high tuition, not as good quality, we taken that all away and weve done it right here together, Malatras added. Students will be able to complete the Addiction Studies degree online or at one of SUNY Empires 30-plus locations around the state. Max Boden captured the nation's attention after portraying Ben Mitchell whose character embarked on an on-screen romance with Callum Highway (Tony Clay). And the 25-year-old told Lorraine on Friday that he believes the plot line to be the 'greatest love story ever told.' Now split, the on-screen couple have had a rocky few weeks in the lead up to the 35th anniversary of the BBC soap next month - which is bound to bring another plot twist. Story to tell: EastEnders star Max Bowden told Lorraine on Friday that his character Ben Mitchell's romance with Callum Highway (Tony Clay), is the 'greatest love story ever told' It has only been a year since Max joined EastEnders as the sixth person to play Ben , but he has well and truly made the part his own. Many viewers have speculated that the romance could reach a tragic climax as trailers for the anniversary show suggest one Watford resident will be involved in a fatal freak accident. Speaking to Lorraine, he continued: 'Whats great is its the story of two working class boys who found common ground. Its a story of coming out. 'Weve had people feeling theyre able to come out and be themselves. Star crossed lovers: Callum split from Ben after learning that he had played his part in the death of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) - who is set to make a surprise return in the anniversary show (pictured before the split) The EastEnders' writers are not the only ones who have been captivated by the actor's portrayal... as Boden has been nominated for the award of Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards. The actor said he will be bringing his nan along to the awards show adding: I think its always nice to be recognised. Its been such a big year, its always nice to get that nod. Speaking about the love he has for his character Boden said: 'The thing with Ben, and this is why I love the character so much, is that there is always going to be turbulence. Loves his Nanna: Lorraine Kelly spoke to Max Bowden about his nomination for the NTA awards and revealed that he would be bringing his Nan along to the awards The sixth Ben Mitchell: Bowden said he is yet to meet up with the other five actors who have played the role of Ben in EastEnders over the years 'With the whole relationship with Callum there's ups and downs, and I think that's what the audience have bought into. 'Nothing is plain sailing and who wants plain sailing... I do.' Fans of the soap have shipped the couple as 'Ballum' in the hope that the couple may end up together. Turbulent lovers: EastEnders' Callum Highway struggled with his sexuality leading him to punch his secret lover Ben Mitchell in violent scenes from September Ballum: Fans of the soap have shipped the couple as 'Ballum' in the hope that the couple may end up together Callum split from Ben after learning that he had played his part in the death of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) - who is set to make a surprise return in the anniversary show. Speaking about gangster Ben's mindset going forward Boden said: Keanu gate is closed for Ben. 'He thinks hes dead but the audience know hes not. Its exciting to play. The audience being in the know is always quite fun. As an actor thats the best skill you can have is constantly thinking about the next move. Thats the most revitalising thing of the job. Once youve done something its gone. He's back: EastEnders 35th Anniversary spoilers reveal that Keanu Taylor RETURNS to the BBC soap amid his revenge plot against the Mitchells. Cast including Danny Dyer (Mick Carter) gathered around the jetty as a body is pulled out the river in photos taken at the scene More persons were killed in Delhi during robberies in 2017 and 2018 than in all other 18 Indian cities that have a population of over two million, shows data by the National Crime Records Bureau. Moreover, the number of murders during robberies in the national capital went up by 300% from 2016 to 2018, a period in which the Delhi Polices data shows a decline in robbery cases by 48%. In 2018, at least 24 people were killed over robberies in Delhi. During the same period in other cities, the combined number of murders over the same offence stood at 18. Kolkata was at the second spot with three such murders. This was the year when a cashier was gunned down during a bank robbery in west Delhis Dwarka district, a 22-year-old man was stabbed to death during a robbery bid in a public park in south Delhis Govindpuri and a cash van guard was shot dead in outer Delhis Narela. NOT VERY DIFFERENT IN 2017 The situation wasnt very different in 2017 either when 20 murders over robberies were reported in Delhi. In other cities, the combined figure stood at 20 with Indore standing second with four such murders. The year had seen three minor boys killing a man for resisting a robbery on the Sarai Rohilla flyover in north Delhi and a fashion designer and a her domestic help murdered at her home in south Delhis Vasant Kunj during a robbery. In 2016, however, only six murders over robberies were reported, fewer than the other cities where 10 such killings took place. Yet, individually, Delhi remained way ahead as the city with the second most such murders was Ahmedabad with three cases. WE SOLVED MOST CASES Responding to the data, the Delhi Police said that they have worked out majority of these cases. We solved 22, 18 and five of these cases in 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively, said Anil Mittal, additional PRO of Delhi Police. The topography and crimogenic factors like dense and heterogeneous population, income disparity, unemployment, unplanned urbanisation and porous borders are main causes for such incidents in Delhi, said Mittal. Delhi Police have made sustained efforts to crack down syndicates of gunrunners and hardcore criminals involved in such type of crimes, resulting in a steady decline of use of firearms in crime, said Mittal, adding that the use of firearms in these crimes dipped 15%, from 951 to 810 in the corresponding period. COMPETES WITH OTHER STATES AS WELL Killing during robberies is among those few motives for murders which the Delhi Police usually dont attribute to personal enmity or a crime of passion. Robbery is a crime that the police classify as heinous since weapons or force of any kind is used for stealing. But it has been on a constant decline, the Delhi Police insist, sharing data that shows that robberies dipped from 4,761 in 2016 to 2,444 in 2018. DESPERATION TO BLAME Vikram Singh, former DGP of Uttar Pradesh, blamed the desperation of the criminals to avoid detection, as well as the polices failure to prevent criminals from carrying weapons for the situation in Delhi. The criminals in Delhi understand that they may not be able to enjoy the loot if they leave behind any evidence, so a few of them kill their victims. But most often, they are just desperate to rob what they set their eyes on and are not ready to accept any resistance, said Singh. As to why Delhi fared so poorly compared to other cities, the former DGP said that the police have been unable to rein in the criminals on the streets and stop them from carrying weapons. Till November 15 last year, there were 1,751 robberies reported in Delhi, a 17% decrease from the corresponding figure the previous year. While the number of murders over robberies last year (2019) is yet to be revealed, many such cases were reported from the city. In September, CCTV footage showed a man getting stabbed to death by a gang of robbers in west Delhis Sagarpur. More recently, on the eve of Christmas, a pedestrian was stabbed to death by another gang of robbers in Dabri. In June, an elderly couple and their domestic help were killed at their Vasant Vihar during a robbery bid. The rapid sequence of events in mid-May marks one of the earliest known moments when Guilianis shadow campaign to pressure Ukraine to launch investigations that would benefit Trump inextricably merged with official U.S. foreign policy and, if Parnass account is accurate, appeared to move the levers of the American government. In the process, the vice president was dangled as a bargaining chip perhaps unwittingly to exert leverage over a foreign government, according to Parnas, a Soviet-born businessman who functioned as Giulianis fixer in Ukraine. Regulatory News: Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) ("PSH") today announced that it has purchased, through PSH's agent, Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), the following number of PSH's Public Shares of no par value (ISIN Code: GG00BPFJTF46) (the "Shares"): Trading Venue: London Stock Exchange Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 17 January 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 35,543 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 1,572 pence 20.48 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 1,556 pence 20.27 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 1,567 pence 20.42 USD Ticker: PSHD Date of Purchase: 17 January 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 47,574 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 20.50 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 20.35 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 20.45 USD Trading Venue: Euronext Amsterdam Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 17 January 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 28,691 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 20.50 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 20.30 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 20.46 USD PSH will hold these Public Shares in Treasury. The net asset value per Public Share related to this buyback is 27.09 USD 20.81 GBP which was calculated as of 14 January 2020 (the "Relevant NAV"). After giving effect to the above buyback, PSH has 205,171,597 Public Shares outstanding, or 210,836,005 Public Shares calculated on a fully diluted basis (assuming that all Management Shares had been converted into Public Shares at the Relevant NAV). Excluded from the shares outstanding are 5,785,153 Public Shares held in Treasury. The prices per Public Share were calculated by Jefferies. The number of PSH Management Shares and the one special voting share (held by PS Holdings Independent Voting Company Limited) have not been affected. About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005467/en/ Contacts: Media Camarco Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, media-pershingsquareholdings@camarco.co.uk Looking at the math behind this years Academy Awards slate reveals some fascinating truths about the ballot. Photo-Illustration: Vulture, Netflix and Know Your Meme The Academy Awards can be appreciated on many levels: as celebrity stargazing, as artistic competition, as a celebration of popular artists and entertainers, as social commentary, as a flashpoint for sociocultural frustration. It can also be appreciated on a mathematical level. With 92 years worth of data at the ready, the annals of the Oscars make for a perfect source of facts and figures, statistics and trivia. Every year brings with it more opportunities for a first time or a not since or some other milestone. The 92nd Academy Awards are no different. Taking the 2020 Oscar slate by the numbers reveals some fascinating truths about this years ballot. Number: 4 Thats the number of movies with at least ten respective Oscar nominations this year. Field-leading Joker got 11 nominations, while The Irishman, 1917, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood all tied for second place with ten nominations apiece. That kind of concentration at the top of the ballot is unprecedented, and it leads to an even more surprising number Number: 63 Thats the percentage of all feature-film nominations (i.e., not the short films) that went to the nine Best Picture nominees. Sixty-three percent! Sixty-nine of the 109 total nominations. And if you take away the Documentary Feature, Animated Feature, and International Feature categories which rarely match up with Best Picture in any year that climbs up to 72 percent (68 of 94 nominations). What that means is if you were not one of those nine Best Picture nominees, your chances at a nomination in any of the acting, writing, visual design, or sound design categories were incredibly low. Contrast that with, say, five years ago, when the Best Picture nominees only took up 47 percent of the total feature nominations. If youre looking for an explanation for this domination by just a handful of movies, you probably dont have to look much farther than the condensed Oscar season, for which we all have to be wrapped up watching eligible films by February 4, ahead of the February 9 broadcast, the earliest Oscars date ever. Number: 1 Thats how many actors and actresses of color were nominated in the four acting categories. Cynthia Erivos first-ever Oscar nomination for her performance in Harriet stands alone among a sea of white nominees (yes, including Antonio Banderas, who is Spanish). This is a sharp downturn from a three-year stretch that saw nominations and wins for performers like Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Mahershala Ali, Yalitza Aparicio, and Regina King. Number: 29 Thats the number of years that have passed since Joe Pescis last Oscar nomination (when he won Best Supporting Actor for 1990s GoodFellas). And thats not even a record! Sylvester Stallone and Helen Hayes each went 39 years between their nominations. Pesci, who was recognized for The Irishman this year, is one of seven actors on the ballot coming off of decades-long droughts between nominations: Al Pacino got his first nod in 27 years (Scent of a Woman in 1992), Anthony Hopkins his first in 22 years (Amistad in 1997), Tom Hanks his first in 19 years (Cast Away in 2000), Kathy Bates her first in 17 years (About Schmidt in 2002), Renee Zellweger her first in 16 years (Cold Mountain in 2003), and Charlize Theron her first in 14 years (North Country in 2005). All seven are former winners. Number: 2003 That was the year that Charlize Theron (Monster) and Renee Zellweger (Cold Mountain) won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, on the same night. Now theyre nominated against each other in the same Best Actress category. Its only the fourth time thats happened that the Best Actress and Supporting Actress winners from the same year have squared off after the fact in the same category: 1991 : Jodie Foster (The Silence of the Lambs) and Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise) faced off three years for Best Actress after they both won Oscars for their 1988 films The Accused and The Accidental Tourist. 1985 : Meryl Streep (Out of Africa) and Jessica Lange (Sweet Dreams) squared off in Best Actress, both losing to Geraldine Page. Theyd previously both won 1982 Oscars for Sophies Choice and Tootsie. 1978: Ellen Burstyn (Same Time, Next Year) and Ingrid Bergman (Autumn Sonata) were nominated together (only to lose to Jane Fonda for Coming Home), only four years after theyd both triumphed at the 1974 Oscars, for Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore and Murder on the Orient Express, respectively. Number: 1993 Thats the last time Tom Hanks and Anthony Hopkins squared off in the same Oscar category. That year, Hopkinss performance as a tradition-bound butler in The Remains of the Day lost out to Hankss revelatory turn in Philadelphia. Number: 11 Thats the total number of career Oscar nominations for Diane Warren, who was recognized this year in the Best Original Song category for Im Standing With You from the Christian film Breakthrough. The writer of such Oscar-nominated classics as Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now, Because You Loved Me, and I Dont Wanna Miss a Thing has never won an Oscar. Number: 14 Thats the number of Best Original Score nominations that composer Thomas Newman has to his name after his nomination for 1917. He also has one nomination for songwriting. Hes never won. Number: 26 Thats the number of years that have passed since composer John Williams last won an Oscar (for writing the Schindlers List score). He has a grand total of 53 Oscar nominations, though, so dont feel bad for him. Number: 6 Thats the number of Star Wars movies for which John Williams has been nominated in Best Original Score. None of those nominations were for work on the prequel trilogy. Number: 20 The number of years since Pedro Almodovar was nominated in Best International Film (then: Best Foreign Language Film), for 1999s All About My Mother. Though in the interim he was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for 2002s Talk to Her. Number: 1 Thats how many times South Korea has been recognized in the Foreign Language/International Film category, thanks to Bong Joon Ho and Parasite. Number: 2 Thats how many acting nominations Scarlett Johansson received, in the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress fields. Shes not the first actor to pull off such a feat. Number: 5 Thats how many of this years Best Costume Design nominees come from Best Picture nominees, making this the first year EVER that no non-Best Picture nominees got a Costume nomination. Number: 8 Thats now many career Oscar nominations Bradley Cooper is up to, now that hes nominated for producing Joker. Number: 6 Thats how many years Saoirse Ronan has left to beat Kate Winslets record for being the youngest actor ever to reach five Oscar nominations. Ronan got her fourth this year, at the age of 25. Jennifer Lawrence was just a few months younger when she got her fourth nomination, for Joy. Number: 9 Thats how many movies in the last 50 years have been nominated for Best Picture without getting any nods for Directing, Acting, or Writing. That includes this years Best Picture nominee Ford v. Ferrari. The previous eight: Black Panther (2018), Selma (2014), War Horse (2011), Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Jaws (1975), and Hello, Dolly! (1969). Number: 9 Thats also how many Best Picture nominees including 1917 this year have had non-sequel numerals in their titles. The previous eight: 12 Years a Slave (2013), 127 Hours (2010), Apollo 13 (1995), 12 Angry Men (1957), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), The Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), 42nd Street (1932/33), and 7th Heaven (1927/28). A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Director - Marielle Heller Cast - Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper At a time when humanity seems to be under the spell of fraudsters masquerading as elected officials and false idols just waiting to be toppled, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood presents the story of a true saint. But Fred Rogers would disapprove of that description. It suggests a certain unattainability, which goes against his philosophy. The childrens television host wanted to give his viewers millions and millions across several decades ideals they could strive towards. Having next to no knowledge about Mr Rogers, shamefully so, he comes across as quite the anomaly in the film not only by our cynical standards, but by any yardstick. He would routinely make his crew wait, sometimes as long as two hours, while he chit-chatted with guests and insisted on taking their pictures to show his wife later. He would spend just as long with his legions of fans on the streets, shaking hands, offering words of wisdom, and listening to their stories. While taping an episode in which he attempts to pitch a tent, Mr Rogers tries for several minutes before realising he cant manage it on his own. He insists on keeping the footage as is, and refuses his crews suggestion to try again, or rig the tent in advance. His sees his failure as a valuable lesson for his audience: When adults make plans, sometimes they dont turn out the way theyd hoped. Watch the A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood trailer here Indeed, it sounds like the sort of behaviour youd expect out of Tom Hanks, who is perhaps the only man on the planet who could have played Mr Rogers. Few actors have the innate likability that Hanks has so effortlessly projected, like Mr Rogers, for decades on screen. My favourite recent Tom Hanks anecdote involves a stray iPhone, forgotten in the same room as him. When the owner, after having recovered the phone, was going through their photos the next day, they discovered a rather delightful surprise: a goofy selfie that could only have been taken by one person, Hanx himself. He gives Mr Rogers speech an almost jazzy cadence. His mere presence seems to generate awe. If he has any flaws and he must; he is human, after all they arent revealed to us. Characters such as Mr Rogers dont make for thrilling protagonists. Just ask Superman. But director Marielle Heller, who made the terrific Can You Ever Forgive Me? last year, makes the wise decision to make Mr Rogers a supporting character in the story; to not have him front and centre, but allow him instead to be a catalyst for change in the life of another man. This image released by Sony Pictures shows Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers in a scene from A Beautiful Day In the Neighbourhood. (AP) And that man is our surrogate in the film. He is the representative of the outside world, sent to explore the wonders of Mr Rogers alien universe, all the while battling daddy issues and other assorted demons. Played by Matthew Rhys, Lloyd Vogel is a fictionalised version of the journalist Tom Junod, who in the late 90s was assigned to write a profile of Mr Rogers for Esquire. Like any narcissistic writer, his immediate reaction was to take offence. Here he was, a fresh recipient of the prestigious National Magazine Award, being told to write about a childrens TV host and not Gorbachev. There is, of course, a reason why A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood chooses to address its themes of scepticism and optimism by balancing the inherent decency of Mr Rogers, whom Lloyd in an early scene describes as the nicest man he has ever met, with a profession that seems to be the manifestation of modern cynicism. There is perhaps no other group of people that regards death with the sort of unfeeling apathy as journalists hungry for a byline. And like the ordained minister that he was (although Hellers secular film chooses to largely ignore his religious side), Mr Rogers goes on a mission to convert Lloyd, not theologically, but as a human being. This image released by Sony Pictures shows Tom Hanks, left, and Matthew Rhys in a scene from A Beautiful Day In the Neighbourhood. (AP) Weve seen this dynamic of a journalist undergoing a life-changing transformation while profiling an enigmatic subject being explored in several recent films. In Anton Corbijns Life, a young photographer shadows the actor James Dean across the US, and in James Ponsoldts The End of the Tour, a profiler not unlike Lloyd finds himself trapped in the company of the charismatic writer David Foster Wallace. But more than these films, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood reminded me of the recent Disney movie, Christopher Robin, about a weathered man reconnecting with the whimsy of his youth; and Joker, another film that addresses themes of empathy and compassion, but in quite the opposite manner. Much like Mr Rogers, about whose attempts to influence America I have since researched, mostly through the wonderful documentary Wont You Be My Neighbour?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood might be too good for this world. Its old-fashioned in its craft, earnest in its tone, and utterly positive in its outlook. We can, and we must, learn from it. Follow @htshowbiz for more The author tweets @RohanNaahar SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Healthcare watchdogs in both England and Germany officially rejected Bayer's (OTC:BAYR.Y) new cancer drug, Vitraki. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), a top English health regulator, announced on Friday it can't recommend the drug at its current price tag and said it simply isn't cost-efficient. Germany's top drug assessment group, IQWiG, also rejected the drug, citing insufficient data. Although Bayer's drug has shown encouraging results so far, IQWiG rejected the drug because clinical trials didn't have a comparison group of people who didn't take Vitraki. Vitraki is what's known as a tumor-agnostic or tissue-agnostic therapy, which means that it attempts to treat cancer cells regardless of what type of cancer it is and where it appeared in the body. In Vitraki's case, the drug targets cancer cells that have a specific type of chromosome mutation known as an NTRK gene fusion, present in less than 1% of all patients with solid tumors. What's Vitrakvi anyway? While Vitrakvi's targeted demographic is a relatively narrow patient population, the company expected to make as much as $836 million in peak sales from the drug. Due to its niche nature in treating NTRK gene fusion cancer, no comparable standard of care exists that Vitrakvi can be tested against. Its current price tag comes in at $19,600 for a 30-day supply. Health regulators in North America have been more accepting of the drug. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Vitraki in November 2018, while Health Canada approved Bayer's drug in July 2019. Justice A.T Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt today sentenced the supervisor in the Security Department of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC) Tarila Ebizimor to seven years imprisonment for obtaining money under false pretence to the tune of N4.000.000.00 (Four Million Naira). The convict was prosecuted by the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a four-count charge. Ebizimor's journey to prison began sometime in August, 2013 when he paraded himself as personal assistant to the managing director of the NDDC and obtained the sum of N4million from the petitioner on the pretext that he will help facilitate the award of road construction contract to him. One of the charges against him reads: "That you Tarila Ebizimor on the 13th day of August, 2013 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this honorable court did fraudulently obtain the sum of N2,000,000 (Two Million Naira), which said sum was paid into your Fidelity Bank account No. 5330259983, by a means of transfer from Gods Grace Haulage Limited on the pretext that you were to facilitate the award of road construction contract from Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a pretext you know to be false and thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 1(i)(a) of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act". WASHINGTON - With an oath of impartiality, Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday became the third American sworn to preside over a presidential impeachment trial. How he fulfills that pledge will have obvious consequences for President Donald Trump. But it will also shape the public image of the nation's 17th chief justice, and it holds ramifications for the Supreme Court and federal judiciary he leads. He portrays both as places where partisan politics have no purchase. "And now he crosses First Street, where it's all about partisan politics," said Harvard University law professor Richard Lazarus, referring to the roadway in Washington that separates the Supreme Court from Congress. There are obvious risks for Roberts, but Lazarus said he doesn't believe the chief justice will be particularly "risk-averse." "I don't think he's going to look like a potted plant," said Lazarus, who has known Roberts since law school and has taught summer courses with him after he became chief justice. "He's not going to erode the stature of the chief justice and the Supreme Court in the process by looking like an insignificant person." The Constitution dictates that the chief justice preside in a presidential impeachment trial, but gives no guidance beyond that. Under Senate rules, Roberts swears in senators, and all questions from senators are submitted in writing to him, then directed to the House impeachment managers, the president's legal team or witnesses. The rules also say the chief justice "may rule on all questions of evidence." But unlike a criminal court trial, with standards of proof required to find a defendant guilty, the question of whether to convict in an impeachment proceeding has historically been a political choice for individual senators, who will cast their votes. "John Roberts can, in a sense, do what he wants," said Brenda Wineapple, author of "The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a New Nation," which details the 17th president's impeachment proceedings in 1868. Roberts's predecessors have not left much of a road map. Chief Justice Salmon Chase did not shy from making procedural rulings in Johnson's impeachment trial and was sometimes overruled by the Senate majority. Chief Justice William Rehnquist took a far more hands-off approach during the 1999 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. His most memorable intrusion into the proceedings was to remind senators that they were not just jurors in the case but the court as well, and thus responsible for setting the rules. Roberts will make his own way, but Wineapple, like most other experts, believes he will hew more closely to the Rehnquist approach. Roberts, who was a law clerk for Rehnquist in 1980, is "always thinking about the long view of history, what came before and what comes after," Wineapple said. "In that sense I'd imagine he's going to be extremely cautious about being perceived as listing one way or another because that flies in the face of the myth that the court is above partisan politics." In his year-end report on the judiciary, Roberts wrote what human resources departments might describe as his goal for 2020: "As the New Year begins, and we turn to the tasks before us, we should each resolve to do our best to maintain the public's trust that we are faithfully discharging our solemn obligation to equal justice under law." Some argue that the goal cannot be accomplished in the impeachment trial simply by being passive. "He's going to want to be somewhat hands-off, but the fact that the American people want something that looks like a fair trial means he's going to need to be the judge," said Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center. "Being the judge means issuing rulings on key aspects of a fair trial, including whether or not you have documents and witnesses." In a column she wrote on the subject this week, Wydra said "Roberts may simply be unable to avoid stepping into the fray and getting his robe dirty." Paul Collins, a University of Massachusetts at Amherst political scientist who studies the judiciary, described Roberts's dilemma. "Any decision he makes in the president's favor will be interpreted as partisan since Roberts is a Republican," Collins said. "Yet, any decision he makes against the president will be interpreted as biased, too." That is because of the history of the two men. During the 2016 campaign, Trump declared Roberts a "disaster" and his nomination a mistake because of his vote that saved the Affordable Care Act. Roberts in 2018 issued a rare rebuke of Trump's criticism of federal judges as biased against him, and frequently lauds the independence of the federal judiciary. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has alternately emphasized and minimized the chief justice's role in the impeachment trial. Lately, as Democratic demands for witnesses and documents have grown in the Senate, McConnell has reminded that a majority of senators will make the rules. "I would anticipate the chief justice would not actually make any rulings," McConnell said recently. "He would simply submit a motion to the body and we would vote." Among those Roberts is turning to for advice in preparation for his new role is his counselor, Jeffrey Minear, and James Duff, who was Rehnquist's top aide during Clinton's trial. Roberts subsequently appointed Duff in 2015 to oversee the federal judiciary system as head of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. He is also likely to rely heavily on Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDougal for her expertise in the ways of the Senate. Roberts was famous for his preparation when he was in private practice and arguing cases at the Supreme Court. He anticipated hundreds of possible questions from the justices, and Lazarus imagines the same sort of process is at work now. "Compared to now, there was great partisan agreement during the Clinton trial," Lazarus said, referring to unanimous agreements between Republicans and Democrats about how to conduct the proceedings. "The chief has to preside over a Senate where there is no agreement between the majority and the minority and he has to prepare for not knowing what McConnell or Schumer might do," said Lazarus, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who has pressed his Republican counterpart, unsuccessfully, to insist on calling on witnesses during the trial. But Roberts will also be judged in the greater context of the Supreme Court, which will continue its work as the impeachment trial unfolds. The court has a controversial docket that threatens to make plain its conservative-liberal divide on issues such as abortion, gun control and legal protections for LGBT workers. The justices currently are considering whether the Trump administration skirted the law when trying to end the Obama-era program protecting young immigrant "dreamers" from deportation. They have accepted cases in which Trump has sued to block release of his financial records to prosecutors and congressional committees. And they've been asked to fast-track efforts that once again challenge the legality of the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's landmark health care legislation, the elimination of which has been a priority for Trump and other conservatives. Almost surely headed to the high court is the issue of whether the judiciary has a role to play when the executive branch defies congressional subpoena. Such cases are another reason for Roberts to be cautious in his role overseeing the impeachment trial, said former senator Trent Lott, who served as majority leader during Clinton's impeachment. For instance, Lott said, Trump might try to block testimony at the Senate trial from current or former administration officials through a claim of executive privilege. "You don't want to wade into that. He might end up having to rule in the Supreme Court," the Mississippi Republican said of the chief justice. Lott recalled that at the conclusion of Clinton's five-week proceedings, senators were so appreciative of Rehnquist's low-profile performance that they rose to give him a standing ovation and presented him with a "Golden Gavel," awarded by Senate tradition to those who have presided over the body for 100 hours. "I am not sure it quite reached 100 hours, but it is close enough," Lott said at the time. Rehnquist responded: "It seemed like it." The truth was leaked even before fellow Australian tourists in Hawaii had the chance to tweet selfies with a grinning prime minister. The vacation had to be cut short, but when Morrison visited a few of the devastated communities, many of the victims did not hesitate to convey their true feelings in chaste Aussie slang. T If a picture is worth a thousand words, it was perhaps the indelible image of a scampering kangaroo silhouetted against a wall of fire on New Years Eve that seared the ongoing Australian bushfire tragedy on to the international consciousness. In fact, the driest continent on earth has been alight since September, the onset of spring in the southern hemisphere calendar. The fires have been spreading ever since. Millions of hectares have been reduced to ashes. Bushfires have regularly recurred across Australia for thousands of years. But the extent and intensity of the past five months seemingly unquenchable flames is unprecedented in living memory. It is, or by now should be, common knowledge that climate change exacerbates natural disasters, in terms of frequency and ferocity. That scientific conclusion may be considered incontrovertible elsewhere but remains controversial in Australia. A couple of years ago, in his capacity as federal treasurer, Scott Morrison, infamously carried a black lump into parliament, where he declared: This is coal. Dont be afraid. Dont be scared. It wont hurt you. Last month, in his capacity as prime minister, Morrison went on a holiday to Hawaii with his family, while the flames were getting higher in the country he is supposed to govern. Everyone is entitled to a vacation, even if its poorly timed, but to leave behind instructions, as Morrison apparently did, that his location must not be revealed to the media or anyone else goes beyond the pale of the proverbial Aussie fair go. The truth was leaked even before fellow Australian tourists in Hawaii had the chance to tweet selfies with a grinning prime minister. The vacation had to be cut short, but when Morrison visited a few of the devastated communities, many of the victims did not hesitate to convey their true feelings in chaste Aussie slang. The unfiltered comments were a reaction not so much to his tendency towards climate change denial as to his insouciance, which included avoiding a meeting requested for months by the heads of nationwide firefighting outfits, who wished to alert him to dangers they foresaw. Perhaps chastened by the rebukes and dwindling poll numbers, a seemingly contrite Morrison has hinted at changing course and offered to hold a public inquiry. There is no evidence so far, however, of any intention to step up Australias thus far dismal response to the multiple challenges posed by climate change not least because the conservative coalition the prime minister represents is peppered with denialists and those interested chiefly in preserving the privileges, profits and export potential of the fossil fuel industry. Such attitudes are not restricted to Australia, of course. The Paris Agreement may have outlined wholly inadequate measures for restricting global warming, but it obviously doesnt help when one of the worlds biggest polluters pulls out and its chief honcho begins dismantling already inadequate environmental constraints. Australia experienced its hottest year on record in 2019, but it wasnt the only such country. Who has ever heard of artificial snow being deployed to impart a festive semblance to New Year festivities in Moscow, or of temperatures soaring into the mid-teens in Norway at the height of winter, or of glaciers around Mount Everest making way for greenery? Even nations far more alive than Australia to the threats that lie ahead are falling far short of the drastic changes required to curb the consequences of global warming. The tipping point was probably reached long ago in the relentless march to hell on earth. Immediately adopting green new deals may help to restrain the fires next time or, more likely, the time after that. But doing next to nothing is a green light for doom. By arrangement with Dawn The Alabama Department of Transportation begins opening the new Interstate 59/20 bridges at 9 p.m. Friday night, officials announced after the bridge dedication ceremony Friday afternoon. The bridges will be open in both directions by 8 p.m. Sunday, weather permitting. (See the plans for Sunday, below, as there will be a detour to allow the final work to open all lanes.) The Sunday evening opening means the project was completed in just two days short of one year. The contractor, Johnson Brothers Corp., was given a deadline of March 21, 2020, to have the bridges completed and open to traffic or face fines to the tune of $250,000 per day. If the roadway opens as planned fully on Sunday, the contractor gets a $15 million bonus. Crews have to adjust signs and stripes on the east and northbound lanes of the bridges before they open. Weather permitting, heres how the bridges open: I-59 southbound and I-20 westbound should open to traffic at 9 p.m. Friday, January 17th. I-59 northbound and I-20 eastbound should open to traffic Sunday, January 19 at 8 p.m. On Sunday, ALDOT will close the I-59/20 northbound & I-20 eastbound lanes at the Arkadelphia exit to adjust signs and striping to its final location. The closure will last until about 8 p.m. when the I-59 northbound and I-20 eastbound bridges will be opened to traffic. Traffic will be detoured onto Arkadelphia Road north to Finley Avenue east, then to Carraway south, back to I-59 north and I-20 east. Traffic to I-65 north and south can enter from Finley Avenue. Traffic will be rerouted from Arkadelphia Road Sunday morning so crews can finish striping and lane shifts to prepare for the opening of the I-59/20 bridges through downtown. (ALDOT). Motorists are encouraged to use I-459 north instead of I-59 north to I-65 north during this period. Representatives from throughout the state, including Gov. Kay Ivey, attended Fridays bridge dedication ceremony. ALDOT officials thanked the public, the media and local governments for working together to ensure the closure went as smoothly as possible. Tad Snider, CEO of the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, said the closure went as good as it could. He noted that the BJCC hosted a sold-out Metallica concert just two days after the bridges were closed in January 2019. Multiple officials, including ALDOT East Central Regional Engineer DeJarvis Leonard, thanked Ivey for supporting the project. Watch the full dedication ceremony and ribbon-cutting here: Oil and gas exploration firm Petrel Resources Plc has secured a temporary High Court injunction preventing some of its investors from unlawfully selling any newly issued shares in the company. Petrel claims that the last year it entered into what it believed was a long term investment agreement aimed at expanding its businesses with several individuals, who are experts in the area of fossil fuel exploration. Seeking the injunction Gary McCarthy SC for Petrel said that as part of that deal the investors entered into an agreement, known as a 'locked-in' agreement, where they agreed not to sell any of their shares until August 2020. Earlier this month Petrel, which has a registered address at Clontarf Road, Dublin 3 claims that it discovered that its shares have been unlawfully traded. It has sought information about the trades, which it says are in breach of regulatory rules. Counsel said that despite Petrel's demands the investors will not answer basic questions or provide straightforward information to explain why the allegedly unlawful trades have taken place. Counsel said that it is Petrel's case that this will damage the company's reputation and business. As a result, Petrel has taken action against the investors UAE-based Roger Edward Tamraz, as well as Michel Fayad and Said Mehraik who both live in France. Petrel claims the three are the beneficial owners of shares in the company. Chase Nominees Ltd, which is the alleged legal owner of the shares is also a defendant in the proceedings. The temporary injunction prevents the defendants or any party that has knowledge of the order from selling or transferring any newly issued shares in the company. The order also requires that Chase Nominees Ltd remains the registered owner of the newly issued shares, and that no steps are taken to change the registered owner of the shares. The injunction was granted on an ex-parte basis by Ms Justice Leoine Reynolds today. The judge accepted the matter was urged and that the potential breach of the agreement could have serious implications for Petrel. The case will come back before the court next week. Seeking the injunction Mr McCarthy said Petrel, which has projects in Ireland, Iraq and Ghana sought fresh investment so it could expand its business in the Middle East and North Africa. The overall agreement was that shares representing a total of 47.5% of the company's share capital would be transferred, in two tranches, to the three named investors and a company owned by Mr Fayad and Said Mehraik. Counsel said the company discovered in early January that some of its shares had been unlawfully transferred. It sought explanations from the defendants. The company received correspondence from the investor's solicitors stating they had not given any instructions for the disposal of shares in Petrel. What concerned Petrel was in the response reference was made to a US registered firm, which counsel said his client had never heard of before. Following investigations, Petrel said that the main investors had somehow pledged or charged some or all of the shares to this entity. Petrel said it sought further information about this entity as well as undertakings from the investors but says it has not received any substantive response. The company now claims that the transfer of the shares is in breach of the locked-in agreement, and Petrel cannot trust the investor's assertions that they are not responsible or unable to stop the shares from being traded. As a result, counsel said the company had no option other than come to court and seek an injunction preventing any more shares being traded. My view on it is, I want to wait and start by hearing from both sides and then ask the questions and then be informed by that, Cramer said. You know, I think at this point were all in jury mode, and thats the best way to proceed. Its really up to the House managers to make the case for these things. Im certainly open to it. And well see what they say. Years ago I sat alongside a dozen pastors in a sun-baked, mud-caked church in rural northern Mozambique. Theyd gathered to test a recent translation of Isaiah in Lomwe, their local dialect. The Isaiah passage was familiar to me, but not the language. Still, as we went around the circleeach pastor reading aloud to hear how the new translation soundedI picked up enough to pronounce some words. When it came my turn to read, rather than pass, I plunged in and read a few verses myself. The Lomwe pastors heard me speaking their language even though I didnt fully know what I was saying. They beamed with delight. A white American minister had traveled all the way to their village to understand them without insisting they first understand him. I cant help but connect this experience to the first Christian Pentecost. In the wake of Jesus ascending to heaven and the Holy Spirits descent, Acts 2 reports new-and-improved Aramaic-speaking apostles speaking the gospel in the wide array of languages to the peoples gathered in Jerusalem (2:4). The crowds heard their own native tongues being spoken even though the apostles didnt know the dialects (2:6). This is why we refer to Pentecost as a miracle of speech. But what if it was just as much a miracle of hearing? I counted on such miracles most Sundays in my many years as a preacher. After a sermon, a listener would thank me for saying just what I needed to hear. When I asked what it was that I said, the person would relay the words they heardwords I knew I never spoke (being the manuscripted preacher I am). This was the Holy Spirits doing, I believe, making my words work in ways I hadnt dreamed they would. On this day devoted to dreams, specifically Martin Luther King Jr.s dream of a country no longer divided by race, we need more hearing miracles. It is hard to listen when everything worth anything quickly becomes polarized. Ideas to be discussed give way to identities to be defended. Theres so much anger. Cable news and social media, late night talk shows and websites, arguments around family tables over the holidays, broken friendships and marriages, all of it fueled by fury bordering on the righteous. Anger can be righteous. Anger concentrates passion, gets attention and conveys information fiercely and faster than any other emotion. We have it on record that Jesus got madat hypocritical Pharisees, at temple moneychangers, and at a fruitless fig tree. Old Testament prophets from Moses to Malachi let loose against the Israelites constantly. The psalmists shook an angry fist at God. Theres plenty of injustice and wrong in our world to get mad about. I get angry. So do you. A lot of you will get angry at me. Anger forces us to attend when wed prefer to avoid. But for anger to achieve any righteous purpose, it has to eventually cease. The Spirit gives ears to hear, but at some point we must shut up and listen. The arc of the gospel bends toward reconciliation. This is its beauty. We disagree and debate, but we do not divide. The love of God compels us toward oneness in Christ. The miracle of hearing makes room for mercy. If you know anything about biblical Hebrew, you know it doesnt contain vowels. You have to hear it spoken to know what it means. A group of rabbis later added dashes and dots to help readers distinguish one consonant word from another. Shift a few dots and the Hebrew word mercy is the word womb, a deliberate connection to connote how mercy links to the ferocious devotion mothers feel for their children, along with the pain such devotion entails. Scripture often compares the passion and pains of childbirth to Gods own love and mercy. (On the other hand, if you rearrange the dots another way, the word mercy becomes the word vulture, proving once again how easy it is for human passions to pervert.) Article continues below As Christians, we hang crosses on our walls and around our necks to remind ourselves how mercy is nonnegotiable. Jesus died on a cross for our sins and we didnt deserve it. Theology labels the cross the passion of Jesus, a righteous anger thats righteous because it bends toward the reconciliation of all things, a fierce power that taps into long-suffering, motherlike mercy for the cause of new birth. It takes practice to live under the Cross. On Sundays in many churches, Christians greet one another by passing the peace during worshipevery introverts nightmare. Its a practice that reaches back centuries because peace and reconciliation take practice. The idea is that if you show up at church mad at your neighbor, you get to leave in peace. Do it enough and you become peacemakers, whom Jesus blesses and calls children of God. Its not enough to go through the motions, however. Jesus says it has to come from your heart (Matt. 18:35). Anne Lamott compared faking grace to drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die. Martin Luther King Jr. called it adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. My wife, Dawn, and I didnt agree about everything. Most married people dont. We got angry and argued and fought, but at the same time stayed committed to trying to listen and understand and make up. We always did this in front of our daughter because she needs to realize its okay to get angry as long as the energy finds resolution. The same is true for Christians whenever we find ourselves in conflict, whether with our neighbors or enemies. In Christ, we cross whatever divides even if it kills us to do itwhich is sometimes what it takes. As a minister, I would read and experience firsthand what my hometown newspaper labeled the unchurching of America. I get it. Who wants to hear youre not always awesome, but instead a sinner who still needs salvation and who needs to forgive and make peace and not let the sun go down on your anger? Who wants to hear how God loves you and shows you mercy so you can go and do likewise? Were taught as Christians to know nothing more important than Jesus Christ and him crucified on a cross for our sake (1 Cor. 2:2). But it takes a miracle to hear this. Grace is offensive. To forgive is an outrage. Reconciliation feels like a death sentence and a sure admission of weakness. Mercy hurts like a mother. And yet, blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it (Luke 11:28). Daniel Harrell is editor in chief of Christianity Today. The Karnataka police on Thursday detained the mastermind of a terror module that was plotting to foment communal trouble in the state. The breakthrough comes days after the cops uncovered the plot by a few religious fundamentalists by cracking down in Bengaluru and Tamil Nadu. Mehboob Pasha (45) and his accomplice Mohammed Mansur, who is the 10th accused in the case, were nabbed from Gurappanapalya in Suddaguntepalya limits of South-East division by a joint team of the Central Crime Branch and Internal Security Division (ISD). Following a tip-off by their counterparts in Tamil Nadu, a CCB sleuth had earlier filed a complaint against 17 people under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in Suddaguntepalya police station. Narasimhamurthy, a police inspector attached with the ISD, is said to have received credible information about the whereabouts of the duo. Sources revealed that Pasha was the main accused in the case as he was organising meetings of like-minded people at his house. Pasha was the main supplier of weapons to kill Hindu organisation leaders in Tamil Nadu. The gang had plans to eliminate some leaders of Hindu organisations in Karnataka and other states, a senior officer revealed. Pasha was reportedly working at a private travel agency in Kalasipalya. He joined as a driver and drove buses between Mumbai and Bengaluru for a few years. Later, he became the in-charge of the parcel section in the same company. During his visits to Mumbai, he came in contact with a few anti-social elements and developed contacts with weapon suppliers in Mumbai, sources in CCB said. Pasha is also said to be running an organisation Al-Hind in Bengaluru. A weapon supplier He used to source weapons through couriers and pass them on to Imran Khan one of the three accused who was arrested on January 7 at Gurappanapalya. Pasha also supplied pistol and bullets through Imran to his associates across Tamil Nadu. The same weapons were used to kill Hindu activists since 2014. Pasha visited a madrasa in Gundlupet where he met Thoufeeq and Abdul Shameem. Police suspect that Mansurs son or his relatives son was studying in the madrasa which made them visit the place several times. They also had plans to purchase a property in Gundlupet. All the accused, according to the police, are former members of the banned outfit Al-Ummah. 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 STAMFORDA Bronx, New York, woman who allegedly stole over $100,000 worth of furs at Mitchells in Westport and within hours tried to return them for a refund at the companys sister store in Greenwich will avoid jail if she can come up with $20,000 to resolve the criminal case. Konis Coleman, 57, appeared before Judge Gary White this week and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of first-degree larceny. If she comes up with the $20,000 by July 14 and has no new arrests, she will be freed to face similar charges in New York state for similar conduct, said Assistant States Attorney Michelle Manning. If Coleman does not come up with the money, White told her he would proceed to sentencing on that date and give her 30 months in prison for stealing the furs, which were recovered by Greenwich police. Colemans attorney, Toya Graham, said she will be very happy to resolve the case if Coleman can come up with the fine money. Westport police were called to Mitchells department store in Westport at 4:24 p.m. on July 6, 2019, on the report of four furs missing from a display. A review of the surveillance video inside the store showed a customer entering the store, taking the furs, walking into the dressing room and concealing the furs, then walking out of the store without buying them. Manning said the furs were worth $115,545. Employees of the store called their sister store in Greenwich and told them to be on the lookout for the furs, in case someone brought them in, Manning said. A short time later, Coleman showed up at the Greenwich store with the four furs and tried to get a refund, police said. Greenwich officers were called and stopped Coleman and searched her and her car and recovered the furs along with numerous items used to fool security measures to help in the theft, according to police. Manning said the furs were immediately returned to the store despite being evidence in the case because the courthouse has no cold storage and the furs would be damaged there. Manning said Coleman has numerous convictions for similar conduct and will be brought to New York following her prison sentence, where she is wanted on third-degree grand larceny charges. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com Vered Farkash for Start-Up Nation Central Gov. Greg Abbott met with Israeli startups and discussed their "natural fit" with Texas businesses and institutions during his economic development mission to Israel, according to an Israeli innovation nonprofit. Abbott departed for his economic development mission to Israel and Switzerland on Tuesday and will return to Texas Jan. 24. While in Israel, Start-Up Nation Central introduced him to Israeli startups that are already working in Texas or whose innovations could be a fit for Texas institutions, according to a news release. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 20:00:09|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Thursday declared Jan. 16 as Sea Lion Day to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the mammals' arrival to the city. Addressing an event held to mark the anniversary at Aquarium of the Bay here, Breed shared her high-school-era story about her wonderful experience with sea lions at PIER 39, the home of hundreds of sea lions that has become one of the most visited tourist attractions in San Francisco. "I really support the sea lions and call attention to what we need to continue to do to protect the bay, to protect our environment, and to make sure that they do not become an endangered species," she noted. Aquarium of the Bay commemorated the 30th year after the sea lions arrived at PIER 39 by launching 30 six-foot-tall (about 1.83 meters) painted sea lion statues created by 30 artists from the Bay Area. The sea lion sculptures will dot major locations across the city after Jan. 20, when they will be put on display for the rest of 2020 as part of the largest public initiative to promote STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) in California. Jenny Guan, one of the artists that worked several weeks on her sea lion statue, told Xinhua that she was mostly inspired by the habitat of the sea mammals, where they move and migrate to throughout the year. She said her statue featured some "pretty abstract" patterns, but a closer look illustrated details of marine life. "Hopefully, through this (my statue) and a lot of the other artists' statues, people can actually, by scanning the QR code (on the sculptures), read the artist statement and then learn a little bit more about how to help this cause," Guan added. California sea lions began arriving in PIER 39's Marina in late 1989 and quickly reached more than 500 in number by January 1990, eventually peaking at more than 1,400. In the wake of the arrest of DSP Davinder Singh along with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, airports in Srinagar and Jammu are to be "immediately" brought under the security cover of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), a Jammu and Kashmir government order has said. "This issue has acquired immediacy in view of the recent developments relating to the arrest of DSP airport security Davinder Singh for trying to assist militants to travel to other pans of the country," the order read. The two sensitive airports at Jammu and Srinagar are to be "handed over" to the CISF by January 31, the order of the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department to the Director-General of Police (DGP) said. Additional secretary to the Jammu and Kashmir government Khalid Majeed directed the DGP to arrange suitable accommodation for housing the CISF personnel at Jammu and Srinagar Airports, along with transport and other PIP (Pre induction Formalities) facilities. On January 15, Jammu and Kashmir Police said it will recommend to central government the sacking of Davinder Singh, who was arrested while travelling with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists. "He has been suspended, we are recommending his sacking to the government. We cannot share right now what has been revealed during the interrogation," Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said. On Wednesday, NIA Director-General met Union Home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla pertaining to the investigation into the matter. The sources said that a team headed by IG level officer will go to Jammu and Kashmir for the investigation soon. The probe team will investigate Davinder's link with terrorists. The NIA will also register a case after seeking details from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the sources added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Twitter (TWTR) Twitter was downgraded to "neutral" from "buy" at UBS, which said that Twitter's ongoing investments into safety, security, and ad technology will act as an earnings headwind for 2020. Pinterest (PINS) Wells Fargo raised its rating on the stock to "overweight" from "equal weight," noting material underperformance in the shares despite solid fundamentals and audience engagement. Regions Financial (RF) The bank reported quarterly profit of 38 cents per share, a penny a share below estimates. Revenue beat forecasts. Among the negative factors in the quarter: a 4.1% drop in net interest income, although total revenue was up 3%. Alibaba (BABA) Shares of Ant Financial an affiliate of the China-based e-commerce giant are being offered privately at levels that value Ant at $200 billion, according to a Reuters report. Ant was valued at $150 billion during a 2018 fundraising round. Tailored Brands (TLRD) The specialty retailer is selling its Joseph Abboud clothing brand trademarks to brand management firm WHP Global for $115 million. Tailored Brands the parent of the Jos. A. Bank and Men's Wearhouse clothing chains entered into a licensing agreement with WHP to sell and rent Joseph Abboud branded apparel. Schlumberger (SLB) The oilfield services company came in 2 cents a share above estimates, with quarterly earnings of 39 cents per share. Revenue also topped estimates. The company noted challenging market conditions but was able to benefit from strength in international markets. Gap (GPS) The apparel retailer abandoned its plan to spin off its Old Navy unit into a separate publicly traded company. Sales for the Old Navy business have slowed in recent months, casting some doubts on its value as a separate entity. CSX (CSX) CSX reported quarterly earnings of 99 cents per share, 3 cents a share above estimates. The railroad operator's revenue was very slightly below forecasts. CSX reported a larger-than-expected 7% drop in freight volume during the quarter and is expecting another challenging year in 2020, even as it implements significant improvements in efficiency. Eli Lilly (LLY) Lilly is aiming for $1 billion to $5 billion in acquisition deals during every quarter this year, according to Chief Financial Officer John Smiley. He told Reuters the drugmaker will focus on earlier stage opportunities in key areas like oncology, immunology, and neurology. Alphabet (GOOGL) Alphabet remains on watch after the Google parent's market value topped $1 trillion for the first time Thursday. Comcast (CMCSA) The NBCUniversal and CNBC parent unveiled details of its Peacock streaming service, with plans to offer a free option as well as $5 per month and $10 per month plans. The service will debut in April for Comcast customers and in July for others. Progress Software (PRGS) The business software company reported quarterly earnings of 79 cents per share, beating forecasts by 4 cents a share. Revenue also beat estimates and the company gave a better-than-expected forecast for the current quarter and the full year. Ventas (VTR) Ventas was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Jefferies, which points to the health-care REIT's valuation compared to competitors like Welltower (WELL) and Healthpeak (PEAK). The former chief minister of Chhattisgarh Ajit Jogi and his son Amit Jogi were booked in a case of abetment of suicide on Thursday night after the death of their domestic help in Bilaspur, police said. A complaint was filed against Ajit Jogi and Amit Jogi after Santosh Kaushik committed suicide at their house, Marwahi Sadan, on Wednesday. We have registered a case under Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide under Indian Penal Code) on the complaint of deceaseds brother and started an investigation, Bilaspurs superintendent of police Prashant Agarwal said while speaking to HT. Agarwal said Kaushik had been working in Marwahi Sadan for the last few years as domestic help. As per the complaint of his brother with the police, the Jogis had accused the deceased of theft inside the bungalow due to which he committed suicide, he said. Amit Jogi claimed the charges against him and his father are baseless. Our full sympathy is with the aggrieved family. The Jogi family has nothing to do with this unfortunate incident, Amit Jogi said while speaking to HT. As the FIR lodged late last night at the behest of the ruling party smacks of political vendetta, we support demand for an investigation by a judicial magistrate. We will also be seeking appropriate judicial remedy, he said. Before this, the Jogis have been arrested or booked in other cases in the state. Amit Jogi was arrested in September 2019 for cheating and furnishing false details in his affidavit in the 2013 assembly election. He is on bail in this case. A month before that, police had registered a case against Ajit Jogi after his claim to tribal status was rejected by a government-appointed committee. The case was registered under section 10-1 of Chhattisgarh Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes (Regulation of Certification of Social Status) Rules, 2013. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Supreme Court stays HC order allowing shifting of promoters from jail. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Bombay high court order on the shifting of two HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan accused in the multi-crore scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank from Arthur Road jail to their residences. A top court bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Surya Kant partially stayed the operation of the Bombay high court order limited to stalling the shifting of Wadhawans from Arthur Road jail to their residence on a plea by the Centre. The Bombay high court had on Wednesday ordered the shifting of Wadhawans from jail to their residence. The high court had directed the jail superintendent to shift both the accused to their residence along with two guards. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, in a mentioning, urged the court to stay the operation of the high court order limited to the extent of shifting of Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan, who happen to be father and son, to their residence. Pointing out that both were accused in the `7,000-crore bank scam and after being shifted to their residence they would wander freely, Mr Mehta urged the court to take the matter on board and stay the shifting of the Wadhawans. However, CJI Bobde asked the solicitor general to mention the matter again after their petition against the high court order is numbered by the registry. While seeking the stay of the high court order on the shifting of the Wadhawans, solicitor general Mehta told the court that the other part of the high court order relating to the sale of the assets of the accused promoters under the supervision of the court-monitored committee may continue to operate. Two scoundrels to defend the scoundrel-in-chief: Alan Dershowitz, left, and Ken Starr. Photo: John Lamparski/Win McNamee/Getty Images In rejecting the pleas of excitable House Republicans like Doug Collins and Mike Meadows to join his Senate impeachment trial team, Donald Trump maintained a bare possibility that his defense effort would be somewhat dignified. But if widespread reports are correct, hes throwing dignity away entirely by adding two notorious characters to his legal beagle squad, Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr (along with Starrs deputy in the Bill Clinton investigation that led to the 42nd presidents impeachment, Robert Ray). Dershowitz, who initially made his bones as a liberal-leaning constitutional law professor at Harvard, has more recently become renowned as a celebrity counsel for scoundrels (e.g., O.J. Simpson). He has also become Trumps favorite legal thinker, and one of the Fox Democrats who trades on his past identity while slavishly following the Republican Party line. He has already conspicuously identified himself with Trumps fight against impeachment and removal, most notably by advancing the dubious argument that impeachment requires a violation of criminal statutes. But the 81-year-old retired professor is probably best known right now as an alleged co-conspirator with the late Jeffrey Epstein. As Andrew Rice summed it up last summer: Of all of the many men on the long list of socialites, billionaires, and politicians associated with Epstein, the shadowy financier with a predilection for underage girls, perhaps no name had been tarnished as seriously as Dershowitzs. As Epsteins lawyer, he had helped him to thwart prosecutors; as his houseguest, he was accused of enthusiastically joining in Epsteins alleged sexual abuse. His addition to Trumps team is an indication that almost nothing can outweigh a history of sycophancy toward the boss when it comes to the people with whom he chooses to associate. But deploying Ken Starr is also a sign of how much Trumps defense will depend on appealing to ancient partisan passions. Starr, of course, is the conservative attorney who managed to turn a gig as a special prosecutor looking into an Arkansas land deal into a moralistic (yet prurient) inquiry into Bill Clintons sex life, all but forcing a failed Republican impeachment effort that had vastly less public support than the one were dealing with now. But like Dershowitz, Starr experienced a late-career descent from controversy into squalor, thanks to his complicity in covering up a sexual-assault scandal at Baylor University, as Mimi Schwartz succinctly explained when Starr finally left Baylor in disgrace: An independent investigation of Baylor found that the university authorities had consistently failed to protect its female students from sexual predators and neglected its Title IX responsibilities. Instead, administrators played down reports of abuse and discouraged women from bringing allegations of misconduct. And where was President Starr? Ignoring the candlelight vigil for victims of sexual assault that Baylor students held outside his home. Ducking a media interview when the scandal broke. Issuing windy statements laced with legalese to the Baylor community about how much he cared. Refusing to comment on the situation until the external review was done. And releasing only a summary of that report, not the full document, to the public. Just the guy to enable Donald Trump; never mind the hypocrisy of a man so willing to pick nits to take down Clinton now defending a systematically scofflaw president. Presumably White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump attorney Jay Sekulow will do the heavy lifting during the Senate trial. But the presence of Dershowitz and Starr represents a defiantly raised middle finger to propriety, and yet another own-the-libs gesture designed to make the MAGA base chuckle in delight at the moguls peerless audacity. For many people, including President Trump, one of the main problems with a de facto open border has been the fact that our southern border became a highway for drug traffickers. However, those who don't like Trump's efforts to secure the border have a different take: Trump's policies increase drug use. No one denies that America's southern border has been porous when it comes to drug-trafficking. Even left-leaning Wikipedia concedes: Most of the U.S. imports of drugs come from Mexican drug cartels. In the United States, around 195 cities have been infiltrated by drug trafficking that originated in Mexico. An estimated $10bn of the Mexican drug cartel's profits come from the United States, not only supplying the Mexican drug cartels with the profit necessary for survival, but also furthering America's economic dependence on drugs. (Endnotes omitted.) However, when Trump wanted to make the border less permeable, Democrats said it couldn't be done. Nothing would stop the flow of either illegal aliens or illegal drugs. For example, in January 2019, Vox insisted that "Trump's wall won't do anything about the opioid epidemic: Trump claims his wall will stop the flow of heroin and other illegal drugs from Mexico. He's wrong." Just a year after Vox's pessimistic pronouncements, however, the Customs and Border Protection agency had good news about the effects of Trump's focus on securing the southern border: CBP enforcement actions on our Southwest Border decreased by 5% in December as compared to November, representing a 72% decrease since the peak of the humanitarian and border security crisis in May. [snip] In December, CBP intercepted more than 93,000 pounds of drugs nationwide a 5% increase over November. Compared to this point in the previous fiscal year, overall drug seizures are up 28%, while fentanyl seizures are up over 80% and heroin seizures are up 27%. (Emphasis added.) We still have a significant drug problem, but the fact is that more is being stopped at the border than has been the case in the past. In theory, that's good news, because it represents a decrease in drug usage in America (i.e., fewer available illegal opioids must lead to lower opioid abuse). That is the type of good news the progressives cannot allow. So, on Thursday, the Drug Policy Alliance announced that Trump's drive to control illegal immigration and drug-trafficking was actually making drug abuse worse. If this sounds counterintuitive, you clearly lack compassion. It turns out that Hispanic U.S. citizens find it depressing when friends and family get detained or deported for being in America illegally. For some, their only recourse is substance abuse: In response to a new study showing that Latinx people who know someone who has been detained or deported to be significantly more likely to experience symptoms of substance use disorder than whites, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), LatinoJustice and Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) issued the following joint statement: Maritza Perez, Director, Office of National Affairs, Drug Policy Alliance: "This vital research highlights the fact that we need to remove drug use from the harmful and racially-enforced apparatus of the criminal justice system and instead invest in public health programs and increased access to evidence-based treatment for all. The devastating consequences of draconian immigration enforcement, of families being torn apart, have taken a heavy toll on the loved ones left behind. It is more important than ever before that we redirect our energy and resources towards health-centered approaches that address these issues before we see a new wave of casualties from not only the failed war on drugs, but also our failed immigration policies." You'll find more at the link. It's easy to imagine that this news will horrify progressives who believe that the southern border is inherently racist and, worse, that America sits on land stolen from indigenous people from both North and Latin America. However, it's equally easy to imagine that communities throughout America the ones that are seeing fewer drugs, more jobs, and less of the crime that always comes from a dispossessed underclass (which is what all illegal aliens, at all times, in all places will be) will find it hard to dredge up sympathy for a small subset of people who handle badly the fact that the American president is finally enforcing American drug interdiction and immigration laws. A British mother of two was shot dead in a murder-suicide by an American prison guard after meeting him online and moving to Texas to live with him. Tracey Lovell, 44, from Hayle in Cornwall, was found covered in a blanket on a bed with two gunshot wounds to her head, with 60-year-old Tom Bailey's body next to her on the floor. Two months after the tragedy, Ms Lovell's son killed himself back home in Penzance and her mother died of natural causes that same week. Tracey Lovell, 44, from Hayle in Cornwall, was found covered in a blanket on a bed with two gunshot wounds to her head, with 60-year-old Tom Bailey's body next to her on the floor at his house (pictured) Ms Lovell met Bailey in 2018 and moved out to Texas to live with him in November before her death in January the following year, an inquest in Truro, Cornwall, heard. The mother had difficulty controlling her weight because of a thyroid condition and she thought a cure would be available in America. Ms Lovell maintained contact with her two sons, who last heard from her on January 4, 2019. When the contact stopped her youngest son raised concerns with police in Texas and, on the morning of January 9, officers went to Bailey's home in the city of Victoria, where they found him and his lover dead. Detective Constable Shaun McDonald, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said he was liaising with detectives in Texas over Ms Lovell's death. He said the Briton was probably shot from behind while she had her hood up. 'They knew each other for a few months and Tom visited Tracey in Hayle sometime in early 2018,' he said. 'In November 2018 Tracey moved to Victoria, Texas to be with him. It was thought the decision was based not only on emotional affection, but also a promise of a cure for her thyroid problem. 'She seemed to believe the medical assistance she might receive in America would be better than here in the UK. 'She arrived in the US to find that Tom Bailey's flat was not habitable due to fire damage, and the pair stayed in a local motel until they moved just before Christmas 2018.' Ms Lovell's body was returned to the UK in early March 2019, two months after she died. Det Con McDonald added: 'This has been a particularly sad case. 'It was clear Tracey thought moving to America to live with Tom Bailey would be the life-changing opportunity she had been waiting for, but tragically things ended in the worst possible way for Tracey and her family.' Det Con McDonald added that detectives in Texas were unhelpful in his attempt to establish a reason or motive for Bailey's actions. 'The level of interaction after the first four or five days dropped off dramatically,' he added. 'I repeatedly emailed the detective but I didn't even have a reply, not so much as 'I'm sorry I can't help'.' In the correspondence Det Con McDonald did receive, it was disclosed that Bailey was a prison guard in the local community and the gun used to kill his lover was personally owned, without the requirement for a licence under Texas state law. Ms Lovell's uncle, Colin Trudgeon, expressed his frustration over a lack of cooperation from police in the United States. He told the inquest: 'We have a lot of unanswered questions. It doesn't seem like a lot of effort was put in in the States to find out what led to this. There was so much more around it.' The family was also told that Ms Lovell's possessions, including photos of her sons when they were younger, would be returned, but they were destroyed. Assistant coroner for Cornwall Guy Davies concluded that it was an unlawful killing. 'It's not been established how much Tom Bailey influenced Tracey's decision to move to the United States,' he said. 'Bailey fired the shots that killed Tracey and he did so with murderous intent. He then turned the gun on himself. 'It has not been possible to establish a reason or motive for Tracey's murder. Why she was shot will remain unknown.' The family declined to comment after the inquest. For confidential support, 24 hours a day, call the Samaritans on 116 123, or visit www.samaritans.org In the USA you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 or visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ Only the eighth person to oversee Bet Tzedek in its 46-year history, Cartagena will be the first person of color to lead the organization. He has been with Bet Tzedek since 2012, first serving as Director of Pro Bono Programs and then as Vice President Legal Programs. A graduate of UCLA School of Law, Cartagena has dedicated his entire legal career to public interest law, including an Equal Justice Works Fellowship at the Los Angeles Center for Law & Justice and leadership of the pro bono programs at The Alliance for Children's Rights. Meryl Chae, chair of Bet Tzedek's Board of Directors and partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, said: "We conducted a nation-wide search that reached over 800 individuals to discover something that will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Diego: the best, next leader for Bet Tzedek was already an integral part of our organization. A tireless force for good in our city and our world, Diego will be a terrific new leader for Bet Tzedek. He brings a true passion to help those who need it most and the skills required to get things done. We are beyond thrilled to welcome him as our new CEO." Cartagena will manage Bet Tzedek's 90-person staff and will also guide the work of the organization's 1,600 volunteers and pro bono attorneys, who contribute 60,000 hours each year to Bet Tzedek clients. Cartagena said: "As an immigrant myself, I could not be prouder to lead an organization which is founded upon the Jewish value of welcoming the stranger and providing for the poor. To me, Bet Tzedek's core principle 'Justice, justice you shall pursue' means that the work of justice is not just the work of judges or lawyers: it is all of our collective responsibilities. It means standing with and working among the communities we serve, from Holocaust survivors whose dignity, health and well-being we help preserve to the abused abandoned and neglected immigrant children whose future we help to build." "I am deeply humbled to be trusted with this important role during a moment at which so much is at stake. Our city, our state, our country and our world face major challenges that have rarely been seen before. Working to tackle them as the head of an organization committed to forging the right path and firmly rooted in the Jewish culture, history and tradition of doing so is both an energizing challenge and a tremendous honor." Outgoing President & CEO Jessie Kornberg applauded the Board's decision, saying, "I have had the pleasure of working with Diego Cartagena for the last five and a half years. Diego is a builder, developing many of our flagship programs and nurturing our most important community partnerships. I am confident that under his leadership, Bet Tzedek will continue to respond to our community's most urgent legal needs and innovate new solutions to the systemic challenges our client communities routinely face." About Diego Cartagena Diego Cartagena has focused his entire legal career on addressing issues of access to justice. As a former Equal Justice Works Fellow and Teen Advocate with The Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice's Teen LA Project, Diego helped give low income teen mothers and fathers a voice in court by providing them with legal advocacy and outreach in the areas of family and immigration law. Diego then went on to serve as Pro Bono Director for The Alliance for Children's Rights. Diego joined Bet Tzedek in 2012 as Director of Pro Bono Programs and was promoted to Vice President Pro Bono in 2015. In 2017, Diego became Bet Tzedek's Vice President of Legal Programs. Under his leadership, Bet Tzedek launched a number of the organization's flagship programs including: Preventing and Ending Homelessness Project, Bet Tzedek's Rapid Response: Family Preparedness program, the Harbor UCLA Medical Legal Partnership, and the SSI Advocacy Project. About Bet Tzedek In 1974, a small group of lawyers, rabbis, and community activists came together to assist aging, low-income residents who were being displaced from their homes as their neighborhoods gentrified. The group individually contributed $5 per month to rent a small storefront where, one night a week, they offered free legal assistance to the community. They named the organization Bet Tzedek Hebrew for "House of Justice" after a central precept of Jewish law and tradition: "Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof" "Justice, justice you shall pursue." Today, Bet Tzedek is an internationally-recognized force in poverty law. Harnessing an award-winning pro bono model of service, Bet Tzedek has provided expert legal assistance to more than 500,000 people. Bet Tzedek's mission is to provide free legal services to those who need them most, helping people of all communities and generations secure life's necessities. SOURCE Bet Tzedek Aston Martin shares went back into reverse last night as rumours emerged that Chinese motoring group Geely is cooling on the idea of buying a stake in the James Bond car maker. Formula 1 billionaire Lawrence Stroll is reported to be the front-runner to help prop up the ailing luxury marque. The City grapevine believes Canadian racing tycoon Stroll is in talks to invest around 200million into Aston, though Jefferies analysts believe it needs at least 400m to stay afloat. Rumours: Aston Martin shares went back into reverse last night as rumours emerged that Chinese motoring group Geely is cooling on the idea of buying a stake in the James Bond car maker The company is keeping tight-lipped, though many are expecting an update as soon as next week. It follows a surprise profit warning earlier this month, which followed a glum December and what chief executive Andy Palmer described as a 'very disappointing year'. In the update, Aston said it was in talks with several 'potential strategic investors'. Shares in Aston skidded down 7.2 per cent, or 35p, to close at 452p. Private hospital group NMC Health was on the up after it appointed a former high-profile FBI director to investigate allegations about its finances made in an attack by US hedge fund Muddy Waters last month. Louis Freeh, a former FBI boss and federal judge, will examine the company's debt levels, the value of its assets and alleged fraudulent activities. Relieved investors sent NMC Health's stock up 8.1 per cent, or 116p, to 1557.5p. And Finablr, which was founded by Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, the same billionaire who founded NMC, also made gains. Its shares rose 4.1 per cent, or 5.4p, to 136.4p after the boss of its foreign exchange arm Travelex broke his silence following a cyber attack that brought down the firm's IT systems. The IT network used by Travelex's in-store staff is up and running again, boss Tony D'Souza said, though other systems are still offline. British Airways-owner IAG leapt 5.1 per cent, or 32.6p, to 671p after it scrapped a restriction on non-EU investors' ability to buy its stock. London's premier indexes had a cheery end to the week, with the FTSE 100 rising 0.9 per cent, or 64.75 points, to 7674.56 and the FTSE 250 edging up 0.8 per cent, or 164.85 points, to 21886.08. The Footsie, which is the most exposed to international events, was boosted by data released about China's economy. Elsewhere, shares in Wagamama and Frankie & Benny's owner The Restaurant Group were knocked by a bruising downgrade from brokers at UBS. They slapped a 'sell' recommendation on the struggling group's stock, sending its shares down 7.5 per cent, or 11.1p, to 136p.3. Festive demand for mince pies and Bisto gravy helped drive Premier Foods to higher sales in the third quarter. The food manufacturer said sales increased 2.6 per cent for the 13 weeks to December 28 on the back of 3.6 per cent growth in its UK sales. The company said this was particularly buoyed by leading bakery brand Mr Kipling, which saw sales jump 10 per cent. But shares slid 2.3 per cent, or 1p, to 42p by the close. Dixons Carphone shed 1.1 per cent, or 1.55p, to 144p ahead of a crucial update on Tuesday. Investors will be nervously hoping the electronics specialist has outperformed its rivals during a difficult Christmas for retailers. The update comes amid a testing period for electronics retail, with some of Dixons Carphone-owned Currys PC World's rivals in the sector posting declining sales over the Christmas period. The Gym Group is hoping to cash in on the traditional New Year fitness boom, as bosses revealed that membership numbers jumped 9.7 per cent in the past year. Shares fell 0.7 per cent, or 2p, to 308p. (Natural News) Planned Parenthood is once again getting off scot-free for its crimes against humanity, as a San Francisco judge has ruled that those who exposed the villainous acts of Americas largest abortion provider are somehow the criminals. Pro-life investigators David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt will reportedly now have to stand trial on nine felony counts of secretly recording conversations as part of a Center for Medical Progress (CMP) expose on Planned Parenthoods illicit harvesting and trafficking of aborted baby body parts. In our own coverage of this massive Planned Parenthood scandal, we showed, based on CMPs evidential footage, that this taxpayer-funded, baby-murdering organization has been committing federal crimes that should have landed its own executives in the slammer. Planned Parenthood even admitted to this after the footage went public. But because of the dismal state of criminal justice in America today, which has been politicized beyond belief, the perpetrators are walking free while the brave journalists whove been trying to set the record straight face persecution at the hands of a radicalized, lawless legal system. Shocking, and yet not so shocking, is the fact that Judge Christopher C. Hite of the San Francisco Superior Court ruled that, based on the evidence put forth in a preliminary hearing, Daleiden and Merritt can now be tried on nine counts of breaking Californias anti-eavesdropping law, which prohibits the secret gathering of information without mutual consent from the parties involved. 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. If convicted, its important to note, Daleiden and Merritt could be sent to prison, even as those they exposed at Planned Parenthood for committing federal crimes are let off the hook. In a tweet, Daleiden noted that this politically-motivated persecution of Daleiden and Merritt was prompted by failed presidential hopeful Kamala Harris, who dropped out of the 2020 presidential race due to near-zero support from voters. Former California Attorney General Kamala Harris concocted this bogus, biased prosecution with her Planned Parenthood backers against undercover video recording, and now their case is falling apart as the facts about Planned Parenthoods criminal organ trafficking are revealed in the courtroom, Daleiden went on to tweet. The remaining charges under the California video recording law the first and only time it has ever been used against undercover news gatherers will fall for the same reasons that five charges were dismissed today: these were public conversations easily overheard by third parties. The real criminals are the Planned Parenthood leadership who sold fetal-body parts from late-term abortions and weaponized the justice system to try to cover it up. To keep up with the latest developments about Planned Parenthood and its aborted baby body parts criminal racket, be sure to check out Abortions.news. Leftists HATE truth, and they hate truth-tellers even more According to reports, Daleiden and Merritt have been summoned to appear in Californias Superior Court on January 30th for instruction and arraignment as if theyre somehow in the wrong for being brave and dutiful whistleblowers who shined a light on the dark underbelly of Planned Parenthoods murdering-babies-for-profit criminal racket. This total injustice is merely a symptom of a much bigger problem in America today that has to do with the leftist masses rejecting honest journalism. Any truths that offend them are now being criminalized, as were seeing not just with the Daleiden case but also all across social media. Its now a crime in the United States of America to tell the truth at all when doing so has the potential to incriminate a far-left organization like Planned Parenthood. Leftist institutions, after all, are the bedrock that prop up leftist criminality and keep it going without consequence. The criminal justice system in this country is now so upside-down that Daleiden and his colleagues are actually being ordered to pay Planned Parenthood $2.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages, as well as lawyer fees again, as if they are somehow the criminals in all of this. The real criminals, here, are vile creatures like Planned Parenthood Medical Directors Council President Mary Gatter, who was captured on tape explaining how she illegally sells aborted baby body parts for cash, in the hopes that she will one day be able to afford an expensive Lamborghini. Todays ruling proves unfounded and outrageous charges against two pro-life journalists who exposed the harvesting and trafficking of innocent babies. This is a gross abuse of power and a violation of the First Amendment, commented Live Actions Lila Rose about the dastardly outcome of this case, adding that Judge Hites ruling represents an egregious abuse of power. Animal activist groups went undercover at a duck farm & former CA AG @KamalaHarris used their expose to try to ban foie gras. But when pro-life reporters exposed @PPFA execs haggling over baby parts, the reporters were prosecuted & the abortionists protected, she further stated in a separate tweet. The sad truth is that this is likely only the beginning, as more truth-tellers are sure to face similar persecution in the future for daring to try to do justice and love mercy, as the Holy Bible commands. Sources for this article include: LifeSiteNews.com NaturalNews.com Trellis.law NaturalNews.com Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez had decided she would never run for office again. It was November 2014 and, for the second time, the San Antonio attorney had made a bid for a county court-at-law bench and come up short. She didnt want to go through that kind of heartache again. Ray Olivarri, however, was insistent. The veteran judge a Democrat like Speedlin Gonzalez had dropped an election of his own, losing his County Court-at-Law No. 6 seat in a 2010 tea-party wave election that forced many Democrats out of the courthouse. (He would later lose a 2016 primary which cost him the 399th District Court seat he had gained four years earlier.) Olivarri never let defeat get him down. And he wanted his friend to give it another shot. He came up to me and said, Youve got to run again. People look up to you, people see you as a potential, up-and-coming judicial candidate and elected official and you cant give up, Speedlin Gonzalez recalled Thursday, the day after Olivarri succumbed to cancer at the age of 64. Olivarri finished his pitch to Speedlin Gonzalez by helping her see the big picture. Its not for you. Weve got to do it for everybody else, he told her. We need Latino leaders. Latinas are going to take us into the next century and you need to be a part of that. It took a while, but Speedlin Gonzalez eventually came around, filing to run two years ago for County Court-at-Law No. 13. When she won a victory that made her the first openly gay judge elected in Bexar County no one was more thrilled for her than Olivarri. On ExpressNews.com: Judge Olivarri succumbs to cancer at 64 Olivarris passing feels like a death in the family for everyone who works at the Bexar County Courthouse. Its not simply because he was a constant courthouse presence over the past 20 years: first as a criminal defense attorney, then as a county court judge and, ultimately, as a district judge. Its because of the generosity of the man, the way he mentored young lawyers and offered them advice and encouragement. He was very disarming. He wasnt your textbook caricature of a lawyer, Speedlin Gonzalez said. He wasnt that aggressive type, he wasnt that in-your-face type. He was very laid back. Olivarri came to the legal profession later than most. He was nearly 40 when he enrolled in law school at Texas Southern University in Houston, where he put himself through school. By the time he established his law practice, he was well into his 40s. By then, he had life experience and perspective. He had humility. He had a deep faith, which gave him an ability to accept disappointment and defeat. He understood that wisdom and knowledge werent meant to be jealously guarded, but passed along to the next generation. And he had a quiet perseverance. Joe Gonzales, the Bexar County district attorney, knew Olivarri for more than 30 years. In the early 1990s, Gonzaless wife, Yvonne, and Olivarri served together as probation officers in the Bexar County Adult Probation Department. He decided that he wanted to help those that he believed were unjustly accused of crimes, Gonzales said. So he made it his mission to go to law school. Gonzales described Olivarri as a strong believer in restorative justice. He was certainly an advocate of second chances, Gonzales said. In fact, he was a big proponent of the specialty courts. He was personally involved in the veterans court and the drug court, and he believed in alternatives to incarceration. Gonzales said he and Olivarri had many discussions over the years about the need for criminal justice reform in this country. Gonzales said those conversations helped shape the policies Gonzales has implemented in the DAs office. Gabe Quintanilla, a local prosecutor and 2020 district-court candidate, said Olivarri was like a brother to him. Olivarris father, Ray Sr., a longtime jail administrator for the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, was best friends with Quintanillas father. Olivarris father passed away last June at the age of 89. Quintanilla carries a fond memory of the last time he saw the two Olivarris together, a couple of years ago, when Judge Olivarri lovingly wheeled his ailing father around at a local restaurant. He was a judges judge, Quintanilla said. He was the type of judge that other aspiring judges can look up to as a role model. One of the things that I think is very important about Ray is that if you were to have met him out in public and talked to him, you would never know that this man held such a high position of a state district court judge. He was very humble. That point is echoed by Speedlin Gonzalez, who often marveled at Olivarris self-effacing qualities. He had a very soft, very endearing bedside manner, with his clients and his friends, she said. He had a very slow way of talking and a very calming effect. And that will definitely be missed. @gilgamesh470 Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 Thousands of hungry diners are flocking to Japan to dine at all-you-can-eat KFC. The fast food chain has opened up a new buffet-style restaurant in Tokyo offering Colonel's famous fried chicken, chips, mash potato and gravy, salad, seafood, gourmet pastas, lasagne, croissants and desserts. The Japanese menu offers 50 different items, including exclusive meals such as a 'special fried chicken soup curry', rotisserie chicken, tandoori chicken, pan-baked potato casserole, prawn gratin, paella, and 'bread quiche'. For adults, there's also an option to upgrade your dining experience with an all-you-can-drink alcohol package for an additional 1,250 (AU$16.45). Thousands of hungry diners are flocking to Japan to dine at all-you-can-eat KFC The fast food chain has opened up a new buffet-style restaurant in Tokyo offering unlimited Colonel's famous fried chicken, nuggets, wings, fries, salads, pasta dishes and desserts Hungry diners can eat unlimited fried chicken with its signature 11 herbs and spices Thousands of hungry diners are flocking to Tokyo to dine at all-you-can-eat KFC Lunch runs between 11am and 5pm for 1,980 (AU$26) for adults, junior and high school students aged 13 to 18 - and 980 (AU$12.90) for elementary students aged between six and 12. The dinner menu is available after 5pm until 10pm for 2,580 (AU$34) for adults, junior and high school students - and 1,280 (AU$16.85) for elementary students. Both lunch and dinner are available for children under the age of six for 480 (AU$6.30) and toddler kids under three can eat for free. The dining experience lasts 80 minutes and includes all-you-can-drink soft drinks. But to secure a table for lunch, there's a waiting system in place to avoid queues. The restaurant only dishes out 100 tickets per day with a number between one to 100 allocated to diners - meaning you'd have to arrive early to grab a ticket so you don't miss out. Numbers one to 25 can eat from 11am, 25 to 50 can secure a table from 12.30pm, 51 to 75 can dine from 2pm and 75 to 100 can head in from 3.30pm. Diners are spoiled for choice - with up to 50 items to choose from the Japanese buffet There's a salad bar where you can create your own salad with ingredients and dressing The menu offers 50 different items, including exclusive meals such as a 'special fried chicken soup curry' (pictured), rotisserie chicken and pan-baked potato casserole To secure a table for lunch, there's a waiting system in place to avoid queues. The restaurant only dishes out 100 tickets per day with a number between one to 100 allocated to diners - meaning you'd have to arrive early so you don't miss out After indulging yourself with savoury foods, diners can end their dining experience with a selection of desserts to choose from, including parfaits, jelly, cakes and more Lunch runs between 11am and 5pm and the dinner menu is available after 5pm until 10pm Diners can indulge in the Original Recipe fried chicken with 11 herbs and spices, create their own salads at the salad bar and enjoy never-before-seen meals. Other items on the menu include fried rice, garlic bread, chicken nuggets and wings. After indulging yourself with savoury foods, diners can end their dining experience with a selection of desserts to choose from, including parfaits, jelly, profiteroles, cakes and more. Located at the Minami-Machida Grandberry Park, the restaurant has a 'KFC home party' theme, featuring a family-style layout - making it very different to a standard KFC fast food store. The Tokyo restaurant, which opened in November 2019, also offers a children's 'school corner' so students can learn about cooking and kitchen safety. Before the latest opening, there were multiple pop-up all-you-can-eat KFC stores around the city. But Tokyo foodies will no longer have to wait around as the permanent Machida buffet officially marks the second permanent all-you-can-eat KFC to open in Japan after a restaurant rolled out in Osaka in 2015. A woman stabbed and fatally wounded a bandit during a home-invasion robbery in Wissinoming that left another person in the house wounded with a gunshot wound to the arm, police said Friday. The bloody drama unfolded about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, when two would-be robbers entered the house on the 6000 block of Tulip Street, police said. During the robbery, a 28-year-old man was shot in the arm and a woman stabbed one of the intruders in the back, police said. The suspects then fled in a gray vehicle. The wounded victim was taken to Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, police said. A short time later, a 19-year-old man later determined to be one of the suspects was left at Jefferson-Frankford Hospital, where he died at 10:40 p.m., officials said. He was not immediately identified. Chief Inspector Scott Small said police found a knife on the sidewalk in front of the house and recovered 10 shell casings, including four from the kitchen. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing. Earlier Thursday night, there were four shootings within a 25-minute span in Kingsessing, Wynnefield, East Mount Airy, and Kensington that left one man dead and three people seriously wounded. Police said the first shooting happened at 6:20 p.m. inside a home in the 5200 block of West Cheltenham Avenue in East Mount Airy. Police said a 61-year-old woman was shot once in the back by her 45-year-old stepson. Medics took her to Einstein Medical Center, where she was admitted in critical condition. Police said they had a suspect in custody and were in possession of the firearm used. About two minutes later in Wynnefield, a 46-year-old man was gunned down while on the 5200 block of Jefferson Street. Police took him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m. of a single gunshot wound to the chest. At 6:30 p.m. in the 5600 block of Springfield Avenue in Kingsessing, a 22-year-old man was shot in the stomach, police said. He also was taken Penn Presbyterian, where he was placed in stable condition. Police said they had a suspect in custody and recovered the weapon used. The last incident was recorded at 6:45 p.m. on the 300 block of East Clearfield Street in Kensington. Police said a 58-year-old man was shot in his left arm during a street robbery. Jacksonville schools, which already announced plans to dismiss early today because of inclement weather, will be letting out much earlier. Superintendent Steve Ptacek said a winter storm that is expected to bring snow and ice to the region is moving faster than expected. Elementary schools are dismissing at 9 a.m.; Jacksonville Middle School and Jacksonville High School are sending students home at 9:45 a.m. BEIJING, Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On January 14, the Secretariat of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) held a press conference in Beijing to announce that the BFA Annual Conference 2020 (AC 2020) will be held from March 24 to 27 in Boao, Hainan around the theme of "A World in Change: Bond Together for a Shared Future." The world economy is now at crossroad of change, the international situation is fraught with fluctuations and uncertainties. Global economic growth rates keep hitting new lows, and multilateral trade frameworks and the global governance regime are confronted with serious challenges. In this state of flux, there are deep-rooted causes for economic slowdown. Current global governance practices lag behind the need to achieve common development, and the world is faced with considerable challenges to fulfill the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Looking to Asia, the overall growth momentum is expected to be maintained. Against the backdrop of the reversal of the open policy in some developed countries, the Asia-Pacific region has made progress in free trade agreements. Asian economies such as China are moving towards high-quality development, safeguarding the achievements of globalization with practical actions and becoming the mainstay of multilateralism,international cooperation and free trade. However, Asian countries are generally facing downward pressure and need to deal with various challenges in the development process. How can we create new growth momentum for the world economy and inject "positive energy" into global development? How can we bring order to this world in flux and prevent chaos amid changes? The closely-watched AC 2020 will echo the shared concerns of the international community, focus on frontier issues in world development, mobilize support for multilateralism and international cooperation, and steer changes around the world towards win-win outcomes. According to Li Baodong, Secretary General of the BFA, the preliminary agenda will be composed of more than 50 sessions, which feature five modules: Development Trends, Industrial Changes, Forefront of Innovation, Beautiful Life and Global Governance, which respectively highlight the keywords of change (as the background), reform (as the solution), innovation (as the driver), development (as the goal) and cooperation (as the key). Sustainable development is also an area of concern, and the topics will cover almost all aspects of UN sustainable development goals. It is necessary for the international community to further build consensus and strengthen cooperation to achieve the goals, and the Boao Forum for Asia will, as always, play an active role in this regard. In addition, Li said that BFA will launch six flagship reports, namely "Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress 2020", "Free Trade Agreements: Asia's Choice", "Asian Financial Development Report on Financial Inclusion", "Report on Asia Poverty Reduction 2020", "Innovation Report", and "Report on The First Conference of the Global Health Forum". In 2020, Boao Forum for Asia will also carry out a series of activities in China and abroad. In conjunction with the G20, a conference will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in February; the second Global Health Forum will be held in Qingdao in June; and the first Global Economic Development and Security Forum will be held in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, in September. In addition, the Boao Forum for Asia will also hold activities in Belgium, Finland , Italy, etc. In response to a reporter's question on what the biggest problem and solution is in the current world political and economic situation, Li said that the biggest problem facing the world today is the crisis of trust and confidence in global governance. The rules established after World War II have been greatly challenged, and only through multilateralism and international cooperation can we solve the problem. Unilateralism will only push the world into a mess full of estrangement and friction, the fundamental way to solve the crisis is to build a community with a shared future for mankind. The BFA is a high-level cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary and trans-sectoral dialogue platform. Since its inception, the BFA, based in Asia and with a global outlook, has increasingly become an important bridge for communication and interaction between eastern and western political, business and academic communities. As the flagship event of the BFA, AC 2020 will bring together more than 2,000 participants to share perspectives and insights on the development of Asia and the world, including heads of state/government, leaders of international organizations, ministers, business leaders, economists and media representatives. SOURCE Boao Forum for Asia BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) hosted a commemorative event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the 20 January tragedy. First, the participants of the event paid a minute's tribute of silence to the memory of fallen martyrs who died as a result of the bloody massacre perpetrated by the Soviet Army in Azerbaijan on the night of January 19 to 20, 1990. Speaking at the event, Rector of Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) Elmar Gasimov said that in accordance with the Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan On commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 20 January tragedy dated December 13, 2019, commemorative events have been held in all state organizations and educational institutions, including Baku Higher Oil School. Speaking about the tragedy, the rector noted that the names of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the independence, sovereignty and freedom of Azerbaijan are forever etched in the history of Azerbaijan and the memory of the people. He emphasized that thanks to the political will of the national leader Heydar Aliyev, the 20 January tragedy received a legal assessment at the state level. As a result of work done by the national leader Heydar Aliyev after he had returned to power in the second half of 1993, on March 29, 1994, the National Parliament adopted a decision giving a full political and legal assessment to the bloody 20 January tragedy. About 30 years have passed since the tragedy. Over the past period, the independence and development of Azerbaijan has been fully restored under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev as a tribute to the victims of the tragedy. Elmar Gasimov also told the BHOS students about the importance of informing the international community about all the tragedies that have occurred in the history of our people, including the 20 January tragedy. He urged them to take an active part in this matter using English language skills they have acquired at Baku Higher Oil School. Towards the end of the event, a short documentary about the 20 January tragedy was shown. Recall that during the 20 January tragedy, 137 people were killed, about 700 people were wounded, and more than 800 people were illegally arrested within a few days. During the presentation conference, Wang Bingnan said that holding of CIIE is a demonstration of China's strong commitment to economic globalization and trade liberalization to the world. He also shared the outcomes of the previous two sessions of CIIE. While lauding the tangible results of Moroccan companies at the CIIE, Wang Bingnan said the Chinese government is keen on developing economic and trade relations with Morocco, and that Moroccan businesses are welcomed to expand exports to China through the CIIE. He added, the Chinese government is willing to provide necessary support for this. He encouraged Morocco to continue to showcase the image of Morocco and its investment environment through CIIE, hoping that Moroccan companies can find more Chinese partners through the platform of CIIE to jointly develop the China's market and share the dividends brought by China's economic growth. Hicham Boudraa welcomed the delegation and stated that Morocco attaches great importance to the development of economic and trade relations with China. Boudraa encouraged more Moroccan companies to seize the opportunity and explore the China's market with more featured Moroccan products through the platform of the CIIE. The presentation conference received positive response from people of all circles in Morocco. With a better understanding of CIIE, more local companies have shown intention to attend the third session of CIIE. ContactMs. Nie Qingxin Tel.0086-21-59760717 0086-21-59761076 Email[email protected] Websitehttp://www.ciie.org/zbh/en/ Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ciieonline Twitterhttps://twitter.com/ciieonline SOURCE CIIE To the world leaders and those in power, I would like to say that you have not seen anything yet, Thunberg said in a speech in Lausanne. You have not seen the last of us, we can assure you that. And that is the message that we will bring to the World Economic Forum in Davos next week. Remarks made by Donegal TD Pat The Cope Gallagher suggesting that Sinn Fein and his party Fianna Fail are very alike have been dismissed by Mary Lou McDonald. Mr Gallagher, speaking on RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta this morning with regard to what coalition partners Fianna Fail might consider should they be in a position to form a Government, had bucked the trend of his own leader Micheal Martin who had suggested that the two would not be sharing power. I think thats a very Pat The Cope comment to make, said Sinn Fein leader McDonald. Were actually very different in our political approach and political style. What we do have in comment is those of us who are elected and have a democratic mandate, we do have that in common, she said. I would like us also to have in common a basic level of respect for the people who vote for us, and the likes of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael saying they dont want us, I would ask them to remember that behind every Sinn Fein elected representative Dail deputy or councillor are hundreds of thousands of people who vote for us. To disrespect the people who vote for us is simply not acceptable, she said. She said however that she is glad that Mr Gallagher had broken the trend and bucked the trend. He is prepared to recognise that Sinn Fein has a democratic mandate and that we have a lot to contribute to the system here, Ms McDonald added. The issue of a coalition with Sinn Fein has been dismissed by both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, together with the Labour Party in recent days. However, that could all change depending on how the numbers take shape in the wake of Februarys vote. Earlier, local Wicklow TD John Brady suggested it makes no sense for parties in the Republic of Ireland to be happy for us to govern in the North, but to have no say in the south. He said he expected the situation to become more fluid as it becomes clear what parties are in a position to form an administration in three weeks time. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:26:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday sent a congratulatory message to Mikhail Mishustin on his assuming office as Russia's new prime minister. In his congratulatory message, Li said that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has been developing at a high level in recent years. The two sides have been pushing forward in-depth cooperation in such areas as economy and trade, investment, energy, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and local affairs, Li said. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Russia diplomatic relations in 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin jointly announced the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, opening a new chapter in the development of bilateral ties, he added. The Chinese premier said that he looks forward to working with Prime Minister Mishustin to promote bilateral cooperation to a higher level and inject stronger impetus into the development of China-Russia relations. Turkey is reportedly restoring access to Wikipedia as the country's Constitutional Court ruled that the ban violated freedom of expression. According to reports, Wikipedia was banned in Turkey for approximately three years as the online encyclopedia refused to delete articles that reportedly said that Turkey's government had cooperated with the so-called Islamic State (IS) group and al-Qaeda in Syria. Wikipedia in their official statement said, We are thrilled that the people of Turkey will once again be able to participate in the largest global conversation about the culture and history of Turkey online and continue to make Wikipedia a vibrant source of information about Turkey and the world. READ: Turkey Targets Kurdish Rebels In Iraq, Killing 4 Yazidis The best present we got for Wikipedia's 19th birthday was being unblocked in Turkey. (thread) https://t.co/kSVETTU5CO Wikipedia (@Wikipedia) January 16, 2020 The country has removed the ban, however, not everyone in Turkey can browse Wikipedia at this point as the ban is being lifted gradually and some internet service providers are still in the process of restoring access. The block was also lifted a month after the Constitutional Court ruled that ban was a violation of freedom of expression. While speaking to an international media outlet, Wikipedia founder said that he hoped that this was a great victory for returning to a process of normalisation for freedom of speech in Turkey. READ: Turkey Urges Russia To Convince Libyan General Khalifa Haftar To Accept Truce Putin finds Wikipedia 'unreliable' While Turkey lifted the three year Wikipedia ban from the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin finds the online encyclopedia 'unreliable' and expressed the need to replace it last month. The President further also announced an electronic version of the 'Great Russian Encyclopedia' to list of verifiable facts and data. According to a government resolution, the move will reportedly ensure that people find "reliable information that is constantly updated on the basis of scientifically verified sources of knowledge". Russia also briefly blocked the Russian-language version of Wikipedia in 2015 for an article which contained information on cannabis under legislation banning sites with drug-related material. In addition to that, Moscow has also introduced tougher online controls over the Russian segment of the internet in order to keep it going even if it is cut off from the infrastructure of other countries. The Great Russian Encyclopaedia is already available in basic electronic format. Reportedly, the new portal will cost nearly two billion roubles. READ: Turkey Says 4 Of Its Soldiers Killed In Northeast Syria READ: Turkey President Erdogan Hosts Putin In Istanbul A government committee asked to review U.S. approval of new passenger planes after two deadly crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max has found that the system is safe and effective but could be improved. The committee differed sharply with legislators who are investigating Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration, which approved the Max. Key lawmakers have said they may try to stop the FAA from letting Boeing do some inspections and safety analysis on its own planes. Thursday's report came from a committee appointed by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in April, after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people and led regulators to ground Max jets worldwide. The committee said the FAA's system of delegating some safety work to aircraft manufacturers is effective and helps the U.S. aerospace industry thrive. Lee Moak, a former airline pilot and union leader who co-chaired the committee, said members did not look at internal communications in which Boeing employees raised safety alarms about the Max while it was being developed, and admitted misleading regulators. "It was not the purview of, or charter of, the committee to look at or investigate email traffic," he told reporters. In some of the Boeing employee messages, test pilots and other unnamed workers questioned the safety of the Max, called the plane a "joke" and talked about concealing problems from regulators. Last week, leaders of the House Transportation Committee cited those messages and accused Boeing of deceiving regulators. Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said they will introduce legislation to strip the company of all or part of its authority to help approve its own aircraft as safe to fly. Yet the special committee to review the FAA's certification process wrote that the agency's system of delegating work to aircraft manufacturers is "rigorous, robust and overseen by engineers, inspectors, test pilots and managers committed to the primacy of safety." The committee wrote that it didn't do an investigation, but took a collaborative approach. Its mission was "to collect and analyze information, not find fault." Asked about possible mistakes in approving the Max, Moak said that was for other groups to investigate. The committee recommended that the system of delegating inspections to manufacturers should continue, and the FAA and industry should work together to address concerns about "potential undue pressure" on company employees designated to do inspections as planes go through the approval process. Gov. Parson talks funding for new Buck O'Neil Bridge The Buck O'Neil Bridge is almost old enough for Medicare. It's 64.In an interview Thursday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said a complex combination of local, state and federal money will produce a new bridge."Some of the money that comes in from up in north Missouri, freed up other money for the bridge proposals. We switched the photo for this story to an old school toll road shot on the former Broadway Bridge . . . For an answer to our question, KCMO residents should just look in the mirror and search deep within their soul and/or think about local high tax history . . . Checkit: The Great Rift: Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and the Broken Friendship That Defined an Era By James Mann Henry Holt. 416 pp. $32 --- In "The Great Rift," James Mann asserts that the George W. Bush administration's internal struggle over whether and how to go to war in Iraq was "the peak in acrimony in the running philosophical debate about America's post-Cold War role." Some might disagree, including the professionals who testified on Ukraine in congressional impeachment hearings last month, or the former Cabinet members who sought to convince President Trump of the value of alliances in Europe and Asia. But Mann's premise is that the debate over Iraq, as seen through the lens of the 40-year relationship between Colin Powell and Dick Cheney, can help us explain those vexed debates in our own moment: How and why did the country tumble from such optimism at the time of the Persian Gulf War and the collapse of the Soviet Union to the divisions, uncertainty and diminished confidence that prevailed two decades later? Mann has a distinguished oeuvre chronicling the heights of the U.S. foreign policy establishment, particularly its Republican subculture and its attempts to reinvent itself after the Cold War. His method, perhaps used to greatest effect in "Rise of the Vulcans," his study of the first-term team around Bush, is to look intently at the relationship dynamics among senior players. He brings all his prior knowledge to bear on the rise and decline of Powell's and Cheney's careers - and their friendship. In Mann's telling, the two men meet cute during the Reagan administration, when Lt. Gen. Powell briefs Rep. Cheney on a visit to a U.S. base in Germany, and the men immediately recognize each other's brilliance. Though Mann never says so, perhaps each sees in the other a slight distancing from the security establishment in which they swim, a coolness in appraising it and a willingness to use it to their advantage. After George H.W. Bush is elected president in 1988, Cheney moves from Congress to the Pentagon as secretary of defense, and within a year, Powell joins him there as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Even then, the two are frequently on different sides, disagreeing on Mikhail Gorbachev, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the breakup of the U.S.S.R. Cheney and his team spend the H.W. years developing a deeply unilateral view of American power, one that Powell goes to some lengths to oppose while still in government. When, during the Clinton years, Cheney is one of 25 signers of the Project for a New American Century's founding call for a more assertive U.S. foreign policy, Powell is not even approached about signing. And so we arrive at the George W. Bush years. Although Powell and Cheney still saw each other as friends, they quickly found themselves at the head of opposing Cabinet factions. Even before 9/11, their relationship had become acrimonious, as Cheney used his position in the White House to outmaneuver Powell's State Department on policy issues. Meanwhile, Powell's star power with the American public discomfited his administration colleagues and conservative activists outside government. Mann's retelling is a useful summary for those who didn't live through the period at close range, and it offers some new nuances for those who did. His portrayal of Cheney stresses his skill at using bureaucracy and proximity to get his way, as well as his focus on unilateral U.S. power. Powell, while a far more adept public figure than Cheney, falls just short of him in bureaucratic skills and is bedeviled, in Mann's telling, by a lack of strategic vision and decisiveness. When Powell is made aware of the decision to torture detainees, he does not speak out - and does not tell his staff. Ultimately, when he has the chance to tell Bush that he will not support an Iraq invasion, he does not do so. Instead, he delivers the administration's justification for war on the world stage - based, as it turns out, on incorrect intelligence pushed forward by Cheney. Mann wants his readers to know that Cheney had no post-9/11 change of heart. He documents the consistency of his deep conservatism and unilateralism across decades. Mann is less clear in explaining what became of the GOP foreign policy establishment's talent for teamwork and realism. He seems to believe that Cheney's unilateralism and drive for power helped provoke the fatal errors of the Iraq War, while Powell's "passivity" prevented a meaningful challenge to the war from taking shape inside the administration. Or that is my interpretation - Mann never offers a judgment. He walks us through the errors, misjudgments and flat-out untruths that got the United States into Iraq but can never bring himself to answer his own question of why. And though he flirts in the volume's opening and close with an even larger question - how did the establishment that presided over the end of the Cold War and the triumphal Gulf War find itself either handmaidens or ineffectual opponents of President Trump? - he offers no answers there, either. Mann writes with a curious indifference to the national security debates of the moment. He notes in passing Powell's disenchantment with the GOP even before the end of the Bush administration, as he was pushed away by the blend of unilateralism in foreign policy and anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment at home. And Mann dissects carefully how Cheney's focus on power over values differentiated him from the neoconservatives of the Bush era, who believed they could use force to promote democracy, tolerance and pluralism - while Cheney saw rights and norms as beside the point of security affairs. We now know that those cleavages prefigure rather excruciatingly the dismemberment of the Republican national security establishment into Never Trump and Trump-accepting wings. We also know that the Islamophobia that discomfits Powell throughout the post-9/11 years moves steadily into the mainstream of the party, with some of its key spokespeople now holding jobs in Mike Pompeo's State Department. Cheney, it should be noted, diverges profoundly from Trump on matters including trade policy, respect for the institutions of the U.S. military and attitudes toward dictators such as Kim Jong Un. Perhaps, though, Mann isn't able to shed more light on this because the bottom line on how we got here is less about the strengths and weaknesses of individual foreign policy mandarins and more about how our national security choices interacted with our domestic politics. The story he tells unfolds over decades that saw the GOP pick up anti-affirmative-action rhetoric, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment as key campaign platforms. Those developments could have featured in this book, but they don't. Similarly, Mann quotes Powell himself on how the legacies of race in America shaped his life: the perception that his rise was due to affirmative action, his need to make money after government service, even his acceptance because (in his words) "I ain't that black." But Mann never steps back to consider the role race played not just in Powell's rise to national prominence but in his fall from conservative favor, even as he repeats a critique of Powell - that he is an action officer, not a strategic thinker - that professionals from minority and nontraditional backgrounds have heard for generations. His ascendance in the GOP and then alienation from it would seem to tell a powerful story about millions of Americans' conflicted relationship with the party of Lincoln, and the discomfort of millions of others with an America where, for a time, the idea that Powell, as a Republican, could have been the first African American president was entirely plausible. But to do that, Mann would have had to weave in more of the world outside the triangle formed by C Street, the White House and the Pentagon. His choice not to do so limits the explanatory capacities of this careful book. And it stands as a reminder that the forces that have the upper hand in the Republican Party have not hesitated to turn economic and cultural concerns into "national security issues" - a political strategy for which neither Mann's old GOP establishment nor its Democratic counterparts seem to have an answer. --- Hurlburt directs the New Models of Policy Change project at New America. She held foreign policy positions in the White House, the State Department and Congress under Republican and Democratic administrations. A day after the signing of an agreement that puts an end to the Bru refugee crisis, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Friday said it will take at least six months to resettle the 34,000 odd members of the community who are living here for 23 years. The Bru people have been living in relief camps in Tripura since 1997. They had fled their homeland Mizoram to reach the neighbouring state because of ethnic clashes. Following an agreement signed by representatives of the Brus, the central, Tripura and Mizoram governments in New Delhi on Thursday, these tribal people will be able to permanently settle in Tripura. "According to the agreement, those willing to go back to Mizoram can go and the rest can stay in Tripura. They have to stay in either of the states. He said a large quantum of land would be required to rehabilitate these 34,000 people and it would take at least six months," Deb told reporters here. He said the revenue department was asked to identify the land for their resettlement. Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for solving the 23-year-old problem, he said many initiatives were taken to send the Brus back to Mizoram, but only 350 families could be repatriated. The Brus are staying in six camps at Kanchanpur and Panisagar sub-divisions of North Tripura district. They get free ration and a cash dole from the Centre. Despite efforts to repatriate them, many Bru families have refused to return to Mizoram citing security concerns and inadequate rehabilitation package. There has also been a demand for a separate autonomous council for the community. The agreement was signed one-and-a-half months after the latest initiative to send the Bru refugees back to Mizoram failed. The ninth round of repatriation began on October 3 and concluded on November 30. The vexed Bru issue started from September, 1997, following demands of a separate autonomous district council by carving out areas of western Mizoram adjoining Bangladesh and Tripura. The situation was aggravated by the murder of a forest guard in the Dampa Tiger Reserve in western Mizoram by Bru National Liberation Front insurgents on October 21 that year. The first attempt to repatriate the Brus from Tripura was made in November 2009. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kolkata Police has arrested two persons from the city's Sealdah station area for their alleged involvement in debit card fraud, a senior officer said on Friday. The anti-bank fraud section of Kolkata Police arrested the two persons identified as Mudassar Khan and Irfanuddin, residents of Bihar's Gaya district, on Thursday night, the officer said. The duo used to target aged or illiterate people at ATM kiosks pretending to help them to complete their transactions using the debit cards and thus gather details of the cards, the IPS officer said. "Pretending to help people, these two people used to collect card details including the pin. Then they used to clone cards with the stolen data and withdraw money," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Muralidhar Sharma said. As many as 38 cloned debit cards, one skimming device and a laptop, one magnetic stripe reader-writer (MSRW) were seized from their possession, the Joint CP (Crime) said. "We found that pin was written at the backside of such cloned cards," Sharma said. Many cases of ATM fraud were reported in the city since December last year. Over 70 people, mostly from the city's Jadavpur area, had lodged complaints that a huge amount of money was withdrawn from their accounts by fraudsters. During investigation, Kolkata Police sleuths had arrested one Romanian from New Delhi's Greater Kailash area for his alleged involvement in ATM/Debit card fraud in the eastern metropolis. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Stacey Cooper (pictured) was found dead at her home on New Year's Eve in Redcar, Cleveland A 27-year-old man suspected of murdering a mother-of-six on New Year's Eve has died in prison. Liam Murray was an inmate at HMP Durham where he was held on remand after he was charged with murdering 34-year-old Stacey Cooper. Police were called by the ambulance service to her address in Malham Gill, Redcar, Cleveland, on New Years Eve, where they found her dead. Murray appeared before Teesside Magistrates' Court and his case was next expected to be heard before a judge to enter pleas at the end of the month. He died on Tuesday, a Prison Service spokeswoman said. They said: 'Our thoughts are with his friends and family. 'As with all deaths in custody, there will be an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.' After her murder, Ms Coopers family said: 'Stacey was a much loved mother of six, a treasured daughter and sister. There are no words to express our sadness. Suspected murderer Liam Murray (pictured) has died in HMP Durham where he was held on remand after he was charged with murder on January 2 Stacey was described as a 'wonderful mother' and her loss is 'unimaginable'. A friend of the victim, Laura Wright, has set up an online GoFundMe appeal to help the family and said Ms Cooper had been 'tragically and horribly lost'. She wrote: 'Without their mother they are in need of support and we would appreciate monetary donations to help with funeral costs and support for the children.' Murray was charged with murder and possession of a bladed weapon at Teesside Magistrates' Court on January 2. BRUSSELS For more than eight years, the Libyan conflict has festered and the European Union has mostly looked away. Libya mattered, if at all, as a playground for terrorism and a source of the migrants disrupting European politics. But with the recent involvement of Russia and Turkey on opposite sides of a nasty civil war, adding to the meddling of other neighbors, Europe has suddenly woken to the implications of a new Great Game, this time in North Africa, that is rapidly destabilizing its backyard. Belatedly, the Continent is paying attention. On Sunday, after months of effort, Germany and the United Nations will gather most of the main actors to try to at least bring a sustained halt to the fighting and get outside powers to give Libyans the space to attempt to find some kind of political reconciliation. The resolution passed by the Punjab government further said that the CAA is aimed at distinguishing between illegal migrants on the basis of religion, which is not permissible under the Constitution that guarantees the right to equality and equal protection of the laws to all persons. The Congress-led government in Punjab passed a resolution in the state Assembly on Friday demanding the scrapping of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). State minister Brahm Mohindra moved the resolution against the CAA on the second day of the two-day special Assembly session. "The CAA enacted by Parliament has caused countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country. The state of Punjab also witnessed protests against this legislation, which were peaceful and involved all segments of our society," Mohindra said while reading out the resolution. The resolution said that the amended law on citizenship seeks to negate the very secular fabric on which the Constitution of India is based. "It is divisive and stands for everything opposed to a free and fair democracy, which must enshrine equality for all. Alongside the religion-based discrimination in granting citizenship, it is apprehended that the CAA is also likely to endanger the linguistic and cultural identity of some sections of our people. CAA also envisages cancellation of the registration of Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders, if they violate any law," the resolution said. It further said that the CAA is aimed at distinguishing between illegal migrants on the basis of religion, which is not permissible under the Constitution that guarantees the right to equality and equal protection of the laws to all persons. The ideology behind the CAA is "inherently discriminatory and as far away as it can be from being a humanitarian measure," the resolution alleged. "In the backdrop of these facts, it is evident that the CAA violates the secular identity of India, which is basic feature of our Constitution, therefore, the House resolves to urge the Government of India to repeal the CAA to avoid any discrimination on the basis of religion in granting citizenship and to ensure equality before law for all religious groups in India. "Given the apprehensions about National Register of Citizens and that the National Population Register is a prelude to the NRC designed to deprive a section of persons from citizenship of India and implement CAA, this House further resolves that Central government should amend the forms/documentation associated with the NPR to allay such apprehension in the minds of the people and only thereafter undertake work of enumeration under NPR," the resolution said. Punjab became the second state after Kerala to take such a step. The Kerala Assembly on 31 December, 2019 had passed a resolution demanding scrapping of the controversial CAA. Furthermore, chief ministers of non-BJP ruled states like Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal have announced that they would not implement CAA. But Left-ruled Kerala was the first to take the legislature route to register its opposition to the law. Setting aside their political differences, the ruling CPM-led LDF and Opposition Congress headed UDF, once again came together to launch a joint fight against the Centre on the CAA, which has seen unprecedented protests all over the country. While all the members of two fronts unanimously supported the resolution at the special session and vehemently criticised the central government, the lone BJP MLA in the 140-member house opposed the resolution, terming it as "illegal and unconstitutional." Slamming the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Thursday criticised it for challenging the CAA before the Supreme Court and said that "common courtesy demanded that prior permission" should have been taken from him. With inputs from agencies 5000 feral camels were killed as part of a massive cull in South Australia - officials confirmed this on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. This was done as an urgent response to threats because of the rise in the number of feral camels and drought conditions. Australia says killing thousands of camels from helicopters is practically the best and most "humane" way to check their numbers to protect interests of Aboriginal communities and native species. #camels #Australia #animallawreformhttps://t.co/HS9BK2o0aq pic.twitter.com/4bXjwFheRY Animal Law Reform (@AnimalLawReform) January 14, 2020 This move got a lot of criticism across the globe, to which the APY General Manager Richard King said The population of non-native camels had exploded in recent years and were causing significant damage to infrastructure and native vegetation, danger to families and communities. AFP King also added, "We appreciate the concerns of animal rights activists, but there is significant misinformation about the realities of life for non-native feral animals, in what is among the most arid and remote places on Earth. APY is a large area which is sparsely populated in the remote area of South Australia. The APY also claims that the camel cull operation was a last resort measure. "As custodians of the land, we need to deal with an introduced pest in a way that protects valuable water supplies for communities and puts the lives of everyone, including our young children, the elderly, and native flora and fauna first, said King. Turkeys Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) suggested Australia send the meat of the camels to countries where the needs are very high. Australia's condition is getting worse: More than 1 billion birds, reptiles and mammals may have been killed by the fires sweeping across Australia, according to a new estimate from the University of Sydney.#Animallawreformhttps://t.co/Ifsx4XQVHL pic.twitter.com/J8wCstnJiG Animal Law Reform (@AnimalLawReform) January 12, 2020 Australia has faced intense bushfires which have ravaged parts of the country - vast areas of land and grass have been badly affected, while wildlife estimates claim nearly a million animals have died because of the same. The fires have left at least 25 people dead since September, and more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed. The eastern and southern sides of the country have been the worst affected. Australia has always had fires at this time of the year, but they are a lot worse than normal this season. The country has become a a lot hotter over the past decade and is expected to continue doing so. (@FahadShabbir) The small island nations of the Caribbean, which are most vulnerable to the dangers of climate change, are on track to exceed their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets under the Paris Agreement, Wilfred Arthur Abrahams, the Barbados minister of energy and water resources, told Sputnik in an interview ABU DHABI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) The small island nations of the Caribbean, which are most vulnerable to the dangers of climate change, are on track to exceed their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets under the Paris Agreement, Wilfred Arthur Abrahams, the Barbados minister of energy and water resources, told Sputnik in an interview. The NDCs, the post-2020 climate actions outlined and communicated by each party to the accord, aim to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. "Most Caribbean territories are probably going to exceed their Paris climate agreement commitments, because for us it is a matter of necessity. We are the affected ones. Look at what happened in the Bahamas [after Hurricane Dorian] the other day. With one storm you can wipe off the entire country. You can put everyone out of work, out of housing, you can eventually force the abandonment of the country. For us, the Paris thresholds are a bit low. We would like to see the world step up [its commitments]," Abrahams said. The minister went on to slam the most polluting countries for their unimpressive commitments under the Paris climate deal. "The big industrial countries, the big polluters are hiding behind very low thresholds and are not doing what is necessary. We need to be moving as a global community toward the elimination of fossil fuel-based generation electricity," the minister added. While the 2015 Paris Agreement was designed as a collective treaty, individual countries, especially big economies with sizable carbon footprints, might fail to implement their pledges, which could, in turn, derail the deal's key premise. The agreement ambitiously seeks to bring all nations into the common cause of combating climate change and keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) ideally by 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The deal has no compliance mechanism. The United States, one of the biggest economies and the country responsible for nearly 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, gave official notice to the United Nations of its withdrawal from the Paris accord in November. TORONTOA spring black bear hunt could soon be a permanent annual event in Ontario again, the provincial government suggested Friday as it launched a public consultation on the idea. The move would mark a form of departure for the Progressive Conservative government by seeing it formalize a pilot project initiated by the Liberals in 2014, while reversing a position struck by a previous Conservative regime more than two decades earlier. Natural Resources Minister John Yakabuski described the move as a boon for the provinces economy and tourism sector. We are listening to the concerns of northern Ontarians and the tourism industry that an ongoing pilot spring season creates economic uncertainty, Yakabuski said in a statement. A regular, monitored spring bear hunting season would enable tourism outfitters and camp owners to better plan their operations for the entire year, while also allowing hunters to better plan their activities and support local businesses. The spring black bear hunt has been a testy political issue since 1999, when the government led by Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris cancelled the event. That move was prompted by concern for cubs left orphaned when hunters inadvertently shot their mothers. Pro-hunting organizations began calling for its reinstatement almost immediately, citing an increase in the number of nuisance bear complaints among their reasons. The Liberal government that took office in 2003 and held power for the next 15 years countered that the spike in complaints was the result of a government education program dubbed Bear Wise, which urged Ontario residents to report any problematic encounters with the animals. Nonetheless, the Liberals partially reversed the decision in 2014 by re-establishing a spring hunting season as a pilot project. The hunt went ahead in every subsequent year, but supporters argued the pilot designation kept its status in flux and put a damper on the outfitting and tourism industry. One of those supporters, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, was quick to praise Fridays announcement. The spring bear hunt was always a sustainable wildlife management activity, said federation wildlife biologist Keith Munro. Nothing has changed in that regard since it was cancelled and todays proposal is a final step toward correcting a long-standing mistake. In our view, its long overdue. Yakabuski said all existing animal protections in place during the recent pilot projects would remain in effect under the new proposed rules, including an outright ban on killing bear cubs or mothers with their young during the spring. For Camille Labchuk, Executive Director of advocacy organization Animal Justice, such measures dont offer meaningful protection. She said hunters struggle to distinguish between male and female bears even at close range, adding that challenge all but ensures the issue that prompted the cancellation in the first place is bound to surface again. This is a death warrant for innocent baby bear cubs who will be orphaned and die when their mothers are gunned down by hunters after emerging from hibernation in the spring, she said. Its deeply disappointing that the current government has so little regard for the majestic creatures with whom we share this province. Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner sounded similar alarms about the proposal, calling the governments wildlife conservation record spotty and urging a broad-based approach to the public consultation process. Any decision to reinstate a permanent spring hunt must be based on science, he said in a statement. Hunting of any species cannot be driven purely by economic interests and should only be considered if the population is healthy. Consultations must include First Nations, scientists, and conservationists. The governments proposal also includes tightening commercial guide licensing requirements and shortening the hunting season on the Bruce Peninsula, where the Tories say the provinces otherwise healthy bear population is more precarious. Members of the public can weigh in on the potential changes by submitting feedback on the Environmental Registry of Ontario until Feb. 18. A decade ago, after the 2008 global financial crisis, China seemed to save its economy by decoupling it from the rest of the worlds with a massive domestic investment program. Today, it is progress on the trade war with the United States, or the recoupling of Chinas economy with those of other countries, that is seen as the way for it to regain momentum. But to think in these terms is to miss the main point: The trade war has merely compounded an economic slowdown in China that is substantially of the countrys own making. The deceleration is serious. In 2018, Chinas gross domestic product grew by about 6.5 percent, the lowest rate since 1990. And part of the slowdown is a predictable result of deliberate government decisions, in particular policies that favor the state sector at the expense of the private sector even though the state sector is woefully inefficient, whereas the private sector has long been the countrys growth engine. The most striking evidence, documented by the Peterson Institute of International Economics in October, is the drop in credit to the private sector and the rise in credit to the state sector in recent years. The largest banks in China are state-owned and hew closely to government command. In 2013, 35 percent of bank credit to nonfinancial enterprises went to the state companies and 57 percent to private companies; in 2014, 60 percent went to the state sector, and only 34 percent to the private sector. (The rest went to enterprises with foreign or mixed ownership.) By 2016, the distribution was even more skewed: with 83 percent of credit going to state-owned or statecontrolled companies, and just 11 percent to private firms. (According to the Peterson report, 2016 is the last year for which official data are available.) 17 January 2020 Volta Finance Limited (VTA / VTAS) Update Statement regarding AGM voting Information disclosed in accordance with provision 1.D.4 of the 2018 UK Code of Corporate Governance and principle 5.2.4 of the 2019 AIC Code of Corporate Governance. Volta Finance Limited (the "Company") announced "Results of the Thirteenth Annual General Meeting" on 6 December 2019 and noted the votes against the resolutions to approve the re-election of the directors, Graham Harrison, Stephen Le Page, Paul Meader, Atosa Moini and Paul Varotsis, contained in resolutions 4 to 8 inclusively. The votes against each resolution equated to 37.05% of the total voted by proxy. The Board, through the Company's corporate broker, has sought to engage with the dissenting shareholders to understand their concerns. Unfortunately, despite multiple efforts, the Board and its adviser have been unsuccessful to date in gaining any response. The Board invites the dissenting shareholders to engage, either directly through the Chairman or Senior Independent Director or through the corporate broker, so that the directors may seek to address the dissenting shareholders' concerns. The Chairman and Senior Independent Director may be contacted at guernsey.bp2s.volta.cosec@bnpparibas.com . For further information, please contact: Company Secretary and Portfolio Administrator BNP Paribas Securities Services S.C.A, Guernsey Branch guernsey.bp2s.volta.cosec@bnpparibas.com +44 (0) 1481 750 853 Corporate Broker Cenkos Securities plc Robert Naylor Andrew Worne +44 (0) 20 7397 8900 When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they were "stepping back" from their duties as senior royals, it triggered a number of interesting reactions on the US side of the pond. Some Americans lifted their noses in the air and said, "We fought a revolution not to have to pay attention to these people. Not interested." (Of course, these were the same folks who kept commenting on social media about how "not interested" they were when no one asked for their opinion in the first place.) Harry and Meghan: Forging their own path. Credit:Getty Images Some people argued whether Harry was a henpecked husband who should not let his commoner wife drive a wedge between him and the rest of the Windsors, while others took Meghan's side and argued that she had been unfairly treated by those stuffy old Brits and had every right to pen her own Declaration of Independence. But there was one reaction which troubled me, because it was both predictable, and designed to put people on the defensive: calling all critics of the duchess racist. Former bosses of a West Perth-based live export company charged after 2400 sheep died on a ship bound for the Middle East have pleaded not guilty to a list of animal cruelty charges. Former Emmanuel Exports directors Graham Daws and Michael Stanton pledged their innocence in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday to 16 charges each of being a person who was cruel to an animal. The shocking footage emerged showing sheep dying in horrific conditions on a ship to the Middle East in August 2017. Credit:Animals Australia As the ex-board members entered their pleas, a group of anti-live export activists campaigned outside the courthouse with pickets in an effort to remind people of the reality of live export with hundreds of animals dying per voyage. Animal Justice Party member Jenhi Thomas-Wurth said she wanted to bear witness to the prosecution of Mr Daws and Mr Stanton and planned to have a presence on Hay Street throughout their trials. [January 16, 2020] doeLEGAL, Inc. Named as Finalist in 2020 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service WILMINGTON, Del., Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- doeLEGAL, Inc. was named a Finalist today in the Inbound Marketing Program of the Year category in the 14th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and will ultimately be a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award winner in the program. The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes several of the world's leading business awards shows, including the prestigious International Business Awards and the Stevie Awards for Great Employers. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie placements from among the Finalists will be revealed during a gala banquet on Friday, February 28, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. More than 600 professionals from across the globe are expected to attend. More than 2,600 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry, in 48 nations, were evaluated in this year's competition. Finalists were determined by the average scores of more than 180 professionals worldwide, working in seven specialized judging committees. Entries were considered in more than 90 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; more than 60 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Business Development Executive of the Year to Sales Department of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers. doeLEGAL has demonstrated its transformation into an outwardly focused legal technology provider, most notably in their marketing efforts. Integrating information from their other business teams, they work together to ensure their messages resonate with the target audience and answer their needs. Their last 18-month campaign proved the benefits of their approach to the markets they serve by increasing overall market penetration, inbound traffic, and sales opportunities more so than ay other time in their 49-year history. Maggie Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards, commented, "Every Finalist nominee should be proud of the work they did over the past 18 months to be recognized by the judges. They should also be proud of how well they effectively communicated those achievements to the judges. We look forward to recognizing them all with Gold Stevie Award trophies and Silver and Bronze Stevie medals in Las Vegas on February 28." "Being recognized as a finalist in this year's Stevie Awards demonstrates the strides forward doeLEGAL is making by aligning our sales and marketing efforts. The results prove the benefits of our team effort to create dynamic campaigns that meet the evolving needs of our unique markets," said Scott Miller, director of marketing for doeLEGAL. Details about the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of Finalists in all categories are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales. About doeLEGAL An enterprise-level provider of legal operations tools and elevated support that gives corporate legal departments and law firms anytime, anywhere control over cases and costs to inform decision making and drive more successful outcomes. Acting as a business partner, not a vendor, allows clients to gain valuable insights from a leader in legal technology. doeLEGAL is privately held, located in Wilmington, DE. Visit www.doelegal.com for information on Enterprise Legal Management and eDiscovery technology. Contact Scott Miller for more information at 302-798-7500. About The Stevie Awards Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 nominations each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com. Sponsors of the 14th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include HCL Technologies, Sales Partnerships, Inc. and ValueSelling Associates, Inc. Related Images doelegal-logo.png doeLEGAL logo doeLEGAL, ASCENT & eDiscovery technology provider. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/doelegal-inc-named-as-finalist-in-2020-stevie-awards-for-sales--customer-service-300988443.html SOURCE doeLEGAL, Inc. [ Back To SIP Trunking Home's Homepage ] | By Patricia Fanning The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) are partnering to become Marylands first age-friendly universities. They join 58 institutions worldwide that make up the Age-Friendly University (AFU) Global Network, led by Dublin City University in Ireland. Universities earn the age-friendly designation by committing to 10 guiding principles related to opportunities and resources that support active and healthy aging. The initiative is inspired by the World Health Organizations age-friendly cities movement. Members of the steering committee that guides the Age-Friendly University (AFU) partnership between the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County gather with leaders of UMB, UMBC, and the University System of Maryland and Amy Berman, RN, LHD, FAAN (fifth from left), program officer of the John A. Hartford Foundation, which supports the AFU concept. What I love about the UMB and UMBC connection is that we draw many people together for a greater good. This is an interdisciplinary journey to address aging through a policy, business management, life sciences, entrepreneurship, and technology lens, UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski, PhD, said at a kickoff event for the partnership. This is about mindset, he continued. It is a challenge that we face in our society to rethink how we think about aging and pull people into the work to listen to those perspectives. The more we grapple with these challenges, the more joy we will have in our societies. UMB Interim President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, said, This worthy endeavor amplifies the many ways our institutions work separately and in collaboration to support healthy aging. For example, UMB is developing an Academy of Lifelong Learning and, together, UMBC and UMB offer a gerontology doctoral program. The launch event included representatives from UMBCs Erickson School of Aging Studies and the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging at UMBs School of Pharmacy (UMSOP), as well as UMBs campus-wide Center for Research on Aging. Joining Hrabowski and Jarrell were Jay A. Perman, MD, who was then UMB president and is now chancellor of the University System of Maryland (USM), and Robert L. Caret, PhD, who was then USM chancellor. Members of the UMBC-UMB steering committee for this project also participated in the Nov. 21 announcement. These include faculty, staff, and student ambassadors who will help move the work forward on each campus. (View a photo gallery on Facebook.) UMBC and UMB are the first universities in Maryland to receive the AFU distinction. Each is positioned to implement the 10 principles of the program in unique ways. Together, the institutions offer the doctoral program in gerontology through UMBs Graduate Program in Life Sciences and UMBCs Center for Aging Studies. UMBC's Erickson School of Aging Studies also offers bachelors and masters degrees and certificate programs educating the next generation of leaders in the business of longevity. At UMB, students and faculty focus on the needs of older adults through medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work, and other fields. Nicole Brandt, PharmD, MBA, executive director of the Lamy Center and a professor of pharmacy practice and science at UMSOP, says, UMB, with its six professional schools and Graduate School, addresses real-world health and social issues affecting the human condition and has a strong history of teaching, research, and service activities related to aging. The principles of an Age-Friendly University also are embodied through the activities of UMB centers such as the Center for Research on Aging, based at the UM School of Medicine; the Biology and Behavior Across the Lifespan Organized Research Center, based at the UM School of Nursing; the interdisciplinary Geriatrics and Gerontology Education and Research Program, and the Lamy Center. UMBs interprofessional education efforts, such as the Aging in Place program and Stepping On fall prevention program, will continue to engage older residents of West Baltimore while also educating the future workforce. Being part of the Age-Friendly Global University Network is the perfect opportunity for UMBC and the state of Maryland to put a fresh lens on how society perceives aging in a population that is growing at rates we have never seen before, says Dana Bradley, PhD, FGSA, FAGHE, dean of UMBCs Erickson School of Aging Studies. I am excited to be at the forefront of preparing students to develop innovative products and services across all industries in the longevity economy, Bradley adds. Together, we can support a healthier and stronger society. The Escambia County Sheriffs Department (Fla.) made an arrest on a man who allegedly kidnapped and robbed an ex-coworker before leaving them for dead near the state line. According to Escambia County (Fla.) deputies, Robert Rodriguez, 40 of Pensacola, Florida, kidnapped his ex-coworker from their residence at the 900 block of Crystal Springs Avenue in Pensacola, Florida. Rodriguez then drove the male victim to a Regions Bank ATM where he forced him to take money out their bank account. Rodriguez then drove the victim to Champion Mill Road in Seminole, AL and shot him, leaving him in a ditch, deputies say. Deputies located Rodriguezs vehicle traveling westbound on Michigan Avenue. After deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop, Rodriguez fled the scene. A pursuit began, ending with police capturing Rodriguez off Fairfield Drive near Chesterfield Road in Pensacola, Florida. Deputies found a rifle inside of his vehicle. Rodriguez was transported to a local hospital. Rodriguez was charged with kidnapping, grand theft of a motor vehicle, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer at a high rate of speed. Escambia County Sheriffs Office (Fla.) and Baldwin County Sheriffs Office are both currently investigating the case. New Delhi : Proposed Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop project, deemed as the worlds fastest transportation system, will not be implemented in Maharashtra before successful trial abroad, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Friday. Pawar said that the state government will consider the futuristic transport system only after it is proved to be practicable in other countries. "Hyperloops have never been constructed anywhere in the world until now, so let this be tried somewhere else before us. Once it is successful, then we can think of it," Pawar said after conducting a review meeting with officials in Pune. The earlier BJP-led government had announced that the Hyperloop would be built between Pune and Mumbai which will reduce the travel time between the two cities drastically. When asked about the project, Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, said it has not been implemented anywhere in the world yet. "Let it happen somewhere else. Let it become successful for at least a 10 km distance somewhere abroad," he said. Asked if the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in the state was thinking of scrapping the project, Pawar said he did not say so. We do not have the capacity to experiment with Hyperloop. We will concentrate on other modes of transport and in the meantime, if that technology develops more with successful trials abroad, we can think about it, he said. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk mentioned the Hyperloop concept in 2012. It contemplates a system of sealed tubes through which a pod may travel free of air resistance at great speeds. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. (Support Free Thought) - A bill in New Jersey that wouldve stripped parents and children of their right to informed consent by allowing them to object to mandatory vaccinations failed on Monday. Much to the chagrin of the tyrants who claim ownership over the bodies of others, the bill that would have eliminated religious exemptions to mandatory vaccinations failed to pass the New Jersey state legislature. According to reports, the bill was canceled in the Senate before the vote because lawmakers knew they lacked the passing votes. The proponents of the bill vowed to reintroduce it on Tuesday but this gives opponents a new time frame on the public hearing and voting process. The vaccine bill will not get a vote today. But top lawmakers have vowed to vote on it next legislative session. https://t.co/OZFRdW8r6d Brent Johnson (@johnsb01) January 13, 2020 The victory for medical freedom was an emotional and dramatic one as thousands of pro-freedom protesters showed up at the Statehouse to voice their concern over the government removing their right to informed consent. Naturally, those who want to remove your freedom of choice and sovereignty over your own body and force you to take an injection even if it goes against everything you believe in, were furious. They even vowed war. Were ready to go to war over this, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D), told reporters Monday, according to NJ.com. We will pass this bill. This is about public health. Its about protecting people. Others, who dont agree with the government forcing people to undergo medical procedures against their will, disagreed. Sue Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice, told NJ.com this was a victory for both religious and medical freedoms in the state. There is a lot of work to be done now to formulate legislation that will truly improve public health, Collins said. This bill would not have achieved that and would have stripped fundamental rights. The battle over this bill began last year when the United States saw a rise in measles cases across the country. While New Jersey saw just 19 cases, ground zero was just to the north of them. More than 70 percent of the 1,282 cases in the nation occurred, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Rockland County, NY and New York City. In 61 of these cases, patients were hospitalized with complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis, the CDC said. There were zero deaths. Since the beginning of 2019, the Free Thought Project has been reporting on the hysteria associated with the measles outbreak and the subsequent loss of liberties and police state crackdown thats ensued. Weve seen children banned from public spaces, mandatory vaccinations enforced with police action, and a pro-vaccine push in the mainstream media like weve never seen before. In May, the pro-mandatory vaccine push reached a new level, as the Washington Post published an article calling for the arrest of those who choose not to vaccinate. In August, we reported on the inevitable result of said hysteria and it came in the form of massive pharmaceutical industry profits and a loss of freedom. The pharmaceutical giant Merck said consumer demand for its measles vaccine skyrocketed thanks to the outbreak which helped boost sales in its second quarter. Merck Chief Commercial Officer Frank Clyburn even mentioned the coverage in the news specifically. There was some buying to the private sector within the U.S. this quarter based on some of the measles outbreaks that you read in the news, Clyburn said in a post-earnings conference call with investors. And we do believe that well continue to see growth for our pediatric vaccines going forward. The failure of this bill in New Jersey is a massive win in a time when there are very few wins for medical freedom. To reiterate once more, no one here is advocating antivaxxer information. TFTP is simply questioning the policy of the government forcing medical procedures on citizens without their consent and advocating for fines and arrests of those who refuse. If you truly value freedom, you should also stand against forcing someone to inject something into their body that they do not want. The only other option is tyranny. The suspected murder of a 21-year old woman at Ahenema Kokoben new site in Kumasi has added to a number of mysterious deaths, especially women in the city. The body of a former student of Saint Louis Senior High School, Augustina Tindanzor, was found Wednesday morning after she left home for work and never returned. When the father's finances could not support Augustina after she completed SHS in 2016, she sought solace in a drug shop business through the benevolence of the shop owner who took her as a daughter. She will go to the mistress' house and pass the night there anytime she closes from shop late. But as fate would have it, she decided to spend the night at her father's home where she had taken the role of 'wife' and daughter, taking care of her siblings after the demise of her mum about a year ago despite closing from work late at 10 p.m. Augustina Tindanzor then a student at St. Louis SHS, Kumasi Her dressing bag and body was found at a spot closer to the family home, about 500 meters away. Her traumatised father, Azumah Tindanzor, want neighbours to assist police to trace the unknown killers of his only daughter. "My daughters death is painful. I am devastated. What did I do wrong to suffer such fate? I could have sacrificed my life for her," he told Nhyira FM in Kumasi. According to him, he thought the shop attendant of a drug shop had gone to spend the night with the proprietor only to discover she had been killed. Augustinas bag was first found on the blocks followed by her body under the tree Residents found her dressing bag abandoned on packed concrete blocks before the body was found in a nearby bush. Mr. Tindanzor describes his daughters death as a big loss to the family. "I thought she was the one to take care of my two boys. She was everything to me; having taken the place of her late mum who died last year. She was my daughter and wife," he sobbed. Police at Ahenema Kokoben say no-one has been arrested in connection with the murder as they begin investigations. The incident comes just about a week after a Parliamentary hopeful for Subin constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Linford Owuo, was found dead in his room. The Ashanti Regional Security Council has since last year been investigating the deaths of at least, five women, suspected to have been killed in various parts of the city. Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin on Friday said all S-400 air defence missile systems will be delivered to India by 2025. The production of S-400 missiles to be delivered to India has started, he said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Russia on March 22 and March 23 to attend a meeting of the Russia-Indian-China trilateral. The S-400, an upgraded version of the S-300, had previously only been available to the Russian defence forces. It is manufactured by Almaz-Antey and has been in service in Russia since 2007. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haidee Todora, director of schools for Rochester Catholic Schools, is stepping down. Todora joined RCS in June 2018. In a statement about the resignation, Marcia Vettel, co-chairwoman of the Rochester Catholic Schools Board of Trustees, thanked Todora for her service. The statement also leaves the vacancy of the position unclear, indicating the board will assess the position and see how the job aligns with RCS' current needs and future goals. Todora came from St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School in Port Arthur, Texas, where she had been principal since 2011. At Port Arthur, she helped manage disaster-recovery and reconstruction efforts in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey devastated her school and community. The Supreme Court said Friday it will decide ahead of the 2020 election whether presidential electors are bound to support the popular vote winner in their states or can opt for someone else. Advocates for the court's intervention say the issue needs urgent resolution in an era of intense political polarization and the prospect of a razor-thin margin in a presidential election, although so-called faithless electors have been a footnote so far in American history. The justices will hear arguments in April and should issue a decision by late June. About 30 states require presidential electors to vote for the popular vote winner, and electors almost always do so anyway. Pressure campaign: In 2016, some anti-Trump activists wanted electors to either back Hillary Clinton in Donald Trump states, or write in a 'unity candidate' and a record number of electors went 'faithless' Faithless voter: Micheal Baca was removed as a Colorado elector when he tried to vote for John Kasich in a write-in. Now he is at the center of a Supreme Court case which could rock the 2020 election The Electoral College system is established in the Constitution. When voters cast a ballot for president, they are actually choosing members of the Electoral College, called electors, who are pledged to that presidential candidate. The electors then choose the president. It takes 270 votes to win. The elector at the center of the case, Micheal Baca, was part of a group known as 'Hamilton electors' who tried to convince electors who were pledged to Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to unite behind a consensus candidate to deny Trump the presidency. Calls for electors to go 'faithless' were made also made by anti-Trump campaigners who wanted the college to reflect the popular vote, which would have given Clinton a clear victory. Almost five million people signed a petition calling on the electoral college to used their apparent right to be 'faithless' and put Clinton in the White House. After a flurry of filings in state and federal courts, the electors met on Dec. 19, 2016, and Baca crossed out Clinton's name on his ballot and wrote in John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio who also ran for president. Then-Secretary of State Wayne Williams refused to count the vote and removed Baca as an elector. He replaced him with another elector who voted for Clinton. The federal appeals court in Denver ruled that electors can vote as they please, rejecting arguments that they must choose the popular vote winner. 'The state does not possess countervailing authority to remove an elector and to cancel his vote in response to the exercise of that Constitutional right,' the ruling said. That ruling applies only to Colorado and five other states in the 10th Circuit: Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming. But in Washington, the state Supreme Court upheld a $1,000 fine against the three electors there and rejected their claims. Another big decision: The Supreme Court will decide on whether electors can go 'faithless' and decide the presidency for themselves regardless of the popular vote In all, there were 10 faithless electors in 2016, including a fourth in Washington, a Democratic elector in Hawaii and two Republican electors in Texas. In addition, Democratic electors who said they would not vote for Clinton were replaced in Maine and Minnesota. In asking the Supreme Court to rule that states can require electors to vote for the state winner, Colorado urged the justices to decide the case in the next few months, 'not in the heat of a close presidential election.' Colorado officials welcomed the court's intervention. 'Unelected and unaccountable presidential electors should not be allowed to decide the presidential election without regard to voters' choices and state law,' Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said. The three Washington electors, while contending they should be free to vote their conscience, also said the court should avoid the 'dangerous possibility' of having to resolve the issue following the 2020 vote. 'We are glad the Supreme Court has recognized the paramount importance of clearly determining the rules of the road for presidential electors for the upcoming election and all future elections,' Lawrence Lessig, the lawyer for the electors, 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. The United Kingdom has launched a fresh bid to confiscate proceeds of loot in the 117 million worth of properties linked to James ... The United Kingdom has launched a fresh bid to confiscate proceeds of loot in the 117 million worth of properties linked to James Ibori, former governor of Delta state. In 2012, a UK court sentenced Ibori who governed Delta from 1999 to 2007 to prison after convicting him of fraud and money laundering. The former governor ended his jail term in 2016 and returned to Nigeria the following year. In the course of his jail term, British prosecutors made the first attempt to confiscate his assets said to be proceeds of crime but failed as a result of unresolved legal issues. Subsequent attempts to seize the properties also hit the rock even as Iboris appeal against his conviction was unsuccessful. However, Reuters is reporting that the process to confiscate the properties was re-launched in court on Thursday. Jonathan Kinnear, a British prosecutor, was said to have listed the assets UK is seeking to seize from the former governor and return to Nigerian public funds. Kinnear was quoted to have said the total value of the known proceeds of his (Iboris) crimes is 117 million (equivalent of about N55.4 billion) but that only a portion of that sum is likely to be recoverable. In 2018, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said Ibori is fighting tooth and nail to stall the confiscation of those assets. In an edition of its monthly media publication, EFCC ALERT, the anti-graft agency had said Ibori is on a campaign of calumny targeted at UK police officers in retaliation of his conviction. The report, written by Segun Adeoye, an assistant editor of the publication, also accused him of employing media propaganda to paint himself as a victim of persecution. Online scammers stole about $2.3 million from a Texas school district in an email phishing scam, officials said. The Manor Independent School District in Manor, Texas, about 15 miles southwest of Austin, reported the incident and said the FBI is investigating. "The investigation is still ongoing" and there were "strong leads in the case" as of Jan. 10, the district said in a statement. The Manor Police Department is also investigating. A school official told CBS Austin that the scammers used the information they stole to pull off three separate fraudulent transactions. The district, which runs eight elementary school campuses, did not release additional details on the incident. Take a good look at a phishing e-mail from a hacker Phishing is an illegal practice in which scammers send emails or texts in hopes of getting unsuspecting people to click on links or open attachments, thus allowing the scammers to gain control of people's personal information. Phishing scams: How to get avoid getting duped Here are tips on how to spot and avoid falling prey to phishing: 1. Be wary of emails asking you to click on a link. Don't click unless you've verified it's safe. 2. Companies and governments won't ask for your password in an email. Never send your personal information this way. 3. Look carefully at the email address. If there's a typo, an unusually informal address or a lookalike URL, assume it could be phishing. 4. If in doubt, find an official number online and call to verify the email is authentic. If you're not sure if your bank or credit card company are emailing, for example, conduct a separate search to find their phone number, call it and speak with someone to confirm the legitimacy of the email. 5. Use security software on your computer. 6. Keep smartphone software up to date. 7. Use multi-factor authentication on your phone. For example, this may require entering a password and a code sent to your phone to access your account. More tips from the Federal Trade Commission and information on how to report phishing attempts. Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Email phishing scam: Texas school district reports $2.3M loss The third Senate impeachment trial of a US president in history convened on Thursday with the reading of the impeachment articles against President Donald Trump and the swearing in of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the senators who will decide whether Trump should be removed from office. The Senate conducted its ceremonial functions of the impeachment trial on Thursday before the actual arguments will get underway next Tuesday. House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and the lead impeachment manager, read the articles aloud in the chamber while senators looked on from their desks. LIVE UPDATES: The latest on President Trump's impeachment Roberts was sworn in shortly several hours later. After Roberts swore in the senators, each present member of the chamber came forward and signed the oath book on the floor of the Senate. The outcome of the trial is all but determined, as the two-thirds vote required to remove the President would need 20 Republican senators to break ranks. But that doesn't mean the trial itself won't have twists and turns and potentially some surprises as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell navigates the demands of his Senate conference, pressures from Democrats and the whims of Trump and his Twitter account. Already this week, indicted Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas has upended the impeachment conversation by providing the House Intelligence Committee with a trove of evidence about his work with Giuliani's efforts to oust former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch last spring and then pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. And the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, said Thursday that the Trump administration violated the law when it withheld Ukraine security aid that Congress has appropriated. That evidence is likely to be incorporated into the House Democratic case against the President, which they will begin presenting next Tuesday when the substance of the trial gets underway. Democrats charge that Trump withheld the security aid and a White House meeting from Ukraine while pushing for an investigation into the Bidens. On Thursday, the Senate dispensed with the ceremonial functions of the impeachment trial. The House impeachment managers began the proceedings by reading aloud the two articles of impeachment on the floor of the Senate. It was the second time they took the articles from the House to the Senate the managers took the same walk on Wednesday to notify the Senate of the articles, in an odd bit of ceremonial flair that comes with an impeachment trial of the President. The Senate officially issued a summons to the President after senators were sworn in to notify him of the trial, and McConnell set up a series of deadlines for trial briefs to be filed by both the House impeachment managers and the President's legal team. The trial is set to resume on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET, McConnell said, at which point the Senate is likely to take up a resolution setting the rules of the trial. Then arguments will get underway. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the Parnas allegations and the GAO report 'strengthen our push' for witnesses and documents in the trial. He added that 'no witnesses would be a dramatic break with precedent.' During his news conference, Schumer said he expects votes on Tuesday to try to force Republicans to take a position on witnesses. But he said he wouldn't know for sure until he sees McConnell's organizing resolution. Asked if he would be in communication with House impeachment managers and Pelosi as they craft their strategy, Schumer acknowledged that he would confer with them but argued it was different from McConnell taking cues from Trump. 'We are taking our cues from nobody,' Schumer said. One senator, Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe, was not present Thursday and not sworn in. Inhofe spokeswoman Leacy Burke said he was in Oklahoma with a family member facing a medical issue, and planned to return to Washington to be sworn in for the trial on Tuesday. The trial is only beginning this week after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi withheld the formal sending of the articles for four weeks while Democrats pushed for Republicans to agree to calling witnesses and obtaining new documents for the trial. Pelosi said at her weekly press conference Thursday that Senate Republicans are 'afraid of the truth,' when asked what her response is to Senate Republicans who say they shouldn't have to consider new evidence like the Parnas material because it wasn't included in the House investigation. 'They don't want to see documents, they don't want to hear from eyewitnesses,' Pelosi said. 'They want to ignore anything new that comes up.' McConnell has rejected the Democratic demands, saying the question of witnesses should be taken up after the House and the President's legal team make their opening arguments. Republicans are expected to pass the rules to put off the question of witnesses without Democratic votes. McConnell on Thursday criticized Pelosi on the Senate floor for distributing souvenir pens while signing the impeachment articles on Wednesday. 'Nothing says seriousness and sobriety like handing out souvenirs, as though this were a happy bill-signing instead of the gravest process in our Constitution,' he said. This story has been updated with additional developments Thursday. US health officials have narrowed their warning against vaping to focus on THC e-cigarettes purchased on the street or handed off from friends and family, and ceased to warn against vaping nicotine for adults. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has confirmed that 82 percent of lung illness occurred in patients who used THC products. Only 14 percent used only nicotine e-cigarettes. Now, the CDC is cleaving the often-linked epidemics of youth vaping and of the lung disease they call EVALI. Although new cases are still being reported, the CDC says that the increases are slowing down and officials are no longer advising that adults who are former or current smothers to avoid e-cigarettes, though they continue to stress that vaping is not safe for teenagers and children. The CDC announced on Thursday that 2,668 people have fallen ill in every US state and 60 people have died in 27 states (red) and DC due to mysterious lung illnesses linked to vaping. But, Friday, officials dropped their warning against e-cig use for adult smokers 'It is also critically important that we continue to do all we can do to protect Americans - particularly young people - from this serious health threat,' warned Dr Robert Redfield, director of the CDC. One of the three reports published in the NEJM on Friday stressed that the lung illnesses continue to be 'strongly-linked' to vitamin E acetate, an oily derivative of the vitamin used to dilute some e-liquids, usually those used in THC products. Nicotine is water soluble, and thus doesn't require oil to create the liquid hated in vaping it. Vitamin E acetate is very 'sticky' and officials think it catches in the lungs air sacs and triggers inflammation seen in EVALI patients. Another CDC study looked into patients with lung illnesses who reported never vaping THC. Demographically, they stood out significantly from the other lung illness victims. They tended to be older than other victims, whose average age was 35. This group tended to be older and comprised of more women. Researchers conducted interviews with 121 such patients and concluded that, despite the large proportion of illnesses that connected to vitamin E acetate in THC vapes, they couldn't wholly rule out nicotine e-cigarettes as a possible trigger for EVALI. The final paper, a commentary piece, made the distinction that vitamin E acetate in THC vapes sold primarily on the black market is the driver behind the illnesses, while sweet flavors and clever ad campaigns for cartridge-based e-cigarettes like Juul are behind the epidemic of youth vaping. Officials still urge Americans to avoid any bootleg vapes or those from 'informal sources' like street dealers, friends and family, and plead that no one add vitamin E acetate to e-cigs. They also recommend that young people sill stay away from all e-cigs, and adults to avoid those with THC in them. But,'Adults using nicotine-containing e-cigarette or vaping products as an alternative to cigarettes should not go back to smoking; they should weigh all available information and consider using FDA-approved smoking cessation medications,' the CDC said in a press release. Sixty people have died in the outbreak of vaping-linked lung illnesses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Thursday. Deaths have been reported in 27 states, but no new states have been added to the list of locations with fatalities. Officials note that they are still investigating additional deaths, so the toll will likely continue to climb. The number of illnesses also continues to swell, but in the last week, only 66 additional cases were reported, suggesting an encouraging slow-down in additional diagnoses. Meanwhile, New Jersey lawmakers have passed a bill to ban flavored e-cigarettes, which Governor Phil Murphy has until January 21 to sign and teenagers and their parents have taken to TikTok to post videos of themselves destroying e-cigarettes. As of Thursday, 2,668 people have been hospitalized with lung illnesses linked to e-cigarettes in every US state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most of the victims are male and under the age of 35, with ages of those who died ranging from 15 to 75. However, last week, Texas officials reported the death of a 15-year-old there. If the death is verified by the CDC, that will be the youngest victim of what health experts have dubbed EVALI to-date. The 60 deaths have been confirmed in 27 states and DC, with Georgia, Illinois and Indiana having the highest number of vaping deaths at five each, as of last week's update, though the new numbers don't specify specific death tolls per state. Four deaths each have been confirmed in California; three deaths each in Massachusetts and Minnesota; and two deaths each confirmed in Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Oregon and Tennessee. Meanwhile, at least one death each has been confirmed in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington, DC. According to the CDC, about 83 percent of people who've fallen ill reported vaping THC, the main psychoactive component in marijuana. By comparison, a mere 13 percent have reported exclusive use of nicotine-containing products. CDC officials say there are 'confident' that vitamin E acetate, a diluting agent used in many THC vaping products, is behind the illnesses. It was detected in 48 of 51 samples of tissues of patients with - what is being called - EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung illness). 'This is a serious clinical condition affecting young people across the country and it's completely preventable,' Dr Anne Schuchat, CDC principal deputy director, said in a press briefing last month. 'It is clear that the outbreak represents a new phenomenon and not a recognition of a common syndrome that had evaded our attention.' While vitamin E is safe as a vitamin pill or to use on the skin, inhaling oily droplets of it can be harmful. It's sticky and stays in the lungs, so much so that Dr James Pirkle of the CDC likened it to honey. Scientists theorized that the oil might be coating the lungs, triggering inflammation and damage. In fact, it causes burns that have been likened to those suffered by soldiers attacked with mustard gas during World War I. Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration's announced a ban on most flavored e-cigarettes in an effort to curb the rise of youth vaping. Only two flavors, menthol and tobacco, are being sold in stores. The CDC has not changed its warning against using these illegitimate products and continues to urge Americans who don't use e-cigarettes not to start. Although the agency says that smokers who have switched to vaping should not return to using combustible cigarettes, the CDC also advises vaping products should 'never be used by youths, young adults or women who are pregnant.' Were a few weeks into Peter Webers season of The Bachelor. And quite frankly, there are plenty of women who havent had their time to shine but hopefully, they all get their shot soon. At this point, there are less than 20 contestants still vying for Webers heart, including Victoria Paul, who is a nurse from Alexandria, Louisiana that could pass as a doppelganger for Bachelor In Paradises Demi Burnett. Who is Victoria Paul from Peter Webers season of The Bachelor? Prior to The Bachelor Season 24 premiere, Chris Harrison revealed a few details about Victoria P. in the Meet the Women broadcast. He described her as a strong, amazing, and independent woman. That said, it seems the 27-year-old had a rough past. And according to the host, Victoria P. raised her sister after her fathers death and her mothers struggles with addiction while trying to cope. Then in The Bachelor premiere on Jan. 6, viewers learned a little bit more about Victoria P. and her family, as Webers contestant was given a brief feature. Growing up, I was my sisters primary caregiver. My dad passed away when I was two and my mom fell into addiction, she said. There were times where my sister and I didnt know where our next meal would come from or didnt have clothes or shoes that would fit. So I would say I had to grow up pretty fast, pretty young. Victoria P. continued: I didnt think that there was hope for my mom and there was. She found sobriety and Im just really proud. Meanwhile, Victoria P. also shared why she loves her job, revealing she is a natural caregiver. I think the most fulfilling thing about being a nurse is being able to help someone who cant help themselves, she said. Now, it appears The Bachelor producers havent exactly touched on Victoria P.s whole story. Aside from her family life and career, the Louisiana native is also one of many pageant queens this season. According to her Bachelor bio, Victoria P. is the former Miss Louisana. She was crowned in 2019 and also made it to the Top 15 at the Miss USA Pageant. So its possible Victoria P. knew Alayah Benavides, the former Miss Texas 2019, before The Bachelor. Victoria Paul gushes over Peter Weber on The Bachelor One glimpse at Victoria P.s Bachelor profile will tell you she is ready to fall head over heels for Weber. Previously, the reality star never gave herself a fair shot at finding love. She has been in one serious relationship that lasted for two years, but his infidelity led to them breaking up after she stumbled upon a video on her exs phone which proved he had been cheating on her, her bio reads. But even so, Victoria P. wants to find a caring and supportive life partner. She wants someone who will be a wonderful father to their kids and will be the rock she never had, the bio continues. She gives the best hugs and is excited to wrap her arms around Peter as soon as she meets him! Victoria Paul from The Bachelor | ABC/Maarten de Boer Meanwhile, on her feature in The Bachelor premiere, Victoria P. was brought to tears when thinking about her potential journey with Weber. Peter just seems so genuine and so true. I can definitely see myself falling for him, she said. So Im really excited about that and Im overwhelmed with emotion because Ive wanted that for so long. And during the Meet the Women broadcast, Harrison confirmed Victoria P. falls hard. [Shes] quick with her emotions and maybe a little quick with the L word this season, he said. Read more: Will Peter Weber Get Engaged? The Bachelor and Chris Harrison Say the Finale Will Break Tradition OTTAWACanada will respect any decision by the Iraqi government to expel foreign troops from the country, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Friday, even as reports suggested the United States was considering sanctions and cuts to military aid should Baghdad give American forces the boot. Speaking to reporters by phone during a visit to the Middle East, where he met with some of the hundreds of Canadian troops participating in the five-year fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Sajjan said Canada wants to continue its military training efforts in Iraq. Yet the minister, whose visit included stops in Jordan and Kuwait, acknowledged that obviously the Iraqi government has concerns and that western allies are listening to those concerns and trying to address them through talks. However, he added: We are there at the request of the Iraqi government. If they were to change that, we do have to respect that. Canadas mission in Iraq has two main elements. One involves about 200 troops who have been training local forces through NATO to fight ISIL. A similar number of special forces have been working separately with Iraqi counter-terrorist units as part of the U.S.-led anti-ISIL coalition. Both elements saw their missions suspended last week, with orders for the troops to hunker down on military bases or, in some cases, relocate to Kuwait, over fears Iran or its proxies would retaliate for the U.S.s having killed Irans most important general, Qassem Soleimani. Iran did fire a volley of ballistic missiles at U.S. and coalition bases in Iraq, including one in Irbil the Canadian special-forces troops have used for years. No serious injuries were reported. While some Canadian troops have since returned to work, others remain on lockdown. Overshadowing everything are questions about whether the Iraqi government will expel all foreign troops. Following Soleimanis death, the Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling for them to leave. While many Sunni and Kurdish parliamentarians boycotted the vote, outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi voiced his own support for the resolution. Abdul-Mahdi, who announced his resignation following mass demonstrations in December but remains in a caretaker role for now, has since said he will leave the decision on whether to allow foreign troops to remain in the country to the next government. The U.S. has pushed back against calls for American and allied troops to leave the country, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that President Donald Trumps administration is considering sanctions and cuts to millions of dollars in military aid if Iraq expels its troops. While discussions with the Iraqis are ongoing, Sajjan said, rest assured that one of the things we have discussed is that we need to continue on this mission because ... even though they do not control territory, they (ISIL) pose a risk in the region. Sajjans visit to the region coincided with the resumption of some Canadian Armed Forces activities in Iraq, including operations by special forces soldiers and supply flights by military transport planes and helicopters. The minister emphasized, however, that the safety of Canadian troops remained the No. 1 priority. He would not comment on whether Canada was given advance warning that Iran planned to fire missiles at the base in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, where Canadian troops were located. Read more about: Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) New York, United States Fri, January 17, 2020 17:04 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32291020 2 Entertainment Harvey-Weinstein,gigi-hadid,film,Hollywood,trial,sexual-abuse,celebrity Free Seven jurors were picked for fallen film producer Harvey Weinstein's rape and sexual assault trial on Thursday as model Gigi Hadid was excused from serving owing to her fame. The prosecution and defense agreed on more than half of the 12 jurors that will decide Weinstein's fate in the high-profile proceedings key to the #MeToo movement. The defense team struck out several young women as the attorneys try to approve jurors whom they think may be more sympathetic to their side of the case. Prosecutors and Weinstein's legal team also need to pick six alternates for the New York trial that is expected to run until March 6. "This trial is not a referendum on the #MeToo movement," Judge James Burke told potential jurors Thursday. "You must decide this case on the evidence," he added. Hadid, 24, was greeted by a crowd of photographers as she strolled into the Manhattan court wearing sunglasses just before 09:00 am (1400 GMT) on the eighth day of jury selection. She left discreetly about ten minutes afterwards, according to police officers outside. US media reported that the prosecution and defense had agreed to dismiss the famous model and Instagram star. Hadid, who has modeled for top fashion brands including Chanel, first appeared for the pre-screening of potential jurors on Monday, adding a fresh celebrity twist to the trial. She told Burke that although she knew Weinstein -- and actress Salma Hayek, who accused the disgraced movie mogul of sexual assault -- she could still be fair and impartial. Read also: Weinstein seeks last minute New York trial delay, change of location Hadid was asked to fill out a questionnaire before being told to return for Thursday's next round of screening. Weinstein, 67, has been accused of sexual assault by more than 80 women, including Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow, since accusations against him ignited the #MeToo movement in October 2017. But he is being tried on charges related to just two. He faces life in prison if found guilty of predatory sexual assault. Intense media coverage of the proceedings has made jury selection an exhausting process. Prosecutors and defense attorneys have questioned around 700 candidates as they try to weed out people who have already made up their minds. The legal teams will return to court on Friday to continue jury selection. Opening arguments are expected to begin on January 22. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 03:31:59|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close A Palestinian man works at a China-funded water desalination plant in al-Naser village in the Gaza Strip's southern border town of Rafah, on Jan. 8, 2020. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) by Sanaa Kamal GAZA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Abdul-Rahim Abu Gouda, a Palestinian living in a small village in the Gaza Strip's southern border town of Rafah, breathed a sigh of relief after two China-funded water desalination plants opened this month in his impoverished al-Naser village. "This is a joyful day for my family and we can now get drinking water instantly and for free. We no longer need to wait for trucks selling filtered drinking water," said Abu Gouda, a father of 12, as he observed his kids filling a small water container from the new plant in front of his home. The 50-year-old farmer said the residents of the village suffered for years from lack of access to clean water. Mohammed al-Attar, 13, came with his playmate to the plant to fill their water tanks. "We are happy to have potable water all the time, with no need to go too far to buy," he said, as he helped his playmate carry a heavy water tank. "Every single day, it took us at least two shekels (0.58 U.S. dollars) to buy the filtered water," said al-Attar, whose family is believed to be the poorest one in the village. "We depend on the aid provided by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and we do not have enough money to buy the water," he added. Before the plants were built, the residents had to pay a large amount of money to buy potable water every year, according to Abu Gouda. "The people in this area are extremely poor and do not have enough money to buy potable water, so they were forced to use salty, unclean tap water provided by the municipality," he said. In June last year, Give Palestine Association, a local nongovernmental organization, and the council of al-Naser village, signed an agreement to build two China-funded water desalination plants to alleviate the shortage of potable water there. The Gaza Strip suffers from an acute lack of water for human and agricultural use. Currently, 90 percent of its main water supply is unfit for drinking and even agricultural use. Its coastal aquifer is extremely saline and is drying up because of overuse. The overpopulated coastal enclave needs up to 220 million cubic meters of water a year, and over 90 percent of the population rely on desalinated water. "About 10,000 people, the majority of whom are unemployed and suffer from extreme poverty, have benefited from the two plants," said Emad al-Agha, secretary of Give Palestine Association. The two plants "are among the generously funded projects by the Chinese government which hopes to implement sustainable development projects in a way that benefits people over many years," al-Agha added. The NGO's official noted the Palestinian people need continuous Chinese support to build their institutions and achieve economic development. "We are looking forward to implementing more China-funded sustainable projects that will benefit our people in the Gaza Strip," he said, as local people "need to have a real solution for the water and electricity shortages which have affected negatively their daily life in the Gaza Strip." Mohammed Ashour, head of al-Naser village, told Xinhua that the two plants are very important because they are going to serve the residents in a marginalized area. Ashour thanked China for providing support for the people in the Gaza Strip, saying the Chinese government funded many sustainable development projects involving power generation and water desalination. The Gaza Strip is facing a worsening water crisis that could render it unsuitable for living within a few years if the aid projects are not implemented, according to a recent UN report. Israel has been imposing a tight blockade on Gaza since 2007 when Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave from the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas. [January 17, 2020] UnitedHealthcare and Optum Take Action to Support People Affected by Severe Weather in Mississippi UnitedHealthcare and Optum, the health benefits and services companies of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), are taking action to help people who may be affected by the severe weather in Mississippi. Support includes assisting health plan participants who may need to make alternate arrangements to access care and early prescription refills, as well as offering a free emotional-support line to help people who might be affected. Help Finding a Network Care Provider, Early Refills: Plan participants who need help finding a care provider in the UnitedHealthcare network or obtaining early prescription refills can call customer care at the number located on the back of their medical ID cards. UnitedHealthcare App: People enrolled in employer-sponsored and individual health plans who have a smartphone can download the free UnitedHealthcare app, which provides instant access to their ID card, ability to review and manage prescription medications, locate nearby network care providers and facilities, their personal health benefits and more. The app also enables eligible plan participants to directly schedule and conduct a Virtual Visit with a doctor* and schedule a callback from a UnitedHealthcare customer service advocate**. The app is available now for download at no additional charge for Android and Apple devices to people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare health benefit plans. Free Help Line: Optum, a leading health and behavioral health services company, is offering a free emotional-support help line. The toll-free number, 866-342-6892, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for as long as necessary. The service is free of charge and open to anyone. Specially trained Optum mental health specialists help people manage their stress and anxiety so they can continue to address their everyday needs. Callers may also receive referrals to community resources to help them with specific concerns, including financial and legal matters. Along with the toll-free help line, emotional-support resources and information are available online at www.liveandworkwell.com. * Additional out-of-pocket costs may be required for telemedicine services depending on the plan and any applicable state requirements. ** Most UnitedHealthcare employer-sponsored plan participants have access to the callback feature. About UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. For more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on Twitter (News - Alert). Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005336/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] First Minister Arlene Foster has said there will have to be a debate about how Northern Irelands universities are funded. Speaking on the BBCs Inside Politics programme, the DUP leader also raised the issue of the level of university tuition fees in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland students currently pay up to 4,275 a year to study in the region, less than half the 9,250 maximum paid by students who live in England. She was discussing how spending priorities might have to be set for the new Northern Ireland Executive and how funds may have to be raised from within Northern Ireland to meet any shortfall in funding from the UK government. These are all policy debates we need to have, but I do think we need to have a look at, for example, universities and how theyre funded, she said. But the First Minister ruled out introducing water charges, saying that the new Stormont Executive was at one on the issue. I dont see the issue of water rates coming back onto the table again, she said. Mrs Foster also said that the new Executive needed to have more discussions with the Treasury in London about funding for recurrent expenditure which was not covered by the New Decade, New Approach settlement which enabled the restoration of the Stormont assembly last week. Government costs money: and when people say: I want to have all these things dealt with, we have to say: Where are our priorities? the Fermanagh MLA told the programme. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 00:23:43|Editor: yan Video Player Close KIEV, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested over 1.1 billion euros (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the Ukrainian economy in 2019, a Ukrainian media outlet reported on Friday. The investment is two times more than that in 2018, Novoe Vremya reported, citing Anton Usov, EBRD's senior adviser on external relations. There were 680 million euros (755 million dollars) of the total investments in 2019 classified as green, said Usov on his Facebook page, calling it "the best result across all EBRD economies." EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. Since the start of its operations in the country in 1993, the bank has made a cumulative commitment of nearly 14.6 billion euros (16.9 billion dollars) across some 447 projects in Ukraine. University of Manchester scientists investigating a possible treatment for foetal growth restriction (FGR), a condition in which babies grow poorly in the womb, have urged further caution on the use of Viagra. The drug, commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, as it enhances blood flow - has been undergoing trials as a potential treatment for FGR. However, in a recent study in mice, Viagra showed no improvement in foetal growth but did result in high blood pressure in the pups as they reached maturity. Babies with Foetal Growth Restriction (FGR) are at increased risk of stillbirth and are more likely to suffer from developmental problems and other conditions such as heart disease and diabetes in adulthood. FGR affects around 3 in every 100 pregnancies and most cases are caused by poor function of the placenta, affecting blood flow and thus nutrient transfer from mother to the baby. No treatments are available for FGR and often the only option for obstetricians is to deliver the baby early so they can be cared for outside the womb. The Manchester team are the first to report the long-term effects of the drug, on both male and female offspring, when given to mice during pregnancy and publish their results in the American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology. An international clinical trial of Viagra on severe cases of human FGR called STRIDER, and carried out at the same time as the Manchester study, also found the drug had no significant benefit on foetal growth or prolongation of pregnancy. The Dutch arm of the STRIDER trial was halted after 11 babies of mothers using the medication died from lung complications, though this did not happen to babies in the New Zealand-Australia or the UK-Ireland trials. In the Manchester study, over 90% of mice whose mothers were given Viagra during their pregnancy experienced a significant increase in their blood pressure. This increase was in the range of values equivalent to those used to diagnose high blood pressure in humans. The effect was similar in both wild type (normally grown) and growth restricted mice and was consistent in both females and males. Female mice also experienced a modest increased weight gain after birth and a minor reduction in glucose tolerance after 8 weeks. The study was carried out by former PhD student Dr Lewis Renshall. He said "This, and other studies have shown Sildenafil - otherwise known as Viagra - may not be a suitable treatment for FGR unless life-saving benefits can be demonstrated." "So there is still much work to do if we are to eventually find a treatment for this distressing condition." Dr Mark Dilworth, who led the study, added: "The evidence from this study and others suggest that caution should be used for the use of Viagra in foetal Growth Restriction. Our study suggests there may be long-term risks associated with its use in mice and importantly, there is a lack of beneficial effect in recent human clinical trials." "We do feel, however, that it is important to continue to conduct studies which look at longer term impacts of giving medication during pregnancy as there is surprisingly little research on this." ### NOTES FOR EDITORS Dr Dilworth and Dr Lewis Renshall are available for comment The paper 'Antenatal sildenafil citrate treatment increases offspring blood pressure in the placental-specific Igf2 knockout mouse model of FGR' is available on request. For media enquiries contact: Mike Addelman Media Relations Officer Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health University of Manchester 07717 881567 Type of study: peer reviewed Subject of study: mice Type of evidence: experimental study Ariana Grande appears to have provided vocals on her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller's posthumous album Circles. The album dropped this Friday and includes a track called I Can See in which a high-pitched female voice is heard in the background. Several fans have theorized on social media that the voice is Ariana's and indeed it does sound quite similar to that of the 26-year-old. One last time: Ariana Grande appears to have provided vocals on her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller's posthumous album Circles; pictured together in Paris in 2017 In their apparent final duet, Ariana coos as Mac sings: 'I know if life is but a dream then so are we. Show me something, show me something, something I can see.' On Friday, the day of the album release, Ariana touchingly shared a picture of its cover to her Insta Stories. They have sung together before on such numbers as My Favorite Part from his 2016 debut album of the same name and The Way from her 2013 debut album Yours Truly. 'I'm crying': The album dropped this Friday and includes a track called I Can See in which a high female voice is heard in the background, leading fans to theorize it is Ariana Mac died in September 2018 of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 26, four months after he and Ariana broke up. At the time of his death Ariana was engaged to Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson, with whom she split in October 2018. Ariana's romantic history, including her relationships with Mac and Pete, became the subject of her smash hit album Thank U, Next last year. Tribute: On Friday, the day of the album release, Ariana touchingly shared a picture of its cover to her Insta Stories In a Vogue profile published last summer Ariana looked back over her time with Mac and her 'pretty all-consuming' heartbreak over his death. 'By no means was what we had perfect, but, like, f***. He was the best person ever, and he didnt deserve the demons he had,' she said. 'I was the glue for such a long time, and I found myself becoming...less and less sticky. The pieces just started to float away,' Ariana explained. Styrofoam or copper - both materials have very different properties with regard to their ability to conduct heat. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz and the University of Bayreuth have now jointly developed and characterized a novel, extremely thin and transparent material that has different thermal conduction properties depending on the direction. While it can conduct heat extremely well in one direction, it shows good thermal insulation in the other direction. Thermal insulation and thermal conduction play a crucial role in our everyday lives - from computer processors, where it is important to dissipate heat as quickly as possible, to houses, where good insulation is essential for energy costs. Often extremely light, porous materials such as polystyrene are used for insulation, while heavy materials such as metals are used for heat dissipation. A newly developed material, which scientists at the MPI-P have jointly developed and characterized with the University of Bayreuth, can now combine both properties. The material consists of alternating layers of wafer-thin glass plates between which individual polymer chains are inserted. "In principle, our material produced in this way corresponds to the principle of double glazing," says Markus Retsch, Professor at the University of Bayreuth. "It only shows the difference that we not only have two layers, but hundreds". Good thermal insulation is observed perpendicular to the layers. In microscopic terms, heat is a movement or oscillation of individual molecules in the material that is transferred to neighbouring molecules. By building up many layers on top of each other, this transfer is reduced: Each new boundary layer blocks part of the heat transfer. In contrast, the heat within a layer can be conducted well - there are no interfaces that would block the heat flow. Overall, the heat transfer within a layer is 40 times higher than perpendicular to it. The thermal conductivity along the layers is comparable to the thermal conductivity of thermal paste, which is used, among other things, to apply heat sinks to computer processors. For electrically insulating materials based on polymer/glass, this value is exceptionally high - it exceeds that of commercially available plastics by a factor of six. For the material to function efficiently and also be transparent, the layers had to be produced with very high precision - any inhomogeneity would disturb the transparency similar to a scratch in a piece of Plexiglas. Each layer is only one millionth of a millimeter high - i.e. one nanometer. In order to investigate the homogeneity of the layer sequence, the material was characterized in the group of Josef Breu, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Bayreuth. "We use X-rays to illuminate the material," says Breu. "By superimposing these rays, which are reflected by the individual layers, we were able to show that the layers could be produced very precisely." Prof. Fytas, member of Prof. Hans-Jurgen Butt's department, was able to give an answer to the question why this layer-like structure has such extraordinarily different properties along or perpendicular to the individual glass plates. Using a special laser-based measurement, his group was able to characterize the propagation of sound waves, which is like heat also related to the movement of the material's molecules. "This structured yet transparent material is excellent for understanding how sound propagates in different directions," says Fytas. The different sound velocities allow direct conclusions to be drawn about the direction-dependent mechanical properties, which are not accessible with any other method. In their further work, the researchers hope to gain a better understanding of how sound and heat propagation can be influenced by the structure of the glass plate and the polymer composition. The researchers see a possible application in the field of high-performance light-emitting diodes, in which the glass-polymer layer serves on the one hand as a transparent encapsulation and on the other hand can dissipate the released heat laterally. The scientists have now published their results in the renowned journal Angewandte Chemie - International Edition. ### Publication: Zuyuan Wang, Konrad Rolle, Theresa Schilling, Patrick Hummel, Alexandra Philipp, Bernd A. F. Kopera, Anna M. Lechner, Markus Retsch, Josef Breu, George Fytas: Tunable Thermoelastic Anisotropy in Hybrid Bragg Stacks with Extreme Polymer Confinement. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 59, Issue 3, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.201911546 Contact: Prof. Dr. Georg Fytas MPI for Polymer Research Ackermannweg 10 55128 Mainz / Germany Phone: +49 6131 379-718 E-Mail: fytas@mpip-mainz.mpg.de Prof. Dr. Josef Breu Inorganic Chemistry I University of Bayreuth Universitatsstrasse 30 95440 Bayreuth / Germany Phone: +49 (0)921 / 55-3520 E-Mail: josef.breu@uni-bayreuth.de Prof. Dr. Markus Retsch Physical Chemistry University of Bayreuth Universitatsstrasse 30 95440 Bayreuth / Germany Phone: +49 (0)921 / 55-3920 E-Mail: markus.retsch@uni-bayreuth.de Family members in the Chinese capital paid their respects to late ousted liberal premier Zhao Ziyang on , the 15th anniversary of his death, amid tight security, ID checks and facial recognition surveillance cameras at the cemetery where his ashes were interred last year. Zhao died under house arrest, where he spent the rest of his life following his ouster in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) that ended the student-led pro-democracy movement that had occupied Tiananmen Square for several weeks. Zhao's family paid their respects at his tomb in the Tianshouyuan cemetery near Beijing amid tight security, with police preventing anyone but the family from approaching the area. Zhao's son Zhao Erjun said the grave now has a tree planted in front of it, making it hard to get to. "They have changed the whole thing, planting tall trees so that you can't see it, and leaving just a little gap that you have to squeeze through," Zhao Erjun said. "You can't see into the area ... if you didn't know it was there you wouldn't be able to get in." "Photography is forbidden, as are flowers or any other offerings. We didn't leave any ... such is our government," he said. "They have installed high-definition surveillance cameras across the whole cemetery that have facial recognition capabilities, so there's nowhere to hide." "There's also a security gate you have to pass through at the front gate, where you have to swipe your ID card to get in," Zhao Erjun said. A source in Beijing said many people had hoped to pay their respects to Zhao on but were scared off by the security features. Foreign journalists who tried to get inside were stopped by police, while the area around Zhao's grave was patrolled by security guards with walkie talkies. 'They shouldn't be so nervous' Zhao's former aide Bao Tong, who remains under close surveillance and sometimes house arrest, said there was no need for such measures. "There's no real need for this at all," Bao said. "They shouldn't be so nervous: it's normal for people to live, to die and to be buried." "It is normal to visit someone's grave. [Zhao] died in 2005 and was finally buried after 15 years," said Bao, who visited the cemetery last October. "I went there on Oct. 22 last year, and his family also went then," he said. "His ashes were interred on Oct. 18." Independent Chinese scholar Wu Wei said he had been prevented from visiting the grave at . "I don't think many people would be allowed in ," Wu said. "I went there on the day Zhao Ziyang's ashes were buried and again at, but I wasn't allowed in. The gates were locked." Veteran political journalist Gao Yu said the relatives of those who died in the 1989 crackdown were under house arrest on the anniversary. "[Tiananmen Mothers founder] Ding Zilin definitely won't be allowed to go [to Zhao's grave], nor to [Zhao's former residence at] No. 6 Fuqiang Alley," Gao said. "I have police officers here right now, two of them sitting in a car. I have to ride with them if I want to go somewhere," she said. Prior to his ouster for showing sympathy with the student protesters, Zhao was a liberal-minded and well-loved leader who rose to the top of the ruling party at the 13th Party Congress in 1987. His name rarely appears in the official record, although he has a loyal following of former officials seeking to rehabilitate him as a figurehead of the reform era that began in 1979. In a conclusive break with the reformist thinking of the 1980s, China's current supreme leader Xi Jinping is now serving an indefinite term as president following constitutional changes nodded through in by China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC). Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. In the early morning hours on Tuesday, police officers forcibly evicted and arrested members of Moms 4 Housing, a group of homeless women who advocate for affordable housing, from the vacant home on Magnolia Street in Oakland, California, which they had been occupying since mid-November. Police line during the eviction (Credit via Twitter: @solomonout) With appeals for affordable housing and calls for housing as a basic right, Moms 4 Housing was able to attract a protest of several hundred people the night before the eviction. Police waited until early morning when most people had cleared out to begin their work. In a gratuitous display of force, a SWAT team wielding semi-automatic AR-15s broke down the front door of the house with a battering ram, sent a robot into the house to check for weapons, and arrested the residents of the house along with two protesters. An armored BearCat vehicle, essentially a police tank, was present on the residential streets during the eviction. Apparently, such was considered necessary for the eviction of half a dozen women and their children. Those arrested were released on Tuesday afternoon after posting $5,000 bail, raised through a GoFundMe page to support the group. Belongings of the homeless mothers dumped on the sidewalk outside the Magnolia St. house Despite being the wealthiest state in the United States, with an economy larger than the United Kingdom, California has by far the most homeless people in the country. A 2018 point-in-time survey found that there were about 130,000 homeless people in California, while a 2019 point-in-time survey found that there were approximately 568,000 homeless people across the country at that time. There are over 150 billionaires in the state of California, more than in any other. Rather than using the vast natural wealth and human capital of the state to ensure a decent standard of living for everyoneincluding access to basic social rights such as housing, healthcare and educationthe wealth of the state is tied up in the bank accounts of a tiny minority. Hundreds gathered to protest the eviction of the homeless mothers (Credit via Twitter: @solomonout) The wealth of Hollywood and Silicon Valley does not find its way into the pockets of the states workers. Rather, the ridiculously high cost of housing throughout the state has made it the epicenter of the national housing crisis. The modest three-bedroom house on Magnolia Street the women were evicted from, pictured here in the aftermath of their eviction and arrest, was bought by the Wedgewood Properties real estate conglomerate shortly after the women moved in for $500,000--a relatively low sum for Oakland, where the median price for a home is $750,000. It is currently priced at $630,000, according to Zillow.com. Such high prices have edged out many workers from being able to afford a home, and leave many of those still able to afford one saddled with enormous amounts of debt. While there is little relief for the working class, there are ample resources available to law enforcement. The militarization of everyday life in the US since the beginning of the war on terror has seen the most egregious police actions become a daily affair. Although there are no official figures, there were over 900 people killed by police in the US in 2019, according to killedbypolice.net. Moreover, the brutality and callousness of the police forces has grown over this period, culminating in acts such as the eviction on Magnolia Street Tuesday night. Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriffs Office, boasted after the eviction that he considered the militarized operation a success, and added that there was a tremendous amount of work that went into this and we had to think outside the box a little bit. He noted that the operation cost the department tens of thousands of dollars, and that they were considering directly billing Wedgewood, the real-estate company that owned the property. Wedgewood, operating across the western US as well as in Florida, specializes in renovating homes and flipping them for a profit. The surrounding neighborhood has been gentrifying, raising the cost of housing and pushing poorer residents out. Moms 4 Housing expressed their opposition to Wedgewood in a statement the day before their eviction, saying, We want speculators out of our community Theyre coming in, theyre profiting off harm thats done in our community and we want them out. Clearly outlining their own class position, Wedgewood released a statement on Tuesday saying, Wedgewood is pleased the illegal occupation of its Oakland home has ended peacefully. The solution to Oaklands housing crisis is not the redistribution of citizens homes through illegal break-ins and seizures by squatters. The outside of the Magnolia St. house where the homeless mothers were evicted Upon her release from jail, Dominique Walker, the lead mother in Moms 4 Housing, recounted the arrest to local media: I never wouldve thought theyd use the excessive force that they did. The robots that came in the house, the force that they used to take us out of the houseit was unnecessary. The WSWS spoke to residents of the neighborhood Wednesday in the aftermath of the raid. Bonnie, who lives down the street from the house where Moms 4 Housing were staying, said of the eviction, The police response and eviction was totally overkill. Its another example that goes to show that our judicial system, our whole legal system, its primary goal is to protect corporate America. A corporation owns this home, so if one of the millionaire owners says they have to do this eviction, they have to do it full force, because money is a motivating factor. They shouldnt be able to come in here with tanks and rifles like that. But its the same as before. Back in the 1970s they killed a member of the Black Panther Party at a house just around the block. The police are there to serve the rich and corporate America. They act on their behalf. Late last year, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a mouth-dropping speech in the parliament before the holidays: "Armenia surpassed neighboring Georgia by the GDP per capita based on the results of 2019, and based on the results of 2020 the republic would surpass Azerbaijan. Over the past 20 years, Armenia's performance in this indicator has always been the worst, next year we will be the first." The neighboring countries didn't have time to let that sink in, but already at the beginning of 2020 Pashinyan again turned to this topic and clarified that he was wrong in his previous statement: "It turned out that at the end of 2019, we overtook both Georgia and Azerbaijan, becoming the leading country in the South Caucasus." The statement was accompanied by figures: Armenia's GDP per capita - $4,760, Azerbaijan - $4,720, Georgia - $4,630. The difference is insignificant and testifies, rather, to the same situation in the three republics, than to the real superiority of one over the others ... And soon Pashinyan came up with a clarification: "We havent surpassed Azerbaijan yet, but we will by the end of this year the latest." In fact, numbers are a thing in itself. Numbers can show universal prosperity and happiness covering the entire population of the country, but in reality, people can be far from this prosperity and happiness. In achieving 'loud numbers' much depends on the methodology and desire. The leaders speeches caused some embarrassment even in Armenia's expert circles. Former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan specifically announced that Pashinyans statements are incorrect in several respects. Here, of course, one can try to delve into alternative data, but also there is another, maybe a bit shallow, way, without delving into economic theories. Its just to see how people live, without "taking the lead over neighboring states." And these are the store shelves, the number of packages carried by people after shopping, the car park, the condition of the roads, and, finally, people themselves - do they have smiling faces or, on the contrary, grim ones. Following these "romantic" parameters, one comes to the conclusion that after the velvet revolution the life in Armenia was getting, if not much better, then fun. People got hope and the opportunity to rebuild their lives. No business restrictions. If you want to sell, for example, bananas, then go ahead, import them, carry out customs clearance and sell without fearing that some brave guys will drop these bananas in the nearest gorge as a sign that this direction of trade is monopolized by a guy named Alfred. And sugar, for example, can only be imported into Armenia by Albrecht. Whereas, fore example, flour is the business of Albertik Senior, and Dutch roses are the business of Albert Junior. Probably, the destruction of artificial monopolies is the main success of the Armenian new authorities. Transparency and simplification of tax policy is also success. There was more than one entrepreneur (small or medium) in Armenia who scratched his head in surprise, having received back part of the money paid in taxes. But when financial inspectors stopped coming around with a proposal to pay taxes in advance to fulfill their plan, entrepreneurs realized: Pashinyan and his team are really trying to establish a new life in the country. And the optimistic suspicion was reinforced by the fact that the new government uncompromisingly and ruthlessly cut off from large business everything that had to be paid to in taxes the treasury for years. But it was not paid. And what kind of business they had! Someone with protection in high spheres cut his pipe into the state gas pipeline and ... Should I continue? And things like this used to happen. Things are fine with stores and grocery shelves in Armenia - I saw it myself, I traveled to several cities during the New Year holidays. Of course, there are no small brand stores, but they are useless there, while the existing ones completely satisfy the urgent needs of the locals. As they say, anything for your money. The authorities with a clear conscience can recall that salaries of teachers and military personnel have been increased. Due to changes in tax legislation, as of January 1, 2020, salaries of more than 200 thousand people will be raised, pensions and minimum salaries will be increased by 6 and 2 times, respectively, payments for the first and second children, maternity benefits, etc. are also increased. In addition, there's an increase in the number of free medical programs, which makes it possible to redistribute the family or personal budget towards reducing tension. Another quality of life indicator is cars. Of course, on the streets of Yerevan or on republican highways you can meet both Ferrari and Lamborghini, not to mention much ordinary prestigious cars. But the abundance of Russian cars is striking. Starting from VAZ-2106 and GAZ-24 on last legs, or absolutely 'exotic' GAZ-51 and GAZ-53 trucks, ending with the latest releases of the Togliatti plant. You may feel that you are not in Armenia, but somewhere in the central part of Russia, not particularly spoiled by luxury. Someone explains the preference for Russian cars as a habit, the other as the availability, the third explains this by cheap spare parts and maintenance, the fourth - by the cars' simplicity. Because roads in the province are something. A friend of mine took me for a ride between two villages in the northern Armenia. At 10 kilometers of continuous potholes and potholes,I was so car sick that I had a suspicion that he's getting revenge for for some misconduct. When the "ride" was over, a friend explained that according to the documents, there's an asphalt road between the two villages, and now, if I'm interested, we can turn to the "road workers" and try to find out how much money the former authorities stole using this site, and there are probably a lot of such sites throughout Armenia. The revolutionary authorities are aware of the state of the roads. Pashinyan himself travels a lot in Armenia and not only on main roads, which are generally in good condition - in 2020, it is planned to rehabilitate and lay 500 kilometers of modern roads. That's a lot for small Armenia, and it is urgent and necessary, since one of the state's main stakes is on the development of tourism, which is an empty dream without a quality infrastructure. A knowledgeable person said that he had no doubt that the road program would be completed and well-made: the conditions are the following: the government signs a contract with a company building the road according to standards, investing its own funds, and only after checking the quality of work, the contract funds are received by the contractor, or not received, until all defects are eliminated. Something similar is planned in the construction sector, especially in the disaster zone: 30 years (!) have passed since the earthquake, but housing problems still remain. And this is a challenge for the new authorities. Another challenge for Pashinyan and his team was last year's saga of the Amulsar mountain mine, where some gold deposits were discovered in Soviet times. Then they were considered insignificant - by Soviet standards, it was not worth powder and shot. An independent Armenia, not rich in natural resources, is another thing. But the deposits are in close proximity to the famous Jermuk health resort. The local population, employed mostly by this resort, fears that mining will negatively affect the environment and ruin the resort, so they will be deprived of their sources of income. There's more, while being in the opposition, the current Armenian authorities shared these concerns, but when their political position qualitatively changed, they changed their attitude to the project - investments are needed, new jobs are needed, etc. And that's when Pashinyan stumbled for the first time. He stumbled where he was always strong - in the popular support issue. He had to retreat, promising a detailed examination of the possible consequences of the Amulsar gold mine development. It is unclear whether it will be possible to convince local residents, who block access to the field on the least occasion. So far, they are radically opposed to the project. And yet, what has changed in Armenia after the change of power? Is the future of the republic which remains in a transport semi-blockade because of the Karabakh conflict, which bears heavy military expenses because of it, really optimistic? Of the country where the new government has to deal with the resistance of the old elite daily, which has to be overcome including by using resonant lawsuits all the time? Of course, there is no consensus. The opposition believes that the coming year may be decisive for Nikol Pashinyan and his team. The resources, due to which a certain improvement was recorded, were used - I mean the above-mentioned "tax justice" regime. The volume of investments in 2019 has decreased compared to 2018, and there are no special signs it may change. But the negative costs associated with Armenias presence in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) will obviously be manifested - the abolition of transitional customs duties on car imports and the entry into force of the general rules of customs clearance of cars from non-EEU countries from January 1, 2020 will result in Armenia losing large tax revenues from importing foreign cars from Georgia, which were sent to other countries of the alliance already after being registered in Armenia. On January 1, 2020, the grace period of five years for the adaptation of the Armenian economy to the EEU ended. This means that the cost of imports from non-EEU countries is expected to increase. It is not clear how the authorities will be able to level the upcoming obvious difficulties. Economist and analyst Emanuel Mkrtchyan writes: "Positive changes can be overlooked even by the most radical opponents of the authorities only if public finances are not used effectively, the share of expenditures on the development of human capital and infrastructures increases, loans and grants are not effectively spent, and the fight against the shadow economy, corruption, and work to create a competitive environment in the country does not continue." "He should succeed," the phrase happened to be heard in Armenia more than once. It is not only about being optimistic about Pashinyan. But it's also about some kind of despair, almost an extreme hope. Exhausted by the difficult socio-economic situation, the society that brought Nikol Pashinyan to power in the spring of 2018, believes in him. But such trust is never eternal, or even very long-lasting. This year may turn out to be reporting to the new authorities. And if people dont feel a concrete improvement in their quality of life, then announcements that "we have something better than our neighbors" can only be of interest to the neighbors themselves, and not all of them, but only "jealous" ones - Azerbaijan seems to have ignored Pashinyan's loud statement, but Georgia "got worried". But its economic condition is a story for another time. About halfway through the meal, I felt a shoulder tap or a nudge from God to do something," she said. "I wasnt planning on leaving her that tip, it just kind of happened after I got the feeling that she desperately needed some help that day. NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Nay Pyi Taw on Friday for a state visit to Myanmar. During his two-day stay, Xi is scheduled to attend a series of state events held by Myanmar President U Win Myint, hold talks with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, meet with Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing, and exchange views with the leaders of Myanmar's parliament and political parties. Xi will also join Myanmar leaders in a series of celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the launching ceremony of the China-Myanmar Culture and Tourism Year program. It is Xi's first overseas trip this year, and the first visit to the Asian neighbor by a Chinese president after an interval of 19 years. Nick Jonas couldn't help but chime in when John Krasinski learned he accidentally offended Coldplay's Chris Martin by not replying to one of the musician's emails. The situation at all started when Martin of made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday. While there, the English charmer talked about how much he loves John's film A Quiet Place, and how disappointed he was after getting ghosted by the actor/director via email. Quiet fun: A little 'feud' started when Chris Martin appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday, where he discussed how much he loves the John Krasinski film A Quiet Place While there, Martin explained that he actually sent John and his wife Emily Blunt who is the lead actress in the film a somewhat silly idea for a musical version of the movie in which the beautifully voiced, piano-playing frontman makes no sound at all. But, the ex of Gwyneth Paltrow recounted to Ellen, 'they never replied,' and he was concerned that John and Emily might have thought he was making fun, when in reality he loved the film. 'So every time I see that trailer it makes me feel sick,' Chris shared, referring to the trailer for the upcoming sequel A Quiet Place II, out in March. Upon seeing DeGeneres's post about Martin's 'complaint', Krasinski was quick to set the record straight. 'I... did not get an email from Chris Martin. The man is a world treasure,' John wrote Wednesday. 'Are you kidding me!?!? Emily what have you done!?!?' he continued in mock shock and disbelief. Shunned: Chris shared a story in which he pitched a jokey idea to Krasinski about a Quiet Place musical, but never heard back from him Couple and costars: Krasinski is the co-writer, director and an actor in A Quiet Place, and he casted his wife Emily Blunt in the lead role; seen here in Los Angeles in November 2018 Soon after, another famous actor and musician joined the melee one Nick Jonas to be exact, member of the hugely popular band the Jonas Brothers, as well as an actor in his own right having appeared in films like Midway, Goat and Jumanji: The Next Level. Tagging Quiet Place writer, director and actor Krasinski, Jonas tweeted: 'I also sent you an email. Telling you how incredible I though[t] (sic) the film was.... I too did not get a reply.' And when another user lamented that John K. never replies to them either, Jonas responded, saying, 'Well we're in this together.' Soon after: Another famous actor and musician joined the melee one Nick Jonas to be exact, an actor in his own right; seen here earlier this month in LA Airing his complaints: Nick getting in on the fun about John not responding Then, to Krasinski again, the budding actor wrote, 'You're the man.. and I hope I get to be in one of your films one day. You are truly one of my favorite filmmakers now. Can't wait for the next one.' The first Quiet Place created a sensation in 2018, creating a post-apocalyptic world in which making a sound equaled sure death. Blunt, who's been married to Krasinski since 2010, originally showed no interest in starring in the horror thriller, but when she read her husband's script she changed her mind. Now she's set to again portray battle-hardened mother Evelyn in the next installment, with Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou also joining the cast. A Quiet Place II hits theaters on March 20. New numbers are out on Montanas efforts to contain chronic wasting disease. Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is a disease caused by environmental particles called prions. It creates holes in the brains of deer, elk and moose, and is always fatal. There are no documented cases of the disease affecting humans, but the World Health Organization advises against eating meat from infected animals. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks first detected the disease south of Billings in 2017. More cases have since been found around the state, and the agency has continued to increase its efforts to watch for the disease. The Montana Legislatures Environmental Quality Council interim committee reviewed its work Thursday. From April 1, 2019, to January 8, 2020, FWP collected 6,927 samples, compared to about 2,000 the previous hunting season, Emily Almberg, a disease ecologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, told the committee. According to a report prepared for the committee by research analyst Hope Stockwell, of these samples, 53 mule deer, 81 white-tailed deer, one elk and one moose tested positive or were suspected to have the disease. As of mid-December, 49 of these animals had been harvested from the Libby area. This wasn't nearly as bad as other states have seen, said Mike Miller, a veterinarian with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, who phoned into the hearing. "If you think things are bad in Montana now, they could be far, far worse. In Colorado ... nearly two-thirds of our deer herds are infected." In some places, he said, as many as 25 percent of harvested bucks test positive. The prions that cause Chronic Wasting Disease linger in the environment and can spread through a variety of channels. To contain its spread, Fish, Wildlife and Parks has created five CWD Management Zones, from which hunters cannot remove the full carcass, head, brain or spinal column until their animal tests negative for the disease. It hired 27 seasonal staff to collect samples. Currently, samples are sent to a lab at Colorado State University for testing. Last year, the Montana Legislature appropriated almost $400,000 the vast majority of it from federal Pittman-Robertson funds, a tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition for each year of the biennium for disease surveillance. CWD response and management is expensive and labor-intensive, said Ken McDonald, chief of FWPs Division of Wildlife. Getting quality people for an eight-week stint in the middle of winter is a real challenge. Long-term funding is going to be necessary to continue the effort to date, he continued, adding that while the budget request had covered them well this season, Well probably be, based on lessons learned this time, bumping up this request for funding in the next legislative session, he said. Our turnaround time this year was 18.6 calendar days, Almberg said. Greg Juda with the Montana Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory said that it was working to offer testing by late spring or early summer. Its unclear, he said, how much time that would shave off testing. Throughout the hearing, speakers, legislators and public commenters all mentioned the importance of communicating the needs and expectations surrounding this disease to hunters. Were still having a hard time getting through to hunters, McDonald acknowledged, saying some people at check stations hadnt heard of the ailment. The agency, he said, was looking at working with our education and information folks at, How can we continue to bolster the communications? I think youre going to find local support from Libby is going to be very, very high, said Rep. Steve Gunderson, a Republican representative from the area. As a panel, I think we need to remember that this is not a biological battle but a PR (public relations) war. Citizen support is crucial. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. 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. But apart from these policy and technical challenges surrounding Amazon, Bezos was greeted with a rather public snub by the Union Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal, upon his offer to invest additional $1 billion to help small traders transition onto the online marketspace Jeff Bezos is in India and hardly anyone is pleased. A traders' body. claiming to represent millions of brick-and-mortar store owners, has hit the streets against the 'predatory' policies of the e-commerce giant Amazon; Bezos has reportedly sought to meet the prime minister and key government officials but was denied an appointment; and India's antitrust regulators have opened an investigation into Amazon. Merely five years ago, and under the same political dispensation, this was not the case. Dressed in a Indianised version of a suit, with a scarf, Bezos handed over a giant $2 billion check as investment to Amazon India atop a brightly coloured truck. Bezos was also granted an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But those were heady days for Indian economy, with a newly-elected government promised ease of doing business and as robust ecosystem to support trade. The world's richest man meeting the prime minister was an event that was celebrated by the media. Amazon, then barely a little more than an year old in India, was already plugging in $2 billion as investment, while promising to help boost Modi's dream of a digital India. The next chapter in Bezos' India story was also encouraging. In 2016, while the Amazon investment in India climbed to $5 billion, Modi presented Bezos with US-India Business Council (USIBC) Global Leadership Award. Bezos met Modi again in 2017 when the prime minister was on a three-day tour to the US and held a roundtable with top US CEOs. Bezos was among the star attendees at the event as Indian media reports ensured he made the headline in coverage of Modi's said visit. India was an emerging economy, vying for trade and investment from the big four tech companies. For Bezos, India was the dream playground: the world's only billion-strong population accessible to Western companies. But things started to change for Bezos in Modi's second term, even as Amazon remains number two in the Indian market, even if behind by a razor thin margin the company had 31.9 percent of India's market share, versus Amazon's with 31.2 percent, according to data cited by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Days ahead of Bezos' scheduled visit, news of India's antitrust body ordering an investigation into alleged violations by Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart hit the headlines. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that exclusive arrangements between mobile phone brands and e-commerce platforms, as well as allegations of e-commerce companies giving preferential treatment to certain sellers "merits an investigation." The commerce ministry asked Amazon and Flipkart to furnish details including their shareholding, subsidiaries, business structure and information on their top sellers and their tax details, The Economic Times reported. Opponents of foreign based e-commerce giants say they are swallowing Indian market and finishing small traders by violating anti-hoarding rules and exploiting loopholes in FDI laws. The new amended e-marketplace laws restrict bulk purchases by any vendor from any entity to 25 percent and bans the marketplace owner from selling products made or marketed by their own companies. But apart from these policy and technical challenges surrounding Amazon, Bezos was greeted with a rather public snub by the Union Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal, upon his offer to invest additional $1 billion to help small traders transition onto the online marketspace. Goyal, who has not yet given Bezos an audience, said e-commerce companies have to follow Indian rules in letter and spirit and not find loopholes to make a back-door entry into multi-brand retail segment. "They (Amazon) may have put in a billion dollars but if they make a loss of a billion dollars every year, then jolly well will have to finance that billion dollars. So, it is not as if they are doing a favour to India when they invest a billion dollars," he said at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. The minister wondered why an e-commerce marketplace model, where a firm provides an IT platform for buyers and sellers, incurred huge losses, adding that it needs to be looked upon. "They are investing money over the last few years also in warehousing and certain other activities, which is welcome and good. But if they are bringing in money largely to finance losses and those losses in an e-commerce marketplace model," Goyal said. He added that in a fair market place model in a turnover of $10 billion dollars, if a company is incurring loss of billion dollars, it "certainly raises questions, where the loss came from". Goyal wondered how a marketplace can make such a big loss unless they are indulging in "predatory pricing or some unfair trade practices". "These are real questions which need answers and I am sure the authorities who are looking at it seek those answers and I am sure the e-commerce companies will have their say on that," he said. Amazon, which is locked in a bruising battle against Flipkart, had registered cumulative losses of over Rs 7,000 crore across various units in 2018-19. The continued flow of fresh investments, however, is indicative of Amazon's confidence in the Indian market. Politically, this change in the direction of winds can be attributed to two counts. India is a budding economy with a lot of untapped potential with its young workforce and aspirational middle class, offering great opportunity to global giants suffering tedium in other more developed economies. But India is also the place where small traders have traditionally flourished and kept the wheels of the economy moving. It is these traders who feel threatened by the internet giant's presence, and they in turn are key voter base of the BJP. With Bezos visiting days ahead of the Delhi elections, where traders are already miffed at political parties for failing to protect them from the Supreme Court-ordered sealing drive in 2016, BJP may have done some quick thinking. Add to this the protests by traders and shopkeepers, highlighting the issue of alleged unfair trade practices by the tech giant, and warming up to the Amazon CEO could have been political suicide. Secondly, several reports have concluded that perhaps Bezos has managed to put off the ruling party because of the harsh coverage of issues such as Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register of Citizens and the Jamia students' movement by The Washington Post, which Bezos owns. Although Bezos has not commented on the newspaper's coverage of India and the Modi government, but when US president Donald Trump accused him of influencing the Post's coverage, the paper categorically rejected suggestions that he has a hand in its decision-making. Meanwhile, Goyal extended an olive branch by partially retracting his comments and stating that his statement was taken out of context. The minister has clarified that India welcomes all kinds of investments that follow the "letter and spirit" of the law. Goyal said that some people have misconstrued his remarks by suggesting that he had said something negative against Amazon. "I was only saying that investment should come as per the rules and regulation," Goyal said. Meanwhile, Bezos too has successfully avoided confrontations and controversy. He did not react to Goyal's comments, and rather took the open letter route to defend his company against allegations of hawkish trade practices. In a letter addressed to "dear customers, sellers, and partners", he highlighted how his company was dedicated to giving back to the Indian community. "Amazon is invested in sustainable growth and is the first company to sign the Climate Pledge with a commitment to meet the Paris Accord ten years early. In India, we've announced that we will eliminate single-use plastic from our fulfillment network by June 2020, and we are adding 10,000 electric rickshaws to our delivery fleet. I fall more in love with India every time I return here. The boundless energy, innovation, and grit of the Indian people always inspire me. I'm excited to share that we will invest an incremental US$1 billion to digitize micro and small businesses in cities, towns, and villages across India, helping them reach more customers than ever before," Bezos wrote in a letter posted on Amazon India's home page. With inputs from agencies Hillary Clinton today warned of the danger from "fake news" and the outright rejection of facts that are deemed by some as inconvenient. Appearing at the Television Critics Assn. on Jan. 17, the former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State said: "You can choose not to vaccinate your children but there are facts. You can choose not to believe in climate change, but there are facts. And somehow weve got to shoulder that responsibility not only at a political leadership level but literally at the citizen, activist, concerned human being level. She said it's hard to maintain American democracy if citizens can't agree on basic facts. Taking a swipe at president Trump, she recalled a time when the Washington political scene wasn't in full 24/7 pantsuits on fire mode. It wasnt so long ago that we actually had a President that we didnt have to worry every morning when we woke up about what was going to happen that day, or what crazy tweet would threaten war or some other awful outcome, she said. Clinton spoke at the Hollywood group's winter press to plug "Hillary," a four-part documentary on Hulu about her political career. Joe Biden isn't a fan of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his social platform. He has a pretty good idea about how to curtail its clout. The former VP told the New York Times editorial board that he wants to trash Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. That measure says online platforms aren't responsible for what runs on their sites. That's sacrilegious to Zuckerberg and his allies, who maintain that junking Section 230 would destroy free expression on the Internet. Biden would probably call that "malarkey" and demand that Facebook own up to what gets posted on the site. After all, Facebook is more than just a little Internet outfit. Biden told the Times Facebook "is propagating falsehoods they know to be false, and we should be setting standards not unlike the Europeans are doing relative to privacy." He wants Facebook to suffer the same civic penalties that the New York Times would, if it decided to run stories that it knew were false. He did credit Zuckerberg for taking down a 30-second ad in October from an independent political action committee that accused Biden of blackmailing Ukrainian officials. His campaign had sent a letter to Facebook saying the ad contained "transparently false allegations, prominently debunked by every major media outlet in the country over recent weeks" and asked that it be taken down. Team Biden viewed its demand as "a most basic test" for Facebook. Zuckerberg passed that one. Let's see how he does on the next exam. New Delhi, Jan 17 : Russia on Friday reiterated that the constitutional reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir state was an internal matter of India and none of its concern. Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev made the statement in response to several questions regarding Kashmir at a press briefing here. The remark comes a day after the UN Security Council once again rejected China's request to discuss Kashmir, at the behest of Pakistan. One of the fundamental principles of bilateral relationship is to refrain from intervening in internal affairs, Kudashev said at the embassy here. In response to another question whether he would like to visit Kashmir given the doubts raised by Western press following the nullification of special status of Kashmir on August 5, the envoy said that he was not particularly keen on visiting Kashmir. "There is no reason for me to travel. Those who have concerns and doubts can visit. But we don't interfere in internal issues and constitutional matters of countries," he said. Targeting the US, Ambassador Kudashev read out Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent address to the federal assembly in Moscow and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's speech at Observer Research Foundation's conference in New Delhi on Wednesday. Both Putin and Lavrov in their speeches had censured the US for being unilateral and promoting unipolarity under the garb of "rule-based world order". Admiring India, Kudashev said that India's foreign policy isn't to contain anyone and if the world followed that, it would be a better place. Marketing Ideas For Printers (MI4P) today announced their WordPress Plugin, a new and innovative way to access content and online ordering solutions. The WordPress Plugin is a free download that features paid subscription options for auto-updated marketing content and online ordering solutions. It offers a new way for printing companies to sell more printing without the expense or hassle of doing it themselves. It can be drudgery to come up with new, relevant marketing content regularly or to build the online ordering technology needed by todays print buyers. This new plugin removes all of that worry, drudgery, and overhead for a minimal investment of both time and money, says Dave Hultin, President and Visionary at Marketing Ideas For Printers. The WordPress platform makes it easy for printers of all sizes to quickly launch their own website, but almost every time, somethings missing. Weve seen a lot of printers build websites that look great on the surface, but these websites and printing companies are still missing the content and technology they need to sell printing. Thats a problem the new plugin from MI4P solves. In addition to hassle-free set-up and on-going technical support, the features and benefits of the Marketing Ideas For Printers WordPress Plugin include: Access to auto-updated marketing content solutions that build connections with prospects and customers. These solutions include an idea library featuring new print, design, tech, and marketing tips each month, an email newsletter, sales and marketing white papers, and more. Online ordering solutions that take those customer connections and turn them into sales with online order forms, online design tools for print buyers, private ordering portals, e-commerce tools, and more all built specifically for printers. The plugin includes the free Whats New? content, offering design, tech, and sales articles from authoritative sites around the web. The WordPress Plugin from Marketing Ideas For Printers is available now. For more information and to explore solutions offered through the plugin, visit MI4P.com/plugin. About Marketing Ideas For Printers: Marketing Ideas For Printers (MI4P) maintains a laser-like focus on the printing industry and offers website, Print MIS, and marketing solutions for printers across the United States and Canada. MI4P has been serving the print industry since 1988 and is a privately held company based in Fargo, North Dakota. By Eloisa Lopez TALISAY, Philippines (Reuters) - At the crack of dawn on Thursday, Manolito Malaluan set out with a band of rescuers to ferry to safety two horses trapped on a Philippine island where a volcano has been spewing ash for days. They took a motorboat across a lake, defying official warnings to stay out of a danger zone around the Taal volcano, one of the most active in the southeast Asian nation, as they scrambled to reach the animals. "Both of them were neighing when they saw me," Malaluan, 23, told Reuters, after reaching safer ground with his horses, named Cristina and Bakasan. "They were happy because I came back." More than 57,000 people have abandoned homes on the volcanic island and its environs, usually thronged by tourists, but many have also drifted back to check on animals and possessions. Authorities have thrown a 14-km (9-mile) exclusion zone around the volcano, with experts warning that an eruption could bring a devastating rain of rocks and magma and unleash a tsunami in the surrounding lake. The horses were among 3,000 living on the island, most earning money for their owners by carrying tourists to the rim of the volcano crater. UNCERTAIN FUTURE As their sole means of livelihood, many islanders depend on the survival of the animals, but the future looks uncertain. "We won't have food on our tables if not for them," said Jun Despededa, 21, who used water from the lake to scrub volcanic ash from his horse's white coat. "I don't know what I would do now after what happened." About 1,000 horses, as well as cows, goats and pigs were among the animals left behind by residents scurrying to safer areas for fear of a bigger eruption. One horse owner urged authorities to allow the rescue of as many animals as possible, taking advantage of what appeared to be a lull in volcano activity, but was rebuffed by the coast guard patrolling the lake. Horses were among the more than 70 animals brought to safety since Wednesday by another group of rescuers, led by a police maritime unit, but it has since been told to halt its activities, because of the eruption threat. Story continues Many of the horses that had made it out looked exhausted and hungry, with at least one barely able to stand. While Taal appeared to be calming down on Thursday, seismologists said the danger of an eruption remained high and authorities warned evacuees to stay away. 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 world's smallest active volcanoes, Taal has erupted more than 30 times in the past five centuries, most recently in 1977. An eruption in 1911 killed more than 1,300 people and one in 1754 lasted for six months. (Additional reporting by Adrian Portugal; Writing by Karen Lema; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) The dalit leader, who has been ordered not to be in Delhi till the Assembly polls in February, began his day by visiting Jama Masjid on Friday. Bhim Army chief Chandrasekhar Azad holds a copy of the Constitution during a protest against the CAA at Jama Masjid in Old Delhi on Friday. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Just a day after he was released, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday said he would continue his fight against the CAA and NRC and questioned the BJPs claim that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will help persecuted dalits from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Mr Azad, who was arrested for his anti-CAA protests in the capital and sent to judicial custody on December 21, said if the BJP was so concerned about the dalits then why was the condition of dalits in India deteriorating day by day. The dalit leader, who has been ordered not to be in Delhi till the Assembly polls in February, began his day by visiting Jama Masjid on Friday. Flanked by his supporters and locals, Mr Azad read the Preamble to the Constitution. Later, addressing media persons at the Indian Womens Press Corps, he accused the BJP of using NRC and CAA to divide the country now that the Ram Temple issue is over. I respect the Prime Minister, but he should also respect the Constitution. If you tamper with it (the Constitution), then it will weaken Instead of doing Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister should visit the women of Shaheen Bagh. If he cannot meet them sitting in Delhi then imagine what happens to people who are suffering in rural India, he said. Mr Azad, who had declared that he would soon enter politics, deflected questions on BSP chief Mayawati. Country is bigger than politics. BSP or Mayawati should not be the question anymore, he said. Asked about his political debut, he said, When I was in Lucknow, we were working on entering electoral politics. But then this (CAA/NRC) came. I thought that first I should be saving the country. Even in jail, I was educating people on CAA. He also blamed the Opposition parties, saying they have failed to fulfill their responsibility. So now it is up to the common people to protest against the government. The Bhim Army chief was arrested in connection with the violence during an anti-CAA protest in Old Delhis Daryaganj where he was reading parts of the Constitution. Mr Azads outfit had organised a march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar against the amended Citizenship Act on December 20, without police permission. On Wednesday, while granting him bail, a Delhi court restrained him from visiting Delhi for four weeks and directed him not to hold any dharna till elections in the national capital are over. Its an issue Permian Basin oil and gas operators have been grappling with as they drill wells in tighter and tighter quarters: How to keep hydraulic fracturing of the newer or child wells from interfering or damaging the older or parent wells or being damaged themselves? Its a dire problem, Eric Foster, chief executive officer of TenEx Technologies, said in a phone interview. He said that over the next couple of years, domestic oil and gas production will begin to decline because drillers cant drill enough wells to offset the lower productivity of damaged parent wells or the child wells. As competitive as the industry is, companies recognize the existential threat this is, especially in the Permian Basin, he said. If we dont come up with a solution, the Permian Basin could lose its place as the top producing region in the world. Theres good acreage that cant be tapped because of the frac hit problem. OIL REPORT: Private equity adjusting to changing energy marketplace The industry is desperate to find better strategies to protect the parent wells and get more production from the child wells, he said. Rystad, the energy consulting service, estimates that only 20 percent of the wells drilled in the Permian Basin in the third quarter of last year were parent wells. Fosters Philadelphia-based oilfield chemical company is offering a chemical solution, as opposed to a mechanical solution. NoHIT is designed to be pumped as an additive to a parent wells preload or active loading program. Our product involves the injection of a chemical solution that includes aluminum, Foster said. Then we inject an activator, which will vary depending on the characteristics of the well. That activator will change the pH of the water in the well and cause the aluminum to react, stripping the hydrogen off the water and generating hydrogen gas. That gas pressurizes the depleted rock and increasing associated rock stress, discouraging child well fractures from communicating with the parent well fractures. That not only protects the parent well but encourages the fractures in the child wells to target new reservoirs, Foster said. To address the problem, some operators inject gas which can be expensive -- while other companies shut in the well for a period of time to let the reservoir build up pressure, he said. Others preload the well with water. He described the Permian Basin as thirsty ground with big wells that take an ocean of water to fill every nook and cranny. I just need enough water that the aluminum will react. I just need a small lake, not an ocean. OIL REPORT: TXOGA: Energy industry must address environment to maintain growth Foster said he believes NoHIT it will improve the capital structure of his customers. He used the example of a producer who based his reservoir value on density of 100 wells but could only drill 50 because the communication between wells impaired production. Youve reduced your reservoir value 50 percent, he said. This is almost a live-or-die problem. If we and others can help restore reservoir value by restoring density, that helps the bottom line. There is a cost to his product, he acknowledged. But when you spent $7 million on a well, how much is it worth to not wreck it? he said. The technology has worked well in the lab, and Foster said he is anxious to get it in the ground. It will be used for the first time by the end of February, he said. The company has been in talks with producers in several producing basins, including in the Niobrara, Eagle Ford and in Calgary, Alberta, but he said it is strongly focused on the Permian Basin. He wants companies to talk to us about how they would experiment with our product, and urges collaboration to find solutions. In 2017 a paper was published asserting that intravenous vitamin C given to patients with sepsis was literally a life saver. Despite the study only looking at 47 subjects the results garnered international coverage and was adopted in many ICUs worldwide. The global burden of sepsis is estimated at up to 19 million cases annually killing 5 million mainly in low income countries. The infection affects 1.7 million Americans a year and kills more than 250,000, making it one of the top 10 causes of death. In Australia more than 5,000 die from sepsis each year and it contributes to up to a half of all hospital deaths. A paper published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Monash researchers comprehensively quashes the idea that the vitamin C-based cocktail has any positive impact on patients with sepsis. Sepsis is the body's overreaction to a severe infection, leading to multiple organ failure and, frequently, death. Over the years, there has been indications that vitamin C might be effective against sepsis. For instance, people with sepsis tend to have surprisingly low levels of vitamin C in their blood. In 2014, Dr. Alpha Fowler published a paper involving just 24 patients, hinting that vitamin C was a benefit. In particular, Fowler noted that a measure of organ failure improved far more in the patients who had received vitamin C. Dr. Paul Marik at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in the US, after reading the study, gave a seriously ill patient with sepsis high dose intravenous Vitamin C, together with thiamine and steroids (the traditional treatment for sepsis) and the patient recovered. Dr Marik started using it regularly in his intensive care unit, reporting that the mortality rate for sepsis in his ICU had plummeted after he switched to this treatment. What became known as the "Marik protocol" has been adopted by many units worldwide. In today's JAMA publication a study led by Professor Rinaldo Bellomo, from Monash University and Co-Director of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC), refutes the idea that the combination of high dose intravenous vitamin C, thiamine (vitamin B1) and hydrocortisone is beneficial in the treatment of sepsis. The study (the VITAMINS trial) was set up by the ANZIC-RC across ten intensive care units in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil, looking at 216 patients in septic shock between May, 2018 and July, 2019. 216 patients were randomised to either the intervention group (thus receiving intravenous vitamin C, hydrocortisone and thiamine) or the control group (thus receiving hydrocortisone - a steroid - only). The study found no improvement in the duration of support with blood pressure drugs for the treatment of shock or survival of those receiving vitamin C + thiamine + steroid therapy compared to steroid therapy alone. According to Professor Bellomo, the study provides high quality evidence that, in patients with septic shock, the combination of high dose intravenous vitamin C, thiamine and hydrocortisone is not superior to usual care with hydrocortisone alone: "The findings of the VITAMINS trials are clear: in patients with septic shock from Australia, New Zealand and Brazil there was no signal of benefit with the high dose vitamin C, thiamine and hydrocortisone cocktail. The search for treatments that might improve the outcome of these very sick patients must now focus on other interventions" ### Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 16:37:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Xinhua writer Jiang Li BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- "Paukphaw" has been a buzzword this week ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Myanmar on Friday and Saturday. Xi's visit to Myanmar is his first overseas trip in the new year, and is expected to open up a new era of the China-Myanmar fraternal friendship. "Paukphaw," a Myanmar term that means "fraternal," has now been widely used to characterize the millennia-old relations between China and Myanmar. The birth of China-Myanmar "Paukphaw" fraternity was legendary. Over the millennia, every generation of the Chinese and Myanmar people has enriched the term with the feats of their times and contributed to the steadfast progress of the bilateral relationship. Today, the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two brotherly neighbors, which highlights high-level political mutual trust, in-depth economic cooperation, close coordination on international and regional affairs, as well as robust people-to-people exchanges, stands as the most suitable footnote of "Paukphaw." As good neighbors and friends, China supports Myanmar's efforts to maintain peace and stability and achieve national development, and safeguard national sovereignty and reject foreign interference. Bilateral economic cooperation has been both dynamic and substantial. For years, China has been Myanmar's largest trading partner and important source of foreign investment. The latest customs data show that China's trade with Myanmar expanded by 28.5 percent year on year in 2019 to about 17.71 billion U.S. dollars. Myanmar, a country that has a strong and pressing need in such infrastructure as railroads, ports, electricity and telecommunications to jumpstart its economic take-off, has been an active and important partner in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from the very beginning. The China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) and other major cooperation programs like the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone have boosted Myanmar's employment and economic development, and greatly improved the wellbeing of the Myanmar people. According to Myanmar's income and expenditure report in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the CMEC, which has linked the under-developed and developed regions and contributed to a better use of the country's development resources, has fueled domestic transport and tourism services. As a result, the country's economic growth is expected to exceed 7 percent. China's practical cooperation with Myanmar has also been mutually beneficial in nature, and the benefits have not been confined to economic categories. Take the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline project for example. While China has imported crude oil and natural gas from the Southeast Asian country, the program has channeled 27 million dollars into a host of social-economic assistance programs in the fields of health, education, power, water and disaster relief. Because of those programs, nearly 20,000 Myanmar boys and girls can now go to better schools, some 1.2 million local people are enjoying more reliable health care services, and many villagers living along the pipeline now have access to 24-hour electricity and safe drinking water. Close people-to-people exchanges have always been a catalyst for more energetic practical cooperation. And the new year, which marks the 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar diplomatic ties, has seen some new development. On Tuesday, a new direct air route between China and Myanmar was launched. The two sides have designated 2020 as the China-Myanmar Year of Culture and Tourism. China and Myanmar also have been closely working with each other on multilateral occasions, such as upholding the purpose and principles of the UN Charter, boosting their coordination within the framework of China-ASEAN cooperation, and promoting the Lancang-Mekong cooperation mechanism. Ahead of his Myanmar trip, Xi published a signed article in three Myanmar newspapers, in which he said that as this year marks the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, "China-Myanmar relations stand at a new starting point." At this new starting point, this generation of the Chinese and Myanmar people now hold in their hands the opportunity to give new meaning to the millennia-old "Paukphaw" friendship. A Manhattan landlord and pair of dubious handymen have been sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison for siphoning gas from a line that resulted in a 2015 explosion that left two dead and 13 injured. A New York State Supreme Court jury found 59-year-old Maria Hrynenko, 63-year-old Athanasios Ioannidis and 44-year-old Dilber Kukic guilty on all charges, according to a release from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. The trio were the masterminds behind the 2015 plot to divert gas from a ground-floor building up to the apartments located in New York City's East Village. Scroll down for video A New York State Supreme Court jury found 59-year-old Maria Hrynenko, 63-year-old Athanasios Ioannidis and 44-year-old Dilber Kukic guilty on all charges, according to a release from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office The trio were the masterminds behind the plot to divert gas from a ground-floor building up to the apartments located in New York City's East Village The gas that escaped from the faulty and illegal hook-up caught on fire, triggering an explosion that leveled two buildings, killing busboy Moises Locon, 26, and restaurant guest Nicholas Figueroa, 23, on March 26, 2015. 'Developers and property owners across the City should keep today's sentencing in mind as New York's building boom continues into 2020,' said District Attorney Vance. 'If you cut corners based on expediency and profit and kill or injure New Yorkers in the process, you are engaging in criminal conduct and my office will seek significant prison time. The gas that escaped from the faulty and illegal hook-up caught on fire, triggering an explosion that leveled two buildings, killing busboy Moises Locon, 26, and restaurant guest Nicholas Figueroa, 23. Evidence: Police say the contractors made 'dangerous... deadly shortcuts' in tapping into a gas line (pictured) into the building, said DA Cyrus R Vance Con Edison ordered the trio to fix their gas problem but instead they devised a way to illegally tap into the gas line of 119 Second Avenue, owned by Hrynenko, to provide gas to the apartments at 121 Second Avenue, Hrynenko's other building 'I would like to thank the prosecutors in my Office's Rackets Bureau for their steadfast commitment to achieving justice for the victims, whose loved ones have shown remarkable strength from the moment of this shocking crime through today's resolution of this case. Our Office will never forget Nicholas and Moises.' 13 people were also seriously injured after the massive explosion All three defendants had been charged with manslaughter in the second degree, assault in the second degree, assault in the third degree and reckless endangerment in the second degree. Athanasios was also charged with falsifying business records in the second degree. During the trial, prosecutors said that the three defendants were caught by utility firm Con Edison for an illegal gas line constructed with leak-prone plastic pipe seven months before the explosion. Con Edison ordered them to fix the problem, but instead they devised a way to illegally tap into the gas line of 119 Second Avenue, owned by Hrynenko, to provide gas to the apartments at 121 Second Avenue, Hrynenko's other building. The second gas line was hidden from Con Edison and city inspectors inside a locked utility room. Prosecutors also said Ioannidis was operating without a license, and the building owner, Hrynenko, urged him and Kukic to do the work as fast as possible, before Con Edison could inspect the site. Athanasios was also charged with falsifying business records in the second degree Dilber Kukic appearing in court for sentencing Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 8:38PM Koodo and Fido are currently offering a limited-time promo that gives customers $168 in bill credit for select plans and purchases. Telus' Koodo is offering the credit when you get a new phone with a Tab plan. But this bonus is only applicable to new activations. You'll also need to enter the promo code "K168CNY" at checkout, suggesting it's a promo just in time for the Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year. As for Rogers' Fido, the bill credit is given to those who activate or upgrade to a new smartphone online on new two-year data, talk and text plans. The bill credit will show up on your second or third Fido bill. There will be a $35 setup service fee unless you opt to use self-serve online. Fido is also offering $8 off per month for 12 months on some plans to celebrate the Lunar New Year. This promo can be combined with the bill credit offer. Source: MobileSyrup Beijing: They accuse each other of inciting violence. They denounce one another as corrupt. They call each other terrorists. As tensions between the United States and Iran persist after the American killing of a top Iranian general this month, the two countries are waging a heated battle in an unlikely forum: the Chinese internet. The battle has captivated people in China, where diplomatic rows rarely break into public view and the government often censors posts about politics. Credit:Bloomberg The embassies of the US and Iran in Beijing have published a series of barbed posts in recent days on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media site, attacking each other in Chinese and in plain view of the country's hundreds of millions of internet users. The US Embassy has accused Iran of "leaving bloodstains everywhere." The Iranian Embassy has denounced the January 3 killing of the general, Qassem Soleimani, and vowed to seek the end of "America's evil forces in western Asia." Surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and others who work in surgery tend to avoid reporting any bad behaviour around the operating table to their bosses, concludes a new study from University of Manitoba researchers. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (726 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and others who work in surgery tend to avoid reporting any bad behaviour around the operating table to their bosses, concludes a new study from University of Manitoba researchers. The paper, published in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, didn't specifically examine operating rooms in Manitoba. It analyzed a major survey of clinicians in seven countries, including Canada, the United States and United Kingdom, that asked whether those medical professionals reported "disruptive behaviour" to management and how they rated management's response. Disruptive behaviour could range from rudeness to outright abuse, explained study co-author Alex Villafranca, a PhD candidate in bioethics at U of M. "Examples of mild incivility would be someone using hurtful sarcasm in their communications with you, someone taking some subtle actions to undermine your work," he said. "Whereas on the egregious side, we get things like verbal threats and even physical assault." Such behaviour can lead to unhappy staff, absenteeism and high turnover, said co-author Dr. Eric Jacobsohn, a professor of anesthesia and an associate dean of professionalism with the university's Max Rady College of Medicine. Research suggests "when bad things happen in a clinical area, often it's not the technical aspect which is the root cause... Often, communication between members of the team has a big part to play," Jacobsohn said. "And frankly, if people are being uncivil, not communicating well, et cetera, it is conceivable that that may in fact lead to deleterious patient care." Of the 4,775 clinicians who responded to the survey questions, about 97 per cent under-reported disruptive behaviour, with 74 per cent reporting less than one-fifth of the bad behaviour they had witnessed. Roughly 30 per cent never reported any disruptive behaviour at all, and only 21 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with management's response to a report. "I think it tells us that we need to make changes to the reporting systems that exist, because people are not making frequent enough use of them," said Villafranca. To illustrate the problem, Villafranca offered an anecdote he'd heard from an anesthesiologist in the U.S. "This anesthesiologist was in the operating room, and a nurse he was working with accidentally passed the wrong tool to the surgeon. In response to this, the surgeon got angry, picked up a bonesaw and threw it between a few peoples' heads, across the room where it hit the wall and bent," Villafranca said. The incident was reported to the hospital's head of surgery. 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. "In response to it, he did not reprimand the surgeon, but instead he encased the bone saw in glass and hung it on his wall above his desk... If I'm a clinician, and I have a disruptive behaviour to report, there's no way I'm going to be reporting it to that manager." Jacobsohn said addressing the issue of under-reported malfeasance in the operating room requires cultural changes at multiple levels, from medical schools to hospitals. An accompanying editorial in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia advises hospital leaders to pay attention to the study's findings and start investigating why staff might not want to report disruptive behaviour to management. Despite the study's findings, Jacobsohn said Manitobans preparing to undergo surgery shouldn't be alarmed. "If you're going into the hospital and you're having surgery, I don't think that should be the focus of your worry," he said. "I think by and large, the vast majority of teams work well." solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sol_israel An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to the founder of the Beige Group, Micheal Nyinaku. He is facing charges of stealing and money laundering. The bail granted by Justice Essandor was in the tune of GHS352 million with two sureties who earn not less than GHS2,000. Mr. Nyinaku is also to deposit his passport and report to the investigative teams twice in a week. The new decision follows the denial of bail three days ago by the same judge who explained that he was not convinced at the time by the arguments made by lawyers of the accused person. Lawyers of Mr. Nyinaku represented by Thadeus Sory filed a new application for bail hence today's decision. Meanwhile, the prosecution has told the court that the accused person has been sent the police hospital for treatment after he fell ill yesterday, Thursday. Why Beige Bank lost its license The Bank of Ghana of Ghana revoked the license of Beige Bank in 2018. Beige Bank was said to have obtained a banking licence falsely. An inventory asset and property report filed by the Receiver, Nii Amanor Dodoo, to the Bank of Ghana revealed that Beige Bank had total assets of GHS494 million. Out of the figure, GHS282 million, representing 57% were loans and securities. According to the report, the bank gave an amount of GHS274 million, of the loans to related parties. The Receiver said Beige bank did not adhere to credit administration policies and had inadequacies in recovery efforts. Why is Mr. Nyinaku being prosecuted Mr. Nyinaku is currently facing trial over his alleged role in the collapse of his bank, Beige Bank. In June 2019, the Receiver, Nii Amanor Dodoo sued Nyinaku together with 12 of his subsidiary companies to a tune of over GHc1.3 billion. Amanor Dodoo, in his writ, insisted that the defunct bank transferred several millions of Ghana cedis to the said companies ranging between GHc1 million and over GHc100 million. ---citinewsroom Kelly Owen, 27, (pictured) was found dead in her Farmingdale home in Long Island, New York at about 3.40pm on Wednesday A nursing student has been found suffocated to death in her home, sparking a homicide investigation. Kelly Owen, 27, was found dead in her Farmingdale home in Long Island, New York at about 3.40pm on Wednesday. Police say Owen appeared to have died from asphyxiation and the Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide. There was no sign of a break-in to her home. Owen had been living with her 6-year-old daughter, her parents and her brother at the time of her death. On the morning of her death, Owen prepared her daughter for school before she was driven there by Owen's father. Her father grew concerned when he noticed her car in the driveway that afternoon, as she had meant to be helping out with her daughters after-school program at 3pm. Her parents entered the home to find Owen unconscious and not breathing and immediately dialled 911. First responders pronounced her dead at the scene just before 4pm. An investigation is ongoing. Police are looking to speak with anyone who may have seen her during the day. Hitting back at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of delaying the hanging of the four December 16 gang-rape convicts, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said the Delhi government would have hanged the convicts in two days if it had control over the police and law and order in the city. Give us Delhi Police and law-and-order responsibility for two days, and we will hang the convicts. Javadekar ji the police is under you, the responsibility of law and order is under you, the home ministry is under you, the Tihar DG [director general] and its administration are under you, and you are blaming us? Please dont stoop so low on a sensitive issue. This is a clear attempt to instigate people, said Sisodia, a senior leader of the AAP, in a press conference. His comment came hours after Union minister Prakash Javadekar blamed the AAP governments negligence for the delay in hanging the convicts. Javadekar said it took more than two-and-a-half years for the Delhi government to give notice to the rapists after the Supreme Court rejected their appeal against the death sentence in 2017. Sisodia said it is unfortunate that a senior member of the Union Cabinet was lying on such a sensitive matter. He said the BJP is misleading people because it does not have any real issue to talk about in the upcoming polls. I want to ask you [Javadekar] why is the Union home ministry and the Union home minister Amit Shah not taking responsibility for this delay, Sisodia asked. The AAP government told the Delhi high court on Wednesday that Mukesh Singh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Thakur (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) the four convicts in the Dec 16 gang-rape and murder case will not be hanged on January 22 as scheduled, because one of them has moved a mercy plea and according to the prison rules, they cannot be executed till they exhaust all the legal remedies available to them. The four rapists were to be hanged on January 22 at 7am in Tihar jail after a court issued death warrants on January 7. Sisodia said the Delhi government had rejected the mercy plea within two hours of receiving the file. We previously also said that we rejected the plea and sent it to the L-G [Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal] at lightning speed. It is with the home ministry now, he said. Sisodias comment came days after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal made a similar demand in the context of the recent violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia. Give us Delhi Police for two days, well do wonders, he had said during a town hall meeting at Connaught Places Central Park. Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Friday said India and Iran need to work together to expedite rail connectivity to Afghanistan and procurement of equipment for development of Chabahar Port. The minister who was in the city said that India has good relations with Iran as well as US and can play a role in bringing both the countries to negotiating table. Despite the US exempting India from sanctions imposed on Iran for the development of the port in Novermber 2018, the European and Chinese suppliers who had bagged contracts to supply equipment for the port have been reluctant to deliver, fearing adverse impact on their business with the US. "Chabahar Port is essential for Afghanistan and Central Asia. There are several problemsand we made several advances on them. One of them is that our Parliament has recently approved the expansion of the freezone," he said. Zarif noted that the problem in the progress of the project is that India has found difficulty in procuring the necessary equipment for the port despite the exemption. "The other issue is connecting Chabahar to Afghanistan and to Central Asia through rail. We need to complete the Chabahar-Zahedan rail network. We have the infrastructure for that, but we need rails. We are in negotiation with India for providing rails. We produce our own rails but not at the scale we need. So, Iran and India need to work together on procurement of equipment for the port as well as finishing the rail link," he added. The minister further said Iran was not interested in re-negotiations with the US but if India wants to work in preventing the unrest and bringing the US back to the negotiating table, it would be ready for dialogue. "India is a dear friend of Iran and has good relations with the US, so it can get the latter to comeback to the negotiations. But the most important priority for Iran is to have good relations with neighbours, stability in neighbourhood and attract more investments in the country. We want to take a leading role in peace building," Zarif added. The Chabahar Port complex, backed by India, on Iran's coast along the Gulf of Oman is being developed to provide an alternative trade route between India and Afghanistan. In May 2016, India and Iran signed a bilateral agreement under which India would refurbish one of the berths at Shahid Beheshti Port, and reconstruct a 600 meter long container handling facility at the port. Under the agreement, India would build a 600-metre (1,969 feet) cargo terminal and a 640-metre container terminal. However, only a portion of the two berths have been finished because of deteriorating relations between the US and Iran after the election of US President Donald Trump in November 2016 that culminated with reimpositon of economic sanctions in 2018. In December last year, India took over operations of part of Shahid Beheshti Port. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Closing conference of EU project Support to the Georgian Competition Agency By Nika Gamtsemlidze Participants at the closing event of the EU project 'Support to the Georgian Competition Agency' summarized the results of the three-year EU aid for Competition sphere development in Georgia.The Chairman of the Competition Agency of Georgia Irakli Lekvinadze, the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Genadi Arveladze, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aleksandre Khvtisiashvili and the Head of the Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Georgia - Vincent Rey, delivered speeches at the event.To enhance competition enforcement in Georgia EU experts, including Lithuanian Competition Council officials, have worked intensively with Georgia's Competition Agency and other stakeholders.In particular, to put Georgian legal framework closer to European standards, they drafted proposals for changes to Georgia's Competition Law and held workshops for numerous target groups.The project organized more than 40 training courses for raising capacities of the GCA staff, specific workshops for sector regulators and over 30 awareness-raising conferences for representatives of both public and private sector. Different guidelines were elaborated in the project framework. The project contributed to strengthening of GCA collaboration with international and local partners."We welcome draft amendments to the Competition Law that will bring it closer to EU standards for the benefit of business and citizens. We look forward to timely adoption by parliament" said Vincent Rey, the Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Georgia.According to the Chairman of the Competition Agency of Georgia more than 100 activities have been implemented in the framework of the project to improve competition enforcement in the country.We would like to thank everyone involved in the project for the support and collaboration. Today, the main challenges for the GCA is the need for efficient comprehensive legislation and high level of trust from undertakings, which would be defined by the results of cases accumulated over the years, noted the chairman of the agency.The Team Leader of the project Aurelio Antonio La Torre and invited experts spoke about activities implemented in the project framework and presented Glossary of Competition Terms and the Handbook on Judicial Review. Up to 100 guests representing state authorities, the business sector, academy and civil society attended the closing ceremony of the Project.The project Support to the Competition Agency of Georgia is part of the complementary measures of the broader EU-funded program "Support to EU-Georgia Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)."The project aimed to support the enforcement capacity of the Georgian Competition Agency, to enhance its interaction with sector regulators, and to promote competition culture within the Georgian society in line with the DCFTA and the EU best practices. The United States has imposed sanctions on a senior military Iranian official over a crackdown on anti-government protesters, the State Department announced on January 17. Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Brigadier General Hassan Shahvarpour was banned from entering the United States for his role in crushing protests in November in the southwestern city of Mahshahr. General Shahvarpour was in command of units responsible for the violent crackdown and lethal repression around Mahshahr," U.S. special envoy for Iran Brian Hook said, adding that Shahvarpour's designation was the result of photographic and video tips submitted to the department by Iranians. "He oversaw the massacre of 148 helpless Iranians in the Mahshahr region," Hook told a news conference. The department has received more than 88,000 such tips since it appealed for Iranians to report evidence of repression and gross human rights abuses, Hook said. Tehran has denied accusations by the United States and human rights watchdogs of widespread repression but has acknowledged confronting separatists in Mahshahr that it said were armed. Mahshahr, home to many from Iran's Arab minority, was a hotbed of protests that broke out after an abrupt hike in fuel prices. Despite a fiery sermon on January 17 by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hook said that Iran did not appear to be escalating the military conflict following the killing earlier this month of Major General Qasem Soleimani, the powerful head of Iran's elite Quds Forces in a U.S. air strike in Baghdad. "They appear to be standing down for now," Hook said. "But we have a combination of maximum economic pressure and restoring deterrence by the credible threat of military force if attacked." Based on reporting by AP and AFP Newly Unveiled Vision Reflects Value of the Company's Continuous Planning Solution to Drive Faster, Confident Decision Making REDWOOD CITY, California, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Host Analytics, Inc., a leading financial planning and analysis (FP&A) platform provider, announced today that the company has changed its name to Planful, Inc. The name, Planful, is inspired by the company's vision for Continuous Planning, where businesses globally benefit from significantly faster planning and smarter financial decisions-elevating the financial IQ of an entire organization. "Business is continuous and highly dynamic-our vision for Planful enables responsive, nimble planning and decision-making by empowering all parts of a company to be engaged in these processes," said Grant Halloran, Chief Executive Officer, Planful. "Changing our name to Planful represents a new milestone in the visionary journey of our company. We were the first company to bring FP&A automation to the cloud, over a decade ago, and we are excited to now bring this modern capability to thousands more customers around the world under our new name." Planful, a cloud-based platform that seamlessly unifies financial planning, financial close & consolidation, reporting, and analytics, dramatically accelerates the end-to-end FP&A process. By creating faster and more collaborative planning cycles, the finance team can leverage Planful's Continuous Planning capabilities to better fulfill their strategic advisory roles at companies navigating rapidly changing business environments. "Disruptive times call for better business planning," said Doug Henschen, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Constellation Research. "When companies need to innovate or respond to rapidly changing market conditions, they need visibility into the business. Leading planning platforms, such as Planful, enable faster decision cycles and offer strategic insight and value to finance leaders." About Planful Planful (formerly Host Analytics) is a leading financial planning and analysis (FP&A) cloud platform. Planful delivers a vision of Continuous Planning by accelerating the end-to-end FP&A process and fostering business-wide participation in agile planning and decision-making. More than 800 customers including, Bose, Boston Red Sox, Del Monte, TGI Friday's, and 23andMe rely on Planful for financial planning and budgeting, dynamic operational planning, financial consolidations, reporting, and visual analytics. Planful is a private company backed by Vector Capital, a leading global private equity firm specializing in transformational investments in established technology businesses. Learn more at www.planful.com. Additional Resources Learn more about Continuous Planning: https://www.planful.com/blog/ Hear from Planful customers: https://www.planful.com/customers/ Find out about career openings: https://www.planful.com/about-us/careers/ Join the conversation on social media: LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook Media Contact Kasey Thomas 925-285-6449 planful@sspr.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1077463/Planful_Logo.jpg Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi, Aman Rochman and Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Malang/Semarang Sat, January 18 2020 Anti-child marriage activists have urged judges at both local religious and district courts to refrain from granting marriage permits to underage children in violation of the groundbreaking revisions to the 1974 Marriage Law to prevent child marriage and protect children's rights. Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) commissioner Rita Pranawati said many early marriages were pushed for by parents who had not considered the harm that could befall their children. According to KPAI data, only 22 percent of such marriages were carried out with the child's consent. The remaining marriages were performed for various other reasons, such as unwanted pregnancies, financial issues or the fear of violating religious rules. 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 Then I stopped to think about who put Miller where he is President Trump. The same President Trump who recently retweeted to his 71 million followers a doctored photo of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wearing a hijab and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) with a turban on his head in front of an Iranian flag with a caption reading, the corrupted Dems trying their best to come to the Ayatollahs rescue. Why wouldnt an insulter of Islam and Muslims, who also inflicts cruelty at our southern border, want to have the likes of Stephen Miller at his side? No one wants to be caught out by scammers, but inevitably the risk rises when you are travelling abroad and in unfamiliar territory. The secret is to keep your wits about you, staying aware at all times, and remember to trust your instincts. If something doesnt seem right, it generally isnt. It also helps to know about the most likely frauds targeted at travellers. So weve asked some of the UKs leading travel companies to share their experiences of the most common scams faced by their customers. The risk of being caught out by scammers rises when you are travelling in unfamiliar territory The spilled drink trick This is a classic pickpocketing tactic common in Egypt, the Middle East and Europe. Fraudsters accidentally spill a drink or something else (like ice cream) on their chosen target. While everyone flaps around cleaning up the mess, they use the confusion to slyly pocket the victims valuables. What to do: Keep your possessions in a secure pocket or a bag that is visible and closed at all times. Bogus station porters Beware of anyone offering to help with bags at train stations, even if they look official, as they may sprint off with them or else demand a hefty fee. This railway station rip-off is particularly notable at Milan Centrale and Rome Termini, say tour operators. What to do: Avoid taking heavy cases that are difficult to carry, or book a luggage transfer to deliver bags in advance. Alternatively, arrange a private transfer as the driver will help. Tempting exchange rates Watch out for street vendors offering what seem to be brilliant exchange rates, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. This is a common ruse to lure you aside for theft. What to do: Always stick to changing money at official outlets, banks and hotels but preferably do it before you travel, and not at the airport. The hire car (or scooter) hustle This can happen just about anywhere, though on scooter hire it is especially rife in Asia at smaller rental outlets. Renters hire a car or scooter to go exploring, but on their return the vendor claims compensation for damage which they allege was not there previously. What to do: Take time to photograph all round the vehicle before you depart, noting all dings, dents and possible faults. Do this conspicuously so the renter sees it. Don't be taken for a ride Never take an unlicensed cab abroad. Taxi rip-offs are especially commonplace in Thailand and India One of the oldest scams in the book and prevalent everywhere, taxi rip-offs are especially commonplace in Thailand and India. What to do: Never take an unlicensed cab. Order from your hotel and go to an official rank. Get an idea of the price beforehand as a basis for negotiation and if they have a meter, make sure it is turned on. Use a phone/map app to ensure they stick to the best route and never accept free tours. Copycat online visa stings This takes place even before you depart. Since countries such as America, Canada and New Zealand introduced electronic travel authorisations via their own official websites, a plethora of virtually identical sites have sprung up charging up to ten times more. What to do: Go to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website and check the travel advice for the country you are visiting (gov.uk). The designer clothes con Also known as plea for help, this ruse is common in European cities and involves a glamorous well-dressed driver asking for directions. They say they are late and appear stressed. When you provide assistance they are so grateful they offer you a present in the form of a designer item of clothing. Then they suddenly realise they are running out of petrol, say they have forgotten their wallet/purse and ask if you can spare money. What to do: Scarper as fast as you can (and the designer clothes are always fake). Snap! That will be 200 Egyptian pounds If someone offers to take your photo at a popular tourist site - especially at Cairos Pyramids - they may want cash If someone offers to take your photo at a popular tourist site especially at Cairos Pyramids or the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru they may persistently ask for payment. This can go on so long you may simply wish to pay the person to go away. What to do: Politely refrain any offer and do not get into conversation with them. Short-changed again It's a ruse that is as old as the hills for tourists unfamiliar with the local currency, and can happen anywhere. There are, however, many reports of the problem in Cuba, where holidaymakers may be given local currency (the Cuban Peso) in change instead of the tourist currency (the Cuban Convertible Peso), which is worth more. What to do: Check which type of Peso will be given in change before making a purchase. Or try to give the correct money. Always check your change thoroughly. Dodge the dodgy tour guides After arranging a meeting time with your guide to leave for an excursion, you are then contacted by a fraudster pretending to be from the tour firm you previously dealt with. The fraudster, who has overheard you make arrangements, says an earlier meeting time would be better. The aim is to spirit you away and demand money. Scammer airport transfer reps are another problem to watch out for, particularly in Mumbai, according to tour operators that specialise in India. What to do: Call the tour company to confirm details if any mysterious changes are requested. At airports, confirm that reps have written evidence of your full name and correct itinerary. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has decided not take his squad on a warm-weather training camp during the Premier Leagues winter break. The Reds boss has traditionally taken his players to Spain for a warm-weather training camp in February since taking charge at Anfield. The Premier League's new mid-season break means Liverpool are not scheduled to contest a league fixture for two weeks after they face Southampton at Anfield on February 1. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has decided not take his squad on a warm-weather training camp But Klopp has decided to reward his table toppers with a week-long break from training, according to the Evening Standard. That is subject to the Reds not being involved in a FA Cup fourth-round replay against Shrewsbury Town, which would be scheduled to take place on February 5. Liverpool will travel to New Meadow next Sunday to face the League One side. This weekend they host bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield. The members of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Friday organised candle rallies here in support of Andhra Pradesh government's proposal of setting up Visakhapatnam as the executive capital of the state. State Tourism minister M Srinivasa Rao, Visakhapatnam Metro Region Development Authority (VMRDA) Chairman Dronamraju Srinivas, several MLAs and other leaders participated in the rally from LIC Building to GVMC Gandhi statue in the city. Srinivasa Rao said: "Visakhapatnam would be an ideal choice to set up the executive capital since seven of the total thirteen districts in Andhra Pradesh are backward, including the Northern districts." "Choosing Vizag would boost development in the districts and decentralised development is the way forward for Andhra Pradesh to progress," the minister added. The YSRCP leaders also urged the government to shift the executive capital to Visakhapatnam soon. The state government 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.) Advertisement The enchanting majesty of Lebanon has been captured in an extraordinary set of drone photographs. They have been taken by Lebanese photographer Rami Rizk. Last year, MailOnline Travel presented a portfolio of Lebanon drone images he took during 2018. The pictures you see below are a result of his most recent aerial adventures above the often-volatile Middle Eastern nation in 2019. They show the beautifully diverse landscape of the country including the golden sandy beaches of Zouk Mosbeh, the picturesque ski resort of Mzaar Kfardebian, Baalbek's mysterious ancient ruins and the buzzing capital city of Beirut, teeming with people during an anti-government protest last October. Rami told MailOnline Travel: 'The images I have taken stand for the Lebanon we believe in and the Lebanon we are fighting for. They have inspired people to become more positive towards the country regardless of the crisis that Lebanon has been going through. 'I do believe that the perception of Lebanon has reached a new level because people are becoming more reactive to the shots and are engaging with them and inviting their friends to visit the mentioned sites. I hope that this change will keep on going in a positive direction to help people see the true colours of Lebanon.' Scroll down to discover Lebanon's unique and diverse landscape... A stunning aerial shot of the breathtaking Wadi Qannoubine valley in the northeast of Lebanon. This area is peppered with caves and chapels that are cut from rock and is popular with hikers An incredible shot of central Beirut during anti-government protests in Lebanon last October. Crowds gathered next to the famous Mohammed Al Amine Mosque, which is sometimes also called the Blue Mosque, and the Maronite Cathedral of Saint George Mysterious ancient ruins in the city of Baalbek, northeast of Beirut. The crumbling complex of temples dates back to the Roman Empire and has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site A sunset view of the coastal town of Jounieh, which is a city north of Beirut. It has several seaside resorts and is known for its bustling nightlife The ski resort of Mzaar Kfardebian, pictured, is the largest in the Middle East. The ski season here usually starts in early December and finishes in early April Saida, pictured, also known as Sidon, is the third-largest city in Lebanon after Beirut and Tripoli. The first residents are said to have settled here as early as 4000BC The amazing Saydet El Hosn, also known as the Lady of the Fortress, overlooks the town of Ehden. It is located in the heart of the northern mountains of Lebanon The mountains of Tannourine, pictured, are located north of Beirut in the Batroun District. The cedar forest surrounding the peaks has some 60,000 trees The golden sands of Zouk Mosbeh, north of Beirut, left. Pictured right are sunseekers topping up their tans on a beach in Tyre, a city in southern Lebanon Beirut Central District, pictured, is the financial, commercial and administrative hub of Lebanon. The area has undergone massive reconstruction since being severely damaged in the Lebanese Civil War, which took place between 1975 and 1990 The town of Rashaya, also known as Rachaiya, pictured, is located in south-west Lebanon. It is considered by some to be one of Lebanon's most picturesque towns Kamouh el Hermel, or the Hermel Pyramid, left, is an ancient structure in the town of Hermel in north-eastern Lebanon. It is believed to date back to the first or second century BC. Pictured right is the Afqa waterfall, which is the source for the River Adonis, a small 14-mile river The rugged coastline at Byblos, a city in northern Lebanon. The city has been continuously inhabited since Neolithic times and is a Unesco World Heritage Site The stunning Faraya Falls in the Mount Lebanon range in the north of the country. The range extends along Lebanon for 110 miles Lake Qaraoun, pictured, is a reservoir located just south of Beirut. It was built in 1959 and is the largest artificial lake in Lebanon The high rise buildings of Achrafiyeh, pictured left, one of the oldest districts of the capital, Beirut. Pictured right are people gathering to celebrate the Feast of the Cross on a hill overlooking the city of Jezzine The Lebanese flag is projected on to the Egg, an unfinished cinema structure in Beirut, during national day celebrations in November The mountainous Lebanese village of Akoura, also known as Aaqoura, is situated in the Jbeil District of northern Lebanon. It is very popular with hikers The Jisr es-Sid bridge, which crosses the Beirut River in the village of Mansourieh. The village is famous for its Roman ruins The village of Deir al-Qamar, pictured, which is a popular weekend escape for those living in the capital, Beirut. The area was previously a stronghold for the Ottoman Emirs Melting snow trails down a peak, left, and into an artificial lake in the mountainous region of Bcharre, also known as Bsharri. Rami took both of these images in June The coastal city of Batroun, pictured, is in northern Lebanon and is said to be one of the oldest cities in the world The historical town of Qab Elias, also known as Qabb Ilyas, pictured, is in central Lebanon. It is home to several Roman ruins as well as vineyards A road weaves its way along the coastline in Hamat, a village in northern Lebanon, left. Pictured right is the harbour in El Mina, an area of the coastal city of Tripoli This incredible picture shows Mount Hermon, which has a summit that straddles Lebanon's border with Syria. The mountain is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible Oleksiy Honcharuk had offered to quit after he was allegedly heard criticising leaders primitive views on economy. Kyiv, Ukraine Ukraines embattled Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk tendered his resignation following a scandal over what appeared to be leaked tapes of him lambasting the presidents primitive views on the economy. But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to accept Honcharuks offer to quit. A man whose voice resembles that of Honcharuk is heard in three audio files posted on YouTube this week, which claim to be the recording of conversations between the prime minister and finance officials, including the finance minister. Honcharuk, a 35-year-old lawyer who became Ukraines prime minister in August, is alleged to have said: Zelenskyy has a very primitive understanding of the economy, and is also heard describing himself a layman in economic matters. Zelenskyy earlier said he would consider the resignation. The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraines lower house of parliament dominated by Zelenskyys Servant of the People party convened on Friday to discuss the resignation. After the meeting, Zelenskyy refused the resignation bid. I decided to give you and your government a chance if you resolve some issues that are very important today and are of concern to our society, the president told Honcharuk in a video released by his press service late Friday. Now is not the time to shake the country economically and politically. He instructed security officials to find the source of the leak. I demand that within two weeks, as soon as possible, we should get the information on who was recording, he was quoted by his press service as saying. Law enforcement agencies should find who did it and work it all out, he said. Honcharuk blames groups of influence Addressing the parliament earlier on Friday, Honcharuk said there had been attempts to sow distrust, but called for unity to prevail. Ukraines government keeps working as usual until the moment the president makes a decision, he said. This is a political decision we are expecting from our political power. Some of the legislators shouted, Get away! after his speech. Honcharuk also suggested unnamed powerful figures stood to benefit from his government being brought down. Many groups of influence, which are trying to gain access to financial flows, benefit from such presentation, but this is not true, Honcharuk wrote on Facebook on Friday morning. I came to this post to execute the presidents programme. He is for me a model of openness and honesty. However, I wrote the resignation letter to the president with the right to submit it to Parliament to cast away any doubts of our respect and trust to the president. According to Ukraines constitution, only a parliamentary vote can dismiss a prime minister. Honcharuk said on Friday the recording had been doctored, cobbled together from fragments of recorded government meetings. Its contents artificially create the impression that my team and I do not respect the president, who is our political leader, Honcharuk said on social media. He did not comment on whether it was his voice heard in the recording, but on Thursday said the furore would not scare him, as his government would be even more stubborn in uprooting corruption and blocking the streams of illegal financial operations. His government, which largely consists of political first-timers and formerly junior officials, has been criticised for an inconsistent approach to reforms and a failure to live up to Zelenskyys populist election promises to upend the power of regional oligarchs, crack down on corruption and reform an economy hobbled by Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea and an armed conflict in two separatist provinces. His government could start the process of replacing elites, changing the system of decision-making that went against the wishes of several oligarchic groups in Ukraine, but on the other hand, they could not make this work systemic, they did not start the reforms [the public] expected from them, Igar Tyshkevich of Kyiv-based think-tank The Future Institute, told Al Jazeera. Other experts are even more dismissive of Honcharuks performance. On a scale of one to 10, its definitely a zero, Kyiv-based analyst Alexey Kushch told Al Jazeera. Explaining his low rating, Kushch cited an industrial recession, a drop in gross domestic product growth and deflation stifling income growth, budget and trade deficits and shrinking foreign investment. Ukraine is one of Europes poorest nations, suffering after a severe disruption of economic ties with Moscow. Millions of migrant workers work in the European Union or Russia, while Kyivs cash-strapped government is struggling to maintain its military fighting pro-Russia separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Honcharuks government has also faced two political crises not of his making. The first is the ongoing scandal surrounding US President Donald Trumps alleged attempts to pressure Zelenskyy into investigating Hunter Biden, the son of Trumps political rival, Joe Biden, the former vice president of the United States. The White House briefly froze almost $400m in military aid in a move that could have reignited the separatist war, Europes most active armed conflict, in which more than 13,000 lives have been lost. The second is the January 8 downing of a Ukrainian commercial airliner by an Iranian missile, which resulted in the death of all 176 passengers and crew on board. China will temporarily close its border with Kyrgyzstan from 24 to 30 January 2020, the State Border Service of Kyrgyzstan said. The Torugart and Irkeshtam border crossing points will be closed by China in connection with celebration of the Chinese New Year Spring Festival. The border crossing points will reopen since January 31, AKIpress reported. A sign reminds voters they need photo ID to vote on Election Day at a polling station at Hillsboro Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 6, 2018. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Russia Will Interfere in 2020 Presidential Election, Homeland Security Chief Predicts Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said his agency is expecting Russia to interfere in the upcoming presidential elections, underscoring the need for action at the local, state, and federal levels ahead of the November 2020 polls. Unlike China, Russia doesnt seek to weaken our economy and surpass us on the world-stage; rather they focus on actions that disrupt and undermine the American way of life, Wolf said, according to a transcript of a speech he gave Friday. As we saw in 2016, we fully expect Russia to attempt to interfere in the 2020 elections to sow public discord and undermine our democratic institutions. Since 2016, Homeland Security and other federal agencies have taken steps to prepare for potential Russian interference, Wolf said, before adding that the White House has a laser focus on dealing with potential threats from Moscow. Let me be clear: We are prepared, Wolf said. More importantly, the state and local officials who run our elections are prepared. We are working with our federal partners to make sure those officials on the front lines of our elections have the information and the tools they need to combat Russian interference. About 90 percent of votes cast in November will have a corresponding paper ballot, he said. The use of voting machines that print out a record of how a voter cast their ballot has been touted as a security boon to prevent potential foreign interference or hacks by malicious actors. Beyond election threats, he touched on cyber threats from a number of countries, including China and Iran. But China, he stressed, is the most persistent nation-state threat in the cyber realm. Through cyber espionage and other activities that impact our economic prosperity and intellectual horsepower, it is pursuing a long-term whole-of-nation effort to threaten and undermine the United States, Wolf said of China. While we value our partnership with Beijing to promote global prosperity, we are working to hold Chinese bad actors accountable for their malign activities. Wolf suggested China poses a more persistent threat to the United States than Russia or any other adversarial government. The Chinese Communist Party, he added, uses the openness of our society and institutions against usbe it our academic and scientific communities, or Silicon Valleyto aggressively expand its ability to shape information and the Chinese narrative abroad. At the same time, Iran might be ramping up on its cyberattack capabilities after the United States killed one of the regimes top commanders, Qassem Soleimani, in early January, triggering a retaliatory strike from Tehran and bellicose statements from its leaders. The secretary pointed to a bulletin issued by Homeland Securitys National Terrorism Advisory System last week about the potential of an Iranian cyberattack. However, he emphasized there is no credible, specific threat to the homeland from Iran and Homeland Security is operating with an enhanced posture to counter any possible attacks. Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch invites ambitious entrepreneurs to step into the Entrepreneur Elevator, then gives them just 60 seconds to pique the interest of a group of judges. Its a high-pressure, fast-paced environment in which startup founders need to race against the clock while maintaining their composure to make a clear, deliberate pitch that covers at least three essential components: The investors watch the pitch via a video livestream while the elevator ascends to the boardroom floor. Once the 60 seconds are up, the judges vote on whether to open the doors or send the founder back down and pass on investing. The fifth season of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch offers a dynamic change in the show's format. Before, our four judges needed unanimous agreement to make an offer to the pitching entrepreneurs including three out of four "yes" votes just to open the elevator doors. Now, it only takes one investor to open the doors and one judge to make an offer. The panel of four can then choose whether they want to collaborate or compete against one another. Episode 9 featured Beth Vasquez, the founder of Recess & Results, who was kind enough to detail her experience on the show below. Entrepreneur: What is your company's elevator pitch? Vasquez: Recess & Results is entertaining exercise for kids, and a praiseworthy paycheck for people with passions for faith, family and fitness. We are the only faith-based kids fitness program and turn-key business opportunity on the market. Our virtual platform houses training modules, lesson plans and program guides, and essential business resources that transform our partners into confident, purpose-driven entrepreneurs and kid and family fitness experts. Individuals with passions for faith, family and fitness partner with us for a low, one-time investment of just $249 and small recurring monthly partnership fee of $49. They complete the self-paced training online via our platform, and can be ready to launch their own Recess business in their community in as little as one week. The demand for childrens activities have skyrocketed, making the industry one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy. 46 percent of parents spend more than $1,000 per year on their childs activities, of parents spend more than $1,000 per year on their childs activities, 81 percent of parents believe that the amount of money they spend on their childs extracurricular activities is in direct correlation with their development, thus parents spend on childrens activities regardless of financial difficulty making it a recession proof business. Kids are unhealthier and unhappier than ever before. As obesity, anxiety, depression, rise, parents are desperately seeking ways to build healthy habits, confidence and character in kids in a way that is fun for them. Recess & Results provides a unique, Christ-centered option for increasing your income on your own terms. Whether working part-time, full-time, or sometimes, not only can you earn a wage that matches your worth, you will grow personally and professionally while serving God alongside a family of believers on a mission to save the world, one recess at a time. Why did you choose to start this business? Working in both the fitness industry, and on the corporate side of the mid-level marketing (MLM) industry, I noticed an obvious demand for kids fitness programs and side-hustle opportunities and the lack of faith-based options in both areas. As a Christian mom, I intentionally look for opportunities to grow my faith and keep my family healthy and happy. As a career woman I felt the stigma of discussing faith at work and felt the pressure to keep career as the No. 1 priority. My priorities of faith, family and fitness (in that order) didnt fit corporate America and I knew I couldnt be alone. RR was the answer for me and from my work in the MLM industry, I knew I could turn it into an opportunity for others as well. The programs Recess & Results offer sell themselves, making it easy for our partners to be successful. How was your experience in the elevator during Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch? The overall experience was life-changing and a turning point for me in business. Lasting relationships were built that day, and my faith in God's plan for my life through this business was strengthened. A mindset shift occurred as a result of this experience and the conversations I was blessed to have that allowed me to 4x my business growth in the month that followed. Were you more or less nervous than you expected? "Nervous" I can handle, and I believe a little nervousness is a good thing! However, I was definitely more emotional than expected! Any surprises? The timer counting down in my face surprised me. I practiced my pitch for time, but never staring at a countdown. But more than that, the genuineness of everyone on the crew and from the executive at Entrepreneur surprised me in the most amazing way. The authentic desire to help us be successful beyond just the filming of the show (and even after I didnt get off the elevator) was unexpected but immensely appreciated. If you could do it over again, what would you change? I have zero regrets! I wouldnt change this experience because I needed everything to happen as it did to teach me the valuable lessons I learned. That said, if I were to come back to the show for a second time, I would restructure my pitch to paint a better picture of the industry landscape and trajectory, and talk more about the proprietary resources we offer our owners to ensure their success with their new Recess & Results business. I would also practice my pitch with distractions all around me to enhance focus. What did you learn from this experience that you will bring to your next pitch meeting? Where do I start? I learned mental resilience, business strategy, gained focus and clarity in what a good pitch is made up of, and was also reminded that there is a purpose for every step in the journey. I did not walk away with a deal from the investors, but the personal, professional, and spiritual development was worth far more. God showed up so many times through this process and His presence was undeniable. I can walk into the next pitch meeting knowing that when I come prepared and do my best for God, He is there with me doing the rest, and I trust the outcome is in His hands. Related: How to Start a Home Food Pop-up Here's How I Started the Business That Appeared on 'Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch' Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved We have updated our privacy policy to be more clear and meet the new requirements of the GDPR. By continuing to use our site, you accept our revised Privacy Policy. On Sunday night, March 31, 1968, Travis and I sat drinking beer and watching a black-and-white television set in an apartment in Greenwich Village. Lyndon Johnson was delivering yet another of his mournful, hound-dog addresses to the nation about Vietnam. But this time, he ended with a surprise: he would abdicate. He would remove himself from the melodrama. He would not seek reelection in 1968. He would make himself disappear. He would go away. It took a moment for this to sink in. Then Travis and I whooped, and went out to finish getting drunk. Travis Williams was a classmate of mine from college, a black man, the son of a Durham, North Carolina barber. Travis had gone to Exeter on a scholarship and to Harvard as a National Merit Scholar. His father hated all white men and bitterly warned his son against them. Travisa tall, rollicking, complicated guy who was very smart and drank too muchhad a contrary view; or anyway, a different strategy. Many of his friends were white. He was succeeding quite handsomely in the white world; by spring of 1968, he was a reporter for Life magazine. I was a national affairs writer for Time. LBJs abdicationcoming after the Tet offensive and after the New Hampshire primary in which Eugene McCarthy did well and after Bobby Kennedy entered the presidential racewas one of the early earthquakes of 1968. At Time, we settled down to write about Johnsons withdrawal and its aftershocks. We had our stories written or half-written by Thursday night, April 4, and a group of us national editor Mike Demarest and a few writerswent off for dinner at a Greek restaurant in the West Fifties. In half an hour, the owner bustled over with the news that Martin Luther King, Jr. had been shot in Memphis. We leaped up, paid the check, and by the time we were back at the office, the flash was on the AP ticker that King had died. Travis called me up from a bar somewhere and shouted: Im getting pretty sick of this shit! He slammed down the phone. I mention personal detailsprivate memories mixed with the publicbecause, 50 years later, the two are mingled inseparably in the mind. You locate the meaning of these things only by seeing them in both dimensionsin many dimensions. Anyway, the great public issue of race in America is always intensely personal. The dread word the N-wordcompresses, in six letters, centuries of public and private meanings (hatred, tragedy). I first met Martin Luther King, Jr., for a moment, at a labor union convention in Buffalo in the summer of 1960. I had just finished my freshman year and was working a summer job as a reporter for the Buffalo Evening News. King gave a speech. I forget the subject. I made my way through the crowd of labor leaders, up to the stage, and I shook Kings hand and, with what were no doubt excesses of sincerity, told him how much I admired him. It was true. One of the things that distinguished King was his air of gravity and dignity and formality (which he might pronounce gravitay and dignitay and formalitay). His body English was like his prose: stately, with restrained Biblical embellishmentsthe Moses note, by way of Ebenezer Baptist Church. There in Buffalo, he appraised me for a second (earnest white boy in horn-rims) and replied slowly, Thank you verra much! It happened that my father, who worked for Nelson Rockefeller, knew King pretty well. My father handled Rockefellers dealings with Kings Southern Christian Leadership Conference and knew not only King but his lieutenantsWyatt T. Walker, Ralph Abernathy. The Rockefeller family for many years had given money to black Baptist institutions in the South, to Spelman College, for example. King came to New York frequently, and sometimes my father lent him our Ford station wagon. I would ferry the car to King over at the house in Riverdale where he was staying. I would hand over the keys. (Thank you verra much). One time, King sheepishly returned the car with a dent in the side. He was abashed and charming. He wanted to have the dent fixed, but we would not hear of it. The dent remainedthe Martin Luther King Dent, a cherished family relic. I admired Martin Luther King as much as I admired any American in the twentieth century. I feltstill doa reverence for him. Charisma is Greek for a gift of grace. King was a gift of grace to the United Statesa country that may have been unworthy of the gift, or else unable to understand it. Toward the end of his life, blacks had given upa biton King and his ways. With amiable humor, they called him De Lawd. Travis referred to him that way. Some even used the lethal term, Uncle Tom. The Nobel Prizea suspect apotheosis, bestowed by Whiteysubtly discredited him in contrast with black firebrands (H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael) to whom satyagraha was the wrong idea: they meant to take the passive out of passive resistance. King was getting to be passe your fathers station wagon. Few Americans have shown more courage than the civil rights workers in the South in the early 1960s: the Freedom Riders and others, those working for voter registration and access to public accommodations. One night in the summer of 1964, I was on a late shift at the old Washington Star. A long-distance call came in to the city desk from Sunflower County, Mississippi. I heard a frightened young voice coming from a house way out in the dark Mississippi countrysidea civil rights worker who told me that she just wanted someone to know that she was out there in the middle of the night and scared to death, and that now and then she heard a pickup truck. We talked for a long time. Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman had disappeared a few weeks earlier from Philadelphia, Mississippi. Their bodies would be found in the earthen dam where Klansmen buried them. The most conspicuous and vulnerable of them all was Martin Luther King. He saw it coming (I may not get there with you), but he never stopped. His gift to the country, apart from the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, was his miraculous example of grace and courage. People associated the phrase grace under pressure with John Kennedy, but it more aptly applied to King. Along with the grace and the courage, there came with him a motif of forbearance, of forgivenessgood manners on an exalted level. Kennedy in the 1960 election made an acid remark about Richard Nixon: No class. No one in that time had more class than Martin Luther King. Years later, in 1982, I was in Alabama to have a look at George Wallaces last gubernatorial race. Wallace, in his time, had unspeakably bad manners, especially toward black people, and the power to inflict humiliation and pain. Yet I found, to my astonishment, that, in 1982, more than a few black Alabamians supported him. They found it in themselves to forgive him. (He had apologized that time in Birmingham, they said, and anyway, he was doing a lot for the people by starting up community colleges.) That seemed to me a very definition of gracea blessing entirely unmerited but bestowed by the promptings of a good heart. There was a Southern churchy sweetness in these transactionsnot sentimentality, but goodness. Wallace had been in a wheelchair for ten years, after being shot down and crippled in a Laurel, Maryland parking lot by an assassin during the 1972 presidential campaign. Now, on Labor Day a decade later, he sat in his wheelchair on a small flatbed metal stage in a park at Noccalula Falls, near Gadsden, and he communed with the people, white and black, who filed quietly past. He reached out his hands to them, consoling and almost, one thought, healing. I wrote in an article at the time: He has the nimbus of saint and martyror at any rate, of a celebrity who has passed through the fire and the greater world: he has come back to them from history, come back with powder burns. Wallacethough in great pain survived his assassins bullet. Martin Luther King did not. Such outcomes are mysterious. Grace was at work: even a sinner like George Wallace might find shelter and beat least a little bitredeemed by the atmosphere of Kings example. The words Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do reverberated, as if in some obscure moral negotiation, between Memphis, Tennessee and Laurel, Maryland. I find the entire year 1968 to be a sermon whose lesson is indecipherable, even 50 years later. There were four deaths that were decisiveto me, anyway. Two were public and two private; two were blacks, and two were whites. Nineteen sixty-eight was Moloch. These were blood sacrifices. The public deaths: Martin Luther King, in early April; Bobby Kennedy, in early June. The private deaths: at the end of January, just at the time of the Tet offensive, my younger brother Mike, 17, died in Memorial Hospital on 68th Street of an obscure cancer that attached itself to his lung; in May, my friend Travis Williams, 28, burst a blood vessel in his brain. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in St. Vincents Hospital in the Village. We did not see that one coming. Photo by J. Wilds/Keystone/Getty Images I have had concerns about the setback and said from the beginning several months ago that it could be a problem, but we came down to deciding if we wanted to not allow this to happen over three feet, he said. I think this new building will be a wonderful addition to the mall and for Oak Brook. Image: Moneycontrol live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Ajay Piramal, Chairman of Piramal Group said he plans to utilise capital raised from the sale of healthcare analytics subsidiary and rights issue for growth opportunities in the financial services business. Piramal told Moneycontrol that he would also look at opportunities that could come in for inorganic growth. Piramal Enterprises on January 17 said it had signed a definitive agreement for the sale of healthcare insights and analytics subsidiary Decision Resources Group (DRG) to US-based Clarivate Analytics for a sale consideration of $950 million. Piramal will receive $900 million on closing of the deal and $50 million to be received at the end of 12 months from the date of closing. This transaction is expected to be completed by February-end this year. DRG caters to the information needs of pharmaceutical, insurance and hospitals, had contributed Rs 1330.74 crore or about 10 percent of Piramals consolidated revenue of 13,215 crore. Around 53 percent of Piramal revenues came from financial services. Piramal has a loan book of Rs 53,055 core as of September 2019. Piramal is also in the process of raising rights issue of Rs 3,650 crore from its existing shareholders, in addition to raise Rs 1,750 crore through the preferential allotment of CCDs to Canadian institutional investor, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) "Sometime in the first quarter of this year, we have said that we will raise Rs 8000-Rs10,000 crore of equity from our companies. With divestment of DRG as well as the rights issue, we will achieve our target, or in fact will exceed it. I believe that there are lots of opportunities that are there in the market as far as financial services are concerned. In the NBFC (Non-banking Finance Company) space, many of the NBFCs have actually stopped lending or reduced their lending and therefore this gives us an opportunity to grow organically and as well enter those areas where others are not lending. I want to make more diversified and granular book, as far as NBFC is concerned. In addition, I see that there are many opportunities that could come in for in organic growth and we will look at those as well," Piramal said. As part of the efforts to diversify loan book which was skewed towards real estate which isn't doing well, Piramal said he is in conversation with banks to do co-lending. "We wanted to make our book granular, and therefore we will look at doing co-lending platform with banks and with other institutions both in India and globally," Piramal said. Piramal said he is not looking at any further divestments of businesses. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Riza Roidila Mufti (The Jakarta Post) Brunei Darussalam Fri, January 17, 2020 18:05 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c3229302c 1 Business New-Bali,super-priority-destinations,ASEAN-Tourism-Forum,Brunei-Darussalam,likupang,borobudur,labuan-bajo,Lake-Toba,Mandalika,accessibility,Tourism-and-Creative-Economy-Ministry Free The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry formally introduced Indonesias five super-priority tourism destinations to 43 international journalists attending the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2020 in Brunei Darussalam on Thursday. The ministry said it expected the effort would spread the word and further information about the destinations, dubbed the new Balis, to more audiences in the world. This is the first time Indonesia introduced the five destinations to international journalists in a formal international business-to-business event. "Many of them expressed enthusiasm and curiosity, Wisnu Bara Tarunajaya, the ministry's director of tourism human resources and inter-institutional relations, told The Jakarta Post. They wanted to know about how to get to the destinations, what products we are ready to offer and what the strategic promotions for the destinations are," he added. Read also: Indonesia courting business deals at ASEAN tourism exhibition in Brunei The government is developing the five super-priority destinations as a part of its efforts to make the tourism industry one of the new drivers of economic growth. The destinations are Toba Lake in North Sumatra, Borobudur in Central Java, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara and Likupang in North Sulawesi. While the names Borobudur and Labuan Bajo were probably not new to the journalists, other destinations seem to be still unfamiliar for them. In the media briefing, the journalists were mainly curious about the destinations' infrastructure and accessibility. A journalist from Croatia asked the ministrys officials about access to Lake Toba, citing his own experience of traveling on bad roads from North Sumatra's capital of Medan to the large lake, which he said offered beautiful scenery. The lake is located more than 100 kilometers from Medan. Wisnu answered the question by explaining that today the access had become much better with wider roads and direct flights available from Medan to Silangit Airport, which has been made the entry point to Lake Toba. Rizki Handayani, one of the ministry's marketing deputies, added that currently a number of infrastructure developments were being carried out at the five destinations. "While the developments are ongoing, branding and selling activities must be running too [] because it takes time to promote the destinations, Rizki said. We introduce them now as a preparation measure, so that the international community wants to know more and more about the destinations. Read also: Locals seek inclusion in Likupang development One of the government's main agenda items this year is to complete basic infrastructure development in the five destinations. The Public Works and Housing Ministry has a Rp 7.8 trillion budget for infrastructure development in the new Balis. The developments are to focus on improving connectivity, water resource facilities and other supporting facilities at the destinations. For instance, the development of the Samosir Ring Road is to support access to Lake Toba and its surrounding area, a road to Lombok International Airport is to support access to Mandalika, the enhancement of the Keprekan-Borobudur road is to support the temple and the procurement of a water supply system would help Labuan Bajo thrive. The Jakarta Post was invited to cover the ASEAN Tourism Forum from Jan. 13 to 17 by the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry. Government and National Education Union agree deal over teachers' pay The National Education Union (NEU) has reached an agreement in principle with the Manx Government in discussions over teachers pay. A deal was struck after representatives from the Department of Education, Sport and Culture and the NEU held engaging and positive talks with the Manx Industrial Relations Service (MIRS) on Wednesday. The agreement will see all Isle of Man teachers move to the London Fringe Area pay range, retaining the link to the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD). This would be implemented on 1 September 2020. Under the agreement the two lowest teaching pay scales will also be removed, meaning new teachers will move from a starting salary of 24,373 to approximately 30,000. The NEU will now consult with their members on the proposed deal. Covenant Christian School Head Administrator Glenn Slaters excitement was infectious as he along with city, county and state leaders announced the school would be the location of a multi million-dollar hurricane safe room thanks to a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. According to information from the school, the project is a monolithic concrete dome gymnasium that will provide near-absolute life safety protection for first responders and other emergency personnel who cannot evacuate when a hurricane is imminent. During a hurricane or other major disaster, the safe room/gymnasium would be turned over to local emergency management officials from Montgomery County and the city of Conroe to serve as a base of operations and secure shelter for first responders and other emergency personnel. The facility will hold more than 650 first responders and will protect against winds over 200 mph from hurricanes and tornadoes. It will also protect against fire, termites and rot. This an exciting day for our school, Slater said to a packed room Friday. Our school family is so excited about this opportunity to serve our local community, especially our first responders. Slater said the process to apply for the grant began about 18 months ago as the school board was discussing the future of the school. Board member Greg Casey mention the grant and the dome adding Montgomery County was one location pinpointed as an area that could support the project. It seemed like a long shot, Slater said noting Covenant Christian School was one of more than 300 applications submitted for the grant. Undeterred, Slater began the process to apply and with the help of a $20,000 donation to the school from students family member to secure a professional grant writer, Covenant submitted its application. The application process included letters of support from both city and county leaders. It was months of paperwork, waiting and prayer, Slater said. In November, Slater received the news the school was selected to receive the grant. FEMA is funding 75 percent, or about $3 million, for the project with the school providing the remaining 25 percent. Slater said the school is taking donations to raise the $1.5 million its needs for the project. My heart is full of gratitude to God for doing something amazing for our campus, Slater said. My heart is overflowing knowing we can be a light in this community and can help our first responders. U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady said it is critical to take care of first responders. Today we can do our part to keep them safe, he said adding this will be the only building of its kind in the county. I am proud to help in a small way with this grant. Shaun Miller, assistant chief wit the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said the safe room is a critical resource for the region. All disasters begin and end on the local level, Miller said. And thanks to the foresight of emergency managers, elected officials and Covenant Christian School, this community will be safe. Conroe Fire Chief Ken Kreger agrees. Its an honor and privilege to be able help hundreds of first responders that come to this facility to seek shelter, Kreger said. Its a great opportunity. The facility is expected to be complete in summer 2021. cdominguez@hcnonline.com State management agencies affirmed that hundreds of thousand of tons of pork have been imported. However, consumers still cannot find imports at supermarkets and convenience stores in HCM City. The pork price has decreased, but only very slightly. At Xom Chieu (district 4) and Thu Duc (Thu Duc district), Ben Thanh and Tan Dinh Markets (district 1), young ribs are sold at VND220,000-230,000 per kilogram, while trotters are VND170,000. Though the price has decreased, pork stalls at markets remain deserted with very few buyers. The supply is profuse but I still cannot sell anything this morning, Pham Tuyet Van, a seller complained. I have a certificate on the origin and quality of the meat. However, people still dont buy pork these days because of high prices, she said. MM Mega Market said there is imported pork at the supermarket chain, but the amount is very small, just accounting for 3 percent. This means that 97 percent of pork available there is from domestic sources. Tran Van Minh, a merchant at Tan Xuan Market, also said that the high price has cut pork sales. The meat supply has improved thanks to the live pigs imported from Thailand. In addition, frozen pork is akso available at some big markets. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), in the first 11 months of 2019, Vietnam imported VND111,000 tons of pork at the price of $1,117 per ton on average, or VND26,000 per kilogram. If counting taxes and fees, the imported meat can be sold at VND33,000-35,000 per kilogram. However, housewives complained that they cannot find cheap imports anywhere, including supermarkets and convenience stores. Tien Phong reported that no imports were found at VinMart, VinMart+, Aeon and Big C on January 10. At Aeon, the quoted price was very high: young ribs were priced at VND290,000 per kilogram, while half fat half lean meat VND220,000. At VinMart and VinMart+, the prices were VND249,000 and VND226,000, respectively. A representative of Big C said the pork distributed by the retail chain is fresh meat from domestic sources and frozen meat. The supermarket affirmed that it has enough pork to sell for Tet days and doesnt need imports. The director of a VinMart shop also said most of the meat available in the market is from domestic sources. The supermarket will consider importing meat if the domestic supply is short, but in the immediate time, it will prioritize to sell Vietnamese products. Meanwhile, MM Mega Market said there is imported pork at the supermarket chain, but the amount is very small, just accounting for 3 percent. This means that 97 percent of pork available there is from domestic sources. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vietnams live pig output in 2019 was 3.29 million tons, a decrease of 14 percent compared with 2018. The country plans to import 100,000 tons more of pork from now to the end of Q1 2020. Kim Chi Vietnam to imports 100,000 tons of pork in Q1 to offset shortage Vietnam would import 100,000 tons of pork in the first quarter this year to stabilize the domestic market and lower pork prices, which have surged since the outbreak of African swine fever. A skimpily-clad model primps and preens to your left and a stinking hippie shoe-averse gentleman clips his toenails to your right. Oh and your stomach is already curling, not due to the perfume and foot fungus, but because the ground is unsteady beneath you. No: youre not trippin in Nimbin, youre onboard one of Qantas new direct flights from Sydney to Ballina (one of the closest airports to Byron Bay). While the above hypothetical is exaggerated, Qantas new flights to Ballina, while highly convenient, will be undertaken on a rather small jet (a 50-seat Q300). That said, as Qantas announced this morning, it will now be much easier for Sydneysiders to travel to Byron Bay and the New South Wales far north coast, with the launch of flights from Sydney to Ballina for the first time in 15 years. A daily return flight will commence from 29 March 2020 adding more than 36,000 seats on the route each year, Qantas wrote in a press release, adding, Northern Rivers residents and business travellers flying to Sydney will benefit with the flights conveniently timed for same-day trips with a morning departure from Ballina and an evening return from Sydney. Why the new route? Qantas Domestic CEO Andrew David said demand for premium travel to the region was increasing and the new flights would give travellers even more choice. Byron Bay continues to be an incredibly popular destination for holidaymakers of all types. Weve seen more and more luxury hotels established in recent years and we think its the right time for Qantas to again fly directly to Ballina, Mr David said. Our frequent flyers have been asking for this for some time and we think theyll enjoy the option of flying on Qantas and the benefits our premium service offers including lounge access before they fly out of Sydney. NSW Minister for Tourism Stuart Ayres echoed the sentiment, calling the new route a fantastic opportunity for visitors to enjoy one of the States most popular regions. NSWs far north coast offers incredible beaches, world-class produce and seafood, and a lifestyle that is the envy of many, so its great that Qantas is making it even easier for visitors to explore Ballina and beyond, Minister Ayres said. Now is the perfect time to escape the city and support regional NSW by staying local and buying local, giving the tourism industry in these communities a welcome boost. The new flights add to Jetstars services to Ballina, with the low-cost carrier operating direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne. To celebrate the new route Qantas is offering special fares of $115 one-way between Ballina and Sydney, for travel from 29 March to 25 October 2020 (sale ends 23 January 2020). The easternmost point of Australia beckons. Just remember to take your anti-anxiety meds if you are a nervous flyer. Read Next Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said European nations including the UK "cannot be trusted" but Tehran is not against negotiating with anyone - except the US. Delivering his first sermon in eight years in Tehran, the top cleric branded Donald Trump a "clown" who only pretended to support the Iranian people and would "push a poisonous dagger" into their back. Mr Khamenei also hailed missile strikes against US targets in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's top military commander as a "slap on the face" to the superpower. American forces have now revealed that 11 troops were injured in the attack, after initially saying no service personnel had been hurt. In response to Mr Khamenei's comments, President Trump said in a tweet that the "so-called 'Supreme Leader' of Iran" should "be very careful with his words!" Mr Khamenei's defiant address came as the Iranian leadership faced pressure both at home and abroad. Thousands had gathered inside the grand mosque in central Tehran and packed the surrounding streets, chanting "Death to America". Iran has been rocked by protests after the military admitted to mistakenly shooting down a passenger plane , killing all 176 passengers on board, in the tense hours after the missile attack. :: Listen to Divided States on Apple podcasts , Google Podcasts , Spotify , and Spreaker The regime had initially covered up its role in the downing of the airliner, leading to angry public demonstrations, brutally suppressed by security forces. Mr Khamenei described the crash as a tragedy and a very sad incident that was used by Iran's "enemies", used to overshadow the killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani , whose funeral drew huge crowds onto the streets . The deadly drone strike against the military leader showed Washington's "terrorist nature", he said. Referring to Tehran's show of force in response, Mr Khamenei added: "The fact that Iran has the power to give such a slap to a world power shows the hand of God." Story continues Tensions between Iran and the US have steadily ramped up since Mr Trump withdrew from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which imposed curbs on its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The White House has subsequently slapped crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has triggered unrest. Mr Trump has openly encouraged the protesters - even tweeting in Farsi - in a bid to destabilise America's longtime foe. After Maj Gen Soleimani was killed in Baghdad, Iran announced it would no longer be bound by the limitations in the nuclear agreement. Britain, France and Germany, who have been trying to salvage the unravelling deal, responded by triggering a formal dispute mechanism that is aimed at bringing Iran back into line and could result in further sanctions. :: Listen to the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Spotify , Spreaker Mr Khamenei, who was always sceptical of the nuclear accord, told worshippers the European countries "cannot be trusted" and said they were too weak to "bring Iranians to their knees". He said they were "contemptible" governments and "servants" of the US. However, he added that Iran was willing to negotiate, but not with Washington. The 80-year-old has held the country's top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. He last delivered a Friday sermon in 2012, when he called Israel a "cancerous tumour" and vowed to support anyone confronting it. He also warned against any US strikes on Iran over its nuclear programme, saying the US would be damaged "10 times over". Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Iran's accidental shooting down of the Ukrainian jet happened at a time when Tehran was rattled by reports of advanced US stealth fighters in the area. He said: "There were at least six F-35 fighters in the air in the Iranian border area (at the time). "This information has yet to be verified, but I'd like to underline the edginess that always accompanies such situations." Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Two North Alabama man were sentenced to prison Thursday for their roles in a methamphetamine trafficking ring. U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala sentenced Melvin Froggy Rolin of Cullman and Barry Williams of Morgan County to 24 years and 7 months and 12-and-a-half-years in prison, respectively. U.S. Attorney Jay Town, Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Clay Morris and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson announced the sentences. These prosecutions represent the hard work of many of our law enforcement partners and exemplify our global efforts to stop the influx of dangerous drugs like methamphetamine being brought into our communities," Town said. "These defendants will now be joined by other drug dealers in a federal prison. Prosecutors said Rolin was the leader of a North Alabama drug conspiracy that was responsible for importing more than 90 kilos of pure methamphetamine into Cullman, Morgan, Madison and Limestone counties. Rolin pleaded guilty in June 2019 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth. Rolins also pleaded guilty to separate charges of distributing 5 grams or more of meth as well as possessing a firearm in the furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Williams pleaded guilty in October 2019 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth and another charge related to distributing a separate 5 grams of the drug. The DEA and ATF, along with the sheriffs offices in Madison, Morgan and Cullman counties, investigated the case. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 20:17 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32298562 1 National Indonesian-navy,Navy-Chief-of-Staff,Arafura-Sea-Battle,KRI-Banda-Aceh Free The Indonesian Navy conducted a ceremony on Wednesday, known as Dharma Samudera Day, to commemorate the Battle of Arafura Sea on board the KRI Banda Aceh 593 on the pier of the Military Naval Command (Kolinlamil) in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta. The wreath-laying ceremony was held to commemorate national heroes who died during battles at sea, most notably Yos Soedarso, who commanded the flotilla aboard the KRI Macan Tutul, a legendary torpedo boat, was killed along with numerous crew members in a battle with Dutch warships on the Arafura Sea on Jan. 15, 1962. Navy chief of staff Adm. Siwi Sukma Adji, who led the ceremony, said that the event was held to echo the spirit of battle that Yos Sudarso had called on as Indonesian forces faced a superior enemy fleet. The sacrifice of the heroes of the ocean ignited national sentiment to immediately bring back West Papua to the lap of Ibu Pertiwi [the motherland] on May 1, 1963, Siwi said as quoted in a statement released by the Military Naval Command. The ceremony, which also had military personnel scattering flower petals onto the sea, was carried out simultaneously by all Navy members serving in the KRI and the Kolinlamil base. It was also attended by religious leaders from the six recognized religions in Indonesia, namely Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism, who recited prayers during the petal-sowing ceremony. Retired high-ranking officers of the Navy, as well as family members of the heroes who died in the Battle of Arafura Sea, were also present in the ceremony. During the ceremony, Siwi gave tali asih (award dues) to the heirs of the heroes of the battle in what he called a reflection of respect to the next generation of Navy fighters who were willing to make sacrifices for the glory of the Indonesian people. (syk) 20:39 A top Pakistani minister and a close aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Saturday that Islamabad had shown "weakness" on Kashmir, contradicting his government's claim that it has "succeeded" in internationalising the issue. Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government will hold rallies in the country till February 5 to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people. "I think so far we have shown weakness on the Kashmir issue. I have spoken (on it) in the Cabinet meetings," Rashid told reporters. Rashid's remarks have come days after Prime Minister Khan reaffirmed Pakistan's support for the Kashmiri people. "J&K dispute must be resolved in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions & the will of the Kashmiri people. We will continue to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people...," Khan said in tweet on Thursday. "An internationally recognised dispute, J&K remains on the Security Council's agenda & its consideration by the Council reflects a recognition of the seriousness of the prevailing situation," he said. In a special address to the nation in August last year, Khan said that Islamabad's Kashmir policy was at a "decisive" point and his government had succeeded in internationalising the issue of Kashmir. "We have succeeded in internationalising the issue of Kashmir, we talked to world leaders and embassies. The UN for the first time since 1965, convened a meeting on Kashmir issue. Even international media has picked it up," Khan had said. On Friday, Khan chaired a meeting on the situation in Kashmir, which was attended by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence Lt Gen Faiz Hamid, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood and other senior military and civilian officials. They discussed the preparations for the Kashmir Day observed on February 5 every year to express solidarity with the Kashmiris. This year's Kashmir Day would have added significance as it would be the first such observance after India's August 5 decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into two Union Territories, evoking strong reactions from Islamabad. -- PTI Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 11:23:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Several U.S. troops were treated for concussion symptoms after the Iranian missile attack on U.S. military base in Iraq on Jan. 8, the U.S. military said Thursday in a statement. The Pentagon initially said that no casualty was reported in the Iranian attack on the U.S. base in Iraq. Organized coyote hunts get under way this weekend in Pennsylvania, launching a season of at least 30 hunts that will end in early March. Pennsylvania is home to more organized hunts than any other state. One of the first this year will be the 15th annual Endless Mountains Coon Hunters coyote hunt January 17-19. Limited to counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, the hunt will offer a top prize of $2,000 for the largest coyote weighed in. Most of Pennsylvanias hunts are similar to the Endless Mountains event, but the Keystone State is also home to the largest organized hunt in the U.S. The Mosquito Creek Sportsmens Association statewide coyote hunt, the 29th annual edition of which is scheduled for February 21-23, last year attracted 4,812 hunters to register. Those hunters weighed in a record 225 coyotes at the Frenchville clubhouse. The heaviest a 48.5-pound male coyote killed in Erie County earned $9,624 for Clay Webster, of Erie. Every coyote weighed in earned $86 for the hunter killing it. Total prize money was $48,120. Again this year, the weekend of February 21-23 will be the biggest of the organized hunt season in Pennsylvania, with several other hunts scheduled around the state for the same dates. The St. Marys Sportsmens Club, which is based less than 40 miles from the Mosquito Creek club, annually holds its hunt on the same weekend. The Sinnemahoning Sportsmens Association, the third club in that same area of the state, which is in the past formed a big-three weekend by holding its hunt that same weekend, this year has moved to February 14-15. Pennsylvania will see at least a dozen organized hunts in January, 17 in February and a couple in early March. While Pennsylvania continues at the top of the organized-hunt world, some other states are abandoning the idea. The Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board in December voted to ban hunting contests for predators and furbearers, joining Arizona, California, New Mexico and Vermont with similar bans. New Jersey, New York and Oregon are considering similar bans in response to protests from animal rights activists. 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. Nicky Morgan or Lady Morgan as she now is sat in the public gallery, legs crossed, arms folded, lips pursed like a koi carp blowing bubbles. Leaning forward, she could be seen stroking her chin thoughtfully as her inquisitive eyes gave the chamber below a brief proprietorial scan. Members were taking part in Culture Questions, the department for which she remains in charge despite relinquishing her Commons seat in the General Election. We have seen several ministerial briefs awarded to peers in recent times. Labour's Lord Adonis in Transport and Lord Mandelson in the Business Department spring to mind. Neither, as far as I am aware, chose to sit in on these sessions. Matt Warman, who opened proceedings, needlessly drew attention to Nicky Morgan's presence in the Commons gallery Morgan's presence in the gallery only lent absurdity to an already unsatisfactory situation. It did not help that her underling Matt Warman, who opened proceedings, needlessly drew attention to his boss's presence in the gallery. As he spoke he kept looking up nervily at Morgan as though fearful he was in for a most frightful rollicking. 'Following her elevation, she will be taking questions in the Lords next week,' he stammered, as if this somehow was a worthy substitute for Commons scrutiny. His remarks drew a chorus of rowdy scoffs. Labour's industrial spokesman Chi Onwurah (Newcastle) shot a stinging glare which exuded both anger and disgust. Onwurah, a former telecoms engineer, was making her debut on the Opposition front bench as digital minister. She kicked off with a duff gag while taking Warman to task over the Government's failure to roll out full-fibre broadband. 'Are Big Ben's bongs the only tele- coms in the Government infrastructure that he can plan for?' she asked. 'As an engineer, she should know that a bell is not telecoms infrastructure,' Warman responded drily. Labour's Tracy Brabin was another making her first appearance on her party's front bench. A charming, fizzy sort. Nice smile. Fittingly for a former actress who has appeared in medical dramas such as Casualty and Holby City, she hobbled up to the dispatch box nursing a broken ankle, prompting culture minister Nigel Adams to offer his congratulations on her commitment to her new job. 'Pleased to see the effectiveness of Labour whips office has not broken down,' he chuckled. Labour's Tracy Brabin was another making her first appearance on her party's front bench, nursing a broken ankle Adams, a sturdy Yorkshireman with Eric Morecambe specs, is a capable enough performer. There is a decency about him members seem to warm to. An ex-businessman specialising in telecoms, he also clearly knows his stuff when it comes to all matters digital. Why Boris couldn't just promote him to Morgan's job is a mystery. There followed a brief session of Attorney General questions with Geoffrey Cox. All this hoo-haa about the cost of Big Ben bonging out Brexit might easily be solved by hoiking Geoffrey up the clock tower. That voice, rich as brandy butter, still gets the decibel needles hopping. We barely managed to get through half the allotted questions on the order paper after endless discussion was devoted to the protection of human rights after we leave the EU. Attorney General Geoffrey Cox took questions about Britain's commitment to the European Convention of Human Rights Labour's Afzal Khan (Manchester Gorton) wanted guarantees Britain remains in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Shadow Solicitor General Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) was worried about Conservative pledges to update the Human Right Act. Forgive my cynicism shaped and honed by experiences with the legal industry but whenever I hear lawyers bleating on like this, I can't help but suspect their main concern is their legal brethren who rely on human rights complaints to earn their crust. Cox, however, assured them they had nothing to fear. 'I am grateful for this opportunity to reassert the Government's complete commitment to our membership of and subscription to the European Convention on Human Rights,' he boomed. 'How disappointing,' drawled Sir Desmond Swayne (Con, New Forest West). Dandyish, mutton-chopped Sir Desmond, the sort of chap you suspect carries a cigarillo case, was sprawled across the green leather like an ageing lounge lizard. Not for nothing is he known around these parts as Desmond Swine. Amid the uncertainty over the date of execution of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, all the four criminals facing death-row have been shifted to Tihar prison complex's jail number 3 where their hanging would take place, officials said. The Tihar administration, busy with preparation for the execution of the four convicts -- Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh, Mukesh Kumar Singh and Pawan Gupta, locked them up on Thursday in the same jail -- for the first time. The convicts, however, are in different cells even in the same jail, and not together. According to the Tihar Jail Directorate sources, "Since they would be taken to the execution chamber at the same time, extreme vigilance and peace will be exercised so that the four convicts can't create any trouble." Since the four criminals are set to be hanged together -- for the first time -- in the execution chamber, the presence of jail officers and staffers, would be more. Also, the crowd is expected to be more than usual on the day of execution. Some of those groups objected to providing coverage for any of the approved forms of contraception. Others objected to contraception they said was tantamount to abortion, though there are substantial questions about whether that characterization was correct as a matter of science. The Trump administration took the side of the religious employers, saying that requiring contraception coverage can impose a substantial burden on the exercise of religion. The regulations it has promulgated made good on a campaign pledge by President Trump, who has said that employers should not be bullied by the federal government because of their religious beliefs. The new regulations also included an exception for employers with sincerely held moral convictions opposed to coverage of some or all contraceptive or sterilization methods. The states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey challenged the rules, saying they would have to shoulder much of the cost of providing contraceptives to women who lost coverage under the Trump administrations rules. In May, a unanimous three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, blocked the regulations, issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction. Making exceptions to the requirement that employers provide women with coverage of contraception at no cost would have a large practical effect, Judge Patty Shwartz wrote for the panel. Citing government data, she wrote that about 70,000 to 126,000 women would lose contraceptive coverage if their employers could invoke the religious exemption. That, in turn, she wrote, would disproportionately affect access to contraception for poor women. Cost is a significant barrier to contraceptive use and access, she wrote. The most effective forms of contraceptives are the most expensive. After the A.C.A. removed cost barriers, women switched to the more effective and expensive methods of contraception. The coverage requirement, sometimes called the contraceptive mandate, has been the subject of much litigation, reaching the Supreme Court twice. 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. PITTSBURGH, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PANTHERx Rare Pharmacy announces that it has been selected by Blueprint Medicines Corporation as a very limited distribution partner for breakthrough drug AYVAKIT (avapritinib). It has been approved for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) harboring a PDGFRA exon 18 mutation, including PDGFRA D842V mutations. With nationwide distribution of AYVAKIT, PANTHERx establishes a formidable presence in the precision oncology space. "PANTHERx is thrilled to be chosen by Blueprint Medicines to collectively make historic strides in precision oncology," said Dr. Gordon Vanscoy, Chairman and CEO of PANTHERx. "As a partner, we are grateful to offer hope to a genomically defined population of patients with rare gastrointestinal stromal tumors. PANTHERx is proud to be part of an elite network advancing precision oncology and bringing new hope to rare cancer patients." AYVAKIT is a potent and selective KIT and PDGFRA inhibitor. It is the only FDA-approved type 1 inhibitor for GIST that works by directly binding to the active kinase conformation from which mutant KIT and PDGFRA signal. AYVAKIT has demonstrated inhibition of a broad range of KIT and PDGFRA mutations associated with GIST, including potent clinical activity against activation loop mutations that are associated with resistance to currently approved therapies. The FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to avapritinib for two indications: one for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic GIST harboring the PDGFRA D842V mutation and one for the treatment of advanced systemic mastocytosis (SM), including the subtypes of aggressive SM, SM with an associated hematologic neoplasm and mast cell leukemia. For more information about PANTHERx RxARECARE services for patients with GIST, contact us at 833-918-2015. Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GISTs) are a rare form of cancer located in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. More than half of GISTs start in the stomach although many start in the small intestine and other parts of the GI tract. Doctors will look at specific features of a GIST to help predict whether it is likely to grow and spread to other parts of the body. GISTs are evaluated based on the size of the tumor, where it is located in the GI tract, and how fast the tumor cells are dividing (mitotic rate). The GIST tumors often grow into empty spaces inside the GI tract so they may not cause symptoms until they reach a certain size or are in a certain location. As a result, a small tumor may not cause any symptoms. Common symptoms of GISTs include: include throwing up bright red or dark blood, bleeding into the stool, abdominal pain, a noticeable mass or swelling in the abdomen, nausea or vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss, and feeling full after eating small amounts of food. Treatment options depend on a several factors, including the tumor size, the mitotic rate, where the tumor is located in the GI tract, the genetic makeup of the tumor, and if the tumor has spread to other parts of the body. Treatment options include surgery to remove the tumor and targeted therapies with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). For more information about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors please click here (https://www.pantherxrare.com/rare-disorders/gastrointestinal-stromal-tumors/). About PANTHERx Rare Pharmacy PANTHERx Rare Pharmacy, the nation's only health entity with an Accredited Distinction (ACHC) in Rare Pharmacy, is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. PANTHERx Rare's mission is to transform lives by delivering medical breakthroughs, clinical excellence, and access solutions to patients afflicted with rare and devastating conditions. Every day we Define RxARE, by developing focused solutions, bold innovations, and novel clinical services associated with the life-transforming therapies that we deliver. PANTHERx was awarded 2018 Specialty Pharmacy of the Year by the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy. Zitter Health Insights awarded PANTHERx the Specialty Pharmacy Patient Choice Award winner for two consecutive years. As a quad-accredited pharmacy, PANTHERx holds accreditations from URAC, VIPPS, ACHC, and CPPA. For more information, visit www.pantherxrare.com Contact: Allyson Ayoob, 855-726-8479 x 1142, [email protected] SOURCE PANTHERx Rare Pharmacy Related Links http://www.pantherxrare.com Following a round of abused court orders by government officials at task to clear themselves from capital crimes ie abuse of office, economic crimes and so on, eyes are on the judiciary to enforce court orders. In Kiambu and Nairobi counties, one a president's home county and the other the country's capital, we have two governors both from the ruling Jubilee Party who have been barred from office over corruption charges. READ ALSO: Uhuru directs police boss IG Mutyambai to fire, not transfer rogue police officers Nairobi governor Mike Sonko arraigned over corruption charges. Photo: The Standard. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Video which capturing MP Babu Owino shooting DJ emerges Kiambu's operations have been streamlined thanks to the existence of a deputy governor who has won the hearts of the executive, county assembly and residents at large. The county operations are free-flowing and public opinion actually prefer the deputy over the embattled county boss in terms of managerial know-how. READ ALSO: Babu Owino: Kenyans disappointed by Embakasi East MP after shooting DJ at club On the other hand, Nairobi county where the governor has taken the people on a 20-month long back-and-forth in replacing his deputy is on the brink of collapsing. The situation is getting worse each day threatening to put the city county in an administrative limbo after Sonko was barred from office over corruption charges. The governor, however, recently tried to appoint his proxy as deputy governor in the face the legal tussle. This appointment is an insult to the judiciary, anti-corruption campaign, taxpayers and the rule of law in general. With history of Kenyan high profile corruption cases, witness interference and loss of evidence have led to day-light robbery of Justice. Now we have a governor barred from office appointing a deputy from a private office, with no official designation. Governor Sonko is not the governor of Nairobi hearing and determination, hence any action he makes is from a personal aspect and he is not allowed by law to instruct the Speaker or undertake any official task that would affect the people of Nairobi. The position of the deputy governor is also not to be trusted by friends of the appointing authority. What Mike Sonko is doing is simply appointing a tool to further his interest and carry on his operations while he is blocked from office. Mike Sonko handcuffed by police officers after a warrant of arrest was issued against him by Director of Criminal Investigation (DPP) over corruption charges. Photo: Original. Source: Original Luckily, a court case has already been filed against the appointment and the court has given a go-ahead for the parties to be served ahead of the hearing of the matter. The people of Kenya deserve unconditional accountability from their elected leaders. Governor Sonko is in contempt of court and should withdraw the vetting order and respect the law. Justice Maraga and his judicial team has a task to prove the value of the high budget the Judiciary receives. The third arm of government should make Kenyans understand the role of the constitution in Kenyan governance. County offices cant be run from a private office, it cannot be run by corruption suspects, it cannot be run against court orders. We have heard of suspended ministers who left office in an honourable way and paved way for investigation. Let governors now follow suit and realise that nobody is above the law. The people of Kenya deserve that much. The writer is Peter Omondi, a Nairobi resident concerned that Mike Sonko continues to discharge some crucial duties despite a court order barring him from accessing his office. The views expressed here are his and do not necessarily represent that of TUKO.co.ke 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. I chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Escape from Tarkov seems like a simple role-playing game. The hardcore first-person shooter revolves around players searching the Norvisnk region after intense warfare, whether for fortune or to survive. With two factions in the Scavs and mercenaries, players explore the Tarkov city, find undiscovered loot, kill opponents that stand in their way, and participate in NPC quests. With the release of update 0.12, Escape from Tarkov has released the hideout, which enables players to customize their living area. The hideout is what the word means a place for characters to rest, store supplies, prepare for upcoming trips, and establish themselves. It starts as an abandoned bomb shelter, but players can upgrade different modules and earn bonuses while doing so. To start building out your hideout, players need first to install a Power Generator, which consumes fuel. There are basic modules available, as well as advanced modules that allow the production of items and resources. Other than the upgradeable modules, there is also a shooting range where players can test their weapons without needing to worry about ammunition. The hideout isnt required for all players but will make gameplay much more comfortable. Modules and their functions: Air Filtering Unit Leveling boost for Physical Skills (+40%) Bitcoin Farm Farms Physical Bitcoins Upgrading: Gives additional slots for Graphics Cards Booze Generator Produces Fierce Hatchling moonshine Generator Additional fuel slots Heating Increases energy regeneration rate Illumination Lights up hideout with different lighting Intelligence Center Scav cooldown timer Quest money reward boost Upgrading: Decreases Insurance Return Time Produces Secure Flash drives Decreases Scav cooldown timer Decreases Flea Market Commission Lavatory Produces Toilet Paper Upgrading: Gives access to the production of Schaman shampoo, Ox bleach, Expeditionary fuel tank, Magazine case, Corrugated hose, Air filter for gas mask, Clin wiper, FP-100 filter absorber Library Additional EXP Leveling boost for Physical Skills (+30%) Medstation Produces First Aid Kit Increases Health Regeneration Upgrading: Increases regeneration rate Access to production of other first aid tools Nutrition Unit Increases Energy Regeneration Rate Produces food and drinks Upgrading: Access to additional food and drink production Increases Health regeneration rate Hydration regeneration rate Rest Space Decreases negative effects removal rate Upgrading: Increases Energy regeneration rate Health regeneration rate Maximum energy reserve Scav Case Scavs can find items for you if you pay them Security Adds nothing, but is used as a prerequisite for some aspects Shooting Range Ability to test out firearms Solar Power Decreases fuel consumption (-50%) Stash Increases stash size Vents Nothing Water Collector Increases hydration regeneration rate Upgrading: Produces Purified Water Workbench Off-raid weapon customization Production of various weapons and machinery Each fuel resource will power the hideout for 15 minutes, with this being 30 minutes with the Solar Power module. Players can turn off the generator when it is not in use, but it is required to be on during the crafting process. While the hideout in Escape from Tarkov can give access to many valuable resources, it is also costly to upgrade everything to the maximum level. Images via Chaab on Reddit. D onald Trump was today warned he would risk increasing the terror threat to America if he curbed intelligence-sharing with Britain in a bust-up over Huawei technology in the UKs 5G network. Sir John Sawers stressed that during his time as MI6 chief, intelligence from Britain foiled several major terrorist plots against the US. He spoke out amid growing signs that Boris Johnson will rebuff US pressure and allow equipment from the Chinese telecoms giant in non-core parts of 5G in Britain. Citing potential security fears, Washington has been warning that such a move could reduce transatlantic intelligence sharing. Sir John told BBCs Today programme: The Americans know that they depend upon us for security intelligence, just as we do them. Its very unlikely they will increase the threat to the US by curbing their intelligence partnership. Democrats Can Qualify for the Next Debate by Winning a Single Delegate in Iowa Candidates like Andrew Yang and Michael R. Bloomberg, who were excluded from the last debate, can take a new path to the stage for the next one, to be held Feb. 7 in New Hampshire. Read in app Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Give this article Share Read in app Six presidential candidates took part in the most recent debate, held on Tuesday in Des Moines. Credit... Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times India and Norway on Thursday agreed that the dynamic nature of trade and investment between the two countries will result in an increasing number of companies interested in establishing and gaining access to the markets in both sides. During the first session of India-Norway Dialogue on Trade and Investment (DTI), convened in the capital on January 15-16, both sides exchanged views on investment opportunities available in the respective countries. On the first day, the session was preceded by an interaction between the representatives of Indian industries, including Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), as well as Norwegian ones, wherein discussions were held on various areas of mutual interest like blue economy, shipping and maritime, ICT, renewable energy, fisheries and MSMEs. During the meeting, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and the Department of Economic Affairs highlighted various policy initiatives of the Indian government for promoting investment in the country. The second day of the session was co-chaired by Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Nidhi Mani Tripathi on the Indian side, and Director General, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, Erling Rimestad, from the other. Noting that the economic exchanges between India and Norway remain satisfactory, the session concluded that there are ample opportunities for further intensification and diversification in mutually beneficial areas and their complementarities. The session was based on the Terms of Reference (ToR) signed between India and Norway during the visit of Prime Minister Erna Solberg in January last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government has today introduced the long-awaited Agriculture Bill in what is seen as the most important reform of British farming in decades. The landmark legislation, introduced to Parliament today (16 January), looks at how the industry can boost productivity and reward farmers for environmental improvements post-Brexit. Farmers will have seven years to adjust to this new system after years of 'inefficient and overly bureaucratic policy', the government says. It sets out how farmers will be rewarded with public money for public goods such as better air and water quality, higher welfare standards, improved access to the countryside or measures to reduce flooding. The new system will replace the current subsidies of direct payments, which pays farmers for the total amount of land farmed. The government says the new measures will provide a 'better future' for British agriculture, maximising the potential of the land for food production and for delivering public goods. Defra secretary Theresa Villiers says the Agriculture Bill will 'transform' the British farming industry. This is one of the most important reforms for years, rewarding farmers for the work they do to safeguard our environment and helping us meet crucial goals on climate change. We will move away from the EUs bureaucratic CAP and towards a fairer system which rewards our hard-working farmers for delivering public goods, she said. We will continue to champion British produce and support farmers to adapt to our new pioneering approach to agriculture through a seven-year transition period in England, ensuring we unleash the potential of our farmers for the future. The new Bill sets out how the government aims to improve transparency and fairness in the supply chain and through investing in new technology and research. By collecting data from the supply chain, it aims to ensure farmers' negotiating position is strengthened at the farm gate. The Bill will also legally require any future UK government to report regularly on food security to Parliament. It states how direct payments will be phased out over an agricultural transition period, which is due to start in 2021 and run for seven years. Later in the agricultural transition, the government plans to delink direct payments from the requirement to farm the land, a requirement that currently exists under EU law. These payments will then be able to be used to invest in farmers' businesses, diversify or help new people enter the sector. What's new in the updated Agriculture Bill? Food security new requirement for the UK government to regularly report on food security to Parliament. Financial assistance monitoring Defra will monitor, evaluate and regularly report on financial assistance schemes. This means Parliament and stakeholders will be able to scrutinise how well the schemes work. Soil quality The government has made sure that soil is specifically named in the Bill, so financial assistance will be made available to farmers for protecting or improving its quality. An animal traceability service the Bill puts powers into place that allow a service provider to improve the collection and management of information relating to the identification, movement and health of animals. Fertiliser regulation the power to effectively regulate this industry as the UK leaves the EU, including updating the definition of a fertiliser to take account of the latest technological advances. Organics regulation powers to tailor organics regulation so that it works for UK producers and so the UK can continue to trade organic produce across the world. What has industry said? Responding to the Bill, the NFU said many of the farming industry's concerns raised in the last Parliament's Bill have been acted upon, in particular the recognition of farmers role as food producers. The union said, however, farmers still want to see legislation underpinning assurances that lower-standard food imports would not be able enter the UK post-Brexit. NFU President Minette Batters said: We will continue to press the government to introduce a standards commission as a matter of priority to oversee and advise on future food trade policy and negotiations. She added it is 'encouraging' to see that the Agriculture Bill now recognises food production and caring for the environment go hand-in-hand. Farmers are rightly proud of their environmental efforts and it is crucial this new policy recognises and rewards the environmental benefits they deliver, both now and in the future. Alongside this, the governments commitment to invest in supporting farmers to improve productivity will be critical, given the delivery of sustainable and climate-friendly food systems cannot be achieved in the absence of viable and profitable farm businesses, Mrs Batters said. The Bill's commitment to long-term future budget has addressed a 'significant concern' of the NFU's, one which will provide 'much needed clarity' for farmers. We recognise that the way farmers are supported will change and the announcement to regularly report how the schemes will operate will go some way to ensuring that any money taken from farmers as part of the phase out of the direct payments will stay within farming. In the coming days we will scrutinise this Bill in great detail to ensure that it provides the policy for a thriving farming sector post-Brexit. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has called for more clarity from the government on transition. The transition period is set to begin from 2021, but the delay in the Bill and the lack of clarity of how direct payments will be removed during the transition period means there is still uncertainty among farmers. CLA President Mark Bridgeman said: This is welcome news after a year of political stalemate However, the government should allow proper time for rural businesses to adjust and adapt, ideally by delaying the start of the transition by 12 months. This would allow farmers to make long term plans, once the details become clearer of both the crucial trade deal and future schemes. We warmly welcome guarantees of funding for the lifetime of this Parliament, but farmers need to know how it affects them personally, he said. Government should set out the profile of the transition and how ELMS will work in detail as a matter of urgency and guarantee that there will be no delays in its implementation. The government has been applauded by the Campaign for Rural England (CPRE) for highlighting the importance of soil. Crispin Truman, chief executive of the countryside charity, said: Healthy soil is essential for the supply of healthy food, clean water and also helps us lock up carbon to tackle the climate and nature emergency. As new payment schemes for farmers are developed, there must be clear support for approaches already being pioneered and made to work by farmers such as agroforestry and conservation agriculture. But farmers need training, mentoring and advice to help them roll out nature friendly farming across the countryside. The Soil Association echoed this, saying: Its great the government has listened and soil is now referenced within the bill and that payments will be available to farmers for protecting or improving soil quality. The sustainable farming charity also issued concern: It is disappointing the bill still does not commit to support for farmers to adopt nature-friendly agroecological farming, like organic, or environmental action across the whole farm, rather than in small areas. For 46 years, comedy has kept Bob Saget navigating from project to project. Its a place where he feels at home, which is why hes still performing. Saget has been at the helm of great projects, such as hosting Americas Funniest Home Videos for nearly a decade. And he performed the future voice of Ted Mosby on CBS How I Met Your Mother. He is best-known for his role as Danny Tanner on Full House and Fuller House. Danny Tanner has a place in my life, and I think its been wonderful to have been welcomed into peoples lives not once, but twice with the character, he says. But Im so much more than Danny Tanner. In fact, Saget has managed to keep his comedy career moving forward for decades. Saget is gearing up to do another comedy special, but first will make a stop at The Stage at Santa Ana Star on Friday, Jan. 24, and Sunday, Jan. 25, with two shows each night. Ive never performed in Albuquerque before, and Im excited, he says. I have material that I will be trying out to get it right before I do the new special. Anytime Ive been to New Mexico, it was always to Santa Fe where my friends live. Saget is joined on this tour by his fellow comedian Mike Young. Its really cool to be out with my buddy. He used to write for Entourage and has his own style, Saget says. Saget has never been one to rest on his laurels. He continues to look for new projects, such as ABCs coming Videos After Dark and CMTs Nashville Squares, both of which he hosts. ABC wanted a new video show and came up with this, he says. This is definitely not for families. Saget is also working on a coming podcast in which he will interview guests in home. The podcast is very personal because I will be talking to my friends, he says. Its going to be done on the biggest scale yet. Whatever presents itself to me, Im all in at 200%. I just love right now in my life. Saget has written a couple new songs for his coming special and is embracing being more musical as he gets older. I have to get the songs right before they hit the stage, he says. Performing a lot of shows before a special helps me work out all the kinks. Now 63, Saget says his love for being onstage has grown. I was 17 and bombed off an on, he says. I was one of the main hosts at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. As Ive continued with stand-up, the audiences have gotten to know me. This is why they let me be me and play around with material. Thats the real gift, when the audience knows you. CHEYENNE, Wyo. People insist they have spotted fleets of large drones crisscrossing rural Americas night sky, their mission mysterious, raising questions that have veered into conspiracy theories and launching an investigation. Authorities in Colorado have tried to put those theories to rest, announcing that they have confirmed nothing unusual or criminal about dozens of weird drone reports since November. They were mostly hobbyist drones, commercial aircraft, stars, planets and weather phenomena. Yet if history is any guide, the investigation that used a heat-detecting plane in Colorados mystery-drone highway, with sightings that stretched into Nebraska and Wyoming, will settle nothing for many people. Speculation persists about drones said to be as big as cars, flying in groups in grid patterns at night. Even if the military has plausible deniability with this, defense contractors might be involved, Dan Carlson, a drone-spotting retired meteorologist in western Nebraska, said Tuesday. By the time they fess up to it, theyll have been in sky for four years. Four times this year, Carlson said, drones have flown after dark near his farm outside Sidney, Nebraska. Drones flew in pairs on two nights, he said. Their speed, impressive range over the distant horizon without landing and proximity to nearby missile silos makes him suspect the U.S. Air Force at least knows of the flights. Uncertainty, if not paranoia, has proliferated about such sightings. Just dont count Carlson among those peddling out-of-this-world explanations. I do not buy into the conspiracy theories. I am not living in fear of an alien invasion, he said. He speculates the drones may be involved in some kind of military search-and-recovery practice, pursuing items hidden around the countryside during the daytime for training exercises at night. F.E. Warren Air Force base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, oversees 150 Minuteman III nuclear missiles in silos scattered across the prairie in the three-state region. The missiles need regular checking, maintenance and protection against threats, yet Air Force officials insist the drone reports have nothing to do with them. Our base is kind of a drone no-fly zone. So we do have counter-UAS unmanned aerial systems training that goes on within the confines of this installation. But any drones spotted outside this installation are not part of our fleet, said Lt. Jon Carkhuff, a base spokesman. Base personnel haven't seen any of the purported drones, he added, but they are cooperating with the Federal Aviation Administration and FBI. The Colorado Department of Public Safety, working with local law enforcement, didnt attempt to investigate drone sightings in Nebraska or Wyoming. In northeastern Colorado, the agency found: Of 90 drone reports received from Nov. 23 to Monday, 14 were smaller-sized hobbyist drones. Of 23 drone reports between Jan. 6 and Monday, a period that involved flights of the heat-detecting plane working with investigators on the ground, 13 were smaller hobbyist drones, stars or planets and six were attributable to known commercial aircraft or atmospheric conditions. Authorities weren't able to identify fliers of the hobbyist drones. Four confirmed sightings of the 23 were unidentified. A drone reported to have flown near a Flight for Life medical helicopter during daytime didn't appear related to the recent sightings. Investigators couldn't confirm a violation occurred. Colorado has over 24,000 registered drones, and pilots reported over 2,200 drone sightings in Colorado to the FAA in 2018, state officials said in a news release. Carlson said the drones he saw came within a mile or two of his house, flying about 800 feet high. One sped away at up to 60 mph when he drove after it, he said. He followed the drone for over 10 miles. Others he saw fly over the horizon, which he estimated was at least 20 miles distant over the sparsely populated area north of Sidney, Nebraska. Usually he hears aircraft clearly on cold winter nights, he said. It was the kind of night that if an airplane flies over at 30,000 feet, you hear it. No sound with these, Carlson said. The FAA is still looking into the reports, spokesman Ian Gregor said. We take every drone-sighting report seriously. Multiple FAA divisions are continuing to work closely with federal, state and local stakeholders on this issue, Gregor wrote in an email. The Colorado Department of Public Safety plans to scale back flights of the heat-detecting plane to try to confirm reports as theyre made. The department will still take reports, however, said Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management spokeswoman Micki Trost. So we do encourage the public that if they do see something suspicious, to please visit our website and file a report, Trost said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Red Devils have agreed a 1.28m sign-on fee with Inter Milan for the transfer of wing-back, Ashley Young, Sky Sport reports. The fee is said to include some add on of the Nerruzurri win the Serie A title. The Englishman would not travel to Italy on Friday, 17th January for a medical. Should the deal pull through, the 34-year-old would bring to an end his eight and half years with the Red Devils. Read Also: Manchester United Wing Back, Ashley Young, Cant Just CantOver Thrashing By Machester City The former Aston Villa man was named captain for Manchester United in 2019/2020 season. German Marshall Fund: It Is not too early to think about political change in Turkey Armenian Foreign Ministry: We call on Azerbaijani authorities to refrain from provocations Armenia's Geghamasar community head: The situation is stable now Queen Elizabeth II's favorite fast food revealed Human Rights Defender: Azerbaijani troops open fire on Armenian sovereign territory World Economic Forum: Cybersecurity and space pose new risks to the global economy Defense Ministry confirms Armenian side has 2 victims Satanovsky on sending Armenian servicemen to Kazakhstan Unofficial data: 2 servicemen killed as a result of Azerbaijan provocation CSTO and Kazakh Defense Ministry developing plan WHO thinks it's too early to consider COVID-19 pandemic European Commission to require Poland to pay fine of nearly EUR 70 million White House announces $308 million humanitarian aid for Afghanistan Erdogan angry at minister after efforts to strengthen lira failed Armenian FM has phone call with US Assistant Secretary of State India imposes one-week quarantine even for vaccinated tourists Armenian ex-president expresses condolences on poet Razmik Davoyan's death Traction Programme to showcase 8 startups during the Digital Demo Day Azerbaijan uses artillery and UAVs, 3 Armenian soldiers wounded NEWS.am daily digest: 11.01.22 Austrian Chancellor confirms plan for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in February Armen Sarkissian and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev discuss situation in Kazakhstan Gulf, Iran and Turkey FMs to visit China 20 pregnant women with COVID-19 die in Azerbaijan in year Armenia hands over wanted US citizen to United States Economy ministry: Organizing of accommodation and public catering increased by 61.1% in Armenia Armenia parliament speaker expresses condolences on European Parliament President death Azerbaijan opens fire toward Armenia village sector, one soldier wounded Shoigu: CSTO peacekeepers deployed in Kazakhstan thanks to Syrian and Karabakh experience Azerbaijan official pledges to remove Armenian toponyms from Google Maps UN offers two plans to help Afghans totaling $ 5 billion in 2022 Armenia attorney general travels to Moscow on working visit Azerbaijan MOD blames Armenian side for soldiers death Dollar drops in Armenia Shirak Province captives families hold protest outside Armenia government building Rolls-Royce sales rise to record high in 2021 Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis directed gun at Armenia residents car in which his wife, 3-year-old child were ANCA urges President Biden and Congress to hold Azerbaijan and Turkey accountable for war crimes Serbia's Orthodox Patriarch tests positive for COVID-19 Brothers, sisters of 2020 Artsakh war military casualties to get compensation in lieu of their deceased parents 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 The state government's timber agency was permitted to log Victorian forests as catastrophic fires ravaged bushland and native animal populations. The logging by VicForests occurred on days a total fire ban was in place throughout the state, with waste from felling leaving the area exposed to additional fire risks. Logging debris on a Toolangi coupe in Victoria's Central Highlands last June. VicForests says it has not conducted any timber harvesting in bushfire-affected regions in East Gippsland since December. Emails exchanged between VicForests and community members confirm that the Central Highlands region a different area which sits an hour north of Melbourne and remains untouched by this season's bushfires was logged as part of the agency's ongoing summer operations. New Delhi: Bihar STET 2019 Admit Card is released by BSEB, Bihar School Examination Board. All those candidates who applied for the Bihar Secondary Teachers Eligibility Test 2019 need to visit the official website of BSTET, i.e. bsebstet2019.in to download the BSEB Bihar STET 2019 Admit Card. Alternatively, candidates can also click on the below mentioned direct link to download Bihar STET Admit Card 2019 quickly. Bihar STET 2019 Details It is to note that the Bihar STET 2019 Exam is scheduled to be conducted on January 28, 2020, and the BSTET 2019 admit card will include all details regarding exam time slots and exam centre. The Bihar STET exam 2019 will be held in two shifts. To avoid any hassle, candidates must reach the exam centre an hour before the commencement of the Secondary Teachers Eligibility Test exam. According to reports, the board has also banned wrist watch and shoes in the exam centres. In order to download the Bihar STET 2019 Admit Card, candidates need to follow the below mentioned steps: First, visit the official website of the exam portal, i.e. bsebstet2019.in Then, click on the Download Admit Card for Secondary Teacher Ability Test, 2019 link that is flashing on the homepage A new page will open Enter the login details The Bihar STET Admit Card will be displayed on the screen Download and take a printout of the Bihar STET Admit Card for future reference Alternatively, candidates can also click on the below mentioned direct link to download the Bihar STET Admit Card. Download Bihar STET 2019 Admit Card Direct Link Candidates must note that the admit card link is working slowly due to heavy traffic on the official website. Therefore, candidates are advised to keep refreshing the page to download the Bihar STET 2019 Admit Card. He was also Baraboos director of the Citizens Police and Fire Academy, an outreach program for explaining the inner-workings of citys emergency services to Baraboo citizens. Having worked previously with Ward, who had been a K9 handler for Columbia County, Creighton said that his primary reason for leaving Baraboo was career related. Our department did not have a supervisory position open at this time, Creighton said. Its been a career goal (of mine) to become a sergeant and then eventually move up the chain of command. Creighton also mentioned a desire to work in a small town a return to familiarity given his roots in Hazel Green, a village in the southwest corner of the state with a population of around 1,200. When I grew up and when I got into law enforcement, I kind of had it in the back of my head that at some point I would like to achieve chief status for a smaller community, he said. So when I went to Baraboo, it was the biggest (community) I wanted to get into as far as departments and now that Ive been doing this for almost 15 years, I kind of wanted to scale it back down again. Columbus is that size for me. The G.A.O. decision goes to the heart of both the impeachment inquiry and our constitutional system of separated powers and puts congressional Republicans in the hot seat. A violation of the Impoundment Control Act in connection with the Ukraine funds is directly relevant to the first article of impeachment because it is a mechanism by which the president executed the alleged abuse of power. The question of access to information about that violation is directly relevant to the second article of impeachment obstruction of Congress. What is at stake is the status of Congress as a coequal branch of government. Much as Senate Republicans seem eager to, they indeed, the entire Senate cannot turn away from testimony and documents relevant to the articles of impeachment, however inconvenient the timing. The G.A.O. decision addresses a rather narrow appropriations law issue. In short, what the president did here was precisely the type of adventurism the Impoundment Control Act was designed to prevent. The O.M.B. had no authority to withhold the funds because the act permits it only under specific circumstances and in this instance, those werent met. The O.M.B. argued that the funds were withheld because doing so was necessary to ensure that they were not spent in a manner that could conflict with the presidents foreign policy. But the G.A.O. decided the withholding was an impermissible policy deferral. The decision also renders a judgment that the withholding was not a mere delay, as the O.M.B. argued. Program execution was well underway when the O.M.B. held back the funds, and there was no external factor causing an unavoidable delay. More broadly, the G.A.O. decision represents an assertion of Congresss constitutional power of the purse. The G.A.O. is well respected, and historically the executive branch has given substantial deference to its opinions. In any other administration, this decision would have been an earthquake reverberating across the executive branch. In this administration, the import of the decision is unclear. A Nov. 5, 2019, memorandum instructed federal agencies that they are under no obligation to comply with the legal decisions issued by the G.A.O. because those decisions are part of the legislative branch and are therefore not binding on the executive branch. As a technical matter, that is true, but the president must faithfully execute the laws, including the Impoundment Control Act. Instead, executive branch machinations in the Times report indicate that O.M.B. lawyers were working up an argument that Mr. Trumps role as commander in chief would allow him to override Congress. Such thinking is consistent with Mr. Trumps unprecedented stonewall approach to Congress more generally like his assertion that he has an Article Two where I have the right to do whatever I want as president, his lawyers direction of total noncooperation with Congresss investigation into the Ukraine matter and his refusal to participate at all in the House impeachment proceedings. NEW YORK Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) is endorsing Mike Bloombergs unconventional bid for president, telling POLITICO on Thursday that she believes his organization and resources best position him to beat Donald Trump in the fall. Murphy Bloombergs second congressional endorsement, and the first from outside New York also cited the billionaire self-funders commitment to advancing gun control measures across the country. The work that Mayor Bloomberg has done through Everytown has been critical in allowing us to notch some of the legislative wins, Murphy said on Thursday, referring to the Everytown for Gun Safety nonprofit that Bloomberg founded. And I think Mayor Bloomberg, whether it is as an executive or as mayor or as a philanthropist, is focused on achieving results. And I believe this country needs that approach. Bloombergs campaign is staffing up big in Florida and sees the state with its large population of New York expats and Jewish Americans as a top target as part of its unprecedented strategy to compete in states that start voting on Super Tuesday. Democratic Presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg waits to speaks during a rally Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Murphy co-chairs the Blue Dog Coalition, which prioritizes fiscal restraint and national defense. She will serve as a national co-chairwoman for the Bloomberg campaign, which this week launched its Women for Mike effort with a big New York reception near Times Square. In order to win Florida you need message and machine, and I think that Mayor Bloomberg has both, she said. He is already making commitments to building that machine there, and I think that is critical. Murphy is Bloombergs second congressional endorsement this week, after Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.), whose backing was notable in part because the former New York mayor had previously donated to Roses opponent, then-Rep. Dan Donovan, during the GOP primary for that seat. In a statement, Bloomberg lauded Murphy as someone who understands that dysfunction in Washington is holding the country back as well as her own push for more gun control measures following a 2016 mass shooting in Florida that killed 49 people and wounded dozens more. We share a vision for breaking the gridlock in Congress, ensuring the safety of all Americans and giving them a larger voice in our future, Bloomberg said. After the Pulse nightclub shooting, she ran for office to bring change to Washington, including common sense gun laws and as president, I will work closely with her to get it done. Israeli Air Force Inaugurates Second Squadron of F-35I Adir Stealth Aircraft Sputnik News 02:09 17.01.2020(updated 02:10 17.01.2020) The 116th "Lions of the South" squadron will join the 140th "Golden Eagle" unit on Thursday to become the Israeli Air Force's (IAF) second official group of F-35I Adir stealth fighter jets. IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, officials from F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin as well as IAF-affiliated officials are expected to attend the Thursday inauguration of the service's second F-35 squadron at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel, reported the Jerusalem Post. According to Israel Defense, the first two F-35Is for the 116th squadron arrived at the Nevatim base in November 2019, bringing the country's total F-35 count to 20 aircraft. A number of F-35s from the "Golden Eagle" squadron are expected to be transferred to the newer unit until additional aircraft arrive. Gary North, Lockheed Martin's vice president for customer requirements and a retired US Air Force general, visited Israel in December 2019 and met with members of Israel's Defense Ministry and Air Force to discuss the purchase of additional F-35s. The government has currently received 20 of the 50 F-35I variants from Lockheed Martin required to bring both squadrons to capacity. An additional six are expected to be delivered to Israel in 2020, according to the Jerusalem Post. The F-35I is a specialized version of the F-35A used by the US Air Force and several other air forces around the globe, designed for operation from regular runways. During the time of North's visit, the Times of Israel reported that Tel Aviv was deliberating on whether to acquire additional Adir aircraft from Lockheed Martin or purchase Boeing's F-15X: an upgraded model of the F-15 that is less technically advanced and not as stealthy as its F-35 counterpart, but is capable of transporting more munitions. "The stealth that allows the pilots to go wherever they need to go, with the assurance that no other airplane can provide," gives the Lockheed Martin jet an edge, North argued on December 17 during a conference with reporters. The F-15 was originally built by McDonnell Douglas, which is now a part of Boeing. He also revealed the delivery of Israel's remaining 30 F-35Is could be expedited due to the US' refusal to send Turkey F-35s over Ankara's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system. The IAF, which took credit as the first country to carry out a strike using F-35 stealth fighter in May 2018, also featured several F-35Is in its recent Blue Flag Israel joint exercise series with over a thousand personnel from the US, Germany, Italy and Greece in November 2019. The Jerusalem Post reported that Lockheed Martin has recently lowered the cost per jet to $79.7 million, but, according to Israel Defense, the contractor is willing to lower the price to $77.9 million-per F-35 if additional orders are placed by Tel Aviv. A decision on whether the third squadron will feature additional F-35s or Boeing's F-15X fighter jets is expected to be reached after Israel's upcoming general election in March. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The roadshow of the third China International Import Expo (CIIE), held on January 14 in Marseille, France, attracted nearly 120 participants from government agencies, economic and trade institutions as well as enterprises of the country. French luxuries giant Kering and winery Maison Bouey from Bordeaux signed contracts to attend the third CIIE at the meeting, becoming the first French exhibitors of the Expo. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005418/en/ Roadshow of China International Import Expo (Marseille) (Photo: Business Wire) The Ministry of Commerce of China is closely cooperating with its French counterpart to promote the common understanding of both countries' leaders and drive bilateral economic and trade cooperation toward a new high, said Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Bingnan. It is a significant move for the Chinese government to hold CIIE to give firm support to trade liberalization and economic globalization and actively open the Chinese market to the world. CIIE has become a "fast channel" to enter Chinese market for global enterprises. Wang hoped more French enterprises to attend the third CIIE to explore Chinese market with their featured quality products, technologies and services, share Chinese economic development opportunities and infuse greater impetus into the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and France. Marseille's vice mayor Didier Parakian expected to strengthen cooperation with China in port logistics, digital economy as well as other fields, and encouraged local enterprises to participate in the Expo. According to statistics of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, a total of 77 French enterprises attended the 2nd CIIE with a gross exhibition area of 15,000 square meters, and achieved an intended turnover of $2.4 billion, 56 percent higher than that in the previous session. Website:http://www.ciie.org/zbh/en/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ciieonline Twitter:https://twitter.com/ciieonline View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005418/en/ Contacts: Ms. Nie Qingxin Tel.:0086-21-59760717 0086-21-59761076 Email:ciie2020@ciie.org Actor Juhi Chawlas son Arjun is doing his bit to help those affected by Australia bushfires. The actor says her son has sent 300 pounds (about 28,000) from his pocket money to the Australian fire relief fund. According to reports, bushfires in Australia have killed over 25 people, decimated Australias wildlife, and are expected to rack up historically high damage costs of multiple billions of dollars. A koala stands in the field with bushfire burning in the background, in Kangaroo Island, Australia January 9, 2020 in this still image obtained from social media. (via REUTERS) Also read: Tanhaji vs Chhapaak box office day 7: Ajay Devgn film roars with 119 cr in first week, Deepika Padukone starrer collects 28 cr Talking about her sons gesture, Juhi said: I recall he had mentioned to me that 500 million animals have been killed in the Australian bushfires and he asked me what are you doing about it? I said Im helping plant trees in our country in the Cauvery Calling project. That was it. A day later he said Ive sent 300 pounds from my pocket money. I hope it goes to the right place. I am really happy and grateful to God. I feel so good knowing his heart is in the right place, she added. Arjun is currently studying in a boarding school in the UK. Follow @htshowbiz for more South Korea on Friday lowered its travel alert level for Hong Kong, the foreign ministry said, amid signs of stability in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory plagued by clashes between pro-democracy protesters and police. The ministry downgraded the alert level to "caution," the lowest of the four-tier warning system. In November last year, it raised the level by one notch to "restraint" due to increasingly violent confrontation between the two sides. "In line with this change, the government asks citizens to take care of their safety while in Hong Kong," the ministry said in a press release. (Yonhap) The searches by income-tax officials at the residence of south Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna at Virajpet in Kodagu district were concluded on Friday. The searches, conducted since Thursday by sleuths from Bengaluru, were concluded on Friday morning, the family said. Speaking to reporters outside the house, the actress's mother Suman said: "We all cooperated with the officials since Thursday. The officials asked some questions which we answered properly." Rashmika, who was not at the residence when the I-T officials arrived, joined them on Thursday night, she added. According to sources, IT officials from Bengaluru who arrived in three cars on Thursday verified documents pertaining to properties, bank accounts and investments. Rashmika has acted in several Kannada and Telugu movies. Her recent film 'Sarileru Neekevvaru' opposite popular Telugu actor Mahesh Babu is in the theatres now. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) [January 17, 2020] Hoopox and Tianjin University established a blockchain technology laboratory to effectively promote the deep integration of blockchain industry-university-research BEIJING, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On January 14, 2020, Beijing Hoopox Information Technology Co., Ltd. (Hoopox) and Tianjin University Blockchain Lab Fund donation ceremony was successfully held at Tianjin University. Jiajun Li (Secretary of Tianjin University Party Committee), Haobo Ma (CEO of Hoopox) and other leaders attended the donation ceremony. Jiajun Li, thanked Haobo for supporting the school's scientific research in the blockchain field. He pointed out that the establishment of a blockchain laboratory should not be limited to the Intelligence and Computer Science department. Various colleges and organizations can all join in to pool resources for improving the teaching and research development. In the future, the school will actively support the construction of the laboratory, combine the advantages of the school's intellectual resources with the market advantage of Hoopox, and return the alumni's deep friendship to their alma mater with more fruitful results. Haobo Ma , CEO of Hoopox, said that Hoopox hopes that by continuing to deepen the industry-university-research collaboration, build a corporate development plan that harmonizes talents, technology, markets, and capital, and work with Tianjin University to form a trinity of scene-driven, technological traction, and resource support capabilities. Tianjin University-Hoopox Technology Blockchain Lab will establish a comprehensive R&D development model based on the concept of integrated resources and complementary advantages based on voluntary fairness, resource sharing, and common development. An in-depth exploration of applications in the Internet of Things, supply chain management, finance, medical industry, information security, smart government, and other fields. Hoopox, a member of the aelf Innovation Alliance, has been entrusted to develop the aelf blockchain system and has a commercial license. Additionally, Hoopox can use aelf Enterprise for business activities. aelf's blockchain system is not based on any existing blockchain base layer and has been independently developed by Hoopox in its entirety. Tianjin University, formerly known as Peiyang University, is the first modern university in China. The university was one of the first 16 universities accredited by the nation in 1959. Tianjin University is one of the top 10 universities in China. In particular, computer science ranks among the top 1% in the world, becoming the 7th discipline of Tianjin University to enter the top 1% of the world (ESI). View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hoopox-and-tianjin-university-established-a-blockchain-technology-laboratory-to-effectively-promote-the-deep-integration-of-blockchain-industry-university-research-300988873.html SOURCE Hoopox [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday attacked the central government saying that it is trying to "silence" the case of arrested Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Superintendent of Police (SP), Davinder Singh, by handing it over to the Investigation Agency (NIA). "The best way to silence Terrorist DSP Davinder, is to hand the case to the NIA. The NIA is headed by another Modi - YK, who investigated the Gujarat Riots & Haren Pandya's assassination. In YK's care, the case is as good as dead. #WhoWantsTerroristDavinderSilenced. And why??" Gandhi tweeted. The official whom Gandhi referred to is NIA's Director-General, YC Modi, who had helmed the CBI investigation into the Haren Pandya murder case and was part of a Supreme Court-appointed SIT (Special Investigation Team) that probed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Earlier on Thursday, Gandhi said that Davinder Singh should be tried by a fast track court and if found guilty, he should be given the harshest punishment. "DSP Davinder Singh sheltered 3 terrorists with Indian blood on their hands at his home and was caught ferrying them to Delhi. He must be tried by a fast track court within 6 months & if guilty, given the harshest possible sentence for treason against India," he said in a tweet. On Sunday, Davinder Singh was arrested in south Kashmir while travelling with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists. Subsequently, the Jammu and Kashmir administration stripped the cop of the Sher-e-Kashmir police medal for gallantry awarded in 2018. On January 15, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said it was recommending to the central government that Davinder Singh should be sacked. "He has been suspended. We are recommending his sacking to the government. We cannot share right now what has been revealed during the interrogation," Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said. The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the NIA to investigate the case, sources said on Thursday. Moreover, the Jammu and Kashmir's Home Department will take a call on the dismissal of the police officer. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China on Friday said a discussion on Kashmir at the UN Security Council (UNSC) would help de-escalate tension in the region and most members of the Council had expressed concern on the current situation there at a UNSC meeting held on Wednesday in New York. During this review most UNSC members expressed concern on the current situation, called for restraint and de-escalation. And (that) this should be settled in a peaceful and political way through dialogue, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Geng Shuang said on Friday. And reviewing in UNSC will help in the de-escalation of tensions and proper settlement. China will continue to play a constructive role in preserving regional peace and stability. The Indian side should properly think about and respond to UNSC requests, Geng added. The UNSC should pay attention to the issue in Kashmir based on the latest developments. And in this region, there are still international observant groups, and it has always been on the UNSC agenda, he said. Besides the five permanent UNSC members, 11 other countries were part of the meeting. The Chinese foreign ministrys Friday statement is seemingly at odds with what Indias external affairs ministry (MEA) had said on the outcome of the meeting. Earlier this week, a discussion on Kashmir was taken up at the UNSC after China sought a closed-door consultation under AOB or Any Other Business at the UNSC after listed issues were discussed. After the meeting, Indian envoy to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin said Pakistan was creating distractions at a time when India has been trying to make efforts to normalise the situation in Kashmir. We are happy that neither (the) alarmist scenario painted by the representatives of Pakistan nor any of the baseless allegations made repeatedly by representatives of Pakistan in the UN fora were found to be credible today, Akbaruddin was quoted as saying by PTI. We are glad that the effort was viewed as a distraction and it was pointed out by many friends that bilateral mechanisms are available to raise and address issues that Pakistan may have in its ties with India, he said. Geng, however, said most UNSC members were worried about the situation in the region. Chinas position is consistent and clear. This issue is a dispute left from history and should be properly resolved following the UN charter, UNSC resolutions, and bilateral treaties and in a peaceful way, he said. And as requested by Pakistan, the Security Council reviewed the Kashmir issue on January 15. The UNSC members are concerned about the current situation and they called the relevant parties to observe the charter and resolve disputes peacefully through political dialogue and exercise restraint and work on de-escalation, Geng added. I would like to say that the issue on Kashmir has always been on UNSC agenda and UNSC must pay attention to the situation in Kashmir based upon the latest developments, he said. When asked to respond to why India then believes that apart from China other countries did not express support for Chinas standpoint, Geng said: Indias attitude and views, we understand them. But what I said was Chinas views and stance. I believe that India is aware of that and we have been in contact on that. On whether Chinas taking up the Kashmir issue at the UNSC could impact bilateral ties, the spokesperson added: I think China participates actively in the Kashmir issue in the Security Council; because we want to work for de-escalation and work for regional peace and stability. This is out of goodwill. However, if the Indian side interprets in another way, I think that will be a wrong interpretation. Geng added that China calls on India and Pakistan to enhance dialogue, mutual trust on this, and exercise restraint, work for de-escalation. As a responsible country, we have been in contact with both India and Pakistan, and are playing a constructive role in this. When asked about India inviting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting later this year, Geng said, Both countries we hope can work together closely under this framework for the healthy development of this organisation. India and Pakistan are important countries in South Asia and I hope they can resolve their issues through dialogue and improve their relations. TEHRAN Irans supreme leader lashed out at Western countries as he led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, dismissing American clowns who he said pretend to support the Iranian nation but want to stick their poisoned dagger into its back. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used his rare appearance at the weekly prayers to deliver a defiant address in which he insisted Iran would not bow to U.S. pressure after months of crushing sanctions and a series of recent crises from the killing of a top Iranian general to the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane. Khamenei said the mass funerals for Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. air strike earlier this month, show that the Iranian people support the Islamic Republic despite its recent trials. He said the cowardly hit on Soleimani had taken out the most effective commander in the battle against the Islamic State group. In response to Soleimanis killing, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting U.S. troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. Khamenei said the strike had dealt a blow to Americas image as a superpower. In the part of his sermon delivered in Arabic, he said the real punishment would be in forcing the U.S. to withdraw from the Middle East. After the missile strike, as Irans Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after takeoff from Tehrans international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. When it came, their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Khamenei called the shootdown of the plane a bitter accident that he said had saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. He said Irans enemies had seized on the crash to question the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard and the armed forces. Ukraines Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Friday that his country wants Iran to issue a formal document admitting its guilt. Ukraine, Canada and other nations whose citizens died in the crash have demanded Iran pay compensation to the victims families. Amir Vahdat and Joseph Krauss are Associated Press writers. Contributed Photo / Connecticut State Police / Contributed Photo SHERMAN A Sherman resident was taken into custody Thursday morning and charged in connection with a domestic incident, according to the Sherman Resident Troopers Office. Mary Cusack, 59, was charged with disorderly conduct, third-degree assault, interfering and failure to submit to fingerprinting. Corie Barry, chief executive officer of Best Buy Co., speaks during the Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. The board had received an anonymous letter that said Barry years-long relationship with former Best Buy senior vice president Karl Sanft before she became CEO in June 2019. Sanft did not immediately respond to CNBC for comment. Best Buy 's board is probing allegations that the electronics retailer's CEO Corie Barry had an inappropriate romantic relationship with another company executive. "Best Buy takes allegations of misconduct very seriously," a Best Buy spokesperson said. "We encourage the letter's author to come forward and be part of that confidential process. We will not comment further until the review is concluded." In a written statement, Barry said, "The Board has my full cooperation and support as it undertakes this review, and I look forward to its resolution in the near term." The allegations were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. It is not the first time Best Buy has dealt with such an matter. In 2012, its former CEO Brian Dunn resigned as the company investigated allegations of a relationship he had with an employee. Other companies have faced similar issues. Earlier this year, McDonald's fired CEO Steve Easterbrook for a relationship with an employee that violated company policy. Shares were down just under 1% in extended trading and are up more than 55% over the past 12 months. On Tuesday, Barry had been scheduled to make a presentation at the National Retail Federation conference, but did not appear, citing an illness. . , " ". , - . , ... Food retailer Crussh has started the search for a new CEO as Shane Kavanagh steps down. Kavanagh is leaving to take on a new challenge after almost four years at the company. The new leader must lead the brand on its next stage of development, said the firm. While at Crussh Fit Food & Juice Bars, Kavanagh led it from a 28-store London high street business to an estate of 35, including its first sites outside London, in Birmingham and Bristol. With the prospect of rapid growth for our product supply business, we now have a fantastic opportunity to develop Crussh as a national and international FMCG brand, alongside our company-owned, franchise and concession stores, said Jonathan Hart, executive chairman at Crussh. Crussh has the potential to significantly build on its leadership in the healthy food-to-go sector and we are looking forward to finding someone with the skills and experience to take Crussh onto this next exciting phase of our development. Kavanagh forged franchise partnerships with SSP and Sodexo, initiated an exclusive retail range with Sainsburys and introduced workplace catering in WeWork across London. Under Shanes leadership, Crussh has successfully evolved a strategy of franchise, concession and product supply, which is now delivering significant results. In tandem with this, Shane has navigated the core business through the most turbulent times ever faced by Londons food-to-go marketplace, added Hart. Kavanagh leaves his role at the end of February and currently retains an advisory position while a new CEO is recruited. Hart will lead the business and pick up responsibilities with the rest of the senior team in the meantime. Delhi Judge Satish Kumar Arora on Friday issued a fresh black warrant to execute the four men convicted for the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedic student on a cold December night in 2012. Judge Arora, who had signed the January 22 death warrant for the four convicts earlier this month, issued the new order after he was informed about the rejection of a mercy plea filed by Mukesh Singh, one of the four convicts. During the hearing minutes before additional sessions judge Satish Kumar Arora signed off on the new warrant, the court had heard lawyers of the convict point out that two appeals were still pending before higher courts. One was a special leave petition, filed by Pawan Gupta in the Supreme Court to claim that he was a minor when the offence took place. Gupta had made the claim before the Delhi High Court too but the high court had trashed the claim and fined his lawyer 25,000. Also Watch | 2012 Delhi gangrape case: Kejriwal denies delaying proceedings, slams BJP Arora did not take the appeals into account when he declared the new date. I am issuing a fresh death warrant for February 1 at 6 am, Arora said in a one-line order. The rape victims mother who has been following up on the case for the last seven years was disappointed. I will fight and I will keep struggling I will wait, she said, upset that the judge had cancelled the previous warrant for January 22. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON New Delhi, Jan 18 : Recognising the contribution and sacrifices made by the Pulwama martyrs, the apex body of private real estate developers, CREDAI on Friday organised a ceremony in Delhi-NCR to hand over flat allotment letters to the families of Pulwama martyrs. In solidarity with country's armed forces, CREDAI has handed over 9 flat allotment letters to the families of Pulwama martyrs in Delhi/NCR. Additionally, 10 flats have already been allotted in other states -- West Bengal, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand out of total 40 flats which are committed by CREDAI developers in other states. CREDAI has also pledged to provide free house maintenance to the allotted flats for next 5 years. Getamber Anand, ATS Chairman and former President, CREDAI National said, "The loss for families of the Pulwama attack martyrs is irreparable. The sacrifices made by our soldiers to protect the nation will be remembered forever. Keeping up with the spirit of patriotism and recognising the sacrifices made by the family, we have come forward with this gesture. As we promised to offer homes to the families of the deceased, we are pleased to announce the allotment of 9 flats in Delhi/NCR." CREDAI members who have come forward to offer homes include ATS, Prestige Group, Gaursons India, Alcove Realty, Mirchandani Group, Anukampa Group, Manglam Group, Narvik Nirman & Financers Pvt Ltd, Wish Empire, Berry Developers, Krish Group, BCC Infra, Belani Group, Supertech Limited, Raheja Developers, Rameshwaram Group, Akshat Apartments Pvt. Ltd. Russia on Friday said it has started production of S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems for India and all the five units will be delivered by 2025. Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin also said that a contract will shortly be finalised for joint production of Kamov light weight multi-role military helicopters for India. At a joint press conference with Russian Ambassador Nikolai Kudashev, he also said that Indian Armed forces will receive the first batch of 5,000 Kalashnikov rifles this year which will be produced in India under a joint venture. Babushkin said Russia and India have "successfully found solutions" to the payment issues and the focus this year will be to implement mega deals in the defence sector. "The supply of five S-400 air defence systems will be completed by 2025. Their production has already started," he said without elaborating. In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal to buy the air defence missile systems notwithstanding warning from the Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions. Last year, India made the first tranche of payment of around USD 800 million to Russia for the missile systems. Asserting that the S-400 air defence missile systems are among best in the world, he said they will significantly bolster India's air defence mechanism. The 'Triumf' interceptor-based missile system can destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. The US had imposed sanctions on Russia under the stringent Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The law also provides for punitive action against countries purchasing defence hardware from Russia. On the long-pending joint-venture for production of Kamov military helicopters, he said a deal on it will be inked shortly. In October 2016, India and Russia finalised a broad agreement for the joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and two Russian defence majors for production of Kamov helicopters. India is procuring 200 Kamov Ka-226T choppers to replace its ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. Babushkin said while 60 choppers will be supplied to India from Russia 140 will be produced in India. "This year, we will put special focus on implementation of decisions taken at Vladivistok," he said. Last September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held annual summit talks during which they decided to further ramp up defence and strategic cooperation besides resolving to expedite pending projects. On the DefExpo being held in Lucknow next month, Babushkin said a 50-member Russian delegation to be led by the country's Trade Minister will attend it. "Russia will be the largest foreign country to be present at the DefExpo. We are expecting new agreements between the two countries during the event," he said. The senior diplomat said India and Russia were also looking forward to an early implementation of the intergovernmental agreement for joint production of military hardware. Russia has been one of India's key major suppliers of arms and ammunition. However, it has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time affecting maintenance of military systems procured from that country. (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.) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17 2020 The scandals that have rocked the countrys mutual fund industry have not deterred investment management firm PT Ashmore Asset Management Indonesia from listing its shares on the local bourse. The Financial Services Authority (OJK) last year suspended the sales of several mutual fund products from Narada Asset Manajemen and Minna Padi Aset Manajemen after they were proven to have violated the authoritys regulations on mutual funds. The OJK even went as far as to liquidate six of Minna Padi Aset Manajemens products and suspend its selling licenses. The Attorney Generals Office (AGO) also called as witnesses 11 investment managers that helped manage PT Asuransi Jiwasrayas investments, which later turned sour and caused the company to suffer trillions of rupiah in losses. 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 Even though Im a regular for the chamber festival concert performances, having Kunito join us from Japan is a first-time event and its not only a rare opportunity for myself to do such an intimate concert, but also for audiences to have the chance to talk with Kunito after the performance. New Delhi, Jan 17 : The Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund on Friday marked down its debt exposure to Vodafone Idea papers to zero over the huge statutory dues that the telecom major has to pay by January 23. It also put upper bounds on the investment in these funds at Rs 2 lakh per day per fund per investor to prevent speculators from taking advantage of the drop in NAV and any subsequent recovery in the debt. "Debt securities of VIL held in the schemes of FTMF have been marked down to zero. The valuation adjustment only reflects the realisable price of the relevant securities on the date of valuation and does not indicate any reduction or write-off of the amount repayable by VIL," the mutual fund said in a report. The schemes will continuously monitor the developments in VIL and take appropriate steps to recover the investment proceeds in the best interest of its unitholders, it added. Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund, Franklin India Short Term Income Plan, Franklin India Low Duration Fund, Franklin India Credit Risk Fund, Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund and Franklin India Income Opportunities Fund have exposures of 4-7 per cent. The schemes have written down almost their entire exposure to Vodafone Idea causing losses of 4-7 per cent in their NAVs over a single day. The largest NAV drop has been in Franklin Low Duration Fund at 6.87 per cent. It also said fresh inflows in the scheme have been limited to Rs 2 lakh per day per fund per investor, till further notice. This limit is imposed only on the new applications received after the cut-off time on January 16, 2020. "We will review these decisions on a regular basis and take appropriate actions as clarity emerges on this matter. A limit on purchases will help ensure that once clarity emerges and as resolution takes place, the interest of existing unitholders are protected." A Franklin Templeton spokesperson said that "(VIL) securities held by various fixed income schemes of Franklin Templeton remain rated at investment grade, thus limiting the options available to us, at this point of time. Clarity may take some time to emerge even if the company takes recourse to a curative petition or other measures available to it." As a "prudent measure, and in order to protect value for existing unitholders in these schemes", the mutual fund has taken these two steps. "We believe, a combination of these 2 measures will help protect the interests of existing shareholders. We will review these decisions on a regular basis and take appropriate action as clarity emerges." As per a stock exchange filing by VIL dated January 12, 2020, the board approved certain modifications in the utilisation of proceeds raised from the rights issue subscribed in May 2019. The Supreme Court in its judgement passed on October 24, 2019, had ruled in favour of the government on the long-standing dispute with various telecom operators including Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) on the definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR). Operators pay a license fee and spectrum usage charges based on AGR. As per the VIL's September 2019 quarterly earnings press release, VIL had accounted for liability to the government of Rs 276.1 bn towards underpaid license fees, interest on underpaid license fees, penalties and interest on penalty. In addition to this, VIL had also accounted for Rs 165.4 bn towards spectrum usage charges. Telecom companies were given a three months' timeline to pay the AGR dues i.e. by January 23, 2020. VIL had filed a review petition against the SC order, but the court had dismissed it on Thursday. The government has estimated Vodafone Idea's dues at over Rs 53,000 crore, including over Rs 28,000 crore in licence fee, interest and penalties and the rest on spectrum usage charges. Other mutual funds with exposure to Vodafone Idea are Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, UTI Mutual Fund and Nippon India Mutual Fund. 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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 Afraid of not having a car payment I was at a gathering at New Years and I overheard a girl saying that she was afraid to own her car outright. She said as soon as a car gets close to being paid off she trades it in on another. Her logic was that if it is paid off,... MIAMI, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Azamara the no cruise, boutique cruise line dedicated to Destination Immersion is pleased to announce its 2020 Discovery Sale on select voyages departing June 8, 2020 September 10, 2020. The offer applies to new bookings made between January 17, 2020 and January 20, 2020 and will include a $500 onboard credit. The Discovery Sale can be combined with Azamara's 2020 Save Up to 40% Offer, which means guests will also have the opportunity to save up to 40 percent on select sailings. Azamara's three ships Azamara Journey, Azamara Quest and Azamara Pursuit all have participating voyages. To further emphasize Azamara's commitment to Destination Immersion, and the addition of more late-night stays and overnights in different ports, Azamara's guests can immerse themselves into local culture with shore excursions ranging from a wine tasting at Pupillo Winery in Sicily to an authentic fishing adventure around Loen Fjord in Norway. For guests looking to spend even more time in a destination, and bookable with all sailings as an additional cost, Azamara's newly expanded selection of 1,700+ pre- and post-voyage land programs the largest selection in the cruise industry provide experiences such as a four-night pre-cruise exploration of Edinburgh and a two-night journey from Italy to the United Kingdom aboard The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which grants a glimpse into Europe's golden age of rail travel. For the full list of applicable sailings, visit the website here. Example sailings include: 18-Night Spitsbergen & Norway Voyage Departing July 8, 2020 Itinerary Details: Guests can discover Norway's hidden gems along the country's pristine Atlantic coast, which includes a visit to Olden, where adventurers can opt to tackle the Briksdal a million-year-old glacier. In Troll Fjord, travelers will experience the wonderous mythical lands of the Vikings on a journey through the Arctic Fjords. Passengers on this Azamara Quest sailing will then visit Longyearbyen the northernmost town on Earth. In Tromso, dog-lovers can opt to experience a guided walk with native huskies along the surrounding fjords and mountains; the final destination being a traditional Sami tent for an authentic-Norwegian snack. Added Pre- and Post-Voyage Land Program: Adventurers can spend four-nights exploring Moscow and all its main sites, including the Red Square, Museum of Vodka and the Tretyakov Gallery, which is home to 100,000 exhibits. 9-Night Amalfi to Dalmatian Voyage Departing August 20, 2020 Itinerary Details: Starting in Rome, guests will set sail for the picturesque Mediterranean cities of Sorrento, Amalfi, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Sibenik, Koper, and finish off in Venice. Travelers will have the chance to experience a medieval walking tour of Kotor, kayak along the Adriatic Sea in Dubrovnik, as well as experience one of the brand's renowned, complimentary AzAmazing Evenings, which will be a live choir performance in Koper, Slovenia's famed Tito Square. Added Pre- and Post-Voyage Land Program: Travelers can venture to Milan, Varenna, Verona, and Lake Como, for a three-night land program, which includes tours of the Scala Opera House, Castle Sforzesco, as well as visit the house from William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." 15-Night Rivers of Western Europe Voyage Departing September 10, 2020 Itinerary Details: Beginning in Southampton, England, travelers will have the chance to explore some of Europe's most charming riverside cities such as Bordeaux, Porto, Lisbon, and Seville. Guests can visit the filming locations for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in Guernsey, indulge in French macarons and wine at a tasting in Bordeaux, sample tapas in Bilbao, get acquainted with Portuguese traditions through a painting workshop in the legendary village of Barcelos, take a gourmet cooking class with a local chef in Seville, or spend the day searching for dolphins and whales at the end of the Iberian Peninsula in Gibraltar. Added Pre- and Post-Voyage Land Program: Travelers can extend their trip and take a four-day journey to Spain's Basque Country, where they will enjoy an exclusive tour of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao as well as meet local entrepreneurs and artists one of Azamara's celebrated "People-to-People Opportunities" in the small town of Rioja. To access imagery surrounding the Discovery Sale, please click here. About Azamara Azamara is an upmarket cruise line and the leader in Destination Immersion, with three mid-sized ships sailing to all seven continents of the world. The boutique-style ships allow them to reach marquee ports around the world and dock in smaller less-visited hidden gems. Azamara's commitment to creating immersive experiences for travelers to connect with local cultures, allows guests to travel deeper with longer stays, more overnights, and night touring. Most recently, Azamara debuted the largest selection of pre-and-post-voyage land programs in the cruising industry, reinforcing its commitment to Destination Immersion beyond cruising. Guests can experience a boutique hotel at sea with inclusive amenities such as gratuities, beverages, AzAmazing Evenings an exclusive, bespoke event designed specifically for Azamara guests to immerse themselves in their destination and more. Azamara holds prestigious awards, further exemplifying the line's commitment to Destination Immersion, including 2019 USA Today Readers' Choice for "Best Boutique Cruise Line" and 2018 Cruise Critic Editor's Picks Awards for "Best Shore Excursions." In 2020, Azamara will take guests to 294 ports in 76 countries, including 279 late nights and 162 overnights. Additional information can be found on www.azamara.com. SOURCE Azamara Related Links www.rclcorporate.com Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (Photo: VNA) During the trip, the deputy minister had meetings with Vice Presidents of the EP Heidi Hautala and Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Chairman of the EPs Committee on International Trade (INTA) Bernd Lange, and 12 parliamentarians from key political parties in the EP like the European Peoples Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Renew Europe, the European Green Party, and the European Conservatives and Reformists Party. At the event, Son affirmed that the Vietnamese Government treasures and highly values the recent development of the Vietnam-EU Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation in all fields. He highlighted the significance of the EVFTA and the EVIPA to the two sides political, economic and trade relations, which will create a framework for reinforcing the bilateral cooperation in sustainable and inclusive development, as well as the EUs ties with ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region in the context that Vietnam is holding the ASEAN chairmanship in 2020. Vietnam will continue working closely with EP leaders and EU agencies to implement all commitments in the agreements, the diplomat said, asking the INTA and parliamentarians in the EP to keep close coordination with agencies of the Vietnamese National Assembly and Government to promote the scheduled ratification process so as to ensure the two deals will take effect soon and generate practical benefits for the peoples, labourers and businesses of both sides. For their part, EP and INTA leaders affirmed the economic and political importance of the two agreements to the enhancement of the EUs role and stature in the Asia-Pacific region. They said the INTA is coordinating with EP agencies to get the ratification as scheduled, and they will keep working closely with Vietnam in this regard. The EU side applauded Vietnams preparation for the implementation of the deals, especially the commitments related to sustainable development. At the meetings, the EP parliamentarians also spoke highly of Vietnams recent attainments in socio-economic development and integration into the world while congratulating the country on its posts as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and the ASEAN Chair in 2020. The EU will continue cooperating with and assisting Vietnam during the coming development process, including in promoting sustainable and inclusive development, they added. The EVFTA, signed in Hanoi on June 30, 2019, has extensive and comprehensive commitments covering economy, trade, investment, and sustainable development issues. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, the EVFTA and EVIPA will help Vietnam raise its gross domestic product (GDP) by 4.6 percent and exports to the EU by 42.7 percent by 2025. Meanwhile, the European Commission estimate that these agreements will help the EU add 29.5 billion USD to its GDP and increase its exports to Vietnam by 29 percent by 2035. Iranian state media and the country's regional allies continue to claim that U.S. troops were killed in strikes in western Iraq, despite repeated assurances in Washington that no Americans died in the Jan. 8 missile barrage on Ain al-Asad air base. The unsubstantiated claims that the United States was lying about the scale of the assault on the base more than a week ago were given a boost on Thursday, when defense officials reversed statements that no Americans were hurt and said 11 U.S. troops suffered injuries in the attack. However, Iranian state media and regional allies have claimed far more. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, multiple outlets linked to the Iranian government suggested - without evidence - that 80 U.S. military personnel were killed and more than 200 wounded in the attack. On Thursday, after the U.S. military confirmed that troops have been treated for mild concussions after the attack, some supporters of the Iranian government mocked the reports. One tweet suggested that next the United States would soon announce that its soldiers had also suffered a "mild death." "Iran needs the PR messaging that its strikes were successful," said Ariane Tabatabai, an Iran analyst at the Rand Corp. The need was amplified after Tehran admitted to accidentally shooting down an airliner and killing more than 170 people, she added. In an article Friday, Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency, citing anonymous sources, repeated earlier claims that the strikes killed 80 U.S. service members. Iran's supreme leader, speaking at Friday prayers, said the strike delivered a "strong blow" to America's superpower image, although he did not mention a death toll. "For a nation to have the ability to slap the face of the world's bully, this shows the power of God," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a sermon at the Grand Mosalla mosque complex in central Tehran, where he led Friday prayers for the first time in eight years. "It's a way for the regime to save face - at home and abroad," said Jason Brodsky, policy director at the advocacy group United Against a Nuclear Iran. It was "also in line with the supreme leader's conspiratorial worldview," which sees nefarious U.S. plots across the region, Brodsky added. There is no evidence that any U.S. personnel were killed in the attacks on Ain al-Asad base - strikes launched days after a U.S. drone killed Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the elite Quds Force, in Baghdad. On Thursday, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, said that a letter attributed to him that claimed to show evidence of deaths in the attack was fake. "My office has not received a letter from the Dept. of Defense," he wrote on Twitter. "Nor have I written the Dept. of Defense on this topic." The forged letter, which claimed to be a Freedom of Information Act appeal to the Office of the Chief Management Officer at the Pentagon, suggested that 139 people were killed and 146 others were wounded in the attack early Jan. 8. An image of the letter was shared on social media by individuals linked to Iraq's pro-Iranian militias, who also shared a clip of a call made to C-SPAN's Washington Journal on Wednesday morning in which a distraught caller said his son, deployed to Ain al-Asad, was missing. "I don't know if he is alive or if he is dead," the heavily accented caller, identified as Alan from Illinois, said while crying. "Damn Trump. God damn Trump." C-SPAN did not respond to a request for more information about the call on Friday. 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. Groups linked to the Iranian government have been accused of spreading misinformation in the past. In October, Facebook announced that it had removed a number of fake Iranian accounts that were spreading false information. Think tanks and U.S. military commanders have complained of being targeted by hoax reports and spoofed accounts. Shortly after the Jan. 8 strike on Ain al-Asad air base, Kuwait's government said its state news agency was hacked and that a statement announcing that all U.S. military forces in Kuwait would be withdrawn was incorrect. The Iranian government has faced domestic and international criticism after not only shooting down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 75 on the same night it struck Ain al-Asad, but also waiting days to publicly confirm it had done so. Even if Iran may not have wanted U.S. casualties, "admitting that its strikes didn't lead to any U.S. fatalities while admitting to killing more than 170 of its citizens would be admitting double failure," Tabatabai said. Officially listed among the dead were 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, including the crew. Most, if not all, of the Canadians were reported to be of Iranian origin or dual nationals. In the aftermath of the attack on Ain al-Asad, President Trump initially said that "no Americans were harmed" and that "we suffered no casualties." But U.S. officials disclosed Monday that there had been a number of concussions and subsequently announced that 11 U.S. troops were sent abroad for medical treatment - eight of them to Germany and three to Kuwait. An indigenous farmer recalled how his pregnant wife and five of his children were taken from their home this week by cult members in the remote hamlet of El Terron in Panama. Jose Gonzalez was out working his fields of taro and rice on Monday when the lay preachers of the The New Light of God came for the family and dragged them to an improvised church at a nearby ranch. The family had been chosen by one of the preachers who earlier had a vision: everyone in the hamlet had to repent their sins, or die. There, the woman, seven of her children, aged one to 17, and a female neighbor were beaten into repenting. If they didn't do so convincingly, lay preachers holding cudgels, machetes and Bibles would lay into them. Gonzalez began a desperate campaign to save them. Outnumbered, he was able to retrieve two children - a five-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy - from the church. 'I was able to snatch them from the fire they were in,' said Gonzalez, 39, on Thursday as he sat, exhausted, in shorts, with muddied feet and plastic sandals, outside a hospital in the neighboring province of Veraguas, waiting for another of his kids to be released. Jose Gonzalez (left) follows his 5-year-old daughter, carried by a police officer, after leaving a hospital in Santiago, Panama, on Thursday. Gonzalez's wife and five of their children were among seven people killed in a religious ritual in the Ngabe Bugle indigenous community Cops were pictured with the people allegedly responsible for the deaths in Bocas Del Toro The pit was found at a remote camp near the coast where yesterday police arrested 10 members of an evangelical sect known as The New Light of God. Paramedics and officials are pictured above near the scene Officers arrested 10 members of an evangelical sect known on Wednesday. The fire reference was metaphorical, but authorities reported some of the estimated 20 victims of the preachers were burned with embers during the rituals. Gonzalez then dashed to try to save the rest of his family. But the remote hamlet, nestled in the jungle of the indigenous Ngabe Bugle enclave of Panama's Caribbean coast, is hours from the nearest clinic, or police force. 'I looked for help from the authorities, but they didn't respond. When they didn't respond, I lost everything,' he said. By the time authorities arrived by helicopter on Tuesday, it was too late for many. They found 14 bound, beaten townspeople in the church building, and a ritually sacrificed goat along with machetes and 10 lay preachers. A mile away they found a freshly covered grave at a local cemetery, from which they extracted a total of seven bodies - the woman, her five children, and a teenage neighbor. 'They decapitated them,' Gonzalez said. Only one other son, 15, managed to escape on his own, despite being beaten by the fanatics. While fanaticism sparked the tragedy, the area's isolation - and the poverty and lack of services for the indigenous Ngabe and Bugle peoples - had a role. 'I need the government to help people in remote areas with little access, where you have to walk so far,' said Gonzalez. Local prosecutor Rafael Baloyes described a chilling scene found by investigators when they made their way through the jungle-clad hills to the remote Ngabe Bugle indigenous community near the Caribbean coast Tuesday. Alerted by three villagers who escaped and made their way to a local hospital for treatment earlier, police were prepared for something bad, Baloyes said, but were still surprised by what they discovered at the church. 'They were performing a ritual inside the structure. In that ritual, there were people being held against their will, being mistreated,' Baloyes said. 'All of these rites were aimed at killing them if they did not repent their sins,' he said. 'There was a naked person, a woman,' inside the building, where investigators found machetes, knives and a ritually sacrificed goat, he said. The rites had been going on since Saturday, and had already resulted in deaths, Baloyes said. Apparently, the sect is relatively new to the area, and had been operating locally only for about three months and there were few warning signs. Officials are pictured near the scene of the mass burial pit. The pregnant mother had been buried with five of her own children and the dead minors found in the pit were aged from one to 17, according to Panamanian officials Paramedics are seen carrying people rescued from the religious sect group into an ambulance. Members of the group had been tied up and beaten with wooden cudgels and Bibles The Assistant Director of the National Police, Alexis Munoz, said the 'New Light of God' believers had been 'acting normally. It wasn't a group that was doing anything against the community.' 'Then one of the members traveled outside the community, and when he returned a couple of months later, he brought back this idea that anyone who disagreed with their beliefs was against them and action had to be taken.' Things reportedly came to a head Saturday, when one of the church members had a vision. 'One of them said God had given them a message,' said local prosecutor Rafael Baloyes. That message apparently boiled down to making everyone confess their sins or die. Andrew Chesnut, a professor of religious studies specializing in Latin America at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the sect appears to be a 'syncretic cult' espousing a 'hodgepodge of beliefs stitched together' with Pentacostalism at its core but also elements of indigenous beliefs and even New Age philosophy - it reportedly talked about the importance of the 'third eye' on a now-deleted Facebook page. The ritually sacrificed goat found at the scene is 'anathema to any Christian practice, seen as idolatry,' Chesnut added. Exorcisms leading to death are more common than most would think, he said, with over-exuberant pastors sometimes smothering people in choke-holds including in places like the United States - but its usually unintentional. 'This apparently was intentional,' Chesnut said. 'Theyre basically saying, `repent and vomit out your demons or die - which, of course, also is anathema to the Christian message.' Ricardo Miranda, a leader of the Ngabe Bugle semi-autonomous zone, called the sect 'satanic' and said it went against the region's Christian beliefs. 'We demand the immediate eradication of this satanic sect, which violates all the practices of spirituality and co-existence in the Holy Scriptures,' Miranda said. WASHINGTON - Eleven U.S. troops were flown out of Iraq for evaluation of concussion-like symptoms in the days following an Iranian missile strike that President Donald Trump had said caused no harm to American forces, officials said Friday. The Pentagons chief spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said Defence Secretary Mark Esper did not know of the injuries until he was told Thursday afternoon that the 11 troops had been sent for evaluation at U.S. medical facilities eight in Germany and three in Kuwait. Hoffman said the notification to Esper was in line with military procedures, which he said do not require notification of service member casualties to the Pentagon unless they involve the loss of life, limb or eyesight. As recently as Tuesday night, Trump said he had been told no American had been harmed in the Iranian missile strike on Jan. 8. The question of American casualties was especially significant at the time because the missile attacks results were seen as influencing a U.S. decision on whether to retaliate and risk a broader war with Iran. Trump chose not to retaliate, and the tensions with Iran have eased somewhat. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who was in Washington Friday to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, told reporters that Iranian leaders told him earlier this week in Tehran that their missile attack was sufficient for now as retaliation for the U.S. killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force. They do not want to fight. They do not want war, Qureshi told a news conference at the Pakistan Embassy. After Esper was notified of the possible brain injuries on Thursday, U.S. Central Command put out a public statement saying several troops were treated for concussion symptoms from the missile blasts. The AP had reported this on Monday when reporters were allowed to visit the attacked base, Ain al-Asad, in western Iraq. Thursdays statement said that out of an abundance of caution, some of the injured troops were flown out of Iraq for follow-on screening. Medical personnel at Ain al-Asad do not have a magnetic resonance imaging scanner, which can be used to diagnose brain injuries. I think everyone would agree that we could consider this an injury, Hoffman said of the concussion symptoms, which he said became apparent over a period of days. Most or all of the troops initially resumed their military duties, he said. One service member with concussion-like symptoms was flown out of Iraq on Jan. 10; the rest were taken out five days later, Hoffman said. He denied that anyone had downplayed the lethal potential of the Iranian missiles or delayed the reporting of the injuries out of political considerations. This idea that there was an effort to de-emphasize injuries for some sort of amorphous political agenda doesnt hold water, Hoffman said. Associated Press writer Ben Fox contributed to this report. Activist groups have been pressuring financial institutions to cut ties with fossil fuel, and firms like AXA, Allianz, Swiss Re and SCOR have been among the first to respond. All four pledged not only to divest from fossil fuels, but to phase out the insurance and underwriting of coal and other fossil-fuel-related businesses, SIGWATCH said. Energy companies such as Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil were among the most criticized brands, according to SIGWATCH. Finance firms are the star performers in this years most-praised rankings, said Robert Blood, founder and managing director of SIGWATCH. As Greta Thunberg and climate activists call on business leaders attending this years World Economic Forum to end the madness of investing in fossil fuels, AXA, Allianz, Swiss Re and SCOR are showing the way. By praising them, NGOs are awarding them for a job well done and encouraging others in their sector and beyond to follow their example. This year we expect activist groups to ramp up their campaigning against the fossil fuel economy and the businesses that fund it. It will be interesting to see if they are able to replicate their success in securing commitments in coal to also exit oil and gas. The 2019 SIGWATCH rankings are: Brands most praised Unilever Nestle AXA Allianz Yum! Brands Swiss Re Danone VF Corporation Aldi SCORE SE Brands most criticized LUMPKIN, Ga. In a locked, guarded courtroom in a compound surrounded by razor wire, Immigration Judge Jerome Rothschild waits and stalls. A Spanish interpreter is running late because of a flat tire. Rothschild tells the five immigrants before him that hell take a break before the proceedings even start. His hope: to delay just long enough so these immigrants wont have to sit by, uncomprehendingly, as their futures are decided. We are, untypically, without an interpreter, Rothschild tells a lawyer who enters the courtroom at Stewart Detention Center after driving down from Atlanta, about 140 miles away. In its disorder, this is, in fact, a typical day in the chaotic, crowded and confusing U.S. immigration court system of which Rothschilds courtroom is just one small outpost. Shrouded in secrecy, the immigration courts run by the U.S. Department of Justice have been dysfunctional for years and have only gotten worse. A surge in the arrival of asylum seekers and the Trump administrations crackdown on the Southwest border and illegal immigration have pushed more people into deportation proceedings, swelling the courts docket to 1 million cases. It is just a cumbersome, huge system, and yet administration upon administration comes in here and tries to use the system for their own purposes, says Immigration Judge Amiena Khan in New York City, speaking in her role as vice president of the National Association of Immigration Judges. And in every instance, the system doesnt change on a dime, because you cant turn the Titanic around. The Associated Press visited immigration courts in 11 cities more than two dozen times during a 10-day period in late fall. In courts from Boston to San Diego, reporters observed scores of hearings that illustrated how crushing caseloads and shifting policies have landed the courts in unprecedented turmoil: Chasing efficiency, immigration judges double- and triple-book hearings that cant possibly be completed, leading to numerous cancellations. Immigrants get new court dates, but not for years. Young children are everywhere and sit on the floor or stand or cry in cramped courtrooms. Many immigrants dont know how to fill out forms, get records translated or present a case. Frequent changes in the law and rules for how judges manage their dockets make it impossible to know what the future holds when immigrants finally have their day in court. Paper files often are misplaced, and interpreters often are missing. Come back in 2023 In a federal building in downtown Manhattan, the docket lists stretch to a second page outside the immigration courtrooms. Crowds of people wait in the hallways for their turn to see a judge, murmuring to each other and their lawyers, pressing up against the wall to let others through. When judges assign future court dates, immigrants are asked to come back in February or March of 2023. On average, cases on the countrys immigration docket have been churning through the courts for nearly two years. Many immigrants have been waiting much longer, especially those who arent held in detention facilities. Seven years In Boston, Audencio Lopez applied for asylum seven years ago. The 39-year-old left a Guatemalan farming town to cross the border illegally as a teenager in 1997 and soon found a job at a landscaping company where he still works, maintaining the grounds at area schools. But it was just this past November that he headed to the imposing Boston courthouse to learn his fate. Lopez tells the judge about his devout Christianity and Bible studies, his kids education at a charter school and dreams of going to college, his fear of having to move his children to a dangerous place theyve never been. After about an hour of questioning, Judge Lincoln Jalelian tells Lopez hell take the case under advisement. The government attorney says she wont oppose granting Lopez a visa because of his exemplary record and community service, which means hell likely be able to stay. But even as he dreams of his familys future in America, Lopez admits the hope and joy are tempered by uncertainty because his wifes status still is unresolved. She applied separately for asylum five years ago and has yet to have her immigration court hearing. Children everywhere A toddlers gleeful screams fill the immigration courtroom in a Salt Lake City suburb as he plays with toy cars while his mother waits for her turn to go before the judge. Ninety minutes later, the boy is restless, and the 32-year-old woman from Honduras still is waiting. She pulls out her phone, opens YouTube and plays childrens songs in Spanish to calm his cries. In Chicago, a plastic box of well-worn books in English and Spanish sits in the corner of the court waiting room. But the chairs dont move and there are no changing tables in the bathrooms, leading a mom to change her newborns diaper on a narrow counter between sinks. Many children have immigration cases of their own. AP reporters saw appearances by children as young as 3. They sit on wooden benches with their parents, grandparents or foster families. Teenagers scroll through smartphones; a toddler with a superheroes backpack swings his tiny feet. There also are American-born kids tagging along with immigrant parents the government seeks to deport. Veronica Mejia left El Salvador as a young teen and now has lived a third of her life in the United States. It took her that long to get her day in a Los Angeles immigration court. Now 20, Mejia raises her right hand and vows to tell the truth. She has a job in a California warehouse, a boyfriend and an 8-month-old daughter with chubby cheeks and pierced ears waiting down the hall. Immigration Judge Ashley Tabaddor asks questions about her situation, and the government lawyer questions the immigrants credibility. Tabaddor breaks the news to Mejia: She doesnt qualify for asylum under the law and issues an order for her to return to El Salvador. Mejia walks down the hall with her lawyer. Her boyfriend hands her the baby. Were going to appeal, she says, sitting down to nurse the wide-eyed infant. For her how am I going to leave her here? Overworked judges On Tabaddors computer, there are eight color-coded dashboards showing how close she is to meeting goals set by the Department of Justice for the countrys 440 immigration judges. Like many, shes nowhere near completing the annual case completion target, and her dashboard is a deep red. So far, everyone has told us theyre failing the measure, Tabaddor says. Officials at the Departments Executive Office of Immigration Review are adding interpreters in Spanish and Mandarin, judges and clerks. Theyve started special centers to handle video hearings for immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. Theyre also moving to an electronic system to try to put an end to the heaps of paper files hoisted in and out of courtrooms. The entire effort is a quest for efficiency, though director James McHenry acknowledges were still getting outpaced by new cases. Court appearance by video The disorder stretches well beyond the bustling courts of the countrys cities. A lawyer takes a red eye from Los Angeles to Houston, then flies to Louisiana, rents a car and drives for an hour to reach a remote detention facility. He and his client watch a video monitor for their hearing before an immigration judge who sits 1,000 miles away in Miami, Florida, along with the governments attorney. The system requires careful choreography among judges, lawyers and interpreters. Immigration attorneys travel long distances to reach remote courts and follow clients shuffled to different detention facilities, while interpreters crisscross the country to provide translation to immigrants when and where they need it. Deported after 2 decades in U.S. Miguel Borrayo, a 40-year-old mechanic, sits before an immigration judge in a courtroom outside Salt Lake City. He was able to find a lawyer to help him argue that he should be allowed to stay in the country with his American children, despite lacking legal papers, but he was told it would cost up to $8,000. So he goes it alone. Borrayo tells the judge he never had any trouble with the law since slipping across the border from Mexico in 1997 until he turned his car into a McDonalds parking lot and came close to a passing man. The man was an immigration agent. Shortly after pulling into the drive-through, Borrayo was arrested. But Immigration Judge Philip Truman spends little time on how Borrayo ended up in his courtroom. He asks about the immigrants two teenage children. Borrayo tells Truman they are both healthy and good students. His 16-year-old daughter dreams of someday becoming a veterinarian. His 13-year-old son wants to become a mechanic, like his dad. His wife, the teens mother, works part-time so she can care for them. Ironically, this all dooms his case. Truman says it doesnt seem like his children would suffer tremendously if Borrayo returned to Mexico. Regrettably, he must deport him. Hes given a month to leave the country one last Christmas in his familys home surrounded by snow-capped mountains. He shrugs off the loss and leaves the courtroom. But days later, he wonders what went wrong. I just tried to tell the truth so that they would help me, he says. The Associated Press immigration team sent journalists based around the country to courts from Nov. 12 to Nov. 22. Those contributing reporting to the project include: Philip Marcelo, Boston, @philmarcelo; Sophia Tareen, @sophiatareen, and Noreen Nasir, @noreensnasir, Chicago; Cedar Attanasio, El Paso, Texas, @viaCedar; Nomaan Merchant, Houston, @NomaanMerchant; Amy Taxin, Los Angeles, @ataxin; Kate Brumback, Lumpkin, Ga., @katebrumback; Adriana Gomez Licon, Miami, @agomezlicon; Deepti Hajela, New York, @dhajela; Astrid Galvan, Phoenix, @astridgalvan; Brady McCombs, West Valley City, Utah, @BradyMcCombs; Elliot Spagat, San Diego, @elliotspagat, and Colleen Long, Falls Church, Virginia, and @ctlong1. The mangled metal frame of an L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle thought to be that of a soldier involved in the Narrow Water atrocity: Liam McBurney/PA Wire Police have seized a rifle linked to the Narrow Water massacre which was on display at a republican museum in west Belfast. The Roddy McCorley Society has amassed a collection of items related to the Troubles and associated with the republican tradition, as well as some items from loyalists. One of the items is a British soldier's rifle from the Narrow Water attack by the IRA in 1979, in which 18 British soldiers died. The museum also displays a pair of Colonel Gaddafi's slippers. Police have now seized the rifle after concerns from victims of the Troubles that the museum was "glorifying terrorism". Detective Chief Inspector Zoe McKee, from PSNIs Legacy Investigation Branch, said police attended the Roddy McCorley Social Club and "engaged with representatives of the museum". Following assessment, we are now in possession of this artefact, and further enquiries are being progressed," she said. Expand Close Kevin Carson, the curator of the Roddy McCorley Society living history museum in Belfast, holds a pair of Colonel Gaddafis slippers PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kevin Carson, the curator of the Roddy McCorley Society living history museum in Belfast, holds a pair of Colonel Gaddafis slippers Jonathan Ganesh, from the Docklands Victims Association (DVA), said he was also concerned that 1m from Belfast City Council has been earmarked for the Roddy McCorley museum. He told the Nolan Show: "At the DVA offices in London we have had a number of emails and telephone calls from victims, not just victims of the Troubles, but other terrorist atrocities, and we are extremely concerned. "We find it extremely offensive to say the least. "We have to be very careful in the future. Terrorism is wrong . This museum, the Roddy McCorley Society, they are advertising a gun and they are also advertising slippers belonging to Gaddafi. These items, which I find macabre, I feel glorify terrorism." A Belfast City Council spokesman said: An indicative ring-fenced allocation of 1m has been agreed in principle at this stage. This does not constitute a final investment decision. "As with all projects, these will be required to go through the councils three stage approval process and committee will be kept up to date on their progress. "All projects will be tested against the councils four investment abilities feasibility/affordability/deliverability and sustainability. This is for the development of a modern interpretative museum and existing grounds." The Roddy McCorley Society has been approached for comment. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 19:22:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW YORK, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The China-U.S. phase-one economic and trade agreement has illustrated the ability of both countries to resolve their differences, a Chinese senior diplomat said here Thursday. "It demonstrates the resilience of this relationship," Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping said at a Spring Festival reception for over 600 Chinese representatives from 10 eastern U.S. states. The agreement is beneficial not only to China and the United States, but also the whole world, Huang said. China and the United States formally signed their phase-one economic and trade agreement in Washington on Wednesday, with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. President Donald Trump inking the papers at the White House. The agreement ranges from expanding bilateral trade in such sectors as agricultural products, manufactured goods, energy, and services, further broadening market access, to enhancing the protection of intellectual property rights. The two sides also agreed to establish a bilateral mechanism for two-way assessment and dispute settlement, and the United States has pledged to cancel some of its additional tariffs on Chinese products, marking a policy change from hiking to cutting additional tariffs. A peaceful and harmonious bilateral relationship between China and the United States will make both winners, while a confrontational one will make both losers, Huang said. "A decoupling of the two countries is utterly unrealistic and is not in the interest of either Chinese or American people," he said. Huang said China and the U.S. made the right choice to establish diplomatic ties over 40 years ago given the significance of their relationship today. He said he hopes Chinese communities in the United States would continue to serve as a bridge of friendship between the two countries. "We should work together to ensure a sound and stable development of China-U.S. ties, which will benefit all overseas Chinese in the United States," he added. New Delhi: Jalees Ansari, a doctor by profession and convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, who was out on parole, and had gone missing from his home in Mumbai, was on Friday (January 17) arrested from Kanpur. A joint search was launched by Mumbai Crime Branch, Mumbai ATS and other intelligence agencies after Ansari was reported to have gone missing during his parole. Ansari, also known as 'Dr Bomb' for his alleged expertise in bomb-making, was reportedly staying at his Mumbai residence after being released on 21-day parole. However, he mysteriously disappeared on Thursday morning following which his family members lodged a 'missing' complaint at the Agripada Police Station. In their complaint, one of Ansari's four sons Zaid told the police that his father was missing since the morning of January 16. The Mumbai Police then launched a manhunt to trace Jalees Ansari, wanted in over 50 bomb blast cases all over the country. The Mumbai Police also deputed several teams to locate him. Ansari has been serving a life term and was recently released from the Ajmer Central Prison in Rajasthan. During the parole period, Ansari was directed to visit the Agripada Police Station to mark his attendance every day. Over 250 people died while 713 others were injured after a series of bomb blasts rocked Mumbai City on March 12, 1993. Mark Nissley, 40, was arrested on January 15th, 2020 stemming from an incident on January 11th, 2020 at Office Max, located at 650 East High Street, in the Borough of Carlisle, Cumberland County. Nissley was seen on security footage removing the security tag off of a three pack of Wi-Fi routers, and leaving the store without paying. He was identified shortly thereafter, and was located in the Adams County Correctional Facility. He was charged with Retail Theft, due to prior convictions. A growing number of old dogs are being surrendered to a Meath rescue centre who say they are now tiring of hearing the 'same old excuses' Coolronan Dog Rescue in Ballivor has seen the highest number of post-Christmas surrendered dogs in years, with 14 in the last number of weeks alone. "Older dogs that are nine and ten years old are being surrendered with the excuse that the owners are moving and aren't allowed pets in their new house," said Ramona Cunningham who has been running the centre alongside her husband Chris Kelly for 14 years. "I know some are genuine and that not all landlords allow dogs but to be honest, I'm getting tired of hearing the same excuse from many people that you know just isn't true. "One dog recently was left in and is still really pining for his owners, who never once rang since to find out how their pet of ten years is doing. They weren't at all bothered leaving him. That dog was with them for nine or ten years and they hardly batted an eyelid handing him over. "I suspect many older dogs are being surrendered before owners have to face hefty vet bills due to ill health in old age. The older dogs are also harder to rehome because they have routines and habits and can be hard to fit in." "Dogs up to 12 years having to spend the rest of their days in a rescue centre is just not right." Chris Kelly with a dog surrendered to Coolronan Dog Rescue Ramona says that the message by all rescue centres not to buy puppies for Christmas seems to have again fallen on deaf ears. "We got a call on Christmas day from a young boy looking for a Husky puppy. How bad is that? "I'm seeing countless posts on social media of people who got pups for Christmas and are now giving out because their are peeing on the good carpet or chewing their house up. "Normally it's about February before people get fed up with their pups and abandon or surrender them but this year is pretty early - we've had 14 dogs in the last few weeks, most are old dogs but a good few are pups." Coolronan rescued 140 dogs last year and many of them were rehomed in Sweden in a partnership between many Irish centres with their Swedish counterparts, "Many of these are Lurchers and Collies which are impossible to home in Ireland but are easily rehomed in Sweden. We are a great exporter of unwanted dogs." With the pipeline for new antibiotics slowing to a trickle and bankruptcies driving pharmaceutical companies from the field, the World Health Organization on Friday issued a fresh warning about the global threat of drug-resistant infections. Some 700,000 people die each year because medicines that once cured their conditions are no long effective. Yet the vast majority of the 60 new antimicrobial products in development worldwide are variations on existing therapies, and only a handful target the most dangerous drug-resistant infections, the agency said in a report. We urgently need research and development, said Sarah Paulin, technical officer of Antimicrobial Resistance and Innovation at the W.H.O. and an author of two reports on the subject issued Friday. We still have a window of opportunity but we need to ensure there is investment now so we dont run out of options for future generations. Without government intervention, the United Nations estimates that resistant infections could kill 10 million people annually by 2050 and prompt an economic slowdown to rival the global financial crisis of 2008. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-16 23:31:02 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 675 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2020 / PowerBand Solutions Inc. (TSXV:PBX) (OTCQB:PWWBF) (Frankfurt:1ZVA) ("PowerBand", "PBX" or the "Company"), a leading online automotive leasing, auction remarketing, and vehicle acquisition and sales platform in North America, announces that it has entered into a loan agreement ( the "Loan") with an arm's length third party to borrow $350,000. The terms of the Loan include:Loan will be secured on the assets of the Company, accrue interest at a rate of 8% per annum, calculated monthly, and mature in three months;in connection with the Loan, 350,000 warrants to purchase common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $0.165 will be issued. The warrants are subject to a four month hold period, and are exercisable for one year from the date of issuance; andthe Loan is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.The proceeds of the Loan will be used for working capital and for general corporate purposes.About PowerBand Solutions Inc.PowerBand Solutions Inc. is a technology provider listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company has commercialized its leading-edge cloud-based platform to buy, sell, lease, and auction vehicles. With the recent receipt of its exporter license and its acquisition of MUSA Auto Finance, the Company is now well positioned to become a leader in the USD$10 billion cross-border used vehicle export market, the USD$100 billion used vehicle auction market, and the USD$120 billion vehicle leasing market in the U.S. and Canada.For further information, please contact:Richard Goldman, VP Corporate DevelopmentP: 1-866-768-7653rgoldman@ powerbandsolutions.com FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSThis news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by Canadian securities law.Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, unless an exemption from such registration is available.SOURCE: PowerBand Solutions Inc. There are several things you need to consider before, during and well after you set up a new business. Assessing your finances and putting aside more money than you'd like to in order to accommodate any surprise costs is crucial, while testing your product or service before launch can help you iron out any early issues. Meanwhile, getting to grips with social media and putting together a marketing strategy no matter how small your business is, can help you to gain momentum before it's even kicked off. But one thing that can really help give you and your business a real boost is getting yourself out of the house and along to networking events. Talking to people who have done it all before (and failed and succeeded!), have helped others do it, and are in the same boat as you can be a game-changer. Emma Jones is founder of small business support network Enterprise Nation Emma Jones, founder of small business support network Enterprise Nation and author of The Start Up Kit, explains just how important networking is for you and your start-up. While many of us will be into week two of a new health and fitness regime, a good 20 per cent of us will be making plans to start a business in 2020. According to Companies House data, 2019 was a record year for UK company registrations. An incredible 678,288 new businesses were registered, a 2.8 per cent increase on 2018 - with an incredible five tech start-ups launching every hour. Why? Because starting a business has never been easier, with around one in five working age people saying they would like to start a business at some point in their career. But you dont have to be a tech geek to start-up, according to the Centre for Entrepreneurs analysis of the data, businesses were started in 700 different sectors over the 12 months, including alpaca farms and and micro breweries. Today we know many of those starting will be looking to keep hold of the day job initially at least, and start a side hustle. Its why Ive written my latest book, The Start Up Kit with the support of the Start Up Loans Company, to give people tips to get everything ready to start a business thats sustainable and that will stand out from the crowd. But one thing is certain; making sure you find out as much information as you can online, chatting your idea through with peers and experts, and getting out there a lot is vital. Start-ups thrive on collaborations and partnerships. Here's how you can get them: Attend events Theres a wealth of events for start-ups. Most are free or low cost and offer an opportunity to learn from experts, mix with peers and find new customers and suppliers. Don't be put off, for example, if an event is low cost. Being expensive is no guarantee of quality. Do your research, who are the hosts, are they reputable? Look out for events with panel discussions it usually means youll learn something from an industry expert and you can also usually ask a question and pitch your business at the same time. Enterprise Nation hosts a whole range of events throughout the year designed to help you start and grow including our StartUp 2020 events in London (January 18) and Manchester (January 25). Also look out for events via Global Entrepreneurship Week in November and National Association of College & University Entrepreneurs holds regular events in universities for example. Join a society, group or club Signing up with an enterprise society, local business club or network is good for business and it can also improve your social life. Try to look for a like-minded group that runs events that are both useful, ie you can learn a skill, and friendly, so you fit in. Look out for Enterprise Nation networks via our Local Leaders initiative, or check out whats going on in your local co-working space or Growth Hub. Emma suggests wearing something memorable while at networking events Work the room It may be daunting to some, but making the right impression doesnt have to be difficult. There are some simple networking steps to follow and once you master them, youll be away! If youre worried about remembering everyones name, dont. Most events use name badges for that reason and most carry business cards. Make sure you go in with a nice, firm handshake and deliver your name and tell them what you do in under 10 seconds. Be memorable. Have purpose. Some suggest wearing something thats a conversation starter. This could be a necklace or a brooch, or a pocket handkerchief, nothing too ostentatious. Dress as the person you want to be. If youre starting a tech business, it could be jeans and casual trainers. Whatever youre wearing, make sure you listen and send a friendly email afterwards. Keep in touch. Get good at pitching There are events out there that allow you to actually pitch your business to industry buyers or investors. It means speaking in public, so you need to know your stuff. It wont exactly be Dragons Den, but you do need to prep well be prepared to answer questions. Enterprise Nation runs Exchange events throughout the year in specific sectors fashion, food and homewares for example. The Pitch in Bristol is another good one, find out whats happening in your area or sector. Emma Jones will be hosting StartUp 2020 on January 18 in London and StartUp Manchester 2020 on January 25. The Start Up Kit is available to order at Amazon. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Anti-dumping investigation into DMF flooding under way- Capacity utilisation below-par till recently due to heavy imports- Focus on quality pharma ingredients is seen as an opportunity, given the regulatory challenges - Expected ramp-up in new capacities a key positive The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has notified that an anti-dumping probe has been initiated into the imports of Dimethyl Formamide (DMF) from China and Saudi Arabia on the request of Balaji Amines (CMP: Rs 456, market capitalisation: Rs 1,493 crore). We consider this as a key development for the company that needs to be keenly followed. DMF is probably the only key product of the chemical maker the production capacity of which is not optimally utilised due to heavy dumping. Hence, any action with respect to anti-dumping duty can aid its prices and volume. DMF is used as a solvent for pharma, pesticides and acrylic polymer manufacturing. Capacity utilisation In FY19, domestic demand for DMF was nearly 46,000 tonnes. Of this, 35,000 tonnes were imported at very low price. While the company has capacity to manufacture 30,000 tonnes of DMF, it could produce and sell 6,000-7,000 tonnes last year. Of late, there has been a pick-up in DMF sales volume as the chemical manufacturer decided to position the product on a competitive basis. This year so far, DMF volume sale per month is about 900-1,000 tonnes per month, potentially translating into 10,000-12,000 tonne annually. Regardless of the probe outcome, the firm is poised to sell 18,000-20,000 tonnes DMF in FY21. Incremental volume sale even at the current price levels suggests a 5 percent uptick in turnover. Pharma inputs offer scope Balaji Amines gets 51 percent of its sales from the pharma end market. In its product bouquet, a few such as DMF and DMA HCL (Di Methylamines HCL) have been on the radar as they are used as ingredients for drugs such as ranitidine (to treat acid reflux) and valsartan (for treatment of high blood pressure). Both these drugs have been under the pharma regulatory scanner for the possibility of high nitrosamine impurity called Nnitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which could be carcinogenic. That explains increased customer scrutiny for quality parameters. This, the management says, could present a good opportunity to position the company as a source of quality pharma inputs as some global suppliers may not pass the test in this space. Outlook The stock has cheered a series of updates on environmental clearance for its mega project in Solapur, production ramp-up for new capacities of acetonitrile and morpholine, better volume growth in Q2 FY20 and start of production at its subsidiary, Balaji Speciality Chemicals. Pls also read: Balaji Amines: Green clearance sets up the right pitch The stock is trading at 11.1x FY21 estimated earnings after a conservative estimate for the scale-up in its subsidiary operations. Our view is that even at the current level, it presents an opportunity for accumulation. Stock trades at a significant discount to its peer (Alkyl Amines) and a production ramp up is on the cards. Follow @anubhavsays For more research articles, visit our Moneycontrol Research page Moneycontrol Research analysts do not hold positions in the companies discussed here Police officers are investigating who carried out the ritual - PANAMA PUBLIC MINISTRY/REUTERS Seven people were killed in a bizarre religious ritual in a jungle community in Panama, in which indigenous residents were rounded up by about 10 lay preachers and tortured, beaten, burned and hacked with machetes to make them "repent their sins". Police freed 14 members of the Ngabe Bugle indigenous group who had been tied up and beaten with wooden cudgels and Bibles. The dead, found in a mass grave, include a pregnant woman and five of her children. Investigators found machetes, knives and a ritually sacrificed goat. Ten people, including a minor, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Rafael Baloyes, a local prosecutor, described a chilling scene found by investigators when they made their way through the jungle to the remote Ngabe Bugle indigenous community near the Caribbean coast, about 250km (155 miles) from Panama City. Alerted by three villagers who escaped and made their way to a local hospital for treatment, police were prepared, Mr Baloyes said, but were still surprised by what they discovered at an improvised "church" at a ranch where a little-known religious sect known as 'The New Light of God' was operating. "They were performing a ritual inside the structure," Mr Baloyes said. "In that ritual, there were people being held against their will, being mistreated. Police officers are investigating who carried out the ritual Credit: REUTERS "All of these rites were aimed at killing them if they did not repent their sins," he said. Authorities believe the rites had been going on since Saturday. About a mile away from the church building, authorities found a freshly dug grave with the corpses of six children and one adult. The dead included five children as young as one, their pregnant mother and a 17-year-old female neighbour. "They searched this family out to hold a ritual and they massacred them, mistreated them, killed practically the whole family," Mr Baloyes said, adding that one of the suspects in the killing is the grandfather of the children who were slain. Story continues Fourteen people who were tortured were taken to hospital Credit: GETTY IMAGES All the victims, and apparently all the suspects, were members of the same indigenous community. The area is so remote that helicopters had to be used to take the injured out to hospitals for treatment. They included at least two pregnant women and some children. Ricardo Miranda, leader of the Ngabe Bugle semi-autonomous zone known as a Comarca, called the sect "Satanic" and said it went against the region's Christian beliefs. Police are investigating the beliefs and affiliations of the group Credit: GETTY IMAGES "We demand the immediate eradication of this Satanic sect, which violates all the practices of spirituality and co-existence in the Holy Scriptures," Mr Miranda said. The sect is believed to be relatively new to the area and had been operating locally only for about three months. According to Mr Baloyes, the ritual started because one of the church members had a vision. Jose Gonzalez, left, and his daughter, 5, carried by a police officer. Mr Gonzalez's wife and five of their children were killed Credit: Arnulfo Franco/AP "One of them said God had given them a message," Mr Baloyes said. That message appeared to be forcing people to repent or die. The Ngabe Bugle are Panama's largest indigenous group and suffer from high rates of poverty and illiteracy. It was not clear what belief or affiliations 'The New Light of God' church has. A well-established evangelical church known as Luz del Mundo said in a press statement that it had no ties to the case. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), along with Southwest Airlines, is coming in for some Department of Transportation (DOT) criticism for how it handled safety, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The Journal says it has reviewed a draft of the report scheduled to be released in early February. The draft report allegedly claims that the airline failed to prioritize safety and that the FAA failed to hold it accountable. According to the draft, Southwest transported passengers on jets with unconfirmed maintenance records during a two year period. As an example, the report documents an incident in which a Southwest jet smashed the tips of both wings while repeatedly trying to land during gale force winds. The Journal claims the report also calls the FAAs oversight of the airline lax, ineffective and inconsistent. The report suggests Southwest was never subject to FAA enforcement actions in relation to safety issues, and it goes so far as to suggest the FAAs stance toward Southwest served to justify continued noncompliance with safety regulations. The Inspector Generals investigation reportedly found that the FAA allowed Southwest to fly aircraft with unresolved safety concerns. Further, the audit found that a majority of the FAA employees it interviewed about the matter raised concerns about the culture at Southwest. Engine explosion U.S.-based airlines have been remarkably safe during the last 20 years, largely due to better training, better equipment, and enhanced safety policies. Fatal accidents have been rare, but one of the most recent involved Southwest. The accident occurred when an engine exploded and pieces of metal broke a window. The passenger sitting next to the window was killed when the depressurization of the cabin sucked her halfway out of the aircraft. The resulting investigation focused on the engines metal fatigue, and Southwest announced an acceleration of its program to inspect CFM56-7B engines used on its Boeing 737 aircraft. The Journal report says that an 18-month government investigation concluded that the FAA management in the Dallas office, where Southwest is based, allowed the airline to fly planes with unresolved safety concerns. Government officials have declined to comment, but Southwest, which has reportedly reviewed the draft, took issue with its findings. A spokeswoman told The Journal that the company strongly disagrees with unsubstantiated references to Southwests safety culture. Photo: Patrick Robert Doyle/Unsplash Missed the most recent top news in New York City? Read on for everything you need to know. NYC tenant accused of fatally pushing landlord down stairs over rent dispute A New York City man is accused of pushing his landlord down a flight of stairs, leading to the 71-year-olds death. Read the full story on Boston 25 News. NYPD, bodega worker save victim from machete attack in New York City New York police officers and a bodega worker came to the aid of a man who was chased and attacked in East Harlem. Read the full story on ABC7. How this 200-year-old New York City tavern has survived many near-death experiences Queen Victoria's crowning, Darwin's Theory of Evolution, the Civil War ... all of these things happened after Neir's Tavern opened. Read the full story on Houston Chronicle. New York City lawmakers push for universal after-school programs With parents working longer hours, some New York City lawmakers are pushing for universal after-school programs. Read the full story on CBS New York. NYC housing worker threatened boss before shooting Frankie Corchado screamed as he unloaded a gun at Charles Newton, a New York City Housing Authority building superintendent on Jan. 6, the court document said. Read the full story on New York Daily News. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Maj. Gen. William Cooley has been relieved as commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory over allegations of misconduct. Gen. Arnold W. Bunch of the Air Force Materiel Command removed Cooley from command Wednesday. Cooley was responsible for leading a government workforce of about 6,000 people in the laboratorys nine component technology directorates and the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Two of the directorates the Space Vehicles Directorate and the Directed Energy Directorate are based at Kirtland Air Force Base. Cooley a graduate of Albuquerques Highland High School served twice at Kirtland, most recently as a commander of Phillips Research Site and Material Wing Director, Space Vehicles Directorate, from 2010 to 2013. Bunch said Cooley was relieved because of a loss of confidence in his ability to lead. The alleged misconduct is under investigation. The Air Force takes any misconduct allegation seriously, Bunch said in a news release Thursday. I expect our leadership to uphold the highest standards and live up to the Air Forces core values. Cooley will be assigned as a special assistant to Bunch for the time being. Brig. Gen. Evan Dertien has been appointed AFRL commander. He most recently served as the Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command director, Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations. Dertien was previously AFRLs vice commander, from July 2016 to May 2017. I have great confidence in Brigadier General Dertien and in the professionalism of the entire AFRL workforce, Bunch said. Together, they will remain focused on implementing the U.S. Air Force Science and Technology 2030 Strategy and ensuring AFRL is best postured to support the National Defense Strategy. Cooley had been in charge of AFRL since May 2017. He was responsible for managing a $2.5 billion Air Force science and technology program and an additional $2.3 billion in externally funded research and development. He entered active duty in January 1990 after completing a masters degree at the University of New Mexico. WASHINGTON: The Senate impeachment trial on whether to remove US President Donald Trump from office formally began on Thursday even as a congressional watchdog found that the White House broke the law by withholding security aid for Ukraine approved by Congress. The assessment from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) was a setback for Trump, but it was unclear if it would figure in his trial in the Republican-led Senate given that key questions such as whether witnesses will testify or new evidence will be considered remain unanswered. Democrat Adam Schiff, who heads a team of seven House of Representatives members who will serve as prosecutors, appeared on the Senate floor to read the two charges passed by the House on Dec. 18 that accused Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress arising from his dealings with Ukraine. U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, wearing his black judicial robe, took an oath to preside over the trial and then swore in the assembled senators who will serve as jurors, asking if they would "do impartial justice." Live TV The 99 senators present signed their assent one by one. One senator - Republican Jim Inhofe - was in his home state of Oklahoma to be with a family member facing a medical issue, according to his office, but was due to sign next week. The Senate is expected to acquit Trump, as none of its 53 Republicans has voiced support for removing him, a step that requires a two-thirds majority. Trump has denied wrongdoing and has called the impeachment process a sham. Opening statements were due to start on Tuesday. The abuse of power cited in the House articles of impeachment included Trump`s withholding of $391 million in security aid for Ukraine, a move Democrats have said was aimed at pressuring Kiev into investigating political rival Joe Biden, the president`s possible Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 election. Congress had approved the funds to help Ukraine combat Russia-backed separatists. The money was ultimately provided in September after the controversy spilt into public view. The GAO said the U.S. Constitution does not grant a president authority to unilaterally withhold funds, as Trump did. Instead, a president can only withhold spending in limited circumstances spelt out by law, its report said. "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the GAO said on Thursday. The GAO`s findings are not legally binding, but its reports are seen by lawmakers as objective, reliable and generally uncontested. It has no prosecutorial power. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who sought the GAO investigation, said the findings undercut Republican arguments that there was nothing wrong with Trump`s action. "We now have a clear, lucid finding that the Trump administration violated the law and we know that the president ordered the administration to commit an illegal act," he told Reuters. Republican Senator John Cornyn said that while there may have been a civil violation of the law, it was not a criminal matter and certainly not an impeachable act. "The Constitution says you impeach presidents for treason, bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanours. And it`s none of those things," said Cornyn, a former judge. MONITORING AN AMBASSADOR? It is only the third impeachment trial in U.S. history and no president has been removed as a direct result of the process. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before the full House could vote to impeach him. The House impeached Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998, but the Senate did not convict them. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the GAO report bolstered Democrats` argument that the Senate trial should include new evidence and hear from witnesses. Schiff indicated that the House prosecutors may call Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump`s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani if the Senate permits testimony in the trial. Documents released this week indicated Parnas, a Ukraine-born U.S. citizen, helped Giuliani investigate Biden and his son Hunter, and was also involved in monitoring the movements of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch before Trump removed her in May. In an interview with Reuters, Giuliani said he pushed Trump to fire Yovanovitch but did not know if Parnas put her under surveillance. Giuliani said he was disappointed with Parnas` decision to cooperate with impeachment investigators. "I considered him a friend and I considered him to be a man who had character and now I consider him to be a man who will say whatever his phoney lawyer wants him to say," Giuliani said. Parnas told MSNBC on Wednesday that Trump knew "exactly what was going on," and his lawyer has released several photos of Parnas with the president. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump repeated his assertion that he did not know Parnas. He called the whole thing a "big hoax." The U.S. transplant system has struggled for decades to find a fair way to distribute livers, kidneys, hearts and other organs because of a severe shortage of donors. That has created a waiting list of about 113,000 people, even as the number of transplanted organs continues to increase slowly. Nearly 8,900 livers were transplanted in 2019, but about 13,000 people are waiting for one. Most people on the waiting list are seeking kidneys. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE American: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") announces, further to the closing of its underwritten offering of common shares on December 18, 2019, that it has completed the private placement of 11,346,783 common shares of the Company for gross proceeds of approximately CDN$5.6 million (US$4.2 million). The shares were issued at the same price as the shares issued in the underwritten offering, and are subject to applicable resale restrictions, including a four month hold under Canadian securities legislation. The securities to be issued pursuant to this transaction have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset, owned through its wholly owned Alaska-based U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership ("PLP"), is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. PLP is the proponent of the Pebble Project, an initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral resources. Ronald W. Thiessen President & CEO US Media Contact: Dan Gagnier Gagnier Communications (646) 569-5897 Forward Looking Information and other Cautionary Factors This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively referred to as "forward-looking information"). The use of any of the words "expect", "plan", "update" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. Though the Company believes the expectations expressed in its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are subject to future events and third party discretion such as regulatory personnel. For more information on the Company, and the risks and uncertainties connected with its business, Investors should review the Company's home jurisdiction filings at www.sedar.com and its filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. SOURCE: Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573478/Northern-Dynasty-Completes-US42-Million-Private-Placement Amid the ongoing tussle between the Kerala Government and Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan over the Citizenship Amendment Act, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan called for a press conference and stated that he is not claiming supremacy in the state. Justifying his stand over the issue, the Kerala Governor stated that he is not claiming supremacy but is just doing his work. "The role of the Governor is clearly spelt out in the oath which is prescribed by the constitution. The oath is that I shall, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution and law, and shall devote myself to the service and well being of the people of Kerala. My role is to see that the business of the government is transacted in accordance with the constitution and the law," he said. READ | Kerala Guv says Left govt should have informed him first on petition against CAA 'I wasn't informed about the state govt approaching SC'- Kerala Guv Reacting further to the Kerala government approaching the Supreme Court, the governor stated that the Chief Minister nor his ministers informed him (the governor) about approaching the Apex court for challenging the Citizenship Act. Explaining the rule and responsibility of the state government to the Governor, Arif Mohammed Khan said, "Rule 34, clause 2 of the business of the government states that the following classes of cases shall be submitted by the Chief Minister to the governor before the issue of any order. Cases which affect the relations of the state government with the government of India. I was not even informed about Kerala Government approaching the Supreme Court to challenge a central law which is not even concerned to the state government." "Citizenship is not a subject matter which falls under the state. The money belongs to the people of Kerela. The money should not be spent for other purposes," he said. "Where there is a violation, there is no way I will not ask about it. My responsibility is defending the law and rules. The machinery should not collapse," he added. READ | After Kerala govt, IUML moves SC seeking stay on CAA; Governor not informed, not happy Kerala Govt moves to SC challenging Citizenship law Earlier on January 13, the Kerala government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court, saying that the Citizenship Amendment Act was contradictory to the constitutional ethos. The Kerala government's petition argues that CAA is discriminatory because it covers only a class of minorities from a class of countries sharing borders with India and to which and from there have been trans-border migration. It further says that CAA covers certain religious minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and overlooks other reportedly persecuted religious minorities and sects such as Ahmaddiyas, Shias, and Hazaras. READ | BIG: Kerala government challenges CAA in Supreme Court, becomes first state to do so READ | Narasimha Rao calls Kerala govt's challenge to CAA in SC a "mature" move (Image Credit: PTI) (Alliance News) - Struggling UK airline Flybe said Friday it is seeking a state loan and has been granted a tax holiday, after this week's rescue which has sparked anger from rival carriers. Flybe managing director Mark Anderson said in a message to staff that the regional airline, which narrowly avoided collapse on Tuesday, is in talks over the loan. "We are in conversation with the government around a financial loan a a loan, not a bailout a a commercial loan, but that is the same as any loan we'd take from any bank," Anderson said in a message that was initially reported by the BBC and confirmed to AFP. He added: "The government will not lend if they do not believe there is a credible plan. "No-one is going to throw good money after bad." Flybe added in a separate statement that it has agreed a payment plan to defer tax payments of less than GBP10 million with Britain's tax authority HMRC. The airline said that this was standard HMRC practice for businesses in financial difficulties. Flybe meanwhile criticised "inaccurate" UK media speculation that its tax debt stood at more than GBP100 million. The carrier was saved from collapse on Tuesday when the UK government agreed to review air passenger duty paid by the Flybe's customers, while shareholders pledged extra investment. In response, British Airways parent group International Consolidated Airlines Group SA on Wednesday filed a formal complaint to BrusselsA over what it argued was state aid to Flybe. Downing Street argues however that it was not state aid, while any APD changes would apply to the whole aviation sector. Flybe a owned by Virgin Atlantic, investment firm Cyrus and infrastructure specialist Stobart Group Ltd a is struggling due to weak demand and fierce competition. Employing some 2,000 people, Flybe has failed to turn around its fortunes since it was purchased a year ago by a consortium led by Virgin. Flybe, which claims it has been weakened also by uncertainties related to Brexit, carries around eight million passengers annually and flies from 43 airports across Europe and 28 in Britain. It is the biggest operator of UK domestic flights. source: AFP Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. What Ukraine is trying to tell the Americans, Prystaiko said, is that the government is "so happy" to have bipartisan support and that they would be glad if it was preserved. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko spoke with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Thursday following a claim by Soviet-born businessman Lev Parnas that President Trump was directly involved through his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani in an alleged quid pro quo with Ukraine. "I never spoke with this individual [Lev Parnas]. And, again, frankly, I don't trust any word he is now saying," Ukraine's top diplomat told CNN. Prystaiko noted that the provision of military aid in question is reviewed by the United States once every six months. "We knew that this assistance is to be reviewed sometimes", Prystaiko said, adding that it could be cut depending on how Ukraine fulfills its obligations. "Sometimes it is raised, which we are now observing. At the end of the year, we will have received even more than it was planned," the minister explained. "This individual, whom I don't know personally, is now trying to save his own case and, again, I don't trust what he's saying. And I was so tired of questions about our role in impeachment," Prystaiko added. What Ukraine is trying to tell the Americans, Prystaiko said, is that the government is "so happy" to have bipartisan support and that they would be glad if it was preserved. Read alsoTrump threatened Zelensky to freeze all aid to Ukraine if probe into Joe Biden wasn't announced Giuliani's associate "I was there during all meetings and conversations [of President Zelensky] by telephone and in person with President Trump and I can tell you in all certainty that he [President Trump] never mentioned that we had to do something [] We are not going to intervene because of some political gains. We told them if you got information, send it through the official channels, which is through the prosecutor general's office. You have your prosecutor general, we have ours. Let them talk, cooperate, and if there's anything to be investigated, let's investigate this," said the foreign minister. As reported earlier, a phone conversation between presidents of the United States and Ukraine Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in July 2019 led to a scandal in the United States. Trump was accused of exerting pressure on Zelensky to give a fresh impetus to the investigation into Hunter Biden, son of Trump's potential rival in the 2020 presidential election, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Due to the scandal in mid-December, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to start the impeachment procedure. Donald Trump is being charged with abuse of power and obstructing Congress investigation. There are two major problems with the new WashingtonBeijing trade accord announced by the Trump administration: First, it isnt much of a trade deal; second, the principal problem in the U.S.China relationship is not trade. There are some benefits to the deal. These are important and should not be overlooked. For one thing, signing even a partial and preliminary deal (which is what phase one means) may relieve some of the uncertainty that currently imposes heavy costs on businesses in the United States and abroad. A higher degree of certainty will encourage investment and long-term economic growth. And while it has imposed heavy costs on U.S. businesses ranging from soybean farms to steel mills, the trade war has credibly demonstrated to Xi Jinping and his cronies that the United States has the ability to inflict real economic pain on China, and that the subsequent disruption will be borne with far more strength and flexibility by the U.S. economy which enjoys the dynamism associated with genuinely free enterprise rather than the nationalistic neo-mercantilism practiced by Beijing. The trade war has put the Chinese back on their heels if not quite down on their knees. In that, President Trump has accomplished precisely what he intended. And, in a sense, that is part of the trouble with the trade deal: Beijing is hurting, and hurting enough that Xi Jinping et al. almost certainly have done here what they have done so many times in the past: assuage Washington by making promises that they have no intention whatsoever of keeping. Among other things, China has promised to increase its imports of U.S. goods by about 50 percent in only two years. The deal obliges China to increase its imports of U.S. goods by $200 billion over two years from a baseline of about $185 billion a year. This is not ambitious it is implausible. As Josh Rogin points out in the Washington Post, Beijing signed trade memoranda with the United States in 1989, 1992, 1995, and 1996, and declined to honor any of those agreements. An agreement on economic espionage negotiated by the Obama administration in 2015 also has come to naught. Story continues With this agreement, Beijing is not buying soybeans it is buying time. There is an election in November, as some of you may have heard, and Chairman Xi almost certainly is wagering that he can run out the clock either on the Trump administration itself or simply on its attention span. The agreement commits Beijing to cracking down on counterfeit goods and establishes new penalties for failing to comply. It also obliges Beijing, in a very general way, to liberalize the rules hampering the operation of U.S. financial-services firms in Beijing. But it does not specifically require the repeal or reform of any particular law or regulation, and Beijing has shown itself more than able to thrive and maneuver in such vagueness. As for the bigger structural picture that Chinas economy is ruthlessly regimented under a system of subsidies and controls that will continue to disadvantage overseas firms irrespective of the superficial (and, so far, hypothetical) changes associated with any BeijingWashington accord the agreement remains silent. Thats a concern for phase two, apparently, should such a thing ever come to pass. We are not confident that it will, given the real issue here, which is the character of the Beijing regime. China maintains some abusive trade policies, but the fundamental problem with the Chinese government is not how many tons of Nebraska-grown soybeans get unloaded on Nantong docks. The problem is that the Chinese government is a totalitarian, one-party police state that currently is packing ethnic minorities into concentration camps, harvesting the organs of dissidents, stamping out civil liberty in Hong Kong, and bullying neighbors from Taipei to New Delhi. Negotiations over trade difference is not a mere distraction, in that these issues are important in their own right, but neither is a trade accord a substitute for a more robust and credible policy that takes account of U.S. interests beyond commerce, including human rights, democracy, and peace. These are not questions that will be resolved by a trade deal, much less by a weak trade deal. Viewing the confrontation with China through the pinhole of trade relations is an error. The trade war has been tough on the Trump administration politically, with much of the collateral damage happening in the heart of Trump country, particularly in the farm economy. That the White House has not been exactly deft in its handling of the economic disruption has made things worse (and more expensive) than they needed to be. It is not surprising, then, that the Trump team wishes to put this issue behind it as it goes into the 2020 election. It can sign the accord and declare victory; if the agreement turns out to be as wan and ineffectual as it appears it will, the consequences will not be manifest before the presidential election. Trump the anti-politician has learned at least some of the ways of Washington. But the truth is that the U.S.-China relationship is not something we can put behind us, even temporarily neither the broader overall relationship nor the relatively narrow commercial concerns addressed, to the modest extent that they are, in this trade deal. A step in the right direction is better than a step in the wrong direction, but this is a very modest and halting step and one that is very likely to come to naught without the kind of consistent, careful attention for which the Trump administration has not earned much of a reputation. By all means, declare victory having signed the deal. But the president and his team should understand that this represents not the conclusion of their work on China but only a very modest beginning to it. More from National Review Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP was ranked in the legal category of Chambers and Partners 2020 FinTech Guide in the U.S., Japan, Mexico and Poland jurisdictions. Arturo Perez-Estrada, shareholder in the firms Mexico City office, was recognized in the guides Mexican FinTech market. In addition, the following shareholders were listed as notable practitioners: The Fintech Guide describes Greenberg Traurig in the United States as a [h]ighly capable blockchain and cryptocurrency practice respected by peers and clients alike for the quality of its counsel on innovative matters. The firm is well positioned to provide expert advice on a wide range of issues from fund formation and security token offerings to the development of blockchain solutions. Greenberg can utilise its top-class capabilities in consumer protection and anti-money laundering matters to serve financial institutions and disruptive startups in the FinTech industry. Chambers also states that in Japan, The firm has a wealth of experience servicing foreign currency exchange, overseas remittance and payment services providers. Such knowledge favourably disposes Greenberg Traurig to clients offering cross-border e-money services and employing peer-to-peer models. The firm is widely respected by clients for its expertise in advising on financial instruments and exchange law mandates in Japan. In Mexico, Chambers notes the firm is [c]elebrated across the Mexican FinTech market for its work in the venture capital arena, adding that Greenberg Traurigs practice operates at the heart of the countrys FinTech community, working closely with both investment funds and startups to empower ground-breaking entrepreneurs and promote the growth of the industry. The firm equally brings formidable capability in payments and lending platforms, advising a roster of leading clients on regulatory matters. Greenberg Traurigs Poland team is described by Chambers as advising FinTech investors and investees through its greatly experienced and sophisticated corporate and capital markets teams. The firm has a robust track record for being particularly helpful to incumbent institutions, venture capital funds and financial services companies involved in money transfer, card and payment systems. The annual FinTech Guide is a part of Chambers and Partners Professional Advisers series. It features leading professionals in the legal, venture capital, consulting, and public relations aspects of FinTech and covers 37 jurisdictions. About Greenberg Traurigs Blockchain Group: Greenberg Traurigs Blockchain Group is comprised of more than 75 attorneys across multiple legal disciplines in key financial hubs around the world. The Task Force advises clients on matters ranging from token generation events, smart contracts, initial coin offerings, fund formation, MSB and FinCEN registration, cryptocurrency exchanges, digital cities, to the development and licensing of blockchain-as-a-service. Our team also advises governments and municipalities on evolving or model regulatory standards and other pertinent matters relating to blockchain. About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2100 attorneys in 41 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law. A Pakistani court has sentenced brother and nephew of a radical Islamist party chief along with 84 others to 55-year prison terms each for taking part in protests in 2018 over the acquittal of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman in a controversial blasphemy case, according to a media report. The anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi was hearing a case against the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers who held violent protests and clashed with the police over the arrest of party chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi in 2018, Dawn reported. Those convicted include TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi's brother Ameer Hussain Rizvi and nephew Mohammad Ali, the report said. The court handed 86 workers and supporters of the TLP with a prison sentence of 55 years each in a case pertaining to rioting and resisting against the police, the report said. Additionally, the court on Thursday ordered the convicts to collectively submit Rs 12,925,000 and directed authorities to seize their moveable and immoveable assets. After the verdict was announced late on Thursday night, the convicts were escorted to Attock jail in three vehicles under tight security. In November 2018, over 2,000 people, including the chief of a radical Islamist party, were booked under terrorism and other charges of rioting, attempting murder and hurling threats in different parts of Punjab province during the three-day protests following the acquittal of Christian woman Bibi. Bibi, a 47-year-old mother of four, was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting Islam in a row with her neighbours. She always maintained her innocence, but has spent most of the past eight years in solitary confinement. In the landmark judgement, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar overturned the conviction of Bibi facing execution for blasphemy, sparking protests led by the TLP and other groups across Pakistan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Map showing the approximate location of the terror attack in Lamu County, Kenya. The U.S. military said an Al-Qaeda affiliated group attacked Manda Bay Airfield, Kenya, on Jan. 5, 2020. (OpenStreetMaps) US Airstrike Kills 2 Terrorists After Attack on Military Base in Kenya More than a week after an attack by al-Shabaab that killed three Americans, including a soldier, the Pentagon announced a deadly airstrike was carried out in Somalia on the designated terrorist group. U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, said the strikes were conducted in the area of Qunyo Barrow, Somalia, on Thursday, killing two members of the group. The State Department has designated al-Shabaab as a Foreign Terrorist Organization affiliated with al-Qaeda. Al-Shabaab presents a threat to America, the African people, and our international partners, said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Gayler of AFRICOM. No civilians were killed or injured in the airstrikes. During a briefing on Thursday, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman didnt elaborate when he was asked about what the agency will do in response to the attack. We are continuing to work with Kenya on efforts against al-Shabaab. I cant speak to future operations against al-Shabaab, but we are working with our forces in Kenya and our partners there to degrade the threat that is in Kenya, he told the Military Times. The Pentagon said two of its personnel and an Army soldier were killed in the early January terrorist attack on the Manda Bay base in Kenya. The family of the slain soldier, Henry Mayfield, confirmed his death shortly after the attack. He loved his family and spending quality time with his siblings, Carmoneta, Mayfields mother, said in a statement to local media. I last spoke with him New Years Day via FaceTime. We discussed him not having to go to Somalia and he told me everything was good and safe at his base. He told me everything would be okay. Those were his last words to me. The Manda Bay attack follows a truck bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Dec. 28 that left at least 80 people dead, for which al-Shabaab claimed responsibility. But this week, al-Shabaab was blamed for a terrorist attack on a primary school in Kenya that left three teachers dead. The incident happened around 2 a.m. in Kamuthe near the Kenya-Somalia border, CNN reported. The group also shot and killed four children at a police post in a nearby area. The assailants also attacked a police station in the attack, wrote the National Kenya Police Service on Twitter. Al-Shabaab has carried out several attacks on public places, including schools and a hotel inside of Kenya. Terrorists also killed 147 people in an attack on a Kenyan university campus near the Somali border. Al-Shabaab resorts to lies, coercion, and the exertion of force to bolster their reputation to create false headlines, Gayler said in a statement in early January. It is important to counter al-Shabaab where they stand to prevent the spread of this cancer. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday slammed the Iranian regime stating that the regime is losing legitimacy every day over the disqualification of thousands of people, including 90 current lawmakers, from running in upcoming parliamentary elections. Taking to the microblogging site, Pompeo stated that the regime lies to their own people and treats them with contempt. This statement of Pompeo comes after the Guardian Council barred more than 9,000 from the over 14,000 people who had registered to run. Among them are 90 sitting lawmakers out of some 247 who registered to run for re-election. The Iranian regime consistently lies to the Iranian people and treats them with contempt. Now it is barring thousands of candidates from running for parliament in a massively, publicly rigged election. Even #Irans president says this isnt a real election. Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 16, 2020 The regime is losing legitimacy every day. The Ayatollah should listen to his own people, the world is listening. Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 16, 2020 READ | Make Sure US Technology Doesn't Power 'Orwellian Surveillance State': Pompeo To Silicon Valley Iran's Presidential election The thirteenth presidential election in Iran are scheduled to be held in February 2021. The elections are seen as a test for the popularity of the relatively moderate and pro-reform bloc led by Rouhani, which has struggled to deliver on campaign promises to improve peoples lives as Irans economy buckles under the weight of U.S. economic sanctions. READ | Ellen Pompeo Reacts To The News Of Justin Chambers' Departure From 'Grey's Anatomy' The Guardian Council says that most of the lawmakers who were barred from re-election were disqualified due to financial problems, a reference to embezzlement and corruption. The council is comprised of senior clerics and legal experts, half of whom are appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It vets candidates for office as well as legislation, and rules out individuals if it believes their views or behaviour are incompatible with the theocratic system. Up for grabs will be 290 parliamentary seats. While the elected body serves as a place for debate and government scrutiny, the supreme leader has the final say on all major policies. READ | US Congratulates Taiwan President Tsai On Her Re-election: Pompeo READ | Pompeo Says Iraqi Leaders Privately Want US Troops (with AP inputs) Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg greets supporters at the end of his campaign event "Women for Mike" in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, January 15, 2020. A Real Clear Politics polling average shows that Bloomberg is rising in national polls of the Democratic primary field. He is in fifth place, gaining on former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Many of their targets are backing other candidates, but Bloomberg's move could potentially put pressure on the donors to withhold funds from other contenders. The goal for the program, as explained to CNBC, is to create a "loyalty group" for Bloomberg's campaign, according to one of the organizers. This person said that they are "raising people" instead of raising money. Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who has a net worth of just over $59 billion, also brought on at least four other fundraising experts. Several also have ties to Harris, including her finance directors Amanda Bailey, Stephanie Sass and Rebecca Keate, the sources said. Another recruit for Bloomberg is Kimberly Peeler-Allen, the co-chair of Higher Heights for America Political Action Committee, which focuses on encouraging black women to vote for the group's endorsed candidates, another source added. In recent weeks, Bloomberg has tapped veteran fundraising consultant Shari Yost Gold as a senior advisor for this effort, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter who declined to be named as these decisions have been made in private. Her consulting firm previously worked for Sen. Kamala Harris' 2020 campaign, Federal Election Commission records show. Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is creating a team of fundraising experts to recruit wealthy donors. But he doesn't want their money. He wants them to act as surrogates for his campaign. Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for the campaign, confirmed in a statement that they've been asking Democratic power players to share Bloomberg's plans for his run for president with their networks, and to encourage their allies to donate to various Democratic causes. "As you've previously reported, the Bloomberg campaign is recruiting a broad group of supporters who are interested in defeating Donald Trump," Wood said. "We're asking these supporters to vote for Mike, donate to Democrats up and down the ballot and reach out to their networks to share Mike's record of accomplishment and plans for getting things done." Wood also separately confirmed that the consultants previously mentioned in this story are conducting outreach to allies and potential supporters of Bloomberg's campaign. The team has been reaching out to Democratic donors on Wall Street, in legal circles, media executives and even those in the medical field for surrogate support, the sources said. Jon Henes, a New York-based bankruptcy attorney and a financial supporter of front-runner Joe Biden's, has seen outreach from the Bloomberg bundlers, the sources said. In Hollywood, people close to film executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has donated to a wide range of candidates, have also heard from the Bloomberg team. Bloomberg's team has been asking various financiers to call on their donor networks to vote for Bloomberg, publicly endorse his campaign, reach out to aides for more information on their path to victory, and even to try to take part in briefings with Bloomberg himself. So far the efforts have been focused on getting help from donors who have contacts in crucial states such as California, Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. All of the primaries in those states are scheduled for March, and the winners will land a bevy of delegates. Bloomberg has already put $200 million into TV ads that are airing in these delegate-rich states. Bloomberg recently surpassed Trump in Google ad spending with a total of $18 million in investments In between his stops on the campaign trail, Bloomberg has met with some of the same business leaders that his fundraisers are targeting. Last month, he huddled with Wall Street executives and other New York luminaries to brief them on how he thinks he can win the Democratic primary. At the time, his aides showed a map highlighting Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Bloomberg had a similar meeting with Silicon Valley leaders on Thursday, Recode reported. Venture capitalist Ron Conway, who initially guided Bloomberg with the creation of his data company, Hawkfish, planned to attend the event. On that same trip to California, Bloomberg was slated to headline a fundraiser Friday for the Democratic National Committee in Beverly Hills at the home of Lynda and Stewart Resnick who own The Wonderful Company, with a portfolio including FIJI Water, POM Wonderful, Wonderful Pistachios & Wonderful Almonds, Wonderful Halos and JUSTIN Wines. At the event will be music executive Nicole Avant and her husband, Netflix executive Ted Sarandos, a person briefed on the matter said. Avant and Sarandos been longtime donors to the Democratic Party. While she is listed as a bundler for Buttigieg, Avant has also contributed to various other primary contenders for president, records show. Avant has not heard from Bloomberg's team, but her name has been mentioned within the former mayor's group as someone that could be convinced to help his effort. Al Asad al-Asad US base hit by Iran missile strike aftermath January 2020 AP Photo/Qassim Abdul-Zahra Eleven US troops stationed at one of the Iraqi military bases hit by an Iranian missile strike were taken out of Iraq for medical treatment. A US military spokesman said the soldiers were taken to hospitals in Kuwait and Germany with concussion symptoms. They are expected to come back to Iraq and continue serving after treatment, a statement said. It gives a more checkered picture of the Iranian attack than previous statements that the US had not suffered any casualties. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Eleven US troops from one of the two Iraqi military bases hit by an Iranian missile strike have been evacuated to military hospitals with concussion symptoms, the US said Thursday. The service members were transported from Al Asad Air Base in Iraq with symptoms of traumatic brain injury and "out of an abundance of caution," according to a statement by US Central Command. The news was first reported by DefenseOne. Of the 11 troops removed from service, eight were taken to a facility in Germany and three to one in Kuwait. A statement from Bill Urban, a Navy captain and Central Command spokesman, said all the soldiers were expected to return to service in Iraq. He said they displayed concussion symptoms after mandatory screenings given to everybody near a blast and were sent to the hospitals for further screening. Al Asad al-Asad Iraq base damage aftermath Iran missile strike January 2020 AP Photo/Qassim Abdul-Zahra The news came eight days after Iran launched a barrage of missiles against two bases. Of the 16 missiles that were fired against US targets, 11 landed at Al Asad, which is west of Baghdad. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the US military reported it suffered no casualties a term that covers both troops who are killed and those who are badly injured. President Donald Trump told the media that "no Americans were harmed" in the attack an assessment that does not align with the news of the 11 transported soldiers. Story continues Iran fired the missiles in retaliation for the drone strike that killed the elite Quds Force paramilitary commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani days earlier. The killing of Soleimani, who was responsible for arming proxy forces who fought the US, was a part of a long series of escalatory actions between the US and Iran. Following the Iranian missile attack, both Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appeared to call for deescalation. "Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned," Trump said in a speech one day after the attack. "The government is working daily to prevent military confrontation or war," Rouhani said in a televised speech. Read the original article on Business Insider JPMorgan Chase disclosed this week that less than 5 percent of its nearly 3,700 financial advisers are black and said it still had work to do to improve diversity in its ranks. But some Democratic lawmakers want to know more. Congressional Democrats in both chambers were critical of the bank on Thursday for its response to questions they raised in response to a New York Times report about racism at some of the banks branches in Arizona. A financial adviser there recorded his boss disparaging a black customer as being from Section 8, a reference to public housing, and saying she did not deserve to be in the banks program for elite customers. Another black customer, the former National Football League player Jimmy Kennedy, struggled for months to get access to a package of perks for wealthy clients a delay that an employee told him was connected to his race. Last month, five Democratic senators and two Democratic congressmen sent letters to JPMorgans chief executive, Jamie Dimon, seeking a detailed explanation of those episodes and an accounting of the banks plans to address black employees discrimination complaints. Reactor due to come online in March could elevate risk of an arms race and environmental catastrophe, says analyst. When it comes to safeguarding the wellbeing of planet Earth, fossil fuels are an increasingly controversial energy source. Nuclear is arguably more so, given the experience of Chernobyl and the potential to convert civilian nuclear technology to military uses. Those risks become even more ominous when a nuclear power plant is introduced into a tinderbox of geopolitical rivalries like the Arabian Peninsula. But thats where the region is headed. This week, the world learned that after years of delays, the United Arab Emirates is set to bring the first of four nuclear reactors in the Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi online by the end of March. The UAEs nuclear power plant is named Barakah Arabic for divine blessing. That is how UAE Minister of State Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber spun it at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week conference, telling reporters earlier this week we will become the first country in the region to deliver safe, commercial and peaceful nuclear power. But some nuclear experts are not so sanguine, and are warning of the potential curse that could be unleashed by Barakah, from a nuclear arms race to environmental catastrophe. Significant questions about relative safety A recent report by Paul Dorfman, chair of the non-profit Nuclear Consulting Group, titled Gulf Nuclear Ambition: New Reactors in the United Arab Emirates, highlights myriad risks inherent in Barakahs design. Among the most prominent red flags is the firm that won the contract to build Barakah Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), which clinched the deal with a bid that was spectacularly low, about 30% lower than the next cheapest bid, the report says. That bargain-basement price was made possible, the report notes, thanks to a lack of key improved safety design features normally expected on new European reactors but missing from those built by KEPCO. Such features include a so-called core catcher to prevent the nuclear reactor core from breaching the containment building in the event of a meltdown and other defences to guard against a significant radiation release in the event of an accident or deliberate attack on the facility. Further compounding these omissions, says the report, is the discovery of cracking in all 4 reactor containment buildings and the installation of faulty valves all of which cast doubt over the UAEs ability to provide adequate nuclear regulation. The UAE is the only country that has purchased a KEPCO reactor. But if it proves unable to contain radioactive fallout resulting from an accident or attack, this wont just be a problem for the Emirates. Radioactive fallout travels, and the UAEs neighbours are already voicing concerns. In March, Qatars foreign affairs ministry reportedly sent a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency saying that a radioactive plume from an accidental discharge could reach its capital, Doha, within five to 13 hours and a radiation leak could devastate the Gulfs water supply due to the regions heavy reliance on desalination plants. Regional tensions and broader security issues Despite the UAEs insistence that its nuclear ambitions are peaceful, concerns about the potential for proliferation abound given the geopolitical rifts between neighbouring Gulf countries and the recent ratcheting up of tensions in the Middle East. This month, fears of a military escalation engulfing the Middle East were heightened after the United States assassinated Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in an air attack and Tehran retaliated with missile attacks on US airbases in Iraq. Qatar is currently the subject of an ongoing diplomatic, trade and transport blockade by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt over allegations that Doha supports terrorism and is too close to Iran. Qatar has rejected such claims. In September, a drone attack on Saudi Aramcos oil facilities raised serious concerns about the vulnerability of the regions energy infrastructure to assaults. As recent military strikes against Saudi oil refineries infer, nuclear safety revolves around the broader issue of security, notes Dorfman in his report, especially since belligerent armed groups may view UAE military operations as a reason to target nuclear installations or intercept enriched uranium fuel or waste transfers nationally or regionally. Such warnings have not deterred the UAE from pressing ahead and sticking to the script. Abu Dhabi continues to say its nuclear programme is grounded in transparency, safety, security, sustainability and international cooperation. The region can only hope those principals are enforced as the Arabian Peninsula is pulled across the nuclear threshold. Temasek Holdings and Trustbridge Partners have held talks with WeWork China over increasing their stake in the China branch of the troubled co-working startup to take majority ownership, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The plan values WeWork China at around $1 billion, two of the people said. The proposal was submitted to WeWork's major stakeholder, Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp, at the end of last year, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. Singapore state investor Temasek and Shanghai-based private equity firm Trustbridge want to buy more shares to give them a combined majority stake in WeWork China, according to the people. WeWork currently owns 59 percent of WeWork China, with the remainder held by other investors including SoftBank, Hony Capital and Trustbridge, according to the group's prospectus for its initial public offering. The Chinese unit had raised $500 million in July 2018 from investors including Temasek, Trustbridge, SoftBank and Chinese fund Hony Capital in a deal valuing the firm at about $5 billion. That was the second round, with the firm having previously raised $500 million in 2017. A new deal giving Temasek and Trustbridge a majority stake would likely mean that WeWork China would go through a down round - a fall in valuation following a new investment if the proposal got passed - but could significantly ease the financial burden on WeWork and SoftBank. They added that the discussions were at an early stage and a deal was not certain. SoftBank, Temasek and WeWork declined to comment. Trustbridge did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The larger WeWork group is undergoing a broad restructuring after it was thrown a $9.5 billion lifeline by SoftBank following a failed public offering and the ouster of founder Adam Neumann. However, SoftBank's plan to secure $3 billion from Japan's three biggest banks have stalled, likely complicating its rescue package for WeWork, Reuters has reported. WeWork China has set out ambitious revenue goals for 2020, Reuters reported last month, even though it faces staff cutbacks and weak occupancy numbers at its properties across China. In 2018, WeWork China generated $99.5 million in revenue, according to WeWork's IPO prospectus. WeWork's woes have had a ripple effect across the sector, impacting the likes of UCommune, WeWork China's rival, which is trying to launch an initial public offering. Citigroup Inc and Credit Suisse Group AG walked away from underwriting UCommune's IPO because they decided they could not deliver the offering at a previously discussed valuation. UCommune has now tapped little-known US investment bank Benchmark Company LLC to launch its listing, Reuters reported earlier this month. Tiger footage spurs hope for Thai big cat population THAILAND: Extraordinary footage has emerged of a male tiger nosing the bloodied carcass of its latest kill in a Thai national park, something conservationists are hailing as a rare spot of good news for the endangered big cats. animalsenvironmentlandnatural-resourceswildlife By AFP Thursday 16 January 2020, 03:00PM Sightings of wild tigers are rare, but Thailand remains one of the last strongholds for them in Southeast Asia, WWF said Monday (Jan 13). Photo: AFP. The species has teetered on the brink of extinction across the Mekong region due to deforestation and demand for its striking pelts and body parts in traditional medicine. But a pocket of forest split between Thailand and Myanmar, known as the Dawna Tenasserim, has become a holdout for the big cat. Sightings of wild tigers are rare, but Thailand remains one of the last strongholds for them in Southeast Asia, WWF said Monday (Jan 13). Camera traps placed in Thailand's Mae Wong National Park in western Kamphaeng Phet province captured in late December a tiger circling a dead wild gaur, known to be the world's largest bovine. Even for tigers, killing a gaur is not an easy task, WWF-Thailand's Rungnapa Phoonjampa said, explaining the existence of large forest prey is a good sign for the health and survival of the area's tigers. WWF has been tracking the tiger - named "MKM8" - since 2014. Over the course of two weeks, the tiger returned to the gaur to feed. The national park is a part of Thailand's tiger recovery plan, which includes trying to increase the population of large prey like gaur and sambar. The park sits within the 18 million-hectare Dawna Tenasserim, which WWF says houses about eight different cat species that range from vulnerable to critically endangered including the Asiatic golden cat and the leopard cat. WWF estimates about 180-220 tigers survive in Dawna Tenasserim, considered a sizable population with less than 4,000 remaining in the wild globally. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 14:09:23|Editor: ZX Video Player Close SYDNEY, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Australia's wildlife are likely to be the hardest hit by the country's ongoing and unprecedented bushfire crisis, according to an ecologist. Prof. Christopher Dickman, an ecologist from the University of Sydney, told Xinhua that a large amount of wildlife are expected to be perished, which would provide food for scavenging animals, making it hard to ensure biodiversity. He said the bushfires may have a "fairly dramatic effect" on those species. Over 1 billion native mammals, reptiles and birds are expected to be wiped out and from 20 to 100 species are already threatened, including vertebrates and plants. While Australia's iconic koalas have been viewed around the world as a visual symbol of the wildfire's devastation, and are now likely to be reclassified as endangered, Dickman explained there are also many other lesser-known animals that may be facing similar population losses. "In terms of the percentages, around 77 percent of the 1 billion calculated is likely to be reptiles," he said. "So these are small skinks, geckos and dragons, things that if you spend a little bit of time in forest environments just looking into the leaf litter and rolling logs. These are the abundant animals that you'll see that have been particularly badly affected." To make matters even worse for Australia's native wildlife, the effects of the bushfires which have burnt through 18.6 million hectares of vegetation may also see the number of destructive invasive species surge. With a massive pile up of carcasses scattered across fire grounds, it's unclear what effect this will have on the ecosystem but experts suspect it will provide a major food boost for scavenging animals. Although this is likely to be beneficial for a small number of native animals like wedge-tailed eagles, quolls and dingos, Dickman said it might also be a bonanza for introduced species like feral cats and the red fox. "We need to find a rapid monitoring tool that allows us to identify any areas of unburned habitat in the landscape. This might come from remote sensing by a satellite," he said. "If there are remnant populations of species, particularly threatened species, then we'll need to take further steps to make sure they get through." "That kind of action, as well as removing predators around small unburnt patches where there are predator-susceptible species, that will be really valuable." In the longer term, Dickman said the entire country will need to come together to evaluate the science and take stock of what it's predicting. "I think it's probably fair to say there's been a feeling in the science community over the past 20 years or so, that biodiversity issues have not been front and foremost in thinking or planning. Now, we need to really be very serious about ensuring that biodiversity is up there," he said. "It's quite likely that in conditions as we saw last year, that is extreme heat, extreme dryness, we will have these kinds of fires again. It's almost certain that they will occur. It's very difficult to see how we can stop them." "So the question then becomes in those years, what can we do to make sure that wildlife survives?" Delhi Police on Friday arrested a man who cheated innocent people on seeking employment in a fake airline company 'Yo Air'. The arrested person was identified as Sanket Jha, resident of Kandiwala, Mumbai. Police Station Mandir Marg received a call regarding quarrel at hotel Metropolitan. A woman named Shipra Singh from Noida reported that she came to know through the social media page regarding an interview for Cabin Crew in 'Yo Air', a Thailand based company. She further alleged that after initial screening, she received an e-mail for interview of management round in the capital at a hotel near Bangla Sahab Gurudwara. However, when she reached there, the person conducting interview namely Sanket Jha asked for a demand draft of Rs 2.55 lakh before selection. Later, Singh came to know that there was no such Airline 'Yo Air' in Thailand and she was being cheated. She informed police that around 250 to 300 people had come for the said interview. Two other woman associates of the accused have been made to join the investigation by notice under Section 41(1A) of the CrPC. An FIR under relevant IPC section has been registered and an investigation is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Korean company KBM will set up juice and aloe vera gel production plant at Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The company will initially invest USD 5 million (about Rs 35 crore) to produce 10,000 tonnes of aloe vera gel and juice. In five years, the company plans to increase its investment by USD 31 million (about Rs 220 crore) to produce 40,000 tons of gel and juice, an official statement said. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met KBM Chairman Hong Ray Roh and CEO Justin Lee on Friday. He proposed this investment in Jodhpur district, it said. The chief minister assured the company officials that the state government would extend all possible support to provide them with necessary facilities, including land for the project. Industries Commissioner Muktanand Aggarwal and other officials were also present on the occasion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fresh death warrants were issued by a Delhi court on Friday for the execution of the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case on February 1, shortly after the President quickly rejected the mercy petition of one of them. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora while ordering that the four men, who are lodged in Tihar jail, be hanged at 6 am on February 1, however, expressed displeasure over the delay in their hanging. "This case presents a scenario when convicts were given the opportunity to file mercy but only one preferred. There might be delay tactics. For how long will this go on? Had death warrant not been issued, the convicts would not have initiated their legal remedies," he said. The judge was hearing the plea by Mukesh Kumar Singh for postponement of the date of his execution scheduled for 7 am on January 22 in view of the pendency of his mercy petition. According to the Delhi government, the Prison Rules mandate a buffer period of 14 days between the day of the rejection of the mercy petition and the day of execution. Besides Mukesh, 32, Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) were to be hanged. Judge Arora issued death warrants against them on January 7. Jail authorities have made preparations and staged mock hanging sessions using sandbags with new ropes. The curative petitions of Mukesh and Vinay have already been dismissed by the Supreme Court, the last judicial recourse to challenge the death penalty awarded to them. Akshay and Pawan have not filed any curative petitions yet. Also, the two men and Vinay have the option of filing mercy petitions before the President. Pawan, meanwhile, moved the Supreme Court, against the Delhi High Court verdict rejecting his juvenility claim at the time of offence. Nirbhaya's mother expressed disappointment at the postponement of the execution. I will fight and I will keep struggling I will wait, she said. The Tihar jail authorities sought issuance of fresh death warrants against the four convicts after Public Prosecutor Irfan Ahmed told the court that Mukesh's mercy plea was rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind. Remedies available for Mukesh to escape the gallows were effectively exhausted with officials saying the mercy plea has been rejected by the President and the Home Ministry sending it on to the Delhi government. The postponement of the hanging also triggered a political slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) and the Aam Admi Party(AAP). Union minister Smriti Irani said it was because of the AAP government in Delhi that the four death row convicts couldn't be hanged in a time-bound manner after their review petitions were dismissed by the Supreme Court in July last year. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for his part urged the BJP not to indulge in politics over the Nirbhaya case and instead work together in ensuring that justice in such cases is delivered at the earliest. The AAP supremo said he feels "sad that politics is being done on such an issue". The president's rejection of Mukesh's mercy plea came after the Union Home Ministry forwarded the petition to his office late on Thursday night. Mukesh filed his mercy petition two days ago. On Friday, after the President turned down the mercy plea, the home ministry sent it to the Delhi government. Officials said the petition was sent to the Delhi government for the dissemination of information to prison authorities. "It's a very good thing. Our hopes have gone up after the disheartening that the execution might be delayed," the young woman's father told PTI. "We are happy that the chances of them getting hanged have increased. We are assured that as soon as they file mercy pleas they will be rejected," he added. A MHA official said the ministry has forwarded the mercy petition of Mukesh to the president. "The Ministry has reiterated the recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for its rejection," a MHA official said on Friday morning. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's office had sent Mukesh's mercy petition to the Home Ministry on Thursday, a day after the Delhi government recommended its rejection The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gangraped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital. The brutality of the crime shook the nation, leading to country-wide protests and a change in India's rape laws. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With over 2000 islands and cays, the Bahamas are scattered like a string of pearls in the Caribbean Sea in southeastern North America. For anybody who loves beaches and love to watch the skies touching the ocean, the Bahamas should be one topping the list for their next vacation. The Bahamas have a lot to offer; from delicious Bahamian food to adventurous water sports, it has everything to make ones vacation memorable. Here is a guide to follow if one is visiting the Bahamas. Things not to miss in the Bahamas Atlantis Paradise Island Resort Atlantis Paradise Island is an ocean-themed resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It is known worldwide for its amazing water adventures, white sand beaches, luxury accommodation, and fine dining. One can do a variety of things over here including swimming with dolphins, shopping, dining, etc. Read | How Ayushmann Khurrana And Tahira Kashyap Celebrated The New Year At The Bahamas Arawak Cay Arawak Cay offers an authentic atmosphere of the Bahamian Fish Fry. Arawak Cay is also known as Fish Fry, and it is an area in the Bahamas known for its local eateries on the West Bay Street. It is about 15 minutes away from downtown Nassau and 25 minutes away from Atlantis Paradise Island Resort. Read | Ayushmann Khurrana & Tahira Kashyap Enjoy Their Vacay In Bahamas; See Pictures Other things to do in the Bahamas Snorkelling off the coast Visit the Pink Sands resort Island hopping boat tours Strolling through downtown Nassau and the pirate museum When to visit the Bahamas Although the temperature in the islands of Bahamas is pleasant throughout the year, it is advisable to visit during mid-December to mid-April. This is the peak season for tourism and therefore the prices is higher in this season. But if one makes bookings in advance, they may get good deals. If one wants to go to the islands during the party season, they must go during the March to mid-April season as it is the spring break season. Read | Bahamas 'Miracle' Dog Found By Rescuers After 3 Weeks Under Debris Read | Kartik Aaryan Surprises Sara Ali Khan With THIS Gesture At 'Love Aaj Kal' Trailer Launch Photo credits: Shutterstock The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, a solar thermal power system that powers some 140,000 homes, in the Mojave Desert in California, on March 3, 2014. A solar project approved by the federal Bureau of Land Management on Jan. 16, 2020, will also make use of Californias desert sun to meet lofty green energy goals, powering an estimated 117,000 homes. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Trump Administration Approves Huge Solar Project in California Facing pressure from the California government to facilitate the production of more green energy, the Trump Administration approved the construction of a 3,000-acre solar project on Jan. 16. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved the Desert Quartzite Solar Project, a subsidiary of First Solar, Inc., to build and operate a 450-megawatt solar project on federally managed public lands. The project site is in Riverside County, not far from the Arizona border. The project, which has lingered for five years in the permitting stages, is expected to be operational in 2022. It will mean a private infrastructure investment of $1 billion. It will generate enough electricity to power about 117,000 homes and provide $2.7 million in annual rent and fees to the U.S. Treasury, according to a BLM press release. It will also create 870 jobs at peak construction. The site for a new 3,000-acre solar project, the Desert Quartzite Solar Project, approved by the Bureau of Land Management on Jan. 16, in eastern Riverside County, Calif. (Bureau of Land Management) The Department of the Interior supports moving forward with the Desert Quartzite solar project and other projects that help strengthen communities and promote energy independence, said Casey Hammond, acting assistant secretary for the Department of Interiors land and minerals management, in the release. Responsible domestic energy production on federal lands remains fundamental to our nations security. The BLM authorized construction of a main generation area, on-site substation, switchyard, site security, a 230 kV generation-tie line, and an operations and maintenance facility. The project advances the U.S. Department of the Interiors America First Energy Plan which calls for energy independence and development on public lands, improving infrastructure and creating jobs in local economies. While rooftop solar panels on residential and commercial buildings are ideal from an environmental standpointbecause they dont eat up any additional landsthey dont provide enough power to meet the states renewable energy goals. Solar panels sit above the Solar Grove parking lot at the Kyocera Plant in San Diego, Calif., on June 24, 2005. The Solar Grove is an array of 25 solar panels that turns a 186 vehicle parking lot into a 235 Kilowatt solar electric generating system. (Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images) High Demand in California Shannon Eddy, executive director of the Large-Scale Solar Association, told The Epoch Times that her organization is advocating for bigger, utility-scale projects. With the most aggressive renewable energy policies of any U.S. state, she said California needs to step up its game in the arena of solar power productionand fast. As more electricity is used to heat buildings and power vehicles, the state must produce more than four times the amount of electrical power it does now, Eddy said. What the state is looking at is a grid that produces 200,000 megawatts by 2045. For comparison, right now, the grid is at about 46,000 megawatts, Eddy said. Of that 200,000, about 90,000 to 130,000 will be generated by solar power. Before he left office, former California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 100, also called The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018 which requires that the state fully decarbonize its electricity grid by 2045. His successor, Governor Gavin Newsom, has been pushing for larger solar projects to meet its renewable energy targets. When asked if the states goal is reachable, Eddy offered an optimistic response: Absolutely. Thats the whole idea. We are increasing renewable energy to reduce the need for natural gas plants. You bet. She said projects recently approved by the BLM are a good step toward meeting these targets. In November, the BLM approved EDF Renewable Energys 500-megawatt, 3,140-acre Palen Solar Project in Riverside County. In December, the agency issued a final environmental impact statement, moving towards the approval of the proposed 690-megawatt Gemini Solar Project in Nevada. Combined with the project approved Jan. 16, these represent about 1,640 megawatts. Thats about 12 percent of the goal for the amount of solar power to be produced by 2045. The ruling Congress moved a resolution in the state Assembly here on Friday demanding that the Central government scrap the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. State Minister Brahm Mohindra moved the resolution against the CAA on the second day of the two-day special session. "The CAA enacted by Parliament has caused countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country. The State of Punjab also witnessed protests against this legislation, which were peaceful and involved all segments of our society," Mohindra said while reading out the resolution. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on Thursday not ruled out the possibility of bringing a resolution against the amended citizenship law. "Wait till tomorrow," Singh had said when asked by reporters if the government will bring in a resolution, on the lines of Kerala, against the Act. The state Congress government had on Tuesday said it will proceed according to the "will of the House" on the issue of CAA, Register of Citizens (NRC) and Population Register (NPR). Singh had recently said his government would not allow the implementation of the "brazenly divisive CAA". After a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, his colleagues in the ministry had expressed concern over the implications of the "blatantly unconstitutional and divisive CAA, NRC and NPR." "The ministers were of the view that the matter was bound to be raised during the two-day session of the assembly on January 16-17 and it was unanimously decided that the government should accept the will of the House," an official statement had said. Singh had said neither the nor the Congress were against granting citizenship to minorities persecuted on the basis of religion but they were completely opposed to the "discrimination in the CAA against certain religious communities, including Muslims". The Kerala Assembly had recently passed a resolution demanding the scrapping of the controversial law, becoming the first state in the country to do so. Do trees and clouds really have feelings? Can they feel sadness or joy? That question has been on my mind ever since I saw my first television show years ago of a guy painting and talking about making happy trees with his paint brush. Bob Ross was painter, art instructor and television host in the '80s and '90s. He shared his love for painting and the environment with millions of viewers in the program, The Joy of Painting, on public television. He was known for simple brushstrokes that brought gorgeous landscapes full of happy little trees to life on canvas. Bob Ross Inc. is partnering with the U.S. Forest Service Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for the Department of Natural Resources's Happy Little Trees program. The aim of the program is to help state park campgrounds recover from invasive forest pests and diseases like emerald ash borer and oak wilt that damage and kill trees. The DNR is hosting a Bob Ross-themed virtual 5K race. According to the events billing, it doesnt matter if you walk, run, or hike any place outdoors will do for the event as long it is done between April 17 and April 26. I applaud Michigan for embracing his enthusiasm for trees. Although I didnt see it, I was told there was a billboard in Huron County near the Port Crescent State Park that promoted Bob Ross and the DNRs happy tree program. While dabbing paint here and there, Bob would often note, the technique was for painting happy little trees. I think that marketing technique for helping the environment is a great idea. Whenever I do any of my art projects, I often think of Bob. I silently thank him for making painting fun and interesting, and remember how upbeat he was about everything. The cost to participate in the Bob Ross virtual 5K race is $34 per person with about $10 from each registration going toward planting happy little trees in Michigans state parks. Each participant will be shipped a happy little T-shirt, a commemorative bib and a medal. To sign up, contact Michelle Coss via email at CossM@Michigan.gov. Whether they are happy or not, there can never be enough trees especially with the wildfires that have been making the news. 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 Pan African Resources PLC's (LON:PAF) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Pan African Resources has a P/E ratio of 7.62, based on the last twelve months. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying 7.62 for every 1 in prior year profit. See our latest analysis for Pan African Resources How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings 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 Pan African Resources: P/E of 7.62 = USD0.15 (Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, USD ) USD0.02 (Based on the year to June 2019.) Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good? A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to pay a higher price for each USD1 the company has earned over the last year. That isn't necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future. How Does Pan African Resources's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers? One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (9.0) for companies in the metals and mining industry is higher than Pan African Resources's P/E. AIM:PAF Price Estimation Relative to Market, January 17th 2020 This suggests that market participants think Pan African Resources will underperform other companies in its industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with Pan African Resources, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios Generally speaking the rate of earnings growth has a profound impact on a company's P/E multiple. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers. Story continues Pan African Resources's earnings made like a rocket, taking off 129% last year. Having said that, the average EPS growth over the last three years wasn't so good, coming in at 2.0%. Unfortunately, earnings per share are down 4.7% a year, over 5 years. Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth. Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context. How Does Pan African Resources's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio? Net debt is 44% of Pan African Resources's market cap. While it's worth keeping this in mind, it isn't a worry. The Bottom Line On Pan African Resources's P/E Ratio Pan African Resources's P/E is 7.6 which is below average (18.5) in the GB market. The EPS growth last year was strong, and debt levels are quite reasonable. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue. Given analysts are expecting further growth, one might have expected a higher P/E ratio. That may be worth further research. Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If the reality for a company is not as bad as the P/E ratio indicates, then the share price should increase as the market realizes this. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision. Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Pan African Resources. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly. 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. Storyful Supporters of world No.1 Novak Djokovic gathered outside a courthouse in Melbourne on January 10 as the player appealed against his deportation from Australia in the hope of staying to play in the Australian Open.According to court filings, Djokovics lawyers say he was granted a visa on November 18. An exemption certificate was issued by Tennis Australias chief medical officer on December 30, they said.The hearing on Monday was due to start at the Federal Circuit and Family Court at 10am but was delayed multiple times due to technical issues. According to local reports, Judge Anthony Kelly said a professor and an eminently qualified physician have produced and provided to the applicant a medical exemption.Further to that, that medical exemption and the basis on which it was given was separately given by a further independent expert specialist panel, established by the Victorian state government. And that document was in the hands of the delegate.And the point Im somewhat agitated about is, was what more could this man have done? Judge Kelly asked.Footage by Slobodan Bendjo shows fans waving Serbian flags and dancing outside the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Melbourne. Credit: Slobodan Bendjo via Storyful PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-16 22:16:04 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 775 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2020 / Theralase Technologies Inc. ("Theralase" or the "Company") (TSXV:TLT)(OTCQB:TLTFF), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of light activated Photo Dynamic Compounds ("PDCs") and their associated drug formulations intended to safely and effectively destroy various cancers, is pleased to announce that the Company has won a precedent-setting lawsuit against anonymous internet posters for defamatory comments.The suit was filed due to false and disparaging statements posted online by anonymous individuals on the www.stockhouse.com bullboard from late 2014 through 2018. The libelous posts were defamatory not only to the Company, but also certain employees, specifically: Roger Dumoulin-White and Kristina Hachey on a personal level. The false and disparaging content of the posts were severe, including untrue allegations of criminal conduct by Mr. Dumoulin-White and Ms. Hachey and as a result denigrated their professional reputations.The decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice sets the precedent that there can be legal repercussions against anonymous internet posters for posting false and disparaging content. In his ruling, the honorable Justice F.L. Myers wrote, "If people want to make hurtful statements about others and then try to hide from the responsibility to prove the truth or other justification for doing so, then as discussed by Goldstein J., their cowardice is reprehensible and, in my view, they should bear costs on a substantial indemnity basis." Kristina Hachey, Chief Financial Officer, Theralase commented, "We are delighted that justice has finally been served and that the reputation of the Company, Mr. Dumoulin-White and myself have been vindicated. Theralase, as a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, is now able to turn its full attention to the completion of its pivotal Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer ("NMIBC") clinical study, and if proven successful, the commercialization of the Company's next-generation anti-cancer technology for the benefit of all stakeholders." About Theralase Technologies Inc.Theralase is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to the research and development of light activated Photo Dynamic Compounds and their associated drug formulations intended to safely and effectively destroy various cancers.Additional information is available at www.theralase.com and www.sedar.com Forward-Looking Information:This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which reflect the management's current expectations of the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's proposed development plans with respect to Photo Dynamic Compounds and their drug formulations. Wherever possible, words such as "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "potential for" and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs with respect to future events and are based on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions including with respect to the ability of the Company to: adequately fund, secure the requisite regulatory approvals to commence and successfully complete a Phase II NMIBC clinical study in a timely fashion and implement its development plans. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements; including, without limitation, those listed in the filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities (which may be viewed at www.sedar.com) . Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should assumptions underlying the forward looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors should be considered carefully and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in the press release are based upon what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure prospective investors that actual results, performance or achievements will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise except as required by law. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.For More Information:1.866. THE.LASE (843-5273)416.699.LASE (5273)Shushu Feng, Investor Relations & Public Relations Coordinatorsfeng@ theralase.com 416.699.LASE (5273) x 300Amelia Tudo, Investor Relations & Public Relations Coordinatoratudo@ theralase.com 416.699.LASE (5273) x 304SOURCE: Theralase Technologies Inc. A white German Shepherd in North Carolina gave birth to a litter of puppies last week, but one looks very different than the rest. Shana Stamey's family dog Gypsy's three-hour labor was going smoothly until the fourth puppy was born, leaving the family stunned. I started freaking out because it was green, Stamey told WILX. (Credit: Shana Stamey/WILX) The lime green puppy may be an unusual color, but he, along with his seven siblings, is perfectly healthy. The Stameys noticed he has an "aggressive appetite," which along with his green color led them to come up with the name Hulk. "He was lime green and super mad, so yeah, he became Hulk," Stamey said. While a green puppy is certainly rare, it isn't totally unheard of. In 2017, a puppy named appropriately named Forest in the Scottish Highlands was born a shade of green. The phenomenon is believed to happen when light-colored puppies are stained by a green pigment found in stomach bile, CNN reported. And the color doesn't last for long. Stamey told WILX that the lime green color will fade over time. "Mom licks it away until I bathe it, and then, I guess after a couple of washes, it will finally fade out," Stamey said. When theyre old enough, the pups will be put up for adoption, she added. The inclusion of climate activists Extinction Rebellion (XR) by police in a guide to ideological extremism marks a serious escalation of the assault on democratic rights. Although the guide has now been withdrawn, the Conservative government has still defended including XR. The Guardian reported last week that Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) had included XR among extremists requiring reporting to the governments counter-radicalisation monitoring programme, Prevent. The reaction of Home Secretary Priti Patel to widespread criticism of the move highlights its real aims. She told a radio interviewer that although XR was not a terrorist organisation the government had to look at a range of security risks. Police arresting an Extinction Rebellion protester last year XR was listed among organisations that should be reported to Prevent, alongside proscribed far-right groups like National Action and the Islamist al-Muhajiroun, in a 12-page document, Safeguarding young people and adults from ideological extremism. The document, produced last November, was marked official. The move immediately followed a mass crackdown by the Metropolitan police on XR protests in London held over a two-week period in October. By October 16, 1,642 people had been arrested with the police then imposing an unprecedented citywide ban on XR protests in the capital. When asked about the document, CTPSE initially said they would review their guidance to clarify their position on XR. They then acknowledged that XR was not extremist and said the document had been recalled. Anxious about the fallout, CTPSE repeatedly insisted that their concern was vulnerable people. Police measures against the fascist right are always designed to win popular support for repressive legislation that is ultimately aimed at any leftward movement of the working class. The Safeguarding document confirms this in spades. CTPSE said the guide had been produced at a local level and circulated to statutory partners defined as Those in regular, direct contact with young people or members of the public. It is also relevant to managers, senior officers and safeguarding leads at all levels of local authorities Nine of its 12 pages are devoted to targeted organisations and tendencies. They begin with fascism, but the sequence is revealing: the neo-Nazi National Action and Sonnenkrieg Division; Extreme Satanism linked to the far right; Generation Identity and the alt-right more generally; the IS-supporting al-Muhajiroun; XR; animal rights extremism; then a final page on Internet use. This last section covers web use through browsers, encrypted apps, social media and bespoke software. It expresses concern that the Internet is a largely ungoverned space in which users can share or be exposed to extremist material in the form of websites, videos, imagery, documents, posts, and discussions on subject-specific forums. Coverage of What you might see and hear focuses on circulation of material on encrypted apps and individuals discussing ideological subjects with strangers on social media or the internet encouraging people to act on grievances Obtaining information from unevaluated sources. XR is described as a protest and civil disobedience campaign to pressure governments to take action on climate change and species extinction. The document acknowledges that XR is non-violent against persons, but listed as a threat because of an anti-establishment philosophy that seeks system change. XR has advocated various forms of localism in production and political organisation while seeking to bolster the authority of national governments, portraying them as potential allies against global corporations. But even advocacy of green capitalism is considered beyond the pale by governments, which recognise the mounting social discontent that lies beneath them. This document insists on political conformity and the impermissibility of criticising capitalism. It warns, for example, of people speaking strong or emotive terms about environmental issues like fracking. The release of the police document follows a report last year by the governments Commission for Countering Extremism which condemned large sections of the left as extremist. It denounced the way revolutionary workerist ideas have fuelled sympathy for violent extremist tactics. These categories are deliberately broad and flexible. The CTPSE document advises looking out for students who may neglect to attend school to join protests, reserving particular attention for those who express admiration for those arrested for protest activity. Non-violent demonstrationssit-down protests, graffiti, blockadesare listed as matters of concern. Much of the official response to the revelation has been to defend the governments Prevent programme, which forces teachers and other public sector workers to report signs of radicalisation. Prevent has been heavily criticised since its introduction in 2003, with human rights groups noting it is stifling freedom of expression, breaching childrens right to privacy, and intimidating, victimising and profiling Muslim children. Last October civil liberties organisation Liberty noted that a police database with full access to Prevent records was being used to monitor and control communities. It offered information on the political thoughts and beliefs of thousands of people. Retired doctor Lyn Jenkins, for example, who suffers from claustrophobia, was referred to Prevent last year by his local NHS Trust after he discussed managing his condition in the event of arrest at XR protests. Lord Carlile, the Liberal peer appointed by Theresa Mays government to review Prevent but who subsequently stood down over claims of bias for his previous enthusiastic support for the programme, said of XR they are not violent terrorists but disruptive campaigners. After making a distinction between terrorism and protest, he added that XR was mostly legitimate protest. Carlile, an independent reviewer of terrorism legislation from 2001 to 2011, was defending Prevent and the polices right to mistaken judgment in a very difficult area, where errors of judgment are going to be made from time to time. Concern over Prevents fate also came from its former head (2010-2015) Sir Peter Fahy. He said that moves like the CTPSEs risked eroding community confidence in the programme. Fahys remarks immediately triggered Patels doubling down. She said Prevents work was based and calibrated upon risk. Where Fahy had made one comment, she was looking at a range of security risks. She was unconcerned that, as she admitted, XR was not a terrorist organisation but obviously a protest organisation. Everything has to be based in terms of risk to the public, security risks, security threats based on information from the police, and various intelligence that we will receive. Thats the proper thing to do. Blairite frontrunner for the Labour leadership, Sir Keir Starmer QC, defended XRs right to protest, but only within the context of reviewing Prevent, not abolishing it. Starmer, as director of public prosecutions (DPP) 2010-2013, and head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), played a key role in the persecution and incarceration of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after his arrest in 2010. When Sweden was seeking Assanges extradition on false sexual allegations, the CPS, under the DPP, opposed a lower court decision to release the journalist on bail. Starmer said that the CPS was acting as agents of the government seeking extradition, in this case the Swedish government. These proceedings are brought as agents of the Swedish government. Every section of the establishment is looking to restore confidence in Prevent to legitimise state surveillance of the population. Last year Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the countrys senior counter-terrorism officer, described Prevent as badly handled but vital. The placing of XR on an extremism list confirms the assessments of the Socialist Equality Party that the state is moving to strengthen its repressive apparatus ahead of major confrontations with the working class. This is the basis for its planned legislation to ban all-out strikes by workers in the essential transport sector, paving the way for bans against every section of workers whose role is deemed essential to the functioning of the economy. Whether posting about a new barbecue spot, or a recipe consisting of Ruffles, Vienna sausages and shredded cheese, the Cypress Area Eats Facebook group celebrates food in the northwest Houston area, big and small. The private Facebook group Cypress Area Eats, or CAE, founded in 2017 by Metta Archilla, Nancy Eugenio and Lauren Giurlanda, has more than 8,000 members dedicated to the appreciation of food from local restaurateurs and community members. Archilla, an admin along with Eugenio and Giurlanda, said the group focuses on fellowship and positivity. Archilla handles scheduling for events and meetings, along with Eugenio and Giurlanda. We try to support our community by supporting the local shops and that could be anywhere from people selling artesian sausage to artesian 100-percent juices or it could be a storefront, brick and mortar, she said. We do not charge for soft openings, we do not charge for events, we do not charge for anything. We also utilize the group, for what I feel, is more of a connection, and that's in helping the community. CAE receives contact from restaurants, old and new, for events like soft openings to test the kitchen and staff, wine nights, breakfasts and parties. CAE is not an official nonprofit. It does not receive profit or payment, but raffles off gift cards and provides discounts for members during restaurant events, Achilla said. CAE also partnered directly with Cy-Fair Helping Hands, a nonprofit benefitting people in need and the homeless population, to provide food during the last quarter of 2019. . By partnering with local restaurants to accept food donations in exchange for food discounts, deals, and hosting fundraiser events, the initiative provided 4,000 pounds of food. BUCKET LIST RESTAURANTS: 21 restaurants highlight booming foodie scene in Cypress, Spring Archilla said CAE plans to double those donations for their 2020 event in the fall, and feels like the true purpose of CAE is to give back. It stocked the pantry and gave them a little funding towards the budget and we can double that size next year, she said. Archilla said she schedules the soft opening events, which are meant to test-run the entire operation, with timeslots and selection of specific guests attending. She said around 60 to 70 members come to each event, so scheduling is needed to keep the events organized. It's that delicate balance between not wanting them to get slammed but you do want to test that the process is right, Archilla said. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, but that's okay because then you know what you can and can't do and then you fix it. CAE has helped two restaurants that opened last year, Union Kitchen at the Boardwalk on Towne Lake and Andys Kitchen, with soft openings and promotion through the Facebook page. Douglas Wilson, chief operating officer of Union Kitchen, said CAE has been a boon for his restaurant and others by exposing new audiences to local fare. We hooked up with Metta before the soft opening and it kind of put us on the map, so to speak, with the local community. Wilson said. They're a little more forgiving than if you were to just open blindly. It was a really good opportunity to fine tune some things and we got wonderful feedback. (Archilla) takes phenomenal photos. The outreach has been very positive. While members are allowed to review restaurants and give their takes, CAE prohibits any comments that could be considered slanderous or damaging to local restaurants, alerting management of the restaurant in question and offering the chance to defend themselves. FLAVOR: Hungry for restaurant reviews and recipes? Get the free, weekly Flavor newsletter delivered to your email. If a local takes a bad hit and a bad review, it's not our policy to let it go rampant, Archilla said. We try to contact the owner of the establishment right away, ask for management and get them. Eugenio said CAE was a way for her to meet more people in the Cy-Fair community after moving to the area from the east coast four years ago, using the group as a springboard for her social circle. She said groups like Nicks Local Eats, another local food-based group, have helped CAE come into their own as a group and make it easier to navigate the multiple food options popping up in the area. On Facebook there was a group that popped up, I started observing and interacting and met Metta that way and we took off, Eugenio said. My background is Portuguese so I love Portuguese food and I'll post articles about food that I find interesting. It's not just about restaurants and reviews, it's also about the home cooking. As for the future of the group, Archilla and Eugenio said they would like to provide more in-person, interactive events for their members to bring them even closer together while continuing to give back to the community. The group isn't about us, Archilla said. I've been asked is, Why do you do this? My answer is always the same: it is simply a passion. It is a calling. It came about so naturally how this group was created and born. The Cypress Area Eats group also visits and discusses restaurants outside of the Cy-Fair area. For more information on the group, or to join, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/cypressareaeats/. chevall.pryce@chron.com Legitimate protest is one thing, but this week, a small group of renegade farmers crossed a line. At lunchtime Thursday, as I was crossing the Liffey river on the train, a most startling sight greeted me. As we approached Pearse Street station, I gazed up Westland Row to see the seemingly never-ending line of tractors as they were beginning to leave Dublin City Centre. By my estimate, about 100 tractors in single file were proceeding toward Dublin Port, escorted by members of An Garda Siochana. All normal traffic was stopped to allow this procession take place. Protesting at the low prices being paid by meat-producing companies for beef, the rogue group of farmers feel unloved. Not backed by the main farming lobby groups, the so-called Individual Farmers of Ireland, felt they had to inflict considerable disruption on Dubliners yet again. So once at Dublin Port, rather than clear off having held the city centre to ransom for more than 24 hours, they decided to stage a further protest there. Only after serious disruption was caused there, did the farmers make their way to the M50 orbital road where they proceeded with a go-slow protest at rush hour. One only needs to look at the video clips posted on Twitter by RTE reporter, Laura Hogan, to see the level of disruption caused. All the while facilitated by An Garda Siochana, despite the considerable inconvenience caused to thousands of commuters. It was a disgrace, and was totally unwarranted and completely futile. And it must be remembered that this was the second time this group of so-called independent farmers brought their protest to the streets of Dublin. When they came to the capital in November, they dug in for more than 24 hours, despite the total chaos they caused to thousands of ordinary Dubliners. Having initially gathered on Merrion Square, the farmers repeatedly reneged on agreements with Gardai as to how their protest would take place. A deal to allow a small number of tractors move from Merrion Square to St Stephen's Green was broken when a steady procession of tractors moved en masse, causing chaos to commuters. When they were blocked by gardai at the stop of Kildare Street, the chaos of the group was laid bare. As I stood there for several hours, senior Gardai made repeated offers to so-called leaders of the protestors as to how to end the protest while allowing them their right to make their point. An offer was made to allow one tractor down Kildare Street. This was accepted by farmers but then rejected. Another offer from gardai would have allowed all tractors down Kildare Street but they would not be allowed stop. Again, this was agreed but again it was rejected. All of a sudden there were demands for Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to come out and meet the protestors and for a letter to be accepted. As day turned to night and to dawn, Creed eventually made his way to the barrier and spoke to assembled farmers in a bid to end the impasse. Despite bowing to their bidding and meeting the farmers, some protestors were angry that he did not meet the 'right' farmers. Later, five delegates handed a letter to Mr Creed in the lobby of the Department of Agriculture on Kildare Street outlining a number of issues. Other protesters shouted that the farmers the minister was talking to did not represent them and this letter was not the real letter of protest. Eventually, amid promises to convene a beef taskforce, the protest was ended and the farmers headed home. While the initial protest in November could be justified as they had a purpose in seeking a meeting with Creed, this week's protest had no such legitimacy. They were not there to protest at the Dail as no politician was there they are all out canvassing for re-election. They were not protesting to the Minister of Agriculture. With no clear aim or objective, the misguided protest only served to place an intolerable burden on the ordinary people going about their day. Speaking about their tactics, organisers from the Individual Farmers of Ireland group said they did not want to block the motorway completely but they wanted to leave their mark on Dublin. They certainly did that. Gardai defended their handling of the situation by saying their main objective in dealing with the protest was to ensure the safety of the public: "An Garda Siochana has a role in ensuring that peaceful protests can take place, and also in preventing injury and protecting life. We respect people's right to peaceful protest and will facilitate same. Gardai attend protests to facilitate free movement of traffic and to prevent any breaches of the peace. Gardai are tasked with preserving law and order, without fear or favour, and with ensuring that people can go about their lawful business, including having access to their workplace, and that peaceful protest can also take place. Be that as it may, just how is it acceptable that 100 people with their tractors are allowed bring a capital city to a halt, not once but twice in less than three months? If this was a group of students, or nurses, would they have been given such latitude? Far from being neglected, farmers are a largely protected species in this country, to be handled with care by the political system and State authorities. For example, according to published figures, the highest-paid recipient of direct payments under the Common Agriculture Policy in 2018 got a whopping 323,000, the second-highest got 229,633 while the third got 221,510. I accept this is not the same for all clearly, from the discussions I had with farmers on the barricades, some are really hurting. Family farm income fell 31% for dairy farmers, compared to 2017; 21% for cattle rearers; 11% for other cattle farmers; and 21% for sheep farmers. For tillage farmers, family farm income in the survey increased 18% from 2017 to 2018, a recent Teagasc survey showed. Whatever the merits or demerits of CAP, it is a very extensive system of support from taxpayers which few, if any, other industries receive. In Ireland, direct payments to farmers amounted to almost 1.8 billion last year. One could argue that with farming accounting for 8% of employment and 10% of total exports, such supports are merited and they are. So strong is the farming lobby, that despite clear evidence that the national herd is way too big and should be reduced in size, the political system refuses to grasp that particular nettle. Time and time again, a key tenet of the farmers' argument is that rural Ireland is dying. It is not. As the economist Dan O'Brien pointed out last year, rural population has been on the up for almost half a century. He wrote: What we know from the census is that the number of people living in rural areas, defined as a place outside a conurbation of at least 1,500 people, has increased by more than a quarter of a million over the past 20 years." That is worth repeating: 1.75 million people live in rural areas, up from 1.5 million in just 20 years. In 1971, rural Irelands nadir, the population living in the countryside, villages and small towns was 1.4 million, he said. These shameful protests by a small group of farmers have more to do with inter-factional rivalry within the farming lobby seeking to outdo each other than it did about farming welfare. It is not tolerable that a small, renegade group of people be allowed cause such disruption multiple times without consequence. No one will deny that there are genuine issues affecting the price of beef or the agricultural sector generally, but the protest this week was a bridge too far. Beijings iconic Summer Palace tourist resort is the home of a huge new ice rink thats opened just ahead of the Winter Olympics. The rink measures 300,000 square meters and consists of two areas designed for different types of activities. The city has opened seven municipal ice rinks and four snow resorts to the public. Since 2014, ice and snow activities in municipal parks have attracted nearly 2 million visitors, according to the Beijing Municipal Administration Center for Parks Jan 11, 2022 07:26 PM Irans supreme leader said President Donald Trump is a clown who only pretends to support the Iranian people, as he addressed Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time since 2012. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Mr Trump will push a poisonous dagger into the nations back. He said the outpouring of grief at the funeral for Irans top general, who was killed in a US airstrike earlier this month, shows that Iranians support the Islamic Republic. He said Irans retaliatory missile attack on US troops in Iraq earlier this month was a blow to Americas image as a superpower. . . . https://t.co/DBGGs8QFcJ Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 13, 2020 The cleric said America had cowardly killed the most effective commander in the fight against the Islamic State group when it targeted General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike in Baghdad. In response, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting US troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. As Irans Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after it took off from Tehrans international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept at the funeral of Qassem Soleimani (Iran Press/AP) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has held the countrys top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of Gen Soleimani and vowed harsh retaliation against the United States. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. Story continues Their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since President Donald Trump withdrew the US from Irans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which had imposed restrictions on its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The White House has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Mr Trump has openly encouraged the protesters, even tweeting in Farsi, hoping that the protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a long-time adversary. After Mr Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad, Iran announced it would no longer be bound by the limitations in the nuclear agreement. Mr Khamenei met tje family of Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani following the latters death in a US air strike (AP) European countries who have been trying to salvage the deal responded earlier this week by invoking a dispute mechanism that is aimed at bringing Iran back into compliance and could result in even more sanctions. Mr Khamenei was always sceptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the United States could not be trusted. But he allowed President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, to conclude the agreement with then US president Barack Obama. Since Mr Trumps withdrawal, he has said there can be no negotiations with the United States. President Donald Trump authorised the air strike that killed Qassem Soleimani (Evan Vucci/AP) Mr Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called Israel a cancerous tumour and vowed to support anyone confronting it. He also warned against any US strikes on Iran over its nuclear programme, saying the US would be damaged 10 times over. Severini seemed to relish the scandal caused by his radical visions of modern life Just over 100 years ago, two seismic exhibitions of Futurist art took London by storm. The latter of the two Gino Severinis debut one-man show featured La Ferrovia Nord-Sud, which is offered in London on 5 February By midnight on 7 April 1913, an excitable in-crowd of aristocrats, artists and writers had gathered on Duke Street, in the heart of Londons wealthy St. Jamess. This colourful group had come to see one of the most exciting openings of Londons burgeoning avant-garde: Gino Severinis debut one-man show. Futurism had announced itself to the city a year earlier, in March 1912, when The Sackville Gallery had staged a touring exhibition of works by Italian Futurist painters. The gallerys advertisement for the show described Futurism as The latest art sensation and stated that the artists Severini, as well as Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carra and Luigi Russolo were the the talk of Paris. Bustling, noisy, and rapidly expanding, London seemed to be the perfect backdrop for the Futurists radical works. While the citys growing underground train network sped passengers to their destinations in the bowels of the metropolis, above them carriages and carts weaved among cabs, trams and omnibuses in crowded streets. On his return to London in 1913, Severini was exhibiting alone. He filled the walls of the Marlborough Gallery with 30 depictions of trains and dancers, music halls and motorbuses, each rendered with his Futurist language of fragmented lines, rhythmic forms and cacophonous colour. Visitors unaccustomed to seeing the dynamic nature of the city depicted in art were again dazzled, dismayed and confounded by these radical visions of modern life, which included La Ferrovia Nord-Sud, made in that same year, 1913. Severini cut an eccentric figure in bowler hat and eye glass, and appeared to relish the scandal his show caused. In one particularly provocative interview with the Daily Express, he spoke of how Futurists understand the tragedy and the lyricism of electric light, of motor cars, of locomotives, and of aeroplanes. He also said that for him crowded streets, covered with letters red, green, white are far more beautiful than the canvases of Leonardo or Titian, and closer, too, to Nature. Futurism had reached a climax but, as Severini reflected years later, the commotion and success of the exhibitions press coverage was not accompanied by the considerable material success that I had hoped for. Speed, technology, electricity, cars and trains were all deified by the Futurists, while museums and masterpieces of the past were denigrated Founded in Italy by the poet and writer, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Futurism was an iconoclastic movement that called for art to reflect the spirit of the rapidly changing times. In 1909, Marinettis incendiary Manifesto of Futurism had appeared on the front page of Paris newspaper Le Figaro, with Severini, Giacomo Balla, Boccioni, Carra, and Russolo quickly uniting under its banner. These artists all deified speed, technology, electricity, cars and trains, while denigrating museums and masterpieces of the past. A racing car is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace, Marinetti declared. Severini had moved from Italy to Paris in 1906, and quickly discovered that modernity existed in every corner of this new home. His art captured the energy and vibrancy of the boulevards and the movement and colours of the dancers he observed in the music halls and cabarets. At the end of 1912, Severini turned to another aspect of 20th-century life: trains. In Pariss newly installed underground rail network he found the perfect vehicle, quite literally, to express mechanical speed, movement and simultaneity the fundamental tenets of Futurism. La Ferrovia Nord-Sud and Sortie Nord-Sud below, which is also being offered by Christies in the Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper sale on 6 February are both part of this important series. In the former, Severini presents a speeding train carriage filled with passengers as it hurtles along the Nord-Sud line of the Paris Metro; and in the latter, the frenetic activity of the street on emerging from the subway station. In Paris, the avant-garde centre of the world, even the underground took on an artistic significance. The Nord-Sud joined Montmartre, in the north of the city, with Montparnasse in the south. Both districts were hubs for artists, writers and poets, and the line thus became both a symbol of modernity and synonymous with cutting-edge art. Sign up today Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe ALBANY, Ore. Police continue searching for missing Albany woman Tiffany Lazon, 37. Detectives are treating it as both a missing person case and a death investigation. RELATED: POLICE SEEK PUBLIC'S HELP FINDING MISSING ALBANY WOMAN The last reported contact with Lazon was around Dec. 27, 2019, at her home. Lazons estranged husband, Craig Lazon, is a person of interest, police said. They said he was the last and closest person with Tiffany before she disappeared. On Wednesday, Craig was arrested for second-degree animal neglect and animal abandonment. The neglect charge involved Tiffanys cat, which was released to Tiffanys daughter. Police said her family is concerned and believe Lazon would not have left Albany without her car, cat or phone. After obtaining a search warrant, police searched her home Wednesday with the help of the Oregon State Police Crime Lab. If you have any information, contact police at 541-917-7686. A Philadelphia judge on Friday slashed an $8 billion jury verdict in a lawsuit over the marketing of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal, reducing the punitive damages to $6.8 million. The verdict, in October, was the first to award punitive damages against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary. It found that the company had played down the drugs risks, which could lead to breast growth in boys. The lawsuit was filed by a Maryland man, Nicholas Murray, who sued the company in 2013. He said that he grew breasts a condition known as gynecomastia after he began using Risperdal in 2003, at age 9, to treat symptoms of autism. The lawsuit accused Janssen of failing to warn doctors about Risperdals risks while improperly marketing it as a treatment for certain mental health disorders in children. Compensatory damages of $680,000 were already awarded in the case in March 2016. Judge Kenneth J. Powell Jr., of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, dismissed other portions of Johnson & Johnsons post-trial motion. Large jury verdicts are frequently reduced after trial. Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar is committed to a ceasefire, Germany said on Thursday, in an apparent advance for efforts to end a near-decade of turmoil in the North African country. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, after visiting the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, also said Haftar is willing to attend a conference in Berlin on Sunday about the conflict. Haftar's office was not available for comment. But three sources close to the matter told Reuters that Haftar was expected to have talks in Athens on Friday with Greece's prime minister and foreign minister during a stopover on his way to Berlin. Maas's comment follows failed efforts by Russia and Turkey to persuade Haftar on a visit to Moscow this week to agree to a lasting ceasefire and halt the offensive on Tripoli. Haftar left Moscow without signing the proposal. The nine-month-old war over Tripoli is just the latest bout of chaos in Libya, an OPEC member that has become a hub for human traffickers to ship migrants by boats to Italy, while Islamist militants have exploited the widespread disorder. "If developments in Libya are allowed to continue, then Libya will be the next Syria and we don't want that to happen," Maas said later on German television. The conference to be hosted by Germany on Sunday would bring together Libyan rival camps and the foreign powers that support them to try to end the war over Tripoli and resume talks on a power sharing deal. Among those attending would be Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and European leaders, Maas said. "General Haftar has signalled his readiness to contribute to the success of the Libya Conference in Berlin and is willing to participate. He has repeated his commitment to observe the existing ceasefire," Maas said in a tweet sent by his ministry. German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the move and said the conference aimed to get parties to honour a weapons embargo. "At the Libya conference we must above all see that the weapons embargo is adhered to again, which is basically agreed by the U.N. but unfortunately not honoured," she told reporters. Maas said on German television that after a ceasefire and arms embargo had been observed, a political process must take place under the auspices of the United Nations to give Libya a prospect of ending its civil war. Outside Powers Libya has been fractured and deeply unstable, with outside powers providing support to rival armed factions since veteran dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in a 2011 uprising. Turkey backs Fayez al-Serraj's internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) while LNA - that control much of Libya's east and south - has received support from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Russian mercenaries. Turkey is beginning to send troops into Libya in support of Serraj's government, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday. Turkey send Syrian mercenaries to libya. Syrian sources told The Guardian on Wednesday that 2,000 Syrian fighters will be deployed in the war-torn country. The fighters are travelling from Turkey and will arrive imminently to fight in Libya alongside the Tripoli-based government, the report said. "In order for the legitimate government in Libya to remain standing and for stability to be established, we are now sending our soldiers to this country," Erdogan told an event in Ankara. Greece is furious at the pact between Turkey and Serraj's government as it seeks to map out a maritime boundary that skims the Greek island of Crete and which Greece and allies say is contrary to international law. Maritime boundaries could give nations the right to explore for hydrocarbons in an as-yet untapped part of the Mediterranean. Greece says it will exercise a European Union veto on any peace pact in Libya that does not void the Turkish-Libyan deal. *This story has been edited by Ahram Online Search Keywords: Short link: YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received on January 17 prominent Armenian astrophysicists, founder and main organizer of STARMUS (Stars and music) international science and art festival Garik Israelian. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, greeting the prominent astrophysicist, PM Pashinyan assessed his scientific activities as impressive and hoped that he will foster the development of science in Armenia by sharing his rich experience and by bringing to life joint projects together with the Government of Armenia. Garik Israelian thanked the PM for the appreciation of his activities and expressed readiness to actively engage in joint initiatives aimed at popularization of science in Armenia. The interlocutors exchanged views on the 6th STARMUS festival to be held in Armenia this year, the goal of which is making science attractive for the youth through music and art. Pashinyan noted that the Government is ready to support the organization of the festival. The Starmus International Festival is an international gathering focused on celebrating astronomy, space exploration, music, art, and allied sciences such as biology and chemistry. It was founded by Garik Israelian, an astronomer at the Institute for Astrophysics in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan Burma Popular Shan Party Warns Chinese Projects Without Local Consent Risk More Conflicts The towns of Muse, Myanmar (foreground) and Ruili, China (background), as seen from Muse in Shan State. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy YANGONA prominent Shan political party has urged the Chinese and Myanmar governments to seek approval from both local people and the Shan State Parliament for the implementation of Chinese-backed cross border economic projects in Shan State, which are key to the Chinese presidents ambitious infrastructure plan for the region. A few hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at the capital in Naypyitaw on Friday, the popular Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) released a statement warning that if the Union government refuses to recognize local stakeholders right to participate in development projects or rushes the implementation of projects, it will provoke more conflicts in Shan State. The SNLD stressed that the Union government must not allow Chinese projects without asking approval from the Shan State Parliament. China and Myanmar are gearing up to implement Chinese projects in Shan State, but the state government has yet to discuss the projects in the state parliament, U Sai Kyaw Nyunt, Secretary-1 of the SNLD, told The Irrawaddy. They need approval from local people first, and then it is very important to get approval from the relevant parliament. If the project will be implemented in Shan, the project must be approved by the Shan parliament, U Sai Kyaw Nyunt said. Northern Shan State is a key for Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, as the backbone of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) includes the Muse-Mandalay Railway and two cross border economic cooperation zones in Muse and Chinshwehaw. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Myanmar Friday with an agenda to promote BRI projects in Myanmar. Myanmar signed an MoU with China to establish the CMEC in September 2018. Chinese President Xi Jinping published an article Thursday in Myanmars state-owned newspapers stressing that Myanmar and China need to deepen result-oriented Belt and Road cooperation and move from the conceptual stage to concrete planning and implementation of Beijings infrastructure projects across Myanmar. In the article, he highlighted three projects that both sides need to promote, including the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone. The SNLD said that local people in Shan State practice customary land tenure systems in the area for the proposed economic cooperation zones in Muse and Chinshwehaw. The party warned that it is important to avoid creating possible conflicts, including between authorities and local residents if authorities decide to forcibly seize the land. In Myanmar, many people use customary shared land ownership systems that include freeholding lands under common ownership, community forest reserves and customary tenure for rotational farming practices. These systems are most common in ethnic areas. However, many people, including ethnic people, have criticized the newly-amended 2018 Vacant, Fallow and Virgin (VFV) Land Management Law for failing to recognize ethnic customary tenure. The National League for Democracy government set a deadline of March 11, 2019 to register vacant, fallow and virgin land in order to allow for use by agribusiness, in accordance with the VFV Law. The law imposes a two-year prison sentence on anyone found living on VFV land without a permit after the deadline. According to data released by the Mekong Region Land Governance Project survey in February, 95 percent of people living on VFV land had no knowledge of the law and a majority of ethnic people missed the deadline for registering land. In northern Shan State, local residents living along Chinas strategic railway project have criticized the Myanmar government for its lack of transparency as they fear their land will be forcibly confiscated and they will lose their water resources and livelihoods. Residents said that they were not adequately consulted about the impacts of the railway. The project also passes through armed conflict areas in northern Shan state. If those projects cause negative impacts to the local people, we will stand with them, U Sai Kyaw Nyunt said. The SNLD asked government authorities to publicize the details from project documents and give local residents opportunities to comment and make recommendations on the projects. The SNLD warned that Chinese-backed projects will carry negative impacts, cause instability and fracture the peace in those areas if the projects lack transparency, cause environmental and social harms or fail to respect human rights and dignity. You may also like these stories: Mysterious Signs of Impending China-Backed Railway Worry Villagers in Myanmars Shan State Why Does the Myanmar Military Rebuff the Work of the Constitutional Amendment Committee? Finland and the Faroe Islands won the overall fair play award and the award for spectators behaviour respectively for the second successive season, while Georgia clinched the award for the best improvement in their overall fair play score from one season to the next. Georgian youngsters wait for the action UEFA The winning associations in each of the three categories will be awarded 50,000 each to donate to amateur or professional clubs of their choice, to be allocated to fund fair play or respect-themed projects. The 2018/19 UEFA fair play rankings are based on the fair play results obtained from all UEFA competition matches played at both club and national team level between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019. The rankings are established on the basis of the UEFA fair play report, which is completed after each match by the UEFA match delegate, in consultation with the referees and the referee observers. Faroe Island supporters encourage their team UEFA Only associations that have played a minimum of 42 matches were taken into account in the final rankings. This cut-off point is obtained by dividing the total number of UEFA matches by the number of participating UEFA member associations. Detailed information on the UEFA Fair Play competition can be found in Articles 12 and 13 of the UEFA Fair Play Regulations Previous UEFA Fair Play competition winners (current system) 2015/16 Overall fair play: Norway Improvement in overall fair play score: Belarus Spectators behaviour: Estonia 2016/17 Overall fair play: Iceland Improvement in overall fair play score: Georgia Spectators behaviour: Finland 2017/18 Overall fair play: Finland Improvement in overall fair play score: Northern Ireland Spectators behaviour: Faroe Islands Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of top news as of 17.01.2020: Georgi Kutoyan, Armenian NSS ex-head, was found dead Friday in a Yerevan apartment. According to the Hraparak daily, when the police entered the apartment, they found an empty brandy bottle next to the corpse, as well as Kutoyan's personal pistol. The shot was fired from that weapon, and in the mouth. According to the website, it is not known yet whose house the body of the former NSS director was found in, as according to Kutoyans declaration of property and assets, he had only one apartment and it was somewhere else in Yerevan. However, as Artur Melikyan, deputy chair of the Armenian Investigative Committee, noted, according to preliminary data, his wife was the first person to find him dead. As Special Investigation Service noted, he was not questioned along the lines of the SIS criminal cases. Armenian army soldier was injured at a military outpost of one of the military units located in northeastern direction on Thursday afternoon, the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement. According to Defense Ministrys spokesperson Artsrun Hovhannisyan, Arthur Mezhlumyan sustained abdominal gunshot wound. The wound is not life threatening, he added. Gazprom Armenia might submit a bid to the Public Services Regulatory Commission to raise the natural gas tariff for consumers, said Chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission Garegin Baghramyan. He said that even though the statement on no price increase concerns the price of natural gas sold on the border, this doesnt mean that Gazprom Armenia cant submit a bid to the Commission. When the price of natural gas sold on the border rose in 2019, Armenias government officials declared that the natural gas tariff wouldnt go up for consumers, and it didnt. Baghramyan noted that the government is still negotiating with Gazprom Armenia to make sure there is no increase in the natural gas tariff. Armenian Canadian woman believed to have been one of the last Canadians to have survived the Armenian genocide died on Thursday, four months shy of her 105th birthday. She born in Turkey in 1915. At the start of the 1915 deportations, the members of her extended family gather and find refuge in the mountains and then descend into the gorge! It is there that she was born. After Eugenies birth her mother, exhausted, died in a place her daughter would never know. An Armenian couple took her to Egypt, and she spent her early teens in Cairo, where she met her husband, Garabed Kokorian. Eugenie Papazian had 5 children, 9 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild. Yerevan is ranked 380th among 440 cities worldwide with the highest cost of living, reports by Data group Numbeo suggest. Yerevan left behind capital cities of the neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan. Baku and Tbilisi are ranked 390th and 404th respectively. According to the Index, Switzerland's Zurich, Basel, Lausanne, Geneva and Bern are the most expensive cities in the world. The US treated 11 of its troops for symptoms of concussion after an Iranian missile attack on an Iraqi base where U.S. forces were stationed, Reuters reported. The attack was retaliation for a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3 that killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force of Irans Revolutionary Guard. According to Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, American clowns claim they are standing behind Iranians but they all lie. Missiles fired at US base revealed the Iranian nations true feeling towards the US, he added. The Senate has officially launched the US President Donald Trumps impeachment. Seven lawmakers approved by the House will act as prosecutors in the Senate, Voice of America reported. Among the impeachment managers are Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler. The trial will begin on January 21 and is expected to last several weeks. The top law enforcement officer in the U.S. Virgin Islands filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the estate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, alleging that he trafficked and sexually abused girls and women on his private island as recently as 2018. Epstein, a registered sex offender, was seen leaving his private plane with females possibly as young as 11 and kept a list of underage girls who were close enough to be transported to his residence, according to the lawsuit filed by Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George. This is the first time a government has sued Epstein's estate, estimated to be worth more than $500 million. The lawsuit, first reported by the New York Times, expands the time frame of Epstein's alleged criminal activity years beyond abuses said to have occurred in the early 2000s. In July, federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Epstein with sex trafficking on allegations that he abused dozens of girls in New York and Florida and enlisted his victims to recruit others. Epstein, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, committed suicide in his prison cell the next month, and two workers at the detention facility have been charged with falsifying records that they conducted regular checks on him. The lawsuit claims Epstein relied on a deliberately intricate web of shell companies, some of which prosecutors have not identified, to conceal the trafficking and abuse of women and girls "dozens of times over nearly two decades." He bought the island of Little St. James in 1998 to take advantage of its seclusion, the lawsuit says. Little St. James is almost two miles from St. Thomas and can be accessed only via boat or helicopter. In 2016, the lawsuit says, Epstein used a straw purchaser to conceal his identity and buy the nearby island of Great St. James for more than $20 million. His collaborators wanted to ensure that visitors to Great St. James could not see what was happening on Little St. James, according to the lawsuit. Epstein is said to have preyed on the financial needs of girls and women by promising them career opportunities and educational assistance. He lured some under the pretext of offering them modeling opportunities and told others that he would pay them a substantial sum to massage him and others, the lawsuit says. He allegedly used private planes, helicopters, boats and cars to bring them to his islands. To keep his victims from escaping, the lawsuit says, Epstein confiscated their passports, eliminated external communications and threatened to hurt them. He told the girls' families that he was taking good care of them and that they were being financially supported through college and other educational opportunities, according to the lawsuit. He is also alleged to have kept records on his computer with his victims' contact information. Epstein's pattern of sexual abuse operated as a pyramid scheme in which his victims were forced to meet with other girls and women at least three times a day, the suit says. The victims were paid for those meetings and received extra money if they brought Epstein more girls, according to the lawsuit. In one case, a 15-year-old girl who had been forced into sexual encounters with Epstein tried to escape by swimming off Little St. James, according to the suit. Epstein organized a search party and forced her to stay by confiscating her passport, the lawsuit says. When another victim tried to leave, the search party allegedly brought her back to Epstein and threatened to hurt or physically restrain her if she did not cooperate. Epstein successfully hid his alleged illicit activities from law enforcement by requiring the people working for him to sign confidentiality agreements, the lawsuit says. Investigators who tried to conduct routine sex-offender address checks on Little St. James were not allowed past the island's dock, which Epstein called his "front door," according to the lawsuit. Epstein also allegedly referred to authorities' visits to Great St. James to monitor construction as "invasions." George, the prosecutor, said in the lawsuit that Epstein and his associates had made the Virgin Islands look like an ideal place to conceal human trafficking and sex crimes. "The conduct of Jeffrey Epstein and his associates shocks the conscience and betrays the deepest principles and laws of the U.S. Virgin Islands," she told reporters Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. "The Virgin Islands is not, and will not, be a safe haven for human trafficking or sexual exploitation." The lawsuit seeks to revoke the Epstein estate's claim to property in the Virgin Islands, to force his collaborators to forfeit any money they made from the alleged activity and to require the dissolution of his shell companies. The estate's coexecutors, Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn, could not be reached for comment. They released a statement saying the estate "is being administered in accordance with the laws of the U.S. Virgin Islands," the AP reported. They also rebutted George's claim to reporters that Epstein's victims must keep their allegations quiet to benefit from a voluntary compensation fund. "The suggestion that the program was intended to conceal any information or to shield anyone from liability or accountability is unfounded, directly contrary to the details of the proposed program and false," the statement said, according to the AP. This is the moment a gang of armed robbers smash into jewellery shop using a luxury Range Rover - before brave members of the public stopped one of them from running away. Ben Wegener, 34, pleaded guilty to robbery, dangerous driving, and possession of offensive weapon, criminal damage and receiving stolen goods. A gang of armed robbers used a luxury Range Rover to smash their way into a jewellery shop in Shepherd's Bush, west London, before members of the public stopped one of them from running away (SWNS) He and two accomplices drove a black Range Rover through the front of a jewellery shop in Shepherds Bush, west London, on October 25, 2019. The robbers got out and smashed glass display cases, using a sledgehammer and a hammer, and put items of jewellery into bags. When the vehicle narrowly missed the people inside, the robbers got out and then smashed the glass display cases using a sledgehammer and a hammer, and put items of jewellery into bags (SWNS) Having ransacked the store, the suspects attempted to flee the scene. But Wegener was prevented from escaping by plucky members of the public who gathered outside and captured him. Read more from Yahoo News UK: Cambridge graduate died after underwater 'party trick' went wrong at birthday party EU citizens will not be deported from Britain after Brexit, says Guy Verhofstadt Range Rover driver ploughs into four parked cars after losing control while leaving the gym He was detained by police and arrested and charged with the offences. Wegner, who previously pleaded guilty in November, was sentenced to ten years imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday. The Range Rover used by the robbers was recovered by police, and found to have been stolen from an address in Wandsworth earlier that month, and displaying false number plates. Ben Wegener, 34, pleaded guilty to robbery, dangerous driving, and possession of offensive weapon, criminal damage and receiving stolen goods (SWNS) Detective Constable Sam Weller of the Central West Robbery Squad, who led the investigation, said: This was a reckless robbery committed in front of shoppers on a busy high street. "It was sheer luck that no one was seriously injured when the vehicle smashed through the shop front, and the shop owner and customers were threatened with serious violence when the robbers where inside. "The raid was thwarted by members of the public who chased down and held Wegener as he tried to escape. Video grab of members of the gang taking jewellery from the jewellery cases (SWNS) "This was a terrifying incident for the victims and everyone who witnessed it unfold, and Wegener will now spend a significant period of time in jail. DC Weller added: "Unfortunately, his two accomplices left the scene and remain outstanding. "We will continue to pursue leads in order to identify them, and we would urge anyone who has information about those people to contact police." The undersigned international and regional press freedom and journalism groups welcome the start of the murder trial this week against the suspected killers of Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova. The suspects on trial at the Specialized Criminal Court in Pezinok, Slovakia, include the alleged mastermind, Slovak businessman Marian Kocner, who prosecutors say ordered Kuciaks murder in retaliation for his journalistic work. A confidante of Kocners, Alena Zsuzsova, is charged with having arranged the murder via a middleman, Zoltan Andrusko, who in turn contracted two alleged hitmen, cousins Tomas Szabo and Miroslav Marcek. Andrusko previously admitted guilt to prosecutors and was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December. He testified in court on Tuesday against Kocner and Zsuzsova, stating that Zsuzsova provided him with a detailed surveillance file on Kuciak on Kocners behalf and asked for the journalist to be killed and his body disposed of without a trace. Kuciak and Kusnirova were murdered in their home in Velka Maca on February 21, 2018. Marcek plead guilty on Monday, describing to the court how he knocked on Kuciaks door, shot the journalist in the chest, and then followed Kusnirova into the kitchen and shot her in the head. The murders rocked Slovak society, prompting the largest protests since the Velvet Revolution. The undersigned organizations believe that the start of the trial marks an important step toward securing justice for Jan and Martina and for their families, who have suffered a deep and irreplaceable loss. We stand in solidarity with them. The killing of two people to prevent the release of news is an abhorrent and unacceptable act. It is imperative that all of those who played a role in this crime receive just punishment. The Slovak justice system must ensure that impunity is not allowed to gain any foothold and must demonstrate that no one is above the law. We also underscore the need for action beyond this criminal trial. The Slovak authorities must investigate and take steps to counteract the conditions that allowed for this murder to take place and introduce effective measures to prevent violence against journalists in the future. The authorities must also fully investigate all attacks on the press, including the mass, unlawful surveillance of numerous journalists allegedly conducted at the behest of Kocner. All of the undersigned groups will be closely following developments in the proceedings, a reflection of the great international interest in ensuring justice in this case. Representatives of the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) are also attending the trial as observers. Signed: ARTICLE 19 Articolo 21 Committee to Protect Journalists European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) International Press Institute (IPI) PEN International Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) New York Power Authority Innovation Challenge Winner Zinc8 Energy Solutions to Receive a Project Contribution of US$2.55 Million from NYPA to Deploy First Use of Zinc-Air Energy Storage System in New York State VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / MGX Renewables Inc, DBA Zinc8 Energy Solutions ("Zinc8" or the "Company") (CSE:MGXR) (FSE:0E9) is pleased to provide this corporate update. Zinc8 Energy Solutions is excited to announce a Cooperation agreement with NYPA (The New York Power Authority) for the installation of a 100kW/1MWh Zinc-Air Battery Energy Storage System in New York State. (https://www.nypa.gov/news/press-releases/2020/20200117-zinc) The New York Power Authority, the largest state public power organization in the USA will collaborate with Zinc8 Energy Solutions, a developer and manufacturer of long-duration, low-cost zinc-air energy storage solutions in a joint development project to help advance New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's Green New Deal by achieving the aggressive energy storage goal of 3GW by 2030 and by supporting a nation-leading commitment of 100% electricity from emission-free sources by 2040. Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO, said, "NYPA is pleased to be working with Zinc8 on an innovative technology that can help achieve the state's targets for energy storage. This partnership will showcase a low-cost, long duration solution that addresses the unpredictability of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar and offers environmental and efficiency benefits." Under the Cooperative Agreement between NYPA and Zinc8, NYPA will contribute a total of USD $2.55 million to the project over a 3-year period. The 100kW/1MWh behind-the-meter energy storage system will be installed at a Demonstration Site in New York State (NYS) for an existing Commercial and Industrial (C&I) customer of NYPA. Zinc8 Energy Solutions President and CEO Ron MacDonald said "This collaboration with the New York Power Authority is a milestone in Zinc8 Energy Solutions' path to full commercialization and underscores the growing demand for low-cost reliable long-duration energy storage. This unique opportunity with NYPA not only helps Zinc8 contribute to the rapid advancement of clean energy in New York State, but also opens the door for Zinc8 to deploy its technology into the broader utility market." Zinc8 Energy Solutions developed a patented zinc-air energy storage system that efficiently stores energy in the form of zinc particles and contains none of the traditional high cost battery commodities such as lithium, vanadium or cobalt. The technology allows for low-cost mass storage of energy and can be deployed into a wide range of scalable energy storage applications. The project, selected as a winner through the NYPA Innovation Challenge, will have the ability to provide back-up power, help to level grid demand and move the state further toward a carbon-free electric grid supported by renewable energy resources. In addition, NYPA selected Zinc8 Energy Solutions' Zinc-Air Battery technology to help demonstrate energy storage and demand management that can help build longer duration flexibility (8 hours plus) into the grid and optimize the role these resources play. NYPA and Zinc8 are currently considering several potential sites in NYS for the demonstration of the Zinc-air Energy Storage System to help benefit New York State's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality and advance the State's move to a clean energy future. Zinc8 and NYPA see this initial collaboration and installation as a reference site for future potential installations that will further demonstrate Zinc8's technology through NYPA's wide variety of customer base in Microgrid, Commercial &Industrial and Utility markets. About NYPA NYPA is the largest state public power organization in the United States, operating 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. More than 70 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. For more information visit www.nypa.gov and follow them on Twitter @NYPAenergy, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn. About Zinc8 Energy Solutions Zinc8 Energy Solutions has assembled an experienced team to execute the development and commercialization of a dependable low-cost zinc-air battery. Zinc-air batteries can be ideal for mass storage systems and offer both environmental and safety benefits. Zinc8 Energy Solutions strives to meet the growing need for secure and reliable power. To watch a short video outlining Zinc8 Energy Solutions' technology, please visit: https://zinc8energy.com More about The Zinc8 Energy Storage System (ESS) The Zinc8 ESS is a modular Energy Storage System designed to deliver power in the range 20kW - 50MW with capacity of 8 hours of storage duration or higher. With the advantage of rechargeable zinc-air flow battery technology, the system can be configured to support a wide range of long-duration applications for microgrids and utilities. Since the energy storage capacity of the system is determined only by the size of the zinc storage tank, a very cost-effective and scalable solution now exists as an alternative to the fixed power/energy ratio of the lithium ion battery. Technology The Zinc8 ESS is based upon unique patented zinc-air battery technology. Energy is stored in the form of zinc particles, similar in size to grains of sand. When the system is delivering power, the zinc particles are combined with oxygen drawn from the surrounding air. When the system is recharging, zinc particles are regenerated, and oxygen is returned to the surrounding air. Applications The flexibility of the Zinc8 ESS enables it to service a wide range of applications. Typical examples include: Smoothing energy derived from renewable sources such as wind and solar Commercial/Industrial backup replacing diesel generators Industrial and grid scale, on-demand power for peak shaving and standby reserves Grid-scale services such as alleviating grid congestion, deferring transmission/distribution upgrades, energy trading and arbitrage, and increasing renewable energy penetration. Architecture The Zinc8 ESS is designed according to a modular architecture that enables a wide variety of system configurations to be created from a small number of common subsystems. Each subsystem implements a single element of the technology: The Zinc Regeneration Subsystem (ZRS) provides the recharging function The Fuel Storage Subsystem (FSS) provides the energy storage function The Power Generation Subsystem (PGS) provides the discharging function To watch a short video outlining Zinc8's technology, please visit: https://zinc8energy.com Contact Information Patrick Butler Corporate Development Telephone: 1.604.558.1406 Ext.5 patrick@zinc8energy.com Web: investors@zinc8energy.com Forward-Looking Information This news release contains certain statements or disclosures relating to Zinc8 Energy Solutions that are based on the expectations of its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Zinc8 Energy Solutions which may constitute forward-looking statements or information ("forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. All such statements and disclosures, other than those of historical fact, which address activities, events, outcomes, results or developments that Zinc8 Storage anticipates or expects may, or will occur in the future (in whole or in part) should be considered forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of the word "will", "could", "expect", "may" and other similar expressions. Forward looking statements in this press release include that we can execute the development and commercialization of a dependable low cost zinc-air battery; that our mass storage system offers both environmental and efficiency benefits; that we will execute on our agreement with NYPA and that we can help meet the needs for secure and reliable power; that our technology is scalable for energy storage solutions; that this agreement opens the door for Zinc8 to deploy its technology into the broader utility market; and that we can reach full commercialization. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly relied upon. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements including, without limitation: that NYPA or we do not perform our obligation or our cooperation agreement is changed or terminated for any reason; that the cooperation agreement with NYPA does not yield the benefits of demonstrating our batteries' benefits; even if successful, the NYPA agreement may not lead to other utilities deploying our technology because of cost, complexity or other reasons; that our technology fails to work as expected or at all; that our technology proves to be too expensive to implement broadly; that customers do not adapt our products for being too complex, costly, or not fitting with their current products or plans; general economic, market and business conditions; increased costs and expenses; inability to retain qualified employees; our patents may not provide protection as expected and we may infringe on the patents of others; and certain other risks detailed from time to time in Zinc8 Energy Solution's public disclosure documents, copies of which are available on MGX Renewables Inc's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither the CSE nor any Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Zinc8 Energy Solutions View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573416/Zinc8-Energy-Solutions-Announces-Cooperation-Agreement-with-the-New-York-Power-Authority-NYPA-To-Deploy-Zinc-Air-Battery-System-in-New-York-State New Yorks detainer law and policy mandates that officials turn over to ICE only those who are convicted of violent and serious offenses, and only when ICE has met legal and due process requirements. Mr. Khan, 21, was released shortly after he was arraigned on charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon in relation to the altercation with his father, in which the authorities said he had slashed his father with a broken coffee cup. He was arrested again last week and charged with the murder of Ms. Fuertes. The Police Department disputed the claim, saying it did not receive a detainer request when Mr. Khan was first arrested. ICE responded by releasing a copy of the fax transmission form appended to the detainer, which was dated Nov. 27, the same day as the arrest. How much more do you need? Should he have beat up his mother, too? Should he kick the dog? Mr. Albence said. How much more do you need to take enforcement action against an illegal alien? A spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio called Ms. Fuertess death an absolute tragedy. Fear, hate and attempts to divide are signatures of the Trump Administration, not New York City. We are the safest big city in America because of our policies, not in spite of them, said the spokeswoman, Freddi Goldstein. Ms. Fuertes emigrated to New York from the Dominican Republic in the 1960s and was a legal resident of the United States, her son said. In recent years, she collected cans around her neighborhood of South Richmond Hill, Queens, and was described after her death as a beloved figure in her community. While a beef recipe posted on Kerala Tourism's official twitter account triggered allegations of hurting communal sentiments, Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran accused that the row was being cooked up by giving communal flavour. The post that appeared on January 15 had triggered criticisms, especially from Hindu outfits, that it was a deliberate move to post a beef recipe on 'Makara Sankranthi' day. Strongly reacting to the criticisms, the tourism minister said on Friday that a section of communal fanatics was cooking up such row by giving communal flavour to every element, which was a very unfortunate tendency. Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices, coconut pieces, and curry leaves. A recipe for the most classic dish, Beef Ularthiyathu, the stuff of legends, from the land of spices, Kerala: https://t.co/d7dbgWmlBw pic.twitter.com/aI1Y9vEXJm Kerala Tourism (@KeralaTourism) January 15, 2020 The Minister said that the beef 'ularthu' recipe was posted as one of many promotions being carried out on the twitter account of Kerala Tourism, which has international followers. Earlier also recipes of many popular local dishes were shared on the account. He also added that beef did not necessarily mean cow meat alone. If could be buffalo meat also. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists had alleged that the post on the beef recipe on the official twitter handle of Kerala Tourism was a deliberate attempt to hurt sentiments of cow worshipers. Kerala had earlier strongly reacted to moves to impose restrictions on cow slaughtering. This had not gone down well with the Sangh Parivar outfits. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 03:40:00|Editor: yan Video Player Close RIGA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Europe needs to develop common guidelines for the prevention and combating of money laundering, Latvian President Egils Levits said on Friday. The Latvian leader made the remarks while attending a meeting with ambassadors of the European Union (EU) member states and candidate countries at Riga's historic Blackheads House. The event was hosted by Croatia which holds the rotating six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union. Addressing the meeting, Levits said that the four priorities set forth by the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU -- Europe's growth and competitiveness, connectivity and security -- are equally important to Latvia. Levits stressed the significant role of the EU's digital single market and the need for Europe to work out common guidelines for fighting the legalization of proceeds from crime, adding that the rest of Europe might find Latvia's expertise in this area useful. Speaking of the connectivity of Europe's regions, as well as transport and logistics-related issues, Levits underlined the Three Seas Initiative, which is a forum of 12 EU countries, as well as the Rail Baltica European-gauge railway project. New Delhi: Indian intelligence agencies have warned that Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) is planning to carry out more terror attacks along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. According to the inputs gathered by the intelligence agencies, the BAT teams of Pakistan are currently planting IED and landmines along the LoC to inflict more damages on the Indian security forces. The BAT teams are getting tactical support from Pakistan's spy agency - Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) - and being aided by terrorist outfits operating from its soil, the agencies said. The intelligence agencies had in December 2019 and in the beginning of this year had warned about a series of BAT attacks along the LoC targeting the Indian security forces. One such attack has already taken place and Army personnel on the LoC have now been warned about more such attacks. The Border Action Teams comprise terrorists and Pakistan Army soldiers, particularly well-trained commandos of the Special Service Group (SSG). In their last report, the Indian intelligence agencies had warned that a group of ten SSG commandos along with terrorists were spotted in the Krishna Ghati (KG) sector. They were believed to be planning attacks on Indian border posts. Live TV Pakistan's BAT team was believed to be involved in the suspected beheading of one of the two porters recently killed in cross-border shelling in Jammus Poonch district on January 10. While the Army did not confirm a BAT role, Defence Ministry spokesperson Lt Colonel Devender Anand said that one of the porters had been found to be headless and that they were investigating whether there was Pakistani hand in it. A senior J&K police officer said the porter's head appeared to have been severed by a sharp-edged weapon. The last such incident was reported back in September 2018, when a BSF jawan was killed and his body mutilated in Samba district, leading to the cancellation of Indo-Pak talks scheduled days later. In December 2017, bodies of four soldiers, including a Major killed in Rajouri sector, were found to be mutilated by a BAT team that infiltrated 300-400 metres inside the LoC. Similar incidents were reported in 2017, 2016 and 2013. Meanwhile, there is more evidence of Pakistan's backed terror outfits planning some big action in the National Capital Region, triggering major security concern. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in India and few other large emerging countries may gain some momentum this year after the global economy recorded its lowest growth of 2.3 percent in 2019 due to prolonged trade disputes, a UN study said New York/New Delhi: The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in India and few other large emerging countries may gain some momentum this year after the global economy recorded its lowest growth of 2.3 percent in 2019 due to prolonged trade disputes, a UN study said on Thursday while lowering its current and next fiscal forecasts for the Indian economy. According to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020, a growth rate of 2.5 percent is possible in 2020, but a flare-up of trade tensions, financial turmoil, or an escalation of geopolitical tensions could derail a recovery. In a downside scenario, global growth would slow to just 1.8 percent this year, it added. It lowered its GDP growth estimate for India to 5.7 percent in the current fiscal (from 7.6 percent forecast in WESP 2019) and lowered its forecast for the next fiscal to 6.6 percent (from 7.4 percent earlier). It has also forecast a growth rate of 6.3 percent for the fiscal beginning in 2021. The report pegged India's GDP growth rate for the previous fiscal at 6.8 percent. According to the UN study, one in five countries will see per capita income stagnate or decline this year, but listed India among few countries where the per capita GDP growth rate could exceed 4 percent level in 2020. Prolonged weakness in global economic activity may cause significant setbacks for sustainable development, including the goals to eradicate poverty and create decent jobs for all. At the same time, pervasive inequalities and the deepening climate crisis are fuelling growing discontent in many parts of the world. "These risks could inflict severe and long-lasting damage to development prospects. They also threaten to encourage a further rise in inward-looking policies, at a point when global cooperation is paramount," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned. The GDP growth in the United States is forecast to slow from 2.2 percent in 2019 to 1.7 percent in 2020. In the European Union, manufacturing will continue to be held back by global uncertainty, but this will be partially offset by steady growth in private consumption, allowing a modest rise in GDP growth from 1.4 percent in 2019 to 1.6 percent in 2020. Despite significant headwinds, East Asia remains the world's fastest-growing region and the largest contributor to global growth, as per the report. In China, GDP growth is projected to moderate gradually from 6.1 percent in 2019 to 6.0 percent in 2020 and 5.9 percent in 2021, supported by more accommodative monetary and fiscal policies. "Growth in other large emerging countries, including Brazil, India, Mexico, the Russian Federation and Turkey, is expected to gain some momentum in 2020," the UN report said. As the global economic balance is shifting from the EU, the US and other developed countries towards China, India and other developing countries, global economic decision-making power is shifting as well, it noted. "Global cooperation mechanisms will need to recognize this shifting balance while continuing to allow the underrepresented to be heard," it added. The UN report also said that eradicating poverty will increasingly rely on tackling inequality going forward. "The share of the population living in extreme poverty has declined steadily and significantly over the past few decades, largely owing to successful experiences in China and India," it noted. Although progress has been achieved in global terms, the number of people living in extreme poverty has risen in several sub-Saharan African countries and in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean and Western Asia. "Sustained progress towards poverty reduction will require both a significant boost to productivity growth and firm commitments to tackle high levels of inequality," the report said. The WESP is an annual UN flagship publication on the state of the world economy, viewed through the lens of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. It is a joint product of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the five UN regional commissions. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), and the International Labour Organization (ILO) also contributed to the report. Be fully prepared for a healthy, safe and enjoyable Chinese New Year, wherever you celebrate in the world. Top tips for safety and security in crowded places With the Chinese New Year holiday fast approaching, International SOS, the world's leading medical and security risk services company, offers practical advice to help travellers stay safe, secure and healthy. Along with those lucky enough to be visiting or staying in China for the celebrations, anyone attending Chinese New Year celebrations in cities around the world, such as New York, London or Sydney, should also take health and security precautions. The popularity of the celebrations worldwide inevitably result in large crowds, where vigilance is recommended, and incidents, from petty crime to social unrest can occur, as well as the risk of illnesses need to be considered. This year, the official Chinese New Year holiday will commence on 24 January and ends on 30 January. Dr Irene Lai, Global Medical Director Medical Information and Analysis at International SOS China, comments, "The Spring Festival holiday coincides with the flu season in the northern hemisphere. There is also a developing situation with a new coronavirus in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province, with dozens of cases of pneumonia. At least two infected people have travelled from Wuhan and been diagnosed at their destination. There are many unknowns, and information is rapidly changing. Travellers are advised to monitor the situation, pay attention to general hygiene, and avoid wet markets." For the latest information on the Wuhan Novel Coronavirus, clients and members should access the medical alert on the International SOS location guides, and the Pandemic Information Service website. Tony Ma, Director of Client Liaison for International SOS, commented, "While China is rated a low travel risk1, it is expected that petty crime could surge during the celebrations. This should be anticipated particularly in crowded areas, such as temple fairs, public transport hubs and tourist sites. During the Spring Festival holidays, China's four first-tier cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, are still the main places of "tidal departures," and the pressure on transportation safety is huge. When travelling, pay attention to the impact of bad weather, possible problems such as the illegal operation of passenger vehicles, the overloading of trucks, the inadequate installation of road safety warning signs in remote areas, the lack of protective facilities in some sections, and relatively weak management capabilities." Ma adds, "Travellers heading to Chinese New Year celebrations around the world should also be aware of these common issues that can affect crowded places. Please stay vigilant at all times." For further information on protecting the global workforce, click here. ENDS 1Travelriskmap.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005417/en/ Contacts: Suzanne Withers, Head of Group PR, International SOS T: +44 (0) 208 762 8494, M: +44 (0)7584 522 497 E: suzanne.withers@internationalsos.com By Easton Sanders Jan. 16, 2020 | 02:16 PM | PADUCAH Strickland's Seafood Restaurant announced that they will move to the old Pines building at 900 North 32nd Street. West Kentucky Star spoke with owner, Shawn Strickland, about the upgrade. Strickland said, "The only reason we're moving to the new location simply is that we have no room to grow here. I would have friends call me all the time saying they intended to come by, but there was no place to park. We won't have that problem at the new location." Strickland said they're looking forward to a larger kitchen as well. "There's only one way I could have designed it, and we're all on top of each other. We can't get any bigger." Strickland continued, "We used to have our catering facility behind Whaler's Catch, and when the new people bought it, we lost our catering facility. But now, we have two banquet rooms at the new place." The new location will be 8000 square feet, compared to 2100 square feet at their old location. With the growth, Strickland says they expect to hire at least 15 new employees. Moving forward, Strickland hopes the community will continue to support the restaurant, telling West Kentucky Star the new location has them feeling blessed. Strickland said if all goes according to plan, they hope to open the new location in early March. A popular Paducah restaurant is moving to a more spacious new location. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 22:29:30|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close CAPE TOWN, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The peace process in South Sudan has entered "a crucial stage" and all parties concerned should treat this process with diligence and care, South African Deputy President David Mabuza said on Friday. "As facilitators, we are confident that the Parties will form the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) within this window," Mabuza said after concluding his four-day mediation visit to the war-torn country, in his capacity as South Africa's special envoy to South Sudan. During the visit, Mabuza held consultations with various parties and stakeholders that are signatories to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan. In these consultations, there was consensus on the formation of the TGNU before or by the end of the current extended period of 100 days ending in February 2020, according to Mabuza. The number of states and their boundaries has been a sticking point between the parties concerned towards the formation of the TGNU. Given that this matter has not been settled, the parties have agreed on a seven-day period for further consultations on the proposal of arbitration as a mechanism to break the impasse, Mabuza said. He expressed his satisfaction at the progress made especially as parties committed to the formation of the TGNU, and for having moved closer to one another on a mechanism to resolve the impasse on states and boundaries. "In our view, the proposal on the table is one mechanism that can produce an outcome that will stand the test of time, and serve as a strong basis for the constitutional making process as stipulated in the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan," he said in a statement distributed by his office. "We therefore must allow Parties time to consult as they have requested," he added. Shortly after its independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan plunged into civil war. At least 300,000 people are estimated to have died since late 2013, some 1.8 million people are displaced internally and 2.5 million others have fled to neighboring countries. In 2018, all parties involved in the conflict signed the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the country, seen as a milestone toward a peaceful resolution. jganser/iStock(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) -- Republican lawmakers in Florida submitted a batch of anti-LGBTQ bills this week with just hours to spare before the 2020 legislative deadline. If signed into law, the four bills would walk back local ordinances that protect LGBTQ employees, legalize the controversial practice of "gay conversion therapy" and imprison doctors for up to 15 years if they provide certain transition-related medical care to transgender youth. Conversion therapy is a discredited practice that attempts to change a persons sexual orientation through psychological or spiritual means. It is grounded in the belief that being LGBTQ is abnormal or unnatural and is banned in more than a dozen states and Washington, D.C., according to the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The bills -- submitted late Monday by Rep. Anthony Sabatini, Sen. Dennis Baxley, Rep. Bob Rommel, Sen. Joe Gruters, Rep. Michael Grant, Sen. Keith Perry, and Rep. Byron Donalds -- sparked outrage among many LGBTQ advocates and their allies. The lawmakers submitted four pieces of legislation, each with a companion bill in the House and the Senate. Equality Florida, the states largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, said the "draconian legislation" would attack the rights of the state's LGBTQ population and make the 2020 legislative session "one of the most hostile to LGBTQ Floridians in recent memory." "This is the most overtly anti-LGBTQ agenda from the Florida legislature in recent memory, Equality Florida Public Policy Director Harris Maurer said in a statement. "It runs the gamut from openly hostile legislation that would arrest and imprison doctors for providing medically necessary care, to legislation that would carelessly erase critical local LGBTQ protections." The group called on leaders within the Florida House and Senate to denounce and defeat the proposed laws. Florida Democratic Rep. Shevrin Jones, who considers himself the state's first openly gay African American legislator, spoke out against the bills immediately, calling them discriminatory and shameful. "It's shameful that Republican lawmakers are wasting tax dollars attacking Florida's most vulnerable communities rather than prioritizing the issues that impact everyday people's lives," Jones said in a statement. "Clearly they've decided that discrimination and hate are central to their election-year platform despite our state's incredible diversity." Gina Duncan, the group's director of transgender equality, took particular issue with the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, introduced by Sabatini and Baxley. If signed into law, the legislation would make it a second-degree felony for doctors to provide gender reassignment surgeries and hormone therapies to children seeking to transition to the opposite sex -- even if they have their parents' consent. "Transgender youth are some of the most at-risk in our community. It is outrageous that conservative legislators would threaten their health and safety," Duncan said. "Medical professionals, not politicians, should decide what medical care is in the best interest of a patient. Forcing a doctor to deny best practice medical care and deny support to transgender youth can be life-threatening." Baxley pushed back against Equality Florida's characterization of the his bill and accused the organization of trying lump eight different bills into one category. "These are very different topics. My sole interest is the wellbeing of a child. I'm not trying to address the whole phenomena of how we're adapting to the changes in mores and views on LBGTQ community," Baxley told ABC News on Thursday. "I don't share their views, but I have no condemnation of anyone, OK. To me, those are personal issues." He said he was inspired to draft the bill after hearing about civil disputes between parents who had different opinions about how they should deal with their child's gender dysphoria, a condition where a person feels like there's a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity. He cited a case where one parent wanted to take medical action -- such as sterilizing the child or seeking hormone therapies -- to affirm the child's preferred gender, but the other parent was against it. Baxley said the proposed bill protects children from having their parents make decisions about their health that the child may regret later in life. "We're seeing some prominent lawsuits, particularly with divided husbands and wives, about what's to be done regarding the child's care. And obviously, if they're going to court, I think we need to do some kind of policy clarification on what's appropriate," Baxley said. "I am trying to start that discussion, as difficult as it is, but I think we have a responsibility in protecting children." Equality Florida said Baxley's bill would go against the best medical practices recommended for transgender youth. Many doctors say its easier for a person to transition to the opposite sex if they begin the process early, but Baxley said young people dealing with gender dysphoria should be able work through those issues without medical intervention during childhood. "During adolescence, they're trying on all kinds of things when they're in middle school and high school trying to figure life out," Baxley said. "But I'm very concerned about protecting children from medical procedures that could be damaging to them physically." "There's a lot of people that have transgender lives that don't undergo surgeries that permanently change their physical makeup," he added. "Let them make these life decisions as they become adults. When you start these heavy hormonal treatments and you're talking about the sterilization of a child, these are very weighty issues to be making for them while they're children." It's unclear exactly how likely the bills are to pass. They were each introduced by individual members, not committees, which would give them a better chance of advancing. Baxley said he's more concerned with starting a discussion. "The way a legislator starts a discussion is to file a bill. It will make people start thinking about that issue to come up with a public policy that is appropriate," he said. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. We dont know how we will fund these initiatives. Based on the draft I received, no one has talked about funding, she said. I thought wed look very closely at the proposed CBA ordinance and come up with something wed all be proud of. Now, the city is moving and I dont know what to say. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 16:21:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Representatives from a variety of U.S. sectors said that they are pleased to see the just-signed phase-one economic and trade agreement between China and the United States, and that they are looking forward to further removal of additional tariffs imposed since 2018. China and the United States formally signed their phase-one economic and trade agreement in Washington on Wednesday, with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. President Donald Trump inking the papers at the White House. The agreement ranges from expanding bilateral trade in such sectors as agricultural products, manufactured goods, energy, and service, further broadening market access, to enhancing the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights. The trade agreement "is going to be encouraging certainly for agriculture in the United States," 70-year-old farmer Joe Boddiford told Xinhua a few days before the signing ceremony. Boddiford, who has farmed for 45 years on his 2,400-acre (971-hectare) farm in Sylvania, the U.S. state of Georgia, said the cotton and corn markets both rallied "a couple of weeks" before the signing of the agreement. Futures prices for corn were up some 5 percent during the last one to two weeks, meanwhile cotton futures prices rose about 8 percent to 10 percent, according to Boddiford, who also grows peanut in addition to corn and cotton. Farmers are "fairly optimistic" about the prospect of U.S.-China agricultural trade, said Boddiford, adding that they generally believe that a deal between the world's top two economies to resolve their trade disputes "is the only thing to help with the situation" that U.S. farmers are in. "We're all looking for a bright future out there because we faced the most negative stuff in the last couple of years," he said. Gary Adams, president and CEO of Cordova, Tennessee-based National Cotton Council, told Xinhua that people in the U.S. cotton industry are glad to see the country reach the phase-one trade deal with China. "The ongoing trade dispute between the two countries has certainly had a significant impact on the U.S. cotton prices and U.S. export sales to China," Adams said. "So overall, we are certainly pleased to see the agreement come into place." The signing of the deal was "clearly something that the market has been anticipating and has been waiting for," Adams said. Echoing Boddiford, he said that cotton prices on the futures market recently went up 5 cents per pound. "I'm talking about just probably over the course of the past month." Adams said the National Cotton Council is "certainly hopeful" that the phase-one deal "will lead to a stronger trading relationship between the two countries," adding that his organization sees "a lot of potential there for beneficial bilateral trade between the two countries." Calling the phase-one deal "a confidence booster" that "allows us to build the market" in China, Don Koehler, executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission -- of which Boddiford is a member -- said the commission views "the people of China as very good, potential customers." "China is certainly a market we will be working in," Koehler said. Judging from the situation U.S. peanut farmers are in right now, he expected that an increase of U.S. peanut export to China "will be significant compared to where we have been." Besides the agriculture sector, U.S. shoe-maker Allbirds, Inc, among other enterprises, has also welcomed the signing of the trade deal. "We're obviously happy about it," if the deal rolls down tariffs on Chinese exported goods to the United States, Eric Haskell, head of international operation with the company, told Xinhua on Tuesday. Haskell said the exports of Allbirds' shoes from China have been impacted by tariffs imposed by the United States. "In general, we of course prefer trade barriers to be low. We believe in free trade and because we are good business, it's important that we can move products freely around the world," said Haskell. Talking about the trade deal, Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun lauded the leadership of the two countries' leaders in "building a fair and mutually-beneficial trading relationship between the United States and China." The agreement is "a sign of real progress and a welcomed first step," Chris Swonger, president & CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said in a statement Wednesday. American spirits exports to China declined 8 percent between January and November in 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, it said. National Retail Federation (NRF), which has led the retail industry's fight against tariffs and is a key member of the Americans for Free Trade coalition, also welcomed the signing of the deal. "The trade war won't be over until all of these tariffs are gone. We are glad to see the phase one deal signed, and resolution of phase two can't come soon enough," said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of NRF. "We've experienced 14 consecutive months of declining exports and China has developed new trading partners," Gene Seroka, executive director for the Port of Los Angeles was quoted by the local Long Beach Press-Telegram news website as saying. Meanwhile, Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero applauded the new agreement. "Specifically for this gateway, the pledge by China to buy more agricultural goods is a big deal for California's farmers, who saw their buyers of almonds, pistachios, dairy products, wine, and other goods dry up in the trade war," he told the news outlet. New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday evening released its first list of 54 candidates for the February 8 Delhi Assembly elections. The list included 10 women and a number of ministers of the Sheila Dikshit government. Of the 54 nominees, 33 will make their debut in the polls. Four muslim candidates also figured in the list. Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Alka Lamba, who switched over to the Congress, has been fielded from Chandni Chowk constituency, while election campaign committee chairman Kirti Azads wife, Poonam Azad, will contest from Sangam Vihar. Former Union minister Krishna Tirath, who has been fielded from the Patel Nagar Assembly constituency, was a Cabinet colleague of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit. Apart from Tirath, four former ministers -- Ashok Kumar Walia, Narendar Nath, Arvinder Singh Lovely and Haroon Yusuf -- have been nominated as well. Walia has been fielded from Krishna Nagar and Nath from Shahdara. Lovely, who had also been the party's Delhi unit president and contested the Lok Sabha polls last year, has been fielded from Gandhi Nagar while Yusuf has been nominated for Ballimaran seat. The Delhi Congress' working presidents Rajesh Lilothia and Devender Yadav got tickets from Mangolpuri and Badli constituencies, respectively. The party, like the BJP, is yet to name its candidate from AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's constituency of New Delhi. It has fielded Lakshman Rawat against Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia from Patparganj. Several prominent municipal councilors have also been fielded. These include Mukesh Goyal from Adarsh Nagar and Abhishek Dutt from Kasturba Nagar. Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra said, "This is the best list that the party has announced. It has mix of experience and youth. The second list is expected later tonight or tomorrow." Chopra said the party will leave four seats for its ally -- the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Chopra's daughter, Shivani, got ticket from Kalkaji where the AAP has fielded its heavyweight Atishi. The party's election campaign committee chairman Kirti Azad's wife Poonam will contest from Sangam Vihar. A senior Congress leader said the list included at least 40 candidates who were not fielded in the 2015 Assembly elections. While the AAP released its list of candidates earlier this week, the BJP announced its 57 faces out of 70 on Friday. Earlier on Saturday, senior Congress leader and former Assembly Speaker Yoganand Shastri resigned from the party over differences with the city unit president Subhash Chopra. He alleged tickets for the Assembly polls were being "sold" by Delhi unit office-bearers. However, his daughter Priyanka Singh, got ticket from RK Puram seat. Meanwhile, after being dropped by AAP from its list of candidates, sitting MLA from Dwarka Adarsh Shastri, the grandson of Lal Bahadur Shastri, joined the Congress. He has been fielded from Dwarka. The list was released after the Congress Election Committee held a meeting at the residence of interim party chief Sonia Gandhi to discuss the names of candidates. The last date for submission of nomination papers is January 21. Polling will be held on February 8 and the results declared on February 11. The Congress is seeking to revive its fortunes in Delhi this time. It won just eight seats in 2013 and drew a blank in the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls. (With inputs from agencies) Turkey now has another firm producing large UAVs for commercial and military use. The latest entrant is Vestel, a Turkish conglomerate that has long manufactured appliances, computer equipment and commercial grade equipment for a wide variety of needs. In 2016 Vestel offered the Turkish military a new large UAV design, the Karayel. The Turkish military tried them out and by 2019 Vestel even had its first export customer, Saudi Arabia. The Turkish military has been using it in Syria and against PKK Kurdish separatists in eastern Turkey and was pleased with the results. Karayel is a half-ton UAV with a max endurance of 20 hours and a controlled flight range of 200 kilometers. Preprogrammed flights can go much farther. Karayel can fly high enough (6,500 meters/20,000 feet) to avoid most anti-aircraft weapons. At least one Karayel was shot down in Yemen by rebels operating along the Saudi border. This UAV may have been flying lower to obtain more detailed video of what was below and came within range of rebel anti-aircraft missiles. Or it may have had equipment problems. Whatever the case the Saudis had at least one of them, which is now lost. Karayel is well designed, with multiple redundancies and automatic (software controlled) landing and takeoff. Max payload is 190 kg, which means for shorter (a few hours) missions it can carry four Turkish made 22.5 kg (50 pound) Mam-L laser-guided missiles (similar to Hellfire) or two 50 kg GPS guided bombs. For longer (up to 20 hour) surveillance missions Karayel carries only about 55 kg of sensors (day/night vidcams or even a lightweight radar). Other Turkish UAV manufacturers are also attracting export orders. At the end of 2018, Ukraine ordered two Bayraker TB2 UAV systems, for $69 million. Each system contains six UAVs, three truck-mounted ground control systems, two remote video terminals (which troops can use) and maintenance gear. The first system was delivered in 2019 and the other in 2020. Ukraine is the second export customer for Bayraker, as Qatar had earlier ordered one system. The primary customer is the Turkish military, which already has six systems and plans to buy 151 UAVs (mostly as systems but also spares for expected operational losses). The small Turkish firm that developed Bayraktar borrowed heavily from commercial technology that has already proved itself. As a result, Bayraktar was the first locally designed and built UAV of its class to enter service in 2014. Bayraktar is a 650 kg (1,433 pounds) aircraft with a 55 kg (110 pound) payload and an endurance of 24 hours. In 2016 Bayraktar TB2 was equipped to carry two Turkish made Mam-L laser-guided missiles. With a range of 8 kilometers, the Mam-L weighs half as much as the American Hellfire and is light enough for Bayraktar TB2 to carry two of them. These are used regularly against PKK separatists in Turkey and Islamic terrorists and rebel groups in Syria. The same firm also developed the much smaller Bayraktar Mini UAV which is a 4.6 kg (9.9 pounds) aircraft that is battery powered and hand-launched. Endurance is 60 minutes and the Bayraktar can operate up to 15 kilometers from the operator. The Turkish Army has been using the Bayraktar Mini since 2007. The Turkish national police have also ordered the Bayraktar Tactical. Since the late 1990s, Turkey has developed and deployed several workable UAVs. In early 2018 the Turkish Air Force received six of 40 Anka UAVs they had ordered back in 2013. At that point eight Ankas had been built but two crashed during testing. Anka is actually delivered as a system and each of these consists of three UAVs plus ground control equipment and all necessary maintenance and ground operations gear. Looking very similar to the American Predator, the Anka is a 1.6 ton aircraft propelled by a rear-facing propeller. The payload is 200 kg (440 pounds), endurance is 24 hours and Anka can operate up to 200 kilometers from its controller. Max altitude is 7,900 meters (26,000 feet). A UAV like this would sell for over $2 million each. The Turkish military was supposed to receive its first Anka by the end of 2013 but that was delayed by technical problems. Turkey also announced a larger (four ton) version of Anka that can carry missiles or a lot more reconnaissance equipment. That has also been delayed and none have entered service yet. In 2016 Turkey put the original Anka UAV into service for the first time but deliveries of production models only began in 2017. The Turkish Air Force ordered 30 aircraft (ten systems) in 2013. Turkish UAV development has been going on since the late 1990s when Israel was still an ally and supplier of weapons and tech to the Turks. But by 2003 an anti-Israel Islamic government was running Turkey, and local UAV development was crippled but not destroyed as military and technical relationships with Israel were severed. Turkish firms could use a lot of existing tech to build larger UAVs suitable for commercial use. What makes large UAVs attractive to the military are the accessories, like sensors and the ability to use weapons. Take that out of most current military UAVs and you have a UAV for commercial markets, which includes border patrol and coast guard. Anka was clearly a military UAV, of the type the Israelis had pioneered in the 1980s. The Turkish government apparently ordered a state-owned firm to match the leased Israeli Heron UAVs used by Turkish forces. These Herons were eventually (2017) returned to Israel. Building large UAVs similar to the Heron proved difficult. One of the disputes with Israel was over electronic accessories Turkey wanted to add to the Israeli UAVs. The Turkish developer was perpetually late and when the delivery was made there were problems installing these on the Israeli UAV. The Turks blamed the Israelis and the Israelis kept quiet until they got their UAVs back. Then details of the over-promised and under-delivered Turkish technology were released. This situation was not unique to the large UAVs like Anka, and with other ambitious Turkish defense projects where the government demanded more than local firms, especially state-owned ones, could deliver. With the Israelis out of the picture, there was no one the government could blame for the years of delays in getting the Anka operational so few updates were released. The smaller Turkish firm that developed the two Bayraktar UAVs paid closer attention to the Turkish experience with Israeli UAV tech and managed to develop and manufacture competitive UAVs sooner than the larger Turkish firms that paid more attention to Turkish politics than to customer needs. The Bayraktar TB2 was very similar to the Israeli Heron UAV, which was the primary UAV for the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Bayraktar also paid a lot of attention to software development, learning much from the experience of the Israelis and Americans. The Bayraktar TB2 flight software not only takes off and lands automatically but can also move from its parking spot on an airfield, taxi to the runway and takeoff without human intervention other than commands from the airbase flight controllers. In-flight, the control software has several redundancies, mainly alternate procedures for various emergencies that make Bayraktar TB2 a safer and easier to operate. Ukraine probably could have obtained a similar UAV from China for less money but Bayraktar already had a reputation for reliability and better software than most. Another bonus for Ukraine to buy UAVs from Turkey was that Russia is trying, with mixed success, to turn Turkey into an ally. Ukraine also does business with China, which is also an ally with Russia but believes business is business. The Heron Shoval UAVs Israel sold/leased to Turkey are very similar to the American Predator A (or MQ-1). The Shoval weighs about the same (1.2 tons) and has the same endurance (40 hours). Shoval has a slightly higher ceiling (10,000 meters versus 8,100) and software which allows it to automatically take off, carry out a mission, and land automatically. Not all American large UAVs can do this. Both Predator and Shoval cost about the same ($5 million), although the Israelis are willing to be flexible on price. The Shoval does have a larger wingspan (16.5 meters/51 feet) than the Predator (13.2 meters/41 feet) and a payload of about 137 kg (300 pounds). Meanwhile, the anti-Israel Turkish government thought Shoval would be easy to replicate because Turkey's economy has been booming since 2000 and the Islamic government made good on its pledge to crack down on the corruption that had long crippled the economy. As the economy grew, the government sought to make Turkey more self-sufficient in military equipment, and UAVs are considered part of this program. But this was mainly for show, not for real. One exception was Turkish commercial firms developing, and delivering, less ambitious UAVs like the Bayraktar TB2 and Mini UAVs. By 2017 state-owned firms caught on. That year STM, a state-owned Turkish firm, put on the market three new locally developed UAVs. These UAVs (Alpagu, Kargu and Togan) are simpler and smaller than earlier Turkish efforts. STM declared that the three new UAVs were already in service, which meant that Turkish troops and police tested them and found them useful. What the manufacturers want is export sales and these UAVs address a market that is currently very crowded and competitive. Alpagu is a 3.7 kg (8.2 pounds) fixed-wing UAV that can do surveillance but is primarily meant for use as a portable cruise missile as it carries half a kilogram warhead and can be guided to a target up to 5,000 meters away by a soldier. The other two STM UAVs (Kargu and Togan) are based on commercial quad-copter designs. Kargu is a 6.3 kg (13.8 pounds) UAV while Togan is a 7.5 kg (16.5 pounds) quad-copter design. These also carry a wide variety of accessories already available for UAVs like this. The problem with smaller UAVs like this is that they compete in a crowded commercial market, largely dominated by several Chinese firms. The companies are constantly innovating and introducing new models. Israel recognizes what is going on here and has adopted the Chinese quad-copters for military and police use. More than 2,000 Honduran migrants and asylum seekers leave for US, despite expected obstacles on route and at borders. Guatemala City, Guatemala More than 2,000 Honduran migrants and asylum seekers entered Guatemala on Thursday as part of the latest caravan to leave for the United States, despite new asylum agreements across the region and vows to stop their advance. The caravan split into two groups, with one heading to the remote northeast Peten Department in hopes of finding a safer crossing into Mexico. On Wednesday, new Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said Mexican officials have said they would not permit the caravan to cross into Mexico. But migrants told Al Jazeera that some believe the border crossings in Peten will be open and more secure. Videos shared on Facebook showed streams of migrants walking down the hot, sun-drenched highways in the far north of the country. Other migrants followed the routes taken by previous caravans to the Mexican border town of Tapachula. Jose Argueta, a migrant from Honduras, arrived in Guatemala City on Thursday after a truck driver gave him and other migrants and asylum seekers a ride to the countrys capital. The 19-year-old, who was born in Comayagua, Honduras but later migrated to San Pedro Sula, said he is fleeing violence and poverty. It is very dangerous and there is little work, said Argueta, who is hoping to reach Santa Elena, Peten where many migrants are congregating. Argueta, who worked in a mechanics shop for roughly $40 a month, helped support his family. I take care of my mother, father and my five siblings, he said. But there are times that we have nothing to eat for at least two days. Honduran migrants travelling in a caravan walking in a group heading towards the United States, after breaking a blockade erected by Guatemalan police officers in Esquipulas, Guatemala [Fabricio Alonso/Reuters] More than 60 percent of Hondurans continue to suffer from poverty in spite of improvements to the economy, according to the International Development Bank. The country also continues to suffer from extreme forms of gangs and state violence. The situation in Honduras has grown worse, and people have made the firm determination to abandon the country due to the violence and extreme poverty, said Father Mauro Verzeletti, the director of Casa del Migrante, a migrant shelter in Guatemala City. The first major caravan of Honduran asylum seekers set out in October 2018, and quickly grew to thousands of people. In the months that followed, similar caravans set out from both Honduras and El Salvador. But they were met with resistance, including new US immigration policies that have kept many at the US-Mexico border while they wait for their asylum cases to make their way through US courts. First caravan in asylum agreement era This weeks caravan also comes as Hondurans and Salvadorans are being sent back to Guatemala under a controversial agreement between Washington and Guatemala City. On Thursday, flights carrying five Honduran and four Salvadoran asylum seekers arrived in Guatemala City as part of the controversial Asylum Cooperation Agreement. The so-called safe third country agreement allows the US to send asylum seekers to Guatemala where they can apply for asylum or be returned to their countries. Since the agreement was implemented on November 21, 2019, 128 Hondurans and Salvadorans have been sent to Guatemala, according to the Guatemalan Migration Institute. Of those sent, less than 10 have applied for asylum, with the rest choosing to go back to their home countries. Yet for many seeking to reach the US in the current caravan, the threat of being deported back to Guatemala is better than remaining in their home countries. We have to try, Argueta said. Honduran migrants climb on a truck as they head towards the United States as part of a new caravan of migrants, in Cucuyagua, Honduras [Reuters] Immigrant advocates have slammed the deal, saying Guatemala is not equipped to handle large numbers of asylum seekers. Guatemalan President Giammattei initially criticised parts of the cooperation deal, but has since asked for documents to analyse it before stating his full position. Giammatteis office did not respond to Al Jazeeras request for comment. Meanwhile, Honduras has signed a similar agreement, US officials said last year. Under that deal, which US officials say could be implemented in the coming weeks, asylum seekers from Cuba and Haiti could be sent to Honduras. The programme may also be expanded to include asylum seekers from other countries. Despite the obstacles, immigration advocates expect groups of Central American asylum seekers to continue to stream towards the US. The multilateral agreements are not providing people with food or work, Verzeletti said. [The agreements] do not resolve the problem in which they live. The agreements do not form new public policies. January, February, and March are the best months for spotting California gray whales making their journey from Alaska to Baja. Here are three of the top spots to have a whale of a good time this winter. Whale Watching at Mori Point in Pacifica (Courtesy of Weekend Sherpa) Grab some small, portable lawn chairs, a thermos of hot cocoa, and binoculars, then head to the point: Mori Point in Pacifica (part of the Golden Gate National Park system) is an exposed promontory with stunning ocean views. To reach it you have two optionsthe up and up via Bootlegger's Steps, or the more gently sloping Coastal Trail Trail. Get more information on whale watching at Mori Point. Whale Watching at Bodega Head (Courtesy of Weekend Sherpa) Just north of Point Reyes, Bodega Head sits high on the tip of a curving, thumb-like peninsula and offers weather-flexible options. On nice days, hike the coastal trails; all are fairly short and have great vantages of the Pacific, where migrating whales might be seen breaching or spouting. If the weather's rainy or gusty, you can just sit in your car and wait for the whales to come to you (arrive early to snag one of the parking spots overlooking the ocean). See where to wine and dine near Bodega Head. Whale Watch + Wine Taste at Pacific Star Winery (Courtesy of Weekend Sherpa) Pacific Star Winery is 12 miles north of Fort Bragg on the Mendocino Coast, just far enough off the beaten path that many folks don't discover it. But it's on the map for more reasons than interesting wines like charbono, brunello, and Dad's Daily Red. There are whales to be spotted, too! The expansive bluffside picnic grounds overlooking the coast have big ocean views. Get more information on whale watching and wine tasting at Pacific Star Winery. This article was originally published on Weekend Sherpa. European Union privacy watchdogs are gearing up to police digital assistants after revelations that Amazon.com workers listened in on people's conversations with their Alexa digital assistants. Bloomberg first reported in April that Amazon had a team of thousands of workers around the world listening to Alexa audio requests with the goal of improving the software. Similar issues have been raised over Google and Apple Inc.'s digital assistants, triggering privacy fears across the world, as intimate conversations in some users' homes were laid bare to technicians fine-tuning the technology. EU regulators are now working on a common approach on how to police the technology, said Tine Larsen, head of the data protection authority in Luxembourg, where the U.S. retail giant has its European base and employs a staff of more than 2,000. "Because it's a question of principle, the members of the EDPB should work out a common position in line with the consistency mechanism to apply data protection rules in a harmonized way for this type of treatment," she said, referring to a panel of regulators from across the 28-nation EU. The revelations of the snooping into people's homes came after regulators across Europe were handed beefed-up powers with its General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018, including the right to levy fines of as much as 4% of a company's global annual sales for the most serious violations. But the move toward common guidelines for digital assistants means companies should avoid fines -- for now. Larsen's comments echo those of Helen Dixon, head of the Irish watchdog, responsible for overseeing the likes of Apple and Google. She told Bloomberg in November that the regulator first has to "bottom out fully on whether it's true" when companies say they need to do transcripts of people's interactions with the assistants. That's why a focus will be first on coming up with guidelines, instead of investigations or inquiries, she said. Amazon said in a statement that "to help improve Alexa, we manually review and annotate a small fraction of 1% of Alexa requests" and that "access to data annotation tools is only granted to a limited number of employees who require them to improve the service." EU regulators are working on a common position on the privacy issues surrounding voice assistant systems, said Johannes Caspar, head of the watchdog in Hamburg, Germany. "We urgently need common and reliable industry standards on this to better regulate" privacy protections, he said in an email. Caspar's office initiated a number of probes into the issue, including one into Facebook over audio transcriptions from its Messenger users, he said. The questions his office has asked of Facebook have been discussed within the EDPB, the EU body of national regulators. The plan is to use the results to have a more coordinated approach by all European regulators affected by the issue, he said. The U.K., which is set to leave the EU at the end of the month, will soon publish the results of a consultation into security features for smart speakers and other connected devices, with proposals for mandatory industry requirements that could lead to potential new regulation, U.K. Digital Secretary Nicky Morgan told Bloomberg Wednesday. Apple, whose Siri virtual assistant is embedded in its operating phone and desktop computer operating systems, pointed to an August blog post about the issue. "We know that customers have been concerned by recent reports of people listening to audio Siri recordings as part of our Siri quality evaluation process - which we call grading," it said. "We heard their concerns, immediately suspended human grading of Siri requests and began a thorough review of our practices and policies. We've decided to make some changes to Siri as a result." Google, which offers similar technology, referred to its September announcement that it would add new security protections to the way its workers listen to audio snippets, meant to help improve the product's quality. In a blog post in September, Google said it would tell users that their audio may be listened to if they opt in to a feature that also improves audio quality. "We believe in putting you in control of your data, and we always work to keep it safe. We're committed to being transparent about how our settings work so you can decide what works best for you," the company said. While Amazon is escaping penalties over Alexa, Luxembourg, which is the company's main privacy watchdog in Europe, is probing the company for other potential breaches. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes This follows complaints from activists that the online retailer is illegally tracking and profiling internet users without their permission, as well as not providing full access to users' data. The company says it's "cooperating" with the authority, "which is at an advanced stage of its fact finding," according to an emailed statement. The data commission declined to comment on any probes, citing local rules. French privacy activists La Quadrature du Net, filed one of the complaints on behalf of more than 10,000 customers. They urge regulators to crack down on "behavioral analysis and targeted advertising" by Amazon and levy a fine that is "as high as possible" due to the "massive, lasting and manifestly deliberate nature" of the alleged violations without the consent of its users. None of Your Business (Noyb), a group created by Austrian activist Max Schrems, followed up with a separate complaint last January over data access concerns, accusing Amazon of violating EU law by not handing over all personal data requested by a user of its Amazon Prime service. Arthur Messaud, a lawyer with La Quadrature du Net, and Schrems said they'd had no updates from the Luxembourg regulator, which is bound by strict secrecy provisions under national law, meaning it can't reveal details until after any fines have been levies and all avenues of appeal have been exhausted. - - - Bloomberg's Natalia Drozdiak contributed to this report. Puerto Rican sales see 6% drop in 2019 ICR Newsroom By 17 January 2020 Puerto Rican cement sales in 2019 declined 5.6 per cent to 569,485t in 2019 when compared with 2019, according to Sin Comillas. In 2018 sales had surged 38.9 per cent YoY as construction activity skyrocketed after Hurricane Maria with the arrival of government funds for reconstruction. However, following the rebound, economic activity fell in 2019. Local cement production decreased 6.7 per cent YoY to 518,864t. In 2018 production had increased by 44.6 per cent, the first rise since 2012. Published under By Moira Warburton and Kelsey Johnson TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) - Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's decision to step back from royal duties and split their time between Britain and Canada is expected to boost Canada's brand abroad and benefit tourism, although marketing consultants say the effect will be limited. Royalty is big business globally. It is estimated that the British monarchy as a whole contributed 1.77 billion pounds ($2.31 billion) to the UK economy annually, a 2017 report by London-based brand valuation firm Brand Finance found By Moira Warburton and Kelsey Johnson TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) - Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's decision to step back from royal duties and split their time between Britain and Canada is expected to boost Canada's brand abroad and benefit tourism, although marketing consultants say the effect will be limited. Royalty is big business globally. It is estimated that the British monarchy as a whole contributed 1.77 billion pounds ($2.31 billion) to the UK economy annually, a 2017 report by London-based brand valuation firm Brand Finance found. That comes from intangible assets such as the uplift given to brands with a royal warrant, tourism to landmarks like Buckingham Palace, and the impact of their service as goodwill ambassadors on trade. Last week, Prince Harry, 35, and former actress Meghan, 38, said they would reduce their royal duties and spend more time in North America, while also becoming financially independent. That sparked a crisis in the British monarchy and led to questions about what it will mean for Canada. Any potential economic boost will depend on how Canada's newest immigrants relate to their new home, said Charlie Scarlett-Smith, a marketing director with Brand Finance in Montreal. "If they start really cherishing Canadian brands and cherishing a Canadian identity, then we'll see aspects of those parts of our economy - tourism, etc - start to boost as well," he said. But any broader impact is likely to be negligible, especially given that the couple appear to want out of the limelight, said Doug Porter, chief economist for BMO Capital Markets. "The very fact that part of what's motivating this is to step away from the public eye suggests we can't expect any big boost in merchandising or tourism or that sort of thing. I don't expect it would really move the needle at all on the Canadian economy," he added. The couple, who announced the decision to step back shortly after spending their Christmas holidays in the Canadian province of British Columbia, have trademarked the Sussex Royal brand name. The UK royal family remains generally popular in Canada, a former British colony that retains Queen Elizabeth as its official head of state. A poll by pollster Angus Reid found 69% of 1,154 Canadians surveyed hold Prince Harry in a favourable light, although 45% of respondents said Canada should not continue as a constitutional monarchy indefinitely. Destination BC, the official tourism bureau of British Columbia, estimated that when Prince William and his wife Kate visited in 2016, the print and online coverage of that trip translated into the equivalent of some C$2 million ($1.53 million) worth of advertising in the UK alone. "As they start doing public events, and confirm their plans for their stay in Canada, I'm sure we'll see more spikes in interest which could certainly lead to visitation as BC gets itself gets more attention," said Clare Mason, spokeswoman for Destination BC. (Reporting by Moira Warburton in Toronto and Kelsey Johnson in Ottawa, Editing by Denny Thomas and Rosalba O'Brien) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. New Delhi: The mercy plea of Mukesh Singh, one of the four death row convicts in Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, has reached the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Union Home ministry has recommended to President of India to reject mercy petition filed by Singh. The final status of the mercy plea would be known later in the day. The development comes a day after Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal rejected the mercy plea and sent his recommendations to the Union Home ministry. Earlier, the Delhi government had also dismissed Singhs mercy plea. Meanwhile, Nirbhayas mother Asha Devi has reacted bitterly over the politics in the case. Till now, I never talked about politics, but now I want to say that those people who held protests on streets in 2012, today the same people are only playing with my daughter's death for political gains, Devi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. While the process of the mercy plea is moving at a swift pace, the rapists execution on January 22 is likely to be delayed. On Thursday, Tihar Jail authorities asked the Delhi government to postpone the hanging of four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case, and sought a fresh date for the purpose, according to reports. Earlier, a Delhi court on Thursday commented that it seemed impossible to execute the death warrant on January 22 in view of the pending mercy plea. It directed Tihar jail authorities to file a proper report by Friday about the status of scheduled execution of convicts. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora passed the directions on Thursday after the jail authorities said they have written to the Delhi government on the issue in view of pending remedies. A convict has to be given at least 14 days' notice before his execution after all his legal remedies are exhausted. Meanwhile, all the four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case were shifted on Thursday to Tihar prison complex's jail number three where their hanging is set to take place, a jail official said. The four death row convicts -- Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh, Mukesh Kumar Singh and Pawan Gupta -- were scheduled to be hanged on January 22. However, the Delhi government told the High Court on Wednesday their execution has to be postponed in view of the pendency of a mercy petition by one of them. "We have shifted all the four convicts to jail number three of Tihar, where the execution is set to take place," a senior jail official said. Till now, Vinay Sharma was lodged in jail number four, while Akshay, Mukesh and Pawan were lodged in jail number two of Tihar. Since the discovery of antibiotics[1] in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming, antibiotics have changed the course of the medical industry. Whats even more remarkable about this discovery is that it was accidentally discovered. Thus, the question of how to prevent antibiotic resistance is a obsession to the public. Fleming suddenly found a petri dish in his laboratory contaminated by certain bacteria. He also found out that there was a juice that prevented the growth of these bacteria. He then coined such juice as penicillin, which is considered to be the first-ever antibiotic. However, with the developments of antibiotics over the past several years, its quite a challenge for the entire medical community to find out some types of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotic medications. Antibiotic resistance is a threat to everyone because it can reduce cure rates. And this increases mortality if not addressed rapidly. In this article, we will tackle the new antibiotic resistance treatment, facts about what causes it, and ways to prevent it. Without further ado, lets dive in below. What Is Antibiotic Resistance? From the terms antibiotic and resistance themselves, antibiotic resistance is the resistance developed by bacteria against antibiotic medications. Additionally, microbes[2], such as fungi, viruses, parasites, and bacteria have developed the specific ability to not be affected by the drugs originally designed to eliminate them. One risk of antibiotic resistance is the probability of developing other health complications due to taking more medication. It would also be more difficult to treat and care for patients with chronic diseases because whenever they are subjected to chemotherapy, dialysis, and surgery, antibiotics are used to mitigate the chances of infections and when these antibiotics are no longer effective, these patients would certainly have a harder time. How does it work? What happens when antibiotic resistance occurs? Its important to note that antibiotic resistance happens when antibiotic medicines are no longer effective against certain bacteria. These bacteria can infect humans and animals, which would then cause an infection requiring medication. In this case, antibiotic medicines over time are used. These medicines have compounds that are supposed to combat these bacteria inside the body. However, what happens with antibiotic resistance is that these bacteria are no longer affected by these antibiotic medicines primarily because they have a genetic predisposition or the ability to mutate and survive the effects of the antibiotic. These hardier microbes survive and reproduce. Once infected, patients would spend a long time in hospitals the drugs take longer to work and patients get sicker. When this happens, medical costs would surge tremendously and would cause so much crisis to our society. Worst, mortality rates of infected patients would increase and we would be left with nothing but worry for our future. How do these bacteria develop such an ability? It has something to do with their genes changing over time. Plus, they may also acquire drug-resistant genes from other types of bacteria. What Causes Antibiotic Resistance? There is a myriad of reasons why bacteria develop resistance against antibiotic medicines and here are the reasons: Biological/Natural Causes Mutation As a natural occurrence among microbes, they tend to multiply quickly in a matter of every few hours, which increases the rate of spontaneous mutations. When this happens, they would evolve rapidly which would make them accustomed to certain environmental conditions. This occurrence helps them survive exposures to antimicrobial elements, resulting in antibiotic-resistant infections. Gene Transfer Microbes have the potential to transfer genes to one another, including the drug-resistant genes. In this case, some bacteria may get drug-resistant DNA[3] from other bacteria and may spread it to other ones, resulting in an increased drug-resistance of a group of bacteria. Societal Causes Inappropriate Use This happens when using antibiotics when the illness does not really require an antibiotic medicine. In some cases, theres also a possibility that the doctor would mistakenly prescribe a patient a broad-spectrum antimicrobial drug[4] when a much more specific antibiotic would be so much better for the illness. Broad-spectrum antibiotics kill off the normal microbiome which can increase the chance of fungal infections and other problems within the gastrointestinal tract. Hospital Environment Close contact among the sick patients inside the hospital can make a fertile environment for the germs. Agricultural Use There is still ongoing research about this, but experts have said that the use of antibiotics in agriculture[5] may promote drug-resistant infections. How Does Antibiotic Resistance Develop? The crisis we are facing about antibiotic-resistance in the medical scene has been around for several decades since the first group of patients took these antibiotics. The research conducted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information[6]about the origins and evolution of antibiotic resistance showed that there are reasons why bacteria develop resistance against antibiotic medicines. It could be bacterial gene mutation due to the underuse, overuse, or inappropriate use of antibiotics. This phenomenon might relate to to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics or antimicrobial medicine by the people, including the insufficiency of new medication development. Only take antibiotics prescribed by a licensed doctor and health care provider for the infection. Plus, more people are traveling, hence bacteria can transmit from one place to another, causing infections and antibiotic-resistance infections. How To Prevent Antibiotic Resistance The prevention of antibiotic resistance is a collaborative effort of everyone, not just the patients or the healthcare workers. Here are the ways on how to prevent antibiotic resistance. For individuals Regular hand-washing . To prevent illness and the spread of infectious diseases, wash your hands regularly to kill germs. . To prevent illness and the spread of infectious diseases, wash your hands regularly to kill germs. Knowing the symptoms . It would help a lot if youre vigilant in spotting the early signs or symptoms of infectious diseases . It would help a lot if youre vigilant in spotting the early signs or symptoms of infectious diseases Preparing food safely. In order to avoid bacterial infection and contamination of your food, always practice proper food preparation [7] . In order to avoid bacterial infection and contamination of your food, always practice proper food preparation . Getting vaccination . Vaccination is a must to prevent illnesses. . Vaccination is a must to prevent illnesses. Avoiding leftover antibiotics . You can use antibiotics only when it is prescribed and administered by a healthcare professional. Do not use antibiotics prescribed for someone else. In addition, only take antibiotics prescribed by a licensed doctor and health care provider for the infection treatment. . You can use antibiotics only when it is prescribed and administered by a healthcare professional. Do not use antibiotics prescribed for someone else. In addition, only take antibiotics prescribed by a licensed doctor and health care provider for the infection treatment. Learning the appropriate use of antibiotics. Remember, not all infections require the use of antibiotics. Therefore, if your doctor does not prescribe it, dont insist. Also, make sure that you are getting the appropriate dosage at the appropriate amount of time. Not doing this may result in antibiotic-resistant infections. Always take all of your antibiotics and dont stop once you start to feel better. Remember, not all infections require the use of antibiotics. Therefore, if your doctor does not prescribe it, dont insist. Also, make sure that you are getting the appropriate dosage at the appropriate amount of time. Not doing this may result in antibiotic-resistant infections. Always take all of your antibiotics and dont stop once you start to feel better. Asking questions. Dont hesitate to ask. You may talk to your doctor about the antibiotics medicines, as well as the potential adverse effects it may bring. For Healthcare Professionals Prescribing antibiotics carefully Make sure to be aware of the trends and changes in antibiotic use. You must also be updated about the recommended types of antibiotics[8] and the recommended dosage and practices. Not doing this may result in antibiotic-resistant infections. Inform the patients Never leave your patients uninformed during a consultation. Inform them of the potential side effects youre prescribing. Dont use antibiotics prescribed for someone else. More so, let them know about the risks of antibiotic misuse and possible antibiotic resistance. Be aware of the symptoms There are no symptoms of antibiotic resistance, only that a patient is not getting well even after a standard antibiotic has been given. What your doctor can do is to extract a sample of the infected tissue on your body and have it tested to see what antibiotic is most effective against it. Youll know that an antibiotic drug is working on your body if your illness symptoms have subsided. Otherwise, youre most likely having antibiotic resistance. Probiotic Drink Could Offer New Way To fight Against Antibiotic Resistance As antibiotic resistance becomes a huge concern to public health, a group of scientists at the University of Birmingham is now pursuing funding for research for a drink that has the potential to work against many resistant bacteria. Their research has the goal of developing and patenting a probiotic drink with a key genetic factor that can fix the genetic basis of resistance against antibiotics or antimicrobial drugs for germs including, E. Coli, Salmonella, and Pneumoniae Klebsiella. It operates within bacterial cells by attacking small molecules of DNA, called plasmids. Such molecules also contain genes that are immune to antibiotics, which can be used by germs. Propagating between bacteria and taking resistance genes with them the plasmids replicate freely. The team was able to replace the resistance genes present in the bacteria by stopping the target plasmids from replicating, essentially re-sensitizing it to antibiotics or antimicrobial drugs. The drink contains bacteria carrying a new form of a plasmid, which the researchers call pCURE plasmids (in a way similar to drinks like Yakult). These function in two ways: preventing the replication of resistance plasmids and also blocking a so-called addiction mechanism used by the plasmids to destroy any bacteria that lose them. The resistance plasmid in this method brings a stable toxin into the host cell and an unstable antidote. The antidote breaks down when the plasmid goes missing from the cell, allowing the harmful toxin to invade its host. The antidote is also borne by pCURE plasmids, ensuring that the cells that lose the plasmid resistance survive and take over the gut. This probiotic drink is similar to a famous drink Yakult which could become a potential new tool in the war over antibiotic-resistant infections. Their research went online in PLOS One, a journal. Conclusion Antibiotic-resistance is a constant worry in the field of medicine as it can break the hopes of public health for the treatment of microbial infections. The only answer to the question of how to prevent antibiotic resistance for us is everyone should pay attention to protocols the medical entities have set in place. Not doing this may result in antibiotic-resistant infections. Actions preventing its occurrence are necessary by industry and among individuals since its also a matter of behavioral change. Therefore, lets approach it with the right information and vigilance. Frequently Asked Questions What Causes Antibiotic Resistant? Biological, mutation, and gene transfer. How to prevent you from being antibiotic-resistant? Regular hand-washing, knowing the symptoms, preparing food safely, getting vaccinated, avoiding the use of leftover antibiotics, and learning the appropriate use of antibiotics. How Does Antibiotic Resistance Develop? The said phenomenon has always been linked to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, which leads to gene changes and because of the insufficiency of new drug development. What is Resistance to Antibiotics[9]? According to the Centers for disease control and prevention, resistance to antibiotics is when antibiotics become ineffective to the antibiotics or antimicrobial drugs that will cause drug-resistant infections. These problems become a big concern for public health. That means that they do not destroy the germs and continue to grow. It doesnt mean that our body is antibiotic-resistant. It is usually due to improper antibiotic use. So just take medicine prescribed by a licensed doctor. Some of the documents that Parnas released suggested that Yovanovitch may have been under threat. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the State Department will investigate whether former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was in any danger while she was in Ukraine. Pompeo made the statement on January 17, just days after documents were released indicating that Yovanovitch, who was recalled in May 2019, may have been under surveillance in Kyiv, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). The documents indicated that Lev Parnas, a Ukraine-born U.S. citizen who has been indicted on campaign-finance charges, helped U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, try to find incriminating material against former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. Read alsoUkraine's Interior Ministry probing into possible illegal surveillance of ex-U.S. envoy Yovanovitch The documents also show Connecticut Republican congressional candidate Robert Hyde disparaging Yovanovitch in messages to Parnas and giving him updates on her location and mobile-phone use, raising concerns about possible surveillance. Trump is now facing an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate on charges of illegally withholding aid to Ukraine to pressure Kyiv to investigate the Bidens and of obstructing the congressional investigation into the Ukraine matter. Some of the documents that Parnas released suggested that Yovanovitch may have been under threat. "We will do everything we need to do to evaluate whether there was something that took place," Pompeo said during a radio interview. "I suspect that much of what has been reported will ultimately prove wrong, but our obligation my obligation as secretary of state is to make sure that we evaluate, investigate. Any time there is someone who posits that there may have been a risk to one of our officers, we'll obviously do that." Pompeo said he did not know and had never met Parnas. Yovanovitch was abruptly recalled last spring after being told by the State Department that she was in unspecified danger, according to testimony she gave during the U.S. House investigation into the matter in November. Her recall came after a months-long effort by Trump's allies to have Yovanovitch, who was seen as blocking a possible Biden investigation, removed. On January 16, officials in Ukraine announced they would launch a criminal investigation into the information that Yovanovitch may have been under surveillance. And like leaders before him, Morrison is attempting to deal with the fallout, while trying to balance the party's "broad church" of moderates and conservatives, believers and deniers, and the voters from inner-city Higgins to regional Herbert. But Liberal MPs in the cities and the bush are now reporting their offices have been bombarded with correspondence with complaints of government inaction during the past month. Many believe the expectation of climate action is now a concern of Morrison's own "quiet Australians". Then-treasurer Scott Morrison with a lump of coal in Parliament in February 2017. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen "These are not the usual mass produced template emails from activists," one MP remarked. "These are from mainstream mums who are anxious about the smoke and fearful about their kids' futures." So like commentators and lobby groups, MPs are watching their Prime Minister's reaction as he deals with the biggest crisis since coming to power. They, like the commentariat, are second-guessing every public comment and attempting to read between the lines. Will this be a watershed moment for climate policy? Or just a PR exercise? In a series of interviews since the devastation, Morrison has stressed there is "no dispute" climate change was causing "longer, hotter, drier, summer seasons". And at every opportunity he has been at pains to stress the government would "meet and beat" its Paris target of reducing emissions by 26-28 per cent compared with 2005 levels by 2030. "We want to reduce emissions and do the best job we possibly can and get better and better and better at it. I want to do that with a balanced policy which recognises Australia's broader national economic interests and social interest," he told the ABC's David Speers on Sunday. "In the years ahead we are going to continue to evolve our policy in this area to reduce emissions even further and we're going to do it without a carbon tax, without putting up electricity prices, and without shutting down traditional industries upon which regional Australians depend for their very livelihood." But while Morrison talks up his intention to act on climate change and support new renewable technologies, colleagues wonder whether his rhetoric is being seen as empty while a handful of backbenchers continue to mouth their objections or publicly question the science of climate change. The conundrum facing Morrison and his cabinet was on show through the pages of the national papers this week. On Wednesday, Science Minister Karen Andrews - amid weeks of freelancing from Coalition climate contrarians - felt the need to declare the science on climate change was settled. "Let's not keep having debates about climate change," the former engineer said. Loading "Let's accept that the climate has changed, the climate is changing and we need to look at what we're going to do about that." The comment was aimed, in part, at NSW Liberal MP Craig Kelly, who in the days following the New Year's bushfire devastation thought it was be a good idea to appear on a high-rating British television show arguing climate change wasn't real. In a show of support for Andrews, the following day six Liberals - Trent Zimmerman, Tim Wilson, Dave Sharma, Hollie Hughes, Andrew Bragg and Fiona Martin backed her up in the pages of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. Bragg, who at 35 represents the Gen Y voter group, took to his Instagram with a simple message: "Climate change is not a belief. It is based on a science. We have no time for conspiracy theories when there is so much to be done." Hughes backed her colleague having lived much of her life near Moree, a drought-ridden town in western NSW. "Karen is correct when she says every second spent discussing whether the climate is changing is wasted time it's time that would be much better spent on mitigation and adaption strategy development," she said. Loading But on the same day an unnamed cabinet minister fired a warning shot on the front page of The Australian urging Morrison to maintain Coalition unity on climate and emissions targets. "If we go back to talking about climate or targets or anything, the only climate that will change will be the climate in the party room. It'll blow the place up," the senior MP said. The comments were backed up by Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, who had already nailed his colours to the mast on Christmas Eve when he said Australians would be "fools" who'd "get nailed" unless they acknowledge there's a "higher authority" that needs to be respected. "Single crusades in Australia will have absolutely zero effect on the climate or future bushfires. It'll only have an effect on the economy of Australia," Joyce said in the same front-page article. This is the political reality Morrison, like Malcolm Turnbull before him, faces. One unnamed quote or rogue interview from a backbencher is enough to distract, discredit and derail any climate policy advancement. Loading As one cabinet minister told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald: "What can he possibly do? Increase the emissions targets? The Right won't let him do that and neither will the Nats. No way. And despite the election win, I don't think he has the authority to do that." Last month the Australian Election Study, produced by the Australian National University, found the proportion of voters nominating global warming and the environment as their top issue was at an all-time high. While 93 per cent of Labor voters thought the issue to be important, two-thirds of Coalition voters considered the issue to be either quite important or very important. Inner-city MPs in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane have been awake to this for some time. They observed the swings against them in May and worry what another year of bushfires will do to their election hopes. Loading Treasurer Josh Frydenberg makes it known he drives an electric car in his seat of Kooyong, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, for a reason. South Australian senator Simon Birmingham was also keen to point out it was in important issue to him in his Alfred Deakin Institute Oration last September. "It would be a mistake for anyone to try to claim an ideological mandate from this year's federal election beyond the majority-building commitments our parties made in areas of economic and national security," he said. "In areas like protection from religious discrimination or much-needed commitments to emissions reduction, we must govern from the sensible centre, taking actions that are responsible and meaningful but in ways that are respectful to the diverse constituencies we represent." Loading It is why in the past two weeks Morrison and his cabinet ministers have rushed to spruik investment in renewables, emerging technologies such as hydrogen, carbon capture use and storage, biofuels, lithium production and waste-to-energy. Some have taken heart from Morrison's indication the government could stop claiming Kyoto carry-over credits to meet its 26-28 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030, "if we are in a position where we don't need them". But others believe the time for talk is now over. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 03:12:58|Editor: zyl Video Player Close U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) shakes hands with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during their meeting in Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 17, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi here on Friday, discussing Afghanistan and bilateral ties, according to a statement released by the U.S. State Department. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua) WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi here on Friday, discussing Afghanistan and bilateral ties, according to a statement released by the U.S. State Department. The two sides talked about a range of issues, including Iran, U.S.-Pakistan cooperation on the Afghan peace process and building bilateral economic ties, the statement said. Qureshi embarked on a three-day visit to the United States on Wednesday for talks on the tension in the Middle East that poses danger to regional security. The visit also came as the Taliban and U.S. negotiators were reportedly finalizing a peace deal that could end the over 18-year war. The world's shortest man who could walk, as verified by Guinness World Records, died Friday at a hospital in Nepal, his family said. Khagendra Thapa Magar, who measured 67.08 centimetres (2 feet 2.41 inches), died of pneumonia at a hospital in Pokhara, 200 kilometres from Kathmandu, where he lived with his parents. "He has been in and out of hospital because of pneumonia. But this time his heart was also affected. He passed away today," Mahesh Thapa Magar, his brother, told AFP. Magar was first declared the world's shortest man in 2010 after his 18th birthday, photographed holding a certificate only a bit smaller than him. However he eventually lost the title after Nepal's Chandra Bahadur Dangi, who measured 54.6 centimetres, was discovered and named the world's shortest mobile man. Magar regained the title after Dangi's death in 2015. "He was so tiny when he was born that he could fit in the palm of your hand, and it was very hard to bathe him because he was so small," said his father, Roop Bahadur, according to Guinness World Records. As the world's shortest man the 27-year-old travelled to more than a dozen countries and made television appearances in Europe and the United States. "We're terribly sad to hear the news from Nepal that Khagendra is no longer with us," said Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records editor-in-chief. "Life can be challenging when you weigh just 6 kilograms and you don't fit into a world built for the average person. But Khagendra certainly didn't let his small size stop him from getting the most out of life" he said. Magar became an official face of Nepal's tourism campaign, which featured him as the smallest man in a country that is home to the world's highest peak, Mount Everest. During his stint he met other short people around the world, including the shortest woman, Jyoti Amge, from India. In a video released by Guinness World Records, Magar is seen playing a guitar with his brother, riding a bike and sitting at his family's shop. The world's shortest non-mobile man remains Junrey Balawing of the Philippines, who measures only 59.93 centimetres but is unable to walk or stand unaided, according to Guinness World Records. The record for shortest living mobile man is now retained by Edward "Nino" Hernandez of Colombia, a reggaeton DJ who stands 70.21 centimeters tall, Guinness said. New Delhi: Delhi has recorded a total of 34.5 mm of rains in the month of January which is the highest in the past ten years. The Safdarjung Observatory on Thursday recorded 17.7 mm of rainfall in the area. The national capital has also surpassed its monthly average which stands at 19.1 mm reported the Skymet weather forecast. On Friday morning, the national capital witnessed fog and the overall air quality was recorded under 'poor' category, as light showers lashed various parts of Delhi and adjoining areas. According to the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR), the overall air quality of Delhi was recorded at 266 with PM10 at 176 and PM 2.5 at 110. The minimum temperature was recorded at 9.5 degrees Celsius. The mercury level is also likely to dip on January 18 which will again bring back cold wave condition in Delhi and nearby regions. The temperature recorded on Friday was at 11-degree celsius which is likely to drop at six-degree Celsius on January 18. Live TV Railway services also remained affected due to the foggy weather in which nearly 19 Delhi bound trains were delayed on Friday. This situation is because of the Western disturbance which has hit several parts of India. As per India Meteorological Department (IMD) fresh Western Disturbance is likely to affect the Western Himalayan Region and plains of northwest India from tonight and another one from January 20. The western disturbance has also affected isolated pockets of Punjab and Odisha because of which the area was seen covered by a thick blanket of fog. Hai Phong Port. Vietnam is developing a seaport master plan for the 2021-30 period.- Photo enternews.vn Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung early this week approved the development of the seaport master plan, which is part of efforts to implement the strategy for the sustainable development of Vietnams marine economy to 2030. The plan would include solutions to improve the efficiency of investment in developing seaports in Vietnam and ensure synchronous development between seaports and other transport infrastructure. The seaport master plan must also help improve regional linkage to enhance investment efficiency and reduce logistics costs, Dung asked. He also asked the plan to be made based on the current natural condition, resources and existing seaports, as well as forecast transportation demand with regard to climate change. The impacts of science and technology on seaport development must also be taken into account. Most importantly, seaport development planning must be based on the evaluation of the connectivity of seaports throughout the country, with seaports in other countries, with other transport infrastructure (road, railway, airport and in-land waterway system), with urban areas, economic zones, tourism zones, industrial zones and logistics centre. Ensuring connectivity was of critical importance, Dung stressed. Dung asked that the seaport development must take environmental protection into account. Focus must be placed on developing seaports which played important roles in promoting the countrys socio-economic development. Nguyen Van Binh, Head of the Party Central Committee's Economic Commission, recently said that Vietnam did not need too many seaports. Instead, it was necessary to optimise the seaport system efficiency and improve connectivity with the transport system, he said. Logistics costs in Vietnam accounted for nearly 21 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product, according to statistics by the World Bank in early 2019. According to the Vietnam Marine Administration, Vietnam now has 44 seaports. The risk of oil supply disruptions from around the world has diminished, and rising non-OPEC production provides a solid base from which to react to any escalation in geopolitical tension. In its January Oil Market Report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that there is plenty of oil sloshing around, despite the U.S. and Iran nearly going to war. We cannot know how the geopolitical situation will play out over time, but for now the risk of a major threat to oil supplies appears to have receded, the IEA said. As was the case following the attacks on Saudi Arabia in September, once the initial fears of a sustained supply shock subsided, the Brent price rapidly gave up its $4/bbl spike. Oil inventories held in OECD countries is 9 million barrels above the five-year average, and there are also plenty of strategic stockpiles to call upon in the event of an outage, the agency said. Still, while geopolitical risk has faded, it has not gone away entirely. The Trump administration may have refrained from all-out war against Iran, but the assassination of General Soleimani took the confrontation to new heights. While Trumps speech earlier this month was widely interpreted as one of de-escalation, he also prefaced his comments by saying Iran would never have a nuclear weapon. But, sanctions, maximum pressure, and the assassination of one of its top leaders will obviously provoke a response. With little left to lose, Tehran is backing out of most of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear agreement, a deal that the U.S. already exited nearly two years ago. Related: The U.S. Natural Gas Boom Is On Its Last Legs All of which is to say the countries are seemingly locked on a collision course. The world breathed a sigh of relief when the two countries backed away from the brink, but there are decent odds that the conflict flares up again in the not-so-distant future. There are few pathways for actual de-escalation, absent an overhaul of U.S. policy. At the same time, Iran has already lost much of its oil supply due to sanctions. So, the additional supply risk is concentrated in Iraq, where the U.S. and Iran conflict is actually playing out. Recent events have shown that Iraq is a potentially vulnerable supplier, just as its strategic importance has grown, the IEA said. The agency noted that Iraqi oil exports have doubled since 2010, from 2 million barrels per day (mb/d) to 4 mb/d. China and India each import roughly 1 mb/d of supply from Iraq. Iraqs rising capacity has been very welcome as sanctions have reduced Irans exports to only 0.3 mb/d and Venezuelas production has collapsed, the IEA wrote. Left unsaid was that those outages were both the result of U.S. sanctions. Related: Iran Regime Change Could Push To $40 Oil Putting aside the geopolitical risk, the agency said that prices will likely remain subdued this year because non-OPEC supply continues to grow faster than demand. Non-OPEC countries will add 2.1 mb/d this year, while demand will rise by 1.2 mb/d. Unlike in previous years, U.S. shale wont dominate the supply growth picture, at least not entirely. The sector will likely see a marked slowdown, accounting for 52 percent of non-OPEC supply growth, down from an 84 percent average between 2017 and 2019. Instead, Norway, Brazil, Canada, Australia and Guyana will add new barrels. The bottom line is that OPEC+ still faces a predicament. Even if they adhere strictly to the cuts, there is still likely to be a strong build in inventories during the first half of 2020, the IEA said. OPEC crude production would fall to 29.3 mb/d in January if there were to be full compliance and steady output from Libya, Iran and Venezuela. That is still 700 kb/d above the 1Q20 call on OPEC crude and 900 kb/d above the 2Q20 call. In other words, unless OPEC+ cuts further, the oil market faces persistent oversupply in the first half of this year. By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: (@ChaudhryMAli88) Sputnik and RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan is proud of praise that the Ruptly video agency, which is a project of the RT broadcaster, received from the mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for its unbiased coverage of her son's case MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) Sputnik and RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan is proud of praise that the Ruptly video agency, which is a project of the RT broadcaster, received from the mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for its unbiased coverage of her son's case. "Thank you Barnaby [Nerberka, Ruptly's UK field producer] & @Ruptly for always being there to report fairly on my son," Christine Assange said on Twitter on Tuesday, replying to Nerberka's post with Ruptly's exclusive video showing Julian Assange being transported from Westminster Magistrates Court following a hearing on his possible extradition to the United States. "Julian Assange's mom is thanking the guys from our video agency," Simonyan wrote on Telegram, attaching a screenshot of that reply. Assange, who was initially accused of sexual harassment and rape in Sweden in 2010, was in hiding at the Ecuadorian embassy in London from 2012 to 2019. In April, UK police entered the embassy to arrest the WikiLeaks founder, and he was eventually sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail conditions. Ruptly was the only media outlet that filmed the moment of Assange's arrest in April, while no representatives of any other media were present near the embassy at the moment. In May, the US Department of Justice indicted Assange on 17 additional charges under the Espionage Age and demanded his extradition. If convicted of these charges, the WikiLeaks founder faces up to 175 years in prison. Then-UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid approved the extradition request, stating that he did not believe Assange would face death or torture if extradited. The events have prompted some airlines to cancel flights to and from Iran. Read more: Persian Gulf violence prompts surge in shipping insurance costs Violent demonstrations could occur in response to these events. The security situation could deteriorate with little to no warning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said in a statement. New Zealanders in the Middle East region are advised to avoid any demonstrations, marches, processions, and keep away from military sites. Remain vigilant and exercise a high degree of personal security awareness at all times. MFAT also said that New Zealanders in the Middle East region requiring consular assistance should contact the New Zealand Embassy accredited to the country that they are travelling in. Tehran [Iran], Jan 18 (ANI): In a rare public sermon on Friday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei hit out at Germany, France and the UK for being "errand boys of the US" who were trustworthy and also mocked US officials as "clowns". "Following the US exit from the JCPOA, the three governments started to speak nonsense but I said from the beginning that they are not trustworthy, as they will do nothing and will be at the US service," news agency IRNA quoted him addressing a gathering of worshippers at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla (prayer ground) here. The highest spiritual and political authority in Iran noted that 'today after a lapse of one year it was clear that they are the US errand boys', reported the news agency. Khamenei stated that "the three contemptuous European governments expect to bring the Iranian nation to its knees but they are too small to bring the Iranian nation to its knees". Their negotiations are also intertwined with deception, as the same persons sitting on the negotiating table are the same terrorists operating in Baghdad Airport; they are the same but their clothes are changed, he said. The remarks come days after Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq. Iran retaliated with strikes on US targets. IRNA reported that on the assassination of the Soleimani, Ayatollah Khamenei went on to stress that "the very incident of this martyrdom itself was one of the cases where the will of the Almighty is revealed because the infamous US government caused a scandal for itself; they killed a person who was the strongest and most powerful commander leading the combat against terrorism. "Martyr Soleimani was in the true sense of the word the most mighty anti-terrorism commander in the region who became well known for that," Khamenei said. Earlier in 2012 during the Arab Spring uprisings in the region Iran's Supreme Leader had delivered a sermon and similarly in the year 2009 he had addressed people during widespread protests in Iran after disputed presidential elections. (ANI) Reputation Advisory The Mavericks India, has won the national PR mandate of the Italian coffee brand, Lavazza, in India. With a history of over 120 years, Lavazza is known for its strong brand values and sustainability projects globally. The company has had its presence in India since 2007 with the acquisition of Fresh & Honest Cafe Limited. Headquartered in Chennai, India, Lavazza India has a presence in the retail branded coffee, cafe products as well as in the coffee machines segment and has become a leading player in the country. On its collaboration with The Mavericks, Rachna Anbumani, Vice-President, Lavazza India said, We are extremely delighted to bring a young agency such as The Mavericks on board to manage the brands reputation in India. The creative ideas theyve been able to bring to the table is going to help us target our B2B and B2C audiences differently. We believe that PR is one of the most important tools in building reputation for Brand Lavazza and we are delighted to have partnered with the best minds in the industry. We are looking forward to a great partnership with The Mavericks and are eager to kickstart some unique campaigns that will help communicate our purpose as a brand, she added. On winning the Lavazza mandate, Chetan Mahajan, Founder & CEO, The Mavericks said, This win is testimony to the kind of campaigns weve been able to build for some of our clients in the last 18 months, since our inception in May 2018. We align well with what Lavazza stands for as a brand; as said by Emilio Lavazza - It's about doing business with your heart, and we couldnt agree more. Were absolutely thrilled at the opportunity we have at hand, to elevate coffee, not just as a beverage, but as an experience. New Delhi: Fuel Rates Today: The prices of petrol and diesel prices witnessed a downward trend for the second consecutive day on Friday, January 17. The rates of petrol and diesel came down by up to 16 paise across major cities of the country. According to the Indian Oil website, the petrol rates are Rs 75.41 per litre in Delhi, Rs 81.00 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 78.00 per litre in Kolkata, and Rs 78.34 per litre in Chennai, respectively. On the other hand, the diesel prices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai remained at Rs 68.77, Rs 72.11, Rs 71.13, and Rs 72.67 per litre, respectively. In Noida, petrol is retailing at Rs 76.57 a litre, while diesel price is Rs 69.04 a litre. The price of petrol in Gurugram is Rs 74.77 a litre while diesel was selling at Rs 67.64 a litre. 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. 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. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The Himachal Pradesh police on Friday busted a gang of cattle smugglers with the arrest of two of its members in Baddi town of Solan district, police said. The accused Nasim and his brother Aajam of Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district were arrested in connection with stealing four buffaloes from Baddi in Solan district, they said. The accused duo used to sell cows and buffaloes in butcher houses or local mandis in and around Saharanpur after stealing them from different areas, Baddi Superintendent of Police Rohit Malpani said. The accused have been arrested in connection with the FIR registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at Baddi police station on Wednesday, the SP added. The pick-up truck used in the smuggling has also been recovered, Malpani said, adding that more arrests were expected to follow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Another snowstorm has closed a portion of two major highways in the Northwestern U.S., and a potentially high-impact winter storm will arrive in the Midwest tonight. Freight movement delays and travel trouble for truckers will continue in these regions over the coming days. Midwest Mayhem A high-impact winter storm will likely produce heavy snowfall, icy roads and blustery winds across portions of the Plains, Midwest/Great Lakes and New England. FreightWaves first reported on this potential storm a couple days ago, and the forecast hasn't changed much since then. SONAR Critical Events on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, 10 a.m. EST. Potential high-impact winter storm. The storm will crank up later today and tonight in the Plains, taking an east-northeast path into the Midwest-Great Lakes areas Friday and Saturday, followed by New England Saturday night and Sunday. Parts of southern Canada will also be hit hard by snow and wind. Snow accumulations from this storm will range from 4 to 8 inches in many areas, with pockets of 10 to 12 inches. Some of the worst freezing rain may occur along the I-70 corridor from eastern Kansas to Missouri, where ice buildup of one-quarter to one-third of an inch is possible. There may be a few localized spots with one-half of an inch of ice. Winds will also be an issue with sustained speeds of 20 to 30 mph, gusting to 40 mph. This will create low-end blizzard conditions that would not only slow down or stop trucks, trains and planes carrying freight, but the wind (and ice) could knock down tree limbs and utility lines, resulting in roadblocks and power outages. Major interstates within the risk zone, besides I-70, include I-35, I-75, I-81, I-87 and I-90. The largest cities that will see the biggest impacts are Topeka, Kansas; St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Des Moines, Iowa; Minneapolis; Milwaukee; Detroit; Cleveland; New York City and Buffalo, New York; Boston; and Toronto and Ottawa, Canada. Story continues Besides major delays holding up drivers who can't avoid the storm, it could disrupt other modes of freight transportation. Carriers, shippers and brokers can use FreightWaves Critical Events to keep track of assets such as airports, rails, oil/petroleum facilities and ports in the target zone of this or any high-impact/long-term weather situation. As shown on the FreightWaves Critical Events maps in this article, the assets are color coded based on the anticipated level of disruption. Weather forecast details are also available. Impact On Freight The storm will also affect Madison, Wisconsin, a freight market with a tight capacity of reefers climate-controlled trailers used to haul produce and other temperature-sensitive cargo like cheese. The demand for reefers is fairly high right now due to the need to haul Wisconsin's high output of dairy products. The latest FreightWaves SONAR data, updated this morning, show reefer outbound tender rejections (ROTRI.MSN) in Madison at 17.97%, 41 basis points higher than the national average (ROTRI.USA). The outbound tender rejection index (OTRI) is a measure of how many electronically offered loads from shippers are being turned down by carriers. This could happen for a number of reasons. If OTRI is rising, this means carriers are seeing more options and potentially higher rates available on the spot market. SONAR: ROTV.MSN, ROTRI.MSN, CHEESE.USA, ROALOHA.MSN, ROTLT.MSN Reefer tender lead times in Madison (ROTLT.MSN) are the fifth highest in the country, currently at 4.4 days. Lead time is the number of days between the acceptance of a load and when the load is picked up. The average length of haul for reefers (ROALOHA.MSN) is 667 miles, which means the best way for shippers to keep transportation costs down is to turn trucks quickly on their docks to ensure their regular carriers are unloading and reloading every day. Keep lead times extended as freezing temps will also increase demand for reefers from dry freight shippers. Northwest Nuisance Once again heavy snowfall and gusty winds are slamming the Cascades of southern Washington, Oregon and northern California. The storm began Wednesday and resulted in accidents that shut down I-90 in Washington during the afternoon, in both directions, between North Bend and Ellensburg a stretch of about 70 miles that may still be closed. This is according to a report from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). SONAR Critical Events and radar on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, 10 a.m. EST. Ongoing Northwest snowstorm threat. A 60-mile stretch of US-2 remains closed between Skykomish and the Stevens Pass summit (milepost 64), but other sections of the highway have reopened, at least temporarily. The Oregon DOT has reported that I-84 in the eastern part of the state is back open after the agency shut it down due to blowing snow and whiteout conditions. Earlier today, these whiteout conditions forced closure of I-84 in eastern Oregon. Sometimes, there's just not a lot you can do about Mother Nature. pic.twitter.com/EHkyGKNGpJ OregonDOT (@OregonDOT) January 15, 2020 As of this morning, no major problems have been reported on I-5 and I-84 in the Cascades, but conditions will remain hazardous all day and truckers will have to chain up. Freezing rain, along with snow totals of 4 to 10 inches are possible along I-84 in Oregon in places such as Hood River, Multnomah Falls and Cascade Locks. In California, 8 to 15 inches of snowfall could pile up along the I-5 corridor from just south of Weed to Mount Shasta. Some of the tallest peaks in southern Oregon and northern California could see up to 24 inches. Check chain laws here for the latest updates on winter driving. Late today and tonight, snow will spread into the Sierra Nevada, fading by early tomorrow. This could cause significant delays on I-80 and US-50 between eastern California and the Reno-Lake Tahoe area, including Donner Pass and Echo Summit. By the time it's over, 5 to 10 inches of snow will accumulate in the Mammoth Lakes areas, with 10 to 20 inches around South Lake Tahoe and Truckee and up to 24 inches on the Sierra crest. Watch out for blizzard conditions and low to no visibility at times. Winds will be howling, with gusts reaching 55 mph up to 100 mph on the highest ridgetops. More information on SONAR is available here. Have a great day, and be careful out there! FreightWaves Market Expert Dean Croke contributed to this article. Image Sourced from Pixabay 0 See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Absentee ballots that came in after the 2016 election in Philadelphia. Read more People holding their breath to see how Pennsylvania votes in the 2020 presidential election might not want to wait up too late on election night. While the unofficial and more immediately available results have accounted for the vast majority of votes cast in years past, a new law means a significant share of ballots might not be tallied until after Election Day, according to county elections officials. Races with razor-thin margins may be too close to call for days. Its an unintended consequence of changes meant to make voting more flexible and accessible, including by making absentee ballots available to everyone. Many of those mail-in ballots wont be counted on election night even in counties that used to include them in their initial results. None of this changes the official, certified results that already come in long after the world knows who won. But being able to call a race in the hours after polls close has become an expectation for the public, with news organizations building sophisticated models for projecting winners based on unofficial results as they come in. And Pennsylvania is a critical swing state in presidential elections. Donald Trump won the state in 2016 with just 44,292 more votes than Hillary Clinton, less than 1% of the more than 6.1 million votes cast. Along with similarly narrow victories in Michigan and Wisconsin, Pennsylvania was key in elevating Trump to the White House and is again expected to be close. READ MORE: Pennsylvania is critical in 2020. Heres how Trump could win or lose it. No county wants to be the reason we dont know the leader of the free world on election night, said Lee Soltysiak, Montgomery Countys chief operating officer and clerk of its election board. And thats the position, depending on the margin, were all likely to be in. In addition to many more absentee ballots likely than in the past, the new election law changes how they are processed. The election night numbers are going to be minus what we anticipate will be a fairly sizable number of ballots that have not yet been counted and will be counted later that week, said Randall O. Wenger, the chief clerk of the elections board in Lancaster County. Absentee ballots there used to be counted on election night, but now that wont happen until the day after. Your universe of uncounted ballots just blew up big time on election night, said Forrest Lehman, elections director for Lycoming County, in central Pennsylvania. Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvanias secretary of the commonwealth, whose Department of State oversees elections, pushed back on the idea that county election officials wont be able to count absentee ballots right away. Counties need to adjust their staffing, purchase new equipment, and change some of their current procedures, she said, and then theyll have everything ready to go so literally when the clock ticks 8, they can start the canvass. Theres a period of time when theres not a lot going on for elections officials, Boockvar said, after polls close and before the first results start coming in from polling places. There are lots of good procedures that have been developed over time in other places, Boockvar said. We are going to be sharing those. And I think as long as the counties plan for that extra staffing at 8 p.m. on Election Day, its going to be fine. But that would further strain county resources, officials said, as they are already struggling to implement other changes in the law, roll out new voting machines, and accommodate expected high turnout. And after a version of this story was published online, local officials pushed back on Boockvars comments, describing them as irresponsible in setting public expectations. Theres no possible way we would ever be able to do it on election night," said Sara May-Silfee, elections director for Monroe County, in northeast Pennsylvania. "I dont even know why she thinks we would be able to do that. Obviously, shes never worked in an election office on election night. Florence Kellett, elections director for Wyoming County, in northeast Pennsylvania, said: "They can take their other states do it all they want, procedures procedure. Im not changing it. ... I want a Porsche, I dont see that happening, either. READ MORE: Pa.s election system is on the verge of the largest changes in decades in time for the 2020 election Philadelphia, the largest county in the state, will continue to hold off counting absentee ballots until after Election Day. The second-largest county, Allegheny, counted absentee ballots on election night in the past but might not be able to in the future. Officials in Bucks County, a key suburban Philadelphia battleground, dont expect to start counting absentee ballots that night. Elections director Tom Freitag told county commissioners at a meeting this week that his office likely wouldnt be done counting until a few days later. Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, a former state lawmaker who voted in favor of the new election measures last year, asked Freitag what that could mean in November. So if theres an election thats somewhat close, its really going to be up in the air until two, three days later, DiGirolamo said. Yes, probably, Freitag responded. Westmoreland County, which used to count absentee ballots on election night, likely wont do so anymore, either, elections director Beth Lechman said. Chester County also used to count them on election night, and officials there arent sure whether they will again. Northampton County does plan to count them on election night. We have no way of counting our mail-in/absentee ballots on election night, said Jeff Greenburg, elections director for Mercer County, in Western Pennsylvania. We will begin working on our absentees the following morning. All this means that its highly likely many, if not most, of the states absentee ballots will be missing from election night results, in counties both large and small, Democratic and Republican. In the past, restrictions on absentee ballots meant only about 5% of votes were cast absentee. Now, any Pennsylvania voter can request a mail-in ballot without providing a justification. Thats generally good news for voters, elections officials said, but it significantly changes the election night calculus if suddenly three or four times as many absentee ballots are being cast. While counties used to distribute absentee ballots to polling places, allowing them to be counted by poll workers on election night, the new law requires them to be counted by county officials in one central location. Even for a small county, that could mean thousands of votes being counted in one spot instead of being processed in small batches in multiple locations at the same time. Lehigh County officials also dont expect to start immediately counting absentee ballots. I dont know if I want to open that can of worms on election night, just because of how crazy it is, said Timothy A. Benyo, chief clerk for the county elections board and chair of the Association of Eastern Pennsylvania County Election Personnel. Boockvar noted the state is reimbursing counties for about 60% of the cost of election equipment and providing them guidance giving tremendous amounts of resources, she said. County officials havent raised the issue of counting absentee ballots as a major concern, she said. Id be really surprised if the huge majority of counties did not do counting that night, Boockvar said. And yes, we absolutely would urge the counties to do so. County elections officials are hoping to tamp down the expectations of people hungry for unofficial results. As long as our voters understand that this is whats going to happen, and it may not be until Thursday or Friday then theyll be fine, said Greenburg, of Mercer County. Greenburg is buying two more ballot scanners to process mail-in ballots more quickly, at a cost of almost $100,000. Lehman said Lycoming County is buying a second scanner for about $21,000, Wenger said Lancaster County is buying another for $32,000, and Soltysiak said Montgomery County will buy three more for about $75,000. But it wont be fast enough for people used to having results immediately, Wenger said. As an elections administrator, the idea that election night numbers are woefully incomplete is not something that brings me any joy, because I know the hate emails I [already] get, he said. Hes already prepared for the public response if a winner takes days to call. I assure you, Wenger said, its not going to be positive. Advertisement It's hard enough to get one naughty child to sit down for a photo shoot, let alone 20 playful and squirmy baby pandas all at the same time. Footage has captured the amusing moment nearly two dozen cubs and their keepers gathered for a group photo as they greeted the public at a breeding centre. The event was organised today by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan Province in celebration of the upcoming Lunar New Year. Say cheese: 20 baby pandas and their keepers sit down for a group photo at China's Shenshuping Panda Base on Friday Just chilling: Some cubs crawl on the the grass in front of a '2020' sign during the event in celebration of the Lunar New Year Happy New Year: One cub leans on a tree trunk next to a window sticker made with traditional Chinese paper-cutting art The year of the rat: Two cubs hide next to a giant stuffed rodent during the ceremony to celebrate the traditional festival This year's Lunar New Year will fall on January 25 and ring in the year of the rat. Caretakers had decorated a playground at the centre's Shenshuping Panda Base with red lanterns of different sizes, stuffed toys shaped after rodents, traditional paper-cutting artworks and a large sign of 2020. After assembling in the festive venue, staff sent their best wishes to the public while holding the black-and-white bears - all born at the centre in the past 12 months. 'The baby pandas born at the China Conservation and Research Center in 2019 send New Year wishes to all people in China. We wish you a happy New Year and have all your wishes come true,' the workers shouted in unison. Mischievous: Four baby pandas play with each other after having a group picture taken with 16 other cubs at the centre A total of 32 cubs, 17 males and 15 females were born at the Shenshuping Panda Base last year, the establishment said The cubs were born between May and September and are now four to seven months old, according to a post from the centre Caretakers decorated a playground with red lanterns of different sizes, stuffed toys shaped after rodents and paper-cutting One impatient cub immediately escaped from its keeper's grasp and dashed towards the grass after workers chanted the celebratory slogan, according to footage released by China News. A total of 32 cubs, comprising 17 males and 15 females, were born at the Shenshuping Panda Base last year, the establishment said. The cubs were born between May and September and are now four to seven months old. All of them are healthy and the heaviest of all is a six-month-old female cub weighing 16 kilograms (35 pounds). OAKLAND (BCN) Oakland International Airport officials on Thursday announced that Spirit Airlines will launch the only nonstop flight from Oakland to Fort Lauderdale in Florida starting in April. The flights between Oakland and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport start on April 1, joining Spirit's existing Oakland flights to Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, airport officials said. "Right now, our guests on both coasts have limited options between the Bay Area and South Florida," Spirit Airlines vice president of network planning John Kirby said in a statement. "Offering the only nonstop connection between Oakland and Fort Lauderdale makes it easier for travelers on both ends." 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. Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra on Friday dismissed reports of Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi contesting the coming assembly election on the party ticket but said that she is welcome if she wants to join them. "I saw a media report that Asha Devi might contest against Arvind Kejriwal on the Congress ticket. There is nothing of that sort. However, she is welcome if she wants to join us," Chopra told ANI here. This comes after Asha Devi put an end to the speculation of her joining the Congress party for the coming Delhi assembly elections, saying that she was "not interested" in When asked about media reports of her joining the Congress, Asha Devi told media persons: "I have no interest in such things. I was fighting to get justice for my daughter and the daughters of the country. I want the execution of the four convicts." Reports of her political debut started surfacing after sportsperson-turned-politician Kirti Azad shared a Tweet, which claimed that Asha Devi might contest the Delhi assembly elections against Chief Minister Kejriwal on the Congress ticket. "Ae Maa Tujhe Salam. Asha Devi Ji Aapka Swagat Hai (Salute to the mother. Welcome Asha Devi)," Azad had tweeted. The assembly elections in the capital are scheduled to be held on February 8. The counting of votes will take place on February 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Having trouble getting a seat on a rush hour morning ferry to Whitehall? Well, heres why. Nearly 10 million passengers departed the St. George ferry terminal headed to Manhattan by way of the Staten Island Ferry between January 2 and October 31 of last year, according to recent ridership data from the city Department of Transportation (DOT). Monday through Friday ridership neared 8 million, at 7,578,420 passengers, while weekend ridership was just shy of 2 million with 1,992,643 riders. Data for November and December was not yet available. People made the most trips from Staten Island to Manhattan via the Staten Island Ferry during the month of April last year, according to ridership data from the DOT. There were 896,670 riders during the 22 weekdays of the month of April from midnight to 11:30 p.m, the data shows. What was the busiest day of the month for the St. George ferry terminal? Tuesday, April 23, when there were 48,150 Manhattan-bound passengers. Weekends in April saw a total of 201,961 depart from St. George, however, April does not hold the title for most weekend passengers. Weekend Manhattan-bound ridership was just shy of 2 million with 1,992,643 riders. September had the most weekend Manhattan-bound passengers with 225,171, according to the data. There were 665,466 passengers departing the St. George ferry terminal during the 20 weekdays of September -- the least of the 10 months -- between midnight and 11:30 p.m., according to the data. Monday through Friday between midnight and 11:30 p.m., the Staten Island ferry makes a total of 58 trips. On Saturday and Sunday, it makes 48 trips during the same time period, according to the data. Most passengers board at 8 a.m., the data shows, when approximately 1,800 people headed to Manhattan at that time. During the months of May, August, September and October, 7 a.m. was the busiest ferry boarding time. The government is now taking action to help troubled state-owned insurers, such as life insurer PT Asuransi Jiwasraya, which reportedly owes customers IDR16.42 trillion (US$1.20 billion) in maturing payouts. Read more: Indonesia rejects bailout for troubled insurer Recently, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for reforms in the insurance and pensions sector. Insurance and pension funds need reform, Widodo, who was speaking at an industry event in Jakarta, was quoted as saying in the report. Improvements, be it on the regulatory side, or supervisory, or even in capital requirements, are all important. According to Widodo, the move isnt solely because of the Jiwasraya case. Last month, state prosecutors said they had found evidence of fraud at Jiwasraya, where the former management allegedly placed most of its portfolio in poorly performing assets. Prior to Jiwasraya, another state-owned life insurer Bumiputera also ran into financial difficulties. It has been undergoing restructuring since 2013. Both firms are over a century old and date back to the Dutch colonial period. (TNS) Attempted cyberattacks against the North Dakota state government grew by nearly 300% last year, according to Shawn Riley, the states chief information officer and head of the information technology department.That number equates to more than 15 million cyberattacks a month, up from 5 million a month in 2018.But North Dakota isnt alone, Riley noted.Thats part of a world trend, he said. Were trending a little higher than certain organizations, but, yeah, pretty substantial increases overall.Comprehensive numbers are still being compiled for 2019, but in 2018, there were more than 300 million comprehensive attacks. Riley said his agency expects that number to be considerably higher for 2019.But why the substantial increase? Riley said its due, in part, to expansion of technology in peoples everyday lives.We have everything from smart watches to smart toothbrushes all over the world, Riley said. It just creates a much bigger attack surface for systems to go after.Riley said attackers are getting smarter and the attackers tools, driven by artificial intelligence, are becoming easier to use.In today's world, it kind of looks like Robocop versus Terminator, he said, making a movie reference. There's a lot of machine versus machine, machine attacker and machine defender. And it's kind of really skyrocketed the volumes worldwide because of those types of attacks.As tensions between the United States and Iran decrease slightly from the beginning of the year, the New York Times reported last week that cybersecurity experts and government officials are already monitoring an increase of malicious activity by pro-Iranian hackers. But while the threat of cyberattacks from Iran exists, cyberattacks are always on the horizon, no matter where theyre from, according to Darin King, vice chancellor for IT/chief information officer of the North Dakota University System.Earlier this month, the North Dakota University system sent a message to students, staff and faculty reminding them about the issues that can arise with suspicious emails or phone calls. King said risk reduction is key when it comes to cybersecurity issues. Agencies want to reduce their risk for cybersecurity breaches and institutions have put in place measures to reduce that risk.We've implemented over the last four or five years a number of different security measures that will help us do a better job of protecting, detecting and responding when we have issues, King said. It really comes down to defense in depth ... which really means having multiple layers of security controls in place. Thats what weve been doing and are continuing to try and do.To help protect the state from a breach, the states cybersecurity team has been increased by 80%. Thanks to legislation passed last year, the state has also been able to nearly quadruple the capacity of its cybersecurity tools, Riley said. The states cyber agency also has expanded authority to help other organizations across the state, including higher education, K-12 education, counties and cities.Riley thanked the Legislature for its help to continue to build cybersecurity protections in the state.The agency is going through a survey assessment with organizations to allow ITD to better understand the state of cybersecurity across more than 500 entities. Once the survey is finished, the findings will be put into a comprehensive report that will be given to the Legislature.Riley said people should be very vigilant with what gets sent to them, whether thats emails, text messages or a variety of other avenues. There has been a large increase in text messages going to people that contain irrelevant information and/or links that can be used to lure peoples personal information.Any system can be used to be able to try and exploit your data, Riley said. The Canadian government will provide the families of the Ukrainian plane crash victims 25,000 dollars for each of those who died, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, adding that Ottawa expects that Tehran will repay the compensation. Trudeau has also stated that people in Iran are currently "aligned" with the push for a full probe into the crash, Trend reports citing Sputnik. The statement comes after Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said that Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, and the United Kingdom, whose citizens died in the crash, hoped for Irans full cooperation and a transparent international investigation. The Ukraine International Airlines-operated passenger plane crashed on 8 January near Tehrans Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 people on board. The International Coordination and Response Group was created at the behest of the Canadian government and comprises the grieving nations in search of answers following the downing of the UIA jet. On 11 January, the Iranian military admitted to unintentionally shooting down the aircraft while being on alert after attacking Iraqi military bases that host US servicemen. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he expected Tehran to punish those behind the fatal mistake and pay compensation to the families of the victims. The owner of a Colorado securities company will pay restitution for his participation in a $1.2 billion nationwide Ponzi scheme, the state announced on Wednesday. Gerald Ortiz of Colorado Retirement Specialists, LLC sold unlicensed securities from Woodbridge Group of Companies LLC. and received commission. Investors were guaranteed payments, even if the loans that the payments went toward defaulted. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Woodbridge with operating a Ponzi scheme in 2017. Such operations involve paying off early investors with the funds of later investors. The Colorado Division of Securities discovered that Ortiz allegedly sold promissory notes to Colorado investors, but that the securities were unlicensed. The division reported that the Woodbridge scheme in Colorado factors into the $60 million taken from 450 investors that investigators have uncovered in recent years. Acting Securities Commissioner David Cheval explained in a press release how the fact that many of the salespeople offering Woodbridge products were unlicensed is a perfect example of why checking the credentials of any person peddling investments is extremely important. If Ortiz violates the Denver District Court injunction, which stipulates he will refrain from selling unlicensed securities, he could be held in contempt of court. Delhi High Court has asked the police to keep law and order situation and public interest in mind while evicting protesters at Shaheen Bagh to clear roads at the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch. The court took the call, citing upcoming Board examinations as the reason for the decision, according to the order dated January 15. Earlier on January 14, the Delhi High Court had directed the police to take a call on the re-opening of Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch. The HC had directed the authority concerned to look into the issue as a matter of public interest and deal with maintaining law and order while hearing a petition that sought to withdraw closure of Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch. Live TV The road has been closed since December 15, 2019, following the anti-against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests. Russia's acting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday urged Iran and the United States to wind down tensions after Iranian forces accidentally downed a Ukrainian passenger jet. Lavrov said the tragedy was a "very serious red flag" and a signal that everyone should "start working on de-escalation and not on constant threats". "An increase in tensions between Iran and the United States will not help settle any single crisis in the region, if only because the tensions will be increasing," he said. Iran and the US seemed to be on the brink of conflict earlier in January after an American drone strike killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad. This prompted retaliatory Iranian missile strikes against Iraqi bases housing US troops. Iran then accidentally downed a Ukrainian airliner while on high alert. The tragedy killed 176 people, mostly Iranians and Canadians. Tehran admitted the disaster was caused by human error several days later. Lavrov said he did not want to "find excuses for anyone" but criticised Washington for killing Major General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. He said Iran was waiting for a US strike and said there was "nervousness in such situations". "There is information that... after this attack, the Iranians were waiting for another strike from the US, they didn't know in what form, but there were a minimum of six F-35 (fighter jets) in the air... in the airspace right on the border of Iran." He said the "unprecedented" US operation that killed Soleimani "undermined and put into question all imaginable norms of international law". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of thousands of fish have died after heavy rain washed ash from bushfires into the Macleay River in NSW. Locals say the river now resembles a stinking 'runny cake mix' of rotting vegetation, ash and dead fish. Once in the water, ash promotes the growth of bacteria that drains the river of oxygen causing the fish to suffocate. More than 80mm of rain has fallen in the region over the past week following months of devastating bushfires. Hundreds of thousands of fish have died after heavy rain washed ash from bushfires into the Macleay River in NSW According to the Guardian, species of dead fish in the water include herring, gudgeons, catfish, Australian bass, bullhead mullet and yellow-eye mullet. It is feared that the river may never recover while the impact of the fish kill may be felt for decades. Recreational fisherman Larry Newberry, from Frederickton, near Kempsey, said the ash had 'wiped out every fish' for around 100 kilometres. 'The stench was overwhelming it stank that much it made you heave. It's the dead fish, the rotting vegetation and the ash from the fires and maybe the fire retardant. It is just like brown sludge,' he told the publication. 'I've been fishing the river for 50 years and I have seen fish kills before, but nothing of this magnitude. This will be happening in every east coast river that's been hit by bushfires.' Locals say the river now resembles a stinking 'runny cake mix' of rotting vegetation, ash and dead fish Professor Lee Baumgartner, a freshwater ecologist at the Charles Sturt University, in Sydney, said major bushfires in 1939 had destroyed the Lachlan River and the 'fish never recovered'. 'I think we'll see more of these events as it rains. These things can have decades of impact. It can be really terrible,' he said. Arthur Brain, from Bellbrook, in NSW, told 7News that he saw hundreds of fish 'gasping and dying on the river bank'. 'The water was thick and black,' he said. Locals have tried to save the fish by pumping oxygen in the river but Mr Newberry said these attempts to salvage the situation were futile. - Shinjiro Koizumi, an environment minister in Japan, has said he would take two weeks off work to be with his child - The minister's interest to go on leave has sparked debates in the country as only a few men are known to stop work when they have a child - Koizumi said he would conduct necessary work activities through emails and video conferencing during his absence from office Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Shinjiro Koizumi, a Japans environment minister, is planning to take two-week paternity leave, a decision that has been rocking the countrys headlines. The minister said he wants to take the leave so he could be in his childs life the first month the baby is born, BBC News reports. It should be noted that this will be the first time a cabinet minister in the country will be taking that kind of leave. READ ALSO: Eddie Murphy gets Lifetime Achievement Award at Critics' Choice Awards Though both men and women, according to the countrys law, can take up to a year off work when their child is born, only 6% did so in 2018 when compared to 82% of women. "I intend to take a total of two weeks of paternity leave in the three months after childbirth, during which the mother bears the heaviest burden, on the condition that I prioritise my official duties and thorough crisis management, as I have done," the minister said. READ ALSO: 5 Beautiful curvy photos of Abidivabroni that are causing a stir on social media The minister is taking the leave so he could be with his child at the significant time of the baby's life. Photo source: BBC News Source: UGC On how he plans to manage his work, he said he will do more emails and video calls and ask his deputies to represent him when it is really necessary. READ ALSO: Medikal and Fella Makafui planning secret wedding in new video Koizumi, however, said he would not be absent from important public activities like attending parliamentary sessions. The minister complained about how the Japanese society is very rigid and has been on him since he said he would contemplate taking paternity leave. READ ALSO: Juliet Ibrahim threatens to expose guys proposing to her in her DM on Vals Day "Japan is rigid and outdated because society is caught up with fussing over pros and cons simply because I said I would consider [it], he said. In other news, YEN.com.gh earlier reported that American media executive and philanthropist, Oprah Winfrey had denied helping Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on leaving their posts as senior members of the royal family. READ ALSO: George Quaye resigns from Charterhouse again Winfrey said it is false that she was the first person the couple spoke to about their departure, adding that Harry and Meghan do not need her help figuring what is best for them, Daily Mail reports. READ ALSO: Kalsoume Sinare shows off her lookalike daughter; Salma Mumin, others shout Oprah said she cares about the couple and is in support of whatever decision they make for their family. A source said: "Oprah was the first person to talk to Harry and Meghan about breaking free and doing their own thing, building on their own brand. She made them realize it was really possible." Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Source: YEN.com.gh Maybe the borough of Norwood can do what the county of Delaware could not. For years Democrats railed at the Republican-controlled County Council about the lack of a separate county Health Department, noting Delco stood alone among its neighbors in not doing so. And just as quickly, the GOP members of council would fire back, saying the cost of a setting up and running a separate Health Department was prohibitive, and the county was being well-served by the Intercommunity Health Department. Of course, Democrats now hold a 5-0 majority on County Council, courtesy of another sweep at the polls in November. And the issue of a separate Health Department is being raised once again, this time fueled by the health concerns and a feared cancer cluster in Norwood. For years residents have been tracking what they believe are higher than normal incidences of cancer and other illnesses they fear are linked to the operation of the now-defunct Norwood Landfill, right next door to a residential area. They wondered if what was dumped there is causing so many of them to be diagnosed with cancer or autoimmune diseases. A recent public hearing to air the findings of an investigation drew hundreds to the local fire hall, a crowd that spilled out into the street. They did not like what they heard. An Environmental Protection Agency spokesman said the initial findings of ground and soil samples indicate the landfill does not pose a health risk to the community, although they said they will continue to listen, and continue to test. One of the factors residents pointed to was how long it took to get any action in looking into the situation. Now the new members of Delaware County Council are using the Norwood situation as one more aggravating factor they say point out the need for a separate health department. They say a local agency would be able to notice and track those kinds of maladies much quicker than a federal agency. I think having a public health department will help us gather statistics and understand problems as they arise so we can do something about them, said new County Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer. When you have a public health department, you are in a much better position to gather data and have it analyzed and be better informed in making delivery decisions. Fellow Democrat Christine Reuther said its a matter of residents having confidence that a local agency is looking after them, as opposed to waiting for the feds to get involved. I do think that when there is a place that people can report a problem that they think is paying attention to them, they are going to report the problem, Reuther said. The third new Democrat on council, Monica Taylor, concurred. Because we dont have a health department, we have no one tracking those problems, Taylor said. The Democrats are now planning a trek to Harrisburg for a sit-down with the state officials to discuss the process of establishing a health department. Were hitting the ground running, Schaefer said. Next week, we have a meeting with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to start the process. This is a priority. This is definitely a priority for all five of us. Reuther is still trying to get her head around the fact that the most densely populated county in the region does not have its own health department. That is staggering to me, Reuther said. Given (our) population density, staying on top of public health patterns and trends is really critical. Of course, Republicans would remind them they still have to find a way to pay for it. Its a legitimate point. One weve yet to hear addressed. But we think Democrats are on the right track. Norwood is just one more example of how a separate department would be beneficial to the county. They are planning a series of public forums to keep the public involved in the discussion. They should hold one in Norwood. They still have lots of questions theyd like answered about why so many residents are dying of cancer. Joe Rossi and David Knapp are co-chairs of the CNY Political Leadership Institute (cnypolitics.org). Rossi is vice chair of the New York State Democratic Committee. Knapp, R-LaFayette, is chairman of the Onondaga County Legislature. By Joe Rossi and David Knapp | Special to Syracuse.com Its only January, and the 2020 election season is in full swing in Central New York, if you can believe it. Presidential candidates are currently seeking delegates, congressional candidates are raising money and building their teams, and the political parties are seeking challengers for seats in the New York state Senate, the state Assembly, State Supreme Court, Onondaga Family Court, Syracuse City Court and many town judge races. Recent elections in Central New York have been electric, from Syracuse Mayor Ben Walshs independent victory in 2017 to a historic $2 million contest for Onondaga County Executive in 2019. The voting totals prove that more Central New Yorkers are engaged politically than in recent history. Thats the good news. The bad news is that political tribalism has created a Cold Civil War. Tensions are high and this year will likely be more vitriolic than the infamous 2016 presidential campaign, when Donald Trump stunned Hillary Clinton for the presidency. That night left us either elated or deflated. Ding ding. Ring the bell, its time for another round of battle. But it doesnt have to be so ugly. The truest explanation of campaign season is that one team faces off against another team, they fight very hard to earn the support of voters, and there is ultimately only one victor. No matter what you may hear, these contests in our American democracy have been feisty since the presidential election of 1800, with Thomas Jefferson versus John Adams. Although we hold up Jefferson and Adams up as founding fathers and secular saints, their campaigns participated in a vicious fight with back-stabbing, mud-slinging and name-calling throughout the contest. But contests like that were normally followed by times of cooperation and negotiation among those of different political platforms. Our political campaigns can be just as energetic as anywhere in the country, and without the extremes. That is why a handful of citizens, with the support of Leadership Greater Syracuse and CenterState CEO, formed the Central New York Political Leadership Institute (CNY PLI) in 2010. Nowhere in New York state can you find a group like ours supported by business groups and labor unions that is moderated by Democrats, Republicans and independents, alike. One of the fundamental lessons people learn with PLI is that we can be opponents, but we dont have to be mortal enemies. If you are interested in getting involved this year politically and do not know where to start, please visit cnypolitics.org and attend our information session from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday Jan. 28, at OneGroup, located on North Clinton Street in Syracuse. The CNY PLI program provides a great foundation for those running for office or volunteering on a campaign for the first time (school boards, too). Over seven sessions, political leaders of both parties will be educating attendees on everything from Getting on the Ballot to Getting Out The Vote. Early voting is now a part of every campaign, which we address, as well. All of this done with a spirit of non-partisanship with the goal of proving we can have a clash on the issues and shake hands when the contest is over. Recently, Syracuse.com produced a series, 25 Things That Make Syracuse Great. We would like to humbly add that our unique group should be on that list. We hope to see you out on the hustings. Also in Opinion: To defeat hate at Syracuse University, the whole campus must respond (Commentary) System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. 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Just as important to the president, though, is framing the debate in a way that he can take onto the campaign trail as he battles Democrats for a second term. This team may not provide the sort of defense the presidents most combative supporters feel he needs. Stephen K. Bannon, the presidents former chief strategist who has been hosting a daily radio show and podcast on impeachment with a group that often coordinates with the White House, said the addition of Mr. Dershowitz and Mr. Starr brought impressive legal power to Mr. Trumps team. But Mr. Bannon expressed concern that there are no fire breathers, as he put it. Its very conventional in its makeup and approach. But this is not playing on C-Span. The senators are not the jury; the American people are the jury. I strongly believe you need some of the fire breathers from the House, like Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows and Lee Zeldin. Mr. Trump wanted some of those congressmen, among his most stalwart House Republican allies, to be on the defense team, but Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, rejected the idea. Those House members, who are familiar with the testimony provided by witnesses during the impeachment inquiry, are expected to help behind the scenes and to help defend the president on television, people familiar with the presidents legal defense plan said. Mr. Trumps team is also preparing for the possibility that witnesses will be called in the trial, despite Mr. McConnells hope to avoid it. Other lawyers joining Mr. Trumps trial team include Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general who has been a spokeswoman for the defense effort; Jane Serene Raskin, who defended Mr. Trump during the investigation by the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III; and Eric D. Herschmann, a partner at the law firm of another of Mr. Trumps longtime lawyers, Marc E. Kasowitz. The president has wanted media-savvy defenders who could play the same vocal role that his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani did during the Mueller investigation. Mr. Dershowitz has been a media figure for years and Mr. Starr was a contributor to Fox News until parting ways with the network because of his new role with Mr. Trump. A New Jersey woman is facing criminal charges after her two children were found wandering the fifth floor of the Wind Creek Bethlehem casino parking garage. Pennsylvania State Police stationed at the casino were called at about 6 p.m. Jan. 10 after a witness found an 8-year-old boy and his 2-year-old sister wandering the fifth floor of the parking garage. The boy told troopers he came to the casino with his mother, Aliyah Smith, and his grandmother. The grandmother went inside to gamble and was gone too long so Smith went inside to get her and left the two children alone, troopers said. Smith reportedly told the children to wait in the car while she went inside to get their grandmother so they could go home. Smith believed she left the children alone for about 10 minutes; troopers said video surveillance showed the kids were alone for 39 minutes before they were brought to casino security. Aliyah Smith, 35, of Essex County, was arrested Jan. 10 and charged with two counts of child endangerment. She is free after posting 10 percent of $8,000 bail on Tuesday. There was no phone number listed for Smith, and an attorney has not entered an appearance in the case. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images In the final ad of Donald Trumps 2016 campaign, the Republican nominee informed America that those who control the levers of power in Washington do not have your good in mind, as a sign reading Wall St. flickered across the screen. Moments later, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs appeared, cast as an embodiment of the global elite that has robbed our working class. In the third year of Donald Trumps presidency, his signature legislative achievement provided Wall Streets six largest banks (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley) with $18 billion in tax savings. According to the Century Foundations calculations, if that money had instead gone to Americas neediest families, there would be 3.2 million fewer American children living in poverty. That figure comes courtesy of Bloomberg News. Combing through the big banks earnings statements, the outlet found that their effective tax rates ranged from 18 to 20 percent in 2019, down from an average of 30 percent before Trumps tax cuts went into effect. Wall Streets windfall from the law last year was even larger than it had been in 2018, when the banks netted $14 billion, thanks to our president and his allies in Congress. To the extent that there is any civic-minded argument for giving giant tax breaks to megabanks, it is that doing so will enable financial institutions to expand access to credit (and thus, juice economic growth). But the major banks outstanding loans grew at a mere one percent rate in 2019, down from 3 percent the year before. Meanwhile, the banks collectively laid off 1,200 employees, efficiencies that enabled the firms to deliver $21.5 billion in payouts to their (generally affluent) shareholders, a 14 percent increase on their previous haul. On Wednesday, Trump took a moment to bask in his achievement. At a gathering with corporate leaders to celebrate his pseudotrade deal with China, the president announced that JP Morgan had just announced earnings and they were incredible, adding, I made a lot of bankers look very good. Philadelphia Police Departments Crime Mapper on Thursday helpfully let Philadelphians know that the city has had 23 homicides in January 2020, a mere 156% rise from the same date in 2019 when we had 9 murders. The people pulling the triggers are directly responsible for the carnage. Still, other cities like New York, which had fewer murders overall than we did though they have six times our population, and Chicago, whose crime drop has been outlined in Inquirer editorials, have focused their resources to get ahead of the gunmen. As Mike Newall pointed out earlier this week, Philadelphias efforts have been scattered and unfocused. If the city cant focus on deterrence, there will be a lot of street sweeping in the coming year. Editorial cartoons from this week include: Karnataka Minister Jagadish Shettar on Friday, January 17, called for a ban on the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) after the arrest of its worker who was involved in an attack on a BJP-RSS supporter in December last year. Further, the Minister also stated that he welcomes the police action. Shettar said, "SDPI always deny their involvement but it has been proved now. I welcome the police action. Their organisation should be banned as they have always been involved in anti-social activities and the government of India should take very serious note of this." About the arrest On Friday, six SDPI workers were arrested in connection with the violence on a BJP-RSS supporter during a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally on December 22 last year. A case has been registered under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Bengaluru Police is constituting a new Special Investigation Team (SIT) to handle this case. According to Bengaluru Commissioner of Police Bhaskar Rao, "There were six people belonging to SDPI who were there to carry out attacks on leaders supporting the CAA. These people were being paid Rs 10,000 from their handlers to create a ruckus. Now this will be handled by the Anti-Terror unit." Read: Karnataka: Medical Fraternity holds anti-CAA protests in front of Dy Commissioner's office Recently on January 13, a few SDPI workers attacked BJP secretary A K Nazeer for attending a pro-CAA public meeting. As per reports, the leader was attacked while offering namaz outside a mosque in Kerala's Nedumkandam in Idukki district after he attended the meeting. Read: Karnataka to receive additional Rs 669 crore flood relief from Centre Protests against CAA The protests against CAA that first broke out in Assam, spread across the country. Violent protests have been witnessed in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Delhi, and Maharashtra. Several universities across the country witnessed clashes between the police and the students after the violence in Jamia Millia. The Citizenship Act was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 9 and then by the Rajya Sabha on December 11. The Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Read: CBI files FIR against fmr Maruti Udyog Limited MD Jagdish Khattar for alleged bank fraud Read: Tamil orator Nellai Kannan who said 'Finish PM,Shah' during anti-CAA SDPI protest arrested (With ANI inputs) Bankrupt plans to sell its Netherlands business to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, according to a regulatory filing. The domestic full-service carrier, which shuttered operations last April, is undergoing insolvency resolution process. The insolvency resolution professional managing the affairs of said various options are being explored for the "company's resolution and maximising the value for its stakeholders", as per the filing on Friday. Providing an update, the company said there is a separate liquidation proceeding ongoing in the Netherlands and that the resolution professional has agreed a co-operation protocol with the Dutch trustee appointed by the local court. "In this context, the company and Dutch trustee have entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij NV, on January 13, 2020, for the proposed resolution of business activities of the company in the Netherlands as approved by the committee of creditors," it added. Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij NV is KLM, the flagship carrier of the Netherlands. "The proposed resolution is subject to the completion of several conditions including statutory and regulatory clearances, both under Indian law and Dutch laws," the filing said. If completed, the transaction would only involve a sale of part of the business activities and would not impact the shareholding pattern of the company in any manner, it added. Shares of Jet Airways were trading 4.92 per cent lower than their previous close on BSE at Rs 45.40 apiece. Chennai: The worlds fourth-largest Coast Guard (Indian) and the worlds second-largest Coast Guard(Japan) came together for the 19th time, as a part of the Annual Sahyog-Kaijin exercise which aimed at improving interoperability, exchanging best practices and validating their skill sets, standard operating procedures. Japanese Coast Guard Vessel Echigo was accorded a formal welcome at the Chennai Port on Monday, as it arrived for a 5-day goodwill visit, which also includes the exercise. It was after a 20-day journey the Japanese vessel reached Indian shores, as it left Japan on 26th December last year and reached on January 13th. During Echigos time in the harbour, various activities had been conducted including reciprocal visits onboard ships, sporting, cultural interactions and professional interactions between personnel of both the coast guards. Live TV It was on Thursday that the participating ships set sail from the Chennai harbour for the commencement of the exercises. Four vessels of the Indian Coast Guard and one visiting vessel the JCGS Echigo. The participating vessels were Indian Coast Guard ships Shaurya, Veera, Abheek, C-432 and a vessel from Indias National Institute of Ocean Technology(NIOT), the Japanese Ship Echigo. The vessels were supported by fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. An Indian Coast Guard Dornier Aircraft, Chetak helicopter and a Sikorsky Helicopter of the Japanese Coast Guard had taken part in the demonstrations. The first demonstration was that of a simulated pirate sighting(the vessel of the NIOT was designated as the pirate vessel for the simulation), during which the Coast Guard Dornier Aircraft detects a pirate vessel and relays the message to the participating vessels, following which the Flagship ICGS Shaurya and its fleet proceeds on the course of action. Based on the instructions received, the smaller interceptor vessels that travel at faster speeds while having high manoeuvring capability sped towards the pirate vessel. Smaller speedboats laden with Coast guard gunmen are lowered from the Shaurya and Echigo, and they join the other vessels in approaching the pirate vessel. They performed a series of close turns around the pirate vessel to interdict it and ensure the surrender of pirates. The large interceptor boats fired warning shots (flares) to indicate that the pirates had no option but to surrender. Following which the gunmen would conduct aboard and search operation to understand the nature of cargo being carried by the pirate vessel and to investigate the pirates and rescue hostages. In line with the Coast Guards role of being a saviour at sea, there was a demonstration of external fire suppression. The task was to douse a raging fire on another vessel (simulated using smoke), using the fleets onboard pumps. The helicopters flew by the ships and also displayed their precision drop capability, by dropping replenishments within a designated area that had a diameter of around 1meter. The choppers also demonstrated their Search and Rescue roles that involved looking for marooned persons and winching them up or airlifting them using a diver. The exercise concluded with the ceremonial steam past of the vessels and the flypast of the aircraft. The journey so far and the way ahead Addressing a press conference after the exercise, the Director-General of Indian Coast Guard K Natarajan said that the apprehension of the pirate vessel MV Alondra Rainbow by the Indian Coast Guard on 16th Nov 1999 off Indias West coast had marked the beginning of dedicated, focussed and regular interaction between the Coast Guards of India and Japan. He stated that the apprehension of the vessel brought out the significance of a coordinated operation and encouraged the policymakers to have a series of conferences and meetings to discuss issues of various crimes at sea. According to Admiral Takahiro Okushima, Commandant, Japan Coast Guard, the relationship between the two forces has been steadily enhanced and the major takeaway has been the validation of procedures. The Director-General and Admiral agreed that the many countries have felt the need for developing their Coast Guard due to the economic issues arising from the smuggling of gold and other precious metals, drugs, illegal wealth extraction, and human trafficking. Speaking to WION, DG K Natarajan said, Currently we have 145 ships and 62 aircraft in our fleet and we hope to reach 200 ships and 100 aircraft by 2025. 50 ships are currently under construction and we will also be acquiring the Advanced Light Helicopter Mk3 developed in India, besides the twin-engine advanced helicopter. We aim to integrate our different radars with the vessel traffic management system and are ready to meet all requirements. When asked about the future cooperation with foreign countries, he said, Australia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia are willing to sign agreements. On the challenges pertaining to signalling and communications during exercises with foreign forces, he said, mariners have no language and we communicate using signs and flag languages. Be it a warship or fishermen, we have abbreviated codes International Code of Signals(Interco). When it comes to the Indian coast, we communicate with fishermen in the Indian languages that are spoken in the respective regions. Only by accumulating experience can we improve the skill and deal with challenges. We will have more and more events happening every year, but the Level of criminals goes up every year and we have to constantly improve our level and continue these exercises in future Admiral Takahiro Okushima told WION on the significance of greater cooperation and exercises. Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties? No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer. Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties. InterContinental Phuket Resort introduces the first biodynamic wine pairing dinner at its signature fine-dining modern Thai restaurant, Jaras. In collaboration with Wine Garage, the resort will showcase organic and sustainable food and wines at Jaras on the 24th January 2020. Enjoy a delightful five-course contemporary Thai dinner and biodynamic wine pairing as Kim Wachtveitl, Managing Partner of Wine Garage, guides wine and food connoisseurs through each course. This first in a series of biodynamic wine and dinner pairing at Jaras is not to be missed for culinary enthusiasts for whom sustainability and provenance is a priority. Limited spaces available so book now and dont miss out! Booking : phuket.dining@ihg.com The Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara Sahib, located in Orangevale, about an hour from San Francisco, was inaugurated on January 12. It was vandalized with white nationalist graffiti, which included the phrase "White Power" and depicted a swastika on a concrete slab at the front entrance. San Francisco, Jan 17 (IANS) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a probe into the vandalization of a newly inaugurated gurdwara in California, saying it was a possible hate crime, a media report said. Along with the FBI, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office were also actively investigating the incident. Harbans Singh Sraon, a spokesman for the gurdwara, told the India-West newspaper that FBI detectives have consistently visited the facility since the "bias-motivated crime" occurred. Sacramento Sheriff Deputy Lacey Nelson told India-West that detectives specifically assigned to investigate hate crimes have been actively investigating the incident since Monday morning. Crime scene investigators have been collecting forensic evidence from the scene, and detectives have canvassed the neighbourhood, speaking to residents who may have observed the crime. Detectives have obtained video footage from the neighbourhood, said Nelson, adding that the nature of evidence found in forensics and on video has yet been released. "This is an ongoing investigation. We do take these types of cases very seriously," the Deputy added. The gurdwara has also received support from the interfaith community. Pastor Dave Ratcliff of the Sierra Presbyterian Church, said: "We stand with you and your congregation in rejecting all acts of violence and hatred. You are not alone." The Council on American Islamic Relations also condemned the hate crime, saying "we must all stand up against hate in our communities". "We are here to support the Sikh community and encourage any witnesses to come forward with information about this hate attack on a house of worship," it added. The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund noted the alarming rise in the number of hate crimes committed by white supremacist groups. ksk/ Aqua America Inc. WTR announced that it has received approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to complete the acquisition of Peoples Gas, a natural gas distribution utility. In October 2018, the company had entered into a deal with Peoples to acquire the latter in an all-cash transaction that reflects an enterprise value of $4.275 billion. Aqua America also made an announcement to rename itself to Essential Utilities, Inc. ("Essential") that will take effect on Monday, Feb 3. Peoples will become a subsidiary of Essential. Essentials common stock will begin trading under the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WTRG on Feb. 3. Aqua Americas Gain The combination will create a utility, which has 99% regulated water and gas distribution. This deal is expected to be accretive to earnings from the first full year after the closing of the same and over the long term. Peoples rate base is expected to improve 8-10% annually. Rising usage on natural gas also works in favor of Aqua America. Utilities Diversify Operation The above transaction clearly indicates the gradual diversification by utilities from its core business to other lines of utility operation. This acquisition will create a company, which will deliver high quality water and natural gas services to customers. In a way, both the companies have the expertise to manage extensive pipelines, as both water and natural gas are distributed to customers through pipelines. Combination of the expertise of the companies in this field will improve the quality of services. Similar deals have already taken place in the Utility sector and we expect more to take place in the future as well. In December 2017, electric utility Eversource Energy ES had forayed into the water business through the acquisition of Aquarion Water Company. This will help the company to explore and benefit from the long-term opportunity that the water and wastewater service business presently offers. Consolidation in Water Space Consolidation is quite essential for the fragmented water industry, as nearly 50,000 water and 15,000 wastewater operators are providing services in the United States. According to an American Water Works report, more than 2 trillion gallons of treated water is lost per year due to leakage from aging pipes. The highly fragmented water industry creates operational challenges in meeting increasing water and wastewater service requirement. Hence, water utilities are actively acquiring small water and wastewater service units, and making required investments to upgrade the quality of services. Aqua America is following the acquisition route to expand operations. During the five-year period ended Dec 31, 2018, the company had expanded utility operations by completing 64 water and wastewater system acquisitions. Another water utility American Water Works AWK is quite active in making acquisitions. From 2015 to Oct 30, 2019, the company had closed 81 deals and added nearly 126,000 customers to the existing customer base. Price Performance Shares of Aqua America have outperformed the industry in the past six months. Story continues Zacks Rank & Key Pick Aqua America currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked water utility is AquaVenture Holdings Ltd. WAAS, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. AquaVenture Holdings delivered average positive earnings surprise of 15.6% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 has moved up 1.8% in the past 60 days. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers Most Likely for Early Price Pops. Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.6% per year. So be sure to give these hand-picked 7 your immediate attention. See 7 handpicked stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Aqua America, Inc. (WTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report AquaVenture Holdings Ltd. (WAAS) : Free Stock Analysis Report American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report Eversource Energy (ES) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research What makes for an endangered species classification isnt always obvious. Lions and leopards are endangered species. Robins and raccoons clearly are not. The distinction seems simple until one ponders a question such as: How many lions would there have to be and how many of their former haunts would they have to inhabit before wed agree they are no longer endangered? To put a fine point on it, what is an endangered species? The quick answer: An endangered species is at risk of extinction. Fine, except questions about risk always come in shades and degrees, more risk and less risk. Extinction risk increases as a species is driven to extinction from portions of its natural range. Most mammal species have been driven to extinction from half or more of their historic range because of human activities. The query What is an endangered species? is quickly transformed into a far tougher question: How much loss should a species endure before we agree that the species deserves special protections and concerted effort for its betterment? My colleagues and I put a very similar question to nearly 1,000 (representatively sampled) Americans after giving them the information in the previous paragraph. The results, What is an endangered species?: judgments about acceptable risk, are published today in Environmental Research Letters. About the Researcher John Vucetich javuceti@mtu.edu 906-487-1711 Areas of Expertise Demographic and genetic elements of population biology Ecology of wolves and moose Environmental ethics Researcher Profile Three-quarters of those surveyed said a species deserves special protections if it had been driven to extinction from any more than 30% of its historic range. Not everyone was in perfect agreement. Some were more accepting of losses. The survey results indicate that people more accepting of loss were less knowledgeable about the environment and self-identify as advocates for the rights of gun and land owners. Still, three-quarters of people from the group of people who were more accepting of loss thought special protections were warranted if a species had been lost from more than 41% of their former range. These attitudes of the American public are aligned with the language of the U.S. Endangered Species Act the law for preventing species endangerment in the U.S. That law defines an endangered species as one that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. But There Might Be a Problem Government decision-makers have tended to agree with the scientists they consult in judging what counts as acceptable risk and loss. These scientists express the trigger point for endangerment in very different terms. They tend to say a species is endangered if its risk of total and complete extinction exceeds 5% over 100 years. Before human activities began elevating extinction risk, a typical vertebrate species would have experienced an extinction risk of 1% over a 10,000-year period. The extinction risk that decision-makers and their consultant experts have tended to consider acceptable (5% over 100 years) corresponds to an extinction risk many times greater that the extinction risk we currently impose on biodiversity! Experts and decision-makers using a law designed to mitigate the biodiversity crisis tend to allow for stunningly high levels of risk. But the law and the general public seem accepting of only lower risk that would greatly mitigate the biodiversity crisis. Whats going on? Grants and Funding The research was supported in part by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). Survey design, data analysis and manuscript preparation were conducted without consulting HSUS or CBD. One possibility is that experts and decision-makers are more accepting of the risks and losses because they believe greater protection would be impossibly expensive. If so, the American public may be getting it right, not the experts and decision-makers. Why? Because the law allows for two separate judgments. The first judgment is, is the species endangered and therefore deserving of protection? The second judgment is, can the American people afford that protection? Keeping those judgments separate is vital because making a case that more funding and effort is required to solve the biodiversity crisis is not helped by experts and decision-makers when they grossly understate the problem as they do when they judge endangerment to entail such extraordinarily high levels of risk and loss. Collaborators Research collaborators include Jeremy T. Bruskotter of Ohio State University, Adam Feltz of University of Oklahoma, and Tom Offer-Westort, also of University of Oklahoma. Facts and Values Another possible explanation for the judgments of experts and decision-makers was uncovered in an earlier paper led by Jeremy Bruskotter of Ohio State University, who is also a collaborator on this paper. They showed that experts tended to offer judgments about grizzly bear endangerment based not so much on their own independent expert judgment, but on the basis of what they think (rightly or wrongly) their peers judgment would be. Regardless of the explanation, a good answer to the question What is an endangered species? is an inescapable synthesis of facts and values. Experts on endangered species have a better handle on the facts than the general public. However, there is cause for concern when decision-makers do not reflect the broadly held values of their constituents. An important possible explanation for this discrepancy in values is the influence of special interests on decision-makers and experts charged with caring for biodiversity. Getting the answer right is of grave importance. If we do not know well enough what an endangered species is, then we cannot know well enough what it means to conserve nature, because conserving nature is largely either directly or indirectly about giving special care to endangered species until they no longer deserve that label. Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, the University offers more than 125 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 05:35:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Myanmar President U Win Myint in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Myanmar President U Win Myint here on Friday, stressing the importance of the "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between the two countries. Xi said that Myanmar turns to be the destination of his first overseas trip this year when the two countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, highlighting the great importance of the "Paukphaw" friendship and deepening bilateral ties. The Chinese president said he hopes that his visit could send three messages as follows: First, the Chinese government and people firmly support the Myanmar government and people in pursuing development path suited to its own national conditions and continuously promoting the country's development. Second, the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Myanmar has enjoyed sound foundation, and joint efforts to build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future will inject new impetus and vitality into the development of bilateral relations. Third, China stands ready to work together with Myanmar in advancing practical cooperation, speeding up the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Myanmar development strategies, so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples. China will join hands with Myanmar to carry forward traditional "Paukphaw" friendship, map out a development blueprint and open up a new era for China-Myanmar ties, Xi added. The fact that China has scored great development achievements over the past 70 years demonstrates that the development path selected by the Chinese people is successful, said Xi, adding that "we will continue to follow the path unswervingly. We have full confidence in China's future." China is committed to peaceful development and will never seek hegemony, Xi said, adding that to this end, he proposed the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, hoping that all countries could live in harmony and achieve mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. Building a community with a shared future starts from neighbors and China adheres to creating an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood, said Xi, adding that China never imposes its own will on others in external cooperation and never interferes in internal affairs of other countries. China is willing to work with Myanmar to steadily advance the construction of key cooperation projects in the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor within the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road, bringing local people more benefits and giving them stronger sense of fulfilment and happiness, Xi said. China will also continue to firmly support Myanmar in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests and national dignity on the international stage, he added. Extending a warm welcome to Xi on behalf of the Myanmar government and people, U Win Myint said he believes the visit will be a historic one and open up a new chapter in bilateral relations. The Myanmar president congratulated China on the great achievements it has made in the past 70 years, and expressed the hope that China will share more experience in governance with Myanmar and other developing countries. U Win Myint said he believes that China's success will provide useful reference for Myanmar in economic development, improvement of people's livelihood and poverty elimination. He said the Myanmar side appreciates China's understanding and support on issues concerning Myanmar's Rakhine state among others as well as China's constructive role in his country's peace process. Myanmar firmly adheres to the one-China principle, respects the "one country, two systems" principle China has implemented in Hong Kong and Macao, and has always recognized Taiwan as an inalienable part of China's territory, he said. Myanmar supports the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind proposed by Xi and stands ready to actively build a Myanmar-China community with a shared future, he said. He said that China has offered selfless support to Myanmar's economic and social development. The two countries have been promoting the construction of the Myanmar-China Economic Corridor within the framework of the BRI, which, he said, is of great significance to Myanmar's national development. U Win Myint said he believes that as their cooperation deepens, Myanmar-China relations will witness greater development. Xi arrived here earlier Friday for a state visit to the Asian neighbor. It is the first visit to Myanmar by a Chinese president after an interval of 19 years. A luxury non-airconditioned bus, going to Pune from Ahmedabad, caught fire on the Thane-Ghodbunder Road, off Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway just as it crossed a toll collection point at around 6:45am on Friday morning. None of the 25 passengers or the bus crew were injured in the incident. One of the rear tyres of the Amreli-registered bus first caught fire which then spread to the rest of the vehicle, said a Kashimira police official. An auto driver, who first noticed the burning tyre, overtook the bus to inform the driver who immediately stopped the vehicle, alerted the conductor and the bus passengers who managed to escape without any injuries. According to a police official, most of the passengers were fast asleep when the incident happened. The entire luggage compartment was gutted in the fire. Though the auto driver tried to douse the fire using a portable extinguisher, it spread further. However, informed by locals from the area, the Mira Bhayander fire brigade soon reached the spot and brought the fire under control in around 40 minutes. There was huge morning traffic jam in the area due to the fire which was later cleared, said a Kashimira police official. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Fernando Alonso's participation in the Dakar Rally might have ended with an underwhelming 13th place finish but the Spaniard has insisted he's happy with his performance, refusing to comment on any future place at the event. The 2019 Dakar Rally was held in Saudi Arabia and won by Carlos Sainz Sr, the father of F1 driver Sainz Jr. However, the event was overshadowed by the death of Paulo Goncalves during the first week of the competition. Alonso finished 13th in his maiden Dakar appearance, a respectable finish in what is regarded as one of the toughest challenges in motorsport. The two-time F1 World Champion was content with his performance. "I have felt competitive almost every day," Alonso said at Friday's finish at Qiddiya. Read more Carlos Sainz wins third Dakar title - Alonso finishes 13th "On this last stage, we had a puncture, we caught Yazeed [Al Rajhi] and we still finished fourth, so I think we would have been in with a shot at winning the stage. "If I decide to enter the Dakar again, it would be with high expectations. I don't want to think about it now. I'm happy with how it went. "Logically, after this first experience, and having been competitive, if I race in the future, I'll try to do it to win, to add an important victory to my career. "But there's time for that [decision]. I would have to have a more precise and detailed preparation and have the best equipment. If you like racing, spending holidays in a car is a good option. We'll see." The United States of America has finally opened up on the plight of its soldiers in Iraq after the January 8 missile attacks by the Ira... The United States of America has finally opened up on the plight of its soldiers in Iraq after the January 8 missile attacks by the Iranian military. Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement on Thursday that 11 soldiers of its troops were treated for symptoms of concussion after the missile attack targeted an Iraqi base where US forces were stationed. This came after the US military had initially said that no service members were hurt in the attack on Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq and a facility in its northern Kurdish region. Iran on January 8 attacked the US base in Iraq in retaliation for Americas drone strike in Baghdad on January 3 that killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force of Irans Revolutionary Guard. US President Donald Trump and the US military had said there were no casualties. While no US service members were killed in the January 8 Iranian attack on al-Asad airbase, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed, Captain Urban said, according to Al Jazeera. As a measure of caution, some service members were taken to US facilities in Germany or Kuwait for follow-on screening . When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: Swiss companies could take part in Azerbaijans non-gas sector, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of Switzerland told Trend. "In the course of the diversification of the Azerbaijani economy, Swiss companies could be valuable partners in the development of the non-gas sector of the country. Furthermore, the rich experience of Swiss companies active in the infrastructure and transport sector could allow to significantly contribute to the development of Azerbaijan as an international transit hub," said the State Secretariat. As SECO said, the bilateral economic relations between Azerbaijan and Switzerland are good, but there is still untapped potential. "During the first eleven months of 2019, the trade volume between our countries increased by over 17 percent and amounted to CHF 260 million (more than $266 million). Both imports from and exports to Azerbaijan increased significantly (+14 percent and +23 percent). An important pillar on which the good relations are based is the long-standing technical economic cooperation: In 2019 the countries celebrated 20 years of successful development cooperation. Today, the Swiss technical support focuses on macro-economic reforms and financial sector development," said the State Secretariat. SECO said that the work of chambers of commerce as well as agencies and private institutions promoting bilateral economic cooperation plays a crucial role in increasing bilateral economic activity between Azerbaijan and Switzerland. "The decision on making investments in Azerbaijan lies with the Swiss private sector. Swiss investments in Azerbaijan so far focused on the non-oil sector, e.g. Holcim (cement production), SIKA (specialty chemicals)," said the Swiss State Secretariat. As for the future plans, SECO said Switzerland is willing to maintain the good economic relations with Azerbaijan. "Therefore, as in previous years, meetings on all levels are foreseen for 2020. Existing instruments that have proved successful, such as the "Joint Economic Commission Switzerland-Azerbaijan", shall be continued. Switzerland supports the initiatives of the Swiss private sector (including in the sphere of transportation, especially railway transportation e.g. Stadler Rail) aiming at strengthening the economic ties between our countries," said SECO. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Encryption battle reignited as US govt at loggerheads with Apple Washington, Jan 15 (AFP) Jan 15, 2020 Apple and the US government are at loggerheads for the second time in four years over unlocking iPhones connected to a mass shooting, reviving debate over law enforcement access to encrypted devices. Attorney General Bill Barr said Monday that Apple failed to provide "substantive assistance" in unlocking two iPhones in the investigation into the December shooting deaths of three US sailors at a Florida naval station, which he called an "act of terrorism." Apple disputed Barr's claim, while arguing against the idea of "backdoors" for law enforcement to access its encrypted smartphones. "We reject the characterization that Apple has not provided substantive assistance in the Pensacola investigation," the company said in a statement. "Our responses to their many requests since the attack have been timely, thorough and are ongoing." Late on Tuesday, President Donald Trump weighed in on Twitter, saying the government was helping Apple on trade issues "yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements." "They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW!" he added. The standoff highlighted the debate between law enforcement and the tech sector about encryption -- a key way to protect the privacy of digital communications, but which can also make investigations difficult, even with a court order. The latest battle is similar to the dispute between Apple and the US Justice Department after the December 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, when the iPhone maker rejected a request to develop software to break into the shooter's iPhone. That fight ended in 2016 when the government paid an outside party a reported $1 million for a tool that circumvented Apple's iPhone encryption. Barr last year called on Facebook to allow authorities to circumvent encryption to fight extremism, child pornography and other crimes. The social network has said it would move ahead with strong encryption for its messaging applications. - Opening wrong doors? Digital rights activists argue that any privileged access for law enforcement would weaken security and make it easier for hackers and authoritarian governments to intercept messages. "We have always maintained there is no such thing as a backdoor just for the good guys," Apple's statement said. "Backdoors can also be exploited by those who threaten our national security and the data security of our customers." Apple and others argue that digital "breadcrumbs" make it increasingly easy to track people, even without breaking into personal devices. The government's latest demand "is dangerous and unconstitutional, and would weaken the security of millions of iPhones," Jennifer Granick of the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement. "Strong encryption enables religious minorities facing genocide, like the Uighurs in China, and journalists investigating powerful drug cartels in Mexico, to communicate safely." Granick added that Apple cannot allow the FBI access to encrypted communications "without also providing it to authoritarian foreign governments and weakening our defenses against criminals and hackers." Kurt Opsahl of the Electronic Frontier Foundation echoed that sentiment, saying Apple "is right to provide strong security" for its devices. "The AG (attorney general) requesting Apple re-engineer its phones to break that security is a poor security trade-off, and imperils millions of innocent people around the globe," Opsahl tweeted. James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, said he believes it's possible to allow law enforcement access without sacrificing encryption. "You're not weakening encryption, you're making it so it's not end-to-end," Lewis told AFP. "It means that there's a third party who can look at it under appropriate authority." But Lewis said he does not expect either side to come out a winner in the battle, and that US officials will likely find another outside party to crack the two iPhones belonging to the shooter, Royal Saudi Air Force 2nd Lieutenant Mohammed Saeed Alshamran, who died in the attack. "It's a repeat of the movie we saw in San Bernardino," he said. "It's going to be harder because Apple probably fixed the trick that worked in San Bernardino." Detectives investigating the murder of a man found fatally injured on a lakeside towpath are probing a potential link to an incident at a nearby house. Nathan Gibson, 25, died at the scene at Lake Road in Craigavon, Co Armagh, on Thursday night. A 40-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder remained in custody on Friday evening. Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell said: First and foremost my thoughts go out to the family of Nathan at this very sad time. Police received a report late last night that Nathan had been attacked. On further investigation, police found Nathan fatally wounded on the tow path convenient to Lake Road. Sadly he was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives investigating the murder of 25 year old Nathan Gibson: https://t.co/9jlRarm2FD Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) January 17, 2020 Detectives are investigating an incident at a house in the nearby Legahory Court area. Forensic officers were examining that property on Friday. Whilst we cannot get into specific details of this incident we are also appealing to anyone who witnessed anyone acting in a suspicious manner in this area late last night to contact police, said Mr Caldwell. The senior detective said he needed to know the movements of Mr Gibson between 5.30pm and 11.30pm on Thursday. Did you see him?, he said. Was he in the company of anyone else? Did you see anything or anyone acting suspiciously in the area of the tow path from Legahory Court to Lake Road area of Craigavon? Expand Close Sinn Feins John ODowd urged anyone with information to contact the police (Liam McBurney/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sinn Feins John ODowd urged anyone with information to contact the police (Liam McBurney/PA) Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart described the incident as shocking. This is obviously a very sad situation for the family of the deceased man and my thoughts are with them at this time, said the DUP representative. A young life cut off in its prime. The police should be commended once again for the speed with which they have moved with the investigation. They should be given the space to conduct their work. It is shocking to wake up to the news that another life has been needlessly taken. I appeal to anyone with information to contact the police via the 101 non-emergency number or anonymously on the confidential phone number. Sinn Fein Assembly member John ODowd said: Tragic news about the discovery of a mans body in the Lake Road area of Craigavon last night. He urged anyone with information to contact the police. SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly said: This is the latest in a string of sudden deaths in the Upper Bann area. As a Policing Board member, I will be liaising with the PSNI to ensure the police presence in the area is escalated so people across the community feel safe in their homes. [January 17, 2020] MCTC Files 6th Hemp Extract Delivery Patent - CBD Coffee Pods and Associated Delivery System LOS ANGELES, Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NetworkWire -- MCTC Holdings, Inc. (OTC: MCTC), a cannabinoid science forward company developing unique infusion technologies and cannabinoid delivery systems, today announced the filing of a patent for single-serving coffee pods containing cannabinoids and for a unique dosing system that allows any manufacturer of coffee pods to simply and easily add cannabinoids or other active ingredients to coffee pods. An important element of this invention is the Clean Label system utilizing mainly organic ingredients and no chemicals, surfactants or preservatives. This is the Companys sixth patent in the field of cannabinoid delivery systems. The patent filing broadly outlines a variety of methods and technologies to be used for adding cannabinoids to single-serving coffee pods. Our testing has shown our methods are highly effective while still being extremely easy for manufacturers to implement. With our system, any manufacturer of coffee pods can now produce CBD or other coffee pods with simple modification to their processes. The patent filing represents growth of our intellectual property by expanding our core infusion technologies to now include broader systems for cannabinoid delivery, commented Arman Tabatabaei, CEO of MCTC Holdings. The invention includes the use of the Companys Patent Pending Hemp You Can Feel technology and the use of a wide variety of broadly defined other cannabinoid delivery technologies, including the use of both various nanoparticle and non-nanoparticle technologies. The Company has been using the system to produce its recently announced Hemp You Can Feel Coffee products, which are expected to be available to the marketplace later this month. Mr. Tabatabaei continued, It is truly scary what many CBD manufacturers are using to infuse CBD into products. Most technologies utilize extensive processing of the extracts and chemicals, such as surfactants and emulsifiers in the production processes. Other manufacturers are simply adding little to no active ingredients. Our new process is a truly clean label and uses mainly organic and 100% non-GMO ingredients. In addition, the products we plan to deliver to coffee manufacturers will include full certificates of analysis from independent laboratories proving potency and purity. This will allow the manufacturer a full turnkey solution to all of its infusion needs, allowing them to concentrate on the coffee prducts, while we handle the aspects of cannabinoid infusion. This new patent filing represents the Companys sixth patent filing on hemp extract technologies and delivery systems. MCTC is currently working with patent counsel to protect various other aspects of its other new technologies. The Company has also announced a new research project named THC-V Skinny Cannabinoid Project Varin for THC-V infusions, nanoparticles, and glycosides. Also as previously announced, the Company plans to continue other areas of delivery systems research, including its programs pertaining to other cannabinoid glycosides, polymeric cannabinoid nanoparticles and nanofibers, and its hemp extract-based alcohol replacement technologies. About MCTC Holdings, Inc. MCTC Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a: Cannabis Global) is a Delaware registered, fully reporting and audited publicly-traded company. With the hemp and cannabis industries moving very quickly and with a growing number of market entrants, MCTC plans to concentrate its efforts on the middle portions of the hemp and cannabis value chain. The Company plans to actively pursue R&D programs and productization for exotic cannabinoid isolation, bioenhancement of cannabinoids and polymeric solid nanoparticles and nanofibers for addition into consumer products and for dermal application. The Company was reorganized during June of 2019 and announced its intent to enter the fast-growing cannabis sector and its intent to change its corporate identity to Cannabis Global, Inc. The Company is headed and managed by a group of highly experienced cannabis industry pioneers and entrepreneurs. More information on the Company can be viewed at www.CannabisGlobalinc.com. For more information, please contact: Arman Tabatabaei [email protected] Forward-looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which are not purely historical and may include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities and words such as "anticipate", "seek", intend", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "project", "plan", or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based products. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-k, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.sec.gov. SOURCE: MCTC Holdings, Inc Corporate Communications: NetworkWire (NW) New York, New York www.NetworkNewsWire.com 212.418.1217 Office [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Our opponent has given himself $145,000 of his own wealth to pad his campaign, and what does he have to show for it? A word document covered in lies that hes been trying desperately and unsuccessfully to peddle since the summertime," Cabonargis campaign statement said. "Mike is proud to have the support of a variety of people and organizations: labor groups, progressive elected officials and Personal PAC. While our opponent obsesses over spun up fabrications, Mike is focused on the biggest issues in this race and how he can transform the Clerk of the Courts office to foster access to justice. Amid fanfare the Ahmedabad- Mumbai Tejas Express, the second premium train to be run by Railway subsidiary IRCTC, was flagged off by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani here on Friday morning. Equipped with modern facilities, the train departed from Ahmedabad at 10.43am and will reach Mumbai after 6.30 hours, covering a distance of nearly 500km. This is the second premium train to be operated by IRCTC, the Railway firm that hanldes catering, tourism and online ticketing. The first such train, between Delhi and Lucknow, was flagged off last year. The Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express is also operated by IRCTC, which is listed on stock exchanges. The Railways has proposed to run 150 such premium trains across the country. The commercial run of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express will start from January 19 from here, the Railways said. The train was shown green signal with a lot of fanfare at Ahmedabad station where it was decorated with flowers and garlands on exterior. Artists performed traditional music and dance on the platform before the departure of the train. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who was to attend the flagging off ceremony, could not arrive here due to bad weather, BJP MP Kirit Solanki said. "It is a matter of pride that this semi high-speed, second Tejas Express train has been flagged off between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This will benefit both states," Rupani said after flagging off the train. "Work on bullet train is also going on the Mumbai- Ahmedabad route," he said. The train (82902/82901) will operate on the Ahmedabad- Mumbai route six days a week with Thursday kept as off-day for maintenance activity. The fully air-conditioned train has two executive class chair cars, having 56 seats each, and eight chair cars, having capacity of 78 seats each. The total carrying capacity of the train is 736 passengers. IRCTC will compensate passengers for delays. It will provide Rs 100 to each passenger in case delay is more than one hour and Rs 250 if delay exceeds two hours. The train will start its journey at Ahmedabad at 06:40 hours and reach Mumbai Central at 13.10 hours with scheduled commercial halts at Nadiad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Vapi and Borivali stations. For the return journey, the train will leave Mumbai Central at 15:40 hours and reach Ahmedabad at 21:55 hours. The train's fares will be dynamic in nature keeping in mind the prevailing bus, taxi, rail and air rates on the route. It will have different series of fares for lean, busy and festive seasons. Further, the train's fares will be on point-to-point basis and bookings can be done only online 60 days in advance. Meals will be served by on-board service staff and tea and coffee vending machines will be available inside the train. Besides state-of-the-art interiors, the train has personalised reading lights, mobile charging points, CCTV cameras, bio-toilets, LED TV sets and automatic doors. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) by Shafique Khokhar Many Pakistanis, both Christians and Muslims, back the appeal by the family of the 14-year-old girl. The latter was forcibly converted and married to her captor. In Pakistan, only Sindh province has banned underage marriages. A Catholic activist urges Muslim clerical authorities to protect minorities. Karachi (AsiaNews) Increasingly, Pakistanis are calling for the deliverance of Huma Younus, the 14-year-old Christian girl abducted last October, taken 600 kilometres from her home, forcibly converted to Islam and married to her captor. Many Christian as well as Muslim rights activists have backed an appeal launched two days by a lawyer representing the girl to see that her suffering ends and that she is returned to her family. Yuma's lawyer, Tabassum Yousaf, filed a petition yesterday with the Karachi High Court. She hopes to show that the marriage was contracted against the 14-year-old's will and should not have been performed. According to Humas family, those involved in the kidnapping should be punished, pointing out that he people who defend the kidnapper used a phoney birth certificate showing that Huma was 18. As a woman, Mehnaz Rehman, from the Ourat Foundation, can feel for Humas mother, and is sure that within civil society many have already raised the issue of child marriage. She notes appreciatively that Sindh is the only province to pass a law against child marriage. What is more, since no one can legally work or marry before the age of 18, this should be decreed across the country, and also applying to changing religion. Zahid Farooq is a human rights activist. People, he believes, generally dream to see their children get a stable profession. Huma was in Grade 8 at the St Simon Gulshan High School in Korangi, Karachi. He wonders why only non-Muslim are girls forced to become Muslim and marry Muslim men, why they are not accepted as sisters and wives. In his view, If Muslim girls were involved, the cleric and witnesses to the marriage would have been arrested and punished. Hence, although the issue is a delicate one, the government should take action. More importantly, Minorities should have the same rights as Muslims, like in other countries. Pakistan does have laws in favour of minorities but they are not enforced. Dr Jaipal Chhabria, an ophthalmologist, cites Pakistans founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who said that minorities should be treated as equal citizens, but the opposite is the case now. Lawmakers don't speak out in favour of minorities because they just want to keep their seats. No one is interested in defending them because they were not elected with their votes, but picked by political parties. And Many Hindu girls go through the same experience, and are forcibly converted. Kashif Anthony is the national coordinator for Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan. The prophet Muhammad, he explained, signed a famous letter to protect Christians and place the monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai in their trust. Hence, It is very important that Muslims follow the teachings of the Prophet who told his Umma (community) to protect religious sites, minority women and not to convert and marry their girls. For him, Not only the government, the courts and the security forces but also senior Islamic authorities Islam must defend minorities and their youth. While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Vesuvius plc (LON:VSVS) share price up 27% in a single quarter. But in truth the last year hasn't been good for the share price. In fact the stock is down 17% in the last year, well below the market return. See our latest analysis for Vesuvius While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Even though the Vesuvius share price is down over the year, its EPS actually improved. It could be that the share price was previously over-hyped. It's surprising to see the share price fall so much, despite the improved EPS. So it's easy to justify a look at some other metrics. Vesuvius's dividend seems healthy to us, so we doubt that the yield is a concern for the market. From what we can see, revenue is pretty flat, so that doesn't really explain the share price drop. Unless, of course, the market was expecting a revenue uptick. The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). LSE:VSVS Income Statement, January 17th 2020 Vesuvius is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Vesuvius will earn in the future (free analyst consensus estimates) What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Vesuvius's TSR for the last year was -14%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! Story continues A Different Perspective Investors in Vesuvius had a tough year, with a total loss of 14% (including dividends) , against a market gain of about 19%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 4.3%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Vesuvius is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about... We will like Vesuvius better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB exchanges. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Ticker: Just a few years back, the U.S. shale industry was drowning in a sea of hubris, with pompous experts making outrageous claims such as the Permian Shale is a near-infinite resource thanks to the basins explosive production growth in the latter half of the last decade. Investors are now learning the hard way that the key to prognostication is to sound certain even when you know very little. Analysts and investors who still harbor the Too Big to Fail mentality as far as U.S. shale is concerned are, sadly, mired in a depressing cognitive dissonance. The signs of the time are everywhere, and the question is no longer whether shale production can continue indefinitely but rather how much longer before it finally gives out. One big investor has a rather depressing answer to the latter. Adam Waterous, CEO at Waterous Energy Fund, says US shale production will peak in 2020 and then begin a steep decline thereafter. He argues that the financial position of Permian oil has clearly become untenable and production is much closer to peaking than many current forecasts suggest. Source: Bloomberg Disappointing Returns Waterous has told Bloomberg that few investors are still eager to touch the sector after nearly a decade of underperformance, including negative free cash flow and disappointing returns. He certainly has a valid point. Steve Schlotterbeck, former CEO of the largest natural gas producer EQT, claims the average shale company has destroyed 80% of shareholder value (excluding capital) over the past decade. The US energy sector has emerged as the worst performer over the timeframe, with its weighting in the S&P 500 falling from 13% at the peak of the shale boom to just 4% currently--unmistakable signs of capital flight. Related: The U.S. Natural Gas Boom Is On Its Last Legs Meanwhile, bankruptcies in the sector have soared, with the total number that have gone under since 2015 clocking in at more than 200, including high-profile ones such as Chesapeake Energy, Sanchez Energy and Halcon Resources. To make matters worse, the fund manager says the usual M&A playbook that smaller producers have increasingly been turning to is a broken model thats incapable of creating any shareholder value. Living in Denial According to Waterous, analysts and investors who dont believe that the shale bust has already begun are going through the first phase of grief: Denial. Investors who initially thought that the massive structural changes that kicked off about five years ago were merely a cyclical event with the good times set to return will be disappointed to learn that those halcyon days are gone forever. He has observed that many companies are now in the Bargaining phase as they try to operate within existing cash flows. The good part for investors: Mr. Waterous says in the fifth and final stage, Acceptance, companies will accept that this is the new norm and will start returning cash payouts to shareholders via dividends to allow them to recoup some of their investments. A handful of companies have arguably reached this stage as the rank of high-dividend payers in the sector keeps swelling. That handful includes, according to Kiplinger, the likes of Chevron (NYSE:CVX), which has prioritized dividends over stock buybacks, and Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO), which has more than doubled its payout over the past five years. The list also includes ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), which Bank of America insists can fund massive expansion at the same time as it increases its dividend. Related: Iran Regime Change Could Push To $40 Oil Room to Run? To be fair, Mr. Waterous seems to have vested interests in the shale saga considering that his PE firm has been picking up distressed energy assets on the cheap. Waterous once served as head of investment banking at Bank of Nova Scotia where he had a direct hand in M&A plays that helped reshape the energy sector. He seems to be putting those skills to good use, with his firm buying Pengrowth Energy Corp. in November in a $21 million deal after the companys shares cratered under a huge debt load. Certainly not everyone shares Waterous Peak Permian in 2020 view, with BloombergNEF analyst Tai Liu saying the shale oil pessimism is overdone. Indeed, the general consensus is that the US shale industry still has some room to run, with production in the current year expected to continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace. Nevertheless, its also noteworthy that Waterous is hardly alone in his gloomy shale outlook. In 2017, Simon Flowers, Chairman and Chief Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, predicted that a slowdown in Permian production would begin in 2021 as drillers hit a cost efficiency ceiling. By. Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A 45-year-old woman initially thought she had been shot in the face during a fight with her boyfriend, but she had actually been struck, possibly with the firearm. The Pontiac woman called police at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, to a home on Crystal Lake, and deputies from the Oakland County Sheriffs Office found the injured woman. She said shes been arguing with her boyfriend when he pulled a gun and pointed it at her face. She told deputies she didnt remember w hat happened, saying she was either shot or struck. Deputies reported the trauma to her face and neck appeared to be blunt force, not a gun shot. Deputies found the boyfriend at Franklin Boulevard and Rapid Street, and they detained the 44-year-old Pontiac man. He did not have a backpack that the woman had described, but deputies, using a tracking dog, eventually found a backpack matching her description in a parking lot between the home and where he was found. Two pistols were found inside the bag. She was treated at a hospital, and the man was arrested and jailed, pending charges, which could include felonious assault. New Delhi, Jan 17 : Newly elected Congress legislators of Jharkhand met Sonia and Rahul Gandhi here on Friday amid talk of cabinet expansion in the state which is likely to take place this month. The Congress has 16 MLAs and is in coalition with the JMM in the Hemant Soren-led government. Two of its legislators - Rameshwar Oraon and Alamgir Alam - took oath of office along with the chief minister on December 29. The Congress has got three more berths to be filled from its quota. The party has decided to give representation to all sections of society - the women, forward castes and the OBC community - as it has to balance the caste and gender equation in the state. There are 4 women MLAs from the party including the youngest Amba Prasad who can be the party choice for the cabinet while Deepika Pandey Singh is also a contender. The other two women MLAs are Mamta Devi and Purnima Singh. Rajendra Singh could be the party choice for one of the ministers to placate the upper caste community. Similarly, Banna Gupta can be the face of the Vaishya community (OBC) to give proper representation to everyone in the state, said sources. The Congress-JMM government took office last month. The JMM chief had also met Congress leaders in Delhi and had discussed governance issues and the cabinet expansion. The answer, Id suggest, goes beyond the fact that children cant vote, while seniors can and do. There has also been a poisonous interaction between racial antagonism and bad social analysis. These days, political support for programs that aid children is surely hurt by the fact that less than half the population under 15 is non-Hispanic white. But even before immigration transformed Americas ethnic landscape, there was a widespread perception that programs like Aid to Families With Dependent Children basically helped Those People you know, the bums on welfare, the welfare queens driving Cadillacs. This perception undermined support for spending on children. And it went along with a widespread belief that aid to poor families was creating a culture of dependency, which in turn was the culprit behind social collapse in Americas inner cities. Partly in response, aid to families, such as it was, increasingly came with work requirements, or took the form of things like the earned-income tax credit, which is linked to earnings. The result was a decline in assistance for the poor children who needed it most. At this point, however, we know that cultural explanations of social collapse were all wrong. The sociologist William Julius Wilson argued long ago that social dysfunction in big cities was caused, not by culture, but by the disappearance of good jobs. And he has been vindicated by what happened to much of the American heartland, which suffered a similar disappearance of good jobs and a similar surge in social dysfunction. What this means is that weve established a basically vicious system under which children cant get the help they need unless their parents find jobs that dont exist. And a growing body of evidence says that this system is destructive as well as cruel. Multiple studies have found that safety-net programs for children have big long-term consequences. Children who receive adequate nutrition and health care grow up to become healthier, more productive adults. And in addition to the humanitarian side of these benefits, theres a monetary payoff: Healthier adults are less likely to need public aid and are likely to pay more in taxes. Its probably too much to claim that helping children pays for itself. But it surely comes a lot closer to doing so than tax cuts for the rich. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:06:18|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close NAIROBI, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Trade Center on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding to boost bilateral ties between Kenya and the Gulf state. Richard Ngatia, president of KNCCI told journalists in Nairobi that under the agreement, Kenyan businesses will receive capacity building to produce globally competitive products and services. "Kenyan firms will also be provided with a platform to leverage UAE as a logistical hub so as to access markets in the Middle East and Asia region," Ngatia said. He noted that despite the well-established transportation links, bilateral trade between UAE and Kenya remains below the potential. The UAE Trade Center also pledged to help KNCCI advocate for a more favorable business and investment operating environment in Kenya so as to enhance the volumes of foreign direct investments flowing into the east African nation. Walid Hareb, managing director of UAE Trade Center said that Kenya's strategic location makes it a gateway for international businesses seeking to penetrate the east and central African region. The UAE Trade Center plans to open an office in Kenya that will act as a bridge for UAE investors seeking to expand into the east African nation. "Through our efforts, so far between 50 to 60 UAE companies have already expressed interest to explore opportunities in Kenya's agriculture, energy, health and industrial sectors," Hareb said. The UAE firm also has plans to establish an online platform where Kenyan importers and exporters can get access to reliable and reputable business partners in the UAE. Saudi Arabian authorities have paid the United States close to $ 500 million in compensation for the cost of moving and deploying US troops and military equipment to this country. The Pentagon spokeswoman Rebecca Rebarich informed about this to CNN. The payment was made in December last year. President Donald Trump asserted last week in an interview with Fox News that Saudi Arabia had "already deposited $1 billion in the bank." "Consistent with the [US] President's guidance to increase partner burden-sharing, the Department of Defense has engaged Saudi Arabia on sharing the cost of these deployments, which support regional security and dissuade hostility and aggression, Rebarich said. The Saudi government has agreed to help underwrite the cost of these activities and has made the first contribution." 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. 17, Trend reports. The Armenian armed forces were using large caliber machine guns. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, 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 (@FahadShabbir) ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 16th Jan, 2020) The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment today wrapped up its participation in the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, ADSW 2020, with major wins for climate action in the UAE and abroad. On the last day, the ministry brought down the curtain on its Climate Innovations Exchange, a global platform that connects sustainability entrepreneurs with progressive investors, by announcing the best innovators in each category. The winner of Sustainability in Space was SATLANTIS, a Spanish start-up that provides proven high-performance technologies to enable the development of high spatial and temporal resolution services for earth observation. The company entered the competition with its integrated Standard Imager for Microsatellites, a high-resolution optical binocular telescope. Plastic Fri, the Swedish start-up that targets minimising the environmental impact of conventional petroleum-based plastic via an environmentally-friendly alternative, was named the best innovator for the Future of food and Agriculture category. Its plant-based bag is 100 percent compostable, biodegradable, and non-toxic. The best innovator in the Future of Mobility category was Ampaire, a US-based developer of electric aircraft that presented the worlds largest hybrid-electric plane the Electric EEL. Meanwhile, Greek agtech start-up, Augmenta, topped the Future of Food and Agriculture category. Easy to retrofit on top of any tractor, its device uses real-time computer vision and AI to automate agricultural processes. The best innovator in the Future of Energy category was Liquidstar, a start-up from Hong Kong that developed baby mobile Tesla PowerWalls to replace liquid fuel with battery-powered Mobile Virtual Grids. The highlight of the Ministrys participation in the ADSW 2020 was the launch of the Abu Dhabi Climate Initiative in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, and Hub71. The synergy seeks to fast-track research and development in water and climate technology to create a global ecosystem for leveraging this technology to drive climate action. Also, on the sidelines of ADSW 2020, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, former President of Iceland and Chairman of the non-profit organisation, Arctic Circle, signed a letter of intent to host The Himalaya Third Pole Forum in Abu Dhabi in January 2021. Dr. Al Zeyoudi also headlined the seventh Green Group Ministerial Roundtable that convened ministers and senior representatives of the Green Group. In a panel discussion titled "Before its Too Late: Meeting the Paris Agreement", held as part of the Future Sustainability Summit, Dr. Al Zeyoudi presented the UAEs updated Nationally Determined Contribution to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement. Before ADSW, Dr. Al Zeyoudi led the UAE delegation to the 10th Session of the International Renewable Energy Agency Assembly, which included a youth forum for the first time. In a ministerial roundtable on using green hydrogen in decarbonisation efforts, Dr. Al Zeyoudi introduced a collaborative project between the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Expo 2020 Dubai, and Siemens that aims to build the first facility in the MENA region to produce hydrogen using clean energy. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko gives a joint press conference with his German counterpart in Berlin on Dec. 20, 2019. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images) Ukraine Foreign Minister: I Dont Trust Lev Parnas Ukraines Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said that hes never spoken with Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas, who has made a series of allegations against President Donald Trump this week and submitted evidence to House Democrats they say bolsters the case to remove Trump from office. Prystaiko also said he doesnt trust Parnas. Frankly, I have not spoken with this individual, and again, frankly, I dont trust any word he is now saying, Prystaiko told CNN. Parnas has said Trump was aware of an alleged scheme by Trumps lawyer Rudy Giuliani to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into announcing an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden in exchange for Trump releasing security assistance to Ukraine. Parnas claimed in TV appearances this week that Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General William Barr, and former national security adviser John Bolton were aware of what was happening, a claim vociferously denied by Pences spokesman and the Department of Justice. Giuliani, a known associate of Parnas, has said he was not aware of any wrongdoing. Parnas submitted a raft of documents to the House of Representatives and House Democrats released some of the information this week, including handwritten notes and texts. All of this new evidence confirms what we already know: the President and his associates pressured Ukrainian officials to announce investigations that would benefit the President politically, four House chairs said in a joint statement. In this Dec. 2, 2019, file photo, Lev Parnas arrives at court in New York. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo) Prystaiko cautioned against trusting Parnas, saying the security assistance from the United States to Ukraine is reviewed annually and can be cut sometimes, depending on the political winds. He appeared to say that Ukraine received more than they thought they would get last year when Trump eventually released congressionally approved funds. I understand that this individual, which I dont know personally, is trying to save his own case, and I, again, I dont trust what he is saying, Prystaiko said, referring to Parnas being indicted for making illegal campaign contributions. Prystaiko said hes tired of questions about Ukraines role in the events surrounding Trumps impeachment, saying the country enjoys bipartisan support and wants to keep it that way. He also dismissed reports that Ukrainian officials were part of so-called backchannels opened by Giuliani to negotiate the alleged quid pro quo. I believe that people are now trying to raise their political importance, he said. Frankly, we dont need these channels, our channels of communication with the Americans are well-established. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said Ukraine wasnt aware of the hold on congressionally approved aid to Ukraine when Trump spoke to Zelensky in July. The aid was released on time, a senior administration official said, though the Government Accountability Office said on Thursday that series of holds placed on the aid by the Trump administration violated the law. Ukraine never announced a probe into the Bidens. The White House also pushed back against allegations made by Parnas this week. These allegations are being made by a man who is currently out on bail for federal crimes and is desperate to reduce his exposure to prison, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. The facts havent changedthe president did nothing wrong and this impeachment, which was manufactured and carried out by the Democrats has been a sham from the start. Shane Brethour, who is accused of threatening a man on Dec. 10, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday morning. Brethour, 30, was bound over to District Court by Judge Arthur Wetzel. When Brethour allegedly threatened another man on Dec. 10, five Grand Island elementary schools went into lockout mode. The disturbance took place at 418 W. 11th St. Brethour is charged with terroristic threats, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person. According to the court affidavit, Brethour stabbed a dog in the head during his dispute with Troy Nelson. Three misdemeanor charges were dismissed Thursday in the move to District Court. But those charges will be refiled in District Court. Brethour will again be charged with first-offense cruelly mistreating an animal, criminal mischief totaling $0 to $500 and contributing to the delinquency of a child. Wetzel scheduled Brethours District Court arraignment for 9 a.m. Feb. 4. The affidavit says the argument between Brethour and Nelson was about a ride. The security of the two airports of Jammu and Srinagar will be handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in the aftermath of the arrest of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) airport security, Devinder Singh, for trying to assist terrorists to travel to other parts of the country. The Jammu and Kashmir government has said that it is necessary to initiate the process based on the inspection conducted by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security Office (BCAS), Ministry of Civil Aviation, and Centre. It further said that the proposal for replacement of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police, presently responsible for ensuring the security of airports in the union territory, by the CISF has been engaging attention of authorities for quite some time. The union territory government further said that this issue has acquired immediacy in view of the arrests. Live TV The move is likely to be implemented by the end of January 2020. While the outer security of the Srinagar airport will be under the CRPF, the internal security will be handled by the CISF. In Jammu airport, the outer security will be under the CRPF and J&K Police, the internal security will be under the CISF. The internal security means the security from inside the airport building till the runway, where the flight takes off. Singh was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police with two Pakistan-based terror group Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists on January 11 when he was travelling with them. He is accused of assisting them of alleged involvement in anti-India activities. Jammu and Kashmir Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar had said on January 12 that Singh will be dealt as a "terrorist". Kumar had said that 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. "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 had added. Sources had said that the police later raided DSP Singh's residence and recovered five grenades along with three AK-47 rifles. Singh was dismissed from service on January 15. The vehicle in which Singh was travelling with the terrorists was intercepted after the police tracked the movements and location of Babu, who was once a Special Police Officer in Jammu and Kashmir police. Sources had said that during his interrogation, Singh has repeatedly maintained that he was not helping the terrorists to escape from Kashmir and that he was taking the duo to surrender before the Jammu and Kashmir police. According to security forces, Babu was involved in the killing of 11 people from outside Kashmir, including truck drivers and labourers in October and November 2019. He was also wanted for his involvement in forcing a shutdown in south Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. The Jammu and Kashmir government on December 15 had said that Sher-e-Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry, awarded to Singh on August 14, 2018, stands forfeited. The withdrawal of the medal was done through an order issued by the Home Department signed by Shaleen Kabra, IAS, Principal Secretary to government, Home Department. Its often said that the failure of conventional economics revealed by the global financial crisis has prompted no serious effort to find a new economic theory that actually works. Look closer, however, and you see economists stirring themselves to lift their game. Thats the view of a noted American economist and critic of his profession, Professor Dani Rodrik, of Harvard, in an article published this week by Project Syndicate. Rodrik says the populist backlash sweeping the advanced economies in recent years think Trump, Brexit and Pauline Hanson has produced some soul searching in the discipline. It is, after all, a backlash against the austerity policies, free-trade deals, financial deregulation and labour market deregulation that economists urged on the politicians (and only in retrospect realised how naive theyd been and how misused by pollies with other agendas). The populist backlash sweeping the advanced economies in recent years think Trump, Brexit and Pauline Hanson has produced some soul searching in the discipline, says Professor Dani Rodrik. Credit:AP In consequence of this rethink, the economics profession is gradually changing for the better, according to Rodrik. But the transformation extends beyond thinking about economic policy. Within the discipline theres finally a reckoning with the hierarchical practices (reverence for seniority and high-status universities) and the macho seminar culture (where anyone who says something silly or unorthodox is brutally shot down) that have produced an inhospitable environment for women and minorities. As for the Proft for Governor fund, the same attorney said it had made a corrective accounting/journal entry of $3,353.11 as a campaign receipt to balance the books. The amount, Meyer wrote, is not an actual contribution nor receipt of anything else of value. Post-stabilisation notice 17thJanuary 2020 Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. Commerzbank AG 500mn 0.50% preferred senior Tap due 2026 Launched pursuant to the Issuer's MTN Programme Post-Stabilisation Notice Commerzbank (contact: [name]; telephone: [number]) hereby gives notice that no stabilisation (within the meaning of Article 3.2 (d) of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU Regulation 596/2014) was undertaken by the Stabilising Managers named below in relation to the offer of the following securities. Issuer: Commerzbank AG Guarantor (if any): none ISIN: DE000CZ45VC5 Aggregate nominal amount: EUR 500,000,000 Description: 0.50% senior preferred Tap due 4 December 2026 Stabilisation Coordinator: Stabilisation Managers: Commerzbank AG ABN Amro DekaBank Banco Santander UniCredit This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction. This announcement is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. In an apparent swipe at Opposition parties over protests against the CAA, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said on Thursday that those who lost in 'democratic process' converted the 'streets into democratic forum' and indulged in violence. New Delhi: In an apparent swipe at Opposition parties over protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said on Thursday that those who lost in "democratic process" converted the "streets into democratic forum" and indulged in violence. He asserted that Indian citizenship rules are "non-discriminatory" and allow outsiders to become citizens after different periods of stay in the country. He noted that the latest amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, is for refugees who arrived in India by 31 December, 2014. Participating in a panel discussion in the Raisina Dialogue, Madhav made these remarks while responding to questions from the audience about the protests. He was also asked by a member of audience if India was moving towards "undemocratic democracy". Madhav said India has a vibrant and good Constitution, and "we are all wedded to it". He added that Indian democracy will only progress further and mature. Referring to protests, some of which were marred by violence, he took a dig at Opposition parties without naming them. "You lose in democratic process and convert streets into democratic forum, indulge in violence and say the government is not listening. That is not the democratic spirit," he said, adding the Narendra Modi government has faced the highest level of criticism. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed in the "most democratic manner" after thorough discussion in Parliament, the BJP leader asserted and stated that the government responded to criticism during debate. "The government is duty-bound to respond to criticism sans violence," Madhav said, adding those who have a different view should use the right forum in the right manner. "Getting depressed and claiming that Indian democracy is going to the dogs, this you have to keep aside. In India, governments are changed at the drop of a hat. Nobody is permanent in a democracy," he said. During the panel discussion, Madhav said for a democracy to succeed it has to truly represent people and a particular culture has to be nurtured in the society. "Otherwise you give democracy to a given country, take it from me, Osama Bin Laden posthumously can become the president. You need to nurture a value system in that society," he said. The BJP general secretary also noted during the discussion that Adolf Hitler and Mussolini were "products of democracy" and added that democracies mature over time. Democracy also needs many institutions in place to succeed, Madhav said, adding that in India "democratic institutions for millennia at the societal level have nurtured democratic spirit". Madhav said India has always promoted democratic values in the region and supported people's right to uphold democratic values. He, however, added that democracy should not be used as a "political stick or political weapon" to use against any particular country. By PTI NEW DELHI: Amnesty International on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to allow peaceful demonstrations against the CAA in Varanasi, the former's Lok Sabha constituency, and uphold people's right to protest. The global human rights body also sought an independent probe into all cases of police brutality and prosecution of those responsible for violence against protestors. There is an ongoing crackdown on peaceful protests in Varanasi and the UP government continues to use excessive force to intimidate and harass those critical of the Citizenship Amendment Act, Amnesty International India (AII) executive director Avinash Kumar said in a statement. After interviewing over two dozen people from different parts of Varanasi and gathering corroborating evidence, AII calls on Modi and Yogi to intervene and end the gross violations of right to peaceful assembly in the city and other parts of UP, he said. "(Though) Modi has said criticism makes a democracy strong, there is a total disregard by the state to those who are protesting against the CAA. Permissions for peaceful protests have been denied, protestors have been arrested, the state police have used excessive force and state officials openly threaten and intimidate protestors," Kumar claimed. Stressing that protesting peacefully is not a crime but a right, the statement said the PM must "lead the way and set an example" by showing that peaceful dissent in his constituency is not being crushed. He must ensure that the "UP government sets up an independent investigation into all cases of police brutality. Those responsible must be prosecuted", the statement said. The organisation said it found that between December 11 and 23, 2019, more than 70 people were arrested for peacefully protesting in the state and that the police indiscriminately cane charged peaceful protestors and innocent bystanders. "It led to the death of an eight-year-old child who was crushed to death and resulted in over a dozen injuries," Kumar said. Interviews with the families of the arrested persons also show that police used violence during arrests. They were also harassed and intimidated in jail and most of them were kept in custody for over 15 days despite securing bail, the AII alleged. Granting bail to Azad, the court also restrained him from visiting Delhi for four weeks and directed him not to hold any dharna till the elections in the National Capital. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said demonstration through constitutional means will continue until the Citizenship Amendment Act is repealed. Azad, who was arrested in connection with the violence during an anti-CAA protest in Old Delhi's Daryaganj, was released from Tihar Jail on Thursday night. A Delhi court granted him conditional bail on Wednesday. He has been asked to leave Delhi within 24 hours of his release from jail and to stay out of the city for four weeks. On being asked about the restrictions imposed he said that he would appeal to the court. "Court gave me relief. I have faith in the judiciary," he said. Asserting that the fight against National Population Register (NPR), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and CAA will be strengthened, Azad said it is important to make the Centre realise that not just the Muslims but, everyone across the nation is against the new law. "I am a staunch follower of Ambedkar and a lawyer too. I don't do anything which is against the law. We shouldn't be treated like a slave in our own country. The protest against NPR, NRC and CAA will be strengthened so the Centre realises that everyone is against the new law," he said. Highlighting the protests led by women, especially at Shaheen Bagh, he said that the nation is proud of them and everyone would continue to lend them support. "Women, especially from the Muslim community, have emboldened the spirit of the protest. Muslim women who didn't come out and speak on abrogation of Article 370, Triple talaq or Ayodhya verdict are now speaking when a law is being forcefully implemented to break the nation. I am proud to see all of them at Shaheen Bagh have remained firm on their demands," Azad further said. He also said that he will make an appeal to the Delhi court to allow him to visit Shaheen Bagh. On being asked if the court denies him permission, what would be his next step of action Azad said that his motive would be to boost the narrative anti-CAA protests and to make the Centre take back the contentious law. "My work is my home and this society is my family. I will continue to serve my family, who belong to the poor, Adivasi, Dalit and the Muslim community. The part of the society who do not get enough opportunity to voice their concerns I will work for them. My strategy will be to intensify the narrative of the anti-CAA protests and to make the Centre take back the contentious law. We will continue to voice our protest against CAA until it is repealed," he said. Making an appeal to the citizens, he said it is the responsibility of every Indian citizen to voice dissent through constitutional means. "It is important to expand our support to the anti-CAA protests because it is against the division of the nation. It is important for every citizen to protect the Constitution. Today the Centre is trying to subvert the Constitution. It is vital to seek answers from the government," he said. Azad visits Jama Masjid, terms CAA 'black act' On Friday, Azad visited the historic Jama Masjid where he stayed for close to 40 minutes. Swarmed by his supporters and locals, Azad, with his trademark blue 'safaa', read out the Preamble to the Constitution. Calling for repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which he termed as a "black act", he said nothing is bigger than keeping the country together. "This (anti-CAA) movement is for the future of this country, for our identity and to uphold the Constitution. It is our responsibility to strengthen it," he said. Before visiting Jama Masjid, he also paid obeisance at Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir near Gole Market and visited Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. Azad's outfit had organised a march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar against the amended citizenship act on 20 December, without police permission. He was sent to judicial custody on 21 December. On Wednesday, a Delhi court tore into the police for failing to produce evidence of its charges against Azad. "It is one's constitutional right to protest," the court said. Granting bail to Azad, the court also restrained him from visiting Delhi for four weeks and directed him not to hold any dharna till the elections in the National Capital. Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau had granted the relief to Azad on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 25,000. While granting bail to Azad on Wednesday, the judge recited Rabindranath Tagore's famous poem 'Where the Mind is Without Fear' and said citizens have a fundamental right to peaceful protest which cannot be curtailed by the state. "I am reminded of our reverend patriotic poet Rabindranath Tagore who is most relevant today. He during the colonial era in early 1900's when British followed the policy of Divide and Rule, visualised a nation where there is no fear in the minds people and education is attained by all; people are enlightened and do not create walls of discrimination," she had said. Judge Kamini Lau was furious when the prosecutor referred to Azad's social media posts to argue that he had incited violence and read out the Bhim Army chief's tweet about going to a dharna in Jama Masjid. "Where is the violence? What is wrong with any of these posts? Who says you cannot protest...have you read the Constitution?" The judge also noted: "You are behaving as if Jama Masjid is in Pakistan. Even if it was Pakistan, you can go there and protest. Pakistan was a part of undivided India." With inputs from PTI BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Tamilla Mammadova Trend: Georgia has been named Tourist Destination of the Year at Matka Nordic Travel Fair 2020, Trend reports citing Georgian media outlets. As reported, Helsinki is hosting the event through January 15-19, 2020. The target market of the fair is not only Finland, but also the countries of Scandinavia and the Baltic States. The Georgian National Tourism Administration is participating in the exhibition for the third time. This year Georgian exhibition space is represented by nine tourist companies and organizations, which include Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara, Adjara Tour LLC, Georgia in Contact, Caucasus Travel, World Express Georgian Travel Group, Voyage Tours, APG and Iberia Tours Plus. Based on the information of Georgian National Tourism Administration, the number of visitors from Finland to Georgia in 2019 increased by 17.7 percent in comparison to 2018. Annually, the Matka Nordic Travel Fair is attended by about 50,000 visitors and nearly 20,000 travel trade professionals. The event represents perfect networking platform for those interested in reaching both consumers and travel trade professionals. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356 Stoutly defending its decision to raise the Kashmir issue at the UNSC as an attempt to de-escalate India-Pakistan tensions and out of 'goodwill', China on Friday claimed that 'most of the members' of the Council have voiced their concern over the situation in the Valley Beijing: Stoutly defending its decision to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council as an attempt to de-escalate India-Pakistan tensions and out of "goodwill", China on Friday claimed that "most of the members" of the Council have voiced their concern over the situation in the Valley. China's comments came a day after India asserted that Beijing's latest attempt to raise the Kashmir issue at the UNSC on Pakistan's behalf has failed, with an overwhelming majority of the 15-member body expressing the view that it was not the right forum to discuss the bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. China, Pakistan's 'all-weather ally', on Wednesday made the fresh pitch to raise the Kashmir issue under "other matters" during a closed meeting in the UN Security Council Consultations Room. Answering a barrage of questions at a media briefing here on why China is backing Pakistan to raise the Kashmir issue in the UNSC, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, "China's position is consistent and clear. This issue is a dispute left from history and should be properly resolved following the UN charter, UNSC resolutions, and bilateral treaties and in a peaceful way." "As requested by Pakistan, the Security Council reviewed the Kashmir issue on 15 January. The Security Council members are concerned about the current situation and they called the relevant parties to observe the charter and resolve disputes peacefully, through political dialogue and exercise restraint and work on de-escalation," he said. Replying to a question on why only China, among all the members, is making such claims, whereas no other member of the body has spoken about it, Geng said, "Indeed the UNSC reviewed the Kashmir issue on 15 January and there was no statement. But China as a permanent member participated in the review meeting and what I said was in line with the review. But if you think this is not true then you can look at other sources." When asked to name other countries he referred to, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "If you do not trust our views you may refer to other sites for information." At a press briefing in New Delhi on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, while replying to questions about the developments in the UNSC, said the overwhelming majority of the UNSC was of the view that it was not the right forum for such issues. Pakistan's attempt to peddle baseless allegations and show an alarming scenario failed as it lacked credibility, he said. Commenting on India's statement, Geng said, "India's attitude and views, we understand them. But what I said was China's views and stance. I believe that India is aware of that and we have been in contact on that." To a question on why China is raising the Kashmir issue at the UNSC, when the top leaders of India and China made efforts to improve relations through informal summits, creating a negative perception among Indians, Geng said, "Because we want to work for de-escalation and work for regional peace and stability. This is out of goodwill. However, if the Indian side interprets it in other way, that will be a wrong interpretation." Following the Indian government's revocation of special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating it into two union territories on 5 August last year, China has criticised New Delhi for making Ladakh a union territory. China lays claim over several parts of Ladakh. Responding to a question that the Russian envoy in India has said that the Kashmir issue should be resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan, he said during the review most UNSC members expressed concern on the current situation in Kashmir and called for restraint and de-escalation of tensions through dialogue. "Russia is a member of the UNSC and its position has been fully expressed during the review," he said. Replying to a question on why China, which in the past has advocated that the Kashmir issue should be peacefully resolved between India and Pakistan, has now changed its stand by including UNSC resolutions and UN charter, Geng said Beijing's position on Kashmir is very clear. "We haven't changed our position. The issue between India and Pakistan has always been on the UNSC agenda. The UNSC should pay attention to the issue in Kashmir based on the latest developments. And in this region, there are still International Observer Groups and it has always been on UNSC agenda," he said. About India's decision to invite Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in the meeting of the Heads of the governments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries, Geng said, "SCO is a regional cooperation organisation. India and Pakistan are members of it. Both the countries, we hope, can work together closely under this framework for the healthy development of this organisation." "India and Pakistan are important countries in South Asia and I hope they can resolve their issues through dialogue and improve their relations," he said. To a question on allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir during the past five months, Geng reiterated China's stand, saying that Beijing stood for enhancing dialogue and mutual trust between India and Pakistan and exercise restraint and work for de-escalation of tensions. "As a responsible country, we have been in contact with both India and Pakistan, and are playing a constructive role on this," he said. Sundar Pichai recently got the reins of Googles parent company Alphabet, and since last week it has been coming close to a trillion-dollar valuation. However, that wait has finally ended, as it finally crossed the trillion-dollar mark yesterday, ending the days trending at $1451.70 per share, up 0.87 percent. Reuters This makes Alphabet fourth American company to hit a trillion-dollar valuation -- the first company to do so being Apple, followed by Amazon and Microsoft. The next tech company expected to come in this territory is social media giant Facebook which closed at $620 billion yesterday. Alphabet is also the second tech brand to touch trillion-dollar valuation, lead by an Indian-origin CEO, after Microsofts Satya Nadella. Last week, Alphabets share prices spiked a good 1.2-percent during the pre-market trading on Thursday, after positive comments from analysts for the brands prospects in 2020. At least three financial firms raised their price target on the stock -- primarily on the fact that it could see promising growth in the ad business, partly relying on the political ad spending for the 2020 elections. The push resulted in the tech giant to close on Wednesday at a market capitalisation of $969 billion -- gaining more than 35 percent than what it made in June 2019. Sundar Pichai was previously CEO at Google, and from his appointment in 2015 till the time he got promoted to become Alphabets CEO, Googles share prices have risen from $512 all the way to $1430. Alphabet owns not just Google Search, YouTube and Android, but a number of other businesses under its purview. Companies like self-driving car technology business Waymo, health care software company Verily, high-speed gigabit internet connection network Google Fiber, advanced AI firm DeepMind, and more -- all are controlled by Pichai now. Mr Ghosh, however, made it clear that each person from Bangladesh living in India would be mandated to fill up the CAA form. Kolkata: West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Dilip Ghosh, the party MP of Midnapore, declared on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would give barely four months time to people to apply for citizenship in accordance with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Dismissing the validity of ones Aadhaar Card and Voter Card for citizenship, he also predicted, at a rally in support of the CAA in Howrah, that no document would be required for filling up the CAA application form. Mr Ghosh, however, made it clear that each person from Bangladesh living in India would be mandated to fill up the CAA form. Mr Ghosh said, Modiji will give three-four months time. You have to fill up the forms according to the CAA. No document will be required. You will only state the date you entered India and mention your fathers name with the address, say, Saatkhira (Bangladesh). This is proof. No other document and attestation will be needed. He elaborated, Aadhar Card or Voter Card is not citizenship. If you apply for a passport, your originals will be found out but you would not be able to furnish it. It would not be accepted. You would not be a citizen then. So each and every person, who came here from Bangladesh, would have to apply for the citizenship and fill up the forms. Taking a dig at chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the BJP MP, who has become the state party chief for the second time, alleged, Didi is saying: Do not fill up the forms. Never fall prey to her ploy. Ask those businessmen who did not register themselves for the Goods and Services Tax and had to pay fines later. An attempt is being made to fool Bengalis. He added, You will become an Indian citizen from the date you state in the form. Someone might have come in 1975, others in 1980 and 1985. You will state the date of your arrival correctly. Those who have come here till December 31, 2014, will be awarded citizenship. So your word is the last word. Lashing out at the Trinamul Congress and other Opposition parties for their protests against the CAA, Mr Ghosh argued, They are scaring people, saying the dates of the birth of parents of a person would be asked for. It will not be sought. There is a confirmation about our parents. Triggering controversy once again, the BJP MP reasoned, Those whose own parents are not confirmed are misleading the people. Tell them to decide their parents first and their language. The BJP and society need not worry. If anyone says something, we are there. Pennsylvania's universities offer economics master's degree programs with a range of different strengths and focuses. This article lays out the various program options for master's degree programs in economics across the state. View Schools Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania State University offers a two-year Master of Arts (MA) in Economics degree. The program emphasizes econometrics, quantitative economics, and economic theory in order to prepare students for professional careers as economists or for further research in a Ph.D. program. University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh's 8-month Master of Science in Quantitative Economics (MQE) prepares students with advanced quantitative and analytical tools that they can use to perform data-driven economics in a number of settings. This program is a professional degree, thus it focuses less on academic research and more on technical skills that will make graduates competitive applicants for jobs in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Temple University The Master of Arts in Economics program at Temple University allows students to develop a specialization in econometrics, health economics, international economics, labor, or quantitative macroeconomics. Students can complete this degree in 2-5 years, depending on if they choose to study full time or part time (all classes begin at or after 5:30 pm to accommodate part-time students). Lehigh University Lehigh University's Master of Science in Applied Economics program emphasizes quantitative data analysis. After completing core coursework in managerial economics, econometric software, mathematical economics, and econometrics, students choose between two emphasis tracks: competition and market analysis or policy economics. Drexel University Drexel University offers a Master of Science in Economics program that can be completed in a full-time (in as short as 18 months) or part-time (with flexible scheduling based on a student's needs) format. Students choose a concentration track based on their career goals; the public policy track prepares students for work in the government or nonprofit sectors, the industry track prepares students for jobs in the private sector, and the academic research track prepares students to continue on to Ph.D. programs. School Name Programs Offered Average Graduate Tuition (2018-2019)* Pennsylvania State University Master of Arts in Economics In-state: $21,540 Out-of-state: $36,974 University of Pittsburgh Master of Science in Quantitative Economics (MQS) In-state: $22,846 Out-of-state: $38,736 Temple University Master of Arts in Economics In-state: $16,488 Out-of-state: $22,698 Lehigh University Master of Science in Applied Economics $27,000 Drexel University Master of Science in Economics $34,155 Source: *NCES Completing a Master's Degree in Economics in Pennsylvania Most of these graduate programs in economics allow students to pursue an area of specialization after completing core coursework. Examples of common required courses include: Macroeconomic and Microeconomic Theory Macroeconomic theory classes explore principles of economic growth in the long term. Students study historical theories as well as up-to-date research on the policies that affect global and national economic outcomes. Meanwhile in microeconomic theory classes or sections, students may study small-scale economic systems and the principles that guide them, including consumer demand, production theory, and game theory. Mathematics for Economics In this course, students can learn how to rewrite economic problems into the language of mathematics in order to organize data, pursue academic research, and solve real-world problems. To this end, students may study topics like partial derivation, total differentials, matrix algebra, and dynamic analysis. Students could also learn helpful statistics techniques for quantitative analysis and big-data research. Econometrics In econometrics courses, students can study how to apply their growing mathematical took-kit to solve economic puzzles. This course may include technical skills, like learning how to use computer applications of statistical techniques like regression analysis. Students practice using software to apply mathematical concepts like confidence intervals and regressions. Topics may also include multicollinearity, heteroscedasticity, limited independent variables, autocorrelation, simultaneous equation models, and identification and estimation problems. Entrance Requirements for an Economics Master's Degree All applicants to a master's degree in economics must already have a bachelor's degree; however, most of these graduate programs do not require it to be in economics. Still, applicants are expected to have a strong background in mathematics (including previous classes in linear algebra, calculus, and statistics). Competitive applicants have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Some programs also have a minimum GRE test score. Students must send in their undergraduate transcripts along with letters of recommendation from previous professors and a statement of purpose essay. Across the state of Pennsylvania, master's degree programs are available with concentrations that emphasize both academic research and professional skills. Thus, students who wish to study economics in the Keystone State have the flexibility to choose a program that best fits their career goals. When Sidewalk Prophets gifted a free show to fans, their "Great Big Family" proved that the love shared between artist and audience is mutual. Tickets for Sidewalk Prophets' headlining Ryman Auditorium debut on Mar. 22 became available Thursday (1/9/20) via Ticketmaster's Verified Fan platform, and all complimentary tickets were claimed in less than 12 hours. The sold-out live performance will make history this spring when the band hosts a free public concert at the iconic Ryman Auditorium. The evening, presented by WAY-FM and Children International, will be a big-hearted "thank you" to fans as the "Great Big Family" reunites at the Mother Church to preview Sidewalk Prophets' highly-anticipated album, The Things That Got Us Here (May 22, 2020), available for pre-order and pre-save now. In celebration, the band performed their Top 20 radio hit "Smile" on WSMV's "Today In Nashville" this past Thursday (1/9/20). Watch their performance HERE. In addition, the band has partnered with leading Christian website, New Release Today, to send one lucky fan and a guest to Music City for the sold-out show at Ryman Auditorium on March 22. The exclusive flyaway includes airfare, accommodations, two tickets to the show and a special meet and greet with the band. Fans can enter to win the flyaway through Feb. 23, 2020 HERE. Ahead of the landmark event, Sidewalk Prophets dropped two new songs (1/9/20) from The Things That Got Us Here. "Chosen" and "The Comment Section" are now available across all DSPs. Additionally, the band premiered the official music video for their current radio single, "Smile." For the clip, front man Dave Frey and his bandmates took to the streets of Nashville in an effort to make people smile. Watch the grin-inducing visual below. Prior to launching their historic night for fans at the Ryman, Sidewalk Prophets will kick off their "Smile Tour" Feb. 14 in Hillsboro, Kansas. For more information and all tour dates, visit www.sidewalkprophets.com. "Smile Tour" Dates: 2/14 - Hillsboro, KS 2/15 - Grand Island, NE 2/16 - Cheyenne, WY 2/18 - Worland, WY 2/21 - Twin Falls, ID 2/23 - Walla Walla, WA 2/27 - Ellensburg, WA 3/01 - North Bend, OR 3/05 - Merced, CA 3/06 - Elk Grove, CA 3/12 - Tucson, AZ 4/17 - State College, PA 5/1 - Manheim, PA *Additional dates to be announced. All dates subject to change. About Sidewalk Prophets: With a career spanning three major label studio releases-These Simple Truths (2009), Live Like That (2012) and Something Different (2015), plus 2013's celebrated holiday offering, Merry Christmas To You-and multiple hits, including Gold-certified "The Words I Would Say," "You Love Me Anyway" and "Live Like That," among others, Sidewalk Prophets remains a mainstay at Christian radio. The Dove Award-winning band has sold more than 740,000 albums and 1.8 million digital tracks. In addition, the group has garnered five No. 1 songs, nine Top 5 radio singles and more than 39 million views on YouTube. The band originally formed at Indiana's Anderson University, and since signing with Curb | Word Entertainment, they've been nominated for a Billboard Music Award, multiple K-LOVE Fan Awards and four Dove Awards, taking home the New Artist of the Year Dove in 2010. Over the course of their career, they've played for more than 2.5 million fans, and counting. Known for spending more days on the road than anywhere else, Sidewalk Prophets' most recent tours have morphed into interactive experiences for their fans, whom they affectionately call "The Great Big Family." The band is set to host the first free public concert in Ryman history on Mar. 22, 2020, previewing new music from their highly-anticipated album, The Things That Got Us Here, bowing May 22, 2020. Tags : Tickets For Sidewalk Prophets' Fan Appreciation Night Gone In Less Than 12 Hours Sidewalk Prophets Sidewalk Prophets "The Things That Got Us Here" sidewalk prophets news It was the second time a church that he led experienced financial difficulties. When Muse resigned as pastor of Gibbons-Resurrection United Methodist Church in Brandywine in 1999, he left behind an unfinished building for which Methodist leaders said there was about $6 million in debt and bond payments that were seriously in arrears. Grenfell Tower survivors have criticised the appointment of a key adviser to the tragedys inquiry who has links to the firm blamed for its deadly cladding. Benita Mehra is to assist retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bicks inquiry into the blaze which claimed 72 lives. Miss Mehra previously ran a body given a 71,000 grant from the charitable arm of Arconic, the US company which made the panels used on the 24-storey tower. Benita Mehra is to assist retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bicks (pictured) inquiry into the blaze which claimed 72 lives Miss Mehra previously ran a body given a 71,000 grant from the charitable arm of Arconic, the US company which made the panels used on the 24-storey tower Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle died in the tragedy, said: We will be absolutely furious if she is on the platform and it would be morally wrong to keep this person there' The money was given to the Womens Engineering Society, which Miss Mehra led between 2015 and 2018. The charity confirmed she had helped draft the application, and the funds arrived three months after the 2017 blaze. Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle died in the tragedy, said: We will be absolutely furious if she is on the platform and it would be morally wrong to keep this person there. A Cabinet Office spokesman said the donation was unrelated to the issues being considered by the inquiry. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, January 18 2020 Almost seaworthy: A shipwright works on a wooden motorized vessel in Tanjung village, Natuna, Riau Islands, on Tuesday. The ship, which will have a capacity of 30 to 40 gross tons, is expected to be completed in about four months and cost Rp 150 million (US$11,000). (Antara/M Risyal Hidayat) The government is planning to revise various existing fisheries policies concerning waters around Natuna, including by rebranding the controversial cantrang (seine nets), while also seeking to strengthen the Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla), a senior minister has said. As Chinese vessels left Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Natuna Sea after a standoff lasting a few weeks, officials began talking about Indonesia increasing its presence in the waters on the southernmost edge of the highly disputed South China Sea and making the most of its fishing grounds. 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 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Wind restrictions on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge are in effect amid a wind advisory issued by the National Weather Service that is in effect until 10 p.m. The MTA recommends that motorists drive at a reduced speed on the span. Northwest winds of 20-30 mph and gusts as powerful as 50 mph are expected leading into Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service. Travel limits are also in effect on the Bayonne Bridge. Banned from the Bayonne are tractor-trailer trucks, tandem trailers and over-sized and recreational vehicles, according to Notify NYC and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Truckers should consider using alternate routes, according to Notify NYC. The speed limit has been reduced to 30 mph for drivers and the walkway on the span also is closed. Turkey has denied promising Turkish citizenship to Syrian who fight against Haftar's forces in Libya reports Alsouria Net. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevut Cavusoglu denied that citizenship was given to Syrian fighters in exchange for going to Libya with Turkish backing to fight alongside the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is internationally recognized. Cavusoglu said in an interview with CNN TURK on Wednesday that all the claims about Turkish citizenship being given to fighters in the Syrian National Army for fighting in Libya were totally untrue and added that the matter was not real. The minister did not explicitly reference the validity of reports about sending Syrian fighters to Libya and only said that his government had not given citizenship to those fighters for fighting in Libya. The Guardian, a British newspaper, published a report in which it said that Syrian fighters had been sent to Libya and that they would soon, at a request from Turkey, support the GNA, which is headed by Sarraj, saying that according to three sources, 300 fighters from the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army had arrived in Libya on Dec. 24, 2019, with 350 more on Dec. 29, 2019, while 1,350 Syrian fighters had arrived in Turkey on Jan. 5, 2020, with some of them headed to Libya, while others were receiving military training in bases south of Turkey. According to the newspaper, Syrian fighters had signed contracts with Turkey for six month periods, for 2,000 dollars a month and that they would be given Turkish citizenship, which was denied by the Turkish foreign minister. Some reports have been published talking about Turkey conscripting Syrian fighters to send them to Libya. A video was published on social media in which a group of fighters appeared in Libya speaking in Syrian dialect, saying that they had liberated a base from Haftars forces, but the veracity of the video was not confirmed, or if it had actually been in Libya. In the CNN TURK interview, Cavusoglu referenced the ceasefire in Idleb saying that there had been violations of the agreement Turkey had reached with Russia a few days ago. He added that: We cannot say that the deal has collapsed, and expressed his hope that a truce would be implemented and that there would be no future violations. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. By Jonathan Lai, The Philadelphia Inquirer People holding their breath to see how Pennsylvania votes in the 2020 presidential election might not want to wait up too late on election night. While the unofficial and more immediately available results have accounted for the vast majority of votes cast in years past, a new law means a significant share of ballots might not be tallied until after Election Day, according to county elections officials. Races with razor-thin margins may be too close to call for days. Its an unintended consequence of changes meant to make voting more flexible and accessible, including by making absentee ballots available to everyone. Many of those mail-in ballots wont be counted on election night even in counties that used to include them in their initial results. None of this changes the official, certified results that already come in long after the world knows who won. But being able to call a race in the hours after polls close has become an expectation for the public, with news organizations building sophisticated models for projecting winners based on unofficial results as they come in. And Pennsylvania is a critical swing state in presidential elections. Donald Trump won the state in 2016 with just 44,292 more votes than Hillary Clinton, less than 1% of the more than 6.1 million votes cast. Along with similarly narrow victories in Michigan and Wisconsin, Pennsylvania was key in elevating Trump to the White House and is again expected to be close. No county wants to be the reason we dont know the leader of the free world on election night, said Lee Soltysiak, Montgomery Countys chief operating officer and clerk of its election board. And thats the position, depending on the margin, were all likely to be in. In addition to many more absentee ballots likely than in the past, the new election law changes how they are processed. The election night numbers are going to be minus what we anticipate will be a fairly sizable number of ballots that have not yet been counted and will be counted later that week, said Randall O. Wenger, the chief clerk of the elections board in Lancaster County. Absentee ballots there used to be counted on election night, but now that wont happen until the day after. Your universe of uncounted ballots just blew up big time on election night, said Forrest Lehman, elections director for Lycoming County, in central Pennsylvania. Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvanias secretary of the commonwealth, whose Department of State oversees elections, pushed back on the idea that county election officials wont be able to count absentee ballots right away. Counties need to adjust their staffing, purchase new equipment, and change some of their current procedures, she said, and then theyll have everything ready to go so literally when the clock ticks 8, they can start the canvass. Theres a period of time when theres not a lot going on for elections officials, Boockvar said, after polls close and before the first results start coming in from polling places. There are lots of good procedures that have been developed over time in other places, Boockvar said. We are going to be sharing those. And I think as long as the counties plan for that extra staffing at 8 p.m. on Election Day, its going to be fine. But that would further strain county resources, officials said, as they are already struggling to implement other changes in the law, roll out new voting machines, and accommodate expected high turnout. Philadelphia, the largest county in the state, will continue to hold off counting absentee ballots until after Election Day. The second-largest county, Allegheny, counted absentee ballots on election night in the past but might not be able to in the future. Officials in Bucks County, a key suburban Philadelphia battleground, dont expect to start counting absentee ballots that night. Elections director Tom Freitag told county commissioners at a meeting this week that his office likely wouldnt be done counting until a few days later. Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, a former state lawmaker who voted in favor of the new election measures last year, asked Freitag what that could mean in November. So if theres an election thats somewhat close, its really going to be up in the air until two, three days later, DiGirolamo said. Yes, probably, Freitag responded. Westmoreland County, which used to count absentee ballots on election night, likely wont do so anymore either, elections director Beth Lechman said. Chester County also used to count them on election night, and officials there arent sure whether they will again. Northampton County does plan to count them on election night. We have no way of counting our mail-in/absentee ballots on election night, said Jeff Greenburg, elections director for Mercer County, in Western Pennsylvania. We will begin working on our absentees the following morning. All this means its highly likely many, if not most, of the states absentee ballots will be missing from election night results, in counties both large and small, Democratic and Republican. In the past, restrictions on absentee ballots meant only about 5% of votes were cast absentee. Now, any Pennsylvania voter can request a mail-in ballot without providing a justification. Thats generally good news for voters, elections officials said, but it significantly changes the election night calculus if suddenly three or four times as many absentee ballots are being cast. While counties used to distribute absentee ballots to polling places, allowing them to be counted by poll workers on election night, the new law requires them to be counted by county officials in one central location. Even for a small county, that could mean thousands of votes being counted in one spot instead of being processed in small batches in multiple locations at the same time. Lehigh County officials also dont expect to start immediately counting absentee ballots. I dont know if I want to open that can of worms on election night, just because of how crazy it is, said Timothy A. Benyo, chief clerk for the county elections board and chair of the Association of Eastern Pennsylvania County Election Personnel. Boockvar noted the state is reimbursing counties for about 60% of the cost of election equipment and providing them guidance giving tremendous amounts of resources, she said. County officials havent raised the issue of counting absentee ballots as a major concern, she said. Id be really surprised if the huge majority of counties did not do counting that night, Boockvar said. And yes, we absolutely would urge the counties to do so. County elections officials are hoping to tamp down the expectations of people hungry for unofficial results. As long as our voters understand that this is whats going to happen, and it may not be until Thursday or Friday then theyll be fine, said Greenburg, of Mercer County. Greenburg is buying two more ballot scanners to process mail-in ballots more quickly, at a cost of almost $100,000. Lehman said Lycoming County is buying a second scanner for about $21,000, Wenger said Lancaster County is buying another for $32,000, and Soltysiak said Montgomery County will buy three more for about $75,000. But it wont be fast enough for people used to having results immediately, Wenger said. As an elections administrator, the idea that election night numbers are woefully incomplete is not something that brings me any joy, because I know the hate emails I [already] get, he said. Hes already prepared for the public response if a winner takes days to call. I assure you, Wenger said, its not going to be positive. The Finance and Economy Ministers, as well as Governors of central banks of English-speaking West African countries on Thursday criticized a move to rename the CFA franc used by former French colonies, saying the move jarred with plans to introduce a region-wide currency of the same name. In December, The Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara announced during a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron that it has been agreed with France to rename its CFA franc Eco and cut some of the financial links with Paris that have underpinned the regions common currency. On Thursday, a communique issued after an extraordinary meeting of English-speaking West African countries in Abuja described President Ouattaras pronouncement as a unilateral move, made without recourse to any relevant authority within the ECOWAS structure. The meeting noted with concern, the declaration by President Alassane Ouattara, Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) on December 21, 2019, to rename the CFA franc as ECO by 2020, the group said. The West Africa Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Convergence Council, which is to ensure that a number of macroeconomic criteria are met by member countries for the introduction of the ECO, said Ouattaras pronouncement is not in line with Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS for the adoption of ECO as the name of an independent ECOWAS single currency. Eight ECOWAS nations use the CFA franc but the blocs economy is dominated by Nigeria, and their monetary criteria essential for a smooth transition to a single currency are very divergent. The 15-nation bloc last year set the goal of creating a single currency, also named the Eco, in 2020. The Federal Aviation Administration has loosened recently imposed restrictions on U.S. aircraft flying over the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in order to allow flights into and out of certain airports in the region. The FAA's action came shortly after several U.S.-based cargo airlines requested exemptions from the restrictions, which were imposed Jan. 8 after Iran launched a missile attack on U.S. assets in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. killing Iran's top military commander. The agency's latest Notice to Airmen allows flights to and from airports in Doha, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Muscat as long as operators are on a published instrument procedure or under the direction of air traffic control and minimize overwater flight to the greatest extent possible. Flights are still prohibited from entering the Tehran Flight Information Region, which covers the airspace over Iran and extends from southern Iran part way into the airspace over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The new notice, which supersedes one released Jan. 8, was issued shortly after FedEx, Polar Air Cargo, Omni Air International, Kalitta Air, Southern Air and Atlas Air all petitioned the FAA for exemptions from the original restrictions so they could continue flying into the region. Omni Air said it requested the exemption so it could operate flights on behalf of the Department of Defense to air bases in the region through the end of the month. Kalitta Air said it needed to continue flights in the region on behalf of DHL and as part of U.S. military mail operations. Polar Air, Atlas and Southern Air all said they wanted to continue operating to Bahrain and/or Qatar airports. FedEx's request for an exemption did not specify any specific airport. The company said the information in support of its request was sensitive and proprietary and should be protected from public disclosure. FAA issued the NOTAMs because of heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the Middle East that "present an inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification." Story continues In the hours after the Iranian missile attack, Iran's military mistakenly shot down a Ukranian International Airlines Boeing 737-800 shortly after the airliner had taken off from Tehran on a flight to Kiev. All 176 passengers and crew were killed. Image Sourced from Pixabay 0 See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. BEIJINGU.S. President Donald Trump and China say their new trade pact is just the beginning of a fresh relationship between the worlds two biggest economies. Future deals will make China a better trading partner, the White House says. Beijing claims to foresee an end to U.S. tariffs and the punishing trade war. They are probably both wrong. Wednesdays partial trade pact, portrayed by both sides as a temporary truce, may be the lasting legacy of more than two years of economic conflict. It could ensure that U.S. purchases of Chinese goods, already tumbling, will fall even more. And rather than heal the relationship, it could drive the two economic titans further apart, transforming how global business is done. The deal signed on Wednesday by Trump and Vice-Premier Liu He, Chinas top trade negotiator, cuts a few of the U.S. tariffs imposed over the past two years on Chinese-made goods and forestalls even more. It commits China to buying $200 billion (U.S.) more in U.S. grain, pork, jetliners, industrial equipment and other goods over two years. It requires China to open further its financial markets and protect U.S. technology and brands, while setting up a forum for the two sides to argue about their differences. What it does not do is tackle the root causes of the trade war. The deal leaves untouched Beijings subsidies for homegrown industries and its firm control over crucial levers of its hard-charging economy. The deal also keeps in place most of Trumps tariffs on $360 billion worth of Chinese goods, a much heavier tax than Americans pay for products from practically anywhere else. Solving those issues could take years. Already, the prospects of a quick second deal seem limited. Trump has said he might wait until after Novembers election to finish what the two sides call a Phase 2 deal. Until then, U.S. consumers and companies will continue to buy fewer goods from China. The Chinese government, for its part, will continue to seek customers elsewhere. The U.S.-Chinese relationship, a major driver of global economic growth for decades, will weaken even more. The trade war has unleashed a set of structural forces that are likely to have a dampening effect on imports from China for some time to come, said Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University economist who specializes in China. Unforeseen circumstances could change all that. An economic slump could drive one or both of them back to the bargaining table. But so far, both countries have shown they are willing to take the economic hit. The U.S. economy, job market and stock market have only improved since the trade war began nearly two years ago, though many question how long that can last. On the political front, many Democrats have pushed Trump to be harder, not softer, on trade with China. In China, the trade war has been only one factor behind the slowing economy. Beijing seems comfortable with its ability to handle the problem. In recent weeks, advisers to the Chinese government have emphasized discussion of steps Beijing can take like helping the job market or finding new trading partners elsewhere instead of the steps that it cant. Even as Chinas exports to the United States have plunged, its sales elsewhere, particularly to poor countries, have stayed strong. Beijing has looked hard in recent months to open even more markets. Also, complaining about the deal could make China look weak, an unpalatable position in a country where the Communist Party portrays itself as the saviour from a century of humiliation by foreign powers. Chinese state media and economists on Thursday welcomed the agreement as a respite for what has been two years of almost unrelenting focus on the trade issue by the government and many in the general public. Wednesdays pact will provide at least a truce in the trade war, said He Weiwen, a prominent Chinese trade economist and former Commerce Ministry official. Chinese officials have not been intransigent. In recent months, even before they signed the trade pact, they loosened government limits on foreign companies in the auto and financial industries and pledged to outlaw efforts by Chinese companies to force foreign partners to give up their most sensitive trade secrets. On the major issue of government support and control of the economy, however, Beijing has hung tough. The Trump administration and U.S. companies have complained that China unfairly uses the governments vast coffers to build up industries that will directly compete with established players in the West. China downplayed those efforts in recent years as trade tensions rose. Now, China appears to be less shy about its efforts. Early in the trade war, Xi Jinping, Chinas top leader, publicly visited a Chinese semiconductor business, an industry that Beijing has showered with subsidies, to show his support. New data shows China has ramped up its Belt and Road Initiative, a Beijing-driven plan to finance and build highways, telecom networks and other infrastructure throughout the developing world, clearing the way for more Chinese exports. The price of Chinas tough stance is the reordering of the global supply chains that its factories have long fed. Companies had kept them in China even as wages and other costs surged over the past decade. The trade war has broken that inertia, and many businesses have started moving their supply chains elsewhere to avoid new tariffs or the prospect of still more. In November, Chinese exports to the United States fell by more than one-fifth compared with a year earlier. Exports to the United States now account for just four per cent of the Chinese economy. Even if the two sides came to the table with new concessions, trade deals are difficult to complete. Wednesdays pact followed more than two years of stop-and-start negotiations. Major pacts like the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada took even longer. The longer that goes, the further apart the countries will drift economically. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 23:58:40|Editor: yan Video Player Close GABORONE, Jan. 17 (Xinua) -- Security agents in Kasane, Botswana's most popular tourist destination, are frantically searching for a seven-year-old boy who was snatched by a crocodile at Chobe River near Impalila island, northern Botswana on Thursday. The boy, together with two other boys, aged nine and 10, were sent on an errand to deliver some mail at Mowana Lodge in Kasane on Thursday, after which they stole away to go for a swim at the river. James Kabangu, a local police officer, said they received a report Thursday around 5 p.m. and together with the Botswana Defense Force members and the Namibian police rushed to search for the boy, but could not find him. The spot where the boy was snatched by a crocodile is along the border with Namibia. Kabangu said the other boys reported that the crocodile snatched and dashed into the water with the boy and never reappeared and the police launched a search party, which went on until dusk. The search is still ongoing. In Botswana, the species, Nile crocodile, is most commonly found in and around Chobe River and the Okavango Delta. They reside in lakes, rivers and swamps and can be spotted in estuaries and mangrove swamps. While they mostly feed on fish, they also prey on game and can be a danger to humans as they often devour them if they come too close. Updated Fekola Indicated Mineral Resource estimate as at December 31, 2019 of 110,600,000 tonnes at 1.70 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold for a total of 6,052,000 ounces of gold constrained within a $1,500 per ounce gold pit shell above a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t gold The updated Fekola Mineral Resource estimate as at December 31, 2019 represents a 2,675,000 ounce increase (+79 %) in Indicated Mineral Resources when compared to the estimate included in the June 2015 Fekola Optimized Feasibility Study (after adjusting for cumulative Fekola Mine gold production to date of 1,006,000 gold ounces) When compared to the December 31, 2018 Fekola Indicated Mineral Resource estimate the updated Indicated Mineral Resource estimate has increased by 1,290,000 ounces of gold (15.4%) (after adjusting for the 455,810 ounces of gold produced in 2019) As recently reported, the Fekola Mine produced its first million ounces of gold in late December 2019 after 2.5 years of production (B2Gold 80%/State of Mali 20%)VANCOUVER, Jan. 16, 2020 - B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO, NYSE AMERICAN: BTG, NSX:B2G) ("B2Gold"or the "Company") is pleased to announce an updated Fekola Mineral Resource estimate including a substantial increase in Indicated Mineral Resources at the Fekola Mine following a successful infill drill program in 2019.Highlights: Updated Fekola Mineral Resource Estimate: In 2019, B2Gold completed more than 25,000 metres of reverse circulation and diamond drilling at Fekola with the primary goal of converting existing resources in the Inferred Mineral Resource category to the Indicated Mineral Resource category. This infill drilling program was successful and the updated Fekola Mineral Resource estimate is based on the cumulative 240,000 metres of exploration drilling to date in 1,124 drill holes (including 120,000 metres in 501 holes drilled by B2Gold since June 2014). Fig. 1 Fekola Deposit Schematic Long Section (West Facing): To view an enhanced version of Fig. 1 Fekola Deposit Schematic Long Section (West Facing), please visit: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078301/B2Gold_Corp__B2Gold_Announces_Updated_Fekola_Mineral_Resource_In.jpg?p=original Table 1: Updated Fekola Mineral Resource Estimate as at December 31, 2019 (reported on a 100% basis) Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate Area Tonnes Gold Grade (g/t Au) Contained Gold Ounces Fekola Open Pit 105,840,000 1.72 5,869,000 Stockpiles 4,780,000 1.19 183,500 Total Indicated Mineral Resources 110,620,000 1.70 6,052,000 Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate Area Tonnes Gold Grade (g/t Au) Contained Gold Ounces Fekola 7,024,000 1.23 278,000 Anaconda* 21,600,000 1.11 770,000 Total Inferred Mineral Resources 28,624,000 1.14 1,048,000 * Saprolite resource located 20 kilometres north of Fekola Notes to accompany Mineral Resource Tables: 1. The Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 for the Mineral Resource estimate is Mr. Tom Garagan, P.Geo., B2Gold's Senior Vice President, Exploration. 2. The Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 for the stockpile Mineral Resource estimate is Mr. Peter Montano, P.E., B2Gold's Project Director. 3. Mineral Resources have been classified using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards. Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of those Mineral Resources that have been modified to Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Mineral Resource estimate has an effective date of December 31, 2019. 4. Mineral Resources are reported on a 100% basis. For Fekola, B2Gold holds an 80% attributable interest, the remaining 20% is held by the State of Mali. For Anaconda, B2Gold holds an 85% attributable interest; under the Mali Mining Code (2012), the State of Mali has the right to a 10% free-carried interest and has an option to acquire an additional 10% participating interest, and 5% is held by a third party. 5. Mineral Resource estimates for Fekola and Anaconda assume an open pit mining method and a gold price of US$1,500/oz. For Fekola, a metallurgical recovery of 94.0%, and average operating cost estimates of US$ 2.27/t mined (mining), US$15.32/t processed (processing) and US$4.27/t processed (general and administrative), were used for pit shell generation. For Anaconda, a metallurgical recovery of 95%, and average operating cost estimates of US$1.75/t mined (mining), US$8.10/t processed (processing) and US$2.75/t processed (general and administrative) were used for pit shell generation. 6. Mineral Resources are reported at a cut-off of 0.50 g/t gold for Fekola and 0.65 g/t gold for stockpiles. 7. Mineral Resources are reported at a cut-off of 0.35 g/t gold for the Anaconda Saprolite Resource (See News Release June 15, 2017). 8. Stockpiles: Mineral Resources in stockpiled material were prepared by Fekola mine site personnel. Ore stockpile balances are derived from mining truck movements to individual stockpiles or detailed surveys, with grade estimated from routine grade control methods. 9. All tonnage, grade and contained metal content estimates have been rounded; rounding may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade, and contained metal content. The updated Fekola Indicated Mineral Resource estimate as at December 31, 2019 will provide the basis for an updated design pit and new Fekola Probable Mineral Reserve estimate, which is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2020. The current Fekola Mineral Reserve design pit is located well within the updated Fekola Mineral Resource pit. Fekola Mineral Resource Comparison (to June 2015 Fekola Optimized Feasibility Study) Comparing the updated 2019 Fekola Mineral Resource estimate to a sensitivity case presented in the June 2015 Fekola Optimized Feasibility Study and adjusted for gold produced to date, there is an increase of 2,675,000 ounces of gold (+79 %) in the indicated category and a 541,000 ounce increase (+107% ) in the inferred category. A Mineral Resource sensitivity case in the June 2015 Fekola Optimized Feasibility Study reported 4,383,000 ounces (67,293,000 tonnes at 2.03g/t gold, above a cutoff of 0.5g/t gold) in the indicated cateogry and 507,000 ounces (9,990,000 tonnes at 1.58 g/t gold, above a cutoff of 0.5g/t gold) in the inferred category. The Fekola Mine has produced 1,006,000 ounces of gold to date between the commencement of operations in 2017 and December 31, 2019. The June 2015 Fekola Optimized Feasibility Study Indicated resource was adjusted by these Fekola cumulative production numbers and then compared to the updated Fekola Mineral Resource estimate as at December 31, 2019. Both the updated Fekola Mineral Resource estimate and the June 2015 Fekola Optimized Feasibility Study senstivity case reported Mineral Resources within $1500 pit shells and above a cut-off of 0.5 g/t gold. 2020 Fekola and Anaconda Regional Exploration Plans The Fekola deposit remains open down plunge to the north. Exploration in 2020 will continue to test for extensions to the deposit to the north and south both at depth and near surface as well as testing for additional mineralized zones to the east and west of the Fekola deposit. Exploration in 2019 on the Anaconda Area (located 20 kilometres north of Fekola) included completion of over 45,000 metres of combined aircore, diamond and reverse circulation drilling where the Company previously announced an initial Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 767,000 ounces of gold at 1.1 g/t in near-surface mineralization over 4.5 kilometres and up to 500 metres wide. In 2019, Anaconda Area drilling focused on increasing the known saprolite resources at the Adder and Mamba zones and further testing the underlying sulphide mineralization in the Mamba zone. At Adder, drilling has extended the strike extent of mineralization up to 1 kilometre north of the known resource area and remains open to the north. At Mamba, recent drilling has extended the high-grade mineralized saprolite zone by approximately 600 metres, resulting in more than 1 kilometre of known strike length, and has led to the discovery of a continuous, good grade, bedrock sulphide zone down plunge of the Mamba zone's saprolite mineralization. Early indications are that the Mamba zone discovery has the potential to become a significant new gold deposit for B2Gold near the Fekola Mine. This Fekola-style, south-plunging body of sulphide mineralization remains open down plunge and will be the subject of extensive drilling in 2020. Exploration in 2020 will also focus on expanding the saprolite resources within the overall Anaconda Area, including at the Adder and Mamba Zones. The total 2020 exploration budget for both the Fekola deposit and the Anaconda Area is approximately $18 million. Resource Model Methodology The updated Fekola Mineral Resource model was prepared in-house by B2Gold personnel. Three dimensional mineralization domain models, which are used to control gold grade estimates, are supported by modeled stratigraphy and shear zone structures which are derived from detailed logging of oriented drill core. Tight asymmetric folds and shear zones are the primary controls on mineralization. Assays were capped separately for each of three mineralization domains at 1.5 g/t, 5 g/t and 30 g/t gold respectively. Gold assays were capped prior to compositing to 2 metres. Grades were estimated into the block model using Ordinary Kriging (OK) with searches dynamically controlled along mineralization zone directions. Approximately 24,250 bulk density measurements using the water-displacement method on air-dried core samples were completed at the project site. Variability of density for unweathered rock is low, therefore, densities were assigned based on averages by mineralization domain, waste and regolith. Nominal drill hole spacing for Indicated Mineral Resources is 55 by 55 metres and for Inferred Mineral Resources it is 100 by 100 metres. QA/QC on Sample Collection and Assaying The primary laboratories for Fekola are SGS Laboratories in Bamako, Mali and Bureau Veritas Laboratories in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Periodically, exploration samples will be analyzed at the Fekola mine lab. At each lab, samples are prepared and analyzed using 50 g fire assay with atomic absorption finish and/or gravimetric finish. Umpire assays are used to monitor lab performance monthly. Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures include the systematic insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates into the core, reverse circulation and aircore drilling sample strings. The results of the control samples are evaluated on a regular basis with batches re-analyzed and/or resubmitted as needed. All results stated in this news release have passed B2Gold's QA/QC protocols. Qualified Persons Tom Garagan, Senior Vice President of Exploration at B2Gold, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the information contained in this news release. About B2Gold Corp. B2Gold is a low-cost senior gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Founded in 2007, today, B2Gold has three operating gold mines in Mali, Namibia and the Philippines as well as numerous exploration and development projects in various countries. In 2020, B2Gold forecasts consolidated gold production of between 1,000,000 and 1,055,000 ounces. On Behalf of B2Gold Corp. "Tom Garagan" Senior Vice President, Exploration For more information on B2Gold, please visit the Company website at www.b2gold.com or contact: Ian MacLean Katie Bromley Vice President, Investor Relations Manager, Investor Relations & Public Relations +1 604-681-8371 +1 604-681-8371 imaclean@b2gold.com kbromley@b2gold.com The Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American LLC neither approve nor disapprove the information contained in this news release. This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, including projections, estimates and other statements regarding future financial and operational performance, events, production, costs, including projected cash operating costs and all-in sustaining costs, capital expenditures, budgets and growth, production estimates and guidance, including the Company's projected gold production of between 1,005,000 and 1,0550,000 ounces in 2020, and statements regarding anticipated exploration, development, construction, production, permitting and other activities and achievements of the Company, including but not limited to: the potential to increase the extent of Fekola and Anaconda area mineralization; the potential to extend good-grade mineralization much further north from the Fekola resource pit boundary; results indicating a good grade, bedrock sulphide zone down plunge of the Mamba zone's saprolite mineralization; the Mamba zone having potential to become a significant new gold deposit for B2Gold near the Fekola Mine; results indicating the deeper portion of the Fekola Northern Extension zone extending closer to surface and indicating continuity with mineralization from the deeper drilling results from the upper portion of the Fekola North Extension; the potential for additional large Fekola style deposits; the potential for highly prospective structures beneath the Anaconda and Mamba zones; the conversion of inferred mineral resources to indicated mineral resources; the projections included in existing technical reports, economic assessments and feasibility studies; the results of anticipated or potential new technical reports and studies, including the potential findings and conclusions thereof. Estimates of mineral resources and reserves are also forward-looking statements because they constitute projections regarding the amount of minerals that may be encountered in the future and/or the anticipated economics of production, should a production decision be made. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "project", "target", "potential", "schedule", "forecast", "budget", "estimate", "intend" or "believe" and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond B2Gold's control, including risks and assumptions associated with the volatility of metal prices and our more detail under the heading "Risk Factors" in B2Gold's most recent Annual Information Form and B2Gold's other filings with Canadian securities regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which may be viewed at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively (the "Websites"). The list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Company's forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what benefits or liabilities B2Gold will derive therefrom. The Company's forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law. The Company's forward-looking statements are based on the applicable assumptions and factors management considers reasonable as of the date hereof, based on the information available to management at such time. These assumptions and factors include, but are not limited to, assumptions and factors related to the Company's ability to carry on current and future operations, including development and exploration activities; the timing, extent, duration and economic viability of such operations, including any mineral resources or reserves identified thereby; the accuracy and reliability of estimates, projections, forecasts, studies and assessments; the Company's ability to meet or achieve estimates, projections and forecasts; the availability and cost of inputs; the price and market for outputs, including gold; the timely receipt of necessary approvals or permits; the ability to meet current and future obligations; the ability to obtain timely financing on reasonable terms when required; the current and future social, economic and political conditions and other assumptions and factors generally associated with the mining industry. For the reasons set forth above, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Cautionary Note to United States Investors The Company has prepared its public disclosures in accordance with Canadian securities laws, which differ in certain respects from U.S. securities laws. In particular, this news release may refer to "mineral resources", "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" or "inferred mineral resources". While these categories of mineralization are recognized and required by Canadian securities laws, they are not recognized by the SEC and are not normally permitted to be disclosed in SEC filings by U.S. companies. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part of a "mineral resource", "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" or "inferred mineral resource" will ever be converted into a "reserve." In addition, "reserves" reported by the Company under Canadian standards may not qualify as reserves under SEC standards. Under SEC standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the mineralization can be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the "reserve" determination is made. Accordingly, information contained or referenced in this news release containing descriptions of the Company's mineral deposits may not be compatible to similar information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of U.S. federal securities laws, rules and regulations. "Inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Historical results or feasibility models presented herein are not guarantees or expectations of future performance. SOURCE B2Gold Corp. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday said the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act was against the secular fabric of the country and claimed that events unfolding now were similar to the ones witnessed in Germany in 1930s when Adolf Hitler was at the helm. Participating in the discussion in the state Assembly on a resolution against the CAA, Singh termed the Act as "divisive" and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) as a "tragedy" and said he was unfortunate to witness in his lifetime the events unfolding now in the country. "You want to change secular fabric of this country. It is very sad what is happening now. We had not even thought of such a thing. We want to break brotherhood merely for politics," he said. "Clearly, no lessons have been learnt from history," the chief minister added. The Punjab Assembly on Friday passed the resolution by voice vote against the controversial CAA, seeking its repeal by the Centre. The resolution also urged the Centre to put on hold the work on the National Population Register (NPR) till forms or documents associated with it are amended suitably in order to allay apprehensions that it is a prelude to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and designed to deprive a section of people from citizenship of India and implement the CAA. The Punjab chief minister in an emotional tone said, "Where will poor go and from where will they procure their birth certificates...This is a great tragedy. And I am very sorry to say that in my lifetime...I wish I was not here when this is happening to my country, where are we going to be in a situation where brotherhood is being broken for politics." He said it was ethnic cleansing in Hitler's Germany in 1930s and claimed that now same events are unfolding in India. "Germans did not speak then, and they regretted it, but we have to speak now, so that we don't regret later," he asserted, urging the Opposition, particularly the Akalis, to read Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' to "understand the dangers" of the CAA. He said he would get the book translated in Punjabi and distributed so that all could read and grasp the "historical mistakes that Hitler made". "What is happening in India is not good for the country. People including students could see and understand, and are protesting spontaneously, without any instigation," he said referring to the recent anti-CAA protests in different parts of the country. Singh made it clear that the Census in Punjab will be conducted on the old parameters. The new factors added by the Centre for the purpose of the NPR would not be included, the chief minister said. "The Census will take place shortly. It will be done in old way as it has been done in the past. We will not follow the new Act," he said. Making an impassioned appeal to the Akalis to rise above politics and "go by their conscience and think about their own country before deciding on their vote", Singh said he had never imagined such a tragedy could happen in a secular country like India, which had more Muslims than Pakistan. "Where will all those people, who you brand as non-citizens, go? Where will the 18 lakh people declared illegal in Assam go if other countries refuse to take them? Has anyone thought about it? Has Union Home Minister Amit Shah even thought about what has to be done with the so-called illegal people? Where will the poor people get their birth certificates from?" asked the chief minister. "We all have to live together as citizens of secular India in our own interest," he added. "People of all faiths have lived harmoniously together in this country all these years, and Muslims have given their lives for this country," Singh said, citing the example of Indian Army soldier Abdul Hamid, who received the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his actions during the 1965 Indo-Pak war. "Why have Muslims been excluded? And why have they (Centre) not included Jews in the CAA?" he asked, pointing out that Punjab earlier had a governor, General JFR Jacob, who was a Jew, and who fought for the nation in the 1971 war. "Those responsible for this situation should be ashamed of themselves," said the chief minister, even as he lashed out at the Akalis for supporting the legislation in Parliament and then speaking on it in "different voices to promote their political agenda". Pointing out that Punjab had just celebrated the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, who taught that "koyi Hindu nahin, koyi Mussalman nahin, sab rab key bandey (no one is a Hindu, no one a Muslim, all is God's creation)", Singh asked the Akalis if they had forgotten the Guru's teachings. "You (Akalis) should be ashamed, and you will repent this one day," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Rasana Gasimova A two day conference to identify priority areas of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UN for the next five years started its work in Baku on January 16. The event was attended by over 150 senior government officials, representatives of UN agencies, civil society, the private sector, youth organizations, academia and the media, local media reported. Addressing the event, Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov said that the compliance of Azerbaijan's development with the UN development strategy is one of the countrys main goals. He noted that Azerbaijani government has always highly appreciated the cooperation with the UN and this cooperation has greatly benefited the country, adding that Azerbaijans relations with the UN cover various fields. Ahmadov said that Azerbaijan is one of the most successfully developing countries of the last 30 years, noting that the country's economy is developing, and people's living conditions have significantly improved. "Azerbaijan is one of the few countries that submitted two National Reports to the UN, and this suggests that efforts are being made to achieve the UN global goals, set before 2030. The country outlined its the main goals until 2030 in accordance with the project, and the main goal is to ensure that the national development program is in line with the strategy defined by the UN," he said. Ahmadov noted that development in Azerbaijan is that it is observed in all areas. "One of the main tasks of the country is the development of the social sphere. In recent years, Azerbaijan has implemented many social projects that will be continued," he stressed. He emphasized that over the past 30 years, the Azerbaijani population has grown by three million people. Every year, 100,000 people enter the labor market. Many social projects have been recently implemented and the same number will be implemented in the future. The goal of the development is well-being of every person," Ahmadov noted. Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population Sahil Babayev also spoke at the event. He noted that Azerbaijan ranks first in the CIS in terms of minimum pension and second in terms of purchasing power of minimum wages. Babayev said that the minimum pension and salary were increased in the country, steps were taken in connection with overdue loans and the assignment of various types of pensions and benefits was done online. "At the initiative of the head of state, the government is implementing major reforms in the social sphere. The minimum wage in the country has been increased by 92 percent, the minimum pension - by 72 percent, and all benefits - by 100 percent," he informed. Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov emphasized that the poverty level in the country has decreased by 10 times. He noted that 49 percent of the population lived below the poverty line in Azerbaijan in 2001, but today this figure is less than 5 percent. Jabbarov noted that the National Coordinating Council on Sustainable Development has selected 17 priority goals and 88 targets, adding that an operational comprehensive assessment was carried out in order to determine whether the Sustainable Development Goals meet national priorities, and according to the results of the assessment, compliance was at the level of 70 percent. Organized by the UN office in Azerbaijan with the support of the National Coordinating Council for Sustainable Development, the conference aims to determine the strategic priorities of 2021-2025 the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for Azerbaijan. During the conference, participants will also discuss Azerbaijans long-term vision to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and UNs contributions to this process. They will exchange views on Azerbaijans main challenges in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and ways to address them. Azerbaijan and the UN on July 12, 2016 signed a framework document on partnership for 2016-2020. Under the agreement, it was planned to implement projects worth $72 million. These projects included contributing to the creation of new jobs, increasing productivity in the agricultural sector, protecting the environment, mitigating and reducing disaster risks, health and education development, etc. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz More than nine lakh people speak Hindi in the US, a top Indian diplomat has said, as the Indian Embassy here conducts free Hindi classes for Americans and foreign nationals. Happy to note that Hindi is spoken and taught widely in the US, Amit Kumar, Charge d' Affairs, Indian Embassy here, said in his remarks during the 'Vishwa Hindi Divas' celebrations at the Indian Embassy. He also said that Hindi is taught in many schools in the US. "According to the American Community Survey (ACS), more than nine lakh people speak Hindi in the US," Kumar said. As India emerges as one of the most important countries in the world, Kumar said that there has been a phenomenal interest in learning the language. For the people who are travelling to India for tourism, business and other purposes, learning Hindi could provide a key to win the hearts and minds of people of India, he said. Sharing his own experience of learning Chinese and working in China, the top Indian diplomat said that speaking in native languages open many doors. "No wonder that we have received enthusiastic response for our free Hindi classes, taught by our teacher of Indian culture Moxraj," he said. "I would also encourage you and your friends to learn and promote Hindi as it is a gateway to Indian poetry, literature and Indian philosophy, he said in his address at the event. For the last two years, the Indian embassy has been conducting free Hindi classes in the mission to teach the language to the citizens from different countries. It also partnered with renowned American higher education centers like George Washington University and Georgetown University. The Indian embassy is also considering a special plan to connect the new generation of America with Hindi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A representative of the Taliban says a second day of meetings between the group and a U.S. negotiating team led by Zalmay Khalilzad has been held in Qatar. Both negotiation teams also held productive talks yesterday & today. Talks will continue for several days & we shall share information about it at various intervals, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in a post on Twitter on January 17. Shaheen added that the talks had been "useful" and that the sides are discussing the signing of a joint agreement and a related ceremony. He did not elaborate. There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials, but Reuters quoted two unnamed sources as saying the Taliban will implement a 10-day cease-fire with U.S. troops, a reduction in violence with Afghan forces, and discussions with Afghan government officials if it reaches a deal with U.S. negotiators in talks in Doha. Analysts say that if an agreement is clinched, it could revive hopes for a long-term solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. U.S. forces have been in Afghanistan since their 2001 invasion to drive out the Taliban following the September 11 terror attacks in the United States. The Taliban controlled Afghanistan at the time and harbored Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attacks. U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his desire to remove the estimated 13,000 U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan in Americas longest war. Over the past year, neighboring Pakistan has helped facilitate talks between Khalilzad and the Taliban in Qatar, where the militants have a political office. But the talks have repeatedly stalled, with Washington calling on the group to reduce violence, among other things. An Afghan presidency spokesman said a cease-fire was the only way to achieve sustainable and dignified peace. To achieve lasting peace, which is the demand of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the people, is the only way to achieve cease-fire, he said in a post on Twitter. Any cease-fire that is proposed as a fundamental step will be acceptable to the people and the government, he added. With reporting by Reuters The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has condemned a new law mandating 'ethnic unity' in state and social institutions in Tibet, describing it as a measure of ethnic cleansing aimed at complete sinicisation of the plateau. Passed by the People's Congress of Tibet last week and set to take effect on May 1, the legislation states that Tibet has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times and all ethnic groups in the region must work together to uphold national unity and combat separatism. CTA's Information Secretary TG Arya has criticised the legislation as a gross violation of the international law and the Chinese constitution. "What China could not achieve through the sixty years of occupation and repression, now they are trying to achieve it through repressive law. The law aims to achieve complete sinicization of the Tibetan plateau through ethnic cleansing. China finds Tibetan language, religion and culture as the main barrier to achieving complete control over the land," Arya told ANI. Arya said that through the legislation, China "wants to gain legitimacy to diminish the Tibetan ethnicity through systematic state-sponsored migration of Han Chinese into Tibet. It is a gross violation of international law and the Chinese constitution to deny the Tibetans of their proper identity." He warned that the new ethnic identity law in Tibet forebodes difficult and harsh times for the Tibetans in Tibet. The law calls upon Tibet's population to strengthen 'ethnic unity' and take a stand against separatism. It calls on all levels of government, companies, community organisations, villages, schools, military groups, and religious activity centres to work together for ethnic unity. The Deputy Speaker of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile has also condemned the Bill and urges the international community and the UN to intervene. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Dean Morgan Middle School symphony concert finale last year gave orchestra teacher Corinne Eastwood goose bumps. The combined ensemble of seventh and eighth grade orchestra and band students nailed the piece on their last concert of the year and of middle school for most of them. They knew it, and so did the audience, who broke into a standing ovation, Eastwood recalled. The high lasted for days, and Eastwood counted it among her best moments as a teacher in School Band and Orchestra Magazines 22nd annual 50 Directors Who Make a Difference report. Eastwood represents Wyoming in the 2019 report. The magazine features each directors thoughts on their proudest moment as a teacher, how they hope to make a difference in their students lives and the most important lesson they try to teach their students. Also topping Eastwoods proudest times, though, often are the little aha moments with a student, when something clicks, as she stated in the report and an interview last week with the Star-Tribune. The magazine chooses a director from each state who is anonymously nominated by students, colleagues or others, according the magazines website. So I was excited and taken aback a little bit, Eastwood said in an interview last week. Eastwood is a valuable asset to the schools strong music program team and brings passion to her work with caring and empathy toward the students, Dean Morgan principal Tyler Hartl said. Shes skilled in guiding them from little knowledge in the beginning to performing concerts theyre proud of while they show tremendous growth over time. The passion the kids have for the music and their care for the instruments and the pride in what they do, that comes with some caring and support both from the parents and the teacher, he said. And Corinne does a really good job of building that love in those students. We talk with the music department about engaging kids in the program and growing the program, and she definitely sees that connection for how music helps the brain grow and helps students understand sequences and concepts and problem-solving and the underlying aspects of it. She totally grasps and understands and just maintains that love. Eastwood has taught preschool through 12th grade during her 17 years as a teacher, and middle school is her favorite age group, she said. Its a time when students still want guidance and when theyre old enough that they can learn to take on more responsibility for themselves. So they want to be shown the ropes, she said, but they also want to explore and kind of learn to become their own person. While not every student is a top performer, they all have the potential to make themselves better, she said. Thats what makes those small moments exciting. Its my students who struggle a little bit when they have something good happen and when they understand something or when they can play something really well, thats my favorite. I want every student to be able to better themselves. In fact, one of those moments happened just last week with a student who took initiative and chose orchestra for the free block students are given to work in any class they wish. The student brought in a piece Eastwood had just handed out with a solo she wants to audition for and spent the period working on the part and making good progress, Eastwood said. The teacher works to hit home to every student that theyre important to the group and bring something worthwhile, even if theyre not the top player. Theres a hole in our concert when theyre gone, she said. Its just its not the same. Its not the same feeling; the musics not the same. I want them to feel important and like they have somewhere they can belong. Some players will learn any piece of music Eastwood gives them in the first week. But I try to instill in them that they get to be good leaders, she said, and they get to help their classmates out with learning their parts. And hopefully by the end of everything, the entire section is fairly equal with how much everybody knows, even though some of them have a longer learning process than others. The students work hard in the orchestra classes. It has to be fun too, or they wouldnt want to do it, she said. Fortunately, having fun with the middle school age group isnt hard. Theres not a class or a day that goes by when were not laughing in the classroom. In orchestra, the students can hear what they learn and work on. Eastwood last week handed her advanced orchestra class a new piece, the theme to The Incredibles, which they began with excitement but they remarked how hard it is. After about 45 minutes, their comments turned to surprise at how much of the piece they could already play, she said. They were like, This is going to be awesome. Follow arts & culture reporter Elysia Conner on twitter @erconner Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Chinese Embassy Launches Training Course on Pottery Production Techniques in Freetown 2020/01/17 On 14th of January 2020, the launching ceremony of Training Course on Pottery Production Techniques was held at Goderich Campus of Milton Margai College of Education and Technology (MMCET) in Freetown. The 42 days training course is sponsored by the Chinese government and supported by the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education of the Sierra Leonean government, and it aims to improve the pottery production skills of 45 participants who are from different areas of Freetown. The ceremony was graced by Mr. Zhang Xueqian, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy, Dr. Victor Massaquoi, Director of TVET of Ministry of Technical and Higher Education and Dr. Philip John Kanu, Principal of MMCET. 45 participants, 6 Chinese teachers and more than 200 faculty members and students of MMCET also attended the launching event. In his statement, Counsellor Zhang Xueqian stated that as a driver for economic and social progress, human capital developmentis one of the priorities in H.E. President Julius Maada Bio New Direction Manifesto.China has always been dedicated to helping nurture talents in various fields for Sierra Leone. Counsellor Zhang stated that in 2018, Chinese government held the first-ever training course on pottery production in Lunsar and Waterloo in Sierra Leone,which effectively improved the livelihood skills of the villagers in that area. This year, in 2020, the Chinese side is working with the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education with to further empower more Sierra Leonean youth and make greater contribution in dealing with youth unemployment in Sierra Leone. He empathized that this course is not only a platform for mutual learning, but also an opportunity where China and Sierra Leonecan deepen cultural exchange and forge closer people to people ties. Dr. Victor Massaquoi, on behalf of Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to the Chinese government for their great support to the education in Sierra Leone. He admonished all the participants totake the training course seriously and actively participate in learning and practicing activities. He reiterated that the cooperation between his ministry and the Chinese side had always been commendable and he looked forward to seeing both sides take it to a new level. In recent years, human resources development has been one of the highlights in the cooperation between China and Sierra Leone. This year witnesses the second time that Chinese government holds a training course on pottery production techniques in Sierra Leone. Close Lev Parnas likens Trump to 'cult leader' As the Senate prepares to hold its third presidential impeachment trial in US history, the defence team for Donald Trump was revealed to include Ken Starr, Robert Ray, Alan Dershowitz and Pam Bondi. Mr Starr led the investigation into Bill Clinton in the late 1990s while Dershowitz has defended such controversial public figures as OJ Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. During the Clinton impeachment, then-private citizen Trump called Mr Starr a "freak" and a "lunatic" in his pursuit of impeaching then-president Clinton, who Mr Trump supported at the time. As the Senate swore in chief justice John Roberts on Thursday to preside over the trial, Mr Trump responded angrily from the Oval Office, declaring he had been impeached for absolutely no reason. The president has also continued to deny knowing Lev Parnas, the business associate of his attorney Rudy Giuliani who is the latest to come forward with evidence against him, placing renewed pressure on the likes of Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and ex-Energy Secretary Rick Perry to reveal what they know about the Kiev plot. All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Show all 6 1 /6 All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Alan Dershowitz Dershowitz is a controversial American lawyer best known for the high-profile clients he has successfully defended. Those clients have included OJ Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. One longtime Harvard Law associated told the New Yorker Dershowitz "revels in taking positions that ultimately are not just controversial but pretty close to indefensible." Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Ken Starr Starr became a household name in the 1990s as the independent counsel who led the investigation that led to Bill Clinton's impeachment. That investigation began as a look into a real estate scandal known as Whitewater, and eventually led to impeachment after Mr Clinton lied under oath about having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. AP All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Jay Sekulow Sekulow is the president's longtime personal attorney, and, now, personal lawyer in the White House. He has been accused by former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas of being "in the loop" during the Ukraine scandal. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pam Bondi Bondi is the former attorney general in Florida, and a longtime backer of the president's. She made a name for herself in Florida for taking hyper partisan stances on issues, and her penchant for publicity. She is likely to be a prominent public-facing figure during the trial. AFP/Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pat Cipollone Cipollone is the White House counsel, and leading the president's defence team. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Rudy Giuliani While not officially named as one of the president's impeachment lawyers, it is hard to ignore Giuliani's outsized role in this process. The former mayor of New York has been making headlines for months as he defends his client, and for his apparent role in the effort to compel Ukraine to launch the investigation into Joe Biden. We'll see how he figures in the actual trial, which he has said he would like to be a part of. Reuters But the president enjoyed a sympathetic Republican audience as he celebrated college football champions from LSU on Friday, when he joked about his impeachment while citing a strong economy and well-funded military before flying to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend. He told the team: "They're trying t impeach the son of a b****. Can you believe that? We got the greatest economy we ever had ... We got the greatest military. We rebuilt it. We took out those terrorists like your football team would've taken out those terrorists, right?" Follow live coverage as it happened: Photo: The Canadian Press Premier John Horgan says the government is making $5 million available for loans to help contractors who are in danger of losing their equipment due to a forest industry strike on Vancouver Island. He says the program for struggling forest industry contractors will be available by the end of this month with bridge loans to help save equipment. Horgan announced the funding during a speech to forest industry contractors at the annual Truck Loggers Association convention. He spent much of his speech addressing the labour dispute between Western Forests Products and the Steelworkers union, saying the seven-month strike is unprecedented in British Columbia history. Up to 3,000 people are out of work and local politicians in Port McNeill and Campbell River says local economies are struggling. Horgan says he has urged both sides to negotiate a settlement. Ram Grag - President and CEO, ServiceDealz Founded with the passion of helping Texans cut their electricity bills, ServiceDealz is now on an expansion spree reaching out to the users across the USA with more deals added in other segments like internet, cable tv, and other home services. Over the years, ServiceDealz has emerged as a coveted aggregator among the residents of Texas looking to reduce their electricity bills. The aggregator is now on an expansion spree and is swiftly adding a wide spectrum of home service plans in other segments as well. Heres the complete story. Every month, families in the US end up expending up to 30% of their household income in paying utility and home service bills. Most users set up auto payment for their electricity bills and, as a result, they never realize when their cost went up. While some users subscribe to higher level services than they need and they end up overpaying while other users subscribe to low-end services resulting in poor experience both scenarios arent good, as per Ram Garg, President and CEO, ServiceDealz. Our ultimate mission is to help people reduce their expenditure on electricity and other home services and save the money, which can be used for fun, recreation, and more, he added. Often you may feel that searching for the cheapest electric company in Texas is a painstaking job. This is when ServiceDealz comes to your rescue. Its a platform that offers a completely unbiased comparison and helps users find the cheapest electricity rates from the best electricity providers. 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Search deals using zip code ServiceDealz is an intuitive and user-friendly website with a powerful search engine that lets users search for the cheap electricity deals, and other home service bundles quickly and effortlessly. All you need to do is enter your area zip code and all relevant deals will be brought forth for you to take your pick from. Compare deals Users can add up to three deals to compare. By comparing deals side-by-side, users can check and compare each plan after strict scrutiny, which facilitates better and informed decision making considering the plan that fits your usage, budget, and requirement. Compare plans and choose the one you like. Free electricity calculator Users can get an estimate of their monthly electricity bills with the help of the free electricity calculator. Its easy to use and helps you choose the right electricity plan bearing in mind your kWh usage. Schedule your switch With ServiceDealz, you can plan and schedule a service switch for a later date when you are comfortable. The website and mobile app will soon have this functionality. Chat support 24/7 24/7 chat support is available for any query, concern, and issue about deal search or service switch via ServiceDealz. Sign up and get $100 in your SD wallet Users get $100 instantly in their SD wallet on signing up with ServiceDealz. T&C Apply. Get $20 on each service switch Each service switch earns you VISA reward card worth $20. T&C Apply. Message from the CEO We strive to make home services cheaper for all. We understand electricity bills turn out to be a pain point for most users in Texas, especially during summer and in some parts of the country during winter also, and other home services add up to the headache. To ensure all our valued customers get outstanding value for their money, we bring the deals featuring the best electricity rates and other home services under the same roof. About ServiceDealz ServiceDealz is a one-stop-shop for the cheapest electricity plans, best tv plans, wireless, home security, bundle deals, and cheap internet deals in your area. The website and mobile app can be used for quick deal search. The ServiceDealz app is available for download on Play Store and App Store for Android and iPhone, respectively. New Eurostat data show that the rate of imprisonment in Luxembourg declined by 26.5% between 2008 and 2017. According to data published by Eurostat, Luxembourg had a prison population of 157.5 people per 100,000 inhabitants in 2008. This number has reduced steadily since then, reaching a low of 115.8 in 2017 - a decrease of 26.5%. Compared to the rest of the EU, the 2017 number places Luxembourg right in the middle of the pack the EU-wide average imprisonment rate is 116 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. The highest rate (for 2017) was found in Lithuania (232), followed by Czechia (209), and Estonia (206).The lowest rate, meanwhile, could be found in Finland (56), followed by Sweden (57), and Denmark (59). Quiz: Are you breaking the law? Test your Luxembourg legal knowledge! As for our neighbouring countries, their rates were all lower than those of Luxembourg: France's number stood at 103, Germany at 80, and Belgium 98 (2015 data - the latest available). Like Luxembourg, Germany saw a decrease between 2008 and 2017, in their case of 11%. Belgium's data is incomplete, but increased by 6.4% between 2008 and 2015. France also saw an increase of 6.1% between 2008 and 2017. RAMALLAH, West Bank The US assassination of top Iranian military commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani this month in Iraq has triggered conflicting positions among Palestinians. In the Gaza Strip, most Palestinian factions condemned the Jan. 3 assassination. Some leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad offered Iran condolences at the funeral in Tehran of Soleimani, who led the elite Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Meanwhile, however, many Palestinian social media activists rebuked their leaderships position. They lashed out at Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, who visited Iran to speak at Soleimanis funeral and dubbed the general the Martyr of Jerusalem. The same opposition to the leadership applied to Palestinians who supported the Arab Spring revolutions, specifically the Syrian revolution. These Soleimani critics view him as the biggest contributor to the failure of the Arab revolutions that began in 2011 and hold him responsible for the deaths of many Syrians. The deputy head of the Islamic Movement, Kamal al-Khatib, who is known as a Hamas supporter but an Iran detractor, mocked Iran for what he considered its lame response to the assassination. He posted on his Facebook page Jan. 8, referring to missiles Iran launched that struck Ain al-Asad base in Iraq where US troops are stationed: After a week of Iranian threats, promises ... and fiery statements, we saw a set of Iranian ballistic missiles or were they plastic missiles that had no effect other than cracking like fireworks?" On the other hand, Omar Nazzal, a member of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, wrote that day on Facebook that Iran's retaliation proves its a sovereign country capable of striking the United States and that Washington recognized Irans right to respond. Even if there were no losses [inflicted by Iranian missiles], even if the response was agreed upon, even if it was staged, this means that the US acknowledges the prestige of Iran and every sovereign state, Nazzal said. Palestinian factions in Gaza staged a condolence ceremony Jan. 4 in the Square of the Unknown Soldier, hanging huge banners showing a photo of Soleimani with the expression Martyr of Jerusalem. Hundreds attended to pay their respect, spearheaded by the factions leaders. In the West Bank, Fatah and the Palestinian Authority (PA) made no official comment on the assassination. The only statement came Jan. 3 by Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki on Al-Mayadeen satellite channel, who described Soleimani as the Che Guevara of the Middle East. A day after Soleimanis death, young men organized a vigil in a tent at the Dheisheh Palestinian refugee camp southeast of Bethlehem. The Palestinian archbishop of Jerusalems Greek Orthodox Church, Atallah Hanna, attended the service. This divergence of opinions was also echoed in Palestinian media outlets. Amad news website, which is close to dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, launched an attack on the Palestinian factions that offered condolences to Iran or set up mourning tents in Gaza. Dahlan has strong ties to Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates armed forces. In a Jan. 7 story, editor-in-chief of Amad Hassan Asfour lashed out at Haniyeh for dubbing Soleimani a martyr. Asfour described this move as a major political fail and as unprecedented political hypocrisy. In a previous article on Jan. 4, Asfour said the mourning gathering held in Gaza for Soleimani was a major mistake, adding that Iran is exploiting the banner of Palestine for sectarian purposes. For Sari Orabi, a Palestinian expert on Islamist factions, this disagreement among Palestinians regarding Soleimanis assassination was triggered by the positions of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, specifically Haniyeh's speech at the funeral in Tehran. Orabi explained to Al-Monitor that this difference was mostly felt among Hamas members, for several reasons, most notably the movement's position on the Syrian crisis and Iran's interference in it. Iran has supported the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, Hamas rhetoric has always been in support of the Syrian people and against Irans interference in Syria through the [proxy] resistance movements, he said, adding, To this day, the debate has been growing within Hamas about Iran. This culminated when Hamas mended its relationship with Iran. Hamas internal feud about Iran floats to the surface with every meeting between Hamas leaders and Iran and every press statement by Hamas leaders praising Iran. Orabi continued, Hamas has affiliated members in the West Bank, Gaza and abroad. The movements members experience different circumstances. Those outside Palestine, especially refugees who lived in the Yarmouk camp in Syria, have the most hard-line stance against Iran. In the West Bank, Hamas has no central organization capable of communicating with its cadres and members, and therefore there is no internal mobilization and political education there. Hamas cadres in the West Bank take individual positions that may conflict with the positions of the movement and its leaders. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Hamas has a strong organization capable of communicating with its members. It constantly feeds them with any developments in the stance of the movement's leadership. The internal Palestinian Fatah-Hamas division and the struggle of axes in the region have shaped Palestinians' positions regarding Soleimanis assassination. Palestinians seem to have found in social media the perfect space to express their conflicting opinions. The PAs official media grilled Hamas for sending its leaders to take part in Soleimani's funeral. Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, published a report Jan. 13 accusing Hamas of pawning itself to external forces and sending positive messages to Israel and the United States on one hand and to Iran on the other. Also, Palestine TV, the PAs official TV channel, broadcast a video titled Hamas Continues Its Political Hypocrisy for Partisan Gains." The video accuses Hamas leaders of throwing themselves into Tehran's arms. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Nader Saeed, head of the Institute of the Arab World for Research and Development, an opinion polling center, noted the longstanding political split between Palestinians: "Some support the PA and its political options and alliances, while others back the resistance and its factions and alliances. The division keeps widening as the differences between Arab and regional axes cast their shadow on the Palestinians and shape their positions, he said. Shiite Islamic and [axis of resistance] factions classify themselves as Irans allies, given Tehrans financial and military support to them," he explained. "Meanwhile, the PA and the factions supporting its political line position themselves as part of the moderate Sunni Arab alliance, specifically Saudi Arabia and the Gulf regimes," Saeed added. After the Kerala government and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) moved to the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act, another petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 that grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. A professor named Apurba Baruah and two members of 'Sushta Samaj Bikash Chakra' have moved to SC and filed the petition. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde has instructed senior advocate Indira Jaising to mention the matter before the Mentioning Registrar. According to the petitioners, Section 6A of the amended Citizenship Act has shifted the cut off date of 1971 to 2014 that violates the 1985 Assam Accord. READ | BIG: Kerala government challenges CAA in Supreme Court, becomes first state to do so Kerala Govt moves to SC challenging Citizenship law Earlier on January 13, the Kerala government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court, saying that the Citizenship Amendment Act was contradictory to the constitutional ethos. The Kerala government's petition argues that CAA is discriminatory because it covers only a class of minorities from a class of countries sharing borders with India and to which and from there have been trans-border migration. It further says that CAA covers certain religious minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and overlooks other reportedly persecuted religious minorities and sects such as Ahmaddiyas, Shias, and Hazaras. READ | After Kerala govt, IUML moves SC seeking stay on CAA; Governor not informed, not happy IUML seeks stay on CAA In its petition filed in the Supreme Court, Indian Union Muslim League has requested the Court to put a stay on CAA and has also asked if the Centre had a plan on implementing a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). Moreover, IUML has filed another petition citing the opposing arguments of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on the interconnection between NRC and National Population Register (NPR). Previously on Tuesday, the Kerala government had moved the Supreme Court against the act. The state has also stopped the activities of the National Population Register (NPR) claiming its connection to the NRC. READ | 'Was not informed about the state government approaching SC': Kerala Guv Arif Khan READ | Punjab follows Kerala, passes resolution against CAA amid AAP-Akali Dal walkout (With inputs from ANI) Daredevil fighter jet stunts, exquisite private jets, state-of-the-art commercial planes, and more will take wing at next months Singapore Airshow. The Jupiter Aerobatic Team of Six in action at the Singapore Airshow 2018. Photo: JUPITER AEROBATIC TEAM 6 x KT-1B INDONESIAN AIR FORCE (TNI-AU) / Singapore Airshow Though the final lineup has yet to be announced, last year saw top guns from throughout Southeast Asia including the Singapore Air Forces sky-shattering F-15s and F-16s, Indonesias Jupiter Aerobatic Team of Six, Malaysias Sukhoi Su-24 the SU-30 MKM, and Thailands JAS-39 Saab Griffin fighter jets tear through the sky to delight viewers. Visitors can get up close and personal with their favorite airplanes, jets, and more. Photo: Official Singapore Airshow / Facebook Visitors can also get up close and personal with the airframes on display, with everything from luxe private jets and military craft to the latest, high-tech commercial planes. Big names from the aviation industry to join include Embraer, Gulfstream, and more to be announced soon. From private jets to fighter pilots, a large variety of planes will be on display. Photo: Official Singapore Airshow / Facebook The Singapore Air Show is an industry event that opens to the public Feb. 15 and 16 at the Changi Exhibition Centre. Because war and elite air travel are immensely profitable, its an industry-only thing Feb. 11-14 but one need only look up to catch some of the afternoon aviation action. Tickets cost S$27 for adults and S$14 for children, with group discounts available. Tickets include shuttle service between the venue and Singapore Expo. FIND IT: Singapore Airshow Changi Exhibition Centre, 9 Aviation Park Road 9:30am-5pm, Feb. 15 & 16 More lifestyle stories from the Little Red Dot at Coconuts.co/singapore/lifestyle/ This article, Eyes to the skies next month when Singapore Airshow returns, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters! CHILLICOTHE, Ohio A 38-year-old man has been charged with animal cruelty after authorities say he threw a 13-week-old puppy out of a window, then slammed it to the ground because it was barking. A news release from the Ross County Humane Society says the suspect, identified as Chillicothe resident Joshua Keets, could face additional charges because of the incident, which occurred Wednesday. The severely injured puppy, named Jaxon, was taken to North Fork Animal Clinic for treatment, but it died of its injuries. The Humane Society says the puppy suffered from fluid in the lungs as a result of the traumatic brain injury. According to the news release, police say Keets was seen throwing the puppy out of the window of a residence Wednesday morning. He then went outside and slammed the puppy to the ground, police say. Keets is accused of then putting the puppy into a crate and throwing the crate against a wooden fence. Two other puppies in the home were removed by animal shelter officials. A woman living in the home also was charged with animal cruelty because she failed to seek medical care for the puppy after it was injured, the news release says. If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Thursdays crime and courts comments section. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: Coyote bites Ohio police officer on highway exit ramp Teens carjacked man filling up tires at Cleveland gas station, court records say Cleveland man accused of punching 1-year-old boy, police investigating case as possible hate crime Cleveland man accused of shooting at federal agents faces new sex trafficking charge Gambling house targeted in armed home invasion in Clevelands Glenville neighborhood Armed home invasion of 69-year-old man in Shaker Heights led to police chase, crash in Cleveland William Bufkin Ten years after the invasion of Afghanistan, memories of that initial thrust into combat remain vivid for the first Marines and sailors sent to war. Lt. Col. Brian Peterson is a CH-46 helicopter pilot and staff officer for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. He was a captain deployed aboard the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship Peleliu when he learned of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Peleliu was docked in Australia and Peterson had turned in after a long day of rugby when his roommate rousted him from bed. Hey, were at war! Peterson, now 40, recalled him saying. I was in shock, like everyone else. Advertisement Commanders aboard the Peleliu and its sister ships recalled their Marines and sailors and began heading toward Afghanistan, where U.S.-led airstrikes started on Oct. 7, 2001. Navy Capt. William Jezierski, commander of the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group, worked closely with his Marine counterpart, then-Col. Thomas Waldhauser, who oversaw the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and its infantrymen. This was the strongest bond that Ive ever had between the Navy and the Marine Corps, said Jezierski, who retired in 2006 and works in San Diego as a consultant to the 3rd Fleet. Some of that is personalities. Some of that was the mission. You knew what the task was and there was no question about it during that overall buildup. You knew the seriousness, you knew that it had to be done right. The war began in Pakistan, oddly enough, for Lt. Col. Jay Holtermann, now the commanding officer of HMH-361 based at Miramar. He and his Marines were flying CH-53 helicopters in 2001 the early workhorses of the invasion that ferried troops and supplies into the war zone. During one of their first missions, they were sent to retrieve a downed helicopter. They had tea in the air tower with the civilian overseers who agreed to open their air field. When Holtermann and the Marines returned to the tarmac, the crack of rifle shots rang out from attackers laid in around the runway. This was, as far as I know, the first shots in the global war on terror against conventional forces, said Holtermann, now 40. It was an eye-opener. The air strikes on Afghanistan started while Lt. Col. William Bufkin, a Cobra attack helicopter pilot, was aboard the Peleliu. It was dark and he couldnt see the armada of ships nearby, but he knew they were there. On the flight deck, we were watching the Tomahawk missiles launch off naval vessels. We were all wondering what their targets were, said Bufkin, now 44. We sat there and thought, OK, the USA is not messing around with this one. On Nov. 25, Bufkin and his section flew over the mountains into Afghanistan. Going in, all of the emotions run through your head about revenge for the people killed in New York City and the Pentagon and Flight 93. But mostly you think its time for business. You get real serious. By the time they arrived at Camp Rhino, their first base of operations, they were so far from their ships that the helicopters were almost out of fuel. Then we landed and sat there next to our aircraft with our pistols and night-vision goggles and watched as the Marines established security around the airfield, Bufkin said. That fall, as Task Force 58 prepared to move on Kandahar City, Peterson and his San Diego buddies christened a former opium processing warehouse at the air field as Beachcomber Afghanistan, after their favorite hangout. San Diego-based Marines fly over Camp Rhino at the opening of the war in Afghanistan. ( / courtesy photo) Marine aviator Brian Peterson at a Pakistani air field in 2001. ( / courtesy photo) On Christmas Eve, between missions resupplying Marine infantrymen who blocked fleeing Taliban forces, Peterson took a turn in one of the fighting holes surrounding Camp Rhino. The moonless night sky was filled with what looked like a million stars, because of the lack of electricity in a poor area of an already poor country. With all the B-52s and jets overhead, it looked like LAX traffic up there, he said. Jesus would have fit right in, he thought, but now with all these high-tech jets whizzing overhead, it was old meets new in the extreme. He returned from the war zone in early 2002 to culture shock of a different kind in America, where he had to get used to taking his shoes off going through airport security. Lt. Col. Michael Waterman, a 43-year-old F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet aviator, chuckles remembering this: When his squadron deployed in early 2002, the Marines had to hunt for charts to differentiate Kazakhstan from Kyrgyzstan. Their missions over Afghanistan were long and grueling, but they dropped relatively little ordnance. There was a lot of intel gathering going on, a lot of door-to-door searches, chasing some high-profile targets, Waterman recalled. With the sound of their jets screaming overhead on overwatch, we kept that rifle slung on the shoulder of our enemies so they didnt employ against our guys. It was the beginnings of fighting an insurgency, he said. It was the baby steps as we started to realize this is going to be a very long war. Waterman returned home that fall of 2002, just long enough to see the birth of his second son. Then he was heading east again three months later, this time for the invasion of Iraq. Bufkin returned to Afghanistan last year with the Miramar-based air wing. The military infrastructure and the international coalition have grown significantly since 2001, he said. But his first impression almost a decade later, looking at the barren desert, was Wow, this place hasnt changed much. gretel.kovach@uniontrib.com (619) 293-1293 Twitter @gckovach As a young holidaymakers life lies in ruins after she was raped in Cyprus, according to her statements, by a gang of young Israeli males, the question that no one has answered is why the Cypriot authorities were so relaxed about allowing the alleged rapists to leave the country. Under normal circumstances in todays Europe and Cyprus is an EU member state accusations of rape, even in the context of drink-fuelled, testosterone-charged sexual encounters in package holiday resorts, must and are expected to be taken very seriously indeed. Now a Cypriot court has to decide whether to exonerate the British girl, in place of the conveniently suspended sentence which judges use to let someone off a prison sentence but still leave the stain of guilt. What has not been mentioned, however, is that this case fell foul of one of the most important geopolitical stand-offs in the east Mediterranean, involving power politics well above the pay grade of any middle-rank Cypriot judge let alone a teenage victim of alleged male sexual brutality. At the time the British tabloids were working themselves into a lather over the Cypriot judicial system, the government of Cyprus was entering into a major new alliance with Israel and Greece which will alter the balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean. On 3 January, Israel moved into the ranks of a potential energy superpower, when prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement in Athens with the prime ministers of Greece and Cyprus to build an undersea natural gas pipeline from Israel to Europe. A 1,900-kilometer offshore and onshore pipeline will take gas from Israeli territorial waters to the western Greek mainland via Cyprus and Crete and then on towards Europe. This is the biggest joint Israeli-EU economic project as part of the EUs desperate search for energy sources to replace coal, nuclear and oil. The deal lessens the power of Gulf oil producers as well as Iran. When fully developed, the Israeli gas fields guarantee Israels energy needs for the next 60 years. Like Britains North Sea oil and gas, which provided the income to allow Margaret Thatcher to cut taxes and de-industrialise Britain in the 1980s, this is a major economic windfall for Israel. Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Show all 13 1 /13 Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment Canon Photography Project Highlights Sexual Harassment For Greece and the Greek Cypriot government it is a major strategic move in its unending quarrel with Turkey, whose soldiers still occupy the northern third of Cyrpus and whose warplanes regularly overfly Greek islands and Greeces territorial waters in the Aegean. Some Greek holiday islands lie nearly as close to Turkey as the Isle of Wight to Hampshire, and the Turkish strongman leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan increasingly likes to profile himself as a man willing to use military force to advance Turkeys ambitions. There are Greek fears that an agreement signed between Erdogan and the officially recognised, if contested, government of Libya in Tripoli in November is aimed at asserting Turkish control over Greek waters. Tripoli and Ankara drew up a map dividing the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean between Turkey and Libya; it cuts right across the seas claimed by both Athens and Nicosia, and where both Cyprus and Greece hoped they may find gas to sell. Recommended Iran has been changed forever by admitting its great mistake So the triple alliance between Greece, Israel and Cyprus, with the blessing of the EU and the tacit approval of the US, is a warning shot to Erdogan that Greece and Cyprus are not alone if he were to indulge in any military adventurism offshore from Turkey. It was surely in this context that the young Israeli men were sent home as fast as possible, so as not to make their detention in Cyprus while the rape allegations were properly investigated into a public issue between Nicosia and Jerusalem. Israel never surrenders its citizens and Israeli public opinion is passionate to the point of fanaticism in defending Israelis under any sort of attack abroad. Once home, the young men were safe from Cypriot or any legal investigation. Of course, every judge is independent but raison detat still exists, and words can be had in many different ways in many different corridors so that keeping the Israelis under lock and key in Cyprus was averted and the anti-Turkish alliance was consolidated. Denis MacShane is the UKs former minister of Europe who dealt with Greece, Cyprus and Turkey when at the Foreign Office. The politics around drugs have evolved since the days of New Yorks harsh and inflexible Rockefeller Drug Laws, which eventually set a national standard and cemented the view that drugs are a matter of crime and punishment, not health and medicine. Now, even moderate law enforcement officials acknowledge that drug possession is a public health problem, rather than a serious crime worthy of lengthy incarceration. The Rockefeller approach is now widely considered racist, especially by the wave of reform prosecutors that includes district attorneys Larry Krasner in Philadelphia and Rachael Rollins in Boston. They believe criminalizing drug possession is not only a counterproductive use of limited resources, but also harmful to people who stand to benefit from treatment for a substance use disorder. Advertisement But while public sympathy for the drug user has grownthanks in large part to the realization that yes, white people also do drugswhats a progressive prosecutor to do about the seller, long viewed as an evildoer preying on peoples addictions? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People who sell drugs are popular scapegoats. In response to the opioid crisis, many states have recently passed laws allowing prosecutors to charge drug dealers with murder if a customer overdoses; President Donald Trump has called for the execution of sellers while preaching compassion for users. But the people most likely to be caught selling drugs are not the El Chapos of the world. Theyre small fish swimming at the bottom of the drug trade, or occasional sellers who take on huge risks for meager rewards. A national analysis of all reported drug arrests in 2004, 2008, and 2012 found that 2 out of 3 drug offenders arrested by nonfederal law enforcement possess or sell a gram or less at the time of the arrest. The study also points out that while white people are more likely to sell drugs, people of color are by far more likely to be arrested for selling. Advertisement Advertisement The people most likely to be caught selling drugs are not the El Chapos of the world. The current punitive approach toward sellers is not only racist, it has no effect on tamping down the drug trade. We did the experiment, the late New York University drug policy researcher Mark Kleiman told Vox in 2017. In 1980, we had about 15,000 people behind bars for drug dealing. And now we have about 450,000 people behind bars for drug dealing. And the prices of all major drugs are down dramatically. So if the question is do longer sentences lead to higher drug prices and therefore less drug consumption, the answer is no. Advertisement Its time to try a new experiment. And where better to do it than in Manhattan? If New York exported the draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws, maybe the city can set a new standard. Come November 2021, Manhattan may see a new district attorney unseat incumbent Cy Vance for the first time in a decade. On Thursday, one of Vances progressive challengers, civil rights attorney and antimass incarceration activist Janos Marton, released a drug policy platform that, among other things, charts a decidedly nonpunitive approach to low-level drug selling by providing a path out of the drug trade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A smart response must recognize the economic incentives of people who sell small amounts as part of the drug trade, reads Martons drug policy proposal published on Thursday. The right response to those individuals, who work in dangerous conditions for paltry wages, is to direct them on a path to gainful employment rather than branding them with a criminal record that will make it increasingly harder for them to turn their lives around. In an interview with Slate, Marton acknowledged that Vances office has reduced the number of marijuana prosecutions, mostly for possession, but that his proposal would go beyond marijuana. Advertisement Advertisement Another progressive in the field, New York Law professor Alvin Bragg, is running on ending racial disparities and declining to prosecute drug possession, but does not mention drug selling on his website. Bragg told Slate that as DA, hed focus on large-scale criminal enterprises and look for root causes of societal ills. He said that drugs, depending on the quantity someone is caught with, should be treated as a health issue, but did not elaborate further. Advertisement Advertisement Currently, if you stand accused of selling drugs (a felony in New York) youre probably ineligible for diversion programs, like drug court. Drug courts mandate people to attend treatment and steer clear of using, but Marton rightly notes that not everyone who sells drugs is addicted to them, so theres no reason to waste the few available treatment slots on them. To rectify harsh penalties for those at the lower tier of drug selling (think of the corner kids in The Wire), Marton proposes an employment-based diversion program that reckons with the economic imperatives that drive drug selling in the first place, and potentially offers a path out. I firmly believe that many sellers have skills and talents that can be put towards more conventional work, Marton said. While some diversion programs have turned out to be scams that exploit the people they claim to help, Marton says hed explore ways to help people find work in green energy construction, coding, security, the food industry, and look for other entrepreneurial opportunities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based on our many conversations with people who have run, worked in, or participated in employment based diversion programs, Marton explained, such programs only succeed when they offer both a path to economic subsistence (not only low-wage, dead end jobs). Who would be eligible for a job instead of jail? When people are caught with drugs and charged with intent to distribute, usually the law uses the amount theyre caught with to determine their level of involvement in the drug trade. The more drugs and cash, the higher the punishment. Marton said if he were running Manhattans DA office, hed treat each case individually. Even within intent to sell cases, we would individualize our response on a persons role in the drug trade, their interest in moving their lives in a different direction, and the harm they may have caused their community. Marton knows his approach will be controversial, even among people sympathetic to policies like marijuana legalization. Some may ask whether it is not a bridge too far to decline criminal prosecution of drugs other than marijuana, Marton writes in his proposal. But if our goal is to reduce the harm and risk associated with hard drugs, we must first admit that the half-century of prohibitionist policies of the War on Drugs has not worked. The ministry of irrigation said that the statement included points that agree with the Egyptian proposals, which proves the inaccuracy of these media reports Egypt's irrigation ministry has denied media reports that the country faced pressure to waive some of its demands on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) during the latest round of negotiations. Foreign affairs and irrigation ministers from Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia convened in Washington from 13-15 January, in the attendance of representatives from the US and the World Bank, to complete negotiations aiming to reach an agreement on the filling and operations of the dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile. The meetings concluded with a joint statement about some technical points related to the operation and filling of the dam. They also agreed to reconvene on 28-29 January in Washington to finalise the agreement. Egypt's irrigation ministry said that the statement included points that agree with the Egyptian proposals, which proves the inaccuracy of these media reports. The ministry explained that the statement dealt with the quantities of water to be stored and the duration of the filling of the dam, which will be carried out based upon the river's hydrology. "That means that the filling process will be dependent on the flood amounts changing from year to year," the ministry said, noting that this concept does not depend on the number of years and quantities stored each year specifically, but rather on the river's hydrological conditions and the state of the annual flood. "The joint statement also said that the first phase of dam filing will be done quickly, and the turbines will be operated to generate energy for the Ethiopian people as the main aim of the dam, without having a significant impact on the downstream countries," the ministry said. Definitions and descriptions of drought and prolonged drought were reached at the talks, the ministry said. Ethiopia is committed to mitigating the consequences, while the other details in this respect will be finalised during the next consultations, which will be hosted in Washington at the end of January, according to the statement. The next meeting is expected to deal with some legal and technical points, including cooperation on the rules of operating and the mechanism for settling disputes that may arise from re-setting the operation policy owing to changes in the flood amount from one year to another. The next meeting is of considerable significance for solving outstanding matters and reaching a comprehensive agreement, the ministry stressed. Ethiopia hopes that the GERD will allow it to become Africas biggest power exporter, while Egypt fears that the mega-dam, which is 70 percent complete and set to be fully operational by 2022, will diminish its share of Nile water, on which it is almost entirely reliant for water resources. Search Keywords: Short link: GENEVA, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To ensure companies and cities are doing enough to restore balance to all of Earth's natural systems alongside climate, 25+ organizations have formed the Science Based Target Network (SBTN), a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Companies are now being invited to register their interest as work is underway by SBTN experts to develop the methodologies and resources that will enable them to set targets across freshwater, ocean, land and biodiversity, as well as climate. Today, the Council for SBTN announces the appointment of Erin Billman as Executive Director of the Network. Billman joins SBTN from Blu Skye consulting and previously Bain & Co., where she gained a wealth of experience of working both with corporates and non-profits to drive increased sustainability. She facilitated the Paulson Institute's CEO Council for Sustainable Urbanization and worked with companies including Walmart, Apple, Alibaba and Dow. Billman also delivered high-level strategic projects with a Fortune 250 energy company and other businesses in global retail, gas and electricity, healthcare and investment sectors. A passionate environmentalist, Billman has a strong communications background with published articles including in Harvard Business Review. The Network's leadership council is formed of senior executives from major global NGOs including Conservation International, CDP, the World Economic Forum, the World Resources Institute, WWF International and the UN Global Compact. Billman said: "I'm thrilled to be taking this role to lead this unprecedented collaboration aimed at driving the transition towards a new global economy. All of Earth's natural systems are under unsustainable pressure, and for me, business and cities hold the key to transforming our economic systems in a way that protects and restores nature, while enabling society to thrive. "It is only by bringing together this number of organizations from across private and public sectors that we can make the shift that the Earth requires at the pace necessary. The member organizations and individuals working in the Network are of the highest calibre, and rooting the action that business and cities can make in the latest science is the only way to ensure they are doing enough." Kevin Moss, co-chair of the SBTN Council said: "Erin stood out as the right candidate for this role. Her experience of working with companies, cities and investors along with her passionate belief in the pivotal role business and cities must play in ensuring the Earth's natural systems are stabilized were exactly what we were looking for." Notes to editors: For more information or interviews please contact Tara Burke, Communications Consultant [email protected] , tel. +44-7747745675 The Science Based Targets Network, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), aims to enable companies and cities operate in environmentally sustainable ways to restore balance to the Earth's interrelated systems of freshwater, biodiversity, land and ocean alongside climate. It is a key component of the Global Commons Alliance , a network of organizations working together to positively transform the world's economic systems and protect the global commons, also housed at RPA. Other components include the Earth Commission , launched last September; Earth HQ , a media portal for the planet, tracking the health of Earth systems and progress towards solutions, and the Systems Change Lab , which distills, reports, identifies gaps and promotes coalitions as they push towards systems tipping points in key global commons areas, e.g. forests, ocean, water, urban management etc. The Science Based Targets Network Council is the oversight body that includes Kevin Moss (Global Director, Business Center, World Resources Institute), Frances Way (Chief Strategy Officer, CDP Worldwide), Christianne Close, Global Practice Leader, Markets, World Wildlife Fund, Lila Karbassi (Chief, Programmes, United Nations Global Compact), Akanksha Khatri (Head, Nature and Biodiversity Initiative, World Economic Forum), Jennifer Morris (President, Conservation International). The Earth Commission is a group of leading scientists convened by the international research organization, Future Earth. Their mission is to synthesize the latest science to underpin the development of science-based targets for systems like land, water, and biodiversity. The Earth Commission Executive Director is Apurva Dave of Future Earth. Earth HQ (under construction at www.globalcommonsalliance.org ) Executive Director is Tim Kelly. Earth HQ will serve as a media portal for the planet, sharing an overall picture of how Earth Systems are performing and tracking progress Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors is a nonprofit organization that currently advises on and manages more than $200 million in annual giving by individuals, families, corporations and foundations. RPA also serves as a fiscal sponsor for more than 50 projects, providing governance, management and operational infrastructure to support their charitable purposes. SOURCE Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) J ustin Trudeau has urged Iran to send the black boxes from the passenger plane downed in Tehran to France. The Canadian Prime Minister said on Friday that France was one of the few countries with the ability to read the flight and cockpit data recorders from the jet, which he said were badly damaged. It comes as Mr Trudeau said his government will provide financial support to the families of the 57 citizens and 29 permanent residents of Canada who died in the crash. He said the families will receive 25,000 Canadian dollars (14,600). Mr Trudeau said he still expects Iran to compensate the families but said they need help now for funerals, travel to Iran and bills. Iran: Tehran Plane Crash - In pictures 1 /13 Iran: Tehran Plane Crash - In pictures via Reuters AP AFP via Getty Images People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Images AP AP via Reuters AP Rescuers check the debris following the plane crash via Reuters Part of the wreckage from Ukrainian plane that crashed in Tehran shortly after take-off via Reuters Iran says it shot down Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752 last week by accident, killing all 176 people aboard. "Iran does not have the level of technical expertise and mostly the equipment necessary to be able to analyze these damaged black boxes quickly," Mr Trudeau said. "There is a beginning of a consensus that [France] would be the right place to send those black boxes to get proper information from them in a rapid way and that is what we are encouraging the Iranian authorities to agree to." Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau / REUTERS In the week since Tehran announced its military had shot down the aircraft, Iran's government has said international authorities looking into the tragedy would have access to the black-box data, but that has yet to happen, slowing the investigation. More than two thirds of Canadians are not confident there will be a full and accurate account of the disaster, an Angus Reid Institute poll released on Friday said. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held a rare face-to-face meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Francois-Philippe Champagne, on Friday in Muscat, Oman. The two countries have not had diplomatic relations since 2012. In a statement, Canada's foreign ministry said Mr Zarif agreed on the need for "a transparent analysis of the black box data," and that the ministers "discussed the duty Iran has towards the families of the victims including compensation". Mr Zarif wrote on Twitter after the meeting that both countries' experts would continue to exchange information, adding "politicisation" of the tragedy must be rejected and that the focus should be on the victims' families. The scene of a Ukrainian airliner that crashed / IRNA/AFP via Getty Images Mr Trudeau said about 20 families of Canadian victims had requested the return of the bodies and that he expected the first remains to be repatriated in the coming days. He gave no further details. The bodies of all 11 Ukrainians who died in the crash have been identified and will be transported to Ukraine on January 19, the interior ministry in Kiev said in a statement. With Iran facing a deepening crisis as it grapples with unrest at home and rising pressure from abroad, the Islamic Republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered his first Friday prayers sermon in eight years. IRAN PRESS/AFP via Getty Images He described the shooting down of the plane as a "bitter tragedy that burned through our heart". By Bill Hathaway The brain is a sort of fortress, equipped with barriers designed to keep out dangerous pathogens. But protection comes at a cost: These barriers interfere with the immune system when faced with dire threats such glioblastoma, a deadly brain tumor for which there are few effective treatments. Yale researchers have found a novel way to circumvent the brains natural defenses when theyre counterproductive by slipping immune system rescuers through the fortresses drainage system, they report Jan. 15 in the journal Nature. People had thought there was very little the immune system could do to combat brain tumors, said senior corresponding author Akiko Iwasaki. There has been no way for glioblastoma patients to benefit from immunotherapy. Iwasaki is the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Immunobiology and professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. While the brain itself has no direct way for disposing of cellular waste, tiny vessels lining the interior of the skull collect tissue waste and dispose of it through the bodys lymphatic system, which filters toxins and waste from the body. It is this disposal system that researchers exploited in the new study. These vessels form shortly after birth, spurred in part by the gene known as vascular endothelial growth factor C, or VEGF-C. Yales Jean-Leon Thomas, associate professor of neurology at Yale and senior co-corresponding author of the paper, wondered whether VEGF-C might increase immune response if lymphatic drainage was increased. And lead author Eric Song, a student working in Iwasakis lab, wanted to see if VEGF-C could specifically be used to increase the immune systems surveillance of glioblastoma tumors. Together, the team investigated whether introducing VEGF-C through this drainage system would specifically target brain tumors. The team introduced VEGF C into the cerebrospinal fluid of mice with glioblastoma and observed an increased level of T cell response to tumors in the brain. When combined with immune system checkpoint inhibitors commonly used in immunotherapy, the VEGF-C treatment significantly extended survival of the mice. In other words, the introduction of VEGF-C, in conjunction with cancer immunotherapy drugs, was apparently sufficient to target brain tumors. These results are remarkable, Iwasaki said. We would like to bring this treatment to glioblastoma patients. The prognosis with current therapies of surgery and chemotherapy is still so bleak. The study was primarily funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institutes of Health. Other Yale authors are Tianyang Mao, Huiping Dong, Ligia Simoes Braga Boisserand, and Marcus Bosenberg. Salli Antila and Kari Alitalo of the University of Helsinki are also authors. Yale University So far Trumps senior advisers have only signaled that they will not likely take three days to present their case, as former president Bill Clintons lawyers did during the last impeachment trial in 1999, and believe the trial could wrap up in about two weeks. At a briefing for reporters Wednesday, presidential officials suggested they would be fine without calling additional witnesses but where they go with their own presentation is unclear. : Gold worth Rs one crore and foreign currencies equivalent to over Rs 10 lakh have been seized from air passengers in the last two days, Customs officials said here on Friday. Eight passengers, who had arrived from Colombo and Bangkok on Thursday and Friday, were checked based on a tip-off. The search revealed gold concealed in their rectum, the officials said. The seized metal weighed 2.5 kg and was worth Rs 1.03 crore, a press release said. One of the passengers was detained as the cumulative gold recovered from the person was over Rs 20 lakh, the release said. In another incident, the baggage of a passenger bound for Bangkok was searched and it yielded foreign currencies equivalent to Rs 10.83 lakh, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former solar company executive pleaded guilty this week to defrauding investors of $1 billion, leaving in the companys wake a string of lawsuits from buyers, suppliers and fired employees. DC Solar Solutions, a Benicia firm, made solar generators mounted on trailers that provided event lighting and emergency power for communications companies. It worked with T-Mobile to power cell phone towers during wildfires, the carrier confirmed. It let Mills College in Oakland use generators free of charge, a college spokeswoman said. It sponsored NASCAR races, according to news reports. But, after an FBI investigation, the company imploded at the end of 2018. Prosecutors allege DC Solar sold the generators through special funds for investors to get federal tax credits. The company then purported to lease those generators to third parties to generate revenue, little of which it actually made, prosecutors say; instead, they say, early investors were paid with funds from later investors a classic Ponzi scheme. The company engaged in $2.5 billion in investment transactions between 2011 and 2018, Department of Justice court filings said. A dozen investors including Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway, which lost about $340 million lost a total of $1 billion claimed in tax credits. Ryan Guidry, DC Solars former vice president of operations, entered pleas involving the scam and money laundering Tuesday. The 43-year-old Pleasant Hill man could face up to 15 years in federal prison. Three other men, including a general contractor and an accountant, pleaded guilty last year. The companys owners, Jeffrey and Paulette Carpoff of Martinez, have not been charged criminally but were named in civil lawsuits. Investigators said the couple spent lavishly $19 million on a private jet service, some 20 properties, and around 150 expensive cars. The company even hosted rapper Pitbull at a 2018 holiday party. After DC Solars demise, the couple authorized the government to sell more than $75 million of their real estate and other assets. The U.S. attorneys office in the Eastern District of California said the investigation is ongoing. An attorney for the couple did not respond to a request for comment. Guidry could not be reached and his lawyer did not respond to request for comment. The fallout left investors, suppliers who sent products that were never paid for, and employees fired en masse scrambling for restitution, according to lawsuits. Former Director of Communications John Miranda was quoted in the Martinez News-Gazette in November 2018 saying that the company provided emergency backup power during the Camp and Woolsey fires. A month later, he was fired without warning or compensation, in violation of California law, according to a lawsuit seeking class action status he filed on behalf of himself and other employees in early 2019. Miranda could not be reached and his lawyer declined comment. California investment firm Solarmore Management Services sued, arguing DC Solars business was a sham that wrested over $910 million from innocent purchasers. Jeffrey Carpoff is listed on Solarmores original incorporation documents, but transferred the company to a retired banker, who is now suing Carpoffs business DC Solar. A North Carolina company, Green Energy Concepts, alleged in Bankruptcy Court that DC Solar owed it $5.2 million for 923 made-to-order batteries that, if not saved from storage, could become worthless. Mills College had 12 DC Solar generators free of charge for five years as part of a statewide program, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships Renee Jadushelver said in an email. When the company declared bankruptcy, they were picked up from campus a few months ago, she said. The scheme shows that as investors rushed to claim federal tax credits in the booming solar industry, there was ample opportunity for business and exploitation. Joshua Buswell-Charkow, campaign director for the California Solar & Storage Association, said DC Solar was never a member of the organization. Since DC Solar targeted businesses, few, if any homeowners were harmed by their lawless behavior to our knowledge, he said in an email. But Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has warned consumers to be vigilant about solar-related scams as off-the-grid options become more appealing with looming power shut-offs. Potential scams include calls telling customers they are eligible for a federal tax refund, trying to sell a solar evaluation, or claiming a power shut-off is imminent and asking for personal information. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes When considering solar power, the industry association recommends consumers get at least three bids from qualified and reputable state-licensed contractors and do business with members who adhere to ethics and consumer protection codes. DC Solars product mobile solar generators can survive power outages and might become more popular, especially for cell phone companies facing pressure from regulators to improve backup power at cell towers that failed during last years power shut-offs. Travis Semmes, owner of Mobile Solar based in Atascadero (San Luis Obispo County), was selling mobile solar generators three years before DC Solar emerged on the market. Semmes said his models had higher-efficiency solar panels, larger battery banks, and more versatile attributes. I can say we have superior product and we were first to market and we see strong growth in this industry despite the black eye that they have left, Semmes said. His company serves construction, telecommunications, and residential backup for off-the-grid homes. The industry is so strong and theres such demand for our products, Semmes said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico - Mexican soldiers killed 11 attackers near the Mexico-Texas border Thursday, Tamaulipas state authorities said. Around 2:30 p.m. soldiers on patrol were ambushed on a dirt road in the community of Los Angeles in the Miguel Aleman township, said Luis Alberto Rodriguez, head of the Tamaulipas state security co-ordinating group. Civilians began shooting at the soldiers from the brush, he said. The regional army command did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The area is controlled by the Gulf cartel, but has also seen incursions from a splinter of the Zetas and the Jalisco New Generation cartel. There had been an increased military presence since the killing this month of a child when gunmen attacked his familys vehicle in the area. Colorado will receive $31.8 million in federal money for services to homeless individuals and families, with a goal of moving them into permanent housing. The Continuum of Care program provides funding for certain types of functions, which include permanent housing, transitional housing and supportive services. Such services may comprise outreach to sheltered or unsheltered people as well as linking people to housing, for example. Homelessness prevention in the form of rental subsidies is another accepted use of the money. As of January 2018, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness reported that 10,857 Colorado residents were homeless on a given day. In Colorado, the state will receive $3 million, with individual organizations that offer rapid rehousing and permanent housing receiving anywhere from $37,000 to in excess of $300,000. The Denver metro area will receive the bulk of the funds, at $26.4 million. Large awards of $2 million for a permanent supportive housing project and $4.7 million for a grant to aid families are included. The Colorado Springs region will receive $2.3 million. U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner said that there would be a fourth continuum of care network established for Larimer and Weld counties. Last July, I was honored to host Secretary Carson in Aurora to discuss Colorados affordable housing needs, said Sen. Cory Gardner in a statement, referring to U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson. I commend him for listening to us in Colorado, for hearing our unique needs, and for his willingness to help. HUD, which awarded $2.2 billion nationwide, found that homelessness had decreased across much of the country in 2019, but large increases on the West Coast meant that the national rate rose overall. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-17 12:30:26 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 552 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Kaiser land is a Realtor who specializes in Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Binh Phuoc Land and helps the buyers find the right propertyBINH DUONG, VIETNAM / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / Kaiser Land is a well known and dynamic brokerage firm that focuses on providing real estate services in Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Binh Phuoc markets. By following professional ethics and enthusiasm, Kaiser Land aims to bring a dedicated, advanced, effective, and economical service.The real estate company follows the rule - "customer first," which is why it always places its customers in the first place. The company wants to make sure that its customers get everything they are searching for. 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People planning to invest in lucrative real estate properties in these areas can filter their search (according to their price range, province, district, etc.) and find the right property on the official website of the company.Visit https://kaiserland.vn/ for more information.Contact Details:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaiserLandvn/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kaiserlandvn Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kaiserlandvn/ Blog: http://datnenmyphuoc.over-blog.com/ Weebly: https://thereverseengineers.weebly.com/ Contact Info:Name: Zhi RuoEmail: Send EmailOrganization: Kaiser LandAddress: Plot No. 3547, Map sheet No. 20, Quarter 1, Thoi Hoa Ward, Ben Cat Town, Binh DuongPhone: +84 902 898 868Website: https://kaiserland.vn/ SOURCE: Kaiser Land In the midst of a debate among conservatives about whether, and to what extent, the government should curtail online pornography, Professor Robert P. George of Princeton on Monday urged the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney General William Barr to enforce existing obscenity laws as a means of combating access to porn. In the letter, George accuses the DOJ of abdicating its responsibility to prosecute obscenity in online content and asks that the attorney general clarify the departments position on whether pornography is obscene and as such subject to regulation. The desire for the Justice Department to deepen its involvement in prosecuting breaches of obscenity law has existed for some time. In 2017, Patrick Trueman, the head of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and a former chief U.S. prosecutor for the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section at the Justice Department, wrote that we are in the midst of a public health crisis caused by pornography, a crisis that could have been prevented by the enforcement of obscenity laws. In December 2019, four House Republicans urged Barr to begin prosecuting obscenity cases, after Obama AG Eric Holder had disbanded the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force at the Justice Department. The Supreme Court has ruled on several cases involving violations of obscenity law, most crucially Miller v. California, which established the Miller test for judges and jurors to determine if material can be classified as obscene. In the intervening years, advocates of a more lenient anti-pornography regime have criticized the ruling for its vagueness and for standards that they argue have proven too difficult to implement. In a separate criticism of the push to prosecute online porn through obscenity laws, Katherine Mangu-Ward, chief editor of Reason magazine, told Vox that such a move would be antithetical to the conservative movement. What youre seeing now is this rise of a much more authoritarian and state-oriented variant of conservatism and it just says, You know what? Actually, never mind. Lets take away the bad choices. Lets make some bad choices illegal, Mangu-Ward said. This has long been a characteristic of the American left. Story continues Nevertheless, conservatives including Sohrab Ahmari, opinion editor of the New York Post, and Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire have advocated for increased legal action against online porn. Following the publication of his letter to Barr, I spoke with George to elucidate some of the issues at hand, and to see how, and for what reasons, he believes obscenity laws should be enforced in the Internet age. The following transcript has been slightly condensed and edited for clarity. Zack Evans: Do you think a push to prosecute online pornography through obscenity laws can succeed? Robert P. George: Yes, I do. I think its now widely understood because of peoples personal experience that is to say, so many peoples lives have been harmed by pornography. I think because now people are aware of what a serious problem it is, its possible to build a movement that will be politically efficacious in not only enforcing our currently existing obscenity laws, which is something long overdue and much needed, but also strengthening those laws. Evans: Is there a danger that a movement like this could dissipate over time, like 1930s Prohibition laws? George: I very seriously doubt that that would happen. There are no harmless and innocent uses of pornography, its bad through and through. Alcohol addiction is a serious problem thats what motivated prohibition [and] its also true that there are very bad effects from alcoholism beyond addiction, including family abandonment, domestic violence, etc. But there are also entirely innocent uses of alcohol, and people who were using alcohol responsibly resented Prohibition. So, I dont think the two cases are parallel. We had a tradition in this country, which was successful, of combating pornography or obscenity. This was well before the rise of new, contemporary technologies, online technologies, electronic transmissions. And that was not overthrown by the people rising up against it quite the contrary. It was undermined by judges who, exercising, really abusing, their authority under the Constitution, decided that they would advance pornography as part of a secular, progressive ideological agenda, pushing sexual revolutionary ideology. So thats another way in which the case is entirely unlike Prohibition. Evans: Is there a specific case that was influenced by such ideology? George: There were a series of cases in which the courts weakened pornography laws, citing the First Amendment in a way that I think was utterly implausible . . . certainly from an originalist point of view. But even the court in those cases did not go so far as to say that obscenity was protected speech. To this day, even the most liberal Supreme Court justices continue, rightly, to hold that obscenity is not strictly speaking protected by the First Amendment. What those cases did was narrow the sense of what could count as obscenity, thus in effect liberating the producers of obscene materials to produce a profit from them. Evans: Is that one of the reasons you asked, in your letter to Attorney General Barr, how the Justice Department defines obscenity? George: I asked what the policy of the Justice Department is on the application of existing laws toward product transmission of obscene materials. And then I urged him to more vigorously and systematically enforce the existing obscenity laws. So, before we even get to the question of whether obscenity laws ought to be strengthened, we need to enforce the laws; DOJ needs to enforce the laws that are already there and that have passed constitutional muster, that have survived constitutional challenges. Evans: The more libertarian wing of the conservative movement may not want to legislate this kind of morality. What would you say to someone who holds that perspective? George: Read my book, Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality, which attacks the idea that there can be morally neutral law, or laws that are morally neutral. There is morality thats embodied in virtually every kind of law, not only criminal law, by the way, but in much of our civil law. So, the idea of moral neutrality in the law is myth, and . . . its past time that we recognize that as myth, stop asking whether the law should embody a [kind of] morality and start asking what morality the law should embody. Evans: Do you think that this debate has any connection to traditional conservative fears of government overinvolvement in the life of citizens? George: There would be no need to create some huge new bureaucracy. What we need are laws that are like the laws in lots of other areas, that regulate human affairs to protect public health, safety, and morals. What I pointed to here is the fact that we can no longer claim its just impossible to claim that porn is harmless naughtiness, or that it is a purely private matter that has no impact on public interests or public concerns. We know that the pornography business is built on the exploitation of women, often the trafficking of women into a form of sexual slavery. We know that pornography addiction is a huge problem with massive social consequences. So porn is a public-health and public-safety issue as well as a public-morality issue, and what we need are ordinary laws to regulate it, which we had before the Supreme Court began its adventures with liberal judicial activism in the late 1960s. Again, Im not proposing some huge new bureaucracy, some new government program. Im not proposing to usurp the authority of families or churches the way so many liberal and progressive programs do. Im saying, lets assist families and churches and other institutions in civil society that have primary responsibility especially for bringing up children and transmitting virtue to each new generation. Lets assist them to keep obscenity especially out of the hands of children, who can easily access it now online, on their smartphones, on their laptops, on their desktop computers . . . And lets take seriously, in a way we havent before and its high time that we did the fact that much porn is produced by the exploitation of women; that the messages that porn sends to people, especially to men young and old alike, is a fundamentally misogynistic message. Its the message that women are objects, that they are to be exploited. This has social consequences [for] men and boys. There are real social harms with this [material]. More from National Review Apple could be forced to change its iPhone charger yet again. Phone makers are being targeted by the European Parliament as it tries to ensure that all phones have the same ports and charging wires. European politicians say that forcing companies to all adopt the same plugs would "reduce electronic waste and make consumers life easier". Such a measure would force Apple to drop its Lighting cable, which it uses on the iPhone but is a proprietary port that is not available for use on phones made by other manufacturers. European politicians have been pushing for increased compatibility between phone chargers for more than 10 years. Ten years ago, a memorandum of understanding was signed in which companies agreed they would work towards a common standard. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty But MEPs said those solutions had failed and asked for "binding measures" that would force phone companies to use the same chargers. "The Commission's approach of 'encouraging' industry to develop common chargers fell short of the co-legislators objectives," politicians said in a briefing. "The voluntary agreements between different industry players have not yielded the desired results." Instead, they tasked the European Commission with pushing companies to adopt a common charger that would "fit all mobile phones, tablets, e-book readers and other portable devices". In practise, most companies have moved towards the relatively new USB-C standard, which is now used by many Android phones. That solves the issues that were present in previous attempts at a common standard, and has been adopted across the industry. Even Apple now uses USB-C in its iPads and MacBooks. But it has kept the Lightning charger in its phones and related products like the AirPods Pro, ever since it was first released in 2012. Some rumours have suggested that Apple could give up the charging port entirely, instead offering wireless charging. A convict in the Mumbai serial blasts, Dr Jalees Ansari, who went missing while on parole, was on Friday arrested in Kanpur by the Uttar Pradesh special task force. Uttar Pradesh Police DG OP Singh was quoted by reports as saying that Ansari had been trying to flee the country. A convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, Dr Jalees Ansari, who went missing while on parole, was on Friday arrested in Kanpur by the Uttar Pradesh special task force. Uttar Pradesh Police DG OP Singh was quoted by reports as saying that Ansari was trying to flee the country. The 68-year-old, convicted for the 1993 blasts, was on 21-day parole from Rajasthan's Ajmer Central Prison and was scheduled to appear before the authorities on Friday. However, on Thursday night, his family filed a missing person report in Mumbai's Agripada police station. Speaking with ANI, Singh said, Ansari was arrested while coming out from a mosque in Kanpur. "He has been brought to Lucknow. It's a big achievement of UP Police," he said. UP DGP OP Singh: Jalees Ansari (serial blasts convict who was out on parole when a missing complaint was filed by his family y'day in Mumbai) has been arrested when he was coming out from a mosque in Kanpur. He has been brought to Lucknow. It's big achievement of UP Police. pic.twitter.com/olY5PeTycC ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 17, 2020 While on parole, Ansari was instructed to register his presence at the Agripada police station every day between 10.30 am and 12 pm, NDTV reported. Also known as 'Doctor Bomb', Ansari is serving a life sentence and is "suspected to be involved in over 50 bomb blast cases across the country", the report said. He also allegedly had links with terror groups like SIMI and Indian Mujahideen and is accused of teaching militants how to make bombs. "He was trying to flee the country," Singh told India Today TV, according to a report. NDTV also quoted Uttar Pradesh Police officials as saying that Ansari, who hails from Uttar Pradesh's Sant Kabir Nagar district and holds an MBBS degree, could have been trying to leave India via Nepal. "He was arrested due to an anonymous tip-off to a senior STF officer," the report added. With inputs from agencies pelosi signs articles of impeachment AP The US House of Representatives passed a resolution Wednesday to send two articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate. It's unclear when the Senate impeachment trial will begin, but the rules have been set and they include a provision that bars Senators from using smartphones or other electronics. "No use of phones or electronic devices will be allowed in the Chamber," the decorum guidelines document says, which was obtained by CNN. "All electronics should be left in the Cloakroom in the storage provided." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. When dozens of United States Senators from all over the country converge on Capitol Hill for the impeachment trial of President Trump, they'll face a strict list of "decorum guidelines." Prominent among them: No smartphone use in the Senate chamber during the trial. "No use of phones or electronic devices will be allowed in the Chamber," the guidelines say. The decorum guidelines document was obtained by CNN this week, and it lists the rules for etiquette during the third impeachment trial ever held in US history. Most of the rules are pretty standard stuff, like standing up when Supreme Court justices enter the Senate chamber and limited speech during the case. But the smartphone and electronics rule stands out in the modern era, where our devices keep everyone connected all the time and the president in particular uses his smartphone to directly communicate via Twitter. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., walks from the Senate Chamber after the delivery of the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to Secretary of the Senate Julie Adams on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Associated Press The two articles of impeachment that were sent to the Senate on Wednesday charge that President Trump engaged in "high crimes and misdemeanors." Both articles are directly related to claims that Trump made efforts to interfere with the 2020 election by strong-arming Ukraine. Trump is accused of withholding $400 million in aid and a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in exchange for Ukraine announcing a formal investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden. Story continues Though Senators won't be able to broadcast to social media from the trial, the man at the center of the impeachment President Trump will assuredly be using Twitter. Check out the full list of decorum guidelines from CNN right here. Read the original article on Business Insider The mother of the December 2012 gang rape victim on Friday denied being approached by anyone from the Congress or contacted by any party to contest elections. I have not spoken to anyone in Congress. I dont know how is it being reported? she said while speaking to reporters in a court. I have no interest in politics. I am just standing in support of my daughter and will fight for other daughters. I am only fighting for justice for my daughter and want the execution of all the four convicts, she said. Her 23-year-old daughter was brutally raped by six men on December 16, 2012, in a moving bus while she was on her way home. She later died of her injuries in a hospital in Singapore. All the six accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused was a minor and has been released after serving three years in a correctional home, while another accused committed suicide in Tihar Jail. The remaining four men were convicted and sentenced to death by a trial court in September 2013 and the verdict was confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014. The Supreme Court upheld it in May 2017 and also dismissed their review petitions and curative petitions. Earlier in the day, the mother accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Delhis ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of playing politics and alleged that the hanging of convicts, which was scheduled to take place on January 22, is being deliberately deferred. It has been scene years and we didnt get justice. The government cant see our pain. Both the parties are playing politics on the girls death. I think the hanging is deliberately been postponed, she said when asked about the war of words between BJP and AAP in the case. One of the convicts, Mukesh Singh, had filed a last-minute petition to President Ramnath Kovind for a presidential pardon that could spare him the gallows. It was rejected on Friday. A Delhi judge had ordered his execution on January 22 along with the three other men. The Tripura Assembly on Friday witnessed noisy scenes, as opposition CPI(M) MLAs created a ruckus in the House and boycotted the proceedings, seeking immediate withdrawal of a case of financial fraud against its senior leader and former PWD minister Badal Chowdhury. As Governor Ramesh Bais took to the dais to deliver his speech on the first day of the winter session, the CPI(M) members, led by officiating leader of the opposition, Tapan Chakraborty, rushed to the well of the House, claiming that Chowdhury, arrested in October last year, was a victim of "an intentional political attack". As Bais continued his speech amid the din, the agitating legislators walked out of the Assembly, contending that they were left with no other option. "We choose not to listen to your speech in protest against the arrest of MLA Badal Chowdhury in a false case," Chakraborty told the governor, before stepping out. Chowdhury, along with former Chief Engineer Sunil Bhowmick and former Chief Secretary Y P Singh, was last year named in an FIR by the crime investigation department for his alleged involvement in a 600-crore financial scam during his tenure as the PWD minister. He was sent to judicial custody following his arrest on October 30. Addressing a press meeting here later in the day, Chakraborty said it was "unfortunate that his party had to boycott the Assembly proceedings but registering protest against Chowdhury's arrest was necessary". "A case has been framed against him to silence the opposition's voice of protest. He (Chowdhury) is one of the oldest members of the House and has won elections eight times. We demand immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the case," the senior CPI(M) leader added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) London: Five countries whose citizens died when Iran shot down an airliner last week said on Thursday that Tehran should pay compensation to families of the victims, and warned that the world is watching for its response. Ryan Pourjam, 13, son of Mansour Pourjam, is embraced by family friend Mahmoud Rastgou, after a ceremony at Carleton University in Ottawa. Credit:AP Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain said Iran should hold a "thorough, independent and transparent international investigation open to grieving nations," in a statement issued after a meeting of officials in London. The airliner was struck by a missile on January 8 shortly after it left Tehran en route to Kiev. Iran admitted on Saturday it had shot down a Ukraine International Airlines plane in error, after initially denying it had a role in the incident. All 176 people aboard, including 57 Canadians, were killed. The five countries asked Iran to conduct the process of identifying victims with dignity and transparency while respecting the wishes of families regarding repatriation. Madurai: Jallikattu, a popular bull-taming sport held during Pongal, was on Friday (January 17) held in Alanganallur town of Madurai district in Tamil Nadu. According to ANI, more than 700 bulls are participating in the competition. More than 2,000 police personnel have been deployed for security, the report added. As a part of Pongal, Jallikattu competition is being organised in Palamedu and around 700 bulls participated in the bull-taming sport in the town in Madurai district. Tamil Nadu: #Jallikattu competition begins in Alanganallur town of Madurai district today. More than 700 bulls are participating in the competition. pic.twitter.com/rqkvsW7nMV ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2020 #WATCH Tamil Nadu: #Jallikattu competition is being held in Alanganallur town of Madurai district today. More than 700 bulls are participating in the competition. More than 2000 police personnel have been deployed for security. pic.twitter.com/L4yM7kvwS0 ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2020 On Thursday, at least 30 participants were injured during Jallikattu competitions in Madurai's Palamedu, out of which six were admitted to Rajaji Hospital in Madurai for treatment. Live TV On January 15, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a plea challenging the Madras High Court order for allowing Jallikattu in various districts of Tamil Nadu under the supervision of monitoring committees headed by a retired district judge. Madurai District collector had said that youth below 21 will not be allowed to participate in Jallikattu to be held at Palamedu and Alanganallur. Over 2,000 bulls will participate in Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu which will be held till January 31. In 2014, the Supreme Court had banned the bull-taming sport after a plea was filed by the Animal Welfare Board of India and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA); however, the Tamil Nadu government had insisted that Jallikattu was a crucial part of its culture and identity. The ban was later lifted in January 2017 with an amendment to the law after massive protests in Chennai. (With ANI inputs) HOLYOKE Police raided two homes, arrested a 19-year-old and confiscated an assortment of drugs and an unlawful gun Wednesday. Luis Garcia-Figueroa, 19, of Holyoke was charged in federal court with distribution of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to distribute and for firearms offenses, Holyoke Police Lt. James Albert said. His arrest came after a four-month investigation conducted jointly by the Holyoke Police Narcotics and Vice Unit, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Massachusetts State Police, the FBIs Western Mass Gang Task Force, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, Homeland Security and the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team, he said. During the investigation undercover agents purchased increasing amounts of heroin, starting from 100 bags and expanding to a total of 1,00 bags, between Oct. 25 and Dec. 18. Agents said they made at least six different purchases during that time, according to court records. Agents with search warrants then raided homes at 97 Hitchcock St. and 108 Westfield Road and found about 2,300 bags of heroin, 20 grams of ecstasy, 1 pound of marijuana, a large amount of cash and a 9mm semi-automatic Glock handgun, Albert said. Garcia-Figueroa appeared in Springfield federal court on Wednesday was ordered held without bail by Judge Katherine Robertson. A detention hearing is scheduled for Jan. 21, according to court records. Canadian Investigators Visit Iran Crash Site, Demand 'Full Cooperation' January 16, 2020 Canada says its investigators have visited the site of plane crash near Tehran that included 57 Canadian fatalities among the 176 people killed in the tragedy. Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau on January 15 said the country's investigators have not yet been allowed access to the flight and cockpit recorders of the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737-800 that had just taken off from Tehran en route to Kyiv on January 8 when it was shot down by up to two Iranian missiles. Iran has issued visas to a team of Canadian officials, including two specialists from the Transportation Safety Board, hoping to determine how and why Iran's military shot down the airliner, killing all on board. Most of the victims were Iranian and Canadian nationals, with smaller numbers of Ukrainians, Afghans, Swedes, Britons, and Germans. "What we have been told by the Iranians is that we will be allowed to participate in not only the decoding of the [black] boxes, but also the analysis," Garneau told an Ottawa news conference. "We're standing by at the moment to find out where that is going to happen. We have not had that signal." Garneau said he and foreign ministers from Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, and Britain are scheduled to meet on January 16 to press for "full cooperation from Iranian authorities." "Canada will not accept a situation where we feel that we're not being given the information that we're looking for," he said. "Make no mistake about it, Canada is going to get to the very bottom of this." Tehran originally denied its forces shot down Flight PS752 but, as evidence mounted, the country's military on January 11 admitted the Ukrainian plane was shot down "unintentionally" by an antiaircraft missile. The tragedy occurred with Iran's air-defense forces on high alert following an Iranian ballistic-missile attack a few hours earlier against U.S. forces in Iraq. The government's action and denials have angered many Iranians, leading to protests against the clerical establishment. President Hassan Rohani on January 15 called for national unity, as Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said people have been demonstrating "against the fact that they were lied to for a couple of days." Meanwhile, Amnesty International accused Iranian security personnel of using "unlawful force" against peaceful protesters who had gathered in Tehran and other cities on January on 11-12. Video footage, photographs, and testimonies from victims and eyewitnesses indicate that security forces targeted protesters with rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray, and air-gun pellets, according to the London-based human rights watchdog. It said demonstrators were also kicked, punched, beaten with batons, and arbitrarily arrested. With reporting by Reuters and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/canadian- investigators-visit-iran-crash -site-ukraine/30380111.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 Vijay Mallya has deliberately allowed his palatial 17-bedroom house in France to be in a dismal state, Ansbacher & Co. - one of the banks suing the fugitive economic offender - has said. The former liquor baron bought the 1.3-hectare property Le Grand Jardin using a $30 million loan he had taken from Ansbacher, a unit of Qatar National Bank SAQ. Notably, the island grandeur is now up for sale. Located on Ile Sainte-Marguerite, Grand Jardin boasts of being the only private property on the French island. The luxe property that Mallya bought through his company Gizmo Invests SA in 2008, boasts of a cinema hall, a helipad and a nightclub. Ansbacher now claims that the company has been defaulting on the loan for a long time now, Bloomberg reported. On January 15, the bank informed the same in a London court where an extradition trial of the Indian business is going on at the moment. In 2015, when Ansbacher & Co got in touch with Mallya, he requested for the extension of the loan period. But, when the bank sent a team of real estate agents to inspect the property, it was informed that its value had depreciated by 10 million euros. The banks lawyers have now told the court that unsuitable interior designers and builders hired to repair the property had worsened its condition. In lieu of the outstanding loan amount Mallya owes, the bank has requested the London court to make the defaulter sell off his million-dollar superyacht. The 50-metre vessel is now in England and 5-million Euro mortgage on it could serve as a security against the loan, they said. Mallya was not represented in court. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in India has charged Mallya of defaulting on bank loans worth Rs 9,000 crore. The founder of Kingfisher Airlines moved to the United Kingdom in 2016, days before the news of him going bankrupt made the headlines. He has not returned to India yet. There are people who have seen Les Miserables hundreds of times in its 35-year lifetime. I have watched Boublil and Schonberg's adaptation of Victor Hugo on three occasions in the theatre and once when it became a Hollywood movie. And I always feel the same way about it I am impressed, especially by its structure and its sweep, though my heart can sometimes remain untouched. Seeing the production in its new home at the magnificently remodelled and renamed Sondheim Theatre (formerly the Queen's) I was excited by the enthusiasm that its owner (and producer of Les Mis) Cameron Mackintosh has lavished on a particularly swanky renovation in which to showcase his long-running jewel. With the help of his architectural team, he has melded together the styles of WGR Sprague who designed the original 1907 playhouse and the listed brutalism of the 1959 rebuild, which restored the theatre in glass and steel after a wartime bomb took out the frontage. The result is warm, welcoming and much roomier. There are even extra loos. Though not quite enough to cope with the full house thrilling to every second of the show on stage. The newly refurbished Sondheim Theatre Left and right: Philip Vile, centre: Jon Kennedy People love Les Mis with a passion and I can see why. It is beautifully made. The adapters brilliantly punctuate its bustling, hectic crowd scenes of France in the years around the time of the 1832 uprising when barricades blocked the streets of Paris, with the tragic story of Jean Valjean, a former prisoner who has served 19 years hard labour for stealing a loaf of bread, and whose attempts to live a good life are dogged by the pursuit of the steely policeman Javert, who believes in law not justice. Each character has moments of monologue and introspection, their revelatory solos contrasting with the rousing ensemble pieces that surround them. The swift changes of focus power the show, moving it along briskly. In the original production the other thing that moved the show was a famous revolve that swiftly switched settings and created its own propulsive energy. Ashley Gilmour as Enjolras and the company of Les Miserables Johan Persson The new production on display here, directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, is really not that new since it was first created for the 25th anniversary tour and has since been seen around the world. It dispenses with the revolve and substitutes Matt Kinley's designs, realised as projections by 59 Productions and Finn Ross. Based on Hugo's own smudgy paintings, they are evocative and attractive without being intrusive; Paule Constable's lighting is the star, turning the stage into a series of smoky tableaux, making each scene look like a painting in its own right. It's all very efficient and sharp. At its heart is Jon Robyns as a big-voiced and tender-hearted Valjean, catching the character's tortured valour and bringing gentle passion to the quiet "Bring Him Home", as well as boom to the bigger numbers. I was less keen on Bradley Jaden as his adversary Javert; he is good on pointed, staccato anger but doesn't really build a character around it. Carrie Hope Fletcher doesn't make much of Fantine, surely the most thankless part in musical theatre; you come on, sing your big "I Dreamed A Dream", and then you die. She sings beautifully though, with a kind of clear-voiced honesty. Shan Ako makes more of a mark as Eponine, but that's partly because oddly for so minor a character she has some of the very best songs. At the end, there is a ubiquitous standing ovation in a gorgeous and rechristened theatre. Food, Wine, & Dining By Ls Cohen Published: January 17 2020 Fine-dining restaurant garners multiple five-star Yelp reviews. Fogo de Chao, the chain of Brazilian steakhouse has opened a location in Carle Place recently, right off of the Meadowbrook parkway and minutes from Roosevelt Field Mall. For those who arent in the know, Fogo de Chao specializes in an open style of grilling meat on a churrascaria grill, based on a centuries-old gaucho tradition known as churrasco. According to their website, their menu includes a wide variety of fire-roasted meats carved tableside by expert gaucho chefs, as well as seasonal salads, traditional Brazilian sides, signature cocktails, and an award-winning wine list. The chain boasts of more than 50 upscale restaurants worldwide. The menu features chicken, pork, and seafood but it's the steak that stands out. The steak menu includes plenty of choice specialty cuts and preparation techniques including, picanha, what they describe as the prime part of the top sirloin. This is their signature steak, which is lightly seasoned with rock salt and sliced thin. Their ribeye is grilled over direct heat to break down the marbling and deliver a distinct flavor and texture. Fraldinha is described as one of the most distinctive and flavorful cuts of meat from Southern Brazil due to its strong marbling characteristics and is cut against the grain. Reviewers have been kind with plenty of raves. This place is awesome, quality food, great ambiance and of course great concept all wrapped with great service, said Oliver R. of Westbury on Yelp. He gave it five stars. Many compared it favorably to other similar types of steakhouses. I've experienced plenty of Brazilian churrascarias in the US, Brazil and Europe and Fogo de Chao is the gold standard for large franchises, said Chris C. from New York City. From the minute you walk in to the time you leave you are completely surrounded in elegance. As far as Brazilian Steak-houses are concerned, I think this is number one, said Joel H. of Mineola. Location: 235 Old Country Road, Carle Place, (516) 588-7100. South Dakota reports highest active case count since pandemic started Tuesday's report included testing conducted over the weekend. Another 4,110 people tested positive for the disease. TORONTO, Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The third Monday of January also known as Blue Monday is considered one of the gloomiest days of the year with dreary weather, failing New Years resolutions and a lack of sunlight all putting a damper on peoples moods. To help Canadians shake off the winter blues, Sunwing is offering savings of up to 35% on all inclusive vacation packages with their Blue Monday Buster Sale. From now until January 24, 2020, travellers can trade in winter blues for blue skies across the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America during the Blue Monday Buster Sale. In addition, the tour operator is offering amazing savings of up to $500 per couple on cruise packages* and Florida flight deals where travellers can Buy 1 Seat and Get the 2nd Seat at 50% off **. Sun-seekers who book during the promotion can score a luxury getaway for less at Royalton Suites Cancun Resort and Spa . Located just steps from the hustle and bustle of downtown Cancun , this top-rated luxury resort features a spectacular infinity pool and the adults only Level 18 Rooftop Cabana Lounge the perfect spot to get a much-needed dose of vitamin D with complimentary access included for Diamond Club guests. Another popular resort included in the sale is Ocean Varadero El Patriarca , where vacationers can soak up the sun on Cuba s famous Varadero Beach. This charming property is perfect for classic sun-and-sand escapes, where guests can start their days with a delicious Cuban coffee at Mikes Coffee before heading down to the white-sand shores or relaxing by the shimmering pools with a tropical drink in hand. Travellers can swap out snowy roads for sparkling beaches by planning an adults only getaway at CHIC Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. This top-rated adults only resort is the perfect spot for social vacations with exciting activities both day and night, a unique mermaid pool, themed parties by the beach and an outdoor DJ booth. Guests seeking ultimate rest and relaxation can head to the lavish Royal Spa to soak in the hydrotherapy circuit or indulge in a relaxing massage. Excursions are also a great way to shake off the winter blues and extend the holiday happiness bubble long after travellers return home. Sunwing Experiences offers a range of excursion options for every travel style, whether travellers want to set sail on a catamaran cruise or zipline high above the treetops. For a limited time, Sunwing is offering up to 20% off popular excursions. For more information or to book, visit www.sunwing.ca or contact your travel agent. *Savings of up to $500 per couple on cruises booked by January 22, 2020 on board Norwegian Encore, Norwegian Escape, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Seaside and Marella Discovery 2 for departures between January 18, 2020 and April 14, 2020. **Buy one flight, get the second flight at 50% off the base fare before taxes on bookings made by January 24, 2020 for Sunwing flights to Daytona Beach, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and St. Pete/Clearwater for departures between now and May 8, 2020. About Sunwing The largest integrated travel company in North America, Sunwing has more flights to the south than any other leisure carrier with convenient direct service from over 33 airports across Canada to more than 45 popular sun destinations across the U.S.A., Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. This scale enables Sunwing to offer customers exclusive deals at top-rated resorts in the most popular vacation destinations as well as cruise packages and seasonal domestic flight service. Sunwing is consistently voted the top leisure airline by travel agents and is the perennial winner of the Consumer Choice Award. Customers can look forward to starting their vacation off with award-winning inflight service, which features a complimentary glass of sparkling wine*, non-alcoholic beverage service; together with a buy on board menu of light meals and snacks, including kids choices, the World Famous Original Smoked Meat from the iconic Montreal-based Schwartzs Deli along with delicious menu options inspired by Food Network Canada Celebrity Chef, Lynn Crawford. Sunwing customers also benefit from the assistance of the companys own knowledgeable destination representatives, who greet them upon arrival and support them throughout their vacation journey. Sunwing supports the communities where it operates through the Sunwing Foundation, a charitable initiative focused on the support and development of youth and humanitarian aid. Sunwing matches all donations the Foundation receives through its Spare Change Program on board Sunwing Airlines, no administrative fees are collected and 100% of the proceeds go to charity. *Service may be unavailable on select flights For all media enquiries, please contact: Rachel Goldrick Senior Corporate Communications Manager Sunwing Vacations 1-800-387-5602 | media@sunwing.ca https://www.facebook.com/SunwingVacations https://twitter.com/SunwingVacay https://www.instagram.com/sunwingvacations https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzjZ-lcuaqBQH7Sq0u3ru7A A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/75fb0302-0801-49d9-8020-1e2944018ec9 A Bandidos bikie boss has been fatally shot in the head on rural farm in New South Wales in a broad daylight attack. Shane De Britt, 60 was found dead by police inside a home at Eurimbla, about 50km south of Wellington, in the state's central west on Tuesday morning. The Bandidos Central West Chapter President had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Bandidos Central West Chapter President Shane De Britt was found dead inside a home on a rural property in New South Wales on Tuesday (stock image) Police said De Britt had lived in the area for 'quite some time'. A crime scene was established at the property and examined by specialist forensic officers. The State Crime Command's Homicide Squad and local detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the man's death under Strike Force Kerrison. Detective Chief Inspector Denise Godden told reporters there were no witnesses to the crime. Detectives are canvassing the local area and speaking with Mr De Britt's family, friends, and associates. They are investigating links to Outlaw Motorcycle Gang activity in the area. Investigators are appealing to the community for any information that may be able to assist with their inquiries. They are also seeking any dash cam vision from cars travelling in the vicinity of Catombal Road on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Vision can be handed into any police station or uploaded to Crime Stoppers online. The Bandidos were founded in Texas in 1966. The first Australian chapter was formed in 1983, in Sydney, by former members of the Comancheros. A grand opening sign sits outside of Flip It LJ Diner, but this small storefront has been a Columbia Heights gem for nearly three years. The menu offers a smattering of American, Mexican and Salvadoran dishes for breakfast. You cant go wrong with one of Flip Its hallmark specialties: the Flip It Burrito ($7.99). Its packed with black beans, eggs and cheese, sprinkled with onions and green bell peppers, and wrapped in a lightly toasted flour tortilla; be sure to use the side of creamy, spicy chipotle sauce. For omelet lovers, Flip Its shrimp omelet ($10.99) is a prime choice, served up with feta cheese, onions, tomatoes and green peppers. Stacey Kennedy named Woman of the Year; PMI honored for best-in-class equal pay practices Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) has been recognized among this year's most awarded winners in the One Planet Awards program, an initiative acknowledging business and professional excellence in industries around the world. The company earned four awards for its achievements in delivering a smoke-free future from the more than 50 judges, who represent a wide spectrum of global industry experts. PMI received Gold awards in the Achievement of the Year in Diversity and Milestone of the Year categories in recognition of becoming the first multinational company to achieve global EQUAL-SALARY certification; PMI's president of South Southeast Asia, Stacey Kennedy, was awarded Gold in the Woman of the Year in Business the Professions category; and the company earned a Grand Trophy for being among this year's most-awarded winners. "We are passionate about our work at PMI to achieve a smoke-free future and make better alternatives to cigarettes available for men and women who would otherwise continue to smoke," said Stacey Kennedy, PMI's president of South Southeast Asia. "It's an honor to be recognized by other business leaders for the progress we're making and for our drive to transform our company internally and externally to unsmoke the world." For PMI, cultivating an inclusive, diverse and gender-balanced workplace is a key priority as it transforms from a cigarette manufacturer to a science- and technology-driven company with a pipeline of innovative smoke-free products. "To be successful in our mission, we have to foster the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of our people, enabling their skills and ideas to flourish in an inclusive and diverse environment," said Charles Bendotti, PMI's senior vice president of People Culture. "Our global EQUAL-SALARY certification was an important step in our work to achieve greater gender balance, and I am hopeful that our recognition by the One Planet Awards further highlights the role of the business community in championing positive change." In March 2019, PMI became the first multinational company to be certified globally for equal pay by the independent third-party EQUAL-SALARY Foundation. The company's global EQUAL-SALARY certification confirms its commitment to equality and verifies that PMI pays all its employees, in more than 90 countries worldwide, equally for equal work, regardless of gender. For more information about PMI's transformation, visit www.PMI.com. Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products and associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the United States. In addition, PMI ships a version of its IQOS Platform 1 device and its consumables authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Altria Group, Inc. for sale in the United States under license. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMI's smoke-free IQOS product portfolio includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of September 30, 2019, PMI estimates that approximately 8.8 million adult smokers around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to PMI's heat-not-burn product, available for sale in 51 markets in key cities or nationwide under the IQOS brand. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005168/en/ Contacts: David Fraser Philip Morris International T. +41 (0)58 242 4500 E. David.Fraser@pmi.com The Louvre museum in Paris has been forced to close after dozens of people blocked the entrance in a protest against the French governments plans to overhaul the pension system. The Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit marking the 500th anniversary of the Italian masters death, which is displayed at the Louvre, was also closed as a result, the museum said. Several dozen protesters, including some Louvre employees, staged the demonstration after an appeal from several trade unions against Emmanuel Macrons planned changes to the retirement system, which they said will lower everyones pensions. It is the first time since the protest movement began on December 5 that the Louvre and the Leonardo exhibit were fully closed. About 30,000 people visit the museum every day. Some videos on social media showed angry visitors booing at protesters to express their disappointment. The weeks of strikes and protests have hit public transportation and disrupted schools, hospitals, courthouses and even opera houses and the Eiffel Tower. Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Morocco of holding a dual Belgian-Moroccan citizen in "inhuman" and "abusive solitary detention" for more than three years following his 2009 life sentence on terrorism charges. Abdelkader Belliraj was the alleged mastermind of a terrorist network of 35 people dismantled by Moroccan authorities in 2008, and was convicted in a trial criticised for rights violations. His wife told Human Rights Watch (HRW) that since 2016, Belliraj had been confined to a cell for 23 hours a day and deprived of contact with other inmates, which the watchdog said would contravene United Nations standards on the treatment of prisoners. The Moroccan prison authority, DGAPR, insisted that Belliraj was allowed to exercise his rights as a prisoner and was able to take walks, had access to a canteen, and received visits and telephone calls from his family. He was "accommodated in a room that fulfils all the criteria regarding light and ventilation," the authority said in a statement, but did not specify whether he was being kept in solitary detention. The DGAPR accused HRW of making "false allegations" and presenting a "false image of human rights in Morocco." The New York-based rights group said it contacted Morocco's Inter-Ministerial Delegation for Human Rights in November but received no substantive response from it or prison authorities. Belliraj, whose sentence was confirmed on appeal in 2010, was also accused of committing six murders in Belgium in the 1980s and 1990s, which he has denied. His wife Rachida Hatti lives in Belgium and is allowed to speak to him regularly on the phone. He was arrested in February 2008 with a number of other people, allegedly in possession of a large arsenal of firearms. Despite protestations of innocence, Belliraj was convicted in a mass trial alongside 34 co-accused, among them political leaders of moderate Islamist parties. Some of their sentences were later reduced on appeal and eight -- including six moderate Islamists -- were later pardoned by the king. HRW said eight of the convicted men are still serving their sentences. The 2009 trial was criticised for violating the rights of the accused. According to HRW, Belliraj's conviction was based on confessions that he and his co-defendants said were obtained under torture. "It is bad enough when a man gets a life sentence as the result of a miscarriage of justice, but keeping him in inhuman prison conditions for years is like twisting the knife," said HRW's acting Middle East and North Africa director Eric Goldstein. "Belliraj and all prisoners in Morocco should be treated humanely, and that includes having daily contact with other human beings." Belgian-Moroccan Abdelkader Belliraj has been held in abusive solitary confinement in Morocco for three years, Human Rights Watch says Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi on Friday put an end to the speculation of her joining the Congress party for the coming Delhi assembly elections, saying that she is "not interested" in When asked about reports of her joining the Congress, Asha Devi told reporters: "I have no interest in such things. I was fighting to get justice for my daughter and the daughters of the country. I want the execution of the four convicts." She said that she has not been approached by anyone for the same. "Mera Se Dur Dur Tak Koi Nata Nahi Hai (I have no connection with politics)," she said. Reports of her political debut started surfacing after sportsperson-turned-politician Kirti Azad shared a Tweet, which claimed that Asha Devi might contest Delhi assembly elections against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on a Congress ticket. "Ae Maa Tujhe Salam. Asha Devi Ji Aapka Swagat Hai (Salute to the mother. Welcome Asha Devi)," Azad had tweeted. Nirbhaya's father Badrinath also said that these news reports are wrong and that the family has no interest in joining The assembly elections in the capital are scheduled to be held on February 8. The counting of votes will take place on February 11. A Delhi court on Friday issued a fresh death warrant against the four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya rape case, who will now be executed at 6 am on February 1. Earlier, they were to be hanged at 7 am on February 22. Earlier today, President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy plea of the Nirbhaya rape case convict Mukesh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Susan Schwartz is dressed for a party. The longtime owner of the Sophy Curson boutique on 19th Street is luncheon-cute in a hot pink Tom and Linda Platt shantung tunic accessorized with a jeweled, vintage Christian Lacroix belt. Her black trousers fit loosely. And her salt-and-pepper hair is reminiscent of Diahann Carroll, an elegant pouf with sharp, tapered sides. I still like to dress up, says Schwartz, who, at 82, is the grand dame of all that is fashionable in Rittenhouse Square. Schwartz, who, these days, considers herself semiretired, is in town to chat about Sophy Cursons 90 years in business. And the stores windows, designed by Dana Morelli, feature nine mannequins dressed in Tom & Linda Platt gowns to represent the popular trends of the stores nine decades in business, starting with the 1920s flapper through to 1990s feathers and leather. One Linda Platt gown was made in honor of 9/11, featuring an American flag fashioned from Swarovski crystals on its bodice. Sophy Curson will celebrate its 90th birthday with special trunk shows, including next weekends Catherine Regehr presentation. It was Schwartzs Aunt Sophy who opened the first store (next door to the current store) a few months before the start of the Great Depression. In its early days, Sophy Curson was a destination for petite women Curson was under 5 feet tall and, for decades, its trademarked slogan was, Junior is a size, not an age, but Curson eventually expanded to include sizes 2 to 20. Members of the wealthy du Pont family in Wilmington were Cursons earliest customers and helped build the stores cachet with the well-to-do. Curson never married, but she had two sisters: Rosemond Price and Pearl Mrs. G. Goldner, who helped run the store for eight decades (as well as a store in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which closed in 2012), offering of-the-moment pieces during the Great Depression, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Age of Aquarius, the Reagan years and post-9/11. Curson died in 2004 at 101 while her sisters Price and Goldner died in 2009, at 99 and 2011 at 102, respectively. Curson and her two sisters worked part-time until their deaths, but it was Goldners daughter, Schwartz, who began doing the bulk of the buying in the mid-1970s, when she returned home to Philly after a stint as a sportswear editor at Harpers Bazaar in New York. Schwartz says her favorite fashion eras were 1960s mod, 1970s knits, and 1980s Dynasty-inspired glam. In those days, she said, people really knew how to dress up. In 1988 Schwartzs son, David, joined the store, just before pantsuits got big. We had them, but our customers just didnt buy them up until then, David Schwartz said. And the mother-son team started their three-decade run of dressing A-listers for the citys swankest affairs, from the Friends of Rittenhouse Squares Ball on the Square, to the Academy of Musics annual Concert & Ball, coming up Jan. 25. The Tuesday before, in fact, is the stores crunch day said Schwartz, pointing out the sparkling showpieces from some of his favorites: Krizia, Catherine Regehr and Tom & Linda Platts evening wear collections. I asked him about the well-known book he keeps with the names of his customers and the dresses they purchased for the ball he cant afford to duplicate dresses from his store on the Academy Ball dance floor, he said. Ive been known to hide dresses in my office, Schwartz laughed. These days the quaint store is packed with so many pieces that a shopper really needs a sales guide to work her way through the glitz. Schwartz holds up a short, black metallic dress from a new line called Grayse. Really cute. But where would you wear it in Philadelphia? I ask. Vernick at the Four Seasons, of course," Schwartz said, without missing a beat. It is these understated, respectable, and classy labels Italian Mariuccia Mandelli or Krizia that arent particularly well-known but that keep the customers coming back. For 90 years. Sophy Curson is located at 122 S. 19th St., 215-567-4662. MOSCOW, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The 11th Gaidar Forum, organized by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) completed its work. The two-day program consisted of 85 expert sessions featured speakers from more than 30 countries. The substantial agenda of the forum was related to the annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly given by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The forum participants discussed various issues, such as the measures for increasing people's incomes, the inhibition of inequality growth, the development of education and healthcare, the prospects of the EAEU and BRICS, the improvement of the investment climate and the new geopolitical formation of Eurasia, and key issues of monetary policy and the tax system. In 2020 the forum brought together a diverse array of speakers, including leading world economists, heads of international scientific centers, and business education experts. The guests included deputy director of the directorate for financial and enterprise affairs of the OECD Matilda Mesnard, professor of economics and public policy at Harvard University Kenneth Rogoff, professor of financial institutions at Columbia Business School Charles Kalomiris, executive president of IE University in Madrid Santiago Inigues, dean of the Sorbonne business school Eric Lamark, director of the center for sustainable development at Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs, director of the European bureau for policy consulting and social research Bernd Marin. "About 10 or 12 years ago with the emergence of the Great Financial crisis the world has changed and therefore many concepts report aside unconventional approaches well developed etc. But we cannot throw the old textbooks away because we are in a new era. The history of hundreds of years has taught us so many robust lessons that it will be a great tragedy if we throw them away only because in 2008 the system was found unprepared. We must not lose sight of the compass," said the Chairman of JPMorgan Chase International Jacob Frenkel. Among speakers at the forum were Rae Kwon Chung, professor Emeritus at Incheon National University who participated as a discussion focused on best practices for the implementation of sustainable development goals. As a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change." The event also included a presentation of a book written by the Senior Fellow at Yale University Stephen Roach. In his work, he describes the US-China relationship with the psychological term 'codependency'. The author uses insights from human psychology to assess the behavior of national economies and his view, pointing that the frictions that always occur in codependent relationships, turned into a trade war between the two countries. One of the key topics of the current geopolitical agenda was discussed by Vladimir Mau, Rector of the RANEPA and Nicolas Sarkozy, French President in 2007-2012. The open dialogue was devoted to fates of Europe and the world in the coming decade. When arguing about the future of Europe, the French politician claimed that he holds a strong belief in social, economic and political content. However, he believes that "there will be several Europes". "There will be Europe of Europes if it is possible to say so There will be EU Europe, Schengen Europe, which has to address the migration problem, and there will be European cooperation that will solve the defense problem," said Nicolas Sarkozy, "And I would like to wish the creation of a new organization with three founders: EU, Russia, and Turkey. This organization must solve security and economy issues in the territory from the Atlantic to Baikal." Over 11 years, the Gaidar Forum held at the Presidential Academy under the auspices of the Government of the Russian Federation, has become one of the most respected expert platforms that traditionally determine the vector for public and academic discussion. 11th Gaidar Forum Organizers: The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA); The Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy (Gaidar Institute); The Association of Innovative Regions of Russia (AIRR). Forum partners: General partners: Gazprom, Gazprombank. Strategic partners: Coca-Cola, Mastercard, Russian Railways, Pharmstandard group, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Novartis Group, MSD, ACIG Group, EF Education First. Partners: Prosveshcheniye Group, EY, Huawei, RVC, Russian Agricultural Bank. General information partners: Rossiya 24 TV Chanel, TASS, RBC, Business FM; strategic information partners: Kommersant Publishing House, Interfax, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Invest Foresight online business magazine, RIA FederalPress; main information partners: Anews.com, Gazeta.ru, Lenta.ru, News.ru, Profile; international partners: RT, Thomson Reuters, Sputnik, EFE, Cision, Pan Pacific Agency; information partners: Snob media project, PRIME economic news agency, RNS, Expert magazine, Parlamentskaya Gazeta, Polit.ru, Radio Ekho Moskvy, PRO Business TV channel, FINAM.RU agency, Davydov.Index, Strategia magazine, Ekonomika i Zhizn newspaper, ECONS.ONLINE website, Gosudarstvennaya Sluzhba magazine, TV BRICS. Advertisement Two men have been taken to hospital in critical condition after a shooting in north Dublin on Friday. The men were driving in a car in the St Margaret's area of the city, near the airport, when multiple shots were fired around midday. The driver of the vehicle was shot five times, including once in the head, while the passenger was shot at least once in the back, local media reports. It comes amid escalating gang violence around the city which saw 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods was killed and dismembered as part of an ongoing feud. Two men are in critical condition after being shot multiple times while driving a car in the St Margaret's area of north Dublin amid spiralling gang violence in the city It is thought the driver of the car was shot five times, including once in the head, while the passenger also received multiple wounds The shooting comes five days after 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods was beheaded and dismembered amid a gang feud in Droghead which also involves north Dublin criminals Mulready-Woods was kidnapped from Drogheda and is thought to have been killed and dismembered at a nearby home (top right), before his remains were found at two locations in Dublin (bottom right). On Friday, two men were shot near Dublin airport (also bottom right), in what is believed to be a gang-related shooting as the violence escalated A number of shocking images purporting to show the teen's chopped-up body parts were circulated on WhatsApp 'as a warning' Two men aged in their 30s were arrested a short time later, close to a burning car in the Darndale area of Dublin, the Irish Independent reported. The men are well-known to police and have links to organised crime in Coolock. Gardai are trying to establish whether the burning car is related to the gun attack. Meanwhile the scene of the shooting - outside a forklift truck company - was quickly cordoned off as forensic teams and armed response units arrived. Police confirmed they are on the scene, but did not give any further information. The site of Friday's shooting is five miles from Coolock, the hub of a recent gang feud and where the severed limbs of Mulready-Woods were discovered on Monday. The teenager had links to two gangs at war with each other in the town of Drogheda, around 30 miles north of Dublin. Police believe he was kidnapped in the town on Sunday night and taken to a nearby house where he was murdered and dismembered. His severed limbs were then discovered inside a black Puma sports back in the Coolock area of Dublin late on Monday. On Wednesday more remains, including a severed head, were found in a burning car in the Drumcondra area. Police cordoned off a house in Drogheda where they believe the murder took place, and have been carrying out forensic examinations since Monday. A forensic officer scours for evidence near the scene of the shooting at an industrial estate in north Dublin on Friday afternoon Investigators carry evidence bags near the scene of the shooting in north Dublin Members of An Garda at the scene of a shooting in Killeek Lane in the St Margaret's area of north county Dublin It is thought that blood-soaked flood boards have been discovered at the property, along with a stash of machetes potentially used in the crime in a nearby shed. The killing has prompted both sides to vow vengeance, with videos of balaclava-clad men brandishing weapons posted online He is the third person to be killed in the Drogheda feud, which claimed the lives of Keith Branigan and then Richie Carberry last year. The prime suspect in Mulready-Woods's murder is a north Dublin hitman who is also thought to be linked to a series of murders across Dublin known as the Coolock feud. If confirmed, then the teenager's killing threatens to combine the two separate wars into a much larger conflict. MailOnline has seen two videos - both showing balaclava-clad men wielding weapons who claim to be involved in the feud, threatening reprisal attacks. Senior gardai have expressed concerns that criminals in Drogheda are embroiled in 'social media warfare'. Yesterday, gardai strongly criticised the circulation of images and footage on social media purporting to be linked to the 17- year-old's murder. Senior sources confirmed that two videos linked the murder of the teenager are 'false'. But police could not say whether images of a dismembered body, posted online as a threat to rivals with the caption 'f*** with us and you'll lose your head', were genuine. A source revealed: 'Gardai have not ruled out that a video exists of the murder. But if so it has not been seen by investigating gardai.' Another source said : 'There have been dozens of social media videos, threats and counter- threats, circulating since 2018. 'There have been countless online threats and insulting videos made by both sides. The Coolock feud saw at least five people killed across Dublin in 2019, while the Drogheda feud saw two killed and four injured in the same period (left). But the murder of Mulready-Woods (right) is now threatening to combine the two into a much larger war Gardai scour the fields around Drogheda as they continue their investigation into the brutal murder of the teenager Taoiseach Lo Vradkar arrives at the Drogheda Garda Station on Friday to receive an update on the murder, which he said left him 'shocked' 'It's all part of the one-upmanship of criminality. And social media is perfect for that.' A potential revenge shooting took place on Monday when bullets were fired at a taxi on the Bridge of Peace in Drogheda around 6.20pm - hours before Mulready-Woods's remains were discovered. An innocent driver was left wounded in the shooting, which is though to have targeted a known gang member sitting in his front seat. While the intended target is known to police and has links to a gang involved in the feud, officers have not said whether it was carried out in revenge for Mulready-Woods' murder. Last night, Bishop Michael Router, the auxiliary Bishop of Armagh, who lives in Co. Louth, offered to mediate between the two feuding criminal gangs in Drogheda. He appealed to the families of the gang members and leaders, the wives, mothers, partners and adult children, to help settle the feud. A burnt out car which contained human remains, believed to be linked to the disappearance of a 17-year-old boy from Co Louth, is removed from the scene on Trinity Terrace in the Drumcondra area of Dublin on Wednesday Limbs found stuffed into a black Puma sports bag in the Coolock area of Dublin (scene, pictured) have been confirmed as belonging to Mulready-Woods Richie Carberry was killed in November last year as part of the Drogheda feud, which now threatens to drag in gangs from north Dublin Taoiseach Leo Varadkar yesterday condemned the teenager's murder as 'grotesque and gruesome' and said the country is shocked by the killing. Meanwhile, the chief suspect for his murder was seen by gardai in Drogheda drinking in a local pub on Wednesday afternoon. One of his main feud rivals was separately spotted by detectives drinking in another pub on the same day. Both sides out publicly 'attempting a show of strength'. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday paid tribute to Leftist stalwart and CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu on his tenth death anniversary. Basu had served as the chief minister of the state from 1977 to 2000. "Remembering Jyoti Basu, former chief minister of Bangla, on his death anniversary," Banerjee tweeted. Basu, the longest-serving chief minister of Bengal, died on January 17, 2010 at the age of 95. Born on July 8, 1914, he had led the Marxists to power for five consecutive times in West Bengal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Prabhas on Friday revealed that he has resumed shooting for his next yet-untitled Telugu project, which is currently dubbed Prabhas 20. Prabhas took to Facebook to share the update. He said hes looking forward to having a fun schedule. Being directed by Radha Krishna Kumar, the film stars Pooja Hegde as the leading lady. Prabhas will be seen playing a palm reader. The project was officially launched a year ago in a ceremony in Hyderabad. To be predominantly shot abroad, the film was supposed to start rolling from November 2018 but had to be postponed due to Saaho, which couldnt be wrapped up as planned on time. At the time of the launch, Prabhas took to Facebook and wrote that hes quite excited about the project. Talking about the project, Radha Krishna had said a few months ago: At the moment, all I can say is that its going to be a love story which will be shot on a lavish scale. Weve finalised Europe where most of the shooting will happen. Pooja Hegde had revealed that she and Prabhas will undergo a brief workshop in Mumbai before commencing shooting for the project. I have not been told what the prep is about but both Prabhas and I will be attempting some unique action and musical sequences for the first time. The film, rumoured to be titled Jaan, will be jointly produced by Gopikrishna Movies and UV Creations. Amit Trivedi is most likely to compose music. Also read: Kangana Ranaut reacts to Deepika Padukones JNU visit: I dont want to empower people who celebrate when a jawan dies Prabhas and Radha Krishna were supposed to join hands for this project even before Saaho. However, due to the Baahubali stars other commitments, this project took time to even get commissioned. Prabhas will spend the next six months on this project before moving on to his next film which is likely to be directed by Koratala Siva, who had previously worked with the actor in Mirchi. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop These days, criminals have turned to internet-based transaction laundering to disguise profits from unscrupulous and illegal enterprises. Transaction laundering has also been referred to as factoring, undisclosed aggregation, and electronic money laundering, and it occurs when an undisclosed online business uses another companys payment credentials to process unknown transactions on behalf of the undisclosed business. Quite often, the latter is choosing to have their money go through a front organization for payment processing because this effectively anonymizes their transaction. In this blog post, well discuss how transaction laundering works and what the industry is doing to combat it. How Transaction Laundering Works; Transaction launderers websites often appear legitimate, and may even advertise normal goods and services as a cover for counterfeit or illegal goods and services. Launderers insert themselves into the payment ecosystem through various methods, including the use of front companies which disguise criminal activity through the use of a legitimate business; pass-through companies which provide illegal businesses access to a legitimate companys payment processing account; and funnel accounts which, like pass-through companies, allow one or more companies that are unable to obtain a merchant payment account (because they engage in illicit activity) to funnel transactions through a legal business. This allows those who are selling illicit goods and services a way to hide the money they obtained illegally and make it seem as if it came from a legitimate source. Karlie Kloss is making her political beliefs clear if they werent already. On Project Runway earlier this month, a contestant awkwardly made a comment about the model being married into the Kushner family her husband, Joshua Kushner, is the brother of Trump adviser Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump's husband. So she addressed that awkward exchange going viral as well as where she stands politically on Thursdays Watch What Happens Live. Host Andy Cohen asked if the 27-year-old was on the same page politically with the family and she replied, Andy, Im sure Im not the only person in this country who does not necessarily agree with their family on politics. Fellow guest Martha Stewart praised her good answer, but Kloss didnt stop there. She went on to add, for anyone still confused, I voted as a Democrat in 2016 and I plan to do the same in 2020. She went on to talk about being very passionate about different issues, including womens reproductive health. Im very involved with Planned Parenthood, added Kloss, who urged people to donate to the organization to keep her home state Missouri's only abortion clinic open. As shes said in the past, Kloss made clear that its been a tough road marrying into the Kushner family, as there is a political divide with Ivanka and Jared supporting Trump in the White House. I met my man in 2012, said Kloss, who married Joshua in 2018. It was 2012 it was a different world and my man and I have been through a lot together. And Im so proud that hes my partner. Its not been easy, but its worth it. And I would make that same decision a million times again. Karlie Kloss (r) with Ivanka Trump (l) at the 2016 U.S. Open prior to Trump taking a job under her father in the White House. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images) As for the Project Runway brouhaha contestant Tyler Neasloneys joked about Kloss wearing his design to dinner with the Kushners and he was eliminated soon after Kloss quipped, I was honored to be one of the first memes of the decade. Though she added, Honestly, the real tragedy of this whole thing is that no one is talking about how terrible [Neasloneys] dress was. Thats why he went home. I would not wear that dress to any dinner. Story continues Neasloney later spoke out about his comment, saying he felt misunderstood. Hes now selling shirts with his quip on it. Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyles newsletter. The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system is asking people in the community to help with the district's Hispanic Infusion curriculum program and Latin American studies elective course. On Wednesday night, the school district held its first listening session to provide information about the K-12 Hispanic Infusion program and get community input and ideas about what should be included in the curriculum. Rebecca McKnight, the school districts K-12 director of social studies, told a group of about 20 people at Southside Library that the districts current student population is about a third African American, a third Hispanic and a third white. That diversity is awesome because we have so much to learn from each other and about each other, McKnight said. But that also means that we have to be very open-minded and inclusive as we teach our kids about everything. In regard to the school systems social studies curriculum, she said, there is the need to consider what it needs to look like. The Cultural Infusion Project has been around since the mid-1990s. The Gym Group has revealed membership numbers jumped 9.7 per cent in 2019. The group now plans to expand into smaller towns where a full-sized gym isn't feasible with between five and eight of these smaller gyms planned for 2020. The low-cost chain, which already has 175 gyms across the country, said that, by December 31 2019, membership had risen to 794,000, from 724,000 in 2018. The group said the aim is to open more sites in towns that may not be economically viable for a full-sized 15,500 sq ft Gym Group outlet, but could work with smaller premises. Gym Group plans to open 15 to 20 standard gyms in 2020 and between 5 and 8 smaller gyms In addition, Gym Group plans to open 15 to 20 standard-sized gyms in 2020. Gym Group revenues are up 23.6 per cent to 153.1 million, this includes average revenue per member per month - a key measure for the business - up 7.6 per cent to 16.02 in December. Bosses put this down to increased sign-up to the company's Live It membership programme which includes multi-site access and a bring-a-friend initiative. Gym Group chief executive Richard Darwin said: 'We expanded our business by 20 sites in 2019, which included the first two of our new small box gym concept, which delivers low-cost fitness to smaller towns. 'There remains a long runway of potential sites in the UK and, with our small box rollout under way, we plan to accelerate the expansion of our gym estate in the coming year. 'We have built scale and a strong platform over the past few years and, with an encouraging start to January trading, we anticipate 2020 will be another year of significant progress.' Mr Darwin announced the new small box concept last year, and opened two - in Newark, East Midlands, and Beverley, East Yorkshire. Joe Healey, analyst at The Share Centre said: 'The disruptive model of flexible gyms offering consumers 24 hour access among a host of other benefits has been an area of high potential in recent years and is likely to be a popular segment for years to come. 'These results show good progress and offer no signal of stagnating, with the Group continuing to introduce new concepts within its existing membership packages such as the roll-out of their new personal trainer model in March, which should help attract new target markets. 'Overall investors should welcome today's update which comes ahead of the final figures in March and will be one investors are keeping a keen eye on for further positive news.' - The Labour Court in Nairobi termed Wambui's appointment as irregular and constitutional - Justice Makau observed the ex- Othaya MP was unqualified to head the authority - Her appointment was opposed by Young Kenyan Parliamentarians Association The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has quashed appointment of ex-MP Mary Wambui to the National Employment Authority. In a ruling delivered by Justice Onesmus Makau on Friday, January 17, the court not only observed Wambui was unqualified but also cancelled the gazette notice on her appointment. READ ALSO: I have been facing intimidation and threats by my political opponents - MP Babu Owino A file photo of Mary Wambui whose suspension as NEA board chair was quashed. Photo: The Standard. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Ukarabati wa barabara ya Mwiki-Kasarani kuanza mara moja baada ya maandamano ya siku 2 Consequently, Makau issued a permanent injunction that will stop the former Othaya legislator from taking up the post which he also termed was irregular and unconstitutional. This followed a petition by the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association who said Wambui was not qualified under the law, policy and best practice. Senator Johnson Sakaja and young MPs petitioned court to block Wambui's appointment. Photo: Johnson Sakaja. Source: Facebook The recent appointment of Mary Wambui Munene as chair of the institution goes against the specific provision of section 10 (2 (c) of the National Employment Authority Act which provides that the chair must have seven years experience in human resource management, the petition reads. She had been stopped from assuming office by the court on Wednesday, October 23. 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. I chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV. Source: TUKO.co.ke MINNEAPOLIS - A woman who had worked as a probation officer is accused of luring a real estate agent to a Minnesota house before the agent was kidnapped and killed on New Years Eve, prosecutors alleged Friday. Elsa Segura, 28, of Fridley, was charged Friday in Hennepin County court with one count of kidnapping. Segura is accused of luring 28-year-old Monique Baugh to a home that was for sale. Two men are accused of kidnapping Baugh in a rental truck. Segura allegedly tried to lure Baugh to the Maple Grove home on Dec. 30, but Baugh was with another real estate agent. Baugh was found fatally shot, her hands bound by tape, in a north Minneapolis alley on Dec. 31. Her boyfriend was shot in the couples Minneapolis home with their two young daughters present but survived. Two men are accused of kidnapping Baugh from Maple Grove, a northwestern Minneapolis suburb, in a rental truck. Cedric Berry, 41, was charged earlier this month with second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and kidnapping. Another man, Berry Davis, 40, of Brooklyn Park was charged late Thursday with one count each of second-degree murder and kidnapping for his alleged role in the case. Davis was charged by arrest warrant and is not in custody. The charges did not specify a motive, but search warrant affidavits tied Baughs killing to a suspected drug rivalry between her boyfriend and Berry. Baughs boyfriend said in an interview that he did not know Berry. Segura does not have an attorney listed for her case. A phone message left for Berrys public defender for comment was not immediately returned Friday. Hennepin County authorities confirmed to the Star Tribune that Segura had worked as a county probation officer. Court records also show that Segura was a child survivor of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse in Minneapolis in August 2007 that killed 13 people and injured 145 others. According to the charges against Segura and Davis, Baugh received a voice mail from an unknown phone number on Dec. 29 from a woman named Lisa who requested a showing for a home. The caller said she wanted the showing maybe tomorrow morning. Baugh later received several calls from the number and found this very odd, the charges said. She expressed to others that she did not know how this person obtained her personal phone number, according to the complaint.. Police traced the phone number to Segura, whose voice was verified by law enforcement personnel who were personally familiar with her. A search warrant executed on the phone found that it was purchased on Dec. 29. It was not used for any other calls between Dec. 29 and Jan. 3, 2020. Video showed that Berry purchased the phone, the charges said. Jon Collins, a spokesman for the Hennepin County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said Segura worked for the county from June 2014 to Dec. 18, 2019. A setting sun casts oblique rays over the hamlet of Algodor. In this spur of Madrid territory that bites into Toledo province, a solitary building made in the neo-Mudejar style rises over the reddish-greenish plain. The old train station with its arched windows was erected in 1929 to replace an older, more humble building. The pillars still show the acronym MZA, for the railway company that built it. The railroad tracks, rusty and overrun with weeds, are lined with two rows of low houses, around 60 in total. An old engine sits sleepily on a siding, still coupled to two dozen freight cars. The deep calm of this place is almost unsettling. Housing built by railroad companies in Monfrague, Caceres. navia In was in 2005 that silence descended on Algodor. Thats the year that trains stopped passing through on their way to Madrid, after having done so for nearly a century and a half. In 2005, a new high-speed AVE link between Madrid and Toledo was inaugurated, making Algodor station, and the town that grew around it, obsolete. It was a small place but very lively. Algodor represents the happiness of my childhood years, recalls Pepe Rodriguez, the son of a railway worker who moved here with his family from Toledo in 1946, when he was two years old. Weve spent more than 15 years fighting with authorities in Aranjuez [which Algodor is administratively a part of] and with Adif [the national railway infrastructure administrator]: we dont have drinking water, theres no telephone line... weve been left to our own devices. But the decadence really began in the 1950s, when economic development brought new technologies. In the 1970s steam-powered engines disappeared, leaving a lot of workers out of a job. High-speed rail and an improved road network did the rest. The original train station of Algodor in 1925. The current one was built in 1929. Juan Salgado Lancha (Archivo Historico Ferroviario-MFM-FFE) Just like the 50 or so other railroad towns that exist in Spain, Algodor was not built over a previous settlement but rather founded from nothing, to cover the needs created by a mode of transportation that embodied the industrial revolution of the 1800s. Beginning in 1860, workers from all parts of Spain began moving into these new towns, where their children were born. Railway workers were nomads, and the trade was often handed down from one generation to the next. Those early settlers were like Martians, or parachutists landing in a territory that had nothing to do with them, explains Miguel Jimenez, who is in charge of historical heritage and railway tourism at the Spanish railway foundation Fundacion de los Ferrocarriles Espanoles. Jimenez, who is also the co-author of a definitive book on the subject Historia de los poblados ferroviarios en Espana, or History of railroad towns in Spain says that what was once barren land transformed into miniature cities with schools, a general store, a doctor, a church, a tavern, bars and even cinemas. But this way of life began dying a slow death as Spain underwent a quick social transformation in the 20th century. Just like Algodor, most of the countrys railroad towns are on the decline, and its remaining residents face an uncertain future. An abandoned railroad tower in Algodor. navia Maribel Uria, 56, was born in Algodor, and she is the only remaining native resident of the town. She, like everyone else around here, rents her home from Adif, the owner of the housing. Some of her neighbors are descendants of the original workers, and they get preferential access to the low-rent homes. Others are outsiders who came attracted by the good prices. We were used to the noise and it didnt bother us, recalls Uria about the long-gone days when trains came and went around the clock. Now Ive grown used to the silence. Before the creation of the state-owned national railway company Renfe in 1941, there were several private groups operating across the Spanish territory: MZA, Oeste, Norte, Ferrocarriles Andaluces and more. They were the ones who created these railroad towns, with the same protective zeal of a father taking care of his children protective but authoritarian at the same time. The company thought of everything. The early, precarious housing arrangements (the first arrivals lived in shanty homes or inside train cars) made way for proper homes. The company also paid for the general store and medical services, even though there was still room for a few private business initiatives. The crumbling staircase inside a building in Monfrague (Caceres). navia In Almorchon, a railroad town in the western province of Badajoz, Mari Loli Sanchez still lives in the same house where her father and grandfather once worked as butchers. On this same street, there used to be a couple of inns and sidewalk tables where the locals would meet for a drink in the evening. That was in the 1960s, when the population of Almorchon was over 1,200. These days it is 45. This was a connecting point for trains going to Cordoba, Madrid and Badajoz; it was a beehive of activity, recalls Clemencia Munoz Seco, another local resident, who has helped create the neighborhood association Vecinos de Almorchon to preserve the village legacy. Its not about obsessing about what used to be, but about thinking of what could be, says Mari Loli. One of Adifs tasks is to manage the assets that Renfe inherited from the private railroad companies. These assets include residential properties, pavilions, train stations, and buildings that once housed schools and medical practices. Many of them are on the verge of collapse. In the big cities, such as Madrids neighborhood of Vicalvaro, most of the property was sold off years ago. They are old buildings, where we did all the maintenance that we could, says Jose Luis Garcia Monton, who is in charge of Adifs railway heritage in Madrid. That is why they are not offered at market values. The residents of several railroad towns who were interviewed for this story said that they pay between 100 and 200 a month in rent. This has attracted people like Irene Munoz, a 34-year-old from Toledo who is renting part of what was once the station chiefs house in Algodor. Munoz, who lives there with her partner and their daughter, knows that they will never have the option to buy the property even though they paid for the necessary refurbishments out of their own pockets. Abandoned tracks at the station in Monfrague, with housing in the background. navia Besides serving as a holiday destination some people have even built themselves swimming pools the main activity here these days is photography: people come here on weekends for the evocative landscape, and some even have their wedding photos taken against this backdrop. Adif has also rented out several properties, particularly the station, for film shoots. Pedro Almodovars Julieta was partly shot here, for instance. And finally, there are the explorers and history buffs who come for the Civil War (1936-1939) bunkers scattered across the area. During those bloody years, a bomb shattered the school of a railroad town in Caceres province that is known as Monfrague today, but which was originally founded as Plasencia-Empalme and was later renamed Palazuelo-Empalme. Seven children and two adults died in the blast, and a nearby house still shows the marks of the shrapnel that was embedded on its walls. There are no more than 10 residents here in the winter, but the local fiestas still take place every year, attracting as many as 125 people. Many are former residents who come to catch up with old friends. We hold a dance, a raffle and a Mass. Later we eat at the campsite, explains Victor Macias, 70, who used to work as a train engineer. We do it above all so we can see each other again. Monfrague station in the 1960s, when it was still called Palazuelo-Empalme. Candido Vallejo Rincon The life of a railroad worker was tough, everyone agrees. The kids played near the tracks while their fathers performed their duties as engineers, conductors and firemen. And even though everyone was accustomed to the coming and going of the railroad cars, from time to time tragedy would hit. Soledad, the daughter of the local doctor in Monfrague, still shivers when she recalls how she once saw a man decapitated by a passing train. But at a time of economic hardship across Spain, these workers were assured of a fixed salary every month. And that was no small thing. Many railroad town residents still use the saying: Hunger passes by the door of the railway man, but it does not enter. Soledad Cobos and her husband Jose Antonio Canedo at the Monfrague Neighbors Association. navia Railroad workers were also unionized and well organized, and they occasionally stood up to the Franco regime. On July 19, 1936, right after the uprising that led to the Civil War and subsequent dictatorship, many railroad workers organized a spontaneous strike at the station of Arroyo-Malpartida (Caceres). More than one did not live to tell the tale. Later, Mussolinis troops showed up to keep tabs on railroad traffic to Portugal, and a soldier stayed behind, eventually opening a bar that he named Italia. During the Civil War these places played a strategic role. They were military targets, and later they became a form of punishment, says Francisco Polo, director of Madrids Railroad Museum and author of a book on the subject. Around 83,000 railroad workers were targeted during the postwar years. More than 7,000 were fired, and 13,000 or 14,000 were sanctioned. A very common sanction was sending them to these towns. Mari Loli Sanchez, daughter and granddaughter of the local butchers in Almorchon (Badajoz). navia These days, the remaining residents have been creating associations to preserve their legacy and find new uses for the surviving infrastructure. Many say that the empty buildings could be used as senior residences, cultural centers and hotels. Others yearn for a local railroad museum like the ones that already exist in Almorchon or Las Matas in Madrid. And most complain about feeling abandoned by Adif. The company says it is doing all it can, and that the future of these properties does not depend solely on Adif, but also on various government agencies. Our aim is to sell the old properties, which we are restoring as much as we can, says Fernando Gomez, of Adif. But besides a physical restoration, they need a legal overhaul as well. Since 2000, the Culture Ministry has been working on a National Plan for Industrial Heritage to bring some legal protection to these sites. In 2004 the paperwork began to declare Monfrague a cultural asset, but no practical measures came out of it, and the town is falling to pieces. Antonio Salomon, 83, is a former engineer from Arroyo-Malpartida who still keeps his old uniform and cap, along with other items that he once used on the job. For many years he would drive the train to Madrids Delicias station, and they would often bring in coffee that had been smuggled in from Portugal, he confesses with a grin. Salomon says he was never happier than when he spent time in his village. English version by Susana Urra. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2020) - TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FSE: TH8) ("TransCanna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the company has increased its revenues from November by 20% to CAD $564,000.00. The net income from operations was CAD $91,000 which is slightly over 16%. The company had recurring revenue in flower, a significant increase in Soldaze edibles with the majority of the increase coming from the continued growth in the manufacturing and distribution units of the company. "It is very encouraging to see significant growth in our edibles, manufacturing and distribution business units" said Steve Giblin president and CEO of TransCanna. "In addition to the ongoing sales of flower from Lyfted Farms, our Soldaze edibles attracted consumer attention after winning multiple awards at the Emerald Cup. Our plan is to grow all four business units simultaneously so we have steady and balanced revenue growth moving forward." In additional news the company opened the last room in the expansion of our Lyfted Farms facilites. With the completion of the construction focus will turn to maximizing the yield from the expanded space. This will be the last monthly revenue target announced as for 2020 the plan will be to shift to standard Quarterly reporting. About TransCanna Holdings Inc. TransCanna Holdings Inc. is a California based, Canadian listed, company building Cannabis-focused brands for the California lifestyle, through its wholly-owned California subsidiaries. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.transcanna.com or email the Company at info@transcanna.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors Steve Giblin President 604-609-6199 The information in this news release includes certain information and statements about management's view of future events, expectations, plans, and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to: timing of the completion of the SPA and the satisfaction of closing conditions, and the expected benefits of Lyfted to the Company's business. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51488 A man who got high on hash oil and went on a wild rampage through the Portland suburbs which included him ramming cars and sprinting naked through traffic on a busy highway was convicted of multiple crimes Wednesday in Washington County, authorities said. Aronson Bellegrade pounced on a strangers car, drove his Honda Civic into two other vehicles and almost caused a pair of head-on crashes near the Washington Square Mall on March 16, prosecutors said. After the collisions, the 29-year-old stripped off all of his clothes, rolled beneath multiple vehicles that had stopped on Oregon 217 and jumped the highways center median, the Washington County district attorneys office said. Aronson Bellegrade The mans rampage ended with him running along 217s southbound lanes while cops chased after him, prosecutors said. Bellegrade later told police he had been puffing on a vape pen packed with a potent marijuana concentrate before he went berserk, the district attorneys office said. There were no reported injuries. Circuit Judge Eric Butterfield found Bellegarde guilty on multiple criminal counts, including third-degree assault, recklessly endangering another person, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and driving under the influence of intoxicants. Bellegarde is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 28. -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. An investigation by Winnipeg Free Press= reporter Ryan Thorpe in August revealed Mathews' association with the secretive neo-Nazi group. The United States Senate officially opened the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on Thursday. It marks only the third time the legislative body has held such a trial in U.S. history. Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court was sworn in to preside over the trial. He then asked all senators to raise their right hands to take an oath to do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God? The U.S. Constitution says the chief justice serves as the presiding officer in the trial. But only the 100 members of the Senate will pass judgement. Earlier in the day, Democrats from the House of Representatives led by Adam Schiff read the charges, or articles of impeachment, in the Republican-led Senate. With the permission of the Senate, I will now read the articles of impeachment, said Schiff. House Resolution 755 Impeaching Donald John Trump, president of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors, Schiff began, reading the nine pages of the impeachment document. Trump is charged by the House of Representatives with abuse of presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic opponent Joe Biden. He is charged with withholding military aid to the country in exchange for an announcement of the investigation. Trump is also charged with blocking the Congressional investigation. The president has repeatedly called the House impeachment hearing a hoax. His administration has told its officials not to answer orders from the House for testimony and documents. More accusations Before the Senate met, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Thursday that the Trump administration had violated federal law in withholding military aid to Ukraine. It said, Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law. The GAO is an independent agency that reports to Congress. On Wednesday, Schiff released new records from Lev Parnas about Trumps actions regarding Ukraine. Parnas was working with Trumps personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Parnas has claimed that Trump knew of his efforts to find information that could hurt his political opponent. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said the new information shows the need for the Senate to consider additional evidence about the presidents actions toward Ukraine. She suggested that a special government lawyer could investigate the issue. A quick end to the trial? The president has suggested that he would be open to a quick vote to simply dismiss the charges. Last December, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that impeachment is a political process and not a judicial process. The House made a partisan political decision to impeach," he said. "I would anticipate we will have a largely partisan outcome in the Senate. I'm not impartial about this at all." Democrat lawmaker Adam Schiff told the Associated Press, The challenge is to get a fair trial. He noted, It shouldnt be a challenge if the senators are really going to live up to their oath to be impartial, theyll want a fair trial. Republicans control the U.S. Senate with a 53-47 majority. However, it takes 51 votes during the trial to approve changes to the rules or to call witnesses. It also takes 51 votes to dismiss the charges against Trump. Several Republican senators, including Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee want to hear from more witnesses during the trial. Romney said he wants to hear from former national security advisor John Bolton. Several witnesses have said Bolton was worried about the actions of Giuliani, the presidents personal lawyer, in Ukraine Opening arguments are to begin next Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The historic trial will be a test of the Trump presidency as he is running for re-election. It also is expected to be a test of the nations three branches of power and its constitutional system of checks and balances. I'm Mario Ritter. Hai Do adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reports from the AP. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story oath - n. a formal promise to tell the truth or to do something misdemeanor - n. a crime that is less serious hoax - n. an act that is meant to trick or deceive people priority - n. something that is more important than other things partisan - adj. strongly support one cause over another anticipate - v. to expect challenge - n. a difficult task or problem checks and balances - phrase, a system in which the different parts of an organization (like a government) have powers that affect and control the other parts so no part can become too powerful As America gets ready to commemorate the 91st birthday of the late great Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his daughter, Dr. Bernice King, is positioned to answer the call of her late father while simultaneously making it clear that our country could learn a lot from the highly revered leader. "There are a lot of lessons that the country could learn from my father's life," King told Christian Headlines. He was a deeply spiritual man who had a strong prayer life and faith in Jesus Christ." One of the many character traits King inherited from her father is leadership. King leads the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia and preaches across the United States. Last week, King sat down for an interview with Christian Headlines to talk about her father's legacy and how the country should remember him as the 42nd anniversary of his death approaches in April. "My father had a deep concern and love for our country in facing racial inequality, King shared noting that racial inequality is still a prevalent issue in America. Ending racial inequality is one of the reasons King feels she is called to carry her father's legacy. To that end, King works as the CEO of the King Center and serves as chairwoman and organizer for a week-long celebration put on by the center. The celebration has events for everyone and concludes with the annual Monday worship service. According to The King Centers website, the organizations mission is to work toward a world where global brotherhood and sisterhood are not a dream but the state of humankind. The mission echoes the overarching trait King hopes people will remember about her father to love everyone. He [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.] really loved people regardless of who they were, how they felt about him or his community. Regardless of how they treated them, he still loved" she shared. "I believe that we should love others in spite of who they are and hear all perspectives without judgment, which is even hard for me to do," King said through a smile. King, who was only a child when her father was assassinated, had to mature early; she seems at peace with that fact. A rushed maturity is something that she believes that Christ-followers must master in helping bridge the unity gap in our country. The night before her father was murdered, he preached the famous sermon "I've Been to the Mountain Top." King, who has memorized the sermon, believes that, as Christ-followers on the celebration of her father's birthday, we should strive toward unity and the mountain top experience that her father is observing from above. Watch our video interview with Dr. Bernice King here: Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Paras Griffin/Stringer Video courtesy: Seattle Video Productions Analysis banner Business Insider Donald Trump Getty President Donald Trump's threats to allies are backfiring as European leaders speak openly about loosening their alliance with the US. Trump has threatened European leaders with a new trade war if they defy him on Iran. Now European leaders are talking openly about cutting back on their ties to the US. Trump's decision to assassinate Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani has exposed a growing transatlantic rift. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump's decision to assassinate Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani has exposed a growing rift between the US and its historically closest allies in Europe. The attack was met with a remarkable level of criticism by European leaders. The UK threatened to cut back on its long-standing defense alliance with Trump, and Germany suggested openly that the importance of its relationship with the US was declining. Trump responded by threatening European leaders with a new trade war if they remained committed to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. Yet rather than bring US allies into line, Trump's threats merely highlighted the declining importance that many European leaders now place in the transatlantic alliance. Here's how Trump's international allies are increasingly abandoning the president as his administration alienates them. UK threatens to cut defense ties boris trump 2 Getty UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was endorsed by Trump when he entered office and has previously been keen to stay close to the Trump administration. Trump's order to kill Soleimani, however, has triggered a remarkable turnaround in the UK prime minister's approach to the US. In the immediate aftermath of Soleimani's assassination in a drone strike in Iraq, an operation the US did not warn the UK would take place, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab declared that the conflict was "in none of our interests," adding that the only winners of an Iranian war would be the Islamic State terrorist group. Story continues Johnson also spoke out against the US policy, urging Trump to "dial this down" and warning that targeting Iranian cultural sites, as Trump threatened, would be a war crime. UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace went even further, telling The Sunday Times that Trump's isolationist foreign policy had prompted the UK to consider cutting back on its defense ties with the US. "I worry if the United States withdraws from its leadership around the world," Wallace said, adding that "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." Germany warns that Europe's alliance with the US is crumbling trump merkel 4x3 Jesco Denzel/German Federal Government via AP; Samantha Lee/Business Insider In the immediate aftermath of Soleimani's assassination, a German government representative warned the US against any further conflict, telling reporters that Trump's intervention amounted to a "dangerous escalation." The attack, which damaged Germany's policy of engagement with Tehran, has triggered open debate about the value of Europe's alliance with the US. In recent days German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke openly about the declining importance of Europe's alliance with the US. "There's been a shift," she told the Financial Times, adding, "The United States' focus on Europe is declining that will be the case under any president." In response, she said, "We in Europe, and especially in Germany, need to take on more responsibility." France dismisses Trump's threats on Iran deal trump macron Ludovic Marin/Reuters France, alongside the UK and other European countries, was instrumental in attempts to forge and maintain a new relationship with Iran through the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. It has strongly criticized Trump's decision in May 2018 to withdraw the US from that deal, and the French government quickly called on the Trump administration to step back from any further conflict. The Trump administration responded by threatening a new trade war with Europe, imposing tariffs on cars if European leaders remained committed to the Iranian nuclear deal. France instead joined with Germany and the UK in signing a statement of support for retaining the deal, while launching a dispute mechanism designed to bring Iran back into line. Read the original article on Business Insider Rescue personnel are seen at the site of an explosion in Linkoping, Sweden on June 7, 2019. (Jeppe Gustafsson/TT News Agency/via Reuters) Sweden Suffers Surge in Bomb Attacks as Gang Violence Rises A surge in drug-linked gang-violence in Sweden led to a 60 percent increase in bomb blasts in 2019, government statistics showed on Thursday, as police work to rid the streets of explosives and guns with more officers on patrol. Sweden has been hit by a wave of shootings and bombings over the past couple of years, which police have linked to gang conflicts in major cities, shocking Swedes, who have long considered their country one of the safest in the world. Some 257 bomb attacks were reported to police last year, up from 162 the previous year, the statistics from the National Council for Crime Prevention showed. The agency did not give any information about the types of explosives used most frequently or any other details. Still, Swedish media have reported some attacks using make-shift bombs made from vacuum flasks packed with explosive material. The figures were part of a report on crime rates, which showed that overall, the number of crimes reported to the police was slightly down last year. The public outcry over increased violence has forced the government to boost spending on the police and to launch a program to fight organized crime as law and order becomes one of the main political battlefields. The government has provided extra resources, and the police are taking concerted measures now against gang violence, Minister for Home Affairs Mikael Damberg said in an emailed comment to Reuters. With the efforts we are making, I am convinced that we can turn this around. Society is stronger than these criminal gangs. Opposition politicians, however, have blamed the government for years of inaction. This government has lost control over crime in Sweden. We have seen in recent years how the number of fatalities has increased. Now bomb blasts are also increasing in a way that lacks international equivalence, said Ulf Kristersson, leader of an opposition party the Moderates. Police have identified around 60 deprived areas, mainly in and around larger cities, where unemployment is high, incomes low, and where drugs and gangs have gained a firm foothold. In November, they set up the task force to fight violent crime following the death of a 15-year-old boy in Malmo when a gunman opened fire on a pizza restaurant. At the time, the police said the task force would focus on getting criminals off the streets, reducing access to guns and explosives, and increasing the police presence in affected areas. However, they said the problems were impossible to solve by the police alone. There is no silver bullet. There is no simple solution to complex problems, Stefan Hector, the head of the task force, said in November. An explosion on Sunday in one of Stockholms most high-end neighborhoods destroyed part of a residential building and several cars parked outside. The blast could be heard several miles away. No one was injured. In a separate incident, in June, 20 people were wounded when a bomb exploded on a residential street in Linkoping in southern Sweden. By Simon Johnson New Delhi, 17 Jan (IANS) The Delhi court has asked Tihar jail authorities whether the Nirbhaya case convicts have been informed about the rejection of their mercy plea by the President of India. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora sought response from the jail authorities and has adjourned the matter for 4.30 p.m. on Friday. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for national unity and defended the country's armed forces in the wake of angry protests over the downing of a Ukrainian passenger airliner by Iran's air defenses last week. In a sermon at Tehrans Mosalla Mosque on January 17, Khamenei -- the highest authority in Iran -- said those who took to the streets had been victims of deception by foreign media and would not change the opinion of most Iranians. "The Iranian people love and want resistance to the world powers and no capitulation, the 80-year-old leader said as he addressed Friday Prayers for the first time in eight years. Khamenei accused Iran's enemies of using the plane crash to question the Islamic republic, the armed forces, including the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which he said "maintained the security" of Iran. He also called Irans missile attack on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq earlier this month a slap to a world power and described U.S. President Donald Trump as a "clown" who only pretends to support the Iranian people. The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737-800 had just taken off from Tehran en route to Kyiv on January 8 when it crashed, killing all 176 people on board. Most of the victims were Iranian and Canadian nationals, with smaller numbers of Ukrainians, Afghans, Swedes, Britons, and Germans. Iranian authorities initially denied any responsibility, but three days after the tragedy the IRGC admitted the plane was shot down "unintentionally." The tragedy occurred hours after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq, in response to the targeted killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. air strike earlier this month. Irans January 11 admission it had downed the Ukrainian plane led to days of protests in Tehran and other Iranian cities, with demonstrators chanting slogans against Irans clerical leadership. Referring to Khamenei, mourners shouted "death to the dictator" as they buried victims of the plane disaster in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj on January 16, videos posted online showed. In his sermon, Khamenei said the downing of the Ukrainian plane was a bitter accident that "burned through our heart." But he added that the tragedy should not overshadow the "great martyrdom and sacrifice" of Soleimani, the head of the IRGC's foreign-operations arm. He also said Soleimanis assassination had saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. But the supreme leader told thousands of Iranians who chanted "Death to America" that Western countries are too weak to bring Iranians to their knees. Police were out in force ahead of the prayers, which follow several days of protests over the downing of the Ukrainian plane, AFP reported. It said authorities have called for rallies across the country after the prayers to show support for Iran's armed forces and the IRGC. Earlier this week, President Hassan Rohani called on the military to give a full account of how the plane was shot down. Rohani also said the investigation should be overseen by a "special court," insisting that all those responsible for the unforgivable error must be punished." Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif acknowledged that Iranians had been "lied to" for days, but claimed that he and Rohani only found out the truth concerning the cause of the disaster two days after the aircraft was shot down. Irans judiciary has said several people had been arrested over the plane crash, as well as around 30 protesters. Meanwhile, the five countries that lost citizens in the downing of the Ukrainian airliner have put pressure on Iranian authorities to give a full accounting of what happened. After meeting in London on January 16, the foreign ministers of Afghanistan, Britain, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine demanded that Tehran hold a "thorough, independent, and transparent investigation and pay compensation to the victims families, according to a statement issued by the Canadian government. "The eyes of the international community are on Iran today," Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said after the talks. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi responded on January 17 by calling on countries involved in the airliner crash "not to make human issues, particularly this tragic accident, into an excuse for political gestures," according to the semiofficial ISNA news agency. Musavi said Iran had cooperated "beyond expectations" with the countries, the report said. In Kyiv, Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko told parliament that an Iranian representative would travel to Ukraine next week. He said Tehran was willing to pass on to Ukraine the flight and cockpit recorders from the flight after they had been examined by a joint investigation team comprising experts from Iran, Canada, and Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the plane crash was a "very serious red flag" and a signal that everyone should "start working on de-escalation and not on constant threats." The Iranian leadership is also facing growing domestic and international pressure on other fronts: the countrys 2015 nuclear deal with world powers appears close to collapse and its economy is struggling under crippling U.S. sanctions. In his address, Khamenei lashed out at Britain, France, and Germany, which this week triggered a dispute mechanism for Tehran's noncompliance with terms of the nuclear agreement, calling the European powers servants of the United States. He also said Tehran was willing to negotiate, but not with Washington, which reinstated sanctions on Iran after unilaterally abandoning the accord in 2018. Trump wants Tehran to negotiate a new accord that would place indefinite curbs on its nuclear program and restrict Tehran's ballistic-missile program. The last time Khamenei delivered a Friday sermon in Tehran was in February 2012 on the 33rd anniversary of the country's Islamic Revolution and at a time of crisis over Irans nuclear program. With reporting by the BBC, AFP, TASS, and dpa Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, has dismissed the idea of a new "Trump deal" to resolve the nuclear row. Calling the suggestion -- by Britain's prime minister -- a "strange offer" on Wednesday (January 15). And advocating instead a return to the nuclear deal signed in 2015, which is now in jeopardy. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) IRANIAN PRESIDENT HASSAN ROUHANI, SAYING: "If you take the wrong step, it will be to your detriment. Pick the right path. The right path is to return to the nuclear deal." Donald Trump agreed with Britain's Boris Johnson late Tuesday that a "Trump deal" should take its place. Rouhani accused the U.S. president of always breaking his promises. Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018, saying it wasn't tough enough. Brokered by the European Union, that pact lifted international sanctions in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear program, which it insists is peaceful. Since withdrawing, Trump has ramped up sanctions that are throttling Iran's economy. In response, Tehran has gradually reduced its compliance, saying it wants to stick to the deal but has little incentive without seeing any economic benefits. In January, Iran said it would scrap all limits on enriching uranium, its biggest step away from the agreement yet. Britain, France, and Germany reacted this week by triggering a mechanism that put the pact in dispute and formally accused Tehran of violating the terms. Rouhani called that step, which could lead U.N. sanctions to be reimposed down the line, a "strategic mistake." The Government is being accused of letting the homelessness crisis "go beyond repair" following the tragic death of a young woman in emergency accommodation. Gardai were called to the scene of a sudden death at the Phoenix Lodge hostel on Parkgate Street in Dublin on Wednesday evening. The woman, who was in her late 20s, died in "tragic circumstances". "This week alone we have seen this death, a man with life-changing injuries as a result of his tent being removed by an industrial machine as he slept in it, and our case-management team assisted a woman in her 60s who was sleeping rough," said Inner City Helping Homeless CEO Anthony Flynn. He said the elderly woman, who suffers from dementia, slept in the rain, was "soaked to the bone" and had to be transported to hospital. Independent councillor and election candidate Christy Burke said it was time for the Government to "grow a pair" and declare a national emergency as Ireland's housing crisis had "gone beyond repair". Meanwhile, a homeless man, aged in his 30s originally from Eritrea, who suffered life-changing injuries when the tent in which he was sleeping was removed by an industrial vehicle, remains in a critical condition. Four investigations by gardai, the Health and Safety Authority, Waterways Ireland and Dublin City Council are currently ongoing. Gardai appealed yesterday for hepl from anyone who witnessed the incident or road users who may have dashcam footage. Homelessness campaigner Fr Peter McVerry slammed the emergency accommodation system, saying homeless people sleep in tents because it's safer than hostels. "The biggest complaint I get from homeless people is that they wake up in the morning and all the people who are sleeping in the room with them are gone and so are all their belongings," he told RTE Radio One's 'Morning Ireland'. Housing continues to be a major issue for politicians on the doorsteps as the election date approaches. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has continued to defend his comments on the incident involving the homeless man on Grand Canal. Mr Varadkar was criticised for calling on the Fianna Fail Lord Mayor of Dublin Paul McAuliffe to account politically for the incident. Former lord mayor Nial Ring said he was "taken aback" by the comments, branding them "appalling". The US says 11 troops treated for concussion symptoms after January 8 attack, despite first saying no one was harmed. The United States treated 11 of its troops for symptoms of concussion after an Iranian missile attack targeted an Iraqi base where US forces were stationed, the US military has said, after initially saying no service members were hurt. The January 8 attack was retaliation for a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3 that killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force of Irans Revolutionary Guard. US President Donald Trump and the US military had said there were no casualties after the attack on the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq and a facility in its northern Kurdish region. At the time of the attack, most of the 1,500 US soldiers at the base had been tucked away in bunkers, after advance warning from superiors. While no US service members were killed in the January 8 Iranian attack on al-Asad airbase, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed, Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement on Thursday. As a measure of caution, some service members were taken to US facilities in Germany or Kuwait for follow-on screening, he added. When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq. Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeeras Gabriel Elizondo said many of the troops were screened for concussions, which the US authorities say is common. The blast from missiles can cause buildings to shake and rattle and can cause potentially, concussions even for people who are outside of the immediate impact zone, Elizondo said. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size It's hard to imagine Shane Fitzsimmons as a teenage tearaway. Yet growing up near Sydney's northern beaches, where he attended Pittwater High, report card after report card would come back saying, "Shane is capable of so many things if he would just stick with it", or "Just behave in class", or "Don't get distracted." "I got lots of those," he says drily. "I'm pleased there was no social media around then." When Fitzsimmons left school in year 12, he aimed to become an electrician or plumber in line with his father's urgings to get a trade. But, he recalls, "I wrote to every man and his dog and couldn't land one." The future New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner ended up as a motor mechanic, often working on the service desk. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian with RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons at the Picton Bowling Club, which was being used as a evacuation centre in December. Credit:Edwina PIckles One day a former deputy principal brought her car in and spotted him at the counter. "Oh Shane! I'm so pleased to see you've got a job! I thought you would have been in jail by now." It's a story he tells without a trace of embarrassment. (Candour appears to be a Fitzsimmons trait, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison discovered to his cost recently, when the RFS chief publicly chided the federal government for not giving him advance notice of the decision to roll out the army reserves.) Advertisement One wonders what his teacher would make of her wayward pupil now, observing him night after night on the TV news, flanked by the Premier, steering the state with apparent steely calm through the most destructive bushfire season NSW has seen. Our meeting at the RFS headquarters in Olympic Park was meant to be over lunch, but on this morning the fires are threatening to ramp up again. The vast central control room on the fourth floor buzzes like a mini-Pentagon, with uniformed types from the RFS, army, air force, police and other emergency services arrayed at desks before a wall of giant screens. We take a small corner table in the canteen. The clock ticks past midday and staff members trickle in with plates heaped high. Fitzsimmons wants only a bottle of water. "Anything?" I suggest, nodding at my own cup of tea. "Coffee, a snack?" "No," he says, patting himself on the belly. "I can live on what I've got." He admits to not finding much time for exercise, something "my physique probably depicts very well". Besides, he declares, he has to leave for the airport shortly to farewell a contingent of Canadian firefighters. To hear how Fitzsimmons pulled himself out of his troubled teenage years is to understand why he talks of the Rural Fire Service as "family", and why he so passionately rejects the idea that the service should morph into a paid force. To him, the RFS is a vital social institution as well as a firefighting force. Fitzsimmons as a 20-year-old volunteer firefighter in 1989: "It kept me on the straight and narrow." Advertisement His parents, George and Carol, split when he was in primary school. He says he "loved and admired my old man enormously ... and I don't want to bag out my dad", but George was "not a nice person" when he drank. "I wasn't Robinson Crusoe when we were in a family with domestic violence and all that sort of thing, and the domestic violence extended to children ... myself more than my two [younger] sisters. Mum had to cut a break for her own benefit." George eventually re-partnered, giving Fitzsimmons two half brothers (to whom he is close) but a near-terminal rift occurred between him and his father when he was in his early 20s. As a result George did not attend Fitzsimmons' wedding to Lisa, the daughter of the local council fire control officer Keith Simpson, who was also George's employer at the time. Ironically, Lisa used to chide her own father about the demands of his job, which often tied him to home base so he could monitor the radio networks overseeing local bush fire brigades. She and Fitzsimmons had only just started dating when he overheard her vowing to her father: "I'm never going to be involved with anyone in this bloody organisation. All it does is dominate your life!" It's a running joke between them now. It was Lisa who, expecting their first child, pushed Fitzsimmons towards a reconciliation with his father, and several happy years followed. "He was a better grandfather than he was father," Fitzsimmons says. But tragedy struck on June 8, 2000, when a prescribed burn at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park went horribly wrong and George perished in the flames along with three other firefighters. Sixteen-year-old Shane Fitzsimmons in 1985 (front, centre, holding hat at waist level) with his dad, George (bottom left), and their Duffys Forest Rural Fire Brigade crew. George was killed with three other firefighters during a hazard-reduction burn in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in 2000. Advertisement The glue that had bound father and son during his turbulent adolescence was their membership of the Duffys Forest Rural Fire Brigade. "It was almost like a modern-day creche for teenagers," Fitzsimmons recalls. "Dad would duck up there for the weekend, and I'd go with him. "It kept me on the straight and narrow more than anything else. There was a sense of belonging and inclusion, of being entrusted with responsibility, the whole idea of doing something in the community I found really powerful." It was also where he learnt "foundational skills - teamwork, negotiation, compromise. And leadership. With volunteers, if you try to be too demanding and assertive, they will quickly tell you to get stuffed. The real challenge as a leader is to bring people with you." At the exceptionally early age of 19, Fitzsimmons was elected brigade captain. This created a dilemma back at headquarters because, technically, a captain had to be 21 before getting the keys to the local fire station. Rules were bent, and Fitzsimmons threw himself into every course the service could offer him, while continuing TAFE studies at night. In 1994, ferocious blazes along the eastern seaboard prompted the government to put the old bush fire brigade system under review. Fitzsimmons, already on the radar as a standout volunteer, was brought into the management fold in September of that year and given a job in risk planning before moving into operations. In 1997, the RFS was set up and Fitzsimmons, under the mentorship of then commissioner Phil Koperberg, became an assistant commissioner a year later at the age of 29. He took over the top job in 2007 and somewhere along the way acquired a masters in management from Macquarie University. Then prime minister John Howard is briefed by Shane Fitzsimmons and Phil Koperberg of the RFS before visiting the bushfire devastated suburb of Warragamba in 2001. Credit:Glenn Campbell Advertisement I ask how he's handled the enormous burden of responsibility that has rested on his shoulders these past weeks, with the safety of tens of thousands of people in his hands. "What makes it work is the relationships we have got between heads of the agencies here in NSW," he says. "They have never been better. "Don't get me wrong," he adds. "The enormity of damage, despair and tragedy you feel that personally, but somehow you have got to compartmentalise that because you have got a dynamic and unfolding situation that's not going to go away." During the "darkest moments" he has been on the phone to Lisa, in tears. Those moments have included driving to the scene of the fatal fire truck accident that claimed the lives of two young fathers, RFS volunteers, in the days just before Christmas, and the unutterably sad task of calling on the bereaved families afterwards. Then came the funerals during which Fitzsimmons, in full dress uniform, had to pin medals on the small children of those men. Such times take him back to George's death, when Lauren, the older of his two daughters, was also just a tot. Advertisement Acquired Brain Injury Ireland is urging the people of Kildare to call on election candidates to secure more rehabilitation funding Brain injury survivors face a lottery to access neuro-rehabilitation services in Ireland, according to the nations leading provider of community rehabilitation for brain injury. As voters put election candidates through their paces on the doorsteps, Acquired Brain Injury Ireland is calling on the people of Kildare to demand more funding for community neuro rehabilitation in the next Programme for Government. Acquired Brain Injury Irelands Chief Executive Barbara OConnell said: This country cannot continue to save a life on the one hand but rob quality of life on the other hand by not providing neuro rehabilitation in the community to brain injury survivors. Without investment in rehabilitation, our hospitals are clogged up unnecessarily by keeping brain injury survivors in acute beds that dont need to be there. Families are pushed to breaking point because of severe under-resourcing of neuro rehabilitation. The reality is if you have a brain injury outside of Dublin, there are no specialist beds for you and very little rehabilitation in your community. Thats why Im calling on the people of Kildare to ask about funding for rehabilitation on the doorsteps when election candidates come to call. With 19,000 brain injuries acquired every year in Ireland, there isnt a family in the country that hasnt been touched by it in some way. The biggest causes of brain injury that we see are from stroke, road traffic accidents, falls, tumours and assault. We hear every day about the crisis situation in our acute health services but what about the people who have survived a massive trauma like brain injury? We need to fight for them too. According to Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, an appalling lack of neuro rehabilitation services is devastating thousands of brain injury survivors and their families across the country who are left merely to exist. The national brain injury charity said that despite more people surviving the major trauma of a brain injury, many young survivors are forced to live indefinitely in nursing homes or community hospitals without access to any rehabilitation to aid their recovery. Acquired Brain Injury Ireland is calling on election candidates to prioritise investment in neuro-rehabilitation in 2020. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people in Ireland are living with the consequences of brain injury at any given time. The charity is calling for: - 2m annual investment to sustain Acquired Brain Injury Ireland into the future - 5m to develop a regional neuro-rehabilitation centre - 0.5m to provide a basic case management service nationally - Benefits of community neuro-rehabilitation: - Improved quality of life and independence - Better health outcomes - Reduced social and economic isolation - Reduced stress on national health system - Reduced stress on families as caregivers - Benefit of investment in new regional neuro-rehab centre: - Free up acute hospital beds - Free up places in National Rehabilitation Hospital - Save time and money across health system by improving flow of brain injury survivors from hospital to home Acquired Brain Injury Ireland is the nations leading provider of community rehabilitation for those of working age (18-65 years) living with and recovering from an acquired brain injury. For more information or to support Acquired Brain Injury Ireland visit www.abiireland.ie. Placer County Sheriff's Office View Photo Update at 3:43 p.m.: Sheriffs officials have released the name of a confirmed victim from an avalanche that occurred Friday morning near Lake Tahoe. According to Placer County sheriffs officials, Cole Comstock, 34, of Blairsden has been identified as the deceased victim. They add that additional search efforts at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort have been called off since, after a thorough search, SAR volunteers and avalanche dogs confirmed no further victims. A second victim with serious injuries was transported to a hospital for treatment. Officials add that the avalanche is being treated as an isolated incident the ski resort is still open but the area near the Subway ski run is closed. BJ Hansen posted this earlier update. Original Post at 12:32 p.m.: Placer County, CA Rescue officials are on the scene of an avalanche at a Northern California ski resort. The Placer County Sheriffs Office reported during the 11 oclock hour that deputies were responding to the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort to help search for several unaccounted victims. Shortly after noontime, the sheriffs office updated that there is one fatality and one serious injury confirmed. The avalanche occurred near the Subway ski run. Alpine Meadows is located near Lake Tahoe. The Placer County Sheriffs Office is continuing its rescue efforts this afternoon. Daniel Radcliffe in Guns Akimbo (Credit: Madman Films) Yep, Daniel Radcliffe has taken on some radical roles in recent years, from undercover white supremacist to flatulent corpse. But this latest role, as love-sick office schlub Miles, who becomes embroiled in the world of an insanely violent online game, really is a departure for the former Harry Potter star. Read more: Daniel Radcliffe on why he wouldnt play Wolverine The trailer for newcomer writer and director Jason Lei Howden's new action comedy Guns Akimbo has landed, and it's very much not safe for work. Or possibly home either. One morning, after a night of casual trolling on the internet, Miles awakes to find that he's had guns bolted to his hands by a notorious gang called Skizm, and is the latest contestant in a city-wide gladiatorial death-match which is live-streamed around the world. He's pitted against reigning champion Nix (Samara Weaving soon to be appearing the Bill & Ted Face The Music), and if his failure to put on his own trousers is anything to go by, he's not going to last long. Meanwhile, the love of his life Nova is kidnapped, so he plans to turn the tables on the gang and get her back, but for that, he'll need some help. Like The Running Man meets Edward Scissorhands, there's also a cameo from the wonderful Rhys Darby. It lands in the US on March 5, with a UK release to be confirmed. Police attacked first in a deadly clash over a land dispute in Hanois Dong Tam commune on Jan. 9 that claimed the lives of an elderly community leader and three police officers, a new report drawn from multiple witness reports says, contradicting official accounts. Released on Thursday and circulated to human rights organizations and foreign embassies in Vietnam, the report, published in English and titled Fighting Over Senh Field: A Report on the Dong Tam Village Attack, says that villagers fought back only after being assaulted by police in the latest flare-up in years of tensions over construction of a military airport near the capital. State media reports quoting official statements by the Ministry of Public Security say villagers first attacked police with grenades, petrol bombs, and knives, but witnesses to the clash describe thousands of police officers first bursting into the village firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Police then blocked off pathways and alleys and beat villagers indiscriminately, including women and old people, the report says, calling the assault possibly the bloodiest land dispute in Vietnam in the last ten years. Witnesses describe thousands of police officers rushing into the village using flash grenades, firing tear gas, shooting rubber bullets, blocking off all pathways and alleys, and "beating villagers indiscriminately, including women and old people, the report says. Village leader Le Dinh Kinh, 84, was shot and killed early in the assault by police who swarmed his home after first cutting Dong Tams internet and telephone lines before beginning their 4:00 a.m. assault, according to the report Journalist Pham Doan Trang, one of the founders of the Dong Tam Task Force of activists and journalists who produced the report, noted in a Facebook post that the group's report was released only seven days after the Jan. 9 attack despite a clampdown by authorities on information coming from the area. Social media crackdown Meanwhile, in a statement on Thursday, human rights group Amnesty International said that three activists have now been arrested in connection with social media posts about the clash in Dong Tam, while dozens of Facebook users say they [have] experienced restrictions on their activity. The Vietnamese governments heavy-handed efforts to censor discussion of this land dispute are the latest example of its campaign to assert control over online content, said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty Internationals regional director. In its Jan. 16 statement, the rights group voiced fears for 22 Dong Tam villagers now in police custody and facing charges of resisting law enforcement officers and murder. Amnesty International has documented appalling detention conditions in Vietnam, with evidence of prisoners being tortured and otherwise ill-treated, routinely held incommunicado and in solitary confinement, kept in squalid conditions, and denied medical care, clean water, and fresh air, the rights group said. Police officers honored Meanwhile, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Public Security Minister To Lam, and 500 police officers and other attendees paid tribute on Thursday to the three police officers killed during the Jan. 9 assault on Dong Tam, state media said. Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyen Huy Thinh, 48, Captain Pham Cong Huy, 27, and Senior Lieutenant Duong Duc Hoang Quan, 26, were posthumously awarded the Feat of Arms Order and certificates citing their great contribution to the nation. All three were killed in the Dong Tham assault when they were attacked by petrol bombs and fell into a concrete shaft as they ran between two houses, according to state media reports. While all land in Vietnam is ultimately held by the state, land confiscations have become a flashpoint as residents accuse the government of pushing small landholders aside in favor of lucrative real estate projects, and of paying too little in compensation to those whose land is taken. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Huynh Le. Written in English by Richard Finney. Account representatives from Epic Systems, one of the largest providers of medical record systems, have started calling customers with a clear message: We will not be pursuing further integrations with Google Cloud. Epic's reps told customers the company would instead focus its energies on Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. They said the company decided to halt development with Google Cloud because it wasn't seeing sufficient interest among its health system customers to warrant the investment. The calls have come in the past few weeks, said three people with knowledge of the matter, and were directed to Epic's hospital customers that use Google's cloud-based technology either for medical research, data storage or for their basic IT operations, including file-sharing. These people declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak for their organizations on the matter. Privately held Epic is one of the largest electronic medical record companies in the U.S. It sells its products, which include a digital equivalent of the traditional doctor's paper medical chart as well as billing tools, into the largest hospital systems in the U.S. Epic installations are major undertakings, and can end up costing billions of dollars overall. Once installed, they become a core part of a hospital's information systems and are seldom dislodged. Epic's decision is a blow to Google's efforts to find new customer segments for its cloud products, as the company lags well behind Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure in market share for cloud computing. The company is hoping to catch up by landing big-name customers such as Mayo Clinic, and by stressing its artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities. The move comes as Google is facing criticism from privacy advocates about its work with Ascension, one of the largest U.S. health systems. The news broke that a small number of Google employees had access to Ascension patients' protected health information after the two organizations signed a deal to move health information into Google's servers. Google has subsequently said that it is "super proud" of this work with Ascension, and that it hopes to leverage the data for good to develop technologies to detect disease earlier, as well as a tool for doctors and nurses to more easily search their medical record systems, including Epic. Epic declined to comment on Google or any other vendor specifically but said it considers several factors when deciding which third-party technology providers to support. "We invest substantial time and engineering effort in evaluating and understanding the infrastructure Epic runs on. Scalability, reliability, and security are important factors we consider when evaluating these underlying technologies," said Epic's vice president of research and development, Seth Hain, in a statement. He said Epic focuses on supporting "infrastructure the Epic community uses today and is likely to use in the future." A spokesperson for Google Cloud declined to comment on the relationship with Epic. One of the health system customers who got the call said this could impact their data sharing and aggregation efforts going forward. This person said medical records providers such as Epic and its chief rival, Cerner, are picky with data-sharing standards, and withdrawing support for Google would make it risky for the hospital system to keep using it. Epic isn't alone in its move. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Cerner decided against pursuing a data-storage relationship with Google despite being offered tens of millions of dollars in incentives. The company was on the hunt for a cloud vendor to help it store 250 million patient medical records. In the end, Cerner went with Amazon. "We've historically seen hospital systems make these decisions independently of their medical record provider," said Aneesh Chopra, the president of health-technology company CareJourney and the former chief technology officer of the United States. "It will be interesting to see if Epic's thumb on the scale moves cloud market share." Moscow [Russia], Jan 17 (ANI): Russian assembly or the Duma on Thursday approved Mikhail V. Mishustin as the new Prime Minister, a little-known technocrat picked by President Vladimir Putin, a day after the Cabinet resigned as part of an unexpected Kremlin shake-up. Putin on Wednesday proposed major changes to the Russian Constitution that would spread political power more evenly, away from the president to the Parliament, the State Council and other government institutions. Analysts viewed the potential restructuring of Russia's political system, which surprised the country's political elite, as an effort by the President to ensure that he remains in power post-2024, even after his term ended, according to The New York Times. Putin offered Mishustin to become the Prime Minister after Dmitri A. Medvedev, an ally of the former, resigned from the post saying that it would clear the way for the proposed constitutional changes. On Thursday, Putin appointed Medvedev deputy chairman of the country's Security Council, which advises the president. Mishustin, a former head of the Federal Tax Service, received 383 votes of 424 cast today in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, with 41 abstentions coming from the Communist Party. The chamber, dominated by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, is seen as having only a rubber-stamp role. After the vote, the President signed a decree formalizing Mishustin's new role. Many speculated that Putin -- who, under the Constitution, cannot run for president again in 2024 -- was planning to take another position that would allow him to retain his grip on power. (ANI) Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday reaffirmed his country's "unshakeable" political, diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri people, according to a statement issued by his office. Khan made the remarks during a high-level meeting which was attended by Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, PM's Special Assistant Dr. Moeed Yousaf, spy agency ISI chief Lt. Gen. Faiz Hamid, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood and other senior military and civilian officials. The meeting reviewed all aspects of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the statement said, adding that the participants condemned the lockdown and the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. "It was underlined that the RSS-inspired BJP government's 'Hindutva' mindset...was responsible for creating a perilous situation for regional peace and stability," it said. The participants welcomed the UNSC meeting on Kashmir on Wednesday and noted that it "reflected the international community's recognition of the seriousness of the situation", the statement said. China's attempt to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council on Pakistan's behalf failed on wednesday, with an overwhelming majority of the 15-member body expressing the view that it was not the right forum to discuss the bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. A Hollywood actress has filed a federal lawsuit against the Princess Cruise Lines claiming her room on a ship was infested with bed bugs leaving her covered in itchy, painful bites. Connie Marie Flores, who appeared in Netflix's Marriage Story, filed her lawsuit in the US District Court in the Central District of California, seeking general damages of at least $75,000 on multiple counts under both maritime and California law. Flores and her husband Alvin took the Emerald Princess cruise from November 29 to December 4, 2018 from Los Angeles to Mexico and were appalled to find their bedroom teeming with bed bugs. 'Imagine yourself on a cruise at sea with your stateroom infested with bed bugs. There was nowhere to go. We were trapped. We felt helpless. There were bed bugs coming out of the pillows and the mattress, we felt betrayed,' Flores said in the lawsuit. Actress Connie Marie Flores, who appeared in Netflix's Marriage Story, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Princess Cruise Lines claiming her room on a ship was infested with bed bugs, covering her in alarming bites Flores and her husband Alvin took the Emerald Princess cruise from November 29 to December 4, 2018 from Los Angeles to Mexico and were appalled to find their room teeming with bed bugs that left them covered in bites The couple shared video of their room aboard the cruise ship showing the tiny bugs on the pillows and mattress Flores shared this picture showing bed bug bites on her forehead The lawsuit includes video of the bed in Flores' room showing blood spots on the pillows and bed bugs crawling under the mattress. 'Unbeknownst to Plaintiffs, the Stateroom was infested with hundreds of bed bugs," the lawsuit says. 'The bed bugs latched onto the Plaintiffs while they slept and sucked their blood until they were gorged,' the lawsuit said. The lawsuit was filed by her attorney Brian Virag with the firm MyBedBugLawyer. Flores revealed she and her husband woke up covered in distressing bites that were so severe, it landed her in the hospital. Flores and her husband suffered 'numerous bites and skin rashes, which caused pain, discomfort, annoyance sleeplessness, inconvenience, humiliation, anxiety and emotional distress,' the lawsuit said. After the bed bug catastrophe, the couple notified the ship's staff about the problem. But they say 'employees and medical staff refused and delayed Plaintiff's requests and ridiculed Plaintiffs and their injuries,' the lawsuit claimed. Flores and her husband Alvin were aboard the Emerald Princess cruise ship (file image above) traveling from Los Angeles to Mexico from November 29 to December 4, 2018 when they were bitten An inside look at one of the cruise ship bedrooms pictured above Princess Cruise Lines issued an apology to the couple in light of the allegations saying it is 'committed to following and often exceed stringent sanitation and health guidelines'. However, the cruise line said that the rooms on the ship were cleaned twice a day and it would be 'highly unusual' for staff to not notice bed bugs. File image of bed bug above Princess Cruise Lines issued an apology to the couple in light of the allegations saying it is 'committed to following and often exceed stringent sanitation and health guidelines', according to CNN. However, the cruise line said that the rooms on the ship were cleaned twice a day and it would be 'highly unusual' for staff to not notice bed bugs. 'It is worth noting, our room attendants are highly trained to identify bed bugs and ALL staterooms are thoroughly inspected each month as a preventative measure,' the cruise line added. 'After this ordeal, I wanted to advocate and bring awareness to people who get exposed to bed bugs. No one should have to go through what we experienced,' Flores said. The lawsuit accuses the Princess Cruise Lines of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and battery, among others. Flores says that the cruise ship knew or should have known about the bed bug infestation and failed to protect its passengers from physical and emotional harm. The National Ambulance Service is not going to bail the charity air ambulance out. This is despite the fact that the Irish Community Rapid Response-run service it is in partnership with has been forced to slash its service from seven to five-days-a-week. And after a fundraising campaign that only raised a fraction of its 400,000 target, the service now says it can only survive for another six weeks. Although the National Ambulance Service (NAS) provides medical staff and coordinates the taskings, the charity needs 2 million-a-year to fund the helicopters, pilots, fuel and its airbase. But the funds ran low and the charity struggled to get the public to donate money to pay for the service. Indeed, by 3.30pm today, it had only managed to raise 35,513 of the 400,000 target the charity set for itself. Of that, 16,623 was raised via a GoFundMe page The NAS was keen to point out that it doesnt just rely on the ICRR for emergency air support for its 999 ground fleet. It is important to note NAS continues to provide its ground service of emergency ambulance and air assets available (Aer Corp, Irish Coast Guard, ICRR) are an additional resource to the ground service, a spokesperson said. Earlier in the month, the Irish Examiner revealed Health Minister Simon Harris had told the HSE to save the Irish Community Rapid Response air ambulance. It was the first indication the State might bail the charity out since the ICRR warned last December it would ground the service if it didnt get a large injection of cash. But a HSE spokesperson has now told the Irish Examiner: The National Ambulance Service is not involved in the funding of the ICRR, which is a charity organisation. A Department of Health spokesperson said: As requested by the Minister, the National Ambulance Service has engaged with Irish Community Rapid Response and is working with that organisation to ensure that every effort is made to protect service provision. The Minister urges both sides to further their efforts over the coming days. The ICRR said: The Air Ambulance, has been reduced to a five-day-a-week service, with immediate effect to ensure the service can continue for another six weeks. However, this cost-saving measure is a temporary fix to ensure 6 weeks of continued service before the financial viability of the service is reviewed again. Operations Manager for the charity funded service, Ruth Bruton added: It is absolutely not ideal to have reduced lifesaving cover for the people of Ireland for two days per week. However, it ensures six weeks more service, which is six more weeks for the ICRR Air "Ambulance to gain committed support to keep it flying. She said the ICRR Air Ambulance is estimated to fly 600 missions in 2020. But, she added, with the reduced mission days to the service, there could be 184 missions that it will not be in a position to respond too. The charity received a welcome funding boost from star jockey David Mullins, who rode Michael OLearys Rule the World to victory in the Aintree Grand National in 2016. Today, he thanked ICRR for airlifting him after a fall in Thurles Racecourse last October by presenting them a cheque for 12,000. The 23-year-old broke his T12 vertebrae and clavicle and needed rapid emergency medical help after the fall. The ICRR Air Ambulance came to help me when I needed it the most, a serious fall like I had could have been life-changing, he said. An HIV-awareness campaign featuring condom wrappers with cheeky slogans that put a sexy spin on state pride met a quick end in Utah as the governor ordered the health department to stop distributing them. Utah Governor Gary Herbert's intervention came hours after the designs for the wrapper became public on Wednesday. Herbert, a Republican, he understands the importance of educating residents about HIV prevention, but he does not approve of using sexual innuendo as part of a taxpayer-funded campaign. The prophylactics were labeled with phrases like 'The Greatest Sex on Earth,' a spin on the famous license-plate ski slogan 'The Greatest Snow on Earth.' Another paired the historic words of early Mormon leader Brigham Young supposedly said upon reaching a valley in Salt Lake County - 'This is the place' - with a graphic of a bed. This undated photo provided by the Utah Department of Health shows condoms. The state of Utah is trying something new to fight HIV infections: handing out condoms with cheeky plays on state pride. (Utah Department of Health, via AP) About 100,000 of the condoms were to be handed out for free through the Utah AIDS Foundation, local health departments and University of Utah clinics. Community activists also planned to place them at bars, social clubs and motels. The campaign was created with federal funds. 'We're really trying to have fun with it, get people talking,' Erin Fratto, a health program specialist at the Utah Department of Health, said before the governor's order. 'We're pushing the envelope.' After the governor weighed in, though, the health department apologized for the 'offensive' packaging, said the campaign had not gone through the necessary approval channels and authorities regretted the 'lewd nature of the branding.' Wyoming and Alaska have also done similar campaigns in recent years. Second to abstinence, condom use is the best way to prevent transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). For public health advocates, encouraging condom use is a top priority for stemming rising rates of infections like gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis. The CDC itself recommends that health departments give out free condoms and 'implement social marketing campaigns to promote condom use' with 'messaging that increases awareness of condom benefits and normalizes condom use within communities.' Although the condoms' slogans may have been intended to make phrophylactics more approachable, they much of the Utah community - 62 percent - that the campaign targeted belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormonism. A historically conservative group, the Mormon church is officials opposed to sex between two people of the same sex and sex outside of marriage. TORONTOAn American civilian court has refused to order a military court to decide an appeal from former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr. In a brief decision this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied Khadrs request to force the issue. At this time, (Khadr) has not demonstrated a clear and indisputable right to the extraordinary remedy, the court said. American troops captured Khadr, 33, as a badly wounded 15-year-old in Afghanistan in July 2002. He pleaded guilty to five war crimes, including the murder of a U.S. special forces soldier, before a widely disparaged military commission in 2010. As part of the plea deal, the court sentenced him to eight more years rather than to the jury-recommended 40 years. Khadr later said the deal was his only way out of the infamous American prison in Cuba. He filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review in 2013 after arriving in Canada, arguing the offences to which he had pleaded guilty were not war crimes when he allegedly committed them. However, the military appellate court known as the CMCR put his case on hold while civilian courts decided another commission case, that of Ali Hamza al-Bahlul. A military commission had convicted al-Bahlul in 2008 for doing media-relations work for terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, but a civilian court quashed most of his convictions in 2013. Khadr turned to the D.C. Circuit Court to order the U.S. Court of Military Commission review to hear the appeal. In denying his request, the D.C. court noted some legal issues related to al-Bahlul are outstanding. We are confident that (the CMCR) will act upon (Khadrs) appeal promptly following the resolution of Bahlul v. United States, the D.C. court said. The U.S. government opposed Khadrs request, saying he had waited to file his appeal after he had pocketed the agreements benefits, received his 32-year sentence reduction and transfer to Canada, and was beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. courts. It said the long delay in hearing the case was reasonable. Khadrs lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His U.S. lawyer, Sam Morison, had accused the military appeal court of failing to review the validity of Khadrs conviction, saying it amounted to a veto of his clients appeal rights. Last August, the D.C. Circuit Court ordered the U.S. government to respond to the request. The government argued Khadr had been released unconditionally and had suffered no prejudice from the appeal delay. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad says his convoy shot at in UP Bhim Army chief visits Jama Masjid hours before deadline to leave Delhi India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jan 17: Hours after being released from Tihar Jail, Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekar Azad visited the historic Jama Masjid on Friday where he stayed for close to 40 minutes. Swarmed by his supporters and locals, Azad, with his trademark blue 'safaa', read out the Preamble to the Constitution. Calling for repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which he termed as a "black act", he said nothing is bigger than keeping the country together. Before visiting Jama Masjid, he paid obeisance at Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir near Gole Market and also visited Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad released from Tihar, says will continue fight against CAA Thirty-three year old Azad was released from Tihar Jail on bail on Thursday night and received a rousing welcome by his supporters. At Jama Masjid in old Delhi, where anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest was taking place, Azad also lauded women participating in the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Millia Islamia and other parts of the country. "This (anti CAA) movement is for the future of this country, for our identity and to uphold the Constitution. It is our responsibility to strengthen it," he said. Azad said it is the fundamental duty of citizens to protect the Constitution and also urged people to carry out peaceful protests against the CAA. He also visited the Karbala at Jor Bagh. A Delhi court Wednesday had granted bail to Azad who has been accused of inciting people during an anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid here on December 20, while restraining him from visiting Delhi for four weeks. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad gets bail, can't be in Delhi for 4 weeks The court further directed him not to hold any dharna in the national capital till the elections here and said that "the nation cannot be exposed to anarchy". The court also said that before going to Saharanpur if Azad wants to go anywhere, including Jama Masjid in Delhi in 24 hours, police will escort him there. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 17, 2020, 16:25 [IST] Bernard Preynat, a former Catholic Priest accused of sexually abusing dozens of boy scouts in the 1970s and 80s is on trial. In court he claimed that he himself was a victim. For Catholic activist and journalist Christine Pedotti, this trial, and that of the Bishop who covered up the abuse, reveals a systemic problem in the French Catholic Church, which has its roots in the masculine domination of the clergy. The trial of Preynat and that of Bishop Barbarin are part of the biggest crisis in the French Church in decades. Christine Pedotti, the editor of the weekly Catholic newspaper Temoignage Chretien, was part of a group calling for a commission to look into the wider problem of sex abuse in the Church. The Catholic Church set up an independent commission in February 2019, and has so far collected over 2000 stories. (Below is an extended version of an interview that you can hear in the Spotlight on France podcast. Subscribe here on iTunes, or Google Podcasts.) Q: You are active as a feminist, and have questionned how the Church approaches the issue of women, and sexuality and homosexuality. How is this current crisis of sex abuse a feminist issue? Christine Pedotti: I see the issue of paedophilia as a symptom of an inward-focused, masculine clerical culture, in which sexuality is always seen as a sin. What's terrible is that deep down, some clergy consider that sexual acts with children are less serious than sexual acts with women. This shows there is a very negative view of women. The Catholic Church doesn't know how to talk about sexuality, because it's incapable of seeing women as desirable. Thats where this meets feminism. Q: How has France approached the issue of sex abuse by priests differently from elsewhere? CP: France is France, so we think we're exceptional. This was happening everywhere else: in Canada, in the US, in Australia, Germany, Austria, Ireland, Poland, Chile. France thought the problem would stop at our borders. Story continues The French church had to realize it had a problem, and it wasn't an exception. That's a difficult realization. Its difficult to come to terms that this happened in France just like everywhere else. That four Bishops of Lyon, one after the other, closed their eyes on this priest [Preynat], who everyone knew was a criminal. Q: Some people have turned away from the Church because of these paedophilia scandals. Have you ever been tempted to give it up? CP: Many people ask why not become Protestant? First, I dont think things are any better in that Church. And second, it would be like changing countries or nationalities. Thats not easy to do. I grew up Catholic, and am imbibed by Catholic history and culture. It interests me a lot. So I stay with it, and try to change it. I created an association whose mission is: neither leave, nor stay quiet. And I talk, and I bother the Bishops. A French newspaper called me a pain in the ass for church people. I think its rather a compliment! Q: Preynat is on trial, Barbarin was convicted last year. There is a growing awareness of this problem in the French Catholic Church. Are things changing as a result? CP: I am hopeful, but Pope Francis has pointed out the main issue, which I agree with (I love saying that the Pope and I agree!). The issue is clericalism and the isolation of the priest, as sacred, and separate. How do we fight against this feeling of exceptionalism that priests have? This is not just a French issue, its an issue for the Catholic Church as a whole. Who are these men because they are exclusively men, and celibate - who have a special rapport with the divine? Its very strange, and rather archaic. It puts the Catholic Church in a rather uncomfortable position. Q: Your work has often been on the margins of the mainstream approach to Catholicism. You have focused on taboos subjects. How have these sex scandals, and the reactions to them, changed the way people see your work? CP: Today I'm invited to conferences more than before. People are starting to see that that what I've been saying for a long time is true. Its almost an oxymoron to say you're Catholic and feminist. It seems impossible. Today, some people are saying: Maybe shes right - not just me, but a certain number of Catholics who take very disruptive positions. Today I can say that there are points on which I agree with the Pope! Not on the issue of women, but on some issues we have a common analysis - so Im less marginalised. I think many people agree with me that there was a real error in what Pope John-Paul II did, to focus the church on the Priest, male, celibate, as sacred. And placing women as mothers, wives, reserved and quiet like the Virgin Mary. Q: You speak about the lack of credibility in the French church. Will these alternative ways of thinking attract people back to Catholicism in France? CP: Thats complicated to say. Today the French Catholic Church is fragile. It receives no public funds, and donations have gone down. Its a complicated crisis, because it comes from inside. So to know what will happen, is a real question. I still believe in the religion, and there are resources in faith. But we are moving towards a smaller Church. The Church and power went hand-in-hand over the centuries. This was probably an error. Now we have to unlearn what weve done since Constantine, which was 16 centuries ago. So theres a ways to go. Catholicism counts a lot on its pope. Pope Francis is not young. It will be interesting to see how those in power, across the world, will choose who will replace him. Will they decide on conservatism, to avoid change? Or will they say that in order to announce the gospel in the 21st, we need to change something? This interview is part of the Spotlight on France podcast. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said biographies of Veer Savarkar and other heroes of the freedom struggle from different parts of the country should be in school textbooks. Urging all legislators across the country to visit Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Cellular Jail here, Naidu said the role of the jail in the freedom movement should also form a part of History textbooks. Freedom fighters such as Veer Savarkar, Baba Bhan Singh and Indu Bhushan Roy were incarcerated in the Cellular Jail which was constructed by the British between 1896 and 1906. Addressing a civic reception hosted in his honour by the Port Blair Municipal Council, the vice-president said his visit to the jail on Thursday is no less than a pilgrimage to a sacred temple. He urged all citizens to draw inspiration from the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters and strive to reinforce the unity and integrity of the nation. Decrying attempts to create division among the people, the vice-president said unity is the need of the hour. Earlier in the day, the Vice President inaugurated a Nature Park and Interpretation Centre at Haddo here and released butterflies there. Andaman and Nicobar Islands have around 300 species of butterflies out of which 207 are endemic to the region. Naidu also visited the orchid and fern house at the Nature Park and Interpretation Centre which showcases the habitat of tropical orchids. Flagging off air-conditioned buses and electric vehicles, the vice-president said the initiative would provide sustainable mobility solutions and help in keeping the islands clean and green. He also praised the administration for banning the use of single-use plastics. Naidu also laid the foundation stone for three projects under the Smart Cities Mission -- the Marine Esplanade, Neighbourhood Parks and Fecal Sludge Treatment Plant. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Advertisement This is the shocking moment a huge wave smashes through a train window on the Devon coastal line as temperatures are set to drop over the next few days after the UK battled with Storm Brendan this week. The third storm to hit the country in just five days has left huge swathes of Britain under water, hurting several on a train passing through Dawlish. There are currently 161 flood alerts in place across England, as well as twelve flood warnings in areas such as Tewkesbury and the River Blackwater. In Scotland there are eight flood alerts in place and seven flood warnings in places such as Upper Tay and Glen Lyon. Today temperatures could reach highs of 11C in some parts of the country while most will experience a solid 10C. throughout the rest of the weekend, the temperature is set to drop to 6C for both Saturday and Sunday. Passenger Gill Garratt who had been on the train in Devon said: 'Huge wave smashes into moving train and breaks windows passing through Dawlish, several passengers injured. Two trains stuck and ours abandoned at Newton Abbot.' Pictures shared online showed the train with its windows smashed in by the wave on the seafront line in Dawlish, Devon The wave can be seen smashing into the train and the train window looks as though it has been smashed by the impact of the water The three day weather forecast above shows slight showers for today and clear skies for most of the weekend Pictured: A dog walker dices with death in Dawlish, Devon, as a huge wave crashed through the train window and injured several passengers on the vehicle on Thursday The River Great Ouse at St Ives in Cambridgeshire burst its banks following heavy rainfall, with roads and fields around the market town left flooded today as the storm left a trail of destruction across the country. Met Office meteorologist Luke Miall said conditions today will include sunshine and showers before cold but clear weather moves in over the weekend. He said: 'We have another low pressure storm coming in bringing strong winds and heavy rain. Rain is likely to be heaviest in the west of the country.' 'Going into the weekend there is a big area of high pressure, so most places in the country will see a nice day but also some frost, which we haven't seen so far this winter. It will be mostly sunny skies although cold and clear.' Pictured: Blackpool on Thursday afternoon as gusts blight the nation which is suffering from the third storm in just four days with winds of up to 60mph following Storm Brendan on Monday Flooding in recent days has added to the country's woes amid a clean-up operation following Storm Brendan, which rattled the UK with winds of up to 121mph in the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands earlier this week. The South Coast has seen tides so high that car parks were flooded, and the River Avon burst its banks near Chippenham, Wiltshire. As much as 1.2in (30mm) of rain was recorded in Hampshire overnight on Tuesday night. Today the Met Office has said most of the country should expect sunshine and showers, with the showers merging into longer spells of rain at times. Over higher ground they said they rain would turn 'wintry' and would feel cooler, while the far north of Scotland was expected to experience gales. The weekend will see chilly temperatures as frost takes over the evenings with sunny spells throughout the day. Review at a glance T hanks to his turn in this US melodrama, Kelvin Harrison Jr has been nominated for a Bafta Rising Star Award and, though up against fantastic competition, he deserves to win. Playing a sensitive jock, hes Frank Ocean deep. Trey Edward Shultss third film, by the way, is drenched in modern beats. If you think about music every seven seconds, this is a must-see. Tracks from Animal Collective and Tame Impala introduce us to the dangerously euphoric world of our hero, Tyler Williams (Harrison), who, having detected weakness in his body, secretly pops his dads painkillers so he can still feel immortal. Said dad (Sterling K Brown), all too aware of the racism in sunny Florida, thinks Tyler needs to be superhuman to survive. Tylers girlfriend (Alexa Demie) puts him on a pedestal, until an unwanted pregnancy changes everything. Shultss camera doesnt do straight lines. It curves into conflict and makes us spin, even in the films quieter second half. Remember the moment in Psycho when youre missing Marion Crane then her pale shadow of a sister shows up? Thats sort of how you feel when the focus shifts to Tylers sibling, Emily (newcomer Taylor Russell). The twist is that Emily is just as juicy as her brother. Waves is a hot hymn to sex, drugs and love and, with very little fuss, gives the wonderful Lucas Hedges his best role in years (as Emilys hyper-earnest boyfriend, Luke). Those who worry that Luke functions as a white saviour for the beleaguered Williams should note that Harrison was originally pencilled in to play this character. Anyone who says Waves is perfect is lying (it definitely has its mawkish moments). Still, what a ride. rouhani iran military Iranian Presidency Office via AP Iran's leadership has turned on its military over its response to the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 last week. While Iran initially insisted that the plane crashed because of technical issues, it later said its Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down the commercial plane down by mistake. President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran must "compensate" for the crash and demanded that the Revolutionary Guard "explain to people" exactly what happened. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also rebuked the military for its actions and said on Wednesday that recent heated protests in the country were a response to the Iranian public's being "lied to." Experts have said the Iranian government's U-turn on its military indicates it is struggling to control the narrative around the downing of the plane. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Iran's leadership has turned on its military its response to last week's downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in the country's capital, Tehran, which killed all 176 people on board. Iran initially insisted that the plane crashed because of technical issues, but days later it said its Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down the Boeing 737-800 by mistake. Iran has promised to prosecute those involved, and senior officials have been quick to accept responsibility for the jet's downing. Amirali Hajizadeh, the Revolutionary Guard's head of aerospace, on Saturday said in a video posted online by Iranian state television that the Iranian military branch accepted full responsibility for the disaster. "I wish I could die and not witness such an accident," Hajizadeh said, according to Reuters. The Revolutionary Guard is deeply connected to the Iranian government, answering directly to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Many of the country's senior officials are former military members, and the Revolutionary Guard holds deep influence over Iran's domestic politics and economy. Story continues Though the Iranian government is usually a fervent defender of its military activities, Iranian leaders have, in this instance, chosen to outwardly critique the military. Rouhani urges the military to 'explain to people' what is going on Part of the wreckage from Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, a Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport Iran Press/Handout via REUTERS Speaking at a cabinet session on Wednesday morning, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran must "compensate" for the crash. "We must not abandon this case and must compensate for it," he said. "The first thing is to inform people honestly," he said. "People's grief will alleviate when they know that we feel responsible for what happened and talk with them honestly." Rouhani also promised to review regulations to ensure such incidents would be "unrepeatable," and he promised "more coordination and monitoring" over the military. "I urge the armed forces and the general staff to explain to people what sessions and meetings were held since the moment that the incident happened to let people know that they did not want to conceal anything from them," he added. Iran's foreign minister said people were fuming after being 'lied to for a couple of days' Iran protest Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also rebuked the military for its actions. During an interview while in India on Wednesday, Zarif said recent heated protests in the country were in response to the Iranian public being "lied to." "We've had people in the streets of Tehran demonstrating against the fact that they were lied to for a couple of days," he said. "Our military forces were brave enough to claim responsibility early on," he added. "But people are angry even with those two days. That is the expectation that people have with the government that the government should have disclosed the information." Many of the protesters have focused on the country's leadership, with signs saying "Death to the dictator." Video posted to social media showed some chanting, "They are lying that our enemy is America our enemy is right here." An Iranian judicial representative, Gholamhossein Esmaili, said Tuesday that an undisclosed number of people had been arrested in connection with the incident. Experts say the government is struggling to control the narrative after its top commander was killed FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visits the family of the Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, who was killed by an air strike in Baghdad, at his home in Tehran, Iran January 4, 2020. Official President Website/Handout via REUTERS Reuters Experts say the Iranian government's U-turn on its military reflects that it is struggling to control the narrative around the downing of the plane. "The regime is struggling to manage this crisis," Nader Hashemi, the director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies, told The Washington Post. The domestic crisis comes amid increased tensions between Iran and the US that brought the countries to the brink of war. US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iran's top military commander, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in an airstrike earlier this month. Iran retaliated last week by firing more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq hosting US and Iraqi troops. The strikes did not cause any deaths or injuries, but it was only a few hours later when Iran, apparently fearing a US counterattack, shot down the civilian airliner. Read the original article on Business Insider Many groups of influence, which are trying to gain access to financial flows, benefit from such a presentation, but this is not true, Honcharuk added. I came to this post to execute the presidents program. He is a model of openness and honesty for me. I wrote the resignation letter to cast away any doubts of our respect for and trust in the president. A leading Irish author has been refused a 30,000 tax rebate on a major international award won in 2012. A showdown between the author and the Revenue Commissioners saw the well-heeled writer lose out following a failed plea made to the Tax Appeals Commission. The Revenue Commissioners had refused a tax repayment sought by the unnamed author in respect of the literary prize, which is thought to have been worth more than 60,000. The outcome is likely to send shivers down the spines of many authors who may not be aware that financial prizes incur a tax liability once they have used up their annual 50,000 artist's exemption allowance. That enables writers, musicians, sculptors and a range of other artists to avail of a tax exemption for qualifying works, up to a total maximum of 50,000 a year. The Tax Appeals Commission heard that the aggrieved author had already used up their allowance under the artists' exemption for 2012, which was then 40,000, when they received the international award. Any amount in excess of the exemption is fully taxable. "Revenue are of the opinion that any grants, awards or prizes received by an artist for their artistic work are generally taxable as income," noted the commission in its ruling. But the author disputed that, arguing the prize they received was not taxable. The Revenue Commissioners said the author had a 30,716 tax liability arising from the prize they received in 2012. Video of the Day "The prizes were awarded to the author as a mark of honour and public esteem in recognition of the author's outstanding achievement as an author," the writer's agent told the commission. The agent also pointed to the treatment of such prizes by the UK's Revenue and Customs. There, an unsolicited prize awarded as a "mark of honour, distinction or public esteem in recognition of outstanding achievement in a particular field is not chargeable to tax". But the Revenue Commissioners pointed out the UK is a separate tax jurisdiction under separate tax authorities, and "our legislation does not exclude prizes won by artists from the tax net and as such are classed as income and chargeable to tax". The Tax Appeals Commission agreed if the prize had been won by an author resident in the UK it would not have been taxable. However, it pointed out: "The fact that a payment is made gratuitously, voluntarily or without solicitation does not mean that the payment is not taxable in Irish law as income." Tax appeals commissioner Paul Healy said in his ruling that the writer "has not demonstrated why, under Irish law, the prize received by the author should not form part of the author's profits from the author's profession as a writer". Omicron variant of COVID-19 identified in Antrim, Charlevoix counties The omicron variant of COVID-19 has been identified in one Antrim County resident and one Charlevoix County resident. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 01:45:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Myanmar leaders attended a state event here Friday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the launching ceremony of the China-Myanmar Year of Culture and Tourism. Myanmar President U Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, First Vice President U Myint Swe, Second Vice President U Henry Van Thio, Speaker of the Union Parliament and Speaker of the House of Representatives U T Khun Myat, Speaker of Amyotha Hluttaw U Mahn Win Khaing Than, Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing, and all cabinet members attended the events. Additional reporting by Greg Murphy The HSEs assistant national director for Health Protection, Dr Kevin Kelleher has issued an appeal to university students to get the mumps vaccine before they return to classes. Speaking on RTE radios Morning Ireland Dr Kelleher explained that there had been a rise in the numbers of young people contracting the disease over the past 15-18 months. Over 130 cases of the viral infection were reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre last week. It said the outbreak started in 2018 and has continued to spread. "This is as a consequence of the large percentage of 15 to 30-year-olds who do not have full cover. At least two doses of the vaccine are required for immunity," Dr Kelleher explained. "These are usually administered at 12 months and then again on entering primary school." However, in the years 2002-2003 vaccination levels dropped to 70 per cent and to 50% in some parts of the country. A large portion of this age group doesnt have full coverage. The HSE has contacted the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) to urge students to check on the status of their immunisation record as the vaccine can still be administered. Dr Kelleher called on anyone who has not had the vaccine to get it before they return to classes. We are trying to ensure that it (mumps) doesnt carry on and affect their performance during exams. Symptoms of mumps The symptoms of mumps usually develop 14-25 days after being infected with the mumps virus. Swelling of the parotid glands is the most common symptom of mumps which are located on either side of your face, just below your ears. Both glands are usually affected by the swelling, although in a minority of cases, only one gland is affected. The swelling causes additional symptoms, including: pain and tenderness in the swollen glands pain on swallowing and/or difficulty swallowing. Other symptoms of the mumps include: headache joint pain nausea dry mouth mild abdominal pain fatigue loss of appetite inflammation of ovaries, testicles, deafness high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F), or above. The HSE has said that people should contact their GP if they suspect that they or their children have mumps. A good book adaptation possesses the combined brilliancy of the original novel and the innovative freshness of a film. Kickstart this year with these fantastic shows and films on Hotstar Premium that are as brilliant as the books theyve been adapted from Must Watch Shows Show Title: The Outsider Adapted from: The Outsider by Stephen King When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward murder investigtaion of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe. Show Title: His Dark Materials Adapted from: His Dark Materials, a trilogy by Philip Pullman Lyra, a brave young woman from another world, on a quest to rescue her kidnapped friend, uncovers a sinister plot of a secret organisation, extraordinary beings and dangerous secrets. Show Title: Wolf Hall Adapted from: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel After 20 years of marriage without a mail heir, King Henry VIII of England decides to divorce Anne Boleyn. However, when the Pope rejects this decision, Thomas Cromwell steps in to help the king. Show Title: Olive Kitteridge Adapted from: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout The sweet, funny, tragic story of the denizens of a seemingly placid New England town are seen through the eyes of a middle-school math teacher in this four-part miniseries based on Elizabeth Strouts Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Must Watch Movies Movie Title: Alita: Battle Angel Adapted from: Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro Alita, a female cyborg, is revised by cyber-medic expert Daisuke Ido when he finds her in the local dump. Alita is skilled in legendary martial art Panzer Kunst and becomes a mercenary hunter-warrior. Movie Title: Red Sparrow Adapted from: Red Sparrow by former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative Jason Matthews A Russian intelligence officer is drafted to become a Sparrow, a trained seductress. Her first assignment is a young, undercover CIA officer. They collide in a charged atmosphere of espionage, but their mutual attraction will threaten their careers and the life of Americas most valuable Russian mole. Movie Title: The Imitation Game Adapted from: The biography Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges In 1939, during World War II, newly created British intelligence agency MI6 recruits Cambridge mathematics alumnus Alan Turing, to crack Nazi codes, including Enigma; which cryptanalysts has thought unbreakable. Turings team, including Joan Clarke, analyze Enigma messages while he builds a machine to decipher them. Turing and team finally succeed and become heroes, but in 1952, the quiet genius encounters disgrace when authorities reveal he is gay and send him to prison. Movie Title: The Martian Adapted from: The Martian by Andy Weir Mark Watney is presumed dead during a planetary storm and is left behind on planet Mars. NASA discovers that he is not only alive but has also managed to sustain himself. A rescue mission is planned before he runs out of supplies and oxygen. Movie Title: Shawshank Redemption Adapted from: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, a Stephen Kingnovella published in a short story collection called Different Seasons A drama of hope, friendship and atonement behind the walls of a maximum security prison in The Shawshank Redemption. Catch all these titles, Now Streaming on Hotstar Premium "Mazda extends its winning record in the Canadian Car of the Year awards by claiming the trophy for Best Small Car in Canada for 2020," said Stephanie Wallcraft, President of AJAC. "AJAC members represent the largest collective of automotive journalist expertise in the country, and their rigorous testing takes place on the roads and weather conditions found from coast to coast. For the Mazda3 to emerge as a winner after our members' months of objective assessment is a true achievement." The Mazda3 is no stranger to AJAC awards, having won its segment award in five previous years, the most recent one being in 2018. Other finalists this year in the Small Car category were the Kia Forte/Forte5, and the Kia Soul. Mazda also had finalists in the Mid-Size Utility Vehicle category (CX-5), and the Large Utility Vehicle category (CX-9), both of which had won their respective categories two years running. The all-new Mazda3 was completely redesigned for 2019, introducing a fourth generation of the award-winning compact car to the Canadian market exactly one year ago at the Montreal International Auto Show. The 2019 Mazda3 was the first of Mazda's new generation of products, followed by the first-ever CX-30 which is seeing its Canadian introduction at the auto show today. With a mature new interpretation of Kodo Design, Skyactiv-Vehicle Architecture based on human-centric development, and the latest Skyactiv engines which allow intuitive control of vehicle speed in any situation, the new Mazda3 brings a new level of refinement and premium content to Mazda's best-selling compact car. Launching to critical acclaim from media and consumers across the country, the Mazda3 also won a number of other awards throughout the year on its way to this, the lead-up to the 2020 Canadian Car of the Year awards. With a starting MSRP of $18,000 and available i-Activ all-wheel drive for the first time in the history of the Mazda3, there are even more reasons than ever for Canadians to love the re-imagined compact car. Mazda's evolved i-Activ AWD newly adds "four-wheel vertical load" detection and works in harmony with G-Vectoring Control Plus (GVC Plus) to control torque distribution between the front and rear wheels. As a result, it is fully capable of responding faithfully to the driver's intentions, regardless of the driving scene. It also reduces overall mechanical loss by approximately 60% over the previous model and contributes to improved fuel economy. When equipped with AWD, the Skyactiv-G 2.5L also includes Cylinder Deactivation. "I'm very proud that the members of AJAC have recognized the significant efforts put in by our designers and engineers, who work tirelessly to ensure that all of our products, including the new Mazda3, are designed with a focus on human sensibilities, alluring design, and driving dynamics that Mazda is known for", said David Klan, President, Mazda Canada. "The addition of all-wheel drive to the Mazda3 shows that we are always listening to our consumers to make sure that we are offering them exactly what their unique Canadian environment requires." The AJAC Canadian Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards program offers some of the most coveted automotive awards available on the Canadian automotive landscape and represents the collective voice of Canada's top automotive experts. Vehicles are judged on a large variety of objective and subjective qualities, meaning there is no single factor that determines a win. Instead, the vehicle must represent an overall package of quality, value, comfort, fuel economy, and many other factors that are critical to the Canadian consumer. About Mazda Canada Inc. Mazda Canada Inc. is responsible for the sales and marketing, customer service and parts support of Mazda vehicles in Canada. Headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Mazda Canada has a nationwide network of 164 dealerships. For additional information visit Mazda Canada's media website at www.media.mazda.ca. SOURCE Mazda Canada Inc. For further information: Chuck Reimer, Mazda Canada Inc., 905-787-7079; Sandra Lemaitre, Mazda Canada Inc., 905-787-7167 Related Links http://www.mazda.ca New Delhi, Jan 17 : After the Narendra Modi government cold-shouldered Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, India Inc rolled out the red carpet for him in the country's financial capital. Bezos, who was in India for a high-profile visit, did not get time from top government functionaries. On top of that, there were stinging comments from a Union Minister telling Amazon that they were not doing a favour by investing a billion dollars in India. On the other hand, the who's who of India Inc is seen in the picture with Bezos taken at the staircase of The Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai which leads to the fabled ballroom on the left hand side. There is a parallel narrative going on Bezos who owns the Washington Post getting slammed by BJP functionaries for its editorial policy which they claim paints India in poor light. There are indications that the Washington Post editorial stance cost Bezos the meetings with Indian government honchos. Eli Lopez, Senior Editor, Global Opinions at the Washington Post and Vijay Chauthaiwale, In-Charge, Foreign Affairs Dept, Bharatiya Janata Party are engaged in a spat on Twitter. "Mr @JeffBezos , please tell this to your employees in Washington DC. Otherwise your charm offensive is likely to be waste of time and money," Chauthaiwale wrote. To which, Lopez responded that Bezos is not telling Washington Post what to write. "Just to clarify: Jeff Bezos doesn't tell Washington Post journalists what to write. Independent journalism is not about charming governments. But there's no question the work of our correspondents and columnists fits within India's democratic traditions." "@elopezgross, read my tweet carefully. I never said Bezos should tell WaPo what to write. I just requested him to tell his employees same things what he talked about India in Delhi. Isn't it reasonable?", the BJP functionary added. "Btw , isn't it true that your desk editor has edited/deleted all anti-Pak references from an invited column by a prominent Indian columnist, so much that he withdrew the article from WaPo and published it somewhere else?" he retorted indicating a slant. Lopez replied: "That's not true. We have published many articles critical of Pakistan. But some writers don't like to be edited. They expect publications to post what they write untouched, unchallenged. If a writer doesn't want to go through our rigorous process, they're welcome to go elsewhere." "Don't give sermons. I am asking specific case of prominent Indian columnist. Either confirm or deny. Btw, your silence will be construed as confirmation," the BJP functionary continued. "I see you have no problem telling this Washington, DC, employee what to do or how what I write should be interpreted. You don't need any help," Lopez added. "Means you are accepting that WaPo has indeed done it. I rest my case," Chauthaiwale said. On the final day of his three-day trip to India, Bezos and Amazon held a roundtable with business leaders. The business leaders who attended the meeting were a mix of business partners, FMCG companies, bankers and others. The list for people invited for the interaction included Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani, Adi Godrej, Sunil Mittal of Bharti Airtel, Infosys' former CEO N.R. Narayan Murthy. Narayan Murthy is a business partner with Amazon as his Catamaran has a stake in Cloudtail, the largest seller on Amazon. The others included Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, Kishore Biyani of Future Retail, which has recently done a tie-up with Amazon. BS Nagesh of Shopper's Stop was also present with Amazon having recently acquired 5 per cent stake in it. The FMCG biggies were present in full strength with Amazon being aggressive on the grocery and staples space. Sanjiv Mehta of Unilever, Suresh Narayan of Nestle, and Madhusudan Gopalan of Procter and Gamble were there. Also, present were the bankers and financial services CEOs - Rajnish Kumar of SBI, Surendra Rosha of HSBC, Kaku Nakhate of Bank of America and Sanjiv Bajaj of Bajaj Finance. No executive from Tata or Birla, however, attended the meeting. The mobile phone partners were also in full strength with William Kim of Samsung, Pete Lau of One Plus, and Manu Jain of Xiaomi. Also present were Bhavish Agarwal of Ola, Ajay Bahl of AZB, Sumeet Narang of Samara Capital. Senior Reliance group honcho Manoj Modi was also present at the Amazon round table. India attracted tech investments worth USD 9.36 billion last year, a 95 per cent increase compared with the previous year, according to the data compiled by a global database company. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Pixabay. The data collated by Dealroom.co and revealed in London this week shows that the Indian investment figures coincided with record investment numbers registered by the UK in 2019, at USD 13.2 billion, behind the US (USD 116 bn) and China (USD 33.5 bn). Both India and the UK witnessed a record year in terms of investments into their respective technology sectors in 2019. India attracted tech investments worth USD 9.36 billion last year, which marks a 95 per cent hike on the previous year, it said. "The positive tech investment figures for India and the UK demonstrate that we are both top destinations for global investors," said Hemin Bharucha, Chief India Representative for London & Partners -- the mayor of London's official promotional agency. "Cities such as London, Mumbai and Bengaluru are increasingly creating game changing companies to compete on the global stage and we see lots of opportunities to collaborate with India, especially in areas such as smart cities and fintech. It's also great to see that investment from Asia into the UK increased significantly in 2019, offering further proof of the strength of London and the UK's tech growth," he said. According to the research prepared for London & Partners and Tech Nation by Dealroom.co, London maintains a strong tech lead with the UK capital's tech companies attracting USD 9.7 billion in funding last year -- more than any other European city. Major funding rounds for London companies in 2019 included USD 440 million in funding for London-headquartered fintech company OakNorth, headed by Indian-origin entrepreneur Rishi Khosla. "London's tech sector is a global success story and one that I continue to champion, particularly as it reflects our city's diversity and entrepreneurial spirit," said London Mayor Sadiq Khan. "Our city is the undisputed tech capital of Europe and the record USD 9.7 billion of investment in this sector clearly shows London open to talent and investment from all over the world. London's successful digital economy is not only an important source of jobs for Londoners but is also bringing prosperity and growth to the rest of the UK," he said. Despite the Brexit vote and the UK's scheduled departure from the European Union (EU) at the end of January, investment from Asia into the UK was higher than any other European country, with the likes of Germany and France lagging behind, the research reveals. The city of London also remains the top place in Europe for creating high growth tech businesses, with the research highlighting that the UK capital has created 46 unicorn companies. A man has been charged with attempted murder (PA) A 27-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder in Belfast, police said. It follows a stabbing incident in a house in the Fortwilliam Parade area of the city in the early hours of Thursday. A man was taken to hospital after sustaining stab wounds in the incident. The 27-year-old is due to appear in Belfast Magistrates' Court on Friday. L awyers have finished selecting the 12 jurors who will decide the fate of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Prosecutors also renewed an accusation that the defence had unfairly tried to block white women from serving on the jury. About 700 candidates - including model Gigi Hadid - were screened over the course of two weeks. The jury, comprised of six white men, three black women, one black man and two white women, is set to hear opening arguments next week. Weinstein, the 67-year-old Hollywood producer, has pleaded not guilty to assaulting two women. He faces life in prison if convicted. More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct / AP Since 2017 more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades. He denies the allegations, saying any sexual encounters were consensual. The accusations against him helped fuel the #MeToo movement, in which women have publicly accused powerful men in several industries of sexual abuse. Lawyers seated two white female jurors after Weinstein's defence team had exhausted their opportunity to eliminate potential jurors who did not exhibit explicit bias against the defendant or otherwise seem unfit to serve. Three legal experts said the defence appeared to assume white women would be more likely to sympathise with Weinstein's accusers. Weinstein is charged with assaulting two women, Mimi Haleyi, who is white, and an anonymous accuser whose race is unknown. At least one other white female accuser, US actress Annabella Sciorra, is expected to testify. Weinstein faces life in prison if convicted / AP "It looks like their thought process is that a white woman would have more of an affinity to the victims," said Michael Bachner, a defence lawyer who is not involved in the case. As potential jurors were eliminated on Thursday and Friday, prosecutor Joan Illuzzi accused Weinstein's lawyers of systematically striking "every white female" from the pool. "They are systematically eliminating a class of people from this jury," Illuzzi said on Friday. Weinstein's lawyers cited specific reasons for excluding each white woman. One had a father and brother in the FBI, and would be biased because she was "surrounded by law enforcement," said defence lawyer Arthur Aidala. One was a model, like some of Weinstein's 80 accusers. Another had a photo of a women's march posted prominently on her Facebook profile, and a "social media influencer" daughter, the defence said. Justice James Burke allowed the challenges without giving a reason. "We are here to try to pick a fair jury" claims Weinstein's defence / REUTERS "We are here to try to pick a fair jury," Donna Rotunno, Weinstein's lead attorney, said on Thursday. "This is not some conspiracy against the state." Lawyers can excuse an unlimited number of potential jurors if they show explicit bias for or against Weinstein. Beyond that, both sides can use "peremptory" challenges to reject jurors they believe will be unsympathetic, without providing a reason. Lawyers typically get three peremptory challenges, but in this case each side was given 20. Weinstein's lawyers used roughly half of their peremptory challenges to excuse prospective white female jurors who had not otherwise been excused for bias or rejected by prosecutors. It is illegal to use peremptory challenges to eliminate potential jurors on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or religion. Jill Taylor, who works for a trial consulting firm, said the defense's reasons for dismissing the white women appeared to be legitimate. It was only a few years ago that Shaho Shahbazpanahi remembers moving his friend Razgar Rahimi and his young family into their home. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Bodies of the victims of a Ukrainian plane crash are collected by rescue team at the scene of the crash in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. Canada's national police force is taking part in the massive effort to identify dozens of Canadians killed in last week's plane crash in Iran. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Ebrahim Noroozi It was only a few years ago that Shaho Shahbazpanahi remembers moving his friend Razgar Rahimi and his young family into their home. He's now trying to figure out what to do without them, not only in terms of grieving their loss, but how to take care of everything they left behind in Stouffville, north of Toronto. Rahimi, his wife, Farideh Gholami, and their three-year-old son, Jiwan Rahimi "little Razgar" as Shahbazpanahi called him were among the 176 passengers who died when a Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down by the Iranian military near Tehran last week. "I get up each hour during the night and I feel something's missing," Shahbazpanahi said. Friends say the couple, who arrived in Canada six years ago without any other relatives, made lasting relationships and friends became like family. Gholami, a talented jewelry designer, was seven months pregnant with their second son when she died and had already decorated a room for the new baby. "Razgar and Farideh always dreamt of having a big family," said Arin Minasian, another close friend. Shahbazpanahi said he's been in touch with the family's relatives in Iran hoping to find out what they want done with the couple's two vehicles and their belongings inside the rental house. "It is my responsibility," he said. "Its a responsibility of any close friend to help a friend." What will happen to victims' belongings is a concern for the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton, said president Reza Akbari. He said most of the 13 passengers from Edmonton were first-generation immigrants. He doesn't know how many of them had relatives living in Canada. Akbari believes some people who knew the passengers, including international students studying in Canada, may be wondering what to do with their things. His group recently sent out a message to its networks in Farsi asking people to get in touch to help facilitate communication with relatives in Iran or to get legal advice. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday that Ottawa will provide $25,000 to each of the families of the 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents killed. The money is intended to cover funeral arrangements, travel and other immediate needs. It's on top of an earlier commitment to waive fees and speed up visas for those affected by the crash. Trudeau also said the government will set up a national 1-800 line that connect families with a lawyer to provide pro-bono legal advice. Vancouver lawyer Samin Mortazavi said disasters such as the plane crash present challenges for victims' relatives. Mortazavi, who deals with estates as part of his family law and immigration practice, said relatives of someone with assets in both Iran and Canada could find themselves dealing with Canadian and Iranian law. Travel could also be an obstacle. "Imagine theres a passenger, Ms. Jones, who is an Iranian-Canadian living in Vancouver for the past 30 years. Now Ms. Jones has no relative or next of kin or a friend that she named as an executor in Vancouver, but she has a sister in Iran and that sister wants to apply to be her executor," Mortazavi said. "It would be very difficult for that sister to travel to Canada in order to apply through our B.C. Supreme Court to become appointed as the executor." Canada's lack of a diplomatic relationship with Iran makes it tough for an Iranian to acquire a temporary resident visa, he added. The federal government says it has established a dedicated email and phone line to help victims' families who urgently need visas to travel to Canada. Mortazavi said a death certificate is also necessary to handle a person's affairs and relatives could be waiting for Iranian officials to issue one. Sending money back to Iran also can be difficult because of sanctions. Settling a victim's affairs could take up to a year, he said. Shahbazpanahi said he's talking to the couple's landlord and has done things such as cancel their internet. At this point, he doesn't know what's going to happen to everything inside the home. He's unsure if the couple had a will or if their relatives, now dealing with funerals, can travel to Canada to sort things out. Shahbazpanahi anticipates that one day he will have to go inside his friend's house to help pack things away. "Thats going to be my worst day ever." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2020 President Donald Trump criticized the city of Flints use of emergency state funding allocated to address its devastating drinking water crisis. Trump retweeted a story by The Daily Caller, a conservative news organization co-founded by Fox News host Tucker Carlson, that examines how nearly $390 million was spent since Republican Gov. Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency in 2016. Regular state audits of the funds, dedicated to ongoing health and safety issues caused by elevated levels of lead in Flints drinking water, found the money has been used properly, though Trump appeared to indicate the state funds were misused in his Jan. 16 tweet. This is a total disgrace, but just another reason that Im going to win Michigan again! https://t.co/XrqveOvYcG Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2020 The Daily Caller headline focused on a federally-funded program that gives people exposed to contaminated Flint water $25 for enrolling in a registry connecting them to services and programs. Trump tweeted this is a total disgrace." Kurt Weiss, a spokesperson for the State Budget Office, said the Snyder administration sought to improve conditions in Flint as a whole in addition to preventing lead from leaching into the citys water system. Obviously, the water crisis had an impact on the citys ability to attract business, it hurt their economy, Weiss said. There were other fallout effects other than just the water crisis itself and the health crisis that it created. So they took a broad look at how do we help fund it. Funds were allocated to support economic development, nutritional initiatives and early childhood education programs in addition to reconnecting Flints water supply to the Detroit Water and Sewer Department and replacing service lines. A state breakdown of the spending reported $145 million was spent on projects to provide state drinking water, while $110 million was spent to support food and nutrition, social development and physical well-being in Flint. An additional $66 million was spent on economic development programs. The most recent Michigan Auditor General report, released in January, found the funds had been used appropriately based on the 2016 emergency declaration. Weiss said its not clear whether the state Legislature will adjust funding in the future. You could certainly argue over whether or not the Snyder plan, and where that money went in working with the Legislature, was the right plan or not. Thats a fair argument to have, Weiss said. But I do think it is a little bit unfair, (or) disingenuous, to say that the money didnt go to Flint. Maybe you wanted all of it to go just to fixing the water, maybe you can disagree with the funding and where it went, but it is being used to help the city. Trump said the states handling of the Flint water crisis would is another reason Im going to win Michigan again. The presidents re-election campaign considers the Great Lakes state a top target after Trump flipped it in 2016, becoming the first Republican to turn Michigan red in nearly three decades. Trump did not win the city of Flint or the surrounding Genesee County, both traditionally Democratic-leaning areas, in 2016. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton earned nearly six-times as many votes as Trump in Flint, though she lost the state overall. Trump visited Flint twice during the 2016 election, before and after he clinched the GOP nomination. Trump said its a shame whats happening in Flint, Michigan during his first visit and later blamed NAFTA for allowing General Motors jobs to leave the city in financial hardship. It used to be that cars were made in Flint and you couldnt drink the water in Mexico," Trump said. "Now cars are made in Mexico, and you cant drink the water in Flint. Thats terrible. Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Christian Slater said Trump attacked the people of Flint, in a statement, and highlighted the White Houses attempt to roll back drinking water regulations. Michigan working families see through his cheap political attacks and will hold him responsible for his broken promises this November, Slater said in a statement. The EPA unveiled proposed revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule last October that critics said could delay the replacement of pipes leaching lead into municipal water systems, the Associated Press reported. Lead is a highly toxic pollutant that can damage the brain and other major body systems. There is no safe level of lead in drinking water and children are particularly vulnerable to exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Read more about Flint on MLive: State audit shows Flint emergency drinking water funds were spent properly Its been 5 years. Flint still doesnt trust the water State ending bottled water for Flint residents, says water quality is restored Reuters An Israeli court on Thursday ordered closed-door hearings in Amnesty International's legal bid to stop NSO Group exporting surveillance software, which rights groups say is used to spy on journalists and dissidents worldwide. A Tel Aviv District Court judge cited national security concerns when she banned the public and the media from court sessions, drawing quick condemnation from the campaign group. "It's outrageous we have to be gagged," Gil Naveh, an Amnesty spokesman, told reporters. (Also Read: WhatsApp vulnerability allowed Israeli spyware to be injected onto phones: Report) Israel's defence ministry which asked for the court restrictions and NSO declined to comment on Amnesty's lawsuit, which could decide whether the government needs tougher oversight on cyber exports a sector in which Israel is a world leader. Amnesty says governments have used the Israeli company's cellphone hacking software, Pegasus, to crack down on activists across the world. A study by University of Torontos Citizen Lab has linked it to political surveillance in Mexico, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. NSO has said it only sells its technology to state and law enforcement agencies "to help them fight terrorism and serious crime". Judge Rachel Barkai initially had said she would allow Amnesty's arguments to be heard publicly but government lawyers argued it would then look as if the state was admitting to Amnesty's accusations and Barkai changed her mind. (Also read: Pegasus spyware: A complete guide to what it does and how it can be used to infiltrate all aspects of your digital life) NSO came under particular scrutiny when a Saudi dissident close to murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi filed a lawsuit alleging that NSO had helped the royal court to take over his smartphone and spy on his communications with Khashoggi. NSO has denied that its technology was used in Khashoggis murder. In October, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook Inc, sued NSO in the US federal court in San Francisco, accusing it of helping government spies break into the phones of about 1,400 users across four continents. NSO, which was purchased by London-based private equity firm Novalpina Capital last year, announced in September it would begin abiding by UN guidelines on human rights abuses. (Also read: Ex-employee of cyber surveillance company NSO group, charged with cyber crimes) Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has spoken with Iran about the imprisonment of Kylie Moore-Gilbert (Nick Ansell/PA) Australias foreign minister has spoken with her Iranian counterpart about a British-Australian academic imprisoned in Tehran who recently begged for diplomatic intervention to secure her release. Marise Payne spoke to Mohammad Javad Zarif about Cambridge-educated Kylie Moore-Gilberts case on Thursday while attending a conference in India, a spokesman for Ms Paynes office told the PA news agency. This is not a detention that we support, we dont accept the charges, Ms Payne told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Expand Close Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke with his Australian counterpart in India (Manish Swarup/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke with his Australian counterpart in India (Manish Swarup/AP) Dr Moore-Gilbert has been in Tehrans notorious Evin prison for more than a year while reportedly serving a 10-year sentence, writing in a letter recently smuggled out that she had been attending a conference in the country when an interview subject flagged me as suspicious to the Revolutionary Guards. She also wrote: I beg of you, Prime Minister (Scott) Morrison, to take immediate action, as my physical and mental health continues to deteriorate with every additional day that I remain imprisoned in these conditions. The academic is held in the same prison as Britons Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori. Meanwhile, the UKs ambassador to Iran has returned to London for talks after being labelled persona non grata by Irans judiciary, with an effigy of the envoy burned in Tehran by hardline protesters. Expand Close Pro-government protesters set fire to a life-size cut-out of Britains ambassador Rob Macaire (Vahid Salemi/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pro-government protesters set fire to a life-size cut-out of Britains ambassador Rob Macaire (Vahid Salemi/AP) The Foreign Office sought to play down the significance of his trip to the UK, with sources insisting it was a planned visit for talks and he would return to Tehran. The ambassador was arrested and briefly detained on Saturday after attending a vigil for the 176 people, including four Britons, killed when Iran accidentally downed a Ukrainian jet. Whitehall sources insisted his visit was routine and he would use it as an opportunity to brief officials and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. The Foreign Office said it was very much business as usual and the envoy would be returning to Iran in the coming days. The latest developments come after the UK, France and Germany began action against Iran over its failure to comply with the terms of its nuclear deal. Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested that Donald Trump could produce an alternative nuclear deal after the current accord was undermined by the US withdrawal from it. The US president responded on Twitter, saying he agreed that a Trump deal was the way forward although so far Washington has yet to produce any alternative to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement. Florida Supreme Court Says Convicted Felons Must Pay Fines, Fees Before Regaining Right to Vote The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that convicted felons must pay off fines and other fees related to their sentences before they regain the right to vote. The court issued an advisory opinion (pdf) on Thursday ruling that the phrase, all terms of sentence, under the Florida Constitution encompasses all obligations ordered by a sentencing court including financial ones such as fines, restitution, costs, and fees. The court released the opinion after Governor Ron DeSantis (R) requested the judges clarify all terms of sentence, which had come under dispute between DeSantis and voting rights advocacy groups after the governor signed Senate Bill 7066 last year mandating that all formerly incarcerated pay off restitution, court fees, and fines before their voting rights are restored (pdf). DeSantis and the state government argued that the phrase includes all terms of the sentence, including financial obligations ordered by the sentencing judge. Meanwhile, some advocacy groups argued that the phrase only includes periods of imprisonment and supervised release, while others say it includes some financial penalties but not others. In November 2018, Florida passed an amendment, commonly referred to as Amendment 4, to the states constitution that allows ex-convicts to vote upon completion of all terms of sentence including parole or probation, but excludes those who were convicted of murder or felony sexual offense. Before the amendment, all former convicted felons were permanently disenfranchised without a grant of executive clemency. After DeSantis signed SB 7066, several civil rights groups represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and 10 Florida residents sued the governor in the federal court in an attempt to stop the new law (pdf). They argued that the law denies people with felony convictions the right to vote and penalizes them based on their inability to pay off fees and fines. Some of those plaintiffs filed briefs and presented oral argument to the court. Some argued that costs and fines do not bear the hallmark of a sentence, meanwhile, others argued that Amendment 4 only includes financial obligation set out in the states criminal procedure rules. The states top court rejected most of the groups reasoning, saying that their attempts to isolate and parse the word sentence to carve out certain fines and fees improperly interprets the word in a technical sense rather than using a plain, common sense meaning. Amendment 4 uses the word sentence in its plain, common sense. And it does so in the context of the broad phrase all terms of sentence.' the judges wrote. Absent any suggestion in the context of Amendment 4 that the word sentence carries a technical meaning restricting its scope, there is no basis to conclude that all terms of sentence excludes any [fines and fees] ordered by the sentencing judge. The ACLU said in a statement that the Florida Supreme Courts opinion will not impact their federal litigation, saying that the state court was not asked to and did not determine when all terms of sentence are complete,' adding that it was an issue under consideration in the federal case. The courts ruling also continues to leave plenty of room for the Florida Legislature to correct SB7066 and allow people who are unable to pay their obligations to vote, the group said. Meanwhile, DeSantis welcomed the top courts opinion, saying that he was pleased that @FLCourts confirms that Amendment 4 requires fines, fees & restitution be paid to victims before [criminals] voting rights may be restored. Voting is a privilege that should not be taken lightly, and I am obligated to faithfully implement Amendment 4 as it is defined, he added. Here, we will look at Maryam Rajavis speech, focusing on why velvet revolutions in Iran a myth are and why the international community must end its silence and inaction on the regimes crimes. Maryam Rajavi said that the November uprising dispelled certain myths and illusions about the regime, highlighting that the regime is unstable and has no future. She said: This uprising proved that the idea of velvet revolutions in Iran is nothing but an illusion. No one in Iran has pinned any hope on change from within the regime. The only solution is the overthrow of the regime in its entirety, and this will definitely happen. This is exactly why the world should end its silence and inaction on the Iranian regime. There is no hope for reform from the regime who would commit such horrific crimes against their own people, who were merely protesting peacefully for democracy. Maryam Rajavi said: Governments and international bodies must call for an immediate end to the killings and arrests. [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei, who openly ordered the crackdown, Hassan Rouhani, who repeatedly declared support for the suppressive operations, Ali Shamkhani, secretary for the Supreme Security Council, and Hossein Salami, the IRGCs commander, have committed crimes against humanity. The UN Security Council must declare them perpetrators of crimes against humanity and they must face justice. She also urged the United Nations to dispatch fact-finding missions to Iran immediately in order to investigate what exactly happened to those killed, wounded and imprisoned during the protests. Maryam Rajavi said: The world must support the legitimacy of the resistance waged by Irans rebellious youths against the ruthless Revolutionary Guards. It must recognize the struggle of the people of Iran to overthrow this regime. This is the same right stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the French Revolution, and in Americas Declaration of Independence. The people of Iran, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have risen up and taken recourse as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression. This right must be recognized. It seems clear that the regime is about to fall, toppled by the Iranian people as the oppressed throughout history have toppled dictatorships. The world does not need to send arms or money; they need only not stand in the way of justice, freedom, and democracy. This means to stop the appeasement of the mullahs and to enforce stringent sanctions against them. This will deprive the regime of their means to hurt the Iranian people. In our next piece, we will look at how this is a learning experience for the young people of Iran and why solidarity is needed to continue the uprisings. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Apex-Brasil, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, has announced it will bring 10 of Brazil's most innovative food and beverage companies to the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco from January 19-21.The Winter Fancy Food Show is the second largest specialty food fair in the United States, hosting more than 1,400 influential food vendors from around the world. The Brazilian companies in attendance will showcase not only some of the country's most unique food offerings and dishes, but also help raise awareness of Brazil as a global leader in food production and exports. As the second largest exporter of agricultural products globally, Brazil has become a natural hub for innovation in the food and beverage market. Brazil is currently responsible for 10 percent of the world's agricultural exports, and is a major global supplier of soy, coffee, orange juice, and sugar. Further, with adequate climatic conditions, abundant water resources and high potential of cultivable land, Brazil has ideal environments for farming an extraordinarily wide variety of raw materials and tropical fruit. "Brazil has a very unique, highly relevant culinary culture and we're thrilled and proud to share that culture with attendees of this year's Winter Fancy Food Show," said Sergio Segovia, president of Apex-Brasil. "This event is aimed at shaping the future of food, which makes it an ideal platform to demonstrate Brazil's leadership in culinary innovation. By allowing attendees to experience Brazil's food offerings firsthand, we will continue to underscore our country's increasingly critical global role in food production and, ultimately, food security for generations to come." This year's Winter Fancy Food Show, scheduled to take place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, will feature over 80,000 specialty foods and beverages, including thousands of new products from vendors around the world. Respected and acknowledged as a premier industry networking event, the Winter Fancy Food Show offers Brazilian companies and other global attendees the opportunity to connect with an American audience of consumers, buyers, and suppliers. Brazilian companies have participated in the Winter Fancy Food Show since 2011. Brazilian companies appearing at Winter Fancy Food this year will display a variety of high-quality specialty foods produced in and exported by Brazil, ranging from tropical fruits and nuts, to pasta and alcoholic beverages. Many of the foods highlighted at the event such as acai berry products and Stevia-based sweeteners are native to Brazil. Each of the 10 Brazilian companies onsite at the Winter Fancy Food Show will be offering free food samples to attendees. To see a full list of Brazilian companies Apex-Brasil is sponsoring for the Winter Fancy Food Show, please click here. About Apex-Brasil The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad, and to attract foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. Apex-Brasil organizes several initiatives aiming to promote Brazilian exports abroad. The Agencys efforts comprise trade and prospective missions, business rounds, support for the participation of Brazilian companies in major international trade fairs, arrangement of technical visits of foreign buyers and opinion makers to learn about the Brazilian productive structure, and other select activities designed to strengthen the country's branding abroad. Apex-Brasil also plays a leading role in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Brazil, by working to identify business opportunities, promoting strategic events and lending support to foreign investors willing to allocate resources in Brazil. Media Contacts Lilian Leao Alves Apex-Brasil [email protected] +55 (61) 9 8462 0525 YeaJin Lee Ruder Finn PR on behalf of Apex-Brasil in the U.S. [email protected] +1 931 237 1531 SOURCE Apex-Brasil Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 President Joko Jokowi Widodo called for reform of the countrys financial services industry as the government moves to salvage ailing state-owned insurer Asuransi Jiwasraya. The nonbanking financial services industry that consists of insurance and pension funds [among other services] needs reform, improvements in terms of regulations, supervision, as well as capital, he said in his remarks at the financial services industry annual meeting in Jakarta on Thursday. The reforms, he went on to say, were needed to encourage prudence and transparency in the industry and for it to adopt a proper risk management system to maintain the publics trust. 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 Developer Michael O'Flynn has disagreed in the High Court that Patrick Cox functioned outside the O'Flynn group structure when Cox started working as a investment manager in 2010. Mr O'Flynn said Nama, which had taken over the group's 1.8 billion in loans, had in 2010 rejected his 2,500 page business plan for paying off the debt. That same year, a new, separate company called Victoria Hall Management Ltd (VHML) was set up to do business in England. He said John Nesbitt, his long time business friend, director and minority shareholder in the group, became the sole shareholder in VHML after the Nama rejection. He said there was nothing stopping Mr O'Flynn himself getting involved in a separate business from those in Nama. However, he said it was left to Mr Nesbitt because there was a stigma in the UK for people who were in Nama and this complicated their ability to deal with investors. As a result, Mr Nesbitt and him had an understanding that Mr Nesbitt would exit the Irish operation, and while initially VHML would be beneficially owned by Mr Nesbitt, in due course O'Flynn would take up a share in VHML. He was being cross-examined in the continuing case by VHML and five other O'Flynn companies against former employees, Patrick Cox jun, a son of former MEP Pat Cox, Liam Foley, Eoghan Kearney and four companies. It is claimed the defendants made more than 12.5 million in profit on a student accommodation project on Gardiner Street, Dublin, at O'Flynn group's expense including by using nearly 37,000 documents copied by Mr Cox before he left his employment. The defendants deny the claims. He disagreed with Paul Gardiner SC, for the defendants, that as Mr Cox was working for VHML in England, he was "specifically working outside the O'Flynn group structure". Mr O'Flynn said while VHML was a separate structure, Mr Cox "would have been working for a company associated with other companies in the group." He took exception to what he said were Mr Gardiner's repeated suggestion there was something wrong with setting up the separate VHML structure. As someone with no personal debts, he was quite entitled to do what he did in relation to VHML and there "was absolutely nothing wrong with it." He disagreed with counsel that this change of shareholding in VHML was all done after Nama "had torpedoed your business." He said he would need to check dates given by counsel but said "I don't accept Nama torpedoed my business." Earlier, he said when the loans of the O'Flynn group, whose parent company is Coldbridge, were transferred to Nama, Mr O'Flynn a central component of his business plan was development proposals. However, Nama was only prepared to sanction funds for finishing off projects in Ireland but not to fund the "putting of a spade in the ground" for new construction, including in the UK. Mr O'Flynn was upset when at a meeting with John Mulcahy of Nama in April 2010, his business plan was completely rejected. It was the equivalent of "quasi-liquidation" to be told to dispose of an asset which could generate money, he said. The Nama rejection to him meant the group had no hope of repaying its debts, he said. In his witness statement he said he "could not allow the Nama decision destroy our business" and he said "I stand over that paragraph." The case resumes next week before Mr Justice Michael Quinn. The Union Home Ministry has convened a meeting on Friday to discuss the modalities for the 2020 Census and the National Population Register (NPR), officials said New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry has convened a meeting on Friday to discuss the modalities for the 2020 Census and the National Population Register (NPR), officials said. Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai will chair the meeting which will be attended by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Chief Secretary and Census Directors of all states. The meeting will discuss the modalities for the house listing phase of the census and NPR, to be carried out from 1 April to 30 September, a home ministry official said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already announced that her state will not take part in the meeting. The government of Ghana through the Finance Ministry has set up a FX Development Committee, to investigate the fall of the local currency. Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in The committee is also expected to propose solutions to the free fall of the Ghana Cedi after the investigations. The committee which is chaired by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has membership drawn from the Office of the Vice President, Bank of Ghana, Agriculture Ministry, Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Association of Ghana Industries, some universal banks among other key stakeholders. READ ALSO: Embattled defunct Beige Bank CEO Mike Nyinaku hospitalised Addressing the press at the inauguration of the committee on Friday, January 17, 2020, a deputy Finance Minister, Charles Adu Boahen, said the committee is not taking over the work of the Bank of Ghana far as the management of the cedi is concerned. He opined that the formation of this committee is not to infringe on the independence of the central bank in its foreign exchange operations. He stated that, the work of the committee is to complement the efforts of the central bank in curtailing the usual poor performance of the cedi against its foreign counterparts. The committee is also to critically look at the role of automation and digitization as a critical enabler of FX reforms, he stated. In 2019, Ghanas Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta indicated that the government was going to establish a bi-partisan committee to investigate. READ ALSO: Election 2020: No appointee of mine will be allowed to buy state vehicles - Mahama The Cedi depreciated by more than 12.7% in 2019, the worst since 2015 (when the cedi depreciated by 14.6%). Meanwhile, a Ghanaian Professor based in the US, Kwaku Asare, has described the government decision to set up a committee to investigate the depreciation of the local currency as unbelievable. ATTENTION: Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Ghanas telecommunications giant MTN has been hit with a massive network challenge which has resulted in subscribers being unable to access the internet and make international calls. The problem which started on Thursday, January 16, 2020, saw many Ghanaians complaining on social media. While some complained of not being able to purchase data using MTN Mobile Money, others said their MTN internet can only access YouTube and WhatsApp. Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh Qassem Soleimani was often described as a shadowy figure; an elusive commander who criss-crossed the Middle East in secret on his mission to sustain a regional military alliance loyal to Iran. But in the days after he was killed by a US drone strike this month, his face was suddenly everywhere. Posters and billboards mourning his death appeared in Baghdad, Damascus, Sanaa and Beirut places where Soleimani had spent years cultivating proxies and militias. In the southern suburbs of Lebanons capital, known for its strong support of Hezbollah one of Irans strongest allies giant images of the Iranian generals face now loom large. Some two weeks after his death, anger over Soleimanis killing is still palpable among Hezbollah supporters here. And despite Washingtons hope that the conflagration has been contained, many believe that it has only just begun. He was putting limits on American influence in the region and it was working for him, says Umm Kassem Tarheene, who owns a mini-market in Dahiya, south Beirut. Thats why they killed him. Americans pretend to be peaceful and democratic, but they make wars and kill us like it is nothing. I think they treat animals better than us. It was for people like Soleimani to stand up against that, she says. US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Show all 35 1 /35 US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures This photo released by the Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office shows a burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, early Friday 3 January AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures The wreckage of the car in which general Soleimani was travelling when a targeted US airstrike struck outside Baghdad International Airport on 3 January Ahmad Al Mukhtar via Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Demonstrators burn the US and British flags during a protest in Tehran after general Soleimani was killed in a targeted airstrike by American forces Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike. The Pentagon said Thursday that the US military has killed general Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, at the direction of Donald Trump AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters burn Israeli and US flags as thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of general Soleimani at the hands of America EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of Donald Trump pray at an 'Evangelicals for Trump' campaign event held on the day following the killing of general Soleimani. At the event, the president praised the "flawless strike that eliminated the terrorist ringleader" AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A huge procession of mourners gather in Baghdad for the funeral of general Soleimani on 4 January AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of Soleimani during an anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iraqis perform a mourning prayer for slain major general Qasem Soleimani of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the Great Mosque of Kufa AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A billboard reading 'Death to America and Israel', installed by Iran-backed shiite armed groups at a street in Jadriyah district in Baghdad, Iraq EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him visiting the family of Soleiman KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Thousands of Iranians take to the streets in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US flag as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Jalal Feiruznia, looks to a portrait of Soleimani, as he receives condolences at the Iranian embassy, in Beirut, Lebanon AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures People make their way on the street while a screen on the wall of a cinema shows a portrait Soleimani in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Aziz Asmar, one of two Syrian painters who completed a mural following the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani poses next to his creation in the rebel-held Syrian town of Dana in the northwestern province of Idlib AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A demonstration in Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures An anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Mujtaba al-Husseini, the representative of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivers a speech in the holy shrine city of Najaf AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US and Israeli flags as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters demonstrate in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Pakistani Shi'ite Muslims hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, in Peshawar, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London PA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Protesters burn a US flag in Tehran AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A Syrian man offers sweets to children to mark the killing AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshippers attend a mourning prayer for Soleimani in Iran's capital Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Kashmiri Shiite Muslims shout anti American and anti Israel slogans during a protest AP US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshipers chant slogans during Friday prayers Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures A protest against the USA, in Islamabad, Pakistan EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranians burn a US flag in Tehran EPA US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran's embassy in Berlin, Germany Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran's embassy in Berlin Reuters US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian worshippers in Tehran AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Vehicles of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol a road in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila near the border with Israel. Following morning's killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called for the missile strike by Israel's closest ally, to be avenged AFP via Getty US airstrike kills Iran's Qassem Soleimani: Fallout in pictures Iranian women take to the streets in Tehran EPA The US, and much of the world, saw Soleimani as a terrorist and a war criminal and with good reason. In Syria, he organised the deployment of thousands of Shia militiamen to bolster the forces of the president, Bashar al-Assad, and helped to orchestrate the devastating sieges that starved large populations of civilians into submission. In Dahiya, however, he was seen as a protector. Soleimani defended the whole region, not just Iran, from extremism, as well as American and Israeli influence, says Zeaiter, a van driver, referring to the generals role in battling Isis in Syria. His assassination will just make us stronger mentally, he adds. As the head of Irans Quds Force, Soleimani was responsible for the Revolutionary Guards foreign operations. His primary mission was to build a resistance axis of Shia proxies that would project Irans regional might and act as a counter to US and Israeli power in the Middle East. Hezbollah, often seen as one of the most successful of these projects, was founded by Revolutionary Guards in the early 1980s with the aim of expelling Israeli forces from Lebanon and establishing an Islamic republic. In the years since, Hezbollah has relied on Iran for support and weaponry, which it claims is necessary as a deterrent against Israeli aggression. Chanting protesters outside the British embassy in Tehran hold up pictures of the general (AP) Over the years, Soleimani formed a particularly close relationship with the Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, and reportedly visited him in Beirut just days before he was killed. In a rare interview in October last year, Soleimani reminisced about overseeing Hezbollahs forces alongside Nasrallah during the 2006 war against Israel, and revealed that he had spent all 34 days of the fighting in Lebanon. Soleimanis role in that conflict, during which much of Dahiya was flattened by Israeli airstrikes, was seen as crucial in holding off a more serious Israeli incursion. After Soleimanis killing, Nasrallah promised to avenge his death by forcing the US military to leave the region, and called on Irans allies to take action. When the coffins of American soldiers and officers begin to be transported to the United States, [Donald] Trump and his administration will realise that they have really lost the region and will lose the elections, Nasrallah said, referring to the 2020 US presidential vote. Irans own retaliation for Soleimani came just days after his death. A barrage of missiles was fired at two US bases in Iraq, although no one was killed. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Irans foreign minister, said afterwards that the strikes concluded Tehrans response, and that Iran was not seeking further escalation or war. But Irans proxies and allies, including Hezbollah, may yet seek their revenge. In Dahiya, the groups supporters expect more to come. Irans strike was just the start, says Zeaiter, the van driver. The only way Irans strike would be the end of the tension was if it caused the American forces to get out of Iraq, because this is what Soleimani wanted. In his speech two days after Soleimanis death, Nasrallah said attacks on US military forces in the region would force them to withdraw humiliated, defeated and in terror ... as they left in the past. Hezbollah was responsible for a suicide bombing that destroyed a US marine headquarters in Beirut in October 1983, killing 241 servicemen, and a suicide bombing the same year the US embassy. US troops withdrew from Lebanon the following year. A billboard portrait of Soleimani in Beiruts suburbs (Aziz Taher/Reuters) (Reuters) A former Hezbollah fighter who declined to give his name says part of the reason for the groups furious reaction is that Soleimanis killing was as much an attack on Iran as it was on its proxy groups. I see the assassination of Soleimani as a strike in the core of what is known to be called the resistance axis, the former fighter, who has since left the group, says. Among Hezbollah supporters he was marketed as an important Shia figure who was going to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation. He was responsible for all the military operations of the Iranian proxies in the Syrian war, and in Iraq. He also took military decisions in Yemen and he had a range of influence on Hezbollah, he adds. Soleimanis importance to Irans regional alliance was no doubt a key reason for his killing. The Trump administration has taken a significantly more aggressive stance towards Hezbollah, imposing heavy sanctions on the group which has squeezed its sources of funding. Taken together with the killing of Hezbollahs patron, the Trump administrations approach has created something of a siege mentality among the groups supporters, and its leadership. I dont like war and I dont want it to happen, says Umm Kassem Tarheene, but if someone attacks you and tries to do harm to your country, you have to punch them out. Love Island's Ollie Williams reportedly tried to sell a buffalo head for 8,000 online - five months before the star denied he is a trophy hunter after quitting the ITV2 reality show. The aristocrat, 23, has caused outrage after images of him posing next to slaughtered animals in Africa emerged with his family being forced to employ security to keep a 24-hour watch on their Cornish home from animal activists. A photo obtained by The Sun shows a now-deleted listing for a Taxidermy Cape Buffalo Shoulder Mount with an asking price of 8,000 and allegedly posted by the star. Backlash: Love Island's Ollie Williams reportedly tried to sell a buffalo head for 8,000 online - five months before the star denied he is a trophy hunter after quitting the ITV2 reality show According to the website Ollie bought the buffalo head - described as used - at an auction for 648.70 and had hoped to make a healthy profit from the sale, putting the item on eBay in August. A source told The Sun: 'Ollie had gone to Holts auctioneers in Norfolk in June and spotted this cape buffalo shoulder mount. 'He thought it would be an investment and hoped he'd be able to sell it and make a profit but nobody ever bought it.' The website also claims the buffalo head was taken down from eBay on Wednesday evening. Shock: The aristocrat, 23, has caused outrage after images of him posing next to slaughtered animals in Africa emerged (above with a dead Cape Buffalo) Claim: A photo obtained by The Sun shows a listing for a Taxidermy Cape Buffalo Shoulder Mount with an asking price of 8,000 allegedly posted by the star Ollie is said to still be selling a glass TV stand for 49, a paleontology textbook for 20 and another book on an introduction to global geophysics for 30. MailOnline has contacted a Love Island spokesman for comment. The Cape Buffalo is one of the dead animals Ollie was seen posing with in photos that sparked a furious viewer backlash and a petition calling for him to be axed. Ollie, who quit Love Island on Tuesday after claiming he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend. denied that he is a big game hunter and called himself a 'passionate conservationist' on Thursday. Alleged: According to the website Ollie bought the buffalo head - described as used - at an auction for 648.70 and had hoped to make a healthy profit from the sale, putting the item on eBay in August The heir to the Lanhydrock Estate, who has received 'vile' threats since leaving the show, has insisted that he is 'passionate about conservation' and that he left the show on his own terms because he's still in love with his ex. Ollie said in a statement: 'Having left the Love Island house I have become aware of the press stories circulating in the UK. I would like to make a number of comments on the various claims and accusations. 'I had no knowledge of the stories until I had left the Love Island villa and all cast members are unaware of any news stories while they are on the programme. My reasons for leaving Love Island are as communicated on the show. 'I did not shoot any of the animals shown in the photographs nor have I ever shot as a trophy hunter. Outrage: Ollie, who quit Love Island on Tuesday after claiming he was still in love with his ex-denied that he is a big game hunter and called himself a 'passionate conservationist' on Thursday (pictured with a dead warthog) 'I did volunteer to take part in the conservation and anti-poaching programme in Mozambique, a part of which involves old or sick animals being culled. I was there as an observer. 'The Cornish Sporting Agency was set up in 2017 and has never traded. I feel very passionately about conservation and will continue to support sustainable conservation causes around the globe. 'These benefit the natural world and the animals which live within it, even if certain elements appear controversial when viewed out of context. As I am no longer in Love Island, I will comment no further on this issue.' It comes after it was revealed that Ollie's family are employing security to keep a 24-hour watch on their home following the fury over his 'trophy hunting photos'. Animal rights activists left threats on an answer machine message on their Lanhydrock estate in Cornwall after images of Ollie emerged posing next to slaughtered animals in Africa. Danger: His family has since been forced to employ security to keep a 24-hour watch on their Cornish home from animal activists (Lanhydrock Estate pictured not their family house) His horrified parents Andrew and Clare Williams have also alerted Devon and Cornwall Police, who are now investigating. A family source confirmed to MailOnline: 'There has been a threat. It was in the form of a message left on an answer machine on the estate. The Police have been informed and are investigating who is behind it.' Mr and Mrs Williams are currently away from their Cornish home, a property on the edge of the sprawling 2000-acre Lanhydrock estate near Bodmin. Local Security firm Coast 2 Coast is keeping a round-the-clock watch on the house - even photographing the registration plates of every visiting car A well-placed source said: 'The guards are not just there to keep the press at bay. Terror: His horrified parents Andrew and Clare Williams have also alerted Devon and Cornwall Police, who are now investigating 'There has been some threats made against Ollie and his family from animal rights activists after images of him on trophy hunts were made public. 'There has been a security presence at the family home today and there will be for the foreseeable future. It is round-the clock and the guards are working in shifts to keep watch. 'Everyone who visits is having their details recorded and the registration plates of their vehicles photographed as a precaution.' Ollie was pictured posing with a dead warthog, water buffalo and a giant eland listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The now deleted snaps were said to have been uploaded on to the Instagram account of Ollie's hunting business, Cornish Sporting Agency. Still in love: Ollie, who quit Love Island on Tuesday after claiming he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend of 18 months, Laura Nofer, also 23, has now denied that he is a big game hunter (pictured together at Royal Ascot in June 2018) The business is listed on Companies House as a 'hunting, trapping and related service activities' and is registered at the Lanhydrock estate, now controlled by the National Trust after being given away by Ollie's great-great uncle in 1953. In one of the photos, Ollie is seen kneeling beside one of the animals with the caption: 'You've gotta love it when you put your binos up and see a bull like this on the other end!' The Cornish Sporting Agency, which was taken offline in November 2018, offered hunting trips to countries like Mozambique and South Africa as well as bird shooting in the South West of England and deer stalking in New Zealand. Sources close to Ollie claim the photos were of him 'culling sick animals' and that it was untrue that he is involved in hunting for sport. Speaking out: It comes after his sister Eloise begged fans to stop sending 'vile' threats and 'hateful' comments after her brother quit the show amid backlash over the photos Instead he has been described as a 'passionate conservationist' who has worked with an anti-poaching unit in Mozambique. However a petition calling for his removal from Love Island due to his links with trophy hunting was signed by 35,000 people and Ofcom said that Ollie was the subject of more than 400 complaints from outraged viewers. ITV refused to make any comment when contacted by MailOnline in light of the threats made against Ollie's family. It comes after his sister Eloise begged fans to stop sending 'vile' threats and 'hateful' comments after her brother quit the show amid backlash over the photos. The Cornish student took to her Instagram stories to ask viewers to stop trolling their family just hours after it was announced her brother, 23, had left the ITV2 dating series. Hitting back: Eloise defiantly took to Instagram stories to defend her family and warn 'keyboard warriors' that she will be sharing their 'vile' comments for the 'world to see' after she was called a 'stupid Tory c**t' Eloise defiantly took to Instagram stories just hours later to defend her family and warn 'keyboard warriors' that she will be sharing their 'vile' comments for the 'world to see' after she was called a 'stupid Tory c**t'. She penned: 'I'm honestly shocked I have to write this but anyone watching that show knows the effects online abuse can have on individuals but not just them, their families too. 'The amount of vile threats/comments I alone have received is not OK. I'm fed up of watching the same people preach about mental health and male suicides rising to then use their accounts to write hateful comments about someone's image. 'Please think about who your words could be affecting next time!!' Upsetting: She penned in a separate post: 'I'm honestly shocked I have to write this but anyone watching that show knows the effects online abuse can have on individuals but not just them, their families too.' Eloise went on to share one of the trolls' messages, which read: 'Lol good cos you're a stupid Tory c**t'.' Issuing a warning, she penned alongside it: 'Right seeing as it hasn't stopped: anyone who sends abuse to me now shall be uploaded for all the world to see, let's see if you continue when you know your friends could see it. '(Apologies for language and any offence to my friends/family) but it's one way to out a keyboard warrior.' Ollie sensationally quit Love Island on Tuesday afternoon just three days after entering the South African villa- claiming he was still in love with ex girlfriend of 18 months, Laura Nofer, 23. Ollie, who was coupled up with fellow Islander Paige Turley, 22, said in a statement that he simply isn't ready for another relationship. A Love Island spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Ollie has made the decision to leave the Love Island villa.' Explaining his reasons for leaving, Ollie said in the Beach Hut on Wednesday's episode: 'I have to be honest with myself, and everyone, that I do still love someone else 'I have to follow my heart in this scenario and it would be wrong for me to ignore these feelings. 'At the end of the day, this is Love Island and it's about finding love. If I carried on anything with Paige [Turley], or any other girl that might come into the villa, it wouldn't be fair on them.' Regrets... he has a few! Ollie has previously spoken about cheating on an ex, but it's not known if this was Laura (pictured) During his time on the show, Ollie told his fellow Islanders he cheated on an ex nine times - although he did not say if this was Laura. Her Instagram account handle is @lauranofer but this has been set to private. A source told The Sun: 'The show made Ollie realise he wasn't ready to be in another serious relationship and he still has really strong feelings for Laura. 'Meeting girls who were so different to him and his background only clarified how he felt about his ex and he felt it was only fair to leave the competition and sort his head out. 'He told producers and acted on his feelings as soon as he made up his mind.' Having only returned to screens on Sunday night, Ollie had received a slew of hate after photographs were unearthed of him posing next to slaughtered animals. This led to nearly 500 complaints over the course of one and a half day after the premiere episode aired on January 12. On Tuesday, Ofcom tallied 467 complaints from disgruntled viewers of the show, calling for Ollie to be removed due to his alleged blood-sport hobby. Ofcom had said: 'We will assess these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.' It's believed the most-complained about Islander in the show's history to date is Maura Higgins, who received 709 complaints to the broadcasting regulator last year due to her behaviour towards co-star Tommy Fury. Fans of the show were left uncomfortable when newcomer Maura repeatedly attempted to kiss Tommy during the broadcast on June 14 2019, despite the hunk repeatedly trying to avoid her advances. In regards to Ollie's inclusion on the show, Love Island bosses had previously told MailOnline that they had 'no intention' of axing the land owner 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 refused to 'bow down to the public on a moral issue' as they didn't believe keeping Ollie on the show would affect viewing figures. An insider had 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.' A source 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.' Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull (right with wife Lucy) has called for Australia to embrace a radical Green New Deal to combat the climate change-fuelled bushfire crisis. He also blamed right-wing elements in the Liberal Party for his downfall Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on Australia to embrace a radical Green New Deal to combat the climate change-fuelled bushfire crisis. The multi-millionaire, who twice led the conservative Liberal Party, has blamed right-wing elements on his own side of politics and Rupert Murdoch's media empire for his downfall. He also echoed the language of 30-year-old, hard-left American congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to tackle the 'climate crisis' - which he linked to Australia's 'unprecedented' bushfire destruction. 'There are no excuses and not much time left. Australia and the world need a Green New Deal now,' Mr Turnbull wrote in a column for the American Time magazine. Last year, Ms Ocasio-Cortez proposed to Congress a radical Green New Deal plan for the US to have 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030. The New Yorker's resolution was defeated in the Senate but it has been embraced by other radical American Democrats, including presidential primaries candidate Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist from Vermont. Scroll down for video He also echoed the language of hard-left American congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (pictured) to tackle the 'climate crisis' - which he linked to Australia's 'unprecedented' bushfire destruction. 'There are no excuses and not much time left. Australia and the world need a Green New Deal now,' Mr Turnbull wrote in a column for the American Time magazine The policy was dismissed as unworkable by other Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who hails from left-leaning San Francisco. Almost 18 months after resigning as prime minister, Mr Turnbull has continued to blame the Liberal Party's right faction for his downfall in August 2018. This was sparked by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton launching two failed leadership challenges in one week, in protest at the Turnbull government's National Energy Guarantee to reduce carbon emissions. 'Climate-change denial has also infected our politics,' Mr Turnbull said. 'I led the coalition twice first as opposition leader from 2008 to 2009 and then as Prime Minister from 2015 to 2018. 'Both times, my efforts to take concerted action on climate change were followed by my losing my job.' Mr Turnbull, a former journalist, also blamed 88-year-old billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch for obstructing policies to tackle global warming. His empire includes the New Corp newspapers in Australia and the American Fox News network. Almost 18 months after resigning as prime minister, Mr Turnbull has continued to blame the Liberal Party's right faction for his downfall in August 2018. The former journalist also blamed 88-year-old billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch for obstructing policies to tackle global warming (pictured are residents of Malua Bay on the NSW South Coast huddling by the beach to escape the bushfires) State Liberal MP Andrew Constance, who almost lost his South Coast house at Malua Bay on New Year's Day, said insufficient hazard reduction burns played a greater role than global warming 'In Australia, as in the U.S., this issue has been hijacked by a toxic, climate-denying alliance of right-wing politics and media (much of it owned by Rupert Murdoch), as well as vested business interests, especially in the coal industry,' Mr Turnbull said. He blamed climate change for Australia's 'unprecedented' summer bushfires which have so far burnt 10million hectares. The former prime minister's suggestion, however, was shot down by New South Wales state Liberal MP Andrew Constance, who like Mr Turnbull is from the moderate side of the party. Mr Constance, who almost lost his South Coast house at Malua Bay on New Year's Day, said insufficient hazard reduction burns played a greater role than global warming. 'Fuel load wasn't put there by climate change,' the NSW government minister told Sky News, owned by News Corp Australia. Late last year, Mr Turnbull (pictured on Christmas Day at the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross) accused his own side of politics of 'threatening our democracy' in an extraordinary speech that also took aim at his Liberal prime ministerial successor Scott Morrison's 'quiet Australians' and US President Donald Trump 'That's the hard, cold reality. It's been decades of mismanagement of land which has added to this.' Late last year, Mr Turnbull accused his own side of politics of 'threatening our democracy' in an extraordinary speech that also took aim at his Liberal prime ministerial successor Scott Morrison's 'quiet Australians' and US President Donald Trump. 'What we are faced with at the moment on the right of politics, so called, is essentially a form of populist authoritarianism, which is utterly intolerant of diversity, is utterly intolerant of alternative views,' he said during a 29-minute speech to a gathering of Liberal moderates in Sydney. 'And it really threatens our democracy. It is important to call it out. 'I mean Donald Trump, who is their hero, is not a conservative. That is not what conservativism is.' I ntense thunderstorms brought relief to parts of Australia scorched by months of catastrophic bushfires. More than a months rain fell in 24 hours in some of the worst-affected states, helping to contain fires that have killed 29 people and more than a billion animals, and left 10 million hectares of scorched earth. In New South Wales, fire officers said that despite the storms there were still 82 fires burning across the state, with more than 30 yet to be contained. A further two to four inches of rain could fall over the next few days, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said. A car is seen traveling through flooded streets in Surry Hills, Sydney / Getty Images However, average rainfall is not expected to return until at least March. The rain has brought flash flooding across the country. At the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, staff rescued koalas and beat crocodiles back with brooms because of rising waters. Tourists are seen looking at The Sydney Harbour Bridge in the rain / Getty Images The downpours have also cleared smoke in Melbourne which has affected the Australian Open. Meanwhile, Matilda Moule, three, and her jack russell Polly were found safe a day after going missing from her familys remote farm in Pilbara, Western Australia, when creeks around her home flooded, police said. Using DNA, smallest silica particles, and carbon nanotubes, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) developed novel programmable materials. These nanocomposites can be tailored to various applications and programmed to degrade quickly and gently. For medical applications, they can create environments in which human stem cells can settle down and develop further. Additionally, they are suited for the setup of biohybrid systems to produce power, for instance. The results are presented in Nature Communications and on the bioRxiv platform. Stem cells are cultivated for fundamental research and development of effective therapies against severe diseases, i.e. to replace damaged tissue, for instance. However, stem cells will only form healthy tissue in an adequate environment. For the formation of three-dimensional tissue structures, materials are needed, which support cell functions by perfect elasticity. New programmable materials suited for use as substrates in biomedical applications have now been developed by the group of Professor Christof M. Niemeyer of the Institute for Biological Interfaces 1 - Biomolecular Micro- and Nanostructures (IBG 1) of KIT, together with colleagues from the Institute of Mechanical Process Engineering and Mechanics, the Zoological Institute, and the Institute of Functional Interfaces of KIT. These materials can be used among others to create environments, in which human stem cells can settle down and further develop. As reported by the researchers in Nature Communications, the new materials consist of DNA, smallest silica particles, and carbon nanotubes. "These composites are produced by a biochemical reaction and their properties can be adjusted by varying the amounts of the individual constituents," Christof M. Niemeyer explains. In addition, the nanocomposites can be programmed for rapid and gentle degradation and release of the cells grown inside, which can then be used for further experiments. New Materials for Biohybrid Systems According to another publication by the IBG 1 team on the bioRxiv bioscience platform, the new nanocomposites can also be used for construction of programmable biohybrid systems. "Use of living microorganisms integrated within electrochemical devices is an expanding field of research," says Professor Johannes Gescher from the Institute for Applied Biosciences (IAB) of KIT, who was involved in this study. "It is possible to produce microbial fuel cells, microbial biosensors, or microbial bioreactors in this way." The biohybrid system constructed by KIT researchers contains the bacterium Shewanella oneidensis. It is exoelectrogenic, which means that when organic substance is degraded under the lack of oxygen, an electric current is produced. When Shewanella oneidensis is cultivated in the nanocomposites developed by KIT, it populates the matrix of the composite, whereas the non-exoelectrogenic Escherichia coli bacterium remains on its surface. The Shewanella-containing composite remains stable for several days. Future work will be aimed at opening up new bioengineering applications of the new materials. ### Original publications: Yong Hu, Carmen M. Dominguez, Jens Bauer, Simone Weigel, Alessa Schipperges, Claude Oelschlaeger, Norbert Willenbacher, Stephan Keppler, Martin Bastmeyer, Stefan Heiler, Christof Woll, Tim Scharnweber, Kersten S. Rabe, & Christof M. Niemeyer: Carbon-nanotube reinforcement of DNA-silica nanocomposites yields programmable and cell-instructive biocoatings. Nature Communications, 2019. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13381-1 (Open Access) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13381-1 External Link Yong Hu, David Rehnlund, Edina Klein, Johannes Gescher, & Christof M. Niemeyer: Cultivation of Exoelectrogenic Bacteria in Conductive DNA Nanocomposite Hydrogels Yields a Programmable Biohybrid Materials System. bioRxiv, 2019. DOI: 10.1101/864967 (Open Access) https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/864967v1?rss=1 External Link Being "The Research University in the Helmholtz Association", KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,300 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 24,400 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence. By Trend Media play an important role in holding free and democratic elections all over the world, Head of the Council of Europe (CoE) Baku Office Zoltan Hernyes said at an information session on media coverage of elections, Trend reports. Zoltan Hernyes noted that CoE has provided member countries with recommendations on the election coverage. They are mainly related to the role of the media, Hernyes said, adding that necessary conditions must be created for free work of the media. The head of CoE Baku Office noted that both public and private media outlets should be involved in the coverage of the electoral process and the media should actively highlight this process at all stages. Zoltan Hernyes stressed that ensuring gender equality during the election period is one of the important issues. Gender equality has always been the subject of debate, he noted, once again stressing that its provision is of great importance. The head of the CoE Baku Office expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani side, including the Administration of the President of Azerbaijan, the Central Election Commission, the Press Council and other structures for cooperation with CoE during the election campaign. The early parliamentary elections will be held in Azerbaijan on Feb. 9. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A diplomat based in Kabul briefed on the Doha negotiations said the Talibans proposed reduction in violence would apply to major cities and include a cessation of high-profile attacks. The proposal also included the possibility of halting attacks along highways, the diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. American negotiators are pushing for a reduction in violence against all Afghan government forces, as well as NATO coalition forces and U.S. troops, the diplomat added. In a recent interview, Barbara Broccoli, a longtime producer of the James Bond franchise, poured water on the idea that the spy could ever be portrayed by a woman. He can be of any colour, but he is male, Broccoli told Variety. I believe we should be creating new characters for women strong female characters. Im not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that. Broccolis comments have been met with the approval of some fans, who are apparently convinced that never having a female Bond is a wonderful idea. Indeed, they say, women deserve better than mens hand-me-downs! They should have their own characters, their own franchises and their own films. Who even cares about Bond? I understand the sentiment, but, first of all, it begs the question: why cant women have both? Must we choose between original strong female characters and an iconic character at the heart of a beloved franchise? Its not like male actors have been starved of either. In the Bond film series itself, men get to see themselves reflected both in the suave spy and his antagonists (Rami Malek is playing the main villain in the upcoming No Time to Die, Javier Bardem was unforgettable as Raoul Silva in the 2012 Skyfall, and Christoph Waltz got to portray Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the 2015 Spectre a role hes reprising this year). To suggest that a female Bond wouldnt be interesting enough is to ignore the fact that there is tremendous power in seeing a female version of such a monumental character as 007. It would make for a clear, undeniable sign that we have kicked open the doors and entered previously forbidden territory. Being told that it will be more interesting for me to get my own characters reminds me of being told, as a child, that it would be more fun to play with a different toy than the one my sibling refused to lend me. I dont want the alternative toy! Granted, I sort of want the elusive strong female characters sure, why not but I also want the real deal. I want Bond. I want a woman behind the wheel of that Aston Martin. I want a woman in a very stylish pantsuit to do the iconic pistol-grab about-turn. I want a woman who sleeps with men she barely knows and doesn't give them a second thought once the post-sex shower is over. I want a woman to order her Martini shaken, not stirred. Trailer for final Daniel Craig James Bond film No Time To Die Certainly, sometimes, progress for women means carving our own path and finding our own way into things. Other times, though, its reaching for and being given exactly what men have. If anything, the James Bond franchise seems like the ideal playground for this sort of gender switcheroo to happen, because the character is meant to be played by radically different people every so often. Remember when Daniel Craig first took over the role and people where horrified that a blond would be called on to play 007? We collectively got over that. All findings suggest that the world wouldnt collapse if a woman were to get the part next. The Doctor Who franchise comes to mind, of course, for two reasons. Firstly, like Bond, the Time Lord is designed to be played by different actors over time. And secondly, in July 2017, Jodie Whittaker was announced as the next Doctor a female Doctor! Some were angry. Others, including me, were thrilled. After years of being relegated to the rank of companions, a woman was finally taking control of the TARDIS. I was 25 at the time, but the teenager inside of me the one who had fallen in love with the franchise when it relaunched in 2005 was over the moon. There is a reason why a female James Bond seems counterintuitive. Its because Bond is meant to be powerful, capable, and shall we say sexually confident. Those arent traits we typically associate with women, for all the wrong reasons. Having a female Bond would also be an interesting thought experiment for male fans of the franchise. Women are generally asked to identify with male characters in fiction much more often than men are asked to identify with female characters. Dont believe me? Just think about the fact that books written by women, presumably for women (whatever that means) are typically marketed as womens fiction, as opposed to just fiction. Or the fact that when women do write books that they want to become mainstream, they often disguise their first names and create male protagonists so they don't get ignored by mainstream marketing from day one (hello, J K Rowling and the Harry Potter series.) There is a systematic tendency to relegate female characters to their own, separate corners. Its high time Hollywood did its part to help change that. Besides, a female Bond wouldnt just be good for the industry and for the ageing Bond franchise itself it would also be riotously fun. I refuse to give up hope. BENGALURU: Will Sonia Gandhi confidante, senior Congress leader and former minister, K.J. George meet the same fate as D.K. Shivakumar, who was jailed during the course of investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED)? Sources claim that, George, who is accused of amassing properties worth millions of dollars in the name of his daughter and son-in-law in Manhattan, New York, seems to be in trouble. Acting on a complaint by political activist Ravikrishna Reddy, the ED began investigating the matter. George, who appeared before the ED seemed to be confident that he would not be prosecuted. ED officers have asked George to furnish details of all bank accounts maintained by him and his family members, both in India and abroad. They have also sought details of all movable and immovable properties in India and abroad owned by him, along with proof. The ED also asked the Congress leader to produce Income Tax returns from the financial year 2005 onwards till date. Copies of Income Tax returns, audited balance sheet and P&L account, along with all the annexures filed by all your concerns for the financial year 2005-06 onwards and till date. George, after being grilled for hours, stated that he will produce all documents sought by the officials, but refused to divulge any other details to the media. Ravikrishna Reddy, the complainant in the case, alleged that George, being a powerful politician since the 1990s has amassed properties in Manhattan area of New York city, which is regarded as one of the costliest real estate in the world. The details of three properties on Lafayette Street in Manhattan, and two properties on Mullberry Street in New York has been listed. Most of the properties are in the name of his daughter Renita Abraham and son-in-law Kevin Abraham, Reddy alleged. All these properties are worth millions of dollars and the daughter and son-in-laws income does not match, he said. In his submission to Lokayukta, George in 2014 said that the income of his children is nil. An attorney hired by former Portland Mayor Sam Adams conducted an investigation into allegations that Adams sexually harassed a staffer while in office, then the lawyer paid two legal experts to weigh in because he said it was the only way to get an independent review. The experts, a retired Oregon judge and an employment lawyer, attested there was insufficient evidence to legally support the harassment claims. Attorney Michael Fuller released a report Monday with the experts opinions and a summary of the redacted information he submitted to them. He acknowledged that the report may not assure the public that Adams didnt sexually harass the aide while he was mayor. I get it. I get why people would be suspicious of a report by an attorney hired by the accused that found no wrongdoing, Fuller said. But with the statute of limitations up and no court that can determine the veracity of these allegations, I think I did the only thing that could be done to determine what the truth was. [Read the report] Adams, a long-time aide to the late Mayor Vera Katz and a former Portland city commissioner, was the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city when he was elected to the post in 2008 on the strength of his city government experience and coalition building skills. But the month he began his sole term as the Portlands top elected official, Adams admitted to lying about a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old he met while serving as city commissioner. Fuller said he paid former Lane County Circuit Judge Lyle Velure, who retired in 2007, and Portland-based employment law attorney Rebecca Cambreleng their hourly rates to view redacted copies of evidence his firm gathered. He asked them each to determine if the case would have warranted legal action had the statute of limitations not run out. The allegations were made by Cevero Gonzalez, a former executive assistant who worked for Adams from 2008 to 2013. Gonzalez declined comment when reached by The Oregonian/OregonLive, but said the report was Mr. Adams and Mr. Fullers opinion. Fuller, a consumer protection attorney, said he redacted the names of the people and locations involved and didnt tell Velure and Cambreleng who he represented. He said his firm collected nearly a thousand pages of documents that included Gonzalezs published letter to city officials detailing the allegations, news articles and other materials, including emails, gathered through public records searches. Gonzalez wasnt contacted as part of the investigation. Neither he nor Adams were interviewed as part of the review, a step Fuller said he took to eliminate the issue of credibility. Former city mayoral office staff members were interviewed or gave statements. The attorney said in lieu of speaking with Gonzalez, he relied on an October 2019 story published by Willamette Week about Adams in which Gonzalez said he didnt have any documentation of the alleged harassment and wouldnt provide the outlet with the names of anyone he confided in. Fuller declined to publicly release any evidence he obtained in the case, saying he hadnt gotten permission from everyone involved beforehand. The report was released Monday as rumors swirled that Adams was considering running for Portland City Council. He announced Wednesday that he intends to challenge Commissioner Chloe Eudaly in the May primary. Adams hired Fuller and his firm in October. Fuller, who specializes in representing people who claim they have been victimized, said this was the first time he represented someone accused of sexual harassment. Gonzalez sent a six-page letter to city officials in Nov. 2017 with accusations that Adams sexually harassed him, including demanding he set up sexual encounters for him, questioning Gonzalez about his sex life and detailing his own sexual experiences and exposing his genitals to Gonzalez. Gonzalez said one instance of harassment occurred with Adams when he picked the mayor up from a trip to China. Gonzalez said he also was assigned to prepare a briefing book for that trip that he said Adams insisted include information about where to find the best gay bars and bathhouses. Both the retired judge and the employment attorney said the evidence Fuller compiled showed staffers other than Gonzalez prepared the China briefing book and drove Adams home from the trip. Gonzalezs letter also detailed allegations of other mistreatment by Adams such as being required to clean Adams house and do his laundry on the city taxpayers dime. At the time Gonzalez went public, his letter was published by The Oregonian/OregonLive, Willamette Week and other local outlets and Gonzalez also publicly spoke about it at the time. He said he went along with whatever was asked of him because he feared retaliation and losing his job but was later encouraged by the #MeToo movement to provide an account to city officials. Adams has maintained that he never sexually harassed Gonzalez. Tom Miller, Adams chief of staff at the time, denied Gonzalezs account to The Oregonian/OregonLive that Gonzalez reported inappropriate behavior by Adams to him. The statute of limitations on the sexual harassment allegations had expired by the time Gonzalezs letter was sent and the city attorneys office declined to investigate the claims. In the earlier case against Adams, in which teen Beau Breedlove accused Adams of illegally luring him into a sexual relationship when he was 17, the then-mayor also was not prosecuted. Breedlove was deemed by prosecutors to have little credibility and a lack of evidence when it came to that claim. For months, Adams vehemently denied ever having sex with the teen, who was more than 20 years younger than him. But he was eventually forced to acknowledge their relationship was sexual after the teen turned 18. He called that inappropriate. An independent review Velure, the former judge who now has a commercial mediation practice, didnt respond to requests for comment. He said in his opinion letter about the allegations that he reviewed the materials he was given by Fuller as if he were reviewing evidence as a judge in a court bench trial. He said he believed no actionable sexual harassment existed. Having carefully reviewed the evidence in a light most favorable to the accuser, my legal opinion is that the evidence is insufficient to support a legal claim under state or federal workplace sexual harassment laws, Velure wrote. Cambreleng said in her opinion letter that she likely would have taken Gonzalezs case had he come to her office and presented his version of events as laid out in his letter. She wrote that apparent contradictory information in the evidence she received from Fuller led her to conclude she probably would have subsequently dismissed Gonzalez as a client. Reviewing all the evidence presented as it is, I do not believe that sexual harassment occurred, she wrote. Cambreleng told The Oregonian/OregonLive that she wasnt aware of Sam Adams involvement in the case until after Fullers report was published. But knowing who was involved doesnt change anything, she said. Given the information I had and assuming there was no statute of limitations, its my opinion that there wasnt enough evidence to support a legal claim. Judy Snyder, a prominent Portland employment attorney, said she didnt believe Fullers methods were entirely unusual. She likened it to a large company hiring counsel to investigate allegations against a CEO by an employee. Sam Adams isnt a large corporation, but he has to turn to someone to defend himself, she said. These are very serious allegations that have been made public, and the responsible thing to do is to say, Its being investigated and here are the results of that investigation. Snyder said it is common for all parties involved to be interviewed, however. Some evidence viewed as contradictory could be cleared up through direct conversation, she said, and it could be possible Gonzalez detailed what he was experiencing to people outside of work. Snyder said she likely would have come to the same conclusion as Velure and Cambreleng after reading a summary of the evidence in Fullers report due to the apparent lack of corroboration of Gonzalezs account. J. Ashlee Albies, a civil rights and employment attorney, said she felt uncomfortable that Fuller repeatedly labeled the review as an independent investigation in his report, due to Gonzalez lack of participation and Fuller being hired by the person accused. She described the report as not a fully developed record and said that it didnt appear the process was set up in a way for Gonzalez to properly defend himself or have legal representation. Albies said Gonzalez, for example, could have had legitimate reasons to withhold some information from a letter to the city council or a media interview. These cases are more complicated and life is more nuanced than the summary of this investigation shows, Albies said. I completely understand that the statute of limitations has passed and the accused wants to defend themselves and there doesnt appear to be a legitimate way to do that. But I dont think this is an adequate substitute for the civil legal system. Albies admitted if Adams had been her client, that she didnt immediately know what the right answer would be. -- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. A Tesla Model S steering wheel is on display at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Friday it will review a petition asking the agency to formally investigate and recall 500,000 Tesla Inc vehicles over sudden unintended acceleration reports. The petition covers 2012 through 2019 model year Tesla Model S, 2016 through 2019 Tesla Model X, and 2018 through 2019 Tesla Model 3 vehicles, the agency said. The petition cites "127 consumer complaints to NHTSA involving 123 unique vehicles. The reports include 110 crashes and 52 injuries," the agency added. Late Friday, NHTSA released a redacted version of the lengthy petition that said "Tesla vehicles experience unintended acceleration at rates far exceeding other cars on the roads" and urged NHTSA "to recall all Model S, Model X and Model 3 vehicles produced from 2013 to the present." The petition cited media reports of crashes attributed to unintended acceleration and complaints filed with NHTSA. Tesla did not immediately comment Friday. Many of the complaints report sudden acceleration incidents when attempting to park vehicles in a garage or at a curb. Others claimed the sudden acceleration happened while in traffic or when using driver assistance systems and led to crashes. In one complaint, a driver said a 2015 Tesla Model S 85D in California was closed and locked when he claimed "a few moments later the vehicle started accelerating forward towards the street and crashed into a parked car." A Tesla driver in Avondale, Pennsylvania, was pulling into a parking spot at an elementary school when the vehicle accelerated on its own, the complaint said adding: "It went over a curb and into a chain link fence." Another complaint said a Tesla driver in Andover, Massachusetts was approaching her garage door "when the car suddenly lurched forward: and "went through the garage door destroying two garage doors." The Tesla stopped when it hit the garage's concrete wall. In October, the agency said it was reviewing whether Tesla should have recalled 2,000 of its electric cars in May instead of issuing a software upgrade to fix a potential defect that could have resulted in battery fires in Model S and Model X vehicles from the 2012-2019 model years. Story continues The 2,000 vehicles covered by the September petition to the NHTSA received a battery management software upgrade in May in response to a potential flaw that could trigger non-crash-related fires. A lawyer who filed the petition, Edward Chen, told Reuters in October that he strongly believes "this number is much larger than 2,000." The review is ongoing. Last week, NHTSA said it was probing the Dec. 29 crash of a Tesla Model 3 that left a passenger dead after the vehicle collided with a parked fire truck in Indiana. The crash is the 14th involving Tesla that NHTSA's special crash investigation program has taken up in which it suspects the company's so-called Autopilot or other advanced driver assistance system was in use. On Feb. 25, the National Transportation Safety Board will meet to determine the probable cause of the 2018 fatal crash of a Tesla Model X in Mountain View, California. The driver was using Autopilot at the time of the crash. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski) Andy King, the breakout star from the Netflix's Fyre Festival documentary, has teamed up with water brand Evian almost a year after admitting he would 'suck a d**k' to get water to the doomed festival. The event planner took to his Instagram on Friday to share news of his partnership with Evian. 'Who's thirsty!? On the one year anniversary of my doc debut, @evianwater is releasing a special bottle with a new slogan all in honor of my infamous team spirit,' King said in the post. The event planner took to his Instagram on Friday to share news of his partnership with Evian Scroll down for video King and the water company are launching a special contest for those hoping to secure a custom bottle that reads: 'So good you'd do anything for it.' There are only 10 custom bottles. In an interview with Neflix after the documentary aired, Andy admitted he 'didn't want to be known as the Blowjob King of the World,' but he did enjoy the memes people have cleverly created online. 'I'm blown away with the response of the documentary,' King told Netflix. 'Completely blown away. I am now a noun, a verb, an adjective. It's mind-boggling.' 'Who's thirsty!? On the one year anniversary of my doc debut, @evianwater is releasing a special bottle with a new slogan all in honor of my infamous team spirit,' King said It's been exactly one year since we met the man, the myth, the legend: Andy King pic.twitter.com/rAD6CQN5es Netflix (@netflix) January 17, 2020 King and the water company are launching a special contest for those hoping to secure a custom bottle that reads: 'So good you'd do anything for it.' The memes about Andy started after a scene where he detailed how the Fyre team came up with a solution to a problem getting bottled water through customs. Just days before the festival was to kick off, disgraced organizer Billy McFarland was told the four 18-wheeler trucks filled with Evian water he shipped to the Bahamas would not be released until a $175,000 custom fee was paid. McFarland was lacked the cash needed to pay the fee, and King recounts that Billy said, ''Well, you're our wonderful gay leader and we need you to go down ... will you suck d*** to fix this water problem?'' King, speaking in the Netflix documentary, said he showered, used mouthwash, and went to meet the customs official fully prepared to carry out the request by his friend and protege, but the official released the water to King with expectation of payment at a later date instead. The memes about Andy started after a scene where he detailed how the Fyre team came up with a solution to a problem getting bottled water through customs The event planner said in a statement that he has long been an Evian fan. 'One year ago, I shared with the world my willingness to 'take one for the team' to bring Evian to thirsty festival-goers and unexpectedly became an internet sensation overnight,' he said in the statement to People. 'On the first anniversary, Evian is dropping a special bottle with an all-new slogan in honor of my infamous team spirit.' 'As a long-time Evian fan of both the water itself and the brand's sustainable practices I could not be more thrilled!' he continued. Netflix is also paying homage to King a year after the documentary, sharing the infamous clip to Twitter. 'It's been exactly one year since we met the man, the myth, the legend: Andy King,' Netflix said in the post. Most people on Twitter seemed very supportive of King's latest business venture but there were a few people who were left dumbfounded by the move. The Annapolis, Maryland-based Strategic Campaign Group raised over $20 million from more than 9,000 conservative donors between 2011 and 2018, convincing them that Republican firebrands needed their support against the establishment. Less than 2% of the money actually went to those candidates. Company officials spent the rest trying to expand their various political action committees' lists of potential marks, as well as on legal fees to defend their behavior. The Justice Department is cracking down on "scam PACs" that extract money from donors by promising falsely to spend it on political campaigns. On Friday, Strategic Campaign Group's former president, Kelley Rogers was sentenced in an Alexandria, Virginia, federal court to three years in prison. Two others have been convicted in other cases. "I lost all focus," Rogers, 56, said in court. "My conduct ruined my career." The group's treasurer, Scott Mackenzie, has pleaded guilty to lying to the Federal Election Commission, and its vice president, Chip O'Neil, is set to plead guilty to related charges next week. Two others have been sentenced recently for similar conduct. "We need to have trust in those that are sending these messages," Judge Liam O'Grady said. Rogers' PACs sent out thousands of emails stoking fears and anger toward then-President Barack Obama, the Internal Revenue Service and undocumented immigrants, looking for angles that would open wallets. "Our donor base is old and dying," Mackenzie wrote in one 2013 email to Rogers. "We need to give our donors a reason to give." They found one in Ken Cuccinelli, at the time running for governor of Virginia as a brash social conservative. Cuccinelli lost the 2013 election to Democrat Terry McAuliffe. He later sued Strategic Campaign Group for using his name repeatedly in solicitations. Now a top immigration official at the Department of Homeland Security, Cuccinelli ultimately settled with the firm for $85,000. Court documents show that Rogers and the others never intended to spend the money raised on Cuccinelli's campaign; they wanted it all to go to expanding their donor list. That July, a vendor suggested to Rogers that their fundraising emails had gotten so much attention that it would be "a good investment to cut either a radio ad or a TV ad in support of" Cuccinelli. No ad was ever made. Under pressure, Rogers agreed to donate just $10,000 to Cuccinelli's campaign. According to prosecutors, during that time Rogers added 5,000 new donors to his lists. Defense attorney Danny Onorato said Rogers never profited personally from the scheme. Several former clients, including a Maryland state delegate and the former chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Party, wrote to the court saying Rogers had been an effective, honest consultant on their campaigns. "His intention was to raise money to grow his business," Onorato said. "He saw opportunities in super PACs. He got into that fervor. He knew it was wrong, but he didn't think it would catch up with him." Steven McCool, who represents O'Neil, called him "a decent young man who is prepared to accept responsibility for mistakes he made several years ago." Onorato argued that the solicitation emails had a "dual purpose" in raising awareness of Cuccinelli and other candidates, a position endorsed during an audit of one Strategic Campaign Group committee, the Conservative Majority Fund, by then-FEC Chairman Len Goodman, a Republican. The FEC ultimately faulted the fund for inaccurate documentation but dug no deeper. Prosecutor Bill Gullotta called that argument "somewhat absurd," saying the group's mailings were "barely informational" and "really just to fan the flames of political fervor." Donors swayed by those mailings told the court the fraud had strained or severed their trust in the political system. One person called her donation a "heartfelt gesture of support for" Cuccinelli that never made it to him. "Voting and monetary participation in campaigns is all the control most Americans exercise over the political process," she wrote. "Fraud of this nature cheapens and weakens that control." SOUTH BEND, Ind. - On Jan. 1, Pete Buttigieg's second term ended, and the "Mayor Pete" era in South Bend was over. In the Democratic presidential candidate's telling, he presided over a Rust Belt comeback story in Indiana's fourth-largest city, a metaphor for what is possible elsewhere in America. Before Buttigieg took office in 2012, downtown had been moribund for decades. Aging, abandoned homes dragged down spirits in poorer neighborhoods. Unemployment was high, wages low, evictions common. White residents were fleeing by the thousands. A Newsweek article declared South Bend, population 101,860, one of America's "dying cities." Today, unemployment in the greater South Bend area is less than 4%, down from nearly 10%, development has accelerated in the city's downtown, and the population has stopped shrinking. Local business boosters recently raised street banners that said, "Thanks Mayor Pete." "South Bend's trajectory has been transformed," Buttigieg said in his farewell address to the city's Common Council on Dec. 9. That's the resume that Buttigieg is promoting to make the jump from mayor to president. It's a part of his appeal to Democrats who are anxious to win back Rust Belt voters who defected from the party in 2016. ADVERTISEMENT But there's a hitch. Among residents of color, who make up nearly half of South Bend's population, reviews of Buttigieg's legacy are noticeably mixed - some positive, some outright hostile. The local criticism has taken on national importance in the Democratic primary, where he has struggled to attract voters who aren't white. It's a weakness that's been offset by Buttigieg's significant support in the two states that hold the first nominating contests, Iowa and New Hampshire, where black and Latino voters are deeply underrepresented compared to the Democratic Party overall. "Pete isn't ready to lead the free world, a world of huge diversity and tremendous need. He is not ready. That's all I can say behind that," said Common Council member Henry Davis Jr., one of Buttigieg's most vocal critics, who unsuccessfully ran against the mayor in 2015. But other black leaders have rallied to Buttigieg's side, including the area's NAACP president, Michael Patton, who has said he's "grateful to Mayor Pete" for his work. Life remains a struggle for many South Bend residents. Poverty is still stubbornly high, and homeless residents are a regular sight. The greater South Bend area "has become more segregated between White and African American/Black residents since 2010," according to a forthcoming regional housing report prepared by South Bend and neighboring Mishawaka. (The report did not examine segregation data in South Bend alone, though the city is by far the most populous town in the metropolitan statistical area that was analyzed.) The city also has "one of the highest foreclosure rates in the United States," with an eviction rate that is "extremely high," the report said. In South Bend, racial discrimination is the primary reason tenants cite when making fair housing complaints, bucking the national trend, where disability is the most common complaint, according to the report. Buttigieg's campaign defended his record, saying that he devoted resources to a variety of programs to create affordable housing, fund home repairs and increase shelter capacity for homeless residents, while pointing to some forces that were beyond the city's control. ADVERTISEMENT "Indiana has pretty hostile laws toward tenants, unfortunately," campaign spokesman Sean Savett said of the city's foreclosure and eviction numbers. Seymour Barker, 74, of Granger, Ind., who helps run a community development corporation, 466 Works, that receives grants from South Bend to help build new housing on the southeast side, said "the city has supported us every step of the way, and it's all happened under the administration of Mayor Pete." "I can't tell you the experience of other African Americans under him, but that's been our experience with him," Barker said. --- After taking office, Buttigieg went to work on the city's blight, launching an initiative to either repair or demolish 1,000 abandoned or derelict homes in 1,000 days, a goal he reached ahead of schedule. Common Council member Regina Williams-Preston, an occasional critic from the city's black community, accused Buttigieg of moving too quickly against property owners who didn't have the money to make repairs right away. Buttigieg acknowledged the program needed some adjustments. But other residents happily welcomed Buttigieg's demolition work. On a recent Thursday afternoon in December, two South Bend Bureau of Streets trucks rumbled by as James Underwood strung up Christmas lights outside a home on the 1100 block of Johnson Street, the block that saw the most houses targeted for repair or removal, according to city data. As a result of that program, Underwood, a 60-year-old factory worker, bought a condemned home to fix up, between shifts, to give to one of his four children. He's still trying to track down the absentee owner to finalize the sale, but he couldn't be happier that two abandoned "eyesores" across the street had been razed. ADVERTISEMENT "I would put a vote toward him because of what he did in this neighborhood and others," Underwood said of Buttigieg. As he spoke, city workers in green vests piled out of their trucks to clear leaves from the sidewalks outside a home charred by a fire. As Buttigieg progressed through his administration, he benefited from some fortunate timing. He arrived in office after the worst shocks of the Great Recession and then served through an uninterrupted run of national growth. During Buttigieg's first year, South Bend processed construction permits for commercial and residential projects valued at $69.8 million, city data showed. Within four years, in 2016, that figure had blossomed to $190 million. Buttigieg harnessed that growth to lure new private investment. In the city's downtown, Buttigieg invested public dollars to make the streets more walkable and to help finance some private development. Two new hotels opened, and young professionals started moving in, which boosted neighborhood merchants. When South Bend native Peg Dalton opened her restaurant in 2001, since renamed PEGGS, "there was literally not a car on the street," she said. As she spoke to a reporter, the spaces outside her restaurant that day were all taken. Buttigieg cultivated local business leaders to draw support for his political initiatives, according to Dalton, telling them on issues such as raising pay for city workers or changing the flow of city streets downtown: "I need your support on the ground." "He's not afraid to ruffle feathers and get a job done that he thinks needs to be done," said Dalton, 55. One of the biggest changes to South Bend under Buttigieg's administration was the growth of the city's Latino population, now estimated to make up more than 15% of the city's residents. Buttigieg pushed for an identification card program designed so residents without ID, including immigrants, can get access to social services. Paul Beltran, 33, a health care case manager who emigrated from Ecuador and a volunteer at his church, Vida Neuva Church of God, credited Buttigieg for being "accessible and present" and for the times he addressed residents in Spanish. "It's not 100% fluent," Beltran said of Buttigieg's Spanish, but "he could carry a conversation, to a point." Nanci Flores, a prominent local activist, said that there was still work to be done to assist the city's immigrant community. But "even when we don't always get it right, I still see a city working to follow a compassionate and inclusive example," Flores said. Buttigieg's relationship with black residents, who make up more than a quarter of the city's population, has been much rockier. Some black residents began distrusting Buttigieg when he demoted the black police chief less than three months after arriving in office. There were allegations that the chief had improperly recorded white officials accused of making racist comments. In his memoir, Buttigieg wrote that initially supporting the chief had been his "first serious mistake as mayor." During Buttigieg's tenure, the number of black police officers also dropped by nearly half, according to the South Bend Tribune. Tensions erupted in June after a white South Bend police officer shot and killed a black man, Eric Jack Logan. The officer, who didn't have his body camera turned on, said Logan had threatened him with a knife. Angry black residents heckled Buttigieg at a town hall meeting. "We don't trust you!" one woman shouted. "It's a mess. And we're hurting," Buttigieg said of the shooting in the June presidential debate. As with many such protests around the nation, the angst went much deeper than a single shooting. "I have been here all my life, and you have not done a damn thing about me or my son or none of these people out here," Logan's distraught mother, Shirley Newbill, told Buttigieg at a protest. "It's time for you to do something." But Underwood, the factory worker, who is black, said he thought some of the criticism of Buttigieg was "overblown." "One guy can't fix all the problems," Underwood said. "You can't blame one guy." --- (c)2020 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS An eagerly anticipated U.N. Security Council meeting came in the nervous aftermath of America's targeted killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani by an armed U.S. drone. The rhetorical crescendo was building all week following Soleimani's funeral cortege which wove its way across Iraq and Iran through the Shia heartland reaching a mesmerizing political frenzy. Both sides were posturing but neither wanted a war. The scripted chants of "Death of America" echoed the hostage crisis of 1979 and sadly so many encounters since between Iran and the U.S. Tehran was in full agitation/propaganda mode. The mob wanted blood. Yet by the time the meeting was held, there was little suspense in the council chamber nor was there the foreboding expectation that Iran's allies such as China or Russia would really take the crisis to the next level. Neither did the U.S. or its key allies France, Germany or the U.K. excoriate Iran. This was a time for talking. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned, "War is never inevitable; it is a matter of choice and often it is the product of easy miscalculations. Peace too, is never inevitable; it is the product of hard work and we must never take it for granted." Churchill once opined "Jaw, jaw is better than war, war." After 40 years of political sparring with many deadly flare-ups in between, the latest U.N. face-off was going through the motions but without the mendacity. After Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at U.S. bases in neighboring Iraq, the world held its breath. Would there be American causalities? If so President Trump would likely respond forcefully. Happily, and perhaps intentionally, the missiles missed and both sides could say they were even. Both the Trump administration and the Iranians wisely stepped back. The Security Council showdown between Iran and the U.S. happily fizzled; the council's 15 members and many other states did not directly address the recent flare-up instead addressing the original agenda item, "Upholding the United Nations Charter." British Ambassador Karen Pierce quoted her Foreign Minister Dominic Raab as saying, "We recognize the danger and threat that Iran poses to the Middle East. We recognize the right to self-defense. At the same time, we want to see tensions de-escalated. We want to find a diplomatic way through." While diplomats sighed a breath of relief, everyone knew in a sense yet another bullet had been dodged and another war averted, at least for now. U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft stated, "We will act decisively in the exercise of our inherent right of self-defense to protect Americans when necessary, as is recognized under the charter." Yet she added optimistically, quoting President Trump's recent remarks, "We want a future, and a great future at that, for Iran. It is a future that people of Iran deserve, one of prosperity at home and harmony with the nations of the world." The annals of war and peace have so many close encounters which either end in horrible conflict or regained opportunities. The recent showdown may happily fall into the second category as both sides in Washington and Tehran stepped back from the brink. The unfathomable arrogance of the mainstream media predicted a war; Trump preferred a deal. But just as tempers cooled the situation whipsawed back again. In yet another stunning development, a commercial Ukrainian 737 mysteriously crashed just hours after the Iranian missile salvo. The civilian airliner with 176 passengers and crew became the cruel and unexpected victim. Among the dead were 57 Canadians, 82 Iranians and 11 Ukrainians. After the initial cover-ups, the truth slipped from behind Iran's usual veil of secrecy and lies. The Iranian military had mistakenly shot down the civilian jet with a SAM 15 missile! Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on the Islamic Republic for accountability and justice. One of the biggest dangers in any crisis is miscalculation. Indeed, the unintended consequence to the crisis showed the strange twist of fate for the Ukrainian jet's 176 passengers, sacrificed on the altar of stupidity of Tehran's theocratic regime. The callous air disaster cover-up has caused a new round of anti-government demonstrations inside Iran where citizens are furious over the flagrant incompetence of their Islamic regime. Now there's an interesting turn of events. As the drums of war have calmed, attention has turned to the Tehran authorities and especially the aging ayatollah in whose name Iran is run. Will Iranians focus on their own future and not hating the West? John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China." Update: Investigators determined the fire at 10 Wallace Road was caused by hot ash igniting combustibles too close to a wood stove, Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the state fire marshals office, said SOUTHAMPTON Three people were taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries early Thursday after a fire broke out at a Wallace Road home, officials said. Fire Chief John Workman told Western Mass News the blaze was reported shortly after midnight. Responding firefighters saw heavy flames on the first and second floors of the home. Firefighters knocked down the blaze, which was starting to spread to the basement, in about five minutes. They rescued a number of pets from the home, including a cat, three dogs and at least two rabbits, Western Mass News reported. The Southampton Fire Department, in a post on its Facebook page, reported firefighters from Easthampton, Westhampton, Northampton, Holyoke and Westfield provided mutual aid. Southampton police, state police and the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Red Cross also responded to the scene. Workman said the fire caused extensive smoke and heat damage, however, the bulk of the fire was contained to about 25 percent of the structure. He said several cats were still unaccounted for. Wallace Road is off County Road and near the Holyoke line. Western Mass News is television partner to The Republican and MassLive.com. In his four years as state party chief, Dilip Ghosh has put his foot in his mouth repeatedly. This hasn't stopped him from getting elected as a legislator in 2016 and as an MP last year. Ritwik Sharma reports. It had to happen. When the establishment is drawing battle lines to pronounce who constitutes an Indian or a nationalist or a refugee worthy of shelter in India today, the segregation of foreign and Indian cows was inevitable. And, of course, we have Dilip Ghosh to thank for it. The eminent, intrepid ethnographer of the bovinity edified all proud nationalistic Indians (and confounded weak-kneed antinationals) with an important clarification. The Bharatiya Janata Party's West Bengal president and member of Parliament explained that foreign breeds of cows are not our 'gau mata' but our 'aunties'. Ghosh (who was re-elected the BJP's Bengal chief on January 16 and will lead the party's campaign in the 2021 assembly election) was speaking at an event organised by a welfare committee for cows and, erm, Ghoshes (the 'Ghosh and Gabhi Kalyan Samiti'). He said: 'The country's own breed of cows have a special characteristic. There is gold mixed in its milk and that is why the colour of their milk is golden.' 'There is a 'nari' (blood vessel) that helps produce gold with the help of sunlight. So, we have to keep those cows. If we drink desi cow milk, we will become healthy and can prevent diseases.' Foreign breeds of cow produce substantially higher yields of milk than do indigenous ones. Ghosh did not discuss this matter, as he searched in vain for the gold standard in milk and in public speaking. What are the other fine differences between the cow auntie and gau mata? The cow auntie, continued Ghosh, is in fact a kind of beast that also does not sound like the native cow. 'It will not be good for the country if we worship such aunties... It is not right to worship our gods with the milk of foreign breeds, like Jersey cows.' 'Even the gods of our nation don't accept foreign commodities. But those who were educated in English love everything English. They also like English wives.' The love for everything 'English', Ghosh said, is at the heart of the 'gondogol (problem). 'Not only foreign cows, a lot many are bringing foreign wives. They are coming here and are a malicious influence on our leaders. They are having to go to jail.' Ghosh had more pearls to offer. Some were reserved for those likely to have a scientific temperament. No wonder his beef extended to intellectuals. 'Few intellectuals eat beef on roads, I am asking them to eat dog meat too. Their health will do fine, no matter which animal they eat, but why on roads? Eat at your home,' Ghosh somewhat mystifyingly told reporters at the same event. Ghosh's rise has been swift at a time the BJP is in the ascendant in West Bengal after serving as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak, being in charge of the RSS in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and assisting former RSS chief K S Sudarshan. In his four years as state party chief, Ghosh has put his foot in his mouth repeatedly. This hasn't stopped him from getting elected as a legislator in 2016 and as an MP last year. At a public event last year he threatened to kill workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress party in West Bengal, while throwing in a Gabbar Singh reference. A couple of months ago, he suggested that the BJP should launch a 'surgical strike' on Kolkata's Jadavpur University so as to destroy 'anti-nationals'. The utter disregard for public morality in these instances aside, Ghosh's previous utterances are positively lame compared to his latest claims. You can try till the cows come home, but you're unlikely to ever forget these golden nuggets. [January 17, 2020] Global Cognitive Assessment and Training Market 2020-2024 | 33% CAGR Projection Over the Next Five Years | Technavio The global cognitive assessment and training market size is poised to grow by USD 13.56 billion during the period 2020-2024, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005920/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled global cognitive assessment and training market 2020-2024. (Graphic: Business Wire) Various multinational corporations are adopting cognitive assessments as one of the important stages of the recruitment process. The use of pen- and paper-based tests for measuring the cognitive ability of potential candidates is not only laborious but also involves significant monetary investments. Moreover, the emergence of online cognitive assessments has revolutionized the recruitment scenario in most organizations, particularly those in advanced economies. These online cognitive assessments are affordable in comparison to labor-intensive manual processes, particularly given the superior outcomes that these online assessments deliver. Thus, the cost-effectiveness of cognitive assessments will drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40865 As per Technavio, the growing emphasis on quality education will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This esearch report also analyzes other important trends and market drivers that will affect market growth over 2020-2024. Cognitive Assessment and Training Market: Growing Emphasis on Quality Education The global education industry is witnessing a gradual increase in standards and benchmarks. This trend is putting increasing pressure on students to perform well in competitive exams. In addition, improved economic conditions and better literacy rates of those born between the early '70s and early '80s have resulted in a heightened interest among individuals to provide better-quality education to their children. In the process, people have realized the importance of cognitive skills development and how closely it is associated with student performance. Hence, people are investing in personality development measures, such as cognitive assessments. With growing awareness, the penetration of cognitive assessments and training services will increase, creating opportunities for vendors to offer cognitive training and tests. "The increasing number of memory-oriented diseases and other factors have led to the growing awareness among educators and corporations to take up brain health tests periodically in turn, increasing the awareness of cognitive assessment and training solutions. Hence, the increasing focus on brain health will drive the growth of the market during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Cognitive Assessment and Training Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the cognitive assessment and training market by end-user (healthcare, education, and other), and geographical regions (Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and MEA). The North American region held the largest share of the market in 2019, followed by Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the North America is expected to maintain its dominance as well as register the highest incremental growth owing to owing to the presence of robust infrastructure and increased awareness of brain health, particularly in advanced economies, including the US and Canada. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Landscape Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market size and forecast Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation Geographical Segmentation Regional comparison Key leading countries Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005920/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to worshippers prior to deliver his sermon in the Friday prayers at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran. AP photo Tehran: Irans supreme leader said President Donald Trump is a clown who only pretends to support the Iranian people but will push a poisonous dagger into their backs, as he struck a defiant tone in his first Friday sermon in Tehran in eight years. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the mass funerals for Irans top general, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this month, show that the Iranian people support the Islamic Republic despite its recent trials. He said the cowardly killing of Soleimani had taken out the most effective commander in the battle against the Islamic State group. In response, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting U.S. troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. Khamenei said the strike had dealt a blow to Americas image as a superpower. In part of the sermon delivered in Arabic, he said the real punishment would be in forcing the U.S. to withdraw from the Middle East. As Irans Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after it took off from Tehrans international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. Their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Khamenei called the shootdown of the plane a bitter accident that saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. He said Irans enemies had seized on the crash to question the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard and the armed forces. He also lashed out at Western countries, saying they are too weak to bring Iranians to their knees. He said Britain, France and Germany, which this week triggered a dispute mechanism to try and bring Iran back into compliance with the unraveling 2015 nuclear agreement, were contemptible governments and servants of the United States. He said Iran was willing to negotiate, but not with the United States. Khamenei has held the countrys top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of Soleimani and vowed harsh retaliation against the United States. Thousands of people attended the Friday prayers, occasionally interrupting his speech by chanting God is greatest! and Death to America! Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Irans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which had imposed restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The U.S. has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Trump has openly encouraged the protesters even tweeting in Farsi hoping that the protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a longtime adversary. After Soleimani was killed, Iran announced it would no longer be bound by the limitations in the nuclear agreement. European countries who have been trying to salvage the deal responded earlier this week by invoking a dispute mechanism that could result in even more sanctions. Khamenei was always skeptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the United States could not be trusted. But he allowed President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, to conclude the agreement with President Barack Obama. Since Trumps withdrawal, he has repeatedly said there can be no negotiations with the United States. In this Jan. 14, 2020, photo, President Donald Trump arrives at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena to speak at a campaign rally in Milwaukee. Trump's surrogates are fanning out across the country as part of an aggressive effort to stretch his appeal beyond the base of working-class white voters who propelled him to victory in 2016. Read more President Donald Trump made a stark appeal to black Americans during the 2016 election when he asked, What have you got to lose? Three years later, black Americans have rendered their verdict on his presidency with a deeply pessimistic assessment of their place in the United States under a leader seen by an overwhelming majority as racist. The findings come from a Washington Post-Ipsos poll of African Americans nationwide, which reveals fears about whether their children will have a fair shot to succeed and a belief that white Americans dont fully appreciate the discrimination that black people experience. While personally optimistic about their own lives, black Americans today offer a bleaker view about their community as a whole. They also express determination to try to limit Trump to a single term in office. More than 8 in 10 black Americans say they believe Trump is a racist and that he has made racism a bigger problem in the country. Nine in 10 disapprove of his job performance overall. The pessimism goes well beyond assessments of the president. A 65 percent majority of African Americans say it is a "bad time" to be a black person in America. That view is widely shared by clear majorities of black adults across income, generational and political lines. By contrast, 77 percent of black Americans say it is a "good time" to be a white person, with a wide majority saying white people don't understand the discrimination faced by black Americans. Courtney Tate, 40, an elementary school teacher in Irving, Texas, outside Dallas, said that since Trump was elected, hes been having more conversations with his co-workers discussions that are simultaneously enlightening and exhausting about racial issues he and his students face everyday. As a black person, youve always seen all the racism, the microaggressions, but as white people they dont understand this is how things are going for me, said Tate, who said he is the only black male teacher in his school. They dont live those experiences. They dont live in those neighborhoods. They moved out. Its so easy to be white and oblivious in this country. Francine Cartwright, a 44-year-old mother of three from Moorestown, New Jersey, said the ascent of Trump has altered the way she thinks about the white people in her life. "If I'm in a room with white women, I know that 50 percent of them voted for Trump and they believe in his ideas," said Cartwright, a university researcher. "I look at them and think, 'How do you see me? What is my humanity to you?' " The president routinely talks about how a steadily growing economy and historically low unemployment have resulted in more African Americans with jobs and the lowest jobless rate for black Americans recorded. Months ago he said, What Ive done for African Americans in two-and-a-half years, no president has been able to do anything like it. But those factors have not translated positively for the president. A 77 percent majority of black Americans say Trump deserves "only some" or "hardly any" credit for the 5.5 percent unemployment rate among black adults compared with 20 percent who say Trump deserves significant credit. In follow-up interviews, many said former president Barack Obama deserves more credit for the improvement in the unemployment rate, which declined from a high of 16.8 percent in 2010 to 7.5 percent when he left office. Others said their personal financial situation is more a product of their own efforts than anything the president has done. I dont think [Trump] has anything to do with unemployment among African Americans, said Ethel Smith, a 72-year-old nanny who lives in Lithonia, Goergia, a suburb of Atlanta. Ive always been a working poor person. Thats just who I am. Black Americans report little change in their personal financial situations in the past few years, with 19 percent saying it has been getting better and 26 percent saying it has been getting worse. Most, 54 percent, say their financial situation has stayed the same. A similar 56 percent majority of African Americans rate the national economy as "not so good" or "poor," contrasting with other surveys that find most Americans overall rate the economy positively, although there are sharp political divides on this question. Beyond questions about the economy, African Americans see a range of concerns impacting the country overall as well as their own communities. Just 16 percent of black Americans believe that most black children born in the U.S. today have "a good opportunity to achieve a comfortable standard of living." A 75 percent majority think most white children have such an opportunity. More than 8 in 10 say they do not trust police in the United States to treat people of all races equally, and 7 in 10 distrust police in their own community. Black Americans also widely sense that their experiences with discrimination are underappreciated by white Americans.Justabout 2 in 10 say that most white Americans understand the level of discrimination black Americans face in their lives, while nearly 8 in 10 say they do not. The starkly negative outlook appears to be a turnabout from previous points during both the Obama and George W. Bush presidencies, according to surveys asking related questions. A 2011 Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey found 73 percent of black women said it was a good time to be a black woman in America, while a similar survey in 2006 found 60 percent of black men saying it was a good time to be a black man. Yet the Post-Ipsos poll also finds that 65 percent of black Americans say they feel optimistic about their own lives most or all of the time. This positive personal outlook crosses age and political groups, and while it peaks among those who are older and with higher incomes, roughly half of black Americanswith incomes under $35,000 annually say they feel optimistic about their own lives. Dana Clark, a father of 11 children in Ontario, California, said he tells all of his children that it's possible to succeed in America, but that they'll have to work harder than the white children they encounter. "I tell them we're going to set this plan up. Whatever you want to do you're going to be able to do it," he said. "But it ain't going to be easy, especially if [you] want to make some money because you're going to be in a world where they're not going to expect you to be there. You can get what you want, but you've got to work harder, faster and stronger." The survey, by The Post and Ipsos, a nonpartisan research firm, is one of the most extensive recent surveys focused on views of the country and Trump among black Americans, who are often represented by only small samples in customary national polls. It was conducted among 1,088 non-Hispanic black adults, including 900 registered voters, drawn from a large online survey panel recruited through random sampling of U.S. households. Few black voters responded positively to Trump's campaign appeal for their votes. Exit polls taken during the 2016 election showed just 8 percent of African Americans supported Trump and 89 percent backed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, although black turnout was significantly lower than in 2008 and 2012 for the election and reelection of Obama, the country's first black president. In the Post-Ipsos poll, roughly three-quarters of black adults say the things that Trump is doing as president are bad for African Americans, while a similar majority says Obamas actions as president were good. Kenneth Davis, a truck driver who lives outside Detroit, said that when Trump was elected, co-workers who secretly harbored racist thoughts felt emboldened to publicly express them. "One gentleman is waving the Confederate flag on the back of his pickup truck," said Davis, 48, who is a Marine Corps veteran. "He was very brave to say 'Trump's president, I'm going to get my window (painted).' " Retired federal prison warden Keith Battle said the political climate has exposed "unresolved racial issues" and that Trump has emboldened white supremacists. Battle, who lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina, said white supremacists "are not the majority of whites in America, but there is a significant amount still, I'd say 30 percent, and I think they're just leading the country down a path of, eventually, chaos. They're feeling jeopardized of losing their white privilege." Survey respondents were asked to say how Trump's presidency has affected them personally or African Americans in general. The responses illuminated the data in the poll. "Donald Trump has not done anything for the African American people," said one person. "He has created an atmosphere of division and overt racism and fear of immigrants unseen in many years," said another. A third said, "He has taken hatred against people of color, in general, from the closet to the front porch." Others echoed that sentiment, saying that the president has emboldened those with racially prejudiced views and therefore set back race relations for years. "I sense a separation between myself and some of my white associates," one person wrote. Trump's overall approval rating among black Americans stands at 7 percent, with 90 percent disapproving, including 75 percent who disapprove "strongly." Similarly large majorities of black men and women disapprove of Trump, as do black Americansacross different age, education and income levels. Trump receives somewhat higher marks among self-identifiedblack conservatives, with 25 percent approving of his performance, compared with 5 percent of moderates and 3 percent among liberals. Few black Americans appear open to supporting Trumps bid for reelection at this point. He receives between 4 and 5 percent support among black registered voters in head-to-head matchups against eight potential Democratic nominees. But the level of Democratic support depends on who is the partys nominee, peaking at 82 percent for former vice presidentJoe Biden and falling to 57 percent for former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg. The Post-Ipsos survey was conducted Jan. 2-8, 2020, through Ipsoss KnowledgePanel, a large online survey panel recruited through random sampling of U.S. households. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the sample of 1,088 black adults overall, and four points among the sample of 900 registered voters. The Washington Posts Emily Guskin contributed to this report. US threats over Baghdad's S-400 procurement detached from reality: Iraqi MP Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 4:30 PM An Iraqi lawmaker has dismissed US threats to impose sanctions on Baghdad over its procurement of advanced Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems, saying such pressure is far away from realities on the ground. "US sanctions on Iraq need the approval of decision-making bodies in that country," Ali al-Ghanmi, a member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, said in an interview with Arabic-language Baghdad Today news agency on Thursday. He asserted that the US punitive measures over Russian S-400 missile systems would be simply formal sanctions, which would not actually materialize and would fall short of their objectives. "According to the Constitution, Iraq is free to arm itself, acquire necessary military hardware and purchase any system it deems appropriate under the circumstances. The import of S-400 missile systems requires Russian supervision, and its training of Iraqi military personnel," Ghanmi pointed out. On January 10, Iraqi lawmakers said the government had decided to move forward with negotiations to buy Russian S-400 air defense missile systems in response to concerns the US may withdraw its support for Baghdad. "We are talking to Russia about the S-400 missiles but no contracts have been signed yet," Karim Alawi, a member of the Iraqi parliament's security and defense committee, announced. He added, "We need to get these missiles, especially after Americans have disappointed us many times by not helping us in getting proper weapons." Alawi further noted that Iraq's national security adviser Falih al-Fayadh traveled to Russia three months ago for negotiations with Russian officials about the missiles, but anti-government protests and the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi delayed the talks. Abdul Khaleq al-Azzawi, another member of the Iraqi parliament's security and defense committee, said, "We authorized the prime minister to get air defense weapons from any country he wants and we authorized him to spend the money for it, from any country, from Russia or anyone." Earlier this year, Igor Kurushchenko, a member of the General Council of the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced that Iraq could improve its air defense capabilities with the help of the Russian S-400 missile system. Kurushchenko underlined that the recent US assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in an airstrike ordered by US President Donald Trump, clearly indicated that Baghdad needs to improve its air defense system. "Iraq is a partner to Russia in the field of technical military cooperation. Russia can send the necessary means to ensure the country's sovereignty and reliable protection of its airspace, including the supply of S-400 missiles and other parts of the air defense system," he pointed out. The United States has already warned Iraq of the consequences of extending military cooperation with Russia, and striking deals to purchase advanced weaponry, particularly S-400 missile systems. Former US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on February 22, 2018 that Washington has contacted many countries, including Iraq, to explain the significance of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), and possible consequences that would arise in the wake of defense agreements with Moscow. On August 2, 2017, US President Donald Trump signed into law the CAATSA that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi (R) hold talks during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw, Jan. 17, 2020. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to sign several memorandums of understanding for the implementation of planned multibillion-dollar projects under his signature Belt and Road Initiative in Myanmar during his two-day state visit to the Southeast Asian country to boost bilateral relations, Chinas state media reported Friday. Xi will meet with Myanmar President Win Myint, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and leaders from various political parties during his visit which ends Saturday. Win Myint said Xi's visit the first by a Chinese leader in nearly two decades marked a new era of bilateral relations and would help promote the two countries' future ties. Though Myanmar government officials have not yet announced the number of MoUs to be signed, reports by the Chinese media say the parties will ink agreements on five BRI projects, including the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port, a high-speed rail line connecting Kyaukphyu to southwest Chinas Yunnan province, and the New Yangon city development project. The U.S. $1.3 billion deep-sea port in Rakhine state is part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), a subsection of the larger BRI. The CMEC comprises a high-speed railway and road network that will span roughly 1,000 miles from China's Kunming city through Myanmars major economic hubs and on to a Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone, home to the port project and to Chinese oil and gas pipelines. The CMEC ultimately will give China crucial access to the Indian Ocean. Xi arrived in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw around 1 p.m. local time Friday and met briefly with Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss peaceful coexistence and the implementation of the BRI projects, according to statement released by the State Counselors Office. He will attend other meetings on Saturday, including one with Min Aung Hlaing to discuss the prospect of increasing military relations, promoting stability in border areas, and boosting security measures in both countries, according to military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun. Support from rebel armies Some of Myanmars rebel armies welcomed Xis visit, while civil society groups in different regions demanded that he terminate the controversial Myitsone hydropower project in Kachin state and voiced strong opposition to the Kyaukphyu port project The four members of the rebel Northern Alliance the Arakan Army (AA), Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) which are fighting government forces in Rakhine, Kachin, and northern Shan states, issued statements welcoming Xis visit. All of them, except for the KIA, publicly stated that they support Chinese-funded projects. The AA and TNLA along with the United Wa State Army (UWSA) Myanmars largest ethnic force agreed that the BRI project and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor a collection of infrastructure projects supporting connectivity between Myanmar and China will be beneficial to local residents. The statement issued by the UWSA said the BRI projects will improve Myanmars outdated economy, trade, and infrastructure. TNLA spokesman Colonel Mei Eik Kyaw said the Chinese projects should focus on improving the lives of locals. Mainly, we believe that if these projects in northern Shan state succeed, the local people from this region will reap the benefits, he told RFAs Myanmar Service. But these projects should be genuinely beneficial to the local people, he added. Those who have lost land and property should receive fair compensation. The Chinese government doesnt have the right to administer the region, Its up to the Myanmar government to do it. Though the statement issued by the KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), did not mention the BRI projects, it noted that bilateral agreements might help settle Kachin state's civil war and boost security in unstable border areas. The groups also said that Xi should take into consideration the diverse opinions of different ethnic groups and organizations. RFA was unable to reach the KIA or AA spokesman Khine Thukha for comment. Opposition from NGOs Kachin, Shan, and Rakhine civil society groups meanwhile issued statements of their own calling on the Chinese president to stop Chinese-funded projects in their respective areas. Though Kachin civil society groups and the KIO have issued statements on their stances concerning the Myitsone Dam, it is difficult for them to demonstrate opposition to them, said Khon Ja of the Kachin Peace Network. The previous military-backed government put the controversial hydropower project in Kachin state on hold in 2011 amid protests over its social and environmental impacts, much to Beijings dismay. The Chinese have lobbied the current government hard to allow it to resume. The Myitsone Dam project was not initiated by either the KIO or by the Kachin people, Khon Ja said. If ethnic armed groups protest against the Chinese projects, it will not bode well for their future. Similarly, the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor is a state-run project, [so] whoever opposes it will be seen as opposing the state, she added. All in all, it is very difficult for us to oppose these projects. The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) also released a statement on China-Myanmar economic cooperation in general, noting the likelihood of land confiscation for planned BRI projects. SNLD spokesman Sai Leik said land along the route of the high-speed rail and road network to be built by the Chinese from the border area in northern Shan state to Mandalay would likely be confiscated form residents. There are uncertainties with regard to land confiscation, and the local people might find themselves in trouble under the new law on vacant land, he said. These are the concerns and problems that people are facing on the ground. The Vacant, Fallow, Virgin Lands Management Act took effect in March 2019 and requires those who occupy or use vacant, fallow, or virgin land to apply for a 30-year permit to use the land or face eviction and up to two years in prison. Civil society groups have demanded that officials consult local residents before implementing Chinese infrastructure projects, instead of forging ahead with them based only on bilateral agreements. They also want those implementing the projects to to demonstrate transparency, avoid centralized control of the projects, and prohibit developments that would detrimentally affect peoples livelihoods and rights. China is Myanmars largest investor, with Chinese investment accounting for nearly U.S. $4.7 billion in 2018 and roughly U.S. $4.8 billion in 2019, according to Chinese figures. Chinas state-run CCTV reported that Chinese companies have signed agreements worth nearly U.S. $8 billion for new projects in the Southeast Asian country. Reported by Thiha Tun and Wai Mar Tun for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. [January 16, 2020] Skyview Capital, LLC Acquires Fidelis Cybersecurity LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global private investment firm Skyview Capital, LLC (www.skyviewcapital.com) has added to its software technology portfolio with the acquisition of Bethesda, MD-based Fidelis Cybersecurity (www.fidelissecurity.com) from a consortium of investors in a stock transaction. Fidelis Cybersecurity is a leading provider of Network Traffic Analysis and Digital Forensics and Incident Response solutions that enable enterprises and government organizations to detect, hunt and respond to advanced threats that evade traditional security solutions. Fidelis solutions are delivered as standalone network, endpoints and deception products, an integrated platform, or as a 247 Managed Detection and Response service that augments existing security operations, threat hunting and incident response capabilities. Fidelis employs over 250 highly skilled professionals, including some of the world's leading cybersecurity experts with specialists from the US Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and Industry. Fidelis addresses a major challenge faced by enterprises today, which see threats becoming more sophisticated. With Fidelis Elevate, organizations have a streamlined security stack that integrates network, endpoint and deception defenses, automates and orchestrates workflows, and correlates rich metadat across these security layers to ensure continuous visibility across an enterprise's cyber terrain. This allows companies and government organizations to have the necessary visibility to quickly detect, hunt and respond to threats at every step of an attack, keeping their business operations and data safe. "This is another exciting addition to our portfolio, and we are excited to be partnering with the Fidelis team in further fueling its trajectory," said Alex Soltani, Chairman and CEO of Skyview. "With the ever-increasing complexity of digital environments and the pace of cyber threats across the world, we see an opportunity to build upon Fidelis' impressive technology and solidify its position within the IT security industry. This transaction aligns well with our investment philosophy of targeting and investing in mission critical technology businesses across a wide spectrum of verticals, from telecommunications to cybersecurity." "We are excited to partner with Skyview Capital and benefit from their ability to help us take the Fidelis platform, which provides unmatched visibility and empowers security teams to rapidly respond to threats, into other markets. We see a great opportunity to continue evolving our solution that will further differentiate us by providing a holistic approach to keeping organizations safe in an increasingly threatening environment," said Nick Lantuh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelis Cybersecurity. Darryl Smith, Skyview Capital's President of Global Portfolio Operations, said, "The Skyview Portfolio Operations team is working closely with the Fidelis team to ensure a smooth transition into Skyview's portfolio. We are committed to offering any and all strategic and operational support to Fidelis' management team. We have established and look forward to building upon a strong relationship with key Fidelis customers." Going forward, Skyview will continue to pursue opportunities within the IT security category. "Skyview is committed to realizing the full value of Fidelis as a safeguard against cyber threats, and we are enthusiastic about identifying both organic and inorganic growth opportunities," added Mr. Soltani. About Skyview Capital, LLC Skyview Capital is a global private investment firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California, which specializes in the acquisition and management of mission critical enterprises in the areas of technology, telecommunications, business services, and manufacturing. By leveraging its operational resources and financial acumen, Skyview systematically enhances the long-term sustainable value of the businesses it acquires. To date, Skyview has successfully completed over 30 transactions whereby it has acted as a partner to corporations and other stakeholders experiencing a strategic transition or liquidity event. Visit www.skyviewcapital.com. About Fidelis Cybersecurity Fidelis Cybersecurity is a leading provider of threat detection, hunting and response solutions. Fidelis combats the full spectrum of cyber-crime, data theft and espionage by providing full visibility across hybrid cloud / on-prem environments, automating threat and data theft detection, empowering threat hunting and optimizing incident response with context, speed and accuracy. By integrating bi-directional network traffic analysis across your cloud and internal networks with email, web, endpoint detection and response, and automated deception technology, the Fidelis Elevate platform captures rich metadata and content that enables real-time and retrospective analysis, giving security teams the platform to effectively hunt for threats in their environment. Fidelis solutions are delivered as standalone products, an integrated platform, or as a 247 Managed Detection and Response service that augments existing security operations and incident response capabilities. Fidelis is trusted by Global 1000s and Governments as their last line of defense. Get in the hunt. For more information go to www.fidelissecurity.com. Jeff White Skyview Capital, LLC Head of Business Development 2000 Avenue of the Stars 8th Floor North Tower Los Angeles, CA 90067 310-273-6000 [email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/skyview-capital-llc-acquires-fidelis-cybersecurity-300988706.html SOURCE Skyview Capital, LLC [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 00:15:42|Editor: yan Video Player Close YAOUNDE, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon's Minister of Secondary Education, Pauline Nalova Lyonga, on Friday hailed as "excellent" the cooperation with China in high school education. Lyonga made the remarks during a visit to the China-aided Technical and Professional Agricultural High School in Yabassi in the country's Littoral region. "This institution is extremely important to the state of Cameroon and to the Ministry of Secondary Education," Lyonga told reporters."It is a clear representation of the excellent bilateral friendship between our two countries." Created in 2016 as a fruit of Sino-Cameroon cooperation, the school disposes of modern infrastructure and logistics second to none in the country, the minister said. "The Chinese are coming here with technical equipment to restore the standard of education. This is the training institution where we have agriculture and science and all of that put together," Lyonga said. "We have to change the mentality of young people. They don't have to wait until they get to the university to get into the production. They can start producing as from now," she added. Brazilian culture secretary Roberto Alvim was fired on Friday after using phrases similar to some used by Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Alvim made the comments while discussing a new art prize in Latin America's largest democracy. Alvim had held the post since November. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro made the decision after a backlash from Jewish organisations, key lawmakers, political parties, artists and the country's bar association. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photo issued by Garda of Keane Mulready-Woods, 17 from Drogheda, whose remains were found in Dublin. A priest who spoke with the family of Keane Mulready-Woods the day they were told he was murdered said they knew something serious happened when he failed to make contact with them after disappearing last Sunday. Father Gaffney, Parish Priest for St Mary's Parish and Holy Family, Ballsgrove, said the family were fearing the worst on Monday when the 17-year-old, from Drogheda in Co Louth, was not yet found. They were later told that Keane was murdered, and his remains were dismembered. Read More "While we were there, a garda had been with them and she had conveyed to them that she would be back at 7 o'clock yesterday evening, and that it would either be their worst fears realised or else it would be somebody else's remains. "The gardai were working very closely with the family and kept them updated on everything that was happening, giving them a timeline and so on," he told RTE's Drivetime. "When Keane went missing, he would always contact his sister and his mam. Within a short time, they realised that something serious was wrong because he hadn't contacted them and they couldn't get in contact with him on his mobile phone. "From then until the news began to filter through on Monday in the media that partial remains of a human being were found in Dublin. "At that stage, there was grave concern because it was unlike Keane not to have constant contact with his family, particularly his sister, his mam and his dad. "They were fearful from Monday that something dramatic had happened." Fr Gaffney made a plea for the violence in Drogheda to stop in August while presiding over a funeral of a man who lost his life in a separate feud-related incident. I was pleading that no other family in the community would have to go through that absolute heartbreak and sorrow to see a young man laid out in his home, and taken so cruelly again. It looked like up until Christmas time here, things had settled down in Drogheda and gardai were confident that they had a handle on the whole situation and it seemed to be going well. From our perspective, gardai have done everything possible and are very visible in the community. Unfortunately, it has sparked off again for whatever reason. I would appeal to anyone in the community to cooperate with the gardai because they are the official law enforcement agency of our state, and they can only be effective if they get support from everyone who has any significant evidence of any sort of even what they might see as insignificant. " He said the criminals responsible for the horrific crimes are well aware of the impact theyre having on the community. Ive met a few of them in different situations, at funerals and different occasions. One or two of them, I wouldnt know too many of them. I did address it to one particular individual, I just had the opportunity. I let him know exactly what I thought. He said youre entitled to your opinion and so on, and that was it. I think theyre well aware of the impact theyre having on the community and the people here in Drogheda." Fr Gaffney said violence has become a regular part in the everyday lives of those living in Drogheda, and that parents are fearful that their children will become involved with "ruthless" criminal networks. For the last two years now, unfortunately violence and fear is an unacceptable reality in our daily lives here in Drogheda. The reality is that ruthless criminals are grooming young teenagers and exploiting them for their own benefit, who are only interested in expanding their own personal wealth and drawing young vulnerable teenagers into that network. We need all the resources that we can get to invest in eliminating and discouraging drug abuse and crime that is just part of our community over the last couple of years in particular. Wed appeal to every government and all the different parties that wed try to work together and deal with this scourge in our community. They come from all social backgrounds and so on. Unfortunately a vulnerable teenager is drawn into the network by being given substantial money. When they become part of that network, it's very difficult to break out of it. Young parents and families are worried about their own children getting involved in this scene. Its an everyday worry for parents in our community that their children will become one of them. " Ravindra Raina re-elected J&K BJP chief India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 17: Ravinder Raina has been reelected the Jammu and Kashmir BJP president at the party headquarters here. He was reelected in the presence of party election observers Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and BJP National Secretary Tarun Chugh. Senior party leaders Varinderjit Singh and Munish Sharma were entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the organisational elections in the state. Voting for Congress is like strengthening enemies of nation: BJP's Ravinder Raina "Morale of the party workers has remained high under the dynamic leadership of Ravinder Raina," Vardhan said as he extended his greetings to him on behalf of the central leadership. NEWS AT 3 PM, JAN 17th, 2020 The Union minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set an example of selfless work for the nation and Home Minister Amit Shah has set new benchmark for organisational work. Now, the onus of development of J&K lies with Raina, he said, assuring him the support of all central ministers in development works. Chugh said the party is committed to finish terrorism from JK. "Certain mainstream politicians bring bad name to the nation by speaking for anti-India elements and Pakistan. But, we assure the public of India that we will expose every such person," he said. He claimed some people cannot digest the fact that J&K been ridden of stone-pelting and bomb blasts, and they are trying to burn the nation by propagating misinformation on other issues. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 17, 2020, 9:25 [IST] Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. For some it's just too much their organs fail and they die, she said. We are not miracle workers we can only do our best. The World Wildlife Fund said last year koala numbers have fallen 95 per cent since 1788, from an estimated 10 million to no more than 200,000 across Australia, and from 15,000 to 28,000 in NSW. Stuart Blanch, the senior manager for land clearing and restoration at WWF Australia, said rampant deforestation of koala habitat was already pushing the iconic animal towards extinction by 2050: The bushfires and drought have brought that extinction timeline forward by perhaps decades. Taronga Zoo has also been caring for an unprecedented number of injured and rescued wildlife impacted by the bushfires, heat stress and drought, said Nick Boyle, the director of conservation, welfare and science at Taronga Conservation Society. Bushfires had not only directly impacted wildlife in the path of fires, but also forced animals that have lost their habitat into urban areas, Mr Boyle said. This places them at risk of starvation, dehydration, predation by feral animals such as cats and foxes as well as injury from cars. Mr Boyle said many of the koalas admitted to hospitals were also affected by chlamydia, which is more common in populations under stress. With concerted effort focused on habitat protection, restoration and connectivity, while simultaneously addressing other threatening processes such as disease, this species can recover over time, he said. However, the chronic stress caused by the trauma of bushfires may have long-lasting effects on koala populations, said Edward Narayan, a senior lecturer in animal science at the University of Queensland. This means that the biology and physiology is greatly impacted and future koala generations are headed towards increased vulnerability to diseases, clinical problems and mortality, he said. Dr Narayan said loss of habitat could add to the build-up of chronic stress in koalas: I am highly concerned that our future native koala populations will be biologically vulnerable and carry the genetic imprints of these traumatic events ghosts of the mega bushfires." Ms Flanagan also said state biodiversity laws were a total joke because the Act actually does not do a lot to protect biodiversity at all and called for a moratorium on logging in public and privately-owned native forests that were koala habitats a call echoed by conservation groups. Loading Rebecca Keeble, the director of the Australian branch of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, called for new federal and state laws to protect koalas and their habitat from excessive tree-clearing and urban development. Current protection laws are deeply inadequate and fail to protect koalas and other threatened species with development continuously given priority, she said. The NSW government may also reassess the conservation status of koalas and other species, and set aside up to $1 million for wildlife rescue, said a spokesman for the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. He said the government was committed to protecting koalas, with $45 million invested in the NSW Koala Strategy. Loading He also said new laws had been introduced in 2017 to ensure a "balanced approach" to land management and biodiversity conservation, while the DPIE was implementing all of the recommendations of a NSW Audit Office review of native vegetation management in the state. The NSW government is considering what additional actions are needed in response to the current bushfire crisis, he said. Dr Blanch said bushfires had probably rendered many local populations of koalas extinct or unviable. "For this, it is necessary that they have a better understanding of financial terminology and budgetary processes," he said.Birla was speaking at the valedictory session of the 7th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region Conference which was attended by 35 delegates from various branches of CPA India Region and also from Australia and South East Asia Regions.He said such exchange of ideas and experiences helps in consolidating and strengthening democracy by overcoming challenges faced by legislators."Legislative institutions are credible platforms for highlighting concerns, hopes and aspirations of common people which should be effectively voiced by their representatives on the floor of the House," he said.The Speaker offered to send teams of experienced parliamentarians and officials for capacity building of legislators to understand the intricacies of budgetary process.He suggested that state legislatures should also consider conducting briefing Sessions on legislative business during the sessions on the pattern introduced by Lok Sabha.Birla mentioned that the delegates were of a unanimous view that the legislatures should work smoothly without disruptions."For this, rules may be framed and efforts should be made for bringing about uniformity in the rules across the legislatures," he said.Referring to decisions taken, Birla said that debates of all legislatures, including the Parliament, would be brought at a single platform.He said there was unanimity about holding such conferences at the level of gram panchayat, nagarpalika and districts.In her remarks, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel said that the nature of the legislatures has changed over the years."The legislature is not only doing the work of law-making but is also at the forefront of the economic and social change. As such, the role of people's representatives as members of the legislative bodies has also changed," she said.She emphasized that the legislators are judged on the basis of their work and actions in and outside the House."They are thus expected to understand social problems and play a leading role in their redress through legislatures and parliament," she said.Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who delivered the key note address, said legislators were law makers and must be able to identify a policy issue, potential legislative options to address that issue and consult relevant stakeholders. (ANI) SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Discover the World, the leading global travel sales and marketing specialist has partnered with GoAir, Asia's most trusted, punctual and fastest growing airline to expand the carrier's reach into previously untapped offline territories. The initial agreement covers Australia, Canada, France, Greece, Israel, UK and USA markets. From January this year, Discover the World will leverage its close trade relationships to promote GoAir's offering across key target audience segments including group travel. Aiden Walsh, Airline Account Manager - EMEA Region at Discover the World says: "GoAir offers a reliable and great value product, which is exactly what the market wants. I know that our trade partners will welcome the choice, reassurance and quality that they will now be able to offer onwards to their travelers." GoAir is part of the 283-years-old Indian conglomerate, The Wadia Group. The airline has received the highest approval rating of four-out-of-four stars from 1.4 million passengers - certified, validated and verified by US-based APEX, a non-profit organization. Thus, GoAir is the only airline in its category to receive such an accolade in the entire Central Asia Region. The airline was also awarded 'Asia's Most Trusted Brand 2019' by International Brand Consulting (IBC) Corporation, USA and voted as the number one airline in 'Best Seat Comfort' and 'Best Cabin Service' categories. The airline is seeking to capitalize on this recent success through the new partnership with Discover, which will focus on introducing its popular offering to connecting customers in new markets around the world. The move follows a period of aggressive growth for GoAir, which has now flown over 78.6 million passengers since its inception. The airline more than doubled the fleet of aircraft in less than two years from 25 to 54. In 2019 alone, GoAir added 12 aircraft, 100+ flights and introduced 7 international and 4 domestic destinations. GoAir has placed confirmed orders of 144 Airbus A320neo aircraft and the airline will be receiving at least one aircraft every month on average. The airline aims to cross the 100 million passenger mark over the next two years. Ruchika Singh - Vice President Sales at GoAir said, "GoAir is proud to offer its passengers a consistent, quality-assured and time-efficient service through its popular 'pocket-friendly' fares. We have also set a record by being the only airline in India to achieve On-Time-Performance leadership for 15 months in a row. This is perhaps why we are often referred to as the 'Smart People's Airline' in India." About Discover the World Discover the World has earned a reputation as an innovative global sales representation leader in the travel industry through a worldwide network of 85 offices in more than 60 countries. With a portfolio of over 100 clients utilizing its sales, marketing and business process outsourcing services, the work of Discover the World has a direct positive impact on the growth of our clients and trade industry partners every day. For more information about Discover the World, visit discovertheworld.com or call +44 203 598 8030 or +1 480 707 5566. About GoAir GoAir currently operates 330 flights every day with over 2,200 flights across the region each week. The airline flies to 36 destinations that include 27 domestic destinations: Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Kochi, Kolkata, Kannur, Leh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Ranchi, Srinagar, Varanasi and 9 international destinations: Phuket, Male, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuwait, and Dammam. SOURCE Discover the World Mayor Neal Osborne said the resolution did not take as much of an aggressive stand on the Second Amendment issue because of constraints Dillons Rule imposes on local government. He said he and his colleagues wanted to express broad support for other rights, like freedom of speech and religion. I dont know what the vote would have been if we had just put up the same resolution as everyone else, he said in reference to some of the language used in other localities. But I think when youre in a public position, you do need to try not to be incendiary; you need to be very measured in what youre going to say and consider the ramifications and repercussions down the road. State officials respond Northam responded to some of the concerns about gun rights in his State of the Commonwealth last week. This is all fully consistent with the Second Amendment. Every one of these proposals has passed constitutional muster, he told state legislators. The Marine Corps will equip its aviation squadrons with new water-activated strobe lights and could add new antennas to a location beacon that has been known to fail during emergencies. In 2020, every Marine squadron will receive new signaling devices that automatically activate when they touch water, said Capt. Christopher Harrison, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon. The "passive" strobe light will work even if a pilot is incapacitated, he added. The Marine Corps is also considering ways to improve its URT-140 radio beacons, which are meant to help search-and-rescue crews locate missing aviators. The beacon is used in all Navy tactical aircraft -- except F-35 Joint Strike Fighters -- and is known to have malfunctioned. "The Marine Corps is leveraging several funded initiatives to improve the beacon's reliability, including antenna extension kits," Harrison said. Related: Marine Corps Finds Unprofessional Command Led to Fatal Midair Crash that Killed 6 A December 2018 midair collision that killed six Marines has raised a host of questions about the equipment and training aviators receive before carrying out risky missions. One of the Marines who died in the crash, Capt. Jahmar Resilard, was alive for hours after ejecting from his F/A-18D Hornet. Resilard was floating in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan but drowned about two hours before his body was located. The captain's Hornet struck a KC-130 Hercules during an overnight training mission. He and his weapons officer, Capt. Austin Smith, ejected and parachuted into the ocean. Neither officer's location beacon worked, ProPublica reported last month in a lengthy investigation into the crash and the circumstances leading up to it. Now-retired Lt. Col. James Compton, the former commanding officer of Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242 who was relieved after the accident, told ProPublica he'd tried to outfit the unit with replacement beacons. That was after the radio device had failed twice before, including when Capt. James Frederick -- another Hornet pilot -- died in the same region two years prior. "But weeks before the [December 2018] crash, the Marine Corps ordered a halt to their use because they were not officially authorized," ProPublica reported. As the "sole Program of Record for all F/A-18 variants in the Marine Corps," Harrison said the URT-140 is the only beacon authorized for use during flight operations. Aside from problems with the beacon, the investigation into the Hornet and KC-130 collision found low safety and readiness rates for the all-weather fighter squadron. Since then, Harrison said, the Marine Corps has taken "significant actions" to improve the squadron's performance. "Such efforts include sourcing an additional simulator to the squadron, as well as increasing the unaccompanied tour length in Okinawa and Iwakuni from 24 to 36 months to increase resident maintainer experience," he said. The service declined to provide the squadron's past and current readiness data, citing operational security concerns. The Marine Corps is working with Naval Air Systems Command to field the new strobe light to all the service's squadrons in 2020, Harrison said. "Initial tests with the signaling device have been successful and will complement currently fielded equipment, such as the URT-140," he added. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Read more: GAO: Pentagon's Aircraft Readiness Goals Are a Stretch By Trend Chairman of Kazakhstans Senate Dariga Nazarbayeva advocated the need to reconsider the program for development of countrys agro-industrial complex due to the decline in production and stagnation in the sector, Trend reports with reference to the press office of Senate. Nazarbayeva made the remarks at the meeting with leadership of Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurship and KazAgro National Management Holding. It was noted that two trillion tenge ($5.2 billion) was spent on subsidies within the framework of existing state programs for agro-industrial complex development; however, the industrys main indicators did not increase and even significantly stalled. Kazakhstan is an import-dependent country in terms of goods processing. This negatively affects countrys food security, and constant changes seriously affect agricultural producers, the report said. Lack of coordination between government agencies was also noted. Weak system of veterinary support was also named as one of the key problems in animal husbandry development. Numerous reforms in veterinary medicine have significantly weakened control over veterinary conditions in the country, as evidenced by the increasing incidence of dangerous animal diseases outbreaks. Another problem is falsification of reporting statements, the report said. The issue of the agricultural machinery service was also raised during the meeting. As an example, the work of service centers in other countries was noted, where even the most complex repairs according to the standard take three hours to solve, whereas in Kazakhstan the repair time varies from 12 days to three months. In this regard, it was proposed to reconsider the operating conditions of agricultural machinery service companies. Nazarbayeva noted that state support is needed in this issue, due to the fact that expensive service, in turn, will affect the cost of end product. Another problem raised during the meeting was the need to make amendments to the current legislation regarding the simplification of the unused agricultural land withdrawal. Following the meeting, Nazarbayeva ordered the Committee on Agrarian Issues, Nature Management and Rural Development to study issues raised during the meeting and prepare agenda for discussion at the parliamentary hearings. Julian Francis, General Secretary of the ULP, did not disclose the agreement reached with Linkz over the copyright issue. No legal action will arise out of what was reported in some circles as a copyright infringement by the Unity Labour Party. General Secretary of the Unity Labour Party (ULP) Julian Francis has put to rest any possibility of legal action against any copyright infringement for use of the popular song Tombstone performed by Grenadian performing/recording artiste Mandella Mandella Linkz McDonald. Francis sought to give the genesis of the matter by first explaining that there was a local remake of the song by a man who goes by the alias Moon, a resident of Questelles. Moon substituted the word Tombstone with Ralphie, but retained the full music track (melody etc.) of the original song. A video recording of Moon performing his remake video went viral on YouTube but it was never recorded, Francis said. There were attempts made to book McDonald to perform at one of the rallies, but his touring schedule did not facilitate this, Francis confirmed. The song was performed by Moon at two ULP rallies, one in Kingstown and the other at the decommissioned E.T. Joshua Airport at Arnos Vale. Photos of the performances reached Linkzs management team who initially expressed concern that the song was performed at four events. Francis told THE VINCENTIAN that this issue was also put to rest as it was discovered that the four photos sent were actually taken at the two events referred. Discussions that ensured between the ULP and Linkzs management resulted in an amicable settlement, according to Francis, but he was not prepared to disclose to the public, the content of that agreement. Suffice it to say, an invitation was extended to the Grenadian Soca artiste to perform at the ULPs Convention last Sunday. Speaking on Sunday, Francis said that the flight was arranged for McDonald to perform here on Saturday, and he arrived in St Vincent early Sunday morning. New Delhi, Jan 17 : The online nominations process for the Sardar Patel National Unity Award -- the highest civilian award for contribution to the unity and integrity of India -- is on and the last date for nominations is April 30, the Home Ministry said on Friday. The Ministry said that the nominations are being received online in the Ministry of Home Affairs website https://nationalunityawards.mha.gov.in. The Centre has instituted the award in the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first Home Minister. The award seeks to recognize notable and inspiring contributions to promote the cause of national unity and integrity and to reinforce the value of a strong and united India. As one of nearly 700 attorneys in the Chattanooga Bar Association (CBA) who either did not take the time to vote or was inadvertently not attentive enough to exercise my right and "privilege" to praise or take anonymous cheap shots at judges I am a little reluctant to comment on said process ---- but I will. In the four adjoining counties of Hamilton, Rhea, Bradley, and Marion there ... (click for more) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 00:40:45|Editor: yan Video Player Close KATHMANDU, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's Khagendra Thapa Magar, the former record-holder as the shortest man of the world, died here on Friday at the age of 28. Magar, who was admitted to Pokhara-based Manipal Teaching Hospital after undergoing some health problems last night, breathed his last breath Friday afternoon, Khagendra Thapa Magar Trust confirmed. According to the Trust, Khagendra died of pneumonia, who also had severe health issues including heart disease, respiratory problems and lack of hemoglobin in blood among others. The Guinness World Records had recognized Khagendra Thapa Magar as the world's shortest living man (mobile) in October 2010 when he was measured 67.08 cm (2 ft 2.41 in) on his 18th birthday. Prior to this title, he was the shortest living teenager (male) measuring 65.58 cm (2 ft 1.8 in). Khagendra Thapa Magar Trust informed that his final rites will be performed in Pokhara on Saturday. EDWARDSVILLE Tourism accounts for almost $700 million in economic impact and more than 5,000 jobs in the six-county area served by the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau, according to information presented at the groups annual Tourism Summit. The event, held Thursday at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, brought together people from both government and the tourism industry. John Hopkins, chairman of the tourism bureaus board, started the event by asking a simple question: What time is it? He then answered. Its time to stop thinking about promoting just one city at a time, he said. Its time to start thinking about promoting a region. Its time to start looking for visitors who dont just come from Minnesota or Missouri, he said. Its time to start looking for visitors who come to the area from Japan and the British Isles. The world is smaller and were a big part of it, he said. If you had gone to someone and said five years ago that there would be tourism groups coming to Madison County from Japan, from Germany, from the British Isles, they would think you were out of your mind. Now, Hopkins said, its a common occurrence. The total economic impact of tourism on the region last year is estimated at $695.5 million, a 4.3 percent increase from the previous year. That also accounted for 5,050 jobs. Brett Stawar, president and CEO of the tourism bureau, said he expected that success to continue and a number of positive things are happening. Alton is becoming more of a destination and hub for riverboat cruises. Both American Cruise Lines and American Queen Steam Boat Co. are adding stops in Alton. The interest in the Mississippi River is exploding, he said, noting that during his recent trip to China people were very interested in it. Part of the emphasis on Alton is that offers an alternative the more industrialized St. Louis, he said. Its the prettiest section of the river, where it opens up wide and we have the Clark Bridge, he said. Its a natural port. Stawar said there are a number of bookings already scheduled through 2022, and the bureau is developing a Special VIP Tour exclusively for the American Queen Steam Boat Co. He also said there is expected to be a lot of interest from international travelers. Most of the areas foreign visitors come from the United Kingdom, China, Germany, Japan, Mexico and Canada. Stawar said his recent trip to China was very educational. Before I went to China I had no idea, he said. You hear the numbers but you dont see it. Theyre all maturing, and the middle class is growing, Stawar said. Theyre looking to see the rest of the world. Looking at the economics of it, they are a powerhouse of money and expendable income, Stawar said. And they are traveling. Although coming to America is a long-haul destination, Stawar said there is a lot here to attract visitors. Route 66 is a major draw, especially for German and UK tourists. Stawar said Route 66 is the No. 1 itinerary request for visitors from the UK. Weve heard examples of someone buying a car (at one end of Route 66) and selling it at the end, he said. Another factor is green space, especially in urban areas. I remember when we had a China tour here and they were rolling in a patch of clover by the Wadlow statute, he said. Mitch Bair, Collinsville City Manager and a tourism bureau board member, believes there needs to be a push for the bureau to represent all of Madison County. The bureau now includes the northern half of the county. ILLINOISouth, another regional tourism bureau, covers 22 counties from the Mississippi to the Wabash rivers, including the Granite City and Highland areas. Each agency receives equal financial support from the county. While the tax revenues totaling about $5,400 and split evenly between the two groups is not a large amount there are grants and advertising revenues that would be affected. For seveeral years the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau has tried to become the sole bureau in Madison County, and the issue is expected to come up again at some time. Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, right, talks with main opposition Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn at the National Assembly, Friday, during a courtesy visit to the opposition party his after inauguration Tuesday. Hwang asked Chung to ensure the upcoming April 15 general election is held fairly, and Chung sought support from Hwang in passing pending bills related to the people's livelihoods. Yonhap The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday summoned emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee. Details of the meeting were not revealed but the meeting is scheduled for Friday this week. PDP National Secretary, Sen. Umaru Ibrahim Tsauri, in a Special Announcement of an emergency NEC meeting on Thursday, declared: All members of the PDP National Executive Committee(NEC) are hereby invited to an emergency meeting of the NEC tomorrow, Friday, 17th January, 2020. Venue is NEC Hall, PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja and time is 10 a.m. Members are enjoined to attend as the meeting will discuss the state of the nation. PV: 0 Mumbai, Jan 17 : A day after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal snubbed him during a public event, Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos on Friday announced that the ecommerce giant will create 10 lakh new jobs in India by 2025 through continued investments in technology, infrastructure and its logistics network. The new expected jobs is on top of the 700,000 jobs Amazon has already created in the country since 2013, the company said in a statement. "We are investing to create a million new jobs here in India over the next five years," said Bezos. "We've seen huge contributions from our employees, extraordinary creativity from the small businesses we've partnered with, and great enthusiasm from the customers who shop with us, and we are excited about what lies ahead," the Amazon Founder said in a statement. The announcement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a cold shoulder to the world's richest man who has an estimated net worth of $117 billion, by not meeting him. On Thursday, Goyal not only ticked off Bezos saying that they are not doing India a favour by investing a billion dollars, but also raised concerns if its losses were a result of predatory pricing and if Amazon and Flipkart were gaining entry into multi-brand retail by using loopholes. More importantly, alluding to the $1 billion investment announced by Bezos in India, Goyal had a different take. "(If) they have made a loss of a billion dollars then they jolly well have to finance the billion dollars. So, it is not as if they are doing a great favour to India when they invest a billion dollars," the minister told the gathering. On Wednesday, Bezos announced that the company plans to invest $1 billion to help bring 10 million traders and micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) across India online, enabling US $10 billion in cumulative exports by 2025 and supporting India's economic diversification. According to Amazon, the 10 lakh new jobs will be across industries, including information technology, Cloud computing, skill development, content creation, retail, logistics and manufacturing. "Since 2014, Amazon has grown its employee base more than four times, and last year inaugurated its new campus building in Hyderabad - Amazon's first fully-owned campus outside the US and the largest building globally in terms of employees (15,000) and space (9.5 acres). The company said that Amazon's operations network has created inclusive job opportunities across the country, including hundreds of associates with hearing and speech impairment at its fulfilment centres, sortation stations, and delivery stations. Amazon also has an all-woman delivery station, along with a pilot internship programme for individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities. The company said that it has expanded growth opportunities for more than 550,000 traders and micro, small, and medium-sized businesses - including local shops - through initiatives like Saheli, Karigar, and "I Have Space." This case illustrates Irans targeting of Americans in the United States in order to silence those who oppose the Iranian regime or otherwise further its goals, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said in a statement. The defendants, working for Iran, gathered information on Americans that could then be used by the Iranian intelligence services to intimidate or harm them or their families. Honor, a provider of in-home care and related technology, has laid off 35 of its San Francisco headquarters staff, The Chronicle has learned. Jessica Gilmartin, Honors chief marketing officer, said the layoffs were across departments including general administrative and human resources positions. Honor plans to continue to increase its caregiver workforce, she added. We recently eliminated a small number of jobs less than 10% of our total non-caregiver workforce, Gilmartin wrote in an email. These targeted reductions were made in the normal course of business operations and we dont have any further comment as to why weve made these small adjustments to our workforce. Honor, founded in 2014, began offering services in Contra Costa County in 2015 and now provides nonmedical caregivers in the Bay Area and more than 800 cities and towns across California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Ohio and Michigan. It initially hired its own home-care workers, shifting them in 2016 from independent contractors to regular employees with benefits and stock options. That change averted the controversy some businesses now face over whether their workers are misclassified as contractors. In 2017, Honor began offering software and services to independently owned home-care agencies its former rivals. Honor provides those agencies technology for caregiver scheduling, training and performance tracking, as well as a phone-support team. Gilmartin said Honor directly employs thousands of those caregivers, transferring them as employees from outside agencies to Honors payroll. It continues to hire caregivers directly as well. According to CrunchBase, the company has received $115 million in total funding since its founding. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes The news website Axios previously reported that Japanese conglomerate SoftBank walked away in November from a commitment to invest $150 million in Honor after agreeing to provide the funding last year. Gilmartin declined to comment on the report, but said the company is fully funded. The company is backed by Naspers Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital. CEO Seth Sternberg previously started Meebo, a messaging app, and worked at Google. Chase DiFeliciantonio is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice Spiralling insurance and other costs are being blamed for the demise of this years St Patricks Day parade in Drogheda, which has been an annual event for two centuries. But organisers of the event, which dates back to the 19th century and is one of the biggest Paddys Day parades outside of Dublin, said they had no choice but to call it a day. Its dreadful, Parade Director Isobel Sanroma told Independent.ie. Its just very, very sad, she said. Despite the vicious gangland feud that has left the Co Louth towns residents living in fear following the horrific murder of local teenager Keane Mulready-Woods (17) this week, Ms Sanroma said the ongoing violence has nothing to do with the difficult decision to cancel this years parade. The big thing is the funding, she said. The current parade committee, which has been staging the event for the past 34 years, blamed out-of-control insurance costs for literally raining on their parade. Floats which were once a mainstay of the event which attracts around 50,000 spectators a year have become almost non-existent in recent years because of the massive cost to insure them, she said. Were lucky if we have one float, she said of the prohibitive insurance costs. Everyone has to be insured, even walking groups. But everyone is complaining about insurance costs, she said. Health and safety issues, including the necessity for private security firms to patrol the event, have proved too costly for the voluntary committee, she added. Now we have to employ more than two security firms. Everything now is health and safety, she said. The parade would have cost about 15,000 to stage this year, which the committee simply hasnt been able to raise through sponsorships and donations, Ms Sanroma said. We just havent got the money, she said. The parade has been a much-loved event in the medieval town for generations. Our parade, over the years, has grown from strength to strength. We have had many special moments, lots of laughter, and, of course, sometimes we have lost good friends who hold a special place in my heart. We attract huge crowds on to the streets of Drogheda every year, according to the parades website. The only time it was cancelled was during the 2001 Foot and Mouth crisis, Ms Sanroma said. News of the demise of this years event was broken to the local Drogheda Leader newspaper today. However, the parade committee said it is not ruling out someone else taking over the reins and set up a completely new group we will not stand in their way and will assist as much as we can to get going. Drogheda Mayor Paul Bell said the news is disappointing and will be a blow to the local residents and economy as well as tourism. However, he said he hopes a solution can be found. I want the council to engage with organisers to see what can be done, he told Independent.ie this evening. Is it better to spend $42 million repairing two rundown city theatres, or $200 million turning them into a state-of-the-art facility? That is one of the questions being brought to city hall next week as councillors debate how to divvy up the 2020 budget. Built as the city of Torontos official 1967 Centennial project, the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts on Front St. E., opposite Berczy Park, requires an estimated $42 million in repairs just to bring it up to current municipal code, including making the building accessible to people with disabilities. The board of TO Live, the agency that runs the citys publicly owned theatre venues, is pitching instead to tear down the St. Lawrence Centre and build a new civic and cultural mecca to serve the performing arts community, residents and tourists. The proposal includes using the $42 million from the city that would otherwise have been spent on repairs, along with $100 million in as-yet-unsecured city, provincial and federal money, and $38 million to $58 million that would be raised by TO Lives recently created fundraising arm. We want to be a world-class city and to be a world-class city, we need world-class venues, said TO Lives vice-chair, Coun. Gary Crawford (Ward 20 Scarborough-Southwest). Arts and culture is an incredibly important part of every city any international city for tourism, for jobs. Its an important part of the ecology of a successful city and I think thats why moving forward with the redevelopment will be a very positive step forward for the city. While slight on detail, the proposal for redevelopment envisions: a state-of-the-art performance hall, with flexible configurations allowing for 750 seated guests or a standing audience of up to 5,000 people; a second, 300-500 seat theatre space; a welcoming public space, including a better lobby and food and beverage on offer; outdoor spaces, including a connection to Berczy Park across the street; three rehearsal spaces; administrative and support facilities. I think theres an opportunity here to make a mark, not just for the local community, but also, if we do it right, to make a mark internationally, to say, this is how you create a sense of community with a partnership of the arts and culture and really redefine the downtown core in the city of Toronto, said Clyde Wagner, president and CEO of TO Live and the former executive producer of the Luminato Festival. TO Live is the city agency that oversees Meridian Hall (formerly the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts) on Front St. and the Meridian Arts Centre (formerly the Toronto Centre for the Arts), near Yonge St. and Sheppard Ave., as well as the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. The agency receives about $5 million in annual subsidies from the city. The St. Lawrence Centre contains the 868-seat Bluma Appel Theatre and 497-seat Jane Mallett Theatre. Both theatres are so dated they cant properly serve the evolving theatre scene, which increasingly requires stages that can be easily transformed into different configurations, said Leslie Lester, vice-president of the centres redevelopment, on a recent tour of the site. Past renovations have provided temporary fixes, but the building has not kept current with industry-wide standards for performing arts companies. The redevelopment proposes turning the site back into the cultural and civic mecca it was meant to be when it first opened in 1970. The larger theatre was meant to house performing arts and the smaller one was put to use as a town hall the first event there was a debate on the proposed Spadina Expressway. I understand the potential of this particular real estate. It thrills me, said Lester, who was project manager for the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in the Distillery District. As a Torontonian, Id love to see something magical happen here. She points out that in addition to being across the street from the popular Berczy Park, the St. Lawrence Centre is just a few steps from Meridian Hall and two blocks from Union Station. From the west windows of the existing building, the CN Tower is visible. Both theatres at the St. Lawrence Centre are currently underused. The hope is that a new facility would be much more widely used and make more money, perhaps eliminating the need for a subsidy. The citys stages are not commercial stages their mandate is to represent the city on stage, according to Wagner. Still, the hope is that the redeveloped venue would be a commercial success. Its very different from a commercial mandate. Having said that, we want to build a stage that lowers that subsidy and maximizes every dollar the city gives us, said Wagner. Pre-tax profits at an Irish unit of biopharma giant Regeneron soared 18-fold to $386.47m (347m) in 2018. New accounts filed by US-owned Regeneron International Ltd show that the company recorded the sharp increase in pre-tax profits as revenues soared 44pc to $1.87bn from $1.3bn in 2018. The Regeneron operation here has gone from strength to strength since it established its Irish HQ at the former Dell site in Limerick. The directors for Regeneron International said the increase in the value of its property, plant and equipment to $749m from $648m in 2018 was primarily due to renovations and additions to its Limerick facility. Numbers employed increased to 850. Emilia Fox kept things casual as she ran errands on Friday after her cousin Laurence was branded a 'white privileged male' during a racism row over Meghan Markle. The actress, 45, cut a fashionable figure in a long black fluffy jacket and a pair of skinny jeans as she stepped out in Kensington, London. She accessorised with a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses balanced on top of her head and appeared to be concentrating hard on a phone conversation. Casual: Emilia Fox, 45, kept things low-key in a black fluffy coat and trainers as she ran errands in Kensington, London, on Friday Emilia wore her blonde locks down for the outing and appeared to only have on the lightest touch of makeup. The Silent Witness star completed her laid-back look with a pair of black trainers and toted a large leather handbag as she tackled her to do list. Her appearance comes after Laurence, 41, stood strong in the face of a left-wing Twitter mob accusing him of 'racism' following his Question Time appearance. Multi-tasking: The actress appeared to be concentrating hard on her phone call as she stood next to a car On Thursday night the Inspector Lewis star took part in a slanging match with ethnicity lecturer Rachel Boyle over the Duchess of Sussex. He accused Ms Boyle, an academic at Edge Hill University on Merseyside, of 'being racist' after she called him 'a white privileged male' for denying Meghan was hounded from Britain for being mixed-race. As the row continued on Friday he quoted Martin Luther King's 1963 'I have a dream' speech about living in a nation where children 'will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character'. Family: Emilia and Laurence are cousins and appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox together He said: 'This is the position I took last night and I live by in life. If you can improve on it, I'm all ears. Or you can keep screeching ''Racist!'' at me and I can carry on having a jolly good giggle at your expense. The tide is turning'. Laurence suggested he was 'having the best day of my life ever' while replying to comments accusing him of 'appropriating [Dr King] in order to prop up your own white privilege and toxic masculinity'. The former husband of actress Billie Piper also revealed his Twitter feed has been flooded with abusive messages - but urged the trolls to keep them coming. Not impressed: Laurence rolled his eyes as he denied treatment of Meghan Markle was racist, declaring 'Oh my God' when called a 'white privileged male' during Question Time on Thursday Heated debate: The actor (left) was involved in an extraordinary slanging match last night with audience member Rachel Boyle (right), a lecturer in race ethnicity He goaded critics about 'drinking all of these leftist tears', telling his detractors: 'My cup it overfloweth. But please don't stop'. His opponent Ms Boyle said on Friday she's 'not a**sed' about the row and tweeted: 'Fell out with @LozzaFox (not a***d), upset a (majority white) audience (not a***d) but called the treatment of Meghan Markle what it is ''racism''. Thank you to @bbcquestiontime for having me'. Ms Boyle has appeared on BBC Breakfast as a newspaper reviewer and describes herself on social media as a university lecturer researching race and ethnicity. Hitting back: Laurence quoted Martin Luther King and lampooned the 'leftist tears' of his critics on Twitter after Thursday night's row Frustrated? Laurence couldn't cope with what he was hearing and looked like he was banging his head on a desk during the heated discussion Ms Boyle has appeared on BBC Breakfast as a newspaper reviewer and describes herself on social media as a university lecturer researching race and ethnicity. She was jeered as she called Laurence, a QT panellist in Liverpool, 'a white privileged male' when he denied her claims and said Britain is 'the most tolerant, lovely country in Europe.' Full exchange: Rachel Boyle v Laurence Fox Rachel Boyle: 'The problem we've got with this is that Meghan has agreed to be Harry's wife and then the Press have torn her to pieces. Let's be really clear about what this is let's call it by its name, it's racism, she's a black woman and she has been torn to pieces.' Laurence Fox: 'It's not racism, you can't just...' RB: 'She has been torn to pieces.' LF: 'It's not racism.' RB: 'It absolutely is.' LF: 'No it's not, we're the most tolerant, lovely country in Europe.' RB: 'Says a white privileged man.' LF: 'It's not racism. RB: 'Says a white privileged man.' LF: 'Oh God. It's so easy to throw the charge of racism at everybody and it's really starting to get boring. RB: 'What worries me about your comment is you are a white privileged male who has no experience in this. LF: 'I can't help what I am, I was born like this, it's an immutable characteristic, so to call me a white privileged male is to be racist - you're being racist.' Advertisement He shot back at her: 'Oh my God. I can't help what I am, I was born like this, it's an immutable characteristic: to call me a white privileged male is to be racist - you're being racist'. Laurence was visibly exasperated by their exchange last night, first looking to the sky in despair and then appearing to bang his head on the desk. He has won huge numbers of new fans and was cheered as he spoke out about Meghan and Harry 'having their cake and eating it' and demanding: 'Can we have the cottage back and your HRHs?' He also blasted climate change hypocrisy by 'lecturing' stars and the Labour leadership contest, where he made the audience giggle when he nicknamed Jeremy Corbyn 'magic grandpa'. And after being asked about if he had sympathy for the Sussexes he added: 'Surely Harry should have had a chat with Meghan at some point and said: 'By the way this is going to be misery and you don't have to marry me if you don't want to'. 'And then they hop out and I think, can we have the cottage back and your HRHs? I do sympathise with them but there is a little bit of having your cake and eating it, which I don't enjoy'. Their angry exchange began when Ms Boyle said criticism of Meghan in the media had been motivated by 'racism', adding: 'She's a black woman and she has been torn to pieces.' But Laurence hit back, saying: 'it's not racism' and continued: We're the most tolerant, lovely country in Europe it's so easy to throw the charge of racism at everybody and it's really starting to get boring'. TV appearances: Ms Boyle has appeared on the sofa reviewing newspapers for the BBC - but viewers pointed out she was introduced as an audience member Smiles: Laurence enjoyed an after show drink with host Fiona Bruce and Ms Grant after a compelling show on Thursday Moving on: On Friday he brushed off criticism on Twitter and said he'd 'rather eat a lightbulb' than learn more about white privilege On the show: Fox (far right) was on the panel with Fiona Bruce (centre) with Culture Minister Helen Whately, Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti, SNP MP Alyn Smith and Madeline Grant from the Telegraph However, Ms Boyle angered him and much of the audience by replying: 'What worries me about your comment is you are a white privileged male who has no experience in this.' Fox responded: 'I can't help what I am, I was born like this, it's an immutable characteristic, so to call me a white privileged male is to be racist - you're being racist'. Laurence also attracted attention on the BBC programme for comments about climate change. Supporters: Laurence found an army of new fans after his Question Time performance with many demanding: 'Get him on every week' Joking about the hypocrisy of celebrities who fly regularly, Fox said: 'The carbon footprint's huge. But we make up for it by preaching to everyone how they should change their life.' On Friday the actor revealed his Twitter feed had been flooded with abusive messages and said: 'Dear trolls. Water off a duck's back. Happy Friday everyone'. The Famous Foxes Laurence Fox comes from a distinguished acting family. His sister Lydia and brother Jack (one of many in the family to have appeared in Midsomer Murders) are both actors. Father James Fox is a film and TV actor who appeared in Performance, Death In Paradise, Downton Abbey and Midsomer Murders. His uncle Edward's impressive film CV includes Battle Of Britain, The Day Of The Jackal, A Bridge Too Far and Johnny English Strikes Again. Edward's first wife Tracy Reed appeared in Dr Strangelove and the original Casino Royale. His second wife Joanna David has appeared in TV hits Colditz, Rumpole of the Bailey, Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders and The Darling Buds of May. Laurence's other uncle Robert was once married to Natasha Richardson, herself from a famous acting dynasty. While his cousins include Emilia, with movie hits such as The Pianist on her resumee, and TV actor Freddie. Advertisement One critic urged him to 'find out some more about white privilege' by reading a book called 'Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race', to which he replied: 'I would genuinely rather eat a lightbulb'. In a message goading his critics he tweeted later: 'To be clear, I am in no way having the best day of my life ever drinking all of these leftist tears. My cup it overfloweth. But please don't stop'. However, he has also won huge numbers of new fans, who declared they want him on Question Time every week calling him a 'breath of fresh air'. He was cheered and given a series of ovations as he spoke out about Meghan and Harry, climate change and preferring the north of England to London. In another fiery exchange Corbynista Shami Chakrabarti accused him of ignoring female candidates in the Labour leadership battle by backing Keir Starmer to replace Jeremy Corbyn, who he called 'magic grandpa'. An upset Laurence said sarcastically: 'Jeepers creepers. Sorry, let me rewind. Any of the women. Is that better? 'Any woman. Because it's really important what your gender is or what your sexuality is rather than what your policies are'. Jeremy Corbyn provoked a row on Wednesday after he agreed with Prince Harry's claim that press coverage of his wife Meghan had 'racial undertones'. The Labour leader's spokesman said he had raised the issue of 'intrusion' in media reports about the couple's relationship. Speaking out: Laurence responded to people criticising him on Twitter following the row But Tory MP Philip Davies hit back, dismissing suggestions that criticism of the Duchess of Sussex was racist. He said: 'Anyone who remembers Harry and Meghan's wedding will recall the huge popularity they had. 'The criticism of Meghan whether people think it is justified or not is nothing to do with racism. That is utter codswallop.' Oops: After the show, Laurence made a nod to the scenes that would be broadcast later File image: Twitter/@BhimArmyChief Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad, who was arrested in connection with the violence during an anti-CAA protest in Old Delhi's Daryaganj, was released from Tihar Jail late on January 16, officials said. Azad's outfit had organised a march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar against the amended citizenship act on December 20, without police permission. He was sent to judicial custody on December 21. On January 15, a Delhi court had granted bail to Azad, who was accused of inciting people during the anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid. The court also restrained Azad from visiting Delhi for four weeks and directed him not to hold any dharna till the elections in the national capital. Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau had granted the relief to Azad on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 25,000. While granting bail to Azad on January 15, the judge recited Rabindranath Tagore's famous poem 'Where the Mind is Without Fear' and said citizens have a fundamental right to peaceful protest which cannot be curtailed by the state. "I am reminded of our reverend patriotic poet Rabindranath Tagore who is most relevant today. He during the colonial era in early 1900's when British followed the policy of Divide and Rule, visualised a nation where where there is no fear in the minds people and education is attained by all; people are enlightened and do not create walls of discrimination," she had said. The prosecutor, Gillian Kassner, said the rapper used at least six aliases and posed a risk of fleeing the country not to mention, she said, the alias he most commonly uses actually refers to leaving, a nod to his stage name, Pop Smoke. Pop Smoke responded softly to the judges questions, wearing a white hoodie with Mona Lisas face on the front and striped green velour sweatpants. He was released on a $250,000 bond and is prohibited from traveling outside the United States without the governments permission. He is also barred from any contact with gang members or with the owner of the Rolls-Royce. Mark I. Cohen, a lawyer for Pop Smoke, declined to comment after the hearing. With radio staples like Welcome to the Party and Dior, the gravel-voiced Pop Smoke became one of the most promising rappers from Brooklyns growing drill rap scene last year. His debut EP, Meet the Woo, was released last July. In October, Pop Smoke was one of five New York rappers that the New York Police Department prevented from performing at the Rolling Loud hip-hop festival in Queens, contending that they had been affiliated with recent acts of violence citywide but not specifying any criminal behavior. A month later, he met the owner of the new Rolls-Royce at a recording studio in Los Angeles. The owner, whose identity was not revealed in the indictment, let the rapper borrow his car for a music video on the promise that it would be returned the day after, according to the law enforcement official. When that day came, the official said, the owner was unable to reach Pop Smoke and tried figuring out the Rolls-Royces location using the GPS tracking on the car. He saw that his Rolls-Royce was traveling through Arizona. 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. RIO DE JANEIROPresident Jair Bolsonaros top culture official was dismissed Friday over an address in which he used phrases and ideas from an infamous Nazi propaganda speech while playing an opera that Adolf Hitler regarded as a favourite. The address by Roberto Alvim, the culture secretary, set off a furor across the political spectrum as Brazilians reacted with exasperation and incredulity. The outcry was the latest flash point in a broader debate over freedom of speech and culture in the Bolsonaro era. The president campaigned on a promised course correction after an era of rule by leftist leaders, whom he accused of trying to impose cultural Marxism. Critics say that he and his allies are taking a dogmatic approach to the arts, the public education system and to sexuality and reproductive rights. Alvims speech, which was posted on the culture secretariats Twitter account Thursday evening, shows Alvim speaking sternly sitting at a desk. Behind him is a framed photograph of Bolsonaro. A large wooden cross on his desk is featured prominently. Careful observers were aghast after noticing that a few minutes into the address, Alvim uttered a few phrases that are remarkably similar to an infamous speech by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Germany propaganda minister. Goebbelss speech, delivered in 1933, was one of several in which he called on artists to back the Nazi vision. Art, he said, needed to be a tool free of sentimentalism that served the states aims, according to a biography of Goebbels written by German historian Peter Longerich. Alvims address included verbatim some phrases from Goebbelss, including an exhortation to make art in the next decade heroic. It also includes the warning that Goebbels gave that if art does not rise to the national moment, it will cease to exist. In the background, Richard Wagners opera Lohengrin is playing, a work Hitler described in his autobiography as one that had been decisive in his life, according to the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo. Announcing a $4.8 million investment in the countrys national arts grant program, Alvim, a veteran theatre director, made clear the government would fund works that hew to Bolsonaros world view, works that pay homage to historical figures and emphasize conservative values. The arts grants would support operas, theatre productions, painting and sculpture exhibitions, works of literature and music compositions. Alvim said Brazil needed a culture that doesnt destroy, but one that will save our youth. When culture is sickened, people become sick as well, he said in a video recorded alongside the president, which was broadcast before the one that drew controversy. By Friday morning, Goebbels and Nazi were trending topics on Twitter in Brazil as users shared news stories and memes expressing horror. Alvim initially dismissed the criticism, accusing leftists of reading too much into his words, and saying in a radio interview that his aides chose the passages from Goebbelss speech when he asked them to search on Google for speeches about nationalism and art. But later he apologized to the Jewish community for what he called an involuntary mistake. Bolsonaro said Friday afternoon in a statement that despite Alvins apology, he decided that keeping him in the job was unsustainable. He added that the government repudiates totalitarian and genocidal ideologies. Several politicians, including the speaker of the House, had called for Alvims immediate ouster while some prominent figures close to Bolsonaro questioned his sanity. Jose Antonio Dias Toffoli, the president of the Supreme Court, said in a statement that Alvims remarks deserved to be repudiated with vehemence, adding that they were offensive to Brazilian people, especially the Jewish community. Olavo de Carvalho, a Virginia-based writer and YouTuber from Brazil who is known for peddling conspiracy theories and informing Bolsonaros thinking on societal and intellectual matters, was also critical of Alvim. It may be early to judge, he wrote on Facebook. But Roberto Alvim may not be of sound mind. Well see. Germanys embassy in Brazil condemned the speech in a post on Twitter, saying that it opposed any attempt to banalize or glorify an era that brought infinite suffering for humanity. Read more about: Zandvoort will be a Formula 1 circuit "for the brave", according to track designer Jarno Zaffelli. Zaffelli, boss of the Italian circuit design company Dromo, has been charged was modifying the classic John Hugenholtz-designed layout ahead of the 2020 Dutch GP. "It is no coincidence that both Zandvoort and Suzuka were designed by Hugenholtz," Zaffelli told the Dutch publication Formule 1. Hugenholtz's name will feature on one of two brand new and novel banked corners, he said. "According to our simulations, the drivers will go at full speed through turn 2 and after that it will be very interesting to see which line they take in the Hugenholtz corner," Zaffelli also told De Telegraaf newspaper. "The angle exceeds 18 degrees. This is really going to be a circuit for the brave drivers." However, some drivers are sceptical, believing that Zandvoort's tight and twisty layout may not be exciting for Formula 1. "You always hear that at Zandvoort you can't pass. But that's why we've been called to change that," said Zaffelli. "We see this as the project with the highest risk - for us and also for the Formula 1 leadership and everyone involved. For the simple reason that Zandvoort is different. "We are changing a historical place in a number of parts and coming up with something not seen in Formula 1 for decades," he added. Zaffelli said drones fly over Zandvoort every day trying to capture footage of the construction works, but he said even the F1 teams are still mainly in the dark. "Teams have the raw data, but not the entire circuit," he revealed. "We will keep that to ourselves for a while. "We're doing it because we don't want them to have all the time in the world to simulate. That way there is a surprise element." Zaffelli said the asphalt will be laid in late January. The 2020 Dutch GP will take place in May. WASHINGTON - The third impeachment trial in U.S. history officially began Thursday amid a swirl of new allegations about President Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine, which several Republicans rushed to downplay as they dismissed Democrats' calls for further investigation. Lev Parnas, a former associate of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, has alleged that Trump knew of his role in the effort to dig up dirt in Ukraine that could benefit the president politically - the central issue in House Democrats' case for removing the president from office - and this week provided Congress with documents to buttress his claims. Trump, who has appeared in several pictures with Parnas, denied knowing him on Thursday. Republican lawmakers appeared unswayed by the new information, focusing on attacking the Democrat-led investigation in the House for not uncovering the evidence before sending the impeachment articles to the Senate. "Look, no Republicans were for the inquiry to begin with so why would we be under any sort of obligation to feel like we need to complete the work that we never even agreed should've begun in the first place?," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said of the House investigation. That sentiment was expressed by several other GOP lawmakers, many of whom said they did not want to hear from new witnesses or further investigate Trump's conduct during the trial. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said it is the responsibility of the House, not the Senate, to gather evidence and present a case for impeachment. "As a juror, I'm not fishing, looking for more information on this," he said. "I'm trying to respond to what the House is sending over and what they're doing." The chorus of Republicans unwilling to consider additional evidence served as an indication that Democrats will face an uphill climb in their attempts to further build a case against Trump as the Senate trial plays out. The impeachment charges center on the allegation that the president withheld military aid and a White House meeting to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, including former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Democrats accused their Republican colleagues of turning a blind eye to incriminating evidence against Trump and staging a political cover-up to protect the president. They seized on the allegations made by Parnas in television interviews Wednesday that placed Trump at the center of the alleged plot to solicit political interference by Ukraine. "The American people have seen allegations, and they're allegations," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday. "We need to see more evidence that would be contained in the documentation. This is just another avoiding of the facts and the truths on their part." Democrats said their case was also bolstered Thursday by a report from a congressional watchdog agency that found the White House violated federal law when it withheld security aid to Ukraine last year. The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan agency that reports to Congress, found that the administration broke a law that governs how the executive branch disburses money approved by Congress. The White House disputed the findings, which carry no potential criminal penalties. But Democrats seized on the report to push for more disclosures about the deliberations and chain of events that led to the money, which has since been spent, being held back last summer. Parnas - who has been trying to get House impeachment investigators' attention for weeks - alleged in an interview with NBC News Wednesday evening that Trump personally blessed his covert effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political adversaries. He also admitted to conveying to the Ukrainians a "quid pro quo" message that aid would only flow when the nation publicly committed to such a probe. That makes Parnas the second individual to say they conveyed such a demand to Ukrainian officials; Ambassador to the European Union Gordan Sondland also told impeachment investigators that he conveyed an ultimatum to the U.S. ally: an investigation for a White House meeting and military assistance. In a phone call last year, Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Biden and his son Hunter. Despite his specific request in the call, Trump has said he was concerned with overall corruption in the country and was not seeking to leverage Ukraine's desire for a strong sign of support from United States in the face of Russian military aggression to secure investigations. Parnas also submitted documents to Congress that showed Robert Hyde, a Republican congressional candidate and former Marine, suggesting to Parnas last year that he was tracking former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was eventually ousted from her post after a campaign led by Trump's allies. Ukrainian authorities announced a probe Thursday into the possible surveillance of Yovanovitch before Trump dismissed her from the post. The FBI also visited Hyde's home and business Thursday. Parnas said in the interview with NBC that he didn't believe Hyde was actually tracking Yovanovitch and it was an empty boast. Democrats, who delayed transmitting the articles of impeachment to the Senate for weeks as they tried to ensure that a trial would include testimony from key witnesses, said that Parnas's revelations strengthened their argument. "I think it just underscores the point that we do need to bring in some witnesses and we need to make sure that all relevant documents and relevant witnesses are heard," said Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, one of the seven House impeachment managers. While Democrats stressed the need to present Parnas' information, if not call him in to testify in a Senate trial, Republicans sought to challenge his credibility by highlighting that he had been indicted on campaign finance charges last year. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, dismissed the Giuliani associate as a "shady figure." House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters Thursday that Parnas, "lacks all credibility." Trump on Thursday denied knowing Parnas and dismissed a photo of himself with the Giuliani associate as one of "thousands" he has taken with supporters as president. "I don't know him at all," Trump told reporters on the sidelines of an event on religious freedom in the Oval Office. "Don't know what he's about. Don't know where he comes from." Later, in his first tweet after the Senate impeachment trial began, Trump wrote: "I JUST GOT IMPEACHED FOR MAKING A PERFECT PHONE CALL!" The impeachment trial was able to begin formally after the seven House managers, led by House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., arrived in the Senate to formally present the two charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. After the Senate sergeant of arms warned senators to remain silent "upon pain of imprisonment," Schiff read the text of House Resolution 755 "Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors." "President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States," Schiff said as he finished reading from the articles. Later, John Roberts Jr., chief justice of the United States, was sworn in to preside over the trial. Roberts then asked the senators to "solemnly swear" to "do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws." While each senator said "I do," Democrats and Republicans immediately clashed over what constitutes a fair trial. The key point of division was whether to hear from witnesses who could shed additional light on Trump's Ukraine dealings. Democrats are pressing for several witnesses who did not participate in the House impeachment proceedings, including former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. "In America, trials have evidence, and cover-ups do not," said Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del. The White House has blocked testimony from several officials with direct knowledge of Trump's conduct, but some Republicans indicated they were open to considering witnesses after the initial phase of the trial, which Sen. Mitch McConnell has said will begin in earnest on Tuesday, following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., was among a group of senators pushing the idea of "reciprocity," where Republicans and Democrats would each get to call witnesses. Some Republicans, including Trump, have said they are interested in hearing from Hunter Biden and the whistleblower whose complaint ultimately led to the impeachment inquiry. Cramer said he would "be surprised if there weren't witnesses" at the end of the day. "My view on it is, I want to wait and start by hearing from both sides and then ask the questions and then be informed by that," Cramer said. "You know, I think at this point we're all in jury mode, and that's the best way to proceed. It's really up to the House managers to make the case for these things. I'm certainly open to it. And we'll see that they say." Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said it was "likely" that she would vote for additional witnesses after the initial arguments. If all Democrats vote in unison, they would need four Republicans to join them in order to secure testimony from any particular witness. But some senators sought to dodge the question of witnesses altogether, aiming to avoid reporters and underscoring the tense atmosphere surrounding the case. Rather than answer a question about the impeachment trial, Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., repeatedly called a CNN reporter a "liberal hack" Thursday - an exchange that a McSally staffer taped and Trump's campaign later praised and promoted. "THREE CHEERS for Senator @MarthaMcSally!!! THIS is how you handle FAKE NEWS @CNN," the @TrumpWarRoom campaign account tweeted. - - - The Washington Post's Colby Itkowitz, Isabelle Khurshudyan, John Wagner, Felicia Sonmez and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report. Many of our Salesian students in Haiti come to class on an empty stomach because there is little food in the homes where they live, said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. In the distressed Port-au-Prince slums of La Saline and Cite Soleil, where most parents do not have the means to properly care for their children, Salesian missionaries operate a network of 192 primary schools known as OPEPB or the Little Schools of Fr. Bohnen, after its founder. Since 1954, the Little Schools have provided an education and nutritious meals to children in poverty. Father Bohnen, a Dutch native, was assigned as head of the St. John Bosco elementary school in La Saline, where he encouraged local school teachers to form little schools for the children. His goal was to teach the children how to read, a first step in educating them. He also invited the children attending these little schools to come to the St. John Bosco cafeteria where they would receive a hot lunch. He further supported the schools by providing training and salary incentives for the teachers and a curriculum for all the schools. Some of the Little Schools are located on the Salesian-run National Academy of Arts (ENAM) campus, where nearly every building collapsed during the devastating Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake. At the time of the quake, classes were still in session and just minutes away from dismissal. Hundreds of students on the campus were killedmany of the older students were studying to become teachers. After Salesian missionaries sprung to action during the emergency response and relief efforts, with their networks critical during the aftermath, students returned to school at 60 of the Little Schools in October 2012. At first, the classrooms were under trees or makeshift tents. Today, all 192 schools are back in operation and have resumed activities, educating more than 17,000 students. Many of the schools physical structures still need to be rebuilt. From 2017 to 2019, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, received a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for its Hunger for Education USAID International Food Relief Partnership project in Haiti. The project increased the health and learning capacity of students by implementing school feeding programs in five Salesian centers in Haiti. The OPEPB Little Schools in Port-au-Prince was one of the recipients Fr. Bohnen knew that children could not focus on their studies on an empty stomach. The OPEPB has one the largest free cafeterias in the world equipped with two huge kitchens, two large dining halls and a recently added bakery to help meet the need for bread. As part of the Hunger for Education project, 8,620 students received daily lunch from the two main cafeterias. Many of our Salesian students in Haiti come to class on an empty stomach because there is little food in the homes where they live, said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. With Salesian feeding programs, children who once arrived at school hungry and had to struggle through classes without food are now provided with a meal during the day. As a result, students have shown improvements in health, happiness and capacity to learn. Despite the ongoing reconstruction and infrastructure improvements that are helping to rebuild Haiti, the country remains the poorest country in the Americas and one of the poorest in the world. Three-quarters of the population lives on less than $2 a day and faces the highest levels of severe food insecurity in the world, according to the World Food Programme. More than half of the countrys population of 10.7 million people are undernourished. Nearly 100,000 Haitian children under the age of 5 suffer from acute malnutrition, causing irreversible stunted growth for close to 30 percent of all children in the country. For Salesian missionaries in Haiti, schools and youth programs fulfill an important socio-economic mission by providing poor youth a foundation for lifelong learning through education and training in skills and trades to help them escape poverty and establish a sustainable livelihood. January 16, 2020 News By David Vergun Defense.gov DISA Defending, Improving DOD Network, Director Says The Defense Information Systems Agency's mission is to provide, operate and defend global command and control and information-sharing capabilities for the entire Defense Department, national-level leaders and coalition partners, the agency's director said. Navy Vice Adm. Nancy A. Norton, who also serves as commander of the Joint Force Headquarters Department of Defense Information Network, spoke at an AFCEA-sponsored network luncheon in Washington today. DISA is eliminating obsolete technology, improving interoperability and transforming DOD full-spectrum operations in space and cyberspace and on land, in the air and at sea, she said, to help the department prepare for the next conflict. Norton outlined DISA's efforts at supporting business reform. National Background Investigation Services provides clearances for those working in and for DOD, she said, noting that before, NBIS evaluated at periodic intervals. Today, she said, DISA is helping to provide continuous security evaluation of cleared personnel. Industry partners helped DISA develop a secure, isolated cloud platform which denies adversaries the opportunity to introduce malware onto the network, the admiral said, noting the previous practice was for users to access the internet from traditional desktop browsers. If attackers try to introduce malware, she explained, the cloud quarantines malicious code and content. To ensure people on the network are validated, users are required to use common access cards and multifactor authentication, Norton said. Furthermore, contextual and biometric information-gathering sensors help ensure that safe and authorized activity is taking place on the network. DISA blocks about 1.5 billion attempts to attack DOD's vast network occur each day, the admiral said. "It keeps us busy," she added. "Some organizations prioritize speed of delivery at deployment over cybersecurity," she said. But for DISA, she said, cybersecurity is of the utmost importance. "Industry must incorporate cybersecurity into every step of the development process," she said, "as well as the supply-chain management." About 16,000 military, DOD civilian and contractors employees, work at DISA in locations around the world, including at all the combatant commands, Norton said. DISA's total budget for fiscal year 2019 was $10.9 billion, and for fiscal 2020, it increases to $11.8 billion. Norton said the next big step is to leverage artificial intelligence for network operations, an endeavor that's already well underway. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A day after being released from the Tihar Jail, Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad said on Friday that his primary concern was not to fight the Delhi polls, but to strengthen the "movement" against the "discriminatory" Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The 33-year-old Bhim Army chief visited the Jama Masjid, located in the old quarters of Delhi from where he was arrested in connection with the violence during an anti-CAA protest on December 20, and read out the preamble to the Constitution as he called for repeal of the amended citizenship law. Aazad was released from prison on Thursday night after a Delhi court granted him bail. He termed the amended law a "black Act" and stressed that nothing was more important than keeping the country together. Swarmed by his supporters and locals, Aazad, donning his trademark blue scarf, spent close to 40 minutes at the historic mosque. Later at a press conference, he said the court granted him bail under certain conditions and told him not to disrespect Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "But it will be shameful if I don't call him out for saying that those indulging in violence can be identified by their clothes itself." "The court asked me to respect Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), I want to ask him to respect the Constitution. I am ready to give my blood ... let Modiji also give his blood... and let's find out who loves the country more," Aazad said. "My priority is to make the people aware about the discriminatory citizenship law and mobilize them against it... It's time to strengthen this movement, politics can happen later," he said. Sources in the Bhim Army had in December said the Dalit group could take a political plunge in the Delhi assembly elections and fight panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh. Aazad also said that he withdrew from contesting against Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections because he did not "have enough money" and it would have affected the Dalit movement. "Our protest against CAA will continue. We request the court to allow us to protest. The government is spreading misinformation on the issue and we are just putting a check on it," the Bhim Army chief said. Aazad claimed that he was arrested for reading out the preamble to the Constitution on the stairs of Jama Masjid and that he will continue to "read it daily". He also recited poet Rahat Indori's ghazal 'Agar Khilaf Hai Hone Do', which has become a rallying cry in the recent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the planned National Register of Citizens (NRC). On the violence at Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawarharlal Nehru University, Aazad said, "Women are worshipped in this country, but here they were beaten up." Earlier in the day, the Dalit group leader visited the Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir in Gole Market, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib and Jama Masjid, and addressed members of the Bhim Army before the 24-hour court-imposed deadline to leave the city ended. He also paid a visit to the Karbala at Jor Bagh. Aazad lauded the women participating in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Millia Islamia as well as in other parts of the country. Anti-CAA agitation have also been taking place near the Jama Masjid. "This (anti-CAA) movement is for the future of this country, for our identity and to uphold the Constitution. It is our responsibility to strengthen it," he said while stressing that it is the fundamental duty of citizens to protect the Constitution and urged people to carry out the protests peacefully. A Delhi court granted bail to Aazad on Wednesday and restrained him from visiting the national capital for four weeks. The court further directed him not to hold any dharna in Delhi till the Assembly elections here are over. It, however, had said that before going to Saharanpur, if Azad wants to visit any place, including the Jama Masjid, within 24 hours of his release, the police will escort him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rating: PG Run time: 1 hour 41 minutes Stars: Antonio Banderas, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Michael Sheen, voice of Emma Thompson Director: Stephen Gaghan Dolittle is a jolly family adventure. I'm fool enough to still enjoy watching sassy talking animals acting as foils for the kindly doctor's foibles. And, judging by the staying power of the young audience members glued to their seats at my screening, I'm not alone. As the veterinarian, Robert Downey Jr., 54, goes big and goes batty in this live-action version directed and cowritten by Stephen Gaghan, 54 (Traffic, Syriana). Owing little to previous incarnations whether the hilarious Eddie Murphy, 58, or the talk-singing Rex Harrison before him Downey's Victorian vet is grizzled, trilling with a Scottish burr, and depressed. After the shipwreck death of his beloved wife, the doc displays a heaping helping of PTSD. In exile from the cruel world, surrounded by outcast beasts and insects, Dolittle does, well, very little and most of that in his bathrobe. He plays and banters with a fearful gorilla, a chilly polar bear, mocking mice, an angry emu, a bossy parrot and a resentful rescue squirrel, among many other chatty fauna. But just when he's almost escaped the human rat race, Dolittle gets pulled back into society: Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley) is near death. Only he, with intelligence gleaned from a nearby octopus, can discover her ailment's cause and chase down the cure. We won't quibble with the plot points that set Dolittle on his quest alongside docile apprentice Tommy Stubbins (Harry Collett) we're dealing with talking animals here. Total realism is not the point. Isabel dos Santos, daughter of Angolan ex President and Africas richest woman on Thursday announced her intention to run for the presidency despite her accusations of diverting more than a billion dollars of state money and a freeze of her assets. In an interview with Portuguese TV channel RTP, the ex-first daughter of the oil-rich nation said she would be interested in the role of president, which is next up in 2022. The 46-year-old businesswoman nicknamed The Princess at home is estimated by Forbes magazine to be worth more than $2 billion, while two thirds of her compatriots live on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank. The billionaire businesswoman is now fighting a decision by the Angolan court to have her assets seized in a bid to recover debts she reportedly owes the government. She denies the allegations as a witch hunt aimed at weakening her father Jose Eduardos influence and distracting public opinion from failures under new President Joao Lourenco. Dos Santos holds significant stakes in several important Portuguese firms, including in Eurobic bank, telecoms company NOS, engineering company Efacec, and oil and gas company Galp Energia. When Lourenco succeeded Eduardo in 2017, he started cracking down on his predecessors children in state enterprises. Jose Eduardo had ruled the country for nearly four decades. A British teenager found guilty of falsely claiming she was raped by Israeli tourists, covers her face as she arrives for her trial at the Famagusta District Court in Paralimni in eastern Cyprus, on December 30, 2019 (GETTY) A fundraiser for a British teenager found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus has reached over 150,000 as she launches an appeal against her conviction. The woman, who has not been named, claimed she was raped by up to 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in the party town of Ayia Napa on July 17, 2019. She later withdrew her claim, but she now says she was forced to do so by police. The 19-year-old was handed a four-month prison sentence suspended for three years at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni. On Thursday, the British teenager vowed to continue the fight to clear her name, as an appeal was officially submitted at the supreme court of Cyprus. An online fundraising campaign - launched by the womans father on Jan 1 to help with legal costs - has gone over its set target of 105,000. The 19-year-old woman has launched an appeal to overturn her conviction (GETTY) Her father wrote on 1 January: Thank you all for your kindness, wishes of hope, and support in making this fight against injustice possible. Notwithstanding the very welcome high level interventions in our daughters fight for justice, we need to be resourced to run an appeal to the Cypriot Supreme Court. Initial calculations suggest this may cost a further 25k, plus QC and expenses, so we have raised the target commensurately. If our luck changes and we can avoid the appeal then any surplus will be applied to charities and causes with similar intentions. Read more: British teenager found guilty of lying about Cyprus gang rape will not go to prison Israeli man accused of gang rape of British teen in Cyprus vows to sue her UK teenagers conviction touches a nerve with angry Cypriot women Michael Polak, from the Justice Abroad group, said: When the trial proceedings are considered dispassionately, it is clear that the teenager did not receive a fair trial before the Famagusta District Court, and that her unfair treatment, and the treatment of her representatives and witness, was in clear contrast to the treatment the prosecution and its witness experienced. Story continues The conviction of the teenager not only breaches the teenagers rights under Cypriot law, but it also amounts to a breach of Cypruss international obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and as a member of the European Union. She was arrested on suspicion of "making a false statement about an imaginary crime", according to police (GETTY) She maintains she was raped, and that she was forced to change her account under pressure from Cypriot police, following hours of questioning alone and without legal representation. After she was found guilty of lying about being gang raped, the teenager said: My fight goes on. I cant wait to get home. The dozen young Israeli men and boys, aged between 15 and 20, were arrested but then freed without charge before being returned home. Omolola Ajayi, the 23-year-old Nigerian woman who was fraudulently recruited and sold into slavery in Lebanon has arrived in Abuja and handed over to National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Friday. This was confirmed by Dame Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Friday. 23-year-old Omolola Ajayi who was trafficked to Lebanon has safely returned to Nigeria and is being handed over to Officers of NAPTIP as I write this tweet. I want to sincerely thank @nigimmigration @ToluSadip @Official_NSCDC and all other parties that made this possible. I want to sincerely thank the Chairman House Committee on Diaspora for her unwavering efforts in bringing Omolola back how safely. We will not relent in the fight against Human Trafficking, she wrote on Twitter. Ajayi had cried out for help in a video that went viral, claiming that she was sold into slavery in Lebanon. The video was seen on many social media platforms where she was pleading for help, a situation that triggered the Federal Government into action for her rescue. The Director of NAPTIPs Public Enlightenment, Mr Orakwe Arinze, who received the victim, said that her rehabilitation would commence immediately. Arinze said, now that the victim had been received, profiling of her details would commence, followed by rehabilitation. He urged Nigerians planning any illegal journey to be wary of the kind of promises they received from people abroad. He said, the streets of Europe and Asia are not painted with gold, there is a thin line to every promise, we must be very careful. Ajayi was received by officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service, along with NAPTIP officers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. BlueX launches Evergreen Line's digital booking solutions on GreenX , with over a thousand shippers and freight forwarders signing up at launch. , with over a thousand shippers and freight forwarders signing up at launch. Evergreen customers on GreenX now enjoy digital booking capabilities and access to integrated services. The launch of GreenX demonstrates BlueX's ability to accelerate carrier plans for developing and launching digitally integrated logistics in 2020. TAIPEI, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GreenX, the Evergreen Line digital booking platform built by BlueX Trade, received high demand at launch demonstrating strong shipper interest in digitalized logistics. BlueX and Evergreen now offer seamless booking capabilities and integrated trade services for shippers and freight forwarders through the CarrierX white-label booking platform and Open Freight Marketplace. "The strong demand for GreenX demonstrates our customers' interest in executing their bookings and trade services digitally. Our industry is rapidly digitizing, and Evergreen is at the forefront of this trend by leveraging BlueX's white-label booking platform and Open Freight Marketplace, which we were able to launch rapidly," said Eric Wang, EVP of Marketing at Evergreen Marine Corporation. Carriers now have access to a software platform solution that can be deployed rapidly. The platform provides improved customer experience while further monetizing carrier containers through trade services such as freight financing, insurance, trucking, and customs brokerage services. Carriers partnered with BlueX will not only be able to generate revenue off of containers, but also through trade services as well. "Evergreen's deployment of GreenX is a game-changing industry moment. It's the first carrier deployment of a neutral, digital platform for bookings and trade services," said Sean O'Malley, BlueX Trade's CEO. "Our platform provides carriers a path to generating new revenues immediately." About BlueX Trade Founded in 2018, and based in the United States and Taiwan, BlueX is a freightech platform that has built the leading carrier booking platform and Open Freight Marketplace. By connecting buyers and sellers of freight, it has developed a neutral engine enabling shippers and carriers to work together to make ocean logistics and transportation seamless. Visit www.bluextrade.com. SOURCE BlueX Trade Related Links http://www.bluextrade.com A woman who was attacked and critically injured by a few men accused of molesting her minor daughter died at the LLR hospital in Kanpur, police said. She was hospitalized after the four accused out on bail stormed into her house and attacked her with sharp edged weapons. The woman and her sister who is a BJP leader in Jajmau locality were injured on the night of January 9. SP East Rajkumar Agarwal said three of the attackers were arrested within three days of the attack and one was still absconding. The police are converting the case into one of murder after her death, he said. The womans daughter was molested in 2018 in a small tannery and she along with her sister were the key witnesses in the case. The police had arrested all the four accused after registering a case under Section 354C and the POCSO Act. The accused, however, got bail from the court. The victims sister said that Mehboob, Wakeel, Pintoo, Babu Bhai along with some of their accomplices took part in the attack on January 9. They were exerting pressure on the family to withdraw the case, she said. While the victim was admitted to the LLR hospital, her sister is undergoing treatment at the Kanshiram Trauma Centre in Rama Devi. The family alleged that the Chakeri police did not take the accused to task after the attack and one of them continues to remain on the run. The SP East maintained the police had arrested three of the attackers, one of them in an encounter in which Mehboob had suffered a bullet injury on his leg on January 12. Raids are being conducted for the arrest of the fourth accused since then; he will be arrested soon, he said. Pauline Hanson has slammed a decision to stock hospitals with milk from a Chinese company rather than local farms. The politician released a statement on Friday saying she was 'ropable' the Queensland Labor Government had sent 'such a major contract' overseas after urging people to 'buy local' in a 2019 campaign. Sunshine Coast dairy company Maleny Dairies tendered for the lucrative contract but it was divided between French-owned Lactalis Australia and Lion Dairy, which will soon be bought by a Chinese company. 'This is absolute hypocrisy from Premier Palaszczuk,' Senator Hanson said. But a government spokeswoman said it made the decision because it was the only tenderer able to supply the range of dairy products required. One Nation Party leader Pauline Hanson has slammed Queensland's Labor Government for awarding a milk-supply contract to off-shore-owned companies The One Nation leader said the state government was behaving as though it does not care about Queensland or its residents and that the decision was 'bordering on treasonous'. '(She) will happily send taxpayer funds to multinationals Lactalis and Lions, who pay negligible tax in Australia, when we have one of the best milk providers in the nation right here in south-east Queensland.' Senator Hanson has demanded the contract be overturned and re-awarded to the Australian business. 'Maleny Dairies is ready and able to fulfil the contract of up to 15,000 litres for local hospitals,' she said. 'Im calling on the Labor Government to do the right thing, overturn the hospital milk contract and give it instead to a local provider. 'Follow your own promotions, support local jobs, and put Queensland businesses first'. Maleny Dairies, an award-winning milk company, has sought an urgent meeting with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to explain why it was overlooked in favour of offshore interests. Sunshine Coast-based Maleny Dairies (pictured) was 'The Queensland government has spent last year saying it will support local Queensland owned businesses and Queensland jobs and then gives a milk tender to a Chinese and French owned company,' the company said in a Facebook post challenging the decision. 'Maleny Dairies farmers needed that contract and so did we. Local farmers will struggle to stay in business if we cant get the kind of support that Norco enjoys from their state government (in NSW).' Owner and director Ross Hopper said claims his company could not supply enough milk for the Metro North Hospital and Health service's 19,000 staff and one million patients were rubbish. He also said the decision made a mockery of the government's Buy Queensland strategy to support Queensland jobs. China Mengniu Dairy Co. (pictured on shelves in Beijing, China) will be partly responsible for supplying milk to Queensland hospitals 'We're currently doing over 200,000 litres a week. That tender was only five per cent,' Mr Hopper has told ABC radio on Friday. 'It's hogwash. Why would we put the tender in if we couldn't supply it?' In a statement on Thursday, the government spruiked the fact staff and patients would continue to get 'fresh milk', sourced 'as much as possible' from Queensland dairies. It said the government 'knows the importance of supporting local providers wherever possible' and pointed out the successful bidder, Lactalis Australia, began with the Pauls milk factory on the banks of the Brisbane River in the 1930s and had a head office at South Brisbane. Lactalis Australia, who is owned and operated by French company Lactalis Group, sells an array of popular dairy products (pictured) across the country But it made no reference to the fact that Lactalis Australia is owned and operated by the Lactalis Group, a French business and the world's largest fresh dairy company. A small part of the supply contract will be serviced by Lion dairy, which is owned by Japan's Kirin Holdings but is about to be bought by the China Mengniu Dairy Company, with that deal subject to a review by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Acting Minister for Health Leeanne Enoch said the government chose the only tenderer able to supply the full range dairy products needed. A Metro North spokesperson told the ABC Maleny Dairies could not supply enough product to service the contract. The local company, which employs 50 staff and buys milk from 11 Queensland dairy farmers, hopes to secure a meeting with the premier and the health minister. In 2008, products from 22 Chinese dairy companies were found to contain melamine, a toxic industrial chemical, killing six infants and making around 300,000 babies sick. Free Presbyterians held a protest against the first rural LGBT pride parade to be held in Northern Ireland. Around 80 protesters gathered outside the Royal Hotel in Cookstown on Thursday evening when Mid Ulster Pride announced plans for a "Blessed are the Queer" conference on April 1. Mid Ulster Pride has also organised a pride parade in Cookstown on June 13. It is billed as being the first of its kind in a rural area of Northern Ireland. Free Presbyterian minister Rev Marcus Lecky from Coalisland called for opposition to the parade through "prayer and other lawful and peaceful methods". Protesters held placards carrying scripture about homosexuality, the "true" meaning of love, the gospel message and the "love of God towards sinners". On a social media post Rev Lecky said: "A sad, stark and significant choice has been forced upon the people of Mid Ulster; will they accept and perhaps even support the reported forthcoming Rural Pride event, or will they follow the teachings of Jesus Christ?" He added: "The very last thing that Mid Ulster needs is more "Pride"....Mid Ulster cannot afford to brazenly parade the sin of homosexuality through its streets in this proposed Pride event." Louise Taylor, from Mid Ulster Pride, said that one protester who spoke at the event told those present that homosexuality was wrong. "It takes a lot to get the LGBTQ community to engage publicly in rural areas and as the wellbeing officer of Mid Ulster Pride my concerns were with regards to their mental and emotional safety," she said. "This community has been oppressed and repressed for a long time as a result of spiritual abuse and they need to be protected by those who try and control and condemn them by trying to shame them for being who they are. "Whilst we respect all opinions and beliefs, to infiltrate our event and target young people was unacceptable. We hope there were lessons learnt by these individuals last night and we hope in future they will adopt more peaceful and respectful forms of protest." Two high profile speakers from Presbyterian Church in Ireland are due to speak at the conference in April. Professor Laurence Kirkpatrick, a former lecturer at the church's Theologicall Training College in Belfast, and Rev Cheryl Meban, a Presbyterian Chaplain at the University of Ulster, are speaking at the conference. Mr Kirkpatrick was dismissed from the training college in 2018 after saying he would be "horrified" if a student at the college was taught that a same-sex marriage was sinful. "I am coming along to speak about fundamentalism in our country and the view that is taken," he told the Belfast Telegraph. "I think we are in 2020 and we have got to move on. "I am coming from what was the Queen's University equality and diversity policy, which is to treat everyone - no matter what they believe or practice - with the same dignity and respect. It is as simple as that." "This is highly emotive for some people. It comes down to whether you take the Bible absolutely literally. "You can take a verse from Leviticus that says that this (same-sex relationships) is an abomination and they should be stoned to death. "The Free Presbyterians doesn't take that literally but they are highly condemnatory of what the law of the land is now. "That is their right but why are they protesting against what other people think?" Steven Smyrl, who was dismissed as an elder from the Presbyterian Church because he is in a same-sex marriage, said: "Im very pleased to hear that Rev Cheryl Meban in speaking at the event. "Too many ministers in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) believe that as the official church policy is not to recognise same-sex relationships then they can airbrush LGBT people out of any sort of church identity. "Denigrating the lives of people who happen to be gay is simply wrong. "Cheryl and so many others in PCI know that but are just too afraid of the Church House leaders to dare put their head above the parapets. People with the bravery of Cheryl are rare. "The Free Presbyterians are very welcome to demonstrate, but in doing so should recognise the right of others to do likewise." Cheryl Meban added: ""As a chaplain, I meet people from all walks of life, with all kinds of experience. I want them to know that God knows them and loves them - and that's why I want to be involved in this event. "The Gospel is for everybody - not just for people who conveniently fit our ideas of what's normal. "We are all made in God's image." she said. An Iranian flag flutters on board the Adrian Darya oil tanker, formerly known as Grace 1, off the coast of Gibraltar on August 18, 2019. Oil prices steadied on Friday as sluggish economic growth in China, the world's biggest crude importer, raised concerns over fuel demand and countered optimism from the signing of a China-U.S. trade deal. Brent crude futures gained 23 cents to settle at $64.85 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 2 cents to settle at $58.54. For the week, Brent fell 0.2%, while WTI lost 0.8%. China's economy, the world's second-largest, grew by 6.1% in 2019, its slowest expansion in 29 years, government data showed on Friday. "Mounting downward economic pressure will perhaps limit oil's upside in the mid- to long-term," said Margaret Yang, market analyst at CMC Markets. But surging Chinese demand, as seen in refinery throughput figures, helped offset the less positive economic growth data. In 2019 Chinese refineries processed 651.98 million tonnes of crude oil, equal to a record high 13.04 million barrels per day (bpd) and up 7.6% from 2018, government data showed. Throughput also set a monthly record for December. "The increase in China's refinery capacity is reshaping the trade flows of refined products, while the increase in U.S. crude oil production is reshaping the trade flows of crude oil," said Olivier Jakob of consultancy Petromatrix. Prices rose on Thursday after China and the United States signed their Phase 1 trade accord. As part of the deal, China committed to an additional $54 billion in energy purchases. But still, some were skeptical about fallout from the deal. "China has agreed to purchase a massive amount of U.S. oil that may prove difficult to digest," Jim Ritterbusch, president of trading advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates, said in a note. "This has contributed to the oil market's muted response to Phase 1 thus far." The market was also lifted by the U.S. Senate's approval of changes to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement. Looking ahead, the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday offered a bearish view of the oil market outlook for 2020. Supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will exceed demand for its crude, the IEA forecast, even if OPEC member states comply fully with output cuts agreed with Russia and other producers in a grouping known as OPEC+. The IEA view is somewhat reflected by OPEC's own view, which found non-OPEC supply this year growing by more than overall demand. OPEC+ has been curbing oil output since 2017 to balance the market and support prices. OGDEN DUNES, Ind. - An Indiana state agency declined to declare an emergency at Lake Michigan beaches eroded by high water levels and a series of storms, saying there isnt enough damage to public resources to warrant the use of federal disaster funds. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security concluded this week that the damage to the shoreline in Porter and LaPorte counties isnt severe enough for the state to request financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. To date, we are unaware of any loss of infrastructure (i.e. roads, bridges, public utilities, etc.) which would qualify for public assistance funding from federal or state disaster relief programs, IDHS Executive Director Stephen Cox wrote in a Wednesday letter to lawmakers who asked for the states assistance. Cox responded to calls from Democratic state Sen. Karen Tallian and Rep. Pat Boy, who had asked Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to declare a disaster in those counties, saying the states response has been woefully inadequate. IDHS, and other state and federal agencies, have been monitoring the beach erosion, Cox said. He pointed to similar shoreline erosion problems in Michigan that the state hasnt deemed a disaster or sought FEMA funds for, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported. But Tallian pushed back, arguing that although the lake hasnt damaged public infrastructure, such as the Portage lakefront pavilion, theres an urgent need for state resources to prevent that from happening. The senator, who is from Ogden Dunes, noted that support beams for porches at lake-adjacent homes in Long Beach have collapsed. Lake water has also made its way past barriers and exposed septic fields in the town, possibly resulting in sewage seeping into the lake. She also pointed to the big pile of money the town of Beverly Shores spent on preventing Lake Front Drive from getting washed out. Surely we dont have to wait until the road is in the lake before we can ask for assistance, Tallian said. There are ongoing local efforts to address erosion. Officials in Porter County, Portage, Ogden Dunes and Beverly Shores have declared local beach erosion emergencies. On Thursday, the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission created a committee to demand a more helpful response from state and federal authorities. The commission will underscore the threats of the rising lake levels in addition to the broader regional and national implications. This week in Illinois, high lake levels and a string of storms have forced Chicago officials to close two beaches in Rogers Park, which is on the citys North Side. Committee Urges Swift Formation of South Sudan Unity Government By Dimo Silva Aurelio January 16, 2020 A committee formed to help resolve disputes over the boundaries and number of South Sudan states has turned the issue over to arbitration, adding the issue should not hold up formation of a unity government. After President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar failed to agree on the number of states and their borders during several face-to-face meetings in December, regional bloc IGAD appointed a committee to mediate the issue and come up with a proposal for the parties. The committee is comprised of South African Deputy President David Mabuza, Kenya's special envoy to the South Sudan peace talks Kalonzo Musyoka, Uganda's special envoy to South Sudan Betty Bigombe and IGAD envoy Ismail Waise. South Africa's Mabuza, the head of the committee, said in Juba Thursday his group consulted the parties to the deal but could not reach a compromise." We all agree that we are going to form the government of national unity, but we are going to subject the question of the number of states to arbitration; a mechanism that is going to take up to 90 days which is the proposal on the table," Mabuza told VOA's South Sudan in Focus. Mabuza did not explain what the arbitration entails but said the parties should form a transitional government of national unity government by the February 22 deadline and resolve the issue over states and boundaries later. In 2017, President Kiir unilaterally increased the number of states from 10 to 32, a decision the opposition said violated a 2015 peace agreement. While Kiir appears to be refusing to budge on the number of states, the SPLM-in-Opposition has said it either wants to return to the original 10 states or would be amenable to setting up 21 districts as established by British colonialists prior to South Sudan becoming a country. On Wednesday, Kiir, Machar and Sudanese General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, a member of Sudan's Sovereign Council, held a two-hour closed-door meeting in a bid to resolve the dispute and evaluate the possibility of forming a unity government next month. Mabuza said his committee will draft a final proposal and release it to the public soon." Our feeling is that the government does not have a problem with the proposal. We are now taking this proposal to other parties. We are going to finalize this proposal and make the public aware," Mabuza said. Martin Elia Lumoro, South Sudan's cabinet affairs minister, said the parties have made progress in implementing the peace agreement and the government welcomes the proposal to form a unity government before a deal is reached on the number and boundaries of states." We as the government of the Republic of South Sudan have listened very carefully, have reported concretely on the progress of implementation of the agreement on the ground, the security and other issues that are political in nature and we are very excited with the level of engagement of the envoys, also with our partner the I-O, with the presence of Dr. Machar in town," said Lumoro. Kiir security advisor Tutkew Gatluak said Wednesday that the Kiir administration has not changed its position on the number of states. Repeated calls to SPLM IO spokesperson Manawa Peter Gatkuoth went unanswered. A SPLM-IO statement issued earlier this week said "since the parties have failed to reach an agreement on the number of states and their boundaries during their last round of consultations facilitated by South Africa's deputy president, the SPLM-IO recommends formation of another committee composed of, among others, Troika countries to determine the number of states and their boundaries." The Troika consists of the United Kingdom, Norway, and the United States, three countries that encouraged the government and opposition to sign the 2018 peace agreement. The statement does not state whether Machar's group would agree to be part of the unity government if the dispute over states and boundaries remains unresolved next month. The Independent Boundaries Commission, which was originally tasked with determining the number of states and their boundaries in the 2018 peace deal, failed to reach a compromise and recommended that the matter be resolved politically. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Juanita Irizarry, of Friends of the Parks, which has advocated for a public lakefront, said theres a balance between the beauty and privilege of living on the water and what comes with that. Friends of the Parks certainly wants to be sensitive to peoples immediate pain, but we also hope that this is an opportunity to engage people about what climate change might mean in the long term and what we might want to do for long-term planning for that space, she said. Norwegian salmon exports top US$8 billion in 2019 Salmon remained as the largest species of fish exports from Norway, both in terms of volume and value as exports in 2019 reached 1.1 million tonnes, up 6% from 2018 and value increased 7% or NOK4.8 billion to NOK72.5 billion (US$8.18 billion). Salmon accounted for 40.7% of total seafood export volume last year and 67.6% of total value. "The weakening of the Norwegian kroner and increased demand for Norwegian salmon are the two main reasons for the increase in value in 2019", explained Paul T. Aandahl, seafood analyst with the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC). The year 2019 also marked the comeback of Norwegian salmon in the Chinese market. "Throughout the year, market access has bettered terms for Norwegian players with interest in the Chinese market. We expect the positive trend to continue for 2020", said Victoria Braathen of the NSC in China. Norway's total seafood exports last year, however declined by 3% to 2.7 million tonnes, although value, at NOK107.3 billion ($12.11 billion), increased 8% compared with 2018. "Both the aquaculture and fisheries sectors have been instrumental in reaching record-level export value in 2019", said Renate Larsen, CEO of the NSC. Little changed The relationship between aquaculture and fisheries has changed little from last year, with aquaculture representing 71% by value and 44.6% by volume, the NSC noted. Fisheries account for 29% of total seafood exports in terms of value and 55.4% in volume. Exports of fish from aquaculture increased 8% or NOK5.6 billion to NOK76.5 billion ($8.63 billion) in 2019 compared with 2018. Volume increased 7% to 1.2 million tonnes. For fisheries, export value increased 10% or NOK 2.7 million year-on-year to NOK30.8 billion ($3.5 billion), while volume decreased 10% to 1.5 million tonnes. CEO Larsen sees export value to double in the next decade, reaching NOK200 billion because of consumers' good perception of Norwegian seafood products. "Our research and seafood studies show that consumers all over the world already perceive Norwegian seafood as safe, sustainable and of high quality", she said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan Ramin Guluzade met with Ambassador of Latvia to Azerbaijan Dainis Garancs, Trend reports referring to the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. During the meeting, which was held at the ministry, the parties discussed the current state and prospects of cooperation between the two countries in the field of telecommunications, information technologies, innovation and high technology. The main topic of discussion was the presentation of innovative companies and startups of Latvia at the Latvian Pavilion, which will be presented at the Azerbaijans Bakutel International Telecommunications, Innovations and High Technologies Exhibition, the ministry said. The importance of developing bilateral cooperation in the field of air transportation, sea and road transport was also emphasized during the meeting. While US Relaxes Demands in S. Korea Cost-Sharing Talks, Gaps Remain By William Gallo January 16, 2020 Harry Harris, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, says Washington has softened its demand for how much Seoul should pay for the cost of the U.S. military presence here, but says a gap remains and that "time is of the essence." "We have some time left, [but] not a lot of time," Harris said Thursday, a day after a sixth round of cost-sharing negotiations ended in Washington with no breakthrough. For the second consecutive year, U.S. and South Korean negotiators were unable to reach an agreement before the cost-sharing deal expired at the end of the year. Both sides hope to eventually reach a deal that would retroactively cover the intervening weeks. Seoul's foreign ministry Thursday said both sides expanded their mutual understanding during the latest round of talks, but that there are still differences. Speaking to foreign correspondents at his residence, Harris said the chief U.S. negotiator has reduced the "top-line number" for how much Seoul should pay for the presence of the 28,500 troops. "He has compromised, so we are now waiting for the Korean side to do the same," said Harris. The U.S. had reportedly asked South Korea to increase the amount it pays by five times - a demand rejected by Seoul as unreasonable. The issue has created an awkward strain in a nearly 70-year-old alliance that both sides tout as "ironclad." Opinion polls show South Koreans overwhelmingly reject the U.S. demand but still support the alliance and want U.S. troops to stay. "I pay attention to South Korean public opinion - it's important," Harris said. However, he insisted there is no evidence the U.S. financial demands were detrimental to the overall relationship. "Financial demands only become detrimental if we can't reach an agreement," Harris said. Earlier this week, President Moon Jae-in said South Korea should contribute a "reasonable and fair amount," noting that any eventual deal will need to be approved by South Korea's National Assembly, its legislature. Trump demands Last year, the U.S. and South Korea were unable to reach an agreement until early February. Seoul eventually agreed to pay $925 million an 8% increase from the previous year. The deal only covered a single year rather than five, as in the previous arrangement, meaning the issue continues to be an irritant to bilateral ties. U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently blasted South Korea for paying what he considers an inadequate amount for U.S. protection. In Seoul, most public anger has been directed at Harris. In October, a group of anti-U.S. protesters broke into Harris' residential compound, carrying signs complaining about the cost-sharing talks. Small groups of fringe protesters have also gathered outside the U.S. Embassy. During at least one of those protests, demonstrators plucked the mustache hairs out of a sign depicting Harris' face. Harris defends mustache Harris' facial hair created international headlines last month, when a South Korean reporter asked the ambassador if he would shave his mustache in order to improve relations with South Koreans. The Korea Times reporter said some South Koreans associate mustaches with South Korea's former Japanese colonial rulers, many of whom had facial hair. Harris rejected that notion on Thursday, pointing out that many historical South Korean independence leaders also wore mustaches. " It's a cherry-picking of history," said Harris, whose mother was Japanese. Some South Koreans on social media have taken issue with Harris' Japanese heritage - a fact that Harris lamented." To take that history and put it on me simply because of an accident of birth is I think a mistake," Harris said. "I didn't grow a mustache because of my Japanese heritage, because of the independence movement in Korea, or even because of my dad [who also wore a mustache]," Harris added. "I did it because I could. And I did. Nothing more than that." Harris, who has attempted to make light of the issue, handed out fake mustaches on a stick to reporters at his press availability and briefly posed with a fake mustache afterward. "I couldn't grow hair on top of my head. But I could grow it on the front of my head," said the 63-year-old Harris. "So I did that." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Starbucks push in poorer areas Starbucks said Thursday it is expanding its effort to put more coffee shops and create more jobs in poor neighborhoods. The Seattle company plans to open or remodel 85 stores by 2025 in rural and urban communities across the U.S. Each store will hire local staff, including construction crews and artists, and will have community event spaces. The effort will bring to 100 the number of community stores Starbucks has opened since it announced the program in 2015, including one in Phoenix, right. Starbucks estimates the shops have created more than 300 jobs. Number of the day $1 trillion More Information Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. For more items and links, subscribe to the Tech Chronicle newsletter at www.sfchronicle.com/newsletters/tech-chronicle. Twitter: @techchronicle See More Collapse That was the market cap hit Thursday by Mountain Views Alphabet, making it the fourth technology company after Apple, Amazon and Microsoft over the past two years to pass this once unimaginable valuation. Googles parent company reached its latest numerical milestone as it is facing some of its biggest tests. The company is bidding adieu to its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, whose love of math and disregard for Wall Street once embodied Googles free spirit. The two said last month that they would step down from their executive roles. The Visva Bharati University on Friday set up a 3-member panel to probe the incident of alleged confinement of BJP MP Swapan Dasgupta on the campus on January 8, setting off a storm, with students demanding that an inquiry be first conducted into alleged assault on them two days back. Dasgupta, along with Vice Chancellor B Chakraborty and others was confined for six hours in a university building as hundreds of Left-leaning students staged a demonstration accusing the politician of promoting hatred among communities. He had gone there to deliver a lecture on the controversial new citizenship law. "We have formed a three-member committee to look into the matter where BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta had said that he was locked in a room with a mob outside, at the university, where he was addressing a meeting on Citizenship Amendment Act on January 8," a senior official said in New Delhi. The panel will also look into the alleged clash between two groups of students of the university on January 15. Hours after the committee was formed, students aligned to Left parties took out a protest march in front of the central office of the university, demanding that the assault on students be probed first. "There is no need to inquire into confinement of Dasgupta. The University should first form a panel to look into the assault on students, who are its assets. Dasgupta may be an MP but he is an outsider. Why is the VC so bothered about a BJP MP?" a protester said. Dasgupta, a journalist-turned-politician, had taken to Twitter to inform the public about the incident. "How does it feel to have a mob attack a peaceful meeting on CAA and intimidation students? This is what is happening to a meeting I am addressing at Vishwa Bharati now. Locked into the room now with mob outside," he had tweeted. According to police, a group of men, armed with iron rods and sticks, had attacked the students of a boys' hostel inside the Visva Bharati campus on Wednesday night leaving several of them injured. "Two groups of students clashed inside the campus. It was not linked to politics. The security officer and others went there to sort out the matter," the central university's Public Relations Officer Anirban Sarkar had said. Two persons - identified as Achintya Bagdi and Saber Ali - were arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in the attack, an officer of Santiniketan police station said. An SFI member was hospitalised and several others had suffered minor injuries in the attack. Bagdi and Ali were remanded in police custody for nine days by a Bolpur court. SFI's Visva Bharati unit leader Somnath Sau had said the two were former students of the university who owed allegiance to the ABVP. He claimed they were earlier associated with the students wing of the ruling TMC. ABVP's Birbhum district coordinator Ramesh Paramanik, however, said, "Neither Achintya Bagdi nor Saber Ali are associated with the ABVP in any way. It is known to all that they lead the TMCP at Visva Bharati." As protests erupted at Visva Bharti on Friday, state's minister Partha Chatterjee accused the BJP and RSS- linked ABVP of trying to vitiate the atmosphere in educational institutions. West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh blamed students belonging to Left organisations for the fracas, alleging they were destroying prestigious institutions. Visva Bharati, an Institution of National Importance was founded by Rabindranath Tagore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hillary Clinton is well aware that shes a polarizing figure, but her upcoming Hulu docuseries, Hillary, has given the former presidential candidate, former secretary of state and former first lady, a little more insight as to why people either love or hate her. Its really interesting. I think I did around 35 hours of interviewing with [director Nanette Burstein] and I have to say, some of it was clear to me and, really, she picked up on it early on I became a kind of Rorschach test for women and womens roles as soon as I burst on the public scene when Bill [Clinton] was running for president, Clinton told reporters during the Television Critics Association press tour on Friday when a journalist asked what new conclusions the docuseries might have given her about the extreme reactions to her as a person. You know, Id lived more than 40 years before that and I had no real understanding of what it meant to be thrust into this highest, brightest platform and try to live your life and go along with what youd always done, the former U.S. secretary of state continued. So for example, when Bill asked me to... Read original story Hillary Clinton on How She Became a Kind of Rorschach Test for Women At TheWrap The wrongful death trial against a oilfield equipment contractor in connection with a January 2018 explosion and fire that killed five men in southeastern Oklahoma is underway. The McAlester News-Capital reports that attorneys for the families of Parker Waldridge of Crescent; Matt Smith of McAlester; Roger Cunningham from Seminole; Josh Ray of Fort Worth, Texas; and Cody Risk of Wellington, Colorado, said in opening statements Tuesday that National Oilwell Varco in primarily to blame for the mens deaths when the rig exploded in Quinton. Attorneys for the families say NOV was primarily responsible because it failed to provide proper oversight of the operation. and now refuses any responsibility for this incident. Houston-based NOV argues that another company working at the site, Red Mountain Operating, LLC, was at fault and that the companys employee on site had no responsibilities at the time of the fire and explosion. The families have reached settlements with Red Mountain Operating; Red Mountain Energy, LLC; Patterson-UTI Drilling Company, LLC; Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. The Jan. 22, 2018, explosion, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa, was the deadliest drilling accident since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, killing 11 people. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Energy Oil Gas Oklahoma HARTFORD Connecticuts top environmental officer says decades of deregulation, President Donald Trumps favoritism toward fossil fuels and the regional market system is slowing the states conversion to clean, carbon-free electricity. Katie Dykes, commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, told a conservation-minded audience this week that the state faces major challenges as it tries to switch to 100 percent renewable energy for electicity generation by 2040. She urged the Legislature to help enact solutions. Natural gas is not a bridge fuel; its a fossil fuel, Dykes noted during a summit on environmental issues focused in part on using clean energy to combat climate change. It is a commitment of mine to turn this around and put in place the mechanisms we need to begin to move away from natural gas, Dykes said. We will work hard with legislators to address many of the natural gas preferences that are in our statutes today. Dykes also included a threat to leave the ISO New England regional electric grid, the system operator, based in Holyoke, Mass., thats responsible for controlling the flow of electricity through the region. Environmentalists have long argued that market forces aided by state and federal policies are driving investment in gas plants at the expense of clean energy, citing an already approved Killingly gas power plant as a prime example. Although Connecticut recently procured over 800 megawatts of wind power from a farm in ocean waters off Rhode Island, thats just a fraction of the 100 percent zero carbon electricity goal by 2040. Peter Shattuck of Anbaric Development Partners, which specializes in electric storage and transmission systems, said the traditional electric grid and market structure. originally built for coal, gas and oil-fired electric plants, must change. If we want to get to 100 percent renewables, we need a grid built for renewables, not fossil fuel, Shattuck said. Deregulation at fault? Dykes said the state and region need a new formula to bring in more clean electricty. The decision to deregulate our power sector is coming into collision with our climate progress, Dykes said. With new leadership at the [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission] under Trump, FERC has all but declared war on states for choosing energy efficiency and is driving investment to more natural gas plants, Dykes said. It makes no sense to participate in a deregulated structure if it forces us to invest in resources we dont want and dont need, Dykes said, referring to ISO New England. This is forcing us to take a serious look at the cost and benefits of participating in the ISO New Egland markets, Dykes added. Matt Kakley, a spokesman for ISO New England, disagreed with the Dykes asessement. We strongly disagree that the ISO has not been a leader on carbon, Kakley said. The ISOs leadership has been proactive for years in discussing the need to price carbon as a way to address the states climate change goals, Kakley said So, the notion that the ISO has not taken a leadership role in this dialogue is a clear contradiction of the ISOs frequently stated position on carbon. Kakley noted the markets the ISO administers are open to all forms of energy and, referring to the Killingly plant, pointed out that states control what is built within their borders. It was the Connecticut DEEP and other agencies who approved the permits for the plant, Kakley noted. Shattuck said the technology exists to revolutionize the grid and faciliatate a surge in renewable power. We have the tools and models to do this in hand, Shattuck said. Whats required is leadership in Connecticut. The grid we have is centered on fossil fuel plants near big cities, rail yards and pipelines. Shattuck said regulators need to develop the infrastructure to transport carbon-free power to the markets. We know where the resources are and the demand centers and they need to be connected, Shattuck said. The legislature should [enact] a moratorium on fossil fuel construction. We are going to continue to get these projects if we dont do it, Shattuck added. New Green Deal Samantha Dynowski, state director of the Sierra Club of Connecticut, said regulators dont even charge gas companies for building pipelines across the state. We continue to encourage pipelines that carry frack gas through the state, Dynowski said. No one is being charged to build those. In 2019, 400 legislators wanted the law off the books but its still on the books. Dynowski said she would like to see the General Assembly pass a Green New Deal. Make sure the goal to 100 percent clean and renewable energy, including transportation and buildings, Dynowski said. Charles Rothenberger, climate and energy attorney for the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and Save the Sound, said activists have long argued that expanding gas plants harms progress on renwable sources of power. We were pleased by the commissioners remarks recognizing that natural gas is not a fuel of the future and we strongly support rapid development of more solar and offshore wind resources to get Connecticut to 10 percent clean renewable energy, Rothenbrger said. bcummings@ctpost.com Turkey starting troop deployment to Libya, President Erdogan says Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 10:26 PM President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey is starting deployment of troops to Libya in support of the embattled United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and in line with agreements relating to maritime border demarcation and enhanced security cooperation. "We signed an agreement with Libya to delineate maritime borders. It is no longer legally possible to conduct exploration and drilling activities or to run pipelines in the region between the Turkish and Libyan coasts without the approval of both countries," Erdogan announced in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday. He added, "In 2020, we are licensing these areas and starting the search and drilling as quickly as ever. After the licensing work, for the first time the Oruc Reis seismic research vessel will conduct seismic studies in the region. We are sending our troops to this country to ensure the survival and stability of the legitimate government in Libya." Erdogan remarks came only two days after Libya's renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar left Moscow without signing a binding truce that would have halted his nine-month campaign to seize the GNA's base of Tripoli, and would have formalized a tentative ceasefire in the war-wracked North African country. "The draft [agreement] ignores many of the Libyan army's demands," Haftar was quoted as saying by the Saudi-owned and Arabic-language al-Arabiya television news network. Fayez al-Sarraj, the heads of the GNA, had already signed the truce proposal after indirect talks in the Russian capital on Monday. Last week, Turkey and Russia urged Libya's warring parties to declare a ceasefire after a recent escalation in fighting around Tripoli and the strategic coastal city of Sirte. Erdogan has said Turkey would not refrain from "teaching a lesson" to Haftar if his eastern-based forces continue attacks against the Tripoli-based GNA. "If the putschist Haftar's attacks against the people and legitimate government of Libya continue, we will never refrain from teaching him the lesson he deserves," the Turkish president said in a speech to his AK Party legislators in parliament on Tuesday. "It is our duty to protect our kin in Libya," he said. Erdogan said Turkey had deep historical and social ties with Libya, asserting that Haftar would have taken over the entire nation if Ankara had not intervened. Turkey will join Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia at Libyan peace talks in Berlin next Sunday, he said. "The putschist Haftar did not sign the ceasefire. He first said yes, but later, unfortunately, he left Moscow, he fled Moscow," Erdogan said. "Despite this, we find the talks in Moscow were positive as they showed the true face of the putschist Haftar to the international community," the Turkish president added. On January 2, Turkey's parliament has approved a bill to deploy troops to Libya. Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop said at the time that the legislation had been passed with a 325-184 vote. Back in late November last year, Libya's GNA and Turkey signed security and maritime agreements in opening the path to the Turkish troop deployment. The accords also drew the ire of Mediterranean countries, including Greece and Cyprus, which were eyeing energy resources in the area. Libya's eastern-based parliament later voted unanimously against the deals. Libya plunged into chaos in 2011, when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi and his execution by unruly fighters. The North African country has since been split between two rival administrations based in the east and west amid a conflict drawing increasing involvement from foreign powers. According to the latest UN tally, more than 280 civilians and roughly 2,000 fighters have been killed since Haftar launched his offensive in April to seize Tripoli. An estimated 146,000 Libyans have been displaced. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PA Media: Video Dark western The Power Of The Dog and HBOs Succession have triumphed at the 79th Golden Globes following a bizarrely muted online event with no celebrity guests. The film and the critically acclaimed series both earned three awards at the ceremony, which has faced heavy criticism over the past year for diversity issues within its organising body. The typically star-studded and joke-filled event was replaced by periodic updates from the Golden Globes website and official social media accounts. A man with multiple convictions for violence and considered a high risk to reoffend was released from Stony Mountain Institution Friday and is expected to live in Winnipeg, police warn. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A man with multiple convictions for violence and considered a high risk to reoffend was released from Stony Mountain Institution Friday and is expected to live in Winnipeg, police warn. Marcel Hank Charlette, 47, was serving a 10-year sentence for assault causing bodily harm he attacked and confined a woman, leading to severe psychological harm. Marcel Hank Charlette, 47, is also known by Hank Marcel Caribou, Hank Charlette, Peewee and Bald Eagle. (Winnipeg Police Service) The Winnipeg Police Service and RCMP Manitoba Integrated High Risk Sex Offender Unit said he is considered a high risk, particularly towards children and women. Charlette is also known as Hank Marcel Caribou, Hank Charlette, Peewee or Bald Eagle. He stands five-feet tall, and weighs about 123 pounds. Police say he has numerous tattoos, including two teardrops under his left eye and a pretzel and the name "Carrie" inked on his neck. The police say anyone with information about him is asked to contact the police tip line at 204-986-6222, the local RCMP detachment, or Manitoba Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477. It was unclear what impact Fiat Chrysler's proposed joint venture with Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co., Ltd., would have on the wider merger, which is expected to be completed in the next year or so. Iain Dale presents the evening show on LBC Radio and is a commentator for CNN. After the election, I was chatting to a friend and said one of the ways that the Conservatives could show their commitment to people in the north was to open some regional branches of CCHQ. Maybe in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Birmingham (OK, I know Birmingham is not in the north, but you get the point). But not for one minute did I think theyd be seriously thinking about moving the whole of CCHQ somewhere else. And nor should they. Moving the entire organisation out of London is a preposterous idea. London is and will remain the centre of our politics and our government, so it makes eminent sense for the HQs of all political parties to have their central offices there. To locate them anywhere else would be seen as virtue signalling and gratuitous. To open regional offices with half or dozen or so employees would surely be the more sensible option. This is the equivalent of the BBC deciding to locate Radio 5 Live and BBC Breakfast in Salford for no other reason that it shut people up who alleged they had a southern bias. 5 Live has become a shadow of its former self since it moved to Salford and BBC Breakfast finds it difficult to attract live guests to Salford and even if it does, it costs an arm and a leg to get them there by train and then provide a hotel for them. I hope the Conservative Party consigns this proposal to the dustbin it belongs in, and instead comes up with a revised proposal, which would enable regional offices to manage constituency agents and campaign managers and also have a research facility which can feed regional policy ideas into the centre. It doesnt really need to be more complicated than that. Carrying on the theme of a new era for the Conservative Party and the country, it is surely time for the party to revamp the tree logo. Well, when I say revamp, I mean replace. I dont think its a logo the party has ever taken to its heart, unlike its Torch predecessor. The tree has always been seen as a sop to David Camerons green agenda, although of late its taken on a Union Flag tinge. Maybe ConHome should challenge its readers to come up with a new design? I have written before in this column about the iniquitous Loan Charge scheme, in which HMRC chase independent contractors for 20 years back tax. Jesse Norman has announced measures to combat some of the worst effects of the scheme, but they dont go nearly far enough. A Parliamentary campaign is continuing to put pressure on him to go further, and I hope that it is successful. But theres another problem of a similar nature on the horizon. In April, the Government is introducing changes to the IR35 legislation, forcing self-employed people to be taxed in exactly the same way as employed people. This is utterly ridiculous, given that self-employed people dont get the same benefits as employed people such as holiday pay, entitlement, sick pay, maternity pay etc. There are legions of examples of people who will be forced out of business by this ridiculous change, which is driven by people who have no understanding of the enterprise economy. For a Conservative government to impose these measures really is the last straw for many people. Its supposed to understand the needs and aspirations of the self-employed and those who run small businesses. I do hope that Sajid Javid will think again, and in his March Budget announce a rollback of these measures. Watching the Labour Party leadership contest is a bit like having a premonition of an imminent car crash but being powerless to stop it. I shall be careful what I say, gsince I hope to be interviewing all the contenders on my radio show over the next few weeks, but so far can anyone really say that any of them have shown any real comprehension of why the Labour Party has landed up in the situation it finds itself in? Its as if they are playing the role of an ostrich in a Christmas pantomime. Some of them think it was all about Brexit yet they have failed to articulate any policy that is different to the one Labour fought the last election on. There is no understanding of why so many former Labour voters switched to the Tories. Four of the five are almost certain to want to change the partys policy to one of Remain, but they dont understand that this ship has now sailed. Once weve left in just two weeks time, thats it. Theres no going back not for a generation at least. If they really want to fight the next election on a Rejoin platform, well, I wish them the best of luck, because boy will they need it. So where will you be and what will you be doing to mark our departure from the European Union at 11pm on Friday 31 January? I fail to give a monkeys wotsit about whether Big Ben will be donging or bonging at 11pm, but I quite agree that those who voted Leave are perfectly entitled to a celebration. For many, its the culmination of a lifetimes work. As you know, I voted Leave and am just pleased and relieved that the peoples choice in the referendum will now finally be carried out. Will I be celebrating? It will be a bit difficult, given that I will be driving up the M5, where I will have been compering an evening with Jonathan Dimbleby at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter. If you live in the South West and would like to join us, you can book tickets here. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 10:19:04|Editor: ZX Video Player Close SYDNEY, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Wide-spread thunderstorm systems moving across Australia's east coast are set to bring some much-needed relief to firefighting efforts on Friday, with even more rain predicted to fall over the weekend. "We've got an inland trough... so we're getting a lot of monsoon activity moisture driven further south around New South Wales (NSW) State and southeastern Australia," Bureau of Meteorology Forecaster Abrar Shabren told Xinhua. "The usual weather pattern that we have at this time of the year, that is what's triggering these inland troughs which are developing moisture, forming convective clouds, and that's why we're seeing a lot of thunderstorm activity." Still locked in the gruelling battle against Australia's worst-ever bushfire crisis, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) took to social media this morning to share their elation. "Rain has fallen across most fire grounds over the last 24 hours which is great news! Our fingers are crossed that this continues over the coming days," the RFS said. But, while authorities and fire-affected communities have collectively breathed a sigh of relief, the downpour is not expected to fully neutralize the bushfire threat. Despite heavy rain and even flash flooding in some areas, there are currently 82 bushfires still burning throughout NSW, with a further 17 raging across the border in the State of Victoria. "This rainfall will bring some relief to the firefighting efforts on the fire grounds but the rainfall is quite isolated at the moment though, around NSW, the Australian Capital Territory and parts of Victoria," Shabren explained. "There's so many fires going on. We need a lot more rainfall in the coming days to extinguish or even or suspend those fires." Likewise, it will also take much more rain to break the east coast's severe drought, which is now the worst on record, bringing heartbreak and uncertainty to the region's agricultural communities. "With this rainfall... It's widespread in certain areas, but it's thunderstorm activity. It's not covering those large areas of Australia, particularly around the agricultural parts of Australia," Shabren said. "For us to get out of the drought, we need much more prolonged rainfall in the coming days." One thing that should improve for Australia's long-suffering residents however, is the thick smoke which has blanketed the east coast since October. "For a temporary period, we will see that smoke go away, like we have seen in Canberra and in Sydney," Shabren said. "But we may still have those hazy conditions as long as the fires are going on. In Victoria, we did see that even though there was rainfall, they had mist and smoke mixed together." Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday signalled that his government could go slow on the Rs 70,000 crore Hyperloop project that is targeted to cut down commute time between the states two cities 140 km apart - Mumbai and Pune - down to 25 minutes. Pawar, who handles the governments purse strings as the states finance minister, expressed reservations about the project after a review meeting on Friday. Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis - who was also briefly Ajit Pawars boss when they made an aborted bid to form the government - had last year declared that Maharashtra would create the first hyperloop transportation system in the world. Fadnavis had also given the project the status of a basic infrastructure project in August last year to make it easier to acquire land. But the land acquisition process has been facing resistance from farmers. The first stage is a 11.8-km demonstration track between Gahunje and Urse village alongside the Pune-Mumbai expressway on Punes outskirts. Let it happen somewhere else. Let it become successful for at least a 10 km distance somewhere abroad, Ajit Pawar told reporters, according to news agency Press Trust of India. That didnt mean, he clarified, he wanted it scrapped. We do not have the capacity to experiment with Hyperloop. We will concentrate on other modes of transport and in the meantime, if that technology develops more with successful trials abroad, we can think about it, he said. That line echoes the many statements that Ajit Pawar and other Congress leaders such as Prithviraj Chavan had made in the run-up to the elections. Hyperloop Elon Musk had spoken about the Hyperloop technology back in 2013 that would let people travel in a pod-like vehicle that would move through a tube at a faster speed than most commercial airline planes. Virgin Hyperloop One, the company that signed a framework pact with Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) in 2018, had claimed the hyperloop would be able to move 10,000 passengers an hour and 150 million passengers a year once fully operational. WASHINGTON As he seeks the Democratic presidential nomination, former Vice President Joe Biden says either of his former 2020 competitors from Texas Beto ORourke and Julian Castro could be his running mate in 2020. I'd consider either or both of them, Biden said in an interview with the Dallas Morning News and KXAS-TV. Ive spoken to each of them, and spent some time talking to them. My plea to both of them is they stay engaged, he said. They are talented, talented people. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Biden was apparently unfazed by the fact that Castro a former Obama cabinet member who aggressively went after Biden during the earlier primary debates is now campaigning for Elizabeth Warren, another of Bidens competitors. I guarantee you theres going to be Latinos in my cabinet and I guarantee there will be Latinos in my White House, said Biden, who also said he would consider both Castro and ORourke for cabinet posts. Asked whether hed consider a Republican such as U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, who is retiring at the end of the year, Biden said no unless they agree. He went on to say that Republicans served in the Obama administration and he believes they were great cabinet members. On HoustonChronicle.com: Julian Castro endorses Warren for president Heres where I am: We have to unite the country, Biden said. Biden also vowed to campaign for whichever Texas Democrat wins the nomination to take on U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Beto showed how close you can come, and I think Texas is get-able, he said. Its not going to be enough to beat Trump. Weve got to win back the Senate. Weve got to go in and campaign in a state thats do-able, thats get-able. ben.wermund@chron.com A convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case, Jalees Ansari, was arrested on Friday from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, a day after he went "missing" from Mumbai while on parole, an official said. Ansari (68), a Mumbai resident who was serving a life term at Ajmer Central Jail in Rajasthan, was nabbed at Faithfulganj in Kanpur Nagar in a joint operation of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Sqaud (ATS) and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), he said. Ansari, known as 'Dr Bomb' for his suspected involvement in more than 52 blast cases across the country, went "missing" on early Thursday morning. He was serving a life term in the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani Express at Kota and Kanpur. He was on a 21-day parole and was expected to return to Ajmer Central Jail by Friday evening after end of the parole period, the official said. Ansari, a resident of Mominpura in Agripada in central Mumbai, is an MBBS doctor by training. While on parole, he was ordered to visit the Agripada police station everyday between 10.30 am and 12 pm to mark attendance, he said. However, Ansari did not visit the police station on Thursday during the designated time, the official said. In the afternoon, his 35-year-old son, Jaid Ansari, approached the police station with a complaint about his "missing" father, he said. As per his complaint, Jalees Ansari woke up in the early hours and told his family members that he was going for 'namaz', but did not return home. Based on the complaint, the Agripada Police registered a missing case, he said. The Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police, the Maharashtra ATS and other agencies launched a massive manhunt for the terror convict, the official said, adding that a red alert was issued against him. The Maharashtra ATS had on Thursday night expressed suspicion that he might have gone to his native village Amar Dova in Sant Kabir Nagar district in UP, the official added. "As there were also chances of him fleeing to Nepal, the UP STF had also shared the information about Ansari to the police stations located along the Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh," he said. "Trains coming from Mumbai to Lucknow were also on the radar of the agencies. On a specific tip-off, the UP STF laid a trap at Faithfulganj in Kanpur Nagar and arrested Ansari. Cash of Rs 47,780, his Aadhaar card, mobile phone and a pocket diary were seized from him," he said. "During his interrogation by the UP Police today, it came to light that Ansari had fled to Pakistan around 1990 and returned to India via Bangladesh in 1992," the official said. "In Pakistan, he had undergone training for terror activities and was in touch with the members of Harkat-ul- Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI)," the official said, adding that he was inspired by terrorist Abdul Karim Tunda. Ansari was also responsible for Hyderabad, Malegaon, Pune, Ajmer bomb blast, he said. He was allegedly connected with terror outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahideen and taught their members how to make bombs, which earned him the sobriquet Dr Bomb, he said. He had also been questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011 in connection with the 2008 bomb blast in Mumbai, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) She had been working for a feminist magazine when he invited her to his house for lunch in 1973. When she thought an interview would begin, he said: I would never be interviewed by you, you are the worst journalist in this country. You are never objective, you put yourself in the centre of everything, you make up stories, you lie all the time. Why dont you switch to literature where all these defects are virtues. Now, she admits, I didnt pay any attention to that. I thought he was demented. Credit: This meeting was only a month before her fathers cousin, Salvador Allende, the reforming socialist president, was killed in a CIA-backed coup led by General Augusto Pinochet that was followed by 17 years of a brutal dictatorship. Neruda is said to have been poisoned the same month by the regime while in hospital. It was no longer safe to be an Allende in Chile. But like so many refugees, she says, she will always be a foreigner, everywhere, even in Chile now. Allende writes unflinchingly about the great sweep of history, the wreckage and violence of the 20th century. Her new book, The Long Petal of the Sea, takes the reader through the brutality of the Spanish Civil War, at the end of which half a million refugees walked from Spain into France where they were held in concentration camps and thousands died. Working as special consul for Spanish emigrants in Paris, Neruda had, without any money from his government, somehow managed to commission an old cargo ship, the S.S. Winnipeg, and transport more than 2000 refugees to Chile. My family were one of the many that had refugees come to stay. The story is of one of the Winnipeg's passengers, Victor Dalmau, a man Allende befriended in Venezuela and who died at 103, six days before she could send him the manuscript. He was a 23-year-old medical student from a socialist family when he joined the Republican Army. For three years he endured the privations of war, but in 1939 as Francos troops advanced, a panicked civilian population began an exodus to France. Victors brother had been killed in action, leaving a pregnant girlfriend, Roser, who had been taken in by his music professor father. Together they walked across the Pyrenees. To gain her passage on the Winnipeg Victor married Roser, but it would be many years and many ups and downs before they grew to love each other. He was a good person, she says, with terrible memories. He had seen too much horror. He had very few illusions about the goodness of humankind. He was prone to depression and despair. But he was an amazing man. But despite all the losses of her life, including that of her daughter, who died at 28, Allende is buoyant, kind and sparkly. Im a very happy person. I am full of laughter and joy. I am never depressed, ever. My life is good. Loading All she wants to do is write, even inventing excuses not to go on family holidays. I dont have a glamorous life. I drive a small car, I have a small house, I have a very contained life. I dont live like a celebrity, I am not a rock star, I am just a writer. Possessions dont mean anything once you have your basic needs are solved. I really dont want any clutter. There is an urgency now in her writing as her time gets shorter, although I dont feel any different in my head yet. I feel ageing in other ways but not in my brain. She still has so many stories to tell. I try not to hurry but unconsciously in the back of my mind I am going finish this one, come on. I feel if I dont have that urgency it will sort of fade. Allende says she is guided in her writing by her dreams, especially when things are not going right. I think we all accumulate a lot of information that we are not aware of and that gets stored somewhere in the basement of ourselves, and when we are asleep it comes out, certain images and places. Sometimes they guide me in a certain direction and I am almost never aware there is a problem until I have the dream. It used to be a baby with an old mans face, which was really disturbing. After 37 years I came to realise the baby was the book. Then I realise there is something wrong with the narrative voice, or the clues and direction. Perhaps the key to Isabel Allende and her seeming agelessness is the passion that drives her. Passion is not always sexual, my dear. Passion can be applied to many things. But after the disintegration of her second, 37-year marriage to American lawyer William Gordon, and just as she had got used to coming home to an empty house with no lights on, a man heard her on the radio and wrote to her. A lawyer, a widower in New York contacted me and started to write to me every morning and every evening for five months. He was very persistent. When we finally met I confronted him, and said what are your intentions, because I dont have any time to waste. The third time we met he said his intentions were to marry me. He sold his house, gave away everything it contained and moved to California with two bikes and some clothes, which I promptly discarded because they were dated. When he arrived he said well I hope this works because if it doesnt I will be homeless. It was a big risk. Reader, she married him at the age of 75. Buttigiegs campaign has argued that staying out of the polarized impeachment conversation will bolster his pitch as the candidate who can mollify partisan tensions and disrupt the traditional Washington ways of doing things. He held five events in Iowa on Thursday, as the Senate impeachment proceedings began, and has planned another five town halls on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, during the initial phase of Senate trial arguments. Biden will also host events in the state during those days. The Irish General Election has pivoted to focus on gangland crime as the murder of a young teenager was labelled a turning point. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan met with senior gardai in Drogheda, Co Louth on Friday morning in wake of the murder of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods. The teenager was murdered and his body was dismembered and left in various locations in Dublin. On Friday night, gardai said DNA tests on remains found at one of the locations at Trinity Terrace near Croke Park confirmed they were those of Keane. Remains found earlier in the week in Coolock had already been confirmed as the teenagers. Mr Varadkar spoke to gardai in Drogheda who are investigating an ongoing feud between two criminal gangs which Gardai believe is linked to the murder. Gardai investigating the murder of 17 year-old Keane Mulready-Woods ask people to stop sharing unverified pictures purporting to be involved with the murder. The images are incredibly distressing. Gardai have asked anyone who knows the origin of the photographs to contact them. pic.twitter.com/z7CsDODLEj aoife moore. (@aoifegracemoore) January 16, 2020 Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, Mr Varadkar said: I want to express my revulsion and condemnation of the very serious crime that has taken place here and also to assure the people of Drogheda that the Government is 100% behind them and that we are going to get these people behind bars. I want to say to people across Ireland and here in Drogheda that crime doesnt pay, we will get these people behind bars and make this town safe again. Mr Varadkar said, if Fine Gael it re-elected, it would set up a taskforce similar to one set up in the north inner city in Dublin to tackle organised crime. We have really helped to improve things in that part of Dublin city and helped to tackle disadvantage and to show young people that there is an alternative to a life of crime. That has not help solve things in the north inner city by any means but I do think it has made a difference and if re-elected, I would like to maybe expand that to different parts of the country and I think Drogheda should be one of them, he said. Fianna Fail likewise has promised to strengthen current legislation in order to put suspected gangland figures behind bars, by expanding Section 71A and 71B of the Criminal Justice Act. I do think it is a turning point, sometimes there are crimes that are so horrific, that outrage people so much, that they give rise to a turn in public sentiment, and more importantly political activity, candidate Jim OCallaghan said. Expand Close Veronica Guerin, who was shot dead in a gangland-style killing (Steve Humphreys/PA) PA Media / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Veronica Guerin, who was shot dead in a gangland-style killing (Steve Humphreys/PA) It happened with the murder of (journalist) Veronica Guerin (in 1996), and people are so horrified by the brutality of this crime that I believe that there is going to be a turning point, but we cant expect people on their own to do this, it is leaders in this country who have to stand up to these thugs, and we need to strength our gangland laws to take them on because in the past nine years there have not been any laws introduced to confront gangland crime. Mr OCallaghan suggests that gangland figures should be treated in a similar fashion as suspected members of the Provisional IRA, by expanding existing legislation to enable Gardai to bring prosecutions on the grounds if there is a belief of the chief superintendent (of membership of an illegal organisation) (it can) be used a form as admissable evidence. Traditionally, when it came to membership cases, people could be convicted based on the belief of a chief superintendent and why it was introduced was because it was so difficult to get people to give evidence and were dealing with a similar situation now, and we need to confront it, and use our primary weapon which is legislation, he said. Early on Friday afternoon, a shooting was reported in the Ballymun area of Dublin, which People Before Profit says show a complete failure to address some of the real problems that exist in many parts of our country, particularly in working class communities. We are failing our young people, were not putting the resources into (them) at the very earliest age in school, in communities to provide alternatives and supports that will help divert young people away from criminality and we would also point out that the shocking inequalities in wealth in a society that is constantly blitzing young people with the idea that money can buy you happiness is very corrosive for the well-being of young people, the groups Richard Boyd Barrett said. The war on drugs which is obviously strongly linked to all of this has failed, the law and order approach has failed. We need to start to acknowledge that thats not to say decriminalisation is a panacea, but unless we begin to recognise this as a reality in this country, face that reality and then begin to try and offer alternatives to young people putting the resources into treatment and helping people with abuse issues of mental health where theres massive under resourcing, this problem is not going to go away. Expand Close Keane Mulready-Woods (family handout/PA) PA Media / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Keane Mulready-Woods (family handout/PA) The Mayor of Drogheda has said he will hold a rally in the town next Saturday for people to voice their concerns about the ongoing feud and the murder of Keane. Mr Varadkar has told reporters in Drogheda he will attend the rally if his schedule allows. Speaking to reporters in Birr, Co Offaly, later on Friday, Mr Varadkar said he met gardai in Co Louth for more than an hour to discuss the murder of Keane. The gardai gave us a confidential briefing on the situation and the actions they are taking to bring their perpetrators to justice, he said. It was confidential so I cant divulge too much. We had a discussion on Garda resources and to hear what additional resources are needed. We talked in particular about getting CCTV in the town and making sure additional resources are sent up from the rest of the country. Mr Varadkar said Fine Gael are the law and order party and they will target a 21,000-strong garda force by next year if re-elected. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said: Were proud of our partys record on law and order. We have seen investment of a record nature in An Garda Siochana and more Garda recruits than for many years. As frigid temperatures bear down on Brandon, some local advocates are calling for the city to create an emergency cold weather plan. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us As frigid temperatures bear down on Brandon, some local advocates are calling for the city to create an emergency cold weather plan. Kim Longstreet, a member of Bear Clan Patrol, said the group that walks the citys downtown streets still finds people outside at night, despite the temperature dropping dangerously to below -30 C without the wind chill. Kim Longstreet There are emergency options available, including the Safe and Warm Shelter run by Samaritan House Ministries, but not everyone experiencing homelessness goes there. Winnipeg has an Extreme Cold Weather Response Plan, which is something Longstreet said Brandon would benefit from. "I think it would be safe for me to say that would be something that maybe our own community could look at when we have extreme weather," she said. "I think as a community we need to have something in place every year, knowing that were going to get these cold snaps and what we are going to do about it." The Winnipeg plan includes several shelters, outreach agencies, van and foot patrols that work to make sure no one dies outside in the extreme cold, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. The plan was created after a woman froze to death outside in the city four years ago. When Bear Clan Patrollers find someone on the street at night, they can try to get them to the Safe and Warm shelter, but the patrol doesnt operate during the day. Longstreet said when its this cold out, Bear Clan sends more vehicles out with patrollers so they themselves can warm up if they need to. "We need to look at something thats 24 hours in our community and I think its warranted, and there should never be a time when we have to bunk somebody down on the street because we cannot find somewhere for them to go to, especially in weather like this," she said. A spokesperson for the City of Brandon said the city doesnt have an official cold-weather emergency plan, but people can go into public city-owned buildings during operating hours to warm up. The spokesperson said no one from city administration was available to comment on Thursday afternoon. John Jackson, the executive director of Samaritan House, said the organizations safe and warm shelter has seen 882 bed nights so far this year, which was approximately what they had expected. He said the night-time shelter already provides an emergency place for people to get away from the cold, but staff do see people coming in with cold-related injuries, like frostbite, from the daytime. There are some buildings people can take shelter in, but people might be banned from them, which leaves them out in the cold during the day. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement across southern Manitoba. Wind chills at night will be between -35 C to -40 C. The forecast also calls for five to 10 centimetres of snow starting today. Longstreet said Bear Clan is looking for donations of mitts, gloves, hats and winter boots to distribute to people on the street. The group could also use disposable hand warmers that can be put inside mitts and boots. Samaritan House is also looking for warm clothing and blanket donations too, in addition to food items like milk in a can, granola bars and oatmeal. dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ Celine Dion's mother Therese Tanguay Dion has passed away at the age of 92. The mother of 14 children died on Thursday night with her family around her, according to Radio-Canada. The Canadian, who was nicknamed Maman Dion, worked as a television host and was also a philanthropist. Last summer it was announced by the family that Tanguay had been battling health issues and was suffering from memory loss as well as hearing and vision impairment. Celine preformed in Miami on Friday night and told the crowd she joined her brothers and sisters at her mom's bedside before she passed, as they knew her time was coming, TMZ reported. She also told fans that her mom would have wanted her to perform. Sad goodbye: Celine Dion's mother Therese Tanguay Dion has passed away at the age of 92. The mother of 14 died on Thursday night with her family around her, according to Radio-Canada. Seen in 2010 in Florida She will be missed: Celine was quick to share a tribute to her mother. The star posted a black-and-white photo from her childhood on Instagram with all of her siblings and both her parents. The caption read, 'Maman, we love you so much We dedicate tonights show to you and Ill sing to you with all my heart. Love, Celine xx' Celine was quick to share a tribute to her mother. The star posted a black-and-white photo from her childhood on Instagram with all of her siblings. The caption read, 'Maman, we love you so much We dedicate tonights show to you and Ill sing to you with all my heart. Love, Celine xx' The photo was taken by Richard Gauthier, Dion noted. Celine, whose biggest hit is My Heart Will Go On from the film Titanic, will perform in Miami on Friday as part of her Courage tour. Quebec Premier Francois Legault tweeted out his condolences on Friday afternoon. 'A remarkable woman, so generous, so loving, who devoted her whole life to the benefit of her family,' he wrote. 'Our big Quebecois family mourns her passing.' All together: The My Heart Will Go On crooner with her mother as well as her husband Rene Angelil, and son Rene Charles in Paris in 2008; they are with Nicolas Sarkozy A closeknit family: Mama is seen far right in 2011 in Las Vegas with the family Celine often took her mother with her to her performances and was photographed with her at red carpet events. And Dion also posted photos of Therese with her on private jets around the world, which she posted to Instagram. On Mother's day in 2019 she shared her love for her mom: 'Now more than ever, I realize the importance of a mothers role. Not only did you give me life, but you also wrote my destiny. I love you Mom,' she wrote. Therese was born in 1927 and wed her husband Adhemar Dion in the 1940s. At first her husband did not want to have children. But she talked him into it and they went on to have a stunning 14 kids - Celine is the youngest. Early on: Therese was a big champion of Celine's singing career. The matriarch, who played the violin and accordion, encouraged her daughter to sing at home and and even wrote a song for her - It Was Only A Dream - which she sent to Rene Angelil to help get published; seen in 1982 Always with her mom: The mother and daughter seen again in 1982 in France Therese was a big champion of Celine's singing career. The matriarch, who played the violin and accordion, encouraged her daughter to sing at home and and even wrote a song for her - It Was Only A Dream - which she sent to Rene Angelil to help get published. It went on to become Celine's first hit in 1981. The star was only 12-years-old at the time. And Celine went on to date then wed Rene Angelil in 1994. A strong bond: On Mother's day in 2019 she shared her love for her mom: 'Now more than ever, I realize the importance of a mothers role. Not only did you give me life, but you also wrote my destiny. I love you Mom,' she wrote They had three children together: Rene Charles, aged 18, and twins Nelson and Eddy, aged nine. Rene passed away on January 14, 2016 in Las Vegas. Celine has been vocal about her mourning. She shared a tribute to Angelil on the four year anniversary of his death. 'There is not a day that goes by without me thinking about your beautiful smile. We miss you, thank you for watching over us my love. I love you. Celine xx' said the 51-year-old songbird. Still in pain: Sadly, Rene passed away in 14, 2016 in Las Vegas. Celine has been vocal about her mourning and even shared a tribute to Angelil on the four year anniversary of his death The government of Nikol Pashinyan has embarked on an ambitious reform program, including in the area of anti-corruption, economic equality and justice, said representatives of Human Rights Watch, in their annual report on human rights. Massis Post reports in its article Human Rights Watch: Armenia Still Has Problems that the authors of the report once again emphasize that the parliamentary elections held in Armenia in December 2018, according to international observers, met international standards and were held in a truly competitive atmosphere. At the same time, representatives of Human Rights Watch note that in the sphere of protecting human rights in Armenia, there are still problems and shortcomings. This is especially true for the limited nature of investigating cases of violence and the use of excessive force by law enforcement agencies during the previous administration. The Armenian police have a history of disproportionate use of force during the dispersal of predominantly peaceful demonstrations, Human Rights Watch experts wrote, recalling that a senior police officer was charged with killing a protester in June 2019. At the same time, investigations of the disproportionate use of force by the police against peaceful demonstrators and journalists in 2016 and 2015 remain suspended. The authorities claim that they cannot identify the perpetrators of the violence, human rights activists say. It should be noted that the cases indicated by Human Rights Watch concern clashes during the Electric Yerevan protests in June 2015 and protests in Yerevans Saritagh district in July 2016. Regarding incidents between police and demonstrators during Pashinyans rule, the authors of the report note a protest in Yerevan last August against the exploitation of the Amulsar Gold Mine. During this protest, the authors of the report state that the police did not allow the rally to be held in a public park adjacent to the parliament building, detaining six demonstrators for a short period of time. Among the human rights issues in Armenia, Human Rights Watch experts also note cases of domestic violence and the reaction of law enforcement agencies to them. According to official documents, in the first half of 2019, Armenian law enforcement authorities investigated 331 criminal cases of domestic violence, including 176 newly opened cases. In these cases, 209 official charges were brought and only 45 cases reached the court, the authors of the report note. Human Rights Watch also does not bypass cases of violence against sexual minorities and activists protecting their rights. Between January and August 2019, Pink Armenia and other organizations protecting the interests of the LGBTQ community reported 17 cases of violence in Armenia based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the report says. Human Rights Watch also addressed the topic of discussions in Armenia regarding the Istanbul Convention, noting that often hate speech was used. At the same time, human rights activists consider it necessary to emphasize that ratification of the Istanbul Convention will not contradict the countrys Constitution. WASHINGTON - The White House violated federal law when it withheld security aid to Ukraine last year, according to a decision by a congressional watchdog released Thursday. The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan agency that reports to Congress, found that the Trump administration broke a law that governs how the White House disburses money approved by Congress by withholding $214 million worth of equipment, training and other support to help Ukraine in its battle against Russian-backed forces. The Pentagon aid was overwhelmingly approved by bipartisan majorities in Congress. The GAO report came as the Senate opened the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the decision says. "OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act." The White House quickly rebutted the charge, criticizing the agency's decision as an "overreach" and an attempt to insert itself into the "media's controversy of the day." Washington Post photo by Jabin Botsford The White House "complied with the law at every step," White House Office of Management and Budget acting director Russell Vought wrote on Twitter. He also criticized the GAO, saying the agency's "opinion comes from the same people who said we couldn't keep National Parks open during the shutdown" 12 months ago. No potential criminal penalties are associated with violating the Impoundment Control Act, meaning there will be no prosecution of officials for the violation. The GAO has found at least half a dozen violations of the Impoundment Control Act in the past, including in previous administrations. But Democrats immediately tried to use the report to demand more disclosures as part of their impeachment push. The OMB is part of the White House and is run by political appointees closely aligned with Trump, whose first OMB director was Mick Mulvaney, now White House acting chief of staff. Vought remains close to Mulvaney. "The OMB, the White House, the administration broke - I'm saying this - broke the law," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday. "This reinforces, again, the need for documents and eyewitnesses in the Senate." Republican senators, who now play a central role in determining the scope of Trump's impeachment trial, downplayed the implications of the GAO's findings. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., accused the watchdog of trying to meddle in Congress's affairs. "I think they shouldn't be deciding who broke the law," he said. But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said that the GAO report singled out the OMB, not Trump himself, and that he also has had differences with OMB's practices in the past. "It's the Office of Management and Budget, with whom I've had a few disagreements over the years about the withholding of money that's been appropriated by Congress," Cornyn said. Last month, the Democratic-controlled House impeached Trump on charges of abusing the power of his office in a pressure campaign against Ukraine. Trump has attacked the impeachment charges as politically motivated. White House budget officials have defended their power to stop the money from being given to the Defense Department, arguing that congressional lawmakers and executive branch officials routinely demand delays on funding already signed into law. The GAO decision brings new scrutiny to a chain of events at the White House's Office of Management and Budget last year. When top White House officials gave directives to the Pentagon to withhold aid for Ukraine, some OMB officials objected, warning that the halt could be improper. At least two officials resigned, in part over concerns about the Ukraine money. White House officials were withholding the security aid at a time when Trump was pressing Ukraine's new president to announce an investigation of Hunter Bide, a son of former vice president Joe Biden, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Trump. Emails released in late December showed that a senior budget official directed the Defense Department to hold off on the aid less than two hours after a July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump and the White House have strongly denied any wrongdoing over the hold on security assistance. Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, told Congress that he believed there was a connection between the aid and Trump's desire for Ukraine to announce an investigation of Hunter Biden. The GAO found that the administration broke the Impoundment Control Act - a 1974 law that provides a mechanism for the executive branch to request that Congress reconsider a funding decision that's been signed into law. "This bombshell legal opinion from the independent Government Accountability Office demonstrates, without a doubt, that the Trump administration illegally withheld security assistance from Ukraine" said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who requested in December that the GAO write the report. The GAO review did not weigh in on the specific House impeachment charges. House lawmakers impeached Trump on two counts, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Lawmakers alleged that the president abused the power of his office by withholding the money as leverage to pressure Zelensky into publicly announcing an inquiry that would undermine a political rival, and then obstructed the investigation of those actions. The release of the GAO decision, one day after the House voted to send its articles of impeachment to the Senate, may give political ammunition to congressional Democrats who hope to portray the president and his administration as willing to violate the law for political gain. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has characterized the House articles of impeachment as flimsy, and it is unlikely that there are enough votes in the Senate to remove Trump from office. Trump has "done nothing wrong," White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Wednesday. "These are taxpayer dollars going to another country that people believe there is corruption with a new administration. I think it was the rightful thing to do," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said at a news conference Thursday, adding that he thinks withholding the aid was "100%" the right decision despite the GAO ruling. The controversy has for months focused attention on the White House budget office for its central role in delaying the aid. The administration has previously disagreed with the GAO's findings, including last year when the agency said the Trump administration violated federal spending law during the government shutdown by allowing popular park sites to stay open. In cases of a violation, the most the GAO can do is sue the administration to release money, which has happened only once - in the 1970s. The lawsuit was later dismissed when the money was released. Several administrations have been slapped by the GAO, including that of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. In general, those administrations released funds after being cited, making lawsuits unnecessary. Most recently, in December 2018, the GAO said the Department of Homeland Security illegally withheld $95 million appropriated for the Coast Guard to support national security efforts. The money eventually was released. The GAO also found in 2014 that the Obama administration broke the law in exchanging five Taliban commanders for a captured U.S. soldier without giving Congress 30 days notice. The OMB began discussing the aid to Ukraine on June 19, the day Trump learned about the assistance from an article in the Washington Examiner.. The GAO is also scrutinizing whether the White House or the State Department or both violated the law by possibly withholding some portion of $161 million in foreign military financing during a six-day period in August, according to the decision. "We have asked both State and OMB about the availability of these funds during the relevant period," Armstrong said in his decision. State has provided "limited" information, as has the OMB, he said. "We will continue to pursue this matter" and will provide a decision to Congress, he said. This lack of a full response is of "constitutional significance," he said. It hinders the GAO in its role of ensuring respect for Congress's power of the purse, he said. - - - The Washington Post's Rachael Bade contributed to this report. Some cases of type A influenza virus, also known as "swine flu", may be fatal. Seven unvaccinated patients in Ukraine have died of flu since the start of the so-called epidemic season. "There is no epidemic yet, but the number of patients has been growing," the TV news service TSN reported on January 17. Read alsoUkraine PM orders audit of vaccine storages across country Infectiologists say that, although four flu strains are common this season, the worst one for the population is type A influenza virus, better known as "swine flu", as fatal cases were earlier recorded. Journalists urge all unvaccinated persons who fell ill to immediately consult their doctor and stay at home. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan lashed out at India in an interview with DW, a German state-owned broadcaster, on Thursday, and claimed that New Delhi wasnt responding to Islamabads peace overtures because of the RSS ideology of the ruling government in India. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Khan also admitted that the response of the international community to the Kashmir issue has been lukewarm perhaps because commercial interests are more important for the Western countries and India is a big market. Pakistan has repeatedly tried to internationalise the Kashmir issue after India, in August, passed laws and resolutions in Parliament bifurcating the erstwhile state into two Union territories and scrapping constitutional provisions that gave the region special status. India has always maintained that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral one between it and Pakistan, a view supported by most international powers -- most recently earlier this week at the UN Security Council, where a China-sponsored move to informally discuss the issue was shot down. Khan also added that Islamabad is willing to hold a referendum in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on whether the people want their independence or stay part of Pakistan. Interestingly, Pakistan has always claimed PoK is free. Earlier this week, Indias army chief said the army would make plans to retake PoK if so ordered to by the government. Discussing the tensions with India, Khan said he made an effort to talk to the Indian government and Prime Minister Modi. In my first speech as prime minister, I said that if India moved one step forward, we would take two steps towards them to resolve our differences. But I soon came to know that India did not respond well to my offer because of the RSSs ideology. Khan said it was unfortunate that the Hong Kong protests are getting much more international attention than Kashmir. The tragedy of Kashmir is much greater. China is an all weather-ally of Pakistan. Meanwhile in Washington, addressing a think tank, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said his country is not prepared to pay any price for peace with India and certainly not without resolving the Kashmir issue in a just manner. He reiterated Pakistans demand that US President Donald Trump should mediate to resolve the contentious Kashmir issue. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2020) - Argentum Silver Corp. (TSXV: ASL) ("Argentum" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that on January 15, 2020, the Company closed the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Norsemont II Resources Corp. ("Norsemont"), a private British Columbia company, by way of a three-cornered amalgamation under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) pursuant to which 1208350 B.C. LTD., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Argentum, has amalgamated with Norsemont (the "Amalgamation"). Under the terms of the Amalgamation, shareholders of Norsemont received 0.165343 common shares in the capital of Argentum (each, an "Argentum Share") for every common share held of Norsemont. As a result of the Amalgamation, Argentum issued 2,777,778 Argentum Shares. In addition, holders of convertible securities of Norsemont received 400,000 common share purchase warrants of Argentum (each, an "Argentum Warrant"), each Argentum Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one additional Argentum Share at an exercise price of $0.25 on or before the date that is three years following the closing of the Amalgamation. Norsemont owns a 100% interest in the Cochavara Silver-Lead-Zinc Project (the "Cochavara Project") in Northern Peru. The Cochavara Project consists of six concessions totalling 3,479 hectares located in the Department of La Libertad in Northern Peru, approximately 70 kilometres east of the city of Trujillo. The historical Quiruvilca silver/lead/zinc mine ("Quiruvilca") is located 3.5 kilometres northeast of the northern boundary of the Cochavara Project area. Quiruvilca is a large polymetallic vein deposit with over 130 different mineralized structures. Both Cochavara and Quiruvilca are located within the Mid-Miocene Calipuy volcanic complex that hosts several world-class precious metal deposits such as Newmont's Yanacocha and Barrick's Pierina gold mines, which are located approximately 120 kilometres north and 180 km southeast of Cochavara, respectively. Mineralization hosted at Quiruvilca, Yanacocha and Pierina is not necessarily reflective of the mineralization that may be hosted on the Cochavara silver-lead-zinc project. Story continues According to Bartos (1984), mineralization at Quiruvilca is controlled by a series of east-northeast-striking polymetallic (silver/lead/zinc) vein swarms, which have extensive lateral and vertical continuity with abundant splits and pinch-and-swell structures. The mineralization at Cochavara is similarly controlled and occurs along strike of the Quiruvilca vein swarms. Production from the Quiruvilca mine was first recorded in 1789 and has been mined on an industrial scale since 1924. More recently, Pan American Silver acquired the Quiruvilca mine in 1995 and sold the mine to a private company in 2012. Cochavara currently has a valid exploitation permit to extract minerals for processing at third-party plants. During 2018, Cochavara underground development provided access to the main mineralized vein structure. The development adit was used to drift along the mineralized structure, to provide mineralized material for processing, and to provide access for future underground drilling. Property Highlights Several mineralized structures have been identified on the Cochavara Property, with the main mineralized structure occurring over an estimated strike length of 1,500 metres. The main zone (Margarita Mine) has recently (2013, 2015, and 2018) been explored by various companies including Norsemont, by drifting and cross-cutting on three separate mine levels: Margarita Workings (Level 3605), Old Drift (Level 3641), and Level 3663, all accessed by hillside adits. Mostly chip samples taken from mineralized veins ranging in widths from 0.1 to 1.0 metres, returned the following range of values: 6.1 g/t to 1,172 g/t Ag, 0.19%-24.88% Pb, and 0.31%-26.81% Zn. Details of the various exploration and sampling programs are provided in the Cochavara technical report. The Cochavara Property has not been drill-tested. NI 43-101 Technical Report In connection with the completion of the Amalgamation, Argentum has filed on SEDAR and on the Company's website (www.argentumsilvercorp.com), a technical report prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 disclosure standards entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Cochavara Ag-Pb-Zn Project, Districts of Julcan, Calamarca and Quiruvilca, Provinces of Julcan and Santiago de Chuco, Department of La Libertad, Peru" prepared by James A. McCrea, P.Geo. The report provides a comprehensive review of the exploration activities on the property and provides recommendations for future work. Proposed Exploration Argentum's initial exploration and work programs are currently being planned for the Cochavara Project with a budget of $US 300,000 and will consist of two contemporaneous phases. Phase I - $US 90,000 Detailed structural mapping and sampling to identify additional vein structures on the property. Geophysics: drone magnetometer survey with LiDAR to identify intrusive/geologic contacts and possible vein targets and Alpha Induced Polarization survey to identify possible polymetallic vein targets. Phase II - $US 210,000 225 metres of underground exploration/development on known structures to search for and delineate high-grade mineralization. Multilateral Instrument 61-101 The completion of the Amalgamation constituted a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders ("MI 61-101"), which is incorporated by reference into the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange under Policy 5.9, as Sprott Mining Inc., a company controlled by Eric Sprott, is a control person (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) of both Argentum and Norsemont. Pursuant to the Amalgamation, Sprott Mining Inc. acquired 2,083,336 Argentum Shares, representing approximately 4.32% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of Argentum. Argentum is relying upon the exemptions from the valuations and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(b) and 5.7(1)(a) as neither the fair market value of the subject matter, nor the fair market value consideration for the transaction, it so far as it involves the related party, exceeds 25% of Argentum's capitalization. The Company did not file a material change report in respect of the related party transaction at least 21 days before the closing of the Amalgamation, which the Company deems reasonable in the circumstances in order to complete the Amalgamation in an expeditious manner. Sprott Mining Inc. now beneficially owns and controls 32,083,336 Argentum Shares, representing approximately 66.5% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of Argentum on an undiluted basis. Sprott Mining Inc. does not own any convertible securities of Argentum. Sprott Mining Inc. has a long-term view of the investment and may acquire additional Common Shares either on the open market or through private acquisitions or sell the Common Shares on the open market or through private dispositions in the future depending on market conditions, reformulation of plans and/or other relevant factors. A copy of Sprott Mining Inc.'s early warning report will appear on the Company's profile on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval at www.sedar.com. About Argentum Silver Corp. Argentum Silver is a junior mineral exploration company listed on the TSXV under the stock symbol ASL. Argentum hold 80% interest in the Vanadium Ridge Property located at the southern end of the Quesnel Trough 50 km north of Kamloops, British Columbia. The property consists of 20 mining claims covering 2,151 hectares near the town of Barriere. The project hosts vanadium-rich magnetite mineralization in seams and pods in altered ultramafic to intermediate intrusive rocks which form a portion of a large Late Triassic Poison Creek diorite intrusion complex. The near-surface exposure of vanadiferous magnetite is an attractive exploration target that may not require chemical processing for the liberation of a magnetite concentrate. The technical aspects of this press release have been reviewed and approved by Gary Nassif, M.Sc., P.Geo., President and CEO of Argentum. For more information contact: Gary Nassif, President & CEO 416-855-9304 gnassif@argentumsilvercorp.com * Bartos, P.J (1984) Mineralization, Alteration and Zoning of the Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag Lodes at Quiruvilca Peru, Master Thesis Stanford University. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51572 The Yangtze River, known as the cradle of Chinese civilization, is the world's third longest river with its principal stream covering a distance of 6,397 kilometers from Mt. Tang-ku-la at the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Shanghai. But the mighty river has been suffering a tragic loss of biodiversity as various rare species living in the river have become extinct in recent years. Only a few weeks ago, a paper published in the Science of the Total Environment, an international multi-disciplinary journal, confirmed that the paddlefish, which ranks among the world's top 10 largest freshwater fishes, died out in the river sometime between 2005 and 2010. The announcement has subsequently drawn immense concern. During a symposium, hosted recently in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, which is situated mid-stream of the Yangtze River, an expert said that a recent data-collection project between 2017 to 2018 could no longer trace hundreds of species that were living along the river based on historical records. According to him, the missing species account for approximately one third of the fish inhabiting the river. To better protect the remaining species still living in the river, the symposium, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOA), focused mostly on ways and approaches to protect aquatic creatures, such as the Yangtze River Dolphins, from extinction. Wei Qiwei,the principal scientist from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences and the corresponding author of the paper which confirmed the extinction of the Yangtze paddlefish, pointed out in the symposium that it had been years since species such as the hilsa herring and the long spiky-head carp were last seen. This also included the Chinese sturgeon, Yangtze sturgeon and Chinese high-fin banded shark, all of which had stopped reproducing naturally and had to be bred and re-introduced into the river. In addition, Wei said that the Yangtze's severely endangered species also now include the Coreius guichenoti, the Chuan-Shaan Hucho bleekeri, and the giant salamander. Experts attending the meeting reached a consensus that the river's biodiversity, which has already been deeply affected by human activities and pollution, will be hard to restore with rudimentary techniques. Cao Wenxuan, an academician and research fellow from the Institute of Hydrobiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that overfishing is the main culprit that has damaged the ecological equilibrium of the Yangtze River. In previous years, many Chinese sturgeons which were artificially bred were caught barely after they had been set free into the river, Cao recalled. Based on the current situation, it is important to preserve the Yangtze's upstream tributaries, such as the Chishui River, in the hope that they can provide an unspoiled haven for endangered species to survive, he added. Fishing has been banned in the conservation areas of the Yangtze River since the beginning of this year. At the same time, the prohibition will expand to the entire trunk stream, other waterways and major tributaries no later than Jan. 1, 2021, for a minimum of 10 years. The new prohibition will require a massive re-employment of 280,000 people who need to give up fishing in order to make way for the ecological restoration of the Yangtze River. Most of the families affected had relied on fishing for their livelihoods over many generations. "We should make sure that their great sacrifice and contributions are worthwhile," said Ma Yi, the director of the Yangtze River Department of the MOA. Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V Muraleedharan, on Friday slammed the Kerala government for passing the resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led government should not waste public money. "Kerala government should realise they are not above law, they are not above the Constitution. They should not waste public money by passing resolutions and going to Courts on issues to which they are not related," he said while speaking to ANI. The Punjab government also passed a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the State Assembly on Friday. The Kerala government has also moved the Supreme Court against the CAA which grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The number of in fell to a record low in 2019, the government said Friday, as the country tackles one of the world's highest suicide rates. Preliminary data released by the health ministry showed 19,959 people died by suicide in 2019, a 4.2 percent drop for the country of 127 million people. Seventy percent of those were men. Final data will be released in March, and the figures are likely to be slightly higher, after police confirm whether deaths recorded in the final months of the year were linked to suicide. But officials said the final figure was still expected to be a record low since data collection began in 1978. The numbers are declining "thanks to increasing efforts to prevent suicide, since the issue has been recognised as social issue" rather than an individual problem, Yasuyuki Shimizu, who heads nonprofit suicide prevention group LIFELINK, told AFP. Government efforts, including enacting a suicide prevention law and starting anti-suicide campaigns, have paid off, he said. "The number declined, but the people who died will not come back... it's not normal that about 20,000 still die every year," Shimizu warned. The number of in peaked in 2003 at 34,427 and the figure remained above 30,000 between 2004 and 2011, but has been falling steadily since then. The latest government data did not include reasons for suicide cases, but last year the ministry cited multiple factors including financial issues, overwork, family problems, and depression. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters on Friday that "must face the fact that 20,000 people still took their own precious lives." "We want to continue efforts, such as by using social media, to create a society in which no one is pushed into suicide," he said. Edward Parson is a former Sevenoaks District Councillor and International Development Consultant, and contested North Durham at the 2019 General Election At the height of election fever in December, there were mooted reports of a Whitehall shakeup this included a possible merger of DFID with the Foreign Office, but more recent reporting suggests a reversal. This article will highlight why DFID should be kept intact as a separate Department, and why it is more important than ever to protect the aid budget. Keeping DFID as a separate department Whilst Britain spends 14 billion (2017) on overseas aid, 30 per cent of the aid budget is now spent outside of DFID, with departments like the Foreign Office taking an increasing portion under its control. As a consultant, I supported aid work with both departments, and found that DFID managed its portfolio with far greater efficiency and scrutiny than the FCO. This view is supported by a National Audit Office report which found the lack of transparency in departments outside of DFID gave uncertainty that UK aid was being used effectively. Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending requires specialist knowledge and tools to ensure public money is dispensed overseas in the best way. DFID has had many years to hone this model, maintaining a focus on outcomes rather than process. However, to continue as a separate department, DFID should improve how it aligns traditional aid objectives with Britains strategic goals. Part of the reason that the aid budget is being hived off from direct DFID control is for other departments to spend aid in a non-traditional way. The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is a good example of such a hybrid model, combining typical aid outcomes such as global peace and prosperity with UK national security objectives. There is no reason why DFID cant adopt this mind-set wholesale, ensuring that aid spending always works to benefit Britain and the recipient state. This measure would help DFID to take back control of the aid budget, permitting the high levels of transparency and scrutiny that come with it. Preserving our ODA Spend An even greater reason to commit to DFID and its funding is for the supporting role it plays in enabling strong foreign policy. This role will be critical as we leave the EU, and is broken down into three aspects: Soft power : It is becoming less common for our aid to be tied (conditional on political reform) and this is a good thing. Despite this, aid still helps to open doors and engenders goodwill in the beneficiary state. This allows us to exercise influence and support the important diplomatic work of the Foreign Office. Aid can also be applied more directly to instigate positive overseas reform. For example, using aid to lead investment in sustainable solutions which tackle global environmental challenges . : It is becoming less common for our aid to be tied (conditional on political reform) and this is a good thing. Despite this, aid still helps to open doors and engenders goodwill in the beneficiary state. This allows us to exercise influence and support the important diplomatic work of the Foreign Office. Aid can also be applied more directly to instigate positive overseas reform. For example, using aid to lead investment in sustainable solutions which tackle global environmental challenges Trade : With Britain leaving the EU, we will have an independent trade policy for the first time in decades. In order to develop strong trading relationships, well rely on free and fair markets, which can be facilitated through a concept known as Secondary Benefits. The idea is that by developing overseas economies we open up markets in which to do business an approach thats been championed by Alok Sharma. Secondary Benefits also emerge incidentally during the implementation of aid programmes. For example, an aid funded health programme could be leveraged to sell NHS expertise, within or beyond the scope of that particular programme. : With Britain leaving the EU, we will have an independent trade policy for the first time in decades. In order to develop strong trading relationships, well rely on free and fair markets, which can be facilitated through a concept known as Secondary Benefits. The idea is that by developing overseas economies we open up markets in which to do business an approach thats been championed by Alok Sharma. Secondary Benefits also emerge incidentally during the implementation of aid programmes. For example, an aid funded health programme could be leveraged to sell NHS expertise, within or beyond the scope of that particular programme. Global Leadership : The UK still operates at the top table of international affairs, and this comes with certain responsibilities. The UK sets a high bar in giving generously to less well off states and we must think about the example we would set in abandoning our serious commitment to aid. Furthermore, much of our aid has a subsidiary effect of promoting our closest held values, such as democracy, the rule of law, and equality. These beliefs are by no means globally ubiquitous, and we face a challenge from countries like China and Russia aiming to spread their own contravening set of values. China, in particular, has been accused of rigging their aid, creating one sided conditional arrangements that aim to politically or economically exploit less developed countries. We must contrast this, by offering a fairer option for vulnerable nations in need of help. Removing the 0.7 per cent overseas aid pledge These points could appear obvious, but need reinforcing to illustrate the important and sometimes neglected benefits of retaining our leading position on aid. However, this does not mean to say we should preserve the model as it is. We pledge to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on aid, which is an arbitrary amount devised over 50 years ago based on a suggestion by the World Council of Churches. More than anything, this pledge is rigid and makes it difficult to cancel failing and wasteful projects. We must replace this target with an outcomes-based budget, which focuses on what we want to/can achieve, rather than how much we want to spend. This could mean spending more than 0.7 per cent in some years and less in others, based on what our goals are and whats achievable at that point in time. Overall, DFID must continue specialising in the dispensation of aid, with the resources and Cabinet level representation that an independent department provides. Equally, our strong commitment to aid should be unwavering, as an integral arm of our foreign policy. However, we must devise a replacement for the 0.7 per cent GDP target and make our aid as mutually beneficial as possible. This will ensure the most efficient use of public resources, and help guarantee popular support for this vital work. Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. By Laman Ismayilova A concert of classical music will be held at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Kazakhstan on January 18. The event is dedicated to Black January, that marks the killing of Azerbaijani civilians by Soviet troops sent to Baku. During the concert, Fagan Hasanli (piano) will perform works by famous national and foreign composers. Notably, Fagan Hasanli is a winner of multiple international competitions. He is also the orchestra musician of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. On the night of January 19, 1990, the Soviet Army started hostilities against Azerbaijan, without declaring an emergency situation. As a result of the crime, 147 people were killed, 800 people injured and five people went missing. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed; the state and citizens suffered huge material damage. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The Chairperson of the Ga Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Dr. Okoe Abbey is calling for consensus on the ongoing fight over the completion of new voters register. He said stakeholders must determine whether or not the current register can be used for the election and then take a decision on what to do next. He told pressmen on the sidelines of the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Hope Congregation of the Presbyterian Church at Sakumono Estate that, that if measures being proposed by the Electoral Commission (EC) will improve the countrys electoral roll, then all must rally behind the EC to executive it. Is the present idea of re-opening the register and doing it all together a perfect idea? Are we building a new and a reliable database that we can build upon or is it going to be the same thing we have done all the time? If there are some flaws in this current database and we are being assured by the EC that we are going to build a better and a reliable database, then why not, let us do our thing and do it right, Rev. Dr. Okoe Abbey said. but if it is going to be the same thing that when another Government comes they will also say they want to re-open and do it afresh then we will be wasting the resources of the nation, he added. He said all efforts must be made to ensure that a new register, if agreed to be compiled, do not have the same challenges that are being complained about now. The celebration was on the theme, A Decade of Discipleship: Celebrating the Goodness of God. Voters register brouhaha Parliament had earlier approved about GHS390 million for the EC to procure a new biometric system which has facial recognition technology and also compile a new voters' register ahead of the 2020 general elections. Whereas some political parties backed the decision by the EC to upgrade its system and compile a new register, others including the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have resisted the move, claiming that the decision is ill-timed and a waste of taxpayers' money. Officials of the EC had insisted that the decision to compile a new register was agreed by the various political parties as did not object to the proposal when it was tabled at Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on March 27, 2019. Over the weekend, the political parties opposing the new register took to the streets of Tamale in the Northern Region to express their disappointment Meanwhile, thirteen political parties, are in support of the EC's decision to compile a new electoral roll. The parties, which are known as the Coalition of Political Parties for 'YES' to a new register, believe the EC has made convincing arguments. EC's Advisory committee to meet IPAC over new voters' register brouhaha Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission's (EC) Eminent Advisory Committee has called for calm following the heated arguments characterising the election management body's plan to compile a new voters' register ahead of the 2020 election. The Committee has served notice to meet the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) to iron out concerns raised over the new register. The Eminent Advisory Committee is chaired by a former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Justice Emile Short. citinewsroom Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 01:44:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Soldiers stand guard during a protest after the Friday prayer in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 17, 2020. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday said that the U.S. assassination of Iran's Quds commander Qassem Soleimani was a "cowardice act" which hurts the U.S. superpower prestige. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua) TEHRAN, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday said that the U.S. assassination of Iran's Quds commander Qassem Soleimani was a "cowardice act" which hurts the U.S. superpower prestige. During his Friday prayers sermon, Khamenei said the Americans could not face Soleimani in the battlefield and hit him "furtively." Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)'s missiles shower on the U.S. bases in Iraq was also a military "strike" on the U.S., he said. The huge turnout of the Iranians and regional people in Soleimani's funeral ceremony was a "disgrace" for the United States, Khamenei said. "The Iranians as well as the people of regional countries praised Soleimani and set ablaze the U.S. and Israeli flags," he said. On the funeral ceremony of Soleimani, millions of Iranians displayed their "allegiance" once again to the Islamic republic, he added. The Iranian leader noted that "Soleimani was an anti-terror commander, who is acknowledged by the people of many countries." Earlier this month, U.S. airstrike near Baghdad international airport assassinated Soleimani and in retaliation, the IRGC launched multiple missile attacks on the U.S. bases in Iraq. Khamenei also slammed the recent move by Britain, France and Germany (E3) to trigger dispute resolution mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The Iranian authorities should not have trusted these European countries in the nuclear talks as "their negotiations are seasoned with deception," said Khamenei. In the meantime, Khamenei did not rule out talks with the powers, "except the United States" over the nuclear issue of the country, but urged "cognizance" in every negotiation. He also said that the only way to resist the "plots" of the enemies is to be stronger. On Tuesday, the three European countries said that they had taken the step to trigger dispute mechanism with Iran in response to Tehran's move to back off nuclear commitments. Speaking of the recent Ukrainian passenger plane crash, Khamenei called on Iran's authorities to investigate into "the painful crash," adding "it is necessary to seriously prevent the repetition of such disastrous incidents," while condoling the families of the victims. The Iranian leader also said that the "Iranian enemies" used the passenger plane crash to "tempt and provoke" anti-government sentiments and to undermine the assassination of the Iranian senior commander by the United States. On Jan. 8, a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 passenger plane crashed near Tehran, and all of the 176 people onboard were killed. The incident coincided with Iran's missile attack on the U.S. military base in Iraq. Later, Iran's armed forces confirmed that an "unintentional" launch of a military missile by the country shot down the Ukrainian airliner. Description GIS 17 January, 2020: A series of activities to mark the Chinese New Year which will be celebrated on 25 January 2020 will be organised by the Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage in collaboration with several key stakeholders. The Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, Mr Avinash Teeluck, met the press yesterday in Port Louis to elaborate on the calendar of activities. The Ambassador of the People's Republic of China, Mr Sun Gongyi, and other personalities were present. Minister Teeluck pointed out that his Ministry is working collaboratively with the Chinese Embassy in Mauritius, the China Cultural Centre, the Municipality of Port Louis and the United Chinese Association as well as other partners to showcase the Chinese culture to the Mauritian population. He also reiterated the commitment and objective of the Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage in promoting the diversity of culture that defines the uniqueness of the Mauritian society. For his part, Ambassador Gongyi expressed satisfaction with regards to the annual celebration of the Chinese New Year and highlighted that it has become a national festival for the country. He thus seized the opportunity to invite all Mauritians to participate in the forthcoming events to mark the 2020 Chinese New Year. The first activity kick-started yesterday with a Chinese New Year Banquet held at Hua Lien Hall in Trianon. The other activities are listed as below: Saturday 18 January 2020 - Opening of the first museum of traditional Chinese customs in Mauritius, the Beijing House Museum in Flic-en-Flac at 15.00 hours; Thursday 23 January 2020 - Chinese New Year Parade as from 17.30 hours in Port-Louis. The Parades itinerary is as follows: starting point Municipality of Port Louis - Government House to reach Chinatown. The Mauritius Police Band, the National team of majorettes, Chinese volunteer teachers, Chinese associations and enterprises will participate. Saturday 25 January 2020 A religious ceremony at Pagode Kwan Tee as from 09 20 hours. A Gala show is also scheduled on the same day as from 16.00 hours at the J&J Auditorium in Phoenix, with a show of the China Oriental performing Arts Group and the China Symphony Orchestra. Building USA's largest domestic cement producer 17 January 2020 This week Eagle Materials INC received the full approval of the US-based Federal Trade Commission (FCT) to acquire the assets of Kosmos Cement, a joint venture between Cemex and Buzzi Unicem. This clearance follows the initial announcement of the US$665m planned acquisition in November 2019. While Cemex is currently on a path of divesting its non-core businesses, Eagle Materials Inc is steadily expanding its cement portfolio in USA and the addition of Kosmos Cement will add the 1.7Msta cement plant at Louisville, as well as seven distribution terminals and access to raw material reserves for its heavy materials business. The acquisition boosts Eagle Material Inc's cement capacity in North America by approximately 25 per cent, and it is already the largest US-owned cement producer with seven cement plants and 5.2Msta of clinker capacity, which equates to five per cent of the national clinker capacity. Michael Haack, Eagle Materials Inc, president and CEO, said the Kosmos Cement agreement represents a significant milestone in the company's growth strategy. "At Eagle we have been disciplined in the strategic growth of our integrated network of cement plants in the US heartland, and the Kosmos facilities are a natural fit. The Kosmos facilities are high-quality, low-cost assets that align with our long-term strategic growth plans and meet our criteria for new investment. These assets will also enable us to participate more significantly in US construction and infrastructure market growth." A growing cement portfolio The cement business accounts for 41 per cent of Eagle Materials Inc's revenue, with gypsum wallboard representing 34 per cent, recycled paperboard 11 per cent, concrete and aggregates nine per cent and oil, gas and proppants five per cent. The company's largest cement plants are the Texas Lehigh Buda plant 1.435Msta (a joint venture 50 per cent share with HeidelbergCement group), La Salle Illinois plant 1.1Msta and the Central Plains Cements Sugar Creek plant in Missouri 1.1Msta. The group also consists of Fairborn Cement in Ohio 0.98Msta, Central Plains Cement's Tulsa plant in Oklahoma 0.9Msta, Mountain Cements Laramie plant in Wyoming 0.8Msta and Nevada Cement's Fernley plant 0.55Msta. This gives a total cement capacity of 7.85Msta with the addition of Kosmos Cement acquisition. Only the Sugar Creek and La Salle plants have five-stage preheater/precalciner kilns, while the Tulsa and Fernley plants still operate long dry kilns. The La Salle kiln line is the newest in the group and was modernised in 2006, while the Fernley and Tulsa plants both have 1964 kiln lines still operating. The main fuel used is coal and petcoke but the plants also have natural gas as an option. At Tusla the company burns fuel-quality wastes in addition to coal and petcoke and the Sugar Creek facility burns alternative fuels as well as fossil fuels. The lead plant for alternative fuels is the Buda plant, near Austin, Texas, which is testing lumber recycled from Austin's Green Building programme and one-part tyres from stockpiles in San Antonio. The company also operates a further 19 distribution terminals throughout the USA and the Skyway Cement Co that produces slag in Chicago Illinois. Its distribution of facilities are strategic in that they are largely insulated from coastal imports, apart from in Texas where the companys headquarters are located. The Sun Belt region in the southern part of the USA is where Eagle Materials Inc is primarily focussed for its cement business with an integrated cement system from California in the west to Ohio and in the north and Texas to the south. The Kosmos Cement deal will build on the acquisition of the Cemex Fairborn plant made in 2017 from Cemex. Ready-mix and aggregate assets Eagle Materials Inc also has the downstream support of nine read-mix concrete plants with a total production of more than 850,000yd3 (0.650Mm3). Mathews Readymix and Western aggregates operate out of Northern California and Centrex Materials operates in Central Texas. It also has more than 1bnt of aggregate reserves in Northern California. Innovation Eagle Materials Inc is also an innovator working on carbon capture and sequestration. It has a partnership with a technology start-up company to explore breakthrough methods in eliminating greenhouse gases from the cement industry. The Mountain Cement plant is also working with the University of Wyoming on carbon sequestration technology. Published under Jalees Ansari, convicted for carrying out several blasts in trains in 1993, was arrested from Uttar Pradeshs Kanpur on Friday, more than 24 hours after he went missing from Mumbai before reporting back to prison at the end of his parole. Vinay Rathod, the deputy commissioner of police (ATS), confirmed Ansari was arrested from Kanpur and said he would be brought to Mumbai soon. Ansari, who is known as Dr Bomb, was arrested by a team of Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad with the help of a special task force of Uttar Pradesh police while he was coming out of a mosque at Faithfulganj in Kanpur at around 1pm on Friday. Watch | Mumbai blasts convict Jalees Ansari, who jumped parole, arrested in UP The team also recovered 47,780 in cash from Ansari along with his PAN and Aadhar cards, officials said. Ansari had gone missing from his second-floor residence at Ittehaad Co-operative Society in Mumbais Mominpura area on Thursday morning. Ansari was serving life imprisonment in Ajmer central prison in Rajasthan but he was brought to Mumbai and was kept in Arthur Road Jail. He was released from Arthur Road on parole a month ago and was supposed to report back on January 17 by 11am, said a Mumbai crime branch officer. Ansari has been accused of plotting and executing several bomb blasts across the country in the early nineties to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradeshs Ayodhya in 1992. He allegedly helped set off a series of 43 explosions in Mumbai and Hyderabad and seven separate explosions on trains on December 6, 1993, the first anniversary of the Babri Masjids demolition. He was convicted for carrying out the blasts in trains. One of his three daughters, who did not want to be identified, said Ansari woke up around 4:30 am on Thursday when the family was sleeping and left the house without telling anyone. My mother woke up around 6 am and thought that he has gone to prayers as usual. But when he did not return by 7am, we started inquiring with our neighbours but no one had seen him while going, the daughter said. She said he had come home on December 28 and had to report back to Arthur Road Jail on January 17. She said he did not say anything and that they were not aware why and where he had gone. After coming out on parole he only used to go out for prayers in the morning. We inquired with neighbours where he used to go for breakfast or have tea but no one was aware, said another daughter. Ansaris son Zahid said everyone in his family was worried after they learnt about his disappearance. We all want that my father should be arrested soon. We are cooperating with the police and making all possible efforts to search for him, Ansaris son Zahid said before his arrest. As soon as we learnt that he left the house with his bag, we immediately inquired with the neighbours and relatives, and informed Agripada police station he said. Ansaris wife had approached the Agripada police station on Thursday after they found Ansaris phone switched off and tried to locate him but could not establish any contact. Mumbai Police along with the anti-terrorism squad, crime branch and several other wings of the police force had been looking for him. Pentagon to decide soon on possible troop cut in West Africa originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A Pentagon decision that could lead to a reduction in the number of U.S. troops in West Africa could come within four to eight weeks, according to Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The possible troop cut has drawn concerns that it could come at a time when the threat in the region from violent extremist groups is growing. For months, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has been reassessing the mission priorities of the 5,200 troops currently stationed in Africa, part of a worldwide review by U.S. military commands to determine whether some missions should be cut in scope to realign their forces, resources and capabilities with the military's strategic focus on China and Russia. The main focus of AFRICOM's review has been on the hundreds of American troops operating in West Africa who are providing logistical, intelligence and special operations support to the French military mission against Islamic extremist groups operating in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Once AFRICOM's review is concluded Defense Secretary Mark Esper is expected to decide whether to accept the command's recommendations that may or may not include a possible troop cut in western Africa. "I'd expect realistically that the AFRICOM review will be over and we'll probably get secretary-level decisions -- hard decisions, my guess is -- in a month or two maybe, maximum, maybe six weeks," Milley told reporters with him as he flew back to the United States from Europe, where he held meetings with his NATO counterparts. PHOTO: In this photo taken Monday, April 16, 2018, a U.S. and Niger flag are raised side by side at the base camp for air forces and other personnel supporting the construction of Niger Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger. (Carley Petesch/AP, File) News reports earlier this week that a U.S. troop withdrawal could occur sparked concerns from French officials. A French presidential source told Agence France-Presse that the U.S. made "irreplaceable" contributions to its operations in west Africa, particularly with intelligence gathering and mid-air refueling. Story continues "We would not be able to get these from other partners, especially when it comes to intelligence," said the official, who added that France would be sharing its concerns with the U.S. "at all levels." MORE: US military resumes operations against ISIS in Iraq after pause due to Iran tensions Milley said the U.S. is working with the French to determine whether the level of support the U.S. is providing France is "too much, too little, is it about right, and is it the right capabilities." But the nation's top military officer pushed back on the notion that "we are pulling out of Africa." "I think that's a mischaracterization and an overstatement," said Milley. "The proper term would be economy of force, which doesn't mean zero," he added. "It just means you've got to right-size it to the tasks and the threats at a level of effort that's appropriate to achieve your objectives." As the National Defense Strategy prioritizes the U.S. military's focus on China and Russia, other geographic areas where the U.S. has operated in are becoming "economy of force" areas. "Economy of force means you are going to use the least amount of force to achieve the minimum amount of objectives that you can achieve in support of the broader main effort," said Milley. PHOTO: In this March 7, 2015, file photo, Chadian troops and Nigerian special forces participate in the Flintlock exercises with the U.S. military and its Western partners in Mao, Chad. (Jerome Delay/AP, File) Milley said one question being asked by military officials conducting the review is whether the U.S. should be the one providing all the military support in the region. "We certainly have capabilities, but the question is should they be applied or not," said Milley. "Maybe there are other countries that have the same types of capabilities that are not contributing that could contribute." The majority of AFRICOM's 5,200 military personnel are serving at a base in the east African country of Djibouti where the U.S. supports Somalia's fight against the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab terror group. MORE: Pentagon prepared to provide additional financial support to border wall: Esper The U.S. military presence in western Africa had historically involved the rotation of small numbers of U.S. troops helping to train local militaries. But that all changed when France intervened in Mali in 2013 to push back Islamic extremists who seemed poised to overthrow that country's government. The United States quickly provided intelligence and logistical support to the original French mission. Since then, Africa Command has regularly deployed small teams of U.S. special operations forces to the region, primarily advising and assisting the Nigerien military. The number of American troops in western Africa peaked at 800 as the U.S. expanded a remote desert airstrip in Niger and turned it into a hub for drones used in intelligence-gathering missions around the region. But America's growing military role remained little-known until October 2017, when four U.S. Army special operations soldiers were killed in an ambush. As a result of that incident, U.S. Africa Command increased the force protection and the resourcing of American military teams operating in western Africa. U.S. Africa Command is the first of the U.S. military's regional commands to undertake the worldwide review of missions. Those responsible for South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia will soon be undertaking their own reviews. DNA Payments (DNA), a fintech payments company, continues to expand its service offering to merchants and global footprint through the acquisition of Zash AB (Zash), a Swedish fintech company providing Point of Sale Software and Payments services to over 1000 clients in the UK, across EU, Latin America and Brazil. Zash was founded by a serial entrepreneur Daniel Bessmert, former Commercial Director at Paypal and Head of Mobile in Visa. The transaction was supported by Proskauer Rose LLP, which was lead by partner, Andrew Wingfield. Zash provides a B2B2C solution, which allows merchants and consumers to better interact and transact. It allows merchants to save costs and bring in more revenue by offering more B2C services. Essentially it's a way for merchants to both sell products at their retail location in addition to online (Omnichannel). Together with the acquisition of CR7 Services at the end of 2019 and the acquisition of Zash AB, DNA's vision has become a reality: to make payment services fair and simple and help promising businesses thrive. Zash's solution will be fully integrated into DNA's service proposition, significantly adding value to our shared clients and will allow our customers to focus on growing their businesses. As part of the deal, Daniel Bessmert is joining DNA Payments as a Chief Commercial Officer. Daniel Bessmert, Zash's Founder and CEO, commented: "It is very rare, that you can find a better business fit, than between DNA Payments and Zash. Our company cultures, business segment and value propositions are extremely aligned and it is such a rare 1+1=3 scenario that is very hard to find in the Fintech space." About DNA Payments Group DNA Payments is a London based fintech company offering full-scope payments services for SMEs. DNA's team consists of highly proficient people who have worked with payment and banking systems for more than 20 years. DNA Payments is part of the Oracle high potential start-up programme. In October 2019, DNA Payments acquired the CR7 Services group, an innovative payment solution provider operating in the UK. Consisting of Optomany (www.optomany.com), 123Send (www.123send.net) and the 123Hire brands, they specialize in omnichannel payment processing technology, delivering innovative, reliable and secure solutions to the retail sector across all channels. The group currently operates estate of 40,000 POS terminals in UK and Ireland to over 23,000 clients. About Zash AB Zash's aim is to simplify the life for all merchants, allowing them to limit their IT relationship with one single partner. Zash was founded on the premise that a successful mobile solution must be created with a deep understanding of the underlying needs of consumers, as well as merchants. The uniqueness of the Zash solution is that it's a fully featured EPOS that has an easier way of integrating other services such as B2C Services (Orders and Bookings) and other payment types (Swish, PayPal) etc. This is mainly due to the Zash EPOS being Cloud based, available on any Android device. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005381/en/ Contacts: Scott Weddell scott@dnapayments.com 07788262968 [January 17, 2020] Generex Biotechnology Provides Investor Conference Call Details Tuesday January 21, 2020 at 9:30 AM MIRAMAR, Fla., Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Generex Biotechnology Corporation (www.generex.com) (OTCQB:GNBT) today announced Call-in details for the upcoming investor conference call on Tuesday January 21, 2020 at 9:30 AM Eastern time. The access information for the investor conference call is as follows: Domestic US/Canada 1-(866) 342-8588 Direct Toll / International - 1-(203) 518-9865, Program Title: Generex Biotechnology Announces Investor Conference Call Conference ID 3654 Agenda: Update on the 2:5 GNBT stock dividend and the 2:5 NuGenerex Immuno-Oncology (NGIO) stock dividend & the FINRA approval process Share price review: Impact of irregular & illegal trading and plans to address wrongdoing Go-forward plans to build and operate the Generex enterprise Update on the progress toward the NuGenerex Immuno-Oncology (NGIO) spinout Funding update ALTuCELL closing update As always, Generex President & Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Moscato welcomes questions from shareholders during the call. p align="justify">About Generex Biotechnology Corp. In addition to advancing a legacy portfolio of immune-oncology assets, medical devices, and diagnostics, the Company is focused on an acquisition strategy of strategic businesses that complement existing assets and provide immediate sources of revenue and working capital. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This release and oral statements made from time to time by Generex representatives in respect of the same subject matter may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by introductory words such as "expects," "plan," "believes," "will," "achieve," "anticipate," "would," "should," "subject to" or words of similar meaning, and by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements frequently are used in discussing potential product applications, potential collaborations, product development activities, clinical studies, regulatory submissions and approvals, and similar operating matters. Many factors may cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements, including inaccurate assumptions and a broad variety of risks and uncertainties, some of which are known and others of which are not. Known risks and uncertainties include those identified from time to time in the reports filed by Generex with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which should be considered together with any forward-looking statement. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future results or events, and one should avoid placing undue reliance on such statements. Generex undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Generex claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements that is contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Generex Contact: Generex Biotechnology Corporation Joseph Moscato 646-599-6222 Todd Falls 1-800-391-6755 Extension 222 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The West Central Illinois Council on World Affairs will sponsor a program on Cuba next week, featuring a panel of Illinois College faculty members who will talk about Cuban history and culture and their experiences as visiting scholars in the country. The program at 7 p.m. Thursday will be in Room 106 of Illinois Colleges Parker Science Building. It will feature Steven Gardner, Lawrence Zettler and Nichol DelGiorno, who have been engaged in academic research projects with various educational institutions in Cuba, particularly the western province of Pinar del Rio. Training was down. Certifications, which crews received after proving they were prepared to handle crucial war-fighting duties, had dropped to 62 percent completed in 2016 from 93 percent in 2014. That year, only two of the fleets 11 destroyers and cruisers received all recommended maintenance. One ship got only a quarter of its scheduled upkeep. Admiral Aucoin sent the assessment to the top brass. But the portrait of crisis got him nothing. Low-level officers on the decks of ships and high-ranking leaders up the chain of command said they made similar warnings and were shut down. Scores of sailors reached out to us and testified to some combination of fear, lack of training and an absence of confidence in the Navys leadership. If the Navy paid more attention to the job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation of sailors, then a lot of these other systemic issues will fix themselves, one sailor wrote. We examined other Navy episodes directly relevant to todays situation with Iran. In 2016, the crew of two American gunboats was seized in the Persian Gulf by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the military force dominated by Qassim Suleimani, the major general killed by a drone strike outside the Baghdad Airport this month. The sailors on the gunboats undertook a last-minute mission without proper training or equipment and were captured after straying into the waters surrounding an Iranian naval base on Farsi Island. An international incident was avoided only through military pressure and last-minute diplomatic maneuvers. We also examined the state of the Navys minesweepers. The Persian Gulf is one of the few places in the world where such ships may prove indispensable. Nearly a quarter of the worlds oil supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz at the gulfs entrance. The Iranians have threatened to use mines to block it in case of conflict. The Navy has fewer than a dozen minesweepers, many in disrepair. One sailor told us the sonar meant to detect mines was so imprecise that in training exercises it flagged dishwashers, crab traps and cars on the ocean floor as potential explosives. Trump Terms Parnas Claims 'The Current Hoax' By Steve Herman, Ken Bredemeier January 16, 2020 President Donald Trump and members of his administration are disparaging claims by a former associate of his personal attorney that he was fully aware of pressure applied on Ukraine to launch an investigation of a political rival and thus potentially benefit Trump's re-election chances. The accusations are being made by Lev Parnas, who is under indictment for funneling foreign contributions to U.S. political candidates." This is the current hoax," Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon. "He's trying to probably make a deal for himself." Earlier, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, in a statement, said Parnas' allegations come from "a man who is currently out on bail for federal crimes and is desperate to reduce his exposure to prison." The comments come as the impeachment trial of the president formally began on Thursday after the House of Representatives delivered to the Senate charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress by the president. In interviews with U.S. news outlets, Parnas said the president was aware of attorney Rudy Giuliani's efforts to pressure Ukraine to launch investigations of one of the top Democratic Party challengers, former Vice President Joe Biden, to benefit Trump politically in his campaign for another term in the White House. Pompeo Silent on Reports of Surveillance of Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Ukrainian authorities on Thursday said they have opened an investigation into whether Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Kyiv, was illegally spied on before Trump abruptly recalled her last year and then dismissed the envoy. Trump aides, according to impeachment investigators, viewed the career U.S. diplomat as an impediment to opening an investigation of Biden. The announcement from Ukraine comes two days after Democratic lawmakers pushing for Trump's removal from office released documents supplied by Parnas, who had been working with Giuliani, showing the lawyer communicating about Yovanovitch's removal from the diplomatic posting and tracking her movements in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Parnas, who is a U.S. citizen, also alleges Vice President Mike Pence tried to get Ukraine to announce an investigation of Biden. "I don't know the guy," Pence responded when asked by a reporter in Florida about Parnas. The vice president called Parnas' charge that he was aware that all outreach to Zelenskiy was about getting Ukraine to investigate the Bidens, "completely false." Counselor to the president, Kellyanne Conway, also criticized the media attention Parnas is receiving, suggesting he does not merit being interviewed. "I would just caution against that because being against Donald Trump doesn't mean that you are honest or trustworthy or a good person or not under criminal indictment," she told reporters on the White House driveway outside the West Wing. Trump's bid to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the Biden investigation and his son Hunter Biden's work for Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas company, are at the center of the Senate impeachment trial. Trump "knew exactly what was going on," Parnas told MSNBC in an interview broadcast Wednesday night. Parnas asserted the president is lying when Trump claims not to know who he is. Asked by reporters on Thursday about Parnas, Trump acknowledged the former Giuliani associate was one of the "thousands and thousands" of people with whom he had taken photos as president." Perhaps he's a fine man. Perhaps he's not," said Trump. "I never had a conversation that I remember with him." The New York Times quotes Parnas as saying, "I am betting my whole life that Trump knew exactly everything that was going on that Rudy Giuliani was doing in Ukraine." Trump has denied sending Giuliani, his personal lawyer, to Ukraine to look for dirt on Biden. Parnas told MSNBC that Trump "was aware of all my movements." Parnas told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that Trump's interest in Ukraine was never about rooting out government corruption in the eastern European country, but "all about Joe Biden, Hunter Biden." Asked by a reporter on Thursday if Parnas would be a credible witness considering he is under federal indictment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi replied, "There seems to be documentation that validates what Parnas is saying." In an interview to be aired Thursday evening on CNN, Parnas said all the president and his team really wanted was the announcement from Kyiv there would be a probe "because nobody trusted them to do an investigation." Trump temporarily withheld $391 million in military aid to Ukraine awaiting such an announcement by Zelenskiy, but Trump eventually released the assistance without any probe being announced. That temporary freezing of the security assistance violated U.S. law, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent government watchdog agency, said in a report on Thursday. A document provided to the House Intelligence Committee by Parnas includes messages from Robert Hyde, who is running for Congress from the state of Connecticut and is a Trump campaign donor. In those exchanges last March 23, two months before Yovanovitch was ordered back to Washington, Parnas was informed about her physical location in Ukraine. Hyde, in one message to Parnas, said he had a "private security" company tracking Yovanovitch's movements. "She's talked to three people. Her phone is off. Computer is off," wrote Hyde. In another message, Hyde told Parnas, "They will let me know when she's on the move." In the MSNBC interview, Parnas said he did not take Hyde's claims seriously. U.S. Congressman Eliot Engel called the exchanges between Hyde and Parnas "profoundly alarming" and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which he chairs, will try to find out whether the State Department knew about the surveillance of Yovanovitch at the time Hyde said it was occurring. Parnas has also implicated U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who is the country's top law enforcement officer. When asked by MSNBC if Giuliani told him he had spoken to Barr about Ukraine, Parnas replied, "Not only Rudy Giuliani. Attorney General Barr was basically on the team." The Justice Department calls the claim by Parnas "100 percent false." In different circumstances, a special prosecutor, under the Justice Department, would be appointed to look into this, Pelosi told reporters "Does anybody think the rogue attorney general is going to appoint a special prosecutor?" asked Pelosi. "No, because he is implicated in all of this." The top Republican in the House, backing up the Trump administration, is dismissing Parnas's claims. "This man lacks all credibility," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters on Thursday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address (l-r) Catalan deputy premier Pere Aragones, premier Quim Torra and regional government spokesperson Meritxell Budo. Toni Albir (EFE) The new Spanish government, led by the Socialist Party Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, is changing strategy on one of the key points of conflict in recent years with the regional administration in Catalonia: the work carried out by the so-called Catalan embassies. The move signals a new era in relations between Catalonia and the central administration The Foreign Ministry has given its approval to the reopening of three of these delegations, which were originally challenged by the central government and subsequently frozen by the justice system. The new approach from Madrid has come given that the Catalan regional government has reformulated its objectives with these embassies, leading the ministry to conclude that their work will not interfere with Spanish foreign policies. Last Tuesday, the Catalan government the Generalitat, as it is known approved three decrees to reopen the embassies in Argentina, Mexico and Tunisia, after they had been shut by the Catalan regional High Court. But far from being a challenge for the new Socialist-Unidas Podemos coalition government in Madrid, the move has signaled a new era in relations between the northeastern Spanish region and the central administration in Madrid. The decrees were approved by the Foreign Ministry, which had previously revised the legislation and had introduced several modifications, according to ministry sources. The dialogue between the two administrations is in contrast to the tensions that have dominated in recent years in response to the secessionist drive in Catalonia, which reached its peak in 2017 when an illegal referendum was held followed by a subsequent unilateral declaration of independence. This new phase of discussions is being sought by PM Sanchez, who had to make a deal with the pro-independence Catalan Republican Left (ERC) party on talks on the future of the region in exchange for their key abstention at his investiture vote. Under the previous leadership of Josep Borrell, the Foreign Ministry had taken a hard line against the Catalan embassies, on the basis that they were damaging Spains interests abroad. They are being used as a fundamental instrument to promote the secessionist narrative and to damage the international image of Spain, the minister argued at the time. The new approach will also, for now, cancel out the judicial element of the issue. Having rewritten the decrees to reopen the three delegations, the suspension and the appeal against them will no longer apply, according to the interpretation of the Foreign Ministry. The deal between the PSOE and ERC specifically referred to overcoming the judicialization of the conflict. One of the major objections of the ministry regarding the embassies was the term that the Generalitat used to refer to its contacts with other states where they were opened. The Catalan foreign department referred to bilateral relationships between Catalonia and the countries in question, an expression that interfered with the exclusive competencies of the Spanish state in this area. Sources consulted for this story have not clarified whether the term bilateral has been used again, but they said that the changes suggested in the decrees were in that direction. English version by Simon Hunter. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Islamabad, Pakistan A Pakistani court has sentenced 86 members of a far right religious party to 55-year prison terms each for taking part in violent protests against the acquittal of a Christian woman in a blasphemy case, party officials say. The verdicts were announced late on Thursday night by a court in the northern garrison city of Rawalpindi, Pir Ejaz Ashrafi, a senior leader of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) party, told Al Jazeera. The 86 TLRYA activists were arrested in November 2018, as the party led violent protests against the acquittal by the countrys Supreme Court of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who was on death row for having allegedly committed blasphemy in 2009. Days of protests saw TLRYA activists led by party leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi block big highways and destroy public property across the country, but mostly centred in the central province of Punjab. At the time, senior TLP leader Pir Afzal Qadri had called for the judges who announced the acquittal to be killed. The charges against those sentenced include destroying public property, attacking passers-by and disrupting citizens everyday life. Ashrafi said the sentences were harsh and that his party would be appealing the decision at the high court. This is the murder of justice. We are hopeful that they will suspend the verdict in the high court, and our legal team is working on it, he told Al Jazeera by telephone from the eastern city of Lahore, where the TLYRA is based. Sensitive subject Bibi, a Christian woman from the central Pakistani village of Ithan Wali, was accused by two Muslim women of having committed blasphemy by insulting Islams Prophet Muhammad during an argument over a drinking water vessel in 2009. In 2018, the Supreme Court acquitted Aasia Bibi, ruling that prosecution witnesses had lied to implicate her [Shakil Adil/AP Photo] She spent eight years on death row, with rights groups arguing that there were numerous fair trial concerns in her case, as are commonly reported in most blasphemy prosecutions in Pakistan. In 2018, the Supreme Court acquitted Bibi, ruling that prosecution witnesses had lied to implicate her. In May, she flew to Canada where she was forced to seek asylum to guarantee her and her familys safety after the verdict. Blasphemy against Islam is a sensitive subject in Pakistan, where the crime can carry a mandatory death sentence. Increasingly, accusations have led to violent attacks by mobs or assailants, with at least 75 people killed in such attacks since 1990, according to an Al Jazeera tally. Two of those killed a sitting federal minister and a serving provincial governor were attacked for having supported Bibi during her trial. Last month, a court in the central city of Multan sentenced university lecturer Junaid Hafeez to death for blasphemy after a six-year trial. Hafeez has spent most of his incarceration in solitary confinement due to threats against his life, his lawyer says. One of his lawyers, Rashid Rehman, was murdered in 2014 for defending him. The TLYRA has publicly endorsed violence in the name of the blasphemy laws, with a regular chant at protests such as the November demonstrations for which the activists were sentenced on Thursday calling for all blasphemers to be beheaded. Rizvi, the TLYRA chief, is currently out on medical bail as he faces charges of inciting hatred and violence at the rallies. His brother, Ameer Hussain Rizvi, and nephew are among those who were sentenced on Thursday, Ashrafi said. Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim. U.S. Army 3rd Division 3-7 infantry soldiers use a Bradley fighting vehicle for cover as they conduct a neighborhood patrol on the outside perimeter of the Baghdad International Airport April 8, 2003. (Scott Nelson/Getty Images) Armys $45 Billion Remote-Controlled Vehicle Plan Grinds to a Temporary Halt The U.S. Armys forced march toward acquiring a next-generation, semi-autonomous fighting vehicle has ground to a temporary halt after all competitors but one dropped out of the prototype competition, unable to keep step with the aggressive schedule of modernization plans. The Army announced on Thursday that it had canceled the rapid prototyping phase of the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV), the replacement for the Bradley fighting vehicle. The vehicle was one of five new vehicles demanded by the Armys up-tempo Modernization Strategy, which identifies next-generation fighting vehicles as the second-highest priority as the army revamps for competition with China and Russia. The Army said it will revisit the requirements, acquisition strategy, and schedule before moving forward, but said it was still committed to the program. General Dynamics Land Systems was the only competitor left in the running by the time Congress agreed to fund the program in the 2020 budget. The Army asked for a great deal of capability on a very aggressive schedule, said Dr. Bruce Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, in a statement. Despite an unprecedented number of industry days and engagements, to include a draft request for proposal over the course of nearly two yearsall of which allowed industry to help shape this competitionit is clear a combination of requirements and schedule overwhelmed industrys ability to respond within the Armys timeline. A U.S. Army Bradley fighting vehicle uses a defensive smoke screen charge to help conceal its movement during a live fire trench clearing training mission near the Iraqi border in northern Kuwait on Jan. 25, 2003. (Scott Nelson/Getty Images) Jette said that they remained committed to the OMFV program as the second-highest modernization priority. The need for this ground combat vehicle capability is real. It is imperative we get it right for our soldiers, he added. The vehicle required that it be manned, but also capable of being fully remote-controlled, with the capacity to carry up to six crew members. The Armys modernization strategy is helmed by the newly-minted Army Futures Command, which is trying to re-write the rule book on acquisitions and prototyping, ditching historically risk-averse acquisition culture to get prototypes into the hands of soldiers faster. Army Futures Command has been forging a more dynamic relationship between prototyping and program requirementsallowing them to inform each other more tightly. Our buzzword is that we are attempting to move the risk to the left, Colonel Eric Smith, who was responsible for writing the strategy, told The Epoch Times in October, referring to a phrase that started its life in the software community, which means to focus on weeding out unworkable options earlier on. In other words, to try to fail early. The budget for the now-stalled prototype program was $205.6 million. In total, the Army expected to pay $1.9 billion for research and development and more than $43 billion for procurement to buy about 3,800 vehicles, reported Inside Defense. Weve spent a very small amount of money in trying to get to where we are, and in fact a good bit of the technology development that was part of the assessment phase is still totally recoverable, Jette told reporters, according to Defense News. The most prudent means of ensuring long-term programmatic success is to get this multi-billion-dollar effort correct, said Gen. John M. Murray, commander of Army Futures Command, in a statement. We are going to take what we have learned and apply it to the OMFV program to develop our path and build a healthy level of competition back into the program. The Army has twice tried and failed to replace the M-2 Bradley IFV, with both programs in the past decade falling into the so-called valley of deaththe long process between prototyping and fielding that can kill off programs. New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy plea filed by one of the convicts of the Nirbhaya gangrape case Mukesh Singh clearing all roadblocks to the execution of the four convicts. The mercy plea was filed by Mukesh Singh recently after his curative plea was rejected by the Supreme Court. On January 15, the Delhi government recommended the Centre to reject the mercy petition filed by Mukesh Singh, one of the four men sentenced to death for the 2012 gangrape. Here's a copy of President Kovind's rejection of petition filed by Mukesh Kumar: According to reports, Mukesh's mercy plea was first rejected by the Delhi government, which forwarded the same to the Lieutenant Governor recommending 'rejection'. Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal accepted the recommendation of the Delhi Government and forwarded the file to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Live TV The MHA sources later confirmed that the ministry has received mercy petition of Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case convict Mukesh Singh from Delhi government. On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court had refused to stay death warrants after the state government said that it 'can't hang convicts on January 22'. While refusing to set aside the death warrant issued for the hanging of four Nirbhaya gangrape-murder convicts, the high court said that convict Mukesh Singh could approach the trial court, which issued the death warrant. The HC also said that it found nothing wrong in the death warrants issued by Delhi's Patiala House court for the hanging of four convicts. The four convicts - Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) - are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am. The filing of the mercy plea is expected to delay the execution of the four convicts, which is scheduled to take place on January 22. According to prison rules, the execution can take place at least 14 days after the mercy plea is rejected by the President. Manchester United supporters have expressed their frustration on Twitter as the Bruno Fernandes deal continues to edge painfully slowly to completion. It is understood that United want to seal 60m move for Bruno Fernandes on Friday after making progress in talks with Sporting Lisbon chiefs on Thursday night. However, the drawn out nature of the transfer has seen fans head to Twitter to urge their team to speed things up. Man United fans are growing frustrated waiting for the Bruno Fernandes deal to be confirmed 'When will all the Bruno Fernandes transfer saga come to an end?' one wrote. 'Am fed up with all the speculation, if we are signing him let's get on with it and speed the process up or forget about him completely.' Another joked that the midfielder must be coming by horse while many decided to used GIFs to show how they were feeling about the situation. Fernandes was set to feature in Friday's clash with rivals Benfica, but reports claim he could now miss the match with the deal close to being completed. Sporting, however, reportedly remain confident he will still be able to play in the match. The fixture could prove to be Fernandes' last game for Sporting and an opportunity to say goodbye to supporters at the Jose Alvalade Stadium. Boss Silas confirmed on Thursday that the 25-year-old would feature barring a 'disaster', although the latest twist in the saga appears to have accelerated the midfielder's switch to Old Trafford. United representatives were in Lisbon on Thursday night as the two clubs tried to thrash out a deal after reaching a sticking point over the fee. Both parties were initially some way apart on the valuation of the player with United unwilling to offer over 42million up front. However, the deal has accelerated after United reportedly upped their offer, which will either be structured as a 50m fee plus 8m in bonuses or 55m plus 4m in bonuses. Super agent Jorge Mendes attended United's FA Cup tie with Wolves on Wednesday, and is thought to have been tasked with hauling the deal over the line. It is even believed that Sporting had demanded players from United in exchange, although another report from Portugal believes that is now not the case. Andreas Pereira and Marcos Rojo had been tipped to make the move to Portugal, with the latter returning to his former club, but both players rejected the switch - leaving Sporting free to increase their demands. The Sporting Lisbon captain appeared set to face Benfica but could now miss out on the clash Sportsmail understands Fernandes has already agreed personal terms worth around 130,000 a week with the Old Trafford side. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was keen to snap up Fernandes this month after losing both Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay to injuries. The Portugal international has enjoyed another stellar campaign for Sporting, scoring 15 times and laying on 13 assists in all competitions. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) chairman S C Khuntia on Friday cautioned insurers against indulging in predatory pricing, saying it is not a sustainable model while citing examples of airline and telecom sectors. Highlighting that the insurance industry is different from other business, he said if an insurer fails, it has bearing on customers as well. "I would like to give a word of caution here. Though your (insurance brokers) share is very high in group health insurance, the loss ratio in group health insurance is also very high. Probably, it is not very sustainable at present," he said at an event organised by Insurance Brokers Association of India here. "So the insurance companies, intermediaries and policyholders need to unite to create a sustainable atmosphere. In other industries if there is unfair competition, the industry suffers but the clientele don't suffer. While this has happened in airlines and telecom industries but we cannot afford that kind of a situation in the insurance industry because insurance is an industry for protection," he said. "So if the industry suffers, then clientele also suffers. And as a regulator we would not like that to happen. One should not overcharge and also not undercharge," he said, adding, there is need to create efficiencies so that to bring down premium and minimise the risk. Asked if companies are engaging in predatory pricing to up their volume, the regulator acknowledged it by saying "of course, of course." "Regulator will have to ensure that the industry runs sustainably. There will be host of actions not one kind of action (to check predatory pricing) but we will ensure that the health of insurance industry does not deteriorate," he said. To a query on LIC stake reduction roadmap for IDBI Bank, Khuntia said has reminded LIC and they are yet to come forward with it. He, however, expressed hope that it will be done quickly. stipulates that insurers are allowed to hold only up to 15 per cent stake in any listed entity. But LIC, with a special dispensation from IRDAI, holds more than the limit in some state-run banks. Besides, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permits a ceiling of 15 per cent for promoter stake in a private sector bank. In June 2018, permitted LIC to acquire up to 51 per cent stake in debt-ridden IDBI Bank. When asked about his view on raising foreign investment in insurance sector from the current 49 per cent, he said IRDAI had sought opinions of stakeholders on raising foreign holding to 74 per cent and comments received have been forwarded to the government. "Now according to the Insurance Act, 49 per cent is the maximum limit for foreign direct investment. If it goes to 74 per cent naturally the Act has to be amended," he said. However, he was non-committal on ownership and control. No decision has been taken, 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.) New Delhi [India], Jan 18 (ANI): As the protest at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) entered day 35 on Friday, Delhi Police appealed to protestors to understand the inconvenience caused by the complete highway blockade to residents of Delhi and NCR, senior citizens, emergency patients and school-going children. "We appeal to agitators at Road No. 13 A Shaheen Bagh to understand the sufferings that the complete highway blockade is causing to residents of Delhi & NCR, Senior Citizens, emergency patients and school going children," Delhi Police tweeted. The police administration asserted that the matter has also come up before the High Court. "We again urge protesters to cooperate and clear the road in the larger public interest," it further said. The protestors at Shaheen Bagh on Friday continued to raise their voice against the amended law. The protestors included new mothers and elderly women. Rihana Khatun, who was at sit in with her 45-day-old baby, said she was seeking justice. "She (the baby) was 12-days old when I joined the protest on the first day. It has been more than a month now. I am sitting in cold and rains with her to get justice," Khatun said. She rejected allegations that the protestors were getting paid. "I am not here for money, I have come here for justice and for our country," she said. Protesters have installed a giant iron cut-out of India's map with the text stating "We the people of India reject CAA, NPR and NRC." The Sikh community has also started 'langar seva' for the protesters and serves food twice a day. Apart from that, people have also distributed fruits to demonstrators in a show of their support. Announcements were made at the demonstration stating that protest was not backed or funded by any political party and "please don't give money to volunteers nor will they accept it". 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. (ANI) Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham began her push to try to win over skeptics on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana use on Thursday, telling Albuquerque business leaders the policy shift would immediately create 11,000 jobs and generate tax dollars that could be used on public safety programs. With a 30-day legislative session scheduled to start next week, the first-term Democratic governor has made cannabis legalization one of her top priorities, even as Roundhouse insiders have suggested it might not have enough votes to get through the state Senate. Recreational cannabis is an economic game-changer, Lujan Grisham said during a luncheon hosted by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. Specifically, she said, legalizing marijuana could open new career options for younger New Mexicans, while also suggesting it could catalyze new research into cannabis medicinal properties. It is an incredibly important opportunity, Lujan Grisham said. We are serious about getting it passed. However, the marijuana legalization bill is likely to face significant hurdles in the form of skepticism from moderate Democrats and most Republicans after failing to clear both legislative chambers in recent years. The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, one of the states largest business groups, last year opposed legalizing recreational cannabis use, due primarily to concerns about whether businesses could still maintain drug-free workplaces. The chamber has not completed its agenda for the 30-day session, which begins Tuesday, its CEO and executive director, Terri Cole said Thursday. Meanwhile, the governors speech came on the same day the cannabis legalization bill she supports was filed at the Roundhouse. Under the proposal, Senate Bill 115, revenue generated by legalizing marijuana sales to adults ages 21 and older would go toward law enforcement training and equipment, substance abuse treatment programs and the creation of a fund to help pay for medical cannabis costs for low-income patients. In addition, the bill calls for licensing at the state level and giving local governments some authority to determine where cannabis dispensaries could be located. But unlike in neighboring Colorado, counties would not be able to prohibit cannabis sales. Although the tax rate would vary by location, it would be an average of 19% or slightly higher than under recommendations proposed last fall by a working group that Lujan Grisham created. That would allow more revenue to be generated for law enforcement efforts and a proposed fund to help aspiring marijuana entrepreneurs get into the cannabis industry, said Pat Davis, an Albuquerque city councilor who led the governors working group. And unlike under a cannabis legalization bill that passed the House last year and was supported by several Senate Republicans, the bill filed Thursday would not include a provision calling for state-run cannabis shops. Meanwhile, New Mexico has already removed some legal barriers to marijuana. The states medical cannabis program had more than 80,000 enrolled members as of last month and has grown rapidly in recent years. In addition, lawmakers approved during last years legislative session a law decriminalizing possession of less than one-half ounce of marijuana. Nationwide, 11 states and the District of Columbia now have laws legalizing small amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use. Colorado and Washington were the first states to approve such policies, in 2012. However, just two states Vermont and Illinois have approved cannabis legalization laws through the legislative process; other states have done so through ballot measures. Lujan Grisham predicted Thursday that New Mexico will soon join Vermont and Illinois but acknowledged that winning approval this year is not a slam dunk. Its here this is a debate about when, Lujan Grisham said. WINCHESTER BAY, Ore. A Winchester Bay man will serve a year and a half in prison for assaulting his then-girlfriend while they were on a fishing vessel in August 2018. Brandon Vanderploeg, 39, will also serve two years of supervised release. Court documents said the U.S. Coast Guard learned of the situation on Aug. 16, 2018, and two members boarded the boat and contacted the man and his girlfriend. The boat was 17 nautical miles off the coast. The woman said Vanderploeg had hurt her on multiple occasions after they left Winchester Bay. She said he held her down, punched her in the face, head-butted her in the nose and slammed her head on a tool box. She suffered a three-inch cut on her cheek, a fractured nose and multiple bruises. Vanderploeg had a blood alcohol concentration of .183, the U.S. Attorneys Offices Oregon District said. The BAC limit for people operating a commercial vessel is .04. On Sept. 30, 2019, Vanderploeg pleaded guilty to assault within the maritime jurisdiction of the U.S. and operating a commercial vessel under the influence of alcohol. As part of a plea agreement, the man agreed to pay restitution to the victim in the case. The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service investigated and Gavin W. Bruce, the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, prosecuted. Its not that Im for or against it. Im waiting to see how we are going to be more equitable, he said. The county is preparing to go after revenue, and I think revenue is important. But Id like to see more information come out about where the revenue is going to be spent, how the revenue is going to be spent. Are we going to do any economic development in poor black and brown communities? All those conversations should start taking place now, instead of taking place later when its too late. Blockchain has topped the list of skills bosses are looking for in employees around the world this year, according to professional social media platform LinkedIn. The record-keeping technology first emerged in 2009 with the birth of cryptocurrency but has since moved on from supporting the use of the likes of Bitcoin. The ability to store, validate, authorize, and move data across the internet with blockchain means it is now being used to securely store and send any digital asset. The technology also stores a permanent and non-editable record of data entry. Blockchain was the top priority for employers hiring in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Australia, LinkedIn found. Yet it was both first time blockchain made it onto LinkedIn's rankings of in-demand skills and came in first place. Namrata Murlidhar, marketing director at LinkedIn, said blockchain had emerged from the "once shadowy world" of cryptocurrency to become a "transformative business solution." Industries outside the financial services sector were increasingly seeking talent with experience in blockchain, she added, including retail, shipping, healthcare, farming and gaming. LinkedIn measured demand by looking at the profiles of its users, to determine the frequency that people with different skillsets were getting hired. Cloud computing came in second place, which is the technology allowing data to be stored and managed on the internet. People working in this area would be developing the architecture, design and delivery of cloud systems. In third place was analytical reasoning - the ability to make sense of data and uncover insights that can help business decisions. Artificial intelligence (AI), which is the technology developing machine-learning, was the fourth most in-demand area of "hard" skills for employers. Rounding out the top five was UX design, the focus on users' experience of products, particularly technology. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 02:15:54|Editor: yan Video Player Close TUNIS, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia's Ministry of Defense denied on Friday that foreign drones have penetrated into the Tunisian airspace. The drones in question did not cross the Tunisian airspace and they were flying inside the Libyan territory, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The ministry ensured that military patrols are deployed along the Tunisian borders with the neighboring Libya, "ready to shoot any suspicious body that infiltrates Tunisian airspace." Tunisian media had earlier quoted Tunisian political activist Mostafa Abdel Kabir as saying that foreign drones were flying over southeastern Tunisia, "and they seemed to belong to one of the parties in the Libyan conflict." By all appearances, Governor Northam of Virginia is trying to start Civil War Two. Northam has already inflamed his own citizens by calls for gun confiscation, and some other members of the State Assembly have suggested activating and sending out the National Guard to enforce unpopular gun legislation. Northam's rhetoric has already caused 102 counties and cities in Virginia to pass Second Amendment sanctuary laws that prevent local government from expending tax funds or resources on enforcing laws passed by the state that citizens feel violate the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. When the Virginia Civil Defense League (VCDL) announced that it would be holding its annual lobby day on January 20, 2020, proponents of the sanctuary laws and citizens residing in the localities vowed to show up as a sign of their displeasure and opposition to laws already on the docket for the 2020 legislative session. This surge of participation in the annual lobby day held by VCDL garnered national attention from gun rights groups, defendants of the Constitution, and bloggers in the gun rights blogosphere to rally behind the effort. Since Democrats gained control of the Virginia state Legislature in November, they have moved swiftly to introduce legislation on gun control. On Monday, January 13, several similar gun control bills on the docket were merged and quickly passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee, ratcheting up the momentum of the gun control initiative proposed and supported by Governor Northam. As popular opposition has increased, so has the pace of gun control legislation proposed by the all-Democrat leadership in the Assembly. The political question of states' rights versus constitutionally protected individual rights seems ripe for federal intervention to reduce the heat of the debate, but that has not been forthcoming. The VCDL annual lobby day looms as a confrontation between the Democrat-run legislature and the citizens of the state. They are not alone. With gun control legislation being a priority in many states that have recently swung blue instead of red, Second Amendment sanctuaries have popped up all over the United States. In Colorado, this tactic to pass Second Amendment sanctuaries started last year, when recently elected Governor Polis supported and eventually passed red flag laws. The backlash of citizens doing everything legally possible to forestall gun control legislation has had no tempering effect on legislators. In fact, rhetoric as to the Democrats' pursuit of gun control legislation has increased, and on Monday, they used the legislative agenda to further all but one of the gun control measures. What is missing, in this legal back-and-forth, is any sense of political compromise so often praised by Republicans when they are forced to accept liberal policies. Compromise is a two-way street, one on which Governor Northam and the Democrat Legislature refuse to tread. Much of the controversy has played out on the internet. When members and sympathizers of the VCDL began to plan their journeys to the state capitol on their web page, legislators quickly passed legislation that banned firearms within the capitol building, a move angering Republican legislators who often carried firearms for their own protection into the capitol. Next, recognizing that many attendees of the VCDL annual lobby day planned to bring their weapons with them on the journey, Governor Northam sought to ban firearms on the grounds of the state capitol. This is not what most Americans recognize as typical political behavior. In the past, it was more common for politicians, when faced with overwhelming unpopularity of a given policy or legislation, to modify their stance, accept a reasonable compromise, or amend or pull the offending legislation. Not this time, and not in Virginia, which leads one to conclude that Governor Northam and the Democrat Legislature intend to precipitate a confrontation with gun rights groups and their own citizens. West Virginia has taken notice (h/t: American Partisan) and sees in the hostility of the capitol for the people of the state as mirroring its decision in 1863 to break away from Virginia and create the state of West Virginia. The Legislature of West Virginia introduced a concurrent resolution on January 14, 2020 inviting the disaffected counties and localities of Virginia to file for relocation into West Virginia. The whole nation is watching the political events taking place in Virginia. Whether West Virginia is making a formal attempt to realign state boundaries or not, the idea of it, the concept of splitting Virginia along different lines, is a result of ham-handed policies by Governor Northam, himself apparently unbowed by the opposition they create. Populations of other states, who feel unrepresented by liberal majorities in cities, have proposed similar actions, notably the idea of the State of Jefferson in Northern California and Southern Oregon and, in 2013, the State of Northern Colorado in Eastern Colorado. Texas, as recently as the governorship of Rick Perry, suggested secession altogether. None of these were seriously considered in previous years, but if Governor Northam continues in his unbending drive to alienate half of the population of Virginia and West Virginia is successful in wooing those populations into voting themselves into West Virginia, these ideas will be given renewed energy. Does this not signal a second Civil War, and what role will gun confiscation legislation play? T.L. Davis is a novelist, freelance writer, and screenwriter. His works are available at his website. He is also co-executive producer of the documentary Lies of Omission. Image: Craig via Flickr. The Daily Beast Fox News White House correspondent and perpetual nemesis of Jen Psaki thought he had Joe Bidens press secretary cornered on Monday when he asked her why the president is still referring to COVID-19 as a pandemic of the unvaccinated when so many people are getting breakthrough infections. He was wrong.I understand that the science says that vaccines prevent death, Doocy began, before undercutting that basic truth. But Im triple-vaxxed, still got COVID. Youre triple-vaxxed, still got COVI This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices. Ukraine plane struck by two missiles: NYT Washington, Jan 15 (AFP) Jan 15, 2020 Two Iranian missiles struck down a Ukrainian passenger jet, the New York Times reported Tuesday, posting verified security camera footage showing double projectiles gliding through the sky before hitting their target. The missiles were fired 30 seconds apart and help explain a mystery as to why the plane's transponder was not working -- it was disabled by the first strike, before being hit by a second, the Times said. The Ukraine International Airlines plane was brought down shortly after takeoff on Wednesday, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. Tehran had for days denied Western claims based on US intelligence that the Boeing 737 had been downed by a missile. It came clean on Saturday when Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh acknowledged a missile operator had mistaken the plane for a cruise missile and opened fire independently. The blurry footage shows the plane on fire and circling back to Tehran's airport, the Times said. Minutes later, it exploded and crashed. The footage was shot from a rooftop in Bidkaneh, a village four miles from an Iranian military site, the Times said. Hundreds of angry protesters, most of them student, have taken to the streets in the wake of the tragedy, chanting slogans against the Islamic republic. Iran announced its first arrests over the accidental shooting on Tuesday, without naming who or how many people had been detained. Advertisement Heart-breaking images show children as young as four toiling away in squalid and dangerous conditions for just 90 cents a week more than 100 years ago. Youngsters with tiny hands were pictured shucking oysters with sharp knives, lugging bucket-loads of grease whilst dodging speeding wagons and picking their way through rubbish at a dump looking for trinkets to sell. Grim photos show children, practically all of them pre-teen, working their fingers to the bone in mines, picking fruit and delivering newspaper. Rather than exploring their surroundings or playing with other youngsters their own age, these century-old photos show the brutal reality some children faced at the start of the 20th century. By 1910 an estimated two million children under the age of 15 were working industrial jobs, for lower wages than adults as industry in the United States was booming. These distressing images captured by photographer, Lewis Hine between 1908 and 1911. Four-year-old Mary, who shucked oysters at a rate of around two pots a day. She tended to her baby brother when not working. The boss said that the following year Mary would work steady as the rest of them. Mary's mother was the fastest shucker in the factory and earned $1.50 a day. She worked part of the time with her sick baby in her arms After 9pm, seven-year-old Tommie Nooman demonstrated the advantages of the Ideal Necktie Form in a store window on the same street as the White House - Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC. His father said at the time he was the youngest demonstrator in America Youngsters covered in soot at a Pennsylvania mine circa 1910. By 1910 an estimated two million children under the age of 15 were working industrial jobs, for lower wages than adults as industry in the United States was booming by labor was short Hiram Pulk, who was nine years old, cutting some fish in a sardine canning company in Maine. 'I ain't very fast only about five boxes a day. They pay about five [cents] a box', he said. Bare-footed and drenched in fish guts, Hiram stared dolefully towards the camera for the photo taken in 1911 Fannie, just seven years old, helping out at her local cotton mill. Some young workers were so small they had to climb up on the spinning frame to mend the broken threads and put back the empty bobbins Boys picking through a rubbish dump in Boston looking for scraps to sell. Many children were forced to work in factories, on farms, or mills, rubbish dumps, or fishing vessels which left little or no time for education or recreational activities Children picking fruit, perhaps cranberries, despite their tender years. Many youngsters were held back from going to school in order to help support their struggling families Bare-foot newspaper boys lining up for their checks. The smallest could barley reach the counter. Around this time young boys called 'newsies' would sell newspapers from a newsstand on the street A young greaser on the tipple - a structure used at to load the extracted product for transport - at Bessie Mine, Alabama. He is seen carrying two heavy pails of grease and was often in danger of being run over by the cars A 12-year-old and seven-year-old sweeping the floor of a Virginia factory whilst barefoot. These images taken around 1910, which have been released by the Library of Congress in Washington DC, form part of photographer Lewis Hine's 'Progressive Era' collection Daisy Langford, who was eight years old, working on Ross's Canneries in Seaford, Delaware. She helped at the capping machine, but was not yet able to keep-up. She placed caps on cans at the rate of about 40 per minute working full-time. This was her first season in the cannery in June 1910 An eight-year-old toiling under the midday sun, when he should be off playing with his friends. Perhaps best known for his photographs of the construction workers who helped build the Empire State Building in 1930, Lewis Hine was also a fierce social reform advocate campaigning against child labor laws A young apprentice, who had already been employed for two years, setting about his daily business at a cotton mill. Over a decade Lewis Hine took thousands of photographs that helped convince US lawmakers to introduce new industrial regulations to protect children Mother and her children hulling strawberries. One child was pictured leaning froward from her pram to help sort the fruit. At the start of the 20th century labor in America was in short supply and laws around the employment of children were rarely enforced or non-existent Merilda, carrying cranberries in Rochester, Massachusetts in September 1911. It was not until 1938 that the US brought in legislation surrounding child labor - almost 140 years after the UK introduced their own law on children at work A group showing a few of the young workers stringing beans in the J.S. Farrand Packing Co. in Baltimore circa 1910. In 1910 children under the age of 15 made up 18.4 per cent of the nations workforce. This continued until outraged reformers began a campaign to end child labor A young mine driver, who spent much of his week in darkness. In 1908, the then-sociology professor, Lewis Hine, was hired by the National Child Labor Committee to document how young children were working in cotton mills and coal mines Boys making melon baskets in a factory in Indian in 1908. In the early 20th century it was common for children, some as young as four, to work in Americas factories, mines, fields, canneries, and tenement sweatshops CHICAGO, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- James Hardie Building Products Inc., the world leader in fiber cement technology and exterior design options, will showcase its innovative product offerings, including James Hardie's Dream Collection products which provide builders, contractors and consumers the ability to select from over 700 ColorPlus Technology finishes, at this year's International Builders' Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, January 21-23. "The Dream Collection products, backed by the uncompromising performance of James Hardie's ColorPlus Technology finishes, are just one example of our continued commitment to providing the market and our customers endless design choice paired with long-term performance," said Sean Gadd, chief commercial officer for James Hardie Building Products. "As the industry leader in fiber cement products, we bridge the gap between protection and design versatility all while helping our customers by providing unparalleled programs." The 700+ colors offered in the Dream Collection products are available in a wide range of product profiles, sizes and textures, offering the best in enduring beauty and design options on the market. The entire collection comes with James Hardie's proprietary ColorPlus Technology finishes. This technology helps customers choose color with confidence by providing a beautiful, consistent coating that resists fading, discoloration, chipping and cracking and is backed by a 15-year limited warranty. Experience James Hardie design leadership and product performance at IBS booths C2529, N763 and P22, January 21-23 in Las Vegas. In addition to the James Hardie Dream Collection, visitors can also learn more about the company's other latest fiber cement product innovations and global offerings: HardieBacker Cement Board with HydroDefense Technology HardieBacker Cement Board with HydroDefense Technology provides everything you've come to expect from the most preferred brand of backer board unmatched strength, ease of use, and excellent tile adhesion now with a waterproof composition throughout the board. Passing ANSI A118.10 for waterproofness, HardieBacker Cement Board with HydroDefense Technology has been engineered to help protect tile installations in kitchens and bathrooms from moisture penetration and is a finalist for the Best Kitchen and Bath Award at IBS 2020. HardieBacker Cement Board with HydroDefense Technology provides everything you've come to expect from the most preferred brand of backer board unmatched strength, ease of use, and excellent tile adhesion now with a waterproof composition throughout the board. Passing ANSI A118.10 for waterproofness, HardieBacker Cement Board with HydroDefense Technology has been engineered to help protect tile installations in kitchens and bathrooms from moisture penetration and is a finalist for the Best Kitchen and Bath Award at IBS 2020. HardieSoffit VentedPlus Panels With their uniquely shaped vents, HardieSoffit VentedPlus panels maximize ventilation where limited soffit space is available due to building design or lot line restrictions while restricting bees and other critters from getting in. With their uniquely shaped vents, HardieSoffit VentedPlus panels maximize ventilation where limited soffit space is available due to building design or lot line restrictions while restricting bees and other critters from getting in. Artisan Shingle The latest addition to the Aspyre Collection by James Hardie captures the natural look of cedar shingles while delivering the uncompromising performance of James Hardie fiber cement. Coming soon in both primed and with ColorPlus Technology blends, the subtle two-toned look mirrors how paint appears on cedar siding over time, creating an authentic look. The latest addition to the Aspyre Collection by James Hardie captures the natural look of cedar shingles while delivering the uncompromising performance of fiber cement. Coming soon in both primed and with ColorPlus Technology blends, the subtle two-toned look mirrors how paint appears on cedar siding over time, creating an authentic look. Global Offerings: James Hardie is the inventor of and foremost world leader in modern fiber cement technology, as well as a market leader in Europe for fiber gypsum products. At their IBS booth C2529, James Hardie will also showcase global products from Europe (Aestuver TX, Fermacell fiber gypsum boards & flooring, HardiePanel cladding and HardieWindbreaker sheathing board) and Asia-Pacific (RAB board, EasyTex panel and ExoTec Vero panel). About James Hardie Building Products Inc. James Hardie is the global leader in fiber cement technology, and has been furthering founder James Hardie's innovative, entrepreneurial legacy around the world for more than 125 years. The brand invented fiber cement siding products in the early 1980s as a durable, low-maintenance alternative to wood and vinyl. James Hardie products combine innovation and versatility to offer a variety of design possibilities, matched with specific performance attributes relative to the climate where the product is being used. Currently installed on more than eight million homes in North America**, James Hardie has earned a favorable reputation within the industry and has been specified in some of the country's most prestigious projects. In addition to James Hardie's contribution to the building industry, the company has also been nationally recognized for its philanthropy and is the winner of the 2020 Crystal Vision Award, presented by World Vision. For more information, visit jameshardie.com. **Estimate based on sales volume and average house size. Agency Contact: Lauren Murray [email protected] (414) 247-2173 SOURCE James Hardie Building Products Inc. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held bilateral talks with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor. In his meeting with Borrell, Jaishankar discussed global and regional issues, multilateralism, connectivity and counter terrorism. "A great meeting with HRVP @JosepBorrellF of European Union. Productive discussions on global and regional issues, multilateralism, connectivity and counter terrorism. Underlined our climate change cooperation. Agreed to keep in close touch," Jaishankar said in a tweet. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, said Jaishankar and Borrell took stock of the India-EU relations and the way forward, ahead of the planned summit in March 2020 and discussed the possible deliverables. "Both agreed to further enlarge the existing bilateral political, security, economic and trade cooperation and identify new areas for cooperation in connectivity, Indo-Pacific Region, data adequacy etc," the MEA said. Jaishankar also met South Africa Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor. "Co-chaired a fruitful Joint Ministerial Commission with FM Naledi Pandor of South Africa. Our traditional friendship and cooperation stands re-energised. Deeply appreciate her #Raisina participation," he said in another tweet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The U.S. Supreme Court refused to shield state-run universities from having to appear before a federal administrative body to defend the validity of patents they own. The justices turned down an appeal by the University of Minnesota that argued it has state sovereign immunity from reviews by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. An appeals court said the reviews are administrative actions, so sovereign immunity doesnt apply. The review boards, part of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, are popular with companies accused of infringement because the agency is faster and more likely to invalidate patents than a district court. The university filed lawsuits against Ericsson AB customers, Broadcom Inc.s LSI unit, and Gilead Sciences Inc., seeking royalties on patents it owned. Each of the companies sought review at the patent office. The review board refused to throw out the cases brought by Ericsson and LSI, saying that by filing the lawsuits, the university had exposed itself to the validity challenges. Gilead, seeking to challenge a patent for a cancer-fighting treatment, intervened in the universitys appeal alongside Ericsson and LSI. Checking Its Work The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which handles all patent appeals, went further than the board, saying there is no immunity at all for universities. The reviews are simply the agency checking its own work, the appeals court said. In appealing to the Supreme Court, the university said the tech companies can challenge the validity of the patents in response to the lawsuit, but cant open a new forum by going to the administrative board. The Federal Circuit decision injures the sovereignty of every state and subjects public universities to a new and increasingly invoked form of litigation without their consent, the university said. Those disputes implicate billions of dollars worth of intellectual property rights at the center of some of the most important sectors of our economy. In siding with LSI and Ericsson, the Federal Circuit cited its own ruling that said the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Tribe couldnt claim tribal immunity to escape patent office reviews. In that case, Allergan Plc had paid the tribe to take ownership of its patents on the eye drug Restasis in a failed effort to shield the patents from scrutiny. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal of that decision. The case is Regents of the University of Minnesota v. LSI Corp., 19-337. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics USA Education Universities LUSAKA, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Zambia plans to make copper mining companies account for the gold they produce as it seeks to boost revenue from its mineral resources, a senior ministry of mines official said on Thursday. Ministry of Mines Permanent Secretary Barnaby Mulenga told a news conference that Zambia, Africa's second-largest copper producer, was missing out on a lot of revenue because only one large mine was declaring its gold output. First Quantum Minerals' Kansanshi Mine, the only mine that has been declaring its gold production, produced 4,200 kg of gold last year. Mining accounts for more than 70 percent of Zambia's foreign exchange earnings and other companies operating in the southern African nation include Barrick Gold Corp, Glencore and Vedanta Resources. Mulenga said Zambia's target for gold production next year was 40,000 kg and that would come from primary and secondary sources, including artisanal and small-scale miners. Mulenga said some mining companies had not been declaring any gold production, arguing that the quantities mined were very insignificant and therefore sold as copper. "Some mining companies have been claiming that it is more of an impurity but gold is precious and can't be an impurity," he said. "What has been happening is that in some cases the gold has been hidden in the copper blisters or copper cathodes. A system will be put in place to ensure that we account for that gold," he said. Zambia's mining investment company ZCCM-IH would invest in exploration, mining, processing and trading in gold, its chief executive officer Mabvuto Chipata said at the same briefing. ZCCM-IH had undertaken initial exploration work in northwestern Zambia in collaboration with the mines ministry and was likely to start mining in the first quarter of next year, Chipata said. ZCCM-IH had also started to set up centres for buying gold in strategic areas with deposits as a first step in a bid to formalise artisanal and small scale miners, he said. Chipata said ZCCM-IH would provide technical expertise to artisanal miners on mine planning and safety and give them access to earth moving machinery and processing plants. (Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by David Clarke) New Delhi : Bank unions have called for a two-day nationwide strike on January 31 and February 1 after negotiations with Indian Banks' Association (IBA) over wage revision failed to make headway. The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has also called for a three-day strike from March 11-13. The UFBU represents nine trade unions. "From April 1, we have decided to go on an indefinite strike," UFBU state convenor Siddartha Khan told PTI. UFBU has been seeking a 15 per cent hike in wages but the Indian Banks Association has capped it at 12.25 per cent. "This is not acceptable," Khan said. Interestingly, the bank unions have called strike on the day when Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would be presenting her second budget. AIBEA General Secretary CH Venkatachalam said the Indian Banks Union had adopted a rigid approach in resolving the wage revision demands during the bipartite talks on January 13. He said the UFBU has decided to go on a two-day strike followed by a three-day strike, starting March 11. They will go on an indefinite strike from April 1 to highlight the demands and express our protest. "We are sure all our unions would understand the seriousness of the situation given the government policies towards labour and take all-out steps to implement the programmes," he said. With Agency Inputs A university lecturer has provoked outrage after comparing the planned Brexit celebrations in London to a 're-enactment of Kristallnacht.' Dr Mark Berry, of Royal Holloway University, suggested that the Leave Means Leave event on January 31 was similar to the Nazi's vicious assaults on Jewish property in 1938. He tweeted Sadiq Khan: 'Could you explain, please, why you have given provisional agreement to this re-enactment of Kristallnacht, @SadiqKhan? Anyone can see that this is a pogrom waiting to happen. Please reconsider.' It comes as the row over whether Big Ben can bong on Brexit Eve descended into absurdity last night with the House of Commons Commission rejecting more than 150,000 raised by the public to fund it, The Telegraph revealed. The House of Commons Commission rejected more than 150,000 raised by the public to fund the bonging of Big Ben on January 31 after the House said earlier this week its chiming would be too expensive. Dr Mark Berry, of Royal Holloway University, suggested that the Leave Means Leave event on January 31 was similar to a re-enactment of the Nazi's vicious assaults on Jewish property in 1938 The Commission said earlier this week its chiming would be too expensive, with costs soaring to half a million pounds after a temporary floor used during renovations had been removed. Last night Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who chairs the majority-Remainer Commission, stated that the cash donated on a crowd-funding site could not be accepted. More than quarter of the 500,000 which Parliament said would be needed was raised on the GoFundMe page in less than a day after it was started by StandUp4Brexit. Prime Minister Boris Johnson promoted the idea of a 'bung a bob' for the ringing of the bell, while Tory MP Mark Francois donated 1,000 to the cause. Despite Boris Johnson's promotion of the patriotic chiming, Downing Street told the paper that he could not back a vote because there is no guarantee that works could be completed in time But Sir Lindsay told The Telegraph: 'The decision was taken in the Commission. If somebody wants to change that decision, as I said from day one this should be the will of the House because it is political.' He said a vote would be required in the Commons for any changes to Parliament's revenue. And despite Mr Johnson's promotion of the patriotic chiming, Downing Street told the paper that he could not back a vote because there is no certainty that works necessary could be completed in time. The confusion comes after Brexiteers reacted furiously to the Commission dismissing the planned ringing of the bell because of renovation works. The 13.7-tonne bell has been largely silent since 2017 during works on the Elizabeth Tower which houses it, sounding only for important events such as New Year's Eve celebrations. Earlier this week the Commons Commission dismissed the proposal for it to ring on January 31 after MPs were informed that costs had soared to half a million from an original estimate of 120,000. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage had planned to host a lavish party in Parliament Square to watch Big Ben's bongs on January 31 ring out. Ten thousand Leave supporters were expected to attend but it is now unclear how the Commission's decision will affect the plans. Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett will serve as the jury head of the 2020 Venice International Film Festival. In a statement, the festival organisers said the decision was made on January 10 by the Board of Directors chaired by Paolo Baratta. The 50-year-old actor's name for jury president was recommended by festival director Alberto Barbera. Blanchett, who previously served as head of Cannes Film Festival jury in 2018, said to lead the Venice jury is a "privilege" and "pleasure". "Every year I look expectantly to the selection at Venice and every year it is surprising and distinct. Venice is one of the most atmospheric film festivals in the world a celebration of the provocative and inspirational medium that is cinema in all its forms," she said. Barbera hailed Blanchett as an "icon of contemporary cinema" and said every filmmaker wants to work with her. "Her commitment in the artistic and humanitarian fields and to the protection of the environment, as well as her defence of the emancipation of women in a film industry still coming to terms with male prejudice, have made her an inspiration for society as a whole. "Her immense talent as an actress, combined with her unique intelligence and sincere passion for cinema, are the ideal qualities for a jury president," he added. Blanchett is best known for her performances in films such as "The Aviator", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "Carol", "Blue Jasmine" and "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival will be held from September 2 to 12. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The trend of foldable smartphones began in 2019 with the launch of smartphones like Samsung Galaxy Fold, Huawei Mate X, and the Motorola Razr 2019. Companies like Xiaomi and Oppo have already confirmed to be working on their version of a foldable smartphone. As more companies decide to get on the foldable bandwagon, Chinese tech manufacturer OnePlus says that it is not going to launch a foldable smartphone anytime soon. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, in a podcast interaction with The Verge, said that the tech for foldable smartphones, primarily the display, was not completely ready and rather came with a lot of concerns. As transcribed by Laus interpreter Eric Glass, the OnePlus CEO has highlighted the fact that these concerns, more often than not, outweigh the pros. One of the primary reasons is the crease that is left behind on foldable displays, which is not something the company can accept. When asked about the Motorola Razrs mechanism of a moving display when folded, Lau said that the fold still left some crease behind. Also, plastic displays are not that durable compared to glass and can easily leave scratches. All of this combined does not leave a smooth experience, something that has been OnePlus mantra when it comes to displays. The underlying tech of foldable displays is bound to improve in the coming months and years as more manufacturers start working on the development of foldable smartphones. Overall, if you have been curious about that first OnePlus foldable smartphone, Laus response certainly hints that there is not going to be one in the near future. A luxury cruise line is coming to the Great Lakes. Viking, one of the worlds premier cruise lines, announced its plans to launch Viking Expeditions in January of 2022. As part of the all-new excursions, the in-construction, 665-foot Viking Octantis will take passengers to Antarctica and North Americas Great Lakes. A second expedition vessel, Viking Polaris, will debut in August 2022, sailing to Antarctica and the Arctic. Vikings arrival to the Great Lakes marks a major commitment to local tourism and economic development for Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as the Canadian province of Ontario, according to the company. All expedition voyages including the new Great Lakes itineraries are available to the public for booking. In creating the thinking persons expedition, we are perfecting polar expedition cruising, and we will usher in a new era of comfortable exploration in the heart of North America, Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking, said in a statement. Our guests are curious explorers. They want to continue traveling with us to familiar and iconic destinations, but they would also like to travel further. The new Polar Class 6 Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris will host 378 guests in 189 staterooms. Both ships will boast state-of-the-art features such as The Hangar, an industry-first enclosed, in-ship marina that permits the launch of small excursion craft through the ships multiple shell doors. Other features include The Aula, a panoramic auditorium at the stern, the Nordic Balcony, a viewing area with floor-to-ceiling, distortion-free glass at the very edge of the ship lets guests take the views in while keeping the elements out, three different temperature-controlled, inside-out pools and more. Both ships are currently under construction and will be delivered in Norway upon completion. Great Lakes trips available for booking can be seen below. NOTE: Descriptions by Viking. Undiscovered Great Lakes (8 days; Thunder Bay, Ontario to Milwaukee) From Northern forests to pristine lagoons, encounter the natural splendor of the Great Lakes. Visit bald eagle and bear habitats that abut charming frontier towns in this remote region of North America; and pass between Lake Superior and Lake Huron via the impressive Soo Locks. Multiple sailing dates between May and September 2022. Inaugural pricing starts at $6,695 per person, with free airfare within North America. Great Lakes Explorer (8 days; Milwaukee to Thunder Bay, Ontario) Embark on a true expedition along the nations fourth seacoast, from Georgian Bays granite islands to Thunder Bays towering cliffs. Experience the car-free idyllic Mackinac Island, and learn about indigenous cultures and frontier life along the way. Multiple sailing dates between May and September 2022. Inaugural pricing starts at $6,495 per person, with free airfare within North America. Niagara & The Great Lakes (8 days; Toronto to Milwaukee) From urban skylines to uninhabited islands, discover the wilderness nestled in the interior of North America alongside world-class cultural attractions in Detroit, Toronto and Milwaukee. Witness the majesty of Niagara Falls, and enjoy scenic cruising past North Americas busiest border as you cross Lake Huron. Multiple sailing dates in April, May, June, July and September 2022. Inaugural pricing starts at $5,995 per person, with free airfare within North America. Canadian Discovery (13 days; New York to Toronto) Cruise from Canadas southeast coast to the St. Lawrence River, where you will learn about the regions rich past amid stunning natural settings and celebrated cities. Sail along the coasts of New England and Nova Scotia; discover the remote reaches and locally sourced seafood of Prince Edward Island; explore the Saguenay Fjord, home to seals, whales and other sea mammals; and go salmon fishing in Quebecs Moisie River. Sailing dates in April and October 2022. Inaugural pricing starts at $8,995 per person, with free airfare within North America. A Fitbit could spot when you're coming down with flu before symptoms have even developed. Researchers analysed 60 days of data from 47,248 Fitbit users living in the US to try and predict when they would get sick. Tell-tale signs someone was about to get ill were higher heart rates than normal or excessive amounts of sleeping, both of which could be measured by the Fitbit. The researchers said the breakthrough would allow at-home devices to predict flu outbreaks earlier so health officials could react faster to contain them. A Fitbit-style device could spot when you're coming down with flu - before symptoms have even developed (stock image) Flu outbreaks can be controlled by making sure people get vaccinated and urging patients to stay at home and wash their hands regularly. Antiviral drugs can also be used to limit the virus. Measures like this could be deployed sooner if doctors got early warning signs that the illness was spreading. Fitbits are popular watch-like devices which users wear on their wrists to track their physical activity, heart rate and sleep patterns. Study author Dr Jennifer Radin, from the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, said: 'Responding more quickly to influenza outbreaks can prevent further spread and infection, and we were curious to see if sensor data could improve real-time surveillance at the state level. 'We demonstrate the potential for metrics from wearable devices to enhance flu surveillance and consequently improve public health responses. 'In the future as these devices improve, and with access to 24/7 real-time data, it may be possible to identify rates of influenza on a daily instead of weekly basis.' The study comes amid flu outbreaks in the UK and US, which have added extra pressure to hospitals already overwhelmed by winter demand. WHAT IS THE FLU? Flu full name influenza is a viral illness which causes feverish cold-like symptoms. Signs someone has the flu can include a high temperature, body aches, exhaustion, a dry cough, sore throat, headache, loss of appetite and diarrhoea. It's caused by a number of very common viruses and tends to circulate every winter, being spread by coughs, sneezes and close contact with other people who have caught it. The illness usually clears up on its own within a week or two in healthy patients. More vulnerable people such as young children, the elderly, or those with asthma, cancer of HIV, may be at risk of more severe complications people die because of flu every year. For otherwise healthy people, unless they are becoming unable to breathe, have sudden chest pain or start coughing up blood, flu is not a medical emergency and people should get bed rest or call NHS 111 if they need advice. Advertisement The illness is more intense than a common cold and causes symptoms such as a fever, aching muscles, exhaustion, a lost appetite and headaches. Flu kills around 650,000 people across the world every year. The findings of the latest study were reported in the medical journal Lancet Digital Health. People were flagged up as a flu risk if their weekly average heart rate rose above their normal level, or if they were sleeping more than they usually did. People become more tired when they catch flu because their body uses up its energy fighting the virus. The data was then compared to weekly estimates for flu-like illness rates reported by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Dr Radin and her colleagues found that by incorporating the data from Fitbits, they were able to predict outbreaks sooner. It was the first time heart rate trackers and sleep data had been used to predict flu, or any infectious disease, in real-time. Scientists added that it may be possible to apply the method to larger areas such as counties or cities. Traditional surveillance takes one to three weeks to collect reports from doctors, which limits the ability to be proactive and fight against flu outbreaks. All users were notified when they bought their devices that their data could be used for research. However, Dr Radin and her colleagues identified several limitations to the study. Firstly, the general lack of activity data meant they could not account for how heart rates and amount of sleep may change because of other factors. For example, a user's average heart rate may have increased or decreased based on how much exercise they were getting and how physically fit they were. In addition, weekly resting heart rate averages include days when an individual is both sick and not sick, and this may result in underestimation of illness by lowering the weekly averages. They also warned that devices such as Fitbits have been known to be inaccurate, although the researchers recognised they would improve with advancing technology. And because those who took part in the study were mainly middle-aged adults and likely higher than average earners, they were less likely to suffer from other problems which might make them more likely to get infections like the flu. The researchers initially reviewed data from 200,000 Fitbit users. The average user was 43 years old and 60 per cent were female. The sample size was reduced by only using data from those who used their Fitbits consistently during the study period, which was from March 2016 to March 2018. 3 1 of 3 Aristoi Classical Academy Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Aristoi Classical Academy / Aristoi Classical Academy Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Aristoi Classical Academy invites the Katy and Houston communities as well as the Austin, Colorado, Grimes, and Washington counties to discover what a classical liberal arts education is all about during its Community Open House on Jan. 25. The tuition-free, K-12 public charter school has two campuses in historic Katy, an elementary school for grades K-4, and an Upper Campus for grades 5-12. ATLANTA, Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMERI Holdings, Inc. (AMRH) (Ameri), will host a conference call and webcast at 4:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 16, 2020, to discuss its entry into an amalgamation agreement (the transaction) announced today whereby the shareholders of Jay Pharma will become the majority holders of Ameris outstanding stock. Jay Pharma is an evidence-based cannabinoid & wellness company focused on cancer. The company holds an exclusive license with Tikun Olam for cannabinoid intellectual property, including data and genetics for cancer patient care. Jay Pharmas world class management & oncology teams are developing safe, clinically validated cannabinoid products. Joining Barry Kostiner, CFO of Ameri, to discuss the merger and the market opportunity for Jay Pharma will be Dave Johnson, who will be appointed Chairman and CEO of Jay Pharma upon closing of the transaction. CONFERENCE CALL & WEBCAST INFORMATION: When: Thursday, January 16, 2020, at 4:15 p.m. ET Where: Via phone by dialing +1 833-366-1126 or +1 412-902-6772 and asking for the Ameri call; via live and archived webcast: https://services.choruscall.com/links/amrh200116.html A telephonic replay of the conference call may be accessed until the closing of the transaction by dialing +1 877-344-7529 or +1 412-317-0088 with passcode 10138473. About Ameri100 Ameri is a specialized SAP cloud, digital and enterprise solutions company which provides SAP services to customers worldwide. Headquartered in Suwanee, Georgia, Ameri has offices in the U.S. and Canada. The Company also has global delivery centers in India. With its bespoke engagement model, Ameri delivers transformational value to its clients across industry verticals. For further information, visit www.ameri100.com About Jay Pharma Jay Pharma is dedicated to developing innovative, evidence-based products and combination therapies to address unmet needs in cancer care. Jay Pharma seeks to improve the lives of persons suffering from cancer, initially by developing safe cannabinoid products for persons suffering from the side effects of cancer and cancer treatment, and longer term by advancing a pipeline of novel combination therapies as an adjunct to standard of care cancer treatments. Jay Pharma has filed several patents covering the use of cannabinoids with current cancer treatments and for specific cancer types. For more information, visit www.jaypharma.co Story continues Important Additional Information Will be Filed with the SEC In connection with the proposed transactions, Ameri to file relevant materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), including a registration statement that will contain a proxy statement and prospectus. AMERI URGES INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS TO READ THESE MATERIALS CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT AMERI, THE PROPOSED TRANSACTIONS AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement, prospectus and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC (when they become available) through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement, prospectus and other documents filed by Ameri with the SEC by contacting Investor Relations by mail at 5000 Research Court, Suite 750, Suwanee, Georgia. Stockholders are urged to read the proxy statement, prospectus and the other relevant materials when they become available before making any voting or investment decision with respect to the proposed transactions. Participants in the Solicitation Ameri and Jay Pharma, and each of their respective directors and executive officers and certain of their other members of management and employees, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transactions. Additional information regarding these persons and their interests in the transaction will be included in the proxy statement relating to the transactions when it is filed with the SEC. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. Disclaimer This press release not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. Generally, forward-looking statements and information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, proposed, is expected, budgets, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning the Transactions. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the Transactions will be consummated or that the parties other plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, Ameri disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, Ameri undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above. Corporate Contact: Barry Kostiner, Chief Financial Officer IR@ameri100.com Investor Relations Contact: Sanjay M. Hurry LHA Investor Relations (212) 838-3777 IR@ameri100.com UPDATED, Saturday: 48-year-old woman dies from injuries in West Windsor crash A 48-year-old woman was critically injured Thursday night after suffering a medical problem while driving on Route 1 south in West Windsor and veering into a utility pole, police said Friday. The driver, of West Berlin in Camden County, had to be pulled from her wrecked SUV and was taken by helicopter to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where she remains in critical condition, West Windsor police said. The crash was reported at 10:01 p.m. near the Route 1 intersection with Washington Road. The driver was in the center lane of the highway when she suffered the medical incident and veered into the utility pole without braking, police said. She was unconscious and unresponsive when officers arrived, police said. The crash closed multiple lanes of Route 1 for three hours. Anyone with information about the crash may contact West Windsor police at brown@westwindsorpolice.com or 609-799-1222. Anonymous calls may be made to 609-799-0452. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. I wanted to explore Facebook from its earliest days, just like everyone else. But without accessibility tools, I could understand very little of the content posted by other users. I was frustrated. Fortunately, I knew Elliot Schrage, then Facebooks vice president of communications and public policy, because our sons attended the same school. Elliot agreed to meet with me and I told him all about what its like to be a blind Facebook user and how the platform could do a better job of including people with disabilities. He assured me that Facebook was on it. And it was. In July of 2011, Facebook established an accessibility team. Nonetheless, access during those first years remained very limited. I could hear only that my newsfeed contained photos. There was no way for me to understand what the pictures were about. My time on Facebook was both enticing and frustrating. I wanted to understand and appreciate everything that my Facebook friends shared, but I couldnt. In 2016 Facebook introduced automatic alt text technology to help identify objects. This feature uses artificial intelligence to sense standard outlines of common objects, like people, dogs and trees, and then speaks their generic label. Instead of hearing only photo when my cursor scrolled down my newsfeed, I could then understand that the photo contained a picture of something like two people, indoors or trees and flowers with blue sky. This kind of description allowed me to guess what the picture might be about, but still largely excluded me from understanding its content and context. Alt text created even more questions for me. Who were those people in the picture? What kind of trees, what color flowers? While it was a step in the right direction, alt text would never describe the images flooding my newsfeed every day sufficiently to let me participate fully in Facebook. Then, a breakthrough: Facebook introduced facial recognition for photos in January 2017. This feature identifies many of the subjects in photographs while allowing users to opt in or out for privacy reasons. A scroll through my Facebook newsfeed today identifies by name most of the people contained in the photographs. Rather than guessing who the subject of a picture is, I hear the names of my loved ones. It has been 25 years since Will Smith first starred in Bad Boys. The 51-year-old has returned to his career-defining role of Detective Mike Lowrey for a new addition to the film series, aptly named Bad Boys For Life. Speaking on The Project on Friday, the iconic actor explained he wanted to explore the notion his old school cop character not wanting to 'embrace the new.' 'Embrace the new': On Friday, Will Smith, 51, told The Project that nobody can 'make it' if they 'cling to the past'. Pictured left: In Bad Boys in 1995 and Bad Boys For Life filmed in 2019 'If you cling to the past, you will not make it. So that was sort of the idea that we were debating in this film,' Will said. He added: 'Martin [Lawrence's] character is open to moving forward and gracefully going into the next phase and my character clinging crazy to the past.' In the film, Will's character Mike still tries to be 'the wild bachelor bad boy'. He added: 'Martin [Lawrence's] character is open to moving forward and gracefully going into the next phase and my character clinging crazy to the past.' Pictured on The Project with Martin Lawrence Mike and his partner Marcus Burnett have to work alongside a new generation of investigators to take down a Miami drug cartel. The hilarious duo first appeared in the 1995 film, which was the directorial debut of Michael Bay, and in the 2003 follow-up Bad Boys II. The first Bad Boys earned US$65.8 million domestic and US$141.4 million worldwide from a US$19 million budget. Remember this? The hilarious duo first appeared in the 1995 film, which was the directorial debut of Michael Bay, and in the 2003 follow-up Bad Boys II (pictured) New blood: In the latest film, Mike and his partner Marcus Burnett have to work alongside a new generation of investigators to take down a Miami drug cartel Meanwhile, Bad Boys II earned US$138.6 million domestic and US$273.3 million worldwide from a US$130 million budget. The television series L.A.'s Finest was created in 2019 as a spin-off to the original films, starring Gabrielle Union, who also appeared in Bad Boys II. Bad Boys For Life is out now. The geopolitical threat of a rising China is poorly understood, often prompting knee-jerk references to another Cold War. A comparison might help. Forget the Soviet Union and look at Russia today, as it tries to degrade the open international order that the West has forged since 1945. China is trying to grow rich and powerful within that order. China is not a rogue nation like Russia, seeking to interfere in Western democracy and invade its neighbors. As I noted in Foreign Affairs, China under Mao Zedong used to be a leading sponsor of revolutionary insurgencies throughout the world. It is now the second-largest funder of U.N. peacekeeping. In fact, Beijing has not gone to war since 1979, a record of nonintervention that makes it unique among the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. Europeans walk gingerly among their cultural inheritances. The Vienna Philharmonic always plays the Radetzky March at its annual New Years Day concert, which this month was broadcast to 92 countries. This year, however, it played an altered version of the march because it was reminded that the usual version was arranged by an Austrian who was a member of the Nazi Party and who, the Financial Times reports, also made popular arrangements of the partys anthem, the Horst-Wessel-Lied. On a continent strewn with ruins, there is much to remember to remember. Or sometimes to forget. By Trend Georgian citizen Georgi Ichukaidze, detained in connection with the incident at the Georgian-Azerbaijani border, has been officially charged with illegal carrying of firearms and ammunition as well as attempting to take a hostage, Trend reports citing Georgian media. An incident occurred on Georgian- Azerbaijani border on Jan.14, which was suppressed as a result of operative measures taken by border guards of the two countries. The employees of the Border Police of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs detained Georgian citizen Georgi Ichukaidze on the undefined section of Georgian-Azerbaijani land border for illegal purchase-keeping and carrying of firearm as well as for the attempt to take a hostage. On January 14, 2020, Georgian citizen G.I. was in the border zone. Using the firearm and hand grenade, he forced Georgian border guard to start movement to the direction of the undefined section of the state border. During the incident detainee made several gunshots, said Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. As a result of the operative and effective measures taken by the Border Police officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the situation was quickly resolved, reads the message. The ministry said that investigation is in progress under the article 236, III and IV parts and article 144, II part, sub-paragraph H envisaged by the Criminal Code of Georgia. Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has already expressed gratitude towards Azerbaijani colleagues for the effective cooperation during the aforementioned incident. AMSTERDAM Frida Kahlos vibrant art, turbulent life and tragic death at age 47 are certainly operatic. But the Mexican surrealist painter, who was left disabled by polio and a bus accident, might seem an unlikely subject for a ballet. But thats the medium Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, a choreographer who has also worked in flamenco, hip-hop and contemporary dance, has for her newest work, Frida, which will have its world premiere at the Dutch National Ballet on Feb. 6. The ballet, which is based on the painters life including her tempestuous relationship with her husband, the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera does not linger on Kahlos physical disability, Ms. Lopez Ochoa said in a recent interview. Instead, it will animate her emotional world and artistic legacy, using dance. - Atheists group launched an online fundraiser for one of Baringo top students - The learner, Idriss, garnered 401 marks to secure a place at Maranda High School - His worried mother appealed for support from well-wishers to raise the required fees Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Members of Atheists Society in Kenya (ASK) have raised over 1700 towards a Form One student's school fees. The organisation which does not believe in God, conducted an online funds drive to finance the education of Baringo county bright candidate Idriss Saidi Lutta who is set to join Maranda High School. READ ALSO: Lady gets out of control after taking too much Tramadol (Video) The former Emining Primary School pupil scored 401 marks in the 2019 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams. Photo: Atheists Society in Kenya. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: I am too lazy to cheat on my partner - Pretty lady causes stir with love claims The society's president Harrison Mumia confirmed sending 1,500 for term one fees and an additional 500 for shopping even though the learner still needed 800 to purchase uniforms and kits. "We are requesting atheists, humanists and even believers to pull together to help us assist this child to go to school. As a society, we want to have a positive impact on society. Idriss now needs 800 to buy uniform by Friday. He's reporting to Maranda High School on Friday," Mumia appealed. READ ALSO: Nkwanta South SHS students refuse to report after Christmas holidays Idriss' mother Lillian Ayabei thanked God for the good gesture but upon being informed of the well-wisher's activities, she noted the intent was all that matters not the source. "I am grateful someone has offered to help. I was worried my son's education was coming to an end because I could not afford to pay school fees but now I am grateful to God. As long as they are not devil worshipers, we are grateful they have offered to help us and we accept. The intent is all that matters," she told The Standard. The former Mining Primary School pupil scored 401 marks in the 2019 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams. In other news about needy people pursuing education, Maclean Mac Sarbah, a young Ghanaian who recently graduated with a Masters from Harvard University, has had a school block named after him at the Yejis Royal Educational Complex. In an interview with Myjoyonline.com, Sarbah who comes from a poor background said he was surprised and emotional when he discovered that his basic school decided to dedicate a building to him. It is indicated that Sarbah attended the rural school for both his primary and junior high school (JHS) education. Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh Masdar and the Abu Dhabi Ports Company have signed an agreement to support the economic growth in Abu Dhabi and achieve the objectives of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Yousef Ahmed Baselaib, Masdar executive director of Sustainable Real Estate, and Captain Maktoum Al Hoqani, chief corporate authority officer, Abu Dhabi Ports, on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, taking place this week at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, reported state-run news agency Wam. Masdar and Abu Dhabi Ports, representing its subsidiaries, Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) and the Abu Dhabi Free Zone, will collaborate to develop a framework that will allow investors in Abu Dhabi to expand their business operations across the zones under their management, while also reducing costs and increasing the competitive advantage of the emirate. The companies will also work together in the areas of sustainability, renewable energy and innovation. Commenting on the signing, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar chief executive officer, said: "By working closely with Abu Dhabi Ports and its subsidiary free zones, we can help investors in Abu Dhabi obtain a competitive advantage, and give them the flexibility and choice to expand their operations. We also look forward to working more closely with Abu Dhabi Ports on driving innovation in sustainability and renewable energy." Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Group CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, said: "This MoU between two of Abu Dhabis premier organisations strengthens our collective drive towards making Abu Dhabi a leading trade and logistics facilitator in the region. Abu Dhabi Ports and its key subsidiary Kizad will continue to play a vital role in supporting the economic growth of the UAE by enabling trade and investment, as well as innovation and sustainability in the country through such partnerships." Masdar City Free Zone has a rapidly growing community of over 700 companies with a diverse range of start-ups, SMEs and multinational companies, and government entities, while Abu Dhabi Ports, which operates ports and terminals across the UAE and internationally, as well as Kizad, is one of the countrys leading facilitators of trade and investment. SEATTLE, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Treehouse, a statewide nonprofit which gives youth in foster care a childhood and a future, is asking the legislature to invest in 20 additional caseworkers to help meet the caseload ratios agreed to under the Braam settlement agreement. High caseload sizes lead to poor case management, high staff and foster parent turnover, lower rates of family reunification and increased length of stay in foster care. As a result, Washington children spend more time in foster care than in 46 other states. "The caseworker is the most critical investment the legislature can make in the success of families and children in the child welfare system," said Dawn Rains, Treehouse Chief Policy and Strategy Officer. "Smaller caseload sizes will mean more stability for children and youth in foster care and a better opportunity for them to thrive as contributing members of our communities." Forty-three percent of DCYF caseworkers have caseload sizes exceeding 20 youth or more, with some as high as 30. Best practice recommends no more than 15. In addition, Treehouse is advocating to: Pass the Achieving Education Success for Foster and Homeless Students Act. In 2019, a collaboration of state agencies and statewide nonprofit organizations known as Project Education Impact submitted a report to the legislature outlining the needed programs, policies and action to achieve educational parity for these young people from pre-k through postsecondary by 2027. To implement the plan, measure progress and realize these recommendations, the workgroup must continue its intentional cross-systems collaboration and accountability. In 2019, a collaboration of state agencies and statewide nonprofit organizations known as Project Education Impact submitted a report to the legislature outlining the needed programs, policies and action to achieve educational parity for these young people from pre-k through postsecondary by 2027. To implement the plan, measure progress and realize these recommendations, the workgroup must continue its intentional cross-systems collaboration and accountability. Meet the individualized education needs of youth in foster care. Forty percent of the youth Treehouse serves depend on special education services to get the support they need to succeed in school. Treehouse is asking the legislature to better support kids with high mental, behavioral and developmental health needs so they become kindergarten ready through improvements to the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP); ensure adequate and equitable funding for special education supports; lower the student to school counselor caseload to a minimum of 250:1 for all schools. Forty percent of the youth Treehouse serves depend on special education services to get the support they need to succeed in school. Treehouse is asking the legislature to better support kids with high mental, behavioral and developmental health needs so they become kindergarten ready through improvements to the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP); ensure adequate and equitable funding for special education supports; lower the student to school counselor caseload to a minimum of 250:1 for all schools. Improve services and supports for adolescents in foster care. Washington is facing a crisis for adolescents in foster care, particularly for youth with high behavioral and mental health needs. Treehouse is supporting DCYF's proposal on a number of measures to address these complex issues, including building out the Adolescent Programs division. Be a voice for youth in foster care: Visit www.treehouseforkids.org/advocate . About Treehouse Founded in 1988 by social workers, Treehouse is Washington's leading nonprofit organization addressing the academic and other essential support needs of more than 8,000 youth in foster care. We're committed to youth in care statewide achieving a degree or other career credential, living wage job and stable housing at the same rate as their peers. With fierce optimism, we fight the structural inequities that impact all of us. Learn more at www.treehouseforkids.org. Contact: Jesse Colman 206-267-5145 [email protected] SOURCE Treehouse Related Links http://www.treehouseforkids.org/about-treehouse/co Art Lien for The New York Times Art Lien for The New York Times Because no photos or videos are allowed to be taken in the Senate chamber, the publics only view of the Senate floor is a feed provided to C-SPAN from cameras that are operated by government employees. That is, unless someone seated in the gallery can draw. Art Lien is a courtroom sketch artist who has primarily covered the Supreme Court another body that does not allow cameras since 1976. But for the extent of the impeachment trial of President Trump, Mr. Lien will be walking across the street to the Capitol to capture moments that we might not see on television. Wednesday, Feb. 5 Hours before the final votes in the Senate, Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, announced in an emotional floor speech that he had decided to cross party lines and vote to convict Mr. Trump on the abuse of power charge, saying that the president was guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust. Art Lien for The New York Times Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader who had promised a swift trial and acquittal of the president, gave the final speech in the chamber before the voting commenced. The United States Senate was made for moments like this, Mr. McConnell said, adding that the framers of the Constitution created the Senate to safeguard against factional fever that might dominate in the House. This partisan impeachment will end today, he declared. Art Lien for The New York Times Just after 4 p.m., Mr. Trump was acquitted by the Senate of both articles of impeachment, 52 to 48 on the abuse of power charge and 53 to 47 on obstruction of justice, bringing his trial to a close. Art Lien for The New York Times Tuesday, Feb. 4 After closing arguments by House managers and the presidents lawyers on Monday, senators took turns on the Senate floor to announce their positions before Wednesdays final votes on the articles of impeachment. Because the speeches were not part of the formal impeachment trial, senators were not required to be in attendance, leaving the chamber mostly empty. Art Lien for The New York Times On the other side of the Capitol, House members staked out seats for Mr. Trumps State of the Union address that evening. Some lawmakers were seen reserving their positions along the aisle more than seven hours before the speech. Art Lien for The New York Times Art Lien for The New York Times In his speech promoting a Great American Comeback, Mr. Trump did not address his impeachment or the upcoming vote in the Senate. Some of the Democratic House impeachment managers sat near the front of the chamber, with copies of the U.S. Constitution in hand. Art Lien for The New York Times Friday, Jan. 31 The Senate voted to block the admission of new witnesses and agreed to a schedule that would end the trial on Wednesday. Democrats needed four Republicans to join them in supporting the motion on additional evidence, but only two senators, Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine, broke with their party to vote for it. Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, was considered another potential defector, but she ultimately decided to vote no. Art Lien for The New York Times Before the vote on witnesses, the Senate conducted a break called a quorum call in order for party leaders to negotiate next steps. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona who could break with her party by voting to acquit the president, could be seen chatting with her Republican colleagues. Art Lien for The New York Times Outside the Capitol, a group of demonstrators weighed in. Art Lien for The New York Times Thursday, Jan. 30 Senators convened for the second day of posing questions to House impeachment managers and Mr. Trumps lawyers. Early in the session, a question submitted by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was rejected by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. because it mentioned the person widely believed to be the whistle-blower who sparked the impeachment inquiry. Art Lien for The New York Times Republicans expressed optimism that they would be able to block the passage of a Democratic-supported proposal to call new witnesses. At least four Republican senators and every Democrat would need to vote yes for it to pass. Senator Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania appeared open to the idea of new witnesses earlier in the week, but on Wednesday he said that he was very, very skeptical that any witness would change his decision. Art Lien for The New York Times Cory Gardner of Colorado, who is facing a tough re-election and had not committed to a position, said on Wednesday that he would not vote for witnesses and documents. Art Lien for The New York Times If the Senate rejects new witnesses in the trial, and Democrats are unable to delay the proceedings, votes on whether to convict or acquit Mr. Trump could take place this week. One Democratic senator, Doug Jones of Alabama, has indicated that he might vote to acquit the president of the obstruction of justice charge. Other centrist Democrats, like Senators Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, could also defect. Art Lien for The New York Times Wednesday, Jan. 29 The next phase of the trial began, with senators submitting questions for the House managers and the presidents defense, who had five minutes to respond at the lectern. Art Lien for The New York Times The question cards were ferried by Senate pages to the parliamentarian, who gave them to Chief Justice Roberts to be read aloud. Art Lien for The New York Times Senators mostly asked questions of the side they aligned with Republicans for the defense, and Democrats for House managers. You want to control the dynamic, explained Senator Mike Braun, Republican of Indiana. Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, was one of several Democrats to pose questions to the managers. They needed the chance to rebut the false arguments, the fallacious reasoning, the half-truths and even no truths that the three days of the presidents counsel made, he said. Art Lien for The New York Times Four Democratic senators running for president Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet have been dashing between the campaign trail and the trial in Washington. The frantic schedule appeared to be catching up with Mr. Sanders, who is leading recent polls in Iowa. Art Lien for The New York Times Tuesday, Jan. 28 As Mr. Trumps defense team concluded their opening arguments, new revelations from an unpublished manuscript by John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, fueled a push by Democrats to call witnesses in the trial. Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, has said that he will decide whether to support calling witnesses after the upcoming question and answer phase of the trial. But he has previously expressed openness to the idea, and the White House has regarded him as a wild card. Art Lien for The New York Times Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, has garnered attention as the only one in his party who has publicly committed to voting yes on calling witnesses. Mr. Romney caught the spotlight for another reason on Tuesday, when he was seen momentarily breaking Senate rules by entering the chamber with a bottle of chocolate milk. He promptly exited and returned with the milk in a glass. Art Lien for The New York Times After six days of arguments in which they were confined to their seats in silence, members took the opportunity to mingle on the Senate floor. Art Lien for The New York Times Monday, Jan. 27 The trial continued Monday with presentations by Mr. Trumps defense team, which includes Ken Starr, the former independent counsel whose investigation led to President Bill Clintons impeachment. Mr. Lien sketched from his perch in the press gallery overlooking the Senate floor, jotting down notes about color, because he must exit the chamber to use his watercolor kit. He uses a very thin (.03mm) mechanical pencil with soft 2B lead. People move around and things change, so its nice to be able to erase, he said. Art Lien for The New York Times During a presentation by Michael Purpura, one of the presidents lawyers, Mr. Lien noticed several senators missing from their desks. Luckily, staff members in the Senate press gallery provide a diagram for reference. I do keep the seating chart handy and consult it frequently, said Mr. Lien. Saturday, Jan. 25 Mr. Trumps defense team kicked off their arguments on Saturday morning, attempting to sow doubt on the Democrats case by accusing them of cherry-picking evidence and trying to remove President Trump from the ballot. Jay Sekulow, one of the presidents personal lawyers, accused the House managers of engaging in a partisan attack on the president by having tried once again to re-litigate the Mueller case. Art Lien for The New York Times In the abbreviated two-hour session, the defense emphasized that they would not subject senators to the same long presentations as the House managers. Each side has been allotted 24 hours over as many as three days. Art Lien for The New York Times In the press gallery, more than one sketch artist was at work. Art Lien for The New York Times Friday, Jan. 24 Senators settled in for the third day of arguments from the House managers, who made their case that Mr. Trump sought to cover up his pressure campaign on Ukraine. Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, was spotted with a cell phone contraband during the trial but put it away when proceedings began. Art Lien for The New York Times Other senators have tested the rules of the trial over the course of the week, with many stepping out of the chamber to use the bathroom, make calls or even appear on television. Art Lien for The New York Times Lawmakers did appear to stick to the approved beverages, water and milk. Senate pages, high school students appointed by members as helpers, refreshed their glasses. Art Lien for The New York Times Reporters looked down from the press gallery, located directly above the wood-and-marble rostrum where Chief Justice Roberts is presiding. Art Lien for The New York Times Although Connie Shultz is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, she was seated in the adjacent gallery, a special viewing section for guests of lawmakers. Ms. Schultz is married to Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio. Art Lien for The New York Times Thursday, Jan. 23 In their second day of arguments, the House managers presented their case for the first article of impeachment against Mr. Trump abuse of power. But their presentations on the history of constitutional law, the Bidens work in Ukraine and Mr. Trumps motives did not appear to capture the entire audiences attention. At one point in the day, there were 19 empty seats on the floor, as Republican and Democratic senators disregarded the rules of decorum and took short breaks from the chamber. Art Lien for The New York Times Some members took up a second activity, like fidget spinning or doodling. Art Lien for The New York Times Two moderate Republicans who have signaled they may be open to calling witnesses, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, appeared more engaged. In 1999, Ms. Collins voted against her party to acquit President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial. Art Lien for The New York Times Wednesday, Jan. 22 House impeachment managers, led by Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, have 24 hours over three days to present opening arguments in their case for convicting and removing Mr. Trump from office. They spent the first day narrating the events surrounding the allegations. Art Lien for The New York Times The public viewing galleries were only partially filled. Art Lien for The New York Times Around 6:20 p.m., a protester burst into the chamber and interrupted the presentation of Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York. He was escorted away by Capitol Police officers. Art Lien for The New York Times Reporters worked (or took a break) in the press room just outside the chamber. Art Lien for The New York Times Tuesday, Jan. 21 The trial began in earnest Tuesday, with a debate between House impeachment managers and the presidents defense team over the rules that will govern the proceedings. Per decorum guidelines issued by Senate leadership ahead of the trial, members were confined to their desks in silence, without the use of their phones. Art Lien for The New York Times Throughout the day, the C-SPAN cameras were primarily trained on those speaking at the podium, which allowed some members to rest their eyes out of view. Art Lien for The New York Times Members of the press, who observed the debate from the galleries, were also operating under stricter rules for the trial. Reporters were issued tickets corresponding to assigned seats and required to line up for a magnetometer meant to prevent electronics from being smuggled into the chamber. Art Lien for The New York Times Thursday, Jan. 16 In a ceremonial display at noon, newly appointed House impeachment managers made their way to the Senate chamber to formally present the charges against Mr. Trump to the Senate. Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, read the charges on the floor. Art Lien for The New York Times Procedural tasks continued later in the afternoon, when Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, swore in Chief Justice Roberts to preside over the trial. Art Lien for The New York Times Chief Justice Roberts in turn swore in the members of the Senate, who were then called to the front of the chamber to sign an oath book. Art Lien for The New York Times Art Lien for The New York Times We will be updating this page as the trial continues. So Ive booked my holidays. And before you ask, yes, Im basing it around food and wine. Ill report back in July, but I thought readers might be interested in my plan should you be thinking about a similar holiday. Early in 2019 I wrote about the new Cork to Santander ferry service but couldnt get myself organised to try it out. The journey takes 26 hours-plus and is economy class so has significantly less facilities than the Cork-Roscoff boat, Pont Aven, which is a bit of a floating palace. We couldnt miss out on this little bit of luxury so we will travel Cork-Roscoff and drive through France to Spain, stopping in Muscadet, Bordeaux, Gascony and possibly the Basque country. Once we get to Spain we plan to visit around five wine regions and eventually return to Ireland via the Santander-Cork ferry. Im not put off by the 26 hours as Ive been on economy Brittany Ferries boats to the UK and standards are relatively high. I realise this is ambitious, given we have just two weeks, but roads in France and Spain are excellent and I know the route well. Roscoff to Bordeaux by car takes around seven hours, Bordeaux to San Sebastian is three hours and San Sebastian to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia is a further seven hours. The plan currently is to spend five days in France, two days in San Sebastian and then drive to Santiago along the coast with an overnight in Asturias to try some seafood with the local cider. We will then head for Santiago for a few days (including a visit to Rias Baixas), spend a day in Valdeorras in Eastern Galicia, and then a few days based in Valladolid which is near Ribera, Toro and Verdejo, before making our way to Santander to take the ferry home. I do not plan on driving more than three or four hours per day good lunch will be an essential part of the trip, and more than likely Ill make morning trips to vineyards on my own while the other three enjoy late breakfasts and find a spot for lunch. Travelling by ferry and car should reduce our carbon footprint compared to flying and will allow for a couple of cases of souvenir wines. My wine recommendations this week cover some of the producers I plan to visit in Spain and in France. BEST VALUE UNDER 15 Chateau Pey La Tour 2016 Bordeaux, France 10 Stockist: SuperValu This is reduced from 19.99 and while Im not sure it is quite worth the full price, this is very solid value for a tenner. Aromas of blackberry and plums with a hint of green pepper, fruity and solidly ripe with crunchy dark fruits, well suited to a meaty stew. I recommend decanting this for an hour beforehand to open it up a little. La Maldita Garnacha, Rioja, Spain 10 Stockist: SuperValu, Centra Rioja is an hour south of San Sebastian and both of Riojas wine towns, Haro and Lagrono are worth a visit. This budget Rioja is made with 100% Garnacha rather than usual Tempranillo blend. Soft and fruity with pleasing red and blackberry fruits and a touch of refreshing blackcurrant skin bitterness on the finish. Perfect for a midweek pizza or Spanish tortilla. Vina Fuentenarro 4 Mesas Barrica, Ribera del Duero, Spain 14.99-15.99 Stockists: World Wide Wines, Bradleys Cork, Le Caveau, www.lecaveau.ie This family run estate is over 75 years old, significantly older than the bulk of producers on this high mountain plain just over an hour north of Madrid. Rich purple colour, classic nose of black fruits with floral touches mixed with spice. Solid fruits on the palate, more depth than you would expect. BEST VALUE OVER 15 Chateau Montus 2013, Madiran, South West France 35.95 Stockists: Bradleys North Main St Cork; World Wide Wines; Baggot St Wines; Le Caveau; Green Man Terenure Montus is arguably the best wine of Madiran in the Gers Department, around two hours drive south of Bordeaux. Montus is always firm but elegant with cabernet sauvignon tempering the rather austere Tanat grape. Rich mocha and spice, dark blackcurrant and blackberry fruits. Loura do Bolo Godello, Valdorras, Spain 23.99 Stockists: Whelehans; 64 Wines; Blackrock Cellar; Lilac Wines; Clontarf Wines; Sweeneys; Baggot St Wines Rafael Palacios is the star winemaker of Valdeorras, a small region in eastern Galicia, around 2.5 hours by car from Santiago. His Godello grapes are an average age of 25 and are grown at 600m. This has floral and (stone) fruit aromas with a touch of fennel and sage and a salty tang. Valminor Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain 19.95 Stockists: JJ ODriscolls; No 21, Ardkeen Stores; Vintry; McHughs; Independent off licences Yes, there are cheaper Albarinos out there but beware of buying this grape on price. Based in O Rosal in the very south of Rias Baixas I might not get a chance to visit given how the much nearer the Salnes sub-region is to Santiago. Pristine mineral freshness with jasmine and peach aromas. A controversial advertisement of the Kerala tourism, mentioning a beef dish on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, has drawn criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). On January 15, Kerala tourism took to the micro-blogging site, Twitter, saying, "Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices, coconut pieces, and curry leaves. A recipe for the most classic dish, Beef Ularthiyathu, the stuff of legends, from the land of spices, Kerala." Reacting to this, VHP's Vinod Bansal lashed out at the Kerala government alleging that it is hurtful for cow worshippers and demanded strong action. "The tweet from Keralas tourism ministry has hurt religious sentiment. I ask the Kerala government if they want to promote tourism or beef dishes. I had forwarded this tweet to the Governor of Kerala and to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). I demand a strong action should be taken against Kerala's twitter handle. Keralas government should apologize to the nation," said Bansal. Live TV Kerala Tourism Minister K Surendran asserted, "In Kerala, no one is linking food with religion. Govt does not have any interest in hurting the religious belief of anyone. Giving communal colour to this is condemnable. Those who're trying to find communalism in all this, are creating a controversy by saying 'put pork pictures'. Many dishes, including pork pictures, are already on the website, they might not have seen." Lok Sabha MP and BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje said that the Kerala communist government have declared a war against the Hindus of the state. "Kerala communist govt has declared a war against Hindus of the state! Kerala Govt is taking a ride on Hindu sentiments by glorifying Beef on #MakarSankranti day. A sick mindset of Commies of Kerala is out for display. Communism is a disease, shame on u," she tweeted. BJP leader Mohsin Raza lashed out at the Kerala government saying that on the account of Makar Sankranti, a Hindu festival the Kerala government intentionally gave this kind of advertisement. He also lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that he is answerable. "What is the Kerala government doing? Why is Priyanka Gandhi silent," he asked. Toxic Foods Continue to Vex Chinese Consumers Health conscious people in China are frustrated that new food items are continually being added to their beware list as numerous articles in the past several months have revealed an unacceptable number of foods tainted with toxic substances. Quality testing of pork from a farmers market in Hainan Province revealed antibiotic levels exceeding the safety standard. Spicy duck legs and eggs sold in the market contained banned ingredients such as saccharin (benzoic sulfimide) and ofloxacin. Saccharin is an artificial sweetener that can cause liver or kidney damage. Ofloxacin is a broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic that is banned in China for use in food-animals, including egg-producing hens. Ofloxacin was also detected in yellow croaker fish in one of Tianjins aquaculture markets. Pomfret (fish) and prawns in another supermarket in Tianjin were found to contain furazolidone metabolite, a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is banned for use in food-animals because long-term consumption may lead to hemolytic anemia, polyneuritis, eye damage, acute liver necrosis, or cancer. Pork liver produced from Fujians Tianyi Modern Agriculture Development Corporation, sold in Fujians Walmart stores, was found to contain sodium pentachlorphenate, an organochlorine pesticide which can damage liver, kidneys, or the central nervous system. Luan leaf, a variety of green tea from Anhui Mingbaochun Tea Corporation, was recently found to contain fenvalerate and S-fenvalerate pesticides in amounts exceeding safety standards. Longjing tea, produced by Zhejiang Yeguya Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., contained detectable isocarbophos, a highly toxic pesticide that can be absorbed through the esophagus, skin, and respiratory tract. Fake honey has become a serious and wide-spread problem in China. According to an insider who spoke to Chinese state media, 60 to 70 percent of the honey on the market is a manmade product. The main ingredient is syrup, from rice or corn, blended with food additives such as potassium alum, synthetic sweetener (cyclamate), and maltose. Moreover, this illegal practice is usually prepared in unsanitary workshops. Chinese social media, such as WeChat and Tiktok, have been promoting a new product called weight loss coffee. Some consumers complained that they experienced dizziness, palpitations, insomnia, and other adverse symptoms after drinking it. Quality assurance agencies discovered that the weight loss effect actually comes from sibutramine in the coffee, an appetite suppressant that has been discontinued in many countries due to its serious side effects, such as, constipation, upset stomach, insomnia, dizziness, drowsiness, menstrual pain, headache, flushing, joint and muscle pain, as well as increased risk of heart attacks and strokes in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease. In late December, several consumers reported that the eggs they bought from local supermarkets contained a gel-like substance that didnt dissolve when the raw eggs were beaten. When boiled, the cooked eggs have the consistency of a rubber ballelastic and hard to crush. Consumers wonder whats in the chicken feed that causes hens to produce such weird eggs. The fact that even eggs are not safe worries consumers. Meghan Markle took full advantage of her newfound independence from the Crown as she drove herself to a Canadian airport to pick up a pilates expert pal who jetted in from the US for the weekend. The Duchess of Sussex was spotted in photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com parked outside Victoria International Airport in a Land Rover Discovery. She appeared to be in high spirits as she chatted with a male companion in the front seat, believed to be personal security, for about 10 minutes until her friend Heather Dorak arrived. Ms Dorak, who hails from San Antonio, Texas, but lives in California, became Meghans pilates guru and attended the royal wedding in May 2018 with her husband Matt Cohen. She runs the Pilates Platinum brand, which the Duchess started attending in Los Angeles when she starred in Suits. The friends were also both pregnant at the same time in late 2018, but their children were not with them at arrivals yesterday afternoon. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Matanat Nasibova Trend: Azerbaijan's largest producer of canned goods Sabirabad Canning OJSC plans to export pomegranate juice to Central Asia, a source in the company told Trend. Currently, negotiations are underway regarding supplies to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In this regard, the company is increasing production volumes of this product. In addition to pomegranate juice, the export share includes narsharab (pomegranate sauce) and minimal volumes of aseptic pomegranate concentrate, the source noted. The production volume was about 12 million bottles for 2019. This year, it is planned to increase the volume to 13 million bottles, the source said adding that the indicator was about 11 million bottles for 2018. The large part of products is exported, and a small part is sold domestically, the source said. The company's products have a Certificate of Conformity issued by Azerbaijans State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patents. The factory, which has been operating since 1982, uses Italian and Moldovan equipment for the production. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MatanatNasibova U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to Laredo South Station apprehended a large group of individuals that entered the country illegally in Laredo. READ MORE: Laredo man allegedly crashed tractor-trailer into fence, charged with criminal mischief Late in the evening Tuesday, agents were alerted to suspicious activity near the intersection of Green Street and North Smith Avenue. In collaboration with the Laredo Police Department, agents searched a tractor-trailer suspected of being utilized in a smuggling attempt parked in the area. Agents found a total of 33 individuals hidden inside the trailer. All individuals were arrested and taken into custody, pending investigation. Immigration record checks revealed the individuals were illegally present in the United States and from the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and China. The tractor and trailer utilized in the immigrant smuggling attempt was seized by the United States Border Patrol. READ MORE: Laredo woman arrested after alleged assault of co-worker inside restroom To report suspicious activity such as immigrant and/or drug smuggling, download the USBP Laredo Sector app or contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol toll free at 1-800-343-1994. Cambodian Natural Gas Co Ltd and Chinese firm CNOOC Gas & Power Group Co Ltd teamed up in importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to distribute within Cambodia's market for the first time, an English-language daily newspaper reported on Thursday. A local company's officer said the cooperation is to import the LNG to supply demand in the local market, as the company focuses on hotels and restaurants in the first-step plan. Pheng Sros Choronei, administration officer at Cambodian Natural Gas, said the LNG containers were shipped in from China and arrived at Cambodia's Sihanoukville Autonomous Port on Tuesday. "The demand of LNG consumption in Cambodia will increase as we see the ongoing demand of using the LNG in other countries going high," Choronei was quoted as saying by the Khmer Times. The company plans to expand to 25 provincial cities. Currently it focuses on the capital Phnom Penh and Preah Sihanouk province. According to the Chinese embassy in Cambodia, CNOOC Gas & Power Group Co Ltd partnered with Cambodian Natural Gas Group to achieve China's export of natural gas to Cambodia for the first time. The embassy wrote on its Facebook page on Tuesday stating that the close relationship of the two countries has opened up new investment between them. "Under the leadership of the leaders of the two countries, the China-Cambodia joint construction of the 'Belt and Road' has continued to go deeper and further," the embassy said. "Both companies worked together to make the first use of LNG in Cambodia and supplied some of the Cambodian energy market and it will open a new chapter in the application of clean energy in Cambodia," the embassy wrote. CNOOC Gas & Power Group Co Ltd is an enterprise in China with its main office in Beijing. It operates in the natural gas distribution industry. Canada's chief public health officer says more children are being hospitalized this flu season because of an early spike in a strain of influenza B, which hits young people hard and is circulating across the country while a strain that typically targets the elderly also makes the rounds. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A nurse prepares a flu shot at the Salvation Army in Atlanta, Feb. 7, 2018. Canada's chief public health officer says more children are being hospitalized this flu season because of an early spike in a strain of influenza B, which hits young people hard and is circulating across the country while a strain that typically targets the elderly also makes the rounds. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, David Goldman Canada's chief public health officer says more children are being hospitalized this flu season because of an early spike in a strain of influenza B, which hits young people hard and is circulating across the country while a strain that typically targets the elderly also makes the rounds. Dr. Theresa Tam said influenza B does not usually peak until February or later and the "double dose" of both influenza A and B strains has not been seen in Canada since 2015. "Right now we have influenza A-H3N2, which is still predominant, but influenza A, another strain, H1N1, is escalating and influenza B is early so all of this is going on at the same time, which is certainly having an impact on different communities and individuals." Seniors are typically sickened by H3N2, Tam said, adding she does not yet know which strains were believed to have been linked to the deaths of two young people in Manitoba. Blaine Ruppenthal, 17, is suspected of having died of complications from the flu, according to a letter sent to parents Monday by the principal of Kelvin High School in Winnipeg. A spokeswoman for the provincial government cited privacy laws in declining comment on whether Ruppenthal had any pre-existing medical conditions. Tam said the death of a 24-year-old patient in Manitoba is also believed to have occurred from similar issues. Lab tests will be done to determine if the two cases were linked to the virus, the provincial government said in a statement. Two other people, both over 80, have died in Manitoba from flu-related illness this season, the statement says. "The flu is impacting younger people more this season than in previous years. Almost 200 influenza B cases are reported to date and almost all were below the age of 50. The influenza A cases reported to date are very low for this time of a season with more than half below the age of 50." Manitoba is urging all residents to get the flu shot, which it offers for free. The Public Health Agency of Canada said two deaths believed to be related to flu were also reported in New Brunswick this year. The latest report from FluWatch, the agency's surveillance program of influenza cases, says 258 children in Canada, aged 16 and under, were hospitalized over a three-week period ending Jan. 4. "The weekly number of cases in this period is above the average over the previous five seasons," it says. Alison Merton, director of Collingwood Neighbourhood House, which operates over two dozen child-care programs in Vancouver for infants to school-aged kids, said more children have been sick with the flu than in the past few seasons. The program can't require parents to get any immunizations for their children but she said not having the flu vaccine can impact families. "We have siblings in different programs so typically if one family goes down it does affect multiple programs," Merton said. Flumist, a nasal spray version of the flu vaccine, is often given to children but a global shortage means it has not been available in Canada, Tam said, adding the vaccine is an alternative for anyone over the age of six months and pregnant women who get it also protect their babies. She said that while the vaccine is the best defence against flu, only about 43 per cent of Canadians under age 65 were immunized last year, even if they were at risk of complications, compared with 70 per cent of seniors. "What I'm more concerned about is that people with some chronic medication conditions, such as underlying heart disease or diabetes, are not getting vaccinated." Isobel Mackenzie, the advocate for seniors in British Columbia, said over 80 per cent of seniors in long-term care facilities, where the flu shot is offered, get immunized and 74 per cent of staff do, too. "Where we need to do the work is in the public," she said, adding people who visit the elderly in care homes are putting them at risk if they aren't vaccinated. "To protect grandma from getting the flu it's actually more effective for you to get your flu shot," she said. Unlike most other provinces, B.C. does not provide the flu shot for free, except to people 65 and over, under 19 or if they fit into a broad category, such as if they tend to be around vulnerable people including children and the elderly. "So why don't we just say everybody can get it for free?" Mackenzie said. "Everybody who wants it is figuring out how to get it for free anyhow." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2020. Turkey is sending troops to Libya, Erdogan says Global Times Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/1/16 18:52:50 Turkey is sending troops to Libya to support the UN-backed Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday. "We are sending our troops to Libya to ensure the survival and stability of the legitimate government in this country," Erdogan said at the Annual Evaluation Meeting for 2019 at Bestepe National Congress and Culture Center in Ankara. "We will continue to mobilize all our means and political, commercial, humane, diplomatic and military facilities to ensure Turkey's security," he added. During the speech, Erdogan also said that his country will start exploration and drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean in the fields that were covered in a deal signed with the GNA. "We start exploration and drilling activities. First, Oruc Reis seismic research vessel will conduct seismic studies in the region," he said. Turkey signed two memorandums of understanding last November, a military pact and a maritime deal with Libyan GNA's Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. On Jan. 8, Erdogan announced that Turkey has deployed 35 soldiers to Libya to support the GNA in a non-fighting capacity against the Libyan National Army (LNA), the rival of GNA. Since the uprising killed former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, the country has been divided between two powers of GNA and the eastern-based LNA, led by Khalifa Haftar, who has launched a military campaign since last April aimed at taking over the capital Tripoli where GNA is based. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SMITHS FALLS, ON, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Canopy Growth Corporation ("Canopy Growth" or the "Company") (TSX: WEED), (NYSE: CGC) submitted its final documentation for its beverage facility to Health Canada in late June 2019 and subsequently received the licence in late November 2019. In the seven weeks since receiving the licence, the Company has made meaningful progress towards scaling the production process for its cannabis beverages from lab scale to commercial scale. Management remains very confident in the underlying beverage science and in its ability to scale production and deliver high quality, differentiated cannabis beverages to the market. However, the scaling process is not complete, and the Company is extending its to-market date while the internal teams complete the final steps. "Canopy has had seven weeks to work with THC in the brand new beverage facility to scale processes and IP it has developed in the R&D environment," said David Klein, CEO, Canopy Growth. "In order to deliver products that meet our customer's high standards we are electing to revise the launch date while we work through the final details." Cannabis beverages have disruptive power and in time, may introduce new consumers to the cannabis category. Canopy does not believe this delay will have a material impact on its FY20 revenue. The Company intends to provide an update with the release of its Q3 FY20 financial results. Here's to Future (Cannabis Category) Growth. About Canopy Growth Corporation Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED,NYSE:CGC) is a world-leading diversified cannabis, hemp and cannabis device company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and Softgel capsule forms, as well as medical devices through Canopy Growth's subsidiary, Storz & Bickel GMbH & Co. KG. From product and process innovation to market execution, Canopy Growth is driven by a passion for leadership and a commitment to building a world-class cannabis company one product, site and country at a time. Canopy Growth has operations in over a dozen countries across five continents. Canopy Growth's medical division, Spectrum Therapeutics is proudly dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners, conducting robust clinical research, and furthering the public's understanding of cannabis, and has devoted millions of dollars toward cutting edge, commercializable research and IP development. Spectrum Therapeutics sells a range of full-spectrum products using its colour-coded classification Spectrum system as well as single cannabinoid Dronabinol under the brand Bionorica Ethics. Canopy Growth operates retail stores across Canada under its award-winning Tweed and Tokyo Smoke banners. Tweed is a globally recognized cannabis brand which has built a large and loyal following by focusing on quality products and meaningful customer relationships. From our historic public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange to our continued international expansion, pride in advancing shareholder value through leadership is engrained in all we do at Canopy Growth. Canopy Growth has established partnerships with leading sector names including cannabis icons Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen, breeding legends DNA Genetics and Green House Seeds, and Fortune 500 alcohol leader Constellation Brands, to name but a few. Canopy Growth operates eleven licensed cannabis production sites with over 10.5 million square feet of production capacity, including over one million square feet of GMP certified production space. For more information visit www.canopygrowth.com Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Canopy Growth or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Examples of such statements include statements with respect to future product format offerings. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the Company's ability to satisfy provincial sales contracts or provinces purchasing all cannabis allocated to them, and such risks contained in the Company's annual information form dated June 25, 2019 and filed with Canadian securities regulators available on the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information or forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation Related Links canopygrowth.com 17.01.2020 LISTEN As the saying goes The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. I am certain that it is in line with the preceding quote that the august vice chancellor of UPSA asserted that the university has tried and tested men of God to prevent death prophecy (See We've tried and tested men of God to prevent death prophecy - UPSA VC, myjoyonline.com, 2nd January, 2020). This was in response to a prophecy or soothsaying by a self-styled Prophetess Faustina Dwamena, leader and founder of Faith Mount Sinai Ministry (See- Many Students Will Die In An Auditorium In UPSA On 9th April -Prophetess Drops damaging Revelation @ myghananews.com 02/01/2020). Within the said article Professor Okoe is quoted as imploring the university community to ignore the said prophecy. Inasmuch as I am wont to following the admonishing of a man I consider to be easily the most approachable and affable VC I have ever come across in Ghana, I will respectfully beg to differ on this one. Now to beg to differ here is not to be misinterpreted as defiance or disobedience. Not at all! To the contrary I believe that going with what Professor Okoe suggested provides an easy way out for the prophetess or soothsayer who spewed out this guff! This is because, and this is crucial, it denies the university community and Ghana as a whole a chance to bring this prophecy and many like it to a showdown once and for all. Now even though Ghana is plagued by scores of such fear-mongering; arm-twisting and virility-stripping prophecies every New Year, the present one is unique in its precision. For once a date has been set-witness the 9th of April 2020; and if so, then for the first time such a prophecy lends itself to measurement and testing; and what does an academic institution of higher learning such as UPSA do if not test hypothesis, or in this special case, anecdotes or conjecture? Now even though the erudite Professor has assured all concerned that this prophecy is to be ignored, I am tempted to think that most students, if not staff, will be tempted to err on the side of caution and surreptiously stay away from the auditorium on the said date. I mean this is Ghana after all, and everyone knows that some attention is always paid to anything that is purported to have a spiritual or ecclesiastical dimension. In view of this I undertake to singularly run the gauntlet on behalf of the university. I RESOLVE TO SPEND THE WHOLE OF THE 9TH OF APRIL IN THE NEW UPSA AUDITORIUM COME WHAT MANIAC OR TRAGEDY MAY! LET THE WHOLE WORLD COME AND WITNESS THIS SHOWDOWN THAT PITCHES PLAIN OLD COMMON SENSE ON ONE HAND, AGAINST UNWARRANTED SENSATIONALISM AND PALPABLE FOOLISHNESS ON THE OTHER! For Gods sake its about time we silence these charlatans once and for all! Bernie Asher (B.Ed; PostGradDip; MA, MSc) Lecturer in [email protected] University of Professional Studies, Accra. E.mail [email protected] The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results A Perth man has been charged after he allegedly posed as a woman online to chat about sexually abusing young children. An investigation into the man began in July 2019 when the WA Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team received a report from the United States National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children about a person uploading child abuse material to social media. Police will allege over a two year period, the 22-year-old pretended to be a woman on social media to engage in explicit conversations with men where she discussed the sexual abuse of a teenage girl and young children. The man was arrested by the AFP last year. A search warrant was executed at the mans Palmyra home on December 17 last year, and Australian Federal Police seized a mobile phone. Police would be banned from strip searching children under 17 when they are not under arrest and sniffer dogs barred from pubs, train stations and public streets without a warrant under law reforms proposed by the NSW Greens. The draft bill would also limit the circumstances of allowing a strip search to go ahead to where there is an immediate and serious risk to the life and safety of any person, and specifically prohibit police asking people to "squat and cough" during a search. Police question a man after a sniffer dog identified him for suspected drug possession at Field Day music festival on January 1. Credit:James Alcock The changes to strip searches would mean police could no longer strip search someone because they thought they might have a pill or joint on them," Greens justice spokesman David Shoebridge said. Strip searches are a serious invasion of privacy and dignity and should be reserved for situations where lives are at risk." Ukrainian PM says govt to keep working as usual until president decides on his resignation The Ukrainian government will keep working as usual until President Volodymyr Zelensky makes a political decision, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said at the Verkhovna Rada. "The Ukrainian government is working in regular mode until the president makes a decision as to who can work on what position in a large team. This is a political decision, which we expect from the leader of our political force," Honcharuk said at special session at which parliamentarians could ask the government their questions on Friday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that Delhi government never delayed any work related to the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case rather all the work which was under the ambit of the state government was completed within hours. "All the work that was under the Delhi government was completed by us within hours. We never delayed any work related to this case. Delhi government hardly has any role in it. We want convicts to be hanged at the earliest," said Kejriwal while speaking to the reporters here. Launching a scathing attack on Aam Aadmi Party, BJP on Thursday alleged that the negligence of state government was the reason behind the delay of the hanging of the Nirbhaya convicts. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had asserted that AAP is responsible for the delay in justice. On this, Kejriwal said: "He (Prakash Javadekar) is playing politics. Such matters should not be seen as politically. What is our role in this? We do not have the police, neither we have the law and order in our hands. We only send files from here and there." Kejriwal's statement came after President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy petition of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case convict Mukesh Singh. One of the convicts of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, Mukesh's mercy plea has been rejected by President Kovind, MHA has received the communication in this regard, sources said.The MHA had sent Singh's mercy petition to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday night, sources said. Earlier, Mukesh Singh, one of the four convicts in the gang-rape and murder of a paramedic student in 2012, had informed the Delhi High Court that his mercy petition is pending before the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the President of India and he should be given a minimum 14 days notice between the rejection of his mercy petition and scheduled date of execution. The Delhi High Court has refused to set aside the trial court order which issued a death warrant. The court had asked the convict's counsel to approach the trial court and apprise about the pending mercy plea. The four convicts were sentenced to death for raping a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in the capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012. The victim, who was later given the name Nirbhaya, had succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Singapore where she had been airlifted for medical treatment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tn. in 1968, almost 52 years ago. Few know of the significance that Tennessee has played in the Civil Rights movement. First, Tennessee played a pivotal role in the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in 1920. This year marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Second, Tennessee was at the forefront of Civil Rights and integrating America. We should remind ourselves of this history on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2020. The groundbreaking 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was the case in which the Supreme Court Justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. It signaled the rightful end of the separate but equal principle outlined in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. The Ferguson case constitutionally allowed laws barring African Americans from sharing the same buses, schools, and other public facilities as whites known as Jim Crow laws and established the separate but equal doctrine that would stand for the next six decades. Linda Brown, then a nine-year-old girl, became the face of the issue. Ms. Brown died at age 75 on March 25, 2018. Her national legacy in Civil Rights went far beyond public education. Brown said in a 1985 interview: I feel that after thirty years, looking back on Brown v. The Board of Education, it has made an impact in all facets of life for minorities throughout the land. I really think of it in terms of what it has done for our young people, in taking away that feeling of second-class citizenship. I think it has made the dreams, hopes, and aspirations of our young people greater, today. Few people know the role Tennessee played in Civil Rights and public education. Avon Williams, Jr., a Knoxville, Tennessee native, became a cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in 1949 and began a long career in civil rights activism. In 1950, four years before the Supreme Court outlawed school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education, Williams filed Tennessees first such public school desegregation case such case when he sued to integrate the public schools in Anderson County, Tennessee. (McSwain v. Board of Anderson County). Williams first cousin, Thurgood Marshall, was the chief lawyer for the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP. Marshall later became the first African-American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Williams and Marshall worked closely on racial discrimination cases. Williams went before the Supreme Court seven times to argue cases involving discrimination in public schools, public housing or other public accommodations. In 1955, Williams, Marshall, and Z. Alexander Looby, a fellow African-American lawyer focused on civil rights, filed suit Kelley v. Board of Education against the Nashville city schools on behalf of African American children. Looby and Williams were, without doubt, the most prominent civil rights attorneys in Tennessee during their lifetime. The Journal of African American History stated that Looby and Williamss work in school desegregation cases alone encompassed every major case in the state (except of Northcross v. Board of Education) and entered the highest realms of legal activity. Federal judges at the circuit, appeals, and U.S. Supreme Court levels cited and considered many of their cases as the post-Brown v. Board of Education (1954) litigation world unfolded. In 1968, Avon Williams, Jr. was elected to the Tennessee State Senate. He was one of the first African-Americans to serve in that body since the Civil War. As a senator, he worked to place guidance counselors in elementary schools and to establish kindergarten classes in Tennessee. The state has a proud, but often untold, history in Civil Rights, which greatly enhanced education in our state. Racism, bigotry, and vitriolic hate have no place in modern culture. All children are created in the image of God. Martin Luther King, Jr. poignantly stated: I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Does character still matter? Of course, it does. For centuries, our country has attracted people in search of a share of the American dream from all corners of the world. E Pluribus Unum (From Many, One) remains the national motto, yet it appears that there is no longer a consensus about what that should mean. If you step into our public schools today, the many different cultures are on full display. Americans like Martin Luther King Jr., Linda Brown, Avon Williams, Alexander Looby, and Thurgood Marshall helped integrate America and move the nation past the old paradigms and backward thinking that dominated our society. We need to remember and reflect on that history. More importantly, we need to fulfill our destiny as a nation where all citizens can realize the benefits of integration and equality of opportunity regardless of the color of their skin. The dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. did not die in Memphis in 1968; it is still alive in 2020. JC Bowman Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee Mumbai, Jan 17 : As uncertainty over Yes Bank's capital raising continues, Dalal Street is busy guessing if the central bank will rescue the country's fourth-largest private bank in case it fails to raise capital again. Among the expected steps doing the rounds in the markets is a merger with a deep-pocketed public sector bank as Yes Bank, unlike other struggling private companies, is systemically important. Sources said that one of the stronger PSU banks, which is not part of the ongoing merger exercise, may be asked to take over the Yes Bank. The exercise would not be unprecedented as earlier (in 2003) the Oriental Bank of Commerce was asked to take over scam-ridden Global Trust Bank to rescue thousands of depositors having exposure in the bank. "If a private sector solution is unsuccessful, and a regulatory-led resolution is implemented, Moody's expects that the Indian authorities will strive to maintain systemic stability and avoid losses to depositors and senior creditors," Moody's said. Earlier this month, Yes Bank rejected Erwin Singh Braich's $1.2 billion investment offer and said it will raise Rs 10,000 crore by issuing securities. The bank also said it will take up Citax Holdings, and Citax Investment Group's investment offers in the next board meeting. Uncertainty on the banks future have also found roots owing to the corporate governance issues. Recently, Independent Director and Audit Committee Chairman Uttam Prakash Agarwal resigned, alleging that CEO and MD Ravneet Gill was misleading the bank's board and shareholders. Besides, the bank's financials have also come under heavy scrutiny. Rating agency ICRA noted that Yes Bank's solvency profile remains weak with net NPA/CET of 36 percent as on September 30, 2019. A number of rating firms have red flagged the bank's exposure to stressed projects. Owing to uncertain news flow, Yes Bank, once the traders favorite, has proved to be one of the biggest wealth destroyers. Its stock price on Friday closed at Rs 39.25 a share from a high of Rs 285.90 in April 4, 2019. Citing continued uncertainty with regards to Yes Bank's capital raising plan, Moody's Investors Service placed Yes Bank's long-term foreign currency issuer rating of B2 under review. The agency noted that standalone viability of Yes Bank is getting increasingly challenged by its slowness in raising new capital. Moody's said that because the viability of the bank absent a large capital injection is in question, Moody's has downgraded the bank's standalone credit profile or its BCA to caa2 from b3. --IANS ravi/sn/vd A Welcome Guest! You Are Here: In this Nov. 19, 2019, file photo, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, left, the air-defense destroyer HMS Defender and the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut transit the Strait of Hormuz. AFP-Yonhap By Jung Da-min Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min said Thursday that the government could seek its own way to protect the lives and properties of Koreans in the Strait of Hormuz rather than participating in a U.S.-led naval coalition policing the region. His remarks came amid Washington's increasing pressure on Seoul to participate in the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), a coalition of countries including the United States, Saudi Arabia, the U.K. and Bahrain sending naval units to the area to safeguard navigation. Korea has been put in a dilemma over whether to join the maritime mission amid recently heightened tensions in the Middle East in the wake of the U.S. killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iran's retaliatory attack on U.S. bases in Iraq. "We have not yet decided on whether to participate as a member of IMSC," Noh said during an interview with CBS radio, Thursday. "But the government is reviewing possible ways to protect the lives and properties of our people and companies in the Middle East amid the recent political turmoil there Such a review is progressing considerably." Commander Haftar's surprise trip came two days before Berlin's summit over military conflict in Libya The commander of Libyan National Army (LNA) visited Athens Friday in a bid to counter Turkey's support for his opponents, ahead of a weekend summit on Libya in Berlin. Gen. Khalifa Haftar's surprise trip to Greece came two days before the Berlin summit, which aims to halt the conflict in oil-rich Libya that is being fueled by competing international support for the warring sides. Separately, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be attending the meeting in Germany. Turkey, which has promised to send troops to back Libya's government against Haftar's offensive, is at odds with Greece over oil-and-gas drilling rights in the East Mediterranean. In November, Turkey and the Libyan U.N.-supported government in Tripoli signed a controversial maritime deal delineating a boundary between the two countries in the Mediterranean. Libya has been divided between two competing governments since 2015, one based in Benghazi in the east and the other based in Tripoli. The agreement would give Turkey and Libya access to an economic zone across the Mediterranean despite the objections of Greece, Egypt and Cyprus, which lie between the two geographically. All three countries have blasted the deal as being contrary to international law, and therefore invalid. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, speaking after meeting with Haftar, said the Greek government had encouraged the Libyan general to "participate (in the Berlin meeting) constructively'' and to work toward achieving a cease-fire and restoring security in Libya" by removing mercenaries and by the recognition of the invalidity of the illegal agreements'' between Turkey and the government in Tripoli. "l must tell you with great pleasure that the commander agreed to all of those remarks," Dendias said, adding that Greece wants Libya "to be a modern country, a modern democratic country." The minister said Greece was willing to help police a European ban on arms shipments to Libya. Haftar made no comments after his talks with Dendias, and then headed into a meeting with Greece's prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Mitsotakis, who was not invited to the Berlin conference, said late Thursday that Greece "will never accept a political solution for Libya that does not require the cancellation" of the maritime deal with Turkey. "We will use our veto before the case gets to the summit meeting. We will veto it at a foreign ministers' level," he said. However, it was unclear exactly what Greece could block, as the summit in Berlin is not being held by the EU and a Libyan peace deal does not need EU approval. A Greek official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the veto would be applied to "any decision concerning Libya on a European level if it doesn't include the annulment" of the maritime deal. German government spokesman Steffen Seibert, asked in Berlin why Greece wasn't invited to the Berlin conference, said "Greece's participation in the Berlin Libya conference was never up for debate." Seibert said the "substance of the conference" was considered when determining who would attend. "Those international actors with immediate influence in the Libya conflict are taking part in this conference and that's the focus of the event," he said. In Moscow, the Kremlin said Sunday's talks in Berlin would focus on a cease-fire and the launch of a broad political dialogue under the United Nations. *This story was edited by Ahram Online Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:01:09|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close People visit the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show in Anaheim, the United States, Jan. 16, 2020. The 118-year-old NAMM Show, one of the world's biggest music industry trade shows, kicked off here on Thursday. The four-day event is expected to bring together at least 110,000 people and around 2,000 exhibiting companies from more than 120 countries and regions around the world, featuring more than 7,000 brands, cutting-edge industry education, as well as exclusive special events, concerts and experiences. (Xinhua/Li Ying) After Union Minister Smriti Irani blamed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the delay in the execution of the four Delhi gang rape convicts, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal responded with an appeal that politics should not be done on such a sensitive issue. Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal said, I feel sad that politics being done on such an issue. Shouldnt we be working together to ensure the guilty are hanged soonest? Shouldnt we join hands to ensure a system so that such beasts get hanged within 6 months? Pl dont do politics on this. Lets together create a safe city for our women. Barely a few hours after a Delhi court issued a fresh black warrant to hang the four men convicted for the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedic student in the national capital in December 2012, Kejriwal on Friday said that he was upset at the politics being done on the issue. Also Watch l 2012 Delhi gangrape case: Kejriwal denies delaying proceedings, slams BJP Irani had earlier in the day said that it was because of the Aam Aadmi Party government in the Capital that the convicts on death row could not be hanged in a time-bound manner after their review petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court in July 2019. I feel sad politics being done on such issue. Shudnt v be working together to ensure guilty r hanged soonest? Shudnt v join hands to ensure a system so that such beasts get hanged within 6 months? Pl dont do politics on this. Lets together create a safe city for our women https://t.co/tl0eJ6fYKO Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) 17 January 2020 Accusing the Delhi government of depriving the victims mother of timely justice she said, Why was the prisons department, which comes under the AAP government, sleeping after the dismissal of the review petition in July 2018? Why did the government give 10,000 and a sewing kit to the juvenile rapist when he was released? The Delhi government, on its part, reiterated that the execution could not be carried out on January 22 as earlier scheduled since two of the convicts had initially filed curative petitions and then one of them had followed it up with a mercy plea, which was sent to President Ram Nath Kovind. According to prison rules, convicts on death row have to be given a 14-day notice even if their mercy pleas are rejected. Today, after the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh was rejected by President Kovind; fresh death warrants were issued for the convicts, who will now be executed at 6 am on February 1. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 07:43:09|Editor: ZD Video Player Close Liu Fengmin (R) talks with a kid at the station hall of Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". (Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu) A Kansas man made international news this week after it was revealed that he asked an Iowa court to approve a trial by combat so she could meet his ex-wife and/or her attorney on the field of battle. David Ostrom, a 40-year-old man from Paola, in Kansas, asked the Iowa District Court in Shelby County to give him 12 weeks lead time to forge his own Japanese katana and wakizashi swords, so could he meet his ex-wife and her attorney on the field of battle where (he) will rend their souls from their corporal bodies. Ostrom, who doesnt have any experience in sword fighting, told reporters that even though he doesnt anticipate a favorable response from the court, he still wants an answer to his request. Photo: Krys Amon/Unsplash To this day, trial by combat has never been explicitly banned or restricted as a right in these United States, Ostrom claimed in court, adding that dueling to settle legal disputes was used as recently as 1818 in British Court. The desperate man told the Des Moines Register that he was inspired to request trial by combat after learning about a 2016 case in which New York Supreme Court Justice Philip Minardo acknowledged that duels had not been abolished. However, Matthew Hudson, the lawyer of Ostroms former partner, was quick to file a resistance to the trial by combat: Surely (Ostrom) meant corporeal bodies which Merriam Webster defines as having, consisting of, or relating to, a physical material body, the lawyer wrote. Although (Ostrom) and potential combatant do have souls to be rended, they respectfully request that the court not order this done. Photo: Sidibe_KaGaks/Pixabay It should be noted that just because the U.S. and Iowa constitutions do not specifically prohibit battling another person with a deadly katana sword, it does prohibit a court sitting in equity from ordering same, Hudson added. David Ostrom obviously sees things from a different perspective. He argues that by refusing to answer his call to battle, Hudson and his client have proven to be cravens and should lose the trial by default. Still, he told members of the media that if the other side prefers it, he would agree to proceed with a blunted practice style of sword play instead. Asked whether he is serious about a duel with the opposition lawyer, Ostrom said: If Mr. Hudson is willing to do it, I will meet him. I dont think he has the guts to do it. The court is yet to rule on Ostroms bizarre motion. This article will be regularly updated with new information on the Samsung Galaxy S20 series (this is a preview article) both official teasers and credible leaks, rumors, and insider claims as it becomes available in the run-up to the release of the upcoming Android smartphone. The last update was made on February 3. Samsung is expected to announce its new flagship smartphones on February 11. The company had already scheduled that press conference in San Francisco. Samsung did not confirm the name of its smartphones just yet, but everything points to the Galaxy S20 naming for the series. It seems like the company will jump from the Galaxy S10 straight to the Galaxy S20, skipping everything in between. This Korea-based company is expected to introduce three different phones as part of this series. The expected devices are the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra. That is still not set in stone, as all of this information is based on rumors and leaks, but that is whats expected to happen. Samsung seems to have great plans for the Galaxy S20 series, and in this preview, well shed out the details. Well try to be as informative as possible, and include all major information that surfaced thus far, and continue updating the article as well, until the launch. Advertisement All three Galaxy S20 phones are expected to offer similar designs The Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra are all expected to offer similar designs. All three phones will probably be made out of metal and glass. The Galaxy S20 and S20+ will combine aluminum with glass, while the S20 Ultra will utilize stainless steel and glass. They will include a display camera hole at the top of the display, and that hole will be centered. Bezels will be minimal on all three devices. The bottom bezel will be the thickest one, and it will be only a hair thicker than the rest of them. The camera module will be located in the top-left corner of the back side on all three phones. A headphone jack will not be included in the package, nor will the Bixby button. The physical keys will be placed on the right-hand side, as the volume up and down buttons will sit above the power / lock key. The back side of all three phones will be curved on the sides, and youll notice Samsungs logo on the back. Speaking of curves, dont expect the Galaxy S20 series displays to be as curved as they were on the Galaxy S10 and S10+. One of the latest leaks suggests that Samsung plans to use a 2.5D curved glass panel on top of Galaxy S20 displays. Those displays may be ever so slightly curved, but not by much. Advertisement The Galaxy S20 Ultra is expected to be the largest of all three Galaxy S20 units. The Galaxy S20 will be the smallest, it seems. All three phones are expected to be larger than their predecessors, the Galaxy S10e, S10, and S10+. They will offer a taller aspect ratio as well, in case you were wondering. Displays on all three phones will be curved, but the curvature wont be the same. The Galaxy S20 Ultras display will be most curved, while the Galaxy S20s will be least curved. Its also worth noting that while the S20 Ultras display will be most curved, it will be less curved than the panel on the Galaxy S10. Both renders and real-life images already leaked The Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra already appeared in renders. First such renders leaked back in November last year, and at that point, the phones were still considered to be called the Galaxy S11e, S11, and S11+. That obviously changed up to this point, but the design did not, at least not by much, only camera setups look a bit different. Those renders came from @OnLeaks, a fairly trusted source. Those renders reaffirm what we talked about in the last chapter, all three phones will offer similar design, which was to be expected. Advertisement The second set of renders appeared in January, and these are basically showing off the final design of the Galaxy S20 series. You can see the phones in Cosmic Black, Cosmic Blue, Cosmic Gray, and Cosmic Pink color variants. Do note that not all Galaxy S20 variants will be available in this color options. The regular Galaxy S20 will not ship in Cosmic Black, for example, at least according to rumors. Well see once Samsung announces them, until then, check out the gallery below. Now, in terms of real-life images, only the Galaxy S20+ showed its face thus far. These live images got shared by Max Weinbach, and they somewhat reaffirm leaked renders, and give us a good preview of what the Galaxy S20+ will look like. The camera module on the back will have a slightly different sensor alignment than what renders suggested. Other than that, everything is comparable. This seems to be the final design of the phone, and the rest of the lineup will not look much different. The official Galaxy S20 accessories also surfaced Samsungs official Galaxy S20 series accessories also surfaced. The Protective Standing Cover, LED View Cover, and Clear View Cover appeared. You can see all three of those accessories in the gallery below. Those cases may seem familiar to you if youve used them with the Galaxy S10, or something of the sort. The Protective Standing Cover offers the most protection, and comes with a kickstand. The other two are flip covers, and offer more utility. You can read more about those by clicking here. Advertisement Top-of-the-line specifications in tow All three Galaxy S20 smartphones will be powerful devices, needless to say. The Galaxy S20 Ultra will stand above the other two in terms of specs, though, at least according to rumors and leaks. Lets talk about what they all three will have in common, when it comes to specifications, shall we. All three Galaxy S20 smartphones will be fueled by the Snapdragon 865 SoC. That is the latest offering from Qualcomm, and it seems like Samsungs Exynos 990 SoC may not even be used this time around. If Samsung ends up utilizing it for the Galaxy S20, it will be in less markets than it did before. The Snapdragon 865 is rumored to be included in Europe, the US, and Chinese variants of the Galaxy S20 amongst others. All three phones will ship with 120Hz displays. However, 120Hz refresh rate will not be available if your phone is set to QHD+ resolution. You will only be able use 120Hz refresh rate with fullHD+ resolution, and possibly lower. Thats not all, though. The Galaxy S20 handsets will be set to 60Hz refresh rate out of the box. It remains to be seen if their resolution will be maxed out at first, though. Advertisement Three 4G variants, and two 5G models Do note that the Snapdragon 865G will fuel 5G variants of the Galaxy S20. Speaking of which, Samsung is rumored to release three 5G models, and two 4G variants. The Galaxy S20 and S20+ will, allegedly, arrive in both 4G and 5G flavors. The Galaxy S20 Ultra, on the other hand, will be offered in a 5G model only. 4G LTE variants of both the Galaxy S20 and S20+ have surfaced. Model numbers of both devices popped up on Samsungs support page in Latin America. The listing has been removed soon after it popped up, but it pretty much confirms 4G LTE variants. The S20 Ultra LTE variant did not surface anywhere, and everything points in the direction of a sole 5G model. Android 10 will be included in all Galaxy S20 units, along with Samsungs custom UI. An ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner will also be a part of the package, in case you were wondering. Stereo speakers are expected, as is your standard facial scanning via the front-facing camera. Advertisement 12GB of RAM will be the standard in Galaxy S20 handsets The Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra are all rumored to include at least 12GB of RAM. That will be the standard configuration for all three phones, it seems. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is expected to launch in a 16GB RAM iteration as well, though. The Galaxy S20 and S20+ will be available in a 12GB RAM version only, it seems. By the way, this is LPDDR5 RAM that were talking about here. All three phones are also expected to utilize UFS 3.0 flash storage. Rumors are also claiming that the Galaxy S20 Ultra will include an SD card slot (up to 1TB). The device will be offered in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options. A 5,000mAh battery has also been mentioned, along with 45W fast wired charging (0-100-percent in 74 minutes). Camera setups look promising A detailed look at the Galaxy S20 series cameras has been provided by Ice Universe, a well-known tipster. He actually shared camera info for all three Galaxy S20 phones, and that goes for both front-facing and rear-facing cameras, and allow us all to preview what to expect. Well talk about the front side first, as all three Galaxy S20 handsets will include the very same camera on the front. Advertisement You can expect to get a 10-megapixel camera here. Were looking at Sonys IMX375 sensor with 1.22um pixel size. Now, in terms of rear-facing cameras, the regular Galaxy S20 will have the least amount of cameras. It will include three cameras on the back. The phone will sport a 12-megapixel (Sonys IMX555 sensor, 1.8um pixel size) main camera. In addition to that, youll get a 64-megapixel (ISOCELL S5KGW) zoom camera, and a 12-megapixel (ISOCELL S5K2LA) ultra-wide camera. The Galaxy S20+, on the other hand, will include those three cameras on the back as well. In addition to them, however, this phone will also sport a ToF (Time-of-Flight) camera as well. That camera will pack in Sonys IMX516 sensor. The Galaxy S20 Ultra will have the most powerful setup, at least on paper. It will include a 108-megapixel (ISOCELL S5KHM1) main camera. That is a sensor that Samsung made especially for this phone. A 48-megapixel (Sonys IMX586 sensor, 0.8um pixel size) will be used as a dedicated zoom camera. A 44-megapixel (ISOCELL S5KGH1, 0.7um pixel size) ultrawide camera will also be included. On top of all that, the company will implement a ToF camera, using Sonys IMX518 sensor. Do note that the Galaxy S20 Ultra is said to include a periscope-style camera, so that 48-megapixel sensor will probably be utilized for that, but well see. The S20 Ultras rear camera module actually leaked as well. You can check it out in the image provided down below. You can see that the company will combine black and gray colors for this camera setup, and you can also see the 100x zoom branding. The periscope camera will be located in the bottom-left corner, it seems. The LED flash will be located in the top-right corner. Samsung also trademarked something called Super ISO, to that feature may also be included. Read more about it here. Pricing & availability So, many of you are probably wondering how much will the Galaxy S20 series cost. Well, Max Weinbach actually shared basically confirmed price tags for the devices. Those price tags are applicable for the 5G variants of the three devices. He claims that the Galaxy S20 5G will cost $1,000, while the Plus model will set you back $1,100 in the US. The Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G will be the most expensive of them all, of course. That handset will start at $1,300, though the 16GB RAM variant will be even more expensive. The Galaxy S20 series will become official on February 11 in San Francisco. Those devices are expected to go on sale on March 6. That info has been revealed by the reservation site for the upcoming device. It applies for the US, at least. That is pretty much all the relevant info that we could include in this Galaxy S20 preview. Do note that some smaller details may have been missed, as theres been a ton of information circulating the Internet. on Friday said it has signed an agreement for the sale of its Decision Resources Group (DRG) business to US-based Clarivate Analytics for $950 million (over Rs 6,745 crore). This divestment is expected to be completed by end of February 2020, (PEL) said in a statement. PEL DRG Dutch HoldCo BV, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the company, has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of DRG to Clarivate Analytics plc for a consideration of $950 million, it said. This includes $900 million on closing and $50 million to be received at the end of 12 months from the date of closing, it added. Shares of were trading at Rs 1,632 per scrip on BSE, up 5.50 per cent from their previous close. Sinn Fein councillor Paddy Holohan said Leo Varadkar was separated from the history of this country. Photo: Kyran O'Brien A former UFC fighter turned councillor has said remarks about the Taoiseach that were seen as racist and homophobic were "misinterpreted". However, Paddy 'The Hooligan' Holohan, a South Dublin county councillor representing Sinn Fein, still has the backing of party leader Mary Lou McDonald after apologising for the comments. In an episode of his own No Shame podcast with director Terry McMahon, the Tallaght South councillor spoke about Mr Varadkar and admitted he has a lot of "quarrels with this man". "He's so separated not even from society now, but he's so separated from the history of this country," Mr Holohan said. "I'm for immigration, I'm for bringing people into the country." He then noted that Mr Varadkar's lineage is not part of the "history of this country". "Leo Varadkar's blood obviously runs to India, you know, so his great-grandfather is not part of the history of this country, you know what I mean? "Now, Leo obviously is, he's an Irish citizen, but his passion doesn't go back to the times when our passion goes back to." On another podcast, published two days ago, Mr Holohan interviewed former political prisoner Ibrahim Halawa. In it, the councillor said that he wants a "family man" to run the country. "We need people running the country, and not against Leo or anything like that, but to me I want a family man running the country," Mr Holohan said. Offence "Someone that knows what it's like to have kids, maybe hopefully boys and girls, so when you're creating the policies and stuff that's going to go on, that you're like right, it makes sense, I know what it's like to collect my kids from school so I know what school time traffic is like." Sinn Fein urged the councillor to apologise, saying that his statements "caused offence, and are quite obviously not the views of Sinn Fein". "I would like to apologise as my comments may have offended people as I of course did not intend to do so," Mr Holohan wrote on social media several hours later. "My comments have been misinterpreted and not in any way meant the way they have been portrayed." Ms McDonald yesterday said that she was "satisfied" with his apology and said that she will not be removing him from the party or asking him to step down. "I think that Paddy has apologised for the remarks and that that was the appropriate thing to do," she said. "I think all of us know that every citizen and every person is entitled to run for public office in this country and to aspire to the office of An Taoiseach. "That's the position, Paddy has apologised and of course that was the absolutely correct thing to do." She said that Mr Holohan is "frustrated" that his comments gave the impression that he holds "other views". "I think that Paddy is probably frustrated at the fact that he is known to be a very approachable, very open-minded and a very kind person and unfortunately the remarks that he has made have given the impression that he holds other views," she said. Mr Varadkar said: "I understand that he has apologised in the last few hours and you know that's good enough for me." However, he added that there is a "wider issue". "I think anyone in Ireland who is from a minority background - whether mixed-race or gay or lesbian - has experienced some form of racism or homophobia in their lives," he said. "I am fortunate in that I haven't received too much of that." Greek foreign minister says Haftar will agree to ceasefire that recognises invalidity of accords between Turkey, GNA. Athens, Greece Angered by its exclusion in Libyan peace talks to be held on Sunday in the German capital, Greece scored a diplomatic win when Libyan renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar paid an unexpected visit to Athens, on his way to the UN-sponsored talks in Berlin. Greece asked to be included in the Berlin Process, as the event is called, saying it has vital interests at stake. The Council of Ministers in Tripoli signed a maritime jurisdiction agreement with Turkey last year that claims waters Greece also sees as part of its own jurisdiction. Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA), based in Benghazi, is at war with the UN-recognised Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj, based in Tripoli. Nikos Dendias, Greek foreign minister, said Haftar on Friday agreed that a ceasefire deal had to recognise the invalidity of the illegal memoranda between Turkey and the Sarraj government. The Greek government says Haftar has committed to negotiating a new maritime deal with Greece. Since we are not [at the Berlin talks], we expect Germany, the host country, to be the guardian of the European position on Libyan matters, Dendias said. The Berlin Process began in 2015, when Greece was out of favour in Europe. That was when the left-wing Syriza government faced down its European creditors, insisting on better terms of repayment of 195 billion euros ($216bn) in emergency loans. The European Union denounced the Turkish-Libyan deal in December and issued a strong statement in Greeces favour. The agreement infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states, does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third States, the EU summit conclusions said. 200104110325735 Russia, the United States, Israel and Egypt also denounced the deal at the time, saying it raises tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. Germany has invited several other EU members, Gulf states, the US, Russia and China to attend talks, but refused to divulge why it did not invite Greece. Haftar also met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who has threatened to veto any peace agreement that displeases Greece. I want to be clear. Greece will never accept a political solution for Libya that doesnt scrap the illegal Turkey-Libya memorandum of understanding, Mitsotakis tweeted on Thursday. We will veto it before it reaches the Summit. We will veto it at the foreign minister level. It was unclear whether Greece would enjoy any opportunity to veto a UN peace agreement on Libya. If there is a peace agreement on Libya and Germany brings it to the European Union for ratification, that is when Greece could have an opportunity to exercise a veto, international relations expert Kostas Yfantis told Al Jazeera. Mitsotakis also spoke on the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He asked Ms. Merkel and other EU representatives present at the talks to implement the decision of the last European Council, his office said, a reference to the denunciation of the Libya-Turkey agreement. Greek-Turkish conflict simmers Greek-Turkish acrimony over maritime jurisdiction goes back to 1973 when Greece discovered oil in the north Aegean. The two countries nearly came to war when Turkey sent a state exploration vessel, the Sismik, into north Aegean waters in 1987. The stage is now set for a similar confrontation. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said the state exploration vessel, Uruc Reis, would this year begin to conduct seismic tests in the Turkish portion of the maritime jurisdiction agreement struck with Tripoli. Turkish vessels have already spent a year looking for oil and gas in waters claimed by EU member Cyprus. The EU and the US have called those explorations illegal. The European Council unequivocally reaffirms its solidarity with Greece and Cyprus regarding these actions by Turkey, the EU said last month, in reference to Turkish explorations offshore Cyprus. Unlike Cyprus, however, Greece has not agreed its maritime jurisdiction with neighbours Albania, Italy, Libya, Egypt, Cyprus and Turkey. CHICAGO - Two gunmen fired through the window of a Chicago barbershop Thursday evening, injuring three juveniles and two adults who were getting their hair cut, police said. Chicago police Deputy Chief of Patrol Ernest Cato told The Chicago Tribune that the gunmen had walked into the store in the West Garfield Park neighbourhood and looked around, moments before firing into the shop from the street. Police said the victims ages 11, 12, 16, 30 and 40 all were expected to survive. There was no motive given for the shooting. Interim police Superintendent Charlie Beck, who was appearing at an unrelated event, said the victims were getting their haircut at the time of the shooting. All were taken to hospitals. Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted, Detectives are on scene, canvassing and retrieving video. A 4-year-old girl accidentally died after her helmet strap became caught in a branch as she climbed a tree, an investigation has determined. Freya Thorpe was just 10 days into being a new big sister when she and a friend headed outside in September to play near her home in Upper Heyford, near Bicester in England, the BBC reported, citing a recent inquest into her death at the Oxford Coroners Court. CCTV footage captured Freya setting her scooter aside but keeping her sparkly pink unicorn helmet on as she headed toward a tree, the Bicester Advertiser reported. It was reportedly explained in court that Freya likely slipped as she climbed, and the strap on her helmet caught a tree branch and became tight against her throat. It is cruel, it is unfair, but this appears to have been a terrible accident, detective constable Bryn Smith said at the inquest, according to the Advertiser. Freya was reportedly found by a passerby named Elisabeth McCall, who was unable to remove the girl from the tree but called police for help. The Advertiser reported that a neighbor who was working outside managed to get Freya down from the tree, and performed CPR before a passing ambulance was flagged down to take her to the hospital. RELATED: 2-Year-Old Boy Killed by Falling Ice Sculpture at Luxembourg Christmas Market She died on Sept. 10 at John Radcliffe Hospital two days later, according to the Oxford Coroners Court. She fought so hard to stay with us for over 24 hours but sadly grew her little wings, reads a GoFundMe launched to help the family relocate, as them going back to their home is impossible. Freyas distraught father Christopher Thorpe who had welcomed twins with his wife just 10 days before the girls accident spoke at the inquest, saying that his familys lives had been utterly destroyed, according to the BBC. This has broken my family and we are doing our best to survive, he said, according to the Advertiser. Sometimes life just throws things at you that you cant avoid. I wish things had been different I miss my little girl. I love her. Story continues RELATED: Energetic and Loving Toddler Dies After Falling Near the Baggage Claim Area at Charlotte Airport A statement read at the inquest reportedly called Freya, who would have turned 5 in October, a carefree, active young girl who was frequently seen playing in the area and going on walks with her father. The tree in which she fell has reportedly been cut down and destroyed. An Alabama school teacher has been arrested after authorities say she sent a nude photo to a high school student. Carrie Beerbower Jackson, the wife of Winfield High School Principal Keith Jackson, was arrested Wednesday, according to a joint statement issued Thursday by the Marion County District Attorneys Office and Winfield police. She is listed on the schools website as a math teacher. Court records state the incident happened on or about Jan. 1 when Carrie Jackson sent a nude photo to the male student. She is charged with school employee distributing obscene material to a student. The charge is a misdemeanor. She surrendered to the Marion County Jail at 9:54 a.m. Wednesday and was released Thursday after posting $3,000 bond. Carrie Jackson was hired as middle school teacher in August 2019 and then transferred to the high school because of a shortage of math teachers. She was previously employed as a teacher in Tuscaloosa when her husband was the assistant principal at Northridge High School. Keith Jackson was hired as Winfields principal in June 2019. Winfield City Schools Superintendent Chris Cook said school administrators first became aware of allegations of inappropriate behavior on Friday, Jan . 10. He said their investigation confirmed the information they had received and, as mandated by law, reported the allegations to police. Carrie Jackson resigned Wednesday morning. We are deeply distressed by these events, Cook said, and we stand ready to support students and families by providing counseling and other services they may need. The National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) on Friday deliberated on the delineation of the NCR, with an official saying the region's expansion was also discussed. Senior officers of the Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan governments attended the meeting. NCRPB member secretary Archana Agrawal said the board is considering two options for the delineation of the National Capital Region (NCR). One that would expand it by 35,000 square kilometres and the second by 45,000 square kilometres, the official said. In November last year, the central government had asked the NCRPB to prepare the blueprint for Urban Planning of Delhi, 2041, in the next two years. An official said that only plans with crucial factors like economic ability and sustainability can succeed. The NCR is a distinct federal setup and covers around 55,083 sq kms of area with around 60 million population. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Virginias only socialist state legislator said he has been the target of multiple death threats over a bill that pro-gun activists misinterpreted as a potential threat to their rights. The legislation introduced by Lee Carter, a 32-year-old Bernie Sanders-endorsed socialist, would allow public school teachers to strike without being fired, and has in fact nothing to do with guns. But some gun rights activists wrongly interpreted it as an attempt to fire law enforcement officials who might refuse to comply with gun control laws introduced by Virginias new Democratic legislative majority. The result, Carter said, has been a torrent of threats and abuse on social media, from promises to vote him out of office, to claims that this is tyranny and you know what we do to tyrants, to explicit threats of murder, like, Im going to make sure you dont live through this legislative session or Im going to kill this guy, yall make sure you dont forget my name. Related: Virginia Democrats won an election. Gun owners are talking civil war Carter, says he has been so concerned about the death threats that he has started openly carrying a handgun to protect himself. On Monday, when tens of thousands of gun rights activists will converge on the state capitol in Richmond for what is expected to be a volatile demonstration against the new gun control bills introduced by Virginia Democrats, Carter said that he plans to be in hiding, at an undisclosed location, concerned that he might be a target of violence even in his own home. Among the threats against him, Carter said, there had been frequent mentions of Mondays pro-gun protest, and a lot of people saying, Were going to kick off the second American civil war. This guy is going to be the first one to die. Make sure you show up armed. Carter said he had reported a handful of what seemed to be the most serious social media threats to Virginias capitol police. The Virginia governor, Ralph Northam, declared a state of emergency on Wednesday in advance of Mondays pro-gun rally, citing law enforcement intelligence that armed anti-government activists were traveling from other states to join the rally, some of them with the goal of violence, rioting and insurrection. Story continues Carter, who was re-elected to Virginias general assembly this November, said that the legislation that had led to death threats against him had originally been introduced last year. It was designed to repeal current Virginia law, which bars all public employees from striking, a policy that has been on the books since at least the 1950s, he said. Public school teachers in other states have used strikes to successfully raise the alarm about the conditions that they are teaching kids in, Carter said. As a supporter of workers rights, he said, he wanted to make it possible for Virginias teachers to strike without being fired. His original bill did not even get a hearing last year, he said, in part because his fellow lawmakers were concerned about the possibility of strikes by police officers undermining public safety. So he re-wrote the bill language, allowing all public employees except law enforcement officials to strike without penalty, and re-introduced it for the 2020 legislative session. But when some gun rights activists read the bill, they claimed it meant something entirely different. Carters bill to allow teacher strikes was written into a broader narrative that spread like wildfire within the conspiracy-minded parts of the rightwing internet, he said, claiming that the states Democratic governor was working to confiscate Virginians guns, and that his new legislation was designed to fire cops who dont confiscate guns. That conspiracy theory relied upon a basic misreading of the bill text, which in fact kept longtime Virginia law intact for law enforcement officers, and created a new exemption for other public employees. While a gun rights YouTube channel had appeared to be central to spreading the misreading of his bill to a wide audience, Carter said that some of the misinformation about his bill appeared to be fueled by police unions, and even by a fellow Republican state lawmaker all people, he said, who should be able to accurately read legislation. A gun rights activist outside the Virginia state capitol building as the general assembly prepares to convene in Richmond, 8 January 2020. Photograph: Jonathan Drake/Reuters A longtime gun owner and marine veteran himself, Carter said he has never introduced any legislation related to guns, and that he considers himself a moderate when it comes to gun laws supportive of universal background checks, for instance, but skeptical of an assault weapons ban. I got re-elected without saying the word gun once, Carter said. That was not the case for some of Virginias Democratic politicians, who had campaigned on gun violence prevention as a central issue in Novembers elections. After Democrats won full control of the state government for the first time in 26 years, Virginias Democratic governor announced that passing gun control laws, including an assault weapons ban, would be a top priority. Carter said he saw this choice as a terrible idea, one that played directly into conspiracy theories that have circulated in rightwing groups for decades. The draft legislation for a Virginia assault weapons ban, which was originally written to include a ban on the possession of military-style weapons, sparked fears of confiscation among Virginias gun owners, and helped fuel a passionate grassroots movement against gun control across the state. [The extreme right] has been saying for years that an assault weapon ban is going to be their excuse to start killing people, Carter said. I tried to have this conversation with my colleagues, but, frankly, a lot of my colleagues dont want to believe that thats out there. I wont even say its like a landmine, because a landmine you cant see. Theres a big button on the ground that says, If you step here, it will explode and Democrats just stomped on it, because they didnt want to believe that it exists. Instead, he said, he believed Democrats had an head in the sand mentality, he said, that we can enact this policy, and that it will be fine. Their faith in institutions is so strong that they refuse to believe its not shared by everyone. While Carter has previously kept guns for self-defense in his home, he said he has never before regularly carried a gun in public. Now, he said, he will be continuing to monitor internet chatter, and showing up armed to public events when he believes there might be heightened risk of an attack. I am having to take steps to protect myself and protect my family, he said. Its unfortunate that weve gotten to this point. Thank god, its Friday. But if you do not believe in god, you can just get done by thanking yourself for having sailed through the week, or life, for having pushed you through it. Whichever way you do it, Friday is here, and soon Monday will follow too. Dont get hassled, we are just kidding! Now, that we are done with our kidding part, let us get down to telling you whats been happening around. These protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act we thought were happening only in India and in countries with Indian expat population, but a story published in ThePrint says, the protests have reached Argentinas Mt Aconcagua. This one was a pro-CAA one though. While it may not be significant, but it sure issymbolic because Mt Aconcagua happens to be the highest mountain outside of Asia. Mt Aconcagua happens to be the highest mountain outside of Asia. (Photo: Reuters) A swayamsevak they call Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers that raised a banner on the peak marking his support for the new law that grants citizenship to Hindus, Christains, Sikhs and Jains who have been victimised in either Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh. This person is a certain Vipin Chaudharuy. Who is he, you ask? Well, Vipin Chaudhary is also believed to be the man who held a shakha on Mt Everest. You must have heard about shakhas, but if you have forgotten what it exactly is, let us help you. A shakha is a term used to refer either to a school of the Vedas, or to the traditional texts followed by a school. The RSS uses it for its daily congregations, which it says, involve physical and spiritual training. They are usually held around 6 in the morning (if you're not the early riser, you can just read and sigh from a distance). The RSS is of the view that women cant be part of shakhas because early mornings are for household chores. So the women wing of the RSS, Rashtra Sevika Samiti, holds shakhas in the afternoon. How will office-going women attend? We will update you on that as soon as RSS announces a change in schedule in view of the changing times and needs. Anyway, even if you largely keep away from politics, you must have heard about RSS in Rahul Gandhis speeches. Or maybe someone sent you a WhatsApp forward? Anyway. Rahul has been consistently more consistent than his presence in India attacking the organisation for spreading Hindu-Muslim divide. His great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru too was opposed to the RSS on the same ground. Nehru in fact went a step ahead and imposed a ban on RSS in 1948, after Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. But you will be surprised to know that the same Nehru is believed to have invited the same RSS to participate in the Republic Day parade of 1963. Why? Interestingly, the reason is apparently China. We all know how distraught the 1962 Indo-China war had left Nehru. Some even say that it was the Chinese treachery that Nehru could never come to terms with and that trauma eventually led to his death in 1964. It was reportedly the services that Sangh members rendered at borders during the war that made Nehru invite the RSS to the Republic Day parade. The RSS leaders have gone on non-stop about this. But then, many have challenged the reports and stories about the RSS participation. When the Defence Ministry was asked about, it said, "It is informed that records relating to the composition of the Republic Day parade 1963 are not available." Its not just the parade or the RSSs participation that people are unable to agree on. There are as many views on any subject, as probably there are people in this country. The latest in this list of my-view-is-better-than-yours is our Word of the Day, 'swastika'. Yes, the same swastika you draw on your new cars and computers, also sometimes that Rs 1.15-lakh iPhone. You must have gotten to know that a lot of people say that the swastika is a Nazi symbol. Should you believe them? Well, they are partly correct. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party did use the symbol, but that doesnt make it his. So whose swastika is it? First, let us tell you what the word means. Swastik/Swastika comes from the Sanskrit 'su' meaning 'good' and 'asti' meaning 'to be'. So basically, it stands for well-being. We put it on our new possessions so that they work well and bring us prosperity. Pretty harmless and all good. Till now. The word is over 6,000 years old and was found in the Vedas much before Hitler existed on the face of earth. But Hitler happened to steal the symbol because it helped him believe that he was 'pure'. It is the oldest symbol Hitler and his henchmen could dig up; so when they found one, they made it theirs. But just because Hitler liked it and used it at some point, shouldnt make us hate it, right? Hitler died 74 years ago. His party, his ideology and his evils died with him (good riddance, that). But the Swastika lives. Let it live. If you want to dig in and see exactly why the Swastika has suddenly hijacked your social media and WhatsApp, read this. Oh, hold on! Read that after we tell you why Jeff Bezos is on an India trip worse than Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus 2018 one. Now, Trudeau had a tough time in India because of his alleged proximity to people believed to be Khalistan sympathisers. But we should have first told you who is Bezos. Boy! He is the richest man on the face of earth. The Amazon founder held on to the top spot with an estimated net worth of $115 billion. In US dollars, that figure has nine zeroes after 115. Wait, let's give you a numerical figure - 115,000,000,000. Now, should we convert that into Indian rupees? Let's. This is what that (imaginary, at least to us) figure looks like: Rs 81,74,02,75,00,000! Not even going into imagining what that kind of money feels like. Now poor Bezos. His money and his zeroes are all with him, but none of it was enough for him to get a warm welcome from the Indian administration. Union minister for commerce and railways Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that it's not as if they are doing a great favour to India when they invest a billion dollars. By they, Goyal meant Amazon. Today, Goyal said what they say when caught on the wrong foot that he was quoted out of context. The context, you see, is every politician's safe refuge. The context is defenceless. Goyal had blamed the same context after everyone had a good laugh at his expense: he had said Einstein discovered gravity (Newton did, just by the way). Listen to this: #WATCH Union Minister Piyush Goyal's clarification on his recent comments: The comment that I made had a certain context. Unfortunately some friends have sought to remove the context, pickup one line and create a very mischievous narrative. pic.twitter.com/bzugSwSTyi ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2019 Anyway, we were telling you about why Bezos has so far not even gotten to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The answer apparently lies in what The Washington Post has been publishing about Modi and his government. The newspaper is owned by Bezos and has been critical of the Modi administration (you must remember some of those headlines; if not, see this; this and this). Now, US President Donald Trump and a friend of our PM Narendra Modi had squarely blamed Bezos for The Washington Post's coverage of India, Modi and his administration. But then, the Amazon boss said that he is not involved in deciding the papers content. And Bezoss problems could also mean trouble for us. Why? Discounts! We hear that the Competition Commission of India has ordered a probe against Amazon and Flipkart over these very discounts, exclusive brand launches online and the partialty they have shown for certain mobile-phone sellers. Many say that this has been done with an eye on the Delhi elections, where the traders are a major BJP vote bank. Traders have been complaining about Amazon and Flipkart snatching their businesses and hitting them hard for quite some time now. But what to do. Those discounts are addictive. We all love them, dont we? Will Bezos be caught in this Great Indian Bhoolbhulaiya? Well, he can fall back on King Khan for an answer to that! We leave with that for the weekend. Be back on Monday and that will be no normal Monday but a Blue Monday (no, we didn't mistype Monday Blues)! So whats that? Follow this space to know. Bye for now! Also read: DailyOh! Why Cuttack train accident takes us to a 1975 killing to how a demon made it to Canadas dollars Facebook has backtracked on its controversial plans to introduce adverts to WhatsApp less than two years after the app's founders quit over the proposal. WhatsApp has disbanded the team that was set up to begin the process of integrating ads into the chat platform, according to the Wall Street Journal. Even the code developed to allow ads to be integrated into the messaging platform has been deleted, the report says, citing 'people familiar with the matter'. Facebook's controversial plan to sell ads on WhatsApp was instrumental in the departure of WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton since 2017. Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for around $19 billion. These will appear in the WhatsApp 'Status' feature, which is similar to Stories in Instagram. The image shows the adverts that link back to WhatsApp on Facebook (left), similar to Instagram ads (middle) and the full page Status Ads (right) The company is putting the plans on ice and instead will focus on building more money-making features allowing businesses to communicate with customers along the lines of WhatsApp Business, introduced in 2018, the WSJ says. However, ads may still appear in the app's Status feature, which allows users to share text, photos, videos and animated GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. Facebook first announced plans to monetise WhatsApp in 2018. At the time, WhatsApp's then-vice president, Chris Daniels, called ads a 'primary monetisation mode' for the company. As part of the plans, promotional images would have appeared in WhatsApp's 'Status' feature, which is similar to Stories in Instagram, while businesses would have been able to interact with customers using chat windows. Adverts on Facebook would also have linked to WhatsApp to allow users to talk directly to brands via the messenger app, as well as through Facebook Messenger. Matt Navarra, a social media consultant, tweeted the updates from the annual Facebook Marketing Summit. The image from last year's Facebook Marketing Summit shows a 'Status ad' that appears much like those seen in Stories in Instagram Coming Soon to @WhatsApp... - WhatsApp Status (Stories) to get Ads in 2020 - WhatsApp for Businesses to get richer messaging format options - WhatsApp product catalog to be integrated with existing Facebook Business Manager catalog h/t + @Olivier_Ptv at #FMS19 pic.twitter.com/Z5LsbADNbP Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) May 21, 2019 He wrote: 'Coming Soon to @Whatsapp - WhatsApp Status (Stories) to get Ads in 2020.' WhatsApp was created by Koum and Acton in 2009 and initially cost $0.99 per year to subscribe the charge was scrapped after the acquisition, in 2016. Facebook has been looking for ways to monetise it ever since. Adverts which make up a huge proportion of Facebook's income and plaster the eponymous social networking site seemed like the natural option. Advertising accounted for about 98 per cent of Facebook's revenue in the third quarter of 2019, although the company didn't give a break-down of earnings by platform. WhatsApp fought to keep ads away from the platform after it was acquired by Facebook in 2014 WhatsApp's founders made their position on advertising clear in 2012. 'Remember, when advertising is involved you the user are the product,' they said. 'Advertising isn't just the disruption of aesthetics, the insults to your intelligence and the interruption of your train of thought. 'When we sat down to start our own thing together three years ago we wanted to make something that wasn't just another ad clearing house.' After the acquisition in 2014, Koum reiterated the promise that WhatsApp would never introduce adverts: 'You can count on absolutely no ads interrupting your communication. 'There would have been no partnership between our two companies if we had to compromise on the core principles that will always define our company, our vision and our product.' Koum and Acton then changed WhatsApp's terms of service to explicitly forbid ads on the platform in 2016 hinting that the issue of monetisation was brought about by Facebook fairly soon after the acquisition. However, Acton left the company in 2017 and Koum in 2018 after arguments over ads and user data. 'At the end of the day, I sold my company,' Acton later told Forbes. 'I sold my users' privacy to a larger benefit. I made a choice and a compromise. I live with that every day.' As of October last year, 1.6 billion users were accessing WhatsApp on a monthly basis, according to Statista. Facebook estimates that around 2.2 billion people use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or Messenger combined every day on average. A few days ago, the results of a study of the most technological cities in the world from the Smart City Observatory of the IMD Global Competitiveness Center and Singapore University of Technology and Design were published Open source A few days ago, the results of a study of the most technological cities in the world from the Smart City Observatory of the IMD Global Competitiveness Center and Singapore University of Technology and Design were published. The Ukrainian capital managed to enter the top 100, but so far in the last ten. What is a Smart City Index In 2019, the Smart City Observatory of the World Competitiveness Center IMD, together with the Singapore University of Technology and Design, conducted a study in which they identified the top 100 (in fact, 102) the most smart cities in the world (taking into account the level of health and safety, mobility and social activity). According to this rating, the most smart city in the world is Singapore (Singapore), followed by Zurich (Switzerland), Oslo (Norway), Geneva (Switzerland), Copenhagen (Denmark), Auckland (New Zealand), Taipei (Taiwan), Helsinki (Finland), Bilbao (Spain), and closes the top 10 Dusseldorf (Germany). Kyiv is in the 92nd position. The uniqueness of the study lies in the fact that it focuses not only on the number of technologies that have been introduced in a particular city but also on how citizens perceive their cities, which, in their opinion, are the scale of influence on making cities smart and is life really better or more comfortable in these cities (a survey among citizens of 102 cities, a qualitative indicator). This approach to creating a rating is explained by the fact that not all cities started with the same level of development, means and a set of advantages, therefore, only by interviewing urban residents can we get a realistic idea of the achievements of each of the cities. For example, precisely because of this approach, evaluating the cities of China, which received a large number of investments for the introduction of technologies, were far from the top ten (Nanjing - 55th place, Guangzhou - 57th place, and Shanghai - 59th place). Also Tokyo (Japan) - 62nd position, New York (USA) - 38th position and Tel Aviv (Israel) - 46th place. The situation with the capital of France is quite embarrassing too Paris ranked only 51th, although the city has several interesting innovative initiatives. In particular, this is a project for the processing of the urban landscape, when citizens expressed their proposals regarding the use and renovation of obsolete and unusable buildings, as well as an initiative to share bicycles to reduce congestion and traffic jams (14,000 bicycles). By the way, at the expense of the latter, the respondents interviewed gave the city 22 points out of 100, answering the question about the stage of solving the pollution problem (where 100 is the highest indicator of qualitative changes relative to a particular problem). Unlike the citizens of Zurich (Switzerland), who rated their citys efforts regarding this problem at 60 points. Arturo Bris, Professor of Finance at IMD, explains this phenomenon by the fact that the implemented initiative should really solve the problem, and not create a bunch of others, because, according to him, having found such a way (bicycles), the citys infrastructure should facilitate the movement of them: Believe me, only the brave ones would decide cross Charles de Gaulle Square by bike in Paris at noon." The study aims to help other, less developed cities, showing how to move forward. Indeed, according to Arturo Bris, the number of smart cities is growing all over the world, but economic realities cannot be ignored: cities in poor countries are faced with shortcomings that require concrete actions to take on the path of intellectual development. According to the results of the study, several interesting facts can be distinguished: places in the final part of the ranking were occupied by cities that belong to countries that are developing (Bogota, Cairo, Nairobi, Rabat and Lagos). most cities at the top of the ranking are medium-sized cities. According to Professor Arturo Brice, this happens because it is difficult for large cities and megalopolises to expand the benefits of implemented technologies. It is easier to do this in San Francisco (12th place, population - 884,000) and Bilbao (9th place in the ranking, population - 350,000), but much more difficult to do it in Los Angeles (35th place, population - 4 million) and Barcelona (48th place, population - 5.5 million). Is Kyiv a smart city? According to WHO, until the 30s of the XXI century, more than 60% of the world's population will become urban residents. Such a rapid level of urbanization requires quality coordinated changes in the maintenance of the city, its inhabitants, transport support and support of all services that work for the benefit of the urban community. Such changes can be achieved only by combining all the components in one space, where they can be easily found and controlled, - informational. This is precisely how the idea of "re-equipping" cities into "smart cities," the city of innovation, was born. The smartness of a city might be determined by a number of interrelated factors that: increase the overall level of security in the city; reduce the cost and consumption of resources; improve communication; create a transparent field of relations between the government and citizens. Therefore, it cannot be said that, for example, by equipping public transport with validators and GPS trackers, or by installing smart displays at stops, the citys authorities made it technologically advanced. In fact, these are just a few steps towards becoming a smart infrastructure. Kyivs history of the smart city began with the introduction of the city initiative in 2015, on the basis of which the Kyiv Smart City Concept was created, the development priorities of which are: e-governance, security, medicine, housing and communal services and transport. In four years, Kyiv has created the necessary IT infrastructure from scratch and was the first in Ukraine to launch a number of electronic services for citizens. We have laid more than 1,200 kilometers of fiber optic network, computerized social facilities and installed more than 7,000 video surveillance cameras. With the help of modern technologies, we are improving security, transport, and services in the city. Innovations help to make the activities of the authorities more efficient and transparent and provide an instrument of the influence of the residents of Kyiv on its development, co-coordinator of Kyiv Smart City Yuriy Nazarov sums up the results. Within the framework of this Concept, it has already been possible to achieve some progress in such smart areas: Technology and city services: Kyiv citizen card (the holder of personal data of the cardholder; it supports applications related to the provision and consideration of social support measures and other information services in Kyiv); smart street (equipped with innovative devices and an air quality monitoring system); online petitions, making an appointment with a doctor, registering a child in preschool educational institutions (kindergartens); a single Kyiv account, the creation of a pet registry, the Open Data portal; Kyiv Smart City application (you can use it to replenish the Kyiv Smart Card, pay for parking, add your pet to the Pet Registry or make an appointment with the doctor). Transport infrastructure: introducing an e-ticket, a one-time QR ticket in public transport, a dispatch center for monitoring the operation of transport; installation of interactive displays and the ability to monitor the movement of transport (using the Kyivpastrans KP external service, you can use the EasyWay mobile application). Ecology: research of water and air quality in Kyiv, eco-monitoring in metropolitan schools; Kyiv's geospatial plan for predicting building growth is the City Atlas (allows you to predict the level of growth of the citys development and landscaping, as well as create a temperature map). Education: educational courses in IT and urban technologies for children and people of advanced age, a programming school for children, an IT course with a coding academy for children, Kyiv Smart City School; creation of a collection of tips, recommendations, and services, including electronic ones, relating to all aspects of city life; launch of pets shelters social campaign (almost 500 stray dogs and cats were sheltered). City Security: integrated urban video surveillance system (control of utilities and traffic management); a system for recognizing faces and license plates; emergency warning system. Support for new innovative ideas: holding hackathons (Uber Smart Mobility, STEM, Coreteka automotive), creating an accelerator of urban projects and signing a Memorandum of Cooperation "Tel Aviv - Kyiv Smart City Accelerator", Kyiv Smart City forums. What in other cities? All the cities from the rating have many interesting innovative projects, but, as Arturo Bris, director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center, noted, the number of projects is not that important, but the quality of their implementation. Thus, he notes the achievement of the system of reasonable cameras in Singapore, which restrict movement depending on the number of vehicles, and the automatic withdrawal of funds from the bank account of drivers when parking a car in Kaunas (Lithuania). It is also important to provide citizens with free Wi-Fi throughout the city, which can boast of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Ramala (Palestine). According to the survey, Singapore is the undisputed leader in the development of "smart programs" that makes life easier for citizens. Another example is Chicago, an initiative on open spaces for growing green infrastructure. London boasts of smart parking, a navigation application and a well-established communication system, when each citizen joins the city, discusses problems and can get all the necessary information in any city services sector. The largest US city, New York, ranked 38th in the list, having innovative projects to improve the safety of life in the city: surveillance cameras and sound sensors (catching the sound of a shot, send a signal to the police). And another US city, which does not have the most developed network of electric car gas stations (San Francisco), ranked 12th with equipping bus roofs and stops with photovoltaic panels for energy production. Taking into consideration the given examples in the steps to introduce the concepts of "smart cities," we can conclude that the Ukrainian capital really has room to grow and develop, drawing on the experience of other countries and creating its own innovative ideas. Researchers have developed a new laboratory test to detect the novel Chinese coronavirus, which has so far claimed two lives and infected more than 40 people. According to the scientists, including those from the German Center for Infection Research, the virus which first emerged in the province of Wuhan in China, is similar to the common cold virus, and can cause severe pneumonia. The new assay protocol, published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a guideline for diagnostic detection, enables suspected cases to be tested quickly, they said. An international consortium is currently conducting a joint evaluation study of the test protocol, which the researchers believe may serve as a guideline for laboratories. "Now that this diagnostic test is widely available, I expect that it won't be long before we are able to reliably diagnose suspected cases. This will also help scientists understand whether the virus is capable of spreading from human to human," said Christian Drosten, lead scientist behind the protocol from Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berlin in Germany. WHO said the protocol may be followed to create assays using commercially prepared reagents like enzymes, and other lab chemicals involved in the viral genome analysis. "Assay descriptions posted to this page may detect only the Wuhan strain of coronavirus, and some may also detect other strains that are genetically similar," WHO said in its guidance report. "It is strongly recommended to contact the protocol provider institution if you obtain weak positive control results or unusual lab findings," the report noted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Friday said that legislatures should act as a watchdog on financial accountability of the executive. "For this, it is necessary that they have a better understanding of financial terminology and budgetary processes," he said. Birla was speaking at the valedictory session of the 7th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region Conference which was attended by 35 delegates from various branches of CPA India Region and also from Australia and South East Asia Regions. He said such exchange of ideas and experiences helps in consolidating and strengthening democracy by overcoming challenges faced by legislators. "Legislative institutions are credible platforms for highlighting concerns, hopes and aspirations of common people which should be effectively voiced by their representatives on the floor of the House," he said. The Speaker offered to send teams of experienced parliamentarians and officials for capacity building of legislators to understand the intricacies of budgetary process. He suggested that state legislatures should also consider conducting briefing Sessions on legislative business during the sessions on the pattern introduced by Lok Sabha. Birla mentioned that the delegates were of a unanimous view that the legislatures should work smoothly without disruptions. "For this, rules may be framed and efforts should be made for bringing about uniformity in the rules across the legislatures," he said. Referring to decisions taken, Birla said that debates of all legislatures, including the Parliament, would be brought at a single platform. He said there was unanimity about holding such conferences at the level of gram panchayat, nagarpalika and districts. In her remarks, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel said that the nature of the legislatures has changed over the years. "The legislature is not only doing the work of law-making but is also at the forefront of the economic and social change. As such, the role of people's representatives as members of the legislative bodies has also changed," she said. She emphasized that the legislators are judged on the basis of their work and actions in and outside the House. "They are thus expected to understand social problems and play a leading role in their redress through legislatures and parliament," she said. Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who delivered the key note address, said legislators were law makers and must be able to identify a policy issue, potential legislative options to address that issue and consult relevant stakeholders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Naval Air Station Pensacola remains under a heightened sense of security on Monday. Jan. 13, 2020. During a press conference in Washington, U.S. Attorney General William Barr and FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich revealed the findings of a monthlong investigation into the motivations of the NAS Pensacola shooter. PENSACOLA, Fla. Following the deadly attack that was ruled an act of terrorism at Naval Air Station Pensacola, the Department of Defense says it will soon announce revamped protocols for security, physical security and vetting at U.S. military bases. During a press conference Thursday in Washington, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman announced that Secretary of Defense Mark Esper will visit Pensacola next week to thank the personnel who responded to the mass shooting at NAS Pensacola Dec. 6. "The secretary will also provide an update to air station leadership on the new vetting and security procedures he is mandating to make our bases more secure," Hoffman said. "We will announce these new measures shortly, which will include physical security procedures as well." Hoffman declined to give specific information on what the new policies would entail, but he confirmed the changes would include more direct screening by the Department of Defense. NAS Pensacola: Shooting at Navy base was 'act of terrorism,' attorney general says "The tragedy in Pensacola has led us to address the vetting," Hoffman told reporters. "Previously vetting had been handled by the home country of the students as well as (the Department of Homeland Security) and the State Department, so we've taken an enhanced look at that how we can use our resources and information we have to do an enhanced vetting." A 21-year-old Saudi aviation trainee killed three service members and wounded eight other people during an armed rampage through an classroom building at NAS Pensacola. He was ultimately killed by responding law enforcement. A investigation determined he had been motivated by jihadi ideology and anti-American sentiment, and the Department of Justice classified the attack as an act of terrorism. The attack prompted Esper to review the government's vetting and base security protocols, as well as launch a new round of screening for the approximately 850 Saudi military personnel training in the U.S. Story continues Defense Secretary Mark Esper Earlier this week, U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced the review had found 21 Saudi military students had engaged in anti-American rhetoric or been in contact with child pornography. All 21 were unenrolled from the program and returned home to Saudi Arabia, Barr said. Immediately after the shooting, the Navy issued a "safety stand-down" that grounded 140 Saudi military students training at NAS Pensacola and 35 training at Whiting Field. Hoffman said classroom training had continued for those students over intervening weeks. Hoffman told reporters Thursday, in regards to the students' "operational" training, "we're looking forward to turning that back on in the coming days." "We believe that the international military student training program is incredibly valuable," Hoffman said. "We've seen over a million students from more than 150 countries over the last 20 years go thorough this program." This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pentagon: Military base security changes coming after Pensacola attack On Thursday afternoon, Richmond Circuit Court Judge Joi J Taylor denied a bid from two gun rights groups for a temporary injunction blocking the Virginia governor's emergency ban on guns in Capitol Square. Ralph Northam's ban in advance of Monday's Lobby Day rally prompted the Virginia Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of America to ask a local court to immediately lift the ban. An attorney for the groups called the ban an "unconstitutional restraint" infringing on rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and a Virginia law enacted in 2012. The law restricts the governor's powers under a state of emergency "specifically to prevent and prohibit governors from in any way limiting or prohibiting the possession or carrying of firearms." Virginia's Democratic Legislature's fast moving elimination of citizens' fundamental right to bear arms has ignited a firestorm in the Old Dominion. More than 100 counties and cities have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries. A week ago, the West Virginia Senate adopted a resolution inviting Frederick County, Virginia to become part of their state. On January 10, a committee of Bloomberg robots in the state House voted to ban all guns in the Capitol building. Governor Blackface Northam can pay no greater tribute to the Second Amendment's clear establishment of a citizen's right to own guns than the lengths he and his cronies have gone to this past week to undermine that right. His illegal and dictatorial decision to ban guns in a public square while demonizing lawful, everyday citizens is exactly why the Bill of Rights exists. In his Jan. 15 commentary, "Red Flag Nation: Anti-Gun Laws, Sanctuary Cities and the Second Amendment," civil rights lawyer and founder of the Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute, John Whitehead, succinctly explains the necessity of an armed citizenry: In a nutshell, then, the Second Amendment's right to bear arms reflects not only a concern for one's personal defense but serves as a check on the political power of the ruling authorities. It represents an implicit warning against governmental encroachments on one's freedoms, the warning shot over the bow to discourage any unlawful violations of our persons or property. As such, it reinforces that necessary balance in the citizen-state relationship[.] During his press conference this past Wednesday, Northam said law enforcement agencies and state analysts advised him there were "credible threats" coming from out of state militias, white nationalists and hate groups. Northam offered no names or details about the groups, preferring to lump them all in with innocent, law-abiding Virginians whose taxes pay his salary. Soon, after receiving criticism for his public statements comparing the annual gathering of gun rights advocates to the Charlottesville rally in 2017, and for his obvious disdain for the VCDL, its members, and generally those attending the Lobby Day event, the New York Times reported the arrest of three men allegedly belonging to a neo-Nazi group who allegedly discussed attending the Richmond rally. The story was quickly picked up by the Daily Beast, ABC News, Huffington Post, and other liberal media, who were more than happy to connect the alleged neo-Nazis with the Richmond rally. However, an ABC News article states that the criminal complaint filed in Maryland District Court "does not specifically allege the two had plans to carry out an attack at a pro-gun rights protest planned next week in Richmond"; rather, "a law enforcement official confirmed to ABC News that the FBI arrested the three under suspicion they might travel to the rally in 'anticipation of a possible race war,' as first reported by the New York Times." With non-specific allegations and a suggestion the trio "might" end up in Richmond, the mainstream media have aligned with Northam and his crusade against Virginia gun-owners. Meanwhile, crews in Richmond are constructing a fenced in area around the Capitol building to pen in a limited number of those attending Monday's rally. Law enforcement agencies will restrict entry into Capitol Square to a single entrance, and anyone entering will go through security checks and metal-detectors. Ironically, unarmed gun rights advocates with legal carry permits will be confined like criminals inside a fence and surrounded by armed guards of the state. A man convicted of raping a sleeping woman has had his sentence reduced because the judge wrongly decided he had planned the crime. In its unanimous decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal rejected a bid by Saied Ghadghoni to overturn his conviction but said his 30-month sentence was too harsh. Ghadghoni, then 22, and the complainant, whom he had met at a gym, offered starkly different accounts of what occurred. He insisted the sex they had at his home after visiting a nightclub where she drank alcohol she threw up at one point was consensual and that she was an enthusiastic participant. She said she had no memory of arriving at his home in the early hours. She complained that she awoke naked on his bed in the morning to find him penetrating her. She told him to stop and he did. In June 2017, Superior Court Justice Hugh OConnell convicted Ghadghoni in Oshawa, Ont., of sexual assault. The sleeping woman, the judge found, could not have consented to sex. OConnell sentenced him to 30 months. Ghadghoni appealed, arguing the judge was too critical of his evidence while tolerating inconsistencies in hers. The Appeal Court, however, found no reason to disturb the conviction given the objective, relatively uncontroversial evidence, which went to the heart of whether he had intercourse with a sleeping woman. At the same time, the appellate court found OConnell had made an error in sentencing Ghadghoni, who suffered a head injury as a child that left him with serious cognitive deficits, court records show. Medical evidence was that people with such an injury have poor impulse control and that the accused had difficulty recognizing social cues in interactions with others, and limited ability to learn from punishment. OConnell said he would have given him a 36-month sentence but imposed 30 months after finding no link between the brain injury and the offence, but that prison would be difficult for someone with his mental disabilities. Ghadghoni argued the punishment was excessive because his disabilities reduced his moral blameworthiness. He also faulted the judge for concluding he had methodically planned his crime over a sustained time. Writing for the Appeal Court, Justice Gladys Pardu said it could not be determined whether Ghadghoni had been impulsive in assaulting the woman or whether his cognitive deficits contributed to his offence. She rejected that ground of appeal. However, Pardu also rejected any suggestion he had methodically planned the assault, as OConnell had found. The trial judge erred by finding an aggravating factor, that the appellant methodically planned to commit the offence from the time he left the club, Pardu said. This was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt. As a result, the Appeal Court cut Ghadghonis sentence to two years less a day from 30 months. Arthur Brand, dubbed the "Indiana Jones of the Art World" for tracing a series of lost works, finally tracked down the tome via the murky stolen arts underworld. [CORRECTS title in second last para to associate professor sted assistant professor] A stolen 15th-century book by the famed Persian poet Hafez has been recovered by a Dutch art detective after an international "race against time" that drew the alleged interest of Iran's secret service. The gold-leafed volume worth around one million euros ($1.1 million) was found to be missing from the collection of an Iranian antiques dealer after his death in Germany in 2007. It sparked a decade-long search for one of the oldest surviving copies of the "Divan of Hafez" -- the collected works of the poet who remains extremely popular in Iran and has inspired artists worldwide. But Arthur Brand, dubbed the "Indiana Jones of the Art World" for tracing a series of lost works, finally tracked down the tome via the murky stolen arts underworld. "This is a hugely important find for me, because this is such an important book," Brand said as he showed AFP the recovered book at an Amsterdam apartment. Along with Rumi, Hafez -- full name Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafiz Shirazi -- is one of the best known mystical bards. American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson called him the "Prince of Persian poets". Hafez's Divan can still be found in most Iranian homes where it is traditionally read out during family celebrations for the Persian New Year. - 'Scared and threatened' - The theft of the manuscript, which dates from 1462 to 1463, was discovered by the family of book dealer Djafar Ghazy after he died in an old people's home in Munich in 2007. While going through Ghazy's computer, they realised the reclusive pensioner had in fact collected hundreds of ancient manuscripts -- but that they were all gone. In 2011 German police recovered 174 of them raiding the home of another Iranian pensioner who had befriended Ghazy. "But the most important piece, one of the earliest and most accurate copies of the famous 'Divan of Hafez', was still missing," said Brand. Story continues German police announced a 50,000-euro reward and issued a flyer describing the book in 2016 but there was still no trace of it, until late 2018. Brand then received a phone call from an Iranian dealer, asking the Dutchman to "urgently" meet him in Germany. "The man told me he was visited by two officials who said they were 'linked to the Iranian embassy'." The men -- alleged by the dealer to be Iranian secret agents -- told him to "report any news of the missing Divan", Brand said. "My informant was clearly scared, felt threatened and decided to call me into the case," Brand told AFP. Iran had already shown an interest in the case, saying it would take "all legal means" to get back the manuscripts that were found in 2011, after Germany gave two back but decided most of the rest were legally owned by the collector, German news reports said. "After my informant was contacted, I knew that Iran was also looking for the missing Divan and I started a race against time to see if I could find it first, as the book belonged to Ghazy's family," Brand said. - 'Rare and valuable' - The Dutchman then flew to London to meet an unnamed man "who became extremely nervous" when shown the flyer of the missing book, and confessed he had seen it as a friend of his had sold it to a major buyer. By then Iranian agents were also in London asking questions about the manuscript, Brand said. "The buyer was shocked and furious. After all, he was sold a stolen book and now everybody including the Iranian government was looking for it," Brand said. By now afraid, the buyer flew to Paris to demand his money back from the original seller. But Brand persuaded him to go back to London and finally the collector handed over the book via an intermediary in late 2019. Brand said he will travel to Munich next Wednesday to return the Divan to German police. "The next steps are currently being discussed together with the heirs" of Ghazy, police spokesman Ludwig Waldinger told AFP. Experts said this edition could be of great historical and literary value for scholars and admirers of Hafez, whose works were published after his death. The recovered book is "one of a handful still in existence," said Dominic Parviz Brookshaw, associate professor of Persian literature at Oxford University. "It's an extremely early edition -- although not the earliest -- which would make it very rare and valuable," Brookshaw told AFP. Australians who braved fire 'hell' to defend homes Budgong, Australia, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 Seventy-nine-year-old Ken Stewart was determined to save his home from a bushfire in a pristine eastern Australian forest -- until "hell" bore down sounding like a fleet of freight trains. Like many thousands of Australians during the nation's unprecedented fire crisis, Stewart was faced with the agonising choice of fleeing oncoming blazes or risking his life trying to protect his house. The fires have killed 28 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes as they have scorched an area roughly the size of Portugal over the past five months. But having lived for 25 years in his solar-powered home among the gum trees of the forests around Budgong, a few hours south of Sydney, Stewart decided to take his chances. He turned on a sprinkler system connected to his water tanks, set up a hose aimed at the roof of his house and waited for the blazes to arrive. "I could hear the fire approaching, I could hear the roar, not just one freight train but a whole fleet of freight trains," Stewart told AFP this week. Even at that moment, Stewart decided to fight on. But then a "wall of fire" followed the noise, and it was suddenly 100 metres (330 feet) away. "It wasn't red or orange, it was white. White hot. And it was coming towards me with a 60, 70-kilometre (per hour) wind behind it," Stewart said. - Escape - Finally, Stewart decided to flee and try to join his wife who had left their home well ahead of the blaze. He got in his car, but the flames were already ahead of him and trees were burning on both sides of the driveway. Driving into the tunnel of flames, Stewart saw a tree reaching over the driveway, hanging above the ground across a half-torn power line. "I just ducked, shut my eyes and drove," Stewart said. "I just got under it." Stewart emerged out of the tunnel to reach the main road, and drove to safety at a coastal town. However, relief at reuniting with his wife was short-lived, when he returned to his property to see the fire had destroyed his home. Stewart -- wiry and strong despite nearing 80 years of age -- described being trapped among the flames as like being in the abyss of eternal punishment. "You know how we depict hell as all fire and all the rest of it," he said, recounting his ordeal while standing among the ashes of his home. "Well I estimate that I've been to hell. So when I fall off the perch, I won't be going to hell because they've rejected me and said: 'You're not wanted here, you're not suitable, buzz off.'" - Sense of doom - About 10 kilometres (six miles) down the road, another home defender had a harrowing account of the fires that tore through Budgong in the first week of January. Nicholas Carlile, an ornithologist, sent his family to safety and armed himself with a spray backpack that he planned to continually fill with water from a small tank. In the few days leading up to the fire's arrival, Carlile felt a sense of doom that his home and the birds in the trees he loved would soon be incinerated. "So I got up early just so I could still enjoy it. I thought that was going to be the end," Carlile said, his voice cracking as he stood among charred trees. But unlike the wall of flames that attacked Stewart, Carlile encountered a "creeping" fire that just stalked the outskirts of his property. Carlile, 56, said he spent two days walking through the forest surrounding his house spraying water onto hot spots. "Every time it started arcing up in here, I'd go in there with my pressure pack and say: 'You're not having this bloody tree', and I'd put the bastard out," he said. "It was ridiculous. It was tree by tree and I was here by myself. I hadn't seen anyone for two days." Carlile's battle had the opposite outcome to Stewart's, with his home surviving. "As it turned out the blue gums are flowering at the moment, and we've got heaps of birds. So we're so blessed, you know, very lucky." Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered the Friday sermon for the first time in eight years. He spoke about the assassination of Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, Irans missile attacks on the US base in Iraq, the shooting down of the Ukraine passenger plane in Iran and the subsequent protests. Khamenei called the events of the last two weeks bitter sweet for Iran. He described the large turnout for Soleimanis funeral in Iran a a day of God, a term from the Quran that suggests events or days in which Gods power can be witnessed, according to Khamenei. The missile strikes on the US Ain al-Asad base were also a day of God, Khamenei said. Khamenei said that the large turnout for Soleimanis funeral showed that Iranians are following the path of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. This claim is contentious. Many Western media outlets, in their coverage of Soleimani's funeral, suggested that the large turnout was due to nationalism, in particular, Soleimanis fight against the Islamic State in Iraq, and to feeling a sense of unity in the face of a foreign threat. Khamenei called Soleimani the strongest commander in fighting terrorism in the region. His assassination has led to a scandal for the American government, he said, adding that the United States would not face Soleimani directly and that he was assassinated in a "cowardly" manner. Khamenei described Iran's missile launch as "a strike on the reputation of America as a superpower. Though the United States talked of issuing more sanctions on Iran, Khamenei said, Americas loss of reputation cannot be returned after the missile strike. Khamenei addressed the importance of the Quds Force for the Islamic Republic, saying that it is not just a bureaucratic institution. They are fighters without borders, and anywhere they are needed they will help the people of the region. The Quds Force technically operates under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), but it was created to operate outside of Irans borders. Iran justified its advising of Iraqi soldiers and its rush to aid Baghdad and Erbil to fight the Islamic State as for the safety of Iran as well. Part of the security of our country is the result of the efforts of our devoted youth who operated under Soleimani, he said. Khamenei criticized anti-government protests in Iran. Those who chant neither Gaza nor Lebanon, my life for Iran a chant first heard in the 2009 post-election protests have never given their life for Iran, he said. It was actually Soleimani and those who fought with him who gave up their lives for Iran. Given the high number of deaths in November protests, some online have criticized Khamenei's comments, suggesting that those protesters did indeed give up their lives for Iran. Khamenei addressed the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane, which killed all 176 people onboard, calling it a sad and bitter moment. He said Irans enemies were happy about the crash, accusing them of trying to tarnish the achievements of the IRGC missile strike. Heavy snow is forecast to develop late Friday night into early Saturday morning, with Midland County expected to get from 4 to 8 inches of snow when the storm wraps up. "It's going to be a wet heavy snow due to temperatures being close to 30 degrees so there's going to be a lot of liquid in the snow," said Dave Kook, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Pontiac. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 16:40 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c3228f4a0 1 National Nahdlatul-ulama,Pope-Francis Free Indonesia's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has highlighted the importance of social activism in addressing interreligious conflicts during a discussion with religious leaders held as part of the Abrahamic Faiths Initiative forum in Rome from Tuesday to Friday. "The discussion, held from Wednesday morning to afternoon at the Gregorian University, Rome, focused on the stance and measures that we can take together in tackling crises that are heavily influenced by interreligious conflicts," NU supreme council secretary-general, Yahya Cholil Staquf, said in a statement on Thursday. Following the discussion, Yahya and 17 other religious leaders held a meeting with Pope Francis at his residence in Vatican City on Wednesday evening to talk about conclusions from the earlier discussion. Yahya said that during the visit, Pope Francis had emphasized that regardless of their conflicts, people must return to the roots of their beings, and that was to become each other's brothers and sisters. In the statement, Yahya quoted Samuel Dale Brownback, the United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, who had expressed during the discussion his deep concern that such interfaith conflicts could further lead to killings if remained unaddressed. "The statement is exactly the same as the analysis explained in Ansor's Declaration on Islam for Humanitarian Islam issued in 2017," he said, referring to NU's youth wing GP Ansor. He also quoted Rev. Thomas Johnson of the World Evangelical Alliance, emphasizing that a mere declaration would not be enough as people might not read and study the declaration thoroughly. Yahya concurred, saying that a declaration had to be prepared with real, follow-up strategic measures. He cited as an example of NU's social activism in serving the people, including by protecting the rights of minority groups, as one of the group's transformative strategies to curb interreligious conflicts. Rabbi David Rosen, former chief rabbi of Ireland who currently serves as director of the American Jewish Committee's Department of Interreligious Affairs, highlighted the need for political groups to resort to religions as their foundation for conflict resolution strategies instead of militaristic and economic approaches, Yahya said in the statement. (ars) A 45-year-old man caught with child pornography had a novel defense in court; he claimed he identified as an 8-year-old girl. Facing up to 20 years in prison, Joseph Gobrick told a judge in Michigan that he had a First Amendment right to view child porn on his computer and that he was in fact an 8-year-old girl, so it didnt matter anyway. Ive always been an 8-year-old girl, and even in my drawings and fantasies Im always an 8-year-old girl, said Gobrick. After his claim that he was in fact a child and therefore immune from prosecution didnt impress the judge, Gobrick resorted to implying that his oppressors were behaving like Nazis. Under the law, Auschwitz was legal, he said, arguing, What youre doing here is wrong, just as Auschwitz was. Joseph Gobrick is a 45-year-old male sex offender in Grand Rapids, Michigan who claims that he has always been an 8-year-old girl. So on top of being a female child, he also doesnt age. He has self-IDd himself into immortality. pic.twitter.com/jssVzkhvFN Upnextcanadatv (@upnextcanada) January 15, 2020 If Gobrick can identify as a female, why cant he identify as a female of whatever age he chooses? asks Matt Walsh. At least a man who feels like a child can rightly point out that he was once a child, so he has some frame of reference for judging these feelings. And at least it does make sense, in the case of certain mental disabilities, to say that an adult has the brain of a child. None of this vindicates Gobrick to any extent at all, but my point is that transageism is actually more credible and makes more sense than transgenderism. Its still bogus, but slightly less so. Age does change, after all. I will not be a 33-year-old man forever. But I will be a man forever. If my sex is a fluid characteristic, how much more fluid must my age be? Who knows, the way western society is heading, Gobricks excuse may well be accepted by courts in 5-10 years. If Rachel Dolezal can identify as black and Caitlyn Jenner can identify as a woman having been a man for over 50 years, why not? Follow on Twitter: Follow @PrisonPlanet My voice is being silenced by free speech-hating Silicon Valley behemoths who want me disappeared forever. It is CRUCIAL that you support me. Please sign up for the free newsletter here. Donate to me on SubscribeStar here. Support my sponsor Turbo Force a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 20:23:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi had a cordial and friendly talk at Myanmar's presidential palace on Friday. The two leaders agreed to have an in-depth exchange of views on China-Myanmar relations and issues of mutual concern on Saturday. Before the talk, upon Xi's arrival at the presidential palace, Myanmar President U Win Myint hosted a grand welcome ceremony in his honor. Honor guards stood in line at the lawn bathed in sunshine. They raised their guns in salute. A military band played the national anthems of the two countries. Xi inspected the guards of honor in the company of U Win Myint. Alan Dershowitz is not the first name that comes to mind when I think of draining the swamp. The great bog (sometimes mistakenly referred to as the "Acela corridor") that stretches from Washington, D.C., all the way north to Boston is full of strange and fascinating creatures vicious snapping turtles, will-o'-the-wisps, skunk apes, mokele-mbembes. Few are more at home in that brackish environment than the millionaire celebrity law professor whose clients have included the producers of Deep Throat, O.J. Simpson, Claus von Bulow, and Harvey Weinstein. This is why I find it so amusing that Trump has decided to add Dershowitz to his impeachment defense team. Why not have the guy who was recently sued by the Democrats' counsel in Bush v. Gore (among other winning causes) in your camp? And if you're going to do that, you might as well add the person who stage-managed the last cynical partisan open-ended investigation of a president to culminate in impeachment? Ken Starr has nothing better to do with his time. Neither, apparently, has Robert Ray, another Whitewater veteran, or Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general best known for her fundraising controversies, her involvement with Scientology, and her lobbying on behalf of the government of Qatar. That's right, folks. Trump isn't just getting the band back together he's turning it into a supergroup, like Blind Faith or The Highwaymen. Even Jeffrey Epstein would have been jealous. It is not entirely clear to me whether Trump understands what the hiring of Dershowitz and these others will suggest to his supporters. Some of them, no doubt, are willing to adopt the cynical view that swamp monsters are better at fighting in that terrain than those accustomed to more agreeable hydrologies. But goodness knows how it will go down with the InfoWars/QAnon/reddit contingent, who believe that Trump's official achievements in office are of far less importance than his battle against an international gang of satanic pedophile billionaires, nearly all of whom have been on cordial terms with Dershowitz (to say nothing of Bill and Hillary Clinton). Maybe it's just a matter of keeping your friends close and your alleged demon-worshipping rich sex maniac enemies on the White House payroll. Story continues Either way, though, one thing is certain. Trump's Senate impeachment trial will live up to the carnivalesque expectations that some of us had for it. Ratings for the House phase of these proceedings dropped off toward the end, for the not-very-surprising reason that hearing a dozen different third-hand accounts of a short telephone call is not compelling television. This will not be the case with this group. It might even be enough to change the president's mind about having witnesses. It is certainly difficult to imagine that Trump would be able to turn down the chance to watch Joe and Hunter Biden cross-examined in front of a hundred million viewers by an old cable news hand like Dershowitz. (This is to say nothing of the possibility of bringing Rudy Giuliani in to do his bear-baiting routine.) Trump knows what his audience craves because he shares their appetites. That doesnt mean his Republican allies will, though. (It is impossible to see John Roberts being comfortable with something so undignified.) What about Mitch McConnell? So far it has seemed to be the case that McConnell wants more than anything else to be on the side of the White House when it comes to impeachment. If Trump wants it over with quickly, so does Mitch. If the president wants a clown show, Mitch is Barbra Streisand. If Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi know what they are doing they will insist on a swift and quiet acquittal here. Tut-tutting about how the president and his minions have turned an august judicial process into an over-the-top spectacle is not going to get them anywhere, especially with their otherwise reliable media allies. The alternative is allowing Trump to be the ringmaster of a circus that could last for months. Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here. More stories from theweek.com The strongest case for Joe Biden Intelligence officials: New ISIS leader is one of its founding members Attorney: Due to a conflict of interest, William Barr must recuse himself from Lev Parnas' criminal case BJP Lok Sabha MP Pragya Thakur has alleged that Rohingyas have carried out a massacre in India and claimed that the community was thrown out of their country because of the same reason, apparently referring to Myanmar. Thakur gave the statement when she was addressing a gathering in support of the amended Citizenship Act in Sehore. "Rohingyas were thrown out from their country because they carried out massacre there. They took shelter in our country and started doing same thing here. They damaged our culture and tried to disintegrate the country. They insulted our law and the Constitution. CAB has now become the Citizenship Act," the BJP leader said. Taking a dig at those protesting against the Citizenship law, Thakur said: "CAA will not take anyone's citizenship. They are alluring people with money to bring rallies against CAA." Commenting on Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's remark on controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, the BJP MP said: "Those who were leveling allegations used to go out with Zakir Naik's." Earlier, the Congress leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah should reject allegations by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik that he was approached by the Indian government for the support over the abrogation of Article 370. "Prime Minister and Home Minister should refute these allegations. If they don't, then it will be believed that the allegations are correct," the Congress leader said in a series of tweets. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Book by former PGC officer highlights unusual wildlife encounters Dick Bodenhorn has published a book highlighting some of the unusual encounters he had while working with the Pennsylvania Game Commision. With changing consumer preference for vegan based products, the global dairy alternatives market is expected to chalk out remunerative growth trend through a diverse range of verticals. In fact, due to growing health consciousness, the demand for flavored milk from almond, coconut, soy, oats, hemp, and rice is rising because of improved minerals and vitamins uptake. Additionally, manufacturers are more focused in developing new flavors for plant based frozen yogurt and ice-cream in an effort to gain a competitive advantage. Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2451 Furthermore, availability of raw material due to substantial production growth along with low initial investments for start-ups has resulted in increased competitiveness of the industry. As per SOPA, global soy production has increased to around 361 million metric tons in 2018 from around 320 million metric tons in 2014. With respect to product, the almond based dairy alternatives will observe the speediest CAGR of about 8.5% between 2019 and 2025. Growing production of almonds as well as the increasing consumer awareness regarding their health benefits will also influence the development of the industry. Almond milk offers various benefits like low calorie content, reduced levels of cholesterol and higher dairy value for vitamin E and vitamin D, increasing its demand among the health conscious. With respect to application segment, beverages hold a significant share in the dairy alternatives market. The ratio of plant-based beverages compared to other alternatives is higher along with the growing demand for milk. Products like ice-cream, yogurt and cheese are difficult to produce from oats, hemp and rice, and do not match the taste & texture of its dairy equivalents, thereby supporting the penetration rate for plant-based milk. As per formulation, unsweetened dairy alternatives segment is anticipated to grow at a substantial rate by 2025. Growing health conscious consumer base supported by increasing knowledge over the use of sweeteners, especially in Europe and North America, will further shift the preference of consumers towards unsweetened products. These dairy alternatives are creamy in texture and have reduced calorie intake. By sales channel, the dairy alternatives market is segmented into mainstream stores, online stores and specialty stores. Among these, the mainstream stores hold a major share in 2018. Development of hypermarkets and supermarkets in up and coming economies along with preference for take-home options in developed countries is further stimulating business growth for manufacturers in this segment. On the geographical front, APAC region is expected to witness the speediest growth at a rate of more than 10% between 2019 and 2025, further led by countries like India, Japan, Indonesia and China. Changes in lifestyle for healthy living combined with increasing consumer spending are propelling the product demand in APAC as well. List of major industry participants in dairy alternatives market includes: Whitewave Foods Hain Celestial Group Blue Diamond Growers SunOpta Inc., Pacific Foods Freedom Foods Earth's Own Food Company Inc. Triballat Noyal, Valsoia S.p.A So Delicious, Tofutti Brand New Barn Califia Farms Malk Organics Ripple Foods Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2451 Related Reports: Plant Milk Market By Formulation (Unsweetened, Sweetened), Source (Soy, Almond, Rice, Coconut), Sales Channel (Mainstream Stores, Specialty Stores), Packaging (Carton Packaging, Bottles, Pouches), Regional Outlook, Growth Potential, Price Trend, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017 2024 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/plant-milk-market About Global Market Insights Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology. Contact Us: Arun Hegde Corporate Sales, USA Global Market Insights, Inc. Phone: +1-302-846-7766 Toll Free: +1-888-689-0688 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Global Market Insights, Inc. SpinLaunch continues to rake in the cash. The secretive California-based startup, which is developing a novel kinetic-energy-based launch system , has received an additional $35 million from investors, SpinLaunch founder and CEO Jonathan Yaney announced today (Jan. 16). The funding brings the company's total investment haul to $80 million, he added. Yaney founded SpinLaunch in 2014. The company is developing architecture that accelerates a small rocket to hypersonic speeds using a spinning system on the ground. That rocket will be flung skyward, engaging its onboard chemical propulsion only during the final push to orbit. Related: Satellite Quiz: How Well Do You Know What's Orbiting Earth? SpinLaunch CEO Jonathan Yaney (left), Spaceport America CEO Dan Hicks (center) and New Mexico Economic Development Department Secretary Alicia Keyes mark the start of construction on a $7 million SpinLaunch test facility on May 7, 2019. (Image credit: SpinLaunch/Spaceport America) A fact sheet that SpinLaunch emailed to reporters last year provides more details about this approach. "SpinLaunch utilizes existing technology and components from oil/gas/mining and wind turbine industries to construct an innovative mass-acceleration system, which achieves very high launch speeds without the need for enormous power generation or massive infrastructure," the fact sheet says. "After ascending above the atmosphere, a relatively small, low-cost onboard rocket will be used to provide the final required velocity for orbital insertion. Because the majority of the energy required to reach orbit is sourced from ground-based electricity, as opposed to complex onboard rocket propulsion, total launch cost is reduced by an order of magnitude over existing launch systems." This cost reduction will make space much more accessible to a wide variety of customers, SpinLaunch believes. The company envisions ultimately launching up to five times a day, at about $250,000 per liftoff, SpinLaunch representatives have said. The investors in this newly announced round include Airbus Ventures, GV, KPCB, Catapult Ventures, Lauder Partners, John Doerr and Byers Family, SpinLaunch representatives said. The company will use the money to scale up its team and technology, finish work on its flight-test facility at Spaceport America in New Mexico and continue outfitting its 140,000-square-foot (13,000 square meters) corporate headquarters in Long Beach, they added. SpinLaunch headquarters in Long Beach, California. (Image credit: SpinLaunch) "Our team at SpinLaunch greatly appreciates the continued support of this formidable syndicate of investors, who share our vision of enabling low-cost and frequent launch of imaging and communications constellations that will protect our planet and humanity," Yaney said in a statement announcing the latest investment. "Later this year, we aim to change the history of space launch with the completion of our first flight test mass accelerator at Spaceport America ," he added. The company could start launching operational missions by 2022, Yaney has said. Some of the earliest flights might be funded by the U.S. military; SpinLaunch announced last year that it had received a "launch prototype contract" from the Department of Defense. Mike Wall's book about the search for alien life, " Out There " (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate ), is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook . iPhone has often been the target of thieves and scammers. Typically, premium devices like the iPhone are much easier to sell and command a better price in the black market. In the latest news, Police has arrested three people in Hong Kong after they uncovered a large swathe of iPhones, Apple Watches, iPads, and other items. As expected, the items were not declared and the criminals were trying to make a quick buck by smuggling the items from HK to China. According to law enforcement agencies, the haul was valued at HK$25 million (US$3.2 million.) and also includes computers and laptops. The law enforcement officers said, Some electronic products are brand new and the latest models. They also added, We dont rule out the possibility that these are for festive gifts. In a bid to crackdown on smuggling operations, the police had been tracking the smugglers movement from two-months. According to the Hong Kong police, it was the biggest seizure of its kind in two years. The ship was intercepted near Hong Kongs western waters and three men on board were arrested. Apparently the boar had a secret compartment and custom officers took an hour to discover the same. The secret compartment was found below the floor of a cabin when officers removed a bed, said Jonathan Yiu-man, head of customs, marine investigation division. The smugglers had planned to stash the products in the secret compartment and smuggle them to mainland China. It is also worth noting that import tax on the items can go up to 17%. The fine for importing or exporting undeclared cargo in Hong Kong is up to seven years in jail with a maximum penalty of $130,000. [via SCMP IOWA CITY, Iowa - Ann Stromquist watched this weeks Democratic presidential debate like the research scientist she is. She studied the candidates answers carefully, looking for something to help her make a final decision between supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders or Sen. Elizabeth Warren when Iowa holds the nations first caucus in a few weeks. She didnt find it. Not in the more than two hours of discussions about policy differences, and certainly not in the he said-she said over a comment Warren said Sanders made to her in 2018, a dispute that drew a scolding from this Iowan. What I think about the squabble is: Get over it, said the 76-year-old Stromquist, who is leaning toward supporting Warren when she and her husband, a retired professor, caucus on the University of Iowa campus near their home on Feb. 3. To me, thats not a big deal. Lets talk about the future. The dispute has caused days of hand-wringing among the most intensely focused activists about how it might change the race and prompted sometimes-ugly social media exchanges between the camps. But it seems to have landed with a thud among Iowa progressives. In interviews across the state, Democrats wearily described it as somewhere on the spectrum of not a big deal to a contrived kerfuffle. Few said it would stick with them come caucus day. The response, or lack of, echoes an undercurrent that has run throughout the race for the Democratic nomination, perhaps especially in Iowa: Democrats arent in the mood for a throw-down intraparty fight. Its a sentiment voters often say, even as they respond to attack ads that take direct hits. But this time, many Democrats said years of Trumps mocking and name calling have left them tired of the nastiness. They seem to be looking for a kinder, gentler primary, and theyre getting it. Theres been little sign, so far, of the sharp-elbowed moves that have marked other nomination fights, and party leaders seem to be trying their hardest to keep their eyes on the ultimate goal: defeating President Donald Trump. That is a motivating factor for all of us to come together, said Terry McAuliffe, a former party chairman and Virginia governor who hails from Democrats centre-left establishment wing. He said he hopes any extended nomination fight doesnt go on too long, lest it shake Democrats focus on defeating Trump, which he emphasized is the underlying reason for progressive and even full party unity, however uneasy. Campaigns have grown to accept that many voters, especially those who arent yet locked in, dont want to see candidates fight in ways that come off as personal or bitter. Its one thing to highlight policy disagreements -- Sanders declaring on the debate stage that he and Joe Biden have a fundamental disagreement on trade philosophy -- or comparing electoral records, with Warren and Sen. Amy Klobuchar noting that they, two of the remaining women in the contest, have never lost an election, while all the leading men have. The candidates who have taken the most direct shots have not been rewarded for the effort. Sen. Kamala Harris got only a momentary bounce when she hammered Bidens record on school busing in the desegregation period following the civil rights movement. She dropped out of the race last month. Eric Swalwell and Julian Castro got nowhere with debate-stage suggestions that Biden, now 77, is too old for the job. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard made headlines for her broadsides on Harris criminal justice record, but she couldnt qualify for the most recent debate. I just want to see politicians in general conduct themselves with a little more kindness and respect, said Ashley Stanislav, 35, from Orange City, Iowa, a town in the Republican-leaning northwest corner of the state. Stanislav said that shes deciding between Buttigieg and Warren and that this weeks episode didnt put any points on the board for Warren, especially when she heard Warren refused to shake Sanders hand after the debate. I think people we elect should lead by example, Stanislav said. The disagreement over the two senators private discussion reached a national audience Tuesday night after Warren said Sanders told her during a 2018 meeting that a woman couldnt get elected president. Sanders has denied saying it, and did so again during the debate in Iowa. After the debate, Warren and Sanders were captured on a hot microphone as Warren avoided Sanders outstretched hand and told him, I think you called me a liar on national TV. Speaking to reporters Friday after an event in Newton, Iowa, Warren repeatedly refused to answer questions about her rift with Sanders. I dont have anything else to say on this, she said. Warren did not get any questions on the matter from voters at her town hall event. Several voters said the flap doesnt factor at all in their decision. Its a sideshow, said Matthew Kaye, a 46-year-old college administrator who caucused for Sanders in 2016 but is supporting Warren this year. Jenny Wolffe, a massage therapist from Iowa City, considered supporting Warren this year but decided to stick with Sanders, for whom she caucused in 2016. She believes there was a misunderstanding about what was said in their meeting but added that she cant imagine Sanders would say that a woman couldnt become president. I dont even know why she would say it now, Wolffe said. I thought - are you just feeling like youre going down in the polls and youre going to pull this out? Which kind of pisses me off because Ive liked her. Bruce Bock, a truck driver from Iowa City who is backing Sanders because of his longtime support for Medicare for All and other issues, said hes not interested in the contrived kerfuffle. A lot of these things between the Democrats that are running are blown way out of proportion, the 68-year-old said. You know, I just really dont care whether he said it or not. Amanda West, 38, summed it all up as a he said-she said that makes it impossible to know the truth and therefore theres no point in trying to argue it. West, a mother of two from Iowa City, is searching for a candidate to support after her other choices -- Sen. Cory Booker and author Marianne Williamson -- dropped out. Its disappointing all around that thats where the conversation is at because I think there are much more important things, West said. One of them should be better at being on the team. I dont know which one it is. ___ Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Kathleen Hennessey in Orange City, Iowa, and Julie Pace in Newton, Iowa, contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show the massage therapists last name is Wolffe, not Wolfe. The ruling Congress moveda resolution in the state Assembly here on Friday demanding that the Central government scrap the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. State Minister Brahm Mohindra moved the resolution against the CAA on the second day of the two-day special session. "The CAA enacted by Parliament has caused countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country. The State of Punjab also witnessed protests against this legislation, which were peaceful and involved all segments of our society," Mohindra said while reading out the resolution. After Kerala, Punjab is the second state to pass a resolution against the CAA. The resolution said the amended law on citizenship seeks to negate the very secular fabric on which the Constitution of India is based. "It is divisive and stands for everything opposed to a free and fair democracy, which must enshrine equality for all. Alongside the religion-based discrimination in granting citizenship, it is apprehended that the CAA is also likely to endanger the linguistic and cultural identity of some sections of our people. CAA also envisages cancellation of the registration of Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card holders, if they violate any law," the resolution said. It further said the CAA is aimed at distinguishing between illegal migrants on the basis of religion, which is not permissible under the Constitution that guarantees the right to equality and equal protection of the laws to all persons. CAA provides for granting citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014 but not to members of the Muslim community. The ideology behind the CAA is "inherently discriminatory and as far away as it can be from being a humanitarian measure," the resolution alleged. "In the backdrop of these facts, it is evident that the CAA violates the secular identity of India, which is basic feature of our Constitution; therefore, the House resolves to urge the Government of India to repeal the CAA to avoid any discrimination on the basis of religion in granting citizenship and to ensure equality before law for all religious groups in India. "Given the apprehensions about National Register of Citizens and that the National Population Register is a prelude to the NRC designed to deprive a section of persons from citizenship of India and implement CAA, this House further resolves that Central government should amend the forms/documentation associated with the NPR to allay such apprehension in the minds of the people and only thereafter undertake work of enumeration under NPR," the resolution said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced on Jan 15 that on behalf of the Ministry of Health (MOH), it has closed the dementia care village tender for the site at Gibraltar Crescent. The dementia care village tender was launched for sale via the Concept and Price Revenue Tender approach on 16 July 2019. URA said that dementia care village tender submission received under this approach got only one bid, and the envelope containing the concept proposal was opened for evaluation. dementia care village tender The dementia care village tender is part of ongoing efforts to improve the quality of life of persons with dementia and broaden the care and residential options available to them. Dementia Care Village Pilot of Dementia Care Village The dementia care village will be specially designed to provide a safe, home-like environment where residents are assisted to live independently. It will provide tailored services and programmes to create meaningful participation and social interactions among its residents. Through collaboration with nearby community partners, the village is also expected to provide better access to supporting services and amenities in the wider community for persons with dementia and their families. As a new residential option catering to individuals with varying stages of dementia, this pilot complements the home-based care and dementia day care services available today. We hope that the pilot will offer insights into market demand for such facilities and the community needs of persons with dementia, which will contribute to the development of suitable dementia care models in the future. Concept and Price Revenue Tender A Concept and Price Revenue Tender approach was adopted to evaluate this Dementia Village Care tender. This is to ensure that the selected concept proposal aligns with the vision of the dementia care village. Under this approach, tenderers are required to submit their concept proposals and tender prices separately. The concept proposals will first be evaluated by a Concept Evaluation Committee, chaired by MOH, against a set of criteria, which include the suitability of the proposed model of care for persons with dementia, as well as the quality of the care programmes and services. Only concept proposals that are shortlisted will proceed to the second stage for evaluation based on price only. Story continues URA said that this is not an announcement of Dementia Care Village tender award, and that a decision on the award of the tender will be made after the tender has been evaluated. This will be published at a later date. Site Attributes for Dementia Care Village Located near Sembawang Park, the site comprises a cluster of 10 State bungalows. The sites location and layout will provide a conducive environment for persons with dementia. The pilot dementia care village could also present opportunities for the successful tenderer and community partners to collaborate on active ageing programmes and provide other eldercare services for residents. The lease will be for 30 years. A Dementia Care Village in Netherlands, De Hogeweyk, is often lifted up as the gold standard for dementia care. De Hogeweyk is a gated model village which is designed specifically as a pioneering care facility for elderly people with dementia. The benefit of using all-day reminiscence therapy at Hogewey, compared to traditional nursing homes, is that the residents with dementia are more active and require less medication. Carers, doctors and nurses work around the clock to provide the 152 residents the necessary 24-hour care. The Hogewey complex is set out like a village with a town square, supermarket, hairdressing salon, theatre, pub, cafe-restaurantas well as the twenty-three houses themselves. In 2018 4 houses were added to The Hogeweyk. Each house reflects a style that is common to, and familiar for, the six or seven people who live in that house. The doctors, nurses and carers aim to make the experience as real as possible to the residents. Residents shop at the supermarket and assist with preparing and cooking as they would at home. The carers wear normal daytime clothing rather than clinical clothing and fit into a role that the dementia sufferers are likely to be comfortable with; in the working class households the carers are seen to be neighbours or carers, while in the aristocratic/upper class setting, the nurses act akin to servants. The living styles have different types of music playing, significantly varied interior design, food and methods of table setting. Residents in each house have their own large bedroom and meet with other residents to share the living room, kitchen and dining room. There are no locks on the doors, and residents are free to walk or cycle around the village, including choosing to visit the supermarket or cafe. The dementia care village in Netherlands employs 250 staff. The Ministry of Health (MOH) had earlier said that it takes into account the diverse profiles, needs and preferences of our seniors in planning for aged care services. In recent years, MOH has worked with providers to scale up existing services as well as expand the range of care options to cater to the entire range of dementia patients, from mild to severe. The dementia care village is a new concept which will add to this range of options. Through the dementia care village tender for this facility, MOH hopes to enlist private sector ideas and innovation to develop a model of care that is less medicalised, and which promotes independence and autonomy. This model could potentially be adapted for different environments and help improve care services in both subsidised and non-subsidised facilities. The winning bidder is also required to set aside at least 25 per cent of its total residential capacity for subsidised clients, which will allow more seniors to access the new care model, regardless of income. MOH said that it is committed to enabling seniors to age in place. Since 2015, it has expanded centre and home care capacity by 5,000 places. This includes dementia daycare which allows seniors to engage in recreational activities and cognitive stimulation programmes during the day. For seniors who are more frail, purpose-built nursing homes are designed with the residential care of persons with dementia in mind. To better support caregivers who care for seniors with dementia at home, MOH has respite care options at senior care centres and nursing homes.An eldersit service where seniors with dementia are engaged in mind-stimulating activities at home is also available. The post Dementia Care Village tender for site at Gibraltar Crescent closed appeared first on iCompareLoan Resources. Share Market Update: After rising to fresh record highs, domestic market indices turned volatile and closed marginally higher on Friday, ahead of quarterly results of index heavyweights Reliance Industries, TCS and HCL Tech. Sensex ended 12 points higher at 41,945 and Nifty closed 3 points lower at 12,352. In terms of sectors, gains in Auto, FMCG, media, realty and pharma were capped by losses in banking, IT and metal stocks. According to traders, domestic market tarded volatile today as investors awatied key corporate results for cues amid concerns over macroeconomic issues like higher bank NPAs and a spike in retail inflation. During Friday's session, Sensex has climbed to a fresh all-time high of 42,062 from 42,059 recorded earlier and Nifty traded near the record high of 12,389 at 12,385. Bharti Airtel was the top gainer. Reliance Industries (RIL), TCS and HCL Tech were trading higher ahead of their quarterly earnings, scheduled for release later in the day. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, GAIL, Vedanta, BPCL were among the top losers today. Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, L&T Technology Services, Blue Dart Express, HCL Technologies, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, L&T Finance Holdings among others will be announcing their December quarter earnings today. Here's a look at the live updates of the market action on BSE and NSE today: Closing Bell 3: 45 PM After rising to fresh record highs, domestic market indices turned volatile and closed marginally higher on Friday, ahead of quarterly results of index heavyweights Reliance Industries, TCS and HCL Tech. Sensex ended 12 points higher at 41,945 and Nifty closed 3 points lower at 12,352. In terms of sectors, gains in Auto, FMCG, media, realty and pharma were capped by losses in banking, IT and metal stocks. Avantel Ltd Q3 3: 30 PM The company has reported net sales of Rs 13.56 crores during the period ended December 31, 2019 as compared to Rs 14.11 crores during the period ended December 31, 2018, registering a de-growth of 3.9%. The company has posted net profit of Rs 2.90 crores for Q3FY20 as against Rs 3.31 crores recorded in Q3 FY19, registering a de-growth of 12.39%. Rallis India shares climb 16% post Q3 2: 20 PM Rallis India shares climbed 16% today to the day's high of Rs 225.8 after the company reported robust numbers for the Q3FY20. The company recorded consolidated revenues of Rs 534 cr for the quarter ended 31 December, 2019, a growth of 28 cr as against Rs 417 cr recorded in the same quarter last year. Profit before tax stood at Rs 48 cr, registering a growth of 146% over previous year's Rs 20 cr and the profit after tax was Rs 38 cr, a growth of 177% over Rs 14 cr recorded in the same period last year. Piramal Enterprises rises 7% 2:15 PM Piramal Enterprises shares touched an intraday high of Rs 1,655, rising 6.98% on BSE as the company announced it plans to sell its healthcare insights & analytics business for $950 m to Clarivate. Jet Airways down 5% 2: 00 PM Jet Airways shares locked % lower circuit today, trading at the day's low of Rs 45.4, after the bankrupt company announced its plan on selling its Netherlands business to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Jet Aiways closed operations on 17 April, 2019 and currently undergoing insolvency resolution process. According to the company's regulatory filing, Jet Airways Ltd has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to liquidate the assets of the bankrupt airline in the European country. "The company and Dutch Trustee have entered into a conditional sale & purchase agreement with Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V., on January 13, 2020 for the proposed resolution of business activities of the company in the Netherlands as approved by the Committee of Creditors," the filing added. The company said there is a separate liquidation proceeding ongoing in the Netherlands and that the resolution professional has agreed a co-operation protocol with the Dutch trustee appointed by the local court. The crash starpped airline added that the proposed transaction, if completed, will only involve a sale of part of the Jet Airways' business activities and will not impact the shareholding pattern of the the airline in any manner. Bharti Airtel hits Rs 503 as new-52 week high 1: 40 PM Shares of Bharti Airtel has hit Rs 500 mark for the first time ever on Friday, with share price of the telcom major rising 6.23% to hit Rs 503 as it new-52-week high on BSE. Currently the shares of Bharti Sirtel are trading 5,45% higher at Rs 500, with 9.86 lkaah nad 403.86 lakh shares changing hands on BSE and NSE counters. YES Bank slips 7% as Moody's places lender's ratings under review 1: 30 PM The share price of YES Bank fell almost 7% in Friday's trade after the brokerage house Moody's placed the stock's rating under review. Moody's has the lender's long-term foreign currency rating under review, with the direction uncertain as the bank's standalone viability is getting increasingly challenged by its slowness in raising new capital. It also placed the bank's long-term foreign and local currency bank deposit ratings of B2, and its foreign currency senior unsecured MTN program rating of (P)B2, under review, with the direction uncertain.The Baseline Credit Assessment was also downgraded to Caa2 from B3. Following the update by the brokerage firm, shares of YES Bank opened with a gap-down chart pattern and slipped to the intraday low of Rs 37.20, declining 6.55% on BSE. YES Bank stock has reversed the trend and fallen after 2 days of consecutive gain. The stock traded in line with the 'Banks' sector on BSE that has declined 0.60% today. Reliance Q3 results today 1: 05 PM The oil-to-telecom conglomerate is likely to report a flat to moderately higher consolidated profit on a year-on-year basis. RIL is expected to post healthy figures in the consumer, telecom and retail segments, while the company's performance in refining and petreochemical business is estimated to remain muted. Telecom, retail may boost earnings; refining, petchem to remain muted Adani, Azure Power winners in solar manufacturing linked bids 12: 45 PM Shares of Adani group, namely Adani Enterprises, Adnai Power, Adani Green Energy and Adani Gas were trading higher in the range of 2-5% following reports that Renewable Energy Secretary said that Adani, Azure Power were the winners in solar manufacturing linked bids and that Adani will build 6 GW generation capacity, 1.5 GW manufacturing capacity. HCL Tech Q3 FY20 preview 12: 30 PM Revenues of HCL Technologies is likely to grow 5% QoQ to Rs 1,8314 cr. Margin may improve 120bps to 24.6%. PAT is estimated to increase by 8.5% to Rs 2,853 cr. TCS Q3 expectations 12: 20 PM PAT of Tata Consultancy Services for the FY20 is expected to rise 4% higher to Rs 8,318 cr on a quarterly basis, while company's revenues for the quarter may grow 2% to Rs 3,9788 cr QoQ. Margin may see 70 bps expansion to 26.9%. Key things to watch out for investors would be Digital revenues growth and softness in BFSI and Retail business segments. RIL, TCS and HCL Tech trade higher ahead ofquarterly earnings 12: 05 PM Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL), TCS and HCL Tech were trading higher ahead of their quarterly earnings, scheduled for release later in the day. RIL gained 2.2% intraday to Rs 1,571.55, merely 3.24% short from 52 week high of Rs 1,617.8 on BSE. It was followed by HCL Tech that gained 1.3% intraday to hit a new 52-week high of Rs 601 and TCS shares that traded 0.70% higher at Rs 2,254.20 on BSE. TCS shares traded 2.58% away from 52 week high of Rs 2296 Market erases early gains, trades flat with positive bias 12:00 PM Domestic market indices, after rising to fresh record highs, erased bullish momentum and traded marginally higher by the afternoon session of Friday. Sensex traded 25 points higher at 41,959 and Nifty traded flat at 12,355. According to traders, domestic investors are awaiting key corporate results for cues amid concerns over macroeconomic issues like higher bank NPAs and a spike in retail inflation. FII / DII action on Thursday 11: 35 AM On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 395.24 crore, while domestic institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 184.65 crore on Thursday, data available with stock exchanges showed. Brent crude trades lower 11: 15 AM Brent crude oil futures slipped 0.05 per cent to USD 64.59 per barrel. Sensex hits new high 10:50 PM Domestic indices Sensex and Nifty recovered from losses and gained to trade near record highs. Today, Sensex has climbed to a fresh all-time high of 42,062 from 42,059 earlier and Nifty traded near the record high of 12,389 at 12,385. 10 things to know about the rally Rupee opens lower 10: 30 AM The Indian rupee opened on a cautious note and fell 7 paise to 71.00 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday tracking weak opening in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows. The Indian rupee on Thursday had closed at 70.93 against the dollar. Rupee opens lower, touches 71 per dollar Global Market Update 10: 20 AM On Wall Street, all three main U.S. stock benchmarks surged to all-time highs, Dow Jones gained nearly 1% after setting multiple records earlier this week, in the wake of Wednesday's US-China trade deal. Tracking overseas trend, Asian markets like Nikkei, Taiwan and China Index gained 0.3% each. Gainers and losers 10: 15 AM Bharti Airtel was the top gainer. Reliance Industries (RIL), TCS and HCL Tech were trading higher ahead of their quarterly earnings, scheduled for release later in the day. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, SBI, HDFC twins, Kotak Bank, Power Grid and Ultratech Cement were among the top losers today. Sectorally, except banking and realty, all the other indices were trading in the green today. Bharti Airtel among top Nifty gainers 10: 00 AM Bharti Airtel gained 5.20% by the opening trade despite the blow from the AGR dues verdict amid healthy TRAI figures. The stock has risen to a new 52-week high of Rs 498.65 today. Bharti Airtel share price hits fresh 52-week high Vodafone Idea plummets 40% in opening trade 9: 45 AM Vodafone Idea share price crashed in early trade today after Supreme Court rejected review petitions by various telecom companies challenging the apex court's judgement in the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case. Vodafone shares fell to the day's low Rs 3.66 with the opening bell on Friday, as against the previous close of Rs 6.03 on BSE. The stock fell overall 39% on BSE. Vodafone Idea share price crashes 39% on Supreme Court's AGR verdict Reliance Industries top gainer 9: 25 AM Shares of Reliance Industries were trading as top gainer on both indices today ahead of the December quarter earnings, scheduled to be released today. Further, healthy TRAI figures also helped in the stock's bullish momentum as it showed Reliance Jio gaining over 56 lakh subscribers in November. It has added 91 lakh new subscribers in October. While Reliance Jio and Airtel's subscriber base increased 1.54 per cent and 0.51 per cent, respectively, Vodafone Idea's user base shrunk 9.77 per cent in the period. Compared to Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel added 16 lakh subscribers while Vodafone Idea lost maximum 3.6 crore wireless subscribers in November. Opening Bell 9: 15 AM Market has opened on a muted note on Friday, with Sensex trading flat at 41,933 and Nifty falling 23 point lower at 12,320 mark. Pre-open: Sensex few points short of 42K hit yesterday 9: 10 AM BSE Sensex traded 34 points higher in the pre-open on Friday, at 41,966, few points short of 42K level and Nifty was rising 12 points higher to 12,355. Pharma industry sales drop to 9.5% in Q3FY20 8: 55 AM The secondary sales (sales made by distributors to chemists) in the Indian pharmaceutical market (IPM) moderated in the December quarter of 2019. It fell 2 pecentage points from 11.5 per cent in the September quarter of 2019 to 9.5 per cent in Q3FY20, on year-on-year (y-o-y) basis. The third quarter volume growth, according to a Motilal Oswal Institutional Equities report, was relatively low at 1.4 per cent y-o-y due to dismal momentum in October 2019 and December 2019. This was the second instance of de-growth this fiscal after the overall growth slowed to 8 per cent in June quarter from 9.9 per cent in Q4FY19. Pharma industry sales drop for two consecutive quarters Future Group stocks to be in focus 8: 45 AM Future group stocks would be under investors' scanner as Future Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kishore Biyani and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will have a one-on-one meeting in Mumbai today to chalk out future partnership plans amid protests from traders against e-tailers. Jio and Airtel's subscribers rise 1.54%, 0.51%, Vodafone Idea's userbase down 9.77% 8: 40 AM Vodafone Idea lost maximum 3.6 crore wireless subscribers in November, while Reliance Jio gained over 56 lakh subscribers, says Trai data. While Reliance Jio and Airtel's subscriber base increased 1.54 per cent and 0.51 per cent, respectively, Vodafone Idea's user base shrunk 9.77 per cent in the period. Overall, Vodafone Idea has lost 10.5 crore subscribers since the both telcos joined hands in September 2018. Vodafone Idea loses highest subscribers in Nov Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea shares to be in focus 8: 35 AM AM Shares of telecom companies Bharti Airtel and Vodafone will be in focus today after the Supreme Court dismissed AGR (adjusted gross revenue) review petitions by the companies seeking relief on interest & penalty payments. Airtel said issues raised by the telecom companies against the earlier verdict of the apex court were "genuine". "While respecting the Hon'ble Supreme Court's decision, we would like to express our disappointment as we believe the long-standing disputes raised regarding the AGR definition were bonafide and genuine," a company spokesperson said. Highlighting the grim financial situation of the telecom industry, Airtel said the SC's verdict could further "erode" the viability of the sector as a whole. With the payment deadline looming close, telecom players had expressed their inability to pay the pending AGR dues. Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has said the telco would shut shop without the government's help. Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal has also asked the government to be sympathetic towards telcos. Airtel 'disappointed' with SC verdict on AGR, mulls curative petition Global economy recorded lowest growth of 2.3% in 2019: UN 8: 30 AM GDP growth in India and few other large emerging countries may gain some momentum this year after the global economy recorded its lowest growth of 2.3 per cent in 2019 due to prolonged trade disputes, a UN study said on Thursday while lowering its current and next fiscal forecasts for the Indian economy. It lowered its GDP growth estimate for India to 5.7 per cent in the current fiscal (from 7.6 per cent forecast in WESP 2019) and lowered its forecast for the next fiscal to 6.6 per cent (from 7.4 per cent earlier). It has also forecast a growth rate of 6.3 per cent for the fiscal beginning in 2021. UN lowers India's growth forecast for FY20 to 5.7% Stocks in the news 8: 25 AM IRCTC, Aditya Birla Money, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, Cyient , Future Enterprises, are among the top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Friday's trading session based on recent and latest news developments. Investors are also awaiting December quarter earnings that are scheduled to be released today. Companies set to announce their earnings are Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, L&T Technology Services, Blue Dart Express, HCL Technologies, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, L&T Finance Holdings among others. IRCTC, Future Enterprises, TCS, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech and others Earnings Today 8: 20 AM Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, L&T Technology Services, Blue Dart Express, HCL Technologies, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, L&T Finance Holdings, Trinity League, Radhe Developers, Avantel, Aarnav Fashions, ATV Projects India, Investment & Precision Castings, Ashirwad Steels & Industries are the companies set to announce their December quarter earnings today. Market Update 8: 15 AM Equity market indices Sensex and Nifty are likely to open flat with positive bias on Friday mixed global and domestic cues. SGX Nifty Futures trades 23 points lower at 12,347, indicating a negative opening in the domestic market. Last Close 8: 30 AM On Thursday, equity market indices gained in trade after a volatile session and closed 0.10% higher by the closing bell. Sensex ended 59 points higher to close at 41,932 and Nifty ended 12 points higher at 12,356. In terms of sector, all the indices except Nifty metal closed in the green, with Nifty media rising almost 1.50%. Sensex ends 59 points higher, Nifty above 12,356 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2020) - Galleon Gold Corp. (TSXV: GGO) (the "Company" or "Galleon Gold") announces that Eric Sprott, through 2176423 Ontario Ltd., a corporation that is beneficially owned by him, has agreed to settle an aggregate amount of $82,177 for interest earned on a Galleon Gold Debenture (the "Debt Settlement"). The Debt Settlement will be settled by the issuance of 1,027,218 common shares at a deemed price of $0.08 per share. The securities issued pursuant to the Debt Settlement will be subject to a four-month hold period commencing on the date of issuance. Completion of the Debt Settlement is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. About Galleon Gold Corp. Galleon Gold is a North American exploration and development company focused on advancing two projects. The Neal Gold Project in Idaho is owned in partnership Eric Sprott and the West Cache Gold Project is located 13 km west of Timmins Ontario. Both projects are located in known mining camps with excellent infrastructure. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Galleon Gold R. David Russell Chairman and CEO T. (416) 644-0066 info@galleongold.com www.galleongold.com Forward Looking Statements Some of the statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and resources, exploration results, expectations, plans, and objectives of Galleon Gold are forward-looking statements that involve various risks. The following are important factors that could cause Galleon Gold 's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: changes in the world-wide price of mineral commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in mineral exploration, risks associated with development, construction and mining operations, the uncertainty of future exploration activities and cash flows, and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events may differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Galleon Gold undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51612 Mumbai: The Maharashtra ATS and the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police have launched a massive manhunt to trace Jalees Ansari, a 68-year-old convict of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. Ansari, also known as Dr Bomb, is accused of plotting and executing many blasts cases across the country since the early 90s. He went missing on Thursday morning and the matter came to light after his family members reached the police station with a complaint about Ansaris missing. Ansari is convicted in the Malegaon blast case, Ajmer blasts, and Jaipur serial blasts. He was on parole for 21 days from the Ajmer Central Prison, Rajasthan, and was expected to surrender before prison authorities on Friday. According to a police official, he was ordered to visit the Agripada Police Station every day between 10.30 am and 12 pm to mark his attendance during his 21-day long parole. But he did not appear at the police station on Thursday during the designated time. In the afternoon, Jaid Ansari son of Jalees Ansari - approached the police station with a complaint about his missing father. Ansari underwent training in Pakistan According to the complaint, Jalees Ansari went to offer namaz in the morning but did not return home. The Agripada Police has registered a missing case on the basis of the complaint. Ansari is one of the accused who underwent training in Pakistan in the early nineties. A doctor by profession, he was indoctrinated by another terrorist Abdul Karim Tunda, reported India Today. Ansari created the terror module which was responsible for carrying several blasts in across the country to avenge the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the report said. Ansari, a resident of Mominpada in Mumbai, is an expert in TNT and timer bombs and was allegedly connected with terror outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahidin and taught terror groups how to make bombs. He was also questioned by the NIA in 2011 in connection with the 2008 bomb blast in Mumbai, he said. Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. Subscriber content preview The Seattle coffee giant plans to open or remodel 85 stores by 2025 in rural and urban communities across the U.S. Each store will hire local staff, including construction crews and artists. By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer DETROIT Starbucks has a point to prove: There's more to the company than selling $4 lattes to rich people. The Seattle-based coffee giant that has cultivated a reputation for being socially responsible said Thursday it is expanding its effort to put more coffee shops and create more jobs in poor neighborhoods. . . . The importance of enhancing Party building and opposing formalism and bureaucracy were highlighted at a key meeting attended by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Thursday. Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, presided over the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The meeting was held to review a report from the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau on its hearing and studying of reports from leading Party members' groups of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. The meeting also reviewed two reports on the fourth round of disciplinary inspections launched by the 19th CPC Central Committee and the major inspection work in the past year. During the meeting, the leading Party members' groups of the top legislature, the State Council, the top political advisory body, the top court and the top procuratorate were urged to follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and make effective efforts in all their work. They were required to keep pace with the CPC Central Committee, focus on the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, fulfill their duties and ensure the implementation of the policies and decisions made by the CPC Central Committee. They were also required to make Party building their top priority, implement the eight rules on frugality, strengthen thematic education on remaining true to the Party's original aspiration and keep their mission firmly in mind and to continue to oppose formalism and bureaucracy. The fourth round of disciplinary inspections has achieved major outcomes and played the role of political supervision, according to a statement released after the meeting. The related departments should rectify the problems found by the inspectors and enhance daily supervision, and this rectification would be an important way of evaluating the officials' work, the statement said. The central and State institutions should take the lead in enhancing Party building, implement the policies of the CPC Central Committee, continue to resolutely fight corruption and enhance supervision over the exercise of power, it said. The Countryside Alliance has welcomed the Agriculture Bills recognition of upland farming and remote communities. The group worked with a cross party of MPs on a series of amendments to the previous Bill to ensure that future payments could be made to support upland farming. Upland areas face a unique set of challenges as the UK leaves the EU, as they are fragile environments where agriculture is extremely marginal. Industry groups say it is vital that the public goods hill farmers provide is supported in any future payments scheme. The Countryside Alliance says this type of farming needs specific policies to ensure these landscapes and the communities they support can survive. The current Agriculture Bill now contains explicit reference to supporting the uplands as well as the importance of food production and food security, alongside environmental outcomes. James Legge of the Countryside Alliance said: It is clear that the government has listened to our concerns and those of other rural stakeholders. The Countryside Alliance will be examining the Bill in detail and looks forward to continuing to work closely with parliamentarians and the government as the Bill progresses to ensure that the new scheme is fit for purpose and supports our countryside and its communities. The Chinese Confucianism Museum in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, is tasked with inheriting and promoting China's treasured traditional culture. The museum opened in September 2016, with the mission of exhibiting, promoting, and providing a meaningful experience of the Confucian culture, as well as collecting Confucian classical works. Inside the museum there is an exhibition center on the theme of "Southeastern Home to Confucius's descendants, a Land Bathed in Confucianism," featuring a gallery of Confucius's sculptures by Wu Weishan. The collection center of Confucian classical works, as the core part of the museum, currently holds nearly 10,000 books of the "Ru Zang Project," the "Rescue Project of Chinese Rare Books," and over 30,000 popular books about Chinese classics. It not only contributes to the literary collection and use, but also serves scholars, experts, researchers, and enthusiasts in Quzhou as a service platform of information inquiry and retrieval, research, and exchanges. To enrich the museum's collection, boost scientific research, and facilitate the promotion and education of Confucianism, in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics and other relevant laws and regulations, the museum is now inviting the public to donate all kinds of cultural relics and documents about Analects of Confucius, including scripts, diagrams, pictures, videos, and other physical objects. I. Range of Collection (1) Different versions of books and ancient books on Analects of Confucius, including non-annotative versions, full-length interpretative versions, books of reading notes, compilations of lost works, manuscripts, transcripts, etc.; (2) Relevant inscriptions and tablets on Analects of Confucius; (3) Relevant photos, films, and television programs on Analects of Confucius; (4) Relevant calligraphy works and paintings on Analects of Confucius; (5) Relevant essays on Analects of Confucius; (6) Relevant documentary archives of the Kong Family Mansion, sacrificial vessels, musical instruments used in worshipping Confucius, etc. II. Principle of Donation In accordance with the principles of enriching the museum collection, supplementing the collection items and highlighting characteristics, all the cultural relics and historical materials from legitimate sources and with clear and lawful ownership could be donated toward research on the thoughts of Analects of Confucius, or to expand the Confucian culture, especially the Southern Confucian Culture. Donated items should meet our collection requirements. III. Ways to Support Chinese Confucianism Museum (1) Donation The lawfully owned cultural relics and collected items are donated by the collectors to the Chinese Confucianism Museum on a voluntary basis. Donors will receive certificates, and the donated items will be tagged to indicate the source when exhibited. Organizations or individuals, whose donated items are of great artistic, research, or scientific value, will receive additional reward. (2) Purchase Based on the principle of voluntary sale, the accrediting agency entrusted by the Chinese Confucianism Museum will authenticate and evaluate the items to be solicited. As to those meeting the requirements for collection and exhibition, the museum will sign an agreement with the collector for the purchase. (3) Entrustment An agreement will be signed between the museum and the owner of items held in trust. Such items will then be brought into depot management and appropriately conserved without charge. Under the precondition of the owner's permission, the item will be utilized reasonably and affixed his or her signature according to his or her will. The owners can check their entrusted items at any time by appointment. (4) Offering Replica According to the relevant provisions of laws and regulations on cultural relics and on the basis of ensuring the safety of items collected, the items that are particularly valuable and whose owners want to keep the original will be replicated by the museum through modern scientific methods with permission from the collector. VI. Activity Time From the day of the release of the announcement. V. Contact Information Address: Chinese Confucianism Museum, No.79 Xinqiao Street, Quzhou city, Zhejiang province, China Postcode: 324000 Phone: 0570-8758172 Contact person: Geng Zhen E-mail: zgruxueguan@163.com Toyota Motor Co. is investing $394 million (A43.3 billion) in Joby Aviation, one of a handful of companies working toward the seemingly implausible goal of making electric air taxis that shuttle people over gridlocked highways and city streets. Toyota is the lead investor in Jobyas $590 million Series C funding, alongside Baillie Gifford and Global Oryx and prior backers Intel Capital, Capricorn Investment Group, JetBlue Technology Ventures, SPARX Group and its own investment arm, Toyota AI Ventures. The deal, for now, makes the Santa Cruz, California-based Joby the best-funded aeVTOLa (electric vertical take-off and landing) startup in a booming category that must overcome significant regulatory hurdles and concerns about passenger safety and noise, bringing the total money it has raised to $720 million. aAir transportation has been a long-term goal for Toyota, and while we continue our work in the automobile business, this agreement sets our sights to the sky,a said Toyota President and Chief Executive Officer Akio Toyoda. aAs we take up the challenge of air transportation together with Joby, an innovator in the emerging eVTOL space, we tap the potential to revolutionize future transportation and life.a Over the past year, the 82-year-old Japanese automaker has deepened its interests in futuristic transportation technologies. Last year it backed Recogni Inc., a Silicon Valley maker of autonomous vehicle systems, and May Mobility, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based operator of self-driving shuttle buses. At CES earlier this month, Toyota announced its intention to build a 175-acre community, or aWoven City,a at the base of Mount Fuji to serve as a showcase for self-driving cars and other innovations in transportation. Nirbhaya case: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy petition of Nirbhaya case convict Mukesh Singh, one of the four culprits involved in the 2012 Delhi gang-rape. Nirbhaya's father has welcomed the move, saying their hopes have gone up. Nirbhaya case: Hours after forwarding the mercy petition of Mukesh Singh one of the four convicts in the Delhi gang-rape case that had shocked the nation in 2012, President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the plea renewing hopes that the convicts could be hanged soon. The Ministry of Home Affairs had recommended mercy petitions rejection, reports said. After the MHA received a communication from the Rashtrapati Bhavan that Kovind has rejected the plea, Nirbayas father welcomed the move, saying their hopes have gone up. Mukesh, 32, had filed his plea a few days before. Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) are other convicts. On January 7, a Delhi court had announced that the four were due to be executed on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail. It was followed by Delhi governments communication to the high court that the hanging would not take place on the proposed date because of the filing of a mercy petition by one of the four convicts. Also read: Nirbhaya convicts execution will not happen on January 22, mother says justice system blind Also read: Nirbhaya case: Supreme Court dismisses curative petitions of death row convicts Vinay Kumar Sharma, Mukesh Singh Before Presidents rejection, Asha Devi the mother of Nirbaya had appealed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hang the convicted. Asha also broke down while reminding the prime minister his promise of safety for women before the 2014 polls. She also hit out at the central and Delhi governments for delaying the execution. She said that the same people who came on roads with tricolours demanding justice for Nirbaya before six years were now playing with the victim for mere political gains. She went to target the AAP government, saying Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has said their government will hang the culprits if they get Delhi Police under their control for just a few days. She also cautioned the BJP and the AAP to stop using Nirbhaya and her family for political gains. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had earlier accused the AAP government of delaying the execution. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor Ahuja said she had 'the scariest experience' with an Uber driver in London AFP/LOIC VENANCE Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor Ahuja has warned Uber users against the ride-hailing app in London after suffering "the scariest experience" with a driver in the British capital. The award-winning actress, 34, daughter of Slumdog Millionaire star Anil Kapoor, said her driver was apparently "unstable and was yelling and shouting" during the journey. "I was shaking by the end of it," she tweeted to her 12.8 million followers late Wednesday in London, tagging Uber, which responded with an apparently automated message. "I tried complaining on your app, and just got multiple disconnected replies by bots. You guys need to update your system. The damage is done. There is nothing more you can do." "The best and safest is just to use the local public transportation or cabs," she suggested. Hours later, an Uber spokeswoman in London said the incident was "regrettable and concerning". "What's been described has no place on the Uber app and we're reviewing the matter," she said. Ride-hailing giant Uber has come under a storm of global criticism over its passenger safety record. The company lost its licence in London after transport authorities said it had failed to fix a litany of safety issues - including at least 14,000 cases of drivers handing their permits to unlicensed friends or relatives. It continues to operate in the city pending an appeal. In 2017, a woman raped by an Uber driver in India filed a US lawsuit accusing the service of invading her privacy and defaming her character. Last month, Uber released a report saying it had tallied nearly 6,000 sexual assaults in the United States - its biggest market - over the past couple of years. That included more than 450 cases of rape. In France, the firm is under pressure from a viral campaign detailing sexual assault involving its drivers, under the hashtag #UberCestOver (Uber it's over). Ahuja's Uber incident comes a week after she criticised British Airways on social media for allegedly losing her luggage for the second time this month. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 16:55 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c322907d2 1 National Papua,Intan-Jaya,armed-criminal-group Free The Indonesian Military (TNI) said on Thursday that it discovered one of the bases of an armed criminal group (KKB) that has been active in Intan Jaya regency of Papua. Cendrawasih Military Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Dax Sianturi said the soldiers found the group's base in a village in Tigi district on Tuesday. "We fired two shots; the first one was believed to have hit a member of the group, who afterwards was brought by his friends to a honai [traditional hut]," Dax said as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday. Soldiers found about 20 firearms in a traditional house in a Tigi village, which they estimated to be home to some 70 members of the armed group, Dax said. Upon discovery, alleged members of the armed group immediately fled the village into the forest. However, the soldiers decided not to run after them, he added. "Right now, we are on standby to anticipate any retaliation from the KKB," Dax said. Intan Jaya is one of the regencies in the country's easternmost province that has repeatedly experienced outbreaks of violence. Last month, two military officers were killed in the regency during a shootout with armed assailants while on security duty as the district prepared for Christmas celebrations. According to the Cendrawasih Military Command, the armed criminal group operating in Intan Jaya consists of two smaller groups, with one led by Lekagak Teleggen and the other by Militer Murib. Both groups previously had their bases in Puncak regency and it is still unknown why they relocated to Intan Jaya. Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw said he believed the firearms used by the group originated from Lumajang, East Java. Paulus said they received information that there was a place in Lumajang that produced homemade firearms with modern specifications, which were suspected to have been smuggled to Papua. LAS VEGAS, NVThe Erotic Heritage Museum, which since 2008 has been dedicated to providing the public with a history of erotica around the world, had one of its murals vandalized last week. The mural, painted by a previous student and staffer of the EHM, was a recreation of Michelangelos classic Leda and the Swan painting and was one of the most beloved pieces the museum displayed. "We were devastated to find one of our most treasured murals had been so viciously defaced, Dr. Victoria Hartmann, director or the Erotic Heritage Museum, said in a statement released today. None of us here can understand why someone in our neighborhood would ruin such a beautiful piece of art; art that is meant only to improve our community landscape. Destructive acts such as this leave all of us here at the museum so saddened. Dr. Victoria and her staff immediately reached out to restoration experts hoping to save the mural, but learned that the piece, located on the northside of the building, was not repairable. This is unfortunately not the first time the Erotic Heritage Museum, sitting a block off the famous Las Vegas Strip and in the shadow of the Trump International Hotel, was vandalized. Last year a man managed to destroy the museums entire electrical system. Fortunately, the perpetrator was caught, arrested, and went to prison. And unlike the mural, the museums electrical system could be fixed. The Erotic Heritage Museum houses more than 24,000 square feet of permanent and featured exhibits, championing the wonders of erotic imagination, as depicted through artistic expressions of sex and love. The museum's ethos is that sexual pleasure and its depiction are natural aspects of the human experience and that such celebrations of individual human sexuality (i.e., pleasure) must be made available to all, regardless of gender, race, or belief. With so much of global erotic heritage undervalued, criticized, or even lost over time, the EHM is dedicated to the preservation of as much erotic heritage as is possible to display. The EHMs second floor hosts a gallery space of erotic artifacts and artwork, some stretching back centuries. Proudly displaying statuary, "pillow books," sketches, paintings and sculpture, these pieces alone make the museum a jewel of erotic expression through the arts. Rotating and permanent exhibitions on matters of sexual and culture import, only add to make Dr. Hartmann and her staff stewards of a massive collection unique to all the world. We will grieve the loss of this part of the museum and its history," Dr. Hartmann added. The Erotic Heritage Museum is located at 3275 Sammy Davis Junior Dr, in Las Vegas. For more information, visit EroticMuseumVegas.com or call 702-794-4000. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 23:41:37|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close Photo taken on Jan. 13, 2020 shows the opening ceremony of China-Maldives Ophthalmology Centre at the Hulhumale Hospital in Maldives. (Xinhua/Tang Lu) by Tang Lu MALE, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Five years ago, 73-year-old Abdullah Hussein had cataract surgery done on his left eye, but there was no significant improvement in his vision and his right eye was also deteriorating. The elderly man feared he would lose sight in both eyes, and he felt dejected and refused to see anymore doctors. "Since I would be blind anyway, I told myself that I will spend the rest of my life listening to the radio," Hussein told Xinhua. But an announcement over the media gave hope to Hussein's sons. A team of expert Chinese ophthalmologists would be seeing patients in the newly established China-Maldives Ophthalmic Centre at the Hulhumale Hospital. They dragged the old man to the ophthalmic centre. An eye center nurse, who conducted preliminary tests, found that Hussein's condition was quite bad. "The right eye could see nothing but light," the nurse told Xinhua. But after a simple 10-minute surgery a whole new world dawned on Hussein. He was overjoyed when he could see the Chinese doctor smiling at him. Hussein returned to the hospital the next day for a follow-up check. The vision in the right eye had returned to 20/100, and the vision in the left eye improved to 20/40 after laser treatment. He looked at the faces of the Chinese doctors and nurses, and clearly satisfied with his vision, gave a grateful "thumbs up." The Maldives, a magnet for tourists, lies close to the equator and receives strong ultraviolet rays. As a result, there are high numbers of cataract patients. Due to an insufficient number of ophthalmologists, equipment shortages, and inconvenient transportation, cataract patients often do not receive timely treatment. But the gap was filled by Chinese doctors from the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University (ZOC) in Guangdong. From Jan. 6 to 12 this year, Chinese doctors performed eye examinations on 571 patients and completed 80 ophthalmic surgeries, including cataract, ocular surface, vitreoretinal and external eye surgeries, as well as laser treatments. On arrival at the clinic many patients were seen to be frowning and looking dejected. Conversely, when they left, they were full of smiles and cheer. Many patients and their family members were seen flocking to take photos with the Chinese medical staff with their mobile phones. Abdullah Ali, a cataract patient, travelled seven hours by boat from his home, 114 km away. Two years ago, Dr. Chen Weirong, deputy director of Affiliated Ophthalmic Hospital of ZOC performed cataract surgery on his left eye, which had been a complete success. Ali had been expecting to have the cataract removed from his right eye too. "I heard that the expert Chinese doctors are here. I rushed with two friends from my island home. What surprised me was that the surgeon who performed the operation on me this time happened to be Dr. Chen! " Ali said. This time, the team led by Dr. Chen Weirong not only performed ophthalmic surgery, but more importantly, left a permanent medical team in the Maldives to establish an ophthalmic center. "The establishment of an ophthalmology center at Hulhumale Hospital was the joint-decision of the Chinese and Maldivian governments after careful inspection and research. According to the plan, this Chinese government-assisted project will be undertaken by ZOC," Dr. Chen said. "A modern eye center serves as a platform, not only to provide eye care for patients, but also to train medical staff," she told Xinhua. Dr. Chen further said that there is a huge difference between helping to build an eye hospital and carrying out a medical relief project like "Bright Journey." The decision indicates that China's foreign medical aid model has moved away from simply sending medical teams, to building small specialized hospitals and training local medical staff so as to offer long-term service to the local people. "It is a paradigm shift," she said. At the eye center, the patients were very grateful to China, with "Thanks China!" frequently heard echoing down the corridors. Shah Abdullah Mahir, State Minister of Health of the Maldives, who observed the Chinese doctors at work in the operating room, said that the establishment of an eye center is an important step made with a long-term vision. In recent days, the operating room has become a place for local medical staff to observe and learn from the Chinese doctors. After conducting operations, Chinese medical staff then carefully explain key aspects of the operation and the handling of various microsurgical instruments. Fathmath Wafaa, a nurse working in the operating room, said "Chinese doctors are very skilled, their nurses have taught us a lot, and the engineers are constantly instructing us on how to use the various instruments." Chinese doctors have also become a topic on Maldivian social media. Netizen Nassim said he has never seen other governments provide such high-quality medical service to the Maldives. Another, Shah said "I hope China's ophthalmic center can maintain their high level and stay here." In response to the expectations of locals, Dr. Chen said that the establishment of an ophthalmology center is a public welfare project that promotes people's livelihood and benefits them in many other ways. The Chinese doctors will do their best for the people of the Maldives, she assured. The China-Maldives ophthalmology center was unveiled ceremoniously on Monday by Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Zhang Lizhong. In his address, the Maldivian president thanked the Chinese medical team for setting up the centre and rendering valuable and very professional services in the Maldives. Ambassador Zhang said that the China-Maldives Ophthalmology Centre is the first modern ophthalmology clinic set up by China as foreign aid and the first cooperation project between China and the Maldives in the field of health. Dr. Chen, head of the Ophthalmology Centre, said that it will always provide high-quality medical services to local patients and will help the Maldives train a high-level ophthalmological team. Between 2016 and 2017, the Chinese medical team visited the Maldives twice to carry out consultancies and operations. Chinese doctors had performed free cataract surgeries at that time. With the Tokyo Summer Olympics rapidly approaching, 2020 is shaping up to be a big year for TRI-AD (Toyota Research Institute - Advanced Development). Opened in 2018, the research wing is devoted to bringing some of TRIs work into practice. The organization is heavily invested in both autonomous driving and other key robotics projects. TRI-ADs CEO James Kuffner and TRI's VP of Robotics Max Bajracharya will be joining us onstage at TC Sessions Robotics+AI on March 3 at UC Berkeley to discuss their work in the field. The company has been working to promote accessibility, both in terms of its work in automotive and smart cities, as well as robotics aimed to help assist Japans aging population. The Summer Olympics will serve as an opportunity for TRI-AD to showcase those technologies in practice. Kuffner and Bajracharya will discuss why companies like Toyota are investing in robotics and working to make every day robotics a reality. Early-Bird tickets are now on sale for $275. Book your tickets now and save $150 before prices go up! Student Tickets are just $50 -- grab yours here. Startups, book a demo exhibitor table and get four tickets to the show and a demo area to showcase your company. Packages run $2,200. https://tcprotectedembed.com/protected-iframe/a4fad19c68e846fecc75f11477e3b068 ( function() { var func = function() { var iframe = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-a4fad19c68e846fecc75f11477e3b068') if ( iframe ) { iframe.onload = function() { iframe.contentWindow.postMessage( { 'msg_type': 'poll_size', 'frame_id': 'wpcom-iframe-a4fad19c68e846fecc75f11477e3b068' }, "https:\/\/tcprotectedembed.com" ); } } // Autosize iframe var funcSizeResponse = function( e ) { var origin = document.createElement( 'a' ); origin.href = e.origin; // Verify message origin if ( 'tcprotectedembed.com' !== origin.host ) return; // Verify message is in a format we expect if ( 'object' !== typeof e.data || undefined === e.data.msg_type ) return; switch ( e.data.msg_type ) { case 'poll_size:response': var iframe = document.getElementById( e.data._request.frame_id ); if ( iframe && '' === iframe.width ) iframe.width = '100%'; if ( iframe && '' === iframe.height ) iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height ); return; default: return; } } if ( 'function' === typeof window.addEventListener ) { window.addEventListener( 'message', funcSizeResponse, false ); } else if ( 'function' === typeof window.attachEvent ) { window.attachEvent( 'onmessage', funcSizeResponse ); } } if (document.readyState === 'complete') { func.apply(); /* compat for infinite scroll */ } else if ( document.addEventListener ) { document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', func, false ); } else if ( document.attachEvent ) { document.attachEvent( 'onreadystatechange', func ); } } )(); MOSCOW, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The 11th Gaidar Forum, organized by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) completed its work. The two-day program consisted of 85 expert sessions featured speakers from more than 30 countries. The substantial agenda of the forum was related to the annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly given by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The forum participants discussed various issues, such as the measures for increasing people's incomes, the inhibition of inequality growth, the development of education and healthcare, the prospects of the EAEU and BRICS, the improvement of the investment climate and the new geopolitical formation of Eurasia, and key issues of monetary policy and the tax system. In 2020 the forum brought together a diverse array of speakers, including leading world economists, heads of international scientific centers, and business education experts. The guests included deputy director of the directorate for financial and enterprise affairs of the OECD Matilda Mesnard, professor of economics and public policy at Harvard University Kenneth Rogoff, professor of financial institutions at Columbia Business School Charles Kalomiris, executive president of IE University in Madrid Santiago Inigues, dean of the Sorbonne business school Eric Lamark, director of the center for sustainable development at Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs, director of the European bureau for policy consulting and social research Bernd Marin. "About 10 or 12 years ago with the emergence of the Great Financial crisis the world has changed and therefore many concepts report aside unconventional approaches well developed etc. But we cannot throw the old textbooks away because we are in a new era. The history of hundreds of years has taught us so many robust lessons that it will be a great tragedy if we throw them away only because in 2008 the system was found unprepared. We must not lose sight of the compass," said the Chairman of JPMorgan Chase International Jacob Frenkel. Among speakers at the forum were Rae Kwon Chung, professor Emeritus at Incheon National University who participated as a discussion focused on best practices for the implementation of sustainable development goals. As a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change." The event also included a presentation of a book written by the Senior Fellow at Yale University Stephen Roach. In his work, he describes the US-China relationship with the psychological term 'codependency'. The author uses insights from human psychology to assess the behavior of national economies and his view, pointing that the frictions that always occur in codependent relationships, turned into a trade war between the two countries. One of the key topics of the current geopolitical agenda was discussed by Vladimir Mau, Rector of the RANEPA and Nicolas Sarkozy, French President in 20072012. The open dialogue was devoted to fates of Europe and the world in the coming decade. When arguing about the future of Europe, the French politician claimed that he holds a strong belief in social, economic and political content. However, he believes that "there will be several Europes". "There will be Europe of Europes if it is possible to say so There will be EU Europe, Schengen Europe, which has to address the migration problem, and there will be European cooperation that will solve the defense problem," said Nicolas Sarkozy, "And I would like to wish the creation of a new organization with three founders: EU, Russia, and Turkey. This organization must solve security and economy issues in the territory from the Atlantic to Baikal." Over 11 years, the Gaidar Forum held at the Presidential Academy under the auspices of the Government of the Russian Federation, has become one of the most respected expert platforms that traditionally determine the vector for public and academic discussion. 11th Gaidar Forum Organizers: The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA); The Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy (Gaidar Institute); The Association of Innovative Regions of Russia (AIRR). Forum partners: General partners: Gazprom, Gazprombank. Strategic partners: Coca-Cola, Mastercard, Russian Railways, Pharmstandard group, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Novartis Group, MSD, ACIG Group, EF Education First. Partners: Prosveshcheniye Group, EY, Huawei, RVC, Russian Agricultural Bank. General information partners: Rossiya 24 TV Chanel, TASS, RBC, Business FM; strategic information partners: Kommersant Publishing House, Interfax, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Invest Foresight online business magazine, RIA FederalPress; main information partners: Anews.com, Gazeta.ru, Lenta.ru, News.ru, Profile; international partners: RT, Thomson Reuters, Sputnik, EFE, Cision, Pan Pacific Agency; information partners: Snob media project, PRIME economic news agency, RNS, Expert magazine, Parlamentskaya Gazeta, Polit.ru, Radio Ekho Moskvy, PRO Business TV channel, FINAM.RU agency, Davydov.Index, Strategia magazine, Ekonomika i Zhizn newspaper, ECONS.ONLINE website, Gosudarstvennaya Sluzhba magazine, TV BRICS. SOURCE RANEPA Related Links www.ranepa.ru She has endured a very public, very messy split from one of the most famous actors in Hollywood - Johnny Depp - but now there is a brand new woman in her life. Aquaman star Amber Heard was seen with out arm-in-arm with her new girlfriend, cinematographer Bianca Butti, while they headed to Amber's doctor on Friday for a checkup on her recent ankle injury. Heard, 33, couldn't hide a loving smile as she walked along with the support of the beautiful Butti, 38, as the pair sported contrasting yet stylish day looks. Arm in arm: Actress Amber Heard looked quite happy as she stepped out with new girlfriend Bianca Butti in San Diego on Friday Support: The injured Heard walked along with the support of the beautiful Butti as the pair sported contrasting yet stylish day looks Heard had on one chic black boot as her other foot was still in a grey air cast. She added a plaid flannel jacket in pink and grey over a top and looked casual in a rust colored striped skirt. Her blond hair was worn down cascading over her shoulders and the beauty had a bag over her shoulder, while she carried a cup of iced coffee. Amber's new lady love carried a cup of warm coffee as she modeled a chic monochromatic look with a black-and-white striped scarf with tassels, a black jacket and white jeans. Her look: Heard had on one chic black boot as the other foot was in an air cast. She added a plaid jacket in pink and grey over a top and looked casual in a rust colored skirt Strolling along: Amber's new lady love modeled a chic monochromatic look with a black-and-white striped scarf with tassels, a black jacket and white jeans The pair looked deep in conversation, with Bianca at one point laughing heartily, presumably at something Amber just said judging from the contented look on the latter's face. Heard was first publicly linked to Butti this past Sunday, when the pair were spied passionately kissing in Palm Springs, California. Bianca is a Los Angeles-based cinematographer having worked on the series Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta among other credits, as well as the upcoming Bella Thorne movie Leave Not One Alive. She Heard a funny: The pair looked deep in conversation, with Bianca at one point laughing heartily, presumably at something Amber just said judging from the latter's contented look Lovers: Heard was first publicly linked to Butti this past Sunday, when the pair were spied passionately kissing in Palm Springs Last year, Butti was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time, and various Instagram accounts as well as a Go Fund Me campaign have documented her progress and experience. In a note on the fundraising page, Butti explains how she was first diagnosed with the disease in 2015 when she was just 34 years old, and that it was confirmed to have returned in March 2019. As for Amber, she first revealed the brace on her left foot in an Instagram photo posted on New Year's Day. So far, the Her Smell actress hasn't revealed how she was injured. Survivor: Last year, Butti was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time, and various Instagram accounts as well as a Go Fund Me campaign have documented her experience Previous to her relationship with Butti and her ill-fated marriage to Johnny Depp, Heard dated female photographer Tasya van Ree for four years starting in 2008. It was during that relationship, in 2010, that she came out about her bisexuality. The couple would call it quits in 2012, not long after she met Depp while filming The Rum Diary 2011. They began living with each other after her split with van Ree, and eventually were married in February 2015. The actress filed for divorce from Depp in May 2016 and obtained a temporary restraining order against him. From there, the former couple accused each other of varying forms of physical and verbal abuse during their time together. Since their split, Heard has been romantically linked to tech entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Heidi Klum's ex Vito Schnabel and most recently Argentinian director Andy Muschietti. Up next for Amber on the acting front is the new miniseries based on Stephen King's iconic plague novel The Stand. She'll be playing Nadine Cross, a woman who is drawn to a demonic figure named Randall Flagg after a plague wipes out over 99 percent of humanity. The massive novel, which is King's longest work at over 1,100 pages, was previously adapted as an ABC miniseries in 1994, starring Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Gary Sinise and Ruby Dee, among many others. This newest version will feature James Marsden, Greg Kinnear, Alexander Skarsgard and Whoopi Goldberg. Technavio has been monitoring the global beverage can market since 2018 and the market is poised to grow by USD 5.87 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 3% during the forecast period. Request Free Sample Pages This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005110/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled global beverage can market 2020-2024. (Graphic: Business Wire) Read the 120-page research report with TOC on "Beverage Can Market Analysis Report by Application (Non-alcoholic beverages and Alcoholic beverages), by Geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America), and Segment Forecasts, 2020-2024". https://www.technavio.com/report/beverage-can-market-industry-analysis The increased need for metal cans and growing market of ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee and tea is anticipated to boost the growth of the market. The rising disposable income in emerging countries and the need for mental and physical stimulation through the consumption of energy drinks is driving the purchase volume of energy and juice drinks. Many vendors sell their beverage products such as beer, soft drinks, ready-to-drink tea and coffee, and juices, packaged in metal cans because metal cans offer several advantages throughout the supply chain. Metal cans are airtight as they provide better hermetic seals to restrict the flow of gases. They can be used in varying temperatures or fast-processing environments as they remain unaffected when exposed to heat or higher temperature. Such benefits of metal cans are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period. Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free. View market snapshot before purchasing Major Five Beverage Can Market Companies: Amcor Plc Amcor Plc launched its first packaging product, AmLite Ultra Recyclable, from its sustainable high-barrier polyolefin in April 2019. It also launched a bottle for Nature's Promise hand soap, which is produced by a proprietary in-built machine powered by LiquiForm. Ardagh Group SA Ardagh Group SA announced the opening of a new can ends facility in Manaus, Brazil in July 2018. The company launched a development machine for glass forming systems in September 2018. This machine is capable of quick changes and contributes to a 30% reduction in new product lead times. Ball Corporation In October 2019, Ball Corporation announced its plans to build new manufacturing plants in Georgia and Rome. The company launched a new aerosol can in Paris in January 2019. Its aluminum aerosol cans provide the perfect packaging format for household and personal care products. CAN-PACK SA CAN-PACK SA opened a beverage can factory in Maracanau, Brazil in April 2018. The company opened its second can production line in Romania in the same year. The company was recognized as a double Silver Winner in the Cans of The Year Awards organized by The Canmaker magazine in October 2019. CPMC Holdings Ltd. CPMC Holdings Ltd. announced that it would set up a new plant in Flanders, Belgium in February 2019. The company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with ORG Technology Co. Ltd. in 2018, according to which the two parties will further explore multi dimension cooperation on technology, marketing, capacity layout, and supply chain on the basis of capital cooperation. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Beverage Can Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2020-2024) Non-alcoholic beverages Alcoholic beverages Beverage Can Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2020-2024) APAC Europe MEA North America South America Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. 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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005110/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: https://www.technavio.com A breakthrough in genetic research has solved the mystery of why children in the close-knit Amish community in the northeast US kept dying suddenly, and with no apparent explanation. The deaths occurred when the children were playing and running around, and one family lost four childrenover an eight year period. Post-mortem examinations failed to identify any known cause of death. It has been referred to in the Amish community as the curse of sudden death, according to Michael Ackerman, director of the Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, who led research on the cases. After the first two victims in 2004 the local medical examiner got in touch with Ackermans team as they were pioneers of molecular autopsy. The research team had suspicions that a mutation of a gene called RYR2 might be to blame. Small changes in the RYR2 gene had been linked to other cases of sudden death involving physical exercise linked to cardiac issues. However, the children all appeared to have normal hearts, and no genetic mutations showed up in the initial study. The case grew cold, but when another two siblings died, researchers realised that with better technology and more advanced tools at their disposal, they might stand a chance of solving the mystery. The breakthrough came in 2019, and a week ago the findings were published in a report in JAMA Cardiology. The new research once again picked up the thread of the RYR2 gene, and two large extended Amish families with multiple sudden deaths in young individuals from apparent sudden cardiac arrests were included in the study. The report noted a recessive gene inheritance pattern in young individuals with sudden cardiac arrests, despite unaffected parents. While the research had originally focussed on a mutation in a base pair in the genes, the use of a special analytical method that detects where entire genes or segments of genes might have been duplicated solved the mystery. The RYR2 gene was the culprit, but it was not a base pair of genes to blame. It was more than 300,000 base pairs that had been duplicated within the gene. If both parents carry the genetic marker then their children would be at risk from the cardiac issues that had already taken so many lives. The two families in the study were seemingly unrelated, but as Amish society is particularly tight knit, the appearance of the same genetic defect in two separate families suggests common lineage at some point. As a genetically isolated population, the Amish have developed unusual health problems from their closed gene pool, and given the close proximity in which they live, it is not uncommon for couples to be related in some way. While the Amish are known for forgoing modern technology, they do not completely avoid it, especially where it can be so useful. It is hoped that this research will help other families avoid similar heartbreak. 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 discovery of this genetic marker allows for testing for the presence of the mutation in individuals. This can potentially save lives as informed decisions can now be made regarding marriage and procreation, thereby helping prevent sudden death tragedies from occurring in the future. For those children that already have the mutation the only option currently available to prevent cardiac issues is an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), an expensive solution. Researchers are now working on developing medication in an effort to make treatment more accessible. One of the three police officers accused of assaulting a disability pensioner outside his house has told a court he hit the man with a baton six times and stood on his head to help colleagues make an arrest. Senior Constables John Edney, Brad McLeod and Florian Hilgart are accused of using excessive and unjustified force when they, and three other officers, arrested John outside his Preston home on September 19, 2017. Senior Constable John Edney is contesting assault charges. Credit:Eddie Jim The six officers were at John's home for a welfare check over concerns about his mental health but ended up using capsicum spray and pinning him to the ground on his front lawn. The officers claim John, aged in his 40s, tried to punch one of them when he came outside. Senior Constable Edney has pleaded not guilty to two counts of unlawful assault, related to striking John on the leg six times with an extendable baton and then stepping on his head, while the other five officers were restraining the pensioner. Commentary An Unstable, Weak Myanmar: Chinas Strategic Goal? A poster welcomes Xi Jinping to Naypyitaw on Jan. 15, two days prior to his visit. / Thiha Lwin / The Irrawaddy Amid the general excitement at the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping, individual Myanmar citizens will have a range of responses, both positive and negative, to the high-level visit. But no one in Myanmar can doubt its significance. Our giant neighbor to the north is simply too prosperous and too powerful to ignore. Xis visit poses both opportunities and risks. Myanmar will have to mitigate the risks and challenges while making sure to take advantage of every opportunityin other words, we must be pragmatic, and we must be careful. In a signed opinion piece published in state-run newspapers in Myanmar on Thursday, Xi said China wants to write a new chapter in the two countries long friendship. Chinas geopolitical, economic and strategic interests in Myanmar are currently the subject of much debate, with critics saying that Myanmar is moving back into Chinas orbitor even that Myanmar is struggling to maintain its neutrality and independence. One thing is certain: many Myanmar citizens, including even military generals, have developed a deep-seated fear of China. In fact it wouldnt be overstating the case to describe it as a kind of sinophobia. In the past, many oppressed people in Myanmar were repulsed by Chinas support for the brutal military regime that ruled their country with an iron fist. But today, Myanmars business community would be only too glad to see even more Chinese investment. Myanmars activist community, on the other hand, has called on China to terminate a number of controversial projects in the country once and for all. Which voices will China listen to as it writes this new chapter? Either way, the simple fact is that the fates of China and Myanmar are inseparable. Chinese officials jokingly say that Myanmar and China cant afford to divorce, or indeed are more like two siblings, or paukphaw. Given Myanmars strategically important position in Southeast Asia, Beijing cant afford to ignore Myanmar and will continue to cement and strengthen its friendship with the country. As the neighbors celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year, Beijing is eager to promote closer ties. Xis short visit will be more symbolic than substantive, the officials say, and they are adamant that the China-Myanmar relationship will not be held hostage to any issue, including the controversial Myitsone Dam project. Backing for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi China invited Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, now Myanmars State Counselor, to visit in 2015 when she was opposition leader. Xi received her in Beijing months before the election in Myanmar, in which Daw Aung San Suu Kyis party was elected in a landslide. This was seen as a calculated move by Beijing to assert itself in the rapidly changing political landscape in Myanmar. Today, China firmly backs the Suu Kyi government and wants to see it win in Novembers election. Beijing believes she keeps her promises, and that Myanmar will be better off if she wins a second term. Xi is no stranger to Myanmar; he visited as vice president in 2009, when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest. Since coming to power, she has visited China several times in her capacity as State Counselor and received a red carpet welcome. The view from Beijing is that she remains popular in Myanmar, can be trusted and has the authority to make deals. Poor image But China has its work cut out for it. It needs to repair its image in Myanmar. Unlike Japan, it cant rely on soft power to win the hearts and minds of the Myanmar people. Indeed, in Myanmar the conversation about our giant neighbor most often revolves around theBelt and Road Initiative (BRI) projectswhich are often perceived as the greedy moves of an ambitious, up-and-coming superpoweras well as resource exploitation, Beijings support for ethnic armed groups based on the China-Myanmar border, and the proxy insurgent war that was fought along the border in the past. In his op-ed, Xi makes a point of putting a positive spin on several key projects, including the China Myanmar Economic Corridor, the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone, the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone and the New Yangon City projects. China is eager to see the New Yangon City project go ahead, but it is rumored that the Myanmar side is still reluctant. Nonetheless, the two sides have formally agreed to conduct a survey, and an advance team from Beijing pushed through some mega-projects when they met with Myanmar officials in Naypyitaw. So far, these mega-projects have lacked transparency and public information, and they face resistance on the ground. On the military front, Myanmars generals are wary of Chinas influence over the ethnic rebels and recently expressed concern over Beijings support for groups based along the northern border, in the form of arms sales. These ethnic rebel groups are in Chinas pocket; proof could be seen in the numerous statements they issued on Thursday welcoming Xis visit. Moreover, Chinas warmth toward the civilian government is also a sore spot for Myanmar military leaders, and has certainly created a new dynamic in domestic politics. As we all know, Myanmar today is jointly administered by two forces: a civilian government and the military. Beijing should know that the strong resentment toward China over its infrastructure projects in Myanmar will continue to grow, and that ill feeling toward ethnic rebels who receive support from China cant be suppressed. But Myanmar has also acknowledged Chinas much-needed backing and support in the face of international condemnation and sanctions from the West; Naypyitaw has thanked China for this support, with many in this country recognizing that at a critical time, China backed Myanmar rather than bark at it. But what values do we share with the Chinese? This is also a lingering question among Myanmar people. A tough, perhaps related, question follows: Is China a reliable and trustworthy neighbor? Myanmar people continue to ask this question as the two countries prepare to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. New friends Will China be content to coexist with the newfound friends Myanmar has made in the past decade? Myanmar is no longer the isolated country China used to knowit is undergoing a democratic transition and has opened up. China is no longer Myanmars only friend; close ties have been established with such Asian economic powerhouses as Japan, South Korea, India and even Taiwan, which has expressed interest in investing in many sectors in Myanmar. With the exception of Taiwan, the leaders of all those countries have visited Myanmar. Singapore is also one of the largest investors in Myanmar. Not least, the same applies to ties with the US. US President Barack Obama visited Myanmar twice and President Donald Trump has invited Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to attend the Asean-US summit in the US in March. In October 2019, a meeting between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and David Stilwell, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, produced a positive outcome. The US reaffirmed its long-term commitment to Myanmars democratic transition and economic transformation, referring to Myanmar as a partner and friend during a four-day visit to the country by Stilwell. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent a message to mark Myanmars Independence Day on Jan. 4, saying, The United States remains committed to partnering with the people of Myanmar in support of the countrys continued democratic transition, national reconciliation, and economic transformationas we have done for decades. It added, We will continue to work with your government, civil society, and youth to help achieve a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous Myanmar that respects the dignity and rights of all people. Pundits have grown fond of pointing out that Myanmar is a battleground in the geopolitical contest. This geopolitical competition could serve Myanmars national interest, but the country will have to tread carefully and play it safe with the various players involved. Weak, unstable In recent years, as many are aware, Myanmars dramatic shift to embrace the West produced more conflict along theChinese border and elicited wrath from Beijing. The Chinese are suspected of discouraging ethnic rebels along the border from signing a ceasefire with the Myanmar government. We can only expect more powerful ethnic armies along the border and more conflict on the horizon, despite Chinas promise to bring peace to Myanmar. These developments dont convince us that China is a reliable and trustworthy friend. A weak and unstable Myanmar cant stand tall and will only experience chaos, conflict and turmoil. The cynical view is that China wants to see a weak and unstable Myanmar in order to maintain control and influence over the country. However, a strong and stableand independentMyanmar would be able to contribute to the region, a situation that would be mutually beneficially for all. So the question is, what sort of country does China want Myanmar to become? The importance of Xis visit lies in his answer to that question. You may also like these stories: In Myanmar, Chinas BRI Projects Are Old Wine in a New Bottle Xi Jinping Calls for Concrete Planning and Implementation of Chinese Projects Ahead of Myanmar Visit Chinese President Xi Jinpings Myanmar Trip Aimed at Pushing Beijings Two-Ocean Strategy Dwi Siti Rhomdoni, a victim of the 2016 Jakarta terror attacks, stands outside the Starbucks Cafe in Jakarta where she suffered injuries four years ago, Jan. 13, 2020. Dwi Siti Rhomdoni was waiting for her coffee at a Starbucks store in the heart of the Indonesian capital that morning, when the bomber blew himself up about two meters away. The blasts impact threw her to the floor and knocked her unconscious, Dwi recalled. As she regained consciousness she heard people, some covered in blood, call out for help. A man standing in front of her had nails planted in his chest shrapnel from the explosion. My ears were ringing, my vision blurry, my head dizzy. I was dazed, Dwi, 37, told BenarNews in an interview at the same Starbucks outlet. I said to myself I dont want to die here. Eight people did die four attackers and four bystanders and 23 others suffered injuries in the Jan. 14, 2016, attack in central Jakarta, the first terrorist strike in Indonesia claimed by the extremist group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS). Four years on, Dwi and other victims of the attack are still struggling to overcome the mental and physical scars it left behind. Hatred only breeds more pain For about a year, Dwi, who suffered cervical fractures and bruises on her left chest and legs, said she was too afraid to set foot in any Starbucks store. She left her job as a public relations officer. Every day I was angry at the situation. I couldnt watch TV and I dreaded the prospects of being disabled and unable to work, she said. Then she met Kurnia Widodo, a repentant ex-bomb maker who had served six years in prison for a failed terrorist plot, at an event initiated by the Indonesian Alliance for Peace (AIDA). The group seeks to empower victims of terrorist attacks in Indonesia through personal stories of survival and forgiveness. Dwi was seething. She refused to look at Kurnias face or talk to him. But she mustered the courage to ask him: Are you genuinely remorseful or are you just paying lip service? You could have chosen not do it, but you did it anyway. Hatred only breeds more pain. I came to the realization that the former convicts genuinely wanted to make amends and were deeply remorseful. So, I forgave them, she said. The explosion that threw her to the floor four Januarys ago was followed by a second bomb blast and a barrage of gunfire, as anti-terrorist police battled militants outside the Starbucks next to a shopping center on Jalan Thamrin, one of the main roads in Jakartas central business district. Investigators determined the attackers were followers of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), a local IS affiliate. In 2018, JAD founder and chief ideologue Aman Abdurrahman was sentenced to death for leading a string of attacks carried out by the militant network, including the January 2016 Jakarta attack. In addition, six people have been sentenced to between three and 10 years in prison for their roles in the attack that injured Dwi and others. Agus Kurnia revisits the site where he was hit by bomb fragments during the 2016 terror attack in Jakarta, Jan. 12, 2020. [Tia Asmara/BenarNews] Another victim, Agus Kurnia, 28, has struggled with hearing loss from injuries caused by bomb fragments. My heart sometimes beats faster and my ears hurt. I prefer seclusion now, he told BenarNews. Because I live in Kampung Bali, I have to pass by that location every day. I was scared at first, but I tried to overcome the trauma, he said, referring to his home in a Jakarta neighborhood. I didnt want to make a long detour because its too tiring, said Agus, a marketing officer at a restaurant. He recalled the time that an unattended suitcase at an airport caused him to hide behind a column. Lucky Both Dwi and Agus say they are more fortunate than many other victims of terrorism in Indonesia. Others have had more severe wounds. There are those who suffered burns to 70 percent of their bodies. Some have become blind and have fractured jaws. Some others are permanently disabled and cant work anymore, Dwi said. She and 13 others who were wounded in the 2016 attack have joined the Indonesian Survivors Foundation (YPI), which is dedicated to caring for victims of terrorism. All but one have received cash compensation ranging from 28 million rupiah (U.S. $2,000) to about 202 million rupiah ($14,700) based on a 2018 court ruling. Agus urges the government to pay attention to the victims by providing them with permanent jobs, including people injured in earlier terror attacks. There are still many other victims who have not received help out there. I am just luckier because I have received a lot of help, he said. One of those other victims, Nanda Olivia Daniel, 40, was injured in the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy, where a suicide bomber killed eight people and injured 150. She said she had not received compensation from the government because a compensation law passed in 2018 does not apply retroactively. There is no other choice but to wait because we are victims of past attacks. I will accept any amount, she told BenarNews. State revising compensation rules Help could be coming. Susilaningtyas, deputy chairwoman of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), which represents the government, said the regulation on victim compensation, restitution and assistance was being revised but those revisions are not complete. We cannot implement it because it has not been signed by the president. We are sorry that the victims have to wait. We hope that this revision will be completed soon so payments can be made immediately, she told BenarNews. In 2019, LPSK has paid 1.7 billion rupiah ($124,000) compensation to 21 victims of the 2016 attack, Susilaningtyas said. In addition, at least 595 of about 800 people who claimed to have suffered from any terror attack in Indonesia have received some form of assistance from the government over the past two years. The assistance has been in the form of medical and psychological care as well. We are cooperating with various hospitals, she said. To receive assistance, victims need to meet requirements including statements from the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and medical records. BNPT Chairman Suhardi Alius said his agency was paying attention to the victims and their families, and working with relevant ministries to deliver assistance. We also provide psychological support, livelihood assistance and other things that BNPT can do, he says. Meanwhile, Dwi said she no longer dreaded sitting in Starbucks, but could not drink the beverage that made it famous. Im still traumatized because at that time I was ordering a coffee, she said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 16:51:43|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The China National Traditional Orchestra, a national-level orchestra directed by the Ministry of Culture, will perform at the National Centre for the Performing Arts on Feb. 8 to mark China's tradition Lantern Festival. Conducted by Yuan Bei, the music ensemble will bring a series of Chinese folk music, such as "Spring Festival Overture" by Li Huanzhi, as well as "Girls in Daban Town" and "Alamuhan," to celebrate the festival. Established in 1960, the orchestra is considered as the standard-setter, model and benchmark of Chinese folk music performance. It not only performs typical traditional music in various forms but dabbles in contemporary Chinese music, Western classical music and other genres. A childrens author has penned a heartbreaking letter to his 12-year-old self about coping with the loss of his father. On Thursday, Bristol-based author Mark Lemon shared a series of photos on Instagram featuring sections of a letter he wrote to his younger self. In the caption, Lemon explained that the letter was a cathartic and difficult process that made him realise how far he has come since his father died. My message to any child suffering with grief is to not give up and try and hold onto hope that life will bring positivity and good things, Lemon wrote. The grief will never leave you, but there is light at the end of a very dark tunnel. The letter drew on Lemons childhood trauma and documented the series of events that unfolded following the murder of his father in 1992. Dear Mark (12yrs), Its Monday 11th May 1992. I am writing this letter to let you know that tomorrow your life is going to change forever, Lemon began the note. Nothing will prepare you for the grief and loss that youre about to experience, but I want you to know that through this pain, you will go on to experience wonderful moments in your life. The author went on to explain how he was told to leave school urgently on 12 May 1992 to be greeted by police cars and the sound of his sister crying in the front room. 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities Show all 24 1 /24 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 6. Oprah Winfrey The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free. Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 1. Demi Lovato No matter what you're going through, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you'll find the positive side of things. Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 2. Bruce Lee It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials. Rex Features 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 3. Ziggy Marley Doing something that is productive is a great way to alleviate emotional stress. Get your mind doing something that is productive. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 4. Winnie The Pooh Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering. 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 5. Lena Dunham "I am certainly no self-help guru but here is what I know tonight: when you take the time and space you need, kindly and responsibly, you're suddenly available to the people you love in a whole new way." Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 7. Barack Obama If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress. AFP/Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 8. Michelle Obama One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really dont invest any energy in them, because I know who I am. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 9. Lizzo "I love you. You are beautiful and you can do anything." Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 10. RuPaul "The only thing wrong with me was that I thought there was something wrong with me." Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 11. Maya Angelou You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 12. Stephen Fry It is the useless things that make life worth living and that make life dangerous too: wine, love, art, beauty. Without them life is safe, but not worth bothering with. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 13. Meghan Markle Be able to delegate, because there are some things that you just cant do by yourself. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 14. Nelson Mandela Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 15. Haruki Murakami "And once the storm is over you wont remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You wont even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you wont be the same person who walked in. Thats what this storms all about. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 16. CS Lewis You Are Never Too Old To Set Another Goal Or To Dream A New Dream. Rex Features 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 17. Audery Hepburn Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 18. Ella Fitzgerald Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 19. Billy Porter For me, life is about being positive and hopeful, choosing to be joyful, choosing to be encouraging, choosing to be empowering. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 20. Betty White It's your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don't take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver. Getty Images 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 21. Drew Barrymore "Life is very interesting in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 22. Jane Fonda Its never too late never too late to start over, never too late to be happy. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 23. Jennifer Aniston There are no regrets in life. Just lessons. Getty 24 pieces of life advice from celebrities 24. Beyonce Knowles "The reality is: sometimes you lose. And youre never too good to lose. Youre never too big to lose. Youre never too smart to lose. It happens" Getty Images At 3.20pm mum is going to tell you that dad has died, Lemon wrote. The room will be filled with the most unimaginable pain and loss. Mum will keep saying that she doesnt know what we are going to do, or how we are going to live without dad. Lemon continued to detail the emotions he felt upon hearing the news of his father death and how he had to come to terms with the fact that all the fun things he and his father did together had come to an end. However, the 39-year-old also noted how his younger self somehow managed to find the strength to carry on and succeed in whatever he put his mind to. Youre going to meet people that will inspire and support you. Youre going to sing on stage with a band, write childrens books, win awards, read to children in schools, write articles for newspapers, and speak publicly on the TV and radio about your loss, Lemon wrote. You are going to use your grief to write a childrens story that will help children to understand their own grief. You will use your loss to help others. The author concluded the letter by reassuring his younger self that while the grief would never leave, he would learn to build a a life around it with the help of his now wife, Simone, and two children Otis and Thea. You are always going to miss dad, Mark, but this is a letter of hope from your future self to let you know that, you are going to be okay, the note reads. Learn to love, live and make the most of every moment along this journey we call life. Mark. (39yrs). Lemon has drawn upon his childhood trauma to write a childrens book called The Magical Wood, which is a story about loss, friendship and hope. The book was published on the 26th anniversary of his fathers death. The father-of-two also hosts a podcast titled Grief is my Superpower, which aims to help young people and adults cope with loss, and launched his own book publishers, Lemon Drop Books, after noticing a lack of diversity in childrens literature. According to childhood bereavement charity Winstons Wish, it is estimated that 45,000 children in the UK are bereaved every year, with more than 100 children bereaved every day. Fore help, advice and guidance on supporting a bereaved child or young person, you can contact Winstons Wish by calling 08088 020 021 or sending an email to ask@winstonwish.org. Shares in software firm VR Education fell more than 5pc yesterday, after warning it would miss 2019 revenue expectations. The Waterford-based company expects to report income of just over 1m in respect of last year. While this is an increase of 42pc on 2018, it is below market expectations of around 1.8m. Revenue growth has been affected by a lack of availability of mobile stand-alone headsets from the hardware providers the group works across. In a trading update, VR Education said the issue had now been resolved. VR Education develops virtual reality training and education platforms that make it easy to collaborate on tasks remotely, create new content and learn in VR. Its products have been selected by Facebook for its Oculus Independent Software Vendors programme. VR Education also has a number of deals with educational institutions and businesses. The company expects losses to reduce to 1.49m for 2019, down from 1.54m in 2018, due to strong cost control measures implemented during the year. VR Education had cash of 1.29m at December 31, 2019. Shane Reilly, analyst at Davy Stockbrokers, said that despite the company missing revenue expectations, its progress "must not be understated". "We believe that the developments and commercial rollout of 5G technology and the substantial enhancements to virtual reality headsets will drive demand for immersive experiences in 2020," Mr Reilly said. Four tech firms are suing Facebook for running a 'brazen' and 'anti-competitive scheme' which they say is the worst in a 'generation' and are demanding that Mark Zuckerberg give up his stake in the company. The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco on Thursday by Cir.cl, Beehive Biometric, Reveal Chat and Lenddo. Cir.cl and Beehive Biometric are now defunct. Cir.cl was an online marketplace and social media platform where users could exchange goods, sell and communicate. Facebook now operates its own Marketplace function. Beehive Biometric was an identity management website which used code to simplify facial recognition API. Reveal Chat is a messaging service and Lenddo is a Singapore-based company which weighs up a person's online presence and smart phone records to determine their eligibility for financial loans. The companies say Mark Zuckerberg should relinquish his 60 percent stake in the company The companies complain that Facebook's ownership of Facebook Instagram and WhatsApp and Zuckerberg's reported plans to integrate them signals unprecedented monopoly which will make it either impossible or expensive for consumers to walk away from in favor of other services down the line. They are demanding that Zuckerberg give up his 60 percent stake in the company. They also claim in their suit that Facebook revoked their developer access to its sites in order to stave off any competition. 'Facebook faced an existential threat from mobile apps, and while it could have responded by competing on the merits, it instead chose to use its might to intentionally eliminate its competition,' Yavar Bathaee, a partner at law firm Pierce Bainbridge and co-lead counsel in the case, said. Their complaints are the latest in a series of calls of concern about Facebook's dominance in the tech and communications industries. The filing is an escalation of Facebooks battles with small app developers that had built companies based on access to its user data. Facebook cut off access for certain apps as far back as 2012, while still allowing access for others. Thousands of pages of damaging internal emails have emerged from a similar lawsuit filed by Six4Three, the developer of a now-shuttered bikini photo app. Facebook has described the Six4Three case as baseless. Facebook did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the latest lawsuit. The social network also faces multiple investigations into possible antitrust violations by regulators around the world. No new registry papers have been issued in Delhis 1,731 unauthorised colonies since January 3, when the first batch of 20 residents were given conveyance deed and registry documents under the Centres PM-UDAY scheme. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is the nodal agency for implementation of the scheme, is not issuing the conveyance deed (based on which the registry is done) due to the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct for the February 8 assembly elections. According to the land-owning agency, close to 1.55 lakh property owners in Delhis 1,731 unauthorised colonies have registered on DDAs portal of which over 4,000 have submitted their documents for verification. For registry of their properties with the Delhi governments revenue department, residents of unauthorised colonies have to get a conveyance deed from the Delhi Development Authority. For this, they will have to register on DDA website and fill the application form under PM-UDAY. The applications will be processed following which a ground survey will be done to measure the property. The property owner will have to upload property documents. After verification, DDA will issue conveyance deed based on which registry papers are issued. We have done the geo-coordinate mapping of over 1,500 properties. But we cant issue the conveyance deed as the election code of conduct is in place. So, far we have given conveyance deed to only 20 property owners in two unauthorised colonies (Raja Vihar and Suraj Park) based on which registry papers were issued to them, said a senior DDA official aware of the developments. The model code for Delhi elections came into force from January 6, immediately after the election commission announcing the schedule for the polls. The process to issue conveyance deed will start after the elections, said a senior housing and urban affairs (HUA) ministry official. People can register on the DDA website and submit their applications. They can even pay for the process. But conveyance deed cant be issued to them right now as it will be a violation of the election code of conduct. The process will start after the code of conduct is lifted, the ministry official said. Under Pradhan Mantri Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana (PM-UDAY), 20 property owners in Suraj Park and Raja Vihar both in Rohini Assembly constituency, which is represented by BJP MLA Vijender Gupta were given the ownership rights documents. In an interview to HT on January 9, Union minister Prakash Javadekar, the BJPs in-charge for Delhi elections, had said that minimum 50,000 registries will be done before the elections. HUA officials said, The number of people registering for ownership of their properties is increasing by the day. Those whose property survey and paperwork was completed before the election code of conduct kicked in will be given registry soon while others will get it after the elections. The BJP is projecting the Centres decision to confer ownership rights to residents as one of its main achievements in the campaign for the assembly elections. The issue has become a major flashpoint between the BJP-led Centre and the ruling Aam Aadmi party (AAP) in Delhi. The Centre has blamed the state government for delaying the process, while the latter has termed the process initiated by the Centre as fraudulent as the land-use of these colonies has not been changed. In Raja Vihar, property owners said they had no information about the status of their applications. Dayal Sharan Sahoo, who has a four-storey house, is waiting for a message from the DDA regarding his application. I had applied in December after which people came to take the measurement of my house. I also paid 1,120 to them. But since then, I have not heard from the DDA. I have made several rounds to the DDA office to check the status of my application. Every time I go there, they tell me that it will happen soon, said Sahoo. Like Sahoo, many have applied for ownership rights but are awaiting the final document. Praveen Kumar, an architect and a resident of Suraj Park, said there is uncertainty among people as no new registry has been issued in the past two weeks. The survey team has taken money from us, but not given us a proper receipt. The company name is not on the receipt. People are keen on registering their property, but now there is uncertainty over it, said Kumar. According to the DDA officials at the help desk set up by the land-owning agency in Rohini, over 700 people have registered and close to 100 have submitted their documents for ownership rights. A senior DDA official said, There will be huge pressure on us to complete the survey and issue the conveyance deed after the elections are over. We are putting the system in place to deal with the rush. We are also hiring more agencies to do the survey. Cheshires Anne Wnuck has a plan for her future. It involves working for government or non-government agencies, or even charities, to help nations implement development plans that improve the lives of their citizens. Shell be getting a head start on that work beginning next month. On Friday, Jan. 31, Wnuck, who graduated from Dalhousie University last spring with a degree in international development studies, will board a plane and head to Nepal, the start of her two-year service in the Peace Corps. While in the South Asian country, Wnuck will serve as an English Education Teacher, but will also work with both individuals and organizations on sustainable, community-based development projects that address problems within those neighborhoods and regions, according to a release from the Peace Corps. I am so excited, Wnuck told The Herald, approximately three weeks before her slated departure for Nepal. Ever since I was young, Ive had a great affinity for the Peace Corps and its mission. This will be an experience Ill never forget. Wnuck, who graduated from Cheshire High School in 2015, began the intensive application process back in June, almost immediately after earning her degree from Dalhousie. I knew how (selective) they are, and it was in no way a guarantee I would be accepted (into the Corps), she admitted. To even be considered, Wnuck had to fill out numerous applications, submit to interviews, including ones done over the Internet, and even take required physical exams to determine if she was ready for such a commitment. Finally, in August, Wnuck received word: She would be heading to Nepal at the beginning of 2020. Nepal is such a beautiful country. The people are so friendly, and the food I love the (traditional Nepalese food), so I am so excited for that, she said, laughing. Though this will be her first time visiting Nepal, Wnuck is no stranger to South Asia. While a student at Dalhousie, she spent a summer studying in India, where she familiarized herself with the culture and the Hindi language. That experience is what drew Wnuck to request Nepal as her destination because, despite the numerous differences between Nepal and South India, where Wnuck spent her time, the similarities between the cultures could, she feels, help smooth the transition. Hindi shares the same alphabet and many of the same words with Nepali, so I thought that would be of benefit. I will know (some of) the language, Wnuck explained. However, the 23-year-old understands the unique nature of the experience shes about to undertake. Spending two years in Nepal will mean acclimating to every aspect of the region and creating for herself a new home. It will also mean accepting her status as a foreigner. When I was in (India), I stood out. We all stood out, she recalled. Thats the thing: You are an outsider, so some people might be a bit distrustful at first. The first three months of Wnucks stay will involve intensive training, in both the language and the customs of the region. Afterwards, a determination will be made as to where in Nepal she will be based for her remaining 24 months. Already, she has met many Nepalese who have offered her invaluable advice on the dos and donts of living in the country. She plans to heed that advice. I know it may be difficult at first, but I am hoping that, after a few months, Ill have made new friends and new connections, she said. I want to be open and willing to learn all the time, and I hope that, by showing a positive attitude, I can really become a part of the community there. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2020 / Since the launch of Amazon and other technological and internet giants, e-commerce has been growing stronger. Most retail commerce is starting to be made online rather than in person. But e-commerce can be varied, and multiple people can get involved in this industry, as it covers many interests. To learn more about e-commerce and the future of this trend in 2020, check out these five e-commerce experts: -Travis Lubinsky DATE OF BIRTH: March 28, 1986 INSTAGRAM USERNAME: @trav Trav is the founder of Flex Watches. Each color of watch they sell represents a different charity that they partner with to give back 10%. He was featured on MTV's "Real World" and CNBC's "The Profit" with Marcus Lemonis. He is an e-commerce expert with over 10 years of experience. He generated over 1 million dollars within a year of launching his first website, and has sold 8 figures directly to consumers. Trav is also a licensing expert and has created products for some of the biggest brands in the world such as Star Wars, Minions and WWE. -Richard Jordan DATE OF BIRTH: April 9th, 2000 INSTAGRAM USERNAME: @richardjordan Richard Jordan got started in e-commerce in 2016 and made his first $100K by 2017 and $1M by 2018. He runs stores that equal up to $380K/mo. His e-commerce businesses are all private label brands and the goal of them is to exit with a healthy profit. His first exit was in 2019 for a $580K buyout exit. Richard's biggest accomplishments have been exiting one of his brands and buying 3 rentals in California in December. In addition, his e-commerce businesses and SMMA fuel as a cash cow for his real estate investments, which averages a 67% annual return. -Laz Chavez DATE OF BIRTH: December 17, 1993 INSTAGRAM USERNAME: @LazChavez Laz Chavez is a Cuban born immigrant living in Miami who has been involved with e-commerce for the past 5 years. He started with the intention of creating another stream of income. He was studying at Cornell to become a Mechanical Engineer but was looking for ways to make some extra money, so she became interested in methods for creating streams of passive income. Then one day he and his business partner got involved in dropshipping. It took 7 months of testing and failing until they saw their first profitable day. After, they started to scale their e-commerce business the right way. Story continues -Richard Telf DATE OF BIRTH: December 10, 1993 INSTAGRAM USERNAME: @RichardTelfOfficial Richard Telf is a first generation Cuban immigrant who has been doing e-commerce for about five years now. He had always been interested in business and finding ways to earn money beyond a regular job. He knew about dropshipping but was uncertain about whether it worked or not. At one point he decided to find out for himself. After doing his own research and determining the legitimacy of these bold claims, he decided to go half and half on a course with his current business partner Laz Chavez, and they started an e-commerce business together afterwards. Two years after creating their business, they made their first seven-figure month, and continue to scale. -HighKey Brothers (Jordan Lintz, Luke Lintz, and Jackson Lintz) DATE OF BIRTH: Age 23, 20 and 17 INSTAGRAM USERNAME: @highkeyco, @jordanlintz, @lukelintz, @jacksonlintz The HighKey Brothers aka The Lintz Brothers, Jordan, Luke and Jackson, all own and run HighKey Technology Inc. This e-commerce business created by them three years ago, today the brand name HighKey is recognizable all across North America. The HighKey Brothers love to stay engaged with current pop culture. In doing so they create and curate content according to their target demographic and tie in their top selling product (HighKey Wireless Earbuds) to achieve the ultimate branding. Family is first and business is a close second. The HighKey name has now expanded from our e-commerce company into two other quickly growing companies; HighKey Agency Inc. (social media agency) and HighKey Clout Inc. (podcast & Instagram growth). Jordan, Luke, and Jackson are a phenomenal trio that will continue to crusade the social media space. Contact Information: Paula Henderson 202-539-7664 phendersonnews@gmail.com About VIP Media Group VIP Media Group is a hybrid PR agency. Their diverse client base includes top class entrepreneurs, public figures, influencers, and celebrities. SOURCE: VIP-Media View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/572970/Top-5-E-commerce-Entrepreneurs-to-Watch-in-2020 NEW YORK (AP) Bank of America is slashing the amount it charges customers when they spend more than they have in their accounts and plans to eliminate entirely its fees for bounced checks. Maharashtra minister Vijay Wadettiwar has hinted that the state government may conduct a study to ascertain drawbacks and advantages of the current liquor ban in three districts, including Chandrapur. On April 1, 2015, when the BJP was in power, Chandrapur had become the third district to see a ban on sale and consumption of liquor. The other two districts to face liquor ban are Wardha and Gadchiroli. On his maiden visit to Chandrapur on Thursday after taking charge as the district's guardian minister, Wadettiwar said the government will formulate an action plan to develop the entire district, located in the Vidarbha region. Addressing the media, the MLA from Bramhapuri in Chandrapur district said around 46 countries are getting revenue just from tourism. In order to increase revenue, the state government will device a strategy and even consider providing beer to foreign tourists coming to Chandrapur, he said. The district, which houses the Tadoba National Park, sees heavy tourist footfalls, but foreign travellers choose to stay outside Chandrapur because of the liquor ban. "It is necessary to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of liquor ban imposed in Wardha, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur," Wadettiwar said. "A committee will study drawbacks and advantages of liquor ban if anyone makes such a demand from the government, he said. The minister said although the government will not stop any development project launched in Chandrapur, it will conduct a study to identify unwanted schemes in the district. The government will also focus on generating employment in the district by reopening 150 industries in the MIDC area in the district, said the Congress leader, who handles relief and rehabilitation portfolio. Moreover, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi also plans to improve irrigation facilities and launch projects to boost income of farmers. "A committee will be constituted to study human- animal conflict which has been on the rise in the district," he said. The government will focus on developing the entire district not just two or three tehsils, the minister added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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. Dog the Bounty Hunter, real name Duane Chapman, gave a surprisingly vulnerable interview to The New York Times about the sad state of his life in the wake of losing wife Beth. The 66-year-old reality TV star has been down on his luck as of late, with no money, a lot of grief from the death of his wife and a laundry list of health concerns. Additionally, his co-star Justin Bihag was arrested this week for violating a court order and Dog is in a rift with his daughter over the new woman in his life. Opening up: Dog the Bounty Hunter, real name Duane Chapman, gave a surprisingly vulnerable interview to The New York Times about the sad state of his life in the wake of losing wife Beth and revealed he is 'broke' Still, the blond and tanned bounty hunter is putting his nose the grind stone and getting back to catching bad guys, despite not having cameras rolling. 'I'm broke,' Dog admitted. He will be on the hook for over a million dollars and potentially lose his home if he doesn't recover a man who fled on drug related charges. The NYT reported that a judge gave Dog and extension on that particularly high-value client due to Chapman's poor health. Heartbreaking: After losing Beth to cancer in 2019, Dog is now 'broke' with a laundry list of health problems (Pictured in 2006) After the tragic passing of his beloved wife in 2019, the bounty hunter suffered a series of health scares. During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in September, Duane revealed he was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism and shared how his attitude about death has changed since receiving it. 'I said, after Beth left, I'm not afraid to die... I take that back. I'm not afraid to [die], but I don't want to,' the TV personality told Dr. Mehmet Oz. A pulmonary embolism is a potentially life threatening condition where a blood clot travels to your lungs, blocking blood flow to them. 'I need the attention,' Dog admitted. 'I wake up every day and say, 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the baddest bounty hunter of them all?'' (Pictured in 2006) Dog made several lifestyle changes to get his health under control and is hoping to return to television soon. 'I need the attention,' Dog admitted. 'I wake up every day and say, 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the baddest bounty hunter of them all?"' Adding: 'I need love.' He told The NYT that he is trying to get a pardon from the state of Texas after he was convicted of first degree murder in the 1970s for being in the getaway car for a friend who shot and killed another man. Chapman wants the pardon so he can live out his dream of becoming a Sheriff, which he would film for television. Plans for the future: He told The NYT that he is trying to get a pardon from the state of Texas after he was convicted of first degree murder in the 1970s so he can live out his dream of becoming a Sheriff, which he would film for televisio 'I think it'd be a hit,' he explained. This week, former Dog the Bounty Hunter cast member Justin Bihag was arrested in Colorado. The 36-year-old bounty hunter was arrested for being 'in violation of a court order to lay off booze and drugs' according to the gossip site. And it was Lyssa Chapman, Dog's daughter, who 'snitched' on the cast member, per TMZ. Drama: This week, former Dog the Bounty Hunter cast member Justin Bihag (right) was arrested for being in violation of a court order; he is the son of of Moon Angell, whom Duane is rumored to be dating (Pictured 2003) During the search, 'Justin called Duane on the phone, who apparently tried calming him down'. However he was eventually arrested on suspicion of violating his protective order, which banned him from any substance use. Justin is actually the son of Moon Angell, whom Duane is rumored to be dating following the death of his wife Beth last June. The TV personality defended his romance with Angell last Wednesday, saying that he's an empty nester in need of companionship as he mourns his late wife Beth. The plot thickens: TMZ reported that Bihag was turned in by Dog's daughter Lyssa who previously expressed her fury over Moon's relationship with her father on Twitter 'Who knows what my future holds, but right now I need her,' the reality TV personality, 66, told Radar. 'There will never be another Mrs. Dog but that doesn't mean I have to be so sad.' The veteran bounty hunter praised Moon as 'a trustworthy and loyal friend to [him] for over 20 years,' and 'experienced' with him and the family dynamic. Chapman's statements came in the wake of bad blood between Angell and his daughter Lyssa, who called Angell 'disgusting' and has slammed her on social media for preying on a widower in his most tender of times. Brad Anthony Majors, 37, of Shelbyville, was sentenced Wednesday by Judge Curtis L. Collier in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In May 2019, Majors agreed to plead guilty to an indictment, charging him with one count of exploitation of a child in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2251(a); and one count of possession of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(5)(B) and 2252A(b)(2). Majors was sentenced on Wednesday to 600 months in prison, followed by 15 years supervised release. Majors will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions during his supervised release. In November 2018, after receiving a report of abuse from the mother of Majors 8-year-old biological child, authorities investigated and determined that Majors was sexually abusing his child. During questioning, Majors admitted to recording sexually explicit acts between himself and the child, and that he had taken approximately 40 sexually explicit videos and images of such conduct. A search of Majors phone revealed four sexually explicit videos of Majors and the child, including numerous saved images of child pornography depicting known and unknown victims throughout the world that Majors obtained from online sources. Majors also admitted to trading at least one of these images online with an unknown person in exchange for images of child pornography. It is evident that offenders are finding new and increasingly disturbing ways to victimize and exploit vulnerable child victims," said U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey. "Cases such as this, however, demonstrate the Department of Justices dedication to protecting these vulnerable children and punishing those that seek to cause them harm. No matter who the offenders are, they will be met with significant consequences. With the combined effort of the Project Safe Childhood Initiative and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships, we will find these criminals and hold them accountable for their crimes against children." "The sexual exploitation of children is an especially heinous crime," said Joseph E. Carrico, special agent in charge of the Knoxville Division of the FBI. "Unfortunately, victimization of children is a growing issue in our country and one the FBI will not tolerate. The dedicated teamwork between our agents and the Shelbyville Police Department ensured there is one less predator on the street victimizing the most innocent and venerable members of our community." The criminal indictment resulted from an investigation led by the U. S. Attorneys Offices, the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, the U. S. Marshals Office, Shelbyville Police Department and Special Agent Matthew Acker with the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney James T. Brooks represented the United States. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U. S. Attorneys Offices, the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local agencies. All resources will locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, visit www.justice.gov/psc. Information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources. Four people were arrested in Gujarat's Vadodara district for beating to death a man after accusing him of having an illicit relationship with a woman, police said on Friday. "After killing Nannu Mavlankar, they took the body to Panchmahal district and set it ablaze to destroy evidence. All four have been arrested," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Chaudhary. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Eoghan Murphy has said that if his party is returned to government, he wants to stay on as housing minister. Speaking at a campaign event regarding social housing, Mr Murphy, who survived a motion of no confidence during his tenure, answered categorically Yes when asked if he would like to return to the portfolio if Fine Gael is elected to government after February 8. I have been quite clear that the job that we have started in housing when Fine Gael got the housing brief in 2016 and we started to make some inroads in the problems we face, and I think I have made some important reforms in the last couple of years, he said. Speeding up the planning process, were going to see many more apartments built because of the changes we made to the Department of Planning, I increased the amount of money were spending on social housing by 30%, regulating Airbnb, where we need to do more, in particular hiring resources and getting on in enforcement, and there are more things I want to do. I think given where we are in the housing cycle, I think its important that we continue with the plans that we have and we improve on what we can, and where we know we need to, and I would like the opportunity to continue what Ive been doing so far. The party was Read More: Fine Gael said it is delivering the largest social housing programme in decades and will ensure that 60,000 social houses are provided over the next five years. 10,000 social houses were provided last year and 11,000 will be this year, Mr Murphy added. I dont want anyone resigning from that commitment (to social housing), were putting in plans that responsibilities given to local authorities cant be taken away from them, regardless of who is minister. Data courtesy of The Irish Times Fine Gael party sources said they are braced for housing to be a major issue on the doorsteps, and in the days since the election was called, more widely publicised issues around homelessness have come to the fore. On Tuesday, Read More: The man was sleeping in a tent near the Grand Canal when it was removed by an industrial vehicle during works to tidy the canal walkway. On Wednesday, a Read More: Official Government figures show that 10,448 people are currently homeless in Ireland, 3,752 of whom are children. The Congress on Friday demanded a fair probe within six months into the case involving Jammu and Kashmir DSP Davinder Singh, arrested with Hizbul terrorists in south Kashmir, as Rahul Gandhi alleged the case was handed over to the NIA to "silence" Singh. The party also sought a re-investigation into the February 2019 Pulwama terrorist attack and Singh's role in it as he had been posted in the district as DSP at the time. Questioning the government's "conspicuous silence", it demanded the prime minister and the home minister to answer questions raised by people after Singh's arrest last week. The best way to "silence" Singh was to hand the investigation against him to NIA chief Y C Modi, under whose care the case will be "as good as dead", Gandhi alleged. Calling the National Investigation Agency chief "another Modi", the Congress leader said he had investigated the 2002 Gujarat riots and the killing of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya in 2003. "The best way to silence Terrorist DSP Davinder, is to hand the case to the NIA," Gandhi said on Twitter, adding, "In YK's care, the case is as good as dead." Gandhi put out the Twitter post using the hashtag "WhoWantsTerroristDavinderSilenced" and asked "why". Later, Congress spokesperson Supriya Srinate said serious questions are being raised on national security. She said Singh was not "just any other officer" as three days before his arrest, he was entrusted with the security of foreign diplomats visiting Jammu and Kashmir and prior to that, he was DSP in Pulwama when the terror attack happened. She said Singh also faced three FIRs for extortion. When Singh was arrested in Kulgam, he was accompanying Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists Naveed Baba and Altaf and a lawyer operating as an overground worker for terrorist groups. "Why is the government conspicuously silent. The conspicuous silence of the government raises so many questions. It is government's moral responsibility to conduct a fair probe so that there are no doubts," the Congress spokesperson said. Srinate said the government should hold a fair probe as the country's conscience needs to be satisfied. "It is not a matter to politicise. It is a matter of national security. The probe has to be above board. There can be no scope for suspicion. It is important for the government to satisfy any doubts raised. "We need to revisit the Pulwama attack. What is the role of Davinder Singh in the Pulwama attack and his role in the Parliament attack also needs to looked into," she said. She also asked where did so much RDX used in the Pulwama attack come from. She claimed DSP Singh has stated after his arrest that "it's a bigger game". "This is serious". "Whose confidence does he really enjoy. Why are prime minister, home minister and the National Security Adviser conspicuously silent," she asked. Srinate alleged NIA's role has been questionable in the probes against Swami Assemananda and Pragya Thakur. It is incumbent upon the government to clarify the questions raised, she said. "A fast track court needs to look into the entire activities and his (DSP's) role. A fast-track court should conduct a probe within six months," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) From Western Wyoming Community College Western Wyoming Community College will host Scottish Burns Night on Jan. 25 from 2-4 p.m., in the Rock Springs campus atrium. Scottish Burns Night is a traditional birthday celebration of the Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns. Robert Burns penned classic poems such as Address to a Haggis and Auld Lang Syne. Western will host its own Burns night to celebrate the poets life and work, as well as the culture and traditions of Scotland. Savor the sounds of live bagpipe music and the taste of haggis, a dish immortalized by Robert Burns poetry... Biography Judith Anderson: Australian Star First Lady of the American Stage By Desley Deacon Kerr, $59.99 If, as someone suggested to me, no one under 50 will have heard of Judith Anderson, this is a situation that should be corrected - and Desley Deacons superbly researched biography is just the thing to bring this about. Judith Anderson as Mrs Danvers gives the new Mrs de Winter (Joan Fontaine) the full treatment in Rebecca. Credit: Though her main career was overseas, essentially in the US, Anderson nevertheless seemed always to belong here, at least in part. She was born in Adelaide in 1897, the fourth child of a trained-nurse mother and a father lured to Australia by the prospect of gold, which led him to Broken Hill, typhus, then Adelaide. He left the family when Judith (born Frances Margaret, known as Fanny) was six, and this may be seen as the start of the often-difficult life she would endure on her way to major theatrical stardom. Feeling herself sprinkled with stardust after seeing a performance of Peter Pan, she always wanted to perform, whether in home entertainments, elocutionary recitations or high-school plays. She had found early what she wanted of life and made her professional debut (as Francee Anderson) in 1915, touring small towns with actor-manager Julian Knights company. One of the best ways to boost your status as an entrepreneur is to go to the right entrepreneur conference. Conferences not only allow you to get insight from some of the fields biggest names, they also afford you the opportunity to connect with people in the same boat as you. No one succeeds in business alone, and conferences are a great way to make valuable connections. Over the past 10 years Ive attended thousands of conferences. At one point, would sometimes attend three to four conferences a week. That all changed when I had my daughter. I then had less time to travel. It changed even more when my team started to grow from a two- or three-person team to a multi-company team with hundreds of different employees. I could no longer take off so many days to attend all these conferences. I had to whittle them down to the best conferences that drove the most amount of revenue. I wanted to limit myself to 12-18 conferences that really moved my bottom line. Here are the top conferences every entrepreneur should attend in 2020 that will actually move their bottom line: 1. Startup Grind February 11-12; Silicon Valley Startup Grinds annual global conference dedicates two days to relentless innovation and learning by every single attendee. Featuring over 100 speakers and dozens of corporate partners, Startup Grind has made this conference a valuable experience for entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes. Of particular interest is the Startup Program, an opportunity for 300 startups to exhibit to some of their industrys greatest minds and investors. 2. Mastermind Talks Date and location TBA Mastermind Talks is an invitation-only event that is exactly what it sounds like: a venue for some of the worlds most dynamic innovators to share their insights. Just because the speakers are notable, however, doesnt mean the conference has lost sight of its attendees the intimate and congenial nature of Mastermind Talks ensures that downtime is minimal and networking opportunities plentiful. 3. EY Strategic Growth Forum Date and location TBA EYs CEO-focused event may be invitation-only, but the Strategic Growth Forum hasnt lost its forward-thinking mindset in the years since its founding. 2019s speakers included Lindsey Vonn, Alex Morgan and Nicole Kidman and 2020s lineup is likely to be just as impressive. Each forum concludes with the awarding of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award, a fantastic ceremony that should inspire any attendee to keep pushing in the coming year. 4. The Montgomery Summit March 4-5; Santa Monica, CA The Montgomery Summit is an opportunity for cutting-edge leaders to connect and share insights theyve gleaned from the front line of business. Attendance is offered by invitation only, and this exclusive atmosphere allows The Montgomery Summit to seem less like a conference and more like a get-together for some of businesss brightest minds. Most conferences dont offer one-on-one meetings with top-level executives from across the business world, but The Montgomery Summit isnt most conferences. 5. Worldz date and location TBA Possibly the business worlds flashiest conference, Worldz is an annual event focused on blurring the lines between innovation, recreation, and connection. By featuring speakers that run the gamut from Jonah Peretti to Shaquille ONeal, Worldz guarantees that every attendee has the opportunity to hear from someone they can learn from. With its 2019 iteration featuring a complete transformation of the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, Worldz 2020 is bound to leave a lasting impression. 6. FinCon September 30-October 3; Long Beach, CA Designed as a conference and community, FinCon brings together financial influencers, decision makers and brands. Throughout the conference and beyond, this community collaborates on the best methods to generate and share content that audiences can use to create financial freedom. FinCon has become the largest financial content conference in the world, drawing podcasters, influencers, bloggers, and financial experts to share their knowledge and exchange ideas. The conference agenda grows every year with additional panels, workshops and networking events. 7. OPLZA Date and location TBA Ontraport has become nearly ubiquitous in the business world, and OPLZA is the perfect opportunity to master your skills with the software. Tech isnt the conferences only focus, though OPLZA is also an opportunity to get away and use the Ontraport platform as a way to think about how you can grow and evolve your business going forward. 8. Baby Bathwater Institute Events throughout the year in Mexico, Utah, Italy, and New Orleans Baby Bathwater events are just about as unprofessional as it gets ... and thats a good thing. The focus of Baby Bathwater is to provide a casual, community feel that focuses on unplugging, having genuine experiences, and making lasting connections; their ban on pitching also allows all attendees to breathe a bit more easily. Taking place in scenic locations all around the world, Baby Bathwater is a great opportunity to push your business and career to the next level while getting some time off in the process. 9. The Entrepreneur Summit Date and location TBA Deloittes Entrepreneur Summit is a unique, networking-focused event open to all entrepreneurs. Though the summit covers all bases of entrepreneurship, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is a particular focus of the event making it a must-attend for anyone working in M&A. Deloitte collects yearly, detailed conference feedback from its partner and attendees, ensuring that 2020s event will be even more impactful than 2019s. 10. SaaStr March 10-12; San Jose, CA SaaStr is for those founders, executives and investors involved in SaaS and the business cloud environment. This annual non-vendor SaaS conference provides three days of panel discussions, sessions, small group meetings, one-on-one mentoring sessions, networking and parties. As part of the three-day event, one entire day is devoted to pitches from venture capitalists. SaaStr is strictly about learning, business and professional development, and collaboration. Featured speakers include leaders of Airtable, Box, Github, Google Cloud, Zoom and more. 11. Financial Freedom Summit May 1-3; St. Louis, MO Every entrepreneur, regardless of their field or status, wants to achieve financial freedom at some point, and FinCons Financial Freedom Summit is geared towards giving you the tools you need to get there. Focusing on both business and personal finance, the event is designed to help everyone move to the next level of fiscal independence, regardless of where theyre at in their journey. Entrepreneurs face new hurdles every day ones that arent always easy to prepare for. By learning from the best and connecting with other leaders in your field, you can safeguard against whats to come and give your business a boost along the way. Related: Top 5 Must-Attend Events for Startups 11 Conferences Every Entrepreneur Should Attend in 2020 5 Leadership Conferences You Can't Afford to Miss in 2020 Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow says the administration is 'looking at' changes to a key anti-bribery statute, after President Trump was quoted complaining the laws on the books are unfair. He said the administration was looking at a 'package' of modifications. Kudlow who spoke to reporters at the White House Friday, responded to a question by DailyMail.com about Trump's bribery comment as quoted in a new book by two Washington Post reporters, and whether the administration wants to make changes. 'We are looking at it,' he said, asked about changes to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which generally prohibits Americans from paying bribes to secure contracts overseas. 'We are aware of it and we're looking at it.' Larry Kudlow, Director of the US National Economic Council, said the administration was 'looking at' modifying a federal anti-bribery statute related to Americans doing business overseas He held back on specifics. 'Let me wait until we get a better package,' Kudlow added when asked for further details. Trump is quoted in the new book saying: 'Its just so unfair that American companies arent allowed to pay bribes to get business overseas. Were going to change that,' the president adds. The book says Trump clashed with former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over getting rid of the 1977 law. President Donald Trump is quoted in a new book saying: 'Its just so unfair that American companies arent allowed to pay bribes to get business overseas' Trump overseas a sprawling real estate empire that includes multiple overseas properties. The quote was excerpted from A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trumps Testing of America, by reporters Phillip Rucker and Carol Leonnig. The push for reforms comes a day after Trump inked a 'Phase One' agreement with economic rival China which commits the Chinese to making hundreds of millions of purchases of U.S. agricultural products. Trump has previously complained the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is a 'horrible law' which places American companies at a disadvantage other foreign firms seeking to do deals. A man was arrested for allegedly cheating people on the pretext of providing jobs in a Thailand Airline which did not exist, police said on Friday. The accused has been identified as Sanket Jha, a resident of Mumbai, they said. According to police, they received information regarding a quarrel at Metropolitan hotel near Bangla Sahab Gurudwara here. When policemen reached the spot, they found that a fake job racket was being run by Jha promising people to get them jobs in 'Yo Air' in Thailand, which did not exist, police said. A senior police officer said a woman, hailing from Noida, lodged a complaint that she came to know about an interview for cabin crew in 'Yo Air' through social media. "She also alleged that after initial screening, she received an e-mail for an interview of the management round in Delhi at a hotel near Bangla Sahab Gurudwara," Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Eish Singhal said. However, when she reached there, Jha, who was conducting the interview, asked for a demand draft of Rs 2.55 lakh before the selection, the DCP said. The woman got suspicious and came to know that there was no airline in the name of 'Yo Air' in Thailand and she was being cheated, he said. The woman told police that around 250 to 300 people had come for the interview, Singhal said. Acase under sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) was registered at Mandir Marg police station on Thursday and the accused was arrested from the hotel, they said, police said. Two other female associates of the accused, who were present at the spot, have been asked to join the investigation, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ABVP member Komal Sharma, who has been called for questioning by the Delhi Police in connection with the 5 January violence on the JNU campus here, wrote to the head of the investigation team, saying she was ready to join the probe New Delhi: ABVP member Komal Sharma, who has been called for questioning by the Delhi Police in connection with the 5 January violence on the JNU campus here, wrote to the head of the investigation team, saying she was ready to join the probe. "It is being claimed in the media and social media that I am absconding, which is false, so I write to you to join the investigation," she said in a letter to DSP (Crime) Joy Tirkey. "I can join in for questioning either at the office of the National Commission for Women or at a place and time appropriate to you, which may be communicated to me through this e-mail," she said, adding that her family was concerned about her security. She said her name with photos has been circulated on social media, "which made things very tough" for her. "I started receiving threat calls on my number because of which I have switched off my number. My social media accounts were also filled with abuses and threats and so I have deactivated those as well," she said in the e-mail. Sharma, who is a student of Delhi University's Daulat Ram College, said a TV channel claimed that she was involved in the violence and used "all forums to defame her", subjecting her to "mental violence". Meanwhile, the RSS-affiliate Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad said the "smear campaign" against them by some media houses is unfortunate and they have been co-operating with the special investigation team (SIT). Two ABVP members appeared before the SIT on Thursday. Sidharth Yadav, state secretary, ABVP Delhi, alleged, "The misinformation being spread by some media houses and members of the press with respect to the ongoing investigation in the JNU violence case is unfortunate. These media houses have even been tweaking the statements of the Delhi Police to propagate the false narrative that the ABVP has not been cooperating with the SIT." He claimed that the allegation against Komal Sharma that she was the masked girl involved in the JNU violence are baseless as police had not said "anything to this effect". Sorry! This content is not available in your region Shodair Children's Hospital was named Business of the Year at the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce's annual awards luncheon Thursday. Shodair CEO Craig Aasved, a chamber board member, accepted the award on behalf the mental health hospital. "Shodair has an incredibly rich history of serving Helena," Aasved said. "I feel privileged to get to a part of this organization." The hospital served more than 1,800 patients in 2018 and is in the process of opening outpatient services in Missoula and Butte, according to the chamber's outgoing Executive Board Chairman John McLaughlin, who is the president of Stockman Bank in Helena. McLaughlin characterized Shodair as a vital member of the Helena business community in his presentation. The chamber's Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Rex Walsh. Chamber President and CEO Cathy Burwell told the nearly 400 people in attendance that she considers Volunteer of the Year to be the most important award handed out annually, citing the approximately 6,000 volunteer hours it takes to run the various chamber events and programs a year. "I even got a haircut this morning, and I didn't even know this was happening. Thank you," Walsh, a Stockman Bank vice president, said. Mike Mergenthaler, the chamber's vice president, received the Hospitality Hero award. Mergenthaler could not hold back his tears during his acceptance speech, but managed to thank those who have helped him over the years. "I appreciate all of you. Thank you," he said. McLaughlin presented Bill Simons, a Carroll College alumnus and longtime Helena optometrist, with the chamber's Business Person of the Year award, calling it "very well deserved." The Small Business of the Year award was handed out to Big Sky Brokers, a local real estate brokerage firm that employs 34 brokers and Realtors. Three of the four co-owners, Teresa Lightbody, Mark Stahly and Maureen Oelkers also a chamber board member accepted the award. "I stuffed the voting box," Oelkers joked. "It has been a great journey. We're so grateful for this business community." McLaughlin also presented his Chairman's Choice award to Montana state Rep. Julie Dooling, R-Helena, and Sen. Terry Gauthier, R-Helena, for their work in getting the Montana Museums Act of 2020 passed during the last legislative session. The piece of legislation will partially fund the construction of Montana Historical Society's Heritage Center, an estimated $44 million project, among other museum-related programs and initiatives, by increasing the state lodging sales and use tax from 3% to 4%. McLaughlin said the Heritage Center will pump millions of dollars into the local economy. Dooling, also a chamber board member, said that as a fourth generation Montanan, she was proud of the legislation and that it will have a statewide effect. The chamber's incoming Executive Board of Directors Chairwoman Sara Medley, who is the CEO of Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, closed out the afternoon's festivities by outlining her goals for the coming year. Medley announced the chamber's theme for 2020 is "making the chamber healthier." As such, she intends to spur on enrollment in the organization's Helena Leaders Network, develop an organization vision, revise its mission statement and foster a healthier working relationship with the business community. She also detailed potential future projects, including a co-op child care facility to serve downtown and the creation of "chamber diplomats," former board chairs working as a group to "augment what (the chamber) is already doing." "We are looking to the future," Medley said. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 7 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. Job Title: Display Officers (34236 A Level Jobs) Organisation: Electoral Commission Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda Reports to: The Returning Officer/District Registrar About US: The Electoral Commission is mandated under the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 (as amended), to organise, conduct and supervise on a regular basis free, fair and transparent elections and referenda. The Electoral Commission is currently implementing the 2020/2021 General Elections Roadmap. As per the law, the Electoral Commission is enjoined to conduct a countrywide Display of the National Voters Register exercise before any general election. In view of the above, the Electoral Commission will conduct a Display Exercise of the National Voters Register throughout the country from Wednesday, 19th February 2020 to Tuesday, 10th March 2020 during which persons who are not eligible to vote will be identified and removed from the National Voters Register. In addition to this, voters will have a chance to ascertain that their particulars and voting locations are correct. Job Summary: The Display Officer will provide support in conducting the Display of the National Voters Register at each polling station. Key Duties and Responsibilities: Display the Registers; Fill in the relevant Forms for Objection of Inclusion or Omission of a voter from the voters roll; Guide voters through the display processes; Confirm accuracy of voter information by re-checking the information in the Registers; Deliver display materials to the Parish Supervisors; Ensure that display kits are kept safely at all times; Perform any other duties that may be assigned from time to time by the Parish and/or Sub County Supervisors. Qualifications, Skills and Experience: The candidate applying for the position of a Display Official should hold a minimum of Advanced Level (A Level) Certificate with at least one principle pass with a good handwriting and able to fill forms accurately and completely. Previous experience as a Display Official or having worked before in any similar election activities in the field shall be of an added advantage. All successful applicants shall be expected to exhibit high degree of discipline and excellent people skills capable of reflecting a good image of the Electoral Commission. Successful applicants should be ready to take on the assignment by Friday 7th February 2020. How to Apply: All candidates should download this form here, Click Here. Typed or handwritten application letters are also accepted. The completed application form accompanied by a photocopy of the applicants National ID should be delivered to the Returning Officer/District Registrar of the Electoral Commission at each respective district office. The applicant must provide a phone number registered in his/her name. Female applicants are particularly encouraged to apply Deadline: 20th January 2020 For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline (Newser) Harry Harris has some hair on his upper lip, a fact now at the center of what "might just be the most bizarre criticism of a US ambassador in recent memory," per CNN. The US envoy to South Korea, who grew a mustache as he transitioned from naval officer to diplomat in July 2018, is battling accusations that his 'stache pays homage to Japan's brutal colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. South Koreans have pointed out that all eight Japanese governors-general had mustaches in that era. But "to take that history and put it on me simply because of an accident of birth I think is a mistake," Harris told the Korea Times, referring to his Japanese ancestry. He was born to a Japanese mother and an American father. He also pointed out that Korean independence figures sported mustaches, too. story continues below The newspaper notes that in the eyes of his critics, the mustache is "associated with the latest US image of being disrespectful and even coercive toward Korea." But Harris, 63, says he's being criticized because of his ethnic background. "All I can say is that every decision I make is based on the fact that I'm American ambassador to Korea, not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea." At CNN, Joshua Berlinger writes that such attacks would likely be considered racist in the US. However, "mixed-race families are rare and xenophobia remains surprisingly common" in South Korea. The criticism comes amid the Trump administration's push to have South Korea pay $5 billion to support US troops, more than five times what it paid last year, per the Guardian. In October, 19 students were arrested for allegedly trying to breach Harris' residence over that issue. (Read more South Korea stories.) Razorpay has launched Instant Refunds for businesses to amp up up consumers' online payment experience. The new product, the full-stack financial services company claims, will activate activate refunds and credit the customer's source account across payment methods like UPI, netbanking and credit card within one minute of initiation. As per the company release, India is one of the fastest growing online retail markets today. About 71 percent of internet users in the country purchase products online. Today, the refund process has two major pain points for both the end customer and the business. Firstly, a delay of five-seven business days for the customer in receiving the money because of multiple intermediaries like the acquiring bank, issuing bank and the networks (VISA/MasterCard/Rupay). Secondly, the lack of transparency during the entire refund process for both the customer and the business. This long cycle of processing refunds is a significant problem with every popular payment method in the industry. By issuing refunds instantly, Razorpay will help businesses retain its customers, build trust through an improved hassle-free payment experience and and provide complete transparency on refunds to both the business and the end-user, according to the company. This new feature promises to reduce the dependence on manpower as every refund issue on an average leads to ten service emails or calls from customer support teams. Shashank Kumar, CTO & Co-founder of Razorpay says, Instant Refunds are the new normal and central to a great customer experience. A lot of consumers fail to use online payment methods as they feel getting refunds through an online platform is a very time-consuming task, hence they prefer CoD as the best alternative. Given the technological advancements being made in the fintech ecosystem, its fair for customers to expect refunds as fast as possible. A solution like Instant Refunds will not only help build consumer confidence in digital payments but also reduce losses for ecommerce companies where CoD has become an expensive option with more than 50% online transactions made through cash. He added, Our Instant Refunds feature ensures that the refund is processed at a 3600x faster pace than the normal expected time of five-seven business days. The team is focused on creating new technologies designed to make the entire payment lifecycle hassle-free. We believe this new feature will take customer experience a notch higher, help brands create a competitive advantage, and even make them more profitable. Razorpay claims in its press release that its growth has been uphill, particularly in the last two years. With a 500 percent growth in 2019, the company has been witnessing a healthy growth rate of 35 percent month-on-month (MoM), the release says. The company also recently launched its corporate credit cards for its partner businesses, RazorpayX Current Accounts, Support for Freelancers and Homepreneurs, and acquired Opfin, a Payroll and HR Management Software company. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-17 17:00:31 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 642 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / Oceanus Resources Corporation (TSXV:OCN)(OTCQB:OCNSF) ("Oceanus" or the "Company") would like to cordially invite you to visit us at Booth #1039 at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) to be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West (1055 Canada Place, Vancouver) on Sunday, January 19 - Monday, January 20, 2020.Each year, the VRIC hosts over 60 keynote speakers, 350 exhibiting companies and 9000 investors.For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://cambridgehouse.com/vancouver-resource-investment-conference VRIFY Presentation and Deck for the El Tigre Silver ProjectVRIFY is a platform being used by companies to communicate with investors using 360 virtual tours of remote mining assets, 3D models and interactive presentations. VRIFY can be accessed by website and with the VRIFY iOS and Android apps. Please review the VRIFY presentation for Oceanus' El Tigre Silver Project in Sonora, Mexico.Access the Oceanus Company Profile on VRIFY at: https://vrify.com/explore/companies/oceanus-resources-corporation View the 360 virtual tour of the El Tigre Project and interactive 3D model at: https://vrify.com/explore/projects/481/sites/4091 The VRIFY Deck presentation can be viewed at: https://vrify.com/explore/decks/492 The VRIFY Presentation and VRIFY Deck can also be viewed on the Oceanus website at: https://www.oceanusresources.ca/ About Oceanus Resources CorporationOceanus Resources Corporation is a gold and silver exploration and development company operating in Mexico, with 100% ownership of the 35-kilometre-long, royalty free El Tigre property located in Sonora. A maiden resource estimate for the El Tigre project was reported on September 13, 2017 and filed on SEDAR on October 26, 2017 containing indicated resources of 661,000 gold equivalent ounces at 0.77 g/t (21 g/t silver and 0.51 g/t gold) and inferred resources of 341,000 gold equivalent ounces at 1.59 g/t (88 g/t silver and 0.52 g/t gold). The full National Instrument 43-101 technical report is posted to the Company's website, and can also be accessed by clicking here. Oceanus is managed by a team of mine finders with extensive experience exploring and developing large hydrothermal gold projects in Mexico. Oceanus is currently exploring the El Tigre Property in the Sierra Madre Occidental.For further information, please contact:Glenn JessomePresident and Chief Executive OfficerTel: 902 492 0298Email: jessome@ oceanusresources.ca CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, resources and reserves, the ability to convert inferred resources to indicated resources, the ability to complete future drilling programs and infill sampling, the ability to extend resource blocks, the similarity of mineralization at El Tigre to the Ocampo mine, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Oceanus, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "may", "is expected to", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans", "projection", "could", "vision", "goals", "objective" and "outlook" and other similar words. Although Oceanus believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Oceanus's expectations include risks and uncertainties related to exploration, development, operations, commodity prices and global financial volatility, risk and uncertainties of operating in a foreign jurisdiction as well as additional risks described from time to time in the filings made by Oceanus with securities regulators.SOURCE: Oceanus Resources Corporation (CNN) A second person has died in China from a new virus that has infected dozens of people and put the rest of Asia on alert, Chinese health officials said Thursday. A 69-year-old man identified only by his surname, Xiong, died on Wednesday in the central city of Wuhan in Hebei province, which is where the pneumonia-like outbreak originated, local health officials said in a statement. His death follows that of a 61-year-old man in the same city on January 9, who died after respiratory failure caused by severe pneumonia. Chinese scientists identified the illness as a new strain of coronavirus, which is in the same family as the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Symptoms of coronaviruses can range from fever and coughing to kidney failure, and in some cases lead to death. But the new coronavirus in Wuhan appears to not be as lethal as MERS, or SARS, which infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774 in a pandemic that ripped through Asia in 2002 and 2003. Currently, 41 cases of the new coronavirus have been reported in Wuhan, central China's largest city. Five of those patients are in serious condition while 12 have been discharged after treatment, local health authorities said. Other patients are stable and under treatment. In total, 763 people who had close contact with the infected patients have been traced. Of those, 644 people have been discharged and 119 are still under medical observation, but no infected cases have been found among them, according to health officials. The man who died on Wednesday fell ill on December 31 and was admitted to Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital five days later, where his condition worsened. Health officials said he suffered from abnormal renal function, inflammation of the heart muscle and severe damage to multiple organ functions. Scans also showed lung damage with possible tuberculosis. The first, and the majority, of the infected patients in Wuhan have been traced to the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, which has been shut down for disinfection since January 1. Wuhan health authorities said on Wednesday that some "environmental samples" taken from the market tested positive for the virus. Apart from fish, the market also sold other live animals, including birds, rabbits and snakes -- sparking concerns that the virus might have been transmitted to humans from animals, just like SARS and MERS. Meanwhile, two cases have been found outside of China. The virus was confirmed Thursday to have been detected in Japan, a few days after Thailand confirmed its first case of infection. In both cases, the infected people had traveled to Wuhan. The outbreak has cast a shadow over celebrations for Lunar New Year, which falls on January 25, and put the rest of Asia on edge. Hundreds of millions of people in China are expected to travel over the course of the new year period, both within the country and overseas. Researchers have yet to rule out the possibility that the virus could be transmitted from person to person and virologists around the world are now studying its genome sequence shared by Chinese researchers. On Wednesday, Hong Kong's Food and Health officials said there is a "limited" chance of human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, though added that such a possibility could not be ignored. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Watch Level 1 Alert -- the lowest of a three-tier travel health notice that warns visitors to Wuhan to "be aware and practice usual precautions." Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 05:52:10|Editor: zyl Video Player Close Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic (L) shakes hands with Austrian Federal Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler during their meeting in Zagreb, Croatia, on Jan. 17, 2020. Croatia and Austria will continue to push for a decision to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia at European Council level in March, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Austrian Federal Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler said here at a meeting on Friday. (Patrik Macek/Pixsell via Xinhua) ZAGREB, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Croatia and Austria will continue to push for a decision to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia at European Council level in March, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Austrian Federal Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler said here at a meeting on Friday. Plenkovic, whose country currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), stressed the importance of opening accession negotiations with the two countries as soon as possible, which would be a good signal for the entire region. The Croatian prime minister also briefed Edtstadler on the priorities of the Croatian presidency, which Austria accepts and supports. Croatia will intensively work on the new Multiannual Financial Framework, and Plenkovic stressed the importance of reaching an agreement as soon as possible, taking into account the specificities of all EU members. He also briefed the Austrian minister on preparations for the EU summit to be held in Zagreb in May on the perspective of the Western Balkans to join the EU. By PTI WASHINGTON: Donald Trump once left Prime Minister Narendra Modi flabbergasted after he told him that India and China didn't share a border, revealing the US President's "woefully" poor knowledge of geography, according to a new book authored by two Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalists. The 417-page book, 'A Very Stable Genius', written by Philip Rucker and Carol D Leonnig, detailed similar vivid incidents from Trump's tumultuous first three years as President, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The businessman-turned-politician won the US presidential election in 2016 and assumed the position on January 20, 2017. The book claimed during one of his meetings with Modi, Trump told him, "It's not like you've got China on your border." However, the Washington Post report did not mention the year in which President Trump made this gaffe. After Trump bungles his India-China geography, the authors, both Post reporters, claimed that "Modi's eyes bulged out in surprise" and his "expression gradually shifted, from shock and concern to resignation". The two reporters were part of the team that won a 2018 Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on Trump and Russia. The book quoted a Trump aide as saying that Modi probably "left that meeting and said, 'This is not a serious man. I cannot count on this man as a partner'". "After the meeting", the aide told the authors, "the Indians took a step back in their diplomatic relations with the United States." India and China have an unresolved border dispute that covers the 3,488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC). Modi and Trump, who have developed a personal rapport, met four times in 2019, including their joint appearance at the historic 'Howdy Modi!' event in Houston. They spoke over the phone at least twice last year. During his visit to the US in September last year, Prime Minister Modi once again extended his invitation to President Trump to visit India along with his family. Bihar STET 2019 admit card: Bihar Secondary Teachers Eligibility Test (BSTET) 2019 admit card will be released today on the official website of Bihar Board. BSTET will be conducted on January 28, 2020. Candidates who have registered the exam will be able to download their admit card online. Candidates can download their admit cards online at bsebstet2019.in. The BSTET will be conducted in two shifts. Paper 1 will be conducted in morning shift from 10 am to 12:30 pm while the paper 2 will be conducted in evening shift from 2 pm to 4:30 pm. Candidates should report at the centre one hour before the commencement of exam. Read More: Bihar STET 2019 application process reopens, apply for 37K teachers post till Dec 24 Moreover, it has been stated that candidates wearing shoes, sacks and wrist watch will not be allowed to enter the exam hall. Candidates are advised to wear slippers at the exam centre. There are a total of 25270 vacancies for teachers of class 9 and 10 while 12065 vacancies are there for teachers of class 11 and 12. How to download BSTET admit card 2019: Visit the official website at bsebstet2019.in Click on the link that reads STET admit card Login using your application number and date of birth Your admit card will be displayed on screen Download and take its print out. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON When a 16-year-old boy shot and killed a fellow student at a Houston high school this week, it set off yet another round of questions about how students manage to get guns onto campuses undetected. But the Texas tragedy also calls attention to the unique and difficult fallout from gun incidents that are deemed accidental. The shooting in Houston happened late Tuesday afternoon, at Bellaire High School on the outskirts of the city. Local law enforcement and school officials have been tight-lipped about the incident, saying only that the suspect, whom they wouldnt name, is in custody and that hes been charged as a juvenile with manslaughter. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said at a press conference that her office opted not to charge the boy with murder because, even though he pulled the trigger, so the act was reckless, he didnt appear to have intended to kill 19-year-old Cesar Cortes. Cortes was a senior at Bellaire High who had already enlisted in the U.S. Army, according to local media reports. Bellaire High was closed Wednesday, but it reopened Thursday. Houston school district officials said theyd provide extra security personnel and crisis counselors to support students. Tuesdays shooting was the second campus incident of firearms violence that resulted in injury or death in 2020, according to Education Weeks school shooting tracker . Cortes became the first person to die in a school shooting this year, according to the tracker. Take Time to Process the Incident Sherry Zelsdorf is a Los Angeles middle school teacher who was injured in 2018, along with several of her students, when a gun, brought to school by a student, fired from inside a backpack . In an interview, Zelsdorf urged officials at Bellaire High to take the time thats needed to reevaluate their safety procedures, and to process the incident with staff and students. When shootings are deemed accidental, or when theyre not rampages, with advance planning and multiple victims, schools risk treating them like maybe theyre not as big of a deal and shortchanging the process of addressing physical and emotional safety issues, Zelsdorf said. When she returned to Salvador Castro Middle School, after recuperating from shrapnel wounds to her head, my school just kind of wanted to move on, Zelsdorf said. I just felt like things werent addressed, like how were were going to keep this from happening in the future? Feeling emotionally unsafe was a big part of her decision to change schools, Zelsdorf said. She now teaches 8th grade science at Paul Revere Charter Middle School, in Los Angeles wealthy Brentwood neighborhood. She said that she feels safe there because there are safety protocols that all staff know about, and there are ongoing discussions about safety, with good communication from her administration. Nonetheless, Zelsdorfs daily life still shows the fallout from her trauma two years ago. She cant participate in lockdown drills, because she finds it too upsetting to watch children go under their desks, she said. A recent accidental pull of her schools fire alarm sent her into a tailspin when she saw an administrator running across the quad. She has her students put their backpacks under their desks, because she fears having to step over one. Students Reportedly Knew About the Gun Being on Campus The Los Angeles incident in Zelsdorfs classroom has something in common with this weeks incident in Houston: in each case, students knew that a fellow student had a gun on campus, but didnt report it to any adults or authorities. The Houston school district has a tip line that allows anonymous reports online or by phone. Zelsdorf sees this as yet another reminder that most schools havent mastered the technique of creating space where children feel safe to report what they know. As they try to keep campuses safe, schools struggle with balancing students civil rights and their physical safety. Random searches are one tactic school police have used, but theyve come under attack for alleged disproportionate use against minority students. In the Houston Independent School District, most schools dont have metal detectors and police do not conduct random searches at most schools. In general, searches are conducted only with probable cause. Los Angeles Unified, in fact, voted last June to end a policy that allows students to be wanded, or randomly searched. According to district policy, trained personnel can still search students if they have reasonable cause. The wanding practice is still in place in schools until July, when the school board is supposed to propose an alternative school-security policy, said district spokesman Daryl Strickland. In Houston, there is still much to sort out. The victims uncle, Cesar Diaz, told The New York Times that hes uneasy with the determination that the shooting was an accident . Hes heard from his nephews friends in Bellaire Highs Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps that the suspect, who also participated in that program, had a history of bullying and had brought the gun to a JROTC meeting to show his peers. We dont see this as accidental, he said. We are holding the school accountable. Houston TV station KPRC located four students who were present when the shooting happened. They said that the suspect and Cortes were getting ready for JROTC drill practice, and were in that buildings supply closet, where uniforms and practice rifles are kept, when the younger boy lifted his shirt and showed them a gun he had tucked into his waistband. I think he was only trying to show me, but Cesar was standing next to me, said one of the students, identified in that report only as Brandon. He pulls it out of his pants, and he cocks it and a bullet comes out. Image: Cesar Cortes, a 19-year-old senior, was shot and killed earlier this week by a classmate at Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas, authorities said. Johnny Marr and Hans Zimmer attend 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' New York Premiere ath the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. LAN (Photo by Lars Niki/Corbis via Getty Images) Johnny Marr, the legendary guitarist and songwriter with The Smiths, is working on the score for the upcoming James Bond film No Time To Die. Marr is going to work alongside his longtime collaborator Hans Zimmer on the music for the 25th installment to the franchise, which will also mark Daniel Craigs final appearance as 007. Speaking to NME about his inclusion on the film, Marr was, understandably, rather happy to be joining No Time To Die. Part of the legacy of the Bond films is iconic music, he declared. So Im very happy to be bringing my guitar to No Time To Die. Read more: Henry Golding reacts to next Bond rumours Marr has become quite the pro when it comes to film scores as he has worked alongside the Oscar-winning Zimmer on four movies now. These have included Inception, The Amazing Spider-Man, Freeheld, and The Big Bang. James Bond (Daniel Craig) in discussion with Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) in NO TIME TO DIE, a DANJAQ and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. (Credit: Nicola Dove 2019 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.) In the past, Marr, who previously toured with Zimmer, too, has even gone as far as to call him family, before adding, Hes always doing movies and I like doing movies so I think there are going to be a couple more films going on. This is the second big announcement of the week regarding the music for No Time To Die, as it was recently revealed that Billie Eilish will be singing the title theme song for the film. Read More: Barbara Broccoli says streaming platform could win James Bond rights Well get to hear what this sounds like just before No Time To Die is released on April 6. Written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, with Fukunaga on directing duties, too, the rather stacked No Time To Die will also feature Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Naomi Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, and Ralph Fiennes. Libreville, Gabon (PANA) - The Gabonese Ministry of Chemistry for Industry, Agriculture and Livestock Farming (GCIAE) Friday hosted a training workshop on good agricultural practices under the theme Association of Cultures, an official source told PANA here PARIS Visitors were turned away from the Louvre on Friday after strikers protesting the French governments planned pension overhaul blocked entrances to the museum, leaving tourists from around the world befuddled and frustrated. The Louvre the worlds most visited museum was the latest target in the 44-day standoff between the government of President Emmanuel Macron and the labor unions opposed to him, with strikes that have caught commuters, business people and tourists in the middle. About 100 protesters prevented visitors from entering the museum, including through the famed glass pyramid that sits in the Louvres central courtyard, where they waved union placards and chanted slogans against President Emmanuel Macron as tourists looked on glumly. Closing the Louvre to prevent tourists from visiting is very important because its the most visited museum in the world, said Christophe Benoit, 52, a protesting employee of Frances Culture Ministry, although he acknowledged that some visitors were very angry. Alexei Pushkov, a member of the Russian parliament's upper house, said Thursday that the Estonian foreign minister got himself confused trying to defend sanctions on Sputnik MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2020) Alexei Pushkov, a member of the Russian parliament's upper house, said Thursday that the Estonian foreign minister got himself confused trying to defend sanctions on Sputnik. Urmas Reinsalu told Sputnik earlier that pressure on its office in the Baltic country had nothing to do with the news agency per se and everything with the EU sanctions against the head of its parent company, Rossiya Segodnya. "The Estonian foreign policy chief is really confused. Tallinn's actions against Sputnik are not aimed at Sputnik (?) but rather at Rossiya Segodnya director Dmitry Kiselev and are taken in 'defense of Europe. ' Utter nonsense," Pushkov tweeted. He argued that Estonian persecution of Sputnik employees, who were threatened with legal action if they continued working for the agency, was a means of closing an "undesirable" media outlet. Kiselev was one of Russians slapped with EU sanctions in 2014 over their purported role in the Ukrainian crisis. Rossiya Segodnya or Sputnik, for that matter, have never been banned in the EU but have faced a lot of discrimination in Estonia and its Baltic neighbors in the past years. Solvay village government is a dumpster fire. Can anyone put it out? Up to now, the hijinks of Mayor Derek Baichi have merely caused embarrassment. His latest actions may have violated the law. Baichi defeated a longtime incumbent in 2017 on a platform of shaking up the cozy village board. Hes done that in spades -- turning meetings into shouting matches, suspending the village police chief without explanation, and at one point declaring a state of emergency when he didnt get his way. After a recording of one profane, sexist tirade became public, Baichi said he was let go from a job paying $170,000 a year. The board called on him to resign for turning the village into a laughingstock. The controversies keep on coming. Last month, Police Chief Allen Wood (reinstated as mysteriously as he was suspended) tried to hire his son to be on the police force, despite the fact it would be illegal under a village ban on nepotism. After an outcry, the board plans to hire someone else. Now, the village is facing a claim by former housing inspector Chuck Callura that Baichi fired him for raising concerns about a pair of tenants who are friends of the mayor. A landlord accused the tenants, Lisa Ligoci and William Ekstrand, of causing $20,000 in damage to a rental property. Callura has filed a complaint with the state Division of Building Standards and Codes, alleging that the file of code violations had been destroyed and the mayor pulled strings to keep the power on in the house. Looking the other way at housing code violations can put tenants and property in danger. That is a serious dereliction of the villages duty to protect public safety. Plus, its not fair to landlords who play by the rules. Baichi also showed lousy judgment in appointing the couple to the village codes committee. They are notorious in Solvay for being bad tenants; for example, leaving a pet pig in a house for three weeks. They should have nothing to do with writing housing codes. For all his bluster, bravado and bad decisions, Baichi actually has done some good things for Solvay. He questioned why the village has such a large budget surplus. He mercilessly criticized Trustee Daniel Bellotti for literally phoning it in Skyping into village meetings from his home in Florida. Bellotti decided not to seek re-election. Its one thing to behave badly, and another to govern badly. Baichi is doing both. Without all this upset and wasted energy, what could the mayor and the board be doing to make Solvay a cool little place in which to live and work? The village has natural advantages cheap municipal power and proximity to the recently renovated State Fairgrounds that it could be exploiting. Instead, Solvays government is consumed by cronyism, backbiting and possible malfeasance. And Baichi has two more years in office before facing voters again. Solvay residents, take back your village. About Syracuse.com editorials Editorials represent the collective opinion of the Advance Media New York editorial board. Our opinions are independent of news coverage. Read our mission statement. Members of the editorial board are Tim Kennedy, Trish LaMonte, Jason Murray and Marie Morelli. To respond to this editorial: Post a comment below, or submit a letter or commentary to letters@syracuse.com. Read our submission guidelines. If you have questions about the Opinions & Editorials section, contact Marie Morelli, editorial/opinion leader, at mmorelli@syracuse.com Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Washington D.C. Federal prosecutors in Washington are investigating a years-old leak of classified information about a Russian intelligence document, and they appear to be focusing on whether former FBI Director James Comey illegally provided details to reporters, according to people familiar with the inquiry. The case is the second time the Justice Department has investigated leaks potentially involving Comey, a frequent target of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called him a "leaker." Trump recently suggested without evidence that Comey should be prosecuted for "unlawful conduct" and spend years in prison. The timing of the investigation could raise questions about whether it was motivated at least in part by politics. Prosecutors and FBI agents typically investigate leaks of classified information around the time they appear in the news media, not years later. Law enforcement officials are scrutinizing at least two news articles about the FBI and Comey, published in The New York Times and The Washington Post in 2017, that mentioned the Russian government document. Hackers working for Dutch intelligence officials obtained the document and provided it to the FBI, and both its existence and the collection of it were highly classified secrets, the people said. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The document played a key role in Comey's decision to sideline the Justice Department and announce in July 2016 that the FBI would not recommend that Hillary Clinton face charges in her use of a private email server to conduct government business. The investigation into the leaks began in recent months, the people said, but it is not clear whether prosecutors have impaneled a grand jury or how many witnesses they have interviewed. What prompted the inquiry is also unclear. Canadas foreign minister on Thursday vowed to push Iran for answers about the mistaken downing of a passenger plane amid high tensions after the US killed one of Tehrans top commanders. The plane was hit and all 176 people on board were killed just hours after Iran fired strikes against US troops stationed in Iraq in retaliation for a drone attack that killed its most prominent general, Qasem Soleimani. In the wake of such a horrific tragedy there are many questions, Francois-Philippe Champagne said at a meeting in London. Families want answers, the international community wants answers, the world is waiting for answers and we will not rest until we get them. Champagne was speaking after talks with counterparts from countries whose nationals were among those killed when the plane was hit after taking off from Tehran last week. Fifty-seven of the victims on board the Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines flight were Canadian. Irans initial denial of claims, based on US intelligence, that the Boeing 737 was hit by a missile sparked days of protests and international calls for a full and transparent investigation. But the Islamic republic later accepted the jet had been targeted unintentionally. President Hassan Rouhani called it an unforgivable mistake. In a joint statement after Thursdays talks, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain issued a five-point plan for cooperation with Iran. It called for full and unhindered access for foreign officials to and within Iran and a thorough, independent and transparent international investigation. Iran should assume full responsibility for the downing of flight PS752 and (recognise) its duties towards the families of the victims and other parties -- including compensation. In addition, it called for those responsible to be held to account in an independent criminal investigation and trial in line with international standards of due process and human rights. Grief and anger Champagne told a news conference that families of those who died needed closure and there was a need to prevent similar incidents in the future. When you accept full responsibility there are consequences coming from that, he said. Today is not the day for blame, today is the day for answers, he added, saying the families had grief and anger and they want us to stand for them. The ministers earlier took part in a candle lighting ceremony and a moments silence at Canada House in London in memory of the victims. The United States said on Tuesday that it supported the three EU countries that launched a process charging Iran with failing to observe the terms of the 2015 deal curtailing its nuclear programme. Britain, France and Germany began the dispute process in the wake of Soleimanis death. Germans defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Thursday confirmed reports that US President Donald Trump threatened the EU3 with a 25-percent tariff on car exports if it continued to back the deal. British minister Andrew Murrison said the government wanted to keep the deal alive, assessing it was the best hope of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. President Rouhani said earlier on Thursday that his countrys daily enrichment of uranium was currently higher than before the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal. He did not specify whether Iran was now producing a greater quantity of enriched uranium, or whether it was enriching ore with uranium 235 isotopes at a higher level than before the deal. Vikrant Chavan, a Congress corporator from Thane, whose video abusing a woman at a metro station had gone viral on social media, justified his action saying she had no right to talk to me without my permission. In the viral video, Chavan could be seen throwing his weight around a female journalist when she tries to speak to him at a metro station. He can even be seen hit her. The incident took place on January 16, when Mumbai-based journalist Tabassum Barnagarwala spotted the corporator misbehave with the staff at a metro station. When she tried to intervene, she was asked to shut up and back off. Chavan has defended himself saying he only pushed the womans mobile away because she started making a video while he was interacting with the metro staff in the capacity of a corporator. Challenging her to escalate the matter, he told ANI: I had an argument with the metro officials after my ticket got stuck in a machine at the metro station. A woman started making a video, so I pushed her mobile away. If I am wrong, she can sue me, but if I am not wrong, I will take action. According to a Mumbai Mirror report, he also said there is no proof that he was shouting at the metro staff and that metro stations are anyway not a silence zone. The corporator further said: I was asking for my right. I am a corporator, yet I didnt travel without a ticket, and attacked Barnagarwala instead saying: Whos that girl? Is this the way to behave with a common man?. She came at the end of the movie and is trying to create a full-length film I only told her not to speak to me without my permission, since I am a corporator, he added. THREAD:"I am a corporator, do you know that?"was the first thing I heard as I entered the metro station today.Congress corporator Vikrant Chavan was shouting at two Metro staffers & two security personnel who tried their best to calm him down.Being a journalist, I was curious (1) Tabassum (@tabassum_b) January 15, 2020 ..and I asked a staffer named Sajid what had happened. "He is a corporator, that is the only reason he is shouting. He won't even listen," he said. I listened as a security guard requested that it was a silent zone, Chavan flared up and shouted louder. (2) Tabassum (@tabassum_b) January 15, 2020 I decided to intervene, and asked Chavan politely to calm down. His voice grew louder, he said "Tu ja yahan se. Mein Vikrant Chavan hun. Corporator". At that point we decided to make a video. Chavan got violent, hit my hand to stop the video. (3) @INCIndia @INCMaharashtra pic.twitter.com/9L1wzcAN6M Tabassum (@tabassum_b) January 15, 2020 By this point more security was coming. He quickly left the station. A day after NCP minister Nawab Malik's brother Kaptan Malik's video went viral for assaulting labourers, herr is a Congress politician who is using his power for no reason. Some background to Vikrant Chavan (4) Tabassum (@tabassum_b) January 15, 2020 In 2015, Congress' Chavan, from Thane, was charged with abetment to suicide after Thane builder Suraj Parmar committed suicide. Chavan was accused of "mental harassment and demanded payoffs" from Parmar forcing him to end his life. (5) @INCIndiaLive @INCMaharashtra Tabassum (@tabassum_b) January 15, 2020 Chavan, with three other corporators, was accused of creating a nexus involving politicians and builders. He was even imprisoned for some time in Parmar's suicide case. In 2017, Thane police raided his and his family's house due to undeclared assets. (6) Tabassum (@tabassum_b) January 15, 2020 Despite so many cases,this year Congress nominated Chavan to contest from Oval Majiwada seat for State assembly elections in Thane. It is sad to know that politicians avail such freedom to shout and assault at their whim and still get nominated by party @INCMaharashtra @ie_mumbai Tabassum (@tabassum_b) January 15, 2020 The scribe had shared her ordeal on Twitter along with the video clip they had made before Chavan hit her hand. She wrote:She also pointed out how Chavan is the same corporator who was imprisoned after being indicted in the suicide case of Thane builder Suraj Parmar. His residence was also raided once due to undeclared assets, Barnagarwala wrote. Over a three-day period in 2018, a woman in South Carolina secretly added enough eye drops to her husbands water for the active ingredient in the medicine to kill him, according to court filings and officials. On Thursday, the woman, Lana Sue Clayton, 53, a former Veterans Affairs nurse, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing her husband, Stephen D. Clayton, 64, at their home in Clover, S.C., the documents show. She admitted to administering the poison to him from July 19 through July 21, 2018, an arrest warrant says. What a tangled web we weave, Judge Paul M. Burch said at the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Court hearing in York, S.C., on Thursday, according to video from WCNC. Ms. Clayton, you sure have tangled this one up, he said. You let him suffer for three days. I did impulsively put the Visine in Stevens drink, but I just did it to make him uncomfortable, Ms. Clayton said in court, referring to a common eye drop, according to The Associated Press. I never thought it would kill him. The court also passed fresh directions on the application moved by Delhis Tihar jail authorities seeking issuance of fresh death warrants aga-inst the four convicts Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh and Pawan Gupta. The jail authorities told the court that the convicts have not yet availed of all the remedies provided under the law. NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy petition of Mukesh Kumar Singh, one of the four men facing the gallows in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case following which a sessions court issued fresh death warrants for February 1, 6 am against the four convicts. The mercy petition was rejected by the President hours after it was forwarded to him by the Union home ministry. While hearing Mukeshs plea seeking postponement of the date of his execution scheduled for January 22, additional sessions judge Satish Kumar Arora said: This case presents a scenario where the convicts were given the opportunity to file mercy but only one preferred. There might be delay tactics. For how long will this go on? Had the death warrant not been issued, the convicts would not have initiated using their legal remedies. The court also passed fresh directions on the application moved by Delhis Tihar jail authorities seeking issuance of fresh death warrants aga-inst the four convicts Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh and Pawan Gupta. The jail authorities told the court that the convicts have not yet availed of all the remedies provided under the law. Public prosecutor Irfan Ahmed also informed the court that Mukeshs mercy plea was rejected by the President and that the convict has been duly informed about the development. Copies of the Presidents order were also supplied to other convicts. At this, advocate Vrinda Grover, representing Mukesh, moved an application seeking certain documents from Tihar jail post mercy plea rejection. Advocate A.P. Singh, counsel representing Vinay, Akshay and Pawan, said: These are not delaying tactics. Tihar (jail) is not giving us the documents. This is perhaps the first occasion when the President has decided so swiftly on any mercy petition. Generally, it takes months and in some cases years for the President to decide on the mercy petitions. Mr Kovind himself took more than nine months to act on the first mercy petition forwarded to him by the home ministry in July 2017. The petition related to a death convict who had burned alive seven members of a family, including five children, over a case of buffalo theft. Mr Kovinds predecessor Pranab Mukherjee had cleared all the 32 mercy petitions pending before him during his five-year presidency. Of the 32 mercy petitions, he had rejected 28. Mr Mukh-erjees record of rejecting mercy petitions is unparalleled among his immediate predecessors and is second only to President R. Venkatraman, who rejected 45 mercy pleas. Then president K.R. Narayanan and his successor Abdul Kalam (2002-2007) hold the distinction of sitting on mercy petitions, or what the Law Commission said in a 2015 report, putting the brakes on the disposal of mercy petitions. President Narayanan did not act upon a single mercy petition sent to him, while Kalam disposed of a grand total of two pleas commuting one and rejecting the other. Under Article 72 of the Constitution, the President has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence, including cases where the sentence is a sentence of death. It was only a day after the AAP government recommended the rejection of Mukeshs mercy petition that the Delhi Lieutenant Governor on Thursday sent it to the Union home ministry, which swiftly forwarded it to the President. The mercy petition was against the sessions courts death warrants against the execution of the four convicts on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail. The sessions court had issued their death warrants on January 7. In wake of rejection of Mukeshs mercy petition by the President, the sessions court on Friday issued fresh death warrants against all the four convicts in the seven-year-old case. Once the mercy petition is rejected by the President, the convict has to be given 14 days time to prepare for his execution. In this matter, all the four convicts have to be hanged together. So far only Mukeshs mercy plea has been rejected. Vinay too had moved a mercy petition, which he had withdrawn later. Now, Vinay and other two convicts have the option of moving their mercy pleas before the President. Before filing the mercy pleas, the convicts can also file curative petitions before the Supreme Court. In this case, the curative petitions of two of the convicts has already been rejected by the apex court. The curative petition is the last legal resort available for redressal of grievances in court which is normally decided by a judge, in-chamber. It is only in rare cases that such petitions are given an open-court hearing. On December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old medical student was gang-raped and tortured on a moving bus before being dumped on a road in south Delhi. The woman, who came to be known as Nirbhaya, died on December 29 in a Singapore hospital. Six men were arrested for the horrifying assault. A fifth accused Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail during the trial and the sixth man, a few months short of 18 at the time of the incident, was released after three years in a reform facility. Nirbhayas mother Asha Devi expressed displeasure with the delay in the hanging, and said the convicts were getting what they wanted. She has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with folded hands to hang them on January 22, and broke down during an interview to a TV channel as she tore into political parties for using her daughters death for their own gain. Asha Devis comments came amid a war of words between the AAP which rules Delhi and the BJP in power at the Centre over delays in the execution. Denying the Delhi governments role in delaying the hanging of the convicts, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the victims mother is being misguided and accused the BJP leaders Prakash Javadekar of politicising the matter. Kejriwal, who is the AAPs national convener, told reporters that whatever responsibilities the Delhi government had, it had finished them within a few hours. We sent the mercy petition within hours, so the Delhi government has no role in delaying the hanging of the convicts, he said. Union ministers Smriti Irani and Prakash Javadekar have blamed the AAP government in Delhi over the delay in the hanging of the four convicts. KYIV Whether Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk gets to keep his job could come down to whether President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a former comedian, has retained his sense of humor since taking the helm -- and whether he accepts the 35-year-old head of the governments move as a sign of enduring loyalty. Of course, theres the question of whether Honcharuks intentions, which he outlined in a statement on Facebook after he sent a resignation letter to Zelenskiy on January 17, were even genuine. The prime minister himself told Reuters that people should not jump to conclusions about it. Zelenskiys office confirmed it had received the letter and said the president was considering his response. News of Honcharuks resignation, coming just over four months after he was appointed by a newly elected Ukrainian parliament controlled by Zelenskiys Servant of the People party to lead the government, came as a shock to many, even despite a scandal that had been brewing in Kyiv for days. The scandal began after an audio recording of Honcharuk allegedly disparaging the economic knowledge and competence of both himself and the president was uploaded to a YouTube account called How To Deceive The President, which has since been deleted. Three recordings were uploaded in all, but Ukrainian media have reported that as many as 14 exist. Hours after Honcharuk sent over his resignation letter, Zelensky called a meeting of top law enforcement officials and tasked them with finding whoever was responsible for recording government conversations and leaking them. I demand to get information in two weeks, as soon as possible. Find out who did it and deal with it, Zelenskiy said. In a recording that made front-page headlines, the prime minister or someone sounding like him can be heard saying that Zelenskiy has a very primitive understanding of the economy and calling himself a dummy in economics. After the recordings were published, a popular anonymous account on Telegram fanned the flames of the scandal, claiming that Honcharuk was preparing to resign. In his statement, Honcharuk did not deny the voice in the recording was his but said that it had been created from various snippets of government meetings pieced together. Their content artificially creates the idea that I and my team do not respect the president, he said. In order to prevent any doubts about our respect and trust to the president, I have submitted my resignation to the president with the right to bring the issue to the parliament. Despite the scandal and Honcharuks subsequent resignation, a source inside Zelenskiys office told RFE/RL that the president does not plan to accept the prime ministers resignation. Ukrainian news sites Dzerkalo Tyzhnia and Tsensor cited their own sources close to Zelenskiy as saying that the president would disregard the resignation request and keep Honcharuk. And some cabinet officials have come out publicly to express their support for Honcharuk. Our government is the first in the history of Ukraine that does not steal, has not come up with quotas, and has no personal goals, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraines minister of digital transformation, posted on Instagram with a photo of himself standing beside the prime minister. We did not come to win political ratings. We came with the president to make real changes. I support Honcharuk. Our whole team does, he said. On Ukrainian television and social media, experts debated whether Honcharuks offer was genuine and pondered what sort of political game he was up to. Some suggested he was hoping for a literal or metaphorical vote of confidence from the president and parliament in the wake of the scandal. Raising the stakes by submitting a letter of resignation, Honcharuk may have made a fatal mistake. It seems that Zelenskiy was not going to dismiss Honcharuk, but he does not like to be given ultimatums, even in such a servile form as Honcharuk did. Critics pointed to the fact that for a prime minister to resign, he must appeal to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraines parliament, which approves the government, and not to the office of the president. The president does not legally decide on the resignation of the prime minister, the Verkhovna Rada does, Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told RFE/RL. Secondly, if this issue is resolved as a result of the [resignation] being submitted to the president, then this will be in violation of the constitution of Ukraine. In the current situation, the president may, however, ask the parliament to consider a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. But most signs point to that being unlikely, experts say. And if it did come to that, David Arakhamia, head of Zelenskiys ruling party in parliament, reportedly said that only about 10 votes in favor of Honcharuks dismissal would be cast from within the faction far from the number needed. Still, some Western observers believe Honcharuks resignation presents an important test for Zelenskiy. Timothy Ash, a London-based economist and expert on Ukraine, wrote in a note that removing Honcharuk for saying what he thinks (even if somewhat disrespectful to the president), in a closed meeting, which was leaked, would I think send a very negative message to reformers in general. I think Zelenskiy rejects the resignation, he added. But this is an important test of Zelenskiy's reform credentials. A Western diplomat in Kyiv who meets regularly with government officials and has been supportive of them told RFE/RL on the condition of anonymity that he thought Honcharuks move was little more than PR and mea culpa. He lists his government achievements and further plans and [expresses] deep respect for Zelenskiy, the diplomat said. Still, some experts say Honcharuk may have overplayed his cards. Raising the stakes by submitting a letter of resignation, Honcharuk may have made a fatal mistake, Fesenko said. It seems that Zelenskiy was not going to dismiss Honcharuk, but he does not like to be given ultimatums, even in such a servile form as Honcharuk did. Therefore, now I am not sure of the reaction of President Zelenskiy, he added. Fesenko said the situation Honcharuk has found himself in resembles the past quandary of Oleksandr Danylyuk, the former head of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council and a one-time Zelenskiy ally who was rumored to have been considered for prime minister. Danylyuk was dismissed by the president in late September after offering his resignation in a gesture viewed by observers then as a play to win over Zelenskiy, who had been slowly distancing himself from the ambitious and outspoken security chief. As was the case back then with Danylyuk, Fesenko said that with Honcharuk, the president could say: Well, Oleksiy, since you turned out to be such a weakling, then leave, but of your own free will and send your statement to the Verkhovna Rada. The Birmingham Museum of Art will start its year of guest lectures with internationally renowned interior designer Nina Campbell. On Feb. 4, museum will present an evening with Campbell for a look at her nearly fifty-year career and a discussion of the book Nina Campbell Interior Decoration: Elegance and Ease." Published in 2018 by Giles Kime, the interiors editor of Country Life, the book takes a journey through five years of Campbells high profile commissions and examines the use of her aesthetic from designing prestigious addresses in London and New York, to bedroom suites in Los Angeles. At age of nineteen, Campbell went to work for English interior designer John Fowler as an assistant. Shortly after, she started her own decorating business, where one of her first commissions was to design a castle in Scotland. In 1974, Campbell started her own interior design office and studio where she creates her fabric and wallpaper collection, which is internationally distributed by Osborne & Little. The cover of "Nina Campbell Interior Decoration: Elegance and Ease." (Courtesy: Birmingham Museum of Art/ Rizzoli New York) The author of six books on interior design, Campbells awards include an honorary doctorate from the University of Middlesex, the Royal Oak Timeless Design Award, and the American Fashion Award for the woman who has most influenced style internationally. After the lecture, the museum will host a reception and book signing in the main lobby. Copies of Nina Campbell Interior Decoration: Elegance and Ease are currently in stock the museum shop and will be available for purchase the evening of the lecture. Details: Nina Campbells lecture at the Birmingham Museum of Art is on Tuesday, February 4 at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $55. For more information and ticket sales, go to https://www.artsbma.org/event/nina-campbell/. Second Amendment advocates after a hearing where four gun control bills passed the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 13, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Gun Rights Groups Seek to Block Virginia Governors Emergency Declaration Gun rights advocacy organizations are going to court to put an end to the temporary state of emergency declared by Virginias governor ahead of a planned demonstration in the states Capitol Square. The Jan. 15 executive order signed by Gov. Ralph Northam, who is a Democrat, prohibits all weapons, including firearms, from Capitol grounds in advance of a Jan. 20 rally for gun rights that is expected to draw tens of thousands of advocates. Law enforcement intelligence analysts, according to Northams office, had identified credible threats of violence surrounding the event, as well as what they claimed was white nationalist rhetoric and plans by out-of-state militia groups to attend. The emergency declaration lasts from Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. until Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. There are groups with malicious plans for the rally that is planned for Monday, Northam told reporters. Every person attending the rally must enter through a security checkpoint, according to officials. The rally, on what is known as Lobby Day, is being organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), a nonprofit grassroots organization whose goal is to advance the rights of Virginians to keep and bear arms. Gun Owners of America (GOA), an organization with more than 2 million members, said that it is joining VCDL in asking the courts to issue an emergency injunction forbidding the enforcement of the Governors unlawful ban. The Lobby Day rally is held annually with thousands of participants and without incident, Erich Pratt, senior vice president at GOA, told The Epoch Times via email. The only difference this year is that, in response to the Democrats attempt to eviscerate the Second Amendment, a much larger crowd is expected, he said. Gun rights supporters and Second Amendment advocates are rallying for state lawmakers to drop their push for tighter gun control. Second Amendment advocates told The Epoch Times previously that gun control proposals backed by Northam infringe upon their constitutional rights. Pratt, in a statement, argued that the governors actions violated the constitution as well as a 2012 state law that strictly limits the governors ability to ban guns in a state of emergency. If Virginia Gov. Northam sincerely respects the efforts of the NRA and its 5 million members, he can demonstrate that respect by not infringing our rights, Jason Ouimet, the National Rifle Associations executive director, said in a statement. Dave Workman, a senior editor at the Second Amendment Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports gun rights, told The Epoch Times the actions by the governor arent surprising. Weve always said hes a gun banner and now, he is just proving us right, Workman said. Democrats won control of both chambers of Virginias state legislature in the November 2019 elections and have vowed to enact legislation they say will help reduce shootings and deaths, and would break the cycle of gun violence. Virginia, especially, has become the center of the gun debate, with 91 of the states 95 counties declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries or passing some sort of measure affirming their support for Second Amendment rights. A number of other municipalities in the state have also passed similar legislation. On his official Twitter account, Northam, citing intelligence from law enforcement agencies, said threats of violence surrounding the planned rally include extremist rhetoric similar to what has been seen before major incidents, such as Charlottesville in 2017. The Justice Department announced on Jan. 16 that three men were arrested by the FBI and charged with firearms and alien-related charges. They are alleged to be members of a racially motivated, violent extremist group known as The Base. The men had reportedly discussed traveling to the Virginia rally, according to The New York Times. Hundreds of Second Amendment advocates converged on Virginias state capital on Jan. 13 to oppose a slew of gun control proposals being voted on by state lawmakers. Four of the measures ended up advancing in the states General Assembly after approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee passed legislation for universal background checks, a measure allowing localities to ban weapons from some events and government buildings, a red flag bill allowing authorities to temporarily confiscate guns from certain individuals deemed a risk, and a law that limits the purchase of handguns to only one per month. The four bills now advance to the Virginia Senate for further discussion. They would need to be passed by the Senate and the House of Delegates, and be signed by Northam to become law. South Korea recently gave a message to North Korea from the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un turned 36 years old last week. So the South offered to pass along U.S. President Donald Trumps birthday greetings to Kim. The move was small, but South Korean officials hope that the birthday wishes could help restart talks between the North and the U.S. government. However, the offer did not go as planned. North Koreas foreign ministry announced on Saturday it had already received the birthday message. It criticized the South Korean move as a presumptuous attempt to become involved in relations between Trump and Kim. North Korea also made fun of the South for trying to play the part of a mediator. Over the past year, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has repeatedly attempted to ease tensions with the North Korean government. But the North has largely ignored Moons efforts. These results are a severe disappointment to Moon, whose contacts with Kim helped ease the path for the first meeting between the North Korean and U.S. leaders. They met in Singapore in June 2018. Hoo Chiew-ping is a Korea expert who is based in Malaysia. He said that Moon is trying to save his peace policy with North Korea, which he considers his legacy. Hoo added, That legacy is now in ruins. Moon and Kim met three times in 2018. They agreed to a series of economic and military cooperation projects. The goal was to build trust and, in time, begin the long process of uniting North and South Korea. However, Moon has not been able to enact most of the agreements because North Korea has refused to limit its nuclear activities. U.S. and United Nations sanctions bar countries from most economic cooperation with the North, such as building railroads. Since the suspension of nuclear talks, North Korea has strongly criticized the South for not acting on the proposed projects. What will Moon do? As South Korea prepares for parliamentary elections in April, there are signs Moon could push for parts of the inter-Korean agreements. Speaking to reporters at a New Years press conference, Moon suggested that South Korea could restart tourist visits to the North even with sanctions in place. In a speech last week, Moon urged his government to work toward restarting two inter-Korean projects that have been suspended for years. They are the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the Mount Kumgang resort. Last week, a South Korean Unification Ministry official said, the South will expand room for maneuvers and move forward things that can be carried out independently as much as possible. International sanctions do not ban tourism to North Korea. But they do bar joint businesses and other investment projects. Henri Feron is with the Center for International Policy. He said that South Korea can point to Chinese tourism in North Korea as an example of economic contact. China is flooding North Korea with tourists. Its understandable that South Korea would want to restore its own economic leverage in North Korea, Feron said. However, after the Moon administrations comments last week, U.S. officials noted the importance of observing international restrictions on the North. The State Department told VOA that all U.N. members are required to follow U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions. Politics in South Korea But South Korean domestic politics have influenced Moons recent comments. In recent weeks, sides that support increased ties with the North and those that oppose them have urged Moon to change his policy. Kim Joon Kyung heads South Koreas National Diplomatic Academy. He said it is time for Moon to seek a breakthrough. Also, those who want strong action against the North are voicing anger at Moons efforts to ease relations. The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo published an opinion piece that said Most people have lost count of the snubs and insults from North Korea. At the same time, South Koreans appear to be divided on how to deal with their nuclear-armed northern neighbor. The South Korean opinion research company Realmeter recently released a survey on the issue. It found that 28 percent of South Koreans support Moons current policy. Twenty-five percent wanted the government to make more compromises, while 36 percent wanted stronger measures against North Korea. Moons own ratings have fallen from over 80 percent when he first met Kim to below 50 percent. Speaking about North Koreas reaction to the U.S. birthday message, Moon raised the issue of the possibility of talks. North Korea received the [birthday] letter and gave a swift response, Moon said. He added, It made clear that the door is not yet closed for talks. Im Mario Ritter, Jr. Bill Gallo reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story presumptuous adj. failing to observe the limits of what is acceptable mediator n. someone who works with opposing sides to get an agreement in a dispute disappointment n. dissatisfaction legacy n. something that is left to those in the future sanctions n. restrictions meant to cause a country to obey international law, usually involving trade resort n. a place for vacationers or recreation maneuver n. a skillful action or movement tourism n. the industry of providing services for foreign visitors leverage n. influence or power to get a result snub n. to ignore someone in a purposeful and insulting way WATERLOO On his latest five-day swing through Iowa, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld has dealt with snow, freezing rain and whiteout conditions, forcing him to turn back from one campaign stop in Cedar Rapids. But thats nothing compared with the uphill climb Weld is undertaking in his bid to claim the Republican primary victory away from the incumbent President Donald Trump: The last poll taken on the subject in October showed Weld with 3% among national Republican caucusgoers and primary voters, compared with Trumps 86%. Nevertheless, Weld said voters have been interested in his campaign. My wife and I were both out for five days (in Iowa), and everywhere we went, we were well received and professionally received, Weld said. Weld, 74, is used to these quixotic fights: He ran in 2016 on the Libertarian ticket as the running mate to New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. The pair received 4.5 million votes, or about 3.28% of the electorate, the highest ever for the Libertarian Party. But other long shot campaigns have worked out: When he first ran for governor of Massachusetts in 1990, a Republican had not won the state since 1970, and Republican party membership made up 14% of the electorate. But Weld held liberal views on issues like abortion and gay rights, and promised voters he would reduce the state deficit, lower the high unemployment rate at the time, and cut taxes. His victory was an upset, and he was re-elected in 1994 with a whopping 71% of the vote. The state was called Tax-achusetts. I cut taxes 21 times in a row, Weld said. He believes he can do the same with the United States deficit. Mr. Trump is not an economic conservative, and that used to be a lead calling card with the Republican Party, Weld said. You just have to be willing to zero out programs that arent working, even if theyre political sacred cows. ... You do a line-by-line analysis. If there is a program that didnt perform well and cant justify itself, you zero it out. Weld began his career as junior counsel on the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee impeachment inquiry staff in 1974, and since then has been U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, head of the criminal division of the Justice Department, and is a member of the nonprofit think tank Council on Foreign Relations. He speaks French, German and Spanish, he said, and believes he would get along better with our European allies. I think its very important, because I think Mr. Trump campaigned on the basis of, Every treaty we ever signed was weak, and he was going to be strong. And he ripped them up, and he didnt know what he was talking about. He ripped up the Trans-Pacific Partnership because he said China had too much power. China wasnt even a member, Weld continued. Not to know that means you really arent taking any effort to inform yourself. On health care, Weld insisted he wouldnt repeal the Affordable Care Act, but would allow people to choose a plan that was better for them, and include health savings accounts to build up a nest egg against an emergency health event in the family. I would try to squeeze some of the government out of it, Weld said. The paternalistic approach is still there in some sense: The Affordable Care Act says everyone has to have a Cadillac plan it almost says they cant be trusted. Thats not true; people who balance their own checkbook every month unlike the federal government make that decision every week. On climate change, Weld said the sole issue was how are we going to remove the carbon from the atmosphere to keep the temperature from rising, and that it amounted to a national emergency he would address via executive order on day one of his presidency through a cost to businesses. Theres ample threat to issue an executive order. Set carbon at $25, $30 a ton, and let the market respond to the pricing mechanism, Weld said. Thats the balancing we need, (not) anyone who says (theyre) going to throw $16 trillion at this problem. Photos: Presidential candidates campaign in the area Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Captivekink.com scored 42 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 6 Apr 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 captivekink homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if captivekink has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the captivekink homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the captivekink homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the captivekink homepage on Twitter + the total number of captivekink followers (if captivekink has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the captivekink homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. Basic Information PAGE TITLE Welcome to CaptiveKink DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS captivekink, you are, material, on the site, if youre, you can, the site The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title found in the head section of the homepage. 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. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Strict CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Type of server and offered services. Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. The language of captivekink.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 captivekink.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 URL of the found Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The type of Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND CISF personnel apprehended two Chinese nationals with 80 brand new smartphones at the Delhi airport on Friday, a senior official said. Yin Gaoyang and Fangao Jhao were intercepted at about 5:30 am after they landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport from Beijing. The two passengers had 80 new smartphones of Chinese brands Vivo and Honor in their baggage and the cache was recovered when their bags were being checked as they were supposed to take a connecting flight to Udaipur. As the passengers had no documents for carrying so many costly phones, they were handed over to the Customs authorities for further investigation, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The identification of bodies of Ukrainians who perished in the tragedy of flight PS752 is over. The Iranian side said it was ready to hand them over to Ukraine. Ukraine's Interior Ministry reported that on January 16. "Today, experts of the Ministry that stay in Tehran received the DNA profiles of the remains of all eleven deceased citizens of Ukraine. Preparations for further passage to Ukraine are underway", says the message, Reuters reports. Their remains are supposed to reach Ukraine by January 19. SOUTH HAVEN, MI Counties along Lake Michigan are asking the Governors office to declare a state of emergency as high water is eating away at the shoreline and causing impacts to infrastructure that could cost municipalities millions of dollars. Van Buren County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution this week to request that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer consider declaring a state of emergency, which would allow impacted governments to seek federal and state funding to help address the impacts such as flooding, shoreline erosion, and damage to infrastructure and marinas, Administrator John Faul said. Van Buren County officials reviewed video footage shot from a Michigan State Police helicopter that shows physical damage from high water levels and impacts on some houses. (Courtesy | MSP) Commissioners in Berrien County, the most southern county on Lake Michigan, passed a resolution in November asking for the lake shore to be considered as a disaster area, Annette Krieger-Christie at the county administrators office said. Lawmakers representing places along the lake have asked the governor to take action. Van Buren County officials reviewed video footage shot from a Michigan State Police helicopter that shows physical damage from high water levels and the impact on some lakefront homes, Faul said. The video shows heavy machinery moving rocks in some areas along the shoreline, and high water lapping at beaches and dunes and splashing over South Haven piers. Local units of governments have been asked to document any damages from the high water, Faul said. Funding could cover things like damage to infrastructure, but not to trees or dunes, Faul said. Aerial footage from a Michigan State Police helicopter shows Lake Michigan impacting the shoreline near South Haven. A report delivered to South Haven city officials details millions of dollars in potential infrastructure needs that have resulted from recent Lake Michigan high water conditions, city of South Haven Harbormaster Kate Hosier said. Issued by engineering firm Abonmarche, the report is meant to summarize infrastructure needs that have resulted from recent Lake Michigan high water conditions. These needs may threaten public health and safety and, therefore the city is evaluating the costs for addressing the issues as soon as possible, the report states. The report will be presented to the South Haven City Council on Feb. 3, Hosier said. $16M in shoreline improvements proposed in Lake Michigan beach town amid high water levels The city of South Haven waterfront includes both Lake Michigan coastline and the banks of the Black River. High water conditions on Lake Michigan causes river levels to rise, especially on the lower stretches of the Black River, the report states. Short-term events like wind setups, storms and pressure-related events have resulted in water level rises on the Black River that have exceeded about two feet for periods of 12 to 24 hours. The four city-owned marinas have been impacted. In 2019, power was cut amid rising water levels at the marinas, Hosier said, and the same conditions are anticipated in 2020. The report outlines categories of infrastructure needs along with the high end of the estimated dollar figure for each item: Marinas: $6 million Harbor wave propagation: $4.8 million Coastal erosion: $2 million plus Riverbank erosion: $2 million Beach Erosion & Beach Nourishment: $1 million Stormwater Infrastructure $500,000 Flooding: $50,000 plus Utility infrastructure: Unknown cost The cost estimate ranges from $8.5 million on the low end to $16.3 million on the high end. The high-end figure may grow if water levels continue to rise, or as issues are worsened by winter storms, the report states. We hope this letter will provide the general information needed to pursue funding to address the Citys needs during challenging conditions on the Citys waterfronts, the letter states. For comparison, South Havens 2019 adopted budget, which includes costs for employee salaries, road projects, and all other city business, shows total expenditures of nearly $44 million. Hosier said the city doesnt have $16 million to spend on impacts and will likely have to seek some kind of designation to help address the potential impacts. The water is also impacting beaches, with high water and wind carrying sand away, Hosier said. South Beach has seen more impact than North Beach, she said on Thursday. Were seeing less beach area for people to sit on, she said. That means beaches will be more packed. The official Great Lakes water levels forecast issued in January says Lake Michigan and Lake Huron will finally rise above a monthly record level. Heide is a giant list of facts (or pseudo-facts). These facts are not simply biographical, but also mathematical, socio-linguistic, anatomical, astronomical, zoological, and so on. These facts have various functions. As well as being central to the poetic idiolect of Heide, such facts can implicitly comment on the subject at hand. (Sidney Nolan could be considered a rake, hence the reference to Hogarths The Rakes Progress.) As well as serio-comically editorialising on the many characters and narratives within Heide, the citing of facts from a discrete body of subjects makes the poem a giant fugue, weaving repeating abstract themes through the narrative material. In their semi-quotational condition, the facts give the poem the appearance of a vast modernist bricolage or montage, like a work made up of found texts. Sunday and John Reed, with their adopted son Sweeney, at Heide in the early 1950s. Credit: There is nothing solemn about Heide. While many of its characters dont come out well (Patrick White and Nolan, for instance), and while sympathy is shown for other characters (usually women), Heide is notable for its irreverent spirit, and for its refusal to respect social hierarchies. In this regard, it is a corrective for the numerous works of art history that treat the Heide circle with a solemnity the subjects dont always deserve. In any case, Heide is as much an exercise in style as it is an account of modern Australian art, and this style is notable for its comic excess. There are lots of gags in Heide. For instance, after more than 200 pages of eccentric comma usage, we are given this: The comma, is a punctuation mark. And while the phrase Viva la blague! (Long live the joke!) appears in a poem about mid-century anti-modernist sentiment, the phrase could well stand for the work as a whole, even as that work asserts the importance of art. By MO JINGXI NAY PYI TAW -- President Xi Jinping arrived in Nay Pyi Taw on Friday for a state visit to Myanmar. It is Xi's first overseas trip this year, and the first visit to the Asian neighbor by a Chinese president after an interval of 19 years. During his two-day stay, Xi is scheduled to attend a series of state events held by Myanmar President U Win Myint, hold talks with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, meet with Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing, and exchange views with the leaders of Myanmar's parliament and political parties. Xi will also join Myanmar leaders in a series of celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the launching ceremony of the China-Myanmar Culture and Tourism Year program. It is Xi's first overseas trip this year, and the first visit to the Asian neighbor by a Chinese president after an interval of 19 years. President Xi said he looks forward to renewing China's close ties with Myanmar and discussing future cooperation during a trip to the Southeast Asian country. He made the remark in a signed article titled "Writing a New Chapter in Our Millennia-Old Pauk-Phaw Friendship", published on Thursday in Myanmar newspapers ahead of his two-day state visit. Pauk-phaw, which means siblings from the same mother in the Myanmar language, "is an apt description of the fraternal sentiments between our two peoples, whose close ties date back to ancient times", Xi said. Myanmar was among the first countries with a different social system to recognize the People's Republic of China after its founding in 1949. Xi said that the elder statesmen of the two countries have since made enormous efforts to develop China-Myanmar relations. "Our relationship has been marked by mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual support. It has become a prime example of equality, win-win cooperation and common development between countries of different sizes," he wrote, noting that the close ties have delivered real benefits to people in both countries. China has long been Myanmar's largest trading partner and its most important source of investment. Bilateral trade reached $16.8 billion in the first 11 months of 2019. According to Xi, more and more agricultural and livestock products from Myanmar are making their way to Chinese kitchens, with fruitful cooperation taking place in infrastructure construction and many other fields. The vibrant cultural, religious and personnel exchanges provide solid support for deepening the friendship between the two nations, he added. As this year marks the 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar diplomatic relations, Xi said, it is important that the two countries carry forward their traditional friendship and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation to bring this relationship into a new era. A visitor views a photo exhibition in Yangon, Myanmar, Jan 15, 2020. A photo exhibition about China and Myanmar kicked off here on Wednesday, displaying nearly 100 photos on natural scenery, history and culture, folk customs, economic and trade exchanges, cultural exchanges of the two countries. [Photo/Xinhua] He called on the two sides to continue to harness the vital role of high-level exchanges in guiding their relations, step up communication and coordination at all levels and share development experience. "It is important that we continue to show strong mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests," Xi said. China supports Myanmar in advancing the peace and reconciliation process through political dialogue, he said, asking the two sides to work together to ensure peace and stability along the border. Xi proposed that two sides deepen results-oriented Belt and Road cooperation and move from a conceptual stage to concrete planning and implementation in building the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor. "We also need to deepen practical and mutually beneficial cooperation in such areas as connectivity, electricity, energy, transportation, agriculture, finance and livelihood to deliver more benefits to both peoples," he wrote. China and Myanmar have designated 2020 as the China-Myanmar Year of Culture and Tourism. "Myanmar's charming natural scenery and fascinating cultural heritage will surely attract more and more Chinese tourists," Xi wrote. Confronted by rising unilateralism and protectionism, the president said the two countries need to strengthen coordination and collaboration in the multilateral platforms, such as in the United Nations and within the framework of East Asia cooperation and Lancang-Mekong cooperation. "Let us work hand in hand to build an even closer China-Myanmar community with a shared future and write a new chapter for our millennia-old pauk-phaw friendship," he wrote. Xinhua contributed to this story. Four firms asked a US court to order Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to give up control of the company. Four companies sued Facebook Inc in United States federal court on Thursday for alleged anti-competitive conduct, saying the social network inappropriately revoked developer access to its platform in order to harm prospective competitors. The plaintiffs asked for a court order to force Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to give up his control of the social media giant and sought class-action status and unspecified damages, according to a filing at the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco by Reveal Chat HoldCo LLC, a successor to the dating site LikeBright; USA Technology and Management Services Inc, better known as the credit and financial service provider Lenddol; former peer-to-peer site Cir.cl Inc; and former identity verification provider Beehive Biometric Inc. The companies describe Facebook as one of the largest unlawful monopolies ever seen in the United States and say the aim of the lawsuit is to halt the most brazen, willful anti-competitive scheme in a generation. If Facebook is not forced to sell its WhatsApp and Instagram assets, it would integrate them into the social network, consolidating its market power across the globe, likely permanently foreclosing competition in the relevant markets for decades to come, the firms said. Facebook faced an existential threat from mobile apps, and while it could have responded by competing on the merits, it instead chose to use its might to intentionally eliminate its competition, said Yavar Bathaee, a partner at law firm Pierce Bainbridge and co-lead counsel in the case. The social media giant defended itself, saying the claims were without merit. We operate in a competitive environment where people and advertisers have many choices, Facebook said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. In the current environment, where plaintiffs attorneys see financial opportunities, claims like this arent unexpected but they are without merit. Facebook opened its platform to developers when it needed their help to catch up in the early 2010s to the fast-growing mobile market and then gave many of them the boot when it no longer needed them or started to see them as rivals, the companies claim in the lawsuit. The company cut off many developers access to user data, rendering their apps useless and forcing some out of business, according to the lawsuit. The filing is an escalation of Facebooks battles with small app developers that had built companies based on access to its user data. Facebook cut off access for certain apps as far back as 2012, while still allowing access for others. Thousands of pages of damaging internal emails have emerged from a similar lawsuit filed by Six4Three, the developer of a now-shuttered bikini photo app. Facebook has described the Six4Three case as baseless. The Green Partys general election candidate for the Wexford constituency has pulled out of the race. Karin Dubsky, a well known environmental activist, had stood for the party in the by-election in Wexford last November, but had been reluctant to stand again in the general election. She hadnt put her name forward for the partys selection convention but when it appeared that there was no other candidate prepared to stand she agreed to go forward. Ms Dubsky had begun canvassing in Gorey on Thursday and had also organised for election literature to be printed. However, on Friday she told the Irish Examiner that her situation had changed overnight and for personal reasons she will not now be standing. Her departure will be a blow to the Green Party which expected her to do well based on her own standing and the possibility of a so-called Green wave. Ms Dubsky has been the driving force behind the environmental group Coast Watch for nearly 30 years and had resigned from the organisation last week in order to contest the election. Over the years she had been approached by most of the political parties, including Fine Gael, Labour and the Progressive Democrats to stand but always maintained she was not interested in parliamentary politics. She said that she agreed to stand for the Greens initially because the situation has changed with climate change and she felt she could make most impact in a legislative assembly. She came sixth in the November by-election with 6.2% of the vote. Fianna Fails Malcolm Byrne won the seat with 31.2% of the vote. However, she was expected to be in the shake-up for the last of the five seats this time around. January 17, 2020 It seems like Australian startups are becoming major international players these days. As the 13th largest economy around the globe, Australia seems to be thriving in the economic sector lately. According to data from KPMG, Australias economic success has happened thanks to a surge in venture capital investments, with a record of US$ 630 million. The countrys main contributors to its economic success include industries like mining, farming, and tourism. Yet, one of the recent newcomers on the economic scene of the country that seems to be powering a massive boom in the tech industry. Cities like Sydney and Melbourne are considered to be the countrys new tech hubs thanks to the massive number of tech companies joining the industry at full force. The countrys business landscape seems to be drawn by the so-called Unicorn startup model. And, if we look beyond the billion-dollar worth Sidney-based unicorn company Canva, the country having 12 such companies that contribute with almost $1.6 billion into the city Melbournes economy only, as well as creating over 93.000 jobs. What are Unicorns? They are privately held companies that are valued at over $1 billion and, on average, almost 7 years takes for a startup to grow into a unicorn. Why is the tech scene heating up? In todays digitalized world, it isnt quite surprising that Australias tech scene is growing as well. Yet, the country seems to have a few advantages that helped its tech scene have a massive boom over the last years including government incentives, grants, and, most importantly, investments in major infrastructure lie the National Broadband Network (News - Alert). The investments brought into the NBN have completely changed the online experiences for Australian Internet users. From a higher speed to reliable Internet, these improvements didnt only benefit Internet users but, above all, it was a game-changer for the Australian business landscape, especially in the tech industry. Another key element that had a major impact on the Australian tech scene was Fintech. The countrys Fintech landscape has now over 400 established Fintech companies that make it be one of the worlds key players in the Fintech market. And, Australians are those who support this major change in the financial landscape as more than 94% of people claim to know at least one digital payment method. The future of the Australian tech scene The Australian economic sector is thriving today, thanks mainly to the technology sector. So, it should be obvious that the tech industry will only continue to grow together with the countrys economy. And, we arent just talking about changes like the appearance of more tech startups on the market. The more companies will be in the industry, the more jobs will be created. And, not just for Australians but also for foreign talent. In fact, a study shows that it is expected for the number of ICT workers to increase from 640.000 in 2016 to 721,900 in 2020. For example, many foreign students come to Australia to study or make internships at the best tech institutions in the country and then apply to extend Visa Australia to remain in the country and work for these new thriving tech companies. Also, major changes will be seen in the abilities offered to all businesses, from all sectors to integrate technology better into their companies. The way things evolve now, there is no doubt that there is a bright future ahead for the Australian tech scene. This is the shocking moment police discovered a child squeezed into the dashboard of a car in a bid to smuggle him into Spain. The hidden compartment was so small that the boy had to lie in the fetal position and nearly suffocated. Guards in Melilla - a Spanish autonomous city located on the northwest coast of Africa that shares a border with Morocco - had to call in medics to revive him and he needed urgent treatment for dizziness, numbness and lack of air. Police discovered a child squeezed into the dashboard of a car in a bid to smuggle him into Spain. Guards in Melilla - a Spanish autonomous city located on the northwest coast of Africa that shares a border with Morocco - had to call in medics to revive him and he needed urgent treatment for dizziness, numbness and lack of air The shock find is just the latest in a string of smuggling attempts involving migrants who try to hide in cars, including in the engines and under seats. In November, two teenage migrants were found by Spanish authorities hiding inside the dashboard and under the back seat of a car as they tried to smuggle themselves across the border from Morocco. The two teenagers, aged 19 and 17, were both from the Sub-Saharan African nation of Guinea. In the latest case, a man and woman have been arrested for attempted people smuggling and remanded in prison. In November, two teenage migrants were found by Spanish authorities hiding in a car as they tried to smuggle themselves across the border from Morocco A 19-year-old man from Guinea was found underneath the back seat of a vehicle last November The boy has told police he is 17 but they believe he is younger. The car was trying to get through the checkpoint at Beni Enzar into Spain. Civil Guard officers became suspicious of the Moroccan couple and searched the vehicle because of their 'evasive attitude'. Specialist equipment was used to detect heartbeats and the boy was found inside the dashboard. 'He was in the fetal position and showed symptoms of numbness and sweating. Once released, he was weak and disorientated and needed first aid for resuscitation and stabilisation,' said a police spokesman. The boy is of sub-Saharan origin and came from Mali. JAKARTA, Indonesia - Japans SoftBank is offering to invest $30 billion to $40 billion in the development of a new Indonesian capital, an official said Friday. The billionaire founder and chief executive of SoftBank Group Corp., Masayoshi Son, hinted at partnering with the Indonesian government to fund the project when he met President Joko Widodo last week in the capital, Jakarta. Son and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair have been included in the steering committee to oversee the construction of the new capital city on Borneo island that would be led by Abu Dhabis Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Indonesian Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan told a news briefing that SoftBank was offering around $30 billion to $40 billion, though it was not immediately clear what project the Japanese conglomerate would invest in specifically. We have not yet decided how they would invest, it could be for education, a research centre or hospital development, Pandjaitan said. He said he will meet Son in Davos and Tokyo later this month to finalize the plan. After meeting Widodo last week, Son told reporters that he was interested in supporting a new smart city, the newest technology, a clean city and a lot of artificial intelligence. Widodo announced last August that Indonesias capital will move from overcrowded, sinking and polluted Jakarta to a site in sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on Borneo island, known for rainforests and orangutans. The capitals relocation to a 256,000-hectare (632,580-acre) site almost four times the size of Jakarta will cost an estimated 466 trillion rupiah ($34 billion). The government is set to begin the construction later this year. Investors from Asia, the Middle East, the U.S. and China have shown interest in developing the city, Pandjaitan said. Jakarta, with 30 million people including those in the greater metropolitan area, is prone to earthquakes and flooding and is rapidly sinking due to uncontrolled extraction of ground water. Monsoon rains and rising rivers early this month left more than 60 people dead and 500,000 displaced. Mineral-rich East Kalimantan was once almost completely covered by rainforests before illegal logging removed many of its original growth. It is home to only 3.5 million people and is surrounded by Kutai National Park, known for orangutans and other primates and mammals. Indonesia is an archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands, but currently 54% of the countrys nearly 270 million people live on Java, the countrys most densely populated island where Jakarta is located. Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini contributed to this report. Music, Movies & Entertainment, Crime By Ls Cohen Published: January 16 2020 Official release set for March 13th. A trailer for the Netflix film, Lost Girls, that tracks the initial search by Mari Gilbert for her daughter Shannan that led to the gruesome discovery of the bodies of multiple other sex workers has been released. The trailer shows actress Amy Ryan playing Mari Gilbert along with Gabriel Byrne in a still undisclosed role - presumably a Long Island police investigator. The official release date on Netflix has also been announced. It will premier on the streaming service on March 13th. The movie will have its world premier at the Sundance Film Festival on January 28th.. Lost Girls, a true crime literary account of the Gilgo Beach murders was written by journalist Robert Kolker in 2014. The Netflix movie version of the acclaimed book is directed by Liz Garbus. Netflixs official description of the film on YouTube: When Mari Gilbert's (Academy Award nominee Amy Ryan) daughter disappears, police inaction drives her own investigation into the gated Long Island community where Shannan was last seen. Her search brings attention to over a dozen murdered sex workers. From Academy Award nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus, LOST GIRLS is inspired by true events. Watch the full Lost Girls trailer here. Look, writing a book about Trump-era populism without a lens of racial awareness must be hard. Heres how Lind describes political correctness, for instance: the artificial dialect devised by leftist activists and spread by university and corporate bureaucrats that serves as a class marker distinguishing the college-educated from the vulgar majority below them. In this framing, all the new awarenesses and sensitivities and humilities for which I am profoundly thankful, since these days Im much less often asked where Im really from or told my English is impressive (thanks, they teach us well in Ohio!) are just a ploy by leftists to hold white working-class people down. This understanding portrays the victims as the white working class, and the oppressors as those students who no longer wish to be called faggots and secretaries tired of being sweetie. I, for one, am grateful for all the thinking and doing that have changed how Americans navigate one anothers identities, and I do not have the luxury of dismissing the improvement in the dignity I am accorded daily as an artificial dialect. Now, if you are going to present Trump as the receptacle of the cries of the unheard, you will need to funhouse-mirror him beyond recognition. Lind is on it. He takes the quintessential racist moment of Trumps presidency his famous comments on Charlottesville and defends them: Phrases from his remarks were taken out of context, recombined and misconstrued so they could fit into the Trump-is-Hitler narrative. He also dismisses concerns about Russias role in the 2016 election as mythological thinking. Liberal democracy in the West today is not endangered by Russian machinations or resurgent fascism, Lind writes, describing a world I would love to live in. In fact, get this: Lind believes the paranoid demonological thinking represented by worries about Russia and fascism has the potential to be a greater danger to liberal democracy in the West than any particular populist movements. So dismissive is Lind of the idea that Trumpism has fascist echoes that he refers to such claims as a Brown Scare, a reference to Hitlers Brownshirts. Im no stranger to a Brown Scare, but, in my definition, its just me being brown and scared of my country losing its liberties, stature and mind. Somewhere in here is the kernel of a good book: Linds original focus was oligarchy, and there is a way to end it, he says. To supplement conventional electoral politics, reformers will need to rebuild old institutions or build new ones that can integrate working-class citizens of all origins into decision-making in government, the economy and the culture, so that everyone can be an insider. Still, what is missing from the book, and might have saved it, is actual human beings. I sometimes ask my nearly 5-year-old how he knows something, and he often says, like the man hes learning to be, I just know it in my brain. This is a book written from the brain more than from the collision with the complexities of experience. It is a book that would have benefited from getting out there, interviewing people, testing theories against reality, heading down to the border, unearthing documents showing how companies think about the issues in question. The New Class War lacks the texture and earth and seduction of real portraiture. Lind derides the overclass but doesnt break any ground in depicting it. When he somewhat outdatedly says the tech industry makes software or elite city dwellers employ services like Fingernail Former, we get the sense of a man who has read more about the world than actually encountered it. When he says, The rootedness of most working-class Americans and Europeans in their hometowns and regions is often lamented by the intellectuals of the managerial overclass: Why dont the lazy losers in heartland communities show some initiative and move to the Bay Area to invent an app, or relocate to London to work in finance? I realized that Lind was reporting from the inside of his own mind. The New Class War is a reminder that, even in the Trump era especially in the Trump era it is curiosity rather than certainty that must propel us. What can be so exciting about books is watching authors end up far from where they began, carried forth by not knowing, wanting to know, then slowly knowing more, realizing what is still not known, plowing on, thinking, rethinking, going on a meandering intellectual journey that justifies you later going on a fractal of that journey with them. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 00:42:45|Editor: zyl Video Player Close Attendees of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Retreat pose for a group photo in Nha Trang, Vietnam, Jan. 17, 2020. The ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat was held on Thursday and Friday in Nha Trang. (VNA via Xinhua) NHA TRANG, Vietnam, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will strengthen the region's external relations and reinforce the ASEAN-centered regional architecture in 2020, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said Friday. Minh spoke at a press conference following the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat held on Thursday and Friday in the country's central city of Nha Trang, which is the first gathering of the bloc's foreign ministers in 2020 under the theme "Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN." Foreign ministers of ASEAN member countries had "in-depth and fruitful" discussions on the region's priorities for the year 2020 and the way forward for the ASEAN Community building, Minh said. The ministers underlined the importance of strengthening ASEAN unity, cohesiveness, deepening ASEAN economic integration, boosting intra-ASEAN trade and investment, enhancing connectivity and sub-regional cooperation and promoting a prominent image and visibility of the ASEAN Community, he said. The members will also promote cooperation in sustainable development, women empowerment and gender equality and other areas, he added. SPRINGFIELD Another measure has been filed to create a taxpayer-funded program to ensure Illinois residents have their first two years of college tuition paid for. State Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, D-Shorewood, filed Senate Bill 2324 on Jan. 8. It mirrors legislation filed in 2019 by Chicago Democratic state Rep. Will Guzzardi. The new bill would ensure residents seeking an associate degree, certificate, or diploma from an institution of higher learning a taxpayer-funded state grant that would pay for tuition and fees, minus any other aid awarded, starting in 2021. The bill said the cost could exceed that of a local community colleges tuition and fees. The measure is part of a national push for states to offer grants for the first two years of higher education, called College Promise. Campaign Executive Director Martha Kanter said more than 300 local communities and 25 states have committed to providing some sort of grants to students in their first couple of years of higher education. Most of them are seeking to make the first one or two years of college universally available, she said Wednesday. The program would be implemented through the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which could set parameters on who is eligible. Washington states Washington College Promise has a household income limit of $61,000 for partial tuition and $44,000 for full tuition grants. Other states have grade and class load requirements. New Yorks Excelsior program cuts off eligibility for families who make more than $125,000 a year. The money would come from potential donors and Illinois annual state budget, which economists have deemed shaky at best and one of only a couple that is unprepared to weather a moderate recession. Should an economic downturn occur, it would put pressure on the states budget while simultaneously making the proposed program more costly since job retraining at community colleges typically spikes during recessions. Kanter said the organization is diligent, watching for states that may break their promise to pay for school. Statewide programs can be expensive. In California, lawmakers added $42.6 million to the states current budget to support the second year of free tuition for about 33,000 students, according to EdSource. Washington state estimates it will support more than 90,000 students in 2021. Kanter said the programs often expand as demand increases for free schooling. The University of Illinois already has a tuition guarantee program called the Illinois Commitment that provides four-year students who reside in Illinois and comes from a family with less than $61,000 in household income a grant paying for tuition and mandatory fees. President Trump held a ceremony on Wednesday with senior officials from the American and Chinese governments to celebrate the signing of a bilateral trade truce. The agreement requires the U.S. to reduce tariffs from 15 percent to 7.5 percent on $120 billion of Chinese imports and refrain from further tariff escalations. In return, the agreement requires China to reform its intellectual-property practices and financial markets and to purchase an additional $200 billion of American goods and services. Its a political victory for the president, at least on his own terms of narrowing the trade deficit. Yet as a phase one deal in what is sure to be a continuing series of negotiations, the agreement defers the more pressing issues of Chinese subsidies and industrial policy to later rounds. With tariffs still in place on $360 billion of Chinese imports, the next phase of talks will determine whether the bilateral relationship can be mended without further escalation. People should understand this is a political deal, not an economic deal, Derek Scissors of the American Enterprise Institute tells National Review, pointing to the focus on reducing the bilateral trade deficit, as opposed to combating anticompetitive Chinese practices. To that end, China agreed to purchase $40 billion of agricultural products over the next two years but made no promises following 2021. While the language of the deal guarantees these purchases, Chinese vice premier Liu He said during the White House press conference that they must be based on market conditions, and the unprecedented scale of the purchases has led some observers to doubt whether they are practicable. The agricultural chapter of the agreement also contains reductions of non-tariff barriers, such as restrictions on hormone-treated beef and genetically modified organisms. Though relatively minor, those provisions represent meaningful structural reforms to Chinas trade policies, as opposed to temporary adjustments. Story continues More significant from an economic standpoint are new provisions on intellectual-property theft. The central rationale for confronting China was the U.S. Trade Representatives Section 301 report, which found that U.S. firms incurred significant costs due to forced technology transfers. Wednesdays agreement requires that China combat the production of counterfeit goods and grant patent protections to foreign firms, as well as publish an action plan explaining how it will enforce and deter IP violations. The Cato Institutes Simon Lester tells National Review that these are new, more detailed rules than exist at the World Trade Organization (WTO) but cautions that well have to wait and see in practice what that means for Chinas governing behavior. China has agreed to IP protections in the past specifically to the WTOs Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights yet China has consistently violated IP rights since acceding to the WTO. While the inclusion of IP provisions is encouraging, their enforcement is a thornier issue. Unlike most trade agreements, which use neutral panels to resolve disputes, the phase-one deal includes a unilateral enforcement mechanism whereby either party can bring complaints to the other party. If one side feels its grievance has not been redressed, it can impose tariffs or exit the agreement. Though the dispute-resolution mechanism will be useful in fostering dialogue, it is unclear how it differs from current bilateral talks. Lester argues that we would have done that anyway I dont know why we need a specific provision. He says Trumps disdain for the WTO may have led negotiators to pursue unilateral enforcement as an alternative to the WTO model. Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic & International Studies calls it a very simple enforcement mechanism for a very large, complex, nuanced deal. China also has strategic leverage to evade enforcement, since Trump has a political incentive not to enforce the agreement so long as the trade deficit closes, according to Scissors. Even if China violates IP provisions, the harm to farmers from unraveling the deal will be too tough a pill for the Trump administration to swallow. The editor of Chinas state-owned Global Times said on Thursday, There cannot be a new outburst of the trade war, otherwise U.S. farmers will be implicated again. With farm bankruptcies reaching a record high in 2019, Trump emphasized benefits to farmers during negotiations. Go out and buy a larger tractor. Buy a little more land, Trump said during his White House remarks. Additionally, Scissors says, Chinas corporate model provides a major loophole, because the Chinese government can penalize firms while simultaneously providing them with subsidies and state support. Thus, IP provisions may be enforced de jure but not de facto. So while the agreement is a step in the right direction, whether China will abide by key provisions on IP theft is an open question. Moreover, the administrations willingness to accept a deal well short of its initial ambitions may undermine its credibility in future talks. As Kennedy explains, It signals that the administration will engage in a great deal of bluster and generate an immense amount of uncertainty, yet eventually they come around to accepting half a loaf. Meanwhile, Americans may wonder whether the economic loss imposed by tariffs has been worthwhile. In a report published last month, the Federal Reserve found that tariff increases enacted in 2018 are associated with relative reductions in manufacturing employment and relative increases in producer prices. As long as tariffs remain in place, Americans will continue to eat those costs, and uncertainty will not likely abate any time soon. Trade authorities will have to spend the next few months implementing this deal, and the Chinese will be hesitant to negotiate with the administration until after the 2020 presidential elections. More from National Review Oleksii Liskonih/iStock(LONDON) -- Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called for China to respect Taiwan's sovereignty and its commitment to democracy, just days after she won reelection in a landslide victory. Tsai -- who is the first female president of the Republic of China -- said Taiwan's election results sent a strong message to the world. "We are a successful democracy, we have a decent economy [and] we deserve respect from China," she said earlier this week in an interview with BBC. With a high voter turnout, Tsai garnered more than 8 million votes, a record high, handily winning her second term. Tsai focused her campaign primarily on mainland China's increasingly aggressive encroachment on the island state and the Democratic Progressive Party's commitment to democracy. She even rallied support from districts that traditionally vote for opposition candidates -- in large part due to the backing of the younger generation, who are more likely to identify themselves as Taiwanese, a people separate from China. Citing the intensifying threats, increasing military exercises and continuing efforts to cut Taiwan off from its international allies, Tsai said she believes more people in Taiwan are getting a sense that "the threat is real." With the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, Tsai said it is only a warning of what "one party, two systems" really looks like. Her predecessor, Ma Ying-Jeou, was able to build strong economic ties with China by maintaining the ambiguous status of Taiwan's sovereignty. But Tsai has faced a different situation in recent years and renounced the previously agreed upon ambiguity, saying it "can no longer serve the purposes it was intended to serve." Given Taiwan's reliance on its economic relationship with China, part of the Tsai administration's priorities center on diversifying and expanding the island's economy -- including convincing Taiwanese investors to relocate their factories back from China. China has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, starting first when nationalists escaped to the island after losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the attitude toward Taiwan has only gotten more aggressive. After Taiwan's election, Xi issued a warning saying "unification" is his condition if there were to be any talks or advances between the two governments. For Tsai and many others, Taiwan has developed its own identity, government, military and laws and functions as a sovereign country. "We don't have a need to declare ourselves an independent state," Tsai told the BBC. "We are an independent country already and we call ourselves the Republic of China." Tsai emphasized her desire to deepen relations with the United States throughout her first term during her campaign. The U.S. has not formally recognized Taiwan as independent, but has maintained a strong, unofficial relationship with the island. Since last week's election, many U.S. political leaders have issued statements congratulating Tsai on her victory, despite possible anger from the Chinese government. Leaders including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who called this a "momentous election" where millions of Taiwanese reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open democracy, adding the "U.S. looks forward to further strengthening our firm partnership and friendship with Taiwan." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked Tsai for her leadership and praised Taiwan as a model and a force for good. When asked about her next steps with regards to China, Tsai said it's time for China to "face reality." "If they are not prepared to face reality, whatever we offer won't be satisfying to them," she told the BBC. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Ansari was part of 50 terror plots that unfolded in India. Mumbai: A day after jumping parole and escaping from Mumbai, Dr Jalees Ansari, who allegedly orchestrated several serial bomb blasts in India and is being prosecuted in at least 50 criminal cases, was detained in Uttar Pradeshs (UP) Kanpur on Friday. The Uttar Pradeshs Special Task Force (STF), acting on an alert from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), apprehended the accused. The officials said that Ansari, who was released on 21-day parole on December 26, 2019, was entrusted with marking his attendance between 10 am and noon every day at the Agripada police station. However, he went incommunicado on Thursday, soon after which a red alert was issued across India to track down the accused. The UP police was also informed about Ansari along with the possibility of him having fled to his native at Amar Dobha in UP. The Uttar Pradesh STF swung into action and all the police stations in Lucknow, Kanpur and the Government Railway Police (GRP) were brought under joint coordination. There was a substantial possibility of Ansari fleeing to Nepal via UP border and hence the Shashastra Seema Bal (SSB) posted on the Indo-Nepal border was also alerted about the absconder. All the vehicles passing between Mumbai and UP and across the border were also strictly checked, stated a release issued by the UP police. The UP police finally tracked down Ansari at Kanpurs Faithful Ganj area where he was found in possession `47,780 in cash along with his Aadhar card and a pocket diary. Ansaris father was a labourer by profession. In 1972, Ansari completed his higher education and went on to study MBBS from Sion Hospital. In 1988, Azam Ghouri introduced him to his mentor Abdul Karim Tunda in Hyderabad. Tunda taught him the technique of bomb making upon which he improvised and ultimately excelled. Ansari later underwent terror training in Pakistan and entered into India from the Bangladesh border in 1992, where he was also associated with the Harkt-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI). Here, he was the training and technical expert of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), the post ban face of the notorious Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Throughout 1990s, Ans-ari was part of at least 50 terror plots that unfolded in India, killing hundreds in 1993 serial blasts, Delhi Rajdhani Express blasts at Kota and Kanpur and others in which he is facing a life sentence. Amidst the nationwide protests against Citizenship Amendment Act another incident which shook public conscience around the same time that CAB was passed, have been forgotten, the death of the second Unnao victim who was set ablaze by her alleged rapist. She came to be known as the second victim because the first one was the 17-year-old who named BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar as her rapist. These two cases got media attention but a total of 86 cases of rapes in just 11 months were reported from the same district, Unnao. Media was also shaken recently by the rape allegations brought against Swami Chinmayanand, a saffron wearing self proclaimed religious leader and a former BJP MP. AP While there is a deep-seated criminal politician nexus in India, with every political party fielding candidates with criminal background, the growing incidences of sexual violence involving BJP leaders, and from areas like Unnao where BJP has a stronghold, and sexual offence by so called Hindu God men like Asaram Bapu, Nityananda etc should raise eyebrows if we consider their stated commitment to Hindu values, traditions and Bharat Mata. In the female deity circle, the exaltations that Bharat Mata receives is something to envy. BJPs Union Minister recently claimed that if we dont chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai (BMKJ) we are not allowed to stay in India. A Muslim MLA once got suspended for not chanting BMKJ. Such exaltation by a party which takes the moral ground so high above than the rest, that its party president, now Indias Home Minister, has declared an intention to stay in power for next 50 years (as if India is not a democracy which goes to poll every five years) should worry Indian women. BCCL Firstly, we should be worried who is this mysterious Bharat Mata deserving of all the attention even as girls and women face unspeakable violence with an average of 91 rapes reported daily as per 2018 NCRB data? 94% of these rapes are perpetrated by somebody known to the woman. During BJP rule, Bharat mata has grown stronger but India has consistently fallen down the World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap with the latest rank being 112th out 150 nations, 14 notch below from 2006 when it was first measured. Indian womens labour force participation had a decadal fall to 26percent in 2018 from 36.7 percent in 2005 even as womens education rate increased during this period. From health, education, economic and political participation to the field of science technology entrepreneurship there is no field where women are ahead in a nation whose politics is so vociferously driven by Bharat Mata. Yet, government seems to be not worried and responds to these global indexes with disdain because they are Western. If a Hindu nationalist government is unwilling to accept Western facts and figures, then should it expect every Indian women to identify with a Bharat Mata who seems to be belonging to a particular caste, class and community? Bharat Matas imagery is that of a Hindu Goddess, and is a very restricted one. At one hand the lived realities of Indian women and on the other hand the worship of an abstract idea of Bharat Mata taking women back to an imagined glorious past; at one hand stories of women like the Unnao rape victim who lost her father, aunts and almost lost her life fighting for justice and on the other hand a hyper masculine ethnic nationalism which dismisses all critical questions in name of Indias image what really is the future of Indian woman if BJP indeed gets to rule for next 50 years? To find answer, understand womens role in ethnic nationalism. Ethnic nationality is based upon the idea of inclusion and exclusion. A national identity is chosen, and womens role is to produce, nurture, protect and expand the identity. Women are valued as mother, wife, daughter, and other relational roles so long as they perform their pre-ordained duties while their individual choices and freedom are policed. Thus we have Indian nationalists asking every Hindu woman to give birth to 10 children and young women like Hadiya has to go all the way to the Supreme Court just for her right to choice. Identity politics compels women to keep up a good image of her community men, so she is not allowed to complaint about violence, such as eve teasing, domestic abuse, marital rape or even gang rape. Women become the embodiment of nation and are objectified in the same manner that Bollywood item numbers do. Just like sexualized images of women strip them off their identity and reduce them to objects of sexual gratification the image of Bharat Mata does the same for nationalist or patriotic gratification. The nations land or territory is imagined as female and citizens as males. Thus we have phrases like Dharti Putra, and the woman body is shown co-terminus with the map of India representing Bharat Mata. Both the nation and its women are mens property, something to be owned, cherished, controlled and exploited as per needs. But just like a piece of land cannot have a will or desire of its own, same with the women. The exaltation of mother Cow is also on the same line. Own the cow, worship the cow, milk the cow, abandon the cow. BCCL BJP and their ideological parent body RSS has never shied away from the view that womens primary role is to be a home makers. In the documentary film The world before her eyes film maker Nisha Pahuja captures the world inside a Durga Vahini camp, RSSs women wing, where young girls are given lesson on patriotism, weapons and fire arms, self defences, and yet they are not given the freedom to choose whether to marry or not, whom to marry. It is perhaps not a wonder then that more Indian women get education more they stay at home. Far too many times Indian women have been told that only Hinduism treats women as Goddesses but it doesnt seem to help for most of us. If there was only one lesson to be taken from the two centuries of feminist movement, it is that deification is the problem. Women dont want to be Mata or Devi. Just treat them as humans with all the follies humans have, and let them live as equal citizens. Bharat Matas fate is sealed, she cannot be anything else, but for a free citizen sky is the limit. Let her be more. The author is a Delhi-based freelance writer, photographer and research scholar. Views expressed are author's own. Bismarck Park Board members delayed taking action Thursday on a request to rename Custer Park after hearing passionate testimony from both sides. About 110 people attended the meeting, with more than 20 members of the public weighing in whether to remove Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custers name from a park near downtown. The Bismarck Park Board decided in December to create a formal process to rename city parks. Guidelines are expected to be presented at a board meeting in February and would include details on what names are acceptable. Two people opposing the name change said Custers military experience during the Civil War made him a hero, suggesting his service may have brought a Union victory. Jeff Hoffer, a former historian of Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, was one of them. We once lauded Custer for his accomplishments. During the Civil War, Custer was the iron that blocked Jeb Stuarts cavalry hammer against Robert E. Lees infantry at Gettysburg in July of 1863, Hoffer said. Such an outcome may have prevented any hopes of Union victory if the Union lost. Two people in favor of renaming the park recommended changing the parks name to reflect Irish immigrants who used the park in the past. Bismarck resident Ann Vadnie said early residents settled near Custer Park and called the land Kerry Patch. I just wanted to be one to let you know that little piece of green that a lot of those people probably thought was their new Ireland in their adopted land and their adopted town of Bismarck has other historic things about it that a lot of people dont know, Vadnie said. The request to rename the park was filed to the board by two Bismarck residents, Ali Quarne and M. Angel Moniz. Both are members of the "Rename Custer Park" Facebook group. Moniz asked people in the community to stop messaging her hateful comments. Right here in our state, Sullys Hill has been renamed. We need to move forward, Moniz said. If there is one thing that you hear to tonight, you hear a great divide in opinion. This is not creating a closer-knit community, this is causing more divide. What can we do to move us all forward and bring us all together? Cheryl Kary, who is a descendant of the Dakota tribe, also spoke in favor of renaming the park. My people that Custer killed on his many campaigns to glory were permanently erased from history, and we are not allowed to have a future or to leave the history. I dont see the history being the concern, Kary said. My people who survived the erasure of their very lives have not been preserved in the history books, not our perspective, not our grievances. Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Chairman Jamie Azure spoke in favor of renaming the park. All we ask is that there is respect shown. Its 2020, we are in a data age. We can figure out the real facts of history with the click of a button, Azure said. Custer rose to fame as a young Union Army officer during the Civil War. He lived at Fort Abraham Lincoln near present-day Mandan for three years before he was killed along with his men at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Custer fought against Native Americans on the Great Plains during the 1860s and 1870s. In 1868, he launched an attack on Chief Black Kettles Southern Cheyenne Village near present-day Cheyenne, Okla., in which Native American women were raped and killed -- an event known as the Washita Massacre. Bismarck resident Mike Carlson, who opposes renaming Custer Park, mentioned how George Washington owned slaves, and how Washington Street is one of the longest in the city. Where does it stop? Can this community afford to rename everything that offends (someone)? Carlson asked. Commissioner Mark Zimmerman said he was not ready to recommend a final vote at the end of the meeting. I truly think we would be in err to make that decision because if we decide whichever way tonight, we establish a policy, we could be right down to square one on that, Zimmerman said. Allow us to determine a policy, it will come to the board. Commissioner Mike Gilbertson said he doesnt think one group of people should be allowed to tell another group you should feel this way. Here in the city of Bismarck we desperately need and, as a community, are hungrier for a coming together, which is bigger than the name, Gilbertson said. There needs to be steps taken to come together as a community, everybody, because when we come together as a community, the community does better. Reach Andy Tsubasa Field at 701-250-8264 or andy.field@bismarcktribune.com. Love 3 Funny 5 Wow 2 Sad 1 Angry 5 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. US forces to suffer heavy defeat if they refuse to leave Iraq: Hashd Sha'abi group Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 1:57 PM A senior official from Iraq's Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq group, which is part of the country's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Sha'abi, says his fellow comrades are ready to inflict heavy losses on American troops should Washington refuse to comply with a parliament decision demanding the withdrawal of all US-led foreign military forces from the Arab country. "The resistance factions are completely prepared to inflict a great defeat on American forces if they go against the will of the Iraqi government and people," Mahmoud al-Rubaye, a member of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq's political wing, said in an interview with Russia's RT Arabic television news network on Thursday. He added, "I think the United States is afraid of direct confrontation with resistance groups, because it has a bitter experience of face-off with them." Rubaye highlighted that Iraqi anti-US resistance groups are now much more developed and ready compared to the time before 2011. The remarks came two days after influential Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded that Iraqis stage a "million-man march" against the continued US military presence in the country. The march is needed "to condemn the American presence and its violations," Sadr, who leads the largest parliamentary bloc, Sairoon, said in a tweet on Tuesday. "The skies, land, and sovereignty of Iraq are being violated every day by occupying forces," he added. The cleric, however, cautioned that such a show of popular disapproval should be a "peaceful, unified demonstration," but did not offer a date or location for the proposed rally. On January 5, Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved a bill, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces led by the United States from the country. Late on January 9, Iraq's caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi called on the United States to dispatch a delegation to Baghdad tasked with formulating a mechanism for the withdrawal of US troops from the country. According to a statement released by the Iraqi premier's office, Abdul-Mahdi "requested that delegates be sent to Iraq to set the mechanisms to implement the parliament's decision for the secure withdrawal of (foreign) forces from Iraq" in a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The prime minister said Iraq rejects violation of its sovereignty, particularly the US military's violation of Iraqi airspace in the airstrike that assassinated Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the deputy head of PMU, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and their companions. "The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements," the statement added. The US State Department bluntly rejected the request the following day. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A woman who exposed her friends HIV status has been ordered to pay her Sh250,000 as compensation for damages. A special HIV and AIDS Tribunal mandated with handling such cases delivered the ruling last month. Court documents show that the claimant, identified as SNW, had been living with the respondent, identified as A.G, at her house in Parklands, Nairobi, when an argument ensued. At the time, SNW, was hosting a visitor and her son was also present. SNW said that on February 17, 2018, the respondent came back to their house but refused to enter. She stood at the door and demanded that I bring her clothes and other personal items. I, however, declined to do so, SNW said. It was then that A.G. started insulting her in the presence of her son and a friend who was consoling her on the death of her father. A.G. claimed I was going to die since I was HIV positive. I was shocked how she found out about my status yet I had not disclosed that information to her, she said. The claimant later found out that AG knew about her status from a neighbour whose house she moved into after leaving, the Star reports. Reportedly, the neighbour had previously insulted her and even revealed her status. A witness identified as RW told the court she was not aware of her friends HIV status until the respondent revealed it during their altercation. SNW filed the case at the tribunal for breach of confidentiality and abuse of her right to human dignity for disclosing her status without her consent. She further claimed the respondent stigmatised and discriminated against her due to her HIV status. As a result, the claimant said she suffered psychological pain, distress and suffering. The seven-member tribunal found that the respondent had violated the provisions of the HIV and Aids Prevention and Control Act when she disclosed the claimants status as HIV positive. Should the respondent be unable to pay the amount, the claimant can file another application requesting her to be compelled to obey the tribunals order. GREENSBORO State agents seized $460,000 worth of counterfeit products Air Jordan shoes, UGG boots, Rolex watches, Gucci handbags and pirated CDs and DVDs at a Greensboro flea market Saturday, according to the N.C. Department of the Secretary of State. The estimated retail value is the amount the genuine trademarked items would sell for, the agency said Thursday in a news release. Agents with the N.C. Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force discovered the knock-off designer apparel and accessories at The Flea flea market at 3220 N. OHenry Blvd. in Greensboro, state officials said. Homeland Security Investigations and the Greensboro Police Department helped with the enforcement sweep. Five people were charged with trademark violations. Ramon Vararro Poteat, 60, of Browns Summit, and Alhage Mohammed Secka, 51, of Raleigh were each charged with one count of felony criminal use of a counterfeit trademark. Three other flea market vendors were charged with misdemeanor trademark violations: Evette Delynn Daouda, 53, of Greensboro; Felicia Dianne Able, 46, of Greensboro; and Joey Ray Willis, 39, of Danville, Va. A mother who gave her 15-year-old son a fatal cocktail of drugs and alcohol during a binge has been jailed for ten years. Mum-of-five Holly Strawbridge plied her teenage son Tyler Peck with booze, morphine and strong prescription painkillers and sniffed aerosols with her son and his friend. She was trying to be cool and wanted to be liked by teenagers, Plymouth Crown Court heard. Holly Strawbridge (pictured), 34, has been jailed for ten years after supplying a cocktail of drugs including morphine and Gabapentin which led to the death of her 15-year-old son Tyler Peck. He died from 'toxic poisoning' in February last year She poured cap fulls of liquid morphine into their beer and gave them strips of Gabapentin while in the kitchen of her family home in Salcombe, Devon, in February. The 34-year-old also gave the 15 year old boys spirits during the night time binge while her husband Gavin and their four younger children slept upstairs. Schoolboy Tyler, who had a history of drink and drug abuse, later died in his sleep from 'toxic poisoning'. Strawbridge was jailed by Judge Paul Darlow at the crown court, yesterday. He told her it was a deliberate disregard for Tylers true welfare and said her son died 'as a result of the morphine and Gabapentin you supplied him. She had previously condoned that sort of behaviour in her own house and it was not a one off type incident. Judge Darlow said: 'You took a misguided pride that your house was a place where 14 and 15 year olds could go and get hammered.' Tyler (pictured) was regularly given drugs by his mother 'to help him cope with life', the court heard. His mother sold him Valium on one occasion and joined him with his 15-year-old friends who were given a mixture of beer, peach schnapps, aerosol fumes, Valium, morphine and Codeine The mother's attempt to blame two of Tylers friends was condemned by the judge as callous and unreasonable. Her home was a well-known place where she would supply youngsters with heavy duty painkillers Oramorph and Gabapentin which had been prescribed to her for her own medical condition, the court heard. Prosecutor Peter Coombe said 62" tall Tyler regularly took drugs and his red haired mother even encouraged him, selling him Valium on one occasion. He told then jury: 'He had been drinking alcohol from an early age and had taken all manner of illegal drugs. 'She wanted to be a cool parent and to be popular with young people.' Strawbridge believed drinking and using drugs 'were useful ways for him to cope with life'. Artist sketch shows Strawbridge at Plymouth Crown Court. She had denied two charges of supplying the boys with a class A drug and two counts of child cruelty by sharing the drugs and booze with the youths The court was shown a short mobile phone video in which Tyler and his mother were seen in a drunken state on the night before he died. Mr Coombe said: 'You would have thought that any parent with an ounce of interest in her childs welfare would have done anything they could to avoid doing these sorts of things with her son.' Tylers friend - who cannot be named for legal reasons - said he woke up to find his best friend lifeless. He told police they had taken a mixture of beer, peach schnapps, aerosol fumes, Valium, morphine, Codeine and the painkiller. He later told his parents: 'Holly killed Tyler. She kept giving us these pills, strips of pills, she has overdone it this time. Holly was well and truly off it. She was drunk and off her face.' Strawbridge had denied two charges of supplying the boys with a class A drug and two counts of child cruelty by sharing the drugs and booze with the youths. The charity shop worker claimed she only gave the boys beer on that Friday night and Saturday morning. The mother wanted to be a 'cool parent and to be popular with young people', the court heard. One of Tyler's friends, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he woke up to find him lifeless after being given pills by the mother She told the jury Tylers friends had made up stories about her supplying them with drugs over the previous two years and claimed Tylers father offered them money to lie. But the jury convicted her on all counts. His cause of death was recorded as an overdose of Oramorph and Gabapentin, but he also had valium and codeine in his system - all of which had been prescribed to Strawbridge. They were told Tyler started smoking aged nine, started using cannabis by the age of 12 before turning to hard drugs at 13 and 14. Tyler had lived to party and had taken LSD, MDMA, cocaine, ketamine, cannabis and drank whiskey and rum. He had intentionally overdosed twice, said social workers who described Tyler as a bright, thoughtful and caring young man. He had mostly grown up with his dad and stepmum but had been allowed to live with his mother for the last four months of his life, despite the concerns of social workers and his mental health worker. Mr Coombe said Strawbridge showed a deliberate disregard for the victim and 'led to Tyler Pecks death'. The defendant sought to blame two 15 year olds for what had happened and made quite gratuitous allegations against her ex husband, his new partner, and Tylers friend suffered the most dreadful experience of finding him dead. Defence barrister Piers Norsworthy said: 'It is a tragic case on any level.' Strawbridge (pictured in 2014) previously denied two charges of cruelty towards two boys. Her claims that the boys had made up stories and Tyler's father offered them money to lie were condemned by the judge as callous and unreasonable He said she was a loving mother who was struggling to cope with his behaviour and she maintained that she had not supplied any of the drugs that night and it was a conspiracy against her. The mother has 'lost everything' and Tyler's death is 'something she will have to live with for the rest of her life'. Tylers father Ryan Peck and stepmum Sam Kibbler said: 'Tyler was funny, affectionate and caring. He was one of the lads, protective, loving and unique, and we miss him dearly.' But Mr Peck is glad that justice has been served and can now find a way to move forward. Detective Inspector Ian Ringrose, of Devon and Cornwall Police called Tyler's death 'tragic and avoidable' as his mother should have protected him. He said: 'Strawbridge also put Tylers friend in grave danger that night and he is fortunate not to have suffered the same fate.' Strawbridges own mother died suddenly during the trial and she was given bail by the judge so she could attend her funeral. But last week she asked to be remanded in custody complaining about the pain she suffered from her medical condition fibromyalgia and asking to be sentenced via video link rather than being driven from Eastwood Park jail. Mayor John Tory said he would push to fast-track $2.7 million for litter removal and invasive species control in Torontos critical but struggling ravine system by asking to include the first phase of the funds in the current budget. But to find an estimated $104.9 million a year in capital costs for ravine improvements, including a major 81-kilometre Loop Trail, city staff are being asked to report back in the 2021 budget process with a plan and funding options. The city will also ask the federal and provincial governments to chip in and launch a campaign to raise money from private sources. The announcements were part of a long-awaited implementation plan for the citys 2017 ravine strategy. As Toronto stares down the threat of climate change, its 11,000 hectares of ravines are a critical asset. They are a green refuge for city-dwellers, host the majority of the citys most sensitive wildlife habitats and provide an estimated $822 million yearly in ecosystem services that benefit us, such as flood protection and air pollution removal. Toronto has 11,000 hectares of ravines, which host the majority of the city's most sensitive wildlife habitats. TORONTO STAR FILE GRAPHIC Tory affirmed the value of Torontos ravines in his remarks on Thursday at Evergreen Brick Works. These are world-respected natural assets that we have in the city of Toronto. Its a remarkable part of our city landscape, he said. Im happy to say that after years of talk and years of preparation we have a plan. Councillor Mike Layton, a frequent critic on environmental issues, said he was encouraged that the mayor wanted to begin operational funding now, rather than next year, as the plan officially recommends. But he questioned why the plan for capital costs had to wait until the 2021 budget cycle. It seems like were putting off yet another phase of this strategy to another year, said Layton. I would just hope that we would feel some pressure to start including it in the capital plan. The proposed operational funding includes $657,000 annually for litter collection and phased-in funding for invasive species management, starting at $600,000 and rising to $2,050,000. The proposed Loop Trail would connect 81 kilometres of ravine paths into a seamless, off-road, multi-use ring trail. Tory said he had already met with federal cabinet ministers to request green infrastructure funding for the project, and said the response had been positive. The implementation plan also recommended creating a dedicated ravine unit within the citys parks, recreation and forestry division. In his remarks Thursday, Tory emphasized that this money builds on existing annual funding for maintaining and restoring the citys ravines. Citizen stewards and academics have charged that existing levels of support are nowhere near enough to maintain and restore a resource vital to the citys response to the twinned emergencies of climate change and the global extinction crisis. The citys executive committee will consider the plan next Thursday, and it will come before city council Jan. 29. Hours after being released from Tihar Jail, Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad visited the historic Jama Masjid on Friday where he read out the preamble to the Constitution and called for repeal of the amended citizenship law. Swarmed by his supporters and locals, Aazad, donning his trademark blue 'safaa', spent close to 40 minutes at the Jama Masjid, located in the old quarters of Delhi. He also termed the amended citizenship law a "black Act" and stressed that nothing is more important than keeping the country together. The 33-year-old Bhim Army chief was released from Tihar Jail on bail on Thursday night and he received a rousing welcome from his supporters. Aazad lauded the women participating in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Millia Islamia as well as in other parts of the country. Anti-CAA agitation have also been taking place near the Jama Masjid. "This (anti-CAA) movement is for the future of this country, for our identity and to uphold the Constitution. It is our responsibility to strengthen it," he said while stressing that it is the fundamental duty of citizens to protect the Constitution and urged people to carry out the protests peacefully. Before visiting the Jama Masjid, Aazad paid obeisance at Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir near Gole Market and also visited Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. He also paid a visit to the Karbala at Jor Bagh. A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to Aazad, accused of inciting violence during an anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid here on December 20, and restrained him from visiting the national capital for four weeks. The court further directed him not to hold any dharna in the national capital till the Assembly elections here are over. It, however, said that before going to Saharanpur, if Azad wants to visit any place, including the Jama Masjid, within 24 hours of his release, the police will escort him. Mumtaz Abbas Naqavi, who came to Jama Masjid from Uttarakhand's Roorkee, said, "We have come here to support Aazad. From here, he will go to Saharanpur. We will organise programmes in Haridwar and Roorkee where he will address people." "We have been protesting against the CAA and NRC and want the government to revoke the latest amendment in the Citizenship Act. We will keep protesting against it and wont stop here," Mohammad Ikaramudin, a local, said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Transportation Security Administration caught more firearms at airport checkpoints in 2019 than in any other year since it was created in 2001, the agency said Wednesday, as part of a steady uptick that its leader called deeply troubling. The agency said that it found 4,432 firearms last year in carry-on bags or carried by passengers, neither of which is allowed. That number was 5% higher than the 4,239 firearms discovered in 2018 and nearly five times the 926 found in 2008, the TSA said. A vast majority of the guns found in 2019 almost 90% were loaded, the TSA said. About one-third of the guns caught had a round in the chamber. The continued increase in the number of firearms that travelers bring to airport checkpoints is deeply troubling, David Pekoske, administrator of the TSA, said in a statement Wednesday. He advised flyers to follow the rules of the proper way to travel safely with a firearm. The airports where the most firearms were found in 2019 were at three major hubs: 323 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, 217 at Dallas/Fort Worth International and 140 at Denver International. Jenny Burke, a TSA spokeswoman, said Thursday that the agency did not speculate on why the numbers were increasing because a lot of factors could play a role. She said it was important to note that there is an increasing volume of travelers every year. Jeff Price, a professor of aviation management at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, said the increase was a conundrum our industry has been trying to figure out for a while. Its not like its unknown to the average public that youre not supposed to carry a gun on the plane, he said. Price, who trains airport staff nationwide on security issues, said improved technology could be detecting more firearms. He said generations increasingly unfamiliar with Sept. 11 may not be as concerned about the dangers of weapons on airplanes. In many cases, people simply forget they have the firearms in their bags. They just toss it in a bag, and it just lives there, he said. Travelers are allowed to transport firearms in their checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case, the TSA said in its statement. Passengers should then bring the case to the check-in counter and tell an airline representative that they want to travel with a gun. The agency has for years warned against not following those rules, often using some of the extreme items found in passengers luggage to remind the public about airport security rules. The TSA found a missile launcher in a mans checked luggage at Baltimore-Washington International Airport in July, for instance. He had told authorities that he was an active member of the military and wanted take the missile launcher home with him to Jacksonville, Texas, as a souvenir from Kuwait. The weapon was confiscated. Not all firearms are caught. In January 2019, a Delta Air Lines passenger carried, by accident, a loaded gun through a security checkpoint at Atlantas international airport. The passenger later discovered the firearm and alerted authorities, who met the plane when it landed in Japan. In 2017, a shooting at an airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, highlighted the issue of guns at airports after a gunman retrieved a weapon from his checked bag, opened fire and killed five people. Federal rules allowing guns to be checked at airports have sometimes caused confusion among passengers traveling to cities with strict firearm regulations. Some visitors to New York City, for example, have been arrested upon checking guns for return flights home, unaware that they cannot legally possess guns in the city without a city gun permit. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. The J&K police also claimed arresting a Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) associate of in Awantipore area of southern Pulwama district. The police officer identified the arrested persons as Ajaz Ahmad Sheikh, Umar Hamid, Imtiyaz Chikla alias Imran and Naseer Mir, all residents of Hazratbal, and Sahil Gojri of Soura area of Srinagar. (Photo: File) Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir police on Thursday claim-ed that it has busted a Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) module which was planning a major terror strike ahead of Republic Day and arrested five of its members. Deputy inspector general of police (Central Kashmir), V.K. Birdi, while addressing a hurriedly called press conference, said that following investigations into a grenade attack in Srinagars Habak area on January 8, the police arrested five persons involved in the incident. During the course of investigation, these persons confessed their involvement also in executing a terror attack (a grenade blast) near Sir Syed Gate of University of Kashmirs main campus at nearby Hazratbal on November 26 last year, he said. Mr Birdi said that incriminating material, including arms and other explosive substance, were recovered during the course of investigations and that further investigation in the matter is in progress. He added, The police is also investigating their complicity in other terror crime incidents. Later, the J&K police tweeted, In a major success the Srinagar police busts Jaish module. Two grenade blasts in Hazratbal area worked out. Major attack averted ahead of Republic Day. Five terror operatives arrested. Huge explosive material recovered. Separately, a police statement said, The investigation, so far, has revealed their motives to enforce shutdowns and paralyse normal life activities in Srinagar City and further plans to execute sensational incidents like terror attacks and causing improvised explosive device (IED) explosions. The police officer identified the arrested persons as Ajaz Ahmad Sheikh, Umar Hamid, Imtiyaz Chikla alias Imran and Naseer Mir, all residents of Hazratbal, and Sahil Gojri of Soura area of Srinagar. The J&K police also claimed arresting a Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) associate of in Awantipore area of southern Pulwama district. It identified the accused as Ishfaq Ahmad Dar alias Maheed, a resident of Pulwamas Dangerpora-Padgampora village. He has been assisting the active terrorists of proscribed outfit LeT operating in the areas of Padgampora, Sonrigund, Gulzarpora, Beighpora, Reshipora and Dangerpora areas of Awantipora, the police said, adding, He was involved in threatening and intimidating civilians residing in the area and also in providing logistic support and assistance to LeT terrorists operating in the areas of Awantipora. - NDC flagbearer says technical and vocational education will be free when he wins power in 2020 - John Mahama also said the NDC will complete the 200 secondary school structures they started - Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, on Thursday, January 16, 2020, said he will ensure technical and vocational education in Ghana is free when he is voted into power again. According to the former president, he will also make sure all the impediments that make technical and vocational education unattractive are cleared. He stated that he will also ensure technical and vocational education become attractive for students. READ ALSO: MTN Ghana faces network problem; subscribers unable to connect to internet Ill make technical and vocational education in Ghana, free of charge. I note that, this has generated a positive reception from Ghanaians. Let me assure that, our program of technical and vocational education are comprehensive and far-reaching. The free TVET will operate from all levels from the second cycle to tertiary, he said at an NDC gathering in Accra. Speaking at the NDCs rally to launch an online platform that will make it easy for party members and non-members to contribute monies to the 2020 campaign, Mr. Mahama also said his new administration will reintroduce the automatic promotion for teachers. We will bring back the automatic promotion of teachers. And cancel the teacher licensure exams. They say that we introduced the licensure exams; to be clear we never sort to use exams as a means of licensing teachers, he said. ATTENTION: Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana He further added that when the NDC wins power, they will cancel the teacher licensure exams. READ ALSO: Ursula Owusu breaks the internet with her curvy body (Photos) John Mahama gave assurances that the NDC. Will complete all 200 secondary school structures abandoned by the Akufo-Addo government. YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the surviving driver in the Dompoase accident along the Cape Coast-Takoradi highway has spoken for the first time after the accident that claimed over 30 lives. Eyewitnesses present blamed the surviving driver who was en-route to Accra for causing the accident. According to them, the driver tried to overtake another vehicle but failed and collided head-on with an oncoming bus. Do you have a story to share or you have information for us? Get featured on YEN.com.gh. Message us on Facebook. Source: YEN.com.gh (Alliance News) - Omega Diagnostics Group PLC said Friday it has received approval from the Nigerian Ministry of Health for its VISITECT CD4 350 test for monitoring people living with HIV. This form of HIV test determines whether a patient has a CD4 count above or below 350 cells per cubic millimetre of blood. CD4 cells are a type of white blood cell and form a key part of the immune system. A CD4 count over 500 usually suggests good health in HIV patients, while a count below 200 indicates a weakened immune system. The medical diagnostics company said the test evaluation took place in six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, coordinated by the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme. Following the evaluation, it was recommended to the Ministry of Health that the test be adopted into the National HIV Control Programme "as a rapid and instrument-free test device that provides actionable results at the point of care." Omega Diagnostics said the approval means that the test is the first rapid and instrument-free CD4 test to be implemented throughout Nigeria in the care of people living with HIV. At the beginning of December, the company had received an order for VISITECT CD4 350 test from Nigeria. The order was for the 200,000 tests, with 50,000 to be conducted in January, another 50,000 in February and 100,000 in March. Omega Diagnostics had said t he order was in addition to the first purchase order for 50,000 tests in August. Both orders were conditional on the Nigerian Ministry of Health approving the VISITECT CD4 350 test into its national HIV policy. The company said it will now look to firm up a delivery schedule to determine what proportion of this demand can be shipped prior to the end of the financial year in March 31. Colin King, chief executive officer, said: "I am pleased that our test has been approved for use in Nigeria which was one of our key strategic aims and allows out unique point-of-care test to make a real difference to people living with HIV in Nigeria." Omega Diagnostic shares were up 10% in London at 16.25 pence each on Friday. By Loreta Juodagalvyte; loretajuodagalvyte@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. The improvement means that a $100,000 new construction project would be eligible for $50,000 in grant funding versus $30,000. Likewise, a $500,000 project would be eligible for $250,000, Commissioner of Planning and Development Maurice Cox said in a statement. The increased access to capital reduces an owners need for other funding sources and makes new projects more viable where theyre needed most. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Semarang, Central Java Fri, January 17, 2020 09:56 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c3227d6b8 1 National fishing-boat,fishermen,fishing,Natuna,North-Natuna-Sea Free Some 35 vessels weighing more than 75 gross tons owned by fishermen from Rembang, Central Java, are set to leave for the Natuna Sea following President Joko Jokowi Widodos instruction to utilize Indonesias Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for the welfare of Indonesian fishermen. Jokowi recently paid a visit to Natuna regency in Riau Islands his fourth since taking office in 2014 in what observers described as a determined signal of Indonesias territorial integrity and defense of its sovereign rights in the area amid tensions between the country and China over the latters maneuvers in the North Natuna Sea. Central Java Maritime and Fisheries Agency head Fendiawan said that the Natuna waters were indeed home to an abundance of fish as a result of the meeting of two currents there, making the area a target for foreign fishermen from Thailand, Vietnam and China. Those who left for Natuna asked for fuel assistance because of the long distance, as well as security guarantees from the Indonesian Navy and the Maritime Security Agency, and ports to land and sell the fish, Fendiawan said on Wednesday. If Chinese fishermen are escorted by the [China] Coast Guard, our fishermen must also have security escorts in Natuna, he added. Fendiawan went on to say that it was likely that not only fishermen from Rembang but also those from several other large ports in Central Java, such as Tegal and Batang, would set off for Natuna. In addition, the central government held a meeting on Monday with relevant agencies about the mobilization of fishermen from Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi to go to Natuna. If the focus is on exploring Natuna, we must have specific cold storage, fish-processing and auction facilities. Large ships from Central Java are usually equipped with freezers so the fish can be brought to Surabaya, Semarang or Jakarta to be sold in those cities, he said. There are currently in Central Java 171,000 fishermen and 874 fishing boats weighing over 30 gross tons that are compatible of taking on long-distance fishing expeditions. (syk) TORONTO - Police say they are investigating a string of robberies targeting food delivery people in Toronto's east end. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. TORONTO - Police say they are investigating a string of robberies targeting food delivery people in Toronto's east end. Investigators say multiple incidents have been reported since last Friday. They say in each case, it's alleged someone placed an order for a food delivery and a group waited at the specified address. Police say the group then robbed the delivery person of the food and fled. They say in some instances, the suspects threatened the delivery person and held up a weapon. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 16, 2020. The FBI arrested three suspected white supremacists on firearms charges on Tuesday, the Justice Department announced Thursday. Brian Lemley, Jr., and William Garfield Bilbrough IV, alleged to be members of "The Base," a racist violent extremist group, were apprehended along with a Canadian national, Patrik Jordan Mathews. According to a federal official, the men were arrested near Baltimore and were believed to be heading toward Richmond, Virginia, where a pro-gun rally is planned for next week. Lemley has been charged with transporting a machine gun and other firearms charges, and he and Bilbrough have been accused of transporting and harboring "an alien unlawfully present in the United States." Mathews also faces firearms charges. The FBI alleges Mathews unlawfully crossed from Canada into the U.S. in August. Lemley and Bilbrough, according to the affadavit filed in the case, then drove from Maryland to Michigan to pick up Mathews and bring him back with them to Maryland. The affadavit says that in December Lemley and Mathews used firearms parts to make a functioning assault rifle. The two also allegedly tried to produce a hallucinogenic drug, DMT, at Lemley's and Mathews' apartment, and they discussed The Base. This month, according to the affidavit, Lemley and Mathews bought 1,650 rounds of ammunition and shot the rifle they had made at a gun range in Maryland. They were carrying firearms when they were arrested, apparently while traveling to Richmond. Among the evidence introduced in court was a photo the government said showed Bilbrough holding a weapon in a recruiting video for The Base. bilbrough-initial-appearance-exhibits-1-16-20-1-crop.jpg Screenshot from a recruiting video for the white supremacist group The Base. The Justice Department identified the man at left as William Garfield Bilbrough IV. Court exhibit According to the Pentagon, Lemley served as a Cavalry Scout specialist in the U.S. Army from August 2004 to December 2007, and he served in Iraq from June 2006 until September 2007. Story continues Mathews is a former Canadian Armed Forces member and was relieved of his duties in August, the Canadian Forces said. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports he was being investigated by officials there for a role in recruiting members for a neo-Nazi extremist group. White Supremacists Arrested Patrik Jordan Mathews Royal Canadian Mounted Police via AP Mathews joined as a reserve member in 2010 and was a combat engineer at the Canadian Forces Base in Winnipeg. As a reservist, Mathews worked part-time for the military and had no deployments. He never had any access to military weapons or explosives, the Canadian Forces said. The Canadian Forces said it had been made aware of "possible racist extremist activities" by one of its members in Manitoba before all the media coverage. "The Canadian Forces National Counter Intelligence Unit (CFNCIU) had been investigating the matter for several months," the Canadian Forces press office said. "We would not comment on what prompted or led to this investigation." Pro-gun groups are planning a rally near the Virginia Capitol next week, on January 20, to protest pending gun control legislation from the Virginia General Assembly introduced by Democrats, who now hold the majority in both chambers of the Virginia legislature. On Wednesday, after seeing "threats of violence," Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a temporary state of emergency banning all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square ahead of the rally next week. Former FBI special agent in charge Katherine Schweit said "the threat in this kind of situation is with 1,500 rounds in semi-automatic weapons, hundreds of people could go down in seconds." One of the rally's organizers, Philip Van Cleave, said Monday's rally should not be canceled because of the three men arrested. "They're the problem makers, they're trying to create problems, the police will handle them, we will go on. We will not let them deter us or slow us down," Van Cleave said. Reporting by Andres Triay, Clare Hymes, Jeff Pegues and David Martin. Caroline Linton contributed to this report. Tense moment between Sanders and Warren reignites dialogue over role of gender in 2020 race Women at greater risk of developing high blood pressure than men earlier in life, study says Governor Phil Murphy on why he's waiting to endorse a presidential candidate 3 1 of 3 Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 CLINTON Connecticut Water has been recognized with two prestigious awards by the Connecticut Construction Industries Association. The company received the groups Community Service Award for its Water Drop Watchers program, which educates third graders about water, and a Safety Recognition Award for excellence in construction health and safety, according to a press release. We appreciate that Connecticut Water continues to be recognized for its safety efforts, Maureen Westbrook, agency president, said in a prepared statement. We are always looking for educational opportunities to share the importance of sustainable water practices, and the critical role drinking water plays in the lives of our customers and community members. A midwife got a festive surprise when she won a share of 1 million after buying vegetables on Christmas Eve. Hayley Parker, from Romford, east London, threw some National Lottery scratchcards in her basket when she went to pick up broccoli and spinach for an early Christmas supper she and her partner were hosting as she was scheduled to work on December 25. Her family syndicate of seven are now all taking home more than 142,800 each, after she scratched her Merry Millions ticket to reveal a winner. Ms Parker said: We were hosting our family Christmas for the first year, but because I was working on Christmas Day we had all of the family around on Christmas Eve, we were having a less traditional Christmas dinner, a pasta bake. Members of The Merry Millions Syndicate celebrate their win / PA Wire/PA Images When we came home after eating, thats when we did the scratchcards. At first, the 30-year-old thought it was a prank, after having been tricked with joke tickets before. She explained: I didnt believe it, I just didnt believe it at all. Hayley's partner has already put his share towards a new car / PA Wire/PA Images My step-dad last year got me a fake scratchcard, so I thought Id won a million last year! Ms Parker will share the winnings with her partner, Matt Munn, 28, who has already splashed out on a Range Rover with his cash, while she plans on doing a Masters degree. Hayleys twin, Kelly, a full-time mother, wants to use her money to take her two-year-old daughter to Disneyland. Ben Snookes (left), Holly Snookes, Kelly Parker, Hayley Parker and Matt Munn are members of a lottery syndicate / PA Wire/PA Images She added: Its just set her up for her future as well. Also sharing the cash are husband and wife, Ben and Holly Snookes, whose first child is due in just 11 days. Mr Snookes, 27, said: Weve got the baby coming any minute, so stock up on the baby stuff now and then hopefully holidays after. They can now also move from their one-bed flat into a more spacious family home. The family have all been conservative with their spending so far, as they get over the shock of the win. Kelly explained: Were all quite sensible. I think for a lot of us it still hasnt quite settled yet, there could be some splurges. The family celebrated their success on Friday by popping champagne bottles and with platters of green vegetables. Anna Ronopka, a 2019 GBE graduate, drew tears from audience members as she spoke of her experience. She didnt speak English when she arrived at 16 years old from Poland, and had to adjust not only to a new school system but a new language as well. She needed to help her mother during the day, who also didnt speak English, and didnt have time for homework. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sight Machine Inc., which revolutionizes manufacturing operations to achieve continuous breakthroughs in productivity, profitability and sustainability, was named a 2020 Global Cleantech 100 company by Cleantech Group. The 2020 Global Cleantech 100 is the 11th edition of the annual guide to the leading companies and themes in sustainable innovation. It features the private, independent and for-profit companies best positioned to contribute to a more digitized, de-carbonized and resource-efficient industrial future. Sight Machine's real-time, system-wide analysis of production data helps manufacturers optimize energy usage and reduce scrap, allowing them to increase output quality while reducing their carbon footprint. "With manufacturing accounting for more than 12% of global carbon emissions, we're committed to helping manufacturers reduce the carbon footprint of human activity," said Sight Machine CEO and Co-Founder Jon Sobel. Among its sustainability initiatives, Sight Machine has partnered with European energy giant E.ON to deploy solutions that enable the optimization of energy and core manufacturing processes in unison. The Global Cleantech 100 list combines Cleantech Group's research data with qualitative judgements from nominations and insight from a global 80-member expert panel of leading investors and executives from corporations and industrials active in technology and innovation scouting. The Global Cleantech 100 program is sponsored by Chubb. For detailed information on Sight Machine's outlook as an innovator, visit Cleantech Group's market intelligence platform i3 and search for Sight Machine. and search for Sight Machine. Download the report and meet the companies solving our biggest challenges. About Sight Machine Sight Machine revolutionizes manufacturing operations to achieve continuous breakthroughs in productivity, profitability and sustainability. Sight Machine's Manufacturing Data Platform is powering the digital transformation of manufacturing, used by Global 500 companies to make better, faster decisions about their operations. Sight Machine uses system-wide analysis, real-time data stream processing and insight-to-action expertise to enable the next generation of continuous improvement. Sight Machine is optimized to run on the major cloud platforms including Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and AWS. For more information on continuous improvement in manufacturing, please visit sightmachine.com/industry-solutions/ or sightmachine.com. Media Contact: [email protected] About Cleantech Group Cleantech Group provides research, consulting and events to catalyze opportunities for sustainable growth powered by innovation. At every stage from initial strategy to final deals, we bring corporate change makers, investors, governments and stakeholders from across the ecosystem the access and customized support they need to thrive in a more digitized, de-carbonized and resource-efficient future. The company was established in 2002 and is headquartered in San Francisco with a growing international presence in London. Our parent company, Enovation Partners, is based in Chicago. Media Contacts: Laura Dolby Cleantech Group Email: [email protected] SOURCE Sight Machine Inc. Related Links https://sightmachine.com Five employees of two private firms were injured when a power transformer caught fire and oil from it splashed on them while they were standing near a roadside eatery outside their offices in Noidas Sector 62 Friday. The injured persons were identified as Sumit Singh, a resident of Taimur Nagar in Delhi; Vishal, a resident of Ghaziabads Indirapuram; and Kapil Kumar, a resident of Noida all three employees of Barclays Noida. The other injured were Gaur City resident Awinash Kumar, and Supertech Capetown resident Pranav Kumar both employees of Pine Labs Noida. Both companies are located within the same compound. The eatery is located outside the Unitech Infospace building in Sector 62. The transformer was installed on the footpath, a few metres from the office complexs exit gate, next to a food stall Vanshi Wala Paratha Corner. According to Shivam, a spot boy at the food stall, many employees of private companies visit the eatery. The incident took place around noon. Some people were having lunch while others were standing nearby. Suddenly, there was a spark and the transformer blew up. Oil from the transformer fell onto the people standing there, leaving them with burn injuries, he said. Bystanders and tea stall owners rushed to douse the fire. Hot oil fell on bystanders. We threw water on them while others came rushing with blankets or whatever pieces of cloth they could get, Baski Nath, the owner of the eatery, said. Mohit Kumar, an eyewitness, said, An autorickshaw was passing by and the driver had a mini-fire extinguisher in his vehicle which was also used to control the fire. Later, an in-house ambulance reached the spot and rushed the injured to the nearby Fortis Hospital. Pranav has been working with the company as a software engineer since the last 1.5 years, while Avinash had joined the company eight months ago as team leader. Avinash has a six-month-old daughter. They both live with their respective families in Gautam Budh Nagar. They sustained severe injuries. We are with their families in this hard time, Prabhakar Kumar, a team lead at Pine Labs, said. When contacted, Karen Khaw, head of corporate communications, Asia Pacific, Barclays, said, We have taken all necessary steps with regard to the safety and well-being of our employees, and we will work with the relevant authorities to have the matter looked into. Sumits brother Saurav Kumar said that he received information in the afternoon, after which he went to the hospital Sumit received minor injuries and was later discharged. The company has asked us not to talk to the media, he said. VN Singh, chief engineer of Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), said he had received information that there was some fault in the transformer. There was some leakage from the unit, which led to the blast. I have sought a report from the executive engineer. We will take action if any negligence is found, he said. Shahvez Khan, in-charge of Sector 58 police station, said the discom had not informed the police about the incident. We received information from other sources and a police team was sent to the spot. Kapil and Sumit sustained minor injuries and were discharged from hospital while Vishal and Awinash are undergoing treatment. Pranav, on the other hand, suffered 55% burn injuries and has been shifted to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi, he said. In a statement, Fortis Hospital said: A total of five persons to our hospital in Noida, around 12.30pm (Friday). They sustained burn injuries following an electrical transformer blast in Sector 62. One patient with 55% burns was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital. Two other patients who suffered less than 30% and 20% burns, respectively, were admitted for further treatment. The remaining two patients with minor injuries were administered first aid and discharged. Noida police said they have not received any complaint in this regard as yet. In his recent defense of the Islamic doctrine of taqiyya (dismantled here), Usama Hasan of the UK think tank Quilliam made the following admission: It is true that hardened islamist terrorists, such as the Al-Qaeda & ISIS supporter Usman Khan who murdered two people at Fishmongers Hall [after pretending to have been rehabilitated], do misuse the principle of taqiyyah in order to further their cause. However, the charge that all Muslims are generally religiously obligated to lie, and do so routinely, is both dangerous and untrue. However true this may be, it is also irrelevant. After all, how is the infidel to know which Muslim is and isnt misusing the principle of taqiyyah? Moreover, why should the burden of proof be on the non-Muslim -- who stands to (and often does) suffer and even die from ignoring the role of deceit in Islam -- and not on the Muslim, whose religion allows deception in the first place? This is particularly so since more than a few hardened islamist terrorists are convinced that their creed allows them to dissimulate to their hearts content -- so long as doing so can be seen as helping further the cause of Islam. In this, as in virtually all things Islamic, Muslims have their prophets example -- two that are especially poignant -- to turn to. First is the assassination of Kab ibn Ashraf (d. 624), an elderly Jew. Because he dared mock Muhammad, the latter exclaimed, Who will kill this man who has hurt Allah and his messenger? A young Muslim named Ibn Maslama volunteered on condition that to get close enough to Kab to murder him, he needed permission to lie to the Jew. Allahs messenger agreed. So Ibn Maslama traveled to Kab and began to complain about Muhammad until his disaffection became so convincing that Kab eventually dropped his guard and befriended him. After behaving as his friend for some time, Ibn Maslama eventually appeared with another Muslim, also pretending to have apostatized. Then, while a trusting Kabs guard was down, they attacked and slaughtered him, bringing his head to Muhammad to the usual triumphant cries of Allahu Akbar! In another account, after Muhammad and his followers had attacked, plundered, and massacred a number of non-Muslim Arabs and Jews, the latter assembled and were poised to defeat the Muslims (at the Battle of the Trench, 627). But then Naim bin Masud, one of the leaders of these non-Muslim confederates, as they came to be known in history, secretly went to Muhammad and converted to Islam. The prophet asked him to return to his tribesmen and allies -- without revealing that he had joined the Muslim camp -- and to try to get them to abandon the siege. For, Muhammad assured him, war is deceit. Masud returned, pretending to be loyal to his former kinsmen and allies, all while giving them bad advice. He also subtly instigated quarrels between the various tribes until, no longer trusting each other, they disbanded -- thereby becoming a celebrated hero in Islamic tradition. In the two well-known examples above, Muslims deceived non-Muslims not because they were being persecuted for being Muslim but as a tactic to empower Islam. (Even the Battle of the Trench was precipitated precisely because Muhammad and his followers had first attacked the confederates at the Battle of Badr and massacred hundreds of them on other occasions.) Despite these stories being part of the Sunna to which Sunnis adhere, UCLAs Abou El Fadl -- the primary expert the Washington Post once quoted to show that Islam does not promote deceit -- claims that there is no concept that would encourage a Muslim to lie to pursue a goal. That is a complete invention. Tell that to Kab ibn Ashraf, whose head was cut off for believing Muslim lies. The prophet of Islam allowed his followers to deceive the Jew to slaughter him -- even though Kab posed no threat to any Muslims life. Especially revealing is that, in Dr. Sami Makerems seminal book on the topic, Al-Taqiyya fil Islam (Taqiyya in Islam), he cites the two aforementioned examples from the prophets biography as prime examples of taqiyya. It comes to this: even if one were to accept the limited definition of taqiyya as permitting deception only under life-threatening circumstances (as Usama Hasan and any number of apologists insist), the fact remains: Islam also permits lies and deception in order to empower itself. Accordingly, and considering that Islam considers itself in a constant state of war with non-Islam (typified by the classical formulation of Dar al-Islam vs. Dar al-Harb) any Muslim who feels this or that piece of deception over the infidel is somehow benefiting Islam will believe that he has a blank check to lie. Thats the inconvenient fact -- passingly admitted to by Usama Hasan -- that needs addressing; and thats why the burden of proof belongs on Muslims, not non-Muslims. Raymond Ibrahim, author of Sword and Scimitar, is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center; a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute; and a Judith Friedman Rosen Fellow at the Middle East Forum. JERSEYVILLE It was four years ago Thursday that the family of an 8-year-old boy who died of cancer started a foundation in his honor. Since then, the foundation which has opened its first office in Jerseyville has grown and now raises money for pediatric cancer research across the country. The Kids Shouldnt Have Cancer Foundation was started in honor of Jonny Wade, who died of brain cancer but left behind a message that no child should have to go through what he and other cancer patients endured. Jonny always said I dont want another kid to have cancer, said Jonnys mother, Kimberly Wade, founder and CEO of the foundation. Jonny was diagnosed with brain cancer in December 2014. He died a year later on Christmas Eve. Within weeks, the foundation was born. We started this just three weeks after Jonny passed that was his wish, Wade said. We hit the ground running and weve raised about $2 million for pediatric research. Wade is thankful the foundation has grown since it was established, she said. Weve been blessed by everybodys support and willingness to pitch in and save children from this disease, Wade said. My husband and I have worked very hard with the foundation. We know it wont bring our son back, but we know this journey has allowed us to help other children, and hopefully well be able to help save them. In addition to raising funds through the organization, they also raise awareness and advocate for cancer research, Wade said. The organization recently advocated for funding to be added to the federal governments 2020 fiscal year budget, a push that was successful, she said. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, added $50 million for the Presidents Childhood Cancer Data program to the budget. The organization also helped pass legislation in Illinois to raise funds for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to establish a pediatric cancer research center through sales of specialized license plates. The organization opened its first office in December at 722 W. County Road. Previously, the foundation operated out of the Wade home. Weve been growing rapidly and we need a location or area where we could have our meetings and planning, Wade said. The office will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Wade feels she is honoring her son in one of the best ways possible, she said. I believe hed be so happy and overwhelmed by the support weve been given since his diagnosis, Wade said. This was his focus helping other children not have the same path he did. According to received wisdom, local activism against the establishment of industrial plants follows a cycle, with its highest intensity a short time after mobilization. If a firm stands, activism is destined to fade away. New research published in the Strategic Management Journal suggests us to think it again. Fabrizio Perretti (Bocconi's Department of Management and Technology) and Alessandro Piazza (Jesse H. Jones School of Business) analyze the American anti-nuclear movement between 1960 and 1995 and find that the strategic decisions made by a firm affect both the evolution of activism in its own sector and the emergence of mobilization in other industries. As expected, when activists are successful in preventing the establishment of a nuclear plant, there is an upsurge in similar protests in neighboring communities. Such a victory showcases activism as a viable opportunity for social change and activists remain mobilized to push further towards more ambitious goals. This dynamic is exemplified by the very first episode of protest against a nuclear power plant at Bodega Bay, California. In 1964 plans for the plant were canceled and, partly due to this success, a nationwide movement opposing nuclear power was soon born. A protracted cycle of protest starting in 1976 could not, instead, prevent the construction of a nuclear power plant in Seabrook, New Hampshire, which was concluded in 1986. Despite their failure in achieving their goal, however, the Seabrook protests connected and inspired people around the country, establishing a dominant model of large-scale direct-action organization for groups championing different issues, including the AIDS activist group ACT UP. Firms decisions can be considered critical events in a protracted conflict that not only determine local mobilization outcomes, but can also have boundary spanning effects, says Prof. Perretti. Furthermore, the idea that mobilization is more effective at its very onset proves wrong: all the conflicts about new plants go on for years, if not decades and activism effectiveness doesn't tend to wane over time. The indictment of five men in the US for allegedly running an international network that purchased sensitive goods for Pakistan's nuclear programme not only posed a threat to America's national security interests but also to the delicate balance of power in the region, according to a senior US law enforcement official. The US Department of Justice on Wednesday said a grand jury has indicted five, all associated with the front company 'Business World' in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, including an 82-year-old man, for operating an international procurement network to export US-origin goods for Pakistan's nuclear programme. The five were identified as Muhammad Kamran Wali, 41, of Pakistan; Muhammad Ahsan Wali, 48, and Haji Wali Muhammad Sheikh, 82, both of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; Ashraf Khan Muhammad of Hong Kong; and Ahmed Waheed, 52, of Ilford, Essex, United Kingdom. None of them has been arrested, although arrest warrants are pending. READ| Russian Foreign Minister condemns US for pulling out of Iran nuclear deal "The defendants smuggled US-origin goods to entities that have been designated for years as threats to US national security for their ties to Pakistan's weapons programmes," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers. "The alleged behaviour of these five individuals presented more than a violation of US export laws, it posed a potential threat to the national security interests of the US and to the delicate balance of power among nations within the region," according to Jason Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations. According to the indictment, between September 2014 and October 2019, the five operated an international procurement network of front companies that existed to acquire US-origin goods for the Advanced Engineering Research Organisation (AERO) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). They exported US-made goods to the two Pakistani entities, placed on the US Commerce Department's Entity List, without export licenses in violation of federal law, the officials said. The indictment identified 38 separate exports from the US over the years by the five involving 29 different companies from around the country. None of the US companies is alleged to have been complicit in the illegal exports, a statement from the Justice Department said. READ| Pakistan ranked among worst nations for internet freedom, social media & reporting Meanwhile, in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said on Friday that Pakistan was trying to verify facts about the individuals indicted by the US for alleged export of items of restricted categories to entities in the country. She said Pakistan saw reports about the indictment of five individuals alleged to have exported items to some Pakistani entities on the US Department of Commerce Entity List. "We have received no official information from the US and are trying to ascertain the facts. The identities of the individuals have not been shared with us. There has been no effort to verify any facts from us," she said. Farooqui said Pakistan was not in a position to comment without having details as there had been instances in the past when restrictions were placed on Pakistani entities on mere suspicion. "In many cases denials have been made based on 'catch-all' provisions for items which were not even on any control lists and were intended for purely peaceful uses and socio-economic development, she said. She said Pakistan has genuine socio-economic development needs involving utilisation of equipment, items and technologies, some of which might also be dual-use technologies. "In such cases, we ensure that we follow all end-use certification requirements and provide guarantees against any misuse or diversion. If there are any additional requirements/guarantees required, we are always willing to consider those, she maintained. While Pakistan was denied of technology, "one country in our region has been provided waivers and special status for access to sensitive technologies," the Foreign Office spokesperson said, referring to India. She said this has led to the development of advanced military weaponry and posing a threat to the strategic stability in South Asia. READ| US charges 5 Pakistani men for illegally transporting goods to country's nuclear program The World Bank on Thursday granted Morocco a loan of 275 million U.S. dollars to support the country's disaster risk management, said the Moroccon economy and finance ministry, Trend reports citing Reuters. The loan was designed to help Morocco strengthen its capacity to manage financial impact of natural disasters and climate-related shocks. The agreement about the loan was signed on Thursday by Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Benchaaboun and Jesko Hentschel, director for the World Bank's department of the Maghreb and Malta. The loan will be used to cover catastrophic risks, as Morocco has recently established a regime to tackle the consequences of catastrophic events, Benchaaboun said during the signing ceremony. Hentschel said the loan is an insurance for Morocco against catastrophic events, adding that the World Bank is providing support to Morocco to face up to future risks linked to natural disasters. New Name. New Decade. New Origin. New Inclusions. New York, NY, Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beyond Good, exceptional single origin dark chocolate bars and vanilla from Madagascar, is launching three new chocolate bars at Winter Fancy Foods: Crispy Rice, Orange Zest and Salted Caramel. Featuring 73% certified organic and direct traded cocoa, the delicious new inclusions are a bold addition to Beyond Goods current lineup of heirloom chocolate bars. Experience Beyond Good at booth #L2 FC22, nestled within the FCIA Fine Chocolate Pavilion at the Moscone Center in San Francisco during SFAs Winter Fancy Food Show from January 19-21. Based on trends in the chocolate category and in-market testing, the new Uganda line represents the growth of consumer interests for complimentary and dynamic non-nut inclusions. Crispy Rice is a blend of crispy rice and chocolate to stirs childhood memories. Orange Zest incorporates candied orange peels, which incite a burst of citrus flavor and chewy texture. The Salted Caramel bar is a rich combination of salt and crunchy caramel to strike the perfect balance of sweet and salty. The Brooklyn-based company is excited to introduce a new origin. "As consumer tastes for dark chocolate evolve, we're excited to expand our chocolate set with the deep flavor profile of Uganda cocoa and these popular inclusions," said Tim McCollum, founder and CEO of Beyond Good. After pioneering a fully transparent and equitable farm to factory supply chain in Madagascar, we recognize and anticipate the need to scale cocoa operations in East Africa, declares Mr. McCollum. The company proudly introduces a grab and go version of their award-winning Sea Salt & Nibs bar, which is 35g and contains 210 calories. As consumers seek small indulgences, this convenient snack-sized bar is a perfect companion to impulse items at cafes, universities and sprinkled across register counters. All of Beyond Good's chocolate bars are made with organic cocoa, gluten-free, soy-free, non-GMO ingredients, kosher and vegan. The 75g chocolate bars retail for a SRP of $3.99 while the new 35g bar retails for $1.99. Story continues Hitting shelves in Q2 of 2020, these four new SKUs will have 10 Beyond Good chocolate products available at natural stores, specialty markets, retailers nationwide and online at beyondgood.com. Formally known as Madecasse, the new brand name invites consumers to experience a chocolate bar that doesn't just taste good, its breaking the status quo. Beyond Good articulates the companys practices to solve the issues affecting the global chocolate industry while stressing the economic and environmental impact made in Africa. About Beyond Good Founded in 2008, Beyond Good is on a mission to change the way the world experiences chocolate from the cocoa farmer to the consumer. By sourcing the finest heirloom cocoa directly from Malagasy farmers and a production factory in Madagascar, Beyond Good is changing the status quo in the chocolate industry and is the only U.S. company producing premium bean-to-bar chocolate in Africa. It's not just good, it's Beyond Good. For more information, visit beyondgood.com. Attachments Ashton Pina Beyond Good 3473911946 ashton@madecasse.com A woman was pulled from a burning car wreck by a Good Samaritan and a Florida Sheriff just seconds before the vehicle exploded in a fiery blaze. The harrowing rescue began on Monday morning after 21-year-old Rosie Ramirez crashed into a tree near a roundabout in Martin County. At that moment, passing motorist Tony Weisman was driving home and pulled up to the crash site. Weisman, 29, told WPTV: 'It was like the whole front of the car was on fire. It was going up the tree and it was a pretty big fire.' He quickly parked his car and saw a woman already on the scene calling 911. She said there was a person trapped in the car. Pictured: Rosie Ramirez's damaged car after the 21-year-old got into a brutal car accident on Monday morning in Martin County, Florida Pictured: Footage shows Weisman, Baltes and a female witness surround Ramirez after she was rescued on Monday morning The explosion at the front end of Ramirez's car occurred just 20 to 30 seconds after the car was evacuated 'She said somebody was in the car. That's when the officer pulled up,' he said. At that very moment, Sgt. Timothy Baltes with the Martin County Sheriff's Department arrived as the first law enforcement on the scene. The two men shared a brief moment before rushing to save Ramirez from the increasingly burning vehicle. Baltes said: 'I saw [Weisman], I looked at him and I said let's go get her. Without hesitation, he joined. We ran up to the car.' Due to damage sustained by her car, Ramirez was trapped inside. Ramirez (pictured) survived the horrifying wreck with the help of Tony Weisman and Sgt. Timothy Baltes. Good Samaritan Tony Weisman (left) and Sgt. Timothy Baltes heroically saved Ramirez from the oncoming explosion while waiting for emergency crews to arrive. 'I don't think she was able to open the door. We had to pry the door open,' said Weisman. 'We opened the door and she actually fell out. Then I grabbed her by the arms. The officer grabbed her by the legs,' he added. After lifting Ramirez from the ground, Weisman and Baltes carried her about 20 yards away before the car exploded. 'It was probably about 20 or 30 seconds before it exploded upfront and started catching in the cabin,' Baltes said. Ramirez was in pain as Weisman and Baltes comforted her until emergency crews arrived to the scene, CBS 12 reports. 'Two is always better than one. It was good to have that guy with me. I was happy he was able to jump in the mix right away without hesitation. Not a lot of people would do that,' Baltes explained. Ramirez was escorted to a local hospital, where she is recovering from a broken pelvis, femur and talus. She's undergone three surgeries thus far and a fourth operation is scheduled for Saturday that will work on repairing her foot. Ramirez (lright) suffered several injuries, including a broken pelvis, and has undergone multiple surgeries in the days following the crash Her foot injury is so severe that doctors hope she will be able to keep her foot and learn to walk in around six months. Ramirez graduated from Jensen Beach High School and is a Certified Nursing Assistant working to become a Registered Nurse. Family and friends are praising the two men for their courageous actions. Weisman said: 'If there's no one else there to help, you always help somebody when they need help.' Baltes shared a similar sentiment, saying: 'I took an oath to serve and protect. This is the job and this is what I get paid to do. It's just something we do and I know every officer in this agency would act the same way.' A GoFundMe was created to help cover medical and living expenses. A winter weather advisory and a winter storm watch have been posted by the National Weather Service ahead of a Saturday snowstorm, expected to drop several inches across Connecticut. The winter weather advisory which initially was for the southern part of the state but has since been expended to include the entire region will be in effect from 10 a.m. Saturday until 1 a.m. Sunday. Much of southern Connecticut can expect to see 4 to 5 inches of snowfall, with a reasonable worst case scenario of 6 inches, according to the weather service. Snow will most likely start to fall around 2 p.m. Saturday until around 7 p.m. The storm watch for the northern half of Connecticut is in effect from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning. The watch said snow could fall at rates of an inch per hour at times Saturday night, adding that the bulk of the accumulating snow is expected during the night. Travel could be very difficult, especially Saturday evening, the storm watch indicated. Snowfall totals in the storm watch area are between 4 to 8 inches, the weather service said. A quick moving low pressure system moving north of the area will bring wintry precipitation Saturday and during the first half of Saturday night, the NWS said. The precipitation will begin as snow mid-morning across western sections, and late morning and early afternoon further east. Northern Connecticut will start to see snow a bit earlier than the northern part of the state Saturday, starting around 1 p.m. and continuing until around 10 p.m. Towns and cities along the coast can expect to see the transition to rain first, with the rain/snow line slowly moving north throughout the evening Saturday. Some areas might not even see a changeover to rain. Roads across Connecticut will likely become hazardous from late Saturday morning through Saturday night, with poor visibility and slippery roads, the weather service said. Ice will also be possible on untreated roadways from Saturday morning into early afternoon. The forecasts Southern Connecticut: Friday afternoon: Sunny, with a high near 27. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. Northwest wind around 13 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Friday night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 14. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light after midnight. Saturday: Snow, mainly after 3pm. High near 36. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Saturday night: Rain and snow before 1 a.m., then a slight chance of rain between 1 and 3a.m. Temperature rising to around 36 by 8 p.m. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. South wind 10 to 13 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 38. West wind 11 to 14 mph. Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. Northern Connecticut: Friday afternoon: Sunny, with a high near 20. Northwest wind around 15 mph. Friday nigth: Increasing clouds, with a low around 4. Wind chill values as low as -7. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph. Saturday: Snow, mainly after 3pm. High near 28. Wind chill values as low as -2. Light and variable wind becoming south 8 to 13 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. Saturday night: Snow before 11 p.m,, then rain and snow likely. Low around 28. South wind 11 to 13 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 35. West wind 11 to 15 mph. Sunday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 17. Truly Local shopping isnt just a nice thing to do to show local spirit. Truly Local shopping in the future may very well be the difference between whether your community grows economically or withers on the economic vine. To be clear, Truly Local isnt the same as just shopping local, all local shopping isnt created equal. Truly Local is described as locally owned and operated; this on occasion includes National chains that are locally owned. With the increase of big boxes, national chains, Wall Street or out-of-town owners and online shopping opportunities, many local community governments are finding it increasingly more difficult to make their local fiscal budgets stretch to cover their basic needs. In fact, many are already in severe financial straits. The term unintended consequences could very well have been coined to convey the situation many communities find themselves in today or will find themselves in the near future. The courtship of big boxes and chains might be viewed as a necessary evil that communities must attract to appear viable. By bringing these big boxes and chains to the community, it can indeed create new jobs, increase the quality of life for residents and provide a greater variety of goods and services that we all enjoy. While the benefits can be great, we must realize this also comes with high risk as well. The greater the saturation of big boxes and chains, the greater long term economic risk to our communities. One might ask, how can this be? Very simply, the more money each of us spends with these big box, chain and out of town owners; the bigger the drain on our local budgets as a greater percentage of those dollars we are spending leave our community, never again to return. Studies show that dollars spent at locally owned businesses are 3-7X more valuable as they are re-circulated multiple times throughout the community in lieu of being sent to some far off corporate headquarters. It is those same dollars leaving our community that otherwise would fund our police, fire departments, city government, water department, road department, parks & recreation and so forth. Bottom line, fewer dollars equate to fewer or less than desirable services. How can communities balance sending their dollars to Wall Street in lieu of growing their own Main Streets? As is the case with most things in life, it is all about balance. Having these big boxes, chains, Wall Street and out-of-town owned businesses can initially be beneficial to the overall growth of a community. The bigger issue arises when communities in their haste, vigorously court these big boxes, chains and Wall Street organizations at the expense of organically growing their local business base from within. We must not forget that small businesses, mostly locally owned, employ the majority of all workers across the country. We must attend to that base as well. Communities must find the resolve to expend equal attention and resources on their local business, innovation and entrepreneur base. Nurturing their startups will ultimately create the balance to weather the pending economic storm clouds of retail; along with the rapidly shifting shopping habits that are changing right before our eyes. With the rapidly shifting retail and consumer habits, it is imperative that communities have these critical conversations. It is also critical that they find ways to stimulate local entrepreneurship and innovation. It is imperative that they find ways to keep a greater percentage of their consumer spending local. While we will discuss this in future columns, the younger generations are leading us rapidly towards an experiential economy where it isnt about sameness, but about making dining and shopping an experience. This spells local in every way. These arent just nice discussions to have; the economic and vital future of every community under 100,000 is in danger of slowly being dismantled by the winds of economic change. We are sure of one thing; Wall Street cares little about our communities, unless of course, how it can extract more local dollars that boost their bottom lines. The future of our communities are certainly in our hands, and our hands only. Whether we win or lose tomorrow will be determined by the hard decisions we make today. Hopefully, our communities will make those decisions based on long-term growth and not just short-term satisfaction. John A. Newby, author of the Building Main Street, Not Wall Street column dedicated to helping communities combine synergies with local media companies allowing them to not just survive, but thrive in a world where Truly Local is lost to Amazon, Wall Street chains and others. Reach Newby at john@360MediaAlliance.net. Mary Lou McDonald is standing by a councillor who is caught up in controversy over comments he made about the Taoiseach. Sinn Fein councillor Paddy Holohan, a former UFC fighter whose nickname is 'Hooligan', was forced to issue an apology after he called the Taoiseach "of Indian blood" on his podcast, and for saying he would prefer for the leader of the country to be a "family man". In an episode of his production 'No Shame' with director Terry McMahon, the Tallaght South councillor admitted he has a lot of "quarrels with this man" - referring to Mr Varadkar. "He's so separated not even from society now, but he's so separated from the history of this country," he said. "Leo Varadkar's blood obviously runs to India, you know, so his great-grandfather is not part of the history of this country, you know what I mean." On a separate podcast published two days ago, Mr Holohan said he wanted a "family man" to run the country. "We need people running the country and, not against Leo or anything like that, but to me I want a family man running the country." Sinn Fein urged the councillor to apologise, saying his statements "caused offence, and are quite obviously not the views of Sinn Fein". "I would like to apologise as my comments may have offended people as I of course did not intend to do so," Mr Holohan wrote on social media several hours later. "My comments have been misinterpreted and not in anyway [sic] meant the way they have been portrayed." Sinn Fein leader Ms McDonald said she was "satisfied" with his apology and she would not be removing him from the party or asking him to step down from his position. "I think that Paddy has apologised for the remarks and that that was the appropriate thing to do. "I think all of us know that every citizen and every person is entitled to run for public office in this country and to aspire to the office of An Taoiseach. That's the position, Paddy has apologised and of course that was the absolutely correct thing to do." Mr Varadkar said: "I understand that he has apologised in the last few hours and you know that's good enough for me." He added that there's a "wider issue". Mr Varadkar said: "I think anyone in Ireland who is from a minority background - whether mixed race or gay or lesbian - has experienced some form of racism or homophobia in their lives." Sinn Fein South Dublin county councillor Louise Dunne issued a statement in support of Mr Holohan. Ms Dunne said Mr Holohan's comments were taken "out of context" and added Fine Gael "ain't fit to tie" his boots. "Don't you dare ever apologize (sic) for being who you are. Keep being you & stay real. We love you," the councillor said. Asked by the Irish Independent if Mr Holohan should apologise, Ms Dunne said: "Call the press office." ISABELLA COUNTY, MI -- Ian Elliot, the former Central Michigan University student body president accused of sexual assault, pleaded no contest to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in Isabella County Trial Court on Friday, Jan. 17, according to a press release from the Attorney Generals Office. Elliott, 24, of Cheboygan, originally pleaded no contest to one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in June and was sentenced in the case in August. Plea could be set aside in CMU sexual assault case after AG investigation On Friday, Elliott withdrew his previous plea and entered a no contest plea to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison. The move came after officials discovered the case was mishandled by former Assistant Attorney General Brian Kolodziej. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 7. The contents of our investigation into former Assistant Attorney General Brian Kolodziejs conduct on this case required that this information be relayed to Mr. Elliotts counsel and that the defendant be permitted to set aside his original plea, Nessel said in the release. After extensive discussions with both victims, it was decided that the best resolution of this matter was to allow Mr. Elliott to plead to criminal sexual conduct-fourth degree, ensuring that he would continue to serve a year in jail and have various other conditions imposed during a lengthy term of probation after his release. Nessel agreed to set aside Elliots no contest plea following an internal investigation into the work of Kolodziej, who prosecuted the case. The investigation was launched in September after it was discovered Kolodziej had an improper relationship with a victim in a case. In September, Rachel Wilson, one of two sexual assault victims who gave statements during the sentencing for Elliott, identified herself to MLive as the woman who had a relationship with the ex-assistant attorney general. Victim in CMU sexual assault case says accusations against ex-assistant AG are tip of the iceberg Isabella County Chief Circuit Judge Eric R. Janes on Aug. 2 sentenced Elliott to a year and a day to 15 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections on the initial charge. Under the new agreement, Elliott will likely serve the remainder of his sentence in the Isabella County Jail with credit for time served, according to Attorney General spokesperson Kelly Rossman-McKinney. After review of the Kolodziej cases through an internal investigation by the attorney generals office, Rossman-McKinney said concerns over his prosecutorial conduct were discovered. We realized that the defendant had not gotten as fair of a trial as perhaps he could or should have, she said. The office immediately contacted Elliots attorney, Joseph Barberi, who ultimately agreed to move forward with the dismissal of charges and reinstatement of the lesser CSC charge. Woman hopes for justice after plea could be set aside in CMU sex assault case The expectation, and Id emphasize expectation, is that hed be able to finish the remainder of his original sentence in county jail rather than state prison, she said. Elliot will also be given credit for time served to date, which is about five months. Its been an extraordinarily difficult and untenable situation for everyone involved and the victims in particular who have been caught up in the least desirable situation," Rossman-McKinney said. Kolodziejs actions denied Ian Elliott due process, and made the obtaining of any future fair trial for Elliott problematic, Barberi said in a statement. I believe that the plea agreement reached with Attorney General Nessel was an appropriate resolution of all legal issues based on the allegations previously made by the two Complainants," Barberi said. "I also want to make it clear, that based on my review of the investigation, there were failings on the part of staff members within the Attorney Generals office, but nothing to indicate that Attorney General Nessel did anything improper. To the contrary, as soon as the Attorney General became aware of improprieties within her own staff, it is clear that she took swift action to hold parties responsible for their misconduct. Ultimately our plea agreement reached was, in part, based on her attempt to do justice in this matter in light of what Kolodziej did to deny my client due process of law. Related stories: Plea set aside in CMU sexual assault case after AG investigation Ex-CMU student government president sentenced to prison for sexual assault Prosecutor in CMU sexual assault case resigns after inappropriate relationship with victim, AGs office confirms Member of Parliament for Trobu, Moses Anim, has urged Ghanaians not to allow the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) back to power again. According to him, three years of the Akufo-Addo government has been far better than what the erstwhile Mahama administration delivered in eight years. Moses Anim warned that it would be suicidal for the country to even consider returning the NDC to power in 2020. We should not allow the NDC to come back into political office to destroy the amazing successes that the country has enjoyed within the last three years under the able Leadership of President Akufo-Addo, Moses Anim told Kwaku Dawuro on Anopa Nkomo on Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7. The law-maker said the NDC only plunged the country into abject poverty and hardship during their eight years in office. The Deputy Majority Chief Whip, says the NDC cannot be trusted with the countrys resources and future. An image captured by the ASTERIA spacecraft, with the stars of Orion's belt in the lower left corner. HONOLULU A tiny satellite studying alien worlds may be gone for good, but during the two years the spacecraft operated, it laid the foundation for what may become a new way of finding exoplanets . The Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics satellite (ASTERIA) fell silent in December 2019 , NASA announced Jan. 3. Although NASA has said that it will continue trying to contact the spacecraft until March, scientists on the project looked back on ASTERIA's legacy at the 235th American Astronomical Society conference, held here last week. The satellite, which launched in 2017, was designed to determine whether small cubesats could manage the sort of technically precise measurements required by scientists looking for distant planets. "ASTERIA's special because it set out to prove that cubesats could be more than toys, that they could do cutting-edge astrophysics," Mary Knapp, project scientist for ASTERIA at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), told Space.com. Related: The Biggest Alien Planet Discoveries of 2019 That was a far cry from how the science community viewed cubesats when the team began developing ASTERIA. "When we were getting started, cubesats were kind of a new thing, but they were considered educational," Knapp said. "They were for engineering students to learn what's in a spacecraft and take a shot at putting one together, without any expectation that they would actually work." But the team behind ASTERIA thought cubesats had more potential than that. In 2008, Sara Seager , an astronomer at MIT, envisioned a fleet of cubesats each dedicated to monitoring a single star for exoplanets; that concept eventually became the ASTERIA satellite, and Seager remains the advisory principal investigator. In order to turn her vision into a spacecraft, the engineers involved in ASTERIA needed to develop better technology for steadily pointing small satellites and maintaining stable temperature conditions. A particularly important improvement was a two-step navigation system that used specific "guide stars" as sightings to latch onto when studying specific stars. Engineers work on the ASTERIA cubesat in April 2017, before its launch. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) Eventually, in 2017, ASTERIA launched as a technology-demonstration mission, intended to determine whether those improvements were effective. That goal meant that ASTERIA's prime target was a well-studied star called 55 Cancri, which is located about 40 light-years away from Earth. In particular, the cubesat looked for occasions when the star dimmed as some of its light was blocked by orbits of the already-discovered planet 55 Cancri e . Scientists believe that this planet, about twice the size of Earth, is covered in lava. "It was hard. It had only been done from space with larger telescopes," Knapp said. But the scientists had set themselves a difficult task on purpose. "It would serve as a proof of concept that we could make these challenging measurements." And ASTERIA succeeded in those measurements. During its two years in orbit, it observed not just 55 Cancri, but also well-known stars like Alpha Centauri, Polaris and Algol, along with noted planet-haver HD 219134, which scientists believe boasts four orbiting worlds . The team also used ASTERIA to study some objects within our solar system, although the scientists are still analyzing those results. that NASA consider developing a fleet of upgraded spacecraft. Each cubesat could then be matched to a specific bright star to look for Earth-size planets with orbits of about a year, like our own. If that happens, the new satellites wouldn't be precise duplicates of ASTERIA, Vanessa Bailey, principal investigator for extended mission science at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, told Space.com. In particular, she said, the cubesat bodies are spacious enough to allow for larger-aperture instruments. And since ASTERIA launched, other missions have also pushed the boundaries of what cubesats can do. One big step came in 2018, when the twin Mars Cube One (MarCO) satellites, which launched with NASA's InSight lander, watched that spacecraft touch down on the Red Planet. They were the first cubesats to leave Earth orbit . The ASTERIA cubesat deployed from the International Space Station in November 2017. (Image credit: NASA) For exoplanet research, that example may prove inspiring, Knapp said. ASTERIA was locked in an orbit like that of the space station, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth. But in that orbit, the cubesat regularly lost sight of some of the stars it was trying to study. A future satellite in a higher orbit could avoid that problem. Even if future ASTERIA satellites never come to be, the mission has taught scientists and engineers that cubesats can serve a vital role in both supplementing and developing larger missions. "ASTERIA has done a very nice job of demonstrating creative ways that you can use existing platforms to test new technologies that were beyond the original scope of the mission," Bailey said. Some of those developments touch on a spacecraft's ability to make decisions and determine its location on its own and to recognize when something may have gone wrong. "These small platforms can exceed your initial expectations," Bailey said, "if you let them." Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook . AUDUBON, Iowa - For weeks, Jill Biden has been navigating the back roads of Iowa, traversing through multiple snow and ice storms to reach tiny towns far off the beaten path of presidential politics. She is there to pitch undecided Democrats on the candidacy of her husband, Joe. It is a role the spouses of politicians often play, stepping into the campaign spotlight to show a different, more human side of the candidate to voters. But what more do you say if your husband is Joe Biden, whose brand is deeply rooted in the fact that he is so glaringly human - from his very public grief over the family tragedies that have defined his life to his propensity to be, as he once put it, "a gaffe machine." To that end, Jill Biden has stepped into a slightly different role than the one usually played by a political spouse ahead of Iowa's first-in-the-nation Feb. 3 caucuses. In many ways, she has become the campaign's closer, in some cases literally - often speaking after her husband has concluded his remarks at his events around the state. Smiling and upbeat, and sounding a lot like the college writing professor that she is, Jill Biden asks voters to imagine the drama-free world that could exist if her spouse wins the presidency, where they could turn on the television without coverage of a "late-night tweetstorm" or feel as if the nation is "on the brink of some ill-advised war." "A commander in chief that you can trust. A leader who brings people together. A president that you can feel proud of," she tells voters. "That's my husband, Joe Biden." Jill Biden is a relentless charm machine, with a jammed schedule of half a dozen or more events a day here as she seeks to win over voters. On a swing through rural Western Iowa this week, she spoke to small rooms of mostly undecided voters, including a group of about 10 people who had gathered inside a Mexican restaurant on a frigid Monday afternoon. Introduced by a young Biden field organizer as the person who knows Joe Biden the best - "or so we hope," he added, prompting awkward smiles among those in the room and a loud laugh from Jill herself - the former second lady gave a short stump speech emphasizing her husband's working-class roots and decades of Washington experience. She quickly put her notes away and pushed back the small lectern that had been set up, eager to take questions. She paced the floor smiling and waiting for someone to speak. When no one said anything, Biden began to pepper the voters with questions instead, not unlike a teacher trying to draw out silent students. At moments, it felt more like a focus group than a campaign event. "Now, I know that some of you are still making up your minds. Right? No? Yes? . . . Anybody over here?" she said, scanning the room as most of the voters nodded their heads. "All right, so I know you've probably seen a lot of candidates, correct? Yeah? I bet you've seen at least five. Five? Yeah? OK." The group, which included mostly older voters, looked embarrassed to admit they were still undecided to the wife of a candidate, but Biden sought to reassure them. "No, I honor that because you take your job seriously," she said. "You are electing the next president of the United States." Biden, a native of Philadelphia who still speaks with a hint of an accent, began to walk back and forth like a salesman making a pitch. "You say to me, 'OK, Jill, so why Joe? . . . Why should I go to caucus for Joe,'" she continued. She cited support Biden's support among independents - "No Democrat can win without their support," she said - and his ability to win over moderate Republicans. She pointed to Biden's support in swing states including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. "Think of all the candidates, think of the ones that appeal to you, and ask yourselves . . . who can win in swing states?" she said. "Joe is the only one beating Donald Trump in those states." She argued her husband's policies were more "achievable" and that he was simply more electable than anybody else. "We have a lot of super great Democrats on the ticket, great ones who are smart and have great plans. And that's great. Let's put them in the cabinet. I'm all for that," she continued. "There are a lot of them who have a lot of different strengths. But Joe has so many strengths. He's experienced. He walks in day one, (and) he's ready to go." The voters smiled, but still said nothing. Biden grinned at them. "Anyone have a question? Anything I can do?" she said. A woman finally spoke up. "I know a lot of people are concerned about his age. And goodness we are all getting to that ripe old age," she said. Would her husband consider tapping a younger Democrat as his running mate? Maybe someone currently running, maybe a woman? Jill Biden clasped her hands and smiled, not unlike her husband when he has been pressed on the same question by other voters around the state. "All those options are open," she said, pointing to Joe Biden's remarks that, if he wins the nomination, he would appoint someone who shares his beliefs but also would be honest and candid with him - similar to the role he played when he was tapped by Barack Obama to be his running mate. Unlike her husband, Jill Biden pressed a little further. "Who would you suggest?" she asked, looking around the room. The quiet room suddenly erupted, with multiple voters calling out "Amy!" - referring to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a centrist who has been popular among rural Iowans, even as she remains in single digits in the polls. "Amy? You're all for Amy? OK," Jill Biden said, nodding. She looked toward a table of three older women who had sat mostly silent for most of the event and tried to coax them to weigh in. "We haven't decided yet," one of the women said, almost apologetically. "That's OK," Jill Biden said reassuringly. Afterward, she made the rounds, posing for pictures and trying to engage those who had not said much during the event. She was already running a little late on her schedule, but she was determined to talk to everyone in the room. She readily handed out her email, asking people to contact her if they had questions about her husband as they came to their final decision about who to caucus for. She laughed at the suggestion she was her husband's closer. "I don't think Joe needs anybody to close anything for him," she said. As she spoke, she kept a watchful eye on the voters who lingered. Behind her were those three undecided women. She did not want them to get away, and soon she approached. "How can I convince you?" she told them. "What will it take? A special court is expected to pronounce its verdict here on Saturday on the massacre of 20 people in Behmai village in Kanpur Dehat district, allegedly by bandit Phoolan Devi nearly four decades ago. In 1981, the 20 men belonging to that village were shot dead by Phoolan's gang. "We have much hope that the trial court is likely to deliver its judgment in Behmai massacre tomorrow," district government counsel (criminal) Rajeev Porwal told PTI on Friday. Porwal said that defense counsel Girish Narain Dubey has submitted certain rulings of the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court before the trial court with a request to take cognisance of those rulings while delivering its judgment against the alleged accused. The court is now expected to give its judgment on the role of the four surviving accused -- Posha, Bhikha, Vishwanath and Shyambabu. While Posha is still in jail, Bhikha, Vishwanath and Shyambabu are out on bail. Three other dacoits including Man Singh are still absconding. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When news broke that Moustafa Kassem, an American being held in an Egyptian prison, died on Monday, my heart sank. Kassem, the fourth detainee to die in Egyptian custody this month, had been the subject of high-level negotiations between the US and Egyptian governments; Vice President Mike Pence was reported to have appealed directly to the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Mr. Kassems behalf. My brother is also in an Egyptian prison cell. But like the tens of thousands of political prisoners in Egypt, he doesnt have Trump administration officials pushing for his release. Its horrifying to think about their fate. My brother Mohamed Abdellatifs crime was launching a Twitter campaign last summer to improve the working conditions and salaries of healthcare workers in Egypt. A dentist and healthcare advocate, his campaign received such widespread media coverage that he was hopeful the government would react. It did but not how he had hoped. On September 1, seven police vans and 50 armed men stormed our family home and seized the phones, laptops and passports of everyone in the building, including my brothers two young children, as well as about $1,000 in cash. They then blindfolded my brother and marched him off in handcuffs to an undisclosed police building. He remained there nine days, blindfolded and handcuffed, unable to move or talk. He was offered little food. When he finally appeared for a prosecution hearing, he was extremely pale, had clearly lost weight, and was wearing the same clothes as when he was arrested. 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 A few days before my brother appeared in the prosecution, the American and Egyptian presidents met at the G7 summit in Biarritz. As he waited in one of the lavish rooms of the Hotel du Palais, Trump reportedly asked, Wheres my favorite dictator? Minutes later, el-Sisi arrived. We understood each other very well, Trump said after the meeting. Hes a very tough man, I will tell you that. But hes also a good man, and hes done a fantastic job in Egypt. Not easy. He made no mention of Egypts human rights record. According to Human Rights Watch, since el-Sisi took office following a 2013 coup, his regime has imprisoned more than 60,000 people for political reasons. The government often keeps people in pre-trial detention for up to 150 days before giving them any judicial process; judges can then renew their detention for up to two years. Sometimes, detainees will be released after two years, but sometimes they just disappear or are recharged. Each of these 60,000 political prisoners being held in Egypt has family, so its not hard to imagine the toll the el-Sisis regime takes on society. My brothers two young daughters have lost their father. His wife, who was pregnant when he was arrested, will likely give birth alone. My brother was also the primary provider for our elderly father, who now has trouble keeping up with his doctors visits. And then there are my brothers patients, deprived of his care, and his students, deprived of his supervision. Egypt has defended its actions by claiming that it is fighting extremists. But my brother is not an extremist, nor even affiliated with any political party. He is a dentist who wants to improve the working conditions for his colleagues in Egypt. In 2012, he was elected to the Egyptian Dental Association. He fought in the courts to increase government sick pay for medical professionals who contract an infection through his work. He repeatedly declined calls for a strike and street protests, and instead kept his campaign on social media and other channels. The United States has the leverage to stop these human rights violations. Egypt is the second-biggest recipient of US military aid after Israel, receiving $1.3 billion a year. This aid could be conditioned on the release of political prisoners. Trump has sacrificed some of this influence by negotiating Mr Kassems release but still has room to act. The US could, for example, apply sanctions on Egypt something it was all too willing to do when Cairo announced it was planning to buy fighter jets from Russia. When financial interests are at stake, the Trump administration has shown it is willing to act. If only it would do so on behalf of the countrys 60,000 political prisoners. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi, Aman Rochman and Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Malang/Semarang Fri, January 17, 2020 Anti-child marriage activists have urged judges at both local religious and district courts to refrain from granting marriage permits to underage children in violation of the groundbreaking revisions to the 1974 Marriage Law to prevent child marriage and protect children's rights. National Commission for Child Protection (KPAI) commissioner Rita Pranawati said many early marriages were pushed for by parents who had not considered the harm that could befall their children. According to KPAI data, only 22 percent of such marriages were carried out with the child's consent. The remaining marriages were performed for various other reasons, such as unwanted pregnancies, financial issues or the fear of violating religious rules. 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 arack Obama has shared a heartwarming birthday message for his wife Michelle as she turns 56. Record-breaking author Michelle and her former US president husband, 58, look every part the happy couple in a photo booth style collage of them showing their funny and loving sides. As the Netherlands aims to deliver a 95 percent reduction in emissions by 2050, ABB has been appointed to provide more than 100 connected high-power and fast chargers for the Qbuzz fleet of 99 fully electric buses. The Netherland's commitment that all new buses will be emission free by 2025 is one step closer following the announcement that ABB, a technology leader in fast charging technologies, is working with one of the country's largest public transport operators, Qbuzz, to supply more than 100 chargers to electrify part of its bus fleet. ABB's high-power and fast charging solutions deliver an intelligent and cost-effective means to charge larger fleets of electric buses during the night and on route, ensuring zero emission transportation during the day. In the northern part of the Netherlands, within the Groningen/Drenthe concession, ABB has installed 62, 100kW high-power charging stations across Qbuzz depots in Emmen, Appingendam, Stadskanaal, Oude Pekela, Zoutkamp, Surhuisterveen and Assen. With a voltage range of 150-850VDC, the chargers will be used to charge the fleet overnight. Meanwhile, in the south-west, within the DMG Dordrecht concession, ABB has installed 38 Terra 54 50kW depot-fast chargers with a voltage range of 150-920V. ABB has also supplied six HVC-300 Pantograph Down (PD) smart charging solutions for on-route charging as required. These chargers have been installed at locations throughout the regional network around Dordrecht, including Drechtsteden, Alblasserwaard and Vijfheerenlanden. These high-power 300PD bus charger delivers 300kW of charging power and will charge the bus for 3 to 6 minutes, depending on the power the bus needs to finish its route. It is based on Opportunity Charging, a concept for electric bus charging with direct current using a pantograph mounted on the infrastructure. This allows buses to be charged at the end of the line, without impacting the normal operation of the route. According to Frank Muehlon, Head of ABB's global business for E-Mobility Infrastructure Solutions, ABB was selected for the quality, reliability and connectivity of its solutions. Muehlon said: "ABB is recognized as a global leader in e-mobility solutions and with our own Mission to Zero we demonstrate our commitment to writing a more sustainable future for both industry and residential communities. "We are delighted to have partnered with Qbuzz on these landmark projects. The installation of our high-power and fast chargers will allow efficient and quick overnight charging to help the Netherlands realize its zero-emission vision for its public transport networks, setting a fantastic example to other markets across Europe." To ensure 24-hour availability of the charging infrastructure, ABB solutions benefit from ABB Ability connected services, that allow e-mobility charging network operators to perform tasks remotely such as monitoring diagnosis and upgrades, online payments and energy management, while ensuring high levels of safety and availability of the charging service. This minimizes downtime around the clock and keeps running costs low. Tim van Twuijver, program manager EV from Qbuzz said: "As an ambitious and innovative player in the Dutch regional mobility market we look to partner with like-minded organizations to realize our ambitions of a sustainable transport future for the Netherlands. ABB was a natural fit for us." In the future, as demand for Electric Vehicles (EVs) grows in the Netherlands, ABB's 50kW charging solution will also give Qbuzz the flexibility to provide charging for private cars alongside its normal operation. "This is part of our future-proof approach to solutions, which allow operators to extend their service offering when the time is right. In this way, we will write the future of mobility for both public and private transport," added Muehlon. ABB is a world leader in e-mobility solutions, offering the full range of charging and electrification solutions for electric cars, electric and hybrid buses as well as for ships and railways. ABB entered the e-mobility market back in 2010, and today has sold more than 13,000 ABB DC fast chargers across more than 80 countries. ABB recently received the Global E-mobility Leader 2019 award for its role in supporting the international adoption of sustainable transport solutions. ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a technology leader that is driving the digital transformation of industries. With a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB has four customer- focused, globally leading businesses: Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics & Discrete Automation, supported by the ABB Ability digital platform. ABB's Power Grids business will be divested to Hitachi in 2020. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com Shares in Aer Lingus owner IAG soared by well over 5% after the airline owner lifted a restriction on non-EU investors ability to buy its stock. Last year, IAG - which also owns British Airways and Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling - set the maximum level for ownership of its shares by non-Europeans at 47.5% in a bid to maintain its status as a European-owned airline. IAG said that non-EU ownership had dropped to 39.5% and, as such, it was removing the cap which had been in effect for 11 months. Meanwhile, struggling British regional airline Flybe is, reportedly, in talks with the UK government about a loan on commercial terms that would not represent a bailout. Ryanair and British Airways have attacked a UK government-backed support plan for Flybe, complaining that it prevents a level playing field and breaches state aid rules. But Flybes boss Mark Anderson has, reportedly, told staff any government help would be made on commercial terms. We are in conversation with the government around a financial loan - a loan, not a bailout - a commercial loan, but that is the same as any loan wed take from any bank, he was quoted as saying. The UK government has said that its support for Flybe does not breach EU rules on state aid. Flybe was rescued from near-collapse on Tuesday, when its shareholders agreed to invest more money alongside a UK government support plan. Details of that government support have not been made public. Media reports say it involves the deferral of a passenger tax bill. Flybe is owned by Connect Airways, a consortium created by Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and investment adviser Cyrus Capital. -Reuters China on Friday claimed that "a majority of the members" of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have voiced their concerns over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, and called on relevant parties to remain restrained and seek early de-escalation. The statement made by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang came a day after India asserted that an overwhelming majority of the 15-member UNSC believe that the body was not the right forum to discuss the Kashmir issue. China had made a fresh pitch to raise the Kashmir issue in a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on Wednesday, more than five months after India revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir. "At the request of Pakistan, the UNSC reviewed the issue of Kashmir and heard a briefing by the UN Secretariat and other sides on January 15," Geng said. "Members of the Security Council are concerned about the current situation in Kashmir and call for observance of the UN Charter and international law, and peaceful resolution of disputes through political dialogue. They believe relevant parties should remain restrained and deescalate the tension," he said in response to a question on India's assertion that the Kashmir issue did not receive much support from the UNSC members. The spokesperson said that China "believes that the Kashmir issue is a dispute left over from history and should be resolved properly and peacefully in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements". The UNSC's closed-door meeting was called to discuss an issue relating to an African country. China made a request to deliberate on the Kashmir issue under the agenda of "Any Other Business Points."No other UNSC member, barring China, commented on the meeting after it ended given that it was an informal consultation. India has maintained that the abrogation of Article 370 is its internal matter -- a stance which has been supported by several nations around the world, including the SAARC nations (with the exception of Pakistan). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Minal Patel Davis, an Indian-American woman has been honoured with a Presidential award by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for her extraordinary contribution towards combating human trafficking in Houston. Davis who is the Special Advisor on Human Trafficking to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, received the 'Presidential Medal for Combating Human Trafficking' in the White House last week at a ceremony also attended by President Donald Trump. "It was unbelievable," said Davis after winning the award, the country's highest honour in the field. "My parents came here from India. I was the first one in my family born in the United States, so to end up in the Mayor's office a few years ago, and then to now end up in the White House, it was unbelievable," she said. Appointed in July 2015, Davis has made a local impact on human trafficking in America's fourth-largest city from a policy-level perspective and by helped in advancing systems change. She is currently implementing Mayor Turner's Anti-Human Trafficking Strategic Plan, which is the first comprehensive municipal response to human trafficking by a US city. An MBA holder from the University of Connecticut, Davis has spoken at several local, national and international panels and presented Houston city's approach. She is a past speaker at the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit and recently travelled to India and Canada at the request of the State Department to discuss municipal leadership in trafficking with the government officials. KAMPALA The Government of Uganda on Wednesday, January 15 issued a Protest Note to the Government of Kenya expressing deep concern about illegal seizures of Ugandan made milk and milk products under Lato brand, causing heavy financial losses to the company. The seizures executed on three separate occasions during the month of January 2020 contravene the East African Community Customs Union Protocol. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Protest Note, Uganda requested Kenya to do the following; 1. Immediately release the seized consignments of Lato branded milk; 2. Refrain any actions against Ugandas exports to Kenya; 3. Take responsibility for any spoilage of products seized and losses suffered; and 4. Address any trade concerns within the EAC and bilateral frameworks instead of resorting to arbitrary means that could jeopardize trade relations between the two countries. Related (This news release contains forward-looking information about expected future events and performance of the Company. We refer to the risks and assumptions set out in our Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information located at the end of this release. All dollar amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.) TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX:K; NYSE: KGC) (Kinross) is pleased to announce that it has completed its previously disclosed acquisition of Chulbatkan, a high-quality, heap leach development project in Russia, from N-Mining Limited (N-Mining) for total fixed consideration of $283 million. The Company has now commenced a comprehensive exploration drilling program at Chulbatkan with the view to updating the current resource base at year-end 2020. Kinross expects to spend approximately $10 million on initial exploration drilling at Chulbatkan during the year. The Company is also planning to convert estimated mineral resources to estimated mineral reserves, complete pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for the project within approximately three years, and is targeting a subsequent two-year construction period. On October 18, 2019, the Company received a timely anti-monopoly approval on the acquisition from the Russian regulators. All other conditions precedent regarding the acquisition have been satisfied. Chulbatkan is a relatively high-grade, open-pit, heap leachable project and is expected to have significant upside potential. The Chulbatkan deposit is near surface with highly continuous mineralization and is open along strike and at depth with potential for additional high-grade structures. Based on substantial due diligence work and internal analysis, Kinross currently estimates approximately 3.9 million gold ounces in indicated mineral resources and 80,000 gold ounces in estimated inferred mineral resources for the project.1 The footprint of the current Chulbatkan resource represents less than 1% of the total 120 sq. km license area, which hosts multiple, untested high-quality targets. Story continues In accordance with the acquisition agreement, the first installment of $141.5 million, plus $3.1 million of ordinary course working capital adjustments, representing approximately 50% of the $283 million purchase price, were paid. The agreement was amended to permit the first installment to be paid all in cash, which has minimized share dilution and leveraged the Companys strong liquidity profile. The amendment also provides that 60%, and at Kinross sole discretion up to 100%, of the second and final installment of $141.5 million, due on the first anniversary of closing, may be paid in Kinross shares. Chulbatkan is located in the Khabarovsk region of Far East Russia, approximately the same distance from the Companys regional office in Magadan as its existing Kupol and Dvoinoye operations. The acquisition is expected to build on Kinross extensive operational and development experience and successful 25-year track record in Russia. About Kinross Gold Corporation Kinross is a Canadian-based senior gold mining company with mines and projects in the United States, Brazil, Russia, Mauritania, Chile and Ghana. Kinross focus is on delivering value based on the core principles of operational excellence, balance sheet strength, disciplined growth and responsible mining. Kinross maintains listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol:K) and the New York Stock Exchange (KGC). Media Contact Louie Diaz Senior Director, Corporate Communications phone: 416-369-6469 louie.diaz@kinross.com Investor Relations Contact Tom Elliott Senior Vice-President, Investor Relations and Corporate Development phone: 416-365-3390 tom.elliott@kinross.com Cautionary statement on forward-looking information All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this news release, including any information as to the future financial or operating performance of Kinross, constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the provisions of the Securities Act (Ontario) and the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are based on the expectations, estimates and projections of management as of the date of this news release, unless otherwise stated. The words assumed, estimate, expects, exploration, feasibility, potential, pre-feasibility, target, upside, or view or variations of or similar such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, should or will be achieved, received or taken, or will occur or result and similar such expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are, necessarily, based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Kinross as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. The estimates and assumptions of Kinross contained in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to: (i) the accuracy and reliability of the mineral resource estimates of the project and the Companys analysis thereof being consistent with expectations (including but not limited to tonnage and grade estimates) and the benefits to Kinross from the project and any upside from the project; (ii) the completion, timing and results, of the planned exploration program and corresponding pre-feasibility or feasibility studies being consistent with expectations; (iii) the Companys economic model, execution risk analysis, and preliminary mine plan; (iv) projected production, all-in sustaining costs, capital expenditure and stripping estimates for the project; (v) the continued availability of regional tax incentives; (vi) the successful development of the Chulbatkan project on the timelines anticipated, or at all; (vii) impacts of the transaction on shareholder dilution and liquidity; (viii), share price volatility; and (ix) fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold, silver, or certain other commodities (such as, diesel fuel, natural gas, and electricity). In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of gold exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and gold bullion losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks). Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can directly or indirectly affect, and could cause, Kinross' actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, Kinross, including but not limited to resulting in an impairment charge on goodwill and/or assets. 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. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about managements expectations and plans relating to the future. All of the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by this cautionary statement and those made in our other filings with the securities regulators of Canada and the United States including, but not limited to, the cautionary statements made in the Risk Analysis section of our MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2018 and the Annual Information Form dated March 29, 2019. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Kinross. Kinross disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. The technical information about the Companys mineral properties in this presentation has been prepared under the supervision of Mr. John Sims, an officer of the Company who is a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Source: Kinross Gold Corporation ___________________________________ 1 Mineral resource estimate is classified in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum's "CIM Definition Standards -- For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" incorporated by reference into National Instrument 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects". Mineral resource estimate is based on an internal block model and assumed a constrained pit using a $1,400 per ounce gold price and cut-off grade of 0.35 g/t. (Bloomberg) -- The state of Georgias new voting system may be at risk of a cyber-attack leading up to the 2020 election because the state failed to eradicate malware that exposed sensitive data six years ago, a cybersecurity expert said as part of a lawsuit against the state. A server central to Georgias election system was infiltrated and taken over by a hacker in 2014, according to Logan Lamb, a cybersecurity expert who is part of a lawsuit between voting integrity advocates and the state over the election system. The server was wiped and taken offline in 2017, but the contract between Georgia and its new vendor, Dominion Voting Systems, indicates old data was imported into the new system. That old data could carry remnants of the Shellshock malware used to attack the state in 2014, according to filings in the lawsuit. Shellshock allowed unauthorized users to access sensitive layers of a network. Because this compromised server is inextricably connected to Georgias voting systems past and present, it is unreasonable to assume that the new election system ... is not already potentially compromised, according to documents filed Thursday by the nonprofit Coalition for Good Governance. The group has filed its suit to block the state from destroying their old voting system records. The Associated Press reported earlier on the filings. Dominion rejected the claim that Georgias new elections system has been compromised. The company has attested to the fact that we have not imported any data from the prior system, said Kay Stimson, vice president of government affairs for the Toronto-based company. All voting equipment goes through logic and accuracy testing before every election. Attorneys for Georgia Secretary of State Brian Raffensperger, in what they called a limited reply brief, said Lamb hadnt ruled out the possibility that something other than hacking could have created the evidence he found, and that additional forensic investigation is needed. The secretary of states office didnt respond Thursday to a request for comment. Story continues The security of voting systems across the U.S. has been a focus of attention since federal authorities reported that Russian hackers attempted in 2016 to infiltrate election systems in most states and downloaded voter data in Illinois. Georgia remains one of the most hotly contested jurisdictions for election security advocates demanding transparency in the voting process. In 2002, it became the first state to deploy paperless voting machines with no auditing trail. In 2016, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, now governor, refused the assistance of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to secure Georgias voting systems, while cybersecurity experts branded their machines among the most vulnerable in the country. The state replaced those machines for the 2020 vote, spending about $150 million on ballot-marking devices that experts argue are equally flawed. The dispute dates to August 2016 when Lamb discovered the earlier vulnerabilities through a website hosted on the server that acted as a hub for the election system. That server was left unattended on the internet amid warnings from the federal government, until it was wiped and taken offline in March 2017. The FBI created a forensic image of the server and its logs should explain when it was attacked and how its data was altered, but those logs only date back to Nov. 10, 2016, two days after Donald Trump won the presidency, according to the lawsuit. Election files were also deleted just before the server was taken offline, according to Lambs declaration in the lawsuit. The missing logs could be vital to determining if the server was illegally accessed before the election, and I can think of no legitimate reason why records from that critical period of time should have been deleted, according to the declaration from Lamb, formerly affiliated with the cyber unit at Oak Ridge National Lab and now a security engineer for scooter startup Bird Rides Inc. Lamb didnt immediately respond to an email seeking comment on his declaration. (Updates with comments from states lawyers in the sixth paragraph) --With assistance from Margaret Newkirk. To contact the reporter on this story: Kartikay Mehrotra in San Francisco at kmehrotra2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Martin at amartin146@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack, Molly Schuetz For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. HAMMOND A Latin Kings gang member was sentenced to nine years in prison after he pleaded guilty to participating in drug trafficking schemes, according to court records. Sean Big Body Pena, 37, of Portage, was sentenced Thursday to 108 months imprisonment on the charge of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, according to U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch. Pena was held responsible for trafficking between five to 15 kilograms of cocaine that was being distributed by the Latin Kings street gang, Kirsch said in a news release. While Pena was a member of the Latin Kings, he regularly attended gang meetings and paid dues to the gang, which funded the purchase of firearms and narcotics for the gang, Kirsch said. Court records show Pena distributed narcotics and patrolled neighborhoods claimed as Latin Kings territory to look out for rival gang members and police. President Akufo-Addo has left Accra on Friday to attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, in the United Kingdom. The UK-Africa Investment Summit, being hosted by British Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson, MP, on Monday, 20th January, will bring together businesses, governments and international institutions to showcase and promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities across Africa. Whilst in the UK, President Akufo-Addo will deliver, on Tuesday, 21st January, the keynote address at the Ghana Investment Opportunities Summit a summit which aims to bring delegates, especially from the United Kingdom, to explore investment opportunities in Ghana. The President will then travel to Davos, Switzerland, at the invitation of the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Prof. Klaus Schwab, to participate in the 50th-anniversary celebration of the World Economic Forum Annual Meetings being held from Tuesday, 21st January, to Friday, 24th January. The Davos Meeting has become an iconic global forum, which brings together world leaders in politics, business, finance and academia to deliberate on matters affecting the global community. The President was accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway; Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta; CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Yofi Grant; and officials from the Foreign Ministry and the Presidency. The President will return to Ghana on Sunday, 26th January 2020, and in his absence, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead. ---Daily Guide Amsterdam: Dutch navigation and digital mapping company TomTom on Friday said it has closed a deal with China`s Huawei Technologies for the use of its maps and services in smartphone apps. Huawei was forced to develop its own operating system for smartphones, after it was effectively blacklisted by U.S. President Donald Trumps administration last year out of concerns over national security. This banned Huawei from using Googles official Android operating system, along with widely used apps such as Google Maps, in new phones. The deal with TomTom means Huawei can now use the Dutch company`s maps, traffic information and navigation software to develop apps for its smartphones. TomTom spokesman Remco Meerstra said the deal had been closed some time ago but had not been made public by the company. Meerstra declined to provide further details of the agreement. TomTom, which is moving away from selling devices to offering software services, sold its telematics division to Japan`s Bridgestone last year to focus on its digital map-linked businesses. YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. 1999 Armenian parliament attack ringleader Nairi Hunanyan has sent a letter addressed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Ministers Office confirmed. Nairi Hunanyan led the terror attack on the Armenian parliament on October 27, 1999 and is currently serving a life-sentence since being convicted in 2003. The Prime Ministers Office refused to disclose other details. Unconfirmed media reports earlier said Hunanyan has reportedly expressed willingness in the letter to participate in the re-opened investigation into a separated criminal case of the October 27 case. On October 27, 1999 a group of five armed gunmen led by Hunanyan stormed into the parliament while it was in session and assassinated Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, Speaker Karen Demirchyan, Deputy Speakers Yuri Bakhshyan and Ruben Miroyan, as well as three lawmakers and a Cabinet member. The gunmen held the remaining MPs in parliament hostage until surrendering to authorities the next day. The five perpetrators, which include Hunanyans younger brother and uncle, were sentenced to life in prison in 2003. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan Sydney, Jan 17 : Wide-spread thunderstorm systems moving across Australia's east coast are set to bring some much-needed relief to firefighting efforts on Friday, with even more rain predicted over the weekend. "We've got an inland trough... so we're getting a lot of monsoon activity moisture driven further south around New South Wales (NSW) State and southeastern Australia," Bureau of Meteorology Forecaster Abrar Shabren told Xinhua news agency. "The usual weather pattern that we have at this time of the year, that is what's triggering these inland troughs which are developing moisture, forming convective clouds, and that's why we're seeing a lot of thunderstorm activity." Still locked in the gruelling battle against Australia's worst-ever bushfire crisis, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) took to social media on Friday morning to share their elation. "Rain has fallen across most fire grounds over the last 24 hours which is great news! Our fingers are crossed that this continues over the coming days," the RFS said. But, while authorities and fire-affected communities have collectively breathed a sigh of relief, the downpour is not expected to fully neutralize the bushfire threat. Despite heavy rain and even flash flooding in some areas, there are currently 82 bushfires still blazing throughout NSW, with a further 17 raging across the border in the state of Victoria. "This rainfall will bring some relief to the firefighting efforts on the fire grounds but the rainfall is quite isolated at the moment though, around NSW, the Australian Capital Territory and parts of Victoria," Shabren explained. "There's so many fires going on. We need a lot more rainfall in the coming days to extinguish or even or suspend those fires." Likewise, it will also take much more rain to break the east coast's severe drought, which is now the worst on record, bringing heartbreak and uncertainty to the region's agricultural communities. The bushfires have so far claimed the lives of 28 people and billions of animals since it first erupted last September. The fires have also destroyed more than 80,000 sq.km, an area larger than Ireland or Panama, charring more than 2,000 houses. Iran grants Canada investigators access to downed plane Ottawa, Jan 13 (AFP) Jan 13, 2020 Canadian investigators flying to Tehran on Monday will access the wreckage and black boxes from a Ukranian jetliner downed by a missile strike last week, officials said. "We don't fully know what the scope of our investigation will be," Transportation Safety Board (TSB) chair Kathy Fox told a press conference. However, she added, "there have been early signs that Iran is allowing the TSB to play a more active role than is normally permitted." Two Canadian investigators were to land in Tehran within hours, followed by two more in the coming days or weeks. They have been invited by Iran, which is leading the crash probe, to participate in the downloading and analysis of the aircraft's cockpit voice and data recorders. They will also be allowed to visit the crash site and the wreckage of the plane that is being reassembled in a nearby hanger. "We do know what has happened. What we don't know is why it happened," Fox commented before listing off questions surrounding the crash that still need to be answered. These include whether the missile strike was intentional or not, and why the air space was open amid heightened tensions in the region. The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was shot down by a missile shortly after taking off from Tehran before dawn last Wednesday, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. Fifty-seven of the victims were Canadian. - London talks - Earlier, Canada's foreign minister announced that a Canadian-led group of nations that lost citizens would press Iran for an open and transparent investigation at a meeting in London on Thursday. "We have convened the first in-person meeting of the International Coordination and Response Group on Thursday at Canada House in London," Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a Twitter message. In their meeting, foreign ministers from Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain will seek to maintain pressure on Iran for full access, as well as renew calls for transparency and accountability. The group will also discuss seeking compensation for the families of the victims. Long-standing US-Iran tensions have soared since January 3 when missiles fired from a US drone killed a top Iranian commander, Qasem Soleimani, near Baghdad's airport. Iran responded with a barrage of missiles at two US bases in Iraq, inflicting no casualties in what was seen as an attempt to prevent a spiral of escalation. But hours later, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard unit mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet, in what Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called a "human error." amc/bgs Washington: Pakistan is not prepared to pay any price for peace with India and certainly not without resolving the Kashmir issue in a just manner, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said. Addressing the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank here on Thursday, Qureshi reiterated Pakistan's demand that US President Donald Trump should mediate to resolve the Kashmir issue. Ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories on August 5, evoking strong reactions from Islamabad. Pakistan has been trying to rally international support against India on the issue. Our government wants peace in the neighbourhood. We want, we need peace in order to focus on achieving our domestic agenda for economic reform and development. But we are not prepared to pay any price for peace with India, certainly not our dignity and certainly not without resolving the Kashmir dispute in a just manner, Qureshi said. He alleged that instead of fighting poverty and hunger together, the RSS-inspired BJP government has embarked upon the project of turning India into a Hindu Rashtra. The adherence of Hindutva and an Akhand Bharat have established this ascendancy with disastrous consequences for all in India and the world to see, he alleged. Qureshi said on August 5 India tried to change the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir and alter its demographic structure, breaking all relevant international laws and violating several UN Security Council resolutions in the process. India has been seeking to break the will of the Kashmiri people by imprisoning them in their homes and imposing a communications blockade that continues to this day, he said. Indian narrative that Kashmir is India's internal part is firmly refuted by its being on the Security Council agenda. If this were not the case, why would the French President raise it with the Indian Prime Minister? he asked. We know that President Trump is profoundly worried by the Kashmir situation and we welcome his repeated offers of mediation in resolving the Kashmir dispute. The United States alone commands the moral authority and respect in South Asia to resolve the longest pending dispute on the UN agenda, he said. We hope president Trump is successful in realising his goal and can make a lasting contribution to substantial peace in South Asia. That could be his enduring legacy, Qureshi said. Although President Trump has offered to mediate on the Kashmir issue in the past, New Delhi has told Washington that it is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan and there is no scope for any third-party mediation. On the sidelines of the G7 summit in the French town of Biarritz in August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while interacting with the media alongside President Trump, categorically rejected any scope for third party mediation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, saying the two countries can discuss and resolve all issues bilaterally and we don't want to trouble any third country. On a two-day visit to Washington DC, Qureshi is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien on Friday. On Thursday, he met lawmakers at the US Capitol. In his speech, Qureshi referred to the recent arrest of an Indian police officer and joined the conspiracy theory about terrorist attacks in India. Meanwhile, we all followed reports of capture of Indian police officer, Davinder Singh, whose footprint is now being seen in some major terrorist attack, which India itself orchestrated and blamed on Pakistan, said Qureshi. We have been consistently warning the world community about another false flag operation against Pakistan that Davinder Singh was accompanied by two militants on his way to Delhi in close proximity to Republic Day celebrations should not be lost on anyone, the minister said. Qureshi said that the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens were raising fundamental questions about the ideals like democracy and secularism that India's founding father passionately advocated. He said that every other day, military officials or politicians from India make veiled threats against Pakistan. Earlier in the day, Qureshi met members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee. The external affairs ministry summoned a senior official of the Pakistan high commission on Friday to lodge a strong protest over recent cases of abduction of minor girls from the Hindu minority, people familiar with developments said. The Pakistani official was informed of Indias serious concerns about such incidents, said a person who declined to be identified. The development came against the backdrop of bilateral relations being at the lowest point in recent years following tensions over Kashmir and other issues. According to reports, two minor girls, Shanti Meghwad and Sarmi Meghwad, from the Hindu minority group were abducted on January 14. They belong to Umar village in Tharparkar district of Pakistans southern Sindh province, which has a large Hindu population. In another incident, a minor Hindu girl named Mehak was abducted from Jacobabad district of Sindh on January 15. Pakistan has been informed about the grave concerns expressed by various quarters of Indian civil society at such shocking and deplorable incidents involving minor girls from the minority Hindu community, said the person cited above. The incidents have been strongly condemned and India asked for the immediate safe return of the girls to their families, the person added. India has lodged several protests with Pakistan in recent months over the alleged abduction and forcible marriage of women from the Hindu minority. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON W hen Asdrit Kapaj was unmasked as the Wimbledon Prowler, residents breathed a sigh of relief. But now a new breed of professional thief is targeting the affluent suburb. Marcus Wareing and his wife Jane are among the recent high-profile victims of burglary tourism, where criminals are flown into the UK to carry out crime sprees. South American gangs, mainly from Chile, bring in low-level criminals to break into homes in London and the Home Counties. The thieves are recruited in their home country and put on a flight to the UK, where they meet a contact who gives them a car and phones. Asdrit Kapaj, dubbed the Wimbledon Prowler, pleaded guilty to 26 offences after his crime spree was finally brought to a halt by detectives last February / PA Homes in areas such as Wimbledon have been pre-selected as targets, with the burglars given instructions on how to beat security alarms, where to enter properties and which valuables to hunt for. The criminals can be hard to catch as they arrive just days before the thefts, are not on police databases and leave the country soon after. Danko Carvajal-Donaire, 20, Claudio Donoso, 20, Nicolas Portilla Astorga, 27, and Jorge Rojas, 22, broke into Michelin-starred restaurateur Wareings house in October last year. The thieves had marked his back fence with a small circle of orange paint to identify the property as a potential target. Officers from Surrey police stopped their black Honda HR-V in Redhill and alerted the Met. Investigators found that Carvajal-Donaire and Portilla-Astorga had photographed themselves wearing some of the stolen jewellery, while Rojas was wearing a distinctive necklace, also taken from Wareings home, at the time of his arrest. The men were each sentenced to 40 months in jail at Kingston crown court on Tuesday. The Met set up Operation Genie after a spate of burglaries in 2017, suspecting that South American gangs were behind the break-ins. Listen to today's episode of The Leader: A Spanish billionaire and ex-vice chairman of the countrys largest bank, Santander, has been sentenced to jail and fined US$48 million (44m) for attempting to smuggle a Picasso painting abroad. Jaime Botin, 83, allegedly planned to sell the painting, which was declared a national treasure in Spain, at an auction in London, said prosecutors. The painters work, titled Head of a Young Woman, was seized from his yacht in Corsica, France, in 2015. Botin was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of smuggling cultural goods and was forced to forfeit the work. Spains strict heritage laws state that any work of art over 100 years old and considered culturally significant can be deemed a national treasure. An artist at play: the unseen side of Picasso Show all 8 1 /8 An artist at play: the unseen side of Picasso An artist at play: the unseen side of Picasso 26924.bin An artist at play: the unseen side of Picasso 26925.bin An artist at play: the unseen side of Picasso 26926.bin An artist at play: the unseen side of Picasso 26927.bin An artist at play: the unseen side of Picasso 26928.bin An artist at play: the unseen side of Picasso 26929.bin An artist at play: the unseen side of Picasso 26930.bin Lucia Bose An artist at play: the unseen side of Picasso 26931.bin Lucia Bose This status forces owners to obtain a permit before they are allowed to take the work out of the country. Botin was denied a permit for the Picasso in 2012, after he authorised British auction house Christies to seek an export permit from Madrid to London. In 2015, Botin reportedly instructed his chauffeur to drive the painting from Madrid to Valencia, where his yacht was moored and bound for Corsica. The captain of the yacht omitted the painting from the list of artworks on board and Botin arranged for a private jet to take the artwork from Corsica to Geneva, reported Bloomberg. But French police inspected the yacht after receiving a notification the banker had requested a permit to transport the painting and found it wrapped up in the captains cabin. According to local news site El Confidencial, the banker argued the art had only been in Spain on a few occasions, including his daughters wedding and for re-framing. He added that he intended to bring it to Geneva for safekeeping and not auction it off in London. But the judge ruled against him, saying: Despite being fully aware of the administrative ban, the defendant transferred the painting to [his yacht], docked in Valencia, with the purpose of removing [the painting] from Spain. Head of a Young Woman was painted by Picasso in the early 1900s at the age of 24 during his Gosol period, before Cubism. It is worth an estimated 22 million and Botin acquired it in 1977 in London. The piece has been handed over to the Reina Sofia art museum in Madrid, where it will reside until authorities decide where to assign it. It is unlikely he will have to serve any jail time as first-time offenders in Spain are often spared prison for non-violent crimes with sentences of less than two years. COLUMBIA While infrastructure to support 5G networks is being deployed around South Carolina, some Columbia residents want policymakers to take their concerns about the technology's health effects into account as providers look to build out systems. Known as small cells, the backpack-sized devices are portals for the newest iteration of wireless communication, allowing for the transmission of high speed data more quickly. Members of the newly formed Columbia Coalition for Wireless Safety Standards attended a promotional event this week at an American Legion post on Pickens Street, where Verizon Wireless representatives discussed the technology. The coalition distributed flyers with links to peer-reviewed studies, government reports and industry warnings about exposure to radiation and long-term physiological effects from radio frequency waves that carry the 5G signal. "Going to Verizon to ask them about their 5G technology is a little bizarre. They're the purveyors of the technology, so it's similar to me going to a wolf and saying, 'Are my hens going to be safe in the hen house tonight?'" said Lex Kisteneff, a founder of the coalition. "The place to get real information is from the science that is peer-reviewed, and not corporately funded by the telecommunications industry," Kisteneff said. No South Carolina cities are among the 31 nationwide where 5G is available through Verizon, but it and nearly all other major telecommunications companies are laying groundwork to provide the service with faster download speeds for the future. Verizons the biggest one were dealing with right now, but we have nodes throughout the city for pretty much every cell phone company, so theyre making the changes, said Rachel Bailey, the citys zoning administrator. In Columbias commercial districts, companies can install nodes on existing telephone poles with a permit. Taller ones can also be erected in their place. But in residential areas, such as the American Legion post that Verizon officials visited, Columbias Board of Zoning Appeals reviews the proposals where the public has a chance to weigh in. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! Members of the coalition want the health effects of using 5G to be considered in those rulings. "I feel like the public's voice is getting squashed," Kisteneff said. "We don't want to politicize this issue. We're more concerned with human health." Charleston officials are figuring out how to balance the arrival of 5G in their community as well. Last month, a City Council member asked attorneys to look into a "no-install" zone around schools, day cares and neighborhoods. "The potential of public health hazards is increasingly being studied by the science community, councilwoman Carol Jackson told The Post and Courier. Kate Jay, a Verizon spokeswoman, said despite Columbia not yet being a 5G city, the hardware improvements are keeping residents and businesses competitive in other ways. "Small cells are for more than streaming videos and posting to social media sites. These sites provide needed infrastructure for initiatives such as enhanced cloud storage for schools," she said. "Small cells are typically mounted on existing structures ... and are designed to be 'low and tight' and blend in to the environment to make them less obtrusive." The Federal Communications Commission in 2018 prohibited local governments from blocking the installation of small cell infrastructure on public property and set a $270 annual cap on how much they can charge carriers per unit. Scott Slatton, director of advocacy and communications for the Municipal Association of South Carolina, said expanding 5G into all corners of the state carries economic development and educational opportunities. Over the next five years, Columbia can expect to see $110 million worth of investment into 5G networks, creating more than 1,200 jobs and adding more than $200 million worth of economic growth, according to projections by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. AT&T spent more than $175 million on network improvements in the Columbia region between 2016 and 2018, making upgrades to 1,100 systems statewide over that time, according to a company news release. OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his government will offer payments to relatives of the dozens of Canadian citizens and permanent residents killed when a Ukrainian airliner was downed by missiles launched by Iranian forces. At a news conference on Friday, Mr. Trudeau said the payments are an interim measure and that Canada will not abandon its efforts to make Iran provide substantial compensation to the families of the victims. He said that Iran bears full responsibility for the incident. I want to be clear: we expect Iran to compensate these families, Mr. Trudeau said. But I have met them, they cant wait weeks. They need support now. Canada will provide each of the families with 25,000 Canadian dollars, about $19,000, to cover the cost of funerals and travel. The prime minister said that 57 of the victims were Canadian citizens and another 29 were permanent residents of the country. WASHINGTON - They are key locations in the drama that led to President Donald Trump's impeachment: the steakhouse table where Trump's private lawyer set out a nameplate, "Rudolph W. Giuliani, Private Office." The upstairs hideaway, where Giuliani's team planned its outreach to Ukraine. And the expensive bar, where Giuliani's team met an odd figure: Robert Hyde, a big-talking ex-Marine who claimed to have the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine under surveillance. All three places are within 300 yards of each other, in the lobby of the Trump International Hotel. For three years, President Trump's hotel near the White House has been a loose, anybody-welcome hangout for Republicans: Candidates raise money in the ballrooms. Congressmen and lobbyists dine in the steakhouse. Hangers-on wait at the bar, taking selfies in "#americaslivingroom." That arrangement worked for Republicans, because it compressed a city's worth of networking into one room. It worked for Trump, because he converted political allies into private customers. But the hotel's atmosphere of blurred lines - mixing the public interest with Trump's private interests, and mixing the GOP's leaders and its wannabe fringes - helped give rise to a scandal that threatens to overshadow Trump's presidency. Giuliani and his team didn't just meet at the Trump hotel. They embodied its world. "I spent two years going to Washington and I didn't see the monuments," said Lev Parnas, who was a central figure in Giuliani's effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Trump's political rival, former vice president Joe Biden. "All I saw was the Trump hotel." Trump opened his hotel before he won the presidency, having spent more than $200 million to renovate the government-owned Old Post Office building near the White House. After he won, Trump kept his ownership of the hotel, operated under a federal lease. But its business model had to change sharply, according to hotel employees. Democrats wouldn't stay in the hotel rooms. Many major corporations and associations wouldn't rent the ballrooms, worried about alienating liberal customers. They shifted to focus on the part of the business that was thriving: the lobby, with its bar and BLT Prime steakhouse. The place where pro-Trump Republicans see and be seen. "There were many, many of them that were just there, who we just happened to run into," said Seth Morrison, executive director of the Orange County, California, Lincoln Club. Morrison said his group stayed at the Trump hotel last year on its biannual Washington trip, and encountered a slew of candidates and conservative TV personalities in the lobby. "Eric Bolling was there for like three days in the lobby," Morrison said of the conservative commentator. Instead of being a hotel with a lobby, the Trump property became a lobby with a hotel attached. It raised prices at the lobby bar: Candied bacon went from $14 to $22. The most expensive cocktail on the menu had been $21. Then they added one for $100, with caviar in it. The hotel also spent big on upgrades to the lobby and restaurant: $264,000 for new lobby furniture. An additional $24,000 on carpets in the first-floor hallways. And $15,000 for a new ice-cream maker for dessert specials, according to hotel documents obtained by The Washington Post. At the same time, the hotel had to shut down its outdoor patio because of anti-Trump protesters. Just as Republican business was reshaping the Trump hotel, the Trump hotel was changing the GOP - by bottling up its top leaders with any wannabe who sat at the bar. "POTUS doesn't know, or maybe doesn't care, but that hotel is the root of many of his problems," said one Republican who is close to Giuliani and Trump, and spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships with them. Trump himself has come to the hotel at least 18 times, including for three of his own campaign fundraisers, where he is both the candidate and the caterer. In addition, top GOP-aligned lobbyists such as Brian Ballard and Jeff Miller also work the room. And Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel convenes some of the party's top operatives for a monthly "off-the-record dinner," in a private room at the hotel. Over wine and steak - the price tag is about $3,000 per month and paid for by the RNC, officials say - party officials, lobbyists, White House aides, officials leading Republican super PACs and congressional political leaders meet to talk business. "You've got top confidants of the president hanging out in the hotel lobby, and you can mingle with them for the price of a $20 glass of wine," said Zach Everson, a journalist who chronicles the Trump hotel's mixing of politics and business on the blog 1100 Pennsylvania. By Everson's count, 25 people who have served in Trump's Cabinet have visited the hotel, along with 30 of the 53 Republicans in the Senate. No figure embodied that mixing better than Giuliani, the former New York mayor who has reinvented himself as a lawyer, fixer and off-the-books emissary for Trump. "Rudy is probably the most senior person who's readily accessible to the public for the price of a drink," Everson said. Giuliani claimed enormous private influence. But at the Trump hotel, he sat out in public, spending hours at his "private office," a table in the lobby steakhouse's bar. One former Trump hotel staffer said that Giuliani was so comfortable there that he sometimes left without paying - "like he was at home." The restaurant often had to eat the bill, the former employee said - who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships in the hospitality business. At that table, Giuliani met repeatedly with Parnas and Igor Fruman, a pair of Soviet-born Americans who were seeking influence in Republican politics - and helping Giuliani pressure Ukraine to provide dirt on Biden. On the day Parnas and Fruman were arrested, charged with campaign-finance violations unrelated to Ukraine, they had previously had lunch at the Trump hotel. "It was like a breeding ground at the Trump hotel," Parnas told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow in an interview Wednesday night. "You would see the same people every day, all the same congressmen that supported the president would be there, nobody else." When the group needed more privacy, Parnas told Maddow, they retreated to a private space: "our BLT office on the second floor." "At the Trump hotel?" Maddow asked. "At the Trump hotel," Parnas said. Parnas also met with Trump in one of the hotel's luxury suites, at a "roundtable" organized by the pro-Trump super PAC America First Actions, according to people familiar with the meeting. Parnas is now facing federal campaign-finance charges, and emerged as a key witness against Trump in the days before Trump's impeachment trial begins. If Giuliani was one of the most powerful Republicans in the lobby, then Hyde - the ex-Marine from Connecticut - was one of the least. But his story illustrates how the Trump hotel allows fringe characters to rise in influence, just by being in the right place. Hyde is a Republican donor and long-shot congressional candidate who began hanging out at the hotel - along with other Trump properties - and posting photos of himself with GOP figures. He began to date Rabia Kazan, a onetime pro-Trump activist he met there. "Trump is like a cult leader, and people go to the hotel to show their loyalty and love for him," Kazan said. Their relationship ended after several weeks, Kazan said. In the past year, Hyde was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital in Florida, and was hit with a restraining order in Washington for allegedly harassing a former business associate, according to court and police records. Hyde sent Parnas texts saying that he had Marie Yovanovitch - then the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and a perceived obstacle to Giuliani's plans - under surveillance in Kyiv. Hyde has since said he was joking. Where did Parnas link up with somebody like that? "At the Trump hotel," Parnas told Maddow. "He was a regular at the bar." - - - The Washington Post's Beth Reinhard, Aaron Davis, Dalton Bennett and Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report. The Atlantic city of Essaouira is a standing symbol of Moroccos diversity and of the plurality of its cultures that make up its richness, said Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, who was present during the visit King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, paid Wednesday to Bayt Dakira, in the citys medina. The Sovereigns visit to Bayt Dakira, this spiritual and patrimonial venue dedicated to preserving and showcasing Judeo-Moroccan heritage, sends a very strong message, that the Kingdom claims its diversity and the plurality of all its cultures, said Audrey Azoulay in a statement to the press in Essaouira. Essaouira, with its plural history, is a world city that has been recognized as such in many ways by the international community through UNESCO, she said. The UNESCO chief noted that citys heritage, its medina, which has been classified as a World Heritage Site, or more recently the entry into the intangible heritage of the Gnawa culture, with its music, rites, meanings, maalems and zaouiyas, have all earned Essaouira this formidable recognition. The UNESCO Director General recalled that Essaouira has also been recognized for its modernity and creativity, as the city has recently joined UNESCOs Creative Cities network. All this plurality of origins, diversity and artistic multiplicity carries the city into the future, she said. Bayt Dakira gives a strong impetus to peace, dialogue and openness, said on his part comedian Gad El Maleh. The visit of the Commander of the Faithful to this spiritual site is a strong message from the Sovereign to the Jewish community in Morocco, to the international community and to the people watching us around the world, said Gad El Maleh, who was present during the Kings visit to Bayt Dakira. Morocco is a unique model that sends a strong message of harmony, cohesion and dialogue between communities, something that is rather difficult to realize throughout the world, the Moroccan-French comedian stressed. Bayt Dakira is also home to the Slat Attia Synagogue as well as the Haim and Celia Zafrani International Research Center on the history of relations between Judaism and Islam. The leadership of King Mohammed VI and his steadfast commitment to promoting the values of tolerance, inter-religious dialogue and coexistence at home and abroad stand as a distinctive feature of Morocco. AfriDocs, Africas only free streaming platform for documentary films, is once again bringing some of the best documentaries to TV screens across the continent. With the support of the German Government, AfriDocs will present powerful stories that reflect the difficulties of migration as faced by thousands of people looking for a better life in Europe. The 2019 edition of Migration Stories is sees six powerful and moving documentaries about the various realities of migration from an African perspective. All the films will be broadcast on TV3 in Ghana on Monday evenings at 22:30 GMT with three films still remaining and this Monday January 20th seeing Special Flight being broadcast. This diversity of films from Kenya, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Burundi as well as from Europe bring in to stark focus the hardships that drive many Africans to leave their homelands, as well as the stark realities awaiting those who do. The films are being screened as a way to increase awareness around migration in the communities that are most affected. You can join in the conversation on the AfriDocs social media platforms: https://www.facebook.com/AfriDocs/ and on twitter @Afri_docs. Use #MigrantStories to add your voice to the conversation. In addition to the weekly broadcasts on TV3 and on key free-to-air channels in Nigeria and the Horn of Africa, the films are available to stream on Africas only FREE streaming platforms for documentary films, AfriDocs Anytime, www.afridocs.net that see all six of the documentaries available anytime for anyone viewing from Africa. Special Flight | Fernand Melgar | France | 2011 | 52 min Special Flight is a dramatic account of the plight of undocumented foreigners at the Frambois detention center in Geneva, Switzerland, and of the wardens who struggle to reconcile humane values with the harsh realities of a strict deportation system. The 25 Frambois inmates featured are among the thousands of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants imprisoned without charge or trial and facing deportation to their native countries, where they fear repression or even death. The film, made in Switzerland, is a heart-wrenching expose of the contradictions between the country's compassionate social policies and the intractability of its immigration laws. January 20th 22:30 GMT Uncertain Future | Eddy Munyaneza | Burundi | 2018 | 70 min Burundi, April 2015. Demonstrations against Pierre Nkurunzizas third term bring thousands of people to the streets of Bujumbura. A failed coup detat further plunges the country into repression and violence. Whole families are fleeing the country. Eddy, director, films the demonstrations, then the first executions and the victims. His artistic and social commitment dislocates his family, who decides to leave without him. Faced with the violence that is gaining ground, he is eventually also forced to flee his country. As a refugee in Senegal, far from his family, he begins an internal journey caught in the images and memories of the crisis that shakes Burundi. Nine months later, he goes in search of his children in Rwanda. On both sides of the border, he meets those who stayed in Burundi or chose the path of exile. Their stories, often fragmentary and brutal, show great uncertainty. January 27th 22:30 GMT Cinema Dadaab | Kati Juurus | Kenya | 2018 | 58 min Dadaab is a dreamlike place forgotten by the rest of the world: a huge refugee camp on Kenyas border to Somalia. The refugees cannot leave, but they let their minds escape by going to the cinema to watch films and to dream of other countries February 3rd 22:30 GMT Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images The ninth circuit court of appeals ordered dismissal of a lawsuit brought by 21 youth plaintiffs against the federal government over climate crisis, citing concerns about separation of powers. The case was brought against the government in 2015, charging that it sanctioned, permitted and authorized a fossil fuel system that compromised the youth plaintiffs civil right to property. It implied a constitutional right to a stable climate, and alleged that the government violated the public trust by failing to protect assets held in trust, notably the atmosphere. The plaintiffs, now all between the ages of 12 and 23, also asked the US district court of Oregon to order the government to craft a climate remediation plan, one targeting scientifically acceptable standards to stabilize the climate. Related: Harvard law students ramp up protest against ExxonMobil climate firm On Friday, the ninth circuit court found, however, that the court lacked the power to enforce such a plan or climate policy decisions by the government and Congress, concluding in the end, any plan is only as good as the courts power to enforce it. Nevertheless, the court found that the record conclusively establishes that the federal government has long understood the risks of fossil fuel use and increasing carbon dioxide emissions and that the governments contribution to climate change is not simply a result of inaction. The court also found that the youth met the requirements for standing in the case and that some of the plaintiffs met the requirements for actual injury. Levi Draheim, a 12-year-old plaintiff from Satellite Beach, Florida, the court found was injured by repeat evacuations from his home during worsening storms. Jaime Butler, 19, was injured by displacement from her home because of water security issues, separating her from relatives in the Navajo Nation, the court also found. The court also found that the plaintiffs proved their injuries were caused by the climate crisis. Story continues Two of the three judges balked at the scope of change required to reverse climate breakdown, finding that halting certain programs would not halt the growth of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere or injuries to the plaintiffs. Indeed, the plaintiffs experts make plain that reducing the global consequences of climate change demands much more than cessation of the governments promotion of fossil fuels. Rather, these experts opine that such a result calls for no less than a fundamental transformation of this countrys energy system, if not that of the industrialized world given the complexity and long-lasting nature of global climate change, the court would be required to supervise the governments compliance with any suggested plan for many decades. Kelsey Juliana, the lead plaintiff in Juliana v United States speaks at the supreme court in Washington DC. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Kelsey Juliana, the 23-year-old named plaintiff in Juliana v United States and a resident of Eugene, Oregon, said she was disappointed that these judges would find that federal courts cant protect Americas youth, even when a constitutional right has been violated. Such a holding is contrary to American principles of justice that I have been taught since elementary school, Juliana added. This decision gives full, unfettered authority to the legislative and executive branches of government to destroy our country, because we are dealing with a crisis that puts the very existence of our nation in peril. We will continue this case because only the courts can help us, Draheim told the Guardian following the ruling. We brought this lawsuit to secure our liberties and protect our lives and our homes. Much like the civil rights cases, we firmly believe the courts can vindicate our constitutional rights and we will not stop until we get a decision that says so. District Judge Josephine L Staton, in a lengthy dissenting opinion, argued that courts do have the authority to protect the young in the face of climate breakdown, and should, given the governments inaction: In these proceedings, the government accepts as fact that the United States has reached a tipping point crying out for a concerted response yet presses ahead toward calamity. It is as if an asteroid were barreling toward Earth and the government decided to shut down our only defenses. Seeking to quash this suit, the government bluntly insists that it has the absolute and unreviewable power to destroy the nation. The court ordered the case be remanded to the district court and dismissed. New Delhi, Jan 17 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday released its first list of 57 candidates for the upcoming Delhi polls, giving chance to very few newbies and mostly reviving the career of old timers who have been away from electoral politics, and projecting them as new faces to fight the elections in the national capital. While some of them have been post holders in the party, few are given opportunity after observing their people connect. The biggest name is former AAP minister Kapil Mishra. Though he has been part of electoral politics, he is a "new face" for the BJP nevertheless. In the last elections, Mishra had defeated BJP's Mohan Singh Bisht from Karawal Nagar by nearly 50,000 votes on AAP ticket. He will fight it out as a BJP candidate this time from Delhi's upscale model town. Another "fresh face", according to the BJP, is Karam Singh Karma. Karma was the President of Balmiki Samaj (Delhi). He has served the Akhil Bhartiya Safai Mazdoor Sangh and All India Balmiki Samaj Chetna Sangathan for a very long time. He later went on to join Aam Aadmi Party only to leave it for the BJP this year. R.P. Singh is another "fresh face", who is already a senior party functionary and holds the post of BJP's National Secretary. But this time around, the BJP decided to try him electorally from the Rajinder Nagar Assembly constituency. Though he was elected in the Delhi Assembly earlier, he stayed away from electoral politics since forth. Another such face is Sikha Rai who had contested the 2013 elections but was dropped in 2015, forcing her supporters to protest against the BJP outside its party office. After being left out in the cold, she has been given a chance once again, this time from the Greater Kailash constituency. BJP hopes that staying away from fighting elections for seven years might have erased her old baggage and may help the party this time. Another "fresh face", as many within the BJP want to project him as, is Vikram Bidhuri, a close relative of BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who has been given ticket from Tughlakabad. He had unsuccessfully contested the 2015 Assembly polls. All in all, the BJP mostly relied on its old horses rather than trying new faces, a risk it took during the 2017 MCD elections that paid off for the party. Delhi will go to polls on February 8 while the results will be out on February 11. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2020) - Cordoba Minerals Corp. (TSXV: CDB) (OTCQB: CDBMF) ("Cordoba" or the "Company") announced today the completion of the strategic equity investment totalling approximately C$11 million by JCHX Mining Management Co., Ltd. ("JCHX"). Cordoba has issued 91,372,536 common shares to JCHX through a private placement at a price of C$0.12 per share. With the completion, JCHX now owns approximately 19.9% of Cordoba's issued and outstanding common shares, and High Power Exploration Inc. ("HPX") remains Cordoba's majority shareholder owning approximately 60%. Cordoba intends to use the proceeds for completing work required to secure mining approvals at the San Matias Copper-Gold-Silver Project in Colombia; to further explore in the San Matias district and at the Perseverance Copper Project in Arizona, USA; and for working capital and general corporate purposes. The shares issued to JCHX are subject to a four month and one day hold period, which expires on May 17, 2020. "We welcome JCHX as a major shareholder in our Company," stated Eric Finlayson, President and CEO of Cordoba and President of HPX. "Further information on our 2020 work programs at San Matias and Perseverance will be announced shortly." JCHX's President Peng Huaisheng joins Cordoba Board Pursuant to the terms of the investor rights agreement with JCHX, JCHX has nominated and Cordoba has accepted JCHX's nomination of Dr. Peng Huaisheng to the Cordoba Board of Directors. Dr. Peng currently serves as a director of JCHX and President of JCHX Group Co., Ltd. ("JCHX Group"). The new appointment expands the Cordoba Board of Directors to five members. Dr. Peng is a professional mining engineer and holds a Bachelor's degree from Northeast University in Shenyang, Liaoning, an EMBA from Tsinghua University in Beijing and a PhD in Science from Central South University in Changsha, China. He is also a supervisor of PhD degree applicants. From 1984 to 2007, Dr. Peng worked in the China Nonferrous Engineering and Research Institute successively as Engineer, Senior Engineer, Vice Director, Vice President, and Deputy General Manager of China ENFI Engineering Corporation. Between 2008 and 2014, Dr. Peng held various roles with Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd. ("Chinalco"), including Executive Director and CEO of Chinalco Mining Corporation International Ltd. During this period, Dr. Peng oversaw the construction and development of the world-class Toromocho copper mine in Peru. Closing Ceremony of JCHX Strategic Equity Investment in Cordoba Figure 1: Signing of the investor rights agreement in Beijing on January 16, 2020. Front row (left to right) - Eric Finlayson, President and CEO, Cordoba and President, HPX; Qinghai Wang, Vice Chairman and Director, JCHX. Second row (left to right) - Shizhou Yin, Chairman of Supervisory Board, JCHX and Finance Director, JCHX Group; Cathy Liu, Head of Operations, Ivanhoe Mines Consulting Services (Beijing) Co., Ltd.; Pingxian Ye, Vice President, JCHX; Zhanmin Li, President & Director, JCHX; Huaisheng Peng, Director, JCHX and President, JCHX Group; Philip Mitchell, Senior Commercial Advisor, HPX; Xiancheng Wang, Chairman, JCHX and Chairman, JCHX Group; Shawn Wang, Head of the Investment and Business Development, Ivanhoe Mines Consulting Services (Beijing) Co., Ltd.; Youcheng Wang, Vice President & Director, JCHX; Cicheng Wang, Vice President & Director, JCHX; Wu Shao, Executive Vice President, JCHX; Bangfu Wu, Secretary of the Board, JCHX. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3116/51573_0e624f1d641ad866_002full.jpg About JCHX Established in 1997, through its continuous and rapid development, JCHX has become one of the top mining construction companies in China. The company is mainly engaged in mine development and construction, contract mining and research & development of mining technologies. JCHX is capable of providing comprehensive and professional services to the industry, as it has built a reputation for its integrity and credibility. The company specializes in underground mine development and construction, and production mining, especially in large-section declines and tunnels development. With an extensive fleet of mining equipment supported by highly trained employees, the company can provide solutions for a variety of projects, even those with the most complex geological conditions. JCHX strives to build safe and eco-friendly projects with the spirit of high quality and efficiency through cost-effective approaches. JCHX is completing the underground development at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project, after recently completing construction of the twin production declines. The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is jointly operated by Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining Group. More information on JCHX and their current projects is available on their website: www.jchxmc.com. About Cordoba Cordoba Minerals Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the exploration, development and acquisition of copper and gold projects. Cordoba is developing the San Matias Copper-Gold-Silver Project, which includes the Alacran deposit and satellite deposits at Montiel East, Montiel West and Costa Azul, located in the Department of Cordoba, Colombia. Cordoba also holds a 25% interest in the Perseverance Copper Project in Arizona, USA, which it is exploring through a Joint Venture and Earn-In Agreement. For further information, please visit www.cordobaminerals.com. Information Contact Evan Young +1-604-689-8765 info@cordobamineralscorp.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements including, without limitation, all statements regarding the receipt of necessary approvals and the timing and completion of the JCHX private placement; statements regarding the proposed use of proceeds from the JCHX private placement; and statements regarding the advancement and/or development of the San Matias Copper-Gold-Silver Project and the Perseverance Copper Project. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "target", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which the Company operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic, and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. These include assumptions regarding, among other things: general business and economic conditions; the availability of additional exploration and mineral project financing; the supply and demand for, inventories of, and the level and volatility of the prices of metals; relationships with strategic partners; the timing and receipt of governmental permits and approvals; the timing and receipt of TSXV approvals; the timing and receipt of community and landowner approvals; changes in regulations; political factors; the accuracy of the Company's interpretation of drill results; the geology, grade and continuity of the Company's mineral deposits; the availability of equipment, skilled labour and services needed for the exploration and development of mineral properties; and currency fluctuations. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include actual exploration results, interpretation of metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, delays or inability to receive required approvals, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, including those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2018. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51573 Of the 484 students registered in this year's Urology Match, 91 percent submitted preference lists, competing for a record-high 354 positions across the country. Of those who submitted lists, 80 percent matched, leaving only one program vacancy open. This year's Urology Match was also another paramount year for females applying for and matching with urology programs, as a record-setting 105 of the 122 female participants (86 percent) matched with programs, compared to 85 of the 103 (83 percent) who matched last year. "The 2020 Urology Match not only had the most applicants we've seen since 2014 but also a record number of women matching with programs," said SAU President Louis Kavoussi, MD. "The future of urology is bright indeed and I look forward to working with our newest residents when they begin training later this year." Urology Match Day is an annual rite of passage for U.S. medical students and other applicants from around the world. Medical students begin the residency application process at the start of their final year in medical school. After applying to various registered programs across the country, select candidates are invited by programs for interviews, which are held in the fall and early winter. Once the interview period is over, both registered parties submit their preference lists to the AUA, which has performed the Urology Match annually on behalf of the SAU for more than 35 years. "The AUA has been a proud part of the Urology Residency Match for decades and each year the program gets stronger and the applicants are more talented than ever," said AUA President John Lynch, MD, FACS. "It's an honor to watch a growing number of young physicians choose urology and to be a part of this milestone event for our specialty." Follow the excitement on #AUAMatch and #UROMatch Results of the Urology Residency Match are closely watched as they can be predictors of future trends in physician workforce shortages and supply. View statistics on the 2020 Match and past Match results. About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 21,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy. About the Society of Academic Urologists: Formed in 2016 when the Society of University Urologists and the Society of Urology Chairpersons and Program Directors merged, the Society of Academic Urologists (SAU), provides academic urologists with a forum to discuss, review and work toward resolving critical issues in all aspects of academic urology. Additionally, SAU maximizes benefits for educational urology programs, streamlines communications with the AUA, RRC, ABU, and other societies, as well as gives academic urology a voice in the AUA Match program. SOURCE American Urological Association Related Links http://www.AUAnet.org Bharti Airtel share price hit its fresh 52-week high in early trade today after data from telecom regulator TRAI revealed the telco added 16 lakh subscribers in November. The stock rose despite Supreme Court rejecting review petition of Bharti Airtel challenging the apex court's judgement in the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case. Share price of Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel rose 5.19% to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 498.65 against previous close of Rs 474.05 on BSE. The large cap stock has gained 5% in the last two days. Airtel share price has gained 61.33% during the last one year. 4.54 lakh shares changed hands amounting to turnover of Rs 22.28 crore on BSE. Market cap of Bharti Airtel rose to Rs 2.52 lakh crore on BSE. 20 of 25 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or 'outperform', three "hold" and two "underperform" , according to analysts' recommendations tracked by Reuters. Vodafone Idea lost maximum 3.6 crore wireless subscribers in November which led to its stock falling up to 39.30% to Rs 3.66 against previous close of Rs 6.03 on BSE. The AGR verdict also led to negative sentiment around the stock. There were only sellers, no buyers for the Vodafone Idea stock in early trade. Also read: Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea shares rise up to 5% ahead of SC verdict on AGR dues On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging the apex court's judgement in the AGR case. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have to pay pending AGR dues to the Department of Telecommunications by January 23. Telecom companies, which are staring at a payout of Rs 93,000 crore, had sought relief earlier this month. With the payment deadline looming close, telecom players have expressed their inability to pay the pending AGR dues. Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has said the telco would shut shop without the government's help. Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal has also asked the government to be sympathetic towards telcos. The reason mentioned by both companies is heavy losses incurred by them since the entry of Reliance Jio. Vodafone Idea is struggling with losses for the past three years that ballooned to Rs 50,922 crore in the September quarter of FY20 - the highest quarterly loss in India's corporate history - as it had to make significant provisions for the AGR dues. Airtel reported record losses to the tune of Rs 22,830 crore in the same quarter. By Aseem Thapliyal Australian trade negotiators will push China to match dairy trade concessions made to the United States in a landmark trade deal, as Australia's $4 billion dairy industry looks to ram itself into the world's largest market. As part of phase one of its trade deal with the China, the US secured relaxed inspection, licensing and technical regulations on dairy products in what analysts have described as one of the more substantial concessions of the negotiations between the two superpowers. Officials and members of Chinese state owned media companies visit the A2 Milk factory in Sydney. Credit:James Brickwood The same regulations have hampered Australian dairy exporters. In June up to $1 billion was wiped from shares in a2 Milk after China announced tougher restrictions on importing baby milk formula in a bid to bolster its local market. Yun Jiang, co-editor of China Neican and a former federal public servant, said it appeared unlikely the same treatment will be extended to products from other countries given the clauses specifically refer to US regulators and "Australia may be adversely affected by this trade deal". VANCOUVEROn the surface of things, Canadas top court declared clear winners Thursday in a battle over one of the countrys most controversial energy projects. Those victors appeared to be the federal government and, consequently, the Alberta government, as the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that B.C. does not have the jurisdiction to restrict the flow of oil through the Trans Mountain pipeline, or any other pipeline in the province. But if Thursdays legal winners were clear, in the world of pipeline politics, observers say, the jury may remain out. While the stakes are mainly seen as significant for the economy and for the environment, the TMX project has also made for a high-profile political showdown. The premiers of B.C. and Alberta have found themselves on opposing sides of the project; and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been criticized by environmentalists and pipeline advocates alike. The project which still faces other legal challenges would triple the existing capacity of the line to 890,000 barrels of day of diluted bitumen. It is expected to result in a sevenfold increase in tanker traffic through the Burrard Inlet to the Westridge marine terminal in Burnaby, B.C. Heres what observers say the fight has meant, speaking strictly politically, for each leader: John Horgan, Jason Kenney and Justin Trudeau. B.C. Premier John Horgan For John Horgan, theres no question that the Supreme Court decision is a legal loss but the fight might prove to be a political draw. This prevents him from doing anything that can either modify or kill the project, and, in that sense, its a loss, said Hamish Telford, a University of the Fraser Valley political science professor. But Telford referred to the B.C. premiers 2017 election promise that an NDP government would do everything in its power to quash the project. He can say to voters: We fought the good fight and we were defeated by forces that were bigger than us. The pipeline fight is not over, but Horgan can now let others, such as the Indigenous groups that argue they were not consulted adequately, continue the legal fight against the pipeline in court. The Federal Court of Appeal heard that case in December and has yet to make a ruling. The legal challenge brought forward by Indigenous groups has always been seen as the case most likely to put an end to the Trans Mountain pipeline, said George Hoberg, an associate professor of political science at the University of British Columbia. In a statement made shortly after Thursdays decision, Horgan said his government was disappointed. Our government takes our responsibility to defend the interests of British Columbians seriously, a portion of the statement reads. When it comes to protecting our coast, our environment and our economy, we will continue do all we can within our jurisdiction. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney Kenneys United Conservative government in Alberta was swift to claim victory in the wake of the Supreme Court decision. Thursdays decision brings Alberta one step closer in an ongoing and long fought battle to bring greater amounts of its oil to the B.C. coast. Kenney and his government have been bellicose in fighting for pipeline progress. Doug Schweitzer, minister of justice and solicitor general, wrote in a statement Thursday afternoon that the countrys top court had upheld the rule of law and put an end to the British Columbia governments campaign of obstruction against Alberta energy. The Alberta governments reactions to the decision fall into the realm of political theatre, Telford said galvanizing existing support rather than expecting to create new support. While divisive across the country, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has bi-partisan support in Alberta, Telford said, which means few voters are about to be swayed on the issue. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has already cost Trudeau politically, and the Supreme Courts decision reaffirming the federal governments jurisdiction over the project seems unlikely to help. Trudeaus Liberals lost all the seats they previously held in Alberta in the 2019 federal election, despite the government having bought the project in order to push it through. And the Liberals support for Trans Mountain and the resulting damage to Trudeaus image on environmental issues has been cited in the partys loss of seats in British Columbia. Thursdays decision confirms that provinces can do little to prevent federally mandated energy projects from being built, something voters in British Columbia and in Quebec have already expressed resentment about. (The decision) will certainly have political implications for the standing of the Liberal party of Canada in B.C. and potentially elsewhere, especially in Quebec, said Hoberg. That said, the Supreme Court decision was a win for the governments agenda, if an incremental one. This was one that the federal government was expected to win so in one sense its a minor irritant that has been taken care of, Telford said. Wanyee Li is a Toronto Star reporter based in Vancouver. Alex McKeen is a Toronto Star reporter based in Vancouver. Read more about: 3 1 of 3 via Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 2 of 3 via Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 3 of 3 A search is underway for a father accused of kidnapping his 1-year-old daughter, according to the Santa Cruz Police Department. Police say the father, Brian Sellen, kidnapped his daughter, Mila Sellen, Friday morning after a domestic dispute at an apartment building at Front and Second streets. Subscriber content preview BOISE, Idaho (AP) A group of water users on Wednesday appealed a federal court decision ordering the U.S. Forest Service to consult with other federal agencies about nearly two dozen water diversion projects in central Idaho's Sawtooth Valley that could be harming salmon, steelhead and bull trout. The Salmon Headwaters Conservation Association on Wednesday filed the appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. . . . Irans supreme leader said President Donald Trump is a clown who only pretends to support the Iranian people, as he addressed Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time since 2012. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Mr Trump will push a poisonous dagger into the nations back. He said the outpouring of grief at the funeral for Irans top general, who was killed in a US airstrike earlier this month, shows that Iranians support the Islamic Republic. He said Irans retaliatory missile attack on US troops in Iraq earlier this month was a blow to Americas image as a superpower. The cleric said America had cowardly killed the most effective commander in the fight against the Islamic State group when it targeted General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike in Baghdad. In response, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting US troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. As Irans Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after it took off from Tehrans international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Expand Close Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept at the funeral of Qassem Soleimani (Iran Press/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept at the funeral of Qassem Soleimani (Iran Press/AP) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has held the countrys top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of Gen Soleimani and vowed harsh retaliation against the United States. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. Their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since President Donald Trump withdrew the US from Irans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which had imposed restrictions on its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The White House has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Mr Trump has openly encouraged the protesters, even tweeting in Farsi, hoping that the protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a long-time adversary. After Mr Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad, Iran announced it would no longer be bound by the limitations in the nuclear agreement. Expand Close Mr Khamenei met tje family of Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani following the latters death in a US air strike (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mr Khamenei met tje family of Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani following the latters death in a US air strike (AP) European countries who have been trying to salvage the deal responded earlier this week by invoking a dispute mechanism that is aimed at bringing Iran back into compliance and could result in even more sanctions. Mr Khamenei was always sceptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the United States could not be trusted. But he allowed President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, to conclude the agreement with then US president Barack Obama. Since Mr Trumps withdrawal, he has said there can be no negotiations with the United States. Expand Close President Donald Trump authorised the air strike that killed Qassem Soleimani (Evan Vucci/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump authorised the air strike that killed Qassem Soleimani (Evan Vucci/AP) Mr Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called Israel a cancerous tumour and vowed to support anyone confronting it. He also warned against any US strikes on Iran over its nuclear programme, saying the US would be damaged 10 times over. The Government has been accused of letting the homelessness crisis "go beyond repair" after a young woman died in emergency accommodation. Gardai were called to the scene of a sudden death at the Phoenix Lodge hostel on Parkgate Street in Dublin on Wednesday evening. The woman, who was in her late 20s, died in "tragic circumstances". A spokeswoman for the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) said yesterday: "On behalf of the Dublin local auth- orities, we would like to express condolences to the family and friends of the young woman, who tragically passed away yesterday evening. "The gardai and DRHE staff were in attendance." Tragic A garda spokesman said a file will be prepared for the Coroner's Court. Inner City Helping Homeless chief executive Anthony Flynn said: "We cannot continue to compound people's suffering at the most vulnerable time in their life. "This week alone we have seen this tragic death; a man with life-changing injuries as a result of his tent being removed by an industrial machine as he slept in it; and our case management team assisted a woman in her 60s who was sleeping rough." Mr Flynn said the elderly woman slept in the rain, was "soaked to the bone" and had to be transported to hospital. She also suffers from dementia. "She was found in a horrid state in a laneway," he said. Independent councillor and election candidate Christy Burke said it is time for the Government to "grow a pair" and declare a national emergency as Ireland's housing crisis has "gone beyond repair". The homeless man who suffered life-changing injuries when the tent in which he was sleeping was removed by an industrial vehicle remains in a critical condition. Aged in his 30s and from east Africa, he is being treated in intensive care at St Vincent's University Hospital. Four investigations by gardai, the Health and Safety Authority, Waterways Ireland and the DRHE have been launched. The incident on the banks of the Grand Canal has continued to generate outrage among housing charities. Campaigner Fr Peter McVerry slammed the emergency acc- ommodation system, saying homeless people sleep in tents because it is safer than hostels. "It's true that there are hostel places available, but what's not discussed is the quality of those hostel places," he told RTE Radio 1's Morning Ireland. "The biggest complaint I get from homeless people is that they wake up in the morning and all the people who are sleeping in the room with them are gone and so are all their belongings. Appalling "The second biggest complaint is being assaulted. Many people don't feel safe in those hostels." Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has continued to defend his comments on the incident involving the homeless man on the banks of the Grand Canal. He insisted he had "never sought to make homelessness a party political issue". Former lord mayor Nial Ring said he was "taken aback" by the Taoiseach's comments, branding them "appalling". Bradica joined XL in 2006 and has held several senior positions. She returns to the company after a stint at AIG, where she served as chief actuary for North America. Latham, meanwhile, has 20 years of actuarial experience. Prior to joining AXA XL, she served as head of group pricing at Beazley. Data alone does not represent value, Shedden said. The value comes when you have talented people who are empowered and understand how the data can provide insights and management teams that are prepared to act upon them. Both Katy and Mary have the credentials and management skills to continue to advance the data and analytics culture at AXA XL. Years of observational studies suggest that prosecutors' race and class biases are among the primary drivers for disparities in criminal justice; recent University of Arizona-led research indicates otherwise America's prison populations are disproportionately filled with people of color, but prosecutors' biases toward defendants' race and class may not be the primary cause for those disparities, new research from the University of Arizona suggests. The finding, which comes from a unique study involving hundreds of prosecutors across the U.S., counters decades' worth of previous research. Those studies relied on pre-existing data, such as charges and punishments that played out in courtrooms. In a 1993 study, for example, researchers found that prosecutors in Los Angeles were 1.59 times more likely to fully prosecute an African American defendant for crack-related charges than a white defendant. That likelihood was 2.54 times greater for Hispanic defendants compared to white defendants. The new study, led by Christopher Robertson, a professor of law and associate dean for research and innovation at the James E. Rogers College of Law, involved a controlled experiment with prosecutors, asking them to examine the same hypothetical case but changing the race and class of the defendant. The study, administered online, provided prosecutors with police reports describing a hypothetical crime, which the researchers designed with assistance from experienced prosecutors. All details of the case were the same except for the suspect's race - either black or white - and occupation - fast-food worker or accountant - to indicate the suspect's socioeconomic status. Roughly half of the prosecutors received one version of the case; the other half received the other. The study allowed researchers to "really isolate the prosecutor's decision-making in a way that mere observational research wouldn't allow," said Robertson, whose co-authors are Shima Baradaran Baughman of the University of Utah and Megan Wright of Penn State. The paper was published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. The outcomes the study looked for included whether prosecutors charged a felony, whether they chose to fine the defendant or seek a prison sentence, and the proposed cost of the fine or length of the sentence. "When we put all those together, we see the same severity of charges, fines and sentences across all the conditions, whether the defendant was black, whether the defendant was white, whether the defendant had a high-class career or a low-class career," Robertson said. "Differences in the actual outcomes - in the actual behavior of the prosecutors - is what we would have expected if they were biased. But since we see no difference in the outcomes, we concluded that they were not substantially biased." Given previous research that indicated rampant bias drives criminal justice disparities, Robertson's results may surprise many - just like they did the researchers. "We were surprised at the bottom line," he said. Robertson offered one possible explanation for the unexpected result. "We conducted this study in 2017 and 2018 and prosecutors have been under a spotlight for some time," he said. "They've been training and are aware of and are working hard to not be biased in their own decision-making." The results do not rule out race and class bias as factors in prosecutorial decision-making but suggest that policymakers committed to addressing systemic racism and classism in the legal system may be more successful seeking reforms in other areas. "The disparities in outcomes are indisputable," Robertson said. "As we go through the criminal justice system and think about what the right reforms are, the sheer bias of the prosecutor doesn't seem to be the biggest one." Robertson said policymakers may be better off focusing on disparities that occur before someone is even arrested, in areas such as economic development and education. "Crime is associated with poverty, and race in America is associated with poverty, so I think some very front-end questions of social policy are really important," he said. "At the same time, I think, on the back end, to shift the focus, there's a growing consensus among people on the left and the right that our 40-year-long war on crime has been ineffectual in some ways and that we could make the criminal justice system much less severe and much less expensive and thereby reduce some of these same disparities." Robertson also stresses that his study's results aren't the final word on prosecutor bias - a problem that still needs addressing, he said. Even after these findings, he remains a proponent of blinding prosecutors to defendants' race, a detail that is often not relevant to prosecutors after an arrest is made. Prosecutor blinding is the focus of Robertson's next research project. ### An international team of Russian, Swedish and Ukrainian scientists has identified an effective strategy to improve the stability of two-dimensional black phosphorus, which is a promising material for use in optoelectronics. The most effective mechanism of fluorination has been revealed. In addition to increased stability compared to previously proposed structures, the materials predicted by the researchers showed high antioxidative stability. The main results of the work have been presented in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. Black phosphorus is obtained from white phosphorus under conditions of high pressure and elevated temperature. The material has a layered structure and resembles graphite in appearance and properties. However, unlike graphite, it is a good semiconductor. "Phosphorene is a monolayer of black phosphorus with interesting physical properties (high anisotropic electrical and thermal conductivity, flexible band gap variability depending on the number of layers), which makes it a promising material for use in various fields of optoelectronics (transistors, inverters, flexible electronics, solar panels). Unfortunately, one of its main problems is instability in the environment. Unlike its volumetric analogue, which is almost immune to external conditions, phosphorene quickly begins to attach oxygen from the air and degrades within a few hours. As one of the strategies for improving the stability of phosphorene, mechanism of fluorination was proposed. Over the past five years, scientists have proposed several theoretically possible options for such a "coupling". An experiment was conducted that showed a significant increase in the stability of phosphorus in ambient conditions after fluorination. However, the features of the obtained material structure remained unexplained. Using various theoretical approaches, my colleagues and I showed that the previously proposed structures of "stabilized" phosphorus were actually unstable. It is known that phosphorus is able to form compounds with 3 or 5 fluorine atoms. Our calculations also confirmed that the characteristic coordination of the phosphorus atom in the PF system is 3 or 5. By sequential addition of atoms, it was possible to identify the most effective and really working mechanism by which fluorine atoms should attach to the surface of phosphorene. Thus, we have determined the type of structures that are likely to have been obtained by our predecessors in the above-mentioned experiment," -- said Artem Kuklin, a research fellow of SibFU. Scientists note that the materials formed by the predicted mechanism are really stable and have increased antioxidant ability (that is, they are not quickly degradable) and their electronic properties, which do not differ much from the properties of pure phosphorus, provide the possibility of their practical application in optoelectronic devices, i.e. transistors, solar panels, flexible electronics, LEDs, photosensors, biomedical devices, optical devices for storing and transmitting information, etc. ### Apart from the scientists from Siberian Federal University, researchers from the Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), Henan University (China) and Khmelnitsky Cherkassy National University took part in this research. The study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and the Siberian Federal University (Grant No. 16.1455.2017 / ??). BJP working president JP Nadda on Friday challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to speak 10 lines on Citizenship (Amendment) Act. While addressing a gathering of Bharatiya Bauddh Sangh in the capital, Nadda accused Congress of working against the interest of the nation. Nadda said that for Congress and Left parties vote bank are primary and nation's interest is secondary. "Why there is opposition to this Act? Rahul Gandhi can't even speak 10 lines on CAA. This is unfortunate for the nation. Without knowing about the Act, he speaks against it," Nadda said. "I want to challenge Rahul Gandhi to speak 10 lines on CAA," added the BJP leader. Targeting the Congress, the working president of the party also said that those opposing CAA are making nation weak as they don't have an issue. Talking about CAA, Nadda said that during Independence the country witnessed partition on the basis of religion. "Congress partitioned the country on the basis of religion. It was a massacre and there was intolerance then. The politicians showed their concern about the situation and then Nehru said that India will take care of those who aren't happy in Pakistan with our natural resources. Gandhi said those who had to come to India should be given government jobs. In 2003 Manmohan Singh had reiterated this as well," stated Nadda. "In 1950, Nehru- Liyaqat pact in which it was said that both countries decided to take care of their minorities. Ambedkar said that India will be Republic and secular. We decided that the government will not have any religion. United Pakistan decided to make itself an Islamic country and to have a religion officially," Nadda added. The BJP leader also said that in India, the Muslim population grew from 9 to 14 per cent. "We honoured the agreement. What happened in Pakistan? Hindu, Bodh, Jain, Sikh and Christians were reduced to 3 per cent from 23 per cent. In Bangladesh, we were reduced to 7 per cent. These people took shelter in India after fleeing the country, " proclaimed Nadda. The BJP leader spoke about Afghanistan as well. "Read reports of Washington Post, Reuters and New York Times. Their reports claimed that 50,000 sikh families Afghanistan had now been reduced to there are only 2000. Those who managed to flee have taken shelter in India, " he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In his recent interviews, deputy of the Parliament of Abkhazia, leader of the political opposition and president of the Apra Foundation Aslan Bzhania hasnt talked about the need for bilateral talks with Georgia, as stated in the statement that the Foundation issued on Friday, reports TASS. Over the past couple of days, people on the Internet have been saying that Bzhania has announced the possibility of direct talks between Georgia and Abkhazia. It is stated that Abkhazia is a sovereign state, the independence of which is recognized by Russia and several other countries, and the status of Abkhazia can never be a subject for discussion or with anyone. In this June 12, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sentosa Island, in Singapore. AP South Korea and the United States agreed Thursday to coordinate closely on possible inter-Korean projects amid stalled nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, Seoul's chief nuclear envoy said Thursday. Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remark to reporters after holding talks with his U.S. counterpart, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, in Washington. The pair met after President Moon Jae-in expressed a desire earlier this week to implement inter-Korean projects as a way to facilitate denuclearization negotiations between the North and the U.S. Most of the projects, including efforts to reconnect railways and roads between the Koreas, have stalled due to United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang. "(Biegun) and I agreed that from now on, South Korea and the U.S. will continue to hold close consultations on inter-Korean cooperation projects. We are just beginning," Lee told reporters outside the State Department. Washington has been wary of allowing exceptions to the U.N. sanctions regime out of concern they could undermine its "maximum pressure" campaign to denuclearize the North. Prominent OBC leader Swatantradev Singh was elected unopposed the chief of UP BJP on Friday, the party's media co-incharge Alok Awasthi said. The announcement about Singh's election was made by party's national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav at Uttar Pradesh BJP office, Awasthi told PTI. The 55-year-old Singh, who will have a three-year tenure, was appointed UP BJP chief in July last year after Mahendra Nath Pandey was re-elected to Lok Sabha and joined the government at the Centre. Belonging to the influential Kurmi caste, Singh made his presence felt during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as incharge of party affairs in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP bagged 28 out of the 29 seats. "The task was indeed challenging as the BJP had lost the 2018 MP Assembly elections to the Congress hardly six months back," UP BJP leader Rakesh Tripathi said. Singh's efforts to boost the morale of party workers and ensure a swing in favour of the BJP paid dividends as Congress bigwigs such as Digvijaya Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia had to taste defeat, Tripathi said. Currently a member of the UP Legislative Council, Singh joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1986 and held various positions in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He also held various positions in the BJP from 2004 to 2014. Congratulating him, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "After he took over as the UP BJP chief, the ruling party has won 9 out of 12 assembly seats in bye-elections. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An obese ISIS mufti arrested in Iraq is so heavy that he had to be loaded onto the back of a truck to be transported. Shifa al-Nima, considered one of the biggest captures in recent months, was hauled from his Mosul bolthole by Iraqi security forces after he was discovered. Dubbed Jabba the Hutt after the slug-like Star Wars villain, the religious leader issued fatwas, or religious rulings, that led to the execution of scholars and clerics and the destruction of an ancient tomb in the city. The terrorist, who could not be transported in a police car, was pictured wedged against a mounted machine gun in the open back of a vehicle last night. It is unclear how the man, reported to weigh at least 300lbs, was removed from his hiding place. Iraqi police said the mufti is considered one of ISISs foremost leaders. al-Nima, who is also known as Abu Abdul-Bari, has been accused of ordering the destruction of the tomb of the Prophet Yunus, or Jonah, in Mosul, which was carried out in 2014. The ancient shrine was thought to be the final resting place of the prophet by both Christians and Muslims. A Briton who fought against ISIS in Syria, Macer Gifford, tweeted: Im delighted to say that the Islamic States very own Jabba the Hutt has been captured in Mosul. Responsible for the execution of men, women and children. This animal r3ped and murdered. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2020) - Kitco would like to cordially invite you to visit us at Booth Kitco Media Booth Lounge at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) to be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West (1055 Canada Place, Vancouver) on Sunday January 19 - Monday January 20, 2020. The Vancouver Resource Investment Conference has been the bellwether of the junior mining market for the last twenty-five years. It is the number one source of information for investment trends and ideas, covering all aspects of the natural resource industry. Each year, the VRIC hosts over 60 keynote speakers, 350 exhibiting companies and 9000 investors. Investment thought leaders and wealth influencers provide our audiences with valuable insights. C-suite company executives covering every corner of the mineral exploration sector as well as metals, oil & gas, renewable energy, media and financial services companies are available to speak one on one. This is a must-attend for investors and stakeholders in the global mining industry. Attend Kitco's keynote at VRIC: three unsung metals poised to break out The commodity space is cyclical, so what are some of the most out-of-favor metals,and what are the factors that are going to drive them higher? Mining editor Michael McCrae will give a presentation this Sunday at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference. The talk will explore some factors that will set up some currently moribund metals for strong performance in the long term. Emphasis is on metals off the beaten track, stories that investors may not have considered. TALK TITLE: Overlooked and Unloved: Three Metals That Are Poised For A Comeback WHERE: Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, Workshop #2, Vancouver Convention Centre West, Vancouver, B.C. WHEN: 1 p.m., Sunday, January 19, 2020 WHO: Michael McCrae, Mining Audience and Data Intelligence Manager at Kitco Kitco is the number one source for precious metal news and information. With offices around the world and a team of award-winning journalists, Kitco is the most sought after news source in the resource space with over 5 million monthly uniques. To attend the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, https://cambridgehouse.com/vancouver-resource-investment-conference Optimize your digital marketing efforts in 2020 Want to understand how to market your company effectively and efficiently? Attend Kitco Media's marketing workshop for exploration and development companies in the resource sector. Four expert panelists will be gathered to share their insights: Rita Bennett from Great Bear Resources, Dylan Berg from Digital257Technologies Inc., James McClelland from TSX Media and a Kitco marketing specialist. Some topics that will be covered are devising a compelling story to tell, understanding the components of a marketing campaign, and learning how to target and reach investors. Talk will include a complimentary breakfast. Attendees will also be entered to win a mining content billboard with a three-month run, a US$6,600 value. TITLE: Kitco Media Marketing Workshop LOCATION: Room #113, Vancouver Convention Centre West, Vancouver, B.C. DATE: Monday, January 20, 2020 TIME: 8 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. To attend email Carlos Madruga at cmadruga@kitco.com. Hurry, space is limited. Once again, Kitco News will be moderating the Ultimate Gold Panel, a lively discussion on the future of the gold space, hosted by anchor Daniela Cambone. Follow Kitco News from January 19-20, 2020, as we interview the giants and market movers of the industry. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://cambridgehouse.com/vancouver-resource-investment-conference. We look forward to seeing you there. For further information: Kitco Michael McCrae 6049701754 mmccrae@kitco.com www.kitco.com Ties between India, Pakistan came under severe strain after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories Washington: Pakistan is not prepared to pay any price for peace with India and certainly not without resolving the Kashmir issue in a just manner, foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said. Addressing the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank on Thursday, Qureshi reiterated Pakistan's demand that US President Donald Trump should mediate to resolve the Kashmir issue. Ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories on 5 August, evoking strong reactions from Islamabad. Pakistan has been trying to rally international support against India on the issue. "Our government wants peace in the neighbourhood. We want, we need peace in order to focus on achieving our domestic agenda for economic reform and development. But we are not prepared to pay any price for peace with India, certainly not our dignity and certainly not without resolving the Kashmir dispute in a just manner," Qureshi said. He alleged that instead of fighting poverty and hunger together, the "RSS-inspired BJP government has embarked upon the project of turning India into a Hindu Rashtra". "The adherence of Hindutva and an Akhand Bharat have established this ascendancy with disastrous consequences for all in India and the world to see," he alleged. Qureshi said on 5 August India tried to change the "disputed status" of Jammu and Kashmir and "alter" its demographic structure, breaking all relevant international laws and "violating" several UN Security Council resolutions in the process. India has been seeking to break the will of the Kashmiri people by imprisoning them in their homes and imposing a communications blockade that continues to this day, he said. "Indian narrative that Kashmir is India's internal part is firmly refuted by its being on the Security Council agenda. If this were not the case, why would the French President raise it with the Indian Prime Minister?" he asked. "We know that President Trump is profoundly worried by the Kashmir situation and we welcome his repeated offers of mediation in resolving the Kashmir dispute. The United States alone commands the moral authority and respect in South Asia to resolve the longest pending dispute on the UN agenda," he said. "We hope President Trump is successful in realising his goal and can make a lasting contribution to substantial peace in South Asia. That could be his enduring legacy," Qureshi said. Although Trump has offered to mediate on the Kashmir issue in the past, New Delhi has told Washington that it is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan and there is no scope for any third-party mediation. On the sidelines of the G7 summit in the French town of Biarritz in August last year, Modi, while interacting with the media alongside Trump, categorically rejected any scope for third party mediation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, saying the two countries can discuss and resolve all issues bilaterally and "we don't want to trouble any third country". On a two-day visit to Washington DC, Qureshi is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien on Friday. On Thursday, he met lawmakers at the US Capitol. In his speech, Qureshi referred to the recent arrest of an Indian police officer and joined the conspiracy theory about terrorist attacks in India. "Meanwhile, we all followed reports of capture of the Indian police officer, Davinder Singh, whose footprint is now being seen in some major terrorist attack, which India itself orchestrated and blamed on Pakistan," said Qureshi. "We have been consistently warning the world community about another false flag operation against Pakistan that Davinder Singh was accompanied by two militants on his way to Delhi in close proximity to Republic Day celebrations should not be lost on anyone," the minister said. Qureshi said that the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens were raising fundamental questions about the ideals like democracy and secularism that India's founding father passionately advocated. He said that every other day, military officials or politicians from India make veiled threats against Pakistan. Earlier in the day, Qureshi met members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee. Patrick Pennincks, head of the Information Society Department at the Council of Europe, explained what this European organisation is doing to counter fake news Like most countries in the world, Egypt is seeing an increase in the number of social media users and with them the threat of more and more fabricated or fake news. Hardly a day passes without the dissemination of rumours on Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat, with these social media applications sometimes being used to spread ill-intended messages. Many Internet users, especially young people, may get their news from social media, where there are no obvious barriers between fact and fiction. Aware of the effect that this could have on social stability, new efforts are being made to tackle the problem, including by the Council of Europe, an international organisation whose aim is to uphold human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Europe. What is the Council of Europe doing to combat fake news? Three years ago, the Council of Europe decided to carry out a study in order to make sure that there was a good understanding of what fake news was, because everyone was using the term. It was being used too often and too broadly by people who saw something published that did not suit their political agendas. That is why the study made a distinction between mal-information, disinformation, and misinformation. It defined misinformation as information that is false, but not created with the intention of causing harm, like using outdated information without realising it. As for mal-information, this is based on real information that is used to inflict harm. Then there is disinformation, which is false news deliberately created to harm an individual or an entity or a country. The last is a combination of the first two types and is sometimes wrong information that is used in order to disorient the public in order to attain certain political, economic or social goals. This is what I think we should be referring to when we speak of fake news, and that of course also includes propaganda. For us, the study was the starting point to gain clarity about the terms we are using. On that basis, the European Commission is also taking further action to combat fake news. We need a number of tools to do that, and we cannot do it alone as a European institution, but we need to do it together with media outlets. We also need to do it with Internet intermediaries, governments, journalists, and civil society. There are a number of fact-checking institutions to ensure that the information provided in the news and on social media is actually correct. At the Council of Europe, we have worked with organisations in Tunisia and Morocco, but we have been less active in the Middle East in working on these issues as our prime focus is obviously to work with the European countries. What can be done to help young people spot fake news? Journalists are not the only source of information today, and unfortunately we are seeing a diminishing trust in the information provided through journalistic channels. In the meantime, there is a growing self-informing trend through the social networks. So, we on one side, with the professionals, the journalists, on the other side, are trying to put out information about quality journalism. In other words, ethical journalism and investigative journalism, where there is a commitment to ensuring that the facts are right and that they are based on research rather than on opinion, in order to rebuild trust in journalistic channels. Second, and out of our belief that we have a strong role to play with regards to media literacy, we hope to help enable the younger generation to get a good understanding of the media landscape. This will help them to understand how to look for real information, how to look for valid information, and how to ensure that they can see the way in which fake information and disinformation is disguised in the information flow, which today is enormous. Should schools be involved in this awareness-raising? Schools have a fundamental role to play. Very often, our education systems, lets face it, are still based on 20th-century or even 19th-century models. Of course, a system, an education system, is difficult to transform, and it is slow to address new challenges. Very often, our school system is still stuck in the Industrial Revolution and is still about preparing students for certain jobs that in future may no longer exist. We have to ensure, on the one hand, that first of all our school system is adapted to the challenges of the digital era. And at the same time, we have to ensure that our pupils become media literate. How can the wider public become more aware of the dangers of fake news? This needs to be done by society, by civil society, by media organisations, by national governments, by technological companies, and by educational centres. All of these have to cooperate. If that is not possible, we could look at the actors that are most aware of disinformation and on which groups the impact of this is most important. From there, you can find a starting point. Is there in Egypt an institution that could look into the veracity of the news? Is there an analysis that is already available? Are there smaller institutions maybe that look at the news? In parallel to this, I would say, we should also organise awareness-raising initiatives. I think that would be an important start. So, my answer is that you cannot do it alone. You need to do it with partners from different backgrounds. It also has to be in partnership with the media world, because right now there is a growing distrust of official media channels. Fake news in Egypt is often created by TV stations that support the Muslim Brotherhood. How can the government tackle this kind of non-Internet fake news? You need fact-checking institutions. The name may sound big, but in quite a number of cases these are small foundations that can warn against false information through the Internet. Is the Council of Europe working with Egypt or any of the other North African countries on fake news? Unfortunately, we do not have direct contacts with Egypt in this field. We have worked with Tunisia and Morocco, where we work with regulators and government on legal issues and journalists and civil society. We have established a number of contacts with the regulators in Lebanon and Jordan, but for the time being no direct contacts with Egypt. So, it would be an important first step to maybe hold a conference with the relevant stakeholders in Egypt on the dangers of disinformation. We could support this conference and send a representative. *A version of this article appears in print in the 16 January, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: BOOK OF THE WEEK A WORLD OF MY OWN by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (Adlard Coles 10.99, 256 pp) We live in a world of maximum connectivity, where you can sit in Abu Dhabi and do keyhole surgery on someone in Aberdeen; where a Twitter frenzy in Kenilworth can be picked up in seconds in Kyoto; and where round-the-world sailors can Facetime their children in class from anywhere. But it wasnt always like that. Now the nautical publisher Adlard Coles have had the enterprising wheeze of reprinting the story of one of the greatest sea adventures in history for a modern, young audience. In an age short of heroes, make no mistake: Robin Knox-Johnston is a hero for all time. Just over 50 years ago he sailed his battered 32-ft ketch Suhaili into Falmouth harbour and into legend. He had become the first person ever to sail round the world single-handed, without stopping. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's (pictured) gripping 1969 adventure to become the first person to sail around the world has been reprinted Sir Robin he was knighted in 1995 had covered more than 30,000 miles in 312 days on his own and his little boat had taken a fearful pounding from the wild seas of the Southern Ocean. The paintwork was peeling, the self-steering had gone, the tiller was tied to the rudderhead but she was still very much afloat. A wonderful boat, writes Sir Robin at the end of the epilogue. Adventurous doesnt begin to do justice to the man. This account of the voyage was first published the year he returned, in 1969. There is no hindsight, and the gripping narrative incorporates large chunks from the logbooks and diaries he writes on board. This is courage in the raw, day by day and as it happens. In an age when young people can get worried about safe spaces if they have to deal with Shakespeares plays, it might be good for them to have a sense of one of the most unsafe spaces on the planet. Thats the sea. If the purpose of this timely reissue is to inspire a new generation of readers, the publishers have succeeded triumphantly. The trigger for Sir Robins adventure was the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. It was a funny sort of race, with no real rules, no official start line and you could set off when you were ready. But the prize was worth having 5000 and the achievement beyond price: the objective was to be the first to sail single-handed non-stop round the world. And already some of the best yachtsmen around were circling. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (pictured) was inspired to take on the adventure by the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race and chose to give all of his prize money to Donald Crowhurst's family Pleasingly, Sir Robin is a patriotic Englishman of the old school, and very keen that a Frenchman wouldnt beat him to it. Wed never hear the last of it, he writes. When Eric Tabarly won the 1964 single-handed transatlantic race, the coverage did little for Sir Robins blood pressure. I remembered all the fuss in the French newspapers . . . Frenchman Supreme on the Anglo-Saxon Ocean, Paris-Match had screamed . . . This had made my blood boil . . . In the event Sir Robin neednt have worried about winning though he did, endlessly, as his logbooks make clear. He was the only finisher, his rivals having either retired or sunk. 75 Knox-Johnstons age when he completed his last transatlantic solo race Advertisement The tragic Donald Crowhurst famously jumped overboard after losing his mind without even leaving the Atlantic. Bernard Moitessier, a French yachting great, abandoned the race after being in a strong position to win. In an agreeably French way Moitessier, who had the soul of a poet, decided the whole thing was too commercial and just kept on sailing until he got to Tahiti. As you would. But not Sir Robin. Every piece of misfortune to force him to retire duly happened: polluted water supplies, smashed cabin top, collapsed boom, broken self-steering gear, and no radio contact for months on end. Sir Robin, who gave all his prize money to Crowhursts family, is a man who embodies the spirit of the stiff upper lip. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (pictured) had to jam his feet in the saloon to keep himself upright at one point in his exploration Blessed with immense strength of character, he endures everything the world and the oceans can throw at him with cheerful stoicism, a cigarette or two (Senior Service as like as not), a glass of brandy and a few pages of War And Peace. He is as tough as teak and intensely practical, forever diving into the sea and doing running repairs, coping with constant soakings, adjusting the steering, sewing up a ripped jib. At one point he jams himself with both feet in the saloon, trying to keep himself upright, and holds the sail between his teeth while he sews . . . only to find he has stitched the sail to his moustache. He takes an Indiana Jones approach to predators, and when dangerous sharks come too close he simply shoots them. No bother. The other pressures of course are impossible to see. He has no idea what has happened to Crowhurst, but he knows that his own friends are worried about him going round the bend as he cheerfully puts it. But he is much too level-headed for that. After a month and a half at sea and hundreds of miles from anywhere, he starts to hear voices. Unnerved, he rushes to find the cause: its the spoken introduction to a concert playing on his tape recorder. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (pictured) began hearing voices a month and a half at sea, despite being hundreds of miles from anywhere Like many such men, Sir Robin is not one to go on about things. This is a terse summation of what must have been a difficult episode as Suhaili is being built: At the same time my marriage was breaking up, and at the end of September my wife flew back to England. All was to end well though, and in 1972 he and Suzanne remarried and went on to have five grandchildren. Suzanne died in 2003. He deals with faith too, but its a fiercely practical faith, as you would expect. The rules are there, the physical laws (controlling the sea and the weather) that we have slowly learned. If we obey them we have a chance of survival. Its no use knowing your boat is heading towards the eye of a storm and praying to God to see you through it safely. Thats not his job . . . If you are trying to do a particularly difficult job and failing time and again, the knowledge that the Lord will assist if you help yourself keeps you going at it . . . and in my experience the job usually gets done. A WORLD OF MY OWN by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (Adlard Coles 10.99, 256 pp) In our shrieky, hysterical age, the proof that less is more comes at the very end of this marvellous book. After his epic journey, this great adventurer finally crosses the finishing line at Falmouth. The first people to board, he writes, were HM Customs and Excise . . . The senior officer asked the time-honoured question: Where from? Falmouth, I replied. If I have one tiny quibble, its that this is very much a sailors book, and as a landlubber who doesnt know his bowsprit from his mizzen, or his gooseneck from his halyard winch, I would have welcomed a brief glossary of terms. And some smaller detailed maps to supplement the impossibly detailed map of the world would have been helpful. But this is a wonderfully inspiring addition to anyones library. Literary quiz 2019, answers: So how many did you get right Congratulations to Mrs Linda Spevick, of Hertfordshire, who is the winner of the 2019 Literary Quiz and will be receiving a cheque for 1,000! THOMPSON, MAN.A former Mountie will not serve any jail time for the fatal on-duty shooting of a man in northern Manitoba. Abram Letkeman, 37, was sentenced Friday for criminal negligence causing bodily harm in the 2015 death of Steven Campbell outside Thompson. The former constable, who was given a medical discharge from RCMP in December, was found guilty in August but acquitted of manslaughter and other shooting-related charges. Justice Chris Martin sentenced Letkeman to three years probation, 240 hours of community service and fined him $10,000. Before sentencing, Campbells relatives said forgiveness is not an option. Steven would be alive today if you would have followed policy and not taken matters into your own hands, said his father, Robert Campbell. Shame on you again. I pray this matter haunts you for the rest of your life as it does us. The Crown had been seeking three years behind bars. The trial heard that Letkeman saw a Jeep early on a November morning as bars were closing in the community of about 15,000 people. Letkeman testified he suspected the driver was impaired and attempted a traffic stop, but it drove away. A toxicology report later showed Campbell had alcohol in his system and was almost 2 1/2 times over the legal limit to drive. Letkeman started to pursue the vehicle, but he did not communicate that to his supervisors. The trial heard that Letkeman made the decision to use his cruiser to hit the back of the Jeep in order to stop it, despite not having the training or approval from supervisors to attempt the move. The Jeep kept moving and ended up on a trail for all-terrain vehicles where Letkeman used his police cruiser to T-bone it. The officer testified he didnt wait for backup and walked in front of the Jeep to do a high-risk takedown. He said the Jeep started moving toward him, so he was forced to fire. He also said his foot had been run over so he shot as fast as he could to save his own life. Officers found 12 bullet casings at the scene and Campbell was hit at least nine times. There were four passengers in the Jeep and Campbells girlfriend, Lori Flett, was also shot. Her pelvis was also fractured in the collision. Justice Martin said Letkemans driving decisions were unwarranted, dangerous and didnt meet his training as an officer. But the judge said the officer did believe his life was in danger. Virtually nothing was reasonable from the start and each mistake built on the last. Crown prosecutors argued that Letkeman had a history of unreasonable responses, in particular when it came to suspected impaired drivers. They pointed to an incident in 2011 when he was reprimanded by the RCMP after chasing a vehicle at speeds up to 150 km/h while working in Alberta, despite being directed by superiors to discontinue. They said he had a wanton and reckless disregard for the public, other passengers in the vehicle and Campbell. Defence lawyer Josh Weinstein said Letkeman was a good officer who now suffers psychological impacts from the traumatic shooting. He said his client has genuine remorse for what happened, but added he was doing what he thought was right as a police officer. Letkeman, when given an opportunity to address court, told Campbells family he deeply regrets what happened and said he grieves the loss of their son every day. I know there is nothing I can say that will take away the pain. Michael B. Jordan has revealed what motivated him to take on the role of lawyer Bryan Stevenson in the new film, Just Mercy. The film is based on the true story of Stevenson taking on the case of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), an African-American man wrongly imprisoned for the 1986 murder of a white woman in Alabama and sentenced to death. Michael admitted on The Graham Norton Show that he was unaware of the story beforehand and took the role to make people more aware of 'real-life superhero' Stevenson. 'He is not a household name': Michael B. Jordan admitted that he was unaware of the story beforehand and took the role to make people more aware of 'real-life superhero' Stevenson In an interview on the chat show, to be aired on BBC One on Friday, Michael said: 'The story happened 35 years ago but it feels like it could be yesterday. 'I didn't know who Bryan Stevenson was, I didn't know he existed until I read his memoir and here I am reading about a real-life superhero getting people off death row who are wrongly convicted. He is not a household name and that is what made me run towards making the movie and try to get his story out to the masses.' Michael, 32, was joined on the UK chat show by his co-star Jamie, who praised blockbuster star Michael for accepting the role in the drama and continuing to promote stories centred around black characters. He said: 'I commend Michael for taking this movie. If you look at what he did with Fruitvale Station and then Black Panther to bring the narrative out for black people, I think this film completes his artistic sentence. When people watch this film, they weep and cheer because it moves your soul.' 'He was an educator of kids': Jamie Foxx revealed that Just Mercy had personal resonance as his father spent time in jail during his childhood 'I couldn't visit him in jail because I saw him as a king': Foxx opened up about his father Jamie, 52, revealed that Just Mercy had personal resonance as his father spent time in jail during his childhood. He explained: 'When Michael called me, I was humbled and honoured to be part of the project, but it is personal because they put my father in jail for seven years for having $25 of illegal substances. He was an educator of kids in the inner city and he taught me everything I know. 'I couldn't visit him in jail because I saw him as a king, but I wrote to him to say, 'Things have gotten good for me and when you get out I will save your life', and he has been living with me for 20 years now.' Jamie added: 'Here's the good part - when he saw the movie, he said, "You tell that Michael B Jordan to keep doing what he is doing because it is so important."' Just Mercy also stars Brie Larson and Rob Morgan and was released January 10, 2020. Star-studded: The Just Mercy actors were joined by Sir Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Saunders, and Michael Kiwanuka for the show The US Senate opened the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump with a quiet ceremony Thursday, senators standing at their desks to swear an oath of 'impartial justice' as jurors, House prosecutors formally reciting the charges and Chief Justice John Roberts presiding Washington: The US Senate opened the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump with a quiet ceremony Thursday senators standing at their desks to swear an oath of impartial justice as jurors, House prosecutors formally reciting the charges and Chief Justice John Roberts presiding. The trial, only the third such undertaking in American history, is unfolding at the start of the election year, a time of deep political division in the nation. Four of the senators sitting in judgment on Trump are running for the Democratic Party's nomination to challenge him in the fall. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye!" intoned the Senate's sergeant at arms, calling the proceedings to order just past noon. Senators filled the chamber, an unusual sight in itself, sitting silently under strict rules that prohibit talking or cellphones, for a trial that will test not only Trump's presidency but also the nations three branches of power and its system of checks and balances. The Constitution mandates the chief justice serve as the presiding officer, and Roberts made the short trip across the street from the Supreme Court to the Capitol. He has long insisted judges are not politicians and is expected to serve as a referee for the proceedings. Senators rose quickly when he appeared in his plain black robe. "Will all senators now stand, and remain standing, and raise their right hand," Roberts said. Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you, God? The senators responded they would, and then they lined up to sign an oath book. Trump faces two charges after the House voted to impeach him last month. One, that he abused his presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using military aid to the country as leverage. Trump is also charged with obstructing Congress ensuing probe. The president insists he did nothing wrong, and he dismissed the trial anew on Thursday at the White House: It's totally partisan. Its a hoax. Eventual acquittal is expected in the Republican-controlled Senate. However, new revelations are mounting about Trump's actions toward Ukraine. The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the White House violated federal law in withholding the security assistance to Ukraine, which shares a border with hostile Russia. At the same time, an indicted associate of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas, has turned over to prosecutors new documents linking the president to the shadow foreign policy being run by Giuliani. The developments applied fresh pressure to senators to call more witnesses for the trial, a main source of contention that is still to be resolved. The White House has instructed officials not to comply with subpoenas from Congress requesting witnesses or other information. What is the president hiding? What is he afraid of? asked Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. The gravity of these charges is self-evident," he said. The House of Representatives has accused the president of trying to shake down a foreign leader for personal gain. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the new information from Parnas demands an investigation, which she doesn't expect from Trump's attorney general. "This is an example of all of the presidents henchmen, and I hope that the senators do not become part of the presidents henchmen. Before the swearing-in, House Democrats prosecuting the case stood before the Senate and Rep. Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee formally read the articles of impeachment. Seven lawmakers, led by Schiff and Rep. Jerrold Nadler of the Judiciary Committee, made the solemn walk across the Capitol for a second day. All eyes were on Schiff as he stood at a lectern in the well of the chamber, space usually reserved for senators. House Resolution 755 Impeaching Donald John Trump, president of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanours, he began, reading the nine pages. The other House prosecutors stood in a row to his side. Senators said later that when Roberts appeared the solemnity of the occasion took hold. Security was tight at the Capitol. "I thought this is a historic moment, and you could have heard a pin drop, said Republican John Cornyn of Texas. And so I think the gravity of what are undertaking I think was sinking in for all of us. Republican House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took a far different view of the charges and proceedings. He opened the chamber decrying Pelosi's decision to hand out "souvenir pens on Wednesday after she signed the resolution to transmit the charges to the Senate. This final display neatly distilled the House's entire partisan process into one perfect visual, McConnell said. It was a transparently partisan process from beginning to end. GOP Sen. James Inhofe was absent, home in Oklahoma for a family medical issue, but plans to take the oath when he returns as the full trial begins next week, his office said. The Senate will issue a formal summons to the White House to appear, with the president's legal team expected to respond by Saturday. Opening arguments will begin on Tuesday. The president suggested recently that he would be open to a quick vote to simply dismiss the charges, but sufficient Republican support is lacking for that. Instead, the president's team expects a trial lasting no more than two weeks, according to senior administration officials. That would be far shorter than the trial of President Bill Clinton, in 1999, or the first one, of President Andrew Johnson, in 1868. Both were acquitted. It would take a super-majority of senators, 67 of the 100, to convict the president. Republicans control the chamber, 53-47, but it takes just 51 votes during the trial to approve rules, calls witnesses or dismiss the charges. A group of four Republican senators is working to ensure there will be votes on the possibility of witnesses, though it's not at all certain a majority will prevail for new testimony. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee are among those involved. I tend to believe having additional information would be helpful, Collins said in a statement. It is likely that I would support a motion to call witnesses. Romney said he wants to hear from John Bolton, the former national security adviser at the White House, who others have said raised alarms about the alternative foreign policy toward Ukraine being run by Giuliani. The House managers are a diverse group with legal, law enforcement and military experience, including Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Val Demings of Florida, Jason Crow of Colorado and Zoe Lofgren of California. Two are freshmen Crow a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Garcia a former judge in Houston. Demings is the former police chief of Orlando, and Jeffries is a lawyer and member of party leadership. Lofgren has the rare credential of having worked on a congressional staff during President Richard Nixon's impeachment he resigned before the full House voted on the charges and then being an elected lawmaker during Clinton's. Crackdown on anti-government demonstration kills two, injures dozens as security forces fire tear gas in Iraqs capital. At least two protesters have been killed and dozens injured in central Baghdad when Iraqs security forces launched tear gas canisters to disperse demonstrators trying to breach the capitals Sinak bridge, according to activists and officials. Riot police on Friday hurled sound bombs and fired tear gas after protesters attempted to breach cement barriers previously erected by security forces, three activists and a security official told The Associated Press news agency. A medical source told Reuters News Agency that one of those killed had a tear gas canister launched directly at his neck. Saboteurs attacked the barricades in the Sinak bridge area and security forces have been using non-lethal methods to stop them for hours, said a spokesman for the prime minister. The bridge is close to the capitals central Tahrir Square where thousands have been camped out for months, with recent clashes causing the authorities to restrict access to the crossing. Mass protests have gripped Iraq since October 1 with protesters demanding sweeping reforms, new leadership and snap elections. They see their political system as profoundly corrupt and keeping most Iraqis in poverty. More than 450 people have been killed since the demonstrations erupted. Gunmen killed two local journalists covering protests last Friday in the southern city of Basra. Despite numbers recently dwindling, protesters took to the streets again last week, determined to keep up the momentum of their protests despite attention turning to the threat of a US-Iran conflict after Washington killed Tehrans top general in an air strike inside Iraq. In an effort to bring back focus to the goals of the protest movement, anti-government protesters in the southern city of Nasirya gave the government a weeks deadline to take serious steps to implement changes. The deadline runs out early next week. Spain's Balearic Islands are banning happy hours, limiting alcohol sales and outlawing 'balconing' in a crackdown on British tourists. The regulations were passed on Friday in an attempt to tackle binge-drinking in the holiday hot spots. Pub crawl tours, alcoholic vending machines, party boats, free bars and adverts for alcoholic drinks have all been banned in Magaluf, Mallorca's Playa de Palma and Ibiza's Sant Antoni. Spain's Balearic Islands passed regulations on Friday to ban happy hours, limit alcohol sales and outlaw 'balconing' in a crackdown on British tourists. Pictured: Playa de Palma, Mallorca Tourists will also not be allowed to buy alcohol in these areas between 9pm and 8am. The practice of revellers jumping off balconies and into hotel swimming pools, known as 'balconing', which has killed dozens of drunken visitors was also outlawed. Anyone caught will be expelled from their hotel and could be fined up to 60,000 (51,124). Some traders have already said that the measures would hurt small businesses on the Mediterranean islands. Pictured: Magaluf Iago Negueruela, the regional official in charge of economy and tourism, said: 'With this, the Balearic Islands become the first destination in Europe to fight back against tourism based on excess.' Some traders have already said that the measures would hurt small businesses on the Mediterranean islands. The president of Mallorca's Tourism Services and Businesses Association, Jose Tirado, told Spain's state television: 'I find this exaggerated and disproportionate.' Richard Dyson A ROTHERHAM daughter is incredibly concerned about the welfare of her dad who has been missing for two months. Richard Dyson (55), of Hoyland, was reported missing by his daughter on Monday, November 25. His daughter,who lives in Aston, became worried that she had not heard from her dad since November 15. Two months after the last suspected sighting of Richard, police have issued a fresh appeal for information. Despite weeks of enquiries and extensive searches, officers still believe the last known sighting of Richard was on Sunday, November 17 at about 11pm, where he was seen walking towards the A6135 Sheffield Road in Hoyland, close to Parkside Cottage. Det Con Nasheen Oya said: We issued a direct appeal to Richard shortly before Christmas and his birthday, as these were important occasions that would normally have involved him spending time with his daughter. Sadly, Richard never got in touch with anyone and he didnt return home. Understandably, his daughter views this lack of contact as incredibly concerning as do we. It is very out of character for Richard to cease contact altogether with his daughter, who he has regularly either spoken to on the telephone or visited. His disappearance remains a focus for our officers and we want to issue a fresh appeal to the public to come forward if they believe they know anything about Richards disappearance. Today (Friday), marks two months since the last believed sighting of Richard in Hoyland, which is a considerable amount of time for him to have been away from home. Our officers continue to examine the circumstances surrounding Richard going missing and to date, have not been able to find any reason why Richard would want to leave Hoyland, leave his daughter and cease contact. Id urge anyone who may hold information about Richard, or if you know someone who knows something about Richard going missing, to get in touch. You can contact Crimestoppers in confidence and submit information via their website www.crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling their UK Contact Centre on 0800 555 111. Please, if you do hold information that could help, consider the impact this is having on Richards daughter and tell us what you know. You can call 101 quoting incident number 459 of 25 November 2019. The elections to the nearly 13,000 vacant posts of panch and sarpanch in gram panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to be held next month and a notification is this regard is expected to be issued on January 25, officials said on Friday. If the polls take place, it will be the first elections in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into union territories in August last year. The elections to about 13,000 vacant posts of panch and sarpanch in gram panchayats is likely to be held next month and a notification is expected to be issued on January 25, a Home Ministry official said. The entire election process is expected to be over by February end. The posts were lying vacant since November last year when the elections to the local bodies were held. Out of Kashmir's 20,093 panch and sarpanch seats, more than 12,500 seats have remained vacant since then. The announcement to the polls is likely to come amidst the visit of 36 union ministers to Jammu and Kashmir beginning Saturday. The 2018 polls to the local bodies had witnessed poor participation with two major regional political parties -- the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) -- boycotting it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Flood-hit Jakarta residents sue over deadly disaster Jakarta, Jan 14 (AFP) Jan 14, 2020 Jakarta's governor has been hit with a lawsuit filed by residents of the sprawling city after torrential rain sparked floods and landslides that killed dozens and left thousands homeless, a lawyer said Tuesday. More than 200 flood victims are seeking a total of 43 billion rupiah ($3 million) in compensation in the class action, which was filed Monday in Jakarta district court. The suit claims Governor Anies Baswedan was responsible for failing to provide the megacity with a proper early-warning system and effective emergency measures to minimise deaths and financial losses. The city's legal bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "This should serve as a lesson for local government elsewhere to be more aware of disaster mitigation," lawyer Alvon Kurnia Palma told AFP. "If this happens in Jakarta, where the central government is located, it could happen anywhere," he added. The disaster caused at least $72 million in damage and monetary losses, according to business lobby the Indonesian Indigenous Entrepreneurs Association. Whole neighbourhoods in the capital -- a megalopolis home to around 30 million people -- were submerged by floodwaters that forced tens of thousands into temporary shelters after torrential rains that began on New Year's Eve. It was the city's deadliest flooding in years, with Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency saying downpours that sparked floods and landslides were the heaviest in the capital since record-keeping began in the 19th century. At least 67 people in Jakarta and nearby cities were killed, with floodwaters reaching up to the second floor of some buildings after rivers burst their banks. Sources said no other country at the UNSC backed China which means that 14 out of the 15 UNSC members backed the Indian position. New Delhi: Following Beijings raising of the Kashmir issue on Wednesday at Pakistans behest for informal consultations at the UN Security Council that ended in a damp squib, India lashed out at China on Thursday, asking it to seriously reflect on this global consensus, draw the proper lessons and refrain from taking such action in future. New Delhi said the overwhelming majority of the UNSC members were of the view that UNSC was not the right forum for such issues and this should be discussed bilaterally between India and Pakistan and that the informal closed-door meeting, therefore, concluded without any outcome. Hitting out at Islamabad as well, India said it sincerely hopes that the message has gone across loud and clear to Pakistan that if at all there is any matter between India and Pakistan that needs to be discussed, it should be discussed bilaterally, adding that Pakistan can avoid this global embarrassment time and again by putting their energy in something constructive. The MEA said it once again highlighted that Pakistans desperate measures to peddle baseless allegations and presenting an alarming scenario lacked any credibility. Sources said no other country at the UNSC backed China which means that 14 out of the 15 UNSC members backed the Indian position. Sources also said Beijing seems to be under tremendous pressure from Islamabad to keep raising the issue informally at the UN. This is the third time China has attempted to raise the matter. The first was in August last year, soon after India revoked Article 370, when the UNSC informally discussed the situation in Kashmir. The second attempt was made in December, but China backed off. On why China was repeatedly insisting on raising the Kashmir issue for informal consultations at the UNSC, external affairs ministry spokes-man Raveesh Kumar said: I suggest that this question should be posed to the Chinese side as well. China should seriously reflect on this global consensus, draw the proper lessons and refrain from taking such action in future. Commenting on the issue, the MEA said: An effort was made by Pakistan through a member of the UNSC to once again misuse the platform of UNSC for discussing a bilateral matter. The overwhelming majority of UNSC members were of the view that the UNSC was not the right forum for such issues, and this should be discussed bilaterally between India and Pakistan. The informal closed-door meeting, therefore, concluded without any outcome. It once again highlighted that Pakistans desperate measures to peddle baseless allegations and presenting an alarming scenario lacked any credibility. We sincerely hope that the message has gone across loud and clear to Pakistan that if at all there is any matter between India and Pakistan that needs to be discussed, it should be discussed bilaterally. Pakistan can avoid this global embarrassment time and again by putting their energy in something constructive. From the 1930s through the 60s, Carmel Snow, Alexey Brodovitch and Diana Vreeland worked with era-defining giants like Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus and Man Ray on features that took the building blocks of fashion shape, silhouette and transformed them into ideas and emotions, caught in a moment so powerfully that many of those images now reside in an assortment of museums. Then, after two decades in the wilderness (or, really, supermarket checkout counters, which is where the focus went under Anthony Mazzola in the 70s), the magazine returned to its glory in the 90s under Liz Tilberis, who won ASME awards (the magazine worlds Oscars) for design and photography in 1993. They were the last such prizes the magazine would win. David Sims, Inez and Vinoodh, Craig McDean, Mario Testino, Juergen Teller, Terry Richardson, Steven Klein, all these photographers were at Bazaar first, Fabien Baron, the magazines creative director under Ms. Tilberis, said in an interview on Thursday. (Many of the highlights from that era can be found in Fabien Baron: Works 1983-2019, a brick-size coffee-table book released this fall.) Ms. Tilberis died of cancer in 1999 and was replaced for a tumultuous two years by Kate Betts; in 2001, Ms. Bailey took over, moving from inside Hearst, where she had served as the editor of Marie Claire, the companys upper-middle-class alternative to Cosmopolitan. Ms. Bailey restored the famous logo that had been jettisoned by Ms. Betts. She also brought back Hiro, whose phosphorescent beauty shoots for the magazine under both Ms. Tilberis and Ms. Vreeland had been among the magazines high water marks. But Ms. Baileys desire to make the pages more and more consumable, more service-driven, gradually altered the expectations and understanding of what photography in a high-end magazine needed (or didnt need) to be. It could even be an ad: Ms. Bailey ran Madonna on the cover of her September 2003 issue, with pictures that came from a new Gap campaign. Even by the ordinary standards of glossy magazines (where the relationship between editorial and commercial is increasingly porous), that was pretty brazen. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has shed light on his 'difficult' divorce with wife Carmel, a year after the couple of 30 years called it quits. Mr Albanese said he was not expecting the break-up with former NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt, which happened on January 1 last year. The pair married in 2000 and have a 19-year-old son called Nathan, who lives with the Labor Leader in Marrickville in Sydney's inner-west. Mr Albanese - then a Labor frontbencher - said it was 'really tough' and a 'difficult period' in an eye-opening interview with The Herald Sun. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has shed light on his 'difficult' divorce with wife Carmel, one-year after the couple of 30 years called it quits. They are pictured together in 2018 Mr Albanese, who reluctantly speaks about the relationship, said he was not expecting the break-up with former NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt when it happened on January 1, 2019 'It wasn't something that I expected. It wasn't something that I was prepared for,' he said. 'I'm an emotional person and I found it very difficult.' Mr Albanese, who remains single and admits the break-up wasn't his decision, said it was still taking a period of time to accept and come to terms with the end of the relationship. He swiftly announced the couple were separating in a statement released on January 7, 2019. 'I am deeply saddened that my relationship of 30 years with Carmel Tebbutt has ended in separation,' the statement said. 'We will continue to share parenting responsibilities for our 18-year-old son Nathan, who has successfully completed his HSC and has developed into an outstanding young man who we are both proud of.' The statement said no third parties have been involved in the split. In the wake of the separation, Mr Albanese followed a commitment in the US before travelling to Europe for a self-funded break. The former couple married in 2000 and share a 19-year-old son called Nathan, who lives with the Labor Leader in Marrickville, Sydney's inner-west. They are picture at the annual Mid Winter Ball at Parliament House in 2016 The opposition leader said it allowed him to clear his head and return to Australia with a 'renewed sense of energy' before the Federal Election on May 18, 2019. 'I thought Carmel would be my life partner and that wasn't the case,' Mr Albanese said. Mr Albanese said he is very proud of his son, who is a 'smart young man' and now tackling university life. He declared his relationship with Nathan to be the strongest it's ever been as they were forced to rely on each other more than ever in their two-person household. The Labor Leader added his son spends time with his mother and the pair have a good relationship. Mr Albanese met his former partner in Young Labor during the late 1980s. Ms Tebbutt was a NSW Labor MP for 17 years before departing state politics in 2015. She was deputy premier between 2008 and 2011 - the first woman to hold the position - under leaders Nathan Rees and Kristina Keneally. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 01:57:53|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The National Oil Corporation (NOC) of the UN-backed Libyan government on Friday condemned calls to close oil ports ahead of the Berlin conference. "The board of directors of the NOC strongly condemns calls to blockade oil ports ahead of the Berlin Conference on Sunday," Mustafa Sanalla, chairman of the NOC, said. Civil society institutions and activists in eastern Libya called for the closure of oil ports, in protest against Turkish military intervention in Libya, claiming that oil revenues are used to support armed groups against the eastern-based army in Tripoli. "The oil and gas sector is the lifeblood of the Libyan economy and the single source of income for the Libyan people. The oil and the oil facilities belong to the Libyan people. They are not cards to be played to solve political matters," Sanalla said. Sanalla warned that shutting down oil production and exporting will lead to collapse of the exchange rate of local currency against foreign currencies, huge increase in the national deficit, departure of foreign contractors and loss of future production. The eastern-based army of Libya has been leading a military campaign since April 2019 in and around Tripoli, trying to take over the capital city and topple the UN-backed government. The fighting killed or injured thousands of people, and forced more than 120,000 to flee their homes. Berlin will host and international conference on Libya on Sunday, with the participation of both parties in the conflict as well as regional and international countries. The conference aims to end the deadly armed conflict between the two rivals and resume political dialogue in the country. Diane Anderson TCSO Booking Photo View Photo Sonora, CA The first of two persons convicted for a horrific multi-vehicle crash along J/59 La Grange Road walked free from jail this week. Local nurse Diane Anderson was released Monday from Tuolumne County Jail after serving about four months behind bars. According to Tuolumne County Sheriffs spokesperson Sgt. Nicco Sandelin, she got eight days off based on the completion of programs and was released an additional two days earlier than predicted based on overcrowding at the jail. After her sentencing, Tuolumne County District Attorney Laura Krieg shared with Clarke Broadcasting that by statute, Anderson would be eligible to receive conduct credits that could result in her only serving about 50 percent of her sentence, and that when released she would also have to complete 30 days of work release, 300 hours of community service, and 90 days of house arrest. It was last January when a jury found her husband, Dr. Danny Anderson guilty of illegally passing over double yellow lines and causing the triple fatal crash in October 2016. He was sentenced to five years and four months in state prison with Krieg noting at the time in accordance with statute and as he had served four months while awaiting sentencing he would probably complete half his sentence before release. While the couple was originally set to be tried together, the court decided in favor of their legal representations request to hold separate proceedings. Once he was convicted, her attorney successfully sought a change of venue. Her trial was subsequently held at the San Joaquin County Courthouse in Stockton, where she was convicted on three counts of being an accessory to vehicular manslaughter and for concealing evidence. Viet Nam had a trade deficit of more than US$1 billion with Australia last year, one year after the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into effect. Coal imports from Australia were valued at $1.45 billion last year. Photo baodautu.vn Of which, coal was the imported commodity with the highest value of US$1.45 billion in the first 11 months of last year, rocketing by 96.8 per cent over the previous year, accounting for 35 per cent of total import turnover of goods from this market. Ore and minerals ranked second, valued at $517 million, accounting for 12.5 per cent of the total import turnover from Australia. Metal products ranked third in turnover, followed by wheat and iron and steel scrap. Two-way trade between Viet Nam and Australia has changed significantly a year after the CPTPP came into effect, said the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Accordingly, the trade balance has shifted from trade surplus to trade deficit. Viet Nam had a trade surplus with Australia of $215 million in 2018. Two-way trade reached nearly $8.1 billion last year. Viet Nams export turnover to Australia was $3.5 billion last year, down sharply from nearly $4 billion in 2018. On the opposite side, Viet Nams imports from Australia increased to $4.56 billion from $3.75 billion in 2018. VNS Despite early reports that no Americans were harmed, 11 U.S. service members did sustain injuries in a ballistic missile attack this month that required transport for follow-up care, officials with U.S. Central Command have confirmed. On Jan. 8, Iran struck Iraqi bases at Al Asad and Erbil, where U.S. and Iraqi troops trained together. The attack was in retaliation for a U.S. airstrike days before that killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. While U.S. officials have not yet released a full accounting of damage sustained on the bases, it was described by President Donald Trump the following day as "minimal." "I'm pleased to inform you: The American people should be extremely grateful and happy no Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime," Trump said in a Jan. 9 address to the nation. "We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases." On Thursday, however, DefenseOne first reported that 11 troops were actually hurt in the blast, requiring medical evacuation to locations in Germany and Kuwait. Related: Lawmaker: Base Attacks in Iraq Underscore China Threat In a statement released late Thursday night, CENTCOM spokesman Navy Capt. Bill Urban confirmed the reporting. "While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," he said. "As a standard procedure, all personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injury, and if deemed appropriate are transported to a higher level of care." Eight individuals were transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, he said, and three were moved to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait for follow-on screening in what Urban described as an "abundance of caution." "When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening," he said. "The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority and we will not discuss any individual's medical status." In a Thursday briefing, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman credited military early warning systems with detecting incoming missiles and allowing troops to reach shelter as the strikes began. Follow-up reporting, though, has made clear that missiles did come frighteningly close to where troops sheltered and operated. One Army drone operator told the New York Times "it was like a scene from an action movie;" photographs from the publication show the wreckage of a hangar and other structures destroyed by the blasts. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Read More: Destroyer Commander Fired After Navy Loses Confidence in His Ability to Lead The big picture: Leica has even gone so far as to remove its iconic red dot logo from the front of the camera and color-filled engravings for a very minimalist look. The design element further enhances the black and white character of the camera, were told. German camera manufacturer Leica on Friday introduced the M10 Monochrom, a camera for niche photographers only interested in shooting in black and white. Leicas third generation Monochrom, the M10 features a newly developed 40-megapixel sensor. The companys earlier offerings in the line, original M Monochrom and the M Monochrom (Typ 246), utilized modified versions of the color image sensors from other M products but this one was purpose built for this specific camera. Elsewhere, youll find a wide ISO range of 160 to 100,000, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity and all of the trappings of a production M10-P. Leica said it features the quietest shutter release of any M-series camera ever built, making it ideal for street photography. Notably, there arent any video recording capabilities. This is strictly a photo-only camera. The Leica M10 Monochrom is compatible with all lenses in the Leica M portfolio. Look for it to arrive by the end of the month priced at $8,295 for the body. Those interested in setting up a pre-order can do so from today over at B&H Photo. Laois-Offaly IFA are hosting a debate on agriculture and rural issues with the Laois/Offaly Constituency General Election candidates. The debate will take place in the Community Centre, Rosenallis on Thursday, January 30 at 8pm. IFA is meeting with candidates in all constituencies during the General Election campaign. At national level, IFA will be engaging with the party leaders and agriculture spokespersons in advance of polling day. IFA Laois Chairman Francie Gorman said, "IFA will work to ensure that politicians and political parties establish policies that promise a real and positive impact on agriculture and rural Ireland. We expect firm commitments from all parties that they will undertake actions to support agriculture, put the sustainable and profitable growth of family farming to the fore and prioritise the rejuvenation of rural Ireland as an essential element of economic recovery. "Crucially, when a new Government is in place, they must make good on their election promises on agriculture as an utmost priority IFA will be holding them to account on their commitments in any Programme for Government." Francie Gormanis urging all farmers to attend and have their say. They are also invited to attend the AGM of Laois in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel on Monday, February 3 at 8pm. Newly elected President of IFA Tim Cullinan wil address this meeting. New Delhi: Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin on Friday asserted that all S-400 air defence missile systems will be delivered to India by 2025. While talking to the news agency ANI, Roman Babushkin said, We will give 5 S-400 missiles defence system (to India) by 2025. Russia is possessing one of the world's best defence system and it would serve well for Indian security. He further added that the production of S-400 missiles is already begun. On China's attempt to raise the issue of Kashmir at the Security Council, the Russial official said, "It's a strictly bilateral matter to discuss between India and Pakistan based on Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration. "Those having doubts over India's approach on Kashmir can go there, we don't have any doubt," he added. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Russia on March 22 and March 23 to attend a meeting of the Russia-Indian-China trilateral, Kudashev concluded. On October 5, 2018, India had signed the $5 billion deal to purchase S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia during President Vladimir Putins two-day visit to New Delhi. However, the US had earlier warned India against the defence deal with Russia. Under the amended Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), President Trump has the authority to grant a waiver to India for the deal with sanctions-hit Russia. Also Read: President Ram Nath Kovind Rejects Mercy Plea Of Nirbhaya Convict Mukesh Singh: Sources It is worth mentioning here that S-400 is an upgraded version of the S-300. Previously, the missile defence system had only been available to the Russian defence forces. The S-400 the missile defence system manufactured by Almaz-Antey and has been in service in Russia since 2007. (With PTI Inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Forest City Elementary School first grade teacher Melissa Taft is the first teacher in the district to be awarded the 2020 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award for the North Central Iowa Region. Taft was presented the $3,000 award by North Central Iowa Regional STEM Coordinator Kelly Bergman. Taft was honored for her work with educators, schools, businesses and other organizations to increase awareness and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The region is part of the Iowa Governors STEM Advisory Council, created to increase awareness of STEM and prepare students for jobs requiring those skills in the future. Taft won $3,000 for her classroom and $1,500 for personal use. "It is really an honor to have won the $3,000 for our school and our community to continue STEM education, said Melissa Taft. I think STEM is really important and teaches kids not only skills for their future professions but also for their future lives. Those skills, according to Taft, are collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity, which she considers important. She also pointed out that the sooner that children are taught those skills at a young age, the more likely those children are going to seek those types of professions later on. A special recognition ceremony will be held in Des Moines on Wednesday, Feb. 19, which is also recognized as STEM day at the Capitol. Taft, who was nominated by elementary school principal Brad Jones, was recognized because she has continued to apply and encourage and coordinate others applying for funding to provide STEM programming, according to a press release. Taft also works with STEM Big Buddies, which pairs first and fifth grade students so that they can be creative and learn together. Beyond her work with students and staff, she has worked hard to showcase the hard work of our teachers by presenting at Central Rivers AEA Student Technology Conference and hosting booth at STEM festivals, according to the press release. Jesusa Christians is the Community Editor of the Forest City/Britt Summit-Tribune. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A 41-year-old Co Tyrone man has been remanded into custody after being convicted at Belfast Crown Court of blowing up a police station more than two decades ago. Refusing bail to father-of-four Paul Campbell, Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland told him that a prison sentence was inevitable and that there was "no reason why he should not start serving it now". Campbell, from The Mills, Coalisland, had denied causing the explosion at the RUC station on March 26, 1997. He maintained he was innocently caught up in events while going to get a video, and was shot and wounded by an undercover soldier. He then fled to the Republic where he was treated in Louth Hospital. However, Judge McFarland dismissed the claims, ruling that he was "sure" that Campbell was assisting the bomber, who was also shot and wounded by 'Soldier A', arrested and subsequently jailed. Judge McFarland, who delivered his judgment yesterday after hearing Campbell's case without a jury, said for all of the reasons set out in his 34-page judgment, "I am satisfied that the prosecution have proved to the extent that I am firmly convinced that the defendant unlawfully and maliciously caused an explosion of a nature likely to endanger life". However, no verdict was returned on the alternative charge of possessing explosives with intent, as it was not required. Campbell will be sentenced on February 26 following the presentation of pre-sentence reports. Judge McFarland said the background to the incident involved Soldier A, who was with several other soldiers in civilian clothing in Coalisland that evening on a completely separate surveillance operation when he spotted two men running along Line Quay in the town. His suspicions raised, he left his unmarked car as the two men disappeared down an alleyway, followed moments later by the sound of two explosions, and the two men running back out of the alleyway. As the men appeared "rummaging" around their waist area, fearing for his life Soldier A fired two warning shots into the air after identifying himself as "Army, Army, Army". However, as one of the men continued running in his direction the soldier shot and wounded the man, later identified as Gareth Doris. He was jailed in September 1998 for his involvement. Soldier A then turned his attention to the second man, who was getting into a white car that drove off, with the soldier firing at both the suspect and the car. Judge McFarland said it was the prosecution case, a circumstantial case, that Campbell was this second man, and that he was the bomber, or assisting the actual bomber, Doris, and that both were acting jointly. In either of these "scenarios the defendant is guilty of the offences in causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property". Turning to the defence case, the judge said "the core" of Campbell's case was that "Soldier A has invented the presence of the second man to justify his actions that evening with the alleged unlawful discharge of his weapon generally, and specifically at Gareth Doris, at the defendant and towards two occupied vehicles". And on his own case, Campbell claimed he had gone to town that evening to get a video, although he did not see any running men, nor Doris getting shot, although he was aware of an explosion and of shots being fired. He also described two men firing shots, and of feeling a burning sensation in his groin area. Then on reaching the white car, he "instinctively got into the vehicle", only for another man also to climb in beside him. Eventually the car stopped and Campbell ended up in his grandmother's, where after a family meeting he was advised not to go to hospital in the north for treatment. To do so, being innocent and shot, would run the risk of arrest. However, Judge McFarland said "the story has all the appearance of one concocted to fit the prosecution case against him" and it was only when the challenge to the accuracy of the forensic evidence from the white car could not stand that Campbell "came forward with the version which he eventually gave in evidence". And he added: "A finding which rejects the defence's explanation as to his presence in Lineside Quay is not sufficient by itself to find him guilty, but the elimination of his explanation as to what happened and what he did, does support the prosecution's case against him". She posts videos of her workouts, and surfed in the frigid Atlantic on New Year's Day. Now Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard has proved her mettle and muscle by winning a townhall push-up contest against a supporter. The four-term congresswoman from Hawaii and combat veteran who served in Iraq, was answering questions at a campaign event Thursday in Manchester, New Hampshire when an attendee mentioned how frontrunner Joe Biden, the 77-year-old former vice president, recently challenged someone in his audience to push-ups. "Do you think you could take him?" the supporter asked Tulsi? Game on. Gabbard, 38 and wearing heels, dropped to the stage floor with the attendee. Video posted on Gabbard's Twitter feed Friday shows them going head to head for nine push-ups before the supporter rolls over in apparent defeat. "The dude clearly had at least 20 more in him," one observer posted on Twitter. "So did I," Gabbard responded. The staunch anti-war candidate, who does not hesitate to challenge rivals over foreign policy, has unquestioned physical fitness, but it has yet to translate into political muscle. She polls better in New Hampshire than in most states, with 3.3 percent average support, but still trails substantially in a crowded field. Gabbard often posts videos of her workouts, sometimes recorded in an empty hotel gym where she steals breaks from the campaign trail. On January 1 she donned a wetsuit and surfed the waves off New Hampshire in 42-degree (5.5 degrees Celsius) weather. Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard, a congresswoman from Hawaii, has shown her physical fitness for office, winning a push-up contest against a supporter Kate Beckinsale was getting the laughs on Instagram on Thursday evening when she saw a picture of Steven Tyler and thought it was herself. An Instagram account called @s***theadsteve shared the picture of the leopard print wearing Aerosmith frontman, 71. It had the words: 'Steven Tyler looks like your friends mom who didnt care if people drank as long as no one drove.' 'Legit thought this was me': Kate Beckinsale, 46, got people giggling when she confused herself with Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, 71 on Instagram Kate, 46, had written underneath: 'Legit thought this was me.' Then people went wild in the comments section, with Adam The Creator writing: 'this is a great one.' Carole Adzo Will wrote: 'It's me.' And a lot of people posted crying face emojis. Loving life: Kate is a big fan of social media and loves to show her funny side (pictured: 2014) Steven was at least dressed in this picture as last month, he took part in a nude photoshoot for Haute Living. In the accompanying interview, the father of Liv Tyler got candid about getting sober while in his record breaking rock band, admitting, 'the early 80s were terrible, and drugs took us down.' On seeking help for his addiction, Tyler said, 'there were no such things as rehabs [at that time]; there were mental institutions.' 'I went away in 84 and 86, and I didnt really get it.' Steven said that within the band he 'was the first one to get treatment' after management and his band mates 'pulled an intervention on me'. 'I got sober, and you know it took me many years to get over the anger of them sending me to rehab while they went on vacation.' 'But today because of that moment I am grateful and owe a thanks to them for my sobriety,' said the Janie's Got a Gun hitmaker. Apart from Tyler, Aerosmith is comprised of Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer and Brad Whitford. Founded in Boston, 1970, Steven described the hitmakers as 'a band that sat together in New Hampshire, New England in the 1970s that had a dream.' Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin gives his company's updated business plan during a presentation session on the sidelines of this year's JPMorgan Healthcare Conference held in San Francisco, Thursday (KST). Yonhap By Kim Yoo-chul Celltrion said Friday it was reviewing the possibility of a potential merger between group affiliates after chairman Seo Jung-jin floated the idea in a healthcare forum in the United States, a day before. "Celltrion is reviewing the possibility for a potential merger between group affiliates but only based on the condition that the plan gets major backing from shareholders of the affiliates. Regarding the specifics on how and the timing, nothing has been decided yet," the company said in a regulatory filing to the Korea Exchange (KRX). "We will clarify our plan to the operator once the relevant specifics regarding the merger are fixed," the major biosimilar manufacturer said. During the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference held in San Francisco, Thursday (KST), Chairman Seo told investors that he would move forward with combining group affiliates. Right after the talks, stocks of Celltrion, Celltrion Pharm and Celltrion Healthcare gained on the stock market here. At the forum, Seo said he will inform shareholders of the group affiliates about the potential benefits from their standpoint if the plan goes ahead. Currently Celltrion is in charge of handling biologic agents, while Celltrion Pharma has been assigned to develop synthetic drugs, with Celltrion Healthcare handling the distribution of these overseas. The Celltrion boss stressed the merger will be beneficial to investors in the group affiliates, saying he was committed to maintaining the operating profit margin of the combined entity at 50 percent. However, some critics and market watchers said the merger is aimed at addressing issues over alleged "unfair business practices." Celltrion has long been alleged of direct involvement in dividing group-wide contracts among group affiliates. South Korea's tax agency fined the group in 2013 and 2014 and ordered it to rectify this unfair business practice. In 2012, out of the total revenue of Celltrion, Celltrion Healthcare accounted for 94.57 percent, alone. A year later, the portion reached 98.65 percent. "By floating the merger idea, the Celltrion boss is tapping a possible response from the market. But I think Seo is hoping to further strengthen his grip on the entire group by presenting a rather aggressive business expansion plan and spending more on shareholder dividends," an industry official told The Korea Times. At the event, Seo said Celltrion will accelerate its moves to diversify its product portfolio beyond biosimilars, saying three vaccines to prevent pneumonia, influenza and shingles will be developed, with the firm seeking approval from the U.S. FDA to promote these modified synthetic drugs by the end of the year. He said the group plans to build a plant in China with an annual capacity of up to 120,000 liters, by teaming up with a local government there, though he didn't go into details. This is separate from another plan to add a 200,000-liter plant in Songdo, Incheon, South Korea, according to Seo. Given the low cost-effectiveness of developing drugs using expensive technology, pipeline setbacks are a major deterrent. That means most leading drug makers are years away from possible approval that makes returns more uncertain. This trend is offering a better chance for major biosimilar manufacturers including Samsung BioLogics to expand their business territories. Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong talked over the phone with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on January 16, on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year festival and the 70th anniversary of Vietnam-China diplomatic ties. Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong (Photo: VNA) Party chief Trong congratulated the Chinese Party,government and people on their achievements in national development over thepast years. He wished the Chinese people, under the leadership of the CommunistParty of China, new successes in the cause of building socialism with Chinesecharacteristics. The Vietnamese leader said despite ups and downs since theestablishment of bilateral diplomatic ties seven decades ago, friendship andcooperation are always the mainstream in the ties between the two Parties andcountries. He affirmed that the bilateral friendship and comprehensivestrategic cooperative partnership meet the keen aspirations and essentialinterests of the two peoples. Trong expressed his view that both sides should maintain theirtraditional friendship and step up practical and mutually-beneficialcooperation in all areas, strengthen people-to-people exchange, thus creating asolid social foundation for bilateral ties. He said the two sides should persist in using peacefulmeasures to satisfactorily settle existing issues in bilateral ties on thebasis of the common perceptions by leaders of the two countries and Parties, inline with international law, thus contributing to the stable and healthydevelopment of Vietnam China ties, for the benefit of the two peoples, andfor peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world. Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi, for hispart, congratulated the Vietnamese people on their achievements since the 12th National Party Congress. He also warmly congratulated the Communist Party of Vietnam(CPV) on its 90th founding anniversary and expressed his belief thatunder the leadership of the CPV, the Vietnamese people will score greaterachievements in the next period. The Party, Government and people of China attach importanceto the traditional neighbourly friendship with Vietnam, and stay ready to workwith Vietnam to foster political trust, boost substantive collaboration invarious areas to bring benefits to the two peoples, and intensifypeople-to-people exchange to lay solid foundation for bilateral links, he said. Xi affirmed that China will actively support Vietnam so thatit will fulfill its role as a non-permanent member of the United NationsSecurity Council for the 2020-2021 tenure and Chair of the ASEAN in 2020./.VNA Today we are going to look at International Housewares Retail Company Limited (HKG:1373) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. To be precise, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that will inform our view of the quality of the business. First, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. Finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities affect its ROCE. What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)? ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike. How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed? The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for International Housewares Retail: 0.17 = HK$145m (HK$1.5b - HK$633m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2019.) So, International Housewares Retail has an ROCE of 17%. Check out our latest analysis for International Housewares Retail Is International Housewares Retail's ROCE Good? One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. Using our data, we find that International Housewares Retail's ROCE is meaningfully better than the 12% average in the Specialty Retail industry. I think that's good to see, since it implies the company is better than other companies at making the most of its capital. Separate from International Housewares Retail's performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms looks satisfactory, and it may be worth researching in more depth. The image below shows how International Housewares Retail's ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth. Story continues SEHK:1373 Past Revenue and Net Income, January 16th 2020 When considering this metric, keep in mind that it is backwards looking, and not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. How cyclical is International Housewares Retail? You can see for yourself by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow. What Are Current Liabilities, And How Do They Affect International Housewares Retail's ROCE? Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets. International Housewares Retail has total liabilities of HK$633m and total assets of HK$1.5b. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 42% of its total assets. With this level of current liabilities, International Housewares Retail's ROCE is boosted somewhat. What We Can Learn From International Housewares Retail's ROCE International Housewares Retail's ROCE does look good, but the level of current liabilities also contribute to that. There might be better investments than International Housewares Retail out there, but you will have to work hard to find them . These promising businesses with rapidly growing earnings might be right up your alley. I will like International Housewares Retail 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. Indigenous street pop act, Mr Real took to his Instagram page to celebrate his beautiful daughter as she turned 3 on Wednesday. The proud father and Onigbese hit maker took to his Instagram page to share photos and videos of his daughter with the words; My daughter is 3 today and since she came into my life is blessings upon blessings You will always be my sunshine, my little angel. You make each year brighter and you continue to illuminate our lives Daddy loves you so much! Happy birthday mummy. See the full post below: https://www.instagram.com/p/B7W6ae2BuMk/?igshid=1ctclj4lycoi In brief: While most critics of social media giants agree that we need better regulation to increase accountability, Joe Biden thinks an easier route would be to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that gives those companies the excuse of enabling free speech and giving users a voice. Joe Biden isn't a fan of Facebook, and likely not a fan of fake campaign sites that troll and garner more attention than his actual campaign. The Democratic front-runner told the New York Times during an 80-minute interview that to him, the Facebook CEO is "a real problem. [...] He knows better." Biden alluded to the fact that Facebook, like other social giants and owners of big digital platforms don't want to take full editorial responsibilities and enforce a strict filter on what can be posted on them. In the case of Facebook, Zuckerberg says he wants it to be a tool that gives the little guys a powerful voice, and as such he will prioritize free speech over policing content. This means that Facebook can find excuses that all stem from Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which offers special protections for internet companies. However, Biden thinks Facebook is not just an internet company and that Section 230 should be revoked to make it easy to hold such companies responsible for "propagating falsehoods they know to be false." Biden also advocates for setting similar privacy standards to those imposed by the EU. But his eyes are set on the 20-year-old Communications Decency Act, and Republicans have expressed similar criticisms and proposed several changes to the law. Meanwhile, other political figures are proposing even more extreme measures against executives of companies that currently pay a relatively small price for their privacy violations and their inaction on misinformation campaigns. One notable example is the "Mind Your Own Business" act proposed by Senator Ron Wyden, which could punish those like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg directly. In any case, Biden is the only presidential candidate that has asked for Section 230 to be repealed. Last year, President Donald Trump said he had a "constructive meeting" with Mark Zuckerberg about internet regulation and preventing the dissemination of harmful content, but only discussed those issues in more general lines. Abby Huntsman quit The View after a series of reports claiming there was tension in the cast. The Republican pundit shocked viewers when she announced she was leaving the show after only two seasons. Although she was not the loudest voice on the panel, her conservative take on issues was important. Gearing up to farewell, we now know when she will be exiting the ABC program. Abby Huntsman | Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty Images After much deliberation over the holidays, I have decided to leave the show to dedicate myself full-time in support of my dad and his campaign for Governor of Utah, Huntsman said on Mondays show. In a statement released to People ahead of her official announcement on the talk show, she said: Family has always been my number one priority, and is where I need to be focused at this time. We are incredibly close and are there to support and help each other when it matters. Its not often there is a political campaign that involves someone you love and believe in, but this is one of them. At the same time that she announced her time at The View was up, Huntsman said her last day on the show was on January 17. Im so thankful for this opportunity and for ABC believing in me, the host added. It was always a dream to sit at The View table. I have the deepest gratitude for all of my co-hosts and the team at The View who dont get enough credit for what they do every day Ive learned so much from each of them and this will always be a special place to me. Was Abby Huntsman on the verge of getting fired? Following the news of Huntsmans departure, there were rumors that she was already being considered to receiving to getting the ax. Abby was added to the show without chemistry-testing with the other women mainly because she had a prior relationship with Meghan McCain and ABC was desperate to make Meghan appear more likable, a source told the Daily Mail. But it didnt take execs long to realize that Abby talked a lot, but she never really said anything. Her points and opinions never really landed with the audience because it often lacked substance. Despite the reports from anonymous sources, Huntsman enjoyed her time on the morning show. In a note to the staff on The View, Huntsman wrote a sweet message to everyone. To the Best Team in TV, ABC has been my family for a long time and I am so thankful to have had a seat at the table on an iconic show like The View. After much deliberation over the holidays, I have decided to leave the show to dedicate myself full-time in support of my dad and his campaign for Governor of Utah, the note read according to People. Huntsman will be getting a farewell from all of her co-hosts on Friday, January 17. The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. PT/CT on ABC. Willie Nash, 39, was given a 12 year prison sentence for possession of a cell phone A Mississippi man has been jailed for 12 years for bringing a cell phone into his jail cell after being arrested on a misdemeanor. Willie Nash, 39, was booked into Newton County Jail on an unspecified misdemeanor. It is unclear exactly when it happened or why he was booked but it was before August 2018, the date of his sentencing for the cell phone charge. No one had confiscated his cell phone and he asked a correctional officer if he could charge it after texting his wife to let her know he had been taken into custody. The guard confiscated it and reported him, and he was charged with possession of contraband. In August 2018, a judge sentenced him to 12 years for the offense and called him 'fortunate'. It carries a maximum sentence of 15 years. Nash will be eligible for parole in three years. His tentative release date is February 4 2029. Nash did not appeal the conviction but did appeal the sentence to the State Supreme Court. In a decision rendered earlier this month, its justices agreed the sentence was harsh but they upheld it, saying it was within the confines of the law. The case has received heightened attention now amid a swell of criticism against Mississippi's prison system and its treatment of African American inmates. In his appeal of the sentence, Nash called the sentence 'grossly disproportionate'. Mississippi Supreme Court justices Leslie King - the only African American justice on the Supreme Court - said the case 'seems to demonstrate a failure of our criminal justice system on multiple levels' No details of the misdemeanor crime he was originally booked on are given in the decision from the Supreme Court. He was represented by a public defender. In the decision, the justices say Nash - who is a husband and father - had a criminal history including convictions for burglary. Justice Leslie King is currently the only African American justice on the nine-member court. Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James Maxwell wrote the decision saying while it was harsh, it fell within the confines of the law He wrote that Willie Nash's case 'seems to demonstrate a failure of our criminal justice system on multiple levels' because it's not clear whether Nash was properly searched or told not to take his phone into his cell when he was booked on a misdemeanor charge. 'Though harsh, Nashs sentence falls within the statutory range,' Justice James Maxwell wrote for the high court on Jan. 9. King wrote that Nash's case is an example of why prosecutors and judges have 'wide discretion.' 'Nash served his time for his previous convictions and stayed out of trouble with the law for many years,' King wrote. 'He has a wife and three children who rely on him. His crime was victimless, and the facts of the case lend themselves to an interpretation that his crime was accidental and likely caused by a failure in booking procedures.' 'Nash did not do anything nefarious with his phone, and he certainly did not hide his phone from law enforcement,' King added. 'Both the prosecutor and the trial court should have taken a more rehabilitative, rather than punitive, stance.' In an undated photo taken inside Mississippi State Penitentiary, inmates are shown lying shoulder to shoulder in a dirty cell, covering themselves with blankets to stay warm. There is growing criticism of the state's prison system A 2012 Mississippi law sets a sentencing range of three to 15 years for inmates found with deadly weapons, cellphones or components of cellphones in state jails and prisons. Corrections officials have said for years that contraband cellphones are a problem in the state's jails and prisons. During an outbreak of violence that left five inmates dead and an undisclosed number of other inmates injured between Dec. 29 and Jan. 3, some inmates used cellphones to take photos and videos that showed, among other things, prisoners sleeping on the floor of a crowded cell and smoke filling a corridor and cells at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Cliff Johnson, director of the MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi law school, said Thursday that the problem with the Nash case comes from decisions made in the local trial court. Johnson said lawmakers set a wide sentencing range for jail contraband cases, but that does not force prosecutors and judges to go for the harshest punishment. Mississippi has one of the highest incarceration rates in the U.S. 'Anybody who thinks there's not a connection between sentences like this and the recent violence in our prisons hasn't been paying attention,' Johnson told The Associated Press. She has been serving as the Chief Operating Officer since joining the bank in November 2015. In May last year, Warrier took additional charge as Business Head for Retail Products. Private sector lender Federal Bank said on Thursday that its Chief Operating Officer Shalini Warrier has taken over as Additional Executive Director on the board of directors for a period of three years. A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, she is also a certified associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers. Warrier is in charge of spearheading the digital strategy and enhancing operational excellence through automation and digitalisation designed to improve client experience besides focusing on optimising the cost of delivery. "She will play a key role in all initiatives designed to deliver greater value to stakeholders," the bank said in a statement. Warrier brings with her more than 25 years of banking experience. She has worked with Standard Chartered Bank in multiple disciplines across various geographies that include India, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. A Ukrainian man nearly lost his genitals after his wife put him in a painful DIY chastity belt for being unfaithful. The unnamed man in his 40s, from the city of Zaporizhia, in southern Ukraine, told doctors that he woke up one morning earlier this week to find a big metal nut screwed onto his wiener. It had been installed by his wife, as a way to stop him from being unfaithful, but the man claimed that it was strangulating his organ. He tried removing it himself, but the nut didnt budge, so he had no choice but to call an ambulance. Photo: AlexanderStein/Pixabay Unfortunately for the desperate man, hospital staff could do little to help with his delicate problem, so a specialist team of rescuers were called in. They used a circular saw to slice the piece of metal in two, while pouring water on it to keep it from overheating because of the friction. There wasnt too much they could do about the sparks, so the patient just had to endure. We received a call from doctors who asked to remove the nut, rescuer Oleksandr Brienko said. We used special equipment to do the job. The man was lying on the surgical operating table under anaesthesia while we were cutting the object off. We often face similar incidents and are quite trained in removing rings, handcuffs and other objects off peoples bodies. In this case, we actually saved the mans penis. He will be able to become a father in the future, fellow rescuer Eduard Nekhoroshev added. The Ukrainian man is currently being treated in the hospital, but is expected to make a full recovery. According to local media reports, he is considering asking for a divorce. Advertisement Claire Sweeney looked incredible when she was pictured emerging out of the water in Barbados on Friday afternoon. The actress, 48, looked nothing short of sensational in an orange two-piece which showed off every inch of her incredible figure. The stunner is famed for her roles as Lindsey Corkhill in Brookside and Roxie Hart in the theatre production of Chicago at London's West End. Strutting her stuff: Claire Sweeney looked incredible in a gorgeous orange bikini when she was pictured emerging out of the water in Barbados on Friday afternoon Claire appeared to be channelling a Bond Girl as she emerged from the ocean in her orange two-piece to enjoy a delicious cocktail. With her blonde tresses slicked back the actress looked happy and at ease as she enjoyed her break from chilly England. She looked amazing in the orange bikini top with a gold jewel embellishment and matching tie bottoms, and finished her look with a chunky silver cross necklace. Delicious: The actress looked nothing short of incredible as she sipped an ice cold beverage after taking a dip in the ocean in the beautiful sunshine Jovial: She kept herself cool in the boiling hot weather by taking a stroll through the clear ocean water in her orange bikini Working hard: She was playing in the sand during her jaunt on the beach, and kept her long blonde tresses out of the way with a low ponytail Toned: Claire flaunted her amazing figure in the orange bikini as she headed from her sunbed to the edge of the ocean for a quick dip Here we are! Claire was later spotted emerging from the ocean with several buckets of water in hand so she could build sandcastles with her son Jason As she relaxed on her sunbed with her drink and a read of her book, Claire even got a foot massage from a nearby gentleman. She later covered up her two-piece with a boho-inspired kaftan and kept her blonde tresses out of the way with a low ponytail. Larking about on the sand, Claire pulled several buckets of water out of the ocean as she enjoyed a day of fun in the sun, ready to build sandcastles with her son Jason. Wrapping up: She pulled a bright kaftan over the bikini later on in the day as she headed away from the beach after enjoying her delicious cocktail Need some help? As she sipped her drink and enjoyed a read of her book, Claire even got a massage from a nearby staff member during a spot of downtime on her sunbed Thank you! The gentleman seemed to happy to assist with giving Claire a massage as she enjoyed the relaxation on the ocean Jaw-dropping: She took a low-key dip in the water as she took a break from topping up her tan, all the while flaunting her curves in the orange two-piece Vibrant: Claire seemed to be having a whale of a time as she adjusted her bikini top, after settling herself on the beach to build an eye-catching sandcastle On the hunt: The nation's sweetheart had previously said she was open to looking for love and back in July, she was pictured embracing a mystery man out in the street The nation's sweetheart had previously said she was open to looking for love and back in July, she was pictured embracing a mystery man out in the street. Claire previously dated businessman Tony Hibbard for six years until they split in 2007. She was also engaged to Daniel Reilly from January 2013 until July 2015. Claire previously hit out at a magazine for 'fat shaming' her in a scathing social media post, after revealing she had lost a staggering four stone. The headline accompanying the photos said: 'Claire's weight misery, two stone heavier after time abroad', leading to her furious response on Twitter and a gushing response from her famous friends on Twitter. Back on the market: Claire previously dated businessman Tony Hibbard for six years until they split in 2007. She was also engaged to Daniel Reilly from January 2013 until July 2015 Defiant: Claire previously hit out at a magazine for 'fat shaming' her in a scathing social media post, after revealing she had lost a staggering four stone Irate: The headline accompanying the photos said: 'Claire's weight misery, two stone heavier after time abroad', leading to her furious response on Twitter and a gushing response from her famous friends on Twitter Explosive: But Claire was quick to call out the publication for focusing on her weight with the shocking front cover spread Horrid: She took to Twitter to write: 'I cannot believe that in this day and age, mags are still fat-shaming. I've been in the business long enough to grow a thick skin, however I worry about those in the public eye who may not be so strong' But Claire was quick to call out the publication for focusing on her weight with the shocking front cover spread. She took to Twitter to write: 'I cannot believe that in this day and age, mags are still fat-shaming. I've been in the business long enough to grow a thick skin, however I worry about those in the public eye who may not be so strong. 'Particularly relevant on Mental Heath Awareness Week .#nomisery'. The star's famous friends soon stuck up for her and insisted she was looking better than ever. Presenter Gaby Roslin tweeted: 'Utterly disgusting. Sending love to you @clairesweeney and I want to know why this is still "allowed" I am sorry that anyone is ever spoken about like this.' A total of five S-400 air defence missile systems will be delivered to India by 2025 and production of the same has already started, said Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin on Friday. "We will give five S-400 missiles defence system (to India) by 2025. Russia is possessing one of the world's best defence system and it would serve well for Indian security," said Babushkin. Speaking during a press conference, on the outcome of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's India visit, Russian Ambassador to India, Nikolay Kudashev and Babushkin also asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter of India. Live TV Kudashev said that Russia has never been in favour of bringing Kashmir at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as it is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan. On not being invited to Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "Those having doubts over India's approach on Kashmir can go there; we don't have any doubt. I dont feel a reason to travel. Kashmir is your internal matter, belonging to your constitutional space. Those who believe its issues, those have doubt on Indian polices in Kashmir, can travel." He also added, "if you invite me, I will go, as your friend". Kudashev also expressed concern on Indo-Pacific concept but welcomed India's version which he said is inclusive. He also said, "India will be launching unmanned flight. It will have a robot, it is designed on Russian programmes." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 Two weeks after major flooding hit Greater Jakarta on New Year's Day, people have yet to resume their daily activities in Jatiasih district, Bekasi, which continues to battle the mud residue left behind. Mud residue five to 20 centimeters deep still covers some road sections in the district's Pondok Gede Permai housing complex, where daily activities have been at a standstill for the last two weeks. Dudung, a baker and the head of neighborhood unit (RT) 1 in the complex, said he had not been able to bake or sell bakery goods since the flood. 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 At the start of 2020, analysts bravely stepped out on a limb to predict how the turbulent energy market and energy systems will evolve at the beginning of the new decade. Clean energy and climate policy experts have shared in Forbes their forecasts for this years energy system in the United States with Silvio Marcacci, Communications Director for climate policy think tank Energy Innovation. The five experts are optimistic that the U.S. is set to make important steps toward a cleaner energy mix this year. They see continued coal decline, the beginnings of shaming the notion of widespread natural gas use, the continued rise of solar power installations, fight for federal incentives for clean energy, and the ever-growing public awareness about climate change as the five factors to watch in the U.S. energy landscape in 2020. The Death of Coal For one month last year, renewables held a larger share than coal in U.S. monthly electricity generation, for the first time ever, reflecting seasonal factors and longer-term trends such as coals decline and renewables rise. Many coal-fired plants are under significant economic pressure, the EIA said last year, noting that cheaper gas and renewables have increased competition for economically viable installed capacity. Since 2010, U.S. power companies have announced the retirement of more than 546 coal-fired power units, totaling about 102 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, while another 17 GW of coal-fired capacity is planned to be retired by 2025. Just last week, cooperative wholesale power supplier Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association announced the retirement of its remaining New Mexico coal-fired power plant by the end of 2020 and its remaining Colorado coal plants and coal mine by 2030. Related: Whats Next For Oil? No One Seems To Agree Experts predict that coal retirements will continue as more states, cities, and utilities will look to decarbonize the sources of their power supply. Natural Gas Shaming Clean energy and climate experts are now shaming the widespread household use of natural gas, which, although cleaner burning than coal, is still a fossil fuel contributing to carbon emissions. Some experts predict that 2020 could be the beginning of the end for natural gas use at homes as more cities are expected to ban gas hook-ups in new buildings. In July 2019, the city council in Berkeley, California, passed an ordinance requiring all new homes to be all-electric with no gas hook-ups beginning in January 2020. Berkeleys primary motivation for the gas hook-up ban was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote the use of clean energy. However, in the U.S. power generation mix, natural gas is going nowhereit is the single biggest source of electricity generation and will continue to be such in the coming years, thanks to abundant and cheap domestic gas. Although regional trends vary, natural gas and wind will be the fastest-growing sources of electricity generation in the United States through 2020, at the expense of coal, the EIA said in September. One tenth of total U.S. carbon emissions come from burning fossil fuelsprimarily gasfor heating and cooking in homes and businesses, Rocky Mountain Institute said in a report in 2019. Commenting on the predictions for 2020, Rocky Mountain Institutes Managing Director Bruce Nilles told Energy Innovations Marcacci: In 2020, watch this movement heed Greta Thunbergs call to start acting like our house is on fire and exorcise gas from our communities just as we have done with coal. The Rise of Solar Falling costs have made possible the rise of renewable energy sources. According to research from Energy Innovation and Vibrant Clean Energy from 2019, as much as 74 percent of Americas coal-fired national fleet, or 211 GW, was at risk in 2018 from local wind or solar within 35 miles that could provide the same amount of electricity more cheaply. Related: OPEC Raises 2020 Global Oil Demand Growth Estimate Utility solar photovoltaic (PV) becomes increasingly cost-competitive with wind, gas, and other electricity generation resources, the Q4 2019 Solar Market Insight Report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables showed. According to SEIA, climate policy, investment tax credit extension, state net energy metering, building codes, and renewable portfolio standards will all drive solar energy growth in the 2020s, which could be the Solar+ decade. Cost reductions and encouraging policies could make solar the pillar of a clean energy economy, SEIAs President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper says. Clean Energy Incentives The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) has vowed to work this year to fight for federal policies encouraging additional deployment of clean energy sources and supporting energy storage technologies. We need to repair a tax code that phases out renewable energy tax incentives, even as century-old incentives for fossil fuels remain untouched. Completing this unfinished business is a key priority for ACORE and a broad coalition of bipartisan allies in 2020, Gregory Wetstone, President and CEO of the council told Energy Innovations Marcacci. Growing Public Mobilization On Climate According to Leah Stokes, Assistant Professor at the University of California-Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, regardless of the progress in renewable sources deployment in the United States in 2020, the public awareness about climate change and climate issues will only increase, especially if the Trump Administration rolls back other environmental regulations. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Luanda (AFP) - Law enforcement agencies are cracking down on the high profile family of former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, accused of plundering revenues from the country's vast oil wealth. During dos Santos' 38-year rule from 1979, his offspring occupied top positions in the government and in lucrative sectors ranging from banking, telecoms and media to oil. Dos Santos's anointed successor Joao Lourenco is now dismantling the patronage network since coming to power in 2017. Lourenco has led a purge of the administration as well as public companies, targeting dos Santos's relatives who have benefitted from nepotism. - Isabel: 'Africa's richest woman' - Scornfully dubbed 'the princess' by Angolans, the 46-year-old is dos Santos's eldest daughter and the public face of the family empire. Dubbed Africa's richest woman by US magazine Forbes with a fortune estimated at $2.2 billion, Isabel dos Santos headed national oil company Sonangol but was forced out by her father's successor shortly after he came to power. Last month, an Angolan court ordered a freeze on her bank accounts and assets. Isabel dos Santos and her Congolese husband, Sindika Dokolo, are suspected of having embezzled a billion dollars from the public firms Sonangol (oil) and Sodiam (diamonds). She has denied any wrongdoing, calling the accusations "lies," "fake news" and "politically motivated." Isabel has amassed billions and owns stakes in Banco de Formento Angola -- the country's leading private bank, drinks distributor Sodiba and construction material producer Cimangola. - Jose Filomeno: the indicted son - Jose Filomeno dos Santos, 41, also known as "Zenu" has become the first member of the dos Santos clan to be prosecuted. Currently on trial with three others including former central bank governor Valter Filipe da Silva, he is accused of allegedly stealing $1.5 billion (1.3 billion euros) from Angola's $5 billion sovereign wealth fund which he headed from 2013 when his father was in power. Story continues Filomeno dos Santos was fired from the fund manager post in 2017 by President Lourenco. He was later placed in pre-trial detention in September 2018 and was released six months later pending his trial, which opened last month in the capital Luanda. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 12 years, if convicted. He has denied all charges of money laundering and embezzlement. - Tchize: the media magnate - An influential figure in the Angolan media, 42-year-old Welwitschia is dos Santos's second daughter and half-sister of Isabel. Popularly known as 'Tchize', she has controlled one of Angola's leading multimedia and advertising agencies. Much like most of the dos Santos family, Welwitschia dos Santos has moved abroad, claiming threats from the Angola secret service. She was recently suspended from parliament, where she served from 2008, after lawmakers voted that her extended absence amounted to unjust enrichment. - Ana Paula: the businesswoman wife - The former air hostess was Angola's first lady for 26 years from 1991. She and the ex-president have three children together. The businesswoman owns a stake in a number of companies in Luanda, including a private airline. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 04:59:36|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Policemen guard during the demonstration in Paris, France, Jan. 16, 2019. French labor unions angry at President Emmanuel Macron's plan to overhaul pension reform kept train and metro traffic disrupted and closed numerous roads across the country on Thursday in a fresh massive demonstration. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua) PARIS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- French labor unions angry at President Emmanuel Macron's plan to overhaul pension reform kept train and metro traffic disrupted and closed numerous roads across the country on Thursday in a fresh massive demonstration. In a sixth round of nationwide protests, 187,000 demonstrators flooded the streets once again, and joined the protests nationwide, including 23,000 in Paris, according to the Interior Ministry. "It's never too late to force a government to cave in," said Philippe Martinez, head of the far-left CGT union who headed Paris rally. In one of his major campaign promises, Macron proposes to merge the variety of 42 different pension set-ups for different professions into a universal system. The new single regime would use points so that each euro paid in would give the same retirement benefits no matter what sector pensioners worked in. The government argued the reform is needed to bring costly pension system, which is almost entirely borne by the state, into balance. Critics say that would effectively force people to work longer, in particular public sector workers that have been allowed to retire earlier often because of hard working conditions. "We won't give up..." said, Yves Veyrier, head of FO union. "Let's put this bill definitely aside, drop it and get back to the negotiating table," he was quoted as saying by local media. Stoppages at national railway SNCF and Paris metro RATP entered their 43rd day on Thursday, making it the country's longest transport strike since 1968. Unions vowed to maintain their open-ended industrial action despite of dwindling turnout. On Thursday, only 10 percent of workers at the state-run SNCF company stopped working, compared with more than half when the strikes began on Dec. 5 2019. The sign of fatigue appeared after the government offered concession to temporally remove the most contested measure of "pivotal age" which encourages workers to extend their careers by two years to 64 to have full pension. As unions' anger endures, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the strikes were "dead end" as "the government's determination to set up this universal pension system and therefore to eventually remove the special schemes is total." "The transport strike against pension reform will go nowhere, the government is determined," Philippe said on Wednesday. Widely seen as a taboo, pension overhaul had failed during the previous governments. The US Department of State has imposed sanctions on an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) general, according to US Special Representative Brian Hook. The sanctions were imposed over a "crackdown" on protests, Hook said, Trend reports citing Sputnik. "The United States is listing IRGC Brigadier General Hassan Shavapour under Section 7031c, visa sanctions", Hook told reporters. "General Shavapour committed gross violations of human rights against protesters at the press briefing. He oversaw the massacre of 148 helpless Iranians in the Mashar region last November". Hook also stated that the more Iran threatens the world, the more isolated it will become, responding to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks. The statement comes after Khamenei announced that the day Tehran struck US bases in Iraq in response to the killing of the country's top military commander Qasem Soleimani was "a day of God", adding that the killing of the general was a "disgrace" to the American administration. He also said that the attack showed the "terrorist nature" of Washington. When you hear the name Veronica Lodge, you probably picture a girl wearing a tight, plaid dress and pearls, arching her dark eyebrows as she struts off to make some serious money moves, stilettos clacking behind her. And although she learns a lot from playing Veronica, Riverdale star Camila Mendes wants you to think of much more when you hear her name. The 25-year-old actress catapulted into stardom when she landed the role of Veronica Lodge on cult-favorite teen drama Riverdale. Unless you live under a rock, youve heard of the CW show based off of the Archie Comics: Mystery, romance, teen gangs, and high school drama make for an addictive series that has garnered an obsessed fanbase since the first season premiered less than three years ago. But with instant fame comes inevitable pigeonholing, which Mendes says the cast feels the weight of. undefined Although this fear weighs on much of the Riverdale cast, Mendes thinks its natural for actors on shows with cult followings to feel this way. undefined Gregg DeGuire, Getty Images Playing the role of Riverdales resident boss-lady has taught Mendes how to channel her inner boss lady, and says she admires Veronicas fearlessness. undefined For Mendes, proving herself as an actor came withno surprise herelots and lots of auditions. While living in New York City and attending NYU Tisch School of the Arts (in the same graduating class as Riverdale costar Cole Sprouse, btw), she recalls running from audition to audition, sweating on the subway, and landing in rooms where nerves made her sweat even more. During her final callback for Riverdale, Mendes still hadnt found a deodorant that combated sweat well, but she had a trick up her sleeve to avoid those dreaded pit stains. undefined Although her paper-towel-whip-out-plan worked for this situation (and we have a feeling she would have landed the role, pit stains or not), Mendes still needed a reliable deodorant to keep her sweat under control during stressful situations. Story continues undefined Thats when Mendes started using deodorant brand Secret, and shes never turned back. Now, the actress is partnering with Secret for their All Strength, No Sweat campaign, which encourages women of all industries to take pride in their power. Courtesy of Secret How does Mendes take pride in her own power on the daily? She leans on her strong community of friends and familyand thats something she and Veronica Lodge definitely have in common. The mother of a seven-month-old baby who died of a Benadryl overdose while in the care of a babysitter said she cannot 'ever get closure'. Abigail Lobisch died last February while being looked after by babysitter Dixie Denise Villa on Aliamanu Military Reservation in Honolulu, Hawaii. Initially her mother Anna Lobisch believed her daughter died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, according to CBS21. But it was not until months later after the autopsy in July that blood tests revealed Abigail had a fatal dose of diphenhydramine, commonly known as allergy medication Benadryl, in her system. As a result of the test results, Villa, 40, was arrested by police and charged with manslaughter. Anna Lobisch initially believed her baby Abigail (pictured together) died if SIDS, but tests revealed she suffered a Benadryl overdose Dixie Denise Villa (left), 40, has been charged with manslaughter after the death of baby Abigail (right) who died last February while in her care Describing the moment the medical examiner told her the cause of her daughter's death, Anna Lobisch said she was 'shocked and hurt and confused'. Lobisch, who is now 20 weeks pregnant with a baby boy, added: 'The one thing I learned from Abi's death is that there's no closure on something like this. You don't ever get closure, we just relive it everyday. 'The medical examiner called us and let us know what happened to Abby, and I don't really understand. 'To deal with the firsts without her, the first Christmas, the first New Year's. We miss her.' The day before she died Abigail was taken to the swimming pool at Aulani Resort Disney resort in Ko Olina along with her two-year-old brother and Villa's own two children. Villa told police that when they returned to Aliamanu Military Reservation she put lotion on the children's skin to treat their sunburn. Mother Anna Lobisch said she cannot 'ever get closure' after the death of her baby daughter, Abigail, while being looked after by a babysitter Dixie Denise Villa appeared in court after being arrested and charged with manslaughter. Her trial is due to start in May The next morning at around 8am Villa found the baby unresponsive and called 911. Emergency responders tried to revive Abigail and took her to Tripler Army Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The infant's full autopsy report was released this week, showing she had no medical history of major illness. The report recorded that Abigail had 2400 ng/mL of Benadryl in her blood and more than 5,000 ng/mL in the urine specimen. Concentrations in fatal overdoses for infants are reported at around 1400 ng/mL, the document states. Benadryl is not recommended in children under six years old. Villa's trial is set to start in May. Thats because a central feature of our republic, defined by its separation of powers among the three branches of government, is that Congress, not the president, controls the power of the purse. James Madison argued that this was the most complete and effectual weapon to counter all the overgrown prerogatives of the other branches. The nations founders enshrined their vision in Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution, establishing that Congress alone possesses the power of the purse. The president can propose funding for whatever projects he wants, but Congress ultimately decides where to direct the American peoples tax dollars. Amid speculations, over the rules to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) senior BJP leader and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that applicants for citizenship under the legislation will have to submit three proofs to be eligible. The applicants will have to submit proofs about their religion, entry to India prior to 2014 and documents showing their citizenship prior to entering India, Sarma said while speaking to a local television channel here. Since CAA is meant for people from select religions, applicants will have to submit proof of them being from one of those [religions]. Secondly, they will have to submit documents to show that they came to India prior to 2015, and lastly some proof that they were citizens of the three countries for which CAA is applicable, Sarma said. For Assam, we have requested the Centre to include the proof that applicants had applied for inclusion in the National Register of Citizens (NRC). All these claims would be verified by intelligence agencies and only after they are given a green signal will the applicant get citizenship, Sarma said. The ministers comments come amid speculation by some that applicants would be given citizenship based on just an affidavit submitted by them and without verifying their antecedents and date of entry to India. Passed by the parliament on December 11 and notified on January 10, the amended citizenship law fast-tracks citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians and Jains from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. The rules and guidelines for implementing CAA are yet to be formulated. The Assam government has submitted recommendations on how the legislation is to be implemented in the state, but the exact details are not yet clear. The HT reported on January 4 that the Union home ministry is yet to frame rules on the amended citizenship law. Senior ministry officials had said on condition of anonymity that defining a process to establish the identity of those that have faced religious persecution is proving to be difficult. We are looking into the issue, a senior home ministry official had said Protests seeking repeal of CAA have been taking place across Assam for over a month now. Organisations heading the protests allege that it violates a provision of the Assam Accord of 1985, which stipulated March 25, 1971, as the cut of date for entry of illegal immigrants. Assam government is maintaining that the total number of applicants seeking citizenship under CAA in Assam would not exceed 5 lakh. Sarma had earlier stated that applications for citizenship under CAA should be received within a time limit of 3-4 months. . SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The 25-year-old man murdered in Craigavon on Thursday night was Nathan Gibson, police have confirmed Police are also investigating another incident linked to the killing in which a woman jumped out a window of a home in the area after she was attacked. A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder after Mr Gibson's body was found by police fatally wounded on a tow path near Lake Road. Police said they received a report on Thursday night that Mr Gibson had been attacked. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell said: "First and foremost my thoughts go out to the family of Nathan at this very sad time. "I need to know the movements of Nathan on Thursday night between 5.30pm and 11.30pm. Did you see him? Was he in the company of anyone else? "Did you see anything or anyone acting suspiciously in the area of the tow path from Legahory Court to Lake Road area of Craigavon?" He said police are investigating another incident in which a woman jumped out of the top floor of her home in the Legahory Court area after being attacked, according to local reports. She is believed to be in hospital with broken bones. "Whilst we cannot get into specific details of this incident we are also appealing to anyone who witnessed anyone acting in a suspicious manner in this area late last night to contact police." A post mortem is due to be carried out on the body of Mr Gibson. Police have also cordoned off areas in the nearby Clonmeen estate and Legahory area. DUP Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart described the killing as "brutal". Ms Lockhart expressed her shock at the incident, saying a young life has been "cut off in its prime". "The police should be commended once again for the speed with which they have moved with the investigation. They should be given the space to conduct their work," the DUP MP said. "It is shocking to wake up to the news that another life has been needlessly taken. I appeal to anyone with information to contact the police via the 101 non-emergency number or anonymously on the confidential phone number. Police have launched a murder investigation after a man's body was found close to the popular Craigavon lakes. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/LNPIsXbJcu Ralph Hewitt (@rafehewitt) January 17, 2020 Upper Bann MP @carlalockhart says her thoughts are with the victim's family. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/oC0pTropLD Ralph Hewitt (@rafehewitt) January 17, 2020 Police have cordoned off another scene in the Clonmeen estate close to where the murder victim was found. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/P5psCnygNq Ralph Hewitt (@rafehewitt) January 17, 2020 A large area of Clonmeen estate in Craigavon has been sealed off after an eye witness said an altercation took place in the early hours of the morning. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/8KGsC6Rcvg Ralph Hewitt (@rafehewitt) January 17, 2020 A third crime scene has been cordoned off in Craigavon. According to local reports a woman jumped out of the top floor of her home in the Legahory area after being attacked. She is believed to be in hospital with broken bones. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/m8yhFdCp0A Ralph Hewitt (@rafehewitt) January 17, 2020 Ms Lockhart's DUP colleague Jonathan Buckley said the murder was a "a dreadful event". "My thoughts at this time are with the deceased family and friends. It is particularly alarming that this has happened in such a public place. Craigavon lakes is an area which is widely used by the public, especially in the early morning. "This has caused some worry and I will continue to liaise with police and I hope they find the person behind this and put them behind bars." Sinn Fein MLA John O'Dowd said the man's death was "tragic news" and asked anyone with information to contact the PSNI. SDLP councillor Thomas Larkham described the man's death as "very sad news". "This will undoubtedly send a shockwave throughout our community. I would like to send my condolences to the man's family," he said. "An investigation surrounding his death has been launched by the PSNI and I would ask that everyone allows them the space and time to proceed. "My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the man at this sad time." A Delhi court on Friday issued a fresh death warrant against the four convicts in the December 16, 2010 gang-rape and murder case after it was informed that the mercy petition of one of the convicts Mukesh Singh has been rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind. I am issuing a fresh death warrant, for February 1 at 6am, said additional sessions judge Satish Kumar Arora. The court was hearing a plea filed by Mukesh on Tuesday seeking postponement of the hanging and keeping the death warrant in abeyance till the mercy petition was decided upon. Rejecting the mercy petition of the convict, the Ministry of Home Affairs said, ..the President of India, in exercise of the powers under Article 72 of the Constitution of India, has REJECTED the mercy petition. This is the second mercy petition rejected by President Kovind. The first mercy petition rejected by him was that of Jagat Rai in April 2018, who was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in September 2013. Though the President had confirmed the sentence and rejected the convicts petition, Rai is yet to be hanged. Rai, along with his associates, was convicted of killing five children and a woman on January 1, 2006 at Rampur Shyamchand village in Vaishali district of Bihar. Reacting to the order, Asha Devi, the mother of the 23-year-old paramedical student, who was gang-raped and fatally attacked in 2012 by the convicts, said she and her family had finally got some closure after a long wait of seven years when the court had pronounced the date of hanging as January 22, 2020. However, on Friday when the date was moved further, she said she felt betrayed. We are getting date after date. Do only convicts have rights? What about us, the victims? I am not at all satisfied; I am waiting only for these four to be hanged, Devi said Friday. On Thursday, the court had asked Tihar jail authorities to file a status report with regard to the scheduled execution. On Friday, appearing for the jail authorities, public prosecutor Irfan Ahmed told the court that the President of India has rejected the mercy petition for Mukesh. He sought that a fresh death warrant be issued against all convicts. During the hearing, Ahmed said Mukeshs plea now becomes infructuous as the President has rejected it. To this, the court asked whether the convict has been informed of the same. Appearing for Mukesh, his counsel, advocate Vrinda Grover told the court that her client does not know about the rejection of the mercy petition. She claimed her junior had gone for a legal interview with Mukesh to Tihar jail. However, jail authorities denied him entry and he had been standing outside the prison complex since 1.30pm, she added. The court asked the public prosecutor to look into the matter and adjourned the hearing, asking jail authorities to produce the formal order of rejection of the mercy petition. An hour later, when the hearing resumed, the public prosecutor informed the court that Mukesh has been informed about the rejection of the petition. He said a fresh death warrant can be issued now. At this stage, advocate AP Singh, appearing for two of the convicts, said he has filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the apex court, challenging the order of the Delhi High Court dismissing a plea to decide on the juvenility of one of the convicts Pawan Kumar Gupta. He said that another criminal appeal filed by three of the convicts Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta has been pending in the Delhi High Court. However, the court said that such applications at this stage do not make a difference. Later, reacting to the order, advocate Singh said, This is complete miscarriage of justice. One of my petitions is pending in the Supreme Court and another plea challenging the judgment of the trial court in a robbery case emanating out of the same case is pending adjudication in the Delhi High Court. The death warrant could not have been issued. The four convicts had assaulted and gang-raped the young woman inside a moving bus on December 16, 2012, before throwing her out of the vehicle. The woman died about two weeks later at a hospital in Singapore. Ram Singh (35), the fifth convict in the case, allegedly killed self inside Tihar jail in 2013. An underage person involved in the incident, who was convicted by a juvenile justice board in 2015, was released from a correctional home after serving a three-year term. In September 2013, a fast-track court awarded death penalty to the four convicts. It was upheld by the High Court in March 2014 and by the Supreme Court in May 2017. On July 9, 2018, the top court dismissed the review pleas filed by Mukesh, Pawan and Vinay, saying no grounds had been made out by them for the review. Mukeshs review plea was turned down in December 2019. Christopher Fontenot, a retired teacher with a doctorate in education, a dedicated writer, and a loving family man, has completed his new book The Acadian Prairie: Amelie: a stirring narrative of families surviving the Jim Crow era and the Gilded age that yielded their lifes definition and purpose. Author Fontenot presents striking perspectives that detail the agonies brought about by bigotry and greed: Growing up in the prairie is not much different from growing up anywhere else. Only the distances are greater. Neighbors in a town or a village are only yards away; neighbors in the prairie are miles away. Growing up in Prairie Faquetaique during the worst of Jim Crow could prove deadly. The Acadian Prairie was no different from any place in either the North or the South where some sought advantages at the expense of others. And some fought against the violence and discrimination any way that they could. The Acadian Prairie: Amelie continues the saga of the Dupre, Prejean, White, Nightflower, Bennet, and Fontenot families as they enter the new century facing the dangers found in the changing landscape of the disappearing open range. Whether it is a young girl trying to avoid being attacked again by her mothers lover, competition for business in a small village turning violent, or a school for black children threatened with arson, life in the prairie continued to present challenges to the next generation. TAP: Amelie follows Amelie Dupre, Yvette White, Peter Fontenot, and their families as they grow and seek their rightful place in the prairie. Not all goes well, and their struggles define the best and worst of life in the prairie during the worst of the Jim Crow era and the Gilded Age. Published by Page Publishing, Christopher Fontenots mesmerizing tale cries out to future generations on the reality of injustice and yearns for freedom and cordiality in society. Readers who wish to experience this timeless work can purchase The Acadian Prairie: Amelie at bookstores everywhere or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex, and time-consuming issues, and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. San Antonio, like many other progressive American cities, is involved in a discussion of how best to serve the nations growing Hispanic student population. Nowhere is this discussion more relevant and robust than at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The U.S. Higher Education Opportunity Act defines a Hispanic Serving Institution, or HSI, as a college or university where at least 25 percent of its full-time undergraduates are Hispanic. Today, 57 percent of UTSAs 32,000-plus students identify as Hispanic or Latino. Since its founding in 1969, the university has educated tens of thousands of Hispanic students. Fifty-two percent of UTSAs most recent graduates identify as Hispanic, an 11 point increase over the past two decades. Fifty-five percent of Hispanic students will be the first in their families to earn a four-year degree. With its long history of Hispanic-majority students, UTSA has a tremendous opportunity to serve as an exemplar of student success and how best to meet the needs of Hispanic students. Doing that, however, requires being more than a Hispanic Serving Institution. It requires becoming a Hispanic thriving institution and ensuring that every student succeeds. Research shows that students thrive when they interact with a diverse faculty and have access to diverse curricula. They seek models, mentors and instructional approaches that are relevant to them. UTSA is taking proactive steps to attract highly qualified, diverse faculty, most recently adding an Inclusive Excellence statement and an expression of its HSI commitment to job descriptions. Procedures for search committees have been revised to ensure that more candidates from underrepresented groups are interviewed and the university recruits the very best Hispanic candidates. These changes will reap impactful results. The universitys work to recruit larger numbers of Hispanic students is also paying dividends. Since 2015, UTSA has seen a 12 percent increase in applications and a 14 percent increase in admissions among Hispanic freshmen, and a 22 percent increase each among Hispanic transfer applications and admissions. First-year retention rates for Hispanic students have increased 12.7 percentage points to 74 percent over the past decade, and six-year graduation rates have increased nearly 20 percentage points to 46 percent in the past 10 years. UTSA is strengthening its partnerships in San Antonios diverse communities and with its La Raza Faculty and Administrator Association to define, develop and implement programs that will move UTSA from Hispanic serving to Hispanic thriving. This includes pursuing the highly respected Seal of Excelencia, an indicator the university has intentional policies, programs and support structures customized to the needs of Hispanic students. The seal is currently held by just nine of the nations 500-plus HSIs. Additionally, the university recently opened a community center on the historic West Side to increase access to higher education among those living closest to the universitys Downtown Campus. Through its Westside Community Partnerships Initiative, UTSA is fostering a dialogue to shape neighborhood programs and services for the center and its downtown campus. UTSA has also implemented its Bold Promise tuition program, open to top Texas students from households with incomes of $50,500 or less, to help make education accessible to San Antonios underrepresented populations. The citys Hispanic majority, and the nations shifting demographics, tell us that Hispanic thriving institutions are the future of higher education. As UTSA embarks on its next 50 years, it continues to embrace its origins and founding mission of making a college degree accessible to everyone in San Antonio. Becoming an exemplary Hispanic thriving institution is the next step in that mission. Myron Anderson is vice president for inclusive excellence at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Mary Larson Diaz is chief of staff for the UTSA Office of the President and interim vice president for university relations. Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy gave one unequivocal answer at the launch of his partys social housing policy in Dublin. Does he want to stay on as minister in his current portfolio? Wait a beat. Yes. Its important that we continue with the plan that we have, he said before discussing the important reforms introduced under his aegis. Its a far cry from an overheard soundbite attributed to the Minister last November at an ESRI conference on the housing market. This has been the year from hell, Mr Murphy was overheard saying. But then if a week is a long time in politics, two months is an eternity. Takeaway 2: Fianna Fail's Justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan put forward the party's big idea to fight gangland crime today when he said his party would bring in legislation to allow in evidence the opinion of a chief superintendent that an individual was involved in organised crime. He said this would beef up 2009 legislation that allowed evidence from a senior garda that a criminal gang existed. Asked about the constitutionality of such a measure Jim said he was confident it would pass muster. The smart money says it won't. Either Fianna Fail's manifesto will promise a referendum on the matter or it will go to the dusty shelf where redundant headlines reside. Takeaway 3: Letter from Michael Healy Rae being dropped in letterboxes in Tralee encouraging people to buy enclosed raffle tickets to raise funds for #GE2020 pic.twitter.com/nmrnaSeWEV Nice Guy Eddie (@eamonnos2020) January 15, 2020 Michael Healy Rae's fundraising appeal to help pay for his election expenses shows no sign as brotherly love as fellow TD Danny isn't getting a cent of it. The appeal by the younger brother is in the form of letter to supporters written on Oireachtas headed paper. It enclosed two raffle tickets at a price of 30 each (50 for two) for a draw to help fund posters, canvas cards, advertising and all that goes with funding a General Election . However, big brother Danny will have to find other ways to fund his campaign according to Dannys son, independent councillor Cllr Johnny Healy Rae. Its just Michael, the young councillor said adding he was not criticising the raffle but wanted to make clear that his father Danny was not involved and would not benefit. Pic of the Day: I am not now and never have been a member of The Bee Gees pic.twitter.com/HNFAZmMhOx Dustin The Turkey (@DustinOfficial) January 17, 2020 Well Said: Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has conceded that people will never forget the crash which his party caused a decade ago. Speaking in an interview, he said: We made mistakes, we spent too much and we cut the tax base too much and many people lost a lot. Hard to disagree with any of that. Good Day/Bad Day: Good Day: Get the beers in! A great day for political nerds. A good day for RTE which confirmed that Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin will go head to head in a make-or-break TV debate in the final days of the campaign. Prime Time will broadcast RTE's final television leaders debate on Tuesday 4th February in the RTE studios in Dublin. Bad Day: Having been given a reprieve by his leader 24 hours before, it was a bad day for Sinn Fein councillor and MMA star Paddy Holohan, who has been suspended from his party for suggesting young girls are seeking to entrap and blackmail older men. Mary Lou McDonald said she did not have words strong enough to express her disgust at what he said. As political parties in Delhi gear up for assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) once again criticised each other over the execution of the convicts in the December 16 gang-rape case. Union minister Smriti Irani Friday blamed the AAP government for the delay in the hanging of the four convicts and accused the government of depriving the victims parents of justice. Why was the prisons department, which comes under the AAP government, sleeping after the dismissal of review petition in July 2018? Why did the government give 10,000 and a sewing kit to the juvenile rapist when he was released? she said. Responding to the allegations, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal posted a video on social media, telling the BJP not to engage in politics over the case. I feel sad that politics is being done on such an issue. Shouldnt we be working together to ensure that the guilty are hanged at the earliest? Shouldnt we join hands to ensure a system so that such beasts get hanged within six months? Please dont do politics on this. Lets together create a safe city for our women (sic), Kejriwal said. Earlier in the day, on the sidelines of an event in Delhis Shakurbasti neighbourhood, Kejriwal, who is the national convener of the AAP, asserted that his government had no role in delaying the hanging of the convicts, even as he accused Union minister Prakash Javadekar of politicising the matter. When told by reporters that the parents of the victim were accusing the Delhi government of delay, he said, Someone is misleading them into thinking that the delay has happened on our end. Javadekar, who is the BJP in-charge for the February 8 Delhi Assembly elections, had Thursday blamed the AAP government for the delay in hanging the convicts. Meanwhile, fresh death warrants were issued by a Delhi court Friday for the execution of the four convicts on February 1, shortly after the President rejected the mercy petition forwarded by one of them. According to the Delhi government, the prison rules mandate a buffer period of 14 days between the day of the rejection of the mercy petition and the day of execution. Earlier, the Delhi government had recommended that their mercy petition be rejected by the President. The LYCRA Company, a global leader in developing innovative solutions for the textile, apparel and personal care industries, is marking its first anniversary as a stand-alone subsidiary of the Ruyi Group on January 31. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005012/en/ Pictured: Shandong Ruyi Chairman, Yafu Qiu and The LYCRA Company CEO, Dave Trerotola (Photo: Business Wire) In 2020, The LYCRA Company is operating at full strength across all facets of the organization and sharpening its focus to create value through strategic investments in science and technology as innovation is a key enabler to the companys future success. The company is also actively exploring potential synergies with Ruyi, its majority shareholder, which include leveraging its spandex capacity and fully integrated value chain. Ruyi has been a strong partner that understood the challenges we faced as a new business, including the impact global economic trends had on our business performance, said Dave Trerotola, CEO of The LYCRA Company. This transition year also gave us plenty of wins as we built a strong foundation for future growth by continuing our heritage of investing in innovation. The LYCRA Company recently opened a new state-of-the-art research and development lab in Foshan, China, and launched several exciting new solutions designed to add value to collections and meet consumer needs for lasting comfort and performance. The company expanded its EcoMade portfolio of sustainable products, broke new ground with its first print technology offering, and is ready to revolutionize apparel fit again with a new fiber that stretches to fit more body shapes within a size range. Products launched include: LYCRA EcoMade fiber is the companys first branded spandex that offers the same performance as the original LYCRA fiber, but is made with pre-consumer recycled content. is the companys first branded spandex that offers the same performance as the original LYCRA fiber, but is made with pre-consumer recycled content. LYCRA FitSense technology is a revolutionary water-based dispersion that is screen-printed onto garments to deliver lightweight, targeted support. is a revolutionary water-based dispersion that is screen-printed onto garments to deliver lightweight, targeted support. LYCRA MyFit fiber creates apparel with greater shape tolerance to offer consumers a customized fit experience. creates apparel with greater shape tolerance to offer consumers a customized fit experience. LYCRA HyFit T859 fiber for personal care products is a new formulation that enables customers to have more run time per package. This results in improved uptime and reduced elastic consumption, as well as lower distribution and warehousing costs. It also helps customers meet sustainability goals. Marketing highlights include many successful co-brand collaborations with esteemed brands and retailers, a robust global trade advertising program, and a 360-degree integrated marketing program to increase brand awareness and drive preference for LYCRA fiber in China. Looking ahead, The LYCRA Company has a robust innovation pipeline full of new and improved products to help it win in the marketplace. The company has also reaffirmed its commitment to its sustainability platform, Planet Agenda, which touches every aspect of the business from corporate responsibility and manufacturing excellence to product sustainability. Customers can also expect The LYCRA Company to continue its principle-based approach to business, with its unwavering commitment to ethics and compliance. Im really proud of everything we accomplished in our first year, Trerotola concluded. Were very excited to be part of the Ruyi family and look forward to its ongoing support as we continue to transform our business and the apparel and personal care industries. About The LYCRA Company The LYCRA Company innovates and produces fiber and technology solutions for the apparel and personal care industries, as well as specialty chemicals used in the spandex and polyurethane value chains. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, The LYCRA Company is recognized worldwide for its innovative products, technical expertise, and unmatched marketing support. The LYCRA Company owns leading consumer and trade brands: LYCRA, LYCRA HyFit, LYCRA T400, L by LYCRA, COOLMAX, THERMOLITE, ELASPAN, SUPPLEX, TACTEL, and TERATHANE. While The LYCRA Companys name is new, its legacy stretches back to 1958 with the invention of the original spandex yarn, LYCRA fiber. Today, The LYCRA Company is focused on adding value to its customers products by developing unique innovations designed to meet the consumers need for comfort and lasting performance. For more information, visit www.thelycracompany.com. LYCRA, LYCRA FitSense, LYCRA HyFit and LYCRA MyFit are trademarks of The LYCRA Company. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005012/en/ Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 17:07:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Investment Agreement signed between China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Australia entered into force on Friday, the HKSAR government announced. The agreements are expected to provide Hong Kong traders and investors with legal certainty and more favorable access to the Australian market, while creating more business opportunities and enhancing trade and investment flows between Hong Kong and Australia. The FTA, the fourth FTA signed and taken effect within the current term of the HKSAR government, is a comprehensive and high-quality one covering trade in goods, trade in services, investment, government procurement, intellectual property, competition and other related areas, the HKSAR government's Trade and Industry Department said. On trade in goods, all Hong Kong-originating goods can enter Australia tariff-free and via simplified procedures immediately upon the entry into force of the FTA. On trade in services, the commitments made by Australia cover some 140 service sectors, encompassing those where Hong Kong has traditional strengths or has potential for development, such as professional, business, transport, financial and telecommunications services. Under the FTA, Hong Kong service providers are able to enjoy market access and treatment no less favorable than Australia's local service providers under like circumstances. On investment, Hong Kong investors can enjoy more favorable access to the Australian market under the FTA. In particular, the monetary thresholds for investment screening in a number of sectors have been raised. Investors from both places will also benefit from the modern provisions on treatment and protection under the new Investment Agreement which, upon its entry into force, replaces the one signed in 1993. Other benefits of the FTA include facilitative arrangements for business travel as well as provisions to facilitate access to each other's government procurement markets, effective protection of intellectual property rights and promotion of competition. Scotland Yard has reported itself to the police watchdog again over claims of more blunders in the disastrous investigation into false claims of a VIP paedophile ring. The Metropolitan Police confirmed they would make a voluntary referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over complaints that officers had failed to fully investigate two other men for lying about being abused as children. The news comes after the head of the force, Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, was also referred to the IOPC for her involvement in Operation Midland. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, pictured in July last year, was also referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for her involvement in Operation Midland She was responsible for supervising the senior investigating officer who said allegations made by fantasist Carl Beech which were found to be false were 'credible and true'. The launch of Operation Midland in 2014 saw dawn raids on the homes of D-Day veteran Lord Bramall, the late Lord (Leon) Brittan and former MP Harvey Proctor following a series of allegations that turned out to be lies. Beech claimed that he and other boys were raped and tortured in the 1970s and 1980s and that one young boy was even murdered by members of a VIP paedophile ring. He is now serving an 18-year prison sentence for 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud. An interview with Carl Beech, who was convicted of perverting the course of justice and fraud The Metropolitan Police were heavily criticised in an independent review of the case by former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques. Beech claimed that he and other boys were raped and tortured in the 1970s and 1980s But the IOPC found no evidence of misconduct or criminality by the officers during the operation. Two men known as 'A' and 'B' who gave accounts that apparently backed up Beech had 'both deliberately lied', according to the Henriques report. His findings recommended that 'offences of attempting to pervert the course of justice be considered' against the two complainants and this should be carried out by another police force. The suggestion was supported by Mr Proctor, who last year made a string of fresh complaints. He is to receive 500,000 in compensation from the force. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) said: 'Records show clear evidence of careful consideration of this matter and a clear rationale for not commencing an investigation, but not of the explicit recording of this to the standard required. 'Therefore, a complaint against the MPS will be recorded and, given the understandable public interest in this case, will be voluntarily referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in accordance with IOPC statutory guidance.' An IOPC spokesman said: 'We will carefully assess the MPS referral once received.' On January 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Allan L. Lundervold with selling nearly $9 million in unregistered securities without being registered as or associated with a registered broker-dealer. According to the SEC's complaint, from 2012 through 2015, Lundervold, who currently resides in Arizona, raised nearly $9 million for ARP Wave, LLC, through selling unregistered ARP Wave securities to more than 100 investors in Minnesota and elsewhere. As alleged in the complaint, he was not registered as a broker-dealer or associated with a registered broker-dealer when selling these securities, as required by the federal securities laws. For his fundraising efforts, Lundervold received a 10% commission on the amount of funds raised, for a total of nearly $900,000. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in Minnesota, charges Lundervold with violating the broker-dealer registration provisions of Section 15(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Andrew O'Brien and Pesach Glaser and was supervised by C.J. Kerstetter of the Chicago Regional Office. The SEC's litigation will be led by John Birkenheier. Ukraine's success will only boost U.S. national security interests in the region and globally, legislators said. The Congressional Ukraine Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Marcy Kaptur, Andy Harris, Mike Quigley, and Brian Fitzpatrick on Thursday introduced a resolution expressing bipartisan support for Ukraine, its people, and the country's "democratic trajectory, free from Russian malign influence." "As Russias democracy sadly deteriorates before our eyes with President Vladimir Putin's recent power grab, Ukraine continues to take action strengthening its democratic institutions. As Members of Congress, we commend the Ukrainian peoples resilience and accomplishments in the face of Russian aggression. Ukraine's success will only boost U.S. national security interests in the region and globally," legislators said, according to Voice of America. Read also"I don't trust any word he is now saying": FM Prystaiko on Giuliani associate's statements on Ukraine "This vital and time sensitive measure reaffirms the United States' strategic interest in strengthening liberty and democracy in Europe, a feat which is not possible without U.S. support for Ukraine in its fight to counter Russian aggression," the statement reads. The resolution was introduced for consideration on the day when the Senate held a ceremony marking the start of the impeachment trial before the actual arguments will get underway next Tuesday, according to CNN. Appointment 17 January 2020 Yee Pin Tan has joined Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas as head of design. In this capacity, Pin will support and lead all creative teams responsible for project design, branding, marketing, sustainability, spa and wellness and information technology.Pin's new role covers all design-related areas that support the global expansion of Six Senses. She will also ensure overall consistency in implementing the brand's vision and alignment to corporate goals, quality of messaging and design concepts.Bringing more than 26 years of experience in hospitality design, Pin has worked alongside industry greats such as Ed Tuttle in Paris, where her talents were honed designing the iconic Aman resorts worldwide. Pin has spent the last three years based in Singapore as the design director of Jaya. During this tenure, she expanded her work and experience across different luxury hotel brands. These included the opening of the Capella Shanghai Jian Ye Li - an extraordinary historic property comprising old Shikumen buildings in the French Concession - and more recently, the extensively-redesigned Raffles Maldives in Meradhoo. Chemicals can arise as a byproduct of water disinfection. [Photo: Getty] Thousands of bladder cancer cases throughout Europe may be caused by chemicals in tap water, research suggests. Scientists at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health analysed the presence of the chemicals trihalomethanes (THMs) in the water supply of 26 EU countries. READ MORE: Seattle Genetics Up on Positive Data From Bladder Cancer Study THMs, a byproduct of water disinfection, have been linked to bladder cancer when consumed, inhaled or absorbed via the skin. In nine countries, including the UK, concentrations were found to exceed the EUs maximum permissible limit of 100g/L. One g is one thousandth of a milligram. The scientists estimate more than 6,500 bladder cancer cases, nearly 5%, can be attributed to exposure to the chemicals. Over the past 20 years, major efforts have been made to reduce trihalomethanes levels in several countries of the European Union, including Spain, study author Manolis Kogevinas said. However, the current levels in certain countries could still lead to considerable bladder cancer burden, which could be prevented by optimising water treatment, disinfection and distribution practices and other measures. READ MORE: Pfizer/Merck KGaA's Bavencio Positive in Bladder Cancer Study Bladder cancer is the tenth most common form of the disease in the UK, with more than 10,300 people diagnosed every year, Action Bladder Cancer UK statistics show. It is often linked with certain chemicals, including those found in cigarettes, according to the NHS. Industrial chemicals are thought to be responsible for a quarter of all cases. As a result, people in manufacturing jobs - like painters or those working with certain dyes - may be more at risk. More than half of cases, however, have no clear cause, according to Action Bladder Cancer UK. Water disinfection is essential to killing off infections, the scientists wrote in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Chlorine is the most common disinfectant worldwide, with THMs formed at the highest concentration after use. Story continues To learn more about the dangers of THMs, the Spanish scientists sent questionnaires to the bodies responsible for different districts water quality. The team requested information on the concentration of THMs at the tap, distribution network and treatment plants. This was backed up by data from other sources, including reports and scientific literature. READ MORE: U.S. has biggest single-year drop in cancer rate, study shows Overall, the average concentration of THMs was 11.7g/L - considerably below the EU safe limit. Yet this was exceeded in the UK, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain. The scientists then estimated how this may affect bladder cancer rates using national disease data. They concluded 6,561 incidences may arise every year throughout the EU as a result of THM exposure. In Cyprus, nearly a quarter (23%) of cases were linked to the chemical, followed by 17% in Malta and Ireland, 11% in Spain and 10% in Greece. The scientists claim if the 13 countries with the highest THM exposure reduced their levels to the EU average, 2,868 bladder cancer cases (44%) could be prevented. At the opposite end of the spectrum, no Denmark cases were associated with THM exposure. The chemical was responsible for just 0.1% and 0.2% of cases in the Netherlands and Germany, respectively. In Austria and Lithuania, THMs were thought to trigger 0.4% of incidences. Bulgaria and Romania were excluded from the study due to a lack of information. The biggest challenge was collecting representative data on national trihalomethanes levels for all EU countries, study author Cristina Villanueva said. We hope these data will become more readily available in the future. At that time, the Army told the soldier it would be difficult to return to duty afterwards, but the soldier did not change his mind and flew to Thailand to have the operation. The military normally excludes from the mandatory draft for men who are considering changing their gender, but there is no precedent for a sex change during service. The soldier had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria at a military hospital and had undergone several psychiatric and hormone treatment sessions. The soldier then applied for a 19-day leave in November last year to have the adjustment surgery. This is unheard-of in conservative Korea, and military authorities duly tried to discharge the soldier, but the soldier insists on continuing service as a woman. According to military officials on Thursday, the NCO had been serving as a tank driver at a military unit in northern Gyeonggi Province. An non-commissioned officer in the Army has had gender reassignment surgery while on leave and returned to base as a woman. The sex change became a headache for the Army because gender dysphoria is classified as a mental illness under Korean law and soldiers with handicaps would have to be discharged after a mandatory review to see if they are fit for combat. A meeting at Army headquarters will make the final determination next week, focusing on the soldier's ability to continue carrying out service. But the soldier has recently sought court recognition of his new gender and asked the military to postpone the decision until legal proceedings are over. Kim Hyun, a former head of the Korean Bar Association, said, "This case could serve as a new legal precedent," since it is illegal in Korea to fire someone for being transgender or another minority. Yoon Hyung-ho at Kunyang University said, "According to military practices, the proper thing to do would have been to discharge the soldier before granting leave to undergo gender reassignment surgery. But some military insiders are critical. One officer said, "This case shows just how lax military discipline has become for a soldier undergo a sex-change operation while serving." The issue is controversial in other countries as well. The U.S. in 2015 allowed transgender people to serve in the military, but it was reinstated in January 2019 by President Donald Trump. Trump tweeted in July 2017 the state "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail." The Supreme Court upheld Trump's administrative order, citing the costs of hormone therapy and potential rifts that could be caused in the military. However, transgender soldiers who joined the U.S. military before the order were not discharged. In many European countries, including the Netherlands, U.K., Germany, France and Sweden, transgender people are allowed to serve in the military. Ernest Luning writes on politics, from the serious to the humorous, in his weekly column Trail Mix. Here are a few of his best columns from 2020 to today. New Delhi: Russia has no doubts about India's approach on Kashmir, which is a strictly bilateral matter between India and Pakistan, Moscow's envoy to New Delhi Nikolay Kudashev said on Friday. Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin added that all S-400 air defence missile systems will be delivered to India by 2025. The production of S-400 missiles to be delivered to India has started, he said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Russia on March 22 and March 23 to attend a meeting of the Russia-Indian-China trilateral, Kudashev said. Those having doubts over India's approach on Kashmir can go there, we don't have any doubt, he said on not being invited to visit Jammu and Kashmir. On China's attempt to raise the issue of Kashmir at the Security Council, Kudashev said, It's a strictly bilateral matter to discuss between India and Pakistan based on Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration. The S-400, an upgraded version of the S-300, had previously only been available to the Russian defence forces. It is manufactured by Almaz-Antey and has been in service in Russia since 2007. CHICAGO University of Illinois administrators on Thursday approved a hike in tuition costs for in-state freshmen for the first time in six years. Freshmen entering the university for the 2020-21 academic year would pay 1.8% more to attend the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses, and 1% more to attend the Springfield campus. Officials said the tuition hike will strengthen efforts to attract and retain faculty across the University of Illinois system in response to record-high enrollment. The base tuition for in-state undergraduates will rise $218 to $12,254 a year for enrollees in Urbana-Champaign, by $192 to $10,776 a year for Chicago and by $97.50 to $9,502.50 in Springfield. Tuition for some graduate, professional and online programs will increase by up to 2 percent at all three campuses. Administrators also approved an increase in student fees and housing rates. In Urbana, fees increase $76 to $3,162 per year, and Chicagos fees will rise $32, to $3,340 per year. In Springfield, fees were unchanged at $2,426 a year. Trustees also extended University President Tim Killeen's contract to July 2024, and approved a 40% salary increase from $600,000 to $835,000 according to the Chicago Tribune. University officials said Killeen's salary increase is roughly 19%, but the newspaper compared his guaranteed salary in both contracts. 15 new Illinois laws for 2020 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 President Xi Jinping on January 17 vowed to take China's ties with Myanmar to a "new level" during his maiden visit, which aims at boosting the Communist giant's investments in mammoth infrastructure projects, including a USD 1.3-million port deal that will provide Beijing a stepping stone to the Indian Ocean. On his arrival in Myanmar, the first by a Chinese leader in 19 years, President Xi received a royal welcome with two fighter jets escorting his plane after it entered the country's airspace. As his plane touched down in Nay Pyi Taw, children presented him flowers before he was whisked off to a greeting party, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Huge portraits of the Chinese President and banners celebrating the China-Myanmar friendship and cooperation were put up along Xi's route from the airport to downtown. According to Xinhua, Xi told Myanmar leaders that he was convinced that his visit will "take the bilateral ties to a new level and into a new era". China, which for decades has maintained close ties with Myanmar military even when the Myanmar State Counsellor, Suu Kyi, was incarcerated for years, has again became an important ally to fend off global isolation of Nay Pyi Taw in the wake of the Rohingya crisis. During his trip, Xi is expected to sign a series of infrastructure agreements as part of his ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which critics say, is saddling nations with debt. India has been severely critical of the BRI as it comprises the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). A key deal which the Chinese President is expected to finalise with Myanmar is the USD 1.3 billion project to develop the Kyaukphyu port, which will provide China a stepping stone to the Indian Ocean, besides energy security. Some reports said that the two countries have already reached an agreement on the deep-sea port project in 2018. China has already acquired the Gwadar port in Pakistan, followed by Hambantota in Sri Lanka in India's backyard. China's Ambassador to Myanmar, Chen Hai, on Sunday last said Xi was expected to oversee the signing of several deals during a two-day visit, including possibly putting the final piece of the puzzle in the USD 1.3 billion port deal, negotiations for which have been going on for several years, according to a report in Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. Once completed, the facility on the Bay of Bengal will provide Beijing with a direct link to oil supplies from the Middle East, as Kyaukphyu is at one end of a massive oil and natural gas pipeline network that runs all the way to Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan province, it said. The direct link will provide an alternative route for China's energy imports avoiding the Malacca Strait, which links the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea but has become a flashpoint for Sino-Indian maritime rivalry, the report said. A high-speed rail project to connect the port and nearby planned industrial zone with the countries' shared border is also on the cards. President Jinping and Suu Kyi had a meeting at Myanmar's presidential palace during which the two leaders had a cordial and friendly talk, the Xinhua reported. They agreed to have an in-depth exchange of views on China-Myanmar relations and issues of mutual concern on Saturday. Before the talk, upon his arrival at the presidential palace, the Chinese President inspected a guard of honour in the company of his Myanmar counterpart U Win Myint. Under attack from the global community over human rights violations by Myanmar's military against the Rohingya Muslims leading to their mass exodus to neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar pulled out all the stops to accord red carpet welcome to Xi. The silence of Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace prize winner, over the Rohingya crisis has come under intense global criticism. The International Court of Justice, where Gambia has filed a case of genocide against Myanmar, on Wednesday said it will deliver its decision next week on whether emergency measures should be imposed on Myanmar over alleged genocide against its Rohingya Muslims. "I think there are numerous expectations for Xi's visit, but there is also trepidation that the high-level visit is predicated on China cashing in on its diplomatic support for Myanmar over the Rakhine crisis, and unsticking stalled CMEC (China-Myanmar Economic Corridor) projects," said David Mathieson, an analyst based in Yangon. "The Western opprobrium heaped on Myanmar was not mired by China, who balanced its strategic interests with shoring up support for the NLD government, and now it's time for China to use that support to get its trade and infrastructure projects moving faster," he was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post. MARCY, N.Y. -- Firefighters were on the scene of a house fire in the town of Marcy. Calls came in just before 1:00am Friday for a fire at 5833 Linda Drive. Chief Jared Pearl with the Maynard Fire Department confirms with NEWSChannel 2 that the fire started in the garage and traveled to the connecting home. At this point, its unclear how many people were actually living in the home, but the chief says all the residents and a pet made it out safe. No injuries were reported. Pearl adds that the initial call came from a passing off-duty firefighter. Fire crews from Maynard, Stittville, Yorkville, Deerfield, and Whitesboro responded, as well as first responders with Oneida County Emergency Services. "How the fire was discovered was by a local passerby," said Chief Pearl. "It happened to be a Whitesboro volunteer firefighter. They were driving in the area coming home from a friend's house, located the fire, smelled the smoke in the roadway all the way over to Morris Road. Then drove up and down the road and located it and toned us out. At that time the fire was already up through the loft and garage. It was smoke and flames visible right from the get-go." Firefighters are expected to remain on the scene well into the morning hours. Fire officials are reaching out to the American Red Cross for those who are now displaced from the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Scottish born David McCulloch was sent packing back to the UK from Melbourne on Friday An underworld figure who has been in and out of jail since the 80s has been deported for his extensive criminal history involving drugs. Scottish born David McCulloch was sent back to the UK from Melbourne on Friday following decades of drug dealings in the underworld. The 70-year-old was arrested in December after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton ordered a background check on him. McCulloch was associated with other well-known gang figures such as Tony Mokbel and Carl Williams. The kingpin was released early from prison after being sentenced to 14 years' for trafficking commercial quantities of hashish and methylamphetamine in 2005, Herald Sun reported. In the 1980s he was also jailed for heroin trafficking. McCulloch was deported back to the UK on Friday after he was arrested in December for his criminal history The background check ordered by Mr Dutton saw police provide details which supported his deportation and new activities. A letter sent to McCulloch advised him that his visa was cancelled and he was subsequently arrested. 'Our Government strengthened these laws to keep Australians safe,' Mr Dutton told the publication. 'This sends a clear message that Australia is not open for business with organised criminal organisations.' The deportation comes as Mr Dutton cracks down on foreign crime figures saying there is no room in Australia for non citizens who 'involve themselves in this kind of serious activity'. McCulloch is one of the 270 non Australians who have had their visas cancelled since 2014. He is planning to fight the deportation once he's back in the UK after having lived in Australia for 47 years. Theres one very effective hack that makes a small apartment feel a whole lot bigger, but it only works if you have the permission and budget to do some renovations. Build floor-to-ceiling storage into an entire wall and cut out a few niches for display, lounging, or even sleeping, and suddenly it seems like your available space has dramatically expanded. A renovated Clichy apartment by Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, complete with lots of built-in storage. Its one of the most impressive tricks up the sleeve of Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, the eponymous firm of a French architect whos rapidly gaining attention for interior designs that are as bold and interesting as they are practical. One of Gerliers specialties is the complete transformation of a classic Parisian apartment, which hes pulled off more than once. Each time, the flats most iconic details (herringbone or parquet flooring, balconies with swirling railings, embellished ceiling moulding) are preserved, with new, graphic modern elements introduced to freshen up the space. These new elements might include a whole lot of room-brightening white paint, a vividly tiled kitchen floor, windows between interior spaces slashed by diagonal lines, fun patterned radiator screens, or even an exciting color palette. A Paris pied-a-terre renovated by Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, complete with the designer's signature diagonal windows. The kitchen of a Paris pied-a-terre renovated by Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, complete with the designer's signature diagonal windows. Of one pied-a-terre competed in 2017, Gerlier writes: Having lived in this apartment for several years, the owners wanted a total reorganization with the objective of correcting two major defects: too much wasted space in the hallway and lack of light in some of the rooms. The reorganization of the core of the apartment allowed the entry of light via the three facades. Clearly, the architect is an expert at reimagining floor plans within small urban apartments. He manages to reorganize one-bedroom units to accommodate two or more bedrooms, and he expands the living room space without making them feel cramped. But its the custom carpentry and millwork that really makes these interiors work (not to mention shine). Story continues The bedroom of a Paris apartment renovated by Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, complete with several nooks for storage, sleeping, and lounging. A Paris renovation completed in 2017 reorganized an apartment to create an additional bedroom, and to reduce the area of circulation. Particular attention was paid to the choice of furniture, which echoes the customized carpentry work specific to each room. A pale blue wall in one bedroom contains all necessary functions, including two twin-sized beds, leaving the rest of the room free for movement. You can see how stacking these elements vertically completely changes the feel of the space compared to a more conventional layout with all the furniture on the floor. A Clichy apartment renovated by Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, complete with white walls and translucent doors. The bedroom of a Clichy apartment renovated by Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, complete with built-in storage and a wooden nook for the bed. For this apartment in Clichy, completed in 2018, Gerlier optimized each and every square inch using a combination of ready-made storage boxes, built-in shelves, nooks, and translucent panels. Many of the clients belongings are tucked behind cabinet doors, and the kitchen can be closed off without eliminating sight lines within the apartment, making it feel a lot bigger. The living room of a Neuilly-sur-Seine apartment renovated by Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, complete with circular reading nooks and a pastel color palette. The living room of a Neuilly-sur-Seine apartment renovated by Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, complete with circular reading nooks and a pastel color palette. A renovation in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 2019 transforms a former garage of a house into a comfortable apartment with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. Three major strategies are at work here. The first is the creation of circular nooks cut into a wall of storage in the living room, which house a television, two speakers, and a mattress for lounging, echoing other rounded shapes found within the space. The living room of a Neuilly-sur-Seine apartment renovated by Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier, complete with a mirrored wall that practically doubles the perceived size of the space. The second is a mirrored wall that visually multiplies the space, and the third is a tightly controlled color palette that extends into the kitchen. The white walls and ceiling help carry limited daylight deep into the apartment, while varied tones of soft salmon pink, mint, and mustard yellow define the mood. The last rites of Army soldier Ranjit Singh Salaria, who was among the five troopers killed after being hit by an avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir, were performed with military honours at his native village in Punjab on Friday. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at the cremation ground as the funeral pyre of the 26-year-old soldier was lit by his three-month-old daughter, Pari. The soldier was yet to meet his daughter as he was on duty in Jammu and Kashmir when Pari was born in December last year, Salaria's father Harbans Singh said. As Salaria's mortal remains reached Sidhpur village, several locals who had gathered to pay tributes raised slogans like 'Ranjit Singh amar rahe'. Army officials presented a guard of honour when Salaria's body was brought to the cremation ground, wrapped in the national flag. Subedar MajorRavi Kumar said that Salaria was among the five soldiers, who were buried alive in a checkpost after being hit by an avalanche in Macchal sector of north Kashmir on Tuesday. All five personnel were pulled out of the avalanche debris. Despite best efforts, Salaria succumbed to extreme hypothermia, he said. A large number of people from various walks of life, includingsenior army and civil officers attended the funeral ceremony. "I am really feeling proud on the martyrdom of my son as he died for the country," Harbans Singh said, adding that his son had got married last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Click here to read the full article. Unifrances MyFrenchFilmFestival (MFFF) is back this year, giving thousands of fans of French-speaking cinema from around the world an opportunity to see films reaching the end of their festival runs. This years competition received a late boost when Delphine Girards A Sister, one of the 10 shorts in competition, was nominated for the best live-action short Oscar on Monday. This years MFFF competition has placed a special emphasis on genre films and animation. More from Variety In the case of the former, Axel Scoffier and Antoine Cordier, coordinators of the selection, explained in a joint statement that this is the result of a growing taste among contemporary French filmmakers for blurring lines of genres and playing with fantasy codes. We wanted this selection to reflect that. From the very beginning of the festival, one of the goals has been to highlight animation as a very rich and creative part of the French production, they added. We wanted online audiences to discover that animation can be both very adult and very cartoonish. Our figures are proving that both adult and child animation do please our public, so we will definitely try to add more in the future. An exciting competition featuring nine French films and one Belgian, coming from both veteran filmmakers and newcomers alike, the festival often proves a launchpoint for filmmakers poised to break out. Typically, MFFF represents the end of a films festival journey, and a chance for the public at large to have access to films which have until now only screened at other festivals. Variety will profile five of the shorts in detail throughout the festival, but below looks briefly at all 10 selected for competition. Story continues A Sister, Delphine Girard Delphine Girards Oscar-nominated A Sister is the only short in competition from outside of France. Produced by Belgiums Versus Production with Lagence Belge du Court Metrage handling sales, the film is an edge of your passenger seat thriller, the short turns on an emergency services call center worker who receives a seemingly accidental call before quickly realizing shes speaking with a woman in trouble who cant speak freely. The Glorious Acceptance of Nicolas Chauvin, Benjamin Crotty Produced by Les Films Du Bal, Crottys film takes a revisionist look at the probably fictional French character Nicolas Chauvin, from whom the word Chauvinist is derived, as he delivers an acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award. Recounting the story of his life through first-hand anecdotes, the working-class rural soldier of Napoleons First Army of the French Republic lets slip his opinions, controversial then as they certainly are now, to a rambunctious crowd. The short played in competition at Locarno winning the Signs of Life section, Vienna, Gijon, Go Short and Curtas Vila do Conde and screened at Londons BFI. Diversion, Mathieu Megemont Turning on Joel, a small-town journalist who covers a case in the French countryside only to find himself the subject of the stories he usually writes. Megemonts second directorial outing, produced by Paris-based Insolence Productions, has participated in competition at the Prague Short Film and Clermont-Ferrand festivals and screened out of competition at Locarno. The Night of the Plastic Bags, Gabriel Harel One of the years highest-profile animated shorts, The Night of the Plastic Bags participated in numerous festivals, including participation at Clermont-Ferrand and Cannes Directors Fortnight in 2018. It follows Agathe, 39, intent on having a child. To that end she seeks out ex Marc-Antoine, now a techno DJ in Marseille. As she tries to talk him into getting back together, plastic bags come to life and attack the city. Its one of a number of shorts at MFFF from the French side of Lagence du Court Metrage, who also work in French-speaking Belgium. By a Hair, Lauriane Escaffre and Yvonnick Muller Three days before Elodie takes the hair removal exam for her beautician diploma, her father, a butcher, wants her instead to help him at his butchers shop. Produced by Lagence du Court Metrage, the short won the Fernand Raynaud Award at Clermont-Ferrand. Magnetic Harvest, Marine Leveel Mickael, a young farmer and one of Frances new rurals, moves through a pastoral world tracked through clever usage of a GPS device. While searching for a lost hog, he crosses paths with an old friend and sparks fly. Produced by Apaches Films and sold by Shortcuts, the film has participated at Clermont-Ferrand and a host of international festivals, winning the Audience Award at Angers. The Atomic Adventure, Loic Barche A co-production between Punchline Cinema and Leonis Productions, Barches film is set in 1961 Algeria. France has just detonated its fourth atomic bomb, and a group of seven soldiers is sent to the point of impact to take soil samples and measure the level of radioactivity. But the closer they get, the more their captain, a war veteran in his fifties, finds himself faced with the paradoxes of a changing world, a world obsessed with progress. Before MFFF, the short participated at Catalonias prestigious Sitges Intl. Film Festival for genre cinema. Due West, Alice Douard A co-production between Deuxieme Ligne Films and The Living with Lagence du Court Metrage handling international sales, Douards short turns on Mathilde a 9-year-old enjoying the final day of summer vacation, when her father misinterprets one of their childhood games. A standout at both the Leeds Intl. Film festival and the French Film Festival of the Czech Republic. Ahmeds Song, Foued Mansour From producers Offshore and sold internationally by Manifest, Ahmeds Song kicks off when Ahmed, employed at a public bathhouse and nearing his retirement, crosses paths with Mike, an aimless teenager. A relationship develops between these two within the bathhouse walls. One of the most hyped shorts in this years competition, Mansours short played Clermont-Ferrand, Palm Springs, and a raft of other prominent festivals for shorts and features alike. Rain, Rain Run Away, Clementine Carrie Another debut, Carries Rain, Rain Run Away is a midsummer tale of seven-year-old Boubou, stuck in the boredom accompanying long days at her familys campground. In the intense heat, while others rest, she takes her friend Dany to the scrublands nearby to play in a welcome storm. Key festival participation includes Clermont-Ferrand, Palm Springs and BFI London. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Why settle for less? To the editor, The bond issue sought by our school district to replace, build, or update current facilities will benefit todays students and, importantly, future Rapid City students. From this retired teachers experience, the building and classrooms where students learn send an unspoken but strong message about the priority the community gives education. Its their workplace. Well designed, efficient buildings with state-of-the-art or updated environments demonstrate to students that education is highly valued, a top community priority. And its a long term investment, a commitment to our cities overall future growth. The city and county employees dont work in aging, rundown facilities, so why would our community settle for anything less for our children? Because they cant advocate for themselves or vote. We are the adults, the voters, no matter your place in Rapid City: single, parent, grandparent, resident, renter, homeowner in the school district. So all the children are our responsibility to provide the best we can. They deserve nothing less. And if not now, when? Louisa Rohrer, Rapid City Senator Rounds, please tell the whole truth You submitted a Primer on US- Iran Relations RCJ (1-12-2020). Unfortunately, in your haste to support the out-of-control President, you left out key historical facts: 1. In 1953 the CIA led a coup against the democratically elected Prime Minister, Moosad, and installed the Shah who brutally repressed and killed his opponents. 2. In 1967 the US helped the Shah build Iran's first nuclear reactor, 3. The Iranians overthrew the Shah during 1979 revolution. An angry mob of students charged the US Embassy and took 52 American hostages for 444 days. 4.Saddam Hussein, who the US and the Arab nations supported, invaded Iran and the two countries fought to a stalemate killing over 1 million people. 5. In 2013. the US led a coalition of European nations. China and Russia to freeze Iran's nuclear program. There were no significant hostilities by Iran during the brief nuclear freeze. 6.Trump pulled out of the deal in 2018 and launched his maximum sanctions on Iran campaign. Iran and its proxies then started attacks on US and its Saudi allies. The Presidents rash assassination of one of Iran's bad guys, General Soleimani, has brought us to the brink of war. His multiple lies have made the situation much worse. Defend him if you must but Senator, you owe us, " The whole truth nothing but the truth, so help you God. Tom Katus, Rapid City Maintain a healthy forest To the editor, Our Black Hills Forests are under attack, not by their natural enemies of beetles, fire, and wind but by the U.S. Forest Service. The public land adjacent to my ranch is gently rolling and very accessible with few rocky , steep slopes. This makes it ideal for modern logging equipment and has been extensively cutout in the last 20 to 30 years. Recently logging operations began in an area which had been cut out only 5-6 years previously. As this was immediately adjacent to my field, I contacted Forest Service and was informed that a contract had been awarded to log in this area. All trees of any market value will be harvested, and this contract cannot be terminated. To me, this basically was clear cutting the particular area and leaving no mature trees capable of re-seeding. All this leaves the adjacent landowner is the expense of controlling a new infestation of thistles. Why would Forest Services do this to our public lands? The only logical answer is that they are more concerned with meeting a board-foot quota than maintaining a healthy forest. This insanity has gone too long and must be stopped. John D. Johnson, Deadwood A no vote penalizes the kids To the editor, The children in this community are the future! In 20 years I will be gone and few will remember me or anything that I have done, but these children will be running the community! If you are critical of the school board and their actions , go to a school board meeting and tell them about it! If you are unhappy with the policies or practices of the superintendent, go to her office and tell her about it! If you vote no on the bond issue you are not inflicting pain or reprimanding them, the only thing they will feel is frustration! Your no vote penalizes and handicaps the kids! If you cannot afford a few bucks (or a few hundred) increase in your property taxes, you are living in too much house! Downsize! A year ago, we did. We disposed of truckloads of treasures, most of which we did not miss! We now live in a 1,100 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, a deck and a car port. Our property taxes are $219.00. If you would like to see our home and the really nice area, please give us a call, we are in the book. Lowell and Dee Holmgren, Rapid City This is our Sputnik moment To the editor, I've watched with great interest the discussion regarding the upcoming bond issue to fund badly needed school building upgrades and replacements in Rapid City. I was opposed to the board of education's original proposal that would've increased my property taxes by $750 per year. However, the board listened, and the revised plan now reduces my increase to $255. It's much more affordable ($21.25 per month), and it accomplishes a lot. If we hope to have any chance of having viable social security, medicare, and medicaid programs in our future, we must invest in our young people's education. This is our generation's "Sputnik" moment and we cannot afford to shirk our duty to ourselves and future Americans. Or should we all just learn to speak Mandarin Chinese? We also have a moral obligation to give the next generation a fighting chance to have what we have. It's what our parents gave us, and I think we owe our best to today's students. Equitable opportunity is in short supply for students at Robbinsdale, Canyon Lake, and South. They deserve to be comfortable and safe as they learn to compete with the world, reaching for the American dream. Voting yes, we'll all benefit. Jerry Munson, Rapid City A chance to improve Rapid City To the editor, These past months, I have been working along side many to forward the School Districts Bond Proposal. As a teacher I was hesitant to get involved. I did not want to have a conflict of interests, work-wise. Yet, I had a realization; my 3 and 5 year old would be attending two of the school districts buildings that were slated for rebuilding. I needed to do something for my own kids. We are still over a month away from the vote, but I feel like I am part of something that will improve Rapid City for years to come. Making buttons, shirts, and floats has be fun. Each time I see a no comment or add, I wonder how it feels to work so hard for a lower quality community, working environment, and town? It is important for people to understand the details, but in the end its obvious that even if a person disagrees with a detail or two, we must not throw out an excellent plan because it is not perfect. Perfect is different for everyone, but this plan addresses some of the largest problems we face. Sarah Gross, Rapid City Move the schools into the future To the editor, My vote will be yes in the upcoming school bond election on February 25. Ronald Reagan once said, The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally - not a 20 percent traitor. Even though one may not agree with every part of the facilities investment that has been proposed, there is only the ability to move forward or stay the same. A no vote moves the facilities backwards because they will continue to deteriorate. One cannot go back and undo decisions that may or may not have been made in the past. One cannot undo what you thought should have been done before. It is easy to move into the shoulda, coulda, woulda mode and stay stuck right where things are now. But that is not the solution to the challenges facing the facilities for the Rapid City Schools. A yes vote will move the Rapid City Schools facilities into future years for the current students and beyond. Jacqueline Sly, Rapid City Make the wise choice To the editor, My family has no direct involvement with Rapid City Schools. Neither our children nor grandchildren attended RCAS, nor shall they. They are all adults living in other states. I, like most, do not like an increase in taxes, be it income, sales, excise, or property. Fiscally, Id most likely be placed somewhat to the right of President Ronald Reagan. Pretty conservative. Its easy to say NO to a tax increase, doesnt require any thought. But is it always the wise thing to do? In this case, I do not believe it is. Because : 1. Research has proven that physical environment positively impacts student outcomes. 2. The infrastructure needs are genuine. 3. A healthy school system is integral to community economic expansion. 4. The technology improvements are essential because the world is technologically dependent. 5. Improvements are going to have to be made at some point. Its not going to be cheaper in the future. 5. Complaining about decisions or lack thereof of past boards and/or administrators does not change the realities of today. So, I will be voting YES on the impending bond issue. I encourage others to do the same. Thank you. Dwight F Moose, Rapid City Who is responsible for their plight? The author of your YOUR TWO CENTS on responsibilities of the "Sovereign Nation" on Pine Ridge needs to study their history. Many Christians and the largely Christian federal government are responsible for most of the terrible problems the Lakota face. Christian boarding schools took away their language, made them change their names and outlawed their religion. Many Lakota children suffered terrible abuse at these schools including rape and sodomy. European American soldiers and hunters were ordered or encouraged to kill some 45-some-million buffalo to destroy the plains Indian culture. In the 1700's the lifespan of a Lakota was 72-years. Now it's 47-years for males and 52-years for females. I was a certified chemical dependency counselor for years. Those most likely to become addicted suffer from some underlying [dis-ease] such as anxiety low self esteem or PTSD. They drink or take Meth and it kills their psychic pain and they almost immediately become addicted. European Americans stole most of the Lakota's guaranteed Fort Laramie lands -- That was ruled so by the U.S. Supreme Court. Pine Ridge is the poorest county in the U.S.. They have over 80% unemployment, and yes, Christian European Americans are largely responsible for the Lakota's plight. Metakuye Oyiasin (All my relatives) Robert Ackerman, Rapid City You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Abdul Kerimkhanov Some 645 families consisting of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Azerbaijans occupied Lachin region will receive apartments in Takhtakorpu village of Aghjabadi region, Azerbaijani State Committee for Refugees and IDPs reported on its website on January 16. The process of accommodating was launched in two of three settlements in 2019. A land plot of 572 hectares was allotted in line with the relevant resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers. At the preliminary stage, three settlements were built for 645 families of IDPs on 134 hectares. The IDPs who previously temporarily resided in Vagazin, Garakechid and Sheylanli villages have been accommodated in the settlements. The families from Vagazin will be accommodated in 256 houses, families from Garakechid - in 245 houses and families from Sheylanli - in 144 houses. Each private house has a personal plot of 0.12 hectares. In total, 62 one-room houses, 260 two-room and three-room houses, 63 four-room houses were built in three settlements. Three school buildings, including two schools for 192 pupils and one school for 108 pupils, were built in the settlement. An administrative building and a first-aid post were also built. The corresponding engineering and communication networks were created. The landscaping work was carried out. In order to provide new settlements with electricity, a 330/110/10-kV substation was reconstructed. A new closed substation was built. Some 11 pieces of 10 / 0.4 kilovolt transformers with a capacity of 400 watts were installed. Some 106 hydrants were installed on the territory of the settlements. The closed drainage networks and closed water reservoirs were created to reduce the groundwater level. Eight drainage pumps were installed. Water tanks, into which water is pumped from the Upper Karabakh Canal through new pipelines, were built. Some water is directed to a water treatment plant to supply the settlement with drinking water and other part will be used for irrigation of yard areas. The appropriate measures have also been carried out to provide the settlements with gas. Gas-fired heating boiler installed in each house. Two boiler houses were built in each of the settlements for heating schools and a first-aid post. The landscaping work was carried out in each settlement. As many as 19 sanitary treatment sites were built, a territory of 2.3 hectares was landscaped. The creation of new settlements built to improve the living conditions of IDPs located in Takhtakorpu village is envisaged upon the changes in the state program in accordance with the Azerbaijani presidents decree 1346 dated February 21, 2011. Azerbaijan has been building infrastructure to acomodate around one million IDPs expelled from Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding after the war in the 1990s. In 2007, tent camps were removed and more than 100 settlements were built in the districts of Azerbaijan. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Meghan McCain exploded on air at a producer on The View after they displayed a legal notice on the show to correct her after she said Michael Avenatti was 'going to jail'. On Thursday the morning show panel discussed celebrity lawyer Avenatti, who represented porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against the president, and how he faces fraud and extortion charges. On Wednesday a federal judge revoked bail for the embattled attorney and he's being held in Orange County, California. He'll be transported to New York next week for a criminal trial on extortion charges. 'Theres so many people that take a stop at the Trump White House, here, and then jail, its hard to remember,' McCain said Thursday morning adding, 'And Avenatti's now going to jail. One of our co-hosts.' She was referring to how Avenatti was a Hot Topics guest co-host on the show. A minute later a producer displayed a legal notice for her to read in response to her jail comment. Meghan McCain exploded at a producer on air on The View on Thursday after they displayed a legal notice on the show to correct her. She said that celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti was going to jail, but he's being held on remand awaiting trial for extortion and fraud charges 'Take off that legal note about Michael Avenatti. I'm not interested, and I don't think America is interested. Okay?' she said, seething on the Thursday episode Her co-hosts were quick to jump to the producer's defense saying they needed to make that clarification because Avenatti has not been tried yet. 'Oh for God's sake,' McCain retorted, rolling her eyes and looking to the audience McCain then erupted at the producer for putting up that notice. 'Take off that legal note about Michael Avenatti. I'm not interested, and I don't think America is interested. Okay?' she said, seething. 'Oh, apparently our producers say...' she said mockingly, touching her ear piece. But the other hosts were quick to jump to the producer's defense. 'No, she has to do it,' Whoopi said. Joy Behar cut in to say the notice was needed because Avenatti has pleaded not guilty and hasn't been to trial yet. He's simply being held ahead of his trial. 'He has pled not guilty so we dont know if hes going to jail for a very long time,' host Sunny Hostin added. 'Oh for God's sake,' McCain retorted, rolling her eyes. It's the latest drama to unfold on set of the long-running ABC morning show where the 35-year-old conservative has reportedly had a falling out with her fellow co-hosts. On Wednesday a federal judge revoked bail for celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti and he's being held in Orange County, California. He'll be transported to New York next week for a criminal trial on extortion charges Avenatti was a guest co-host on The View and has appeared on the show in the past. Pictured on April 17, 2019 with client porn star Stormy Daniels McCain is reportedly not on speaking terms with any of her co-hosts and has often found herself at the center of bitter cat fights on screen with her liberal counterparts and guests on the show. She has even fallen out with Abby Huntsman, the other conservative host on the panel. 'They aren't speaking to each other. It's been about a month,' a source told Page Six. 'None of the ladies talk to Meghan now. Abby was the last woman standing. It's bad. Meghan's so rude,' the source added. Another source told the outlet: 'Abby tolerates Meghan, but she doesn't genuinely like her. Their friendship has soured.' McCain was absent from the taping for the Thursday January 9 and Friday January 10 episodes citing personal reasons. The rumors of a McCain-Huntsman rift came after the pair went head-to-head on Tuesday's episode while discussing National Security Advisor John Bolton's announcement that he is willing to testify at President Donald Trump's impeachment hearing. Meghan McCain was notably absent from two days of taping for The View last week McCain is reportedly not on speaking terms with any of her co-hosts including her once close friend Abby Huntsman. The pair went head-to-head on January 7's episode while discussing National Security Adviser John Bolton's announcement that he is willing to testify at President Donald Trump's impeachment hearing. Huntsman (left) hit back after McCain (right) mentioned her political pedigree 'I think he ultimately has a conscience... He's someone that I think would be speaking [about] what he thinks is right, not what politically he believes or doesn't believe,' Huntsman - the daughter of former Republican Utah Gov Jon Huntsman Jr - said of Bolton. McCain firmly disagreed, saying: 'The idea that he went home and grew a conscience... Maybe I've been in politics too long.' Huntsman hit back: 'Well, I've also been in politics. [It's] my upbringing too, and a lot of people have been around politics or know politics, whether you have family or not... This show is about opinions.' McCain also got in an explosive spat with Whoopi Goldberg last month after repeatedly interrupting the other hosts. 'Girl! Please stop talking! Please stop talking right now!' Goldberg said in frustration - prompting McCain to fall silent for several minutes. Goldberg addressed the outburst on the show the following day. McCain got in an explosive spat with Whoopi Goldberg last month after repeatedly interrupting the other hosts. 'Girl! Please stop talking! Please stop talking right now!' Goldberg said in frustration - prompting McCain to fall silent for several minutes McCain posted the tweet above after the Goldberg spat, where she compared herself to Queen Daenerys, aka the Mother of Dragons, from Game of Thrones 'We're just going to do a little clean up before we doing anything. Things get heated on this show,' the Oscar-winning actress said. 'If you watch this show, you know this has happened over the years. We're really passionate. Sometimes we're not as polite as we could be, that's just the way it is.' She added: 'Don't assume that we're over here with butcher knives under the table.' McCain backed up Goldberg's remarks, insisting that 'Whoopi and I get along great'. She then spoke directly to Goldberg: 'I love you very much. I've loved you for a long time. You were good friends with my dad.' McCain then turned back to the audience and reiterated what her co-host said: 'We fight like we're family. It's all good. We're not tearing the set apart. Calm down, all of you, okay.' But McCain's comments contradicted a fiery tweet she posted earlier that morning, where she compared herself to Queen Daenerys, aka the Mother of Dragons from Game of Thrones. 'Good morningto all the fellow conservative 'girls' who won't be quiet,' she wrote alongside a GIF of a dragon landing next to Daenerys. Flash Tourism officials from ASEAN, China, South Korea and Japan reaffirmed their commitment on Thursday to strengthen their cooperation to make the region more competitive globally. Zhang Xu, China's vice minister of culture and tourism, led a Chinese delegation to the 19th Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three Tourism Ministers in the Bruneian capital. At the meeting, Zhang and his counterparts reviewed the tourism industry performance of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan and South Korea last year. The tourism officials discussed issues including the implementation of the ASEAN+3 memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation, ASEAN+3 tourism cooperation work plan 2018-2020 and the promotion of international cooperation to make hotel service industry more attractive, dynamic and sustainable in line with the ASEAN Vision 2025. The meeting was attended by the tourism ministers or their representatives from 10 ASEAN member countries and its three dialogue partners - China, Japan and South Korea, and representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat. She said the district would have no comment on Vanderbilts arrest until it concluded its own internal investigation of the matter. Andhra Pradesh government on Friday issued an order, empowering the collectors and district magistrates and the commissioners of police in the state to exercise powers of detention under the Security Act,1980 for up to three months. The "powers of detention" are already in existence for the past three months and will continue for the next three months. "The Security Act,1980 (No.65 of 1980)-Extension of period for empowering all the Collectors and District Magistrates and the Commissioners of Police in of Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam to exercise powers of detention there under for a further period of three months from January 16, 2020 to April 15, 2020," Nilam Sawhney, Chief Secretary to Government said. "The Inspector-General of Police, Intelligence, Andhra Pradesh has requested that the period of detention powers under sub section (3) of Section 3 may be extended for a further period of three (3) months beyond 15.01.2020, in exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the said Act," he said. The decision was taken in regard to the circumstances and conditions prevailing and are likely to prevail within the local limits of the jurisdiction of all the collectors and district magistrates and the commissioners of police in the state. "If satisfied with respect to any person that with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the state or from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order or from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community, it is necessary so to do, make an order directing that such person be detained within the local limits of their respective jurisdictions, for a further period of three months," the order said. The order holds importance in wake of the YSRCP government's proposal of three capitals, following which, protests have erupted in several parts of the state, particularly Amravati. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nearly 850 patients were left waiting on trollies at midland hospitals for more than 24 hours last year according to Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley. The biggest of the three in Tullamore had the worst figures with nearly 630 people aged over 75 left waiting to get a bed after being in need of hospital care. The figures which Sinn Fein has obtained in response to parliamentary questions are alarming. They cover an 11 month period from January to November 2019. The figures show that 628 patients over the age of 75 had to wait more than 24 hours to be attended to in Tullamore Emergency Department, while the figures for Portlaoise was much less at 69. In the case of Mullingar, it was 146 for the same period. "In a proper health service, no person who is sick or injured should have to wait 24 hours or more in any emergency department to be treated. The fact that hundreds of our most elderly citizens, aged over 75 years and who are more likely to have complex medical needs, are having to wait this amount of time is truly shocking. Expert advice tells us that treatment in a timely manner greatly diminishes the risk of serious and long-term medical conditions. "The current overcrowding in emergency departments is unfair, not just on patients but also staff who are in no way to blame for the crisis. Staff regularly complain to me that the situation they are been put in is getting extremely difficult. "The current crisis in our hospitals is unacceptable given the fact that we are supposed to be the tenth richest country in the world and that we spend more per capita on health that almost all other EU countries. "Our elderly citizens deserve better and I am calling on the Government and in particular, the new Minister for Health to address this serious problem. Capacity needs to be increased in this most important part of our health system. Extra beds and extra staff are needed at the frontline to cater for our increasing population which include greater numbers of the elderly. Government and the HSE need to start building proper services at the frontline, said Dep Stanley. Canada will give the families of individuals killed in the downing of UIA Flight PS752 thousands of dollars to help with their immediate needs, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today stressing it's only a first step toward getting Iran to compensate those grieving families. "I want to be clear, we expect Iran to compensate these families," Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa Friday morning. "But I have met them. They can't wait weeks. They need support now." Of the 176 passengers and crew killed, 57 were Canadian citizens and 29 were permanent residents, said the prime minister. He said the government will give those families $25,000 per victim to help cover the cost of immediate needs such as funeral arrangements and travel. If all the victims' families seek financial help, the government could pay out about $2 million. For Masoud Pourjam, today's announcement was a small piece of good news in the midst of his struggles to resolve his brother's affairs. Mansour Pourjam, a dual Iranian-Canadian citizen, was one of the 176 people killed aboard Flight PS572. Masoud drives a taxi in Ottawa. He said it has been difficult for him to return to work, or to do simple things like going to the bank. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press "I cannot work more than half-shift, even less, I have to go home. I try not to be alone by myself. It is embarrassing when a customer is in the car and I start crying," he said. "For a few weeks, I can breathe a sigh of relief." Trudeau said any compensation from Iran would go straight to families and would not be used to reimburse the federal government. Earlier this week, the government announced it also would waive fees and speed up visa processing times for those affected by the tragedy. 'Politicization of this tragedy must be rejected:' Iran About 20 families have asked for their loved ones' remains to be returned to Canada, with others have said they want their family members buried in Iran, said Trudeau. Story continues No bodies have been returned yet, added the prime minister, but he said the first remains will begin their trip home in the coming days. Trudeau's latest update comes as Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is in Oman for a rare face-to-face meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif following last week's disaster near Tehran. Canada cut diplomatic ties with the country in 2012. "Minister Zarif conveyed his profound regret for this terrible tragedy and Minister Champagne noted that he had met with families of victims this week who are deeply hurt and angry," says a readout of the meeting from Champagne's office. According to his office, Champagne pushed for concrete action after Canada along with four other nations that lost citizens in the crash gathered earlier this week to discuss Iran's role in shooting down the flight. After the meeting, Zarif tweeted that the two countries agreed "on continued exchanges between respective experts." "Politicization of this tragedy must be rejected," he added. "That is what we continue to push on. That is what the international community is pushing on," said Trudeau. "So far, the people we've engaged with in Iran have been aligned with that wish, for now." A list of demands Ministers from five nations affected by the crash Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom listed their demands of Iran during a meeting in London on Thursday. They include a full investigation of the crash and an independent criminal probe. Their other demands are: Full access within Iran to allow them to provide consular services to relatives of the victims. Assurance that the victim identification process is conducted with "dignity, transparency and to international standards, and to ensure families' wishes are respected." A commitment from Iran that it will continue to assume full responsibility for the disaster and co-operate with compensation talks. Under international law, Iran is leading the latest aviation investigation because the crash occurred within its borders, but there are precedents for handing that responsibility over to another country that suffered losses. Trudeau said the flight's black box recorders were "significantly" damaged, adding there are only a few laboratories in the world, including one in France, that can process broken flight recorders quickly. In a rare sermon during Friday prayers, Iran's supreme leader called the destruction of the civilian airliner a bitter accident that saddened Iran and made its enemies happy. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran's international enemies have seized on the crash to question the country and its armed forces. N early a year after its initial run, Sex Education has returned to our screens with a hotly-anticipated second series. The show, which chronicles a group of teenagers as they navigate sex and relationships alongside their studies, has received plaudits from critics for its accurate depictions of real teenage lives in the modern world. The cast have also been praised for their talents and garnered huge fanbases thanks to the show. But there's plenty that viewers might not know about them. Here are 11 facts about the Sex Education that you (probably) didn't know... 1. Emma Mackey's father is French and she grew up in France Getty Images Despite her English accent, Mackey whose full name is Emma Margaret Tachard-Mackey is actually half French and grew up in France. Her father, Philippe, is French, while her mother, Rachel, is English. Speaking about her childhood, she previously told Reggie Yates on Belstaffs Road Less Travelled podcast: I grew up in the Loire Valley, its very rural. There's a lot of farming going on, there's a lot of food, agricultural industry going on round there. It was really, a really lovely place to grow up um, kind of yeah, really quite peaceful, really, really nice. As a result of her upbringing, she is bilingual. 2. Aimee Lou Wood and Connor Swindells are dating Aimee Lou Wood (who plays Aimee Gibbs) and Connor Swindells, (Adam Groff) are dating in real life. Their characters were an item in the first series but their relationship didn't last and. Aimee got a new boyfriend, while Adam had a brief and complex relationship with Eric Effiong. After the series aired, Gibbs and Swindells revealed they are dating in real life with a series of loved-up snaps. 3. Mimi Keene was in EastEnders BBC/Kieron McCarron If you recognised Mimi Keene (aka school bully Ruby who ended up being, um, exposed) from the small screen then youre probably thinking of her role in EastEnders. The 21-year-old actress starred in the iconic soap from 2013 to 2015, playing Cindy Williams, the daughter of Cindy Beale and Nick Holland. 4. Asa Butterfields mother is a psychologist Sam Taylor/Netflix During an interview with the Telegraph last year, Butterfield revealed that his character Otis and he have a similarity both of their mothers work in slightly similar fields. Otis mother, Jean, is a sex therapist, while Butterfields mother, Jacqueline, is a psychologist. He said that shooting the uncomfortable scene where Gillian Anderson who plays Jean attempted to have The Talk with Otis, harked back to his time as a teenager. He told the newspaper: I could hear by the tone of her voice what the conversation was going to be about, and I was like, Mum, Im not having this, Im sorry but Im not, and I walked out. Its hard for teenagers to have those conversations with their parents, but I think its just as hard for the parent to broach that topic with their child. Youd almost rather have that talk with anyone else, even a complete stranger, than your own parents. 5. Ncuti Gatwa has performed at London's Globe theatre Getty Images Gatwa, who was born in Rwanda and raised in Scotland, began his career beginnings in Scotland performing in several plays at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland after training there. His talent was soon noticed and took him to London where he trod the boards at the famous Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London where he starred in two plays, The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips and A Midsummer Night's Dream. 6. The show had a sex intimacy director to help the cast Behind the scenes at Sex Education: Kedar Williams-Stirling as Jackson / Netflix As the show is based around sex and involves the characters doing multiple sexual acts on screen, showrunners made sure that the actors were comfortable with the scenes by hiring a sex intimacy director. Speaking about it to the Express, Jackson actor Kedar Williams-Stirling said: We had a workshop before [the show] where we studied different animals having sex and then that would kind of come into play with how our characters are having sex. When it came to our sex scenes and how we were shooting it was like a choreographed dance. It was great. And it was a closed set - there werent that many people on set. 7. Gillian Anderson's fellow classmates didn't think too highly of her... Gillian Anderson as as Dr Jean F. Milburn / Netflix During an interview with Out Magazine, she said she voted Most Bizarre and Most Likely to Be Arrested. Both descriptions, she said, contained a kernel of truth. "It was based on how I chose to look, dress, behave, you knowthe relationships I was in at the time were freaking people out," she explained. I was in a relationship with a girl for a long time when I was in high school, and then I was in a relationship with a punk rock drug addict And then I was in a relationship with somebody who was way, way older than me. "Everything that that kind of anarchistic attitude bringsthe inappropriate behaviour it leads towas how I chose to be in the world at that time, which was, you know, not what people did. 8. Tanya Reynolds, who plays Lily Iglehart, has appeared in short films shown at the Edinburgh Fringe festival Tanya Reynolds (left) and Patricia Allison as Ola Nyman / Netflix Reynolds first appeared on screen in several short films, Civilised People by UK comedy duo In Cahoots, which was shown at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2015. She also starred in The Jealous Boyfriend, also by In Cahoots. 9. Mikael Persbrandt has released an album BBC/Nordisk Film Production A/S & Filmlance International AB/Bengt Wanselius Persbrandt (who plays Jakob Nyman) released an album titled Someone You Love, which peaked at number 29 in the Danish music charts. It accompanied a 2014 Danish film of the same name, which he also starred in. 10. Alistair Petrie appeared in Star Wars: Rogue One Petrie plays headteacher Mr. Groff but in Star Wars, he took on the role of General Davits Draven, who was a member of the Rebel Alliance. 11. Kedar Williams-Stirling went to the same school as Naomi Campbell, Russell Brand and Louise Redknapp Getty Images Amid massive land encroachment of Jammu Development Authority (JDA) due to failure of its enforcement wing, Lieutenant Governor Girish Chander Murmu on Friday directed Vice-Chairman of the organisation to dismiss officials who fail to perform their duty or in any way connived with the encroachers. To inspect the pace of work and to get a first hand appraisal of the several developmental projects undertaken in the winter capital, Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on Friday conducted an extensive tour of Jammu city. The Lt Governor, during the review of JDA asked the Vice Chairman Rajiv Ranjan to ensure that enforcement staff is sensitized to keep the encroachers of JDA land at bay. He directed the VC to devise a mechanism of ensuring every official of the enforcement wing has a particular land parcel allotted to him for surveillance against encroachment and if at all the said official fails to perform their duty or in any way connives with the encroachers, the said official should be penalized to the extent of dismissal from service, if need be. LG further directed the officers to fix conspicuous "government land" signboards in and around all state lands, community water bodies within a period of 15 days, take immediate steps for demarcation of all such lands, and make provision for constructing boundary walls around them along with plantation of trees. Since 1973, the J-K government had transferred 9,479 acres of land to the JDA for development and out of which 6,818 acres of land has not been demarcated, officials said. The massive crackdown against encroachers was carried out in compliance to the directions of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court last year. The court had pulled up the Jammu Development Authority enforcement wingand the revenue department for repeated massive encroachment of state land. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had also rapped the JDA for failing to retrieve encroached lands in Jammu city and Rs 147 crore worth prime property, including illegal allotment of Rs 116 crore land to a non-state subject in Jammu, during the last 18 years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) JIO became the first operator outside China to cross 400 million mobile subscribers in a single country. JIO is today the world's second largest mobile data carrier handling monthly traffic of over 630 crore gigabytes. (Image: Moneycontrol) live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More - Vodafone Idea may not be able to survive if it doesnt get relief from the government- Airtel is well-prepared to pay its dues- Reliance Jio and Airtel to benefit if Vodafone Idea doesnt survive- Government is expected to grant relief given the ramifications on telecom industry and economy ---------------------------------------- The Supreme Court judgement on Adjusted Gross Revenues (AGR) has huge ramifications for the well-being of two of the largest telecom operators in India: Bharti Airtel (Airtel) and Vodafone Idea (VIL). Both telcos had filed a review petition in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking relief from its earlier judgement which had asked them to pay up their dues to the government. But the SCs rejection of the plea comes as a big blow. Now Airtel and VIL have to pay AGR dues amounting to Rs 34,300 crore and Rs 44,300 crore, respectively, to the government by January 23, 2020. The judgement has huge ramifications on the industry especially on VIL, which is on the verge of shutting shop. If that happens, then that may result into domino effect on banking sector as well because VIL owes Rs 1.2 lakh crore. Further, the shutdown of the business may lead to job losses in large numbers. What is noteworthy is that both promoters (Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Plc) have indicated that if they dont get any relief then they would be forced to shut the business. On the other hand, Airtel is well-prepared to pay its dues. It raised Rs 21,000 crore last week through the QIP (qualified institutional placement) and FCCB (foreign currency convertible bond) route. The remaining amount (Rs 13,000 crore), can be arranged through a bank loan without impacting balance sheet much (2.6 times debt to operating income after additional loans). If VIL shuts its shop that may lead to a duopolistic market which would be beneficial for Reliance Jio (Jio) and Airtel. Both Jio and Airtel would try to capture the subscriber base of VIL. As per Motilal Oswal estimates, assuming subscriber share of 70:30 for RJio and Bharti, both these companies could see significant bump in earnings as highlighted in the table below. In fact, as per the latest data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Jio added 5.6 million subscribers in November, the highest among the three large players, making it the largest player in terms of market share (32.04 percent). Airtel witnessed a nominal addition of 1.6 million whereas VIL lost 36.4 million. We believe that the choice that telcos now have is to approach the government seeking relief. It will not be surprising to see the government chipping in given the huge implications that the shutting down of VIL would have on various stakeholders especially the beleaguered banking system and on employment. The government may bring in some respite through providing AGR liability payment extension, or by waving penalty amount or interest on penalty.Reliance Industries Ltd is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. But Dominion is already angling to rewrite the bill. The company claims the legislation is too complicated, even though it was carefully crafted with input from dozens of solar, wind and electricity storage companies that will actually have to meet the new standard in real life. Dominion is also telling lawmakers that the bill could be costly. Ha! To Dominion, east is west and up is down as long as the company can keep overcharging ratepayers and harming the climate with its preferred network of coal and gas plants. After Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan slammed the state government for not informing him prior to moving the Supreme Court against the Citizenship law, Congress MP K Suresh alleged that the former was behaving like a state BJP president, who is blindly supporting Centre's anti-people policies. "He is acting like state BJP president and going beyond a limit. He is travelling across state, meeting people and expressing views-just like a politician. He is blindly supporting Centre's anti-people policies," Kahn told ANI. As the Kerala government moves the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, on Thursday said that this is a 'breach' of protocol and courtesy and the government should have informed him. "This is a breach of protocol and a breach of courtesy. I will look into it whether the state government can go to the SC without the approval of the Governor. If not the approval, they could have just informed me," said Khan while speaking to the reporters. "I have no issue with them going to the Supreme Court but they should have informed me first. I, being a constitutional head came to know about it through newspapers. Clearly, I am not just a rubber stamp," he added. His statement came two days after the Kerala government moved the Supreme Court against CAA which grants Indian citizenship to minorities from three countries - Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. In the petition, the government stated that the act violates "Articles 14, 21, and 25 of the Constitution of India" and is violative of the basic structure- the principle of secularism as well. This came days after the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of the CAA. Earlier this month, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to his counterparts in 11 states asking them to consider passing a similar resolution like that of his state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 17.01.2020 LISTEN Eight months after the swearing-in of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC), the debate on which part of the country will produce the next President has begun. South-east feels cheated and complain of gross injustice for denying her the chance to lead Nigeria. South-west has agreed that 2023 is hers and that she will clinch the baton of leadership of Nigeria. North, whose son is in his second term as the president, argues that there should be a level playing field that allows every Nigerian, from which ever part of the country they belong to contest power in 2023. While the 3 major contending geo political zones populated by the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo ethic groups would want to hold on to power, other groups who as minority are edged out of the power equation. The 3 predominant ethnic groups have abrogated to themselves the prerogative of leadership of Nigeria. Zoning and power rotation are aberration to our constitution. They serve as a buffer to cushion the rift created by our ethnocultural politics. However, they negate the basic tenet of democratic system of government enshrined in our constitution. The truth is zoning and rotation of power are antithetical to the ideas of democratic culture. The binary of zoning and rotation in our democracy as consensus to limit electoral choices for presidency to southern candidates in 1999 had worsen the problem of ethnic democracy in Nigeria. To placate the South-west, northern political establishment led by former military President, Rtd. General Ibrahim Babangida conceded the candidature of the then largest political party in Nigeria, the peoples Democratic party (PDP) to Rtd. General Olusegun Obasanjo. This compelled other candidates from across the country who had indicated interest to contest under the banner of the PDP to back down for the partys anointed candidate. For all intents and purposes, zoning reinforces ethnicization of democracy. It encourages dichotomy and uses it as a currency to trade in political expediency." I hold the opinion that there is no region that lacks competent people to rule. For this reason, political offices should not go to any one because of their ethnic origin but by the promise of what their candidacy represents for the nation common good. We should consider any candidates who want to have a shot at the presidency on merit not on ethno religious or geographical consideration. To run a complex nation like Nigeria is not in anyway easy. One must therefore prepare for the task. The politician who wants to be our president must be able to reach out to all parts of the country, sell his brand and convince Nigerians that he is someone they should trust with power. Running a country is a serious business. It is for those who are endowed with political savvy, not for charlatans, local ethnic champions or lazy politicians who harp on zoning and power rotation to political end. I understand the clamor for rotation by some sections in the country. The issue is a matter of life and death to some unscrupulous politicians and their uninitiated followers. It is born out of the mutual mistrust, fear and suspicion by one tribe, religion or section by the other. If we as Nigerians believe that we are one people who have one country in which we have a sense of belonging, it wouldnt matter who becomes the president. Our country has been dancing on the brink for rather too long. As today marked 50 years of the end of the civil war in Nigeria, our mutual distrust and utterances show that we have learnt no lesson from the bitter experience of the war. Power shift has always been the topmost cleavage that create the deepest chasm among Nigerians. The mindset of Nigerians about who becomes the president has to change. Almighty God blesses Nigeria with competent men and women in every zone who can lead the country. Our junior sister African country, Rwanda, and Singapore in South East Asia, are two examples of countries that have conquered ethnocultural politics. We can take a cue from them. Nigerians, young minds at kindergarten, primary and basic secondary schools should be taught patriotism. We should not limit love for the nation to singing our national anthem or celebrating particular national days. Patriotism should be about respecting the nation, the people living within its boundaries and every aspect that builds the country. This might create a future generation of selfless, informed, cosmopolitan and patriotic Nigerians, who have the nation at heart and have what it takes to set our country on the path of progress and development. Saleh Ibrahim Bature is a freelance journalist who lives in Abuja. Bature can be reached via email at [email protected] and on +2348038896186 Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 17:49:51|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday said that the U.S. assassination of Iran's Quds commander, Qassem Soleimani, was a "cowardice act" which hurt its superpower prestige. The Americans could not face Soleimani in the battlefield and hit him "furtively," said Khamenei. In revenge, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)'s missiles shower on the U.S. bases in Iraq was also a military "strike" on the U.S. as the superpower, he said. Besides, the huge turnout of the Iranians and regional people in Soleimani's funeral ceremony was a "disgrace" for the United States, Khamenei said. "The Iranians as well as the people of regional countries praised Soleimani and set ablaze the U.S. and Israeli flags," he said. On the funeral ceremony of Soleimani, millions of Iranians displayed their "allegiance" once again to the Islamic republic, he added. The Iranian leader noted that "Soleimani was an anti-terro commander, who is acknowledged by the people of many countries." Earlier this month, U.S. airstrike near Baghdad international airport assassinated Soleimani and in retaliation, the IRGC launched multiple missile attacks on the U.S. bases in Iraq. Khamenei also slammed the recent move by Britain, France and Germany (E3) to trigger dispute resolution mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The Iranian authorities should not have trusted these European countries in the nuclear talks as "their negotiations are seasoned with deception," said Khamenei. Speaking of the recent Ukrainian passenger plane crash, Khamenei called on the Iran's authorities to investigate "the painful crash," adding "it is necessary to seriously prevent the repetition of such disastrous incidents," while condoling the families of the victims. TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / Pelangio Exploration Inc. (TSXV:PX)(OTC PINK:PGXPF) ("Pelangio" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will continue the option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Dome West property located in Tisdale Township, Timmins Ontario. The Dome West property comprises 10 mining cells covering 56 hectares and is strategically located adjacent to both Goldcorp's Dome Mine property and the former Paymaster Mine property. Pursuant to the terms of the option agreement, as outlined in the Company's news release dated January 22, 2019, Pelangio has issued 150,000 common shares, made a cash payment of $30,000 to Mr. Francois Desrosiers and 6398651 Canada Inc., and made a work commitment of $115,000. Highlights of the Dome West property Completed a 543m drill hole on Dome West Property to evaluate a prospective porphyritic intrusive unit (P1 target see Map 2) interpreted to strike across the Dome West Property from the former Paymaster Mine at the 1000-foot level: Intersected a mineralized interval that returned 3.21 g/t gold ("Au") over 1.25 meters including a higher grade intercept of 4.754 g/t Au over 0.75 meters Confirmed the presence of seven new quartz veins within known prospective stratigraphy extending from the Dome and Paymaster mines (see press release dated June 13, 2019 for further details) Pursuant to the terms of the option agreement, Pelangio will be the project operator. Upon exercise of the option, Pelangio will grant Francois Desrosiers and 6398651 Canada Inc. a 3% Net Smelter Return (NSR) Royalty, subject to the right to purchase a 1% NSR royalty for $1,000,000. Ingrid Hibbard, President and CEO of Pelangio stated, "We look forward to continue our exploration program on this exciting land package located adjacent to the Dome Mine in Timmins" Plans for Dome West Pelangio intends to continue with further exploration drilling in the P1 target area with a focus on vein systems associated with the altered leucoxene mafic flows proximal to known porphyry intrusives. It is anticipated that future drilling will be initiated from the north shore of Edwards Lake during the spring of 2020. Some consideration will also be given to running further metallic screen analysis. Qualified Person Mr. Kevin Filo, P.Geo. (Ontario), is a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Filo has verified and approved the data disclosed in this release. Update Regarding Previously Closed Private Placement Further to the press release of the Company dated December 20, 2019, the participation of Ingrid Hibbard (the President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of the Company) in the non-brokered private placement closed on December 20, 2019 (the "Private Placement") constituted a "related party transaction" as such term is defined by Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company was exempt from the MI 61-101 valuation and minority approval requirements for related party transactions in connection with the Private Placement because the Company was not listed on a stock exchange specified in section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101, and neither the fair market value of the common shares purchased by Ms. Hibbard, nor the proceeds to be received by the Company in respect of Ms. Hibbard's participation in the Private Placement, exceeded $2,500,000. About Pelangio Pelangio acquires and explores large land packages in world-class gold belts in Canada and Ghana, West Africa. In Canada, the company is focusing on the Dome West property located 800 metres from the Dome Mine in Timmins, the 25 km2 Birch Lake Property located in the Red Lake Mining District, the Grenfell Property located 10 km from the Macassa Mine in Kirkland Lake, the Dalton Property located 1.5 km from the Hollinger mine in Timmins. In Ghana, the Company is focusing on two 100%-owned camp-sized properties: the 100 km2 Manfo Property, the site of seven recent near-surface gold discoveries, and the 284 km2 Obuasi Property, located 4 km on strike and adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's prolific high-grade Obuasi Mine. Ghana is an English-speaking, common law jurisdiction that is consistently ranked amongst the most favourable mining jurisdictions in Africa. Map 1: Location of the Dome West property in reference to the Dome Mine and other strategically located mine properties Map 2. Location of V1 and P1 targets For additional information, please visit our website at www.pelangio.com, or contact: Ingrid Hibbard, President and CEO Tel: 905-336-3828 / Toll-free: 1-877-746-1632 / Email: info@pelangio.com Forward Looking Statements Certain statements herein may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements or information appear in a number of places and can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information include statements regarding the Company's strategy of acquiring large land packages in areas of sizable gold mineralization, the Company's plans to follow-up on previous work, the successful completion of the work commitment required to continue the option to acquire the Dome West property and the Company's exploration plans. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, we have made numerous assumptions, including assumptions about the state of the equity markets. Such forward-looking statements and information are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Such risks include the changes in equity markets, share price volatility, volatility of global and local economic climate, gold price volatility, increases in costs, exchange rate fluctuations, speculative nature of gold exploration including the risk that favourable results may not be obtained, and other risks involved in the gold exploration industry. See the Company's annual and quarterly financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statement and information. There can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information referenced herein will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Also, many of the factors are beyond the control of the Company. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward- looking statements or information. We undertake no obligation to reissue or update any forward-looking statements or information except as required by law. All forward-looking statements and information herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Pelangio Exploration Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573413/Pelangio-Exploration-Continues-Option-on-Dome-West-Property-Adjacent-to-the-Dome-Mine-Property-in-the-Timmins--Porcupine-Gold-Camp Photo: Egor Kamelev/Pexels Here's the most recent top news you may have missed in Jacksonville. Here's what's coming to Jacksonvilles beaches in 2020 and beyond From new restaurants to oceanfront hotels and more, heres a look at some of the changes coming to the beaches. Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS. Preschool makes it 'snow' in Jacksonville as a part of STEAM education project Teachers at Bright Horizons at the Avenues decided to give their kids a chance to build a snowman in Florida. Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS. Multiple people involved in Northwest Jacksonville crash Crews said the crash happened at the intersection of Soutel Drive and Leander J. Shaw, Jr. Drive. Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS. Jacksonville woman fighting contractor to remove tree branches from yard Joyce Hodges paid for the work upfront and says the employee cut off the upper branches and never returned to remove them. Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS. Sentencing for Jacksonville woman in murder-for-hire plot pushed back Amanda Love said she was promised money after the murder and that the money would be taken from the victim's life insurance policy. Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). To keep it practical, we'll show how First Shanghai Investments Limited's (HKG:227) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. First Shanghai Investments has a price to earnings ratio of 20.96, based on the last twelve months. That means that at current prices, buyers pay HK$20.96 for every HK$1 in trailing yearly profits. Check out our latest analysis for First Shanghai Investments How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio? The formula for price to earnings is: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for First Shanghai Investments: P/E of 20.96 = HKD0.42 HKD0.02 (Based on the year to June 2019.) Is A High P/E Ratio Good? A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to pay a higher price for each HKD1 the company has earned over the last year. That isn't necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future. Does First Shanghai Investments Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry? One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. The image below shows that First Shanghai Investments has a higher P/E than the average (13.9) P/E for companies in the capital markets industry. SEHK:227 Price Estimation Relative to Market, January 17th 2020 First Shanghai Investments's P/E tells us that market participants think the company will perform better than its industry peers, going forward. Clearly the market expects growth, but it isn't guaranteed. So investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such as whether company directors have been buying shares. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases. Story continues First Shanghai Investments's earnings per share fell by 51% in the last twelve months. But over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have increased by 1.4%. A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash). 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. How Does First Shanghai Investments's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio? First Shanghai Investments's net debt is 5.8% of its market cap. It would probably trade on a higher P/E ratio if it had a lot of cash, but I doubt it is having a big impact. The Bottom Line On First Shanghai Investments's P/E Ratio First Shanghai Investments has a P/E of 21.0. That's higher than the average in its market, which is 10.5. With a bit of debt, but a lack of recent growth, it's safe to say the market is expecting improved profit performance from the company, in the next few years. Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. 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. Police have arrested eight people for attempting to loot a house in the city colony area here. Upon interrogation, it was found that the three women, who were among the arrested accused, in the incident, were also involved in extortion incident of a man from Uttarkhand. Speaking to media, SP City Moradabad, Amit Kumar Anand said, "We received a complaint regarding a robbery attempt in a house in city colony area. Based on the CCTV footage, we found some people entering the house to commit a loot on January 9." "The maid of the house and her two sisters planned to commit robbery in the house on January 9. They also involved five others in this act. All of them have been arrested now," he said. "During interrogation, it was revealed that the three women were also involved in an incident of extortion from a man whom they have blackmailed by doing a love affair with him," Anand further said. Further investigation is underway in both incidents. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After the way David Benavidez behaved on Temptation Island Season 2 and how Kate Griffith stood up to him at the final bonfire, fans thought the two were never getting back together. However, the couple has since announced they are currently dating much to the dismay of several viewers. After a couple of weeks, David and Kate went on Instagram Live to answer questions and clarify their current situation. David Benavidez, Kate Griffith | John Tsiavis David Benavidez and Kate Griffith on Temptation Island New Jersey-based couple David Benavidez and Kate Griffith had dated for three years and went on Temptation Island to try to get on the same page. David almost immediately fell into temptation and showered with a girl and then kissed someone else naked. He then cut things off with both of them and pursued things with another single, Toneta Morgan. When his time on the island came to an end, David chose to leave with Toneta, and they also lived together in Los Angeles for a little bit. David and Toneta are boyfriend and girlfriend ok #Temptationisland pic.twitter.com/PTucMlDx5u onmyphoneduh (@realityshowran1) December 6, 2019 Meanwhile, Kate explored a connection with Dominique Price but left the island single. A few months later, Toneta exposed David at the reunion for using her because he allegedly wanted to become a model and an actor. Samantha Hoffman, the female he showered with, then claimed she and David had sex while he attempted to fix his relationship with Kate. On Christmas Eve, after a few weeks of speculation, Kate and David announced on their Instagram accounts that they are back together. David Benavidez and Kate Griffith explained why they went on Temptation Island On January 16, 2020, the couple went live on Davids Instagram account to answer questions. They started off by explaining why they went on the show. According to the couple, Kate was based in Miami, Florida, and David lived in New Jersey, so the two dated long-distance for a while. Unfortunately, not all #TemptationIsland bonds are built to last pic.twitter.com/SgTDQa2naK Temptation Island USA (@TemptationTV) December 28, 2019 Once they decided for Kate to move in with David, it became hard on their relationship as Kate had to deal with new elements and a career change. David agreed and said they underestimated the hit the stress would take on their relationship, so they decided to go on Temptation Island. David Benavidez and Kate Griffith say the negative backlash brought them closer When asked how the two handle the criticism from social media, David admitted it is difficult. Kate agreed and said people are mean to her, but she tries to ignore it. Kate and David seem like they're back on the same team.#TemptationIsland pic.twitter.com/5jhR7lgXUn Temptation Island USA (@TemptationTV) December 20, 2019 However, she realized she lets it sit with her instead of being able to let it go immediately. Even though the past few months have been rough, David noted it has also brought them closer as a couple. David Benavidez and Kate Griffith open up about how Temptation Island changed them Even though they have received a lot of criticism from their portrayal on Temptation Island, the couple admitted the experience changed them for the better. Kate said theyre stronger, understand each other better, and communicate better, as well as have worked the issues they faced on the show. Additionally, she noted David opens up to her more, and theyre having hard conversations for the first time in their relationship. David Benavidez and Kate Griffith have no interest in doing press interviews When Samantha and Dominique appeared on the Reality Steve podcast, the host noted David and Kate ghosted him. In the Instagram Live, Kate said she didnt go through with the interview because it didnt make sense to rehash old things she and David have already worked through. Going to a spin class one time like#TemptationIsland pic.twitter.com/Pxgb8rxjLS Temptation Island USA (@TemptationTV) December 15, 2019 Additionally, Kate feels like writers twist her words. David agreed and said they are in a good place and only want to move forward. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaisarul Islam passed the order against the newspaper Prothom Alo's editor Matiur Rahman, associate editor Anisul Hoque and eight others on Thursday, bdnews24 said in a report. Dhaka, Jan 17 (IANS) A Dhaka court has issued an arrest warrant for a newspaper editor over the death of a student, who was electrocuted during an event organised by the dailys magazine in the victim's school premises. The victim Rahat, 15, a student of class nine, received an electric shock from a power generator set up behind a stage erected for 'Ki Ananda' -- an event organised by Kishor Alo, the magazine published by the newspaper Prothom Alo. According to the lawyer for the plaintiffs, a report submitted by the police stated that Abrar's death resulted from the negligence of the event's organisers. Rahat's father Md Mujibur Rahman filed a case with Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on November 6, 2016 alleging that negligence on part of the organisers caused his son's death. Mujibur had earlier filed a case of unnatural death over the incident on November 1 and the court ordered the police to complete the investigation into both complaints by December 1. ksk/ The My Voice project has presented some opinions and assessments of American diplomatic sources about the 2008 presidential election and the tragic events of March 1, 2008, which appeared at the declassified Wikileaks documents. My Voice also provides links to Wikileaks: The materials of 12 years ago are remarkable today. Moreover, they are especially important today, when an attempt is made to present reality only from the point of view of the Special Investigation Service and some players, the source noted. Part 1. The 2008 presidential elections in Armenia, as well as previous and subsequent events, were the focus of the US embassy in the republic. US diplomats did not remain indifferent to these events, trying to understand reality as accurately as possible, and sometimes taking on an intermediary role. From the materials related to the internal political events in Armenia from November 2007 to April 2008 and published in Wikileaks, we highlighted the documents of greatest interest. Their overwhelming majority was compiled by representatives of the US Embassy in Armenia and sent to the State Department, the US Security Council, and NATO. According to Wikileaks publications, back in 2007, the US Embassy was collecting information about the upcoming presidential election, while maintaining contact with the main candidates. In a letter from November 27, 2007, Deputy Chief of Mission Joseph Pennington, presents Levon Ter-Petrosyans opportunities in the upcoming elections. According to Pennington, Ter-Petrosyan has very little chance of winning. Speaking about the candidate Artur Baghdasaryan, he noted that the latter would sell his support to the one whose probability of victory would be greater. In a letter from October 12, 2007, Charge dAffaires at the US embassy in Armenia, Rudolf V. Perina, notes that Ter-Petrosyan invited the US Charge d'Affaires, to whom he presented points of view on the Karabakh issue, asking them to transfer it to Ambassador Matthew Bryza. His main idea was one official document that would summarize the results in the negotiation process on Karabakh, recorded during the reign of Armenian second president Robert Kocharyan. He suggested that the Minsk Group co-chairs present a conflict resolution plan that summarizes all the circumstances agreed to date. Regardless of whether the parties agree to this or not, the presence of such a document meant the publication of the final result of the negotiation process during the time of Kocharyan. According to Levon Ter-Petrosyan, this would enable other presidents to continue from this point to not start all over again. He also asked not to submit the proposal as his, to keep this fact a secret and to present everything on behalf of the American co-chair. Ter-Petrosyan also asked to arrange a meeting with Bryza. Commenting on the proposal of the latter, Perina notes that this has a certain political motivation. First, in his opinion, at one stage during the expected campaign, Ter-Petrosyan wants to say that the Karabakh issue was discussed with the US, to show that in comparison with Serzh Sargsyan he is a serious alternative. Secondly, if he can become president, which Ter-Petrosyan himself considers very likely, this document will be important in that sense to show that Kocharyan allegedly was negotiating around a losing document. It will also give him the opportunity as a president to compromise in negotiations with Azerbaijan. This declassified Wikileaks document, perhaps, is distinguished by its exceptional shades: first of all, the fact that Ter-Petrosyan was ready to work against Kocharyan even at the cost of the country's security. In fact, asking the American side to disclose the unacceptable details of the negotiations, he understood that thereby giving Azerbaijan a huge advantage during further talks. Another major episode: in 2008, Ter-Petrosyan sought power with a willingness to make concessions on the Karabakh issue, which he did not hide during meetings with US diplomats and, naturally, trying to blame it on Kocharyan. Part 2: Manipulation. February 12, 2008. A letter from the US Charge d'Affaires Joseph Pennington to the US Department of State, NATO and several other organizations also mentions a rally organized by Levon Ter-Petrosyan on February 9 at Freedom Square. He noted that approximately 40,000 people took part in it. The US representative reports that several influential and wealthy representatives of the Yerkrapah Volunteer Union expressed their support for the latter. Pennington singles out an episode from Ter-Petrosyans speech, in which the latter accuses Kocharyan of the readiness to exchange Meghri for Shushi and Lachin. Pennington noted that Ter-Petrosyans goal was to show the public that there was a disagreement between the Armenian and Karabakh residents. The US official also thinks that the real purpose of Ter-Petrosyans speech was public manipulation. From this it becomes clear that American diplomats initially determined the main goals of the Ter-Petrosyans movement to manipulate society and sow enmity between the residents of Armenia and Karabakh. Part 3: The rallies is the goal. On February 13, 2008, Pennington noted in a letter that both Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Serzh Sargsyan were ready to go all the way to obtain positive results in these elections. No one is ready to accept a loss based on the results of the vote. The US representative predicts that Ter-Petrosyan will not be able to bring the required number of determined people to the street. He predicts that, protests will be quickly dispersed by the authorities with minimal use of violence, but at the same time not excluding the possibility of serious clashes. Pennington notes that Levon Ter-Petrosyans plan is precisely in rallies. He is preparing to fill the streets after the election and declare that the election results were falsified by the authorities. Part 4: Elections - Americans tend to believe the results of candidates. 02/20/2008 Pennington's letter sent to the State Department, the US Security Council, Turkey (probably to the US Embassy in Ankara) and several other organizations, The SS is recognized as the winner of the elections: the number of participants in opposition rallies reaches 50,000. The US representative in a letter notes that, according to the situation at 8pm, the number of demonstrators reached 50,000 mark at the Freedom Square, and so far the rallies are peaceful. It is also noted that the OSCE observation mission described these elections as mostly in line with international standards. 02.21.2008 Pennington writes an urgent letter that he sends to the State Department. It notes that on February 21, Ter-Petrosyans advisor Levon Zurabyan asked to arrange a meeting with a representative of the US Embassy. Zurabyan handed the letter to the latter, noting that it was personally from Ter-Petrosyan. It is noted that it is Zurabyan who is the person who maintains contact with the US diplomatic mission from Ter-Petrosyan. Zurabyan also made two comments. He stressed that they have information that the authorities are going to interfere with the rallies planned for 3pm. According to him, the authorities are holding open the possibility of holding a second round, since Sargsyans result may fall even further from the mark of 50% and a second round will be held. Zurabyan said that they are sure that Ter-Petrosyan won the election. According to Ter-Petrosyans letter, people are angry, they push them to decisive action. He noted that they kept the rallies within the rule of law, but at some point the situation may get out of control. The only way out is the second round, he noted calling on the US embassy to put pressure on the authorities so that a second round takes place and that no one interferes with their peaceful rallies, noting that the authorities will not be able to refuse the requirements of the diplomatic mission. Commenting on Ter-Petrosyans letter, Pennington noted that they dont want to get involved in the domestic political life of Armenia, while Ter-Petrosyan is waiting for this. 02/27/2008 The US Charge d'Affaires ad interim and another embassy official meet with the main assistant and adviser S. Sargsyan on February 26, they ask the US to show even greater support for Sargsyan due to legitimacy, which, according to them, will make the rest of the parties show proper behavior. Embassys representatives replied that the clean conduct of the democratic process is Armenian governments business, and that the US cannot give a green light on this issue. Although the US representative in his letter did not directly indicate the victory of Serzh Sargsyan, he noted that the latter gathered more votes than other candidates. 02/28/2008 Pennington presents the details of the meeting with Kocharyan on February 28. During the meeting, Kocharyan informed the American side that several days ago there were dangerous processes involving Yerkrapah, when the situation from the political channel could develop into a military one, meaning a coup attempt. Kocharyan noted that Yerkrapah already knows that if they try to provide military support to Ter-Petrosyan, the state will be able to withstand this with all force. Touching upon a number of detentions, Pennington quoted Kocharyan as saying that their goal was to exclude the presence of weapons during rallies. Kocharyan also noted that if he wants to free the square, he will do it in 40 minutes, but this will harm the demonstrators, and he does not want it. The US information once again confirms that an attempt was made with the help of senior officials of Defense Ministry, some Yerkrap commanders to lead political processes in a way dangerous for the statehood of the country in the direction of overthrowing the constitutional order with the use of violence. To be continued. [1]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07YEREVAN1383_a.html [2]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07YEREVAN1482_a.html [3]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07YEREVAN1050_a.html [4]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07YEREVAN1257_a.html [5]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08YEREVAN110_a.html [6]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08YEREVAN117_a.html [7]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08YEREVAN144_a.html [8]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08YEREVAN150_a.html [9]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08YEREVAN154_a.html [10]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08YEREVAN163_a.html [11]https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08YEREVAN168_a.html "Serving in the military changes you. The shades and degrees of change vary for everyone, but no one is ever the same as... SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Advocates for the homeless say a decision approved by the San Francisco Police Commission on Wednesday to scale back the number of police officers who respond to calls about homeless people will help advance the goals of a new campaign they launched this week On Wednesday, advocates launched the Solution Not Sweeps campaign, which calls on the city to end the practice of sweeping homeless encampments, towing the vehicles of unhoused people, and confiscating their property. As part of the launch, the advocates have sent a letter to Mayor London Breed. The letter not only demands an end to the sweeps, but also demands that the city replace the law enforcement-led and complaint-driven sweeps with an evidence-based approach, using health care and service providers. The advocates are also asking that the city establish protocols for street and sidewalk cleaning that doesn't disrupt unhoused people living in the area. "We're really pushing for real solutions and not facades," said Kelley Cutler with the Coalition on Homelessness, one of the organizations involved in the campaign. The unanimous decision by the city's Police Commission on Wednesday to approve a resolution urging the city to form a working group to create alternative solutions to a police response is a step in the right direction, Cutler said. "The resolution approved by the commission last night was really reiterating these same requests that police are not the appropriate response," she said. "They're not health care workers, that's just not their role." "What the city does is a complaint-driven system. Someone will call 311 or 911 and they're not reporting an actual crime, they're reporting someone's presence; someone who appears homeless," Cutler said. "So law enforcement will tell people to move and often times they leave their belongings, medications, everything they have and then they have to start from square one," she said. "It's very traumatizing for people, because there's no place where people can even exist." Instead of police, the campaign is advocating that health care and service providers work with homeless people to offer them services and opportunities for shelter or housing. Using law enforcement to conduct sweeps or outreach only makes the work of service providers harder, Cutler said, because the sweeps push homeless people to other blocks, making them hard to locate and ultimately affecting their access to services. So far, Cutler said the campaign hasn't heard back from Breed's office regarding their demands. But, "This is just the start of it," she said. "It's a small city and we all have to work together to find and create solutions." The mayor's office was not immediately available for comment. 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. Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez said on Friday that his government would transfer its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem once Israel opens an embassy in Tegucigalpa. Right-wing leader Hernandez announced the embassy move in August and a month later opened a commercial office in Jerusalem as an extension to Honduras' Tel Aviv-based embassy. Moving an embassy to Jerusalem is highly contentious. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians view east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. "We're just waiting for the State of Israel, reciprocally as is appropriate diplomatically, to open its office in Tegucigalpa and we'll be transferring our embassy to Jerusalem," said Hernandez. Traditionally, most diplomatic missions in Israel have been in Tel Aviv as countries maintained a neutral stance over the status of Jerusalem. Israel is currently represented in Honduras by its Guatemala embassy. Guatemala was one of the first countries to follow the lead of US President Donald Trump when he moved his country's embassy to Jerusalem, sparking a rift between Washington and the Palestinian authorities. Hernandez's statement came as Honduras took possession of a warship worth more than $50 million bought from Israel. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez (center with sunglasses) takes part in a ceremony marking the arrival of a warship bought from Israel Microsoft announced Thursday it will go carbon-negative by 2030 by investing in the development of technologies that remove carbon from the atmosphere. The scientific consensus is clear, the Seattle-based software giant declared in a statement on its website. The world confronts an urgent carbon problem. The carbon in our atmosphere has created a blanket of gas that traps heat and is changing the worlds climate. Already, the planets temperature has risen by 1 degree centigrade. If we dont curb emissions, and temperatures continue to climb, science tells us that the results will be catastrophic." Microsoft, which says it will emit about 16 million metric tons of carbon this year, admits it hasnt figured out exactly how its going to accomplish its goals. Solving our planets carbon issues will require technology that does not exist today, the company acknowledges. The announcement is garnering a positive response from scientists and activists -- and sparking hope that other big companies will follow Microsofts lead. Theyre going to decarbonize at a very fast rate and then use carbon removals to balance out those remaining emissions, World Resources Institute climate-mitigation director Cynthia Cummis told NPR. Thats whats in line with science and what we want to see all companies doing. It reminds me of the Microsoft of old, Columbia University climate scientist and researcher Julio Friedmann told The Verge. They used to do big, audacious stuff like this all the time and Im glad to see that ethos return on a planetary basis. The scope and scale of this proposal is exactly the kind of bold action we need from the business community, Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Braun said in a statement. Coons and Braun are chairs of the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus. Microsoft, already carbon-neutral, says it will accelerate the development of carbon reduction and removal technologies that will help us and the world become carbon negative. That means the company will put $1 billion over the next four years into research and development of such technologies. Read Microsofts detailed explanation for how it plans to go carbon-negative. -- Douglas Perry @douglasmperry Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. PG&E Corp. needs to explain how it will keep a promise to pay fire victims $13.5 billion in the face of a demand from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a cut of that money, a bankruptcy judge said Wednesday. By pushing PG&E for more information, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali is wading into a potential fight for cash between government agencies demanding compensation for their fire recovery efforts, and California residents who say PG&E caused the fires that killed their loved ones and burned their homes. It should not go unnoticed that January 29, 2020 will mark exactly one year since these Chapter 11 cases were filed, Montali wrote in his memorandum. Its a reminder, he said, that a crucial June 30 deadline is less than six months away. If a settlement and the companys reorganization plan arent in place by then, PG&E wont be eligible for a state insurance fund that would shield it from future catastrophic wildfire losses. The committee representing wildfire victims has pledged to back PG&Es bankruptcy-exit proposal in return for $13.5 billion in cash and stock. But federal and state agencies including FEMA have filed billions of dollars worth of claims that may compete for that sum. Montali ordered PG&E to detail the inner workings of two proposed trust funds designed to compensate victims. Those people need to understand how the company will honor its commitments to them while fulfilling two multibillion-dollar bankruptcy deals with creditors, and still comply with state law, Montali said in a court filing. The demand for detail comes as PG&E is close to ending its conflict with holders of more than $11 billion of unsecured bonds. Should that settlement materialize, it would mark a major step forward in the bankruptcy case, leaving California Governor Gavin Newsom as the only major player who hasnt signed onto the companys reorganization proposal. More Time Montali gave PG&E until Friday to tell him if it needs more time to complete a noteholder deal. PG&E asked California utility regulators on Thursday for a two-week delay in filing its bankruptcy testimony as it is engaged in talks with bondholders and the governors office that will result in material changes in its reorganization plan. The company didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on the judges order. The utility previously said it opposes fire claims filed by FEMA. In his memorandum, which was filed in federal court in San Francisco, Montali said he will not put off a status conference in which the company is supposed to help him set deadlines for the process of approving the bankruptcy plan. That hearing must take place on either Jan. 21, or Jan. 29, Montali wrote. The court is unwilling to continue the confirmation status conference beyond January 29, 2020, even if the parties and their counsel need further time to deal with the possible resolution of various disputes, Montali said. With assistance from Mark Chediak. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics California Catastrophe Natural Disasters Legislation Wildfire In a big blow to the telecom companies, the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the review petitions challenging its verdict in the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra and comprising Justices S.A. Nazeer and M.R. Shah found no merit in the review petitions and dismissed it. Responding to the top court's dismissal of the crucial petition, Airtel expressed disappointment and said that it was evaluating filing a curative petition. The final deadline for the telecom companies to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crore is on January 23. The Telecom Ministry in November told Parliament that telcos owe nearly Rs 1.47 lakh crore in license fee (LF) and spectrum usage charges (SUC). The total amount is split in two halves -- license fee comes to Rs 92,642 crore as of July 2019 and SUC comes to Rs 55,054 crore as of October 2019. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea hold the majority of these liabilities, which emerge from these dues. For Bharti Airtel, dues are around Rs 35,586 crore -- Rs 21,682 crore as LF and Rs 13,904 crore as SUC and for Vodafone Idea the dues amount to Rs 53,038 crore, of which Rs 28,309 crore in LF and Rs 24,730 crore in SUC. The Supreme Court had ordered telecom carriers, including telco majors Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone Idea Ltd., to pay the government as much as Rs 92,000 crore ($13 billion) in past dues, which includes penalties and interest. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said telcos will have to shell out the dues. The Department of Telecom (DoT) total demand is estimated around Rs 92,000 crore. "We allow the appeals of the DoT.... The gross revenue will prevail as defined as gross revenue," said the court citing no further exercise should take place in connection with the re-calculations regarding the dues. The top court specified that there should not be any further litigation on the matter. It also passed a separate order on the specific time frame for the telcos to pay their dues. DUBAI (Reuters) - All countries involved in the Ukrainian airliner crash in Iran should avoid turning it into a political issue, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday. "We request all sides not to make human issues, particularly this tragic accident, into an excuse for political gestures," Abbas Mousavi was quoted as saying by the semi-official ISNA news agency. Five countries whose citizens died when Iran shot down the airliner last week said on Thursday that Tehran should pay compensation to families of the victims, and that the world was watching for its response. Mousavi said Iran had cooperated "beyond expectations" with countries whose citizens were killed in the crash, according to ISNA. Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain also said after a meeting of officials in London that Iran should hold a "thorough, independent and transparent international investigation open to grieving nations". Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards admitted accidentally shooting down the Ukrainian airliner with a missile, killing all 176 aboard. Mousavi said it was "strange" that Canada's foreign ministry had asked for consular access related to the crash, noting that almost all of the victims of the crash have been identified. (Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; editing by John Stonestreet) Home Just In India handing over 50,000 reconstructed houses to Nepal next week Kathmandu, January 17 India is handing over as many as 50,000 houses for the survivors of the 2015 earthquake in Nuwakot and Gorkha districts to Nepal on Tuesday next week. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hand over the houses to his counterpart KP Sharma Oli via video conferencing that day, according to Yam Lal Bhusal, joint secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. Earlier, preparations were made to hand over the houses during the inauguration of the Nepal-India petroleum pipeline in September last year, according to the National Reconstruction Authority. However, it was postponed due to some technical reasons. Meanwhile, the two prime ministers will also jointly inaugurate the integrated check post recently built in Biratnagar of Morang district via videoconferencing on the same day. D'Adrien Anderson, 24, (pictured) pleaded guilty to the crime on Thursday A man who was filmed licking a Blue Bell ice cream on sale in Walmart before returning it to the shelf has pleaded guilty to public mischief. D'Adrien Anderson, 24, admitted the crime on Thursday. He had posted a 20-second social media video of himself licking ice cream in a carton in Texas before returning it to a supermarket freezer. Surveillance footage from the shop reportedly showed that Anderson later purchased the ice cream tub, but the Walmart in question was forced to throw out all of its Blue Bell ice cream as a precaution. He could now face up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Anderson has pleaded for leniency, asking the judge for probation. The incident happened in August at a Walmart in Port Arthur, Texas, about 85 miles east of Houston. Authorities say store surveillance cameras show him take the Blue Bell ice cream out of the freezer and buy it, which isn't captured in the social media video. Anderson goes by 'Dapper Don' and 'realarrogant' on social media. The video he uploaded to Facebook and Instagram was viewed more than 125,000 times. His Facebook account indicates he lives in the Bronx in New York City, but he has no listed phone number and his residence has not been confirmed. D'Adrien Anderson, 24, posted a 20-second social media video of himself licking ice cream in a carton in Texas before returning it to a supermarket freezer. He has pleaded guilty to public mischief Anderson's Facebook and Instagram accounts include multiple videos and pictures of him playing pranks on people. One video shows him taking jars off a grocery store shelf immediately after an employee sets them up. Another shows him running onto the Toyota Center floor in the middle of a Houston Rockets game in Houston before security escorts him out of the arena. He even joked about his ice cream-licking antics on August 21. Anderson could face up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. He has pledged for leniency, asking the judge for probation Anderson's Facebook and Instagram accounts include multiple videos and pictures of him playing pranks on people. One shows him running onto the Toyota Center floor in the middle of a Houston Rockets game in Houston before security escorts him out of the arena 'I love your ice cream #bluebell plz [sic] don't ban me from buying it #im#sorry [sic],' he wrote. 'This guy loves publicity even if it's for the wrong reason,' Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham told KFDM at the time. 'That can lead to bigger and worse things. If we're going to save this guy, we have to do it with this case or he's over the hill.' Wortham noted that the Walmart store's staff was forced to dump its Blue Bell ice cream at considerable cost after Anderson's stunt. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Fakhri Vakilov-Trend: According to the results of 2019, the foreign trade turnover of Uzbekistan amounted to $42.2 billion, an increase of $8.7 billion compared to 2018 (an increase of 26.2 percent), Trend reports citing Uzbekistans Ministry of Investment and foreign trade. In particular, the export of domestic goods and services to foreign countries grew by $3.9 billion, or 28 percent compared to 2018, and amounted to $17.9 billion. The bulk of exports accounted for products from precious and semiprecious metals - $5.1 billion (28.5 percent of total exports), services - $3.6 billion (19.9 percent), energy - $2.5 billion (14.1 percent), textile products - $1.6 billion (9.1 percent), food products - $1.5 billion (8.5 percent), non-ferrous metals and products from them - $951.3 million (5,3 percent), chemical products and products from them - $876.9 million (4.9 percent), ferrous metals and products from them - $349.6 million (2 per cent). During 2019, 2,700 new enterprises were involved in export activities. In addition, the 206 new products were supplied to the markets of 42 countries. :ast year, Import increased by $4.8 billion, reaching $24.3 billion, more than 25 percent compared to 2018. The main import items were mechanical equipment - $5.6 billion (23.1 percent of total imports), vehicles and spare parts - $2.6 billion (10.8 percent), services - $2.4 billion (10 percent), ferrous metals and products from them - $2.2 billion (9.1 percent), electrical equipment - $1.3 billion (5.5 percent), food products - $1.2 billion (5, 2 percent), energy - $928.1 million (3.8 percent), pharmaceuticals - $926.8 million (3.8 percent), wood and wood products - $903.7 million (3.7 percent), chemical products - $843.5 million (3.5 percent), plastics and wood products - $811.7 million (3.3 percent) and more. The number of Uzbekistans foreign trade partners for the reporting period amounted to 178. Currently, Uzbekistans leading import partners are China ($7.6 billion or 18.1 percent), Russia ($6.6 billion or 15.7 percent), Kazakhstan ($3.3 billion or 8 percent), South Korea ($2.7 billion or 6.5 percent), Turkey ($2.5 billion or 6 percent), Germany ($980 million or 2.3 percent), Kyrgyzstan ($829 million or 2 percent), Afghanistan ($618 million or 1.5 percent) and the United States ($596 million at or 1.4 percent). From January through December 2019, the volume of trade with the CIS countries amounted to $14.6 billion, an increase of 20 percent compared to 2018. In this context, the main trading partners were Russia (46 percent of the total trade with the CIS countries), Kazakhstan (23 percent), Kyrgyzstan (6 percent), and Turkmenistan (4 percent). Moreover, trade with neighboring countries increased markedly by 25 percent compared to 2018: in real terms, exports reached $3.2 billion, while imports reached $2.6 billion. Among the 20 major partner countries for foreign economic activity, there is a positive balance of foreign trade with five countries: Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Iran and France. --- Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri Secretary of State Bev Clarno hinted this week that she is an equal opportunity rejector of ballot measures, not the partisan hack that critics have suggested. Clarno, the Republican selected by the governor to serve out the term of late Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, said one of three pro-forestry initiatives filed for the November ballot violated a constitutional clause that says ballot measures can only deal with a single subject. Initiative Petition 54 would have allowed the Board of Forestry to block new forestry regulations enacted by lawmakers or voters before they took effect. It would have required the board to ensure that all forest practice regulations were supported by science. And it would have permitted only land or timber owners to challenge board determinations. Clarno apparently felt that was an overreach, violating the single subject requirement in the Oregon constitution. Clarno has already rejected five other ballot measures aimed at the November ballot on similar grounds. Three of them would have put new restrictions on logging and timber industry practices, and two were designed to accelerate the states transition to clean energy, transportation electrification and lower carbon emissions. Critics have accused her, and Richard Vial, a former Republican legislator who became Clarnos deputy but resigned last week, of abusing her office and playing politics with the initiative process by blocking measures opposed by Republicans and their constituents. Backers of the rejected petitions have challenged her in court to restore the measures, but Clarno won the first round when a Marion County judge upheld her decision on the forestry ballot measures. Backers have since refiled narrower forestry petitions and filed a second lawsuit to restore the climate measures. Initiative Petition 54, meanwhile, was one of three filed by pro timber interests in response to the anti-logging measures. Clarno approved the other two, Initiatives 53 and 55. They would require the state to compensate landowners when they pass regulations that restrict the use of their lands, and remake the Board of Forestry to give it a more pro-logging, industry makeup. Critics call the first petition, 53, the son of Measure 37, a controversial 2004 ballot measure that required the state or local governments to compensate property owners when new environmental or land use regulations restricted the use of their property. Measure 49, passed in 2007, rescinded virtually the entirety of Measure 37, and critics now say the new initiative is raising the same issues again. Details added (first version posted at 21:52 on Jan.14) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.14 Trend: A ceremony to mark the 90th anniversary of renowned oil scientist and geologist, academician Khoshbakht Yusifzade has been held. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the ceremony. The head of state made a speech at the event. Speech of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev - Dear Khoshbakht muallim, I sincerely congratulate you on your anniversary and wish you good health and continued success. Although you have turned 90, you, as always, are young, continue working, are in good health and always optimistic. Your optimism is wonderfully communicated to those who work with you. I think everyone will agree with me that you are a living symbol of Azerbaijans oil and gas industry. It is no coincidence that your birthday is celebrated at state level. Some time ago, I signed the order in connection with this jubilee and here we are celebrating it today. Both in Soviet times and in the years of independence, you did a lot for the benefit of the Azerbaijani people, for the development of Azerbaijan, you have made a great contribution to this cause. You have played a major role in the development of the oil and gas industry of Azerbaijan both in the Soviet period and in the years of independence. You were directly involved in the discovery of more than 20 oil and gas fields and in many cases led the exploration in person. A special place among these fields is held by Azeri, Chirag and Gunashli. The discovery of this field in the Soviet time was a huge event because it is the largest field in the Caspian. However, the development of Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli during the years of independence is a historic event in itself because the development of modern Azerbaijan is impossible to imagine without Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli. The development of this field and the oil produced there ensure the development of Azerbaijan and determine its economic independence. Economic independence strengthens our political independence. So the exploration and development of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field is a truly historic event. We have recently extended the development life for this field and it will be in operation at least until 2050. You also remember quite well that when the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli contract was being signed, foreign partners estimated the reserves at the level of 511 million tons. We even wondered how it was possible to calculate them with such accuracy. But you also said with absolute certainty at that time that this field has even more oil. At present, according to the estimates of foreign partners, the field has oil reserves of at least 1 billion tons. However, I believe that more oil will certainly be produced from this field in the coming years, especially using new technologies. Speaking about Azerbaijans successes today, we, of course, should specifically note the achievements in the oil and gas industry, the work of our oil workers. Thanks to their heroism and dedication, independent Azerbaijan is successfully developing today. The fair management of oil revenues, their transfer to the people, to the solution of key problems facing the country became possible thanks to the hard work of the political leadership and as a result of sound policies, of course. Azerbaijan is one of the countries that have experienced progress, happiness and development from oil and gas fields. In many oil-rich countries, oil doesnt bring benefits, but causes harm, problems and bloody clashes. We know from history that the struggle for oil often leads to great difficulties and tragedies. Azerbaijan, for its part, having successfully implemented the oil strategy initiated by great leader Heydar Aliyev, has channeled its oil revenues into the overall development of our country. This is why we are in first place in the CIS in terms of foreign exchange reserves per capita today. The poverty rate in Azerbaijan is approximately at 4.8 percent. This shows that oil revenues are distributed fairly in society and the progress our country has experienced in recent years is based on this factor. Infrastructure projects have been implemented, 16,000 kilometers of roads have been built. We are among leading countries in terms of the road infrastructure today. We used to experience difficulties with electricity and import it from abroad. Today we export it, our generating capacity exceeds a thousand megawatts. How did we achieve this? With the hard work done in the oil and gas sector. The solution of social problems of our citizens is also directly related to the work carried out in the oil and gas industry the increased salaries, pensions, benefits and creation of the social infrastructure. So a lot has been done more than 3,300 schools and over 700 medical institutions have been built. The main source of all this is the oil revenues and their proper use. Therefore, you have contributed a lot to the Azerbaijani people. Your knowledge, experience and the work done with foreign partners during the exploration and development of oil and gas fields ensure the successful development of the present-day Azerbaijan. Of course, we are paying more attention to the non-oil sector today and are trying to develop it. But no-one should forget that the basis of the Azerbaijani economy, its backbone is the oil and gas sector. The oil and gas sector will be the leading sector in Azerbaijan for decades. Of course, we will try and, I am sure, will make sure that the non-oil sector also develops. Last year's figures clearly confirm this. But everyone should know that the oil and gas sector is the leading one. And this is natural, because Azerbaijan is the birthplace of oil. It was Azerbaijani oil workers who first produced oil offshore. At the present stage, Azerbaijan has fully utilized its oil and gas potential based on new technologies. Gigantic oil and gas pipelines have been built, and large transport projects have been implemented thanks to oil revenues. Today, Azerbaijan is approaching developed countries in all respects. I am sure that the day will come when Azerbaijan will take its place among these countries. Khoshbakht muallim, I know that you have gravitated to knowledge since childhood. The question may arise: how do I know this? Let me tell you one story. Last year, when Mehriban Aliyeva visited the Pirhasan Shrine, members of one family approached her and invited to Kurdakhani. They also said that there were many problems in Kurdakhani settlements, roads and school were in poor condition, and invited Mehriban to visit them. She accepted the invitation and visited Kurdakhani, after which many problems there were resolved. A new park was established in Kurdakhani, all roads were repaired and a new school was built. After some time, you said in a conversation that you went to school in Kurdakhani as a child. I was surprised because I knew that you were born in Pirshagi. I asked why you went to Kurdakhani if there was a school in Pirshagi? I remember you saying this as if it happened yesterday: because there were good teachers in Kurdakhani. Right? These were neighboring settlements and the roads were in terrible condition at that time. I was surprised how difficult it must have been for a child. I do not know if there was any transport. Did you go by bus? Khoshbakht Yusifzade: I walked. President Ilham Aliyev: You walked? Just imagine he walked from Pirshagi to Kurdakhani every day to get knowledge. So it was already clear that great future was in store for you. Then you shared your knowledge with young people. You are also a great scientist, are very active as a full member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. You have done a lot of scientific research based on your experience. These are not just versions and theories. Your experience is obvious both from the Soviet period and in the years of independence. That is why you were awarded the highest orders both in Soviet times and in the years of independence. The first order was presented to you in 1963 the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. The second order was in 1971 the Badge of Honor. And the third order was in 1976 the second order of the Red Banner of Labor. Right? Khoshbakht Yusifzade: Right. I have forgotten this. President Ilham Aliyev: I remember everything. I know a lot more and will gradually say it all. Then, in the years of independence, in 2000, great leader Heydar Aliyev awarded the highest order, the Istiglal Order, to you. Then it was my turn, and you were awarded the Order of Shohrat in 2004, the Order of Sharaf in 2009, the Honorary Diploma of the President of Azerbaijan in 2015, and last year you were awarded the Heydar Aliyev Prize. Yesterday, by my Order, you were awarded the highest order of Azerbaijan the Order of Heydar Aliyev. You know, I have known Khoshbakht muallim for 25 years. We have always had very close and sincere relations. We traveled together and took part in the last negotiations for the preparation of the Contract of the Century in the summer of 1994. We stayed in the American city of Houston for more than a month. The negotiations were very tense, there were many problems. Both sides wanted to achieve the most acceptable conditions for themselves. In the end, it seems to me, having reached a very acceptable compromise, we achieved the best conditions for Azerbaijan. These conditions are reflected in our today's share. Today, 75-80 percent of the profit oil goes to Azerbaijan even though Azerbaijan did not invest in the development of the field. We included a provision in the contract then stating that over time at least 90 percent of people on the contract should be citizens of Azerbaijan, and we have achieved this. And this means personnel training. Today, well-trained personnel work in various countries and here. So the unforgettable Houston stage was very important, of course, because the contract was signed less than a month after we returned, opening a new page in our development. At that time, we were like one family. If you remember, we stayed at the Apart hotel and there was a kitchen there. To put it mildly, we are a little tired of the hotel food. Therefore, we asked Mehriban and she cooked and treated us. Those are unforgettable days we will always remember. I should also note that we were neighbors with Khoshbakht muallim at the State Oil Company. Our doors were next to each other. We shared a reception area and met every day. I learned a lot from Khoshbakht muallim. Even then, while working for the Oil Company, and afterwards I was often convinced of how deep Khoshbakht muallims knowledge was. I also knew that great leader Heydar Aliyev had great confidence in Khoshbakht muallim and his words. In other words, his words were considered to be the absolute truth, and in many cases this was confirmed. I remember that after the contract for the Absheron field was signed in 1997, seismic work was carried out and the location of the exploration well was determined. Khoshbakht muallim then told foreign partners that the well location they had chosen was wrong and that there would be no reserves there. They said - well, he is an old man, we have seismic facilities, specialists, thousands of workers, turnover of billions of dollars and capitalization of tens of billions. Some geologist may say anything after all. They did not attach importance to his words and regretted. Because they did not listen to Khoshbakht muallim and the well came out dry. So the agreement was terminated and they had to leave Azerbaijan, this field. However, a few years later another company showed interest in the Absheron field. The contract was signed again, the location of the exploration well was chosen correctly, and large reserves were discovered. Back then, in the 1990s, Khoshbakht muallim said that gas reserves in the Absheron field were at least 300 billion cubic meters. I cant say how he knew this, but life has proven him right. A foreign company has come to the same conclusion, and at the end of this year or next year we will receive first gas in the amount of 1.5 billion cubic meters from Absheron. This is an indicator in itself. In the words of Khoshbakht muallim himself, he knows the Caspian Sea like the back of his hand. Khoshbakht muallim has contributed a lot to the determination of the legal status of the Caspian Sea because he participated in all the summits and his words were perceived at these events as the absolute truth. Two years ago, the legal status of the Caspian was determined and agreement was reached. But before that, there were numerous disputes and Khoshbakht muallims presence in our delegation always strengthened our position. I want to touch upon another issue, which is forgotten over time. This is due to the development of the Shah Deniz field. In 1996, a contract was to be signed and all negotiations had been completed. However, one representative of the government objected to the signing. He had no reason and had no idea about the oil and gas industry. He was simply filling his pockets, selling oil and oil products produced and refined by oil workers. Without any grounds whatsoever, he expressed a strong protest. At that time, Heydar Aliyev invited the entire leadership of the State Oil Company and gave everyone the floor. All speakers, including Khoshbakht muallim, said that the contract had to be signed and the conditions were most acceptable to us. I remember the great leader listening very carefully to Khoshbakht muallim. His opinion, as well as the general opinion was that the contract had to be signed. Just imagine now: if the Shah Deniz contract had not been signed in 1996, there would have been no Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, no TANAP, no Southern Gas Corridor now. What would be the state of Azerbaijans gas supply in this case? If there were no Shah Deniz gas, we would not be able to meet our needs. So much investment was made in this and Azerbaijan has become a gas exporting country on a global scale, in Eurasia today. There are many such events and I will disclose them over time. I want to say again that Khoshbakht muallim is a wonderful person, an excellent scientist and a remarkable specialist. The highest award to be presented to him today once again indicates that the Azerbaijani state and people appreciate Khoshbakht muallims activities. On the way here, I found out that of all the Azerbaijani orders, Khoshbakht muallim does not have only the order For Service to the Fatherland. I am leaving it for your 95th birthday. Khoshbakht Yusifzade: I have to live on then. President Ilham Aliyev: Both live and work. There is a lot to do. I must also say that I am always in touch with Khoshbakht muallim. Every time a new exploration well is drilled or if there is a good flow rate from a well, Khoshbakht muallim is the first person to inform me about it. So when he calls me, I always know that I will hear good news. X X X The Order by President of Azerbaijan on awarding Khoshbakht Yusifzade with "Heydar Aliyev" Order was then read out. President Ilham Aliyev then presented the "Heydar Aliyev" Order to Khoshbakht Yusifzade. X X X President Ilham Aliyev: I am instructing the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company to name the new vessel of the company Khoshbakht Yusifzade. X X X The ceremony continued with a concert program. Following President Trump's drone strikes in Baghdad a few weeks ago, leading Iranian military general Qassem Suleimani was killed, and protests filled the city streets and in Tehran, Iran. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has since called for revenge against the U.S. following three days of national mourning, saying, "His departure to God does not end his path or his mission, but a forceful revenge awaits the criminals who have his blood and the blood of the other martyrs last night on their hands." Since this has happened, tensions have further escalated and conditions have only grown more dire: a passenger plane being shot down left 176 casualties; missile attacks destroyed U.S. bases in Iraq and Iran; the U.S. resumed counter-ISIS operations in Iran and Iran lifted all uranium production limits following Trump's recent U.S. withdrawal from former President Obama's landmark nuclear deal. "As a child born amidst a war, I have worked my way into free expression[...] I feel responsible to share my story in solidarity with all that demand equality, peace and truth." Iranian-Dutch musician Sevdaliza just released a statement addressing the mounting crisis. At age five, she and her family fled war-torn Iran for refuge in Rotterdam, where she spent the rest of her childhood. On Instagram, she posted a photo of herself as a young child and opens with, "Every human being deserves peace and equality." "People are affected in a way that none of us can imagine," Sevdaliza writes. "I was born amidst a war like millions of other children. We do not choose our past, all I can do is choose my future. I consider myself privileged. I am not a victim." Considering her privilege, Sevdaliza is using her platform to further address the Iranian conflict, releasing a song called "Oh My God" on January 29. "The current political climate, [sic] has brought forward tensions that prohibit me from expanding business and personal endeavors," she writes. "I realize this is not about me, yet it is important to raise our voices and to share our stories." Given Sevdaliza's global following, she also released versions of it in Russian, Chinese and Spanish. "I am deeply affected by the current political climate," Sevdaliza tells PAPER. "As a child born amidst a war, I have worked my way into free expression. Power strokes are being played at the expense of human life. Regimes that are at play, keep wars alive and perpetuate hate and violence against all humanity. I feel responsible to share my story in solidarity with all that demand equality, peace and truth." Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts decision last week to close our states doors to a small handful of refugees fleeing war, starvation and oppression is a tragic mistake at odds with Texas history and values. Turning away a few helpless men, women and children driven from their homelands and seeking a better life isnt necessary and it isnt who we are. For the moment, Abbotts decree is on hold. On Wednesday, a federal judge blocked the Donald Trump Administrations executive order giving states a new veto power over where refugees can settle. But the judges order is preliminary and can be appealed, and the Supreme Court has given the administration an especially wide berth in immigration matters. Our governors rejection may well become permanent state policy. More than that, it has the moral force of a message to the entire world an expression of our identity from our highest state official. The Anti-Defamation League has a long history of advocating for refugees. Founded in 1913 to fight anti-Semitism and bigotry of all kinds, ADL and other Jewish organizations tried in the 1930s to get the United States to admit more people fleeing Nazi persecution. Mostly we failed, and the vast majority of those locked out of the United States perished in the Holocaust. But Texas history of welcoming desperate outsiders is even longer than ADLs. Visit the Alamo and youll see foreign flags representing the 26 Europeans who gave their lives for Texas independence. Several were Irishmen who escaped English subjugation. After 1848, Texas became a haven for German and Czech refugees fleeing the repression that followed failed revolutions in Europe. In the 20th century, civil war in Mexico drove countless refugees to Texas, while the 1970s saw Vietnamese boat people traumatized and penniless risk their lives to escape communist tyranny and put down roots along the Gulf Coast. Today, the descendants of all these newcomers make us the diverse, dynamic place we love. Have things changed so dramatically? As before, todays refugees hail from the most wretched places on earth. In 2019, the largest group came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a failed state tormented by decades of war and random militia violence, child soldiers and mass rape. The second largest group came from Myanmar, where the government has overseen a vicious genocide against an ethnic and religious minority, the Rohingya, driving hundreds of thousands into refugee camps in surrounding countries. Texas would not have been overwhelmed by the new arrivals. President Trump has already sliced the total number of admissible refugees to 18,000 in 2020 far below annual quotas approved by recent administrations of both parties. Of these, Texas stood to welcome approximately 2,500, based on figures from 2018-19. With 28 million Texans, we cant shelter 2,500 refugees? Refugees are the most vetted and scrutinized immigrants admitted to the United States. The Departments of Homeland Security and State check their backgrounds for anything suggesting a security risk in an exhaustive process that typically takes 18-24 months. In 2015, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder paused his states acceptance of Syrian refugees while state officials investigated the federal governments screening efforts. As he wrote last year in the Wall Street Journal: That experience proved to me that the U.S. has the most thorough refugee vetting system in the world. Importantly, this distinguishes refugees from asylum seekers. People already here who file a claim for asylum havent undergone the same security checks and cant be fully assessed until their cases are heard. As for refugees, we already know their histories before they are approved and arrive. Consequently, everyone else has politely declined the administrations new offer to reject refugees. Except Texas. Utahs Gov. Gary Herbert actually asked President Trump for permission to take more. They become productive employees and responsible citizens, he wrote, adding that compassion is simply embedded in our states culture. Is Texas less compassionate? Herberts reference to productive employees hints that kindheartedness isnt the only reason to admit refugees. Thanks to federal funding and help from several organizations that provide social services, job placement and other assistance, most refugees become self-sufficient. They have higher rates of employment than people born in the United States. Ten years after entry, refugees use the same or slightly lower levels of public assistance. In fact, a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that, from 2005 to 2014, refugees contributed $63 billion more in taxes than they received in benefits. But the real tragedy of Abbotts decision has nothing to do with dollars and cents. Its that were betraying our oldest ideals. From the beginning, Americans have opened their arms to persecuted men and women from every corner of the world who wanted nothing more than to start a new life in peace, freedom and opportunity. Thats the American way and the Texas way, since 1836. We hope Abbott reconsiders his decision and brings Texas government back into line with Texas values. Siegel, Vice-Chair ADL Southwest Civil Rights Committee, and Bresner, ADL Jean & Jerry Moore Southwest Civil Rights Counsel. PRAGUE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) The far-right People's Party - Our Slovakia (LSNS) has growing chances to emerge victorious in February parliamentary elections in this Central European country, a survey by the Focus polling agency showed on Thursday. According to the poll, the ruling center-left Direction - Social Democracy (Smer-SD) still remains the front-runner, with 18.6 percent of respondents backing it. Yet, the far-right LSNS party, which now enjoys the support of 13.6 percent, is narrowing the gap with its rival. The coalition of liberal parties "Progressive Slovakia" and "Together" comes third with 10.5 percent. Six other smaller parties are on course to cross the 5-percent threshold to get seats in parliament. The LSNS party portrays itself as the successor to the pro-fascist Slovak People's Party that ruled the country during World War II. The party campaigns on anti-Roma and anti-Muslim platforms. In addition, it opposes Slovakia's NATO membership. This party is mainly popular with people living in small towns and rural areas. LSNS first won seats in parliament in 2016, gaining 14 mandates in the 150-member legislature. In the spring of 2019, the prosecutor general's office called for ordering the far-right party's dissolution, citing its "extremist views with fascist tendencies." The Supreme Court turned down the plea, deeming evidence provided by prosecutors as insufficient. "If Smer-SD fails to mobilize all its voters and some of them start looking for an alternative, then the extremists from LSNS may win the upcoming February 29 parliamentary elections," the head of the Focus agency, Martin Slosiarik, said in a statement, broadcast by national tv. The poll was conducted from January 10-14 among 1,100 people across Slovakia. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Somalia) exploded on the national political scene in 2018, when she ran for and won a seat in the House of Representatives. Born in Somalia, she and her family had escaped that war-torn country when she was a small child and spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya. Omar came to America in 1992, when she was 10. Omar was a perfect candidate to take over the seat that Keith Ellison vacated when he moved on to become deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee. As was Ellison, Omar is a Muslim representing Minnesota's 5th congressional district that is, Minneapolis and some suburbs an area that is politically Progressive and that has a large Muslim population. Beautiful, poised, articulate, and with impeccable Progressive credentials, Omar was a shoo-in. She also entered Congress at the same time as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib. All young, all leftist, all arrogant, the four women were dubbed "the Squad" and proceeded to act as if they owned Congress. While Ocasio-Cortez burbled Leftist nonsense, Tlaib and Omar got down to the business of denigrating America, Israel, and Jews. They disliked the American military and mourned Soleimani's death. Despite their puritanical faith, they pushed on America every possible Progressive policy. The mainstream media were in love with the Squad, especially the exotic Omar. Conservatives had problems, serious problems, with her politics. And a small cadre of dogged conservative journalists, most notably at PJ Media and Power Line, found particularly dismaying Omar's probable marital and immigration fraud. If you search for Omar's name at either of those sites, you'll find article after article meticulously documenting her marriage to a man almost certainly her brother, which gained him entry into the American education system, while she was simultaneously in a "faith-based" marriage to another man with whom she had children and filed taxes. Other research revealed that her entire extended family may have been switching out identities to gain entry to America. Many of those articles reflected meticulous investigation by David Steinberg. (See here, for example.) The unsavoriness of Omar's conduct escalated when she dumped her husband and went to live with another man who apparently left his wife for Omar. It turns out that beneath the modest headgear she wears, Omar is a Jezebel. In October 2019, the Department of Justice finally assigned an FBI special agent in charge to look at Omar's conduct over an eight-year period. Steinberg has now written another detailed article explaining that these investigations are starting to bear fruit. The Department of Education inspector general is examining whether her 2009 marriage to a U.K. citizen (who may well have been her brother) was meant to defraud the federal student loan system: Shortly after Omar's 2009 marriage, the new couple moved to Fargo, North Dakota. Omar enrolled at North Dakota State University in August 2009. Her husband enrolled the following year. Omar received a degree in June 2011. According to Omar herself, she and her husband then permanently separated in June 2011. The marriage's start and end coincide with the start and end dates of Omar's NDSU enrollment. Incredibly according to address records, and a statement from Omar herself she was also still living with her first husband, and their two kids, throughout this second marriage. This investigation will encompass the fact that, when Omar filed for divorce from that 2009 marriage, she perjured herself eight times in nine questions by claiming she had no contact with her husband, despite evidence strewn across social media that this was a lie. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is also examining myriad immigration felonies Omar might have committed. No wonder that Omar has been in the forefront of those Progressive politicians demanding that ICE be abolished. Many criminals fear getting caught and do their best to stay out of the limelight. There is, however, a class of criminal that functions on arrogance. These people believe that, like Yogi Bear, they're "smarter than the average bear." Their egos are so big that they cannot imagine that they'll ever be caught. Jeffrey Epstein was one such person. Michael Avenatti is another. Both would have done well to stay in the shadows rather than to flaunt themselves and their crimes. And now it's beginning to look as if Ilhan Omar falls into the same category: people whose failed moral compasses allow them to commit crimes, and whose overweening egos compel them to seek the public spotlight. Around 70 students and activists on Friday held a peaceful protest outside the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) here against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). The protesters also expressed their solidarity with the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi and denounced the violence that took place there earlier this month. This is the third such protest held outside the IIMA campus by activists and students, mostly from prominent institutions like CEPT University, Gujarat Vidyapith and Ahmedabad University, activist-lawyer Shamshad Pathan said. The protesters expressed their dissent by holding posters with slogans - 'You can't shut our voices', 'No CAA- No NRC', 'Stop violence', 'Ahmedabad supports JNU', 'Kagaz nahi dikhaenge' (Won't show documents). Since the police had granted permission to the protest, nobody was detained from the spot, inspector of Gujarat University Police Station H M Vyas said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 17.01.2020 LISTEN Ghanas High Commissioner to the UK, His Excellency Papa Owusu-Ankomah has urged Ghanaian garment and textile manufacturers to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that exist in the UK and European markets following UKs decision to leave the European Union. Brexit has opened up new markets, and it is my hope that you use the opportunity to manufacture more in order to create wealth and generate employment in Ghana, HE Owusu-Ankomah advised. The High Commissioner made these revelations at an event hosted by the Ghana High Commission to introduce Ghanaian garment manufacturers to potential buyers in the United Kingdom and Europe. It was organised by Ethical Apparel Africa, a UK based garment sourcing and development organisation in collaboration with Ghanas Ministry of Trade and Industry through their UK office and supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Papa Owusu-Ankomah further urged the Ghanaian manufacturers to find out what the expectations of the market are in order to live up to them. Mr Patrick Nimo, Chief Director, Ghanas Ministry of Trade and Industry urged participants to make the most of Ghanas position as the Headquarters of the Africa Continental Trade Area and to use Ghana as a base to access the bigger African market. Keren Pybus, founder and CEO of Apparel Africa disclose that she chose Ghana as her base because of the stable political and economic environment, as well as a youthful and hardworking industrial population. She therefore called on the major international brands in the UK and Europe to consider Ghana as their manufacturing base. Others present at the event included Mr Kofi Addo, Head of Strategic Anchor Industries and Special Initiatives at the Ministry of Trade, Paakow Bartels, head of Trade and Investment at the Ghana High Commission, Mr Dodzie Numekevor, Head of Public Affairs and Information, Mr Peter McAllister of the Ethical Trading Initiative and Naana Frempong Arhin from the DFID. Some of the Manufacturers who exhibited their products included Adjo Asare of Alfie Designs, Mrs Linda Ampah of KAD Designs and Maa Grace Designs. Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], Jan 18 (ANI): Rajasthan MLA Wajib Ali on Friday wrote to state Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot demanding to bring a resolution against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the next assembly session. Congress Party has tasked Gehlot with the responsibility, to coordinate with states where it was in power or was sharing power with an alliance, to draft a resolution to be passed in their respective Assemblies against the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC). On January 13, the Congress and 19 other opposition parties had demanded the withdrawal of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the immediate stoppage of "NRC/ National Population Register (NPR)". They had also said that the chief ministers who have declared that they will not implement the NRC must consider "suspending NPR enumeration as it was a prelude to the NRC". On Friday, Punjab became the second state to pass a resolution against the CAA. On December 31, Kerala passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of the CAA, which grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. (ANI). Iran floods kill at least three: reports Tehran, Jan 14 (AFP) Jan 14, 2020 Flooding in southern Iran has killed at least three people and left hundreds of villages cut off following days of heavy rainfall, official media reported on Tuesday. "So far three people have been confirmed dead and one has been reported missing," Press TV, the English-language service of state television, reported on its website. Rescue teams used boats and helicopters to provide relief after floodwaters cut off road access to urban areas of Hormozgan, Kerman and Sistan-Baluchistan provinces, state news agency IRNA said. They have so far been unable to reach the town of Qasr-e Qand and 40 surrounding villages in Sistan-Baluchistan, said governor Rahimbaksh Pakandish, cited by IRNA. Five hundred villages were affected and thousands of homes destroyed or damaged in the southeastern province, IRNA reported, adding that 285 families were given emergency shelter in Red Crescent tents. "More than 20,000 people in villages of Sistan-Baluchistan province have lost their homes because of flooding or are surrounded by water," Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi was quoted as saying. The Revolutionary Guards distributed 1,000 food packages to those affected, said IRNA. In Kerman province, roads were severed and 40 villages suffered damage, while in Hormozgan province 61 people were rescued. The amount of rain that fell in the southwestern province of Hormozgan since Friday was "unprecedented", the semi-official ISNA news agency reported. Floodwaters had surrounded more than 50 villages in the Gulf province. "Unprecedented floods are ravaging #Iran's Sistan & Baluchistan province, with significant human & material costs," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Monday night. The flood disaster is the worst in Iran since at least 70 people were killed across 20 provinces in April. A little vignette demonstrates the difference between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, something that we are told is central to choices in this general election. Last November, Michael Martin accused Fine Gael of having an ideological problem with social housing. The issue arose over a proposed development in Montenotte, an affluent suburb on the north side of Cork. Two Fine Gael councillors were vocally opposed to a 17m social housing project earmarked for the area. Fine Gael has a problem with council housing, Mr Martin told 96FM. They are ideologically, and their individual disposition is, against it. We built massive housing schemes in the 1930s and 1950s when we had far less money than we have today. Its the milieu from which some of them come they dont understand it, they dont get it. Im not going to label people but it seems to me its a class thing. So thats it. Fine Gael look down their noses at social housing. The portrayal of some of their front line politicians as Posh boys explains the difference between them and their opponents in Fianna Fail. Exceptwell, last Monday there was a plan for another social housing development in front of Cork City Council. This one concerned a project for 16 houses on the Skehard Road, in the affluent southside suburb of Blackrock. The proposal was passed by 17 votes to 11. Among the dissenters were the eight Fianna Fail members on the council, along with two Fine Gaelers. Four others from the latter party voted in favour. Was this a class thing? Was it ideological? Or were the Soldiers of Destiny merely acting in their own best interests in this instance, just as the Blueshirts were when they objected to social housing last November. The difference in terms of substance between the two parties is paper-thin. Do you believe that if Fine Gael had been in the driving seat rather than Bertie Ahern and crew during the illusory Celtic Tiger years that things would have been much different? Do you believe that if Fianna Fail were running the show for the last nine years society would have emerged better from the crash? Tomorrow both parties draw their support from much the same pool, one that has shrunk from around 80% of the electorate in the 1990s to somewhere between 50% and 55%. This section of society is the one which is benefiting to the greatest degree in the current booming economy. It is also the section most likely to vote and from which the most powerful vested interests are drawn. We are told that the difference between the two parties in this election is that the incumbent wants to continue to run the country as it has been doing and Fianna Fail represents change. Really? If there is a change of government the faces at the cabinet table will be different. Micheal Martin may be better at projecting empathy than Leo Varadkar. A new cabinet could throw up somebody who still eats his dinner in the middle of the day. But there will be no real change. Take the two big issues of the election, housing and health. Micheals claims that Leo is more wedded to the market model might carry some weight if Mr Martin himself hadnt been in a cabinet that bent over backwards to allow developers to run the economy. The biggest challenge in housing is supply. Is there any real reason to believe that one or other of these two parties would be more efficient in getting houses built? Is there any reason to believe that Fianna Fail would be more willing to exert executive pressure on the property market to tackle soaring rents? Radical change, which many believe is required at a time of growing inequality, would demand confrontation with sections of the electorate on which the big parties heavily rely. That wont happen. Most people find the level of homelessness an affront. Yet neither of the big parties nor most of the small ones are willing to implement a functioning property tax, a basic instrument of equity. Who wants change in that area? Health is the other big election issue. There is a blueprint for providing an efficient and fair health system. Its called Slaintecare and was formulated and agreed by an all-party committee. Everybody loves Slaintecare because it is designed to make healthcare available equally to all. The considerable funding required has not been forthcoming. Would Fianna Fail be more driven to find the money to change health? Do those who vote for both parties, and, who, for the greater part, have health insurance, want the disruption that would ensue in the short-term? Would either party have the stomach to take on vested interests in the service? The smaller parties do want considerable change but maybe thats why they are the smaller and not the bigger parties. Sinn Fein would be willing to disrupt the section of society that is benefiting most in the current environment. The party does appear to have a housing policy that would prioritise social housing. But would that survive the kind of opposition to social housing that has been evident in better-off areas? The Shinners have learned to tone down their stance on radical change. For instance, Pearse Doherty told Morning Ireland on RTE during the week that the party is in favour of a third rate of income tax for those earning more than 140,000. Once upon a time, they proposed such an increase on salaries over 100,000. Is their current policy in this area now mere window dressing? Labour is in a similar space. And then we have the Greens, which is pushing for the biggest change of all. Engaging with climate change is going to require a reduction in standards of living, certainly in the short term. This is the kind of change that you dont mention in a general election. One interesting feature of the election will be how far the Greens are willing to go to ask voters to face up to the reality of what is occurring. The campaign offers drama, excitement, personalities. Some of those vying for power will stumble and others will shine. There is a case to be made that switching horses for the sake of it is healthy for democracy. But lets not pretend that any of this is really about change. The problems that currently exist and there are many will continue to do so when a new government is sworn in. A personality in executive office here or there may make a difference, but otherwise it will be as you were. Thats the bad news. When you consider the kind of change being wreaked around the world through the rise of right-wing populism, maybe it could be a lot worse. MAYVILLE A love of reading may be instilled in Mayvilles youngest residents as Dolly Partons Imagination Library comes to town. The free-to-the-family program will send a book each month to children under the age of 5 living in the Mayville zip code. Mayville is one of 19 communities throughout Wisconsin to take part in the program. Laura Honish, a reading specialist at Parkview Primary, said she learned of the program six years ago while participating in a Literacy Leaders Network in Oshkosh. Were always looking for opportunities to help our youngest students because we see gaps in students knowledge sometimes, she said. We notice with incoming 4 and 5-year-olds, that some kids dont have all their letters and sounds. And some dont know a book works by reading from left to right or they dont understand that the pages go in order to tell a story. Honish said she thought the program would be a great way to positively impact reading-readiness skills and signed on to be a local champion for the Imagination Library. The buoyant American stock market may be blinding investors to better opportunities abroad. Sure, the decade-old bull market at home has been a boon to investors, driven by technology giants like Amazon, Apple and Microsoft. The S&P 500 has beaten the MSCI All Country World Index in total annualized returns, by 13.5 percent to 8.8 percent, since 2010 to the end of 2019. But thats not to say overseas markets have been doing poorly. In several years over the last decade, stock markets in other developed economies, including Denmark, New Zealand and Austria, have turned in better performances. Investors whose portfolios are heavily weighted to giant American companies may think theyre getting overseas exposure because those companies earn revenue abroad, but thats not quite the same thing as investing internationally. The United States stock market makes up about half of the worlds market value, so there are plenty of opportunities to shop elsewhere. Those who would like to add some international flavor to their portfolios need to be aware of a downside. Overseas markets may underperform American stocks, hurting portfolios. Flash Albania is ready to open accession negotiations with the European Union (EU), European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said on Thursday at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Edi Rama. Varhelyi, who is on his first official visit to Tirana, said that Albania aims to open accession negotiations before the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Zagreb scheduled for May this year. "The previous report of the European Commission continues to be valid. Albania is ready to open negotiations with EU and we want this to happen before the Zagreb summit," Varhelyi said. The EU commissioner recognized the country's accomplishments on justice reform and urged the government to continue with the reforms, stressing that "there can be no progress without the support of all political parties." "However, there are still challenges. Albania has to do more to fight organized crime and corruption," he said. Rama said that he discussed with Varhelyi Albania's integration process and they exchanged views on the steps ahead. "We will do everything in our power to guarantee the further progress of reforms, as required by the EU. We will do this for the future of the country and of our children," Rama said. He said that whatever decision the European Council will take, his government will continue to roll out reforms. Rama and Varhelyi confirmed that on Feb. 17 the EU will host in Brussels an international donors' conference to support the reconstruction efforts in Albania after the strong earthquake that hit the country on Nov. 26 last year. On Thursday, Varhelyi, accompanied by Rama, paid a visit to the port city of Durres, one of the areas most affected by the quake. During his official visit to Albania, Varhelyi will also meet President Ilir Meta and Speaker of Parliament Gramoz Ruci. In October last year, the bid by Albania and North Macedonia to open EU accession negotiations was blocked due mainly to France's opposition. Paris justified its decision with the need for the EU to develop a new accession methodology. Asked by journalists to comment on France's position, Rama said this was an "internal EU discussion." He is scheduled to meet with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Prystaiko. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Edi Rama is to visit Ukraine late this week and early next week. "On January 19-21 this year, the incumbent OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Prime Minister and Minister of European and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, will be on a working visit to Ukraine," the press service of Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said. Read alsoOSCE spots tanks transported by freight train in occupied Donbas On January 20, he is to meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko; following the meeting, they will hold a joint press conference. As UNIAN reported, OSCE Chairperson's Special Representative in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group Heidi Grau called on all parties to strengthen anti-landmine activity in Donbas. "Mines remain the main cause of casualties among civilians. With this in mind, I call on the sides to strengthen demining activities," she said following this year's first TCG meeting, which took place in Minsk on January 16. "Today, the TCG and its Working Groups convened for the first time this year. Our work was primarily focused on the implementation of the conclusions of the Normandy Summit in Paris." According to her, the main discussion topic of the Security Working Group was the identification of additional areas for the disengagement of forces and hardware. The Humanitarian Working Group took stock of the exchange of detainees of December 29, 2019. The Economic Working Group discussed the issues of water deliveries in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (CADR and CALR). The Political Working Group addressed issues related to the special status of CADR and CALR as well as the implementation of the 'Steinmeier formula' into Ukrainian legislation. Protesters take part in a rally to support teachers at Edinburgh Place in the Central district of Hong Kong, on Jan. 3, 2020. (Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images) Hong Kong Protester Arrested in China on Charges of Soliciting Prostitution A Hong Kong student involved in organizing a volunteer medic group in support of the pro-democracy and freedom protest movement was recently arrested in China, according to the medic group and his classmates. Kwok Chun-fung, known for his nickname Fat Kid, is a co-founder of the Telegram group FindcMed tasked with helping injured protesters and those affected by tear gas during clashes with the police. The Hong Kong native is currently studying at Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in southern China. He has been detained since Jan. 8 on charges of soliciting prostitution, punishable for 10 to 15 days in detention under Chinese law. Simon Cheng, a former British Consulate staff in Hong Kong, faced the same charge while on a short business trip in the Chinese city of Shenzhen last August. Cheng, who has since fled his home city to London, said the police tortured and forced him to make a televised confession on Chinese state media. Pro-democracy demonstrators, seen wearing masks depicting former British consulate worker Simon Cheng, gather outside the British Consulate-General building in Hong Kong on Nov. 29, 2019. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images) Kwok disappeared in the early morning of Jan. 8 from his school dorm while in the middle of a voice call with another administrator of the medic group, known as Little Cow. In a post on the popular reddit-like protest forum LIHKG, Little Cow recounted the moments before and following Kwoks arrest and appealed for help. During the call, Kwok told Little Cow he was getting up to open the door. Little Cow said he heard Kwok walking to open the door, and then footsteps before their call got cut off. Little Cow said that he had not heard from Kwok since but learned through Kwoks roommate that Kwok was under administrative arrest. The roommate said the police had detained him for 24 hours and deleted his Telegram account. Little Cow also said that on Jan. 9, Kwok added a new member into the Telegram group without consulting the others, raising concerns that the police may have taken control of his account. The person did not respond to Little Cows private messages. Kwoks university sent a statement to students on Jan. 15 saying that Kwok had been caught with a woman and 2,300 yuan ($334) in a hotel on suspicion of prostitution, according to Hong Kong media. The statement also said Kwok faced two other counts of prostitution allegations in November and December 2019, and that he had admitted to the charges. In what felt like an indirect warning, the universitys officials during a private briefing reminded non-mainland students to cherish our chance to study here as we will be graduating in half a year, a student told AFP. The student requested to stay anonymous. Responding to the charge against Kwok, the medic group told Hong Kong media that it was an old tactic used by the pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government under Chief Executive Carrie Lam and that they are not surprised. Truth will speak for itself, they said. The group said on Jan. 16 that they would decline any future comment as the case had moved into legal proceedings. Sentiments in Hong Kong This picture taken on Sept. 7, 2019 shows Grandpa Wong (C), 85, shielding protesters from the police by holding his walking stick up along with other silver hair volunteers in the Tung Chung district in Hong Kong. (Vivek Prakash/AFP via Getty Images) The former British colony of Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese rule under the one country, two systems framework in 1997, promising the region a high level of political autonomy for at least 50 years. The city has been roiled by widespread pro-democracy and pro-freedom protests for over half a year over fears that the city is losing its basic freedoms to the ruling CCP regime in the mainland. A December survey by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute found that out of all Hong Kong residents, youth aged between 14 and 29 were the most supportive of the protests, with nearly nine in 10 voicing their support. Overall, 59 percent of Hong Kong residents supported the protests, with more than a third saying that they had directly participated in the protests. The survey polled 1,021 people. Hong Kong pro-democracy legislator Claudia Mo (R) is surrounded by security as she shouts Free press! No Persecution! as Chief Executive Carrie Lam (not pictured) arrives to deliver her policy address at the Legislative Council (Legco) in Hong Kong on Oct. 10, 2018. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images) Lam, who has taken a hard stance on the protests, had a rating of 21.5 percent and a net popularity of negative 66 percent, according to a Jan 10 poll of 1,011 Hong Kong residents by the same institute. In her latest press conference on Thursday, Lam claimed that the youth often seen at the forefront of the protests were acting out of temporary misunderstandings, adding that there is enough reason to believe one country, two systems will not change after 2047. She was greeted by around a dozen opposition lawmakers who held posters while chanting: Carrie Lam, step down. Hong Kong police have fired more than 16,000 rounds of tear gas and made around 7,000 arrests on protest-related charges since June. Roughly 400 of the arrests took place during the 1 million-strong New Year protest. Read More More Than a Million Hongkongers Celebrate New Years Day by Taking to Streets to Renew Their Demands The police force are reportedly considering to equip officers with stun guns and other electroshock weapons, South China Morning Post and TVB reported, citing unnamed sources. When questioned by a lawmaker on the issue, the citys security chief did not answer it directly but said that the Security Bureau will support any method that can allow police to handle rioters more effectively, and will lower the risk of injuries to both parties. Whether a student is experiencing a breakup, body image issues or problems at home, it can be tough to know exactly what to say or do to help them. Learning mental health first aid is one initial step teachers and other school faculty can take to prepare themselves, and that training is something a core team is trying to bring to all Campbell County Public Schools employees. The team, made up of counselors, social workers, student services workers and a school psychologist, formed about a year ago and has started to roll out mental health education and literacy sessions this school year. I think our biggest struggle is finding the time to train our teachers and our goal is not just teachers but also bus drivers, cafeteria staff, everybody, said Jessie Herndon, guidance counselor at Altavista Elementary School. Herndon helped train a group of first-year teachers in Campbell County on mental health first aid on Wednesday the fifth group of teachers to undergo it, bringing the total trained cohort to about 90 people. The group learned how to engage students of any age about issues they might be facing and prepared action plans and scripts for students in given scenarios. Trainees were taught to look for changes in a students routines, behaviors and appearances that might clue them in to a deeper issue if they lend an attentive ear. Today were talking about what to look for in terms of mental health challenges typical things that should be red flags for them, but also to just try to reduce the stigma, Herndon said. Teachers whove trained then can serve as ambassadors at their schools, she said, explaining the procedure to other teachers so they can be prepared too. The counselors in Campbell County Public Schools first went to their own training on mental health first aid three years ago, and found it a perfect introduction to mental health issues, according to Karen Carlson. Carlson, who counsels Brookville High School students, said the training creates a common understanding of those issues and a common language to use when discussing them. When a faculty member has that background, she said, they can intervene early and hopefully prevent a student from getting to the point of crisis. Mental health is not part of their training, she said. Some people want to help and then get over their head, but youth mental health first aid provides that structure. Other agencies host their own mental health first aid training sessions: Horizon Behavioral Health hosts several throughout the year in Lynchburg and Carlson said Social Services departments host them for foster care workers or law enforcement. Clayton Stanley, Campbell County Public Schools assistant superintendent for instruction, said he hopes faculty familiarity with mental health issues will create an atmosphere where students feel comfortable being open and honest and building positive relationships with adults in the schools. Before we can meet their academic needs, we need to make sure were meeting their physical needs and that includes their social and emotional needs, he said. Stanley said some training sessions and resources in recent years have been free while others havent, and couldnt enumerate the cost to the school system. Carlson said recent legislation and objectives put out by the Virginia Department of Education bring mental health into focus both in students education and encouraging teachers to understand their struggles. The basic training provides an introduction to trauma and resiliency to that trauma. Carlson said the mental health team is planning to teach school principals about trauma more in depth next month, and more training is on the way. I am super proud of Campbell County really proud to be a part of these initiatives with Campbell County, she said. Rachel Mahoney covers courts for The News & Advance. Reach her at (434) 385-5554. Rachel Mahoney covers courts for The News & Advance. Reach her at (434) 385-5554. 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. Bit-Wizards is so much bigger than just a business nowwe are a family. Bit-Wizards has impacted the lives of so many people. -Louis Erickson, Chief Operations Officer With technology today spurring new ideas and ways of accomplishing old manual chores or business processes, everyone has a great idea for a product or company, and there is always someone willing to fund it. Unfortunately, as quickly as these companies pop up, they tend to fail. Successful businesses today are the ones that understand how to invest in their employees and establish trust with their customers, which ultimately brings long-term success. Bit-Wizards' 20-year history proves they are a company that understands how to build success at scale. Where It All Began In 1998, Bit-Wizards co-founders, Vince Mayfield and Louis Erickson, set out to build a software engineering company focused on treating their employees well and always doing the right thing fo the customer. This concept was new to the world of software development, and these guys got it right! Now, 20 years later, they have built a thriving company that launched two products and four additional lines of businessall located in the small, unassuming emerald coast city of Fort Walton Beach, Florida. 20 Years of Accolades Over the years, Bit-Wizards accumulated numerous awards and honors to include: INC 5000 Fastest Growing Company (5 years) Inc. Best Workplaces (3 years) Florida Trend Best Companies to Work For (10 years) 48 ADDY Awards from 2010-2019 2014 Florida Governor Business Ambassador Award 2015 Kentico Solution Partner of Excellence 2013 Microsoft Greater Southeast Region Partner of the Year Nationwide Customers & Partners Served Along with the awards and prestige comes the excitement of working with national and worldwide brands. The Bit-Wizards team is honored to work with brands like Anheuser-Busch, Talking Parents, Magnolia Home & Standard Furniture, Studer Group, IMG Models, Rex Lumber, Heartland Steel, and Mapex Drums. Building a company like Bit-Wizards takes hard work but also strategic partnerships. Bit-Wizards is a Microsoft Gold Partner and helped lead the charge to cloud computing as the first Microsoft Azure Partner. Along with their journey to the cloud, Bit-Wizards is also a 15-year Kentico Gold Partner and helped Kentico build their cloud solution for the Kentico CMS (Content Management System). As technology is advancing, Bit-Wizards continues to develop new partnerships with rising companies like HubSpot, Movere, and Progress Sitefinity. A Kick-off Celebration On Saturday, January 11th, the entire Bit-Wizards team and their honored guests gathered as they always do at the beginning of the year to celebrate the exciting successes of the previous year. This year, however, they gathered to kick off a year-long celebration the culmination of 20 years of success! It is hard to believe 20 years have passed! It's been a whirlwind, and I am so proud of what we have built, Bit-Wizards is so much bigger than just a business nowwe are a family. Bit-Wizards has impacted the lives of so many people. Some of our employees got their break into the technology field because of their first job with us. We have helped our clients build successful businesses on the back of our successful projects, and we have always treated vendors and competitors with respect. Bit-Wizards has significantly impacted our local community over the last 20 years, with our involvement and support of various non-profit organizations. We plan to continue this legacy by leaving success and innovation in our path! Louis Erickson, Chief Operations Officer The event took place at the Island Resort on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach. Vince Mayfield and Louis Erickson honored stellar employees or wizards as they are called, with awards to celebrate their achievements and stand-out performance for the 2019 year. This year the stand out winners are Wizard of the Year: Brett Basil, Magical Performer: Loran Hauserman, Wizards Choice: Jenni Taylor, and Director of the Year: Sam Blowes. ABOUT BIT-WIZARDS Bit-Wizards is an innovative, award-winning technology company with offices in Florida, Tennessee, and Texas. Bit-Wizards' 20-year proven track record stands on successful long-term projects ranging in expertise with software engineering, digital marketing, cloud infrastructure, and managed IT services. Retaining Gold Partnership status with Microsoft, Kentico, and HubSpot affords Bit-Wizards customers the confidence that their projects are in trusted expert hands and will never be outsourced. One of Australia's most respected seafood chefs has revealed his tips for cooking fish with the 'perfect crisp skin'. Josh Niland is the owner and chef behind Saint Peter in Paddington, New South Wales, an award-winning 'fish eatery' known for serving sustainably sourced, fresh seafood with attention to detail. Writing for Good Food, the 31-year-old former 'Breakthrough Chef of the Year', said the fish you choose should always be 'ambient' before it's added to the hot pan and should never be put in straight from the fridge. If it is, it will 'set unevenly', making it harder to determine when it is cooked. Scroll down for video Josh Niland (pictured) is the owner and chef behind Saint Peter in Paddington, New South Wales, an award-winning 'fish eatery' known for serving sustainably sourced, fresh seafood To get the skin 'crispy', Josh uses a small amount of ghee which he removes from the pan after two minutes, before adding more at the end of the cooking process. Ghee is clarified butter with a high smoke point that is great for sauteing and creating a 'rich' and 'nutty' taste in cooking. He also always uses a fish weight (his own Saint Peter brand) when cooking and says it would be 'impossible' to pan-fry or grill a fish well without it. 'When pan-frying a fish on the skin, the heat that's generated crisps the skin, which travels up through the muscle of the fish and sits on the face of the weight,' he said. To get the skin 'crispy', Josh uses a small amount of ghee which he removes from the pan after two minutes, before adding more at the end of the cooking process On his website, Josh describes his $150 weight as an 'essential tool' for crispy skin fish and a way of creating 'an even golden colour' over the fillet 'This sets the top of the fillet very gently while forcing the skin to have direct contact with the pan. By using a weight on thin to thickish fillets, you will be able to cook the fish from raw to cooked on the stove and rely less on the oven to finish cooking.' He says a small, heavy saucepan filled with water is an alternative if a weight is not available. On his website, Josh describes his $150 weight as an 'essential tool' for crispy skin fish and a way of creating 'an even golden colour' over the fillet. He shares more tips for cooking fish perfectly in his The Whole Fish cookbook ($55). Josh isn't the only chef with tricks for creating crispy skin, with MasterChef Australia star Georgia Barnes making crispy skin salmon by first patting the fillet down with a paper towel to remove moisture. Writing for Good Food, the 31-year-old former 'Breakthrough Chef of the Year', said the fish you choose should always be 'ambient' before its added to the hot pan and should never be put in straight from the fridge Josh isn't the only chef with tricks for creating crispy skin, with MasterChef Australia star Georgia Barnes making crispy skin salmon by first patting the fillet down with a paper towel to remove moisture Appearing on the second episode of The Chef's Secret: Cooking with Natural Gas on Bright-r.com.au, she then adds sea salt and cracked black pepper and cooks it on a gas cooktop to maintain temperature control. 'A drizzle of olive oil in the frypan will help the skin crisp up perfectly,' she said. Over a medium-high heat, Georgia then the salmon skin side down, presses down on each fillet to ensure skin is flat against the base of the pan and cooks the salmon for two to three minutes on each side. 'There's an even cooked line in the salmon, with a pink middle and crispy skin. That's exactly what we want, a perfectly cooked piece of salmon,' she said, before resting it for five minutes and serving. A federal capital territory (FCT) high court in Kubwa, Abuja, has sacked Ifeanyi Ubah as the senator representing Anambra south. The presiding judge, Bello Kawu, in his ruling nullified Ubahs election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to him and to issue a fresh certificate to Obinna Uzoh, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the senator elect of the district. Uzoh had filed a suit in 2019, challenging Ubahs victory on the grounds that he (Ubah) presented an alleged forged National Examination Council (NECO) certificate to INEC. The court had given judgement innUzohs favour but Ubah approached the court to set aside the judgment, saying he was not given fair hearing. According to him, he was neither served with the court process nor hearing notice in the suit, before the court delivered the judgment against him. Read Also: Probe: I Have No Skeleton In My Cupboard: Ihedioha Tells Uzodinma Upon this, the judge ordered a stay of execution on December 4, restraining the senate president from swearing in Uzoh, pending the hearing and determination of the motion challenging the verdict. However, in his ruling on Ubahs application on Friday, the judge held that his application to vacate its judgment lacked merit, and accordingly it was dismissed. Another motion brought by Chris Uba, claimant to the PDP senatorial ticket, seeking to be joined as an interested party in the substantive suit marked CV/3044/2018, was also dismissed. TEHRAN, Iran Irans supreme leader lashed out at Western countries as he led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, dismissing American clowns who he said pretend to support the Iranian nation but want to stick their poisoned dagger into its back. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used his rare appearance at the weekly prayers to deliver a fiery address in which he insisted Iran would not bow to U.S. pressure after months of crushing sanctions and a series of recent crises from the killing of a top Iranian general to the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane. Khamenei said the mass funerals for Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this month, show that the Iranian people support the Islamic Republic despite its recent trials. He said the cowardly hit on Soleimani had taken out the most effective commander in the battle against the Islamic State group. In response to Soleimanis killing, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting U.S. troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. Khamenei said the strike had dealt a blow to Americas image as a superpower. In the part of his sermon delivered in Arabic, he said the real punishment would be in forcing the U.S. to withdraw from the Middle East. After the missile strike, as Irans Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after takeoff from Tehrans international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. When it came, their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Khamenei called the shootdown of the plane a bitter accident that he said had saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. He said Irans enemies had seized on the crash to question the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard and the armed forces. Ukraines Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Friday that his country wants Iran to issue a formal document admitting its guilt. Ukraine, Canada and other nations whose citizens died in the crash have demanded Iran pay compensation to the victims families. Khamenei also lashed out at Britain, France and Germany after they triggered a dispute mechanism to try and bring Iran back into compliance with the unraveling 2015 nuclear agreement. Iran began openly breaching certain limits under the agreement last summer, more than a year after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal and began imposing sanctions. After the killing of Soleimani, Iran said it was no longer bound by the nuclear deal. These contemptible governments are waiting to bring the Iranian nation to its knees, Khamenei said. America, who is your elder, your leader and your master, was not able to bring the Iranian nation to its knees. You are too small to bring the Iranian nation to its knees. Khamenei has held the countrys top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of Soleimani and vowed harsh retaliation against the United States. Thousands of people attended the Friday prayers, occasionally interrupting his speech by chanting God is greatest! and Death to America! Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since Trump withdrew from the nuclear accord, which had imposed restrictions on Irans nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The U.S. has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Trump has openly encouraged the protesters even tweeting in Farsi hoping that the protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a longtime adversary. Khamenei mocked those efforts, dismissing these American clowns who falsely and despicably say that they are standing with the Iranian people. He did not refer to Trump by name, but was clearly referring to him and his administration. You are lying, he said. If you do stand with the Iranian people it is because you want to stick your poisoned dagger into the back of the Iranian nation. Of course you havent been able to do that so far, and you wont be able to do a damn thing. Khamenei was always skeptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the United States could not be trusted. But he allowed President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, to conclude the agreement with President Barack Obama. Since Trumps withdrawal, he has repeatedly said there can be no negotiations with the United States. Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called Israel a cancerous tumor and vowed to support anyone confronting it. He also warned against any U.S. strikes on Iran over its nuclear program, saying the U.S. would be damaged 10 times over. ___ Krauss reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed. CHICAGO, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Parents, students, educators, and elected officials will gather for a School Choice Week celebration at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Firehouse Community Arts Center of Chicago in North Lawndale. The celebration will feature speeches from various school leaders about the purpose of education and what options are available for Chicago families. Speakers will include Chicago Alderman and education chair Michael Scott, Jr., state leaders Sen. Van Pelt and Rep. Art Turner, members of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, and parents and students from various community schools. This event is planned to coincide with the history-making celebration of National School Choice Week 2020, which will feature more than 50,000 school choice events across all 50 states. "Our goal is to celebrate and raise awareness about quality education options in the Chicago area and around Illinois," said Jason Acevedo, president of the Helen & Joe Acevedo Scholarship Memorial Foundation. "National School Choice Week is the perfect time to bring families and community members together to talk about our options." The Firehouse Community Arts Center of Chicago is located at 2111 S. Hamlin Ave. This event is organized by the Helen & Joe Acevedo Scholarship Memorial Foundation, an Illinois non-profit organization that supports students and educators. As a nonpartisan, nonpolitical public awareness effort, National School Choice Week shines a positive spotlight on effective education options for students, families, and communities around the country. From January 26 through February 1, 2020, more than 50,000 independently-planned events will be held in celebration of the Week. For more information, visit www.schoolchoiceweek.com. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links http://www.schoolchoiceweek.com Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou pictured leaving the British Columbia Superior Court on Sep 23, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo: AFP/Karen Ducey) The extradition hearing comes after Beijing detained two Canadians and blocked billions of dollars worth of Canadian agricultural shipments in apparent retaliation for Meng's arrest. Taking her into custody also stuck Canada in the middle of a row between China and the US, which views Huawei as a security risk. Some observers are hoping for her release at the end of the five-day hearing focused on whether the US accusations are also a crime in Canada. This is a key test in determining if she should be extradited to the United States to face trial. Others - including a former Canadian prime minister - are urging Justice Minister David Lametti to step in and quash the proceedings and release Meng in a bid to normalize Canada-China relations. "The minister of justice has the power to stop extradition proceedings at any time," legal scholar Gary Botting told AFP, noting it has been done in other cases on compassionate grounds. China's ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, has said Meng's release was a "precondition" for improved bilateral ties. Ottawa, however, has maintained it will not interfere in the legal process, while enlisting allies' help in pressuring Beijing to release the two Canadians. "The most obvious way to end this is to release her," Botting said, adding that Ottawa was "naive" to jeopardise its own interests to satisfy the US extradition request. "It was predictable that China would not be happy, and Canada could have avoided the fallout," he said. Meng was arrested on Dec 1, 2018 after disembarking on a stopover from a Hong Kong-to-Mexico flight, prompting an angry response from Beijing. SANCTIONS-BUSTING BANK FRAUD The United States alleges Meng lied to HSBC about Huawei's relationship with its Iran-based affiliate Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Iran. "Simply put, there is evidence she deceived HSBC in order to induce it to continue to provide banking services to Huawei," the US justice department said in court filings. Meng has denied the allegations. She has been out on bail, living in one of her two Vancouver mansions for the past year, awaiting trial. The US justice department has said in arguing for her extradition that the fraud allegations against Meng would be considered a crime in Canada if they had occurred here. Her lawyers, however, insist the misrepresentations do not amount to fraud, but rather are an attempt by the United States to enforce its sanctions against Iran - which Canada has not matched. Meng's father and Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told the Globe and Mail that he'd thought his daughter's arrest was due to a "misunderstanding," but after the US imposed strict export controls on Huawei in May, he sensed the US was plotting "to crush Huawei, and Meng Wanzhou was only used as a pawn." Chinese officials speaking to their Canadian counterparts have also reportedly cast her arrest as "a Canadian-US political conspiracy." Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien and his ex-deputy John Manley have urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to simply release Meng in what Manley described as a "prisoner swap" for former Canadian diplomat Michael Spavor and businessman Michael Kovrig. The pair were, as Ottawa claims, "arbitrarily detained" nine days after Meng's arrest and accused of espionage. That, however, risks legitimizing Beijing's "hostage diplomacy" tactics, according to leading extradition experts consulted by AFP. Some warned such a move could also strain Canada-US ties. But Botting opined: "I don't think the US would give it a second thought if Canada refused to extradite her. "Canada has been swept up in this, but the US couldn't give a damn, frankly," he said. If the judge rules that the so-called double criminality test has not been met, Meng could be freed as early as the end of next week. Otherwise, the hearing will proceed to a second phase in June when defense arguments that Canadian and US authorities conspired to nab Meng as part of a "covert criminal investigation" would be heard. Indian Air Force (IAF) and its fighting machines like the Sukhoi Su-30MKIs, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29UPGs, Mirage-2000s, Jaguars and the indigenous Tejas Ligh Combat Aircraft strike terror in the hearts of enemies. The force on Friday tweeted a photo of its fighter pilots in a Sukhoi aircraft with the caption "We Rule the Skies Indian Air Force Fighter Pilots on a mission in their state of the art Sukhoi-30 MKI", which soon went viral with several people liking and retweeting the same. "We Rule the Skies" Indian Air Force Fighter Pilots on a mission in their state of the art Sukhoi-30 MKI. pic.twitter.com/JI5roj1o1G Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) January 17, 2020 The tweet also shows the fighter pilot and his co-pilot giving thumbs-up sign in their combat jet. The Su-30MKI, codenamed Flanker-H by the United States of America-led NATO, is a twinjet, multirole air superiority, heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter of the IAF. There are over 250 Su-30MKIs in the IAF arsenal and the force will finally operate 272 such jets. While the jet is configured to carry one 30 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1 autocannon along with 8,130 kilogrammes of external armament including missiles and bombs on its 12 hardpoints, the IAF is modifying 42 Su-30MKIs to launch the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. IAF's lethality will increase manifolds once the modified Su-30MKIs capable of launching BrahMos missiles join the service. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will oversee the induction ceremony of Su-30MKIs with BrahMos missiles in the 222 Squadron (Tigersharks) on January 20. With the capability to strike targets over the vast seas surrounding India's western, eastern and southern coasts, the Tigersharks will help the country maintain a tight vigil over strategically important Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The Tigersharks Squadron was raised on September 15, 1969, with Su-7 fighters and later flew the MiG-27 jets. With the French Rafale jets also in the process of joining the IAF, the force will become the undisputed ruler of the skies in Asia. Su-30MKI and Rafale combination will give unparalleled muscle to the IAF in comparison to its adversaries particularly the Pakistani Air Force and China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). City invests 31 million for new Playa del Carmen rehabilitation centre Playa del Carmen, Q.R. More than 31 million peso is being invested into a new Municipal Integral Rehabilitation Centre which, when complete, will support the disabled community. The building project is from the Urban Improvement Program promoted by Mexicos president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador through the Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development to provide improved living conditions for citizens of Solidaridad. Rafael Barragan, president of the Asociacion Libertad y Accesibilidad said that the project will benefit a very important sector of the population, since during the last census, 10 percent of the population reported having some form of disability. This new Municipal Integral Rehabilitation Centre will offer the services we need today in Playa del Carmen, he said. The new rehabilitation centre will be located in the Bellavista neighborhood and will offer different types of therapies which will allow comprehensive assistance to anyone needing it. An RNLI crew in Cork are to be honoured for gallantry after they saved six lives. Castletownbere RNLI lifeboat crew will receive the award from by the charity for the dramatic rescue of a fishing crew that took place in October 2018. Coxswain Dean Hegarty is to be awarded a Bronze Medal for Gallantry by the Institution. Lifeboat volunteers Seamus Harrington, John Paul Downey and David Fenton, along with Deputy Launching Authority Michael Martin-Sullivan, will all receive a framed Letter of Thanks from the Chairman of the RNLI. It is the first RNLI Medal for Gallantry to be awarded in Ireland in 10 years. On October 10, 2018, six fishermen on the Clodagh O were saved after the RNLI responded to a mayday call to the Irish Coast Guard after the 25-metre fishing boat lost power. The lifeboat launched in darkness into a force 9 gale, driving rain and heavy squalls, to rescue the crew who "were in grave and imminent danger". After arriving on the scene the lifeboat crew saw that the fishing vessel was located in a precarious position. The Coxswain made the decision not to take the crew off the boat but instead establish a towline in breaking four to five-metre swells. Due to deteriorating weather, the crew had only a short window of opportunity to save the men before the vessel would hit the rocks or cliff face and be lost. The lifeboat crew were able to save the fishermen from immediate danger before bringing them safely back to Castletownbere. "In making the awards, the RNLI Trustees recognise the complexity of the service, the level of risk and the quality of decision making by all involved in the service," said RNLI Chief Executive Mark Dowie. "These awards mark the courage, skill and dedication shown by the Coxswain, crew and officials involved, and are a testament to outstanding teamwork and seamanship in perilous conditions which resulted in the successful rescue of six people." Castletownbere RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Paul Stevens congratulates Coxswain Dean Hegarty on the news of his Bronze Medal for Gallantry by the RNLI Paul Stevens, Castletownbere RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, said: "We are extremely proud of our lifeboat crew for their incredibly brave actions that night, which resulted in the saving of six lives. "The RNLI does not give out awards for gallantry lightly and to receive one is a great privilege. "We are a strong fishing community here and we have seen too much loss at sea. "This rescue was relatively fast in lifeboat terms but carried out in extremely challenging conditions and relying on absolute precision and split-second decision making by our Coxswain. "The skill and expertise of the lifeboat crew onboard meant that every action was well-executed and successful along with the sound judgement of the Launching Authority. "I look forward to a great day out with our crew when they receive their honours in front of their proud families." Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images In May of 2016, shortly after Donald Trump had wrapped up his partys nomination, but when the notion he might win the presidency seemed remote at best, Benjamin Wittes wrote one of the very early essays attempting to analyze how an obviously authoritarian president might abuse his powers. The soft spot, the least tyrant-proof part of the government, is the U.S. Department of Justice, he argued, laying out how prosecutorial discretion could allow a president to harass his domestic enemies. Yesterdays news that the Department of Justice is exploring yet another probe of James Comey, the former FBI director turned Trump antagonist, would seem to confirm those fears have been borne out. As the Times report notes, the investigation the second the Department of Justice has brought against Comey is highly unusual. The charge is that, in 2017, Comey leaked to the Times and Washington Post details of a dubious Russian document that the bureau had acquired in 2017. The document claimed Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch had assured the Clinton campaign that the FBI would not investigate the email scandal very deeply. The authenticity of this fact has never been established, and some members of the bureau suspect it was Russian disinformation, designed to discredit the FBI and stoke suspicion about Clintons corruption. But the memos existence made Comey paranoid about the appearance of favoritism toward Clinton, and helped push him toward his fateful decision to announce a reopening of the email probe days before the election a decision that likely swung the election to Trump. Leaking details of FBI investigations to the media is illegal. Prosecution, however, is rare, and it is even more rare possibly unprecedented to prosecute leaks that occurred several years ago. So Comey is not being hit with trumped-up charges. He is the apparent victim of selective prosecution. No single case is egregious enough to prove bias on its own. The pattern of selective prosecution under Trumps Department of Justice, and his fanatically partisan Attorney General William Barr, has become evident in a series of cases that all resemble this one. The connecting thread is that Trumps enemies are scoured for any violation that can be found, and held to the strictest letter of the law, while his allies are given broad latitude. Enough cases fit the pattern for it to have become unmistakable. The Department of Justice has conducted several reviews of the Mueller investigation. The last one, conducted by Inspector General Michael Horowitz subjected its FISA warrants of Trumps staffers to strict oversight, finding several errors. The problem is that the public had little basis of comparison to measure the errors were they egregious, as Trump suggests, or ordinary sloppiness? Nobody knows what the ordinary level of sloppiness is, because FISA warrants dont normally come under intense public scrutiny. Meanwhile, Barr has appointed John Durham to undertake another even broader investigation into the FBI and the intelligence communitys Russia investigation. The probe appears to be aimed at other Trump antagonists, such as former CIA Director John Brennan. Barr has thrown his weight behind the probe, visiting foreign countries and asking their cooperation. The Department has also pursued a case against former director Andrew McCabe for misleading the Department about media leaks. McCabe is another Trump target, who stood behind Comey after Trump fired him, has since then been the target of public and private abuse by the president. The potential charges have been hanging over McCabes head for so long that last month a court ordered the Department either to bring a case or drop it. In theory, there would be nothing wrong with the Department of Justice tightening up its standards of conduct. But all the evidence points to the conclusion those standards are being raised only for Trumps political enemies. The Department released batches of private texts by Lisa Page, including texts that had no political relevance, exposing her to personal embarrassment. Trump of course is the head bully, mocking Page repeatedly, including engaging in a simulated orgasm between her and the FBI agent with whom her affair was exposed in the texts. Page is suing the Department, but the Department is not bringing its own charges against the officials who undertook this obvious abuse. Nor is the Department investigating the ubiquitous 2016 leaks about the Clinton email probe.The sentiment against Clinton among conservative FBI agents was at such a fervor that agents would openly cheer on colleagues investigating her with comments like You have to get her and You guys are finally going to get that bitch. They pressured Comey to bring charges by leaking constant stories to the right wing media. FBI agents say the bureau is alarmed over Director James Comey urging the Justice Department to not prosecute Hillary Clinton over her mishandling of classified information, stated a report in the Daily Caller. Giuliani was literally broadcasting his leaks from conservative agents on television. This history is relevant for two reasons. First, those leaks were far more historically significant than any of the leaks that are currently being investigated. The anti-Clinton cabal was trying to force Comey to violate DOJ protocol and announce an investigation of a candidate leading up to an election, and they succeeded. Second, the flagrant nature of the 2016 anti-Clinton leaks show just how unseriously the bureau has taken its rules on leaking. The behavior was so common precisely because everybody on all sides assumed the prohibition would never be enforced, which is what makes the new selective enforcement of strict anti-leaking protocol so obviously biased. It would be as if every car in Washington, D.C., driving even one mile over the speed limit was suddenly pulled over and subjected to the maximum penalty allowed by law. Trump is not arbitrarily having his opponents arrested. He is doing something more subtle, but still extremely dangerous: using the Department of Justice to selectively hold his opponents to the most exacting levels of legal scrutiny that are not broadly applied. It doesnt even matter that not every investigation brings charges, and the charges themselves probably wont hold up in court. The time, expense, and reputational cost of the investigations will be damaging enough. Wittess 2016 warning was chillingly prescient on this score. A prosecutor and by extension, a tyrant president who directs that prosecutor can harass or target almost anyone, and he can often do so without violating any law, he wrote. He doesnt actually need to indict the person, though that can be fun. Its easy to see how even honest figures as Durham is reputed to be can be brought along into this corrupt pattern. Each one is directed to investigate a single case. Theyre not charged with determining whether the law in question is being applied in a broadly consistent manner, only whether it was violated in a single instance. The message Trump has sent to his bureaucracy is unmistakable. Political loyalists will be granted broad latitude, and displays of troublesome independence will be held to the strictest accountability. Fascism is not descending on Trumps America, and the rule of law has not disappeared. But its slow disintegration has crossed a dangerous threshold. Transparency and accountability are critical to good governance. They are fundamental ideals that Australians are entitled to expect from elected leaders and from the departments that manage the daily mechanisms of government. Yet, time and again, Australians are rudely let down by politicians who deflect criticism and, worse, cunningly manipulate accepted systems in an effort to entrench their power. Former federal sport minister Senator Bridget McKenzie. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer The most blatant example of the latter was exposed this week by a report from the Australian National Audit Office, which found evidence of bias in the way millions of dollars of federal grants were distributed to sporting clubs before last May's election. The ANAO report is scathing of how allocations were decided by the office of former sports minister Bridget McKenzie, who is also deputy Nationals leader. Old allies the Jana Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party came together once again and announced an alliance, seeking to emerge as the "third alternative" in Andhra Pradesh. IMAGE: Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan speaks during a press meet after entering into an alliance with the BJP. Photograph: PTI Photo The reunion of the two parties, which comes after a separation of three years due to what they termed "communication gap," may alter the political scenario in the state, where the local body elections are round the corner. Describing it as a "historic and important development," Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and state BJP president Kanna Lakshmi Narayana announced the alliance at a press conference, after a four-hour-long meeting of leaders of the two parties in Vijayawada on Thursday. They exuded confidence that the partnership would clinch power in the state in 2024. Right from the upcoming polls to the local bodies, the alliance will go on to fight the 2024 general elections as well. "Our alliance is intended to protect the state," they said. Alleging that the YSR Congress government completely failed the people in a very short time, the alliance leaders promised to fight against its policies. The state BJP chief said the Sena agreed to ally with his party "unconditionally" in the interest of Andhra Pradesh and its people. A coordination committee would soon be constituted with leaders of the two parties to carry forward their agenda. Pointing to the "communication gap" between his party and the BJP, which led to a fallout three years ago, Kalyan said, "We held a series of discussions over the past few months and bridged that gap. Thus, we are back in alliance." The actor-turned-politician held talks with BJP working president J P Nadda in New Delhi on January 13. "BJP was our first (political) ally," Kalyan recalled. The Telugu film star claimed that the people of Andhra were yearning for a third alternative, vexed with the "dynastic, despotic and corrupt" politics of both Telugu Desam Party and YSRC. "The BJP and the Jana Sena will be the third alternative that people are looking for. We will emerge as a formidable force by 2024," Kalyan noted. We have over four years time to strength ourselves in the state and we will certainly clinch power in 2024," he asserted. BJP state in-charge Sunil Deodhar stressed that there was no question of any realignment with the TDP. We have already made it clear that the TDP is no longer welcome. There will not be any type of alliance with either the TDP or the YSRC," he added. As soon as the Sena was founded in March 2014, Kalyan supported the BJP-TDP combine in the elections in AP and Telangana. The Sena remained out of contest in the two states. Two years down the line, it fell out with the BJP and the TDP for various reasons and allied with BSP and the Left parties for the 2019 elections. Sena bit the dust in the elections to both Lok Sabha and assembly in the state last year, managing to win just one seat in the 175-member assembly. Fr Ted actor Gerard McSorley has appeared in court again after trying to enter sheltered accommodation which he had been evicted from. McSorley (70) appeared at Letterkenny District Court where he was charged with threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour. The court heard that on November 11 last he arrived at Trinity Court sheltered accommodation in Newtowncunningham. Mr McSorley had just been evicted from the premises some time earlier and had been told by staff that he was not welcome there again. Staff at the centre said they would provide the actor with the money for a taxi to take him to his previous home in Gaoth Dobhair in West Donegal. However, Garda Sgt Gerard Dalton told the court that Mr McSorley said that under no circumstances would he be returning to Gaoth Dobhair. Gardai were called and Mr McSorley began to raise his voice and was arrested and brought to Letterkenny Garda station. Mr McSorley's solicitor, Mr Kieran O'Gorman said that his client was very apologetic for what had happened. Judge Paul Kelly asked Mr O'Gorman if the actor had now found accommodation and was told he has. Judge Kelly added: "Tensions were a bit high on the night so I will apply the Probation Act." Although originally from Omagh, McSorley has lived in Co Donegal for many years. He has starred in a number of films including Veronica Guerin, Braveheart, Michael Collins, Angela's Ashes and the infamous Fr Ted series, where he played Fr Todd Unctious. SANTA CRUZ (BCN) Santa Cruz police on Friday morning are searching for a man suspected of abducting a 1-year-old girl, according to Santa Cruz Police Department's chief Andrew Mills. About 7 a.m. Friday, police posted on Twitter that the child was kidnapped by the suspect, identified as Brian Sellen, near a home at Front and Second streets. Police were conducting searches of the area. Photos of the girl and Sellen were posted by police. No further information was immediately available. 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. I dont know what it says about a country when its heading toward a watershed moment on what should be a simple question of fairness, compassion and human decency. It should be a no-brainer that discrimination shouldnt be permitted against someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identify. But, here in America, I guess some of us dont understand that. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide this year on three cases on whether its legal to fire workers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. USA Today reported that experts see this as setting the stage for a landmark civil rights ruling that will serve as the true test of where the nation stands on LGBTQ rights. USA Today reported these sad facts: *About half of LGBTQ people in the United States live in a state where they legally can be fired, denied a promotion, refused training or harassed at their jobs all because of their gender identity and sexual orientation. *Only 21 states, D.C. and two territories have laws on the books explicitly banning bias in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity. *One quarter of LGBTQ people reported experiencing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to a 2018 report from the Movement Advancement Project. Thats an embarrassment, especially since more than 90 percent of Americans believe gays and lesbians should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities, according to a 2019 Gallup poll. More than half believe new civil rights laws are needed to reduce discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people. A Marquette Law School poll shows the public opposes the Supreme Court allowing business owners with a religious objection to LGBTQ people to deny them services, 57-34 percent. The sticking point in this debate seems to be the people who see homosexuality as an offense against God. Their concern about what goes on in other peoples bedrooms is so intense that some of them fly past the hate the sin, lover the sinner part and just hate the sinner. Why else would they want to make discrimination legal against the LGBTQ community? Some might tell you theyre concerned about a slippery slope that starts with selling them a wedding cake and then could steamroll into all kinds of things. Im more concerned about a slippery slope that goes in the other direction. From no cake, to you cant go to school here, to you cant get medical care here, to you cant live here, to youre fired, to who knows what else. Democrats have tried to address this matter by passing the Equality Act in the House. It would amend other civil rights laws to include explicit protections for sexual orientations and gender identity. The bill faces opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate Meanwhile, members of the LGBTQ community are left to figure out why the same God who created them also considers them an abomination. Makes you wonder. Doesnt it? There shouldnt be any question about this: Americans deserve the same protections from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity as they do on the old standbys of race, sex, national origin and religion. So, if youre in Congress and you believe this, youll change the law. If you dont change the law, youre simply giving the go-head for some of our citizens to not just hate a particular group but to punish them by ruining their lives anyway they can. Some call that religious liberty. I call it garbage. Rick Elia is a freelance journalist in Union Township, PA. His blog is http://www.musingsofanobodyweb.wordpress.com/. Toyota said Friday it will bring production of the Sequoia SUV to its San Antonio plant as it moves its Tacoma pickup assembly line to Mexico. The sprawling South Side facility will suspend Tacoma production in late 2021 and begin manufacturing the Sequoia in 2022. The Japanese automaker doesnt expect to create new jobs or cut jobs as a result of the switch. Toyota is shifting Sequoia production from its plant in Princeton, Ind., to San Antonio. That Indiana plant will continue to turn out Highlanders and Siennas. Manufacture of the full-size Tundra pickup, which has been struggling against Ford and Chevy competitors, will continue in San Antonio. On ExpressNews.com: Toyota Tacoma sales set record in 2019, but Tundra stumbled Since 2016, the San Antonio plant has been operating at maximum capacity, Toyota officials said in a statement. The shift will make room for market growth and achieve long-term sustainability of future production in San Antonio. The announcement opens a window into the automakers announcement in September 2019 that it will spend $391 million to upgrade the San Antonio plant and introduce advanced manufacturing processes. Toyota received tax incentives of around $19 million from San Antonio and Bexar County last spring in advance of the company choosing San Antonio for the plant improvements. City and county officials have said they granted the tax breaks because they believe Toyota will eventually create new jobs in San Antonio as well as preserve existing ones. Toyota officials said as much in their Friday announcement. On ExpressNews.com: Toyotas $391 million expansion the first major renovation of San Antonio plant in nine years With the more than 20 Toyota suppliers located next to Toyotas South Side plant, the automaker is responsible for 7,200 San Antonio jobs. Toyota is able to move production of the Tacoma, the best-selling truck in the midsize class, to Mexico because it opened its second plant there last month, in the city of Guanajuato. The company also assembles the Tacoma in Tijuana. At the San Antonio facility, officials said both the Tundra and Sequoia will be built on the same production line. The Tacoma and Tundra are also manufactured on one production line. Randy Diamond covers energy and manufacturing in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read his stories and more local coverage on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | randy.diamond@express-news.net After four non-BJP states, now Telangana to pass anti-CAA resolution in Assembly After Kerala, resolution against CAA passed in Punjab Assembly, may move SC India oi-Madhuri Adnal Chandigarh, Jan 17: The ruling Congress moved a resolution in the State Assembly on Friday demanding scrapping of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. State Minister Brahm Mohindra moved the resolution against the CAA on the second day of the two-day special Assembly session. "The CAA enacted by Parliament has caused countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country. The state of Punjab also witnessed protests against this legislation, which were peaceful and involved all segments of our society," Mohindra said while reading out the resolution. Kerala Govt moves Supreme Court against CAA Earlier on Thursday, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had hinted at the move when asked about a possible resolution. Amarinder told mediapersons, "Wait till tomorrow." Earlier in the week, the Amarinder Singh government had declared "it will proceed according to the will of the House" on the issue of Citizenship Act, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). NEWS AT 3 PM, JAN 17th, 2020 Meanwhile, he TPrint reported Punjab could challenge the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Act in the Supreme Court. The Kerala government had approached the Supreme Court on January 14, challenging the validity of the Citizenship Act. Reacting to the development, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said he commended the Punjab Assembly for considering to move the resolution to repeal the CAA. I commend the Punjab Legislative Assembly that will take up for consideration today a well-reasoned Resolution calling for the repeal of CAA. P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) 17 January 2020 Earlier, the Kerala Assembly had recently passed a resolution demanding the scrapping of the controversial law, becoming the first state in the country to do so. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 17, 2020, 13:06 [IST] From: John Connors -- Patent it and Grow Rich For Immediate Release: Dateline: Los Angeles , CA Friday, January 17, 2020 Inventor Beware https://inventorbeware.com Start Up Smart Wed, 07 Mar 2018 04:25:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.3.2 https://i2.wp.com/inventorbeware.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/cropped-Unknown-1-1.jpeg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Inventor Beware https://inventorbeware.com 32 32 143704811 UNDERSTANDING PATENTS, TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHTS https://inventorbeware.com/2016/05/understanding-patents-trademarks-and-copyrights/ https://inventorbeware.com/2016/05/understanding-patents-trademarks-and-copyrights/#respond Fri, 13 May 2016 20:46:57 +0000 http://inventorbeware.com/?p=1515 A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor that is issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in [] The post UNDERSTANDING PATENTS, TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHTS appeared first on Inventor Beware. ]]> A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor that is issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed. U.S. patent grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Under certain circumstances, patent term extensions or adjustments may be available. The right conferred by the patent grant is the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention in the United States or importing the invention into the United States. It is noteworthy that what is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid of the USPTO. There are three types of patents: 1) Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof; 2) Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and 3) Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant. An invention must meet several requirements to be eligible for a patent. The invention must concern patentable subject matter (section 101). The invention must be novel and the application for a patent on the invention must be timely (section 102). The invention must be non-obvious (section 103). Finally, the invention must be sufficiently documented (section 112). WHAT IS A TRADEMARK OR SERVICEMARK? A trademark is a word, name, symbol, or device that is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A Servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms trademark and mark are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and service-mark. It is essential to understand that Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks that are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the USPTO. WHAT IS A COPYRIGHT? Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly; therefore, a copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. The post UNDERSTANDING PATENTS, TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHTS appeared first on Inventor Beware. ]]> https://inventorbeware.com/2016/05/understanding-patents-trademarks-and-copyrights/feed/ 0 1515 THE PTABS PRACTICE OF DENYING MOTIONS TO AMEND https://inventorbeware.com/2016/05/the-ptabs-practice-of-denying-motions-to-amend/ https://inventorbeware.com/2016/05/the-ptabs-practice-of-denying-motions-to-amend/#respond Fri, 13 May 2016 20:44:42 +0000 http://inventorbeware.com/?p=1513 The PTAB consistently espouses its position that it cannot complete proceedings within the 1 year time frame proscribed in 35 U.S. Code 316 (The Code) if applicants were given full opportunity to amend their claims. While it is accurate that, according to the Code, proceedings are to conclude within 12 months; thats not the [] The post THE PTABS PRACTICE OF DENYING MOTIONS TO AMEND appeared first on Inventor Beware. ]]> The PTAB consistently espouses its position that it cannot complete proceedings within the 1 year time frame proscribed in 35 U.S. Code 316 (The Code) if applicants were given full opportunity to amend their claims. While it is accurate that, according to the Code, proceedings are to conclude within 12 months; thats not the end of the story. The Code also expressly provides that the 12 month period can be extended up to an addition 6 months for good cause. A PATENT FOR AN INVENTION IS THE GRANT OF A PROPERTY RIGHT TO THE INVENTOR It is difficult to argue against the proposition that the owners of an invention (a property right owner) should not be foreclosed from all due process and procedural rights otherwise available to all property right owners; thereby, creating good cause to extend the 1 year time frame to allow an investor to both (1) enjoy full due process and procedural rights, and (2) avoid the prejudice that attaches to the inventor when their due process and procedural rights are extinguished. 35 U.S. Code 316 addressing the Conduct of the inter partes review (IPR) process under Amendment of the Patent states, that During an inter partes review instituted under this chapter, the patent owner may file 1 motion to amend the patent in 1 or more of the following waysincluding For each challenged claim, propose a reasonable number of substitute claims. On May 09, 2016 the USPTO published a blog titled Further Insight Provided on PTAB Amendment Motions with New Study written by Acting Chief Administrative Patent Judge Nathan Kelley (Kelley). It is overview of the Study the USPTO stated But unlike in the examination context, the PTAB proceedings must be completed within a year, and there is no time for the back-and-forth between the applicant and the USPTO that happens during prosecution. The above statement is troubling because the PTAB is not constrained by the 1 year time frame, given the fact that the Code provides an additional 6 months (total 18 months) for good cause. Lets not lose sight of the fact that there is no evidence that allowing time for back-and-forth between the applicant and the USPTO cannot be accomplished within the 1 year time frame, even if motions to amend were more readily available. Allowing an inventor to enjoy the same due process and procedural rights provided to all property right owners; and, avoiding the prejudice that attaches to the inventor when their due process and procedural rights are extinguished, we respectfully suggest, meets the legal burden of showing good cause for a 6 month extension. If 35 U.S. Code 316 provides a patent holder with a right to amend each challenged claim, [and the right to] propose a reasonable number of substitute claims, can the PTAB ignore this right using the 1 year time constraints as its only basis for denial? Or, in the alternative, is the PTAB improperly interrupting the Code to provide that a patent holders only right is to file a Motion, which can be granted or denied by the PTAB? The post THE PTABS PRACTICE OF DENYING MOTIONS TO AMEND appeared first on Inventor Beware. ]]> https://inventorbeware.com/2016/05/the-ptabs-practice-of-denying-motions-to-amend/feed/ 0 1513 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PROPOSES CHANGES TO U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW INCLUDING CHANGES TO SECTION 504 OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT https://inventorbeware.com/2016/05/department-of-commerce-proposes-changes-to-u-s-copyright-law-including-changes-to-section-504-of-the-copyright-act/ https://inventorbeware.com/2016/05/department-of-commerce-proposes-changes-to-u-s-copyright-law-including-changes-to-section-504-of-the-copyright-act/#respond Fri, 13 May 2016 20:38:37 +0000 http://inventorbeware.com/?p=1511 In January 2016 the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a White Paper report recommending amendments to U.S. copyright law. The Report summarizes the comments and testimony received from stakeholders and sets forth its conclusions and recommendations. The Task Force addressed Remixes, First Sale and Statutory damages. In connection with Remixes and First Sale, the recommendation [] The post DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PROPOSES CHANGES TO U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW INCLUDING CHANGES TO SECTION 504 OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT appeared first on Inventor Beware. ]]> Myanmar students hold Myanmar and Chinese flags as they prepare to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping outside of the airport in Naypyitaw - REUTERS Chinese president Xi Jinping is visiting Myanmar to finalise billions of dollars in investment projects, and to shore up Beijings influence over the pariah South East Asian nation shunned by the West over its brutal policies toward ethnic Rohingya Muslims. The two-day trip is Mr Xis inaugural state visit this year, and the first by a Chinese president in 20 years. Mr Xi is expected to meet with top leaders including Myanmar president U Win Myint and state councillor Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto government leader. Deals on the table include a landmark 1 billion deep-sea port in western Rakhine state, the centre of the Rohingya conflict. Related projects are also planned, including a high-speed rail link connecting the port to southern China, along with a vast industrial park. Together, these infrastructure investments are seen as Chinas gateway to the Indian Ocean. Both nations have hailed the trip as bringing them closer than ever after seven decades Myanmar was the first non-Communist country to recognise China after the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949. And China is now Myanmars top trading partner. But experts say its a fraught bilateral relationship that has, at least for now, reached a convenient time for the two sides to cosy up. For China, their interests are clear keep Myanmar within their zone of influence, maximise their infrastructure investments, and through this develop their own access to the Indian Ocean, said Champa Patel, director of the Asia-Pacific programme at Chatham House. And Myanmar needs China to show the international community that everybody else is criticising us, but we still have the top leader of a great power paying a state visit to our country, said Yun Sun, co-director of the East Asia program at the Stimson Center, a US think tank. In some ways, how Myanmar has dealt with China with some deference toward Beijing, which then lends support against international pressure is a template for how Beijing wishes the rest of Southeast Asia would behave. Nations including the Philippines and Malaysia have grown more politically cautious toward China. Story continues The China-Myanmar relationship hasnt always been smooth tensions flared after widespread public anger stalled plans for a 2.7 billion mega-dam, a project that remains unresolved. Its a flashpoint in bilateral ties that is expected to become an election issue as Burmese head to the polls later this year. But fortunes are tied, as the two countries share a restive 1,500-mile border - home to dozens of insurgent armies and hundreds of militia, said Thant Myint-U, historian and author of The Hidden History of Burma. The biggest, the United Wa State Army, fields nearly 30,000 well-armed troops and administers territories nearly the size of Belgium. Officials from both countries have touted Chinese investment as a way to create new jobs, boost the economy and stabilise conflict along the border. But some experts say border security is necessary if Beijing-backed projects which already risk backlash over Chinese intentions are to succeed in such strife-ridden zones. The Chinese think the Burmese cant be trusted, and the Burmese worry about what China wants, said Richard Horsey, a Yangon-based political analyst. Resource-rich Myanmar worries its an extractive relationship, not a win-win. Plus, "Myanmar is by far the poorer country and may well be overwhelmed by what comes next without a proper plan on how best to manage the sheer weight of China's economy next door," said Thant Myint-U. Still, agreeing to more Chinese investment is a way for the Burmese government to thank China for its support in other areas. China has emerged as a powerful backer for Myanmar a proxy nation in the strategic struggle against the West over influence boosting Ms Suu Kyis defiant stand against international condemnation over ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims. Aung San Suu Kyi at The Hague in December 2019 Credit: Koen Van Weel/AFP Next Thursday, the International Court of Justice, the UNs highest court, is set to rule on a request for emergency measures in a genocide case filed by Gambia against Myanmar, stemming from the brutal military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in 2017 that forced more than 730,000 to flee. If upheld, a request for provisional measures aimed at protecting the Rohingya while the case proceeds, would be automatically sent to the UN Security Council. But China holds a key vote on the Security Council, and could block demands including better access to humanitarian aid or the repeal of discriminatory laws. Beijing has consistently supported Ms Suu Kyis regime, offering a financial lifeline to escape the impact of possible sanctions, and attempting to thwart any UN attempts to hold Ms Suu Kyi and her generals to account. However, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, predicted that defending the Burmese military against genocide will likely be a bridge too far even for Beijings clout on the global stage. Myanmar is, in any case, very good at not caving to international pressure and it hasnt up until now changed its approach on the Rohingya issue, said Mr Horsey. I think it knows that it needs Chinas protection on the Security Council, he said. But how much does it need to capitulate to Chinas interests in order to keep China on side? I think Myanmar is testing that. Otodata Wireless Network, a Montreal, Canada-based provider of remote sensing products for a multitude of sectors that use fuel and lubricant tanks, received $7.5M in growth financing. CIBC Innovation Banking provided the financial resources. The capital will be used to support the companys product diversification and growth across North America. Founded in 2008 by Andre Boulay and Jason M. Gallovich, Otodata designs, develops, and manufactures tank level monitors, an inventory management portal, and a mobile app for fuel providers across North America. The monitoring software that accompanies the hardware allows the user to remotely monitor these types of tanks and provides data, giving customers the opportunity to make decisions for their business. What This Minor Vs. Marriott Lawsuit Reveals About the Hotel Biz Marriott International has failed to halt a lawsuit against it in a Thai court filed by Minor International. The parent company of Minor Hotels Group advised investors of the outcome on Thursday. Minor, however, is still unable to proceed with the legal case in Thailand, pending another outcome later this month of a temporary injunction to block it, which Marriott Thailand managed to obtain in Singapore. Minor is suing the U.S. hotel giant for alleged non-performance of the JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Phuket, Thailand, which it fully owns. The hotel has been managed by Marriott since its opening in December 2001. The case is riveting for the Asian hotel industry and beyond. Its not because of the amount being claimed by Minor, which at $19 million (571 million baht) is a pittance, but because it opens a can of worms in the public arena on issues that have surfaced as a result of global chains consolidation. Chief among these issues is whether the asset-light model of these companies is sustainable. As the behemoths, with their rain-shower of brands, fiercely compete for management fees and guest loyalty, a question on conflicts-of-interest, and of the real costs to hotel owners of being in the system, arises. An example of this can be seen through a Minor complaint, which it outlined to investors, that Marriott is forcing the JW Marriott Phuket to accept high volumes of low-margin business through Marriotts loyalty program Bonvoy. According to Minor, Marriott unilaterally sets the rate it pays to the hotel for stays booked through Bonvoy. Following the merger of the Marriott and Starwood loyalty programs in 2018, we were informed by Marriott that the base redemption rate for the JW Marriott Phuket would decrease from approximately $120 per night to $47 per night, said Dillip Rajakarier, group CEO of Minor International and CEO of Minor Hotels Group. In effect, Marriott was requiring us to sell rooms at a below-market rate. This business [Bonvoy] is some of our lowest-margin business, yet we are forced to honor these redemptions which hurts our profitability. We requested to cease participating in the program, which we consider to have an overall net negative effect on our hotel, and Marriott refused to consider this. Story continues Marriott Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong issued a statement reiterating the case is meritless and should be heard in confidential arbitration. Marriott wants the dispute resolved through Singapore International Arbitration Centre, saying Minor has a binding agreement with it on this. It said its Thai subsidiary recently secured an interim injunction in Singapore arbitral proceedings to stop Minor from pursuing action in Thailand. Minors Rajakarier said the company is challenging that temporary injunction. A further hearing is scheduled in Singapore this month. Once the Singapore hearing is concluded and its clearer how to proceed in Thai court, the Thai proceedings will move ahead, said Rajakarier. Our efforts to find good faith solutions with Marriott have fallen on deaf ears, hence we have no alternative but to seek legal recourse to protect our interests. Whats at Stake Some observers believe Minor is fighting tooth and nail possibly because it wants to boot out the Marriott management contract. Minor no doubt is done with Marriott and wishes to take over control, said a hotel consultant. The only operator they are still prepared to work with is Four Seasons. [Note: Minor has one other hotel managed by Marriott, The St. Regis Bangkok, and a Radisson Blu in Mozambique.] Minor is now a serious operator of scale in their own right, so such conflicts are inevitable. Minor owns and/or operates 536 hotels worldwide. Its owned brands include Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Tivoli, NH Collection, NH Hotels, nhow, and Elewana. But the Phuket hotel has been managed by Marriott for slightly over 18 years, which makes no sense for Minor to go through this process to break a contract if it is a 20-year contract, that is. Still, the term could be 30 years, or that the renewal was on Marriotts option. Minor would not reveal the duration or comment on the speculation. In the wider industry, one impact of the case could be that other owners would attempt to resolve disputes in open courts despite having agreed to confidential arbitration in the hotel management agreement, according to several hotel investment consultants, who spoke to Skift on the condition of anonymity as they do work for either Marriott or Minor. Arbitrations are most often closed door. Open courts are public and no company wants to air its dirty laundry in public. If this had gone to arbitration, youd probably not heard of it, said one. In its note to investors, Minor said the JW Marriott Phuket has suffered a steep decline in performance as a result of Marriotts poor purchasing practices, high staff turnover and bad sales and marketing decisions. Total hotel revenue decreased from $30 million in 2013 to $29 million in 2019. Marriott was unable to achieve the agreed budget for each year from 2013 to 2018 and since the end of 2018 the property has operated without an approved budget in place, it said. Minor said the hotel remains under Marriotts management for the time being. But Marriotts statement to Skift maintained: We consider JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa has performed well compared to the market. The dispute will have no impact on operations at the hotel, which continues to offer guests with world-class service and accommodations, a beachfront location and eleven culinary options. Minor also claimed that not only the JW Marriott Phuket competes with other Marriott hotels in Phuket, it is using the facilities of the JW Marriott Phuket to promote them. Marriott operates 11 hotels in on the island. Asked how, Rajakarier said: It is clear that these other properties are competing for the same business as our hotel, using shared Marriott resources and under the management of a single Marriott regional team. We do not believe that Marriott is properly taking our interests as a hotel owner into account as it grows its own business in a manner that directly undermines our business. There is a clear and harmful conflict of interest at play and we believe that this has had a direct impact on our operating results. A hospitality consultant expects this dilution issue to be raised and debated more frequently in the industry. It sure has an impact, but the synergies in some markets have illustrated that there are definite cases where multiple properties can result in positive as well as negative impact, he said. I also think owners are having issues with loyalty programs, not just Marriotts Bonvoy but others, over charges, redemption rates, et cetera, he added. Subscribe to Skift newsletters covering the business of travel, restaurants, and wellness. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: The Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi Joint Action Committee (JAC) submitted a memorandum to DGP D Gautam Sawang on Thursday and urged him to extend support on behalf of police to its agitation against the move to shift the capital from Amaravati. JAC leaders A Siva Reddy and RV Swamy who submitted the memorandum to the DGP, took to his notice the objectionable behaviour of police towards women, who held a rally in a peaceful manner on January 10 against the move to shift the State capital. We have urged the DGP to give permission to the JAC to hold rallies and other protests in a peaceful manner in the coming days and ensure that no untoward incident takes place, the duo said. Later, the Joint Action Committee leaders met Vijayawada Police Commissioner Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao and urged him to extend support to their agitation against the three-capital proposal. Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) Worried by rampant security challenges in the country, Nigerias President, Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday held a crucial security meeting with his military chiefs and other heads of security agencies in the country New Delhi [India], Jan 18 (ANI): All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday alleged that the Centre has empowered Delhi Police to detain under the National Security Act (NSA). Sharing a report alleging that says the Delhi Police may exercise the powers of detaining authority under the NSA, Owaisi took to Twitter to share: "Delhi Police has shown willingness to act in a way that pleases the Centre. Now it is been empowered to detain under draconian NSA." He said the act allows detention up to one year and gives the power to police to arrest anyone irrespective of their guilt and innocence. "It allows detention up to one year without vakil (lawyer), daleel (argument), appeal and is popular with cops who want to go after anyone irrespective of their guilt and innocence," he said. The report said the order "is a routine order passed by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi after every four months". The order states: "...in exercise of the powers conferred by sub section (3) of section 3, read with clause (e) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt. Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is pleased to direct that during the period 19/01/2020 to 18.04/2020 the Commissioner of Police, Delhi may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub section (2) of the section 3 of the aforesaid Act." (ANI) Brazils Secretary of Culture Roberto Alvim was fired Friday, after being accused of paraphrasing Nazi Germanys propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels, in a speech on the governments vision of the Brazilian arts. The video, released on Thursday announcing national prizes to revitalise the arts in Brazil, quickly went viral, attracting outrage after the national daily O Globo pointed to the speech's at times word-for-word similarity to Goebbels' rhetoric. Alvim, a born-again Christian and a theatre director appointed last year by Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, announced the prize as music played in the background from an opera by Wagner, Hitlers favourite composer. Brazilian art of the next decade will be heroic and it will be national... and imperative because it will be rooted in the urgent aspirations of our people, or it will be nothing, Alvim says in the video. Goebbels, Hitlers notorious ideologue, told theatre directors during the Nazi regime that: German art of the next decade will be heroic, will be wildly romantic, will be objective and free of sentimentality, will be national with great pathos and equally imperative and binding, or else it will be nothing. Critics, including the president of Brazils lower house, quickly called on Alvim to be sacked, calling the speech and in particular its similarities with that of Goebbels inacceptable. Alvim, meanwhile, said any similarity was simply due to rhetorical coincidence, saying in a Facebook post that he would never quote Goebbels, but noted the phrase itself is perfect: heroism and the aspiration of the people is what we want to see in national art. In a statement, Bolsonaro said Alvims position had become untenable following his unfortunate remarks. I reiterate our rejection of totalitarian and genocidal ideologies, Bolsonaro said, adding his governments unconditional support for the Jewish community. On Friday, the governments website was largely inaccessible, but the national newspaper Fohla de S.Paulo cited Alvims spokesman as saying the cultural secretary had been removed from office. Bolsonaros government has drawn criticism after launching a project with the aim of revamping the countrys arts scene, with a focus on nationalism and religion. The project is part of the far-right administrations answer to what it sees as decades of leftist hegemony in the cultural sphere, from art to education and family. Alvim has been the driving force behind the initiative, which is expected to cost the cash-strapped country some $4.9 million. (FRANCE 24 with AP and REUTERS) T he family of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn have accused the Prime Minister of having no wish or intention to meet them to discuss their sons death . The 19-year-olds parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, had been hopeful of a meeting with Boris Johnson after they said they had repeated assurances from senior members of his Cabinet. In recent weeks, Mr Dunns parents have met Home Secretary Priti Patel and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and have had numerous discussions with their constituency MP Andrea Leadsom. Ms Leadsom wrote a letter to the Prime Minister requesting a meeting with the family earlier this month. Harry Dunn was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car in Northamptonshire / PA Mr Dunn was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on August 27 last year. Anne Sacoolas, 42, the wife of a US intelligence official, claimed diplomatic immunity after the collision and was able to return to her home country, sparking an international controversy. The US State Department has said the UKs extradition request for Mrs Sacoolas is highly inappropriate and would be an abuse. Harry Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles and father Tim Dunn with family spokesman Radd Seiger / PA Speaking about their hopes of a meeting with the Prime Minister, family spokesman Radd Seiger said: Sadly, it is now clear to the parents of Harry Dunn that, despite repeated assurances to the contrary, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has no wish to, or intention of, meeting with them. For all his multiple faults, even US President Donald Trump took the time and trouble to meet with Harrys parents and extend his condolences personally, albeit for his own personal gain rather than to help Harrys parents. Trump looked the parents in the eye and told them how sorry he was. The US president took the time to meet with Harry Dunn's family / AP Mr Seiger continued: Johnson, on the other hand, has done his level best to steer clear of Harrys parents and continues to do so. I have made numerous attempts to arrange the meeting and said we will meet anytime, anywhere and the meeting need not be a long one. Each offer has either been rebuffed or ignored. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will get justice for Harry Dunn / POOL/AFP via Getty Images Addressing how the parents felt about the Prime Minister, Mr Seiger said: Unfortunately, the parents worst fears about Johnson have come true and they are beside themselves with upset. They were deeply suspicious at the outset that he would be more concerned about his relationship with Trump than Harry and them, and that now appears to be the case. He had a real opportunity on Tuesday to demonstrate that he has his sleeves rolled up and is right there with his administration doing everything they can to ensure the rule of law is upheld and to bring Anne Sacoolas back. He also had an opportunity to make amends and he has chosen not to. Shame on him. Mr Seiger added: The parents will simply move forward now with the dignity and courage they have always shown, determined now more than ever to fulfil their promise to Harry to get him justice. They had been looking forward to Johnson giving them his full support in that cause, clearly now in vain. Harry Dunn, 19, died when his motorbike was involved in a head-on collision near RAF Croughton, in Northamptonshire in August. / PA Together with their advisers and the support of millions of people around the world, they will continue to fulfil their promise and will never be derailed or go away until their objectives are achieved. And unlike the pessimistic, hapless and gaffe-prone Mr Johnson, they know they will achieve them. Asked whether Mr Johnson would meet the family, a Downing Street spokesman said: The legal process is ongoing and the UK has submitted the extradition request. AKRON, Ohio Summit County property tax bills for the first half of 2019 are due by Friday, Feb. 21. Military personnel and military reserve members on active duty may apply for a deferment via the Summit County Fiscal Office website or by calling 330-643-2641. County property owners may obtain a copy of their tax bill via the Fiscal Office website or by calling 330-643-2588. The Fiscal Office offers several ways for property owners to pay their taxes: In person at the Summit County Fiscal Office, Treasurers Division, 3rd floor of the Ohio Building, 175 S. Main St. in Akron. The office is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. By mail. Payments must be U.S. postmarked by Feb. 21 to avoid a 10 percent penalty. At banks that participate in the Regional Tax Collection System. A list of participating banks is included on all tax bills. Online or by phone via the Fiscal Office website . Payments submitted online or by phone are handled by Official Payments Corporation, which charges a nominal service fee. At a MoneyGram location. To find a location, visit OfficialPayments.com/locate or call 1-800-MoneyGram. A nominal service fee will be charged. The Fiscal Office offers programs to help property owners who are delinquent or unable to pay their bill in full by the due date. To learn more about programs and eligibility requirements, call the Fiscal Office at 330-643-2600. Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.coms Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. BERLIN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 07: German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the course of a special faction meeting, on February 07, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. Where are we headed? Thousands of politicians and business leaders will address this question as they attend this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Next week's gathering is taking place at a time of heightened trade disruptions, shifts in foreign policy and a climate emergency just to name some of the main challenges facing global leadership. In the words of Davos attendee and the former Prime Minister of Finland, Alexander Stubb, there's a "new world disorder" that needs to be addressed. "Right now, the U.S. has left power vacuums, on trade, climate, security; world leadership in general. Who's going to fulfil those vacuums?" Stubb asked during a phone interview with CNBC Monday. The European Union (EU) has tried to be a mediator between the United States and the Middle East, attempted leadership on climate aims, and despite a more protectionist tone out of the White House, continued to back multilateral trade. However, internal divergences within the 28-member union, including on security policy, has not enabled it to drive the global agenda. "The U.S. is playing a different power game than what we were used to," Stubb told CNBC, before adding, "I will be looking very closely to the geopolitics at Davos." Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a former minister who allegedly recorded 100,000 phone calls, the sometimes lewd and compromising contents of which were leaked on social media. In what has become a major scandal, Ranjan Ramanayake is heard discussing court cases with judges, police, politicians and local celebrities in some of the recordings. Police, who seized hard drives from Ramanayake's home, said they were investigating whether the recordings had been used for blackmail or other criminal activity. The opposition lawmaker, 56, who was remanded in custody earlier this week, has said he is being targeted for speaking out against corruption. In some of the leaked audio tapes, Ramanayake is heard slating the leadership of his own opposition United National Party, which has since suspended his membership. Parliamentary speaker Karu Jayasuriya said the scandal demonstrated the moral degradation of the otherwise conservative Buddhist-majority nation of 21 million people. "Recording private conversations as well as broadcasting them (illegally) shows the moral decay in our country," Jayasuriya said in a statement urging the clergy to encourage higher ethical standards in society. The leaks have already led to the suspension of a magistrate and disciplinary action against a high court judge, officials said. Both had reportedly discussed ongoing cases with Ramanayake. A senior police detective who had also had discussions with the politician has been suspended pending an internal inquiry. Much of the leaked conversations suggested political interference in cases against senior members of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration between 2005 and 2015. His brother Gotabaya won the November presidential election. Official sources said the leaks could lead to a judicial review of some of the ongoing cases as well as those that have concluded unfavourably for Rajapaksa loyalists. The Attorney General's office said Ramanayake was in custody for offences committed under the constitution for "interference with the functions of Judges." He could face up to a year in jail. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) January 16, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Last Friday, a day after Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and nine others were killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq, the Christian Zionist advocacy group Christians United for Israel emailed its millions of supporters to praise President Trumps move. This Decisive Action Will Save Countless Lives, read the subject line, echoing the assessment delivered that morning by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Fox and Friends. The bombing showed that Trump would take swift and decisive action to protect Americans, Pompeo had told the presidents favorite morning news program. Vice President Mike Pence later claimed that Americans are safer today. Pompeo and Pence reportedly were the top officials pushing Trump to kill Soleimani. Theyre also devout evangelicals and major allies of CUFI. This is not a coincidence. While the organization is best known for its unflagging support for Israelthat is, for Israels expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank and protracted erasure of the possibility of a future Palestinian stateit has, since its founding in 2006, depicted Iran as an existential threat to Israel. The group opposed President Obamas nuclear deal with Iran, denouncing it as dangerous for Israel, the United States and the entire world, and in the Trump administration, CUFI has found hope for a more bellicose posture. Televangelist John Hagee launched CUFI in 2006, calling for military action against Iran, then led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom Hagee compared to Hitler. At the time, Hagee had been claiming that Iran would soon have the nuclear capability to make a bomb, a suitcase bomb, a missile head, or anything they want to do with it. That was untrue, given contemporaneous expert assessments of Irans projected nuclear advances. But for Hagee, a more militaristic approach was necessary in order to avert an American Hiroshima. He urged his supporters to take a stand, as they were meant to for a time such as this, a common evangelical reference to Queen Esther, celebrated on the Jewish holiday of Purim, who saved the Jews from extermination at the hands of Haman, the genocidal adviser to the Persian king. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter In his 2006 book, Jerusalem Countdown, Hagee imagined an elaborate scenario in which a U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran would trigger an inferno [that] will explode across the Middle East, plunging the world toward Armageddon. Faced with scrutiny over his apocalyptic theology, he strained to create a discrete image for his new political organization, insisting that his extensive writings on biblical prophecy about the Rapture and Second Coming were distinct from CUFIs lobbying agenda. But it was a rocky start for the organization. In 2008, while running for president, John McCain first accepted, then rejected, Hagees endorsement. The rebuff was seen as damaging to the political neophyte and a brave stance by McCain against fringe elements within the GOPs evangelical base. At CUFIs annual Washington Summit, held just two months later, only three members of Congress attended. But one of those three members was a certain congressman from Indiana: Pence. He continued to maintain close ties with the organization, and in 2014 CUFI paid for then-Governor Pence and his wife to travel to Israel to celebrate Christmas. With Pence as vice president, Hagees star has risen even more. He has claimed a role in convincing Trump to move the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, writing on his website that he told the president at a White House dinner that Jerusalem is where Jesus is coming back, to set up His throne on the Temple Mount where He will sit and rule for a thousand years of perfect peace. Hagee delivered the benediction at the embassy dedication, a day Hagee described as nothing short of a divine miracle! On matters of Iran, too, there has been a seamless relationship between CUFI and the Trump administration. In 2017, just a few months into Trumps presidency, Pence addressed the CUFI Washington Summit, assuring attendees that President Trump has put Iran on notice: America will no longer tolerate Irans efforts to destabilize the region and jeopardize Israels security, and promising that under Trump, the United States of America will not allow Iran to develop a useable nuclear weapon. Trumps subsequent actions have only elevated the specter of chaos in the region. In 2018, at Pompeos urging, he withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, a decision that looks even more reckless today than on the day he made itand yet, his evangelical supporters consider this one of his top accomplishments. For Pompeo and his evangelical allies, Trumps bombast is superior to Obamas diplomacy, and they have spun his feckless week after the Soleimani killing as a shrewd balancing act between war and peace. After Trumps Wednesday announcement that the U.S. would not retaliate for Iranian strikes on American military targets in Iraq the previous day, CUFI wrote in a briefing to supporters that Trump had made clear to the Iranians that the US is neither seeking nor afraid of conflict with Iran, and that for the first time in years, Iran faces an American leader who is ready, willing, and able to stand up to Iran or make peace with the Islamic Republic. Pompeo, in a political career spanning three terms in the House of Representatives, a brief stint as CIA director, and now, as the countrys top diplomat, has promoted intertwining his Christian faith with his public service. But he has scoffed at charges that evangelicals promote theocracy. In a March 2019 interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, while visiting Israel, Pompeo was asked whether Trump has been sort of raised for such a time as this, just like Queen Esther, to help save the Jewish people from the Iranian menace? As a Christian, Pompeo replied, I certainly believe thats possible. A few months later, he told the CUFI Washington Summit, A lot of people get spun up with the wrong ideas that American evangelicals want to impose a theocracy on America. Instead, he said, I wish they would be concerned about the real theocratic takeover that has been happening in Iran for the last four decades. He repeated the familiar Esther story and then thanked God for President Trumpan immovable friend of Israel. Weve implemented the strongest pressure campaign in history against the Iranian regime, Pompeo said, and we are not done. This article was originally published by "The New Republic" - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== Re-elected President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen has told China to abandon its threat of forces against Taiwan. (Photo Credit: Taiwan News) Tsai Ing-wen has secured a second consecutive term as President of Taiwan, after sweeping to victory in an election last Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 . Ms Tsai secured just over 57% of the ballot - a record 8.2m votes - well ahead of her rival Han Kuo-yu. Tsais Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) managed to hold on to its majority in the 113-seat legislature as well, giving her free rein to push on with her agenda in her final four-year term, beginning May 20. From all reports, it was an election dominated by the islands relationship with China. Ms Tsai opposes closer ties with China, with Mr Han suggesting that closer ties with China would bring economic benefits. In fact, Ms. Tsais resurgent popularity, she having dipped in the polls midway in her first term, has been largely courtesy of domestic fears over China. Han was seen by some voters as being too close to Beijing, as many looked with concern at unrest in Hong Kong once seen as a model for some in China for a potential future takeover of de facto independent Taiwan. The issue of relations with China played out even in Ms. Tsai victory speech. She told China that it should abandon its threat to take back the island by force. She expressed the hope that "the Beijing authorities understand that democratic Taiwan, and our democratically elected government, will not concede to threats and intimidation. China rebutted by blaming "anti-China political forces for Ms Tsais re-election, calling her victory a threat to the "peaceful development of cross-strait relations. Later, Ms Tsai told a news conference: "Taiwan is showing the world how much we cherish our free democratic way of life and how much we cherish our nation. China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. It says Taiwan must eventually be reunited with China, by force if necessary. In the build-up to last Saturdays election, the Global Times, a nationalist Chinese state-run newspaper, quoted Chinese officials and analysts as warning "that reunification of the motherland is an inevitable trend regardless of who wins. Ms. Tsais victory would have done little to make it any easier for Chinas effort aimed at unification, said one observer. Meanwhile, Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) told the media on Sunday (Jan. 12) that officials from more than 60 countries had greeted Ms Tsai by phone call and email, including U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu. Brigaid school lunch dan giusti sits down to eat .JPG Hilary Brueck/Insider Chef Dan Giusti used to work at Noma, the Michelin-starred Copenhagen restaurant that's been dubbed the "best restaurant in the world" numerous times, where meals cost more than $350 a head. Today he runs Brigaid, a company that's cooking meals for public school kids in Connecticut and New York. The food and labor to make Brigaid meals from scratch costs $3.41 per kid, per meal, the same price that schools would pay for processed, prepackaged heat-and-serve food (and about 100 times cheaper than the fare at Noma.) "It's the first time in my life that I'm actually cooking for other people," Giusti said. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Chef Dan Giusti used to serve strips of beef tartare seasoned with ants to his customers at Noma in Copenhagen. Five years ago, he was the chef de cuisine at what was then considered the best restaurant in the world. Today, he wouldn't dream of serving any undercooked meat to his young clients, nor does he garnish any of their toast with fish sperm. Instead of preparing $350, once-in-a-lifetime meals, he now runs a company training chefs and school foodservice workers to plate $3.41 lunches every day for more than 3,500 schoolkids in Connecticut and the Bronx, New York. "It's the first time in my life that I'm actually cooking for other people," he told Insider. "When you're cooking for someone once in a while, you can surprise them with things, you can spend a lot of money on the food, the food doesn't necessarily have to be healthy for you. When you're cooking for someone every day, you're feeding them." The learning curve was steep at first, as Giusti aimed to put his haute cuisine chef's touch on public school dishes, something a lot of the kids didn't want, and refused to eat. Take a peek at a recent Noma meal, side by side with some of Brigaid's latest cuisine, to see how the federally-compliant meals stack up against a two-Michelin-starred restaurant's. Story continues Noma and Brigaid each try to use fresh, local produce in their meals as much as possible. Apples appear on the menu at both spots. BN noma apple Will Martin/Business InsiderOne trick that Giusti has instituted from day one at Brigaid has been cutting up fruit instead of serving it whole. That's how they do things at Noma, and it works here, too. BN fruit cut Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider "They're five years old, and they have four teeth, and they have 10 minutes to eat," Giusti said of his new clients. Cutting up foods like pineapples, melons, apples, and cantaloupe has sent fruit consumption skyrocketing in the New London school district of Connecticut. Across the Atlantic Ocean at Noma, tiny balls of apple are scooped out of the fruit and back into its hollowed shell, then served up with seeds and a (fake) edible beetle. At Brigaid, "we can serve some local and seasonal food," Giusti said, but it's easier to source farm-to-table at Noma, where there are never more than 56 guests at a time. When Giusti first started Brigaid, he wanted to remain ambitious with the food offerings. A little too ambitious, he soon learned. BN funky plant soup v regular ol sandwiches Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider Noma chefs sometimes serve up potted herbs like thyme, with dishes like a creamy soup hiding under the leaves (left). Kids at the New London and New York schools where Brigaid operates are never offered quite the same, but there were other inventive offerings that Giusti tried on them at first. One of the most hated, he said, was a Thanksgiving-themed turkey sandwich that included cranberry sauce. The mixture of sweet and savory was not a hit with the kids, and has now been replaced with simpler options (above right). "We roast the Turkey, we slice it ourselves, it's a nice thing, but it's still very plain, because that's what kids want," Giusti said. "The kids who are eating the turkey sandwich want turkey and a slice of cheese, and that's it. As a chef, you're like, 'oh, we gotta put something else on this.' But why?" During a recent $350 Noma lunch meal that Business Insider's Will Martin attended, his favorite dish was this fruity berry and fava bean salad served ceviche-style with a horseradish oil (on the left). BN salads Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider Brigaid often serves students side salads with homemade Caesar dressing (at right). They are not quite a fan favorite, as the salads are at Noma, but some kids eat them. For Brigaid, the crowd-pleaser is ravioli pasta, served steaming. "It's a nice, tasty hot meal," Giusti said. "They eat everything. It's satisfying." BN every day versus once in a lifetime Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider At Noma, lunches and dinners are served in a slow succession of courses, which might be book-ended with edible plants, like the herb soup, and this potted cake served with perfume roses (above right). If customers don't like one food on the menu, there are so many others to choose from that it's not going to make or break their meal. That's not the case for Brigaid. "First and foremost, we want kids to eat, it's the most important thing," Giusti said. "There are kids who come to our schools that are hungry, and they will choose not to eat if there's not something there [they like]." Brigaid students have anywhere from 22 to 30 minutes to eat lunch. The multi-course culinary experience at Noma can take three hours. BN details Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider Even if the kids were amenable to it, there just isn't time for a presentation of potato and nasturtium flowers (above left), served along with sea buckthorn jelly that's been shaped into a butterfly. Instead, breakfast muffins are served warm. At Noma, there are around 20 courses to every meal. BN noma peas and cream Will Martin/Business Insider A refreshing bowl of peas and cream comes between other dishes like deep-fried marigolds and a walnut-based "tofu." Seaweed is only on the menu at Noma, but Brigaid does make a crunchy kale that's a similar hue. BN greens compared Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider The crispy kale is Brigaid's version of kale chips, and they're served up with meatloaf and a side of mashed sweet potatoes. "You're following very strict nutritional guidelines on these things," Giusti said. You won't find any of Noma's wild boar pancreas on the menu at Brigaid. "Probably my favorite dish on the menu, the dish we always go to that's worked since day one, has been barbecue chicken with honey-roasted carrots and corn bread," Giusti said. noma boar pancreas Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider "At a place like Noma, you're cooking for people once in a lifetime," Giusti said. Federal guidelines dictate that gradeschool lunches must include, on average, a minimum of half a cup of fruit a day, three-quarters of a cup of vegetables, and one ounce of meat, or a meat alternative. One pot chicken noodle soup is on the menu at Brigaid, while at Noma dessert is a three-course affair, which can include berries and cream. BN chicken soup v cream dessert Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider Brigaid's chicken noodle soup is a homemade blend of carrots, herbs, noodles and meat, while the Noma version of berries and cream comes with orange and purple edible flowers and an assortment of other leaves on top. At Noma, the food is sometimes extravagantly rich, but it's not allowed to be that way at Brigaid. BN meats Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider Noma's plant-minded chefs recently served up this meat-free "shawarma" (above left) made from celeriac and truffles, a veggie kebab that Martin said was "the richest, most decadent vegetarian dish you could possibly imagine." There's no way to know exactly quite how rich the dish is (calorically speaking), but it takes four people the better part of a workday to build and slice the masterpiece, which is cooked, marinated in truffle juice and brown butter, steamed, then brushed with truffle puree, linseed fudge, and celeriac puree. Finally, it's served up in a mushroom-flavored brown butter sauce. At Brigaid, nothing can be so indulgent, because there are strict federal salt and fat guidelines all chefs must adhere to. Kids instead eat stewed chicken in tomato sauce (above right), served alongside Spanish rice and beans, and sweet plantains. At Noma, a quail's egg that was cooked at exactly 129 degrees sits on a bed of straw, and is topped with a "chorizo" made from rose hips. Brigaid serves teriyaki chicken atop a different, edible bed of vegetable fried rice. BN quail eggs v fried rice Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider "I don't want to be the one who's saying 'you have to eat this, you have to try this.'" Giusti said, though he does hope the kids might do a bit of experimenting on their own terms. "I think you should have options for kids to choose, in the sense that they can say, 'today I want to try something new.'" Both Noma and Brigaid make their own breads. But only one of the kitchens includes mold. BN breads Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider Noma's dessert pancake made from moldy barley (on the left) is just one example of how the restaurant experiments with cultured food. It's enveloping a plum ice cream with balsamic vinegar. The chefs at Noma say these funky foods help unlock more of the flavors in our food. "There's a lot of fermentations," Giusti said. "Miso-like pastes, or vinegars, or oils would be used to season." At Brigaid, chefs season foods like rice with spices including turmeric and annatto, and use onions and garlic in addition to salt, but there's no fermentation at work. Brigaid recently started offering kids pepperoni pizza on homemade crust. BN brigaid for after potted plant comparison pizza .JPG Brigaid "Before, [food] was just coming out of a jar, or, really, out of a can," Kelly Avery, who has worked for 19 years in the New London school district, told Insider. Avery said pizzas used to be pulled out of a freezer, put on a tray, and shoved in the oven. "Now everything's homemade, and it's a lot better," she said. She's learned new kitchen knife skills, and how to make dressings from scratch. Both kitchens strive to make some of the best food their customers eat. BN kitchen compare Brigaid, Will Martin/Business Insider "There's no reason that that should exist in a Noma, and not exist in another restaurant, or workplace, or a school kitchen," Giusti said. Read the original article on Insider Social entrepreneurs working with the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship have distributed $6.7 billion in loans or value of products and services, improving lives of more than 62 million people in 190 countries, and India is the top-most country in terms of their presence, a new study showed on January 17. These social entrepreneurs have also helped mitigate more than 192 million tonnes of CO2 and improve education for more than 226 million children and youth. Besides, they have helped provide energy access for more than 100 million people, and have driven social inclusion for over 25 million people. The report, titled Two Decades of Impact: Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, has been released ahead of the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos and focusses on how social entrepreneurs can achieve impact at scale, change the systems in which they operate and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. "The community has distributed more than $6.7 billion to projects and products that have enhanced livelihoods, including increasing healthcare access, providing clean energy solutions, and improving education outcomes," the report said. "This report challenges the notion that models of social innovation can be dismissed as small, isolated islands of success amidst our overwhelming global challenges," said Hilde Schwab, Co-founder and Chairperson of the Foundation. "Consider the combined capability of all social innovators in the world, those recognised in networks like the Schwab Foundation, and the hundreds of thousands that exist in local communities around the world," she said. This community of social enterprises operate in more than 190 countries, with 25 per cent of them reaching at least 90 countries each. All 10 countries in which social entrepreneurs are most active are low to middle income markets (with the exception of the US), and six of those are in Africa. They include Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and the US. India is on the top with 46 such social entrepreneurs, followed by 40 in the US, 34 in Kenya, 29 in Brazil and 26 each in South Africa and Uganda. "Social innovators have pioneered sustainable approaches and inclusive business models, and serve as a clear demonstration that models of stakeholder capitalism can indeed work," said Klaus Schwab, the WEF Founder and Executive Chairman. The Schwab Foundation was established 20 years ago as a platform to support an under-recognized movement of people who were developing innovative business models delivering social or environmental good. It provides exposure, capacity building and a trusting community of social-change leaders within the World Economic Forum. It now represents 384 late-stage social innovators operating in more than 190 countries worldwide. A Spanish court has sentenced a former top banker to 18 months in jail for trying to smuggle a Picasso painting deemed a national treasure out of the country on a sailing yacht. The court also fined ex-Bankinter head Jaime Botin 52.4 million euros ($58.4 million), according to the Madrid court ruling issued on January 14 which was made public on Thursday. It awarded ownership of the work, "Head of a Young Girl", to the Spanish state. Botin, 83, is unlikely to go to prison as in Spain first offenders for non-violent crimes are usually spared jail time for sentences of less than two years. French customs seized the work, which is estimated to be worth 26 million euros, in July 2015 on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, halting what they said was an attempt by Botin to export it to Switzerland to sell it. His lawyers argued at the time that he was sending it for storage in a vault in Geneva but the court found him guilty of "smuggling cultural goods" for removing the painting "from national territory without a permit". Botin, whose family are one of the founders of the Santander banking group, had been trying since 2012 to obtain authorisation to export the painting. However Spain's culture ministry refused the request because there was "no similar work on Spanish territory" from the same period in Picasso's life. In 2015, a top Spanish court sided with the authorities and declared the work of art "unexportable" on the grounds that it was of "cultural interest". Picasso painted it during his pre-Cubist phase in Gosol, Catalonia, in 1906. It was bought by Botin in London in 1977. Botin's lawyers had argued that the work should not be subjected to an export ban since it was acquired in Britain and was on board a British-flagged vessel when it was seized. When customs officials boarded the yacht, its captain only presented two documents -- one of which was the court ruling ordering that the painting be kept in Spain. The painting is currently stored at the Reina Sofia modern art museum in Madrid, which houses Picasso's large anti-war masterpiece "Guernica". Airports in Srinagar and Jammu are to be immediately brought under the security cover of the CISF in view of the arrest of DSP Davinder Singh, a Jammu and Kashmir government order has said. The two sensitive airports are to be handed over to the CISF by January 31, the order of the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department to the Director General of Police (DGP) said. This issue (CISF security at Srinagar and Jammu airports) has acquired immediacy in view of the recent developments relating to the arrest of Davinder Singh, DSP airport security, for trying to assist militants to travel to other parts of the country, the order issued on Wednesday said. Police had arrested Singh, a deputy superintendent of police, at Mir Bazar in Jammu and Kashmirs Kulgam district on Saturday, along with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists Naveed Baba and Altaf, besides a lawyer who was operating as an overground worker for terror outfits. The two airports are guarded by the CRPF and the J-K Police at present. The Union government had last year decided that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will be handed over security of these two airports along with the one in Leh in view of their sensitive and strategic location and the threats it faced related to possible terrorist and hijack attempts. CISF is the national civil aviation security force and at present it guards 61 airports including the ones at Delhi and Mumbai. PTI had on January 13 reported that the Union home ministry sanctioned about 800 personnel to the CISF in order to take over security duties at the three airports of the newly created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. As per the original plan, the CISF was to take over Jammu airport by next month and the Srinagar and Leh airports after the spell of severe cold ends. However, officials said, keeping in mind the arrest of the DSP and his alleged links, the latest order has been issued which also directs the J-K Police to make arrangements for accommodation, transport and other logistical requirements of the armed contingent of the CISF on a quick basis. Once inducted at the most-sensitive Srinagar airport, the CISF will secure access control at both city and air side (tarmac area) while the CRPF will be responsible for securing the outer periphery. At the Jammu airport, the peripheral security duties will be rendered by the JK Police. An assortment of surveillance and security gadgets like CCTVs, observation monitors, hand-held metal detectors, bullet-proof patrol vehicles and bomb detection and disposal equipment are also being provided by the airport operator, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), to the CISF. The Union government sometime back made it clear that CISF will be the only civil airports guarding force and all such facilities in the country will be gradually brought under its command to bolster aviation security and tighten anti-terror and anti-hijack protocols. PTI NES SKL AAR Evelyn Yang has revealed she experienced multiple instances of sexual assault from a gynaecologist she visited in 2012 while pregnant with her and Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yangs first child. The 38-year-old mother of two said she was inspired to share the personal story after receiving compassion from voters about her sons autism, which she has openly discussed along the campaign trail. Something about being on the trail and meeting people and seeing the difference that we've been making already has moved me to share my own story about it, about sexual assault, Ms Yang told CNN in an interview that aired on Thursday. Ms Yang said she didnt tell her husband or family because she didn't want to upset them, adding: I certainly didn't want Andrew blaming himself for not being able to go with me to these doctor's visits because honestly, if he was with me in the room, if anyone was with me in the room, this obviously wouldn't have happened. The gynaecologist, Dr Robert Hadden, was a prominent OG-GYN working in the medical facilities at New Yorks Columbia University, where Ms Yang attended school and met her husband. He first started out asking inappropriate lines of questioning about her sex life with her husband, Ms Yang told CNN, and eventually sexually abused her on multiple occasions, including one instance in which he examined her without any gloves when she was seven months pregnant. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty I was in the exam room, and I was dressed and ready to go. Then, at the last minute, he kind of made up an excuse, she said. He said something about, 'I think you might need a C-section,' and he proceeded to grab me over to him and undress me and examine me internally, ungloved. Ms Yang revealed the alleged abuse years after the birth of her son, when she learned Dr Hadden was no longer working at the practice within Columbia University. After looking up his name on Google, she learned he faced accusations of sexual assault from another woman who filed a police report against him. Recommended Andrew Yang releases new ad about special needs children This was a serial predator, and he just picked me as his prey, she said. Ms Yang has joined 31 additional women in a lawsuit against both Columbia University and Dr Hadden that argues the medical facilities and its associates actively concealed, conspired and enabled the gynaecologists sexual abuse. Ms Yang, who previously worked as a marketing executive for LOreal, suggested she used to blame herself for the assault and was not aware of the standard practices and procedures employed by gynaecologists when pregnant. I thought there was something I did to invite this kind of behaviour, she said. I feel like I put up with some inappropriate behaviour that I didn't know at the time was straight-up sexual abuse/sexual assault until much later, and I regret having put up with that. Mr Yang has expressed support for his wife sharing her story, saying in a statement shortly after the interview was released: When victims of abuse come forward, they deserve our belief, support, and protection. He added: I hope that Evelyns story gives strength to those who have suffered and sends a clear message that our institutions must do more to protect and respond to women. The delegates at the event (Photo: VNA) At the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung expressed his delight at the special traditional friendship between Vietnam and Laos. He noted that overseas Vietnamese across the world are eager to welcome a happy New Year 2020 amid the stable political and social situation and high economic growth of Vietnam. Speaking at the event, General Chansamone Chanyalath, member of the Lao Politburo and Minister of National Defence, extended his best wishes to the Vietnamese people on the occasion of the traditional Vietnamese Tet, while affirming that the special traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries will continue to develop further in the future. In the warm and friendly atmosphere, participants enjoyed traditional and typical dishes together on traditional Vietnamese Tet days, listening to songs praising the solidarity and friendship between the two countries and traditional Lamvong and Basalop dances of the Lao people./. [January 16, 2020] Mitsubishi Electric Sets Ambitious Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO:6503) announced today that it has set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets for 2030 and that these have been approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative1 (SBTi) as measures that will contribute towards "Maintaining global warming below 2C relative to pre-industrial temperatures", a key aim of the "Paris Agreement." Mitsubishi Electric (News - Alert) Group will continue its work of many years, contributing to the realization of a sustainable future by greenhouse gas reduction throughout its wide-range of business areas. 1 International initiatives and collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature; one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments. Promotes the establishment of emission reduction targets consistent with the findings of climate science, with the aim of containing global average temperature increases due to climate change to within 2C compared with pre-industrial levels. Mitsubishi Electric Group Emission Reduction Targets Scope 1 & 2 Mitsubishi Electric commits to reduce total scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 18% by 2030, compared to the base year of 2016. Scope 3 Mitsubishi Electric commits to reduce total scope 3 GHG emissions by 15% by 2030, compared to the base year of 2018. For the full text, please visit: www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005220/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Millionaire businessman and Leave.EU founder Arron Banks has given the campaign to make Big Ben bong for Brexit a massive boost after pledging 50,000 to the cause. The donation from Mr Banks, a former Ukip donor, and the Leave Means Leave group means fundraising efforts are now almost halfway to the 500,000 needed in theory to get the bell up and running. However, even if the target is reached it still seems unlikely that Big Ben - currently mothballed as it undergoes a major overhaul - will be brought back into service at 11pm on January 31. The House of Commons Commission has suggested it would be unable to accept public donations to pay for the necessary work which means the fundraising efforts could end up being for naught. Boris Johnson initially backed the fundraising campaign but Downing Street has gone cold on the idea, blaming the 'intransigence' of parliamentary decision-makers for blocking the bongs plan. Senior Brexiteers led by Sir Iain Duncan Smith are now urging Mr Johnson to 'overrule' Parliament and allow members of the public to pay for Big Ben to bong. Sir Ian told The Telegraph: 'I beg the Prime Minister to step up and tell the Commission they've got this wrong, and he and the government will overrule it unless they change their mind.' The government has said it will shortly announce its own plans for marking Brexit. It was claimed this afternoon that those plans could include a speech by the PM designed to unite the nation. The Stand Up For Brexit group which has organised the fundraising campaign has said that if it fails to raise the full 500,000 the money will be given to the Help for Heroes military charity. Scroll down for video. Arron Banks and the Leave Means Leave group have apparently donated 50,000 to the Big Ben Brexit fundraising campaign Sir Iain Duncan Smith has urged the government to 'overrule' the House of Commons Commission and allow Big Ben to bong for Brexit The campaign, organised by StandUp4Brexit, has until this weekend to raise the bumper figure or all the money will likely go to the military charity Help for Heroes Mark Francois, a Tory MP and one of the architects of the fundraising campaign, announced Mr Banks' donation this afternoon. He told the BBC: 'We're at 166,000 and I can now make a formal announcement. 'Following telephone calls this morning, Leave Means Leave and Arron Banks have now donated 50,000 towards the campaign. 'We are now not far short of 220,000, and by the end of the day we probably won't be a million miles away from having raised half the total in two days.' Mr Francois's comments came amid growing scepticism over the suggestion it would cost 500,000 after it emerged that making Big Ben bong on other special occasions during its renovations had cost just 14,000. Sir Paul Beresford, responding on behalf of the Commission to a parliamentary question from Mr Francois, said: 'The costs associated with striking Big Ben on Remembrance Sunday and New Year's Eve in 2019 were 14.2k including VAT on each occasion.' However, Sir Paul said these events had been made to fit around the planned works 'so as to minimise the impact on the project costs'. Former Big Ben engineer slams 'ludicrous' 500,000 quote for bonging A former Big Ben engineer has rubbished the 500,000 price tag quoted by the House of Commons authorities for the bell to bong for Brexit, calling it 'unbelievable'. Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, a caller called Mike said: 'I was fortunate enough to work in Parliament for a couple of years and one of my jobs there was to project manage the extraction of the clock mechanism itself and to replace it with the electric motor that's up there now,' he said. He called the cost that the Commons Speaker cited 'unbelievable' and added,: 'I can only believe that they're trying to claw some of the money back because it's so over budget.' Advertisement 'If the project team are required to strike the bell with less notice, the costs would substantially increase due to the unexpected impact on the project schedule,' he said. Number 10 sparked anger among Tory MPs yesterday after appearing to wash its hands of the campaign following Mr Johnson's decision on Tuesday to support the plan as he urged people to 'bung a bob for a Big Ben bong'. More than 9,000 people have now donated cash, including Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom who handed over 10. She wrote on Twitter: 'I admit I've donated a tenner. #LoveBigBen. The Big Ben must bong for Brexit campaign.' Former party leader Sir Iain condemned the House of Commons Commission and urged Mr Johnson to stop 'sitting on the fence'. 'On the eve of the single biggest change that Britain will undergo arguably since the end of the Second World War the House of Commons Commission, it appears, is determined to leave Big Ben mute. 'This bell has rung out at all the critical moments in our nation's modern history. But that it should be silenced now verges on the absurd. 'Somehow they managed to find time to clang the bell to welcome in the New Year which is of far less significance. They must rethink this and allow that bell to ring.' He added: 'I urge Downing Street to make a clear statement that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet want Big Ben to signal the moment when our great country officially leaves the EU.' Mr Francois had earlier said the PM would be 'mad' to back down after initially backing the campaign. 'As the Prime Minister effectively initiated this campaign live on TV two days ago and as we are clearly going to hit the target, he would be mad to back away from it,' he said. Downing Street sources had previously said the idea of restoring the bell for January 31 was 'dead', and Mr Johnson's spokesman appeared to confirm the news yesterday as he pointed the finger of blame at the Commons authorities. Conservative MP Mark Francois said he would pay 1,000 towards the 500,000 cost of sounding the bell at 11pm on January 31 'The House of Commons authorities have set out that there may be potential difficulties in accepting money from public donations,' he said. 'I think the PM's focus is on the events which he and the Government are planning to mark January 31.' A government source blamed the 'intransigence' of Commons officials, saying: 'We went to the House authorities saying 'how can we make this happen?' and they came back with a whole series of unhelpful comments. House of Commons officials claimed it would cost 500,000 to temporarily bring back the bell for one evening 'It's very difficult for us to say to people they should contribute money when the whole thing might still be turned down by Parliament. If they do raise the half a million pounds then the Commons authorities are going to have a very big decision to make.' Nigel Farage accused the government of being 'embarrassed' by Brexit over its failure to back the bid for Big Ben to bong. 'It seems to me they are embarrassed by Brexit and it makes me ask the question how much they really believe in it,' he said. Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who is chairman of the commission, set himself firmly against the idea saying the cost would be '50,000 a bong' and argued only people who live in Westminster would get to hear the bell. Commission officials warned of the legal and ethical problems of accepting public donations, calling it 'unprecedented'. The extraordinary cost is made up of 120,000 to reinstall and test the temporary 'bonging' mechanism. That also includes the cost of building a temporary floor in the belfry and then removing it again. They also said the Brexit bongs would delay renovations by up to four weeks at a cost of 100,000 per week. Last night another Commons source said No10 could have pushed the issue by forcing a vote in Parliament. 'The issue came up before the Commission and it was explained the cost and delay involved to the restoration of Big Ben and the Tower. If the Government really wanted it they could put forward some sort of motion and they could vote on it. That would overrule the commission.' The appeal was launched on Wednesday morning on the GoFundMe website. Writing on the site, one donor told the PM to 'get it done': 'I find it unbelievable that this wasn't arranged ahead of time and at reasonable expense just like it has been with every other significant event. Just get it done!' 'The Sena has lived with the BJP long enough to know its vulnerabilities and how to hit where it hurts the most,' points out Amulya Ganguli. IMAGE: Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray greets supporters after being sworn in as Maharashtra's chief minister, November 28, 2019. Photograph: Mitesh Bhuvad/PTI Photo If Rahul Gandhi does not throw a spanner in the works, it is time that the national Opposition took the initiative to make the Shiv Sena a part of the non-BJP group outside Maharashtra as well. Now that Sanjay Raut, executive editor of the Sena newspaper Saamna, has indicated the party's willingness to participate in all future Opposition conclaves, no time should be lost to invite the Sena to join the UPA. Since the Sena is now 'out of the NDA', as Raut has said, and 'will be with the UPA' on all 'key' national issues, there needn't be any delay in formalising this informal togetherness. But for a 'miscommunication', the Sena might have attended the recent Sonia Gandhi-led meeting on the citizenship law. If this had happened, it would lessened to some extent the glee of the pro-BJP television channels over the absence of the Trinamool Congress, the BSP, the DMK and the Aam Aadmi Party from the meeting, as their decision to stay away highlighted yet again the fissures in the anti-BJP camp. In contrast, what the Sena's presence would have accomplished is to carry forward the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi's successful experiment in forging an alliance of unlikely partners, based on a common antipathy towards the BJP, thereby falsifying the 'maha-milayat' narrative of a 'khichdi' (hodge-podge) combine which damaged the pre-general election endeavours to constitute a mahagathbandhan or a grand alliance. Building on what the MVA has achieved so far (including victory in the Nagpur local elections) is all the more necessary to erase the distressing memories of the collapse of the Janata Dal-Secular-Congress tie-up in Karnataka which reinforced the 'maha-milayat' slur. Unlike the Karanataka scene, the MVA's formation has been little short of a miracle, given the inherent contradictions between the Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress. However, the glue holding the unlikely allies together is not power so much as the BJP's looming threat to the Sena's future in the state. The MVA will survive as long as the Sena feels fully assured that that the BJP has become weaker in the state as well as at the Centre. It is to put up a challenge to the BJP at the Centre that the Sena can play a crucial role as a constituent of the UPA. There are two reasons why it is in a position to do so. One is that the Sena has a sharp tongue which will be more effective in countering the BJP's demagogues than, say, the Congress's Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury although he is trying his best and is not shooting himself in the foot as Shashi Tharoor and Mani Shankar Aiyar tend to do. The other reason is that the Sena has lived with the BJP long enough to know its vulnerabilities and how to hit where it hurts the most. There is little doubt that Sena will be more of an asset to the UPA than the unpredictable Mamata Banerjee and Mayawati and the uncertain Akhiesh Yadav, who is apparently more preoccupied in keeping his father and uncle at bay than in bolstering an anti-BJP front. The other 'x' factor which can queer the pitch for a UPA-Shiv Sena bonhomie is the role of the Congress's former and possibly future president, Rahul Gandhi. The Congress in Maharashtra was bold enough to ignore and deflect the party's First Family's reluctance to go along with the Sena on the grounds that it might alienate Muslims. Maharashtra's Congressmen were also helped in their defiance of the family by, first, some nifty politicking by NCP supremo Sharad Pawar (including an intriguing pow-wow with Narendra Damodardas Modi), and, secondly, by the lure of entering the corridors of power. But whether they can withstand a frontal assault by Rahul Gandhi is unclear. The way out is for Pawar once again to take forward the agenda of thwarting the BJP by ensuring the Sena's entry into the UPA. Amulya Ganguli is a writer on current affairs. Hallway health care will worsen unless Premier Doug Fords government spends more money to ease overcrowding in hospitals and builds new nursing home beds faster, the Ontario Hospital Association warns in calling for a $922 million cash injection. The lobby group told a legislative committee hearing in advance of the governments spring budget that the number of hospital beds in Ontario has remained static at around 30,000 over the last two decades while the population has grown by 3 million people, with 1 million more seniors. That growing and aging population has left Ontario with fewer acute-care beds per thousand people than any other province and tied with Mexico, said hospital association chief executive Anthony Dale. Ontario hospitals are the most efficient in the entire country, he added in an interview after the presentation, noting the additional $922 million sought for 141 publicly-funded hospitals represents an increase of 4.85 per cent. You cant expect to end hallway health care and keep asking hospitals to cut their expenditures and become more efficient given what the data shows. Our backs are against the wall here. Ford promised in the 2018 election to bring an end to the treatment of patients in hospital hallways, lounges and other spaces not originally intended for care, and to create another 15,000 nursing home beds by 2023 to ease growing wait lists. The premier did not set a timeline for fixing the complicated hallway health care conundrum that is a result of nursing home bed shortages that keep thousands of patients in hospital waiting for rooms in long-term care, a shortage of community care options, and mental health and addictions treatment, among other snags. Ford said Thursday that his government has already increased health-care spending by $1.9 billion, with several efforts underway to ease hospital overcrowding. I want to thank the front line doctors and nurses that have come up with great ideas to drive efficiencies that come up with technologies, better ways, faster ways of doing things, he told reporters, acknowledging we have a lot more to do. While the government has allocated about 8,000 of the 15,000 nursing home beds, Dale said he fears the process is not moving fast enough because it takes about three years of planning, permits and construction to get new beds in operation. We need to make sure that construction is on track, he told MPPs from the governing Progressive Conservatives and opposition New Democrats on the standing committee on finance and economic affairs. Were counting on those bedsthe math for us is relentless. Just 21 new nursing home beds were opened last year, a period that saw the waiting list grow by more than 2,000. Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton has pledged the government is looking for ways to accelerate construction. Things are measurably worse now than they were a year-and-a-half ago, Natalie Mehra of the Ontario Health Coalition told the committee Friday. There are now about 5,300 patients occupying acute-care beds in Ontario hospitals that do not need to be there for medical reasons, with many awaiting nursing home beds but facing a waiting list of more than 35,000 people for spots in long-term care. When hospital wards are backlogged with such patients, it is harder to find room for emergency department patients being treated in hallways to be admitted to traditional hospital beds. About 1,000 to 1,200 patients are being treated in unconventional hospital spaces daily. A report late last year from Ontarios independent Financial Accountability Office sounded an alarm that the long-term care system will bulge with baby boomers over the next two decades, requiring an additional 55,000 new nursing home beds by 2034 to maintain the waiting list at current levels. The Conservatives have pledged another 15,000 nursing home beds from 2023 to 2028, along with a plan to redevelop 15,000 existing beds, but critics note that doesnt come close to meeting the accountability offices prediction for demand. When someone has been in a relationship for a long time, people tend to ask when they are settling down. When they finally get married, people will start looking for a baby. When the first-born arrives, people will inquire about giving the baby a sibling. And when there is finally a sibling, people will ask for more. The norm of asking lovers with the next big thing in their life can also be tiring on the couple's part, and sometimes, they just need to shut them down even for once. Royal couple Prince William and Kate Middleton is no exemption to this norm, even after having six-year-old Prince George, four-year-old Princess Charlotte, and turning two-year-old Prince Louis on their family. People kept asking if they would want to add another child to their growing family and wondering if they will have it soon. On Wednesday, during the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's visit at the Bradford City Hall in West Yorkshire England, the 38-year-old Kate once again addressed the possibility of having a baby number four even if it has only been two years since she last gave birth. While chatting with a royal fan named Josh Macpalce, who congratulated the Duchess for her three children, Kate revealed that she would unlikely become a mother of four anytime soon. But instead of simply shutting down the idea, Kate casually passes the ball to her 37-year-old husband. "I don't think William wants any more," Kate said after briefly hugging the 25-year-old royal fanatic. It is not the first time that the Duchess addressed the idea of giving Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis a baby brother or sister. During the royal couple's visit to Northern Ireland in February of last year, Kate admitted feeling a little "broody" after meeting a five-month-old baby James Barr. Kate could not resist gushing over the little boy and even told the baby's father: "He's gorgeous. It makes me feel broody." The baby's father then casually asked: "Baby number four?" To which Kate laughed and replied: "I think William would be a little worried." The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's visit to Bradford City is their first joint appearance since the controversial announcement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of stepping down as senior members of the royal family. Despite the shocking plot twist that rocked the Buckingham Palace, the future king and queen were all smiles while greeting the crowd outside the city hall. However, an expert said the couple's body language says otherwise. Speaking to Cosmopolitan, body language expert Blanca Cobb said that Kate and William are evidently touching their stomach more often than before, which could mean that they are feeling nervous and unsettled about something. Cobb also compared how the couple's shoulder appears from their previous engagements and said: "It's unusual to see William and Kate with such rounded shoulders. It could be that they're figuratively feeling the weight or pressure of the situation with Harry and Meghan, so it's weighing them down a bit." King Mohammed VI on Wednesday visited Essaouira where he oversaw a facelift of the citys historical center called Medina and celebrated its centuries-old history of Jewish-Muslim coexistence. Rehabilitation The King was briefed during his visit to Essaouira about a facelift program worth 300 million dollars to develop the historical part of the city and boost its attractiveness to tourism. The Medina is home to 13,000 people mainly earning their living through services, on top of which the growing tourism industry building on the citys cultural and historical attractions as a land of diversity, handicrafts, gnawa music and a long history of Muslim-Jewish coexistence, unique in the Muslim world. The restorations are scheduled to be completed in 2023 and cover the renovation of the old medina and the Borj Bab Marrakech, restoring derelict buildings, and rehabilitating the old port. The program also includes the restoration of Dar Al Araar cooperative and the Portuguese church in addition to the construction of the Derb Laalouj health center. Time-honored traditions of interfaith dialogue During his stay in Essaouira, the Monarch paid a visit to Bayt Dakira, a venue dedicated to showcasing Judeo-Moroccan heritage. The venue is also home to the Slat Attia Synagogue as well as the Haim and Celia Zafrani International Research Center on the history of relations between Judaism and Islam. The leadership of King Mohammed VI and his steadfast commitment to promoting the values of tolerance, inter-religious dialogue and coexistence at home and abroad stand as a distinctive feature of Morocco in the last two decades. The Kings Muslim authority as Commander of the Faithful and his lineal descent of the Prophet Mohammed gives him an edge in promoting the lofty values of Islam and taking action against extremism. As Commander of the Faithful and defender of the faith, I am committed to protecting the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, the Sovereign had said in a speech, affirming that Moroccan Jews enjoy the same constitutional & political rights as their fellow Muslim citizens, and play a key role in the countrys economy. The Jewish community in Morocco was never treated by Muslims as a minority, as its members were actively involved in all fields of activity and were present at all levels of society. In 2010, King Mohammed VI initiated a program to refurbish hundreds of ancient synagogues and Jewish cemeteries scattered throughout Morocco. Since then, the kingdom has spent millions of dollars to repair nearly 200 of these sites. Khamenei to lead Friday prayers amid Iranian tumult Tehran, Jan 17 (AFP) Jan 17, 2020 Iran's supreme leader is expected to lead the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran on Friday, after a traumatic month in which the country had appeared on the brink of war with the United States and accidentally downed a Ukrainian passenger jet. The last time Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led Friday prayers at Tehran's Mosalla mosque was in February 2012, on the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic revolution and at a time of crisis over the Iran nuclear issue. His Friday appearance comes at a tumultuous moment for the country which had seemed headed for conflict earlier in January after the United States killed its top general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad, prompting Iran to retaliate against US military targets in Iraq with a volley of missiles. The strike, which caused significant material damage, wounded 11 US troops, according to a statement by US Central Command released Thursday, which contradicted the military's previous assessment of no casualties. Earlier in the day President Hassan Rouhani emphasized in a televised speech that Iran "is working daily to prevent military confrontation or war", and maintained that a dialogue with the world was still "possible". Tensions between Washington and Tehran seemed to subside in the wake of the accidental downing of a Ukrainian passenger airliner hours after Iran's retaliatory strikes, as Tehran was on high alert for US reprisals. The tragedy killed 176 people, mostly Iranians and Canadians. - Better governance - Canada's foreign minister on Thursday vowed to push Iran for answers about the tragedy. Ottawa said earlier that US President Donald Trump's policies had contributed to the heightened tensions that led to the catastrophe. In June 2019, Iran and the United States had also appeared to be on the brink of direct military confrontation after Tehran shot down a US drone it said had violated its airspace. Trump said he called off retaliatory strikes at the last minute. The animosity between Washington and Tehran has increased since Trump withdrew the United States from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions. In Iran, the air disaster sparked public outrage and anti-government demonstrations took place every day from Saturday to Wednesday. Security forces were deployed across the capital in response to the protests. According to an AFP journalist, around 50 riot police with batons, motorbikes and what appeared to be a tear gas launcher were posted at a major junction in north Tehran on Thursday evening. Concentrated in the capital, the protests appeared smaller than a wave of national demonstrations in November, prompted by a fuel price hike. They had been met with a crackdown that left at least 300 people dead, according to Amnesty International. Rouhani implicitly acknowledged a crisis of confidence in authorities, but called Wednesday for "national unity", better governance and greater pluralism. On Thursday, Rouhani also defended the policy of openness that he has pursued since his first election in 2013, and which Iran's ultra-conservatives criticise. "Of course, it's difficult," he acknowledged, but added, "the people elected us to lower tensions and animosity" between the Islamic republic and the world. That said, Khamenei, who maintains that the West is not trustworthy, bans dialogue with Trump. - 'High school bully' - On Thursday, Rouhani said Iran's "daily enrichment" of uranium was currently "higher" than before the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal. Rouhani, who instigated the negotiations, made the comments while justifying his nuclear policy and Iran's progressive disengagement from the accord. He also stated his willingness to continue dialogue on the agreement. In response to the US withdrawal from the deal and sanctions, an increasingly frustrated Iran has hit back with a step-by-step suspension of its own commitments under the deal, which drastically limited its nuclear activities. On Tuesday, Germany, the UK and France -- the three European parties to the deal -- announced they had triggered a dispute mechanism in response to the latest step back from the deal by Tehran. Germany on Thursday confirmed a Washington Post report that the US had threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars if EU governments continued to back the nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the European parties of having "sold out" the deal to avoid trade reprisals from the United States, and said Trump was again behaving like a "high school bully". Bharti Airtel said it was disappointed with the Supreme Courts decision and it would evaluate filing another petition. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a plea by the telecom service providers (TSPs) for a reconsideration of the courts 2019 verdict that directed them to pay Rs 92.000 crore of past dues over sharing of adjusted gross revenue (AGR). The TSPs that had sought a reconsideration of the order included Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and many now defunct telecom companies. Dismissing the TSPs plea, a bench of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer and Justice M.R.Shah said, Having perused the review petitions and the connected papers with meticulous care, we do not find any justifiable reason to entertain the review petitions. The review petitions are, accordingly, dismissed. With this, the court also rejected the plea for an open court hearing of the review petitions. Bharti Airtel said it was disappointed with the Supreme Courts decision and it would evaluate filing another petition. The industry continues to face severe financial stress and the outcome could further erode the viability of the sector as a whole, Bharti said in a statement. The internet service providers (ISPs) supported the TSPs and exhorted the government to step in immediately to review the definition AGR for the survival of the telecom sector. It is going to be a disaster for the telecom industry. Dismissal of review petition will lead to a duopoly situation, which is not good for consumers. Small ISPs will not be able to survive unless government steps in to review AGR definition," Internet Service Providers Association of India president Rajesh Chharia said. Analysts were also worried about the development. We wonder how weaker operators like Vodafone Idea will make this payment, and not that Bharti Airtel is getting any respite as the amount has to be paid up, said Gaurang Shah, vice president at Geojit Financial Services Ltd. It isnt easy to raise tariffs and retain customers. It remains to be seen how companies now respond to this decision because the court has twice spelled it out for them. For two decades, the TSPs had challenged the way authorities calculated their AGR, a share of which is paid as licence and spectrum fees. But in October, the court upheld the governments method while rejecting the companies plea to exclude revenue from non-telecommunications businesses. The top court by its October 24, 2019 verdict had directed the cash-strapped TSPs to pay up Rs 90,000 crorearound 3 per cent of AGR as spectrum charges and 8 per cent as licence fees. The court had said that except for termination fee and roaming charges, all revenues coming to telecom service provider would be counted in AGR. Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg joined several thousand protesters in the streets of the Swiss city of Lausanne on Friday, days before the start of the Davos summit of the world's political and business elites. "So far during this decade we are seeing no sign whatsoever that real climate action is coming," the 17-year-old eco-warrior said to a rock-star welcome from the mostly teenage crowd. "That has to change," she said, adding in a message to world leaders: "This is just the beginning. You haven't seen anything yet. We assure you of that!". Thunberg is due to address the summit in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos next week with a call on governments and financial institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels. Friday's carnival-like protest brought the cobbled streets of the city centre to a standstill, with demonstrators calling for urgent climate action and booing as they passed a branch of Credit Suisse, which campaigners criticise for its fossil fuel investments. "One, two, three degrees! It's a crime against humanity!" they chanted, while a group at the head of the march held up a banner saying: "Let's Change The System, Not the Climate". Some of the young protesters took inspiration from the latest extreme weather events around the world. One held up a soft toy koala with a sign around his neck reading simply "HELP" -- a reference to the bushfires that have ravaged Australia, while another brandished a cardboard sign reading "Wake Up and Smell the Bushfires". "Fear for the glaciers", read another sign -- echoing concern among residents of the Alps about the rapidly shrinking mountain ice formations due to climate change. "There Is No Planet B", "I Have a Green Dream" and "We Want A Cooler Planet", read some of the other signs. Klimastreik Schweiz, who organised the march, said on Twitter that 15,000 people were taking part. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Editors note: In this bi-monthly column, North Beach artist and avid burger eater Jeremy Fish will celebrate San Franciscos rich burger culture by inspecting a different burger every other week, ranging from old school classics to new chef-driven creations. ----------- Jeremy Fish My name is Jeremy Fish, I am a visual artist based here in San Francisco for the last 25 years. I try to use my artwork to remind my fellow San Franciscans of all of the glorious things that make our city special. Burgers have been my favorite food since birth. I am in love with seeing my meal stacked up with beef on a bun. Thousands of foggy days turned sunny by the right blend of beef, cheese and bun. I like to think I have been inspecting burgers like these my whole life. Twice a month I will investigate the finest "beef on buns" that our fair city has to offer. I am not a food critic and this is not a traditional best of list. My burger inspector rating system is based out of 100, like the SF health inspection ratings. My scores are based on ... you know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's. My goal is to turn folks on to new burger spots, and remind old school burgerheads to revisit some of the classics. Sometimes the burger establishment is more than just whats happening between the buns. So let's all go on a magical burger adventure together built on a mutual love for a stack of meat, cheese and veggies tucked with love in a bun bed. RELATED: SFGATE readers share their favorite burgers around the Bay Area ----------- Courtesy of Jeremy Fish Case #1: Whiz Burgers Drive-In 700 S. Van Ness Ave. / 10:30 a.m. - 9:45 p.m. everyday In the early 2000s while enjoying a cheeseburger at Whiz Burgers, I witnessed a savage car crash, followed almost simultaneously by a brutal stabbing. I stopped eating, ran out into the accident scene, and alerted a cop that a man in a suit is being stabbed next to my half eaten lunch. Whiz Burgers has a pretty good burger, but it is an INCREDIBLE place to sit outside and see some real crazy s go down. Honestly the location, people watching, architectural style and overall neighborhood mojo drew me in and still bring me back. Open since 1955 in the Mission District, Whiz is a classic 1950s style joint complete with a neon sign that is only ever partially lit and a "banana shake yellow" colored "drive-in" style shack. Picnic tables face the intersection of South Van Ness and 18th Street for a fantastic layer of "dinner theater," and a rare parking lot adds more real estate for deviant behavior and gnarly crimes. Traffic and people watching, while burgering down in the melting pot of the Mission District. Does it get better than that? I always go for the regular cheeseburger, which retails for $5.54. This inspector suggests that you pair your little beef-bro with a fresh banana shake, full of tiny chunks that wont clog your straw. Whiz has a pretty good burger, not fancy, just the basics. The burger itself is very mayo heavy on both sides of the bun. Below a kinda dry sesame seed bun lives the shredded lettuce and tomato. Under that is a pre-made beef patty without a lot of salt or spice, wearing some rad melted American cheese and a layer of diced white onion and pickle just below the beef. Based on all of this knowledge and expertise, I give my first inspection to the always rad Whiz Burgers a 71 out of 100. They could use fresher ingredients, or more elaborate sauce or toppings, but hey, then it wouldnt be Whiz Burger. Until next time, get out there and get your burger on San Francisco! RELATED: Food writer calls burger at rustic lodge near Yosemite 'the perfect hamburger' *Inspectors note: Each review I will list off five burgers I ate recently. These havent been officially inspected, theyre just some spots that I personally fed with and really enjoyed that s. This week's "Five Burgers to F With": 1) Sam's Burgers, 618 Broadway. Single cheeseburger (hit or miss) 2) Calibur, 68 West Portal. Single 1/4lb cheeseburger 3) Bill's Place, 2315 Clement Street. SF celebrity burger selection 4) Wesburger, 2240 Mission Street. Single smashburger "Wes style" 5) Pearl's Deluxe Burgers, 708 Post Street. Mini Deluxe Jeremy Fish is a visual artist based in San Francisco and SFGATE's official burger inspector. Email: SFburgerinspector@sfgate.com | Instagram: @mrjeremyfish The minister of state for petroleum resources, Timipre Silva has disclosed that the federal government is planning to make fuel available at N97 per liter for the masses. He further revealed that the FG intends to achieve this by using compressed natural gas (CNG) as an option to premium motor spirit (PMS). Read Also: Residents Scoop Fuel As Petrol Tanker Falls Off In Lagos The minister made this known while fielding questions from his Abuja office on Thursday, 16th January. If we are thinking of reducing pump price for fuel? I could easily say yes and Im sure all of you wonder why I am saying that he said. We are thinking of giving the masses an alternative. Today we are all hooked on PMS, what we want to do going forward is to see that we are able to move the masses to CNG gas. CNG unit for unit costs less than even the subsidized PMS. Per liter the subsidized rate of PMS is N145/l. CNG will cost N95 to N97/l that is why I could say we want to reduce the cost of fuel, that way when we are given an alternative Nigerians will not notice when the subsidy on PMS is removed. Punjab Assembly on Friday passed a resolution against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act that was cleared by Parliament last month, the second assembly after Kerala to call for scrapping the law. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh later told reporters that his government would also move the Supreme Court against the CAA. Kerala had earlier this week joined the 60-odd petitioners who have already approached the top court against the law that lets the government fast-track citizenship request of people on grounds of religion. The resolution said the citizenship law was divisive and stands for everything opposed to a free and fair democracy, which must enshrine equality for all. Watch: After Kerala, Punjab passes resolution against Citizenship Act Alongside the religion-based discrimination in granting citizenship, it is apprehended that the CAA is also likely to endanger the linguistic and cultural identity of some sections of our people, the resolution pushed by the Amarinder Singh government said. The Aam Aadmi Party and Lok Insaf Party lawmakers supported the resolution that also opposed the provision that gives the government the power to strip Overseas Citizens of India card holders of their registration if they violate any law. The Bharatiya Janata Party opposed the resolution. BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal, or SAD, also opposed the resolution but stressed that it wanted a change. We are opposed to this resolution but want Muslims on the list of communities eligible under the CAA, SAD legislature party leader Sharanjit Singh Dhillon told the assembly. Dhillons argument was an attempt by the SAD to walk a tightrope over the amendment. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal told Hindustan Times in an interview that his party didnt believe that there was a need for a rethink on the law but stressed that the CAA should mention minorities instead of naming religious communities (whose citizenship will be fast-tracked under the law). Nobody in the country should feel that they have been omitted or left out, he said. In the assembly, Dhillon also attempted to corner the Congress over its opposition to the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Two NPR surveys were conducted during Manmohan Singhs tenure as Prime Minister, so why the opposition now? he asked. At a cabinet meeting this week, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his colleagues had expressed concern over the implications of what the state calls blatantly unconstitutional and divisive CAA, NRC and NPR. The total tonnage of cargo handled in Saudi Arabian ports during December 2019 was 22 million tonnes, and the number of handled containers reached 595,000, an increase of 2.11 per cent on the same period of the previous year, according to Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani). The number of vessels in the Saudi ports during December 2019 was 1,132; the number of passengers 78,000, while the number of vehicles was 89,000, and the number of livestock 147,000 heads, said a Saudi Press Agency (SPA) report quoting Mawani. Mawani seeks to support and facilitate import and export operations and logistics services in the kingdom and make them more smooth, flexible and competitive, within the framework of its plans and objectives to enhance the services of Saudi ports, and raise the level of its performance, productivity, and operational and logistical capabilities, in order to achieve the goals and pillars of the Kingdom's 2030 vision. President Ram Nath Kovind may have rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh, the only one of the four men convicted in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case to have knocked on the president's door, but it my not yet be the end of the rope for him President Ram Nath Kovind may have rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh, only one of the four men convicted in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case to have knocked on the president's door, but it may not yet be the end of the rope for him. Mukesh (32), along with Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- were to be hanged on 22 January at 7 am in Tihar Jail, a Delhi court had announced on 7 January while issuing their death warrants. Where is the scope of delay? What threw a wrench in the process of hanging the four convicts were rules laid out in the manual of Tihar Jail, where the four men are held. The manual holds that if death sentence has been awarded to more than one person in a case and if one of them moves a mercy plea, the execution of the others too has to be postponed till the plea is decided. The Constitution maintains that a death sentence should be the last course of punishment to be awarded only in the rarest of the rare cases, it lays down several layers of protection for the convict, keeping in view the finality of the punishment. The Supreme Court has said the power of pardon exercised by the president or a governor under Articles 72 and 161 are subject to a judicial review. Their decision can be challenged on the ground that (a) it was passed without application of mind; (b) it is mala fide; (c) it was passed on extraneous or wholly irrelevant considerations; (d) relevant materials were kept out of consideration; (e) it suffers from arbitrariness. The law also allows the convicts on death row to file a curative petition in Supreme Court against their sentence. The Supreme Court had already dismissed the review petitions of Vinay, Pawan and Mukesh in July 2018. Akshay filed his review only in December 2019, which also was rejected. Following this, the convicts are entitled to file a curative petition in Supreme Court. However, Vinay and Mukesh have already exhausted this remedy and two others Pawan and Akshay are yet to move the Supreme Court with this plea. If the duo decides to move the Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort, the hanging will again be suspended until they exhaust all available remedies. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 04:20:03|Editor: yan Video Player Close AMMAN, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Jordanians on Friday protested in downtown Amman against a deal to purchase gas from Israel. The protesters said the deal to import gas from Israel would harm Jordan's economy, calling on the government to seek alternatives from other Arab states. They also demanded the annulment of the peace treaty that Jordan and Israel signed in 1994. In early 2019, Jordan's state-run National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) started importing gas from Israel through U.S.-based company Noble Energy. NEPCO said it was the only option for the company whose debt totalled 5.5 billion dinars (7.76 billion U.S. dollars) with an annual debt service of 120 million dinars. The deal will meet 40 percent of Jordan's gas needs and save about 600 million U.S. dollars every year, according to NEPCO. Under the agreement, Noble Energy will provide gas worth 15 billion dollars to Jordan for a period of 15 years, or 300 million cubic feet on a daily basis. Figures show Jordan imports about 97 percent of its energy needs. In a statement issued while he was at the meeting, Sir Robert said that because of the accumulated wear and tear of public life, he was tired and could not properly continue in office and do justice to the growing problems of the nation. Mr. Holt was installed unopposed as leader of the Liberal party, and the Minister for Labor and National Service (Mr. McMahon) defeated the External Affairs Minister (Mr. Hasluck) in a ballot for the deputy-leadership. Sir Robert submitted his resignation to the Governor-General (Lord Casey) and advised for him to send for Mr. Holt. Lord Casey commissioned Mr. Holt to form a new Ministry. Harold Holt (left) with Sir Robert Menzies after Holt took over the reigns of power in January 1966. Credit:N. Herfort Relaxed and showing no signs of regret about his momentous decision, Sir Robert ended the day with a 50-minute news conference, broadcast live by national and commercial radio and television stations. Sir Roberts daughter, Mrs. Peter Henderson, and her children watched the telecast of the conference on a television in Sir Roberts office. Kooyong decision Although he has resigned as Prime Minister and Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal party, Sir Robert Menzies is still the member for Kooyong. He said at his news conference last night that he did not expect to make another appearance in Federal Parliament. But he would go to Melbourne to confer with the Liberal party committee in the Kooyong electorate before making a decision about resigning his seat in Parliament. The news conference Sir Roberts last as Prime Minister was held in one of the dining rooms at Parliament House. About 80 press, radio and television correspondents filled the front seats, while Dame Pattie Menzies sat with Liberal and Country party MPs behind the television camera and lights. A retired Robert Menzies and Queen Elizabeth watch the Duke of Edinburgh at the Canberra Polo Club tournament in 1970. Credit:The Age Archives Hot lights Sir Robert arrived for the news conference wearing one of his rumpled double-breasted suits, with a navy and white striped tie and a white handkerchief stuffed into his pocket. Occasionally he mopped perspiration from his forehead and shifted uncomfortably under the hot television lights, but otherwise appeared quite at ease. One becomes tired, one becomes not quite 100 per cent, in efficiency, he said. I have an old-fashioned belief that the Prime Minister of this country ought to be 100 per cent efficient at all times. Sir Robert said that he had to choose between retiring now and going on for three years, conducting a struggle which would become more and more difficult. Loading He had decided to retire now so that his successor would have the better part of a year to establish himself before the next election. Strong Land In my opinion, my successor must have the better part of a year in which to establish himself not as a Menzies lieutenant, but as himself, Sir Robert said. Sir Robert said his 16 years as Prime Minister and six years as Opposition leader had been terribly interesting. Im delighted and I say this without claiming any personal credit that after all these years I can look around my own country and say this is a strong country, he said. Its people are prospering, its population has grown. It does matter in the world and it is respected in the world. Im not leaving a sinking ship. Im not moving out because the country is in great difficulties. It seems to me that if ever there was a time at which a man could do something sensible and logical and reasonable and make way its this time in the history of Australia. Sir Robert said he hoped to occupy his time with reading, writing and travel. He would maintain his interest in world and Australian affairs. DIANA, N.Y. -- A teenager was killed Thursday afternoon in a head-on, two-vehicle crash in the North Country, according to the New York State Police. Dylan C. Richards, of Harrisville, died in the crash in Diana, Lewis County, the state police said in a news release Friday. He was 19 years old. The deadly accident happened around 4:40 p.m. on State Route 3. Kevin W. Martin, 63, of Carthage, was driving south on Route 3 when he saw a 2001 Jeep Cherokee cross into his lane, troopers said. Richards, the driver of the northbound Jeep, drove into Martins lane while trying to pass another vehicle, troopers said. Martin swerved in his 2010 Ford pickup truck as he tried to avoid hitting the Jeep, troopers said. But the Jeep crashed head-on into the truck, troopers said. Richards died at the scene. Martin and his passenger, Robert Ayers, 63, were transported to Carthage Area Hospital with non life-threatening injuries, troopers said. The investigation remains open. 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. YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. At the moment authorities are treating the death of ex-NSS Director Georgy Kutoyan as a possible suicide, but investigators arent ruling out other possible versions, Investigations Committee General Department of Investigations of High Profile Cases Artur Melikyan told reporters outside Kutoyans home where the latters body was found. Georgy Kutoyans body was found at the scene with a gunshot wound. A Glock handgun was found at the scene. We have confirmed that the weapon is legal. Kutoyan had received the firearm as an award from the Georgian security chief. There are numerous bullets and cases in the room where the body was found, Melikyan said. He said investigators are currently filing a criminal case under paragraph 1, article 110 of the Criminal Code, but they will look into all possible version. It couldve been murder, a murder framed as a suicide or something else. Complex analysis and a number of investigations actions will reveal what really happened, Melikyan said, adding that detectives are confiscating CCTV surveillance footage of the building. Melikyan said Kutoyans body had a gunshot wound to the temple. The coroner will give a more detailed report on the number, origin and nature of bodily injuries. He said ballistics will determine whether or not all bullets in the house were fired from Kutoyans weapon. The coroner will also deliver a toxicology report. Former National Security Service Director Georgy Kutoyan was found shot dead in his apartment on January 17th. Kutoyans wife found the body. Kutoyan served as NSS chief from 2016 to 2018. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Marilyn Del Valle climbed to her feet at the Nacion de Fe church in Kissimmee on Thursday, clapping and taking photos as Vice-President Mike Pence took the stage. Del Valle is a proud Nuyorican born in New York to Puerto Rican parents who lives in central Florida. Shes part of the Republican Partys highly courted demographic this campaign season: evangelical Latinos. The campaign believes that emphasizing religion and anti-abortion talking points could reach those Latino voters who have doubts about the GOP over issues like immigration. Even attracting a small slice of evangelical Latinos could help Trump win Florida again; he won the state by 1.2 percentage points in 2016. Less than two weeks ago, Trump visited a Hispanic megachurch in Miami, kicking off an Evangelicals for Trump focus, and Thursdays event was an extension of that. Kissimmee, which is in Osceola County near Orlando, is heavily Puerto Rican. Those voters are especially attractive to the GOP because theyre American citizens and can vote. While many have traditionally been Democrats, Republicans think they can reach the more conservative folks in that booming demographic. According to census data, 29.3% of the residents in Osceola were a racial group other than white in 2000. In 2018, that number had swelled to 55.3%. Pence worked to energize the crowd of a few hundred people, drawing raucous applause when referencing the administrations defence of anti-abortion policies. President Donald Trump is the most pro-life president in American history, he said. Said Robert Barreto, who drove to Kissimmee to see the vice-president after being shut out of an earlier event with Pence because the venue was too crowded: Its a key issue for me, a candidate is pro-life. He added that a strong economy was another large factor in why he supports the GOP ticket. Saul Perez, a Puerto Rican who lives in nearby St. Cloud, has attended Nacion de Fe for 12 years. He said his top priorities are religious expression and the economy, noting happily that he recently paid $2.70 a gallon for gas and under President Barack Obama, gas was $3.89 a gallon. Things were bad in the past under Obama, he said. Pence, along with speakers who included congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, and Jose Fuentes, the former attorney general of Puerto Rico, remarked on the low Hispanic unemployment rate. In the words of Ronald Reagan: Are you guys doing better today than you were doing three years ago? asked Fuentes. The crowd also went wild when Pence mentioned the freedom to live our values and said Trump took steps Thursday to give religious organizations easier access to federal programs and reaffirmed students rights to pray in public schools. Pence noted that the U.S. Senate opened Trumps impeachment trial on Thursday, calling it a shameful attempt to overturn the will of the American people of the last election. Del Valle was impressed even before Pence came out, saying that no other Republican in 2016, or since, had resonated with her like Trump and Pence. We need men who will stand up for the rights of everybody in our country, said Del Valle, a 46-year-old restaurant server who voted for Trump and Pence in 2016. On Wednesday, local Democrats criticized the GOPs record with Hispanics. The mayor of Kissimmee spoke at a news conference held by the Florida Democratic Party at a podium in front of signs that read Incompetent President in Spanish. We know why the vice-president is here in Kissimmee, said Mayor Jose Alvarez. He is here to confuse us, to try to take our vote, because they need it. And we need to stand up, and we need to teach them a lesson that they are not going to take our vote. Alvarez blasted the Trump administration for its response to Hurricane Maria in 2017, which devastated Puerto Rico and caused thousands of deaths. He also criticized the presidents silence after the series of earthquakes that have been rattling the island for weeks now. A 6.4 magnitude quake hit on Jan. 7, killing one person and injuring nine other people. The president hasnt raised a finger to help them out, said the Cuban-born mayor. Trump declared an emergency to release funds for recovery, but Democrats say the federal government needs to allocate more resources for towns to restore power and rebuild homes. ___ Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez contributed to this report from Miami. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 00:26:44|Editor: zyl Video Player Close Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias (L) welcomes Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), in Athens, Greece, on Jan. 17, 2020. Greece is ready to help Libya going forward once a solution is found to the conflict there, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias told the press here on Friday following his meeting with Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA). (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) ATHENS, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Greece is ready to help Libya going forward once a solution is found to the conflict there, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias told the press here on Friday following his meeting with Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA). The Libyan commander arrived in Athens on Thursday evening for talks with the Greek government before departing for Berlin to participate in a conference this weekend aimed at bringing to an end the long-standing conflict in the northern African country. "We are pacifists. We have come here to talk about peace," Haftar said on Friday before meeting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek national news agency AMNA reported. Mitsotakis made no statement to the press. According to Greek government sources, Mitsotakis stressed the need for a political solution to the Libyan crisis and welcomed Haftar's stance that the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed recently between Turkey and the Libyan government on the establishment of maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean are invalid. "We encouraged the commander to participate in a constructive spirit in the Berlin conference and to try, given the conditions, to achieve a ceasefire, the restoration of security in Libya with the withdrawal of mercenaries, and the recognition of the invalidity of the illegal MoUs between Turkey and the government" led by Fayez al-Sarraj, Dendias told the Greek national broadcaster ERT. Greece is ready to help Libya going forward "either by joining the forces needed for there to be a truce, or through the participation of Greek forces in a European operation to impose an arms embargo and end the transfer of mercenaries to Libya," the Greek minister stressed. Since Greece has not been invited to participate in the Berlin conference, Dendias reiterated Athens' call that the European position that the MoUs are invalid is underlined. "Europe has a clear position, expressed by the last European Council. Our common European position recognizes that the memoranda signed by the Sarraj government and Turkey are invalid and void. We therefore expect, as Europeans, Germany to impose and express the European position at the Berlin conference. We expect the same from the other European Union (EU) member states participating in this process," Dendias said. BLOOMINGTON Bloomington-Normal's two hospitals suspended privileges to practice medicine on Thursday of a Bloomington orthopedic surgeon accused of sexual assault and abuse. Meanwhile, Shaun Kink posted bond Thursday and was released from McLean County jail, and a colleague, who called the charges "shocking," said Kink is on personal leave. Kink, 34, of the 5000 block of Longfield Road, is charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual abuse, according to McLean County court documents. The charges allege that on Dec. 5 in Bloomington, he committed a sexual act using force or the threat of force with an adult victim who has a physical disability. The charges did not specify whether the allegations were related to his work. Kink was arrested Wednesday afternoon on a warrant. His bond was set at $200,000 with 10 percent to apply; he posted $20,035 to be released Thursday, according to court documents. "We are saddened by the recent news and take the allegations seriously," said Libby Allison, media relations coordinator with OSF HealthCare. "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved. Dr. Kink, an independent physician, is currently on a leave from the medical staff at OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center." Kink's privileges to practice medicine have been suspended at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal "pending the outcome of the case," said Lynn Hutley, Advocate Aurora Health regional coordinator of public affairs. Kink is an orthopedic surgeon with McLean County Orthopedics (MCO), which is based in Bloomington. He joined MCO in September 2017. "I am not aware of this allegation involving a patient," MCO Vice President Dr. Jerry Oakey told The Pantagraph on Thursday. He said he knew nothing of the allegations other than the charges that police released publicly Wednesday night. While Kink remains affiliated with MCO, "he is on personal leave at this point," Oakey said. "We have contacted his patients who need immediate follow-up (care) and placed them with the most appropriate (MCO) provider," Oakey said. "We are working to identify the best providers for his patients." "We're really trying to stay focused on patient care," Oakey said. He called the allegations against Kink "shocking" and "saddening." "It's certainly a quiet day at the office for our staff and some of our patients," Oakey said. Kink has no other criminal or civil record on file in the McLean County circuit clerk's office and no history of disciplinary orders filed against his medical license, according to state records. Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer. Contact Paul Swiech at (309) 820-3275. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_swiech Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Paul Swiech Health Reporter Health reporter for Lee Enterprises Central Illinois. Follow Paul Swiech 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 SPRINGFIELD The Illinois Senate will hold a special meeting Sunday to elect a new chamber president. Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, surprised his colleagues at the end of the fall veto session Nov. 14 by announcing his plan to retire from the Senate in January, once a new president is chosen. There are two announced candidates for the job that have received the most media attention Sen. Don Harmon, of Oak Park, an assistant majority leader; and Sen. Kimberly Lightford, of Maywood, the majority leader. Sen. Elgie Sims, of Chicago, had sought support for a run at the presidency as well, but there have been conflicting media reports about his plans. A Chicago Sun-Times reporter tweeted Wednesday that Sims would not comment on the race for president. There is also the possibility that someone else could enter the race if none of those candidates secure enough votes within the Democratic caucus to guarantee their election. The president will be chosen in a vote of the full 59-member Senate. It takes at least 30 votes to win. Democrats hold 40 seats and Republicans hold 19. According to Senate staff, the tentative plan is for the Democratic caucus to meet behind closed doors at 11 a.m. to select a nominee. That meeting is not open to the public or news media. Cullerton has said he will not vote in that meeting. Following that meeting, the full Senate will convene, at which point Cullerton will resign his leadership post. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker will then preside over the election. One or more names will be placed in nomination. Senators will announce their votes aloud, in alphabetical order. Once someone receives the necessary 30 votes, Cullerton is expected to submit his resignation from the Senate. That will trigger a process in which party officials in the 6th District will elect someone to serve out the remainder of his term, which expires in January 2023. The Senate president is considered the most powerful person in the upper chamber. Among other things, the president designates the majority leader and assistant majority leaders as well as the chairs and vice chairs of various committees. The regular session of the General Assembly begins Tuesday, Jan. 28. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A man from Parbhani in Maharashtra has been arrested for posting an objectionable comment about Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongwith an obscene picture on Facebook, the police said on Friday. Prashant Dambale (28), a poultry businessman and resident of Selu, over 500 km from here, was held on Thursday after he allegedly posted an objectionable comment about Modi alongwith a picture. The post came to the notice of law enforcement agencies as the picture contained child pornography, said a police official. "The IP address was traced to Parbhani after which the police there was intimated and Dambale was arrested under section 67B of the Information Technology Act," the official said. The section deals with "punishment for publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act, etc. in electronic form". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hitting out at the Chief of Defence Staff Gen who said de-radicalisation camps are operating in the country, AIMIM chief has questioned who would deradicalise attackers of Muslims and Dalits. Speaking at a public meeting at Adilabad on Thursday night, the Hyderabad MP said de-radicalisation is needed for those who lynch and kill innocent Dalits and Muslims. "I want to inform the chief of Defence Staff, General Saab, if you want to deradicalise, then listen, you first read the Juvenile Act. IPC is not applicable to children. What kind of de-radicalistion you are talking about," he said. "General Saab says that they will bring new law to deradicalise children. Meerut SP says in Muslim localities that they (Muslims) eat here and sing songs in favour of Pakistan. He says go to Pakistan. Who will de-radicalise such SPs. Dalits and Muslims are being lynched. Who will de- radicalise those attackers?," the AIMIM chief said. Rawat on Thursday in an address at the Raisina Dialogue, said de-radicalisation camps are operating in the country as it was necessary to isolate people who are completely radicalised. The MIM supremo alleged that names of five lakh Bengali Hindus and an equal number of Muslims are missing in Assam and the Hindus will be given citizenship under CAA, leaving out the Muslims. He said the names of some family members of former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed were also missing in Assam and questioned who would de-radicalise those responsible for the blunder. In series of tweets, Owaisi said this is not the first time that Rawat uttered comments undermining the civil administration. "This is not the first ridiculous statement he has made. Policy is decided by civilian administration not by any General. By speaking on policy/politics, he is undermining civilian supremacy," he tweeted. "Who'll deradicalise lynchers & their political masters? What about those opposing citizenship for Assam's Bengali Muslims? Maybe deradicalise "Badla" Yogi & "Pakistan jao" Meerut SP? Maybe deradicalise those imposing hardship on us through NPR-NRC?" the MIM leader sai in another tweet. The man still missing off the north Queensland coast after his boat was found drifting on Tuesday is a hospital doctor, Queensland Health has confirmed. Dr Richard Thomas, 55, who works at Atherton Hospital, about 50 kilometres south-west of Cairns, was identified as the missing man by the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service. Police want to speak to anyone who saw Dr Thomas' 5.6-metre vessel. Credit:Queensland Police Service The health service did not release a photo of Dr Thomas or any further information "out of respect for his familys privacy", but said in a statement affected staff were being supported. The search continued for Dr Thomas on Friday, with police vessels and a rescue helicopter involved in scouring the waters off Innisfail, south of Cairns. Salman said that the space has a lot of potential, but it required more than two people to operate. While they had six employees, they needed more to make it run successfully. "There were lots of opportunities we could have tapped into, but without the team to deliver the results, it was not feasible," he said. "Im sure whoever takes on the space can do great there if they have the right team in the right positions." Salman, 31, grew up in a family bakery. His parents ran Jamie's Cookies on State Street from the time he was 9 until he was 18. They closed the shop in 2007. At Faircrest, the Salmans used the same Jamie's Cookies recipes, and also offered a variety of scones and muffins. Sandwiches came on Faircrest's homemade bread. The business' corporate name was Jamie's Bakery, but because they offered a wider scope of items, they needed a different name. Salman's family has been vending at the Dane County Farmers' Market since 1998, and the couple will be back at the outdoor market in the spring, but won't sell bakery items right away. Interfering yet again in India's internal matter, Pakistan on Friday has praised an Indian journalist for targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pakistan's official information Twitter handle of Information and Broadcasting ministry stated that its special assistant Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has appreciated Indian Journalist Rana Ayyub. Pakistan, further, claimed that she has been successful in "exposing the fascist agenda of Modi." It went on to say that Ayyub has executed her responsibilities as a journalist "with bravery." Pakistan replaces Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor as DGISPR; Maj Gen Iftikhar new Army spokesperson Here is the tweet: Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has appreciated Indian Muslim woman journalist Rana Ayyub for exposing the fascist agenda of Modi by executing her professional responsibilities with bravery.@Dr_FirdousPTI pic.twitter.com/9TSEqqMvec Information Ministry (@MoIB_Official) January 17, 2020 Rattled by Gen. Naravane's PoK remark, Pakistan Army reviews security situation along LoC Taking to Twitter, Awan in a series of tweet made sensational allegations against the Modi government. She then appreciated the efforts of Ayyub to expose "Modi's fascist agenda and barbarism". Raising the Kashmir issue yet again, she claimed that it has been turned into a prison. Even as the Indian government has announced that broadband facility has been restored in the valley, she claimed there is an internet, mobile phones, landlines and media ban. 3/2 Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan (@Dr_FirdousPTI) January 17, 2020 Pak quoted Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah This is not the first time that Pakistan has praised and quoted Indian journalists and politicians. After India abrogated Article 370 in August last year, thus integrating the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan had submitted a 115-page dossier at UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. It had then quoted Congress' Rahul Gandhi and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah in its cover page. It also included statements of the likes of Shehla Rashid, Arundhati Roy, Kavita Krishnan who had spoken against India's decision to revoke Article 370. "It's been 20 days since the people of J&K had their freedom and civil liberties curtailed. Leaders of the Opposition and Press got a taste of the draconian administration and brute force unleashed on the people of J&K when we tried to visit Srinagar," Rahul Gandhi had tweeted. Now, rattled Pakistan cries foul over India's opening Siachen glacier for tourism The dossier also quoted Omar Abdullah's statement released on August 5. The statement said: "GOI's unilateral and shocking decisions will have far-reaching and dangerous consequences. This is an aggression against Kashmiris. The decisions are unilateral, illegal and unconstitutional. A long & tough battle lies ahead. We are ready. " India slams Pakistan for raising Kashmir at UNSC; says it only highlights desperation However, it took a long time over a year and half to find the paper trail and gather the evidence to make an arrest, which is typical in financial crime cases, Foley said. I feel really good about our chances, Cheney said at the time. The American people are seeing once again that the Democrats cant be trusted. To do something this reckless with one of their most important constitutional obligations, thinking about impeaching the president of the United States, reminds people yet again what happens when theyre in the majority. A number of Democrats hold districts that Trump won around the country, and I feel really good about our chances to get their seats back in the districts where theyve failed to produce for the people who sent them here. When it came to her future ambitions for leadership, however, Cheney avoided a direct answer to a question posed by a Star-Tribune reporter on whether a potential speakership played into her decision not to run, saying she was focused solely on re-election, her current term, and her party's greater bid to retake the majority. By PTI NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh, one of the four men convicted in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, sources said. The rejection came soon after the Union Home Ministry forwarded the petition to the president on Friday morning. "It's a very good thing. Our hopes have gone up after the disheartening news that the execution might be delayed," the young woman's father told PTI as news came in of the rejection. Mukesh had filed his mercy petition two days ago. The four convicts -- Mukesh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- were to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail, a Delhi court had announced on January 7 while issuing their death warrants. However, the Delhi government informed the high court during a hearing that the execution of the convicts will not take place on the day as a mercy plea had been filed by Mukesh. ALSO READ | Nirbhaya's father welcomes President's decision to reject mercy plea of one convict "The Home Ministry has forwarded the mercy petition of Mukesh Singh to the President. The ministry has reiterated the recommendation of the lieutenant governor of Delhi for its rejection," a Home Ministry official said on Friday morning. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's office sent Mukesh Singh's mercy petition to the Home Ministry on Thursday, a day after the Delhi government recommended its rejection. A drought-stricken family are overjoyed after their bone dry dam suddenly filled with rainfall in just one hour. Lindsay Groth, 36, filmed the stream of rushing water pouring into the dam at her familys Bundarra property on Thursday. The day before it was bone dry - its been completely dry since October, she told Yahoo News Australia. It was like a cloud had burst over the centre of the property. Lindsay Groth, 36, filmed the stream of rushing water pouring into the dam at her familys Bundarra property on Thursday. Source: Lindsay Groth The mum-of-three said her stunned father had rushed to the home as soon as the rain began to fall, urging her to come look at the dam. In just five minutes she watched the water rise by half a metre. It was rushing in there, Ms Groth said, adding that if the family had returned an hour later they would have seen it was full. Pictures show her, her father and her three children smiling wide as they watched the rainfall in disbelief. The 36-year-old said the downpour had made her family very, very happy after terrible rainfall over the last 12 months. Ms Groth's children Brianna, 14, Jayden, 10, and Macklin, 8, are seen smiling as they stand in front of the quickly rising dam. Source: Lindsay Groth She said the drought conditions plaguing Australia had forced her father, a grazier who runs the property, to sell the majority of their 70 cows, leaving just four cows and calfs. The mum-of-three said she had been carting water 50kms every other day for the remaining cattle. Ive got chooks, ducks and pigs that all needed to have water carted to. Not only had her familys property struggled, but Ms Groth said Bundurra residents had recently been warned there was only 120 days left of water left in the towns supply. Luckily, heavy rainfall seen last week helped fill the towns catchment area and river system, she said. Ms Groth said her very relieved dad is now heading out to buy some more cattle for their land. Ms Groth and said her grazier dad Chris Strahle (pictured together) was forced to sell most of their 70 cows because of the drought. Source: Lindsay Groth Rainfall drenches Australias east coast Australias bushfire and drought-ravaged east coast has received some brief relief from the heavy rainfall seen this week. Sydney is expected on Friday to receive 10-25mm while up to 50mm are forecast for parts of the state along with thunderstorms. Story continues The Northern Tablelands, Northern Slopes, Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast and Hunter are all expected to receive significant downpours. #Rain !!! Its been a long while since my backyard looked like this #sydneyweather pic.twitter.com/waWhCq1IoT Angie Dalli (@angie_dalli) January 16, 2020 Falls of up to 50mm would be the state's most significant rainfall since September last year, with rain expected to continue falling into the weekend. On Friday morning, there were 82 NSW bushfires burning - down from 88 on Wednesday evening - after significant rain gave firefighters favourable conditions to strengthen containment lines. About 30 fires remained out of control. On Thursday, there were still 1700 firefighters on the ground. - with AAP 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 articles of impeachment have finally been delivered to the Senate. The news media covered it with extra piety: The resolution passed largely along party lines by 228 votes to 193. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed copies of the articles alongside the team of Democratic lawmakers who will prosecute the case against Mr Trump. The House, controlled by opposition Democrats, impeached the president last month. The Senate, controlled by Mr Trump's Republican Party, will decide whether to convict and remove him from office. At a press conference before the signing of the articles, Nancy Pelosi said: "Today we will make history. When the managers walk down the hall, we will cross a threshold in history delivering articles of impeachment against the president of the United States for abuse of power and obstruction of the House." "Journalists" on TV and radio lie routinely, without a conscience. They vote Democrat. They love their party. They have to pay. The news media have exacerbated the impeachment scam. And apparent NeverTrump GOP senators have believed the news media lies. Like poison, cowardice flows through the GOP's bloodstream. Trump does not fit their mold because he is fearless and speaks his mind. He's not one of them. It hurts my ears to hear conservative pundits say we need the Democrat party as some sort of loyal opposition so they can "reach across the aisle." No more neutrality. It is now clear from the recent Project Veritas recording that the leftists at the Bernie campaign (and no doubt everywhere else) intend to destroy this nation by violence, if necessary. There really is a civil war going on. The Dems must be punished and defeated. How? The conservative media have bandied around the idea that the GOP should impeach the next Dem president, no matter what he has done (if there will ever be another Dem president). But the actual answer is to smash and severely punish the Dems at the election box, for the foreseeable future. Make them feel the sting in that way. Easy prediction based on how the GOP senators handle the impeachment nonsense: If the GOP immediately dismiss it, they will take back the House and gain a few seats in the Senate. When they take back the House, they must impeach Adam Schiff (and some others). He is unfit to occupy his seat because of all his rule-breaking and lying. He even read an outright lie in committee. He must be punished. No "let bygones be bygones" after November. Yes, there is a separation of powers, but Trump can encourage them to impeach Schiff or at least censure and put him in the doghouse for a period of time. But the battle is not over. Certain GOP senators are shifting from foot to foot, wondering how they can overthink the Democrat impeachment scam and appear more thoughtful than their knee-jerk Neanderthal supporters. Wrong. The Republican opponents of the scam are the ones who see things more clearly. So what's it going to be? Are GOP senators going to fight for Trump, or leave him out there all by himself? "But his tone is so awful!" exclaim some social conservatives. But that tone comes with the fight. Grow up! I have. I also used to object to it, but now I chuckle at the thought of the Dems and NeverTrumps swooning at it. GOP senators must not take the impeachment hatchet job seriously, as if legitimate history were being made. No. The only history being made here is the historic nonsense of the House kangaroo impeachment inquiry. The senators had better not call more witnesses. They had better not hear more "evidence." They must not overthink the process as if it had any legality whatsoever. It doesn't. They must immediately acquit the president, with contemptuous speeches that scold and condescendingly sneer at House Democrats. James Arlandson's new website is renewal-theology.com, where he has posted What Happens to Children after they Die, The Biblical Case for Limited Government and Low Taxes, Are All Sins Equal?, and Is Our Sin Nature Embedded in Our Mammal Nature? WASHINGTON The Trump administration moved on Friday to roll back school nutrition standards championed by Michelle Obama, an effort long sought by food manufacturers and some school districts that have chafed at the cost of Mrs. Obamas prescriptions for fresh fruit and vegetables. The proposed rule by the Agriculture Department, coming on the former first ladys birthday, would give schools more latitude to decide how much fruit to offer during breakfast and what types of vegetables to include in meals. It would also broaden what counts as a snack. A spokeswoman for the department said that it had not intended to roll out the proposed rule on Mrs. Obamas birthday, although some Democratic aides on Capitol Hill had their doubts. Food companies applauded the proposal, while nutritionists condemned it, predicting that starchy foods like potatoes would replace green vegetables and that fattening foods like hamburgers would be served daily as snacks. Schools and school districts continue to tell us that there is still too much food waste and that more common-sense flexibility is needed to provide students nutritious and appetizing meals, Sonny Perdue, the agriculture secretary, said in a statement. We listened and now were getting to work. Hong Kong Express Airways, which is owned by Cathay Pacific, apologised An airline has apologised after its staff told a passenger to take a pregnancy test before she could board a flight to an island in the US Pacific. Midori Nishida, 25, was flying to Saipan, part of the Northern Mariana Islands, to visit her family. The islands have become a popular place for foreign women to give birth as it makes them eligible for US citizenship. Ms Nishida had already completed a questionnaire before the flight to indicate that she was not pregnant but was escorted by Hong Kong Express Airways staff to a toilet and given a strip to urinate on. The tests came back negative and she was allowed to board. She said the ordeal "very humiliating and frustrating" and said the airline did not respond to her complaints. The airline said it was trying to "ensure US immigration laws were not undermined" but has now apologised "unreservedly". "We took actions on flights to Saipan from February 2019 to help ensure US immigration laws were not being undermined," the airline told NBC. "We have immediately suspended the practice while we review it. The company also said: "Under our new management, we recognise the significant concerns this practice has caused." In 2018, tourists gave birth to 582 babies on the islands, while only 492 were born to permanent residents, according to an annual report by the Commonwealth for the Northern Mariana Islands. Prime Minister Scott Morrison signaled more action on climate and significant help for bushfire-affected small businesses during his talks on Friday with business and community leaders about how to spend the government's $2 billion recovery fund. Those at the meeting told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Mr Morrison made a point of telling the group he accepted the science on climate change and was acting upon it, as scientists discussed the need for new research and technology in the wake of this summer's devastating bushfires. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is promising significant help for small businesses devastated by bushfires. Credit:Joe Armao Mr Morrison's roundtable meeting canvassed new ways to help families and small businesses in fire-hit areas, with options including compensation for workers at companies that are struggling with their finances and special allowances so companies can invest in capital equipment to replace what has been lost in the fires. The Prime Minister has promised a major package to help small business and this is expected within days. The Canberra roundtable meeting included trade union boss Michele O'Neil, National Farmers Federation president Fiona Simson, Australian Banking Association chair Matt Comyn, and many others. By Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Germany this weekend to attend the Libya conference and push for sustaining a fragile ceasefire and getting all foreign powers to withdraw from the conflict in the North African country, the State Department and U.S. officials said on Thursday By Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Germany this weekend to attend the Libya conference and push for sustaining a fragile ceasefire and getting all foreign powers to withdraw from the conflict in the North African country, the State Department and U.S. officials said on Thursday. Germany on Sunday hosts a summit bringing together foreign powers and the Libyan rival camps backed by them to try to end the war over Tripoli and resume talks on a power-sharing deal. The conference will come days after failed efforts by Russia and Turkey to persuade Khalifa Haftar, whose forces control much of Libya's east and south, on a visit to Moscow this week to agree to a lasting ceasefire and halt the offensive on the Libyan capital. Haftar left Moscow without signing the proposal. "Successful outcome would be - the primary issue there is the ceasefire," a senior State Department official told reporters in a teleconference. "Other things of course would be nice to have ... but the imperative would be the continuation of a ceasefire," the official said. On Thursday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas' office said that Haftar committed to a ceasefire and was willing to attend the Sunday conference, after Maas visited the commander in his base in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. The nine-month-old war over Tripoli is just the latest bout of chaos in Libya, an OPEC oil exporter that has become a hub for human traffickers to ship migrants by boats to Italy, while Islamist militants have exploited the widespread disorder. The country has been fractured and deeply unstable, with outside powers providing support to rival armed factions, since veteran dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in a 2011 uprising. Haftar has received support from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Russian mercenaries while the internationally recognised GNA government led by Fayez al-Serraj is backed by Turkey. On Thursday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara was beginning to send troops into Libya in support of Serraj's government. The U.S. official voiced concern about the move. "We are very keen to see that there are no external or foreign interventions. We do not want the conflict to widen beyond what's it has already become and this is a situation now where the foreign interventions are only exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the country," the official said. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Jonathan Oatis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Fashion designer Misha Nonoo looks set to reunite with her close friend the Duchess of Sussex as the royal's famously close group rally to show their support. Misha's eponymous label announced on Instagram today that its is heading off on a 'styling tour' after closing its New York City pop-up - and Toronto is the first stop. Meghan, 38, who knows Misha from her pre-royal days, is currently staying on Vancouver Island but has strong ties to Toronto, where she lived for seven years while filming US legal drama Suits. Fashion designer Misha Nonoo looks set to reunite with her close friend the Duchess of Sussex as the royal's famously close group rally to show their support. Pictured, the Duchess today Misha's eponymous label announced on Instagram today that its is heading off on a 'styling tour' (left) after closing its New York City pop-up - and Toronto is the first stop (right) Meghan, 38, who knows Misha from her pre-royal days, is currently staying on Vancouver Island but has strong ties to Toronto. Pictured, the friends at an event in November 2015 The Misha Nonoo team will be in Toronto on 24-26 January and Washington DC on 31 January-2 February (as seen in this Instagram caption), giving the designer a few days off in between It is possible the Duchess could make the five-hour flight to see Misha in Toronto when she touches down next Friday, or that the designer could make the trip across Canada to see Meghan at her Vancouver Island mansion. The Misha Nonoo team will be in Toronto on 24-26 January and Washington DC on 31 January-2 February, giving the designer a few days off in between each stop. The women were last seen together at Misha's wedding to oil tycoon Mikey Hess in Rome in September last year. Misha has since announced that she is pregnant. Misha and Meghan also worked together on the Smart Works charity clothing collection, which was unveiled by the Duchess in collaboration with John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Jigsaw and Misha Nonoo in September last year. Pictured, the friends embrace at the launch Misha and Meghan also worked together on the Smart Works charity clothing collection, which was unveiled by the Duchess in collaboration with John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Jigsaw and Misha Nonoo in September last year. Meghan is thought to be turning to her star-studded group of girlfriends for support in the wake of her and Prince Harry's announcement that they will step down as senior royals. The Duchess was spotted collecting pilates instructor and close friend Heather Dorak from Victoria International Airport today. Meghan's girlfriends are rallying around the royal. Today pilates guru Heather Dorak arrived in Victoria International Airport, pictured, where she was met by Meghan Meghan embraced her independence by driving herself to and from the $14million Vancouver Island mansion where she's stayed since before Christmas. Ms Dorak, who hails from in San Antonio, Texas, became Meghan's pilates guru and attended the royal wedding in May 2018 with her husband Matt Cohen. She runs the Pilates Platinum brand, which the Duchess started attending in Los Angeles. While Meghan welcomes friends to Canada, Prince Harry, 35, remains in the UK to take part in meetings about their future role. Their one-year-old son Archie is in Canada with his mother. Relaxed: Meghan appeared to be in high spirits as she chatted with a male companion in the front seat, believed to be a security officer. She was on hand to collect Heather Dorak As we head into a fresh decade, Wunderman Thompson Intelligence unveils The Future 100 report. The Future 100 helps readers prepare for emerging consumer behavior with 100 original trend predictions from the Innovation Group. Split into 10 categories, each trend delivers a digestible snapshot of movements so far, while clearly explaining why brands and marketers should pay attention. From complex cocktails and digital spas, to subscription insurance and scientific expeditions, The Future 100 predicts 2020 will usher in an era thats realistic yet imaginative at the same time, leveraged by tech innovation and a redefined experience for shoppers on the high street. The report is packed with insights and fresh takes on the year ahead and beyond. Emma Chiu, Global Director of Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, says of the report: A real cultural change has taken place, with purpose and transparency leading customer loyalty, while imagination is trumping data for consumer appeal. The Future 100 is a way of keeping up with the big shifts and smaller fast-moving trends, offering marketers an opportunity to get ahead. The reports 10 trend segments are: Culture, Tech & Innovation, Travel & Hospitality, Brands & Marketing, Food & Drink, Beauty, Retail, Luxury, Health and Finance. 2020 highlights Optimistic futures Unsettling political, economic and environmental times have left consumers feeling anxious. From Pantones fierce Flame Scarlet red shade for spring/summer 2020 to Legos challenge to rebuild the world, forward-thinking companies are brightening the gloom with a realistic and optimistic outlook. Unsettling political, economic and environmental times have left consumers feeling anxious. From Pantones fierce Flame Scarlet red shade for spring/summer 2020 to Legos challenge to rebuild the world, forward-thinking companies are brightening the gloom with a realistic and optimistic outlook. The privacy era Once seen as an aid to consumers, data collection is now viewed as underhanded and unethical, with consumers at breaking point amid frequent and severe data breaches. 2019 initiatives were the first step on a path to redemption for some brands and the idea that consumers can control their own data is becoming a clear possibility. Once seen as an aid to consumers, data collection is now viewed as underhanded and unethical, with consumers at breaking point amid frequent and severe data breaches. 2019 initiatives were the first step on a path to redemption for some brands and the idea that consumers can control their own data is becoming a clear possibility. Climate positive brands As climate concerns remain headline news, brands are focusing on ensuring they have real sustainable business plans and carbon-neutral policies and are transparent about their responsibilities. This will not only build trust but also earn customer loyalty as consumers get wise to environmental impacts. As climate concerns remain headline news, brands are focusing on ensuring they have real sustainable business plans and carbon-neutral policies and are transparent about their responsibilities. This will not only build trust but also earn customer loyalty as consumers get wise to environmental impacts. Untabooing in the East A shift in openness around traditional taboos and gender straitjackets in Asia is initiating a fresh approach to the market. Attitudes to mental health, sexual health and gender are changing, supported by technology and rapid economic development. A shift in openness around traditional taboos and gender straitjackets in Asia is initiating a fresh approach to the market. Attitudes to mental health, sexual health and gender are changing, supported by technology and rapid economic development. New beauty playgrounds Experiential shopping matches with a line of best fit for todays beauty consumers, who still prefer to try out and buy cosmetics in store. Spotting the trend, beauty brands are developing a veritable playground of experiences and reimagining the beauty counter as a destination where consumers can spend time playing and, of course, purchasing. Experiential shopping matches with a line of best fit for todays beauty consumers, who still prefer to try out and buy cosmetics in store. Spotting the trend, beauty brands are developing a veritable playground of experiences and reimagining the beauty counter as a destination where consumers can spend time playing and, of course, purchasing. Subscription goes East Subscriptions are no longer just for news, gyms or music. The ecosystem for a subscribed life is at its zenith in Japan, where you can now subscribe to everything from bar drinks to hair and beauty treatments, work wear and even Lexus cars. Subscriptions are no longer just for news, gyms or music. The ecosystem for a subscribed life is at its zenith in Japan, where you can now subscribe to everything from bar drinks to hair and beauty treatments, work wear and even Lexus cars. Elevated airportsFrom Singapores Jewel Changi, which hosts the worlds tallest indoor waterfall, to Beijings Daxing International Airport designed in a starfish shape by the late Zaha Hadid, airports are going beyond facilitating travel to becoming unique cultural destinations in their own right. You can download the full report, including all 100 trends, here. Getty Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore said Elizabeth Warren's campaign insistence that Bernie Sanders said a woman couldn't win the presidency had "paralysed" him. On his podcast, the filmmaker said: "I was paralysed paralysed that her staffers would say such a thing ... Any of us who have known Bernie forever know automatically, we don't even have to hear him denying saying it, because there's no way he'd say that." Mr Moore said the allegations, which appeared on Monday and stem from a 2018 meeting, were a "knife in the back". On Twitter, the filmmaker said: "Elizabeth & Bernie have appeared in my films. I love them both. Why Elizabeth chose to stick a knife in Bernie's back is beyond me. At a time when job #1 is to remove Trump, how did this help?" During their appearance on Democratic debates on CNN this week, Mr Sanders unequivocally denied the allegation, pointing to his support for Ms Warren during early discussions to back her for the 2016 nomination and the popular vote win for eventually candidate Hillary Clinton. He said: "Anybody who knows me knows it's incomprehensible that I would think a woman could not be president ... If any of the women on this stage, or any of the men on this stage, win the nomination, I will do anything in my power to make sure they are elected to defeat the most dangerous president in this country." After Mr Sanders' denial that he had ever said a woman couldn't be president, debate moderator Abby Phillip then asked Ms Warren: "What did you think when Senator Sanders told you a woman couldn't win the election?" Ms Warren said: "I disagreed. Bernie is my friend." She did not explicitly say that Mr Sanders had made the comment but pointed indirectly to the "this question whether or not a woman can be president has been raised." On Monday, CNN had reported that Mr Sanders made the comment to Ms Warren during a meeting in 2018 about the 2020 election. Story continues In a statement, Ms Warren said: "Among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate. I thought a woman could win; he disagreed. I have no interest in discussing this private meeting any further because Bernie and I have far more in common than our differences on punditry." On his podcast, Mr Moore said: "I'm thinking, 'What is going on here?' I'm thinking, on Monday night, I got so sad. I thought, 'Oh my God. Are we going to mark this date, Monday, January 13, 2020, as the day that Donald J Trump actually won re-election because the Democrats couldn't keep it together? Because we had to fight each other?'" Following the debate, microphones captured Ms Warren telling Mr Sanders "I think you called me a liar on national TV." Mr Sanders responded: "Let's not do it right now. If you want to have that discussion, we'll have that discussion. On his podcast, Mr Moore said: "We have only one job right now and that's to defeat Donald Trump ... That's what we should be spending our time doing. The fact that we're even talking about this on our podcast is taking time away from what we need to be doing." Mr Moore echoed his comments on Twitter, where he said: "Whether u believe Warren or not, we all agree on 1 thing: Whether it's her name on the Dem side of the ballot on November 3rd, or if it's Bernie (or Uncle Joe or Mayor Pete or Oprah), that's who we're voting for. We have 1 shared mission: DUMP TRUMP." He also suggested the chaos inside the White House and off the debate stage is "way more terrifying than anything happening on it" Read more Warren and Sanders post-debate exchange revealed in audio recording Warren appears to snub Sanders handshake after their feud Democratic debate: Sanders denies saying a woman couldn't beat Trump Warren claims Sanders told her female candidate could not beat Trump Warren 'disappointed' at Bernie Sanders campaign attack Want this in your inbox each morning? Sign up here. Airbnb moves beyond shareholders Brian Chesky, Airbnbs co-founder and C.E.O., spoke exclusively to Andrew last night about the companys announcement today that it will think about all stakeholders when it comes to corporate governance, not just investors. The move is Mr. Cheskys take on the Business Roundtables recommendations last year that companies consider employees, the environment and more in their business decisions. Airbnb is planning to hold a Stakeholder Day. It would be like a traditional annual shareholder meeting except that everyone from customers to hosts to employees and others will be invited. It will also change its compensation program, with factors important to stakeholders like progress on guest safety taken into account when bonuses are calculated. Ireland of 2020 is an Ireland where the quality of life and the cost of living are equally squeezed, but they don't have to be. The question isn't who are you voting for. The question is what kind of society do you want to live in? A State where homelessness is now the accepted housing policy? Even though we're a society where 99.99% of us would find it hard to walk past a man, woman or child begging on the street. A State where daily traffic congestion is boasted about as a sign of economic prosperity? Whereas in reality, we're a society of drivers cursing the third bedtime story missed this week. A State where childcare is euphemistically referred to as a "second mortgage"? Whereas in reality, we're a society where the lower income in the household just about justifies paying that second mortgage? A State where caring for our elderly is not a certainty? Whereas in reality, we're currently a society where grandparents prop up the childcare system free of charge. There are many other unacceptable ills-at-large in Ireland of 2020. There's the fact that our State pays private contractors tens of millions of euro every single year to house people who've sought refuge here, only for those asylum seekers to be left in limbo for years on end. There is of course the other ill of renting, because salaries will not match the average cost of a three-bed semi-d. Even though, ironically, it's cheaper to own than rent. Other factors in that equation include mortgage approval rules, a lack of will to build social housing not a lack of private housing, and a lack of will to seriously invest in innovative housing solutions. There is also the generation of workers without pensions and much benefits at all, because unions and collective bargaining are so yesterday. But enough of the problems we all not just know and are sick of hearing about, but that we have the intimate lived experience of. Ireland of 2020 is an Ireland where the quality of life and the cost of living are equally squeezed, but they don't have to be. Let's take homelessness for example. Did you know it is not an inevitable fact of human existence? It's more policy driven and a problem that's caused by bad policy, can be fixed by good policy. Finland is the only EU country where homelessness is falling. Not because it's wealthy, but because of a specific policy - Housing First. This policy was devised a decade ago by a social scientist, a doctor, a politician and a bishop. In Finland, those affected by homelessness receive a small apartment and counselling. About 80% of people make their way back into a stable life. For the economists reading this, or for those sneering at the "idealism of socialists" - Housing First is cheaper than accepting homelessness. Yes, Finland has spent 250m creating new homes and hiring 300 extra support workers. But a study showed the savings in emergency healthcare, social services and the justice system totalled as much as 15,000 a year for every single homeless person in properly supported housing. Financial cost aside, the human benefit has been rapid and evident. Since the policy was adopted in 2008, the number of long-term homeless people in Finland has fallen by more than 35%, and rough sleeping has been all but eradicated in Helsinki. This is in a country, where tent villages and huts populated the parks of its capital just 12 years ago. Sound familiar? Where there is political will, there is always, always a way. Often the better, more human solution, is far cheaper than the problem at hand. It's a bit like how we manage refugees that come to us for sanctuary. We outsource their bed and board to private companies, and as a result the standards of care vary widely across the country. But again, putting on a purely economic hat and to sneer at those "idealistic socialists" again, let's look at cost. Going private is actually more expensive. Really? A 2019 report from Department of Justice and Equality found that the operational costs of commercially owned direct provision centres are approximately 44% more per person per day than State owned centres. But what about those who are neither homeless nor a refugee? What about the life of the squeezed middle? Those commuter belt citizens, where their home's second job barely justifies the costs it covers? This January, a woman in her early 30s was returning to work having had her first baby. Parental leave and childcare was organised. However, the arrangement between employer and employee fell through at the last minute, with the woman getting one instead of two days of this unpaid leave, leaving her having to rearrange her childcare and work out if her three-hour daily commute was going to be worth it all. She is an extremely diligent and hardworking employee, whose presenteeism, productivity and punctuality all rate equally 10 out of 10. She ended up talking to a work contact, not a colleague, about her return to work. This older man is an employer and confided in her that his best employees were in fact parents, mothers in particular, particularly mothers who fit three or four days into five. "They're more effective and productive on a shorter week when they return work after maternity leave," he said. So what about a four-day work week Ireland? Back to those who think purely in economics first and in human terms thereafter. A recruitment and training company in Galway, ICE Group, started to trial a four-day work week last July and the results have been very impressive. How impressive? For those who seek to only quantify life, the company estimates that productivity is up 27% as a result. Aside from the benefits to a company, what would some of the benefits to society be? In a dual-income family household, one parent could work Monday to Thursday and another could do Tuesday to Friday, meaning less commuting, less polluting and the cost of childcare would go from five days down to three. Not to mention an increase in the unquantifiable quality of life and a reduction in stress. But as the saying goes in politics, if you want different, vote different. Because the solutions to our ills are there, and it's about will, not way. And it's up to us, the electorate, to lead the way and tell those who we elect, exactly what kind of society we want to call home. The Ministry of Finance warned Song Da Corporation Song Da Corporation officially shifed to the JSC format on April 6, 2018. However, the corporation failed to reach the desired financial performance. The corporation's after-tax profit in 2018 was only VND22.4 billion ($973,913), down VND145 billion ($6.3 million) compared to 2017, equivalent to 86.7 per cent. According to the consolidated financial report, Song Da's revenue and profit also dropped sharply. Revenue was VND6.3 trillion ($273.91 million), falling by VND3.4 trillion ($147.8 million) compared to 2017 (35 per cent). After-tax profit was VND221 billion ($9.6 million) lower than in 2017. As liabilities exceeded VND11 trillion ($478.3 million) and receivables went over VND8 trillion ($347.8 million), the MoF pointed out that the debts of the parent company are mainly related to receivables and payables arising from the parent company's investment in its subsidiaries and associates. Song Da Corporation has invested VND3.5 trillion ($152.2 million) in these businesses. Therefore, although the corporation is able to pay its dues, there is a lot of risk in case subsidiaries and affiliates face difficulties. In addition to the effective investment of the corporation in Song Da JSC 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, there are some that do not yield dividends or profit such as Nam Chien Hydroelectricity JSC, Song Da Infrastructure Co., Ltd., and Viet-Laos Power JSC. Additionally, some investments have been lost, such as Song Da 3 JSC, Song Da Investment Construction and Fire Prevention JSC, Song Da 12 JSC, and Phu Rieng-Kratie Rubber JSC. Regarding the difficulties in Viet-Laos Electricity JSC, the MoF clarified that the company has three subsidiaries, of which Xekaman 3 Hydroelectricity Co., Ltd. has been stopped due to a problem since December 2016. Liabilities to equity stands at 3.75x, with loans and financial lease liabilities being over VND9.5 trillion ($413 million), accounting for 81 per cent of the total liabilities. According to the MoF, even after Song Da transferred to the JSC format in April 2018, by the last days of 2019, the Ministry of Construction still has yet to withdraw the state capital from the corporation. A Portland man who stepped out of an idling car at a Taco Bell drive-thru and repeatedly stabbed one of the restaurants employees as they stood outside was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison. Multnomah County prosecutors called the random attack by Jordan Douglas Powell-Mathewson exceptionally violent and senseless after he pleaded guilty in court to one count second-degree assault. It was only by sheer luck that the victims shirt and uniform prevented him from suffering more serious and life-threatening stab wounds, said Nicole Hermann, a deputy district attorney. The employee, Sydney Koerner, was taking a cigarette break outside the fast-food chain on Northeast Weidler Street near Seventh Avenue on Aug. 30 when a stranger approached him from a car at the drive-thru, according to court records and prosecutors. Jordan Douglas Powell-Mathewson The man, identified as Powell-Mathewson, started stabbing Koerner with a knife, puncturing his chest and arm, prosecutors said. Afterward, Powell-Mathewson returned to the car at the drive-thru, court documents show. He was seated in the passenger seat with the bloody knife when police arrived and arrested him. Koerner was taken to a hospital, but he did not require surgery, prosecutors said. This has been one of the worst things to ever happen to me, Koerner wrote in a statement read during the sentencing. Prior to this event, I was getting my life back on track from previous traumatic events. -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church has always had a food pantry, starting as just a closet and growing into its own building with a full walk-in freezer and fridge. In the fall, the pantry and its volunteers were put to the test when they put together and distributed three times as many Thanksgiving meal boxes as they have in years past. Originally, the St. Anthonys Bread Food Pantry had prepared for 400 boxes of Thanksgiving meals to be distributed to those in need before the holiday. But by the time Thanksgiving came around they had distributed 1,200 boxes full of turkey, ham, sweet corn, yams, cranberry sauce, and all the other necessities for a full Thanksgiving meal. At around 30 pounds per box, thats approximately 32,100 pounds of food distributed to neighbors in need. Parishioners of the church volunteer to take a box and fill it, then bring it back to the food pantry to be distributed. We thought that we were going to do 400 boxes, in previous years we had done 250, or 300 boxes, said Franklin Marsan, manager of the food pantry. But they gave filled 400 boxes and still had people interested in filling more, so they ended up giving out approximately 1,350 boxes and got back the 1,200. The Thursday, Saturday, and Monday before Thanksgiving the boxes were picked up by 760 families in the community in need of a little help during the holiday. But food pantry clients for St. Anthony werent the only ones that benefited. After the last pantry clients came through to get a box on Nov. 25, there were still 150 meal boxes, 28 turkeys, and 28 hams that were then delivered to Resurrection Catholic Church. The next week, leftover food from the Thanksgiving project was distributed to 290 families. The entire thing could not have been done without the work and dedication from over 200 food pantry volunteers over the three days before the holiday. Sometimes one of our struggles is we have so many parishioners that want to volunteer, but we dont even have enough volunteer spots, said Stephen Lenahan, Director of Development and Communications for the church. They dont want people to stop volunteering because it is always needed, the pantry is predominantly volunteer-run, but they do want people to know that other things would be helpful too. Monetary donations are needed to help the pantry purchase discounted food from retailers like H-E-B and Kroger. Most of the food the pantry distributes comes from the Montgomery County Food Bank. St. Anthonys is one of the food banks top three partners, as far as the volume of food given out. But if the pantry only relied on the food bank, its stock would be limited, so it also accepts donations of food and money to be able to expand the choices of food it provides. Marsan said donations of jelly, peanut butter, cereal, rice (in one-pound bags), and canned products like soup and beans are a welcome donation. Over the past year or so both the church and the food pantry have seen a noticeable rise in new community members, especially recent immigrants from Nicaragua and other countries in the area in turmoil. The churchs Spanish-language mass has seen the same pattern. While it once was predominantly attended by church members originally from Mexico, immigrants from other Spanish speaking countries have begun attending in growing numbers. The need at the pantry isnt decreasing and the pantry is considering different ways to keep meeting that need. Options on the table include opening the pantry for a fourth day each week, and right now the church is in talks with the food bank to start operating a mobile food pantry that could travel to residents who cant travel to them, but the details are still being worked out. jamie.swinnerton@chron.com India to extend invitation to Imran Khan Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Thursday (January 16) confirmed that India will extend an invitation to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet. Private source had reported on Wednesday that India will invite Imran Khan for the SCO summit. Confirming the report, Raveesh Kumar said, As per the established practice and procedure within the SCO, all eight members of the SCO, as well as four observer states and other international dialogue partners will be invited to attend the meeting. The meeting is held annually at the prime ministers level and it discusses the SCOs program and multilateral economic and trade co-operation, he said. All eight members of the SCO, as well as four observer states and other international dialogue partners will be invited. A horrifying German laboratory which experimented on monkeys trapped by the neck with metal clamps has been shut down. The Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology in Mienenbuttel, near Hamburg, has been stripped of its licence after chilling footage exposed its cruel treatment of the animals. Rows of petrified macaques were filmed squirming helplessly in restraints, which they were forced into by heavy-handed staff. Other shocking images showed a beagle bleeding profusely in a cramped cage. But, following an undercover investigation by Cruelty Free International (CFI), German authorities raided the compound and have now ordered it to close. Hailing a major victory for animal welfare campaigners, CFI's Kerry Postlewhite said: 'We are pleased that the authorities have taken measures to hold LPT accountable. 'The level of cruelty to animals and legal violations uncovered by our investigation is completely unacceptable.' Scroll down for video Macaque monkeys are locked into harnesses during research at the facility, allegedly LPT Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology in Mienenbuttel, which has now been ordered to close Macaque monkeys have numbers penned onto their chests as they are strapped down for testing A beagle bleeds inside a cage following an experiment, which activists say was carried out at the LPT Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology in Mienenbuttel An undercover activist got a job at the research facility from December 2018 to March 2019, and says he witnessed testing on beagles, monkeys, cats and rabbits, carried out for companies throughout the world. The worker said the animals were kept in horrific conditions, which he revealed to the world with a hidden camera. Beagles reportedly had pipes forced down their throats and were given capsules, and often bled following the experiments. He claimed the animals were treated with violence by the workers, who are not trained animal carers. In the wake of the charity's investigation, a spokesman for the local authority said: 'We found the cages were far too small, just as the activists claimed.' The local regulation authority Laves - the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety filed charges with the Public Prosecutor in Luneburg for alleged violations against animal protection laws. Now, LPT has been given a period of two weeks to hand over all the animals still held at the testing facility, according to NDR. Describing the harrowing conditions, Friedrich Mullen from German animal righs group Soko Tierschutz said: 'The animals were even still waggling their tails when they were being taken to be killed, the dogs were desperate for human contact.' A monkey shrieks as it grapples with its metal collar at the research facility A cat, with the fur around its legs appearing to have been worn away, peers from its cage at the unit A beagle lying across the floor inside a narrow cell at the facility, with blood spatters on the floor He added: 'The worst treatment was kept for the monkeys. The macaques breed of monkeys are small, relatively light primates, which are often used for animal experiments at LPT. 'They are kept in cramped conditions in small cages. Many of the animals have developed compulsive tendencies and are seen going round in circles.' The cats are said to be given up to 13 injections per day by untrained professionals and left to suffer. They also claim the laws in Germany protecting animals from experiments are not strict enough and call for the laws to be tightened. LPT is a family-owned contract-testing laboratory carrying out toxicity testing for pharmaceutical, industrial and agro-chemical companies from all over the world in order to meet the requirements of governments and regulatory authorities. Footage shows the monkeys exhibiting obsessive behaviours, including going round in circles in their cages New Delhi [India], Jan 17 (ANI): Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the delay in commuting the death sentence to the four convicts of Nirbhaya gang-rape case after the review petition of the rapists was dismissed in July 2018. "Why was the prison department, which comes under the AAP government, sleeping after the dismissal of review petition in July 2018? Why did the government give Rs 10,000 and a sewing kit to juvenile rapist when he was released? Did not they see tears of Nirbhaya's mother?" Irani said. Earlier today, a Delhi court had issued a fresh death warrant against the four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya rape case who will now be executed on February 1 at 6 am. Earlier, they were to be hanged on February 22 at 7 am. This came after the public prosecutor representing the Tihar jail authorities requested the court to issue fresh date and time of execution. Four convicts, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan and Mukesh were convicted and sentenced to death for raping a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in the national capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012. The victim, who was later given the name Nirbhaya, had succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Singapore where she had been airlifted for medical treatment. (ANI) 'Those leading the current political dispensation, whether at the central or the state level, must recognise the enormous risks that their divisive policies are creating for the national security and wellbeing of the country,' cautions former foreign secretary Shyam Saran. IMAGE: Police personnel assault a man during a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Babu Purwa in Kanpur. Photograph: PTI Photo The brutal violence unleashed against students and faculty of Jawaharlal Nehru University on January 5 by storm-troopers, whose masked faces did nothing to hide their political and ideological affiliations, was a calculated message to academic institutions, civil society and minorities, that they would be bludgeoned into submission if they dare to resist the reconstruction of the Indian State and society in accordance with a majoritarian blueprint. What we saw unfold at JNU was a continuation of the bloodstained saga that began at Jamia Milia Islamia, spread to Aligarh Muslim University and then enveloped the state of Uttar Pradesh, whose chief minister sought 'revenge' against those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. In all these instances, the law and order machinery charged with safeguarding the lives and property of citizens became instead the complicit instruments of inflicting indiscriminate violence and destruction against whomsoever the State deemed as inimical to the pursuit of its ideological and political agenda. There is a level of ruthlessness in the State's response to dissent, which is disturbing. It is spreading fear and anxiety and is designed to silence any opposition. This sharper polarisation may yield political dividends as we have witnessed in the recent past. This is a dangerous game with no holds barred, which could severely and adversely impact the country's future. What is unfolding is polarisation on religious and ideological lines, which often become intertwined. The Muslim minority and the Left wing are lumped together as antithetical to national interests. The use of a compliant law and order machinery, as in Jamia and AMU and later in UP or violent storm troopers of the kind we saw at JNU, will confront the Modi government with an expanding circle of resistance. States with non-Bharatiya Janata Party governments will encourage such resistance. This is already happening and it would be prudent for the government to respond with a degree of accommodation and reassurance. Failure to do so may well expand opposition and some elements may well resort to retaliatory violence. There will be a temptation then to use the security imperative to respond with increasing firepower. Increasingly onerous limitations will be placed on the rights guaranteed to citizens under the Constitution. There is a danger that democracy in India will get hollowed out in the process. It will be a monumental tragedy if we end up in a spiral of disaffection and escalating violence. It will make the country acutely vulnerable to hostile external forces. We must not forget that China exploited insurgencies in the north east in the past to undermine India's security. Pakistan has exploited politically disturbed conditions in Punjab and Kashmir. If political turmoil strikes at the heart of the Indian State, our national security will be threatened like never before. Securing our unsettled land borders will become more challenging than it already is. We also have the example of dealing with Left Wing Extremism, where despite the deployment of immense coercive power by the state, only limited success has been achieved. The resort to armed suppression by the State rarely stays limited to perpetrators of violence. By its very nature it ends up targeting a much larger catchment area and population. This breeds even more disaffection and violent resistance. Successful end to such insurgencies has almost always required a willingness to engage in a dialogue and being open to compromise which democratic processes are best suited for. In Jammu and Kashmir, a virtual lockdown continues into its sixth month since the change in the status of the state. The situation there should alert us to what may happen in other parts of the country if recourse to coercive measures is the instrument of choice to deal with an alienated population. It is not wise to push dissent into disaffection. There is an unspoken confidence within government that its pursuit of a majoritarian agenda will have minimal foreign policy impacts. That India being a major power and a dynamically growing economy will mute critical voices both among friends and adversaries. This confidence is misplaced. For one thing, the state of the Indian economy cannot be insulated from the political turmoil engendered by the pursuit of policies which are creating rising disquiet and anger in particular among the minority community. Areas that have been affected by LWE and the Kashmir valley are not exactly the favourite locations for investment and for doing business. The current slowdown in the economy will be exacerbated under the impact of the spreading unrest in different parts of the country. Sentiment among foreign investors will be negatively affected. Our diplomatic space will also shrink. Nor is there an appreciation that India has built up considerable political capital over the past seven decades as a successful multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-lingual plural democracy. This is soft power which reinforces the efficacy of hard power derived from expanded economic and military capabilities. The series of actions that have followed Prime Minister Modi's second term, including the change in the Constitutional status of Kashmir, the judgment on the building of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and now the CAA, have had a negative perceptional impact externally. The images from JNU will not help. The pressures on India may come explicitly from civil society and media in foreign countries, but these will create opportunities for governments of friends and adversaries alike to derive advantage at India's expense. This, too, will undermine national security. A divided country is an insecure country. A united country made up of diverse peoples can only be built as an inclusive country. Those leading the current political dispensation, whether at the central or the state level, must recognise the enormous risks that their divisive policies are creating for the national security and wellbeing of the country. They must acknowledge the deep anxiety and fear, which their policies are creating among India's minorities, civil society in general and business and industry and reach out to reassure them. Without this, India will be unable to deal effectively with the mounting challenge of reviving a slowing economy and coping with a complex and rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. Brooke Coleman, a Birmingham philanthropist, was recognized by The Womens Fund of Greater Birmingham for her work advancing gender equity in the state. The Womens Fund gave its inaugural Cameron Vowell Changemaker Award in December, which recognizes supporters who challenge the status quo and honor their commitment to gender parity. There is no way to put into words just how much Brooke means to The Womens Fund, but we feel she embodies the passion and commitment were seeking to honor with the Cameron Vowell Changemaker Award, said Tracey Morant Adams, Board Chair for The Womens Fund of Greater Birmingham. Brookes creative and experienced leadership across Birmingham is not only inspiring and important to The Womens Fund, but impactful for the central Alabama region as well. She has a gracious and generous spirit and is very deserving of this honor. Coleman is a long-time volunteer at The Womens Fund and is on the boards of the Birmingham Education Foundation, Holy Family Cristo Rey High School and Alabama Association of Charitable Gift Planners. She previously served as the director of gift planning at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham and a volunteered with the Creative Montessori School and the Alabama Symphony. The award is named for Dr. Cameron Vowell, founder of the Alabama Womens Initiative, the Alabama Solution and The Womens Fund of Greater Birmingham. It is an exceptional privilege to receive an award that honors the significant contributions Cameron Vowell has made in helping to build institutions of lasting impact like The Womens Fund. I am proud to share my time and resources to support their mission and excited to see the organization continue to grow," Coleman said in a press release. WASHINGTON - A decade ago, Congress passed a law requiring oil and gas companies to report the payments they made to foreign governments to extract natural resources. The goal: open up to public view the vast sums of money moving through government accounts in nations such as Nigeria and Venezuela. But after a lengthy legal and lobbying campaign by the U.S. oil and gas industry, tracking that money and rooting out the corruption endemic in many oil-rich nations is likely to be far more difficult. The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering an amended rule that would require U.S.-based companies to report overall payments to governments, but not force them to do so on a project-by-project basis, as is required in the European Union and Canada. That would leave anti-corruption efforts with a general sense of the money flowing into government coffers, but not the details of whether revenues are getting skimmed by corrupt officials or the country is getting its fair share for the oil and gas thats extracted, said Zorka Milin, an attorney with the nonprofit Global Witness. In order for sunshine to work it has to shine enough light and in this case it is not enough, she said. This rule would fail to deter corruption and expose the questionable deals. On HoustonChronicle.com: With corruption investigations widening, oil companies face reckoning For the oil industry, the release of this draft proposal last month marked something of a victory after years of lawsuits and a move by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress to block implementation of the law. The bipartisan Cardin-Lugar Anti-Corruption Provision passed in 2010 as part of Dodd-Frank, Congresss effort to regulate Wall Street and limit the amount of risk banks could assume after the 2008 financial crisis. The provision drew opposition from oil companies from the beginning. When the SEC released its rule implementing the law in 2012, the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit, claiming the law would put their members at a disadvantage to state-owned firms in Russia and China that have no interest in transparency. Big Oil lobbies In the years ahead, the industry heavily against the SEC rule, resulting in legislation in 2017 forcing a rewrite. During the first three months of that year, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, both of which approached lawmakers about that legislation, spent a combined $6.7 million on lobbying. With the SEC no longer requiring as much detail on their payments, that opposition has dissipated. A Chevron spokesman said they were still reviewing the SECs proposed rule but generally supports efforts to promote revenue transparency. Exxon referred requests for comment to the American Petroleum Institute. We have always felt that successful implementation of the Dodd Frank legislation depends on rules that manage the need for revenue data with the concerns with disclosures that could create competitive harms and undermine development, API Director Stephen Comstock said in an email. We are still reviewing the proposed rule and how API might comment, but we certainly recognize that the SEC has taken a number of steps to strike a more equitable balance in this most recent approach. So far, theres little evidence that the disclosure rules as originally written would detract from companies ability to strike deals with foreign governments. The European energy majors Royal Dutch Shell and BP have been required under EU regulations to report their payments to foreign governments on a project by project basis since 2013. The British government said in a 2018 report it has not seen any convincing evidence that the disclosure rules had caused any companies to lose business. More: Read the latest oil and gas news from HoustonChronicle.com But the SEC under Chairman Jay Clayton, an attorney who formerly represented Goldman Sachs and other Wall Streets banks, has taken a different opinion. The proposal is designed to address the statutory mandate in a manner that does not result in undue compliance burdens or competitive harm, Clayton said when the proposed rule was released in December. New vigor In the meantime, prosecutors around the globe are pursuing investigations into corruption around oil and gas revenues with newfound vigor. In 2017 the Houston-based subsidiaries of oil equipment giants Keppel Offshore & Marine and SBM Offshore both pleaded guilty to bribery charges stemming from a long-running Brazilian corruption investigation and agreed to pay the U.S. Justice Department a combined $660 million in penalties. Shell and the Italian oil firm Eni are in the midst of what looks to be a years-long trial in Italy over allegations they paid paid $1.1 billion to a former Nigerian oil minister to gain access to a lucrative oil field off the West African coast. james.osborne@chron.com Twitter: @osborneja Fire trucks refills with water along the Princes Highway near Mallacoota, Australia, on Jan. 15, 2020. (Luis Ascui/Getty Images) Downpours Provide Relief to Australias Bushfire-Ravaged East as Morrison Finalizes Recovery Plans Heavy downpours and thunderstorms drenched Australias bushfire-ravaged east coast on Friday, bringing temporary relief to firefighters battling some of the worst blazes the region has seen in decades. Intense rain swept across Victoria, New South Wales (NSW), and Queenslandthe states worst affected by the bushfires that have killed 29 people, millions of animals, and destroyed more than 2,500 homes since September. Fire services have said the change in weather will not extinguish all the blazes, but will aid greatly containment. For the first time since December, the number of blazes in NSW have diminished to double digits, with 85 fires burning in the state as of Friday, reported The Australian. Rain has fallen across most firegrounds over the last 24 hours which is great news! Our fingers are crossed that this continues over the coming days. This morning 82 fires are still burning across New South Wales, with over 30 still yet to be contained.#NSWRFS #NSWFires pic.twitter.com/Zn6Id3TX85 NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 16, 2020 In parts of northern NSW, the rain was enough to put out the smaller fires that have been burning for months (and) thats a major win for the Rural Fire Service, NSW RFS spokeswoman Angela Burford told the news outlet. The NSW fire services said on Twitter Friday it hopes the rain and thunderstorms continue over the next few days, as forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology in the state which has been drought-stricken for three years. As of Friday morning, 17 fires were still burning in Victoria, according to the Country Fire Authority which said the wet weather has had minimal impact in suppressing fire activity across the states east and northeast regions, the Guardian reported. Despite the hope the wet weather has brought fire fighters and farmers, meteorologists have warned that the sudden change in weather could cause flash flooding and falling trees, while lightning could lead to new fires being ignited. By Friday afternoon, evacuation warnings were issued for residents near Mount Buffalo, as strong winds were forecast to cause a spike in fire activity. Were expecting unsettled weather for the next four or five days, Jake Phillips from the Bureau of Meteorology told The Australian. Phillips added that the rain should slow down the rate at which the bushfires spread, even though it may not extinguish them. Over Thursday and Friday, NSW saw up to 4 inches of rainfall, while 4.4 inches and 5 inches of rain fell in Buladelah and Boonanghi, respectively, during the same period, the Guardian reported. Relief is here for a number of firefighters working across NSW. Although this rain wont extinguish all fires, it will certainly go a long way towards containment. This footage was captured down at the Good Good Fire burning near Cooma. #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/fxV9u2hN6K NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 16, 2020 The heavy downpours have helped to clean smoky air in Australia, but Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne remained on Friday in the worlds top 100 polluted cities, according to AirVisuals pollution ranking for major global cities. The change in weather came as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison prepared to finalize the $2 billion AU (approximately $1.37 billion) bushfire recovery plans for affected by the devastating blazes. Morrison held bushfire roundtables in Canberra on Thursday and Friday to outline the next stage of federal governments response for those affected, including small business and tourist operators. We will be moving on to the next phase soon, which is all about the locally led recovery and the response plans that will be developed on the ground and we will work with you and them in those places, he said on Thursday. The National Bushfire Recovery Agency and Andrew Colvin who leads it is here with me today, has been stood up over the last week and a half and has committed funds of $2 billion dollars over the next two years, Morrison said on Friday, adding that these are very challenging times. I can tell you already, $300 million of that $500 million that was committed for this financial year has already been committed. He said at a press conference earlier this month that the government would pay whatever it costs to recover from the fires. If further funding was needed, it would be provided, Morrison said. Reuters contributed to this report. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury on Thursday slammed the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat for his 'de-radicalisation camps' remark on Kashmir. Taking to the microblogging site, Yechury said that the statement by CDS is condemnable and it shows the weakness of the political leadership. In his tweet, Yechury said, "This is deeply condemnable and shocking. A military commander has no business saying this. It shows the weakness of the political leadership and is detrimental to Indias case on Kashmir." READ | Sitaram Yechury Slams Narendra Modi-led Govt Over 'collapse Of GDP & Rising Inflation' READ | Soon They'll Ask 'why No-one's Asking About Pak's Economy?': Sitaram Yechury Slams BJP CDS Bipin Rawat on 'de-radicalisation camps' On Thursday, CDS asserted that the root of radicalisation must be identified, further claiming that it is happening in schools, universities and religious places. Citing Kashmir, he said that young children are being radicalised. Furthermore, he stated that even Pakistan has started de-radicalisation camps. Earlier in the day, General Bipin Rawat said, "To say that radicalisation cannot be countered, I dont agree with this. Anything that has started can be put to an end. Radicalisation can be countered. You have to start looking at where the radicalisation is happening. And who are the people who are radicalising these people? It is happening in schools, universities, religious places and sites, and there are a group of people who are spreading this." "Like what we are seeing in Kashmir we saw radicalisation happening. Today we are seeing radicalisation being undertaken even among the young people. Girls and boys as young as 12 are now being radicalised. These people can still be isolated from radicalisation in a gradual way. But there are people who have completely been radicalised. These people need to be taken out separately, possibly taken into some de-radicalisation camps. We have de-radicalisation camps going on in our country. Let me tell you, even Pakistan is doing the same. Pakistan also has de-radicalisation camps. They have understood that some of the terrorism that they have been sponsoring is actually hitting back at them," the CDS added. READ | Asaduddin Owaisi Tries To Bait CDS Gen Rawat; Says, 'De-radicalise Yogi, Meerut SP' READ | CDS Warns Pak Of Decisive Action If FATF Doesn't Blacklist, Extols Post-9/11 War On Terror (image: PTI) Monday morning could be an awkward affair in the staff canteen at Egis Lagan Services. Employees Daniel Moynihan and Tom Nolan are putting their friendship to one side this weekend with the pair facing off in the All-Ireland Club junior hurling final on Saturday evening. [January 17, 2020] Bloom Energy Scores Environmental Legal Victory in Santa Clara, California Bloom Energy today announced the result of a defining legal victory before the Superior Court of California, which overturned a resolution by the City of Santa Clara that would ban future installations of Bloom Energy's fuel cells. The court found that Santa Clara violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which requires that an impact study be conducted so the public is aware of any issues to the environment or health of its citizens prior to implementing such a resolution. By failing to do this, the City of Santa Clara not only broke the law, but attempted to implement policy that could do more harm to the environment. Bloom Energy produced evidence in the litigation that a ban of this nature would likely result in increased greenhouse gases, air pollutants, and reliance on dirty diesel generators - specifically, that Santa Clara's aging combustion-based power plants are not as clean as Bloom's distributed, always-on, non-combustion process of generating clean electricity. The court reaffirmed Bloom's position in its ruling that fuel cell deployment decreases the City's dependence on combustion-based power plants, and therefore very likely could reduce harmful emissions and improve air quality. "Environmental policy should actually work to reduce harmful environmental impacts, serve the public good, and be carefully crafted in consultation with experts. But in this case, officials in the City of Santa Clara made the inaccurate claim that their policy was good for the environment and would contribute to reduced emissions - ignoring the views of environmental experts on the policy's potential environmental harm and the needs of the community for clean, resilient power sources," said Josh Richman, Bloom's vice presidet of business development and policy. "This case should serve as a cautionary tale to policymakers who would seek to use the false pretense of sustainability to garner support for interests that have nothing to do with addressing the causes or consequences of climate change." Court documents revealed emails from city officials that shed light on the real motivations behind the City's ban on Bloom's technology - to stop Bloom Energy Servers from impacting its own revenue forecast of sales of electricity from its municipal utility. Bloom Energy Servers are among the most effective ways to displace less efficient centralized power plants with more efficient distributed generation, reducing carbon emissions and other air pollutants. By using Bloom's technology, companies and communities can improve air quality, decrease water consumption, decrease reliance on diesel generators, and reduce noise in residential areas. Moreover, Bloom's AlwaysON Microgrid technology provides power 24/7, keeping schools open, hospitals running, data centers online, manufacturers operating, and grocery stores serving neighbors. "CEQA was enacted to advance the state's environmental leadership," continued Richman. "In this case, facts were at best misunderstood by policymakers -- and at worst, intentionally ignored to hide the true goal of the policy -- all to the detriment of the environment and to the citizens and businesses in the City of Santa Clara." This ruling is a seminal moment as privately-owned utilities and publicly-owned utilities grapple with the twin challenges of our time: addressing the challenge of climate change through energy technologies that reduce harmful emissions and the need to increase the resiliency of our electric power supply with more resilient power that can address the challenge of the irreversible climate change that has already occurred. Bloom's Energy Server addresses both issues. Thanks to its distributed, always-on, non-combustion process of generating clean electricity, Bloom is engaged on both fronts, working every day to reduce emissions, provide resiliency, and promote sustainable communities. With the resolution now set aside, customers can purchase Bloom Energy Servers and retain power during grid outages. About Bloom Energy Bloom Energy's mission is to make clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone in the world. The Company's product, the Bloom Energy Server, delivers highly reliable and resilient, always-on electric power that is clean and sustainable. Bloom's customers include twenty-five of the Fortune 100 companies and leaders in cloud services and data centers, healthcare, retail, financial services, utilities and many other industries. For more information, visit www.bloomenergy.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005096/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Photo: Alev Takil/Unsplash If you're a theater fan, mark your calendars: There's plenty to do when it comes to stage performances in Washington this week, from an opera about an American prisoner of war in Vietnam to a mind-reading show. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. 'Glory Denied' From the event description: "Glory Denied" is a deeply compelling contemporary opera, based on the true oral history by Tom Philpott. Floyd Jim Thompson was a prisoner of war for nine years in Vietnam. When he was released, he returned to a very different country and a very different marriage. When: Saturday, Jan. 18, 8 p.m. Where: Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW Price: $22.50 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets 'Pilgrims Musa & Sheri in the New World' From the event description: This story follows the twisty road to romance between an Egyptian cab driver and a New York waitress. When: Saturday, Jan. 18, 8 p.m. Where: Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE Price: Free-$32.50 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets 'Pipeline' From the event description: In "Pipeline," a black single mother fights to save her son from a system that has failed countless other boys like him, while trying to understand the source of the anger that threatens his future. When: Wednesday, Jan. 22, 8 p.m. Where: Studio Theatre - Mead Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW Price: $45 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' From the event description: Let's say you're a happily married woman and a skeezy loudmouth starts making inappropriate, unwanted advances how would you respond? If your answer wasn't, "Spin an elaborate web of lies so the guy dresses in humiliating costumes and gets beaten up by a gang of children," then you've got a lot to learn from these merry wives. Story continues When: Wednesday, Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m. Where: Folger Theatre, 201 E. Capitol St., SE Price: $28-$56 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Mind reading show From the Mentalist Brian Curry: The Good Liar deal description: Human behavior expert Brian Curry reads minds, predicts the future, breaks down lies and blows crowds away with his lie-detecting skills. Where: 1001 16th St. NW Price: $25 Click here for more details, and to score this deal This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. BLAINE, Minn. A pedestrian was fatally struck in the Blaine Target parking lot late Wednesday, Jan. 15, by a convicted felon who then fled the scene. Investigators later arrested a suspect after a foot chase. The pedestrian Kenneth Alan Niesen, 58, of Brooklyn Park and the suspect Pierre Jerel Anderson, 30, of St. Paul were likely familiar with each other before the incident, said Anoka County sheriffs office Cmdr. Wayne Heath. "This wasnt a person leaving the store or just walking in the parking lot," Heath said. "There are some other parts to this that were trying to piece together." At 9:34 p.m., Blaine police and the Spring Lake Park-Blaine-Mounds View Fire Department were called to the store at 1500 109th Ave. N.E. on a report of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle that left the scene, the sheriffs office said. Officers gave medical aid to Niesen, who was taken by Allina ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. He died of his injuries at the hospital. ADVERTISEMENT Anderson was located by sheriffs office deputies in Ham Lake and was taken into custody after a foot chase, Heath said. Anderson was booked into the county jail early Thursday on suspicion of second-degree murder, according to the jail log. Prosecutors have until noon Friday to either formally charge or release him, Heath said. In a statement, Niesens family said he was a "wonderful son, brother, husband, father, and friend to everyone he met. Words cannot express our grief. Our family asks for privacy as we mourn this tragic loss." Anderson has a lengthy criminal record in Minnesota that dates back to 2007 and includes felony convictions for auto theft, simple robbery, possession of a pistol/assault weapon, possession of burglary/theft tools, theft and fleeing police in a motor vehicle. He has been convicted of driving after revocation 20 times. White House abruptly cancels Iran briefings amid contradictions Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 8:17 AM The Trump administration has abruptly called off four classified congressional briefings for lawmakers, who were seeking explanation about contradictory statements of the White House over assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. The State Department cancelled two briefings on the Trump administration's Iran strategy at the last moment on Wednesday, CNN reported. Another schedule for a separate closed-door session for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was also cancelled. FBI officials had been about to brief a group of House lawmakers on counterintelligence issues, during the briefing that was added to the calendar late last week. The Pentagon also scrapped a Thursday classified briefing on Iran. A spokesperson for the Department of Defense Jonathan Hoffman told CNN that it was working to schedule a time to conduct the briefing. He also said that the postponement was not a unilateral Pentagon move. Trump pushed the US and Iran to the brink of war earlier this month when he ordered a drone strike that assassinated general Soleimani in Baghdad. Iran later responded with a barrage of retaliatory missile strikes hitting a key airbase hosting American forces in Iraq. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy suggested that the White House was behind the sudden cancellation of Wednesday's scheduled briefing. The cancellations come as some lawmakers, particularly Democrats, continue to question the Trump administration's justification for assassinating general Soleimani, and administration's shifting explanations on the assassination. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the assassination of general Soleimani was part of a "bigger strategy of deterrence," a shift from President Trump's previous claim that the deadly drone strike was carried out to prevent an "imminent" attack. US offers confusing explanations for Soleimani assassination Some lawmakers were also questioning Trump's claims that the top Iranian commander was planning "imminent attacks" on US embassies across the Middle East. "I can reveal that I believe it probably would've been four embassies," Trump said Friday. On Sunday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, however, said that he "had seen no intelligence forewarning of imminent attacks on embassies." The classified briefing was supposed to be given by senior State Department officials, including Brian Hook, the State Department's special representative for Iran, and David Schenker, the assistant secretary of State for the Middle East. Citing a House aide, the news website Politico reported congressional staff are "furious." "This briefing is required by law every month, and today's was the most important we've had scheduled in a long time. The State Department has given us no explanation whatsoever," the aide said. A Senate aide also said the administration "will vaguely claim it was a logistical issue, even though this briefing had been already locked into the schedule for days." House Democrats have already criticized Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who refused to appear for a public hearing earlier this week. On January 3, a US drone strike at Baghdad's international airport assassinated Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), as well as eight other people. Both commanders were admired by Muslim nations for their role in eliminating the Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address CHARLESTON The next phase of the use of sales tax revenue will mean repair projects throughout the Charleston school district later this year. During its meeting Wednesday, the Charleston school board approved the next round of projects. The upcoming work comes to about $1.3 million and will mean the district has spent about $3 million in sales tax revenue overall, Assistant Superintendent Chad Burgett told the board. "Every building would have a project addressed," Burgett said of the projects the board approved. Larger projects on the list include replacing part of the roof at Charleston Middle School at a cost of $312,500, and lighting and sound equipment and painting for the Charleston High School band and chorus rooms for $200,000. Also on the list are tuckpointing at Jefferson Elementary School at a cost of $175,000, and work on parking lots and sidewalks at Mark Twain Elementary School for $170,000. The district set maintenance and repair work as priorities when Coles County voters approved the school facilities sales tax in 2016. The work began in the summer of 2018, after the district started receiving the revenue. The district is exploring a change to the approach as repairs and maintenance work are completed, however. On Wednesday, Superintendent Todd Vilardo told the board "we haven't forgotten" about a discussion in November about possibly issuing bonds for larger projects and using the sales tax to repay them. Vilardo said the district's facilities committee is discussing that approach and should soon have a proposal for the board to consider. Using the sales tax revenue for the work would mean the district still would not have to turn to property tax revenue for the projects, he added. The board's vote on the upcoming projects was 7-0, but the outcome was more divided on a vote approving the district's attendance calendar for the 2020-21 school year. Board Vice President Scott Clarke and member Charles Jarrell voted against the calendar, with both saying they thought the Aug. 12 start date for student attendance was too early. The details of the attendance calendar regularly get discussion by the board when it comes up. On Wednesday, Assistant Superintendent Kristen Holly said district staff have always favored an earlier start date for the school year. The board first sets parameters for the district's calendar committee to use to develop three years of proposed calendars. The board still has to vote to adopt the calendar each year. The calendar the board approved Wednesday was for the second year of the current three-year round and largely mirrors the attendance schedule for the current school year. Also Wednesday, the board approved the job description for the district's educational technology director, a position to be filled after the retirement of current director Mary Ann Pattenaude this year. The board will likely be able to vote on the new hiring in March, Vilardo said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As Flybe announced the end of one of its key routes, Ryanair boss Michael OLeary has compared the troubled regional airline to British Leyland in the 1970s. On Tuesday, Flybe was rescued by a government deal that will provide a tax holiday on 10m in air passenger duty (APD) the airline owes. Late on Thursday, it confirmed its Newquay-Heathrow service will finish on 28 March, with flights from Cornwall switching back to Gatwick. The airlines owners a consortium comprising Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and a US investment fund, Cyrus Capital have agreed to pump more cash into the loss-making airline. But Michael OLeary, chief executive of Ryanair, has predicted that Flybe will inevitably fold. World's safest airlines 2020 Show all 20 1 /20 World's safest airlines 2020 World's safest airlines 2020 Qantas Check up: the Qantas fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft are being examined Qantas World's safest airlines 2020 Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Getty Images World's safest airlines 2020 Eva Air Eva Air Getty Images World's safest airlines 2020 Etihad Etihad Getty Images World's safest airlines 2020 Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Heathrow Airport World's safest airlines 2020 Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines Getty World's safest airlines 2020 Emirates Emirates AFP/Getty World's safest airlines 2020 Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines Getty Images World's safest airlines 2020 Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Getty World's safest airlines 2020 Virgin Australia Virgin Australia Getty Images World's safest airlines 2020 Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines World's safest airlines 2020 Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic World's safest airlines 2020 TAP Portugal TAP Portugal Getty Images World's safest airlines 2020 SAS SAS AFP/Getty World's safest airlines 2020 Royal Jordanian Royal Jordanian Bjorn Strey/Wikimedia World's safest airlines 2020 SWISS SWISS Getty Images World's safest airlines 2020 Finnair Finnair Getty World's safest airlines 2020 Lufthansa Lufthansa Reuters World's safest airlines 2020 Aer Lingus Aer Lingus AFP/Getty World's safest airlines 2020 KLM KLM Getty Speaking on the BBCs Today programme, he said: Its clear no commercial bank would lend money to Flybe. So the government is stepping in here, lending them APD, which is unfair on all the other UK airlines, and all the shareholders have to do is put in another 27m. They confirmed they put in 110m last year, theyve burned their way through that in 12 months, so 27m will be gone by the end of March, and then what? When the consortium announced its offer for Flybe in January 2019, they promised up to 100m in funding to invest in its business and support its growth. But Mark Anderson, chief executive of Flybe, told staff this week Our shareholders invested an awful lot of money, believing they fully understood the state of the business theyd bought. We were in worse shape than even the shareholders thought we were. Three-quarters of the money the shareholders invested was gone before we even really started. That has hurt this business and more money is needed. Mr OLeary said: Flybe is not a viable business, it never has been. It has lurched from reconstruction to reconstruction, and this is the government misusing state funds to discriminate in favour of Flybe. Its in breach of competition rules, its in breach of state-aid rules, which is why the government are covering up the deal. They wont publish it. The government cant keep lending a non-viable airline 100m every three months to keep non-essential services available. If Flybe folds, as it inevitably will, in exactly the same way as we did after Thomas Cook and after Monarch, Ryanair, easyJet, BA, Norwegian and others will step in. There will be no loss of regional services. Ryanair has given the chancellor a week to extend the same APD holiday to other UK airlines. If Sajid Javid does not agree, Mr OLeary said he would launch legal proceedings in the UK on competition law and in Brussels on European state-aid rules. In a statement to parliament, the transport secretary Grant Shapps said: HMG was notified about the difficulties of Flybe on 11 January, and since then we have worked intensively with the company to understand their financial position and explore options. In the light of these discussions the management and shareholders on 14 January took action to set Flybe on a recovery path. Michael OLeary said: They said the same thing about British Leyland in the 1970s. Fast lane: the Austin Allegro, unveiled by British Leyland in 1973. The company collapsed two years later (Getty) (Getty Images) Despite containing profitable marques such as Jaguar, Rover and Land Rover, as well as the best-selling Mini, British Leyland had a troubled history, leading to its eventual collapse in 1975 and subsequent nationalisation. After much restructuring and divestment of subsidiary companies, it was renamed as the Rover Group in 1986, later becoming a subsidiary of British Aerospace and subsequently, BMW. The final surviving incarnation of the company as the MG Rover Group went into administration in 2005, bringing mass car production by British-owned manufacturers to an end. The government has not published any details of the agreement to rescue Flybe, which it says is compliant with state-aid rules. A Flybe spokesperson said of the deal: This is a standard Time to Pay arrangement with HMRC that any business in financial difficulties may use. This agreement will only last a matter of months before all taxes and duties are paid in full. Bad Boys 4 is now in the works. Bad Boys Forever may have only just been released, but already Sony has begun taking steps to continue the buddy cop series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are expected to return as the dynamic duo, while Bad Boys For Life screenwriter Chris Bremner has been selected to author the script. Whatcha gonna do? A fourth Bad Boy starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence is now in the works, according to a new report Bad Boys For Life will see Will and Martin returning to their roles of Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, nearly 17 years after the release of Bad Boys 2. Several issues led to the delay of Bad Boys For Life, including increasing budget costs and the story line, according to the site. Unlike the third film, the fourth should be released in a more timely fashion. Bad Boys For Life, which was released January 17, has already been receiving positive reviews, and the plot line allows for a sequel, adds the site. Bad to the bone: Bad Boys For Life will see Will and Martin returning to their roles of Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, nearly 17 years after the release of Bad Boys 2 Out now: Bad Boys For Life was released into theaters January 17 Will and Martin have been playing detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett since the mid-90s. The initial action film was released in 1995, and was followed up with a sequel, Bad Boys II, in 2003. In addition to Will and Martin, the most recent installment stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alexander Ludwig. On the line: Martin and Smith in character in Bad Boys II That was then: Smith and Lawrence on the scene in Bad Boys II Michael Bay, who directed the first film, is expected to appear in Bad Boys For Life. Speaking of the new film, Will recently told The Project: 'If you cling to the past, you will not make it. So that was sort of the idea that we were debating in this film.' He added: 'Martin [Lawrence's] character is open to moving forward and gracefully going into the next phase and my character clinging crazy to the past.' In the film, Will's character Mike still tries to be 'the wild bachelor bad boy'. President Trump has added attorneys Ken Starr and Alan Dershowitz to his defense team ahead of the impeachment trial proceedings. Starr led the impeachment prosecution against Bill Clinton. Starr and Dershowitz will be joined by attorney Robert Ray, and will work with White House counsel Pat Cipillone and Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow. Dershowitz is participating in this impeachment trial to defend the integrity of the Constitution and to prevent the creation of a dangerous constitutional precedent, a spokesman for Trumps legal team said in a statement. While Professor Dershowitz is nonpartisan when it comes to the Constitution he opposed the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and voted for Hillary Clinton he believes the issues at stake go to the heart of our enduring Constitution, the statement continued. White House officials told Axios that they had hoped Trump would not choose Dershowitz because of the attorneys ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The convicted sex offender employed Dershowitz as his lawyer for years. The legal defense team will face off against House lawmakers named as impeachment managers, essentially acting as the prosecution. Those lawmakers include head manager Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a major player in the House impeachment inquiry, and Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.), the only lawmaker to have participated in all three modern presidential impeachment proceedings. The outline of the impeachment trial is still unclear. The President is pushing for a speedy trial that will not call witnesses to testify, however moderate Republicans may join with Democrats to summon witnesses. Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.), a staunch supporter of Trump regarding impeachment, warned fellow Republicans that a vote to allow witnesses would be voting to lose your election. More from National Review As we proceed in this session of Congress, please know that I will be looking for strict insurance to get those By America provisions, looking at how we can expand that manufacturing base and looking for opportunities to improve the quality of life for all of our troops, Visclosky said. Remember Atatiana Jefferson As we enter into a new year, its important that we do not forget the December 20th indictment and pending trial of Aaron Dean, a former Forth Worth, Texas police officer, on murder charges in the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, an African American woman and Xavier University graduate. Atatiana was fatally shot by Dean on October 12 while in her home and playing video games with her young nephew. Her violent death deserves justice. If convicted, Dean could face a life sentence for his crime. Jefferson, 28, and her 8-year-old nephew were inside the home late at night when a neighbor noticed a door ajar and called a non-emergency number to ask the police to perform a welfare check. ADVERTISEMENT Dean, 35, and a partner arrived at Jeffersons home, startling the aspiring doctor and her nephew. When Jefferson peaked through the window to see what was causing the commotion outside of her house, Dean opened fire. The officer resigned from the department within hours of the shooting and was arrested on murder charges two days later. While Atatianas family is relieved, they are cautiously optimistic that a conviction and appropriate sentence will come in the near future, Jefferson family attorney, S. Lee Merritt, stated in a news release. This is a huge first step in the long road for this family, Merritt stated. Attorneys for Dean declined to comment. Jefferson, a 2014 Xavier University biology graduate who worked in the pharmaceutical industry, was contemplating becoming a doctor. ADVERTISEMENT The shooting came only days before a jury convicted a white former Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger for the murder of Botham Jean, a black man who worked in accounting and auditing for the powerhouse firm of Price Waterhouse Coopers. Guyger received a controversial 10-year sentence in prison for her crime. I cannot make sense of why she had to lose her life, Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus stated during an October news conference announcing Deans arrest. Dean was released on $200,000 bond, and his police union vowed to support his defense financially. Kraus has stated that he would also refer the case to the FBI so that the agency could review federal civil rights charges against Dean. Nobody looked at this video and said theres any doubt that this officer acted inappropriately, Forth Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus noted. I was going to fire [Dean] even before he quit. We had already taken his badge and weapon. There were violations in his use of force, and he didnt follow de-escalation protocols. His conduct was unprofessional. There are times for officers to act as warriors and defenders, and there are times for them to act as public servants and humble servants. CYBERSPACEFanCentro today launched its new DM feature, a tool to help bring influencers and fans closer together than ever before. This new technology provides an exciting new way for models to make money with FanCentro, said FanCentro CEO Stan Fiskin. At a time when many influencers in the adult industry are being banned by social networks discriminatory regulations, its more important than ever for us to provide safe and secure ways to monetize a fanbase. The social media monetization platform now lets influencers and fans slide into each others DMs where messages and content can be shared from directly within their FanCentro account. Influencers can now chat one-on-one with both active and inactive subscribers, sharing content, videos, news, updates and more via individual or bulk direct messages. FanCentro influencers can send locked content in the form of photos and videos which fans can pay to view. Fans can also send tips to influencers easilyall from within DMs. FanCentro, which is currently running an SOS Australia campaign to raise money for those affected by the bushfires in Australia, has dedicated itself to helping bring influencers and their fans closer together since its launch in 2017. The new DM feature adds to FanCentros suite of powerful monetization tools, including the FanCentro Feed, where influencers can share content directly with their fans. Influencers and fans can start sliding into each others DMs from their FanCentro account today. For tips on how best to use and monetize this new feature, visit FanCentros blog post now. CHAMPAIGN More than half of Illinois households would qualify to be able to send a student to the University of Illinois with tuition paid for by taxpayers this fall after changes made at the request of the governor. The University of Illinois will expand its tuition assistance program to cover half of the households in the state, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. The announcement came one day after the states flagship universitys board of trustees approved increasing tuition costs for incoming freshmen for the first time in six years and approved a 40 percent pay raise for University of Illinois President Tim Killeen. A central priority for me in this office is making college more affordable for those who can least afford it, Pritzker said Friday in Chicago. The University of Illinois trustees have agreed to my request that they expand free tuition to families who can least afford the costs of college. He said students should be able to access the expanded program in time for the fall 2020 semester. The Illinois Commitment program offers enrollment tuition-free to in-state residents whose household income is below $61,000 annually. A ten percent increase, as Pritzker said, would increase that threshold to $67,100. Tuition is just part of the cost of attending college. The cost of housing, books and fees that students paid last fall totaled $31,390. Much of that would not be covered by the program. The median Illinois household income was $63,575 annually between 2014 and 2018, according to the U.S. Census. Representatives for the university didnt immediately respond to questions about how much the program expansion would cost. The universitys board on Thursday approved raising the price of tuition by 1.8 percent at its Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses and 1 percent at its Springfield campus. The increase would only affect incoming freshmen. The colleges Urbana-Champaign campus will cost $12,254 for freshmen attending in the fall of 2020. Many of the universitys students already receive some sort of financial aid. Students whose households own more than $50,000 in assets dont qualify to participate in the program. Illinois lawmakers have for years been pushing to implement a statewide college promise program that would guarantee the first two years at a community college or comparably-priced school are tuition and fee-free to in-state residents. On Jan. 15, sirens blared in Israels Gaza border communities, alerting residents to incoming rockets from Gaza. Israels anti-missile Iron Dome system intercepted two of them and another two fell in open spaces without inflicting casualties or causing damage. In response, Israeli air force jets bombed Hamas targets in the northern Gaza Strip in a raid described in Gaza as the heaviest since the November 2019 clash that followed Israels killing of a senior Islamic Jihad commander, Baha Abu al-Atta. Israel believes the rockets were launched by rogue Islamic Jihad militants, but directed its military retaliation at Hamas. The military said it held Hamas responsible, as ruler of the Strip, for all violence emanating from the enclave. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are gearing up for additional rockets, and Iron Dome batteries have been deployed in the south. The previous rocket attacks from Gaza occurred Dec. 25, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a political rally in the southern town of Ashkelon. Netanyahu, who was spirited off stage by his bodyguards when the sirens sounded, told his followers once he was allowed to return to the stage: Hamas and Jihad dont want me to win. He then advised whoever was responsible for the rocket launch to pack his bags, adding that the person behind a similar attack designed to embarrass him during a September 2019 political rally in the nearby town of Ashdod had since met his maker referring apparently to the Atta assassination. Following the launch at Ashkelon in December, Hamas conveyed a message to Israel via Egypt, saying the firing had been carried out by rogue Islamic Jihad activists and promising to take appropriate action so that such missteps would not recur. Netanyahu, perhaps because he had no other choice, accepted the explanation to avoid undermining Egyptian-mediated efforts to forge a long-term Hamas-Israel deal, and hoped for the best. But the Hamas pledge of calm lasted only three weeks, until Jan. 15. The IDFs response a raid on Hamas targets stemmed not only from its strategy of holding Hamas responsible for events in Gaza as the enclaves sovereign power, but also from an assessment that the Hamas military wing was somehow complicit in the launches whether by turning a blind eye to them (at best) or being involved (in a worst-case scenario). All Hamas promises to prevent attacks on Israeli targets do not hold water for long. After every launch, the organization comes up with an excuse to mitigate its responsibility. At times, it blames rogue Islamic Jihad activists. At other times, it claims the economic crisis in Gaza pushed its armed wing to attack Israel to convince it to ease the 12-year blockade of Gaza. In October 2019, Hamas even blamed a rocket launch at the town of Beersheba on a lightning strike that triggered the launcher. After each incident, the Egyptians were the ones who mediated between Israel, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad on a cease-fire, or conveyed messages back and forth to avoid further escalation and possible war in the south. However, Egypt did not intervene following the four Jan. 15 launches, and Israel even believes the attack resulted from Egypts pressure on Hamas over the surprising visit of its leader Ismail Haniyeh to Tehran. Head of Hamas political bureau Haniyeh landed in Tehran Jan. 3 in blatant disregard of Egypts advice to avoid visiting there to take part in the funeral of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani. As I previously reported, Egypt was expected to respond. Indeed, Egypt was so furious that it immediately turned off its supply of cooking gas for the Strips 2 million residents to signal the heads of the organization that Haniyehs provocative step would not go unpunished. Over the past week, the Egyptians have clamped down on the movement of goods and people through its Rafah border crossing with Gaza. No one knows what might happen once Haniyeh asks to return to the Strip and whether Egypt will let him through. Egypts pressure on Gaza is clearly felt, and two residents of the town of Khan Yunis described growing criticism of Hamas in a conversation with Al-Monitor this week. We are no longer afraid to say what people think about them [Hamas leadership] and the situation to which they have led Gaza, one of them said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The protest is massive, were not talking about a small group. Hamas used to arrest anyone who opened his mouth against them, but today everyone is criticizing and cursing. What, Hamas is going to arrest them all? Shoot at our legs? The other Khan Yunis resident said people do not understand why Hamas had turned its back on Egypt and chose Iran. What do we have in common with them? he asked in anger. At this stage, it is hard to gauge the extent of the protest in Gaza, but Israel believes the Hamas leadership is greatly concerned by growing Egyptian pressure on the enclave. Whether Hamas armed-wing activists took part in the latest rocket attack or simply turned a blind eye to them, Egypt is no longer going out of its way to avert an Israel-Hamas escalation, as a result of Haniyehs visit to Tehran. As mentioned, the Egyptians had not spared any effort to prevent a military deterioration with Gaza, playing a key role in defusing tensions with Israel, even if this occasionally entailed compromises on their part, such as welcoming the Islamic Jihad leadership to Cairo in October 2019 despite Irans declared support for the Islamist organization. Egyptian intelligence delegations, led by deputy intelligence chief Ayman Badiyeh, are frequent visitors to Gaza, not only in times of escalation but also for talks on a long-term deal with Israel. An Israeli security source said the Egyptians are also seeking a high profile in the Strip to signal to the Hamas leadership that Egypt has a vested interest there and was keeping its eye on the organization. This tactic worked, up until Haniyehs unexpected visit to Iran. Is it all over? At this stage, Egypt appears interested in ratcheting up tensions with Hamas, until it is convinced Hamas has received the message of deterrence and its leadership has learned a lesson from its mistake. The troubling question is whether Egypt will intervene if the rocket launches continue. "To the world leaders and those in power, I would like to say that you have not seen anything yet. You have not seen the last of us, we can assure you that. And that is the message that we will bring to the World Economic Forum in Davos next week." In the Swiss city of Lausanne on Friday, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and was joined by an estimated 10,000 others for a protest march, before many of them travel to Davos for next week's annual gathering of political and business elites. Their goal: Draw attention to the urgent need for world leaders to fight our worsening climate crisis. Thunberg is 17 years old, and founded the #FridaysforFuture climate crisis awareness campaign. From Reuters: "So, we are now in a new year and we have entered a new decade and so far, during this decade, we have seen no sign whatsoever that real climate action is coming and that has to change," Thunberg said in a speech in Lausanne. "To the world leaders and those in power, I would like to say that you have not seen anything yet. You have not seen the last of us, we can assure you that. And that is the message that we will bring to the World Economic Forum in Davos next week." Protestors held signs including "Wake up and Smell the Bushfires" and "It is late but it is not too late". Hundreds of campaigners will take trains over the weekend and then march to Klosters near Davos, which Thunberg is attending for the second year in a row and will take part in two panel events. Read more: 'You have not seen anything yet,' climate activist Greta says ahead of Davos [Marina Depetris, Cecile Mantovani, REUTERS] Washington: The historic impeachment trial of Donald Trump opened Thursday in the US Senate, as lawmakers took a solemn oath to be "impartial" in deciding whether to force the 45th US president from office. For just the third time in American history, the hushed Senate chamber was transformed into a court of impeachment, presided over by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who administered the oath to senators. When Roberts, clad in a black robe, asked if they swore to deliver "impartial justice" according to the US Constitution, the 99 lawmakers present -- one was absent -- responded in unison, with right hands raised: "I do." Earlier in the day, in a deeply symbolic moment, the two articles of impeachment -- charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress -- were read out on the Senate floor. "Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye," Senate Sergeant of Arms Michael Stenger said, commanding senators to "keep silent, on pain of imprisonment." Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who will serve as lead prosecutor for the trial, read the charges accusing Trump of "high crimes and misdemeanors." Trump has ridiculed the impeachment process for months, and he responded to the opening of the trial by once more branding it a "hoax." "I think it should go very quickly," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "It's totally partisan," he said. "I've got to go through a hoax, a phony hoax put out by the Democrats so they can try and win an election." The Democratic-controlled House, voting along party lines, impeached Trump on December 18. But Trump's acquittal is widely expected in the Republican-dominated Senate, where a two-thirds majority is required to convict and remove a president. After the swearing in, the Senate adjourned until 1 pm (1800 GMT) Tuesday. One senator -- Republican James Inhofe -- was absent due to a family medical emergency but said he would be sworn in "with no delay" on Tuesday. Trump is accused of abuse of power for withholding military aid to Ukraine and a White House meeting for the country's president in exchange for an investigation into his potential presidential election rival Democrat Joe Biden. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office concluded in a report released Thursday that the White House had violated federal law by putting a hold on the congressionally approved funds for Ukraine. "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the congressional watchdog said. The second article of impeachment relates to Trump's refusal to provide witnesses and documents to House impeachment investigators in defiance of congressional subpoenas. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been extremely critical of Trump's impeachment by the House, and Democrats have accused him of planning to oversee a "sham" trial. The top Republican has said he would coordinate Trump's Senate defense with the White House. "The House's hour is over," McConnell said. "The Senate's time is at hand." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump had given the House no option. "It is a sad day for America," Pelosi told reporters. "We were given no choice." Trump's actions undermined national security, were a violation of his oath of office and "jeopardized the integrity of our elections," she said. For weeks, Pelosi delayed delivering the articles as she pressured McConnell to agree to subpoena witnesses and documents -- but McConnell has refused to commit. A Trump administration official told reporters they expect the trial to last no longer than two weeks, suggesting McConnell could use his 53-47 Republican majority to stifle calls for witnesses and quickly take the charges to a vote. Before the prosecution begins laying out its case against the president next week, senators will vote Tuesday on the contours of the trial's opening phase. McConnell and aides huddled privately Thursday as they worked on the resolution. Democrats say they will oppose it because it makes no guarantee that witnesses will be called, or new evidence admitted. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested Republicans are being cowed into lockstep with Trump and seek a speedy end to the trial. All senators felt "the weight of history" on their shoulders as Roberts, 64, swore them in, said Democrat Schumer, who implored his Republican colleagues to vote for fair rules that allowed witnesses. "Each of us, every one of us, Democrat and Republican, will face a choice about whether to begin this trial in the search of the truth, or in service of the president's desire to cover it up," Schumer told reporters. One Republican, Senator Susan Collins, signalled she would "likely" support a motion to call witnesses. "While I need to hear the case argued and the questions answered, I tend to believe having additional information would be helpful," Collins said in a statement. A 56-year-old man is expected to be charged with making a false report after claiming he was shot at in a botched mid-morning carjacking in the city's east. The Kilsyth man claimed to have been stopped at traffic lights on the Burwood Highway at Hanover Road in Vermont South when another man approached the car about 10.50am on Friday. He said he refused demands to get out of the car, before the 'offender' fired one shot through his car window and ran off. Detectives from the Armed Crime Squad investigated and found the incident did not happen as he said. "Investigators have spoken extensively to the man involved who is expected to be charged with making a false report," a police spokeswoman said. Find out which schools have the top online bachelor's degree programs in marketing. Also, learn what these programs consist of, how to choose the right program, and what marketing careers you could pursue with a bachelor's marketing degree. View Schools Best Online Bachelor's Programs in Marketing When making a list of top schools that offer online bachelor's degree programs in marketing, it would be beneficial to consider flexibility, affordability, and program completion time. Along these lines, you can explore the best schools and online programs for marketing below. 1. University of Alabama at Birmingham Location Undergraduate Tuition & Fees (in-state) % Receiving Financial Aid Birmingham, AL $8,568 84% The University of Alabama at Birmingham has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing degree program that can be completed 100% online with no real-world requirements. Along with general education credit requirements, this program includes 78 core credits in marketing. Classes center on such subjects as: Retail marketing Sales techniques International marketing E-commerce marketing The Collat School of Business, which houses the online marketing degree program, is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Students in this online program earn the same degree as their on-campus peers and can apply for transfer credits to finish their degrees quickly and save money on tuition. 2. East Carolina University Location Undergraduate Tuition & Fees (in-state) % Receiving Financial Aid Greenville, NC $7,188 81% East Carolina University offers an online degree completion program that leads to a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree in Marketing. This online program requires 120 total credits and allows students to choose a marketing or operations and supply chain management concentration. Exact coursework depends on the chosen concentration with marketing classes on consumer behavior and marketing intelligence and supply chain classes in distribution and logistics. East Carolina University's online marketing degree program features small class sizes and offers qualified, new BSBA students a merit-based scholarship. 3. Maryville University of Saint Louis Location Undergraduate Tuition & Fees (in-state) % Receiving Financial Aid Saint Louis, MO $28,470 100% Maryville University of Saint Louis has a 100% online Bachelor of Science in Marketing degree program that has 3 start dates throughout the year and doesn't require ACT or SAT scores for admissions. The 128 credits in this program are divided between general education, core business, and marketing coursework to give you a well-rounded education. A senior capstone course brings together all the skills you learn in the program by requiring you to conduct research and analysis and devise a marketing plan. There are also optional networking and internship opportunities available. 4. Concordia University-Saint Paul Location Undergraduate Tuition & Fees (in-state) % Receiving Financial Aid Saint Paul, MN $22,275 99% Concordia University-Saint Paul's online Bachelor of Arts in Marketing degree program features 7-week, asynchronous courses, which means there are no live classes or set time students need to be online. Designed for adult learners with busy lives, this program requires 120 total credits with 40 credits needed for the marketing major. Students take classes that cover such topics as: Marketing analysis Social media marketing Entrepreneurship Finance and accounting A total of 95% of all the graduates from Concordia University-Saint Paul's various degree programs receive a job offer within 1 year. 5. Houghton College Location Undergraduate Tuition & Fees (in-state) % Receiving Financial Aid Houghton, NY $32,488 99% Houghton College offers an online BBA/BS in Integrated Marketing Communication degree program that is flexible with both part- and full-time options available. Courses in this program are 100% online, are asynchronous with no set log-on requirements, and last 8 weeks. Key marketing classes focus on public relations, integrated marketing, and advertising. Houghton College's online marketing degree requires a total of 124 credits but accepts up to 87 transfer credits. 6. Fort Hays State University Fort Hays State University, in Hays, Kansas, provides an online Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Marketing that is fully accredited and affordable. Students can further focus their studies and prepare for a future career with concentrations in digital marketing or business development and sales, as well as a general marketing option. Those wishing to earn additional hands-on experience in the field can choose to participate in a marketing internship as part of their concentration requirements. 7. University of Toledo The University of Toledo, in Toledo, Ohio, offers an online BBA in Marketing that provides students with a wide range of helpful resources, including an eLibrary and eTutoring. Students also receive one-on-one attention from advisors and a Success Coach to best prepare for their specific course of study and future in the field. Qualified students who are interested in jump-starting their graduate-level education can apply for the BBA/Master of Business Administration (MBA) Early Admission/Bridge Program that allows them to earn credit toward their MBA as part of their BBA program in order to earn both degrees faster than if they opted to pursue the programs separately. 8. Old Dominion University Norfolk, Virginia's Old Dominion University has an online Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) in Marketing that can be taken as a full program or as a degree completion program for those who already have college credit. Students whose previously earned credit is from the Virginia Community College System benefit from the Guaranteed Admission Agreement between institutions to help make transferring to Old Dominion as easy as possible. For consistency and the opportunity for peer and faculty interactions, online coursework is offered in a live format with regular class meetings. 9. University of Wisconsin - Whitewater The University of Wisconsin in Whitewater offers an online BBA in Marketing that is self-paced for flexibility. Available concentrations in professional sales or digital marketing help students personalize their degree path to their specific career goals. Students in the program benefit from the same affordable tuition whether they're in-state, out-of-state, or even international, while graduates of the program can be sure to take advantage of the far-reaching alumni network that can help connect students with jobs. 10. Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University, based in Stillwater, provides an online BSBA in Marketing that allows students to access online courses 24/7. The curriculum includes virtual activities to help encourage peer interaction and teamwork, as well as an available specialization in communications for students who believe their marketing careers would benefit from this focus. The university prides itself on an 87% job placement rate for graduates, proving that its students leave their programs well prepared for the working world. 11. Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, NY, has a one-of-a-kind online Bachelor of Science (BS) in International Trade and Marketing that places an emphasis on marketing within the fashion industry. The program boasts a diverse student population that provides a wide range of perspectives on the subject, with one-third of students hailing from countries other than the United States. This school places an emphasis on the importance of a global perspective in marketing, so students get the opportunity to participate in an internship with an international company for real-world experience in the industry, or they can choose from a number of study abroad opportunities to see global business in action. 12. Washington State University Washington State University in Pullman offers an online Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (BABA) in Marketing that has three different start dates to provide students with plenty of options of when to begin their studies. The Carson College of Business that houses the degree program boasts prestigious accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International to ensure that students are getting a top-quality education. Expert faculty members provide students with insights into current research being conducted in the field, as well as career advice in marketing, to best prepare them for their future careers in marketing. 13. University of Massachusetts - Amherst The University of Massachusetts in Amherst has an online BBA in Marketing that allows students the freedom to customize their degree through diverse courses available in the field. Expert advisors help students navigate their degree path and promote students' success by helping them choose courses that may best prepare them for their specific careers of interest. Graduates of this program work for leading companies like Target and Black and Decker, making it clear that they truly received a renowned and impressive education. 14. University of Memphis The University of Memphis in Tennessee provides a BBA in Marketing Management that can be completed fully online. Faculty members for the program have valuable experience to pass on to students, with knowledge in many diverse areas of marketing, including negotiation, advertising strategy, and services marketing. To allow students to work on coursework when it is most convenient for them, most of the courses offered through the online University of Mobile Global are asynchronous, and online students always have access to library services, technology support, and more incredible resources. 15. Immaculata University Immaculata University, in Immaculata, Pennsylvania, offers an online BS in Marketing Management that is a degree completion program geared specifically toward working adults. In place of an internship that on-campus students complete, working adults are generously awarded credit for their work experience. To focus their studies in a particular field, learners may choose to add one of many available minors in areas like communications, graphic design, or psychology. Online students are not left to their own devices here; they can feel confident that they can reach out for help if they need it through online support services such as the online writing lab. 16. Indiana State University Indiana State University, located in Terre Haute, has an online BS in Marketing that offers an online concentration in marketing management through the AACSB International accredited business school. Students have the option of taking the program full- or part-time and may choose from a variety of online minors to truly individualize their plan of study. Online students have the benefit of plenty of resources like tutoring, IT support, and caring advisors, not to mention the assurance that all of their teachers are the same professionals as those who teach marketing on campus. 17. Dakota State University Dakota State University, in Madison, South Dakota, offers an online BBA in Marketing that utilizes the latest digital marketing and social media marketing techniques to help prepare students for their future careers. Courses also provide students with real, hands-on experience through case studies that incorporate new technologies and help students learn to compare business strategies, websites, logos, and more. The university prides itself on its groundbreaking business programs and the BBA program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) to ensure the highest quality of education. 18. Lindenwood University Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri gives students the option to find the marketing degree that best fits their career goals by providing an online BA in Marketing, online BA or BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing and an online BS in Digital Marketing. The BS in Digital Marketing uniquely allows learners to choose between a fully online format or a hybrid format for those wishing to have some face-to-face interaction with peers and faculty. All of these degree programs are taught by seasoned faculty with real-world practice in marketing and supporting students with individualized attention in small class sizes. 19. Northwest Missouri State University Maryville's Northwest Missouri State University offers an online BS in Marketing that takes on an interdisciplinary approach to give students a wide range of perspectives on the subject. For convenience of schedule and to make it easy for students to begin their studies, the program has 6 start dates throughout the year. Students pursuing this marketing degree truly benefit from working on real, hands-on projects with real-world businesses that provide them with fantastic experiences they can share in future job interviews. 20. Husson University Husson University, in Bangor, Maine, provides an online BSBA in Marketing Management that is accredited by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education. To help students complete their degree as fast as possible, those who transfer in between 60 and 90 credits can finish their studies in just 12 to 24 months. The online division of this school prides itself on its commitment to superior teaching, providing diverse perspectives through experiential learning, and affordable and convenient programs. 21. Davenport University Davenport University, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has an online BBA in Marketing that offers 6 start dates for flexibility. The program allows students to further focus their studies and prepare for their futures with a specialization in marketing technology or digital marketing and promotion, and also provides the unique opportunity for students to earn up to 4 industry-related certifications, such as Google Analytics, to boost their resume and set them above the rest. Students also gain real-world, practical experience through an internship that has them working with a real client, which they can include in their marketing portfolio. 22. Huntington University Huntington University, based in Huntington, Indiana, provides an online BS in Marketing that incorporates both specialized knowledge in the field and faith development for students wishing to incorporate their faith in their career. Learners gain specialized skills in consumer behavior, advertising, and market research to best promote their future brands. Designed for adult learners, the program has accelerated, 5-week courses and faculty who understand the balance between school, work, and home life. The university helps support students financially with about 80% of incoming students earning some form of financial aid and a generous credit policy that allows some students to count their work experience as course credit. 23. Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Saint Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona has an online BS in Marketing designed for working adults that focuses on customer-centered strategies in the field to best prepare graduates for their futures. Students can save time and money by transferring in up to 77 credits to help them complete the accelerated program in as little as 2 years. Students also benefit from the school's generous Prior Learning Assessment that may award credit for prior work experience and the marketing program's 6 start date options throughout the year. 24. Mary Baldwin University Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia offers a unique online BA in Marketing and Communication with additional tracks in integrated marketing or communication studies for specialization. The program prides itself on small class sizes and a generous transfer policy that allows students to transfer in up to 84 credits toward their degree to finish as quickly as possible. Students also benefit from advisors who help personalize students' degree paths and scholarships and large financial aid packages that make school affordable. Learn.org's school ranking methodology categorizes and assesses data from schools and other reliable sources, such as the U.S. Department of Education, and weighs the information based on quality, cost, value and other factors critical to students' academic decisions. Online Marketing Degree Overview Students can earn marketing degrees at different academic levels completely online through several schools across the United States. Marketing degree programs provide students with insight into business marketing techniques and topics. While programs can vary based on degree level and concentration (when applicable), students often review topics such as promotions, marketing strategies, social implications and marketing economics. Although marketing degrees are offered online at every level, bachelor's degrees and master's degrees in marketing are more common than their associate and doctoral counterparts. Online Associate Degrees in Marketing Online associate degrees in marketing programs are undergraduate programs that typically take around 2 years of full-time study to complete. Students usually need to have a high school diploma (or equivalent) for admission and can often complete their programs in less time if they take more courses each semester. Many marketing associate's degree programs lead to an Associate of Science (AS) in Marketing or an Associate of Arts (AA) in Marketing. The AS program usually includes more technical coursework and program-specific content while AA programs often enable students more flexibility when it comes to choosing their classes. Some of the courses included in marketing associate's degree programs are: Marketing Fundamentals Social Media Marketing Global Marketing Online Bachelor's Degrees in Marketing Online bachelor's degree programs in marketing come in a range of different format options, including part- and full-time attendance, and have 100% online classes with no real-world requirements or residencies. Credits and Length Generally, online bachelor's degrees in marketing require 120-180 total credits. If you are an incoming freshman, it should take about 4 years to complete your degree. However, if you already have college credits or an associate degree, many programs accept these transfer credits, so you may be able to finish your online marketing degree in less than 4 years. Coursework The coursework of online bachelor's degrees in marketing varies by university and program. Usually, you take general education classes on composition, in the social sciences, in history, and in the biological sciences. Most online programs also require business-focused classes in the following subjects: Accounting Economics Business ethics and law Finance Organizational behavior You also take classes within the marketing major that cover the following topics: Consumer behavior Marketing analytics Marketing management Digital marketing Public relations Brand management Specializations Some, but not all, online programs offer specializations or concentrations in a specific subfield of marketing. If you choose a specialization, you are required to complete specific coursework within that specialization. Possible specialization areas include: Digital marketing Marketing analytics Marketing management Fundraising Online Master's Degree in Marketing Online master's degree in marketing programs are graduate programs that are open to students who have completed a bachelor's degree program, and often enable admission to students of various academic backgrounds. These programs can lead to degrees such as a Master of Marketing, a Master of Science in Marketing or a Master of Business Administration in Marketing. Students can finish an online marketing master's degree program in around 2 years of full-time study, or extend their program and study part-time. While the specific courses vary by program, some of the courses that students take during their programs can include marketing research, marketing for digital platforms and consumer behavior. Some marketing master's degree programs offer additional features within the master's degree curriculum. Some programs include a graduate certificate, enabling students to receive both a degree and a certificate at the time of their program completion. Other programs offer concentration options to students, such as sports marketing, social media marketing and digital advertising. Online Doctoral Degrees in Marketing The highest degree in any discipline is the doctoral degree, and many schools across the country offer online doctoral marketing programs. These programs can take 4 to 7 years to complete, but the length of a program depends on students' prior education, course load and courses needed for their programs. The most commonly offered marketing doctoral programs are the Ph.D. in Marketing and the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) with a focus on marketing. The courses included in marketing programs can vary drastically from one school and program to the next. Many online doctoral programs in marketing combine advanced marketing topics and theories and give students an overview of scholarly research relating to marketing. Some of the topics that students may explore in these programs are marketing management, research methods, conducting studies and data review. Online Certificates in Marketing Students can complete an online certificate in marketing program at the undergraduate or graduate levels. The programs enable students to develop knowledge of marketing and related topics that can then be applied to a variety of positions. Many schools offer a certificate in marketing online, which includes coursework on marketing fundamentals, such as research in marketing, strategy and digital marketing. Students who already have an understanding of key marketing topics who wish to develop expertise in a focused area of marketing can also complete an online marketing certificate that is more specifically focused. While certificate offerings vary, students may be able to complete a certificate that focuses on digital marketing, marketing management or a similar field. Choosing the Right Online Marketing Program There a several factors you should think about when choosing an online bachelor's program in marketing, including how much a program costs, the program's format, and program or school accreditation. Cost The cost of any online bachelor's degree program in marketing depends on numerous things, including base tuition price, if you are an in-state or out-of-state student, and extra fees. Tuition Tuition for online marketing bachelor's degrees varies but commonly can range from $40,000 to $65,000 over four years. Often, the tuition price for online programs is calculated by a price per credit formula. If you have transfer credits, you can apply those to your online degree to reduce your tuition price. Additionally, some programs may charge an out-of-state student more than an in-state student, even though it is an online program. Ask your university about how it calculates the tuition for your specific program to understand your total tuition price. Fees You should also check with your university or program to learn about the types of fees you will be charged in addition to your base tuition. Individual fees could range anywhere from $50 - $700. Common fees include: One-time online program fees Online program fees each semester Technology fees Graduation fees Book fees Flexibility It's important to choose a program that is flexible and allows you to choose if you want to attend full- or part-time. Depending on your schedule, life, and work commitments, you may not always be able to take a full schedule of classes. Additionally, as the format of online classes varies, you want to make sure that the type of classes fits your preference. For example, some programs feature asynchronous classes that have no set time for you to be online and allow you to complete assignments on your own time. Other programs may require you to be online for live classes or lectures or could be a mix of asynchronous and live classes. Check with your program to learn exactly what their online classes consist of. Accreditation You should also take into consideration whether the program or school you want to attend is accredited. Accreditation proves that a program or school has met an independent standard set by an outside organization. To achieve accreditation, a program or school must meet a variety of criteria, including curriculum, student services, and experienced faculty. Sometimes schools must even hold site visits. There are several regional accreditation organizations, such as the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) among others, who accredit universities as a whole. There are also program-specific accreditation agencies. For marketing programs, you will want to see if your program is accredited by the following organizations: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) Top Jobs with an Online Degree in Marketing With a bachelor's degree in marketing, you can pursue a career as an advertising, promotions, or marketing manager. Additionally, a bachelor's in marketing also develops the skills and knowledge you need to become a public relations specialist or a market research analyst. Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of advertising, promotions, or marketing manager jobs are expected to increase 8% from 2018-2028. Below, you can explore each career type in-depth. Marketing Manager Marketing managers are responsible for creating a strategy for selling and promoting products and services. Specific job duties include: Researching possible markets for a product or service Devising a pricing strategy that benefits the company and is fair to consumers Collaborating with co-workers, such as product developers or sales managers Creating an entire marketing plan According to the BLS, marketing managers earned a median salary of $134,290 in 2018. Promotions Manager Promotions managers guide marketing programs that work to increase sales by creating a wide range of promotions materials, such as mailers, Internet ads, and store displays. Promotions managers are also in charge of planning and managing special promotions events, holding sweepstakes or contests, or administering samples or coupons. Promotions managers earned a median salary of $117,130 in 2018, as per the BLS. Advertising Manager An advertising manager could have a range of different duties, depending on the environment they work in, whether they are in charge of an organization's entire advertising strategy, or whether they work on specific client accounts within an advertising agency. Advertising managers work with and supervise support staff, and generally, they are responsible for: Devising a print, online, television, or radio advertising campaign Developing an advertising budget Overseeing the overall design and style of advertisements Conducting market research Advertising managers, according to the BLS, earned a median salary of $117,130 in 2018. Market Research Analyst The primary job duty of a market research analyst is to research sales trends to guide an organization on how to best market and sell a product or service. The specific duties of a market research analyst are: Researching data about sales trends, consumers, and market conditions Collecting data through surveys, polls, focus groups, and questionnaires Studying demographics, buyer's habits, and buyer preference Interpreting data through statistical methods Presenting data through the use of infographics, charts, and graphs In 2018, the BLS reported that market research analysts earned a median salary of $63,120, and the number of jobs is expected to increase by 20% from 2018-2028. Public Relations Specialist Public relations specialists also use the job title of press secretary, communication specialist, and media specialist. Job duties for this profession include: Writing press releases and speeches Interacting with the media Assessing advertising programs and campaigns In essence, public relations specialists manage their employer's image and make sure it's positive and favorable to the public. According to the BLS, public relations specialists earned a median salary of $60,000, and the number of jobs is expected to increase by 6% from 2018-2028. Public Relations and Fundraising Managers Public relations and fundraising managers earned a median salary of $114,800, and the number of jobs is expected to increase 8% from 2018-2028, as per the BLS. Below, explore the job duties of these two manager positions. Public Relations Managers Public relations managers create and manage the public image of a client or an organization. Their job duties include: Creating press releases, speeches, and newsletters Arranging interviews and press for their clients Watching for political and social trends that affect their clients Designing advertising campaigns or programs in conjunction with marketing managers Overseeing support staff Fundraising Managers Fundraising managers focus on fundraising and promotions for their clients. Their specific job duties include: Managing and hosting fundraising campaigns Creating social media advertising for fundraising Researching possible donors and fundraising sources Reaching out to and interacting with donors Finding sources for funds, such as grants Upgrading a Marketing Career To upgrade your marketing career, there are few pathways you can take, including certifications in the field and a master's degree. Achieve Certification There are a few different certifications that you can achieve that can help boost your career. Although each certification has its own requirements, you can expect to have to pass an exam, have a specific college degree, and have professional experience. Below are examples of certifications in the marketing field: Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) - This is a credential from the American Marketing Association for marketing professionals, digital marketers, and sales managers. - This is a credential from the American Marketing Association for marketing professionals, digital marketers, and sales managers. Professional Researcher Certification (PRC) - This is a credential from the Insights Association for market research analysts to demonstrate competency in the field. - This is a credential from the Insights Association for market research analysts to demonstrate competency in the field. Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) - This is a credential from the Public Relations Society of America for public relations professionals to demonstrate competency in the field. - This is a credential from the Public Relations Society of America for public relations professionals to demonstrate competency in the field. The Certified Fundraising Executive - This is a program from CFRE International for fundraisers to demonstrate competency in the field. By earning a certification, you prove to potential employers that you have met an independent standard and have the right experience, skills, and knowledge for the job. Achieve an Advanced Degree Generally, you need a minimum of a bachelor's degree for most marketing careers. However, some careers, such as public relations and fundraising management and market research analysis, could require an advanced degree for some jobs. For example, employers sometimes prefer that a public relations manager has a master's degree in public relations or a similar field. Likewise, market research analysts could advance their research career by earning a master's degree in marketing research or by earning a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) degree. Marketing Associations & Organizations Several associations and organizations advocate for the marketing profession, including certain subfields, such as market research and public relations. Many of these organizations offer certification credentials and benefits to their members and usually require that you pay a membership fee to access the group. American Marketing Association (AMA) The AMA works to advance the marketing profession through publications and journals and connecting marketing professionals to the resources they need to improve their careers. The AMA has membership opportunities for students and professionals. Members get access to exclusive publications, promotional products, conferences and events, and discounts on services. Insights Association (IA) This organization represents and supports the market research analyst profession by advocating the government, enforcing professional standards and best practices, and assisting members with professional development. Along with administering the Professional Researcher Certification (PRC) credential, IA provides members with networking opportunities and education and training resources. Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) The PRSA supports the public relations profession by advocating for ethical standards, advancing diversity, and working with MBA programs to incorporate communication classes into the curriculum. The PRSA also administers the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) credential. As a member of this organization, you get access to webinars and workshops as well as networking opportunities. Financial Aid and Scholarship Information for Marketing Degrees There are several types of financial aid available to online marketing students. Those who are interested in obtaining aid should first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This application is free and can be sent directly to schools that a student is applying to. Those schools will then notify the student of any financial aid that the student qualifies for through the school itself. Other financial aid sources, outside of the school, are discussed below. Student Loans Student loans are offered by the government as well as by private lenders. Students should exhaust any other financial aid resource before using student loans, as these funds typically need to be repaid. If a student does use student loans, those offered by the federal government are often recommended, because they have well-regulated interest rates along with flexible repayment plans. Work-Study Work-study programs enable students to work part-time during their programs and earn money that they can use for their expenses. Money is paid directly to the students, who can then use the funds toward college fees, living costs or any other expenses. The federal work-study program is backed by the government and offered by participating schools, and allows students to work in roles relating to their field of study whenever possible. Scholarships Scholarships are offered by schools, the government and private organizations. There are countless scholarships offered annually within the United States, and students often have to track scholarships down that they qualify for. While there are many reputable sources for scholarship information, the U.S. Department of Labor offers a site called Career One Stop that provides information on thousands of scholarships. A few scholarships that are available to online marketing students are listed below. Sean Pertwee kicked-off his 2020 with a bang as he jetted off to Thailand with his 'partner in crime' Goldie. The actor, 55, and his long-time friend, who attended his wedding to wife Jacqueline in 1999, have travelled to Phuket for a sun-soaked break with the family. Sean took to Instagram on Friday to share a slew of fun snaps from their time on the island. Holidays: Sean Pertwee has kicked-off his 2020 with a bang as he jetted off to Thailand with his 'partner in crime' Goldie In one Sean, Goldie, 54, whose real name is Clifford Joseph Price and Jacqueline put on an animated display as they explored Phuket's nightlife. In another, the rapper posed next to a giant spider in the jungle. Other photos showed Jackie enjoying a coconut at their idyllic resort and the Gotham star posing shirtless with a prawn. Fun in the sun: The actor, 55, and his long-time friend, who attended his wedding to wife Jacqueline (pictured) in 1999, have travelled to Phuket for a sun-soaked break with the family Tucking into dinner: The Gotham star posed shirtless with a prawn Sean captioned the snaps: 'Mo' Thai with my beautiful backbone & partner in crime @jackiepertwee @mrgoldie'. Sean and Goldie have been friends for more than 20 years, with Goldie even attending his wedding to Jackie in 1999. The holiday comes after Sean said he has been approached to appear in Doctor Who. The actor sent fans wild when he dressed up his dad Jon's old costume as the third Doctor. Living the life: Other photos showed Jackie enjoying a coconut at their idyllic resort Wildlife: The rapper posed next to a giant spider in the jungle 'I would very much like to do that, as an ode to my father, if I was lucky enough to be asked,' he said to Doctor Who Magazine. 'People will focus on it, because of my relationship with the Doctor Who family, so it would have to be something a little more interesting an evil son or something weird. 'You figure it out. I don't know what, but I would like to do something, as an ode to my dad. I really would.' Sean has followed in his father's footsteps by breaking into the acting industry. Back in 2014, Sean was cast in Fox's TV series Gotham, a series presenting an origin for the characters of the Batman franchise. Pertwee portrays Alfred Pennyworth, a tough-as-nails ex-special forces from east London who works as the Wayne family's loyal butler. After Thomas and Martha Wayne are murdered, he becomes guardian and mentor to their young son Bruce the boy who will one day become Batman. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 07:27:48|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close HELSINKI, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Iceland confirmed that two Chinese nationals, a male and a female, were found dead near a tourist attraction in southern Iceland on Thursday afternoon. The cause of the deaths remains to be determined, the embassy said. After being informed by the Icelandic police, the Chinese embassy attached great importance to this and quickly activated emergency response mechanism, asking the Icelandic police to find out the cause of the deaths as soon as possible. The embassy said it will maintain close contact with all parties and do its best in the consular protection work. RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Virginia Virtual Academy (VAVA) students from across the state will gather in Richmond for a day of fun and surprises in celebration of National School Choice Week and the virtual school's ten year anniversary on Friday, Jan. 31. The day will kick off at 10 a.m. as students visit the Richmond Capitol and join the morning assembly. Students from each grade level (K-12) will submit essays about why "VAVA Rocks" to commemorate their school choice with other attendees, and the contest winners will have a future opportunity to share their essay with their local representatives for follow-up support in the spring. Students will receive School Choice Week's signature yellow scarves, sign a School Choice Week banner, and enjoy commemorative group photo opportunities in front of the capitol building. Following the Richmond Capitol visit, students will celebrate the school's 10-year anniversary with special crafts, games, awards, pizza, a dance-off, and a presentation on highlights from VAVA's history. The event will feature remarks by Chris Whyte with the Virginia Chapter of the National Coalition for Public School Options, Suzanne Sloane, Head of School at Virginia Virtual Academy, and Kari Larsen, Community Engagement Specialist at Virginia Virtual Academy. This event is planned to coincide with the history-making celebration of National School Choice Week 2020, which will feature more than 50,000 school choice events across all 50 states. "State residents elect to enroll in the Virginia Virtual Academy as a public-school choice option in education," described Kari Larsen. "VAVA celebrates and supports existing and prospective families in their personal choice to school with us as a viable and effective educational experience and resource 10 years strong. With the support of District Partners, the Virginia Virtual Academy provides a tuition-free, public-school educational experience for grades K-12 with flexibility and a more personalized approach. Even though students are required to meet and master state expectations, the K12 curriculum expands beyond the benchmark tests. Enrolled in a virtual school, students balance their online and offline work with live Class Connect sessions, led by highly qualified teachers with hands-on lessons and modules to promote participation and student interaction for more personal instruction, skills assessment, and support. The Richmond Capitol is located at 1000 Bank St. As a nonpartisan, nonpolitical public awareness effort, National School Choice Week shines a positive spotlight on effective education options for students, families, and communities around the country. From January 26 through February 1, 2020, more than 50,000 independently-planned events will be held in celebration of the Week. For more information, visit www.schoolchoiceweek.com/virginia. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links www.schoolchoiceweek.com BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: The Caucasian Muslims Office has spread an appeal in connection with the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy of 1990, Trend reports Jan. 17. "We are on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the January tragedy, immortalized in our historical memory as a day of deep sorrow, but also of national pride and a school of heroism," reads the appeal. "The military aggression carried out by the Soviet army against the Azerbaijani people on the night of January 19-20, 1990, will remain in history as one of the most brutal crimes against humanity." "January 20, the memory of which will live forever in our hearts, has become not only a tragedy, but also a symbol of readiness for self-sacrifice and indestructible will in the struggle for the national independence and freedom of our people," the Caucasian Muslims Office noted. "The tragedy of January 20 was the first test and moral victory on the way to independence, the restoration of our national moral and religious values." "Our people, subjected to punitive measures of the army that was armed to the teeth, wasnt broken, didnt lose determination to gain independence, on the contrary, its righteous voice sounded even louder," reads the appeal. "When the fate of Azerbaijan, the very existence of the state was in question, the brave son of our people, wise statesman Heydar Aliyev, who, together with his family members, came to the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan in Moscow, was the first to raise his voice, demonstrating solidarity with his people." "Expressing strong protest against this bloody campaign committed by the leadership of the USSR, angrily condemning the organizers of the bloody crime, describing this event as a provocation contrary to law, democracy and humanism, Heydar Aliyev, as a national leader, inscribed the first historical page of the then-undeclared independence of Azerbaijan," said the Caucasian Muslims Office. "Proper assessment of these events was given after the return of Heydar Aliyev to power," reads the appeal. "Thus, this tragedy was regarded as an act of military aggression of the USSR against the Azerbaijani people." In Baku, the religious leader Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, despite serious pressure, threats and restrictions, in an open letter to former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, full of anger and condemnation, expressed tough and principled attitude to these events, reads the statement. The tough stance of our political leader and spiritual leader inspired, mobilized and united the people, the statement said. More than a million people, not fearing persecution and even death, came to the main square of the city and buried the bodies of martyrs who fell in the struggle for freedom of the Motherland. Among those who died for independence, national statehood and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan were citizens of various faith and nationalities, and the heads of various religious communities of the country participated in the burial ceremony along with everyone, reads the statement. Thus, the tragedy of bloody January 20 went down in the history of the independent Azerbaijan state as a glorious and heroic page of our people, an example of national unity and solidarity. From the first days of the bloody events, the Caucasian Muslims Office made every effort to convey to the world community, influential international organizations, the truth about the tragedy of January 20, which is a continuation of the Karabakh conflict so that our fair cause would be supported, the crime committed would be condemned as a merciless inhuman punitive measure, the statement noted. The world must admit that the Karabakh conflict, the Khojaly genocide and the crimes of January 20 are among the most bloody terror attacks, serious crimes of totalitarianism against humanity in the 20th century, reads the statement. Unfortunately, due to a biased approach in the world in the spirit of double standards, some countries and international organizations prefer to keep silent about the problem. Azerbaijani people have the full moral right to ensure that those responsible for the killings - Mikhail Gorbachev and his accomplices, are brought to trial on the basis of international laws, so that cruelty, hypocrisy, atrocities and the true intentions of criminals are fully disclosed to the world community, the statement said. Azerbaijan was unfairly accused and this must be openly said, the statement said. An attempt was made to present the incident as a national and religious conflict. The struggle of our people was presented to the world community as Islamic fundamentalism and extremism." In accordance with the document, the path to freedom and independence has always been hard and it is impossible to go through it without victims, the statement said. In this case, January 20 must not be a day of sadness and sorrow, but a remembrance day of martyrs, a day of instilling the spirit of heroism and patriotism in people, in particular, youth. Martyrdom is the highest measure of faith, patriotism, the struggle for convictions and ideas. Today, the most worthy tribute to the memory of martyrs is independence, the growing power of the state, the prosperity of our Motherland and the well-being of people, the statement said. We believe that our people will achieve their goal with the help of Allah and under the guidance of respected Azerbaijani president, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. After our native lands are free from occupation, holiday prayers will be performed for the glory of victory throughout Azerbaijan, God willing." The Caucasus Muslims Office expresses deep condolences to all families of martyrs of January 20 tragedy, as well as to the families of all martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the integrity and national independence of our country, the statement said. The sacred duty to Allah and the Homeland of every citizen, including our believers, is to mark the anniversary of the day of national mourning and a symbol of national unity. The Caucasus Muslims Office considers it important to read the text of this appeal on January 20 in all mosques and religious ceremonies, to tell about the realities of January 20 tragedy, verses from the Quran and to revere the blessed memory of our martyrs by prayers, the statement said. "May the souls of martyrs rest in peace!" the statement said. Love Island star Shaughna Phillips has revealed she underwent breast uplift surgery after losing a substantial amount of weight before the reality show. The democratic services officer, 25, told Glamour Magazine she went under the knife after shedding the pounds drastically reduced the size of her bust. She said: 'I had my boobs uplifted not implants, but had them shoved up and that was due to the weight loss. Candid: Love Island star Shaughna Phillips has revealed she underwent breast uplift surgery after losing a substantial amount of weight before the reality show. 'My mum had better boobs than me and shes had two kids! I had such big boobs before that it was literally like nothing. 'When I had them done, my surgeon said hes not going to give me implants, Ive got to go somewhere else if I want them, so I was like, "you sound like a good guy, Im going with you". Shaughna, who is currently single on the show, after Callum Jones was stolen from her by twin Eve Gale, added she had undergone a few other 'tweaks' including lipfillers and filler into her laughter lines. Discussing her preparations for entering the villa, Shaughna said she watched what she ate over the festive period and didn't 'binge on everything'. Transformation: The democratic services officer, 25, told Glamour Magazine she went under the knife after shedding the pounds drastically reduced the size of her bust (pictured above during her weight loss journey) The interview comes after Shaughna showed off her stunning weight loss ahead of entering the villa in jaw-dropping Instagram snaps. The star revealed her body transformation in November, with a series of before and after photos showing her posing in lingerie. In 2016, the star showed off a curvier physique as she snapped a photo in a black bra and nude underwear. A photo taken one year later revealed South Londoner Shaughna had dropped a substantial amount of weight, as she displayed her trim waist and bronzed legs. A third sizzling snap from 2019 showed the beauty posing in her underwear once more as she displayed her trimmer toned frame. She captioned the snap: 'Consistency, not perfection' with the montage liked by more than 400 people. Beauty: She said: 'I had my boobs uplifted not implants, but had them shoved up and that was due to the weight loss' Self-dubbed 'politics nerd' Shaughna revealed any new man she dates must get along with her beloved mother Tracey above all in a candid interview before the show. She said: 'Im a big politics nerd. I work with people that are in politics. I sound completely different to them. 'My ideal man would be six foot-plus. or just taller than me in heels, nice to my mum, because if you dont get on with Tracey then theres no future. I am definitely what you would call a relationship girl. 'Theres nothing better than Sunday snuggles and a bit of Gogglebox. I have bad luck, its not even bad luck, its the cocky boys I attract. 'And then as soon as Im sold the dream, I purchase, I throw the receipt away, and then hook line and sinker. 'Im definitely confident when it comes to my looks, but I just think my personality tops it No, thats so big headed! I just want to get into the villa now. 'The thought of lying around the pool all day, beautiful men and lathered up, I mean what could do wrong?' With more Islanders set to be added after the show debuts on Sunday, Love Island's winter edition is sure to keep fans warm during the long nights ahead. The latest batch of hopefuls are set to be protected by armed guards, as the show's bosses parry kidnap concerns in South Africa. The singletons will live in a luxurious 5.3million villa in Cape Town, one of the world's most dangerous cities, for six weeks. As well as TV crews being given training on dealing with any potential security, breach guards will be on constant watch. A Love Island spokesman told MailOnline: 'The safety and security of our Islanders and crew are of the utmost importance.' Winter Love Island will launch on ITV2 on Sunday, January 12. The ruling NPP government is being called upon to release more details on the agreement that was reached which resulted in the lifting of visa restrictions by the United States government. Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has vowed to impress upon the Foreign Affairs Ministry to release the full details How many Ghanaians are going to be removed from the United States of America?, Ablakwa queried. The MPs concerns are related to earlier fallouts between the government of Ghana and the North American country over the number of Ghanaians to be deported. The Ghanaian government said the nationalities of all the 7000 persons could not be proven and so after the back and forth an agreement has been reached. However, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Frank Annor Dompreh, reacting to his colleague MPs inquiry said: in diplomacy, not everything can be put in the public space. Last year, the US government imposed visa restrictions on Ghana for what it said was the Akufo-Addo governments failure to issue travel documents to over 7,000 Ghanaian citizens awaiting deportation from the United States. The Department of Homeland Security, in a statement last year, ordered the US Embassy in Ghana to discontinue issuing all non-immigrant visas (NIV) to two groups of Ghanaian applicants, starting February 4, 2019. They are the domestic employees of Ghanaian diplomats posted to the United States. Limitations were also placed on the validity and the number of entries on new tourists and business visas for all Ghanaian Executive and Legislative branch employees, their spouses and their children under 21 years to a one-month single entry. Since the imposition of the restrictions, some workers of public institutions who used to receive five-year visas now get up to three weeks maximum, with others having far less. The validity period and number of entries on new tourist and business visas (B1, B2, and B1/B2) for all Ghanaian executive and legislative branch employees, their spouses, and their children under 21 will revert to receiving the normal validity, based on reciprocity, which is currently five years with multiple entries. The Embassy added, All pending non-immigrant visas (NIV) to domestic employees (A3 and G5) of Ghanaian diplomats posted in the United States that were received during the visa restrictions will now be processed. This follows the establishment of a mutually agreed process for the identification, validating and issuance of travel documentation to Ghanaian citizens under final orders of removal in a manner consistent with international standards issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization, of which Ghana is a Member State. ---MyJoyOnline Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 04:03:02|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses a state event to launch celebrations for the 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar diplomatic ties and for the China-Myanmar Year of Culture and Tourism in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Myanmar leaders attended a state event here Friday to launch celebrations for the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and for the China-Myanmar Year of Culture and Tourism. Myanmar President U Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, First Vice President U Myint Swe, Second Vice President U Henry Van Thio, Speaker of the Union Parliament and Speaker of the House of Representatives U T Khun Myat, Speaker of Amyotha Hluttaw U Mahn Win Khaing Than, Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing, and all cabinet members attended the events. Myanmar and China share a long history of friendly exchanges, and the two peoples have been bound together like brothers and sisters, U Win Myint said in his address to the guests. Myanmar and China have witnessed a momentous journey since the two countries established diplomatic relations 70 years ago, he said. Leaders of the two countries have carried out close friendly exchanges, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence championed by both countries have become a basic norm in international relations, he said. The state visit by President Xi on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and his attendance with Myanmar leaders of the ceremony not only demonstrate the profound friendship between the two countries and peoples, but also make this year a new milestone in Myanmar-China relations, U Win Myint said, adding that the Myanmar side will continue to deepen friendly cooperation in various fields with China. While addressing the guests, Aung San Suu Kyi spoke highly of the attendance of the event by both Myanmar and Chinese leaders. No matter how Myanmar's domestic situation changes, all its governments attach great importance to developing friendly relations with China, she said. Aung San Suu Kyi referred to Xi's state visit to Myanmar at the beginning of the year as an important step in the two countries' efforts in building a community with a shared future. Myanmar actively supports and takes part in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and is looking forward to more fruitful results in building the Myanmar-China Economic Corridor, she said. Myanmar looks forward to ever more deepening cultural and people-to-people exchanges with China to cement the public support for their friendly ties, she said. Myanmar firmly believes that under Xi's leadership, China will eventually achieve its two centenary goals and accomplish the great cause of national rejuvenation, and China's development will deliver more opportunities to Myanmar and the world, she said. Myanmar, she said, stands ready to make joint efforts with China and the rest of the world in building a community with a shared future for mankind and contribute to promoting world peace and development. Xi arrived in Nay Pyi Taw on Friday for a state visit to Myanmar. It is his first overseas trip this year, and the first visit to the Asian neighbor by a Chinese president after an interval of 19 years. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spirit Airlines (SAVE) is spicing up the San Francisco Bay Area by flying more of the brightest planes in the sky into Oakland (OAK). Americas fastest-growing airline starts service to and from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) April 1, making Spirit the only airline flying OAK to FLL nonstop. Right now, our Guests on both coasts have limited options between the Bay Area and South Florida, said John Kirby, Spirit Airlines Vice President of Network Planning. Offering the only nonstop connection between Oakland with Fort Lauderdale makes it easier for travelers on both ends, and it shows our Guests were tailoring our options to them as we keep growing our nationwide network. OAK is the Bay Areas most centrally-located airport, making it the most convenient option for more than 3 million of the regions 7.7 million residents. We are thrilled to welcome Fort Lauderdale to Oaklands route map, said Port of Oakland Director of Aviation, Bryant L. Francis. This flight will make it more convenient than ever for our travelers to reach the sun and sand of South Florida. Plus, it gives them access to Spirits dozens of international destinations and the cruises departing from South Floridas ports. Spirit started Oakland service in 2011 with a single flight to Las Vegas (LAS) and grew to third place among Oaklands largest carriers. The new Fort Lauderdale flight joins existing service to Chicago (ORD), Detroit (DTW), Houston (IAH) and Los Angeles (LAX), along with whats become four daily flights to Las Vegas. Oakland (OAK) to/from: Effective: Frequency: Fort Lauderdale (FLL) April 1, 2020 Daily, seasonal Chicago (ORD) Now Daily, seasonal Detroit (DTW) Now Daily, seasonal Houston (IAH) Now Daily, seasonal Las Vegas (LAS) Now 4x daily Los Angeles (LAX) Now 2x daily Spirits commitment to invest in the Guest and deliver the best value in the sky continues to pay off. The U.S. Department of Transportation closed out 2019 by ranking the airline third place for on-time performance among U.S. carriers, based on the latest-available data from October. Last month, Spirit won Low Cost Airline of the Year at the CAPA (Centre for Aviation) World Aviation Summit , adding to a long list of recent accolades. The airline also unveiled a complete cabin redesign featuring an improved aesthetic, a modern look and feel and seats that offer more padding and usable legroom. Story continues About Spirit Airlines: Spirit Airlines (SAVE) is committed to delivering the best value in the sky. We are the leader in providing customizable travel options starting with an unbundled fare. This allows our Guests to pay only for the options they choose like bags, seat assignments and refreshments something we call A La Smarte. We make it possible for our Guests to venture further and discover more than ever before. Our Fit Fleet is one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the U.S. We operate more than 650 daily flights to 77 destinations in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean, and are dedicated to giving back and improving the communities we serve. Come save with us at spirit.com . At Spirit Airlines, we go. We go for you. About Oakland International Airport: Oakland International is the most centrally-located airport in the 7.7M population Bay Area region, and closest airport to the regions wealth of business and tourism venues. Oaklands air service roster to over 60 nonstop destinations is offered on 12 different airline brands four of which operate with OAK as their sole gateway into the San Francisco Bay region. The vision of Oakland International Airport is to offer customers a world-class experience and be the airport of choice for Bay Area residents and visitors alike. OAK is operated by the Port of Oakland, which also oversees the Oakland seaport and 20 miles of waterfront. Together with its business partners, the Port supports more than 84,000 jobs in the region and over a million jobs across the United States. For up-to-the-minute departure and arrival information, airport maps, and details on shopping, dining, transportation, and more, visit www.oaklandairport.com . Dont forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Contact: Spirit Media Relations 954.364.0231 media_relations@spirit.com Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has described the killing of Keane Mulready-Woods as "the most gruesome, grotesque murder that I can think of". He said he intends to visit Drogheda today and vowed that gardai will have the resources to bring the perpetrators to justice. "I want to reassure the people of Drogheda in particular that we stand right behind them and I'm going to try and get there because I think the whole country is really shocked by this," he said. "It's probably the most gruesome, grotesque murder that I can think of. "And to have it perpetrated against a 17-year-old is just particularly beastly. "We're going to make sure that the gardai have the resources they need both in Coolock and Drogheda to find out who did this and bring them to justice and end this cycle of violence." Mr Varadkar said a taskforce for Drogheda - like the one to help Dublin's north inner city in the wake of the Hutch/Kinahan feud there - needs to be given consideration. Progress He said he is confident that gardai will tackle the violence in Drogheda, and that the north inner city shows it is possible to stop it. "But it does require people getting 100pc behind the gardai," he added, appealing for anyone with information to come forward. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said he spoke to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris again yesterday to discuss the progress being made in the investigation. He said he is satisfied that those responsible for the murder of the teenager will be brought to justice. Speaking on RTE's Today With Sean O'Rourke programme yesterday, Mr Flanagan said: "I'm again appealing to local communities to assist the gardai in order to ensure that the evidence can be assembled to put these people out of business and behind bars." Mr Flanagan said there are around 370 gardai assigned to Co Louth, with 145 of them stationed in Drogheda. Labour senator Ged Nash described the Mulready-Woods murder as gruesome, barbaric and medieval, adding that people in Drogheda are "rightly sickened" by what has happened. CHICO, Calif. - Governor Gavin Newsom spoke about his plan to use Chico FEMA trailers to provide housing for California's homeless population. The trailers were used by FEMA staff during the Camp Fire and are now vacant. RELATED: Gov. Newsom promotes $1B housing plan for homeless on week-long tour They were not at any time used by Camp Fire survivors. They will be spread throughout the state to help alleviate the homeless crisis. "We did an executive order a couple of weeks ago providing 100 FEMA trailers," Newsom said. "This is a preview of the first 58 trailers, which will be out in a few weeks. An additional 42 are being procured up in Chico around the airport, in relation to our efforts to support those in Butte County, whose lives were torn asunder by the Camp Fire. 100 of these trailers will be made available." The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said about 150,000 people are living on California streets or in shelters. January 17 : Bollywood actor Kartik Aryan who is all geared up for his upcoming movie Love Aaj Kal, says that when Imtiyaz Ali (director) called him he was shooting for the movie Luka Chhupi. He got so excited that he locked himself in the bathroom of vanity van. He did this because the actor didnt want any disturbance while conversing with him. The actor spoke for 45 minutes with the director. Kartik Aryan was seen interacting with the media at the launch of the trailer of the movie Love Aaj Kal on Friday in Mumbai. When asked it has been a long journey for him, from Punchnama boy to Sonu, then Chintu Tyagi and now Love Aaj Kal, on this Kartik said, I am so excited, that I cant describe my state of mind. From the first meeting till now the process of working with Imtiyaz has been great. When I first got a call from him, I was shooting for the movie Luka Chhupi. I got so provoked that I locked myself in the bathroom of vanity van. I did this because I didnt want any disturbance while conversing with him. I spoke to him around 45 minutes. Movie Love Aaj Kal has been a wonderful journey for me. Its like a dream come true. When I first saw the poster of my movie written A film by Imtiyaz Ali, I felt so pleasant that I kept staring for 3 hours. As a director is his just amazing. Observing him, as an actor my thought process has completely changed, he added. Love Aaj Kal is romantic drama film. The film has retained the original title and named it the sequel too. It is directed by Imtiyaz Ali starring Sara Ali Khan and Kartik Aaryan and is scheduled to release on 14 February 2020. Jeong Eun-bo, fourth from left, South Korean chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing, talks with his U.S. counterpart James DeHart, second from right, at the sixth round of talks over the issue in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. / Courtesy of foreign affairs ministry By Kim Rahn The sixth round of negotiations between South Korea and the U.S. over defense cost-sharing for the upkeep of United States Forces Korea (USFK) has finished without compromise, with the two sides only confirming different opinions on how much more South Korea needs to pay. After the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) meeting held in Washington, D.C., Tuesday and Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a short statement to say the two sides agreed on close consultations to rapidly reach a deal which can be accepted by both countries. "The two sides expanded mutual understanding, but confirmed differences in opinion," the ministry said in the statement. "The Korean side reiterated its basic stance that a deal should be made within the SMA and it should be a reasonable and fair one." South Korea and the U.S. will discuss when to hold the next round of talks, it added. The difference of 2020's defense cost mainly came because the U.S. is demanding South Korea increase its contribution from 2019's 1.04 trillion won ($896 million) by a large amount, with some reports saying the U.S. has requested $5 billion. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) stands next to China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) in Bangkok, Aug. 2, 2019. If ASEAN were forced to choose between China and the United States, a majority of respondents to a survey of residents of the Southeast Asian bloc would choose Uncle Sam, according to a Singaporean think-tank report published Thursday. But the survey by the ASEAN Studies Center at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute also found significant support for China and a trust deficit toward the United States. Of the surveys 1,300 respondents, 53.6 percent said ASEAN should opt to align itself with the United States, were it forced to choose between the strategic rivals. Yet, support for China cannot be under-estimated, said the State of Southeast Asia: 2020 Survey Report. The majority of respondents from seven ASEAN member states choose to align their country with China: Laos (73.9%), Brunei (69.1%), Myanmar (61.5%), Malaysia (60.7%), Cambodia (57.7%), Thailand (52.1%), and Indonesia (52%), the survey said. In comparison, strong support for alignment with the US is found in Vietnam (85.5%), the Philippines (82.5%) and Singapore (61.3%). Nearly half of the survey respondents said ASEAN nations should focus on unity to fend off pressure from Washington and Beijing, as the two superpowers square off in a strategic rivalry. ASEANs strategic conundrum is best summed up by the African proverb when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers, the report said. Most trusted: Japan Questioned about the U.S.-China trade war, 63.9 percent of respondents said their country had been negatively impacted by it. Chinas economic influence is deeply felt but not well received in the region with 71.9 percent of survey respondents worried about its growing regional economic influence, the survey found. Respondents chose China, 52.2 percent, as the most influential political-strategic player in the region nearly double the U.S. figure of 26.7 percent. Only respondents in the Philippines picked the U.S. over China. Moreover, there is a strong trust deficit toward the U.S. since among the respondents who pick the U.S. as the most influential political and strategic power, only 52.7 percent welcome Washington in the region, the report found. As support for the U.S. fell, respondents said they looked to Japan as preferred strategic partner. Japan is the most trusted major power among Southeast Asians, with 61.2 percent of the respondents expressing confidence in Japan to do the right thing, to provide global public goods, the report found. China took its own hit from respondents. Among those who view China as having the most political-strategic influence in Southeast Asia, 85.4 percent register their concern over this matter, the think tank reported. Washingtons shrinking diplomatic clout and ambivalent interest in ASEAN and regional affairs are paving the way for China to expand its regional influence and carve out a sphere of influence in Southeast Asia, the report stated. Other concerns Responding to questions on other topics, the respondents rated domestic political instability (70.5 percent) and economic downturn (66.8 percent) as the regions most pressing security concerns while terrorism (44.6 percent) was last. Nearly all respondents rated climate change as a concern with 52.7 percent calling it a serious threat and 44.1 percent calling it an important issue that deserves to be addressed. Less than 1 percent of respondents agreed with the assertion that there is no scientific basis for climate change. The online survey conducted between mid-November and early December 2019, drew on a specialized pool of respondents from five professional categories: research, business and finance, public sector, civil society, and the media. A total of 1,308 people participated in the survey. Singapores Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) is an autonomous research organization established by the parliament of the city-state in 1968. It was renamed the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in 2015. Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. City advisors offer biometric technology advice By:Wu Qiong | From:english.eastday.com | 2020-01-16 16:38 At the ongoing city political session, deputies have offered suggestions for where biometric technology should go in the future. (Photo/Tuchong.com) From passwords and chip recognition, to fingerprint, voice and facial identification, biometric technology has been put into use at a rapid speed. While providing convenience and efficiency, it is accompanied by issues like the underlying security risks and the possible violation of civil rights. Accordingly, at this years Shanghai Two Sessions, how to regulate biometric technology has been a hot topic under discussion. Last year, Zao, Chinas artificial intelligence-poweredface-changingapp, apologized for controversies caused by its user agreement, and triggered social debate on the relationship between biometric technology and user privacy. At present, Europe, the US and other developed countries are very cautious when using facial identification, while in China, the size of the facial identification industry in 2018 reached 13 billion yuan, with an annual growth rate exceeding 30% on average. As the facial recognition technology blooms, the information of individuals, once collected, is like a kite with a broken line. The uncontrolled condition has triggered social concern, said Qin Na, deputy at the Shanghai Municipal Peoples Congress. Qin suggested that guidelines on facial recognition technology and its utilization should be issued as soon as possible, to avoid large-scale infringements. Another deputy Sha Qingqing urged the procuratorial body to incorporate the protection of personal biological information into the scope of public interest litigation, regulate and remind enterprises, and raise the attention of the whole society. As she pointed out, immutability is the most distinctive feature of biometric information, such as facial recognition, fingerprints, and iris. Once misappropriated, it is difficult to be changed by individuals, causing greater social jeopardy. Whats worse, in the context of the widespread application of big data technology, some enterprises, corporations and institutions are random in accessing individuals biometric information and are likely to violate relevant rules and regulations, according to Sha. Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the delay in commuting the death sentence to the four convicts of Nirbhaya gang-rape case after the review petition of the rapists was dismissed in July 2018. "Why was the prison department, which comes under the AAP government, sleeping after the dismissal of review petition in July 2018? Why did the government give Rs 10,000 and a sewing kit to juvenile rapist when he was released? Did not they see tears of Nirbhaya's mother?" Irani said. Earlier today, a Delhi court had issued a fresh death warrant against the four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya rape case who will now be executed on February 1 at 6 am. Earlier, they were to be hanged on February 22 at 7 am. This came after the public prosecutor representing the Tihar jail authorities requested the court to issue fresh date and time of execution. Four convicts, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan and Mukesh were convicted and sentenced to death for raping a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in the capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012. The victim, who was later given the name Nirbhaya, had succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Singapore where she had been airlifted for medical treatment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Southern Manitoba is poised to become a critical global supplier of pea protein for the rapidly growing meat alternatives market with a rare multi-year pea protein supply agreement announced this week between California-based Beyond Meat and Roquette. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Southern Manitoba is poised to become a critical global supplier of pea protein for the rapidly growing meat alternatives market with a rare multi-year pea protein supply agreement announced this week between California-based Beyond Meat and Roquette. When Roquette opens its $400-million pea protein plant in Portage la Prairie this November, it will be the largest pea protein supplier in the world and the only supplier with production capacity on two continents. With various industry forecasts saying that plant-based protein will take between three and 10 per cent of the global meat market over the next 10 years worth up to $100 billion from a modest $4.5 billion today it is a huge opportunity. Roquette has been supplying Beyond Meat for about 10 years from its plant in France. Beyond Meat has said the new agreement with Roquette will significantly increase the amount of pea protein to be supplied by Roquette to Beyond Meat over the next three years as compared to the amount supplied in 2019. In a telephone interview from the company headquarters in France, Jean-Philippe Azoulay, Roquettes vice-president for pea and new proteins, said it is a very exciting time for the company. Azoulay, who only joined the company six months ago, said the Portage plant will roughly double Roquettes pea protein capacity. "Roquette is visionary," Azoulay said in reference to the companys anticipation of the market potential and demand for pea and other plant-based proteins. John Raoux / The Canadian Press A&W serves Beyond Meat veggie burgers at its restaurants. "Roquette understood before everyone else," Azoulay said. "This is why the company is finding itself in a leadership position from an historical perspective, skills and expertise and reputation perspective... we are leaders in the world and have been for 10 years. The challenge is to strengthen that leadership. It is still not a very big market yet but it is growing very fast." In a prepared statement, Ethan Brown, Beyond Meats founder & CEO, said, "This latest contract with Roquette reflects Beyond Meats commitment to further scaling the plant protein supply chain as global demand for our products continues to rise. Along with our supply chain partners, including Roquette, we are driving innovation and access to existing and new plant protein feedstocks." Beyond Meat went public in May. Its shares were up more than 700 per cent by July, causing a huge sensation and raising the awareness of meat alternatives everywhere. Merit Functional Foods already has another pea and canola protein plant under construction in Manitoba and with demand for plant-based protein alternatives increasing by double digits annually across many sectors meat, dairy, beverages, and bakery the anticipation is that even more production capacity from the plant protein producers will be required. Azoulay said Roquette is looking at other investment opportunities to keep up with demand. In Manitoba, the demand is creating a distinct opportunity for capital investment and job creation Roquettes plant will need about 150 people when it is up and running. Dave Shambrock, executive director of Food & Beverage Manitoba, the food processing industry association, said everyone is trying to gauge just how solid the demand is and whether it will last. "The growth is catching everyone a little by surprise and everyone is trying to readjust," he said. "What is the new equilibrium? What is the market really going to do?" SUPPLIED Roquettes vice-president Jean-Philippe Azoulay. Azoulay said Roquette believes the trend is solid and that there is a transformation taking place around the world in the way people eat. "We have a duty to help this transformation to a new way of cooking and eating and producing food," he said. "We have a responsibility as market leaders to help those segments grow and to supply quality product and make it possible for consumers to choose." With the expectation of about 150,000 tonnes of yellow peas to be processed annually at the plant, there is plenty of capacity available from Western Canadian pea producers. 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. There is about four million tonnes of yellow peas grown in Canada annually and most of it is exported as raw commodity to international markets. Julianne Curran, the vice-president for market innovation at Pulse Canada, said China is currently one of the biggest markets for Canadian production. "Pea protein ingredients in food applications has been a relatively small component compared to other major sources of plant protein like soy," she said. "It is really exciting that some big brands that have significant volume potential in the food industry are using pea protein." Right now the major categories where plant based proteins are used are in meat alternatives, processed meat and milk alternatives. "A lot of that is from other protein besides peas," she said. "Right now the most significant category for pea protein is in milk alternative. Seeing increased use in other categories like meat analogs and bakery is really exciting." martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Nepal will allow India to take home 173,072 kgs of red sandalwood that it had confiscated during the last 10 years while it was being smuggled to China from India through the Nepalese territory, according to a media report. Both Nepal and India are parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a multinational treaty which has stipulated a provision of returning confiscated contraband to the country of origin. The Nepal government said that India can take home 173,072 kilograms of red sandalwood within 90 days, the Himalayan Times reported on Thursday. "The red sandalwood would be handed over to the concerned Indian authority through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as per Article VII of the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Control Act-2016," Minister of Communications and Information Gokul Prasad Baskota said during a press conference here. He also said that the transportation cost for returning the precious wood will be borne by India. Baskota said that Nepal's Ministry of Forests and was having a hard time in managing the stash of red sandalwood seized from smugglers. The value of the seized sandalwood was not provided. "At least four to five armed police personnel have been deployed to guard the red sandalwood on the premises of the Department of Forest in Babar Mahal," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON - More than half of the five top-polling candidates competing in the Iowa Democratic caucuses are preparing to close out the campaign exactly where they never hoped to be - 1,000 miles away on the floor of the U.S. Senate, acting as jurors in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. The situation will put to a test the operations that Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., have put together in the state, as they are forced to temporarily abandon the face-to-face campaigns that define Iowa politics and instead lean heavily on surrogates, campaign staffs and ads. Warren plans to send her husband and supporters such as former housing secretary Julian Castro and Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., while Klobuchar has announced that she will dispatch her husband and daughter Abigail, along with Minnesota and Iowa politicians who have endorsed her. Sanders is also expected to dispatch supporters to campaign in his stead. The two other top candidates in the Feb. 3 caucuses besides Sanders and Warren - former vice president Joe Biden and former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg - are positioning themselves to capitalize on their rivals' absence. Both have planned a heavy schedule in the state while their rivals are away. "I'd rather be in Iowa today," Sanders told reporters Thursday at the U.S. Capitol. "There's a caucus there in two and a half weeks. I'd rather be in New Hampshire and Nevada and so forth. But I swore a constitutional oath." Buttigieg's campaign has argued that staying out of the polarized impeachment conversation will bolster his pitch as the candidate who can mollify partisan tensions and disrupt the traditional Washington ways of doing things. He held five events in Iowa on Thursday, as the Senate impeachment proceedings began, and has planned another five town halls on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, during the initial phase of Senate trial arguments. Biden will also host events in the state during those days. After playing defense in the early days of the impeachment saga, Biden's campaign has recently pivoted to embrace its complicated presence, arguing that the president's efforts to find disparaging information on the Biden family in Ukraine is a reflection of the candidate's strength, not evidence of a potential weakness. "Trump knows Biden can beat him in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin," the narrator declares in a Biden campaign ad that features the president repeatedly saying his name. Warren has so far dealt with the impeachment question by saying, "There are some things more important than politics." But she could still try to find political advantage in the trial by using Trump's alleged misdeeds to pivot back to the campaign theme with which she began her race: fighting corruption in politics. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., the fourth senator running and the only one focused distinctly on New Hampshire, will also be grounded for key days before that state's primary on Feb. 11. Like others, his campaign is planning satellite and radio interviews in the early primary states to stay in the mix. The danger of spending time away from Iowa may be greatest for Klobuchar. Unlike Sanders and Warren, who have spent months building prodigious organizations, she has a smaller operation and is still polling under the crucial 15% threshold necessary for winning delegates in Iowa. A strong showing there, next door to her home state, is critical for her hope to move forward. Her campaign is trying to plan events that she can call into via Skype, or telephone-based town halls where supporters can hear from her directly. Like the other senators, she also plans to spend as much time as possible on national television speaking about the impeachment trial from Washington, hoping that the message will break through to caucus voters. "What remains to be seen and known is just what this will look like on television in Iowa," said one Klobuchar adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss campaign strategy. There is still no certainty that the trial will even finish before the caucuses. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has pledged to use as a blueprint the 1999 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, with the senators working every day but Sunday and taking Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday. That trial set aside three days for House prosecutors to present their case, three days for a White House defense, and three days for Senate questions and answers before debate and a vote on a motion to dismiss which took two days. If the current Senate follows the same format and votes promptly to end the proceeding, the presidential candidates would be forced to stay in Washington through Saturday, Feb. 1, two days before the Iowa caucuses. But Democrats, including the presidential contenders, continue to argue for the Senate to accept the testimony of new witnesses, a precedent that was followed in 1999. The vote to hear witness testimony that year led to a five-day break to take depositions, another day to prepare and present evidence, and seven more days of trial on the Senate floor. A repeat of that schedule would not only force the trial to continue through Trump's scheduled State of the Union address on Feb. 4, but could disrupt campaigning before the Feb. 11 New Hampshire primary. Businessman Tom Steyer, the sixth candidate to qualify for the January debate, has added a couple of days in Iowa to his schedule in recent days. He also has plans for events in North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, California and Nevada before returning to the state in the week before the caucus. Steyer, who founded a group called Need to Impeach, has spent more time focusing on impeachment than any other candidate in the race, but his staff has expressed worry that the actual proceeding makes it harder for him to deliver his message. "The coverage is going to be wall-to-wall, so it is going to be harder to get Tom on the national press that we like to have him on," said Alberto Lammers, the national press secretary for Steyer's campaign. - - - The Washington Post's Chelsea Janes and Sean Sullivan contributed to this report. Eight American troops were flown from their Iraqi bases after showing signs of concussions from Iranian missile strikes, the military said on Thursday, despite earlier statements by President Trump that no Americans had been injured. Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a spokesman for the American-led coalition in Baghdad, added on Friday that the service members symptoms began to surface only after the presidents announcement. He said that there had been no other injuries. The Jan. 8 attack on bases in Iraqs western desert and near Erbil, Iraq, were launched in retaliation for the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, a senior figure in Irans military, in a drone strike ordered by Mr. Trump. The lack of American deaths in the strikes was a welcome relief to American officials, who had feared the killing of the general and its aftermath could set off a larger regional conflict. During a briefing with reporters on Friday, Jonathan Hoffman, a Pentagon spokesman, attributed the delay in reporting the injuries to affected service members returning to duty immediately after the attack and displaying symptoms only days later. Huawei Technologies Co. Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou has joined Carlos Ghosn in the 1% legal club. Those are the odds that the Chinese executive will win her bid to avoid extradition to the U.S., similar to the chances of acquittal for the auto titan-turned-fugitive in Japan. While Ghosn fled Japan in a big black box for Lebanon, Meng squares up to begin extradition hearings in a Vancouver court on Monday, 13 months after she was arrested on a U.S. handover request. The hearings offer her first shot -- however slim -- at release as a Canadian judge considers whether the case meets the crucial test of double criminality: would her alleged crime have also been a crime in Canada? If not, she could be discharged, according to Canada's extradition rules. "There'd be nothing holding her -- bail restrictions, house arrest, all of that would be eliminated," said Michael Klein, a Vancouver lawyer who worked alongside Meng's lawyers in a 2004 extradition case. "Just like if you're acquitted in a criminal case, the Crown may appeal, but that person's a free person." Meng, the eldest daughter of billionaire Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, has become the highest profile target of a broader U.S. effort to contain China and its largest technology company, which Washington sees as a national security threat. The U.S. accuses her of fraud, saying she lied to HSBC Holdings to trick it into conducting transactions in breach of U.S. sanctions on Iran. Meng, who turns 48 next month, is charged with bank and wire fraud, which carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison on conviction. "In most extradition cases, double criminality is an easy piece of analysis," says Brock Martland, a Vancouver-based criminal lawyer. In Meng's case, it's not, which may help nudge her into the 1% of defendants in Canada who have historically beaten extradition orders to the U.S. Her defense has argued that the U.S. case is, in reality, a sanctions-violations complaint that it's sought to "dress up" as fraud to make it easier to extradite her. Had Meng's alleged conduct taken place in Canada, the transactions by HSBC wouldn't have violated any Canadian sanctions, they say. Canada's federal prosecutors counter the underlying offense is fraud because she lied to HSBC, causing them to miscalculate Huawei's risk as a creditor and conduct transactions it otherwise wouldn't have. Hong Kong Teahouse Another potential sticking point is that Meng's alleged misconduct didn't take place in the U.S. or Canada -- it rests heavily on a 2013 meeting at a Hong Kong teahouse between Meng and an HSBC banker. "Canadian fraud laws do not have an extraterritorial reach," said Ravi Hira, a Vancouver-based lawyer and former special prosecutor. "If you commit a fraud in Hong Kong, I can't just prosecute you in Canada." While the double-criminality hearings are scheduled for four days, the ruling would likely come much later -- possibly in months. Being trapped in the middle of a trade war has brought the luxury of time. Before her arrest, Meng traveled so frequently for the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker that she'd gone through at least seven passports in a decade. These days, she passes her time oil painting and pursuing an online doctorate. Phone calls with her father have gone from once a year to every few days. "If a busy life has eaten away at my time, then hardship has in turn drawn it back out," Meng wrote in a poignant letter to her supporters last month on the one-year anniversary of her arrest. "It was never my intention to be stuck here so long." Meng would find it harder to pull a Ghosn. She's under 24-hour surveillance by at least two guards at her C$13 million ($10 million) mansion. Her whereabouts are recorded continuously by a GPS tracker on her left ankle. While she's allowed to roam a roughly 100-square-mile patch of Vancouver during the day accompanied by security, any violation -- including tampering with the device or venturing anywhere near the airport -- would automatically alert police. She's posted bail of C$10 million, of which C$3 million came from a group of guarantors, some of whom pledged their homes as collateral. Fleeing would cost them all. If the court finds her case fails the double-criminality test, Canada's attorney general would have the right to appeal within 30 days. In theory, she could be on a plane back to China well before that, says Gary Botting, a Vancouver-based lawyer who's been involved in hundreds of Canadian extradition cases. Of the 798 U.S. extradition requests received since 2008, Canada has only refused or discharged eight, according to the department of justice. That's a 99% chance of being handed over -- similar to the conviction rate in Japan. Another 40 cases were withdrawn by the U.S. Still, that's fractionally better than the odds of two Canadians detained in China, where the conviction rate currently stands at 99.9%, according to Amnesty International. Canadians Jailed That's if Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor ever make it to trial. The two men were thrown in jail on spying allegations just days after Meng's arrest in December 2018. Last month, the Chinese government confirmed their cases were transferred to prosecutors, raising the possibility they might finally get access to lawyers. As of last week, that hadn't happened yet for Kovrig, according to the International Crisis Group, his employer. The former diplomat has been allowed one consular visit a month; in between, he's unreachable. Communication with his family is limited to letters exchanged in those visits, according to the group. Families of the two men aren't speaking publicly for fear of jeopardizing their cases. Some sense of the conditions they're enduring can be gleaned from past history. Spavor, a businessman who ran tours to North Korea from his base in a border town in northeastern China, has been held since May in Dandong Detention Centre, according to the Globe and Mail. It's a jail familiar to another Canadian, Kevin Garratt, who was snatched along with his wife Julia by Chinese security agents in 2014, becoming pawns in an earlier high-stakes attempt by Beijing to prevent Canada from extraditing millionaire businessman Su Bin to the U.S. Garratt spent 19 months in the forbidding compound surrounded by two-story-high cement walls. Crammed into a cell with up to 14 other inmates, he slurped meals from a communal bowl on the floor. If they were lucky, they got 30 minutes of hot water a day and could exercise in a small outdoor cage, he said in a December 2018 interview. Chinese Arrests Are All Too Familiar for Past Canadian Detainees China calls Meng's arrest politically motivated and accuses Canada of "arbitrary detention." It rejects any suggestion that the seizures of Kovrig and Spavor were in retaliation, saying China is also a rule-of-law country. Before her arrest, Meng wasn't happy working at Huawei and had been considering leaving, Ren has said in media interviews. But hardship has toughened her -- when released, she will resume her role, he says. "Over the past year, I have also learned to face up to and accept my situation," Meng said in her letter. "I'm no longer afraid of the rough road ahead." - - - Bloomberg's Edwin Chan contributed to this report. At least 2,200 people have entered Guatemala in a fast-growing U.S.-bound caravan from Honduras, authorities said on Thursday, putting pressure on the region to satisfy Trump administration demands to curb illegal immigration. Mexicos government is bracing for the arrival of hundreds of Central Americans on its southern border in coming days, an event likely to be closely monitored by the U.S. government, which has made cutting illegal immigration a priority. Guatemalas National Migration Institute said in a statement that at least 2,274 people had entered the country. Alejandra Mena, a spokeswoman for the institute, said the migrants had mostly crossed the northern part of the border with Honduras. U.S. President Donald Trump has pressured Mexico and Central American nations to accept a series of migration agreements that aim to shift the burden of dealing with asylum-seekers on to them, and away from the United States. Most migrants caught on the U.S. border with Mexico depart from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, seeking to escape chronic poverty or gang violence. Unlike Guatemala, Mexico has refused to become a so-called safe third country obliging it to accept asylum claims from migrants that set foot on its soil. Still, Trump has threatened trade sanctions if it does not contain the flow of people. Guatemalas new president, Alejandro Giammattei, said on Wednesday that Mexicos Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard had told him Mexico would not allow the new caravan to pass. Mexicos foreign ministry has not responded directly to that assertion. However, Interior Minister Olga Sanchez said the border would be policed and that the Mexican government would not be issuing any visas of safe conduct to the migrants. Thats very clear, she told reporters. According to communications shared by some of the migrants on messaging service WhatsApp, some of the Hondurans said that they planned to meet in the town of Santa Elena in northern Guatemala and head for the Mexican border on Saturday. Under a freedom of movement accord between northern Central American countries, Giammattei said he would let the caravan enter Guatemala provided people had the necessary paperwork. Some migrants were turned back at the Guatemalan border on Wednesday and Honduran police fired tear gas on others who tried to cross without going through migration checks. Bangladesh plans to move 100,000 refugees to reduce the pressure on overcrowded camps in Coxs Bazar. The swampy island emerged in 2006 and is regularly hit by monsoons. The UN is not yet ready to endorse the relocation without visiting the island first. Dhaka (AsiaNews/Agencies) Bhasan Char Island, in the Gulf of Bengal, is ready to receive 100,000 Rohingya refugees, said yesterday Mahbub Alam Talukder, Bangladesh Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner. The island is subject to regular floods, but protection embankments have been built in the past few months to deal with the problem. Housing, shops and mosques have also been built. Bhasan Char is ready for habitation. Everything has been put in place, Talukder said. Plans to move Rohingya refugees began in late 2018 in order to ease the pressure on the camps in Coxs Bazar, in particular that of Kutupalong, on the border with Myanmar. Over 740,000 Muslim refugees poured over the border into Bangladesh after August 2017, fleeing fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). Bangladeshi authorities expect the transfer of 100,000 people to begin in April. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly stated that Bangladesh can no longer bear the refugee burden. For their part, the Rohingya oppose voluntary repatriation to Myanmar, at least until the latter guarantees them security and citizenship rights. Instead, they would rather remain in Coxs Bazar than go back despite the fact that schooling is not allowed, crime and extremism are rampant, and sanitation is inadequate. International media and agencies are not currently allowed on the island, but a Bangladeshi freelance journalist, Saleh Noman, did visit it recently. I saw a market with about 10 grocery shops and roadside tea stalls. Some were selling fish and vegetables, he said. Bangladesh has spent at least US$ 280 million to bolster the swampy island, which is about an hour by boat from the mainland. Refugees and experts have criticised the decision to set the island aside for refugee settlement because it is prone to flooding during the monsoon season. The island itself emerged only in 2006, and many people doubt it can resist high winds and monsoon flooding. Mostofa Mohamamd Sazzad Hossain, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangladesh, said that the agency isnt ready to endorse the relocation and is waiting for a chance to visit the island after a November trip was cancelled. However, one of the contractors involved in the project said: We have built quality infrastructure. Bangladeshi villages have never seen such good work. This is like a modern township project. He went on to say: We have built multifamily concrete homes, hospitals, mosques, schools, playgrounds and roads. There are solar-power facilities, a water supply system. We constructed raised concrete buildings that could be used as cyclone shelters. Many trees have been planted. TOKYO Japanese attorneys representing Carlos Ghosn, including lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka, quit on Thursday following the former Nissan chiefs flight to Lebanon from Japan, where he had been fighting financial misconduct charges. Hironaka had been representing Ghosn in his defense against financial misconduct charges. His move, announced Thursday, was widely expected after Ghosn escaped to Lebanon late last month. A second lawyer in Ghosns three-person legal team, Takashi Takano, also quit on Thursday, according to an official at his office. A person who answered the telephone at the office of the third lawyer, Hiroshi Kawatsu, said she did not know if he still represented the former automotive executive. Hironaka said in a statement that the entire team working on the case at his office will quit but did not outline reasons. He has said before he felt some empathy for Ghosn's reasons for escape, while stressing he had hoped to win vindication in court. Hironaka is respected for winning high-profile cases in this nation where the conviction rate is higher than 99%. Among the cases he has handled is that of Atsuko Muraki, a Welfare Ministry official accused of falsely approving a group to qualify for mail discounts. She was acquitted in 2010. Also Thursday, Nissan released steps it was taking to prevent a recurrence of Ghosn's scandal, and reiterated its denouncement of Ghosn. The automaker said in a report submitted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange that Ghosn had the authority to single-handedly determine directors' compensation and such information was not shared with other departments at the company. The underreporting of his future compensation is among the allegations Ghosn faced in Tokyo. In a news conference last week in Beirut, Ghosn insisted again that he was innocent of the charges, which also included breach of trust in diverting Nissan money for his personal gain. He said he fled because he felt he could not expect a fair trial in Japan. Story continues Ghosn's flight while he was out on bail awaiting trial means his case will not go on in Japan. Interpol has issued a wanted notice but his extradition from Lebanon is unlikely. Ghosn has accused Nissan and Japanese officials of conspiring to bring him down to block a fuller integration of Nissan with its French alliance partner Renault SA of France. Ghosn, who has signed on an international team of lawyers, has expressed willingness to stand trial in Lebanon. Nissan also said that Ghosn obtained compensation from a venture company in the Netherlands set up Mitsubishi, a smaller Japanese automaker with which Nissan set up an alliance under Ghosn. Ghosn has denied wrongdoing about the spending at the venture. Nissan said independent outside directors had been added to its board. It denied recent reports about troubles in the Renault alliance, and has stressed the alliance remains strong. Japanese prosecutors have said repeatedly they are confident they have a case, and Ghosn's flight underlines how he sought to skirt the law. Ghosn led Nissan, based in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, for two decades, rescuing it from near-bankruptcy. Reuters contributed to this report. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> Do You Know Youll Be Fined for Going Without Health Insurance This Year? Did you know that, starting Jan. 1, it became mandatory to have health insurance in California? Those who dont have an insurance plans may have to pay a tax penalty of up to $2,085 for a family of four. ADVERTISEMENT f you didnt know, youre not alone. According to results of a recent survey, 56 percent of uninsured Californians are unaware of the new mandate. The study, conducted by Covered California the states independent government insurance exchange also found that avoiding the penalty motivates those with health insurance to keep their coverage and encourages the uninsured to sign up. Now, sate officials and community health advocates are encouraging people to get health care coverage as soon as they can. I encourage everyone to secure qualifying health care coverage as soon as possible so they are not surprised with a state penalty when filing 2020 state tax returns in 2021, said State Controller and Franchise Tax Board Chair Betty Yee. The survey also found that among uninsured people in California, 62 percent are unaware that Covered California offers financial help (that could be as much as $500 a month for middle income families) to help pay for health insurance. Among those who have insurance, only 27 percent know that the state is offering money to help offset costs for insurance. ADVERTISEMENT In 2018, the federal government rolled back requirements passed under the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare mandating that everyone in the country have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. But last year, California restored the individual mandate which requires most people to get healthcare coverage or pay a penalty. Those earning below the federal tax threshold are not liable. You can find out in just a few minutes whether you are eligible for financial help from the federal government, the state, or both, said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. Do not leave money on the table; do not put yourself at risk if you get sick or ill; do not get stuck with a big bill when you pay your taxes in 2021. You can find out if you are eligible for a financial subsidy by visiting www.CoveredCA.com online or calling California at (800) 300-1506. Covered Californias open enrollment period ends Jan. 31. According to Covered California, about 90 percent of Californians will keep their current healthcare plans. Emily Thornberry launches her campaign for the Labour Party leadership (Jonathan Brady/PA) Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has insisted Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a problem with women. Launching her bid to replace Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Opposition, Ms Thornberry said she was best placed to oust the PM within five years. She told the PA news agency: Boris Johnson has all sorts of problems with women. And he is going to have an even bigger one if I become leader of the Labour Party. He makes light of them and he undermines them. He has problems with women such as myself. He doesnt know what to do with me I think that he has a problem with women. I have spoken to a number of women who have said that the way he deals with them and they are younger women is that he flirts with them. He makes light of them and he undermines them. He has problems with women such as myself. He doesnt know what to do with me. I think that he doesnt know how to relate to women. Ms Thornberry insisted Labour can be back in power in the next five years. She told PA: I think that a competent alternative government could get back into power within five years. Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey also kicked off her campaign with a speech in Manchester on Friday evening, in which she vowed to shake up the way Government works and put power into the hands of voters. She promised to end the gentlemens club of politics by devolving power out of Westminster, while pledging to introduce a Green New Deal that unites Labour heartlands. Thanks so much to everyone who came to the launch of my campaign in Manchester tonight. The atmosphere was incredible. Together we can unite all of our heartlands - and win. Join our movement: https://t.co/xmR2lDo0tx#RLB2020 pic.twitter.com/xwce7W6pEE Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) January 17, 2020 Where I grew up, Westminster, even London, felt like a million miles away, she said. The story of the last few years is that many people feel there is something wrong with their laws being drafted hundreds of miles away by a distant and largely unaccountable bureaucratic elite in Brussels. But Ill be honest, Westminster didnt feel much closer, and it still doesnt today. The two frontbenchers are up against shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, Wigan MP Lisa Nandy and Birmingham Yardleys Jess Phillips in the contest, the result of which will be announced on April 4. - Mr. Nyinaku, former CEO of defunct Beige Bank has been hospitalised - He was on Tuesday, January 14 remanded to police custody by the court - He was arrested on charges of money laundering and stealing in the collapse of the Beige Bank - Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of defunct Beige Bank, Mike Nyinaku has taken ill and admitted at the Police Hospital in Accra barely 48 hours after he was remanded by an Accra High Court. On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, the police arrested Mr. Nyinaku and founder of the now-defunct UT Bank and Chairman of UT Group of Companies, Mr Prince Kofi Amoabeng as well for the involvement in the collapse of their banks. READ ALSO: I will introduce free technical and vocational education - Mahama The two men were processed for court the same day and the court remanded the former Beige CEO for one week, while Mr. Amoateng was granted a bail of GHC110M with two sureties. But following Mr. Nyinakus ill-health he was granted bail by Justice Essandor. His bail condition is GHS352 million with two sureties who earn not less than GHC2,000. ATTENTION: Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana The court also directed Mr. Nyinaku to deposit his passport and report to the police twice a week. YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama on Thursday, January 16, 2020, launched an electronic payment platform that will enable party members and sympathizers contribute financially to the 2020 campaign. Speaking at the launch at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra, the former president said the innovation is also to ensure transparency of how political parties are funded in the country. READ ALSO: MTN Ghana faces network problem; subscribers unable to connect to internet It has been revealed that Ghana loses thousands of cedis as a result of confiscated cars being auctioned cheaply to people who are politically connected. An investigation by Joy News has uncovered how confiscated vehicles are sometimes sold for prices far lesser than their estimated duty cost. A 2004 VW Touareg was found to have been allocated to one Nii Teiko Tetteh at a price of just above 25,000. Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh Veteran country music star Tanya Tucker will tour behind her latest release While Im Livin, and include a series of regional stops. Tucker will play The Wilbur Theatre in Boston on May 17, The Egg in Albany on May 22, and the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., on May 24. Tickets for all shows are available through all Ticketmaster outlets and locations including ticketmaster.com and by phone at (800) 745-3000. Tuckers tour is named after the albums hit single Bring Me My Flowers Now, which is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song. The acclaimed album was produced by Shooter Jennings and Brandi Carlile. Shop for concert tickets here: StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster. Nissan has revealed more details of an exhaustive probe into Carlos Ghosn, a week after its fugitive former leader accused the Japanese carmaker of being behind the plot to have him arrested. The report on the investigation, submitted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday, found that many others were involved in improprieties besides its former chairman, with those involved located both in Japan and overseas. Three people in senior roles were punished for their involvement, though their names, titles and specific steps to discipline them were not revealed. Nissan was required to submit the report after adjusting its past earnings following the arrest of its former chief executive officer and chairman for financial crimes in November 2018. That triggered turmoil within the automakers management ranks and destabilized its relationship with alliance partner Renault. Ghosn fled trial in Japan at the end of December, hiding in a black box for musical equipment and making his way to Lebanon via private jets. While the timing of the report has little to do with Ghosns escape, it underscores the extent to which Nissan has had to reform its practices in the year after his arrest. Many of the steps outlined in the 33-page document, such as abolishing a CEO reserve fund and the restatement of Ghosns income, had already been disclosed or reported. The misconduct outlined in the report was not just limited to acts allegedly committed by Ghosn and executive Greg Kelly, but included excess salary paid to Ghosns successor, Hiroto Saikawa, who was ousted as CEO in September. The report found six others also received excess compensation via stock appreciation rights, though did not identify them. The amount involved totalled 57.7 million yen ($683,633), though Nissan expects most of that amount to be repaid by March. A wide variety of misconducts had been committed over a long period of time, the report said, noting that many people were involved and the misconducts were committed not only in Japan but also in foreign countries. Nissan will decide the punishment for others in due course, it said. The investigation involved more than 10,000 hours of analysis, including the collection of 9 million documents and interviews with more than 70 people within the company. Ghosn and Kelly were not among them, Nissan said, citing the fact that the automaker is a co-defendant of the two former executives in a forthcoming criminal trial. The report attacked Ghosns personality cult and accused him of isolating departments within Nissan that would have been able to discover his misconduct, describing Ghosn as turning them into a black box. The investigation was aided by law firm Latham & Watkins, a company Ghosn last week slammed at his explosive press conference in Beirut. He described the firm as one of the actors destroying Japans reputation on the global stage, and in a separate statement derided Nissans investigation as fundamentally flawed, biased, and lacking in independence from its inception. Although Nissan is presenting this improvement report to the stock exchange and promising to rebuild its business and be more transparent, the current movements of Nissans management look like the exact opposite, said Koji Endo, an analyst at SBI Securities Co. in Tokyo. Thats the biggest problem. Among the steps the carmaker will take to improve its corporate governance is abolishing a system of having former directors become advisers and consultants. This means Saikawa, who was reportedly planning to stay on at Nissan in some capacity after leaving the board at a shareholders meeting planned for Feb. 18, is now likely to leave the company entirely. By abolishing the adviser role, Nissans new CEO, Makoto Uchida, may be able to act more independently. Renault director Pierre Fleuriot, set to join Nissans board following a shareholders vote in February, will also become a member of Nissans audit committee, which decides executive pay, Nissan said in a separate statement Thursday. A Bangladeshi island regularly submerged by monsoon rains is ready to house 100,000 Rohingya refugees, but no date has been announced to relocate people from the crowded and squalid camps where they have lived for years, officials said. Flood protection embankments, houses, hospitals and mosques have been built on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, officials said. Bhasan Char is ready for habitation. Everything has been put in place, Bangladesh refugee, relief and repatriation commissioner Mahbub Alam Talukder said. The island is built to accommodate 100,000 people, just a fraction of the million Rohingya Muslims who have fled waves of violent persecution in their native Burma. A common cooking area is seen inside a newly constructed building (Saleh Noman/AP) About 700,000 people came after August 2017, when the military in Buddhist-majority Burma began a harsh crackdown against Rohingya in response to an attack by insurgents. Global rights groups and the UN called the campaign ethnic cleansing involving rapes, killings and torching of thousands of homes. Foreign media have not been permitted to visit the island. Saleh Noman, a Bangladeshi freelance journalist who recently visited, described a community emerging there. Newly built flood embankments stand near Bhasan Char (Saleh Noman/AP) I saw a market with about 10 grocery shops and roadside tea stalls. Some were selling fish and vegetables, he said. All is set there with a solar power system and water supply lines. Bangladesh is a low-lying delta nation. The island, 21 miles from the mainland, surfaced only 20 years ago and was never inhabited. The Bangladesh navy has been implementing a multi-million-dollar plan to bolster the swampy island, which is submerged for months during annual monsoon season. International aid agencies and the United Nations have vehemently opposed the relocation plan since it was first proposed in 2015, expressing fear that a big storm could overwhelm the island and endanger thousands of lives. Mostofa Mohamamd Sazzad Hossain, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangladesh, said the agency is not ready to endorse the relocation and is waiting for a chance to visit the island after a November trip was cancelled. Story continues The UN has emphasised the importance of undertaking independent and thorough technical and protection assessments that consider safety, sustainability, and protection issues prior to any relocation taking into place. The assessment process should include onsite visits to Bhasan Char, Mr Hossain said. Water storage tankers on the roof of a newly constructed building (Saleh Noman/AP) The current refugee camps near the beach town of Coxs Bazar are overcrowded and unhygienic. Disease and organised crime are rampant. Education is limited and refugees are not allowed to work. Still, most Rohingya are unwilling to return to Burma due to safety concerns. Government officials did not have an estimate of how many refugees would be willing to be relocated to the island. On Thursday, two Bangladeshi contractors involved with development of the island described construction there. We have built quality infrastructure. Bangladeshi villages have never seen such good work. This is like a modern township project, one contractor said. We have built multi-family concrete homes, hospitals, mosques, schools, playgrounds and roads. There are solar-power facilities, a water supply system. We constructed raised concrete buildings that could be used as cyclone shelters. Many trees have been planted, he said. A Rohingya refugee hangs a blanket out to dry at Balukhali refugee camp, about 32 miles from Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh (Manish Swarup/AP) Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly told the UN and other international partners that her administration will consult them before making a final decision on the relocation, and that no refugees will be forced to move. Bangladesh attempted to start sending refugees back to Burma under a bilateral framework last November, but no one was willing to go. The Rohingya are not recognised as citizens in Burma, rendering them stateless, and face other forms of state-sanctioned discrimination. A UN-sponsored investigation in 2018 recommended the prosecution of Burmas top military commanders on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the violence perpetrated against the Rohingya. Burma is defending itself in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, after the West African nation of Gambia brought a case backed by the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, Canada and the Netherlands. Gambia in its submission said there was a serious and imminent risk of genocide recurring and called for emergency measures to prevent Burma from committing any further atrocities or erasing any evidence. The court is expected to deliver a decision on January 23 on what measures should be imposed. Kamal Hossain, Bangladeshs top government official in Coxs Bazar, said that discussions attempting to convince refugee families to move to the island are continuing. We are ready. This is a continuous process, he said. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip In an interview with Al-Mayadeen Jan. 10, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a member of Hamas' politburo, said it was very normal for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to meet with the new leader of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to discuss the continuation of relations between Tehran and the Islamic movement in Palestine. Zahar denied allegations that Egypt had banned Haniyeh from returning to the Gaza Strip because of his visit to Tehran, stressing that the Israeli news to this effect is an attempt to incite Egypt into preventing him from doing so. The Hamas delegation had arrived in the Gaza Strip on Jan. 5 following a weekslong tour to multiple countries, including Qatar, Turkey and Malaysia. Haniyeh did not return but headed instead on Jan. 6 to Tehran to participate in the funeral of slain Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 4. Egypt allowed Haniyeh to go on a tour for the first time in two years since he took office in 2017. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al-Monitor the movements foreign tours are carried out for specific reasons, mainly to drum up political and diplomatic support for the Palestinian cause, highlight the major obstacles facing the Palestinian issue for international leaders and galvanize support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their territory mainly in the face of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip. All these matters were present on the agenda of Hamas during this last tour, Qassem said. He said the tour was building upon past ties with the countries visited, stressing that relations with several international stakeholders such as Iran, Qatar and Malaysia have been reinforced on different levels to advance the Palestinian national cause. Without giving details, Qassem said opening horizons with new countries was one of Hamas' goals, and the movement had made progress in this direction. The tour is not over yet, Qassem said. There have been talks about an upcoming visit by an Egyptian delegation to the Gaza Strip after a several-month hiatus, with the last visit being Sept. 8, 2019. The Egyptian delegation was supposed to arrive last week to hold meetings with officials in the Gaza Strip, but the visit was postponed for unspecified, urgent reasons. Qassem confidently said relations and contacts with Egypt are ongoing in order to follow up on all issues of common concern, noting communication has not stopped between the two sides. Ibrahim al-Madhoun, a political analyst close to Hamas who is based in Turkey, told Al-Monitor, Hamas foreign tour was very positive, especially since Haniyeh was able to move freely after two years since he took office. During the tour, Haniyeh met with the Turkish president and the emir of Qatar, not to mention his visit to Tehran. The tour advanced Hamas relations with several Arab and international countries, he said. He said Haniyeh is not in a hurry to be back in Gaza, as he will be busy handling internal issues within Hamas and promoting relations with several countries. Madhoun explained that Hamas foreign policy is clear and based on opening up to all countries and mobilizing support for Hamas in the face of Israeli challenges. He expected great improvement in ties between Hamas and Malaysia, Lebanon and some Gulf countries in the coming period. Madhoun asserted that a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel under Egyptian auspices is more Israeli propaganda, and political instability in Israel would make it difficult to make a decisive decision in this regard. Hamas has clear demands for Israel, which could prevent the outbreak of any future war in Gaza, Madhoun said. As for relations with Egypt, he said, Hamas and Egypt have differences in views, but this does not mean severed ties between the two. Hamas and Cairo are in almost daily contact as Egypt sponsors the calm understanding with Israel. This is not to mention the security coordination between the Islamic movement and Cairo to secure the common border. Hussam al-Dajani, a professor of political science at Al-Ummah University in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, There has not been much talk about the results of Hamas foreign tour, but in general it will have a positive on the ground. This will be reflected in the understanding and the support that the visit might bring. Dajani expected positive results and gains at the level of the military structure and increased support and coordination with the axis of resistance led by Iran and its allies in favor of Hamas. This is especially true since Haniyeh participated in the funeral of Soleimani. Dajani, however, explained that Haniyehs visit to Iran could adversely impact the movement as it might lose support from some Arab countries that blame Soleimani for the bloodshed in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Hamas wishes to open up to all parties, but the boycott of Hamas by several parties such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia prompted the movement to go to Iran. The region is likely to witness changes at the level of Hamas foreign relations, he said. Dajani said the opportunity is very favorable to move forward with the calm understandings with Israel, which does not wish to ignite the situation on its border with Gaza. Israel could be pressured by Egypt to implement the parts of the understandings that include the construction of an airport and a commercial port. But he ruled out the possibility of a long-term agreement between the two, as the Palestinian resistance in Gaza is unlikely to completely restrict itself. Talal Okal, a political writer for the local Al-Ayyam newspaper, told Al-Monitor, Hamas will not deviate from its political track but is dealing rationally with regional changes. Commenting on the Egyptian delegation, Okal said had there not been a breakthrough between Hamas and Israel concerning the calm understandings, Egypt would not have allowed Haniyeh to go on his tour. He said things are moving in the right direction to control the situation in the Palestinian territories without the need to shuffle the cards. Dolittle review: Repetitive and predictable Dolittle does little to improve upon previous movie versions Source: SIFY By: Troy Ribeiro/IANS Critic's Rating: 2.5/5 Tuesday 28 January 2020 Movie Title Dolittle review: Repetitive and predictable Director Stephen Gaghan Star Cast Robert Downey Jr. Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Jim Broadbent, Jessie Buckley, Harry Collett, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holand Director Stephen Gaghan's Dolittle is a fantastical adventure based on the eponymous central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting. Doctor Dolittle (Downey) is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in their language. He later becomes a naturalist, using his abilities to speak with animals to better understand nature and the history of the world. Impressed with his work the Queen of England (Jessie Buckley) gives him a manor in the countryside, which he uses to house all sorts of animals from far and wide. Sarileru Neekevvaru review: A commercial action-entertainer l Tanhaji - The Unsung Warrior review: A well-crafted film l Chhapaak review: Disturbing, yet relevant Over the years, the good doctor falls in love with Lily (Kasia Smutnaik), an adventurous explorer, and together they have adventures around the world. But when Lily attempts to cross the ocean all alone, she perishes in a storm. Dolittle retreats from the world and squirrels away in his British countryside manor. His lush, palatial estate soon falls into disrepair, overgrown with vines and greenery that provide a protective layer to shut out human company. The narrative propels into high gear after the eccentric Dolittle's life of solitude is interrupted by Tommy Stubbins (Harry Collett), a young man compelled to become an apprentice, and Lady Rose (Carmel Laniado), the Queen's daughter, who lands up at the doctor's place to request him to attend to the Queen who is presumably on her deathbed. A reluctant Dolittle agrees to attend to the Queen after realising that his stakes are high. He undertakes a treacherous journey along with Tommy Stubbins and his coterie of animals, to fetch the antidote that will save the Queen. During his journey he fends off a rogues' gallery of good-for-nothings, including the devious palace doctor Dr, Blair Mudfly (Michael Sheen), the crooked Lord Thomas Badgley (Jim Broadbent) and the conniving King Rassouli (Antonio Banderas) who happens to be Lily's father. The performances are noteworthy and enticing, including those who have lent their voices for the animated characters. They pump life into their characters with gusto. On the production and technical front, the outcome is flawless. The frames are visually bright and colourful. Also, the film boasts of fine and cute collection of computer generated creatures that deliver heartening messages about psychological trauma, and yet it tests your patience with overly complicated noisy scenarios caused by Craig Alperts' edits. Sometimes the cuts are ruthlessly abrupt and at times many dialogues and momentous situations are drowned by Danny Elfman's overbearing score. Overall, the problem with Dolittle is its story. The plot is elaborately formulaic, repetitive and predictable. There is no novelty factor in the gimmicks or in the period, set-up. China must 'face reality' of Taiwan's independence: Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called for China to respect Taiwan's sovereignty and its commitment to democracy, just days after she won reelection in a landslide victory. Tsai -- who is the first female president of the Republic of China -- said Taiwan's election results sent a strong message to the world. "We are a successful democracy, we have a decent economy [and] we deserve respect from China," she said earlier this week in an interview with BBC. PHOTO: Taiwan's current president and Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate, Tsai Ing-wen, waves from a car during a campaign event ahead of the presidential election on Jan. 10, 2020 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Carl Court/Getty Images, FILE) With a high voter turnout, Tsai garnered more than 8 million votes, a record high, handily winning her second term. Tsai focused her campaign primarily on mainland China's increasingly aggressive encroachment on the island state and the Democratic Progressive Party's commitment to democracy. She even rallied support from districts that traditionally vote for opposition candidates -- in large part due to the backing of the younger generation, who are more likely to identify themselves as Taiwanese, a people separate from China. Citing the intensifying threats, increasing military exercises and continuing efforts to cut Taiwan off from its international allies, Tsai said she believes more people in Taiwan are getting a sense that "the threat is real." With the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, Tsai said it is only a warning of what "one party, two systems" really looks like. PHOTO: Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen waves to the media as she leaves after casting her vote in the presidential election on Jan. 11, 2020 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Carl Court/Getty Images, FILE) Her predecessor, Ma Ying-Jeou, was able to build strong economic ties with China by maintaining the ambiguous status of Taiwan's sovereignty. But Tsai has faced a different situation in recent years and renounced the previously agreed upon ambiguity, saying it "can no longer serve the purposes it was intended to serve." Given Taiwan's reliance on its economic relationship with China, part of the Tsai administration's priorities center on diversifying and expanding the island's economy -- including convincing Taiwanese investors to relocate their factories back from China. Story continues (MORE: President Trump signs partial trade deal with China, calling it a 'momentous step') China has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, starting first when nationalists escaped to the island after losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the attitude toward Taiwan has only gotten more aggressive. After Taiwan's election, Xi issued a warning saying "unification" is his condition if there were to be any talks or advances between the two governments. MORE: China-US trade deal a blip in seismic shifts of Asian trade For Tsai and many others, Taiwan has developed its own identity, government, military and laws and functions as a sovereign country. "We don't have a need to declare ourselves an independent state," Tsai told the BBC. "We are an independent country already and we call ourselves the Republic of China." PHOTO: A woman exits a polling booth as she casts her vote in the presidential election on Jan. 11, 2020 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Carl Court/Getty Images, FILE) Tsai emphasized her desire to deepen relations with the United States throughout her first term during her campaign. The U.S. has not formally recognized Taiwan as independent, but has maintained a strong, unofficial relationship with the island. Since last week's election, many U.S. political leaders have issued statements congratulating Tsai on her victory, despite possible anger from the Chinese government. Leaders including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who called this a "momentous election" where millions of Taiwanese reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open democracy, adding the "U.S. looks forward to further strengthening our firm partnership and friendship with Taiwan." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked Tsai for her leadership and praised Taiwan as a model and a force for good. MORE:Taiwan becomes first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage When asked about her next steps with regards to China, Tsai said it's time for China to "face reality." "If they are not prepared to face reality, whatever we offer won't be satisfying to them," she told the BBC. In the wake of recent elk poaching in the Lower Peninsula, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced Friday The Safari Club International-Michigan Involvement Committee is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction of those responsible for the alleged poaching. In mid-December, area residents found three adult elk cows poached in Otsego County. The incident marked the third such case in northern Michigan in roughly a month. In mid-November, one bull elk was killed in Montmorency County and another, during the same week, was poached in the Pigeon River Country in Otsego County, reads a portion of a press release from the DNR. The SCI-MIC has offered similar rewards in the past for information regarding poachers. To report information regarding the poaching you can call or text the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Report All Poaching hotline at 1-800-292-7800. ALBANY In 2016, voters elected Judge William Carter to the bench in Albany County Court to preside over some of the county's most serious criminal cases. On Thursday, the state court system yanked Carter away from any matter involving Albany County District Attorney David Soares, whose office prosecutes the overwhelming number of those cases. And a day later, court officials are still not saying why. "Judge Carter is still handling criminal matters but cannot handle any matters that are brought by the Albany County district attorney," said Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the state's Unified Court System. "He will be assisting in other counties with criminal matters and will handle matters in Albany that do not involve the district attorneys office." Chalfen first told the Times Union on Thursday that Carter "will not be hearing any criminal matters and will be assigned to other judicial duties." He had said state Supreme Court Justice Thomas Breslin, the administrative judge for the district, "will be assigning other judges from neighboring counties to cover the criminal calendar." On Friday morning, Chalfen corrected himself in an email to the Times Union. Chalfen explained his error as "a clarification ... we werent clear." The correction clearly showed that whatever complaint might have been made against Carter, it appears to be related to his recent dealings with Soares' office. Cecilia Walsh, a spokeswoman for the district attorney, declined to comment Friday when asked about the judge's removal from Soares-related cases. Carter, 60, and the district attorneys office both based in the Albany County Judicial Center, two floors apart have sparred on and off for several years. In 2013, when Carter was a City Court judge, Carter threatened to hold Soares top assistant, David Rossi, in contempt if he didnt call witnesses against Occupy Albany protestors charged with minor offenses; Soares had decided not to prosecute the activists. The Court of Appeals ultimately sided with Soares, but not before then-Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman described the case as a "personal issue back and forth" between Soares and Carter. Carter, a Democrat elected in 2016 to replace retiring County Judge Stephen Herrick (now the countys public defender), initially faced a primary that year by Cheryl Fowler, a top assistant in Soares office. Her campaign manager was the same as Soares longtime campaign manager. The tension between Carter and Soares has appeared to intensify in the wake of criminal justice reforms that were passed in last year's state budget and went into effect Jan. 1. The reforms eliminate cash bail for defendants accused of most non-violent felonies and misdemeanors. And prosecutors now have 15 days from the date of a defendant's arraignment to disclose all information to the defense such as statements, names of witnesses, recordings and other material germane to each case. Carter has rejected a number of efforts by Soares' prosecutors when they have asked for more stringent conditions for defendants. The judge has also lowered the bail for some defendants including at least one man accused of a serious sex crime who were eligible for high bail amounts or to be held without bail. On multiple occasions since early December, Soares' prosecutors have filed paperwork in cases before Carter that was returned to them as untimely or otherwise unacceptable. In some cases, the timestamps on those documents were erased with what appeared to be Wite-Out, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Charles Diamond, Albany County's chief court clerk, confirmed Friday that a member of his staff had mistakenly struck out the timestamp on a court document that was to be delivered from Carter to the district attorney's office. Diamond said it may have happened more than once. "It was their standing understanding that if the papers were rejected by any (judge's) chambers in other words, if we weren't keeping them then they should be whited out and that was not correct," Diamond said, adding that the staffer "misunderstood that information." Diamond added, "Trust me, thats not going to happen again. Thats not on Judge Carter. It's unclear if this episode a clerical error, according to Diamond played a role in Carter's removal from Soares' cases. While most criminal cases in Albany County are brought by Soares office, a number of prosecutions are also handled by state Attorney General Letitia James' office. Carter will still be presiding over those cases. Albany is part of the 3rd Judicial District, a seven-county jurisdiction that also includes Rensselaer, Schoharie, Greene, Columbia , Ulster and Sullivan ounties. Breslin, the chief administrative judge for the region, physically replaced Carter on the bench Thursday. Neither Carter nor Breslin would comment on the matter when contacted Thursday. When approached in the Albany County Judicial Center on Friday and asked if he wanted to comment, Carter declined. Chalfen has repeatedly failed to respond to calls and emails asking to explain the reason for the change. While terming the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) "very good" and "generous", Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen on Friday said that the law should make an exception for Muslim "free-thinkers, feminists, and secularists" from the neighbouring countries. "It is nice to hear the religious persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan will get citizenship (of India). It is a very good idea and very generous one. "But I think that there are people like me from the Muslim community, free thinkers and atheists, who too are persecuted in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and they too should have the right to live in India," said the author-in-exile. Nasreen was speaking here on the second day of the Kerala Literature festival during a session titled "In Exile: A writer's Journey". The CAA, which was passed in the Parliament on December 11 last year, grants citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities -- Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians -- from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, provided they have lived in India for six years and entered the country by December 31, 2014. To buttress her point, she gave the example of Muslim "atheists bloggers" who were hacked to death by suspected Islamist militants in Bangldesh a few years ago. "Many of these bloggers, in a bid to save their lives, left for Europe or America, why cannot they come to India? India today needs more free thinker, secularist, feminist from the Muslim community," said Nasreen, who will come out with her new book, "Shameless", a sequel to her bestelling book "Lajja", in April. Nasreen had to leave Bangladesh in 1994 in the wake of death threat by fundamentalist outfits for her alleged anti-Islamic views. Since then she has been living in exile. Though terming the nationwide protest against CAA as a "wonderful" thing, she also took on the protestors for allowing "Muslim fundamenatalists" to be part of it. The 57-year-old author told the audience that fundamentalism -- be it from majority or minority community -- is equally bad and must be condemned. "Are these Muslim fundamentalists secular? Do they believe in secularism? No. So they (protestors of CAA) should separate out these people. The fundamentalists from the minority community and the majority community are the same. Because they both are against progressive society and equality for women," she added. She also argued that the conflict that India is facing right now is neither new and nor between "Hinduism and Islam". "Of course, there is a conflict in India now. But the conflict is not between Hinduism and Islam, it is between religious fundamentalism and secularism, modernism and anti-modernism, logical mind and irrational blind faith, innovation and tradition, humanism and barbarism... this is not new and it is everywhere in the world," she explained. Presently living in New Delhi on a residence permit since 2004, the author feels at home in the country and has never felt like a "foreigner" here. "People tell me that you are Bangladeshi, you are a foreigner but I never feel like a foreigner here in India. Because my colour is like you, I speak in one of the Indian languages and our root is the same. I would live in india and India only as long as I can," she said. Nasreen, on many occasions, had expressed her wish to live in India permanently, especially in Kolkata. The writer had to leave Kolkata in 2007 following violent street protests by a section of Muslims against her works. Historians such as Ramachandra Guha, William Dalrymple, novelists like Benyamin, Namita Gokhale, Chetan Bhagat and journalists Karan Thapar and Rajdeep Sardesai are among the many other writers who will be attending the four-day festival. The focus theme of KLF 2020 is environment and climate change. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Japan is one of the most hottest travel destinations of 2020 with cities and regions across the country appearing on some of the most prestigious "Where to Go" Lists of the year, including: Tokyo in the New York Times' annual list of "52 Places to Go"; Tohoku in National Geographic's list of best trips to take in 2020; and Okinawa in Conde Nast Traveler's list of "20 Best Places to Go in 2020." 2020 is the year that the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Japan, and to celebrate the festivities year-round, the Japan National Tourism Organization has developed the "Your Japan 2020" campaign. Launched on January 1, the "Your Japan 2020" campaign runs through December 31, and offers international travelers a variety of unforgettable experiences and deals nationwide, including exclusive public openings, Japan-first special events, complimentary domestic flights, significant discounts on international flights, and more. "Through the 'Your Japan 2020' campaign, we are encouraging international travelers to visit more off-the-beaten path destinations and partake in truly remarkable experiences all year long," continued Ise. "Tourism to Japan has grown significantly year over year, and 2020 is projected to be our best year yet." ABOUT JAPAN NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATION (JNTO) As the official tourism board of Japan, JNTO is involved in a wide range of promotional activities to encourage international travelers to visit Japan. Through a variety of campaigns and initiatives, JNTO is inspiring more American travelers to visit Tokyo, Kyoto and beyond. For more information about travel to Japan, visit JNTO on its Website , Facebook , Instagram and Twitter . To contact the New York office of Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) directly, please e-mail [email protected]p or call 212-757-5641. SOURCE Japan National Tourism Organization SPRINGFIELD - Progress has slowed in the high-profile case of retired Westfield Police Detective Brian Fanion, accused of killing his wife in 2018 and staging her death to look like a suicide. During a brief pretrial hearing before Superior Court Judge Michael Callan on Thursday, lawyers on both sides said transcriptions of grand jury testimony has slowed to a snails pace and stymied the usual pretrial progress of the case. Fanion was arrested on Nov. 7 and charged with murder after being indicted in Hampden Superior Court. He has been held without the right to bail ever since. Amy Fanion, 51, died on May 8, 2018, at the couples home in Westfield. Fanion told his colleagues at the time his wife shot herself in the head while he was home on his lunch hour, after they had argued. However, prosecutors contend Brian Fanion pulled the trigger because he was having an affair and wanted to divorce his wife without giving up half of his pension. Fanions defense attorney and his family -- including Amy Fanions brother and the couples two children -- have vehemently denied Brian Fanion had anything to do with her death and remain supportive. Prosecutors, on the other hand, say they have a solid pyramid of forensic evidence and expert testimony that prove Amy Fanion could not have pulled the trigger on the gun that day. Defense lawyer Jeffrey Brown told Callan hes been hampered by the fact that he hasnt received transcriptions of grand jury testimony -- particularly by out-of-state expert witnesses in forensics. The case against Mr. Fanion is primarily reliant on certain expert testimony, Brown said. Assistant District Attorney Mary Sandstrom told Callan that Philbin and Associates, a local transcription firm, has a backlog dating back months. The commonwealth isnt looking to delay this in any way, shape or form, Sandstrom said. Callan pushed back, encouraging Sandstrom to put the firms feet to the fire. They can be ordered to put it at the top of the pile ... and they will because they work for you, Callan said. He set the next pretrial hearing for Feb. 5. Fanion was not present in court and requested not to be at the subsequent hearing, Brown said. Unexpected Internet outages happen far too often in South Africa due to load shedding. When this happens, many people are surprised at just how much they rely on the Internet every day. However, if your business depends on being online, then its recommended that you invest in a reliable secondary Internet connection this year. For instance, if your primary Internet service is ADSL or fibre, you might consider implementing a mobile data solution as a backup. The cost of a backup internet service can vary based on a businesss budget and bandwidth needs. In many cases, the secondary connection, since it is a backup, doesnt need to be as expensive as the primary one. The best low-cost solution for emergency situations One low-cost solution that is perfect for emergency situations is LTE failover. While a full backup Internet connection is the most sure-fire way to avoid a loss of productivity due to Internet outage, the cost can be prohibitive for some businesses especially smaller ones. For these businesses, LTE failover is a great option for a lifeline connection in the event of an Internet outage. This solution involves using an LTE data service and a rechargeable MiFi router as a backup Internet connection in the event of a service interruption. Axxess offers a Fixed LTE Data SIM and a portable MiFi router which will keep you connected during load shedding or when your primary Internet connection is down. Whats more is that it will only set you back R99 per month for 10GB + 10GB. Click here to view more data packages. The best primary connection to have in 2020 Fibre is still by far the best way to be connected. Axxess Fibre Internet services have no thresholds, no throttling and no shaping offering you an ultra-fast, undiluted fibre experience. You can you get uncapped fibre starting from only R399 p/m and up to R5,000 in value if you sign up for any Axxess Fibre service today. This includes free installation, connection and a free router. If you dont have access to ADSL or fibre-to-the-home, you can always get Fixed LTE connectivity for your home or office. Fixed LTE is a great connectivity solution, as its simple, easy, affordable and can be self-installed. No fixed line installation is needed. Axxess also offers MTN Fixed LTE SIM-Only services starting from only R199 per month for 30GB + 30GB. Wondering whats best for your business? Each individual businesss workflow and budget can help determine the best option for their primary and secondary Internet service. To find the best option for your business today, you can visit the Axxess website and contact them today. A 22-year-old police constable, about to get married in less than two weeks, allegedly shot at himself during duty hours in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district, officials said on Friday. After Shani Kumar fired at himself with his service rifle late Thursday night, he was rushed to a nearby medical facility and later referred to Lala Lajpat Rai hospital, said Anoop Kumar, Additional Superintendent of Police (rural). Shani was posted at Jainpur police outpost which is under Akbarpur police station. Preliminary investigation revealed that Shani attempted suicide before leaving the police post for night patrolling with colleagues, the ASP said. The exact reason behind Shani taking the extreme step is not yet clear, the officer added. Shani, who is from Agra, joined the UP Police in 2018 and his wedding was scheduled on January 29. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Theres nothing normal about being a member of the British royal family. Even though the whole concept seems very romantic and glamorous to outsiders, certain aspects of living the royal life arent nearly as perfect as they appear. Lately, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have been learning that fact the hard way. The couple shocked the world when they announced their intention to step down as senior members of the royal family and forge a new, unchartered path as part-time royals, part-time regular people who dont have to put up with the nonsense. Part of their plan includes moving their family to North America for extended periods of time. That all sounds reasonable on the surface. But there is one surprising rule that would forbid the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from taking Archie abroad if Prince Charles disapproved. Prince Harry and Meghan dont technically have custody of Archie It all goes back to a weird law thats been part of the monarchy for centuries. The Grand Opinion for the Prerogative Concerning the Royal Family is a fancy way of saying that if the custody of a royal born child ever becomes a question, the reigning monarch would be granted those privileges. The law was enacted by King George in 1717. The law states, right of supervision extended to his grandchildren and this right of right belongs to His Majesty, King of the Realm, even during their fathers lifetime. In other words, Prince Charles gets the final say in what happens to Master Archie, not his father, Prince Harry. This law wouldnt apply until Charles becomes king. But that could happen very soon. Prince Charles and Prince Harry | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Would Prince Charles really forbid Archie from moving away? The latest public statements from Buckingham Palace all make it sound like other members of the royal family are working in union with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to figure out a mutually agreeable plan for the future. My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghans desire to create a new life as a young family, Queen Elizabeth said. But dont put it past Prince Charles to lay down the law about having his grandson move overseas. Hes pulled that move before in a different yet similar situation. Prince Charles wouldnt let Diana move to Australia Prince Charles and Princess Diana | Georges De Keerle/Getty Images) After Princess Diana and Prince Charles split, Diana supposedly wanted to escape the British press by fleeing with her two sons to Australia, The Independent reported. But since he had to share custody with Prince Charles and since the Queen ultimately had the power to veto any of her plans, even ones concerning her own children, Diana was forced to stay nearby. It may be a stretch to think that Prince Charles would use this ancient rule to block Harry and Meghan from taking Archie overseas. But in the event that the two divorced or disagreed on what was best for their son, the law could play an important part in determining where Archies future might be. Actress and director Emmy Rossum made her mark as the resilient Fiona Gallagher in Shameless. However, she chose to step away after nine seasons. Since leaving, according to her Instagram, she has dabbled more in directing, traveled, and landed the role of Angelyne. Emmy Rossum | ANGELA WEISS Emmy Rossum portrayed Fiona Gallagher in Shameless for nine seasons For the first nine seasons of Shameless, Emmy Rossum starred as the central character, Fiona Gallagher. Due to a mentally ill mother who abandoned the family and a dysfunctional, drug addicted-father, Fiona had to raise her five younger siblings since the age of 16. Even though she lived in extreme poverty and chaos, Fiona was a fighter and someone who her entire family leaned on for support. While a hard worker, she did let loose a few times and went too far, especially with alcohol and a scary incident involving cocaine, but she always seemed to find her way out of anything. As the series progressed, Fiona struggled with wanting to continue to provide for her family and starting her own life. She began dabbling in real estate ventures, some that werent so successful, before finally catching a break and received a $100,000 buy-out from an investor. In the last episode of Season 9, the oldest sibling left half of the money behind for her family before flying out of Chicago. While Fiona will most likely not return for the next season, there is a possibility that she makes a guest appearance in Season 11, as it will be the last hurrah for the Gallaghers. What has Emmy Rossum been up to since leaving Shameless? Filming for Shameless Season 9 wrapped in November 2018. In that same month, she announced she directed Emmy-Award winning actress Julia Garner and Shea Whigham (Fast & Furious 6) in Episode 6 of Amazons Modern Love. She also had the opportunity to curate a gift shop for a Ralph Lauren holiday collection. After spending the holidays in Tokyo, Japan, the actress returned to the states for the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. Just letting you know that "Emmy Rossum" directed my second fav episode of #ModernLove "So He Looked Like Dad. It Was Just Dinner, Right?" pic.twitter.com/p0lrvoTIDo sondos (@sondosMusa) November 3, 2019 In April 2019, she spoke at the Best Friends Animal Society Gala and announced her production company, Composition 8. Rossum has also encouraged her followers to vote several times, supported presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, and spent her Christmas in Australia visiting animal hospitals. In January 2020, the actress uploaded a picture to Instagram, showing her dramatic change for her first role since Shameless, a limited series titled Angelyne. Emmy Rossums new role in Angelyne The show, coming to NBCs streaming service Peacock, is based on writer Gary Baums investigative feature on the mysterious Los Angeles Billboard model, Angelyne. Rossums husband, Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail, has teamed up with Baum and The Hollywood Reporter to adapt the feature into a series. Rossum will star as a self-made pop culture icon, Renee Angelyne Goldberg. She will also serve as a co-executive producer with her company, Composition 8, alongside her husband, his manager, Chad Hamilton, Lucy Tcherniak, and Allison Miller. Peacock is set to launch in April 2020, so fans can expect to see the series air sometime around then. It would also give clearer guidance to state and federal governments that sex discrimination is impermissible and establish the policy that sex bias should be presumed to be irrational which means women would not have to prove in every court case that an employer or organizations reasons for discrimination are not more important than the discriminations effect on the woman. In short, advocates say, the amendment would make it easier for women to sue and collect damages when they face discrimination. A pregnant woman and five of her children were found dead in a jungle community in Panama following what is believed to have been a violent satanic ritual. Police freed 15 others, who were members of the Ngabe Bugle indigenous group and had been allegedly rounded up by lay preachers to be tortured so they would repent their sins, said authorities. Investigators discovered the bodies in a mass grave after locals alerted authorities last weekend about several families being held against their will by a religious sect called The New Light of God. The sect had been performing rituals and exorcisms inside a makeshift church in a remote area about 250km from Panama City. A freshly dug grave was found about a mile from the church building and contained the bodies of five children as young as a year old, their pregnant mother, and a 17-year-old female neighbour. Violent sexual abuse, brainwashing and neglect: What it's like to grow up in a religious sect Show all 2 1 /2 Violent sexual abuse, brainwashing and neglect: What it's like to grow up in a religious sect Violent sexual abuse, brainwashing and neglect: What it's like to grow up in a religious sect 8621.bin Violent sexual abuse, brainwashing and neglect: What it's like to grow up in a religious sect 2465.bin The survivors suffered bodily injuries after being tied up and beaten with wooden cudgels and Bibles, burned, and hacked with machetes. Senior prosecutor Rafael Baloyes said: They searched this family out to hold a ritual and they massacred them, mistreated them, killed practically the whole family. "They were performing a ritual inside the structure. In that ritual, there were people being held against their will, being mistreated. All of these rites were aimed at killing them, if they did not repent their sins. He added they found a naked woman, alongside machetes, knives and a ritually sacrificed goat inside the building. The rituals had been ongoing since Saturday when one of the members had a vision that God had given them a message, said Mr Baloyes. Ten people have been arrested on suspicion of murder, including the grandfather of the dead children and a minor, and charged with deprivation of liberty, homicide and sexual abuse, reported the New York Times. A hearing will be held on Friday, said the Public Ministry of Panama. Ngabe Bugle zone leader Ricardo Miranda called the sect satanic and said it went against the regions Christian beliefs. He said: "We demand the immediate eradication of this satanic sect, which violates all the practices of spirituality and co-existence in the Holy Scriptures." The sect had been operating locally for about three months and its beliefs and affiliations were not known. The area is so remote that helicopters had to be used to ferry the injured out to hospitals for treatment. They included at least two pregnant women and some children. Additional reporting by agencies A MAN in his 20s has died after a stabbing incident at a house party in Cork. Gardai are expected to launch a murder investigation after the fatal attack which occurred at a house party on the south side of Cork city shortly after 8pm on Thursday night. Paramedics and gardai were called to an address off the Bandon Road after reports that a man had been seriously injured. A man, in his early 20s, was found lying in a pool of blood with critical injuries a short distance from the address. He was immediately rushed to Cork University Hospital (CUH). The young man was treated for a suspected stab wound to his neck and acute blood loss. Despite desperate efforts by doctors to stabilise his condition, he died shortly after being admitted. The young man is believed to be from Cork. A full post mortem examination will be conducted at CUH by the State Pathologist on Friday. Gardai will now await the detailed results of the post mortem examination but a murder investigation is expected to be launched. The scene was sealed off as uniformed officers spoke to people attending the social gathering to determine the precise circumstances in which the man sustained the fatal injuries. Gardai also commenced door to door inquiries in the area to determine if anyone had seen or heard anything suspicious over the course of Thursday evening. It is understood a number of people were at the social gathering after which the confrontation occurred. Several of those present were students attending colleges in Cork. Initial reports indicated the deceased may have attempted to stop a number of uninvited men from gaining access to the party when he sustained the fatal injury. He staggered from the property in a bid to get help but collapsed from his injuries as friends rushed to his aid. Gardai were searching for the weapon, believed to be a knife, used in the fatal incident. A number of people attending the party have been able to offer gardai a detailed description of the other young man involved in the confrontation. CCTV security camera footage from a number of shops and fast food outlets in the area - which is popular with students and young people - is expected to play a crucial role in the investigation. They have appealed for any witnesses to contact Bridewell Station on 021- 4943330. Emperor Naruhito expressed his hope for a bright future for children in his poem recited Thursday at the first New Yearas Poetry Reading Ceremony held since he ascended to the chrysanthemum throne last year. The theme of this yearas waka poems was nozomi (hope). Empress Masako, who has been suffering from a stress-induced illness, attended the traditional ceremony for the first time since 2003, while Crown Prince Akishino and his wife, Crown Princess Kiko, were also among the attendees. In his poem, the emperor described his feelings after visits to schools over the past year, including Azabu Kindergarten in Tokyo in June and Gakushuin Girlsa Senior High School, where their daughter Princess Aiko studies, in November. The official translation of the emperoras poem, provided by the Imperial Household Agency, is as follows: When I hear the cheerful voices of children Resounding through their classrooms I hope from the bottom of my heart They have a bright and beautiful future. In her poem, the 56-year-old empress described her sadness at the damage caused by natural disasters in the country but also how she has been encouraged to see young people helping out with recovery efforts. New Delhi [India], Jan 17 (ANI): Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who was released on bail from Tihar Jail on Thursday, will visit Jama Masjid and other religious places including Ravidas temple, Gurudwara and a church on Friday. Azad will later go to Jama Masjid at 1 in the afternoon to mark his protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Azad was released after a Delhi Court granted him bail and directting him not to hold any protest in Delhi till February 16 till the elections in the national capital. "I am here to visit Ravidas temple, then I will go to a gurudwara and a church and later to Jama Masjid at 1 pm. The purpose is to mark protest against Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC and also to tell people that such black laws cannot be imposed on us," he said while speaking to ANI. The Bhim Army chief was charged with rioting, unlawful assembly and inciting the mob to indulge in violence after vandalism in Delhi's Daryaganj area. (ANI) Holding the fins of his purple Flying V as Tom Shepard hammered the guitar's neck out of its body, was akin to "holding your child while someone does an amputation," for "Microwave" Dave Gallaher. "It's really painful to do," Gallaher says. "But he put it back together and the guitar still works great. He's a guy you can trust with this kind of work, he's just that good with it." An internationally known blues artist, Microwave Dave is Huntsville most iconic musician. Hes one of many of the citys top guitarists who rely on Shepard to repair, build and sell them the tools by which they make their living and their name. Toms really good at keeping the gear onstage, not in the shop, Gallaher says. If I call him up and say, This went bad last night, I need it tonight, hell say, 'Yeah bring it in, and hell find some way to squeeze it in even when hes really, really busy. Since the '80s, Shepard's worked extensively on Gallaher's gear, including his two vintage Gibson Flying Vs, a pair of Fender Stratocasters, oddball Japanese axes and even custom cigar-box guitars. Shepards guitar-healer powers know few limits. But hed decided he wanted limitations, at least concerning the shop where he worked. So, after eight years at 200 Oakwood Ave., in late 2019 he relocated T. Shepard Discount Music to 110 Cleveland Ave., next to music venue/restaurant A.M. Booths Lumberyard. This meant squeezing a business that had been in a 1,200-square foot space into one around 550. To pare down his retail stock, Shepard held a big sale at the Oakwood location. In addition to being significantly cozier, T. Shepards new location exudes a cooler vibe than the previous one. The Cleveland Avenue space, formerly home to Domaine South back when that downtown restaurant was solely a wine store, benefits from weathered brick exterior, high-ceilings and old school architecture. Sky-high shelves storing guitar bodies and necks, tools etc. divide the space. To the left, a long workbench populated by a drill press, sander, practice amp, screwdrivers, soldering iron, vices and archaic strobe tuner. A rack of in-progress builds and repairs hangs from the wall. In the back of the shop, an open office with a desk and computer. In the very front, a glass showcase containing effects pedals in front of strings and straps displays. Hours of operations are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. T. Shepard's Discount Music. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com) On the shops right side, a small but mighty retail stock. A cluster of gems hangs from the ceiling, including a 1931 resonator, 1949 Epiphone archtop and a couple Martin acoustics. A sexy 1969 Gibson ES-345, several Les Pauls and beastly six-string bass are wall-mounted above a black couch. After 40 years in the business, Shepard wanted to focus on guitar repairs and builds and less on retail. He'd been thinking of this shift for a couple of decades and for a time considered dropping retail entirely. "But I like a little bit of retail," Shepard says. "I like old funky guitars, all these are pretty unique, they're nice instruments, so that's kind of fun." Consignments make up much of his stock now. Budget, entry-level guitars are out of the picture now though. T. Shepard's Discount Music. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com) "I miss selling the kid the first guitar and having the conversation with him or her and the parents," Shepard says. "But people don't do it the same way anymore, now the kid's first guitar comes in a box with an Amazon smile on it or from Guitar Center. I talk to people in this business and some of them are bitter, and I'm going, 'They used to order everything out of the Sears catalog and that went away. We used to go to the mall and that went away.' Retail is dynamic. It changes. You can go with it or find your spot that doesn't need so I found my spot that's not affected by it." T. Shepard's Discount Music. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com) A Lee High graduate, Shepard opened his first guitar store around 1979, next to Helens Shoes, his moms shop, and two units away from Big Eds Pizza, at 2501 Oakwood. Cleveland Avenue is the 10th location Shepards operated his business from. But he insists, This is my last address - other than home. T. Shepard's Discount Music. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com) Preston Black has known Shepard for about 15 years. Thats when Black, a gifted shredder inspired by the likes of Joe Satriani and Zakk Wylde, began teaching guitar lessons at Shepards then-location on Memorial Parkway, in a former bank building. It was an early break for Black, who went on to become co-owner of the Huntsville Institute of Music. He really helped me out, Black says. Over the years, Shepards also made key modifications to Blacks guitars - installing new potentiometers and DiMarzio pickups, , which control volume and tone. He credits Shepard for keeping his guitars, including a beloved wine-red Les Paul, playing and sounding great. It also makes a different because anytime I try to work on my own stuff its very stressful, Black says. Its a lot simpler to just give it to Tommy and let him work his magic. T. Shepard's Discount Music. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com) When Shepard opened the Cleveland Avenue shop around early December, the front of the place immediately began filling up with repairs. Due to that and everything involved with the moving process, hes had put custom builds on the backburner for now, including around 10 he has in the queue. He says the musicians whove commissioned those builds have been really cool to let me take time out to do this. But hes itching to get creative again. A repairs a repair, some of them require some craftsmanship but most are just mechanical and then move on. All the builds get some of the craft that Ive learned and Im free to pursue that craft. I guess in a perfect world Id just build guitars, but thats never going to happen because guitar builders either make a whole lot of money or they just starve, and I dont want to starve. With his full head of snowy hair, blue Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers and sharp wit, Shepard seems much younger than his age of 68. A custom built T Shepard guitar. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com) Shepard estimates hes built around 450 of his T Shepard (yep, no period after the "T" there) custom guitars over the years Hes fondest of making Telecaster-style guitars, which is nice since they also sell the best. Its such a great platform to experiment on because its a flat body, just a slab of wood, Shepard says. Leo Fender was a genius. Black owns one of those Tele-inspired T Shepard guitars, which Black says, I pull out any time I need a little more twang in my playing. T Shepard guitars range in price from $595, made from pre-finished parts, to $1,395 to $2,000, for a full-custom job. Around $1,000 gets you something in the middle. A champagne sparkle finish T Shepard guitar. Courtesy photo) A few months ago, Gallaher acquired his first T Shepard build, a baritone guitar, which sonically occupies the space between a bass and standard electric guitar. "If you think of the Spaghetti Western theme songs, all that twangy low kind of sound," Gallaher says, describing the instrument's tone. For years he put a bug in Shepard's ear about building a baritone, but after that went unrequited eventually Gallaher gave it a rest. He repurposed a funky Japanese guitar, tuning it down, as a faux-baritone. Then one day Gallaher walked into Shepard's penultimate location on Oakwood, and saw an elongated neck sticking out of a guitar rack there. His friend had finally constructed a baritone. And it was a beauty. With a green-sparkle finish. That T Shepard baritone is now one of four instruments Gallaher uses in his solo electric blues sets. (He also typically brings four or so different guitars to his full band shows with The Nukes, but not the baritone.) Gallaher uses his T Shepard guitar on about six or eight songs in the solo set, including covers of Leadbelly's "Midnight Special" and of "Got No Automobile," a song The Nukes once cut with Allman Brothers producer Johnny Sandlin. Microwave Dave's T Shepard baritone guitar. (Courtesy Dave Gallaher) "It's an amazing instrument," Gallaher says. "It has a great voice. And besides doing what I want a baritone guitar to do, it's the most stable electric guitar I've ever played. The way all the strings work together on it, I can hit a chord and put the tremolo on and just let it ring and 12 seconds later it's still ringing. No strings have dropped out. That's really rare to have a guitar where all the frequencies respond like that and they decay at the same time." T. Shepard's Discount Music. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com) Gallaher makes it a point to bring in his guitars to Shepard for setup before a string of shows, such as when The Nukes do two sets a day 11 days straight at Daytona Bike Week, a Florida motorcycle throwdown. Once he knows you as a player, Gallaher says, he definitely has an instinct for what will work for your strengths and weakness. I think its a gift. More info at facebook.com/tshepards. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 01:52:52|Editor: yan Video Player Close ROME, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The private company managing most of Italy's highway network on Friday unveiled a multi-year strategic plan comprising investments worth 7.5 billion euros (8.3 billion U.S. dollars). The plan would stretch over the period 2020-2023. The funds would be spent "on new investment and on maintenance, with capital expenditure to almost triple and maintenance expenditure to increase by 40 percent compared with the previous four years," Autostrade per l'Italia S.p.A. (ASPI) said in a statement, adding that the plan would create about 1,000 new jobs in the country. The plan focuses on "the overall modernization of the network, involving large-scale and growing investment in new infrastructures ... and on the digitalization of assets and operations processes," among other goals. The company said it would allocate about 5.4 billion euros to the network -- "almost tripling the amount invested in the previous four years, amounting to approximately 2.1 billion euros" -- while maintenance expenditure would increase to two billion euros, up 40 percent. "The plan also covers the widening and upgrade of 30 kilometers of existing network, to be opened to traffic by 2023," it added. As for the creation of new jobs, the company said the most sought-after professional profiles would be those of "engineers, technicians, operating personnel, motorway personnel and toll collectors." Another relevant part of the plan is the "development, in partnership with (technology company) IBM, of an artificial intelligence platform, which will be used by the end of 2020 to monitor the 1,943 bridges and viaducts along the network," the company stated. This would also include the deployment of drones equipped with automated flight plans "to further improve the monitoring of bridges and viaducts, whilst high-speed video cameras, laser technologies and geo-radar will also be used to conduct checks on tunnels." Italy's highway operator came under heavy fire after the dramatic collapse of a major bridge in the northern city of Genoa in August 2018, which claimed dozens of lives. The company was suspected of not taking enough care of the highway infrastructures in terms of security checks, restoration and modernization. Since then, Italy's political authorities have been discussing revoking the concession to Atlantia -- the company controlling Autostrade per l'Italia -- but no decision has yet been reached. Commenting on ASPI's announcement on Friday, a major Italian newspaper wondered whether the new strategic plan would be enough to end the deadlock with the Italian government. In a long interview published by the daily La Repubblica on Friday -- ahead of the official unveiling of the plan -- ASPI Chief Executive Officer Roberto Tomasi said the company "would go bankrupt if the concession is revoked." (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollar) Commander of the National Army of Libya Khalifa Haftar has declared that he is a pacifist and has left for Greece to hold talks over peace, reports RIA. We are pacifists. We have come here to talk about peace, he said before his meeting with Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The talks lasted nearly an hour. Earlier, Haftar had met with Greek foreign minister Nikos Dendias. The Prime Minister also held phone talks with Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel to hold the Berlin conference on the Libyan settlement. We are thrilled to recognize MoistureShield as Marketer of the Year, said Paul Tourbaf, President, Residential Construction Group, Hanley Wood. Hanley Wood, the housing industrys data leader backed by Zonda and Metrostudy, and the industrys top residential real estate development and new home construction advisors is pleased to announce MoistureShield: An Oldcastle APG Brand was selected as the 2019 Brand Builder Awards Marketer of the Year. We are thrilled to recognize MoistureShield as Marketer of the Year, said Paul Tourbaf, President, Residential Construction Group, Hanley Wood. Their forward thinking suite of tools and training materials allowed them to separate themselves from the competition and gain preference and market share in a crowded space. The Marketer of the Year Award is presented annually by Hanley Wood to a company in the residential and commercial construction and design industry that best demonstrates a commitment to innovation, excellence in leveraging marketing programs to drive sales, and adoption of modern marketing tactics. This is an incredible win for MoistureShield composite decking and shows how far the brand and business have come since Oldcastle APG acquired the company over a year ago, said Ken ONeill, EVP - National Group for APG. We spent time out in the market to listen and ensure MoistureShield would be delivering more value to our channel partners and their customers. With that goal in mind, our marketing teams close collaboration with Interrupt has elevated our composite decking brand and positioned our quality MoistureShield product lines for unprecedented growth. We at Interrupt are excited that MoistureShield was named Hanley Woods Marketer of the Year, said Anita Holman, Executive Creative Director and Brand Strategist, Interrupt. Our goal was to leverage this unique product and create dynamic differentiation from the current sea of sameness in the category. This unique branding approach, coupled with their one-of-a-kind product offering, helps their customers differentiate their business and design decks for homeowners to live their best lives outdoors. We are looking forward to continuing this brand journey with MoistureShield and help gain category prominence. About Oldcastle APG Oldcastle APG, North Americas largest manufacturer of Outdoor Living Products, is part of CRHs Building Products division. CRH is a leading global diversified building materials group with operating locations in 32 countries worldwide. MoistureShield, a division of Oldcastle APG, proudly manufactures composite deck boards and related products serving a range of retail and distribution customers across North America and several international markets. The development of new technologies and patents has enabled MoistureShield to manufacture superior composite products from recycled wood fiber and recycled polyethylene plastic. Learn more at http://www.MoistureShield.com. About Interrupt Interrupt is a strategic branding and marketing agency that works with Fortune 1000 brands in the building products, home improvement and home enjoyment industries. They consider themselves a brand distillery, leveraging data to uncover unique insights that help distill down clients brands to find their unique space in their category. Interrupts deep branding, business and industry expertise enables them to help their clients outperform the industry and separate from the sea of sameness. Discover more about Interrupt at InterruptDelivers.com. About the Brand Builder Awards The Brand Builder Awards recognize the most innovative and effective marketing campaigns throughout the residential and commercial design and construction industries. Companies selected for recognition have executed campaigns that generate sales, motivate buying behavior and inspire customer loyalty. Companies submitted entries in seven categories, ranging from advertising campaigns to website design to best use of data driven marketing programs. About Hanley Wood Hanley Wood, represents the housing industrys leading provider of rich data, backed by Zonda and Metrostudy, and the industrys top advisors for residential real estate development and new home construction. With products and services geared for homebuilders, multifamily developers, lenders, and financial institutions, we provide innovative solutions to maximize opportunities in today's real estate development landscape. To learn more, visit https://www.hanleywood.com. Habitat for Humanitys Northwest Metro Atlanta chapter is accepting proposals from agencies that can provide public relations and social media services. New Delhi : Fashionista Sonam Kapoor is in the slay-game again, this time, in traditionals! The 34-year-old star who is in London shared a video of her in baby-pink, floral Anarkali looking like the beauty-icon, Madhubala. Matching her look with a popping, crimson lipstick, complemented by heavy set of earrings and necklace, the star posted the video in a hazy, 1960 Mughal-E-Azam style which she captioned, "Taj un saron par nahi rahta, jinke kareeb khauf aajaye a line from the K. Asif movie itself. As for Sonams love for traditionals, which is quite apparent from her social media post, she all went full-on royal during Halloween with hubby, Anand Ahuja during Halloween. "Pyaar kiya to darna kya... Bhaanexhalloween Sonam posted on her Insta. On Thursday, Sonam Kapoor, gave quite a heart-attack to fans when she posted a horrifying Uber incident on her Instagram. Calling her recent drive in London, the scariest experience, Sonam, shared, Hey guys Ive had the scariest experience with @Uber london. Please please be careful. The best and safest is just to use the local public transportation or cabs. Im super shaken. In a follow up tweet, giving details about her scray experience Sonam claimed that the driver was unstable and yelling and shouting all through the trip. Online retailer OnBuy.com is looking for a product tester who will get 50,000-a-year to spend on gadgets, clothes, and food - on top of a 35,000 salary. Bosses at OnBuy.com want to give the successful candidate 50,000 to spend on anything they want - like electronics, beauty, toys, clothing, and food and drink. Items bought can even be kept, in return for honest feedback from the new worker on website glitches, review products, and report on the 'shopping experience'. OnBuy.com wants 'online die-hard shopaholics to join our friendly and fast-paced team to put our sellers and website experience to the test!' The new worker must have 'a proven interest in shopping and extensive experience with shopping online' Children's 3 Piece Dinner Suit Size 116/122 Black Blazer Waistcoat Pant (above), for 30.99 64-piece makeup vanity case (above), on OnBuy.com for 32.99 Apple 13.3" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar MR9V2LL/A B&H (above), for 1,468.90 The advert boasts of attracting 'online die-hard shopaholics to join our friendly and fast-paced team to put our sellers and website experience to the test!' 'You will be paid a competitive salary plus you will be provided with a huge yearly budget to shop 'til you drop on our site,' it continues. 'It will be your responsibility to fully spend this budget each year. As an extra perk, you will be allowed to keep all items purchased. Smart TV Samsung UE43RU6025 43 4K Ultra HD LED WiFi Black (above), for 441.07 Molly Dolly 18" Doll Wheelchair Set (above), on OnBuy.com for 18.99 Doctor Who: Into The Dalek Time Zone and Figure Collection set (above), for 24.95 VIGO RICE MIX & BLK BEAN-8 OZ - pack of 12 (above), on OnBuy.com for 45.94 'You'll help improve our user experience and provide invaluable feedback. We have a range of sellers from a variety of sectors - including electronics, beauty, toys, clothing, food and drink - and we would like our mystery shoppers to purchase from these sellers and report on your experience.' The new worker, who is allowed to work remotely, must have 'a proven interest in shopping and extensive experience with shopping online'. A spokesperson for OnBuy.com, an online marketplace based in Poole which launched in November 2016, described the job as 'being a Kardashian, except the hours are flexible and you won't have to marry Kanye'. They added: 'Imagine being able to buy anything you wanted. Sounds great. 'Now imagine being PAID for buying anything you wanted - sounds like a dream! 'Well, online market place Onbuy.com is looking for shopaholics in dream job that offers employees the chance to shop until they drop - with an annual salary of 35,000 and a budget of 50,000 that MUST be spent per year. 'And to top it all off, you can keep everything you test and review. 'Your day-to-day role would consist of buying products from OnBuy.com sellers and reviewing the different products and services.' Boss Cas Paton, who grew up in Manchester and nearly embarked upon a career in the Armed Forces, said OnBuy.com takes 'shopper experience extremely seriously'. He added: 'We decided to create this position in order to discover any flaws in our processes, sellers or website to ensure the best possible user experience for our shoppers. We've supplied a large budget in order to help candidates shop across our ranges in a bid to have more visibility of buyer experiences across our platform.' To apply, please send your CV to careers@onbuy.com. Apple iPhone 11 | Black (above), also available on OnBuy.com, for 655.00 Carabica Coldpress Coffee Rum Liqueur | 25% abv 70cl (above), for 45.94 By Jun Ji-hye Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae will likely lose his bachelor's degree he earned from Inha University, which could adversely affect his uphill fight to protect management rights amid a family feud over the control of the nation's largest logistics conglomerate, according to the Ministry of Education, Friday. Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday launched a blistering attack on the ruling NDA in the state, accusing the BJP of subscribing to the ideology of Mahatma Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of having compromised on secularism to remain in power. Yadav, who is leader of the opposition in the state assembly, was addressing a rally in this district falling in the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region of Bihar as part of his state-wide "Pratirodh Yatra" (resistance tour) against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, ongoing National Population Register work and the proposed National Register of Citizens. The 30-year-old former Deputy CM of Bihar evoked the memories of his jailed father Lalu Prasad whose popularity among the states minorities remains unmatched, and said the BJP remains in "perpetual fear" of the ailing septuagenarian. Prasad had endeared himself to the Muslims when as the then Chief Minister in 1990, he had got L K Advani arrested to stop his Ram Rath Yatra. "It is not for nothing that Amit Shah uttered the name of Lalu ji 22 times in his speech that lasted not more than 30 minutes", said Yadav referring to the Union Home Ministers rally in Vaishali district on the previous day. Reaffirming his partys stout opposition to the CAA, which provides for granting citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from the neighboring Islamic countries, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, Yadav said "the law is discriminatory and clearly a first step to country-wide NRC, though the Narendra Modi government may not be admitting it at present". "The NPR is already a clear hint of the times to come. People are being asked to furnish the proof of the places of birth of their parents. "These people (BJP and its supporters) are descendants of Godse and they have the audacity to ask us patriots to furnish the proof of our citizenship", Yadav fumed. The BJP accuses Lalu of corruption, regarding itself of some sort of detergent which washes away the stains of whoever collaborates with the party, he wyrly said. The saffron party has had among its ranks a person like Swami Chinmayananda, who indulged in sexual escapades while pretending to be celibate and having renounced the world, alleged the RJD leader referring to the former Union minister. "Another such pretender is Yogi Adityanath, who recently desecrated Gaya the land where Buddha attained Enlightenment and where Hindus from far and wide perform pind daan for salvation of their departed ancestors", said the RJD leader referring to the firebrand BJP leaders pro-CAA rally earlier this week. Training his guns at Nitish Kumar, whose abrupt snapping of ties with the RJD in 2017 had stripped the young leader of his position in power, Yadav said "the JD(U)s constitution puts a premium on secularism. But paltu chacha (turncoat uncle) has compromised it all for the sake of power". Yadav, whom the RJD has declared its Chief Ministerial candidate for the assembly polls due later this year, began his state-wide tour on Thursday from adjoining Kishanganj. State BJP president Nikhil Anand issued a statement in Patna terming Yadavs rallies a "flop" and claiming that the turnout was "not even as large" as the one seen at a public meeting addressed by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in Kishanganj recently. Owaisi's party, which won the Kishanganj assembly seat in the by-polls last year, is trying to expand its popularity in the Muslims dominated seemanchal region. Anand also alleged that Muslim RJD leaders were "like second grade citizens inside their party" since they did not belong to the supremos family. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China's $200 billion, two-year spending spree negotiated with the Trump administration appears increasingly difficult to deliver, with more than $50 billion of U.S. exports annually left out and many American businesses still uncertain about just what the expectations are. While U.S. officials have stressed the reforms aimed at curbing intellectual-property theft and currency manipulation that China has agreed to in the "phase one" trade deal signed Wednesday, the Chinese pledge to buy more American exports has become an emblem of the deal to critics and supporters alike. The administration has said those new exports in manufactured goods, energy, farm shipments and services will come over two years on top of the $130 billion in goods and $57.6 billion in services that the U.S. sent to China in 2017 -- the year before the trade war started and exports were hit by Beijing's retaliatory measures to President Donald Trump's tariffs. But the list of goods categories in the agreement covers a narrower group of exports to China that added up to $78.8 billion in 2017, or $51.6 billion less than the overall goods exports to the Asian nation that year, according to a Bloomberg Economics analysis of the data. The goods trade commitment makes up $162.1 billion of the $200 billion total, with $37.9 billion to come from a boost in services trade such as travel and insurance. The target for the first year that the deal takes effect is to add $63.9 billion in manufactured goods, agriculture and energy exports. According to Bloomberg economist Maeva Cousin's analysis, that would be an increase of 81% over the 2017 baseline. In year two, the agreement calls for $98.2 billion surge in Chinese imports, which would require a 125% increase over 2017. Importantly for China, the accord requires those purchases to be "made at market prices based on commercial considerations," a caveat commodities markets in particular have seized on. The office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Trump's chief negotiator, did not respond to questions about the purchase commitments on Thursday. The administration has, however, insisted that the buying, along with the rest of the deal, is subject to an enforcement mechanism. Trump and his backers view the purchases as a well-deserved bounty for American farmers and manufacturers after decades of Chinese-made goods flooding the U.S., portraying Beijing's promises almost as reparations. "Together, we are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of economic justice and security for American workers, farmers, and families," the president declared on signing day. Critics argue that such pre-ordained demand amounts to a slide into the sort of government-managed trade that U.S. presidents abandoned decades ago and the very sort of act of central planning U.S. officials have spent years trying to convince China to walk away from. The purchase plan is based on what the administration insists is a specific -- though classified -- annex of Chinese commitments. The 20-page public version of that annex lists hundreds of products and services from nuclear reactors to aircraft, printed circuits, pig iron, soybeans, crude oil and computer services but no figures for purchases. Business groups have stopped short of calling those targets unachievable. But they have made clear they may never be met."This is ambitious and it will create some stresses within the supply system," said Craig Allen, the president of the U.S.-China Business Council. Among the questions remaining, Allen said, was whether China would lift its retaliatory duties on American products because U.S. tariffs will remain on some $360 billion in imports from China as Trump seeks to maintain leverage for a second phase of negotiations. Allen also made clear the overall purchase schedule left many U.S. companies uncomfortable even as they saw benefits in other parts of the deal. "The vast majority of our members are looking for no more than a level playing field in China," Allen said. "We are not looking for quotas or special treatment." The deal details commitments to lift non-tariff barriers on many agriculture imports such as chicken and beef and ease the way for the approval of genetically modified crop strains that have taken years in the past. It also will open up the market to credit card companies, ratings agencies and insurers. All those things should encourage trade.But for many manufacturers, what is changing remains less clear. Major exporters such as Boeing, whose CEO Dave Calhoun attended Wednesday's signing ceremony, have largely stayed mum about what exactly the deal will mean for their business with China.Trump has tweeted that the deal includes a Chinese commitment to buy $16 billion to $20 billion in Boeing planes. But in a statement welcoming the deal, Boeing would only say that it was "proud that Boeing airplanes will continue to be a part of this valued relationship" with China, which is its largest international market, accounting for $13.8 billion in sales in 2018. While the People's Republic hasn't ordered Boeing aircraft since 2017, Chinese airlines have continued to take new aircraft from Boeing and U.S. lessors. But deliveries to China tumbled to just 45 aircraft last year from 192 jetliners in 2018 amid the trade war and after Boeing was barred from shipping the 737 Max due to a global grounding imposed after two fatal accidents. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes German carmaker BMW is one of the most likely candidates to benefit from a Chinese commitment to buy U.S.-made vehicles. It exported 81,000 vehicles to China from its plant in South Carolina in 2017 and saw that number fall to just over 46,000 last year, with much of that decline coming because it started production of its X3 in China. But the carmaker declined to comment on how the new deal may change its export volumes to China. In the past it has put the cost of the trade wars at 300 million euros in 2018 alone. The text specifically includes "nuclear reactors" on the list of products to be bought by China, which is building more nuclear capacity than any other country according to the World Nuclear Association data. China's plans include at least four reactors using the AP1000 design from Westinghouse Electric Co. However, China said last year that it was starting to favor a homegrown reactor design for new power plants. And Westinghouse, which went bankrupt in 2017 and was later bought, has said it is now more focused on supplying components and taking apart decommissioned reactors than on selling reactors. "I remain skeptical of any significant U.S. exports of nuclear technology to China except for possibly fuel for the AP1000 reactors," Chris Gadomski, BloombergNEF nuclear analyst, said by email. A Westinghouse spokeswoman said Thursday she wasn't even aware that the deal included nuclear reactors. Intriguingly, Trump's new China pact includes plans for exports of American iron and steel, a potential gain for an industry close to the president that has benefited from his tariffs and complained about Chinese production and overcapacity for years. The text of the agreement lists iron and steel products ranging from pig iron to stainless steel wire and railway tracks, but steel industry sources said they had been caught by surprise and not been given any additional details on China's purchase commitments. U.S. Steel Corp. and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. -- the biggest U.S. iron-ore producer -- declined to comment. China produces more than 50% of the world's steel, and has drawn criticism from around the world for flooding global markets with cheap steel. On Thursday, Goyal said Amazon was not doing a favour to the country by the investments and questioned how the online retailing major could incur such 'big' losses but for its predatory pricing. Backtracking on his statement on Thursday against Amazon, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal clarified that the government welcomes all types of investments in India. However, businesses should adhere to rules and regulations in the country, he cautioned. Foreign investments in India, Goyal said, should not create unfair competition for small traders. "We welcome all types of investments. But if the foundation of any investment violates law then there will be a legal process." Goyal clarified that his statement on Thursday was taken 'out of context'. A day after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos who is on a three-day visit to the country pledged $1 billion in new investments to help take 10 million small Indian businesses online, Goyal said the investment announcement was not 'favour' to India. Goyal said his statement should be seen in a perspective, adding that all countries welcome foreign investment but it should be within the framework of the law, reported PTI. "Our laws say that the interests of such small traders should not get hurt. Investment should be in the purview of set parameters. That is the view of me and the government," he added. If investments are not within the framework of law, then legal action would be initiated, he told reporters. "Our country has some rules for e-commerce industry. We welcome all those investments which come as per these rules. However, it should not create unfair competition for the small traders of India. They do not get zero percent loans. They do not have lakhs and crores of rupees. They do business with small capital," said Goyal. The minister in a tweet also expressed similar views. On Friday, he said: "Some people think I said something negative against Amazon. If you look at the context of my statement, I said investment should come within the law and regulations. This process is followed across the world." Goyal was replying to reporters' queries in Ahmedabad on his Thursday's comment on Amazon investment in India. Bezos, in a statement on Friday, said the company plans to create one million new jobs in India over the next five years. The new jobs - created both directly and indirectly - will be across industries, including IT, skill development, content creation, retail, logistics, and manufacturing. These jobs are in addition to the seven lakh jobs Amazon's investments have enabled over the last six years in the country. With inputs from agencies U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos. "Im going to be going to Davos," the U.S. leader said following a ceremony at the White House. "Ill be meeting the biggest business leaders," Fox News cited Trump as saying. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:31:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- China will smash its record for space launches in 2020. The country is going to send more than 60 spacecraft into orbit via over 40 launches this year, according to a plan released Friday in Beijing. "This year will continue to see intensive launches," said Shang Zhi, director of the Space Department of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), at a press conference, where a blue book setting out China's space achievements and future missions was released. According to Shang, there are three major missions, mainly focusing on the completion of the BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System, the lunar exploration and the network of Gaofen observation satellites. Two geostationary orbit BeiDou satellites will be sent into space in the first half of 2020. The Chang'e-5 lunar probe, which is expected to bring moon samples back to Earth, and China's first Mars probe are also planned to be launched this year. In addition, three new types of carrier rockets, which are the Long March-5B, Long March-7A and Long March-8, will make their maiden flights in 2020. The Long March-5 rockets will be launched three times, carrying a new generation of manned spacecraft, a Mars probe and a Chang'e-5 probe into space. The CASC will also send a number of satellites for China's civil space infrastructure system and plan a series of commercial launches this year, according to the blue book. New Delhi : A 37-year-old man have been arrested for ringing doorbell of Mumbai residents late in the middle of the might and fleeing the spot. The serial doorbell ringer identified as Prem Lalsingh Nepali, was arrested after 43-year-old jeweller Rakesh Basantilal Mehta, a resident of Om Shree Akashdeep co-operative society at Kanjurmarg and the owner of Ratan Jewellers, filed a complaint against him. The man, who had also have had a history of with doorbells caused suspicion when he entered the building around 2 am and started roaming the premise before stopping near Mehta's flat, rang his apartment's doorbell before trying to flee. His doorbell mischief was caught red-handed by Mehta who confronted him on the matter. According to a report by Indian Express, Nepali started verbally abusing Mehta and other residents of the building when he was confronted. Residents were forced to call the police for intervention following the commotion after which Nepali was arrested. The medical examination reports of Nepali confirmed that he was under the influence of alcohol. The Kanjurmarg police have registered a case under section 448 (punishment for house-trespass), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The police further said that they were not able to interrogate Nepali properly as he was not fluent in the Hindi language. The accused was produced before the court and was remanded to judicial custody. Following his arrest, several people came forward and complained that Nepali had rang the doorbell of their houses several times in the past. Police had registered a non-cognizable offence against him. For all the Latest Offbeat News News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A prominent clergyman known as the vicar of Baghdad has been accused of considering paying Isis $17,500 (13,500) to free sex slaves. Canon Andrew White was president of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME) when he discussed ways to free girls enslaved by the terrorist group as part of a genocide against Iraqs Yazidi minority. The Charity Commission said there were a number of documents written by Rev White that the commission considers indicate his intent to pay funds either directly or indirectly to Isis. However, a report released on Friday concluded that it had not identified any evidence of charitable funds being used to secure the release of hostages. In an email sent in June 2016, Rev White wrote that donations were used specifically for the issue of buying back the women who had been taken as sex slaves by Isis. Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Show all 15 1 /15 Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Isis in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Isis in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community settle at a camp at Derike, Syria. In the camps here, Iraqi refugees have new heroes: Syrian Kurdish fighters who battled militants to carve an escape route to tens of thousands trapped on a mountaintop Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A pilot based at RAF Marham entering a Tornado GR4 prior to taking off for the reconnaissance mission over Iraq. Several RAF Tornado jets set off from RAF Marham in Norfolk this afternoon to travel to a "pre-position", from where they will fly to northern Iraq to provide improved surveillance of the situation on the ground. The jets, fitted with Litening III targeting and surveillance pods, will be able to fly over the crisis area to provide intelligence and help with the delivery of humanitarian aid Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A British Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR4 aircraft equipped with the Litening III pod from RAF Marham, eastern England, on their arrival at RAF Akrotiri Cyprus for their reconnaissance mission over Iraq Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Aid inside a Royal Air Force (RAF) Hercules C130 J aircraft before being airdropped to civilians in Iraq Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A Royal Air Force (RAF) Hercules C130 J military transport plane at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Britain made a third round of airdrops of supplies to aid refugees stranded on a mountain in northern Iraq, officials said, as Tornado fighters arrived at an RAF base in Cyprus preparing to provide surveillance support for the humanitarian effort Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR4 aircraft, flown in from Britain, stand on the tarmac at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A displaced man helps a woman, both from the minority Yazidi sect fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Isis in Sinjar town, as they make their way towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Iraqis including Turkmen, Shabaks, Kurds, Yezidis and Christians, fleeing from assaults of army groups led by Isis, take shelter at Bahirka Camp in Arbil Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community look for clothes to wear among items provided by a charity organization at the Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community gather for food at the Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community gather for food at the Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take a sick Iraqi Yazidi woman to the clinic at Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Sick displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community wait for treatment at a clinic at Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria In another email to FRRME trustees, he asked whether it would be legal for him to make a payment for buying back the sex slaves personally rather than through the charity. Rev White told The Independent that he had never intended to give Isis money or made any transfer that would reach the group, and had been helping a group supporting released Yazidi women. The Charity Commission said that Rev White requested $17,500 from two institutions in the USA be paid directly to them at a fundraising event, rather than to the FRRME. The charity raised concerns that the money may be paid to Isis to secure the release of two slaves, sparking an investigation by the Charity Commission and police, but the transfer did not take place and the funds were recovered. The 56-year-old, who served as the vicar of St Georges Church in Baghdad until he was told to leave for his own safety in 2014, resigned from FRRME after the probe started. The Charity Commission had suspended him as a trustee and shared information with the Metropolitan Police, who investigated Rev White under terrorist financing laws which ban any payment to proscribed groups. He was interviewed under caution and had his Hampshire home searched by officers, but was later informed that no further action would be taken. Rev White told The Independent: At no time did we ever pay any money to Isis or any terrorist organisation. All that I was involved in doing is paying for support for Isis sex slaves when they were released. This was a completely benign organisation that was housing these girls who had nowhere to go. Never did we pay for their release. Yazidi women speak of rape and beatings at the hands of Isis The clergyman, who is still involved in charitable projects for Iraqi refugees in Jordan, said he had been involved in hostage negotiations previously but did not pay ransoms. Rev White has multiple sclerosis and the Charity Commission inquiry noted that some of his conduct and behaviour could have been related to ill health. But the report accused the father-of-two of breaching other financial controls, concluding: An inquiry has found that serious misconduct and/or mismanagement by one trustee was likely to have caused significant damage to the FRRMEs income and reputation, and that there was mismanagement of that trustee by the other trustees. The regulator said only 5 per cent of 38,521 that Rev White and his assistant spent on a charity credit card was properly accounted for and personal expenditure was not addressed. It found that he purchased a car in Israel for $70,000 (53,000) in April 2015, which was registered it to the charitys Israeli consultant. Rev White was also involved in the now-defunct Naaman Trust, where a 2010 Charity Commission inquiry found poor governance and management. After becoming a Church of England vicar in 1990, he went on to be appointed a canon at Coventry Cathedral in 1998 and moved into international ministry work. Asked about the financial allegations, he said FRRME had introduced new policies and added: We dismissed the person who was my assistant because we were not getting the receipts we required. Andrew White praying for the release of five kidnapped British citizens at a 2007 service at St Georges church in Baghdad (Getty) (Muhannad Fala'ah/Getty Images) The Charity Commission said staff had indicated concerns about Rev Whites financial conduct since 2013 but had ineffective oversight of his actions and had not applied controls robustly. He was also accused of breaking the conditions of his 2016 suspension by making statements on Facebook advising the public of the suspension and soliciting funds for his own personal expenses. The Charity Commission said FRRME cooperated with its inquiry, has improved its management and oversight procedures, and appointed three new trustees and a CEO. Tim Hopkins, the regulators assistant director of investigations, monitoring and enforcement, said: Our inquiry has uncovered a pattern of concerning behaviour from one trustee who put this charity at risk, demonstrating a disregard for the standards and behaviours expected of them. Trustees should honour their responsibility and legal duty to act in the best interests of their charity at all times. Although the charitys other trustees were clearly let down, they failed to intervene effectively as we would have expected. FRRME accepted the findings of the report and said it would continue to promote conflict resolution and provide relief for the poor, needy, sick and aged in the Middle East. Chief executive Mike Simpson said staff took swift action on concerns and had made major improvements, adding: I believe that robust and effective governance enables the charity to move forward with confidence. We have a mission to bring hope, help and healing to the Middle East and we are demonstrating our ability to do that through the generosity of our supporters across the world. Former Vice President and current 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden says U.S. Section 230 should be immediately revoked for Facebook and other social media platforms, and that Mark Zuckerberg should be submitted to civil liability. He made the comments in a question-and-answer sessions with the New York Times. Here's a long excerpt but a relevant one from the New York Times Q&A session with Biden, which is worth a read in entirety: Charlie Warzel: Sure. Mr. Vice President, in October, your campaign sent a letter to Facebook regarding an ad that falsely claimed that you blackmailed Ukrainian officials to not investigate your son. I'm curious, did that experience, dealing with Facebook and their power, did that change the way that you see the power of tech platforms right now? No, I've never been a fan of Facebook, as you probably know. I've never been a big Zuckerberg fan. I think he's a real problem. I think CW: Can you elaborate? No, I can. He knows better. And you know, from my perspective, I've been in the view that not only should we be worrying about the concentration of power, we should be worried about the lack of privacy and them being exempt, which you're not exempt. [The Times] can't write something you know to be false and be exempt from being sued. But he can. The idea that it's a tech company is that Section 230 should be revoked, immediately should be revoked, number one. For Zuckerberg and other platforms. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act says that online platforms aren't held liable for things their users post on them, with some exceptions. In July, The Times's Sarah Jeong weighed in on proposed updates to Section 230, arguing that "we should reopen the debate on C.D.A. 230 only because so much of the internet has changed," but "the discourse will be improved if we all take a moment to actually read the text of C.D.A. 230." CW: That's a pretty foundational laws of the modern internet. That's right. Exactly right. And it should be revoked. It should be revoked because it is not merely an internet company. It is propagating falsehoods they know to be false, and we should be setting standards not unlike the Europeans are doing relative to privacy. You guys still have editors. I'm sitting with them. Not a joke. There is no editorial impact at all on Facebook. None. None whatsoever. It's irresponsible. It's totally irresponsible. CW: If there's proven harm that Facebook has done, should someone like Mark Zuckerberg be submitted to criminal penalties, perhaps? He should be submitted to civil liability and his company to civil liability, just like you would be here at The New York Times. Whether he engaged in something and amounted to collusion that in fact caused harm that would in fact be equal to a criminal offense, that's a different issue. That's possible. That's possible it could happen. Zuckerberg finally took down those ads that Russia was running. All those bots about me. They're no longer being run. [ In October, a 30-second ad appeared on Facebook accusing Mr. Biden of blackmailing Ukrainian government officials. The ad, made by an independent political action committee, said: "Send Quid Pro Joe Biden into retirement." Mr. Biden's campaign wrote a letter calling on Facebook to take down the ad.] He was getting paid a lot of money to put them up. I learned three things. Number one, Putin doesn't want me to be president. Number two, Kim Jong-un thinks I should be beaten to death like a rabid dog and three, this president of the United States is spending millions of dollars to try to keep me from being the nominee. I wonder why. Church to host fellowship meal WATERLOO Impact Church, 715 E. Fourth St., will host their first annual Christmas Fellowship Dinner from 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesday. This community dinner will at the church and is free of charge. For more information, call the church at 595-1015. AMVETS Riders serve supper EVANSDALE The Evansdale AMVETS Riders will host the monthly steak and ham supper on Saturday. Serving will be from 5-7 p.m. Karaoke will follow. Church to host chili supper WATERLOO The Kimball Avenue United Methodist Church Esther Circle will host a chili supper fundraiser from 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at 1207 Kimball Ave. There will be chili with all the toppings, as well as cornbread, sandwiches, desserts and drinks. Cost is $8, or free for those 5 and younger. Food giveaway set in Waterloo WATERLOO The Apostolic Pentecostal Church will host a free food pantry distribution from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at 1645 Downing Ave., open to the public. It operates in affiliation with the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. Blood drive set in Dike DIKE Dike and /New Hartford community blood drive is set for 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Dike United Methodist Church, 439 Church St. Schedule a blood donation appointment at lifeservebloodcenter.org or call (800) 287-4903. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 YEREVAN. Now the scene of the incident is being examined, as a result of this action I will be able to answer your questions. Artur Melikyan, Deputy Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, said this in a conversation with journalists today, referring to the circumstances behind the death of Georgi Kutoyan, former Director of the National Security Service (NSS). "When we came to the scene, there were his wife and father," he said. Initially, what the operative officers told us was that the wife had found the body. We haven't talked to the neighbors yet. The area is fully equipped with video cameras so that we don't lose evidence. We also work on the suicide theory." Melikyan added that there was a gun at the scene but could not say if it was legal because he had not seen it. "Forensic doctors are participating," he said. "We will find out how many injuries there are." Artur Melikyan added that the remaining questions will be able to be answered in about 1-1.5 hours. As reported earlier, Georgi Kutoyan was found dead today in a Yerevan apartment, and with a gunshot wound. According to the Hraparak daily, when the police entered the apartment, they found an empty brandy bottle next to the corpse, as well as Kutoyan's personal pistol. The shot was fired from that very weapon, and in the mouth. According to the website, it is not known yet whose house the body of the former NSS director was found in, as according to Kutoyans declaration of property and assets, he had only one apartment and it was somewhere else in Yerevan. Kutoyan was 39 years old, married, and had a 4-year-old child. Find a top doctor in the Rome Metro Area- from oncologists to pediatricians, dermatologists to surgeons. The clinics listed here will assist you in accessing english- speaking medical providers. For specific needs, we have also added recommendations in various categories. Clinics Mater Dei. Located in the Parioli neighborhood, this large, private clinic provides 24 hour health services, maternity care, and lab work. Check their website for information on their insurance agreements. Via Antonio Bertoloni 34. Paideia. This private clinic in Parioli offers specialist services, including outpatient surgery. Find information about their insurance agreements on their website. Via Vincenzo Tiberio 46. UPMC Salvator Mundi. Situated at the top of the Gianicolo Hill, this private healthcare facility also offers emergency first- aid services. Viale delle Mura Gianicolensi 67. Campus Bio-medico University Hospital. The facility, located near Eur, provides health care under the National Health Service as well as privately. They also have a radiation and oncology hub in the Prenestino area. Via Alvaro del Portillo 200. Child Psychology Centro Sinapsy. A center for neurology and cognitive rehabilitation that provides diagnostics, occupational therapy, and psychotherapy, with a focus on children. They also offer tutoring in English, French and Spanish, as well as family therapy. Via Quintino Sella 20. Homeopathic Medicine/ Acupuncture Loredana Coppola. A medical studio in Trastevere that specializes in acupuncture, as well as respiratory allergies, post surgery treatment, and fertility with a homeopathic approach. Viale di Trastevere 269. Ophthalmologist Centro Valeo. This studio is centre located near Porta Pia and provides medical consults for problems of the eyes of adults and children. We reccomend to call for an appointment Dr. Claudio Caggiano who speaks English and Spanish. Tel. +39 3356092481. Via Castelfidardo 34. Studio Oculistico. This studio is located in Prati, and provides services for adults and children. We recommend an appointment with Dr. Erica Burrato who speaks english. Via Candia 20. Orthopedic AlphaMed. The city center studio provides a range of orthopedic services, from x- rays to physical therapy. They are a multi- lingual office with a great reputation. Via Zanardelli 36. Home Visits MedInAction. As part of the Salvatore Mundi International Hospital, they provide english- speaking medical care 24/7. Doctors in Italy. An easy to use platform for travelers, they will connect you with doctors in your area in addition to house calls. New Delhi: Television star Karishma Tanna may have returned from Maldives but her heart is still there. We have proof. Just recently, the actress treated her Instafam to some fabulous pictures of herself from Maldives and she used the hashtag 'Take Me Back' to describe the post. In the pictures, Karishma sets temperature soaring in a black monokini, which she paired with a matching sheer shrug. She exudes saas and flaunts her well-toned body. Karishma is also seen enjoying her time beside the beach sipping some fresh juice. Take a look at what Karishma Tanna posted. Karishma has some very fabulous pictures from her Maldives-special album and they will make you go green with envy. "Take me back to the beach and salty air," is how she captioned this post: She also enjoyed some water sports: And, this eazy-breezy look of hers is to die for. Isn't it? Karishma Tanna is one of the most popular actresses of the TV industry. She was last seen in Ekta Kapoor's hit show 'Naagin 3'. All the parts of the show have immensely successful and currently, season 4 is on air. The actress has also worked with Ranbir Kapoor in the blockbuster film 'Sanju'. murkowski collilns trump.JPG Kevin Lamarque/Reuters On the website PredictIt, people can place bets with real US dollars on big political events. Users on the site place "yes" or "no" bets on popular political predictions, like President Trump's impeachment trial. People are betting that there's a 10% chance the Senate will convict him in the upcoming impeachment trial and an 84% chance that Trump will complete his first term. The site also has bets on how certain senators, like Republican Sen. Mitt Romney and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, will vote in the trial. Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories. On the popular betting site PredictIt, people can place bets in US dollars on predictions for big political events, including the upcoming impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. By placing "yes" or "no" votes on political predictions, users forecast the outcomes on everything from how many times they think Trump will tweet this week to their predictions on a conviction by the Senate in the impeachment trial. PredictIt is run by Victoria University in New Zealand for educational purposes, according to its website, which says it uses real money to give users some stake in their bets and improve the research value of the bets and because "real money is fun." Bets on the website that the Senate would convict Trump were trading at $0.10 on Thursday, which translates to users forecasting a 10% chance that the Senate votes to convict. There's an 83% chance that Trump will complete his first term, according to a bet on the site. Another bet said there was a 10% chance the president would resign during his first term. Other bets are on how some wild-card senators either because of political ideology or electoral vulnerability could vote in Trump's impeachment trial. Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah has a 25% chance of voting to convict the president, according to the site. Story continues Bets that another Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, would vote to convict were trading at $0.24 on Thursday, while Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins was predicted to have a 12% chance of voting against the president. Murkowski and Collins, two Republicans who sometimes split with their party, are often seen as moderates that vote together, as they're both politically vulnerable in their upcoming reelections for their Senate seats. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, another politically vulnerable senator who is serving as a juror in the impeachment trial, is likely to buck his party and vote to acquit the president, people on the site predicted. Bets that he would vote to acquit Trump were at $0.65 on Thursday, translating to a 65% chance the senator would vote against removing the president from office. While the site is not a scientific calculation of the way Trump's impeachment trial could go down, it's a unique insight into popular opinion and speculation about how the Senate could vote and how these wild-card senators could shake things up. Read the original article on Business Insider Almost a year after announcing plans to form two separate public companies, Gap Inc. will no longer spin off Old Navy into a stand-alone business, the San Francisco retailer said Thursday. The company said in a news release that its board had scrapped the plan to split the companies, saying it would be too costly and complex. It was looking into spinning off Old Navy while retaining its other entities the Gap store chain, Athleta, Banana Republic, Intermix and Hill City under the Gap Inc. name. The apparel maker also announced Thursday that Neil Fiske, president and CEO of the Gap brand, is stepping down. The work weve done to prepare for the spin shone a bright light on operational inefficiencies and areas for improvement, said Robert Fisher, the companys interim president and CEO, in a statement. We have learned a lot and intend to operate Gap Inc. in a more rigorous and transformational manner. The reasoning behind the split, the company had said, was so the better-performing Old Navy stores would not be weighed down by the original Gap chain and other weaker brands. But Old Navys sales dropped in the quarter that ended Nov. 2, the company reported last year. Gap said at the time that it had lost sight of what the Old Navy customer really valued. Like many mall-based retailers, Gap has also struggled to compete with the rise of online shopping. Clothing, once seen as a strong product for physical stores, which could offer changing rooms and easy returns, has seen huge growth by online retailers. Gap, which has long offered online shopping, has made some moves to compete for example, by introducing an online subscription service for Banana Republic clothes and accessories, joining rivals like Trunk Club and Stitch Fix in offering monthly deliveries of wardrobes. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Analysts began to question whether the split would happen after Art Peck stepped down as Gap Inc. CEO in November. Gap Inc.s plan to terminate its spin of Old Navy reflects the challenges presented by the cost and complexity of splitting the business in the face of weaker operating results, Christina Boni, vice president of Moodys credit rating agency, said in a statement. Gap shares shot up almost 7% in after-hours trading following the announcement. Gap is set to report fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Feb. 27. Shwanika Narayan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @shwanika The document at issue has been the subject of some government-authorized reporting which might raise questions about the need for its continued classification at all. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz offered some broad details about the document in his report on the FBIs Clinton email investigation, noting, for example, that the same classified material also included an allegation, equally lacking in credibility, that Comey planned to delay the . . . investigation to aid Republicans. A highly contagious gastrointestinal illness has swept through Yosemite National Park, sickening at least 170 people and prompting a huge cleanup effort at the hotels, restaurants and public facilities in the picturesque valley, federal officials said Thursday. The illness, characterized by stomach issues, including vomiting and diarrhea, has stricken park visitors and employees in every part of Yosemite Valley, with most cases reported during the first week of January, park spokesman Scott Gediman said. Two cases have been confirmed as norovirus, an extremely contagious virus that is notorious for sickening people on cruise ships, in schools and other crowded places, a National Park Service release stated. It isnt known whether the other cases were caused by the same virus, but the overwhelming majority of the reported cases are consistent with norovirus, the release continued. Its highly contagious, so if an infected person touches a banister and someone else touches it, they can get it, Gediman said. Its very difficult to find out exactly where it started. Norovirus, which causes as many as 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis in the United States every year, can spread through direct contact with an infected person, touching a contaminated surface or object, or by eating food or drinking liquids contaminated by someone with the virus. The virus can also spread through airborne transmission. It can take 12 to 48 hours before symptoms appear. Michael Bennett, 69, and his partner, Luke Lowery, 60, spent two nights at the famed Ahwahnee Hotel and on Jan. 4, took a train home to San Francisco, where Lowery got sick. That night he was violently ill, Bennett said. The next day I began feeling queasy and by that night I also had severe vomiting and diarrhea. The symptoms lasted about three days. Bennett said they spent most of their time at the Ahwahnee, where they ate most of their meals. But they did take the park shuttle, went into shops and museums and ate one meal at the Yosemite Lodge. Im upset because we love going to the park, and we love going to the Ahwahnee, but now we are going to feel a little bit wary, Bennett said. Its kind of disgusting to think that somebody who didnt wash their hands may have passed on the virus. Kathleen Morse and her husband, Jeremy Zawodny, got sick about 24 hours after celebrating their 12th anniversary by spending the night of Jan. 7 at the Ahwahnee. Morse, the 45-year-old owner of an aerospace research company in Groveland (Tuolumne County), said they, too, spent most of their time at the famous hotel, but also had a lunch at Yosemite Lodge. She was struck by the fact that there was no hand sanitizer in the restrooms. Preventing transmission of norovirus Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol can be used. Avoid sharing food or drinks with other people, especially when you're sick or they're sick. See More Collapse I think that theres a lot of people going through those areas, said Morse, who was mostly upset because nobody told her anyone else had gotten sick and she had to call three times before a hotel manager took her report. They cant cut corners. The Yosemite health clinic staff is working with specialists with the U.S. Public Health Service and the California Department of Public Health interviewing people and conducting inspections of the many snack shops, restaurants, hotels and other facilities operated by Yosemites vendor, Aramark of Philadelphia. 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. Tracking down the cause of the epidemic will be difficult, Gediman said, so Park Service staff are concentrating on preventing its spread by disinfecting hotel rooms, restaurants and other public places. The good news is that most of the cases were around the first of the year, and weve seen a significant decrease, he said. Weve had very few new cases reported lately, so were hopeful that were on the downward cycle of it. The incident comes as Yosemite and Aramark struggle to maintain adequate visitor services at the park. Aramark, which has managed Yosemites concessions for nearly four years, has been repeatedly criticized for poor food quality, inadequate shuttle service and other problems. The Chronicle recently reported that the Ahwahnee Hotel has been downgraded from its prestigious four-diamond rating by AAA to three diamonds. It is the second major virus to hit Yosemite since 2012, when a deadly outbreak of hantavirus sickened nine people, three of whom died. The virus was blamed on a skyrocketing deer mice population in Yosemite Valley. The victims in that case are believed to have inhaled airborne particles of mouse feces and urine that accumulated in dust. Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite Western Bay and Tauranga City councils have gained recognition for the Welcoming Communities programme that has been successfully piloted in the region for the past two years. The two councils are among 10 in New Zealand that have gained accreditation from Immigration New Zealand (INZ) for their success in implementing the programme. Western Bay Council Mayor Garry Webber says Welcoming Communities has been a catalyst for raising awareness of the ethnic diversity of the region. The programme has helped enhance the community spirit and aroha that makes the Western Bay such a welcoming place. We look forward to continuing to embrace the District's cultural diversity and to build and strengthen cohesive and culturally connected communities. Tauranga City Council Mayor, Tenby Powell says newcomers play a vital role in the regions economic success and help make the city a more vibrant and culturally diverse place to live. Its been great to see residents and local organisations get behind Welcoming Communities programme, creating more opportunities for people to collaborate and connect with each other. Immigration New Zealands General Manager of Refugee and Migrant Services, Fiona Whiteridge, commends the communities for their efforts and the crucial role theyve played in the programmes design. They have shown a commitment to creating an inclusive environment where all residents can thrive and belong. Were delighted to accredit them as Committed Welcoming Communities, we look forward to further supporting their work. Accreditation formally recognises that the councils and their communities value newcomers and are committed to building inclusive communities. It also gives them access to further funding, support and advice to continue the Welcoming Communities work. The Welcoming Communities programme will be extended to other councils and communities around the country over the next four years. The councils and communities, listed below, are the first in New Zealand to be accredited as Committed Welcoming Communities: Tauranga City Council Western Bay of Plenty District Council Whanganui District Council Palmerston North City Council Ashburton District Council Selwyn District Council Gore District Council Invercargill City Council Southland District Council Environment Southland Pop Smoke Arrested, Charged With Interstate Transportation of a Stolen Motor Vehicle Torry Threadcraft Torry Threadcraft is a writer who covers music, sports, and Reports claim the Brooklyn MC knowingly and intentionally transported the vehicle. According to Complex reports, New York authorities arrested Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke early Friday morning. Authorities accuse the Welcome to the Party MC of transporting a stolen Rolls Royce Wraith from California to New York. According to documents obtained by Complex, the incident happened on or about and between November 5 and December 3, 2018. Pop Smoke faces an arraignment Friday afternoon in Brooklyn Federal Court. According to TMZ reports, Pop Smoke met the cars owner in Los Angeles. The two agreed that he would use the car in a music video. In exchange for the favor, Pop Smoke would give the owner VIP treatment at a concert. The owner told him to return it the next day. When it wasnt returned, the owner used GPS, which located the car in Arizona. Subsequently, the owner reported the car stolen. Okayplayer will provide updates as they become available. Pop Smoke rose to popularity in the latter half of 2019 with Welcome to the Party. The track gained momentum in the tri-state area. Subsequently, Nicki Minaj and Rico Nasty recorded their own remixes. On the heels of its success, he dropped his first mixtape, Meet the Woo. Towards the end of the year, Pop Smoke appeared on Travis Scotts JACKBOYS compilation album. The track, GATTI, The track hit number 24 on Billboards Hot Rap Songs chart on the week of January 11. He quickly capitalized on the songs momentum, releasing the video for Christopher Walking and announcing Meet the Woo 2. SOURCE: TMZ H/T: Complex Bradley International Airport made it onto the Transportation Security Administrations list of Top 10 List of most unusual items found at checkpoints in 2019. What was the item from the airport in Windor Locks that ranked as #6 on the top ten list? A traveler showed up at the Bradley International Airport checkpoint in early spring with an electric circular power saw. TSA does not permit any tools larger than seven inches to be brought onto an airplane. Individuals who show up at a checkpoint with tools larger than seven inches are given a choice. They can put it in a checked bag, return it to their vehicle, hand it off to a non-traveling companion or mail it to their destination (or home) if the airport has a mailing center. The final option is to voluntarily surrender it to TSA. This one was surrendered to TSA. TSA released the list in an on-line video it posted on the agencys Twitter account. Prohibited items that are surrendered at the checkpoints nationwide are picked up by the state and sold. The states keep the profit. TSA makes no profit off of items that travelers surrender at checkpoints. Burma Civil Servants Refusing to Work in Chin States Paletwa Amid Fighting Between Military, AA A Myanmar military soldier in Rakhine State / Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy YANGONMany civil servants are refusing to work in Chin States Paletwa Township, where the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) ethnic armed group have been fighting since November 2018, according to Chin State Municipal, Electricity and Industry Minister U Soe Htet. Not only teachers, but also police and staff of other departments dont want to work there due to security concerns. Some have even chosen to resign rather than be transferred to Paletwa, the minister told The Irrawaddy. Civil servants began refusing to work in Paletwa in 2018, and many more followed suit last year. Paletwa first started to experience instability in 2015, but teachers were still willing to work there when they were transferred to Paletwa until about 2016, he said. When the region was peaceful, teachers from central Myanmar were happy to live and teach there. But as the region has become unstable, they dare not stay. Many have taken unpaid leave, he added. There are 384 basic education schools in Paletwa Township, but 212 schools have closed during the 2019-2020 academic year, which began in June last year, due to a lack of teachers. At the Education Ministry alone, as of Thursday 139 staff had requested to be transferred from Paletwa to other parts of Chin State, and 67 outside the state, while five had submitted their resignations. Not only teachers but also civil servants working in other departments including the police force, and the Immigration and Forestry departments in Paletwa Township have concerns about their personal safety, said the minister. Here, everyone is in a state of panic. They are concerned that they will be targeted. Even the urban areas are not safe, but the situation is worse in rural areas, said Paletwa Township administrator U Koe Aung. Some 110,000 people live in Paletwa Townships 388 villages. Around 60,000 people have been impacted by the fighting, while 4,000 to 6,000 have been displaced from their homes, according to the Chin State government. On Jan. 9, the Paletwa Township General Administration Department extended its dusk-to-dawn curfew for two months. The department imposed the curfew on Nov. 9 last year. On Dec. 31, the AA briefly detained 16 Construction Ministry staff for interrogation and released them the following day. On Dec. 25, the Buthidaung Township National League for Democracy chairman died while being detained by the AA. The AA said the chairman was killed in an artillery attack by the Myanmar military, a claim the military denies. Meanwhile, the AA has detained Upper House lawmaker U Whei Tin of Paletwa Township since Nov. 3, and refused to provide proof that he is still alive. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko You may also like these stories: Myanmar Military, AA Swap Blame for Civilian Deaths in Chin State AA Soldiers Beat Civilians After Attempted Rape in Myanmars Chin State in 2019, cannabis-related media headlines were dominated by the public health crisis surrounding vaping and other electronic smoking devices. In a majority of the reported incidents, the products were unlawful or counterfeit and purchased from illegal operators. Although many counterfeit products may look like their legal, regulated counterparts, some hold a dark secret -- dangerous contaminants -- as well as significant differences in product purity and potency. With public concern mounting, what can customers do to help ensure the canna products -- vaping or other -- they purchase are safe and reputable? They can start by being proactive consumers -- asking the right questions and always shopping at licensed dispensaries. While its important to note that there is no full-proof method to guarantee that any product is safe, legal cannabis products undergo strict testing and licensing to ensure they meet industry purity and quality standards. In California, for example, licensed cannabis products must pass safety testing for more than 60 different types of pesticides, chemicals, and harmful fungi. With these factors in mind, consumers should consider the following quality assurance questions: RELATED: How Vape Manufacturers Are Striking Back Against Counterfeits What does the packaging look like? Has the package been tampered with? Is it child-resistant? Tamper evident packaging means that the consumers are able to identify if a product has been opened or used. For example, this may include stickers across the lid that will tear once the jar is opened, plastic seals, a jar with a lid that may pop up after opening, and more. Rule of thumb: if a product appears to be tampered with, do not purchase it. In addition, all cannabis products must have child-resistant packaging (CRP), either initial CRP, which is not child-resistant after opening, or lifetime CRP, which remains child resistant throughout the lifetime of the package. Flower and flower-only pre-rolls, inhaled concentrates, topicals and single-serving cannabis products will have initial CRP. Edibles, orally-consumed concentrates, and suppositories will have lifetime CRP. Does the product have a label? Legal THC-based products will have manufacturer information on the label. In California, cannabis product labels are made up of the primary panel, which is the part of the label displayed to consumers at retail (usually on the front or top of the package), and the information label, which is any part of the label that is not the primary panel. The primary panel will include: Product identity Net weight Universal symbol The information label will include: Unique tracking number (UID number) issued through the states track and trace system Manufacturers name and contact information Date of manufacturing/packaging Government warning statement for cannabis products Batch or lot number Instructions for use Ingredients (if applicable) Allergens, artificial food colorings, and use-by or best-by date (if applicable) Edible product labels will also say cannabis-infused and will list the sodium, carbohydrates and fat per serving. Flower product labels will also list the total cannabinoids, the measure of cannabinoid resin content in the plant material. Some brands are incorporating a QR code into their packaging that consumers can scan for information regarding tracking, testing, ingredients, and more. To increase transparency within the industry, some companies have launched their own authenticity systems to identify cannabis products. Recently, solo sciences launched solo*, the worlds first cryptographically-secure cannabis product authentication system. Using a free mobile app to decipher uniquely encoded labels, solo* allows distributors to verify the origin of their merchandise and consumers to verify the authenticity of their cannabis products. Has this product been tested? Are the results available? An important question to ask the budtender at your local licensed dispensary is whether a product has been thoroughly tested or graded by a reputable laboratory and licensed distribution company. Budtenders have every products certificate of analysis (COA) and testing information on hand within the retail location and the information is readily accessible to staff, consumers, and the states Bureau of Cannabis Control should they request it. However, buyer beware, some illicit operators may go so far as to make fraudulent lab testing claims and include a photoshopped COAs. For this reason, its important to rely on multiple factors to determine product legitimacy and purity. RELATED: How The Black Market Is Threatening The Legal Cannabis Market Is the dispensarys license number visible in the retail location? Its important to only shop at licensed dispensaries that thoroughly screen their products. All legal retailers will have their license number and dispensary permit displayed in the store to validate that it is a state-licensed distributor. Is this product tracked from seed to sale? In certain states, the movement of legalized cannabis or cannabis products must be tracked through every step of the commercial supply chain, from seed to sale. In California, the state requires that licensed cannabis-based businesses comply with the METRC (Marijuana Enforcement, Tracking, Reporting, and Compliance) software program. Having a track and trace system in place increases accountability, helps ensure the product is not compromised at any stage of the process and furthers anti-contamination, quality assurance, and safety efforts. With safety concerns surrounding products within the industry on the rise due to contaminated and counterfeit products, the industry as a whole must work together to dissipate negative stigmas and further efforts to meet safety, quality and purity standards. Retailers must dedicate more resources to selecting inventory and ensuring only compliant companies are used that test their products in reputable labs. In addition, consumers should do their part by only shopping at licensed distributors, communicating with budtenders and being selective in their purchases -- when in doubt, pass on buying that item. Although licensed products may carry a higher price tag than their illicit counterparts, in the end, it is worth it to have safe, high-quality, and pure cannabis. Related: Is Your Cannabis Safe? 5 Questions To Ask Yourself Headed to the Super Bowl? Check Your Urine -- and 12 Other Safety Tips How to Tell If You Are Being Followed -- And What to Do About It Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Web Toolbar by Wibiya Entrepreneurs are buzzing with excitement as the 2020 Toronto Book Expo draws nearer. Several promising entrepreneurs have applied for vendor status and all of them have something to prove: that their product/service is valuable to the community. Entrepreneurs from everywhere you can imagine are expected to flock to the Toronto Book Expo for the chance to showcase their unique inventions and services. Several vendors have already snatched a spot on the vendor list and are highly anticipating the opportunity to reach hundreds of expo-attendees to display the value of their innovation. Its no secret that the Toronto Book Expo sits on quite possibly one of the best commercial marketing opportunities any business can encounter. The Toronto Book Expo has enlisted teams of volunteers to ensure that the Expo is as successful as possible. Its clear that the Toronto Book Expos benefits extend to all parties involved. These include vendors, expo-organizers, attendees and marketing specialists alike. There is certainly so much to learn from spending a day immersed in human ingenuity and innovation. The Expo aims to build a stronger community among all parties involved in the Expo. This includes camaraderie between vendors. The Expo encourages vendors to support one another by creating friendships, bonds and personal connections to last for many years. There is, of course, a certain benefit to creating connections with fellow vendors during the Expo. One might say that the only way to succeed in the industry is to equip yourself with a long list of people to support your work. This is especially true now that we are in the digital age. Support comes in many forms but it has become increasingly easier for people to help in expanding your audience with the tap of their screens. The Toronto Book Expo provides the ultimate platform for entrepreneurs to not only gain a large list of potential clients but to also gain a solid team of supporters. One of the best things about participating in Expos is that entrepreneurs are able to create personal connections with potential clients. Creating a personal connection is vital in any business. It solidifies your humanity and would appeal to certain people, especially if you have the chance to personally share your story with them. The Toronto Book Expo is expecting to truly revolutionize the way society sees book fairs. After all, one of the results of reading books is having an open mind. Most innovators pick up books daily. The Expo aims to inspire aspiring authors or dormant innovators to come out of the woodwork so to say and explore their passion and talent. Educating is not new for the Toronto Book Expo. Several academic authors are expected to be in attendance alongside newly minted inventions designed to improve and add value to daily life. In fact, the Expos main mission is to completely eradicate illiteracy. Illiteracy remains a big problem in Canada. This is especially true if you look at the fact that some of those who are illiterate in society are well into adolescence and adulthood. The Toronto Book Expo aims to bring awareness to this fact and gain support in their mission to eliminate illiteracy. There are several drawbacks to having illiterate members of society. Among the most obvious is the fact that they are unable to read about their rights. Most of them are unable to secure a job that goes beyond meagre tasks designed to keep them at minimum wage. A truly prosperous society is one that is highly educated and provides opportunities for everyone equally. The Toronto Book Expo believes in opening doors for people who are illiterate and allowing them the chance to learn how to read and write to give them better opportunities in the future. After all, great minds need no further barriers other than implementing and promoting their work. Just imagine the untapped pool of innovative and valuable inventions, services and literary work that remained undiscovered simply because its main brain was unable to read and write. The Toronto Book Expo continues to welcome applications for new entrepreneurs who would like to share their innovative inventions. If you or anyone you know would like to share their lifes work, visit the Toronto Book Expo now. By Aislinn Laing SANTIAGO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - A Chilean environmental court has upheld a complaint by indigenous communities in the countrys northern Atacama Desert about the use of water by SQM, the worlds No. 2 producer of lithium. The decision by the First Environmental Court in the nearby city of Antofagasta calls into jeopardy SQMs $400 million plan to expand its lithium carbonate production plant to feed appetite for the ultralight battery metal. Water has become a key sticking point for the expansion plans of both SQM and top competitor Albemarle , both of which operate in the salt flats of the Atacama, the worlds driest desert, which supply more than one-third of the global supply of lithium, a key ingredient in the batteries that power electric vehicles. Soaring lithium demand has raised questions about whether Chiles arid northern desert can support current and future levels of lithium production along with the needs of sprawling nearby copper mines, a booming tourism industry and indigenous communities. The court ruled that a compliance plan presented by SQM in response to a multi-year investigation by Chiles SMA environmental regulator that found the miner had overdrawn lithium-rich brine was "insufficient." The plan included a new online system to monitor extraction rates of brine, which holds lithium in suspension, and the shutting down of one of its freshwater wells. The court said its decision was based on a "precautionary principle," taking into account the "particular fragility" of the Atacamas ecosystem and the "high level of scientific uncertainty" about the behavior of its water table. It said SQM had no way of proving that the measures it had proposed were capable of "containing and reducing or eliminating the negative effects generated by the breaches of the company." "We must protect sensitive ecosystems even more when they constitute the ancestral habitat of our native peoples whom the State of Chile is obliged to protect," court president Mauricio Oviedo said in a statement. Story continues The complaint was brought by indigenous people living in surrounding communities of Peine and Camar, and the Indigenous Advisory Council of Atacameno People. The SMA must now resume its sanctioning of SQM for the original infractions, the court said, which could involve fines of over $3 million, the closure of its operations or revocation of its environmental permits. Neither SQM nor the SMA could immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Aislinn Laing Editing by Leslie Adler) Pamela Burgeson serves as the director of sales for Eagles Trace, the senior living community developed and managed by Erickson Living. She joined the team in June 2005, just months before the campus opened. Burgeson recently shared some of her favorite memories from Eagles Trace and discussed what has made her career rewarding. Q: What is your professional background? Burgeson: I am a Houstonian and a graduate of Baylor University. Prior to Eagles Trace, I was in the lodging, investment and senior living industries. Q: Eagles Trace will celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2020. What were your first impressions of the campus? Burgeson: My first impression was of the expansive and unique clubhouse. It was filled with amenities that I had never seen before in a senior living community. Additionally, I was struck by the beauty of the campus grounds, specifically the lake and floral landscaping. The exterior continues to be a source of enjoyment at Eagles Trace, as residents have a scenic and secure area to take a nice stroll, walk their dogs or plant flowers and vegetables. I also remember the enthusiasm of residents moving in and quickly making connections with their new neighbors. Q: What are you most looking forward to in 2020? Burgeson: So much! Eagles Trace recently completed life-cycle enhancements to the first clubhouse, adding new furniture, light fixtures and flooring. It looks wonderful. This year, well have exciting news for Priority List members as we meet the demand for the lifestyle and amenities offered at Eagles Trace. Also, our team is looking forward to continuing the successful Live the Life program, which provides Priority List members the opportunity to spend the night on campus to experience amenities like the fitness center, dine in our restaurants and meet their future neighbors. Q: Your parents, Jim and Peggy, moved to Eagles Trace in 2018. What has it been like having them live where you work? Burgeson: In a word, wonderful. As a daughter, its easy to visit them on a regular basis. But its more than that. They have developed an amazing social network of friends who open up their apartment homes to entertain, like on New Years Day. My parents have also become involved in a variety of activities. My dad loves the wine club, and they both have attended continuing education programs like the Religions of the World lecture series. They even play shuffleboard. I never have a worry about my parents lacking socialization opportunities, as they are truly engaged. Q: What is the best part of your job at Eagles Trace? Burgeson: Knowing that we are helping people live better lives. It sounds like a line in a greeting card, but it will always be my motivation. We are blessed with a wonderful team of dedicated employees who put the best interests of residents at heart. Business goals come and go, but the relationships with residents and co-workers make this career incredibly rewarding. About Eagles Trace Eagles Trace, one of 20 continuing care retirement communities developed and managed by Erickson Living, is on a scenic, 72-acre campus in west Houston. The not-for-profit community of more than 970 residents and 500 employees is governed by its own board of directors, affiliated with National Senior Campuses, who provide independent financial and operational oversight. Additional information can be found at EaglesTraceCommunity.com. Four Democratic senators seeking their partys nomination are facing a new tribulation: How to schedule their campaigns around the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, which started Thursday. I would rather be in Iowa today. Theres a caucus there in two-and-a-half weeks. Id rather be in New Hampshire and Nevada and so forth. But I swore a constitutional oath as a United States senator to do my job and Im here to do my job, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told The Hill after the senators were sworn in on Thursday. The Iowa caucuses are slated for Feb. 3, and the New Hampshire primary is eight days later. Other than Sanders, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are required by the Constitution to sit in their seats without any electronic devices during the trial. They will also have to work six days per week in Washington, allowing for only Sundays off. That means candidates such as Vice President Joe Biden, a frontrunner in several polls, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Andrew Yang will be able to take advantage of being the only candidates on the ground. Klobuchar, who has been trying to emerge from the single digits in polling, said that we really dont have a choice. I have a constitutional duty, but I can do two things at once, she told CNN in October. There [are] many ways to reach out to people. Warren made a similar statement to reporters last year, saying that its part of her Constitutional duty. In recent weeks, her campaign has lulled and she has dropped to third place and is behind Sanders and Biden in several polls. There are some things that are more important than politics, and if we have an impeachment proceeding going on, I will be there, Warren told reporters in New Hampshire. Impeachment is something I take very seriously. I take no joy in this. But this is about a constitutional oath that every single member of the Senate took touphold the Constitution of the United States, she added. Bennet, who hasnt had favorable poll numbers throughout his campaign, offered the bluntest response among the crop of Democratic candidates. I think it is going to be disruptive, he told Meet the Press on Jan. 12. And theres nothing I can do about it. So I choose not to worry about it. We have, all of us, a constitutional responsibility that we have to fulfill, here. And I take my oath seriously. And I will. And in the meantime, Im spending every single second I can in New Hampshire, trying to fulfill my commitment to hold an additional 50 town halls here. But a Sanders campaign adviser, Jeff Weaver, said that Sanders has a unique advantage over the other candidates: A private jet. Theyre not going to be meeting at night [for the trial], so we can obviously fly from D.C. to states and hold events in the evening and fly back, you know, so he can be back in the morning to do his work in the Senate, Sanders campaign adviser Jeff Weaver told NBC News in early January. Hes an energetic candidate, Weaver added. He has a very vigorous schedule, and, you know, he can do that. For now, its not clear how long the Senate impeachment trial will last. In the late 1990s, the Senate took five weeks to acquit former President Bill Clinton. From The Epoch Times Cardston, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2020) - American Creek Resources Ltd. (TSXV: AMK) (OTC Pink: ACKRF) ("American Creek") ("the Corporation") would like to cordially invite you to visit us at Booth #435 at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) to be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West (1055 Canada Place, Vancouver) on Sunday January 19th - Monday January 20th, 2020. The Vancouver Resource Investment Conference has been the bellwether of the junior mining market for the last twenty-five years. It is the number one source of information for investment trends and ideas, covering all aspects of the natural resource industry. Each year, the VRIC hosts over 60 keynote speakers, 350 exhibiting companies and 9000 investors. Roundup held in Convention Center with sails and VRIC held in Convention Center with grass. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/682/51600_35b68eb1546ea859_001full.jpg We also invite you to visit us on Wednesday January 22nd and Thursday January 23rd at Booth #1024, in the Core Shack at the Association for Mineral Exploration (AME) Roundup's 37th annual conference held at the Vancouver Convention Centre East, under the sails of Canada Place. With this year's theme "Lens on Discovery" American Creek was selected to display core from the past producing high-grade Dunwell Mine. A maiden drill program was started in late 2019 with assays pending. The company will also be discussing advancements on its JV Treaty Creek project along with the Gold Hill project located in SE British Columbia. AME is the lead association for the mineral exploration and development industry based in British Columbia. Established in 1912, AME represents, advocates, protects and promotes the interests of thousands of members who are engaged in mineral exploration and development in B.C. and throughout the world. AME's annual Mineral Exploration Roundup conference brings together more than 6,500 people annually to share innovative ideas, generate new connections and create collaborative solutions related to mineral exploration and development. It is a space where mineral explorers, industry professionals and leaders go to network and is a driving force for mineral exploration in Western Canada and the North and South American Cordillera. For further information please contact Kelvin Burton at: Phone: 403 752-4040 or Email: info@americancreek.com. Information relating to the Corporation is available on its website at www.americancreek.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51600 The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday said it will provide a formula for proceeds distribution among the creditors of debt-ridden IL&FS group firms. A NCLAT-bench headed by Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya said its formula would balance the interests of all stakeholders, including creditors. The tribunal has also asked some of the lenders to file revised framework proposed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs within a week, stating their position in the resolution of IL&FS group, which has a cumulative debt of over Rs 90,000 crore. "We are looking at the public interest, what should be done for the purpose of survival of the company which includes all those who have financed," the bench said. It also said, "Let us have a formula in place for distribution. Creditors' interest is also public interest". Senior advocate Ramji Srinivas representing IL&FS board submitted that the revised resolution framework provided a fair and equitable formula for distribution of sale proceeds catering to the interests of all creditors. As per the road-map for IL&FS, which has a total debt of over Rs 90,000 crore, its group companies have been categorised into three categories -- Green, Amber and Red -- based on their respective financial positions. Companies under the green category will be those that continue to meet their payment obligations. Amber category is for those companies that would not be able to meet their obligations but can meet only operational payment obligations to senior secured financial creditors. Amber category entities "are permitted to make only payments necessary to maintain and preserve the going concern". Companies falling in the red category are the entities which can not meet their payment obligations towards even senior secured financial creditors. Such companies will be permitted to make payment necessary to maintain and preserve. The entire resolution process is based on the principles enunciated in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. ALSO READ: Tata-Mistry dispute: Behind Nusli Wadia's decision to withdraw lawsuits against Ratan Tata ALSO READ: Tata Group shares rise as SC stays NCLAT order restoring Mistry as Tata Sons' chairman Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that the Statue of Unity, the world's tallest statue at Kevadiya in Gujarat, would create an "economic ecosystem" worth Rs one lakh crore in coming years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the gigantic statue of Vallabhbhai Patel, the country's first home minister, here on October 31, 2018. "I see the Statue of Unity creating an economic ecosystem around it worth at least Rs one lakh crore in the years to come," the railway minister told reporters here. Goyal, who took a stock of the construction of a new railway station at Kevadiya and laying of a new line connecting the town with Vadodara, announced that high-speed shuttle trains will operate between the two stations. "Laying of tracks has already begun at some spots. Work would start on other stretches by March....Once it is connected with the mainline (at Vadodara), tourists from across the country would be able to come Kevadiya," he said. "We are planning to implement 'hub and spokes' model. People arriving at the mainline (Vadodara) would be ferried to Kevadiya using fast trains on the sub-line, so that people can reach here in very little time. We would run such shuttle services throughout the day," the railway minister said. He expressed confidence that land acquisition for Kevadiya-Vadodara railway line would be completed by March. Later, Goyal met Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar and reviewed the progress of various railway projects in Gujarat, an official release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Railway Minister Piyush Goyal misses event Railway Minister Piyush Goyal missed the event as he had gone to Kevadiya to visit the ongoing Indian Railways project which intends to provide rail connectivity to the Statue of Unity. Commercial run to begin on Jan 19 The commercial run of the train will start from January 19, 2020 from Ahmedabad, the railways said. The first such train, the Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express, has been running since last year. No ticket bookings at railway reservation counters The tickets of this train can be booked only online on IRCTC website and there will be no booking available at railway reservation counters, they said. The train seats can also be booked through IRCTC's online travel portal partners like Paytm, Ixigo, PhonePe, Make My Trip, Google, Ibibo, Railyatri and others. Tejas Express to fast-track relations between Gujarat, Maharashtra: Six days a week This train 82902/82901 shall ply on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Ahmedabad route six days a week with Thursday as an off-day for maintenance activities. To start with, this fully air-conditioned train shall have two executive class chair cars having 56 seats each and eight chair cars having capacity of 78 seats each. 736 passengers The total carrying capacity of the train will be 736 passengers. The train will start its journey at Ahmedabad at 06:40 hours and will reach Mumbai Central at 13.10 hours, having scheduled commercial halts at Nadiad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Vapi and Borivali. For the return journey, the train will leave Mumbai Central at 15:40 hours and will reach Ahmedabad at 21:55 hours having scheduled enroute halts at Borivali, Vapi, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara and Nadiad. No concession on tickets While there will be no concession tickets in the train, children below 5 years of age have been exempted from fare and will be booked along with their parents. Names of children so booked will not appear on the chart. Children of age five years and above will be booked at full fare and will be provided with a seat, the railways said. Ticket booking, cancellation and refund rules Train fare will be dynamic in nature keeping in consideration the prevailing bus, taxi, rail and airfares. The train will have different series of fares for lean, busy and festive seasons. Further, train fares will be on point to point basis. Current booking will be available to users after preparation of first chart which will normally be between four hours before and up to five minutes before the scheduled departure of the train. No tatkal quota There will be no tatkal quota or premium tatkal quota in the train. There will be only General Quota and Foreign Tourist Quota. Foreign Tourist Quota of 6 seats in EC and 12 seats in CC will be available for Foreign Tourists. All passengers travelling on IRCTC train will be provided with Rail Travel Insurance of up to Rs 25 lakhs, free of cost by IRCTC. This complimentary travel insurance also includes an exclusive coverage of Rs. 1 lakh against household theft / robbery during the travel period of the passengers. Besides this special feature, in a first of its own, IRCTC will also pay a compensation of Rs 100 in case the train during its run is delayed by more than one hour and Rs 250 in case of delay of more than two hours to every passenger. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Onondaga County District Attorneys Office has released a list of new indictments issued between December 5 and December 18. Heres a look at some of the indictments: To see the rest of the new indictments The new indictments have been added to our indictment database. Go to the database and click search to get the new indictments. Want to search or see all the indictments? Take the checkmark out of the new indictments box and hit search. 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. What you need to know today: Politics -- Some US senators on Wednesday congratulated Vietnam on assuming the Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an important multilateral organization for advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the Vietnam News Agency reported. -- Vietnams Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong talked over the phone with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday, against the backdrop of the upcoming Lunar New Year festival and 70 years of Vietnam-China diplomatic ties, according to the Vietnam News Agency. -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Thursday sent a diplomatic note to congratulate Mikhail Mishustin on being appointed the prime minister of Russia. -- The head of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Vietnamese Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy on Wednesday presided over a meeting of the UN Security Council, looking into political and security situations in Mali, the Vietnam News Agency said. Society -- At least one died when a 45-seater long-haul bus turned on its side in an accident in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak on Thursday night. -- Civilians are now allowed to visually or aurally record their conversations with traffic police officers to supervise the latters way to perform their duty, according to a Ministry of Public Security circular that took effect on Wednesday. Education -- Vietnams Ministry of Education and Training has announced that it would only approve the use of English textbooks written by Vietnamese authors in public schools. Sports -- Vietnam bowed out of the 2020 AFC U23 Championship following a 1-2 defeat against North Korea in their last group-stage match in Thailand on Thursday. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! President Donald Trump on Friday warned Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to be very careful with his words. The so-called Supreme Leader of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe, Trump tweeted of Khameneis comments earlier Friday in Tehran. According to Trump, Khameneis blistering speech, in which he attacked the vicious United States and described Britain, France and Germany as Americas lackeys, was a mistake. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words! Trump tweeted. The national death toll of Australia's 2019/2020 bushfire season was 33 as of Monday, March 2, with 25 confirmed deaths in New South Wales, three in South Australia and five in Victoria. OCTOBER New South Wales: Robert Lindsey, 77, and Gwen Hyde, 68, were found in their burned out Coongbar home near Casino on October 9th. NOVEMBER New South Wales: The body of 85-year-old George Nole was found in a burnt out car near his home in Wytaliba, near Glen Innes. Vivian Chaplain, a 69-year-old woman from Wytaliba, succumbed to her injuries in hospital after attempting in vain to save her home and animals from the blaze. The body of 63-year-old Julie Fletcher was pulled from a scorched building in Johns River, north of Taree. Barry Parsons, 58, was found in a shed at Willawarrin, near Kempsey. Chris Savva, 64, died after his 4WD overturned near burnt-out South Arm bridge, near Nambucca Heads. A 59-year-old man was founded sheltered in a Yarrowitch water tank on November 7. He died of injuries on December 29. Victoria: David Moresi, 69, died after being involved in a traffic incident while working at the at the Gelantipy fire in East Gippsland on November 30. DECEMBER New South Wales: Firefighters Andrew O'Dwyer, 36, and Geoffrey Keaton, 32, died on December 19 after a tree fell on their truck while they were travelling through Buxton, south of Sydney. Samuel McPaul, 28, was battling a blaze in Jingellic, in Green Valley, about 70km east of Albury on the border of NSW and Victoria, on December 30 when a 'fire tornado' caused his 10-tonne firetruck to roll. South Australia: The body of 69-year-old Ron Selth was found in his Charleston home, which was destroyed by the Cudlee Creek blaze on December 21. NEW YEAR'S EVE FIRES New South Wales: Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, died trying to save their property in Cobargo, near Bega, on December 31. A 70-year-old man, named by local media as Laurie Andrew, was found dead outside a home at Yatte Yattah, west of Lake Conjola. The body of a 70-year-old man was found in a burnt vehicle on a road off the Princes Highway at Yatte Yattah on the morning of New Year's Day. The body of a 62-year-old man was found in a vehicle on Wandra Road at Sussex Inlet about 11.30am on New Year's Day. A body, believed to be a 56-year-old man, found outside a home at Coolagolite, east of Cobargo on New Year's Day. An off-duty RFS firefighter, believed to be 72-year-old Colin Burns, was found near a car in Belowra after the New Year's Eve fires swept through. Victoria: Beloved great-grandfather Mick Roberts, 67, from Buchan, in East Gippsland, was found dead at his home on the morning of New Year's Day. Fred Becker, 75, was the second person to die in Victoria. He suffered a heart attack while trying to defend his Maramingo Creek home. JANUARY New South Wales: David Harrison, a 47-year-old man from Canberra, suffered a heart attack defending his friend's home near Batlow on Saturday, January 4. A 71-year-old man was found on January 6. Police have been told the man was last sighted on December 31, 2019 and was moving equipment on his property in Nerrigundah. An 84-year-old man who stayed to defend his home in Cobargo, NSW, dies in hospital three weeks after fire hit. His pet dog Bella, who stayed by his side as fires raged, was also killed in the disaster. Three American firefighters are killed when Coulson Aviation C-130 Hercules water bomber Zeus crashed while fighting fires near Cooma on Thursday January 23. They have been named as Capt. Ian H. McBeth, 44, First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson and Flight Engineer Rick A. DeMorgan Jr, 43. On January 24, Michael Clark, 59, was found in a Bodalla home destroyed by bushfires near the NSW South Coast town of Moruya. Victoria: Forest Fire Management firefighter Mat Kavanagh, 43, was killed Friday January 3 when he was involved in a two-car crash on the Goulburn Valley Highway. Bill Slade, a 60-year-old father of two from Wonthaggi was fighting fires with Parks Victoria at Omeo when he died on January 11. He has been remembered as one of the longest serving, most experienced and fittest firefighters. South Australia: Well-known outback pilot Dick Lang, 78, and his 43-year-old son, Adelaide surgeon Clayton Lang, died in the Kangaroo Island bushfire after their car was trapped by flames. Expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a minor girl in Unnao in 2017, failed to get any interim relief on Friday from the Delhi High Court which refused to suspend his sentence and sought CBI's response on his appeal challenging the conviction. The court also sought the victim's reply on Sengar's appeal challenging his conviction and imprisonment till remainder of his natural life. A bench of justices Manmohan and Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal allowed Sengar to deposit in 60 days the fine amount of Rs 25 lakh, out of which Rs 10 lakh will be released to the rape survivor without any condition. During the hearing, the court said it was not inclined to suspend the sentence or fine amount of Sengar as he is an undertrial in other cases also, after which his counsel withdrew the application for suspension of the sentence. "Too much tragedy happened with the victim in this case. In the facts of the case, we are not inclined to suspend the sentence. You have to pay Rs 10 lakh to the victim. There can be no condition to it," the bench said. "You cannot be released because you are an undertrial in other cases also in which trial is going on. You have a judgement of trial court against you, you are a convict today, you have to be in custody. The presumption of innocence does not lie to you today. You have been in jail only for one and a half years. We are not suspending the sentence," it said. Sengar's advocate claimed he does not have money to deposit the fine amount as he was the sole earning member in the family, has two daughters of marriageable age. He said he was facing difficulty in arranging Rs 25 lakh and the trial court had only given him time till January 20 to deposit the amount and urged the court that the time be extended. The counsel for CBI said Sengar's wife was also a public servant and he should first pay Rs 10 lakh as directed by the trial court to the rape survivor and rest Rs 15 lakh is to be deposited with the court. The bench has now posted the appeal for May 4 in the category of 'regular matters'. Sengar has sought quashing of the December 16, 2019 judgement of the trial court which convicted him. He has also sought setting aside of the December 20 order sentencing him to imprisonment till remainder of his life. The trial court had convicted the 54-year-old Sengar under various provisions including Section 376 (2) of IPC which deals with the offence of rape committed by a public servant who "takes advantage of his official position and commits rape on a woman in his custody as such public servant or in the custody of a public servant subordinate to him". In his plea, Sengar alleged the trial court committed egregious factual errors and he has been wrongly convicted based on a judgment which goes beyond the boundaries of perversity. The trial court had awarded him the maximum punishment of life term with a rider that the convict will remain in jail for "remainder of his natural biological life" and also imposed an exemplary fine of Rs 25 lakh on him to be paid within a month. The woman was kidnapped and raped by Sengar in 2017 when she was a minor. The trial, which started on August 5 last year after it was transferred from Unnao to Delhi on the Supreme Court's directions, was carried on a day-to-day basis. The apex court, taking cognisance of the rape survivor's letter written to the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, had on August 1 last year transferred all five cases registered in connection with the Unnao rape incident from a Lucknow court in Uttar Pradesh to the court in Delhi with directions to hold trial on a daily basis and completing it within 45-days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday said that he was arrested for reading the Constitution during the protest against CAA at Jama Masjid in the capital. Speaking at a press conference, Azad said, "What I had said at Jama Masjid was not a provocative speech but the same is written in the Constitution. I was arrested for that speech." Azad then read out the Preamble of the Constitution and said he will read it daily. "We are fighting for the unity of the country. I went to Jama Masjid on December 20 to oppose the CAA, NRC and NPR. This is because it is a historical place where the mausoleum of Abul Kalam Azad is located," he said. "During the division of the country, Abul Kalam Azad had said that Muslims should not go to Pakistan and this country belongs to them and its division will bring them only loss. Now I think that with CAA and NRC, the country is divided on religious lines again," the Bhim Army chief said. He further said, "I hail from a village and I know whenever communal riots took place, no politician is harmed and only the common man dies. We do not want this to happen to our country. That is why I came out to protest." "The court has advised me to respect Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I respect him because he is at a constitutional post but at the same time, I request him to honour the Constitution," Azad added. Azad was arrested on December 21 last year after he led a march from the Jama Masjid against the CAA. He was sent to the judicial custody till January 18 at the Tihar Jail. The Bhim Army chief was on Wednesday granted bail in connection with the Daryaganj violence case. He was charged with rioting, unlawful assembly and inciting the mob to indulge in violence after vandalism in Delhi's Daryaganj area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A hospital consultant deceived a woman into having sex by agreeing to use a condom, a court heard. But Matthew Sewell, 40, allegedly did not use the contraceptive and is now on trial for rape after the woman said she would never have consented to unprotected sex. The woman was 23 at the time and met Sewell via the dating app Tinder, where his profile claimed he was 27, although he was in fact then 36, the jury heard. Matthew Sewell, 40, (pictured outside Teesside Crown Court) deceived a woman into having sex by agreeing to use a condom, Teesside Crown Court was told. The woman was 23 at the time and met Sewell via the dating app Tinder, where his profile claimed he was 27, although he was in fact then 36 He admitted he had lied about his age when he met his alleged victim at a bar in Middlesbrough, Teesside Crown Court was told. But on a subsequent occasion she invited Sewell a consultant at James Cook hospital in Middlesbrough to visit her house, said Paul Abrahams, prosecuting. He told the court the woman drank a bottle of cava but she suggests her memory was unaffected. They went to her bedroom where Sewell, from south-west London, offered to massage her, taking some of her clothes off to do so, as well as his own, the jury was told. Mr Abrahams said: When she looked around Mr Sewell was fully naked. She described that she would have been happy to have sex if [a] condom was put on, as previously they had unprotected sex which she was upset about. When she handed Mr Sewell the condom, he didnt say anything to her. He took the condom quickly and turned his back to her. Sewell a consultant at James Cook hospital in Middlesbrough (pictured) later contacted her to tell her one of his previous partners had informed him she had contracted a sexually transmitted infection It looked to her like he was putting the condom on. If she had known Mr Sewell hadnt been wearing a condom, she would not have consented to sex. She later discovered the condom ... and it was obvious no attempt had been made to use it. When the woman met him to discuss what had happened, he allegedly admitted the allegations, the court heard. Mr Abrahams said: He had done wrong and effectively pleaded with her not to report him, saying that it would ruin his career. He said Sewell later contacted her to tell her one of his previous partners had informed him she had contracted a sexually transmitted infection. He told the complainant he was going to get checked and asked if she would do the same. They went to her bedroom where Sewell, from south-west London, offered to massage her, taking some of her clothes off to do so, as well as his own, the jury was told She put it to Mr Sewell that he had deceived her into believing he had worn a condom, said Mr Abrahams. Mr Sewell responds, I apologise and Are you angry with me?. It is then put to him, Thats an excuse, is it? For deliberately deceiving. He replies, More of an honest answer. South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said the spinal deformity surgeon is no longer employed there. Sewell denies two counts of rape. The trial continues. Ammo Grrrll calls out DEAD-NAMING! THE WORST THING THERE EVER WAS! She writes: If you live long enough, you will have the chance to hear astonishing things. Often, twice. Ideas cycle around like fashions. What was passe becomes retro and comes around again a couple of decades later. Hemlines go up and down. I remember when the fashion industry went to mid-calf and maxi dresses to FORCE fashionistas to purchase new clothes. When hemlines just kept going up and up to loincloth levels, a whole lot of young ladies, myself included, just kept cutting off and hemming up their old skirts and dresses rather than buying new garments! Or, even ROLLING them up if you were really lazy or went to Catholic Girls School. Old becomes new again. Only the coolest people can keep up. For example, I have learned fairly recently that dead-naming means calling a trans person by the name he or she was born with and used for decades! Dead-naming is a GRIEVOUS sin which will get you Twittered to death in a heartbeat, and possibly sent to jail in Canada or in the U.S. if a Democrat ever gets in again, God forbid! So though we cheered him and honored him and put him on Wheaties boxes long ago, Bruce Jenner and all his accomplishments may never again be mentioned. Bruce Jenner is dead. Long live Caitlyn. I try to call people what they want to be called. In real life (a place a lot of leftists rarely visit), my name is Susan. My Daddy and a very small circle of my friends have always called me Susie, and thats fine. In the last eight years, I have been called and will answer to Ammo Grrrll or even AG. Both my husband and Mama always called me Susan and that is what I was mostly called in high school. Nowadays, few married women take their husbands names. It makes addressing holiday cards a pain, but on the other hand, it sure makes finding your old female friends a lot easier. So though I have had my husbands last name for 52 years, I would not pitch a hysterical fit if someone called me by my dead or maiden name! Because I am not insane. Anybody know what the deal is with gay men and the formality they seem to prefer in names? Maybe your experience is different, but every gay man I have ever known and remember, I lived in San Francisco just off Castro Street for several years wanted to be called Robert, or Michael, or James. Never Bobby, Mike or Jimmy. A notable exception would be Pete Buttigieg. Though, I suppose if you are a gay man and Butt is already part of your name, adding Peter to the mix would be a bridge too far. Heres the thing, see. Im sure there are still a few hardcore homophobes (a very stupid, inaccurate word, but what passes for someone who is put off by or hostile to gay people). But there are also very few people who dont have a friend, a cousin, a sibling, a workmate who is, in fact, gay. And often it was observed that some of those people had stable, loving, long-term partners. Meanwhile, your heterosexual nephews marriage blew up before your check cleared for the set of sixteen silver shrimp forks you were forced to purchase from their Gift Registry because all the cheap stuff had already been taken. You dont have to be some kind of bigot to have had or continue to have serious concerns about the long-term effects to civilization of changing the millennia-old definition of marriage. Things that have been absolutely foundational to society should not be abandoned lightly. At the same time, you can also be a fair-minded person who thinks that Daniel and Kevin next door, who have been together for 28 years, deserve some kind of recognition of that relationship and some legal protection in the matter of hospital visits or inheritance. But its academic anyway because that battle was lost. A massive societal alteration was decided by a total of five Americans FIVE! after being soundly defeated for the second time by California referendum, even in the Obama tsunami of 2008. And did the losers riot in the street, carry a beheaded image of Obama around, start fires, attack police or even (God forbid) physically attack gay people? No, they did not. Compare and contrast with what happened after the 2016 election when 63 MILLION voters and a yuge majority of the Electoral College upset the predetermined coronation of Hillary Clinton. You know who committed virtual and actual violence after gay marriage won? THE WINNERS. Winning was not enough. People well, not Obama, of course but people, who a few years earlier had supported traditional marriage, were outed, fired and canceled. And quicker than you could get used to calling Kevins partner Daniel his husband or, worse, his wife. another country was heard from. Yes! In the Diversity Olympics, ding, ding, ding, we now have a new Top Dog Winner: The Transgenders!! Move over, you boring old gay people, who are happy with your sex and attracted to others of that same sex! In the Brave New World of Intersectional Politics, that will no longer be allowed. Lesbians you will now be required to date men with dangly bits who are wearing dresses and have decided that they are now women. Only attracted to real women? Tough noogies, bigot! Woe unto the poor young salesclerk in a hardware store who misgenders an ugly, rude, clearly unhinged giant of a man who feels entitled to kick over merchandise in a store because he has accurately been called Sir instead of Maam. (As a woman with a fairly deep speaking voice, many is the time I have been called Sir on the telephone when making a plane or hotel reservation. Had I known I could pitch a hysterical fit or get someone fired because of it, think of the 15 minutes of fame I could have by now! Maybe even cash money!) Which brings us full circle back to the dead-naming. Because to support the massive illusion of sex being just a fluid construct requires a Stalinist devotion to erasing everything that has gone before. It is of a piece, really, with the Taliban dynamiting Buddhist statuary, pretend Palestinians like Egyptians Yassir Arafat or Edward Said, claiming that Jews were never in Israel, and with the history haters tearing down Confederate statues. In totalitarian circles, inconvenient history and unacceptable ideas that are declared Dead must never be resurrected. Likewise, if you say you are a woman now, then you must always have been a woman and woe be unto some Unwokester who mentions your past. I can sympathize because I used to be a leftist. I wish I could pretend it never happened, but I am more honest than that. I have friends who have been married multiple times; they have made peace with dead relationships and moved on. But, especially if there are children involved, they do not punish anyone who remembers they used to be married to someone else. Or even several someone elses. Because they are not insane. We have entered a whole nother surreal realm of Crazy. Nothing good can come of it. A homeless couple aged in their 60s and with significant health problems have sued South Dublin County Council in an effort to compel it to decide their application for social housing support. The couple, from Romania, are illiterate, do not speak English, and medical reports show they are extremely vulnerable and not suitable for emergency accommodation on a night by night basis, their counsel Siobhan Phelan SC told the High Court today. Both have suffered cancer conditions in the past and have a range of ongoing health issues, the court heard. They were assisted by the Free Legal Advice Centres in applying to the council for housing supports. In a letter to the council, the man told it: Please help me as soon as possible, we dont have anywhere to go. The couple have been here since 2006 and became homeless in 2018 after a notice of termination issued for their private rented accommodation, where they had lived from 2011 with their extended family. The termination notice came after that house was possessed by a bank, the court heard. They were offered emergency accommodation on a night-to-night basis but left that after three nights because of regularly being subject to anti-social behaviour. They also found it unsuitable to their needs, particularly their health needs, and have instead been staying with a relative in cramped conditions. She has no bed space for them and they sleep on a couch. They want to be able to stay in accommodation close to their extended family, Ms Phelan said. Represented by Ms Phelan, with Lewis J. Mooney BL, instructed by FLAC, the couple have sought orders, in judicial review proceedings, compelling the council to decide their January 2019 application for housing supports. Ms Phelan said the council was legally obliged to decide that within 12 weeks and FLAC went to every appropriate length to afford the council an opportunity to make a decision before securing leave for judicial review in July 2019. It was that the council has a mandatory obligation under sections 19 and 20 under the Housing Act, and under the relevant regulations, to assess the application within 12 weeks if no additional information is required. No such information was sought, she said. The councils failure to decide the application amounted to a breach of duty, including statutory duty and unreasonable and irrational exercise of statutory power, she submitted. Contrary to what the council argued, the January 2019 application was a fresh application which had to be decide within 12 weeks, she said. She also disputed the couples work record had any relevance to their application, noting they are EU nationals in receipt of Disability Benefit and that other councils had provided social housing supports to non-Irish nationals who did not have 52 weeks employment here. The council, represented by Conleth Bradley SC, with Karen Denning BL, opposes the proceedings which came before Mr Justice Michael McGrath on Friday. It says the 2011 Social Housing Assessment regulations provides that it decides the eligibility of a social housing application. It says it had in March 2017 received an undated and unsigned application from the couple for social housing which was not processed for reasons including the volume of applications and then ongoing legal proceedings concerning a Department of Housing Circular setting guidelines for assessing social housing by non-Irish nationals. Those proceedings later settled on confidential terms. It maintains it had not refused the couples application and they were told in January 2018 it could not carry out a full assessment of their application at that time but it may be considered when they could provide details of 52 weeks employment n the State. Because the applicants had not challenged that January 2018 decision, they were not entitled to the relief sought, it says. They were out of time to challenge the January 2018 decision and not entitled to more time to bring a challenge. No new decision was issued by it in January 2019, it says. It also says, because no clarification has been received from the Department of Housing concerning the Circular for assessing applications for social housing support from non Irish nationals, it remains bound by that Circular. The hearing has been adjourned, to resume on January 31. A Florida teacher is in a battle to save his job because he uses medical marijuana as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Michael Hickman is so highly regarded he was recently promoted to a dean at Belleview High School. But before his life as teacher, Hickman was a Marine who served in Desert Storm. Hickmans attorney said his client suffers from PTSD and was prescribed medical marijuana by a licensed physician according to the laws of the state of Florida." Many are wondering why it matters, but the school board said it matters because Hickman recently tested positive for marijuana after being required to take a drug test. Hed been injured breaking up a fight and the drug test was required as part of a workers compensation case. School officials said taking medical marijuana is legal according to state law, but not legal according to federal law. The Marion County school system receives millions of dollars in grants from the federal government, which directly fund student programs and programs that support students. The teacher has, for now, been suspended without pay. Hickman is continuing to fight for his job. Hes got another hearing coming up and hes hired an attorney. -Self-acclaimed billionaire Shatta Bandle has disclosed that he is ready to buy MTN Ghana if the company is finding it difficult to manage affairs - His comment comes on the back of the several data connectivity challenges which have hit the company since yesterday, January 16, 2020 -Though MTN Ghana has apologized and given reasons why customers are facing problems with their data, Shatta Bandle says the company can do better Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Ghanaian internet sensation Shatta Bandle has expressed his interest in buying telecommunications giant, MTN Ghana if the company is unable to run its affairs According to Shatta Bandle, he as a businessman has lost a lot of money but has been because of data challenges since Thursday, January 16. Though MTN Ghana has apologized and given reasons why customers are facing problems with their data, Shatta Bandle says the company can do better. He said he is ready with his money to buy the company and run it effectively should their management agree to sell it to him. READ ALSO: Okyeame Kwame shares marriage tips as he celebrates 11th anniversary READ ALSO: Strongman and rival Medikal team up on new song However, MTN Ghana has assured customers that they are working around the clock to fix the issue. YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Ghanas telecommunications giant MTN has been hit with a massive network challenge which has resulted in subscribers being unable to access the internet and make international calls. The problem which started on Thursday, January 16, 2020, saw many Ghanaians complaining on social media. READ ALSO: Thank you for being my best friend- Okyeame tells wife as they mark 11th anniversary While some complained of not being able to purchase data using MTN Mobile Money, others said their MTN internet can only access YouTube and WhatsApp. It has been 24 hours and the network problem still persists. READ ALSO: Kalsoume Sinare shows off her lookalike daughter; Salma Mumin, others shout The telecommunication company has issued a statement, apologizing to subscribers and has promised to fix the challenge as soon as possible. MTN's apology to its clients read: MTN wishes to apologise to subscribers across the country for challenges they are experiencing in accessing data services and international outbound calls. Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Source: YEN.com.gh Lewis Hamilton would not be able to indulge his extravagant character and lifestyle if he raced a "normal car" in Formula 1. That is the view of former F1 driver Fernando Alonso, who thinks Hamilton is able to match Michael Schumacher's record seven titles in 2020. "Hamilton can win his seventh," he said, before comparing the way the 35-year-old Mercedes driver and Schumacher were able to achieve their respective feats. "Each have their own character," Alonso told La Gazzetta dello Sport during the Dakar rally. "Both of them dominated because of their cars, which allowed them to do what they wanted outside of Formula 1. "Michael had more discipline and preparation. He was more into the team dynamics. Lewis has a different character and lifestyle that would not be right if he had a normal car. His bosses would not be happy," Alonso, 38, added. As for his own career, Alonso is now openly considering returning to Formula 1 in 2021. He revealed that he already had some talks about potentially returning this year. "There were two or three situations with a few talks involving certain teams," the Spaniard revealed. "We had contacts, but it was not the right time. "What I miss about Formula 1 is the precision work with the engineers and the optimisation around the races," he said, "but not the travelling, the consecutive races and only one team dominating." Alonso, who rolled his Toyota down a sand dune during Wednesday's Dakar stage, said he will allocate more time to thinking about 2021 after May's Indianapolis 500. "This year I do not want to schedule anything after Indianapolis, but to think properly for 2021. I'm not too old to return but I want to reflect on whether I want to return to Formula 1 for some more years." As for his current challenges, Alonso said: "The Dakar is a personal challenge. I want to be fast in a raid car. "It's an adventure, but winning the 500 miles is a more competitive challenge. Winning there is my only goal. I'm close to being with the Andretti team." MONEY sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in November 2019 grew by two percent year-on-year to US$ 2.6 billion. This brings the personal remittances for the first 11 months of 2019 to $30.3 billion, or 4.1 percent higher than the $29.1 billion recorded a year ago. The steady growth in personal remittances from January to November in 2019 drew support from the remittance inflows from land-based OFWs with work contracts of one year or more, which grew by 3.6 percent to $23.1 billion from $22.3 billion in the same period last year. Likewise, the combined remittances of sea-based and land-based workers with short-term contracts rose by 7.3 percent to $6.5 billion during the period compared to $6 billion a year ago. By country source, the US registered the highest share in total remittances from January to November 2019 at 37.7 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Japan, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Germany and Qatar. (PR) Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe A bill in Sacramento that would ban flavored vape products would also outlaw the sale of flavored tobacco used in hookah lounges. That worries people like Arbi Sardari, as he takes a drag of peach- and mint-flavored tobacco at The Atmosphere, the hookah lounge he owns in Glendale. For Sardari, smoking a hookah brings back memories of family. "My grand grandpa was doing hookah," Sardari said. "And I was the kid that he was always saying, 'Hey, go put some charcoal on for me.'" For many Middle Eastern families in California, smoking flavored tobacco with a hookah pipe is a communal affair, both at lounges like Sardari's and at home. Sardari said he slept in his car for weeks to save up enough money to start his business. Now it's the proposed state law that's keeping him up at night. "Because you think, wow, I'm doing all this and tomorrow it's gone?" he said, adding that he has 14 employees. Customer Asbjorn Kjaer said he'd be bummed if he couldn't enjoy smoking a hookah with a few friends on a sunny afternoon. "The whole thing where they're trying to outlaw all sorts of flavored tobacco seems to be mainly an overreaction to a serious problem with teen smoking, teen vaping," Kjaer said. Hookah advocates will often argue that hookah pipes are not what contributes to teen smoking, as they take a considerable amount of time to get going and are not easily concealable. Backers of the bill -- SB 793 -- say it's "aimed at halting the alarming resurgence of nicotine consumption among youth," according to a press release announcing the measure from co-sponsor State Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo). The bill would ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products with no exceptions. It has the backing of 30 lawmakers and is supported by the American Cancer Society and several other health advocacy groups. "Anything less than ridding store shelves of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol, hookah, cigars, cigarillos and chewing tobacco, diminishes the health and safety of California kids who will find a way to access flavored tobacco anywhere retailers are able to sell these alluring products," Jim Knox, managing director for the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network in California, said in a statement announcing SB 793. There's no argument that hookah smoking can be harmful to your health. "hookah smoking has many of the same health risks as cigarette smoking," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns on its website. The agency says hookah smokers may be at risk for oral cancer, lung cancer and other diseases. Rima Khoury, an attorney with the San Diego-based hookah tobacco and gear company Fumari, is actively lobbying to make sure the L.A. City Council has a hookah exemption carved out in its proposed flavored tobacco ban. She said she wouldn't want her kids smoking but argues that there's no teen hookah epidemic and that efforts to combat youth vaping shouldn't take out a centuries-old cultural practice. "We don't want hookah to become collateral damage," Khoury said. Keely Petty clearly remembers her first Martin Luther King Jr. March. It was the early 1990s, and she was walking down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive with her husband, Lee, and their two sons, Jirah and Jonathan. There were thousands of people, all bundled up because of the morning cold. But the low temperatures didnt dampen their enthusiasm, and the electricity in the air was thrilling, she recalled. Everybody was hand in hand, side by side and doing their part to keep Kings dream alive, the chairwoman of the Martin Luther King Jr. March Commission said. A community leader and pastor, Petty, 57, has served at the commissions executive level for three years. Petty said the city is putting the final touches on the 33rd official MLK March, which takes place Monday. Its a highlight of DreamWeek, a 16-day celebration that honors King, promoting diversity, tolerance and equality. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio ready to take to the streets again in possibly the largest Martin Luther King Day march in the nation We are asking all of San Antonio to come out, meet people and support this community opportunity, she said. Just know you will be in a safe group of people when that happens. Considered one of the largest observances in the nation, the march will start at 10 a.m. Monday at the MLK Academy at 3501 MLK Dr. Cars, motorcycles and other motor vehicles arent allowed on the 2.75 mile procession, which will end at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa. Mike Fisher In past years, estimated crowds of more than 100,000 people of all races and creeds have attended the event, which begins at 8 a.m. with a pre-march early morning worship program outside the academy. The service will feature remarks from religious and community leaders along with dance performances, music, praise and worship. The keynote speaker will be Shawn D. Yancey from Faith & Deliverance Life-Changing Ministries of Hurst. Morning praise and worship also is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to noon at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa, which will include spoken word performances, musical artists and motivational dances. Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert is scheduled to open the commemorative program, which will take place from noon to 3 p.m. at the park with Mayor Ron Nirenberg and other county, state and national officials scheduled to attend the tribute to King. The featured speaker is John R. Adolph, of Beaumont. On ExpressNews.com: The humble, and disputed, roots of the MLK March Numerous DreamWeek events are scheduled in the days leading up to the march. On Sunday, a wreath-laying ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. at MLK Plaza, at East Houston Street and North New Braunfels Avenue. The community is invited to the annual ceremony where city officials, business leaders and organizations lay wreaths at the plazas MLK statue. At 4:30 p.m., the commission will present the Citywide Interfaith Worship Service at Laurel Heights Methodist Church, 227 W. Woodlawn Ave. The free service will feature several speakers who will talk about faith and Kings legacy. Addie Lorraine Walker is the keynote speaker. The MLK Youth Fashion Charity Gala will take place at 6 p.m. at the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg Sky Room, 847 E. Hildebrand Ave. Proceeds from the gala will benefit the MLK Foundation San Antonio youth program. The late Rev. Raymond R.A. Callies Sr. and several others began the tradition of marching along MLK Drive in April 6, 1968, two days after Kings assassination, to draw attention to the infrastructure needs of the East Side. Driving his red Ford pickup, Callies traveled through the East Side community, followed by his children carrying cans to collect change that funded the statue of the slain civil rights leader and plaza in his honor. As it has in years past, this years event will include free VIA bus service to and from the event. VIA Metropolitan Transit will offer the transportation from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at two locations: Lot 1 at Freeman Coliseum, 3201 E. Houston St., and Lot 22 at St. Philips College, 1801 Martin Luther King Dr. The lot is located at Montana and Mittman streets. Return service to the pickup sites will take place from noon to 3 p.m. Access return service also will be provided at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa St. Drop-off and pickup will be available on Nevada Street, between South Palmetto and St. Anthony avenues. On ExpressNews.com: History lesson marks MLK March For more information about bus service on MLK Day, call 210-362-2020. The march became an official city event in 1987 under then-Mayor Henry Cisneros, who created the MLK Commission. Each year, local corporations, universities, schools, nonprofits, and thousands of residents attend the march with banners and signs that support Kings message of nonviolence and equality. Petty said the citys model program could be shared with other communities that have larger African-American populations. When you look at other cities, people are always are in shock because theres only a 7 percent African-American population in San Antonio, she said. That is an utter astonishment to them. Petty said she always has admired that thousands have gathered at the march without any violence. She said she believes thats why the city has one of the largest marches in the nation. We can gather and people have a sense of safety and sense of community, she said, to commemorate the work that Dr. King did. 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 Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Jan 18 (ANI): India can play a leading role in bringing the United States "back into compliance" with the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and the P5+1 together with the European Union, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Friday. "The United States decided to withdraw from the (nuclear) deal in April 2018. We (Iran and the US) were meeting until April 2018. They decided to leave the deal. India can play a leading role in bringing them back into compliance with their agreement so that they can come back and join the negotiations. We will not reject that possibility," Zarif said while speaking to reporters here. "India is a very dear friend of Iran, has good relations with the US. So it can encourage the US to come back to the negotiation table," he added. The Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), is an agreement signed between Iran, European Union, China, France, US, Russia United Kingdom, and Germany in 2015. However, the US withdrew from the deal back in 2018, terming it as "defective at its core". Under the agreement, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. (ANI) [January 17, 2020] Sarah Gehlert Selected as Dean of USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Experienced researcher and university administrator Sarah Gehlert will lead the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work as dean, university officials announced. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005489/en/ Sarah Gehlert Selected as Dean of USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work (Photo courtesy of Sarah Gehlert) Gehlert has served as dean of the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina since 2017. She is known for her work on the connections between social and environmental factors and health, with a focus on vulnerable populations. "Dean Gehlert has an impressive track record of building successful research and academic programs in this critical field of social work," said USC President Carol L. Folt. "Her collaborative skills will be crucial to advancing the school's vision of providing a rich learning experience, community engagement, multidisciplinary scientific research and advocacy. We are thrilled to have such a talented leader join the Trojan Family." Prior to her post at the University of South Carolina, Gehlert held a joint appointment at Washington University in St. Louis, where she served as the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work and a professor in the School of Medicine's Department of Surgery. "I am excited to join the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and bring a renewed focus on its core mission of promoting social justice and well-being throughout society," she said. "This is an incredible opportunity to collaborate with students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters as the school enters a new era of academic excellence and fiscal responsibility." Gehlert has held numerous leadership and research positions throughout her career, including current president of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and past president of the Society for Social Work and Research - both preeminent national organizations for social work researchers and practitioners. "She is the right person at the right time to lead the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work to new heights," USC Provost Charles Zukoski said. "We expect her to call on her extensive experience to deepen the school's mission of teaching and research, guide collaborations with our neighborhood partners and promote scholarly excellence." As dean of the USC social work school, she will oversee its six degree programs in social work and nursing, including its popular Master of Social Work and highly regarded PhD program. Gehlert will also guide the school's numerous research centers and institutes, among them the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging and the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families. She expressed excitement about the opportunity to build on these achievements with input from university and community partners. "The prospect of developing a shared vision for the school with multiple stakeholders and creating greater community fits well with my background and personal philosophy," she said. "My approach is collaborative, not only because it minimizes discord, but because it allows an organization to bring forth ideas and ways of knowing that might have been missed had the approach not been collaborative." Gehlert's selection as dean is the culmination of an extensive search led by USC Executive Vice Provost Elizabeth Graddy and Pinchas Cohen, dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Suzanne Dworak-Peck, a USC trustee and chair of the school's board of councilors, also served as a special advisor during the search process. Gehlert succeeds interim dean Suzanne Wenzel. New social work dean has strong research and leadership background Gehlert earned her PhD in social work at Washington University. She also completed a bachelor's and master's degree in anthropology and a master's degree in social work at the University of Missouri-Columbia. As a researcher, Gehlert has focused on the interplay between social work and health, including disparities in treatment, women's health and mental health and how people adapt to serious illness and injury. A recent project examined how community violence and unsafe housing affects African American women diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a co-author of the authoritative Handbook of Health Social Work, now in its third edition. Among her many leadership roles, Gehlert served as co-leader of the Prevention and Control Program of the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, co-director of the Transdisciplinary Center on Energetics and Cancer, and training program director of the Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities - all at Washington University. Prior to Washington University, she was the Helen Ross Professor in the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration, Department of Comparative Human Development and Institute for Mind and Biology. Gehlert also was deputy dean for research and associate director of the university's Institute for Translational Medicine, in addition to leading the university's federally funded Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research and its Maternal and Child Health Training Program. Her involvements with national organizations include serving as a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Human Genome Research Institute until January 2016. She is a member of the Council for Extramural Grants at the American Cancer Society, sits on the Steering Committee of the California Breast Cancer Research Program and serves as a managing editor of the Transdisciplinary Journal of Science and Engineering. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005489/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A gun rights activist carries his handgun in a hip holster outside the Virginia State Capitol building as the General Assembly prepares to convene in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 8, 2020. (REUTERS/Jonathan Drake) Gun Rights Groups Appeal Ban on Arms at Upcoming Virginia Rally Gun rights advocacy organizations on Jan. 17 filed an emergency appeal of a judges ruling that upheld the Virginia governors ban on firearms ahead of a gun rights rally expected to draw thousands of supporters to the state capitol. A day earlier, The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) and Gun Owners of America (GOA) issued an injunction against the temporary ban, but Judge Joi Taylor ruled that Gov. Ralph Northam had the authority under state law to take action related to the safety and welfare of the state. Lawyers of the gun rights groups are now turning to the Supreme Court of Virginia. Without relief from this court, petitioners and thousands of other rally participants will be irreparably denied their right to bear arms, the groups attorneys argued in their appeal. It was not immediately clear when the court would hear the appeal. Gun rights supporters and Second Amendment advocates are rallying for state lawmakers to drop their push for tighter gun control. Second Amendment advocates told The Epoch Times the gun control proposals backed by Northam infringe upon their constitutional rights. The Jan. 15 executive order signed by Gov. Ralph Northam had identified credible threats of violence surrounding the event, as well as what the office called white nationalist rhetoric and plans by out-of-state militia groups to attend. According to the National Review, the local chapter of extremist group Antifa in Virginia will also attend the rally on Jan. 20. The emergency declaration lasts from 5 p.m. on Jan. 17 until 5 p.m. on Jan. 21. VCDL is a nonprofit grassroots organization whose goal is to advance the rights of Virginians to keep and bear arms, while GOA has more than 2 million members. In Judge Taylors written decision, she cited rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts that found the Second Amendment right to bear arms is not unlimited. Because of that, she wrote, the gun-rights groups would not suffer an irreparable harm sufficient to justify the injunction. David Browne, an attorney for the gun-rights groups, previously argued that prohibiting rallygoers from carrying guns would violate their Second Amendment right to bear arms and their First Amendment right to free speech. Browne said carrying guns is a form of symbolic speech. Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, which is organizing the upcoming rally, called the judges Jan. 16 ruling mind-boggling. Virginias governor applauded the ruling in a statement. I took this action to protect Virginians from credible threats of violence, he said. These threats are realas evidenced by reports of neo-Nazis arrested this morning after discussing plans to head to Richmond with firearms. The Justice Department announced on Jan. 16 that three men were arrested by the FBI and charged with firearms and alien-related charges. They are alleged to be members of a racially motivated, violent extremist group known as The Base. The men had reportedly discussed traveling to the Virginia rally, according to The New York Times. Erich Pratt, senior vice president at GOA, told The Epoch Times previously that the rally is held annually, often with thousands of participants. The only difference this year is that, in response to the Democrats attempt to eviscerate the Second Amendment, a much larger crowd is expected, he said. Gun Control Bills Advance Meanwhile, a package of bills continued to advance in the states General Assembly. The bills, which were approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, recently passed the full Senate and will now go to the House for consideration. It would have to pass the House and be signed by Northam to become law. The measures largely passed along partisan lines. The Democrat-led Senate advanced legislation limiting handgun purchases to once a month, requiring universal background checks on gun purchases, and allowing localities to ban guns in public buildings, parks, and other areas. Democrats won control of both chambers of the state legislature in the November 2019 elections and have vowed to enact stronger gun control policies. They believe stricter legislation will help reduce shootings and deaths and would break the cycle of gun violence. Republicans decried the legislation as an assault on the Second Amendment. They said the bill was aimed at appeasing special interest groups and donors such as Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg. GOP senators said the new laws would entrap innocent people and do nothing to stop bad actors. This may be what you think is safety, but it is not, said Republican Sen. Bill Stanley. One proposed measure (SB-16) that sparked the most controversybanning the sale and possession of so-called assault weaponswas taken off the table at Mondays hearing. SB-16 being stricken from the record is an indication that the governor and some of the Democrats have seen that theyve overreached and that these bills have unintended consequences, Daniel Spiker, state director at the National Rifle Association (NRA) told The Epoch Times previously. But at the end of the day, its still multiple levels of new regulation and new laws imposed on law-abiding citizens, he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report The commander of forces fighting the UN-supported government in war-torn Libya held meetings in Athens on Friday in a bid to counter Turkey's support for his opponents. Libyan General Khalifa Hifter met with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias at the Greek Foreign Ministry. He will meet later with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as well as with other senior Greek officials. The surprise visit by Hifter takes place ahead of a weekend summit in Berlin aimed at halting the conflict in oil-rich Libya that is being fueled by competing international support for the warring sides. Turkey, which has promised to send troops to back Libya's government against Hifter's offensive, is at odds with Greece over oil-and-gas drilling rights in the East Mediterranean. In November, Turkey and Libya signed a controversial maritime boundary deal in the East Mediterranean in opposition to earlier agreements that include Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel. Speaking after the meeting, Dendias said the Greek government had encouraged Hifter to work to achieve a ceasefire and restore security in Libya "by removing the mercenaries and by recognition of the non-validity of the illegal agreements between Turkey and the (Libyan) government." He added: "l must tell you with great pleasure that the commander agreed to all of those remarks." People Before Profits Gino Kenny says Fianna Fail are outdated in their stance on drugs (Niall Carson/PA) Fianna Fail have been accused of being outdated for their stance against decriminalisation of cannabis and saying the drug is dangerous. Fianna Fail candidate Mary Fitzpatrick made the comments on Friday when speaking to the media about drugs and crime in the wake of gangland murders in Dublin and Drogheda in the last year. Ms Fitzpatrick said there was a sense of ambivalence from teenagers in Ireland about cannabis, a mentality of its OK, its just cannabis, and said more must be done to inform young people about drugs. Expand Close Fianna Fail candidate Mary Fitzpatrick says more should be done to inform teenagers of the dangers of cannabis (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fianna Fail candidate Mary Fitzpatrick says more should be done to inform teenagers of the dangers of cannabis (Niall Carson/PA) Its hugely damaging to their future and hugely damaging for their community, she said. At the moment the messaging, to a certain extent the HSE takes on some level of communications, but we need to get those messages delivered in the schools, by communities, and young people need to buy into this as well. Young people have been really captured by what happened to young Keane (Mulready Woods), the connection there is, theres an opportunity to connect that in their minds. We as adults in society need to say this isnt acceptable and we wont normalise it, and as adults we have to live that truth as well. The comments have been rejected by People Before Profits Gino Kenny as completely outdated. Obviously cannabis is very prevalent to society, whether we like it or not, and some young people are consuming it, he said. My stance on it would be, and our partys stance on it is, that it needs to be regulated, and I would even go further than decriminalisation, it has to be legalised. At the moment, its unregulated and if people are in possession, then they could be criminalised. I think that generally has been a waste of resources for our society, and I think we have to be discussing the legalisation of cannabis. There has to be a different model of how its actually regulated by the state. People are going to consume drugs whether we like it or not, but there has to be a different mindset throwing more laws and more police resources in preventing people consuming any drug hasnt really worked because people are consuming more drugs probably than ever. Look about other drugs that are legal, just a particular alcohol or tobacco, they kill people on a regular basis. Of course, over-consumption of cannabis is not good for your health whatsoever, which is more reason that it should be regulated and taken out of the hands of criminal gangs. I dont think its more dangerous than any other substance thats legal. Solidarity PBP @RuthCoppingerTD says its hardly a secret that people take recreational drugs and says suggestions that people who go out and smoke cannabis at the weekend are enabling current crime issues are ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/KxB4pG9lyX aoife moore. (@aoifegracemoore) January 17, 2020 Mr Kennys party colleague Ruth Coppinger echoed the sentiment when asked about the current state of law and order in Ireland. Its hardly a secret that people take recreational drugs, alcohol is a drug thats legal and causes a lot of damage in society, she said. I hear this often in the media, that someone goes out on a Saturday and smokes hash is actually worse and enabling the whole crime issue, thats ridiculous, you cant just say suddenly people are going to stop using drugs thats not going to happen. We have to deal with the causes of drug abuse which are social and class based. RTL Today contributor Thomas Tutton recounts the farcical tale of Germanys abortive attempt to occupy Luxembourg in August 1914. Its a tale you might not have heard before. Germanys first engagement of the Great War came not in France or Russia, but in the small town of Troisvierges in northern Luxembourg. The invasion did not quite go to plan, however. Within half an hour of their arrival, the German troops had withdrawn back over the border after destroying a telegraph and some 150 metres of railroad. What happened? Origins of the confusion The German Empires accidental invasion of Luxembourg came about as a result of the incredibly complex series of events that culminated in the outbreak of the First World War. After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand on June 28th, 1914, the Great Powers spent a month working out how to respond, with the Austro-Hungarian Empire finally declaring war on Serbia on July 28th. In turn, Austria-Hungarys ally Germany declared war against Russia on August 1st due to the Tsars support for the Serbians. This decision would have massive ramifications for Luxembourg, as the Germans implemented their Schlieffen Plan to quickly knock Russias ally France out of the war. And, as historian David Heal has recounted, Luxembourg lay directly in the path of the Schlieffen Plan. The Accidental Invasion of Luxembourg On August 1st, 1914, German troops were primed to attack, but as the Kaiser attempted to secure Britains neutrality in the upcoming conflict, the order to advance was delayed for a few hours. Unfortunately, it appears that no one had told the soldiers of the German 69th Infantry Regiment. At 7pm in the evening of August 1st, five vehicles carrying a total of 16 German troops arrived at the train station of Troisvierges in the very north of Luxembourg. They immediately entered the stations telegraph office and ordered the operator to destroy the telegraph, before proceeding to tear up about 150 metres of railroad track. Incidentally, this was a rather counter-productive act given the centrality of railways to the Schlieffen Plan, and to this day it remains unknown why they decided to damage the track. A Luxembourgish gendarme, arriving at the scene, protested to the commanding officer that he had invaded neutral territory. The German officer apparently responded by stating: We know. We have already taken your capital, and if you say another word, you will be shot. This dramatic episode suggests that the soldiers believed a full-blown invasion of Luxembourg had already taken place that day, and that their action in Troisvierges was part of the German occupation of the Grand Duchy. The 69th Infantry Regiments embarrassing mistake was soon revealed to them when a message from Germany arrived informing them of the delay. By around 8.30, the troops had returned back over the border. Germanys first action of the First World War had thus concluded with a whimper. Aftermath Later that evening, Luxembourgish Prime Minister Paul Eyschen sent a telegram to the German government demanding that it respect Luxembourgs neutrality, but the successful repulsion of the first invasion would not last for long. The next day, the order to advance was finally given, and the Imperial German Army captured the capital without bloodshed as Grand Duchess Marie Adelaide commanded the 400-strong Luxembourgish Army to stand down. Luxembourg would remain under German occupation for the entirety of the war. While it retained its own government, it suffered from severe economic disruption and food shortages, and Marie Adelaide was eventually forced to abdicate for her perceived collaboration. But as we will find out next week, the Luxembourgish people did not sit quietly during the war, as thousands joined up with Allied forces to fight against the Germans. Their efforts are still commemorated today through the symbol of the Gelle Fra. (Newser) Andrew Yang's wife is sharing her story of sexual assault, one that's pushed her to join a lawsuit against Columbia University and former OB-GYN Robert Hadden. Evelyn Yang says she was seven months pregnant with her first child in 2012 when "pervy" Hadden proceeded to "undress me and examine me internally, ungloved," per a CNN exclusive. "I knew I was being assaulted," but "I just kind of froze like a deer in headlights," she adds. "I remember trying to fix my eyes on a spot on the wall just waiting for it to be over." She found a new doctor but didn't tell anyone what had happened, believing "there was something I did to invite this kind of behavior." That changed months later when another patient went to police. One of 18 women to accuse Hadden, Yang would testify before a grand jury, which indicted the doctor on multiple felony sex charges. story continues below But Hadden never saw jail time. He lost his license and had to register as a sex offender after agreeing to one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual abuse in a 2016 plea deal with the Manhattan district attorney's office. The office says its "primary concern was ... making sure he could never do this again." Yang describes the outcome as a gut punch. Learning Hadden was arrested but allowed to return to work weeks before her own assault only added to Yang's pain. She's now one of 32 women claiming Columbia "concealed, conspired, and enabled" Hadden's actions, which allegedly included "surreptitiously licking countless patients' vaginas." "My heart breaks every time I think of what she had to experience," Andrew Yang says. "When victims of abuse come forward, they deserve our belief, support, and protection." The New York Times cites Yang's campaign as saying his wife would not speak further on the subject. (Read more sexual assault stories.) Eleven U.S. troops were treated for concussion symptoms as a result of the January 8 Iranian missile attack on an Iraqi base where U.S. forces were stationed, the U.S. military said on Thursday - after initially saying no service members had been hurt. 'While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed,' Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement. The troops were medically evacuated to U.S. military hospitals in Kuwait and Germany for treatment and further evaluation, according to Defense One. A view of the damage at Ain al-Asad military airbase housing US and other foreign troops in the western Iraqi province of Anbar after Iran's missile attack 'Out of an abundance of caution, some service members were transported from Al Asad Air Base, Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, others were sent to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, for follow-on screening,' said Col. Myles Caggins, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. 'When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening. The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority and we will not discuss any individual's medical status,' Caggins said. Eight troops were reportedly transported to Germany, and three to Kuwait. A senior official told Defense One that the service members only began experiencing symptoms a week after the attack, and that the potential injuries had initially been unknown to leaders. Debris and rubble are seen at the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq The Trump administration and military officials had initially denied there were any U.S. or Iraqi casualties in the missile attack. Base officials had warning of the attack hours beforehand, and nearly all troops were moved into heavily fortified bunkers before the missiles fell. The Trump administration and military officials had initially denied there were any U.S. or Iraqi casualties in the missile attack Iran launched the strike in revenge for the U.S. drone strike that killed its top general, Qassem Soleimani, on January 3 at the Baghdad airport. Tensions in Iraq had been spiking since late December, when a rocket attack at a base in northern Iraq killed one American contractor. The U.S. blamed Iran-backed fighters and quickly struck back. American airstrikes targeted Iranian-backed militia at five sites in Iraq and Syria, including weapons depots and command and control bases. Over New Year's, hundreds of Iran-backed militiamen attacked the highly fortified American embassy compound in Baghdad. The Pentagon deployed hundreds of additional troops to the region, and scaled back military operations and training inside Iraq. U.S. officials have said they believe Iraq is also interested in resuming the training, which has been going on since 2015, after IS began taking control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria. More details, including increased security for U.S. and coalition forces, are still being discussed. On parole, Mumbai blast convict Jalees (Dr Bomb) Ansari goes missing Mumbai blast convict Dr Jalees Ansari, known as `Dr Bomb who was on parole for 21 days from Ajmer Central Prison, went missing on Thursday, Mumbai police said. The 68-year-old Jalees Ansari, a resident of Mominpura in south Mumbai's Agripada and a medical graduate, is a convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case and has been serving a life term. He is also suspected to be involved in many bomb blast cases across the country, an official said. Jalees Ansaris escape could give a boost to the orchestrated protests against the central government and its policies by vested interests, it is feared. Ansari was allegedly connected with terror outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahideen and used to train terror groups how to make bombs. Ansari was on parole for 21 days from the Ajmer Central Prison, Rajasthan, and was expected to surrender before prison authorities on Friday. During the parole period, he was to visit the Agripada Police Station everyday between 10.30 am and 12 pm to mark his presence. Jalees, however, did not visit the police station on Thursday during the designated time. Instead, his 35-year-old son Jaid Ansari approached the police station in the afternoon with a complaint about his "missing" father, police sources said. According to the complaint, Jalees Ansari woke up in the early hours and told family members he is going to offer namaz, but did not return home. On the son's complaint, the Agripada Police registered a missing person's case. The Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra ATS also launched a massive manhunt to trace him, police said. According to Jalees Ansaris family, says he left early Thursday morning for prayers, a day before his 21-day parole sanctioned by the Supreme Court order was to end, but did not return. Since Ansari failed to appear before the police as mandated by the court, his family filed a `missing complaint. Ansari has been in jail since 1994 when he was first arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged role in planting a bomb in the Rajdhani Express. He is alleged to have played a role in over 50 blasts across India and has been serving life term in a jail in Ajmer after being convicted of carrying out blasts in trains on 5 and 6 December 1993 at six locations in Rajasthan. Ansaris application for bale was rejected by the local divisional commissioner in Rajasthan. He then approached the high court and finally got parole on an SC order. If youve heard it once, youve heard it dozens of times: Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans. When it comes to its corporate acquisitions, Cupertino likes to play its cards very close to its chest. Of course, that doesnt stop industry watchers from peering at the tea leaves to see if they can divine exactly what the company might be working on. And, hey, Im no different than those folks, because Apple does so little to telegraph its plans that even a boilerplate statement confirming an acquisition is a rare peek behind the curtain. Apple CEO Tim Cook said not long ago that the company makes an acquisition every two to three weeks, and not even all of those make it into the public eye. So lets take a look at the firms that we do know Apple has acquired recently and see what we can glean. Always in motion capture is the future Back in October of last year, Apple quietly picked up IKinema Ltd., a company based in the UK that specializes in motion capture technology. That tech is the kind of thing thats used in movies, TV, and video games to collect information about how a person or animal moves and then map it onto a virtual model. (Whenever you see behind-the-scenes images of people wearing those wacky suits, or little dots glued to their face, youre seeing motion capture technology at work.) Is Apple building out a special effects house for its burgeoning TV and film production arm? Not particularly likely. But this also isnt the first motion-capture related company that Apple has bought. Way back in 2015, it acquired Faceshift, a company that used technology to capture facial expressions and translate them onto digital avatarstechnology that likely did become Animoji/Memoji. Jason Cross/IDG Its likely that the Animoji/Memoji technology originates from technology developed by Faceshift, a company that Apple aquired in 2015. While it seems somewhat unlikely that Apple would buy an entire company simply in order to make those animations a little more accurate, what if IKinema will help extend that feature beyond just facial expressions and into the rest of the body as well? It wouldnt surprise me to see Apple at work on a digital avatar system that people could use to represent themselves not only in FaceTime calls and iMessages but perhaps even online. (Especially if it doesnt require you to wear a weird suit or a bunch of dots.) The bleeding edge of photography Maybe Apple had some sort of buy one UK company, get one UK company free deal going: in December, it acquired Spectral Edge, a startup also based in Great Britain, which specializes in computational photography. In particular, Spectral Edges tech combined images taken from traditional cameras along with images from infrared cameras to create better quality photos. This approach seems to produce images with richer colors that look closer to what you see in real life. Its absolutely no surprise that Apple would buy a company that could help improve its photos. After all, cameras are the biggest selling point of most smartphones these days, and thats where the competition between Apple and its rivals is the most intense. As for when it might implement this feature, well, Apple already uses IR cameras in its True Depth camera system present on the iPhones X, XR, XS, and 11 seriesthey read dots generated by an infrared emitter for use in tech like Face ID and the Animoji/Memoji system. It would hardly be a stretch for the company to integrate an IR camera into main cameras on the back of the phonethough that camera bump is already getting pretty overloaded. Either way, I wouldnt expect to see a benefit from this recent acquisition for another year at least. Learning machines Well, if nothing else, Xnor.ai certainly wins the award for most difficult to pronounce Apple acquisition. This very week, news broke that Apple had spent $200 million on the AI-focused company, which has developed machine learning and image recognition algorithms that are designed to work locally on devices, rather than being offloaded to a remote server. One of Xnor.ais previous clients, Wyze Labs, used the AI technology to detect people in security camera videos. Though that deal has now ended (likely pursuant to the Apple acquisition), Apple could certainly use the tech for similar usesthough I expect the companys ambitions are probably broader. There are a ton of applications: everything from helping detection of people and objects in Photos to better Siri processing to making it easier for third-party developers to integrate AI and machine learning into their own applications. AI is obviously a big area of interest for Appleso big, in fact, that its AI/machine learning chief, John Giannandrea, is one of the companys executive team. And given that Apples made a big deal about on-device processing of data, so that your personal data is under your control, Xnor.ai certainly seems like a very solid fit, with a lot of potential upside for both Apple and its users. Contacting him is not quite as antiquated as sending a messenger on horseback, but close. McGough has to first send a text message to a man named James, a friend of McDermott's in Ireland. If James happens to be in McDermott's presence, he passes on the message, at which point McDermott may or may not agree to speak. If McDermott is not in the room, it's unclear if the message is ever conveyed. "He's been fighting with me for a year," McGough said. A recent attempt at detente was met with silence. "He didn't want to talk to me. He said he's not in the mood." Instead, McGough received a letter from McDermott, sealed in black wax, with the lyrics to the old song Thanks for the Memories. This certainly would not be their most epic fight. Their roller-coaster partnership began in 1980, shortly after McGough, then 21, moved to New York City from a suburb of Syracuse, seeking glamour and excitement. One night, while attending a new wave vaudeville show at Irving Plaza, he met McDermott, who was 27 and a downtown club performer. A few weeks later, he went to a dinner party at McDermott's apartment and became fascinated with his 1920s-era lifestyle. A photo of artists David McDermott, left, and Peter McGough in McGough's New York apartment. Credit:New York Times "He is incredible how his brain works that's what fascinated me," McGough said. "I found most people were nice and fun, but it never went anywhere. But with him, it went someplace." The two became inseparable, not only as lovers, but also as artists who collaborated on paintings, photographs, films and sculpture. McDermott brought time and history to their work, and McGough brought homoeroticism and sexual politics. A Friend of Dorothy, perhaps their best-known painting, features slurs such as ''queer'' and ''mary'' written in antique typeface on a sunny yellow background. The men spent their 1980s in downtown Manhattan dancing at the Mudd Club, attending openings at the legendary Fun Gallery, and dining with leading lights of the heady New York art scene. And as their art career took off, they attracted people into their fantasy world, a candlelit "Barry Lyndon" on the Lower East Side. Their 18th-century house in upstate New York had a hand pump for water, a hearth for cooking and tin tubs for laundry. The dining room once shared by David McDermott and Peter McGough features a portrait of McDermott, left, and a drawing of McGough by his ex-lover. Credit:New York Times When they dropped by Andy Warhol's Factory wearing top hats and dress shirts with detachable collars, the receptionist would announce, "Those old-fashioned people are here again." "It was this mania for fun," said John Patrick Fleming, a fashion designer who has known both men since their days partying at New York nightclub Danceteria. "Lots of important, successful people got lured into the McDermott and McGough fun train. One time, they had Bianca Jagger upstairs, wooing her with vegetarian food." The partying, however, was not sustainable. "With David, there was never any control," Fleming said. "He was not controllable when he had a penny, and he was not controllable when he had millions. There was never any reasoning. There were no boundaries." In the book, McGough, who is more compromising in temperament, recounts how McDermott fought with gallery owners, alienated their friends and burnt though a fortune to build his antiquated world. There was the 1930 Graham-Paige automobile and the Model T; the $US7500 monthly rent on a Brooklyn studio in a former bank, where the duo once hosted a costume party inspired by Louis Comfort Tiffany's Egyptian Fete of 1913; the team of assistants; the rooms of period antiques; the construction of a $50,000 stone wall at their circa 1790 house in Oak Hill, New York. When McDermott became enamoured of a young man that McGough calls "Bastian" in the book, the pair moved him into Oak Hill and made him a living doll. They bought Bastian two Morgan horses, sent him to train as a carriage driver at a Virginia farm and dressed him in old-fashioned riding gear. Although McDermott and McGough ended their romance about 1985 (McGough said that McDermott had multiple affairs that precipitated the break-up), they continued making art. Their works were included in three Whitney Biennials, and were exhibited by prestigious galleries including Cheim & Read in New York, Galerie Jerome de Noirmont in Paris and Bruno Bischofberger in Zurich. But in 1992, the IRS showed up at their studio. The couple owed six figures in back taxes, having ignored all their bills. The government seized the Oak Hill property and auctioned off its contents. The Brooklyn studio was soon gone, as were the Model T and Graham-Paige touring car. McDermott was devastated by the losses and moved to Ireland in 1994. McGough joined him, but he missed New York and his friends, and moved back to Manhattan in 1998. (McGough was also living with AIDS, which he learned he had in 1997.) By the mid-2000s, McDermott & McGough were again riding high. But earlier mistakes were repeated, and the couple burnt through more money. McDermott "lost this big mansion in Ireland and he blamed me", McGough said. (Several attempts to reach McDermott through his friend James were unsuccessful. James eventually responded to an email query, apologising for taking so long to reply, but follow-up emails went unreturned.) In writing the memoir and telling his side of the story, McGough could be seen as evening the score, since McDermott's erratic behaviour so often derailed the duo's career. "Isn't this his Mommie Dearest moment?" Fleming said. McGough played down any psychodrama behind the memoir. The motivation was simpler, he said: "I thought maybe there's money in it, because I was broke." These days, McGough seems to have settled into a scrappier bohemian life in Greenwich Village. If he is no longer rich, he is still making art and grateful to be alive. "I get out of bed, I stand up and I say, 'You made it.' And I immediately get in a good mood," he said. He still lives like a man out of the past, though he has moved up in period and incorporated semi-modern conveniences. "My cooker is from 1930, and the kitchen sink and the bathroom are 1930. I like to think I'm a bohemian living here during the Depression." Despite an ocean separating them and McDermott's unresponsiveness at present, McGough still sees himself, and perhaps always will, as one half of McDermott & McGough. "We're so bound together," he said. "We are odd bookends that held up a life and a career. I can't imagine my life without him in it." ONE by one, the faces of evil in the Middle East, as drawn by the US, disappeared. Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi were the most notorious in the list and all met their deaths in military operations sanctioned by the White House. It was just a matter of time that a new face took the starring role as target. US President Donald Trump first targeted Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State whose jihadist group was responsible for the deaths of thousands in the latters effort to create a caliphate in conquered areas of Iraq and Syria. The president, who sanctioned the operation in Oct. 26 last year, said that the terrorist, whimpering and crying and screaming, detonated his suicide vest when chased by US military dogs. Baghdadi died along with three of his children. Trump became bolder by authorizing the assassination of Iranian Major General Soleimani on Jan. 3, 2020. Said to be the second most powerful person in Iran next to Ayatollah Khamenei, Soleimani headed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and was commander of Quds Force, a division that operates similar to the US Central Intelligence Agency. Labeled as a terrorist by the US, he was revered by many Iranians as a hero who fiercely fought the nations enemies. (In Philippine context, Soleimani was his countrys Manny Pacquiao). Interestingly, there are accounts that as Trump approved the military operation, he was also in a meeting with his political advisers for his re-election campaign. Critics believe that Trumps move had much to do with diverting peoples attention from his impeachment rather than to respond to security threats to America, its people and interests. Note that he bypassed procedure by failing to inform specific leaders of both the US Senate and House of Representatives, as required by law. There are those who applaud the courage of Trump in ridding the world of those who threaten peace and stability; yet the lack, if not absence of, proof on planned attacks on US facilities under the direction of Soleimani merely substantiate allegation on the immorality, if not illegality, of the assassination. It can be said that there is as much blood spilled by the murderous actions of Soleimani as that of the US that time and again supports coups, assassinations and dictators supposedly in the name of freedom and democracy. With Baghadi and Soleimani out, who will be the next target? Will the belligerent attitude of North Koreas Kim Jong-un qualify him up in the list? Or maybe, Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro? The Donald Trump Show has put military action and blood into its narrative. The US president is the protagonist and the script requires an adversary, that evil face. Sadly, the collateral damage isnt given much consideration. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 23:27:36|Editor: yan Video Player Close GAZA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is going through a financial crisis amid fund shortage, a spokesman of the agency said Friday. Adnan Abu Hasnah, media advisor of UNRWA in Gaza told reporters that "the U.S. decision to cut 360 million U.S. dollars from UNRWA's budget has originated the crisis." "We managed to overcome the crisis in 2018 and 2019, but in 2020 the situation is severe," he said. The UNRWA provides health, education and humanitarian services to more than 5,000,000 Palestinian refugees in five areas in the region, namely the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The U.S. decided to cut off its annual aid to UNRWA in 2018. BJP leader Ashish Shelar on Friday asked the Maharashtra government to clarify on media reports claiming malls and eateries in Mumbai will soon be open all 24 hours. He was reacting to reports which claimed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Mumbai police had given permission to such establishments, which fall under the "gated communities" and non-residential areas, to remain open 24/7. The move was approved in a meeting chaired by state tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray on January 16, with the BMC chief, police commissioner and representatives of malls, hotels and restaurants in attendance, these reports claimed. Shelar said peace, safety and security of Mumbaikars was top priority, adding "any mall, eatery which is a security threat for residential areas or puts burden on police will be opposed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:10:19|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close PARIS, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- French carmaker Renault on Friday announced that its sales fell by 3.4 percent compared with 2018 result after providing world markets with 3.75 million vehicles. The group said it had consolidated its positions in its core markets. In Europe, it offered 1.3 percent more units to 1.24 million, while its sales in Russia grew 2.3 percent and its market share stood at 29 percent, up by 1.4 percentage points. In Brazil, where Renault became the fourth brand, gaining two positions, sales volumes rose 11.3 percent to 239,174 vehicles and market share reached a record 9 percent, up by 0.3 percentage point thanks to the good results of Kwid model, the carmaker's data showed. Meanwhile, sales fell 17.2 percent in China and by 19.3 percent in Africa, Middle East, India and the Pacific region. "In 2020, we will benefit from full-year sales of our best-selling New Clio and New Captur, as well as the acceleration of our electric and hybrid offensive, notably with New ZOE, Twingo Z.E. and E-Tech technology," said Olivier Murguet, Sales and Regions Executive Vice President of Groupe Renault. "We will continue to improve our price positioning initiated in 2019, supported by the quality and attractiveness of our new products," he added. An undercover cop in Houston shot a man who he claims approached his car, made terroristic threats, then reached for a gun. The man, Keith Martin, 45, says he was simply offering to clean his car. Martin survived his injuries, but is stuck in jail. Martin, 45, survived the shooting and has since been charged with misdemeanor terroristic threat. His backpack did not contain a gun, but rather his car detailing equipment and cellphone, said his lawyer Andre Evans. Martin runs his own mobile car detailing service, Evans said. In the statement, Evans said the shooting was "unjustified" and that the officer's actions displayed racial bias. Martin, who is black, remains in Harris County Jail in lieu of a $2,000 bond. Hours before leaving the national capital on the directions of a court, Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad on Friday said his primary concern was to make people aware about the discriminatory citizenship law and not to fight elections in Delhi. Azad, who was arrested in connection with the violence during an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest in Old Delhi's Daryaganj, was released from Tihar Jail on Thursday night. The Dalit group leader on Friday visited the Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir in Gole Market, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib and Jama Masjid and addressed members of the Bhim Army before the 24-hour court-imposed deadline to leave the city ended. "My priority is to make people aware about the discriminatory citizenship law, mobilize people against it... It is time to strengthen this movement, politics can happen later," he said. Sources in the Bhim Army had in December said the Dalit group could take a political plunge in the Delhi assembly elections. Aazad also said that he withdrew from a contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi because he did not "have enough money" and that it would have affected the Dalit movement. "Our protest against the CAA will continue. We request the court to allow us to protest. The government is spreading misinformation on the issue, we are checking it," Aazad said. The Bhim Army leader said the court asked "me to respect Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), I want to ask him to respect the Constitution". Wearing a blue scarf that symbolises BR Ambedkar's iconic blue suit, Azad claimed he was arrested for reading out the Preamble to the Constitution on the stairs of Jama Masjid and said he will "read it daily". He also recited poet Rahat Indori's ghazal "Agar Khilaf Hai Hone Do", which has become a rallying call in the recent protests against the CAA and National Register of Citizens. A Delhi court on Wednesday had granted bail to Aazad who has been accused of inciting people during an anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid here on December 20, while restraining him from visiting Delhi for four weeks. The court had also said that before going to Saharanpur, if Azad wants to go anywhere, including Jama Masjid in Delhi in 24 hours, police will escort him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Defected Chinese Spy Wang Liqiang was Threatened to Retract His Confession and Smear Taiwans Ruling Party Before the Election Three days before Taiwans presidential election, Australian media reported that defected Chinese spy Wang Liqiang was contacted by a Chinese businessman and a senior member of Taiwans Kuomingtang (KMT) party who coerced him into retracting his previous confession about working as a spy for China, and swap it for a new version that would implicate Taiwans Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of corruption. The directives aimed at swaying the outcome of the presidential election. The Chinese businessman, named Sun Tianqun, contacted Wang on Chinese social media and said he acted on behalf of Alex Tsai, a former legislator and a current deputy secretary of Taiwans pro-Beijing Kuomingtang (KMT) party. Wang was offered rewards if he complied with their directives, according to a Jan. 8 report from Australian media The Age. The report also revealed that Wang was threatened that he could be sent back to China and killed unless he publicly retracted his story and co-operated with the two men. Wang fled to Australia to seek asylum late last year. In a series of interviews with Australian media outlets in November, Wang detailed Beijings plan to influence Taiwans 2020 presidential election and promote communist infiltration in Hong Kong and Australia through its extensive local espionage networks. Wang also exposed his supervisor in the spy network, Xiang Xin, who is also an executive director of Hong Kong-based China Innovation Investment Ltd. Online Chat History and Inducements Exposed According to Australian media reports, Chinese businessman Sun Tianqun asked Wang Liqiang on Chinese social media WeChat to retract his story of working for the Chinese regime as a spy and change it to another version, saying that he was bribed by Taiwans DPP into making up the whole story about how Beijing planned to influence Taiwans presidential election. Alex Joske, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, posted on Twitter part of the WeChat exchange between Wang and Sun. Their conversation, according to the dates shown on screenshots, took place on Dec. 29 and 31. Sun initiated the conversation using the old-fashioned ice-breaking method. After Wang added him as a new contact, Sun greeted Wang, saying, I think we might have met in Shanghai. When Wang declined his request for a video chatbecause Wangs child was sleeping at the timeSun had to continue typing on WeChat. I am entrusted by KMT to contact you, he wrote. On Dec. 31, Sun forwarded to Wang three promises on WeChat that were allegedly made by KMT official Alex Tsai: 1) China will remove Wangs arrest warrant and will not make trouble for him when he applies for foreign residency in the future; 2) [KMT will arrange to have] some Taiwan businessmen help Wang repay the debts he owes in China so that his father and elder sister will not be implicated; 3) [KMT will make sure] China does not impose a heavy punishment on Wang, and Wang will be allowed to enter and leave China freely. Fake Confession Script Sun forwarded Wang a prepared script which Wang was supposed to record himself reading it in front of a video camera so it could be aired as a public confession. The video to be recorded goes like this, Suns message said, followed by the script: Initially, I simply wanted to make up a spy story so that I could apply for political asylum in Australia. Subsequently, I met with a person in Australia assigned to meet me by Taiwan DPP official Chiu Yi, who asked me to contact [Australian] media and expose that China started to meddle with Taiwan elections since 2017 by mobilizing internet trolls, and continued its infiltration in the 2018 Taiwan 9-in-1 elections. Han Kuo-yu, the KMT presidential candidate for the 2020 election, was given a political donation of 20 million yuan. The person who contacted me promised that after the 2020 Taiwan presidential election, Taiwans DPP will give me a huge sum of money, and will make arrangements for me to apply for political asylum in Australia or settle in Taiwan. Wang was also instructed to recant allegations he made against businessman Xiang Xin and his wife Kung Ching who Wang claimed to be his supervisors while he worked for the Chinese regimes spy network. Wang alleges that both Xiang and Kung are intelligence officials with close ties to Chinas military. Below is the script that was given to Wang with regards to Xiang and his wife Kung: With regard to Xiang Xin, he is simply an acquaintance whom I met once or twice. The reason I accused them [Xiang and his wife] of being my spy accomplices is that they are the only super rich and high-status figures within my network. I implicated the couple as my supervisors in my spy story to make my story sound even better. I hereby express my apology to boss Xiang and his family. On Nov. 24, 2019, Xiang and Kung were arrested by Taiwans investigators at the Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei as the two tried to leave the country and fly back to Hong Kong. The couple is currently under investigation for espionage activities and barred from leaving Taiwan. After living under the radar in Canada since she was 12, Laura Emmanuelle Souchet tried to do the right thing by coming forward to immigration officials in November and applying to stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. What happened next floored her. On Jan. 7, border enforcement agents showed up at Souchets Toronto home and arrested her, detaining her for two days at an immigration holding centre. And on Tuesday, the now 30-year-old, who came here with her mother from France in 2002 to care for her ailing grandmother, was given just four days notice that she would be deported on Saturday. But on Friday, with her ouster only hours away, the immigration minister stepped in, granting Souchet a temporary permit to stay here while her permanent residence application is being considered. Im overjoyed, I cant believe it, Im so thankful, a relieved Souchet said Friday. While she was granted a last-minute reprieve, many others are not so lucky and face speedy removal, according to immigration lawyers who have seen a recent spike in such whirlwind deportations. The speed in which these ousters are carried out calls into question an alleged practice by Canada Border Services Agency to expedite removals toward the end of the fiscal year that ends March 31, when removal data is reported and the operational budget is revealed. This ramp-up on removals appears to be a year-end practice considering other people under removal are typically given a few weeks notice so that they can exhaust their legal options if they choose, said Souchets lawyer, Graciela Flores Mendez. In response to the Stars request for comment, the Canada Border Services Agency said it works to remove those deemed inadmissible to Canada as expeditiously as possible. The removals take place only once they have exhausted all recourse measures, as part of our fair immigration system, CBSA spokesperson Ashley Lemire wrote in an email. In closed online forums and social media groups, immigration lawyers have complained about the stepped-up removal efforts and a spike in expedited deportations of people like Souchet in recent weeks. They say it appears border agents tend to go after the easy targets those whose addresses they already know, for example in order to ramp up their numbers. Toronto immigration lawyer Aisling Bondy said her law firm has seen at least five cases since the beginning of January of clients being detained and quickly scheduled for removal. The CBSA is scheduling some of them to be deported within just a week or two of being detained, meaning that its challenging for them to retain a lawyer to file a request for a deferral and stay of removal, said Bondy, who has practised immigration law since 2007. CBSA seems to ramp up removals starting in around December. This is really unfortunate since often the clients lawyer is away or not available over the holidays, and its really hard for someone to find a lawyer to take on urgent work during that time, she added, calling this the worst year she has seen in the number of removals and the short notice given for deportation by border officials. The Star has requested statistics on removals from the border agency, but was told those figures were not immediately available. Souchet, who was just a child when she came to Canada with her mother, said they received bad advice from an immigration consultant and made a refugee claim to try to extend their stay here. When the claim was rejected in 2006, she said, they were told by the consultant to move underground and wait for an amnesty. Souchet declined to disclose her mothers current whereabouts. Souchet said she only became aware of her lack of legal immigration status at 16 when she tried to get her drivers licence and realized she didnt have a social insurance number. After finishing high school, she started her own company cleaning offices and homes to support herself. She said she finally found the courage to come forward to immigration officials in November after a frightening experience in which a client exposed himself to her while she was cleaning his house. She realized then that she couldnt go to police because of her immigration status. Before that, she had a bike accident and broke her front tooth and needed stitches but was too afraid to get medical help for fear of getting on the radar of authorities. I said to myself, Enough is enough. I am going to make things right by righting the wrong done by the (immigration) consultant, said Souchet. I have been here since I was 12. I have built a life and a business here. Im part of the community. An online petition pleading with Canadian officials to stop Souchets removal has already collected more than 8,000 signatures since its launch on Wednesday. Immigration lawyers, meanwhile, want to see the situation rectified for others. I cant see any reason why the CBSA cant schedule the removals with more notice than a few days other than for the purpose of frustrating the persons ability to retain a lawyer to file a stay, said Bondy. We are doing our best to refer clients who need representation but its hard to keep up with the demand. Its a lot of work that needs to be done very urgently. Read more about: BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Matanat Nasibova Trend: Azerbaijans Baku Insaat Isgele company engaged in the production of iron platforms and supports intended for use in the construction sector, increased production by 20-25 percent in 2019, Deputy Director of the company Zarnishan Nagiyeva told Trend. During the reporting period, the company's production volumes amounted to over 80,000 systems of iron supports, Nagiyeva added. We plan to maximally increase the production volume this year, Nagiyeva added. We intend to increase production volume by at least 2-2.5 times till late 2020. We work mainly on the basis of orders, mainly from Russia. We expect to export products to neighboring regional countries this year, Nagiyeva said. Presently, we consider Russian and Iranian markets as potential ones. We plan to begin negotiations related to the export of our products soon. The deputy director stressed that local products are in great consumer demand in the domestic market. "The company manufactures industrial products for implementation of a number of large-scale projects, one of which is the Athletes Village, the deputy director said. Industrial products of our company were used during the construction of the Athletes Village." Kolkata, Jan 17 : The Visva-Bharati University on Friday formed a three-member committee, headed by Calcutta High Court's former Chief Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya, to look into the recent incidents of confinement of Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta and the clashes between students in the campus. Meanwhile, the Left students brought out a rally protesting against the alleged attack on them on Wednesday night. VU Executive Council members Dulalchandra Ghosh and Manjumohan Mukherjee are the other members of the probe committee which has been asked to furnish its report to Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty within a month. "The panel has been asked to look into the two recent incidents of unrest in the campus - the long confinement of RS member Swapan Dasgupta on January 8 and alleged clash and scuffle between two groups of university students on January 15," a VU official said. "We hope to find out who all were involved in the two incidents. And then proper steps will be taken," the official said. Dasgupta, on a visit to the varsity to deliver a lecture on the new citizenship law, was confined by CPI-M-affiliated Students Federation of India activists for close to six hours inside a locked room of the varsity. Dasgupta, Vice Chancellor Chakraborty, other varsity officials as well as BJP leader Dudhkumar Mondal were released from the Social Work department at Sreeniketan, a little distance away from the main campus at Santiniketan late into the night by the protesting students. On January 15, two students having allegiance to the Left students unions of the varsity were allegedly beaten up on Wednesday night with wooden rods, following which two arrests were made on Thursday. Th two students accused of violence -- Achintya Bagdi and Sabir Ali -- have been sent to ten days police custody after the Wednesday night attack, even as an SFI leader alleged that the perpetrators were outsiders, owing loyalties to the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. SFI state secretary Srijan Bhattacharya said the two accused were earlier with the TMCP, but recently joined the BJP. "The attackers were saying why we had supported the strike on January 8, and why were we opposing the NRC-CAA and the policies of the BJP RSS," said another Leftist students union leader. But the political identity of the attackers remained complicated amidst reports that the two accused claimed they belonged to the Trinamool Chattra Parishad (TMCP). Meanwhile, the university's Leftist student unions brought out a protest rally in the campus on Friday demanding arrest of alleged third attacker Sulobh Karmakar in connection with Wednesday's violence. VU students, professors and alumni took part in the rally that started off from the prayer room ("upasana griho") of the varsity. "We have taken out this rally in protest against the barbaric attack on students and to ensure their security," said Falguni Pan, one of the two students injured in Wednesday's attack. Director Amjad Khan's film Gul Makai tells the story of education activist Malala Yousafzai. The film is all set to release on the silver screen on January 31, 2020 and will portray the life story of Malala before she got shot by extremists in 2012. Now, the director Amjad Khan has opened up about the experience of making a film with such a controversial topic. Also read: UN declares Malala Yousafzai 'most famous teenager of decade' Director Amjad Khan on directing Gul Makai Though the director agrees that by now, Malala Yousafzai is known across the globe to be one of the most prominent faces, the majority is unaware of the life she had before getting shot by extremists. Director Amjad Khan was recently speaking to a news daily where he opened up about the film. He stated that the film portrays Malala's earlier life and spine-chilling incidents that she experienced when she was living in Swat. The director even expressed how making a film on such a topic was difficult for him given the political nature of the story. He stated that he received multiple death threats from many fundamental groups from Pakistan. The director to this date receives many threat and abusive messages from unknown e-mail IDs. Also read: Biopic on Malala Yousafzai to hit the screens on January 31 Though the pressure was immense on the director, he did not think of backing out once. Major portions of the film were shot in Kashmir which made the director sceptical, but no disruptions were faced by the crew members. The director believes that the film is a story of being courageous and determined during the worst situation of life. Amjad Khan also believes that everyone can relate to the story of Malala Yousafzai's story. Also read: From Malala to Greta: Quotes from 10 powerful women who defined the decade Also read: Heena Sidhu hits out at Malala Yousafzai over her tweet on Kashmir Also read: Malala Yousafzai and Megan Ranipoe pose together, netizens pour love Image Courtesy - Gul Makai Twitter Former U.S. Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) exits federal court on October 1, 2019 in New York City. Disgraced former Rep. Chris Collins faces sentencing Friday in the insider-trading case that led him to give up his seat in Congress. U.S. Judge Vernon Broderick is scheduled to announce the sentence at 2:30 p.m. ET in federal court in lower Manhattan. Federal prosecutors want Broderick to sentence Collins to nearly five years in prison the top end of the federal guidelines range to set an example that will "promote respect for the law, in light of the lack of respect that Collins has shown for it." But Collins' lawyers have asked for probation. "He has paid a heavy price for his crimes," one of his attorneys wrote in a court filing last week, claiming Collins is "now too ashamed to spend significant time in the community he loves." Probation officers had recommended a sentence of a year and a day in prison, along with a $200,000 fine and a term of supervised release. Collins, 69, was the first member of Congress to support then-candidate Donald Trump's 2016 White House bid. Despite pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and making false statements, Collins has retained some support in his upstate New York district and from high-profile Republicans like former House Speaker John Boehner who have vouched for Collins' character in letters to the judge. Collins pleaded guilty in October to tipping off his son Cameron in a phone call from the White House lawn about the results of an Australian biotech company's failed drug trial before the test results became public. After the test was revealed, the stock price of the company in which Collins was a leading investor and board member tanked by more than 90%. A day before Collins switched his plea to guilty, he submitted his resignation from Congress. Cameron Collins saved nearly $600,000 by dumping his stock in the company, Innate Immunotherapeutics, before it disclosed the bad news. Chris Collins himself did not trade Innate stock after learning about the test results. The younger Collins and Stephen Zarsky, his fiancee's father, will be sentenced next week in the insider trading case. (Bloomberg) -- Quanergy Systems Inc.. said Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Louay Eldada stepped down after the driverless car technology startup failed to fulfill technical promises and questions mounted about its finances. Kevin Kennedy, who joined Quanergys board last April, will take over as interim CEO, it said in a statement released publicly after Bloomberg News inquired about the leadership change. Eldada also left the board, effective Jan. 13, the company said. Quanergy makes lidar, sensors that use lasers to create real-time imagery of the physical world. Its a critical component for many autonomous cars, and Quanergy seemed uniquely positioned to capitalize on the emergence of a huge new industry. But its fortunes waned in recent years. Eldada was a central figure both in the companys early success and its more recent troubles. He co-founded Quanergy in 2012, based on early progress on solid-state lidar, a version of the technology that promised smaller, more efficient and cheaper sensors. The company scored several partnerships with car companies and began talking to banks about an initial public offering in late 2017. But Quanergy consistently failed to hit an ambitious timeline for the development of its sensors. Industry partners and former employees said the company shipped devices that didnt work as advertised, and employees found Eldadas management style alternately intimidating and alienating, Bloomberg News reported in 2018. The company contested various aspects of Bloombergs reporting. Quanergy has never knowingly shipped product with defects, a spokeswoman for the company said at the time. In recent years, Quanergy has focused increasingly on mapping, security and other non-automotive applications, a shift that former employees said reflected the deteriorating prospects of the company landing large deals with autonomous vehicle makers. This wasnt entirely due to Quanergys own performance. Some of the frontrunners in the autonomous driving industry, such as Alphabet Inc.s Waymo, developed their own lidar and have been slower-than-expected to deliver fully driverless vehicles. Enthusiasm for lidar companies among investors has been cooling for several years. Story continues But there were also mounting complaints about Eldadas management. Former employees have said Quanergys leadership misled them about equity options they received as part of their compensation. Akram Benmbarek, a former Quanergy executive, sued the company last May over the way it handled his stock options. Chief Financial Officer Patrick Archambault said last year that Quanergy had reviewed pending litigation with a former employee and determined that it was completely without merit. In interviews in 2018, Eldada dismissed concerns around the companys finances. In a statement in October 2018, the company said it had secured new funding in a round led by a global top-tier fund at a valuation exceeding $2 billion. He said the level of happiness is high among employees. Much of the new financing came from Eldada and Tianyue Yu, another Quanergy founder, according to people familiar with the company who asked not to be named discussing private business dealings. Quanergy initiated a $75 million financing round in March 2018, and managed to raise $25 million, according to a regulatory filing later that year. Another filing said Quanergy began a $150 million offering that October and raised just over $20 million. Quanergy didnt respond to requests for comment beyond its statement, which touted its sensors designed for the security and transportation sectors. Eldada, it said, will continue his support of the company as a consultant and evangelist. (Updates with more details after third paragraph.) --With assistance from Liana Baker. To contact the reporters on this story: Joshua Brustein in New York at jbrustein@bloomberg.net;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. Updated 4:25 p.m. The FBI believes the Saudi Arabian government almost certainly helps its citizens flee the country after they are accused of serious crimes, undermining the US judicial process, according to a newly declassified document obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The surreptitious action is done, in part, to spare the wealthy Persian Gulf kingdom embarrassment, the FBI said. Intelligence officials believe the flights from justice will continue without intervention by the American authorities. Saudi officials are unlikely to alter this practice in the near term unless the US Government directly addresses this issue with (Saudi Arabia) and ties US cooperation on (Saudi) priorities to ceasing this activity," according to the FBI. The details are contained in an intelligence bulletin dated Aug. 29. The FBI released the document Friday as part of a recent law pushed by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and signed by President Donald Trump last month that requires the FBI to publicly disclose what it knows about the Saudi governments suspected role in helping its citizens avoid prosecution in the U.S. The eight-page bulletin is heavily redacted and does not specify what the Saudi officials may have done, nor does it contain information about the size and scope of the practice. But the document provides the first public acknowledgement by federal officials about the role Saudi operatives have likely played in the disappearance of numerous citizens who have gotten into legal trouble while in the U.S. I am shocked and appalled at what this memo describes, said Wyden, whose office provided a copy of the document to The Oregonian/OregonLive. The Trump administration is out of excuses for sitting on its hands while the Saudi government helps these fugitives evade justice. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The revelation comes a year after an investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive found multiple cases where Saudi students studying throughout the U.S. vanished while facing manslaughter, sex crimes and other felony charges, with the suspected assistance of their government. The cases occurred under several U.S. administrations. [Read The Oregonian/OregonLives investigative series Fleeing Justice."] The news organization revealed criminal cases involving at least seven Saudi nationals who disappeared from Oregon before they faced trial or completed their jail sentences on charges ranging from rape to manslaughter, including those who had surrendered their passports to authorities. One of the suspects, 21-year-old Portland Community College student Abulrahman Sameer Noorah, vanished weeks before his 2017 trial in the hit-and-run death of 15-year-old Fallon Smart and later resurfaced in Saudi Arabia. Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service told The Oregonian/OregonLive that they believed Noorah left his Southeast Portland neighborhood in a black SUV and later used an illicit passport and private plane likely provided by the Saudi government to flee. The Oregonian/OregonLives investigation later found similar cases in at least seven other states Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin and Canada, bringing the total number of known Saudi suspects who have escaped to 25. Some of the cases date back 30 years, suggesting the Saudi government had spent decades subverting the U.S. criminal justice system and leaving untold numbers of victims without any recourse. In April, a story co-published by The Oregonian/OregonLive and ProPublica showed how the FBI, Homeland Security and other agencies have been aware of the Saudi machinations since at least 2008 yet never intervened. Though longtime allies, the United States and Saudi Arabia dont share an extradition treaty. That makes the return of any Saudi suspect who has left the U.S. remote, if not impossible, without diplomatic or political pressure. Despite documented cases around the country, Wyden and fellow U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., have been the only lawmakers in Washington to publicly raise concerns over the Saudi disappearances and demand action from the White House. The pair have pressed federal agencies including the Marshals Service, Customs and Border Protection and the departments of Justice, State and Homeland Security for answers. Those agencies have not been forthcoming with information, nor do they appear interested in probing the issue further, the Oregon lawmakers have said. Wyden and Merkley also have sponsored bills that would require the federal government to look into the disappearances and to impose sanctions against any Saudi diplomat or official found to have assisted Saudi fugitives. I still want a better investigation of details in these cases, Merkley said in an interview Friday. What kind of flights were taken? What kind of paperwork do we think was invented? He added: Unless we make it a real issue and elevate it to a key point of our relationship, the Saudis are going to keep doing what theyre doing. The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment. It has previously denied spiriting its citizens out of the U.S. The FBIs assessment, Wyden said, provides evidence that directly contradicts those denials. The Saudis are supposed to be our allies, he said. If these are our friends, who needs enemies? Read The Oregonian/OregonLives investigative series Fleeing Justice." -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. In classic Putin style, the Russian president is now trying to push through reforms that would weaken the future presidency at the expense of the future prime ministerial post in a move that led to the surprise resignation this week of the entire government and the plucking from obscurity of a new prime minister that no ones ever heard of. Some fear the sweeping resignation is a bloodless purge of anyone who might have stood in Putins way as he seeks (again) to hold on to ultimate power by a trick of the presidential-versus-prime minister pen. Still, others fear this massive shakeup--which included the resignation of the Russian energy minister--could have implications for the worlds most powerful oil cartel, OPEC, and its market-stabilizing oil production cuts. What Would An Energy Minister Shakeup Mean? President Putin has long supported the deal with OPEC, which should lend support to the continued cooperation with OPEC. As the ultimate decision-maker in Moscow, Putins position is the one that matters and this has not changed, whoever joins the new government as energy minister. As for Novak, he will remain in office until the new government is in place, despite his resignation, and some suspect that Alexander Novak will retain his position under the new Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin. Putin believes the OPEC+ deal is positive for the Russian economy and Novak can count on retaining his position in the Russian political system, said an analyst from the Russian National Energy Security Fund. As a minimum, he would remain Energy Minister, Igor Yushkov added. Related: Oil Glut Overshadows Geopolitical Risk In 2020 Rosnefts Anti-OPEC Platform Could Grow Yushkov said, however, that outgoing PM Dmitry Medvedev and the head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, are not on the best of terms. And with Medvedev gone from the PM post, one could reasonably expect that Sechins influence in the Kremlin will increase, at least temporarily. Sechin is a rather outspoken opponent of the OPEC+ cuts, although he has so far towed the party line. The Medvedev government resigned unexpectedly this Wednesday after President Putin said he will seek to make amendments to the Russian constitution. His proposals include giving more powers to the Parliament. In an address to the Russian Parliament earlier on Wednesday, Putin said that he wants to put the proposed constitutional amendments to a nationwide vote because the amendments would change the balance of powers and the political system, as well as the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches in Russia. There is plenty of fertile ground for speculation. For now, Russia and OPECs relationship has been mutually beneficial, although some in OPEC rightly worry that Russias say in matters concerning oil supply control is too big for comfort and that Russia and Saudi Arabia can practically make decisions on OPEC policies on their own as two of the three biggest oil producers globally. Whats worse for OPEC members is that because of its size as an oil producer, Russia can single-handedly make or break oil production agreements. So the worry that a serious shift in power in Russia could upset OPEC is a legitimate one. Some have even called Russia the new de facto leader of the oil cartel. And the price moves since the first OPEC+ agreement closed in 2016 support this view. Related: Is Iraq Too Risky For Oil Majors? Russia, as represented by Alexander Novak, has been notoriously guarded in making any production cut pledges until the last minute. Novak has also publicly questioned the need for continued cuts several times, causing prices to slump immediately. This makes it clear that OPEC needs Russiaand definitely more than Russia needs OPEC. This is because OPEC members have a greater need for higher oil prices than Russia does. Russias oil export revenues account for a solid portion of its budget revenues, at 40 percent for 2019, according to S&P Global Platts. But the country has developed a commendable habit of budgeting much lower than actual oil prices since the 2014 crisis. In other words, Russia is more resilient to price moves than most of its OPEC partners. In this context, if Novak continues as an Energy Minister, which is the most likely scenario, OPEC could continue capping production safe in the knowledge that Russia will too, although Russiaunlike OPEChas not been particularly strict about sticking to its production quotas. On the other hand, if Mishustin for some reason decides to appoint a new top man in Russian energy a person close to Rosnefts Sechin, there might be trouble for OPEC. Sechin, besides being against the production cuts, is quite a powerful person in Russian politics. Maybe powerful enough to change Putins mind about the cuts. This is a much less likely scenario than Novak retaining his post. After all, the Prime Minister is the one who formally appoints the new ministers, but it is the President who, informally, approves the appointments before they are made. Talk is that most of the members of the new government will be Putins choices, with just a few that Mishustin will select himself. With Novaks track record so far, he will almost certainly continue in the new government, and there will be little or no change to Moscows energy policies. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Drought-breaking storms dumped desperately needed rain on some bushfire-ravaged parts of eastern Australia on Friday, while giving joy to many farmers who have faced losing precious livestock and crops. The rains gave exhausted firefighters a boost in battling some of the blazes, with more relief expected over the weekend as the wet weather is forecast to hit other hotspots. The unprecedented fires, fuelled by climate change and a years-long drought, have claimed 28 lives over the past five months. They have scorched massive tracts of pristine forests in eastern and southern Australia, decimated livestock on already barren farms and destroyed 2,000 homes. Following extreme hot and dry weather that have fuelled the fires, Friday saw the heaviest rainfalls in nearly a decade in some areas close to hotspots. "Rain has fallen across most fire grounds over the last 24 hours, which is great news," said the Rural Fire Service of New South Wales, the eastern state where many of the worst blazes have raged. "Our fingers are crossed that this continues over the coming days." - Crisis not over - However the rains have not hit all fires in New South Wales, nor in the state of Victoria to the south, where many of the worst blazes are raging. The rain has also completely missed Kangaroo Island, the nation's third, biggest off the southern coast of the mainland that is famed for its pristine wilderness. Fires have devastated the national park on the island, wiping out much of its koala population and threatening to completely eradicate bird and other endemic marsupial species. Authorities have warned the crisis could worsen again with Australia only halfway through its summer. - Celebration - Still, the prospect of more wet weather across eastern and southern Australia over the coming days offered further hope. The bushfires and the drought have pushed many farmers in Australia to the brink, and this week's heavy rain gave many rare cause for celebration. "What can I say, we are so lucky. Before this, dams were dry, and we were carting water and feeding stock for months," Stephanie Stewart, who lives on a farm in northern New South Wales, told AFP. "This has made life a lot easier on the land, that's for sure. Now hoping it spreads and can ease the burden for so many other amazing farmers who have been and still dealing with this dreaded drought." - Animal rescues - Roughly a billion animals are estimated to have died in the fires nationwide. With huge tracts of their habitats destroyed, environmental groups have warned the blazes could drive many species to extinction. Much attention has focused on Australia's tree-dwelling koalas, with images of the cuddly-looking animals being rescued from wildfires making world headlines. But on Friday morning, some koalas and other native animals at the Australia Reptile Park on the east coast of New South Wales had to be rescued from floodwaters. "This is incredible, just last week, we were having daily meetings to discuss the imminent threat of bushfires," park director Tim Faulkner said. "Today, we?ve had the whole team out there, drenched, acting fast to secure the safety of our animals and defend the park from the onslaught of water. "We haven't seen flooding like this at the park for over 15 years." - Rain dangers - The heavy rain is being seen as a double-edged sword. The water could also make it harder for firefighting trucks to venture deep into forests on muddy tracks, authorities have warned. Flash floods are another concern, with scorched mountains unable to hold the water and potentially sending torrents of muddy ash into waterways. Such torrents have already led to huge numbers of fish dying in rivers that were poisoned by the muddy ash, local media have reported. The fires have claimed 28 lives, scorched massive tracts of pristine forests and destroyed thousands of homes Maps showing the extent of bushfires in Australia's Victoria and New South Wales states on January 16 . After months of being threatened by wildfires, Koalas on the east coast of New South Wales had to be rescued from floodwaters The Punjab government passed a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state assembly on Friday. The move comes close to the heels of the Kerala Assembly passing a similar resolution. The Kerala government has also moved the Supreme Court against the CAA which grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian culture secretary Roberto Alvim was fired on Friday after using phrases similar to some used by Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Alvim made the comments while discussing a new art prize in Latin Americas largest democracy. Alvim had held the post since November. Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro made the decision after a backlash from Jewish organizations, key lawmakers, political parties, artists and the countrys bar association. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below. Brazils government has drawn criticism after its culture minister launched an arts initiative focused on nationalism and religion, while using language he later acknowledged was similar to that used by Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Though cash-strapped, the government of President Jair Bolsonaro will spend $4.9 million to foment the production of literature, theatre, opera, music and other arts. It was announced by Bolsonaro, Education Minister Abraham Weintraub and culture secretary Roberto Alvim from a library of the official presidential residence in a live Facebook video. Alvim, the driving force behind the initiative, is a born-again Christian who found renewed faith while recovering from cancer. He delivered a separate message about the initiative using a phrase that local paper O Globo and some other commentators identified as resembling language in a speech by Goebbels. Alvim, who has disavowed Nazism, acknowledged the similarity but said it was merely a rhetorical coincidence. The speeches, whose words have been reviewed by the AP, both say the nations art in the next decade will be heroic and will be national. Both men conclude: Or it will be nothing. The president of Brazils lower house said on Twitter the video went beyond the pale, and that Bolsonaro should remove Alvim from his position immediately. Bolsonaros press office declined to comment, saying Alvim had already made a public statement. While the amount to be spent is a drop in the bucket compared to other arts funding, the project jibes with the governments other efforts to overturn what Bolsonaro calls cultural Marxism and some of his ministers say is undermining societys morals. The leftist Workers Party governed Brazil for 13 years until 2016. When culture becomes sick, the people become sick, too, Alvim said in the video beside Bolsonaro. Brazilian culture was deliberately sickened during the recent decades. Culture is the basis of the homeland. More than 57 million people 55% of the voters in 2018s election embraced Bolsonaros anti-leftist campaign, in which he promised to fight corruption, violence and leftist ideology with the same energy. The government will stimulate film projects that focus on Brazils independence and historical figures, and be aligned with conservative values, Alvim said. Speaking in a separate recorded message released Thursday, with a wooden cross atop his desk, Alvim said he wants 2020 to mark a historic cultural rebirth to create a new and thriving Brazilian civilization. He sat beneath a framed picture of Bolsonaro, and orchestral strings played lightly in the background. The music is from an opera by Richard Wagner, sometimes associated with Nazism and German nationalism. Alvim said in a radio interview that he chose the music himself, because the work is transcendent and stemmed from Wagners Christian faith. Its a Nazi-fascist esthetic, but I ask myself whether there isnt method in the midst of this chaos, former culture minister Marcelo Calero said by phone, adding that cultural projects should strive to create jobs and income. Culture in the view of this government isnt about economic issues, its about attacking an enemy to make people think critically. The cultural campaign in Brazil goes well beyond the arts. From school textbooks to teen pregnancy, from the walls of private museums to those of public institutions, the 2020 ideological push is shaping up on several fronts. And after a series of high-profile resignations and dismissals in year one, Bolsonaro begins his second year in office with a new ministerial team to implement its leaders conservative agenda. Im back, ready for battle, Weintraub tweeted Jan. 5, calling his followers to support him in his fight against oligarchs, corrupt individuals and the communist-socialist ideological wing. Bolsonaro has made education, especially in early childhood, one of his top priorities. On Jan. 7, he and Weintraub his second education minister in a year spoke live on Facebook and accused previous administrations of turning the ministry of 300,000 employees into a factory of militants. The two announced a complete clean-up of kids school textbooks. Without presenting concrete examples, Bolsonaro had previously described textbooks as an embarrassment with too much writing in them, and said parents only want their sons to be boys and daughters to be girls. There are still some (textbooks) that we dont like but a lot of filth has already come out, Weintraub assured him. Few specific proposals have been put forward as an alternative an emphasis on family values, the national anthem (already included in textbooks by law), and a Brazilian flag on the cover. For Claudia Costin, a former education secretary in Rio de Janeiro and senior director for education at the World Bank, the culture wars are a waste of precious time. Brazil ranked in the bottom third of the 79 countries and economies that took part in the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment conducted by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. According to the tests results, Brazilian students have stagnated in mathematics, reading and science. Public schools are performing particularly poorly. We have a lot of homework to do, Costin said. All this is a distraction from what really needs to be done. The governments conservative agenda has also pushed into health matters. Damares Alves, the minister of women, family and human rights, recently shared news of an approach to fighting teen pregnancy that would focus on advocating sexual abstinence. The campaign, expected to be unveiled in the coming days, will target youths, but also parents, educators, and health workers, said Angela Gandra, the secretary in charge of family affairs at Alvares ministry. She stressed that the campaign is complementary to existing methods of contraception. We want to bring reflection to the parents and the children about what human relations are, Gandra said at the ministrys building in Brasilia. Sexual relations have an impact on human beings, have a greater transcendence than an isolated incident In 2017, the latest year for which data is available, more than 480,000 babies were born in Brazil to mothers aged 10 to 19, health ministry statistics show. At the building next door, in the cultures secretarys office, Alvims promised campaign is underway. The potential impact of his arts initiative itself is dubious given its small value -- one complex opera alone can cost $250,000 -- though that will only be clear once the government publishes official rules, according to Fernando Schuler, a political philosophy professor at university Insper. Still, this could be the first phase of financial incentives that swell once Brazil overcomes its current fiscal crunch, he said. On Twitter, Alvim regularly uses the hashtag #DeusVult, or God wills it, echoing the Christian battle cry of Middle Ages crusaders. Its also popular with white nationalists in the U.S. Following release of his taped video, Brazils Israel confederation Conib said in a statement that Alvims emulation of Goebbels was a frightening signal of his vision of culture that should be combated and contained, and called for Alvims dismissal. - Associated Press writers Marcelo de Sousa, and photographer Eraldo Peres, contributed to this report. When Donald Trump came to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and threw paper towels into a crowd of American citizens who were desperate for food and essential resources, Nilsa Lassalle says she felt angry, disappointed and most of all, humiliated. The president declared a major disaster in Puerto Ricos southern region on Thursday, weeks after a series of destructive magnitude 5 earthquakes shook the island in late 2019 and early January. His announcement came the same week the White House attached severe restrictions on emergency relief meant to aid Puerto Rico in its recovery efforts following the deadly Hurricane Maria. The hurricane hit in September 2017, but such was the devastation it wrought on Puerto Rico as well as nearby Dominica and St Croix that recovery efforts continue to this day. While releasing the funds, the Trump administration halted the islands $15 (11.48) minimum wage and blocked money going towards its electric grid. Lassalle, a 53-year-old Puerto Rican mother, says she doesnt expect the president to treat Puerto Rico any differently after the earthquakes than he did after the hurricane. Looking back, Im not surprised at all by how Donald Trump is reacting to the earthquakes in Puerto Rico, she said. What can we expect from somebody that treats everyone like that men, women, immigrants, the press Im not surprised by anything he does now. Like many other young Puerto Ricans, Lassalles daughters have both relocated to the mainland United States, citing a lack of job prospects and economic challenges years before Hurricane Maria. Lassalle attributes these challenges to corruption within the local government, as well as the United States chokehold on the island. Im not surprised by anything Trump does now, says Nilsa Lassalle (Courtesy of Nilsa Lassalle) [The US] profits from Puerto Rico, and controls everything we do, Lassalle says. We have to buy all of our imports from the US, there are so many regulations, and we cant declare bankruptcy. On top of it all, Lassalle notes that Puerto Ricans cannot vote in the presidential elections: It would be beneficial for us to be included, because we are American citizens. We are somehow a part of your country, and the fact that we dont get a say in politics here leaves us in limbo. Despite not being able to cast a ballot in the 2020 elections, Lassalle has been paying attention to the Democratic primaries and candidates along the campaign trail. Nationally, she says shes most focused on issues like immigration, healthcare and taxes. But when it comes to Puerto Rico, Lasalle wants a president who will bring more opportunities to the island and wipe out its debt. Because so many young people have left the island, Puerto Rico is filled with many people from the older generations, and they arent usually open-minded to more progressive ideals or candidates, she explains while discussing the debate as to whether Puerto Rico should become a US state. Lassalle believes that Puerto Rico can and should achieve independence. She cites the recent uprisings that ousted former Governor Ricardo Rossello and others from his administration. The disgraced governor faced protests and demands to resign after he was exposed for corruption and had his misogynistic text messages leaked to the media. I wish Puerto Rico would be an independent state. I have seen after Hurricane Maria but even before that the people here have the power to lift Puerto Rico, she says while recalling the weeks of demonstrations. This has never happened before in Puerto Rico people are thirsty for change definitely. And when it comes to addressing the issues impacting Puerto Rico and the United States writ large, Lassalle says she now sees only one candidate for the job: Bernie Sanders. Whereas at first Lassalle says she supported Joe Bidens candidacy, citing the former vice presidents experience in the White House and reputation as a longtime senator, she now believes Sanders has a more complex understanding of the human condition and where we are now as a country, and maybe even as a world. He just seems more inclined to respond to the issues that affect people, she adds. Were not the 1 per cent, and he addresses our issues ... important issues like immigration, student debt and healthcare. Sanders introduced a $146bn (111.7bn) plan in 2017 to help rebuild Puerto Rico after the hurricanes, which included investments in renewable resources and green technology. That legislation featured six co-sponsors, one of whom was fellow 2020 hopeful Elizabeth Warren. The Vermont senator has also called for some of Puerto Ricos debt to be immediately relieved if deemed unconstitutional, and has suggested a fiscal oversight board implemented by the US congress was anti-democratic in nature. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign stop at St Ambrose University on 11 January 2020 (AP) Lassalle says she agrees with those views. Puerto Rico has given so much to the United States, she says. The US has of course given much to us, but thats part of being a commonwealth its not Puerto Ricans fault that debt exists. We werent in control of how that money was handled. Whether Sanders wins the Democratic nomination or not, Lassalle says there needs to be a major shift in American politics with this election, describing the last four years under Trump as the worst nightmare ever imaginable. We cant have another four years of this, she concludes. I dont get to say anything as a voter, but I hope that there will be a major change. Australia Day celebrations in Parramatta will no longer conclude with a fireworks display, with the council instead deciding to make a $40,000 donation to the NSW Rural Fire Service. City of Parramatta Council announced the cancellation via social media, saying they made the decision "in light of the ongoing bushfire crisis". It has been received positively by social media users. The hot air balloon display at Parramatta's 2019 Australia Day celebrations. Credit:George Gittany The decision follows the cancellation of the city's New Year's Eve fireworks after the city was refused a Total Fire Ban exemption. The Parramatta celebrations otherwise remain unaltered, and will also feature a 'Thank the Fireys' booth, which will take donations and messages of support for the Rural Fire Service Association (RFSA). Money raised will be used to purchase equipment upgrades for fire stations. In Sydney, the Australia Day fireworks over the harbour will proceed as planned, along with the annual Ferrython event. Loading The Yabun Festival will be held in Victoria Park, to honour the survival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Though other councils in New South Wales are yet to follow suit, the Victorian government has cancelled Melbourne's Docklands fireworks display. A Toronto firefighter has been charged with careless driving after he struck an 11-year-old girl at a pedestrian crossover last month, police say. Toronto Fire Services were called to a fire at 824 St. Clair Ave. W on Dec. 16 at about 3:30 p.m. The fire truck was travelling north on Oakwood Avenue, with lights and sirens activated, police said in a news release Friday. As the fire truck approached Rosemount Avenue, which is controlled by a pedestrian crossover, the driver passed a stopped vehicle and struck the girl as she walked west in the crosswalk, according to a Toronto police news release. Toronto Fire Services immediately performed first aid on the girl and she was taken to hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries. The girl is still recovering in the hospital. The driver of the fire truck has been charged with careless driving resulting in bodily harm and for overtaking a stopped vehicle at a crossover. Both charges are Highway Traffic Act offences. Although there are exemptions for emergency service vehicles when it comes to speeding and proceeding through red lights, there is no exemption for pedestrian crossovers, police spokesperson Meaghan Gray said. In this case, we are alleging that the fire truck failed to stop at the pedestrian crossover, Gray told the Star. Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said Toronto Fire Services continues to co-operate fully with the police through their investigation. Toronto Fire Services is also conducting its own internal investigation in an effort to ensure such incidents do not happen again, Pegg said in a statement. The firefighter who has been charged remains on active duty, Pegg said. He is a highly trained and experienced firefighter with more than 22 years of service with Toronto Fire Services, Pegg said. My thoughts, and the thoughts of the entire Toronto Fire Services team, are with the young girl and her family during this difficult time, he said. Toronto police did not give the name of the firefighter. In a statement, police said that they do not provide names of people charged under the Highway Traffic Act. Pedestrian crossovers button-operated crosswalks that are controlled by flashing yellow lights and box marked with a black X are intended for low- to moderate-traffic volumes in areas with low speed limits. In 2018, city staff recommended the crossover at Oakwood Avenue and Rosemount Avenue be replaced with traffic lights, saying a standard traffic control signal would provide a more appropriate form of crossing protection for pedestrians in this area. The crossing is next to Oakwood Collegiate Institute and near McMurrich Junior Public School. The firefighter is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall on Feb. 20. Uzbekistan became the last country in the framework of the Asian tour Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The talks in Tashkent discussed issues of bilateral Russian-Uzbek relations and preparation for the visit of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Moscow, which is scheduled for February 5. Russia, according to Lavrov, is interested in Uzbekistan strengthening relations with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEAS) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On the eve of Mirziyoyevs visit to Russia, a meeting of the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation will be held, which will consider draft documents preparing for signing at the highest level. "There are a number of events that we would like to offer you in order to organize this event in our relations in the most worthy manner," Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov. The Russian diplomat noted that Russian-Uzbek relations at the current stage are experiencing an unprecedented rise in all areas without exception. This is the economy, and the humanitarian sphere, and military-technical cooperation. According to experts, at the negotiations in the Kremlin, the accession of Uzbekistan to the EAEU will be one of the main issues. Judging by the discussion that has developed about the feasibility of Uzbekistans participation in the EAEU, Tashkent has already decided. In particular, the deputy foreign minister of Uzbekistan, Ilkhom Nematov, said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza that the country's participation in a particular organization should be useful and beneficial to this country. Smart people do the analysis, then everyone weighs and makes a decision. There are factors that determine the participation of Uzbekistan in this organization. Recently, the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CEIID) made a presentation presentation on the topic: "Assessing the Consequences of the Possibility of Uzbekistan Joining the EAEU." "Uzbekistans entry into the EAEU can significantly reduce the barriers for Uzbek products to enter the markets of the countries of the Union and the associated costs for exporters. Expanding the union, creating free trade zones of this organization with other countries will facilitate the entry of Uzbek exports to the markets of these countries," the director said CEIR Obid Khakimov. According to him, from the point of view of economic feasibility, participation in the EAEU is beneficial for the Uzbek business: Uzbek producers will have equal access to the market of the EAEU countries, equal conditions will be created for labor migrants and access to Russian investment resources and technologies will be gained. The presentation presented studies on the impact of a possible entry of Uzbekistan into the EAEU in the context of various sectors of the economy. In particular, it was noted that upon joining the EAEU, Uzbekistan will become part of a single customs space, where the common customs tariff (ETT) of the EAEU applies. When Uzbekistan joins the EAEU, the logistics of cargo delivery will improve and the delivery time for agricultural products will be reduced due to the elimination of unnecessary requirements and barriers at the borders, which will increase the export of fruits and vegetables and processed agricultural products to Uzbekistan. The modernization of the branches of Uzbekistan will take place. Effective realization of the unused export potential of the processed products of Uzbekistan in the markets of the EAEU countries is expected. An increase in the export of Uzbek products upon joining the EAEU may occur due to a decrease in transport costs and simplification of the transit of export goods through the territory of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation; realizing the unused export potential of the industry and expanding the range of exported products of Uzbekistan to the markets of the EAEU countries. Along with obvious advantages, a number of Uzbek experts believe that it is not worth rushing to join the EEAS. Since the entry of Uzbekistan into some kind of integration association is fraught with a number of serious issues of a geopolitical and economic nature. In particular, the director of the Center for Research Initiatives "Ma'no" Bakhtiyer Ergashev believes that there are industries that will benefit when Uzbekistan joins the EEAS, there are areas and industries in which gains and losses balance each other, and there are industries that for the first time lose from joining the EAEU. "A positive point is the possible increase in the influx of Russian investments and technologies. However, it is worth noting that Russia has not been the main investor in Uzbekistan for several years. The main investments come from China, and there is great doubt that this will change even if Uzbekistan joins The EAEU, "Ergashev told the Herald of the Caucasus. As for the promotion of the Uzbek business and Uzbek products in the Russian Federation, exporters of fruits and vegetables, exporters of Uzbek textiles and footwear industry - those areas in which the country has certain competitive advantages, will benefit. More comfortable conditions will be created for them - the volume of deliveries and revenue will increase. But, in my opinion, positive dynamics are observed now, outside of integration, as part of bilateral cooperation. EU The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sent the mercy petition of 2012 Delhi gang-rape case convict Mukesh Singh to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday night, sources said. Earlier, Mukesh Singh, one of the four convicts in the gang-rape and murder of a paramedic student in 2012, had informed the Delhi High Court that his mercy petition is pending before the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the President of India and he should be given a minimum 14 days notice between the rejection of his mercy petition and scheduled date of execution. The Delhi High Court has refused to set aside the trial court order which issued a death warrant. The court had asked the convict's counsel to approach the trial court and apprise about the pending mercy plea. The Supreme Court had already dismissed curative petitions of the two death row convicts, including Mukesh Singh in the case. Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh had moved the curative petitions in the top court after a Delhi court issued death warrants in their names for their hanging on January 22. Besides them, two other convicts named Pawan and Akshay are also slated to be executed on the same day at 7 am in Delhi's Tihar Jail premises. They were convicted and sentenced to death for raping a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in the capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012. The victim, who was later given the name Nirbhaya, had succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Singapore where she had been airlifted for medical treatment. Standing Counsel for Tihar Jail authorities Advocate Rahul Mehra has said that the execution of convicts in the 2012 gang-rape case will not take place on January 22. "It can only take place 14 days after the mercy plea is rejected as we are bound by the rule which says that a notice of 14 days must be provided to the convicts after the rejection of mercy plea," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Guatemalas new president announced Thursday that his government is breaking off diplomatic relations with Venezuela. Two days after his inauguration, President Alejandro Giammattei said he had ordered Guatemalas foreign secretary to recall the last person remaining in the countrys embassy in Venezuelas capital and close the building. Giammatteis announcement came after a meeting with the head of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro. It is an issue that concerns the entire continent, the new president said. His inauguration was attended by Maria Romero, a representative of Juan Guiado, the Venezuelan opposition leader recognized as that countrys rightful leader by the United States and more than 50 other nations inauguration. In October, the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro did not allow Giammattei, then president-elect, to enter the country. He was sent back to Guatemala on another flight. Jorge Arreaza, Maduros foreign minister, accused Giammattei of throwing himself at the feet of Donald Trump and said the Guatemalans presidency was destined to become another joke in bad taste. Hyderabad, Jan 17 (IANS) In a setback to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, a CBI special court hearing a disproportionate assets case against him, on Friday, dismissed his petition seeking a hearing of Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases only after the completion of the hearing on the CBI cases. The court agreed with the ED's argument that the cases registered by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED should be tried simultaneously. Reddy, who personally appeared in the court on January 10, had moved the petition, pleading the court to take up hearing into the ED cases only after completing the hearing in the CBI cases. The court also struck down the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President's petition of clubbing all the charge sheets filed in the case. Reddy, who had made first personal appearance in the court since assuming office as the Chief Minister in May last year, had sought exemption from personal attendance this week. The CBI court hears the case every Friday. The court on Friday began hearing on the charge sheet in the Penna Cement case, one of 11 cases registered by the federal agency. All the other accused in the case appeared in the court. They included Telangana Minister Sabita Indra Reddy, YSR Congress MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, former Andhra Pradesh Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao and IAS officer Srilakshmi. The cases relate to investments made by various companies in Jagan's firms as quid pro quo for various favours bestowed on them during the tenure of his father, the late Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy, as Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh during 2004 and 2009. The CBI arrested Reddy and sent him to jail on May 27, 2012. After 16 months in prison, he was granted bail. The federal agency has filed 11 chargesheets against Jagan and others. ms/bc Ukraine has again asked Canada, France, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Iran to consider the possibility of assigning their specialists to help investigate the January 8 crash of the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS0752 near Tehran, the press service of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said on Thursday. "The Prosecutor General's Office has again asked the relevant agencies of Canada, France, Sweden, Germany, the UK, and Iran to consider the possibility for these agencies' representatives to take part in the joint group investigating the criminal case opened into the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines carrier's Boeing 737 plane on the PS0752 Tehran-Kyiv flight," it said. This request was sent as a follow-up to agreements reached in London on January 16, 2020, at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries whose citizens were killed in the air crash near Tehran. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-16 22:16:01 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1009 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 CRANBROOK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 16th 2019 / Taiga Gold Corp (CSE:TGC) ("Taiga" or "TGC") has received an annual report from option partner SSR Mining Inc. ("SSR Mining") (SSRM) outlining results from the $4M, 2019 exploration program on Taiga's 100% owned Fisher Property (the "Property" or "Fisher"), pursuant to an option agreement (the "Fisher Agreement") between SSR Mining and Taiga. The parties are in the fourth year of an option whereby SSR Mining may earn up to an 80% interest in the 34,000 ha property by completing $4M in exploration expenditures and making a total of $3.3M in cash payments to TGC. The Property is contiguous to the north, south and east with SSR Mining's Seabee Gold Operation.See Fisher area location map here2019 Highlights:7,640m of diamond drilling completed in 20 holes (21,608m in 48 holes to date);Numerous intercepts greater than 1g/t Au reported, including:19-035 which intersected visible gold over a broad interval returning 3.76 g/t Au over 4.2m, including 13.72 g/t Au over 0.73m and 7.15 g/t Au over 1.55m core length; and19-030 which returned 10.20 g/t Au over 1.5m;5,523 soil samples collected, with a peak assay of 15.965 g/t gold;963 rock samples collected, with a peak assay of 166 g/t gold, located 500m north of Hole 19-035,New gold discovery near the Santoy Mine Complex border;High-grade gold mineralization identified over a 13km trend;All-season Fisher camp upgraded to a 40-person capacity;$4,061,000 in expenditures completed by SSR Mining in 2019; andCrews have recently mobilized to initiate a proposed 12,000m of drilling using 2 rigs.2019 SummarySSR Mining exploration activity during 2019 consisted of diamond drilling during the winter months and detailed geological mapping, prospecting and soil geochemical sampling completed during summer and fall. A team of geologists, geologic technicians and prospectors identified new high-grade gold mineralization associated with the Santoy Shear, a mineralized structure which hosts the Santoy Mine Complex located 1.5 km north of the Property boundary. Multiple high-grade samples were returned over a 13 km mineralized trend (see sample location map). All rock geochemical results were previously reported (see TGC news release dated November 6th, 2019), with complete soil sample results recently received and significant results reported herein.The Mac Trend was the focus of detailed mapping and prospecting with activity centered both north and south of drill hole FIS-19-035, which intersected 3.76 g/t Au over 4.2m earlier in 2019. Work has now identified two distinct trends in the Mac North area: the main structural zone; and the hanging wall zone. The main structural zone along the Santoy Shear footwall contact returned a peak prospecting assay of 31.1 g/t Au and the hanging wall zone returned a peak prospecting assay of 166.8 g/t Au. Both trends were intersected in drill hole FIS-19-035 and have now been shown to extend approximately 3 km to the south where they are interpreted to correlate with two additional new gold occurrences in the Mac South area, with peak prospecting assays of 8.4 g/t Au in the main structural zone and 16.0 g/t Au in the hanging wall zone.In addition to the Mac Trend, 2019 geological work on the North-Central Zone near the border with SSR Mining's Santoy Mine Complex has identified new target areas including a peak prospecting assay of 64.2 g/t Au.See rock sample results and drill hole locations map hereExtensive soil geochemical sampling was completed in 2019, focused along the length of the Santoy Shear and in the Footprint area. A number of existing target areas saw increased sample coverage. Multiple new high-priority targets were also identified, with values ranging from trace to 15.96 g/t Au. Many of these areas are targeted for extensive follow-up work.See detailed soil sample location map here2020 Exploration OutlookSSR Mining intends to carry out extensive exploration on Fisher during 2020, consisting of 12,000m of drilling (expected to commence shortly), additional geological mapping and soil geochemical sampling with up to 4,000 samples expected to be collected. Drill targets at the Mac Trend will include the Mac North area near drill hole FIS-19-035, and along strike to the north and south to follow up on high grade prospecting samples. Initial testing of newly identified targets in the North-Central area of the Property is also planned. Capacity at the Fisher camp had been doubled to accommodate crews for upcoming work.Fisher Property SummaryBoth Fisher and the Seabee Gold Operation are located within the Pine Lake Greenstone Belt. Mine geology at the Seabee Gold Operation consists of high-grade gold hosted by vein mineralization associated with shear zones that transect mafic meta-volcanic and intrusive rocks, as well as granitic rocks emplaced during the regional deformation events impacting Pine Lake rocks during the Proterozoic. Mineralization at the Seabee Gold Operation occurs at the Seabee and Santoy mine complexes, which are located approximately 14km apart. The former is affiliated with the more westerly-oriented Laonil Lake shear zone, while the latter is hosted by the Santoy Shear, a regional north-trending shear zone that has been traced over much of Fisher.Since 1991, the Seabee Gold Operation has produced over 1.57 million ounces of gold from the Seabee and Santoy deposits. In 2018, the Seabee Gold Operation produced 95,602 ounces of gold at cash costs of US$505 per ounce with an average mill-feed grade of 9.16 g/t. In 2019, the Seabee Gold Operation produced 112,137 ounces of gold, the site's fourth consecutive annual production record.. SSR Mining earlier reported uncut drill intercepts grading up to 1,004 g/t Au over 1.6m, including 3,887 g/t gold over 0.4m (true widths) along the Santoy Shear in an area located approximately 3km northwest of the Fisher boundary (source: SSR Mining news releases May 1, 2017 and February 21, 2019, SSR Mining website). Management cautions that past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the subject properties.Tim Termuende, P.Geo., President and CEO of Taiga commented recently on the results: "We are extremely encouraged by the results obtained to date on the Fisher Property. SSR Mining continues to fund and carry out effective, systematic exploration a Whether a sick cell dies, divides, or travels through the body is regulated by a sophisticat-ed interplay of signal molecules and receptors on the cell membrane. One of the most im-portant molecular cues in the immune system is Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF). Now, for the first time, researchers from Goethe University have visualised the molecular organization of individual TNF receptor molecules and the binding of TNF to the cell mem-brane in cells using optical microscopy. Before TNF can bind to a membrane receptor, the TNFR receptor must first be activated. By doing so, the key will only fit the lock under certain circumstances and prevents, among other things, that a healthy cell dies from programmed cell death. For TNFR1 in the membrane, the binding of TNF is mediated through several cysteine-rich domains, or CRDs." Sjoerd van Wijk, Institute for Experimental Cancer Research in Paediatrics and Frankfurt Stiftung fur Krebskranke Kinder, Goethe University In particular, CRD1 of the TNFR1 makes it possible for TNF to "attach". Researchers already knew that TNFR1 molecules cluster in a fashion similar to a dance, in which two, three or more partners grasp hands - with the dimers, trimers or oligomers consisting of single TNFR1 mole-cules - in the case of TNFR1. This kind of "structural reorganization" also takes place when there is no TNF present. "Despite the significance of TNF for many diseases, including in-flammation and cancer, the physiology and patterns of TNFR1 in the cell membrane still remain largely unknown up to now," says Sjoerd Van Wijk, explaining the starting point for his research. In order to understand the processes in the cell membrane in detail, van Wijk approached Mike Heilemann from the Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at Goethe University. Using a combination of quantitative microscopy and single-molecule super-resolution microscopy that he developed, Heilemann can visualise individual protein complexes as well as their molecular organization in cells. Together with Ivan Dikic (Institute for Biochemistry II) and Simone Fulda (Institute for Experimental Cancer Research in Paediatrics) from Goethe University, Harald Wa-jant from the University Hospital Wurzburg and Darius Widera from University Reading/UK, they were able to observe the dance of the TNF receptors. Financial support was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through the Collaborative Research Centre 807 "Transport and Communication across Biological Membranes". As the researchers report in the current issue of Science Signaling, membrane TNFR1 recep-tors exist as monomers and dimers in the absence of TNF. However, as soon as TNF binds TNFR1, receptor trimers and oligomers are formed in the membrane. The researchers also found indications for mechanisms that determine cell fate independently of TNF. These findings could be relevant for cancer or and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. "It clear-ly opens new paths for developing novel therapeutic approaches," states van Wijk. The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) held a meeting on Tuesday at Humboldt University in Berlin on the topic No to war against Iran! Although the meeting was organised at very short notice, the large seminar room was filled to capacity. Around 80 people came to the meeting to discuss with the IYSSE the dangerous developments in the Middle East and the need for a socialist and internationalist programme against war. Helmut Wolf, one of the IYSSEs candidates in the student parliament elections, scheduled for January 29 and 30, chaired the meeting. In his introduction, he explained that the IYSSE seeks to build a socialist movement against militarism and war, social inequality and the rise of the far right. The entire series of meetings organised by the IYSSE prior to the election is focused on these issues. The IYSSE meeting at Humboldt University The main speaker at Tuesdays meeting was Johannes Stern from the World Socialist Web Site. He first analysed the criminal assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Suleimani and explained it in a broader political and historical context. The killing of Suleimani is the latest highpoint of the United States criminal militarist policies in the region, which, following the wars and regime change operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, is preparing for a new, more comprehensive conflict, Stern explained. Stern described the Middle East as a powder keg where all of the major and regional powers confront each other in close proximity and warned of the danger of a third world war. The drive by the imperialist powers to militarily subordinate the entire region could rapidly erupt into a conflict with Russia and China, which have close economic and political relations with Iran. Stern pointed out that the latest US national security strategy refers to the rivalry between the major powers as the primary focus of US foreign policy. Stern noted that the European powers are responding with the same aggressiveness to these developments. They defended the murder of Suleimani and intensified their threats on Iran. The German government in particular is pressing ahead with its return to an aggressive imperialist foreign policy, and preparing to expand its presence in the region, Stern explained. He also cited from the recent foreign policy keynote address by German federal parliament president Wolfgang Schauble (Christian Democrats, CDU), in which he called for Germany to use military force to secure its economic interests. Stern stressed that all parties in parliament agree on this point. Since the Greens backed the first German foreign military intervention since the Second World War in Kosovo in 1999, they have supported every German army deployment as an opposition party. The Left Party has also long been a pro-war party in the Middle East, continued Stern, and is now calling for Germany to pursue a more independent foreign policy, which is aimed at enabling Berlin to enforce its interests against the United States if necessary. Based on Leon Trotskys writings on the Chinese bourgeoisie from the 1920s, Stern analysed the reactionary character of the Iranian regime. It does not represent a progressive counterweight to the imperialist war drive, but is rather desperately seeking a deal with the imperialists. These tendencies will only be exacerbated by the increased external pressure from the threats by Trump and the European powers, and the mounting internal pressure from the growth of social and political opposition among workers and youth, the speaker explained. The struggle against war must be led by the working class, the only revolutionary social force in society, which must unite all progressive sections of the population behind it, Stern said in summing up the principles of the International Committee of the Fourth International for the building of an anti-war movement. It must fight the roots of war: capitalism. It requires a socialist programme. It must be organised on an international scale and counterpose to the imperialist war drive the enormous social power of the working class around the globe. In an impressive chronology at the end of his remarks, Stern underscored how dramatically the global class struggle has accelerated over the past year alone. Mass strikes and protests have erupted in countries on almost every continent, including Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Nicaragua, Honduras, Sudan, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, Egypt, France, Chile, Lebanon, and in Iraq and Iran. The decisive question is to organise this revolutionary force independently and arm it with a socialist programme. This perspective met with a warm response and led to a long, lively discussion. The questions ranged from the revolutionary potential of the working class to historical events and whether a party is necessary to overthrow capitalism. Two participants asked whether Iran is an imperialist power and suggested that the assassination of Suleimani had taken out the right man. They were told that by taking this position, they were speaking the language of pro-war imperialist politics. Iran is an historically oppressed country and the position of Marxists is to oppose imperialist acts of violence in principle and condemn them. Following the end of the meeting, informal discussion continued for some time at the literature table and many attendees registered as new members or election supporters of the IYSSE. Most participants also said they intended to attend the upcoming meetings. The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 21 and is titled 75 years since the end of the Second World War. How the return of war and fascism is being prepared. Hyderabad, Jan 17 : In a setback to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, a CBI special court hearing a disproportionate assets case against him, on Friday, dismissed his petition seeking a hearing of Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases only after the completion of the hearing on the CBI cases. The court agreed with the ED's argument that the cases registered by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED should be tried simultaneously. Reddy, who personally appeared in the court on January 10, had moved the petition, pleading the court to take up hearing into the ED cases only after completing the hearing in the CBI cases. The court also struck down the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President's petition of clubbing all the charge sheets filed in the case. Reddy, who had made first personal appearance in the court since assuming office as the Chief Minister in May last year, had sought exemption from personal attendance this week. The CBI court hears the case every Friday. The court on Friday began hearing on the charge sheet in the Penna Cement case, one of 11 cases registered by the federal agency. All the other accused in the case appeared in the court. They included Telangana Minister Sabita Indra Reddy, YSR Congress MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, former Andhra Pradesh Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao and IAS officer Srilakshmi. The cases relate to investments made by various companies in Jagan's firms as quid pro quo for various favours bestowed on them during the tenure of his father, the late Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy, as Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh during 2004 and 2009. The CBI arrested Reddy and sent him to jail on May 27, 2012. After 16 months in prison, he was granted bail. The federal agency has filed 11 chargesheets against Jagan and others. Malaysia outlines a five-year plan to tackle the problem, including raising the minimum age for marriage for girls from 16 to 18. Several Malaysian states are opposed however. Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews/Agencies) Poverty, limited education (especially in reproductive health), and social pressure to marry to solve problems are some of the factors identified by the Malaysian government as the main causes of underage marriages. To address the widespread problem, federal authorities yesterday outlined a five-year plan (2020-2025) with seven goals, 17 strategies and 58 programmes and actions. Speaking at a press conference, Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said that the plan would not merely tackle the causes of underage marriage, but also indirectly help overcome other social issues affecting families and children. Underage marriage, she explained, has a profound effect on the health of a teenager and there are studies that found that girls aged between 15 and 19 who are pregnant face a higher risk of death during pregnancy or birth. Dr Wan Azizah, who is also Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, noted that 61 agencies would be involved in implementing the government plan. The latter includes strengthening the existing socio-economic and outreach support programmes, increase the minimum marriage age to 18 for girls as well as providing children-friendly, reproductive health services. To achieve its goal, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development will set up a steering committee to monitor the plan. Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh said the government would also engage with non-Muslims, the Orang Asli[*] and natives of Sabah and Sarawak in order to get every community onboard to stop child marriages. Getting states consent to change the law is only for the one that affects Muslim marriages, said Hannah Yeoh. Our data, however, shows that customary marriages in Sabah and Sarawak are equally high. Underage marriage is also high among the non-Muslims too. So far only the State of Selangor has raised the legal marrying age for Muslims to 18, whilst the process of changing the law is underway in Federal Territories. Penang, Sabah, Johor, Melaka and Perak have agreed to amend their marriage laws but seven other states Sarawak, Pahang, Terengganu, Perlis, Negri Sembilan, Kedah and Kelantan have not agreed to change theirs. Fuziah Salleh, Deputy Minister in the Prime Ministers Department, announced that the government was introducing guidelines that would require applications for underage Muslim marriages to go before the Syariah (Sharia) High Court.[] Parents must present medical and mental health reports from healthcare officials and the Social Welfare Department to the court, Fuziah Salleh explained. They would also be interviewed by Syariah High Court judges to determine the underlying factors surrounding their applications. In Malaysia, Islamic and civil laws allow minors to marry. Under civil law, non-Muslim can only marry when they are 18; however, non-Muslim girls can marry at 16, provided they obtain the consent of the chief minister of their state of residence. For Muslims, the minimum age for marriage is the same as for non-Muslims, but Syariah courts may allow marriage below those ages. According to official figures, some 10,240 child marriage applications were made between 2005 and 2015, an average of 1,024 each year. Among non-Muslims, 2,104 girls aged 16 to 18 got married between 2011 and September 2015, i.e. 420 per year. [*] Indigenous people and oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia. [] Syariah Courts have jurisdiction only over Muslim in the matters of family law and religious observances. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:58:24|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Under the banner "We Want to Live," dozens of civilians protested against the harsh economic situation in Syria's southern province of Sweida on Friday, a war monitor reported. The protest is the third to take place within a few days, as people are angered by the deteriorating economic situation with the sharp devaluation of the Syrian pound and the skyrocketing prices, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The UK-based watchdog group said the people held the protest in the Muhafaza Square in Sweida city and in the town of Shahba. The Syrian pound has lost about 50 percent of its value over the past three months. The pound is sold in the black market at over 1,000 for one U.S. dollar, a rapid slide from 500 to 600 pounds against one dollar. Foreign Minister Marise Payne has spoken to her Iranian counterpart about an imprisoned Australian academic, after the woman begged the government to help release her from jail. Senator Payne spoke to her counterpart on the sidelines of a conference in India, but would not elaborate on the pairs conversation about Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who has been sentenced to 10 years for spying. This is not a detention that we support, we dont accept the charges, the minister told the ABC. Moore-Gilbert, a Melbourne University lecturer, has been held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran since October 2018. She was convicted of spying and sentenced to 10 years jail. A recent appeal failed. Moore-Gilbert has written letters while in prison that have been smuggled out and published by the Centre for Human Rights in Iran. She wrote on Christmas Eve to say she had been kept in solitary confinement for extended periods, had been allowed only one three-minute phone call with her family in nine months and had undertaken five hunger strikes. I beg of you, Prime Minister Morrison, to take immediate action, as my physical and mental health continues to deteriorate with every additional day that I remain imprisoned in these conditions, she said. In a June 2019 letter she begged Morrison to act faster to bring this terrible trauma that myself and my family must live through day after day. Moore-Gilbert also wrote that she had traveled to Iran on a university program and had been doing research interviews. Unfortunately, one of my academic colleagues on this program and one of my interview subjects flagged me as suspicious to the Revolutionary Guards, she said. By Rebecca Gredley Terming Mr Rauts comment as wrong, state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat on Thursday said such remarks would not be tolerated. Mumbai: A day after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Rauts comments about former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi created a political furore, the Rajya Sabha MP retracted his statement saying, If someone feels my statement hurt Indira Gandhis image, or someones feelings, I take it back. Mr Raut, whose party is part of the ruling alliance with the Congress and NCP, had claimed on Wednesday that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used to meet Karim Lala, an underworld don active during the 1960s and 1970s in Mumbai. Lala was one of the three top underworld dons of Mumbai for over two decades, from the Sixties to the early Eighties, the other two being Mastan Mirza alias Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar. Despite Mr Rauts retraction, several Cong-ress leaders expressed outrage over his comments and the incident once again exposed the cracks in the newly appointed Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance government. Terming Mr Rauts comment as wrong, state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat on Thursday said such remarks would not be tolerated. Mr Thorat, the state revenue minister, cautioned all leaders against making remarks criticising great leaders. It, indeed, was a wrong statement and we will not tolerate such a statement. Nobody should make such a statement. Mr Raut should also not make such a statement, which criticises great men. We have spoken to the chief minister on the issue, Mr Thorat said. The BJP was quick to latch on to the opportunity, with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis wondering whether the Congress was funded by Mumbais underworld. Union minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar described the ruling Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra as opportunist, and said that it is built around the convenience of power and opportunism. Though in a series of tweets, Mr Thorat credited Indira Gandhi for breaking the back of underworld and tightening noose around gangsters like Karim Lala, Haji Mastan, Yusuf Patel and others, Mr Javadekar said that Congress leaders were often accused of helping Mumbai blasts accused Dawood Ibrahim flee the country. Congress leaders Milind Deora and Sanjay Nirupam, too, asked Mr Raut to withdraw his ill-informed remarks. Mr Deora said politicians should refrain from distorting legacies of prime ministers who are no more. Cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray also said that Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray had immense respect for Indira Gandhi and claimed party leader Sanjay Rauts statements on the former Prime Minister were distorted. Three suspected neo-Nazis who have links to a violent white supremacist group that plans to attend a gun rights rally in Virginia have been arrested. The three men from Georgia, who are members of The Base, were arrested a day before three other group members were taken into custody in Maryland and Delaware. Luke Austin Lane, 22, Jacob Kaderli, 19, and Michael Helterbrand, 25, were arrested in Georgia on Wednesday on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and participation in a criminal gang. Specific details of their charges were under seal by a judge. Authorities say the three men are members of The Base, which has been described as an international network of white nationalists who have paramilitary training camps and who discuss online bomb-making and 'committing acts of violence against minority communities'. Three other suspected neo-Nazis, who are also members of that group, were arrested on Thursday just days before they were believed to be headed to the pro-gun rally. Luke Austin Lane, 22, Jacob Kaderli, 19, and Michael Helterbrand, 25, (left to right) were arrested in Georgia on Wednesday on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and participation in a criminal gang U.S. citizens Brian Lemley, 33, and William Bilbrough, 19, as well as Canadian Patrik Jordan Mathews, 27, were all charged with felony firearms violations. Lemley and Bilbrough were also charged in relation to transporting and harboring an illegal alien. Mathews, a Canadian army reserve combat engineer trained in explosives, was reported missing in Canada in August 2019 after he was suspended from his reserve unit in relation alleged neo-Nazi activities. Three other suspected neo-Nazis, including Canadian Patrik Jordan Mathews, 27, were arrested on Thursday just days before they were believed to be headed to the pro-gun rally The FBI said he illegally crossed into the United States and was met in Minnesota by Lemley and Bilbrough, who drove him to Maryland. The three men were believed to be planning to attend the pro-gun rally scheduled for Monday in Richmond, according to a law enforcement official. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday declared a state of emergency and banned all types of weapons from the gun rally, citing reports that armed militia groups were planning to attend. The state's Attorney General Mark Herring urged the state Supreme Court on Friday to reject an effort by pro-gun groups to overturn the gun ban at the rally that's expected to draw tens of thousands of activists amid fears of violence. Herring argued that an executive order by Gov. Ralph Northam banning guns from the state Capitol grounds for Monday's rally is necessary to prevent the kind of violence seen during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in 2017. One woman was killed and more than 30 other people were hurt when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counter protesters. Herring also argued that the gun rights groups are asking the Supreme Court to 'simply disregard the judgment of the Governor and the advice of seasoned law-enforcement officials.' Northam said they found credible threats that the rally could include 'armed militia groups storming our Capitol.' The ban does not violate the rallygoers' Second Amendment rights, and any restriction is justified by the interests in protecting public safety and safeguarding everyone's constitutional rights, he argued. The Base has been described as an international network of white nationalists who have paramilitary training camps and who discuss online bomb-making and 'committing acts of violence against minority communities' The federal government says The Base is an organization whose members wish to take up arms in order to create a 'white ethno-state' while 'committing acts of violence against minority communities' including African Americans and Jews The Virginia Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of America filed an emergency appeal after Judge Joi Taylor ruled Thursday that the governor has the authority under state law to take action related to 'the safety and welfare' of the state. In encrypted chat rooms, members of The Base have discussed committing acts of violence against blacks and Jews, ways to make improvised explosive devices, their military-style training camps and their desire to create a white 'ethno-state,' according to an FBI agent's affidavit. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday declared a state of emergency and banned all types of weapons from the gun rally, citing reports that armed militia groups were planning to attend During a brief court appearance on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Windom showed the judge a photograph of Bilbrough participating in a military-style training camp with other members of The Base. He said Bilbrough had also talked about traveling to Ukraine to fight alongside 'nationalists'. 'He has personally compared The Base favorably to al-Qaida,' Windom said. As federal agents moved in to arrest Lemley and Matthews on Thursday, the men smashed cellphones and tried to flush the pieces down a toilet, the prosecutor said. Authorities say Lemley and Mathews built an assault rifle using several parts, including an upper-receiver that Lemley had ordered and shipped to a Maryland home. In December, the three men gathered at an apartment that Lemley and Mathews rented in Delaware where they discussed The Base and its activities and members, passed around the assault file and tried to make the hallucinogenic drug DMT, according to court papers. A few days later, Lemley and Mathews bought 150 rounds of ammunition and paper shooting targets. Patrik Jordan Mathews, 27, was a combat engineer and explosives expert in the Canadian military before authorities said he became the ringleader of an alleged hate group that planned to attend a gun-rights rally in Virginia on Monday Mathews (seen above in the undated file photo) is alleged to have recruited two Americans - Brian Mark Lemley Jr, 33; and William Garfield Bilbrough, 19 - into a neo-Nazi hate group FBI investigators say they observed them assembling from parts an assault rifle and test-firing it at a Maryland shooting range at rates of more than one round at a time, making it an illegal automatic firearm. 'Oops, it looks like I accidentally made a machine gun,' Lemley told Mathews, according to court filings. Federal agents appeared to be tracking the men's movements and set up a stationary camera near the gun range, which captured video of Mathews shooting the gun there on January 5. Court documents say Lemley had also ordered 1,500 rounds of ammunition and that he and Mathews visited the gun range as recently as Saturday. Prosecutors say Bilbrough recently drove to Alabama to stay with another member of The Base and had also visited Lemley and Mathews in Delaware, where the men had burned a Bible and other unidentifiable items in a wooded area. The Anti-Defamation League said members of The Base and other white supremacist groups have frequently posted online messages advocating for 'accelerationism,' a fringe philosophy in which far-right extremists 'have assigned to their desire to hasten the collapse of society as we know it.' In recent months, FBI agents have arrested several members of a different far-right extremist group, the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division. Atomwaffen has been linked to several killings, including the 2017 shooting deaths of two men at an apartment in Tampa, Florida. Photo: Nik MacMillan/Unsplash If you're a fan of the arts, mark your calendars: There's plenty to do when it comes to artsy events in Pittsburgh this week, from a night of spooky tales to a deal on the Photographic History Museum. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. The Midnight Death Parlor: Once Upon A Midnight Dreary From the event description: January's Death Parlor welcomes back Weston Peece from Nashville as the legendary master of the macabre, Edgar Allen Poe. We will celebrate Poe's 211th birthday. Ticket includes after-hours access to The Weeping Glass, the intimate midnight performance in the Death Parlor, curated cocktails and dark Victorian delicacies. Dress to depress. Funeral attire is always welcome. When: Saturday, Jan. 18, 11 p.m.-1 a.m. Where: The Weeping Glass, 817 E. Warrington Ave. Price: $35 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets 31% Off BYOB Painting Class at Kiln-N-Time From the Kiln-N-Time deal description: A skilled painter leads a hands-on class, walking students through the artistic process until completion. Your deal includes a BYOB-friendly canvas painting class. Where: 3801 Penn Ave., Lower Lawrenceville Price: $24 (31 percent discount off regular price) Click here for more details, and to get this deal Up to 51% Off Admission to Photographic History Museum From the Photo Antiquities: Museum of Photographic History deal description: Museum transports guests to a time before Instagram with Victorian decor, themed exhibits and antique pictures charting photographys history. Your deal includes admission for two, four or six guests. Where: 531 E. Ohio St., East Allegheny Price: $20-$29 (up to 51 percent discount off regular price) Click here for more details, and to score this deal This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, has released the Effective Use of Brand Purpose Report 2019, outlining successful key trends when using brand purpose in marketing strategies. The report has been guest-edited by jury chair, Fernando Machado, Global CMO, Burger King, and includes contributions from jury member Jane Asscher, CEO and Founding Partner of 23red and WARCs Lucy Aitken, Managing Editor, Case Studies. The findings included in the report are drawn from the jury discussions and an analysis of the metadata of the shortlisted and winning entries of the Effective Use of Brand Purpose category of the WARC Awards 2019 a global search for next-generation marketing effectiveness. The report identifies common themes from marketing initiatives that have successfully embraced a brand purpose and achieved commercial success as well as a benefit for a wider community. WARCs Effective Use of Brand Purpose Report identifies three key themes: Brands are putting purpose at the centre of their growth strategy Purpose can be a vital growth-driver, according to research by the Harvard Business Review, and is now regarded as being as important as creating new markets and serving stakeholder needs. This is key for brands, particularly when they target the first generation of consumers that are making purchasing decisions based on how brands behave towards their customers, employees, supply chain and communities. Yet, a challenge faced by many brands is being distinctive at a time when more businesses are adopting a more purposeful strategy. Fernando Machado, Global CMO, Burger King, commented, A purpose needs to link back to the companys mission and to demonstrate results. This is critical because marketers need to see how purpose has shaped brand attributes over time through sales and objectives, as well as through behaviour change. But the biggest challenge of all is to come from the heart. Investing in purposeful partnerships pays off More than three quarters (76%) of companies agree that partnerships are key to delivering their revenue goals, according to Forrester, and such partnerships are crucial in empowering brands to communicate in new ways. Many such partnerships are endowing brands with the credibility to talk about social and environmental issues, and this was a clear trend among this years winners. Absolut partnered Slovak musicians and Spotify to promote diversity in Slovakia, while Manpower in Norway partnered with influencers to help millennials transfer their gaming skills into the workplace. One-fifth of this years shortlisted papers cited partnerships as a creative strategy, indicating that partnerships can help to shape a new style of purpose-led advertising. Jury member Jane Asscher, CEO and Founding Partner at 23red, said, Purpose is a vital growth-driver and critical to connecting with people who demand that brands behave more ethically. Eschewing gender stereotypes typifies a modern brand Some brands are beginning to reset how they portray gender, tapping into the zeitgeist around gender fluidity and LGBTQ+. At the same time, there continues to be a high number of campaigns that promote female emancipation. This is a continuation of an ongoing trend, which first manifested as brand feminism with Always Like a Girl campaign and is now becoming more grassroots. Indian feminine hygiene brand Stayfree upskilled female sexworkers, leaning into the insight that their periods represented time off for them. Recent work for Barbie, Gillette, Renault and personal-care brand Billie shows brands attempting to debunk gender stereotypes by addressing issues around gender and sexuality. Lucy Aitken, Managing Editor, WARC, commented, Rethinking gender has become a priority for certain brands that are starting to be more inclusive in their approach. The WARC Awards 2020 are currently open for entries. The deadline for submissions is February 12, 2020. President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed the wish for the 2023 presidential election to be conducted without hitches so he can hand ove... President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed the wish for the 2023 presidential election to be conducted without hitches so he can hand over peacefully to whoever succeeds him. Buhari spoke at a dinner with members of the legal team for the 2019 presidential election petition on Thursday in Abuja. Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, quoted Buhari as saying as a beneficiary of a free and fair election, he would bequeath same to his successor and the nation in 2023. Recounting the turnout of Nigerians during his campaign across the 36 states of the federation in the buildup to the 2019 elections, the president said he is convinced his re-election was not a fluke. The number of people that turned out in every state across the country was more than anybody can buy or force, Buhari said. This gave me so much confidence and the election proved that with the votes I got. That is why I insist that elections must be free and fair because I am a clear successor to a free and fair election. Morally I want to have a clear conscience. I swore by the Holy Book that I will abide by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I will continue to do my best and I hope that by 2023, I can handover quietly to whoever succeeds me and I wish him the best of luck. The president commended the legal team led by Wole Olanipekun, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), for the legal successes recorded in the presidential election petition. You creditably demonstrated a deep understanding of the law and its practices and I am indeed proud of you all, he said. I am confident that by securing a convincing and unanimous legal victory at the Supreme Court you have by so doing ensured that the political mandate of the Nigerian electorate is now firmly secured. There have been reports of the president seeking to extend his tenure beyond 2023 but the president has vowed to step down at the end of his second term. Former Private Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, and previously Press Secretary to Lady Thatcher, Miss Buchanan is a non-executive director of D.E.F.R.A., an advisor to Waitrose, Saputo Dairy UK and the Chime Group, and sits on the BBC Rural Affairs Committee. Elizabeth also runs her familys organic beef farm in Nutley, East Sussex which was established in 1976, meaning she is no stranger to both the policy and the practical ends of the agricultural sector. As the 2020 President, Elizabeth has selected The Princes Countryside Fund as the Societys charity of the year. Established by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2010, the charity exists to improve the prospects of family farm businesses and the quality of rural life. The Fund provides more than 1m in grant and initiative funding each year, supporting projects across the UK that help to provide a secure future for the countryside. This includes The Princes Farm Resilience Programme, a highly successful business skills training scheme, which offers advice to family farm businesses in 15 locations each year. It was run from Plumpton College in 2016 and 2017, and this year is operating in the High Weald AONB. The Fund also commissions research into issues affecting farming families and rural communities, acts as an advocate for the countryside by bringing together individuals and businesses to help tackle current challenges, and helps communities in crisis through their Emergency Fund. Having visited the Show since my childhood and shown our Sussex Cattle there on many occasions, it is a huge honour and privilege to be appointed President of the South of England Agricultural Society. The Society sits at the heart of the farming community in the South East of England and as agricultural policy undergoes its greatest change in seventy years, is perfectly placed to raise awareness and support through its shows and other charitable activities. I am enormously grateful that The Princes Countryside Fund, which cares for the people who care for the countryside and so looks after all of us, will be their Charity of the Year. The second phase of the Access India Programme (AIP), an initiative to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the UK access the Indian market, was launched in London on Friday. The High Commission of India initiative building on the Indian government's Make in India drive is delivered by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), which was formally signed up for AIP-II to carry on the hand-holding process for the UK SMEs keen to expand into India. "Since the launch of the first phase in 2017, the Access India Programme has selected 50 companies from all over the UK in two cohorts. The support for these companies will continue in the second phase even as we work with 20 new companies," said Ruchi Ghanashyam, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK. "It reflects some of the impressive improvements that India has made in the area of ease of doing business. Over the last five years, there has been an improvement of 79 positions in the World Bank rankings. This easier environment and the assistance through the Access India Programme offers a very good opportunity for companies to establish their presence in India," she said. The AIP-II will build on the first phase of the programme, designed specifically to assist smaller companies through their India journey as a "sub-set" of the Make in India programme, added Manish Singh, Minister (Economic) at the Indian High Commission, who signed the contract for phase 2 on behalf of the Indian government. "This is an end-to-end programme which helps SMEs -- the backbone of the UK economy -- expand into a market which appears difficult but once accessed, proves very beneficial," said Richard Heald, CEO of UKIBC, the knowledge partner for the programme. The AIP is designed to address the requirements of mainly manufacturing and technology SMEs across the UK, with the likes of electric vehicle firm Tevva Motors among those making use of the programme for its India entry. "For us, this programme ticks all the boxes on the list of SMEs," said Richard Lidstone-Scott of Tevva Motors, which struck up a partnership with Indian manufacturing major Bharat Forge after being introduced as part of the Access India Programme. "Our research has found that it is getting easier every year to do business in India, with finding the right partner consistently flagged among the top three barriers. That is where this programme comes in," said Kevin McCole, COO of UKIBC. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese travellers are inundating train stations and airports on Friday 17 January to take part in the worlds biggest annual human migration. This nationwide ritual happens every year ahead of the Lunar New Year as part of the Spring Festival: around 3 billion trips will be made during the rush, according to Chinas transport ministry. China is celebrating the Lunar New Year Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year, for 40 days running from 10 January to 18 February, with Lunar New Years Day itself falling on 25 January 2020. The mass migration stems from citizens travelling home, both within China and from all over the world, to spend time with family during the festival. For migrant workers who live abroad, Lunar New Year is often the only time during the year when they are able to spend time with their families. Gucci launches Mickey Mouse-themed collection for Chinese New Year Show all 5 1 /5 Gucci launches Mickey Mouse-themed collection for Chinese New Year Gucci launches Mickey Mouse-themed collection for Chinese New Year Creative Director: Alessandro Michele - Art Director: Christopher Simmonds - Photographer: Harmony Korine - Hair Stylist: Alex Brownsell - Make Up: Thomas De Kluyver - Styling by Alessandro Michele - Location: Disneyland Resort in California - Ni Nis Make up: Gao Jian Harmony Korine/Gucci Gucci launches Mickey Mouse-themed collection for Chinese New Year Harmony Korine/Gucci Gucci launches Mickey Mouse-themed collection for Chinese New Year Harmony Korine/Gucci Gucci launches Mickey Mouse-themed collection for Chinese New Year Harmony Korine/Gucci Gucci launches Mickey Mouse-themed collection for Chinese New Year Harmony Korine/Gucci The travel rush over the break is known as Chunyun; in 2019, an estimated 2.9 billion trips were taken, a 0.8 per cent rise on 2018. This years estimated number of trips represents a potential 3 per cent rise year-on-year. Festivities often focus around food and feasting, culminating in the traditional Nian Ye Fan reunion dinner, which takes place on the eve of Spring Festival. It usually includes poultry, pork and fish dishes, spring rolls, noodles and vegetable taro cakes. Jiaozi dumplings are also customary in the north while niangao, a glutinous rice cake, is traditional in the south. Each year is assigned a spirit animal from the Chinese zodiac: 2020 marks the Year of the Rat, the first of the repeating 12-year cycle of animals. Chinas transport infrastructure has had a recent boost, which will help some of those returning home. Recommended How to spend Chinese New Year in Hong Kong A new driverless train capable of travelling at 350kph opened in January 2020. The high-speed bullet train connects Beijing with Zhangjiakou, two of the main host cities of the 2022 Winter Olympics. It has slashed the journey time from three hours to just 47 minutes. The Jing-Zhang high-speed railway also stops at Yanqing, another host city, along with seven other stations, including Badaling Chang Cheng, home to one of the Great Wall of Chinas most popular sections. Although the trains can ride the rails completely autonomously, stopping, starting and adjusting their speed, a human driver will be onboard every service. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 13:09:19|Editor: ZD Video Player Close SUVA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Two people have lost their lives to flash flooding in Navua just a half an hour drive out of Suva the capital of Fiji. Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama raised his concerns on Friday with the National Disaster Management Office after flash flooding led to the loss of two lives on Thursday night. He warned Fijians to be serious with their preparation of Tropical Cyclone Tino and to be prepared for more severe weather and ensure they are following the public advisories to avoid mishaps at this stage. Director for the National Disaster Management Office Vasiti Soko said given the heavy rain, retrieval of the bodies believed to be that of a father and his daughter was impossible. Soko said 68 people are currently been sheltered in two evacuation centers activated in Navua overnight. Minister for National Security and Defense Inia Seruiratu warned that NDMO advice for the general public needs to be adhered to and that people should not take warnings of bad weather lightly. Most schools around Fiji were closed on Friday as people braced for the bad weather. Tropical Cyclone Tino was located about 210km north-northwest of Labasa on Vanua Levu, on Friday. Close to its center the cyclone is expected to have average winds of up to 75km/hr with momentary gusts to 100km/hr. Some evacuation centers have also been opened in Vanua Levu where people from nearby villages have taken shelter. Roko Tui Cakaudrove Filimoni Naiqumu said villagers have been arriving at these centers after midday as the wind and rain picked up speed and intensity on Friday. In Savusavu the market and businesses have closed and people have been sent home. Power supply in the town has been shut down. Police are monitoring the movement of the public in and around the town area. New Delhi, Jan 17 (UNI) In a significant diplomatic win for India vis-a-vis new measures undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, Russia on Friday said it 'never doubts' Indian policy in country's northern province. "Those who are concerned about Indian policy on Kashmir, those who put on doubt Indian policy can travel and see for themselves, we never put on doubt...This is my point of view," Russian envoy Nikolay Kudashev told reporters here. He also said Kashmir is an internal matter of India and it is 'not in Russian habit' to interfere or put on doubt about any internal policy of India. The year 2020 will be a year of 'new treaties' and 'projects implementation' between India and Russia, Mr Kudashev said. "This year marks 20 years to the Declaration of Strategic Partnership between Russia and India. As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mentioned, it will be a year of Russia-India treaties and projects implementation," he said. Responding to a question, he said, "I do not feel that there is a reason for me to travel to Kashmir. Your decisions, as far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, this is your internal matter belonging to constitutional space." Meanwhile, in a major announcement, Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin said - five units of S-400 air defence missile systems, which had only been available to the Russian defence forces, will be delivered to India by 2025. In further boost to bilateral ties, Mr Modi is likely to visit Russia in May. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is also slated to visit Russia in March for two-day trilateral meeting of the Russia-Indian-China (RIC). UNI DEVN JAL 1212 Photo: Frank McKenna/Unsplash Read on for the most recent top news you may have missed in San Diego. Oceanside family all-too familiar with Soleimani, part of lawsuit over Iran attacks A San Diego family is one of more than 300 plaintiffs suing Iran for wrongful death and injuries. Read the full story on NBC LA. Local coalition forms to end child poverty in San Diego A group of nonprofits, community leaders and organizations announced this week they have joined together to create "San Diego for Every Child: The Coalition to End Child Poverty." Read the full story on Times of San Diego. City seeks retired judges to help with San Diego redistricting The City Attorneys Office put out a call Thursday for retired judges interested in helping appoint volunteer members of the citys 2020 Redistricting Commission. Read the full story on MyNewsLA. Navy removes commander of San Diego-based destroyer Decatur Cmdr. John "Bob" Bowen was relieved of his duties due to a "loss of confidence in his ability to command," according to a Navy statement obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Read the full story on Houston Chronicle. San Diego judge denies restraining order against former KISS guitarist On Thursday a San Diego North County judge denied a restraining order against Ace Frehley, former KISS guitarist. Read the full story on NBC7 San Diego. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. An obsessive hoarder's body was found buried amid so much rubbish that it took specialist cleaners five hours to remove the 63-year-old from his home. The man, named locally as James Pettit was entombed by mountains of junk in the decrepit upstairs maisonette in Erdington, Birmingham. Three flat-bed trucks were filled with detritus by council staff before the body of the former National Grid worker could be removed. Scroll down for video. The man, named locally as James Pettit, 63, was entombed by mountains of junk in the decrepit upstairs maisonette in Erdington, Birmingham. Pictured is his front door, where a council worker (left) was helping to clear waste A narrow staircase leading up to the tiny flat could be seen littered with papers, bottles and rubbish. And a source admitted: 'It was ten times worse upstairs. 'The police said it was too dangerous and unsafe to move the body. They had to call for assistance to clear a path.' Mr Pettit lived at the property for around four decades, neighbours said. He suffered an accident two years ago when he tripped down his cluttered stairs and smashed through a glass door. Yet neighbours said Mr Pettit always appeared in public well turned out. He was seen getting into a Bentley weeks ago. Three flat-bed trucks were filled with detritus by council staff before the body of the former National Grid worker could be removed A narrow staircase leading up to the tiny flat could be seen littered with papers, bottles and rubbish. And a source admitted: 'It was ten times worse upstairs' One neighbour said: 'The strange thing is that he always appeared well-dressed when you did see him. You'd see him walking down the street with his dry cleaning. 'That was the thing that always struck me - he would get his clothes dry cleaned and then go back into that flat. 'I went into his house 25 years ago and there was no room to move. It could only have got worse since then.' Another resident said: 'He was a very quiet man but he had a good job at the gas board. Apparently, he was paid well. 'He would get taxis everywhere. Only a couple of weeks ago I saw him getting into a Bentley.' Two workers throwing a pile of junk from Mr Pettit's house into a skip to be taken away for disposal Police, who were called to the address on Tuesday afternoon after police became worried about the recluse, remained at the scene the following day. Environmental health officers summoned four flat-bed trucks to remove rubbish and were seen raking litter down the stairs. West Midlands Police said: 'Police were called to a property on in the Erdington area of Birmingham after concerns were raised for the welfare of a man just before 4pm on Tuesday, 14 January. 'Sadly, the body of a 63-year-old man was found. The death is not being treated as suspicious and has been referred to the coroner.' The Montgomery County Hospital District is hosting workshops to instruct civilians on how to stop life-threatening bleeding. The two-hour sessions, split up between a lecture and hands-on training, are free of charge and will be running monthly from February through June. They are open to any Montgomery County resident. Its an everyday skill much like CPR. Its another tool in your toolbox to help bystanders before emergency responders arrive being the first first responder in those emergency situations where time really matters, said MCHD paramedic and outreach coordinator Ashton Herring. Life-threatening bleeding can cause death in just a few minutes and that could be the time it takes for first responders to be there. The classes are open for 20 people each and will include two instructors, primarily from MCHDs tactical EMS team, which works on SWAT operations. If demand is high enough, Herring said classes could be widened for up to 50 participants with a corresponding increase in teachers. There has been a push nationwide for teaching bystanders how to control bleeding, according to MCHD. This stemmed from the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. where 26 people perished, 20 of them children. Effective Jan. 1, state law requires all Texas schools have a bleeding control kit and employees undergo training. Ahead of this, MCHD started offering stop the bleed workshops last spring. It is an addition to its free CPR and safety in babysitting training. We do things like get a drivers license and its second nature to us, Herring said. Why isnt it more second nature to be able to save a life like learning how to do CPR, learning how to intervene for a bleeding emergency? Herring said this training is not focused exclusively on shooting incidents. People may encounter opportunities to put stop the bleeding training to use, like falls and trips at home or vehicle crashes, she added. Want to learn? Time and dates 6 p.m.-8 p.m. on Feb. 6, March 5, April 2, May 5 and June 4 Location The Montgomery County Hospital District administration building at 1400 South Loop 336 West, Conroe Registration mchd-tx.org/events/stop-the-bleed-3 To schedule free training for area businesses Contact Ashton Herring 936-523-1146 or aherring@mchd-tx.org See More Collapse Its quick, its easy, its a very small thing people can do to make a big difference in somebodys survival, Herring said. A lot of churches, Herring noted, have reached out to MCHD to create emergency response teams that address cardiac arrest episodes and ways to facilitate first responders access to an injured parishioner. Following the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting where 26 people died, Magnolia resident Jason Ramos started Guard the Flock, a business that trains parishioners on safety and security. Herring has helped instruct at least two stop the bleed trainings for churches in Montgomery County through Guard the Flock. Her training is pretty extensive, Ramos said. As ample as the training may be, the squeamish need not fret since the training will not include any squirting blood, fake or real. Instead, students will be training on manikins made of human tissue-like material on which they can use gauze or a tourniquet to simulate compressing bleeding. With these community classes were wanting to target the everyday audiences, Herring said. Sometimes bleeding manikins and all of that is a little too much for people to handle, I think. We want to make this a little less scary and encourage people and empower people to respond in emergencies, so these are dry trainings. One of the primary goals of the training, Herring explained, is to help civilians identify the difference between life-threatening bleeding and bleeding that is not life-threatening. Training will also include what to do while waiting for help to arrive. This (training) is how do we find it, how do we identify it, how do we treat it, Herring said. This is really practical for everyday life. jose.gonzalez@chron.com twitter.com/jrgzztx Nigeria and six other members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday demanded a crucial extraordinary meeting to discuss the controversial renaming of the CFA Franc as ECO by eight of their counterparts. The demand was contained in a communique issued at the end of a meeting by the countries, namely Nigeria, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. On December 21, 2019, the eight French-speaking West African countries announced their decision to dump the French CFA Franc for the ECO single currency scheduled to take off this year. ECO is the name adopted for the common currency of the ECOWAS by the Authority of the Communitys Heads of State and Government at their 55th Ordinary Session in Abuja. The announcement was made by the Ivorien President, Alassane Ouattara, on behalf of the eight countries, namely Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Cote dIvoire and Togo Republic. The adoption of the common currency, expected to be issued in June 2020, is part of efforts by ECOWAS to realise its over 30 years aspiration to establish a single currency among its members and ensure regional economic integration in the region. Ghana had applauded the decision of its Francophone counterparts to break from the shackles of the French colonialism to team up with their ECOWAS colleagues. Many analysts described the French President, Emmanuel Macrons role in the eight former colonial territories as an attempt to hijack the ECO single currency project. But, at the end of the extra-ordinary meeting, the Ministers of Finance and the Governors of the Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone ((WAMZ) on the ECOWAS single currency programme condemned the eight countries for taking a unilateral decision over the issue. The meeting held at the CBN headquarters in Abuja under the chairmanship of the Minister of Finance and Economy of the Republic of Guinea, Mamadi Camara. The six countries frowned at the conduct of their counterparts. In the communique issued at the end of the meeting, the finance ministers and Central Bank governors of the six countries said they noted the declaration by the Chairman of the Authority of the Heads of State and Government of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) on December 21, 2019. The representatives of the affected countries described the unilateral renaming of the CFA Franc as ECO by 2020 as inconsistent with the decision of the Authority of the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS for the adoption of the ECO as the name of an independent ECOWAS single currency. WAMZ Convergence Council would be recommending an extraordinary summit of the Authority of the Heads of State and Government of the WAMZ member states will be convened soon to discuss this matter and other related issues, the communique read. The English version of the communique was read by the Nigerian Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Zainab Ahmed, while the Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Guinea, Mamadi Camara, read the French version. Other representatives present at the meeting include the Minister of finance and Economic Affairs of the Republic of Gambia, Mambury Njie; Minister of Finance of Ghana, Ofori Atta; Minister of Finance and Development Planning of Republic of Liberai, Samuel Tweah and Minister of Finance of Sierra Leone, Jacob Saffa. Also, present were Senior Adviser, Central Bank of Gambia, Buah Saidy; Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Ernest Addison; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. Public education is one of our nations treasured and promised cornerstones. Thats why the Shaker Heights Board of Education joins public school advocates across Ohio in opposing the states fast-growing EdChoice voucher program, which funnels public dollars to private and religious schools. The voucher program threatens to undermine the system of public education in Ohio. If the current law is allowed to stand, more than 70 percent of Ohios districts will have an EdChoice-eligible building next school year. Nearly half of these buildings received overall grades of A, B or C on the states own report card. Vouchers threaten districts ability to serve their students and jeopardize the quality of those students educational experiences. There has been bipartisan outrage about recent EdChoice expansion. Later this month, the Ohio General Assembly is expected to consider commonsense changes that will at least address the most egregious aspects of the EdChoice program. Please join me in writing and calling our elected representatives and demanding that they fix EdChoice now. Shakers children, as well as children across our state, deserve better. Heather Weingart, Shaker Heights Heather Weingart is president of the Shaker Heights Board of Education. Terrorists are able to network and radicalise other inmates while in high-security jails because of inaction by the prison service, it has emerged. There are currently more than 200 people jailed for terror offences in Britain, but hundreds more have been flagged as potential extremists and prison officers fear the real number is far higher. But efforts to monitor their activity rely on stretched staff whose training was deemed completely inadequate, flagging inmates to a specialist unit. The warning comes after two prisoners wearing fake suicide vests launched a suspected terror attack at HMP Whitemoor. The previous day, a court heard how a man who attacked police officers with a sword outside Buckingham Palace got tips on avoiding conviction from terrorists while being held at HMP Belmarsh. London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Show all 29 1 /29 London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Bystanders and police surrounding a person at the scene of an incident on London Bridge HLOBlog/PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police and emergency services PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Armed police on London Bridge Twitter London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A bystander holding a knife after police surrounded a person at the scene HLOBlog/PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing People fleeing from Borough Market PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police during the incident Twitter London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A white truck across part of London Bridge SophK05/PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A British Transport Police officer runs after reports of an incident Getty London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Boats from the Metropolitan Police Marine Policing Unit patrol near the scene Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A lorry on the bridge crosses over lanes Luke Poulton via Reuters London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Members of the police and emergency services arriving at Monument tube station AFP via Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Members of the public held behind a police cordon Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police at the scene PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police evacuate people from Borough Market AP London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police surrond a part of the bridge Timothy Johnson/Twitter London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A person is assisted after falling when Police evacuated people from Borough Market AP London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing A Police Officer cordons off London Bridge Station Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Members of staff are ushered into a Fitness First gym Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing People head away from the vicinity of Borough Market PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Office workers look out of a window at a scene EPA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Men in forensics suits walk away from the site REUTERS London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing People are evacuated from London Bridge PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing ArrowontheHill/Twitter London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police at the scene of an incident on London Bridge PA London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Armed police on the scene Alexandra Carr /SWNS.COM London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Buses on London Bridge during the incident AFP via Getty Images London Bridge attack: Terror police shoot man after stabbing Police on the scene @joebxggs /SWNS.COM And in November, the London Bridge terror attack was launched by an Islamist who underwent deradicalisation programmes while serving a prison sentence for another plot. The Ministry of Justice says prison officers are trained to report suspicious behaviour, but a union called the training completely inadequate and said staff are too stretched to deal with radicalisation amid a crisis of drugs and violence. Mick Pimblett, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said new staff were given one-day extremism training during their initial course but that he never received it during his 30 years of service. He told The Independent that prison officers in high-security prisons were more clued up than colleagues in category B and C jails that inmates are moved into before their release. The officers arent dealing with it on a daily basis so there could be problems, Mr Pimblett added. Staffing levels are an issue as well. The staff are stretched to the point they dont have time to do anything, they are doing their best to run a regime. They cant go around getting intelligence from prisoners. The former prison officer, who left the service in November 2018, said that staff may not be able to understand discussions by inmates speaking other languages such as Urdu and Arabic. According to the most recent statistics, there were 224 people in custody for terrorism-related offences in the UK, with three-quarters classified as Islamists and 17 per cent far-right extremists. But there are between 500 and 800 inmates being managed under a counterterrorism specialist case management process at any one time. Usman Khan: What we know about the London Bridge attacker A prison officer working in the high-security estate told The Independent even that figure was nowhere near the real number of Islamist extremists inside. Youve got someone who is in for five or six years, an ordinary criminal, and all of a sudden they are radicalised into hating anything about the west, he added. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said Friday prayers were used as a means to network and officers cant do anything about it. Recommended How British prisons became a breeding ground for Islamist extremism There are lots of people who are more of a threat when they leave than when they come in, he added. Most of them will revert back to their normal way of life but some will be so radicalised during their time in prison that they will want to go out and attack the west. Concerns have repeatedly been raised about radicalisation inside jails, with official inspections warning of the existence of Muslim gangs and terrorist prisoners being an adverse influence on others. The Westminster attacker, Khalid Masood, is among the terrorists believed to have converted to Islam while in prison, while other Muslims have allegedly been radicalised on the inside. A 2016 review of Islamist extremism in prisons recommended the creation of separation centres for the most dangerous inmates, but one of the three units was emptied and closed in December. Ian Acheson, a former prison governor who led the probe, said there were still abundant opportunities for networking and radicalisation. Terrorist prisoners who are outside separation units are free to associate with non-extremists if they are in normal locations, he told The Independent. This means in security terms, that they have ready access to often highly violent and vulnerable young men in search of meaning and excitement. Whether and to what extent they are monitored or potentially subversive activities noticed depends to a large extent on staff being available, skilled and capable to submit security intelligence reports, and those reports being actioned further up the operational chain. The Ministry of Justice said extremism concerns are reported to counterterrorism specialists, who are part of a joint extremism unit involving the prison service, intelligence services and probation. The Home Office and Cabinet Office review how specialists manage extremists but their findings are not publicly published. However, recent revelations suggest the system is failing. Usman Khan, 28, launched the London Bridge terror attack less than a year after being released from prison on licence, after being jailed over a previous bomb plot. He had been held at the same two jails that were also home to Brusthom Ziamani, who had planned to behead a British soldier in 2015. He was reportedly able to hold Sharia courts in his own cell and radicalise fellow inmates, potentially including the man who joined his alleged terror attack in HMP Whitemoor on 9 January. The previous day, a court heard how a terror suspect met extremists including the Parsons Green bomber and a man who claimed to know Isis executioner Jihadi John, while in HMP Belmarsh. Mohiussunnath Chowdhury was held at the London prison on remand from August 2017 to December 2018 after attacking police officers with a sword outside Buckingham Palace. He allegedly told undercover police officers how fellow inmates gave him tips to avoid conviction at a retrial where he was acquitted, and that he had learned a lot from likeminded brothers whilst in prison. Mr Chowdhury is currently on trial accused of planning new attacks after his release. In 2017, three terror convicts known as the three musketeers planned a new attack together after being allowed to mingle in prison. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: More than 29,000 prison officers have received enhanced extremism awareness training to spot signs of radical behaviour in our jails. They provide vital intelligence to our network of counterterrorism specialists which monitors and disrupts suspected extremists throughout the prison and probation service. Weve also recruited 4,400 more prison officers in the last three years and are spending and extra 2.75bn to transform our jails and enhance security. Chinese President Xi Jinping will be making a trip to Myanmar on January 17 to sign infrastructure deals and attempt to increase his country's influence on a nation whose relations with the West were strained following allegations that it allowed genocide against Rohingya Muslims. According to reports, Jinping will attempt to re-start infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars and which are significant to the Belt and Road Initiative. He will be the Chinese President to visit Myanmar in a period of 19 years. According to reports, Jinping will be meeting Myanmar's army chief Min Aung Hlaing and Aung San Suu Kyi in the capital city of Naypyitaw. He will also be meeting the chief of minor political parties. The purpose will be to strengthen relations China's vice foreign minister Luo Zhaohui stated that the purpose of the visit will be to strengthen relations between both the countries, Belt and Road cooperation and actualise the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), a number of infrastructure projects connecting China with Myanmar. It is an economic corridor of the Belt and Road initiative. Luo further added that the meeting will yield great outcomes and results. According to reports, China is the second-biggest investor in Myanmar after Singapore. Myanmar's exports to China had a worth of $5.5 billion in the year 2018 while imports were worth $6.2 billion. Read: Asian Shares Mostly Up After Signing Of China-US Trade Pact Read: China Says Russia Ties Not Affected By Putin Cabinet Change China has defended Myanmar on an International level Relations between China and Myanmar have normalised after China refrained from berating Myanmar after a military campaign in the year 2017 compelled more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to the country of Bangladesh. United Nations officials have long condemned Myanmar's actions against Rohingya's to have a genocidal intent. However, Myanmar responded by stating that its offensive was a proper counter-insurgency operation after militants attacked the country's security forces. China is a permanent member of the United Nations security council and has defended Myanmar on an international level. According to reports, Aung San Suu Kyi visited a region bordering China days before President's Xi Jinping's visit to Myanmar on January 17. She asked the people in the region to focus on the present situation and sought for a peaceful environment in the region where clashes between insurgents and the army have been reported over the issue of autonomy and resources. Read: Trump Applauds US-China Deal, Says Will Ensure 'fair, Reciprocal Trade' Read: Patient In Japan Confirmed As Having New Virus From China (With inputs from agencies) Friday, January 17th, 2020 (11:26 am) - Score 6,380 The UK telecoms regulator has today proposed to free up 500MHz of spectrum in the 6GHz frequency band on a licence-exempt basis so that it can be used by the latest WiFi networks (e.g. Wi-Fi 6 / 6E 802.11ax), which would make such networks faster, more reliable and a bit more secure. At present the latest 802.11ax standard promises theoretical peak data speeds of 10Gbps (Gigabits per second) via the combined 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio spectrum bands, as well as better management of spectrum in congested environments, faster latency, improved power efficiency and various other changes (see our summary). But the wider industry is now moving to add the 6GHz band via future updates (here). NOTE: The 802.11ax standard was designed with the possibility of harnessing 6GHz in mind (some firmware updates may be needed). The 6GHz band, being of a higher frequency than the others, would of course have a lower level of coverage than the 5GHz one but the extra spectrum allows more space for data (i.e. significantly faster speeds). On the flip side this lower coverage would also make it more secure for homes and reduce the negative impact from congestion via competing local WiFi signals. One issue is that the 6GHz band is already being used by various different services, including fixed wireless links, and in theory some of those might have to be moved out of the band if future sharing is unlikely to be possible. The 6GHz WiFi Proposal Make the lower 6GHz band (5925-6425 MHz) available for Wi-Fi. The release of this spectrum would, as well as boosting indoor use, also enable very low power (VLP) outdoor use. This would improve performance by reducing congestion in existing bands caused by large numbers of devices and enable the development of new, higher bandwidth applications. Remove the Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) requirements from Wi-Fi channels in the 5.8 GHz band (5725-5850 MHz). DFS requires a Wi-Fi router to scan for radars and to switch channel if transmissions are detected. DFS can therefore represent a constraint for equipment manufacturers and cause connection delays for Wi-Fi users. The UK is currently the only country to have imposed these requirements on the 5.8 GHz band. Amending the requirements on this band could increase its use for indoor Wi-Fi and reduce congestion in other Wi-Fi bands. Ofcom said they will be consulting on this until 20th March 2020 and then intend to reach their final position later in 2020. Otherwise faster WiFi is something that more or less everyone will probably welcome, particularly as broadband ISP technologies improve. We should point out that early research has already begun for the future Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) standard, which aims to increase the maximum throughput to 30Gbps, further reduce latency and improve reliability. But this is not expected to be available for several years. IMAGE: Muslim women participate in a rally to protest against CAA, NRC and NPR in Kolkata, on Thursday. Photograph: Swapan Mahapatra/PTI Photo A few non-Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states on Friday raised objections over the new methodology to be adopted in the National Population Register exercise but the central government defended the steps saying certain responses to be given by people are not mandatory but voluntary. The objections by Rajasthan and a few other states were raised at a day-long conference convened by the Union Home Ministry to discuss the modalities to be adopted during the house listing phase of the Census 2021 and the National Population Register to be carried out from April 1 to September 30. Rajasthan Chief Secretary D B Gupta said he and the representatives of a few other states raised objections to a few questions to be asked by enumerators to people during the NPR exercise. "We said certain questions in NPR are impractical, like questions related to the birth place of parents. There are many people in the country who even don't know what was their birth place. "I don't know what is the purpose of such questions and we have told the meeting to remove such questions," Gupta told reporters after the meeting. He said the central government officials told them that answers to all such questions are not mandatory but voluntary and no one is going to force anyone to reply any question. "They said such questions were asked earlier also and this time they have just linked with an individual's place of birth with his or her parent's place of birth. But they said answer to this question is not mandatory," he said. An official from Kerala told the meeting that the state has put on hold the NPR exercise and it can be part of the process only after the concerns of the state are addressed by the Centre. At the same time, Kerala will cooperate with Census operations, the official said. Rajasthan is ruled by the Congress, which has announced its opposition to the NPR exercise, while Kerala has a Left government. Assemblies of Kerala and Punjab have adopted resolutions announcing their opposition to the exercise. During the meeting, presentations were given on the objectives of the census and the NPR exercises and their benefits. Also, presentation was given on the use of mobile app, which will be used in the census for the first time in its history. The conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai and attended by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, chief secretaries and census directors of many states. A few states were represented by principal secretary, instead of the chief secretary. No official from the West Bengal government attended the meeting, though an official of the Census Directorate posted in Kolkata was present, an official said. In his inaugural address, Rai put the emphasis on the need for conducting Census 2021 and the role of the states in doing the same. He said the data collected in the census will help the country in framing policies for the welfare of the people. The minister also inaugurated the Official 'Mascot' for Census 2021. The Union home secretary remarked on the vastness of this exercise and involvement of the state functionaries. A few state governments, including West Bengal, have declared that they will not participate in the NPR exercise now as it is prelude to a country-wide National Register of Citizens. Officials said the objective of NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country. The database would contain demographic as well as biometric particulars, they said. The notification for the house listing census and NPR exercise came recently amid furore over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The ministry officials said most of the states have notified provisions related to the NPR. The NPR is a register of usual residents of the country. It is being prepared at the local (village/sub-town), subdistrict, district, state and national levels under provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. The rules have a provision for fine of up to Rs 1,000 on those violating it. The data for NPR was last collected in 2010 along with the house listing phase of the Census 2011. Updating of this data was done during 2015 by conducting door to door survey. While updating the register in 2015, the government has asked details like Aadhaar and their mobile number. This time, the information related to their driving licence and voter ID card may also be gathered, the officials said, adding that PAN card details will not be collected as part of this exercise. For the purposes of the NPR, a usual resident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for the past six months or more, or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months. The law compulsorily seeks to register every citizen of India and issue a national identity card. Assam has been excluded because the National Register of Citizens exercise has already been conducted in the state. The demographic details of every individual are required for every usual resident: name, relationship to head of household, father's name, mother's name, spouse's name (if married), sex, date of birth, marital status, place of birth, nationality (as declared), present address of usual residence, duration of stay at present address, permanent residential address, occupation, educational qualification. The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 3,941.35 crore for the NPR exercise. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Vivek Joshi made a brief presentation on the Strategy for Census 2021. Was it mere theatrics to revel in a chant of Lock her up, about Hillary Clinton, who has now been exonerated, twice, by federal investigators? Was it normal for the 44th successor of a president who could not tell a lie, to lie more than 15,000 times? Trump has so desensitized us that a day without a round of blunt force cruelty from the White House is newsworthy. And now it all comes to a boil in the impeachment trial. The facts are not in dispute: Trump tried to force a struggling democracy into doing his political dirty work for him. He tried to squeeze a foreign power into meddling in our election. What is very much in doubt is whether enough good people will do something. In the process of this high crime, Trump broke the law, as a nonpartisan congressional watchdog reported Thursday. The greater evil is the violation of the lofty purpose written into this countrys founding documents. The smaller evils are the Republican senators who know the president violated his oath and should be removed, but dont have the guts to say so. Do not, as my party did, underestimate the evil, desperate nature of evil, desperate people, writes Rick Wilson, the Republican operative and witty Never-Trumper, in Running Against the Devil, his new book. There is no bottom. There is no shame. There are no limits. As for the contagion of evil, you need not look far. In Texas this month, Gov. Greg Abbott said his state would become the first to refuse to take in even a small number of legal, fully vetted refugees. These are people whove been approved by the federal government for asylum, after being displaced by war, famine or persecution. In the past, people from Vietnam, Cuba and Africa have been welcomed, and have gone on to become some of our finest citizens. A handful of citizens, the Catholic Church, some members of Congress, objected. Accepting refugees with open arms giving without keeping score is who we are as Americans, tweeted Representative Pramila Jayapal, Democrat of Washington, herself an immigrant. Sorry, thats not who we are as Americans in the Trump era. When the hate flag is flying, most of Trumps followers have stood up and saluted. WASHINGTON Selfies on a Women for Trump bus tour through Iowa. Volunteer training at a Black Voices for Trump organizing session in Philadelphia. A vice presidential headliner at a Latinos for Trump event in Florida. President Trumps surrogates fanned out across the country this week in a show of force that is part of an aggressive and uphill effort to stretch his appeal beyond the base of working-class white voters who propelled him to victory in 2016. With a recognition that Trump will need to turn out new voters in November to be re-elected, his campaign has dramatically stepped up outreach efforts to various constituencies, including African Americans, Latinos and women, building a coalition operation that officials believe is the most robust of any Republican campaign in history. The outreach marks a dramatic departure from 2016, when Trumps volunteer National Diversity Coalition struggled to make an impact. Theres no comparison between 2016 and now, said Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh of the effort. He described the outreach as a significant department unto itself, complete with dedicated staff, resources and a budget that is expected to reach tens of millions of dollars. These are all well-financed, well-organized coalitions intended to reach out to the voters that theyre targeting. And we know that no Republican campaign or president has ever had as muscular a coalitions outreach, he said. The operation was in full force Thursday when the presidents daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, senior campaign adviser Mercedes Schlapp and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany began a two-day Women for Trump bus tour through Iowa aimed at engaging women with training sessions, round tables and panel discussions. The tour comes less than three weeks before Democrats will begin to cast their first nominating ballots in the states kickoff caucuses. Meanwhile, in must-win Florida, Vice President Mike Pence headlined a Latinos for Trump event in Kissimmee at Nacion de Fe, an evangelical church with a mostly Latino congregation as part of his own bus tour. Were going to get four more years and Latinos for Trump are going to lead the way, he told the about 400 people in attendance, emphasizing the countrys low Latino unemployment rate and the administrations anti-abortion stance. Trump won just 6% of black voters in the last election, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. And polling shows African Americans continue to be overwhelmingly negative in their assessments of the presidents performance, with his approval hovering around 1 in 10 over the course of his presidency, according to Gallup. Trump also lost by wide margins among Latinos and women, who continue to lag behind men in their support for the president. Jill Colvin is an Associated Press writer. On the final day of a visit to India that is fast becoming a PR nightmare, Jeff Bezos announced that Amazon will create one million more jobs in the Asian country by 2025. The chief executive, who also owns the Washington Post and is ranked by Forbes and Bloomberg as the richest person in the world, has this week been meeting Indian small business owners and rubbing shoulders with Bollywood royalty at corporate events. Dressed mostly in traditional Indian clothing, he has flown kites with children, laid a wreath at the Gandhi memorial in Delhi and taken a selfie on stage during his keynote speech at a major business summit. But his three-day trip has been overshadowed by loud anti-Amazon protests organised by a federation of bricks-and-mortar business owners, as well as critical comments by senior members of Narendra Modis ruling party and the launch of a probe into Amazons business model by the competition authority. Fridays statement from Mr Bezos said the job creation would be achieved through investments in infrastructure, technology and logistics. A 2018 regulation means Amazon can no longer sell its own brand products in India and must instead provide a marketplace for local manufacturers and producers. Mr Bezos said the company was excited about what lies ahead and has been gushing in his praise of India throughout the trip, at one point saying that the 21st century is going to be an Indian century and describing cooperation between the US and India as the most important alliance in the 21st century. India, it seems, is not so enamoured with him. A Reuters report said Mr Modi had rebuffed repeated requests from Amazon to meet Mr Bezos during his visit for a prime ministerial photo opportunity. On Thursday, while the CEO took part in a chummy interaction with the actor Shah Rukh Khan at a Mumbai event promoting Amazons Prime Video, most media focused instead on the scathing comments of India's trade minister Piyush Goyal at a security conference in Delhi. Dismissing Amazons announcement of $1bn investment in India, made at the start of Bezoss trip, Mr Goyal told the audience that its not as if they are doing a great favour to India. He said Amazon had been operating at a loss of around that much over the last year, so if they make a loss of a billion dollars every year then they jolly well have to finance that billion dollars. On Friday, another senior politician Vijay Chauthaiwale, the chief of the ruling BJPs foreign affairs department took a swipe at Mr Bezoss Washington Post for its coverage of India, which he called highly biased and agenda driven. Without giving any examples, Mr Chauthaiwale said there were a lot of problems with the Posts reporting. I am not opposing Amazon as a company, in fact I am a regular customer Jeff Bezos should go home tell Washington Post what is his impression about India, he said. But it is the vocal protest movement against Amazon that is likely to have hurt Mr Bezos the most, with placard-waving demonstrators attending outside the business summit he addressed. Rallies were organised in 300 cities across the country by powerful retail lobbying group the Confederation of All India Traders, which claims to speak for the up to 25 per cent of the population dependent on small businesses. The group argues that Amazon is putting people out of business with predatory pricing and other malpractices. Its national secretary, Sumit Agarwal, called Mr Bezos an economic terrorist. And on Monday, the Competition Commission of India ordered an investigation into whether Amazon and the mostly Walmart-owned e-commerce site Flipkart use exclusionary tactic[s] to foreclose competition. Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Show all 11 1 /11 Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of the future space colony that Jeff Bezos envisions as the future home of the human race Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of the future space colony that Jeff Bezos envisions as the future home of the human race Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of the future space colony that Jeff Bezos envisions as the future home of the human race Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of the future space colony that Jeff Bezos envisions as the future home of the human race Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of the future space colony that Jeff Bezos envisions as the future home of the human race Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Jeff Bezos introducing a life-size model of the Blue Moon, a lunar lander that could move many tons of cargo between earth and the moon Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies An artist rendering of Blue Moon on the surface of the moon Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Bezos also announced that his company Blue Origin will meet the current Administration's goal of putting Americans on the Moon by 2024 with the Blue Moon lunar lander Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies The Blue Moon would be powered by the BE-7 engine Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Bezos also announced that his company Blue Origin will meet the current Administration's goal of putting Americans on the Moon by 2024 with the Blue Moon lunar lander Blue Origin Jeff Bezos' plan for future space colonies Bezos also announced that his company Blue Origin will meet the current Administration's goal of putting Americans on the Moon by 2024 with the Blue Moon lunar lander Blue Origin Amazon said it was confident in our compliance with marketplace regulations and would welcome the opportunity to address allegations made about Amazon. India's shopkeepers have represented a core constituency for the BJP since the early days of the party, and the comments of Mr Goyal and Mr Chauthaiwale have been widely shared by the partys vociferous supporters online. But industry executives warned that it was a risky manoeuvre that would likely put off international investment, at a time when the country's economic growth is already projected to fall to a 11-year low this year. One unnamed leader at an American company operating in India told Reuters that Mr Goyals remark in particular was clearly unbecoming, and it will hurt how the world views India as a destination. Louisiana's top school board Thursday began the hunt for a successor to state Superintendent of Education John White, the first search of its kind in at least two decades. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, at the request of its new president Sandy Holloway, voted to set up a four-person work group to begin the process, including qualifications for the job. That group will report to BESE at its regular meeting on Jan. 28, including next steps for the search. Holloway, who lives in Thibodaux, said she hopes to have a permanent superintendent in place by early May, and possibly sooner. State officials said no frontrunner has emerged for the job one week after White announced his resignation, which is effective March 11. "We have heard names out there, lots of names," Holloway said after the meeting. "We just know names are coming in," she added. "Whoever falls within that group then we will have a discussion." Holloway said a search firm is likely to be used, costing less than $50,000. She said applications may start being accepted Feb. 1. John White leaving top state education post: 'Greatest blessing and privilege of my career' State Superintendent of Education John White, who helped lead the state through sweeping changes in its public schools since 2012, told offici One factor in the timetable is for the new superintendent to win confirmation by the state Senate before adjournment on June 1. BESE has 11 members, with eight elected by voters and three named by Gov. John Bel Edwards. Eight votes are required to name a new superintendent. However, this search will be different from previous ones because superintendents in the past were essentially picked by governors, then ratified by BESE. "What I have explained to people is BESE has never selected its own superintendent," said former BESE member Leslie Jacobs, who lives in New Orleans. "Each superintendent has been selected by the governor," said Jacobs, who was one of the early leaders in the push to overhaul public schools. White, who has served for eight years, landed the job after then Gov. Bobby Jindal campaigned in 2011 for BESE members to ensure his selection. Former Superintendent Paul Pastorek got the job in 2007 after winning the support of then Gov. Kathleen Blanco. The late Cecil Picard, who was superintendent from 1996-2007, won the post in a similar fashion, education veterans said. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Push to overhaul public schools likely to continue after near sweep for business-backed BESE candidates Business-backed candidates won six of seven contested seats for Louisiana's top school board, which means the push to overhaul public schools The governor's role is expected to be different this time because of sharp disputes on key public school issues between Edwards and a majority of BESE members. Eight of 11 board members were elected with business backing, and generally favor major changes in school operations. Ronnie Morris wins BESE seat; sweep for business-backed candidates Ronnie Morris was elected to Louisiana's top school board Saturday night, which means business-backed candidates will fill all eight elected s Edwards is aligned with teacher unions and other traditional public school groups, who for years have clashed with White and others on the merits of charter schools, tougher teacher evaluations and vouchers. Vouchers are state aid that allows students from low-income families to attend private schools. "This is an opportunity to select a superintendent that all sectors of education public, private and charter can coalesce around," Richard Hartley, the governor's new education policy adviser, said in a statement. Patrick Dobard, former superintendent of the Recovery School District, said Wednesday he has no interest in succeeding White. Dobard's name was among a handful of possible candidates mentioned after White announced he was leaving. Jefferson Parish School District Superintendent Cade Brumley's name has also been mentioned as a possible contender. Brumley could not be reached for comment. Also unclear is whether BESE opts for a department insider, a school district superintendent or other official in Louisiana but outside the department or an out-of-state applicant. In the meantime, the state Department of Education and BESE have a wide range of chores on the eve of the 2020 legislative session. BESE has to submit a funding request to the Legislature weeks before lawmakers convene on March 9. "There is just a lot of behind-the-scenes work that keep the trains running on time as a state agency," Jacobs said of the department. Louisiana formerly elected its state superintendent. The Legislature changed that in 1985, moving to a system where BESE makes the appointment. BESE sets policies for about 720,000 students who attend public schools statewide. The superintendent is in charge of helping to shape and carry out those policies. NORTHAMPTON The Board of Health decided not to move forward with regulations that would have restricted cigarettes from being sold in convenience stores after hearing from a number of vendors and their supporters Thursday night. The board also said they want to see how effective the states new flavored vape and tobacco ban will be at curbing youth tobacco and nicotine use, which Gov. Charlie Baker passed in November. At that time, the board was originally considering a vote on the proposed restrictions. I think we should take a wait and see approach, said board member Laurent Levy. We came up with these regulations because the state wasnt doing its job. As we were getting ready to vote, it did. Board member Suzanne Smith also said that in terms of cigarettes, kids are more likely to start with menthols than traditional non-flavored cigarettes, and menthols will also be prohibited in the state as of June 1. Youth cigarette smoking is currently at record low numbers 5.8% nationally in 2019. Smith also pointed to the number of tobacconists operating in the city, which has dropped from four to two currently, only The Vault on Main Street and Florence Smoke Shop remain and said she questions whether or not tobacconists are a viable economic model. This is a potentially significant economic move in the city for something for which we dont have compelling data, Smith said. During public comment before the boards discussion, many spoke out against the proposed regulations and a few spoke in favor. This is very premature, said Robert Bolduc, CEO of Pride Stations and Stores, of the proposed regulations. Its the beginning of a patchwork that will simply move the adult people to buy (cigarettes) in the next town over. I feel Im being targeted as if Im some kind of public menace, said Stephen Helfer from the Cambridge Citizens for Smokers Rights group. Helfer was holding a sign that read Whats Next? outside the meeting room before it started. Many also spoke in support of local businesses who could stand to lose thousands of dollars annually if the restrictions passed. One business owner in the audience estimated $30,000 at his store. This seems like a solution in search of a problem, said Elizabeth Bolton. I havent smoked for 30 years, but I dont think this is the answer... I happen to like convenience stores, I like to go and buy my milk, and I think it will put convenience stores out of business at a time when theyre under enough pressure. Attorney Adam Ponte from firm Fletcher Tilton added that the restrictions will literally discriminate against interstate commerce in the U.S. and could lead to potential claims against the board. But some in support pointed to the high numbers of youth who report regular vaping, including 33% of Northampton High School seniors, according to one Northampton Public Schools staff member. Were concerned about initiation... and kids being exposed to something you might not do at age 8 but might do at age 16, she said. The board ultimately voted not to move forward with the regulations at this time, with three votes against and Levy abstaining. The board could revisit the regulations at a later time if theyre deemed necessary, they said. The board also voted not to change the cap number of tobacco licensees; there are 27 licensees in the city now, and board chair Joanne Levin said the current cap at 29 will leave some wiggle room for (potential) changes in business. The board did pass an amendment prohibiting the sale of menthol, mint and wintergreen flavored tobacco, effective in June in line with the new state regulations, and also passed an amendment updating the definition of a tobacconist in the city, which was more open to interpretation before, said director of public health Merridith OLeary. OLeary said she plans to hold drop-in educational courses in the spring to educate smokers and help the citys transient population quit nicotine if theyd like, which she said will likely be more effective at reducing smoking in city parks than ticketing smokers, an option that was previously discussed but that OLeary said she wont pursue. Armed with banners and megaphones, millions of women around the world will take to the streets on Saturday to protest against the alarming rollback of womens rights and groundswell of anti-abortion policies amid the rise of the far right. The inaugural Womens March demonstration in 2017 saw six million people express their fury over the election of Donald Trump despite his record of demeaning, sexually aggressive comments about women. Womens March has been growing ever since with 45 marches in cities and towns which cover 20 countries stretching across Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Canada and Australia planned for Saturday. Uma Mishra-Newbery, executive director of Womens March Global, said: This past year, we have experienced a surge in the rollback of womens human rights across the world. One of the most shocking developments was when the United States declared, along with 19 other member states, that there is no international right to abortion at a United Nations meeting. We are extremely concerned that this will lead to a collective retreat of womens rights across the world. Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Show all 30 1 /30 Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Berlin AFP/Getty Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Angela Christofilou/The Independent Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures New York Reuters Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Washington Reuters Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures New York Reuters Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London EPA Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Washington REUTERS Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures New York Reuters Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Berlin AFP/Getty Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Washington Reuters Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Angela Christofilou/The Independent Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures New York AFP/Getty Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Angela Christofilou/The Independent Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Angela Christofilou/The Independent Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Washington REUTERS Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Washington Reuters Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Berlin Getty Images Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Reuters Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Berlin Getty Images Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Angela Christofilou/The Independent Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Berlin EPA Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Angela Christofilou/The Independent Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Berlin EPA Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Reuters Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Reuters Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Berlin Getty Images Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Angela Christofilou/The Independent Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures Berlin EPA Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Angela Christofilou/The Independent Women's march 2019 global protest in pictures London Angela Christofilou/The Independent The Independent spoke to women around the world involved in organising this years marches about why they are taking to the streets. Zambia: Our country is a haven for rapists Ann Holland, who is organising the Womens March in the Zambian capital of Lusaka, said gender-based violence was highly prevalent in the African nation and patriarchal views are deeply entrenched. The campaigner said their protest would be very loud and very feminist and people from more than 50 organisations are attending. They had strived to make the march more inclusive this year in an attempt to build a movement which is a safe space for marginalised groups, Ms Holland added. She said: We are centring trans women, sex workers, refugee women and women living with disabilities. Our theme is Leave No Woman Behind and we want to make sure of that. Womens March activists in Zambia We are using our march to lobby for many laws like the end of taxed pads to help stop period poverty, and we are petitioning for strict laws when it comes to sexual assault because our country is a haven for rapists. If you want to understand the kind of sexism and inequality Zambian women face, imagine a smaller South Africa, with a population of 17 million, with less media coverage and a country probably stuck in the Fifties. Women and girls die every day here at the hands of men. We record thousands of cases of rape every four months. Women die from gender-based violence and marital rape is practically legal here. The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Show all 27 1 /27 The best placards from the Women's March 2019 The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Reuters The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 REUTERS The best placards from the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent The best placards from the Women's March 2019 REUTERS The best placards from the Women's March 2019 REUTERS The best placards from the Women's March 2019 REUTERS The best placards from the Women's March 2019 REUTERS The campaigner said womens rights in the nation were currently being utilised by many companies and organisations for political propaganda. Feminist movements are rising in the country but such activists are arguably the most hated and misunderstood group, she added. According to patriarchs we are too bitter, have a vendetta against men and are probably lesbians who just need men to cure them, Ms Holland said. The women hate it too. Feminism is bigger with the younger women aged between 15 to 30. They are more aware, they understand the need for feminism and to constantly work together to smash patriarchy. United Kingdom: We are now facing at least another four and a half years of the same old Aisha Ali-Khan, co-organiser of Womens March London, said there would be a big turnout because of the Conservative landslide in the December general election and anger at the Trump administration in the US. Protesters are set to gather in Whitehall in central London for a rally rather than a march, calling for a fairer, more equal and sustainable future. Ms Ali-Khan, who is a teacher, said: We march for the rights of women, as well as women who dont have a voice, and for the marginalised. We march against austerity measures and the fact the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. This is especially true with universal credit. Recommended How the far right is costing women their human rights We are now facing at least another four and a half years of the same old. We will now have Brexit so womens rights are more under threat. The domestic abuse bill has fallen by the wayside and was pushed further and further down the political agenda. Every week, two women are murdered by a partner or ex-partner in the UK. Violence against women should be a priority for Priti Patel but it isnt. We have seen a massive rise of men using rough sex as an excuse for killing their partners. We are seeing misogyny getting worse. Canada: There is a lot of residual sexism Lila Palychuk, who is helping to organise the Womens March in Sarnia in Ontario, said there were deeply ingrained sexist views in the town. The campaigner added: There is a lot of residual sexism and patriarchal views here. We had a municipal election recently and we elected one woman but she is not very progressive. If you look at the femicide report, there is a fair amount of female deaths at the hands of male domestic partners but we are no worse than anywhere else. But reports of sexual assaults have gone up steeply in Sarnia-Lamton [an electoral district in Ontario]. Sexual assaults doubled from 2017 to 2018. People are more empowered. Police are attributing it to the #MeToo movement. Ms Palychuk said it was very exciting connecting with other marches around the world last year due to being such a small community. Demonstrators from a range of ethnicities and sexualities and members of the indigenous community attended, the 31-year-old accountant added. Last year was our first march. There were 500 people last year in a huge amount of snow. There should be at least 500 again. Paris: Sexism is a quintessential French trait Honorine Boudzoumou, spokesperson for Womens March Paris, raised concerns about the high levels of violence against women in France where there has been mounting outrage over femicides, defined as the gender-motivated killing of women, in recent months. The campaigner said that although the government has adopted measures to tackle such violence, the measures remain insufficient. Honorine Boudzoumou marching in Paris She added: It feels like there is a lot of talk and very little action. For example, after the large governmental meeting on domestic violence, a number of new measures were announced, but the money allocated to them was insultingly low. Women face an enormous amount of violence in their daily lives, which is influenced by their socioeconomic class, race, and identity. Femicide is the most extreme form of this violence because it seeks to erase us completely. At some point, you begin to wonder if your life even matters. You wonder what you actually would have to do for the threats that you face to be taken seriously. France has witnessed a fierce backlash to the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault. Protesters are holding a round table in Paris instead of a march because organisers wanted a space for in-depth discussions. Ms Boudzoumou said: The theme of our event is bodily autonomy. However, in the debate over bodily autonomy in France, certain voices are almost completely ignored, like those of people of colour, Muslims, LGBT+ people, people with disabilities, fat people, and sex workers. The campaigner argued sexism is a quintessential French trait and called for people to understand this in order to be able to dismantle it. We did have the #BalanceTonPorc [Expose Your Pig] movement, which provoked major public discussions about sexism, she added. Women dared to speak up unabashedly, and the shame finally switched sides. That said, there is still a lot of work to do. Our country is way behind others in dealing with these problems. Switzerland: Swiss banks are fuelling the climate crisis Activists in the Swiss city of Geneva are raising awareness of the gendered dimension of climate change in this years march. Doreen Akiyo Yomoah, one of the organisers, said: We feel that as feminists in Switzerland, we have a responsibility to draw attention locally to the way that Swiss banks are fuelling the climate crisis, which affects the most vulnerable people in the world the most. Women are 14 times more likely than men to die from climate change-related natural disasters. Womens March protesters in Geneva People with intersecting identities, like people from the Global South, rural areas, disabled people, indigenous people and LGBT+ also all face heightened risk to their lives and livelihoods. Although on paper women may have the same rights as men, violence in the country is still a major problem. According to the federal government, once every two weeks, someone (usually a woman) dies from domestic violence. This may not sound very high compared to some other countries, but no one should ever be victim to domestic violence. And for a country with a small population, it is significant. The campaigner said womens march activists from Geneva and Zurich had joined forces and they were expecting 500 women to attend. A new feminist movement called the Greve des Femmes demonstrated across the country in June for pay equity, an end to gender-based violence and discrimination against female migrants and women of colour, Ms Akiyo Yomoah said. Mallorca: The society is historically patriarchal Lesley Harris, who is involved in the Womens March chapter in Palma de Mallorca, argued the national government in Spain is not taking sufficient action to make the definition of rape clearer and more in line with other European countries. Rape has to involve specific acts of violence such as being threatened with a knife or dealt physical blows under Spains criminal code. Ms Harris said: There are myriad concerns about the violence against women in Spain. The society is historically patriarchal but is willing to change. Sexist and patriarchal attitudes are entrenched, but the youth are digging them out. I work as a teacher, and now that these issues are included in the curriculum, students often stop and question Is this sexist? Is this OK? Why or why not? With the speed that people organise a demonstration, the sharing of stories, sympathy or outrage spreads at the speed of a click. Womens March protesters in Geneva The campaigner said they are planning a Meet Greet Eat which will see them produce a short video and livestream other marches with around 30 people expected to attend. Social media movements such as #metoo or #yotambien in Spain have served as a catalyst to start and maintain conversations around sexual violence and harassment, she added. With a Taliban takeover, what is the JeM demanding in Afghanistan What does the meeting between Taliban and Jaish-e-Mohammad mean for India JeM module in J&K was planning suicide attack: Sources India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 17: The bustling of a terror module in Jammu and Kashmir has come as a major relief for the security agencies. This module of 5 members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad was planning a major attack in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Republic Day celebrations. The Intelligence agencies have been warning for long that the members of the JeM would look to strike big in J&K. All the members are from Hazaratbal and have been identified as Aijaz Ahmed Sheikh, Umar Hameed Sheikh, Imtiyaz Ahmed Chikla, Sahil Farooq Gojri and Naseer Ahmed Mir. JeM plotted series of strikes in New Delhi using virtual numbers Following the arrest, the police recovered from them, Gelatin Rods/Sticks 143, Secondary Explosives 07, Silencer 01, Detonators 42, Body Vest laden with Explosives and Ball bearings 01, BAOFENG Walkie Talkie with Remote Trigger of IED- 01, CD Drive 01 partially damaged, Desi Small arm Weapon 01, Hammer (Engraved with MMT sold seal on it) 01, Walkie Talkie BEOFENG 01, HiW (Hi-Waote) Batteries 03, Battery Charger 01, On-Off Switch 01, Pouch 01, Coils 03, Explosive Type material 03 packets, Ruck Sack Bag (American Tourister) 01, Tape rolls 04 and Nitric acid bottle 2.5 litres 01. The recoveries that have been made suggest that the terrorists were planning an attack of very big nature. They were planning a big hit on an Army installation, a source part of the investigation informed OneIndia. The source also added that they do not rule out the possibility of a suicide attack. The attack was being timed with Republic Day, the source further added. Possibility of strikes by JeM high says latest intelligence assessment The Jammu and Kashmir said in a tweet that two grenade blasts in Hazratbal area worked out. Major attack averted ahead of Republic Day. Five terror operatives arrested. Huge explosive material recovered. New Delhi: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Friday (January 17) declared the results of the Indian Forest Services (Main) Examination 2019, which was conducted from 1st December to 8th December 2019. The candidates can check their Roll Numbers as they would have to face a personality test for the final selection to the Indian Forest Service Examination-2019 (Group A). Name and Roll Nos. of qualified candidates is also available on the UPSC website i.e. www.upsc.gov.in. Qualified candidates have to bring their photo ID whatever they mentioned in the DAF-II. Direct link to check your result The marks sheets of candidates who have not qualified will be put on the commissions website within 15 days from the date of publication of the final result (after conducting Personality Test) and will remain available on the Website for a period of 30 days. According to the UPSC notification, "Candidature of these candidates is provisional subject to their being found eligible in all respects. The candidates will be required to produce the original certificates in support of their claims pertaining to age, educational qualifications, community, EWS, Person with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) and other documents such as TA Form, etc. at the time of their Personality Test." Live TV "Candidates seeking reservation/relaxation benefits available for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD/Ex-servicemen must also produce original certificates dated earlier than the closing date of the application for Indian Forest Service Examination-2019 through Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2019 i.e. 19.03.2019," it said. Candidates seeking reservation/relaxation benefits available for EWS must produce original Income and Asset certificate of issuing date earlier than August 1, 2019. Personality Tests of the qualified candidates are likely to commence in the month of February 2020. It will be held in the office of the Union Public Service Commission at Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110069. The e-summon letter of personality test for Interview can be downloaded from the Commissions Website http://www.upsc.gov.in & http://www.upsconline.in from Jan 24, 2020. Those who are not able to download their e-summon letter should immediately contact the office of the Commission through letter or on Phone Nos. 011-23385271, 011-23381125, 011-23098543 or Fax No. 011-23387310, 011-23384472 or by email on (skindo-upsc@gov.in). Notably, no paper summon letters will be issued for the personality test/Interview by the Commission. Further, no request for change in the date and time of the personality test intimated to the candidates will ordinarily be entertained. A candidate who qualifies for personality test /Interview on the basis of Result of Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination 2019, will be required to submit their Order of Preferences for Zone(s) /State(s) Cadre through DAF-II. DAF-II will be made available on the commissions website from January 21, 2020, to January 28, 2020, till 6 PM. The preferences once opted and submitted cannot be modified or changed at a later stage, therefore, candidates are advised to exercise due diligence while filling up the preferences for cones as well as cadres there under. No change in preferences for Zones once indicated by a candidate would be permitted. If a candidate fails to submit the DAF-II by last date/time, it will be considered that the candidate has no preference to make for Zones & Cadres and no request shall be entertained in this regard, the UPSC notification added. WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate opened the impeachment trial of President Trump with quiet ceremony Thursday senators standing at their desks to swear an oath of impartial justice as jurors, House prosecutors formally reciting the charges and Chief Justice John Roberts presiding. The trial, only the third such undertaking in American history, is unfolding at the start of the election year, a time of deep political division in the nation. Four of the senators sitting in judgment on Trump are running for the Democratic Partys nomination to challenge him in the fall. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! intoned the Senates sergeant at arms, calling the proceedings to order at noon. Senators filled the chamber, an unusual sight in itself, sitting silently under strict rules that prohibit talking or cell phones, for a trial that will test not only Trumps presidency but also the nations three branches of power and its system of checks and balances. The Constitution mandates the chief justice serve as the presiding officer, and Roberts made the short trip across the street from the Supreme Court to the Capitol. He has long insisted judges are not politicians and is expected to serve as a referee for the proceedings. Senators rose quickly when he appeared in his plain black robe. Will all senators now stand, and remain standing, and raise their right hand, Roberts said. Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God? The senators responded they would, and then they lined up to sign an oath book. Trump faces two charges after the House voted to impeach him last month. One, that he abused his presidential power by pressuring the Ukraine president to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using U.S. military aid to the country as leverage. Trump is also charged with obstructing Congress ensuing probe. The president insists he did nothing wrong, and he dismissed the trial anew on Thursday at the White House: Its totally partisan. Its a hoax. Eventual acquittal is expected in the Republican-controlled Senate. However, new revelations are mounting about Trumps actions toward Ukraine. The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the White House violated federal law in withholding the security assistance to Ukraine, which shares a border with hostile Russia. At the same time, an indicted associate of Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas, has turned over to prosecutors new documents linking the president to the shadow foreign policy being run by Giuliani. The developments applied fresh pressure to senators to call more witnesses for the trial, a main bone of contention that is still to be resolved. The White House has instructed officials not to comply with subpoenas from Congress requesting witnesses or other information. What is the president hiding? What is he afraid of? asked Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. The gravity of these charges is self-evident, he said. The House of Representatives has accused the president of trying to shake down a foreign leader for personal gain. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the new information from Parnas demands an investigation, which she doesnt expect from Trumps attorney general. This is an example of all of the presidents henchmen, and I hope that the senators do not become part of the presidents henchmen. Before the swearing-in, House Democrats prosecuting the case stood before the Senate and Rep. Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee formally read the articles of impeachment. Seven lawmakers, led by Schiff and Rep. Jerrold Nadler of the Judiciary Committee, made the solemn walk across the Capitol for a second day. All eyes were on Schiff as he stood at a lectern in the well of the chamber, a space usually reserved for senators. House Resolution 755 Impeaching Donald John Trump, president of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors, he began, reading the nine pages. The other House prosecutors stood in a row to his side. Senators said later that when Roberts appeared the solemnity of the occasion took hold. Security was tight at the Capitol. I thought this is a historic moment, and you could have heard a pin drop, said Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. And so I think the gravity of what we are undertaking I think was sinking in for all of us. Republican House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took a far different view of the charges and proceedings. He opened the chamber decrying Pelosis decision to hand out souvenir pens on Wednesday after she signed the resolution to transmit the charges to the Senate. This final display neatly distilled the Houses entire partisan process into one perfect visual, McConnell said. It was a transparently partisan process from beginning to end. GOP Sen. James Inhofe was absent, home in Oklahoma for a family medical issue, but plans to take the oath when he returns as the full trial begins next week, his office said. The Senate will issue a formal summons to the White House to appear, with the presidents legal team expected to respond by Saturday. Opening arguments will begin Tuesday. The president suggested recently that he would be open to a quick vote to simply dismiss the charges, but sufficient Republican support is lacking for that. Instead, the presidents team expects a trial lasting no more than two weeks, according to senior administration officials. That would be far shorter than the trial of President Bill Clinton, in 1999, or the first one, of President Andrew Johnson, in 1868. Both were acquitted. It would take a supermajority of senators, 67 of the 100, to convict the president. Republicans control the chamber, 53-47, but it takes just 51 votes during the trial to approve rules, call witnesses or dismiss the charges. A group of four Republican senators is working to ensure there will be votes on the possibility of witnesses, though its not at all certain a majority will prevail for new testimony. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee are among those involved. Romney said he wants to hear from John Bolton, the former national security adviser at the White House, who others have said raised alarms about the alternative foreign policy toward Ukraine being run by Giuliani. The House managers are a diverse group with legal, law enforcement and military experience, including Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Val Demings of Florida, Jason Crow of Colorado and Zoe Lofgren of California. Two are freshmen Crow a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Garcia a former judge in Houston. Demings is the former police chief of Orlando, and Jeffries is a lawyer and member of party leadership. Lofgren has the rare credential of having worked on a congressional staff for President Richard Nixons impeachment. Lisa Mascaro is an Associated Press writer. Dear Cathy, I am moving to Nevada, and I have a cat. She is 11, and Im wanting to see whats the best way for her to travel with no stress. I am in Texas, and plan to make the drive without her, sending her to Nevada by plane once Im there so shes not locked up in crate for almost three days. Do you know what airlines allow pets to fly without their owner? What kind of sedation would be best for her? Vicki Dear Vicki, Your cat is not old by cat years, but is considered a senior pet, so you will need to take into consideration her overall health and temperament and how you think she might manage on a flight. Older pets, pets with health issues or severe anxiety, pets with breathing problems and pets with a low tolerance for travel or change are often better with you in a car than riding on a plane. Some pets are simply less stressed when they can stay with their families. If you dont know how your cat would travel, put her in an airline carrier and take her on a 90-minute road trip. If she settles down quickly and sleeps during that time, she is probably OK to travel in a car or a plane. But if she is still restless or crying 60 minutes into the trip, then sedating her might be necessary and/or putting her on a plane for a shorter trip might be the best option Most airlines will allow you to fly with your cat in the main cabin, so long as her kennel fits under the seat. Unaccompanied, your cat will have to fly in the cargo hold, which can be a stressful place for your cat and you. If you cant fly with your cat, for the price of a roundtrip airline ticket, perhaps a friend would be willing to escort your cat on a flight to Nevada. You also can check out some airline transport services that only fly pets no passengers. The pets are their No. 1 concern, and they fly in the main cabin. I have never used this type of service, but its worth looking into as another option. Check out reviews for these services before choosing one. As for sedatives, talk to your veterinarian about your medicinal options, and give your cat these medicines a few days before the trip, so they get used to the feeling before the trip. Otherwise, you can spray feline pheromones into her travel kennel to keep her calm or give her one of several over-the-counter natural relaxation options for cats, like travel chews and gels. Whatever you decide, do whats best for both your cat and your own peace of mind. Send your pet questions, tips and stories to cathy@petpundit.com. You can read the Animals Matter blog at http://blog.mysanantonio.com/animals and follow her at @cathymrosenthal. Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Sang-min / Korea Times file South Korea's policy on North Korea is a matter of sovereignty, the unification ministry said Friday, after U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris called for Seoul to make sure to consult closely with Washington about its engagement plans with the North. On Thursday, Ambassador Harris told foreign media reporters that South Korea should consult with Washington about its plans to engage with North Korea in order to "avoid a misunderstanding later that could trigger sanctions." His remarks came as South Korea is looking into the possibility of individual tours to North Korea as part of efforts to expand cross-border exchanges after President Moon Jae-in called strongly for bolstering relations with North Korea so as to help move the stalled nuclear talks moving again. "Our policy with regard to North Korea belongs to our sovereignty," Lee Sang-min, the ministry's spokesperson, told a regular press briefing. "The U.S. has repeatedly made it clear through diverse channels that it respects South Korea's sovereignty related to its North Korea policy." When people seeking to recall Rep. Larry Inman turned in petition signatures on a bleak November afternoon in Lansing, they made history as the first to turn in signatures for the recall of a state official since a law change in 2012 made recalls more difficult. When it turned out those signatures werent enough, they joined a line of groups that had tried and failed to clear the same bar. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Michigan is one of 19 states that allow recalls. The Michigan Constitution provides for recalls, but state law provides the mechanics. Changes to the law in 2012 disallowed recalls during some parts of an officials term, required each petition to state factually and clearly each reason for the recall, but recalls for state lawmakers before the Board of State Canvassers instead of county boards and made it so signatures had to be collected in a 60-day period instead of a 90-day period. That last piece is very difficult, according to Michael Naughton, the attorney who represented the group in a court case. To get a quarter of a voting population in 60 days, its insane, Naughton said. I can tell you up here we had people out in the rain and bits of snow, we had some snow in October. And we were really pushing. And to fall 200 signatures short, too, is kind of, you know, it can be demoralizing. Having 90 days would have meant less pressure, he said. The group sought to recall Inman, R-Williamsburg, after he was accused of federal extortion and bribery crimes and missed votes in Lansing. Inmans trial resulted in a hung jury on the bribery and extortion charges last year, and federal prosecutors are seeking to re-try him. The effort to recall Inman overcame an issue with a typo but ultimately fell 208 signatures short of the 12,200 valid signatures it needed to put the recall race on the ballot. Even turning the signatures in is farther than any other state recall effort had gotten since 2012. According to data from the Bureau of Elections, the Board of State Canvassers has approved language for 12 recalls of state elected officials since the law changed in 2012, including four against former Gov. Rick Snyder, some over the Flint water crisis. The Inman recall effort is the only one to have turned in signatures. Multiple groups sought to recall Gov. Rick Snyder as the Flint water crisis unfolded. A woman holds up a baby bottle full of discolored water at a Board of State Canvassers meeting on Feb. 8, 2016. Prior to the 2012 changes, between 2002 and 2012 there were two recalls targeting state officials that gained enough signatures to be put on the ballot. One was against former Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillion, which he survived, and one was against former Rep. Paul Scott, a Republican, who was recalled. Former Rep. Anthony Forlini, R-Harrison Twp., sponsored the 2012 bill that changed the recall process. He said in a 2019 interview that the bar for recalls was too low before the changes. One change was making petitions be factual, something he thought was important so people werent just going after politicians they didnt like. Recalls should be a very high standard to recall somebody. It shouldnt just be used as an idle threat all the time, Forlini said. Back in 2012 when he signed the bill, Snyder praised the changes as fixing flaws in the recall process. These changes will help ensure recalls are done in a fair and consistent manner and help prevent political gamesmanship from both sides of the aisle," Snyder said. Naughton said he does think a recall is possible. Heck, we got close, he said. But he would urge the legislature to consider changing the window back to 90 days instead of 60. I think it makes recall more of a viable option. But I mean, its tough to get a recall in Michigan, no doubt about it, Naughton said. Sondra Hardy, of Peninsula Township up near Traverse City, was on the committee that worked on the Inman recall. She said the whole time it felt like when they got through one issue, another one would pop up. Asked for her advice to future groups looking to mount recalls under the 2012 changes, she said: Elect people who will change the law." First time General Election candidate for Fianna Fail Pauline Flanagan has urged voters across Laois and Offaly to ensure they are on the electoral register before the deadline of next Wednesday. Voter registration shuts at the close of business in the two councils next Wednesday, January 22. Anyone who is not on the register by then misses out on the opportunity to vote on Saturday, February 8. Ms Madigan said that if you are not on the register, you still have time to complete a RFA2 form, which can be downloaded from this website or collected from Laois or Offaly County Council offices. She said this form must be completed and brought, along with ID, to the local garda station to be stamped and then be returned to the council by close of business on Wednesday. This is an important election for the future of communities across Laois and Offaly. Every single vote makes a difference, and each vote is worth the same as the next. Irish men and women fought for decades for the right to vote and it is a privilege to be a part of this democratic process. I would urge those who recently turned 18, in particular, to get themselves on the supplementary register before Wednesday and enjoy the experience of having their say in the future of this country," said the former county councillor. Anyone with queries relating to voter registration can contact the council on the following numbers: Laois County Council advises that you call (057) 8664105 or 8664000 to check the register. Offaly voters can check with Offaly County Council Ph: 057 934 6800, Fax: 057 9346868, Email: webmaster@offalycoco.ie The live electoral register is available for inspection at County Council offices, libraries, Post Offices and Garda stations. Anyone who needs to check their eligibility to vote can also do so online at www.checktheregister.ie. A 27-year-old East Orange man was gunned down Wednesday in Newark, authorities said. Marquis Forman died at an area hospital after he was shot around 7:40 p.m. in the 700 block of Springfield Avenue, the Essex County Prosecutors Office said in a statement. Authorities said there were no arrests and the prosecutors office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force, which includes Newark detectives, was investigating. Anyone with information can call the task forces tips line at 1-877-847-7432 or 1-877-TIPS-4EC. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday met visiting Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and discussed bilateral issues, the situation in Iran and Afghanistan. State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo and Qureshi spoke about the importance of US-Pakistan cooperation for the Afghan peace process. "Iran's malign activities in the region" and bilateral economic ties were also discussed, he said. Qureshi is on a two-day visit to Washington DC, as part of which he met Pompeo and is scheduled to meet US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien. On Thursday, he met lawmakers at the US Capitol. Earlier he addressed the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank and reiterated Pakistan's demand that US President Donald Trump should mediate to resolve the Kashmir issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali does not think Lewis Hamilton will be heading to Maranello any time soon. Especially after his meeting with Ferrari chairman John Elkann was leaked, rumours have been swirling that six-time champion Hamilton could switch to Ferrari for 2021. But Domenicali, who ran the Ferrari team until 2014, told Sky Italia: "I think it's normal to talk about this potential move of Hamilton to Ferrari. "But I have the impression that Ferrari is concentrating everything on Charles Leclerc. So I don't think they will sign a top driver like Lewis," said the Italian, who is now Lamborghini CEO. Indeed, just before Christmas, Ferrari announced that it has signed 22-year-old Leclerc for the next five seasons. Domenicali said: "The team is setting a clear direction with a focus on a young, talented driver." As for the 2020 season, he commented: "I think it will be very interesting. "I think it will be different from last year in that it will be decided in the last race. I hope, of course, that Ferrari fans can celebrate a success." San Francisco Pride's rocky relationship with Google and its affiliates may be coming to an end. Members of the LGBTQ+ organization say they passed an amendment to ban Google, YouTube and Alphabet, as well as the Alameda County Sheriffs Office, from future celebrations after a vote at their monthly membership meeting Wednesday night. In a statement released to SFGATE on Thursday, SF Pride members and former Google engineers Laurence Berland and Tyler Breisacher said they are now urging the board of directors to formally approve the motion at their upcoming meeting on Feb. 5. The community-based organization has a current roster of 326 members, who are vetted through an application process and agree to pay annual dues, allowing them to participate in the nomination and selection of Grand Marshals, choose the yearly theme of the parade and eventually vote on who will represent the board. Berland said he believes SF Pride members have the authority to pass the ban, though some board members at the meeting disagreed, claiming the board of directors will also need to pass the motion in order for it to be legally binding to the organization. "The Pride Board values the voices of the membership, and our responsibility to the many civic and business partners it takes to produce the citys largest event," interim executive director Fred Lopez told SFGATE. Even so, Berland and Breisacher said current organization bylaws dont appear to restrict members from making amendments. Lopez confirmed the board of directors is currently consulting the organization's legal team on the matter. Many people have been committed to pushing SF Pride to do better. As more and more people get involved, we can move closer and closer to a Pride celebration that celebrates our LGBTQ community, rather than serving as mainly a rainbow-colored party for corporations," wrote Berland and Breisacher. Breisacher told SFGATE he quit his job at Google in 2018 because he was frustrated with the company's sponsorship of the Conservative Political Action Conference, among other decisions. Last November, Berland was among four Google employees terminated from their positions for allegedly violating the company's data-security policies, according to Bloomberg, which led to a subsequent revelation of the companys connections to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. But the engineers, including Paul Duke, Rebecca Rivers and Sophie Waldman, disputed that claim in a separate statement released last month, claiming they were fired for participating in legally protected labor organizing outside of Googles San Francisco offices just days before. Earlier that year, at least 100 Google employees signed a letter requesting to be banned from the 2019 Pride Parade, also urging the organizing to revoke their employers sponsorship. San Francisco Pride officials denied the request, calling Google "a considerate partner of SF Pride for a number of years," though that didn't stop a group of protestors from marching behind the companys float, bearing signage that read Gayglers Deserve Better and No Pride in YouTube. The demonstration was in response to the company claiming they would take a hard look at their policies after ruling homophobic and racial slurs posted by conservative commentator Steven Crowder against Vox journalist Carlos Maza did not violate YouTubes terms of service. Opinions can be deeply offensive, but if they dont violate our policies, theyll remain on our site, YouTube tweeted at the time. The company suspended monetization of Crowders channel a day later. According to Thursday's statement, SF Prides corporate accountability committee will convene to determine whether other companies should also be banned from the parade and related festivities. Rather than singling out Google, they said they are hoping to ignite a deeper conversation about what they expect from future participating companies. Companies are no longer scared to be seen as pro-LGBTQ; in fact, their participation is a great opportunity for them. We believe companies should earn that opportunity by proving that they really do stand with our community, the statement read. SF Pride often points out that it is the most-watched Pride in the world, and that gives it the power to influence the direction that corporations take. MORE: New tech offices will replace Oakland's Pride Parade headquarters The Alameda County Sheriffs office may also potentially be barred following Wednesdays early morning raid and eviction of mothers organizing on behalf of "Moms 4 Housing." Four individuals were arrested for occupying a vacant house at 2928 Magnolia Street in Oakland without permission reportedly owned by a corporate house-flipping company as a means of protest against homes left empty despite the housing crisis. I was absolutely infuriated by how the sheriffs violently evicted (them) and arrested four using a militarized force in full body armor and an APC (armored personnel carrier), and wanted to help, said Berland. Footage showed the mothers being handcuffed and forcefully removed from the premises by sheriffs who reportedly arrived on the scene in combat gear. RELATED: Deputies evict squatting Oakland moms in pre-dawn raid We feel this demonstrates clearly that the Alameda County Sheriffs are not an ally to our community either, and we were pleased that a resolution banning them from marching in uniform at Pride passed as well, wrote Berland and Breisacher. Read the full statement here. Editor's note: An earlier version of this article stated Tyler Breisacher was one of four employees terminated by Google last November. He had quit in 2018. Amanda Bartlett is an SFGATE associate digital reporter. Email: amanda.bartlett@sfgate.com | Twitter: @byabartlett New Delhi: Indian Army JAG 2020 recruitment notification is released for Unmarried Male and Female Law Graduates for SSC (Short Service Commission) in the Advocate General Branch. All interested and eligible candidates need to apply through the prescribed format on online mode. Candidates applying for the JAG Entry Scheme for October 25 2020 Course need to go through the eligibility criteria and official notification carefully. It is to note that candidates can download the JAG Recruitment official notification by visiting official website, i.e. joinindianarmy.nic.in or by clicking on the bellow mentioned direct link. Indian Army JAG Recruitment 2020 Details It is to note that all selected candidates will join the Short Service Commission in Army for 14 years, which 10 plus 4 years of extension period. The online application of Indian Army JAG has already started and the last date to submit application for JAG SSC Course is February 13, 2020. A total of 8 vacant positions out of which 6 posts are for men and 2 for women are going to be filled through this recruitment drive. In order to apply for the Indian Army JAG SC Course, candidates need to have LLB degree with valid registration as Bar Council of India/State Advocate. Other than this, candidates need to be in the age group of 21 to 27 years to apply for the Short Service Commission Course. Candidates will be selected on the basis of two stage test that include Stage I Test and Stage 2 Test. Candidates have to qualify the Stage I Test to get a call for the Stage 2 Test. In addition, the SSB Interview duration is for 5 days. All candidates must ensure to apply for the Indian Army JAG latest by February 13, 2020. Candidates can click on the below mentioned direct link to check the Indian Army JAG Recruitment Official Notification. Indian Army JAG Recruitment Official Notification Direct Link Each week, we comb through dozens of court affidavits from arrests made in the Alamo City. Here's a look at some of the oddballs. Bad plumbing: A 41-year-old man was arrested after his attempt to flush drugs resulted in a clogged toilet. On Jan. 10, San Antonio police were executing a search warrant when they arrested Carlos Bock. When questioned by police, Bock said he tried to flush cocaine and methamphetamine down the toilet, an arrest affidavit said. When the toilet began to overflow, he attempted to use the sink in the kitchen to dispose of the drugs. When police searched the residence they also found documents with narcotics transactions floating in the toilet, which Bock had also unsuccessfully tried to flush. MONTREAL, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- X2O Media today announced the enterprise-grade Virtual Classroom experience, an innovative solution that has changed how remote students access, communicate and collaborate with their peers, will be demonstrated at The Bett Show next week. X2O Media, part of the STRATACACHE family of marketing technology companies, designed the experience to enable higher education institutions to offer remote students a unique learning experience to allow them to participate in everything that is taking place within the live classroom. X2O Media can be found in booth SE24 at The Bett Show, which features marketing information technology in education, being held January 22 - 25, 2020 in London. The X2O Media Virtual Classroom blended learning environment connects users as an effective way to provide an interactive, real-time learning experience for in-class and remote participants alike. The Virtual Classroom features next-generation technology complete with high-definition, directional audio/visual communication, an intuitive interface, interactive large whiteboards and presentation monitors with numerous content sharing and collaboration tools. Multiple camera views, including a unique perspective view camera for each remote participant, enables presenters to deliver the same instructions and content simultaneously to onsite as well as remote participants. "We see that as a result of the accessibility of high-speed internet, enrollment in distance learning courses is increasing. Coupled with shifts in global economies, students are turning to online courses to complete degrees or to improve their career potential. Universities worldwide need to step up and meet the unique needs of their growing distance learning students. With X2O Media's virtual classroom higher education institutions can supply the increasing demand for online courses. The highly social peer-to-peer communication gives remote students an unparalleled experience and helps them achieve a high level of success in their online course," said Mansour Brek, President of X2O Media. Rob Brinklow, Sales Manager at X2O Media Europe adds, "Today, technology enables forms of communication and collaboration undreamt of in the past. X2O Media is bridging distance learning spaces to link the global remote learning community with a common purpose. We look forward to showcasing the classroom's power and features during The Bett Show where you can experience first-hand the X2O Virtual Classroom at Stand SE24." For more information about the advantages of X2O Media's Virtual Classroom technology, contact [email protected] . About X2O Media X2O Media provides technology and services for higher education and corporate learning centers to build virtual classrooms as well as, solutions to provide emerging visual communications, and real-time data visualization. The award-winning X2O Platform brings advanced education opportunities to people across the globe. Remote students can experience and participate in everything that takes place in the live classroom. X2O Media is part of the STRATACACHE family of digital media/marketing technology companies and is headquartered in Montreal. For more information, contact X2O Media at [email protected] and follow X2O updates on LinkedIn and Twitter . About STRATACACHE STRATACACHE provides scalable customer experiences, empowering retailers to learn deeply about their customers' shopping preferences and behaviors, allowing for personalized shopper interaction. Our solutions deliver consumer activation at the point-of-decision, generating new sales opportunities and enhanced retail profitability. With 3 million+ software activations globally, we power the biggest digital networks for the world's largest brands. Across the STRATACACHE family of complementary digital media/ad tech solution companies, we have the technology, expertise and track record to bring retail innovation that delivers results. Learn more about the STRATACACHE family at stratacache.com , follow on LinkedIn or on Twitter . SOURCE STRATACACHE Several flights were delayed at the West London hub by up to an hour (stock picture, Getty) Dozens of planes were diverted or delayed as Heathrow was forced to suspend arrivals due to a Royal Air Force (RAF) flight, according to the airport. A spokesman for the west London hub said the RAFs request for airspace closure was unplanned. The closure of airspace which began at around 9am on Friday lasted for approximately 20 minutes. At least four Heathrow-bound British Airways flights and one Virgin Atlantic aircraft were forced to land at other airports such as Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. Several other flights were delayed for up to an hour as aircraft were kept in stacks around London while waiting for permission to land. The closure of airspace which began at around 9am on Friday lasted for approximately 20 minutes (GETTY STOCK) The Heathrow spokesman: Arrivals were paused briefly this morning due to an RAF request for an operational flight within part of Heathrows airspace. Arrivals are now operating as normal. An RAF Spokesperson said: The RAF can confirm that a flight was completed this morning by one of our assets from RAF Northolt, this flight was coordinated with Heathrow ATC but had to extend by a few minutes to complete its sortie. The minor delays caused to civilian air traffic are regretted. For security reasons the RAF needs to be able to operate in all airspace at all times. More to follow... ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- One of the glitziest nights of the year is upon us. Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas Foundations La Soiree is a black-tie fundraiser that assists the hospital with projects serving Southeast Texas. A dedicated team of volunteers starts planning months in advance for this special night. Over a four-day period, the team will spend hours transforming the Beaumont Civic Center into a different world. Keeping with this years theme the Serengeti guests are invited to witness the great migration across the African plain. From the decor to the food to the music, La Soiree is one of Southeast Texas most prestigious events. What would an event of this scale be without beautiful clothes? The evening gowns, the tuxedos, the glamour all set this apart from all other galas. So when the pressure is on to find that perfect gown, where do Southeast Texans turn? VIP asked three women who have been strong supporters of La Soiree over its 11 years. Hope Anderson, who along with her husband Chad are co-chairs of the gala, hopes that the African theme will steer guests toward color or animal prints. When I started looking, I went in thinking I wanted a certain color, but what I ended up with is entirely different, Anderson said. A girlfriend went with me to Tootsies in Houston, but I didnt find anything there. I was open to anything as long as its comfortable, looks good and flatters me in all the right places, she said. We decided to look at Neiman Marcus and thats where I found THE dress. The minute I put it on, both of us said, this is it. Its perfect. If felt good, the color looked great. You know when you find it. For Anderson, a perfect look comes with several requirements. La Soiree on the Serengeti Hope and Chad Anderson are the chairs of La Soiree on the Serengeti, the annual themed gala supporting Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas Foundation. The evening includes a silent auction, unique experiences and a gourmet dinner. After dinner, guests are invited to lose their shoes and dance as the Party Crashers take the stage. When: 6:30 p.m. Jan 25 Where: Beaumont Civic Center, 701 Main St., Beaumont Tickets: Starting at $250 Information: 409-212-6110, bhsetfoundation.org See More Collapse I want to feel confident and comfortable, she explained. I want a dress that looks great and yet is loose enough that I can l sit down in it. Anderson said she purchased sparkly shoes to set off the dress. I get pedicures, so I look for peep-toe shoes. I think the nail polish is part of the outfit. At the end of the night, though, those shoes will probably come off and be hidden under the table because everyone is dancing. Faiza Anwar and her husband, Dr. Syed Anwar, are past chairs and have attended La Soiree for several years. I find dresses at Neimans, Saks and Nordstrom in Houston, she said. My favorite designers are Oscar de la Renta and Alexander McQueen, but I buy other brands as well. I have to like it and it has to fit well. Anwar said her favorite colors are black and gray. I like these colors, but it depends on the theme. I love long flowy dresses with silk and lace. I tend to look for more modest styles so I dont have to worry about anything. If I do choose something sleeveless, I will take a scarf or something like that in case it is cold. As for accessories, Anwar said she found everything at Neimans. Kelli Arfeen takes a different approach when it comes to shopping for her look. We find out so early about the theme. Im all over the place, so Im always looking, she said. Last year I was in Venice when I heard that the theme was a Venetian masquerade, so I bought my mask while I was there. One year, the theme was the Road to Istanbul. My brother-in-law is a fashion designer, so he designed my sari. I try to dress to the theme. I tend to buy props and specific things to add to the outfit. I go online for trendy costume ideas, she said. As for accessories, I am blessed to have a lot of jewelry, so I usually have something I can wear. Arfeen said she has found dresses through Rent the Runway on several occasions. I quit buying so many expensive dresses that are only worn once or twice. I have donated many of mine to prom projects, she said. Her waist-long, abundant Senegalese twists were always freaked in a different way. Sometimes half of the braids were pinned off her face as the rest cascaded down her shoulders or in a low ponytail. In her official congressional profile photo, she opted to have them pulled back in a style that was half-coiffure, half low-twisted bun. The braids werent the only thing that stood out about Rep. Ayanna Pressley. She entered Congress in 2019 as part of the most diverse generation of women to arrive on Capitol Hill: an incredibly visible Black woman with a powerful voice, an open desire to create change, and a willingness to throw her political weight behind what she believes is right. Advertisement Yet the hair seemed to be an integral part of that visibility. Pressley was one of the few Black women politicians who wore a natural hairstyle. She wore it in spite of other women of color who said her style was too ethnic, too urban or wasnt polished enough. Seeing an elected official proudly wear her hair in braids mattered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And then, on Thursday, Pressley announced that the braids were gone. In a powerful video published by the Root, Pressley revealed that she has alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes the body to attack healthy hair follicles and decrease growth to the point that it may stop. My twists have become such a synonymous and a conflated part of not only my personal identity and how I show up in the world but my political brand, said Pressley. And thats why I think its important that Im transparent about this new normal and living with alopecia. Advertisement Advertisement Pressleys revelation is a testament to the importance of representation and the multifaceted nature of a Black womans hair journey. Her braids stood in defiance to a society that actively singles out, disciplines, and asks Black folks to cut their hair or, at times, violently attacks them for wearing braids and locs. When she initially got the twists five years ago, Pressley said it felt like she was meeting herself for the first time. They morphed into a personal and political statement she was intentional about maintainingin part because of the number of Black women and girls who openly admired her and were empowered by her decision to keep her hair braided. Advertisement Anyone can develop alopecia areata, but a study from June 2019, pointed out by the Root, discovered that Black people are more likely to do so. And 50 percent of Black women experience some form of hair loss. The bulk of studies dedicated specifically to Black women and hair loss (and there isnt much) appears to center on traction alopecia, which can result from the tension of pulling hair too tightly for too long at the roots. But some researchers have shifted focus to central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, female pattern hair loss and stressall of which consider factors outside of styling that play a role in hair loss, such as family history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hair loss can also bring about feelings of shame for those who experience it. Pressley said she was made aware of her alopecia last fall as she was getting her hair retwisted. She lost the last of her hair on the night of the impeachment vote. I didnt have the luxury of mourning what felt like the loss of a limb, she said in the video. It was a moment of transformation not of my choosing. Once she left the floor, she hid in a bathroom stall. Pressley recounts feeling naked, exposed, vulnerable, embarrassed, and ashamed. She also felt as if she was participating in a cultural betrayal of sorts due to all the little Black girls who are a part of #TwistNation. She knew that, when she was ready, she wanted to go public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watching Pressley tell her story, instead of simply reading about it, evokes a deep sense of joy for Black women who will further see themselves reflected in her image. As she stands there at the end of the video, smiling and proud, you can see her truth, her Blackness, emanating. Shes further expanding the conversation surrounding the personal and political aspects of Black womens hair. The reality is that Im Black, and Im a Black woman and Im a Black woman in politics and everything I do is political, she said. Im not here just to occupy space, she added, Im here to create it. Irans downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet that killed 176 people, including many Iranians, has invoked memories of a similar tragedy: the 1988 U.S. shoot-down of an Iranian plane over the Strait of Hormuz that killed all 290 people on board, including 66 children. For the past three decades, Irans clerical establishment has frequently used that disaster -- which came amid tensions between Tehran and Washington -- as a propaganda tool for what it calls American state terrorism and its disregard for human life while suggesting the U.S. Navy's shoot-down of Iran Air Flight 655 was intentional. But in the wake of the January 8 downing of the Ukrainian airliner due to a human mistake by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Tehrans narrative about the 1988 air tragedy against the United States has been undermined, analysts say. "It exposes that such mistakes can occur with trained militaries, even Iran's. Mistakes in war can happen even with the best militaries -- both incidents show how devastating such mistakes can be, says Afshon Ostovar, a professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in California. Sanam Vakil, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House in London, says the downing of the Ukrainian plane challenges Irans three-decade narrative of victimhood around the same American action in 1988. The downing of the Ukrainian airliner has led to fury in Iran amid accusations of recklessness by Iranian authorities and a lack of care for the lives of ordinary Iranians at a time of escalating tensions with the United States. The incident came hours after Tehran launched missile strikes on two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops in retaliation for the January 3 U.S. assassination of the countrys top military commander, Qasem Soleimani. Many have questioned why civilian planes were allowed to fly when armed forces were on high alert due to potential U.S. retaliation, while also criticizing Tehrans delayed admission of guilt that came only three days after the tragedy and amid building Western pressure. Ostovar says that from now on the Iranian government cannot bring up the U.S. downing of Iran Air Flight 655 without Iranians also thinking about their government's downing of the Ukrainian plane. "Downing [Ukrainian] Flight PS752 not only overshadowed any propaganda victory for the IRGC's missile strike [against U.S. bases in Iraq], it quickly eclipsed any sympathy gained by Soleimani's assassination," he told RFE/RL. Neverthless, Reza Akbari, a program manager at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, says hard-liners within the Iranian establishment are trying to put the blame on the United States. Hard-line pundits on state TV are attempting to spin the incident as a cost of war -- a minor price to pay for ensuring the security of the countrys borders. Regime insiders and IRGC officials started to shift the blame toward the U.S. by stating that the Trump administration started the cycle of escalation, he said. Speaking earlier this week, Iranian President Hassan Rohani promised an investigation into the unforgivable error while Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said some have been arrested, without providing details. Akbari says in contrast with hard-liners, Rohani and his government have adopted a mea culpa approach, suggesting that Tehrans attitude is different from the United States', which never formally apologized for the 1988 shoot-down. "They have publicly apologized and believe their admission of guilt shows accountability and bravery," Akbari added. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- by contrast -- has called for national unity and defended the country's armed forces in the wake of angry protests over the tragic incident. "The Iranian people love and want resistance to the world powers and no capitulation, the 80-year-old leader said as he addressed Friday Prayers for the first time in eight years. Khamenei accused Iran's enemies of using the plane crash to question the Islamic republic, the armed forces, including the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which he said "maintained the security" of Iran. The July 3, 1988, shoot-down of the Iran Air flight came during the waning days of the Iran-Iraq War and shocked the country, where painful images of the dead and their relatives mourning in agony were widely published in the media and are rebroadcast every year during commemorations. The United States first denied any knowledge of the incident. Later, the U.S. Navy said that the Iranian passenger plane -- an Airbus en route to Dubai from the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas -- was incorrectly identified as an F-14 jet fighter and brought down with two surface-to-air missiles fired from the USS Vincennes, which had earlier exchanged fire with Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf. The United States did express regret over the loss of life on the airliner while defending the judgment of USS Vincennes Captain William C. Rogers. The United States also blamed Tehran for allowing a civilian aircraft loaded with passengers to proceed on a path over a warship engaged in battle. Captain Rogers was later awarded the Legion of Merit award, angering Iran and cementing Tehrans belief that the attack was a warning that Washington was ready to openly side with Iraq in the devastating eight-year-long war. If it was a mistake, then why did you give him a medal? If it was a mistake, you should have punished him. Therefore, you are lying, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said last year while marking the 31st anniversary of the tragedy. A report by an international panel of aviation experts published several months after the 1988 tragedy concluded that a series of mistakes by the U.S. Navy had contributed to the shooting down of the Iranian aircraft. The United States later paid the families of the victims tens of millions of dollars after Tehran filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice. Ethiopian Airlines will start constructing a new $5 billion airport later this year, the state-run Ethiopian News Agency reported on Wednesday. The airport, which will cover an area of 35 square kilometers, will be built in Bishoftu, a town 39 km south east of the capital, and will have capacity to handle 100 million passengers a year. According to the Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam, Bole Airport will no longer be able to accommodate the growing traffic in about three or four years. He said the price tag of the new airport was higher than the $4 billion cost of building the still-to-be-completed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile. Voted the Best Airline in Africa in 2018, the Ethiopian carriers triumphs are arguably down to reasonably priced tickets, efficient service delivery, a good safety record and a wide network of flights. Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa has a passenger capacity of about 19 million passengers annually. The Ethiopian carrier joined in 2011 Star Alliance Network, an international airline network giving it access to more routes with partner airlines. It is the largest airline in Africa and one of the few airlines turning a profit in the continent. The airline was founded in 1945 by Ethiopias last emperor Haile Selassie, with the hope of modernizing and shaking off the countrys poverty-stricken image. She welcomed her first child with her fiance, Arthur Brand, just last week. And on Friday, Gemma Lee Farrell confirmed the name of her newborn baby girl, while sharing several videos to Instagram of the child meeting her pals. The 32-year-old, who is New Zealand's first Playboy Playmate, revealed she had received a box of roses from a friend in celebration of her baby's arrival - with the flowers spelling out her daughter's name, Mia. So sweet! Playboy model Gemma Lee Farrell (pictured) has revealed the name of her newborn daughter, after sharing this picture of herself during labour 'Cutest M for Mia' she captioned the shot, confirming her child's moniker. Gemma then posted a video of her friends coming over to meet the baby, before sharing footage of the tot wrapped up in bed. Two days earlier, Gemma had announced the birth on Instagram. She shared a photo of herself in lingerie and with full makeup while going into labour on January 11. Gemma wore a black bra and posed in her hospital bed, with her short dark locks out and neatly straightened. She's got a name! Gemma confirmed her little daughter was called Mia, sharing a picture of flowers she'd received spelling out her name So cute! Gemma shared an up-close glimpse of her tiny newborn greeting her glamorous friends in a sweet video Baby joy! Gemma revealed in her post on Wednesday that she had welcomed a daughter (pictured) with fiance Arthur Brand four days prior In the post, Gemma also revealed how the new addition is settling in to family life. 'What a crazy experience pregnancy is, I'm so lucky I had an amazing pregnancy,' she wrote. 'I'm not gonna say I absolutely loved being pregnant - because that s**t's long AF (as f**k). New parents: The stunner is pictured with Arthur while pregnant 'What a crazy experience': Gemma said the family are already back home and settling in, before reflecting on her pregnancy 'But the little human you get at the end makes it worth it. I'm so blessed to of had a non-complicated birth and a healthy beautiful baby. I had an amazing doctor the past nine months,' she said. She went on to praise hospital staff and said that her fiance Arthur 'already wins daddy of the year ILYSM (I love you so much).' She finished: 'We are so happy and full of love.' Gemma and longtime partner Arthur announced their engagement in July last year, with Arthur proposing in Paris. Keeping mum: Gemma added that she was 'so blessed' to welcome her daughter, initially keeping her name under wraps before announcing it on Friday In September last year, she revealed she was pregnant with their first child. Gemma hails from Pirongia, a small town in the Waipa District of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. According to Stuff, she first posed for Playboy as the 'Playmate of the Month' in November 2013, becoming the first Kiwi Playmate. Fears over the Covid variant meant that, from late November, all travellers arriving in the UK were required to take a lateral flow test before flying and self-isolate until they received a negative result from a post-arrival PCR test. This led to many people scrapping their travel plans over the festive period - which is typically one of the busiest times of the year outside summer for international travel from Britain. A total of 19.4 million people travelled through Heathrow across the whole of last year - less than a quarter of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, and 12.3% down on 2020. Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: 'There are currently travel restrictions, such as testing, on all Heathrow routes. The aviation industry will only fully recover when these are all lifted and there is no risk that they will be reimposed at short notice, a situation which is likely to be years away.' Several overseas destinations - including France and Germany - had brought in their own restrictions late last year, effectively rendering the possibility of a holiday within their territory impossible amid the outbreak of Omicron. Ms Streeter added: 'Mass vaccination programmes failed to have the desired effect in 2021, in bringing the rebound in travel there had been such high hopes for this time last year. The web of rules and regulations which was spun across different countries and regions and swept away, and then spun again as new variants emerged, clearly led to a drop in confidence in the travelling public.' Pictured: Heathrow in December. Evelyn Yang is ready to tell her story. The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang revealed Thursday to CNN that, while pregnant with her first child in 2012, she was sexually assaulted by her obstetrician-gynecologist at Columbia University. She realizes now that it began when her physician, Dr. Robert Hadden, asked her inappropriate questions during visits. "There was absolutely no premise for that line of questioning, and it seemed like he just wanted to hear about me talking about sex, she said. What I kept sticking to was this: OK, so my doctor is pervy. I have a pervy doctor, but Im going to focus on having a healthy baby, and the idea of changing doctors was overwhelming for me. It got worse. The examinations became longer, more frequent, and I learned that they were unnecessary most of the time, Yang said. Evelyn Yang, wife of presidential candidate Andrew Yang, says shes a survivor of sexual assault by a doctor who has been accused of abusing dozens of his patients, most of whom were pregnant at the time.https://t.co/5BXCqjAiz7 OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) January 17, 2020 When Yang was seven months pregnant, her doctor did something even more extreme. I was in the exam room, and I was dressed and ready to go. Then, at the last minute, he kind of made up an excuse, she said. He said something about, I think you might need a C-section, and he proceeded to grab me over to him and undress me and examine me internally, ungloved. Yang said she knew it was wrong as it happened: I knew I was being assaulted. But Yang didnt run or fight, like she had always thought she would. I just kind of froze like a deer in headlights, just frozen. I knew it was happening. I could feel it, she explained. I remember trying to fix my eyes on a spot on the wall and just trying to avoid seeing his face as he was assaulting me, just waiting for it to be over. Story continues She remained silent about the traumatizing incident, not even telling her husband for months afterward. Instead, she found a new doctor. Haddens attorney has denied Yangs accusations in legal filings, according to CNN. Yang said she didnt stop blaming herself for what happened until she received a letter saying Hadden had left his practice. She began searching online and discovered another accusation of sexual assault against him. Thats when she told her husband he cried and decided to find a lawyer. It turned out that the Manhattan district attorneys office was looking into the stories of 17 other women with similar experiences. Yang eventually testified in front of a grand jury, and Hadden was indicted. He ended up agreeing to a plea bargain and entered guilty pleas to one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual abuse. While he did lose his license, Hadden escaped prison time. Yang was disappointed, to say the least. She felt betrayed by the district attorneys office and by the university, the latter of which had allowed Hadden to return to work after being arrested, when another women accused him of licking her vagina during an examination. The arrest happened six weeks before Yang was assaulted. What happened to me should have never happened. He was arrested in his office," Yang said. I mean at the very least, the bare minimum would be to make sure that what happened to me could have been prevented. Yang and 31 other women are now suing the university and its affiliates, for enabling Hadden, as well as Hadden himself. Hadden denies the accusations in court papers, CNN reports. Columbia has reportedly contested the suit on procedural grounds. Yang decided to tell her story now, she said, because shes felt a strong connection with the many people shes met during her husbands campaign. Something about being on the trail and meeting people and seeing the difference that weve been making already has moved me to share my own story about it, about sexual assault, she said. Candidate Yang supported his wife on social media after she shared her story. I love my wife very very much. Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) January 17, 2020 Both Andrew and Evelyn Yang talked about his presidential campaign this month on The View. Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyles newsletter. Mosquitoes can be genetically engineered to stop them spreading dengue fever to humans, a study has revealed. Working in a lab, scientists created mosquitoes which were immune to the tropical disease and therefore unable to pass it on through bites. They injected the insects with human immune system proteins which were able to fight off all four strains of dengue. These proteins stopped the virus from multiplying inside the mosquito, meaning it never became strong enough to be transmitted. Dengue threatens the health and lives of millions of people living in hot countries every year, and can cause fever, vomiting and deadly bleeding. The scientists' process worked by injecting immune system proteins called antibodies into the mosquitoes. These would then spread through the body and, in theory, to the mosquitoes' offspring to make them all resistant to dengue viruses and unable to spread them Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the main transmitter of dengue fever, which infects millions of people per year and leaves around 500,000 needing hospital treatment. Researchers found a way of making the insects immune to the virus and therefore stopping them passing it on (stock image) Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, implanted the dengue immune proteins, called antibodies, into female mosquitoes. Antibodies are created naturally by the body and are what enables the immune system to destroy bacteria and viruses by itself without medical help. But someone must become infected with, or exposed to, an illness before the body is able to develop them, which is risky with such a deadly disease. The researchers found putting human dengue antibodies into mosquitoes stopped the disease spreading among the insects. And by engineering the genes of the insects to make sure those with the antibodies inside them were successful breeders, researchers said it would be possible to make this immunity spread through the wild population of the insects. Professor Omar Akbari, who led the study, said: 'Once the female mosquito takes in blood, the antibody is activated and expressed that's the trigger. 'The antibody is able to hinder the replication of the virus and prevent its dissemination throughout the mosquito, which then prevents its transmission to humans. It's a powerful approach. 'It is fascinating that we now can transfer genes from the human immune system to confer immunity to mosquitoes.' Dr Prasad Paradkar, study co-author, told ABC: 'Because they [the mosquitoes] don't get infected they won't be able to transmit that to someone else.' BUGGING OUT: THE THREAT OF DENGUE FEVER Dengue is a viral infection spread by mosquitoes. It is caught by people visiting or living in Asia, the Caribbean, and North, South or Central America. Mosquitoes in the UK do not spread the virus. In most cases, the infection is mild and passes in around a week. Symptoms usually include: Fever Severe headache Pain behind the eyes Muscle and joint pain Nausea and vomiting Widespread rash Abdominal pain Loss of appetite There is no cure or specific treatment. Patients can relieve their symptoms via painkillers, staying hydrated and resting. In rare cases, dengue symptoms can develop into severe dengue. Elderly patients, or those with other medical conditions, are most at risk. Severe dengue fever symptoms can include: Severe skin bleeding with spots of blood on and under the skin Blood in the urine and stools Respiratory distress - when the lungs cannot provide the vital organs with enough oxygen Organ failure Changes in mental state and unconsciousness Dangerously low blood pressure Severe dengue is usually treated via a blood and platelet transfusion, IV fluids for rehydration and oxygen therapy if levels are low. Advertisement The breakthrough marks the first time that all four types of the dengue virus have been targeted through engineering mosquitoes. Previous attempts had only managed to tackle single strains. Professor Luke Alphey, head of arthropod genetics at the Pirbright Institute, which investigates the spread of infectious diseases, was not involved with the research but told MailOnline it was a 'big deal'. 'This sort of work has worked on one virus at a time,' he said. 'The principle that this approach could give you broad spectrum resistance to these viruses [all four types of dengue] is really exciting.' The dengue virus, for which there is no known cure, is generally mild and passes in around a week. Normal symptoms include fever, a severe headache and nausea and vomiting. However, in rare cases the virus can become life-threatening, with symptoms including severe skin bleeding, organ failure and dangerously low blood pressure. Around 390milliom people per year globally catch dengue, with cases common in Asia, the Caribbean, and North, South or Central America. There are also an estimated 12,500 deaths from the virus each year. The Aedes aegypti is the main mosquito that spreads dengue. It also spreads yellow fever and Zika. A drawback of the approach, Professor Alphey said, was that it focused on using only one antibody. Antibodies are extremely specific and will not work against viruses which they are not matched to. Professor Alphey cautioned that a small mutation in the dengue virus would make it resistant to the antibody which the scientists used, thus able to spread again. 'Its just one antibody so you expect resistance to evolve fairly quickly,' Professor Alphey added. 'This example only has one antibody in it. So a small change in the virus would lead to resistance to that one antibody. 'If you could link a few antibodies which affected other parts of the virus that would be more effective.' The research was published in the journal PLOS Pathogens. Text messages, social media posts and video are playing an increasingly central role in the investigation and prosecution of sexual crimes, but experts say digital evidence is a double-edged sword that can prolong cases and potentially discourage complainants from coming forward. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Text messages, social media posts and video are playing an increasingly central role in the investigation and prosecution of sexual crimes, but experts say digital evidence is a double-edged sword that can prolong cases and potentially discourage complainants from coming forward. A study published last year by researchers at three Canadian universities documented some of the ways in which electronic records have made their mark on cases involving sexual offences, which typically occur between people who know each other. Photos, video footage and other such evidence can provide key context and are often seen as more neutral than people's accounts, said the study based on interviews with dozens of sex crime investigators across the country. "There are cases where digital evidence has been useful in challenging the 'he said, she said' narrative," lead author Alexa Dodge, a PhD candidate at Ottawa's Carleton University, said in an interview. But that material is still subject to human interpretation and thus human bias and collecting it can make cases longer and more invasive for complainants, she said. "It's not the silver bullet people think it might be," she added. Investigators who took part in the study reported growing backlogs in processing large amounts of digital evidence in already overburdened sex crimes units, a strain they said was exacerbated by the lack of specialized training and resources. They also expressed frustration at the length of time required to obtain warrants and the additional wait time for a forensic examiner to review a device. Some complainants, especially teens, are distraught at the prospect of turning over their phones for many, a lifeline to their support network for an extended period of time, investigators told the researchers. Some reported the prospect of going off the grid discouraged some complainants from proceeding with charges. "These challenges led to assertions that digital evidence is a 'double-edged sword' that provides both more evidence to help solve (notoriously difficult to prove) sexual assault cases but also increases the complexity of these cases and creates burdens on both sex crime investigators and the victims of these crimes," the study said. Digital evidence has taken centre stage in a number of recent high-profile sexual assault trials, including a Toronto case in which a bar owner and manager were found guilty of gang sexual assault and administering a drug. Prosecutors argued hours of security footage shown at the trial portrayed the brutal sexual assault of a woman, while the defence argued the video depicted a consensual encounter. A sentencing hearing for the pair is scheduled for later this month. Defence lawyer Daniel Brown, who has written a book on prosecuting and defending sexual assault cases, said the justice system is actively grappling with how to handle its increasing reliance on a form of evidence that's only become prevalent within the past 10 to 15 years. "Part of the reason why we see digital evidence play out in those cases is because it's one of the few types of cases that tends to happen in private without other witnesses being present...it's the type of evidence that tends to help give context to an otherwise complex situation," he said. Authenticating, preserving and interpreting such evidence are among the key challenges, he said. Text conversations can be altered, for example, and those involved may not remember what they meant at the time, he added. Video often doesn't give a full picture either, he said, noting footage can be visually choppy or lack sound. Brown said the justice system would benefit from more clarity on how digital evidence can be used. Legal reforms passed in 2018 made several changes to the way the courts deal with sexual assaults. One of the most controversial changes in Bill C-51 requires that defence lawyers obtain the court's permission before introducing private records such as texts into evidence, and allows complainants to participate in the application hearing. That change is being challenged in courts across the country, Brown said, with critics arguing it allows complainants to alter their account based on the defence's evidence and thus infringes on the accused's right to a fair trial. Two Ontario trial courts have so far upheld the change, but one in Alberta has ruled it to be unconstitutional, he said, noting the issue will likely end up before the Supreme Court of Canada. The new process also prolongs trials and increases the risk that cases will be thrown out for stretching beyond legally mandated timelines, he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 16, 2020. Aidala defended his elimination of a Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital employee and beauty pageant winner because she also made a go at acting and has experience as a model. She admitted in her questionnaire that in her late 20s she tried and failed to make it in that business. A sales-tax measure on the March ballot could be a do-or-die vote for Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, the charming but struggling commuter rail that links North Bay residents to jobs in San Francisco. As the clock ticks down to March 3, big players have begun to weigh in. This week a string of anti-SMART ads popped up on local television and radio, decrying the 30-year sales-tax extension called Measure I as a blank check with no accountability. Sponsored by a committee called NotSoSmart.org, the ads feature evocative images of cars stopped at empty railroad crossings and checks made out to the SMART Bureaucracy. Molly Flater, the daughter of the influential Sonoma County developer Bill Gallaher, is funding the effort. So far, Flater has chipped in $559,183 to defeat Measure I, according to Mike Arnold, a committee treasurer. The committee has not yet made its financial disclosures public. Flater is chief operating officer of Gallaher Homes, a family-owned real estate firm with developments throughout Sonoma County, including luxury apartments, town houses and a shopping center. Its sister division, Oakmont Senior Living, includes more than 40 retirement communities on the West Coast. If I end up spending $1 million to save our community taxpayers from a $2.4 billion mistake, then I feel it is worth every penny, Flater wrote in a letter she has circulated to reporters and others. Thats her estimate for the total revenue the tax extension will generate. Officials estimate the quarter-cent tax will produce $40 million a year. Without Flaters backing, the anti-SMART bloc seemed outnumbered by the politicians and commuters who want functioning public transportation in the North Bay. Arnold is among the dissenters who criticize the train as a waste of taxpayer money. Thats my primary concern, he said, noting that SMART, which carries 2,700 passengers on weekdays, is sparsely filled when compared to San Franciscos Muni system, which packs about 720,000 weekday riders. Paul Chinn / The Chronicle 2019 Flater laid out her arguments in the letter, upbraiding the rail system for failing to meet the promises of its original tax-measure campaign in 2008: a 71-mile railroad from Larkspur to Cloverdale, with a 71-mile bike path snaking alongside it and shuttle service to and from stations. Those plans stumbled as construction costs soared and tax revenue dropped significantly during the recession. To date, SMART has only built 45 miles of rail and 23 miles of bike path. Its not the first time members of the family have sparred in local politics. Flaters husband, Scott Flater, and father sued the Santa Rosa Press Democrat for defamation after the newspaper documented Scott Flaters independent expenditures to support three Santa Rosa City Council candidates. The two plaintiffs lost their case last year. Sales taxes are the lifeblood of Bay Area public transportation systems, and the quarter-cent tax that Marin and Sonoma county voters approved in 2008 is critical for SMART. Its set to expire in 2029, and if voters choose not to extend it, then officials will have to eat through the rail systems reserve funds. With debt payments mounting annually, SMART would deplete its reserves by 2024 if the system continues to spend at the current rate and the tax is not renewed, said SMART board chair Eric Lucan. A 30-year extension would allow the transit agency to restructure the debt, freeing up $12.2 million annually that could go back to operations. This is critical, Lucan said. He emphasized the growing popularity of the rail line, which recently opened stations in Larkspur and downtown Novato and now runs trains every 32 minutes during peak commute hours. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Its beloved by riders who sought relief from the choked traffic on Highway 101. On the SMART train, they could plug in their laptops and start work early, or gaze out the window at a landscape of wetlands and grassy hills. Some cheekily applaud when the train whooshes by a particularly painful stretch of 101 called the Narrows, where the freeway shrinks from three lanes to two. For me, it was just a great way to start and end the day, particularly when youre cruising past standstill traffic both ways, said Mike Grant, who rode the train for 14 months from his home in Petaluma to work at the Marin County Office of Education in San Rafael. Lucan is hopeful. An outside poll by the North Bay Leadership Council showed that 69% of respondents favored Measure I, surmounting the two-thirds threshold for approval. But the sales-tax extension is by no means a done deal. Voters rejected the tax before the SMART ballot measure lost in 2006 before passing in 2008. And this year it will wind up on ballots alongside parcel taxes for schools and a sales tax for fire prevention in Sonoma County. When voters get intimated by a tax-heavy ballot, they often vote no. A well-funded campaign by a rich family could be the biggest threat, according to Lucan. Thats something that could change the dynamics of this campaign, he said. I think the people of Marin and Sonoma County need to wonder why theres influence in this election by a multimillionaire family to take away transit options for seniors, disabled people and working families. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan MUSKEGON, MI Customers bundled against sub-freezing temperatures lined up early on Friday for the first day of recreational marijuana sales in the city of Muskegon. Hours before Park Place Provisionary, 1922 Park St, opened its doors to recreational customers at 10 a.m. Jan. 17, theyd begun gathering in a heated tent in the parking lot. By 9:30, the line snaked around the tent as employees and volunteers handed out snacks and swag. Its history-making, said Greg Maki, owner of Agri-Med, the parent company for what became the citys first state-licensed medical marijuana dispensary when it opened in June. With a new set of licenses, Park Place Provisionary can now sell up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis product to people over 21. Muskegon City Commissioner Ken Johnson, the honorary first customer of the day, purchased a chocolate bar and a packet of orange cream-flavored edibles. Johnson told MLive that he had first supported the arrival of medical marijuana, and now sees recreational cannabis as an engine for the city. Now were creating new economic opportunities for entrepreneurs like Greg Maki, who is a city resident and employing our locals as well, he said. Muskegon City Commissioner at Large Ken Johnson made the first purchase of legal cannabis in Muskegon. pic.twitter.com/AR64BG4hZw Park Place Provisionary (@ParkPlaceProv) January 17, 2020 Some of the customers waiting in line in the increasingly crowded tent on Friday spoke about a broader importance to the day. Andrew Tansey, 29, of Norton Shores, said he was out to support the passage of recreational marijuana after seeing the good it had done for his wife, who uses it medicinally. He said he would probably purchase an edible. Tyler Stryker, 21, drove 40 minutes from Grand Valley State University to experience the environment of the first day. Muskegon is taking the right approach, he said. As Bob Marley played on the speakers, those waiting in line were treated to coffee, bagels, fruit and cookies in the shape of pot leaves, flecked with green crystal sugar. Theyd been baked by Sue Johnson, whose boyfriend, Chris Sonderhouse, is the stores manager, and who was volunteering on what she described as a historic day. Its been a long time coming, she said. I think the time is ready. The stigma associated with it, I think, will take a while to work through. Other customers were a bit more lackadaisical. Adam, 21, a Muskegon resident who declined to share his last name, was the first person in line when he arrived at 7 a.m. I had nothing else to do this morning, so I thought Id get up early, he said, adding I thought I wasnt going to be the first one. I thought people would be out here a little bit earlier. As the morning wore on, the crowd swelled to several dozen. Maki said the turnout was even better than hed hoped for. When he first got into the cannabis business more than two years ago, he anticipated only serving medical patients, he said. Transitioning to serving recreational customers as well was complicated, according to his nephew, Aaron Maki Smith, who serves as the companys chief financial officer. The transition to recreational requires a complete new set of regulations from the state, said Smith. Theyre almost independent from each other. Sourcing cannabis products was also complicated, said Tracy Powers, the companys vice president. Sporting a pair of disc-shaped earrings emblazoned with pot leaves, she said that the licenses for producing and selling recreational marijuana were rolled out at the same time, leading to a shortage of available recreational product. Its getting better every day, but theres two challenges to getting product, she said. Theres not enough licensed growers and processors yet, and theres not enough licensed labs to test it. As a result, the shop had to register to transition some of its medical product to the recreational side. Although theyve figured out that process, Powers said, every step in this new industry produces a learning curve. Theres a lot of background that people dont realize that has to go into this, she said. We cant just get our license and open the door. Thirteen people worked until 11 p.m. the night before getting ready, said Maki. But, his nephew added, the work was worth it. Seeing what we saw on the medical side, how many people use cannabis in their lives, and how much its changed for the better, giving access to people that dont have a medical card is big, he said. Customers were let into the building a few at a time. As they entered, they checked in with an employee, providing ID to verify their name and age. Fifteen at a time stood in a bright, minimalist waiting room, where commemorative T-shirts, with slogans like I made history and all I got was this dope T-shirt, were on sale. Then, one at a time, they were called into the sales room to make their purchase. Glass cases displayed chewable and edible cannabis products, pipes and vape pen cartridges. No more than one customer was allowed per cashier, and medical and recreational products were kept separate. Camila Guerra, 24, of Muskegon, began using marijuana as a natural treatment for a back injury she suffered in high school. But she did not become certified as a medical patient when she moved to Muskegon because she knew that recreational use was forthcoming, she said. I realized that was something that could help me that wasnt a narcotic, she said. I was on painkillers for a little while, but I wanted to get off. She planned to purchase a cartridge for her vape pen and some edibles. Standing in the stores narrow entry, Sean Rust, 32, said hed left his home in Detroit at 3 a.m. that morning to be there. A Muskegon native and graduate of Reeths-Puffer High School, Rust said he is a registered medical marijuana patient, but wanted to support his hometown. Its a really big achievement for Muskegon to do this, he said. I like to be a part of my community still, even if Im living on the other side of the state Shortly after the stores opening, State Rep. Terry Sabo, D-Muskegon, arrived. Im here to see how the process is working, just to always hear how we can make it better, whats bad about it, the whole nine yards, he told MLive. He said that he has received a mixed response from his constituents: some supportive, others opposed. But the way I look at it, its the law, and its something (where) now we have to make sure that were properly carrying out the law and the wishes of what the voters voted on last November, he said. Medical marijuana became legalized in Michigan in 2008. Ten years later, in November of 2018, it became the 10th state in America and the first in the Midwest to legalize recreational marijuana, too. The first recreational stores in the state, all in Ann Arbor, opened their doors in December. More than 1,400 cities and townships in the state, including Detroit, have declined to participate in recreational sales. The city of Muskegon and Muskegon Township approved recreational marijuana in October. According to Michigan state law, adults over 21 can possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis outside their home, and 10 ounces at home. The law also allows people to grow and keep a limited amount of flower and concentrate in their homes. Those registered with the state as medical marijuana patients can possess slightly higher amounts of both product and plant. Read more Muskegon marijuana dispensary cancels Saturdays recreational grand opening 2 recreational pot shops approved in Muskegon Township Muskegons first state-licensed medical pot shop open for business Pot dispensary sues township after waiting in line 9 days for a marijuana license Ankara [Turkey], Jan 17 (ANI): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday announced that his country will begin as soon as possible explorations for gas in the eastern Mediterranean this year. "We will start search and drilling activities as soon as possible in 2020 after issuing licences for the areas," Erdogan said during a two-hour speech in the Turkish capital. He added that Turkey's seismic exploration vessel Oruc Reis would soon be deployed there, according to Al Jazeera. Ankara had angered neighbouring countries in the Mediterranean with an agreement signed with the Tripoli-based government in Libya last November, which claimed extensive areas of the sea for Turkey to explore. Greece said that the deal fails to take into account the island of Crete, while Turkey has already upset Cyprus by sending ships to search for oil and gas off the divided island. Erdogan said it was "no longer legally possible" for any search and drilling activities by other countries or a pipeline without Libya's or Turkey's approval. Earlier this month, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel signed a deal to construct a pipeline to ship gas to Europe, despite Turkey's vehement opposition. In his remarks, Erdogan also noted that Ankara will send military forces to Libya to back the United Nations-recognised government based in Tripoli, the General National Accord (GNA), stating that his government will continue to use all diplomatic and military means to ensure regional stability, including in Libya. Along with the maritime agreement, Turkey and Libya also signed a security deal in November, which was followed by the deployment of Turkish forces in the North African country. While Turkey supports the GNA, countries such as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates back Libyan renegade commander Khalifa Haftar in his assault on Tripoli against the GNA. Erdogan's remarks come days before a key conference on the Libya crisis in Berlin. Germany's foreign minister, Heiko Maas, headed to Libya on Thursday to persuade Haftar to join the summit on Sunday. (ANI) Eve Gale became the first person to be dumped from the villa following a dramatic recoupling on Friday, resulting her being torn apart from twin Jess. Following the arrival of two male bombshells in the form of Connagh Howard and Finley Tapp earlier this week, the ladies had been battling it out to win their affections. However, it was Eve, 20, who lost out as she wasn't chosen to be in a couple, meaning she had to pack her bags and leave the South African abode for good. First out! Eve Gale became the first person to be dumped from the villa following a dramatic recoupling on Friday, resulting her being torn apart from twin Jess Nas Majeed was left with the difficult decision of picking between the identical twins. In his speech, the builder, 23, said: 'First and foremost, I would like to say this is a very difficult decision for me. I have gotten to know both Jess and Eve very well over the past week. 'However, I would like to couple up with this girl because I feel like Ive spent slightly more time with her and gotten to know her a little bit better. So the girl Id like to couple up with is Jess.' Reacting to the news, her fellow islanders looked distraught as they rushed to hug her goodbye. Torn apart: Eve, 20, lost out as she wasn't chosen to be in a couple, meaning she had to pack her bags and leave the South African abode for good And it was her sister Jess who was the most devastated by Eve's exit as it meant that she had to continue her Love Island journey without her beloved sister. After being comforted by their fellow islanders, the duo headed off alone, where they broke down in tears in each other's arms. In emotional scenes, Eve urged her sibling to continue in the villa after she had offered to leave with her, telling her: 'You know I want you to try, I wouldn't let you walk away with me. 'I can't hold you back.' Decision time: Twins Jess and Eve held hands as they awaited their fate Stiff competition: Following the arrival of two male bombshells in the form of Connagh and Finley earlier this week, the ladies had been battling it out to win their affections Paired off: Eve's hopes were crushed as Callum stayed true to his word and stuck with Shaughna While Jess later said in the Beach Hut: 'My whole experience is going to be different without her... I'll be thinking about her the whole time.' Earlier in the week, Eve and sister Jess 'stole' Callum Jones and Mike Boateng from Shaughna Phillips and Leanne Amaning While Jess and Mike quickly fizzled out, Eve and Callum still had a chance, though Shaughna proved to be tough competition. And it wasn't looking good for Eve as Callum later broke the news to her on Friday that he was more interested in Shaughna. Deciding vote: Nas Majeed was left with the difficult decision of picking between the identical twins Choice: 'I would like to couple up with this girl because I feel like Ive spent slightly more time with her and gotten to know her a little bit better' Going it alone: It was her sister Jess who was the most devastated by Eve's exit as it meant that she had to continue her Love Island journey without her beloved sister Emotional: After being comforted by their fellow islanders, the duo headed off alone, where they broke down in tears in each other's arms Earlier in the show, the girls took part in a military-style competition in which they completed an assault course in the sexiest way possible. They then had to kiss a boy of their choice, with several girls picking new boy Connagh - including Eve. But it appeared that she didn't make a big enough impact as Connagh coupled up with Sophie instead, leaving Connor fuming. While Callum stayed true to his word and stuck with Shaughna. Don't go: In emotional scenes, Eve urged her sibling to continue in the villa after she had offered to leave with her, telling her: 'You know I want you to try, I wouldn't let you walk away with me' Distraught: While Jess later said in the Beach Hut: 'My whole experience is going to be different without her... I'll be thinking about her the whole time' Send off: The islanders gathered to say farewell to twin Eve Goodbye: Eve became the first contestant to be dumped from the villa this series The news of the recoupling came as the girls sat around the pool following the challenge, with Shaughna receiving a text telling them of their fate. Reading the message aloud, Shaughna declared: 'Tonight there will be a recoupling. The girl not picked to be on a couple will be dumped from the island', leaving the girls reeling. Reacting to the news, Siannise brought her hand to her mouth as she mouthed 'oh s**t'. While twins Jess and Eve gave each other worried glances as they and their fellow ladies realised their fate was in the hands of the boys. Awkward: It proved to be highly dramatic recoupling as asides from Eve's dumping, there were tensions as new boy Connagh stole Sophie from Connor Not impressed: Connor was left fuming as Sophie left to sit with Connagh, with the coffee bean salesman later making a dig at the model Fuming: Connor was far from happy when Sophie was picked by Connagh The episode saw first full recoupling since the boys and girls paired off during Sunday's launch show. And it proved to be highly dramatic as asides from Eve's dumping, there were tensions as new boy Connagh stole Sophie from Connor. Connor was left fuming as Sophie left to sit with Connagh, with the coffee bean salesman later making a dig at the model. Meanwhile, Mike chose Leanne, Finley picked Paige and Siannise was chosen by Connor. Love Island continues Sunday at 9pm on ITV2. Staying together: Leanne planted a passionate kiss on Mike after he chose to stay with her The victor: Shaughna looked pleased as she successfully wooed Callum, resulting in him breaking things off with Eve Second chance: After Ollie's departure, Paige was given another chance of finding love after she was chosen by Finley Friendship couple: Nas and Jess are in a friendship pairing after he chose her over her twin Eve in the dramatic recoupling As though the Middle East needed more crises or more wars, the region was brought to a perilous brink following the US assassination of Major General Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). A close associate of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Suleimani also oversaw Iranian political, military and intelligence operations in the Arab region. Also killed in the same attack was Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, the Iraqi-Iranian military commander of the Iraqi Shia Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF). With this action, coming on top of its many predecessors since the launch of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and especially since Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iranian nuclear accord and initiated a policy of maximum pressure against Iran, Washington and Tehran have begun to circle each other in the ring, bearing their teeth and notching up pressures and threats as they brandish both military and economic weapons. The crisis reached a peak during the funeral for Suleimani in Tehran. Attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners, it was a gauge of the pressures that would compel the Iranian regime to undertake massive retaliatory measures against US military and civilian targets in the region as well as those of US allies in the Middle East. Even domestic security agencies in the US braced themselves for possible terrorist attacks. Washingtons response could be anticipated. Trump said that the US military had identified 52 possible targets it would strike if Americans were hurt. To back up the threat, a squadron of B-52 bombers from Barksdale Air Force Base were deployed to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Washington also said it would send another 5,000 soldiers to the region, of which more than 3,000 have already been sent, including 200 Special Forces, bringing the total number of US forces in the Middle East up to 80,000. While the eastern Arab world stood at the precipice, Turkey created another crisis to the west when it signed a maritime border MoU and a security agreement with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). The agreements paved the way for the deployment of Turkish military forces in Libya in order to repel and defeat the Libyan National Army (LNA). That crisis reached a peak when the Turkish parliament ratified the agreements with Tripoli and the Turkish president announced his plans to send the Turkish army to Libya. This presented grave challenges for Egypt which may be compelled to support the LNA or take other actions to counter a possible direct threat to Egyptian borders using Turkish forces or various terrorist organisations. With all the tensions and still open wounds in the Gulf, especially those caused by Iranian and Houthi attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, and with Turkish forces near Egyptian borders and Egyptian facilities and resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, the region as a whole grew extremely fraught. As the US, Iran, Turkey, the two sides in the Libyan conflict and other parties directly involved the crises, have busily amassed their weapons and mobilised their resources, observers could not escape the conclusion that war is immanent, while social networking platforms quickly abounded with scenarios of how war would break out and, moreover, how it would spiral into World War III! Fortunately, this region, which was buffeted by the so-called Arab Spring, has enough cool heads with experience in handling situations that, if left unchecked, would yield catastrophic results. Rational thinking was exhibited in the customary solidarity between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE and in efforts to form a diplomatic and political bloc that included the other countries party to the Iranian nuclear agreement (China, Russia, Germany, France, Britain and Italy) and that were determined to halt the escalation and avert war. Simultaneously, as the main parties faced looming disaster, they realised that the costs of war were unsustainable. Iran, crippled by years of harsh economic sanctions, has recently been stunned by a form of grassroots uprising that brought the Supreme Leader face to face with the Iranian people. Also, despite its denials, Iran knows that the similar uprisings in Iraq and Lebanon were inspired by a rejection of the influence of Iran and its proxies in these two countries. The US, for its part, has entered an election year. In all events, as everyone knows, Trumps threats always hold out the prospect of a deal and, ultimately, he entered the White House on the promise to end Americas endless wars, so he has no intent to start another one. As for Turkey, Moscow holds the key. Firstly, Moscow and Turkey are closely intertwined in Syria, in the safe zone, in the Astana process which also includes Iran, and in the de-escalation arrangements that stemmed from that process. Also, Russia now rivals the US as a source of arms for Turkey. Secondly, Moscow had major interests in Libya in the Gaddafi era and, today, it has close relations with Field Marshal Haftar and the LNA, and it is looking forward to a similar relationship with the government that is eventually established in Libya. Thirdly, Moscow is also on good terms with Iran. The two have worked closely together on Syria through the Astana process and in Syria itself. Recently Russia, China and Iran held naval manoeuvres in the Gulf. As the situations to the east and west of the Arab world reached a head, Russia played an important diplomatic role in Putins meeting with Erdogan on 8 January, and in the Iranian rises when it condemned the US assassination of Suleimani and simultaneously called on Washington and Iran to de-escalate. In general, international crises follow familiar paths. They start with the break from business as usual to threats, to mobilisation and mustering the domestic front, to brinksmanship and increasing likelihood of recourse to arms. From there, the crises can proceed in one of two directions. Either the two sides can back away from the brink and ready themselves for negotiations, or at least cap their tensions, or they can go to war, which has its own dynamics. The Middle East has been through all these phases. But most recently, it stepped back from the abyss when Iran fired a missile that harmed no one at the US bases in Iraq in retaliation for the Suleimani assassination and when Turkey decided to limit its military presence in Libya to advisers and trainers and, jointly with Russia, called for a ceasefire in Libya and for renewed talks between the Libyan factions. The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies. *A version of this article appears in print in the 16 January 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - A man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage waitress at his wedding reception has been sentenced to probation. Matthew Aimers, 32, of Willingboro, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on Thursday to indecent exposure, disorderly conduct and simple assault. Under terms of a plea agreement, a judge in Pennsylvania sentenced Aimers to six years probation. The more serious charges of indecent assault, imprisonment of a minor and harassment were dropped. The agreement was reached after close consultation with the victim. She called this resolution the best outcome, Assistant District Attorney Megan Hunsicker told The Philadelphia Inquirer. The victim in this case was highly traumatized by what he did to her, Hunsicker said. His actions were inappropriate and unwarranted. This conviction will, I hope, provide her with a resolution that allows her life to move on. Authorities said Aimers approached the waitress at his November 2018 wedding reception at the Northampton Valley Country Club in Richboro, Pennsylvania, and asked her to go outside and make out. Police said Aimers then followed her into a bathroom, where he exposed himself and sexually assaulted her. The waitress was able to break free. Aimers attorney, Louis Busico, told the newspaper his client was satisfied. We believed it was in the best interest to resolve this case in this fashion, so his life can go on, he said. It was not clear whether Aimers wife, Kayla, was present for the plea on Thursday, but when she accompanied him to court in April, his attorney said she 150% supports him. Worldwide oil demand forecasts may be lower than in previous years, but OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said Friday to CNBC that demand growth is still "robust" and could surprise to the upside over the course of 2020 as trade tensions subside. "By and large what we see from our side is an upside potential of growth from the demand side of the equation, which will affect the total balance for the rest of the year," he said. "We are hoping that some of the challenges that we're facing in terms of international trade will be addressed." Oil finished 2019 with a nearly 35% gain, but prices remain well below their prior highs. Part of this is due to the shale production surge in the United States, which Barkindo said is a "major variable" in OPEC's decisions. In December OPEC+, which is the 14-member cartel as well as its allies, agreed to cut production by an additional 500,000 barrels per day for the first quarter of 2020. This lifted total production cuts to 1.7 million barrels per day, above the 1.2 million barrels per day cut agreed upon in December 2018. Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest producer, also said that it would continue its voluntary cut of 400,000 barrels per day, effectively bringing the alliance's total cut to 2.1 million barrels per day. "We remain focused on stability for the first and second quarter of 2020. The decision was to ensure that there's no imbalance in these quarters," Barkindo said. "But the total equation is looking at both supply and demand sides. We can only address the supply side of the equation. The demand side is something that we watch with very keen interest." Mideast tensions It would be a mistake to underestimate the wrath of the Scots. In rain and high winds, tens of thousands took to the streets of Glasgow last week to demand another independence referendum. Though Scots voted against independence in 2014, the pro-independence Scottish Nationalist Party swept up 47 of the 59 seats in Decembers general election. Some argue that the SNPs landslide qualifies as a democratic mandate. And if the party does just as well in the next Scottish parliamentary elections in 2021, this claim will be harder to deny. At the moment, however, theres just a lot of bluster. After Decembers elections, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotlands first minister and the leader of the SNP, wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanding that he allow a transfer of powers regarding independence referendums from the British parliament to the Scottish parliament. Of course, in practical terms, this wasnt a demand as much as a request for permission to organize and hold another referendum without Londons input. Johnsons answer was predictable. You and your predecessor made a personal promise that the 2014 Independence Referendum was a once in a generation vote, he wrote in a brief official response. The UK Government will continue to uphold the democratic decision of the Scottish people and the promise that you made to them. Johnsons letter also argued that another independence referendum would continue the political stagnation that Scotland has seen for the last decade, with Scottish schools, hospitals and jobs again left behind because of a campaign to separate the UK. This was a passive-aggressive way of telling Sturgeon to stop agitating for independence and get on with the business of governing Scotland. But the SNPs poor record at home is all the more reason, politically, for Sturgeon to want to unite Scots against a common enemy in this case the English, and the Tories in particular. In other words, Johnson had given Sturgeon an opening, and she took it. She replied by saying that Johnsons refusal of her request will not stand and that it is not politically sustainable for any Westminster government to stand in the way of the right of the people of Scotland to decide their own future. She has a point. While SNP parliamentarians who call Johnson a dictator might seem risible to those south of the border, in Scotland such talk touches a nerve. It would be unwise for the Tories to underestimate the historic anti-English sentiment that prevails among Scots. If Johnson is to fight Sturgeon on the question of independence, he must do so with diplomacy and where necessary concessions. Story continues There is a historical precedent for the current moment of political discomfort in Scotland. In June of 1987, Margaret Thatchers Conservative party had won another landslide majority in the U.K., but only ten out of 72 seats in Scotland. To many Scots, this indicated something of a democratic deficit. Scotland had voted overwhelmingly for Labour and yet was being represented by Tories. In 1989, David McLetchie, a Scottish Conservative MP, said: I believe that the perception of the Conservatives as an English-based and English-run party is the biggest single factor in our current standing in Scotland. In my experience, all Scots are nationalists with a small n at heart and we have ignored this at our peril. Yet ignore it, they did. Some say that it was the strength of Scottish resentment that helped pave the way for the devolution of powers with the founding of the Scottish parliament at Holyrood in 1999. In 2000, Donald Dewar, Scotlands inaugural first minister, gave a lecture at Trinity College Dublin in which he rebutted the idea that he was the Father of the Scottish Parliament. He explained that there was no father, only a mother: Margaret Thatcher. Sturgeon herself has said that Thatcher was the motivation for my entire political career. I hated everything she stood for. The sociologist Tony Dickson wrote in 1988: The public persona of Mrs. Thatcher appears to many Scots to capture all the worst elements of their caricature of the detested English uncaring, arrogant, always convinced of their own rightness (there is no alternative) [and] possessed of an accent that grates on Scottish ears. If he is not careful, Johnson could become a similar kind of cartoon villain to Scots and pave the way for independence. More from National Review When Hotel Bethlehem first pitched an expansion in 2016, Las Vegas Sands still owned Bethlehems gaming hall and the casino owners werent interested in delving deeper into the meeting and events business. Thats why the historic Main Street hotel saw an opportunity to become the largest conference center in the Lehigh Valley by doubling its meeting and events space and adding 73 guest rooms and suites. Four years later, the Sands is now owned by Wind Creek Bethlehem, an operator thats forging ahead with plans to build a new 270-room hotel and 35,350 square feet of new meeting space, putting Hotel Bethlehems expansion plans in jeopardy. And 400 new hotel rooms have been built in the city and Center Valley, siphoning off corporate business that typically went to the two downtown hotels. When the Bethlehem Revitalization and Improvement Authority voted to include the historic Main Street hotel into the City Revitalization and Improvement Zone in 2018, it gave the hotel two years to deliver on all of the terms outlined in the agreement. The approval came days after the Sands announced it was selling its smallest holding to an affiliate of an Alabama Indian tribe. This has made the expansion a tough sell to investors, so Christmas City LLC asked for more time to tap into Bethlehems lucrative special tax incentive zone. On Thursday afternoon, hotel Managing Partner Bruce A. Haines made the case for a four-year extension before the board tasked with overseeing Bethlehems CRIZ, which allows property owners to use certain future state and local taxes -- including sales and liquor-- created by CRIZ projects to pay off construction loans. We are going to continue to talk to investors," Haines said Wednesday ahead of the meeting. "But it is a hard sell right now for anybody to take the kind of risk for this project, which is now a $40 to $50 million project. The CRIZ board ultimately voted to give Hotel Bethlehem a two-year extension that automatically renews for another two years years once the project gains historic board approval and the hotel finalizes a land easement agreement with the city redevelopment authority. If those milestones arent achieved, Hotel Bethlehem still can return to the board and request a second extension. Board Chairman Joe Kelly also asked for annual updates to keep the board abreast of progress. Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez has been a staunch supporter of Hotel Bethlehems expansion, which is projected to bring 70,000 new visitors to the Christmas City annually, and he remains one today, said Alicia Miller Karner, director of community and economic development for the city. Donchez recommended a two-year extension and wants to see progress, she said. In November, Wind Creek filed plans with the city for a $90 million new hotel tower with 270 rooms and 36,000 square feet of meeting space. Featuring a bar, spa and ballrooms, the expansion is planned close to the existing 282-room hotel. There really isnt room in the market for two conference center hotels unless there is a demand change in the market, Haines said. If Bethlehem were to gain the UNESCO World Heritage site designation it is seeking or a corporate headquarters, thatd be a game changer for the demand, the hotelier said. The hotel sought a four-year extension because by then itd be able to fully assess the impact of Wind Creeks expansion, Haines said. After the meeting, he said he was pleased with the boards decision. Hotel Bethlehems found creative ways to expand beyond its footprint at 437 Main St. Last year, it opened a small conference center up the street and moved its ice cream shop across the way to 462 Main St. On New Years Eve, Christmas City LLC closed on the purchase of the building that houses its ice cream parlor. Now, it is converting 10 Main Street apartments into extended-stay hotel rooms targeting corporate workers on longer stays, Haines said. When the apartment leases have ended, the hotel has opted not to renew them. The apartments are getting some updating and then theyll be available for booking by the end of the first quarter. Guests will check-in at the main hotel. The hotels expansion plans call for adding 73 guest rooms and razing the existing, private 100-spot parking deck to make way for a new 460-space parking garage with a four-story addition atop it. The new building would connect to the third floor of the hotel via a skywalk. To alleviate Main Street traffic, the new deck is supposed to empty onto Old York Road, funneling traffic onto West Union Boulevard and Route 378. The CRIZ boards vote on Thursday keeps three earlier stipulations in place: any project approved by the planning commission must be substantially similar to what was initially proposed; the hotel must provide a minimum of 50 public parking spaces in its own garage at least 300 days per year and if the hotel is sold to a new business entity they must have the money to fund the project, For the expansion to make financial sense and tap into the full possibility of the CRIZ, Haines has said he plans to find a new equity investor in the hotel. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Nalini Nadkarni didn't play with Barbies as a girl. She was too busy climbing the maple trees in her front yard in Bethesda, Maryland. The forest ecologist might seem an unlikely person to help design and promote Barbie dolls. But over the past six months, she has been inspiring girls worldwide to play with dolls that have a magnifying glass and all-terrain boots instead of tiaras and high heels. It's through new explorer Barbie dolls designed with her input by Mattel and National Geographic. The dolls, which include an astrophysicist, a conservationist, an entomologist, a marine biologist and a nature photojournalist, are long overdue, said Nadkarni, 65. Nadkarni is a University of Utah biology professor who studies rainforest canopies and how plants get their nutrients. "When I was growing up in Bethesda, we tried to live simply, following Gandhi's principles," she said. "My dad was from India, and a Barbie didn't quite fit in with living a simple life." Instead, said Nadkarni, she and her four siblings were encouraged by their mother, who was a stay-at-home mom, and their father, a pharmacologist, to create their own fun. For Nadkarni, that meant tree climbing. "As a child, I had a vivid imagination and could picture the treetop as a place of rescue if the neighborhood flooded, or as a hospital for wounded birds," she said. "Because no one else [I knew] climbed trees. It was my own world, and I could be anything in it." After graduating from Walter Johnson High School in 1972, Nadkarni attended Brown University for her undergraduate degree. Then she received a doctorate in forest ecology at the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington in 1983. In 2014, she received an honorary doctorate in science from Brown University. Her work has included bringing nature into prisons to help soothe inmates who are anxious and potentially violent Nadkarni is doing research in Costa Rica on trees that are still standing after farmers cut down the majority of the forest on their land. It has never been more important, Nadkarni said, to share what she has learned with a new generation. "These explorer Barbies are a big step forward," she said. "It's not perfect - Barbie still has that impossible body shape and is made of plastic - but it's a good start." Nadkarni, who received a custom-designed Barbie in her likeness from Mattel as a thank you for her efforts, said she had spent years trying to persuade the toy company to develop a "treetop Barbie," with no luck. "In 2003, I'd been thinking of ways to help get girls more interested in science, and I asked myself, 'What do girls care about when they're little?' " she recalled. She looked to her young daughter. "I knew that girls wanted to play with Barbies and look like Barbies," Nadkarni said. "But what if Barbie had field clothes on and came with a little booklet about canopy plants?" Mattel wasn't interested in her idea. (Nadkarni said she was told that a "treetop Barbie" wouldn't sell), but she persisted. She finally created her own treetop dolls, retrofitting Barbies bought at thrift stores with sturdy boots, helmets and climbing harnesses. Mattel agreed that she could produce the dolls on a small scale, and Nadkarni sold about 400 by request over 15 years through her website to friends, her students and others who had heard about her efforts to introduce girls to the science-themed dolls. Last year, Nadkarni was thrilled to learn that National Geographic was working with Mattel to come up with a new line of adventure dolls, and that they wanted her to serve on their advisory committee. "That Mattel has perceived there is a market for dolls emulating adventurous women scientists to which young girls can aspire is a great thing," Nadkarni said. "It's a hopeful manifestation of the fact that although there are still inequities in science with women and men, there is a desire for girls to play with an explorer Barbie." Since sales of the explorer Barbies began in the summer at the National Geographic website and at retailers such as Target and Walmart, Nadkarni said, she has heard from girls coast to coast, thanking her for her work in tropical rainforests and asking questions about how they can make a difference to help trees in their own communities. Nadkarni has since held ecology discussions with about a dozen elementary school classrooms across the country, she said, hoping to pass along her passion for caring for the environment and the world's endangered forest canopies. "When I started hearing from these young kids, I realized they had a true sense of the dire straits of our forests," she said. "They really care, and they want us grown-ups to do something to save our environment. It gives me hope for the future that girls - and boys - as young as 7 and 8 want to do what they can to help." One of those girls is Addison Taylor, a fifth-grader at Onondaga Hill Middle School in Syracuse, New York, who used to explore the outdoors and play with Barbies as a younger girl. "I used to climb trees, and I think that Nalini is a good role model for girls because she says that girls can do anything," said Addison, 11. "When I played with Barbies, it would have been fun to have a treetop Barbie with a bunch of tree-climbing equipment. Taking care of our forests is really important." Two months ago, Addison's teacher, Emily Morrell, contacted Nadkarni, wondering whether she'd spend 30 minutes chatting with her class on Skype about her career as a tree canopy scientist. Nadkarni was delighted to answer their questions: "When did you start climbing trees?" "I started when I was a girl," she told the students. "Growing up, my favorite pastime was to grab an apple and a book after school and climb the maple trees in my front yard." "Is it scary to climb in the rainforest canopy? Don't you see some dangerous animals?" "No, not at all - it's lush and beautiful up there," Nadkarni responded. "I haven't had any problems with animals, but I did have some monkeys chase me once. They were just curious, trying to figure out what I was doing in their tree." Nadkarni then showed the group of fifth-graders her special "treetop Barbie" - a perpetually smiling look-alike with a rope and binoculars, a smudge-proof "write in the rain notebook" and streaks of gray in her hair. "The girls in the class were so excited to see that Barbie," said Morrell, 25. "Girls in general are interested in science today and want to grow up to become women who work in science. Children want to help solve our climate crisis. They're our best hope, and Nalini sees that." The children sent Nadkarni thank you notes afterward, decorated with tropical trees, flowers, birds, insects and monkeys. "I will always treasure them," Nadkarni said. "I love climbing trees and learning all I can about them. But getting children excited about protecting our forests is one of the most important things I do." Soldier F is charged with the murder of William McKinney (left) and James Wray on Bloody Sunday Security fears mean substantive legal proceedings against an Army veteran accused of two murders on Bloody Sunday are set to be held in Belfast, a judge has said. It is unlikely witnesses due to give evidence about Soldier F's alleged role on a notorious day of Troubles bloodshed could be heard in the Londonderry courthouse, District Judge Barney McElholm said. A month-long hearing to decide whether to send the accused to trial is due to be held. The former paratrooper is also charged with five counts of attempted murder over shootings during a civil rights demonstration on January 30 1972. Expand Close Father Edward Daly uses a blood-stained handkerchief as a white flag on Bloody Sunday in 1972 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Father Edward Daly uses a blood-stained handkerchief as a white flag on Bloody Sunday in 1972 The district judge said: "We cannot convene this in just some hall or public space. "There are considerations of security. "We are willing to listen to any reasonable opposition put to us. "At the moment, despite trying to get somewhere closer to the city, I am afraid Belfast looks like the venue." Up to 25 witnesses could be called during a hearing to produce evidence before the accused veteran is sent to trial in a higher court, a previous hearing at Bishop Street Courthouse in Londonderry was told by his lawyer. The public legal proceedings could take up to a month. On Friday, District Judge McElholm said Londonderry's aged courthouse was limited in terms of size and acoustics. He said: "We have spent a lot of time looking at this and trying to get a venue providing sufficient accommodation that those who wish to attend the hearing can do so in reasonable comfort, also there are security considerations and people being able to hear what is going on." Expand Close Mickey McKInney, whose brother was shot dead on Bloody Sunday (Michael McHugh/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mickey McKInney, whose brother was shot dead on Bloody Sunday (Michael McHugh/PA) Ciaran Shiels, solicitor for Bloody Sunday victims, said the proceedings should be heard in Derry. He added: "This is where the killings occurred, a stone's throw from these buildings. "We have always been of the view that F should be attending here in person at his committal and that remains the position." Lawyers for the families have two weeks to make submissions to the court challenging the decision to take the hearing to Belfast. The families of those killed also oppose granting anonymity to Soldier F. Mr Shiels said a senior lawyer in the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) had told him the PPS had written to F's representatives and said if they wished anonymity to continue then his lawyers should set out in detail the legal provision upon which they rely. Expand Close Solicitor Ciaran Shiels with Micky and John McKinney (Liam McBurney/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Solicitor Ciaran Shiels with Micky and John McKinney (Liam McBurney/PA) Mickey McKinney, whose brother Willie was shot dead, said after Friday's court proceedings: "There is no question about it, this guy should be brought to this courthouse in the very near future. "I, and I am sure the rest of the families, are not happy about the thought of going to Belfast. "What happened on Bloody Sunday happened here 200 yards from where we now stand and Soldier F should be appearing at this courthouse." Mr Shiels said if it was simply an issue of acoustics another room in the courthouse or across the street could be used for a live link from the court. He added: "I don't think security is the main issue in terms of the impetus behind this. "Any police officer I was speaking to has said they would far rather have these proceedings take place here than in Belfast." A Melbourne comedian has discovered Optus used his driver's licence as an example on their website without his permission. David Green, who writes for Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell on ABC, shared a screenshot of his licence being used on the Optus website to Twitter on Friday. The 32-year-old man, originally from Adelaide, only found out the telco giant was using his expired South Australian driver's licence when his friend alerted him to it. David Green, who writes for Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell on ABC, shared a screenshot of his licence (pictured) being used on the Optus website without his consent to Twitter on Friday 'Hey Optus, I just learned you are using an image of my driver's licence as an example on your website without asking me. Can I have some money please?' Mr Green wrote on Twitter. Speaking to the ABC, Mr Green explained that he posted an image of his expired licence to his blog in a post about moving from Adelaide to Melbourne. The comedian believes Optus came across his licence by simply searching for 'driver's licence' on Google Images. 'I blacked out the address and the ID number, which is the important one as I definitely don't want to put that online,' he told the publication. 'Maybe that's why they chose mine I've already done some photoshopping for them in blocking out the address but my face is there.' The 32-year-old man, originally from Adelaide, only found out the telco giant was using his expired South Australian driver's licence when his friend alerted him. Pictured: David Green Mr Green called out the telco giant for using his image, asking them to pay him money for it Despite regularly appearing on TV, Mr Green said he was not comfortable with his licence being used without his consent. 'They could have used an example one, a dummy one there's a lot of examples out there where it isn't a real person, when it reads 'John Citizen' or something,' he said. The comedian said he would have been happy for Optus to use his licence if they had privately asked for his permission. Many of Mr Green's Twitter followers slammed Optus for using the licence, branding the move as 'disgraceful' and 'outrageous'. In response, the comedian joked: 'Man, detecting quite a bit of hatred for Optus here. (I think they might have a PR problem...).' Despite regularly appearing on TV, Mr Green (pictured) said he was not comfortable with his licence being used without his consent, saying 'they could have used a dummy one' Later on Twitter, Mr Green updated his followers, explaining that the telecommunications company had now said sorry. 'A lady from Optus called me and apologised. Says my drivers licence image has now been taken down from their website. They are now investigating how it happened and how long it was up there. Stay tuned,' he wrote. An Optus spokesman confirmed they had apologised to the comedian and removed his image from their website. 'While the photo of Mr Greens licence was publicly available on his blog, Optus acknowledges that we did not seek permission to reproduce the image. We have also contacted Mr Green directly,' he said. CAIRO The Libyan crisis and developments in the eastern Mediterranean brought together the foreign affairs ministers of Egypt, France, Greece, Cyprus and Italy in Cairo, as Egypt seeks international mobilization against a Turkish military intervention in Libya. In Libya's nine-year civil war, Turkey has supported the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, against the Libyan National Army, led by eastern military commander Khalifa Hifter. The support is related to another deal in which the GNA agreed to delineate boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea. That deal is designed to help Turkey explore for natural gas and oil, to the chagrin of its coastal neighbors. By the end of their Jan. 8 meeting, four of the five ministers released a statement declaring both agreements void. Italys Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio did not sign the closing statement, calling it "very unfair" to Turkey and Sarraj. Libya was once an Italian colony; Italy considers it an ally and has significant oil investments there. The four other ministers affirmed that they will undertake additional joint efforts to face increasing challenges in the eastern Mediterranean region, at the foremost of which are armed conflict, terrorism and irregular migration. They emphasized that they oppose the deployment of military troops in Libya, as troops threaten peace and stability in this region. Turkeys Foreign Ministry rushed to denounce the joint ministerial statement, saying that Ankara's deals with Sarraj are legal, and that Turkey has a right to make decisions on issues that affect it, Anadolu Agency news reported Jan. 9. Al-Monitor spoke to Egyptian diplomats and analysts who said the ministerial meeting gathered the parties most affected by the escalation in Libya. They added that they seek to act together with all parties to prevent the situation from worsening and to convince warring parties to halt the fighting and resume talks. On Jan. 13, Russia hosted Sarraj and Hifter separately for talks on a cease-fire between the two sides. However, Hifter postponed making an official decision on the pact. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke Jan. 10 with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone about the Libyan crisis and the need to focus joint efforts on a political settlement in Libya. Rakha Hassan, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, told Al-Monitor, The crisis in Libya has become extremely complicated, due to past international and regional interference. There is broad interest in said crisis, given its location and oil wealth. Hassan explained that all of the parties that attended the ministerial meeting in Cairo have the common goal of settling the Libyan crisis. It is a matter that is directly correlated to national security for Egypt, as the joint land border [with Libya] stretches around 1,200 kilometers [746 miles], he stated. The agreement on maritime boundaries that [Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Sarraj reached] poses a threat to the Greek and Cypriot interests. As for France and Italy, they are preoccupied with the investments, oil supplies and the operation of their companies, he said. None of them want to see Libya being destroyed. Such a European-Egyptian cooperation undoubtedly places pressure on Erdogan. Turkey said it has already sent military experts and technical teams to support the GNA, and Erdogan stated Jan. 16 that it was beginning to deploy troops. Yet Hassan pointed out, There is collective and significant effort to contain the crisis in Libya and stop the fighting. The effort Hassan referred to involves the visit Frances Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made Jan. 9 to Tunisia and his talks with Tunisian President Kais Saied about the Libyan crisis. Speaking to the press, Le Drian said he and Saied talked about the ministerial meeting Jan. 8 in Cairo and Jan. 7 in Brussels, which European and Egyptian partners held over the escalation in Libya that threatens the regions stability. On Jan. 9, Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited Algeria, where he met President Abdelmajid Tebounne. Shoukry told the press following the meeting that the two sides rejected foreign intervention in Libya and agreed to work to prevent any foreign parties from further complicating the crisis. Ahmed Youssef Ahmed, a political science professor at Cairo University and former dean of the Institute of Arab Research and Studies, told Al-Monitor by phone that the Cairo meeting "and ensuing actions are tantamount to advanced diplomatic coordination between countries that share the same goal." He continued, There is hope that the meeting will be translated into practical steps to counter Turkey's illegitimate moves in the Middle East, eastern Mediterranean or Libya, similar to [the outcomes] of the French and Egyptian foreign ministers visits." Khaled Okasha, a retired security expert and member of the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor, The [Cairo] meeting is tantamount to an Egyptian mobilization to build a diplomatic and political front with the parties that are closely associated with the Libyan dossier, and that rejected and are directly concerned with the agreement on maritime boundaries between Erdogan and Sarraj, considering it as infringement of their sovereign rights. Commenting by phone on the meetings impact on the future of the Libyan crisis, Okasha said the meeting will certainly place pressure on the Turkish government to de-escalate [its position], given that it includes Egypt and three EU countries, including France, a permanent member state of the UN Security Council. He noted, That is a form of political and diplomatic pressure to thwart the incursion in Libya." Three men were arrested at a San Jose motel after a 14-year-old girl whod been drugged, kidnapped and sexually assaulted used Snapchat to alert her friends, leading them to track her down using the app and call police, authorities said. Albert Thomas Vasquez, a 55-year-old from San Jose, was arrested and booked into Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of kidnapping to commit rape, digital penetration with a child under 14 years with force, false imprisonment, lewd act with a child 14 or 15 years with force and rape by intoxication or controlled substance, according to San Jose police. Tilda Swinton is hardly ever upstaged. Until recently, that is. She was typically wonderful as a posh, caring but emotionally stifled mother in last years film The Souvenir, yet the newcomer who played her daughter drew most of the attention. That was Honor Swinton Byrne, her daughter in real life. Naturally, Swinton was happy in that instance to be nudged out of the limelight, but then the same instinct has stayed with her since childhood. At West Heath, the exclusive boarding school where Lady Diana Spencer was a friend (they remained in contact until Dianas marriage in 1981), she was a champion sprinter without ever caring whether she won or lost. Tilda Swinson, pictured in 2008 in Julia, showing how versatile she is as an actress From Julia, she also played the elderly dowager in The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014 She could barely be recognised playing the nerdy scientist in the 2014 Dr Shrink-Rom in 2014's Zero Theorem Her impressive pedigree her late father was Major-General Sir John Swinton, Lord-Lieutenant of Berwickshire, and she was fully expected to marry a duke makes her the least likely of movie stars (she drives a Skoda) and never one to make a fuss. So although she has pronounced herself very happy and touched by this weeks news that she is to receive the huge accolade of a British Film Institute Fellowship, she probably would rather not have all the hoopla. She is a glorious contradiction, protecting her privacy fiercely, yet it is hard to think of an actress so willing to flaunt herself on screen. She has never minded nudity (or lesbianism, as in the 1996 thriller Female Perversions) and embraces her almost translucent, somewhat androgynous beauty to the extent that in the brilliant black comedy A Bigger Splash (2015), in which she played a rock star recovering from throat surgery, she conspicuously drew inspiration from David Bowie. (They were friends, incidentally, as well as lookalikes. It is said that he once saw himself in some pictures from a fashion shoot he couldnt recall doing. It was her.) There is surely no actor or actress working in the movies as versatile as Tilda Swinton. Arguably, there never has been. For not only does she inhabit a startling variety of roles witch, robot, vampire, angel, nobleman, duchess but she often does so in disguise. She is the living antithesis of the notion that a movie stars face is her fortune. Unlike Margot Robbie or Scarlett Johansson, both nominated for Oscars this week, Swinton actually trades on her remarkable chameleon quality, while continuing to steal the show even when she is all but unrecognisable as herself. She did so as an elderly dowager in Wes Andersons delicious The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), as a bitchy magazine editor in 2015s Trainwreck, and as a pipe-smoking male psychoanalyst in the 2018 horror film Suspiria. In 1992, Tilda dressed up in this wonderful creation for the movie Orlando Here she is in the 2017 movie Okja, proving that there are many strings to her bow (She rather enjoys playing men; one of her most notable early film roles was the precious titular nobleman in the 1992 film Orlando, a fellow who might these days be described as non-binary). In all those films, if you hadnt seen the credits you wouldnt have known it was her. She is that rarest of beasts, a film star apparently without ego. She is sometimes described as her generations Meryl Streep, but it is debatable whether even the great Streep has consistently challenged herself as Swinton has, or can boast such an eclectic mix of characters. And she nails it every time, not least as a chillingly but hilariously convincing vampire in Jim Jarmuschs 2013 comedy Only Lovers Left Alive. A fondness for quirky arthouse pictures does not stop her from throwing herself into Hollywood blockbusters, and even taking moolah from Marvel. In 2015 Tilda starred in Trainwreck, wearing a surprisingly conventional costume Whereas in 2016 she played The Ancient One in Dr Strange, left, beside Chiwetel Ejiofor, right In the 2005 movie Broken Flowers she starred opposite Bill Murray, left, in a film directed by Jim Jarmusch In 1993's Wittgenstein, Tilda Swinton was again wearing an outrageous outfit Her performance as The Ancient One was one of the best things about Doctor Strange (2016), notwithstanding the daft hullabaloo that erupted over the casting of a white Scottish woman as a Tibetan mystic. Like many screen greats, she makes average or even downright poor films worth seeing. I didnt care much for another Jarmusch picture, last years zombie comedy The Dead Dont Die, but if there was a reason to see it, it was Swinton as a weirdo undertaker with a strange fondness for martial arts. Its sad that neither Bowie, nor her early mentor, director Derek Jarman, are still around to see her honoured by the BFI. But the rest of us can consider ourselves lucky to have her, in whatever clothes she is wearing, whatever prosthetics she is sporting. And the best thing about her, as she prepares to receive an award normally bestowed on people at the very tail-end of their careers, is that shes not yet 60. Theres plenty of the singular Tilda Swinton still to come. Here in the 2018 movie Suspiria, Tilda, pictured, plays an old man with a pipe In Man to Man from 1992 Tilda Swinton, pictured here, was once again playing a man New Delhi : Asha Devi, Mother of 2012 Delhi Gang-Rape victim Nirbhaya, on Friday rebutted reports of her taking a political plunge ahead of Delhi Assembly election and said that all she wants is justice for her daughter, who was brutally gang-raped in a moving bus in Delhi in 2012. Earlier, there were reports that she may contest 2020 Delhi Assembly elections from New Delhi constituency against Arvind Kejriwal as a Congress candidate. "I have no interest in politics. I have not spoken to anyone in Congress. I only want justice for my daughter and execution of the convicts," new agency ANI quoted Asha Devi as saying. The speculations of her fighting the Assembly polls against Kejriwal found more relevance after Delhi Congress campaign committee chairman Kirti Azads welcome tweet. Sharing a tweet from a journalist, Azad had written: "Welcome Asha Devi ji". Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra also denied rumours of Asha Devi getting Congress ticket against Kejriwal but said that she was welcome in the party. "I saw a media report that Asha Devi (mother of 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim) will contest against Arvind Kejriwal on Congress ticket. There is nothing of that sort but she is welcome if she wants to join," ANI quoted Chopra as saying. The development also came hours after her veiled attack on AAP that those who took part in protests in 2012 were now playing with her daughter's death for political gains. "Those who attacked my daughter are being given a thousand options, but we have no rights? Till now, I never talked about politics, but now I want to say that those people who held protests on streets in 2012, today the same people are only playing with my daughter's death for political gains," she had said. BJP-AAP Trade Charges Over Delay In Hanging Of Convicts In Nirbhaya Case On Thursday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said, "give us Delhi Police and law-and-order responsibility for two days and we will hang Nirbhaya convicts." The war of words erupted after Union minister Prakash Javadekar blamed the AAP government's "negligence" for the "delay" in the hanging of the four convicts, saying it took more than two-and-a-half years for the Arvind Kejriwal government to give notice to the rapists after the Supreme Court rejected their appeal against the death sentence in 2017. A man was found not guilty for murder in a Houston County Circuit courtroom Thursday afternoon. Joseph Dozier, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was found not guilty for the murder of Damon Grimsley on September 4, 2016. Dozier shot and killed Grimsley at his home in Dothan with a .38 caliber semi automatic handgun. In Doziers defense, he used Stand Your Ground in the case. Dozier stated that he and Grimsley were involved in an altercation that made Dozier believe that his life was in danger, preceding to him shooting Grimsley. This was a tragic event among family members, which unfortunately, resulted in a death, but it was clearly self-defense. And we believe that is what the jury determined. said Steve Etheredge and Dustin Fowler, Doziers attorneys in a joint statement. Dozier was also charged with promoting prison contraband while behind bars awaiting trial in December 2018. Those charges were ultimately dismissed. Tokyo, Jan 17 : A Japanese court on Friday ordered the suspension of a nuclear reactor on safety grounds, revoking an earlier decision that had green lighted its operation. The Hiroshima High Court said the operators Shikoku Electric and the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority underestimated the risk posed to residents by a possible eruption of the Aso volcano, located about 130 km from the Ikata plant, Efe news quoted public broadcaster NHK as saying in a report. In December 2017, the court had ordered the suspension of reactor no. 3 at the plant for the same reason, and became the first Japanese high court to question the new safety requirements implemented in the country in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. However, in September 2018, the court accepted the operator's appeal because the risk of volcanic eruption was very low, thus allowing the company to restart operations in October of that year. This time, the court took into account the allegations made by a group of residents from Yamaguchi prefecture - located adjacent to the plant - who again highlighted the risks arising from a possible eruption of Mount Aso. Reactor no. 3 at the Ikata plant was one of the few in the country that had received permission to operate under post-Fukushima regulations, although it was temporarily shut down on account of an inspection by the operator. Shikoku Electric said it would appeal against the court's decision that has dealt another legal setback to the plans of the Japanese operators and the government to gradually reactivate the reactors that meet the new safety requirements. The Fukushima disaster triggered a massive review operation of all the nuclear plants and set off new and stricter security regulations in Japan. Tokyo estimates 20 to 22 per cent of electricity in the country will be generated from atomic plants by 2030, slightly lower than the 30 percent before the 2011 tragedy, the worst nuclear accidents after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Radioactive emissions and spills from the Fukushima disaster left around 110,000 people displaced and has severely affected agriculture, livestock, and fishing in the region. The disaster was triggered by an earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, leaving over 15,000 people dead and more than 3,000 others missing. PARIS Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said on Thursday there was a "real desire" within the top ranks of both companies for its alliance with Nissan to succeed, dismissing suggestions the partnership was on the rocks. Turmoil within the Franco-Japanese alliance, long dogged by internal rivalries, deepened following the November 2018 arrest in Tokyo of its architect and long-time boss Carlos Ghosn on charges of financial crimes, which he denies. Attempts to restore calm were dealt a fresh blow by Ghosn's dramatic flight from Japanese justice and a series of no-holds-barred allegations he has made from his refuge in Lebanon, including that he was the victim of a plot to oust him and that the alliance is now a "masquerade". Nissan has vigorously rejected Ghosn's stance, while both the Japanese firm and Renault have tried to rubbish suggestions their two decades old partnership is falling apart. "We have a board overseeing the alliance which is made up of people who are all extremely in favor of the alliance," Renault Chairman Senard told a briefing with reporters. "There is a common desire to associate our strategic plans and a real desire to make this alliance a success," he added, dismissing a report that Nissan was examining scenarios for a possible future outside of the alliance as "fake news." The 66-year-old declined to comment on anything related to Ghosn, adding: "I only think about the future." Renault shares were down 2% by 1123 GMT, underperfoming the broader auto sector which was down on news that Washington has threatened to impose tariffs on European car imports due to Europe's stance on Iran. Renault's French rival and Peugeot maker PSA Group also gave a flavor of some industry headwinds, reporting a 10% fall in its global sales last year as Chinese demand tanked. Renault is due to publish its 2019 global sales on Friday. JOINT PROJECTS Story continues Analysts see Renault-Nissan's cost-saving alliance as vital to both companies as the car industry battles a slowdown and huge investments in cleaner vehicles and automated driving, particularly as rivals PSA and Fiat Chrysler are merging to help meet these challenges. Renault held ultimately unsuccessful talks to combine with Fiat Chrysler last year, which Ghosn described at a Beirut news conference as a huge missed opportunity. Senard, who chairs the alliance's operating board, said on Thursday that once the partnership has been rebooted, other firms might potentially want to join. The executive, who used to run tyre maker Michelin, has become the de facto senior figure in Renault and Nissan's alliance, though without Ghosn's commander-in-chief aura, which had helped hold it together. While that is partly deliberate both parties are keen to avoid another strongman situation and created a four-member operating board to oversee the alliance Senard will now have to show he can push through new joint projects. He declined to give details of these beyond saying potential cost savings could be substantial, and that the alliance's board would meet soon to decide on its industrial plan. The meeting is scheduled for Jan. 30, a source close to Renault said. The firms are meanwhile finalizing a management revamp, with Renault close to appointing a new CEO after ousting Ghosn-ally Thierry Bollore in October. A new CEO started at Nissan in December. Luca de Meo, who recently stepped down as the head of Volkswagen's Seat brand, is seen as the frontrunner for the Renault job, although a non-compete clause in his contract is proving a problem, sources have said. Interim CEO Clotilde Delbos is also in the frame. Senard said shaking up the shareholder structure in the alliance was not a priority for either side. Renault, which is part-owned by the French state, has 43% of Nissan, while the Japanese firm has 15% of the French carmaker, with no voting rights attached a structure that has caused friction. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> You Might Also Like NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The increasing focus on safety and driver assistance features is driving the growth of the connected motorcycle market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05839846/?utm_source=PRN The global connected motorcycle market is projected to grow from USD 39 million in 2019 to USD 912 million by 2027, at a CAGR of 48.3%. The market is driven by the rising demand for safety and comfort of motorcyclists. Increasing initiatives by motorcycle manufacturers and road safety authorities to minimize fatal road accidents would increase the demand for connected safety features. OEMs are proactively including advanced rider assistance systems in their upcoming motorcycles to increase rider safety. Existing safety systems such as motorcycle stability control can be more effective if these systems can communicate with other road users to provide scenario-based safety features for motorcyclists. Asia Pacific is estimated to lead the connected motorcycle industry due to increasing motorcycle sales in the region. Demand for vehicle management & telematics services is likely to drive the growth of the connected motorcycle market during the forecast period. The demand for vehicle management solutions would increase during the forecast period due to the wide usage of low-cost Bluetooth modules in automotive and need for easy access to electric motorcycle battery status and timely diagnosis of high-performance engines.Low-cost Bluetooth modules can be easily integrated into budget segment motorcycles. Hence, connectivity services are not limited to high-end premium motorcycles.Budget motorcycles would offer limited but essential services to attract new customers. Also, electric motorcycles now have features that allow riders track real-time battery status and plan their trip accordingly. Asia Pacific connected motorcycle market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The Asia Pacific region comprises major motorcycle markets such as China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam.The region accounted for more than 90% of the global motorcycle sales in 2018. As two-wheelers are a preferred mode of transportation due to affordability and low maintenance, Asian countries such as India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam have a high motorcycle penetration.Mid and budget segment motorcycles dominate the market in these countries. However, with a steady increase in disposable income and rising demand for high-performance motorcycles, the region has attracted a number of premium motorcycle manufacturers.The region is home to some of the most innovative motorcycle manufacturers such as Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki. These OEMs are taking active participation in the Connected Motorcycle Consortium to develop connectivity services for motorcycles. Increasing collaborations to provide a safe and comfortable riding experience will boost the adoption of connected motorcycles in the region. Europe is estimated to be the largest connected motorcycle market in 2019. Europe is estimated to be the largest market for connected motorcycles in 2019.Leading OEMs such as BMW Motorrad and Triumph Motorcycles have introduced connected motorcycles. These companies plan to launch an increasing number of connected motorcycles in 2020. Triumph Motorcycles plans to introduce connectivity services in upcoming models such as Street Triple RS, Tiger 900 GT, Street Triple R & RS, and Speed Triple S & RS. The growth of connected motorcycle market in Europe can be attributed to several innovations and presence of premium motorcycle manufacturers in this region.Europe home to OEMs such as BMW Motorrad, Triumph Motorcycles, and KTM and component manufacturers such as Continental AG and Robert Bosch GmbH. These manufacturers have collaborated to develop connected motorcycles.BMW has already launched connected motorcycles such as F 750 GS, F 850 GS, R 1250 GS, and R 1250 GS Adventure in the European market. Other manufacturers are expected to follow suit with their connectivity services offerings. In-depth interviews were conducted with CEOs, marketing directors, innovation and technology directors, and executives from various key organizations operating in the connected motorcycle market. By Company Type: OEMs - 21%, Tier I - 69%, and Tier II & III - 10%, By Designation: CXOs - 31%, Manager - 49%, and Executives - 20% By Region: North America - 42%, Asia Pacific - 27%, Europe - 21%, LATAM - 6%, and Rest of the World- 4% The connected motorcycle market comprises major manufacturers and service providers such as Panasonic Corporation (Japan), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), Vodafone (UK), Starcom Systems (UK), and Continental AG (Germany). Research Coverage: The study covers the connected motorcycle market across various segments.It aims at estimating the market size and future growth potential of this market across different segments such as service, hardware, communication type, network type, calling service, end user, and region. The study also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of key players in the market, along with their company profiles, key observations related to product and business offerings, recent developments, and acquisitions. Key Benefits of Buying the Report: The report will help leaders/new entrants in this market with information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall connected motorcycle market.This report will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain more insights to better position their businesses and plan suitable go-to-market strategies. The report also helps stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provides them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05839846/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. Khazaradze: State finances Kobi highway which is in Russia's interest By Natalia Kochiashvili Mamuka Khazaradze, one of the founders of TBC Bank, Anaklia Development Consortium and the political union Lelo Georgia, has once again accused the Georgian Dream government and Bidzina Ivanishvili of pursuing Russian interests.Khazaradze, accused of legalization of illicit income, made a presentation at the Tbilisi City Court yesterday before proceeding with the case, discussing the suspension of the Anaklia Port Project and the construction of the Kvesheti-Kobi road.According to him, unlike the Anaklia project which would bring new jobs and economic growth, the government promotes the construction of an economically useless highway that is in Russia's interest.The founder of Lelo Georgia reiterated that the Anaklia Port Project was halted only because the state did not issue a $ 50 million guarantee, even though the consortium signed with 4 banks for $ 400 million and needed only a state guarantee. According to Khazaradze, as the occupation line is 4 kilometers from Anaklia, the banks demanded a $50 million guarantee for the cargo turnover: The state would probably never need to use it because the increase of containers transporting through Georgia is 40%.According to Khazaradze, the Anaklia Port Project is not in Russia's interest, unlike the subway route to Kazbegi, which the Georgian government has prioritized and finances: With our money, state budget and half a billion debt we give a new opportunity to Russia to more comfortably enter her tanks.According to the decision of the Government of Georgia, the termination of the investment agreement signed with the Anaklia Development Consortium on October 3, 2016, will commence.The Minister of Infrastructure Maia Tskitishvili spoke about this on January 9, after the government session ended. The govt has decided to launch both the legalization of the termination of the investment contract and the preparation of a re-bid for the Anaklia Port Development project.Khazaradze said that the whole vector of the state's current policy is directed to Russia and to invest in a project that neither creates jobs nor promotes economic growth and is only in the interests of its northern neighbor.He opposes changing the priorities of the country, not the roads and constructions.As Khazaradze said before the previous session, due to the fact that his and Badri Japaridze's trials are scheduled almost every other day, the public will be introduced with all information from the courtyard. The court considers the case against the co-founders of TBC Bank Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze. They are charged with the laundering of $16 664 000. Khazaradze and Japaridze deny the accusation. Businessman Avtandil Tsereteli is accused of providing assistance to them, who also calls the case absurd.Before the court hearing on January 14, Badri Japaridze, co-founder of TBC Bank and political union Lelo, said that the prosecution had no witnesses to prove the prosecution's defamation: We are dealing with a completely grotesque process.Japaridze said that every day of his trial would be used as a tribune to inform the public of Lelo's plans and solutions to the crisis that the government and its leader Ivanishvili has plunged the country into. A route that would connect U.S. Highway 30 and Nebraska Highway 64 was among the topics of discussion during Thursdays Industrial Leaders Breakfast at Wunderlichs Catering & Barley Shoppe. The monthly breakfast, hosted by the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, serves as an outlet to discuss various issues relating to local business and industry, while also providing a filling meal to start the day. This months main topic was road and highway upgrades, with Dennis Grennan, a member of the Chambers Transportation Committee, discussing some of the proposed work. Among the topics was a proposed route that would connect Highway 30 east of Columbus to Highway 64 near Bellwood in Butler County. The route was initially proposed around 2006 and garnered support from former state senator Arnie Stuthman. However, due to a lack of overall funding, the project was forgotten for nearly a decade. After last Marchs flooding essentially turned Columbus into an island, Grennan and the Transportation Committee discussed ways to prevent Columbus from being cut off from the rest of the state if a flooding situation once again arises. The discussion soon turned to a regional study that was completed in 2006 and the idea of the Highway 30/64 connector returned to the table. Particularly after the spring flooding, the Transportation Committee said, What about the regional study? Think about what the flooding did in terms of isolating Columbus, Grennan said. Access in and out of Columbus was shut down for some time. Is that another reason we ought to take a look at this? After agreeing that the connector was necessary, they decided to search for a sponsoring agency and found one in the Platte County Board of Supervisors. At the Oct. 1 meeting, the board approved a plan to be a sponsoring agency for a feasibility study that would be completed to see if the project was realistic. As we get into contracts and so forth, they would hold the contracts, Grennan said. We said, Lets do another thing. When you look at this, lets make this first step fairly easy (and) fairly simple to take. The study should be a high-level feasibility. Quite honestly, we dont know if this is going to go or not. We really dont know if this is the right spot. The planned road would provide a way to reduce freight truck traffic on roads like 23rd Street and would allow people to completely bypass Columbus altogether in either direction. In a way, the road would serve as a sort of south bypass similar to that of the Lost Creek Parkway on the north side of town. As youre coming on Highway 81 out there on (Highway) 64, it drops you off on the east side of Columbus and avoid going through downtown, Grennan said. The committee thought this was a greater need and served multiple purposes, of getting traffic out to the industrial area and getting truck traffic out of the middle of town, saving 15 miles for somebody coming from this area (Butler County) that wants to get up here (Columbus). Grennan also spoke about the progress on the 23rd Street beautification and repairs. A master plan for the project has already been approved by the Columbus City Council and plans are for construction to begin in 2021. Right now, contracts for service are currently being discussed by the city. The citys doing the project with NDOT (Nebraska Department of Transportation), Grennan said. NDOT holds the main contract for their construction. Chamber President Jeanne Schieffer said that the road construction projects could boost the towns reputation as a connection for business and industry. If we look at Columbus as this connecting community, what can we do with this thats even more than this? Schieffer inquired. Where will we be in another 10 years? What kind of facilities could we have that could benefit our businesses? It would certainly benefit this corridor, this connecting point between Canada and the South, and from east and west to Fremont and Omaha. Zach Roth is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at zachary.roth@lee.net. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 00:09:41|Editor: yan Video Player Close TOKYO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese high court on Friday overturned a lower court's decision and ordered the suspension of a nuclear reactor in western Japan following an injunction made by local residents over safety fears. The Hiroshima High Court ordered Shikoku Electric Power Co. to suspend operations of the No. 3 reactor at the Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture. Three residents living on islands in Yamaguchi Prefecture close to the plant had filed appeals against a lower court's decision made in March last year in favor of the utility continuing operations of the reactor. The lower court had ruled that the plant's operations could be continued as the risk of a large-scale eruption or earthquake occurring during the reactor's operational lifetime was low. The lower court also said that Nuclear Regulation Authority's (NRA) safety regulations were acceptable. The high court on Friday, however, conversely, determined that an active fault in the area and Mt. Aso., an active volcano situated just 130 km from the plant, indeed posed potential risks that could not be ruled out. "Research on the active fault is insufficient and the Nuclear Regulation Authority's judgment that it is not a problem is incorrect," said Presiding Judge Kazutake Mori. "Shikoku Electric needs to also take into account less than catastrophic eruptions at the caldera of Mt. Aso," he said in handing down the court's ruling, adding that there had been errors made in the process leading to the NRA approving the reactor's restart. The reactor has been idled for regular inspections, but following the removal of spent mixed-oxide fuel (MOX) completed on Wednesday, the first time Japan has conducted such an operation, Shikoku Electric had been planning to bring the reactor back online. The high court had previously ordered the utility to suspend the operations of the reactor in December 2017, following an injunction filed by a different group of residents. The order was revoked a year later by a different judge, however, with the reactor being rebooted in October 2018. Shikoku Electric will likely lodge a complaint with the court in objection to the latest injunction, set to be heard by a different judge at the high court in Hiroshima, sources with knowledge of the matter said Friday. Former Marine arrested in murder of 16-year-old Josephine Jimenez after investigation originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A former Marine has been arrested for the murder of a teenage girl whose body was discovered in a rural field in California about three months ago. On the morning of Oct. 22, 16-year-old Josephine Jimenez was found dead in the southern part of California's Madera County, a week after she disappeared from her home in Madera, a small city some 25 miles northwest of Fresno. Detectives deemed her death suspicious due to the disposition of the body, according to the Madera County Sheriff's Office. (MORE: Marine wanted in death of mother's boyfriend arrested) In December, amid the ongoing investigation into Jimenez's death, Madera County Sheriff's Office detectives were contacted by investigators at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the primary law enforcement agency for the U.S. Department of the Navy, who had identified an individual they believed may be connected to the case while investigating a separate matter. Madera County Sheriff's Office detectives traveled to interview the individual, 19-year-old Codi Slayton, in Oceanside, California. Slayton was subsequently arrested by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service on unrelated charges, according to the sheriff's office. PHOTO: Codi Slayton is pictured in this mugshot in Madera County, California, Jan. 16, 2020. (Madera County Sheriff's Office) On Thursday, Madera County Sheriff's Office detectives took the former Marine into custody on a first-degree murder charge in connection with Jimenez's death, based on information derived from his interview in December as well as new evidence discovered during a follow-up investigation. Slayton has been booked at the Madera County Department of Corrections, where he's being held on a $1 million bond, according to the sheriff's office. It's unclear whether he has obtained a lawyer. (MORE: Woman sentenced to 25 years in prison for poisoning husband's drinking water with eye drops) Story continues Investigators believe Slayton is responsible for Jimenez's death after determining that he had used social media to communicate with her and other young girls throughout California and possibly across the United States. Anyone who may have had online communication with Slayton is asked to contact the Madera County Sheriff's Office. "This seems to be something more along the line of online predator," Madera County Sheriff Jay Varney told reporters at a press conference Thursday. "So my guess is somehow he had a method to contact her -- as most predators do -- [and] struck up some sort of conversation, and then the resulting crime occurred at some point after that." Jimenez's family declined to speak on camera but provided the following statement to Fresno ABC station KFSN: "The Jimenez family wants to thank federal authorities, local authorities, and Madera County Sheriff's office detectives for their hard work in the capture of the person responsible for Josephine's death. We are still mourning the loss of our daughter Josephine and look forward for Justice for Josephine." MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Nicaraguas two main opposition groups announced the formation of a coalition Friday aimed at winning the 2021 elections and ending President Daniel Ortegas rule. Representatives of the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy and Blue and White National Unity said they hope to reinvigorate the fight and rebuild the country. The groups are not among Nicaraguas political parties. Both formed after civil unrest exploded in April 2018. Economist Juan Sebastian Chamorro, a member of the Civic Alliance, said they would invite all of the countrys political parties that oppose the government and want democracy and freedom to join the coalition. The coalition also plans to reach out to groups of government employees there are some 120,000 such as doctors and police. Lesther Aleman, a university student who because famous for standing up to Ortega during the first dialogue session in May 2018, said the coalition would present an alternative of hope. It would maintain the rallying cry Ortega has to go that started nearly two years earlier, Aleman said. The union would not be an electioneering coalition, but rather a transitional political alliance that will work to return freedom, justice and total inclusion to the country, Aleman said. The announcement came at a time when the governments repression has become seemingly more selective. Human rights groups have reported extrajudicial killings of government opposition members in rural areas and police harassment of some youth leaders who had been released from prison. The Ortega administration did not immediately respond to the announcement. Ortega returned to power in 2007 and won re-election in 2011 and 2016. His Sandinista party controls the courts and the legislature. Political analyst Eliseo Nunez commended the announcement, but said electoral reform was necessary before the elections. The electoral court, which is loyal to Ortega, needs to be replaced and some 2,000 Sandinista paramilitaries need to be disarmed. If not, they will be the most violent elections in the history of Nicaragua and probably of Latin America, he said. The governments violent crackdown on marches in opposition to social security reforms in April 2018 set off months of clashes that left at least 328 dead and more than 2,000 wounded, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The commission estimates that some 88,000 Nicaraguans are living in exile outside the country due to the unrest. Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders said he'd rather be on the campaign trail than stuck in Washington D.C. for Donald Trump's impeachment trial that could stretch on for weeks. The Vermont senator said Thursday he was worried about losing valuable time in his campaign as the Senate gathered for a ceremonial session to mark the start of the president's impeachment trial. The proceedings, led by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, will last up to six days a week for an unknown period of time and could cut into upcoming caucuses and primaries. 'I would rather be in Iowa today. Theres a caucus there in two and a half weeks. Id rather be in New Hampshire, and Nevada, and so forth. But I swore a constitutional oath as a United States senator to do my job, and Im here to do my job,' Sanders said to reporters Thursday. Bernie Sanders said Thursday he'd rather be on the campaign trail in Iowa or Nevada than on Capitol Hill for President Donald Trump's impeachment trial The Democratic hopeful complained about the poorly-timed trial saying: 'I would rather be in Iowa today. Theres a caucus there in two and a half weeks. Id rather be in New Hampshire, and Nevada, and so forth. But I swore a constitutional oath as a United States senator to do my job, and Im here to do my job' On Thursday House Democrats presented their articles of impeachment to the Senate and each senator took an oath committing to impartial justice. Bernie Sanders pictured signing that oath on Thursday Sen. Bernie Sanders: "I would rather be in Iowa today... I would rather be in New Hampshire and in Nevada and so forth, but I swore a Constitutional oath as United States senator to do my job and I'm here to do my job." pic.twitter.com/7BJYSXvs8q The Hill (@thehill) January 16, 2020 The 78-year-old said he believed citizens in those key states would understand that he can't be there due to his work commitments. Tensions are running high in the 2020 Democratic primary race ahead of the Iowa caucuses on February 3, followed by the New Hampshire primary on February 11 and the Nevada Democratic caucuses on February 22. It's not clear when the trial will end. White House aides hope it will end by the State of Union address on February 4. But top Senate Republicans anticipate it will extend past then. Fellow presidential candidates Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts will also have to take time off the campaign trail for the trial. While the senators will be holed up in the Senate chamber with no cellphones allowed, their opponents Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg will keep campaigning without any restrictions. Even though Sanders couldn't be in Iowa as he wanted to, he held an impromptu press conference in the Capitol basement on Thursday where he touted his main campaign points of health care and addressing poverty. 'While we go forward with this impeachment trial, I hope the American people understand that we have not forgotten that in this country, outside of Washington, D.C., today, there are millions of people who are struggling economically, millions of people who cannot afford their prescription drugs or their health care,' he said. 'We've got to deal with this impeachment trial, but we cannot forget the very serious problems facing the American people,' he added. Last year Sanders missed about half of the Senate's votes as he was focused on his presidential campaign. On Thursday House Democrats presented their articles of impeachment to the Senate and each senator took an oath committing to impartial justice. Chief Justice John Roberts pictured banging the gavel to adjourn the first session of the trial of Donald Trump In Thursday's session each senator took an oath administered by the Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to uphold impartial justice On Thursday House Democrats presented their articles of impeachment to the senators with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff leading a team of six impeachment managers. In that meeting each senator took an oath administered by the Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to uphold impartial justice. When Warren was asked how she would deal her derailed campaigning schedule, she said she's organized for supporters and family members to campaign in her place. 'That impeachment trial is going to show once again to the American people, and something we should all be talking about, is the corruption of this administration. That is what lies at heart of it. It is about Donald Trump putting Donald Trump first. Not the American people. Not the interests of the United States of America,' she said. The campaigns are reportedly trying to make the best of the scheduling debacle by chartering planes for late night flights back to Washington and organizing town hall events hosted via phone or video chat, according to the New York Times. Sanders will try to campaign on his social media by hosting live-stream events. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York will also be dispatched on the campaign trail for Sanders and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts for Warren. Sanders and Warren clashed in a heated exchange on the debate stage in Iowa on Tuesday where Warren accused him of calling her a liar on national television Sanders and Warren sparred several times during the Tuesday debate in Des Moines, Iowa On Tuesday Sanders and Warren clashed in a heated exchange on the debate stage in Iowa where Warren accused him of calling her a liar on national television. In the debate Sanders denied Warren's claim that he told her in a 2018 meeting that a woman couldn't beat Trump in November's general election. 'Anybody that knows me knows that its incomprehensible that I would think that a woman could not be president of the United States,' Sanders said in the debate. After the debate ended, Warren appeared furious and confronted Sanders on the stage saying, 'I think you called me a liar on national television'. That comment was not initially aired on a microphone, but audio was released of the exchange the following day. Sanders appeared caught off guard and asked 'What?' 'I think you just called me a liar on national TV' she repeated. Sanders then tried to diffuse the tension by saying, 'You know, lets not do it right now. If you want to have that discussion, well have that discussion.' Warren replied saying, 'Anytime!' On Thursday Sanders said he and Warren have not spoken since that confrontation. Meet Russia's New Prime Minister, An 'Enforcer Who Knows Where The Bodies Are Buried' By Todd Prince January 16, 2020 Russian President Vladimir Putin's new prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, has a reputation for getting things done. During his near-decade long tenure at the helm of Russia's tax service -- whose army of roughly 150,000 employees oversees tax compliance and collections -- Mishustin tripled the amount of money his agency delivers to the budget. Coming during a period of slow economic growth amid sanctions and falling oil prices, those results earned him accolades from the government and made him a logical choice to replace Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who announced on January 15 that his government would resign. As social unrest grew over low living standards, Medvedev's government struggled to carry out Putin's ambitious National Projects, a $400 billion spending program that seeks to boost economic growth. The Medvedev government also failed to meet Putin's May 2018 decrees to increase wages to specific levels for many state workers. "After years of focusing on over-insurance, including due to the risk of further sanctions, the Russian authorities need to focus on domestic issues such as growth and better provision of public services," Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist at the Institute of International Finance overseeing Russia, told RFE/RL. "An effective manager is needed to make sure that the National Projects move forward and contribute to these objectives." However, Mishustin -- whom Russian state television called the "special force of the government's financial policy," a reference to the tax service's law enforcement powers -- may also be an ideal choice to keep the restless factions within the elite under control, analysts said. Putin's January 15 announcement of a revamping of the country's constitution prompted Medvedev's resignation -- which many analysts describe as a "sacking" by Putin. These developments will create some winners and losers within that elite. "All of what we have seen [on January 15] suggests that what the Kremlin is most worried about is not the relationship with the population. It is getting the relationship with the elite right and keeping the elite in line and under control," said Sam Greene, director of the Russia Institute at King's College London. "So, having somebody who is an enforcer -- who is coming from a tax-police background where they know where the bodies are buried -- is probably a more useful person to have around," Greene said. Third PM Change Putin has sought to promote a sense of government stability during his 20 years at the nation's helm, only changing the government mid-cycle on two previous occasions. Putin fired Mikhail Kasyanov in February 2004 right before his reelection bid, replacing him with Mikhail Fradkov, a career bureaucrat. Fradkov "resigned" in 2007 ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections, replaced by Viktor Zubkov. Both Fradkov and Zubkov had worked for the nation's tax service. Fradkov had at one point headed the tax police, a feared agency. Zubkov had been a deputy tax minister responsible for the northwest region. He later ran the agency combating money laundering. Greene said this shared background among Mishustin, Fradkov, and Zubkov was not a coincidence. Mishustin also shares another commonality with those two men, analysts say. He is someone with seemingly no political ambition, and who -- despite his powerful position -- is not viewed as a successor when Putin's term ends in 2024. "Mishustin does not have any political experience or popularity with the electorate and is not part of Putin's inner circle," said Tatiana Stanovaya, a political analyst. He is a "placeholder," she said. The composition of Mishustin's cabinet is unlikely to change much from Medvedev's with the key economic and power ministers to keep their positions, such as Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Economy Minister Maksim Oreshkin, predicted Vladmir Tikhomirov, the chief economist at Moscow-based brokerage BCS Global Markets. Digital Tax Man Russia had struggled for years, especially during the 1990s, to combat widespread tax evasion, a crime which one analyst called a "source of pride" among the nation's companies and citizens. Wealthy Russians and companies have used offshores to hide money from the tax authorities. A large fraction of the economy had remained in the shadows with Russia losing as much as 1 trillion rubles ($16.2 billion) a year in tax revenues, then-Central Banker Sergei Ignatyev said in 2013. The 53-year-old Mishustin has deployed the latest technologies to cut fraud and evasion and boost receipts in the process. The tax service's expansive headquarters northwest of Moscow -- in a former military town -- is now filled with data servers and IT specialists, making it resemble a technology company as much as a government agency. The tax service collected 21.3 trillion rubles ($345 billion) in 2018, roughly triple the amount it brought in when he took over in 2010, according to TASS. Mishustin told Putin in November during a meeting in the Kremlin that 2019 tax revenues were running about 8 percent higher than the previous year. The surge in tax receipts has far exceeded the growth in economic activity over the past decade, helping the government plug holes as the economy slumped amid sanctions and falling oil prices. Russia's tax service now uses real-time data to track value-added tax (VAT) payments. As a result, the gap between expected value-added tax receipts and actual receipts shrank to less than 1 percent from more than 10 percent just five years ago, Mishustin said in November. The number of tax inspections at companies -- once a notorious problem that stymied investment -- fell by 85 percent over Mishustin's near decade at the helm, according to Vedomsti. Alexis Rodzianko, the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Moscow, told RFE/RL, that he has received "generally positive feedback" on the tax service under Mishustin. "Efficiency of collection is up and feedback from members is that professionalism is better," Rodzianko said. "Also, our experience with the tax foreign advisory council is positive. Over the past year and a half, the quality of dialogue was good and constructive." Mishustin's agency launched online personal tax accounts for individuals and companies and an app for self-employed people, simplifying the process of filing taxes. Under his tenure, the agency has also rolled out online registers that send data on each transaction to the tax service nearly instantly. "With the help of the new prime minister, Putin will now build the country similar to the federal tax service -- control and accounting, law enforcement actions where they are needed plus digitalization of the whole country," Russian political analyst Andrei Kolesnikov wrote in a January 15 commentary. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/meet-russia-s- new-prime-minister-an-enforcer -who-knows-where-the-bodies -are-buried-/30381627.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 O serwisie Polska Agencja Prasowa w swoich serwisach informacyjnych i na portalach udostepnia juz od 1994 roku informacje zlecone (komunikaty prasowe, artykuy sponsorowane, materiay partnerskie), ktorych publikacja zostaa opacona przez firmy, instytucje i organizacje z Polski lub z zagranicy. W ramach swiadczenia tej usugi, oznaczonej logiem PAP MediaRoom, wspopracujemy z miedzynarodowymi agencjami wyspecjalizowanymi w dystrybucji tresci promocyjnych: Cision (PRNewswire), APA-OTS, BusinessWire. Wieksze zasoby informacji, do bezpatnego pobierania i wykorzystania przez dziennikarzy oraz redakcje, dostepne sa na portalu pap-mediaroom.pl UWAGA: w sprawach redakcyjnych dotyczacych tresci oznaczonych logiem PAP MediaRoom prosimy o kontakt z Zespoem Dystrybucji Informacji. Klientow zainteresowanych usugami komunikacyjnymi PAP zachecamy do zapoznania sie z nasza oferta oraz do kontaktu z Zespoem Marketingu i Sprzedazy. In the 1940s, Henry Ford regaled us with this little fantastical gem: Mark my words a combination aeroplane and motor car is comingYou may smile. But it will come. Eight decades later, and Ford is vindicated. Toyota just made a nearly $400-million bet on flying taxis as tech competition in this segment gets fierce. The Japanese carmaker said it is investing $394 million in California-based Joby Aviation, an aerospace company that hopes to be among the first to develop and commercialize all-electric flying taxis. Its the second time Toyota has seen fit to pump money into this idea. In early 2018, the Japanese auto giant teamed up with Jetblue, investing $100 million in Joby during the companys previous funding round. With Toyotas latest investment, Joby just closed its latest round of financing with $590 million in venture capital funding. And the year before that, Toyota backed Recogni Inc., a Silicon Valley maker of autonomous vehicle systems, and May Mobility, a Michigan-based operator of self-driving shuttle buses. Joby has been working on its e-VTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicle for over a decade. Now, finally, we get to see some of the details. The eVTOL is a piloted, five-seat aircraft with a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour and a range of over 150 miles on a single charge. According to Joby, the aircraft is a hundred times quieter than conventional aircraft during takeoff and landing and "near-silent" when flying overhead. Like we said, though, the competition is getting fierce, and Toyota isnt the only one with its eye in the sky. In 2018, the German government signed a letter of intent that effectively approved testing of the flying taxi in and around the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, which is, incidentally, the hometown of Audi--one of Toyotas biggest emerging competitors in this unique segment. Audi has teamed up with airplane maker Airbus and design house Italdesign to unveil PopUp Next, a reworked version of the two-seat autonomous vehicle concept. Related: Who Is The Most Dangerous Person On The Internet? Not to be left out, Hyundai and Uber are working on a fleet of electric, autonomous, VTOL aerial taxis. Melbourne, Dallas and Los Angeles will be the first cities to offer Uber Air flights, with the goal of beginning demonstrator flights in 2020 and commercial operations in 2023. Volocopter, a German startup backed by Intel and Daimler, has built a drone-like electric helicopter to ferry travelers across cities. And its already completed test flights and seeks to offer first commercial trips in the next three to five years. In November, Geely, the Chinese owner of Volvo and Lotus, acquired Terrafugia, a U.S. flying-car developer that plans to launch its VTOL by 2023. Rolls-Royce also has its own eVTOL concept. Industry watchers and proponents see flying cars becoming part of the global transportation network and generating as much as $5 billion a year in service revenue. However, this type of transportation is in its infancy and the companies involved still faces a slew of technical, regulatory and infrastructure challenges in getting their respective air taxi services off the ground. By Anes Alic for SafeHaven.com More Top Reads From Safehaven.com: James Coolen Jr, 46, quit the Philadelphia Police Department in October and pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle A former Philadelphia narcotics police officer drove a Porsche that the department confiscated as part of an investigation and used it to drive his stepdaughter and her friends to their junior prom, according to prosecutors. James Coolen Jr, 46, pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office announced on Friday. Surveillance footage from April 25, 2019, shows Coolen drive into the secure parking lot at the Philadelphia Police Department's Narcotics Bureau Headquarters, where he worked. Earlier that month, Coolen signed a property receipt storing the vehicle - a 2018 Porsche Cayenne SUV - as evidence. Two weeks later, PPD's internal affairs bureau received a report that the vehicle was missing. Investigators examined surveillance footage which showed Coolen enter the secure parking lot with his personal pickup truck on April 25. Coolen is then seen entering the Porsche and driving it away. Two days later, an unidentified individual returned to the Porsche to the secure parking lot. The driver then got into Coolen's personal truck and drove off. Internal affairs investigators also found surveillance footage from Coolen's next door neighbor's doorbell camera showing the Porsche parked at Coolen's home. Coolen (seen right with his wife, Starr Marie Coolen) was placed on 12 months' probation on Thursday, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office announced Other photographs taken at or near Coolen's home also shows the same Porsche vehicle. Investigators also said they found Coolen's fingerprints on the Porsche's GPS navigation system. When they examined GPS electronic data, it showed that Coolen used the car to drive to his stepdaughter's prom. His stepdaughter attended the junior prom at St. Basil Academy in Jenkintown, a suburb just outside Philadelphia. Investigators learned that Coolen drove an impounded 2018 Porsche Cayenne SUV (like the one seen in the above stock image) out of the police lot and used it to transport his stepdaughter to her junior prom in April 2019 Before surrendering to authorities on October 3, Coolen resigned from the Philadelphia Police Department. He pleaded guilty on Thursday and was sentenced to 12 months' probation. 'James Coolen betrayed the public trust and his fellow Philadelphia Police officers when he improperly and illegally used a 2018 Porsche Cayenne SUV, that was impounded as evidence in a case that he was assigned to, as transportation for his stepdaughter's prom,' District Attorney Larry Krasner said. 'Former Officer Coolen has since turned himself in, resigned from the Police Department, and taken responsibility for his crime. 'It is never easy, but it is always right, to hold a friend or colleague accountable when they do wrong. 'I thank the PPD Internal Affairs Unit and my office's Special Investigation Unit for their hard work in bringing this case to a just conclusion.' By PTI NEW DELHI: Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who has been accused of inciting people during an anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid here on December 20, Friday moved court seeking modification of the conditions imposed on him by a Delhi court while granting him bail in the case. The court on Wednesday had restrained Azad from visiting Delhi for four weeks and directed him not to hold any dharna till the elections in the national capital and said that "the nation cannot be exposed to anarchy". The plea, filed by advocates Mehmood Pracha and O P Bharti, said Azad was not a criminal and claimed imposing such conditions were wrong and undemocratic. The court will hear the matter on Saturday. It had earlier also said that before going to Saharanpur if Azad wants to go anywhere, including Jama Masjid, in Delhi, police will escort him there. Special circumstances call for special conditions, the judge had said. During pronouncement of the verdict, Azad's lawyer had said the Bhim Army chief faces threat in Uttar Pradesh. Azad's outfit had called for a protest march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on December 20, without police permission. Other 15 people arrested in the case were granted bail by the court on January 9. Liberty Insurance, the Irish subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, is exiting its commercial liability, commercial property and development bonds lines of business. Liberty will continue to provide services and honor its commitments to existing liability, property and bonds customers for the duration of their existing contracts with the company, said Liberty in an emailed statement. Customers in these areas will be unable to renew their contracts once they expire. Liberty continues to evolve its product offering in line with wider business objectives, said the statement. To this end, this decision will allow Liberty to focus on those lines of business, including personal lines and fleet, where it can take advantage of its global scale and deliver excellent service to its brokers and customers. The company remains fully committed to the Irish market, its broker partners and 300,000 customers across motor (private motor, commercial vehicle, motor fleet, taxi & motorcycle) and home, the company added. In October, 2019 Liberty announced the creation of 120 new roles in its Cavan, Ireland operations and said it intends to keep on looking for opportunities to grow in the Irish market. Topics Carriers Commercial Lines Business Insurance Property Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 16:50:43|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LAGOS, Jan. 17 (Xinhia) -- At least nine people were killed and three others injured in a bus combustion accident along a busy highway in Ogun state, southwest Nigeria, the road police confirmed on Friday. Sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Clement Oladele who confirmed the incident to Xinhua said the Thursday evening accident involved a Toyota Hiace bus at Ijebu-Ife along the Sagamu-Benin highway. He said the ill-fated bus was conveying 17 adults and two children before the incident. The FRSC official said 10 other passengers were rescued with three of them sustaining serious injuries. Preliminary investigation showed that the bus, heading toward Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, was sufferering malfunction while conveying the passengers with some inflammable chemical products, Oladele added. "The vehicle had to stop intermittently at several times to repair faulty fuel pump and fuel tank which they kept on managing by tying ropes to support the malfunctioned fuel tank," he said. While the driver managed the vehicle to Lagos, there was sudden spark and explosion, which engulfed the vehicle in fire while on motion, according to Oladele. "After the fire was extinguished by the Nigeria Fire Service, a total of nine persons, consisting of seven adults and two children were confirmed dead," he said. Oladele advised motorists to adhere strictly with the road safety rules to prevent this type of avoidable incident. Fertiliser Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Friday unveiled the logo and brand 'Apna Urea Sona Ugle' of Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Ltd (HURL), which is in the process of reviving three sick urea units. The sick urea units are located at Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Barauni (Bihar) and Sindri (Jharkhand). HURL, a joint venture firm promoted by three PSUs -- Coal India Limited (CIL), NTPC Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) -- is in the process of putting in place all logistic and marketing infrastructure. After the launch, Gowda said five sick urea units are being revived at present. HURL's three units are expected to be commissioned in February 2021, while Ramagundam (Telangana) and Talcher (Odisha) units are also likely to commence operations next year. "I hope all units will be commissioned on schedule. This is the need of the hour," he said. At each location, a new plant with 12.7 lakh tonnes capacity of neem coated urea is being set up which will make the country self-sufficient in urea, Gowda said, adding that the country still imports about 70-80 lakh tonnes of urea annually. Fertiliser Secretary Chhabilendra Roul asked HURL to promote balanced use of fertilisers and not just focus on marketing its urea product. He also advised the company not to focus on single brand urea, but diversify its product portfolio to include agrochemicals, compost, and nano-fertilizers. Senior officials of Fertilizer Ministry, CIL, NTPC, and HURL were also present at the event. According to HURL, the commissioning of three units in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand will open forward and backward linkages for business activity in the eastern part of the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Take That singer Gary Barlow has been named P&O Cruises latest brand ambassador (Photo by Isa Foltin/Getty Images) Gary Barlow has been announced as P&O Cruises new brand ambassador, as well as musical director for a new LNG-powered ship due to set sail in May. The Take That star revealed the news on Instagram, posting a trailer for the holiday-making company which sees him tap a microphone and sit down at a piano in a dimly lit room. Stating that hell be coming aboard the Iona later this year, he wrote alongside the video: Heres to making more music and memories with you. Read more: Rylan Clark-Neal and Gary Barlow bury the hatchet after seven years I want The 710 Club to be a celebration of great music and great talent, the former X Factor judge told the Daily Echo as he discussed his future duties. As its musical director, I want to give a unique experience for people who love music as much as I do. Music has been such a massive part of my life and taken me on so many journeys and adventures. Im hoping to pass this on to all the guests in my club. As well as performing on the cruiseliner, which will embark from Southampton, the Back for Good hitmaker will also sing at the Ionas naming celebration in July before it takes to the oceans again to travel around the Norwegian Fjords, Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands. P&O Cruises president, Paul Ludlow, said that the team are immensely proud to have someone of Garys stature and talent working with them. "Garys impressive career speaks for itself and he will bring his vision and personality to our new The 710 Club; from guiding the resident band, selecting future performers and playlists and even shaping the interiors and signature cocktails, he explained. Read more: Robbie Williams says he's 'strict' on his children's manners as he 'only pretends to be arrogant' Were excited that our guests can be a part of it and they will have the opportunity to watch Gary light up Ionas theatre for some extraordinary performances in dazzling surroundings. Other famous faces that have aligned themselves with P&O Cruises over the years include Blur guitarist Alex James, Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood and Gavin and Stacey star Rob Brydon. I asked around at the surgeon generals office and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about tobacco stocks. No one in a position of power would comment or return my calls or emails. But I did hear from two spokeswomen, who sent me identical one-sentence statements. They both pointed out the obvious (individuals in the T.S.P. cant own individual stocks) and dodged my questions about overall employee sentiment about tobacco industry exposure. There is another solution in the works for government employees: a mutual-fund window. This mechanism doesnt replace any existing funds; instead, it allows plan participants onto an investment platform where they can choose from most any mutual fund, including hundreds of E.S.G. offerings. Congress told the savings plans board in 2009 that it could offer a window, but progress soon stalled. The stock market was in free fall, and everyone was scared witless, said Kim Weaver, a T.S.P. spokeswoman. The market rebounded in the first half of the 2010s, and federal employees and various advocacy groups started making their feelings known. By 2015, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Boards executive director at the time, Greg Long, was ready to recommend a change. As the clamor of the voices swell, it will be increasingly difficult to defend the core fund menu, he wrote in a memo to his overseers. They agreed with him. The beauty of a fund window is that it doesnt take anything away from anyone. Moreover, the only thing its availability endorses is the idea of more choice. Federal employees can bet on energy stocks via a mutual fund or shun them as they wish, or just stick with the exposure to the stock indexes that is already part of the plan. Even so, prying the mutual fund window open is taking quite a while. Congress has pushed several other big T.S.P. initiatives to the front of the line, and it will probably be at least two years before participants will get to climb through that window and see what the world of mutual funds looks like on the other side. What remains to be seen is how many of them will actually climb through. Many employers that work with Vanguard offer similar windows, and in 2017, only 1 percent of participants used them. Eight percent of the entities offering this option didnt get a single employee taking them up on it. Fidelity reports similar figures: Just 2.7 percent of participants use the window. Australia's bushfire crisis turns off tourists Mogo, Australia, Jan 13 (AFP) Jan 13, 2020 Families grieving for lost homes and loved ones, burned koalas rescued from charred forests: The devastation of Australia's bushfire crisis has tainted the country's reputation as a safe and alluring holiday destination. Images of the unprecedented scale of this summer's blazes have evoked global shock and an outpouring of sympathy. Thousands of tourists have been evacuated from coastal towns, international visitors have cancelled flights, and the US Department of State upgraded its security advice for Australia, warning travellers to "exercise increased caution". Tourism Australia was forced to suspend an upbeat advertising campaign featuring pop star Kylie Minogue that was launched in the middle of the crisis after the ad was met with incredulity about what many saw as poor timing. "We've been selling Australia on clean air, clear skies, bright shiny beaches, hopping animals. Unfortunately, what people have been seeing (are) singed koalas and kangaroos," said University of Technology Sydney lecturer David Beirman. More than nine million overseas tourists visited Down Under in the 12 months to June 2019, adding almost Aus$45 billion ($31 billion) to the economy, while Australians holidaying across the vast continent country spent another Aus$100 billion. Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said it was "too early to quantify the full impact of the bushfires". But Beirman, who specialises in tourism risk and crisis management, estimates the losses have already run into "billions", with the fires hitting during the peak summer holiday period and emptying whole regions of vacationers. - Towns 'deserted' - In tourism-reliant towns such as Mogo in New South Wales -- where a bushfire reduced homes and businesses to twisted metal and ash -- the impact has been felt immediately. Ten days after the blaze roared through, most remaining shops were shuttered, unable to open until electricity was restored, while the handful that had re-opened were running on generators. "It's deserted," gift shop owner Linda Pawley told AFP. "Usually there's hundreds and thousands of people coming through each day." Pawley described herself as "one of the lucky ones" -- her shop is still standing -- but the future is uncertain. "If the people don't come back, a lot of the businesses will probably fade out," she said. "I don't know who's going to keep their head above water and who's not." Maureen Nathan, a retired pharmacist, spent 20 years building up a tourist attraction dedicated to Mogo's 1850s gold rush -- only for it to go up in flames on New Year's Eve. "That fire was hot enough to melt brass scales," she said, telling AFP a pair of antique scales was found melted down to a small nugget in the rubble. "That is the ferocity (of the fire) that came through at incredible speed in the little village of Mogo." The pain of losing more than a dozen buildings that contained irreplaceable historical artefacts was still too "raw" for her to be able to decide on the site's future. "And we're not alone -- it's not one little pocket of a community, it's the entire (region)," Nathan said. "It's pretty well the entire eastern seaboard." - 'Open for business' - As the bushfire threat has eased in recent days, Australian politicians have exhorted visitors to return to fire-ravaged areas and also not ignore destinations untouched by the disaster. Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham emphasised the country was "still very much open for business". "There is much misinformation circulating online and in some media that exaggerates the geographical reach of these tragic bushfires," he said in a statement to AFP. "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." It is expected to take months or even years to rebuild Mogo and other devastated towns -- raising fears some residents will leave to find employment elsewhere. "It's a critical issue because you don't want to lose that workforce out of the tourist towns, and so there's going to have to be some really strategic thinking and programmes in place to retain those people in communities," Griffith Institute for Tourism director Sarah Gardiner told AFP. But some are optimistic the country's tourism industry can weather the crisis. "Many countries have gone through natural disasters on the sort of scale we're seeing with the Australian bushfires now and have bounced back pretty effectively -- when they've got their strategies right," tourism expert Beirman said, pointing to Japan's recovery in the wake of the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster. "I'm sure that people will come," said Nathan from Mogo. "But please, just give us a few days' breathing space. That's all." CAIRO Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently reiterated his call for political parties to merge under the banners of four or five strong parties to boost democratic competition, which he said has become stale. There are more than 100 political parties in Egypt, the majority of which were established after the 2011 revolution that toppled the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. Sisi told reporters during a Dec. 26 news conference in Fayoum governorate, We have talked a lot about having over 100 parties. I am not saying all of them should be merged, but there could at least be four or five entities they could be joined under, so as to be able to achieve political reform as soon as possible in terms of parties and their masses. Sisi's frequently repeated proposal has been well-received by the Wafd Party, one of Egypts largest and oldest political parties. The nationalist liberal organization has 36 seats in the 596-seat parliament, which is dominated by independents who are generally loyal to Sisi. While many of the independents were financed by political parties, these legislators are prevented from formally joining the parties by the constitution; a way around this issue may be sought. Bahaa Abu Shoqa, leader of the Wafd Party and head of parliaments Legislative Committee, told Al-Monitor the presidents call is a positive step. He said the Wafd Party believes the presence of three strong, competitive parties is a basic pillar of democracy necessary for the public good and is discussing Sisi's plan. He expects parties and political forces to consult with each other to activate the presidents proposal. He said, The Wafd Party ... supports any discussions or constructive dialogues" on the matter, adding, "The partys door is open to all the national forces. Abu Shoqa said he hopes that mergers can take place before the next parliamentary elections in November. Another party that said it is amenable to Sisi's proposal is the center-left Homeland Defenders Party, which has 18 seats in parliament. Salah Abdullah, deputy secretary-general of the Egyptian Islamic Labor Party (which has no seats in parliament), has been calling on Sisi to quickly establish a ruling party. He told Al-Monitor that many parties would want to join this ruling party, and that there would also still be the Wafd Party to represent right-leaning and capitalist forces and the National Progressive Unionist Party (with two seats in the parliament) to continue representing left-wing forces. He also said a national party would be formed to represent various Egyptian political currents, or that the Labor Party, which has been inactive, could be revived. Article 5 of the Egyptian Constitution calls for Egypt to have "political and partisan multiplicity." Abdullah said the plethora of political parties has made it so that partisan multiplicity is ineffective, and called for changes in the party system in order for the state to achieve greater political stability. He said the system needs to be changed to prevent it from being exploited by extremist groups seeking to remain on the scene. He also would have the state provide financial support for these parties, which currently are dependent on outsiders for income. Sakina Fouad, a former presidential adviser for women's affairs, called for the various political parties to engage in dialogue about the president's proposal for parties to merge and for a tangible action plan to be developed ahead of the next elections. The proposal, she told Al-Monitor, is a serious desire of the regime that was established after the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood following the mass protests of June 30, 2013, and subsequent coup. However, Fouad rejected the idea of Sisi establishing a political party, saying he is the president of all Egyptians and must express their free will. Gamal Abdel Gawad, director of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, told Al-Monitor the presidents proposal is necessary to fill any vacuum that banned groups and currents might take advantage of to return to the political scene. Abdel Gawad called on politicians and party members to hold serious discussions that would result in strong and effective parties ahead of the elections so that the next parliament can truly represent the public. Socialist Popular Alliance head Medhat al-Zahid called for the president to include in his proposal the immediate release of political detainees, and freedom of the press, which could pave the way for a strong partisan and political life. His party has no seats in the parliament; it and the Social Democratic Party, which has four seats, are part of a civil alliance subject to security constraints and arrests. Zahid told Al-Monitor that partisan political life is closed off by harsh restrictions; for example, representatives of civil society and the Alliance of Hope were arrested in June to prevent any expression of opposition. The alliance is a coalition of politicians, journalists, human rights activists and businesspeople. He said the presidents proposal should be implemented through negotiations between those who share the same ideas and vision and who decide to merge as a result, but not via orders and instructions. Farid Zahran, the head of the Social Democratic Party, said, The president's proposal can be considered a political breakthrough, but [only] under certain conditions, foremost of which is allowing the parties to hold mass conferences, lifting the restrictions imposed on them and releasing political detainees. According to Human Rights Watch and the Arab Network for Human Rights, the number of political detainees in Egypt since 2013 has reached 60,000, a figure Egyptian authorities reject. Zahran demanded that authorities leave room for democracy and allow the parties to consult with each other, communicate with the masses and form alliances or mergers on their own terms based on serious dialogue and not through directives from on high. Four years ago, Gov. John Bel Edwards lost a stunningly close, largely partisan floor fight in the state House of Representatives over the election of a new speaker. Edwards chosen candidate, Democratic Rep. Walt Leger III of New Orleans, lost to Republican Rep. Taylor Barras of New Iberia in the GOP-controlled lower chamber. Truth is Edwards got out-maneuvered by his Republican foes. For decades, Louisiana governors virtually anointed the House and Senates presiding officers, but in 2016 the House declared its independence from gubernatorial control by choosing Barras over Leger. That loss haunted Edwards throughout his first term. It framed every major legislative issue in stark, partisan terms and emboldened the governors GOP opposition inside and outside the Capitol. In retrospect, its difficult to see how that speakers race could have played out differently. Edwards overreached, and he paid dearly for it. By publicly choosing a Democrat to lead the Republican-majority House after he himself had championed legislative independence as a House member during Republican Gov. Bobby Jindals tenure Edwards threw down a gauntlet that his adversaries had to pick up. Now, four years later, the tables have turned. After winning re-election, Edwards publicly stayed out of the House speakers race. Instead, he let the Republicans 68 House members just two shy of a 70-vote supermajority bicker among themselves as several candidates vied for the speakers gavel. The jockeying got ugly in recent weeks as outside forces overplayed their hand, much as Edwards did four years ago. This time, Republicans turned on each other while Democrats, with some last-minute help from Edwards, made the critical difference in electing Republican Rep. Clay Schexnayder. All 35 Democrats voted for Schexnayder, along with 23 Republicans and both no-party independents. It was a key win for Edwards and a rebuke of three leading Louisiana Republicans who had supported Mack U.S. Sen. John Neely Kennedy, state Attorney General Jeff Landry, and Baton Rouge mega donor (and self-proclaimed kingmaker) Lane Grigsby. Kennedy and Landry ran the Louisiana Committee for a Conservative Majority (LCCM), which played a huge role in promoting far-right Republicans in the recent statewide elections. Grigsby was the top supporter and mentor to failed GOP gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone. The Kennedy-Landry-Grigsby troika twisted arms and even ran post-election advertisements against some of Schexnayders House backers. Their efforts backfired, however, and their failure to learn the lesson of Edwards similar attempt to shoe-horn Leger into the speakers chair four years ago could have far-reaching implications in the current term. Clancy DuBos: Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng ushers in new era Lee Sheng appoints record number of women and minorities to key posts during her first week in office. At a minimum, the House has declared its independence from all outside influences. House GOP leader Rep. Blake Miguez, who supported Mack, said Schexnayders win gives outsized influence to Democrats and a victory to Edwards. Well see. Schexnayder, like Mack, has a solidly conservative voting record. He pledges to work across party lines and rejects Washington-style partisanship. Moving Louisiana forward will take every one of us, he told his colleagues. Now its Edwards and House Democrats turn to feel emboldened but they, too, would do well to learn the lessons of history and not overplay their hand. Clancy DuBos: 2020 promises Washington-style partisanship on most issues in the Louisiana Legislature Gov. John Bel Edwards likely to have a harder time wrangling Republican legislators than in his first term. LOS ANGELES, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R.) today issued the following statement on Senate Bill 50 after it was moved to the Senate Rules Committee: "The California Association of REALTORS thanks Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins for her outstanding leadership and her commitment to continuing the conversation on SB 50. As proud co-sponsors of SB 50, we firmly believe that it continues to represent the most significant effort to address California's housing affordability crisis," C.A.R. President Jeanne Radsick said. "California lawmakers have the opportunity to make 2020 the year of housing supply and we're encouraged by the Legislature's focus on this in the first few weeks of the year. We know that increasing the housing supply is the best long-term solution to making the dream of homeownership a reality for millions more Californians. "We look forward to working with the governor, the pro tem and other lawmakers in the coming weeks to get SB 50 across the finish line." Leading the way... in California real estate for more than 110 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with more than 200,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles. SOURCE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R.) Related Links https://www.car.org Experienced Ireland second-row Iain Henderson says Ulster are relishing the chance to reach the European Champions Cup quarter-finals this weekend despite competition from five other teams for the remaining three spots. The Irish province sit second in Pool 3 on 17 points and a victory in Belfast over Bath, a side they have never lost to, on Saturday would clinch a last eight place for the second straight year. European champions Saracens, Northampton and Gloucester, who all have 14 points ahead of the final round of group games, as well as Glasgow Warriors on 12 and Munster on 11 have a chance of reaching the knock-outs. "A lot of the boys who played in the quarter-final last year absolutely loved it and we relish the opportunity to do it again and try to progress," 53-time international Henderson said. "To make it out of the Pool stages would be a massive statement by this group and all we have been working towards. Anything other than play-off rugby is not good for us," the 27-year-old added. Three French clubs in Racing 92, Toulouse, Clermont, four-time winners Leinster and Exeter Chiefs have already guaranteed their progress but are eyeing one of the four home ties on the weekend of April 3/4/5. Clermont have lost just once in nine European quarter-finals held at the Stade Marcel-Michelin since the turn of the century. Centre Isaia Toeava says already knocked out Harlequins pose a threat to the Top 14 outfit's hopes of hosting a quarter-final. "It's real dangerous. When you have nothing to lose you can just throw the ball around and run it from everywhere. For us we have everything to lose," he told AFP this week. Toeava, 34, is expected to lineup outside the in-form George Moala who has scored five times in Europe this campaign, one try behind competition leaders Garry Ringrose and Teddy Thomas. "He's playing some good footy at the moment. He has probably been the best player for us this season," Toeava said. "I'm just happy he's on our team and we're not playing against him." - Russell's Glasgow favour - Racing's Finn Russell says he remains wary of welcoming a team to Paris after March's loss to Toulouse at the same stage. "It's a massive advantage at home but as we saw last year Toulouse got a red card early on in that game and we still didn't manage to beat them," the Scotland fly-half told AFP on Tuesday. A French victory at Sarries on Sunday would boost the hopes of Russell's former club Glasgow, who travel to Sale in Pool 2, of reaching the next stage. "If they get a win this weekend they have a high chance of qualifying depending on other results. I'm sure I'll have a few Glasgow boys asking for us to do a job on them so they can try and qualify," he said. Elsewhere in Pool 4 Munster face the Ospreys at Thomond Park, Northampton travel to Lyon in Pool 1 and Gloucester head to Top 14 champions Toulouse in Pool 5 for spots in the next round. Ulster's Iain Henderson was named in Ireland's Six Nations squad earlier this week A win for Finn Russell's Racing 92 over Saracens could open the door for his former side Glasgow to reach the last eight No peace talks with India without resolving Kashmir: Pakistan FM Qureshi International oi-PTI Islamabad, Jan 17: Pakistan is not prepared to pay any price for peace with India and certainly not without resolving the Kashmir issue in a just manner, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said. Addressing the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank here on Thursday, Qureshi reiterated Pakistan's demand that US President Donald Trump should mediate to resolve the Kashmir issue. Ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories on August 5, evoking strong reactions from Islamabad. India to invite Pakistan PM Imran Khan for SCO summit Pakistan has been trying to rally international support against India on the issue. "Our government wants peace in the neighbourhood. We want, we need peace in order to focus on achieving our domestic agenda for economic reform and development. But we are not prepared to pay any price for peace with India, certainly not our dignity and certainly not without resolving the Kashmir dispute in a just manner," Qureshi said. He alleged that instead of fighting poverty and hunger together, the "RSS-inspired BJP government has embarked upon the project of turning India into a Hindu Rashtra". "The adherence of Hindutva and an Akhand Bharat have established this ascendancy with disastrous consequences for all in India and the world to see," he alleged. Qureshi said on August 5 India tried to change the "disputed status" of Jammu and Kashmir and "alter" its demographic structure, breaking all relevant international laws and "violating" several UN Security Council resolutions in the process. India has been seeking to break the will of the Kashmiri people by imprisoning them in their homes and imposing a communications blockade that continues to this day, he said. "Indian narrative that Kashmir is India's internal part is firmly refuted by its being on the Security Council agenda. If this were not the case, why would the French President raise it with the Indian Prime Minister?" he asked. "We know that President Trump is profoundly worried by the Kashmir situation and we welcome his repeated offers of mediation in resolving the Kashmir dispute. The United States alone commands the moral authority and respect in South Asia to resolve the longest pending dispute on the UN agenda," he said. "We hope president Trump is successful in realising his goal and can make a lasting contribution to substantial peace in South Asia. That could be his enduring legacy," Qureshi said. Although President Trump has offered to mediate on the Kashmir issue in the past, New Delhi has told Washington that it is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan and there is no scope for any third-party mediation. On the sidelines of the G7 summit in the French town of Biarritz in August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while interacting with the media alongside President Trump, categorically rejected any scope for third party mediation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, saying the two countries can discuss and resolve all issues bilaterally and "we don't want to trouble any third country". On a two-day visit to Washington DC, Qureshi is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien on Friday. On Thursday, he met lawmakers at the US Capitol. In his speech, Qureshi referred to the recent arrest of an Indian police officer and joined the conspiracy theory about terrorist attacks in India. "Meanwhile, we all followed reports of capture of Indian police officer, Davinder Singh, whose footprint is now being seen in some major terrorist attack, which India itself orchestrated and blamed on Pakistan," said Qureshi. "We have been consistently warning the world community about another false flag operation against Pakistan that Davinder Singh was accompanied by two militants on his way to Delhi in close proximity to Republic Day celebrations should not be lost on anyone," the minister said. Qureshi said that the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens were raising fundamental questions about the ideals like democracy and secularism that India's founding father passionately advocated. He said that every other day, military officials or politicians from India make veiled threats against Pakistan. Earlier in the day, Qureshi met members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 17, 2020, 16:51 [IST] Union minister Smriti Irani on Friday blamed the AAP government in Delhi over the "delay" in the hanging of the Nirbhaya case convicts. Addressing a press conference, the BJP leader also accused the Aam Aadmi Party dispensation of depriving the victim's mother of justice. "Why was the prisons department, which comes under AAP government, sleeping after the dismissal of review petition in July 2018? Why did the government give Rs 10,000 and a sewing kit to the juvenile rapist when he was released?" she posed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MobiKwiks PG is among the Top 3 Payment Gateways in India today It has the best tech for payments in mobile apps, has clocked 94 per cent success rate. New Delhi: MobiKwik, Indias leading FinTech Company, today announced that its Payment Gateway (PG) business unit (BU) will surpass revenues of INR 1000 crores for the year 2021. The company doubled its revenue in the Payment Gateway business in 2019. Its on track to double the revenues in 2020 and is confident of doubling it yet again in 2021. The strong business growth is attributed to the addition of new customers, scaling-up of existing customers and new products that solve hard problems. MobiKwik has been demonstrating a focus on profitability overall; in the PG BU, the company broke even in April 2019 and has been profitable every month since then. MobiKwik PG is trusted by over 4000 online businesses including Uber, Indian Railways, Dream11, etc. and is the third largest player in India. These businesses choose MobiKwik PG because it has a secure, scalable 24X7 monitored infrastructure, offers universal payment methods (like a credit card, debit card, net banking, UPI, EMI, pay later, wallets, etc.) and enables rapid customization of payment flows. For new age startups, it offers a simple self-onboarding on its website with open access to payment APIs and sandbox testing without any formal account creation or charges. The company claims to have the best tech stack for Digital Payments - clocking 94% transaction success rate consistently for Mobile App driven companies (which is most of Indian eCommerce). The company has recently solved for two major problems faced by Indian eCommerce: 1) Delayed Cash Flow (typically most PGs in India settle to its clients bank on T+1 or T+2 basis where T is the day when payment was made on clients website); thereby client company always needing working capital for 1-2 days to deal with this delayed payout, and 2) Inability to sell to international users (typically most Indian PGs do not allow their clients apps to accept international credit or debit cards for payment citing risk reasons). MobiKwik PG has launched two new products to address these - 1) Instant Payout, where a client gets his settlement on T Same Day instead of T+2, thereby eliminating the need for 2 days of working capital 2) Go Global, a service which specifically allows a client app to collect payments from international cards Product innovation such as these, make MobiKwik PG, the platform of choice for enterprises and start-ups across a wide range of industries including financial services, grocery, travel, gaming, utilities, telecom, health, education, auto, and ecommerce. Commenting on the success Upasana Taku, Co-founder - MobiKwik said, We have seen strong traction in our Payment Gateway BU in 2019 and are targeting aggressive (doubling of) revenue goals next two years. Our formula is simple and time-tested - razor sharp focus on select growth levers, continuous new product development, and discipline of long term business build out. Bitter rivals Salva Kiir (left) and Riek Machar at talks last year which have finally produced a new government (AFP Photo/Majak Kuany, Majak Kuany) Juba (AFP) - The latest round of peace talks between South Sudan's two rival leaders has failed to strike a deal on the vital issue of internal boundaries, mediators said on Friday. Critics have accused President Salva Kiir of reorganising state boundaries to shore up his power and the issue has hobbled talks with rebel leader Riek Machar. South Africa's Deputy President David Mabuza, mediating the talks in South Sudan's capital Juba, said the two men had agreed to a week-long arbitration process to help resolve the dispute. The longtime rivals, whose fallout sparked a civil war in 2013, signed a peace agreement in 2018 but have missed two deadlines to form a power-sharing government. They have held several rounds of discussions since November, when they were given 100 more days to form a unity government. Mabuza said the talks had concluded without an agreement over states and boundaries. "The number of states and their boundaries has been a sticking point between parties towards the formation of a transitional government of national unity," the South African presidency said in a statement Friday. "Given that this matter has not been settled, the parties have agreed on a seven day period for further consultation on the proposal of arbitration as a mechanism to break the impasse." Mabuza said mediators "are confident" Kiir and Machar would meet the new February 22 deadline to form a coalition, a key pillar of the September 2018 peace deal that largely brought a pause to years of fighting. - Security issues - But Machar's SPLA-IO party said Friday it would not enter a power-sharing arrangement until the outstanding matter of states was resolved. "We didn't agree to form the government and then discuss the number of states. What we said is that we should form the government after we solve the issues of number of states and their boundaries," Manawa Peter Gatkuoth, a spokesman for the SPLA-IO, told AFP. Story continues When it won independence in 2011, South Sudan was divided into 10 states but it has since been subdivided into 32, in what many critics see as gerrymandering of traditional boundaries by Kiir to bolster his power. Machar is insisting on a return to the original 10 states, or 21 states as based on colonial boundaries. A technical commission set up under the peace agreement to find a compromise, failed to do so and said only a political agreement would lead to progress. War broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 after a dispute between Kiir and Machar sparked ethnic clashes and brutal violence, leaving almost 400,000 dead. Another sticking point has been security issues, such as training and uniting rebel and government troops into a single army and assuring Machar's safety in Juba. 11 US troops wounded in last week's Iran attack on Iraq base Washington, Jan 17 (AFP) Jan 17, 2020 At least 11 American troops were injured in an Iranian attack on an Iraqi base where American soldiers were deployed, US Central Command said Thursday, although the US military had previously maintained there were no casualties. "While no US service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on al-Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," US Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban said in a statement. At the time of the attack, most of the 1,500 US soldiers at the base had been tucked away in bunkers, after advance warning from superiors. The strike caused significant material damage but no casualties, according to previous reports from the US military. US President Donald Trump also said on the morning following the volley that "no American were harmed in last night's attack." However, Urban said that "in the days following the attack, out of an abundance of caution, some service members were transported from al-Asad Air Base." "At this time, eight individuals have been transported to Landstuhl, and three have been transported to Camp Arifjan," he said, referring to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. In addition to the sprawling Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq, Iran's missiles also targeted a base in Arbil, housing both American and other foreign troops deployed in a US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State jihadist group. "When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening," Urban said. CHICAGO - Days after President Donald Trump killed an Iranian general and said he was sending more soldiers to the Middle East, about 100 protesters stood on a pedestrian bridge over Chicagos Lake Shore Drive with an illuminated sign that read No War in Iran. Some 200 people marched in the bitter cold near Boston, while a few dozen people demonstrated on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall and at similarly sized gatherings across the U.S. Three years after Trump took office and millions of people swarmed to the Womens March in Washington and companion marches across the country, these typically modest protests are often the most visible sign of todays Trump resistance. Activists say the numbers should not be mistaken for a lack of energy or motivation to vote Trump out of office come November. The anti-Trump movement of 2020, they say, is more organized and more focused on action. Many people have moved from protesting to knocking on doors for candidates, mailing postcards to voters, advocating for specific causes or running for office. But the movement that sprung up to oppose Trumps presidency also is more splintered than it was when pink-hatted protesters flooded Washington the day after his inauguration for what is generally regarded as the largest protest in the city since the Vietnam era. There have been schisms over which presidential candidates to back in 2020, as well as disagreements about race and religion and about whether the march reflected the diversity of the movement. Those divisions linger even as many on the left say they need a united front heading into Novembers election. The disputes led to dueling events in New York City last year, the resignation of some national Womens March leaders and the disbanding of a group in Washington state. Organizers expected about 100,000 people across the country to participate in this years Womens March, taking place on Saturday in over 180 cities. Several thousand gathered in Washington, far fewer than the turnout last year, when about 100,000 people held a rally east of the White House. Instead of a single big event, there were various actions this past week that focused on climate change, immigration and reproductive rights. Those issues appeared most important to Saturdays protesters in the nations capital. I teach a lot of immigrant students, and in political times like this I want to make sure Im using my voice to speak up for them, said Rochelle McGurn, 30, an elementary school instructor from Burlington, Vermont. They need to feel like they belong, because they do. The week reflects that the movement is moving into the next stage, said director Caitlin Breedlove. Leaders of MoveOn.org, which organized some of the anti-Iran war protests, agreed. Mobilization manager Kate Alexander said the group and its members pulled together over 370 protests in 46 states in less than 48 hours to show resistance to Trumps actions. The president ordered airstrikes that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Irans Quds Force who has been blamed for deadly attacks on U.S. troops and allies going back decades. Iran pledged retribution, sparking fears of an all-out war. Alexander noted that the Iran protest is just one of many issues MoveOn members have organized in response to in the past few years. Its not that there are fewer people mobilizing its that theyre mobilized in different campaigns. Theres more to do, Alexander said. I dont believe people are tuning out. I think people are lying in wait. While waiting, many have passed on some major moments in Trumps presidency. Resistance groups rallied on the eve of the House vote for impeachment, but even some of those who participated said they were disappointed more people didnt turn out. Several organizations also said much of their organizing is done through social media or text message and email programs, which are less visible but have a significant impact. In 2018, the Womens March had over 24 billion social media impressions, Breedlove said. Atef Said, a sociology professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said all social movements evolve over time. He noted the Trump resistance movement is global and will continue regardless of whether Trump is reelected. Movements always rise and decline in terms of numbers on the ground, he said. Andy Koch, a 30-year-old nurse who lives in Chicago, has seen that ebb and flow firsthand. Koch has been active in protesting Trumps policies even before he took office. When Koch was a student at University of Illinois at Chicago, Trumps campaign cancelled a 2016 speech at the campus following tense student protests. Koch said the anti-Trump activism swelled when he first took office and again in early 2017 when he announced his first travel ban affecting people from several predominantly Muslim countries. Roughly 1,000 people mobilized in Chicago immediately after Trump authorized the attack on the Iranian leader, and then the crowds subsided a few days later after the threat of war seemed to subside following Trumps address to the nation Jan 8. That day, a few dozen including Koch showed up in 20-degree Fahrenheit (minus 7 Celsius) temperatures outside Trump International Hotel Chicago during rush hour. Koch understands that masses of people wont show up for every protest. What allows those numbers to come out ... is continued organizing going on in between these events, he said. He said there have been numerous smaller protests hes been involved with, including protesting U.S. foreign policy in Venezuela and Syria, and theyve taken other forms. For instance, hes helped plan a teach-in on Iranian foreign policy this week at UIC. Maya Wells, a 21-year-old political science senior at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was a speaker at a rally last week in Charlotte. Wells, who is Persian American and has family in Iran, said she doesnt look at the numbers of people who turn out but rather at the fact that they took time out of their day to be there. I see more people coming. Because some of my friends who are conservatives and voted for Trump, theyre against this, she said, adding that the most recent protest wasnt the last. There will be more days to come, Wells said. I have no doubt in my mind. ___ This story has been corrected to show Womens March organizers expect about 10,000 people, not 100,000 people, to attend Saturdays protest in the nations capital. ___ Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen in Chicago,Sarah Blake Morgan in Charlotte, N.C., and Lynn Berry in Washington contributed to this report. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 18:08:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with Russia's new administration to make new progress in bilateral relations, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Friday. Russia's state duma, or the lower house of parliament approved Mikhail Mishustin's nomination as prime minister on Jan. 16. Russian President Vladimir Putin then appointed Mishustin for the position. "China extends its congratulations on the move and believes the new administration under the leadership of Prime Minister Mishustin will make new achievements in national development," Geng said, adding, "China will expand cooperation with Russia under the framework of regular meetings between the Chinese premier and Russian prime minister, advance China-Russia relations and deepen practical cooperation in various fields." Gina Shakespeare is a film and television producer from New Zealand. Over the past 15 years, she has produced and directed hundreds of hours of content, including TV commercials, programs, and corporate video for a wide variety of clientele; and has authored 3 short films. She is currently the producer and host of "Declassified," an investigative news program by The Epoch Times. It seems like everyone has an opinion about Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussexs decision to step back as senior members of the royal family. Since announcing their intent to become financially independent and split their time between the U.K. and North America the British press and public have worked themselves into a frenzy. It seems like feelings on the matter are split. Some people seem disgusted by the Sussexes choice to pave their own path for their mental health and for the sake of their infant son, Archie Harrison. In contrast, considering the bullying and racism that Markle has endured and continues to endure, others seem to understand. Now, Prince Harrys ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas has weighed on the Sussexes retreat which has been dubbed Megxit. Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas dated for two years Bonas is a good friend of Prince Harrys cousin, Princess Eugenie, which is how the duo was introduced. They dated from 2012 to 2014. Though they were together for some time, their relationship ran its course. When their split was announced in 2014, an insider told People, He found her too needy and it just wasnt working out. However, it appears that the two were able to remain friendly. Its very sad but they have decided to split up, the second source tells explained. This is an amicable decision and they are very much still the best of friends but they have decided to go their separate ways. This is what Cressida Bonas thinks about Megxit Though Bonas and Prince Harry remain distantly friendly, and she even attended the Sussexes May 2018 wedding, Bonas is not eager to lend her two cents about Megxit. During an interview with ES Magazine Bonas was asked about the scrutiny that the Duchess of Sussex is under and how she felt about Megxit. She had quite the response. I wouldnt take a position on that because it would be a headline, she explained. Also out of respect. It feels like a long time ago. When it comes up, it feels strange because Im in a different place. No one likes to be labeled. The hurdles for me are when Im trying to do my work and people want to talk about him. I work very hard and love what I do, but it is still something I have to contend with. Bonas has her own successful career as an actress and shes really engaged to her fiance, Harry Wentworth-Stanley. We certainly get why shes not thrilled about these questions. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle probably wont attend Cressida Bonas wedding Bonas and Wentworth-Stanley both run in the same circles as Prince Harry. Therefore it seems likely that the Sussexes might get an invite to the wedding. Invites havent gone out yet, but Im told Harry and Meghan will be invited, an insider told The Sun. Harry and Cressie are on good terms, Meghan has got to know her and they are expected to attend. However, with the drama surrounding them, the Sussexes probably wont show up for this one. After all, their presence would possibly overshadow the newlywed couple. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images In an effort to avoid a second Charlottesville, the Virginia state government and federal law enforcement are taking serious precautions in advance of a gun-rights rally on Martin Luther King Day in Richmond that has attracted the attention of far-right agitators. Yesterday, Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency in the capital city ahead of the weekends Lobby Day rally, stating that outside protestors have as their purpose not peaceful assembly but violence, rioting, and insurrection. On Thursday morning, the FBI arrested three suspected members of the neo-Nazi group the Base who had discussed traveling to Richmond with the alleged intention of instigating violence. The three men Patrik Jordan Mathews, 27, Brian M. Lemley Jr., 33, and William G. Bilbrough IV, 19 were charged with multiple federal crimes in Maryland, according to the Justice Department. Among other charges, prosecutors state that Lemley and Mathews built a functioning assault rifle, and purchased over 1,500 rounds of ammunition for it. The three are allegedly connected to the Base, which serves as a social network to link cellular neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups. According to a 2018 report from Vice News, the operation helps cell groups in networking, creating propaganda, organizing in-person meet-ups, and discussing potential violence or direct action against minority groups, especially Jewish and black Americans. An extensive online library contains a trove of manuals with instructions on lone wolf terror-tactics, gunsmithing, data mining, interrogation tactics, counter-surveillance techniques, bomb making, chemical weapons creation, and guerilla warfare. In November, the FBI arrested an 18-year-old in New Jersey using the Base as a recruitment tool and to promote violent attacks against people of color. Although its unclear if the reference is intentional, the base is the English translation of al-Qaeda. A prolific recruiter for the Base, Mathews has been the subject of significant media attention over the last six months: After his dismissal from his combat engineering role in the Canadian Army for his white nationalist ties, Mathews went missing, and crossed into the U.S. near the Minnesota border in August. As of December, Mathews was at a paramilitary training camp run by the Base in Georgia. Because of the undocumented crossing, Lemley and Bilbrough face charges of transporting and harboring aliens, and Mathews with being an alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition. According to a DOJ statement released upon their arrest, the Base members discussed recruitment, creating a white ethno-state, committing acts of violence against minority communities (including African-Americans and Jewish-Americans), the organizations military-style training camps, and ways to make improvised explosive devices. As part of his military training, Mathews is considered an expert in the use of explosives. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi underlined Egypts strategic stance supporting the security and stability of Sudan in a phone call with the head of the countrys sovereignty council on Thursday. El-Sisi praised deeply-rooted historic ties with Sudan when he spoke to Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. Al-Burhan lauded Egypts efforts to cement cooperation between the two countries and maintain Sudans safety and stability, El-Sisis spokesman Bassam Radi said. The pair also reviewed developments in regional issues of common interest, particularly the Libyan crisis and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam talks, Radi added. By Christoph Steitz, Vera Eckert and Matthew Green FRANKFURT (Reuters) - RWE , Germany's biggest power producer, will cut about 6,000 jobs, or nearly a third of its current workforce, by 2030 as the country moves to phase out brown coal as an energy source, the company said on Thursday. Germany's exit from the coal industry marks the second major upheaval for RWE in as many years following the breakup of the .company's former subsidiary Innogy with peer E.ON . It also accelerates RWE's transformation into a pure renewables group, which - along with its low valuation - could turn it into a takeover target, Goldman Sachs said last week. RWE said it would receive 2.6 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in compensation from the government over 15 years to soften the blow to its business. However, this was less than the 3.5 billion euro hit it estimated it would take, even excluding the expected loss of profits, it added. "RWE stretches to the limits of what is possible," Chief Executive Rolf Martin Schmitz told journalists on a call. "And we will bear the majority of the burden the German government demands for the coal phase-out." After months of wrangling, the German government early on Thursday agreed a compensation plan with energy companies, affected regions and workers to pay for the accelerated shutdown of coal-fired power stations by 2038. RWE said it expected special writedowns of half a billion euros on power plants and open-cast mines as a result of the agreement. About 350 million euros will be set aside for personnel measures. Shares in the group were 2% higher at 1508 GMT, the second-biggest gainers among German blue-chips, having earlier touched their highest since Sept. 25, 2014 as traders welcomed the clarity after months of wrangling. "RWE's agreement with the German government lifts an important overhang," Bernstein analysts wrote. Story continues "Some investors were cautious on whether RWE would be able to receive adequate compensation for early mine closures, given the past track record of negotiations with the government." Schmitz denied speculation that RWE may now seek to sell its coal assets, adding the firm, which is also Europe's third-largest renewable group after Iberdrola and Enel , would stand by its employees. "There are no such considerations and no talks on the matter," Schmitz said. The company has in the past denied claims that its coal-fired plants are loss-making, saying it would not run them unless they generated cash. Dave Jones, European electricity analyst at Sandbag, a non-profit think-tank, said that it had been clear that coal would have to be phased out even before the Paris Agreement to combat climate change was struck in 2015. "It's a pertinent lesson for all other countries: deal with coal now, and save yourself a big bill in the future," he said. (GRAPHIC: RWE vs European rivals - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/1135/1126/rwe.png) (Additional reporting by Matthew Green in London; Editing by Michelle Martin, Kirsten Donovan and Jan Harvey) North Macedonia's caretaker prime minister, Oliver Spasovski, vowed on Friday to pick up where his predecessor had left off and pursue mutually beneficial projects together with Russia BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) North Macedonia's caretaker prime minister, Oliver Spasovski, vowed on Friday to pick up where his predecessor had left off and pursue mutually beneficial projects together with Russia. Zoran Zaev stepped down early in January after the European Union refused to begin long-awaited accession talks with the Balkan nation. An interim cabinet was put in charge of holding a snap election in April. "All processes launched by diplomats of the two countries, specifically mutually beneficial projects. .. will continue to be implemented on time," Spasovski's government said in a press release. The North Macedonian prime minister stressed that his government was authorized to continue foreign policies, "including the deepening of cooperation with Russia." Spasovski, a former interior minister, met with the Russian ambassador in Skopje for talks earlier in the day and gave him a letter congratulating Russia's new prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, on his recent nomination. Pegasus is linked to political surveillance in Mexico, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia: University of Torontos Citizen Lab. An Israeli court on Thursday ordered closed-door hearings in Amnesty Internationals legal bid to stop NSO Group from exporting surveillance software, which rights groups say is used to spy on journalists and dissidents worldwide. A Tel Aviv District Court judge cited national security concerns when she banned the public and the media from court sessions. The move drew quick condemnation from the campaign group. Its outrageous we have to be gagged, Gil Naveh, an Amnesty spokesman, told reporters. Israels defence ministry which asked for the court restrictions and NSO declined to comment on Amnestys lawsuit. The case could decide whether the government needs tougher oversight on cyber-exports a sector in which Israel is a world leader. Amnesty says governments have used the Israeli companys mobile-phone hacking software, Pegasus, to crack down on activists across the world. A study by the University of Torontos Citizen Lab has linked Pegasus to political surveillance in Mexico, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. NSO has said it only sells its technology to state and law enforcement agencies to help them fight terrorism and serious crime. Judge Rachel Barkai initially had said she would allow Amnestys arguments to be heard publicly, but government lawyers argued it would then look as if the state was admitting to Amnestys accusations and Barkai changed her mind. NSO came under particular scrutiny when a Saudi dissident close to murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi filed a lawsuit alleging that NSO had helped the royal court to take over his smartphone and spy on his communications with Khashoggi. NSO has denied that its technology was used in Khashoggis murder. In October, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook Inc, sued NSO in the United States federal court in San Francisco. WhatsApp accused NSO of helping government spies break into the phones of about 1,400 users across four continents. In Amnestys case, brought by members and supporters of its Israel office, the organisation said NSO continues to profit from its spyware being used to commit abuses against activists across the world and the Israeli government has stood by and watched it happen. The best way to stop NSOs powerful spyware products reaching repressive governments is to revoke the companys export licence, and that is exactly what this legal case seeks to do, said Danna Ingleton, deputy director of Amnesty Tech. Amnesty Tech is described on Amnesty Internationals website as a global collective of advocates, hackers, researchers and technologies challenging the systematic threat to our rights by surveillance-based businesses. NSO, which was purchased by London-based private equity firm Novalpina Capital last year, announced in September it would begin abiding by UN guidelines on human rights abuses. Sen. Tom Cullerton of Villa Park had been indicted on embezzlement charges for allegations he drew a salary and benefits from the Teamsters union despite doing little to no work. Federal agents had raided then-Sen. Martin Sandovals office at the Capitol. And former Rep. Luis Arroyo had been arrested on a federal bribery charge after a state senator wore a wire for the FBI and recorded Arroyo. A source has told the Chicago Tribune that Sen. Terry Link, a Vernon Hills Democrat, was the one wearing the wire, though Link has vehemently denied it. Evening Standard Wine subscriptions are a smart way to discover something new to drink, and having boxes delivered to your door saves the heavy trek home from the supermarket - and means youll stay reassuringly stocked up. From natural wine subscriptions to at-home wine tastings to gift your dad, here are 13 of the best wine subscription boxes to add to your cart. Subscribers can choose from a 12-bottle case of mixed wines, delivered every 12 weeks (or less often, its up to you). Associated Press MAUMEE, Ohio A federal agency fined an Ohio-based grain handling company over alleged safety violations that led to the deaths of two employees last year. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined The Andersons Inc. nearly $292,000 for grain handling, and walking and working surfaces violations in the July 19 accident, the Toledo Blade reported. The company, headquartered in Monclova Township, came under fire following the deaths of Joshua Stone, 29, of Rossford, and James Heilman, 56, of Perrysburg. The two men suffocated after becoming trapped inside a grain storage tank owned by the local agribusiness. The agency proposed a fine of $291,716 and cited the company for two willful and two serious violations for not developing an emergency action plan that included the proper procedures for grain rescue and coordination with local rescue services. The Andersons said in a statement it has cooperated with OSHA throughout its investigation of this incident and will continue to take steps necessary to assure compliance with OSHAs safety standards. The company added it cannot further comment at this time and that its team is still deeply shaken by this tragedy as our thoughts and prayers remain with the families of these employees. The Andersons will have 15 days to contest the fine but regardless, the federal agency placed the agribusiness in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program. (2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) Resentment and secrets can start like a slow burn, but sure enough, they eventually turn into a blazing inferno. And an inferno is what kicks off the intriguing and ambitious first look at Hulu's highly anticipated new limited series, an adaptation of Celeste Ng's acclaimed 2017 novel Little Fires Everywhere. The clip, which dropped Friday, opens with a horror-stricken woman, Elena (Reese Witherspoon), who watches her lavish home go up in flames. Horror-struck: The intriguing and ambitious first look at Hulu's new limited series Little Fires Everywhere, starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, dropped Friday Ablaze: The clip opens with a horror-stricken woman (Witherspoon) who watches her lavish home go up in flames 'Someone burned down your house, with you inside,' a fireman says. 'Do you know anyone that would do this?' Another shot of Elena's face shows a grieving, yet knowing expression she has her suspicions. Cut to a previous time, and Reese's Elena is seen waking in her beautifully appointed bedroom. Another woman is seen at a window Mia, played by Kerry Washington, stands in decidedly drabber surroundings. Cut to a previous time: Reese's Elena is seen waking in her beautifully appointed bedroom Another woman is seen: Mia, played by Washington, stands in decidedly drabber surroundings 'One day you wake up, and your life is settled,' Witherspoon says in voice over. 'And you know who you are... Or at least, you think you do.' Another shot shows Reese playing to type in the character she meticulously arranges multi-colored paper lunch bags in a row on the kitchen counter, and it immediately becomes clear that the actress is yet again playing some new iteration of the Type A control freak she portrayed in Big Little Lies as Madeline, and (most successfully) in Election as Tracy Flick. We see the two women together at a book club-type meeting in a gorgeous house, where Reese introduces Kerry's character to a group of predominantly white women. Madeline Mackenzie part II: Another shot shows Reese playing to type in the character she meticulously arranges multi-colored paper lunch bags in a row on the kitchen counter Book club: We see the two women together at a book club-type meeting in a gorgeous house, where Reese introduces Kerry's character to a group of predominantly white women 'She's new to Shaker [Heights, Ohio],' Reese says, before casting Kerry a menacing sidelong glance that speaks volumes. More is then revealed about Washington's character Mia, who is caring for her daughter and at one point seems to be living out of her car. At dinner, Reese is grilled by her husband, played by Dawson's Creek alum Joshua Jackson, who asks her about her association with 'a homeless woman.' More is then revealed about Washington's character: Mia is caring for her daughter and at one point seems to be living out of her car 'You know what felt good? Helping.' she fires back. And thus begins a back and forth between the two women, with mounting tension: Reese finds Kerry on the street near her car, and says, 'I've been meaning to hire someone for my house, just to do a little light cleaning, some laundry...' 'You mean to be your maid?' Washington responds. 'I meant more of a... house-helper,' Witherspoon replies back. The class difference is palpable, and soon they are in a screaming match. Class warfare: Thus begins a back and forth between the two women, with mounting tension 'A good mother makes good choices,' Reese's Elena states. 'You didn't make good choices! You HAD good choices!' Kerry's Mia fires back. The drama grows to a boiling point, giving off an aura not unlike Bong Joon-Ho's masterful awards contender Parasite. 'A good mother makes good choices,' Reese's Elena states 'You didn't make good choices! You HAD good choices!' Kerry's Mia fires back 'Have you really looked at yourself? The parts you're afraid to look at?' Kerry asks in voice over as fast-paced images reveal passionate interactions of various kinds, and soon enough, more little fires everywhere. Both Witherspoon and Washington are also credited as executive producers on the series, and they were on hand at the Hulu Panel at the Winter TCA 2020 tour in support of the show on Friday at The Langham Huntington hotel in Pasadena, California. Little Fires Everywhere premieres on Hulu March 18. Fast-paced images reveal: Passionate interactions of various kinds Soon enough: More little fires everywhere are sparked Costars and co-producers: Both Witherspoon and Washington are also credited as executive producers on the series, and they were on hand at the Hulu Panel at the Winter TCA 2020 tour in support of the show on Friday in Pasadena 45-year-old Theresa Furrer, a lifelong knitter and crocheter, is helping pet owners keep their beloved animals close to their hearts by knitting their hair into garments and accessories they can wear. Theresa is part of a community of artists that specialize in a form of yarn spinning known as chiengora chien, the French word for dog, and angora, from the yarn spun from the soft belly fur of the angora rabbit. They basically take dog and cat hair and spin it into yarn that can subsequently be used to make soft clothing or accessories for grieving pet owners. The 45-year-old Pittsburgh woman says that she understands how some people might find her craft somewhat creepy or even gross, but she is not fazed by it at all. Photo: Nine Lives Twine/Facebook Furrers experience with making pet hair yarn began after her own traumatizing experience. When she lost her pet cat Cleo in 2012, she decided to preserve her with the help of a taxidermist, but she ended up waiting nine months to get the cats preserved body back, which she describes as very traumatic. Thats when she started thinking of other ways of keeping a piece of your pet that wasnt as extreme as taxidermy. She bought a spinning wheel, and starting working with cotton at first, to get a hang of the process. A vegan for several decades, Furrer didnt want to spin sheep wool, so she started working directly with cat and dog fur. Her first project was the black fur of a Poodle, which she describes as a nightmare to work with. Poodle is the worst dog to spin, Theresa Furrer told The New York Times. I was like, If I can get this poodle, I can do anything. At first, she always started conversations about her hobby with Dont think Im crazy, but most people really didnt consider her crazy at all. In fact many of them had long been looking for services like that, and Theresa soon realized pet hair yarn could be a business opportunity for her. These days, Theresa Furrer has three spinning wheels in her home, and up to a dozen different projects in various stages of the yarn making process. She will also wash the yarn if the client so desires, and sometimes mix it with a supporting fiber, like alpaca or merino, to produce usable yarn. Cat hair felts almost instantly upon contact, making it very hard to work with, but she has identified solutions over the years, because she doesnt like telling potential clients who have lost their beloved pets no. Furrers business, Nine Lives Twine, has produced hundreds of animal hair yarn products over the last eight years, with most orders coming from online crafts shop Etsy, and from various animal conventions she has attended. She can turn the yarn into all kinds of things, from hats and scarves, to bracelets, pillows and meowmorials (sculptures resembling deceased pets). Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday blamed the AAP government in Delhi for the "delay" in the hanging of the Nirbhaya case convicts, an allegation Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed "sad" and urged her not to indulge in politics over such an issue. Addressing a press conference, Irani accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dispensation of depriving the victim's mother of justice. "Why was the prisons department, which comes under the AAP government, sleeping after the dismissal of review petition in July 2018? Why did the government give Rs 10,000 and a sewing kit to the juvenile rapist when he was released?" she asked. Kejriwal, however, urged Irani not to do politics over the Nirbhaya case and said that everyone -- including the BJP-ruled Centre and the AAP government in Delhi -- should work together in ensuring that justice in such cases is delivered at the earliest. "I feel sad that politics is being done on such an issue. Shouldn't we be working together to ensure that the guilty are hanged soonest? "Shouldn't we join hands to ensure that a system is in place so that such beasts get hanged within six months? Please don't do politics on this. Lets together create a safe city for our women," Kejriwal said in video which was posted on Twitter. A war of words has erupted between the AAP and the BJP after the Delhi government informed the high court that the hanging of the convicts in the Nirbhaya case would not take place on January 22 as a mercy plea had been filed by one of the rapists. Irani said while the entire country was united in demanding justice for the 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim, who came to be known as "Nirbhaya", the fearless, it has been found that "Kejriwal tried to delay justice in this case". The BJP leader also said that as a woman, she was "aggrieved" due to the "delaying tactics" of the AAP. She alleged that the Delhi government's advocate Rahul Mehra also tried to postpone the hangings citing procedural reasons in the court. Kejriwal, however said that everyone wants the convicts to be hanged at the earliest. "We should all try that all procedures are completed at the earliest and the convicts are hanged. Prakash Javadekar made a similar allegation. The blame-game would not ensure early hanging of the convicts. We all should work together to hang the convicts at the earliest," he said. The Delhi chief minister also said that there is a need to make cities safer for women and ensure that politics is not done over it. Fresh death warrants were issued by a Delhi court on Friday for the execution of the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case on February 1, shortly after the President quickly rejected the mercy petition of one of them. The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was gangraped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital. Six people -- Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh, Pawan Gupta, Ram Singh and a juvenile -- were named as accused. The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court in March 2013. The prime accused, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Tihar jail days after the trial began. The juvenile, who was said to be the most brutal of the attackers, was put in a correctional home for three years. He was released in 2015 and sent to an undisclosed location amid concerns over a threat to his life. The juvenile, when released, was 20 years old. Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were convicted and sentenced to death in September 2013. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Newser) A Native American woman who went through security at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport says she was humiliated by a TSA agent who yanked her long braids and treated her like "a horse." CNN reports Tara Houska, an environmental and indigenous rights activist, was flying into Minnesota Monday from DC, where she'd taken part in a protest with Jane Fonda, per the Bemidji Pioneer. Houska, who says her hair often sets off alarms in airport body scanners, says the scanner went off this time as well, and she describes in her own words what happened next. "The agent said she needed to pat down my braids," Houska posted on Twitter after the incident. "She pulled them behind my shoulders, laughed & said 'giddyup!' as she snapped my braids like reins." Houska didn't love the agent's reply when she informed the worker she felt disrespected. story continues below "[The agent] said 'Well it was just in fun, I'm sorry. Your hair is lovely,'" Houska noted. She also clarified it wasn't the hair pat-down that perturbed herthe TSA explains on its site agents have to check, because "you'd be surprised what can be hidden in hair"but for how she was treated. "My issue is with her acting like I am a horse. I am a woman," she tells the Star Tribune. A 2019 ProPublica probe found women (especially black women) are often pulled out of security lines to have their hair checked, as various hairstyles tend to set off body scanners. TSA looked into the incident and apologized to Houska, who says she is satisfied with the response. She does, however, want the agency to educate its workers on Native American culture. "Good resolution from a bad situation," she tweeted. "We need more education & empathy for one another." (Read more TSA stories.) ATLANTA, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax (NYSE: EFX), a global data, analytics and technology company, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to increase its ownership of Equifax Credit Information Services Private Ltd. (ECIS) to 100%. ECIS is a leading Indian credit information company. The transaction emphasizes Equifax's proactive investment in the Indian lending industry. Since 2010, ECIS has operated as a joint venture between Equifax and leading Indian financial institutions, including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Prime Limited, Sundaram Finance Limited and Union Bank of India. Following this transaction, ECIS will be 100% owned by Equifax. "This investment represents the strong confidence that Equifax has in India's economy and ECIS's growth potential," said Mark W. Begor, Equifax CEO. "We appreciate the support of our joint venture partners, customers and employees over the last decade in India. This transaction emphasizes Equifax's focus on expanding our footprint globally as a leader in differentiated data, advanced analytics, and technology that create innovative solutions and insights for our customers." Over a decade of presence in India, ECIS has brought many innovations in data and analytics to the Indian lending space. It is now a full service credit bureau offering its services to all segments of the lending industry Retail Banking, Microfinance Institutions (MFI) and Commercial. ABOUT EQUIFAX INC. Equifax is a global data, analytics, and technology company and believes knowledge drives progress. The Company blends unique data, analytics, and technology with a passion for serving customers globally, to create insights that power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 11,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit Equifax.com and follow the company's news on Twitter and LinkedIn. For more information: [email protected] SOURCE Equifax Inc. Related Links http://www.equifax.com PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) RFE/RLs Belarus Service journalist Anna Sous has been named 2019 Journalist of the Year by the Belarusian Human Rights Alliance, a coalition of independent human rights organizations. A veteran journalist, Sous was honored for years of reporting on topics such as the defense of Kurapaty, a place of mass executions during the Stalin repressions; a series of stories and a book about cancer-survivors; and the problem of domestic violence in Belarus. She is also known for her 2016 project Russia and Me, an extensive series of televised interviews with former Soviet leaders about their relationship with Russia during their time in office and their views on Russian foreign policy. Accepting the award, Sous said, The recognition of the Belarusian human rights community is very important to me, especially as a journalist who has been researching social, sensitive, and image-oriented topics for more than 20 years. Remarkably, it is the first time in Belarus such an award has been given to a journalist who works not in Belarus, but abroad. This is an honor for me and important for the image of RFE/RL in Belarus and journalistic standards in the region. Belarus Service journalist Aleh Hruzdizlovich is a previous recipient of the award. RFE/RL's Belarus Service, established in 1954, reports in one of Europe's most restrictive societies, defying the government's virtual monopoly on domestic broadcast media with unique livestreams from street protests, trials, rallies, and cultural events. In 2019, its website garnered 14.7 million page views and its YouTube videos received 2.5 million views. The Ganga River Front Development along the banks of the mighty river in the State capital is a paradise for the residents, especially walkers and students. The riverfront project entails the development of 5.7 km long and 15ft wide walkway along the 16 ghats in the city which will have amenities like decorative street lamps, public lavatories, 500 seating benches and green cover, built under the Namami Gange project of the Mission for Clean Ganga. "Patna is also very unique because there we have built a riverfront development along with the ghats. And you have a beautiful promenade where people walk around and perform yoga. Students from Patna University also visit the place to relax and study. It is a very good place for the public to visit," said Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General of NMCG. "We have already built 16 ghats through this promenade, and of course, the Bihar government is also planning to come up with some more of them. A very big integrated riverfront development project is actually underway in Patna," he added. For the residents of the city, the riverfront has become a recreational area and a cultural hub with cafes, studying rooms and Dolphin information centres. It also helps in spreading awareness about keeping the clean, especially preventing the disposal of untreated sewage into the river. "This is an admirable work. It's a dream come true as we wanted this kind of development on the banks of the Ganga. We feel like we are living in a metropolitan city," said Sanjay Kumar Thakur, a visitor from Samastipur. "I like coming here for a morning walk every day. Away from the city's hustle and bustle, we breathe fresh air while walking on the clean ghats," said Khusboo Thakur, a student. The promenades also have decorative street lamps, public lavatories, seating benches and green cover. A major attraction for the visitors is the magnificent Madhubani wall paintings along the walkway with messages related to keeping the river clean. The Ganges is an essential part of life of people in Bihar. Some of the most important festivals and religious congregations are celebrated on its banks, where large number of devotees gather. In Sonepur, a town in Bihar, located on the banks of the River Gandak and Ganges, many new ghats have been built under the NMCG programme. The town hosts the world's largest cattle fair and attracts lakhs of devotees who take a dip in the holy river every year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], Dec 17 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a petition filed by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mohammad Azam Khan's son, Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan against the Allahabad High Court's order which annulled his election as Uttar Pradesh legislator on grounds that he was underage and not qualified to contest the poll in 2017. A Bench headed SA Bobde agreed to hear his plea but refused to stay the High Court's order. It also issued a notice to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Nawab Kazim Ali Khan who had moved the plea against Khan before High Court order. It posted the matter for hearing on March 25. The Allahabad High Court had declared the election of Abdullah Khan from the Suar Assembly segment from Rampur district null and void. Abdullah Khan was elected as MLA on a Samajwadi Party ticket on March 11, 2017. The High Court's order had come on a plea by the defeated BSP candidate Nawab Kazim Ali Khan. It held that Abdullah was not qualified to contest the election of the Legislative Assembly as he had not yet turned 25 when he filled nomination paper for the election on January 25, 2017. Kazim Khan had contended before the High Court that Abdullah's actual date of birth was January 1, 1993, and not September 30, 1990, as claimed in the nomination paper. Approaching the Supreme Court, Abdullah Khan submitted that the High Court was not justified in declaring his election if Suar Assembly Constituency as void in spite of ample oral and documentary evidence on record. (ANI) Two British sisters have been found dead in the bathroom of a hotel in Pakistan. Maria Rehman, 25, and her sister Nadia, 17, were found unconscious and in a 'half-dead state' in their room before being rushed to hospital, where they later died, Pakistani media reported. It has been alleged that the girls were poisoned by a gas leak from a geyser in their room, which is used to heat water. They were visiting the city of Gujrat, northern Pakistan, with father Abdul and mother Zarina for the anniversary of their grandfather's funeral. An investigation has been launched and a report was given to the authorities. A post-mortem is also due to take place. Maria Rehman, 25, and sister Nadia, 17, were found unconscious in a hotel bathroom in Gujrat, northern Pakistan (pictured) The parents are reported not to be considering legal action as they have 'accepted the deaths as an accident'. The tragedy happened on January 12. Only yesterday, a 16-year-old girl in Mumbai died from carbon monoxide poisoning that was caused by a gas geyser fitted in a bathroom. Geysers use gas burners to heat water for showers. Users are advised to keep windows open because the gas needs oxygen to keep burning. Cutting off the oxygen supply can be fatal. A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: 'We are in contact with the local authorities following the death of two British women in Gujrat, Pakistan, and have offered consular support to the family.' Remarks against Amazon assume significance as domestic traders body CAIT has time and again alleged that e-commerce players including the US firm were violating FDI rules. (Photo Credit: Jeff Bezos/Twitter) New Delhi: A day after the world's richest person Jeff Bezos announced fresh $1 billion investment in India, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said his firm Amazon was not doing a favour to the country by the investments and questioned how the online retailing major could incur such "big" losses but for its predatory pricing. Goyal, who has not yet given Bezos an audience, said e-commerce companies have to follow Indian rules in letter and spirit and not find loopholes to make a back-door entry into multi-brand retail segment. India does not allow foreign investment beyond 49 per cent in multi-brand retailing and has not yet approved any application of overseas retailers. "They (Amazon) may have put in a billion dollars but if they make a loss of a billion dollars every year, then jolly well will have to finance that billion dollar. So, it is not as if they are doing a favour to India when they invest a billion dollars," he said at the Raisina Dialogue here. The USD 1 billion investment by Amazon.com to help bring small and medium businesses online is on the top of USD 5.5 billion funding it had previously announced. The minister wondered why an e-commerce market place model, where a firm provides an IT platform for buyers and sellers, incurring huge losses adding that it needs to be looked upon. "They are investing money over the last few years also in warehousing and certain other activities, which is welcome and good. But if they are bringing in money largely to finance losses and those losses in an e-commerce market place model," Goyal said. He added that in a fair market place model in a turnover of USD 10 billion dollars, if a company is incurring loss of billion dollars, it "certainly raises questions, where the loss came from". Goyal said that how can a marketplace make such a big loss unless they are indulging in "predatory pricing or some unfair trade practices". "These are real questions which need answers and I am sure the authorities who are looking at it seek those answers and I am sure the e-commerce companies will have their say on that," he said. Fair trade regulator CCI (Competition Commission of India) has recently ordered a probe against e-commerce majors Flipkart and Amazon for alleged malpractices, including deep discounting and tie-ups with preferred sellers on their platforms. "CCI based on its preliminary findings has already initiated an enquiry into the (audio unclear) practices of Amazon and Flipkart. And that is certainly an area of concern for every Indian," he said. The minister added that India allows foreign investments in e-commerce market place model, which is an agnostic platform where buyers and sellers are free to trade, but the market place player cannot own the inventory, cannot have control over the inventory; cannot determine process; cannot have algorithms to determine which product will get a preeminent position or which product will get preference when offered to buyers. There are several established rules for an e-commerce market place business in India and "I think as long as everybody follows these rules, we very much welcome e-commerce into India," he added. Further, he said that India has strict rules for FDI in multi-brand retail trading and anybody who tries to use the e-commerce market place model to get into the multi-brand retail space surreptitiously will have to be questioned and investigated. "Whether they are doing that or not is a matter of the investigators to decide...whatever (would be their) findings, that should be respected by everybody," Goyal said. He reiterated that investors have to follow the laws in letter and spirit and do not try to find loopholes within the defined letter of the law. Remarks against Amazon assume significance as domestic traders body CAIT has time and again alleged that e-commerce players including the US firm were violating FDI rules and following predatory pricing in India. The Confederation of All India Traders (BJP) hailed the "bold and pragmatic statement" given by the commerce minister. "With this stand, the minister has once again reiterated that the government is sensitive to the interests of seven crore traders who are severely affected by the malpractices of e-commerce giants," it said in a statement. Traders are an important vote base for the BJP and Delhi is going for assembly polls on February 8. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Kenya Looks to Secure Border as Al-Shabab Launches Deadly Attacks By Salem Solomon January 16, 2020 Kenya has endured a grim start to the new year as extremist group al-Shabab launched attacks against a school, a police post and a military base shared by U.S. forces. Observers are debating whether the surge of violence signals renewed strength by the terror group or is a seasonal phenomenon. A new report found the group has killed more than 4,000 civilians over the past 10 years. On Monday, three teachers were killed and one abducted in Kamuthe, a town in Garissa county, bordering Somalia. The three killed were all non-Muslims, while the one kidnapped was a Muslim. Another teacher was wounded, according to the Associated Press. Attackers also hit a police post and destroyed a telecommunications tower. Hillary Mutyambai, inspector general of the Kenya Police Service, visited a police camp in neighboring Lamu county on Tuesday to thank officers for their efforts, but advised them to reach out to community members for help foiling future attacks. Mutyambai "urged the officers to change their tact in the fight against the enemy," the Kenya Police Service's official account tweeted about the visit. He also "urged the officers to embrace community policing so as to have [a] flow of information from members of [the] public on suspected criminals." Tres Thomas, a security analyst focusing on Somalia, said the latest attacks show that the terror group is attempting to sow divisions among the population by sparing Muslims and killing Christians. He also said that January is typically a time when al-Shabab launches some of its deadliest attacks, including a 2017 attack in Kulbiyow, where dozens of Kenya Defense Force soldiers were killed, and the DusitD2 hotel attack in 2019 that killed more than 20 people. Thomas said the spate of violence shows the group is able to exploit points of weakness along the Kenyan border. "You still see al-Shabab has free mobility to cross the border from Somalia into Kenya. And that's because a lot of the areas don't have adequately manned checkpoints," he told VOA. "And one of the areas on the southeastern border in the Boni Forest is very rugged terrain that's hard for security forces to navigate and offers a safe haven to Shabab." Thomas added that the lack of capacity is exacerbated by a lack of cooperation between local and national law enforcement agencies. "You still have security forces that are not integrated," he said. "You have tensions between the central government and regional administrations that prevent them from banding together to defeat al-Shabab." He said a January 5 attack against Camp Simba that left three Americans dead exemplifies the group's continued ability to identify and exploit weak spots. "I think Shabab was able to identify this as a vulnerable spot that didn't have adequate force protection from U.S. and Kenyan forces," he said. "And so only with maybe 15 or so attackers actually on the base, they were able to destroy approximately $20 million in equipment, including spy aircraft used to collect intelligence on al-Shabab and to target mid-level and senior-level officials. So I think, from that perspective, al-Shabab was able to achieve its objectives." Future strategies, he added, should focus on securing the border and preventing the group from recruiting young Kenyans, particularly those of Somali origin. "What needs to be identified are ways to actually stop al-Shabab from crossing the border, recruiting inside Kenya. And that's something that Kenya hasn't been able to accomplish, even though it's been deployed in Somalia for the last nine years," Thomas said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The mercy petition was rejected by the President just a few hours after it was forwarded to him by the Union home ministry. NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy petition of Mukesh Kumar Singh, one of the four men facing the gallows in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, following which a sessions court issued fresh death warrants for February 1, 6 am, against the four convicts. The mercy petition was rejected by the President just a few hours after it was forwarded to him by the Union home ministry. While hearing Mukeshs plea seeking postponement of the date of his execution scheduled for January 22, additional sessions judge Satish Kumar Arora said: This case presents a scenario when convicts were given the opportunity to file mercy but only one preferred. These might be delay tactics. For how long will this go on? Had death warrant not been issued, the convicts would not have initiated using their legal remedies. The court also passed fresh directions on the application moved by Delhis Tihar jail authorities seeking issuance of fresh death warrants against the four convicts Mukesh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25). The jail authorities told the court that the convicts have not yet availed of all the remedies provided under the law. Public prosecutor Irfan Ahmed also informed the court that Mukeshs mercy plea was rejected by the President and that the convict has been duly informed. Copies of Presidents order was also supplied to other convicts. At this, advocate Vrinda Grover, representing Mukesh, moved an application seeking certain documents from Tihar post mercy plea rejection. Advocate A.P. Singh, the counsel representing Vinay, Akshay and Pawan, said: Its not delaying tactics. Tihar is not giving the documents. This is perhaps the first time ever that the President has taken a decision so quickly on a mercy petition. Generally it takes months, and in some cases years, for the President to take a call on mercy petitions. Mr Kovind himself took more than nine months to decide on the first mercy petition put before him by the Home ministry in July 2017. Mr Kovinds first mercy petition related to a death-row convict who had burned alive seven members of a family, including five children, over a case of buffalo theft. Mr Kovinds predecessor Pranab Mukherjee had cleared all the 32 mercy petitions pending before him during his five-year presidency. Of the 32 mercy petitions, he had rejected 28. Mr Mukherjees record of rejecting mercy petitions is unparalleled among his immediate predecessors and, in the history of the Indian republic, is second only to R. Venkatraman, who rejected 45 mercy pleas. Former Presidents K.R. Narayanan and his successor Abdul Kalam (2002-2007) hold the distinction of sitting on mercy petitions, or what the law commission said in a 2015 report, putting the brakes on the disposal of mercy petitions. President Narayanan did not take a decision on any of the mercy petitions sent to him, while President Kalam disposed of a grand total of two pleas commuting one, rejecting the other. Under Article 370 of the Constitution, the President has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respite or remission of punishment or to suspend, remit, commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence where the person has been sentenced to death. It was only a day after the AAP government recommended rejection of Mukeshs mercy petition that the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor on Thursday sent it to the Union home ministry, which swiftly forwarded it to the President. The mercy petition was against the sessions courts death warrants for the execution of the four convicts on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail. The sessions court had issued their death warrants on January 7. Once the mercy petition is rejected by the President, the convict has to be given 14 days time to prepare for his execution. In this matter, all the four convicts have to be hanged together. So far only Mukeshs mercy plea has been rejected. Vinay too had moved a mercy petition, which he later withdrew. Vinay and other two convicts have the option of moving their mercy pleas before the President. Before filing the mercy pleas, the convicts can also file curative petitions before the Supreme Court. In this case, the curative petitions of two convicts have already been rejected by the apex court. The curative petition is the last legal recourse available for redressal of grievances in court and is normally decided by a judge in-chamber. It is only in rare cases that such petitions are given an open-court hearing. On December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old medical student was gangraped and tortured on a moving bus before being dumped on a road in south Delhi. The woman, who came to be known as Nirbhaya (fearless), died on December 29 in a Singapore hospital. Six men were arrested for the horrifying assault. A fifth accused Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in Tihar jail during the trial and the sixth man, a few months short of 18 years of age at the time of the incident, was released after three years in a reform facility. On Friday, Nirbhayas mother Asha Devi expressed displeasure with the delay in the hanging, and said the convicts were getting what they wanted. She appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with folded hands to hang them on January 22, and broke down during an interview to a TV channel as she tore into political parties for using her daughters death for their own gain. Pressure from the West will draw China and Russia closer, irrespective of changes at the top in Moscow, according to diplomatic observers. The assessment came after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for sweeping constitutional changes, fuelling speculation that Putin could hold on to power after leaving the presidency in 2024. South China Morning Post reports in its article China confident about Russia ties amid power shift in Moscow that in his state-of-the-union address on Wednesday, Putin outlined proposed changes to the constitution that would strengthen the roles of the parliament and other government bodies, weakening the potential influence of his successor. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin have forged a close relationship, meeting nearly 30 times in the past six years. During a trip to Moscow last year Xi described his Russian counterpart as his best friend. On Thursday, Beijing was quick to dispel questions about the future of ties between the two countries, which have deepened as their relations have been strained with the West, particularly the United States. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China remains full of confidence about deepening and developing the partnership with Russia. Under the strategic guidance of Chairman Xi and President Putin, the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has entered a new era, become more mature, stable and resilient, and is not subject to the changes in international relations and each of our domestic political development, Geng said. Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of influential nationalist tabloid Global Times, echoed the line on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform. Russia is fine. The resignation of the Medvedev government is obviously planned by the Russian political figures, Hu said in a post on Wednesday. Hu later said the long-term stability of Russia was crucial to Chinas national interest, and that the Chinese people should not be mistaken about Putins contribution in strengthening ties between the two countries. Moscow has turned to Beijing to counter pressure from Western sanctions imposed over Crimea, while Beijings ties with Washington have been strained by a bitter trade war. Zhang Xin, an associate professor at the school of advanced international and area studies at Shanghais East China Normal University, said the closer ties between China and Russia increasingly build on the common pressure they feel, particularly from the West, particularly the United States. That feeling of a common threat will probably play a role in further consolidating ties between China and Russia, Zhang said. Wang Xianju, a Russian affairs specialist at Renmin University, said the two countries were held together by more than the chemistry between the two leaders. The two countries share common interests on many regional issues such as on North Korea and in the Middle East. The two economies are also compatible in particular in terms of energy, Wang said. He said that while the US trade war with China could prompt it to improve ties with Russia, Natos eastward expansion and Europes long-standing suspicion towards Russia meant it was unlikely that Moscows ties with Beijing would be threatened. Gabuev also said Russia could pursue better ties with the West under the next president, but it would not be at the expense of its relations with China. Russia will continue to try and build its economic interdependence with China and will still be on the same page in terms of values and powers of the state over rights of the people. That wont change much. Facing unprecedented international and domestic pressure following turbulent months that nearly brought the country to war with the worlds largest superpower, Iran is doubling down on its strategy of defiance, giving little ground to opponents at home or rivals abroad. In a Friday prayer sermon that was his first since 2012, supreme leader Ali Khamenei signalled increased repression at home and continued paramilitary operations abroad. He described the administration of President Donald Trump as clowns seeking to harm the country. And he heaped praise on Irans secretive clandestine overseas Quds Force, describing it as a humanitarian organisation that stands up for the oppressed of the region in a fight without borders. The spokespeople of the evil US government keep repeating that we stand beside Iranian people, he said. You are lying. Even if you are standing beside Iranian people, it is just so you can stab them with your poisoned daggers. The crowd responded with ritualistic chants of death to America, death to England, and death to Israel. Mr Khamenei took to the pulpit at a crucial and perilous time for Iran. After abandoning a 2015 nuclear accord forged by his predecessor and world powers, the Trump administration began imposing harsh sanctions on the country that have crippled Irans economy, and escalated military tensions between the two nations. On-and-off anti-government protests have rocked the country since November. Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Show all 23 1 /23 Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather in front of Amir Kabir University AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranians demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of the Ukraine Boeing 737 crash in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans during a gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University - People hold flowers as tear gas fired by police rises Online videos purported to show that Iranian security forces fired both live ammunition and tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting against the Islamic Republic's initial denial that it shot down a Ukrainian jetliner AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University AFP correspondents said hundreds of students had gathered early in the evening to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster ISNA/AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian protester prepares to throw a tear gas canister back at police AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University A protester confronts an Iranian police officer AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gathe AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranians light candles for victims EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran People burn British and Israeli flags during a protest in front of the British embassy, in Tehran. Hundreds of Iranian hardliners gathered for a protest against Britain, a day after the UK ambassador to Iran Robert Macaire was detained after attending a a vigil for the victims of Ukraine passenger jet EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protestBritish embassy protest in Tehran Chanting "Death to Britain", up to 200 protesters rallied outside the mission a day after the brief arrest of British ambassador Rob Macaire AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran AFP via Getty Images Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Protesters chant slogans while holding up posters of Gen. Qassem Soleimani during a demonstration in front of the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. AP Irans actions are often far more tempered than its rhetoric. But experts worry that its on a dangerous collision course with the US, which is openly pining for regime change, and could begin acting in dangerous ways that could lead to war. Theyre not reckless, Douglas London, who retired from the CIA clandestine service last year after decades watching Iran, told The Independent of Irans leadership. Theyve not been reckless in the past. But as they get more desperate, I think theres the potential for them to become more dangerous. Theyre not going to go gentle into that good night. Hostilities with Washington spiked following the American assassination of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and Irans subsequent attack on a US airbase in Iraq that, US officials admitted late Thursday, injured 11 military personnel. In the tense hours after the Iranian ballistic missile strike on the US base, possibly the first open attack by another nation on American forces since the Second World War, Iranian air defence personnel shot down a Ukrainian Airlines flight in error, killing all 176 passengers and crew aboard, prompting more protests and more international pressure. Though Mr Khamenei acknowledged the grief of those who lost loved ones in the 8 January plane crash, he took no responsibility for what he described as a bitter incident, nor pinned blame on the Revolutionary Guard commanders who downed the plane, nor even promised restitution or justice for the victims. Instead he lambasted those who protested following the plane crash as agents of Irans enemy, while effusively praising Soleimani as a hero of the nation. Adding to Irans pressures, the 2015 nuclear deal that held even more troubles at bay is coming undone. On Wednesday, responding to Irans removal of limits on its nuclear programme, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany invoked a dispute resolution mechanism that could result in even more sanctions on the country. Recommended Hezbollah supporters say revenge over Soleimani has only just begun Though Mr Khamenei said Iran was open to negotiations with any country other than the US, he also described the European nations as puppets of their master in the White House. We have no qualms about negotiating not with the US, but with the others, he said. Just not from a position of weakness, rather from one of strength. His speech, somewhat anticipated, was devoid of any new policies or responses to the increased pressure from below by surging youth and women demanding change, and by the US and its western allies. His allies in the Council of Guardians recently disqualified hundreds of candidates from running in upcoming parliamentary elections as insufficiently loyal to the system, and some officials worry low turnout will mar the 21 February vote. Hundreds of Iranians were killed in protests over fuel price hikes in November that were violently suppressed by regime security forces. Small anti-government protests erupted again after the Revolutionary Guard admitted it was behind the downing of the Ukrainian civilian jet after denying it for days. Young Iranians, women, and ethnic and religious minorities continue to smoulder with resentment against the regime. He was trying to re-fortify the classic Islamic Republic message which is about resistance, specifically against the United States, said Sanam Vakil, an Iran expert at Chatham House. Clearly hes quite worried about the forthcoming elections and perceptions of legitimacy. One analyst suggested the main purpose of having the 80-year-old Khamenei deliver a sermon was to lift his spirits by bringing him close to the chants and emotion of the regimes most diehard supporters. Mr London said the Ayatollahs tone has long been predictable. He recognises that they are not out of the woods and they have a problem, he said. But I dont think they have new ways to solve their problems. They are prisoners of their own revolutionary ideology. It doesnt give them a lot of room for accommodation. Actor Arvind Swami has shared his first look from Thalaivi, confirming he is playing the role of former Tamil Nadu CM MG Ramachandran (MGR) in the film headlined by Kangana Ranaut. Two pictures of Arvind Swami as MGR have been revealed on the occasion of MGRs birthday on Friday. The Roja actor looks uncannily similar as MGR replicating two of his popular poses. Here is my first look as Puratchi Thaliavar, Makkal Thilagam MGR in #Thalaivi . A teaser follows at 10.30 am today. Hope u like it, Arvind wrote alongside the pictures. Watch Arvind Swamis first look Thalaivi teaser Here is my first look as Puratchi Thaliavar, Makkal Thilagam MGR in #Thalaivi . A teaser follows at 10.30 am today. Hope u like it pic.twitter.com/LjnN6Ybwrw arvind swami (@thearvindswami) January 17, 2020 Popularly known as Puratchi Thalaivar and Makkal Thilagam, MGR played a very instrumental role in the life and career of Jayalalithaa. Apparently, it was after great contemplation the makers zeroed in on Arvind Swami. Thalaivi, which is being directed by Vijay, will be made in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. It has been titled Thalaivi in all the languages. Speaking about casting Arvind, Vijay said in a press statement, As I have said before, its an honour for me to be getting an opportunity to direct a film like Thalaivi. To delve into the lives of legends, who have shaped Tamil Nadu in a greater way of what it is today is an amazing experience. But what has been a blend of exciting and challenging process was the casting of the actors to essay these gigantic roles. In particular, after Kangana Ranaut was brought onboard for the character of honourable former Late CM Jayalalitha, we had to consider several artistes for the role of honourable MGR. Finally, we felt Arvind Swami would befittingly look perfect. In simple words, we are now completely drenched in extreme astonishment to find him give immense life to the legendary character. Apart from our inputs, he spent sumptuous time and energy in getting to know more deeply about the legends life. Of course, MGR is still the most loved leader of zillions or else how would he become the only actor to be the recipient of Bharat Ratna Award. So, its been a journey of intense dedication for all of us in team to pictorially represent his adorable deeds in celluloid version, he added. Kangana, who was last seen in Judgmental Hai Kya, spent close to six months on prepping for this project. She took Bharatanatyam classes, learnt Tamil and even spent hours in the prosthetic make up sessions. The project was announced and first look poster last year on February 25th, on the 71st anniversary of Jayalalithaa. Also read: Javed Akhtar on 75th birthday: I dont feel like a retired, tired person at all Its worth mentioning that when Kangana was announced for the titular role, the choice was received with some backlash. Soon after the announcement, Vijay clarified his stand on roping in Kangana in an interview to Times of India. This is a pan India film, and Kangana is apt for the role. She is one of the biggest stars in India today and I think it is right that a top star plays the role of an important politician. This way, the story will also reach audiences across India. We consider this a pan-Indian film, not a regional one, Vijay said. The film has music by GV Prakash Kumar while Nirav Shah will crank the camera. Veteran writer Vijayendra Prasad of Bajrangi Bhaijaan fame has been roped in to oversee the writing process. The project has gone on floors despite Jayalalithaas niece J. Deepa filing a civil suit in the Madras High Court to restrain the team from making a biopic based on her aunts life. Follow @htshowbiz for more Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Niken Prathivi (The Jakarta Post) News Desk Fri, January 17, 2020 Meet-and-greets with fans are a common commitment for most professional athletes, despite their rigorous training schedules and busy competition seasons. However, for world-class shuttler Lee Yong-dae of South Korea, meeting with fans was something new for him, yet it was something he was more than willing to embrace. The 2008 Olympic Games gold medalist got his chance when he attended a fan meet on a Saturday afternoon in Jakarta. He did not expect to see around 350 people flock to a small arena in Senayan, just to meet him face-to-face. 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 The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang says she was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN while she was pregnant with the couple's first child. Evelyn Yang said in an interview televised Thursday by CNN that the assault happened in 2012, and she was initially afraid to tell anyone. She and 31 other women are now suing the doctor and hospital system, saying they conspired and enabled the crimes. Yang said she was encouraged to speak out after seeing the positive reception she and her husband had been getting on the campaign trail by being open about their son's autism. The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang says she was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN while she was pregnant with the couple's first child Democratic presidential candidate former technology executive Andrew Yang, leans on his wife with his wife Evelyn, pictured late last year 'Something about being on the trail and meeting people and seeing the difference that we've been making already has moved me to share my own story about it, about sexual assault,' she told CNN. Yang said she first began seeing Dr. Robert Hadden in New York in early 2012. As the months went on, Yang said, Hadden began asking her inappropriate questions about her sexual activity, and he spent more time conducting examinations. Dr. Robert Hadden was accused of sexual abuse by 17 women. He was spotted outside of his New Jersey home in April (right) When she was seven months pregnant, Yang said, she believed her appointment was done and she was getting ready to leave when the doctor told her abruptly that he thought she might need a cesarean section. She said Hadden pulled her to him and undressed her, then used his fingers to examine her internally. 'I knew it was wrong. I knew I was being assaulted,' she said. After the alleged abuse, Evelyn worked with the Manhattan DA's office to build a case against Hadden But Yang said she 'just kind of froze' and didn't react. 'I remember trying to fix my eyes on a spot on the wall and just trying to avoid seeing his face as he was assaulting me, just waiting for it to be over,' she told CNN. After the doctor left the room, she left the practice and didn't return. Hadden's lawyer has denied Yang's allegations in legal filings. His attorney declined a request to be interviewed by CNN. Yang said she initially didn't tell anyone what had happened to her. She said she blamed herself, thinking she must have done something to 'invite this kind of behavior.' Months later, after the couple's son was born, Yang got a letter in the mail saying Hadden had left the practice. Curious, she looked him up online and saw that another woman had made a police report accusing him of assaulting her. She said she realized then that she wasn't to blame for his actions. 'This was a serial predator, and he just picked me as his prey,' she told CNN. She said only then was she able to reveal the alleged abuse to her husband. In a statement Thursday, Andrew Yang said he was 'extraordinary proud' of his wife and no one deserves to be treated as she was. 'When victims of abuse come forward, they deserve our belief, support, and protection,' Yang said. 'I hope that Evelyn's story gives strength to those who have suffered and sends a clear message that our institutions must do more to protect and respond to women.' He later tweeted, 'I love my wife very very much.' Evelyn Yang said several women came forward with similar stories about Hadden, and she learned the Manhattan District Attorney's Office had an open case against him. In 2016, she said, the DA's office agreed to a deal with Hadden in which he pleaded guilty to one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual assault. He also lost his medical license and had to register as the lowest level of sex offender. Yang said she she was encouraged to speak out after seeing the positive reception she and her husband had been getting on the campaign trail by being open about their son's autism Yang said she felt betrayed by the plea deal, which allowed the doctor to avoid jail. The counts he pleaded to didn't involve her case, she said. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement to CNN: 'Because a conviction is never a guaranteed outcome in a criminal trial, our primary concern was holding him accountable and making sure he could never do this again - which is why we insisted on a felony conviction and permanent surrender of his medical license.' Yang and 31 other women are now suing Columbia University, where Hadden worked, along with its affiliates and the doctor itself, saying they 'actively concealed, conspired, and enabled' Hadden's crimes, according to CNN. The lawsuit claims that medical assistants who worked with the doctor knew of the abuse but didn't intervene because of a power imbalance and lack of training, CNN said. Hadden has denied the additional allegations in court papers, CNN reported. Columbia University and the hospital system are fighting the lawsuit on procedural grounds, according to CNN. A university spokeswoman told CNN in response to a detailed list of questions that the accusations are 'abhorrent' and they 'deeply apologize to those whose trust was violated.' Constance Hall has called the designer of her 'one size fits all' dress a very crude slur after she struggled to zip the frock. Taking to Instagram on Friday, the mother-of-seven shared a selfie while wearing the floral dress and expressed her frustration after realising it wouldn't fit her bust. 'Sending a beautiful weekend to everyone except the c**t who designed the one size fits all dress,' she wrote. Oops! Constance Hall (pictured) took to Instagram on Friday to call the designer of her 'one size fits all' dress a very crude slur after she struggled to zip the frock. She goes bra-less, and is unable to pull the dress closed, the chest area gaping open In the picture, Constance is posing in front of the mirror in the black, floral maxi dress with her long hair out. She goes bra-less, and is unable to pull the dress closed, the chest area gaping open. The rest of the frock seems to sit well on her body, but it appears she was unable to close the front. Hitting back: 'Sending a beautiful weekend to everyone except the c**t who designed the one size fits all dress,' she wrote The blogger's post comes after she hit back at her critics, during an interview about her social media presence with 60 Minutes in November. She said 'bogans' who don't like her blogs shouldn't waste their time reading them. The mother-of-seven went on to say that women should 'rule the world' and that men 'need to step up'. Family: Constance has four children from a previous marriage, welcomed her fifth with new second husband Denim Cooke (pictured) and is a stepmother to Cooke's two children She said: 'I really think women should rule the world and we should be the bosses of everything and it should be a matriarchal country.' 'I'm not trying to p*** off the white Australian man but I don't care if I do,' she added. Constance has four children from a previous marriage, welcomed her fifth with new second husband Denim Cooke, and is a stepmother to Cooke's two children. She became an overnight sensation in 2016, thanks to her post on parental sex, on her blog, The Not So Secret Life of Us. American nuclear weapons were almost sent packing out of Belgium on Thursday after a debate in the country's parliament put their future in doubt. Belgian MPs narrowly voted to let the weapons stay, but the decision could have gone the other way had just five MPs changed their minds a reflection of how controversial their presence is. The country's socialists, greens, centrists and leftists, as well as one French-speaking liberal party voted to expel the US bombs which are based at Kleine Brogel airforce base in the country's north east. The call to remove the nukes, which was rejected just 74 votes to 66 was blocked only with the support of the far-right Vlaams Belang party, as well as those of the Flemish nationalist NV-A, the Flemish Christian democrats, and the Flemish liberals. Flemish newspaper De Morgen reports that the US ambassador was "particularly worried" about the vote and that the US embassy lobbied multiple MPs on the issue ahead of the parliamentary show-down. The position of far-right MPs on the vote was notably unclear until the last minute, with Vlaams Belang leader Tom Van Grieken stating: "We are opposed to the resolution of the left parties, because we are not naive pacifists. But at the same time, as Flemish nationalists, we have little sense in saving Belgium's face." Theo Francken, a senior MP from the right-wing NV-A party said: "When it comes to a financial contribution to NATO, we are already among the worst in the class. A withdrawal of nuclear weapons is not a good signal to President Trump." The vote came after the parliament's foreign affairs committee approved a motion calling for the weapons' withdrawal from Belgium, as well as Belgium's accession to the International Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. If passed the resolution would have instructed the Belgian government to draw up, as soon as possible, a roadmap aiming at the withdrawal of nuclear weapons on Belgian territory. The presence of the weapons was only officially confirmed in July of last year in a report by the Nato parliamentary assembly though their presence has been an open secret for decades, at times attracting mass protests. 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 weapons are thought to be B-61 nuclear bombs, tactical nuclear weapons developed on the 1960s to be dropped by American military jets. Similar weapons are thought to be stored by American forces at bases in Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Turkey. A group of Green MEPs, including British representative Molly Scott Cato, were arrested at the Belgian base in February last year after holding a demonstration against the weapons. Manchester United hope to close out the 60million deal for Bruno Fernandes by Friday evening. Talks had appeared to stall but United have now reportedly offered 43m up front with a further 17m due in add ons. Fernandes was set to feature in Friday's clash with rivals Benfica, but the report claims he could now miss the match with the deal close to being completed. Manchester United hope to conclude their 60m deal for Bruno Fernandes by Friday night Sporting, however, reportedly remain confident he will still be able to play in the match. The fixture could prove to be Fernandes' last game for Sporting and an opportunity to say goodbye to supporters at the Jose Alvalade Stadium. Boss Silas confirmed on Thursday that the 25-year-old would feature barring a 'disaster', although the latest twist in the saga appears to have accelerated the midfielder's switch to Old Trafford. The Sporting Lisbon captain appeared set to face Benfica but could now miss out on the clash Sporting Lisbon boss Silas has been adamant that Fernandes would feature against Benfica United representatives were in Lisbon on Thursday night as the two clubs tried to thrash out a deal after reaching a sticking point over the fee. Both parties were initially some way apart on the valuation of the player with United unwilling to offer over 42million up front. However, the deal has accelerated after United reportedly upped their offer, which will be structured as 45m up front with a further 17m due in add ons. Super agent Jorge Mendes attended United's FA Cup tie with Wolves on Wednesday, and is thought to have been tasked with hauling the deal over the line. Sportsmail understands that Fernandes has already thrashed out personal terms with United It is even believed that Sporting had demanded players from United in exchange, although another report from Portugal believes that is now not the case. Andreas Pereira and Marcos Rojo had been tipped to make the move to Portugal, with the latter returning to his former club, but both players rejected the switch - leaving Sporting free to increase their demands. Sportsmail understands Fernandes has already agreed personal terms worth around 130,000 a week with the Old Trafford side. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was keen to snap up Fernandes this month after losing both Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay to injuries. The Portugal international has enjoyed another stellar campaign for Sporting, scoring 15 times and laying on 13 assists in all competitions. Montclair State University officials violated the freedom of speech of a group of its students by shutting down a peaceful gun rights demonstration on campus last year, a lawsuit filed Wednesday claimed. MSU sophomore Mena Botros, president of Young Americans for Liberty, and two fellow students on Sept. 10, 2019 donned orange jumpsuits and posed as criminals while holding signs mockingly supporting gun-free zones," according to the lawsuit. Some of the signs stated "every civilian gun is a threat and criminals for gun free zones. Though the students were peacefully expressing their ideas in a common outdoor area of campus, a university police officer ordered them to stop, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the students. Demonstrators, the suit stated, were on a sidewalk, speaking at normal levels and not otherwise interfering with university activities. [The officer] told the students that anyone who wants to speak on campus has to obtain permission at least two weeks in advance and that the deans office would assign them a time and place to speak, the group said. The two-week requirement imposes an unconstitutional prior restraint on all students throughout the entire campus, and allows the school to deny a request or hold it indefinitely for any reason, according to the lawsuit. There are no objective guidelines for the policy. A public university is supposed to be a marketplace of ideas, but that marketplace cant function if officials impose burdensome restraints on speech or if they can selectively enforce those restraints against disfavored groups, Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Michael Ross said in a statement Thursday. The lawsuit further challenges two university policies dealing with student groups and speech. In one policy, the MSU student government association has "complete discretion to rank student groups into classes, which allow for special treatment on campus that includes access to funds from student fees, the suit claimed. Class I groups receive the most benefits while Class IV organizations get the least, according to the suit, which stated that Young Americans for Liberty holds the Class IV rank meaning it is an entry level organization, despite being formed in 2018. The second policy surrounds a campus Bias Education Response Taskforce, an entity whose express purpose is to suppress speech that may make others uncomfortable, according to the claim. The suit alleged MSU violated the students First Amendment right to free speech, Fourteenth Amendment right to due process and equal protection. Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole said the school has not been served with the lawsuit, but defended policies related to free speech on campus. Montclair State University is absolutely and unequivocally committed to freedom of speech. Our policy and procedures concerning demonstrations and assemblies are based on a balance between the two principles, Cole said in a statement. The first principle is the right of members of the University community to freedom of assembly and speech and the benefits to be derived in a free society and in a free and open University from fostering discourse and permitting the exchange of ideas. Consistent with that principle, no member of the University community is subject to any limitation or penalty for demonstrating or assembling with others for the expression of his/her viewpoint, Cole said. The second principle is the right of all members of the University community to be able to engage without disruption in all University organized activities, including, but not limited to, educational, scholarly, research, business, cultural, informational, recreational or public outreach activities, Cole added. The University has adopted appropriate procedures to assure that it functions in accordance with those principles, and we have no reason to think that we have taken any action in violation of our principles or policies. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. On 26 October last year, Ramesh Erramalli was caught on camera hurling vulgarities at security officer Steven Heng. (PHOTO: YouTube screengrab) SINGAPORE Ramesh Erramalli, the condominium resident seen verbally abusing a security guard in a viral video last October, has been warned by the police over his behaviour. In a statement on Friday (17 January), the police said that a stern warning had been issued to the 44-year-old, in consultation with the Attorney-Generals Chambers, for intentionally causing harassment to a security officer who was deployed at Eight Riversuites Condominium. A similar warning was also given to two men, aged 41 and 47, for causing intentional harassment to Erramalli. The police have also administered a 12-month conditional warning to two other men, aged 19 and 56, who threatened Erramalli and his family with death and violence. Although Mr Erramalli had expressed his wish to Police not to pursue the matter, the Police had nevertheless initiated investigations into this, as a few of the messages threatened Mr Erramalli and his family with death and violence (even rape), said the police. I buy the f**king property for $1.5 million On 26 October last year, Erramalli was caught on camera hurling vulgarities at security officer Steven Heng. In a video that quickly went viral, he is seen quarrelling with security officers after they tell him that his guests have to pay a parking fee. I buy the f**king property for $1.5 million, you know... Tell the management f**k off... We are not staying in an HDB, Ramesh shouts at Steven, telling him that his guests were visiting him for Deepavali. The security officers can be heard trying to calm down the resident and telling him that they are enforcing the rules. The outcry over the incident led to even Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam weighed in, calling the residents behaviour an example of a sense of entitlement. Financial services company JP Morgan, Erramallis employer, also issued a memo to its staff over the incident, reminding them to have respect and dignity for others. Five days after the incident, in a meeting arranged by Security Association of Singapore president Raj Joshua Thomas, Erramalli apologised to Heng in person. Story continues Related stories: COMMENT: Is it because hes a foreigner? (Hes not) Whampoa condo incident: Resident apologises to security officer in person JP Morgan, employer of resident in condo incident, wants staff to show 'respect and dignity' for others Tharman: Condo residents behaviour is example of sense of entitlement What happened under Hitler is unfolding in India now: Amarinder on CAA India oi-Deepika S Chandigarh, Jan 17: Slamming the Modi government over the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday claimed that events unfolding now bear similarity to the ones witnessed in Germany in 1930s when Adolf Hitler was at the helm. "You want to change secular fabric of this country. It is very sad what is happening now. We had not even thought of such a thing. We want to break brotherhood merely for politics," Singh said while adding the no lessons have been learnt from history. He said it was ethnic cleansing in Hitler's Germany in 1930s and claimed that now same events are unfolding in India. "Germans did not speak then, and they regretted it, but we have to speak now, so that we don't regret later," he asserted, urging the Opposition, particularly the Akalis, to read Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' to "understand the dangers" of the CAA. Punjab Assembly on Friday passed resolution seeking the repeal of the CAA and move the top court. Taking clue from Kerala, Punjab could challenge the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Act in the Supreme Court. The Kerala government had approached the Supreme Court on January 14, challenging the validity of the Citizenship Act. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 17, 2020, 22:46 [IST] New research from the UK showing that the trauma of early miscarriage can linger for up to a year after the event, causing PTSD and anxiety in many cases, will not surprise anyone who has suffered a pregnancy loss, or supported someone through it. As a society, we are starting to acknowledge and talk about miscarriage and baby loss. There is a growing awareness of the psychological and physical trauma caused by such events, and women are starting to feel comfortable talking about it, and hearing about it - but only for so long. Society imposes a time limit on how long a woman can publicly grieve a miscarriage, but the psychic damage lingers. I have written before about my experience with loss, and afterwards other women shared their stories of loss with me - some for publication, but some women just wanted to be heard. Some felt their losses, being in the first trimester, were not significant enough for others to read. But they are wrong. There are women suffering grief and trauma years, often decades, after pregnancy loss at all stages of gestation. At the time I was reading these stories, I thought I would be different, that I would pick myself up and move on and that I wouldn't give the whole ordeal a second thought two, three, five years on. But now I realise it isn't a choice. Grief, trauma, whatever you want to call it, doesn't look for your permission to visit. My loss happened almost four years ago. A lot of good has happened since then - not least the joyous arrival of a baby who is now two years old, but even now, I still find myself waking up some mornings with that dark, oppressive, nihilistic feeling of grief. I know it is grief because I never felt that feeling before the loss. I have tried to fight it, I have chided myself for being so self-indulgent, I have tried to rationalise it away by counting all my blessings, but now I just do whatever I can to distract myself and wait for it to pass. I also know that I, like some of the women who took part in the study, have unresolved trauma. Miscarriages are messy. I had to be induced to give birth as the baby was 19 weeks and it is something that even now, all these years later, my mind refuses to revisit. Early miscarriages too can be physically painful and traumatic, and can go on for days for some. But it is the emotional scars that linger. Going from elation and hope at the thought of a new little baby to realising that the baby will never be, changes how you look at the world irrevocably. It undermines your faith in the idea that the universe is something that always rights itself. It is now a place where bad and arbitrary things can and do happen. Andrea Corr, who has spoken publicly about her five miscarriages, described it perfectly when she talked about "hopes crashed". For me, there was a large element of shame. I had failed in this most basic and natural of things. I had failed to sustain this baby that everyone was so excited to meet. I felt shame that there was something wrong with my body. I was also ashamed that I was an object of pity, and a cautionary tale of the dangers of putting your career first and waiting too long to have your family. What helped me was an amazing friend, who had lost her baby the year before, came to see me in hospital and held my hand through the darkest early days. What sustained me was reading the personal stories of other women who had been through similar and lived to tell the tale. When I couldn't imagine going back out into the world and carrying on, I drew on their experiences. I looked as far and wide as I could for stories of miscarriage and baby loss, and that helped me to normalise and contextualise my personal horror. Because miscarriage is, as many a (hopefully) well-meaning doctor has told a devastated mother, a normal part of a woman's reproductive life. It is a fact of biology and it has its place in nature. But it is also a personal tragedy, and a loss, and a deep, deep disappointment. It is something to be addressed and tended to, not something to be dismissed. And the more we talk about it, the easier it will be to heal. A murder probe has been launched following the death of an engineering student who was stabbed in the neck when a group of young men gatecrashed a house party in Cork. Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) student Cameron Blair (20) was rushed to Cork University Hospital (CUH) shortly after 9.20pm on Thursday where he passed away from his injuries. It is understood the talented sportsman was stabbed in the neck when a group of young men gatecrashed and were asked to leave the house party in Cork. The fatal stabbing of the second year student occurred at Bandon Road on the southside of Cork city. The emergency services attended at a terraced house amid reports that a man had been seriously injured at a house party attended by around twenty people. His death has sent shockwaves through his native Ballinascarthy in West Cork. Cameron is survived by his parents Noel and Cathy and his younger brother Alan who attends Bandon Grammar School. Cameron had a great passion for rugby and four years ago he was the flag bearer at an Ireland V Italy Rugby World Cup match in front of 50,000 people. In an interview with the Southern Star newspaper the then 16 year old said that the Irish Independent prize was a dream come true. "This really is an opportunity of a lifetime and I never dreamed that I would win such an amazing prize. "I have been playing rugby for Bandon Rugby club for over seven years and also play for my school, Bandon Grammar School. One of my favourite players is Robbie Henshaw. Dan Murphy, President of Bandon rugby club where Cameron was due to play a match tonight, said that he left an indelible mark on everyone he met. He played as he spoke, full of confidence and was a delight to see running a full tilt with a rugby ball. Such a tragedy will be felt far and wide but will be felt really deeply within our club. Meanwhile, Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, Dr Paul Colton, said that Cameron was well known and regarded in the community. Dr Colton was the chief celebrant at his confirmation service six years ago. "He (Cameron) was well-known in his local community, including as a rugby player and athlete. Having had student children myself, I know well that a calamity such as this on a night out is every parents worst nightmare. My heart goes out to the Blair family." Fine Gael councillor Marie O'Sullivan, who is from Bandon, said that her heart was broken for the family of the victim. "They are an absolutely fabulous family. I have two boys myself and it is terrible to think you could say goodbye to your boys in the morning and they are not coming back to you in the evening. His mother is one of the most gentle people I know. "He played rugby with his school and had everything going for him. A beautiful child with a beautiful personality. It is a nightmare." Cameron was a former pupil of Bandon Grammar Secondary School. In a statement the school expressed their deep sadness at the passing of a gifted young man. It is with great regret that we learned of a tragic incident in Cork last night resulting in the death of a former pupil. Our school community is deeply affected, particularly senior students as the deceased still has family members in the school. The management and staff extend our sincere condolences go to the family and friends. "Students are being cared for and counselled in school. Classes continue for all year groups as we try to keep the school day as normal as possible, while recognising the traumatic impact on many. Dr Barry O'Connor, President of CIT, said that the entire community was in shock at the "untimely death" of Cameron in such dreadful circumstances. "Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the family and friends of the deceased who was a valued member of our CIT community. Counselling and other necessary supports will be put in place by CIT for his classmates and his fellow students here in the Institute. " Meanwhile, Bandon Athletics Club has extended its deepest sympathy to the Blair family on the passing of Cameron. Cameron was a member of the club for a number of years competing at local and national level winning medals at West Cork, County, Munster and National. In 2017 he helped the men's team to a 2nd place finish at the National league promoting them to Premier. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him." West Cork based Fine Gael Senator, Tim Lombard, has expressed concern about teens carrying knives. "We all have families and looking at this you would think anything could happen to your child. Carrying knives is a totally different phenomenon from my day. Never in my life (growing up) did I see anyone carrying a knife. We now have a situation where people have knives walking around the place which is crazy." The fatal stabbing occurred shortly after 9pm on Thursday in Bandon Road on the southside of Cork city. The emergency services attended at a terraced house amid reports that a man had been seriously injured at a house party attended by around twenty people. It emerged that Cameron had staggered on to the road and collapsed before dying in hospital. A postmortem was conducted at CUH yesterday. The results were not released for operational reasons but the death was upgraded to a murder. Students in accommodation in the area have expressed shock at the passing of the young man. UCC students Dara McCarthy and Shane O'Connell, who didn't know the victim, said they found it hard to comprehend what had occurred. Dara said he was troubled by the incident. "The scariest part about it is that it could have been anyone. My mother rang me early on. She always says be careful and I push her away. But I suppose you can never be too careful. The world has gone mad." Shane O'Connell said students had hoped the youth would survive his attack. "I didn't believe it at the start. It is horrific. We were hoping for the best and then we heard that the man had passed away." The incident has shocked locals in Bandon Road which is on the outskirts of Cork city centre and is a mixture of residential, student housing and businesses. Pat Duggan, who is an employee of the Sportsmans Arms pub in Bandon Road, said they were shocked when they heard noise from the street. "Last night we saw the commotion outside. People were afraid to go out. We are in total shock. The area is fantastic. It is just a crazy thing that happened. That poor young fella. To go in to a house with a knife and do that. This just can't go on. I feel so sorry for his family." Gardai have commenced door to door inquiries in the area to determine if anyone had seen or heard anything suspicious over the course of Thursday evening. The area is home to a large number of students because of its close proximity to UCC. An incident room has been set up at Togher Gardai station and a senior investigating officer has been appointed. CCTV is being gathered. Gardai are appealing for anyone who has any information to contact them. Anyone who was in the Bandon Road area between 8pm and 10pm who witnessed anything or anyone with dash cam or mobile phone footage is asked to contact Togher Garda Station on 021-494 7120, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800-666-111 or any Garda Station. Persons with details or video footage are asked to contact Gardai and not to share it on social media. The Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has claimed that Iran's missile attack on the Ain Al-Asad military base in Iraq has undermined the United States' position as a superpower. He characterized the Revolutionary Guards Qods Force as "combatants without borders," as a sign he remains ever more committed to Tehran's regional ambitions and praised its former commander Qassem Soleimani for organizing and strengthening it. He also described the killing of Soleimani by U.S. forces as an "assassination." This was Khamenei's first presence as Tehran's Friday Prayers Imam since 2011. Some observers speculated in recent days that his presence at the Friday Prayers after 8 years may mean that he has a significant message to deliver. Others said his long absence showed he is no longer physically fit for the job. In the meantime, several rounds of nationwide protests culminating in November 2019 have undermined Khamenei's authority as protesters chanted slogans calling on him to step down. Some have even called for his death. Footage released by IRGC-linked Fars news agency showed some of the busses that brought people from outside Tehran to the prayer venue to boost the turnout. The state TV that has been encouraging Iranians to turn up for Khamenei's speech throughout the week, Friday morning also showed several rows of soldiers sitting among the crowd. Reports from Tehran say there was tight security measures in place around the prayers site further to thousands of riot police and IRGC troops that have been positioned in most parts of Tehran since mid-November when protests broke out following a three-fold gas price hike. As far as the content of his sermon is concerned, he did not say anything he had not mentioned in earlier speeches. Aware of the public's negative attitude toward the way the government handled the downing of a Ukrainian airliner by Irans Revolutionary Guard, he did not even try to justify the attack. Instead, he expressed sympathy and solidarity with the families of the crash victims and told a story about the mother of a victim pledging allegiance to him. Khamenei praised the people for their turnout at Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani's funeral and expressed appreciation for the IRGC for its missile attack on a military base in Iraq, adding that the two events were the highlights of the past two weeks. Elsewhere in his speech in an allusion to a tweet by President Donald Trump, he described U.S. officials who say they are standing with the Iranian people as clowns, adding that they are standing with Iranians with a dagger to put in their back. He said U.S. and British media have tried to use the missile attack on a civilian airliner in Tehran to undermine Soleimani's death and Iran's attack on Ain Al-Asad. Meanwhile, he thanked family members of the victims for not being influenced by foreigners' propaganda. He said the mother of a victim sent him a letter pledging allegiance. Khamenei criticized the U.K., France and Germany for trying to take the Iranian nuclear case to the United Nations Security Council and accused them of having armed Iraq's Saddam Hussain against Iran in the 1980s and even arming him with chemical weapons. He characterized the EU-3 as the servants of the United States stressing that neither the U.S. nor Europe can make Iran surrender to pressures. "These negotiating gentlemen are the same as the terrorists in Baghdad who killed Soleimani," he said. However, he stressed that Iran will not negotiate with the United States although it may enter negotiations with others. With Japanese society often placing intense pressure on teens and adults alike, as well as traditional values that can frame self-sacrifice as an admirable way of taking responsibility, a high suicide rate has long been a dark mark on the nationas culture. So itas encouraging to hear that in 2019, fewer people in Japan chose to end their own lives than in any of the past 41 years, and possibly even further back than that. Japanas Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, after examining statistics from the National Police Agency, has announced that during 2019, 19,959 people committed suicide in Japan. That number is the lowest ever recorded by the organization, which began keeping a suicide tally in 1978. The ministryas preliminary findings wonat be finalized until its official report is published in March but as of right now 2019 may also be the first time on record that fewer than 20,000 suicides were committed in Japan. In addition, 2019 was the 10th year in a row for a drop in the number of incidents. The improvement isnat something that simply came about because of a decrease in Japanas total population, either. The ministry says that in 2019 there were 15.8 suicides per 100,000 people in the country, a 4.24-percent decrease compared to 2018. No single factor was credited with the change, though mental health and depression-related health risks have become an increasingly open topic in government and private sector discussions, at least compared to generations past. New Delhi: Amid the uncertainty over the date of execution of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, all the four criminals facing death-row have been shifted to Tihar Central Prison's complex`s jail number 3 where their hanging would take place. The Tihar Jail administration informed on Thursday that preparations for the execution of all four Nirbhaya case convicts - Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh, Mukesh Kumar Singh and Pawan Gupta - are in full swing. They all have been locked in the same jail - for the first time. The convicts, however, have been lodged in different cells even in the same jail, and not together. According to the Tihar Jail Directorate sources, "Since they would be taken to the execution chamber at the same time, extreme vigilance and peace will be exercised so that the four convicts can`t create any trouble." Since the four criminals are set to be hanged together - for the first time - in the execution chamber, the presence of jail officers and staffers would be more. Also, the crowd is expected to be more than usual on the day of execution. Live TV However, in a related development, a Delhi Court directed the Tihar jail authorities to file a proper report by January 17 about the status of the scheduled execution of four convicts of Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case. The court passed the directions after it was informed by jail authorities that they have written to Delhi government on the issue of the scheduled execution of the convicts on January 22 in view of pending remedies. Ahead of that, Delhi Lieutenant Governor rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh. According to reports, Mukesh's mercy plea was first rejected by the Delhi government, which forwarded the same to the Lieutenant Governor recommending ''rejection''. Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal accepted the recommendation of the Delhi Government and forwarded the file to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The MHA sources later confirmed that the ministry has received mercy petition of Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case convict Mukesh Singh from Delhi government. It is learnt that his mercy plea is currently under process and the MHA will send it to President Ram Nath Kovind with its recommendation. On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court had refused to stay death warrants after the state government said that it "can't hang convicts on January 22." While refusing to set aside the death warrant issued for the hanging of four Nirbhaya gangrape-murder convicts, the high court said that convict Mukesh Singh could approach the trial court, which issued the death warrant. The HC also said that it found nothing wrong in the death warrants issued by Delhi's Patiala House court for the hanging of four convicts. The four convicts - Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) - are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am. Harvest, the pan-Prairie co-builder of companies that received about $5 million from the federal government last summer, is partnering with Western Canadian Innovation Offices, the technology transfer operations of post-secondary institutions. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Harvest, the pan-Prairie co-builder of companies that received about $5 million from the federal government last summer, is partnering with Western Canadian Innovation Offices, the technology transfer operations of post-secondary institutions. The idea is to increase the ability of academic research to grow into competitive companies, and for researchers and institutions to deepen their connections with top corporate entities. Darren Fast, the director of Partnerships and Innovation (formerly called the Technology Transfer Office) at the University of Manitoba, said the partnership will be great for all the post-secondary institutions on the Prairies. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "We can feed ideas into the system, they will bring capital, expertise and other stuff and continue to help concentrate some of the commercialization activity that is happening out of the post secondaries," he said. Chris Simair, the founder and CEO of Harvest and one of the co-founders of Skip the Dishes, said he expects Harvest to partner with accelerators and incubators across the Prairies. "With these partnerships, Harvest is capitalizing on research and development opportunities, while building a platform to commercialize ideas into companies," Simair said. "These companies will have the potential to shape a more diversified Canadian economy." He said more than 1,000 companies have applied to Harvests program. The list has been whittled down to 150, which are being considered. After that, it intends to raise venture capital funds for these companies. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Oliver Wainright of the Guardian calls for a rethink of the way we put buildings together and take them apart. "Ban Demolition" is a tag on TreeHugger because we have long argued for renovation and reuse, especially in this era when we worry about the upfront carbon emissions of new construction. Oliver Wainwright of the Guardian is on this case, too, with The case for... never demolishing another building. In the UK, the construction industry accounts for 60% of all materials used, while creating a third of all waste and generating 45% of all CO2 emissions in the process. It is a greedy, profligate and polluting monster, gobbling up resources and spitting out the remains in intractable lumps. But Wainwright goes way beyond just renovation and reuse of existing buildings; he calls for a complete rethink of how we build new buildings, and looks at the work of Dutch architect Thomas Rau, who designs for disassembly, so that every part can be recovered. His firm recently put the principle into practice with its new headquarters for Triodos, Europes leading ethical bank, which he says is the worlds first totally demountable office building. With a structure made entirely from wood, it has been designed with mechanical fixings so that every element can be reused, with all material logged and designed for easy disassembly. (It's not the first; look at Alberto Mozo's BIP building in Santiago, Chile. I wrote about it: "Every building should be designed for deconstruction; cities change, climates change, resources and materials get expensive.") One thing that has changed since the BIP is BIM: Building Information Modeling, all the materials in a building can be easily tracked for reuse, being "merely another layer of data that can be easily incorporated and tracked throughout a buildings life." It can change the way you think about buildings and materials. Taking reuse to its logical conclusion, Rau sees a future where every part of a building would be treated as a temporary service, rather than owned. From the facade to the lightbulbs, each element would be rented from the manufacturer, who would be responsible for providing the best possible performance and continual upkeep, as well as dealing with the material at the end of its life. This was tried years ago by Interface, with their "Evergreen Lease" model; it failed because carpet is a capital cost, but renting carpet as a service is an operating cost. In fact, tax implications like depreciation are a major reason buildings get demolished instead of renovated; it has been written off for tax purposes. So we really need a tax overhaul to be able to consider building components a "product as service." An open-built house designed for disassembly/ Lloyd Alter/CC BY 2.0 In fact, all building components should be as easy to replace as carpet tiles. Tedd Benson of Bensonwood and Unity Homes uses what he calls 'open-built design', based on the work of Stewart Brand and Dutch architect John Habraken. It takes into account the fact that building systems age at different rates. Tedd doesn't even put wiring in the walls, but in accessible chases: "The simple act of disentangling the wiring from the structure and insulation layer allows you to upgrade, change, or replace a 20-year-lifespan electrical system when new technology arises without affecting a 300-year structure." When we talked "ban demolition" before, it was all about refurbishing and reusing existing buildings. Wainright's meaning is much more sophisticated; we may not keep every building forever, but if they are designed for deconstruction we can keep using all the parts. That's the way to truly ban demolition. A divided federal appeals court reluctantly ordered dismissal Friday of a lawsuit by 21 young people demanding government action against climate change, ruling that although global warming is potentially catastrophic, requiring the government to solve it is beyond the power of the judiciary. The lawsuit, filed in 2015, contended the government was violating the youths constitutional rights to life and liberty by approving continued oil, coal and gas development. But the remedy ordering the government to take steps toward a carbon-free energy system by mid-century would require a fundamental transformation of this countrys energy system, if not that of the industrialized world, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. We doubt that any such plan can be supervised or enforced by an Article III court, Judge Andrew Hurwitz said in the 2-1 ruling, referring to the constitutional provision establishing the federal courts. We reluctantly conclude ... that the plaintiffs case must be made to the political branches (referring to the president and Congress) or to the electorate that can vote them out of office. The majority opinion, joined by Judge Mary Murguia, drew an emphatic dissent from U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton of Santa Ana, temporarily assigned to the appeals court. Although the courts may not be able to undo climate change, she said, they can require the government to take meaningful action. The Constitution does not condone the nations willful destruction, Staton said. Even a partial and temporary reprieve would constitute meaningful redress, but in response, my colleagues throw up their hands. All three judges were appointed by President Barack Obama. Attorney Julia Olson of Wild Earth Advocates, representing the plaintiffs, said she would ask the full appeals court for a new hearing before an 11-judge panel. The majority and dissenting opinions agreed that climate change is wreaking havoc on our nation, Olson said. The courts dont have to solve climate change. They have to protect the rights of the young people by setting standards for protection and by declaring when the government is violating their rights. Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Bossert Clark, representing the Trump administration, said the government was pleased with the outcome. The requirement that plaintiffs prove legal standing that they face harm that the courts have the power to remedy is a vital limitation on the power of the federal courts, Clark said in a statement. The suit was filed during the Obama administration and continued under President Trump, who has denied that humans contribute to climate change and ordered increases in oil and coal production on federal lands. At a hearing on the case in June, Clark told the court that the plaintiffs were trying to vindicate a constitutional right that doesnt exist. The plaintiffs ranged in age from 8 to 19 when they sued. Some said their homes and schools had been flooded because of warming temperatures, one said a drought on an Indian reservation had forced her to leave home, and others said their allergies or asthma had been worsened by smoke from wildfires. The suit relied on the public trust doctrine, which makes the government responsible for managing natural resources, like land, air and water, for the benefit of its inhabitants. A federal judge in Oregon refused to dismiss the suit and scheduled a trial in the fall of 2018, but the Supreme Court, while rejecting the administrations request for immediate dismissal, put the case on hold during appeal. 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. In Fridays ruling, Hurwitz acknowledged substantial evidence that the federal government has long promoted fossil fuel use despite knowing that it can cause catastrophic climate change. He said the hottest years on record have all been within the past decade, sea levels are rising, and the problem is approaching the point of no return. But Hurwitz said the plaintiffs are seeking not only court orders halting current fossil fuel permits and subsidies, but also judicial orders to reduce emissions, which would require action by both the presidential administration and Congress. Declarations by the plaintiffs own experts have made it clear, Hurwitz said, that any effective plan would necessarily require a host of complex policy decisions entrusted, for better or worse, to the wisdom and discretion of the executive and legislative branches. Staton, in dissent, responded that the courts were not being asked to stop climate change in its tracks but only to curb by some measurable degree what the record shows to be an otherwise inevitable march to the point of no return in other words, to do something to help the plaintiffs. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Parents campaigning against the use of iPads in their only second-level feeder school say they are 'delighted to be vindicated' after new recommendations advise the re-introduction of school books. It is thought that the recommendations by an independent digital review group, commissioned by Ratoath College, are likely to impact on other schools using similar technology. The group issued its report to the school's board of management on Wednesday evening and advised that first-year students should no longer be required to buy an iPad. In future, it says, teaching and learning at the school should be based on a balanced approach that involves textbooks and technology. The review group included Dr Ann Marcus Quinn, an expert in technical communication and instructional design at the University of Limerick; former school principal Cora Dunne and former Department of Education inspector Dr Carl O'Dalaigh. Last May, Ratoath College was at the centre of controversy when parents tried to get the use of iPads postponed until this study was carried out. Their concerns centred around too much screen time, huge costs on parents and issues with absorption of information as well as eye-strain and screen addiction. Spokeswoman for the parents group, Nicola Kearns, said: "We are absolutely delighted to be vindicated. Our focus was always on the best outcome for our children and this is an exceptional report. It's a vindication for parents and an enforcement of the concerns we had and it's what we've been saying all along." Ratoath College declined to comment but local Cllr Nick Killian who is the chairman of the Board of Management said that "the Board and the Board of the Louth Meath Education Training Board will now review the full report and its implications and will then outline the full details and any practical changes to parents". As the troubled planes remain grounded, the companys United States-based suppliers may resort to layoffs to cut costs. Leaders in Wichita, Kansas, suffered a series of gut punches in recent weeks after their biggest employer, Spirit AeroSystems, said it would stop working on the troubled Boeing 737 Max jetliner and later announced 2,800 layoffs in its home city. City manager Robert Layton is sitting through two or three meetings a week on what to expect, as fallout from the Maxs temporary shut-down ripples through the aircrafts 600 mostly U.S. suppliers. Republican Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas promptly called Boeings new chief executive and the head of the Federal Aviation Administration to urge them to get the Max flying again. The new mayor of Wichita a city of 380,000 that claims to be the Air Capital of the World just took office on Monday, three days after Spirit announced its mass layoffs. Boeing is the largest manufacturer and exporter in the U.S. Its stumble, which started with the fatal crashes of two 737 Max aircraft and culminated in the grounding of its best-selling Max fleet last March, could have repercussions for the entire U.S. economy. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said the companys problems could cut U.S. gross domestic product by half a percentage point this year a figure repeated by President Donald Trump on Wednesday. While Wichita tries to suss out whats to come, aviation supply chain experts warn that the numerous suppliers could fail causing major job losses if the U.S. industrial titan allows the Max programs shutdown to linger much past this month. Boeing shares have fallen about 25% from a record high on March 1. I would not be surprised that smaller suppliers end up going out of business, because theyre two, three levels down, said Gary Weissel at consultancy Tronos Aviation Consulting. The guys above them cant take deliveries. That could prove a hurdle for Trump as he makes his case for reelection on the strength of the economy and his record on job creation, although Boeings biggest supplier bases in Kansas and Washington are in deeply red and blue states, respectively. With the shutdown, there could be political pressure exerted in the FAAs direction to get things moving, said Kevin Michaels, a managing director at consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory. So far, theres been relatively little bloodletting at Boeings suppliers throughout the Maxs 10-month grounding. Several Max suppliers didnt return calls to discuss the potential impact on their businesses, while the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance, a collection of aviation companies, declined to comment. We are working with local and state organizations to help provide information about available opportunities and resources to employees who need them, a Spirit spokeswoman said. Delicate balancing act Still, there have been relatively few job cuts to date because, until now, Boeing had kept producing 42 Max planes a month, down only slightly from its previous rate of 52 a month. That probably will change now that Boeing suspended production of the model this month, analysts said. Moodys Investors Service in a Jan. 10 report identified 24 Max suppliers whose credit it had previously rated. Big suppliers like Precision Castparts Corp. and Honeywell International Inc. are best suited to withstand the shutdown, while smaller companies could face the most financial stress, according to Moodys. Each supplier will face a delicate balancing act involving efforts to quickly reduce overhead costs, while making sure its able to ramp up again when Boeing restarts production, Moodys wrote. Boeing is talking with suppliers about ways that it can mitigate their challenges through delivery rate options, a company spokesman said, without giving further details. In Wichita, community leaders are trying to diversify their economy so its not so dependent on aviation. Aerospace hit its peak in Wichita in 2008 at more than 40,000 jobs, but by 2017 employment had fallen by a third to about 26,000. The 2,800 layoffs at Spirit, which makes aircraft fuselages and other major components, is expected to cut into the areas wages by around $220 million, although unemployment insurance would offset some of that, said Jeremy Hill, director of the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University. The loss of such valuable jobs would deal a blow to the Wichita economy. Average aerospace positions in the community pays $80,000 a year, or almost double the average for all industries. juliana our children's trust Robin Loznak/Pool Photo/AP Five years ago, 21 young people sued the US government, alleging that by contributing to climate despite knowledge of its dangerous consequences, it was violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property. The kids were asking the court to compel the government to end fossil-fuel subsidies and adopt policies that would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. But on Friday, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the case, known as Juliana vs. the United States. "The panel reluctantly concluded that the plaintiffs' case must be made to the political branches or to the electorate at large," the 32-page opinion said. Judge Andrew D. Hurwitz, one of the two judges behind that decision, wrote that although the plaintiffs "made a compelling case that action is needed," it was beyond the court's power to "order, design, supervise, or implement the plaintiffs' requested remedial plan." That's because doing so would require "a host of complex policy decisions entrusted to the wisdom and discretion of the executive and legislative branches," he said. our children's trust Andrew Selsky/AP The decision reverses a ruling by Oregon district court judge Ann Aiken, who found that the case had legal standing. Both the Obama and Trump administrations had tried multiple times to get the lawsuit dismissed. Our Children's Trust, the non-profit law organization representing the youth plaintiffs, said its fight was not over, though. Story continues "We will be asking the full Ninth Circuit to review the determination that federal courts can do nothing to address an admitted constitutional violation," Andrea Rodgers, the plaintiffs' co-counsel, said in a statement. Our Children's Trust plaintiffs Andrea Willingham/Our Chidren's Trust Another judge, Josephine L. Staton, wrote the dissenting opinion. "It is as if an asteroid were barreling toward Earth and the government decided to shut down our only defenses," she wrote. "Seeking to quash this suit, the government bluntly insists that it has the absolute and unreviewable power to destroy the nation." Read the original article on Business Insider U.S. health and Homeland Security officials will begin screening at major U.S. airports for the new Chinese Coronavirus that has caused two deaths and more than 40 infections in China. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Homeland Security plans to screen travelers starting Saturday on direct and indirect flights from Wuhan, China to three U.S. airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and Los Angeles International airport. Martin Cetron, the director for the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine at the CDC, said in a press briefing Friday that he expects the screening to include as many as 5,000 people coming from Wuhan to the U.S. in the following airports. "Investigations into this novel coronavirus are ongoing and we are monitoring and responding to this evolving situation," he said in a statement. The CDC will monitor the outbreak of the coronavirus, which originally started in Hubei Province, China. There have been two reported deaths and one case confirmed in Thailand and another in Japan. Symptoms of most coronaviruses are similar to any upper-respiratory infection such as a runny nose, coughing, sore throat or fever. It is a part of a large family of viruses that can cause illness in people and animals such as camels, cats and bats. But it's rare for an animal coronavirus to evolve and infect people, according to the CDC. The CDC said the risk of the virus spreading to the American public is considered low. "Nevertheless, CDC is taking proactive preparedness precautions," it said in a statement. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Director General of Police, Logistics department, Vijay Kumar issued the order to all the Senior Superintendents of Police and Superintendents of Police, which said that the rifle is not to be used now. The order also directed the district police chiefs to use the rifle during the Republic Day parade ceremony. This is being seen as the best way to retire the overly used rifle. The rifle is being replaced by modern rifles like Insas (Indian Small Arms System) and SLRs (Self-Loading Rifles). Almost a century old, the 303 rifles were introduced in the year 1914 during the First World War and the Uttar Pradesh Police received this rifle in 1945. Since then, the rifle has accompanied the jawans all along in all kinds of operations. Aiming at strengthening law and order and providing more secure environment to people, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to equip its police with the modern rifles. With criminals often managing to lay hands upon modern gadgets, the police personnel sometimes struggled with the rifles to keep pace. The 303 rifle is a bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle that can fire one shot at a time after which the barrel needs to be reloaded. On the other hand, Insas is an automatic rifle that does not need reloading while in action. As per a report, 63,000 Insas and 23,000 SLRs have been sent to the police stations all over the state and the police personnel have been instructed not to use the 303 rifles anymore. In order to honour the long association of the Uttar Pradesh Police with the 303 rifle, it was decided to use this rifle in the guard of honour ceremony during the January 26 parade in all the districts of the state this year. (Sanjeev Kumar Singh Chauhan can be contacted at sanjeev.c@ians.in) IANS hindi-dpb No, unfortunately, there has been no discernible change for the better in current Huawei/US geopolitical relations and the Huawei Mate 30 Pro still lacks Google Play Services. However, the Chinese giant is hardly taking the blow lying down and has been doing the best it can to still offer the device in any limited fashion it can on Western markets, even if just for the sake of exposure. We've already seen Google-less Mate 30 Pro units pop-up in the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and Spain, to name a few countries. Apparently, the latest European push comes from Bulgaria, where Huawei has built-up a rather formidable presence over the last few years. So much so, in fact, that this limited Huawei Mate 30 Pro launch is done in simultaneous partnership with all three major carriers in Bulgaria, as well as two of the biggest electronics chains in the country. And we're really talking limited here - 100 units only. Just to reiterate - Google Services nowhere in sight. Still, the campaign is trying its best to somehow give this deficiency a sort of positive spin. The lack of the extra Google layer is being taunted as a sort of step towards software freedom and alternatives. Namely, Huawei's own Mobile Services (HMS). Which, by the way, has been growing ambitiously and impressively fast. We can kind of get the angle here, since there is Android beyond Google. In fact, by sheer numbers, it is the prevailing part of the ecosystem. Still, the lack of familiar Google services would definitely be a hard sell in any European country. To soften the blow even further, Huawei Bulgaria is offering a pair of its truly wireless FreeBuds 3 as a gift with every one of the 100 Mate 30 Pro units. Plus, something called "Premium Service", which includes special care for said 100 local fans straight from Huawei specialists and technicians. Also, one free screen or rear glass repair, with free delivery to and from the customer's door, in case of accidental damage in the first 6 months of ownership. Sounds like a nifty deal, especially for the right person, willing to forego Google or alternatively hunt-down and go through the convoluted hoops of sideloading Play Services on to the Mate 30 Pro. Yes, there is still a way, but it's not exactly elegant. But, we digress. Pricing for the Mate 30 Pro units is set at BGN 1999 (about EUR 1020) off-contract and there are also carrier deals available to potentially negotiate. Space Silver is the only color option and sales will start on January 30. You can read more on the Mate 30 Pro in our in-depth review. Update: Some of you have confirmed that similar Mate 30 Pro promotions are also launching in Romania, Poland and Hungary. Thanks for the extra info! When a judge begins a ruling by quoting Nelson Mandela, who was inhumanely imprisoned for years in South Africa, hes clearly looking to hammer home the unacceptability of something. And thats just what Ontario Superior Court Justice Andras Schreck proceeded to do. Conditions at the Toronto South Detention Centre where, lets not forget, a great many inmates have not even been tried, let alone found guilty of anything are appalling, Dickensian, regressive and inexcusable. And this isnt a temporary problem, the judge wrote in a decision released last week. Its a deliberate policy choice by the provincial government. Put simply, Schreck wrote, the Ministry (of the Solicitor General) has clearly chosen to save money rather than heed judicial concerns about the lack of humane treatment of inmates. He was ruling in the case of Jeffrey Persad, who spent two years and nine months (1,010 days, to be precise) in pre-sentence custody at Toronto South. Persad served fully 47 per cent of that time on lockdown, confined to his cell. Not because he was a difficult prisoner or a danger to himself or others. He was kept in a cell, day and night, because of staffing shortages. The Ford government is only too happy to point out that it has hired 200 more officers at the jail, which doesnt seem to have improved the situation one bit. But Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, who oversees the provinces correctional facilities, doesnt seem prepared to acknowledge that government policies and budgets are at fault. How else to explain the pat statement from a ministry spokesperson that institutions use lockdowns for the protection of inmates and staff? At this jail, the largest in Ontario, its been been clear for years that lockdowns are being used in place of hiring sufficient correctional officers. Its a hellish place for inmates and staff alike. This cant go on. The cost goes beyond treating people in ways the United Nations declared unacceptable all the way back in the 1950s. Its bringing the administration of justice into disrepute. Defence lawyers cant meet with their clients during lockdowns so they cant properly prepare cases. Inmates routinely arrive late for court, driving up costs of the justice system. Toronto South is called the plea factory because inmates plead guilty just to get out. Others serve less time for their crimes than they should. Because of the unacceptable and unjustified conditions that Persad was subjected to in jail his original nine-year sentence for drug trafficking and gun crimes was reduced to less than three years. Reduced sentences due to deplorable conditions in jails have become routine. But Schreck decided the usual credit for time served was insufficient in the face of the Ministrys refusal to act. He pointed to 14 other rulings full of condemnation for the astounding level of indifference and neglect by the state. That attitude filters down and may have contributed to another troubling judgment released this week. An inmate at Toronto South was sent to court for the first day of his trial for murder, not in a suit as is customary, but in the equivalent of a nylon hospital gown. No underwear, no socks. Superior Court Justice David E. Harris suggested he might have been purposely humiliated as payback for an earlier misconduct incident against a jail guard. Toronto South, which opened in 2014, was to be part of a more progressive era of incarceration, focusing on rehabilitation over punishment. Its long past time the Ford government took the steps needed to make that a reality. The Mandela quote Schreck referenced in his ruling is this: No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. Mandela was right. How we treat people under state control says a lot about who we are as a society. To have his quote be so relevant in Canadas largest city in 2020 is something we ignore at our peril. Andy Murray on Thursday said he would have to further delay his comeback after failing to shake off a pelvic injury. The 32-year-old former world number one, who hasn't played since the Davis Cup Finals in Spain in November, had pencilled in a return at either Montpellier in France or the Dutch city of Rotterdam next month. "I don't want to rush anything or put a timeline on my recovery," three-time major winner Murray was quoted as saying by British media. "I'm going to listen to my body and step back on the court to compete when the time is right." "The bone bruising is taking longer to heal that first thought, so I won't be playing in Montpellier or Rotterdam in February." The injury picked up at the Davis Cup had already forced him to miss the Australian Open which starts on Monday. Murray, now ranked at 127 in the world, had hoped to make his return to Grand Slam action in Melbourne following a hip resurfacing operation last year. But concerns over the fitness of the five-time losing Australian Open finalist were raised when he cancelled a scheduled block of training in Miami. Melbourne Park was the scene of an emotional press conference 12 months ago where he suggested he might retire as a result of his hip injury. Despite being less than fully fit Murray still played a gruelling five-set loss to Roberto Bautista Agut. A fortnight later the double Olympic gold medallist, twice a Wimbledon champion and the winner of the 2012 US Open, had hip resurfacing surgery. He started his return to action at the Queen's Club grass-court event in London in June where he teamed with Spain's Feliciano Lopez to win the men's doubles. Victory over fellow three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in the final of the ATP Tour event in Antwerp in October was Murray's first singles title in two years. However, he was injured during the Davis Cup and then watched from the sidelines as Britain went on to reach the semi-finals. Injury-hit: Andy Murray applauds as Britain took on Spain in the Davis Cup semi-finals in Madrid in November A Pennsylvania State Police trooper has been found not guilty of reckless endangerment and criminal trespass in connection with an off-duty firearms incident last April in Summerhill Township but does face potential jail time for a conviction of driving under the influence. Kevin J. McKeen, 27, of Albion was found not guilty of reckless endangerment and criminal trespass Thursday following a 1.5-day trial in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas. The jury of 10 men and two women acquitted McKeen of the two counts following about 45 minutes of deliberation Thursday morning. President Judge John Spataro, who presided over the trial, found there was enough evidence to convict McKeen of driving under the influence, an ungraded misdemeanor, and a summary count of criminal mischief. Under Pennsylvania law, a verdict on an ungraded misdemeanor DUI is determined by a judge, not a jury, as are any summary counts at a trial. Pennsylvania State Police charged McKeen for an off-duty incident April 13, 2019, at a Summerhill Township home on Route 198 between 12:01 and 1:24 a.m. McKeen was accused by police of firing six rounds from his .45-caliber pistol into the floor of a home hed shared with Ariel Supinger. State police also said McKeen broke into another home while looking for Supinger. McKeen, a trooper assigned to the Meadville barracks, has been suspended without pay since his arrest, said Ryan Tarkowski, state police communications director. Hell be brought back on restricted duty but still is subject to an internal investigation, Tarkowski said. McKeen could get up to six months in jail plus a $300 fine on the ungraded misdemeanor DUI conviction plus 90 days in jail and $300 fine for criminal mischief. The judge ordered that McKeen undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation prior to sentencing. McKeen remains free on $20,000 bond pending sentencing in March. By Keith Gushard, The Meadville Tribune, Pa. (TNS) Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh): The head priest of the famous Balaji temple in Chitrakoot was shot dead, late on Thursday night, by unidentified persons. His driver was also injured in the shootout. Mahant Arjun Das, 45, was shot twice on the head from close range and his driver Arvind was shot in the chest. Xi expected to sign $1.3bn deal to build a port in Rakhine State on his first visit to the country as president. Yangon, Myanmar Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Myanmar on Friday on his first trip to the country since 2009 and is expected to step up investment in the Southeast Asian nation including in the conflict-racked state of Rakhine, a key link in Chinas Belt and Road initiative. Myanmars Deputy Minister of Commerce Aung Htoo told reporters before the visit that Xi would sign agreements related to the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone and $1.3bn port in Rakhine, where a brutal military crackdown in 2017 led hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee over the border to Bangladesh. Xi has visited almost all ASEAN countries since assuming power in 2013, but Myanmar had been left out until now, Yun Sun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Center, said in an email to Al Jazeera. During his two-day visit, Xi is scheduled to meet President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyidaw. When the National League of Democracy under Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi swept into power in 2015, there was an expectation around the world that it would mark a new age of human rights and democracy in a country that had spent decades under military rule. But despite the intense criticism by many Western countries on its handling of the Rohingya crisis, China has been able to rebuild its influence with its southern neighbour, analysts said. Sun said the fallout over the Rohingya crisis and Myanmars current isolation in the international community, had given China an opportunity to win Myanmar over through a gesture of support. The trip would not happen without the Chinese side being certain about the direction of the bilateral relations going in a positive direction. In other words, the Chinese are confident that China has regained its damaged influence and repaired its tarnished image in the country, Sun said. Bypassing Strait of Malacca In an article published in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar a day before his arrival, Xi expressed confidence that the projects would progress, specifically mentioning the Kyaukphyu project, as well as the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone and New Yangon City developments. China and Myanmar need to deepen results-oriented Belt and Road cooperation and move from a conceptual station to concrete planning and implementation, he wrote. The Kyaukphyu port would give China direct access to the Indian Ocean, allowing it to bypass the Strait of Malacca. The Kyaukphyu port project would give China direct access to the Indian Ocean, allowing it to bypass the Strait of Malacca [File: Ye Aung Thu/AFP] Around 80 percent of Chinas oil imports pass through the narrow strait between Malaysia and Indonesia, leaving it vulnerable to blockades or unrest over the disputed South China Sea. The port, coupled with a planned railway from Kyaukphyu to Chinas Yunnan province would not only bypass the strait but also be more direct. Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations said Myanmar was probably moving closer to China but emphasised that the two countries had been very close for years. China has been the dominant strategic actor in Myanmar for several decades. But Xi is seeking to keep it that way, with a state visit, he said in an email to Al Jazeera. Different from Cambodia Kurlantzick also said the visit was consistent with Chinas desire to remain the pre-eminent external power in Myanmar and blunt the influence of Japan, which is pushing its own infrastructure projects. Despite the two countries close relationship, Myanmar has maintained a certain caution about Chinese development. I dont think they are going to accept everything and anything China proposes, Sun said. On that, Burma is categorically different from Cambodia. Where Cambodia is effectively a one-party state, Myanmar is at least semi-democratic, and an election is due later this year. People have shown they are willing to question development. The China-backed Myitsone Dam in Kachin State, for example, was delayed indefinitely in 2011 after mass protests from local residents and attacks from the Kachin Independence Army. Xi himself might have an eye on the election too. The visit may provide Xi and his entourage a chance to assess the various Myanmar politicians who may be contesting for the leadership in the next national elections, Kurlantzick said. Local media has reported that Xi plans to meet representatives of minor parties and in the run-up to the visit, Chinese officials met the leaders of various ethnic armed groups in Myanmar which have been fighting the central government for decades. Fiefdoms Chinas special envoy for Asian affairs Sun Guoxiang met close Chinese allies like the National Democratic Alliance Army and officials from Wa State. Both groups have carved out fully autonomous fiefdoms within Myanmars borders and have close ties with China. The government of Wa State welcomed Xis visit in a statement, expressing delight and hope that the two countries would live in harmony. Guoxiang also met the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group that has been a significant thorn in the Myanmar governments side, as it tries to carve out a territory of its own in Rakhine the same state where the Kyaukphyu port is located. While the AA has complained that the Myanmar government pursues development projects without input from the locals, the group does not oppose Chinese investment. China acts as an intermediary between the AA and the military, a mutually beneficial relationship that gives the rebel group a communication channel and makes China an essential part of the peace process. The Myanmar government is also eager to repair the image of Rakhine after years of violence. Having a major project in Rakhine would be a boon to the Myanmar governments claims of boosting stability and development in Rakhine State, Kurlantzick said but added that focusing on development before accountability for human rights violations was troubling to some. Amnesty International is among those troubled, writing in a press release that China must stop shielding Myanmars generals from international accountability for human rights violations against the Rohingya. With major economic and infrastructure agreements expected to be signed during President Xis visit, the absolute lack of transparency over such agreements is deeply disturbing, said Amnestys Regional Director, Nicholas Bequelin, in the statement, adding that investment can only help improve human rights if it benefits the people on the ground. While the AA may welcome Chinese development, many Rakhine people feel differently. We hold the motto that no development without genuine peace, said Ting Oo, General Secretary of the All Arakan Students & Youths Congress. Right now, most of the development projects across Myanmar are planned and implemented by only a handful of people in power. Ting Oo said it made no difference whether the development was Chinese or Western, as the current system for approving projects lacked transparency, did not include local people and was poorly regulated. Without such minimum requirements, we see no points in supporting a development project, however great the incentives are, he said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend: The Armenian side makes absurd, contradictory statements, Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev told reporters, commenting on the statements of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the martyrs of January 20, 1990, Trend reports. Hajiyev noted that Pashinyan used the expression "extremists" when talking about the martyrs of January 20. "That's insanity. What else can you expect from the one who could compare Solzhenitsyn with a fascist executioner like Garegin Nzhdeh, who served Nazis?!," Hajiyev added. The official stressed that the January 20 tragedy is recognized by the international community, which honors the blessed memory of martyrs. Various events to commemorate January 20 are being held at the international level, in all diplomatic missions, Hajiyev said, noting that foreigners are informed about the tragedy. Hajiyev said that instead of expressing absurd populist ideas regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Armenian side should take the most necessary steps, such as the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. "The settlement of the conflict should not be the subject of populism. Armenia is an occupying country, more than a million people have become refugees and internally displaced persons. Therefore, if we want to advance in the process of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it is necessary to eliminate the factor that forms the fundamental basis of the conflict, that is, the occupation. After this, various measures can be taken to settle the conflict, including measures to restore trust," Hajiyev said. The Azerbaijani official stressed that Armenia's international, legal and political responsibility lies in the fact that it must withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions. "Armenia conducts various activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which should be stopped. Only after this, Armenia can claim that they are constructively and sincerely participating in the negotiation process," Hajiyev added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, 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. 'Facebook and Google no longer need to have infantry regiments and cavalry like the East India Company because they are inside everyone's phones listening to our conversations.' IMAGE: An East India Company ship. Inset: The East India Company logo. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Historian William Dalrymple is an authority on the history of Mughals as attested to by his well-known books, The Last Mughal and The White Mughals. Another Dalrymple bestseller is Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan in which he gives the first account of the First Anglo-Afghan war of 1839-42. His latest book, The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of Empire, talks about the birth and rise of the rapacious East India Company. "The East India Company never pretended to rule for the benefit of Indians, it ruled to benefit its shareholders," Dalrymple tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf. Samir Jain, vice-chairman of The Times of India group, was once quoted as saying that if he was prime minister of India he would ban the study of history. Your books sell in good numbers, so one wonders how can Indians today have such interest in the history of the East India Company after 70 years after Independence? (Laughs). Everyone has been told in school textbooks that it was the British with capital 'B' who conquered India, but it wasn't. It was the East India Company which was far more sinister than a nation-State. The East India Company as a corporation existed for the profit of its shareholders. Stressing the self-evident truth has appeal because this book is still a number one book to be sold months after it was released. I am very thrilled at how well it has been received in India. After 1739 Nadir Shah plundered Delhi. In 1761 Ahmed Shah Abdali won the Third Battle of Panipat. You have quoted poet Mir Taqi Mir describing how Sikhs, Marathas and every other community was creating a ruckus in Indian society. In such a scenario, don't you think it was only the East India Company which brought some kind of order into a chaotic Indian society? You can certainly argue that, but the East India Company existed to give profits to its shareholders. It had no pretence as the crown used to give out later that it existed to bring about civilisation, to bring in order. The East India Company never pretended to rule for the benefit of Indians, it ruled to benefit its shareholders, which is a crucial distinction. It may have brought about order and certainly united India, but it did not do that for the benefit of Indians, but for the benefit of itself. You write in your book that India became a military market post the Third Battle of Panipat. What did you mean by it? That all Hindu castes start participating in wars, which that was not the case earlier? I don't think it was the Third Battle of Panipat that created a military market as it was there in some form from antiquity. There were always people who were up for hire and many people who would take up arms during winter when they were not engaged in agriculture. There is no question that in the 18th century, as the Mughal empire broke up post Aurangzeb's death, the military market expanded. There were all these competing states. Everyone was militarised and everyone was armed. I don't think India became a military market post the Battle of Panipat as that happened 60 years earlier, after Aurangzeb's death. The East India Company used to pay four times more salary to its soldiers than Tipu Sultan or any other Indian ruler. Can we then come to the conclusion, as historian Burton Stein put it, that the conquest of India was bought rather than fought? I think that is absolutely right. There are two things that gave a military edge to the East India Company. One was military tactics which gave an edge to the company between 1740 and 1780. But after that it was the fact that they had good finances as people were investing in London and India. The issue of company bonds and also the fact that the company had seized Bengal, which was the richest province (made the company financially well-off). Just like Bengal had financed Mughal operations, now it financed the company's operations. Why did Muslim landholding families not become zamindars after Lord Cornwallis brought in the Permanent Settlement Act in 1793? How did a new class of Hindu Bengalis emerge as traders and bankers? Because those were the financial classes, just as they are today. The old landholding classes did not have ready cash. This is true even today as those who deal in money have money. If you are in a situation today where land is put up for competitive auction, obviously the financiers will be able to outbid anyone else. Today, if you put up land for auction in Bombay (Mumbai), you will see Marwaris and moneylenders would have the first highest bids. In the 1770s, after the East Indian Company started ruling Bengal, there was a terrible famine. Still, the company's revenues later rose to Rs 25 million compared to the Malwa region whose revenue was only Rs 2 million. How was Bengal producing so much wealth when other parts of India were failing? Bengal was the richest province in terms of agriculture. It had the richest soil and two harvests a year. Also, they had weavers. The weaving industry produced money more than anything else and there were one million weavers in Bengal. They produced the greatest textiles in the world. Why did the Marathas never sit on the Delhi throne in spite of the fact that they placed Mughal kings on the throne many times between the 1730s and 1800? Why didn't they rule from Delhi? Because the Mughals had such prestige, today we see the Marathas through the eyes of modern patriots and nationalists. We see them as great heroes. As far as they (Marathas) were concerned, they emerged from plough lands and from fields. Faced with the Mughals, who had the aura of legitimacy although we don't think of that today, in the eyes of the 18th century they were the legitimate rulers of Hindustan. Marathas as clever politicians decided to rule through them rather than rule against them. Why did Indians, and especially Mughal rulers, lose out in terms of military inventions post Aurangzeb? Why did India never get someone like Frederick the Great who revolutionised the military inventions of Europe? Frederick the Great was a great military genius who created a military revolution and that can happen in any given situation. Normally, just like the Second World War produced enormous military innovations in a million ways like radar, guided missiles, long distance missiles and carpet bombing, all these things were invented in the course of intense warfare. So the two big battles in the early 18th century -- the war of Austrian succession and Spanish succession -- had the same effect that time (in Europe). What was the currency that was paid to Indian soldiers by the East Indian Company vis-a-vis other Indian rulers? How did currency exchange take place? Every ruler had their own currency. Tipu Sultan minted his own rupees. The Company also minted its own rupees. Initially, the Company coins in the South were modelled on Vijayanagar empire coinage. They had Hindu deities on the back of the coins initially. In the north they were modeled on Mughal coinage. Right up till 1832, the East India Company coins had the name of Mughal rulers on it. Men like Ghulam Qadir raped Mughal women and paraded them naked. The same kind of atrocities were committed by other Indian rulers after military victory. You don't see the East India Company raping women and destroying temples and mosques in India? Brutality and the looting of Srirangapatna (by the East India Company) would have equalled anything that Ahmed Shah Abdali did. Maybe not, we don't have details of the ghastly horrors like the way we know of Ghulam Qadir straddling Mughal emperor Shah Alam and plucking his eyes out. That horror took place at Srirangapatna and other fallen cities, there is no doubt. Is it true that India's contribution to world GDP was 25 per cent under Mughal rule and after the East India Company started ruling India that figure fell to just 2 per cent? It is true. The complicating factor is that Indian exports continued to rise until the 1830s and it does not mean that the Indian economy was contracting. It was the amount that was being taken off from India and sent to England as profits. The Indian economy continued to boom under the East India Company, but the profits were no longer staying in India, they were being exported. China has blocked e-commerce giants like Amazon, Facebook and Google. They seem to have learnt their lesson after the opium wars, but India's market has been captured by American companies. Do you see any similarity between the East India Company and these Internet giants? That is the point of my book. My book is a warning about the power of corporate institutions. You can argue that Facebook and Google no longer need to have infantry regiments and cavalry like the East India Company because they are inside everyone's phones listening to our conversations. You will find adverts of the East India Company in your social media feed tomorrow morning, having discussed them with me (laughs). The U.S. Department of Labor has ruled in favor of a nuclear engineer who says the Tennessee Valley Authority fired her in retaliation for reporting safety and personnel concerns. The Labor Department is ordering the utility to restore Beth Wetzels job and compensate her more than $200,000 in back pay, lost benefits, damages and legal fees, according to the Labor Department order obtained by the Knoxville News Sentinel. TVA said it fired Wetzel for insubordination because she spoke negatively about supervisor Erin Henderson, but the Labor Department ruled Wetzel properly raised safety concerns and gave honest testimony about Hendersons performance during an internal work environment investigation. TVA disagrees with the findings and will appeal, spokesman Scott Brooks told the newspaper. The complaint began in 2016, shortly after Henderson was promoted to the director of regulatory affairs role after fewer than six years with the utility, the Labor Department filings show. From then until 2018, Wetzel filed a series of nuclear safety complaints with Henderson and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including alleged violations of worker fatigue rules. Henderson filed a complaint herself claiming Wetzel and other nuclear oversight staffers who reported the safety concerns were creating a hostile work environment, the Labor Department ruling detailed. An in-house attorney began probing the work environment complaint and asked Wetzel for her opinion on Henderson, to which Wetzel responded that Henderson was too young to be director and could be vindictive, the Labor Department order documented. Wetzel was fired for insubordination in October 2018, after which she filed her wrongful termination complaint with the Labor Department. The federal agency ruled that TVAs rationale for releasing Wetzel couldnt be supported, and the employer instead took adverse action against Wetzel because of her participation in the investigation. Wetzel is the fourth TVA nuclear oversight staffer to claim retaliation for raising safety concerns in the past year, the newspaper said. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Tennessee However, the Shriomani Akali Dal (SAD), an alliance partner of the BJP in the state, opposed the resolution but protested against the non-inclusion of Muslims under the CAA. The Congress-ruled government moved the resolution in the Assembly that got the support of the main opposition AAP. Chandigarh, Jan 17 (IANS) After Kerala, Punjab on Friday became the second state to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The resolution was moved by Local Bodies and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra on the last day of the two-day special session. He favoured doing away with the CAA, saying it was "against secular values". AAP legislator Aman Arora said the law was enacted to divert attention from "bigger issues", while SAD's Sharanjit Dhillon said that the Muslims should not be left out of the CAA ambit. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the issue of CAA had shaken the entire country. Describing the controversial legislation as inherently discriminatory' and a negation of the very secular fabric on which the Constitution of India is based, the Assembly adopted by voice vote a hard-hitting resolution seeking immediate repeal of the unconstitutional CAA, which the Chief Minister compared to the ethnic and religious cleansing in Hitler's Germany. Clearly, no lessons had been learnt from history, said a visibly anguished Chief Minister during the discussion on the resolution, which also urged the Central Government to put on hold the work on the National Population Register (NPR), till forms or documents associated with it are amended suitably, in order to allay apprehensions that it is a prelude to the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Talking informally to the media outside the House, the Chief Minister said the Centre would have to make the necessary amendments to the CAA if it had to be implemented in Punjab and other states opposing the legislation. Like Kerala, his government would also approach the Supreme Court on the issue, he added. In response to a question, he made it clear that the census in Punjab would be conducted on the old parameters and the new factors added by the Centre for the purpose of the NPR would not be included. Terming the divisive Act as a tragedy that he was unfortunate to witness in his lifetime, the Chief Minister earlier said in the House that "what happened in Germany under Hitler in 1930 is happening in India now." "Germans did not speak then, and they regretted it, but we have to speak now, so that we don't regret later," he asserted, urging the Opposition, particularly the Akalis, to read Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' to understand the dangers of the CAA. He said he would get the book translated and distributed so that all could read and grasp the historical mistakes that Hitler made. "What is happening in India is not good for the country," said Amarinder Singh, adding that people could see and understand, and were protesting spontaneously without any instigation. Making an impassioned plea to the Akalis to rise above politics and think about their own country before deciding on their vote, he said he had never imagined such a tragedy could happen in a secular nation like India, which had more Muslims than Pakistan. "Where will all those people, who you brand as non-citizens, go? Where will the 18 lakh people declared illegal in Assam go if other countries refuse to take them? Has anyone thought about it? Has the Home Minister even thought about what has to be done with the so-called illegal people? Where will the poor people get their birth certificates from?" asked the Chief Minister, declaring that "we all have to live together as citizens of secular India in our own interest." People of all faiths have lived harmoniously together in this country all these years, and Muslims have given their lives for this country, said the Chief Minister, citing the example of Indian Army soldier Abdul Hamid, who received the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his actions during the Indo-Pak war of 1965, just like many others. The Cellular Jail in Andamans was full of Muslim names, he pointed out. "Why have Muslims been excluded? And why have they (Centre) not included Jews in the CAA?", asked Amarinder Singh, pointing out that India had a Jew Governor, General Jacob, who also fought for the nation in the 1971 war. Those responsible for this situation should be ashamed of themselves, said the Chief Minister, even as he lashed out at the Akalis for supporting the legislation in Parliament and then speaking on it in different voices to promote their political agenda. Pointing out that Punjab had just celebrated the 550th Prakash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev, who taught that "koyi Hindu nahin, koyi Mussalman nahin, sab rab key bandey," Amarinder Singh asked the Akalis if they had forgotten the Guru's teachings. "You should be ashamed, and you will repent this one day," he said, adding that he felt bad about speaking in such language but circumstances had made it necessary. vg/rt/bg The death of Soleimani, the countrys most powerful military figure, prompted a massive outpouring of grief among Iranians, followed by an Iranian ballistic missile strike on two bases in Iraq hosting U.S. forces. But in the immediate wake of that missile attack, Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane near Tehran, killing all 176 aboard, and the Iranian street turned swiftly against the government, accusing it of egregious incompetence and of covering up its guilt. As winter grips the Balkans, the poor are caught in a cruel bind, being forced to light fires at home for heating while fuelling a pollution crisis smothering the region. In recent weeks, Balkan capitals from Belgrade Sarajevo to Skopje and Pristina have been ranked among the world's top 10 most polluted major cities, according to the monitoring application AirVisual. While these are small cities compared to leading Asian polluters like New Delhi and Dhaka, a combination of coal-fired power plants, old cars and fires to heat homes are pumping the air with toxins. "I know it is polluting. I am not an idiot but my only other choice would be to heat this home with electricity and that is damn expensive," said Trajan Nestorovski, who like many in his working-class Skopje neighbourhood burns wood to stay warm in winter. His wife Vera added: "There are a couple of factories near our neighbourhood that are burning God knows what in the evenings". Thanks to the rise of mobile phone apps that measure air quality, like the local Moj Vozduh (My Air) created by a Macedonian developer, citizens are finally grasping the full extent of the crisis. "Serbia is suffocating, has anyone seen the minister of the environment?", said a recent headline in Belgrade's local Blic newspaper, speaking of the fog and dirty air enveloping the city. Protests have been erupting around the region in recent days. In Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, young people have taken inspiration from Swedish activist Greta Thunberg by holding a spate of protests on Fridays. "Greta inspired all of us," said 17-year-old Iskra Ilieska. "In winter, half of my school class is absent because of lung problems. That is not normal," she said. In neighbouring Bosnia, several hundred people wearing face masks gathered in the city of Tuzla this week to demand a plan from authorities to tackle pollution and phase out coal-fired plants in the next five years. "The only recommended measures are that we stay shut up at home... when you go out on the streets, in the playgrounds, you won't see children anywhere," said Alisa Kasumovic, a mother in her forties. - Silent killer - According to a recent UN environment report, air pollution causes nearly 20 percent of premature deaths in 19 Western Balkan cities. The main sources of the dust, soot and smoke are low-grade coal plants and household heating, the report said. More than 60 percent of people in the region rely on coal and firewood to heat their homes, the report said. Only 12 percent of buildings are connected to district heating systems. Governments need to make "clean energy more accessible", ban old polluting vehicles and tighten regulations on industry emissions and power plants, the UN urged. Many people cannot afford cleaner heating options at home in countries where average wages are around 500 euros or less. Sali Ademi, a 78-year-old in Kosovo's capital Pristina, uses coal. "There's no worse thing, but what can you do?" he said in a city whose air is already poisoned by two nearby coal-fired power plants running on outdated technology. - Cable car escape - Those who warm their homes with fires also bear the brunt of health risks, according to experts. "Some of the emissions from these stoves stay in the house and poison them," warned Anes Podic, president of an environmental group in Bosnia who has called on the government to replace inefficient wood stoves in the country. In cities like Sarajevo and Skopje, a circle of mountains helps trap the hazardous air in the valleys where residents live. Sakiba Sahman, 60, is a Sarajevan taking advantage of a recent reduction on ticket prices for a cable car that rides to the top of the 1,160-metre-high (3,800-foot-high) Mount Trebevic, which peaks above the smog over the Bosnian capital. "We've come to spend a few hours to ventilate the lungs," she told AFP. Down below, "the pollution is enormous, there are a lot of cars, everything is dirty, grey and depressing." burs-ev/ssm/ach The Taliban will implement a 10-day ceasefire with US troops, a reduction in violence with Afghan forces and discussions with Afghan government officials if it reaches a deal with US negotiators in talks in Doha, two sources have said. If an agreement is sealed, it could revive hopes for a long-term solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. Taliban and US negotiators met on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the signing of a peace deal, according to a spokesman for the Taliban office in Qatar. The talks were useful and would continue for a few days, the spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said on Twitter early on Friday. Donald Trump had called off the stop-start talks to end the 18-year war in September after a US soldier was killed in an attack by the militant group. They resumed but were interrupted again in December after the Taliban launched a suicide attack on a US base outside Kabul killing two civilians. Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Show all 20 1 /20 Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Nooria*, 15 in the home her family has lived in for the past two years in Mazar-i Sharif She was forced to flee her home with her family after their town was attacked by armed groups. Nooria describes a rocket hitting her neighbours home killing many inside. They fled on foot with just the clothes on their backs and she now lives in Mazari Shariff where Save the Children have enrolled her in school and provide vocational training Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Nooria* hopes for a future with no war; "When they attacked our village, the rocket hit our neighbour's house and they all died. Our house then caught fire and we ran away. My friends who I used to play with - I still don't know if they are alive or if they are dead. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict I'm hoping for a better future, to learn, to support my family and to get them out of this difficult life. And I'm hoping for a future where there is no war. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Naveed*, 16 at his family home in Mazar-i Sharif Naveed lost his leg when he stepped on a mine aged just 8-years-old. He was herding the family's sheep in the mountains near their home when he triggered a landmine Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict After months of medical treatment his right leg was eventually amputated. He received physiotherapy and a prosthetic leg from the International Committee for the Red Cross in Mazar Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Now enrolled in school, Naveed is being given vocational training by Save the Children. For around a year I felt and dreamt that I still had my leg. But when I woke up and saw, there was no leg. Sometimes Id feel with my hand to check and find it wasn't there. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict If someone has loses their leg, it does not mean that they have lost their mind." Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict "With the help of our minds we can continue to study, learn, and work to make the future of our families brighter. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Naveed and Mahboob*, 55 (Naveed's father) Several years ago Neveed's father, Mahboob, was brutally beaten with rifle butts by armed groups after, he says, he failed to provide food for them while they were stationed in the family's village. He suffered brain damage which affected the right side of his body, speech and his brain function Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Habiba*, 14, and Arezo*, 15 in a village outside Kabul Habiba and Arezo were injured with their mother three years ago in a suicide bombing in Kabul. Arezo is still traumatised from what she saw and has become completely withdrawn Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Arezo's younger sister Habiba cares for her, takes her to lessons and anywhere she wants to go. They are both in school through Save the Children's 'Steps towards Afghan girls' education success' (STAGES) programme, which helps the most marginalised girls get access to education, stay in school and learn. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Habiba says: When I woke up and I opened my eyes I saw lots of bodies and I thought I was not alive any more. It was horrible. I'll never forget that. Whenever there is a big sound she gets scared because she was traumatised by the sound she heard during the attack. I love my sister, and I help her with her lessons, I take her anywhere." Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict "She's older than me but I feel like the older one because I support her. I hope for a better future for me and my sister. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Khalida*, 10 in a classroom in a village outside Kabul Two years ago Khalida lost her 18-year old brother when he was killed in an explosion in Kabul. She misses him every day and says the family are still carrying the grief of his loss Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict "Two years ago, my brother was going to Kabul when an explosion happened and he lost his life. We are still carrying the grief and are crying over him. At the time we were happy, everyone was happy. Now no-one is happy in the family. When I remember him, I cry and feel so bad. I hope for peace and that war will stop, and that nobody loses their brother Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict I want to get education to become a teacher. I want to teach others who have never been to school Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Sema*,11 at her family home in Kabul Sema recalls coming home from her aunt's house and being told that her father had been killed in a suicide attack Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict Sema still thinks about him every second and likes to look at his prayer beads (Tisbeh) to remember him. They hang from the curtain in the family home. She loves school and wants to become a teacher one day. Sema says she wants peace in her country to stop other children losing their fathers. We still have lots of his belongings, like his car, his clothes, his watch, his shoes. Whenever we see them we cry. He gave us all so much love every moment and he is on our minds. I want for the powerful people around the world to stop the war and bring peace, because I don't want other children to lose their fathers. Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Afghanistan war: lives of children devastated by the endless conflict I want to become a teacher to serve the country and I don't want any girls to be illiterate. I want to teach all the girls, so they have access to education. *Names have been changed to protect identities Andrew Quilty/Save the Children Two sources close to the matter told Reuters on Wednesday that the Taliban's top leadership had now agreed to implement a 10-day ceasefire with US troops once a deal was signed in Doha, and to reduce attacks against the Afghan government. A senior Taliban commander said: The US wanted us to announce a ceasefire during the peace talks which we had rejected. Our shura [council] has agreed to a ceasefire the day the peace accord is signed. Once an agreement is in place, the Taliban and Afghan government could meet face to face in Germany, said the commander. Previously, the Taliban had refused to engage in talks with the Afghan government. The US team in Doha had demanded a ceasefire which we had declined due to some issues, the Taliban commander said. Now most of our reservations have been addressed. Another source close to the talks confirmed the commander's version of events. A signing date has not been fixed, but the Taliban commander said he expected it to be very soon. Both sources asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. A US State Department spokesperson declined to comment and the Pentagon referred queries to the State Department. An Afghan presidency spokesman said a ceasefire was the only way to achieve sustainable and dignified peace. Any plan which proposes a ceasefire as a basic step will be acceptable for the government, Sediqi Sediqqi tweeted on Friday. Violence in Afghanistan rose after the breakdown of talks in September. The Taliban's readiness to reduce violence revives odds of the peace process moving forward before the militant group launches what is usually an annual spring offensive around early April. Reuters Tehran, Jan 17 : Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatolllah Ali Khamenei will lead the Friday prayers here for the first time since 2012, which comes in the wake of widespread protests over the January 8 downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane by an Iranian missile. In a statement, Tehran Friday Prayers Headquarters announced that the sermon will be held at Tehran's Mosalla mosque, adding, "the Iranian nation will once again demonstrate their unity and magnificence", said a report in Iran's Mehr news agency. But the report did not link the prayer session to the current situation. The last time Khamenei led Friday prayers in Tehran was in 2012 on the 33rd anniversary of the country's Islamic Revolution. Leading Friday prayers in the capital is a symbolically significant act usually reserved for times when Iran's highest authority wishes to deliver an important message, the BBC reported citing Mehdi Khalaji of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, as saying. Historically, Iranian leaders have left this task to loyal clerics with strong oratorical skills, he added. Social media footage from several funerals held for victims on Thursday showed mourners chanting slogans against the authorities. Protests erupted across Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on January 12 admitted that the plane had been mistaken for a "cruise missile" during heightened tensions with the US. The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 was travelling to Kiev from Tehran on January 8 when it crashed shortly after take-off. All 176 passengers on board, including dozens of Iranians and Canadians, were killed. Hours before the plane was shot down, Iranian missiles had also targeted two airbases in Iraq that housed US forces. That rocket attack was in retaliation to the January 3 killing of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, who was the chief of the IRGC's elite Quds Force, by an American drone near the Baghdad airport. She's kept herself busy with a string of TV appearances and cover shoots since she left Hollyoaks. But on Thursday night Jorgie Porter, 32, took some time out of her busy schedule to catch up with friends at the Chiltern Firehouse, London. The actress put on a leggy display as she strutted into the popular celeb haunt wearing a pair of leather shorts and heeled studded boots covered with a black teddy coat and baker hat. Chic and unique: Jorgie Porter opted for a pair of leather shorts and a long coat as she headed out to the Chiltern Firehouse in London no Thursday night She paired the look with a padded navy tote bag with silver hardware and kept her long golden looks flowing from one side of her cap. Since leaving Hollyoaks, where she played Theresa McQueen, the actress has gone on to do Dancing On Ice, I'm A Celebrity, Celebs Go Dating, and performed on tour with Fame The Musical as a budding ballerina. She recently insisted that she was 'so glad' she wasn't heading back into the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here jungle in Australia. Details: She paired the look with a padded navy tote bag with silver hardware and kept her long golden looks flowing from one side of her cap With her signature cat-eye winged eyeliner the celeb wore a sheer make-up look along with a rosy cheek. She completed the look with a dainty gold necklace. The star took a break from acting after being in the soap bubble for so long in 2018, spending the time attending acting classes in the states. Jorgie recently said that despite her lads' mag cover shoots, she couldn't be further from her sexy image in real life, telling the Daily Star online: 'I don't think that I am a sex symbol. 'I just think, "Ooh that's a good photo" and my friends will tell me you look good put that one on. I personally am a goof ball... a total goofball.' Jorgie also joked the men she dates are often confused about her because they don't expect her to be such a joker. The TV personality declared: 'You would probably date me thinking FHM but really you get The Big Bang Theory.' A lawmaker in the U.S. state of Oklahoma has proposed creating a state-chartered financial institution that, if approved, would serve as "the central depository for virtual currency used by governmental agencies in this state." The measure, sponsored by state senator Nathan Dahm, seeks to provide a level of state-backed infrastructure for work done related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain. According to public records published via LegiScan, the proposed bill's introduction date is Feb. 3rd, indicating that the bill is at its earliest stages in development. "This new financial institution shall be fully supported by blockchain technology and innovations. The new financial institution shall have the highest level of expertise with customer identification, anti-money laundering and beneficial ownership components," the bill notes, going on to further state: "The new financial institution shall be designed to seamlessly integrate into existing banking and financial institution regulations that protect consumers while limiting regulations that restrict innovation and technological advances for new financial products, data transmissions and recordkeeping." Even if passed, Dahm's bill wouldn't lead to the depository's creation overnight. Rather, it would empower Oklahoma's State Banking Department and the Department of Commerce to "coordinate and develop plans, make recommendations to the Legislature and establish requirements and a strategy" fo its launch. A report on the initiative would be due by July 1, 2021. Even still, the bill strikes a lofty tone, seeking to establish the state as a welcoming place for businesses that work with the technology. "Oklahoma is committing to partner with innovative technology, help develop next generation financial products, and safely grow unique technical and financial sectors in this state," it states. Dahm filed a bill last February that seek to establish when a digital token constitutes a type of security. He was also a sponsor of a separate piece of legislation, ultimately approved and passed into law last April, establishing that "a record or contract that is secured through blockchain technology is considered to be in an electronic form and to be an electronic record." British Airways emits up to 45% more CO2 per passenger compared with rival airlines on identical routes, according to new research. The flag carrier has the worst carbon emissions performance on four out of six routes analysed for Which? Travel, the magazine said. British Airways described the inquiry as shoddy, claiming the figures are outdated and inaccurate. But Which? Travel insisted it was standing by the data, which was provided by carbon analytics firm Flyzen. The investigation found that one passenger flying from Heathrow to Miami with British Airways would be responsible for 1,133kg of carbon, which is almost a third more than the figure of 861kg for the same journey with Virgin Atlantic. These figures show that swapping to a greener airline will allow the many of us concerned about climate change to immediately and significantly reduce our individual carbon footprintRory Boland On the Stansted to Palma de Mallorca route, British Airways emits 160kg of CO2 per passenger, which is nearly 50% more than Ryanair, Jet2.com or Tui which all stand at 109kg. Which? Travel noted that flag carriers such as British Airways tend to use older fleets of wide-bodied aircraft, which use more fuel. They also carry more passengers in premium cabins, which results in lower capacities and an increased carbon footprint per person. The worst case identified by Which? Travel was indirect flights from Heathrow to Singapore, with Cathay Pacific (1,693kg) producing three-quarters more CO2 emissions per passenger than KLM (958kg). The difference is largely due to Cathay Pacific passengers changing planes in Hong Kong, whereas KLM customers spend two fewer hours in the air by connecting in Amsterdam. Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: These figures show that swapping to a greener airline will allow the many of us concerned about climate change to immediately and significantly reduce our individual carbon footprint. If millions of us were to switch to a less polluting airline on our next holiday, it would bring pressure to bear on the worst polluting airlines and force them to prioritise their impact on the environment by introducing more efficient aircraft and cleaner fuels. A Panorama investigation broadcast in November last year claimed British Airways emits 18,000 tonnes of additional CO2 annually by fuel-tankering, which involves filling up planes with extra fuel to avoid topping up at airports where prices are higher. A British Airways spokeswoman said: The conversation about climate change is too important to be undermined by the for-profit organisation Which? using shoddy research based on data which is several years out of date. Which? only looked at 2% of our flights and their paid-for calculations, hidden behind a pay wall, are completely at odds with the figures calculated by the range of airlines they claim to have investigated. We are committed to net zero by 2050 and we are open to discussion on our approach to reducing our carbon emissions with anyone who is interested in accurate and robust data. The airline began off-setting the carbon emissions from all its domestic flights at the beginning of the year. It is also investing in sustainable jet fuel and replacing older aircraft. A 24-year veteran of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office was fired after he was arrested Wednesday and accused of possessing sexually explicit images of children, authorities said. Karl Burge, 55, of Destrehan, was booked with two counts of possession of pornography involving juveniles, according to the Louisiana Attorney General's Office. Burge was taken into custody following an investigation by the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation's Cyber Crime Unit. The sheriff's offices in Jefferson and St. Charles parishes also assisted, authorities said. No other details were available on the case against him. The JPSO fired Burge after his arrest, said Capt. Jason Rivarde, a Sheriff's Office spokesman. At the time of his termination, Burge was a deputy assigned to the traffic division. Burge was booked into the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center in Killona. He was released on bond, but no information was available Friday about the amount. (Natural News) An investigative journalist is supposed to be someone who digs deep, sometimes working for years to expose the truth about a single crime thats been committed, corruption that has gone undiscovered, fraud that has left people destitute, and so on. Also known as watchdog journalism, the investigative journalist shines a light on what others have gone to great lengths to hide. The goal of this type of journalism? To trigger change, reveal what has been hidden, and get to the truth of what really happened in any given situation. While the mainstream media focuses on simply reporting the news, investigative journalists work hard to get to the truth behind some of those stories or at least thats what theyre supposed to do. In recent years, however, it seems as though investigative journalists like many in the mainstream media have either become incredibly lazy or are actively working to spread misinformation. Either way, the real truth about many of the stories we are fed on the news just never gets exposed anymore. A perfect example of this is the tragic death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African American high school student who was shot to death by neighborhood watch coordinator, George Zimmerman. The media portrayed the incident as a racially motivated killing, never stopping to check the true facts of the case. Everybody took sides, and racial strife on a scale not seen in decades resulted. Yet, had the investigative journalists done their job properly, much of this strife and anguish could have been prevented, because in reality, false witnesses had been brought in by the prosecution to make its case, and what was simply a tragic accident was falsely paraded as an example of callous racism. Martins family were told a pack of lies, and Zimmermans life was destroyed. (Related: Compilation of 12 fake news stories from the mainstream media.) Fortunately, thanks to the work of an old school, dogged investigative reporter, the truth has finally come out and Zimmerman can begin to get his life back. Sadly, the ripple effects of the racial rifts caused by this case continue to be felt. (Related: Fake news is what you get when the mainstream media tells you vaccines are completely safe.) Where were the investigative journalists? As reported by American Thinker, in researching his book, The Trayvon Hoax: Unmasking the Witness Fraud that Divided America, investigative reporter Joel Gilbert did what all investigative journalists should do to find the truth of what lies behind the medias most sensational stories: Joel demonstrated a long-lost art, investigative journalism, and he did it in a fun, entertaining, and easily readable manner. Unlike cable news gabbers who get their talking points from echo chamber left-wing distributions networks, Joel examined phone records, photos, and yearbooks. He pounded the pavement, knocked on doors and actually talked to people. Once upon a time this was called gumshoe journalism, walking around, investigating, putting in actual effort. Modern journalists only use their thumbs, checking Twitter feeds and reporting tweets as verified news. Gilberts hard work paid off big time. He reveals in his book how the mainstream media did all it could to fan the flames of racial hatred instead of doing its job and finding out what really happened: Big media played its part in the Trayvon hoax as in NBC doctoring George Zimmermans 911 call so that Zimmerman appeared to be a racist, providing a racial angle for his self-defense shooting of Trayvon Martin. CNN described Zimmerman as a white Hispanic to keep the race angle front and center in their reporting. Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder, despite the prosecutions use of false witnesses, and is now suing the Martin family, their lawyers and prosecutors for $100 million. But the damage is done: Zimmerman continues to receive death threats and suffers from both depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If journalists had accepted their responsibility to find out what really happened on the night Trayvon Martin died, a massive amount of anger, grief and bitterness could have been averted. Learn more about the mainstream medias fake news at FactCheck.news. Sources include: AmericanThinker.com TheGuardian.com Under its ongoing drive against illegal structures, the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) on Friday razed a four-storey building through controlled implosion method, turning it into rubble in less than 60 seconds. An IMC official said the owner of the building, located in Nyaya Nagar Extension, was issued a notice on January 15, asking him to demolish the illegal structure, built on government land, within two days. After the deadline ended without demolition of the building, civic officails used explosives to bring it down through controlled implosion method, he said. The explosives were so powerful that the four-storey building turned into a pile of rubble in less than a minute, the official said. Building implosion method involves strategic placing of explosive material and timing of its detonation so that a structure collapses on itself in a matter of seconds. This method is used to minimise physical damage to immediate surroundings of the tageted building. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar has agreed to abide by a ceasefire and said he was ready to participate in an international conference in Berlin on Sunday, Germany's foreign minister said. Libya's UN-recognised government in Tripoli has been under attack since April from Haftar's forces, with clashes killing more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displacing tens of thousands. The leaders of the North African state's warring factions were in Moscow early this week at talks aimed at finalising a ceasefire orchestrated by Russia and Turkey. "During my visit to Libya today, General Haftar made clear: He wants to contribute to the success of the Libyan conference in Berlin and is in principle ready to participate in it. He has agreed to abide by the ongoing ceasefire," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted after talks in Benghazi. After the Moscow talks, Haftar had walked away without signing the permanent truce, sparking fears about the shaky ceasefire. Maas had travelled to meet Haftar in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi -- one of the general's strongholds -- in a bid to persuade him to join in the peace initiative. - Battle for Tripoli - The trip came days after Maas spoke with Haftar's rival Fayez al-Sarraj, who serves as head of the UN-recognised government in Tripoli. Separately in Tripoli, Sarraj announced he would attend the Berlin talks held under the auspices of the United Nations. The battle over Tripoli is the latest unrest to wrack Libya since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Since then, Libya has been caught up in fighting between rival armed factions, including Islamist militants. Libya: the key players / AFP In his report to the UN Security Council late on Wednesday, UN chief Antonio Guterres urged all warring parties to stop fighting and "engage constructively towards that end, including within the Berlin process". He also warned against "external interference", which he said would "deepen the ongoing conflict and further complicate efforts to reach a clear international commitment to a peaceful resolution of the underlying crisis". The Berlin conference will aim to agree six points including a permanent ceasefire, implementation of the arms embargo and a return to the political process for peace, Guterres said. As well as killing hundreds of people, the fighting in Libya has also spurred a growing exodus of migrants, though nearly 1,000 intercepted at sea have been forced to return this year, according to the UN. Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday visited Jama Masjid on Friday and read out the Preamble to the Constitution as a mark of his protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and Register of Citizens (NRC) and said that the peaceful protest is the strength. "Peaceful protest is our strength. People from all religions who support us should join us in great number to prove it to the govt that these protests are not led by Muslims alone," Azad said. Meanwhile, Delhi Police on 'Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad's visit to Jama Masjid' said, "He has a time of 24 hours after his release from Tihar Jail yesterday, to leave Delhi. He is not holding any protest at Jama Masjid." Azad was released after a Delhi Court granted him bail and directing him not to hold any protest in Delhi till February 16 till the elections in the capital. "I am here to visit Ravidas temple, then I will go to a gurudwara and a church and later to Jama Masjid at 1 pm. The purpose is to mark protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC and also to tell people that such black laws cannot be imposed on us," he had said while speaking to ANI. The Bhim Army chief was charged with rioting, unlawful assembly and inciting the mob to indulge in violence after vandalism in Delhi's Daryaganj area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) KALAMAZOO, MI -- The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in December that Kalamazoo Public Schools students education records are subject to public disclosure with redaction, overturning an earlier ruling from a Kalamazoo County judge. The appellate court overruled an earlier decision by Kalamazoo County Circuit Court Judge Alexander Lipsey, and said that the school district must release bus discipline-referral forms originally requested by the Kalamazoo Transportation Association in a 2018 Freedom of Information Act request, according to the court records. The association, which is a labor organization within the Michigan Education Association that represents the local school districts bus drivers, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request in May and and again in June 2018. The records request sought completed bus discipline-referral forms while involved in collective bargaining negotiations with the district, court records show. After being denied the records under FOIA, the union filed a lawsuit. The discipline-referral forms are completed by bus drivers to document student misconduct on the bus and sent to school administrators to issue any discipline as needed. Bus drivers requested the forms to use as evidence of the drivers job responsibilities and working conditions as part of their contract negotiations with the district, according to court records. The Court of Appeals ruling is a big step forward for public transparency in the unions efforts to keep buses safe for both drivers and students, said Tim Russ, a UniServ director with MEA, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The association initially sought the documents in order to ensure that the district was holding students who misbehaved on the bus responsible, Russ said. Its important that the district is transparent about their efforts to minimize unsafe behaviors of students, Russ said. Bus drivers have some of the toughest working conditions of any district employee, Russ said. They have to turn their backs on (students) and drive down the road," he said. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit on Dec. 21, 2018, after the school district denied the unions FOIA requests. In its denial, the district cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, saying the forms are considered part of students education records. Education records are defined under FERPA as records, files, documents or other materials containing information directly related to a student. The districts attorney, Marshall Grate, argued in the FOIA denial letter that redaction of personally identifying information from education records does not transform them into a document subject to disclosure." Russ said, in an appeal of that initial denial, that the school districts denial of the documents impended our ability to fairly represent our bargaining unit members and unduly delayed the bargaining process. Russ said the associations most recent bargaining process ended in October 2019, and they entered into a one-year employment contract with the district at that time. Michael Rice, who was Kalamazoos superintendent at the time, said in an appeal denial letter to Russ, dated June 30, 2018, that FERPA requires parent or guardian consent for a school to release student information. Rice left the district in 2019 after he was selected as Michigans next state superintendent. After the FOIA appeal was denied by Rice, Russ and the association filed a lawsuit in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court. Circuit Judge Alexander Lipsey ruled the requested documents constituted educational records under FERPA and could not be disclosed. Lipsey said in a May 2018 court proceeding that a school districts clear obligation is to protect the interests of its students, according to court records. Lipsey ruled that redaction of the document was not allowable under the law. The plaintiffs filed an appeal of the ruling in May 2019, and the Michigan Court of Appeals ultimately reversed the lower courts decision, according to a December 2019 opinion from a three-judge panel that included Judges Patrick M. Meter, Colleen A. OBrien and Jonathan Tukel. The appellate judges said the Circuit Court ruling was correct in defining the forms as educational records, but erred in allowing the exemption of the entire document from public disclosure. Public bodies are required by law to redact personally identifiable information, but must release the remainder of the documents, the opinion stated. Nothing in FERPA requires nondisclosure once the public agency redacts all information directly related to a student from a particular record, the court opinion states. Fil Iorio, a Grand Rapids-based attorney who represented the plaintiffs, said the ruling was a well-reasoned decision. The court recognized FOIA as a statute that provides for open government, Iorio said. Russ said his association represents about 1,300 district employees including teachers, secretaries, paraprofessionals, food service workers and campus safety officers. Susan Coney, director of communications for KPS, shared a statement from the districts lawyer that said the school is committed to following laws that protect students confidentiality. We believe that the decision of the Court of Appeals is incorrect, and we will request further review by the Michigan Supreme Court, the statement reads. Also on MLive: Kalamazoo school board ends dinner meetings that violate spirit of Open Meetings Act Kalamazoo school board considers changes to public comment policy New York, Jan 17 : Contrary to the findings of a 2019 study that associated the Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" with an increase in monthly suicide rates among youth after the show's release, a new analysis finds no evidence to draw such a link. The reanalysis, published in the journal PLOS ONE, revealed that after controlling for the dramatic increase in adolescent suicide in recent years, the show's release had no clear effect. "Our reanalysis casts considerable doubt on the show having an effect on boys," said study author Dan Romer and research director of the Annenberg Public Policy Centre (APPC) from the University of Pennsylvania in the US. The reanalysis found that the increase in the suicide rate for boys observed in the original study by Jeffrey Bridge and colleagues for three months after the series' release was no longer evident after controlling for the ongoing trend in adolescent suicide. In addition, the increase seen during the first month of the release began the month prior to the release, making it difficult to attribute the rise to the show. The reanalysis found no effects in the subsequent months of that year. The original time-series analysis of suicide rates found an additional 195 suicide deaths among boys ages 10 to 17 during the nine months following the series' release, on March 31, 2017, but did not find a similar result among adolescent girls. Romer said he questioned that finding for two reasons: "First, contagion would be expected to be stronger for girls than boys because this show focuses on the suicide of a high school girl. Second, the prior analysis didn't take into account strong secular trends in suicide, especially in boys from 2016-2017." When the first season of the Netflix show appeared in 2017, it created widespread concern that its graphic portrayal of a teenage girl's suicide would lead to imitation among vulnerable young people, especially adolescent girls. The first such study found evidence of a jump in suicides among boys ages 10 to 17 in the three months following the show's release, but no effect for girls. Romer said that analysis relied on a forecasting method to project the likely trend in suicide for 2017. But that forecast failed to anticipate the actual trend. A second study by different researchers, published in JAMA Psychiatry had a similar problem, Romer said. That study found an effect in boys and girls 10 to 19 years old in the three months following the series' release. But it similarly failed to control for the secular trend in suicide, again making it difficult to separate the effects of the show from the trend. APPC's reanalysis did find a modest rise in the suicide rate among adolescent girls during the first month following the release of "13 Reasons Why," but it was not statistically reliable, the researchers said. Only one angel is given the rank of an archangel in Scripture, and that is Michael. Some wonder if Gabriel is an archangel, but the Bible doesnt give him that label. Michael, the archangel, appears throughout the Old and New Testament. In Daniel, for example, he appears twice. Gabriel mentions that Michael stepped into a spiritual fight against the Prince of Persia so Gabriel could deliver a message to the prophet (Daniel 10). In Daniel 12:1, Michael appears again this time protecting the Israelites from a spiritual attack. In Jude 1:9, Michael appears in a dispute with Satan, where Satan attempts to get Michael to blaspheme God as they argue over the body of Moses. Michael rebukes Satan, and the dispute is over. The Significance of Archangels in Scripture During the last few decades, Western Christianity has become more and more interested in spiritual warfare. To that end, best-selling novels have been written and sold to the masses depicting battles between the armies of heaven and the forces of hell. As Christians, we need to understand that the conflict is real in the heavenlies. We also need to be honest; we do not know much about the degree or reality of what is occurring in this spiritual war as its beyond our limited understanding. Second, some regions in our world are hostile to the gospel, but no matter how hostile a people group is to the gospel, the gospel is still the power of God. The prince of Persia was able to delay the angels visit to Daniel but was unable to keep him away forever (Daniel 10:13-14). Christians can be confident that the purposes of God will prevail, even if there is much persecution and challenges ahead in the work of the gospel. Thirdly, we dont need to overemphasize the work or ability of Satan and his minions. Where Scripture is silent, there is mystery, and that mystery is good (Deuteronomy 29:29). Though Scripture speaks of principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12), Christians are never taught to bind them nor to pray directly to them. Lastly, there is a war in the heavens, so we should not be naive about the reality of this enemy nor his desire to seek and destroy (1 Peter 5:8). Christians can be confident that God is sovereign and powerful and mighty to save (Romans 1:16). The faithful character of God ensures that His Word will endure and prevail over all the enemies of God, whether in the present or on the final day. Putting our confidence in the Lord who is our rock of refuge (Psalm 18:2; 71:3) and a very present help in time of need (Psalm 46:1), means we can trust the Lord who is all-powerful and unchanging (Hebrews 13:5; 8). Understanding the Use of Imagery in Revelation In Revelation 12:7, John says he saw that war arose in heaven. John does not see here the final ultimate age. John, instead, is giving a snapshot of historical theology. John sees a woman give birth to a son whose birth is anticipated by a dragon. The dragon attempts to kill the child who is caught up into heaven. The woman spends a period of time in the wilderness. The image of the woman here is the church, and the son is the king. Satan, the enemy of God, tries to extinguish his life, but God protects him and exalts him. Even so, Satan turns his attack on the woman who gave birth to the child. John sees in his vision, at this point, a war in heaven where Michael, the archangel, with his angels fight against the dragon and his angels. In Daniel 10, the archangel is involved in the conflicts between Israel and the other nations is the background of this battle. The defeat of Satan in Revelation 12 is a recurring theme of Revelation. Satan aims to overthrow and destroy the church. Even so, the blood of the Lamb of God Jesus prevails for the people of God. Satan accuses, but the case is closed and over before it begins because Christians are covered in the blood of their Advocate and High Priest, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1). The Victory of Jesus Christ The blood of Christ that saves Christians is the blood that pleads them not guilty, that protects them, and enables Gods people to hold fast. Victory is the battle cry of Christians because the surety of their victory is bound up with the victory Christ has already won in His finished and sufficient work. Christians are those who are to identify with suffering and persecuted people. The gospel is not your best life now, nor a path to fame, and fortune. The way of the cross is the way of enmity, estrangement, and hostility. By faith, Christians make the same choice Moses made, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25). Christians know their victory alone belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. While the dragon aims to overthrow the Lord, the Lord will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Revelation 12:5). The Lord alone can be trusted and is worthy of all worship, honor, and praise. All the resources of the Lord God are utilized for the good of Christians and to the end of spreading the gospel. The earth helps the woman when the dragon attempts to kill her. No weapon formed against her will succeed (Isaiah 54:17) because the Lord is with her. The triumph described here runs throughout the book of Revelation. Since God is for us, and He keeps us secure (Romans 8:31), we should trust Him and worship Him alone who is worthy. iStock/Getty Images Plus/tibisan Dave Jenkins is happily married to Sarah Jenkins. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. The Federal government has said that plans are underway to provide an alternative fuel called Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) that will cost between N95 to N97 per litre. The government also promised to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before May 29, 2020. Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources disclosed this on Thursday, while addressing journalists in Abuja. Sylva announced the plan to introduce a cheaper and alternative fuel when he was asked whether the government would reduce the pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to make it more affordable. According to TheNation, the minister said the CNG has undergone a pilot project in Benin City, where over 10,000 vehicles are already running on it. He said, What we have decided is that we should try and give the masses an alternative. This will move the masses to CNG. That is transport vehicles for example, out of the PMS loop to be using the CNG. CNG cost less that the subsidised PMS. Per liter the subsidized rate of the PMS is N145 per litre. CNG will cost about N95 to N97 per litre. The minister maintained that Nigerians will never experience fuel scarcity again. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates 5 items in this article Photo: Courtesy of retailer I developed carpal tunnel when I was in my third trimester: a time when the condition, to literally add insult to injury, goes by the unfortunate name of mommy thumb. Poor computer posture and too-frequent texting coupled with pregnancys hormonal fluctuations and water weight created a perfect storm for nerve tension. I experienced it as a dull, nearly constant pain radiating from the tips of my thumbs up the length of my forearms. I tried many remedies: ice packs, heat pads, physical therapy, wrist braces, acupuncture. They all helped a bit but if there was one thing I found to be indispensable for tempering the pain, it was this oddly shaped massager. The strange tool is made by an under-the-radar ecofriendly Taiwanese ceramic brand called Acera Liven, and it came recommended to me by my acupuncturist, Sandra Chiu (her Williamsburg studio Lanshin is its only North American distributor). Chiu had been turned onto the massager by our mutual friend Aya, who had received one as a gift from her baby nurse. When she began suggesting it to patients with chronic headaches and migraines to help soften tension, she says, They reported that regular use really helped reduce the frequency and intensity of their headaches. And so, it also seemed like a natural fit for the tensions associated with pregnancy. How it works: You simply fill the vessel with hot water, plop the silicon cover back on, then rub the octagonal humps (which are, admittedly, faintly breast-like) of the glazed ceramic base, now a soothingly warm temperature, across any areas of discomfort. The philosophy, Chiu explains, is this: The porcelain is glazed with crushed tourmaline crystal, which emits infrared heat energy, and that penetrates into the bodys tissue to aid circulation. Infrared heat also just feels really good (see infrared saunas). I used it regularly, methodically rubbing it from wrist to elbow in five minute stretches a few times a day for relief. My carpal tunnel would eventually pass six months postpartum. But then, convinced of the massagers powers, I started to use it elsewhere. Turns out, it works wonders on tight, post-workout calves; loosens shoulders that have spent too much time hunched over computers; and, while this may only be applicable to some, it also helps clear up clogged milk ducts. Oh, and the silicon top does double duty as a teething toy. According to Chiu, shes also found it effective in massaging out congestion in the skin of her patients with acneespecially those hard, stubborn cysts. And she believes it can help stave off a cold: If your neck feels extra stiff and your nose starts to get congested or runny, she says, try using it to massage your neck from back to front. The final bonus for me is the massagers oddball design; like something Delia Deetz (after whom, as a rule, I would model many sartorial choices) would have perched on her bedside table. I find it appealing simply as an object. Other Strategist-Approved Massage Tools get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Encore has drilled and completed its first horizontal well in Lawrence County, the JDH #4A, and the #4A is currently awaiting connection to a gas pipeline. Encore has also drilled the vertical Strat test well sections for the JDH #4, #NB-1 and WFC #H1 in preparation for horizontal well operations at both locations. The final three (3) drill-site selections shall be largely predicated by the results at JDH #NB-1A, WFC #H1 and the two (2) additional Strat well test currently underway, said Steve Stengell, Encores President CEO. The #NB-1A is in its in early stage of production / returning Frac treatment, and we are already making shipment(s) of crude oil from the lease. The Company has recently completed a ~10000 gas pipeline (gas meters, gas transmission, processing equipment, etc.) to deliver gas from its Nelson Branch lease to Lawrence County Gas market, located to the north near Ramey Branch. Encore is also making plans to develop a similar gas pipeline system near Peters Branch to deliver gas approximately two (2) miles north. The ability to move gas from each horizontal well project should allow us to better produce and manage oil production in the future, said Joseph Hooper, Encores EVP Director. Tier I horizontal Berea oil wells in this area have reportedly averaged in the range of ~100 - 150 BOPD over the initial 90 days of production where the well development costs are significantly lower, as compared to other plays across the US. Berea oil production from Lawrence County, Kentucky reportedly represents nearly 25% of the states total annual oil production. Oil and gas investments are subject to a high degree of risk, uncertainty, unpredictability, indefinite delays, loss of investment and are suitable only for SEC defined accredited investors who are sophisticated in making business and investment decisions. No assurances can be made as it relates to production, income, reserves, profitability, prices, timelines and/or any other estimates. The SEC definition of an accredited investor is better explained on the SECs website: https://www.investor.gov/additional-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/updated-investor-bulletin-accredited-investors Qualified SEC defined accredited investors can deduct 100% of their intangible and tangible drilling costs against all forms of income with years of potential income from production. These tax savings mitigate a good amount of risk associated with oil and gas drilling and production. For more information, please contact Joseph Hooper at (270) 842-1242, ext. 224. Assumptions, Disclaimer and Cautionary Statement: The information herein may contain forward-looking statements, and actual results may vary. Words such as "estimate", "will," "intend," "continue," "target," "expect," "achieve," "strategy," "future," "may," "goal," or other comparable words or phrases or the negative of those words, and other words of similar meaning indicate forward-looking statements and important factors which could affect actual results. Forward-looking statements are made based upon Management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects upon Encore Energy, Inc. Oil and gas investments involve a high degree of risk, uncertainty and are only suitable for qualified Accredited (SEC Definition) investors who are sophisticated in making business decisions and can bear the financial loss of their entire investment, while delivering a turnkey profit to the Company for proving the prospect development, lease acquisition, drilling, completion, engineering and ongoing production operations. The Company does not provide tax advice and investors should seek the advice of their tax professional. Any tax and/or other information herein is provided for illustration purposes only and may include estimates that are uncertain and subject to change. It is impossible to accurately forecast profitability, production, reserves, income, expenses and timelines for any project. No assurances can be made as it relates to reserves, production, income, profit, prices, timelines and/or other estimates. Actual production and results are beyond the control of management. In the event that commercial production is achieved, it may take many years for the investor to recoup his or her investment. The Company's lease acreage position under is subject to change and includes acreage under lease, Farmout agreement, verbal agreement, renewals, expired terms and any other prospective acreage in which the Company has communicated and/or negotiated with the landowner the leasing of oil and gas rights, now or in the future, and the lease / mineral owner has leased or communicated their intent to lease there mineral lease rights to the Company. It is important for qualified investors to acknowledge the fact that the US government provides them with tax savings (100% IDC tax deduction) to mitigate or at least off-set some of the financial risk associated with domestic oil and gas investments. This is not an offer to sell or buy a security. An offer shall only be made pursuant to SEC Regulation D, Rule 506(c) by a private placement offering memorandum, and this is not a private placement offering memorandum. Eleven U.S. soldiers were injured in Iranian strikes on American positions in Iraq following the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, the Defense Department revealed on Thursday. The Pentagon stated at the time of the strikes that there were no American casualties. While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed, Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., told reporters. As a standard procedure, all personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injury, and if deemed appropriate, are transported to a higher level of care. Eight service members were flown to Germany for further screening, while three others were transported to an American base in Kuwait and are expected to return to Iraq once finished with medical testing. The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority and we will not discuss any individuals medical status, Urban said. On January 8 President Trump announced there were no American casualties in the Iranian attacks, and warned Iran that the U.S. would respond if it chose to escalate the situation. The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it, Trump insisted. The Iranian military later admitted the strikes were not designed to kill American troops. We did not intend to kill, said Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force. We intended to hit the enemys military machinery. More from National Review New Delhi, Jan 17 : Russia on Friday said that five S-400 air defence systems will be delivered to India in 2025, as per schedule. At a press briefing, Russian ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev and charge d'affaires, Roman Babushkin said that the production of the S-400 air defence systems had already begun. "Five systems will be delivered in 2025," Babushkin said, adding that this year the Indian armed forces will receive the first batch of the 5000 Kalashnikov machine guns produced by Russia here in India. Also, 60 helicopters Ka-2267 will be supplied and 140 produced in India after the contracts are signed. The deputy of the Russian mission in India said that the agreement on joint production of spare parts of military hardware will be implemented soon, as well. In view of the success of Russian-Indian JV Brahmos, the two countries were further upgrading missile precision, range and speed, he said. "It is a unique weapon, even many developed countries don't possess it. Demand is huge in third world countries. All options are on the table. In order to proceed we have to make sure that the international law is respected," Babushkin said. "It will be a landmark year in our ties, we will focus on the implementation of the decisions made during Vladivostok summit last year, take forward new initiatives and further strengthen our perfect mutual understanding." Russia, he said, is holding the largest defence expo exhibition this year and was "expecting new agreements" with India. In 2019, India-Russia contracts came close to $16 billion. Ambassador Kudashev had earlier said that Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Serget Lavrov, who was on a visit here, held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. They discussed "topical issues of our strategic bilateral partnership" and situation in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East and new cooperation in new formats such as Russia-India-China (RIC). The meetings created brand new prospects for Russia-India relations this year", he said. While criticizing the US for its foreign policy in the Middle East and hegemony, Ambassador Kudashev said that "relations between Russia and India serve as a good example of interstate cooperation in the 21st century". Russia, he reiterated, has once again supported India's application for permanent membership in the Security Council. Modi will visit Moscow on May 9 to participate in the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Russian victory in the Great Patriotic War. (Newser) Police in Long Island have revealed what could be key evidence in the Gilgo Beach serial killer case: a black leather belt, embossed with the initials "WH" or "HM." Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart told reporters Thursday that investigators believe the belt, which was recovered at the "initial stage" of the investigation, was handled by the suspect, though she declined to say whether they think it was used as a murder weapon. Asked why investigators had waited until now to unveil the evidence, Hart said they had decided to "leverage social media," the New York Times reports. Police have also launched a new website, gilgonews.com, to collect tips and share updates on the murder investigation, reports CNN. story continues below "It is important that the families of these murder victims know we remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver justice," Hart said. The investigation began in May 2010, when police searching for missing 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert found the bodies of four women in bushes near the Long Island beach. They eventually found the bodies of nine women (most of whom had worked as prostitutes), a man, and a toddler. Gilbert's skeletal remains were found in Dec. 2011 in a marshy area 9 miles away from where other bodies were found, and Hart said Thursday that Gilbert's death "does not match the pattern of the Gilgo Beach homicides," though her relatives believe she was a victim of the serial killer. (Read more Gilgo Beach killer stories.) Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has been ordered to report to prison to begin serving his three-year sentence for obstruction of justice, conspiracy and lying. A federal judge issued the order Wednesday for Baca to surrender to the United States Bureau of Prisons, and it became public Thursday. The move came after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Baca's case earlier this week. The former sheriff was sentenced back in 2017, but appealed his case. He led the L.A. Sheriff's Department for 15 years before resigning in 2014. Baca was convicted in part for directing deputies in 2011 to hide an inmate informant from FBI agents who were investigating the abuse of inmates in the county jails. Baca, who has Alzheimer's disease, must report to prison by Feb. 5. THE BACK STORY The former sheriff had agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors in 2016 in which he would admit to lying to federal investigators in exchange for a maximum of six-months of incarceration, but U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson refused to go along with the deal, which he said trivialized Baca's actions. The failed agreement came after nine other sheriff's officials had been convicted in connection with the scandal. In Dec. 2016, a different jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of Baca's acquittal. Federal prosecutors decided to pursue another trial, hoping a second shot would bring a conviction. During the second trial, Baca's former Assistant Sheriff Cecil Rhambo testified he warned the sheriff not to mess with the FBI's investigation. "I thought it was getting a little bit outrageous, quite frankly," Rhambo said. "I couldn't physically grab him by his jacket" to shake sense into him, he told the jury. Baca's defense attorneys argued subordinates kept the sheriff out of the loop and that any action he took was intended to safeguard his jails from a shoddy FBI probe. They were not allowed to bring up a defense they had sought: that Baca was suffering from early Alzheimers and that rather than lying to investigators, he simply didn't remember. A CORRUPTION SCANDAL The charges against Baca stemmed from a corruption scandal that emerged as the FBI was quietly investigating deputy brutality against inmates at Men's Central Jail. Deputies in the jail discovered the federal investigation in the summer of 2011 when they found an inmate's cellphone and learned he was working as an FBI informant. Department employees then hid the informant from federal investigators and failed to deliver him to a grand jury investigating claims of brutality. Two sheriff's sergeants later approached an FBI agent at her house and threatened to arrest her. That led to a slew of federal indictments. Among those convicted was Baca's former number two, Undersheriff Paul Tanaka. WHAT DID BACA KNOW? The central questions throughout Baca's trials were how much he knew of plans to keep the informant from the FBI and threaten the FBI agent, whether those acts impeded the grand jury investigation and whether Baca intended them as such. Prosecutors called several of Baca's former employees, including those who had already been implicated in the scheme. "We were following the directions of the sheriff," former Sheriff's Capt. Tom Carey said during sworn testimony. "He was the engine of the train ... it's like he cut us loose." In retrospect, Carey told the jury "our moves, our tactics" were "obstruction." Baca's attorney, Nathan Hochman, had argued at trial that the informant's cellphone had raised safety issues in the jail to which Baca "had to act immediately." Hochman said Baca's goal was to "get to the bottom of the investigation" and keep the inmate safe from possible retaliation from others for being a "snitch". Prosecutors said Baca's investigation into the cellphone was a "sham" used to cloak the conspirators' goal of obstruction. When the FBI's investigation turned to Baca himself, federal prosecutor Elizabeth Rhodes said the former sheriff lied during a 2013 interview with federal investigators. Baca told them he had "no clue this was a civil rights investigation". Prosecutors said Baca knowingly made false statements "to divert the government's attention." Hochman argued that Baca was 71 years old at the time, and asked jurors how they would do if asked to review a conversation from a week ago, a month ago or a year ago. Previous reporting by Frank Stoltze and Annie Gilbertson contributed to this story. READ THE SURRENDER ORDER UPDATES: 2:251 p.m.: This article was updated with additional background information about Baca's case. This article was originally published at 2:30 p.m.. Commentary Beyond the Cliche of Pauk-Phaw, China and Myanmar Need Each Other Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after his arrival in Naypyitaw on Friday. / Pool Picture With President Xi Jinping of China arriving in Myanmars capital today, it seems an appropriate time to ask whether the much-used phrase pauk-phaw, meaning fraternal, is really an accurate description of the relationship between the two neighbors. Yesterday, a day prior to his two-day trip to mark the 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar diplomatic relations, Xi wrote an article in Myanmars state-run newspaper under the title Writing a New Chapter in Our Millennia-Old Pauk-Phaw Friendship. In Myanmar language, pauk-phaw means siblings from the same mother, Xi wrote. It is an apt description of the fraternal sentiments between our two peoples, whose close ties date back to ancient times. Actually, the president knows thats not the case, but he uses the term because it is expected of every leader from Myanmar and China on such occasions. In fact, it is nothing more than a cliche that diplomats reach for when they wish to refer to the relationship between the two countries, their peoples and leaders. In truth, the peoples of Myanmar and China are under no illusions that such a relationship exists. Neither are the two governments. No one feels they are siblings. The countries are close geopolitically, but distant in many ways. The term pauk-phaw implies a close connection, but relations between the two countries and peoples are neither close nor cozy. Coined in the 1950s, the phrase has never acquired any real meaning in Myanmar; its hollow jargon whose use is confined to state visits and official messages. Since 1948, the leaders of Myanmars various governments have all been well aware of this, from elected Prime Minister U Nu to the dictator General Ne Win to his successors in the military junta, to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy government. Since independence, Myanmars foreign policy has been aimed at preventing its giant neighbor from interfering in its internal matters and influencing its governments. Over the years, China has variously lent its support to Myanmar communists, pro-communist groups, and leftist political parties, and ethnic armed groups along the border and even inside the country. It must seem strange to some foreign countries to see the statements released by several ethnic armed groups based on the China-Myanmar border, including the United Wa State Army, the Kachin Independence Organization, the Mong Las National Democratic Alliance Army and the Arakan Army, welcoming Xi to Myanmar. A week before Xis visit, the Chinese special envoy for Asian affairs, Sun Guoxiang, separately met with leaders of those groups along the border. Obviously, Chinas influence over the ethnic rebels is a political card it can play. This is nothing new. China has played this game since Ne Wins era. His socialist regime was quite upset with Chinas policy of supporting the Communist Party of Burma, which fought against the Myanmar military from 1948 till 1989. At the same time, consecutive Myanmar governments have tried to maintain a neutral or non-antagonistic policy toward China. And while some Myanmar governments were very close to Beijing, the country has for the most part managed not to be overly influenced by China. For his part, Ne Win always tried to maintain normal diplomatic relations with Beijing. Myanmars military regime needed China more than previous governments, not because its leaders felt that their Chinese counterparts were their siblings, but because the generals were desperate for Chinas help. They had been abandoned politically and economically by the international community, especially the West, due to their gross human rights violations after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. China has not been able to impress or win the hearts of the Myanmar people, and has not been able to shake its unethical and immoral image. This stems from a range of actions by China, from its greedy and exploitative business activities in the country to its strong support for the previous military junta, which oppressed Myanmars entire population after the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, to its aggressive push to take over new and old business concessions all over the country. However, regardless of the nature of the friendship, in a practical sense the two countries need each other. Xis first trip as president, which comes at the invitation of Myanmars President, is very important for the two countries, perhaps more important than that of any other state leader. He will meet President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during his two-day trip to Naypyitaw. However, the general impression of the visit among Myanmar people was summed up quite neatly in a cartoon published by The Irrawaddy recently. It depicts Xi alighting from his airplane with a big shopping cart (see the cartoon below). Thats how most Myanmar people perceive China more than other countries, it is seen as constantly trying to exploit the relationship for its own benefit. Based on his article, the items at the top of Xis shopping list during his two-day visit to Myanmar seem to be: 1) the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone; 2) the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone; and 3) the New Yangon City project. Among others, the Chinese president underscored these three projects as the main pillars of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which is part of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Interestinglyor cleverlyhe didnt mention a word about the Myitsone Dam project, which is a controversial and emotional issue to Myanmar people throughout the country, from northern Kachin State to the deep south. On Wednesday, two days before Xis arrival, nearly 40 civil society groups urged the Chinese president to permanently terminate the suspended project, saying it threatens the prosperity of the Myanmar people and that friendly relations between the two countries will deteriorate if the project goes ahead. Both Xi and his counterparts in Myanmar are well aware of this dam issue. The best option is to terminate it. That might be why he prioritized the three projects mentioned in his article. Those three seem more important when it comes to Chinas ambitious BRI-related projects in Myanmar. Another reason China needs Myanmar is its neighbors geopolitically strategic location, which could allow Beijing to extend its presence all the way to the Indian Ocean. With projects on Myanmars western coast giving it access to the blue water shipping lanes of the Bay of Bengal and acting as the terminus of a pipeline across the country from Kunming, China would no longer need to rely on the congested Strait of Malacca to import oil and gas from the Gulf. Perhaps, in terms of diplomacy, it doesnt matter how far apart Myanmar and Chinas leaders are ideologically. In his article, Xi writes, China supports the efforts of the Myanmar government to promote peace and reconciliation, and supports Myanmar in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests and national dignity in the international arena. The incumbent elected government led by de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi needs China too. Regarding the peace process and Beijings dealings with the ethnic groups on the border, the Myanmar government could be forgiven for being less than fully confident in China. It is believed that China has discouraged the groups from signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, which the Myanmar government has been pushing for several years. But in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests and national dignity in the international arena as Xi said, the NLD government politically needs China, just as most Myanmar governments in the past have. Simply speaking, it needs China to stand on its side when it faces pressure from the West. In that case, China is pauk-phaw for Myanmar leaders, too. In this matter, however, the approaches and intentions applied by the previous military regimes and the elected government will be different, though they are all aimed at restoring normal diplomatic ties in the broader sense. For instance, Xi shouldnt expect the opaque and murky business concessions that China received under the previous regime, like the Myitsone Dam project. Many observers say that these days Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government is being very cautious in regard to Chinas projects in Myanmar, most of which are the result of the previous regimes opaque concessions to China. The current government has been quite slow and hesitant in approving them, and its reported that Xi and his government are losing patience. But like it or not, Myanmar people will see more Chinese tourists, Chinese projects, Chinese companies, Chinese products and Chinese diplomats across the country. How to regulate them is the responsibility of everyonenot only the government, but all concerned groups and people. Myanmar governmentsof all typeswill always do what it takes to survive politically and economically among its giant neighbors, especially China, and the West. But it doesnt mean that the country will become a colony of China. Meanwhile, it doesnt want to be seen as a colony of the West either. Politically and principally, however, I am pretty sure that the incumbent government, like most people in the country, wants to be close to the West andunlike Chinashares its values, including democracy. But between China and the West, during Myanmars fragile and turbulent transition, the NLD government will be pragmatic as ever in order to maintain a neutral foreign policysomething that will set it apart from its neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. The pauk-phaw relationship doesnt exist beyond political jargon. What is real is the two countries mutual dependence on each other. You may also like these stories: Infographics: Chinese Leaders Visits to Myanmar Over 6 Decades Six BRI Projects in Myanmar to Monitor During Chinese President Xis Trip Myanmar, China to Sign Agreements on SEZ, Border Economic Cooperation During President Xis Visit MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced the latest in a series of desperate ideas Friday to sell off his predecessors official jet, which he says is too luxurious for a country where half the people live in poverty. Lopez Obrador said he is considering raffling off the plane by selling six million raffle tickets at $25 apiece. He offered to throw in a years free operating time in case the winner of the lottery-style scheme doesnt have the money to operate the jet. Mexican Twitter users quickly made the proposal a trending topic. People posted ideas about where they would park the huge jet if they won it (clue: in the yard, because it wont fit in the garage), what kind of parties they would throw aboard (beer-filled trips to the Super Bowl appeared popular) and what colours they would paint it (one user suggested bright purple.) As to what they would do with it if they won, the most popular idea seemed to be turning it into a stationary restaurant or taco stand. Lopez Obrador has floated four other ideas for selling the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, after the $130 million jet failed to find a buyer after year on sale at a U.S. airstrip, where it piled up about $1.5 million in maintenance costs. He hasnt said yet whether hes considering a yard sale, but suggested that no idea has been ruled out. Help me, he pleaded with reporters at his morning news conference, obviously floundering for ways to get rid of the plane. He said he has met with businessmen, seeking ideas of how to get rid of the white elephant. The jet is expensive to run and now configured to carry only 80 people, albeit with a full presidential suite with a bedroom and private bath; experts say it would be too expensive to reconfigure back into a commercial airliner that normally carries as many as 300 passengers. The austerity-minded president flies tourist class, has turned the luxurious presidential compound into an arts centre and vowed never to step foot on the jet his predecessor bought. He has suggested bartering the plane in exchange for U.S. medical equipment, or selling it in shares to a group of businessmen for executive incentive programs. He has also offered to rent it out by the hour, in hopes of paying off the remainder of outstanding loans on the plane. This research is among the first to demonstrate that the relative disadvantage of our neighborhoods is linked to brain structures involved in memory function, Jack Hunt, an M.D./Ph.D. student at UW-Madison and an author of the study, said in a statement. The former licensed operator of the South River Water Department in Middlesex County admitted Friday that he falsified water samples to a lab that tests for bacteria, authorities said. Robert Baker, 57, of Mine Hill, pleaded guilty to a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend that he spend 364 days in county jail, according to state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal. Baker was arrested June 12, 2019, about a month after the South River Police Department received information that fake water samples had been submitted for testing. Baker, as a licensed operator, was required to collect samples of drinking water from eight locations throughout South River to be tested for coliform bacteria, Grewal said in a statement. Samples were taken twice a month, with 15 samples required in total. However, Baker, who was the sole employee collecting samples, only visited certain locations, while submitting false samples for other locations, Grewal said. Investigators with the states Division of Criminal Justice and South River police conducted surveillance of Baker and found that on one day he didnt go to at least four of the eight designated sample collection sites, Grewal said. Despite not visiting those locations, Baker supplied filled sample vials to a courier for the testing lab with labels indicating they had been collected on that date from seven of the eight locations, including the four locations he failed to visit, Grewal said. On another date, Baker was scheduled to conduct sampling but failed to go to any of the eight sampling sites. Still, he provided the courier for the lab with eight filled vials purportedly collected on that date at all eight sampling sites, Grewal said. In addition to jail time, Baker will be placed on probation when he is released and is barred from public employment, Grewal said. Through his dishonest conduct, Baker betrayed the residents of South River and failed to ensure the safety of their drinking water, Grewal said. Brown water in south river The state DEP collected and tested water samples from various public points in the South River drinking water system, after Bakers conduct was uncovered, officials said. The results were negative for coliform bacteria, affirming the safety of the drinking water, a release said. This comes after town officials declared a water emergency in the borough in August, following Bakers arrest in June. Prior to that, the borough dealt with stinky, brown water that came out of residents pipes in late July. (The brown water appeared due to a combination of factors that stirred up sediments in the pipes, officials previously said: maintenance was being done in the plant, water use spiked among residents, and contractors used fire hydrants to control dust during demolition projects. It was not due to bacteria, officials said.) The state DEP initiated an independent regulatory action involving the South River Water Department and is continuing to monitor the system, a release said. The attorneys and detectives in our Environmental Crimes Unit are trained to investigate and prosecute crimes that threaten our environment and public health, said Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice. We will continue to deploy our expertise and resources to protect the residents of New Jersey, in collaboration with the DEP and our law enforcement partners, she said. A request for comment to Bakers attorneys office was not immediately returned. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @briannakudisch. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Former Deputy Minister for Communications, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, says Ghanaians are facing painful economic hardship under the government of President Akufo-Addo. He said for the first time in the history of Ghana, weird happenings are being experienced weekly in the wake of heightened insecurity. According to him, the youth unemployment rate has soared due to the collapse of local businesses. See the current hardship the country is going through under Akufo-Addo, but we have much money to do a new register which is a waste of taxpayers' money. He explained that, "the economic mismanagement by the Akufo-Addo administration has brought untold hardship on teachers, drivers, traders, farmers, and public sector workers, among others. Felix Ofosu Kwakye exclusively told Kwaku Dawuro on Anopa Nkomo on Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7. According to Ofosu Kwakye, Ghanaians are going through hardship forcing the youth to engage in all manner of social vices just to keep their body and soul alive. He stressed that the NPP created a false sense that it could out-perform the NDC in government but after winning the last elections, the policies of the government have resulted in untold hardship, with every sector of the economy bringing untold hardships. A small number of bellwether constituencies could be highly significant in the battle for top spot between Fiann Fail and Fine Gael, says Political Correspondent Juno McEnroe. This could be one of the tightest general elections in recent times for the two main parties but there are several bellwether constituencies that could reflect a greater trend in the country once all votes are counted. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are neck and neck in many counties and those who win a seat in those constituencies could indeed end up deciding who the next taoiseach will be. It is all to play for and every vote counts then, party strategists will tell you. And with a short campaign of three weeks left, the two main parties will try to outdo each other to get that local win. In some constituencies, geography will be a deciding factor, in others, internal spats or discipline among the ranks, while a generational change could be an influence. Outcomes in these crunch constituencies will without doubt be decisive in general election 2020. Wexford is a good example where both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail will fight it out. With its two outgoing TDs Michael DArcy and Paul Kehoe Fine Gael had hoped to pick up a third seat with the recent by-election there, but those hopes collapsed after its candidate, Verona Murphy, was removed from Fine Gael over comments on migrants requiring deprogramming. She now will stand as an Independent for this election and will likely eat into Fine Gaels votes. Fine Gael, at this stage, will only run their two incumbents there. Fianna Fail, on the other hand, encouraged by a seat win for Malcolm Byrne in that same by-election, will field four candidates in the constituency, hoping to improve on its two-seat tally in Wexford. Fianna Fails candidates, unlike Fine Gaels, are based both in the north and south of the county. Gains for either side in this packed five-seater here are a litmus test for the greater national vote. Equally, there is a dog fight for the second seat in Cork North West, where agriculture Minister Michael Creed has former Independent John Paul OShea as a running mate for Fine Gael. The three-seater has, in the last three general elections, seen a straight swap for either two Fianna Fail and one Fine Gael or vice versa. This time around, locals see Fianna Fail whip Michael Moynihan fighting to retain his seat alongside fellow party TD Aindrias Moynihan (no relation), who was first elected in 2016. It could be a tough ask, given the popularity of Creeds running mate. Nonetheless, this is a farming constituency and Fine Gaels results may be impacted if disgruntled farmers get to the ballot boxes. Again, the second seat for either party will be key to shedding light on the national trend. Another turf war between the two biggest parties is being played out in Dun Laoghaire, south Dublin. Maria Bailey Following a decision by Fine Gael to remove sitting TD Maria Bailey from the ticket over her swing-gate court case, it has replaced her with a former party advisor and lawyer, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, in its hope to retain three seats in the constituency. This is a tall order, even with junior minister Mary Mitchell-OConnor and party councillor Barry Ward running strong campaigns. Instead, Fine Gael will be lucky to cling onto two seats. If Ms Bailey runs as an Independent, which she has yet to rule out, Fine Gaels chances could diminish further. Fianna Fail currently has no TD in Dun Laoghaire and will hope to land one seat, with former minister Mary Hanafin and councillor Cormac Devlin vying to win. With Labour and the Greens also hoping to capitalise on shake-ups in the constituency, targeted voting pacts and discipline will be crucial for the two main parties. A win for Fianna Fail could signal its national comeback, while a comfortable two-seat victory for Fine Gael would settle some of its election woes. With Dublin Central turning from a three- to four-seat constituency for this election, the expectations are that Fianna Fail may make a breakthrough and win a seat with councillor Mary Fitzpatrick. But sitting TD Paschal Donohoe, the finance minister, has councillor Deirdre Duffy as a running mate in Fine Gaels bid to win a second seat. While other parties, including the Social Democrats and the Greens, hope to be in with a chance for that fourth seat, a win for either of the two big parties will bolster their final seat tally. Another crucial constituency is Dublin North West, where sitting Fine Gael TD Noel Rock is battling to hold onto his seat. Noel Rock While only a first-time TD, a win for the young deputy could represent a stabling vote for the incumbent government party. However, if Fianna Fail makes a breakthrough with Paul McAuliffe currently the sitting lord mayor this would signify a significant victory for Micheal Martins party. The two big parties also look certain to be fighting for the last seat in Sligo-Leitrim. A series of additions and removals from the ticket have resulted in an unstable campaign here for them. While Fianna Fails Marc MacSharry and Eamon Scanlon hope to retain their seats, the latter is speculated to be in trouble. For Fine Gael, the party has delayed deciding its ticket here and two councillors opted late in the day not to run, leaving newcomer Thomas Walsh. Former TD Frank Feighan will also be on the ticket here. Long-time TD Tony McLoughlin, who turns 71 this weekend, has decided not to seek re-election. Despite running two candidates, Fine Gael will struggle to win a seat here, especially with the recent announcement that Independent Marian Harkin, a former MEP, who also takes from the partys same voting pool, is aiming to now return to the Dail. Fine Gaels win could be Fianna Fails loss. But neither party may win the last place in the four-seater. Louth is another battleground where, again, defections and retirements have influenced the political field. Declan Breathnach With Sinn Fein former leader Gerry Adams, a poll topper, stepping down, the voting pool will open up to a degree in this packed five-seater. Fianna Fail is hoping to win a second seat here, running councillor James Byrne alongside first time TD Declan Breathnach. It could be a tough ask, but Mr Martins party will hope to capitalise on Sinn Feins loses. On the other hand, Fine Gael is in trouble, with the defection of TD Peter Fitzpatrick to the Independent benches. He stands a good chance of sweeping up both Independent and Fine Gael votes, therefore reducing the chances of sitting TD Fergus ODowd bringing in running mate councillor John McGahon for a second seat. The likelihood here is that Fianna Fail could gain one seat, but keep an eye on Labour senator Ged Nash, who has campaigned strongly to regain his seat and would be one of his partys best hopes nationally. Current predictions put Fianna Fail ahead on overall seat tallies, potentially winning 55 places or more out of the 160 in the 33rd Dail. This would be a respectable increase on their current outgoing tally of 46. Fine Gael, on the other hand, is currently facing losses in several constituencies. Coupled with some heavyweight and senior figures stepping down and leaving politics, such as former finance minister Michael Noonan, former party leader and taoiseach Enda Kenny, former ceann comhairle Sean Barrett, and outgoing mental health junior minister Jim Daly, Fine Gael could struggle to reach the same numbers as Fianna Fail. Every win will count for either of the two big parties in the crunch constituency races. The U.S. director of national intelligence and the heads of the CIA, FBI, NSA, and other intelligence agencies testify each year on the global threats facing the U.S., with a part of the hearing in public and the other part behind closed doors. This year, Politico reports, "the U.S. intelligence community is trying to persuade House and Senate lawmakers to drop the public portion" of the Worldwide Threat briefing so agency chiefs can't "be seen on-camera as disagreeing with the president on big issues such as Iran, Russia, or North Korea," as happened last year, provoking "an angry outburst" from President Trump. Lawmakers, especially in the Senate, are expected to reject the request, so far broached only through staff-level channels. The intelligence community has rejected the House Intelligence Committee's invitation for public global threats testimony for the past two years, and "a third refusal could cause tensions between the two sides to boil over," Politico says. On the other hand, at the Senate's hearing last year, the agency chiefs presented intelligence on ISIS, Iran, and North Korea's nuclear ambitions that didn't mesh with Trump's statements, and Trump "blistered them on Twitter" as "passive" and "naive." "Trump later claimed his top intelligence chiefs, including then-DNI Dan Coats and CIA Director Gina Haspel, told him that they had been misquoted in the press even though their remarks had been broadcast and the video footage was publicly available," Politico recalls. Coats stepped down in August and the current DNI, Joseph Maguire, has been doing the job for five months in an acting capacity. You can read more at Politico. More stories from theweek.com Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Trump's impeachment defense team will reportedly include Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz Lara Trump is making fun of Joe Biden's stutter Victims of increasing jihadist attacks, African states bordering Libya are pushing for more say in efforts to end the crisis in their northern neighbour whose conflict risks becoming a growing source of regional instability. European powers, Turkey and Russia will join a Libya peace conference in Berlin this weekend, the latest international effort to end fighting between eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and the UN-recognised government in Tripoli. African Union Chairman Moussa Faki will also join the Berlin talks hoping to bring a focus on the continent's perspective, but it will not be an easy mission. "The neighbouring countries like Chad, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, fellow AU members and beyond are suffering the consequences" of the crisis, said Ebba Kalondo, Faki's spokeswoman. "The AU has consistently asked for a more central role in the processes underway, but has consistently been ignored." Sahel and African nations have long been at the sharp end of Libya's crisis. Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive on Tripoli in April. By ARIS MESSINIS (AFP) After the NATO-backed rebellion ousted and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, Libya collapsed into a conflict of competing armed factions vying for control. In the chaos, Islamist militants and migrant smugglers expanded their influence. Libya's security vacuum allowed the spread of fighters, arms and explosives across its borders into Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, which face increasing jihadist violence despite a regional campaign to counter Islamist militancy. The North African state remains in chaos, mostly split now between Haftar's forces in the east and the UN-recognised government in Tripoli. Haftar's forces launched an offensive on the capital in April. "The international community is responsible for what is happening to us through its disastrous decision to intervene in Libya," Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou said in December, referring to the 2011 NATO campaign. "Libya is African, we cannot solve the Libyan problem by keeping the AU on the sidelines," he told AFP. Chad President Idriss Deby said solving Sahel violence was directly linked to ending Libya's instability. "Libya's chaos... remains the main source of destabilisation for the whole of the Sahel," he said in Rome in December. In 2019, jihadist attacks killed 4,000 people in Burkina, Mali and Niger, despite the presence of several thousand French troops, a UN peacekeeping mission in Mali and the G5 Sahel cooperation among the armies of five regional nations. "Africa is looking to get more of a hearing now with the deterioration of the security situation in the Sahel," a Western diplomat said. 'Counter-productive' One sign of possible increasing African involvement is that the African Union's Libya committee, inactive for months, has been back in session in recent weeks led by Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso. "Libya is an African country and the victims are essentially in Africa. So any strategy to end the Libya crisis that marginalises the African continent would be ineffective and counter-productive," Sassou Nguesso said earlier this month. Fighters loyal to the UN-recognised Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) have been battling Haftar's forces since April. By Mahmud TURKIA (AFP) An emissary of the Congolese head of state this month travelled to Algeria, a key country in negotiations between Libyan rivals, to discuss how to "energise" the peace process, the Algerian presidency said. The Algeria talks also discussed the role of AU on reviving Libya's peace process. Algiers has been long been involved in negotiations with Libyan factions. But the UN is organising the Berlin talks and takes a central role in negotiations. "This is and remains a process that is in UN hands and under UN leadership. So this has meant that the AU has been sidelined," said Claudia Gazzini at International Crisis Group. "The UN does not necessarily see the AU as a decisive voice in the process." The AU push for more say comes as Libya's conflict has already split North African and Middle Eastern states between those who back Haftar's forces who control the east near Egypt and the government of Fayez al-Sarraj, recognised by the UN and based in Tripoli. But the AU is also "divided" over how to handle Libya, one Niger official source said. "Egypt does not want the AU to take charge of this," as it backs Haftar as sees Libya as part of its domestic security border, the source said. Map of forces involved in the fighting in Libya, as of January 12, 2020 following the start of a ceasefire Sunday.. By (AFP) That situation has been further complicated by the entry of new international players. Russia backs Haftar while Turkey, an ally of the Tripoli government, recently agreed to send Turkish soldiers to Libya to support Sarraj. Haftar's offensive on Tripoli since April is just the latest wave of fighting to wrack Libya since 2011. More than 280 civilians and 2,000 combatants have been killed since Haftar's assault began, according to the UN. Some 146,000 Libyans had to flee the fighting. A cessation of hostilities has been in effect since Sunday. But Haftar has so far refused to sign a more permanent cease-fire deal initialed by Sarraj. "This involvement of the new players further complicates the Libyan crisis," warned Ibrahim Yacouba, a former Niger foreign minister. Gwyneth Paltrow has confessed her husband Brad Falchuk helped her through an 'emotional' MDMA trip. The first episode of her six-part Netflix series, The Goop Lab, is set to delve into how psychedelics can promote healing, prompting the 47-year-old actress to discuss her own experience of psychedelics. When the Hollywood star uncovered a case study in which the drug - referred to in some forms as Molly or Ecstasy - helped one man with his post-traumatic stress disorder, she was very intrigued. Candid confession: Speaking in her Netflix series, The Goop Lab, Gwyneth Paltrow revealed her husband Brad Falchuk helped her through an 'emotional' MDMA trip Recalling the time she tried MDMA in Mexico, she said: 'I never thought of MDMA as a psychedelic and when I took it, I didn't hallucinate. 'It wasn't a rave, it was actually very, very emotional and I was with my then-boyfriend, who's now my husband, and he's a very empathetic, very profoundly wise person and he was able to help me through it.' 'It does make me think there's so much to unearth if I did it [for therapy purposes].' Gwyneth previously revealed that she had tried MDMA in an interview on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast. She said of Brad helping her: 'He's a very empathetic, very profoundly wise person and he was able to help me through it' The actress divulged some of her former indulgences, which were mainly of the tobacco-based variety. 'I smoked a pack a day probably until I was 25 years old,' the Shakespeare in Love star said. 'Like wake up and light a cigarette, I really was into it - I loved it.' Paltrow told Shepard she 'never really did drugs,' noting, 'I've never done mushrooms, I've never done acid.' The Oscar-winning actress added that she's 'tried a couple of things,' adding, 'I did MDMA once.' Paltrow delved into detail about her emotions upon ingesting the psychoactive drug, noting that she felt the emotional experience 'was productive' in all. New show: Gwyneth's new Goop Netflix series about 'unregulated' wellness treatments is set to premiere on Netflix on January 24 'I feel like it was more of a shamanic experience? I had a lot of trauma come up and I was crying,' she said. 'But it wasn't like, I'm at a rave with my shirt off.' Paltrow said after one incident in which she smoked too much marijuana, she hallucinated. 'It really freaked me out, I'm just not a good drugs person,' Paltrow said Gwyneth's new Goop Netflix series about 'unregulated' wellness treatments is set to premiere on Netflix on January 24. It focuses on the boundary-pushing and sometimes dangerous wellness treatments featured on her lifestyle website. Breaking taboos: It focuses on the boundary-pushing and sometimes dangerous wellness treatments featured on her lifestyle website Social media users, health experts, and doctors are slamming Gwyneth Paltrow's new Netflix show as 'horrifying,' 'potentially harmful,' and 'dangerous health misinformation,' calling out the actress for continuing to push pseudoscience to a wider audience. The trailer is broken down into sections: energy healing, psychedelics, cold therapy, psychic mediums, and orgasm all topics that have been explored by the lifestyle guru and her team. But since Goop took off, Gwyneth has been called out by scientists and medical professionals, who have accused her of pushing unproven and even dangerous practices. And now those experts are coming for her new show. Dr. Jen Gunter, an OBGYN and author of The Vagina Bible who has been frequently critical of Gwyneth, was one of the first to add her opinion. 'Hear me out. Medical ideas that are too 'out there or scary' should, you know, be studied before [they] are offered to people as an option,' she tweeted. She also told Bustle that the that she 'can't stomach' watching the trailer again. Meanwhile, Victoria Forster, a cancer research scientist, wrote for Forbes that the new trailer 'fills me with dread as it is highly likely that the show will be an unashamed menagerie of mainstream pseudoscience.' She wrote that that the Goop website is filled with dubious information, like the debunked claim that underwired bras could cause breast cancer, and she suspects the show will be the same. Several doctors have chimed in on Twitter. NASA has reported that Australias wildfires smoke will make a full circle around the globe affecting air quality and climate worldwide. The agency warned that due to the heat and intense drought in Australia the past months, so-called pyrocumulonimbus events, or pyrCbs, or fire-induced thunderstorms, vast amounts of smoke and ashes had been shot up to the stratosphere at more than 10 miles above the earths surface. Once the smoke reaches these heights, stratospheric winds may transport it at high speed from its original place across the pacific onto South America and beyond. By January 8, NASA said, the smoke had already made a half-circle around the globe and had profoundly affected atmospheric and weather conditions in New Zealand and South America, turning glaciers dark and topping snowcapped mountains black. A fleet of NASA satellites ???? working together has been analyzing the aerosols and smoke from the massive fires burning in Australia.https://t.co/93geNvCBnU pic.twitter.com/ZedZ199lvJ NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) January 9, 2020 Some scientists claim the current bushfires are triggered by intense drought, which in turn should be caused by worldwide climate-change. However, this issue is seriously contested over. Thunderstorms Sweep Across Australias Bushfire-Ravaged East Coast Thunderstorms and heavy rain swept across parts of Australias east coast on Thursday, bringing hope that some of the fierce bushfires razing the country will be extinguished or at least slowed. Officials warned, however, that short, intense thunderstorms could lead to flash flooding, while lightning brought the risk of new fires being ignited. Australia has been battling its worst bushfire season on record since September, with fires killing 29 people, and at least 1 billion animals, and destroying more than 2,500 homes while razing bushland across an area the size of Bulgaria. There were still 85 fires burning across the state of New South Wales on Thursday, with 30 of them yet to be contained, while 19 fires were alight in Victoria, according to fire authorities. The wet weather brought some respite from the smoke haze that has plagued Australias major cities for weeks and has been tracked by NASA circumnavigating the globe. Still, Canberra and Melbourne ranked among the top 30 most polluted major cities worldwide. Reuters contributed to this report African swine fever that hit China's pork industry and killed millions of pigs poses a threat of an epidemic on a global scale. Governments across the world have taken precautionary measures to save their pork industry. According to reports, the African swine fever has spread to Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Cases of the diseases have been reported from countries such as Belgium, Korea, Laos, Bulgaria, Myanmar, Cambodia, Poland, Vietnam and the Philippines. In order to contain the disease, countries have imposed strict rules on travellers, have increased screenings of different cargos and have banned meat imports. According to reports, countries producing pork could be staring at a loss worth billions of dollars if the disease affects their pigs because an outbreak could affect poultry farms and ultimately shut down export markets. Although the African swine fever does not pose a threat to human beings currently there is no vaccine to help the infected pigs. USDA conducts outbreak simulation According to reports, in a four-day drill that was conducted in the month of September, the US department of agriculture (USDA) conducted a simulation of the African swine fever outbreak. In the simulation, the outbreak took place in the state of Mississipi that eventually spread to the top pork-producing states such as Minnesota, Iowa and North Carolina. Farmers, Veterinary doctors and government officials were asked to gather at a command centre where their capacity to immediately find out, contain and clean up after an outbreak was tested. The simulation drill showcased that the United States needs to ramp up its precautionary measures in order to save the country's $23 billion pork industry from a disease that has killed millions of pigs in China. The US government has started to field specially trained dogs at airports and seaports by conducting outbreak-response drills. Read: China Bans Imports Of Pigs, Wild Boars From Indonesia Due To African Swine Fever Read: Indonesia: Swine Fever Outbreak Kills 30,000 Pigs, Fear Rises In Australia France and Germany taking precautionary measures France and Germany have also taken precautionary measures by killing wild boars that may be potential carriers of the African swine fever. According to reports, France has built an 82 miles radius to keep out wild boars and is planning to impose stricter rules on pig farming. China has been the world's top consumer of pork on a global scale. According to reports, the exact number of pig deaths is still not known but it is known the country has lost millions in the outbreak of the disease, leading to soaring pork prices and forcing purchases of costly imports. Reports suggest China lost almost 55% of its pig population in 2019. However, the government reported losses on a much smaller scale. Read: NKorea Seen As Weak Link In Swine Fevers Spread Across Asia Read: 3 African Countries Trying Out 1st Malaria Vaccine In Babies Shares of telecom companies were in action after the country's apex court reportedly dismissed the review pleas filed by them in the AGR dues case. Bharti Airtel rose 4.12% to Rs 493.60 while Vodafone Idea crashed 35.66% to Rs 3.88. The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed pleas filed by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to review its earlier judgment that had asked telecom operators to pay their outstanding dues to the government. The review petitions were filed to seek relief on interest and penalty payments in connection to the verdict on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR). The deadline for telecom companies to meet the license fee dues as per the apex court's AGR judgement is 23 January 2020. The Supreme Court in October 2019 had ruled in favor of the government on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) issue, with grave revenue implications to the tune of over Rs 92,000 crore for the ailing telecom sector. AGR is the basis on which DoT calculates levies payable by operators. Telecom operators are liable to pay around 3-5% and 8% of the AGR as spectrum usage charges and licence fees, respectively, to DoT. Telcos argued that AGR should comprise revenue from telecom services, but DoT insisting that AGR should include all revenue earned by an operator, including that from non-core telecom operations. The apex court upheld the definition of AGR provided by DoT, putting an end to a 14-year old legal battle between telecom operators and the government. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], Jan 17 (ANI): With the Centre signing an agreement with the governments of Tripura and Mizoram as well as representatives of Bru-Reang community, under which around 34,000 internally displaced people will be settled in Tripura, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Thursday said the pact will permanently solve the 25-year-old "burning issue." "Today we have signed an important agreement with Bru leaders and the Government of Tripura and the Government of Mizoram. This will permanently solve the burning issue that has been going on for 25 years," said Zoramthanga in a press conference here. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said this step is "historic". "I want to thank the Prime Minister and Home Minister on the behalf of people of Tripura," he said. On the occasion, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said around 34,000 Bru refugees will be settled in Tripura under the new agreement and the state would be given a package of around Rs 600 crores for their rehabilitation. They would get all the rights that normal residents of the states get and they would now be able to enjoy the benefits of social welfare schemes of Centre and state governments, he said. North-East Democratic Alliance chief Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was also present, said they (Bru refugees) will enjoy all the facilities. "They had an option to go to Mizoram but most of them expressed their wish to stay in Tripura," he said. (ANI) German minister confirms US threat of higher EU car export tariffs London, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 Germany's defence minister on Thursday confirmed a report that the United States was threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on European car exports if it continued backing the Iran nuclear deal. "This expression or threat, as you will, does exist," Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told a news conference during a visit to London after a report in the Washington Post newspaper. The US daily said that Trump made the threat if Britain, France and Germany did not formally accuse Tehran of flouting the 2015 nuclear deal. China, the United States and Russia were also signatories to the agreement but Trump in 2018 unilaterally pulled the United States out and reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran. Tehran responded by restarting aspects of its nuclear programme that the deal had sought to limit. London, Paris and Berlin on Tuesday announced they had triggered a dispute mechanism under the agreement in an effort to force Tehran to abide once more by its terms. But Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the trio on Twitter of having "sold out remnants of #JCPOA (the nuclear deal) to avoid new Trump tariffs". On Tuesday, January 14, a strike by air traffic controllers at Italian airports brought air traffic to a halt, with travellers facing long delays. The air traffic controllers and staff of several airlines stopped working between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. local time. Air traffic controllers from the ENAV control authority went on strike at Rome Fiumicino airport and Ciampino, Venice, Verona, Bergamo, Bologna, Bari, Brindisi and Catania (Sicily). At Ancona, Perugia and Pescara airports the strike lasted all day. At the same time, staff from EasyJet, Air Italy, Spains Volotea and other smaller airlines also went on strike. A government decree had prevented a national air traffic controllers strike originally planned to last 24 hours. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MIT) had, as in an earlier strike last week, legally limited it to four hours. The new minister of transport, Paola Di Micheli (Democratic Party, PD), justified this decision, which amounts to a strike ban, as necessary to avoid a serious and irreparable interference with the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of movement. Using exactly this wording, a 24-hour strike in December had also been banned by the ministry. Nevertheless, hundreds of flights were affected yesterday and EasyJet, Ryanair, Air One and Alitalia had to cancel several hundred domestic and international flights. Alitalia alone cancelled 139 flights in advance. The air traffic controllers are fighting against job cuts and for compliance with flight safety. Two years ago, ENAV adopted a Piano Industriale (Economic Plan) 2018-2022 with the agreement of the trade unions, which included the introduction of a new, remote-controlled high-tech air traffic control system. This is accompanied by a concentration and expansion of what will ultimately be two large control centres in Rome and Milan, while staff will be gradually reduced or replaced by auxiliary staff at the 45 smaller control towers spread throughout the country. In 2016, ENAV was partially privatised, with around 4,000 air traffic controllers. Since then the number of specialist staff has been systematically reduced. The controllers point out that the business plan was written primarily from the point of view of the stock market, but not from that of the employees and air traffic safety. While 200 jobs will again be cut in Puglia as part of the plan, services throughout the country are seriously understaffed. Excessive overtime hours are being worked but have not been paid for months. It is not only air traffic controllers who are dissatisfied and prepared to strike. Pilots, flight attendants and ground workers are also confronted with the effects of merciless global competition in air transport. This is encouraging wage dumping, and jobs and vital social achievements are being destroyed. The best example of this is Alitalia, once the Italian flagship, which was forced into bankruptcy by Etihad in spring 2017 after employees rejected an extortionate restructuring plan. Since then, Alitalia has been kept in the air by government bridging loans and managed by commissioners of the Ministry of Transport. In November, the government postponed the sale deadline for the eighth time, now May 31, and plans to continue operating Alitalia via a consortium in which the Italian State Railways (FS) and the infrastructure group Atlantia are to participate. A financially strong private airline group is being sought as a partner. At present, Delta Airlines or Germanys Lufthansa are still expressing an interest in this. Alitalia pilots, flight attendants and ground staff are fighting a desperate battle against the systematic dismantling of their jobs, rights and achievements. Of the approximately 22,000 employees three years ago, not even 11,000 remain today. A further jobs reduction is imminent, as Lufthansa is making any form of takeover dependent on the successful restructuring of the airline, according to Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr. Alitalia employees did not take part in the airport strike this Tuesday but had organized several strikes in November and just before Christmas. Most recently, the airline had to cancel over 300 flights on December 13, due to strike action. Five unions (Filt-Cgil, Fit-Cisl, Uiltrasporti, Ugl-Ta/Assivolo Quadri and Unica) called for Tuesdays strike. In a joint statement, they justify it by citing the serious crisis in Italys aviation sector, which the government has blamed on inefficiency and lack of initiative. At airports, wage dumping and wild competition between ground services and air carriers are the order of the day. However, the unions themselves are part of the problem, not the solution. They are national federations, committed to the welfare of the companies and the state, whose repeated short strikes are merely safety valves to prevent the workers pent-up anger leading to a social explosion. At the same time, they play an essential role in the implementation of the cuts. The unions had already agreed to Etihads restructuring plan for Alitalia, which workers rejected three years ago. Their appeals are made to the government in Rome, with which they have been working for years. Although the unions describe the limiting of the air traffic controllers strike from 24 to 4 hours as a serious and unjustified restriction on the right to strike, as union secretary Salvatore Pellicchia (Fit-Cisl) put it, they are keen to continue working with the government and demand first of all, a round table with the ministry, as their statement says. The government in Rome does not represent the interests of the workers, but those of the employers and finance capital. The Five Star Movement (M5S) of Beppe Grillo, which had originally declared itself an anti-corruption party and claimed to be neither right nor left, has turned out to be a right-wing, corrupt government party. It has been running the government since June 2018, first in coalition with the far-right Lega and now with the PD. Since parliamentary elections in March 2018, its poll ratings have halved from 33 percent to less than 17 percent. As can be easily seen from the decree to restrict the air traffic controllers strike, the government of M5S and the PD is continuing the right-wing policies of the Lega even though the Lega is no longer in government. It has not repealed the infamous Decreto Sicurezza security law, which not only prohibits refugees from being landed in Italy, but also threatens strikes, demonstrations and workers protests with police measures. In the case of Alitalia, M5S had promised to save the airline two years ago through nationalisation. Today, it is involved in the search for a new private company to take it over, which will mean sacrificing workers jobs and conditions. The attacks on air traffic controllers and airline workers are an example of a development that is shaping the whole of society. The social gulf is widening and the living conditions of the working class are deteriorating massively. In Italy, 15 percent of the population live in relative poverty, according to statistics agency Istat, and unemployment is officially at almost 10 percent. Unofficially, and taking into account those who are economically inactive, it is much higher. Austria fails to win over neighbours for nuclear phase-out Prague, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, on his first trip abroad Thursday since being re-elected, failed to persuade the governments of four central European countries to give up on nuclear energy which they largely depend on. Following a meeting with his counterparts in the so-called Visegrad countries of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, Kurz was forced to admit that the ex-Communist neighbours had a different strategy for going green. "Our goals differ from those of the Visegrad-four countries," Kurz told reporters in Prague. "We think countries should make a switch from coal to greener energy resources, but it is important for Austria not to support nuclear energy," he said, insisting that the security of Austrians was his primary concern. Kurz is heading a new coalition government made up of his conservative People's Party and the environmentalist Greens, which was sworn in last week. The new administration has introduced an ambitious green energy plan, vowing to become carbon neutral by 2040, beating the EU-wide target of carbon neutrality by 2050. But Kurz failed to win over his counterparts in the four countries. "Every EU member state should have the right to choose its energy mix," said Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, whose country is building two new units at the Mochovce nuclear plant. The Czech Republic announced a plan last November to build a new multi-billion-euro (dollar) nuclear unit at the southern Dukovany plant by 2036. "We are not able to achieve carbon neutrality without nuclear energy," Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said after meeting Kurz for bilateral talks later Thursday. "Of course we want to close our coal-fired plants at some point, but we can't do that without nuclear power," said Babis, whose country expects to raise the share of nuclear energy in its mix to 40 percent by 2040 from the current 30 percent. The state-owned CEZ group runs two nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic: Dukovany and Temelin, both in the south of the country. Hungary is largely dependent on its Paks nuclear plant. Poland, whose energy sector is based on coal-fired resources, has no nuclear plants. In its policy statement, Kurz's government has pledged to get all energy from renewable resources by 2030 and to invest more in public transport. Renewable energy already accounts for about a third of Austria's consumption, almost double the EU average. frj/amj/spm Shady/Aftermath/Interscope RecordsYou can stop wondering when Eminem's going to drop the follow-up to his 2018 multi-platinum album, Kamikaze. It's out now. With no warning, Eminem released Music to Be Murdered By just after midnight Friday. His 11th studio album, clocking in at over an hour with a generous 20 tracks, features collaborations with Juice Wrld, Anderson.Paak, Q-Tip, Black Thought, Ed Sheeran, Young M.A., Royce da 5'9" and more. Em also dropped a video for the track "Darkness." The six-minute clip, featuring Royce da 5'9" and Resto, begins with Eminem ruminating on being alone, while the opening lyric to the 1965 Simon and Garfunkel classic "The Sound of Silence" plays behind him. "Here I am alone again/Can't get out of this hole I'm in/It's like the walls are closin' in/You can't help me, no one can," Eminem raps over sparse, moody instrumentation. The video immediately reveals itself to be a stark statement about gun violence, with Em putting himself in the place of the gunman who killed 58 people at the 2017 Route 91 Harvest music festival shooting in Las Vegas. "I don't wanna be alone in the darkness anymore," Eminem sings over and over in the chorus. The video ends with a wall of video monitors revealing news of mass shootings from around America, and the words, "When will it end? When enough people care." There's also a call to register to vote "and help change gun laws in America." Music to Be Murdered By is available now from all the usual outlets. The album's also streaming on YouTube. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. [January 17, 2020] MAXIMUS to Hire 690 Employees in Kansas City for 2020 Census MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that it will hire seasonal employees to help support the 2020 Census. In Kansas City, Missouri, MAXIMUS plans to hire more than 690 employees for its contact center work over the next several months. Every ten years, the U.S. Federal Government conducts a full census of every person in the country. The census results control the number of Representatives in the U.S. Congress apportioned to each state. Population counts also factor heavily into assigning billions of dollars in federal spending to state and city governments. "There is a tremendous amount of dedication and hard work that goes into producing the U.S. Census. Our customer service representatives will have an opportunity to be involved in helping the public with this historic endeavor," said Tom Romeo, President and General Manager, MAXIMUS Federal. "We are seeking customer service representatives who will answer phone calls from all over the country as part of the U.S. Census Bureau's work. We are proud to play an integral role in this process and our recruitment efforts in Kansas City are vital to the success of this project." Across the country, MAXIMUS will behiring more than 8,000 limited service contact center employees to assist in this work. In Kansas City, MAXIMUS is offering a competitive hourly wage of $17.02 for each of the 690 employees hired. Additionally, we are looking for bilingual candidates who are proficient in English and Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog, or Vietnamese. Seasonal employees will have a variety of shifts available to meet their lifestyle and family needs. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to be trained as a world-class expert in customer service and could receive bonuses for referrals. Those interested in applying to work for MAXIMUS as part of the 2020 Census can apply here at maximus.com/census. About MAXIMUS Since 1975, MAXIMUS has operated under its founding mission of Helping Government Serve the People, enabling citizens around the globe to successfully engage with their governments at all levels and across a variety of health and human services programs. MAXIMUS delivers innovative business process management and technology solutions that contribute to improved outcomes for citizens and higher levels of productivity, accuracy, accountability and efficiency of government-sponsored programs. With approximately 30,000 employees worldwide, MAXIMUS is a proud partner to government agencies in the United States, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit maximus.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005007/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Northrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/17/2020 -- Air quality monitoring system market include the supportive government regulations for effective air pollution monitoring and control associated with the rising levels of air pollution, initiatives towards the development of environment-friendly industries, and increasing public awareness related to the environmental and healthcare implications of air pollution. What the Market Looks Like? Predicted to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period, the global Air Quality Monitoring System Market is estimated to reach USD 4,903.5 million by 2022. North America will dominate the air quality monitoring system market during the forecast period. Based on product, the air quality monitoring system market is segmented into indoor monitors (comprising fixed and portable monitors), outdoor monitors (comprising fixed, portable, dust, and particulate monitors as well as AQM stations), and wearable monitors. The indoor monitors segment is expected to dominate this market with a share in 2017. Whereas, the outdoor monitors segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. The large share of indoor segment is attributed to the increasing adoption of smart home and green-building technologies and growing consumer preference for pollution-free indoor environments. On the basis of the sampling method, the air quality monitoring system market is categorized into five segments-continuous, passive, intermittent, manual, and stack sampling. The continuous sampling method segment is expected to account for the largest share in 2017. This can be attributed to the implementation of supportive government regulations for effective air pollution monitoring across major markets, ongoing development of advanced continuous monitoring systems, and large installation base for continuous air monitoring stations. Please provide your specific interest in this report so as to help you better, Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=183784537 On the basis of end user, the air quality monitoring system market is segmented into government agencies and academic institutes, commercial and residential users, petrochemical industry, power generation plants, pharmaceutical industry, smart city authorities, and other end users. The government agencies and academic institutes segment is expected to account for the largest share in 2017. The large share of this segment can be attributed to the presence of stringent environmental regulations, rising government investments for effective AQM, and increased installation of AQM stations worldwide. What Drives the Market? The growth of the global market for Air Quality Monitoring System is primarily influenced by the following factors: - Supportive Government Regulations for Air Pollution Monitoring and Control - Rising Levels of Air Pollution - Favorable Private and Public Initiatives for Environment-Friendliness, Public Awareness We can help with your specific research required for this market. Please share your specific interest to help us serve you better, Request for Sample Pages @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=183784537 Geographical growth scenario of Air Quality Monitoring System Market The report covers the AQMS market across four key geographies, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW). North America is expected to dominate the global AQMS market primarily due to the easy accessibility and fast adoption of advanced technologies among key stakeholders and the presence of stringent government regulations for effective pollution monitoring and control. However, Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Factors driving growth in the APAC region include the large-scale industrialization in emerging APAC countries, increasing stringency of air pollution regulations, and continuous government support for the development and commercialization of advanced AQM products in this region. Leading market players and strategies adopted Thermo Fisher (US),Teledyne Technologies (US), Siemens (Germany), Emerson Electric (US), General Electric (US) 3M (US), Horiba (Japan), Merck (Germany), Spectris (UK), TSI (US), Testo (Germany), Honeywell International (US), Agilent Technologies (US), TE Connectivity (Switzerland), and Tisch Environmental (US) among others are the major players operating in the the air quality monitoring system market. Request for Bundle Pages @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/RequestBundleReport.asp?id=183784537 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. 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MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact Us: Mr. Shelly Singh MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com The beloved sea lions of Pier 39 werent always so beloved. Thirty years ago, when first they hopped out of the bay and plopped on the $500-a-month yacht berths at the north end of the marina, they were pinnipeds non grata. At the beginning, we considered it a problem, confessed harbormaster Sheila Chandor. There were all sorts of suggestions of how to drive them off. Broken glass. Electricity. Bringing in a mechanical shark. Compassion, or common sense, prevailed. It wasnt long before the piers bean counters began noticing all the people who were showing up to stare at the sea lions, and how many of them tended to drop a few bucks at pier restaurants and souvenir emporia on the way out. Before long, the sea lions were protected, adopted, revered. With foot traffic prevailing over boat traffic, the pier proceeded to kick out the yachts from K-Dock We relocated them, said pier spokeswoman Sue Muzzin and installed three dozen wooden floats for the sea lions to rest their poor, misunderstood, blubbery bodies. This the animals proceeded to do, in overwhelming numbers. At times the sea lion population at the pier has hit four figures. This weekend, the pier celebrates the sea lions 30 years at K-Dock with festivities, free tours, nature walks and a set of 30 hand-decorated sea lion sculptures intended to be sprinkled around town in the manner of the Hearts in San Francisco sculptures. The other afternoon, the sea lions were marking the anniversary by doing pretty much what they usually do essentially nothing. They lay motionless on their floats in the sun. Occasionally, a larger male would raise its head and bark at another sea lion to attract attention and get noticed by the opposite sex, in the way of mammals of all species, including the kind watching from the pier. Arp, arp, arp, screeched a fat sea lion, shoving away a slightly less fat sea lion lest it get too close to the females it had taken a fancy to. Cell phone cameras from around the world captured every thrilling moment. Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Nate Huston, from Perth, Australia, was so entranced with the sea lion disagreement that he didnt notice a seagull that swooped down and snatched the giant pretzel out of his hand. Goodbye, three bucks. Its all nature, he said, trying to be a good sport about the pretzel since the seagull was unlikely to bring it back. Everybody has to eat. Also part of nature, he said, was the smell of dozens of sea lions who take care of their toileting on the wooden pier planks, frequently without stirring themselves. They do stink, Huston said. Theres no other way to say it. Harbormaster Chandor said the pier employs custodians to hose off the floats and also a sea lion ambassador, whose primary duty is to shoo away any sea lion that tries to take up residency in areas of the marina that are occupied by rent-paying vessels. The ambassador nudges those sea lions back into the bay with a large wooden board, having been trained in the nudging technique by sea lion behaviorists at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Much about sea lions is a mystery. They first came to Pier 39 for the herring not the expensive kind in the pier restaurants but the other kind which, in 1990, were having a record run. The sea lions disappeared entirely in 2009 and in 2014, probably because of low food availability, only to come back when the pickings improved. 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. Jennifer Cohen, a visitor from Philadelphia, said she was paying the sea lions a visit because Time magazine said it was one of the 10 things she was obliged to do in San Francisco. Her boyfriend, Tom Conroy, said the sea lions were clearly bickering about something but he couldnt make out what they were saying. Meanwhile, three gray seagulls were fighting in the water over the remains of Hustons pretzel. The seagulls were not getting their pictures taken not because it wasnt their 30th anniversary but because nobody cares about seagulls. Jennifer Rodriguez of Castro Valley said she came to San Francisco because there arent any sea lions in Castro Valley, and she planned to stay for lunch, which was probably part of Pier 39s master plan with regard to sea lions. Pier spokeswoman Muzzin said the pier draws 15 million visitors a year and about half of them spend quality time with the sea lions. After that, she said, sea lion fans are encouraged to stroll the pier and take advantage of such opportunities as the mirror maze ($5), giant claw game ($3), carousel ($5), pearl-in-the-oyster tank ($16), caramel apple stand ($14), flight simulator movie ($25), bungee trampoline ($10) and mini doughnut stand (6 doughnuts for $5, or 120 for $75). We have a lot to offer, Muzzin said. Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF Community advocates in several states have jointly petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate hundreds of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, as hazardous waste under a law that would empower federal regulators to initiate cleanups. The petition, filed Wednesday, Jan. 15, seeks new regulation for the chemicals under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the primary federal law governing the treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste. PFAS are a family of thousands of synthetic chemicals used in nonstick and waterproof products and firefighting foam. Exposure to the chemicals has been linked to health problems like cancer and autoimmune disease. They have been nicknamed forever chemicals because the compounds resist breaking down in the environment. Petitioners say their goal is to accelerate cleanup at PFAS contaminated sites particularly those caused by the U.S. Department of Defense, which has challenged the authority of states to require certain cleanup actions by claiming sovereign immunity from state laws. If we can shave a couple years off, the benefits of that are obvious, said A.J. Birkbeck, an environmental attorney in Grand Rapids and director of the Michigan PFAS Alliance. Birkbeck said a hazardous designation under RCRA would let the EPA initiate investigation and order cleanups at PFAS sites under a provision that allows for corrective actions. Its a different route to a similar end that advocates of listing PFAS as a hazardous substance under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, also known as the Superfund law, or CERCLA, have been working towards. Congressional efforts to force EPA to speed up a CERCLA listing have sputtered. Language to that end was pulled from the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act during year-end negotiations. The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed legislation this month that would require EPA to list two compounds, PFOS and PFOA, as hazardous substances within a year, but Senate Republican leadership say the bill has no prospects. A federal hazardous designation is necessary before EPA could require cleanup actions from the military, which is bound by federal laws and is responsible for hundreds of PFAS sites nationwide. The EPA says it initiated the regulatory development process for a CERCLA listing in May 2018, but has since offered no timeframe for when that might conclude. The EPA PFAS Action Plan released last February does not address regulating the chemicals under RCRA beyond noting that its an option. Birkbeck said a RCRA designation could occur more quickly because it doesnt require the same type of protracted public health risk assessment process that a CERCLA listing would. Under RCRA, waste can be deemed hazardous based on a simpler assessment of characteristic properties like ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity or toxicity. A hazardous waste designation under RCRA isnt a perfect substitute for a CERCLA listing, he said. Initiating cleanup is a little more complex under RCRA, but impacted communities in Michigan believe that in order to get the federal government more involved at PFAS locations, especially Department of Defense sites, the trade-off would be worth it. EPA spokeswoman Molly Block said on Thursday the agency hadnt yet received the petition, which was joint filed by the Green Science Policy Institute of California and community groups organized around PFAS contamination like Clean Cape Fear in North Carolina, PFAS Alliance in Michigan, Buxmont Coalition for Safer Water in Pennsylvania, Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition in Colorado and the Alaska Community Action on Toxics. In a statement, Block pointed out the ability of states to impose their own versions of hazardous waste regulations on PFAS and acknowledged that some PFAS waste may meet the definition of hazardous under RCRA. Block said EPA will be issuing interim guidance on the destruction and disposal of PFAS and materials containing the chemicals this year. Currently, PFAS are not defined as a hazardous waste under the federal RCRA regulations; however, states may be more stringent/broader-in-scope in their authorized hazardous waste programs, Block wrote. Additionally, some wastes containing PFAS may meet the RCRA definition of hazardous waste. Some PFAS wastes may be hazardous waste when discarded due to acidity or other characteristics. Claudia Polsky, director of the University of California at Berkley Environmental Law Clinic, which represents the petitioners, said the EPA is not required to respond to the petition within a set timeframe. The extent of public and congressional pressure on EPA to address PFAS at the federal level, rather than leaving the problem to states and localities, is one thing weighing in favor of a quicker response, Polsky said. Similar petitions have been precursors to lawsuits in other instances. Polsky said the law clinic is prepared to litigate on behalf of the petitioners if necessary. Luxury e-tailer Matches Fashion has launched a new wedding and white occasionwear section. Finding a wedding dress is no mean feat. Once you get over the basic hurdles not too frothy or tight it comes down to finding something at an appropriate price. Again, not easy when the average wedding dress costs between 900 and 3,000. Then, if youre an eco-conscious shopper, its about finding something you will wear more than once Thankfully retailers like Matches are catching on: the new dedicated space will feature 250 unique pieces created especially for the launch by designers including Christopher Kane and cult Danish brand Ganni. The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Show all 13 1 /13 The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends To-The-Max Fashion Simple wedding dresses have been replaced with show-stopping ones as glamorous ball gowns return to popularity. According to The Knot, more is more when it comes to the 2020 wedding dresses. Getty Images/iStockphoto The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Spray Painted Stems To add a pop of colour, brides may choose to spray-paint their bridal bouquet in fun, bright shades. If you are looking for a more subtle look, you can try adding metallic details or frosted pastels to the arrangements. Getty Images/iStockphoto The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Interactive Eats Even wedding food will undergo a transformation in the coming year as conveyor belts replace traditional waiters holding trays of appetisers. Molecular gastronomy and fusion flavours will also be huge as couples incorporate cuisines from a variety of backgrounds. Getty Images/iStockphoto The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Charity Check Philanthropy will be a huge theme, as couples look for ways to give back in the new year. Whether you link to a charity on your wedding registry or make donations on behalf of each guest, weddings will be all about what you can do to help others. Getty Images/iStockphoto The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Dressed to Impress Black may be a classic, but 2020 will see grooms dressed in shades of blue, including navy, teal, and cobalt, according to the wedding site. If an entirely teal tuxedo seems like a lot, grooms can incorporate the trend with a bow tie. Getty Images/iStockphoto The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Self-Serve Refreshments You can forgo the bartender this year, as the new beverage trend sees guests pouring their own drinks - by using a wall-mounted dispenser similar to those found in bars. Whether it is a cocktail or champagne, the method makes it easier to keep guests refreshed. Getty Images/iStockphoto The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Table Remix If the thought your guests separated by circular tables fills you with dread, you can opt for an updated seating design. This doesnt mean seating everyone at a long rectangular table, rather the trend sees guests seated around winding tables or tables configured into fun designs such as an X-shape. Getty Images/iStockphoto The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Edible Florals Sugar flowers have been replaced with actual ones, as the trend makes its way into ice cubes and food. You take the floral theme to the next level by incorporating dried flowers, according to The Knot, which recommends using them for confetti or pressed in the invites. Getty Images/iStockphoto The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Barrettes and Combs Brides will be wearing barrettes and combs in the coming year, leaving tiaras behind. These accessories can add a hint of sparkle and be worn during either the ceremony or the reception. The look also pairs well with veils, which arent going anywhere, according to The Knot. Getty Images/iStockphoto The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Inclusive Menus Whether it is catering to a guest who has a dairy allergy or offering an entirely vegan menu, 2020 is all about menus that are considerate of everyone. This also means offering non-alcoholic drinks so that every guest is covered. Getty Images/iStockphoto The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Magical Mysticism According to The Knot, the biggest trend of 2020 will be mysticism - meaning anything from sage and burning incense to crystals. For some couples, this may mean including a crystal in each guests goodie bag. The bridal website also suggests passing around your wedding rings to guests who can imbue them with good energy and well-wishes. Getty Images The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Micro Weddings In the coming year, expect to be among just 40 guests or less, with weddings expected to get a lot smaller. Fortunately, this means the budget per guest is higher - so you can expect special personalised touches as a guest. Getty Images The Knot's 2020 Wedding Trends Green Vibes As the state of the planet continues to weigh on our minds, brides and grooms are thinking of eco-friendly ways to exchange vows. According to The Knot, sustainable weddings are set to be one of the most popular trends of 2020, with some couples committing to a zero-waste weddings. Other takes on the trend see couples resetting family stones or heirlooms into new jewelry or only hiring vendors who prioritise sustainability. Getty Images/iStockphoto The section will also comprise 30 bespoke collections from famed British bridal designers such as Emilia Wickstead and Vivienne Westwood. Model wears Rat and Boa mini dress and boots by Ssone. (MatchesFashion.com) Speaking to The Financial Times, Christopher Kane said: Women have shifted from the mindset that the outfit can only be worn on the wedding day. We also know the emphasis is not only on the wedding dress itself, but outfits for pre- and post-wedding events. Kane has designed a number of limited-edition pieces for Matches Fashions new bridal section, including a cream tuxedo. Other designs that will feature in the section are a far cry from conventional wedding garb, including a Paco Rabanne chainmail mini dress and a high-necked gown by Erdem. You can shop Matches Fashions new bridal section from 22 January. GLASGOW, Scotland, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Scottish Retail Food & Drink Awards aims to throw a spotlight onto the vast array of fantastic quality branded and own label food and drink products available in Scottish retail outlets today. Debuting at Scotland's Speciality Food Show on 20th January, the Scottish Retail Food & Drink Awards is being launched by Helen Lyons, who has extensive experience bringing awards programmes to fruition, and Antony Begley of 55 North, the Glasgow-based publishing house specialising in food and drink retailing. Both are thrilled to have enlisted the support of Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), a centre for excellence in food science, as one of their key partners. Helen Lyons said: "The Scottish Retail Food & Drink Awards aim to seek out and recognise businesses and enterprises of all sizes from all corners of Scotland. Interest in provenance, locally and nationally sourced products has arguably never been higher than it is today. In addition sales of own label products have continued to grow in Scotland in the last 12 months and we want to shine a light on some of the incredible innovation that continues to develop in this exciting area of the market. These new awards aim to provide a fantastic platform to bring more producers and retailers together." Entries will be welcomed from all companies that produce and market products in Scotland for the Scottish retail marketplace, from discounters to supermarkets, from convenience stores to farm shops and everyone in between. With award categories from individual product categories, Small Producer, Scottish Retail Food & Drink Awards Retailer of the Year, Scottish Retail Awards Independent Retailer of the Year, Future Hero, Outstanding Achievement, Scottish Producer, Sustainability Initiative and Innovation Award, this awards programme will celebrate everything that is exceptional about the Scottish food and drink industry. Co-founder Antony Begley added: "We have had an overwhelming response from retailers and manufacturers so far and we expect the standard of Scottish entries to be outstanding." Lyons concluded: "The movers and shakers of the Scottish food and drink industry have helped place Scotland on the map as one of the most in demand locations within the UK to establish a retail business. Our job will be to showcase their excellence." The awards will open for entries in January with the awards presentation taking place in October 2020. Visit www.scottishretailfoodanddrinkawards.com @ScottishRfda For info email: Eimear@tansor.co.uk Eimear Andersen +44 (0)785-536-2680 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078504/SRFDA_Logo.jpg Greece warned it may try to block any Libyan peace deal that doesn't resolve a dispute over regional maritime borders, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with military commander Khalifa Haftar ahead of a Berlin conference on the country's future. The Greek government, which won't take part in the Berlin summit, will not accept any political deal for Libya that doesn't annul an agreement the country struck with Greece's rival Turkey on maritime borders, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview on Thursday. "Greece will veto, even at foreign-minister level before it makes it to head-of-state level," any Libya agreement that doesn't annul the pact with Turkey, Mitsotakis said. Greece may not get that chance. Mitsotakis was left off the invitation list for the peace talks in Berlin this weekend, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will join Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two leaders who have been calling the shots on Libya. The politicians in Berlin are seeking a deal on foreign intervention after Russia and Turkey failed to persuade Haftar on a visit to Moscow to agree to a ceasefire. The battle to secure control over the government has reduced oil-producing Libya to near-failed state status, with the country becoming a center for migrant trafficking across the Mediterranean. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that Turkey plans to issue new exploration licenses in the eastern Mediterranean following the maritime deal with Libya, a step likely to add to tensions with Greece and the European Union. Erdogan, who backs Fayez al-Serraj's government in Libya, said Friday that Haftar is not reliable. "We encouraged Commander Haftar to participate in the Berlin process with a positive spirit," Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias told reporters after a meeting in Athens. "We expect Germany to safeguard the European position for Libya matters." Greece "will do whatever it takes" to protect its sovereignty if Turkey begins hydrocarbon drilling in waters Greece claims as its own, Mitsotakis said, adding that he doesn't believe the situation in the Aegean will escalate. Mitsotakis also held a call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday to discuss the issue. Greece should have been invited to the Berlin summit, Mitsotakis said. "We should be in Berlin to discuss the future of a country whose stability is of interest to Europe, and of particular interest to Greece," the premier said. Greece's participation in the conference had never been considered, German Government Spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a news conference in Berlin on Friday. Berlin shared Greece's concerns about the maritime dispute, which was already being dealt with in separate European forums, he added."This conference doesn't deal with that issue." Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Republican, said Thursday that it was hard to say whether or how often the Trump impeachment trial might move into closed session. But gathering privately could occur as early as Tuesday, depending on how seriously Republicans and Democrats clash over ground rules for the remainder of the proceeding. Senators from both parties said they would like the trial to be as open as possible and are well aware of the troubling optics of shuttering the Senate while weighing the future of the president. I hope none of it is closed, said Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas. That view might be shared by Mr. Trump, who has suggested that he is counting on a public trial in the Republican-controlled Senate to discredit the impeachment initiated by House Democrats and vindicate him, proving his frequent claim that he did nothing wrong in his dealings with Ukraine. But given deep disputes between Republicans and Democrats over what the trial should entail and a prohibition on senators talking on the floor, Senate officials said that some closed sessions were probably inevitable. They are quietly laying the groundwork for that option, hoping to tamp down any criticism that information is being hidden. A mother who confessed to murdering her three-year-old daughter by leaving her alone for a week to starve to death while she went partying has been jailed in Russia. Maria Plenkina, 21, was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony on Friday for the murder of daughter Kristina in the city of Kirov, around 500 miles east of Moscow, in February last year. The court was told that Plenkina left Kristina alone in an apartment with no electricity or water and only a small amount of food while she spent the week with friends. Maria Plenkina, 21, was sentenced to 13 years in a Russian penal colony on Friday after she confessed to leaving her three-year old daughter to starve to death in February last year Plenkina admitted shutting off water to her apartment, which also didn't have electricity, before leaving Kristina alone for a week without enough food while she partied with friends Investigators said Plenkina confessed she deliberately closed the door of the apartment and shut off the water before leaving the house. She was 'having a good time with friends' and was 'on a spree', said one report. The girl was found naked having starved to death in a cold room in a rubbish-strewn flat after eating yoghurt, chicken and sausages that her mother had left her. She was so hungry that she tried to eat washing powder, the court heard. Judge Roman Bronnikov told the court: 'Plenkina understood her crime was of a cruel nature. 'She shut off the water and there was no electricity in the apartment. The girl was dying slowly.' Plenkina wept as her sentence was handed down on Friday at a court in the city of Kirov, having remained stony-faced throughout the rest of her trial During this time the mother 'went to bars and nightclubs' and looked for a job, only returning one week later after hearing the child had died. She 'misled her mother and friends, saying that the girl was under supervision' during the week she was away with friends. Before Kristina was left alone for a week, she weighed 17lbs, around half what is expected for a three year old. The woman - judged psychologically fit to face trial - remained calm in a glass court cage as she was convicted of the murder of a child with 'particular cruelty'. A video shows her being led away by armed guards to start her sentence in a penal colony. The murderer's mother Irina Plenkina, 47, who found the child dead when she came to visit her with a third birthday gift, had supported a demand by the prosecutor for a sentence of at least 13 years in a prison colony. Kristina was found naked, having starved to death inside this apartment which was strewn with rubbish and covered in graffiti Maria insisted that she had not intended to kill the girl and expected to come back and find her alive as she was sentenced Plenkina will remain under house arrest for one year after serving her sentence. A campaign group set up in the name of the dead child condemned the jail term as too lenient. 'I am in shock,' said group member Katerina Tulyakova. 'She will serve a maximum ten years and be freed in the prime of life. 'The most terrible thing that she will be able to give birth again. 'But no-one can return Kristina, ever. 'As long as there are such sad laws in our country, these creatures will kill their children.' Earlier Plenkina had wept in court as she said of her daughter: 'I loved her (with) all my life. I did everything to make sure she has all she needs. 'I took care of her, I loved her. I did not have a wilful intent to kill her. 'I did not understand I would come back and find her dead.' A three-year-old girl in Australia who went missing for nearly a day has been found alive with her dog. Matilda was out walking with her Jack Russell when her path home became flooded following a bout of heavy rain, police have said. She was spotted by a helicopter around 3.5km away from her house after nearly 24 hours of being alone and without shelter, according to Western Australia Police Force. They shared a photo of her reunited with her family and covered in mud, with her Jack Russell in the background. Over the past few days, parts of Australia have been battered by storms, which people hoped would help the country as it battles the worst wildfire season in Australian history. 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 However, heavy rainfall has caused flooding in some areas, including near Matildas home in Noreena Downs, Western Australia. Recent downpours have led to a number of the creeks surrounding the property being full of water, police said. Matilda was able to make her way through one of these creeks while the water had subsided, according to Western Australia Police Force. However, due to the heavy rainfall, the creek quickly rose again trapping Matilda and her dog. A search effort was launched for Matilda and her dog on 15 January, with helicopters and teams on horses being deployed. She was spotted by an aircraft the next afternoon. The regional police said: The community and police worked quickly and tirelessly in the search for little Matilda. Meteorologists had warned that while the heavy rainfall forecast could provided relief to some fire-ravaged areas, it could also cause problems. Thunderstorms are a bit of a double-edged sword, said Kevin Parkyn from Australias Bureau of Meteorology. While they can bring some much-needed rain, it can also come down in very fast, high quantities. Fire services welcomed downpours as they continue to battle Australias wildfires. Although this rain wont extinguish all fires, New South Waless force said, it will certainly go a long way towards containment. Fires have raged through Australia since September, killing at least 29 people and torching thousands of homes. Experts have estimated more than one billion animals have died in the blazes, which have burned an area of land the size of Bulgaria. Additional reporting by agencies THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the beef fry tweet on the official Twitter handle of Kerala Tourism triggering a major controversy, tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran on Friday categorically stated that there was no attempt to hurt anyones religious sentiments. The minister said there was a deliberate attempt from certain quarters to add communal colour to the tourism departments tweet, highlighting Keralas popular delicacy beef ularthiyathu. Kerala government, the tourism department and the Left came in for sharp criticism by a section of Twitterati, who alleged that the tweet on beef fry was deliberately posted on MakarSankranti. Surendran said the people criticising the beef tweet were trying to give a communal colour to the whole issue by posting pictures of pork and daring the tourism department to upload such pictures too. There are several pork dishes which are already on the tourism departments website, the minister said and added that in Kerala cuisine is not linked with religion. The controversial tweet: Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices, coconut pieces, and curry leaves. A recipe for the most classic dish, beef ularthiyathu, the stuff of legends, from the land of spices, Kerala, evoked sharp reactions. Many felt it was needless. But the minister on Friday stood firmly by the tweet. Tourists arriving in Kerala enjoy all dishes, whether it is pork, beef or fish. The whole controversy has been triggered by fanatics who want to communalise everything, he said. The minister said each recipe including that of pork delicacies have been uploaded on the official website of the department. Kerala tourism has huge following on social media with 35 lakh followers on Facebook, 18 lakh on Twitter and two lakh on Instagram. No other state in India has more followers than Kerala. All items including food are marketed by tourism department on the social media, he added. Russian parliament unanimously approves Mikhail Mishustin as prime minister Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 3:47 PM The lower house of Russia's parliament has voted overwhelmingly to approve Mikhail Mishustin as the new prime minister, less than a day after President Vladimir Putin announced constitutional reforms. All lawmakers at the Federal Assembly on Thursday voted in favor of Putin's pick, an economist and politician, but Communist lawmakers abstained. "People should already now be feeling real changes for the better," Mishustin, 53, said in a speech delivered at the parliament prior to the vote, calling on the State Duma to work with him to urgently enact Putin's program. Mishustin, who had been the head of the Federal Tax Service since 2010, further said that his priority would be to "increase citizens' real incomes", stressing that the government must also work to "restore trust" with the business community and drive innovation. He also assured legislators that Russia could afford salary hikes and social payouts announced by the president, estimating they will cost around four trillion rubles ($65 billion) over the next four years. Following the parliament's approval, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree appointing Mishustin as prime minister on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Russia's ruling United Russia Party had unanimously approved Mishustin's candidacy for the post of prime minister. Anastasia Kashevarov, an aide to Russia's parliament speaker, announced the decision on social media ahead of the formal parliamentary vote. President Putin picked Mishustin as premier after Dmitry Medvedev and his cabinet stepped down on Wednesday to give room to the president to carry out the reforms. The Russian president has offered Medvedev, who had been prime minister since 2012, to oversee defense and security affairs in a new Security Council role. Mishustin was born in Moscow in 1966. He became a civil servant in 1998, joining the Russian State Tax Service, which then was transformed to the Taxes and Levies Ministry. In 2008, Mishustin moved to business, becoming the head of the United Financial Group (UFG), one of the Russia's largest investment banks. Since 2010, he has again been head of Russia's federal tax authority. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. The Daily Beast Fox News White House correspondent and perpetual nemesis of Jen Psaki thought he had Joe Bidens press secretary cornered on Monday when he asked her why the president is still referring to COVID-19 as a pandemic of the unvaccinated when so many people are getting breakthrough infections. He was wrong.I understand that the science says that vaccines prevent death, Doocy began, before undercutting that basic truth. But Im triple-vaxxed, still got COVID. Youre triple-vaxxed, still got COVI Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday said a probe would be conducted into allegations by senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh that phones of opposition leaders were tapped by the previous BJP- led Devendra Fadnavis government. Singh, in a series of tweets on Thursday, had raised questions about the involvement of officials in this tapping episode. "Is the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray going to give details in public that who was behind snooping and tapping in Maharashtra. Who were the officers of Maharashtra Government who went to Israel to talk to NSO the brain behind malware pegasus," Singh had tweeted. In October last year, Facebook-owned Whatsapp had said a spyware created by Israel-based NSO Group was used to snoop on 1,400 people worldwide, including 121 users from India. Deshmukh said, "He (Singh) has said the software was used to tap mobile phones of leaders from opposition parties and Shiv Sena (which was part of the Fadnavis government at the time) during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections." "We have taken it seriously and asked for a probe into who had gone to Israel to buy equipment for eavesdropping on conversations of leaders from other parties," the minister said. Sena had, after the October Assembly polls, broken away from the BJP and joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A lesbian woman has been left bloodied and bruised after she was attacked by a stranger who reigned punches on the terrified 20-year-old from behind. Charlie Graham had been on her way to meet a friend in Sunderland on Saturday morning when she was struck from behind. She was attacked by two homophobic thugs and has been left shaken by the attack. Charlie has now posted the images online in a bid to track down the attackers who she claimed pushed her to the ground, before fleeing from the scene. Charlie Graham was left with a bloodies face (left) and bruised knees (right) after she was attacked on Saturday morning The 20-year-old (pictured above before the attack) said it is not the first time she has been attacked because of her sexuality Speaking to the Daily Star Online she said she was hit on the back of her head before she fell to the ground, hurting her legs and face. 'I tried to get back up, but they pushed me back to the ground and the two guys ran off. I was left bleeding and scared.' She says it is the fifth time she has been targeted for her sexuality and now suffers from panic attacks and is too nervous to leave the house. Charlie said she had previously been attacked and believes it is not the last time this will happen. Charlie called her aunt after the incident and her aunt said her eyes had rolled to the back of her head Charlie now says that she has accepted homophobia of a part of her daily life She said it has knocked her confidence and added that she no longer goes anywhere on her own, as she only feels comfortable at her mother's house. 'I have panic attacks and anxiety attacks just thinking about going home in case they find out where I live and decide to come through the door, or I get attacked in my own home. 'I have had people threatening to come through my door and smash the windows in.' She now says that she has had to accept homophobia as a fact of life and added that people should be proud of who they are. Charlie said people should be accepted and that she has tried to not let the incidents 'beat her up'. Charlie (left and right) said she acts like a boy and that she isn't very feminine Charlie, who says she 'acts like a boy', has accepted homophobia as a fact of life. 'I do worry if it happens again that it is worse than it was before. It did scare me, but I thought 'it's just one of those things... it's happened again. What am I supposed to do about it? It happens everywhere. It's my bad luck'. She added that she 'does look and act like a boy', but said her lack of femininity does not mean she is an aggressive person. After the incident her aunt Natalie Singh helped her clean up. She said Charlie was 'dazed and her eyes were rolling into the back of her head'. This is while her mother Michelle Storey, 47, said her daughter often faces abuse and that at times they can laugh about it. She added that it doesn't matter to her what Charlie's sexuality is 'as long as she is happy and loved'. Detectives have since confirmed they are treating the incident as a hate crime. A Northumbria Police spokesman said: 'We can confirm we are investigating a report of an assault on Blackwood Road in the Town End Farm area of Sunderland at about 00.50am on Saturday morning. 'It was reported that a 20-year-old woman was walking home when she was subjected to homophobic abuse and assaulted by two males. 'She was not seriously injured during the incident but was very shaken up by the attack. Enquiries to identify those responsible is ongoing but this is being treated as a hate crime by police.' Anyone who witnessed the attack on Charlie, or has information that could help police, should call officers on 101 quoting log 46 11/01/20. New Delhi, Jan 17 : To mark the 30th anniversary of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, Kashmiri Pandits trended the hashtag #HumWapasAayenge (we pledge to return), inspired by the dialogue "Hum Aayenge Apne Watan" from the yet-to-be released film "Shikara". On January 19, 1990, over five lakh Kashmiri Pandits were forced almost overnight to leave the Valley following a genocidal campaign unleashed by the militants. #HumWapasAayenge is trending and the Twitterati have showered their support by posting videos, comments and quotes. Taking to his Twitter handle, veteran journalist Aditya Raj Kaul shared a video message of himself and wrote: "Kashmiri Pandits complete 30 years in exile from Kashmir this weekend. The community has shown conviction of courage and fortitude. Let's all now resolve to return home." He also urged Kashmiri Pandits to support the #HumWapasAayenge initiative and wrote, "Kashmiri Pandit friends: please record this video statement and put it up with #HumWapasAayenge." Actor Chandan Sadhu tweeted a video message and wrote: "As Kashmiri Pandits complete 30 years in exile this weekend, let our cry for justice be finally noticed. We have shown unimaginable resilience, and today we resolve to return home." Author Rahul Pandita tweeted a video of his own with the caption: "30 years of exile from Kashmir. Let us now pledge that we will return home." Veteran radio personality Khushboo Mattoo took to social media to post a video of herself in support of #HumWapasAayenge and remarked, "Said this in a BBC interview three years back. And I am saying it again #HumWapasAayenge#Shikara." A user named @rainarajesh shared a clip of his native village and said, "I shot this video a few years back in my native place in #Anantnag district. Our house was turned to debris by terrorists. It was looted & burnt down when we were forced to leave #Kashmir. One day we will go back with dignity and honour. #HumWapasAayenge #Shikara #KashmiriPandits." Another user @vineetkaul expressed his solidarity with the #HumWapasAayenge initiative and wrote, "Days changed to weeks, weeks to months, months to years and years to decades...Despite insurmountable odds, our resolve to return remains steadfast...We will return, return to our home. That will be the day, the day in Srinagar! #HumWapasAayenge #KashmiriPandits." Apart from the Kashmiri Pandits, many Tweeple expressed their solidarity for the initiative and tweeted in support of it. A user wrote, "Left in humiliation...You deserve to return with dignity...#HumWapasAayenge." Another wrote, "#HumWapasAayenge As a fellow Indian I do hope you can show some empathy to this tiny community who packed up their lives in their tiny pockets and left their homes. Kashmiri Pandits. The nowhere people.#Shikara." A post read, "When one feels like a nomad wherever one goes, even after having created a life in a different city, when you still feel lost and long for home, yes #HumWapasAayenge." The Kashmiri Pandits all across the globe have taken to social media to post videos of themselves repeating the "Hum Aayenge Apne Watan" dialogue from the upcoming move "Shikara". "Shikara" chronicles the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley on the night of January 19, 1990. It is a theme that has seldom been explored in mainstream Bollywood films. The pair are often spotted cuddling up indoors together on Instagram but on Thursday the couple were seen braving the London weather. kelly Brook, 40, and boyfriend Jeremy Parisi, 33, were all smiles as they left Global Radio Studios, home to Heart Radio, on Friday. The model and radio presenter looked radiant as she left her workplace with her French-Italian martial arts instructor beau. Rain won't get them down! kelly Brook, 40, and boyfriend Jeremy Parisi, 33, seemed cheerful as they left Global Radio Studios, home to Heart Radio, on Friday Wearing a simple oversized leather jacket and leather mini-skirt paired with a snake skin boot and camel jumped the model made her way home under a brolly. Jeremy dressed up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a checked two-toned blazer as he accompanied his long term girlfriend in the rain. Kelly presents the Drivetime Show on the radio station from 4pm to 7pm on weekdays and the breakfast show on a Saturday. Cuddle up! Often seen cosying up on Instagram the long-term couple looked as loved up as ever as they left the radio presenter's work place The couple have been dating for five years after kicking off their relationship by flirting via direct message on Instagram. The couple went public with their relationship in April 2015, and Jeremy now lives with Kelly in her Kent home. The model has had a high-profile dating history since she shot to fame as a model when she was a teenager. Kelly dated action star Jason Statham, 51 - who is now in a long-term relationship with model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 31 - for six years between 1998 and 2004 when she was just 18. The beauty then moved on to Hollywood actor Billy Zane, 52, who she was in a relationship with between 2004 and 2008, when the couple broke off their engagement. Kelly dated rugby player Danny Cipriani, 30, on and off between 2008 and 2010, before moving on to another rugby star in the form of Thom Evans, 33. The couple were together for two years, but suffered heartache when the model had a miscarriage in May 2011, two months after announcing they were expecting a baby girl. Michael Avenatti, the high-flying former lawyer for AVN Hall of Famer Stormy Daniels in her 2018 lawsuit against Donald Trump, finds himself behind bars this week after a federal judge revoked his bail, according to a report by CNBC. Avenatti has been charged with a series of financial crimes in at least thee different casesincluding accusations that he bilked Daniels out of nearly $300,000 from her publishers advance paid for her book, Full Disclosure. But prosecutors now allege that, even as he was fighting those charges in court, Avenatti was busy committing a whole new set of crimes, including mail fraud, wire fraud, structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements, and even money laundering. But when a Twitter user defended Avenattiwho has claimed that the charges against him are the result of vendetta by TrumpDaniels took to her own Twitter account to volunteer her reaction to the Avenatti jailing. And to say Daniels showed little sympathy for her discharged ex-lawyer would be an understatement. Did they make him forge my name, steal my money and lie to me? Daniels wrote. Fuck him! Avenatti is accused of diverting the publishers book advance intended for Daniels into a personal bank account, where he then allegedly put the cash to his own use. Starting in March of 2018 when Daniels filed a lawsuit against Trump, seeking to be freed from a hush money deal meant to silence her over a sexual encounter between the two in 2006, Avenatti became one of the most famous personalities in the country thanks to his near-nightly appearances on cable news broadcasts. But just days after that lawsuit was finally dismissed in March of 2019, Avenatti was arrested on multiple charges of bank fraud, extortion and other alleged financial crimes. On Tuesday, Avenatti was reportedly in the middle of a preliminary hearing in front of the California state bar association, which is moving to disbar him. But the hearing had not even wrapped up before IRS agents showed up and took the 48-year-old attorney into custodynot even allowing him to remain for the duration of his hearing. Photo By CBS Los Angeles YouTube Screen Capture Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi may soon launch its premium phone Mi Mix Alpha in India. The smartphone's key features are a flexible OLED display wrapped around it and a 108MP triple-camera setup. The phone has a screen-to-body ratio of 180 per cent, highest ever on a smartphone. Xiaomi has already made the product page for Mi Mix Alpha live on its official website, mi.com. However, the company still hasn't revealed the launch date for the device in India. Xiaomi unveiled the Mi Mix Alpha back in September 2019. Complete front display. Complete back display. And, the display replaces the side frame.#MiMixAlpha with 4D Surround Display. #FutureWithoutLimits Discover more > https://t.co/DRPmq4yD7H pic.twitter.com/fbmgCzsaVM - Mi India #108MP IS COMING! (@XiaomiIndia) January 17, 2020 Xiaomi is currently fine-tuning the Mi Mix Alpha for Indian market and is expected to launch the one-of-its-kind device here soon, suggest media reports. Xiaomi India is also planning to revive its 'Mi' sub-brand in the country and offer a more premium experience to consumers in the second-largest smartphone market in the world. Raghu Reddy, Xiaomi India Head of Categories, told news agency PTI that the Mi series phones -- Mi 4 and Mi Max-- which had limited success might be reinvigorated in India in the coming days. He added that the company is working on products that bring the latest features and innovation at an appropriate price. Also Read: Xiaomi to focus more on Mi sub-brand in India; premium flagships expected in 2020 Reddy said, "While our Redmi franchise is more mass market, Mi devices have been about innovation. These are flagship products and we think the market is now ready and we will bring more Mi smartphones and ecosystem products to India." He added, "We are evaluating the commercial launch of Mi MIX Alpha globally as well as in India. Currently, there is only one production line capable of manufacturing the Mi MIX Alpha which is in China. The china price is RMB 19,999. So in India, adding import duty, custom duty and other expenses would make it approximately Rs 2,50,000." In terms of design, Mi Mix Alpha features a 7.92-inch 4D surround screen with a resolution of 2088X2250 pixels per inch and an in-screen fingerprint sensor. The phone has a Snapdragon 855 Plus processor bundled with a 5G modem, up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB UFS 3.0 storage. The Mi Mix Alpha also has a 4,050 mAh nano-silicon based lithium-ion battery with 40W fast-charge support. Mi Mix Alpha features a 108MP, 1/1.33-inch sensor, a 20MP ultra-wide lens, and a 12MP telephoto lens on the back. Notably, this concept smartphone doesn't have a separate selfie dedicated front camera as the rear triple-camera setup can be used as a front camera, thanks to the wrap-around screen. The concept Mi Mix Alpha also has humidity and air quality sensors apart from the usual ones. Mi Mix Alpha's frame is made from aerospace-grade titanium alloy, sapphire glass and ceramic. The smartphone has also eliminated the need for physical buttons as the edges of the Mi Mix Alpha are pressure-sensitive and can be used to control the device (Edited by Vivek Dubey) Also Read: Oppo F15 launched in India today; here's price, specifications, offers Also Read: Black Shark 3 to feature 16GB RAM, 120Hz display; here's all we know Concurs repetat pentru selectarea unei companii sociologice, care sa efectueze un studiu tematic "Barometrul opiniei publice in domeniul schimbarilor climatice" The regime can no longer stem the tide that is rising fast against it. While the regime shut down the internet and imposed a total news blackout, it could not do the same this week, as the video clips showed MEK Resistance Units tearing down or torching Qassem Soleimanis posters. Moreover, the January protests demonstrated that what occurred in November was not a one-time occurrence and that the situation in Iran is like a powder keg, ready to explode with any incident. The was manifested in the chant of 1,500 are our martyrs from November. #Iranian Students Protest Regime Downing #Ukrainian Airliner https://t.co/A85AnruOWv The Iranian regimes denying and then admitting it shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, which resulted in killing all 176 people broad, raised the peoples wrath#FreeIran2020 #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/PHW6k3pD55 IranNewsUpdate (@IranNewsUpdate1) January 12, 2020 Secondly, the protests targeted the Supreme Leader, chanting Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, resign, resign, Death to Khamenei, Death to the principle of the velayat-e faqih, and IRGC commits crimes, the Supreme Leader supports them. Third, the protesters openly blamed and challenged the IRGC, the regimes power base for decades and expressed their abhorrence at Qassem Soleimani. Their chants undercut the regimes propaganda subsequent to the termination of Qassem Soleimani. They chanted Incompetent IRGC murders our people, IRGC you are the DAESH (ISIS), Soleimani is a murderer, so is his leader. Iranians Continue Protest Over Plane Downing https://t.co/owWOCOmEog Thousands of brave Iranians came out to the streets in protest on Sunday for the fourth consecutive day over the #Iranian regime shooting down a #Ukrainian passenger flight and killing all 176 people on board. pic.twitter.com/cwQEnbwKgv IranNewsUpdate (@IranNewsUpdate1) January 14, 2020 Fourth, in many protests, people chanted No to oppressor, be it the Shah, or the supreme leader (i.e. Khamenei), No crown, no turban, Khamenei your days are finished. This showed that the Iranian people reject the past, are not content with the current situation and are seeking a democratic and pluralist future. Fifth, women played in a prominent role in these protests as they did in November. In many scenes from the protests in Tehran and other cities, they were leading the protests and the chants. These protests and the November uprising lead one to the unmistakable conclusion that the MEKs strategy focusing on establishing the Resistance Units has been quite effecting in organizing and directing the protests nationwide. They have become the role model for the younger generation the way forward and how to challenge the regime. Indeed, the actions and the slogans by the protesters in the capital and elsewhere in Iran showed that Iranians are following the lead by the MEK. This explains why the regimes leaders from Khamenei, Rouhani and other officials constantly express alarm on the growing role of the MEK and the spreading influence of MEK Resistance Units. Up to 4,500 patients in China may have caught the same strain of coronavirus that has killed two people, scientists fear. Health officials in Wuhan the city at the heart of the outbreak which started in December confirmed four new cases today, taking the total to 48. But Imperial College London researchers say this may be the 'tip of the iceberg' after analysing flights out of the city. Experts say the fact three Chinese tourists have tested positive for the virus outside Wuhan indicates the disease toll may be higher than reported. They estimated there has been 1,700 cases of the coronavirus which has never before seen in humans. But they added it could have passed 4,000. Thailand today announced a second confirmed case of the coronavirus in a woman who had travelled from Wuhan. Japan reported its first case on Thursday. Two men in their sixties in Wuhan have already died in the outbreak, which has left health chiefs scrambling to contain the virus amid fears it will spread. People carrying the novel coronavirus may only have mild symptoms, such as a sore throat, and assume they have a common cold, British scientists warned. Up to 4,500 patients in China may have caught the same strain of coronavirus that has killed two people, scientists fear. Health officials in Wuhan the city at the heart of the outbreak confirmed four new cases today, taking the total to 48 People carrying the novel coronavirus may only have mild symptoms and assume they have a common cold, British scientists warned. Pictured, a woman wearing a mask while walking past the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which has been linked to cases of Coronavirus Some 1.4billion Chinese citizens will be travelling abroad during Lunar New Year. Pictured, a notice for passengers from Wuhan is displayed in Japan, where one case has been detected Professor Neil Ferguson, who led the research, told MailOnline: 'Our main estimate is 1,700, but the range means we are 95 per cent sure the real number relies within 190 and over 4,000. 'I became more concerned when cases were detected in places other than China. Generally when we see cases overseas it implies there are more cases. 'There have been three cases detected overseas. There is about one in 600 chance each case would happen to be getting on a plane and going somewhere. 'If thats the case, it would imply there is 1,700 cases in Wuhan itself. Which is a lot more that has been so far confirmed. There have to be a lot more cases.' A total of 48 people who have pneumonia-like symptoms have now tested positive for the coronavirus, Wuhan Municipal Health Commission has said. Four new cases were revealed today, all of whom were male and fell ill between January 5 and 8, and hospitalised between January 8 and 13. They are now in a stable condition at Jinyintan Hospital. 'We dont know if this is the tip of the iceberg. We need more information, we only have scant details,' Professor Ferguson said. He investigated the spate of cases in Wuhan city with colleagues at MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis and Modelling, a branch of Imperial College London which provides advice for new diseases. Professor Neil Ferguson said: 'I became more concerned when cases were detected in places other than China.' Pictured, medical staff transferring patients between hospitals in Wuhan Japan confirmed its first case of infection from the new virus - a man in his 30s from Tokyo who had recently visited Wuhan. Pictured, pedestrians in Tokyo wearing protective masks Using flight data, they reported that 3,300 people in Wuhan fly internationally per day, and Wuhan International Airport has a catchment population of 19million individuals. Based on these figures, and the time it takes for symptoms to onset, they calculated that there is only a one in 574 chance that a person infected in Wuhan would travel overseas before they sought medical care in their holiday destination. Using the number of cases detected outside China, researchers estimated how many people within Wuhan city may carry the virus. Three travellers from Wuhan have tested positive for the coronavirus outside China, which implies there might have been over 1,700 cases in Wuhan so far. But researchers add the estimated figure could be anywhere from 190 cases to 4,471 based on different scenarios. The report concludes: 'It is likely that the Wuhan outbreak of a novel coronavirus has caused substantially more cases of moderate or severe respiratory illness than currently reported.' The new coronavirus, which is yet to be named, causes cold-like symptoms including a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat and a fever. Professor Ferguson said: 'It's winter, its an enormous city with lots of people with cold and flu. People would realise they were feeling ill, but not that they have the coronavirus. 'We want to start recommendation from this that surveillance needs to be enhanced across the city, looking for people that are reporting even flu-like symptoms. 'They need to start looking generally in hospitals for people with respiratory symptoms that might be happening already but we dont know.' Forty-five cases have been contained in the Chinese city of Wuhan since December. The majority of patients have been traced to the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market (pictured) Some 1.4billion Chinese citizens will be travelling abroad during Lunar New Year. Airports have stepped up surveillance, including in Japan (pictured) The second case in Thailand was reported on January 17. A 74-year-old tourist was intercepted at Thailand's biggest airport Suvarnabhumi. Pictured, Bangkok airport staff performing thermal scans on a traveller GERMAN RESEARCHERS DEVELOP FIRST TEST FOR NEW VIRUS IN CHINA Scientists scrambling to contain the outbreak of the mystery virus have developed the first diagnostic test for doctors. Virologists in Germany claim the test will allow laboratories to diagnose the 'novel' coronavirus in a 'very short period of time'. World Health Organisation chiefs will share details of the test with countries around the world, amid fears cases may crop up in other nations. Laboratories can order a molecule from the team AT Berlin's Charite hospital to compare patient samples with that of an infected adult. Following its online publication by the WHO, the test protocol will now serve as a guideline for laboratories. Dr Christian Drosten, a virologist at the institute, said: 'We have just started receiving orders and are now starting to post the molecule.' So far, doctors have only been able to perform a general virus test and then had to sequence and interpret the genome, which takes time. Advertisement The report added that if cases are this high, substantial human to human transmission can't be ruled out. It flies in the face of statements from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which state there is 'limited' to zero evidence that humans can spread the virus. Investigations have focused on animals as the source because the majority of the infected patients in Wuhan have been traced to the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, which has been shut down since January 1. The WHO has said 'much remains to be understood' about the coronavirus, which has been described as 'novel'. Although the genetic sequence of the strain has now been released, scientists are still questioning how deadly it is, and whether it can be spread between humans. Professor Ferguson said information like this tends to come to light around one month after the outbreak begins, but relies heavily on co-operation from China. He said: 'We need more systemic data from China. Their only really two weeks from discovering this and I suspect they are focusing on collecting data. 'We really dont know the spectrum for the disease severity is.' Fears of global spread have increased after Thailand announced it has detected a second case of the virus in a 74-year-old woman. Local authorities have confirmed that a second person in Wuhan has died of a pneumonia-like virus since the outbreak started in December. Pictured, Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital Authorities said she had been quarantined since her arrival at Thailand's biggest airport Suvarnabhumi on January 13. She lived in Wuhan. She is being treated in the same hospital, east of Bangkok, as a Chinese woman who was diagnosed with the virus after entering the country last week. The 61-year-old, also from Wuhan, was the first case of the coronavirus to be detected outside of China on January 8. Yesterday, Japan's health ministry announced its first case, a man who had been hospitalised with pneumonia symptoms after travelling to Wuhan earlier this month. Though the known cases of the pneumonia outbreak so far involve only individuals who have travelled to or live in Wuhan, the WHO has warned that a wider outbreak is possible. It comes just days before Lunar New Year holidays next week, when nearly a million Chinese visitors are expected to arrive in Thailand. Some 1.4billion Chinese citizens will be travelling abroad, leaving airports scrambling to implement surveillance in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan. The first patient diagnosed with the novel strain, a 61-year-old man, died on January 9. The second death, a man known only as Xiong, died on January 15. Both suffered other health problems, the former from abdominal tumours and chronic liver disease and the latter of severe cardiomyopathy a heart condition, abnormal kidney function, and seriously damaged organs. But it is not clear if these were complications of the virus or underlying conditions. Mangasense.com scored 50 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 12 Feb 2018, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the mangasense homepage on Twitter + the total number of mangasense followers (if mangasense has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the mangasense homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if mangasense has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the mangasense homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the mangasense homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the mangasense homepage on StumbleUpon. Basic Information PAGE TITLE DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS 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 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 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux 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 mangasense.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Type of server and offered services. 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 mangasense.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 type of Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The URL of the found Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / MCTC Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK:MCTC), a cannabinoid science forward company developing unique infusion technologies and cannabinoid delivery systems, today announced the filing of a patent for single-serving coffee pods containing cannabinoids and for a unique dosing system that allows any manufacturer of coffee pods to simply and easily add cannabinoids or other active ingredients to coffee pods. An important element of this invention is the "Clean Label" system utilizing mainly organic ingredients and no chemicals, surfactants, or preservatives. This is the Company's sixth patent in the field of cannabinoid delivery systems. "The patent filing broadly outlines a variety of methods and technologies to be used for adding cannabinoids to single-serving coffee pods. Our testing has shown our methods are highly effective while still being extremely easy for manufacturers to implement. With our system, any manufacturer of coffee pods can now produce CBD or other coffee pods with simple modification to their processes. The patent filing represents growth of our intellectual property by expanding our core infusion technologies to now include broader systems for cannabinoid delivery," commented Arman Tabatabaei, CEO of MCTC Holdings. The invention includes the use of the Company's Patent Pending Hemp You Can Feel technology, and the use of a wide variety of broadly defined other cannabinoid delivery technologies, including the use of both various nanoparticle and non-nanoparticle technologies. The Company has been using the system to produce its recently announced Hemp You Can Feel Coffee products, which is expected to be available to the marketplace later this month. Mr. Tabatabaei continued, "It is truly scary what many CBD manufacturers are using to infuse CBD into products. Most technologies utilize extensive processing of the extracts and chemicals, such as surfactants and emulsifiers in the production processes. Other manufacturers are simply adding little to no active ingredients. Our new process is a truly clean label and uses mainly organic and 100% non-GMO ingredients. In addition, the products we plan to deliver to coffee manufacturers will include full certificates of analysis from independent laboratories proving potency and purity. This will allow the manufacturer a full turnkey solution to all of its infusion needs, allowing them to concentrate on the coffee products, while we handle the aspects of cannabinoid infusion." This new patent filing represents the Company's sixth patent filing on hemp extract technologies and delivery systems. MCTC is currently working with patent counsel to protect various other aspects of its other new technologies. The Company has also announced a new research project named THC-V Skinny Cannabinoid Project Varin for THC-V infusions, nanoparticles, and glycosides. Also, as previously announced, the Company plans to continue other areas of delivery systems research, including its programs pertaining to other cannabinoid glycosides, polymeric cannabinoid nanoparticles and nanofibers, and its hemp extract-based alcohol replacement technologies. About MCTC Holdings, Inc. MCTC Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a: Cannabis Global) is a Delaware registered, fully reporting and audited publicly-traded company. With the hemp and cannabis industries moving very quickly and with a growing number of market entrants, MCTC plans to concentrate its efforts on the middle portions of the hemp and cannabis value chain. The Company plans to actively pursue R&D programs and productization for exotic cannabinoid isolation, bioenhancement of cannabinoids and polymeric solid nanoparticles and nanofibers for addition into consumer products and for dermal application. The Company was reorganized during June of 2019 and announced its intent to enter the fast-growing cannabis sector and its intent to change its corporate identity to Cannabis Global, Inc. The Company is headed and managed by a group of highly experienced cannabis industry pioneers and entrepreneurs. More information on the Company can be viewed at www.CannabisGlobalinc.com. For more information, please contact: Arman Tabatabaei IR@cannabisglobalinc.com Forward-looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which are not purely historical and may include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities and words such as "anticipate", "seek", intend", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "project", "plan", or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based products. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-k, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.sec.gov. SOURCE: MCTC Holdings, Inc View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573364/MCTC-Files-6th-Hemp-Extract-Delivery-Patent--CBD-Coffee-Pods-and-Associated-Delivery-System By Rasana Gasimova Azerbaijans Economy Ministry will develop a new non-oil exports strategy by July 2020. This is according to the action plan on the implementation of the instructions drawn up by President Ilham Aliyev at a meeting on the results of 2019. According to the plan approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, Economy Ministry together with the Agriculture Ministry should also prepare proposals for organizing the production of weaving products by July 2020. The Ministries of Agriculture and Economy should also prepare proposals on the development of manufactured products, particularly processing of agricultural products by April 2020, and prepare a concept for the development of sericulture by the end of May. The Economy Ministry of should also submit proposals on expanding measures aimed at attracting private investment until May 2020. Moreover, the Economy Ministry together with the Ministry of Energy and Azerenergy OJSC should work to attract investment in renewable energy until the end of 2020. Note that in 2019, Azerbaijan non-oil exports exceeded $1.9 billion. According to government estimates, the volume of non-oil exports should exceed $3 billion by 2024. Earlier, the government informed that it plans to allocate 20 million manats ($11.8 million) to promote the country's non-oil exports in 2020. Azerbaijans non-oil industry is expected to demonstrate an 8.8 percent growth in 2020. The five major countries that import Azerbaijani non-oil products include Russia, Turkey, Switzerland, Georgia and Italy. A major part of the non-oil products export accounts for Russia. The steps made for diversification of the economy and the state program Socio-economic development of regions of Azerbaijan in 2014-2018 made huge contribution to the non-oil sector, because main potential for production of non-oil products is concentrated in the regions of Azerbaijan. Opening of Azerbaijani trade houses abroad and organizing export missions to foreign countries to promote the Made in Azerbaijan brand in foreign markets have further developed the share of non-oil products in the structure of countrys exports. In addition, the increasing number of plants operating in the non-oil sector promises very good prospects for Azerbaijan to diversify its economy, reduce oil and gas dependency and increase the inflow of foreign currency into the country. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A close associate of Donald Trump's personal lawyer says he delivered an ultimatum to the incoming president of Ukraine that no senior US officials would attend his inauguration and all American aid to the war-torn country would be withheld if an investigation into Joe Biden wasn't announced. Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, made several potentially explosive claims in a televised interview on Wednesday night with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. The day after Mr Parnas said he delivered the message, the State Department announced that Vice President Mike Pence would no longer be attending the inauguration of Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky. Mr Parnas alleged that Mr Trump ordered Mr Pence to stay away at the behest of Mr Giuliani to send a clear message to the incoming Ukrainian administration that they needed to take seriously the demand for an investigation into Mr Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate seen as a potential threat to Mr Trump's 2020 re-election. Mr Parnas said every communication he had with Mr Zelensky's team was at the direction of Mr Giuliani, whom he regularly overheard briefing Mr Trump about their progress by phone. "President Trump knew exactly what was going on," said Mr Parnas, a Soviet-born Florida businessman facing a raft of criminal charges related to campaign finance violations. "He was aware of all my movements. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani, or the president." If true, Mr Parnas' account undercuts a key Republican defence of Mr Trump deployed during the ongoing impeachment fight - that Mr Trump's withholding of vital military aid to Ukraine last summer wasn't a quid pro quo for Mr Biden investigations because Mr Zelensky didn't know the money was being held up. Mr Giuliani called Mr Parnas' statements "sad". "I feel sorry for him," Mr Giuliani said on Wednesday in a text message to an AP reporter. "I thought he was an honourable man. I was wrong." Asked directly if Mr Parnas was lying, Mr Trump's lawyer replied, "I'm not responding yet." Mr Parnas said he also heard Mr Giuliani and another Trump-aligned defence lawyer, Victoria Toensing, briefing Attorney General William Barr by phone about their efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to announce the investigation into Mr Biden and his son Hunter's business dealings. "Barr was basically on the team," Mr Parnas said. The Justice Department said in September that Mr Trump had not spoken to Mr Barr about having Ukraine investigate the Bidens and that the attorney general had not discussed Ukraine with Mr Giuliani. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said that Parnas' claims were "100pc false". The new accusations came as House Democrats made public a trove of documents, text messages and photos from Mr Parnas' smartphones that appear to verify parts of his account. A federal judge earlier this month ruled that Mr Parnas could provide the materials to Congress as part of the impeachment proceedings. Democrats voted in December to impeach Mr Trump for abuse of power and for obstruction of Congress. A House committee chairman said his panel will investigate what he says are "profoundly alarming" text messages among the newly disclosed materials that have raised questions about the possible surveillance of former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch before she was ousted by the Trump administration last spring. Alarming The messages show that Robert F Hyde, a Republican candidate for Congress from Connecticut, disparaged Ms Yovanovitch in messages to Mr Parnas and gave him updates on her location and phone use. Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the messages are "profoundly alarming" and "suggest a possible risk" to Ms Yovanovitch's security in Kiev before she was recalled from her post. "These threats occurred at the same time that the two men were also discussing President Trump's efforts, through Rudy Giuliani, to smear the ambassador's reputation," Mr Engel said. Democrats released the files this week as they prepared to send articles of impeachment to the Senate for Trump's trial. The documents could add pressure on the Senate as it debates whether to hear witnesses in the trial. Singapore companies are increasingly collaborating with Indian corporations and business counterparts, especially tapping opportunities in health-tech, rural-tech, e-commerce and smart-city development programme, an official said. "As India pushes ahead with digitalization efforts, we see increasing opportunities in health-tech, rural-tech, ecommerce and smart city development, said Peter Ong Boon Kwee, the chairman of Enterprise Singapore, which promotes Singapore companies globally. "We continue to deepen this economic cooperation and partnership (with India), Ong said at the Institute of Directors' Singapore Global Convention 2020 on Thursday. Ong said that Enterprise Singapore has 36 offices, three of which are in India, for internationalising Singapore businesses. He mentioned that the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) network has also been launched in Bengaluru during a startup event in October. The GIA in Bengalore facilitates and encourages the two-way flow of startups, technologies and ideas between Singapore and major innovation hubs. The GIA has connections to 12 global cities. In Bengalore I witnessed vibrancy of the Indian startups and technology ecosystems, he said, adding that Singapore is now working with partners such as incubators, venture capitalists and mentors to run activities and initiatives that will strengthen such exchanges. We share some interesting insights on technology and financing eco system. The landscape I saw (in Bengalore) is truly dynamic and I am not surprised that India is currently the third largest start up eco system in the world, said Ong who is also senior advisor to Singapore's Trade and Industry Ministry. Ong hopes to encourage many more partnerships and innovation between Singapore and Indian companies. Elaborating further, he said Singapore companies want to join Indian businesses in technology-driven areas to grow into the South East Asian markets. More than 8,000 Indian companies are already based in Singapore for regional markets while some 500 Singapore companies are involved in a wide range of businesses in India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The will challenge the China-US trade agreement at the World Trade Organisation if it creates "distortions" in the market that harm EU companies, the bloc's envoy to Beijing said on Friday. Ambassador Nicolas Chapuis told reporters the 28-nation EU "will monitor the implementation" of the "phase one" deal that was signed on Wednesday by President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. "In our opinion, quantitative targets are not WTO-compatible if they lead to trade distortions," Chapuis said. "If it were to be the case, we will go to the WTO to settle this matter." He said that during a meeting at the Chinese foreign ministry, he was given "formal assurances that in absolutely no way would European businesses be affected by the US-China deal". The WTO's principle of most-favoured-nation treatment says countries cannot discriminate between trading partners. Under the deal, China agreed to import an additional $200 billion in US products over two years, above the levels purchased in 2017, including an additional $32 billion in agricultural goods. Beijing also pledged to improve protections of US intellectual property. The US has pledged to slash in half tariffs of 15 percent that were imposed on about $120 billion worth of Chinese consumer goods such as clothing in September. But punitive border taxes will remain on two-thirds of more than $500 billion in imports from China. Paul Tan of Rajah & Tann law firm in Singapore, who specialises in dispute resolution, told AFP the deal "may not violate WTO rules because the type of goods being bought from the US could be different from other countries', or even unavailable". "I don't think the trade deal reversed the increase in tariffs on US goods after the trade war broke out, for example, so I doubt this could be read as more preferential treatment," he said. China's agreement to buy more from the US in effect cushions some of the impact from increased tariffs over the past two years, he added. He noted, however, that such bilateral trade deals seem to be the US administration's preferred method of developing economic relations with its major trading partners, rather than through the WTO -- meaning further trade disputes with the US will have to be resolved outside the global trading system. Kerstin Braun, president of Stenn Group, said on Thursday: "With a weakened WTO and the general trend away from multilateral trade agreements, we're only going to see more trade squabbles. Whats to be done about the economy? How will the US-China temporary trade truce pan out? Was Satya Nadella right to pass an opinion on the Citizenship Amendment Act? The opinion pages tackle these issues and more. Kanika Datta sums up the views. Satya Nadellas statement that he would like to see a Bangladeshi immigrant head Infosys one day may not fit in with the BJPs political agenda. But as the top edit points out here, Mr Nadellas sentiments, they are widely shared by investors and businessmen across the world, including in India. Click here to ... tech2 News Staff Samsung has officially announced that it will be hosting its Unpacked event on 11 February in San Francisco. It is speculated that the company might launch the successor of Galaxy Fold along with Galaxy S20 series. Earlier it was reported that this upcoming foldable smartphone will be named as Galaxy Bloom that will target women in their 20s and its design will be inspired by "Lancome's compacts". As per a new report by Korean website Inews24, Galaxy Fold's successor may be named Galaxy Z Flip and it is believed to feature a clamshell design like Motorola Razr 2019. The report also suggests that the device will likely be priced at $860. The report has also revealed a few images of the purported Galaxy Z Flip. Samsung was very smart with the Galaxy Z Flip (just got word this is the name.) They are using ultra thin glass and plastic. Samsung will be layering a plastic over the ultra thin glass for extra protection. If it gets scratched, it's only the plastic and not the display. Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) January 14, 2020 Tipster Max Weinbach, has reported that the smartphone might be equipped with a 3,300 mAh battery. As per his tweet, it might be powered by Snapdragon 855 chipset. As for the design, he further reveals that Galaxy Z Flip is likely to have a plastic body that the display might have an ultra-thin glass on it. This glass will apparently protect the screen from scratches. The Galaxy Flip Z has a 3300 mAh battery. Along with the Snapdragon 855, this should be pretty ok in everything. About the same battery live as the mid size S10. Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) January 14, 2020 As per the previous reports, the purported Galaxy Z Flip aka Galaxy Fold 2 might sport a dual rear camera tucked in a pill-shaped module, placed horizontally in the top left corner. When you unfold this square-shaped smartphone, in the top right corner at the back, you can spot a tiny rectangular-shaped screen that shows the time, date and battery status of the phone. You can also see an LED flash at the back sitting beside the camera setup. It is speculated that it might feature a 108 MP camera with 5X optical zoom. Washington: The United States treated 11 of its troops for symptoms of concussion after an Iranian missile attack on an Iraqi base where US forces were stationed, the US military said on Thursday, after initially saying no service members were hurt. A US soldier stands while bulldozers clear rubble and debris at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar, Iraq, Monday. Credit:AP The attack was retaliation for a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3 that killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. US President Donald Trump and the US military had said there were no casualties after the strike on the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq and a facility in its northern Kurdish region. "While no US service members were killed in the January 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement. CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. The southern Saratoga County community was saddened to learn earlier this week of the passing of longtime former Town Councilman Sanford Sandy Roth; a gentleman who held a deep interest in the welfare of the residents of the community and who continued to work on their behalf long after leaving his Town Board seat. Roth, 81, served on the Town Board from 1993 to 2009 when he announced he would not seek reelection. He died unexpectedly Saturday night. Town Supervisor Philip Barrett made the announcement of Roths passing early in the proceedings of Monday nights Town Board meeting when he said he had some sad news to share; that a longtime colleague of ours and friend to many in the town had passed away over the weekend while volunteering with one of the many organizations he loved. Barrett went on to describe much that Roth had done for the town and for him as his special assistant after leaving his Town Board post. Since 2010 he was a special assistant to my office. Hes been a liaison to town committees such as the Environmental Conservation Committee and the Ballston Lake and Halfmoon EMS organizations, Barrett said. He would attend their meetings on a regular basis and collect information from the EMS agencies and bring it back to us. It was always a welcomed assistance for the town. Roths work as liaison to the EMS agencies was a natural fit as he had become an Emergency Medical Technician for the Ballston Lake Emergency Squad later in life after overcoming a fear of needles and taking all the training. There were times when he would attend Town Board meetings from a call still dressed in his EMT gear. He had a keen understanding of how those organizations operated and what they needed to do to accomplish their mission each and every day so having (Sandy) as a liaison to those two organizations was very very helpful, Barrett said. Roth was an active volunteer with the Clifton Park Youth Court in its formative years, taught a defensive driving course for the town at its Senior Adult Community Center, and sang in the Clifton Park Community. He was also an officer with the Clifton Park Elks. Roth was an indefatigable advocate for the arts in town, publicly giving support for building a cultural performance center for the community while a councilman and after leaving the board. He was the driving force in establishing a town-wide household hazardous waste collection day as well as being instrumental in filling a need for affordable senior housing by drawing the attention of a western New York development company that eventually built affordable apartments for seniors on Waite Road. In 2008 a serious medical condition kept him from attending board meetings and after consultation with his wife Carole and his four children he later announced he would not seek reelection in 2009. The decision was a hard one for Roth to make as he loved his time on the Town Board. As he prepared to leave office in 2009 he told this newspaper that the achievements he was most proud of while a councilman were the Hazardous Waste Collection Day, the affordable housing for seniors, and the growth in the town Arts and Culture Commission. The arts have given a lot to the town. The plays and musicals they put on are very good and they are all free, he said in an interview in late 2009. I like this. I like helping my community. There hasnt been a day thats gone by where I havent thought about the people who have called me. I always tried to accommodate everybody who asked me. I havent always been successful but I have loved it all and I am really going to miss it. Id do it all again. At his final meeting as a board member in December 2009 Roth was presented with the Key to the Town, Clifton Parks highest award. These 17 years just flew by, he said as he received the very rarely given key. I wish I could go back. Put it in reverse. The resolution and the presentation of the key drew a standing ovation from a packed room. Roth was a native of Albany who served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1965 before moving to Clifton Park with his wife. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Siena College and Russell Sage College respectively. He served 12 years as CFO of St. Peters Hospital and later 15 years at the former Bellevue Womens Hospital where he retired as assistant vice president of finance. We thank Sandy for his service; he was a recipient of the Key to the Town. He will be missed by members of this Town Board and many people in this town hall that hes worked with, in some cases, for the 26 yeas he was involved in town government, Barrett said Monday. Please keep Sandy, his wife Carole and his family in your prayers. I know Sandy will be missed by many friends and colleagues and fellow volunteers throughout the town. Thank you Sandy Roth. We appreciate everything you did working with town government and across the various organizations in the town. OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California today announced a $20 million contribution to the California Access to Housing and Services fund Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed in his 2020-2021 budget. The governor announced the fund last week to help solve the state's homelessness crisis together with reforms to Medi-Cal to better integrate physical and behavioral health. Blue Shield is one of the first companies to respond to the governor's call for donations from philanthropy and the private sector to support initiatives such as additional affordable housing units, rent subsidies and supportive services for Californians in need. "Addressing homelessness is a key step in ensuring health and wellness for individuals and families," said Paul Markovich, President & CEO, Blue Shield of California. "Our commitment to healthy families and healthy communities is at the core of our mission to transform our healthcare system into one that is worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable. We look forward to working with the governor to improve the quality of life for Californians and encourage others in the private sector to step up." "No one sector can solve the homelessness crisis alone. It's our collective responsibility to meet this moment with bold action and intentional leadership and that's exactly what Blue Shield's leadership is doing," Gov. Newsom said. "Just days after I announced the creation of the California Access to Housing and Services fund, Blue Shield responded immediately by investing $20 million to help individuals experiencing homelessness across California gain access to housing and health services. I hope that Blue Shield's generosity and compassion will serve as a model for others to follow." Today's announcement is the latest example of Blue Shield's efforts to support communities in California. The nonprofit health plan through the Blue Shield of California Foundation has contributed more than $100 million in the past three years to help end the cycle of domestic violence and make California the healthiest state in the nation. Last month, Blue Shield also announced the Blue Shield of California BlueSky initiative, a statewide, multi-year effort to support mental health and resiliency for California students. About Blue Shield of California Blue Shield of California strives to create a health care system worthy of our family and friends that is sustainably affordable. We are a tax paying, not for profit, independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association with over 4 million members, 6,800 employees and more than $20 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare health care service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $500 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation since 2002 to have an impact on California communities. For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. CONTACT: Matthew Yi Blue Shield of California 510-607-2359 [email protected] SOURCE Blue Shield of California captain amarinder singh CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has convened an all-party meeting on January 23 to evolve a comprehensive strategy to tackle the critical water situation in the light of the fast-depleting water resources in the state.The Chief Minister disclosed this in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday, on the second day of the 2-day special session of the House. He was intervening in a discussion on `The Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Bill 2020, introduced by his government. Invitations for the meeting had already been sent out, he disclosed, adding that all matters related to water issues in the state, including the SYL issue, poor quality of ground water and pollution caused by industrial and domestic waste, would also be thoroughly discussed during the all party meeting, in a bid to evolve consensus to chalk out a detailed strategy to address these problems. Advertisement The Bill, introduced by Irrigation Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, was later passed by the House unanimously, thus paving the way for the creation of Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority to manage the critical water resource in the state. Both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supported the Bill, expressing grave concern over the scarce water resources and the depleting ground water table in the state. During his intervention, in response to certain issues raised by the Leader of the Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema, the Chief Minister flayed the Opposition for their constant criticism of his government on the issue, while themselves failing to contributing in any way to tackling the problem. Pointing out that he and his colleagues had already given up power subsidy for tubewells, Captain Amarinder challenged Opposition leaders to show if any of them had heeded his appeal, yet, to do the same. The appeal, he said, was aimed at ensuring judicious use of groundwater and inculcating the habit of water saving. Advertisement Describing the depleting ground water table, and the growing pollution of river water, as serious issues, the Chief Minister reiterated his governments commitment to resolving the problem, which was particularly acute in the districts of southern Punjab, such as Sri Muktsar Sahib, leading to heavy incidence of cancer. Citing his visit to Israel to explore ways and means to tackle the problem of water scarcity, the Chief Minister said that the West Asian country was also facing acute crisis and facing exhaustion of its water resources in the next 15 years. He, however, said that Israel had a vast sea in its vicinity , from where they could cater to their countrys water requirement after desalinating the sea water. Unfortunately, Punjab did not have the option and could risk overexploitation of its water resources only if it was prepared to become a desert in the coming years.The Chief Minister apprised the House that his government had already signed an agreement with National Water Company of Israel M/s Mekorot for formulation a Water Conservation and Management Master Plan (WCMMP) for conservation and management of water resources in the state. Advertisement The Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority, provided by the Bill, will consist of a Chairman and two other members to be appointed by the Government. The Authority will be responsible for management and conversion of water resources of the state in a judicious, equitable and sustainable manner, and will be empowered to take all such measures as it deems necessary or expedient for this purpose. The authority will also be empowered to issue directions and guidelines for the conservation and management of the water resources, besides issuing tariff orders specifying the charges to be imposed by entities supplying water for drinking domestic, commercial or industrial use. The Bill also proposes the constitution of an Advisory Committee on Water Resources, to be notified by the Government. It will consist of experts and ex-officio members from various government departments, to advise the authority. The authority may also engage experts on its own. Advertisement The authority shall have, and maintain, a separate fund, to be called the Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority Fund, in which the grants/loans would be credited by the Punjab Government. The Bill also proposes to empower the Government to issue to the Authority general or specific directions in writing, in the matters of policy involving public interest, and the Authority shall be bound to follow and act upon such directions. Tariff fixation would be done by the Authority as per the policy prescribed by the Government. Japanese hobby products manufacturer, Good Smile Company, has announced the latest collectible in the Nendoroid line, for fans of massively popular battle royale title Fortnite. The features the Cuddle Team leader skin with a variety of poses and accessories perfect for any fan of the video game. The Nendoroid showcases the iconic Valentines Day skin with its bright pink oversized teddy bear head. The matching jumpsuit with a broken heart is replicated on the collectible, along with a Rainbow Smash Pickaxe to gather building supplies. Other accessories include the Hand Cannon and Beach Umbrella Glider. A bendable clear stand holds the figurine in place, whether standing up or floating in the air. The Fortnite Cuddle Team leader Nendoroid is available as a pre-order for 5,200 JPY, with an ongoing discount, which puts it at 4,360 JPY (USD 39.58). The release date is in July of 2020, with pre-orders available between January 17 to February 27. Each person can order at most three figurines per household, with pre-order items offered on a first-come, first-served basis. While this is the first Nendoroid for Fortnite, the website shows question marks on eight other collectibles that will be coming soon. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, presented Khalid Aliyu Biu, younger brother of the former Chairman, Pen... The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, presented Khalid Aliyu Biu, younger brother of the former Chairman, Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, as its fifth prosecution witness (PW5) in the ongoing trial of the defendant before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja.Biu, while being lead in evidence by the prosecution counsel, M.S Abubakar, told the court that the first defendant was his elder brother from the same parents adding that he was a civil servant at the moment but worked with Fidelity Bank between 2008 and 2012, in the private banking section.He further explained that he worked in the bank as an executive assistant and a relationship officer, assigned to manage the account of high net worth individuals and as such, was able to manage one of the account of the first defendant.We manage high net worth individuals and handle their transactions via phone calls, text messages or walk-in transactions, he said.The witness told the court that his colleague, Toyin Meseke and himself went to the home of the PW4, Nafisat Aliyu, who testified at the last sitting and obtained a copy of her utility bill, which was used to open an account for Maina to further complete the account opening package and that the 1st defendant allegedly obliged Meseke with a photocopy of the PW4s international passport.According to the witness, after the bank account was opened, it was placed under his group to boost his balance sheet, stating that when the account became functional, Nafisat Aliyu (the PW4,) complained to him of the huge financial inflows and outflows and that he advised her to meet Meseke to have her phone numbers removed from the account, adding that the 1st defendant was aware of all inflows and outflows of funds from the account, which was opened using PW4s details, but was operated by the 1st defendant.Biu further disclosed that his friend registered a company with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and sought his consent to add him as a director.He added that the 1st defendant became aware of the company and asked that he be allowed to use the company for official transactions and pleaded that one Abubakar Mustapha, should be the sole signatory to the account.Mustapha was on the account opening package and mandate card but has the signature of the 1st defendant.Biu identified one Alhaji Ali Sanni as the one that Maina sent to him to be given N150million cash for the purchase of a property in Abuja.While being cross-examined by counsel to the 1st defendant, Afam Osigwe, the witness confirmed to the court that the 1st defendant aside being a civil servant, also has a farm along Keffi Expressway in Nasarawa State.Justice Okon Abang adjourned the matter until January 17, 2020 for continuation of cross-examination. The is a team without captain and like a wedding party without a groom, the on Friday said after the saffron party released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Delhi elections but did not name its chief ministerial candidate. Observing that the people of Delhi expected the to decide a chief ministerial candidate to fight against Arvind Kejriwal-led government, the city's ruling party said it in Delhi, it has become clear that the saffron party has given a "walkover" to the "Today the came out with its list of candidates for the Delhi assembly election. Everyone was expecting that against the honest face and candidature of Arvind Kejriwal ji, they will reveal who their candidate, who their CM face is going to be. "But even today, BJP stayed quiet and this makes it clear that in Delhi, BJP is a team without captain, a wedding party without a groom. It has become clear that in Delhi, BJP has given a walkover to and Arvind Kejriwal," said Rajya Sabha MP and AAP's Delhi election incharge Sanjay Singh. The BJP on Friday released its first list of 57 candidates for the February 8 polls to the 70-member Delhi Assembly, fielding sitting MLA Vijender Gupta and former mayors Ravinder Gupta and Yogender Chandolia. The list, which was released by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, also included former AAP MLA Kapil Mishra and has 11 SC and four woman candidates. The party, however, did not name its candidate against AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with Tiwari saying the candidate from New Delhi seat will be announced soon. Singh said even before contesting the election, the BJP has deserted the field and run away. "They do not have a leader and there is lot of infighting among the party on who will be their CM face," Singh said. "In the morning there is one statement, by evening there's a different statement. This has been going on for quite some time now. In Delhi, the BJP is emerging as a leader-less, a vision-less party. "And I believe that people of Delhi will give a huge win and mandate to an honest AAP government under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal," said Singh. AAP came out with its list of all 70 candidates on Tuesday. Concerns have been expressed over the implications of a widespread tree planting plan on tenant farmers who work on National Trust-owned land. The General Director of the Trust recently revealed plans to plant 20 million trees over the next 10 years. This will be done by planting saplings or removing livestock to allow self-seeding. To achieve their target, the Trust is looking to spend around 90m creating 18,00ha of woodland, increasing the proportion of land that is forest from 10% to 17% by 2030. But the Farmers Union of Wales (FUW) has expressed concerns regarding the implications for National Trusts' tenant farmers. The group said dozens of farm tenancies are to be altered as they come up for renewal to cut sheep and cattle numbers. Such concerns were expressed during a meeting of the unions County Executive Officers who represent members in Wales twelve FUW county regions, some of which include large areas of land owned by the Trust. FUW President Glyn Roberts said many farmers who work on National Trust-owned farms have contacted to raise concerns regarding the recent announcement. Our members are fully supportive of appropriate tree planting where this does not undermine farm productivity and the environment. Of course, given the urgent need to reduce emissions, the role played by soils and plants in sequestering carbon is rightly attracting significant attention, with a particular focus on the planting of trees. But we mustnt forget that within the past century, the area of woodland in Wales increased threefold, from 5% in 1919 to around 15% in 2016, with mainly deciduous farm woodlands making up 30% of the area. Mr Roberts further stressed that the experience over the past century highlights the 'damage' that policies aimed at increasing woodland areas can have. With the Trust proposing to remove sheep and cattle from land to allow natural afforestation, it must also be remembered that the removal of agriculture has been directly associated by scientists with habitat and species loss in hundreds of examples from around the world, including the UK. The charity Plantlife recently warned that more than half of all wild plants need regular management or disturbance to thrive; 611 (39.6%) species will decline within a decade if the land on which they grow is simply abandoned and 127 (16.4%) will decline within 1-3 years. Rather than focusing on agriculture, Mr Roberts said more public transport to National Trusts' sites would be a 'good place to start'. That is especially pertinent if we consider their annual visitor numbers top 25 million and the carbon footprint these generate, he said. Shortly after the funeral of Dr. Arvin Moratab and Dr. Ayda Farzaneh in Behesht Mohamadi cemetery in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, the gathered crowd began to chant anti-regime slogans, in line with the protests that have been occurring since the regime admitted fault on Saturday. They chanted, People didnt die for us to praise the disgraceful leader, which is a reference to supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Other slogans aimed at Khamenei, include: Khamenei, listen. We are the people, not thugs Khamenei is a murderer, and his rule is obsolete Death to the dictator The regime had spent three days denying responsibility for the crash on January 8, claiming that the Ukrainian Airlines flight, which was headed for Kyiv, crashed due to mechanical failure. However, Iran refused to hand over the black box, which is used to determine the cause of plane crashes, to the manufacturer or to Ukraine, prompting widespread speculation that they shot down the flight, mistaking it for a missile, after firing 20 missiles at US bases in Iraq. Following the release of mounting evidence, the regime finally admitted it stuck the flight with two missiles. This triggered a new wave of protests, just a month after the regime cracked down brutally on a nationwide uprising over fuel prices. These new protests, started by students mainly, emphasize that the Iranian people want to overthrow the regime, with cries of Death to the tyrant, be it the Shah or the Leader or Our enemy is right here, [the regime] is lying that its the US, a common occurrence. Other slogans include: I will kill whoever killed my brother Death to Rouhani They killed our best, put mullahs in their place The student protests, which spread to other universities and other cities in Iran, have tapped into the Iranian peoples general resentment of the mullahs. The protesters, who are bravely defying the Iranian security forces, are risking their lives to see a free Iran. The protesters will often chant against the security forces as well, with the slogans Basiji, IRGC, youre ISIS to us, Cannons, tanks, firecrackers, Bassijis must get lost, and IRGC shame on you, leave the country alone Add to Phrasebook No word lists for English (USA) -> Persian Create a new word list Copy Add to Phrasebook No word lists for English (USA) -> Persian Create a new word list Copy Add to Phrasebook No word lists for English (USA) -> Persian Create a new word list Copy Guatemala City: Guatemala's new President Alejandro Giammattei cut diplomatic ties with the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday and ordered the closure of its embassy in Caracas. "We have instructed the foreign minister that the only person left in the embassy in Venezuela should return, and that we definitively end relations with the government of Venezuela," Giammattei said. "We are going to close the embassy." The conservative Giammattei, who took office on Tuesday, had already indicated he would cut ties upon assuming power. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Rodriguez, in a response on Twitter, accused Giammattei of bowing down to the administration of US President Donald Trump. "His government will surely become another bad joke," Rodriguez wrote. "Our respect and affection for the people of Guatemala." U.S. health officials announced Friday that they will begin screening airline passengers arriving in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles from central China for a new virus that has sickened dozens and killed two, prompting worries about a new international outbreak. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials say they will begin taking temperatures and asking about symptoms of passengers at the three U.S. airports who traveled from the outbreak city of Wuhan. Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert on the Lurgan Road in January. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Residents have returned to their homes after a security alert in Crumlin ended. A suspicious device was discovered in the Lurgan Road area close to the junction of Maples Park at 8.05pm on Thursday. Detective Sergeant Coulter said: "Police and ATO attended the scene, and a number of residents were evacuated as we worked to make the area safe. The device has since been taken away for further examination. Residents have since been allowed to return to their homes. Our enquiries are continuing, and I would appeal to anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the Lurgan Road area last night, or anyone who has information that could assist us with our enquiries, to call us on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 1665 of 16/12/19. Billie Faiers has hit out at a British Airways staff member after she was reprimanded for making too much noise while jetting to New York for her 30th birthday. The former TOWIE star has flown to the states after her sister Sam, 29, gifted her with the trip, however the ladies and their mum Sue, were left with a sour taste in their mouths after they were scolded by staff for making too much noise. Sharing an impassioned message on Instagram, the birthday girl fairly thanked the majority of staff but hit out at one member, in a message shared after a series of clips showed the trio enjoying champagne cocktails and wine. Fuming: Billie Faiers has hit out at a British Airways staff member after she was reprimanded for making too much noise while jetting to New York for her 30th birthday On Thursday, Billie was treated to an amazing birthday by her nearest and dearest, including husband Greg and their two kids. Sam however pulled out all the stops for the big three-oh as she dressed up as the Statue Of Liberty to reveal that she was jetting her sister to New York for a getaway. They began detailing the trip on social media on Friday, however things took a turn for the worst when they seemed to have too much fun. Billie revealed that their fun had been thwarted when they were accused of making too much noise by a staff member - much to her chagrin. Woo! The former TOWIE star has flown to the states after her sister Sam, 29, gifted her with the trip, however the ladies and their mum Sue, were left with a sour taste in their mouths after they were scolded by staff for making too much noise Happy days: Sam shared a video of Billie drinking while playing The Black Eyed Peas' 2003 hit Let's Get It Started Ever the professional and as a seasoned traveller, she was sure to emphasise to her 2.1million followers that it was not all the staff who she struggled with. Billie wrote: 'I would like to say a huge thank you to some of the staff at British Airways at the airport... however... since being on the plane someone has complained because me my mum and sister have been laughing... 'Yes laughing... how dare we on our way to New York... anyhow that fun sucker (BA staff) from British Airways told us to keep the noise down. Please honey are we not even aloud to laugh these days??'[sic] Cheers! Once on the plane, Sam looked incredibly happy while raising a glass of white wine to the camera and then posing for a selfie with the birthday girl SURPRISE! Sam however pulled out all the stops for the big three-oh as she dressed up as the Statue Of Liberty to reveal that she was jetting her sister to New York for a getaway Their displeasure was understandable, as it was clear to see that the girls were in utter excitement mode as they posed in matching New York jumpers in the First Class lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5. In a series of videos, the girls were seen cheersing with champagne flutes which appeared to contain Bucks Fizz or a similar fizzy cocktail. Once on the plane, Sam looked incredibly happy while raising a glass of white wine to the camera and then posing for a selfie with the birthday girl. MailOnline has contacted representatives for British Airways for comment. The complaint has eery echoes of the various stories that Billie attracted in March last year when it was alleged her wedding in the Maldives garnered a legion of complaints from fellow holidaymakers on their resort. Here come the girls! Once on the plane, Sam looked incredibly happy while raising a glass of white wine to the camera and then posing for a selfie with the birthday girl Rock on! The ladies insisted their noise levels were at a normal and inoffensive level At the time, Sue hit back at holidaymakers' complaints over wedding guests 'intimidating and raucous' behaviour in the Maldives. Family and friends at the wedding of Billie and long-term love Greg were accused of causing 'carnage' and ruining a holiday of a lifetime. Despite the media storm surrounding the wedding, the entire family - who all star on ITVBe hit The Mummy Diaries - lashed out at complaints. BAGHDAD - Two protesters were killed and over a dozen wounded in central Baghdad on Friday in renewed violence between anti-government demonstrators and Iraqi security forces, activists and officials said. The deaths followed weeks of calm. Riot police fired tear gas and hurled sound bombs to disperse crowds on the strategic Sinak Bridge after protesters attempted to breach cement barriers previously erected by security forces, causing the casualties, activists and medical and security officials said. Two protesters were killed and at least 20 wounded, three activists and a security official said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Fridays violence breaks a period of calm between protesters and security after tensions soared between Tehran and Washington following a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general. Both countries showed signs of de-escalation after Iran retaliated by attacking two military Iraqi bases hosting American troops without causing fatalities. Mass protests engulfed Baghdad and the predominately Shiite southern provinces on Oct. 1, when thousands of Iraqis took to the streets to decry rampant government corruption, scarcity of jobs and poor basic services. At least 500 have died at the hands of security forces who have fired live ammunition, tear gas and sound bombs over the course of the four-month protest movement. Protesters are demanding sweeping reforms, new leadership and snap elections. Since November, protesters have occupied three strategic bridges in Baghdad Sinak, Ahrar and Jumhunriyah leading to or near the fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraqs government, in a standoff with security forces. In an attempt to bring back focus to the goals of the protest movement, anti-government protesters in the southern city of Nasiriyah gave the government a weeks deadline to take serious steps to implement changes. The deadline runs out early next week. The movement has been successful in bringing about key changes, but it remains to be seen whether protesters can keep up the momentum amid regional tensions and political infighting. Pressure from the protests triggered the resignation of now-caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, after Iraqs top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, withdrew support for his government. Political factions have yet to reach a consensus on a new candidate to replace Abdul-Mahdi. In late December, Parliament approved a new election law aimed at giving political independents a better chance of winning seats, a key demand of protesters. Once implemented, the new law would change each of the countrys 18 provinces into several electoral districts, with one legislator elected per 100,000 people. But protest organizers have struggled in recent weeks to bring large crowds to Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the movement, sparking fears the movement might be losing momentum. [January 17, 2020] Breville Introduces the 3X Bluicer Pro -- and a New Beverage Category is Born Breville, a global leader in innovative kitchen appliances, announces the launch of the 3X Bluicer Pro (BJB815; $399.95) and birth of a new beverage category: "Bluicing," mixing fresh juice with fresh blends using the same kitchen appliance. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005376/en/ Up until now consumers have had to choose between a juicer and a blender or buy both. With the 3X Bluicer Pro they can juice and blend more conveniently with one appliance that performs just as well as two individual ones. The 3X Bluicer Pro makes it easy to combine freshly extracted juice into blends, improving the taste of the final beverage and employing more fresh fruits and vegetables - including those at risk of going off - from the produce bin. Building on Breville's award-winning blenders and juicers, the 3X Bluicer Pro has a breakthrough, space-saving design that consists of one base with interchangeable parts: a juicing chute with an attachable pulp bin along with a blending jug that doubles as a carafe for juicing. The 3X Bluicer Pro is available at Williams Sonoma and Breville.com. Breville and SoulCycle Team Up to Support No Kid Hungry Breville and SoulCycle are partnering to raise money for No Kid Hungry, a national campaign working to end childhood hunger in America, as part of Breville's launch of the 3X Bluicer Pro. The partnership will begin in late January 2020 with a five-city tour of dedicated Breville "Bike and Bluice" classes in SoulCycle studios. These classes will include a suite of wellness experiences such as tastings of exclusive recipes for pre- and post-workout and talks from guest experts on the subject of healthy living. These bluice recipes will be created by Breville's network of nutritionist partners as well as SoulCycle's instructor talent such as Jenny Gaither, who stated, "What I love about this partnership is that it underscores SoulCycle's mission to have an impact on people's minds, bodies and souls. While the 3X Bluicer Pro makes it even easier for me to create nutritious post-workout bluices, at the same time, just having access to produce isn't something any of us should take for granted, and so I'm honored to be a part of this campaign with No Kid Hungry and Breville." The campaign will culminate with SoulCycle instructors polling their social media communities about the perfect post-workout bluice. Participants in these activations will be eligible for a sweepstakes to win the ultimate wellness package: a SoulCycle pass for 50 classes, a healthy living kitchen countertop suite of Breville products, and a $500 Williams Sonoma shopping spree. Wellness is, naturally, of importance to both Breville and SoulCycle and both companies are committed to No Kid Hungry, one of the country's most respected and effective campaigns combatting childhood hunger. Speaking on the partnership, No Kid Hungry's Chief Revenue Officer, Jill Davis stated, "At No Kid Hungry, we know the solution to end childhood hunger. We team up with the right partners across the country to make sure all kids get the healthy food they need to thrive." Breville SoulCycle Tour Event Dates: Thursday, January 23rd: New York City, Grand Central Location (more info here) Tuesday, January 28th: Los Angeles, West Hollywood Location (more info here) Thursday, January 30th: San Francisco, Union St. Location (more info here) Tuesday, February 4th: Chicago, West Loop Location (more info here) Thursday, February 6th: Miami, South Beach Location (more info here) The 3X Bluicer Pro's features include: For Blending 5 One Touch Programs: Green Smoothie, Smoothies, Frozen Cocktail, Pulse (News - Alert)/Ice Crush, and Auto Clean Green Smoothie, Smoothies, Frozen Cocktail, Pulse (News - Alert)/Ice Crush, and Auto Clean A Variable Speed Dial with 10 Settings: For smoother and softer textures in everything from nut butters and nut milks to creamy dips and rich sauces For smoother and softer textures in everything from nut butters and nut milks to creamy dips and rich sauces A 1.5 Liter Blender Jug: with a Kinetix contoured blade and bowl system with a Kinetix contoured blade and bowl system Compatibility with the VAC Q: the 3X Bluicer Pro is compatible with the Vac Q vacuum pump (sold separately), which removes air from the jug before blending for brighter colors and smoother textures For Juicing An Extra Large (88 mm) Feed Chute : To accommodate whole fruits and vegetables : To accommodate whole fruits and vegetables Cold Spin Technology: Which allows juice to flow up and through the stainless-steel cutting disc, which is surrounded by an Italian-made mesh filter, to ensure an insignificant temperature increase of less than 1C. Which allows juice to flow up and through the stainless-steel cutting disc, which is surrounded by an Italian-made mesh filter, to ensure an insignificant temperature increase of less than 1C. An Elevated Juicing System: So that the juice goes directly into the 1.5 liter jug So that the juice goes directly into the 1.5 liter jug A Large (3 Liter) Pulp Bin: For continuous juicing About Breville Over the past 80+ years Breville has grown to become an iconic global brand, delivering kitchen products to over 70 countries around the globe. The company goes to market as the Sage Appliances brand in Europe, and as the Breville brand in the rest of the world. Breville has enhanced people's lives through the delivery of brilliant innovation and thoughtful design based on deep consumer insights, empowering people to do things more impressively or easily than they'd thought possible in their own home and ultimately allowing them to Master Every Moment. Breville.com About No Kid Hungry No child should go hungry in America. But 1 in 7 kids will face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005376/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] New Delhi: The Supreme Court has defined the power and duties of a three-member commission headed by a former apex court judge set up to inquire into the alleged encounter killing of the four accused in the gang-rape and murder case of a woman veterinarian in Hyderabad. Fixing the terms of reference for the commission headed by former SC judge V.S. Sirpurkar, the court said the panel would go into the circumstances that led to the death of the four and ascertain if any offence has been committed in the course. A bench of Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant said if any offence appeared to have been committed in the course, the responsibility of erring officials will be fixed. To inquire into the alleged incident resulting in the death of four persons on December 6, 2019 in Hyderabad, namely, Mohammed Arif, Chintakunta Chennake-shavulu, Jolu Shiva and Jollu Naveen, who were arrested in connection with the rape and murder of a young veterinary lady doctor, while they were in the custody of police, the bench said in its first term of reference. In the second term of reference for the commission, the court said it would inquire into the circumstances that led to the death of aforementioned four persons and to ascertain as to whether any offence appears to have been committed in the course. If yes, to fix the responsibility of erring officials. The order of the court was uploaded on the apex court website recently. The top court also fixed the remuneration for the commission. The chairman will be paid `1.5 lakh per sitting and the members `1 lakh, it said. It added that the other directions regarding facilities to be provided to the chairman and the members will be as per the courts order of December 12, 2019, when the court had appointed the panel. The commission, which also included former Bombay High Court judge Rekha Sondur Baldota and ex-CBI director D.R. Karthikeyan, will submit its report to the Supreme Court in six months from the first day of hearing. The court had ordered that the three-member commission will be provided security cover by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The commission shall have all the power under the Commission of Inquiry Act for conducting inquiry. It had said that the panel will sit at Hyderabad and all the expenses including for the secretarial staff would be borne by the Telangana State government. Further, the state will render all assistance required by the commission. Two petitions were filed in the Supreme Court, one by lawyers G.S. Mani and Pradeep Kumar Yadav, and the other by advocate M.L. Sharma, seeking independent investigation against the police officers involved in the encounter killing. The PILs claimed the alleged encounter was fake and an FIR should be lodged against the police officers involved. The Telangana Police had said that the accused were killed in an exchange of fire. The incident had taken place around 6.30 am when the accused were taken to the site of offence for the reconstruction of the scene of crime as part of the investigation. The four accused were shot dead on NH-44, the same highway where the charred body of 27-year-old veterinarian was found. In an effort to try and better predict large earthquakes, a team of researchers from The University of Tokyo and the Japan Coast Guard have developed a new way of monitoring for smaller silent earthquakes below the ocean floor. The teams novel new monitoring technique combines data collected from satellites and coast guard research vessels in a system called Global Navigation Satellite System-Acoustic ranging (GNSS-A). The satellites measure the movements of the ocean surface, while the coast guard ships use an acoustic ranging system that can track deformations on the ocean floor as small as two inches. A team of researchers from the University of Tokyo and the Japan Coast Guard have developed a new system for detecting 'silent earthquakes,' or small tectonic shifts below the Earth's surface that don't produce detectable tremors but could be signs of a future quakes The researchers used the GNSS-A system to analyze data collected between 2006 and 2018 around the Nankai Trough around 30 miles off the coast of southern Japan. They found multiple slow slip occurrences at seven different locations along the trough, measuring from two to three inches. These slips occur when two tectonic plates move against each other without causing any detectable tremors. They are common below the Earths surface, at depths of up to 40 miles. These slips are most common near the Earths core, where tectonic plates and heated by magma and become pliable, causing them to slip against each other without any immediate effect. The relationship between these numerous small slips and major earthquakes remains unclear, but the Tokyo researchers hope their newly collected data will provide resources to help connect the dots. The Nnakai Trough (pictured above) is a large region off the coast of southern Japan, and where the researchers found seven distinct locations where 'silent earthquakes' occurred "Differences in the features between these regions may be related to earthquake history and reflect different friction conditions," the University of Tokyos Dr. Yusuke Yokota told Phys.org. Detailed understanding of these friction conditions and how they relate spatiotemporally to megathrust earthquake events is essential for accurate earthquake simulation. Therefore, studying these newly discovered slow slip events in the Nankai Trough will contribute to earthquake disaster prevention and preparedness. Some have speculated the 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan following an earthquake in the Nankai Trough could have been connected to multiple smaller slips that preceded it. A large earthquake in the Nankai Trough in 2011 generated the tsunami that devastated Japan and triggered the meltdown at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Last year a report from the South China Morning Post tied the discovery of around 20 dead oarfish floating on the ocean surface before the 2011 quake to effects from smaller slips. Oarfish are a long and silvery deep sea fish that typically lives at a depth of around 3,000 feet and are rarely seen at the surface. When pressure builds up between tectonic plates below the seafloor, it can cause an electrostatic charge to be released. One theory has it that small slips release that electrostatic charge, which can kill sea life like the oarfish. Teachers from 17 local schools on Thursday gathered in a Lamar University lab to learn how to use 3-D printers and integrate them into their lesson plans. This is an annual event to support our local teachers, Makerspace Director and Engineering Professor Kelley Bradley told the Enterprise. This year we wanted to use the theme of the makerspace, and see if we can help get more 3-D printers into the classroom, and in particular help make lesson plans that use those 3-D printers. The Lamar makerspace, located in the Science and Technology building, is a 7,700 square foot lab created for student collaboration. While there Thursday, the area educators were given a 3-D printer, courtesy of BASF Total in Port Arthur, to take back to their classrooms. Teachers from Nederland High School worked to create plastic hearts with their initials on them, and said the new printer would help support their growing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) classes. A lot of our STEM courses are actually doubling, Leslie Stegemoller, who teaches science, said. Allie Lee, a Career and Technology Education teacher at Nederland High School, said the school currently has three 3-D printers of a different model, and could start using the new one as soon as this semester. And the training was a good way to get new perspective, said Kristi Powell who directs a makerspace at Marshall Middle School in Beaumont. Todays event is awesome because you can get out of the classroom for a second and get hands-on with the same things that the kids are getting hands-on with, Powell said. Powell said the training was essential for students in such a technologically tumultuous time. It is not just the future, it is today, Powell said. With education we are pulling our kids out of the past, and bringing them into the now. And saying, hey this is here, this is what everybody is doing, so we are catching up really. Tiffany Parker, who is a department chair at Lamar Institute of Technology, said educating teachers on new technologies is the key to readying students for the future. STEM is huge, and we need to promote it more to our students because this is the way technology is going, Parker said. The more we educate our educators, the more knowledgeable they can become for our students. The urgency of learning new skills is elevated, Bradley said, as more jobs become automated each year. In the future it is going to be more and more important to have creative skills than in the past because a lot of the things that a manual laborer would be doing has been replaced by robots, if they havent already been, Bradley said. But it is really about using creativity and combining it with the more fundamental things like math and science. In addition, Bradley said, now is the best time to get involved. The timing thing, it is also kind of an exciting time to be involved, because of all of the technologies that are kind of converging on one another, he said. And the price tag on those technologies continues to drop. Bradley said he was grateful for BASF Total for their generosity. Districts have a wide array of uses for the printers, from artistic projects to visualizing concepts in math. I think I learned some good resources to demonstrate some calculus concepts for my kiddos, Kim Herrera, who teaches math at Silsbee High School, said. It is really great for students to be able to get a look at some of these technologies while they are still in high school Holley Legendre, who teaches a 3-D modeling class at Silsbee High School, said the school has benefited from the use of a 3-D printer. I am enjoying learning the machine better, and using the different types of software, Legendre said. I look forward to teaching the kids how to do stuff like load and unload the filament. Kristian Smith, who teaches integrated physics and chemistry at Port Arthur Memorial, said she wants her students to be as exposed to as many new technologies as possible. Really now everything is technology based, Smith said. We are using a regular paper printer, but we are also starting to use printers where you can touch things, open them up and look at them. In addition, Smith said, she teachers her students about the practical applications of the printers. In the medical field, automotive field, making games and more, the possibilities with 3-D printing are endless, as long as you have the right material, Smith said. As more districts realize the affordability of hands-on tools like 3-D printers, Bradley said, they will be more-likely to embrace the new technology. Christopher Galmore, who teaches physics at Beaumont United, said he would like to see more in his classroom. I would like to get to a place where I could have one for every five students, Galmore said. If I could even get that, and that way the students can work in a team designingit would be just like the lab. Galmore said he has used a 3-D printer to create parts for his lab, and is excited to use the one he received at Thursdays event. I think because a lot of administrators just really dont know about them, because if they could see what it is like, then I think they would think it is worth it, he said. The technology has improved so fast, there isnt a reason not to get one. isaac.windes@hearstnp.com twitter.com/isaacdwindes Its a byword for decadence and glamour and the most famous hotel in the world. Now a new chapter in the exotic history of The Ritz is about to open as it looks likely to fall into foreign hands in an 800million deal. The five star London hotel where rooms start at 445 a night has been owned by the billionaire Barclay brothers, Sir David and Sir Frederick, since 1995. But the twins, now aged 85, hoisted the for-sale sign above the Piccadilly landmark last year. Now a new chapter in the exotic history of The Ritz is about to open as it looks likely to fall into foreign hands in an 800million deal The Mail understands initial offers in the region of 800million are now being assessed. Century of luxury Opened in 1906 by Swiss hotelier Cesar Ritz, the destination had become popular with politicians, socialites and writers by the 1920s Its luxury became so renowned the word Ritz was soon synonymous with grandeur The term was immortalised in the 1930 musical Puttin on the Ritz Patrons included Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and Noel Coward and Jackie Onassis said The Ritz was like paradise. Prince Charles and the Queen have hosted birthday parties there Advertisement A source said: The sales process is under way but were talking weeks not days. A foreign buyer is most likely. It sets the scene for a buyer to be found in the coming weeks possibly before the end of February. The price tag values the Grade II-listed hotel, which features a casino, opulent Palm Court tea room and suites that cost as much as 5,450 a night, at around 6million per room. The Barclay brothers, who own newspaper publisher Telegraph Media Group, paid 75million for the hotel in 1995 but spent 40million restoring it to its former glory. A number of foreign buyers have expressed interest, and it is thought The Ritz will end up being shifted out of British ownership. Although Chinese investors have proved to be keen buyers of trophy buildings in recent years, it is understood they will not end up taking on The Ritz. Capital controls put in place by the Chinese government, which restrict how much its citizens can spend on property overseas, have choked off any hopes of major hotel purchases. Sir David Barclay and his twin brother Sir Frederick (right) posing after receiving their knighthoods from the Queen at Buckingham Palace Instead, potential buyers include sovereign wealth funds, the Qatari royal family and other rich Middle Eastern families. The Ritz is one of the few big-name London hotels to still remain with British owners. The Dorchester is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, an arm of the government of the tiny Asian nation and the Grosvenor House Hotel is backed by the Qatari Investment Authority. In 2015, the Qataris bought out the Barclay familys controlling stake in Maybourne Hotel Group, the company behind Claridges, the Berkeley and the Connaught. A spokesman for the Barclay brothers declined to comment. Thousands of lives are potentially at risk because half of NHS hospitals are running low of specialist stroke doctors, experts warn. Stroke caused by a block of blood flow to the brain, normally through a blood clot is the fourth biggest killer in the UK. But stroke consultant positions are at a 'worryingly low level', a scathing report from a leading charity has warned. The Stroke Association said Britain is 'hurtling' towards a major stroke crisis, unless the NHS can recruit specialist medics. A lack of specialists on the ward means decisions may not be made quickly enough. Brain scans must be assessed by stroke consultants who also decide what urgent care is needed. Data analysed by the charity shows there is a large variation in access to the services that stroke patients need across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Ninety-three per cent of NHS hospitals do not employ enough clinical psychologists to support patients following their traumatic ordeal. Three quarters of stroke survivors battle depression, anxiety, lack of confidence or mood swings, charities say. Thousands of lives are potentially at risk because nearly half of NHS hospitals are running low of specialist stroke consultants (stock photo) Stroke Association chief executive Juliet Bouverie said: 'Unless these workforce issues are urgently addressed, we are hurtling our way to a major stroke crisis in the next few years. 'The lack of senior doctors and also of trainees to fill these gaps is worsening and is a ticking time-bomb for an already stretched health service. 'The stroke skills gap threatens the sustainability of many services and puts increased pressure on local hospitals. 'There are over 100,000 strokes every year in the UK and this is estimated to rise to 150,000 over the next five years which will increase the pressure on stroke wards further.' HOW DID EACH REGION COMPARE? The data looked at 169 hospitals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 81 of which had at least one stroke consultant vacancy. The number of hospitals that had a vacancy is as follows: London: 8/22 hospitals East Midlands: 6/7 hospitals East of England: 6/15 hospitals West Midlands: 8/15 hospitals Greater Manchester and Eastern Cheshire: 3/9 hospitals North West Coast: 8/13 hospitals North of England: 6/12 hospitals Yorkshire and the Humber: 7/14 hospitals South East: 10/15 hospitals South West: 7/14 hospitals Thames Valley: 1/5 hospitals Wessex: 4/7 hospitals Wales: 2/12 hospitals Northern Ireland: 5/8 hospitals Islands: 0/1 hospitals Advertisement The charity highlighted the new findings from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programmes (SSNAP) Acute Organisational Audit Report. According to these figures, 48 per cent of all hospitals - 81 of 169 hospitals - have had vacant stroke consultant posts unfilled for at least one year. It's an increase on the 40 per cent in 2016 and 26 per cent in 2014. Data suggests there is a similar outlook in Scotland, the BBC reports. In London, eight of 22 trusts had at least one vacant position. Almost every trust in East Midlands seven out of eight had a vacancy. Half of hospitals in North of England, Yorkshire and Humber, South West, Wessex and Northern Ireland reported at least one unfilled position. 'Gaping holes' in staffing levels of experienced stroke professionals may jeopardize the recovery of patients, the Stroke Association says. Effective treatment of stroke as soon as possible can prevent long-term disability and save lives. Specialist doctors are needed to look over brain scans and implement the best treatment as soon as possible to prevent death and lasting muscle weakness, paralysis, stiffness, or changes in sensation. Ms Bouverie said: 'It really matters. Time loss is brain loss.' Stroke does not just have the potential to affect cognitive function, but the trauma and suddenness of a stroke can also be really difficult to deal with. One in six people have suicidal thoughts after their stroke, research by the charity has previously found. Psychological support is vital for those that need it straight after a stroke as well as during recoveries - but only seven per cent of hospitals are reaching recommended staffing levels. Overall, just 16 per cent of hospitals achieved seven out of ten criteria, which include the presence of a stroke specialist and enough nurses at weekends. Ms Bouverie said: 'Stroke happens in the brain, the control centre for who we are and what we can do, which is why it is vital that hospitals have the right amount of the right staff ready to support both the mental health and physical effects your stroke can have on you. 'We are deeply concerned by the rate at which highly qualified stroke doctors are leaving the profession and the slow uptake of stroke medicine by new doctors. 'The highest standards of stroke treatment and rehabilitation must be available to all. The progress in stroke treatment and care over the past 10 years run the risk of being wasted without experienced doctors to deliver world class stroke services.' Professor Tom Robinson, outgoing president of the British Association of Stroke Physicians, said: 'We must urgently address the lack of professional stroke staff to ensure that patients have access to the best treatment as quickly as possible.' WHAT IS A STROKE AND HOW IS IT CAUSED BY A BLOOD CLOT? There are two kinds of stroke. Ischemic stroke - which accounts for 80 percent of strokes - occurs when there is a blockage in a blood vessel. Its caused by a blockage in an artery that supplies blood and oxygen to the brain, leading to damage or death of brain cells. If circulation isnt restored quickly, brain damage can be permanent. A blood clot blocks the artery, or fatty buildup called plaque. This blockage can appear at the neck or in the skull but start in the heart and travel through arteries. Haemorrhagic stroke, which is more rare, occurs when a blood vessel bursts, flooding part of the brain with too much blood while depriving other areas of adequate blood supply. It can be the result of an AVM, or arteriovenous malformation (an abnormal cluster of blood vessels), in the brain. RISK FACTORS Age, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, family history, and history of a previous stroke or TIA are all risk factors for having a stroke. SYMPTOMS OF A STROKE Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding Sudden trouble seeing or blurred vision in one or both eyes Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination Sudden severe headache with no known cause OUTCOMES Of the roughly three out of four people who survive a stroke, many will have life-long disabilities. This includes difficulty walking, communicating, eating, and completing everyday tasks or chores. Advertisement In November 2018, New Mexicans overwhelmingly expressed their support for a constitutional amendment to create a long-overdue, independent state ethics commission. During the ensuing legislative session, lawmakers stepped up and passed legislation that detailed the jurisdictional responsibilities, powers and duties of the new commission, which the governor then signed into law. Since July 1, 2019, seven commissioners have been appointed, and an executive director and two additional staff have been hired. The commissioners and staff have been working diligently to prepare for the substantive work that now begins in the new year. Rules governing the commissions procedures have been adopted, office space has been secured on the University of New Mexico campus, and the commissions website is operational. It can be found at www.sec.state.nm.us. As the ethics commission begins its work, it is important to remember that its mission is to receive, investigate and adjudicate complaints filed against public officials, public employees, candidates, government contractors, lobbyists and lobbyists employers. In other words, the commission will have enforcement and advisory responsibility for approximately 59,000 individuals. Equally important, the commission will issue advisory opinions on potentially gray areas of ethics laws, prepare a model code of conduct for state agencies, conduct ethics training, and develop recommendations for amendments to existing ethics laws for the consideration of the Legislature and governor. The workload is considerable, and the commission will certainly need appropriate staffing levels and resources. Which brings us to some good news and bad news. Last week, the executive and legislative budget recommendations for fiscal 2021 July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021 were released. The executive recommendation is the good news: It fully funds the commissions request for fiscal 2021 at $1,244,000 and includes a $385,000 supplemental appropriation requested by the commission for the current fiscal year. The bad news: the legislative recommendation funds the commission for fiscal 2021 at $945,000 and does not include any supplemental funding for the current fiscal year. The supplemental funding will allow the commission to hire needed staff and establish contracts with investigators, hearing officers and trainers. Without supplemental funding, the newly established ethics commission will be crippled during its initial year of operation and is exposed to not being able to do its core job. We hope thats not the Legislatures intent. There is nothing that would erode public trust more than official support of this popular commission but behind-the-scenes efforts to water down the implementation of its important mission a mission endorsed by the 75% of voters in 2018 to enshrine the commission in the N.M. Constitution. If properly funded and staffed, the commission will effectively enforce ethics laws and raise the level of professionalism in state government operations. Additionally, the supplemental funding will also help in proactive outreach and training, which is more focused on helping people comply with the law, not just investigations. Please urge legislators, especially those who serve on the House and Senate Finance Committees, to do the right thing and adopt the executive budget recommendations for the ethics commission. Debris and rubble are seen at the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq on Jan. 13, 2020. (John Davison/Reuters) 11 Troops Injured in Jan. 8 Missile Attack in Iraq: Pentagon The United States treated 11 of its troops for symptoms of concussion after an Iranian missile attack earlier this month that hit an Iraqi base where U.S. forces were stationed, the U.S. military said on Thursday. While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attacks on Al Asad airbase, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed, Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement cited by Reuters. Iran on Jan. 8 fired a barrage of missiles at Al Asad Air Base in Anbar province and Erbil in the Kurdish autonomous region, both of which host American forces, in an apparent response to the recent killing of Irans top military general Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3 in Baghdad, via a U.S. drone strike that was ordered by President Donald Trump. What appears to be new damage at Al Asad airbase in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture taken on Jan. 8, 2020. (Planet/Handout via Reuters) Out of an abundance of caution, some service members were transported from Al Asad Air Base, Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, others were sent to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, for follow-on screening, said Col. Myles Caggins, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, Defense One reported. When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening. The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority, and we will not discuss any individuals medical status, he added. Initial media reports suggested that Iran calibrated its attack to cause minimal harm to American troops. Some Iranian officials also said the missile attack wasnt intended to kill anyone. However, in a press conference later on Jan. 8, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said he believed the attack was intended to kill U.S. personnel and cause significant damage at the Al Asad Air Base. U.S. soldiers and journalists inspect the rubble at a site of Iranian bombing, in Ain al-Asad airbase, Anbar, Iraq on Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. (Qassim Abdul-Zahra/AP) The points of impact were close enough to personnel and equipment that I believe, based on what I saw and what I know, is that they were intended to cause structural damage, destroy vehicles and equipment and aircraft, and to kill personnel. Thats my own personal assessment, Milley said. Trump said in a televised address on Jan. 8 that [n]o American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken, the dispersal of forces, and an early warning system that worked very well. I salute the incredible skill and courage of Americas men and women in uniform. President Donald Trump speaks from the White House in Washington, on Jan. 8, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Trump also said that no U.S. service members were injured or killed. CNN reports that a military official explained that the discrepancy was because troops developed symptoms days after the attack. That was the commanders assessment at the time. Symptoms emerged days after the fact, and they were treated out of an abundance of caution, the official told the news outlet. Soleimani was the commander of the elite Quds Force unit within Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The IRGC is tasked with Irans extra-territorial military operations, including activities to expand Iranian influence in Syria and rocket attacks on Israel. The United States designated the IRGC as a terrorist group in April 2019. Irans Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani attends a meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Revolutionary Guard commanders in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 18, 2016. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) The Pentagon said in a statement on Jan. 2 that Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region, and that he and the Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more. Reuters contributed to this report. Two St. Bernard Parish jail guards, including one who shot himself during the middle of his 2018 trial, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges in connection with an inmates death, just before the case was set for a second trial. Nearly six years after 19-year-old Nimali Henry died alone in a St. Bernard jail cell because she wasnt given medication for a rare blood condition, Andre Dominick and Lisa Vaccarella pleaded guilty to charges that could see them sentenced to years in prison. Dominick, a captain at the jail, pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights under the color of law, for failing to secure Henry needed medical treatment. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison at a June 10 sentencing. Vaccarella, a deputy, pleaded guilty to two lesser charges: misprision of a felony essentially knowing about a serious crime and failing to report it and lying to the FBI when she claimed she didn't know Henry needed help. She faces up to eight years in prison at an April 29 hearing. Both had been set to go to trial for the second time starting Tuesday. Their pleas essentially wrap up a federal case that took several twists and turns during the years it was before U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle. Henrys April 1, 2014, death in jail set off a federal investigation that uncovered widespread indifference from guards to her disorder, known as TTP, according to prosecutors. A total of four jail employees were charged in a December 2015 indictment. One pleaded guilty in 2018, admitting that he did nothing to help Henry during her dying days. Federal prosecutors attempted to put the remaining three defendants on trial in November 2018. But that proceeding was abruptly halted after Dominick shot himself in the torso. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The details revealed during the trial were nonetheless disturbing. Witnesses said that for 10 days after she was arrested on relatively minor charges, Henry told fellow inmates and guards that she needed medicine in order to live. But even after an incident in which Henry struggled to breathe and collapsed on her bunk rooms floor, nobody brought her the medicine or called an ambulance. Instead, guards put her in an isolation cell, where she died of a blood clot. Prosecutors said that Dominick, as the jails medical officer, had a special obligation to secure her treatment. A social worker testified at the 2018 trial that she warned Dominick about the condition six days before Henrys death. Dominick shot himself hours after the jails former medical director, a friend of his, testified that there was no reason Henry should have died in jail. The apparent suicide attempt prompted Lemelle to revoke Dominicks bond and order his incarceration at the Plaquemines Parish jail. Another jail guard, Debra Becnel, pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to the FBI. She faces up to five years in prison at an April 22 sentencing. Since he shot himself, Dominick has been in poor health, according to court filings. But the exact nature of his ailments has not been publicly detailed. Lemelle sealed a court hearing on Tuesday at which attorneys discussed Dominicks health. Pale and thin, Dominick appeared in court Thursday in a wheelchair with a large medical device on his left leg. He said he was on insulin as well as antibiotics for a "massive infection." NEW HAVEN Enola Aird will lead a conversation on Racial Healing, Injustice and Reconciliation, immediately following the 11 a.m. 19 at St. Lukes Episcopal Church, 111 Whalley Avenue, New Haven. All are invited to attend and participate in this meaningful conversation. Aird is a lawyer, activist mother, and founder and president of Community Healing Network, Inc., launched in 2006 from St. Lukes Episcopal Church in New Haven. CHN is the only organization focused exclusively on building the global grassroots movement for emotional emancipation to help black people heal from, and end, the trauma caused by the centuries-old lie of white superiority and black inferiority: the root cause of the worldwide devaluing of black lives, members said in a statement. Under Airds leadership, CHN has put into place key initiatives to build the movement for emotional emancipation, including Community Healing Days, celebrated annually on the third weekend of every October, to put time for healing at the top of the global black communitys agenda; Emotional Emancipation Circles, support groups to help black people heal from historical and continuing trauma; Valuing Black Lives: The Annual Global Emotional Emancipation Summit, which brings together black leaders from around the world to develop and carry out action plans; and the 2018-20 Global Truth Campaign and Tour, to sound the alarm about the pressing need for emotional healing in the black community. A former corporate lawyer, Aird has worked at the Childrens Defense Fund, leading its violence prevention program and serving as acting director of its Black Community Crusade for Children; is a past chair of the Connecticut Commission on Children; and was a visiting scholar at the Judge Baker Childrens Center at Harvard. Aird, who was born in the Republic of Panama of Caribbean heritage, attributes her passion and commitment to the movement for emotional emancipation to stories passed down in her family about her great-grandfather Samuel Alleyne, who was a loyal follower of the Pan-Africanist Marcus Mosiah Garvey. RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/enola-aird-carter-speaks-on-racial-healing-injustice-and-reconciliation-tickets-88162162401 Bible Study And The New Testament NORTH BRANFORD Residents are invited to exploreThe New Testament at the at North Branford Congregational Church. Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the chapel of our church. For information, email Jennifer at bellmad1@aol.com Church offers ongoing workshops NORTH BRANFORD All are invited to attend continuing community workshops every Thursday from 4 - 6 p.m. at Northford Congregational Church, 4 Old Post Road, Northford. The workshops provide projects that help the less fortunate. During the past year, church members have helped vulnerable children, the homeless, families of service members, senior citizens, school children and others. Guests can drop in for part of the time or come for the full two hours. The workshops are ongoing. To reach the church, call 203-484-0795. Kof C holding series on Catholicism NORTH HAVEN The Father James F. Donaher Council #3733 of the North Haven Knights of Columbus has organized a speaker series to strengthen our knowledge of the Catholic faith and to make each of us more natural evangelizers, according to a release. The Joy of Service: Natural Evangelization Through our Lives will be held Feb. 20. Refreshments and social time to follow. The event is free and open to the public. No reservations are necessary. For information, call Grand Knight Paul Caiafa at 203-671-2942. Congregation BNai Jacob schedules events WOODBRIDGE Congregation Bnai Jacob, 75 Rimmon Road, Woodbridge, announces the following: Monday evenings, 7:30-9:30. Rabbi Shapiro teaches Pirket Avot, Ethics of the Fathers Weekday minyan services at 7:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. Jan 24, 6 p.m. Shabbat Schmooze. 6:30 p.m. Shabbat evening service. Jan. 25, 9 a.m. Shir Hadash service followed by Torah service at 10:15 a.m. Feb 1, 5:30 p.m. PJ Havdalah service. Come in pajamas, all ages. Service with music, stories, cookies and hot cocoa. Feb 2, 10 a.m. Gavriela Gavi Reiter will speak on Tu BShevat and Criminal Justice. For information, visit https://www.bnaijacob.org/ or call 203-389-2111. Community workshops are ongoing NORTH BRANFORD All are invited to continuing community workshops every Thursday from 3 - 5 p.m. (new time) to work on projects that help the less fortunate, at the Northford Congregational Church, 4 Old Post Road, Routes 22/17. During the last year, members say they have helped vulnerable children, the homeless, families of service members, senior citizens, school children and others. The workshops are ongoing. For information, call the church at 203-484-0795 or find them on Facebook. Beth Israel Synagogue schedules events WALLINGFORD Beth Israel Synagogue, 22 N. Orchard St., Wallingford, announces the following activities and services. Go to www.bethisraelwallingford.org for more information. Saturdays, 9:45 a.m., Bagels, Lox & Torah Study with Rabbi Bruce Alpert. Open to the community. Temple Beth David schedules events CHESHIRE Temple Beth David, 3 Main St., Cheshire, announces the following events and programs. Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Micah every Thursday at noon in the TBD social hall. Bring your own lunch. Weekday minyan services at 7:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. Youth Shabbat Service: First Friday for youth, 6:30 p.m. Shabbat service: First Friday, 7 p.m. In this musical Shabbat experience, sing through much of the service. Services are participatory, spiritual, and fun. Torah study: Join Rabbi Micah and a group of adults for Torah Study on Saturdays beginning at 8:45 a.m. and enjoy coffee, bagels, and a discussion about the weekly parsha. Details, go to www.tbdcheshire.org Church collecting used clothing NORTHFORD St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 1382 Middletown Avenue, Northford, has teamed up with St. Pauly Textile Inc., to collect used clothing. The company works with non-profit organizations like St. Andrews Episcopal, to set up used clothing dropoff sheds designed to give community members a clean, attractive, and well-monitored place to donate gently used textile items, which are then distributedin the U.S. and worldwide to people who need them. St. Andrews Episcopal Church receives funding for clothing collected, and additionally has the option to use any of this clothing to serve local community needs. St. Pauly Textile, Inc. collects more than 120,000 pounds of clothing every day and estimates that this clothing ends up in 44 different countries, including the United States, yearly. All of the usable clothing is worn by someone, somewhere in the world. In 2017, the company was able to help keep over 20 million articles of clothing out of landfills. The company was founded 22 years ago in Rochester, NY and is an A+ rated member of the Better Business Bureau. Accepted items include clothing, shoes, sneakers, belts, purses, blankets, sheets, drapes, linens, pillowcases and stuffed animals. Donors are asked to donate items in a plastic bag to protect against dirt and the elements. There is a small box on the shed that contains receipts to help donors take a tax deduction. For information, call Nan Monde, Sr. Warden, St. Andrews, at 203-710-7005 Lay ministry training available WALLINGFORD Masonicare Health Center, 22 Masonic Ave., seeks volunteers for its Lay Training in geriatric ministry. Open to people of all faiths, the program has been teaching basic ministry skills to volunteers nearly 20 years. Volunteers assist the chaplains with worship services, including vespers; programs that allow elders to explore and express their spirituality and faith through art, sacred circle dance and music; hymn singing; chanting and drumming; as well one-to one pastoral visits. Other opportunities include transporting seniors to religious activities and instrumental accompaniment at worship services, vespers and hymn sings. For more details, contact Chaplain Thayer Quoos at 203-679-6259 or tquoos@masonicare.org. For more about Masonicare: www.masonicare.org or 888-679-9997. Discussion series for people 60-plus OLD SAYBROOK The New Adventures Team of St. Paul Lutheran Church, 56 Great Hammock Road, is sponsoring a new adventures series geared to people 60-plus. Attendees dont need to be church members. RSVP to Charlotte Schlesselman at 520-560-0183 or chars1961@gmail.com. For more information, call St. Paul Church at 860-388-2398. Worship services scheduled OLD SAYBROOK First Church of Christ Congregational, 366 Main St., is offering the following: Early Bird worship, 8-8:30 a.m. in the Fireside Room, offers a more casual service with prayer, reflection, quiet music and communion. Soul Service, 9-9:30 a.m. in the sanctuary, offers a variety of music, centered around rhythm & blues and jazz, with time for prayer and Scripture message, all underscored by a live band. Faith Exploration for All, 9:40-10:20 a.m., with church school for pre-K-Grade 8, and workshops for adults and teens, including Bible study, spiritual practices, such as meditation and praying, and faith and health workshops. Traditional worship, 10:30-11:30 a.m. in the sanctuary, offers music, including the First Church Choir, singing, times for prayer and silent meditation, Scripture readings, a sermon, and an opportunity for giving. Nursery care is available 9:30-11:30 a.m. for ages infant to 3 years. For more information, contact 860-388-3008 or www.firstchurchsaybrook.org. Resting in God prayer groups MADISON Resting in God, Two Centering Prayer Groups is held 6-7 p.m. Wednesdays and 9:30-11 a.m. Saturdays at Mercy by the Sea, 167 Neck Road. Centering prayer is a method of entering silence in order to be still and know God. Free-will donation is accepted. For more information and to register, contact Claire at crusowicz@mercybythesea.org or 203-245-0401. Introduction to Judaism, Hebrew HAMDEN Congregation Mishkan Israel, 785 Ridge Road, has two adult education classes that are open to the community. Rabbi Herbert Brockman teaches the introduction to Judaism class, which is on the basics of the Jewish tradition, its history, theology and observances, surrounding the life-cycle of a Jew and the yearly festivals. The class is held Sundays 10-11 a.m. Rabbi Steve Steinberg is teaching introduction to Hebrew, which can be taken alone or in concert with Brockmans class. It meets Sundays 11 a.m.-noon. RSVP: Sarah at 203-288-3877 or slegassey@cmihamden.org. Mosque opens doors to visitors MERIDEN Baitul Aman House of Peace Mosque, 410 Main St., holds Coffee, Cake, & Conversation at 8 p.m. Fridays. Information: www.TrueIslam.com, www.alislam.org, zahir.mannan@ahmadiyya.us, @zahirmannan, facebook.com/zahir.mannan.7, MuslimWritersGuild. ASL interpreter attends services MILFORD Once a month, Sunday worship services at United Church of Christ, 30 Ormond St., Devon, include an American Sign Language interpreter. A grant for the interpreter was provided by the CT Concerned Citizens for People with Disabilities. For more information, call 203-878-4685. Free dropoff program is for ages 3, 4 years WOODBRIDGE Congregation Bnai Jacob, 75 Rimmon Road, offers Gan Hayeled 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sundays. The free drop-off program for ages 3 and 4 will run every Sunday that religious school is in session. Call Bnai Jacob at 203-389-2111 for details. Meditation program slated in area GUILFORD Meditation in Daily Life is offered 3-4 p.m. Sundays at Shoreline Center For Wholistic Health, 35 Boston St. No. 2. Classes are $12 each. No one turned away for lack of funds, according to a center press release. Contact meditationinconnecticut.org, info@odiyana.org or 860-266-6041. All-ages choir rehearses in loft MILFORD The Choir of St. Marys is holding rehearsals in the choir loft. The all-ages choir is open to all the members of Precious Blood Parish. It sings at the 10 a.m. Sunday Mass, and for special services all year. There is no audition. Learn more at www.preciousbloodparishmilford.org/music/. Alex Wong/Getty Time to bring back bell-bottom jeans and Disco Inferno: the Equal Rights Amendment, which passed Congress in 1972 and became a feminist cause celebre in the 1970s and 1980s, has just been ratified by 38 states, making it part of the Constitution. Maybe. On Wednesday, the Commonwealth of Virginia ratified the ERA as both houses of the state legislature approved the amendment by comfortable margins. Democratic Governor Ralph Northam also backs the measure. The ERA states, simply, that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. But that ratification may not be valid, and, as a consequence, Republicans and Democrats will spend years fighting it out in Congress and the courts. This, ultimately, will be good for Democrats, because Republicans seem determined to die on a hill fighting against it. That may have played well in the 1970s and 1980s, but its just not a good look in the post-#MeToo 2020s. To begin, its not clear that the ERA is still open to being ratified at all. Congress placed time limits on ratification in both 1972 and 1977, and the latter one expired in 1982. Womens rights advocates argue that because the time limit was in the amendments preamble, rather than its text, it doesnt count. But theres no precedent for that position, and its hard to see the current Supreme Court, in particular, invalidating a clear deadline set by Congress simply because it was set in one paragraph and not another. Advocates also are asking Congress to formally remove the deadline, but its hard to see Mitch McConnells Senate doing any such thing. Its also not clear that Congress can remove a deadline 38 years after it expired. For its part, the Trump administrations Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued an opinion on January 6 holding that the ratification period has expired and the deadline cannot be removed now. Although not formally binding, that opinion will almost certainly become the position of the government as a whole, including the National Archives and Records Administration, which formally has the responsibility for certifying the amendment or not. Story continues For now, anyway, the ERA is not part of the Constitution. But Democrats are ready to fight. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said last week that I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that the will of Virginians is carried out and the ERA is added to our Constitution, as it should be. Why? A combination of principle and politics. While the battles over the ERA are a relic of the last days of disco or, if you like, the Jazz Age, given that the ERA was first proposed back in 1923 the general principle that men and women should be treated equally under law is as valid in 2020 as it was in 1977. American women need the ERA now more than ever, Virginia Kase, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States, said in a statement following the amendments ratification. Legally speaking, its not clear that thats the case. In the absence of the ERA, the Supreme Court has already read sex (and gender) into the Equal Protection Clause of the constitution. Believe it or not, the only legal effect of the ERA may be to change the Courts standard of review in sex discrimination cases. That is rather thin sauce. Some advocates have suggested that the ERA could provide a basis for protecting abortion rights. As Stephanie Russell-Kraft wrote in these pages, Womens equality necessarily requires reproductive and bodily autonomy, and without control over our bodies, women cannot participate as full and equal citizens in this country. That is a compelling argument in principle, but its hard to see a literal-minded Supreme Court reading it into a constitutional amendment that doesnt mention abortion at all. After all, if Congress wanted to protect abortion, it could have done so in the text of the ERA, which was passed shortly before Roe v. Wade was decided. In terms of text and intent, the argument seems tenuous at best. So if the ERA wont have much practical impact, why fight so hard for it? Easy: its a symbol, and symbols matter. As Herring said on NPR last month, the fact that it's almost 2020 and there are still states that are trying to block women's equality from being a part of the U.S. Constitution is repugnant. Thats true regardless of what the ERA would or wouldnt do. Now as in the 1970s, the fight is about whether womens equality is enshrined in the text of the Constitution, along with the right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and other rights that our country regards as fundamental. Moreover, this is a fight that Democrats will win. In the 1970s, fights over the ERA, together with those over desegregation, religion, and abortion, helped create the modern Christian Right. Phyllis Schlafly and other conservative firebrands made it the context for fighting against changing gender roles and social mores. Egads, Schlafly exclaimed, if the ERA passes, women may not be entitled to their own single-gender restrooms! Goodbye to Phyllis Schlafly, the Equal Rights-Hating, Trump-Loving Culture Warrior How far the Christian Right has come. Just last year, as three states sought to rescind their earlier ratification of the ERA, conservatives argued that it could force schools to let transgender people use gender-appropriate bathrooms. What is it about conservatives and bathrooms, anyway? Factually speaking, restroom scaremongering is, and was, poppycock. Womens restrooms dont violate the ERA, and transgender women arent male sexual predators. Anyway, the text of the ERA mentions sex, not gender. But Schlaflys larger point that social mores about sex and gender are changing was accurate, then and now. What drove thousands of conservative women to clutch their pocketbooks in protest wasnt some arcane claim about bathrooms. It was their fear that traditional gender roles were shifting. Well, guess what: they have shifted. The glass ceiling, the gender pay gap, and sexual harassment are still very much facts of life. But as #MeToo has shown, clear majorities of Americans do not think the kind of workplace behavior commonplace in Schlaflys day is acceptable anymore. Republican as well as Democratic women have run for president. Republicans are deeply misguided if they think they can fight 1980s battles today. The notion that women should not have equal legal rights as men is about as contemporary as a Boomers old pair of bell-bottoms. 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. One hundred years ago today, a ban on making and selling alcoholic drinks in the United States went into effect. The law, passed by Congress, became the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution on January 17, 1920. This constitutional ban on alcohol lasted until 1933. It is a period known as Prohibition. But now, Americans are drinking more alcohol than when Prohibition became the law of the land. In fact, the rate has been rising for 20 years. That information is based on federal health records. Those statistics confirm a rise in the amount of alcohol being consumed per person nationwide. They also show increases in emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths tied to drinking. Not all the news is bad, however. Drinking among American teenagers is down. And there are signs that many people are taking alcohol seriously. For example, some are following the Dry January movement, deciding to not drink any alcohol during the month of January. But overall, public health experts say the U.S. population has a drinking problem. Consumption has been going up. Harms (from alcohol) have been going up, said Tim Naimi, a doctor and alcohol researcher at Boston University. And theres not been a policy response to match it. Alcohol consumption rates In 1934, one year after Prohibition ended, alcohol consumption was less than four liters a year per person. It has been up and down since then. The highest point was in the 1970s and 1980s. That is when U.S. alcohol consumption was over 10 liters per person. Rates went down during the 1980s, with growing attention to deaths from drunken driving. In addition, Congress passed a law raising the drinking age to 21. But rates began climbing in the 1990s. Studies have linked extreme drinking to liver cancer, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. Drinking by pregnant women can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects. And health officials say alcohol is partly to blame for as many as one-third of serious falls among older adults. It is also a risk to others when people drive drunk or are involved in violence fueled by drinking. And research suggests that more than half of the alcohol sold in the United States is consumed during times of binge drinking. That is when people consume many alcoholic drinks in a short period of time. More than 88,000 Americans die each year from too much drinking. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that number is higher than the opioid-related deaths reported in the current drug overdose crisis. Alcohol-related deaths This month, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism released a separate study on alcohol-related deaths. Researchers examined death certificates documents that list cause of death from over 20 years to search for links to alcohol. The numbers were lower, at a little under 73,000, in 2017. The researchers said death certificates can be incomplete, and their number is likely lower than the real number. Other researchers said the more important finding was that the number of alcohol-related deaths had doubled since 1999 and the death rate had risen 50 percent. Aaron White was the studys lead researcher. He said some or much of that increase may be related to the increasingly deadly drugs used in the opioid epidemic. This is because many people drink while taking drugs. Men make up about three-fourths of alcohol-related deaths. But drinking among women especially binge drinking has been a major driver of the increases in alcohol statistics. Whites study found that the female death rate jumped 85 percent, while the male rate rose about half that. The highest alcohol-related death rates for women were among those ages 55 to 74, the study found. But increases were also noted in younger women. Other research has found that binge drinking is increasing most among women. Im Bryan Lynn. And Im Anne Ball. The Associated Press reported this story. Anne Ball adapted the story for VOA Learning English. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story alcoholic adj. of, containing or caused by alcohol per preposition. for each consume v. to eat or drink something overall adv. with everyone or everything included statistic - n.a number that represents a piece of information (such as information about how often something is done, how common something is, etc.) response - n. something that is said or written as an answer to something teenager - n. someone who is between 13 and 19 years old match v. to go well with someone or something stillbirth n. the birth of a dead baby defect n. a problem or fault that makes something or someone not perfect opioid n. a chemical drug that had addictive properties and physical effects Vietnamese cities continued to be popular among local travelers in 2019, with local destinations taking up nine out of the top ten cities in 2019, according to Agoda. A tourist site in HCM City. According to 2019 booking data from Agoda, Vietnam and Thailand remained as the top destination countries for local travelers, for the second year in a row. This is followed by Japan, which has replaced Singapore as the third most popular destination. Vietnamese cities are also by far the most popular among travelers, including Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Da Nang, Da Lat, Vung Tau, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Phan Thiet and Phu Quoc Island. The only international destination to make the cut is Bangkok, which appears in seventh place. Meanwhile, Japan and Thailand continued to win hearts as the top Asian countries to visit for travelers across the globe. Among European countries, France took the crown, nudging the United Kingdom and Italy into second and third place for the year. Bangkok, Paris and Las Vegas were the top destination cities in Asia, Europe and North America respectively for the last 12 months. Bangkok and Las Vegas held on to their crowns as top destinations in their regions as compared to last year, while Paris replaced London as the most popular destination in Europe. Le Ha [January 17, 2020] Exquadrum-Dynetics Team Successfully Test Full-Scale OpFires Rocket ADELANTO, Calif., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Exquadrum, Inc. of Adelanto, California, successfully completed the hot-fire test of the revolutionary new rocket being developed to accomplish the DARPA Operational Fires (OpFires) advanced tactical weapon system mission objectives. The technology maturation event (TME) test demonstrated Exquadrum's innovative rocket propulsion system at full-scale at Exquadrum's rocket test facility at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, CA. This test is the culmination of the Phase 1 portion of the $15.1M prime contract, which was awarded to Exquadrum in September 2018. The team of Exquadrum and Dynetics, of Huntsville, Alabama, are working jointly to develop the second stage of the OpFires weapon system. Exquadrum has been awarded the Phase 2 option on the contract, which will develop and demonstrate a flight-weight stage in preparation for a flight test program. The overall program aims to develop and demonstrate a novel ground-launched system for hypersonic boost glide weapons to penetrate modern enemy air deenses and rapidly and precisely engage critical time sensitive targets. "DARPA challenged Exquadrum to take our innovative propulsion technology from a pre-proposal feasibility test all the way to a full-scale demonstration in one year and Exquadrum, along with our partner, Dynetics, achieved that goal!" said Kevin Mahaffy, Chief Executive Officer of Exquadrum. "The Exquadrum-Dynetics team is now building on the demonstrated success of the TME rocket test as we evolve the technology to a flight-weight design." "For the past year, our engineers have worked diligently to design and test the booster system and meet the hot-fire test's objectives. This test shows our ability to collaborate with Exquadrum and execute efficiently on a program that is essential to our nation's defense. We are looking ahead to our next milestone and successfully providing the necessary information for crucial weapon systems," said Andy Crocker, Dynetics Director of Strategy for Space. Phase 1 has demonstrated the team's critical technologies over 12 months and included a Preliminary Design Review, culminating in the system-level hot-fire TME test of the propulsion system. The award of the Phase 2 option, will mature the propulsion system and the booster design over an additional 12 months, highlighted by a Critical Design Review and flight-weight system demonstrations. Both companies have previously supported DARPA on technology advancement projects. Exquadrum was also a prime on the Force Application and Launch from Continental U.S. (FALCON) program. Dynetics was selected as the final performer for Gremlins, an aerial launch and recovery of low-cost, reusable unmanned aerial systems (UAS) demonstration program. Additionally, Dynetics is a prime contractor for the Mobile Force Protection program. ABOUT EXQUADRUM Exquadrum's company name means "outside the box" indicating its "thinking outside the box" approach to innovation. Exquadrum specializes in highly innovative technology development, with an emphasis in rocket-based systems. The company conducts design, analysis, manufacturing, assembly, and testing of advanced and emerging munitions, propulsion, and power systems. Additional information about Exquadrum can be obtained by visiting the company's website at www.exquadrum.com. ABOUT DYNETICS Dynetics provides responsive, cost-effective engineering, scientific, and IT solutions to the national security, cybersecurity, space, and critical infrastructure sectors. Our portfolio features highly specialized technical services and a range of software and hardware products, including components, subsystems, and complex end-to-end systems. The company of 2,500 employee/owners is based in Huntsville, Ala., and has offices throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.dynetics.com. Distribution Statement "A" (Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited) -DISTAR Case #32231 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exquadrum-dynetics-team-successfully-test-full-scale-opfires-rocket-300988710.html SOURCE Exquadrum, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] PIERRE | Ten tribal leaders came together in Fort Pierre on Thursday to talk about the challenges they face on their reservations. In an odd way, it was Gov. Kristi Noem that brought them together. The Great Sioux Nation Tribal Address brought more than 60 people to the Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place in Fort Pierre to hear tribal leaders who vented their frustrations about topics as wide ranging as federal treaties, infrastructure and the meth epidemic. No one seemed to recall a similar meeting of tribal leaders. They started talking among themselves when it was announced that Secretary of Tribal Relations Dave Flute was to be the speaker for the annual State of the Tribes address. The speech has traditionally been given by one of South Dakotas tribal leaders. We were given a common cause, said Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Chairman Lester Thompson Jr., who earlier in the day had given the State of the Tribes Address to a joint session of the Legislature. We wouldnt let another entity speak on our behalf. A recurring theme for many of the speakers was the riot boosting laws passed by the Legislature last year and ultimately blocked by a federal judge. Thompson was critical of those laws in his speech to the Legislature. Another version of the law will be considered in this years legislative session. Thompson said hes looked at the new bill and doesnt like it. There is very little change in wording compared to last time, Thompson said. If an unacceptable law is approved, tribes will fight back, according to Rosebud Sioux Tribal President Rodney Bordeaux. If its a violation of our civil rights, were going to stand up, Bordeaux said. Julian Bear Runner, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said hes had no communication from the governors office or the state of South Dakota. When there is communication, you end up with empty words and broken promises, Bear Runner said. Tribal leaders were united in their opposition to a proposed oil pipeline. Its going to destroy our way of life, our future, said Harold Frazier, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Some tribes have issued states of emergency on their reservations due to the methamphetamine epidemic and human trafficking. The Lower Brule tribe has issued states of emergency for both. Ive seen too many missing persons posters, said Boyd Gourneau, chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. It tugs at my heart. The meeting was attended by a few legislators as well as Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg. Our problems with meth are also your problems attorney general, said Donovan White, chairman of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, who asked for the states help with funding treatment centers and long-term aftercare. We have these small treatment centers and theres a waiting list, White said. Another common theme was the need for more unity among the tribes. Motioning to his fellow leaders, Bear Runner said, Look what happens when we come together. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Pulaski Skyway will be closed in both directions for much of Saturday for pier replacement work and structural steel repairs, state Department of Transportation (DOT) officials announced Friday. DOT officials are urging motorists to use the NJ Turnpike-Hudson County Extension to destinations that include the Holland Tunnel, I-78, or to I-280/Route 7 and Route 1&9 Truck southbound during the closure. All other motorists will be directed to Route 1&9 Truck in both directions. The closure and detours will commence at 11 p.m. Friday and last until 6 p.m. Saturday, as contractors jack the Skyway in two locations. In one location, temporary supports will be installed on the east side of Central Avenue in Kearny to allow for the replacement of the existing bridge pier. The temporary supports will be in place for approximately four months. At the second location, a contractor will be jacking the Skyway to continue the ongoing replacement of the structural steel rocker bents over Broadway and Halleck streets at Route 1&9 Truck in Jersey City. If work is completed early, the Skyway will reopen sooner. Heavy congestion and delays are expected at Tonnelle Circle. Northbound closure and detour The northbound closure will begin past Newark Liberty International Airport with the Route 1&9 express lanes being closed and all traffic directed onto the local lanes. Traffic will follow Route 1&9 Truck northbound to the intersection of Route 7 and Route 1&9 Truck in Jersey City. Northbound motorists heading to Hoboken, Jersey City or New York City also may use the New Jersey Turnpike-Hudson County Extension. Southbound closure and detour The southbound closure will begin south of the Tonnelle Circle, with the ramp from the Tonnelle Circle to the Skyway closed. Traffic coming from Route 139 will be directed to the off ramp to I-280/Route 7 and Route 1&9 southbound. Traffic on Route 1&9 south heading toward Tonnele Circle is encouraged to stay right and use the ramp to Route 1&9 Truck. Southbound detour (toward Newark): Leaving the Holland Tunnel, motorists will have the following options: Stay to the far right and take the NJ Turnpike-Hudson County Extension to all destinations west and south, including I-78. This is the recommended option. Stay to the left and follow signs for Route 139 West, then stay left to Route 1&9 Truck southbound towards Newark, Route 7 and I-280. Local traffic for Jersey City: Stay to the middle to take Route 139 Upper Roadway and follow signs to Kennedy Boulevard/Jersey City, to best access many local Jersey City locations and other points north (Secaucus). The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOTs traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info or on the NJDOT Facebook page. Tributes have been paid to a student who died in a stabbing incident in Cork. Cameron Blair, a 20-year-old Cork Institute of Technology student, was fatally injured at a house on the Bandon Road on Thursday night. The second year student from Ballinascarty in west Cork was brought to Cork University Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. It is understood the incident happened during a house party in the popular student area. Statement from our President Dan Murphy on the tragic passing of much loved club member Cameron Blair RIP Cameron pic.twitter.com/EsEfjvVVi2 Bandon Rugby (@bandonrfc) January 17, 2020 The student, who is survived by his parents and younger brother, was a member of Bandon Rugby Club and was due to play a match for the second team on Friday night. Club president Dan Murphy said Mr Blair left an indelible mark on all he met. Such a tragedy will be felt far and wide but will be felt really deeply within our club where Cameron was a very popular member and current player, he said. Camerons boyish smile and joy of life left a real indelible mark on anyone he met or any team he played on. He played as he spoke, full of confidence and was a delight to see running at full tilt with a rugby ball. Our thoughts, prayer and deepest sympathies are with the Blair and Donnelly families and Camerons close friends at this extremely difficult time. Mr Blair, a former pupil at Bandon Grammar School, was a member of the local Church of Ireland diocese. Death in Cork of Cameron Blair ~ Statement I have made this morning https://t.co/an4DKlbfgG via @CofIrelandCork paul colton (@DrPaulColton) January 17, 2020 Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, Dr Paul Colton, who presided at his confirmation in 2013, expressed his sympathies. Having had student children myself, I know well that a calamity such as this on a night out is every parents worst nightmare, he said. My heart goes out to the Blair family, especially Camerons parents Noel and Cathy, and his brother Alan; as well as to Camerons wide circle of friends and peers, and indeed everyone who has been traumatised by what happened on the Bandon Road last night. I know everyone in Cork and further afield is terribly shocked by Camerons death. On behalf of everyone living in this part of Cork, and on behalf of us all in the Church of Ireland community in Cork, Cloyne and Ross I send them our sincerest condolences. Dr Barry OConnor, President Cork Institute of Technology, said: The entire CIT community is in shock at the untimely death of one of our students and in such dreadful circumstances. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the family and friends of the deceased who was a valued member of our CIT community. While our second semester lectures have not yet commenced, counselling and other necessary supports will be put in place by CIT for his classmates and his fellow students here in the Institute. We are also working in close cooperation with our CIT Students Union to help students cope with this terrible tragedy. I am confident that our UCC (University College Cork) colleagues will also be putting supports in place for their students who are also traumatised by this fatality. Gardai have urged any witnesses or anyone with information about the incident to come forward. They asked anyone with video footage to bring it to gardai and not to share it on social media. Climate change activists have ended a 13-hour protest at the entrance to the headquarters of oil giant Shell in Aberdeen. Extinction Rebellion Scotland members gathered at the premises in Altens at 6.30am on Thursday. The group said about 30 activists stood at the three entrances, with some of the protesters locked together. They blocked a road with XR Scotlands big purple boat, named Amal Gous. Extinction Rebellion Scotland said they shut the building down to disrupt business and hold Shell to account for its role in the climate crisis. That's it for #RigRebellion2 10 days of action directly targeting the fossil fuel industry. We've scaled a gas rig, blocked petrol stations, held rallies, picketed offices of investment firm and @Shell_UKLtd itself. We're just getting started. See you in Glasgow for #COP26 pic.twitter.com/TJHPtfrb4A Extinction Rebellion Scotland (@ScotlandXr) January 16, 2020 Police said they were called to the scene at about 6.45am on Thursday, while the activists said there were no arrests and the protest finished at about 7.30pm. An XR Scotland spokesman said: Todays successful protest marked the final day of ten days of action focused on the fossil fuel industry, and in particular Shells role in driving the climate crisis. Thirty activists spent 13 hours blockading the entrances to Shell HQ all day, sending a message that we wont take their wilful avoidance in the face of the climate emergency any more. In Aberdeen, the oil capital of Europe, we must put workers and communities first not big business profits. Story continues However, in the face of wildfires across Australia and devastating flooding in Indonesia, Shell are stubbornly increasing their output of fossil fuels by 35%. They do not value our futures. Todays protest is just the beginning, we will continue to take action until governments and industry respond sensibly and appropriately to the dire warnings of 11,000 scientists, David Attenborough and Mark Carney, the outgoing head of the Bank of England. Anything other than a rapid winding down of the fossil fuel industry is irresponsible and reckless. One of the protesters, who gave his name as Paul, 43, from Aberdeenshire, said: If the whole world reaches zero carbon emissions by 2030, we only have a 75% chance of staying below (an increase of) 2C. These are terrible odds and by committing to continued production decades into the future, Shell is literally destroying our future. The more successful fossil fuel companies like Shell are, the worse our future is going to be. We have to stop them carrying on as if their product does no harm. The purple boat bears the words The Future You Fear Is Already Here, a reminder that catastrophic climate change is already under way across the planet. The activists took a purple boat named Amal Gous to the scene (Extinction Rebellion Scotland/PA) The action is part of Rig Rebellion 2.0, a two-week campaign by Extinction Rebellion Scotland targeting the fossil fuel industry and the institutions which support it. A Shell spokesman said: The heightened awareness of climate change that we have seen over recent months is a good thing. As a company, we agree that urgent action is needed. What will really accelerate change is effective policy, investment in technology innovation and deployment, and changing customer behaviour. As we move to a lower-carbon future, we are committed to playing our part, by addressing our own emissions and helping customers to reduce theirs because we all have a role to play. Police said officers were at the scene of a peaceful protest outside the Shell premises. Chief Inspector Davie Howieson, local area commander for Aberdeen South, said: The road was blocked from around 6.45am on Thursday January 16 and road users are advised to avoid the area for the time being. We are liaising with both Shell and the protest organisers, Extinction Rebellion. Chandigarh: Shortly after the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution by voice vote against the controversial Citizenship Act or CAA, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday said his government like Kerala will approach the Supreme Court on the issue. He said the Centre will have to make the necessary amendments to the CAA if it has to be implemented in Punjab and other states opposing the legislation. "Like Kerala, our government will also approach the Supreme Court on the issue," Singh told reporters in an informal chat outside the state Assembly. In response to a question, the chief minister made it clear that the Census 2021 will be conducted on the old parameters in Punjab. The new factors added by the Centre for the purpose of the National Population Register (NPR) will not be included, he added. The Punjab Assembly passed the resolution by voice vote against the CAA, the second state after Kerala to do so. The resolution moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra was passed after over three hours of discussion. BJP Ally Akali Dal Demands Inclusion Of Muslims In CAA While the ruling Congress and the main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supported the resolution, the BJP opposed it. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) sought inclusion of Muslims in the list of communities that could be granted citizenship under the amended law. The CAA provides for granting citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014, from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It excludes members of the Muslim community. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The UIA plane crash near Tehran on January 8 should not be used as a tool for political gain, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi has stated. "The tragic incident of a UIA plane crash should not be used as a tool in service of political gains and gestures," Mousavi said on Friday, January 17, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. In reaction to a meeting among foreign ministers of the five countries whose nationals were among the victims of the recent air crash near Tehran, the spokesman urged all parties to let the affairs proceed in due normal process till the completion of the investigations. He said that certain statements made about the tragic incident and even the holding of the meeting were astonishing. "To soothe the pain of the bereaved families, the Islamic Republic of Iran had very swift and extraordinary cooperation with the dispatched delegations," he said. As reported, a Ukraine International Airlines plane (flight PS752), en route from Tehran to Kyiv, crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport at about 06:00 Tehran time (04:30 Kyiv time) on Wednesday, January 8. There were 176 people on board the aircraft. All of them died. The crash killed 11 Ukrainians (two passengers and all nine crew), 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, ten Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons. On January 11, Iran admitted that its military had accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accepted full responsibility for the downing of a Ukrainian airliner. ish St. Elizabeth Hospital on Thursday became the first location in the Christus Health System to add armed officers, which were commissioned during a ceremony at the Beaumont facility. Now we have really transformed our security force through education, training and equipment, said Paul Trevino, Christus Southeast Texas Health System President and CEO. We want to provide the highest level of security service possible for our health system. We want to make sure we have appropriately trained individuals to deal with all of the emerging issues that are happening all across the country such as sex trafficking and the rise of psychological patients Roy Alston, Vice President of Security for Christus Health, said he chose the Beaumont location as the first for armed officers after surveying all of the campuses. As I was doing an assessment of the state of our security, I quickly realized Beaumont was a good environment to start change, Alston said. They were willing and talented and open to the ideas. The ideas were very well received here. I thought it would be a great idea to start. Alston said arming officers with 9mm handguns was a pro-active approach. Nothing happened in a Christus facility, he said. We recognize that there are challenges throughout the United States. We wanted to make sure our officers are trained and capable to handle any opportunity that may occur in our facility, whether it is helping someone out of their car or addressing any threat in our facility. Alston said officers will be required to go to target practice one a month and certify twice a year to carry their weapon. The VP of security also said officers trained using virtual reality to simulate potential threats in the facility. The hospital does not exist in a vacuum, he said. It exist in a society. Sometimes the things that plague our society spill over into our hospitals. We have taught our officers to recognize when someone is being sex trafficked. Weve taught them to recognize behavior that could escalate into a violent encounter. We also train them to recognize when gang activity is taking place in our facility. We want them to respond appropriately and weve given them the tools and training to do that. Along with the firearms, officers will receive bullet-proof vests and vehicles to help patrol the campus. They focus on preventing things from happening, Alston said. They have had a lot of training in deescalation and intervention. We have used some very innovative tools for deescalation. Some of these officers have had input on our virtual reality program that will be rolled out system wide. Alston said the facility has a total of 15 officers, eight of which were commissioned Thursday, with seven currently going through the training process. Trevino said the Corpus Christi facility will be the next to upgrade their security, with all Christus campuses expected to add armed officers in the near future. The Christus Health System includes more than 600 centers in the U.S., Mexico and South America, according to their website. chris.moore@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/chris_moore09 Fine Gael party leadership had to intervene to quell a candidate selection row in Cork South-West. A party meeting drew a line under a debate between two candidates wanting a spot on the ticket after Jim Dalys retirement. Mr Daly announced last September that he would not run again, leaving Senator Tim Lombard as the sole candidate. In December, councillor and Skibbereen native Karen Coakley was added to the ticket in Cork South-West by the Fine Gael executive council. However, this prompted outrage from some members in the Clonakilty branch of Fine Gael, who had backed Noel ODonovan, a former councillor who resigned his seat on Cork County Council in December 2016 to join An Garda Siochana. That frustration boiled over in recent weeks, resulting in more than 500 party members signing a petition calling for Mr ODonovan to be added to the ticket. The row escalated to the point that Ms Coakley told The Southern Star that she felt she had been bullied in an attempt to make her withdraw her name. Its as if they are hoping I will cave in and withdraw my name, but I am not going to be bullied. I am going to stand up to them, she said. It prompted Paschal Donohoe, Fine Gaels director of elections, to intervene. He told members that no additional candidates will be added. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Lombard would not be drawn on the row, but said Ms Coakley was selected by the Taoiseach and it is important for the party to move forward and focus on securing two seats in the competitive three-seater. They will be vying with Michael Collins (Independent) and Margaret Murphy-OMahony (Fianna Fail), both of whom will be keen to retain their seats. Also running are Mairead Ruane (Aontu) and councillors Christopher OSullivan (Fianna Fail), Paul Hayes (Sinn Fein), and Holly Cairns (Social Democrats). The Bombay High Court on Friday refused to grant interim relief from arrest to suspended Maharashtra deputy inspector general of police Nishikant More, who is accused of molesting a minor girl. More approached the HC on Friday after the Panvel sessions court rejected his anticipatory bail application. Justice Prakash Naik refused to grant any relief to More and directed the police to bring video punchnama of girl's mobile on the next hearing on Tuesday. More's counsel argued that all the allegations were baseless and the complaint was made because of financial dispute between two families. More claimed the girl, who had written a suicide note, had actually fled with her boyfriend and both of them have been taken into custody by police. The state told HC it had already taken cognisance of the matter and has suspended More. According to Navi Mumbai police, the 17-year-old girl was molested at home in Taloja during her birthday celebration in June last year, though a case against More was registered only on December 26. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kate Moss is celebrating her 46th birthday in style by taking a family trip to Paris. The supermodel hit the Champs-Elysees alongside her lookalike daughter Lila Grace, 17, on Friday, paying a visit to Zara and some of the designer boutiques on the adjacent Avenue Montaigne. The stylish star was looking lovely as ever in a black and leopard print jacket, exuding rock 'n' roll chic. Holiday: Kate Moss is celebrating her 46th birthday in style by taking a family trip to Paris, stepping out with her lookalike daughter Lila Grace, 17, on Friday The veteran model jazzed up her outfit with a silk leopard print shirt and a classic Chanel bag. Kate completed her look with a pair of skinny jeans and knee-high leather boots, adding a pair of round Illesteva shades. Lila was casually clad in a hot pink tie-dye hoodie and baggy jeans. The teen, who is following in her mum's footsteps by launching a modelling career, layered up with a zip up jacket. Timeless: The veteran model jazzed up her outfit with a silk leopard print shirt and a classic Chanel bag Glamorous: The stylish star was looking lovely as ever in a black and leopard print jacket, exuding rock 'n' roll chic Cool: Kate completed her look with a pair of skinny jeans and knee-high leather boots, adding a pair of round shades The duo have been joined on the getaway by Kate's boyfriend Count Nikolai von Bismarck, 33. They later arrived at L'Avenue restaurant for a late lunch following a busy morning visiting the shops enjoyed a dinner at Brasserie Lipp in the evening. Meanwhile, a host of friends paid tribute to Kate as her birthday got underway, among them her best friend Sadie Frost. Runs in the family: Fellow model Lila was casually clad in a hot pink tie-dye hoodie and baggy jeans Dining in style: They later arrived at L'Avenue restaurant for a late lunch following a busy morning visiting the shops Joining in on the fun: The duo have been accompanied on the getaway by Kate's boyfriend Count Nikolai von Bismarck, 33 Frost, whose association with Kate dates back to the '90s and the notorious Primrose Hill set, shared a throwback snap from their glory days on the party circuit as she wished her all the best. The actress also shared a second photo of the pair pictured together on an outdoor patio table covered with tea cups. Captioning the images, she wrote: 'Happy birthday Kate.. whether its been hanging out in wonderful places like Berlin. 'Or peaceful sunny days with the kids in the countryside drinking tea .. its all been so much fun .. I have so many wonderful memories - have a beautiful day ..' Radiant: Kate looked incredible after celebrating her 46th birthday on Thursday Hand-in-hand: Lila and Kate showed how close they are, putting on a united front To Read The Full Magazine Story Log In Subscribe Subscriptions to read premium magazine articles start at less than $.35 per week If you already have a subscription please request digital access here For many, Belgrade's Jewish community is defined by the tragedy of the Holocaust. But as a new movement devoted to changing the narrative grows, the citys Jews are discovering the joys of a vibrant, sustainable Jewish experience. RAMEZ Group, a retail major in the GCC and Asia, has expanded its presence in Bahrain by opening its latest hypermarket in Juffair, yesterday. The new hypermarket, also RAMEZ Groups seventh in the Kingdom and 42nd in the region, was officially inaugurated in the presence of Ramez Al Awadi Chairman of RAMEZ Group, ministers, ambassadors, businessmen and other dignitaries. Located in Halat Bu Maher at the heart of the historic city of Muharraq, the sprawling 5,000 sq. ft. new hypermarket consists of two floors with a 250 sq. ft. car parking space for more than 220 vehicles. We are highly grateful to HH Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Deputy PM of Bahrain, for opening our 7th RAMEZ hypermarket in the Kingdom, which reflects the wise vision of Bahrains leadership and the permanent support of the government for the national investments and Bahraini projects, Al Awadi added. All Bahraini staff We are committed to train and deploy more young talented Bahrainis in all our branches and outlets, and we are proud to announce that RAMEZ Halat Bu Maher branch employees are all Bahrainis, Al Awadi pointed out. Al Awadi asserted his steady confidence in the bright future of Bahrain and said he is looking forward to enhancing their local presence with its upcoming Janabiya branch. Commenting, Mohammed Ramez Al Awadi, CEO of RAMEZ Group, said: RAMEZ Group is working hard to be the leading player in retail markets, providing high-quality products and commodities with reasonable prices that suit all consumers. We are also committed to propping up the national economy, via pumping up more investments, and creating more high profile jobs for Bahrainis. Wicklow County Council has warned former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Sean FitzPatrick that he is unlikely to receive planning permission for his new home if he cannot address the council's "privacy" concerns over the plan. The planning ultimatum forms part of a three-page letter from the local authority to Mr FitzPatrick and his wife Catriona putting their house plan for Farm Lane, Greystones on hold. The council has requested a raft of further information on the proposal after a next door neighbour expressed privacy concerns. The authority has told the Fitzpatricks that it is concerned that due to the design of the proposed home, "it has the potential to result in new and significant overlooking of adjoining properties". The council has pointed to the proposed homes extensive glazing at first floor level, the inclusion of first floor terraces and proximity to site boundaries. It has asked the FitzPatricks to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the council that the development will not have a significant impact on the residential amenities and privacy of adjoining properties. The council has warned the Fitzpatricks "the planning authority is unlikely to recommend that planning permission for this development be granted unless it is satisfied that the proposed development would not have a negative impact on the amenities of adjoining properties". The council has asked the Fitzpatricks "to ensure that your response to this item of the further information request is detailed and unambiguous and that any potential for overlooking is adequately addressed". Ukraine has asked Canada, France, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Iran to assign experts to assist in the investigation of the January 8 crash of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS0752 near Tehran that killed all 176 people aboard. The Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office said late on January 16 that the request was sent as a follow-up to agreements reached in London earlier in the day at a meeting of foreign ministers of the countries whose citizens were killed in the air crash. The statement came as Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said that his country, as well as Afghanistan, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Ukraine are demanding that Tehran pay compensation to families of the victims of the crash. In a statement from the meeting in London, the group of countries said that Iran should hold a "thorough, independent, and transparent international investigation open to grieving nations." The UIA Boeing 737-800 crashed several minutes after taking off from Tehrans primary international airport. Iranian authorities initially denied any responsibility, but three days after the tragedy the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps admitted the plane was shot down "unintentionally." Putin's Russia Is Not the Soviet Union Reborn Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, it's time the foreign policy establishment learned the difference. By Ted Galen Carpenter January 16, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - The American public and U.S. policymakers both have an unfortunate tendency to conflate Russia with the Soviet Union. That habit emerged again with the media and political reaction to the Helsinki summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trumps critics accused him of appeasing Putin and even of committing treason for not doing enough to defend American interests and for being far too solicitous to the Russian leader. They regarded that as an unforgivable offense because Russia supposedly poses a dire threat to the United States. Hostile pundits and politicians charged that Moscows alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. elections constituted an attack on America akin to Pearl Harbor and 9-11. Trumps supplicant behavior, opponents contended, stood in shameful contrast to the behavior of previous presidents toward tyrants, especially toward the Kremlins threats to America and the West. They trotted out Ronald Reagans evil empire speech and his later demand that Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall as examples of how Trump should have acted. The problem with citing such examples is that they applied to a different country: the Soviet Union. Too many Americans act as though there is no meaningful difference between that entity and Russia. Worse still, U.S. leaders have embraced the same kind of uncompromising, hostile policies that Washington pursued to contain Soviet power. It is a major blunder that has increasingly poisoned relations with Moscow since the demise of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) at the end of 1991. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter One obvious difference between the Soviet Union and Russia is that the Soviet governing elite embraced Marxism-Leninism and its objective of world revolution. Todays Russia is not a messianic power. Its economic system is a rather mundane variety of corrupt crony capitalism, not rigid state socialism. The political system is a conservative autocracy with aspects of a rigged democracy, not a one-party dictatorship that brooks no dissent whatsoever. Russia is hardly a Western-style democracy, but neither is it a continuation of the Soviet Unions horrifically brutal totalitarianism. Indeed, the countrys political and social philosophy is quite different from that of its predecessor. For example, the Orthodox Church had no meaningful influence during the Soviet erasomething that was unsurprising, given communisms official policy of atheism. But today, the Orthodox Church has a considerable influence in Putins Russia, especially on social issues. The bottom line is that Russia is a conventional, somewhat conservative, power, whereas the Soviet Union was a messianic, totalitarian power. Thats a rather large and significant difference, and U.S. policy needs to reflect that realization. An equally crucial difference is that the Soviet Union was a global power (and, for a time, arguably a superpower) with global ambitions and capabilities to match. It controlled an empire in Eastern Europe and cultivated allies and clients around the world, including in such far-flung places as Cuba, Vietnam, and Angola. The USSR also intensely contested the United States for influence in all of those areas. Conversely, Russia is merely a regional power with very limited extra-regional reach. The Kremlins ambitions are focused heavily on the near abroad, aimed at trying to block the eastward creep of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the U.S.-led intrusion into Russias core security zone. The orientation seems far more defensive than offensive. It would be difficult for Russia to execute anything more than a very geographically limited expansionist agenda, even if it has one. The Soviet Union was the worlds number two economic power, second only to the United States. Russia has an economy roughly the size of Canadas and is no longer ranked even in the global top ten. It also has only three-quarters of the Soviet Unions territory (much of which is nearly-empty Siberia) and barely half the population of the old USSR. If that were not enough, that population is shrinking and is afflicted with an assortment of public health problems (especially rampant alcoholism). All of these factors should make it evident that Russia is not a credible rival, much less an existential threat, to the United States and its democratic system. Russia's power is a pale shadow of the Soviet Union's. The only undiminished source of clout is the country's sizeable nuclear arsenal. But while nuclear weapons are the ultimate deterrent, they are not very useful for power projection or warfighting, unless the political leadership wants to risk national suicide. And there is no evidence whatsoever that Putin and his oligarch backers are suicidal. Quite the contrary, they seem wedded to accumulating ever greater wealth and perks. Finally, Russias security interests actually overlap substantially with Americasmost notably regarding the desire to combat radical Islamic terrorism. If U.S. leaders did not insist on pursuing provocative policies, such as expanding NATO to Russias border, undermining longtime Russian clients in the Balkans (Serbia) and the Middle East (Syria), and excluding Russia from key international economic institutions such as the G-7, there would be relatively few occasions when vital American and Russian interests collide. A fundamental shift in U.S. policy is needed, but that requires a major change in America's national psychology. For more than four decades, Americans saw (and were told to regard) the Soviet Union as a mortal threat to the nation's security and its most cherished values of freedom and democracy. Unfortunately, a mental reset did not take place when the USSR dissolved, and a quasi-democratic Russia emerged as one of the successor states. Too many Americans (including political leaders and policymakers) act as though they are still confronting the Soviet Union. It will be the ultimate tragic irony if, having avoided war with a totalitarian global adversary, America now stumbles into war because of an out-of-date image of, and policy toward, a conventional, declining regional power. Yet unless U.S. leaders change both their mindsets and their policies toward Russia, that outcome is a very real possibility. Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute and a contributing editor at the National Interest, is the author of 10 books, the contributing editor of 10 books, and the author of more than 700 articles on international affairs. This piece was originally featured in July 2018 and is being republished due to reader's interest. This article was originally published by "The National Interest" - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== Court Rules That Ethnic Kazakh Will Not Be Deported To China By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service January 16, 2020 ZHARKENT, Kazakhstan -- A court in Kazakhstan has ruled that an ethnic-Kazakh man from China's northwestern region of Xinjiang who is on trial for illegally crossing the border will not be deported to China. The court in the southeastern town of Zharkent announced its decision in the high-profile case on January 16. Judge Dinara Quiqabaeva handed a six-month sentence in a labor camp to Tilek Tabarikuly for illegally entering the country, but allowed him to stay in Kazakhstan as his parents are naturalized Kazakh citizens. The judge added that each day Tabarikuly spent in pretrial detention since October counts for two days in a labor camp, which makes him eligible to be released in less than two weeks. Tabarikuly testified at his trial that he obtained a residence permit in Kazakhstan in 2016 and went to Xinjiang the following year for education-related purposes, but was stuck there as Chinese authorities confiscated his travel documents. According to Tabarikuly, he fled China even though it meant illegally crossing the border because he feared he would be treated harshly by Chinese authorities and because his parents were waiting for him in Kazakhstan. He also asked the court not to send him back to China. In August 2018, the United Nations said an estimated 1 million Uyghurs and members of other mostly Muslim indigenous ethnic groups in Xinjiang were being held in "counterextremism centers." The UN said millions more had been forced into reeducation camps. China denies that the facilities are internment camps. Those conditions have prompted many ethnic Kazakhs from Xinjiang to cross the border illegally in fear of staying in China. In December, the same court in Zharkent handed a suspended six-month prison sentence for illegal border-crossing to a Kazakh woman from Xinjiang, Qaisha Aqan, and allowed her to stay in Kazakhstan. Aqan testified at her trial she had to cross illegally into Kazakhstan in May 2018 because local authorities in Xinjiang threatened to place her in an internment camp for Xinjiang's indigenous ethnic groups. Two other ethnic-Kazakh men, Murager Alimuly and Qaster Musakhanuly, are currently on trial in the remote eastern Kazakh town of Zaisan for illegal border crossing. The two say they fled Xinjiang fearing that they would be placed in so-called "reeducation camps" like many other representatives of Xinjiang's indigenous peoples. Also in August 2018, a Kazakh court refused to extradite Sairagul Sauytbay, an ethnic Kazakh Chinese citizen who was wanted in China for illegal border crossing. Sauytbay fled China in April and testified that thousands of ethnic Kazakhs, Uyghurs, and other Muslims in Xinjiang were undergoing "political indoctrination" at a network of "reeducation camps." She added that Chinese authorities had forced her to train "political ideology" instructors for such reeducation camps. This, Sauytbay said, gave her access to secret documents about what she called a state program to "reeducate" Muslims from indigenous ethnic communities. Although she was not extradited to China, Kazakh authorities did not allow Sauytbay to remain in Kazakhstan. She eventually was granted asylum in Sweden. Kazakhs are the second-largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. The region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans. Han, China's largest ethnicity, are the second-largest community in Xinjiang. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/court-rules -that-ethnic-kazakh-will-not-be- deported-to-china/30381495.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 Sen. Bernie Sanders tops Democratic voters' preferences nationally, as a new poll shows he's statistically tied with frontrunner Joe Biden. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday has Sanders at 20 percent support, while Biden is at 19 percent. Sanders is trying to shake off an awkward hot mic moment with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who's in third place with 12 per cent support in the Reuters/Ipsos poll. Politico reported Friday that Sanders' campaign was passing out talking points that said, 'Please refrain from commenting on the CNN story on the meeting between Bernie and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.' 'Goal: Take the high road,' the document said. Sen. Bernie Sanders (right) topped a national poll Thursday. His campaign told supporters to 'take the high ride' when discussing his Des Moines debate spat with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (left), that billionaire 2020 hopeful Tom Steyer (center) got caught in the middle of The Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Sen. Bernie Sanders statistically tied with former Vice President Joe Biden (pictured), who was originally considered to be the frontrunner of the 2020 Democratic race The CNN story in question was the one in which sources said that Sanders had told Warren in a December 2018 private meeting that he didn't believe a woman could win. Both senators were mulling entering the presidential race and both eventually did. The story became central in Tuesday night's debate in Des Moines, Iowa, with Sanders denying he made the comment. 'Well, as a matter of fact, I didn't say it,' Sanders said. 'And I don't want to waste a whole lot of time on this, because this is what Donald Trump and maybe some of the media want.' 'Anybody knows me knows that it's incomprehensible that I would think that a woman cannot be president of the United States,' he said. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, is seen campaigning for Sen. Bernie Sanders Friday, as early voting commenced in her state Sanders reminded the audience that he had pushed Warren to run in 2016 when there was a 'draft Warren' movement. He also pointed out that Hillary Clinton had beat President Trump by three million votes in the last election, winning the popular vote. 'And let me be clear. If any of the women on this stage or any of the men on this stage win the nomination - I hope that's not the case, I hope it's me - but if they do, I will do everything in my power to make sure that they are elected in order to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of our country,' Sanders pledged. When asked by CNN's Abby Phillip what she thought 'when Senator Sanders told you a woman could not win the election' - cueing laughs - Warren said she 'disagreed.' Warren went on to give her strongest line of the night. 'look at the men on this stage, collectively they have lost 10 elections,' the Massachusetts senator pointed out. 'The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they've been in are the women.' Warren went from that soaring rhetoric to confronting Sanders after the debate concluded. 'I think you called me a liar on a national TV,' Warren said on hot mic to Sanders, with another 2020 hopeful Tom Steyer awkwardly standing between them. 'You called me a liar,' Sanders responded, and then said they shouldn't have the conversation while still onstage. So far, the Sanders-Warren tiff hasn't moved polls in a noteworthy way. Besides Biden, the Reuters/Ipsos poll shows the two progressive candidates as the only ones who get double-digit support from Democratic voters across the country. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who didn't enter the race until November, but is using his billions for non-stop ads, was supported by 9 per cent of respondents. Another 6 per cent said they supported former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. The Festive brand of bread which had attracted public concerns for having formalin has been declared fit for human consumption. Media reports had indicated the bread is prepared using traces of formalin, a chemical used to preserve dead bodies. READ ALSO: Video capturing MP Babu Owino shooting DJ emerges Festive bread in supermarket shelves. Photo: Festive bread Source: Facebook READ ALSO: I will not quit as deputy president despite humiliation - William Ruto However, an analysis commissioned by the Nairobi City county government and done by Silala Ngala, a public analyst, declared the bread free from the dangerous chemical. A sample of the Brown Premix bread production was taken for analysis on January 7, 2020 and no formalin was detected. I Silala Ngala, a public analyst appointed under the provision of the Food, Drugs and Chemical Substance Act, hereby certify that the seal on the sample of Brown Premix for BP received by me on January 7 was unbroken .I am of the opinion that the sample does not contain formalin hence fit for human consumption," he assured. Wilson Langat, the Deputy Director for Public Health in Nairobi county, confirmed receipt of the report from the national laboratory. Langat called on the public not to shy away from reporting any complaint on food they felt was not good for human consumption. "If they have any issue or complaint they should report so that we verify if it's fit for human consumption or not," he said. The complaint was raised by one netizen identified as Teetoller @Lillkoima who claimed he had kept the Festive bread brand for over a month without it showing signs of decaying. When complaints were raised about the bread, the company issued a statement refuting the use of preservatives. We would like to state that first, DPL Festive Ltd source ingredients for baking our bread that are vetted and approved by KEBS (the countrys standards regulator), the company said in a statement. The DPL Festive is one of the leading bakeries in Kenya and has been operating for the last 20 years. Source: TUKO.co.ke Yaffa draws on Soviet and czarist history and literature to describe the persistence of a national archetype the wily man, as a leading sociologist puts it shaped by the need to survive through adaptation to a repressive system. The book glosses over some of the fundamental reforms of the 1990s, which ended when Putin came to power. But the calculus of compromise Yaffa describes enables him to get to the heart of how the current regime has returned Russia to its traditional political culture. In the end, Yaffa writes, for the logic of compromise to work, both parties have to hold up their end of the bargain. However, as the Putin system becomes ever more authoritarian, the cost of wiliness goes up ever more, and its benefits become less and less. PRAVDA HA HA True Travels to the End of Europe By Rory MacLean 343 pp. Bloomsbury. $27. Three decades after journeying across the crumbling Soviet bloc in heady 1989, the year the Berlin Wall came down, the travel writer MacLean retraces his route in reverse to explore whats behind the nationalist sentiment driving the resurgence of authoritarianism across the continent. Wending his way west from Russia where he captures a sense of its nihilistic excess and colossal disparities, if somewhat in caricature he describes the desolation of former Communist states on its periphery and disappointed expectations fueling historical amnesia from Eastern Europe to Britain. Recounted in poetic prose with context from pop-history and cultural commentary, MacLeans picaresque adventures include poignant reunions and chance encounters with a colorful cast of characters ranging from intellectuals to proletarians, tycoons to destitute migrants. They take place under the menacing shadow of Russias escalating attacks on Western liberal democracy and the revisionist mythologizing of right-wing leaders across the continent. MacLean is a sympathetic and perceptive guide, his characters memorable partly for confirming and sometimes subverting stereotypes. In Russia, he meets a bribe-seeking cop who takes pity on him and a social media troll who doesnt apologize for spreading disinformation abroad despite disappointment in her own country. He also profiles new dissidents campaigning for open societies. The episodes evoke a compelling sense of place, from the spiritual emptiness of the Russian Baltic Sea exclave Kaliningrad to the absurdity of Moldovas impoverished breakaway region Transnistria, largely run by a sprawling private company a state within a nonstate, MacLean calls it. Some of his most lyrical writing describes Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban is manufacturing a collective sense of victimhood to help weaponize the unrealized optimism of the 1990s. An admiring homeless alcoholic in Budapest tells him Europe is dead. Donald Trump once called a room full of Americas top generals a bunch of dopes and babies, according to a new report. The 2017 meeting took place in the Pentagons secure vault known as the Tank a secure, windowless room apparently viewed within the American military apparatus as sacred amid concerns among the militarys top brass of gaping holes in Trumps knowledge of history, especially the key alliances forged following World War II, according to an excerpt from a new book due out by two Washington Post reporters. But, after a lengthy crash course on the rationale behind Americas military presence abroad, and the importance of alliances like Nato, Mr Trump reportedly became frustrated, and snapped at the group that included the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general Joseph Dunford. "You're all losers. You don't know how to win anymore," Mr Trump said after complaining that the US hadn't won the war in Afghanistan after 16 years. Mr Trump then continued to muse about the people in charge of America's military, and suggested that they no longer knew how to win wars. Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures World leaders gather for Nato family photo Getty Images Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives EPA Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures President Donald Trump talks to British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures AP Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures US President Donald Trump and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attend a bilateral breakfast ahead of the Nato Summit in Brussels Reuters Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures President Donald Trump, right, gestures as he speaks to the media prior to his bilateral breakfast with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left AP Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures President Donald Trump, US Secretary of Defence James Mattis and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the bilateral breakfast with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg REUTERS Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures President Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo, left, are reflected in a mirror as they attend at a breakfast meeting AFP/Getty Images Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures President Donald Trump speaks during the bilateral breakfast EPA Nato leaders gather for summit: in pictures President Donald Trump gestures during the bilateral breakfast EPA I wouldnt go to war with you people, Mr Trump reportedly said. He continued: Youre a bunch of dopes and babies. While the meeting had been previously reported, the outburst had not. And, those newest details show a surprising level of vitriol even for a man known for his penchant for tossing aside the norms of respect and admiration normally associated with the presidency. In attendance were Gen Dunford and several officials who have now left the federal government, including former Defense secretary Jim Mattis, former National Economic Council director Gary Cohn and former secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Stephen Bannon, the former chief strategist in the White House, was also there, and described his thinking at the time to the Washington Post. Oh baby, this is going ot be f*****g wild, Mr Biden said he thought after Mr Mattis gave a 20-minute briefing on the power of Nato and Americas postwar rules-based international order, as one slide was labelled. Mr Trump has frequently bashed Nato as president, complaining that he does not believe Americas foreign allies are paying enough into the system. If you stood up and threatened to shoot [Trump], he couldnt say postwar rules-based international order. Its just not the way he thinks, Mr Bannon said. In the years since, Mr Trump has continued to slam Nato during international trips, and in December made headlines after abruptly leaving a gathering of leaders in London when a video showing Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson mocking the American president. The month before that, the Trump administration moved to substantially cut its contribution to the collective budget of Nato, US and Nato officials said. Center for Democracy & Technology President and CEO Nuala O'Connor (R) testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee about consumer data privacy during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 10, 2018. Witnesses answered committee members' questions about the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Californias New Data Privacy Law Could Hit Mom-and-Pops Hard LOS ANGELESWhile Californias new data privacy law appears to be generally aimed at big tech companies that sell consumer data, some suggest that mom-and-pop businesses are the most likely to experience a tightening of the thumbscrews. John Kabateck, the California state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), said the biggest problem for small and medium-sized businesses is the sheer lack of knowledge of what is required from them in 2020. The California Consumer Privacy Act went into effect Jan. 1. It requires businesses that collect consumer data to give consumers access to that data and allow them to refuse its sale to third parties. Consumers may also request that companies delete the data associated with them. Every Californian deserves to have safe and secure knowledge of their personal information, Kabateck said. But this law, unfortunately, has more problems than solutions, and its going to add to an Armageddon of confusion and devastation for small businesses in the Golden State. They may think theyre smacking it to the big guys, he said. But its a lot of these already fragile, already struggling business owners that are already feeling the confusion and fear and frustration with this law. According to NFIB, which represents over 15,000 members in California, small businesses must pay three times more than larger corporations to comply with the law. A report prepared by Berkeley Economic Advising and Research for the Attorney Generals Office found that small businesses with fewer than 20 employees are going to be on the hook for a minimum of $50,000 per year in compliance costs. Lets not forget: most small businesses dont have legal teams, HR departments, administrative teams, and IT divisions to help them sift through this massive law, Kabateck said. Mom-and-pops, which make up most of the state, dont have those resources at their fingertips, and at the end of the day, theyre going to have to pay through the nose [in order to] comply and understand this. The Berkeley report estimated that the initial annual cost of compliance for businesses statewide would be $55 billionthe equivalent of 1.8 percent of Californias gross state product in 2018. Challenges to Interpreting the Law Legal experts have started to consider how the law might be interpreted and have identified parts that are unclear. One [challenge] is just understanding what personal information is, said Joseph Lazzarotti, chair of the Privacy, Data, and Cybersecurity Practice Group at the firm Jackson Lewis. When you look at the definition of personal information, [the Privacy Act] said [its] basically any information that can be linked to an individual. Well, what does that mean? How far does that go? One of the amendments added reasonably connected. Maybe that kind of contains it, but again its not as clear as it can be. This is the first law of its kind in the United States, so there will need to be some period of time where companies absorb the rules and understand how they work in practice. Of course, a lot of questions will come up during that process as well. It just takes time, and thats the reality. Californians for Consumer Privacy Board Chair Alastair Mactaggart (C) testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee about consumer data privacy during a hearing in Washington on Oct. 10, 2018. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Reece Hirsch, co-head of privacy and cybersecurity practice at Morgan Lewis in San Francisco, said there are a number of areas where the law would benefit from clarification. One important area is this definition of a sell. Because, as currently written, it could include a broad range of uses of data by third parties, he said. For example, the developed algorithms for artificial intelligence purposes, or for the delivery of online advertising, which is a huge industry [that could be] impacted by some of the new restrictions. The dust has definitely not settled on the [Privacy Act] yet. Businesses [are] in a bit of an uncomfortable bind because theyre striving to comply, but they dont know all the rules yet. Enforcement Hayley Tsukayama, a legislative analyst for the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the timeline for implementation is unusual. The law took effect on Jan. 1, but the attorney generals regulations on how to enforce the law wont be finalized until July. According to Tsukayama, the Privacy Act is a huge step forward, but not perfect. She believes the law would benefit from stronger enforcement. Right now, the [Privacy Act] centralizes all enforcement in the Attorney Generals Office, which has a small staff of privacy-focused personnel, she said. Wed like to see enforcement expandedideally with a private right of actionso that every individual can sue companies for violating any of their privacy rights [covered by the Act]. Tsukayama said that the Electronic Frontier Foundation worked with legislators early in the 2019 session. The Foundation wanted to include an additional element to the law aimed at further empowering consumers, but that element didnt make it in. Right now, consumers have the right to ask companies to stop selling their informationthats huge, she said. But the law we proposed would have required companies to make the requests: to come to you before they sold your information. In Kabatecks view, an ideal iteration of the Privacy Act would strike a better balance between consumer and business interests. Laws like this need to work for consumers and small businesses alike, he said. Kabateck strongly advises small business owners to seek professional legal counsel when it comes to compliance. Were just trying to make sure we can get them educated, he said. And [were] trying to find ways to fix this terrible law. YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. Armenia makes efforts for judicial reforms, and the European Union supports these efforts, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin told reporters today. Commenting on the current situation around the Constitutional Court, as well as the criminal case launched against CC President Hrayr Tovmasyan, the Ambassador said the European Union, like other international structures, is closely following the ongoing developments, but they will refuse to comment on the ongoing concrete cases. I would be very surprised if there was an interference on a concrete criminal case, but we see that efforts are made for judicial reforms, and we support these efforts, she said. Ambassador Wiktorin said she has worked in Armenia for over 10 years, as well as had a chance to work with the first Ombudsman. I just want to say that I now see that serious efforts are being made to improve human rights, in particular to prevent torture and prohibited treatment, and there is also cooperation with international structures on this path, she said. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan Lana Clayton of South Carolina pleaded guilty to manslaughter after admitting to poisoning her husband with Visine in 2018: York County Detention Center A woman accused of poisoning her husband to death with eye drops then burning his will has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. South Carolina woman Lana Clayton pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter more than a year after she had spiked her husband's water with Visine until he collapsed inside the couple's multi-million-dollar home on 21 July 2018. A post-mortem examination revealed that Stephen Clayton had ingested dangerous levels of tetrahydrozoline, which relieves eye redness by constricting blood vessels. Police said Lana Clayton admitted to feeding her husband the eye-drops without his knowledge. In 2016, Clayton shot her husband in the back of the head with a crossbow, which she told police was an accident. She later admitted that she shot him after the couple had an argument. She told the court that the couple's "problems escalated through the years ... I did impulsively put Visine in Stephen's drink, and I did it to make him sick and uncomfortable." She said she "never thought it would kill him", according to NBC affiliate WCNC. Clayton was arrested on 31 August 2018 on charges of murder and malicious tampering with a drug product. Murder convictions in South Carolina can include a death sentence. She avoided the death penalty by agreeing to a guilty plea on a lesser charge of manslaughter. York County prosecutors said Clayton, a nurse at a US Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Charlotte, wanted her husband to "suffer" and to "teach him a lesson" following claims that her husband of five years was abusive. Mr Clayton had suffered for three days after drinking poisoned water until he fell from a staircase. Her defence lawyers argued that she survived violent abuse at the hands of Mr Clayton. "I wanted him to leave me alone", she told the court. Prosecutors argued that she destroyed his will to ensure that she would inherit his wealth after his death. Story continues Court records revealed that Clayton also left a suicide note after she tried to kill herself before her arrest by taking pills and turning on a gas stove. Read more Ex-Trump adviser and lifelong paedophile pleads guilty to sex crimes Teenager pleads guilty to killing PC Andrew Harper Teenagers guilty of murdering UberEats driver for his moped Mother found guilty of causing son's drugs death Teenager found guilty of gang murder of 14-year-old Jaden Moodie Three candidates running to replace retiring Congressman Mike Conaway for Texas 11th Congressional District admitted at a forum this past week that they did not vote in the important 2018 general election. However, further investigation of public records by Texas Scorecard indicated that two of the three candidates in question, August Pfluger and Brandon Batch, had never been registered to vote before October 2019. Batch registered to vote in the state of Texas for the first time on Oct. 24, 2019; Pfluger first registered to vote on Oct. 9, 2019, according to public records. Records also indicate that both voted in the 2019 November general election shortly after registering. Both Batch and Pfluger were asked to confirm and comment on their voting records. Pfluger confirmed the findings and promptly issued a statement to Texas Scorecard, saying, Ive made no secret of the fact that for much of my military career I wasnt as politically active as I might have otherwise been. Some of it was due to my belief that it was my obligation as an Air Force officer to respectfully abstain from the political process and serve the Commander-in-Chief regardless of my personal political beliefs just as Generals Patton, Eisenhower, Petraeus, and Dempsey had done. Honestly, a great deal of it stemmed from a sense of disillusionment in the establishment politicians that I felt had failed our countrys military in ways both big and small. Batch didnt comment on his voting record and whether he had ever voted before 2019, but instead told Texas Scorecard that he would email a statement. READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE: http://bit.ly/3ajFl3q Editors Note: The Reporter-Telegram received permission to publish this story. Paris, Jan 17 : French labour unions staged fresh nation-wide protests against President Emmanuel Macron's plan to overhaul pension reform, leading to traffic disruptions and road closures. In a sixth round of nation-wide protests, 187,000 demonstrators on Thursday flooded the streets once again, including 23,000 in Paris, Xinhua news agency quoted the Interior Ministry as saying. "It's never too late to force a government to cave in," said Philippe Martinez, head of the far-left CGT union who headed the Paris rally. In one of his major campaign promises, Macron has proposed to merge a variety of 42 different pension set-ups for different professions into a universal system. The new single regime would use points so that each euro paid in would give the same retirement benefits no matter what sector pensioners worked in. The government argued the reform was needed to bring costly pension system, which is almost entirely borne by the state, into balance. Critics have said that it would effectively force people to work longer, in particular public sector workers that have been allowed to retire earlier often because of hard working conditions. "We won't give up..." said, Yves Veyrier, head of FO union. "Let's put this bill definitely aside, drop it and get back to the negotiating table." Strikes at national railway SNCF and Paris metro RATP entered their 43rd day on Thursday, making it the country's longest transport strike since 1968. The unions have vowed to maintain their open-ended industrial action despite of dwindling turnout. On Thursday, only 10 per cent of workers at the state-run SNCF company stopped working, compared with more than half when the strikes began on December 5, 2019. The government has also offered concession to temporally remove the most contested measure of "pivotal age" which encourages workers to extend their careers by two years to 64 to have full pension. As unions' anger endures, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the strikes were "dead end" as "the government's determination to set up this universal pension system and therefore to eventually remove the special schemes is total." "The transport strike against pension reform will go nowhere, the government is determined," Philippe said. Widely seen as a taboo, pension overhaul had failed during the previous governments. Lev Parnas, a key player in President Trumps efforts to obtain a Ukrainian investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, gave a bombshell interview to MSNBC Wednesday that undercut the presidents defense just hours before the Senate was scheduled to begin his impeachment trial. It was all about Joe Biden, Hunter Biden and also Rudy had a personal thing with the Manafort stuff, Parnas said of the efforts to convince Ukraines government to announce an investigation of the Bidens, but it was never about corruption, it was strictly about Burisma, which included Hunter Biden and Joe Biden. Parnas, a Soviet-born U.S. citizen who has been indicted by the Southern District of New York on campaign finance violations, turned over notes, text messages and other information to House investigators Wednesday. In his interview with Rachel Maddow, Parnas, who sat beside his lawyer, said he came forward because I want to get the truth out because I think its important to the country, its important to me. Trump has sought to distance himself from Parnas and Igor Fruman, both of whom worked with Rudy Giuliani, Trumps lawyer, on the efforts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation of the Bidens, and on the campaign to oust U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. I dont know those gentlemen, Trump said in October about Parnas and Fruman, despite the fact that the men had been photographed together numerous times. Lev Parnas on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow show on January 15, 2020. (Photo: Kelli R. Grant/Yahoo News) He lied, Parnas said, adding, He knew exactly who we were. Parnas said the president was fully aware that he was working with Giuliani to secure Zelenskys cooperation in an effort to tarnish the reputation of Biden, the leading Democratic candidate to run against Trump this year. "Trump knew exactly what was going on, Parnas said, adding he wouldn't do anything without consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president. Maddow asked Parnas about a handwritten note made during a phone conversation with Giuliani that he turned over to House investigators that included the line: get Zalensky [sic] to announce that the Biden case will be investigated. Story continues That was always the main objective," Parnas said of Trumps motive for pressuring Ukraines government. Parnas and Fruman, who has also been indicted, were given access to Ukrainian officials that Parnas, a Florida businessman with no diplomatic credentials or official post, said he would not have received otherwise. "Why would President Zelenskys inner circle, or Minister Avakov, or all these people, or President Poroshenko, meet with me? Parnas told Maddow. Who am I? They were told to meet with me. And thats the secret that theyre trying to keep. I was on the ground doing their work. Parnas also said the Trump administrations attempts to convince Ukraine to announce an investigation of the Bidens extended to Vice President Mike Pence. Pence canceled his planned attendance at Zelenskys inauguration as a way to further pressure him, Parnas said. Lev Parnas arriving at court in New York City, Dec. 2, 2019. (Photo: Seth Wenig/AP) On his efforts with Giuliani to have Yovanovitch removed from office because she was not sufficiently supportive of Trump and was impeding efforts to secure the promise of an investigation into the Bidens, Parnas expressed regret. I dont believe Ambassador Yovanovitch badmouthed Trump, and I want to apologize to her, Parnas said. The materials turned over to the House this week included text messages Parnas exchanged with a Trump campaign hanger-on named Robert Hyde. The messages referenced efforts to oust Yovanovitch, who was viewed as an obstacle to the deal Giuliani hoped to strike with Ukraine. Some of the messages had what appeared to be sinister overtones, implying that Yovanovitch was being followed and might be in danger, but Parnas downplayed that possibility to Maddow, saying he was only stringing Hyde along. Parnas also told Maddow that Attorney General William Barr was aware of the efforts launched by Trump and Giuliani to discredit the Mueller investigation and procure an investigation of the Bidens. Mr. Barr had to have known everything," Parnas said, adding that he was in the room when Giuliani and others spoke with the attorney general. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: . SAN JOSE (BCN) Police in San Jose arrested three men this week in connection with the kidnapping and rape of a teen girl. On Tuesday at 11:08 a.m., officers responded to a suspicious circumstance at the E-Z 8 Motel at 1550 N. First St. Police said the victim, a 14-year-old, used her Snapchat account to notify friends she was kidnapped and did not know her location. Her friends were able to determine her location through the Snapchat app and called 911. Responding officers made contact with a suspect, Albert Thomas Vasquez, as he was exiting the motel room, and discovered the victim inside. During a follow-up investigation, police found that Vasquez met the victim in Capitola on Tuesday and allegedly gave her drugs to incapacitate her. Vasquez then called two other men, and the suspects drove the victim to the motel, where Vasquez allegedly raped her, according to police. Vasquez, 55, of San Jose, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping to commit rape, digital penetration with a child under 14 years old with force, false imprisonment, and a lewd act with a child 14 or 15 years old with force and rape by intoxication of controlled substance, police said. Antonio Quirino Salvador, 34, of Fremont and Hediberto Gonzalez Avarenga, 31, of Fremont, were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and conspiracy, according to the San Jose Police Department. 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. Alexandra Smoots-Thomas stood handcuffed and shackled with her head downcast before a Houston magistrate on federal charges shed illegally misspent campaign funds. The 44-year-old, who had recently undergone chemotherapy, was accustomed to court appearances, but she usually viewed them from the vantage point of the bench. Prosecutors agreed to release Smoots-Thomas, a presiding judge in state court, on bond without conditions at the November hearing. That night, the civil judge tearfully said that standing in chains was the most humiliating thing she had ever been through in her life, recalled her attorney, Kent Schaffer. You would have thought that they were bringing a serial killer into court, Schaffer said. Here is a woman who can barely walk at all. Shes tiny compared to all these marshals. Why is she going to be shackled? Is she going to run away? The now-suspended judges treatment reflects the standard practice in a region where most federal judges follow guidelines of the U.S. Marshals Service, which recommends keeping defendants under lock and key regardless of whether they are accused of a violent crime. Everyday practices vary widely across the country, but in the Houston region, with few exceptions, everyone including pregnant, elderly and infirm defendants, as well people using wheelchairs and walkers appears in court in some form of restraints. The marshals policy governs security measures when deputies are escorting defendants through hallways, elevators, stairwells, sally ports and holding cells, but the balance tips inside the courtroom, the universe of the judiciary branch, where judges and magistrates may decide to uncuff and unshackle people. Few do so. Lee Rosenthal, chief judge for the 43-county region, said her colleagues prefer to impose the least constraint necessary for security, but most keep the cuffs and shackles on in the absence of a jury. Defendants are typically unshackled during jury trials; sometimes, as in the case of a recent armored car robbery trial involving four suspects, defendants leg irons are concealed behind a skirt around the defense table. The default shackling practice handcuffs, leg restraints and a belly chain linking cuffed hands to the waist is a horrible specter and a civil rights violation in the eyes of Marjorie A. Meyers, the chief federal public defender in the district since 2004. Its an issue she has raised with seven or eight newly appointed judges. I havent convinced any of them, Meyers said, not even a protege from the public defenders office who became a Houston magistrate in 2018. Two veteran judges in the Southern District, Lynn Hughes in Houston and Ricardo Hinojosa in McAllen, routinely request that defendants be unshackled and uncuffed inside their courtrooms, according to Meyers, who has appeared before judges across the region since 1983. But the other 27 lifetime appointees in the Southern District generally opt to keep defendants in some form of restraints, she said. Rosenthal, the chief judge, said they try to balance issues of security against those of fairness and to weigh what type of proceeding it is and what the defendants history is. She sometimes asks for shackles to come off if a person is not feeling well or has physical limitations. Some judges have defendants uncuffed to raise their hands to be sworn in or to review or sign documents. Chained like animals In the rest of the country, federal court shackling practices vary widely. In Oakland, Calif., the norm is for defendants to be unshackled unless the judge has a specific reason to think theyre a threat, according to a public defender who has practiced there for decades. In Arizona, the norm is to shackle everyone because there is a staffing shortage at the marshals service, said Jon Sands, the chief federal public defender. Across Louisiana, people accused of nonviolent crimes generally appear without handcuffs in front of the judge, said Michael Walsh, a lawyer from Baton Rouge, La., who has appeared at most courthouses in the state. Meyers is among many defense lawyers who practice in federal court nationally and told the Houston Chronicle theyre disturbed that judges permit shackling of people who are presumed innocent. I think that people should not be chained like animals like circus elephants, Meyers said. To her, its a humanitarian matter, its a constitutional issue, but its also a question of basic propriety: Having people clanking around in chains is not very decorous. On HoustonChronicle.com: Federal judges butt heads with U.S. lawmakers over legality of ankle monitors for nonviolent suspects She believes defendants should be allowed to change into street clothes and appear without restraints to avoid implicit bias. A judge may try to set aside gut reactions, she said, But looking at somebody in an orange jumpsuit in chains affects the way you look at them: Your image of them is different, and its got to play a role in the back of your mind. Rosenthal said judges defer to the marshals recommended protocol, especially in the wake of recent incidents when defendants attacked witnesses, prosecutors, deputy marshals and court security staff. Judge Keith P. Ellison who oversaw the historic prison heat case at the Pack Unit and is generally viewed as patient and deferential to criminal defendants said he changed his practice of removing restraints after an unshackled defendant in the Rio Grande Valley stabbed a deputy marshal in the neck with a razor blade in 2009. I decided then that I should quit telling the marshals how to do their job, Ellison said. I ask for unshackling now only when the defendant looks physically incapable of violence. Judicial hostility The issue of security is at the forefront for magistrates, who are on the front lines when it comes to shackling policy. In the quadrant of Texas headquartered in Houston, they hear cases from many defendants at a time when theyre handling initial appearances. They usually have little or no information about the crowd of defendants the marshals bring into their courtroom. Many of these prisoners wait in the courtroom while a magistrate hears the entire docket for that session. Given these circumstances, Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson said her colleagues prioritize the safety of everyone in the courtroom, including all defendants, deputies, attorneys, pretrial services personnel, court staff and the public. Johnson said if theres a reason to release someone, judges will address it. The exception to the rule, in Meyers experience, is Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby in McAllen, who asks for restraints to be removed, even when there are approximately 70 defendants packed in the room. Security needs to be balanced against other compelling issues, Meyers argues. She cites a California case, U.S. v. Sanchez-Gomez, that found that judges may restrain a person if there a compelling purpose for doing so and that shackles are the least restrictive means to ensure security. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated that case on appeal because the defendant was no longer in pretrial custody an issue that hampers challenges, since the defendant has often been acquitted or convicted before the case comes up on appeal. Meyers also references a Virgin Islands case that framed shackling as a form of judicial hostility that interferes with attorney-client communication, compromises a persons dignity and undermines the presumption of innocence. The court found shackling in U.S. v. Ayala was not a violation of the defendants rights because it was not a capital case, the defendant was not sentenced by a jury and the district court did not merely delegate the shackling decision to the marshals. For Schaffer, who has practiced criminal law nationally for decades and represents the suspended judge Smoots-Thomas, the issue of whether to shackle is a simple matter of looking at the individual defendant and making a judgment on that basis. For somebody who has no history of violence, he said, the only purpose it serves is to humiliate them. gabrielle.banks@chron.com By Abdul Kerimkhanov Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev has said Azerbaijan welcomes the fact that the EU consistently supports Azerbaijans territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and sovereignty. Azerbaijan highly appreciates and welcomes this position. I would especially like to emphasize that position of the EU and other international institutions to the existing conflicts should unequivocally reflect the principles of the Helsinki Final Act, Hajiyev told reporters on January 17. If we look at the final documents of the Brussels Summit on the Eastern Partnership and the document on the priorities of the partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan, we will see that unequivocal and decisive support for Azerbaijans territorial integrity is shown, Hajiyev stressed. During the plenary meeting held on January 15, European Parliament adopted a resolution "Annual report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy" by an overwhelming majority of votes (454 out of 704). The 36th item of the resolution says EU reaffirms its commitment to support the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of the countries of Eastern Partnership (EaP), which Azerbaijan is a member of. The issue of territorial integrity is presented in the resolution along with the expression "internationally recognized borders". The document calls on to demonstrate a unified approach to all conflicts in the territory of the EaP countries, as well as to support the efforts to resolve them in accordance with the norms and principles of international law and provide support to those suffering from these conflicts, including refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs). The document also refers to "A Global Strategy for the EU's Foreign and Security Policy" dated in 2016 and the Joint Declaration of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels in 2017. In the strategy for the EU's foreign and security policy, the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the state borders of the countries were recognized as the most important elements of European security. The Joint Declaration of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels also explicitly expresses support for the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Eastern Partnership countries. The resolutions adopted by the European Parliament annually are binding documents that may influence the activity of the European Commission during the year. In contrast to the standard resolutions of the European Parliament, this document is doctrinal, that is, it obliges European officials to comply with its provisions in the EU foreign policy, as well as sets priorities and main areas of EU activity in contacts with other states. The adoption of this resolution for the South Caucasus means, first of all, the impossibility for Armenia as an occupier of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan to promote anti-Azerbaijani and pro-occupation documents and discussions on EU platforms. Azerbaijan, in turn, is getting a tool to solve, in cooperation with the EU, the IDP problems affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the longest unresolved conflict in the post-Soviet space. The two countries fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijans breakaway region that along with seven surrounding district was occupied by Armenian forces during the war in the early 1990s. One million Azerbaijanis were displaced as a result of the occupation. Armenia has so far failed to comply by the four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Studio 10 host Narelda Jacobs made an emotional plea on Friday's show to change the date of Australia Day. The 43-year-old, who is of British and Indigenous heritage, became tearful as she spoke about the day being 'offensive'. It comes after her co-host Kerri-Anne Kennerley was cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation by media watchdog ACMA into statements she had made on air about Aboriginal people. 'It's offensive': Studio 10 host Narelda Jacobs (pictured) made an emotional plea on Friday's show to change the date of Australia Day Narelda explained she had previously opposed changing the date, but changed her mind when her mother backed the idea and she did some research. 'For the longest time, I did turn my back on calling Australia Day "Invasion Day," she said. 'My mum is British... and I felt it's half of who I am. I had this view of January 26 representing this, as a lot of us do, this romanticised view of Australia being colonised.' Co-host: It comes after Kerri-Anne Kennerley (pictured) was cleared of any wrongdoing following an ACMA investigation into statements she'd made on air about Aboriginal people Narelda said that celebrating Australia Day on the anniversary of when the First Fleet arrived doesn't symbolise the best of Australia. She pointed out that it was a 'dark time for everyone', as white convicts who had been convicted of 'petty crimes' in England were effectively made 'slave labourers'. 'Aboriginal people were treated as less than animals,' she added. Candid: Narelda said that celebrating Australia Day on the anniversary of when the First Fleet arrived doesn't symbolise the best of Australia. Pictured with Joe Hildebrand (left), Angela Bishop (second from left) and Sarah Harris (right) Narelda, whose late father was a member of the Stolen Generation, went on to say that celebrating Australia Day on January 26 is 'offensive to a whole group of people'. Instead she believes it should be moved to the third Monday of January, rather than fixed on any specific date. 'It's not just Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people... it's almost like dancing on someone's grave,' she concluded. 'I really think that Australia Day is not a time to celebrate incarceration, not a time to celebrate invasion. It's to celebrate Australia as an inclusive nation and that's why we need to change the date.' Mixed heritage: Narelda has a British mother and an Indigenous father (both pictured) It comes after Kerri-Anne was cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation into statements she had made about Australia Day on Studio 10 in January 2019. During that broadcast, she was challenged and repeatedly called 'racist' by fellow panelist Yumi Stynes, who is no longer a regular on the program. 'Anyone who knows me knows very well that I am not a racist,' Kerri-Anne said after Channel 10 was cleared by ACMA in October. 'I'm not a racist!' Kerri-Anne (pictured) denied being racist after saying on Studio 10 in January that Aboriginal Invasion Day protesters should focus on improving their own communities Kerri-Anne had sparked outrage by claiming that Aboriginal protesters should focus on improving their own communities rather than trying to 'change the date'. 'OK, the 5,000 people who went through the streets making their points known, saying how inappropriate the day is,' she began. 'Has any single one of those people been out to the outback, where children, babies, five-year-olds, are being raped? 'Their mothers are being raped, their sisters are being raped. They get no education. What have you done?' As the panel reeled in shock, Yumi responded: 'That is not even faintly true, Kerri-Anne. You're sounding quite racist right now.' The daughter of Selma who now strides the storied hallways of the U.S. Capital representing Alabamas 7th Congressional District didnt have to venture far from home to determine whom to endorse among surviving Democrats vying for the partys presidential nomination. She didnt, frankly, have to leave home at all. Nancy Sewell, the mother of U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, announced last November her candidacy to be a delegate representing the former vice president and presidential contender Joe Biden at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. She was way ahead of me, the Congresswoman said Thursday with a laugh, in an exclusive conversation announcing her own endorsement of Biden. Outside of the household where she was raised, throughout a district still grappling with poverty and a dearth of quality healthcare and education, Sewell also found overwhelming support for Biden, especially among other African American women. The litmus test for me and my district, whose core support comes from African American women between the ages of 35 and 85and mom is squarely in there, Sewell said, the pulse of that target group believes Joe Biden best represents their overall values and mission: to defeat Donald Trump. Her reasons for the endorsement, though, extend far beyond Selma. In this moment, she added, as our democracy is under attack from forces abroad and at home, with the impending [impeachment] trial in the Senate, I think its more important than ever for the American people to be united behind a presidential candidate who can create consensus and move the country forward not backward, Bidens 36 years in the U.S. Senate and eight years in the White House under President Barack Obama also swayed Sewell. Joe has the proven ability to bring Americans together, she said. He has fought for so many of small-d democratic values my constituents value most: equality and justice for all. Its not a coincidence Sewells endorsement comes at the cusp of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. On Friday, she will join Biden In South Carolina for several events commemorating the civil rights leaders life. As a person who represents Alabamas civil rights district, my job is to support a candidate who can best preserve, protect and advance that legacy of Dr. King, Sewell added. Theres no greater threat to that legacy than Donald Trump. Everything from gutting Obamacare to an inability to support restoring the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to supporting the GOP tax bill, which further increased the gap in income and equality, to the inhuman treatment of immigrants at our borderthe list goes on and on. Joe Biden is the best candidate to beat Donald Trump and advance the legacy of D. King, to move the country forward, not take us back. Sewell is the latest prominent African American politician to back Biden. Shes the 11th member of the Congressional Black Caucus to do so, more than any other Democratic candidate. Biden has strong support among African American likely voters, but skeptics, too. Particularly due to his support of the 1994 tough-on-crime law that passed Congress and was signed by President Bill Clinton. The law resulted in mass incarceration, mainly for what would now be considered minor drug offenses. It decimated black families and communities and, for many, still stings today. Thats one of the first things I talked to him about, Sewell said. Having been in the legislature for the last eight years, I knew well how often the environment around a certain vote, the context, may change. [In 1994,] a majority of the black caucus was calling for action. We saw violent crime in black neighborhoods skyrocketing and people wanted immediate action. While that action caused mass incarceration as an unintended consequence, Joe was not afraid to have the tough conversation and talk about why he voted for it. Since then hes funded drug courts and community programs to prevent crime. Hes laid out a bold criminal justice plan to create more just society, to make our communities safe but not criminalize certain behavior that today would not be considered much of a problem. An example: Decriminalizing marijuana is something both he and I agree on, she said. I acknowledge Alabama is a far cry from legalizing it, but we can decriminalize it and eliminate disparities in sentencing. We can fund drug courts and eliminate mandate mandatory minimums. None of those things are what caused the mass incarceration we see today. I dont think any of those things were foreseen in 1994. All of us have taken votes we regret. In early January, Dr. Jill Biden (right), wife of presidential candidate Joe Biden, and Rep Terri Sewell (left) met customers at the Continental Bakery in Mountain Brook Sewell said she had not yet spoken with presidential contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren about her endorsement. Warren, whose platform is partially defined by Medicare for all, was a professor at Harvard Law School when Sewell attended. Last year she escorted Warren and presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders on tours of her hometown. I have the utmost respect for Senators Warren and Sanders and enjoyed my visits with both in Selma, she said. We are all in the trenches on so many key important issues and any Democrat left on the [debate] stage would be better than Donald Trump. It was a hard decision but in my district, Medicare for all is not overwhelmingly popular. They want universal healthcare. They want lower deductibles and improve access to quality affordable health care. Given the place of her youth, its not surprising that restoration of provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013, is at the forefront of Sewells legislative agenda. In December, the U.S. House passed Sewells Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore a process by which states would have to clear any election changes with the Department of Justice. Biden is committed to supporting the bill, Sewell said. He will prioritize restoring the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which is critically important to the people in my district and my legislative agenda. Not a perfect career, Sewell continued, but many, many decades fighting redlining, fighting for voting rights, leading the charge to reauthorize the voting rights act of 1965 in 1982 and 2006. "When you think of the legacy of the seventh district, it is a legacy of fighting for voting rights, human rights, and civil rights. Thats where Joe lines up, in alignment with my district and therefore why he has earned my support. MIAMI Fears that the Trump administration will ban all flights to Cuba have sparked a spike in demand for tickets to the island, according to employees of travel agencies in Miami. We have seen a strong increase in the demand for tickets. Theres a lot of fear because people believe that at any moment the flights will end and they will not be able to see their relatives any more, said Maritza Diaz, an employee of CubaTur, an agency based in Cutler Bay that sells tickets to Cuba. Diaz estimated that shes selling double the normal number of tickets to the island. The Department of State last week asked the White House to prohibit charter flights from the United States to nine Cuban provincial airports starting March 10. Only flights to Havana will still be allowed. The Department of Transportation will also put a limit on the total number of annual flights to the Cuban capital. In Miami, home to the largest Cuban community outside the island, theres fear that all flights to Cuba will eventually be eliminated. The Trump administration eliminated all commercial airline flights to the same nine cities in November. They included large cities such as Santa Clara, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba. Diaz said that even if the U.S. government bans all flights to the island, that will not stop Cubans living in the United States from traveling to the island. The Bush administration banned flights to Cuba, she said, and people continued to go via third countries. In 2004, President George W. Bush, trying to push Havana to adopt changes, limited Cubans travel to the island to once every three years. He also restricted remittances to $100 per month, and only to spouses, parents, children and grandparents. Those restrictions were lifted after Barack Obama became president in 2008. Elena Argudin, a Cuba native who has been living in Homestead for four years and still has many relatives on the island, said she fears the deteriorating U.S.-Cuba relations will put more obstacles on the possibility of visiting her family. I left my elderly parents in Cuba. My mother is 78 years old and my father is 81. If they stop the flights, they will die from sadness from not seeing me. I call them every day, she said. Argudin came to Florida eight years ago, after traveling through much of Latin America and crossing several borders. She travels back to Cuba at least two times every year, and sends money back to her parents on the island. The Trump administration also banned cruise ship visits to the island and significantly limited flights, eliminating all destinations except Havana, in reprisal for Cuban governments support for the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela, the islands main economic ally. The U.S. government measures are designed to limit Havanas access to hard currencies. The White House has said the money the Cuban government receives from visitors is used to repress the domestic opposition and help the Maduro regime. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez recently said during a recent interview with el Nuevo Herald that a decision to end the flights is controversial because while affects many Cuban families in South Florida it is intended to limit the amount of cash going into government coffers. That money goes into the hands of the [Cuban] armed forces. In Cuba, people still live in misery, without food or medicines. We cannot support that, he said. A number of businesspeople in South Florida have found a market under the new restrictions, offering private transportation to areas outside Havana. The Cuban government also owns a transportation agency for tourists that charges in Convertible Cuban Pesos, known as CUC and roughly equivalent to the U.S. dollar. American Airlines said there was great demand for seats on its six daily flights to Havana throughout the year. It added that prices continue to vary. The price of a round trip ticket Miami-Havana in March, on commercial airlines, stands at about $200, pretty much the same as at the same time last year. Charter flight prices are slightly lower. But the prices will start to rise as demand increases when the new restrictions take hold, said economist Emilio Morales, director of the Miami-based Havana Consulting Group. There will be no more than nine flights to Havana per day. That will have an impact, because the demand will be more than the supply, he said in a telephone interview. In the past, before the Obama administration resumed diplomatic relations with Havana and allowed the start of commercial flights, the cost of a ticket to the island could be as high as $800. Morales added that travel within Cuba will also substantially increase the cost of a visit to the island. A trip from Havana to Santiago de Cuba does not cost less than $500 if you use a private service, he said. Public transportation is cheaper, but doesnt run often and charges for suitcases. With fewer flights, there will be fewer opportunities to transport merchandise and cash, Morales said. He added that the U.S. restrictions will have a severe impact on remittances to Cuba, the second-largest source of hard currency for the island. Nearly half the remittances get there in unofficial ways, thats to say with mules, people who travel from Miami to Havana. That will change with the reduction in the number of flights, he said. The economist estimated that about half of the Cubans who live in the United States and travel to the island will be affected by the new restrictions. (EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE) Adonis Rios, 35, a Cuban native who lives in Homestead and travels to the island every week to deliver merchandise and cash, said his business will be affected by the restrictions. If they increase the price of the tickets, I will have to stop doing what I have been doing or I will have to raise the price of the pounds that I carry to Cuba, said Rios, who arrived in the United States in 2014 after a long trek that started in Ecuador. Rios, who is allowed to carry 40 pounds on each trip to the island, charges $9 per pound and delivers the merchandise in the Havana municipality of Regla. He also delivers cash, and sells his annual allowance for imports to Cuba as an island resident about 220 pounds. My business isnt making anyone rich, but at least it lets me live a decent life and maintain my family in Cuba, he said. I dont care about politics. I just want to live and help my family to live better, he said. I dont know if Trump or (Cuban ruler Miguel) Diaz-Canel are good or bad. The only thing I know is that those most affected by this brawl are the common people. Rios said his wife and a three-year old son are in Havana. Hes filed a petition to bring them to the United States under Cuban Family Reunification Program, but that program was halted in 2017, when the U.S. government called home most of its diplomats in Havana following a string of mysterious incidents. Some 22,000 CFRP claims are on hold, sparking protests among Cuban residents of South Florida. Cuban travel agencies outside Florida that were contacted for this story said they have not experienced a substantial increase in demand for tickets to the island. Mario J. Penton of the Miami Herald wrote this story. 2020 Miami Herald Visit Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Australian police have charged a gang of suspected pickpockets including two Indian nationals who allegedly targeted several public transport users and shoppers in Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD) over the last two months. Four men and three women -- including five Sri Lankans -- aged between 25 and 28 were charged with theft-related offences, according to 'The Age'. Several incidents on train and tram networks, and in shopping areas led to investigations by detectives, the report said. The local police in Victoria arrested four of the seven suspects in Sunshine and Tarneit suburbs on Thursday while the remaining three were arrested in Albion last week. The Australian Border Force "may look at" deporting the foreign nationals, Victoria Police spokesperson Melissa Seach was quoted saying. "We investigated a series of organised and often opportunistic pickpocketing and thefts which were occurring for approximately two months across the city, in shopping precincts and on trams and trains," Sergeant Chris O'Brien said. "Rest assured Victoria Police takes this type of offending seriously, and our message to anyone out there looking to prey on those going about their everyday business is that you will be arrested and held to account," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A protester holds a sign during a demonstration calling for better consumer protection and online privacy outside of Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on April 5, 2018. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Different Approaches by Data Privacy Laws in California, Europe A landmark data privacy law went into effect in California on Jan. 1, the first of its kind in the United States. In 2018, a similar law took force in Europe. Their differences highlight issues regarding data privacy legislation that may continue to arise as similar laws roll out in other places. In California, its called the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). In Europe, its called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The CCPA has been called Californias GDPR, but thats somewhat of a misnomer. Both laws grant consumers the right to access, correct, and delete their data collected by companies. And both laws give consumers the right to stop companies from sharing their data with third parties. But two industry insiders highlighted for The Epoch Times key differences in the laws. Opting In, Opting Out Firstly, in California you have to actively tell businesses not to sell your data. You have to opt-out. Whereas in Europe, businesses have to ask you if they can sell your data. You have to opt-in. Jessica Berman, Principal Product Manager for the global video advertising platform SpotX, said that CCPA assumes business as usual in terms of data usage unless a user opts out. To use the analogy of a club, the GDPR mandates that consumersor data subjectshave to consent to joining the club. The CCPA, on the other hand, assumes everyone is a member of the club, but deserves the opportunity to cancel their membership if they choose. Max Schrems, Austrian lawyer and privacy activist, talks with journalists ahead of the introduction of the EUs new GDPR regulations in Vienna, Austria, on May 24, 2018. (Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images) European Union Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova addresses a press conference in Brussels taking stock of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), one year after its entry into application. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images) The opt-out right under CCPA is also known as a Do Not Sell right, said Alan Friel. He co-leads the U.S. Consumer Privacy practice for the law firm BakerHostetler, which counsels clients on compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other data privacy regimes. He said exceptions exist. A potential exception would be a business that shares data with third parties in the interest of security and fraud prevention. Another difference between the CCPA and the GDPR, Friel said, is how they protect consumers against discrimination as a result of opting out. The CCPA outlines distinct ways in which consumers may not be discriminated against: they cannot be denied, charged different prices or rates, nor provided a different level for goods or services as a result of opting out. The GDPR does implies protection against discrimination, but not so explicitly. It states that data subjects must be informed of any consequences related to automated decision-making. Enforcement It has been pretty popular, Friel said of the GDPR. A lot of people are exercising their rights. Under the GDPR, there are data protection authorities that are tasked with enforcing it and theyve been ramping up their enforcement after an initial period of letting companies try to get it together. I think well probably see something similar here. Berman, however, noted a few unanswered questions around CCPA. How will media owners determine if a user is a California resident? How will consumers find a consistent way to opt-out of advertising? When will technology companies receive clear communication from the state regarding timing for implementation? The law took effect on Jan. 1, but the Attorney Generals regulations on how CCPA will be enforced wont be finalized until July. The technical implementation of CCPA is complicated, Berman said. Its impossible to know the mind of Wilson Gavin last Monday morning. We cannot assume there is any single truth as to why this 21-year-old man, much loved by his family, is no longer with us. But here is what we do know. The previous day, Gavin the president of the disendorsed University of Queensland Liberal-National Club led a protest opposing an event run by Rainbow Families Queensland, a group for LGBT families. The event was hosted by drag queens and it was meant to spread the message of diversity while also encouraging reading among children aged 3 to 11. A portrait of Wilson Gavin distributed by his family. He was 21. Wil Gavin was gay. He was also an opponent of gay marriage equality and a figure in the "No" campaign for the 2017 plebiscite. Video footage of the Sunday protest included chants of drag queens are not for kids. This led to a backlash on social media, some of it savage. Tweets and comments included: how good is Wilson Gavin at being a useless oxygen thief, Ive never seen a set of more openly hittable faces and the worst person imaginable. By Monday afternoon, news emerged that Gavin had died. Police did not treat his death as suspicious. This triggered debate about the toxic and harmful impacts of social media. Conservative MP George Christensen was so disgusted that he deleted his Twitter account that day, tweeting in farewell: Suicide happens when Twitter keyboard warriors pile on an individual for political protest. Twitter is broken ... bye. A Pakistani court has sentenced 86 members of Tehreek-e-Labbaik party to 55-year prison terms each for taking part in violent rallies in 2018 over the acquittal of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman, in a blasphemy case Islamabad: A Pakistani court has sentenced 86 members of a radical Islamist party to 55-year prison terms each for taking part in violent rallies in 2018 over the acquittal of a Christian woman in a blasphemy case, a party official said Friday. The verdicts, unusually harsh for Pakistan, were announced late Thursday night by the court in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near Islamabad. The trial had lasted for over a year. Pir Ejaz Ashrafi, a senior leader of the radical Tehreek-e-Labbaik party, said the sentences would be appealed. Among those sentenced was Ameer Hussain Rizvi, the brother of firebrand cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi who heads the party. "Justice has not been done," Ashrafi told The Associated Press. We will challenge the verdicts." The 86 were charged with damaging public property, beating people up and disrupting normal life by staging sit-ins against the acquittal of Aasia Bibi earlier that year. Bibi was convicted of blasphemy in 2009 and sentenced to death on charges of insulting Islam. Her case stemmed from a quarrel with fellow farm workers who refused to drink from the same water container used by a Christian. She consistently denied the charges against her. The country's Supreme Court overturned her conviction in 2018 but after hard-line Islamists staged nationwide rallies against the ruling, authorities continued to hold her in protective custody before she was allowed to leave for Canada last year to reunite with her family there. Pakistan's blasphemy laws are often used to settle scores or intimidate followers of minority religions, including Shiite Muslims. A charge of insulting Islam can bring the death penalty, and the mere accusation of blasphemy is sometimes enough to whip up vengeful mobs, even if courts acquit defendants. In two related cases, Salman Taseer, the governor of eastern Punjab province, was shot and killed by one of his bodyguards in 2011 for defending Bibi. His assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, was celebrated as a martyr by hard-liners following his execution, with millions visiting a shrine erected in his honour near Islamabad. Later in 2011, Pakistan's minister for minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, was assassinated, also after demanding justice for Bibi. Last year, authorities arrested Rizvi for leading incendiary rallies. He was later freed on bail on medical grounds pending trial. Last month, in the Pakistani city of Multan, a court convicted Junaid Hafeez, a Muslim professor, of blasphemy, sentencing him to death for allegedly spreading anti-Islamic ideas. He was held for six years awaiting trial and spent most of that time in solitary confinement. Egypts police raided the Cairo office of Anadolu news agency, AA, and arrested four staff members amid growing tensions between the two countries. AA in a statement said security forces stormed the office on Tuesday evening, cut off the internet and shut down the security camera. On Wednesday, they seized the staff passports, mobile phones, and computers and arrested four workers including Hilmi Balc, a Turkish citizen, in charge of finance and administrative affairs department. The Egyptians are Hussein al-Qabbani, Hussein al-Abbas and Abdelselam Muhammad. Egyptian authorities have provided no explanation for the operation. Turkeys foreign ministry has summoned the senior Egyptian diplomat in the country to protest against the raid. The raid constitutes, according to a statement from the foreign ministry, an act of harassment and intimidation against the Turkish media. This act of violence toward AA once again reveals both the Egyptian administrations negative approach toward press freedom and its dire attitude to democracy and transparency. Western countries seemingly sensitive to press freedom and freedom of expression have contributed to this reckless behavior by turning a blind eye to violations (in Egypt). We expect the Egyptian authorities to immediately release the detained staff members of Anadolu Agency, including the Turkish citizen, the statement said. The incident is taking place amid high tensions between the two countries. Relations between Cairo and Ankara, already stained following the overthrow of first democratically elected Egypt Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by incumbent President Fattah al-Sisi, have flared since November following the signing of a security and maritime agreement between Ankara and the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya. Cairo has expressed discontent over the maritime agreement and Ankaras deployment of military troops to prop up the GNA, which is facing ouster by Egypt-backed General Khalifa Haftar. Egypt also accuses Turkey of providing safe haven for members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Both countries are also opposed about Qatar that has received Turkeys support in the Gulf crisis. BASEL, Switzerland NEW YORK Jan. 16, 2020 $18 million Dave Ricks Supporting the training and deployment of 2,500 digitally-enabled community health workers, reaching nearly 1.7 million people by 2022. Community health workers will be trained and deployed in Liberia , Kenya , Uganda , Malawi and up to two additional countries. , , , and up to two additional countries. Supporting Last Mile Health's Community Health Academy, which is an open source, digital learning platform for community health workers and health systems leaders used worldwide. Training curricula for community health workers initially focuses on diarrheal diseases, family planning, malaria and pneumonia, with further modules expected to address non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension. Contributing expertise and personnel to Living Goods' new Kenya Performance Lab to develop mobile-based tech innovations that will improve community health worker productivity, strengthen supply chains and better identify obstacles to coverage. The Lab will leverage the knowledge and assets of partners in areas including data science, behavior change, performance management, analytics and technical health expertise. Innovations would be introduced in Kenya and then scaled to other countries within the broader initiative. Andrin Oswald Uganda's $1.5 million $50 million Africa $18 million Liz Jarman Africa video the United States Seattle, Washington Sue Desmond-Hellmann William H. Gates Sr. Bill and Melinda Gates Warren Buffett Uganda Kenya and/PRNewswire/ -- Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, GSK and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have joined forces with Last Mile Health and Living Goods to increase access to community-based primary healthcare for nearly 1.7 million people in up to six African countries, as part of their shared commitment to accelerate universal health coverage. The Health Worker Training Initiative is a three-year investment, generously matched by The Audacious Project, and totals USDHarnessing the synergy of cross-industry collaboration is key to advancing universal health coverage. Living Goods and Last Mile Health have pioneered the community health worker model and are continually exploring novel approaches to training and retaining community health workers. By teaming up with Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, GSK and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, precious resources and acumen can be maximized. All are united by the belief that community health workers play a catalytic role, and all share a commitment towards advancing universal health coverage.Leveraging the unique expertise of each organization will drive tech innovation and deepen impact. In addition to financial contributions, industry partners will contribute disease-specific expertise and experience in the discovery and development of new tools, which will supplement the community health worker models pioneered by Last Mile Health and Living Goods, in partnership with government.Investing in community health workers produces some of the best returns in health. Community health workers can yield a 10:1 return on investment, due to a healthier population, increased employment, and lower odds of health crises. In addition, community health workers can help primary healthcare systems serve the majority of a population's health needs, which means community health workers are one of the most efficient and effective ways to achieve universal health coverage. This partnership is a response to the growing call to action globally to advance universal health coverage and Sustainable Development Goal 3."Focused investment in community health workers can accelerate progress to make universal health coverage a reality," said, chairman and CEO of Lilly and president of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations. "Public-private collaboration is critical to help governments lower barriers to quality care and innovative medicines that save and improve people's lives.""Community health workers are the critical frontline to sustainably impact the health of communities in resource poor settings," said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis. "Novartis is committed to strengthening healthcare systems and is proud to be part of this coalition to use digital technologies to reimagine the future of community health delivery."The three-year investment will cover three areas:Together, these pieces of the investment aim to scale up access to life-saving primary healthcare while building stronger, tech-enabled community health programs for the future."Well-trained community health workers play an integral role in providing quality care in low-resource settings," said, Co-chair of the CEO Roundtable Executive Council and Director of Life Sciences Partnerships at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "The Gates Foundation is committed to working with partners across sectors to achieve universal health coverage, which is necessary to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and reducing the burden of diseases that disproportionately affect pregnant women and young children. We thank the companies involved in this initiative for their efforts to increase data-driven solutions to train and deploy effective community health workers.""This partnership will play a critical role in helping to scale and empower the world's most promising health resourcecommunity health workersso that they can thrive and effectively save lives," said Dr. Jane Aceng,Minister of Health. "Ensuring community health workers have the right training, digital technology, medical equipment and supervision is critical for ensuring they can help transform health outcomes, no matter where people live."Each of the six investors will contribute USDtotal over the next three years. This funding will be matched by the Audacious Project through an existing USDmatching commitment to scale community health workers in, resulting in an USDtotal investment.This investment will also support the sustainability of community health worker programs. Living Goods and Last Mile Health partner with governments to deploy digitally-empowered community health workers. Not only will this partnership support community health workers to reach more patients, but the curricula and tools developed through the investment will support improved community health worker performance for years to come."We are inspired that healthcare companies are taking collective action to strengthen community health systems in the public sector across sub-Saharan Africa to advance universal health coverage," said, CEO of Living Goods, and Dr. Raj Panjabi, CEO of Last Mile Health. "This partnership is much more than a financial commitment; it joins a growing movement of philanthropists, companies, and governments that have committed to scale digitally-empowered community health workers and build stronger primary healthcare systems acrossto ultimately save more lives."To learn more about the community health movement and efforts to advance universal health coverage in partnership with governments, watch thisproduced by Freethink.Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In, it seeks to ensure that all peopleespecially those with the fewest resourceshave access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in, the foundation is led by CEOand Co-chair, under the direction ofandContact: media@gatesfoundation.orgGSK is a science-led global healthcare company with a special purpose: to help people do more, feel better, live longer. For further information please visit www.gsk.com/about-us.Contact: corporate.media@gsk.comAt Johnson & Johnson, we believe good health is the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving communities, and forward progress. That's why for more than 130 years, we have aimed to keep people well at every age and every stage of life. Today, as the world's largest and most broadly-based health care company, we are committed to using our reach and size for good. We strive to improve access and affordability, create healthier communities, and put a healthy mind, body and environment within reach of everyone, everywhere. We are blending our heart, science and ingenuity to profoundly change the trajectory of health for humanity.Contact: nsaloma7@its.jnj.comLast Mile Health partners with governments to design, scale, strengthen, and sustain high-quality community health systems, which empower teams of community and frontline health workers to bring life-saving primary healthcare to the world's most remote communities. To learn more, visit lastmilehealth.org.Contact: siobhan@lastmilehealth.orgLilly is a global health care leader that unites caring with discovery to create medicines that make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at lilly.com and lilly.com/newsroom.Contact: marbaugh@lilly.comLiving Goods is a nonprofit that saves lives at scale by supporting digitally empowered community health workers who deliver care on call making it easy for families in need to get the care they need. Beginning its operations inin 2007 and expanding intoin 2015, Living Goods works with governments and partners to ensure community health workers have access to the digital technology, medical treatments, supervision and compensation to cost-effectively deliver high quality, impactful health services. At the end of 2019, Living Goods was supporting more than 10,000 CHWs to deliver care to more than 7 million people. Learn more at www.livinggoods.org.Contact: jhyman@livinggoods.orgNovartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach more than 750 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at www.novartis.com.Contact: media.relations@novartis.comAt Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @Pfizer_News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.Contact: sally.beatty@pfizer.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/public-private-collaboration-commits-to-accelerate-access-to-health-services-in-africa-reaching-1-7-million-people-300987898.html SOURCE Novartis SAN DIEGO, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Shareholder Rights Law Firm Johnson Fistel, LLP, is investigating potential claims against McDonald's Corporation ("McDonald's or the "Company") (NYSE: MCD) for violations of federal securities laws. On May 21, 2019, the ACLU announced the filing of 25 lawsuits and regulatory charges of condoning sexual harassment in the workplace and retaliating against employees. Then on January 7, 2020, two McDonald's executives filed a lawsuit against the Company alleging systemic racial discrimination and a hostile work environment under the Company's former chief executive. If you are a current, long-term shareholder of McDonald's , you may have standing to hold the Company harmless from the alleged harm caused by the officers and directors of the Company by making them personally responsible. You may also be able to assist in reforming the Company's corporate governance to prevent future wrongdoing. If you are interested in learning more about the investigation, please contact lead analyst Jim Baker ( [email protected] ) at 619-814-4471. If emailing, please include a phone number. Additionally, you can [Click here to join this action]. There is no cost or obligation to you. About Johnson Fistel, LLP: Johnson Fistel, LLP is a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm with offices in California, New York and Georgia. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://www.johnsonfistel.com. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Contact: Johnson Fistel, LLP Jim Baker, 619-814-4471 [email protected] [Click here to join this action] SOURCE Johnson Fistel, LLP Related Links http://www.johnsonfistel.com Bhopal, Jan 17 : Two employees of the hostel in which a seven-year-old boy was strangulated on Wednesday night were suspended by the authorities on Friday, sources said. District Magistrate Tarun Pithode on Friday suspended hostel Superintendent Rechal Ram and supervisor Shakeel Qureshi and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. According to the sources, Suraj was found in an unconscious condition in the washroom of the Government Scheduled Caste-Tribe Boys Hostel in the Piplani police station area on Wednesday night. The boy was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. The post-mortem revealed that the boy was strangulated. Rajesh Kharte, who is a labourer and father of the deceased, lives in Borepani village in Sihor district. His two children including Suraj were studying in the hostel. The police is investigating the matter and other students are also being questioned. ANN ARBOR, MI -- The owner of MD Bagel Fragel says shes close to reopening the popular eatery in a new location. After 25 years, the Ann Arbor staple closed its 1760 Plymouth Road shop in Broadway Square at the end of 2018. A new landlord purchased the strip mall and the bagel shop was forced to move. But owner Patricia Rockette has been determined to find a new home. She said in an email the new shop could open this month. The new location will be 3500 Washtenaw Ave. in Ann Arbor, between Scrubs and Fast Signs, across from the Arborland Shopping Center. It took a year to find and build this, so we couldnt wait any longer for a bigger spot, Rockette said. We will make due with what we have. We are hoping to be open within the next two weeks if all goes as planned. The new space is small and will be a take-out-only shop with no seating, Rockette added. A fragel is a signature item that consists of raisin dough, deep-fried and covered in cinnamon sugar. This was the only space we could find (sort of) on this side of town that could accommodate (our) equipment, Rockette said. Preparing for MD Bagel Fragels last day is surreal, owner says The company said in a Facebook post that the new location is almost ready to open. We are waiting for an updated sprinkler system to be completed then the final inspection can be done, then we will be able to open," the business announced. All building is completed so we are only waiting on the sprinkler system and inspection. We dont know a date yet to give because it depends on how long the sprinkler will take. We are supposed to know by Friday. This process has been very very difficult and we are doing our very best to open our doors." Community members rallied around the bakery during the closure announcement, promoting Save Bagel Fragel shirts, seeking to raise money to help with relocation costs. A GoFundMe campaign to raise $40,000 for the relocation brought in nearly $12,000. Underground Printing ran a T-shirt fundraiser and sold about 180 Save Bagel Fragel shirts, which raised $2,300 for the bakery, Rockette previously told The Ann Arbor News. Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert from the University of Melbourne has reportedly been sentenced to 10 years behind bars in Tehran, Iran, in September 2019. (AAP Image/Supplied by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) Australian Foreign Minister Speaks to Iranian Counterpart About Jailed Australian Academic Foreign Minister Marise Payne has spoken to her Iranian counterpart about an imprisoned Australian academic, after the woman begged the government to help release her from jail. Senator Payne spoke to her counterpart on the sidelines of a conference in India, but would not elaborate on the pairs conversation about Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who has been sentenced to 10 years for spying. This is not a detention that we support, we dont accept the charges, the minister told the ABC. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne speaks during a press conference at Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 4, 2019. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images) Moore-Gilbert, a Melbourne University lecturer, has been held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran since October 2018. She was convicted of spying and sentenced to 10 years jail. A recent appeal failed. Moore-Gilbert has written letters while in prison that have been smuggled out and published by the Centre for Human Rights in Iran. She wrote on Christmas Eve to say she had been kept in solitary confinement for extended periods, had been allowed only one three-minute phone call with her family in nine months and had undertaken five hunger strikes. I beg of you, Prime Minister Morrison, to take immediate action, as my physical and mental health continues to deteriorate with every additional day that I remain imprisoned in these conditions, she said. In a June 2019 letter she begged Mr Morrison to act faster to bring this terrible trauma that myself and my family must live through day after day. Moore-Gilbert also wrote that she had traveled to Iran on a university program and had been doing research interviews. Unfortunately, one of my academic colleagues on this program and one of my interview subjects flagged me as suspicious to the Revolutionary Guards, she said. By Rebecca Gredley Paris: Paul Bocuse is a nothing short of a household name in France: the late chef, who died at 91 in 2018, was a national icon and the embodiment of a certain Gallic machismo that never seems to go out of style. French chef Paul Bocuse poses outside his famed Michelin-star restaurant L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges in Collonges-au-Mont-d'or in 2011. Credit:AP This was the man often credited with spearheading "la nouvelle cuisine" in the early 1970s - lighter, more sensual fare that, as Bocuse once said, liberated food from "lots of sauces hiding the ingredients." He also famously juggled a wife and two mistresses, but, as the French say, "tant pis" - never mind. "Monsieur Paul" could do no wrong: he was feted as the "chef of the century." So it came as quite the shock on Friday that his signature restaurant on the outskirts of Lyon, L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges, would lose its coveted third Michelin star this year, an honour the restaurant has comfortably held since 1965 - more than a decade before the birth of President Emmanuel Macron and more than three decades before France adopted the euro. The Presbyterian Church has called on the justice minister to provide greater funding for prison chaplains in Northern Ireland. The issue was raised as the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), Rt Rev Dr William Henry, visited the new 54m Davis House facility at Maghaberry. He praised the Prison Service for their focus on rehabilitation while his colleague Rev David Bruce, the PCIs Secretary to the Council for Mission in Ireland, called on Naomi Long to increase resources for chaplains. Speaking after the visit, Rev Bruce commented: All the churches receive funding towards the provision of chaplains, but like many public services the cuts that have been imposed in recent years have severely restricted what can be done. With the restoration of devolution and the appointment of a Minister for Justice, we hope that a more realistic enhanced funding provision will be put in place to secure the service in the future. The Moderator was invited to tour Northern Irelands only high-security prison by its co-ordinating chaplain, Rev Graham Stockdale. Dr Henry was briefed on the new facility and progress at Maghaberry by prison governor David Kennedy, Director General of the Northern Ireland Prison Service. The moderator said he gained a terrific insight into a thoroughly modern prison. It is good to see what has been done in recent years and hear that inspectors report that the prison is delivering some of the best outcomes that they have seen. I was also pleased to see, and hear, the value that the Prison Service places on chaplaincy and the role of the chaplains from across the denominations. Dr Henry became minister of Maze Presbyterian Church in 1997, and said he was very much aware of the stress and pressure that prison officers and their families were under. Then as now, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who serve and work in our prisons, often working in challenging circumstances. The PCI ministers to prisoners and staff across all of Northern Irelands various institutions, including Magilligan and Hydebank Wood College, which includes the Northern Ireland Womens Prison. Ministers also work with young people at Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre in Bangor and visit on request to prisons in the Republic of Ireland. We really believe in caring for the community and were proud to support Habitat for Humanity by giving back after each of our conventions, said CCA Global co-Founder and co-CEO Howard Brodsky. CCA Global Partners furthered its commitment to building stronger communities by donating to Habitat for Humanity this past week following its 2020 Winter Convention. The convention draws thousands of business partners from across North America and was held in Phoenix this year. Its tailored to CCA Globals flooring retail cooperatives, Carpet One Floor & Home, Flooring America & Flooring Canada, and The Floor Trader. The event features a large exhibition of this seasons trendiest floor coverings including hardwood, tile, carpet, luxury vinyl, laminate and area rugs as well as top kitchen and bath products. Traditionally, CCA Global donates flooring and other household items that are showcased during the exhibit to a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore at the conclusion of each convention. We really believe in caring for the community and were proud to support Habitat for Humanity by giving back after each of our conventions, said CCA Global co-Founder and co-CEO Howard Brodsky. Lack of affordable housing is a widespread issue around the country and its been wonderful to make a difference in the areas we visit. CCA Global was able to donate two pallets of waterproof hardwood and luxury vinyl tile, two rolls of carpet and vinyl, a table, nightstand, loveseat, side chairs and a bed. The Habitat ReStore will take these donations and make them available to the public for a fraction of their market price. This not only helps families accomplish their home projects, but also supports Habitat for Humanitys goal of providing safe and affordable housing. We appreciate the opportunity to partner with leaders in our retail world to help fulfill our mission to provide decent, affordable housing, said Sharyn Logue, who works as the procurement manager for central Arizonas Habitat ReStore. Our Habitat ReStores always welcome new product and are honored to accept such incredible donations to offer to our customers. CCA Globals next convention will be held in Nashville in August of 2020 where the company plans to continue its semiannual custom of donating leading flooring items to the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The tradition has been in place since 2007, making this the fourteenth year CCA Global has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to support local community growth. For more information on CCA Global Partners, visit http://www.ccaglobalpartners.com. About CCA Global Partners CCA Global Partners, Inc. is a privately held cooperative based in the United States with member businesses in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. For over a quarter of a century, CCA Global has partnered with entrepreneurial businesspeople to create a cooperative powerhouse unmatched in the marketplace. With 15 independent business brands and more than 2,800 locations, CCA Global Partners is well positioned to positively impact the success of independent businesses. For more information on CCA Global Partners, go to http://www.ccaglobal.com. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-16 22:40:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United States should engage more with China when dealing with bilateral relations and collaborate more with it, Ken Wilcox, chair of the Asia Society Northern California (ASNC), said here Wednesday. In concluding remarks of the ASNC's day-long panel discussions on the future of China and the United States, Wilcox said he did not see that anybody in the debates was really in favor of the decoupling of the two most important countries in the world. A group of Chinese and U.S. policy makers, scholars, business leaders and industry experts explored the future of China-U.S. relations from various perspectives, including the overall development of their ties, competition in the auto industry, artificial intelligence, intellectual property rights protection, market access and policy-making. The discussions came on the exact day when China and the United States formally signed the phase-one economic and trade agreement in the White House, namely earlier on Wednesday. Wilcox said the United States should work with China to maintain international order and laws, instead of trying to contain China's development. "We should not be in any way behaving in a way that can be construed as trying to keep China down," said Wilcox, urging the United Sates to stay open-minded when it comes to technological cooperation with other countries. "We should keep our borders open, and there is more risk in isolating ourselves from scientific advancement," he added. He called on Washington to focus on collaboration with other countries in environmental matters, climate change, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence. "Artificial intelligence is not a race. There's more to be gained through collaboration than through competition," he said. "Technology crosses borders." Other panelists shared similar opinions on China-U.S. relations and expressed optimism about the future. "I'm an optimist, (and) both political systems will have to come to their senses and realize that in some level we're going to have to muddle through," said Anja Manuel, co-founder of the consultancy RiceHadleyGates LLC based in Silicon Valley and Washington D.C. She said there are "big, pressing global problems" that call for cooperation between China and the United States, and "the number one of them is climate change that we cannot solve without the help" of each other. Mark Cohen, director and senior fellow of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at the University of California, Berkeley, told Xinhua that the phase-one agreement between China and the United States is a positive development. It's "extremely important" for both China and the United States to reinstitute their cooperative mechanisms following the signing of the phase-one deal, he said. Everything seemed normal. It was a Tuesday afternoon, and the last period had just dismissed. We watched as kids rushed out of the school, eager to get home. But amidst the controlled chaos of the everyday dismissal of students there was a difference. Something off. There was a sense of desperation, of fear. Then the situation escalated administrators were running in and out of the building, and police sirens were wailing. Over the intercom, one of the assistant principals warned everyone in the building to evacuate immediately. There was a tremor in her voice. No one knew what had happened. What was certain was that no one at Bellaire High School expected a member of our student body, Cesar Cortes, to be shot to death inside the JROTC building. On Thursday, the school is quieter. We waited in line, for about fifteen minutes, to be searched. We walked into school over the same ground where one of our classmates had lain dying on the concrete. We sat in our classes thinking about how a student is missing from the third row of his math class. We replayed the image branded in our brain of a high school boy being administered CPR while hundreds of students watched from 20 feet away, shocked. We walked past the sea of kids in black ribbons, the JROTC students in their uniforms and the shrine in front of the library. Bellaire High School is shaken to its core. Why must we be burdened with this undeniable weight of grief so young? On Thursday, we didnt want to go back to school when we still didnt know anything about what happened. We felt like the Houston Independent School District still hadnt told us what happened. After the shooting, they should have been transparent. They should have freely communicated with their community because the last thing we wanted to hear was a rehearsed response. But they also should have done this long ago. In fact, they should have been transparent after a gun was found on campus on Sept. 25, and then again on Oct. 3. If only parents had been reminded of the legal consequences failing to prevent minors under 17 years old from accessing guns after those incidents, we might not be in need of this article. But the school district did not release information about whether the parents of the last students who brought firearms to school were charged. This information could have been used as a deterrent. It could have been used to encourage secure storage of firearms, which might have prevented yesterdays shooting. We know that there have been at least 405 incidents of gunfire on school grounds from 2013 to 2018. We know that in incidents of gun violence on school grounds, 78 percent of shooters under the age of 18 obtained their guns from their own home, a relatives home or from friends. We also know that one of our peers is dead. But data suggests households that locked both firearms and ammunition were associated with a 78 percent lower risk of self-inflicted firearm injuries and an 85 percent lower risk of unintentional firearm injuries among children, compared to those that locked neither. Thats why we need the school district to do more to raise awareness about secure firearm storage. Heres what we want: we want a seat at the table when the school district talks about these issues. If were old enough to be the victims of gun violence in our classrooms, were old enough to have opinions about the measures that can be taken to make us safe. We cant change what happened on Tuesday. But we can work together to prevent it from happening again. Were asking the HISD to give us hope, put students first and make the classroom a safer place. The ball is in your court. Richards, Skjonsby, Narayan and Hoffer are volunteers with the Bellaire High School chapter of Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a national movement, created by and for teens and young adults, to channel the energy and passion of high school and college-aged students into the fight against gun violence. Several trekkers from South Korea and China went missing in Nepal after an avalanche hit a section of the Annapurna circuit trekking route on Friday afternoon, police have said. Among those missing include four South Korean nationals and a Chinese national. The latter was accompanied by a Nepali potter, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Gandaki Province Binod Sharma Ghimire told ANI. Annapurna circuit trekking route, located in Rural Municipality-11, was hit by an avalanche on Friday afternoon after heavy snowfall in the area. A search operation in the region is underway. Ghimire said that the incessant rainfall in the region has made it difficult to obtain information about the missing foreigners. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Canopy Rivers provides update on High Beauty, TerrAscend, YSS, and JWC TORONTO, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Canopy Rivers Inc. ("Canopy Rivers") (TSX: RIV, OTC: CNPOF), a venture capital firm specializing in cannabis, portfolio companies have made a series of recent announcements relating to their plans for the cannabis retail market or U.S. cannabis operations. Two portfolio companies are evaluating opportunities to expand their retail footprint in Canada, while another will remember 2019 as the year it grew its retail presence across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Another Canopy Rivers portfolio company is taking steps to build out its U.S. operations, as more states look to legalize medical or recreational cannabis. More details on these developments are included below: High Beauty, Inc. (" High Beauty "), the skincare brand powered by cannabis sativa seed oil, announced in December that its 2019 sales growth was driven by the company's growing list of retailers in the U.S., Canada , and Europe . In the U.S., High Beauty was the first cannabis brand in Macy's, and also sells in Sephora, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie, among others. In Canada , High Beauty has signed contracts with Indigo, Hudson's Bay, and Shoppers Drug Mart, while its European distributors include Douglas and Amazon. Additionally, High Beauty's founder & CEO Melissa Jochim was announced as a finalist for Fashion Group International's Beauty Legacy/Product Development Rising Star award in the Beauty Entrepreneur category. "), the skincare brand powered by cannabis sativa seed oil, announced in December that its 2019 sales growth was driven by the company's growing list of retailers in the U.S., , and . In the U.S., High Beauty was the first cannabis brand in Macy's, and also sells in Sephora, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie, among others. In , High Beauty has signed contracts with Indigo, Hudson's Bay, and Shoppers Drug Mart, while its European distributors include Douglas and Amazon. Additionally, High Beauty's founder & CEO was announced as a finalist for Fashion Group International's Beauty Legacy/Product Development Rising Star award in the Beauty Entrepreneur category. TerrAscend Corp. (CSE: TER) (" TerrAscend ") announced that it has finalized a US$33.5 million non-brokered private placement. TerrAscend intends to use the proceeds from the private placement to accelerate the completion of its New Jersey cultivation and processing facilities, to satisfy the previously announced January 2020 contingent price payment related to the acquisition of Ilera Healthcare, and for working capital and general corporate purposes. ") announced that it has finalized a non-brokered private placement. TerrAscend intends to use the proceeds from the private placement to accelerate the completion of its cultivation and processing facilities, to satisfy the previously announced contingent price payment related to the acquisition of Ilera Healthcare, and for working capital and general corporate purposes. YSS Corp. (" YSS ") (TSXV: YSS) is one of eight companies seeking to take over New Brunswick's recreational cannabis retail operations. YSS currently operates 16 stores in Alberta and Saskatchewan under both the YSS and Sweet Tree brands. It recently announced that its two flagship stores have opened in downtown Calgary and that its 17 th store, YSS Grand Prairie, passed final inspection from the Alberta regulator. YSS Grand Prairie is expected to open in early February. YSS has also applied for its Retail Operator Licence with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario as it advances expansion plans for Ontario , where its initial strategy will be to identify and pursue at least three premier retail locations until it has greater clarity around timing for licensing. ") (TSXV: YSS) is one of eight companies seeking to take over recreational cannabis retail operations. YSS currently operates 16 stores in and under both the YSS and Sweet Tree brands. It recently announced that its two flagship stores have opened in downtown and that its 17 store, YSS Grand Prairie, passed final inspection from the regulator. YSS Grand Prairie is expected to open in early February. YSS has also applied for its Retail Operator Licence with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of as it advances expansion plans for , where its initial strategy will be to identify and pursue at least three premier retail locations until it has greater clarity around timing for licensing. James E. Wagner Cultivation Corporation ("JWC") (TSXV: JWC,OTCQX: JWCA) plans to open a 2,000 square foot farmgate retail store at its flagship cultivation facility in Kitchener, Ontario. The store is expected to be the Kitchener-Waterloo region's first cannabis store located on a licensed cultivation site and represents a new direct-to-consumer outlet for the company. The store is expected to sell JWC's full line of cannabis and derivative products for medical and legal-age recreational users, including the company's recently announced strains. About Canopy Rivers Canopy Rivers is a venture capital firm specializing in cannabis. Its unique investment and operating platform is structured to pursue investment opportunities in the emerging global cannabis sector. Canopy Rivers identifies strategic counterparties seeking financial and/or operating support. Canopy Rivers has developed an investment ecosystem of complementary cannabis operating companies that represent various segments of the value chain across the emerging cannabis sector. As the portfolio continues to develop, constituents will be provided with opportunities to work with Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED,NYSE: CGC) and collaborate among themselves, which Canopy Rivers believes will maximize value for its shareholders and foster an environment of innovation, synergy and value creation for the entire portfolio. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of Canopy Rivers and its portfolio companies with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes information regarding: the intended use of proceeds from TerrAscend's private placement; YSS' goal of taking over New Brunswick's recreational cannabis operations and the expected timing for the opening of YSS Grand Prairie; YSS' Ontario expansion plans and its initial strategy for such expansion; JWC's plans to open a farmgate retail store, the impact thereof and the products expected to be sold thereat; the expectation that JWC's farmgate retail store will be the Kitchener-Waterloo region's first cannabis store located on a licensed cultivation site; and expectations for other economic, regulatory, business, and/or competitive factors. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical fact but instead reflects management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although Canopy Rivers believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements of Canopy Rivers. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information are the following: regulatory and licensing risks; changes in the use of proceeds from TerrAscend's private placement; changes in cannabis industry growth and trends; changes in consumer preferences and demands; changes in the business activities and plans of JWC and YSS and the associated timing therewith; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; the global regulatory landscape and enforcement related to cannabis, including political risks and risks relating to regulatory change; risks relating to anti-money laundering laws; compliance with extensive government regulation, including Canopy Rivers' interpretation of such regulation; public opinion and perception of the cannabis industry; divestiture risks; and the risk factors set out in Canopy Rivers' annual information form dated July 15, 2019, filed with the Canadian securities regulators and available on Canopy Rivers' profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although Canopy Rivers has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Canopy Rivers does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law. SOURCE Canopy Rivers Inc. Related Links www.canopyrivers.com A family of Indian immigrants with Australian citizenship are moving to Canada for better job opportunities and because they say it's more 'migrant-friendly'. Education agent Hardik Rao, 42, and his wife moved to Australia 13 years ago but, after having two children, they are calling it quits and heading to Canada because they think they will find a better life there. Mr Rao said it was not just a problem for his family but for migrants in general, especially those from the Indian subcontinent. A family of Indian migrants with Australian citizenship are moving to Canada for better job and visa sponsorship opportunities. Pictured: Hardik Rao, his wife and their two children 'How many migrants around you, particularly from India, can raise their hands and say we are doing what we came here for?' Mr Rao told SBS Punjabi. 'An accountant is driving a bus, an IT professional is relegated to a regional area where he has no job prospects, only very few are fortunate enough to be really working in the field they have a degree in. Is this what we came here for?' Mr Rao said there are not enough opportunities for jobs, to start a business or to sponsor a family member in Australia. As a result, the naturalised Australian citizen is trading life Down Under for a fresh start in the Great White North. Mr Rao said there are not enough opportunities or favourable polices for jobs, to start a business or to sponsor a family member in Australia (stock image) 'Canada is more migrant-friendly, has an easy and flexible migrant pathway, better job prospects, bigger economy, it's closer to the US and most importantly you can easily sponsor your family members,' Mr Rao said. Mr Rao is an education agent while his wife works as a practicing migration agent. The couple are two of the lucky migrants who managed to become Australian citizens but many migrants struggle to even achieve permanent residency. 'How many migrants around you, particularly from India, can raise their hands and say we are doing what we came here for?' Mr Rao told SBS Punjabi. Pictured: Mr Rao and his family Temporary skilled worked visas, also known as 457 visas, were abolished in 2018 and replaced with Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visas, which make it harder for migrants to settle in Australia. Meanwhile, the migration points system saw an increase in threshold from 60 to 65, adding another barrier to permanent residency. Canada also has a points system. In addition, there is an express entry program for in-demand jobs like engineers, healthcare professionals and lawyers, among 347 different professions. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun speaks during a session with industry leaders on the sidelines of his participation in last year's G20 summit, Japan. Korea Times file By Kim Yoo-chul Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun called for collective efforts for progress in discussions to maximize the benefits of a "hydrogen society." Speaking on behalf of the Hydrogen Council, Thursday, the co-chair of the industry association body, acknowledged that a full transformation into a "hydrogen society" would not happen overnight. But he also highlighted why actively embracing the initiative matters in terms of both maximizing the best interests of the corporate sector and going further to build the relevant eco-system. "I believe building hydrogen-powered areas, which many countries are already taking part in, could be a viable stepping stone toward becoming a hydrogen society. We need to have discussions with other governments to jointly establish hydrogen-powered areas." Regarding safety issues, the Chung said: "With the construction of hydrogen-oriented areas where major urban functions electricity, transportation, heating and cooling are powered by hydrogen, the safety and economic feasibility of the energy transition through hydrogen will be easily verified." According to his assessment of a hydrogen-fueled society, such areas don't have to be "large" and "may come" in many different forms such as hydrogen cities and hydrogen valleys. "But would need to effectively convey the message that a hydrogen eco-system production, distribution and application is the fastest way to achieve a truly zero-emission world." Hydrogen has recently been gaining popularity as one of the next energy sources with high potential to play a "key role" in building a clean, secure and affordable power future. Japan is trying to achieve a "hydrogen society" by 2030 in accordance with Tokyo's commitment to abide by the 2016 Paris Agreement on climate change. As this form of energy is obtained by splitting water molecules into its components hydrogen and oxygen the energy source is widely regarded as cost-effective and stable compared to lithium-ion batteries. Chung said the South Korean automaker was on track to advance its technology by cutting costs, and he remained upbeat over its plans to expand the use of hydrogen applications. "Under the Hydrogen Vision 2030, Hyundai Motor Group will boost annual fuel-cell systems production capacity to 700,000 by 2030 and explore new business opportunities to supply the group's fuel-cell systems to other transportation manufacturers of automobiles, rolling stocks, drones, vessels and forklifts," Chung told the Council. "We believe our responsibilities extend beyond vehicles and include investments in the hydrogen supply chain," he added. Hyundai built a hydrogen filling station in Seoul, last year. The Council is an advocate defending the interests of the hydrogen industry. It has been playing a key role in highlighting hydrogen's merits and collectively encouraging key stakeholders to increase their backing of hydrogen as part of the future energy mix with appropriate policies and supporting backup plans. Australia vacations have been part of Goway's 50 year story from the beginning. Goway has grown and evolved with its globetrotters to become an industry leader in long haul travel to destinations across the world, from Iceland to the Islands of Tahiti. Goway Travel hits a milestone few travel companies reach in 2020, celebrating its 50th year in business. Still family-owned and operated after half a century, Goway enters the year with over 350 expert staff, offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Sydney, and Manila, and big plans for celebrating its 50th anniversary. Started by Australian Bruce Hodge in a small Toronto office in 1970, Goway Travel promoted its earliest trips as fun holidays for the under 30s. These were often epic overland journeys that spanned entire continents, from Alaska to Panama, London to Nairobi, and the popular hippie trail through to Kathmandu. Goway even embarked on a 3-month journey around South America from Bogota to Rio de Janeiro, though this itinerary got off to a rough start when Goways tour bus failed to arrive from London, inadvertently launching Goways first epic journey via public transport! Since then, Goway has grown and evolved with its globetrotters to become an industry leader in long haul travel to destinations across the world, from Iceland to the Islands of Tahiti. Many of these destinations are showcased in Goways 50th Anniversary Golden Sale, which begins the celebration with unbeatable deals available until February 29, 2020. Goways destination specialists have also hand-picked Goways 50 Trips to Take in 2020. Carefully curated from Goways extensive product range, the list contains some of the companys classic destinations and best-selling itineraries, alongside new favourites and rapidly emerging hot spots sure to spark globetrotting imaginations in 2020. Later in the year, globetrotters will also have the chance to win one of 50 Goway trips, in what the company believes will be the biggest giveaway in travel industry history. Find details of Goway Travels 50th Anniversary celebrations, including the 50th Anniversary Golden Sale offers, and 50 Trips to Take in 2020 on Goways website, http://www.goway.com. Check back throughout the year for new offers, contests, and more as Goways 50th Anniversary continues! Since 1970, Goway has been providing unforgettable travel experiences to Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Central & South America, Idyllic Island destinations and Europe. Today Goway is recognized as one of North America's leading travel companies for individuals, families and groups to select exotic destinations around the globe. Goway has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Manila, and Sydney, Australia. For reservations and information, visit http://www.goway.com, or call 1-800-387-8850. Donald Trump's administration proposed new school lunch guidelines Friday that would undo several changes made by Michelle Obama to get more fruit and veggies on the menu: a move that comes on the former first lady's birthday. The Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Food and Nutrition Service, said it is proposing new rules 'to simplify meal service and reduce food waste.' That would include 'increasing flexibility in the vegetable subgroups requirements for school lunches.' But the changes would allow schools to cut the amount of vegetables and fruits required at lunch and breakfasts while giving them the ability to offer more pizza, burgers and fries instead. It would also undo rules championed by Michelle Obama as part of her Let's Move initiative and The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. Friday is the former first lady's 56th birthday. Michelle Obama made healthy eating a signature issue during her time in the White House. 'I am determined to work with folks across this country to change the way a generation of kids thinks about food and nutrition,' she said. Trump, however, is known for his love of fast food. He often ate McDonalds or Kentucky Fried Chicken on the campaign trail. Michelle Obama eats broccoli during a lunch at New Hampshire Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland on May 19, 2010 President Trump is known for his love of fast food - here he eats McDonalds during the 2016 campaign HOW MICHELLE OBAMA CHANGED SCHOOL MEALS Advertisement One of his favorite meals is a hamburger with a side salad consisting of an edge of iceberg lettuce covered in blue cheese. Apple pie with ice cream is his favorite dessert. Consumer groups slammed the proposed school meal changes. 'The proposed rule would allow anything that might be allowable as an entree on any one school day to be served as an a la carte item every single day. In practice, if finalized, this would create a huge loophole in school nutrition guidelines, paving the way for children to choose pizza, burgers, French fries, and other foods high in calories, saturated fat or sodium in place of balanced school meals every day,' Center for Science in the Public Interest Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs Colin Schwartz said in a statement. 'The Trump administration proposal also would limit the variety of vegetables served at lunch and allow schools to reduce the amount of fruit served with some breakfasts. (If past is prologue, lobbyists for the potato industry likely have replacements in mind.),' Schwartz added. 'The potato industry and junk food lobbyists should not be able to dictate what is and is not on school menus for 30 million students,' said Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook in a statement. 'Just because President Trump consumes cheeseburgers and fries every day doesnt mean children want or should be given the same choice. 'There are far too many kids struggling with obesity in this country, and we should be making it easier for them to choose fresh, local whole fruits and vegetables, not limiting them to highly processed foods that will only make this epidemic worse.' The changes had been sought by food manufacturers and some school districts that were frustrated with the higher food costs that come at providing more fruits and vegetables. The USDA defended the proposed rules, arguing they would reduce food waste. 'Schools and school districts continue to tell us that there is still too much food waste and that more common-sense flexibility is needed to provide students nutritious and appetizing meals,' Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement. 'We listened and now were getting to work.' A public comment period on the new rules opens January 21. Best wishes from Donald Trump: President Obama posted a happy birthday message to his wife. Hours later his successor's administration downgraded his wife's school lunches The USDA oversees nutritional programs that feed nearly 30 million students at 99,000 schools. About two-thirds of those kids qualify as low-income and receive meals free or for a reduced price. Low-income kids are at a higher risk for obesity and are less likely to have healthy meals at home, making school lunches and breakfasts an important alternative for them. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 14 million children and adolescents struggle with obesity. The Washington Post first reported the newly proposed nutritional guidelines. Additionally, the new rules would make it 'simpler to offer meats or meat alternates' at school meals. And they would cut the fruit serving guidelines from from one cup to a half cup. For school lunches, the new rules would allow potatoes as a vegetable everyday and would allow them to offer pizza and burgers over more nutritious choices. It's not the first time the USDA has changed school meal guidelines. In March, they allowed school breakfast programs to 'credit any vegetable offered, including potatoes and other starchy vegetables, in place of fruit.' New Delhi [India], Jan 17 (ANI): Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday visited Jama Masjid on Friday and read out the Preamble to the Constitution as a mark of his protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC) and said that the peaceful protest is the strength. "Peaceful protest is our strength. People from all religions who support us should join us in great number to prove it to the govt that these protests are not led by Muslims alone," Azad said. Meanwhile, Delhi Police on 'Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad's visit to Jama Masjid' said, "He has a time of 24 hours after his release from Tihar Jail yesterday, to leave Delhi. He is not holding any protest at Jama Masjid." Azad was released after a Delhi Court granted him bail and directing him not to hold any protest in Delhi till February 16 till the elections in the national capital. "I am here to visit Ravidas temple, then I will go to a gurudwara and a church and later to Jama Masjid at 1 pm. The purpose is to mark protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC and also to tell people that such black laws cannot be imposed on us," he had said while speaking to ANI. The Bhim Army chief was charged with rioting, unlawful assembly and inciting the mob to indulge in violence after vandalism in Delhi's Daryaganj area. (ANI) There was this Amish family in the United States who was filled with sorrow after four of their children died. Those children were just playing when they suddenly collapsed and died. The doctors cannot identify the cause of death. Their bodies were normal. They do not have any pre-existing conditions. There weren't any injuries or trauma which could indicate accidents. And these cases are not unique to them. In fact, many Amish families suffered from this so-called "the curse of sudden death". Their death remained a mystery among medical examiners for years. Pediatric cardiologists and genetic counselors in different parts of the country were reached out in the hope of providing insights on this. But 15 years later, the endeavor has finally born fruits. Scientists have finally found out the root cause: a genetic mutation. The Cursed Genes Since 2004, the molecular biologists from Mayo Clinic Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory have been suspecting that a gene called RYR2 is causing the exercise-fainting spells that often lead to sudden cardiac death. However, it was disregarded because they did not see any mutation at all. But last week, researchers at the Mayo Clinic published a paper in JAMA Cardiology. They claimed that they found out the cause, and it is, in fact, the same gene. The lead scientists, David Tester, said that new information and equipment have allowed them to "put this puzzle together". Through modern technologies that did not exist before, they found out that the RYR2 has at least 300,000 mistakes. All of the four children have this gene, which they got from both of their parents. Additionally, there have found 23 other people who have inherited RYR2, and 18 of them have sudden deaths. According to the study, the chance of inheriting it from parents who carry the ggenesis25 percent. And the case of the family is really unfortunate, said Michael Ackerman, director of the Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory. A common ancestor The parents of the family, for instance, are not related to each other both of them carry the genes. Ackerman explained that this is probably because they have the same ancestor. Tester said that since the Amish came from a small number of ancestors and have a tendency to intermarry, they are really vulnerable to inheriting such recessive conditions But the discovery could help save lives, Ackerman added. The first step will be identifying which people carry the genes. This can be done through knowing which family has a history of this "sudden death curse". Ackerman suggested that it must be considered on marrying another person. And for children who have a high risk of sudden death, there is a preventable solution: an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). However, this could be extremely expensive. But Ackerman said that his team is studying the genetic disorder more so that they could develop a more accessible treatment to prevent it. For now, Ackerman hoped that this discovery will finally put the mind of the mourning family at ease since it answers the mystery already. ALSO READ: Genetically-Modified Twins May Die Early From Unintended Genetic Mutation It feels like royal news has been on overdrive these past couple of weeks, but just when we thought it was slowing down, Kate Middleton gave the world a scoop of her own: No, she and Prince William dont have any plans to try for baby #4. This week, during a visit to Yorkshire to meet with community groups at the Khidmat Centre in Bradford, Middleton revealed that the odds of expanding her royal clan (which already includes Prince George, 6, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis, 1) are slim. I dont think William wants any more, she explained to royal well-wisher Josh Macplace according to a People report. Le sigh. We get it, but we also have to admit that the Duchess of Cambridge sort of got our hopes up when she admitted she was feeling a bit broody after meeting an adorable five-month-old baby boy during her royal tour of Northern Ireland with Prince William last year. Its fine. She and William have already brought the ever-adorable George, Char and Lou into the world. Still, if you need us, well be busy reminiscing about the thrill of those Lindo Wing announcements. (#TBT to when George accompanied William to meet Charlotte.) RELATED: Kate Middleton Broke Out Her Go-To Parenting Move Today ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo Style UK--- Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer announced Thursday that she wont seek another term in the Oregon House of Representatives. That makes the veteran Southeast Portland lawmaker at least the 16th Oregon lawmaker to announce they wont run again, either because they are retiring from politics or they are running for another office. Twelve of those are House members. Keny-Guyer, 60, the House human services and housing chair, took a break from legislating last year to fight thyroid cancer. She didnt say in her announcement why exactly she will step down. This is her 10th year serving in the House. She indicated she is not done working to promote policy change in the state. There are many other issues that I care about," she wrote to supporters, naming the climate crisis, gun safety, education, campaign finance and revenue reform. She wrote, I look forward to working on these issues in what ever capacity comes next. In her announcement, she wrote, After challenges of the past year including beating cancer, this is a transition time to explore new ways of expressing my values in the world and spend more time with my family. Her husband, Neal Keny-Guyer, resigned amid controversy in 2019 after reporting by The Oregonian/OregonLive revealed that a founder and longtime leader of the non-profit Neal Keny-Guyer headed since 1994, Mercy Corps, faced credible accusations in the early 1990s that that a founder sexually abused his daughter over many years and that Mercy Corps rebuffed and hid her cries for help. Neal Keny-Guyer resigned hours after outraged employees demanded a more forceful response to an Oregonian/OregonLive investigation that showed executives at the international relief agency twice dismissed sexual abuse allegations against the founder, Ellsworth Culver. As she announced her impending departure from the Legislature, Alissa Keny-Guyer was hailed by fellow lawmakers for her efforts to help vulnerable Oregonians. Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, said in a statement, Alissa has fought passionately for the most vulnerable Oregonians, including foster kids, seniors, communities of color, people with disabilities and people with mental health (conditions) and addictions. She led the fights to protect kids from toxic chemicals and to ensure health care for all kids. Ive enjoyed working with her to support vulnerable families with culturally appropriate wraparound care. House Majority Leader Barbara Smith Warner, also D-Portland, said in her statement that Keny-Guyer has been a champion for building a legislative caucus that more closely represents Oregon demographics. Since her appointment to the legislature nearly a decade ago, Alissa has kept us focused on equity and diversity in the legislature, Smith Warner said. I will miss her passion and commitment to building a more just Oregon for all. -- Betsy Hammond and Hillary Borrud betsyhammond@oregonian.com; @OregonianPol; hborrud@oregonian.com; @HBorrud Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. (Newser) A jury of seven men and five women was selected Friday for Harvey Weinstein's criminal trial in New York after an arduous, two-week process, setting the stage for testimony to begin in the next week. The final tally mostly erased a gender imbalance that, just hours earlier, led to complaints by prosecutors that the defense was deliberately trying to keep young women off the panel. "They are systematically eliminating a class of people from this jury," prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said. The defense said it wasn't specifically trying to exclude young women, the AP reports, but didn't want jurors who were too young to understand the way men and women interacted in the early 1990s. "That was a different time in New York and on planet Earth," Weinstein attorney Arthur Aidala said. story continues below Citing news media coverage, the defense tried to have the juror screening take place in private, per USA Today. Judge James Burke, denying the fourth request, told defense lawyers, "Nothing you said makes logical sense to me." Weinstein, 67, ambling out of the courthouse, didnt comment when asked about jury selection. "Ask Donna!" he said, referring to lawyer Donna Rotunno. Three alternate jurorsone man and two womenwere also seated. Weinstein, the former studio boss behind such Oscar winners as Pulp Fiction, is charged with raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and sexually assaulting another woman in 2006. He has pleaded not guilty. (Gigi Hadid wasn't in the jury pool for long.) The passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement in the Senate on Thursday ensures the creation of more jobs and investment in Laredo, catapulting the city even further toward success, Mayor Pete Saenz said. READ MORE: Laredoans celebrate the USMCA, a defining moment for our nation I know I speak for everyone in our community when I say I look forward to the president signing this legislation and bringing forth a new era of prosperity for trade and commerce, he said in a statement Thursday afternoon. On Thursday morning, before the Senate took their vote, IBC Bank hosted a discussion with Duncan Wood, the director of the Woodrow Wilson Centers Mexico Institute, in Laredo. In his introduction of this speaker and in anticipation of the Senate vote, bank Executive Vice President Gerry Schwebel called it D-Day. Its been a long journey. But I will tell you its taken city leadership, its taken engagement, its taken many who are in this room ... your involvement in delivering the message ... the importance of what this agreement is for the state of Texas, Schwebel said. Twenty-five years ago, who would ever believe Laredo would be the largest port in America, said bank President and CEO Dennis Nixon. That is unbelievable to me. For a small city like us, to be as large as a city like Los Angeles, Nixon said. ... But we must be vigilant, because USMCA has a lot of test points, a lot of check points along the way. So to stay actively involved in the policy process in going to be critical to our continued success. Laredo Chamber of Commerce President Miguel Conchas said six months ago, he wasnt sure that this was going to happen. President Donald Trump had originally introduced the idea of revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement by threatening to withdraw from it completely. Now Trump is due to sign the agreement next week. Eduardo Lozano, a local U.S. customs broker, said he expects business to grow 10-15% now that the trade deal has passed. This aligns with the city working to build a FAST lane at the World Trade Bridge, which will increase the ports capacity, Lozano said. Im really excited and looking forward to the new opportunities that were going to have. New businesses will be opening up. There will be more investments, more people coming to Laredo to invest in Laredo, he said. This idea was reinforced by Laredo Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Olivia Varela, who said that the Gateway City will now see more investment in its community, and not just in logistics. But now we should be seeing more of an impact on industries that will provide a little bit more diversification, she said. As a community, we always need to embrace the fact that industrial trade is our lifeline, but we should also strive to continue to look at other industries that might provide a little bit more diversity from this international hub, and thats where I think were going to see the greater impact. On Thursday afternoon, the LEDC heard positive news from a company theyve been working with for over a year; Varela said she wouldnt doubt that it was related to the USMCA news. She notes that Canada still needs to approve this agreement, but that overall this is a huge win for everyone. The Senates passage of the revamped free trade agreement was also applauded by groups such as the Border Trade Alliance, Texas Border Coalition, Texas Farm Bureau and the North American Development Bank. The agreement includes a $250 million capital increase for NAD Bank, which finances environmental infrastructure on the border. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a longtime proponent of NAFTA and the USMCA, said Thursday that the agreement is projected to raise the GDP by $70 billion and create 200,000 American jobs. READ MORE: Trumps border wall threatens San Ygnacio As a border representative whose district is home to the largest inland port of entry, this is a historic victory for the 28th District, for the state of Texas, and for our country as a whole, Cuellar said. ... This trade agreement will position more Americans to competeand winin todays global economy. LMT reporter Chris Jackson contributed to this report. Parkway Center City Middle College high school students, from left to right, Cyniah Drew, Myriah Padilla and Kareema Chisolm will speak at this weekend's Women's March. Read more Ahead of the Womens March on Philadelphia this weekend, allow me a moment to make an introduction. Incoming Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw? Please meet Myriah Padilla, a Parkway Center City Middle College freshman. I know you dont officially start until February, commissioner, and your dance card is probably already full, but I hope youll make time for this impressive young woman who wants to follow in your footsteps. I met up this week with Padilla and two of her high school classmates, Cyniah Drew, a sophomore, and Kareema Chisolm, a junior who I first met in 2018 when she and her class wrote essays about how gun violence impacts their lives. The three teens will be speaking together about gun violence at the march on Saturday, too. And how could they not? We ended last year with upward of 1,435 shootings in Philadelphia. As of Jan. 15, there have been 61 shootings this year, 18 of them fatal. Gunfire is the soundtrack of the city. The three rightly dont have a lot of hope that the adults are doing what it takes to make their lives safer. Especially when last year more women were shot in Philadelphia than in any other year in more than a decade. This adult doesnt disagree. But I have faith in them. When you dont know any better, you often accept whats given to you, Drews great-grandmother, Marzella Stevens, said of the strides women have made since she was a girl. But I dont think that flies anymore. I called Stevens after I heard she would be on the Parkway to hear her great-granddaughter speak. Stevens, 76, has participated in the march before, but as you can imagine, this time its even more personal. Im proud. So very proud, she said. Stevens was well into her 30s by the time she got her degree from Temple University. A dream deferred, but nonetheless accomplished. A role model by any definition. Inevitably my conversation with the students turned to women they look up to. Women in their lives, definitely, but others, too. Chisolm, who wants to get into politics by way of law school, was just 8 when Barack Obama became the first black president. She vividly remembers what it felt like to see Michelle Obama a woman who looked like her and her family step into the national spotlight as the first lady. In a word: possibility. "If they see themselves, they dream bigger, said Serita Lewis, one of the march organizers who asked the students to speak. Which brings us back to Padilla and that introduction. Padilla had already set her sights on a future in law enforcement when Outlaw was named the citys first black female police commissioner. But then... Shes just proof that women can do this, Padilla said, beaming. Picture it: Outlaw today. Police Commissioner Padilla tomorrow. You know why to borrow a Joe Biden-ism its such a BFD to have the first black first lady, the first black female police commissioner, even the first female Inquirer publisher? Because young and not-so-young women can suddenly see themselves able to exist and succeed in spaces from which they were shut out. On Saturday, women in Philadelphia and across the country will once again take to the streets as we first did in 2017 in response to Trumps inauguration. A lot has happened in three years. As the administrations attacks on womens rights continues, its understandable to feel hopeless. Straight-up tired. But this weekend, remember the work weve put in and celebrate the victories, especially when it comes to increasingly claiming our place in public office. Among the speakers are three women elected to Congress following Trumps election. It might feel like an uphill battle mostly because it is but take strength from the women walking the hill ahead of us, and behind us, and alongside us. Above all, believe, and fight on. We got this. They would make pretty inspiring presentations to us and were not willing to take any responsibility for the atrocities, explaining them as though they were legitimate counterterrorism operations, he said in an interview. It may be the case that this creates some openings for China, but when you weigh policy options and how we should be positioned, it is not in the interest of the U.S. to be glossing over these mass atrocities. The Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, with a copy of the Constitution in one hand, was on Friday back at Delhis Jama Masjid, almost a month after he was arrested following a protest against the citizenship act in the area. The 33-year-old Azad sat on the steps of the iconic mosque in the old city of the Capital hours before he is bound by a court order to leave Delhi after being released on bail on Thursday night. Peaceful protest is our strength. People from all religions who support us should join us in great numbers to prove it to the government that these protests are not led by Muslims alone, Chandrashekhar Azad was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. Watch l Chandrashekhar Azad reads Constitutions preamble at Jama Masjid Surrounded by supporters as well as protesters, Azad also read the preamble to the Constitution. Chandrashekhar was granted bail by a local court on Wednesday on the condition that he would not visit Delhi for the next four weeks, except for medical treatment, and would not be involved in any protests during this period. Kamini Lau, the additional sessions judge in Tis Hazari court, said the decision to keep him out was taken to avoid violence and interference in the Delhi assembly elections on February 8. Under the conditions imposed by Lau, Chandrashekar Azad has to leave Delhi by 9pm, 24 hours after his release to visit Ravidas temple, Jor Bagh Hazrat Ali shrine and then Jama Masjid. She had said Azad would not be allowed to visit Shaheen Bagh where there are ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. He would be escorted by the police to his hometown in Uttar Pradeshs Saharanpur where he would have to report to the local station house officer every week. Azad had organised a march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar against the amended citizenship act on December last year without the mandatory permission from Delhi Police. He was sent to judicial custody on December 21. Ninez Cacho-Olivares, who was one of an extraordinary cadre of newswomen who faced down the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s when most of their male colleagues allowed themselves to be cowed or co-opted but who later unexpectedly turned around and supported President Rodrigo Duterte in his crackdown on independent journalists died on Jan. 3. She was 78. Her family said the cause was a heart attack, coming after a long struggle with cancer. The family statement did not say where she died. The emergence of the courageous, mostly young female journalists who criticized Mr. Marcos was a remarkable phenomenon in the history of Philippine journalism and political opposition. Several of those women, including Ms. Cacho-Olivares, were interrogated and warned by the military. While working as a television newsreader, Ms. Cacho-Olivares telegraphed her skepticism when reading government propaganda by smirking and rolling her eyes, until the palace told her editors that she had to stop. Nguyen Huu Hue, Phan Van Vui and Ho Anh Tu (Source: cand.com.vn) Hue's accomplices Phan Van Vui, 35; and Ho Anh Tu, 29, who are also residing in Nghe An, were sentenced to 5 years in prison for each. At the end of July last year, Hue and his accomplices were arrested while illegally transporting seven frozen tiger cubs which were declared to originate from a farm in Laos. Hue has been known as the head of a ring specializing in transnationally trading and transporting tigers and other endangered and rare wild animals for many years, but with his sophisticated tricks, Hue repeatedly escaped from criminal charges. According to a report on wildlife violations and law enforcement in Vietnam from 2013-2017 conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Department of Criminal Justice Statistics and Information Technology at the Supreme Peoples Procuracy, Vietnam recorded more than 1,500 wildlife crimes, seizing over 41,300 kg of wildlife specimens and products, from January 2013 to December 2017. Some 1,460 people have reportedly violated regulations on wildlife protection, of whom 432 were brought to trial with criminal charges. German Defense Chief Visits Iraq Amid Uncertain Future For Foreign Troops January 16, 2020 Germany's defense chief has made a surprise visit to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi military leaders amid uncertainty over the status of foreign troops in the country. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's arrival late on January 15 comes as Berlin looks to maintain the Bundeswehr training mission in Iraq. Troops from Germany and some others that are part of the U.S.-led military coalition that has been aiding Baghdad in the fight against Islamic State (IS) and other terror groups have pulled out of Iraq after the United States killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in an air strike in Baghdad in early January. That attack led Iran to fire missiles at military bases hosting U.S. forces in Iraq. Germany has still has some 90 soldiers in Irbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region where the Bundeswehr soldiers help train local Kurdish forces. The Kurdish regional government has said it wants German troops to remain in the area and continue their training mission. Iraqi lawmakers have voted for a resolution ordering the government to end the presence of foreign troops linked to the anti-IS mission. However, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said the Iraqi government has signaled to Berlin that it wants Germany to maintain its military operations in Iraq. Meanwhile, Germany's parliament on January 15 voiced support for the presence in Iraq, with a large majority of lawmakers voting against a bill drafted by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) opposition party that was seeking to withdraw the troops. Based on reporting by dpa, AP, and TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/german-defense-chief- visits-iraq-amid-uncertain-future-for -foreign-troops/30380250.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 Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that the Meghwad sisters were kidnapped by Saleem and Abadin Anwar. He claimed that the parents of the girls were told they will be converted to Islam and married to these men. New Delhi: The ministry of external affairs on Friday summoned a senior official of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to lodge strong protest and share serious concerns about the recent cases of abduction of three Hindu minor girls in Pakistan. According to reports, two sisters Shanti Meghwad and Sarmi Meghwad were forcibly abducted on January 14. They belong to Umar village of Tharparkar district of Sindh area in Pakistan. In another incident, a minor also belonging to the minority Hindu community was abducted from the Jacobabad district of Sindh province in Pakistan on January 15. Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that the Meghwad sisters were kidnapped by Saleem and Abadin Anwar. He claimed that the parents of the girls were told they will be converted to Islam and married to these men. Sirsa claimed that the parents of the third girl have been informed by her kidnapper named Ali Raza that she has been raped and dont think of getting her back. The minors father told mediapersons in Pakistan that Ali Raza is a father of four and already has two wives. The girl was abducted in the morning before she could go to school, he said. He has filed a complaint with the police in Pakistan. Sources in India government said that Pakistan has been conveyed the grave concerns as expressed amongst various quarters of the Indian civil society at such a shocking and deplorable incident involving minor girls from the minority Hindu community in Pakistan. The incidents have been strongly condemned and asked for immediate safe return of the girls to their families, sources said. The latest incidents of kidnapping and forced conversion of Pakistani minority girls comes nearly four months after a Sikh girl was abducted and converted to Islam from Nankana Saheb. The Image of some of the top leaders of NDFB-S released by police. (Photo Credit: File ) New Delhi: In one of the most significant developments in Northeast in recent times, the last faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland or NDFB, an insurgent group active in Assam, has signed an agreement with the government for suspension of operations. According to the agreement, the NDFB -- under the leadership of its 'president' B Saoraigwra -- will shun violence and join in peace dialogues with the government. The tripartite agreement was signed by representatives of the NDFB-S and the central and Assam governments. On January 11, a group of active members, including 'general secretary' Saoraigwra, of the NDFB-S were brought back from Myanmar on January 11. Other members included its 'general secretary', 'commander-in-chief' and 'finance secretary'. The group carried 25 weapons, more than 50 magazines, more than 900 assorted ammunition and communication equipment with them. Four family members also accompanied the group. Why is this a significant development? NDFB-S was active in Myanmar along with other Northeast insurgent groups. They had formed a joint platform namely United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia along with NSCN-K and ULFA faction headed by Paresh Baruah. The NDFB-S was the only active Bodo insurgent group operating in Assam with the demand for a separate Bodo state. If the agreement goes according to its plan, while keeping intact the territorial integrity of Assam, it should be seen as a massive achievement of the Narendra Modi government because it might see improvement in the law-and- order situation in the state. Demand for separate state The NDFB has been demanding a separate state for the Bodos in Assam for the last five decades. Several Bodo overground and terror groups have similar demand that led to agitations, protests and bloody violence across the state. In 1993 and 2003, pacts were signed to resolve the long-pending issue. A Bodo Territorial Council under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution was created in 2003 to meet political, developmental and identity-related aspirations of the Bodos. But the demand for Bodoland state continued despite opposition by non-Bodo groups in the state. History of NDFB The NDFBs current name was adopted in 1994 after its members rejected the Bodo Accord signed between the Government of India and All Bodo Students Union and Bodo Peoples Action Committee (ABSU-BPAC). It traces its origin to the Bodo Security Force (BSF), an outfit formed in October 3, 1986. The organisation split into two outfits -- one headed by Ranjan Daimary (also known as Nabla) called NDFB-R and the other by Gobinda Basumatary, which is known as NDFB-P after the serial blasts by the NDFB in Assam on October 30, 2008. The NDFB-S led by a non-Bodo, IK Sangbijit, came into being when the group split further in 2012. The NDFB-P or the progressive faction supported peace talks with the government, while the NDFB-R opposed to it. However, in 2013 the NDFB-R also agreed to the talks after Daimary was released from jail. However, in a setback to the NDFB-P, Daimary was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in 2019 for his involvement in the serial blast which killed 88 people and left more than 500 injured. The NDFB-S came existence after the faction led by Songbijit was dissolved during a general assembly of the NDFB-R in 2015. The NDFB was in conflict with the Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT), which had entered into an agreement with the government in 2003 leading to the creation of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). The BLT members went on to form a political party - Bodo Peoples' Front which is now an ally of the ruling BJP in the state. The NDFB after its creation had initially targeted adivasis, but since 2000, it has increasingly attacked Bangladeshi migrants in areas it claims to be Bodo territory. (With PTI inputs) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 23:56:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holds a symposium with representatives of foreign experts working in China ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Premier Li Keqiang on Friday afternoon held a symposium with representatives of foreign experts working in China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year. The symposium was attended by the 2011 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Dan Shechtman, the 2018 Nobel Prize winner in physics Gerard Mourou and other foreign experts as well as Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and State Councilor and Secretary General of the State Council Xiao Jie. Li first extended Lunar New Year greetings and gratitude to foreign experts and their family members for their contribution to China's reform and opening-up and modernization. Noting that the Chinese economy has maintained high-quality stable growth and the newly added urban jobs have surpassed 13 million, Li said it was a hard-won achievement and pledged to ensure the full implementation of institutional tax cuts and the further optimization of the business environment this year to spur market vitality. China will unwaveringly safeguard world peace, uphold multilateralism and cooperate with other countries to achieve mutual benefits, Li said. "China will continue to expand opening-up in technology and other sectors," Li said, vowing that the cooperation with the international society will only get wider. Meanwhile, the country will implement more proactive, open and effective talent policies to offer more convenience for foreign experts living in China, according to Li. 16 items in this article 5 items on sale! Its true this sofa costs under a grand. Photo: Courtesy of retailer A sofa might just be the most important household purchase you make you certainly spend more waking hours on it than anything else in the apartment especially in the midst of the pandemic. Sure, you could spend several thousand dollars on a piece from Knoll or Minotti, but we decided to challenge interior designers to pick out their favorite actually affordable sofas and love seats (and ones that wont notoriously fall apart). Below, the 16 best for under $1,000 and a few under $700. Modern sofas under $1,000 Best overall modern sofa under $1,000 Article Sven Birch Ivory 72 Sofa $999 Articles Sven sofa was recommended by three of our experts, including Courtney McLeod, the founder and principal designer of New York Citybased Right Meets Left Interior Design; Sophia Venturo, a designer at online interior-design service Havenly; and Decorist designer Baylee Floyd. This sofa is Articles most popular to date, according to Venturo, who says that it delivers in every category: value, style, comfort, and quality. She calls out its high-quality construction, which means a sturdy frame, durable upholstery, and comfy cushions that hold their shape. Venturo adds that its mid-century modern lines are surprisingly versatile, something that Baylee Floyd agrees with. She says that the Sven is a good staple piece for just about any living room. As for its value, Floyd says that the sleek design of this sofa is hard to come by at this price. I love how expensive and stately it looks. McLeod says that its 72-inch length makes it great for an apartment and also likes its lovely details including its biscuit-tufted seat and matching bolster pillows. For $100 more, you can get a longer version that measures 88 inches. Its also available in a darker gray and a blue-gray aqua in addition to the ivory color shown. And if youre looking to splurge, you can also get it in different velvet or leather options (which are more expensive, at $1,299 and $1,799, respectively), as well as a sectional version that starts at $2,099. $999 at Article Buy More expert-recommended modern sofas under $1,000 Article Cirrus Briar Gray Sofa $999 Articles Cirrus sofa also got two mentions from our designers. Allison Whitt of Design X Interiors, a hospitality-design firm in San Diego, recommends the less-expensive version upholstered in gray fabric above (also available in ivory), while Venturo likes it in green velvet (which will cost you $100 more; the velvet is also available in gray, navy, and pacific blue). Whitt calls the sofa sophisticated, comfortable, and versatile: It has just enough detail to anchor a room without weighing it down. Ventura agrees, saying that this chic, tufted style brings a luxurious touch to any space without the hefty price tag. In addition to tufting, the sofa has a back and arms that are the same height, which give it a geometric and streamlined feel. Whitt also calls out its generous depth, which she says serves as an ideal backdrop for personalized touches such as pillows and a throw. Venturo adds that it can easily be dressed up or down, while still always looking polished. And according to Whitt, The construction stands up to commercial use, which means this is a couch you wont need to replace any time soon. $999 at Article Buy Taupe Tufted Nail Head Myles Sofa $900 $900 If you like the look of the Cirrus sofa but prefer to spend a little less, consider the similar Myles sofa from World Market that Floyd recommends. She told us its a stately piece thats also quite comfortable. Like the Cirrus, it has the same tuxedo silhouette (that means that the arms and back are the same height) and tufting on the seat, back, and sides. But the slightly heftier frame and the nail heads going up the arms give it a more traditional touch. $900 at World Market Buy Joss & Main Kaiden 86 Square Arm Sofa $1,347 $1,347 This three-seater from Joss & Main is a bit like Articles Sven (but even more affordable, and a bit longer) and comes recommended by Decorilla designer Devin Shaffer who calls it stunning. Made of faux-leather in a honey-tan color, its constructed of solid eucalyptus wood and has a tufted seat and back with matching bolster pillows (like the Sven). $1,347 at Joss & Main Buy Crate & Barrel Skylar Apartment Sofa $1,899 To add a subtle pattern to your space, Chanae Richards, designer and founder of Philadelphia-based oloro interiors, recommends going with something like this black-and-white sofa from Crate & Barrel that she says is ideal for a small apartment. If you have white walls and are afraid to commit to adding a bold color by way of paint or art, heres your chance to explore a pattern without it being overpowering, she says. Its streamlined shape and slim, burnished metal legs also add some understated elegance. $1,899 at Crate and Barrel Buy Article Mirage Yarrow Gold Sofa $999 Yet another Article sofa that two of our panelists recommend: the Mirage sofa in a rich gold velvet. Designer Meghan Noyes likes how the delicate slope in the armrest makes it stand out from other modern sofa shapes. Decorist designer Emerie Forehand thinks its super chic and likes how the velvet gives it a vintage look. She also appreciates the detail of the tapered legs. And its available in a blush pink for the same price. $999 at Article Buy AllModern Kelly Sofa $903 $903 For something even more dramatic, Shaffer recommends this updated version of a Victorian fainting couch from AllModern. He loves the 86-inch sofas sweeping form as well as the built-in ottoman and splayed legs. In addition to this rich blue, it comes in a silver champagne velvet, black, and navy. $903 at AllModern Buy CB2 Tufo Tufted Daybed $1,099 While its not technically a sofa, a daybed can be just as comfortable and versatile, according to Richards. She particularly loves the textured fabric of the Tufo and its sturdy frame. $1,099 at CB2 Buy Chamberlin Velvet Sofa $999 $999 This is a more streamlined, velvet three-seater thats no less enticing, according to Forehand, who likes its retro vibe and adds that it comes at a great price for a sofa thats made to order. At just under $1,000, its available in seven jewel-toned colors that she says would create a focal point in any room. $999 at Urban Outfitters Buy Modway Remark $744 $1,118 now 33% off $744 This mid-century modern sofa looks like you might have stumbled upon it during a trip to Copenhagen, says designer Josh Greene. And at $600, the price cant be beat, especially for the style, he says. The tufting on the back, flared arms, and splayed wooden legs make it a fun statement piece. In addition to the blue color shown, its also available in beige, gray with multicolored buttons on the tufting, light gray, teal, and wheatgrass all at slightly different price points. $744 at Amazon Buy $744 at Amazon Buy Modway Engage Right Arm Loveseat $776 Heres another mid-century moderninspired piece from Modway that interior designer Vicente Wolf says is an affordable option that works well mixed with higher-priced pieces. He likes that it has firm seating with generous width, which makes it comfortable. With just one armrest, it can also work as a divan or a daybed for a more casual kind of seating. This one also comes in different colorway options, including navy, beige, dark gray, teal, and wheatgrass again, all at different prices. $776 at Amazon Buy $776 at Amazon Buy Skyline Furniture Doyer Linen Armless Chair From $480 If youre furnishing a uniquely shaped or super-tiny space, Floyd says the Doyer line is perfect because it is modular, so you can choose exactly how many pieces you want to make your sofa, from a two-piece to a five-piece. Upholstered in a linen-viscose blend, this sofa is one of my favorites because of its versatility, she adds. While the smallest ready-to-order configuration is a three-piece couch (which costs more than $1,000), you could theoretically combine two of these armless chairs to create a love seat for under $1,000 or a corner chair and armless chair to create an open-ended sofa for just a hair above $1,000. From $480 at Bed Bath & Beyond Buy The Floyd Sofa $1,195 $1,195 While this two-seater from Detroit-based furniture company Floyd is technically above $1,000, its still a great deal, according to Richards, who says that the companys price points continue to be impressive when considering their craftsmanship and style. Plus, she adds, their customer service is top notch. Its also a good option if youre looking for something a little bit industrial. And it ships flat packed, making delivery hassle-free. While the two-seater measures 60 inches wide, the sofa is also available in a three-seater or three-seater with chaise, measuring 87 inches wide, for $1,295 and $1,695, respectively. $1,195 at FLOYD Buy Classic sofas under $1,000 Best overall classic sofa under $1,000 Ivory Feather Filled Brynn Sofa $900 $900 For those who prefer more classically styled seating, two of our designers Forehand and Floyd recommend the Brynn sofa, which Forehand calls more traditional, with the slipcover style. She adds that this is soft like a big comfy bed thanks to its feather-filled cushions (that also happen to be reversible). Its one of Floyds favorite sofas as well, and it reminds her of Restoration Hardwares (much more expensive) Cloud sofa line, but for a fraction of the price. She agrees that its extremely comfortable and loves its casual, laid-back vibe. $900 at World Market Buy More expert-recommended classic sofas under $1,000 West Elm Harris Sofa From $899 Recommended by Venturo, the Harris has a boxy silhouette like the Brynn above, but with more defined cushions. She calls it one of the most versatile of her picks. According to Venturo, it is a neutral piece that fits easily into any space, from a modern apartment to one leaning more farmhouse. Thats thanks to the sofas clean, modern lines and timeless no-fuss shape, she says. Its also comfortable and practical, with cushions that are reversible and have removable covers for convenient cleaning. Venturo adds that it strikes the perfect balance between tailored and cozy, and that you can customize it with dozens of fabric options, as well as with a deep-seat design thats great for lounging. The 66-inch model starts at $899, depending on fabric. From $899 at West Elm Buy Ikea Ektorp Sofa $549 For an even less-expensive sofa thats just as versatile, designer Ryan White recommends the Ikea Ektorp. When I see this sofa, I just think comfy and cozy, he says. The best part, he notes, is that it has an easy-to-remove slipcover that you can just toss in the washing machine or swap out for a completely different look. He notes that its just as good for someone out of college as it is for a family with little kids. In addition to gray, it comes in a range of colors at different price points. For instance, you can get the sofa in white for $499, or in beige for just $399. $549 at Ikea Buy get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best womens jeans, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, ultra-flattering pants, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. New Delhi, Jan 17 : A senior official of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday to lodge strong protest and share serious concerns about the recent cases of abduction of minor girls belonging to the minority Hindu community of Pakistan. Sources in Islamabad said that two minor girls, Shanti Meghwad and Sarmi Meghwad, belonging to the minority Hindu community, were abducted on January 14. They belong to Umar Village in Sindh, Pakistan. In another incident, a minor girl, Mehak, also belonging to the Hindu minority community, was abducted from the Jacobabad district in Sindh province on January 15. Official sources said Pakistan has been conveyed the grave concerns as expressed amongst various quarters of the Indian civil society at such shocking and deplorable incidents involving minor girls belonging to the monority Hindu community in Pakistan. The incidents have been strongly condemned by India, which has asked for immediate safe return of the girls to their families. Morocco and Turkey have agreed to adjust their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) so that it will be beneficial for both parties, said on Wednesday Moroccan minister of industry & trade Moulay Hafid Elalamy. He made the remarks after his talks held in Rabat with Turkish peer Ruhsar Pekcan on the sidelines of the 5th meeting of the joint follow-up committee on Morocco-Turkey FTA. The two countries officials will meet as soon as possible to identify ways to streamline the trade imbalance, added the minister, noting that he will meet his Turkish peer in 15 days to revise FTA for a fairer and more balanced trade. In 2004, Morocco and Turkey signed an FTA which entered into force in 2006. Since then, bilateral trade has been growing 14 pc per year in Turkeys favor. Moroccos imports from Turkey rose to more than 2 billion in 2018, while Moroccan exports to this country did not exceed 514 million, widening trade deficit to 1.4 billion. Moroccos trade minister Elalamy had complained to Turkish officials about the heavy loss incurred by Moroccan businesses operating in textile and retail, stressing the need for a review of the trade agreement with Turkey whose imbalances cost the Kingdom $2 billion annually. Icon Global Releases Multi-Facedted 2,550+ acre 7D Ranch of Coveted Texas Hill Country within Golden Triangle of DFW, Austin and San Antono Metro areas. The multi-faceted, turnkey 7D Ranch is an easy 2.5 to 3 hours from Dallas / Ft. Worth, 1.5 hours from Austin, 2 hours from San Antonio and is nestled just 15 minutes from San Saba and 30 minutes from both Llano and Lampasas. The ranch, which was custom designed and tailored for private and/or business use is one of several new 2020 deals launching in the Icon Global Pipeline. Well located and well improved ranches that offer diversity of use via recreation, retreat and revenue streams are highly sought after and hard to find, and the 7D Ranch is one such property, said, Icon Globals Bernard Uechtritz. Matt McWilliams of our Fort Worth and Midland offices is leading the showing and sales efforts on the 7D Ranch. It is a completely turnkey, highly improved ranch that the new owner can take in any direction. This beautiful and diverse property will provide years of enjoyment for a family to pursue activities and hobbies including raising cattle, big game management and any variety of outdoor recreational hunting and fishing pursuits. Enjoy quiet sunrises, big sunsets and 20-mile panoramic views of the magnificent Texas Hill Country all from the comfort of the recently constructed luxury lodge thats perched atop one of the propertys multiple plateaus. 7D Ranch is a magnificent opportunity to spend your weekends and Holidays just a short drive from large metro areas and a few minutes to famous, quaint Hill Country towns. More detailed Information, video and multiple high-resolution images are attached. For more details on property click here Recent Zimbabwean press reports indicate that state-backed mobile operator Telecel, already a distant third in the rankings of Zimbabwes three mobile network operators, may be on the verge of collapse. One paper cites an alarming list of failings, including IT problems and staff shortages that have left subscribers unable to recharge airtime or change SIM cards. In particular, Telecel servers have been down since December, affecting mobile money services and airtime and data purchases. Network availability is now said to have been reduced by 65 percent and the subscriber base has fallen by over a half since 2012 to around one million, although the number of active users may be even less. Added to this, employees of Telecel Zimbabwe have called for urgent government intervention to rescue the company in a letter written on their behalf by Communication and Allied Services Workers Union of Zimbabwe general secretary David Mhambare to Information Communication Technology and Cyber Security minister Jenfan Muswere. The letter cites company debt, low wages, non-payment of creditors, lack of coverage and subscriber flight among many other concerns. The letter even claims that staff members in some offices are now using competitors SIM cards in Telecel offices to help them communicate Telecel business. All this, of course, is happening at a difficult time economically for the entire country, which is a further challenge for Telecel. The government now has a 60 percent shareholding in Telecel and is said to be in the process of buying the remaining 40 percent, so the companys workers may get their wish. Arguably, however, even if the government purchases the entire company, massive investment will be needed just to get the business back on its feet, let alone compete with front runners Econet, which has over two thirds of all subscribers, and NetOne with just under a quarter, leaving Telecel with under 10 percent of subscribers, according to some estimates. - A western media, The Sun, has reported about the amoral sex transactions happening in The Gambia - According to their correspondent, children were sold for as low as 2 (N941.88) per time to white British tourists - Experts who spoke to the UK media concerning the case blamed the stark poverty in the country A report by UK newspaper, The Sun, has revealed that children are sold as sex slaves to British paedophiles for as low as 2 (N941.88) per time. According to the same media reports, British citizens are also cashing on the relaxed tax laws of the African country to perpetuate their activities. The Sun said its reporter saw how Gambian children were seen as susceptible to the foreign citizens on several beach resorts at Kololi. The correspondent also witnessed how children as young as six accompany white people to bars that are filled with aged tourists. It was also gathered that there was a scared kid who watched a middle-aged white woman fight a sex worker at one of the resorts at night. In another instance, and at 111:30pm, a two-year-old child looked on, accompanied a white man in an environment that was thick with cigarette smoke. A collage of the pictures taken by the correspondent of the UK Sun media. Photo Source: UK Sun Source: UGC The western media also said it launched the investigation as economic experts saw a gloomy future for the country with the collapse of Thomas Cook, a travel firm. In an interview, Limina Fatty, the national coordinator of Child Protection Allinace in The Gambia, said that African minors have been targets for tourists for long. Sex is cheap in my country and children are being sold for as little as 150 dalasis, or just over 2 in your currency. Some of the parents know their children are being abused and they accept it because they are so desperate for food in their bellies, he said. Basing the condition on the stark poverty in the country, he said that children in the country are always approached by the amoral fun-seekers. A former representative of the collapse tourist company also spoke about how a lack of food and the need for survival are the causes of their vulnerability. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update When The Sun showed an expert the pictures they had taken, they said that the police should have questioned the activities of the tourists in line with the child protection laws of the country. Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Treka Engleman, a black American woman, adopted three white children as a show of love so they could have a good home to stay. Naij.com (naija.ng) > Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better Slum Chronicles: People walk into our church to kidnap children - Pastor laments | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Australia's bushfire crisis has decimated world heritage sites, ravaging 80 per cent of the Blue Mountains national park and 50 per cent of the Gondwana rainforests. The damage is so extensive that experts have warned it could affect the diversity of the Blue Mountains eucalypts, which earned the area, just west of Sydney, its position on the World Heritage List. John Merson, the executive director of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, said the severity of the destruction was unprecedented, creating grave concerns for the bushland's ability to bounce back. Experts fear the biodiversity of the eucalypt species in the Blue Mountains has been compromised by consistent bushfires 'The eucalypts can be very badly reduced in diversity if fires come through in too short and intense intervals. Their numbers will virtually collapse,' he told The Guardian. Twenty per cent of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area had been destroyed by the first week of December, with the further sixty per cent devoured since. The landmark area covers one million hectares of national park and bushland and is dominated by a eucalypt forest housing 96 species. Mr Merson said while the trees have adapted to regenerate after fires, many species need long intervals between fires and it had only been six years since the last event. He said this bushfires season's fires had burned into areas that have never been reached and the advancing destruction was indicative of climate change. A Ministry of Defence photo shows fire-bitten trees in the Grose Valley fire in the Blue Mountains area of Lithgow and Blackheath The are fears over how the blazes have affected breeding habits and feeding habitats of native animals, including spotted-tail quoll and the brush-tailed rock-wallaby. Further assessments are required to gauge the severity of the damage to local ecosystems but the area is not yet accessible. Swamp communities that feed Sydney's water supply and provide water for animals have also been razed. Scattered fires have so far claimed 53 per cent of the Gondwana rainforests, clusters of subtropical rainforest stretching 366,500 hectares between Newcastle and Brisbane. More than half of the Gondwana rainforests (pictured) has been charred by bushfires A spokesman for the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment said understanding the impact of the fires on the sites was a priority. 'Analysis will improve as the forests becomes safe to enter and the smoke clears, enabling accurate satellite and aerial imagery to help guide our assessment and on work on ground,' he said. Nature campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation Jess Abrahams said climate change was having disastrous effects on Australia's world heritage areas. 'We have witnessed consecutive years of devastating coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, while global heating has been described as a catastrophic risk to the Wet Tropics and Shark Bay world heritage areas,' he said. News of the ecological damage comes as downpours are set to soak Australia's bushfire ravaged east coast over the weekend. While the wet weather has offered hope to firefighters, there are concerns it could contaminate water with ash and debris or that thunderstorms could start more fires. Earlier this week, thousands of fish were killed on the NSW mid-north coast when rain washed ash from bushfires into the Macleay River. The Greater Blue Mountains Area was added to the World Heritage List in 2000 in recognition of its 'significant natural values' of unique plants and animals. The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia was listed as World Heritage in 1986 unique landforms, diversity of species, and examples of Earth's evolutionary history. Microsoft has set a new ambition among tech giants in addressing climate change, pledging to remove as much carbon as it has emitted in its entire 45-year history. The focus on clearing carbon from the atmosphere sets Microsoft's climate goals apart from other corporate pledges, which have focused on cutting ongoing emissions or preventing future ones. "If the last decade has taught us anything, it's that technology built without these principles can do more harm than good," said chief executive Satya Nadella during a media event at Microsoft's headquarters in Washington. "We must begin to offset the damaging effects of climate change," he said, adding if global temperatures continue to rise unabated "the results will be devastating." A Range Rover destroyed four parked cars before driving off at 24/7 Fitness in Garston, Liverpool (MERCURY PRESS) A clumsy Range Rover driver destroyed four parked cars as she performed a U-turn in a car park - before driving off from the scene. Images show how a total of four parked cars were smashed into, with some appearing to be written off completely. Witnesses say the motorist was female, believed to be in her early to mid-twenties (MERCURY PRESS) The incident took place outside 24/7 Fitness in Garston, Liverpool on Thursday morning. Witnesses say the motorist was female, believed to be in her early to mid-twenties. Read more from Yahoo News UK: Cambridge graduate died after underwater 'party trick' went wrong at brother's 21st birthday party EU citizens will not be deported from Britain after Brexit, says Guy Verhofstadt Cyprus gang rape woman launches conviction appeal as online crowdfunder raises 150,000 One woman, who saw the carnage unfold as she left the gym, said: I walked out of the gym and heard a car alarm going off. I saw a woman in a black Range Rover sport with the front of her car literally hanging off driving away. I went over to the parked cars and saw multiple vehicles were smashed up. I was shocked I couldnt believe someone had done something like that. The clumsy driver left a trail of destruction with some cars appearing to have been written off (MERCURY PRESS) I heard it had something to do with her brakes. She said she was doing a U-turn and the car kept on going while she was trying to brake. Eventually, the Range Rover driver returned with her dad - and admitted liability before giving her details to one of the car owners, the woman said. An eyewitness, who asked not to be named, spotted the carnage after finishing her workout (MERCURY PRESS) She called police to report the damage - but officers said there was little they could do without the vehicle registration plate. However Merseyside Police confirmed they are now investigating the smash. A spokesman for the force said: "A report was received just before 11.15am that seven vehicles had been damaged after a black Land Rover was in collision with six stationary vehicles at The Matchworks car park. The driver of the Land Rover has been located and enquiries into the incident are ongoing." Astrophysics, Galaxies: The most distant dying galaxy discovered so far, more massive than our Milky Way -- with more than a trillion stars -- has revealed that the 'cores' of these systems had formed already 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, about 1 billion years earlier than previous measurements revealed. The discovery will add to our knowledge on the formation of the Universe more generally, and may cause the computer models astronomers use, one of the most fundamental tools, to be revised. The result was obtained in close collaboration with Masayuki Tanaka and his colleagues at the National Observatory of Japan is now published in two works in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and the Astrophysical Journal. What is a "dead" galaxy? Galaxies are broadly categorized as dead or alive: dead galaxies are no longer forming stars, while alive galaxies are still bright with star formation activity. A 'quenching' galaxy is a galaxy in the process of dying -- meaning its star formation is significantly suppressed. Quenching galaxies are not as bright as fully alive galaxies, but they are not as dark as dead galaxies. Researchers use this spectrum of brightness as the first line of identification when observing galaxies in the Universe. The farthest dying galaxy discovered so far reveals remarkable maturity A team of researchers of the Cosmic Dawn Center at the Niels Bohr Institute and the National Observatory of Japan recently discovered a massive galaxy dying already 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, the most distant of its kind. "Moreover, we found that its core seems already fully formed at that time", says Masayuki Tanaka, the author of the letter. "This result pairs up with the fact that, when these dying gigantic systems were still alive and forming stars, they might have not been that extreme compared with the average population of galaxies", adds Francesco Valentino, assistant professor at the Cosmic Dawn Center at the Niels Bohr Institute and author of an article on the past history of dead galaxies appeared in the Astrophysical Journal. Why do galaxies die? - One of the biggest and still unanswered questions in astrophysics "The suppressed star formation tells us that a galaxy is dying, sadly, but that is exactly the kind of galaxy we want to study in detail to understand why it dies", continues Valentino. One of the biggest questions that astrophysics still has not answered is how a galaxy goes from being star-forming to being dead. For instance, the Milky Way is still alive and slowly forming new stars, but not too far away (in astronomical terms), the central galaxy of the Virgo cluster - M87 - is dead and completely different. Why is that? "It might have to do with the presence of gigantic and active black hole at the center of galaxies like M87" Valentino says. Earth based telescopes find extremes - but astronomers look for normality One of the problems in observing galaxies in this much detail is that the telescopes available now on Earth are generally able to find only the most extreme systems. However, the key to describe the history of the Universe is held by the vastly more numerous population of normal objects. "Since we are trying hard to discover this normality, the current observational limitations are an obstacle that has to be overcome." The James Webb Telescope (JWST) represents hope for better data material in the near future The new James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2021, will be able to provide the astronomers with data in a level of detail that should be able to map exactly this "normality". The methods developed in close collaboration between the Japanese team and the team at the Niels Bohr Institute have already proven to be successful, given the recent result. "This is significant, because it will enable us to look for the most promising galaxies from the start, when JWST gives us access to much higher quality data" Francesco Valentino explains. Combining observations with the tool - the computer models of the Universe What has been found observationally is not too far away from what the most recent models predict. "Until very recently, we did not have many observations to compare with the models. However, the situation is in rapid evolution, and with JWST we will have valuable larger samples of ``normal'' galaxies in a few years. The more galaxies we can study, the better we are able to understand the properties or situations leading to a certain state - if the galaxy is alive, quenching or dead. It is basically a question of writing the history of the Universe correctly, and in greater and greater detail. At the same time, we are tuning the computer models to take our observations into account, which will be a huge improvement, not just for our branch of work, but for astronomy in general" Francesco Valentino explains. ### The Cosmic Dawn Center is supported by the Danish National Research Foundation and Francesco Valentino's research by a grant from the Carlsberg Foundation: "Galaxies: Rise And Death". Reference to the published articles: Astrophysical Journal Letters: Stellar Velocity Disperson of a Massive Quenching Galaxy at z=4.01 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ab4ff3#artAbst Quiescent galaxies 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang and their progenitors https://arxiv.org/abs/1909.10540v2 Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar was holding talks in Athens on Friday two days ahead of a peace conference in Berlin, which he and the head of Tripolis UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj are expected to attend. Haftar thanked Vladimir Putin, his dear friend, for his efforts to bring peace in Libya after Moscow announced that the Russian leader would attend Sundays conference. However, Russias acting foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Haftar and Sarraj could not even bear each others presence, let alone talk. So far ties between them are very tense, they dont even want to be in the same room to say nothing of meeting each other, Lavrov said.- World powers are trying to mediate a lasting ceasefire nine months after Haftars forces launched an assault on Tripoli, sparking fighting that has killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands. An interim truce that came into force on Sunday has mostly held, despite accusations of violations from Haftars forces and the rival Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Haftar walked away from ceasefire talks in Moscow on Monday, but German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited his eastern Libya stronghold of Benghazi on Thursday to persuade him to join the Berlin conference. He flew to Athens on a surprise visit on Thursday, with Greece seeking to build ties with Haftar after the GNA signed a maritime and military cooperation deal with Turkey in November. Athens is vehemently opposed to the contentious Turkish deal with Libya, which claims much of the Mediterranean for energy exploration in conflict with rival claims by Greece and Cyprus. Haftar met Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and they were holding further talks on Friday. He is also set to meet Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Greece is seeking to take part in the Berlin talks but has yet to be invited. Haftar agreed in principle on Thursday to go to Berlin after Sarraj signalled he would be there. But Sarraj, whose GNA did sign up to a permanent truce deal in Moscow, cast doubt over Haftars intentions after he refused to sign. The oil-rich North African state has been in turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Numerous countries have since become involved the GNA is backed by Turkey and Qatar, while Haftar has the support of neighbouring Egypt as well as Russia and the United Arab Emirates. External interference The United Nations said the Berlin talks aim to end foreign interference and division over Libya. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will take part and voiced support for truce efforts, the State Department said on Thursday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Wednesday for firm support for the peace talks and asked for a halt in the fighting. In a report to the Security Council he warned against external interference, saying it would deepen the ongoing conflict and further complicate efforts to reach a clear international commitment to a peaceful resolution of the underlying crisis. The conference will aim to agree six points including a permanent ceasefire, implementation of a much-violated UN arms embargo and a return to political efforts for peace, Guterres said. Turkish troops have been deployed to support the GNA, while Russia, despite its denials, is suspected of supporting Haftar with weapons, money and mercenaries. Some 11 countries and several international organisations are set to attend along with the Libyan parties. The fighting has spurred a growing exodus of migrants, many embarking on rickety boats towards Italy. Nearly 1,000 intercepted at sea have been forced to return to the war-ravaged country since January 1, mostly ending up in detention, the UNs International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday. SOURCE: AFP | PHOTO: AFP Jan 17 (Reuters) - Australia's Lynas Corp Ltd said on Friday that three individuals had filed a court case in Malaysia challenging the local government's decision to renew the rare earths miner's operating licence last year. The Malaysian prime minister, 27 other ministers and cabinet members, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board and the company were among those named as respondents in the lawsuit, Lynas said. The judicial review proceedings question the processes followed by the government in reaching its August decision to allow the miner to continue operating in the country. For months, concerns had persisted about the storage of radioactive waste produced during the processing of rare earths, casting doubts on whether Lynas would successfully secure a renewal. (Reporting by Rashmi Ashok in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar) A special court is expected to pronounce its verdict here on Saturday on the massacre of 20 people in Behmai village in Kanpur Dehat district, allegedly by bandit Phoolan Devi nearly four decades ago. "We have much hope that the trial court is likely to deliver its judgment in Behmai massacre tomorrow," district government counsel (criminal) Rajeev Porwal told PTI on Friday. Porwal said that defense counsel Girish Narain Dubey has submitted certain rulings of the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court before the trial court with a request to take cognisance of those rulings while delivering its judgment against the alleged accused. The court is now expected to give its verdict on the role of the four surviving accused -- Posha, Bhikha, Vishwanath and Shyambabu. While Posha is still in jail, Bhikha, Vishwanath and Shyambabu are out on bail. Three other dacoits including Man Singh are still absconding. The special court for hearing dacoity-related cases was expected to deliver the verdict in the 1981 Behmai massacre case on January 6, but it allowed the defence counsel to submit its written arguments by January 16, district government counsel Raju Porwal said. Defence counsel Dubey had appeared before the court on January 6, seeking more time to submit written arguments and was granted 10 more days, the government counsel said. "Bandit Queen" Phoolan Devi, who later turned to politics, along with her gang members were accused of killing the 20 people belonging to the Thakur community at Behmai village in Kanpur Dehat on February 14, 1981. The non-descript Behmai village, that shot into prominence after the killings, is 170 km from state capital Lucknow and over 400 km from national capital New Delhi. Phoolan Devi had stormed into Behmai in what was described as an attack to avenge her alleged rape there by two other bandits - Lala Ram and Sri Ram - both Thakurs, a dominant caste in the village. Two years after the incident, she had surrendered to the Madhya Pradesh police in 1983 and went on to become a Lok Sabha MP from Mirzapur. She was shot dead outside her MP bungalow in New Delhi on July 25, 2001. Initially, 35 people, including Phoolan Devi, were named as accused in the case. Eight of them were reportedly killed by police in separate encounters. Three others were reportedly absconding. The prosecution had produced as many as 15 witnesses and seven of them were material witnesses. The process of prosecution producing evidence was closed in 2014. The Behmai killings had led to a political fallout, with then UP chief minister V P Singh, who later became the country's prime minister, resigning owning moral responsibility for the massacre. As per the terms of her surrender under an amnesty scheme, then Madhya Pradesh chief minister Arjun Singh agreed to keep her in the Gwalior prison, rather than being sent to a UP prison as a result of which the summons and non-bailable warrants issued by a Kanpur court were returned unserved. She spent 11 years in Gwalior and Jabalpur jails in Madhya Pradesh and was released in 1994 without facing trial as she kept fighting a legal battle against the UP police and the Kanpur court's orders. Charges against the four surviving accused were framed only in 2012. Phoolan Devi's release was facilitated by the withdrawal of 55 cases by then UP chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's government in "public interest". Yadav's decision, however, was set aside by the Kanpur court, with the Allahabad High Court upholding the trial court's decision. Even the Supreme Court had rejected her plea for dismissal of all cases against her in December 1996. Phoolan Devi, however, evaded arrest and waged a legal battle against it in 2001. The apex court directed her that if she wanted relief in the cases against her, she first needed to surrender to the trial court in Kanpur. But, that was not to be as in July 2001 she was killed outside her official residence in New Delhi. She had won two Lok Sabha elections - in 1996 and 1999 - on Samajwadi Party ticket. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As Iran missiles battered Iraq base, US lost eyes in sky Ain al-Asad Air Base, Iraq, Jan 15 (AFP) Jan 15, 2020 Moments after volleys of Iranian missiles began to batter Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase, US soldiers at the desert facility lost contact with their ultra-powerful -- and expensive -- eyes in the sky. At the time the attack was launched at 1:35 am on January 8, the US army was flying seven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over Iraq to monitor bases where US-led coalition forces are deployed. They included MQ-1C Gray Eagles, advanced surveillance drones that can fly for as long as 27 hours and carry a payload of up to four Hellfire missiles. "We thought it may lead to a ground assault, so we kept the aircraft up," said one of the pilots, 26-year-old Staff Sergeant Costin Herwig. Herwig was flying a Gray Eagle when the first Iranian missile struck the base, retaliation for the January 3 killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad. Most of the other 1,500 US soldiers had been tucked away in bunkers for two hours, after advance warning from superiors. But 14 pilots had stayed in dark containers-turned-cockpits to remotely fly the "birds" and monitor essential feeds from their high-powered cameras. The first missile blasted dust into their shelter but the pilots stayed put, Herwig told AFP during a press tour of the base organised by the coalition. The next rounds came closer and closer, and the light-haired soldier recalled that he had "accepted fate". "We thought we were basically done," he said. - 'There was no control' - But the real crisis was yet to come. The volleys of missiles, which soldiers said lasted about three hours, slammed into sleeping quarters directly adjacent to the pilots' operations rooms. "No more than a minute after the last round hit, I was heading over to the bunkers on the far back side and saw the fire was burning all through our fibre lines," said First Sergeant Wesley Kilpatrick. Those lines link the virtual cockpits to antennas then satellites that send signals to the Gray Eagles and pull the cameras' feeds back onto the screens at Ain al-Asad. "With the fibre lines burnt, there was no control," said Kilpatrick. The soldiers could no longer locate the drones and were left blind to events in the air -- and on the ground. If a drone had been shot down, for example, the besieged teams at Ain al-Asad could not have known. "It's a pretty big deal, because it's so expensive and there's a lot of stuff on them that we don't want other people to have or the enemy to get," said Herwig. A single Gray Eagle costs around $7 million, according to 2019 army budget estimates. They have been used in Iraq since at least 2017 by the coalition to help fight the Islamic State jihadist group. The coalition is required to get a green light from the Iraqi government to fly drones and planes, but those permissions had expired several days before the Iran attacks. The US army had kept the drones in the air anyway, a senior American defence official told reporters, after months of rocket attacks on Iraqi bases where their forces are based. - Beat the clock - As the bombs crashed closer on January 8 and with the drones unaccounted for, the pilots finally clambered into bunkers. But as soon as the blasts stopped, they rushed back out, now facing a race against time to get their signals up and running so they could find -- and land -- the Gray Eagles. As dawn started to break, soldiers scrambled to replace 500 metres (yards) of melted fibre cables and reprogramme satellites so they could reconnect to the UAVs. Last step? Land the "birds." The Iranian ballistic missiles had punched holes across Ain al-Asad's airfield and the control tower was empty. "The airfield was shut down so we had to land without talking to anybody. We didn't know where any (other) aircraft was. That part was pretty stressful," said Herwig. The priority was one Grey Eagle that had been scheduled to land just as the missile attack began, and which stayed flying throughout until it was worryingly low on fuel. The pilots worked for hours to land each drone one by one, their adrenaline pumping even as other soldiers were recovering, showering and assessing the damage. At around 9:00 am, the final drone was brought down to earth. "We landed all our own birds back on site," said Kilpatrick, smiling in relief and pride. "It was quite a feat." At least 30 railway union functionaries were detained on Friday in Ahmedabad in Gujarat for holding a protest ahead of the inauguration of a premium Tejas train to be operated by PSU Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas train was flagged off by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday morning. Members of the Western Railway Employees Union and Western Railway Mazdoor Sangh held a protest outside Kalapur railway station against what they claimed was moves by the Narendra Modi government to privatise the public transporter. "The union members had gathered at the venue of the train flag off to hold protests. Since they did not have permission for the protest, we detained 30 of them. They were released after the official function got over," said a railway police official. Talking to reporters, WRMS leader Kantilal Parmar said, "The Central government is not talking to unions on contentious issues. Everything is being privatised, be it trains like Tejas or railway colonies. We are opposed to these moves." He claimed employees were on the verge of losing their jobs and the railway ministry had stopped fresh recruitment in the transport behemoth. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US claims it has right to attack Iran is not restoration of deterrence, it's return to the Wild West By Finian Cunningham January 16, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Donald Trump is not the first US president to be accused of using military force illegally. But this White House seems to be giving Trump greater executive license to kill and to start wars. This week, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in a media interview claimed the US has the right under Article II of its Constitution to attack Iranian territory in response to offensive action by Iranian-backed militia in Iraq. There has been a reported surge in rocket attacks on US bases in Iraq following the killing of General Soleimani and his companion, the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. In Espers reasoning, the US would have the right to launch airstrikes on Iran. And in Trumps reasoning, he does not have to seek authority from Congress. Canada-based war crimes lawyer Christopher Black comments: Esper's claim is incorrect because all that Article II does is make the president the commander of the armed forces. It does not give him the right to attack any nation without the consent of the Congress nor murder foreigners in foreign countries, nor violate its international legal obligations under the UN Charter and other covenants that are considered also to be part of US domestic law. Black added: Further, US claims of self-defense are also false as international law does not give authority to a nation to launch an attack on another country it is not at war [with]. Its tantamount to a policy of shoot now, and only later answer questions about it. In Trumps case, hes not even prepared to answer questions as can be seen from his defiance in the face of criticism about the drone-killing of Iranian General Soleimani. With growing doubts about the initial justification for the presidents order of that assassination, Trump has subsequently lashed out and asserted that even if Soleimanis alleged threats were not imminent, he still deserved to be killed by US forces in Baghdad on January 3. The earlier claim by Trump and his aides that there was an imminent threat to US personnel in Iraq stemming from Gen. Soleimanis liaison with Shia militia was a key qualifier for the presidential executive order of the killing. Team Trump argued that the president had to make a quick decision as commander-in-chief, thereby bypassing congressional notification, as the 1973 War Powers Act instructs. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter But now it turns out the supposed threat posed by Soleimani was not so imminent. Indeed, Pentagon chief Mark Esper contradicted the president in a media interview saying he did not see intelligence evidence that an attack was about to take place against four US embassies in the Middle East. Having the imminent threat argument undermined, Trump has nevertheless blurted it doesnt matter anyway. Soleimani was a legitimate target because of his horrible record. Hold on a moment. This is getting into extremely dangerous legal territory, whereby an American president is claiming to have the authority to kill a foreign leader without any evidence or indictment. Thats the conduct of the Wild West, not the leader of a constitutional state bound by legal obligations to international laws that specifically outlaw such conduct. The International Association of Democratic Lawyers, in an assessment of the Soleimani incident, condemned it as an illegal extrajudicial killing and an act of aggression by the US toward Iran and Iraq. They pointed out that no evidence was brought against Soleimani. He was murdered merely on the say-so of the American president. Moreover, the international lawyers group noted the killing was in violation of US and international law. US law is bound by its commitment to the UN Charter which explicitly prohibits the use of military force against another state without the approval of the UN Security Council. Such unilateral violence may be permitted only if there is clear evidence that a state is acting in self-defense. And the would-be self-defense measure must be proportionate. Clearly, in the case of Gen. Soleimani, neither of these exceptions were valid. The allegations against the Quds Force commander of having blood on his hands for thousands of US troops and millions of civilians is more in the realm of American propaganda. It is essentially hearsay which in no way meets any standard of due legal process. Soleimani helped organize Iranian-backed militia which were effective in defeating terrorist militia in Syria and Iraq trying to overthrow the governments. The US role and that of its allies toward the terror groups is ambiguous at best, if not covertly working with the militants, despite official talk about fighting terrorism. Iranian-backed militia in Iraq have opposed US forces. But lets not forget, American forces are in Iraq due to an illegal invasion of that country in 2003. When Trump and his aides denounce Soleimani for US troop deaths, they conveniently forget that their own country is guilty of war crimes in Iraq, and in Syria from its illegal presence there. The US Congress is right to be concerned about Trumps increasing arrogation of powers for using lethal force against foreign targets. However, his predecessor, Barack Obama, was a big practitioner of ordering drone-assassinations against terror suspects abroad. Almost every American president has deployed warplanes or missiles against foreign states in ways that breached constitutional law or the UN Charter. Remember Bill Clinton fired off cruise missiles on Sudan at the height of his sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky. During the 1970s, the Senate Church Committee into abuse of executive powers and assassination of foreign leaders under the aegis of the CIA led to tighter constitutional controls on presidential powers for ordering military actions. The use of illegal military force by the White House is nothing new. But what is different under Trump is the way his administration is unwinding controls over lawlessness, making it easier for assassination and acts of war to be done on a presidential whim. Thus, under Trump, the US leadership is rapidly evolving a working policy and rationale for justifying assassination and war. US lawlessness is spinning out of control by the day. The fiendish logic goes way beyond the danger of the US starting yet another war in the Middle East, this time with Iran. This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a major speech in which he put the assassination of the Iranian and Iraqi generals in the wider context of strategic deterrence against all adversaries. Pompeo explicitly linked the killings to the US policy of confronting Russia and China. Tellingly, his speech was titled: The Restoration of Deterrence: The Iranian Example. Pompeo summed up by saying: We have re-established deterrenceWe saw, not just in Iran, but in other places, too, where American deterrence was weak. We watched Russias 2014 occupation of the Crimea and support for aggression against Ukraine because deterrence had been undermined. We have resumed lethal support to the Ukrainian military. Chinas island building, too, in the South China Sea, and its brazen attempts to coerce American allies undermined deterrence. The lawless reasoning here is appalling. If the Trump administration wants to use murderous force against adversaries for so-called deterrence, then it will, according to Pompeo. That apparently includes Russia and China. The UN Charter was created to stop a repeat of World War II. Under Trump, the Charter, as well as other international laws and even the US own laws forbidding acts of war are being ignored. Welcome to the Wild West. Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. This article was originally published by "RT" - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== Im so grateful to China, said Wutyee Tun, a 13-year-old Burmese girl who received treatment from a Chinese medical program aiming to saving Burmese children suffering from congenital heart disease. The girl, who now has a chubby face and rosy cheek, lives in a town of southern Yangon Region, capital of Myanmar. She was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), a complicated heart disease when she was only one year old. Thiri Ko and her mother Daw Thandar Moe. (Photo by Lin Rui/Peoples Daily) I was so ill when I was little that I could hardly walk. Every time when I needed to go out my father had to carry me on his back, said Wutyee Tun. Local hospitals are incapable of curing this disease, so we were confused and desperate, U Myint Thein, the girls father told People's Daily, recalling the familys misery back then. The medical program from which Wutyee Tun received assistance was launched by China Charity Federation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2017. By cooperating with Yankin Children Hospital in Yangon Region, Chinese doctors examined more than 170 child patients, among which 36 have received surgeries in Chinas Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital in three batches so far. Wutyee Tun's situation was the worst among the first batch of 12 Burmese child patients. In April 2017, Wutyee Tun, accompanied by her father, arrived at Beijing Anzhen Hospital. The doctors made detailed treatment plan, and told us all the possible scenarios that could happen. With the efforts of the Chinese doctors, my daughter made it. Now, she is just as healthy as other children. Chinese doctors are really amazing, said U Myint Thein. Now Ive completely recovered from the disease. And my father smiled again - something that had disappeared in my family for a long time. China and the BRI are great, said Wutyee Tun. Photo shows two of the children who received treatment from the medical program in the third batch. (Photo by Lin Rui/Peoples Daily) According to Dr. Myint Myint Khine, director of Yankin Children Hospital, there are more than 50,000 children with congenital heart diseases in Myanmar, but few of the hospitals in the country is able to treat them. In order to cure every child patient they receive, the Chinese doctors have made painstaking endeavors and great efforts. We discuss treatment plans with Burmese doctors every day on WeChat, said Duo Lin, head of the research department of chronic diseases in Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital. Some children not only suffered from congenital heart disease, but also other diseases, so we held group consultation with doctors from other departments. We share the same goal: to cure the children completely, Duo said. Thiri Ko is a 7-year-old Burmese girl living in a small village in suburban Yangon with her mother Daw Thandar Moe. Her father passed away years ago, and a small grocery store her mother runs is all the source of income for the family. When she was 7-month-old, Thiri Ko was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. Daw Thandar Moe had to choose only drug therapy for her daughter as the surgery was totally unaffordable for her. Seeing her daughter getting worse day by day, Daw Thandar Moes became distraught. After receiving free treatment in Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital in Oct. 2018, Thiri Ko fully recovered. After my daughter was cured, the Chinese side also offered a loan to us to support my grocery store, Daw Thandar Moe introduced. The children who received treatment from the Chinese-aid medical program in the third batch pose for a picture with their family and medical staff of Yankin Children Hospital after they recovered and returned to Myanmar. (Photo by Lin Rui/Peoples Daily) The loan was offered by a supporting program providing economic assistance for the child patients' families. The program, launched at the end of 2019, was jointly operated by Kunming Yundi Behavior and Health Research Center and Myanmar Chinese Cooperation & Communication Center. We have customized plans for different families according to their demands. There are 11 families currently receiving our help, said Li Bobo, executive chairman of Myanmar Chinese Cooperation & Communication Center. We hope to try our best to help those Burmese families overwhelmed by the diseases. This is a natural decision driven by the friendship between the people of China and Myanmar, noted Li. Im so happy to see the children recover, not to mention the economic assistance the Chinese side has offered. Such good deeds deserve our respect. The seeds of friendship have been planted in our hearts. May China-Myanmar Phauphaw (fraternal) friendship be carried on from generation to generation, said Dr. Myint Myint Khine. Major/Minor: Psychology Classification: Senior Hometown: Durham, North Carolina Hobbies/Interests: Reading, listening to music, watching comedies, and doing crafts. Dream Job: Industrial organizational psychologist Campus Events You Enjoyed Participating In and The Reason(s): Campus Activities Board late night and weekends committee; Work study for the Office of Student Engagement; Know Your Rights Forum; Movie nights; Student government meetings. Plans After Graduating From ECSU: Ms. Ramsey plans to attend graduate school at East Carolina University, earning a Master's Degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology. Plans For the Future: To assist companies in their hiring process and perfecting the work environment. Your words to live by: "Don't be timid or afraid, for the Lord your God is with you." Joshua 1:9 Favorite place on campus Ridley Student Center Professors who influenced you and why "Dr. Jacqueline Huff has influenced me a lot while in the psychology program. She was not only my professor, but also a wonderful advisor who always made sure I had a plan for a successful future." What are some of the hightlights of being at ECSU? "Some of the highlights while attending ECSU have been Homecoming and Viking Fest. They are always the best and include both informational and entertaining events." Bomb attack kills ten in Turkish-controlled northern Syria town Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 5:22 PM Nearly a dozen people have lost their lives when a powerful car bomb explosion ripped through a northern Syrian border town seized by Turkish military forces and their allied militants in the aftermath of a cross-border incursion against militants of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack took place in the town of Suluk, which lies southeast of Tal Abyad district in Syria's northern province of Raqqah, on Thursday evening. The Britain-based war monitor said the blast targeted the headquarters of the Turkish-backed and so-called Ahrar al-Sharqiya (Free Men of the East) militant group, leaving seven members of the Takfiri outfit dead. The Observatory added that three Turkish soldiers were among the fatalities, noting that the death toll is expected to rise as some of the wounded are in critical condition. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing. On October 9, Turkish military forces and Ankara-backed militants launched a long-threatened cross-border invasion of northeastern Syria in a declared attempt to push YPG militants away from border areas. Ankara views the US-backed YPG as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984. On October 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a memorandum of understanding that asserted YPG militants had to withdraw from the Turkish-controlled "safe zone" in northeastern Syria within 150 hours, after which Ankara and Moscow would run joint patrols around the area. The announcement was made hours before a US-brokered five-day truce between Turkish and Kurdish-led forces was due to expire. Militant rocket attack leaves six civilians dead in Aleppo Meanwhile, at least six civilians were killed in Syria's northwestern city of Aleppo after foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants launched a number of projectiles at a residential neighborhood. An unmanned source at Aleppo Police Command told Syria's official news agency SANA that terrorists positioned on the western and northwestern outskirts of Aleppo fired three rockets at al-Sukari neighborhood, claiming the lives of six people and leaving 15 others wounded. The attack also inflicted material damage on civilian houses and property, SANA added. The Observatory, however, put the death toll at eight, saying some 25 people also sustained injuries in the terrorist attack. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Delhi, Jan 17 : Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani on Friday attacked the Aam Aadmi Party government for allegedly delaying the execution of four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape-murder case. "I want to tell the Kejriwal government that even though the review petition of three of the four convicts was dismissed by the Supreme Court in July 2018, the executions may not take place on the due date (January 22) because the Prison Department under the AAP government was sleeping," the Minister said. She also slammed the Delhi government for giving Rs 10,000 and a sewing kit to one juvenile rapist after his release. "They did not see tears in the eyes of Nirbhaya's mother? I salute her today for her struggle all these seven years." Irani's statement comes after President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy petition of 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case convict Mukesh Singh, officials said. The Ministry of Home Affairs had forwarded Mukesh's mercy petition to the President on Thursday night, hours after the plea was received from Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal's office for review. The plea was forwarded to Baijal's office by the Delhi government after rejecting it. The 23-year-old woman was brutally gang raped and tortured on December 16, 2012, leading later to her death. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Thebitcoinaffiliate.com scored 49 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 14 Oct 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 thebitcoinaffiliate homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if thebitcoinaffiliate has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the thebitcoinaffiliate homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the thebitcoinaffiliate homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the thebitcoinaffiliate homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the thebitcoinaffiliate homepage on Twitter + the total number of thebitcoinaffiliate followers (if thebitcoinaffiliate has a Twitter account). Basic Information PAGE TITLE The Bitcoin Affiliate DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS affiliate, bitcoins, merchants, commissions, sign up, bitcoin, login The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. 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. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE English UTF-8English DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache (PHP/5.3.19-1~dotdeb.0) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Type of server and offered services. The language of thebitcoinaffiliate.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for thebitcoinaffiliate.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 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. 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. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK FOUND TWITTER PAGE twitter.com/#!/bitcoinsarl DESCRIPTION Socie te Bitcoin ACCOUNT CREATED ON 25 Aug 2013 LOCATION Cu00f4 te d'Azur TWEETS 0 FOLLOWERS 3 LISTED 0 Government plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030 are not in line with EU law, it has emerged. The European Commission has said a complete ban of the marketing, import or registration of new petrol and diesel cars in a member state is "not compatible with EU law". The Government insists it will press ahead with the ban and will engage with the EU to ensure it complies with single market rules. Prior to the General Election, Climate Action Minister Richard Bruton planned to fast-track laws to ban all sales of petrol and diesel cars in Ireland by 2030. But the then-European commissioner for the internal market Elzbieta Bienkowska told Denmark's EU Affairs Committee in December 2018: "Under current Union type-approval legislation, a complete ban of the marketing, import or registration of new petrol and diesel cars in a member state is not compatible with EU law." Fianna Fail TD Marc MacSharry said the proposed ban had not been thought out. "We support and will prioritise the transitioning to electric, hybrid and better public transport," he said. "But Fine Gael is writing cheques it can't cash." A Department of Climate Action spokesperson said plans to phase out diesel and petrol cars in other EU countries meant a "ban on fossil-fuelled cars is now on the EU agenda". They added: "It will be necessary to engage with the European Commission as we frame the provision for Ireland's Climate Bill to ensure that it will be compatible with evolving EU legal frameworks." They also cited Ireland's smoky coal ban as precedent. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- For almost two decades, a battle has been raging over access to scholarly research. On the one side have been scholars, librarians, funders and others arguing that in an age of near-costless global communication, research findings and the data that underlie them should be shared freely and openly. On the other side have been publishers, led by Elsevier, a (very large) unit of under-the-radar London-based media giant RELX Plc,(2) fighting to maintain the remarkable profit margins that paywalled scholarly journals can provide. Thats the simple version, at least things have always been a little more complicated than that. But it was still jarring to observe this week in Berlin how much the battle lines have shifted. An executive with Wiley, the third-largest academic journal publisher by revenue, got up in front of the room at the APE (which originally stood for Academic Publishing in Europe) 2020 conference to extol his companys commitment to open access, open data, open practices, open collaboration, open recognition and reward. A counterpart from Springer Nature, the No. 2 publisher, proudly reeled off the paywall-free share of the papers published in Springer journals by researchers from various countries Sweden was the champ, at 90%. And Kumsal Bayazit, who took over as chief executive officer of Elsevier last February amid tense standoffs between the company and pro-open-access university systems in Germany, California and elsewhere, declared that Elsevier fully supports open access, as I think is the case for all scholarly publishers today. What happened?!? Partly its the forward march of digital progress (or disruption, or destruction), which Michael Mabe, the recently retired CEO of industry trade association STM, predicted will render subscription models and content control by copyright ... untenable by 2030. Partly its the European Unions Plan S, which will require research funded by public grants to be published without paywalls starting next year. But its also that some universities and other research institutions in Europe came up with a plan for taking down subscription paywalls but continuing to pay publishers for what they do. The key idea was to detach spending flows from subscriptions and reattach them to publishing services, said Ralf Schimmer, the director of scientific information provision at the Max Planck Digital Library in Munich since 1999. Story continues The Max Planck Digital Library serves the Max Planck Institutes, a network of government-funded research centers in Germany that has played a central role in the open-access movement, starting with a 2003 conference in Berlin that resulted in a declaration that has since been endorsed by 648 universities and other research organizations from around the world. At 12 subsequent Berlin conferences (not all of them in Berlin), university administrators, librarians, nonprofit publishers and others honed their approach. This approach did not involve, as some open-access fans advocate, doing away with publishing middlemen and putting scholars in charge of the process. I say open and clear that we want to destroy the subscription system, but Ive never said we want to destroy the publishers, Schimmer told me. I find the idea that the research community could do the publishing itself to be utterly naive. Why should libraries or academia do a better job than publishers? Adherents of the Berlin approach have aimed instead to flip university library subscription contracts for academic journals into publish and read or transformative deals in which approximately the same amount of money finances both (1) paywall-free publication of articles by that universitys faculty and (2) access to still-paywalled articles. Berlin-based Springer was the first of the big publishers to agree to a deal tending in this direction, with the Dutch university system in 2014. Since then it, Wiley and other publishers have signed dozens more. Elsevier has agreed to a few such deals, too, most recently with Carnegie Mellon University and the Dutch universities. It has been most notable, however, for its negotiation breakdowns with the Max Planck Institutes, Germanys universities and the University of California system, among others. The UC system let its Elsevier subscription agreement lapse early last year when it couldnt agree with the company on the pricing of a publish-and-read deal, and has been making do without access to new Elsevier publications ever since. Bayazit, a UC Berkeley graduate who is new to academic publishing but not to RELX, has been making the rounds of universities and clearly signaling that Elsevier is dialing down its confrontational approach. It did not escape notice at the APE conference that three of the four biggest academic publishers Elsevier, Wileys research-publishing arm and No. 4 Taylor & Francis, a division of Informa Plc are now run by women with no background in academic publishing. A new era seems to be dawning for the industry, and it has been reshuffling its leadership to meet it. That this new era may end up being dominated by the same big publishing companies that dominated the previous one is, of course, not going to be met with universal acclaim in academia. The turn to open access may well squeeze publishing profit margins, as those who dont produce much research but do read it (lower-tier colleges and universities, practitioners) find they can do without subscriptions. But Elsevier in particular has been gearing up for years to reposition itself as a data analytics provider. A report prepared last year for the pro-open-access Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition speculated that these efforts could reap big profits and give the company even more influence over universities than it wields now. When I ran these concerns by Schimmer, he nodded and said, They are too good, and the academic community is just too divided. In other words, getting to open access was hard enough. Completely reinventing the relationship between universities and the companies that profit from providing services to them was a bridge too far. (1) RELX has a market capitalization of about $50 billion, almost six times that of, just to name one example, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. To contact the author of this story: Justin Fox at justinfox@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stacey Shick at sshick@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Justin Fox is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business. He was the editorial director of Harvard Business Review and wrote for Time, Fortune and American Banker. He is the author of The Myth of the Rational Market. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. John James strutted confidently down the steps of a tremendous blue campaign bus, smiling but avoiding photographers snapping photos of Vice President Mike Pence and former White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders in downtown Holland last December. Two weeks later, James jogged up to a podium in Battle Creeks modest downtown events center. James stretched his arms, soaking in the cheers of thousands of President Donald Trumps supporters packed together for a Christmas-themed rally. Pence passionately endorsed James both nights, heralding the charismatic 38-year-old Farmington Hills businessman and African American veteran as the potential future of the Republican Party. Trump did not mention James during his two-hour appearance; the president was focused on the historic U.S. House vote to impeach him that same night. Two years after James suffered a closer-than-expected but ultimately disappointing loss to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, Republicans believe he could be their best shot at swiping a Senate seat from Democrats in decades. Democrats havent lost a Senate election since 1994. With President Donald Trump the White House and John James in the United States Senate, and with Gods help, were going to make Michigan and America more prosperous than ever before, Pence said in Battle Creek. It was a splashy end to what had been a muffled year. James hadnt held any public campaign events in the seven months since his debut and largely ignored Michigan TV cameras and print reporters throughout 2019. Instead, James spent the year consolidating his support in the Republican Party and setting up a fundraising operation to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township. The work appeared to start paying off in 2020. Peters raised a sizeable war chest to ward off a Republican challenger in the same year he and Trump will seek second terms. James campaign started the new year announcing it beat Peters fundraising totals for the second consecutive quarter. Days later, the latest statewide poll by Glengariff Group found James within the margin of error, affirming several previous polls that Peters campaign had waved off. John Sellek, CEO of Harbor Strategic Public Affairs and a veteran Republican strategist, said James will have more advantages in his second attempt. James starts with more experience, money and name recognition and no GOP opponent to waste early resources on. I think his team learned from the last cycle that he needed to avoid a repeat of a Republican primary and they needed to raise the funding necessary to unseat a sitting U.S senator," Sellek said. If you were to write the review on 2019, youd have to say that he has succeeded wildly in both accounts so far. That strategy took discipline and it paid off big time for him. Peters is one of only two Democratic senators up for re-election in a state Trump won. The race is drawing national attention and cash from deep pockets accordingly -- the two candidates raised nearly $20 million between them so far. The Senate race is set in a crucial battleground state, as Democrats see to rebuild the blue wall after Trump narrowly took Michigan in 2016. The Michigan Democratic Party expects the state will be roused to oust Trump from the White House and is organizing on the same energy that denied James in 2018. I know that John James and Donald Trump are going to walk in lockstep toward Michigan voters and voters hopefully are going to turn the other way, said Michigan Democratic Party Chairwoman Lavora Barnes. Weve got a great candidate and a great U.S. senator. Political forecasters expect the race to be competitive but still favor Peters as he seeks a second term. Peters said hes not taking James for granted. I always run aggressive races, Peters said in December. I believe that you need to be out in the community, you need to be listening to folks in the state and you need to be out campaigning. James campaign declined multiple attempts to interview him for this story during the last several months. A James spokesperson said the campaign will be more available after a public launch event, planned sometime in the first quarter of 2020. Meanwhile, James avoidance of reporters incensed the Michigan Democratic Party, which launched a website to highlight his toxic positions on abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act. Alex Japko, a spokesman for the party working on the Senate race, said James will face more scrutiny than the 2018 campaign. The Michigan Democratic Party accused James of hiding from voters and obfuscating his relationship to polarizing figures who support his campaign like Trump, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Kid Rock and Ukrainian businessmen who allegedly aided Rudy Guliani to procure damaging information about the presidents political opponents. James silence allowed him to evade commenting on controversies surrounding Trump, including impeachment and his decision to kill a top Iranian general without notifying Congress. James was also silent after the president asserted on stage in Battle Creek that the late John Dingell might be in hell. State House Speaker Lee Chatfield, who spoke at the rally, and Republican congressmen from Michigan said the statement was inappropriate. Peters isnt necessarily in the spotlight either. Morning Consults quarterly surveys show 34% of Michigan voters dont know who he is, the most of any senator up for re-election this year, though his approval rating is +7. Peters hasnt organized any public campaign-focused events yet either, but he held constituent events across the state last year. He didnt directly criticize James but said being accessible is a big part of his job. If you aspire to be a United States senator, you cant hide from the people of Michigan, Peters said. David Dulio, head of the political science department at Oakland University, said the race is in its very early stages. Though the looming presidential race will quickly suck up a lot of voters attention, both candidates have plenty of time to introduce themselves to the public. Peters joined the U.S. Navy Reserve at age 34 and served for more than a decade in units at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Peters served overseas in the Persian Gulf and he rejoined the Navy Reserve to serve overseas after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. James enrolled in the U.S. Military Academy at age 17 and became an Army Ranger-qualified aviator. He participated in multiple tours of duty in Iraq as an Apache pilot and touts bringing all of the soldiers under his command home alive. Peters rose through the political ranks from a local city council seat to become a two-term state senator and three-term Congressman. James has never held public office. After leaving the military, he became president of the family business, James Group International. The global supply-chain management company was founded by his father, also named John James. Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Cox said James resume as a combat veteran and job creator are among his most appealing attributes. Peters, a 61-year-old motorcycle enthusiast, is white but has represented some of the most diverse districts in Michigan. He won a competitive House primary in 2012 after being redistricted from the suburbs into a newly drawn district centered in Detroit. James, a 38-year-old African American man, was thoroughly beat in the states most diverse counties in 2018. Campaign staff talk of him as a unique candidate who bring in people who dont traditionally support Republicans. Cox said James is a fighter for conservative values and policies. James warned of the dangers of socialism at Pences Holland rally. Peters presents himself as a bipartisan lawmaker willing to work with Republicans to secure environmental protections and safeguard Michigans border with Canada. Peters team highlights his being named the fourth-most effective Democratic senator by the Center for Effective Lawmaking in 2019. James said hes an independent thinker at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference last year -- the only time MLive was able to interview him in 2019. James shared that he was raised by Democrats at the Battle Creek rally, and called himself a compassionate conservative." But Peters said his opponent is a dogmatic partisan, noting James expressed 2,000% support for Trumps agenda in 2018. Someone who says they support Donald Trump 2,000% is clearly very ideological and not very flexible and somebody whos not out there listening to what voters have to say, but instead listens to what Donald Trump has to say," Peters said. Dulio said both candidates will need to increase turnout among their partys respective bases in 2020, but independents will also play a key role. But the presidential race, and Peters role in the upcoming Senate impeachment hearings, could swallow any chance of the candidates appealing to moderates. Peters said voters will see his focus on Michigans most important issues. I think Michigan voters are practical, common-sense people who certainly have partisan leanings, but ultimately they want someone whos going to be open, accessible, listen to them, and try to find common ground to get things done, Peters said. Cox said voters are ready for new representation. People want somebody whos solidly supporting the president and fighting for the Presidents economic policies that benefit the families here in Michigan, thats really important, she said. Read more on MLive: Who is running for Congress in 2020? Michigans top races to watch John James says his 2020 Senate run is about Michigan, not Trump Gary Peters says Trump endorsement will be a liability for GOP challenger Michigan TV stations replace false attack ads on Gary Peters Michigan Democrats hit John James for anti-abortion comments Partisan attack websites, independent groups enter Michigan Senate race The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of February 2020, Piramal Enterprises Limited said in a statement. New Delhi: Ajay Piramal-led Piramal Enterprises has signed an agreement for sale of its Decision Resources Group (DRG) business to US-headquartered Clarivate Analytics for $950 million (over Rs 6,745 crore), and will use the money to reduce debt and to explore organic and inorganic growth opportunities. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of February 2020, Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) said in a statement. PEL DRG Dutch HoldCo BV, a 100 percent subsidiary of PEL and the holding company for DRG, has signed a definitive agreement for sale of DRG to Clarivate Analytics for a consideration of $950 million, it added. This includes $900 million on closing and $50 million to be received at the end of 12 months from the date of closing, PEL said. On being asked about how the company plans to use the sale proceed, Piramal Group Chairman Ajay Piramal told PTI that it would be used to reduce debt and to explore organic and inorganic growth opportunities. "We will use it to reduce debt and also to grow our existing businesses as well as look at some inorganic opportunities," he added. "As a company, we have always believed that we should do what is in the best interest of shareholders and therefore if we feel the value that we can get by selling the business is good, we do it," Piramal said. PEL had initially invested $650 million in 2012 to acquire DRG, out of which $260 million was infused as equity. It has realised 2.3 times its initial equity investment in rupee terms, the statement added. "We are pleased to have grown DRG's market leadership over the last few years and believe that through this combination, Clarivate, with its size and scale, is well positioned to further accelerate DRG's growth potential," Piramal said in the statement. Along with the ongoing equity capital raising exercise in PEL, this transaction not only further strengthens the company's balance sheet but also marks another step towards significantly unlocking value in future, he added. "This transaction demonstrates our continued commitment to create sustained long-term value for all stakeholders," Piramal said. DRG, the data, analytics and insights business of the Piramal Group, specialises in enabling pharma, biotech and medical technology companies to achieve commercial success in complex health markets with the creation of effective patient-centric commercial strategies. "This is a milestone acquisition which doubles the size of our life sciences business, is accretive to our 2020 earnings and sets us up as an essential, end-to-end, industry-leading data and analytics provider in the highly attractive life sciences ecosystem," Clarivate Analytics Executive Chairman and CEO Jerre Stead said. With this acquisition, Clarivate will be well-positioned in the $19 billion life sciences analytics market, which is enjoying double-digit growth, to support customers across the entire drug, device and medical technology lifecycle from research to outcome, the statement said. Shares of Piramal Enterprises closed at Rs 1,627.05 per scrip on the BSE, up 5.18 percent from previous close. Theres been a stark contrast in dairy processing circles in the past 60 days. Dean Foods and Borden both bemoaned sluggish fluid milk sales after waving the white flag and declaring bankruptcy. On the flip side, Coca-Cola bought the remaining interest in fairlife. Which big-name company has it right? Betting on the future On January 3, the Coca-Cola company made a big bet on dairy. Thats when it became the sole owner of the fairlife brand. It did so by purchasing the remaining 57.5% of the company from its original joint venture partner Select Milk Producers a dairy farmer-owned cooperative based in New Mexico. Fairlifes signature product is an ultrafiltered milk that debuted in 2014. After hitting store shelves, fairlife garnered double-digit sales growth each year. Just this past year, sales surpassed $500 million, according to Nielsen AMC tracked data. What does Coca-Cola think about fluid milk sales? Coca-Cola company has 20, $1 billion brands, and fairlife will soon be the next, predicted Mike Saint John at an October 2018 dairy industry gathering. And Saint John should know, as he was on the team that brought Coca-Colas Simply Orange to the marketplace, which is now one of those $1 billion brands. Dairy titans Dean Foods and Borden are legendary dairy brands. However, both have been faltering. While laying blame on sluggish fluid milk sales and higher milk procurement costs, both of those companies have many other issues not mentioned in press releases. The reality is that both companies are saddled with enormous debt and legacy costs that are at least partially to blame for their financial demise. Aging plants and, in the case of Dean Foods, sacrifice of its many strong local and regional brands for a national brand DairyPure contributed as well. That marketing move flies in the face of demographic data that suggests consumers are flocking to brands that feature local connections to food. The comparisons The parallels are striking between Dean Foods and Borden both companies relied heavily on fluid milk sales, and both entities had very little product innovation in recent years. In 2018, Borden sales totaled $1.18 billion, with 3,264 employees, and Dean Foods netted $7.7 billion, with over 15,000 employees. Both will try to restructure and reemerge from bankruptcy. The question remains will Dean Foods and Borden plod along with their same old sales tactics or will they look to place innovative products in the dairy case? There needs to be a dramatic turnaround on the sales front for resurrection to become a reality. In the case of Dean Foods, sales dropped from $12.4 billion in 2008 to $7.7 billion in 2018. That was a 37% free fall in just one decade. To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com. (c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2020 January 13, 2020 The state of California sued the Trump administration Friday for approving new oil-drilling leases on federal land in eight Central California counties and the Sierra foothills. Its the latest step in an ongoing dispute between the federal government and the nations most populous state. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Pasadena, accusing the Bureau of Land Management of illegally failing to consider public health concerns, groundwater contamination, increases in greenhouse gas emissions and the potential for earthquakes from the drilling method known as fracking. It claims Trump administration officials also failed to fully evaluate the environmental impacts of the plan on nearby communities. BLMs decision to advance this half-baked proposal isnt just misguided, its downright dangerous, Becerra said in a statement. The risks to both people and the environment associated with fracking are simply too high to ignore. But thats essentially what BLM is doing, he said. We wont ignore the facts and science when it comes to protecting our people, economy, and environment and were taking the Trump Administration to court to prove it. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California Air Resources Board, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the state Department of Water Resources. The Trump administration gave the go-ahead in December for new oil and gas leases across more than 1 million acres between Bakersfield and Santa Barbara, the first ones made available by the Bureau of Land Management in the region in five years. It means hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, will be allowed in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura counties. Smaller plots will also be open outside of existing industry sites, including at the edge of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks in the Sierra, the Carrizo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo County and within 10 miles of Yosemite National Park. Fracking is when high-pressure water, sand and chemicals are used to extract oil and gas. The technique makes it easier to tap hard-to-reach mineral deposits but is known to pollute groundwater and even trigger earthquakes. The Bureau of Land Management has insisted that the agency would require petroleum companies to develop plans showing that their ventures are economically viable and would not damage the environment before they would be allowed to go forward. Serena Baker, the spokeswoman for the BLMs Central California district office, said Friday that the agencys environmental review used the best available information and only covered leases where there had been previous oil exploration. She said the agency manages less than 10% of oil and gas operations in California, while the state is responsible for fracking permits, including on BLM-managed land. But the plaintiffs claim seven of the eight counties including Kern County, where 95% of the drilling has traditionally occurred already do not meet air-quality standards for particulate matter, ozone or both. The suit urges the court to set aside the drilling plan because the governments environmental review failed to consider a growing body of evidence that fracking can pollute groundwater, release toxins into the air, cause land to sink and trigger low-level seismic events. 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 Trump plan also ignores the danger to millions of people and imperils species living near the oil and gas wells, increasing the risk of asthma, heart disease, lung disease and cancer in vulnerable, mostly low-income communities, according to the lawsuit. All of this, and BLMs failure to consider alternatives, mitigations or conflicts with state law, violate the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, Becerra said. The environmental analysis did not make any new public lands or federal minerals available to oil and gas development, since the available lands have been open to oil and gas development for more than 30 years, Baker countered. It also did not issue any new leases or approve any permits to drill. The states action comes a few days after six environmental groups, led by the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, sued the federal government over the same leases. Its encouraging to see Gov. Newsom and other state officials join the battle against the Trump administrations scheme to unleash a frenzy of fracking and drilling on our beautiful public lands, said Clare Lakewood, legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. Californians wont allow the oil industry to pollute our air and water and cripple our efforts to fight climate change. The drilling leases are part of a push by the administration to increase fossil fuel development in California. It is an agenda that has infuriated conservationists, California legislators and the governor, who have committed to dramatic reduction targets on greenhouse gas emissions, including zero-carbon power generation by 2045. The state has all but declared an environmental war against the president. Newsom recently halted the approval of hundreds of fracking permits until their ecological impact could be further studied. Conservation groups have also filed a lawsuit challenging Trump administration plans to allow fracking on an additional 725,500 acres across 11 counties in Californias Central Coast and the Bay Area. Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite Sterling International Ltd, a member of CRESTA GROUP of Companies, has received Silver and Platinum Awards for 2017-18 at the 28th Presidents National Awards for Export Achievement held at Kempinski Hotel in Accra on 18th December 2019. The Presidents National Awards for Export Achievement Scheme is an event organized by the Export Promotion Authority under the distinguished patronage of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, to honour companies that excel in export trade. Sterling International Company exported products worth US$35,743,512 and repatriated a total amount of US$31,663,616 during the period 2017-18. By this achievement, the Company maintains its position as the largest manufacturer and exporter in the Auto Industrial Paints category of the non-traditional exports to West and Central Africa. The Awards are primarily to spur on exporters in non traditional goods to excel, generate more foreign exchange to stabilize the local currency, Ghana Cedis. Other objectives of the Awards are; to formally recognize the contribution of the exporters in the non- traditional exports sector to the economy of Ghana, to commend exporters for producing quality products and breaking new grounds and to encourage higher levels of performance by exporters. Award winners are selected by multi-sectorial committee set up by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority based on data collected on the repatriation of foreign currency (export earnings) details from banking system in Ghana, Bank of Ghana, Ministry of Trade & Industry, Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ghana Revenue Authority (Customs Division), Federation of Association of Ghanaian Exporters, Ghana Community Network, Ministry of Food & Agriculture and Association of Ghana Industries. Mr. E. A. Dagadu, a director and Mr. Arun Patil, Managing Director Cresta Group West Africa received the awards for 2017 and 2018 respectively. Mr. Patil on behalf of his Management expressed his deepest appreciation to GEPA for the honour and recognition given to his Companys achievements over the years and attributed the achievement to the pursuit of research and development, excellent teamwork and quality assurance. In an address to the Award winners, the Honourable Minister of Trade and Industry Mr. Alan Kyeremateng who represented His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President of the Republic Of Ghana, expressed his deepest appreciation to them for their achievement and encouraged them to keep it up. Other dignitaries who addressed the function included the Hon. Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. Mr. Robert Ahomka Lindsey, Mr. Sandy Osei- Agyeman Board Chairman, GEPA and Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, the CEO of GEPA. --Daily Graphic Lucknow, Jan 17 : The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers cadre posted in Uttar Pradesh is upset with the introduction of the Police Commissionerate system in Lucknow and Noida. The IAS officers in the state see the move as an attempt to "undermine the superiority of the cadre". While almost all serving officers said they disapproved of the commissionerate system but were unwilling to say anything on record, the Uttar Pradesh IAS Association has decided not to comment on the development. "The Chief Minister has been misled into implementing the police commissioner system but this would remove all checks and balances and the police will now function in an autocratic manner. Look at what is happening in Delhi," said a senior IAS officer in the rank of Additional Chief Secretary. Another officer in the rank of Principal Secretary said the new system would not result in the expected change because the work culture of the police would not change. "If anything, with multiple officers in a district, it will make them play the blame game," he said. Retired IAS officer Yogendra Narain said: "In the administrative system, the civilian authority is considered supreme. The common man also prefers to approach the district magistrate with his problems rather than the police officers. There is an element of fear in the uniform which creates a barrier. A balance should be maintained between the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police." Retired Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan echoed similar sentiments, saying "there are several occasions when protests are of civil nature and can be dealt with by the District Magistrate. Police action in such matters can complicate the situation. The state government should have clarified what was the need for implementing the Commissionerate system and where did the old system go wrong." Another retired IAS officer, who did not wish to be named, asked: "Till now, people used to lodge their complaints against the police with the District Magistrate, but now who will entertain complaints against the police?' Retired IAS officer Surya Pratap Singh took to the Twitter to question the police commissioner system and wrote: "The police commissioner's area of work has been reduced in this system because of multiple superintendents of police." In the Police Commissionerate system, the power dynamic tilts heavily in favour of the police. According to a state government release, powers of an Executive Magistrate under 15 Acts now lie with the police. The biggest change this brings about is the power to invoke the Gangster Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act - for which the District Magistrate used to issue the order - and eviction proceedings and prohibitory powers under sections 107 to 116 of the Criminal Procedure Code. These deal with preemptive action against those considered likely to cause breach of peace or disseminate seditious matters, which needed action on the part of the Executive Magistrate. The police are now also empowered, among other things, to disperse assembly by use of civil force, as well as by use of armed force, powers earlier vested in the Executive Magistrate. On the ground, the police will have a greater say in resolving land disputes. Removal of encroachments and other land-related problems would need the presence of a magistrate to aid the police. The father of the 23-year-old paramedic student, who was gang-raped and brutally assaulted in December 2012, on Friday hoped that the men will not escape the gallows after President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy plea of one of the four convicts New Delhi: The father of the 23-year-old paramedic student, who was gang-raped and brutally assaulted in December 2012, on Friday hoped that the men will not escape the gallows after President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy plea of one of the four convicts. Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh, one of the four men convicted in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case, sources said. The rejection came soon after the Union Home Ministry forwarded the petition to the president on Friday morning. "We are happy that the chances of them getting hanged have increased. We are assured that as soon as they file mercy pleas they will be rejected," he told PTI. He said the news of the execution not happening on 22 January had disheartened them but Friday's developments have heightened their hopes. "There is a hearing at 3.30 pm at Patiala House Court and this development will have a positive impact on it. Kal jo nirasha thi woh aaj asha mein badal gayi hai (Yesterday's disappointment has turned into hope today)," he added. A Delhi court Thursday directed Tihar jail authorities to file a proper report by Friday about the status of scheduled execution of convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case. Mukesh had filed his mercy petition two days ago. The four convicts: Mukesh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25), were to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail, a Delhi court had announced on January 7 while issuing their death warrants. While South Africa's power crisis is reportedly costing the country up to R80bn a month, it is not loadshedding itself that is currently the biggest threat to the economy. The main threat or disruption to the business and supply chain of the country is actually uncertainty. Uncertainty about the power blackouts, uncertainty around industrial action, as well as uncertainty around key pieces of legislation. An uncertainty only fuels more uncertainty. No market likes uncertainty and the property market is no exception. Karen Petersen, director: SADC Group: Urban Positive economic turnaround expected In his budget speech, finance minister Tito Mboweni did not make any provision whatsoever for expropriation, which undoubtedly will prove to be an extremely costly exercise. He is fully aware of the danger that lies in the tampering of property rights and the negative impact it would have on the countrys economy. Expropriation without compensation could very well also negatively impact on property as an asset class, specifically for investors who buy for speculation.So, whilst expropriation is a factor here, like drought, the poor economy and other financial challenges, in all fairness, it is not the key driver and the effects are yet to be seen in KwaZulu-Natal.In the run-up to the national elections last year, uncertainty increased in the property market as the political and economic environment remained tumultuous. However, the country will most likely experience a positive economic turnaround post-election, and certainty on economic policy and property ownership are likely to stimulate positive property market activity.There are early indications in the data that the property industry could still experience a robust recovery in 2020, and that there is still potential and value in investing in property in South Africa.2018, which was a buyer's market, saw many properties just sitting on the market and fetching lower prices, fuelled by political and economic uncertainty, increasing petrol prices and rising household costs. Gauteng was hit hardest, with a 40% drop in the affordable housing market in two months.Early in 2019, there was a pick-up in sales - this is especially the case when it comes to residential estates, which are currently experiencing a boom in the local market. Moving beyond the cost, design, and purchase of property inside residential estates, the combination of quality living, well-designed homes, and fringe benefits combine to offer a compelling value-proposition to investors, especially in the non-luxury residential segment.2019 continued to be a buyers market with banks competing strongly with each other to make loans more accessible and affordable. Their robust lending appetite is evidenced by oobas Average Deposit as a Percentage of Purchase Price indicator which is down by over 20% year-on-year from 15.5% of the purchase price last year to 12% of the purchase price now. This trend is expected to continue in 2020.Financial institutions are still willing to extend mortgages (even in the face of threats of expropriation without compensation) and property developers are continuing to invest heavily in vibrant growth nodes, such as Sibaya and Ridgeside north of Durban in eThekwini, as well as Waterfall near Midrand.Currently, there remains a strong demand for well-priced homes which are selling to a cross-section of buyers, including investors. Helping to drive this demand is the countrys large population of younger-generation home buyers, eager to gain a foothold on the property ownership ladder. This demand is also expected to continue.Historically and globally, property has over time proven to be a sound medium-to-long term investment and means of wealth creation. Critical to this, however, is making the right choice of property in the right location, and ensuring that you have a purpose for the building and that it does not remain vacant.The consensus is clear expropriation without compensation threatens not only the economy and fundamental rights due to all citizens, but also the legitimacy of the constitutional order itself. If done responsibly, it should not impede the economy, food security nor peoples rights. So next to resolving this policy uncertainty around expropriation, growing the economy will be one of the most fundamental considerations for the property market.In my view, the levels of high paranoia are not justified, mainly because the new (expropriation) bill provides far more rights and far more considerations than its predecessors ever did. The mechanisms that are in place (including the Constitutional Court) and which have always protected landowners, are going to continue to function. If South Africa is your home, then investing in bricks and mortar is the perfect hedge through a difficult and inflationary period. The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Allahabad High Court verdict annulling the election of Samajwadi Party MP Mohammad Azam Khan's son to the UP Assembly on grounds that he was underage and did not qualify to fight the 2017 polls. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde issued notice and sought response from the Election Commission and defeated BSP candidate Nawaz Ali Khan, who had challenged Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan's election from Suar Assembly constituency in Rampur. The bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant said they will hear the matter as some doubts have been created by placing documents other than school records to show that Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan was qualified to contest the election. "We have read the Allahabad High Court judgment, it is based on evidence," the bench said. Abdullah Khan had on December 17 approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court verdict which had ruled that he was not qualified to contest the election of the legislative assembly as he had not turned 25 when he filed the nomination papers for the 2017 polls. In his election petition against Abdullah Khan in the high court, Kazim Ali Khan had contended that the elected MLA's actual date of birth was January 1, 1993 and not September 30, 1990, as claimed in the nomination paper. Abdullah Khan was elected as MLA on a Samajwadi Party ticket on March 11, 2017. The unsuccessful Bahujan Samaj Party candidate from the Suar assembly segment, Kazim Ali Khan, had said in his election petition in the high court that educational certificates, passport and visa of Abdullah Khan mentioned January 1, 1993 as the SP MLA's date of birth. The high court had unseated the Suar MLA after examining the entire facts as borne out of various documents, including the service record of Abdullah Khan's mother. It too had mentioned January 1, 1993 as his date of birth. In its ruling, the high court had directed its registrar general to intimate the substance of the verdict to the Election Commission of India and the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly speaker to take follow-up actions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei told a crowd of his supporters the U.S. is an "arrogant power" and that God had allowed Iran to "slap the face" of the U.S., The New York Times reports. Why it matters: Khamenei gave the rare public sermon on Friday to present a unified image of Iran to the rest of the world after recent escalations with the U.S. and an Iranian military accidentally shot down a civilian plane. The killing of all 176 passengers including 82 Iranians sparked protests across the country. What he's saying: Khamenei provided little condolences to the families who lost relatives in the crash, and instead focused on asserting his power, the Times writes. He called the protesters "stooges of the United States" popular rhetoric to dismiss protesters in Iran. Khamenei called President Trump a "clown" who is trying to "push a poisonous dagger" into the backs of Iranians. Go deeper: Mumbai, Jan 17 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said that it raided the residence of former BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official in a FEMA violation case and recovered documents related to the purchase of a property in Dubai in an alleged illegal manner. A senior ED official said that the financial probe agency's searches at the residential premises of the BMC's ex-Chief Engineer recovered "incriminating" documents linked to "illegal acquisition" of a property held in Dubai. The ED, however, did not disclose the name of the ex-BMC official. The official said that the raids on the former BMC official were carried out under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Act 1999 (FEMA) after receiving specific information. The ED said: "It has been stated by the former chief engineer of BMC that he purchased the property in Dubai, located at Park Island, Bonaire Marsa, Dubai (measuring 89 sq mt), for Rs 70 lakh in 2012. "The property is held jointly in the name of the person, his spouse and son." However, the ED held that no such documents identifying the value of the property purchased in Dubai could be furnished by the officer. As per the documents recovered during the search, presently, the said property is on rent and fetching an income of 65,000 UAE dirhams (Rs 13 lakh) yearly. The agency said it has also got evidences that an amount of Rs 40 lakh was transferred by the officer to his married daughter (a US national) under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). CDC today released two reports on e-cigarette, or vaping, product useassociated lung injury (EVALI), confirming that most EVALI patients report using tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing products and that new EVALI cases have continued to decline with time. The two reports appear in CDCs Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The first MMWR report updates EVALI patient demographic and self-reported substance use characteristics. As of January 14, 82% of EVALI patients nationwide with available data reported using any THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products, and 57% reported using any nicotine-containing products; 33% reported exclusive THC-containing product use, and 14% reported exclusive nicotine-containing product use. The report also analyzed updated data on newly reported cases to CDC, as well as emergency department visits over time related to e-cigarette, or vaping, products. These data show that the EVALI outbreak began in June 2019 and peaked in September 2019. The number of cases has since continued to decline, but new cases and deaths continue to be reported. These reports build on the continued scientific progress CDC and our partners have made to reduce the number of EVALI cases, said CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, M.D. It is also critically important that we continue to do all we can do to protect Americans particularly young people from this serious health threat. The second MMWR report summarizes characteristics of EVALI patients in Illinois by substances used in e-cigarette, or vaping, products. The study found that while most Illinois EVALI patients reported use of THC-containing products, a small percentage had no evidence of any use of THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products. Of 121 interviewed EVALI patients in Illinois, nine reported using only nicotine-containing products and had no indication of any THC use. These patients were more likely to be older and female than patients who reported using THC-containing products. These findings support earlier data suggesting that while THC containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products and vitamin E acetate play a major role in the outbreak, evidence is not sufficient to rule out the contribution of other chemicals of concern, including chemicals in either THC or non-THC products, in some of the reported EVALI cases. A third CDC publication, a commentaryexternal icon, released today in New England Journal of Medicine, discusses key aspects of the EVALI outbreak and notes that it is distinct from the ongoing epidemic of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use among U.S. youth. This commentary also underscores that both the EVALI outbreak and youth-vaping epidemic warrant immediate, decisive, and science driven action to protect public health, and that the focus of these actions must target the underlying drivers. The EVALI outbreak primarily affects young adults, is driven by the use of THC-containing products from informal sources and is strongly linked to vitamin E acetate. In contrast, the youth e-cigarette, or vaping, product use epidemic primarily affects adolescents, is driven by use of nicotine-containing products obtained mostly from formal sources, and has been caused by multiple factors, including advertising, attractive flavors particularly in cartridge-based products, and the availability of easily concealable devices that deliver high levels of nicotine. Current Recommendations from CDC and FDA CDC and FDA recommend that people not use THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products, particularly from informal sources like friends, or family, or in-person or online dealers. Vitamin E acetate should not be added to any e-cigarette, or vaping, products. Additionally, people should not add any other substances not intended by the manufacturer to products, including products purchased through retail establishments. Adults using nicotine-containing e-cigarette or vaping products as an alternative to cigarettes should not go back to smoking; they should weigh all available information and consider using FDA-approved smoking cessation medications. They should contact their healthcare professional if they need help quitting tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, as well as if they have concerns about EVALI. E-cigarette, or vaping, products should never be used by youths, young adults, or women who are pregnant. Adults who do not currently use tobacco products should not start using e-cigarette, or vaping, products. THC use has been associated with a wide range of health effects, particularly with prolonged frequent use. The best way to avoid potentially harmful effects is to not use THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products. Persons engaging in ongoing cannabis use that leads to significant impairment or distress should seek evidence-based treatment by a health care professional. Additional information on EVALI is available at www.cdc.gov/lunginjury. Pune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/15/2020 -- For attaining the success at local, regional as well as international level, this high quality global Hydronic Control market research report is an ultimate solution. Clients get clear understanding of the market place with a nice combination of best industry insight, practical solutions, talent solutions and latest technology while using this Hydronic Control report for the business growth. This market report considers various factors that have great effect on the growth of business which includes historic data, present market trends, environment, technological innovation, upcoming technologies and the technical progress in the Semiconductors and Electronics industry. Market Characterization-: The overall Hydronic Control market is characterized on the basis of different analysis-: The Global Hydronic Control Market is expected to reach USD 39.24 billion by 2025, from USD 31.46 billion in 2017 growing at a CAGR of 2.8% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. Download Hydronic Control Research Report in PDF Brochure (Note: Kindly use your business/corporate email id to get priority): https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-hydronic-control-market&sc Major Market Drivers and Restraints: Rising need for usage of energy efficiency in infrastructures. Rising awareness of sustainable energy uses. Stringent government norms and regulations for energy standards and efficiency. High costs for labour and subsequent installations. Lack of awareness among masses. Lack of technically skilled staffs. Key Hydronic Control market players Analysis-: The study given in this section offers details of key market players. It likewise clarifies the marketing strategies adopted by these players as well as portrays their shareholdings in the HYDRONIC CONTROL market. Details of few key market players are given here- Danfoss, Schneider Electric, Siemens AG, Johnson Controls, IMI Plc, Caleffi S.p.a, Giacomini S.p.A, Belimo Holding AG, Flamco, Spirotech, Honeywell International Inc., IMI Hydronic Engineering Inc, CAREL INDUSTRIES, Grainger Inc., Oventrop GmbH & Co. KG, Reflex Winkelmann GmbH, Controlled Hydronics Inc., REHAU Corporation, Uponor Corporation, Bindus Manufacturing Llc, and Watts Water Technologies Inc., Telecom Italia among others. Segmentation Analysis-: The total Hydronic Control market is further divided by company, by country, by manufacturer and by application/type for the competitive landscape examination. Product Segmentation- Global Hydronic Control Market, By Equipment (Actuators, Valves, Flow Controllers, Control Panels, and Others), Installation Type (New, Retro Fit Installation), Sectors (Residential, Commercial, Industrial) Geographical Analysis-: Under this section, Regional and country-level analysis of the Hydronic Control market has been performed- Regional Segments Analysis: The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries and Egypt.) North America (the United States, Mexico, and Canada.) South America (Brazil etc.) Europe (Turkey, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.) Asia-Pacific (Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia.) Set of Chapter covered in this report-: Part 01: Hydronic Control Market Overview Part 02: Manufacturers Profiles Part 03: Global Hydronic Control Market Competition, by Players Part 04: Global Hydronic Control Market Size by Regions Part 05: North America Hydronic Control Revenue by Countries Part 06: Europe Hydronic Control Revenue by Countries Part 07: Asia-Pacific Hydronic Control Revenue by Countries Part 08: South America Hydronic Control Revenue by Countries Part 09: Middle East and Africa Revenue Hydronic Control by Countries .so on New Business Strategies, Challenges & Policies are mentioned in Table of Content, Request Detailed TOC Click here https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-hydronic-control-market&sc Highlights of TOC: Market Overview: It starts with product overview and scope of the global Hydronic Control market and later gives consumption and production growth rate comparisons by application and product respectively. It also includes a glimpse of the regional study and Hydronic Control market size analysis for the review period 2019-2026. Company Profiles: Each company profiled in the report is assessed for its market growth keeping in view vital factors such as price; Hydronic Control market gross margin, revenue, production, markets served, main business, product specifications, applications, and introduction, areas served, and production sites. Manufacturing Cost Analysis: It includes industrial chain analysis, manufacturing process analysis, the proportion of manufacturing cost structure, and the analysis of key raw materials. Market Dynamics: Readers are provided with a comprehensive analysis of Hydronic Control market challenges, influence factors, drivers, opportunities, and trends. Market Forecast: Here, the Hydronic Control report provides consumption forecast by application, price, revenue, and production forecast by product, consumption forecast by region, production forecast by region, and production and revenue forecast. Buy Full Copy Global Hydronic Control Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/checkout/buy/enterprise/global-hydronic-control-market&sc Thanks for reading this article you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia. Note: If You Have Any Special Requirements, Please Let Us Know And We Will Offer You The Report As You Want. Data Bridge adepts in creating satisfied clients who reckon upon our services and rely on our hard work with certitude. We are content with our glorious 99.9 % client satisfying rate. About Data Bridge Market Research An absolute way to forecast what future holds is to comprehend the trend today! Data Bridge set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Contact: US: +1 888 387 2818 UK: +44 208 089 1725 Hong Kong: +852 8192 7475 Corporatesales@databridgemarketresearch.com Terry and Joanne Tanner are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. The former Joanne Kuchek married Tanner on Jan. 17, 1970, in Blessed Sacrament Church, Midland. They have three sons, Michael Tanner of Bay City, Shawn Tanner of Highland Park, Illinois, and Chris Tanner of Brandon, Florida. They have five grandchildren. Terry worked at the Midland Daily News for 42 years, as a photo engraver, photographer and circulation sales manager. Joanne was involved in child care for several decades. The couple enjoyed an early celebration of their anniversary this past summer with a 17-day trip to central and eastern Europe -- Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. During January they will join with their immediate family for a weekend gathering in Frankenmuth. How they met: They met while they were both employees at the Midland Daily News. Geoffrey Paschel, 42, from Tennessee, appeared in court to be accused of attacking an old lover A man seeking love in the new series of 90 Day Fiance has appeared in court to be accused of attacking an old lover and has previously been accused of abuse in a court filing by one of his two ex-wives. Geoffrey Paschel, 42, from Tennessee, appears in the latest series of the TLC show as a single father hoping to find his happily ever after with Varya, 30. He has now been charged with aggravated kidnapping, domestic assault, interference with emergency calls and vandalism. Paschel was first arrested in June after the woman, who has not been named, called police claiming he attacked her in their Tennessee home. 'He repeatedly bashed/slammed my head into the hardwood floors of my home. 'He dragged me through the house by my hair and continued throwing my body into walls and furniture. 'I know this because of blood on my walls, furniture,' the girlfriend alleged in a court filing. Paschel, 42, appears in the new series of 90 Day Fiance with Varya, a Russian 30-year-old who he said he planned to propose to if all went well Varya is shown welcoming Paschel at the airport in Moscow in the new series of the show Paschel told the court she lied to try to sabotage his ongoing custody battle with his ex-wife. Paschel in a social media selfie That woman has also accused him of abuse, saying in court documents that he 'repeatedly raped her'. He claimed she was an unfit mother and had left one of their two sons unattended. Paschel was also accused by the woman of disabling her phone so she could not call 911. It is unclear what the status of his relationship with Varya is. TLC did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's inquiries on Friday about the recent court appearance or of the past allegations of abuse. Outside court, Paschel told local reporters in Nashville he was innocent. He is due back in court in March. Tata Sons patriarch Ratan Tata recently advocated support for the "visionary" government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But a day later, company's Chairman, N Chandrasekaran complained about businesses in India being stifled by unwarranted suspicion and micromanagement. These remarks come amid an economic slowdown the Modi government has not yet been able stem. "Our Prime Minister, Home Minister and other members of the government have a vision for India. One can only be proud of what we have and support the government that is as visionary as this government has been," Ratan Tata said at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) in Gandhinagar. ALSO READ: Growth requires removing obstacles to businesses; need to remove suspicion, micromanagement: N Chandrasekaran Soon after, on Thursday, N Chandrasekaran bemoaned the micromanagement and suspicion that businesses have to face in India. He was delivering the Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture in Mumbai. Calling for a "transformative vision", Chandrasekaran said, "We need to re-imagine our economic and business culture. Culture is most critical. Growth must not come from pushing hard. There is no point to tell people 'drive fast, drive fast, drive fast'. It (growth) will come by removing obstacles." "We need supervision, we don't need suspicion. And we have suspicion. All our rules start from suspicion," Chandrasekaran said. ALSO READ: Is this the real reason why Modi govt is unhappy with Jeff Bezos and Amazon? Chandrasekaran rued that people who work hard and honestly are put through enormous difficulties. Indians excel in making an ordinary task into an extraordinary one, he said. He pointed out that there is a massive risk aversion within the system, which has led to an "undesirable equilibrium" where it is safer to avoid or delay decisions, he further said. The Tata Sons Chairman emphasised that India needs to resolve its job crisis at the earliest. ALSO READ: Amazon promises 1 million new jobs in India amid tensions with government Stephen Maturen/Getty Images Bernie Sanders, a top competitor in the Democratic primaries, has attacked Joe Biden for bringing just a lot of baggage into the race. But if past views are a major consideration, consider the baggage that Sanders drags into the campaign. Go back over 40 years, to the start of Irans long conflict with the United States. On April 1, 1979, the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran was proclaimed. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had returned to Iran from exile to assume command of the revolt, became Supreme Leader in December of that year. His rise was accelerated by the seizure on Nov. 4 of 52 American diplomats and citizens, and citizens of other countries, at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The hostage crisis became the means by which the Ayatollah crushed political opponents in Iran. Dealing with the hostage taking became the overwhelming political crisis for President Jimmy Carter. It lasted 444 days. Virtually all AmericansDemocrats, Republicans and independentsunited in support of the hostages and the international call for their freedom. One prominent political figure on the 2020 stage, then almost completely unknown, stood apart by joining a Marxist-Leninist party that not only pledged support for the Iranian theocracy, but also justified the hostage taking by insisting the hostages were all likely CIA agents. Who was that person? It was Bernie Sanders. Sanders would like the public to believe, as an AP story put it, that democratic socialism [is] the economic philosophy that has guided his political career. But that has not always been the case. In 1977, he left the tiny left-wing Liberty Union Party of Vermont that hed co-founded, and in 1980 instead aligned himself with the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), the self-proclaimed Trotskyist revolutionary party, became its presidential elector in Vermont, and campaigned for its candidates and platform that defended the Iranian hostage seizure. In fact, the SWPs position on Iran is part of what distinguishes it from democratic socialist groups. When its presidential candidate, Andrew Pulley, came to speak at the University of Vermont in October 1980, Sanders chaired the meeting. Pulley attracted only 40 students to his rally, where he concentrated, according to the SWPs newspaper The Militant, on the Iran-Iraq war, and condemned anti-Iranian hysteria around the U.S. hostages. Military action against Iran was not at that point theoreticalPulleys speech came six months after the attempt to free the hostages in Operation Eagle Claw had failed. Story continues In his standard stump speech, Pulley condemned Carters war drive against the Iranian people, and said that the U.S. was on the brink of war with Iran, which would be fought to protect the oil and banking interests of the Rockefellers and other billionaires. Americans, he predicted, would soon pay on the battlefields with our very own lives. Their criticism of the Ayatollah was intended to get us ready for war. And, Pulley charged, the media who criticized those of us who were against American imperialism were declared insane. As for the hostages, Pulley said we can be sure that many of them are simply spies or people assigned to protect the spies. Pulleys words were a direct echo of what the Islamic Society of University Teachers and Students had declared on Nov. 4, 1979 : We defend the capture of this imperialist embassy, which is a center for espionage. Six months after the 1980 election, on May 21, 1981, Sanders spoke at another Pulley rally. For the last 40 years, Sanders said, the Socialist Workers Party has been harassed, informed upon, had their offices broken into, had members of their party fired from their jobs, and have been treated with cold contempt by the United States government. Even worse, he went on, apparently referring to the Iranian hostage crisis, now anybody who stands up and fights and says things is automatically a terrorist. He claimed that he had been investigated himself by the FBI because I was an elector for the Socialist Workers Party, referring to his formal role in the 1980 election with the Trotskyists. The Sanders campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Asked about the SWP in 1988, Sanders, then the mayor of Burlington and a congressional candidate, talked down the connection, saying that: I was asked to put my name on the ballot and I did, thats true." Today, no mention of Sanders association with the SWP appears in any campaign biography he has issued. But Sanders remained tied to the party after 1980. He was a featured speaker at a Boston rally for the SWPs Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate and the partys slate for Congress in 1982, the year after he was narrowly elected mayor of Burlington. In 1984, he again spoke on behalf of the SWPs presidential candidate, this time former Black Panther Mel Mason, telling The Militant that at a time when the Democratic and Republican parties are intellectually and spiritually bankrupt, it is imperative for radical voices to be heard which offer fundamental alternatives to capitalist ideology." It remains unclear when Sanderss affiliation with the SWP ended. Of course, Sanders had a right to his beliefs. But he has not been fully transparent about what those beliefs, connections, and loyalties have been over the years. Sanders says that he has been consistently and firmly dedicated to democratic socialism. His record, however, reveals a very different story around the time of the Iranian hostage crisis. But Democratic voters today concerned above all with defeating Donald Trump and the electability of their prospective presidential candidate need to know the whole of Sanders history. He has not always been the democratic socialist he claims to be. Sanders could have supported the Socialist Party, the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, or Social-Democrats U.S.A., the three leading democratic socialist organizations existing in 1980. He rejected them. Instead he embraced a Marxist-Leninist communist sect that proclaimed its solidarity with Iran. The preeminent democratic socialist of the time, Michael Harrington, wrote that the hostage taking was terribly wrong, and that the original evil was compounded by the psychological and physical brutalization to which at least some of the hostages were subjected. The moral stance of those who denounce such acts is clear and compelling. Far from denouncing the acts, Sanders stood with those who applauded the hostage taking. If Sanders were to become the Democratic presidential nominee, all this will come pouring out in Trump ads on television and social media. Voters will see TV clips of the American hostages, blindfolded and abused, alongside Sanders as the Trotskyist elector supporting the Iranian kidnappers. Rest assured, Trump will make absolutely sure that it is Sanders own past that will bury him and perhaps the Democratic Party. 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. Christian Paz, writing in The Atlantic, warns Democrats to worry about the Latino vote in this years presidential election. According to Paz, the Trump campaign is doing an excellent job of reaching out to a key segment of the Latino vote evangelicals. By contrast, Democrats are struggling to engage Latino voters, address issues beyond immigration reform, and treat Latinos as the influential voting bloc they are. Only Bernie Sanders has engaged in effective outreach to Latinos, says Paz. Reportedly, the Sanders campaign has hired more than 150 Latino staffers around the country. However, much of Sanderss focus is on California. This may stand Sanders is good stead in the California primary but it wont help him defeat Trump in the electoral college. Outreach aside, the Democrats should also worry about the tendency of Latino voters (not unlike the electorate in general) to give incumbent presidents a bounce. Four of the five most recent presidents increased their share of the Latino vote when they ran as the incumbent. The lone exception is George H.W. Bush. He ran during a downturn in the economy. President Trump likely will run during a lengthy economic surge. The four presidents who increased their Latino vote share as incumbents include two Republicans. Ronald Reagan increased his from 35 to 37 percent; George W. Bush from 35 percent to 40 percent. Of the Democrats, Bill Clintons share of the Latino vote rose from 61 percent to 72 percent, an increase explained in part by the fact that Ross Perot was a less formidable third party candidate in Clintons second run. Barack Obamas share rose from 67 to 71 percent. Barring an economic downturn this year, Trump will be running on an economy that, depending on how one measures its health, is roughly as strong as the best economy any of his five predecessors enjoyed when they sought reelection. Latinos have benefited significantly. President Trump received 28 percent of the Latino vote in 2016, a number comparable to what Mitt Romney and John McCain received as non-incumbents, but well below that of the Bush 43 and Reagan when they ran as incumbents. If Paz is right about the Trump campaigns vigorous outreach to Latinos and the comparative neglect of most Democratic candidates, then given the historical trend, its quite possible that Trump will fare significantly better among Latino voters in 2020 than he did in 2016. Indeed, his incumbent bounce could exceed match or exceed the five point increase from which Bush 43 benefited in 2004. The likely electoral consequences of such a bounce should, as Paz says, worry Democrats. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. CALISTOGA John Merchant was a creative visionary whose influence on downtown Calistoga will long be remembered. Perhaps best known for the development of Indian Springs Resort & Spa, he also owned and rehabilitated the historic Calistoga Depot just down the block. Merchant, 75, passed away Jan. 14 as he was returning from a family trip to Australia. It happened quickly, and It would have been the way he wanted to go out. He disliked hospitals and didnt want to be a burden to people, said his son, Danny Merchant. He is survived by his wife, Pat, daughter, Erin, and sons Danny and Ryan. Merchant had a passion for transformation. His influence in Calistoga began in the 1980s when he and Pat took over the former Sam Brannan property, which the family renovated into a world-class resort called Indian Springs. They also bought the old the Jehovah Witnesses church on the corner of Cedar and Spring streets, and converted it into a residence. The family also owns several other properties around town, including the property across the street from Indian Springs, which houses Julies Hair & Nail Spa and two living units above the shop. I dont know why hes pegged as a developer; he was a great rehabber, he fixed up a lot of buildings, said Danny Merchant. John and Pat had several restaurants previously, including Big Daddys in Calistoga and several in San Francisco. He also had other real estate investments, But really, Indian Springs was his baby, his passion. He lived and breathed that place. When he wasnt traveling, he spent most of his days at resort starting at 7 a.m., and checking in at the pool by 6 p.m. to see how guests were enjoying themselves, Danny Merchant said. The Calistoga Depot, which is undergoing renovations, has housed retail shops, food outlets, and office space. John Merchant was a visionary in Calistoga to rival Sam Brannan. His love for restoring Calistogas most iconic and historic buildings and his current work on restoring the Depot has truly been his gift to our city, said Calistoga Depot Trading Company owner Kellie Anderson. His style and creative energy will truly be missed in Calistoga. General contractor and Calistoga City Planning Commission chairman Paul Coates said he worked with Merchant over the course of more than 20 years. The community lost a wonderful person. Im sure they are not aware of all the contributions and donations that the family has given this town, he said Thursday. He did it very quietly and humbly. Mayor Chris Canning said the Merchants contributed greatly to the creation of the community pool, and to renovations at Pioneer Park including the gazebo. He certainly made an indelible impression on the community. Calistoga is a better place today, he said. Despite his many contributions, however, Merchant took his share of criticism, Coates said. His creative vision didnt always jive with city planning requirements, or the vision of some community members. He was very intelligent and an idea person. Some ideas, not so great, but he was always willing to test the waters and see what would work. That can be very difficult in a small community, Coates said. Merchant also loved to travel. And when you travel and see a lot of communities that are doing it right, you see a lot of places that are magical and special, and you want to bring that back to where you live, Danny Merchant said. And he wasnt afraid to voice his opinion if there was something he didnt agree with. He was definitely an ideas guy. He was a visionary. He was fearless, and willing to take chances. We were his support network, and helped his ideas come to reality. One of Merchants latest projects is the Veranda Hotel, with about 95 rooms and a rooftop terrace, planned for the property between Indian Springs and the Depot on Lincoln Avenue, where the former gliderport used to be. In the last couple of years, the project has gone back and forth between the Merchants and city planners, and has undergone a few design revisions including downsizing the number of rooms, Danny Merchant said last October. Its unfortunate he didnt see many of the projects he was working on come to fruition. But were going to carry the torch forward for him, Danny Merchant said. Coates also said he foresees Danny and the family carrying on with Johns vision. They care about the community. Once they get past this I see them moving forward with what I see is the betterment of the community. You can reach Cynthia Sweeney at 942-4035 or csweeney@weeklycalistogan.com. You can reach Cynthia Sweeney at 942-4035 or csweeney@weeklycalistogan.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. Adelaide, Jan 17 : Ukrainian teen Dayana Yastremska on Friday booked her place in the finals of the ongoing Adelaide International, defeating No.6 seed Aryna Sabalenka, 6-4, 7-6(4). Playing her first Premier semi-final, Dayana edged through a tricky second set to defeat Aryna in a match that lasted one hour and 44 minutes on Centre Court. "It's nice. I'm very happy," Dayana was quoted as saying by the WTA website after the match. "And especially in the beginning of the year. I think it brings me some confidence before the Grand Slam, so it's nice to be in the finals." Up next for the Ukrainian is either World No.1 Ashleigh Barty or 2019 Australian Open semifinalist Danielle Collins, who upset No.4 seed Belinda Bencic in the quarter-finals. Dayana has already won three WTA titles -- including two last season on two different surfaces -- but all on the International level. The FBI has seized the WeLeakInfo.com websites for selling subscriptions to data that were exposed in data breaches. WeLeakInfo.com is a data breach notification service that allows its customers to verify if their credentials been compromised in data breaches. The service was claiming a database of over 12 billion records from over 10,000 data breaches. I used the past because a joint operation conducted by the FBI in coordination with the UK NCA, the Netherlands National Police Corps, the German Bundeskriminalamt, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland resulted in the seizure of the WeLeakInfo.com domain. [status] Investigating: We are currently investigating this issue. https://t.co/9vzK4O49gw We Leak Info (@weleakinfo) January 15, 2020 The WeLeakInfo website was sized and now displays a message that informs visitors about the operation conducted by law enforcement agencies. The website had claimed to provide its users a search engine to review and obtain the personal information illegally obtained in over 10,000 data breaches containing over 12 billion indexed records including, for example, names, email addresses, usernames , phone numbers, and passwords for online accounts. The website sold subscriptions so that any user could access the results of these data breaches, with subscriptions providing unlimited searches and access during the subscription period (one day, one week, one month, or three months). reads the press release published by the Department of Justice.With execution of the warrant, the seized domain name weleakinfo.com is now in the custody of the federal government, effectively suspending the websites operation. Visitors to the site will now find a seizure banner that notifies them that the domain name has been seized by federal authorities. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued the seizure warrant. Law enforcement is still investigating the activities of the operators behind the service and encourage people to provide that information by filing a complaint with the FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at https://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx. Data breach notification services is a profitable business, visitors pay a fee to access data exposed in past data breaches. A subscription fee ranges from a $2 trial to a $70 three-month unlimited access account and allows users to search for any data in the archive managed by the companies. This is quite different from services that only alert individuals when their data are exposed in a data breach and that for this reason are considered legal. Data breach notification services like WeLeakInfo are a mine for threat actors that could gather information on their targets before launching a cyber attack. Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs WeLeakInfo, data breach) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On Motorists in Sydney's north will be forced to slow down in high-pedestrian and residential areas as councils trial speed limits as low as 30 km/h to reduce road casualties and make neighbourhoods more pedestrian-friendly. Northern Beaches Council has confirmed it will trial 30km/h speed zones and traffic-slowing measures in Manly. It will also investigate reducing speeds in selected residential streets with a focus on the new Manly to Palm Beach coastal walk, CEO Ray Brownlee said. North Sydney Mayor Jilly Gibson wants to encourage walking and talking and a sense of community. Credit:Brook Mitchell North Sydney mayor Jilly Gibson wants to encourage residents to get out of their cars by reducing speeds to 40 km/h around the Kirribilli and Milsons Point villages. A passionate walker, Ms Gibson also plans to appoint a pedestrian adviser. "When we walk, we talk," said Ms Gibson. This encourages a sense of community, she said. "And we shop," she added, which is good for local businesses. WASHINGTON - Lev Parnas said he arrived for his May meeting in Kyiv with a top aide to Ukraine's president-elect, Volodymyr Zelensky, with a clear directive from Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer: Unless Zelensky announced an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden, one of Trump's possible 2020 rivals, his country's relationship with the United States would sour. Among the consequences he threatened, Parnas said in interviews this week: that Vice President Mike Pence's expected attendance at Zelensky's inauguration later that month - a high-level recognition that the Ukrainians urgently sought - would be canceled. When Ukrainians were unresponsive, Parnas said he relayed the bad news to Giuliani. "OK, they'll see," the president's lawyer responded, Parnas told MSNBC. The very next day, Trump instructed Pence to cancel his trip to Ukraine for Zelensky's inauguration, according to a whistleblower complaint and congressional testimony from one of Pence's own aides. The rapid sequence of events in mid-May marks one of the earliest known moments when Guiliani's shadow campaign to pressure Ukraine to launch investigations that would benefit Trump inextricably merged with official U.S. foreign policy - and, if Parnas' account is accurate, appeared to move the levers of the American government. In the process, the vice president was dangled as a bargaining chip - perhaps unwittingly - to exert leverage over a foreign government, according to Parnas, a Soviet-born businessman who functioned as Giuliani's fixer in Ukraine. Trump's supporters have attacked Parnas' credibility, noting that he is under indictment in New York for campaign finance violations. In a statement, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham called Parnas "a man who is currently out on bail for federal crimes and is desperate to reduce his exposure to prison." Giuliani, who denied to the New York Times last year that he directed Parnas to deliver a warning to the Ukrainians, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. The aide to Zelensky who met with Parnas, Serhiy Shefir, and an attorney for Igor Fruman, another Giuliani associate in attendance, have also disputed aspects of Parnas' account. However, text messages and other documents released by the House this week, as well as congressional testimony during the impeachment inquiry, corroborate the timeline that Parnas detailed in interviews with MSNBC and CNN about the episode - and show how a rogue operation engineered by Giuliani began subsuming official U.S. policy. - - - The takeover did not happen immediately. Beginning in 2018, Giuliani and two associates - Parnas and Fruman - spent months pursuing material in Ukraine to benefit Trump and agitating for the ouster of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, whose removal was sought by a top Ukrainian prosecutor who promised to help Trump in exchange. By the spring of 2019, Giuliani's campaign finally seemed to be paying dividends. Yovanovitch was abruptly recalled back to the United States in late April. And Ukrainian government officials appeared willing to cooperate with Trump's lawyer - particularly Yuri Lutsenko, at the time Ukraine's top prosecutor and a close political ally of then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. But when Zelensky - a comedian and political neophyte - trounced Poroshenko in the final round of Ukraine's presidential election in late April, Giuliani's project was thrown into doubt. In early May, as Zelensky prepared for his inauguration later that month, Giuliani tried to make inroads with the new Ukrainian leadership and planned a trip to Kyiv with the hope of meeting the president-elect. The former mayor told the Times on May 9 he was planning to ask Zelensky, among other things, to investigate the involvement of Biden's son on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. Giuliani asserted that his mission to Ukraine was a personal one, being undertaken to assist the president's personal defense in the special counsel investigation - even though that probe had concluded. "This isn't foreign policy," Giuliani told the Times. In a letter dated May 10, sent through Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, Giuliani asked Zelensky for that meeting so he could make a "specific request" in his "capacity as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent." He didn't mention Biden by name. After Giuliani's travel plans became public and prompted an outcry, he scrapped the trip. Giuliani went on Fox News the night of May 10 and said he wasn't going to Kyiv because Zelensky was surrounded by enemies of Trump and enemies of the United States. The comments irked Zelensky's team in Kyiv, which wanted to secure Trump's support but saw his personal lawyer calling them enemies on cable television. At that point, Parnas told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow in an interview that aired Wednesday, he was tapped by Giuliani to convey "a very harsh message" - that the U.S.-Ukrainian relationship "would be sour" unless the Zelensky administration announced the investigations Giuliani wanted. "The most important was the announcement of the Biden investigation," he said. Without that, "Pence would not show up" at Zelensky's inauguration. While Giuliani emphasized his Ukraine trip was intended for Trump's personal benefit, Parnas said he went to Ukraine empowered to invoke core powers of the U.S. government - military aid, official travel, a White House visit - to force the Ukrainians' hand. Messages exchanged on WhatsApp between Parnas and Shefir, the top Zelensky aide, show that the Giuliani associate introduced himself to the Ukrainian hours later on May 11. "I am mayor rudy Giuliani's friend please call me," he wrote in Russian. As his calling card, Parnas sent a copy of the letter Giuliani had sent to Zelensky to prove his association. Shefir responded and agreed to meet Parnas on May 12 at an upscale restaurant in Kyiv. Parnas told Maddow that the meeting was tense. He said Shefir told him he would have to get back to Parnas with an answer to his demand. But when Parnas tried to message the Ukrainian aide that night for an update, he said he got no response. The text messages show that evening, Parnas messaged Shefir saying, "Serhiy good evening is there any news!" Shefir didn't respond to any of Parnas' text messages after that, according to the cache of messages released by House Democrats. In a statement to the Times in November, Shefir did not directly address what was discussed at the meeting, but said that the Zelensky team did not view Parnas and Fruman, who accompanied him, as official representatives who "could speak on behalf of the U.S. government." On the night of May 12, Parnas said, he called Giuliani and told him things were a "no-go." Pence's top Russia adviser, Jennifer Williams, said she was surprised the following morning to receive a call from an assistant to Pence's chief of staff, informing her that preliminary plans for Pence to travel to Ukraine for the inauguration had been canceled, she later testified to Congress. Williams said the news was curious, because preparations were already underway. She testified that when she asked about the sudden change, she was told that Trump had directed Pence to skip the event - but not the reason why. "My understanding from my colleague - and, again, I wasn't there for the conversation - was that the president asked the vice president not to attend," Williams testified. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv were also taken aback by the change in plans, according to congressional witnesses. David Holmes, an official in the U.S. Embassy, testified that he, too, had been told that Pence would be leading the delegation for Zelensky's inauguration. Later, he said he was informed that the White House had "whittled down an initial proposed list for the official delegation to the inauguration from over a dozen individuals to just five," led by then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Zelensky's team had expected Pence to come because Biden led the delegation at Poroshenko's inauguration five years earlier. The Ukrainians were hoping Pence would attend to show continuity in U.S. support for Ukraine. Marc Short, Pence's chief of staff, said that Parnas' account is not credible and should not be believed. "This is very simple: Lev Parnas is under a multi-count indictment and will say anything to anybody who will listen in hopes of staying out of prison," he said in a statement. "It's no surprise that only the liberal media is listening to him." Asked about Parnas by reporters as he traveled through Florida on Thursday, Pence said, "I don't know the guy." The vice president also dismissed as "completely false" the speculation by Parnas that Pence was aware of the goal to get Zelensky to announce an investigation into Biden. A senior administration official said that Pence and his team had no knowledge of the meeting between Parnas and Shefir, nor was the vice president's office aware of any conversation between Giuliani and Trump immediately before Trump's directive to Pence that he skip Zelensky's inauguration. The official would not share what reason Trump gave Pence for canceling his trip, citing the White House's long-standing policy to not comment on private conversations between the president and the vice president. - - - The Ukrainians desperately needed Trump's support as they faced a continuing war with Russian-backed proxies in the east, which since 2014 has left some 13,000 people dead. They were particularly eager to ensure a White House visit for Zelensky - as a potent symbol of the United States' support for Ukraine and its untested new president in its ongoing struggle with powerful Russia. Weeks earlier, Zelensky had appeared to be on good footing with the Americans. In an April 21 phone call, Trump congratulate him on winning Ukraine's presidency in a warm conversation. "I think you will do a great job," Trump told Zelensky, according to a transcript of the call released by the White House. "I have many friends from Ukraine who know you and like you." After that call, Williams, the Pence aide, said she received an email from Pence's chief of staff, informing her that Trump had asked Pence to attend the Ukrainian president's inauguration. And on April 23, Pence congratulated Zelensky in a phone call of his own. According to Williams, who was listening to the call, Zelensky invited Pence to attend his inauguration and Pence accepted, provided the dates worked out. The Ukrainians appeared startled by the sudden rebuff, Parnas said. "Now they get word, because obviously, when Pence cancels, they get word that Pence is not coming," he told MSNBC. "So, now, they realize that what I - what I was telling them was true." By the end of May, Trump's attitude toward Ukraine and Zelensky was hostile. During a meeting in the Oval Office, he told Perry, then-special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and then-U. S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland - three top government officials he had tasked with leading U.S. policy toward Ukraine - that he was skeptical that Ukraine was committed to anti-corruption efforts, according to congressional testimony. Sondland testified that Trump also griped that Ukrainians had "tried to take him down" in the 2016 election. As the group pushed Trump to invite Zelensky to the White House, Sondland said, the president made it clear who was driving the U.S. posture toward Ukraine: "He just kept saying: Talk to Rudy, talk to Rudy." - - - The Washington Post's Tom Hamburger contributed to this report. Kalasipalya police have arrested six Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) activists for the attempted murder of an RSS member. The arrested persons had attacked Varun Bhopala (34), a resident of Sarakki in JP Nagar, while he was on his way to his father's shop near JC Road after attending a pro-CAA event organised by the RSS and other pro-Hindu organisations. The attack happened on December 22, 2019. Police commissioner Bhaskar Rao said the arrested are Irfan alias Mohammed Irfan (33), Syed Akbar alias Mechanic Akbar (46), Syed Siddiq Akbar (30), Akbar Basha (27), Sanaulla Sharif (28) and Sadiq UL Ameen (39) - all residents of KG Halli in East and North Bengaluru. Rao said the arrested wanted to attack and kill the leaders who took part in the pro-CAA event. They initially pelted seven stones to scatter the crowd so that they can attack the leaders, but they failed. Later, they saw Varun walking out of the crowd wearing a saffron shirt. So the arrested followed him and attacked him with lethal weapons. Assuming he is dead, the gang fled on their bikes towards Bidadi. ''The SDPI activists were funded by their leaders to create a disturbance, kill Hindu organisation leaders,'' Rao said. "I have formed a special team to investigate in-depth about the SDPI activities and take necessary action,'' he added. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-17 10:45:04 Ryland Sandford Consultants Comments On Ant Financials IPO Media Relations: Harry Hoffer, harry.hoffer@rylandsandford.com www.rylandsandford.com, +886 2 7737 443, 7F No. 415 Section 4 Xinyi Road, Daan District, Taipei City, Taiwan Ryland Sandford Consultants has commented on the dominant Chinese mobile payments company, Ant Financial who have been looking for the right opportunity to go public. The Initial Public Offering has been delayed due to regulatory worries and concerns regarding the companys profitability, Ant Financial is an affiliate company of e-commerce giant, Alibaba. Researchers from Ryland Sandford Consultants highlighted that the last time Ant Financial was reviewed the companys value stood at over $150 billion U.S. Dollars in 2018. With its last valuation, Ant Financial would still be considered one of the biggest floats of an Asian company, commented Thomas Barnes, Director of Mergers & Acquisitions at Ryland Sandford Consultants. Ryland Sandford Consultants researchers and analysts noted that in relation to Ant Financials current valuation, there is little information available to the public. However, the companys last quarter ending September saw over $300m contributed to Alibabas income. Ant Financials ownership structure had recently changed when Alibaba exchanged 37.5 percent of pre-tax profits for a 33 percent equity stake, and regulators had approved that which signalled the companys clear intention for its much anticipated Initial Public Offering. Other concerns for regulators viewing Ant Financials are prospects of a dual listing, both in mainland China and in Hong Kong. The main point of interest being over foreign ownership of financial companies. In contrary, Alibaba recently had a secondary listing in Hong Kong which proved successful as the company managed to raise just under $13 billion, with its share price being 18 percent higher. About Ryland Sandford Consultants At Ryland Sandford Consultants, we safeguard the future for individuals, families and entrepreneurs by offering well-researched, intelligent investment and financial planning solutions in both advanced and emerging markets. Our boutique practice boasts a diverse team of investment professionals with a broad range of expertise that spans capital markets, wealth management, fund management and securities trading. All possess a deep and intimate understanding of the nuances that characterize the global financial markets. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005 Kuwaiti man arrested in Bangkok for rape of Danish woman in Phuket PHUKET: A Kuwaiti man wanted for the rape of a Danish woman in Patong has been arrested in Bangkok, the Immigration Bureau announced today (Jan 17). patongcrimesexviolencepoliceimmigration By The Phuket News Friday 17 January 2020, 04:50PM The arrest of the Kuwaiti man wa sannounce din Bangkok today (Jan 17). Photo: Immigration Bureau The arrest of the Kuwaiti man was announced in Bangkok today (Jan 17). Photo: Immigration Bureau Speaking at a press conference at the Immigration Bureau headquarters in the capital, Immigration Bureau Deputy Chief Maj Gen Ittipol Ittisarnronnachai reported that the 33-year-old Kuwait national, who he identified only as Mr Ghazi, was wanted on arrest warrant number 20/2563 issued by the Phuket Provincial Court yesterday (Jan 16). The charge specified in the arrest warrant was rape through deprivation of liberty. The incident occurred in the area of Patong Police Station, Gen Ittiphon told the press conference today. Mr Ghazi checked in at a hotel in Soi Sukhumvit 5, Sukhumvit Rd, Wattana, Bangkok, on Tuesday (Jan 14), Gen Ittipol said. The hotel notified Immigration of their new guest on Wednesday, he added. Officers went to the area and found a man matching the description of Mr Ghazi given to them sitting at the Shama Lakeview Hotel Asoke, Sukhumvit Soi 16. Officers asked to see his travel documents, which he duly provided. Noting the name given and the passport number, the officers invited Mr Ghazi to accompany them to Royal Thai Police Immigration Bureau Region 2 office to confirm his identity, which was confirmed by the biometic data in his passport, Gen Ittiphon said. Gen Ittiphon credited the arrest to the biometic passport. The arrest took only two days because the police at Patong Police Station quickly provided the information to the Immigration Bureau and entered the details into the biometric system in order to check, block and confirm the identity of the offender, he said. The partners Anritsu and dSpace will demonstrate 5G mobile communications for cars in a joint showcase at the MWC 2020 in Barcelona. Together, Anritsu and dSpace aim to accelerate simulation and testing of 5G automotive applications. To this end, a joint showcase is to be held at the Mobile World Congress 2020. The Japanese measurement technology specialist Anritsu and the Paderborn-based provider of hardware and software tools dSpace, will demonstrate the integration of a 5G network emulator in a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) system for the development of applications for next-generation networked vehicles at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Visitors to the Anritsu booth (Hall 6, Booth F40) will be able to see a demonstration with virtual test drives for end-to-end testing of Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) applications for traffic optimization and sensor sharing - implemented by realistic simulation of vehicle and environment with intelligent infrastructure and real 5G communication. The combination of 5G and Edge Cloud promises high data throughput and low latencies, thus offering the potential for completely new applications, for example for sharing raw sensor data from vehicles and infrastructure. This opens up possibilities for cooperative perception, swarm intelligence based on shared AI or real-time traffic optimization to make automated driving even safer, more comfortable and environmentally friendly. Without a coordinated 5G test environment, however, the development of such applications can become a challenge. Validation of the entire vehicle-to-network process chain independent of local infrastructure The showcase integrates the Anritsu Radio Communication Test Station MT8000A, an all-in-one test system for 5G radio frequency, functional and protocol testing with a dSpace SCALEXIO real-time system for sophisticated HIL simulation or rapid prototyping. To test a V2X device and a V2X application realistically, the SCALEXIO real-time system is complemented by the simulation of virtual test drives with the dSpace Automotive Simulation Models (ASM) - ASMs include open Simulink models for the simulation of the vehicle and its environment, for example road, traffic and infrastructure. In addition, a special software interface was developed to connect the Anritsu test station and control the mobile 5G data connection to the back-end during real-time simulation. Gregor Hordys, responsible for connectivity issues at dSpace, explains the showcase: This solution enables the early development of applications for networked and collaborative automated driving based on 5G and edge computing in the lab without being dependent on the local infrastructure. It also enables validation of the entire Vehicle-to-Network (V2N) process chain. The joint integration and performance of such a solution represents a major step forward for testing and emulation of 5G V2X. This industry-leading demonstration is a platform for the development of 5G V2X applications, added Jonathan Borrill, Head of Global Market Technology at Anritsu. Days before he makes way for JP Nadda to take over as the party chief, Union home minister Amit Shah, who continues to head the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), made a crucial but not unexpected announcement. Amit Shah said on Thursday the BJP will contest the Bihar assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year under the leadership of its ally Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United). The clear-cut pronouncement lays at rest any doubts that the partys own leaders may have harboured and also is a clear sign to the ally that the BJP believes the partnership, which has repeatedly delivered in Bihar in the last two decades, is mutually beneficial. Insiders say that in many ways, the Bihar state elections are a three-horse race with the BJP, JD(U) and Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) each having their own areas of strength. No matter which of these two join, the balance will tilt in their favour, said a leader adding that this combination considerably diminishes the RJDs hopes of making a comeback. Also Watch | Nationwide NRC not needed, says Bihar CM Nitish amid Opposition protests The BJP would also bank on Ram Vilas Paswans considerable clout, especially among Dalits, to ensure it wins the Bihar test. Led by the charismatic Narendra Modi, the BJP has dominated the national elections but has faced formidable challenges in most state polls. The party was trounced in Jharkhand last year and even in the upcoming Delhi assembly polls, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the clear favourite. In Maharashtra, the BJP did well in the state polls only to see ally Shiv Sena walk out and form a government with rivals Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress. Add to it the factor that the BJP in Bihar does not have a face that can match the popularity of Nitish Kumar or arguably that of Tejashwi Yadav, and the decision to contest polls in Bihar would make sense, the leader cited above said. The RJDs slogan for the polls too is: 2020, Hatao Nitish (Remove Nitish in 2020). While the BJP continues to hold sway among the forward castes and a segment of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), it is Kumar who brings in additional supporters from the weaker sections. Significantly, the RJD has named Jagdanand Singh, a Rajput, as its state chief to dent the BJPs sway on this segment. The decision to name Kumar as the leader also comes at a time when the BJP struck an alliance with Pawan Kalyans Jan Sena in Andhra Pradesh. Significantly, before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had not accommodated another ally, the RLSPs Upendra Kushwaha, which many felt was a gesture aimed at keeping Kumar in good humour. Kushwaha had been highly critical of Kumar. Kumar, on the other hand, demonstrated to the BJP that he is capable of charting an independent course while also being flexible enough to again change tracks. Considered a dependable ally, he stiffly opposed Modis prime ministerial bid in 2014. In the 2015 assembly polls, Kumar tied with the RJD to successfully lead the Mahagathbandhan to victory. However, a couple of years later, Kumar was back to being an ally as the BJP replaced RJD as his partner. And as the campaign for Bihar elections builds, Kumar has again made independent noises. He spoke against the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which has been a key political thrust. However, with Shah emphasising that the polls will be contested under Kumar, the old allies will find enough meeting ground. The others are just companies following traditional business models with a bit of innovation. This is the judgment by Pham Ngoc Huy, director of Accelerator program, Vietnam Silicon Valley (VSV) at a recent workshop on the resources to develop local innovative startup ecosystems. Ly Dinh Quan, director of Songhan Incubator (middle) Local startups are believed to start with the business in the fields of agriculture, handicrafts and traditional cultural products, which allow them to take full advantage of products in localities. However, more than 90 percent of the startups operate in accordance with traditional business models. They follow sequential development, while there is low innovation content in their products and technology application in the production. Local startups are believed to start with the business in the fields of agriculture, handicrafts and traditional cultural products, which allow them to take full advantage of products in localities. This is attributed to the lack of participation and consultation from experts in the fields and the lack of programs to support and orient their business in the first phases of development. As a result, startups dont have enough resources to follow the business model striving for innovation, capable to grow rapidly and contribute to the socio-economic development in their localities. According to Tran Tri Dung from SwissEP, a startup support program, Vietnam has attached much importance to building an ecosystem for Vietnams startups in recent years. However, the incubators and investment funds to support startups mostly gather in large cities of Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City. Meanwhile, startups in other localities are still struggling to access mentors to find innovation solutions. Huy from Accelerator program of VSV said in order to receive support from professional business promotion institutions, local startups need to find suitable mentors with deep understanding about local products who are willing to listen and give advice to settle problems, from ideas to business models. Since 2016, VSV, has helped connect mentors and startups, provided basic and in-depth knowledge about innovative startups, and connected startups with investment funds and large corporations. To date, the program has incubated over 80 projects, of which 30 percent of startups successfully called for capital in the funding rounds. With experience from giving consultancy to startups in many cities/provinces, Ly Dinh Quan, director of Songhan Incubator, commented that each locality has its specific conditions and advantages, so they need to follow their own way to develop startups, while there is no common way for all. However, supporting institutions in cities/provinces need to connect and take full advantage of each others resources to operate effectively. Tran Bich Hanh from the Phu Tho provincial Science and Technology Department noted that startups need the support of local authorities and media. Affirming the important role of local authorities in developing startups, she said without the support, startup activities will be fragmented and wont be able to develop in a sustainable way. Thanh Lich Vietnamese startups find it difficult to call for capital South Korea, not the US or Singapore, is the market where many Vietnamese startups will call for capital, according to Pham Ngoc Huy from Vietnam Silicon Valley. BRUSSELS, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani media again spread disinformation, this time distorting the content of the European Parliaments report on the implementation of the Common Security and Defense Policy. Harout Chirinian Communication and PR Officer at the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), gave an interview to ARMENPRESS on the topic. -Mr. Chirinian, what was the emphasis of the EP report and whether it has a reference to Karabakh as some Azerbaijani media outlets mention in their reports? -The reports according to which the EP report contains the term occupation of Nagorno Karabakh are false. The article spreads disinformation, this is an Azerbaijani state propaganda. The truth is that the European Parliament debated and voted on three different reports: the annual report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the report on Implementation of the Common Security and Defense Policy and a general report on Human rights. None of these resolutions, including the first one that the Azerbaijani media make reference to, mentions Nagorno Karabakh or presents it as an occupied territory. Actually, theres no reference to Artsakh at all. Among other things, the first report speaks about the conflicts in the Eastern Partnership countries in general. While it is true that the first report states that the EU is committed to the territorial integrity of the Eastern partnership countries, it has to be made clear that this report makes also direct reference in its preamble to the European Parliaments recommendations of 15 November 2017 to the Council, Commission and the EEAS on the Eastern Partnership. The latter contains the right for self-determination as one of the three OSCE Minsk Group basic principles and expresses EUs full support for the OSCE Minsk Group when mentioning the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. This reference is also done for the second report as well. The Azerbaijani media clearly did not want to mention this. -In your opinion, whom the messages in the resolution were addressed to? -Its obvious that the European Parliaments target is Russia, and these same reports involve a call on Russia to fulfill its international commitments, but they never mention Artsakh or Azerbaijan. Moreover, one of these resolutions reiterates the European Parliaments vision that current conflicts in all Eastern Partnership countries should be settled in accordance with norms and principles of international law. This means that in the case of Nagorno Karabakh, the OSCE Minsk Group basic principles and OSCE 1975 Helsinki Final Act are valid, namely also the right for self-determination of the people of Artsakh. -What can be done by the European Union in order to contribute to the peaceful resolution of the conflict? - As you know the European Union isnt involved directly in the mediation process, but the EU has regularly expressed its support for the OSCE Minsk Group and its three basic principles. The Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a security and human rights issue. And one of the goals of the advocacy work of the EAFJD is to raise awareness in Europe about the state policy of hate speech and Armenophobia in Azerbaijan. This was the reason why we organized a conference on Armenophobia in the European parliament in March 2019. For the first time this topic had been a focus of discussion in the European parliament. One of the conclusions of the panel was that massacres against Armenians of Baku, Soumgait, Kirovabad and Maragha, were the tragic results of Armenophobia in Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, the Azerbaijani authorities still incite anti-Armenian sentiment in their society, which is a form of Xenophobia and it must be condemned by the EU. This is one way the European Union can contribute to the peaceful resolution of the conflict. We are convinced that Artsakh can never be part of Azerbaijan since it would mean an existentialist danger for the people of Artsakh. This is what history has taught us. The international community must now respect Artsakhs will to be independent. Speaking about the anti-Armenian pogroms of Baku, I would like to inform that we will be organizing a conference on the issue in the European Parliament very soon. Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Janice Pereira emphasised that the Court was suffering from want of effective support from the territories it serves. Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Janice Pereira is not pleased with the support that jurisdiction is receiving from countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. Pereira appealed for attention to the institution when she addressed the opening of the Law Year last Monday. Her address was beamed live from Antigua and received at the High Court in Kingstown. She justified the reason for changing the Law Year, traditionally begun in September, citing weather factors as contributing to the decision to shift to January. The Chief Justice pointed to improvements in the provision of legal services to the region, but chided governments for lack of enthusiasm in supporting the legal services. She accused some nations of paying "lip service to the Courts welfare, suggesting for some, the court is unjustly regarded. Pereira pointed out that the Court was operating without an approved budget, and cited failure to do that prevented her from putting strategies into action. The Chief Justice lamented the absence of "basic facilities at court houses. It seems that governments have neglected the court. She noted that the failure to provide the means for the court to be effective hampered the drive towards excellence, but she sought to highlight the work of the institution as it related to accomplishments of Appeal Court Judges; introduction of electronic filing of documents; the operation of an E-litigation portal, and other advances embracing technology. There is a Sexual Offences Court, and the Chief Justice pointed to the courts use of remote sites in trials. Sentencing Guidelines were also highlighted as improvement in operations. Issues surrounding the Criminal Procedure Rules were similarly indicated. The Chief Justice thanked entities which supported the courts operations, and pointed to training of judicial staff and High Court Officials, and Court related mediation, but condemned the attacks on Judges in the social media, and chided efforts to "tear down the judicial system. Pereira appealed for the independence of the judiciary, and warned judges to guard against attempts by persons to undermine the course of justice. The Chief Justice urged her colleagues to be vigilant towards those who want to bribe them. The Chief Justices message found support from Stanley John QC who, speaking on behalf of the Inner Bar, contended that St. Vincent and the Grenadines had related the justice system to the "bottom of the pits. Fuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more Amazon third-party sellers will not be able to ship Prime customers orders using FedEx Ground and FedEx Home, as of Wednesday. We have seen a drop in the delivery performance of FedEx Ground and FedEx Home ship methods for Seller Fulfilled Prime shipments, Amazon told sellers in a note provided to the E-Commerce Times by corporate communications manager Patrick Graham. The restriction is temporary, Amazon said, although no exact date has been set for resuming FedEx Ground and FedEx Home shipments for Prime orders. Our understanding is FedEx Ground will again be an option for Prime shipments post-peak, FedEx spokesperson Isabel Rollison said. The restriction will only have a nominal impact on FedExs peak volumes, she told the E-Commerce Times, but it limits the ability of small businesses to manage their business on some of the highest-demand shipping days in history. Sellers will have to select an alternative shipping method for Prime orders, or turn off their Prime badge if they cannot do so. They can continue to ship Prime orders through FedEx Express, which is more expensive. However, less than 2 percent of the population will have to pay more, observed Ray Wang, principal analyst at Constellation Research. FedEx Ground and FedEx Home will continue to be available for standard shipments. We want to ensure customers receive their packages on time, and are managing cutoffs for delivery by Christmas, Amazon said. Managing cutoffs happens regularly during holiday seasons. The restrictions will cause a great deal of pain and expense for third-party sellers on Amazon in the short term, said Constellation Research Principal Analyst Nicole France. I think well see every available shipping alternative used in order to manage the holiday rush. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Possible Signs of Change Sellers who can leave Amazon will, France told the E-Commerce Times. For those who cant, [this move] softens the field for moving to Amazons own shipping network. Amazon may be clearing the decks for an expansion of its own delivery service. The company plans to do more shipping itself, suggested Constellations Wang. They used a service level and quality dispute as an excuse to send a message to FedEx. They believe they can deliver their packages faster and cheaper than FedEx, he told the E-Commerce Times. It seems clear that the major motivation is to open the door for Amazons own shipping capabilities over the medium to long term, said Constellations France. Amazon began expanding its delivery network in May to offer one-day delivery, a battleground where WalMart and Target offer stiff competition. The company is going to try to upend everything with their own network and their own delivery, predicted Liz Miller, principal analyst at Constellation Research. They want to add services like taking a photo of where a package was left, for instance, to prove to the end recipient where and when a package was delivered, and to cover liability with the seller, she told the E-Commerce Times. Amazons Delivery Network Issues Amazons delivery network has been beset by problems, however. For one thing, safety and security procedures are lax, according to an NBC News report. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Drivers who have not passed background checks sometimes use company badges with someone elses name and photo on them, while some drivers dont even bother with badges, NBC said. Contractors have been involved in road accidents, resulting in serious injury or death, in some cases blamed on reckless driving to meet delivery deadlines. The rate of serious injuries is more than double the national average for the industry. These are growing pains, Constellations Wang suggested. Amazon is preparing to deliver on its own network and will do it more cheaply than competitors, he said. Amazon has broken the duopoly in shipping with FedEx and UPS. Expect them to cut into both carriers business. FedEx Sitting Pretty Amazons shipping restriction might benefit FedEx, which already is viewed as the overnight shipping leader, Constellations Miller pointed out. They want to cut their operational losses in these volume areas where a premium cant be added to keep margins sitting pretty, she said. FedEx will compensate for the revenue lost with picking up services, as WalMart continues to try to take pieces of Amazons lunch, Miller predicted. FedEx earlier this year expanded its pick-up and drop-off points partnership with Dollar General to add 1,500 Dollar General Stores. That will grow to a total of 8,000 by the end of next year. Theres speculation FedEx might use the breakup with Amazon to offer its services to other companies, such as Target and Walmart. FedEx earlier this year announced that it wouldnt renew an air shipping deal with Amazon, and this summer declined to renew a ground delivery contract with Amazon. I suspect FedEx anticipated the potential for Amazon to make the move it did, Miller said. A wide range of technology capabilities present new opportunities for FedEx to streamline and reshape its operations. The Real Winner UPS, which already has a partnership with Amazon, might benefit from the restriction on Prime shipping for this season. UPS is happy to have Amazons volume, Wang said. However, the United States Postal Service might be the greatest beneficiary. Package business is up, France said. They have agreements directly with retailers and agreements with the big two UPS and FedEx to serve as last mile carriers for local service. The Postal Service is moving into omnichannel engagements like the Informed Delivery service, she observed. They are trying to become part of the engagement value chain and not just be the shipper. The nominations for the election to the post of the BJP national president will be filed on 20 January, and polling, if required, will take place the next day, the party announced on Friday. New Delhi: The nominations for the election to the post of the BJP national president will be filed on 20 January, and polling, if required, will take place the next day, the party announced on Friday. The elevation of BJP working president JP Nadda to the top party post is all but certain as he is likely to be elected unopposed, party sources have said. He will succeed Amit Shah. Senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, who is in charge of the organisational election process, announced the schedule after the party's internal poll exercise was completed in 21 of the BJP's 36 state and Union territory units. The BJP's constitution stipulates that its national president can be elected after at least half of the total state units have completed their organisational election exercise. News of the upcoming return to 650 Parliament St. sparked a real feeling of excitement for longtime resident Rebecca Gondos. Right off the bat you get that little rush of adrenalin when you read the notice that were going back home, said Gondos, one of nearly 1,500 residents who have been scattered around the city for nearly a year and a half since a six-alarm fire forced them to vacate the St. James Town building. Its a long time coming. Ill completely believe it when Im finally through my door with all my stuff and we can finally start putting our lives back together. After a lengthy process of restoration work and multiple cancellations of proposed return dates, the Wellesley-Parliament Square property management announced Friday that building reoccupancy will be underway starting March 2. Welcome back, management wrote in a note posted on its website, accompanied by a two month-long schedule that residents will abide by in the process of returning to their respective units. The schedule will allow the return of two floors per week, starting with people living in upper units from penthouse (23rd floor) all the way down. The last returnees will be those living on the second and ground floors, who are slated to get home between May 11 and 17. That protocol has been established based on advice from the construction teams and the citys plan with regards to final inspections, said management spokesperson Danny Roth. Management also wanted to give residents enough time to give notices and make moving arrangements at the places where they have been living during the displacement period, he said. In addition, there are physical limitations to be considered when hundreds of people are moving back into a building, such as the use of elevators, and the availability of staff and security to assist in the moving process. There is no perfect system in this case. We have tried to be as fair as we could, which is why we have delayed rent payments, he said, explaining that residents will be required to resume paying rent on the first day of the following month after they move in. Some of them will get nearly a month free of rent, while some of them will just be there for two days and then start paying rent. Theres just no other way around it. Roth said the overall restoration work was a function of how much damage the fire had caused in each unit, and its a full range. Some units have been just repainted due to smoke damage, while others have had bathrooms, kitchens, doors or lighting replaced. The priority was rebuilding the electrical and plumbing systems, as well as work in the basement, laundry facilities, corridors and hallways. There was damage from the sub-basement to the penthouse and it varied depending on how close the units were to the actual intensity of the heat and the smoke, Roth said. There are some things that havent changed, but really what people should know is that all the safety systems have been replaced, and they are coming back to a very modern, very safe building. Preliminary evaluations put the overall cost of repair work between $60 million and $70 million, with money spent to assist residents estimated at around $15 million, Roth added. I am happy its finally coming to an end, said Mark Slapinski, another displaced resident whose unit is on the 21st floor. Slapinski, who has been running the social media accounts created in the aftermath of the fire to help organize and inform displaced residents, said he has heard a lot of sad stories from fellow residents who have been struggling to find accommodations. Many, especially the senior residents, had trouble coping with being away from home for such a long time, and now they are relieved, he said. Residents do have some concerns, but at this point, they really just want to go home. Among the many concerns is the time window that will be given to each moving individual or family. Management says every return reservation must be booked ahead of time, and can only consist of three hours on the return date (8 a.m. to 11 a.m.; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. or 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.). That arrangement doesnt fit well with residents like Gondos and her husband, who have moved all their belongings into a warehouse and will definitely need more than three hours to finish moving back, she said. Three hours is ridiculous, said Gondos, who has been diagnosed with two types of cancer and has had multiple surgeries during the displacement time. This is moving an entire homes worth of contents. Were talking about a hundred of packed boxes, large pieces of antique furniture bed frames, art works, televisions, its a lot of things weve been collecting for the past 16 years. In a statement issued shortly after the return announcement, area councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam said it was a relief to know of the reoccupancy plan after a long time of uncertainty and growing frustration. Although I extend my thanks to the landlord for completing their work, I will continue to hold the landlord and the property management company responsible to ensure that the move-in process is efficient, timely and well communicated, she said. MIDDLETOWN Wesleyan University English major Katie Livingston, who grew up in the Bible Belt, says her early experiences have had a huge influence on her writing. The 21-year-old junior from Oklahoma has since taken a step back from her intensely religious roots, using her writing as a tool to explore themes surrounding Methodism and how they relate to society and culture. Religion really permeates a lot of peoples lives. It affected me very deeply. I stepped away because I was so intensely religious when I was younger, Livingston said. She is among a dozen winning writers and 12 illustrators from across the globe who will travel to Hollywood to be honored at the 36th annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards in California April 3. Livingston, who won a $1,000 prize, was the first-place winner in the second quarter of the contest. She will be among those vying for one of two $5,000 grand prizes for her science fiction essay, which will appear in the annual L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future. Hubbard, who died in 1986, was the founder of the Church of Scientology and is credited with inventing dianetics, which explores the metaphysical relationship between mind and body, according to Scientology.org. Two of the genres Livingston has explored are speculative fiction and sci fi. Those interests were sparked as a child, when her mother read her The Chronicles of Narnia series of books. It gives me the expansiveness to speculate about what the future could look like, or to position an idea or social issue in this new world or microcosm where you can pick it apart, Livingston said. Thats the best thing about those genres. Its like thought experiment, she said. Middletowns small liberal arts college is a world away from the pastoral area where she grew up outside of Lawton, as well as Cameron University, from which she transferred from last spring. She earned a full scholarship to attend Wesleyan, her grandmother, Anna Livingston, said. Livingston is among the minority at the university. Rural students and students from the middle of the country dont go there. There are less students from the middle of the country than there are international students, she said. Her mother home schooled her daughter from junior high through high school, said Anna Livingston, who said her granddaughter began exploring creative writing from a very young age. I dont know if that played a part in her having time to be introspective, Anna Livingston said. With her younger sister and cousin, she enjoyed making up creative passwords for playing on the computer and things like that. In elementary school, Katie Livingston would create little booklets and read them to her friends, she recalled. She wasnt allowed to have a cell phone until she was 16, so she spent all her free time immersed in books. Her mother also limited her and her siblings time on the internet. Thats when I really buckled down, spending hours and hours a day writing. It wasnt really great writing. A lot of my progression has been because that was what I did for fun, she said. When she was at home, her mother wanted her and her siblings to hold a book and feel it, and get into it. Thats how she really processed her writing was her love of books and the written word, her grandmother said. She wanted to branch out, and be exposed to new scenarios and new people and different thinking, so she figured out a way to do it and shes going for it, she added. Katie Livingston handled the Wesleyan application process entirely by herself, learning as much as she could along the way. She was accepted to other colleges, but chose Wesleyan for an experience on the East Coast far from her small-town roots. Shes very much aware of coming from that part of the country as a Wesleyan student, said her English professor, Anne Greene, director of Wesleyans writing programs, as well as the Wesleyan Writers Conference. Greene called her students win phenomenal. Katie Livingston was in her narrative nonfiction class, where assignments were very flexible, Greene said. That served to distinguish Katie as a writer. Shes ferociously intelligent. Shes constantly working on her academic assignments, her professor said, and is never a procrastinator. I would give anything to be that way, Greene said. Katie Livingston serves as a writing mentor, assisting other Wesleyan students with their writing, especially with their academic essays, her professor said. She began writing for the Wesleyan student newspaper The Argus shortly after enrolling, and has written news and features. Shes now the opinion editor. Her grandmother is proud of how hard her granddaughter has worked from a young age to achieve her goals, some of which have presented real challenges in her college career. Whatever I do, I do it intensely, Katie Livingston said. The contest is free, and she encourages anyone who has a sci fi or fantasy story to submit it for contest consideration. For more information and to watch Aprils awards ceremony online, go to writersofthefuture.com. To read Katie Livingstons work, visit the The Wesleyan Argus and Medium. U.S. Rep. Ben Cline, R-6th District, has announced he is holding a town hall event on Thursday, Jan. 23 in Lynchburg. The town hall is an opportunity for Lynchburg area residents to engage in a dialogue with Cline, who recently began his second year in office, about issues of importance to the district, which includes Amherst County, Lynchburg and portions of Bedford County. Cline held a town hall in May in Amherst County, as well as a previous event in Lynchburg last year. He also held a join town hall in Bedford County with U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman, 5th District, in 2019 and attended the Amherst County Republican Committees October meeting where he was voiced criticism of the efforts to impeach President Donald Trump. The town hall is from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Jan. 23 at American Legion Post 16 at 1301 Greenview Dr., Lynchburg. I look forward to meeting with the citizens of Lynchburg next week, Cline said in a press release. As with my previous town halls in the area, this forum will allow me to engage with Lynchburg residents and better take their views to Washington. Constituents planning to attend should register at http://cline.house.gov/about/events and click on the Lynchburg Town Hall event. Citizens of Lynchburg will be given priority regarding comments during the town hall. Signs and noisemakers are prohibited. - Justin Faulconer Reach Justin Faulconer at (434) 385-5551. Reach Justin Faulconer at (434) 385-5551. 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. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: Azerbaijan's Defense Minister Colonel General Zakir Hasanov met the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk on Jan. 17, Trend reports with reference to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. During the meeting, an exchange of views was held on the current situation at the contact line of the troops, the results of the monitoring and the settlement of the conflict. 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. (Newser) A good day for internet company shares ended with Alphabet as the fourth American company to have achieved a market value of $1 trillion. Google's parent company joined Apple, Amazon and Microsoft on Thursday, CNN reports; Amazon since has slipped to about $930 billion. This marks the first time three US companies have held a valuation over $1 trillion at the same time. Apple tops the list at $1.4 trillion. Saudi Aramco is the world's most valuable company, at about $1.8 trillion. story continues below Alphabet shares haven't risen as quickly as those of other tech giants in the past year, per the Wall Street Journal, partly because of the possibility that the company could face greater regulation. But investors and analysts expect more growth. "Google is one of those critical, important leaders in multiple areas," one fund manager said. "You almost can't live your life without Googling things." Shares have climbed in the past month, after the announcement that Google chief executive Sundar Pichai was taking over Alphabet from Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. (Read more Alphabet stories.) The last time we got together, dear reader, I had just finished insulting the good people of Shiner by intimating that a goodly number of them were drunks. I didnt mean this, of course, but a number of hyper-sensitive Shinerites thought I did; they let me know. I tried to explain that I like their self-proclaimed Cleanest City in Texas and meant no disrespect when I mentioned bars and beer. I can attest to the fact that Shiners neat. And clean. And sober (for the most part). Having made it out alive from the little town in southeast Texas that beer made famous, I thought I might mention what Ive been doing during my columns absence in recent weeks and then suggest where we might be going in columns coming up. Sixty-five miles southwest of Shiner, just south of Seguin, is Sutherland Springs, the nondescript, little community that many of us had never heard of before it became the site of unspeakable tragedy in November 2017. As Ive mentioned in this space before, Ive spent a lot of time the last couple of years with members of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, researching a book about the long-lingering aftermath of mass tragedy. (Sutherland Springs: God, Guns and a Small Texas Town will be out March 17.) Although Im no longer a regular at Sunday services and Thursday-night Bible class (and supper), I can report that church members are meeting in a spacious, new building near the little sanctuary where 26 worshippers lost their lives in a mass shooting; membership is at least double what it was on that horrific day. Survivors and their families seem to be getting on with their lives as best they can, knowing that things will never really be the same. The Sutherland Springs surprise is that Pastor Frank Pomeroy, the public face of the congregation in the tragedys aftermath, is running for the state Senate as a Republican against veteran incumbent Judith Zaffirini. What makes the ministers decision surprising is that I never once heard him mention politics from the pulpit, nor has he ever run for public office of any kind. It would take a miracle for Pomeroy to beat Zaffirini, a powerful and influential Democrat in a staunch Democratic district. I guess you could say, though, that Pastor Franks in the miracle business. Once the book was done, I spent some time preparing an advance obituary for a prominent Texan of a certain age. Newspapers and magazines try to compile a cache of advance obits of prominent people, so they wont have to scramble when the time comes. For example, when I worked for the Washington Post, I had a year, off and on, to craft an obit for the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy. (Even so, editors were leaning over my shoulder minutes before I hit the key sending the obit to press.) Although theres a writerly satisfaction in having space and time to craft a compelling obit like writing a mini-biography theres also one minor problem: Friends and family members aware of what Im doing occasionally look askance when I ask, How are you? I have to remind them that Im just being my courteous, caring self; its not a professional inquiry. Had I been writing obits 60 years or so ago, I might have written about one Katherine Chaves, a prominent New Mexican who was murdered in her Santa Fe home in 1961, the motive, if there was one, a mystery to this day. Her family, with distinguished roots that trace back to 12th-century Spain, ran a rustic guest ranch up from the banks of the beautiful Pecos River 30 miles north of Santa Fe. Los Pinos, high in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, opened in 1923 and catered to guests from the Northeast and elsewhere who were drawn to the enchantment of northern New Mexico. The high-toned crowd loved to ride horses along the steep mountain trails during the day and then dress for drinks and dinner in the evening, afterwards enjoying spirited conversations, poetry readings and music. A few years after Los Pinos opened, a brilliant, young New Yorker found his way to the guest ranch. The young mans parents hoped the mountain air and the rigorous outdoor life would be good for his fragile health. Like most male guests, young Robert fell in love with the captivating Katherine, even though she was a decade older. He and Kia, as she was called, became lifelong friends. A few years after Robert discovered Los Pinos, he and his brother built a rustic cabin near a previously undiscovered mountain lake that Robert christened Lake Katherine. In the throes of world war a couple decades later, when the federal government was searching for a site to build the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer thought of New Mexico and Los Pinos; he proposed a boys school near Los Pinos as the site for a hidden, super-secret facility. It became, of course, Los Alamos, where, when the pressure on Oppenheimer became almost too much to bear, he would mount a horse and ride over the mountain to visit Katherine at Los Pinos. Nearly a century after its founding, Los Pinos still exists wife Laura and I stayed there recently although its lost much of its Katherine-era lustre. I bring up Los Pinos, because my New Mexico-born wife has gained access, through the Chaves family, to poems and limericks, recipes, musings and letters that Oppenheimer wrote to Katherine through the years. Our visit to Los Pinos recently was an effort to determine what to do with the material. Back on this side of the state line, Ive also been spending time along the Canadian River, a body of water Texans beyond the Panhandle might assume flows a couple of thousand miles to the north. The Canadian is in Texas, though; its the only river to cross the Panhandle. You dont hear much about the 906-mile-long stream originating in southern Colorado snowmelt and eventually merging with the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma even though it provides water to 11 Texas towns and cities, including Amarillo and Lubbock. Coronado, Kit Carson, Bat Masterson, buffalo-hunter Billy Dixon (whose stupendous rifle shot during an Indian scrape is the stuff of southwestern legend) they all had Canadian River connections. I hope to tell some of their tales in the coming weeks. I also hope to hear from you; your suggestions help to keep the column going. Heres one among a number of ideas I plan to explore soon, this one from Houston resident Jack Casimir. A Calvert native, Jack has told me about Indians kidnapping two little girls in Calvert in the 1850s. One was the daughter of a prominent pioneer resident, the other a slave; they ended up in Mexico. Jack insists, and I believe him, that their adventure is a tale worth telling. Meanwhile, I suggest we raise a glass to all those Texas tales waiting to be told throughout this great state. I suggest we make it a Shiner. djholley10@gmail.com twitter.com/holleynews Frances digital tax is at the center of a dispute with the United States. The Trump administration threatened to increase tariffs up to 100 percent on French goods, including wines and handbags, after the French government created a new tax late December 2019 that would hurt U.S. businesses. The tax would make about 30 big tech companiesincluding Google, Facebook, and Amazonpay a 3 percent tax of their revenue in France. Most of the companies the tax applies to are based in the United States. Last year, Amazon declared that the 3 percent tax will be included in purchases, meaning the tax would be paid by their French customers. It was suggested that this tax would be paid for by businesses, which would have corrected their taxation. In reality, it is more complex: businesses collect the tax and pass it on to their consumers, Nicolas Marques, Institute Molinaris think tank director, told NTD. According to Marques, as the internet giants are leaders of digital, its very easy for those companies to choose how they will pay this tax and who will pay it. A U.S. government report from December 2019 focuses on determining whether or not the digital tax is discriminatory. The United States says the tax is specifically targeting American companies. According to the report, the wording used by the French administration refers to all digital companies, and does not specify American companies. The digital tax is the only tool the French politicians have found to compete with American companies, its a populist promise, fiscal lawyer Jean Philippe Delsol said. They make American companies look bad and this is a narrative aiming to trigger bad feelings from French people. France said the digital tax will provide $500 million euros to the French government. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his French counterpart, Bruno Le Maire, are trying to find a compromise before meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week. Reporting by David Vives in France. About 20 people have been killed in protests that turned violent, latest victims were four boys shot this week. Protesters in Guinea, opposed to President Alpha Conde seeking a third term in office, are being urged to continue with a general strike. Since October, about 20 people have been killed in protests that turned violent. Four boys were shot this week. Al Jazeeras Laura Burdon-Manley has more. JACKSON, Miss. It's the stuff of nightmares. A Mississippi hunter was taking the last of his dog pack back to a truck on Wednesday evening when he encountered a flooded ditch. He found a narrow spot where he could jump across. When he leaned forward to jump, he felt a severe pain on the left side of his head. "As soon as I leaned forward it was, 'Bam,'" said Tyler Hardy of Philadelphia, Miss.. "As soon as it hit me I thought it was some sort of massive impact he struck me so hard. "I thought somebody had shot me or hit me with an axe. It knocked the fire out of me. I just could not believe the force the snake had when it hit me." Tyler Hardy of Philadelphia, Mississippi, said the burning and swelling caused by the copperhead snake bite on his head Jan. 15, 2020, began spreading within minutes of the bite. Hardy had no idea what had hit him at the moment, but when he shined his light on a branch near his head he saw something he never expected. "I backed up and shined my light to see what was in the tree and I saw the snake coiled up on a limb," Hardy said. "It struck at me again and fell out of the tree that time." The bite began to burn severely Hardy and his hunting partner, Michael Kilpatrick, also of Philadelphia, both identified the snake as a copperhead, which is common in Mississippi and venomous. They grabbed the dog and loaded her and their gear in the truck. Even though that took only a couple of minutes, Hardy was already feeling the effects of the bite. Related: Snake Bites Mans Face As He Tries to Enter Friends House 'I had nowhere to go': Mississippi hunter battles rattlesnake in deer stand He's Facebook famous: Deer-tracking dog recovers hundreds of trophies for Mississippi hunters "It was about 4 inches above my ear," Hardy said. "It started burning and swelling. "It was a lot of severe burning. By the time I got in the truck the burning was spreading. It started spreading rapidly, the swelling." Amazingly, the two hunters didn't panic. Hardy said he called his wife on the way to the hospital. He also called Neshoba General hospital so the emergency medical team would be prepared when he arrived. Story continues Tyler Hardy, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, said it appears one of the copperhead's fangs turned downward when it hit his skull while the other fang hit his skull and stopped. Crofab, an antivenom, was administered at a local hospital on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020, and then he was airlifted to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He received five vials of antivenom Hardy said Crofab, an antivenom, was administered while at the hospital. Then he was airlifted to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He received five vials of Crofab to help with the effects of the bite and soon began feeling better. After a day of hospital care doctors agreed to release him because his wife is a nurse practitioner and could monitor his condition. "I was struggling before I got the antivenom, but I feel a lot better," Hardy said. "As of now all I have is throbbing and a goose egg on my head. I feel like I've been on a five-day drunk, but I'm fine." What Hardy doesn't understand is why a copperhead was in a tree about 6 feet above the ground. His only explanation is it was caught in flash-flooding that occurred the day before. Watch your step: Why you don't want to be bitten by a rattlesnake from a guy who was Win money: You can win a share of $1,500 in the Big Bucks Photo Contest sponsored by Van's "I've never seen a copperhead in a tree," Hardy said. "I'm assuming he came out in the warm weather and got caught in the flood and found a tree to get in." Herpetologist Terry Vandeventer of Hinds County said copperheads do climb trees, but don't expect to witness it. Copperhead snake in tree is rare "I think this was a very rare and unusual circumstance," Vandeventer said. "They are basically terrestrial snakes, but it's been known for decades (that they will climb trees)." Vandeventer said one of the more common times for copperheads to climb is during summers when cicadas emerge from the ground and cling to trees and bushes while they shed their shells. During that time, copperheads will climb to eat the insects, but that obviously wasn't the case with Hardy's encounter. "Finding a copperhead in a tree in January is unheard of," Vandeventer. "I don't doubt it went down the way he said it did, but in doing so it made him the unluckiest guy in America." Vandeventer said unusual situations like this get a lot of attention, but said it needs to be kept in perspective because it's not the norm, it's rare. "People need to understand this isn't something to worry about," Vandeventer said. "People don't need to let this keep them out of the woods." However, he said don't let your guard down either. "Be aware of your surroundings," Vandeventer said. "Stuff happens in life and he'll have a story to tell, for sure." Tyler Hardy of Philadelphia, Mississippi, said he was leaving the woods after a deer hunt on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020, when he was bitten on the head by a copperhead snake that was in a tree. While he does have a story to tell, it's not something Hardy wants to take a chance on happening again. "I'll be looking the rest of my life," Hardy said. "I'll get some snake boots and a snake hat, I reckon." Follow Brian Broom on Twitter: @BrianBroom. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Hunter bitten on head by copperhead snake that was in a tree The European Union (EU) is considering a rather interesting rule to enforce a mandatory, universal charging connector for future smartphones. If passed, this will likely pave the way for USB-C to become the default connector port for every smartphone sold everywhere, including Apples iPhone. With the advent of USB-C in everything, it will also finally mean the end of the aging USB Micro-B connector. The micro-B connector has been in use for over a decade when the age of smartphones arrived and has been slowly dying since the advent of the more durable and better USB-C connector. Almost all flagship and mid-range phones have moved on to USB-C but the micro-B still exists in some low end budget smartphones. Another notable company that would object to this ruling is Apple as it has famously stuck with its propriety Lightning Connector as its primary charging port in the iPhone till date. There have been rumors of Apple switching to USB-C for the 2020 iPhone and some analysts have predicted that Apple will remove the charging port all together, in favour of wireless charging. If the resolution does get passed, it will be very interesting to see how Apple will react. The EU Commission had been trying to encourage manufacturers towards a common charging connector since 2014. The reason for this new directive to force compliance is due to the fact that the commission has not yet yielded the desired result of a common charging port. At the moment, final vote of the law is yet to be to voted upon in a future session as the initial draft of the law has been voted on by a majority. Source | Via Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 06:51:45|Editor: yan Video Player Close CHICAGO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that extremely rare, harmful genetic mutations present in healthy donors' stem cells may be passed on to cancer patients receiving stem cell transplants. The intense chemo- and radiation therapy prior to transplant and the immunosuppression given after allow cells with these rare mutations the opportunity to quickly replicate, potentially creating health problems for the patients who receive them, say heart damage, graft-versus-host disease and possible new leukemias. The study analyzed bone marrow from 25 adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) whose samples had been stored in a repository at Washington University. Samples from their healthy matched donors, who were unrelated to the patients, also were sequenced. The 25 AML patients each had had samples banked at four separate times: before the transplant, at 30 days post-transplant, at 100 days post-transplant, and one year post-transplant. The researchers invented a technique called error-corrected sequencing to identify extremely rare DNA mutations that would be missed by conventional genome sequencing, which allows the researchers to find true mutations that are extremely rare: those present in as few as one in 10,000 cells. The healthy donors ranged in age from 20 to 58, with an average age of 26. The researchers sequenced 80 genes known to be associated with AML, and identified at least one harmful genetic mutation in 11 or 44 percent of the 25 donors. They further showed that 84 percent of all the various mutations identified in the donors' samples were potentially harmful, and that 100 percent of the harmful mutations present in the donors later were found in the recipients. These harmful mutations also persisted over time, and many increased in frequency. "We didn't expect this many young, healthy donors to have these types of mutations," said senior author Todd E. Druley, an associate professor of pediatrics. "We also didn't expect 100 percent of the harmful mutations to be engrafted into the recipients. That was striking." Though the study was not large enough to establish a causal link, the researchers found that 75 percent of the patients who received at least one harmful mutation in the 80 genes that persisted over time developed chronic graft-versus-host disease. Among patients who did not receive mutations in the 80 genes, about 50 percent developed the condition. In general, about half of all patients who receive a stem cell transplant go on to develop some form of graft-versus-host disease. The most common mutation seen in the donors and the cancer patients studied is in a gene associated with heart disease. Healthy people with mutations in this gene are at higher risk of heart attack due to plaque buildup in the arteries. "We know that cardiac dysfunction is a major complication after a bone marrow transplant, but it's always been attributed to toxicity from radiation or chemotherapy," Druley said. "It's never been linked to mutations in the blood-forming cells. We can't make this claim definitively, but we have data to suggest we should study that in much more detail." The study was published on Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Semarang, Central Java Fri, January 17, 2020 15:34 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c3229130d 1 National solo-raya,intolerance,radicalism,tolerance,Central-Java Free In an effort to eradicate radicalism and intolerance at school, the Central Java Education and Culture Agency is to commence tolerance education pilot projects in 20 schools in Solo Raya, which includes Surakarta city and its surrounding regencies, starting next month. The initiative was introduced following the latest case of intolerance at Gemolong 1 State High School in Sragen regency last week, in which a female student was bombarded by threats sent through WhatsApp because she did not wear a hijab. The threats were reportedly sent by other students who were active in the school's religion club. Jumeri, head of the Central Java Education and Cultural Agency, said the office decided to launch the pilot projects after the establishment of an advocacy team tasked to curb radicalism and intolerance at schools. The team has advised to make programs in cities or regencies that often see heated tensions from cases of intolerance and radicalism. In executing [the pilot project] we will cooperate with several parties, including the Wahid Foundation," Jumeri said. The projects are to be conducted within three to six months, he said, adding that the agency was currently in the process of selecting the Solo Raya schools that would participate. "What we will do is to give education and training to [students] to respect diversity and differences," he said. We will start with Sragen," Jumeri added. "We will also do a special program to educate teachers, students and staff, as well as the principals of schools in several cities and regencies that see simmering [intolerance] tensions." In the future, the agency said it expected that such a tolerance education program could be carried out in every school in Central Java -- both in public and private schools -- especially at high school level. There are currently about 3,000 high schools and vocational schools in the province, of which 640 are public schools. All [school] principals have signed integrity pacts in which they guarantee that their schools are not radical. It needs to be underlined that radicalism is not identical with Islam, but with other religions also, he said. Jumeri said the agency would sanction anyone within an educational institution who carried out intolerant actions. Teachers who were found committing such actions, for instance, could be fired or demoted from their positions, he added. (gis) MONTPELIER, Vt.Vermont State Rep. Selene Colburn has obviously been paying attention to the newsmost notably the myriad stories of sex workers whose lives (and incomes) have suffered drastically by federal and state government attempts to "help" them through legislation like SESTA/FOSTA and local "human trafficking" ordinances. That's why she recently introduced a bill that would decriminalize sex-for-pay between consenting adults, while at the same time making penalties worse for child sex traffickers. Colburn's bill, H.B. 569, would completely repeal the state's prostitution law13 V.S.A. Chapter 59, Subchapter 2and replace it with a new law, 13 V.S.A. Chapter 60, which would, according to the bill's statement of purpose, "retain[] felony human trafficking laws that prohibit recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a minor for the purpose of commercial sex; patronizing a minor for commercial sex; recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining any person through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of having the person engage in commercial sex; compelling any person through force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex; and patronizing any person for a commercial sex act who is being compelled through force, fraud, or coercion to engage in a commercial sex." The bill, which has four co-sponsors and is currently being considered by the House Judiciary Committee, would, if passed, make Vermont only the second state in the Union to have legalized adult sex workbut its proponents still have their work cut out for them. Assuming the bill survives the judiciary committee, it still has to be passed by both the full House and Senate, and while Democrats and ProgressivesVermont's the only state to have regularly elected Progressives, of which Colburn is one, not to mention a Democratic-Socialist U.S. Senatorstill outnumber Republican legislators more than two-to-one, the bill might get tripped up on the desk of Republican Gov. Phil Scott. Of course, Scott has other things to worry aboutlike figuring out how to increase his state's population above the current 625,000 level. In fact, he signed a bill in 2018 that offered those willing to move to the state, even if they continued to work for an out-of-state employer, a $10,000 payment. But Colburn and her co-sponsors are resolute in pushing for the passage of this bill, in part because, as the website VTDigger.org reports, "she doesnt view sex work as public safety threat." "By driving sex work underground, were creating much more dangerous conditions for sex workers," Colburn said. "They should feel like they have the protection of police if they need it." In fact, Colburn is pairing this bill with her other related bill, H.B. 568, which would give immunity to those involved in sex work (or even human trafficking) who witnessed a crime while going about their duties. The bill would also create a Sex Work Study Committee whose aim would be to further modernize the states sex work laws. If enacted into law, H.B. 569 would go into effect on July 1, 2020, though the details of how the sex-work professions would be regulated would still need to be worked out. One thing's for sure, though: Vermont would undoubtedly see a substantial tourism increase. Photo by Ralfdix/Wikimedia Commons Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has granted power of detaining authority to the Delhi Police Commissioner under the National Security Act, according to a notification. The NSA allows preventive detention of an individual for months if the authorities feel that the individual is a threat to the national security, and law and order, sources said. In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (c) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt Governor pleased to direct that during the period January 19 to April 18, the Delhi Police Commissioner may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub-section (2) of the section 3 of the aforesaid Act, the notification stated. The notification has been issued on January 10 following the approval of the LG. It comes at a time when the national capital has been witnessing a number of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). However, the Delhi Police said it is a routine order that has been issued in every quarter and has nothing to do with the current situation. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Friday appealed to agitators to unblock the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch due to which the residents of Delhi and NCR are suffering, officials said. The protesters, who are opposing the contentious CAA and a proposed pan-India NRC, have been siting on protest at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh for over a month. The road is a key link between Noida and Delhi and has been closed by the Noida Traffic Police in view of the ongoing protests. 'We appeal to agitators at Road No 13-A, Shaheen Bagh to understand the sufferings, the complete highway blockade is causing to the residents of Delhi and NCR, senior citizens, emergency patients and school going children,' a police statement said. The matter had also come up before the high court. 'We again urge protesters to cooperate and clear the road in larger public interest,' it stated. LEBANON, Ohio Something wasnt right with the Rhino. Reports started trickling in to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2005 of people being killed or injured in the Yamaha Motor Co. off-road vehicles when they tipped over. But no clear pattern emerged, and in the rough and tumble off-road world, accidents are common. The agency took no action. Then, in 2007, ten-year-old Ellie Sand was killed in a Rhino when it flipped in a cornfield in Warren County, Ohio. Her father, house painter John Sand, started reading up on other Rhino crashes. He spoke to other parents whose children had died or been seriously injured in similar incidents. He became convinced that Rhinos were the problem. Using a computer in a Cincinnati law library, Sand found more than a dozen lawsuits alleging that the vehicles were dangerously unstable. Some of the lawsuits like the one he filed against the company in 2008 claimed that design flaws caused the Rhinos to roll over even at slow speeds on flat ground. Sand sent the results of his research to CPSC, highlighting details from the lawsuits of the tip-overs that led to deaths and injuries. Soon after, CPSC sent a subpoena to Yamaha, forcing it to hand over a trove of information, much of which had lain hidden under judges protective orders in the lawsuits against the company. By then, more than 40 people, including more than a dozen children, had been killed in Rhino crashes. The impact of Sands work was confirmed in a voicemail message Sand received a few months later. Yamaha had agreed to a voluntary recall covering more than 100,000 Rhinos to fix the stability problems. As a result of the information a lot of the information that we received from you weve gotten this far, so I wanted to thank you, Marc Schoem, then deputy director of CPSCs compliance and field operations, said in the March 31, 2009, message, which was reviewed by Reuters. Five years after the recall was announced, CPSC staff noted in a 2014 briefing that crashes involving the Rhino had decreased noticeably. Sand told Reuters he was elated that the work Id done could help stop the carnage. Still, he was surprised that it took an average Joe like him to flag the lawsuits to CPSC. A CPSC spokesman said that the agency had investigated Rhino incidents and that establishing a pattern that would have supported finding the vehicles defective proved challenging. Schoem declined to comment, as did Yamaha. Errors and Inconsistencies CPSC is one of more than a dozen regulatory agencies tasked with protecting Americans from dangerous products. And the Rhino episode reveals a troubling dynamic in the way these watchdogs do their jobs: Sometimes the only way they can learn about and act on a possible threat to consumers is from evidence produced in lawsuits, but that evidence is often hidden behind a wall of secrecy. Most regulators have their own reporting systems for conducting oversight. But their databases can be vast and unwieldy, stuffed with thousands and even millions of consumer complaints and reports from manufacturers of safety concerns, injuries or deaths. The reports are often rife with mistakes and inconsistencies. Not all consumers even know they can file complaints. And companies regularly flout legally mandated reporting requirements. That leaves the courts as a conduit for alerting regulators to potential harm, and its far from perfect. As Reuters has documented in earlier articles in this series, a thick blanket of secrecy covers product-liability litigation in the United States. In just a handful of cases over the past several decades, hundreds of thousands of people were killed or injured by defective products cars, drugs, guns while information about the risks was hidden from consumers and regulators, sometimes for years, behind broad protective orders. These orders, though meant to protect specific information such as medical records and trade secrets, often give companies wide latitude to designate as confidential material exchanged between litigants in the pretrial discovery process internal emails, data, research, meeting minutes, sworn depositions and the like. The secrecy typically persists for the life of the case, and long after, though court documents are, by law, presumed to be public. In an analysis of some of the largest mass defective-product cases consolidated in federal courts over the past 20 years, Reuters found 55 in which judges sealed information concerning public health and safety. And among those, only three had protective orders containing language specifically allowing information exchanged by the litigants to be shared with regulators. Regulators may subpoena information from a manufacturer after spotting a suspicious cluster of lawsuits, or after being alerted by a consumer like Sand in the Yamaha Rhino case. But those are rare exceptions. And regulators themselves arent inclined to mine court records as a means of oversight. In the 55 big cases Reuters reviewed, public court filings contained no indication that regulators had requested any information arising from the lawsuits. A few years ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and CPSC issued pleas for easier access to evidence introduced in court under protective orders. But the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and 15 other federal departments or agencies surveyed by Reuters did not point to any explicit policy or guidance on gaining access to court evidence potentially relevant to their oversight functions. Yet regulators have repeatedly documented the failures of existing safeguards. Since 2009, NHTSA and CPSC have fined a total of at least 90 companies for failing to meet safety-reporting requirements, while the FDA has issued more than a dozen warning letters to manufacturers of drugs and medical devices for similar lapses. Big business and its lobbyists contend that regulators have all the tools they need to do their jobs well including the power to subpoena information subject to a judges protective order. The protective order cannot block the government, said Victor Schwartz, a partner at law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP who has defended companies in civil litigation. Litigation gets publicity. If the government sees something about a case it can use its power, the subpoena power, to find out more detail, he said. That argument, former U.S. regulatory officials said, doesnt hold water when litigation is cloaked in secrecy. Its a catch-22, said David Friedman, a former NHTSA official. If documents and other evidence in litigation are sealed, how are you supposed to know about them? Friedman said. If you dont know about them, you cant get them. Defective Switch Friedman was at NHTSA during General Motors Co.s notorious 2014 recall of millions of cars with defective ignition switches, ultimately linked to 124 deaths and 275 injuries. A 2015 deferred prosecution agreement between GM and federal prosecutors showed the company scrambled for years to make sense of mounting reports of deaths and injuries while keeping regulators and the public in the dark about the switches, even after uncovering clear internal evidence they were defective. As early as 2003, NHTSA received complaints that Saturn Ions were stalling and, by 2004, that their airbags were failing to deploy in collisions. Similar complaints soon cropped up about Chevrolet Cobalts. In the ensuing years, the agency examined several fatal Cobalt crashes, each involving switches that slipped out of position and disabled airbags. Yet NHTSA didnt make the connection between the switch problem and airbag failures. That was partly because its investigators misunderstood how GMs airbag system operated, but also because NHTSA rules gave automakers a lot of leeway in how they reported certain information regarding safety risks. As a result, similar incidents were reported inconsistently. One was listed as an engine and engine cooling issue, for instance, while another as an electrical problem. That made it difficult for regulators to detect a pattern. From the first consumer complaints and incident reports, it would be more than 10 years and scores of deaths and injuries before NHTSA and the public learned of the link between defective ignition switches and airbag failures and then only after evidence of what GM knew emerged in litigation and prompted the automaker to pursue a recall. In June 2011, the parents of Jennifer Brooke Melton filed a product-liability lawsuit against the company in a Georgia state court. Melton, a 29-year-old nurse, was killed in March 2010 when her Cobalt stalled on a rainy highway, crossed into oncoming traffic, collided with another vehicle and careened into a creek. The Melton case started, as many like it do, under a veil of secrecy. In December 2011, Judge Kathryn Tanksley approved a broad protective order, keeping from the public and NHTSA any documents that GM designated in good faith as confidential. Tanksley, now retired, said she approved the order because both the Meltons lawyer and GM agreed to the terms. The role of litigation is not to regulate GM, she said. When NHTSA officials want more information, she said, they have to pursue it not through the court, but through their own power. The documents GM began turning over to Lance Cooper, the Meltons lawyer, were damning. They showed that in 2005, for example, a company engineer suggested a fix for less than $1 per vehicle, but it was rejected as too costly and not effective enough. Cooper also obtained evidence that the company modified the switches between 2005 and 2008 to keep them from slipping. The evidence built a strong case that GM had known for years that the switches were faulty. The Meltons were eager to go public with the evidence to prevent others from dying as their daughter had, but Cooper worried that if he challenged the protective order and regulators didnt conclude the switches were defective, it would hurt their case. GM wanted to settle. We thought that people needed to know. There were still people out there driving those cars, Beth Melton told Reuters. Its a real shame that these things are kept secret and other people (suffer) because of it. Meanwhile, a Cobalt crash in Quebec, Canada, killed another driver. The airbags did not deploy. The ignition switch was later found to be in accessory mode, the position between on and off that could cut power to airbags. GM settled with the Meltons in September 2013 for $5 million. Five months later, after conducting its own investigation, GM recalled about 600,000 vehicles with the ignition switch. Cooper still wasnt satisfied, based on what he had learned in the Melton lawsuit, and having obtained a settlement for his clients, he decided it was time to share evidence with NHTSA. I basically said: The hell with it, Cooper said. If we can get this information to the federal government, they need it. Really, it was just a strategic decision to violate the protective order. In a letter to NHTSA , he suggested that the automaker knew about the defect far longer than its recall paperwork said and had not recalled enough vehicles. He urged the agency to investigate, citing evidence from the Melton case that he had seen as much as a year earlier. Eventually, NHTSA, Congress and federal prosecutors all investigated, relying heavily on evidence from the Melton case. GM increased the size of the recall, which eventually covered 2.6 million vehicles. In May 2014, NHTSA fined GM $35 million for failing to alert regulators to the defective ignition switch in a timely manner. The next year, GM entered into the deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York to settle criminal charges of concealing information from government officials and wire fraud. Under the deal, GM agreed to pay a $900 million fine and to submit to three years of oversight by an independent monitor. In 2018, a federal judge dismissed the charges against the company after prosecutors said the company had complied with the agreement. The most damning information came out in litigation, said Kevin Vincent, NHTSAs head lawyer at the time. Though the facts eventually came to light, Vincent said, initial confidentiality in the Melton case stymied the agency. That was evidence the agency needed to see, he said. We could have acted sooner. In a statement to Reuters, GM said: Since 2014, we have undertaken comprehensive reforms across the company to ensure that something like the ignition switch crisis never happens again. The company hired additional safety investigators, created a new executive position charged with overseeing global safety and recalls, and launched a program aimed at giving employees and dealers easier ways to flag potential vehicle defects. A NHTSA spokesman said the agency took 17 steps the U.S. Transportation Department inspector general recommended in the wake of the ignition-switch recall to improve collection and analysis of vehicle safety data. Pleas for Access In 2016, NHTSA and CPSC, seeking to address what they acknowledge is a blind spot in their efforts to safeguard consumers, issued bulletins recommending that judges and litigants agree to protective orders that would allow them to share confidential evidence pertinent to public health and safety with the relevant regulators. Our job is to protect consumers, said Marietta Robinson, a CPSC commissioner at the time. Obtaining information about an allegedly dangerous product from a lawyer representing a consumer who has been injured or killed is critically important to us doing that job. NHTSAs bulletin, which cited the GM ignition-switch case, argued that keeping such information hidden from regulators clashes with federal legal requirements for courts to show good cause before allowing companies to keep it secret. But the bulletins, published in the Federal Register, where the government publishes new rules, proposals and public notices, carried no enforcement power, and they have had little impact. Judges have rarely shown willingness to grant requests from plaintiffs, expert witnesses or news organizations to share information with regulators or the public. Lawyers challenged defendants claims of confidentiality for material relating to public health and safety in 26 of the 55 big cases Reuters analyzed, and in most of them, judges refused to unseal the evidence. Some of those cases involved attempts to share information with the FDA. The FDA declined to comment on specific cases for this article. In general, the agency said, its powers to inspect drug makers plants and launch criminal investigations, along with voluntary reporting requirements for drug makers, provide FDA with the tools to keep patients and consumers safe and fulfill its mission to protect and promote the public health. However, in the case of Pfizer Inc.s popular drug Chantix, which helps people quit smoking, court secrecy excluded possibly pertinent information from the agencys process for assessing safety. The FDA approved Chantix in 2006. Three years later, it placed a black box warning its strongest on the drugs label after receiving reports of changes in behavior such as hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions. Over time, Pfizer faced thousands of lawsuits blaming Chantix for such side effects. The company turned over millions of documents to plaintiffs under the condition they be kept confidential. In 2014, after Pfizer settled most of the cases for about $300 million, two plaintiff experts decided the FDA and the public should see internal Pfizer documents and expert reports that had been introduced in litigation. Through their lawyer, clinical psychiatrist Joseph Glenmullen and drug safety researcher Thomas Moore asked the judge overseeing the bulk of the Chantix litigation to unseal the information, which they said was important for shedding light on Pfizers awareness of Chantixs behavioral risks. Two days after their request was filed, U.S. District Judge Inge Johnson in Alabama rejected it. Her brief order did not address the substance of the request. Johnson did not respond to requests for comment. The upshot was that, two years later, an FDA advisory panel did not have access to all the information the two men had sought to make public as it considered a Pfizer request to remove the black box warning. Pfizers request was based on its own study claiming that Chantix did not have a significant association with depression and suicide. The advisory panel of medical experts in September 2016 recommended in a close vote to remove the black box warning. The FDA removed the black box warning a few months later. Chantix bottles still carry a less severe warning of potential mental health side effects. Moore acknowledged that its impossible to know whether the evidence he and Glenmullen sought to provide to regulators would have changed the panels decision. But he said he remains frustrated that information central to the question of Chantixs safety never made it into regulators hands. The FDA should be able to see it, Moore said. Pfizer, in a statement to Reuters, said: The FDA and its 2016 advisory panel had access to all of the data and science on Chantix, and all of the adverse events reports. The plaintiff experts reports, the company noted, were not original science and instead reflected views of the underlying science that differed from the FDA and the advisory panels conclusions. Members of the FDA advisory panel Reuters contacted said they were unaware of Moore and Glenmullens efforts. One of them was Dr Jess Fiedorowicz, director of the University of Iowa Mood Disorders Center. He voted to remove the black box warning. He said he didnt know whether the evidence from the two experts would have changed his mind, but, Im all for transparency in research. Seeking Sunshine In September, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, said he planned to reintroduce the Sunshine in Litigation Act to address the problem of court secrecy. The bill would allow parties in litigation to share evidence related to public health and safety with state and federal regulators, regardless of protective orders. Nadlers pledge came during a hearing on courtroom transparency that was called after Reuters began publishing its series on court secrecy and its impact on public health and safety. Previous iterations of the bill introduced repeatedly since the early 1990s, despite enjoying bipartisan support, have ultimately failed in the face of sustained opposition from business groups that contend it would increase the costs and burdens of litigation for companies that are already meeting regulatory reporting requirements. However, as the Yamaha Rhino episode and others like it show, regulators and the public cant assume manufacturers are meeting disclosure and reporting rules. A few months after John Sand sent a packet stuffed with his research to CPSC, the agency told Yamaha it had received information indicating that the Rhino could roll over at low speeds on flat ground, posing an unreasonable risk of injury or death to riders. It told the company to send it all relevant information, including documents from Rhino-related litigation. CPSC spent the next few months trying to get Yamaha to comply, at one point complaining to the company that it was sending duplicative material and that the only new item seems to be a Model Year 2009 owners manual for the Rhino. Only after CPSC subpoenaed Yamaha did the company send to the agency a 70-page written response, a hard drive and 62 DVDs that contained all of the records the company had produced in years of litigation, including company documents that had been subject to protective orders. CPSC would have known about the Rhino much earlier if Yamaha hadnt repeatedly violated the rules for notifying the agency of a possible defect, according to William Kitzes, a former adviser to the agency and an expert witness for plaintiffs in Rhino litigation who reviewed correspondence between the regulator and Yamaha. Companies must report to the agency immediately upon learning that a product is defective or can cause injury or death, or when a product is subject to three or more personal-injury lawsuits in a two-year period that are settled or decided in favor of plaintiffs. From 2004 to late 2008, Yamaha faced about 250 lawsuits alleging that Rhinos were unsafe. Certainly no later than, and by many measures well before the end of 2005 Yamaha had adequate information to report, Kitzes wrote in a report for plaintiffs. CPSC didnt fine Yamaha for failure to report Rhino incidents. The agency and Yamaha jointly announced the Rhino recall on March 31, 2009 referred to at the time, on Yamahas insistence, as a free repair program. In 2011, the Ohio jury hearing Sands case found the Rhino defective, but awarded Sand no damages. Ellie was not wearing a helmet when she was killed, and the jury determined that she, her parents and others were negligent in her death. Yamaha stopped making the vehicles in 2013. (Additional reporting by Erica Evans and Dan Levine. Edited by Janet Roberts and John Blanton.) Related: Topics Lawsuits Legislation USA Ohio Pollution Manufacturing Drugs Defending champion Anders Antonsen of Denmark advanced to the Indonesia Masters semi-final Friday after beating hometown star Jonatan Christie. Antonsen will meet Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu on Saturday at Istora Senayan stadium in the capital Jakarta. The Dane upset Christie, the 2018 Asian Games men's champion, in a 21-14, 10-21 and 21-12 match that clocked in at one hour and eight minutes. "I am happy to play so much against him. We have always a fun matches and he is a very good opponent. I am always enjoying our rivalry," Antonsen said after the match. The Dane flagged his semi-final rival as a worthy adversary "who is doing really well at the moment". "With so many good players left, right now I will focus on the match tomorrow and we will see if I can win that one," he added. Despite hometown favourite Christie's loss, Indonesia managed to secure a place in the men's semi-final after 2018 Indonesia Masters champion Anthony Sinisuka Ginting beat China's Huang Yu Xiang 21-11, 21-14. Ginting meets Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the semi-final. In women's singles, former world champion Carolina Marin from Spain secured a semi-final berth in a come back victory against South Korea's An Se Young at 21-17 and 21-6. Marin, last year's runner up, will face He Bing Jiao from China on Saturday while Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon meets China's Wang Zhi Yi. The Indonesian tournament will not feature Badminton world number one Kento Momota after the Japanese was injured in a car crash that killed his driver and left him with minor injuries in Kuala Lumpur. A federal statute defines domestic terrorism but carries no penalties. First and Second Amendment concerns make prosecuting these cases difficult. According to the authorities, Mr. Lemley and Mr. Mathews made a functioning assault rifle. They also bought more than 1,500 rounds of rifle ammunition, fired the rifle at a Maryland gun range and acquired vests to hold body armor. Although the charges were not directly linked to the Richmond rally, law enforcement officials said the three men had discussed attending it. Additionally, three other men associated with the Base being tracked by the F.B.I. were arrested on Thursday by the authorities in Georgia. Officials said they were plotting to kill a couple belonging to the loose affiliation of radical activists known as antifa. Adherents of extremist groups have been beating the drums for people to participate. One online meme shows half a dozen men who carried out bloody attacks in the United States, Norway and New Zealand, dressing them as biblical saints with halos above their heads. Virginia Is For read the headline. Many of the comments are racist, anti-Semitic and unprintable. Yall need to go full white ethnostate and really set the pace for 2020, said another online message, below the picture of a road sign that had been altered to read Virginia Is For Gun Lovers. The call to arms by others prompted fears that the Richmond rally would foreshadow the tenor of political events throughout what promises to be a fraught presidential election. This is about those who want to co-opt these moments and turn it into the start of a civil war or some sort of race war, said Oren Segal, the director of the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism. A lot of this is hyperbole, but who at this point would take that lightly. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump fired back Friday evening at Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who earlier had mocked him as a "clown" then in a subsequent tweet Trump said Iran's leaders "should abandon terror and Make Iran Great Again!" The so-called Supreme Leader' of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe, Trump wrote on Twitter. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words! Trump tweeted hours after Khamenei called him a "clown" who will "push a poisonous dagger" into Iran's back. In a rare public address as he led Friday prayers in Tehran, Khamenei also defended Iran's military after it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane. President Donald Trump speaks before signing a trade agreement with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 15, 2020, in Washington. Khamenei also condemned Trump and the U.S. for the deadly drone strike against a top Iranian general. The villainous U.S. government repeatedly says that they are standing by the Iranian people. They lie, Khamenei said. If you are standing with the Iranian people, it is only to stab them in the heart with their venomous daggers. More: Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls Trump a 'clown,' defends Iran's military The so-called Supreme Leader of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020 In another post Friday evening, Trump later tweeted a message to Iranian citizens, including a riff on his 2016 campaign slogan, Make America Great Again. The noble people of Iranwho love Americadeserve a government that's more interested in helping them achieve their dreams than killing them for demanding respect, he said. Instead of leading Iran toward ruin, its leaders should abandon terror and Make Iran Great Again! Story continues Trump also tweeted out that message in Farsi. Michael Collins and David Jackson cover the White House. Reach Collins on Twitter @mcollinsNEWS and Jackson @djusatoday. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump warns Iran's supreme leader to be 'very careful' with his words Iran is widely expected to ramp up cyberattacks against the United States in response to the US killing of a top Iranian leader this month even as fears have receded about a military confrontation between the two countries. The simmering tensions since the US drone attack that killed Qasem Soleimani, who was by some measures the second most influential person in Iran, make it likely that Iran will seek retaliation. While Iran appeared to be "standing down" from a military response, according to US President Donald Trump, the cyber threat remains real, said analysts. "Cyber is the easiest way Iran can have a direct effect on the US homeland," said Jon Bateman, a former Pentagon intelligence official who is a cyber policy fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "I don't think we should believe everything is over." Bateman said Iran has pulled back some of its cyber efforts against the United States in recent years but "has a lot of tools in its toolkit" which could be used against America or US allies. These could include attacks on infrastructure such as electric or water utilities, ransomware which can be used to destroy or delete data from a company or government entity, or disinformation on social media aimed at sowing discord ahead of the US election, Bateman said. Analysts say cyberattacks offer Iran a way to act against the US without directly challenging the American military. James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said Iran appears to have "picked up the pace of reconnaissance" to prepare for a cyber intrusion. "They may want to do something dramatic and symbolic," he said. "They are relatively cautious, they plan ahead. They have been developing cyber attack capabilities for at least five years, so it's now a political question." - 'More pronounced' threat now - John Dickson, a former air force intelligence officer and now an executive with the Denim Group consultancy, said the security community should not let its guard down because some time has elapsed since the drone attack. "I think the threat is more pronounced now," Dickson said. "They've had time to prepare and dust off their plans, that is more in line with how the Iranians operate." Dickson said ransomware is a likely option because "as they get squeezed economically by sanctions, ransomware is a way to get access to cash." The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin last week warning of the potential cyber threat, citing "Iran's historic use of cyber offensive activities to retaliate against perceived harm." "Iranian cyber threat actors have continuously improved their offensive cyber capabilities," the DHS bulletin said. "They continue to engage in more 'conventional' activities ranging from website defacement, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, and theft of personally identifiable information, but they have also demonstrated a willingness to push the boundaries of their activities, which include destructive wiper malware and potential, cyber-enabled kinetic attacks." One potential attack vector for Iran would be social media, and both Facebook and Twitter have already acted against what the social networks called state-supported disinformation efforts by Tehran. "Iran has developed a sophisticated apparatus to conduct information operations as an extension of its foreign policy," said a report by the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab. The researchers said that in response to Soleimani's death, the hashtag #HardRevenge started to trend in early January. "This could preface a set of more intensive information operations from Iran," the report said. - Digital vs military - Bateman noted that digital tools are now considered part of the military arsenal, and that both Iran and the US could mix cyber and conventional or "kinetic" methods. Iran knows the US may respond either with cyber or conventional methods, according to Bateman, and are cognizant of the Stuxnet malware which is believed to have been a US operation to damage Iran's nuclear capabilities. "I wouldn't assume that a US response to an Iranian cyberattack would be a reciprocal cyberattack," he said. "It could be sanctions or criminal indictments or military action." Still, he said Iran appears motivated to do something to show its discontent over the Soleimani attack. "The Soleimani killing was so much more provocative than anything the US has done in some time," he said. "It was a blatant insult and so much more personal for the Iranians." Weeks after former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn was smuggled out of Japan allegedly in a big music instrument box, a social media challenge 'Playing Ghosn' is going viral in the country. The challenge became so popular that musical instrument manufacturer Yamaha had to issue a statement warning people not to try squeezing themselves into the cases meant for instruments. The hilarious new challenge The warning came amid the growing popularity of 'Playing Ghosn' that requires people to climb into cases as part of the challenge and post the picture on social media. On Tuesday Yamaha posted a tweet warning people about the dangers of this challenge. While posting the tweet, Yamaha urged people without mentioning that before it's too late they should stop climbing into musical cases as it is very dangerous. Read: Chinese Farmer Designated Twitter King After He Takes On 'Disgusting Drink Challenge' An important safety message from Yamaha Wind Instruments Japan We wont mention the reason, but there have been many tweets about climbing inside large musical instrument cases. A warning after any unfortunate accident would be too late, so we ask everyone not to try it, https://t.co/sj14mbIMKT Yamaha Music Australia (@yamahamusicau) January 14, 2020 Read: This 'koala Challenge' Is Raising Funds To Fight Australia Bushfire Crisis The challenge grew popular in Japan after former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn escaped the country and went to Lebanon via Turkey in December 2019. Carlos is accused of concealing earnings, transferring investment losses to Nissan and misappropriating company funds. Carlos had been under detention in Japan since November 2018 before escaping to Lebanon. Carlos and his wife are wanted in the East Asian country for financial misconduct. Here are some of the best pictures shared on Twitter in relation to the challenge. Read: Netizens Baffled By Gymnast's Extremely Difficult New Challenge Read: Beginning Vs End Of The Decade: Sportstars Get Nostalgic On Decade Challenge MOSCOW The police in Ukraine have opened a criminal investigation into whether allies of President Trump had the U.S. ambassador to the country under surveillance while she was stationed in Kyiv, the Ukrainian government said Thursday. The move was a remarkable departure from past practice for the government, which has studiously tried to avoid making moves that could make a political splash in Washington. Caught in the middle of the conflict between Democrats and Republicans over whether Trumps pressure campaign on Ukraine justifies his removal from office, President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government have worked hard to appear neutral. But developments have prompted a change of course. On Tuesday, just before Trumps impeachment trial in the Senate was scheduled to begin, Democrats in the House of Representatives published text messages to and from Lev Parnas an associate of Rudy Giuliani, the presidents personal lawyer pointing to surveillance of the ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch. The Internal Affairs Ministry of Ukraine said in a statement released on Thursday that the country cannot ignore such illegal activities on its territory, adding that the national police had started criminal proceedings after analyzing the new material. Our goal is to investigate whether there were any violations of Ukrainian and international laws, the ministry said in the statement. Parnas was involved in a campaign, led by Giuliani, to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate, and his son, Hunter Biden, over the younger Bidens lucrative time on the board of a Ukrainian gas company, Burisma. Also on Thursday, Ukraine said it had asked the FBI for help investigating the reported penetration of Burismas computer systems by hackers working for Russian intelligence. As part of the pressure campaign against Ukraine, Trumps allies were trying to have Yovanovitch, who was seen as an impediment, removed from her post. Trump recalled her last spring. Last March, an exchange between Parnas and another man, Robert Hyde, indicated that Hyde was in contact with people who were watching Yovanovitch. They are willing to help if we/you would like a price, one message from Hyde read. Anton Troianovski and Richard Perez-Pena are New York Times writers. Before, they were on sale in the Metro. Anyone could buy one on any corner. Now its become a bit more difficult. Its become more expensive, so you can get them, but they will cost about 100,000 rubles, she said, around $1,600. There are many professions where this has become the norm. There are so many pseudo experts who are not real experts. The UK's biggest rail workers' union is calling for a halt to the closure of ticket offices and staffing cuts after claiming almost half of all stations are unstaffed. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said its research found only 10% of railway stations were fully staffed. Around 45% of stations were only staffed for part of the day and a similar proportion were totally unstaffed, the union said. The rail industry said more staff are employed than 20 years ago. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said its research found only 10% of railway stations were fully staffed (stock photo) Stations across England, Wales and Scotland, used by hundreds of thousands of passengers every year, were among those with no staff, the union claimed. The union called on the Government to reverse 'damaging' cuts to station and ticket office staffing. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: 'It has never been more apparent that the privatised and fragmented railway has failed to deliver an affordable, accessible and reliable service for passengers. 'Violence on the railways is soaring, yet the private train companies continue to close ticket offices and cut staffing at stations. 'RMT is calling on the Government to prove that it is serious about improving the rail passenger experience.' The union is holding a conference in London on Thursday on station staffing. Stations across England, Wales and Scotland, used by hundreds of thousands of passengers every year, were among those with no staff, the union claimed (stock photo) A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, representing rail companies, said: 'By working together to run more and better services, train operators are now able to employ over 50% more people than 20 years ago. 'Britain's railway remains one of the safest in the world and crime rates are low but we are working with the British Transport Police to tackle any antisocial or violent behaviour by investing in new technology like body-worn cameras for front-line staff and encouraging the reporting of crime.' (TNS) Public school email and internet remain offline in Hamden, Conn., as the town addresses a cyber threat.Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler said malware was likely transmitted through a link in a phishing email, which is almost impossible for anti-virus measures to detect.Malware is malicious software meant to infect devices and give an attacker control over computer systems.Fiscal data and student data is stored remotely not part of the school network so that data wasnt affected, Director of Innovation, Technology and Communications Karen Kaplan said.For our most critical data, we have no reason to believe anything was compromised in any way, she said.The incident only affected staff devices, the superintendent said.We currently know of about 30 staff devices that were affected, Goeler said. We are not aware of any student devices that were impacted.Schools have remained in session since the attack and staff have been allowed to use their devices offline.The cyberattack hit the schools Thursday of last week and, upon discovering it, Hamden schools administrators immediately disconnected from the internet so no further infections could occur. Goeler said that step limited the damage caused by the malware.Although not having internet and email has been challenging, we are pleased to say that our network structures, practices and safeguards protected our most critical data, and thus kept a difficult situation from being much worse, Goeler said.The administration also suspended Hamden.org email servers. The administration sent a voice message to parents and posted it on the school website that schools should be contacted by phone and not email until the issue is resolved.The district still is investigating the extent of the attack and couldnt say whether it is ransomware, according to Kaplan. But no one belives this was a targeted attack, she said.Whats most important to us is we have no reason to believe that any student data was stolen or that any student data was accessed in any way, Kaplan said. That were almost certain of because we dont store student data locally. Its stored in the cloud.She said rumors that personal information had been stolen were false because that data isnt stored on devices.Well be able to restore data to everyone eventually, Kaplan said. Its not going to be a quick fix because we have to make sure the virus isnt on any machines. Our goal right now is to restore our critical services, which begins with email, our financial services so bills and staff can get paid, and internet access.The schools use many online services, which will be down until the end of next week or longer, Kaplan said, but then schools will be brought back one at a time as each device is individually cleaned.We want to be 100 percent confident that nothing is hiding in it, she said.The district and school websites continue to operate because they were not affected.We are working closely with cybersecurity experts to investigate the malware's presence in our system and restore services throughout the district as quickly as possible, Goeler said, and expected email to be available at the end of the week.The district will continue to update families and staff through phone calls and the school website until the situation is resolved.Kaplan said the district has tried to teach staff to recognize phishing emails and since the attack theyve asked administrators to review protocol for when suspicious emails are received by staff.Its impossible to block against all these things, so educating users is the most important part and thats why we continue messaging to our staff as these things evolve, Kaplan said.Late last year Hamden town hall suffered a malware attack that compromised employee computers. Employees got an email containing a computer virus that some people opened, clicking on a link meant to infect their computers.Kaplan said they dont know yet whether the two attacks are connected, but the district is investigating it.In January, the town administration asked Legislative Council for a bid waiver to continue using the information technology company it had been when town hall suffered the attack.The council tabled the item until a future meeting. Chief Justice John Roberts arrives in the Senate to be sworn in as the impeachment trials presiding officer. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images The Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump is formally underway. And formally is the right qualifier at present, since much of what we are currently witnessing are the rituals prescribed by the Constitution and the standing Senate rules for this rare event: the march of House impeachment managers across the Capitol to present the articles of impeachment; the reading of said articles in the Senate chamber by lead House manager Adam Schiff; the arrival and swearing in of Chief Justice John Roberts as the trials presiding officer; and Robertss swearing in of 99 senators (one, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, is dealing with a family medical issue and will be sworn in when he returns to Washington). Its quite the show for those who missed the last impeachment trial in 1999, but purely preliminary. Were only now beginning to get a sense of exactly what will happen when the trial moves into its substantive phase next week (after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday). First up will be Mitch McConnells organizing resolution to address details of the trial not already stipulated in the Constitution or the Senates standing rules. These will mostly involve time parameters for features of the trial we already know about (e.g., the arguments for removal of Trump by the House managers; defense of the president by his representatives; and submission of written questions to the contending counsel by senators). But McConnell is trying to use the organizing resolution as well to postpone any motions to hear witnesses or additional evidence, which of course Democrats are eager to offer in hopes that they can peel off four Republican senators and force witnesses like John Bolton or Mick Mulvaney into the trial. This postponement of such motions was a feature of the 1999 organizing resolution for the Clinton trial. But then again, that one was passed by unanimous consent, and this time around, McConnell has made no effort to get Democratic support, arguing that the 51 Republican votes he has secured is enough. You can expect Democrats to claim that McConnell is trying to amend the standing rules by preemptively cutting off motions on evidence and witnesses, which requires 67 votes. A ruling on that motion by Roberts with the advice of the Senate parliamentarian could be the first test of how active and independent the chief justice intends to be in the trial. However that preliminary skirmish goes, you can expect Democrats to make constant efforts to test McConnells control of a Senate majority in opposition to new evidence and witnesses, undergirding a party message that the trial represents a continuation of Trumps attempts to cover up his impeachable conduct (a cover-up, which, of course, is the basis for the article of impeachment alleging obstruction of Congress). At any point, if four Republicans join the Democrats on one of these motions to open up the trial, things could spin beyond the Majority Leaders control. In that case, all bets would be off in terms of timing, if not barring something incredibly unexpected the ultimate outcome of acquittal. If McConnell has his way, the trial timetable will contemplate proceedings lasting roughly two weeks, designed to wrap it all up before a (presumably triumphant) Trump defiantly appears in the House chamber to deliver his State of the Union Address on February 4. All indications are that the White House is firmly onboard with this plan, and will no longer demand the articles be summarily rejected or that it be allowed to call its own witnesses (e.g., Hunter or Joe Biden). In another significant tactical victory for McConnell, the White House has abandoned any plans to include House Republican leaders in the trial defense team being led by White House Counsel Pat Cipollone. The standing rules provide that trial proceedings begin at 1 p.m. each day, and proceed every day, except for Sundays, until the final verdict is rendered. This schedule will allow the chief justice to participate in morning oral arguments and deliberations in the Supreme Court. As has been thoroughly discussed, senators (including the four Democrats running for president who would prefer to be on the campaign trail) are expected to be present, and silent when the trial is in session, up to the moment they stand at their desks and announce guilty or not guilty. If things get hairy for Republicans, they also have the option of sponsoring a motion to dismiss the articles summarily, or even to adjourn the trial. All in all, the trial is likely to be an exercise in orchestrated tedium punctuated by occasional drama. If no witnesses are heard, then it will feel like a condensed and more dignified version of the House impeachment inquiry. But if McConnell does lose control of a majority or of his ultimate client, the president then it may be difficult to get it back. Secular group blasts National Cathedral Bible blessing as 'vile, Christian supremacy Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A secular legal organization announced its outrage over the blessing of a Bible for the swearing-in of commanders of the newly created Space Force, calling it a shocking and repulsive display of only the most vile, exclusivist, fundamentalist Christian supremacy. On Sunday, the Washington National Cathedral held a ceremony to bless a King James Bible that will be used to swear in all commanders of Americas newest military branch, the U.S. Space Command, if they so choose. "Today @WNCathedral blessed the official Bible for the new @SpaceForceDoD, which will be used to swear in all commanders of America's newest military branch," the cathedral's official account tweeted Sunday. The Rev. Carl Wright, the Episcopal Church's bishop suffragan for armed services and federal ministries, offered the blessing as Maj. Gen. Steven Schaick, Air Force chief of chaplains, held the Bible donated by the Museum of the Bible in Washington, according to The Washington Post. "May this Bible guard and guide all those who purpose that the final frontier be a place where God will triumph over evil, where love will triumph over hate, and where life will triumph over death," Wright said during the ceremony, according to CBS News. A spokesperson for the cathedral later confirmed that the Bible was used for the swearing-in of Major General John William Raymond as the first Chief of Space Operations on Tuesday morning. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an activist legal group that says it's dedicated to preserving the separation of church and state in the military, took issue with the ceremony. The group "condemns, in as full-throated a manner as is humanly possible, the shocking and repulsive display of only the most vile, exclusivist, fundamentalist Christian supremacy, dominance, triumphalism and exceptionalism," Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of MRFF, wrote in a statement Monday. "The utilization of a Christian Bible to 'swear in' commanders of the new Space Force or any other [Department of Defense] branch at ANY level is completely violative of the bedrock separation of church and state mandate of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution." He said Sunday's ceremony "tragically validates the villainy of unadulterated Christian privilege at DoD and its subordinate military branches." The group said it is filing a formal complaint with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. It will also assist in filing Inspector General and Equal Employment Opportunity complaints with the Department of Defense "to stop this train-wreck disaster in its stinking tracks from ever even leaving the station." In an op-ed piece published by The Christian Post, Mark Tooley, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, criticized Weinsteins faux outrage, pointing out that the Washington National Cathedral belongs to the Episcopal Church and is home to refined mainline Protestant liberalism and political correctness. He also noted that military commanders are sworn in on whatever book they choose, or no book at all, adding: There is no compulsion, just as military chaplains of various religions cant and dont compel any service member to participate in any religious rites. Secularist fanatics like Weinstein believe religion should be effectively banished from public life, Tooley said. But humans are intrinsically spiritual. Every nation and community will have spirituality, just as each person has soul and spirit. America affirms religious freedom. America does not restrict religion to closets and basements. Religion is not strictly private or personal. It is communal and public. The outrage surrounding the blessing is misplaced, Tooley argued, as it actually illustrates that religious institutions and religious voices are protected by the Constitution, which is essential to liberty for all people. Last week, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service said it would stop selling Jesus-themed candy after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation complained that selling the treats at commissary and exchange stores is a violation of the U.S. Constitution. As tensions with Iran soar, Trump calls on NATO to deploy troops and take on a greater role in the Middle East, Al Jazeera writes in the article Is NATO about to become 'more involved' in the Middle East? Five days after the United States assassinated a top Iranian military commander - a move that pushed Washington and Tehran to the brink of war - US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would ask NATO "to become much more involved in the Middle East process". Trump, who had ordered the January 3 killing of Qassem Soleimani prompting retaliatory Iranian attacks against US targets in Iraq, later called on the 29-member alliance to send more troops to the Middle East and increase its role in "preventing conflict" in the region. The demand caught many by surprise, given Trump's long-standing criticism of NATO, including questions over its value to the US and calls on allies to pay more for the alliance's defence. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary-general, initially appeared to heed Trump's request, saying the Atlantic alliance could do more in the Middle East. But he has since signalled NATO would not deploy combat troops to the region, saying the "best way is to enable local forces to fight terrorism themselves". The alliance currently has 400 personnel in Iraq, as part of a mission to train the country's army to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS). But shortly after Soleimani's killing, NATO temporarily suspended the non-combat mission's training activities. And despite Trump's call on NATO to expand its presence in the Middle East, analysts say deep divisions between the US and some NATO allies over Washington's strategy on Iran - from the US's unilateral decision in 2018 to abandon a landmark deal that curbed Tehran's nuclear programme to Soleimani's assassination - was likely to limit the alliance's role in the region. "No NATO ally supported the US decision to take out Soleimani. Turkey may have said it openly, but all allies think it was a strategically disastrous decision. It's also why NATO will not expand its involvement in the region to any great extent," said Ivo Daalder, who served as Washington's ambassador to NATO between 2009 and 2013. 'Unpredictable' Neither NATO nor the United Kingdom, Washington's closest ally, were reportedly informed of the US's operation to kill the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force. In the wake of Soleimani's death, the UK, France and Germany, called for "de-escalation", while Turkey expressed its opposition to "foreign interventions, assassinations and sectarian conflicts in the region". "The current crisis has deepened the divisions across the Atlantic and increased the likelihood of European allies distancing themselves from an increasingly unpredictable United States," said Daalder, who is now the president of the Chicago Council. Trump's demand that NATO boost its presence in the Middle East is something that would mark a significant shift in the mission of alliance, which was founded in 1949 as a bulwark against the Soviet Union. Daalder said the demand was based on Trump's belief that Europe's interests were more tied to the region than that of the US, including a greater European reliance on Middle Eastern oil and exposure to threats posed by returning ISIL fighters. Indeed, Trump, in calling for more NATO involvement, said the US was independent and does "not need" Middle East oil. Rasa Jukneviciene, a Lithuanian legislator and the former head of the European Parliament's delegation to NATO, characterized those comments as a veiled message to European NATO allies about their future role in the security arena. "It is a message addressed first of all for Europeans, and Europe must realise that talking about strategic autonomy will not suffice any more," said Jukneviciene, calling on European countries to increasing their defence spending. Currently, the US contributes approximately 70 percent of the NATO budget, with around 3.4 percent of the country's GDP going towards alliance costs in 2019. The US, therefore, largely leads NATO's security agenda. Speaking at a NATO summit in the UK last month, Trump once again called on members to commit to increasing their defence spending to 4 percent of GDP, while targets have currently been set for 2 percent by 2024. "Europe will have to take a decision, one or another. In my opinion, and in the opinion of the majority of politicians in my country, NATO is the best tool to deal with such complex problems," said Jukneviciene. 'Opportunity' Jamie Shea, senior fellow at the Brussels think-tank Friends of Europe, said NATO member states should view Trump's demands to contribute more resources to Middle East operations as an opening "to make NATO more relevant to the Mediterranean and Turkey, and even to Trump". In return, Europe could ask "for assurances from Trump that there will be no more threats to leave NATO or ambiguity over Article 5", he said, referring to the provision in the alliance's charter that obligates allies to defend each other if they come under attack. "Every crisis is an opportunity," he added. Amid the discord and questions over the alliance's value, some experts say NATO's next steps in the Middle East could be crucial to its future. Fawaz A Gerges, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, said he expected the alliance to move into a "transitional period" while members decide on where future resources are placed. "The American century is coming to an end," he said, referring to Washington's diminishing influence on NATO partners. "There has been a rupture in global relations between historical allies, and NATO is at the centre." Force 47, thought to be 10,000-strong, seen as governments online enforcers as new cybercrime law takes effect. Hanoi, Vietnam Wearing his trademark black fedora, human rights defender Anh Chi updates his YouTube audience on the situation in Dong Tam village, 40km (25 miles) southwest of Vietnams capital, Hanoi, the site of a recent deadly dispute over land. Anh Chi is among the few social media-savvy activists, who are trying to push the boundaries of delivering news and analysis straight to the Vietnamese public. But these days, their voices are increasingly becoming muted due to government restrictions. The deadly January 9 incident in Dong Tam is a case in point. According to the authorities, three police officers and 84-year-old village leader Le Dinh Kinh were killed after local residents clashed with police in the early hours of that day. The dispute, over agricultural land next to a military airport, shocked the country. But afterwards, Vietnams cyber-army, also known as Force 47, was deployed to counter the content on social media platforms deemed critical of the way the authorities handled the situation. The authorities also arrested three activists over posts made in relation to the dispute, while Facebook users faced restrictions. The Vietnamese governments heavy-handed efforts to censor discussion of this land dispute are the latest example of its campaign to assert control over online content, Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty Internationals regional director, said in a statement. Social media, particularly Facebook, is increasingly becoming weaponised by Vietnam to go after those who peacefully speak their mind. This is an unacceptable attack on freedom of expression and a clear attempt to stamp out dissent. Force 47 Vietnams Force 47 is run by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) to hack anti-government websites and spread pro-government messages online, and is believed to be at least 10,000-strong. Anh Chi, the pen name of 46-year-old Nguyen Chi Tuyen, knows the ministrys tactics well. He has created videos criticising Force 47, and has expressed concern about the impact of a new cyber-law that came into effect at the beginning of the month. I strongly oppose the many articles in it that violate freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and basic human rights, he said. Digital rights campaigners accuse Vietnam of attempting to replicate Chinas Great Firewall by regulating and censoring the internet with the cybersecurity law. Neither Google, which owns YouTube, nor Facebook has complied with the legislation, which requires the American tech giants to open local data storage facilities inside Vietnam by January 1. The Asia Internet Coalition, a lobby representing Facebook and Google, said the legislation was a step in the wrong direction for the countrys growing digital economy. The law states that it is prohibited to use cyberspace to prepare a post and spread information that has the content of propaganda opposing the state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, or anything that offends the nation, national flag, national emblem, national anthem, great people, leaders, notable people and national heroes. Growing marking of 96 million people As Vietnamese searched for more information about what happened in Dong Tam a week ago, some Facebook users reported receiving the message online: Due to legal requirements in your country, we have restricted access to your profile on Facebook. This means that other people in your country cannot see your profile, and may not be able to interact with you over Messenger. Vietnam has a population of 96 million. With more than 60 million Facebook users, it is the platforms one of the fastest-growing markets. Reporters Without Borders ranks Vietnam near the bottom of its 2019 World Press Freedom Index at 176 out of 180 countries listed [Luong Thai Linh/EPA] Facebook is the main source of independent news now in Vietnam, said Trinh Huu Long, a co-founder of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam. The government has been working with Facebook to try to control content posted by dissidents and independent voices, he added. Searches for protests in Hong Kong have also been affected. Many, like Anh Chi, blame the cybersecurity law for the filtered information. They know people in Vietnam are active on social media, and they follow the news, especially with whats happening in Hong Kong every day, he said. The government fears that one day people in Vietnam will join such protests. No free press Bao Trung, 37, started his own Facebook page called Bao Sach [Clean Newspaper] with five other independent journalists in 2019. The whole team used to work for the state-run media. Most of the people in Vietnam have Facebook accounts. Anybody can be a reporter now with a smartphone, Bao Trung said. I think its impossible for the government to control online news and information. Vietnams dispute with China over its claim on the islands and energy-rich waters in the South China Sea is also sensitive. Vietnamese people have long viewed their northern neighbour as a threat. In June 2018, there were nationwide protests against the cybersecurity and special economic zone legislation because they were seen as favourable to Beijing. The authorities reacted quickly to end the protests, which activists described as the biggest in Vietnam since the end of the war in 1975. Vietnams cybersecurity law stipulates that social media platforms must allow the authorities access to local user data. The government has even pledged to create its own Vietnamese platform to rival Facebook, although its attempts have failed. Peoples journalist The Ministry of Public Security claims the cybersecurity law is needed to stop cyber-threats and attacks against Vietnam. Independent journalist Pham Chi Dung was arrested last year and is still under investigation without formal charges by police in Ho Chi Minh City. Anh Chi does not seem bothered by such threats. He had a blog on Facebook for nine years until he switched recently to YouTube. But with a decade of political activism under his belt, he calls himself the peoples journalist. In a country where state institutions, from citizens committees, to the military and newspapers refer to themselves as the peoples [nhan dan], this claim may ring hollow with his audience which he said ranges from local street vendors to government civil servants. With a decade of political activism under his belt, Anh Chi calls himself the peoples journalist [Adam Bemma/Al Jazeera] I choose to spend my time on YouTube rather than Facebook because Vietnamese people are busy with work, he said. They have smartphones, so while theyre working they can listen to the story rather than having to read. Reporters Without Borders ranks Vietnam near the bottom of its 2019 World Press Freedom Index at 176 out of 180 countries listed. Freedom House labels Vietnam as Not free. The 88 Project for Free Speech in Vietnam states there are 276 activists currently in prison, while human rights group Defend the Defenders monitored the cases of 36 convicted in 2019. In 2018, Bao Trung started his Facebook page called Bao Sach (Clean Newspaper) with five other independent journalists [Adam Bemma/Al Jazeera] Vietnams government disputes these statistics, but under the countrys legal system they already have several laws to prosecute online dissenters. Many fear the cybersecurity law is just another layer a way to deter people even from questioning the government. Anh Chi is unbowed, saying he will continue to speak out. He dedicated an entire episode on his YouTube channel to Le Dinh Kinh, the elderly man killed in Dong Tam last week. If they want to arrest anyone of us, they can do it. There are many laws in the penal code to use against us, Anh Chi said. Were ready to defend our human rights. Thats our challenge and our mission. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday will hold an important meeting on Census and National Population Register (NPR) in the national capital. All states Chief secretaries will be participating in the conference except West Bengal. The meeting will be chaired by Minister of State Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai. The meeting will be held at Ambedkar Bhawan in Delhi. The Census for 2021 will be held in two phases, in the first phase which begins from April 1 to September 30, 2020, the data will be compiled for house listing with household-specific information like who is the head of the house, how many people live in the house, what are the facilities in the house, while in the second phase, which will begin from February 2021, the questions will be individual specific. On January 15 (Wednesday), government sources told news agency ANI had said that all states have issued re-notification of the NPR, while Kerala and West Bengal have communicated to the Centre to put it on hold. Sources had further shared that among the new additions in 2021 are that the question related to the gender of head of the household had `male or female` options in 2011, but this time `transgender` option has been added. Live TV Also, there was a question on "Toilet within the premise" in 2011, but this time enumerators will ask about the "access to the toilet" and they will ask whether the toilet is shared, exclusive for the family or public, sources said. Unlike 2011, availing of banking facilities will be asked in the second phase this time. Even as uncertainty over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) looms across the country, the MHA has clarified that the Census data will not seek any documentary proofs. The spokesperson for the MHA said, "No documents would be asked by the enumerators for the NPR exercise. If the respondents want to present documents for verification, they are free to do so. There would be no compulsion from the side of the enumerators." For the first time, this will be a digital census in which officers will be able to calculate data via mobile, there will be a special app for census developed by the government which the officers can use by downloading on their mobile phones. Training will be done in four phases. National trainer, master trainer, field trainer and enumerator will be given training at these four levels. In the first phase, 30 lakh employees will be assigned for this work, last time the counting officer got Rs 5,500. This time the counting officer will include house listing, census and National Population Register, so he will get Rs 25,000. The census survey will include National Population Register (NPR) too. The NPR and census forms will be different. In the first phase of the census and NPR, the household will have to confirm the information given by them. No biometric is be taken in NPR, no paper will be sought either. You just have to submit the correct information. This time these new questions will be included in NPR like; "What is mother tongue, where was the last time the owner of the house was living, place of birth, information on parents?" The house listing process will have 34 questions covering 31 topics. According to the census reports of Indian Census 2011, the population of India was 1,210,854,977. Investing in stocks inevitably means buying into some companies that perform poorly. But the last three years have been particularly tough on longer term Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System Company Limited (HKG:840) shareholders. Sadly for them, the share price is down 58% in that time. The silver lining is that the stock is up 1.5% in about a week. View our latest analysis for Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth. In the last three years Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System saw its revenue shrink by 7.7% per year. That is not a good result. The share price decline of 25% compound, over three years, is understandable given the company doesn't have profits to boast of, and revenue is moving in the wrong direction. Having said that, if growth is coming in the future, now may be the low ebb for the company. We don't generally like to own companies that lose money and can't grow revenues. But any company is worth looking at when it makes a maiden profit. The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image). SEHK:840 Income Statement, January 17th 2020 This free interactive report on Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. A Different Perspective While the broader market gained around 10% in the last year, Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System shareholders lost 19%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 14% per year over five years. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System (1 is concerning) that you should be aware of. Story continues Of course Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK exchanges. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Abducted Syrian Bishops Killed in 2016 Bishop Yuhanna Ibrahim (left) and Bishop Paul Yazici. They died as martyrs, killed in December 2016 by a gang of militiamen who had held them hostage for years. This is apparently the fate of the two Archbishops of Aleppo, the Greek Orthodox Boulos Yazigi and the Orthodox Syrian Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, who disappeared on April 22 without leaving a trace, in the area between the Syrian metropolis and the border with Turkey. An investigation supports this theory carried out by an investigation team led by Mansur Salib, a Syrian researcher residing in the United States, and disseminated through the digital platform medium.com, a new social media connected to Twitter. According to the authors of the investigation, the militants of Nour al-Din al-Zenki, an independent group involved in the Syrian conflict, financed and armed during the conflict by both Saudi Arabia and the USA, killed the two. The investigation traces the story, focusing on details considered useful to reconstruct its dynamics. According to the authors, on April 22, 2013 the two Archbishops had left Aleppo aboard a Toyota pick-up truck, driven by Fatha 'Allah Kabboud, with the intention of going to deal with the release of two priests, Armenian Catholic Michael Kayyal and Greek Orthodox Maher Mahfouz, previously kidnapped by anti-Assad jihadist groups who then controlled the territories east of the Syrian metropolis. Mar Gregorios and Boulos Yazigi, dressed in civilian clothes, fell into what the reconstruction presents as a real trap. The car in which the two metropolitans of Aleppo were traveling was blocked by the group of kidnappers, and the driver Fatha' Allah Kabboud, a Latin-rite Catholic, father of three children, was shot dead in the head. The kidnapping was not claimed by any group. In the following months and years, rumors and announcements about their upcoming release were filtered around the case on several occasions, which then turned out to be unfounded. The investigation now published on medium.com hints at the involvement in the kidnapping of characters linked to MIT (Turkish intelligence service), claiming that the kidnapping and detention occurred in areas that at that time became a "receptacle for foreign secret services", where they could hardly have operated without the support of "ordinary terrorists". The issue of the disappearance of the two metropolitans was marked by misdirections and false and misleading information, such as that which a few days after their kidnapping had said they were released and were heading towards the Syrian Orthodox cathedral of Aleppo, where a multitude of Aleppo Christians gathered in vain to await them. The reconstruction reports information already known, along with allegations exposed without objective findings, including the hint that George Sabra, a Christian leader who has always been close to opposition groups to the government of Damascus, is also involved in the kidnapping of the two Metropolitans. The hypothesis that the perpetrators of the kidnapping aimed to force the two metropolitans to convert to Islam, to fuel fears and despair among the local Christian communities, is also highlighted. The most relevant witness among those mentioned in the report seems to be Yassir Muhdi, presented as one of the jailers of the two bishops, who was later captured by Syrian forces. "The official investigation" acknowledges the dossier "is not yet complete, because it was not possible to find the mortal remains of the two ecclesiastics". Among other things, the reconstruction claims - by presenting blurred clues or by aggregating information without objective evidence - that the two Archbishops were tortured, and that one of them, in 2015, was in a health facility in Antioch, the Antakya Devlet Hastanesi, in the Turkish province of Hatay. In the final section, the investigation claims that the two bishops were allegedly killed and buried in an unspecified place in December 2016, while areas east of Aleppo were about to be recaptured by the Syrian army. In conclusion, the investigation published on medium.com may be useful to clarify details of the dynamics of the kidnapping and the early stages of the segregation of the two metropolitans, but in many passages it does not seem to provide certain elements useful to definitively clarify what was the fate of Boulos Yazigi and Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, Archbishops of the martyred city of Aleppo. The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station in Guangdong province. (Photo/Chinanews.com) By the end of 2019, there were 11 nuclear power units under construction in Chinese mainland, representing the largest number of nuclear power units under construction in the world, and 47 nuclear power units operating safely and stably, ranking third in the world. Since the birth of Chinas nuclear industry on Jan.15, 1955, when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made the strategic decision to develop nuclear energy in China, the country has accumulated enormous experience in such areas as reactor research and development, nuclear power station design, equipment manufacturing, engineering construction, as well as operation and management of nuclear power units, with the countrys capacity in certain areas reaching leading levels in the world. According to the press conference held by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) on Wednesday to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the birth of Chinas nuclear industry, CNNC has built five nuclear power bases in China, with its commercial nuclear power units amounting to 21, and 6 nuclear power units currently under construction. CNNCs nuclear power units generated about 136.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2019, and accumulatively about 969.1 billion kilowatt hours, helping save the world from the consumption of about 390 million tons of standard coal, which would have added about 966.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and about 29.1 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. The ecological benefit of the electricity generated by CNNCs nuclear power units over these years is also equivalent to that of 2.6 million hectares of trees. China has never had a level-2 or worse nuclear incident in the 65-year history of its nuclear industry. The country has maintained a great safety record of its nuclear materials, characterized by the slogan not one gram lost and not one piece missing. As one of the global leaders in industrial security, Chinas experience and achievements in the nuclear industry has contributed significantly to the development of the global nuclear industry. Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal has directed the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to exercise the powers of a "detaining authority" under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980, for the next three months starting January 19 to April 18, under which anyone can face detention during this period. "...the Lt Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is pleased to direct that during the period 19/01/2020 to 18/04/2020, the commissioner of Police, Delhi, may also exercise the powers of detaining authority," the order said. However, MHA has reportedly clarified the order giving detention powers to the Delhi police commissioner was a routine one. The order comes days after the Delhi High Court directed the Delhi police to look into the issue of traffic restrictions on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, where protesters have been sitting for over a month now. They are opposing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and a proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC). The Delhi Police on Friday appealed to agitators to unblock the stretch as the road is a key link between Noida and Delhi. It has been closed by the Noida Traffic Police in view of the ongoing protests for over a month. "We appeal to agitators at Road No 13-A, Shaheen Bagh to understand the sufferings, the complete highway blockade is causing to the residents of Delhi and NCR, senior citizens, emergency patients and school going children," a police statement said, PTI reported. In another development, the YS Jagan government in Andhra Pradesh has also empowered all district collectors, district magistrates and police commissioners with NSA power, under which anyone can face preventive detention for a minimum of three months. The decision has likely been taken in wake of the Jagan government going ahead with its decision to have three state capitals. Edited by Manoj Sharma BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Anastasia Savchenko Trend: Turkish farmers will be able to save about 17.8 million Turkish liras (over $3 million) in Antalya municipality in 2020 thanks to the solar electricity generated by power plants, Trend reports referring to Turkish media. Some 6.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity were generated at solar power plants in the country in 2019. Over 9,000 farmers were able to save electricity worth 5.8 million Turkish liras ($988,314). As reported, 8,430 kilowatts of solar power per hour will be generated in Antalya province till late 2020. Turkish ex-Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak said previously that Turkey plans to invest $1 billion in the development of renewable energy sources. "The construction of new power plants will increase Turkeys energy security," Albayrak added. ----- Follow the author on Twitter: @AnSav2105 A couple who fell madly in love despite having more than three decades between them have hit back at critics 'who have an issue with their relationship'. Mikaela Gressley, 25, from Indiana, Pennsylvania, met her other half Tom Dyson, 60, through a mutual friend in February 2017 and believes it was 'love at first sight'. Going on their first date just a month later, the pair, are now inseparable and even got engaged on Christmas Day last year. But the loved-up couple have been on the receiving end of much backlash due to their 35-year age gap - with Mikaela's disapproving father even 'nailing her windows shut' to stop her seeing her fiance. The pet-sitter, who lives with her partner at her childhood home, says they are now a 'happy family' - yet admits that strangers still criticize their relationship, suggesting Tom is Mikaela's 'sugar daddy'. Tom - who is older than his fiancee's mother - and Mikaela are now sharing their love story in a bid to defeat the stigma around age-gap couples. Mikaela Gressley, 25, met her other half Tom Dyson (pictured together), 60, through a mutual friend in February 2017 and believes it was 'love at first sight' Going on their first date just a month later, the pair (pictured), both from Indiana, Pennsylvania, are now inseparable and even got engaged on Christmas Day last year But the couple, seen above, have been on the receiving end of much backlash due to their 35-year age gap - with Mikaela's disapproving father even 'nailing her windows shut' to stop her seeing her fiance Mikaela said: 'As soon as we met it was love at first sight and then the next month we decided to go on a date. 'I've been attracted to much older men my whole life, so I was thrilled to start dating him - but my parents weren't. 'Tom is older than my mother, so they found it weird and inappropriate that I was in a relationship with a man much older. Mikaela, picture left, says they are now a 'happy family' - yet admits that strangers still criticize their relationship, suggesting Tom, seen right, is Mikaela's 'sugar daddy' Mikaela (pictured with her partner) admitted: 'I've been attracted to much older men my whole life so I was thrilled to start dating him - but my parents weren't' 'Initially my dad tried to stop me from seeing Tom and would nail my windows shut so that I wouldn't, but now they're a lot happier about our relationship. 'Over time, and since Tom moved in, they have a great relationship with him. She added: 'Now it's just strangers who have an issue with our relationship - they call Tom my sugar daddy or tell me to put him down for his nap, but we're hoping that will stop eventually.' Recalling the reaction from her parents at first, the pet-sitter, pictured with her partner said: 'Tom is older than my mother, so they found it weird and inappropriate that I was in a relationship with a man much older' Despite her parents initially disagreeing with their relationship, Mikaela (pictured with Tom) now says that the four of them live together as a happy family The 25-year-old, pictured, said: 'We didn't even ask if Tom could move in - he just started staying over every night and then started bringing all of his stuff Despite her parents initially disagreeing with their relationship, Mikaela now says that the four of them live together as a happy family. She said: 'We didn't even ask if Tom could move in - he just started staying over every night and then started bringing all of his stuff. 'It's great now - everyone gets along, him and my dad are buddies. He does a lot for my parents too so they really care about him now. Mikaela, pictured left, says she now shrugs off comments from strangers after receiving approval from her parents to be with Tom, pictured right Mikaela, pictured above, said: 'Life is too short to be unhappy, so we will always fight for true love, even if it doesn't meet anyone else's standards' 'They learned that he treats me right, and that's we're good for one another. I guess it's safe to say that they figured out it's my life and if it makes me happy that's all they care about. She added: 'I was worried about having my parents approval, but now that I have that I do not care about anyone else's. I shrug off strangers' immaturity and eventually block them. 'Life is too short to be unhappy, so we will always fight for true love, even if it doesn't meet anyone else's standards.' Hank Azaria said he will no longer provide the voice on The Simpsons for the convenience-store owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, whose thick accent and penny-squeezing ways have led to criticism that the character was a racist stereotype. It was not clear what Mr. Azarias decision, first reported on Friday by the website Slashfilm, meant for Apu, which Mr. Azaria had voiced since the character was created in 1990. The producers of The Simpsons and Fox, its network, would not comment on whether Apu would get a new voice or perhaps be retired from the show. In 2017, the comedian Hari Kondabolus documentary The Problem With Apu forced Mr. Azaria, who is white, to reckon with his portrayal of the Kwik-E-Mart owner who speaks with a pronounced Indian accent. The film attempted to trace the origin story of Apu and put the character in a broader context of Hollywood depictions of Indians. In the documentary, Mr. Kondabolu, who is of South Asian descent, called Apu a white guy doing an impression of a white guy making fun of my father. Others featured in the film recounted how the character Apu provided bullies with fodder when they were young. Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, announced his plans to visit the capital of Azerbaijan. First of all, he emphasized that St. Petersburg has good relations with Baku and the Azerbaijan Republic as a whole. "We have a large Azerbaijani diaspora in St. Petersburg, and I must say that we have no problems with Azerbaijan or any issues which cannot be resolved," he said. "We work with the Consulate General of Azerbaijan and personally with Ambassador of Azerbaijan Polad Bulbul oglu, we have developed friendly relations. Our contacts with Azerbaijan are built on a mutually beneficial basis, that is, everything's fine," Alexander Beglov assured. "I plan to visit Baku. This topic will be worked out by the Foreign Affairs Committee, and then I will definitely come to Azerbaijan," the governor of St. Petersburg concluded. The driver of a tanker truck was killed and another person was injured after the truck overturned on Highway 79 early Thursday evening in Blount County, authorities said. The truck driver has been identified but his name was not released because his next of kin was yet to be notified, ALEA Trooper Chuck Daniel told AL.com Another person was injured in the incident. The truck was carrying hazardous material, Daniel said. Seychelles President, Danny Faure, yesterday expressed his delight in visiting Bahrain which he said shares many commonalities with Seychelles being an Island nation. This is a very good visit, a historic one and we are happy to be here, Faure told Bahrain News Agency. He was visiting the Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF). Describing Bahrain and Seychelles as two Island nations, he said, the future of relations and cooperation between Bahrain and Seychelles look promising. On Wednesday, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Faure reviewed bilateral relations and cooperation mainly in the economic, trade and tourism fields. Agreements were signed for exempting visa requirements for holders of diplomatic, private and official passports as well as enhancing general cooperation. Besides, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and the Central Bank of Seychelles, and another on cooperation in tourism. During the BIBF visit, Faure was briefed on Bahrains expertise in the economic and the financial and banking sectors. On environmental issues, Faure stressed that Bahrain and Seychelles face common challenges. We will work together, and in terms of our development as countries, we will continue to develop. Faure and his delegation attended a banquet hosted in their honour by His Royal Highness Prime Ministers Advisor HH Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa. HH Shaikh Salman stressed the importance of exchanging visits between senior officials to expand the prospects of cooperation and achieve common interests. Separately, Faure, accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, visited the Bahrain National Museum and the Bahrain National Theatre. Upon arrival, he was welcomed by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) President, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, and senior officials. The delegates were informed about the Bahrain National Museums role in hosting artistic and cultural events, wide-ranging sections, artefacts, collectables and history of Bahrain since the Dilmun Civilisation. The Seychelles President also paid a visit to the 46th Bahrain Annual Fine Art Exhibition, opened yesterday under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, at the Bahrain National Museum and the Bahrain National Theatre. He also visited the Bahrain National Theatre and was informed about its cultural achievements. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / Lucky Minerals Inc. ("Lucky" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its plans to advance its properties. Lucky will be focusing its efforts on gold exploration in 2020 as it seeks a joint venture partner for the advancement of known copper opportunities on its 550 km2 Fortuna Project in Ecuador. Lucky CEO, Adrian Rothwell, stated "Fortuna is a large project, with multiple known copper-moly-gold porphyry type exploration and high sulfidation epithermal gold targets located on the twelve concessions. We believe that a project of this size offers the potential for multiple partners. Our strategy to focus our capital on gold discovery and to use partnerships to explore for copper deposits should allow us to quickly showcase the potential of the Fortuna Project." Lucky Appoints Exploration Manager Lucky is pleased to welcome Mr. Victor A. Jaramillo, M.Sc.A, P.Geo. as Exploration Manager and Qualified Person. We thank Mr. Alain Moreau, formerly the Company's Vice President of Exploration, and member of the Technical Advisory Board for his services to the Company over the past three years. Mr. Moreau was part of the discovery team on the El Buitre Cu-Mo-Au porphyry target and was instrumental in the Company's acquisition of the Fortuna Project. Mr. Jaramillo is an international geological consultant with over 30 years' experience in regional exploration, mineral property evaluation, resource estimation and mine operations and focused on precious metal deposits and porphyry systems. He was instrumental in the discovery of the La Langosta (Mexico) Cu-Au porphyry, Santa Rosa Au mine and Las Lomas Au porphyry (Peru) and has previously held positions in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and South America with major and junior mining companies as exploration manager, senior project geologist and chief mine geologist. Mr. Jaramillo is a Professional Geoscientist, registered with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia. He is a Fellow of the Geological Association of Canada and Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists. Mr. Jaramillo holds an M.Sc.A. degree in Mineral Exploration from McGill University. Lucky CEO, Adrian Rothwell, stated "It is a privilege to work with someone with such extensive experience in porphyry and epithermal systems in this region of the world. His experience in project review, and diligence in planning and execution will be a welcome addition to the team." Capital Plan Subsequent to the Company's news release dated December 5, 2019, the settlement of a total of $1,569,993 in debts through the issuance of 31,399,851 common shares of the Company has been completed. The Company intends to close the balance of the debt settlement transaction to American CuMo and certain directors and officers of the Company of an aggregate of $114,057 of debt consisting of $4,584 as to technical committee fees, $53,113 as to directors fees, and $56,360 as to consulting fees, through the issuance of 2,281,144 common shares of the Company (the "Final Shares") at a deemed price of $0.05 per Final Share (the "Transaction") upon receipt of shareholder and final TSX Venture Exchange approval. All of the Final Shares of the Company issuable in connection with the Transaction will be subject to a four month hold period. This settlement was necessary to make future capital available to execute the Company's operating plan, including exploration of Fortuna. Illustration 1: Fortuna Concession Map Illustration 2: Fortuna Regional Map Fortuna The Fortuna Project is comprised of twelve concessions and occupies 550 square kilometers within the central cordillera in the heart of a proven and highly mineralized Miocene age volcanic belt which extends from Chile and Peru into Ecuador where significant Porphyry copper deposits have been found. The recently discovered (2018) El Buitre Porphyry System, is a Tertiary (Mid-Miocene) intrusion, which is located along a major NNE regional fault which lies at the junction of a major EW fault. Terra-Spec and multi-elements assays have defined a significant alteration footprint, comprising a phyllic (quartz-sericite-pyrite) and potassic (secondary biotite and k-spar) altered envelope. This alteration coincides with Mo-Cu-Bi anomalous rock Geochem samples which cover an area of more than 2 square kilometers. Mapping and surface sampling completed to date on the El Buitre Porphyry system, is contained within the Fortuna 3 concession. It lies approximately 60 km north-west of the Fruta del Norte mine. At the present stage, the El Buitre Porphyry is an almost ready Cu-Mo-Au drill target. Ground geophysics (IP/res) is planned to help locate the best drill locations. The Company has signed Non-Disclosure Agreements with several major publicly traded and private mining groups to explore the possibility of entering into strategic partnerships, joint ventures or working alliances. While Lucky's management team and board of directors continue discussions with these interested parties, a number of site visits are planned to observe and evaluate the potential scope of the porphyry targets. Exploration Focus for 2020 Priority exploration targets include: Epithermal Precious Metal Exploration: A total of 7 dome-like features within a NE trending altered volcanic belt (Fortuna 8, 9 and 10) have been outlined. Within this belt, are areas of quartz stockwork veinlets in kaolinite and alunite altered volcanic rocks. Some of the quartz veinlets show banded and vuggy textures. Also, coincidental anomalous Au, As and Sb rock chip geochemistry corroborates the location of these highly prospective areas. Initial work will include detailed geological mapping and rock chip and soil sampling. El Buitre Porphyry Exploration: Satellite imagery has identified a caldera-like feature which overlaps the Fortuna 1 and 3 concessions. It contains an extensive phyllic altered area with quartz stockwork veinlets and breccia zones within an area of approximately 3 x 2km. This alteration zone is coincidental with rock chip Cu, Au, Mo and Bi Geochem anomalies. The company and/or a partner, intend to complete an infill rock and soil sampling program followed by ground 3D IP / res geophysics. This work will assist in locating the best drill locations. Emigrant Project Update In November 2015 the Company submitted an application for an exploration license to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality ("DEQ"). Lucky sought and received an exploration license to conduct a modest, first pass, exploration effort on the St. Julian claim block, private property located in the Emigrant Mining District, near Emigrant, Montana. Despite the fact that Lucky only proposed very minor exploration and that the DEQ concluded the work proposed had no material impact on the environment, two local environmental activist groups, Park County Environmental Council and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (the "Plaintiffs") sued in district court claiming violations of Montana's Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) including constitutional implications. The lawsuit proceeded in Park County district court where the local judge found in favor of the Plaintiffs and ruled against Lucky Minerals, the DEQ, and Montana's Attorney General Tim Fox's request that the district court deny the Plaintiffs' complaint and Plaintiffs' motion for vacatur of Lucky's exploration license and thereby uphold Lucky Mineral's private property rights. The district court ruled that not only did DEQ err in granting Lucky's license, but also that the provision in MEPA that limited Plaintiffs' remedy to remand to the agency was unconstitutional. Based on Montana's law and constitution, Lucky and the State Defendants believe the district court was incorrect and have appealed the matter to the Montana Supreme Court. Further to the announcement in the Company's news release on April 23, 2019, whereby the Company stated that it was considering its options regarding the court order for Vacatur of Exploration License, the parties are currently briefing the matter which is likely to be completed in February 2020, with a final decision expected sometime prior to the 2020 field season in Montana. Lucky is optimistic that a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court will allow it the right to continue exploration in due course. Pending resolution of this matter in the Supreme Court, the Company has invoked Force Majeure provisions of the option agreement on the St Julien Claims. Accordingly, option payments falling due and payable prior to resolution of the lawsuit shall be given an extension equal in length to the period of the delay resulting from the lawsuit. Certificate of Default Judgement On January 9, 2020, the Company received a Certificate of Default Judgement for non-payment of a services agreement in the amount of $2,931.35, which was in dispute. The Company did not expend any time or resources on the legal matter as it was considered a minor matter that would be resolved. The Company has since paid the amount of the judgement in full. About Lucky An exploration and development company targeting large-scale mineral systems in proven districts with the potential to host world class deposits. Lucky Minerals owns a 100% interest in the Fortuna and Emigrant Projects. The Company's Fortuna Project is a royalty-free 550km2 (55,000 Ha, or 136,000 Acres) exploration concession. Fortuna is located in a highly prospective, yet underexplored, gold belt in southern Ecuador. The Emigrant Creek Project covers a 15 km2 area in an intensely altered and mineralized porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum system in southern Montana. The Qualified Person as per NI 43-101 is Mr. Victor Jaramillo, P.Geo. who is responsible for the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Adrian Rothwell" Chief Executive Officer Further information on Lucky can be found on the Company's website at www.luckyminerals.com and at www.sedar.com, or by contacting Adrian Rothwell, President and CEO, by email at info@luckyminerals.com or by telephone at (866) 924 6484. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Adjacent Properties and Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: uncertainties related exploration and development; the ability to raise sufficient capital to fund exploration and development; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; increases in input costs; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological or operational difficulties or inability to obtain permits encountered in connection with exploration activities; and labor relations matters. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Company's forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations also include risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by Canadian securities law. SOURCE: Lucky Minerals Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573476/Lucky-Minerals-Announces-2020-Corporate-Plans Russian Lawmakers Approve Putin's PM Choice By Charles Maynes January 16, 2020 Russian lawmakers have given their approval Thursday to President Vladimir Putin's choice of Mikhail Mishustin as the country's new prime minister. The vote came after an extraordinary day in Kremlin politics Wednesday that saw Putin propose major constitutional amendments and accept the resignation of the government of his longtime prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev submitted his Cabinet's resignation shortly after Putin proposed a series of constitutional changes aimed at strengthening the parliament at the expense of the presidency. Putin later nominated Mishustin, 53, the head of Russia's tax service for the past decade but little known to the public, to head Russia's government. Putin's proposals for constitutional reform came during his annual address to the Federal Assembly a yearly "state of the nation" style speech that appeared to lay the groundwork to preserve Putin's influence over the country when his current and final presidential term ends in 2024. Approval of the prime minister and other key Cabinet posts, Putin suggested in his speech, should soon lie with Russia's Duma legislative body, which would now have "greater responsibility" in governing. Putin also proposed that the State Council, currently an advisory group to the president, be constitutionally enshrined with formal authority. "These are very serious changes to the political system," Putin said in outlining the proposals. Medvedev appeared with Putin and his Cabinet within hours of the speech to announce his government was dissolving to reflect the shifting constitutional landscape. "In this context, it's obvious that we, as the government of the Russian Federation, should give the president of our country the possibility to take all necessary decisions under these conditions," he said. In turn, Putin thanked Medvedev for his efforts and appointed him to a new post as his deputy on the Security Council. A Russia beyond Putin The constitutional and government shakeup are the latest chapter in frenzied speculation over Putin's future when his current and final term ends in 2024. Constitutional amendments to ban term limits and a possible union with neighboring Belarus have been among theories widely debated as semi-legal solutions to keep Putin in power. Yet, with Wednesday's speech proposing the neutering of the presidency, Putin appeared to hint at wielding power through new constitutional architecture perhaps as a newly empowered prime minister or member of a more independent security council. Either way, Kremlin critics argued the constitutional moves signaled Putin's intentions to remain on the national scene. "Everyone was guessing: What would this thieving regime do to stay in power past 2024," wrote the political satire account, , or "Thoughts of the Prezident," on Twitter. "Well here we go." "What happened is what we all guessed: There will be no change in the power in 2024," wrote liberal politician Dmitry Gudkov in a post to Facebook. "Constitutional coups can also be legal," he added. Indeed, a separate proposed reform by Putin that anyone running for president must live in Russia for at least 25 years suggested the Russian leader had an eye on potential competitors for the Kremlin seat in 2024. Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a one-time oligarch and rival of Putin's who currently lives in exile, had said he was open to running for the post. The amendment once passed would seemingly bar him from the election. Guns and butter Yet the vast majority of Putin's address reflected Kremlin concerns over growing dissatisfaction in Russia's regions over poor living standards. "In society, there's a definite demand for change," the Russian leader said at the start of his speech, in acknowledging public anger. Putin argued the biggest challenge facing Russia was poverty and "the low wages of a large part of our citizens and families." Putin outlined new efforts to reverse low birthrates as well as make improvements to child subsidy programs for families. He also ordered lawmakers to raise incomes and make improvements to health care and education. Yet observers online mocked the split screen reality of Russia's wealthy political elite many sporting heavy tans after the winter holidays applauding efforts to improve the lot of Russia's neediest. "In the hall sit billionaires with unlimited power, who for 20 years have run the country as they want and promise [and then applaud, as if it's already done] to give hot meals to school children," wrote @StalinGulag, a popular online critic of the Kremlin, in a post to Twitter. Other government critics argued the desire to project change after 20 year was partially behind Medvedev's resignation. "They need to imitate big changes, social programs, concern about people, and an end to stagnation. To make it look like this time they're serious," wrote opposition politician Leonid Volkov, in a post on Facebook. "It's obvious the voters won't buy it," Volkov added. Yet Putin also used the speech to tout Russia's defense capabilities, noting that Russia had deployed several next generation nuclear weapons that were the envy of its global rivals. "For the first time we're not chasing anyone," Putin said. "It's now other governments of the world that are trying to develop weapons that Russia possesses." The line was met with sustained applause throughout the hall. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Forty Chinese immigrants were charged thousands of dollars to be smuggled in yachts from the Bahamas into Florida, according to federal court documents that allege a scheme involving luxury liners ferrying passengers into the country without legal permission to enter the US. Three men are facing human smuggling charges outlined in federal indictments filed this month. Rocco Oppedisano is accused of piloting a 63-foot Sunseeker yacht named INXS Finally with 14 Chinese passengers and one Bahamian aboard during a December voyage, according to a federal indictment filed on 7 January, according to the Miami Herald. In separate cases, the US Coast Guard stopped two ships from entering South Florida and arrested crew members who are accused of bringing 26 Chinese passengers and one Bahamian passenger aboard their ships, which contained more than $300,000 in cash. Federal authorities discovered $118,000 behind one yacht's wall panelling in the master bedroom, according to court documents. That ship's captain, James Bradford, allegedly told investigators that he didn't check whether his passengers had travel documents that granted them legal permission to enter the US. "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Show all 15 1 /15 "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures A road is flooded during the passing of Hurricane Dorian in Freeport, Grand Bahama. AP "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Hurricane Dorian's eye taken by Nasa astronaut Nick Hague, from aboard the International Space Station. The station orbits more than 200 miles above the Earth. Hurricane Dorian, which made landfall on the Bahamas as category 5 and now reclassified as category 4, is expected to continue on its projected path towards the Florida coast. Nasa/EPA "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Buildings damaged by Hurricane Dorian are swept by deep floodwater in the Abaco Islands in The Bahamas. Latrae Rahming "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Tropical Storm Dorian as it approached the Bahamas. NOAA/AFP/Getty "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Strong winds blow the tops of trees while whisking up water from the surface of a canal that leads to the sea in Freeport, Grand Bahama AP "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures A woman walks in a flooded street after the effects of Hurricane Dorian arrived in Nassau, Bahamas. REUTERS "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Uprooted trees, fallen power lines and debris scatter a road as Hurricane Dorian sweeps through Marsh Harbour in The Bahamas Ramond A King via Reuters "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Buildings damaged by Hurricane Dorian are swept by deep floodwater in the Abaco Islands in The Bahamas Latrae Rahming "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures A building is strewn with debris after its roof was torn off by Hurricane Dorian in the Abaco Islands in The Bahamas Latrae Rahming "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Uprooted trees, fallen power lines and debris scatter a road as Hurricane Dorian sweeps through Marsh Harbour in The Bahamas Ramond A King via Reuters "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Hurricane Dorian is pictured from a plane flying inside the eye of the storm Garrett Black/US Air Force "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Inmates from a Florida jail fill sandbags to hand out to residents ahead of Hurricane Dorian in Cocoa, Florida on September 1 EPA "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Residents stock up at Wal-Mart in preparation for Hurricane Dorian in Orlando, Florida Getty "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures A shop is boarded-up ahead of Hurricane Dorian in Cocoa, Florida on September 1 Reuters "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Waves batter a pier in Marsh Harbour in The Bahamas on September 1e Mark Hall vie Reuters It's unclear in court documents why the Chinese passengers tried to enter the US through the Bahamas, but the archipelago has seen a spike in Chinese workers in recent years, many entering the country illegally, as Chinese investors funnel billions of dollars into hotels and resorts in the nation that sits just 50 nautical miles from Miami. Among the passengers on Mr Oppedisano's yacht was Chinese national Ying Lian Li, who was deported from the US in 2019 and was attempting to re-enter the country, federal investigators allege. Federal authorities confiscated more than $200,000 in US and Bahamian currency from aboard Mr Oppedisano's yacht. He told a magistrate judge that he sold property as well as his Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Fiat cars to pay for the legal costs related to his immigration status. He is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court on 22 January. Robert McNeil has pleaded guilty to one count of alien smuggling to make a profit, and James Bradford is awaiting trial in federal court. The Chicago Way is embedded in racism and disenfranchisement of people, Rico said. Without addressing that head on, without us coming together in solidarity not just the black community or the Latino community or the LGBTQ community we believe Chicago is going to turn into a San Francisco and be here for the few and push out the many. - Kayla Willis, a student of Westlake High School, Atlanta, Georgia, has been accepted by over 40 colleges - Willis was also offered KSh 90,872,833 in scholarships from the various universities that accepted her - The brilliant student said she wanted to inspire people and let them know that they could dream big and achieve their goals A student of Westlake High School in Atlanta, Georgia, Kayla Willis, has been accepted by over 40 colleges and offered KSh 90,872,833 in scholarships from the various universities that accepted her. Spelman, Notre Dame, University of Georgia are some of the schools that accepted Willis, but she chose to attend Fisk University, an HBCU, majoring in International Business, Black Enterprise reports. READ ALSO: Churchill Show comedienne Nasra shows off look-alike dad READ ALSO: Dr Ofweneke says he turned 29, celebrates birthday days after birth of his daughter According to Willis, she turned off her phone after posting her achievement. I posted, turned off my phone, clocked into work and I just keep hearing a bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, she said. And Im like, what is going on? Am I going viral right now? she said. READ ALSO: Video yaibuka ikimuonyesha Babu Owino akimpiga risasi DJ Evolve Willis said she wanted to inspire people and let them know that they could dream big and achieve their goals. I wanted to inspire people and show them that you can actually dream big and get to where you want to go," she added. TUKO.co.ke had earlier on reported on a case of a 17-year-old who received acceptance from 24 colleges. RuQuan Brown aka Ru, a multi-talented high school senior made impressive gains after he was accepted into 24 colleges including seven Ivy League schools and 16 full scholarships. Some of the schools included Howard, Georgetown, William & Mary, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Army and Temple University to name a few. Brown remained focused with a clear mission as he continues to make a remarkable impact in the classroom, on the field, and within his community. 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. How we lost our babies at the hands of Kenyan doctors during delivery | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke An obese ISIS 'mufti' arrested in Iraq is so heavy that he had to be loaded onto the back of a truck to be transported. Shifa al-Nima, considered one of the biggest captures in recent months, was hauled from his Mosul bolthole by Iraqi security forces after he was discovered. Dubbed Jabba the Hutt after the slug-like Star Wars villain, the religious leader issued fatwas, or religious rulings, that led to the execution of scholars and clerics and the destruction of an ancient tomb in the city. Shifa al-Nima, considered one of the biggest captures in recent months, was hauled from his Mosul bolthole by Iraqi security forces after he was discovered The terrorist, who could not be transported in a police car, was pictured wedged against a mounted machine gun in the open back of a vehicle last night. It is unclear how the man, reported to weigh at least 300lbs, was removed from his hiding place. Iraqi police said the 'mufti' is considered one of ISIS's foremost leaders. al-Nima, who is also known as Abu Abdul-Bari, has been accused of ordering the destruction of the tomb of the Prophet Yunus, or Jonah, in Mosul, which was carried out in 2014. The ancient shrine was thought to be the final resting place of the prophet by both Christians and Muslims. After establishing the terrorist was too big to go in a police car, security forces loaded him onto the back of a truck A Briton who fought against ISIS in Syria, Macer Gifford, tweeted: 'I'm delighted to say that the Islamic State's very own Jabba the Hutt has been captured in Mosul. 'Responsible for the execution of men, women and children. This animal raped and murdered.' British activist and counter-extremist think-tank founder, Maajid Nawaz, welcomed the arrest and said: 'It is good that Syrians, Iraqis and others witness the debasement of this s***. 'That he is obese, this immobile and this humiliated is yet another blow to ISIS imbeciles who thought God was with them. 'Cue: Jabba the Hutt jokes. It was a good day for the Force and a bad day for evil.' The letter of resignation was submitted on January 17. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not accepted Prime Minister Olesksiy Honcharuk's resignation as he would like to give a chance to the head of government and his team, yet a number of tasks should be completed. "I've decided to give you and your government a chance if you address some of the things that are very important and are of concern to our society today," the president said on Friday at a meeting with Honcharuk, after the latter tendered a letter of resignation. "Now is not the time to undermine the state's economic and political spheres." Read alsoUkraine's PM Honcharuk submits resignation letter According to the presidential press service, the government should give the head of state a new concept of salaries for the heads of ministries, departments, state-owned companies and their deputies, taking into account the situation in the country. "The salary should be normal. We understand that these are very serious specialists, but I want to be on the same page with you and the ministers to know that salaries in Ukraine now should be correlated with the current economic situation. When you and your government achieve economic growth, it will be possible to increase the salaries," the president said. Recently, there have been reports about decisions to considerably increase salaries of ministers and heads of state-owned companies. The ministers who do not want to work for the salary proposed by the government will have to resign, Zelensky said. "Salaries should be normal enough to live normally, and must correspond to the status of officials," he added. He also outlined a number of other tasks for the prime minister. As was reported, audio recordings allegedly from a meeting in which Prime Minister Honcharuk, Finance Minister Oksana Markarova, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Kateryna Rozhkova, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Yulia Kovaliv and other officials took part were made public on social media on January 15. During the conversation, they discussed economic issues before going to a meeting with President Zelensky. On the records, a man with a voice supposedly similar to Honcharuk's, in particular, calls himself a "complete ignoramus" on economic issues. On January 17, Honcharuk said on Facebook he had handed in a letter of resignation over to Zelensky. The president, in turn, met with senior officials of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the State Bureau of Investigation and the State Security Administration, and tasked them to identify within two weeks those involved in the recording of the conversation. In addition, Zelensky insisted that necessary measures be elaborated to eliminate similar incidents in the future and to technically protect information. It looks like all of Khloe Kardashian's time in the gym is paying off. The reality star/clothing designer, 35, looked svelte as ever when she headed to Emilio's Trattoria in Encino, California to shoot a scene for the family reality show. Khloe flattered her ever-shrinking figure in a neutral look which put her curves front and center. Skinny minnie: Khloe Kardashian looked like she'd significantly slimmed down when she stepped out to shoot the family reality show in Encino, California on Wednesday The mother-of-one wowed while out wearing a tan tie-front top over a cinnamon colored tank. Below, she wore high-waisted suede pants which emphasized her thin waist, while tapering down the leg to showcase her slim stems. Continuing her chic look, Khloe sauntered along in flesh-toned Christian Louboutin heels. She also accessorized with giant diamond studs, a delicate necklace and several flashy rings. Totally tan: Khloe flattered her ever-shrinking figure in a neutral look which put her curves front and center Still stunning: Khloe looked curvier in photos taken last summer, seen in June 2019 above Her nude look made it clear that the youngest Kardashian sister has been working hard on keeping fit. Khloe likes to keep track of her progress by sharing her workouts on social media. She's also the personality behind the weight-loss show Revenge Body With Khloe Kardashian and the author of the book Strong Looks Better Naked. Work it! Khloe likes to keep track of her progress by sharing her workouts on social media Questionable endorsement: Earlier this month, Khloe was slammed for sharing a sponsored Instagram post for the brand Flat Tummy, which sells shakes, teas and supplements for weight loss Some of her weight loss strategies have stoked controversy, however. Many have slammed the star for promoting the brand Flat Tummy, which sells weight-loss shakes, teas, and supplements. Earlier this month, Khloe was slammed for sharing a sponsored Instagram post for the brand. 'Ok... Ive posted with @flattummycos Shakes in the past and YES, I also use a personal trainer and nutritionist, but THESE SHAKES WORK to help get your tummy back to flat. Trust me you guys' Khloe wrote in a tweet while sharing a picture of herself with one of the shakes. But commenters were not convinced. 'THESE SHAKES DO NOT WORK. @khloekardashian please stop the false advertising. This can be very harmful to people who've gone through ED like myself thanks,' one commenter wrote. '@flattummyco your product is doing more harm than good.' Another commenter wrote: 'Trust me these shakes work same shakes i drink but i also use a personal trainer & nutritionist. Nothing adds up... how can u even tell its the shakes, when its probs the trainer and nutritionist anyway?! Report back after doing JUST the shakes for a few months.' Upset: Most of the comments on Khloe's sponsored post were negative, with commenters wanting to know why she was promoting such a product According to Forbes, Flat Tummy Co shells out '$200K' for each paid partnership post from celebrity sponsors. Due to backlash from sponsored posts about weight loss products, Instagram has decided to limit what specific users can see on its platform. It will now apply an age restriction on promotions relating to weight loss products for users under the age of 18. This policy will also expand to Facebook. The change in restrictions for sponsored posts might be why Khloe decided to share information about Flat Tummy Co on Twitter instead of Instagram, but that didn't stop her from receiving backlash from the post. Actress Jameela Jamil has been one outspoken critic of Khloe, and her other sisters like Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, for promoting the weight loss products online. The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) has received dozens of documents from listed companies asking to extend the deadline for the disclosure of this year's financial statements. Market regulators must perform effective monitor and sanctions mechanism over listed businesses, violators must be fined or even suspended transactions. Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE) recently sent a letter to the HOSE, asking to delay the deadline to announce this years financial statements. REE requested to extend the deadline for the submission of last years Q4 financial statement, within 30 days of the end of the quarter (December 31, 2019). The company also asked to extend the deadline for the submission of the 2020 reviewed semi-annual financial statement, within 60 days from the end of the first half of this year. REE said it needed more time to prepare the separate financial statements of its subsidiaries and process the consolidated figures. Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ) also requested an extension for last years Q4 financial statement and this years reviewed semi-annual financial statement. PNJ said the company would struggle to complete the publication of financial statements on the due date as it had up to 376 stores and branches as well as four subsidiaries across the country. It also said the compilation of documents, reporting and consolidating reports took a long time. Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company (HAG) faces the same situation. The enterprise attributed the delay to the diversification of business lines and its large number of subsidiaries and affiliates, both locally and in Laos and Cambodia. It was time-consuming to gather data for the preparation of separate financial statements and consolidated financial statements, HAG said. Some businesses even asked for the extension at the end of 2019, such as Nam Kim Steel Joint Stock Company (NKG), Apax Holdings Joint Stock Company (IBC), Techno - Agricultural Supplying Joint Stock Company (TSC), Vinalink Logistics JSC (VNL), Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation (TTF) and Ba Ria Vung Tau House Development JSC (HDC). According to a circular issued by the Ministry of Finance on October 6, 2015, listed organisations and large-scale public companies must publish quarterly financial statements within 20 days, reviewed semi-annual financial statements within 45 days and audited annual financial statements within 90 days after the endorsement of the auditor. If a company fails to submit the financial reports on the due date, the State Securities Commission (SSC) will consider a time extension, but it shall not exceed 100 days from the end of the fiscal year. Some experts said the extensions could easily affect information transparency and slow down investors' access to information. According to the SSC, by the end of January 31 last year, there were 191 enterprises on the three stock exchanges sending extension requests for their 2019 annual financial statements. Phan Dung Khanh, director of investment consultancy at Maybank Kim Eng Securities, said requests for delays happen every year, even every quarter, which highlights the lack of transparency in the Vietnamese stock market. In addition to the reasons for the delays listed above, Dung said some businesses had asked for an extension to distort data. Market regulators must effectively monitor and sanction listed businesses that violated regulations, he added. VNS Foreign investors remain net sellers on Hanoi Stock Exchange in 2019 In 2019, foreign investors bought in shares worth VND3.7 trillion (US$159.67 million), but offloaded over US$4.4 trillion (US$189.88 million). Trump and Lighthizer Reuters/Kevin Lamarque The Trump administration threatened three European governments with 25% auto tariffs if they didn't play ball with Iran and call out its government for violating the 2015 nuclear deal, according to a report from the Washington Post. Officials in Britain, France, and Germany received the threat, and they were stunned at what one European official characterized to the Post as "extortion." Trump previously used the threat of tariffs on European cars to extract additional investment into the US from its automakers. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The Trump administration warned European officials in three countries that if they didn't put Iran on notice about nuclear deal violations, the US government would slap a 25% tariff on all European cars. First reported by the Washington Post, the threat from the White House was conveyed directly to officials from Britain, France and Germany, a week before they accused Iran of breaking the 2015 nuclear agreement. It stunned them. They called out the Iranian government several days after receiving the warning, sparking an enforcement mechanism that would allow the United Nations to reimpose sanctions on Iran to hammer away at its embattled economy. It would also include a full arms embargo. One European official told the Post it was a move equivalent to "extortion" from the Trump administration, underscoring the turmoil in decade-long relationships between the United States and its European allies. British, German, and French officials, though, told the Post they had already planned on accusing Iran of violating the agreement which restrains its nuclear program. But they feared being perceived as puppets of the American government if the threat ever became public. Trump previously used the threat of tariffs on European cars deeming them a threat to national security since they hurt domestic auto industry to extract additional investment into the US from Europe's automakers. Story continues He's blasted the continent's trade practices for allowing a spate of European cars to enter the United States. Such tariffs could increase the price tag of a new car anywhere from $1,400 to $7,000 depending on its size and make, according to the Peterson Institute of International Economics. Read the original article on Business Insider By Adrian Portugal LIPA, Philippines (Reuters) - When demand and prices of face masks shot up after a small yet destructive volcano south of the Philippine capital suddenly spewed volcanic ash, a 61-year-old seamstress sprang into action to help her neighbours. Rosalina Mantuano, a seamstress for 45 years, began sewing dozens of colourful masks using scrap fabric in her atelier and gave it away for free to her neighbours in Lipa city, just 20 km (12 miles) from the Taal volcano. "As a seamstress, I thought what if I made my own masks and give it away for free to those affected. That is what I did," said Mantuano, who makes 100 face masks a day. Many residents and tourists were caught off guard after Taal shot giant clouds of ash high into the air on Sunday. Shortly after the eruption, supply of face masks dropped and prices increased to as much as five times the usual price. The Philippine trade ministry has threatened to sue businessmen and shutter their shops for raising prices to unreasonable levels. Cloth donations poured in when people heard of Manuano's efforts, she said. She has since received cloth donations, allowing her to produce around 400 more checkered, flowery and striped face masks. "A lot of people here needed face masks, supplies were sold out and others were very expensive," said neighbour Remedios Guevarra. Mantuano's son-in-law, a member of a motorcycle riders' group, delivers food and the home-made masks to evacuation centres. Taal volcano is now on its fifth day of continuously spewing ash and steam, with authorities banning evacuees from returning to their homes located in the danger zone. (Reporting by Adrian Portugal in Lipa; Writing by Neil Jerome Morales, Editing by Timothy Heritage) A ncient skeletons, not to mention tales of human sacrifice and brutal executions, always come with a trigger warning, but the theatrically gruesome nature of the past is part of what makes it fascinating. So when I signed up to present Channel 4s newest archaeology series, Bone Detectives, I wasnt expecting to be left shocked and angry not just about the darker periods of our islands history, but about Britain today. No more so than in this weeks episode and the skeletons of 19th-century children found buried under what is now a luxury mall, Victoria Gate Shopping Centre in Leeds. Their tiny bodies tell a tale of neglect, abuse and disease. They worked long hours, in dangerous jobs, at the citys new cotton mills, and lived in squalid, overcrowded conditions in the back-to-back houses that today give Leeds so much of its urban charm. No Charles Dickens novel, no cliched idea of the past, can prepare you for the shock of what this sort of life can do a childs body. Girls and boys so malnourished that at age eight they were the height of a three-year-old. Bodies ravaged by rickets and left scarred by lung disease. And within their teeth, evidence of the true tragedy: they were destined for ill-health from day one, because their mothers were so ground down by daily existence. A lot of people got very rich in the Industrial Revolution, but as archaeologist Professor Becky Rowland, who studied these skeletons, puts it: Their success was built on the broken bodies of children like these. And in a shocking modern-day twist, paediatricians today are seeing increasing numbers of children suffering from rickets and malnutrition. Diseases that should be consigned to the history books are on the rise once more, and just like our Leeds children its happening to the working poor. London has a higher rate of poverty, across all measures, than anywhere else in the UK, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The Trussell Trust reports that in the past five years, reliance on food banks has gone up by 73 per cent in the UK, and in London alone in 2019 it gave away more than 166,000 emergency food packages. Malnutrition leaves a legacy: people get sick more often and they struggle to concentrate, or thrive, or even function. Society suffers as a result. And, as the bones show, this pattern of poor health is passed on from mother to child. A short-term fix would be to insist that bread and flour be fortified with folic acid, calcium and vitamin D, as in other countries. But ultimately big structural changes are needed to break the cycle of working poverty, as the current benefits system isnt working. That might mean higher taxes for some of us, including me, but, having seen what I saw on those childrens bones, it would be worth it to stop the awful effect malnourishment will have on our nations poorest children. MONTREAL - The RCMP says a Quebec man has been charged in connection to alleged online threats made against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Muslim community. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MONTREAL - The RCMP says a Quebec man has been charged in connection to alleged online threats made against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Muslim community. Andre Audet, 62, appeared at a courthouse in Longueuil, Que., on Jan. 9 in connection with two charges public incitement of hatred and wilful promotion of hatred. Charges filed at the courthouse say both alleged crimes occurred between Jan. 1 and Oct. 22, 2019 the day after last year's federal election. The RCMP says in an emailed statement that the investigation was carried out by its Integrated National Security Enforcement Team. Given a rise in online threats, the RCMP says it has focused resources on online surveillance and investigators are now better able to identify and deal with threats made on the web. Spokesperson Cpl. Melanie Cappiello-Stebenne says in an email that the force takes all threats seriously and violent comments are not tolerated. "Individuals who write such comments are liable to severe penalties," Cappiello-Stebenne wrote. "Although the individuals being investigated may not have been in direct contact with the persons or groups they targeted, their comments are just as worrisome and could lead to acts of violence." According to court filings, Audet, of Boucherville, Que., had been given a summons to appear in court on Dec. 19. The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on the charges. "We never comment on matters relating to the prime minister's security," said spokesperson Elanore Catenaro in an email. Audet returns to court on Mar. 24. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2020. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2020) -Orestone Mining Corp. (TSXV: ORS) (WKN: A2DWW7) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that geological mapping has been completed at the Resguardo copper-gold project located 75 km northeast of Copiapo, in Region III, Northern Chile. The mapping was centered on a large IP anomaly and a previously mined copper - gold manto area. The area is shown to be principally underlain by Triassic age quartzites and felsic- silicious volcanic tuffs which have a shallow dip of 15 degrees to the north. The sediments are in unconformable contact and underly Jurassic age andesitic volcanics to the north and are weakly altered to sericite-quartz-limonite with sections of moderate to strong silica-kaolin-sericite and minor copper oxides along fault intersections. Two low angle regional extensional faults, the Fraga and Huella del Guanco, have been mapped across the IP anomaly area (see maps here). Where these faults intersect northwest trending fracture-fault zones, moderate to strong silica-kaolin-sericite alteration and minor copper oxides are present. Additional faulting, alteration and minor copper oxides are also mapped along the east west trending, shallow dipping sediment-volcanic contact parallel to the Fraga fault zone. The Fraga fault has also emplaced younger Tertiary age intrusive over the altered sediments. The presence of moderate to strong silica-kaolin-sericite hydrothermal alteration and minor copper oxides at the contact between the regional extensional Fraga fault and northwest trending fracture zones is thought to be related to a buried copper - gold manto or porphyry system which may be related to an IP anomaly at a depth of 200 m below surface. "At Resguardo we are very encouraged that exploration continues to validate our target model - a large manto or porphyry system. I cannot overemphasize the importance of fluid leakage to surface causing the alteration at the fault intersections above and in close proximity to the IP anomaly. The chargeability anomaly has been outlined over a strike length of 1400 metres, a width of 500-800 metres, at a depth of 200 metres. There is a central core of greater than 20 mv/V over a strike length of 1100 metres and width of 300-600 metres. This exploration program moves the Company one step closer to drilling this very large, exciting target", stated David Hottman, CEO of Orestone Mining Corp. A program of trenching, road access and drill pad construction in preparation for drill testing will be the next step. Additional information will be released as it becomes available. To stay informed of the latest corporate activities please click here to provide consent and receive news and updates. Infrastructure for the Resguardo project is excellent, with road access 75 km NE of the City of Copiapo, Chile along Highway 31. Highway 31 is also the main route to the La Coipa Mine and the northern part of the Maricunga Gold Belt. Gary Nordin, P.Geo, a director of the Company, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Mr. Nordin has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. ON BEHALF OF ORESTONE MINING CORP. David Hottman CEO Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this News Release. This news release has been prepared by management and no regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51596 Our sad obsession with Harry and Meghan, Hepburn, Jan. 15 I read Bob Hepburns most interesting column about the expenses of our ever-increasing number of visits from the Royal Family. I must confess to a mildly curious interest in the amount of money the British taxpayers might contribute to the expenses whenever one of our own royalty (i.e., the Governor General) visits England. Mark Scanlon, Brighton, Ont. Every day we get yet more opinions from your writers on this subject. Theyve covered every aspect ad nauseam and still today there are more, with Bob Hepburn writing about Canadas obsession. I think it is your writers who are obsessed with wringing yet another article out of this subject because after the original flurry, the conversation, in my circle, has moved on. There is nothing new to say at this point. For goodness sake, find something else to write about. Catherine Wallace, Oakville Read more about: The parents of a teenager who was beaten to death in a case of mistaken identity have hit out at the probation services after the killer's worker was 'overwhelmed', an inquest has heard. Conner Marshall, 18, was killed at Trecco Bay holiday caravan park in Porthcawl, south Wales, in March 2015. David Braddon, who had mistaken Mr Marshall for a love rival, had consumed valium, cocaine and alcohol before attacking his victim with a metal pole and kicking him in the face and ribs. Mr Marshall died in the University Hospital of Wales four days after the attack. Conner Marshall, 18, (pictured) was killed at Trecco Bay holiday caravan park in Porthcawl, south Wales, in March 2015 His killer had consumed valium, cocaine and alcohol before attacking him with a metal pole and kicking him in the face and ribs. Mr Marshall died in the University Hospital of Wales four days after the attack Braddon, who had a history of violence, was being monitored by probation services at the time of Mr Marshall's death in connection to his previous convictions for two drug offences and assaulting a police officer. A coroner today criticised the 'woefully inadequate' support given to the inexperienced probation worker who had been supervising Braddon as she was left 'overwhelmed' with casework by her bosses. Assistant Coroner Nadim Bashir concluded the cause of Mr Marshall's death as unlawful killing and identified major failings in probation services at the privately-run Wales Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), including staffing and workloads. But he said Mr Marshall's murder could not have been predicted and that there was no direct link between the failings in probation services and Mr Marshall's death. David Braddon, who had a history of violence, was being monitored by probation services at the time of the attack in connection to his previous convictions for two drug offences and assaulting a police officer Mr Marshall's mother Nadine read a statement after the hearing that said the failings by Wales CRC were a 'direct consequence' of the Government's decision to privatise probation services in 2014. She said: 'Today is the culmination of almost five years of struggle to obtain truth and justice for Conner, and to find out why our much loved son was the victim of a callous unprovoked attack. 'The coroner's findings have vindicated what we have always known to be true. 'That the supervision of David Braddon was not robust and the management system of Wales CRC was inadequate. 'This was a direct consequence of the chaos caused by the privatisation of probation services in this country. The coroner identified seven major failures. 'Had these failures not occurred we will never know whether our son Conner would still be here today.' Mr Marshall's mother Nadine (pictured in 2015) read a statement after the hearing that said the failings by Wales CRC were a 'direct consequence' of the Government's decision to privatise probation services in 2014 Mr Marshall (left, before the attack and right, after) had been mistaken for a love rival by his killer and his parents have now hit out at the probation services Deborah Coles, director of Inquest, who represented the family, said: 'The Ministry of Justice and those responsible for the Transforming Rehabilitation programme must now take a long hard look at the consequences of their actions. 'The rushed privatisation of an essential service was done in the interests of profit over public safety. Conner's death is one of many which relates to these catastrophic "reforms". 'The findings of this inquest and others should be considered alongside the voices of bereaved families, and the probation staff who were in the midst of this chaos, to ensure such failures are not repeated.' Braddon had missed appointments with probation services in the months leading up to the murder and his probation worker was unaware that he had previously been convicted of beating up a partner. Assistant Coroner Nadim Bashir concluded the cause of Mr Marshall's death as unlawful killing but that his murder could not have been predicted and that there was no direct link to the failings in probation services Braddon had stripped Mr Marshall naked before he realised that he had attacked the wrong person and fled the scene at the caravan park (pictured) He had stripped Mr Marshall naked before he realised that he had attacked the wrong person and fled the scene. He was eventually arrested by police in Scotland. He pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life with a 20-year minimum term. Ian Barrow, director of National Probation Service Wales, said: 'This was an awful crime and our thoughts remain with Conner Marshall's family and friends. 'While the coroner found Conner's death could not have been avoided, there is no doubt David Braddon's probation supervision was not good enough. 'We have now taken responsibility for managing all offenders on licence in Wales from the Community Rehabilitation Company and 800 more probation officers are in training across England and Wales which will help to improve public protection.' Jan. 8, 2020, is a date that will never be forgotten. Tragedy struck when the Iranian government shot down UIA Flight 752 on the outskirts of Tehran. Many people around the world, including Canadians and Iranians, are mourning alongside one another. Today, we know more about the 57 Canadians who died with the majority of them being academics, students, doctors and other highly accomplished professionals. But little is known about the remaining 81 passengers with connecting flights to Canada. They endured the hardship of obtaining Canadian visas while facing challenges stemming from the lack of bilateral relations between the two countries; Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran and closed its embassy in Tehran in 2012. A political divide between the countries causes further complexities relating to death, burial and grief. Canada is home to a large Iranian diaspora with some 210,000 citizens of Iranian descent. Yet the absence of a Canadian embassy in Iran makes access to justice and repatriation of bodies a difficult, if not impossible, task. Burial in Canada is a way of embracing a deeper sense of belonging and rooting in the host country. Uncertainty about burial arrangements ultimately impacts bereavement. Such grief turns to a sense of powerlessness, anger and frustration even for a very resilient Iranian community. Delays and interruption to burial cause trauma and emotional limbo while affecting individuals sense of integrity and human rights, particularly when bodies are kept as political hostages by the Iranian government. In the past week, thousands of Canadians have mourned the human loss on Flight 752 by attending vigils to commemorate the memory of victims through narrative, poetry and the lighting of candles. They have launched the Canada Strong Campaign to raise funds for families, particularly to cover the excessive cost of repatriating bodies. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other politicians and academics have taken measures to support bereaved families and ensure accountability. This is an important step for an Iranian community that has endured complex and multi-layered losses over the course of their displacement, migration and integration as well as the traumatic experiences of their loved ones in Iran. The unity of Canada as a collective voice reaffirms a sense of belonging in their home away from home. It is difficult to comprehend that victims relatives in Iran are denied their basic right to mourn and grieve or arrange for the repatriation of their loved ones. Instead, they find themselves confronted by extreme measures used to silence them. Over the past week, the number of demonstrations and subsequent arrests on busy streets of major cities has mounted. For these reasons and more, the focus of our collective bereavement should be placed on collectively demanding justice, acknowledgement, apology, restitution, repatriation, compensation and recognition. Soheila Pashang is a professor in the Faculty of Social and Community Services at the Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Toronto. Read more about: The leader of the Green Party believes the proposed Cork to Limerick motorway makes no sense. Eamon Ryan thinks investment in public transport should be made a priority rather than developing roads. A new French restaurant and bar has opened its doors in the neighborhood. Called Josephine, the fresh arrival is located at 218 E. Portland St. in Central City. Josephine serves dinner and drinks in an upscale atmosphere, and the restaurant's internationally-inspired menu that features highlights such as New Zealand lamb, Chilean sea bass and Beijing-style noodles. The fresh arrival has already attracted fans thus far, with a five-star rating out of three reviews on Yelp. Faith M., who was among the first Yelpers to review the new spot on Jan. 11, wrote, "This was the best culinary experience I've had in a while. Probably the best in Arizona. Everything was fantastic! food, drinks, staff, ambiance. It was the perfect date." Swing on by to take a peek for yourself: Josephine is open from 510 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and 511 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Want to keep your finger on the pulse of new businesses in Phoenix? Here's what else opened recently near you. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Rajeev Sharma Bihar's murky politics is akin to shifting sand dunes which change drastically whenever the storm of assembly election arrives. These dunes are again set to shift as the state is scheduled for elections in November. Yet again one can expect the unexpected from Bihar politics. Signs of that storm have started appearing. On January 13, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union minister Sanjay Paswan heaped praise over Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav a few hours after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the assembly. At a press conference Paswan said, Tejashwi Yadav is an intelligent and energetic leader and has tremendous possibilities. We will welcome him if he is willing to join the NDA... We never said that Bihar should be RJD free. In Bihar, the power of [the] RJD should stay because it is the only opposition in the state, not [the] Congress or any other political party. The BJP leader went on to say that politics is a game of possibilities and that the BJP would form a new alliance if its alliance with Kumars Janata Dal (United) (JDU) fell through. The message was loud and clear and meant only for one person Nitish Kumar. Its fair to deduct that Paswan couldnt have made such a major statement without consent from the BJPs top leadership: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Home Minister and BJP President Amit Shah. The only denial that has come about is from the RJD, which is understandable as the RJD wouldnt like any speculations when the elections are a good nine to 10 months away. The RJD dismissed any chances of an alliance with the BJP when its former state president Ram Chandra Purve said, [The] RJD was formed on the principles of social justice, secularism and socialism. We prefer ideology to power. Yet, on January 16, Shah, while speaking in Vaishali in Bihar, said, I want to end all rumours by declaring this here in the open the next assembly election in Bihar will be fought under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. Lalu Prasad (RJD chief), who is in jail in corruption cases, may go on dreaming that our coalition will come apart. But he should know that the NDA has led Bihar out of his lantern age (an allusion to RJDs poll symbol) to the LED era. This is a typical blow hot, blow cold tactics the state unit leader blows hot, while the central leadership blows cold. Both achieve their purpose of sending the message to a clever but mercurial ally. Clearly, the BJPs leadership isnt happy with the way Kumar has gone hammer and tongs against the BJP over issues such as the NRC, the National Population Register (NPR) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), even though his party supported the citizenship Bill in Parliament and was instrumental in its passing. The BJP was already miffed with Kumar for not restraining JDU leaders such as Prashant Kishor (JDU national vice-president) and Pavan Kumar Varma (national general secretary) for criticising the NRC, the NPR and the CAA. All this is over and above the JDU's demand for more seats for the party within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the November elections. Within a few weeks of the JDU supporting the citizenship Bill, Kumar shifted his position by saying in the assembly that he was open to debate over the citizenship and the NPR issues. He initially agreed to the NPR but has now sought for extra details. What riled the BJP the most was Kumars attacks on the NRC. The Chief Minister not only rejected the NRC but also said he was ready for debates over the CAA and the NPR in the assembly. For the BJP, Kumars recent conduct is reminiscent of its erstwhile Maharashtra ally, the Shiv Sena. Its in this context that the BJP has been challenging Kumar over his claim as the NDAs CM face. On January 8, Paswan said that the people of Bihar are tired of Nitish Kumar and want to see a BJP leader as their CM. Of late, BJPs allies have been sticking out like sore thumbs. While the national party is still smarting under the humiliation the Shiv Sena heaped over it in Maharashtra, in Jharkhand too the BJP found its allies difficult to handle. Consequently, it lost power in both the states. In past 15 months, the BJP has lost power in five states (the other three being Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan) while somehow managing to retain power in Haryana with the help of Dushyant Chautalas Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) after having fought the elections against him. The BJP has started its tug of war with Nitish Kumar well ahead of the assembly polls to rein him in and avert a Shiv Sena-type disaster. Given this, Bihar is now open to every political combination. Matthew Aimers LEVITTOWN, Pa. A South Jersey man was sentenced to six years of probation after pleading guilty Thursday to offenses related to an incident with an underage girl at his wedding in Northampton, Pennsylvania, in 2018. Matthew Aimers, 32, of Willingboro, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor offenses, according to James OMalley, spokesman for the Bucks County District Attorneys Office. Aimers pleaded guilty to simple assault stemming from a fight at the wedding and indecent exposure for an incident involving the teen. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim and he must undergo anger management and must continue treatment with a therapist, according to OMalley. Aimers was charged in a Feb. 1 criminal complaint. The details of the alleged assault and brawl at the Northampton Valley Country Club in Richboro, Pennsylvania, were outlined in an affidavit of probable cause. Related Video: Groom Charged With Sexually Assaulting Bridesmaid Before Wedding The waitress told police that Aimers approached her during the reception and asked her to go outside and make out, per the affidavit. The girl told police she rejected Aimers' advances and returned to work. Later that night, when the teen was asked to check supplies in the ladies room, Aimers allegedly followed her in and grabbed her by the arm, the affidavit said. He allegedly pulled the teen into a stall and closed the door, standing between her and the door. The groom then started kissing her, exposing himself and sexually assaulting him, per the affidavit. 'Taken advantage' of: Pennsylvania groom charged with sexually assaulting bridesmaid two days before wedding The teen said she was eventually able to push past Aimers and leave the bathroom, authorities said. We were absolutely prepared to defend the case and proceed to trial, Aimers' attorney Louis Busico said. However, once we obtained a guarantee of no incarceration, no felony conviction and no registration requirements, we opted to resolve the case so Matt could immediately move forward with his life. Contributing: Sheri Berkery, Cherry Hill Courier-Post. Follow Christopher Dornblaser on Twitter: @chrisdornblaser This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New Jersey groom accused of sexually assaulting server gets probation (Repeats item with no change to text) KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 (Reuters) - India's move to restrict palm oil imports from Malaysia will create a huge challenge for the world's second biggest producer of the edible oil as India has been its top market for the past five years. India, the world's largest buyer of edible oils, last week restricted imports of refined palm oil and effectively halted all palm oil purchases from Malaysia in retaliation for criticism by the Malaysian prime minister of India's policy towards Kashmir. The Indian government withdrew the autonomy of Kashmir last year to tighten its grip on the region, shutting down internet access and detaining activists and politicians. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said recently that Hindu-majority India was "invading and occupying the country" of Jammu and Kashmir. India has been Malaysia's top import market since 2014, according to industry data. Last year, India bought 4.4 million tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia, accounting for 24% of all Malaysian palm oil exports. The second biggest buyer of Malaysian palm oil, China, bought just 2.4 million tonnes last year, while the third largest buyer was Pakistan with 1.08 million tonnes, according to data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Council. Malaysia is talking to the Indian government and trade officials in a bid to resolve concerns over New Delhi's import restrictions, Teresa Kok, Malaysia's minister in charge of palm oil, said on Thursday. She has flagged Africa and central Asia as emerging markets for Malaysian palm oil, and said Malaysia will continue efforts to increase share in the Middle East. But replacing India and getting other countries to buy Malaysian palm oil may not be easy. Indonesia, the world's biggest producer of palm oil, boasts lower production costs and has a bigger share of the market in many palm oil-consuming countries. It has also historically offered palm oil at cheaper prices than Malaysia, although recently Malaysian export prices have slumped below Indonesian rates as Indian buyers retreated from the market. Story continues Leading industry analyst James Fry said India's restrictions will shift Indian crude palm oil purchases from Malaysia to Indonesia, and Malaysia may end up selling more refined palm oil globally. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that India was planning to widen curbs on Malaysia beyond palm oil, a move that could further hurt Malaysian revenue. India is the seventh biggest market for all Malaysian exports, while Malaysia is India's 17th largest export market. (Reporting by Mei Mei Chu in Kuala Lumpur and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Gavin Maguire and Susan Fenton) A Qatar Airways aircraft takes off at the aircraft builder's headquarters of Airbus in Colomiers near Toulouse By Alexander Cornwell KUWAIT (Reuters) - The chief executive of Qatar Airways and a past critic of Boeing managers welcomed on Wednesday this month's change at the helm of the U.S. planemaker as it deals with the grounding of its 737 MAX model following two fatal crashes. Boeing appointed David Calhoun, a former General Electric executive who has been on the Boeing board since 2009, as chief executive and president. He replaced Dennis Muilenburg. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker, who heads one of the Middle East's largest carriers, is a major Boeing customer but has been critical of Boeing and its rival Airbus in the past. He once said Boeing was run by "bean counters and lawyers." "I have huge confidence in the new management of Boeing and I have huge confidence in Mr Calhoun leading the company," Baker said. "I am very glad Mr Muilenburg has gone." Boeing dropped Muilenburg as it became increasingly clear he was making little headway resolving a crisis over the 737 MAX that has cost the planemaker $9 billion, hurt suppliers and airlines, threatening to cut the pace of U.S. economic growth. The 737 MAX has been grounded since March after two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that together killed 346 people. Boeing's development of the 777-9, a new version of its popular widebody jet, has been delayed as its attention is focused on recovering from the MAX crisis. Baker said his airline, a launch customer for the 777-9, expected to receive its first delivery of the model by mid-2021, which he said was later than originally planned. "It is important to note that the delay is not because of any other reason other than the MAX," Baker said. "The whole concentration of Boeing is now getting the MAX into the air." Baker said state-owned Qatar Airways would report a loss in the financial year ending on March 31, but expected to break even in the 2020/2021 financial year. The carrier hoped to be profitable in the financial year 2021/2022, he told reporters. Story continues Baker said the Qatari carrier would continue to fly to Iran and had not lost any bookings during a spike in Middle East tensions, when a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian general and Iran launched missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq in response. A number of flights to Tehran were cancelled last week after the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran, which Tehran later admitted it had shot down by mistake in the tense hours after its retaliatory missile attacks. Many airlines use Iranian airspace, including Qatar Airways which is banned from flying over some Gulf Arab states because of a diplomatic row. (Reporting Alexander Cornwell; Additional reporting by Ahmed Hagagy; Editing by Edmund Blair) Lev Parnas, Rudy Giuliani's indicted 'fixer', has claimed he witnessed President Donald Trump ordering the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine to be fired and he also implicated former Energy Secretary Rick Perry in the saga for the first time. In a whirlwind spree of cable news interviews on Thursday, Parnas recounted his role in President Donald Trump's alleged scheme to pressure the Ukrainian president to announce an investigation into Joe Biden and his son Hunter. He told CNN that Trump had demanded the firing of US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch at least 'four times,' one of which he personally witnessed at a fundraiser at Trump's hotel last spring. 'In the conversation, the subject of Ukraine was brought up,' Parnas said. 'And I told the President that our opinion that (Ambassador Yovanovitch) is badmouthing him - and that she said that he's gonna get impeached - something like that. I don't know if that's word for word.' Parnas told CNN that Trump had demanded the firing of US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch at least 'four times,' one of which he personally witnessed at a fundraiser Yovanovitch has testified that she learned she was being removed from her post in late April Parnas continued, 'and his reaction was, he looked at me, like, got very angry, and basically turned around to (then-White House aide) John DeStefano, and said, 'Fire her. Get rid of her.'' DeStefano was a senior adviser to Trump at the time. Yovanovitch has testified that she learned she was being removed from her post in late April, but it's unclear whether the scene Parnas recounts led directly to her firing. During the House impeachment hearings, some witnesses testified that Trump wanted Yovanovitch out of the way because she was an obstacle to his efforts to secure a Ukrainian investigation into the Bidens. In a separate interview with MSNBC's Rachel Madow, Parnas also implicated Perry, saying that Giuliani had recruited him to lean on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to publicly announce an investigation. Parnas alleges that after Giuliani made the request, Perry called him back and said he had been in touch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and conveyed the message. Parnas also implicated former Energy Secretary Rick Perry (above), saying that Giuliani had recruited him to lean on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Zelensky did make an announcement about looking into corruption, but the Ukrainian leader never mentioned Biden. Parnas said that Giuliani 'blew his lid' when this happened. 'It wasn't supposed to be a corruption announcement, it [had] to be about Joe Biden and Hunter Biden and Burisma,' Parnas said. Perry left the Trump administration last fall after reports emerged that he'd been put in charge of Ukraine policy. 'I don't know him': Trump denies knowing Parnas despite reams of photos of the two together Trump repeated on Thursday that he doesn't know Parnas, and dismissed photos of the two of them taken together as pictures at fundraisers. The president said over and over again during an Oval Office event on school prayer that he doesn't know Parnas, an associate of Giuliani who is facing charges of illegal campaign donations to a Super PAC that supports Trump. 'I don't know him,' Trump told reporters. 'I don't know Parnas other than I guess I had pictures taken, which I do with thousands of people.' 'I don't know him at all, don't know what he's about. Don't know where he comes from. Know nothing about him,' he said. By one count he denied knowing Parnas 14 times. Shortly after his denials aired, Parnas' attorney released yet another new image of them together, this time a video of them speaking at Mar-a-Lago. He used the soundtrack of Together Again on the video. Donald Trump repeated on Thursday as many as 14 times that he doesn't know Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani You sure they didn't speak Mr. President: Lev Parnas' attorney released this video of them together at Mar-a-Lago 'I don't believe I've ever met him.' The House Intelligence Committee released this photograph of the two together in a document dump Wednesday Have we met? I'm sure we haven't! President Trump dismissed a photos of him and Parnas as just taken at a fundraiser You'll have to help me out, I don't believe we're acquainted: Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas (second and third from left) pictured with Vice President Mike Pence, President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani. Pence also denied he knew 'the guy' No, total stranger, so sorry: President Donald Trump alongside Lev Parnas in Florida before his election Really, I can't place him at all: Yet another picture of the two together, this time in the Trump Hotel in D.C. has been released by Lev Parnas' attorney And who are you? No, I'm sorry, never met you. Lev Parnas and Trump at Christmas time in an undated photograph I take thousands of photos: Lev Parnas and Donald Trump have not yet reached that number of pictures together, but there are certainly more than one Great to make your acquaintance for the first time: Lev Parnas and Donald Trump at the door of what appears to be Mar-a-Lago Shortly after he made his comments, Parnas' attorney Joesph Bondy released a video of Trump with Parnas at Mar-a-Lago in 2017. Bondy, who had posted photos of Parnas with Trump and members of the first family, vowed to post more if the president denied knowing his client. The soundtrack to the video 'Together Again' by Janet Jackson. '@realDonaldTrump, the 'I don't know him at all, don't know what he's about, don't know where he comes from, know nothing about him' guy, w Lev Parnas & Roman Nasirov, former head of Ukrainian Fiscal Service, at Mar-a-Lago 2017,' Bondy wrote. He added the hashtags: '#LevRemembers #LetLevSpeak #TheyAllKnew' Nasirov was indicted in 2017 for stealing $2 billion hryvnias (UAH) ($75 million) in tax revenue. He was ordered to pay compensation. Trump, meanwhile, said repeated he only met Parnas at a fundraiser where it's common for a political candidate to take pictures with donors. 'I don't even know who this man is other than I guess he attended fundraisers so I take a picture with him. I'm in a room, I take pictures with people. I take thousands and thousands of pictures with people all the time. Thousands during the course of a year, and oftentimes I'll be taking a picture with somebody, I'll say I wonder what newspaper that one's going to appear in. I don't know him. Perhaps he's a fine man. Perhaps he's not. I know nothing about him,' Trump said. He added that he's also never spoken to him. 'I don't know him. I don't believe I've ever spoken to him. I meet thousands of people,' he said. 'I had never had a conversation that I remember with him.' And he said of Parnas: 'I don't need the help of a man that I never met before.' Trump wasn't the only administration official denying having met Parnas. Vice President Mike Pence told reporters traveling with him in Florida: 'I don't know the guy.' The president also said he didn't know anything about a letter Rudy Giuliani, his personal attorney, sent to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in May requesting a meeting. Giuliani had written to Zelensky in capacity as Trump's personal attorney and requested the sit down. It was revealed in a tranche of documents released by the House Intelligence Committee this week. P.S. WE DON'T KNOW HIM EITHER SAY KELLYANNE AND PENCE.... No, I don't believe we have: Mike Pence was the latest to say 'I don't know the guy,' with an inevitable picture emerging We've never met, of course we can have a photograph: Lev Parnas' attorney tweeted this image just after Kellyanne Conway climbed aboard the fast-moving denial train Lev Parnas with Rudy Giuliani in December 2018 at President George H.W. Bush's funeral service I don't know about this either: DOnald Trump said he knew nothing about this letter in which Rudy Giuliani said he acted with the 'knowledge and consent' of the president in Ukraine Lev Parnas with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump 'I don't know anything about the letter,' Trump said. 'I didn't know about his specific letter but if he wrote a letter, it wouldn't have been a big deal. Rudy was always -- it was very important to Rudy that I be a great president and that's okay with me.' The introductory letter from Giuliani to Zelensky on personal letterhead states it's written 'in my capacity as a personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent.' The letter is dated May 10, right after Zelensky's election. The former New York City requests a personal meeting days later on a matter he doesn't identify. The released documents also show notes scribbled on Ritz Carlton stationary from the Ritz Carlton in Vienna, presumably by Parnas, who was both a client and associate of Giuliani in his efforts to pressure the new Ukrainian president to investigate the Bidens. 'Get Zalensky to announce that the Biden case will be investigated,' reads one notation in large lettering, using another spelling President Volodymyr Zelensky's name. Trump has said repeatedly he doesn't know Parnas nor another indicted Giuliani associate, Igor Fruman. Parnas attorney Joseph Bondy has released numerous photos of Parnas and Trump and Parnas and Trump family members. Parnas has been on a media tour in recent days to talk about his work in the Ukraine with Giuliani. The White House has accused him of trying to stay out of prison. Parnas said Wednesday that the actions taken with the Ukraine where 'all about the 2020' presidential election and keeping Trump in office. 'That was the way everyone viewed it,' Parnas told CNN's Anderson Cooper. 'It was all about 2020 to make sure he had another four years.' 'I mean, there was no other reason for doing it,' he added. His statement disputes the president's claim that his request to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden stemmed from concerns about corruption. Lev Parnas told CNN's Anderson Cooper the actions taken with the Ukraine where 'all about the 2020' presidential election and keeping Donald Trump in office Trump is facing two counts of impeachment on allegations he with held nearly $400 million in military aid to the Ukraine to pressure them into investigating his political rivals. He has denied the charge. But the latest revelations from Parnas come after the House Intelligence Committee released a trove of documents showing Parnas and Giuliani's attempt to meet with Zelensky along with Parnas' conversations with Republican donor Robert Hyde, now a congressional candidate, about then-Ambassador the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. Parnas also charged that Republican members of Congress, who during the impeachment hearings argued President Trump was trying to end corruption in the Ukraine, knew what was going on. 'They all know. They have a conscience,' he said, adding 'it's a shame.' He told CNN his work for Giuliani was all about getting Zelensky or former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to announce an investigation into Biden or Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company that had Hunter Biden on its board until last year. 'As far as I know, the only thing we cared about - and we were the team - was to get Zelensky or Poroshenko or somebody to make the press release announcement into the Biden investigation.' CNN's Anderson Cooper asked him: 'What's fascinating about what you just said is it's not to launch an investigation. ... It's to make an announcement of an investigation. That's what mattered.' 'Right,' Parnas agreed. 'Because nobody trusted them to do an investigation.' He also claimed Vice President Mike Pence was aware of what was going on but added: 'I'm not sure if he knew everything.' Cooper asked him how he knew all these things. Parnas said it's because he talked to Giuliani every day. 'Because we would speak every day. I knew everything that was going on. I mean, after Rudy would speak with the president or come from the White House, I was the first person he briefed. I mean, we had a relationship. We were that close. I mean, we were together from morning tonight. He took me - I mean, every interview he would do, I would be sitting over there while he was doing the interviews,' he said. Parnas also claimed Republican members of Congress - like Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan - who defended Trump knew the Ukraine campaign was not about fighting corruption Parnas worked with Giuliani to try and meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to talk about the Bidens Parnas added that 'everybody that was close to Trump knew that this was a thorn in the side.' He also said former National Security Adviser John Bolton would be a good witness to the events. 'I think Bolton is an important witness. I think we could fit in all the dots. Because he was on the ground there and he was over here,' Parnas said. He added: 'I'd be very willing to testify.' Pence aide Marc Short told DailyMail.com that Parnas would say anything 'in the hopes of staying out of prison. 'Democrat witnesses have testified under oath in direct contradiction to Lev Parnas statements last night. This is very simple: Lev Parnas is under a multi-count indictment and will say anything to anybody who will listen in hopes of staying out of prison. It's no surprise that only the liberal media is listening to him,' he said. Short didn't elaborate as to which witnesses he was referring to and how they contradicted Parnas. White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway dismissed Parnas as an attention-seeker. 'Nobody on TV like that is under oath. And he obviously is desperate to get attention,' she told reporters at the White House Thursday morning. And White House press secretary Stephanie Grishman made a similar charge against Parnas, who, along with colleague Igor Fruman, has been charged with making illegal campaign donations to a super PAC supporting the president. 'These allegations are being made by a man who is currently out on bail for federal crimes and is desperate to reduce his exposure to prison,' she told NBC News in a statement. 'The facts haven't changed the president did nothing wrong and this impeachment, which was manufactured and carried out by the Democrats has been a sham from the start,' Grisham said. Additionally, Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, one of the president's fiercest defenders during the impeachment hearings, admitted he did know Parnas after originally denying it. 'I was in shock when I was watching the hearings and when I saw Devin Nunes sitting up there,' Parnas told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. He added he was also curious as to why Derek Harvey, a Nunes aide he said he worked with on the shadow campaign in the Ukraine, was present at the hearing. 'They were involved in getting all this stuff on Biden,' he said. 'It's hard to see them lie like that when you know it's like that scary because you know, he was sitting there and making all statements and all that when he knew very well that he knew what was going on,' Parnas said. 'He knew what's happening. He knows who I am.' Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, one of the president's fiercest defenders during the impeachment hearings, admitted he did know Parnas after originally denying it Trump asked the Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, which he claims was part of concern about corruption in that country Rudy Giuliani told The Washington Post he felt sorry for Parnas Nunes told Fox News Wednesday evening that, after checking his phone records, he did have a 'random' conversation with Parnas. 'I just didn't know the name this name Par-nas,' Nunes said. 'You know now that he had called my cellphone and I didn't know his name, I didn't remember the name, but I did remember going back where I was at the time you can do that now, you actually know where you physically are checked it with my records.' 'It was very clear. I remember that call, which was very odd, random, talking about random things. And I said, 'Great, just talk to my staff,' which is normal, standard operating procedure,' he added. Parnas also told Maddow he was not freelancing when he collaborated with Giuliani in an effort to get Zelensky to investigate the Bidens. 'President Trump knew exactly what was going on. He was aware of all my movements. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani, or the president,' Parnas said. 'I have no intent, I have no reason to speak to any of these officials. I mean, they have no reason to speak to me. 'Why would President Zelensky's inner circle, or Minister [Arsen] Avakov, or all these people, or [former Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko] meet with me? Who am I? They were told to meet with me. And that's the secret that they're trying to keep. I was on the ground doing their work.' Giuliani told The Washington Post he felt sorry for Parnas in a message that suggested Parnas wasn't telling the truth. 'We all make mistakes,' Giuliani said in a text message to the newspaper. 'I feel sorry for him and his family.' Parnas also claimed that Trump canceled Vice President Mike Pence's planned appearance at Zelensky's inauguration last May after Ukrainian officials refused to announce an investigation into the Biden family. Pence denied the charge and said he didn't know Parnas. 'I don't know the guy,' Pence told reporters traveling with him in Florida and called Parnas' charge that he was aware that all outreach to Zelensky was about getting Ukraine to investigate the Bidens 'completely false.' Parnas' interviews came hours before Chief Justice John Roberts is to swear in 100 U.S. senators who are to act as a jury weighing two articles of impeachment against the president. Parnas and his lawyer Joseph Bondy spoke to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow in an interview aired Wednesday night Parnas said his work in the Ukraine was with the consent of Rudy Giuliani and the president. A trove released Tuesday revealed a Giuliani letter to the president of Ukraine seeking a meeting and citing Trump's consent The impeachment inquiry was sparked by allegations the Trump administration tried to pressure Zelensky to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who served on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma. Parnas, who is accused of federal campaign finance violations, has submitted a trove of documents to the House Intelligence Committee pertaining to his dealings in the Ukraine, a portion of which were made public on Tuesday. The documents included a letter in which Giuliani requested a private meeting with Zelensky, stating that he had Trump's 'knowledge and consent' to make the request. Speaking to Maddow, Parnas insisted that Trump was aware he and Giuliani were working on the effort in Ukraine specifically to hurt Joe Biden, a current favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination. 'It was never about corruption, it was strictly about Burisma, which included Hunter Biden and Joe Biden,' he said. Parnas also said he had no doubt that Pence and Attorney General William Barr were kept in the loop. Parnas said he had no doubt that Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General William Barr were kept in the loop about efforts to dig up dirt on the Bidens Parnas and another Giuliani associate, Igor Fruman, were arrested in October on campaign finance charges for allegedly making $325,000 in illegal straw donations to a Trump super PAC. Asked why he decided to speak out now, Parnas told Maddow: 'I want to get the truth out. I feel it's important for our country. I think it's important for me.' Trump has previously denied knowing Parnas or Fruman, despite photos Parnas posted on Facebook in 2018 of himself with the president and his son Don Jr. Asked about Trump's denial, Parnas said: 'He lied. He knew exactly who we were.' Parnas said that he was 'absolutely' working for the president in his capacity as a legal aide to Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer. Though the Midland County Register of Deeds has been electronically recording documents for several years, the office is now accepting e-records of any document requiring a treasurer's office tax certification. Up until a few years ago, all documents had to be recorded in physical paper form, said Midland County Register of Deeds Julie K. Atkinson. There has been recent a push by the land title industry -- including title companies, banks, etc. -- to be able to remotely submit the documents in electronic form using a small group of "trusted submitters." Companies of this type that Midland County works with include Simplifile, the eRecording Partners Network and CSC eRecording Solutions. "This new ability to record documents requiring treasurer certification is of great interest to title companies, banks, and attorneys, as it gives them another, easier way to get documents recorded," Atkinson said. "There are over 200 types of documents that must be recorded in my office and any time you don't have to shuffle paper back and forth it is a win for both the submitter and the recorder." Atkinson said two-thirds of the 86 counties in Michigan now use e-recording, with only about half of those accepting all the document types. "This has been a bit slow to roll out as there is an expense incurred by the registers of deeds to begin accepting documents this way," Atkinson said. "It requires working with our various software providers to enable this technology to work." Any electronically recorded document that comes to the register with a scanned image from the trusted submitter is downloaded into their recorded documents after electronically applying the identifying Liber & Page reference. Atkinson said there are documents in her office recorded back to 1855, each having been assigned a unique Liber & Page. All of these documents can be found online in a searchable data base. Some types of documents still call for submission in paper form, including death certificates and court documents requiring a raised court seal. The register of deeds reserves the right to reject any document that does not meet recording requirements, and may request any document be submitted in a paper format. Those with further questions about the submission process is encouraged to call Atkinson at 989-832-6820. Eye-catching: Kevin Michael, from North Carolina, has been charged with kidnapping, forcible sexual offense and a slew of drug-related charges, accused of keeping a woman in 'sexual servitude' A North Carolina man with an eye-catching face tattoo has been arrested on a slew of charges, including kidnapping and sexual assault, after authorities say a woman he was holding captive in his home attempted to escape in an SUV. According to the Davidson County Sheriff's Office, the victim rammed the vehicle through the garage door on Kevin Michael's property in Thomasville, and struck a deputy who had arrived at the scene in response to a call about a 'disturbance' early Tuesday morning. When the woman driving the SUV refused to stop, the deputy opened fire and wounded her. She was taken to a hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. Investigators say she will not face any charges for hitting the deputy, who was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released. Michael, 59, whose mugshot displays a massive tattoo in the middle of his forehead consisting of a winged eyeball, has been charged with counts of kidnapping, forcible sex offense, manufacturing crack cocaine, possession with intent to sell and distribute cocaine, manufacturing in a dwelling or place of business and possession of drug paraphernalia, reported The Dispatch. Scroll down for video The victim attempted to flee Michael's home in Thomasville, North Carolina (pictured), on Tuesday by crashing an SUV through the garage door The victim struck a sheriff's deputy standing outside and was shot and wounded after refusing to stop the vehicle, sheriff's office says Arrest warrants allege that Michael had abducted the victim to hold her in 'sexual servitude' against her will. The twisted case began unfolding shortly before 8am on Tuesday, when deputies responded to Michael's property at 152 Kanoy Road after deceiving a 911 call from a woman saying she was being 'attacked.' Michael has a lengthy criminal record eplete with drug charges involving cocaine and meth (pictured in an old mugshot) As deputies were trying to locate the caller, an SUV smashed through the garage door of the converted warehouse and hit a deputy who was standing in the parking lot, reported MyFox8. The alleged victim of the kidnapping was alone inside the SUV and did not stop, prompting officers to shoot at her. She was rushed to Wake Forest Medical Center, where her condition was listed as stable. According to investigators, the woman was held against her will by Michael for an unknown of time and sexually assaulted on at least two occasions. Records indicate that Michael has a lengthy criminal record, which includes charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to see, possession of cocaine, a weapons charge and altering criminal evidence, to name a few. The suspect is being held in the county jail on bonds totaling $1million. His next court date in the kidnapping case has been scheduled for March 9. OTTAWAThe federal government will provide immediate financial help to the families of the Canadian victims killed when their Ukrainian commercial flight was shot down over Tehran but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he expects Iran to ultimately provide full compensation to relatives. Trudeau said that Ottawa will be giving families $25,000 for each of the 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents on board Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 that was downed by an Iranian missile strike on Jan. 8. In all, 176 passengers and crew were killed. Calling the situation unique and unprecedented situation, Trudeau portrayed Canadas compensation as a stopgap measure driven by the needs of the families. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa will pay families $25,000 for each of the 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents who died when Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet. Trudeau says the money is intended to cover the cost of funeral arrangements or travel, and it's on top of an earlier commitment to waive fees and speed up processing times for visas for those affected by the crash. The government still expects Iran to compensate the families, Trudeau says, but that process could take years to play out. (The Canadian Press) I want to be clear. We expect Iran to compensate these families. I have met them. They cant wait weeks. They need support now, Trudeau said. This is immediate assistance for a range of needs they might have. It is not the compensation we expect will come and should come from Iran in due course, he said. News of the compensation came on a day when Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne met with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif in a rare diplomatic tete-a-tete between two nations that broke off formal ties in 2012. During the meeting in Muscat, Oman, Champagne pressed demands of the group of nations Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom that all lost citizens in the crash. In a statement issued after a Friday meeting in London, the nations called for unhindered access to Iran to provide consular services and an independent and transparent investigation. They also want to ensure that Iran assumes full responsibility and recognizes its duties towards the families of the victims and other parties including compensation. Zarif expressed profound regret for the tragedy, according to a summary of the meeting provided by Champagnes office. Iran initially denied it was responsible for the disaster but then acknowledged it was to blame, saying that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 had been mistaken for a hostile target at a time when its defences were on high alert. Just hours before the attack, Iran had launched missiles at Iraqi military bases housing U.S. and coalition forces. In Ottawa Friday, Trudeau continued to press Canadas case that Iran must be held accountable for downing the commercial jet, which the prime minister has said was likely unintentional. Our government is firmly committed to holding Iran accountable for those whove lost a loved one and that includes financial compensation, he said. Trudeau said the funds which he said would be dispersed as quickly as possible are intended to help families with immediate financial needs, such as funeral arrangements and travel costs. And he said it was driven by conversations that he and others in government have had with grieving loved ones across Canada about pressing financial worries. Everything from bills that are coming in to credit cards that are maxed out to real questions about how to get back to Iran to support their families there or bring people over at a time where air travel is increasingly limited in the region and expensive, Trudeau said. The prime minister said he expects the first of the bodies to be returned in the coming days. So far, about 20 families have asked to have the bodies of their relatives returned to Canada and that so far, Iran has facilitated their requests. Trudeau said that the jets cockpit voice and flight data recorders the so-called black boxes were significantly damaged and that Iran lacks the expertise and equipment to retrieve the data. He said that Canada and other nations are encouraging Iran to send the boxes to France, where officials have offered to do the work. There is a beginning of a consensus that would be the right place to send those black boxes to get proper information from them in a rapid way, Trudeau said. Why civilian flights were not grounded at a time of heightened military tensions is among the questions to be answered by the investigation, Trudeau said. Obviously, there will be many aspects of what happened on that terrible night to be reflected on and to take measures on but it would be premature to speculate on areas of responsibility or exactly what could have been done differently until we have all the facts, he said. As well, he said that next steps such as criminal proceedings hinge on the results of the ongoing crash investigation. We certainly are calling for justice and for criminal steps to be taken if that is what the investigation leads to, as it likely looks like it will, he said. Meanwhile Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says theres no timeline yet when Canadian troops will resume training activities in Iraq. That work was suspended amidst the tensions in the wake of the U.S. airstrike that killed a prominent Iranian general. That in turn is what prompted Irans missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing U.S. and coalition forces, including one in Erbil with Canadian personnel. The training missions were paused and some Canadians were evacuated to a safer site in Kuwait. We will assess the security situation on the ground to making sure that it is conducive to resume training. But until that situation changes, training will not resume, Sajjan told reporters in a conference call from Jordan, following an earlier visit to Kuwait. There have been reports that American troops got several hours warning of the Iranian strike on the Iraqi facilities, allowing personnel and equipment to be moved to safety. Sajjan refused to say whether Canadian forces knew of the attack ahead of time too. All steps were taken for the protection of our soldiers. They were moved into protected areas at the appropriate time. We were thankful no one was injured, he said. Correction - Jan. 21, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran more than a decade ago. Read more about: The Mumbai police has launched a massive manhunt for Dr Jalees Ansari who earned the sobriquet of Dr Bomb after he went missing from his residence in Mominpura area in south Mumbai on Thursday early morning. Ansari was serving life imprisonment in Ajmer central prison in Rajasthan but was brought to Mumbai and kept in Arthur Road jail. He was released from Arthur Road jail on parole a month ago and supposed to report back on January 17 by 11 am, said a Mumbai crime branch officer. Ansari had been accused of plotting and executing several bomb blasts across the country in early nineties to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid. Ansari allegedly helped set off a series of 43 explosions in Mumbai and Hyderabad and seven separate explosions on trains on December 6, 1993, the first anniversary of the Babri Masjids demolition. Later, he was convicted for carrying out blast in trains. Ansaris wife approached Agripada police station on Thursday after they found Ansaris phone switched off and tried all possible means to locate him but could not establish any contact with him. The Mumbai police along with Anti-Terrorism Squad, Mumbai crime branch and several other wings of Mumbai police have been alerted and have been looking for him, police said. For Ansari it all began in 1985, at a meeting in the Ahl-e-Hadis Mosque in Mominpura, Mumbai. Activists of the Ahl-e-Hadis ultra-conservative Gorba faction had gathered to speak about the need for armed Muslim resistance to the wave of communal violence in India since early that year. One the speakers was Azam Ghauri, the fifth of 11 children from an impoverished family in Andhra Pradesh, had flirted with the Peoples War Group (PWG) before discovering religion and becoming a dreaded Lashkar-Taiba operative. With Ghauri was Abu Masood, a Gorba preacher from West Bengal , and Abdul Karim Tunda (for he has a deformed arm). The latter went on to become the LeTs top operative in India. At the end of the meeting, they formed the Tanzim Islahul Muslimeen (TIM), an organisation committed to the defence of Muslims during communal riots. TIMs early activities were mildly farcical. Ghauri and Tunda held drills at the YMCA ground in Mominpura, teaching their cadre unarmed combat techniques as well as the use of lathis. Among their most enthusiastic recruits was Jalees Ansari, son of a worker at the now-closed Raghuvanshi Mill on Tulsi Pipe Road. Ansaris father, who had arrived as a labourer from Uttar Pradesh had saved enough to give his children a future. In 1972, Ansari graduated from the Maratha College at Nagpara, and went on to study at the Sion Medical College. After a brief stint at private practice, he joined the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as a Junior Medical Officer. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A Canadian court on Monday will consider a US request to hand over Chinese tech executive Meng Wanzhou, whose arrest 13 months ago on fraud charges plunged Canada-China relations into a deep freeze. The extradition hearing comes after Beijing detained two Canadians and blocked billions of dollars worth of Canadian agricultural shipments in apparent retaliation for Meng's arrest. Taking her into custody also stuck Canada in the middle of a row between China and the US, which views Huawei as a security risk. Some observers are hoping for her release at the end of the five-day hearing focused on whether the US accusations are also a crime in Canada. This is a key test in determining if she should be extradited to the United States to face trial. Others -- including a former Canadian prime minister -- are urging Justice Minister David Lametti to step in and quash the proceedings and release Meng in a bid to normalize Canada-China relations. "The minister of justice has the power to stop extradition proceedings at any time," legal scholar Gary Botting told AFP, noting it has been done in other cases on compassionate grounds. China's ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, has said Meng's release was a "precondition" for improved bilateral ties. Ottawa, however, has maintained it will not interfere in the legal process, while enlisting allies' help in pressuring Beijing to release the two Canadians. "The most obvious way to end this is to release her," Botting said, adding that Ottawa was "naive" to jeopardize its own interests to satisfy the US extradition request. "It was predictable that China would not be happy, and Canada could have avoided the fallout," he said. Meng was arrested on December 1, 2018 after disembarking on a stopover from a Hong Kong-to-Mexico flight, prompting an angry response from Beijing. - Sanctions-busting bank fraud - The United States alleges Meng lied to HSBC about Huawei's relationship with its Iran-based affiliate Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Iran. Story continues "Simply put, there is evidence she deceived HSBC in order to induce it to continue to provide banking services to Huawei," the US justice department said in court filings. Meng has denied the allegations. She has been out on bail, living in one of her two Vancouver mansions for the past year, awaiting trial. The US justice department has said in arguing for her extradition that the fraud allegations against Meng would be considered a crime in Canada if they had occurred here. Her lawyers, however, insist the misrepresentations do not amount to fraud, but rather are an attempt by the United States to enforce its sanctions against Iran -- which Canada has not matched. Meng's father and Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told the Globe and Mail that he'd thought his daughter's arrest was due to a "misunderstanding," but after the US imposed strict export controls on Huawei in May, he sensed the US was plotting "to crush Huawei, and Meng Wanzhou was only used as a pawn." Chinese officials speaking to their Canadian counterparts have also reportedly cast her arrest as "a Canadian-US political conspiracy." Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien and his ex-deputy John Manley have urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to simply release Meng in what Manley described as a "prisoner swap" for former Canadian diplomat Michael Spavor and businessman Michael Kovrig. The pair were, as Ottawa claims, "arbitrarily detained" nine days after Meng's arrest and accused of espionage. That, however, risks legitimizing Beijing's "hostage diplomacy" tactics, according to leading extradition experts consulted by AFP. Some warned such a move could also strain Canada-US ties. But Botting opined: "I don't think the US would give it a second thought if Canada refused to extradite her. "Canada has been swept up in this, but the US couldn't give a damn, frankly," he said. If the judge rules that the so-called double criminality test has not been met, Meng could be freed as early as the end of next week. Otherwise, the hearing will proceed to a second phase in June when defense arguments that Canadian and US authorities conspired to nab Meng as part of a "covert criminal investigation" would be heard. GENEVA, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), released a report today that examines the current state of climate action by companies and governments and provides insights about the actions that corporations, governments, and civil society can take now, both collectively and individually, to limit global warming. The report, which will be presented at the WEF annual meeting in Davos-Klosters, is titled, The Net Zero Challenge, in recognition of the need to move to net-zero emissions globally by 2050. The Net Zero Challenge concludes with actions that companies, governments, investors, and individuals can take to start reducing emissions in 2020. The year 2020 marks the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, which committed world leaders to limiting global warming to well below 2C. However, greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise at a rate of 1.5% per annum over the past decade. A reduction of >5% per annum is now needed through 2030 to limit the worst impacts of global warming and net-zero carbon emissions must be reached by 2050. Business and Investors Should Accelerate Actionin Their Own Interest All 20-plus CEOs and 14 climate experts who were interviewed for the report highlighted the need to accelerate climate actionboth as a moral imperative and as a business opportunity. The analysis, based on the responses of nearly 7,000 companies to the CDP climate questionnaire, shows that not enough is being done by companies today, with only a small minority disclosing their emissions and even fewer setting any kind of emission reduction target. The Net Zero Challenge examines the ways in which climate action can be seen as a source of competitive advantage for companiesas a means of reducing costs by increasing efficiency, fulfilling the needs of increasingly climate-conscious customers, and attracting the best possible talent. It emphasizes that businesses should be accelerating efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of their operations and that of their supply chains, to manage their climate-related investment risks, and to innovate to refocus their business models for growth in a decarbonized world. The report shows how investors, too, need to play a pivotal role in triggering and facilitating climate action, as they have an inherent interest to "de-risk" the terminal value of their investments by pushing for more transparency and disclosure and by supporting longer-term corporate decarbonization plans. Where financial or structural barriers prevent businesses from moving forward, ecosystem initiatives can enable collaboration among industry peers or along value chains to provide risk-sharing mechanisms and help accelerate the speed and scale of change. "A Paris-compatible pathway implies a significant, sometimes existential, transformation for many companies. Innovation is needed, and many businesses can look for growth in new markets for lower-carbon products and services," said Cornelius Pieper, a BCG partner and coleader of the firm's Center for Climate Action. A Call for Unilateral Government Action and Individual Leadership Progress among policymakers has been limited to date. While 121 countries now have an ambition to be carbon-neutral by 2050, they together account for less than 25% of global emissions. None is among the top five emitters, and very few have enacted policies that are robust enough to produce the desired effects. The report calls for accelerated unilateral policy action from governments to set the context needed for companies to decarbonize, such as by implementing carbon pricing and other sector-specific regulations and incentives. "The good news is that governments can act unilaterally to reduce emissions, as many countries can benefit economically from carbon abatement investments. What is needed is an ambitious policy context that includes a meaningful carbon price, supported by incentives and other measures," said Patrick Herhold, a BCG partner and coleader of the Center for Climate Action. The report also stresses that educated voters and consumers are a crucial enabler of the low-carbon transition - better information is needed across all channels about what it will take to achieve net-zero emissions, and communications need to focus on solutions and the benefits of change. We each have a responsibility to deliver a safer world as leaders in business and in policy, and as parents. "Climate action is still too often perceived as a cost or a tradeoff with other priorities," said Michel Fredeau, a BCG senior partner and leader of the firm's work in climate and the environment. "It should be viewed as an opportunity for businesses, countries, and individuals to create an advantage in building a better, more sustainable world." The Net Zero Challenge concludes with actions that companies, governments, investors, and individuals can take to start reducing emissions in 2020. A copy of the report can be downloaded here. To arrange an interview with one of the authors, please contact Eric Gregoire at +1 617 850 3783 or [email protected]. About Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we help clients with total transformationinspiring complex change, enabling organizations to grow, building competitive advantage, and driving bottom-line impact. To succeed, organizations must blend digital and human capabilities. Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives to spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting along with technology and design, corporate and digital venturesand business purpose. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, generating results that allow our clients to thrive. Boston Consulting Group Eric Gregoire Global Media Relations Senior Manager Tel +1 617 850 3783 [email protected] SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Related Links http://www.bcg.com UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia Rhona Smith (L) speaks to reporters at a press conference in Phnom Penh, May 9, 2019. Three United Nations human rights experts on Friday expressed concerns over the treason trial of Cambodias opposition leader Kem Sokha, saying the entire process has been beset by irregularities and calling for an end to the charges against him. We have strong grounds to believe that the treason charge against Mr. Sokha is politically motivated and forms part of a larger pattern of the misapplication of laws to target political opponents and critics of the Government, U.N. Special Rapporteurs Rhona Smith, David Kaye, and Diego Garcia-Sayan said in a statement. The entire process of Mr. Sokhas arrest and detention has been tainted by irregularities, and clear neglect of international human rights law and Cambodian law, said the experts, who are the rapporteurs on the situation on human rights in Cambodia, the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the independence of judges and lawyers, respectively. Kem Sokha, 66, was arrested in September 2017 and charged with treason over the video. He maintains his innocence and his lawyers have said that prosecutors lack evidence to convict. Two months after Kem Sokhas arrest, Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved his Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) for its role in the alleged plot and banned 118 of its officials from political activities. The move to dissolve the CNRP was part of a wider crackdown by Prime Minister Hun Sen on the political opposition, NGOs, and the independent media that paved the way for his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in parliament in the countrys July 2018 general election. The experts noted Friday that Kem Sokha was taken into custody without an arrest warrant and with disregard for his parliamentary immunity privileges, as he was an elected CNRP lawmaker in the National Assembly at the time. He was also denied access to a lawyer in the early stages of his detention, and was ultimately held in pre-trial detention for a period that exceeded the maximum period permissible under Cambodian law, they said, noting that in an opinion reached in 2018, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Kem Sokhas detention was arbitrary. On Wednesday, prosecutors kicked off Kem Sokhas treason trial by showing a two-minute clip of a video they say is proof that he colluded with the U.S. to try to overthrow Cambodias government, but his lawyer Meng Sopheary said at the time that the context of the full hour-long video was missing. The video cited as evidence by the court was recorded in 2013 and shows Kem Sokha discussing a strategy to win power at the ballot box with the help of U.S. expertsthough the U.S. Embassy had rejected any suggestion that Washington was interfering in Cambodian politics at the time of his arrest in 2017. The CNRP chief faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. In their statement on Friday, the U.N. Special Rapporteurs also expressed serious concern over public comments by some senior officials in relation to Kem Sokhas case that they said could jeopardize his right to a fair hearing and influence the outcome of his trial. A lack of public access to the courtroom, which was limited primarily to members of the diplomatic corp, also puts in question the fairness of his trial, they said. On Thursday, a group of 82 Cambodian NGOs and the U.S. Embassy issued separate statements urging authorities to allow greater access to the hearings. Lastly, the U.N. experts reiterated their call on Cambodian authorities to ensure justice for Mr. Sokha, immediately remove the restrictive bail conditions he faces, reinstate his political rights, and ensure his right to compensation and other reparations. Government responds In response, the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the U.N. Office at Geneva issued a statement saying it is disturbed with, and deplores the press release outlining the Special Rapporteurss concerns, which it called politically motivated and totally intending to mislead the public about Kem Sokhas trial. The Mission said that Kem Sokhas parliamentary immunity did not allow him to act with impunity and that no crime can be justified by some personal or political motive, adding that all legal actions taken against the opposition leader are in full conformity with relevant laws of the country. It dismissed the Special Rapporteurs reference to Kem Sokhas detention as arbitrary, saying that the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has no knowledge of the legal and political situation in Cambodia, and that their opinion carries no weight upon a sovereign state. The Mission also waved off the U.N. experts concerns over lack of access to the courtroom, saying it demonstrated that their assessment of Cambodia relies upon unverified and unreliable sources of information, and suggesting that in any democratic country, access to the courtroom is always at the discretion of the court, based on space, order and conduct of the proceedings. Finally, the Permanent Mission called on the rapporteurs to avoid making statements that can be construed as an interference in the judiciary system of Cambodia. Trial without evidence Also on Friday, acting CNRP president Sam Rainsy told RFAs Khmer Service that Kem Sokhas trial amounts to a political show that will lead to Cambodias condemnation by the international community. Kem Sokha is being tried without evidence and shows the world that Hun Sen has miscalculated, he said in an interview from Paris, where he has lived in self-imposed exile since 2015 to avoid a strong of what he says are politically motivated charges and convictions. The world is condemning [Hun Sen]. I have been waiting for this [trial] for a long time. Hun Sen is facing an impasse and I am happy to see it. Sam Rainsy said Hun Sen hopes to draw out the trialhearings for which are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday each weekfor as long as he can, but the acting CNRP chief called on members of his party to do everything possible to quickly end the trial, capitalizing on a lack of evidence to convict. We must do what we can to demonstrate that Kem Sokhas trial is just a show, he said. Ministry of Justice spokesman Chhin Malin told RFA that nothing can interfere with the affairs of the court. No amount of criticism, including from Kem Sokhas supporters and ex-CNRP members, will impact on the courts decision, he said. Activists barred Meanwhile, CNRP activists in Svay Rieng provinces Romdul district told RFA on Friday that they had been barred from leaving their homes during Kem Sokhas trial proceedings on Jan. 15 and 16. Activist In Sary told RFA that Romdul district police deployed forces to monitor his activities and prevented him and other CNRP supporters from leaving their houses because authorities were afraid they would travel to Phnom Penh to monitor Kem Sokhas trial. The authorities asked us to seek their permission if we want to leave our houses, he said, adding that he had been prevented from buying food and medicine for his grandchild. I dont understand what I have done wrong, he added. Srey Samol, an officer with the police in Romduls Sangke commune, rejected the activists accounts, telling RFA, We didnt do anything. Nuth Bopinaroth, the Svay Rieng coordinator for Cambodian rights group Licadho, confirmed to RFA that several activists in the province were placed under surveillance and prevented from leaving their homes, adding that police had violated the rights of the people guaranteed by the constitution, simply because they want to observe Kem Sokhas trial. Human rights are declining dailyit was awful that the police monitored the community, he said, adding that such violations affect peoples businesses and disrupt public unity. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a knowing smile when the only hiccup of Thursday's formalities got resolved: After a brief pause, Chief Justice John Roberts realized he had to gavel the impeachment trial out of session, adjourning until Tuesday. McConnell, R-Ky., got the day's ending he had hoped for, a Senate looking somber and serious as it conducts President Donald Trump's impeachment trial. A Senate that might, as he put it a day before, be capable of rising above "short-termism and factional fever." But that fever lingers as the sides jockey for position when the real phase of the trial kicks in, with early skirmishes about calling witnesses getting overtaken by talks about what limits could be placed on the presentation of evidence. And the biggest issue, some senators say, could come when Trump's legal team takes its allotted time to rebut the case from the House impeachment managers. So far, more than four months after the Ukraine scandal broke, Trump and his advisers have given sparse explanations for their side of the story. The White House press office quit holding a daily briefing many months ago, leaving public comments to those moments when Trump engages in impromptu gaggles with the media. His lawyers sent angry letters to House Democrats during their impeachment proceedings that denounced what Trump considered "profound procedural deficiencies" but did not spell out the facts of the case. The president declined to send his legal team to the House Judiciary Committee's hearings, instead leaving his GOP allies to make arguments on his behalf. McConnell, knowing that he has the votes to acquit Trump, does not want the Senate trial to come off looking anything like the partisan brawl in the House or a typical Trumpian event. With a handful of GOP incumbents facing difficult reelection bids in November, McConnell wants a quick, clean, dignified trial to protect their political fortunes as well as his own. That's why some Democrats believe his defense team could provide the most dramatic moment of the trial. "I think they have to make a choice when the lawyers show up to the Senate, so that's kind of a fulcrum moment," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said in an interview, explaining the Democratic anticipation for the Trump team's presentation. "Do they put on evidence of massive Ukrainian corruption and why President Trump withheld aid until that corruption was cleaned, or do they claim that it is all hearsay?" Some Republicans share that anticipation for the Trump lawyers, believing the moment will finally give them the opportunity to forcefully defend the president. "He hasn't had a chance to make his case. He'll have that chance in the Senate. The Senate owes that to him, and I think the Congress owes that to the country," Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told reporters Tuesday. And some Republicans who have been open to calling more witnesses said their decision could hinge on the president's lawyers. "You know I haven't heard from the president's team, his defense. So I'd like to hear the president's defense," said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. But no one knows for sure what approach the team will take and whether it will prompt a series of objections from the House managers or the Democratic jurors over the nature of the evidence they present. So far Trump's senior advisers have only signaled that they will not likely take three days to present their case, as President Bill Clinton's lawyers did during the most recent impeachment trial, in 1999, and believe the trial could wrap up in about two weeks. At a briefing for reporters Wednesday, presidential officials suggested that they would be fine without calling additional witnesses - but where they go with their own presentation is unclear. And Trump's aides have often said one thing only to be preempted by the president's mercurial decisions, leading some to wonder what orders he will give his lawyers when it is finally their turn. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., as he entered Thursday's preliminary proceedings, said he is still trying to learn how Democrats can object if Trump's lawyers wander into territory that they believe is unrelated to the case: "What's the procedure for blocking that evidence? Do the managers have to object? Can senators object? And how is it going to be done?" They have argued against the testimony of Hunter Biden, son of former vice president Joe Biden, whose former position on the board of a Ukrainian gas company has been at the center of Trump's effort to pressure that nation's leaders into investigating the Bidens. But few senators seem to grasp what rules govern evidence, for either the House managers or Trump's lawyers. "I think there's not a limitation on what they can present," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Thursday, suggesting both sides should have a pretty free hand in presenting whatever case they want to make. If the president's legal team wants to diverge deeply into Hunter Biden, that is fine, Paul said. "How you defend yourself would be up to your team." Other Republicans, upon a steady stream of new documents coming from House Democrats, argued that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the lead manager, should be limited only to the evidence that was presented up to the Dec. 18 votes on two articles of impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate's official rules on impeachment do not give much specificity on the matter. "The presiding officer on the trial may rule on all questions of evidence including, but not limited to, questions of relevancy, materiality, and redundancy of evidence and incidental questions," Rule VII states. That suggests that senators can voice objections to Roberts, whose options would be to make a ruling and see whether senators call for a vote on that ruling, or just put the objection up to a vote of the full Senate This runs the risk of turning the trial into a series of stops and starts, as Republicans, or Trump's team, object to presentations by the Democratic managers, or the managers object to the president's opinions. All that would destroy McConnell's vision of a Senate rising above "factional fever," resembling the battle that took place in the House. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on January 17, 2020 2020/01/17 At the invitation of the German side, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee Yang Jiechi will attend the Libya Conference in Berlin on January 19 as President Xi Jinping's special representative. As agreed by both sides, the first meeting of the China-Brunei Intergovernmental Joint Steering Committee will be held in Beijing on January 21. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Minister of Foreign Affairs II Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof of Brunei will co-chair the meeting. Q: Russia's State Duma approved the nomination of Mikhail Mishustin as prime minister on January 16. President Putin later formally signed off on Mishustin's nomination. What is your comment? A: China welcomes Mr. Mishustin's appointment as prime minister of the government of the Russian Federation. We believe that under the leadership of the new Russian government led by Prime Minister Mishustin, Russia will score new achievements on its road of development and rejuvenation. China stands ready to expand cooperation with Russia under the regular meeting mechanism between Chinese premier and Russian prime minister for new outcomes in bilateral relations and cooperation in all sectors. Q: Taiwan announced that a US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday. Do you have a comment? A: China paid close attention to and monitored from start to end the passage of the US military vessel through the Taiwan Strait. The Taiwan question is the most important and most sensitive issue in China-US relations as it bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We urge the US to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, prudently and properly handle issues relating to Taiwan to avoid harming China-US relations and affecting peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Q: The EU ambassador in Beijing told reporters today that the EU will challenge the China-US trade deal at the WTO if it causes market distortions that harm EU companies. Do you have any comment on this? A: As I said yesterday, conclusion of the phase one trade agreement between China and the US is good for China, for the US, and for the whole world. It serves the interests of producers, consumers and investors all over the world as it can add predictability and promote prosperity. I'd also stress that this agreement is consistent with WTO rules and market principles. Q: India has said that the Kashmir issue did not get much support from members of the UNSC after China raised the issue. India also said that China should review its position on the Kashmir issue. In fact, many members of the UNSC said that the forum is not a correct place to take up this issue. What is your comment? A: China's position on the issue of Kashmir is consistent and clear. It is a dispute left over from history and should be resolved properly and peacefully in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements. At the request of Pakistan, the UNSC reviewed the issue of Kashmir and heard a briefing by the UN Secretariat and other sides on January 15. Members of the Security Council are concerned about the current situation in Kashmir, and call for observance of the UN Charter and international law, and peaceful resolution of disputes through political dialogue. They believe relevant parties should exercise restraint and deescalate the tension. I shall stress that the issue between India and Pakistan has all along been on the agenda of the UNSC, and the Security Council should continue to pay attention to Kashmir in light of new developments. The review at the Security Council will help ease the situation in the region and properly resolve the issue. As a permanent member of the Security Council, China will continue to play a constructive role in upholding regional peace and stability. India should give serious consideration and positive response to the request of UNSC members. Q: Russian ambassador to India said today that Russia has never been in favor of bringing the Kashmir issue to the UN, and it should be addressed through bilateral channels. What is your comment on this with respect to Russia's position? A: The Security Council reviewed the issue of Kashmir on January 15, during which the majority of the UNSC members expressed concerns over the current situation in Kashmir. They also called on relevant parties to exercise restraint and seek early deescalation while stressing the need to peacefully resolve disputes through political means such as dialogue. This is what I know about the UNSC review. I believe Russia's position has been fully reflected in the discussion as an important member of the UNSC. Follow-up: Russian ambassador made this statement today in New Delhi. A: What I talked about was the discussion that took place in New York. Q: You said that the UNSC expressed concern over the situation in Kashmir. There was no statement from the UNSC, and this has been stated by just China alone and the other UNSC members are silent about it. Is it China's perception that members at the UNSC are concerned? Or was there any resolution or any kind of rather official expression of such a thing during the meeting? A: It is true that the Security Council didn't issue any statement after it reviewed the issue of Kashmir on January 15. But like I just said, as a permanent member of the Security Council, China attended the review in a constructive manner. You may check with other UNSC members if you don't think what the Chinese side told is the fact. Follow-up: I'm not questioning China's statement, but I just wanted to ask for your clarification on whether this is China's perception because there's lack of any announcement by the UNSC. The Chinese ambassador to the UN also said commenting on the meeting that concern has been expressed. But no other members have said the same thing. A: Could you tell me which UNSC members have said something differently? Who said they weren't concerned about the situation? Follow-up: None of the members other than China said anything like this. A: They just didn't say that in public. I already talked about the UNSC review. If you don't believe in that, you may check with someone else to see if it is true. Follow-up: What India said is that none of the members at the UNSC shared China's view. The majority of the members have expressed that the UNSC is not the forum at all to discuss the Kashmir issue. A: We are aware of India's position, but what I talked about just now was China's position. As a matter of fact, China and India stay in touch on this issue. Follow-up: This is the public perception prevailing in India about this particular issue. That is, there are very serious efforts made by India and China especially over the leadership to forge a kind of relationship. So it's been viewed very negatively in India that China's repeatedly raising this. A: China has constructively participated in the discussion on the issue of Kashmir at the UNSC. Our purpose and consideration is to call for restraint and deescalation as soon as possible for regional peace and stability. This is entirely out of goodwill. I'm afraid the Indian side may have over-interpreted it if they see that in a different light. Q: You said earlier that Kashmir is a matter inherent from history and it is a matter to be resolved by India and Pakistan. Then why is it that China now changes its stance and go to an international platform to raise this issue in a very partisan manner? A: I just made it very clear that China's position on the issue of Kashmir is consistent and clear. It remains unchanged. The issue between India and Pakistan has all along been on the agenda of the UNSC. It is only natural for the Security Council to pay attention to Kashmir in light of new developments. A UN military observer mission remains in Kashmir. Q: It is a fact that India has been imposing curfew in the disputed region of Kashmir for the last five months. India has also deployed more than 700,000 troops there. Do you have any comment on that? A: China's position on the issue of Kashmir is consistent and clear. It is a dispute left over from history and should be resolved properly and peacefully in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements. China has been calling on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, step up dialogue and enhance mutual trust to deescalate the situation as soon as possible. At the same time, as a responsible major country, China has been in close communication with both India and Pakistan and stands ready to play a constructive role. Q: Despite all those on-going issues, Pakistan's Prime Minister has been invited by India for the upcoming SCO summit in New Delhi. Your comment on this, please. A: I thought you were going to ask about Kashmir again. India and Pakistan are both SCO members. It goes without saying that we hope the two sides will have close communication, coordination and cooperation under the SCO framework to contribute to the grouping's sound development and greater role in regional affairs. India and Pakistan are both major countries in South Asia. We encourage them to strengthen communication, resolve outstanding disputes through dialogue and consultation, and constantly improve and grow bilateral relations. (TNS) Sheriff's Department drones will take to the sky and volunteers with a special app on their phone will hit the streets next Thursday for the annual one-day count of San Diego, Calif., County's homeless population."Our goal is to engage every person we see who is homeless," said Tamera Kohler, CEO of the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless.Kohler said volunteers in next Thursday's pre-dawn count should be able to get more information than in past counts by using apps instead of paper surveys. The new method should make surveys go faster, and going all-electric eliminates the possibility of counters running out of paper surveys, which happened to some volunteers last year.The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires all federally funded agencies known as continuums of care to conduct a count of homeless people in their area at least every other year. The Regional Task Force on the Homeless conducts the count annually, and the collected data is used as part of a HUD formula that determines the continuum of care's federal funding.The Task Force has coordinated the countywide count about 12 years, and its methodology has evolved over time. Following HUD's requirement, homeless people in shelters are counted separately while unsheltered homeless people are counted on sidewalks and in parks, vehicles and other outdoor areas.The unsheltered count is conducted in the pre-dawn hours to reduce the chance of mistakenly counting someone who is not homeless or counting a homeless person twice, which might happen in the daytime hours when people are moving about.It's not an exact science. Last year's count found 8,102 homeless people countywide, but Kohler said the actual number certainly is higher. Besides the people who are missed in the one-night count, the count also doesn't include people who may have drifted in and out of homeless that year or are sleeping on a couch at a friend or relative's house."The point-in-time count is a required activity, but it isn't the only data we have about a homeless population, and it doesn't represent numbers over a full year," she said. Kohler estimates between 25,000 and 30,000 people countywide may experience homelessness at one time during the year.A simple headcount also doesn't give detailed information about the person counted, but volunteers in 2018 began collecting demographic data from people they encountered. Kohler said last year they collected data from 47 percent of the people they interacted with, just short of their 50 percent goal.Surveys include questions about a person's race, physical and mental health, drug and alcohol use and how long they've been homeless.Also this year, the task force will collect data on how many homeless people in the county were former foster children. The Rev. Shane Harris, president of the civil rights group the People's Alliance for Justice, asked Kohler last month if that information could be collected.At a new conference outside San Diego City Hall on Wednesday, Harris, Kohler, San Diego City Councilman Chris Ward and others announced that the data would be collected throughout 2019, although not during the Thursday Point-in-Time Count.The task force in past years had asked homeless youth if they had been in foster care, but now homeless adults also will be asked the question.Harris said he believes the task force will be the first continuum of care in the nation to seek the information, which he would like to be collected nationwide to help determine if former foster youth are over-represented in homeless populations.Ward and Kohler also said the data will be helpful in studying the causes of homelessness, and Harris said the data could persuade the county to provide more services for foster youth aging out of the system to help prevent them from become homeless.Kohler said she had considered including the question as part of the Point-in-Time Count, but instead decided to ask it throughout the years in other encounters with homeless people, which she said would reveal more accurate information.In other changes to this year's event, drones operated by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department will fly over large open areas to find homeless encampments sometime before the volunteers go out Thursday morning. The flights will be conducted during the day, and their findings will be used to help volunteers find homeless people in canyons and other areas after sunrise Thursday.The task force also is working with the Chula Vista Police Department, which last year used its drones to find homeless encampments.In an effort to get a more accurate count of how many homeless people live in recreational vehicles, Kohler said the task force this year is working with some RV dwellers who have offered to help them find others who live in their vehicles.Last year was the first time the task force had tried to include RV dwellers in a separate category, but counters found several challenges, including encounters with people who denied they were homeless. DEAR ABBY: I have been dating my boyfriend for almost a year. I love him, and we have an undeniable connection I have never had with anyone else. The problem is, he's separated but not yet divorced from his wife. I have a hard time moving forward in the relationship and meeting his family when he hasn't filed for divorce. He says he's going to file, and he doesn't seem to think it's a big deal, but meeting his son and family members under these circumstances makes me uncomfortable. It's almost like this is a test run to see if I'll fit the part before he finalizes everything. He and his wife have been separated for only a year, and I'm ready to start a family. Our timing seems off, but he treats me so well it's hard to let him go. Should I put our relationship on hold until he finalizes his divorce, or will he resent me because I'm not being supportive? What if his separation is only temporary, and he's just having fun? Could I be a side chick? -- HAVING DOUBTS IN CALIFORNIA DEAR HAVING DOUBTS: You are asking intelligent questions. You have been supportive for quite some time now. Have the two of you actually discussed getting married and starting a family? If you haven't, you should, so you have some idea of whether his separation is temporary and what a realistic time frame would be. Once you know what that is, it couldn't hurt to meet his son and his family, if only to see how they react to you. As to whether you could be this man's side chick, it depends upon how long you plan to remain in a holding pattern, waiting for him to do something concrete. Some women wait for years only to have things not work out as they had hoped. DEAR ABBY: My sister "Dana" spent decades taking care of our disabled sister, which meant Dana and her family sacrificing greatly to provide for her care. The rest of us siblings live out of town and shared none of the responsibility. Our disabled sister passed away recently, leaving an estate that is now in probate. I suggested to my other siblings that before the estate is divided equally, we should set aside enough for Dana and her husband to take a long-overdue and well-deserved vacation. It's something I know Dana has been longing for, but they won't hear of it! I can't believe my siblings are acting this way. They say Dana can take a vacation on what she inherits, but that's not the point. While we all had free weekends and could take vacations, Dana was extremely limited because our disabled sister couldn't travel and needed a caregiver. How do I change my siblings' view? -- DISAPPOINTED BROTHER DEAR BROTHER: Your sentiments are laudable, but there is no way to force your greedy siblings into doing anything for Dana. It appears your disabled sister died without a will, which could have ensured that Dana was repaid for her efforts. Your letter highlights the importance of putting last wishes in writing, preferably with the assistance of an attorney. I cannot emphasize this strongly enough. DEAR ABBY: At 18, I married my high school sweetheart. After 20 years of marriage and four wonderful children, my husband decided the grass was greener elsewhere, and we divorced. He paid no attention to my children or my grandchildren when they were young. He has since remarried, has a child with his current wife and acts like he's Father of the Year. Last weekend one of my grandchildren got married. My blowhard of an ex brought a picture of himself, my son, my grandson and my great-granddaughter saying he'd had this picture taken of four generations of the family. He never mentioned that if it hadn't been for ME giving birth to our children, none of them would have even been there. Am I overly sensitive to feel like a second-class citizen when we attend a family function? Must I continue to say nothing, or speak up? How do others handle this situation? -- CLUELESS IN THE EAST DEAR CLUELESS: They handle it by choosing their battles carefully. I think it's important that you ask yourself why anything your ex says would make you feel like a second-class citizen. He appears to have moved on with his life more quickly than you have moved on with yours. Concentrate your efforts on expanding your horizons -- your interests and friendships -- and you will find anything he might say will be far less important to you. Trust me on that. DEAR ABBY: I'm a public school teacher with a word of advice to parents who wonder why their children misbehave, argue with them and act out with attention-getting behaviors: PUT DOWN YOUR CELLPHONES AND PAY ATTENTION TO THEM! I just finished a parent-teacher conference with a mother whose children argue, pout and scream when she tells them to do something at home. Her children are not disabled, nor do they demonstrate these behaviors in my classroom. Abby, during the entire meeting, that woman texted on her phone. How rude! The next time I meet with someone who pulls that, I'll ask if she (or he) would like to suspend the meeting until their pressing business (pun intended) is finished. Maybe the parent needs to be embarrassed in order to realize how inappropriate texting or talking on the phone is when she (or he) is face-to-face with another person unless the other person says it's OK. -- HAS TO VENT DEAR VENT: Vent away. I agree that what the mother did was disrespectful. It prevented you from effectively giving her information about her child that she needed to know. As great a benefit as technology has been to society, it appears to also be a double-edged sword. By that I mean, while it fosters communication, it has kept parents from bonding with their toddlers and young people from learning to effectively communicate with each other face-to-face. The ultimate result of this is yet to be determined, but I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of people finding a balance so they can form healthy relationships. I hope your letter will serve as a wake-up call to someone who needs a reminder. DEAR ABBY: My 40-year-old son has been in a volatile on-again, off-again relationship with a woman who has physically and emotionally abused him repeatedly. He's an Iraq War veteran with issues of his own, including a previous marriage and messy divorce from a narcissistic woman. They share custody of two grade school-age children. The current woman has grown children, plus a pre-teen boy (with issues also). The last time they split up, my husband made it clear that she would never be welcome in our home again because of her violent temper. We don't condone that behavior. Our son has now decided he thinks he "loves her." He wants us to give our blessing, including having her in our home and being one big happy family. We are sure this "reunion" will come with her assurances that she has changed, and it will never happen again. Abby, we want our son to be happy, but we recognize that a leopard doesn't change her spots. We also don't want our young grandchildren in a toxic environment again. What should we do? Please don't tell me he needs to go to counseling because he says he is. Help! -- SEEING CLEARLY IN NEW YORK DEAR SEEING: When you stated that your son is asking you for your blessing, including having this woman in your home and being one big happy family, did he mean LIVING there with you? If that's not the case, you can bless it, but your answer should be no if it means they will live under your roof. It would be healthier for all of you if they have living arrangements of their own. That way, you can see her only when she is on her good behavior, and if she backslides, the drama won't be in your home. The added bonus is that your son will have a refuge if he needs it. (I'd give anything to know how his therapist views this.) DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have been together for 30 years, married for 20. We have two sons living at home, a 20-year-old who works full-time and a 17-year-old who is graduating from high school in the spring. I have been offered a transfer to Australia by my employer -- a transfer I had asked for. When we discussed it in the past, everyone was all for it. My oldest can likely stay with the multinational hotel chain he works for now, and I can get my youngest a decent career in my field of work as there is a tremendous shortage of skilled labor in Australia. Now my wife tells me she can't leave her family, especially her father, who has Parkinson's. I have told her she can expect to return every summer to our condo on the beach and an additional two trips per year. Abby, I thought our vows meant we would be together forever, wherever. My employer will soon begin the process of opening the Australian office, a process I will be part of and likely train the new hire. I am bitter and resentful toward my wife, and it is affecting my attitude toward her. I love her, but I am struggling to get over the fact she is denying me a very lucrative opportunity. Advice? -- LOSING OUT IN CANADA DEAR LOSING OUT: It's time for you and your wife to put your heads together and work out a solution. By that I mean you should accept the lucrative business opportunity you have been offered, AND your wife can take care of her father as long as she needs to. Unless his condition is critical, she can visit you and your sons periodically so it shouldn't put too much strain on your marriage. I hope you will consider it because the kind of resentment you are feeling now can destroy a marriage. DEAR ABBY: I moved in with my boyfriend, "Greg," three years ago into the tiny but very economical house he rents. It's cheaper than all other rentals in our area and allows us to save for a home of our own one day. However, after many months, I have discovered to my dismay that our landlord is the mother of his ex-girlfriend. And the ex is acting manager of the property we live on! This means that, for as long as I've lived here, Greg's ex and her mom have been in frequent contact with him and are an inescapable part of our lives. Greg gets along fine with them and doesn't want to move because of high rents elsewhere, but I'm very uncomfortable with the awkwardness of our living situation. Am I being too sensitive, or should my boyfriend never have lived there in the first place? -- UNCOMFORTABLE IN MICHIGAN DEAR UNCOMFORTABLE: Now, now ... let's keep our eye on the goal line. Your boyfriend's objective (and yours) is to save enough money to eventually own a place of your own. His ex and her mother are a means to an end. It would be a big mistake not to recognize that they could be charging far more for your lodgings. Concentrate on that and stop looking a gift horse in the mouth. DEAR ABBY: I recently hosted a large family for a week in our home. On our last day together, the mother asked if she could run "a quick load" of laundry. I said OK, figuring she might be running low on unmentionables. Abby, she did FIVE large loads of laundry and spent half of our last day together folding everything up and packing their bags for home. I wouldn't deny anyone a quick load, but I think she took advantage of me. I was very disappointed that our last day together was wasted doing laundry. Is this a "thing" now? Your thoughts, please. -- HUNG OUT TO DRY IN ARIZONA DEAR HUNG OUT: You were trying to be helpful, and the woman did take advantage of your generosity by mischaracterizing her intentions. If, however, you had other plans for the last morning of the visit, when you saw her start her second (or third) load, you should have spoken up and drawn the line. DEAR ABBY: I am in a 14-year marriage, but there has always been another woman, "Emily," I have thought about almost daily the whole time. My wife and I have just turned 40. We have no kids, but we have a dog. I always thought I would want kids, and we tried half-heartedly, but there is no real intimacy to this day. I kiss her goodbye in the morning and, for years, that's been it. Emily is all in on a relationship with me still to this day. We had a great relationship with great sex, and I miss all of that. I'm struggling about the right thing to do, partly because I know the pain this will cause. My wife and I still have good times together with friends, but when we're home, it's like we're just best friends with no benefits. One of the last times we had sex, she ended it abruptly. The flame I felt for her is gone. I feel like I should go the other direction because she wants kids and still loves me deeply after all these years. Please advise. -- WRESTLING WITH IT IN WISCONSIN DEAR WRESTLING: Clearly you have never stopped talking to Emily. Quit "wrestling" and talk with your WIFE. She may have ended your last sexual encounter because it was physically painful or because she no longer feels emotionally connected to you. The person who can help you determine what to do next is the woman to whom you are married. Whether this marriage is salvageable is debatable, but this I do know: A healthy marriage takes TWO committed individuals, and in this case, one of them (you) has been missing in action. DEAR ABBY: I am an older woman who finally got fed up with my husband's cellphone addiction. Since he would no longer speak to me but spent all his time scrolling on his device, I went out and bought a realistic-looking baby doll. When he pulled out his cell, I pulled out my doll. I talked to it, fiddled with its buttons and carried it everywhere. He finally yelled at me, "It's not real!" to which I replied, "It's real; it's just not alive. LIKE YOUR CELLPHONE." This final scene was played out in the dining room of our country club, which was filled with members. The phone and "baby" stayed in the car after that. We laugh about it now, and she's resting comfortably in her carrier, just in case she's ever needed again. -- THOUGHT I'D SHARE THIS DEAR THOUGHT: I hesitate to endorse implied threats in marital disagreements, but your solution worked -- brilliantly. So who am I to argue with success? Congratulations! DEAR ABBY: What is your opinion about elderly parents who no longer drive having to pay their children to drive them to appointments, grocery, etc.? Think of all the times parents drove them when they were growing up. -- RETURNING THE FAVOR DEAR RETURNING THE FAVOR: Most adult children with a memory would never dream of asking to be paid for driving their elderly parents. A child who would do this must be desperate for money. In my opinion, because they are paying for it anyway, the parents should make other arrangements for transportation. DEAR ABBY: My husband loaned a "dear friend" some money a year ago. She has yet to pay back a penny. When I ask him about it, he gets mad and tells me it's none of my business. I have hinted to her about some large bills that we have to pay, to no avail. Other than that, my husband and I have a great marriage and love each other very much. I just don't like her taking advantage of his generosity. I know taking care of his friends gives him pleasure, but he has been burned before and I can see it happening again. I find it hard to ignore. What do I do? -- SICK OF IT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE DEAR SICK OF IT: I wish you had mentioned whether you work and the money your soft-touch hubby gave his friend was partly earned by you. If that's the case, I don't blame you for being upset. While I'm not sure you can prevent your husband from doing this, I do think you are within your rights to insist that before he does it he discuss it with you. If he will do that, perhaps the two of you can find an alternative for the person other than giving out money. DEAR ABBY: My son passed away unexpectedly a little over eight years ago. He was 21. At the time, he had been dating a very nice young lady. We kept in touch for a while after the funeral -- letters and emails mostly, as I had moved out of state -- but things gradually tapered off. I have been able to keep somewhat informed about her life because of the magic of social media and mutual friends she shared with my son who still contact me occasionally. I recently learned she's being married within the next two weeks. I am wondering if it would be wrong or weird of me to send a congratulatory card to the happy couple. I wish only continued happiness for her and her future husband. -- WISHING HAPPINESS DEAR WISHING: I see nothing wrong or weird about sending her a nice card, and when you do, be sure to tell her not only that you wish her a happy future, but also that she will always have a special place in your heart. DEAR ABBY: Would it be appropriate for someone to tell someone else's children to stop doing something dangerous if the parent is not around? I'm talking about kids holding scissors the wrong way or running with them, pushing others, etc. My children are in their teens now and know that such behavior is wrong. If it were the other way around, I would be grateful if someone cared enough to tell my kids that a behavior is wrong and/or dangerous. -- GLAD IN THE MIDWEST DEAR GLAD: How else would the children know if they weren't warned? To speak up would be an act of kindness, particularly if they were doing something that could cause harm to themselves or others. DEAR ABBY: What is the etiquette when eating at a restaurant where a piano player is performing? I don't mean the "bar scene"-type piano player who wants the crowd to sing along, but more of a mid- to upscale type of place. There's a restaurant like this in my town -- the only one with a piano. On one special occasion when we were there, the piano player was playing "Misty" and a woman sitting nearby with her party wanted to make herself heard over him. She began talking very loudly to her group while he was playing the song. I thought it was tacky, and if I had been sitting near her, I would have shushed her up. Isn't it polite to wait until the piano player is finished before talking loudly at your table? Whatever happened to behaving with a little class in restaurants? -- DEANNA IN OKLAHOMA DEAR DEANNA: The musician in that restaurant was there to provide mood music for the diners. If they chose to talk while he was playing, it was their privilege. The woman may have raised her voice because someone in her party had a hearing problem. For you to have taken it upon yourself to "shush her up" would have been rude, and for your sake, I'm glad you refrained from doing it. DEAR ABBY: Am I overreacting to my husband's request that I take down photos of my mom and grandparents when his mom visits? They are displayed in our guest bedroom. I think his request was rude. I wonder if his mother even cares or if he just feels guilty. It's my house, too. -- RELUCTANT IN TEXAS DEAR RELUCTANT: Rather than remove your family photos, why not compromise by adding a couple of pictures of your husband's mother, too? I'm sure she would be pleased to see them. Problem solved. DEAR ABBY: I have a crush on a guy I work with. I'm 19, and he's 26. He has a kid, which actually doesn't bother me. I love kids and have taken care of them most of my life. My problem is he has this ex who wants to get back together with him. They broke up because she was staying out all night and cheating. He used to flirt with me and text me all the time and offer me his hoodie. Now she's sort of back in the picture and he ignores me and doesn't return my texts. But when we see each other he starts flirting again, and we just click. We make sense. I guess my question is, should I tell him how I feel before it's too late or just keep it to myself? Should I risk everything and go for it? -- UNCERTAIN IN NEW YORK DEAR UNCERTAIN: Announce your feelings for the guy if you wish, but do not expect him to drop everything and rush to you. If he were interested in more than a workplace flirtation, he would be paying the same kind of attention to you that he did before. Because he isn't, you need to understand that he and his ex obviously have some unfinished business together, regardless of her history of infidelity. Set your sights on someone else. DEAR ABBY: All my mom does is talk about work. If we are having a conversation, she links every topic to her work and her co-workers. It is alienating my sister and me. When we tell her things about our kids -- her grandkids -- she still relates it to work. Another thing: She's constantly on her tablet for work or on Facebook. I live seven hours away from her. When we make the drive down, I don't want to watch her on her tablet. If we try to confront her on anything, all she does is cry. Mom and I had a good relationship before she took that job. Now she's so negative that it's difficult to want to talk to her. Where do I even start? -- MISSING HER WHILE SHE'S HERE DEAR MISSING: Rather than "confront" your mother, ask her what may have changed in her life since she took that job. Her focus may have shifted because that's the center of her activity. Conversations are two-way, and this may be all she feels she has to contribute on her end. As to her "hiding" behind Facebook rather than carry on a conversation with you, like many people, she may have become addicted to it and unable to tear herself away. However, you will never know unless you ask her calmly. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 File Image Kamlendra Kanwar Some years ago, Karnataka was looked upon as a gateway for the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) projected big bang entry into the south it was expected to herald a new type of governance that would be the model for other southern states to aspire for. However, somewhere along the way it got derailed. Today, it is synonymous with greedy legislators who think nothing of constantly hankering for loaves of office and an opportunity to make some quick money. Its not as though its rivals the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) have been any better. Be it one party or another, there is little to choose from in terms of greed. When BJP state chief BS Yediyurappa lured 17 legislators from the Congress and the JD(S) to switch loyalty to the BJP some months ago, he doubtlessly held out the bait of ministerial berths. Now when 13 of the 17 rebel legislators were voted back to power in by-elections after the Supreme Court disqualified them under the anti-defection law, they are asking for their pound of flesh in the shape of plum ministerial posts. Even the pretence of dignity and self-respect has been given up. So brazen is this demand that some of them have even specified the portfolios they want. Rarely has such open blackmail of a government been seen before. Propriety has indeed been thrown to the winds. Heightening Yediyurappas discomfiture, the party high command in Delhi is keeping a close watch and is not agreeing to an expansion of the ministerial team. That has led the CM to exclaim that he cannot accommodate all the rebel legislators in his Cabinet. Even one of the two legislators who lost the by-elections wants to be made a minister, seeking to be rewarded for contributing in bringing down the Congress-JD(S) government. It is no secret that the party high command is not well disposed towards Yediyurappa, but knows that there is no alternative to him in the unenviable situation of a virtual famine of mass leaders in Karnataka BJP. While 15 of the disqualified MLAs contested by-elections, and 13 won, two are in limbo awaiting the outcome of a litigation over the results. When and if they are elected, they too would want to be rewarded with ministerial berths. This is the tragi-comedy of Karnataka this state was once in the forefront of the new economy with a fine software base. As if all this theatrical performance was not enough, a seer belonging to a prominent Lingayat sect, Veerashaiva, Swami Vachananda, disturbed a hornets nest on January 14 when he demanded his nominee be given a ministerial berth and threatened to withdraw support of the Panchamasali Lingayats if Yediyurappa did not comply. To this, Yediyurappa who depends heavily on this sect to harvest its vote-bank, said he would not accept such a sermon from the seer and that he would rather resign if he persisted. This public spectacle has understandably not gone down well with the people who are shocked by the level to which politics has sunk in the state. That Karnataka is sinking in public esteem is reflected in the manner in which new investment has been shying away from it. Corruption in the state has, for many years, touched endemic proportions and the sorry plight of Bengaluru infrastructure is causing deep shock. So abjectly poor is the stock of politicians of all hues that politics and consequently democracy itself have taken on a bad name. If this government falls because it failed to meet the expectations of its legislators it would be sad indeed. The Congress-led Siddharamaiah government fell because it failed to justify the trust that the electors placed in it. This was followed by the HD Kumaraswamy government, which had the Congress and the JD(S) obsessed with feathering their own nests while the state suffered. Now it is the turn of Yediyurappa whose government could well fall for reasons of personal expectations of legislators. Where do the people stand in all this when personal greed of politicians and bureaucrats over-rides all public interest concerns? Evidently, the anti-defection legislation, which was brought in with much hope to stop defections and impart government stability, has not stopped turncoats. In the days and weeks ahead it will be interesting to see how Yediyurappa tides over this crisis. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images In each debate, the healthcare questions are mostly the same, and so, too, are the candidates answers. Medicare for All is just so expensive: How would [insert left-wing candidate here] pay for it? Ah but look here, have you considered the fact that some unions oppose it? That a lot of people say they like their private insurance? The questions are no longer urgent. They are almost identical to each other, debate after debate, and no longer uncover any new information. The candidates who say they support Medicare for All have explained repeatedly why they believe it makes fiscal sense, why voters might be open to a future without insurance companies, have pointed out, even, that many unions do support the legislation. Either voters accept their answers about the popularity and technical feasibility of their proposal or they dont: there is nothing more to be revealed by this line of questioning. Pundit fixation on these aspects of Medicare for All is predictable. They follow a pattern set years ago, when elected Democrats and columnists alike worried that the Affordable Care Act, a far less radical policy, would bankrupt the nation and knock Obamas party from power. Years later, everyone still remembers their cues, with a new healthcare proposal as the focus of the performance. The show goes on, and will assault the sanity of all sensible observers until it makes itself irrelevant. The performers may believe they are objective, pontificating from on high like a class of priests. But they help drive public opinion, and will continue to do so until the election finally happens. Voters will either elect someone who supports M4A in spite of its skeptics, or the skeptics will win, and so will a less ambitious vision of progress. Healthcare reform deserves a more serious public conversation, and its possible to start one without ignoring M4A at the debates. Nor should the press abandon its responsibility to question such a radically transformative policy proposal. All thats needed is a simple redirection, a new line of questioning that accurately grasps the real case for M4A. The nearly exclusive focus on government spending and on public opinion misses the real rationale for the policy. M4A is a moral argument disguised as a policy proposal. It takes stock of the American healthcare system as it currently exists, and identifies it as a logically and ethically bankrupt structure that exposes people to unnecessary, life-shortening risks. In short, healthcare is a right a right the status quo violates, and which would be better protected by an entirely different kind of system. So M4A proponents propose a new system, which would cover every person to precisely the same degree, and would in theory rescue them from medical bankruptcy and missing bill payments and crowdfunding campaigns for their insulin pumps. And it assigns to the U.S. government the responsibility of safeguarding the right to healthcare from harm. The policys supporters have explained as much, many times. They dont have much choice: There isnt a way to explain the proposal, including its financial details, without making certain claims about its moral superiority to both the status quo, and to the alternatives others propose. A public option would require less government spending. According to most polls, it is somewhat more popular; it would even be a dramatic improvement on the system in place right now. But the public option doesnt fully address the serious moral crisis that M4A is designed to solve. Individuals would still have to navigate a complicated, frequently counter-intuitive system, in order to exercise the right the public option theoretically expands. M4A, by contrast, argues that there should be no obstacle between a person and the coverage they need. It shifts the cost of healthcare from individuals and employers, where it currently sits, to the government not only because this will save consumers money, but because the policys advocates believe this is the most ethical course of action available. To return briefly to the primary: Ask any candidate in the field if they think Americans have a right to healthcare, and theyd almost certainly agree. But journalists should know better than to take politicians at their word. Instead of rehashing the same three or four criticisms of M4A until we all go numb from the repetition, ponder instead the implications of framing healthcare as an absolute right. If Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg really believe that right exists, why do both their healthcare plans leave some Americans without coverage? Why is the public option, which doesnt automatically enroll people in coverage, morally preferable to a universal alternative like M4A? If the only arguments against M4A are that its popular, but not as popular as it could be, and that implementing it would take a lot of work, is the problem really the policy itself, or is it a lack of political will? Why should voters settle for moderate versions of healthcare reform that dont scale to the crisis at hand? And how does it really benefit the public to leave private insurance companies intact? To engage only with the practical considerations of the policy, and ignore the moral claims that shape it, is to present a lopsided view of its merits to the public. Nobody needs to see journalists re-enact Philosophy 101 on stage with a horde of aspiring presidents; the prospect is more unappealing than Tom Steyers tartan ties. But the press can at least stop pretending that policy is an abstract puzzle. All policy preferences have some moral weight attached to them. As American lifespans drop, the medias decision to ignore the full case for M4A has a moral dimension too. Behind the headlines, rich and long dynamics continue to play out in Iran, in its relation to the Arab world, outside powers, and domestic currents Four dilemmas have long dominated Iranian thinking. The first is cultural. Iran was the first major empire that fell to the Islamic forces that emerged from Arabia in the 7th century. The highly sophisticated civilisation embraced the religion that the Arabs had brought with them, but adamantly refused to adopt the Arabic language and culture. As the Arabs hold over the expanding Islamic empire began to relax, the Persians gradually acquired more power and prestige, especially at the height of the Islamic civilisation under the Abbasid caliphate in the 10th and 11th centuries. It was during that time that Persian thinkers contributed most to science and philosophy, often establishing the foundations upon which later European scientists and philosophers stood. But despite these contributions, Persian influence over the Abbasid and other Islamic empires faded quickly, often with humiliating repercussions to leading Persian families. In a select number of cases, some Islamic schools of theology absorbed some pre-Islamic, Persian spiritual ideas. But almost all of those schools ended up marginal (typically within the minority Shia strand of Islam), or were utterly cut off from the religion. This has left Iran attached to its west to the Arab world, but in a problematic way. The Persians consistently found themselves, at best, in second place to the Arabs, in the wider Islamic world, despite believing that their history, civilisation and contributions far exceed those of the Arabs. This has led to the second dilemma. To deal with this painful position, Iran has sought to change the nature of its relationship with its west with the Arab world. Whereas in the past the Arabs had invaded it, Iran wanted instead to go to the Arab world as a leader. And if the Arabs were not willing to concede such a role, Iran was willing to try to dominate or at least to influence, especially that in its view no matching civilisation exists in its west all the way to the Egyptian civilisation on the banks of the Nile. The problem, however, was that Iran was never able to truly dominate or seriously influence the Levant and the Eastern Mediterranean. Several factors undermined Irans efforts. The Eastern Mediterranean has always been religiously and culturally diverse, and populated by trading peoples who have always had fortunes that could be weaponised to thwart the efforts of invaders or expansionist powers. In addition, Levantine trading communities had connections to world powers that helped deter or provide support against Iranian expansionism. Often when domination did not work, Iran resorted to seduction. And Iran did have what it takes, in the diverse and marvellous oeuvre of its beautiful civilisation. But attempts at domination have left a lot of suspicion among the Levantines about Irans intentions. Moreover, the region has also always been rich in its cultures and arts, and so the Levant was far from being a land of simpletons that was going to be easily seduced or enthralled. Iran was left attached to its west, looking at the Arabness on its borders, continuing to take from the Arabs a lot that has to do with religion, and yet never really successful at taking what it has always thought was its due: that leading position in the Islamic world. Geography compounded Irans dilemma with another factor. The north of Iran is mountainous, some of which prohibitive to passage. Those mountains have protected Iran from invasions and acted as a natural barrier against migration from tribal communities in the Caucasus, which preserved Irans internal cohesiveness. But that natural barrier has also contained any potential Iranian expansionism in the north. Irans east was always dominated by two great civilisations, the Indian and the Chinese. And so, strategically, it never made sense for Iran to try to expand east. In addition, Irans cultural influence was already subtly reaching parts of that east, though largely as an extension of the reach of Islam as opposed to any form of Persian hegemony. The south seemed to offer great potential, for it is a window in the form of the Gulf of Oman to the Indian Ocean, a route to Africa. But Iran was never a maritime power. Actually, from the early days of the Persian state, Iran was always a land empire. Interestingly, some of the most important aspects of Zoroastrianism (a quintessentially Persian-inspired view of the universe and humanity) were strongly based on some sanctification of the land. And so, even geography, that inescapable factor, has always compelled Iran to look west to the Arab world. But in the past century, the west entailed not only anguish at Irans position in the Islamic world and ambition for power and influence, but also fear. Iran entered the 20th century feeling a bit confident, after one of its arch rivals, the Ottoman Empire, appeared in an irredeemable decline. But the new century brought a succession of threats. First, the British empire invaded. And then, as oil had become a strategic global commodity, America came to the Gulf. Then in the early 1980s, at a moment of immense internal upheaval after the charismatic Shia scholar Ayatollah Khomeini had overthrown the Shah and smashed his Peacock Throne, Saddam Husseins Iraq moved into Iranian territory. Iran often turned threats into opportunities. Iranian strategists exploited the changes brought on by the American invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq to expand their countrys influence west. In the past 15 years, Iran built strongholds in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. But despite that strategic success, and the occasional triumphalism in its rhetoric, Iran has always, throughout those years, felt the threat of having a serious concentration of American military power next door (in the Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan). Iranian strategists know that Americas strategists will not attempt to invade, because any cost-benefit analysis dismisses that decision. But they also understand that their opponents, especially the current US administration, want the Islamic Republic regime to disintegrate from within. And this sheds light on the fourth dilemma. The regime of the Islamic Republic in Iran stands on strong pillars of political Shiism, which has a rich tradition and a major constituency in the country. But from its early days after the 1979 Revolution and throughout the past 40 years, that regime has championed, represented and expressed only one of Irans many facets and identities. In a way, the regime has imposed on Iran a very narrow view of the world, and of itself, despite the countrys rich history and traditions. This has been accumulating strong grievances within large sections of the society. Add to that, there are acute governance problems that the whole of Iran sees. Iranian strategists fully understand this problem. And yet, they can neither let go of the regimes strict form of political Shiism, otherwise the regime would lose its meaning, nor do they know how to evolve the regime from within, as that experience, in the hands of Mohamed Khatami in the late 1990s and early 2000s, not only failed but led to a corresponding rise of some of the most reactionary forces within the regime (for example, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the mid-and late 2000s). Iran is in a difficult and interesting strategic position. Its record in the past 15 years has been successful. But the weight of old dilemmas that have long pained it, and the existence of colossal powers on its borders, are serious threats. Its strategists cannot afford to make mistakes. The writer is the author of Islamism: A History of Political Islam (2017) and Egypt on the Brink (2010). *A version of this article appears in print in the 16 January 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: The only sure things in this category all season have been Adam Driver (Marriage Story) and Joaquin Phoenix (Joker), and thats who it will ultimately come down to on SAG Awards night. In the end, Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari) and Taron Egerton (Rocketman) landed SAG noms, but didnt make the cut for Oscar in a crazy competitive year. Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) delivered a fantastic turn, but won recently for The Revenant. Phoenix just clinched Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award wins and his film grossed over $1 billion. Even those who took issue with the movie lauded his performance. Hes also seen as overdue, having been nominated at SAG five times and never won. But Driver is not only a highly regarded actor, he has been a charming presence on the circuit this season. Phoenix has the edge for now, but dont be surprised if Drivers name is called. Russia has no doubts about India's approach on Kashmir, which is a strictly bilateral matter between India and Pakistan, Moscow's envoy to New Delhi Nikolay Kudashev said on Friday. New Delhi: Russia has no doubts about India's approach on Kashmir, which is a strictly bilateral matter between India and Pakistan, Moscow's envoy to New Delhi Nikolay Kudashev said on Friday. Russian deputy chief of mission Roman Babushkin added that all S-400 air defence missile systems will be delivered to India by 2025. The production of S-400 missiles to be delivered to India has started, he said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Russia on 22 and 23 March to attend a meeting of the Russia-Indian-China trilateral, Kudashev said. "Those having doubts over India's approach on Kashmir can go there, we don't have any doubt," he said on not being invited to visit Jammu and Kashmir. On China's attempt to raise the issue of Kashmir at the Security Council, Kudashev said, "It's a strictly bilateral matter to discuss between India and Pakistan based on Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration. The S-400, an upgraded version of the S-300, had previously only been available to the Russian defence forces. It is manufactured by Almaz-Antey and has been in service in Russia since 2007. At least 29 people died due to incidents unrelated to underlying health conditions in hospitals and medical facilities across the province in 2018 including two young children who were unable to access emergency air travel to Childrens Hospital. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. At least 29 people died due to incidents unrelated to underlying health conditions in hospitals and medical facilities across the province in 2018 including two young children who were unable to access emergency air travel to Childrens Hospital. A recent report from Manitoba Health reveals the "critical incidents" that happened during the last three months of 2018, between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. During that period, there were 30 incidents that resulted in injury, disability, death or an unknown result. In total, there were 124 such incidents in 2018. Manitoba Health defines them as "unintended events" that take place when a patient is accessing health services and can result in everything from a fractured hip to life-threatening sepsis. Although they happen under medical supervision, the events are unrelated to a patients underlying medical condition or the inherent risks in patient care. The province records critical incidents at regional health authorities, hospitals, personal-care homes, land and air ambulances, the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, CancerCare Manitoba and Diagnostic Services Manitoba. In the most recent quarterly report, which was made public Thursday, three incidents recorded involved an infant. In the first of two fatal cases, a child was taken to hospital via ground ambulance because air transport wasnt available at the time. On arrival, the child had a cardiac arrest and there was "difficult intubation," which led to the patient being admitted into the pediatric intensive-care unit. The child died after treatment was withdrawn. The report also describes a deadly incident when emergency air travel was denied to an unstable premature infant and an ambulance transfer was arranged. The child underwent bowel obstruction surgery the same day and died the next. Also involving air transportation, the report describes an incident where a STARS ambulance was called to transport a patient who had experienced cardiac arrest. The ambulance arrived without a doctor on board so when the patients condition deteriorated during transportation, STARS staff consulted with a physician, after which they opted to call a ground ambulance. The patient died when they arrived at the transfer destination. Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, late medical expert intervention and insufficient supervision were among the reasons cited for the critical incidents in 2018. In a handful of cases, miscommunication between staff was also listed as a factor. "We all regret when there is a negative outcome in the health system and are tremendously saddened for any family that has lost a loved one," Health Minister Cameron Friesen said in a statement to the Free Press. "We have confidence that the critical incident policy is effective in bringing forward errors in the system, so that learning can take place and the system can be strengthened." Friesen was not made available for an interview Friday. STARS spokesman Chad Saxon said a Winnipeg Regional Health Authority review of the air ambulance case determined that "the care provided by STARS was appropriate." 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. Saxon added that STARS was dispatched nine minutes after the request was made and arrived at the scene within 33 minutes of the initial request for an air ambulance. A spokesperson for Manitoba Health said in a statement Friday that reviewing critical incidents allows for the ability to determine ways to make improvements to the way health-care providers work. The province cannot provide specific information about incidents or recommendations, they said, because the review process is confidential and privileged under law to encourage reporting and open participation by health-care providers. They did not address an inquiry about whether there is a shortage of emergency staff or vehicles to respond to demand. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Thera Akrotiri Excavations The blue monkeys painted on the walls of Akrotiri on the Greek island of Santorini are among many animals found in the frescoes of this 3,600-year-old city. Historians have studied the murals for decades since they were unearthed in the 1960s and 1970s on the island, which was once known as Thera. But when we and a team of other primatologists recently examined the paintings, we realised the monkeys could provide a clue that the Bronze Age world was much more globalised than previously thought. Archaeologists had assumed the monkeys were an African species, with which the Aegean people that built Akrotiri probably came into contact via trade links with Egypt. But we think the paintings actually depict Hanuman langurs, a species from the Indian subcontinent. This suggests the Aegean people, who came from Crete and the Cycladic islands in the Aegean Sea, may have had trade routes that reached over 2,500 miles. The wall paintings of Akrotiri were preserved by ash from a volcano that destroyed the city some time in the 16th or 15th century BC and offer an incredible glimpse of an early civilisation in Europe. We havent been able to translate the earliest Aegean writing, but the paintings suggest just how developed these peoples society, economy and culture were. Much animal art from this period is generalised, meaning its hard to confidently identify individual species. In the case of the monkeys, we also dont have any physical remains from Aegean settlements to provide additional evidence of which species are depicted. The reason why archaeologists and art historians have assumed they came from Egypt is because that was the nearest location with an indigenous monkey population that had known trade links with the Aegean. As a result, the Akrotiri monkeys have been variously identified as baboons, vervets and grivet monkeys, all African species that live across a wide area. Marie Pareja decided to take a different approach, gathering a team of primatologists who study apes, monkeys, and lemurs, including renowned taxonomic illustrator Stephen Nash. Together, we examined photos of the art and discussed the animals depicted, considering not only fur colour and pattern but also body size, limb proportions, sitting and standing postures, and tail position. While we all agreed that some of the animals depicted were baboons, as previously thought, we began to debate the identification of the animals from one particular scene. Story continues Identifying the langurs The monkeys in the paintings are grey-blue. But although some living monkeys have small patches of blue skin the blue on a mandrills face, for example none have blue fur. There is an African forest monkey called the blue monkey, but it is mainly olive or dark grey, and the face patterns dont match those in the paintings. So we needed to use other characteristics to identify them. They were previously believed to be vervets or grivets, small monkeys weighing between 3kg and 8kg (roughly the size of a housecat) that are found in the savannas of north and east Africa. Despite their silvery white fur, they also have dark-coloured hands and feet and an overall look that matches the depictions in the paintings. However, Hanuman langurs, which weigh a more substantial 11kg to 18kg, have a similar look. They also move quite differently, and this was crucial to the identification. Both primates primarily live on the ground (as opposed to in trees) and have long limbs and tails. But the langurs tend to carry their tail upward, as an S- or C-shape or curving towards the head, while vervet monkeys carry their tail in a straight line or arcing downward. This tail position, repeated across multiple images, was a key factor in identifying the monkeys as Hanuman langurs. Stephen D. Nash International links We know from archaeological evidence that Aegean peoples had access to minerals such as tin, lapis lazuli and carnelian that came from beyond the Zagros mountains on the western border of modern Iran. But the artistic detail of the Akrotiri paintings, compared to other monkey art of the period, suggests that the artists had seen live animals, perhaps while travelling abroad. Its understandable that earlier scholars thought the monkeys were African since relations between the Aegean and Egypt were already well known and supported by archaeological evidence. If you expect to find an African monkey, you will only look at African animals for possible explanations. But as primatologists, we were able to bring a fresh look at the evidence without preconceived notions of ancient peoples or trade routes, and consider species living further afield. This study is an excellent example of the importance of academics from different disciplines working together. Without the expertise of primatologists, it may not have been possibly to confidently identify these animals. Conversely, primatologists may not have considered these ancient human-primate interactions without a prompt from archaeologists. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The Conversation The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: A number of Kazakh-Iranian joint projects in Kazakhstan are currently at the various stages of implementation, the majority of them accounting for agriculture, a representative of Kazakhstans Ministry of Trade and Integration told Trend. According to the official, Kazakhstan and Iran have time after time confirmed their interest in development of mutual trade relations. Parties are also successfully cooperating within the framework of various international and regional organizations. "Talking the investment relations between the countries, Iran is among the main investors of Kazakhstan. Over the period from 2005 to 2018, gross inflow of direct foreign investments from Iran to Kazakhstans economy amounted to $123 million," the official said. Trade turnover between countries amounted to $333.8 million during 11 months of 2019, which is 28.8 percent less than during the same period of 2018 ($468.9 million). "Kazakhstan export to Iran during the reporting period decreased by 31.8 percent and equaled $263 million. The main goods exported from Kazakhstan to Iran are agricultural goods of vegetable and animal nature, mineral resources," the official said. He also noted that the decrease of export to Iran can be explained by export decrease of the following goods: flat unalloyed steel, wheat, and rapeseeds. "At the same time, the export increase of fresh, frozen beef, rapeseed oil, sheep, ferrous metal waste and scrap is also observed," the official said. Kazakhstans import from Iran amounted to $70.8 million during 11 months of 2019, which is 15.1 percent less than during the same period of last year. The main goods imported from Iran to Kazakhstan are mineral resources and fruit. "Decrease of import can be explained by import decrease of nuts, fresh apples, equipment for food items and beverages manufacturing, as well as processed stone," the official said. At the same time, import increase of cement, onions, garlic, carpets is also observed. --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh Ravindra Rao Gold remained volatile for the last few days, with the price moving to a 2013 high of $1,611.42 an ounce and then falling more than 4.5 percent to $1,536 an ounce, all within five trading sessions. The metal has now steadied near $1,550, as market players assess the US-China trade deal. After months of negotiations, the US and China on January 15 signed the phase 1 of a trade deal which includes intellectual property protection and enforcement, ending forced technology transfer, removing barriers to American financial services, ending currency manipulation, effective dispute resolution and increased purchases of US goods and services. China has committed to buying an additional $200 billion of American goods and services by 2021, which includes $52.4 billion of energy goods, $32 billion of agricultural commodities, $77.7 billion of manufactured goods and $37.9 billion of services. The first question troubling market players is whether China will be able to meet its commitment of higher purchases of US goods and services in such a short span of time. Also, there is uncertainty as to what happens after 2021, as the deal encompasses only two years. China has already indicated that it may not take the targets stringently. Vice premier Liu He, who signed the deal with US President Donald Trump at the White House, said Chinese businesses will buy American goods and services based on the market demand in China". There is also uncertainty about phase 2 of the trade deal as no timeline has been discussed so far. US Vice President Mike Pence said discussions had begun on a Phase 2 deal but did not more details. With a large number of differences between the two nations, market players are worried that there may be prolonged talks before a comprehensive deal is reached. Market players are already discussing the possibility that the phase 2 deal may happen only after the US presidential elections in November. The biggest disappointment is that most of the tariffs may remain in place until the phase 2 deal is signed. With the phase 1 of trade deal, US has suspended plan to impose tariffs on $156 billion worth of Chinese goods and also reduced the tariff rate to half from 15 percent to 7.5 percent on levies imposed on about $120 billion in Chinese products. But most of the higher duties, which affect another $360 billion of Chinese goods and more than $100 billion worth of US exports, stay. Overall, the signing of the trade deal is a positive development but the prospect of prolonged talks may keep market players nervous about a possible fallout and this nervousness may cause them to seek refuge in gold and other havens. (The author is VP- Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities.) : The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert 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. While Twitterati had a fun time finding answers to their seduction woes through a hilarious 'seduce someone in four words' challenge, German Foreign Office had to apologize for 'seducing' German visa applicants a little too much. Acquiring a visa for a European country at times could be an onerous process and Germany has humorously admitted to it. For people who have been waiting to have their visa to the country approved, "Your Visa Got Approved" could be a real stimulation to their hormones! But well, it was clearly a joke on Germany, too. Later, the office tweeted out an apology to their "deleted" 'four words' and said, "Being funny is apparently not always our strong suit. We deleted the tweet below and apologize to all who were offended by this. We know the visa process is complex, and visa decisions can deeply affect peoples lives. Our colleagues take these decisions very seriously." It didn't take much time for Twitterati to relate to the joke's realism and they immediately took to social media to share the consequences suffered due to a visa delay. No Sorry is not enough. GIVE ME VISA now. Ahmad Hasnain Khan (@ahmedhusnain) January 16, 2020 German humor is no laughing matter! Sam Seitz (@samseitz3) January 16, 2020 @arta_avdiu Good luck to us:) Xhemajl Rexha (@xhemajl_rexha) January 16, 2020 You have one the worst and most bureaucracic embassies in Khartoum, Sudan. I applied for a national visa since August 2019 and until now there's no response and I've postponed my language courses in L. A. N. E. S, Duisburg for several times. Why are you doing this?! Dr. Hem!xY (@Hemixy) January 16, 2020 I keep those precious memories about my German student visa alive. Velina Tchakarova (@vtchakarova) January 16, 2020 That's a bad tweet but a good apology. oscarfranklin #StopTheCoup (@OscarNMFranklin) January 16, 2020 My visa got rejected few months ago! I was deeply touched by the aforementioned tweet. You guys owe me a Visa! pic.twitter.com/4yKZkhNe8Q Ardin (@ardinmaloku) January 16, 2020 However, for few people, the 'four words' were so true that all they could do in despair is laugh it off. Though I was 3 days late to attend the young activists camp in Berlin. But that tweet is still funny Shaima Bin Othman (@Shaima_BO) January 17, 2020 I neither found it funny nor offensive. But interpreted it as somewhat a lucky charm for The Unsung Applicant. Sami M. Ellafi (@sami_m_e) January 17, 2020 pic.twitter.com/vWswRRE6bQ First Lord of the Space Force Admiralty (@Noah_Pology) January 17, 2020 It made me smile. I am longing for the day I hear that phrase. Karl White (@KarlWhi17761930) January 16, 2020 WASHINGTON Former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry played a key role as a messenger in President Donald Trumps pressure campaign on the Ukrainian government last spring, says Lev Parnas, the indicted former associate of Trumps personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. Perry was sent to the Ukrainian president's inauguration in place of Vice President Mike Pence to deliver the message that the new president needed to publicly announce an investigation into Joe Biden, Parnas said in an interview with MSNBC. He called Rudy on his way there to ask him what to discuss, and Rudy told him to make sure to give him the message, Parnas said about Perry, adding that the message was absolutely that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy needed to announce an investigation into the former vice president, Trumps political rival. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Its the most detailed account to emerge about the former Texas governors involvement in the scandal that led to Trumps impeachment by the U.S. House. The impeachment articles allege that Trump abused his power by withholding military aide from Ukraine until leaders there agreed to investigate Biden. The news comes days before Trumps trial in the Senate is set to begin in earnest. Whether or not senators will call additional witnesses to testify has been among the biggest question marks and some are now urging the Senate to question Parnas. Republicans, and the Trump White House have been quick to question Parnas credibility. Parnas faces federal charges, accused of illegally funneling foreign cash into U.S. elections. I wouldnt trust him as far as I could throw him, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and close Trump ally, told POLITICO. The details of Perrys alleged involvement could spark new questions for him, as well especially as another former administration official, John Bolton, who served as national security adviser, has said he will testify in Trumps trial, if asked. Such an offer is unlikely to come from Perry, 69, who has denied any wrongdoing. In regard to the impeachment, Perry has said he doesnt see the American people buying into this thing. While theres no indication yet that Perry would even make a potential witness list, Democrats including Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro have long called for an investigation into his dealings with Ukraine. Like other administration officials, Perry refused to comply with a subpoena from House Democrats during the impeachment inquiry part of what led them to impeach Trump for obstruction, as well as abuse of power. For subscribers: Rick Perry says Trump is Gods chosen one Perry was one of several senior Trump administration officials who knew about and approved of Trump's attempt to use the powers of his office to solicit foreign interference on his behalf in the 2020 election," according to a report by House Democrats. The report said Perry was one of the so-called Three Amigos who Trump put in charge of dealing with Ukraine. Trump ordered the group, which included Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and Ambassador Kurt Volker, special representative for Ukraine negotiations, to work with Giuliani, the report says. The three led the U.S. delegation to Zelenskiys inauguration in May. Parnas, in the interview with Rachel Maddow, said Perry called Giuliani after Zelenskiys inauguration, telling him that he spoke to Zelenskiy and Zelenskiys going to do it. Zelenskiy did announce a broader investigation into corruption following the meeting, Parnas said, but it wasnt good enough. Every time somebody would meet Zelenskiy, they would agree and then they would walk it back, he said. So they announced something about corruption thats he going to deal with corruption. And Giuliani blew his lid on that, saying thats not what we discussed. For subscribers: Texas Rep. Sylvia Garcia will serve on prosecution team in Trump impeachment trial U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Houston Democrat and longtime advocate for impeachment, told Hearst Newspapers he thought Parnas seemed credible in the Maddow interview. I think he ought to be heard, Green said. Somebody should call him as a witness. As for Perry? The Senate should try to talk to him, too, but hes probably going to deny it, Green said. All of these folks are going to deny. Theyre in the inner circle, he said. As long as they deny, theyre OK. In one of Perrys few public statements about the matter in November, he said Trump is Gods chosen one to lead the nation, and that hes confident the president will weather the impeachment storm. He will muscle right on through this, Perry said at the time. He is an extraordinary individual, to stay focused and disciplined. ben.wermund@chron.com Its no secret that the Nigerian fashion industry is very influential thanks to the tremendous growth achieved in the last decade. The adoration for wearing the Native style wear reinforces cultural pride, and Nigerian clothing for men is no exception. Nigerian fashion trends are setting the pace in the global fashion arena. As a result, Nigerian attires have crossed the border and not uncommon to locate various Nigerian outfits on the red carpet. Nigeria's refined taste in fashion and unapologetic embrace of their ethnic and traditional clothing has been the defining element pushing the success of the attires in the global fashion scene. The latest styles are a blend of the traditional attire with modern design techniques that embody the diverse cultural entities found in the West African country. Intrigued? Keep reading to learn of the various Nigerian outfits making a mark in the fashion scene. By infusing a modern touch to the native attires, a wide variety of stunning designs suited for both official and casual wardrobes become available. As they say, fashion is a repetitive process; and the once native style is today the face of fashion globally. From African print Ankara to native inspired gowns, Nigerian native attire styles are the root to some global labels that dot the African continent and the world at large. 1. Native 'Isiagu'-inspired outfits The Isiagu AKA chieftaincy outfit was a traditional Nigerian traditional wear of the Igbo people. Even today, the style is still smashing. Generally, the design looks like a shirt with embellished tribal gold patterns and colours. The Isiagu predominantly features graphics representing horses, crowns, lions, swords, or other tribal motifs. The word Isiagu comes from the phrase lions head pointing to the conspicuous lion head motif on the fabric. Isiagu is majorly worn with plain trousers. One can complement the outfit with accessories like a necklace and cap. The 'Isiagu' is traditionally used as men African wear for engagement. Be sure to wear an Isiagu to a formal event; even better, its an equivalent and could be used as an alternative to a western suit. The garment is no longer regarded as a royal attire as was the case. The latest designs and fabrics with diverse shades of colours are to die for. No doubt the Isiagu mens' African wear designs accord one a deserving presence in a social setting. It is common to find a Dashiki made with Isiagu fabric; however, gold buttons and chains accessories set the style apart from other African prints. Doesn't this 'Isiagu' sportswear look imposingly glamorous? How about a royal blue and gold 'Isiagu' top? 2. Senator styles Niger Delta outfit The senator style traces its origin in the Niger- Delta. The outfit includes a shirt that extends all the way to the knees and pants. Latest designs are made to be tight-fitting, contrary to baggy outfits in the early days. This attire is one of the trendiest Nigerian styles and is currently riding on high recognition. The ordinary fabric material is the most popular choice in the design of this native outfit. A former Nigerian senator, Anyim Pius Anyim, is claimed to have been spotted countless times wearing the costume. The Senator thus became the reference to the style. Most Senator African wear styles for guys feature either a short or long sleeved shirt dressed in western-style trousers. The fabric comes in a wide variety of colours. Senator styles are best-suited wear for formal events or as African wear for engagement. What distinguishes the senator style as a unique outfit is the cool tailored embroidery which runs along the midline and downwards over the chest. Also, retrofit of the vertical designs dotting the breast region is possible. To make the designs super stylish, some designers use shiny gold-like buttons. The sleeves can be short or long depending on the wearers taste. A long-sleeved shirt is typically styled to have holed cuffs to act as cufflinks. Go for a matching hat to add more elegance to the style. A casual pair of shoes, sandals, watch or flashy sunglasses is an excellent choice of accessory that leaves you looking so classy. 3. Ankara African print styles for men Ankara print is one of the most vibrant, sophisticated and adaptable fabric. A designer can incorporate the material in the design of any conceivable garment. So popular is Ankara today that it ranks alongside western fabrics on the fashion scene. In most cases, its made up of wholly cotton plus the unique African motifs and patterns. The African print latest African wear for men has become more popular with the younger generation striving to make it an everyday wear. Modern Native Nigerian designers favour the Ankara style. The fact that Ankara is a very variable style makes it one of the iconic elements in the African fashion and a fashion masterpiece that screams royalty. A wearer can style Ankara with sunglasses or a hat to create a unique look. Men can go for Ankara pants, T-shirts, shirts, blazers, a matching suit, shoes, shorts or hats. Ankara comes in different colours, patterns, and textures that make it suitable for different occasions. Animated patterns and colours might be appropriate for informal events like cultural ceremonies. Be sure to check on these latest Ankara styles for traditional wedding ideas you borrow to spice up your wardrobe. Styles for a male like an Ankara jacket layered over classic shirt plus pants give a magnificent sight. 4. Modern styled 'Atiku' wear The sophisticated Atiku fabric is one of the most in-demand Nigerian fashion styles. This fabric makes up a large number of native and traditional attires triggering a huge fashion craze. Atiku features a firm lace texture that is thin, hence, eliminating the see-through perforations seen on many materials. Variation in thickness depends on the target brand and quality. The unique aspect, and in some cases the limiting factor to this fabric is the fact that it comes in one colour in one material. You can choose between white, black, cream, navy blue, sky blue, and brown. A preference on multi-coloured fabric goes contrary to the Atiku fabric. The Atiku fabric is also instrumental in designing the agbada and Buba. Embroidery is the prerogative of the designer; however for agbada, embroidery is mandatory. This clothing is an appropriate Nigerian everyday fashion to any occasion regardless of ones age and social status. Accessorize the Atiku styles with wrist watches, shoes, and a matching cap. With such style, a gentleman stands to dash out looking sharp. 5. Nigerian Dashiki fashion styles We cant talk of Nigerian men Africa wear without the mention of Dashiki. Dashiki traces its origin to the Yoruba and Hausa people who identified the outfit as danshiki or dan ciki. The garment made headway into the American society during the civil rights movements in Harlem. After African Americans used Dashiki as a symbol of resistance, the style went global. Since the clothing fell into the hands of designers beyond the African continent, its popularity has grown by leaps and bounds. Dashiki African designs for men feature a top shirt with a unique V-collar buttonless slit and stitched interlacing. Embroidery is part and parcel of the design process. It has become an essential component of Nigerian fashion. Wear a Dashiki with trousers or a cap and be assured to step out looking dashing. Sophistication in design varies from minimal to extreme embroidery. Some models feature mens wear with low-lying pockets on the front; others rock a hood. Cotton-based Angelina print is the standard fabric in Dashiki designs. Men African wear designs have been pushing hard to modify this outfit to infuse it into the conventional fashion. In this light, a royal blue dashiki is one of the latest trendy styles you can come across; a new twist indeed. This outfit is not only sophisticated but a resourceful outfit to any man. 6. Nigerian 'Agbada' attires Agbada means Voluminous attire. The sheer size of this ankle length garment makes it comfortable for the wearer 'Agbada' falls among the most popular and appreciated Nigerian styles. Among the features that make this garment unique are the overflowing flaps that demand the wearer to keep them steady on the shoulders. Some techniques make use of decorations with traditional beads and identical accessories. Design of these styles is majorly on the three-piece approach with embroidery on selected sections. Step out with an Agbada paired with a pair of pants and slim-fit inner shirt and be sure to earn some admirers. A formal event is a suitable venue to wear the outfit. No restrictions whatsoever; one can wear it to a semi-formal occasion or informal event. Without a doubt, this style commands affluence and authority. Accessorize the look with a hat (or Fila). For the attire to look astounding, have the trousers narrowed at the bottom. Embroidery in most cases is found at the uppermost part of the attire. Adoption of several common design variations is intended to appeal to different clientele and personal preference. Check below for pictures of African wear for men wearing different Agbada design styles: Matching outer gown, trousers, and inner shirt- There is uniformity on the fabric's colour on the pants, robe, and inner shirt. Embroidery depends on an individual's liking. Style the look with matching footwear and cap as accessories. Two-piece Agbada designs- Although conventionally, the Agbada is designed as a three-piece, you can do away with the fitting inner shirt and stick to an inner vest instead. Sounds cool? Yes! Short-Sleeve outfit The design goal for this style is to cut down the big costume by trimming the size of the gown to a limited knee-length, unlike the traditional ankle-length gown. Mismatched Agbada design-Playing around with different colours can be cool. Pick different coloured fabrics to rock matching inner shirt and trousers and a different shade on the gown. All manner of mismatch is possible; no limitation exists. 7. Kaftan style 'Aso Ebo' Nothing has garnered a fashion craze than Aso Ebo. The style is specially crafted for special occasions like funerals, family reunions, marriage, and birthdays and many others. The style comes from the Yoruba community who through the years have refined the Aso Ebo design. Today, the outfit has become synonymous in the Nigerian fashion scene with many fashion savvy men haggling to get a piece of the attire. The garment has reached far and wide, becoming a favourite in the West African nations. Generally, an Aso Ebo compromises long narrow trousers and straight tunic extending down to the middle of the thigh or further down the knee. The ordinary Kaftan comes in a variety of shades of colours- black, beige, pink, brown, blue, white, ivory, grey, burgundy, lilac, and orange, to mention just a few. The Kaftan is an undoubtedly comfy and stylish wear characterized by embroidery and native ornaments. Typically, the attire is worn in weddings and related social events. Its minimalized design affords one a chance to stand out among equals. Note: It is critical to understand that the Aso Ebo can either be designed into a Kaftan or Agbada style outfits. 8. 'Sokoto' with matching 'Buba' The Buba is a native shirt that is generally long. You can go for a short-sleeved or long-sleeved Buba. The Sokoto is a trouser intended to be tight-fitting and extend to the ankles. Also, the pants narrow at the bottom. The Sokoto was initially a native wear of the Yoruba people. Other Variations of the Sokoto include the Sooro and Kembe. Kembe breaks away from the set standard for being wide at the bottom and limited to knee-length. The versatility of the Sokoto allows one to wear it with other outfits like the Agbada. You can have a Sokoto tailored to be shorter for a chic look. The pants will feature a drawstring to hold it in the right position. A Buba features a loose fitting top shirt with a V-shaped neckline and extends below the waist. This style is appropriate to an informal event. Grab a cap or hat and step out ready to impress. The simplicity of this wear makes it one of the best outfits to wear when you have less time on your hands. 9. Hausa-inspired 'Babban Riga' The Babban Riga is a cultural wear of the Hausa people. Although the attire is a reflection of the Islamic way of life of the Hausaland, designers have adopted the style into the mainstream fashion. The outfit shares similarities with the Agbada. Just like the Agbada, Babban Riga makes heads turn at formal events. Be sure to attract attention by accessorizing the style with a hat and a pair of shoes. Intricate design that project the culture are made of materials that look glamorous and expensive. 10. Nigerian Kaftan A kaftan is a top shirt that can go as long as reaching to the knees. The shirt is not only simple but also irresistible. The outfit features elaborate designs with impressive embroidery. Without a doubt, a perfect choice for a formal or an informal event. Fabrics making up the gear can vary with African print like Ankara being the most used. The Kaftan is today, a favourite wear among the old and the young. Different Kaftan Nigerian clothing for men styles and colours can be selected to bring out a stunning outfit that compliments distinctive personal taste and looks. A kaftan is suited to any event or occasion. The fact that the Kaftan shirts provide unrestricted movements makes them very comfy as outdoor wear. Accessorize the style with casual or formal shoes for an outstanding look. Also sporting sunglasses, bracelet, and watches makes one look fashionable. READ ALSO Latest formal African wear for women Best tops to wear with african print skirts How to look handsome Source: YEN.com.gh T his week, our junior fashion editor Jessica Skeete-Cross talks us through her top picks for the new year. From school-ready shoes to couscous plates (the ultimate household essential), here's some eye candy get you ready for 2020. Ellie Mercer ring Totally obsessed with this ring and the resin inlay. Howlin cardigan Cardigans can be cool and this Antwerp-based brand is the coolest. Maison Margiela clogs The chicest back to school shoe. Wolf and Gypsy scarf A perfect winter warmer. Soft T-shirt If, like me, you wear t-shirts every day, then Everpress is the place for you. The coolest designs made in limited runs by independent creatives. You pre-order a piece and then they are made to order, reducing waste. Genius. LRNCE plate I love the naive motifs in LRNCE's work. They are so playful and the colours are beautiful. Davide Sorrenti Argueske 1994-1997 book A retrospective of the late great Davide Sorrenti by his mother and sister, Francesca and Vanina Sorrenti. I have always been fascinated by the portrait he paints of New York in the late '80s and '90s. Stepney Workers Club trainers Whats not to love about these tan cord trainers? Prada net bag Pretty & punchy. BFGF throw I've wanted a throw from BFGF for ages. Love the illustrations and contemporary cultural references. YMC jumper To brighten up your day. JW Anderson card holder Love the contrast stitching on this and think the price point is great! Jil Sander earrings Because I obviously need another pair of gold hoops and these are the perfect size and thickness. Bottega Veneta mules I have been lusting over these for ages. Pair with light blue Levis or a chic midi skirt. The perfect day to night shoe. ACNE coat Home Search ICH The Russian Prime Minister Resigns And No One Knows Why By Moon Of Alabama January 16, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - A curious 'regime change' happened in Russia today as the Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev and his whole cabinet resigned. This morning President Vladimir Putin held his yearly speech to the Federal Assembly of Russia (English transcript). Putin spoke about Russia's demographic situation, its weaponry and the celebration of the upcoming 75th anniversary of its second world war victory. But the most important part was about constitutional changes. A summary via TASS: Putin has suggested a putting up a package of constitutional amendments for a plebiscite. At the same time, the Russian president stated that he sees no grounds to adopt new constitution in Russia. Putin also suggest stipulating the supremacy of the Russian Constitution over international norms in Russia. The time has come to make some changes to the nations fundamental law that would directly guarantee the priority of the Russian Constitution in our legal space. What does this mean? It means that requirements of international law and decisions of international bodies can only be enforced in Russia to such an extent that does not violate human and civil rights and freedoms and does not violate our Constitution, Putin emphasized. It seems that the European Court of Human Rights has pissed off Russia once too often. The court is associated with the Council of Europe which has 47 member states including Russia. It has several times judged in the favor of renegade oligarchs in exile and the 'western' supported wannabe opposition in Russia. Putin then proposed additional changes to the constitution. These were probably the points that led to Medvedev resignation: Putin agrees that the same person should not hold the post of the head of state for more than two consecutive terms. "I know that our society is debating the constitutional provision that the same person should not hold the office of President of the Russian Federation for more than two consecutive terms. I do not believe that this question is of fundamental importance, but I agree with this," Putin said. The TASS interpretation that Putin 'agrees that the same person should not hold the post of the head of state for more than two consecutive terms' is not supported by Putin's statement. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Currently the Russian constitution does include a two consecutive terms limit. Does Putin want to keep it or lift it? The official English transcript of the speech also has a slightly different wording: I know that people are discussing the constitutional provision under which one person cannot hold the post of the President of the Russian Federation for two successive terms. I do not regard this as a matter of principle, but I nevertheless support and share this view. What exactly is the view Putin is supporting here. A term limit, as TASS seems to imply, or none, as the New York Times rumors? If the term limit is lifted then Putin could run again for a third consecutive presidency. Medvedev, who was said to have hoped to again become president, would probably dislike the second interpretation. More from TASS: The president has also suggested complementing Russias Constitution with a special requirement that a candidate running for the post of head state should be a resident of Russia for no less than 25 years and have neither foreign citizenship nor an overseas residence permit, not just at the moment of the election, but never before in the past. Under the Constitution today, any Russian citizen who has lived in the country for no less than ten years can be elected as Russias president. That a presidential candidate should never have had a resident permit in a foreign country is a curious restriction. Putin has lived in east-Germany between 1985 and 1990. He was an officer of the KGB at that time but I am sure that the KBG took care to have resident permits from the host country for its undercover officers. However, the change would not effect Medvedev. Additionally to the above Putin proposed to amend the constitution to expand the powers of parliament and the federal state council, which currently has little to say. From his speech: What is the situation like now? In accordance with articles 111 and 112 of the Russian Constitution, the President only receives the consent of the State Duma to appoint the Prime Minister, and then appoints the head of the Cabinet, his deputies and all the ministers. I suggest changing the procedure and allowing the State Duma to appoint the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and then all deputy prime ministers and federal ministers at the Prime Ministers recommendation. At the same time the President will have to appoint them, so he will have no right to turn down the candidates approved by the Parliament. (Applause.) All of this means drastic changes to the political system. The move would give any future President less power than Putin currently holds. But why would Putin weaken the position of the president if he would want to run for another term? The resignation of Medvedev as prime minister was completely unexpected and seems politically unnecessary. Media connected it to the constitutional changes Putin proposed: Before announcing the resignation of the cabinet, Medvedev met with Putin to discuss his state-of-the-nation address, which took place earlier on Wednesday, the Kremlins press office said. In his address, Putin proposed several amendments to the constitution. Medvedev explained that this cabinet is resigning in accordance with the Article 117 of the Russian Constitution, which says that the government can offer its resignation to the president, who, in turn, can either accept or reject it. In this context, it is obvious that, as the government, we must provide the president with a capability to make all decisions, which are required to implement the proposed plan, Medvedev said. Putin accepted the resignation and announced that a new position for a Deputy Chairman of the Security Council would be created and that Medvedev would take up that position. The Russian national security council is chaired by the president himself and includes the prime minister, the heads of the federal council and state duma, the ministers of defense, foreign and internal affairs, as well as the heads of the security services. Medvedev is thereby not sidelined but gains a position in which he is Putin's deputy in important internal and external affairs. In the evening Putin announced that he appointed Mikhail Mishustin, the head of Russia's Federal Tax Service, as the new Prime Minister. The 53 year old native of Moscow is practically unknown to the wider public. He is a curious and surprising choice. Even Russian analysts near to Putin seem not to know if Putin and Medvedev had planned today's 'regime change' or if it was a totally spontaneous move by a pissed off Medvedev. They also seem unsure if Putin wants to leave in 2024 or if he wants to stay for another term. We are thus left to make our own bets. This article was originally published by "Moon Of Alabama" - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Search Information Clearing House === Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. The city of South Houston will continue testing for mercury after a group of community members objected to its plans to discontinue a practice that city officials had said was not needed. Under the agreement, approved by the City Council on Tuesday, the city will continue monitoring and testing for mercury on a weekly basis, using a less-sensitive test than previously required. But the use of less-stringent detection levels will be contingent on results not showing levels of mercury above a predetermined mercury level six times over the life of the permit, or three times in a row. The reports will be sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and, if there are any issues, to the community and legal groups representing them as well. The move will cost the city $1,300 a year as opposed to the $12,000 it was paying for the previous testing, according to the city. This agreement is a win for the residents living along Berry Creek and Sims Bayou immediately downstream of South Houstons wastewater treatment facility, as well as birds and other wildlife that call this stretch of bayou home, said Kristen Schlemmer, legal director of Bayou City Waterkeeper, one of the groups opposing the citys original proposal to end testing. Weekly testing required under the agreement will make sure that if mercury leaves South Houstons facility at levels posing potential threats to public health or the environment, we will know about it and can take action, she added. For the city, the lower cost, coupled with the less-stringent requirements, were a decent compromise that outweighed the cost of litigation, said Bob Hunt, the contractor who helped put together the city application at the heart of the debate. Mercury is a neurotoxin that can accumulate in the tissue of fish and in bottom sediments in deep layers of water. About one-fourth of the sediment samples taken from Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel exceeded state standards for mercury, according to the Galveston Bay Foundations 2018 bay report card. It is important to know how much mercury, however small, is flowing into bodies of water that have topped their banks during storm events in the past, like Hurricane Harvey, said Rodrigo Cantu, an environmental attorney with Lone Star Legal Aid who represented the Caring for Pasadena Communities. The agreement reached keeps in place an important safeguard and speaks to the value of community involvement and input in matters that affect their environment. South Houston has been required for more than 12 years to carry out weekly tests for mercury after a lab result found elevated levels, though city officials claim it was flawed; the result was later dismissed because of quality control issues. The city now has enough data from testing at the states lower required detection level to show that mercury is not present in the plants wastewater above the permitted level, officials have said. In November 2017, the city submitted its application to the state to remove the total mercury effluent limitation and reporting requirements from its permit. To continue testing for a pollutant that has been proven to be below the state-required minimum analytical level would be a waste of financial resources and not provide any benefit to the environment, city officials wrote, and the TCEQ endorsed the proposed change. But attorneys and residents pointed to what they considered a dubious record of compliance and to previous mercury detection, even if it were at levels lower than whats allowed by the citys permit, as reasons the testing was still needed. Area residents voiced concern about what a potential mercury contamination could do to the nearby waterways and wildlife that attracted many of them to the neighborhoods in the first place. Bob McGrew, whose house in the Meadowcreek Village neighborhood is less than a mile from the citys wastewater treatment plant, welcomed the news. Thats great, he said Wednesday of the agreement. Weve always seen them (City of South Houston) as a good neighbor and it seems they want to continue that. perla.trevizo@chron.com At a recent rehearsal in the Masquer Theatre, five cast members darted around the stage, arrayed with old-fashioned equipment: microphones, a Victrola record player, a typewriter, a bass drum. At a table, covered with antiquated broadcast equipment, in the center stage, Glenna Brucken, a professional actor from New York, assumed the drawling voice of a U.S. Army general, assuring listeners of a radio news bulletin that the military could quash any potential threat from the nearby Martian ship, which had crash-landed on a New Jersey farm. To her left, a trio of actors gathered in a row and began stomping their feet to create the sound of the army approaching an alien as it emerged. As the threat escalated and the invaders warmed up their ray gun, Jeremy Sher grabbed a waterphone, a circular metal instrument, and began bowing to create an eerie, unsettling drone. On cue, Jeremy Sher clanged chains against a barrel and piece of sheet metal to generate startling sounds of violence. "War of the Worlds" infamously terrified listeners back in 1938, when Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre reinterpreted H.G. Well's story of an alien invasion on radio across the country. A new production by the Montana Repertory Theatre re-envisions the play, wondering how its messages of apocalypse would resonate if performed live on stage in 2020, with a cast of five creating those effects live on stage, the old-fashioned way. The Rep, a professional theater in residence at the University of Montana, picked the original 1938 radio play by Howard E. Koch as its touring production this year, where it will premiere in Missoula and then head to five other cities with stops back at home base. *** The Rep's new artistic director, Michael Legg, selected the play, which exists in the public domain and consists of not much besides the dialogue required for a radio play. He reached out to Caitlin O'Connell, a director based in New York who specializes in brand works, and asked her how she would reinvent the script, in essence creating a new play. O'Connell said she read the script and felt "haunted" by some of the language and its contemporary resonance, with phrases like "you wrecked the greatest country in the world," or references to calamity, catastrophe or disillusionment. "All those words to me speak to the moment that we are in, and the kind of tumult and turmoil that I think we see in our very divided nation in the moment," she said. In her vision, we see five characters who have survived a modern-day apocalypse. They break into spaces like an old multi-purpose recording or broadcast studio, and "re-tell" the original play as a "coded message to the people who might be able to tune in, the survivors of that crisis." With visual projections, there will be allusions to the threats they're under without getting too specific. "We're trying to give just enough clues and just enough details so that the audience understands that but also, we're not limiting it to an explicit or myopic view, one sort of hyper-liberal point of view on the world right now. We're trying to make space for people to bring their own interpretation of what that resistance group would be made up of," she said. *** The conceit of the play within the play sets the cast rushing around the stage in a choreographed manner, picking up and dropping gadgets and objects to create the live sound effects, whether it's a plane or an explosion. They also must switch personas frequently there are five cast members, three from New York and two from Missoula, portraying more than 20 characters. Brucken compared it to rubbing your stomach while patting your head. "Your body needs to be doing one thing and your voice needs to be doing another, and you've got to think about what's coming next," she said. The contemporary setting means that the cast doesn't have to do the nonstop "Mid-Atlantic, clipped radio voice" of the original, Sher said. "Sometimes the language really needs that, so you can dip into it slightly, and then bring it back into a contemporary place. And for the most part it's very much now," he said. O'Connell hired sound designer Michael Costagliola to think of ways to make those sounds live. He came up with an assortment of traditional Foley artist tools, like the water phone. He also improvised some unexpected ones, like a Styrofoam plate that conjures up the noises a Martian rising from a ship might generate. As they've moved into rehearsals, he's noticed that watching the actors make the sounds adds another theatrical element. "Seeing the cognitive dissonance between this ordinary object and the otherworldly sound it can produce is, I think, exciting to me," he said. It's also brought out an unexpected layer of lightness that you might not expect from a script that's completely straight-faced and serious. As a whole though, Sher said he believes it will be "genuinely terrifying" with "immediate and emotional" effects from the sound design. For those who haven't heard the original show, the latter half suddenly moves from action into a more ground-level contemplation of humanity, with a long monologue from a survivor. O'Connell said it "presents two different perspectives on where people go after an apocalyptic crisis." "The choice of Orson Welles' interpretation to land in that conversation and just give us human interaction and belief systems colliding, I think, is purposeful and feels also nice in a 2020 context, when we have so much stimulation, so many action films, so many disaster-apocalyptic movies that are more horror-based, more about gore and wreckage, to land in a really human interaction," she said. *** The production marks a re-incarnation of the Rep's tour under Legg, who was hired in early 2018 and is now in his second season in the post. Over about a quarter-century, the Rep had built a national tour, with stops around the United States. Legg said the number of producing houses that would book non-musical plays has declined in the past 10 years. With a shrinking number of venues, the profits from the tour were down as well. After taking a year off, the project is re-emerging as a Montana-only tour that still aligns with the Rep's original mission. "How can we go back to why this thing was developed in the first place, and it was to provide an educational experience to the students here, and to take theater to people in Montana who might not otherwise have access to it?" he said. The Rep had developed a signature style of "classic American stories," which often meant plays like its signature production, "To Kill a Mockingbird." Legg thought the Rep could extend that definition to include works outside of names like Tennessee Williams. In his view, one of the limitations of the classic American canon is that "those plays don't necessarily represent all the people who live in this state." "I can't think of one that ... really takes in the breadth and depth of all the stories that are contained inside this state," he said. It could mean, say, "War of the Worlds," a text that exists in the public domain and can be reinvented to engage and "acknowledge younger audiences and more diverse audiences." "What are the stories that have resonance today, what are the stories from that classic American canon that I can hand to a director like Caitlin and say, what can you do with this, how can you re-imagine this play to be relevant to all of our audience in Missoula?" he said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Tihar cites rules to delay ordered hanging. New Delhi: The execution of all the four convicts of the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case can take place only after the President of India decides on a mercy petition filed by one of the convicts in the seven-year-old matter. Just five days before the four convicts were to be hanged, Delhis Tihar Jail, where the convicts are lodged, on Thursday approached the court for a new date, saying the execution cannot take place until mercy petitions filed by the convicts were settled. Even if the mercy petition is rejected by the President, the convict has to be given 14 days time to prepare for his execution. All four have to be hanged together as per the session courts death warrant which had earlier set 7 pm on January 22 as the time of their execution. The sessions court on Thursday directed the jail authorities to file a proper report by Friday about the status of scheduled execution of the convicts. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora passed the directions after the jail authorities said they have written to the Delhi government on the issue of scheduled execution in view of pending remedies. The court was hearing a plea by one of the four death row convicts, Mukesh Kumar Singh, seeking postponement of the date of his execution on the ground that his mercy petition is pending with the President. The lawyer appearing for Mukesh told the court that there are subsequent developments that necessitate setting aside the death warrants. Last week, the sessions court had issued death warrants against the four convicts Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Singh and Pawan Gupta. Mukeshs counsel moved the trial court immediately after the Delhi high court declined to entertain his plea to set aside the January 7 order issuing his death warrant and asked them to approach the lower court. Soon after the lieutenant governor rejected Mukeshs mercy petition, the Union home ministry started examining it. A senior ministry official said that the petition was being examined and an appropriate decision on it would be taken soon. The ministrys decision will be communicated to the President who will take a final call on this matter. On December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old medical student was gang-raped and tortured on a moving bus before being dumped on a road in south Delhi. The woman, who came to be known as Nirbhaya, died on December 29 in a Singapore hospital. Six men were arrested for the horrifying assault. A fifth accused Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail during the trial and the sixth man, a few months short of 18 at the time of the incident, was released after three years in a reform facility. All the four death-row convicts were on Thursday moved to Tihar prison complexs jail number three where their hanging is set to take place. Till now, Vinay was lodged in jail number four, while Akshay, Mukesh and Pawan were lodged in jail number two of Tihar. Nirbhayas mother Asha Devi, fearing more delay in the execution of the four men, said she had been going to many courts for years but wanted justice now. If they have rights, we too have the right to justice for our daughter who was killed, she said. Both the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party also engaged in a war of words over the delay in hanging of the Nirbhaya convicts, with the saffron party blaming it on the Delhi governments complicity and sympathies for them, while the AAP accused its rival of instigating people with a lie. BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said all the four convicts would have been hanged by now, had the AAP government acted quickly and served notices to them immediately after the Supreme Court rejected their appeal against death sentence in 2017. Hitting back at the BJP, Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia dared the Centre to handover Delhis law and order to his government for two days, claiming it will hang the convicts in the Nirbhaya case . If they have not been hanged yet, it is due to the AAP governments negligence... This delay of over two and a half years is due to the complicity of Delhis AAP government. It has sympathies with these convicts, and this (delay) is a result of that, Mr Javadekar told reporters. Mr Sisodia and his party colleague Sanjay Singh said the BJP leader has spoken a lie and made insensitive comments. Javadekar ji police is under you (Centre), responsibility of law and order is under you, home ministry is under you, Tihar DG and administration is under you and you are blaming us. Please dont stoop so low on a sensitive issue. This a clear attempt to instigate the people, Mr Sisodia said. I want to ask you (Javadekar) why are you not taking responsibility. If you are not able to handle law and order of Delhi, give us Delhi police and law and order responsibility for two days and we will hang Nirbhaya convicts. After Supreme Court dismissed review petitions by various telecom companies challenging its judgement in the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) on Thursday said that the sector is again "deeply disappointed" as it is currently reeling under a debt of Rs 4 lakh crore. "While we respect the Hon'ble Supreme Court's order dismissing the industry's review petition of AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) matter, the telecom sector is again deeply disappointed. The sector, which is currently reeling under a debt of Rs 4 lakh crore, is a key contributor to the Indian economy in terms of consumer benefit, employment, revenue generation and contributes 6.5 per cent to the GDP," said Rajan S Mathews, DG COAI, in a statement. The Association said that the telecom sector is already facing heavy taxes and levies in the range of 29 per cent to 32 per cent, which are globally the highest. "The Supreme Court's dismissal of the review petition is the last straw in contributing to financial distress and it remains to be seen whether the industry will be able to recover from this setback," it added. The COAI further said that the apex court's order will add financial pressure on the sector will also adversely impact Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Digital India. As per the top court's direction, the companies have to pay pending AGR dues to the Department of Telecommunications by January 23. In a major setback to telecom companies, the Supreme Court had on October 24 last year, had rejected the Telecom companies appeal against the Centre's definition of AGR, and asked these Telecom companies -- Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and many others --to pay more than Rs 90,000 crores to the Centre by January 2020. Telecom companies had then moved the apex court and filed a review petition seeking an open court hearing on the same. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Queensland government must overhaul its Buy Queensland policy in the wake of the Maleny milk snub, the states peak small business body says. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland said the decision to grant a major contract to French-owned Lactalis Australia and Lion Dairy instead of locally owned Maleny Dairies was a symptom of a bigger problem. One reason Maleny Dairies missed out was its "low fat was not low fat enough", according to owner Ross Hopper. Credit:Maleny Dairies - Facebook CCIQ general manager of advocacy and policy Amanda Rohan said the government needed to look hard at whether its policy was delivering the results it was supposed to. The government can no longer hide behind the complexity of its tender processes. Maleny Dairies is just one example of the failing of its signature Buy Queensland policy, Ms Rohan said. Prime Minister on Friday told the group of union ministers visiting to spread the message of development among the people not only in the urban areas but also in the villages of the Valley, sources said. As part of a massive outreach programme, 36 central ministers will visit starting from Saturday. At a meeting of the Council of Ministers here, the prime minister asked the ministers to spread the message of development during their interaction with the locals, the sources said. They were also asked to spread the message about the various central schemes which will benefit at the grass-roots level. He said the ministers should not restrict themselves to the urban areas but meet people in villages also to inform about the developmental work carried out by the central government in The 36 Union ministers will visit different districts in both the divisions of the Union Territory starting from January 18 to January 24 and the home ministry is coordinating it. KYODO NEWS - Jan 17, 2020 - 20:59 | World, All Southeast Asian foreign ministers ended talks in Vietnam on Friday with pledges to continue cooperating on key issues, including facilitating the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar and reducing South China Sea tensions. A statement issued after the two-day informal meeting by Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said that besides those issues, the ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also considered plans for a special summit with the U.S. President Donald Trump. "We welcomed the invitation by the U.S. President to convene a Special Summit to commemorate the 5th Anniversary of ASEAN-U.S. Strategic Partnership this year and would report to the Leaders for final decision," it says. The U.S. government has proposed the event be held in mid-March in Las Vegas, according to diplomatic sources, but no date or venue was mentioned in an ASEAN chairman's press statement. Trump extended the invitation after he skipped ASEAN-related summits held last November in Bangkok, disappointing ASEAN leaders with his absence from the region's most important annual event for a second straight year. Friday's statement says ASEAN leaders look forward to his participation in this year ASEAN-related summits, which include the 18-nation East Asia Summit, to be held next November in Hanoi. On the Rohingya issue, the foreign ministers "reaffirmed the need for ASEAN to be more visible and to play an enhanced role in supporting Myanmar through providing humanitarian assistance, facilitating the repatriation process, and promoting sustainable development in Rakhine State." More than 740,000 Rohingya Muslims, a persecuted ethnic minority group in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, have fled from the country's westernmost state to neighboring Bangladesh since August 2017 to escape a brutal military crackdown on insurgents. Regarding the South China Sea disputes involving several ASEAN members and China, the statement says "concerns were expressed on the land reclamations, recent developments and serious incidents, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region." It says the ministers stressed the importance of upholding international law and the need to promote an environment conducive to ongoing negotiations toward a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. China, which claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, has installed military facilities on artificial islands created on disputed features. The foreign ministers also discussed the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, unveiled in June last year, which aims to ensure that ASEAN plays a "central and strategic role" in the evolving regional architecture. Views were also exchanged on the situation in the Korean Peninsula and tensions in the Middle East. The "ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat," held on a small island just off the coast of the resort city of Nha Trang, marked the first ASEAN ministerial meeting to be hosted by Vietnam since taking over the rotational chairmanship of the 10-member body from Thailand. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Related coverage: Myanmar's Suu Kyi denies Rohingya genocide in testimony at U.N. court Rohingya youths form football team in Japan, appeal for peace Japan, Vietnam vow to uphold rule of law in South China Sea China, India agree to cooperate to boost trade, but RCEP talks unclear The parent of Smith & Wesson has replaced its chief executive following misconduct allegations. American Outdoor Brands, which owns an array of shooting, hunting and outdoor brands, said in a statement Wednesday that its board of directors found that James Debney had engaged in conduct inconsistent with a non-financial company policy. American Outdoor did not provide specifics about the policy or when the violation allegedly took place, and it did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. We appreciate James contributions toward the growth and development of our company and its infrastructure, Barry Monheit, chairman of the board, said in the statement. Debney had been at the helm of American Outdoor and its predecessor company since 2011, expanding its portfolio through a slew of acquisitions. The firearms industrys fortunes are typically a sign of the political climate: Sales surge when consumers fear an administration might usher in stricter gun laws. But revenue has slipped during the Trump era. Springfield, Massachusetts-based American Outdoor plans to split into two publicly traded companies later this year, with one focusing on firearms and the other on outdoor goods. In November, American Outdoor announced that Debney would lead the outdoor products company after the spinoff. Investors seemed unfazed by the corporate shakeup. American Outdoors stock was down roughly 0.2 per cent after Thursdays open. American Outdoors named Mark Smith and Brian Murphy as joint CEOs. Smith has been president of the companys manufacturing services unit while Murphy sat at the top of the outdoor products and accessories division, the company said. After the company splits, Murphy will lead the outdoor business and Smith will take over the gun operation. American Outdoor said the division is carrying on as planned. CEO exits soared in 2019. In December, Steph Korey, co-founder of the luggage company Away, exited after an investigation into allegations of a toxic workplace culture. The month before, McDonalds Steve Easterbrook was removed as CEO and president after the fast food giant said he demonstrated poor judgment involving a recent consensual relationship with an employee. Overstock CEO and found Patrick Byrne abruptly quit in August after claiming to have been involved in multiple FBI investigations and to have romanced Maria Butina a flash point in the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election causing company shares to tank. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-16 22:44:52|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday to appoint the former head of the Russian Federal Tax Service Mikhail Mishustin as the new prime minister, one day after the resignation of the previous government. The decree released on the Kremlin website becomes effective immediately. Also on Thursday, Putin signed another decree appointing former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, a newly created post in the institution headed by Putin. Earlier in the day, the Russian State Duma, or the lower house of parliament, approved Mishustin, 53, for the post by a majority vote. Under the Russian constitution, Mishustin has to present to Putin the composition of the new government within one week. The previous government headed by Medvedev tendered its resignation on Wednesday, shortly after Putin made an address to the Federal Assembly. The US ambassador to South Korea has issued a fresh defense of his mustache despite critics in Seoul saying it reminded them of Japanese colonial rule. Harry Harris, who took office in July 2018, has been accused of having a 'disrespectful and even coercive' approach to the country. The row began when it was claimed the diplomat was sporting a mustache that evoked the country's years of colonial rule under Japan in the 20th century. Harry Harris (pictured), who took office in July 2018, has been accused of having a 'disrespectful and even coercive' approach to the country During his 40-year military career Harris was clean-shaven. His facial hair and Japanese heritage has angered some South Koreans in his new role as ambassador But Mr Harris, 63, said in Seoul last week that he has been criticized due to his ethnic background. According to the Guardian, he said: 'My moustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination here. 'I have been criticized in the media here, especially in social media, because of my ethnic background, because I am a Japanese-American.' During the nearly 40 years Korea was ruled by Japan, all eight Japanese governor-generals wore mustaches. Harry Harris the US Ambassador to South Korea, and is pictured at a ceremony to mark the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor earlier this month. He grew a mustache when he took over the role in July Harris has faced more intense criticism over the issue due to his American-Japanese heritage, leading to accusations he favors Japan over Korea. Because of this historical facial hair link, Harris has often has been ridiculed for not being an ambassador but a governor general, according to local media. Harris was born in Yokosuka, south-west of Tokyo, to a US Navy officer and a Japanese mother. The Korean peninsula became a Japanese protectorate in 1905 and part of the Japanese empire from 1910 until the end of the Second World War in 1945. Before becoming ambassador, Harris was clean-shaven when he served as an admiral in the US Navy, but decided to grow a mustache to mark his career change after 40 years of military service. Harris told Korea Times: 'I wanted to make a break between my life as a military officer and my new life as a diplomat. 'I tried to get taller but I couldn't grow any taller, and so I tried to get younger but I couldn't get younger. But I could grow a mustache so I did that.' He went on to point out that many Korean independence leaders also had mustaches. Yoshimichi Hasegawa was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and Japanese Governor-General of Korea from 1916 to 1919 (wearing a mustache all the other seven post-holders did) Mr Harris said: 'There are many Korean independence leaders that have mustaches, but no-one seems to focus on that. 'All I can say is that every decision I make is based on the fact that I'm the American ambassador to Korea, not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea.' In December activists joined a performance ridiculing Mr Harris's mustache in central Seoul by vandalizing a portrait of the ambassador. Protesters angry over American demands South Korea pay more for defense destroyed portraits of him stuck on blocks of tofu outside the US embassy. The groups had planned to behead an effigy of Mr Harris but instead smashed up the blocks of traditional Korean food after a police warning. Mr Harris has become a political lightning rod for South Koreans angered by President Donald Trump's push to get South Korea to pay billions of dollars more toward maintaining the 28,500 American troops stationed in the country. The average waiting time of vehicles at toll plazas rose 29 percent between December 2019 and January 2020 even after rollout of electronic toll collection through FASTags, the Hindustan Times reported. This despite toll payments through FASTags increasing by at least 60 percent of total toll collections during the given period, data from the transport ministry revealed. Citing data from the central toll plaza traffic monitoring system, which is currently live at 488 plazas, the report stated the average waiting time for a vehicle was seven minutes and 44 seconds between November 15, 2019, and December 14, 2019. This waiting time went up to nine minutes and 57 seconds between December 15, 2019 and January 14, 2020, the data showed. The average waiting time for a vehicle at a toll plaza is calculated by the time travelled by each vehicle to cross the toll plazas and is calculated within one km distance of the booths. Also read | FASTag not reading? Trip for free, says NHAI The average waiting time of vehicles at plazas on the day FASTags started being used -- December 15 -- were recorded higher than the same day in the preceding year. The waiting time was recorded 10 minutes and four seconds on December 15, 2018, while it was 12 minutes on the day in 2019, it said. The annual average wait time at toll plazas has also been increased. In 2018, this was eight minutes and 16 seconds which increased to nine minutes and 12 seconds last year (till November 2019), the report added. Also read | Ministry of Highways temporarily relaxes FASTag Rules for 65 NHAI toll plazas FASTag is an electronic toll collection system, operated by the National Highway Authority of India. It is a prepaid tag, affixed on the vehicle's windscreen, which enables automatic deduction of toll charges and lets the vehicle pass through the toll plaza without stopping. In January last year, when he was thinking about starting a podcast, writer Jon Mooallem sent out a tweet: Heres a teaser for the first episode of my podcast, Walking. Each week, 30-60 minutes of me taking a walk, not talking, unless I pass someone in the woods and say Hi or something. Am I joking? You tell me. The thing is, he was half-joking but half-not-joking. Part of me was wondering if it was a good idea and I was maybe hoping that something would happen, he says from his home on Bainbridge Island off Seattle, where he lives with his wife and two young daughters. Then I started looking for sponsors and this first-time novelist in the UK named Alan Trotter jumped on it and said Ill be the first sponsor. We hear the crunch of his boots on gravel, twigs, dirt and leaves. Credit:iStock Others followed, charmed by the lo-fi, low-stakes nature of the show. On his website, Mooallem says that his ad rates are low and pretty arbitrary. Sponsors have included a Californian non-profit, a life coach offering $25 off sessions and someone who simply wanted to wish a friend a happy birthday. For five bucks listeners can become Stick-fluencers you get thanked on an episode for sticking up for the podcast and youre sent a stick that Mooallem picks up on that walk. CENTER TOWNSHIP A 19-year-old was airlifted to a hospital after a deer crashed through her windshield, police said. A county detective driving behind the car jumped into action as medics were en route. Police were called to the crash around 5:30 p.m. Thursday on Froberg Road, south of County Road 500 North in Porter County, said Porter County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Ben McFalls. A 19-year-old woman was driving a Jeep Wrangler northbound when a deer ran in front of the vehicle and was struck. The deer crashed through the windshield, injuring the woman. Following directly behind the Jeep was off-duty Porter County Sheriffs Detective Sgt. Brian Dziedzinski, who immediately came to help. While waiting for Valparaiso firefighters and medical responders to arrive, Dziedzinski gave the driver and a passenger first aid, McFalls said. The driver was airlifted to Memorial Hospital of South Bend with unspecified injuries. The passenger, a 20-year-old woman, was treated for minor injuries and released by medical professionals at the scene. Opening expected in spring or early summer A new store is coming to Green River this year. Bomgaars, a retailer headquartered in Sioux City, Iowa, will be opening a branch in Green River. The store will open at the old Shopko building on Bridger Avenue. Were looking forward to coming into the community, Aaron Bomgaars, vice president of property management and store development said. Bomgaars said work is underway at the building and the company is aiming for a spring or early summer opening. He said the Green River location represents a great opportunity for the company, giving it access to both Green River and the nearby... Though rain has finally arrived, parts of South Australia are still burning. Photo: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images As Australia continues to be devastated by bushfires, the New York City restaurant community has stepped up to do what it does best: feed people in the name of a good cause. Over the next few weeks, restaurants and cafes throughout the city will host dinners, fundraisers, and drives to help the people and wildlife of Australia. Below, Grub has put together a guide to these events. All you gotta do is pick one (or three) and show up with your wallet out. Bourke Street Bakery When: Ongoing Last weekend, this Sydney import held a sold-out fundraiser and auction in support of the wildfires. That fundraiser is long past, but Bourke Street is still accepting donations via Chuffed for the NSW Rural Fire Service and Country Fire Authority Victoria. So far, theyve raised $16,725, which is $11,000 more than their original goal. Donate here. Theres also an auction featuring all sorts of goodies that will run through 9 p.m. on Sunday. Gran Tivoli When: Ongoing This Italian-Australian restaurant has organized a $20 cocktail flight where every flight sold will go to the Australian Red Cross. So sidle up to the bar and enjoy a coffee & cream cocktail; a 50/50 cocktail with gin, lillet, and orange bitters; and an Aussie Old Fashioned made with Australian single malt whisky. No tickets needed. Crown Shy When: January 17 and January 24 Tonight and next Friday, this Financial District restaurant will host a series of Australian wine dinners, spotlighting vineyards that have been affected by the bushfires while also raising funds for the Red Cross and Koala Hospital. The menu will feature Crown Shys greatest hits: roasted short rib, Gruyere fritters, grilled pears salad, and more. The entirety of the $200 ticket will go toward relief efforts. Find tickets here. Gerber Group When: January 22 The restaurant group behind spots like Mr. Purple, the Crown, the Campbell Bar, and all the bars at the new TWA hotel will donate 10 percent of the till next Wednesday to WIRES, a wildlife rescue organization. Bluestone Lane When: January 26 In honor of Australia Day, this chain of Australian all-day cafes will host fundraisers at multiple locations throughout the United States. (In New York, head to the Bowery Cafe at 19 Kenmare Street.) For $35, attendees will be invited to eat Australian dishes like meat pies and lamingtons as well as Australian beers and wines. There will also be auctions for prizes from Qantas, Soulcycle, Bandier, and other brands. Grab tickets here. Estela When: January 26 Ignacio Mattos & Co. will host a dinner benefiting the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief fund. The collaborative menu will feature some Estela faves, like Iberico ham with anchovy and chicories and those ricotta dumplings, but youll want to grab any menu items with ** next to them, as proceeds from those dishes will benefit the Red Cross. Get reservations here. Sonnyboy When: January 26 Next Sunday, this Australian restaurant will have a set dinner menu for Australia Day. There will be beet cashew dip, half-shell prawns, chicken Parm, pub salad, and all other manner of Australian delights. One hundred percent of sales from Australian wines on the menu will go toward bushfire relief efforts. Grab a 6 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. reservation here. Del Posto When: January 30 In a little under two weeks, chef Melissa Rodriguez will gather some of the biggest names in food at Del Posto for a dinner in support of bushfire relief. So far, the roster of participating chefs includes Victoria Blamey (Gotham Bar & Grill), Renata Ameni (Crown Shy), Angie Mar (The Beatrice Inn), Christina Tosi (Milk Bar), Eunjo Park (Momofuku Kawi), and many, many more culinary stars. All of the proceeds from the $200 tickets will go to Red Cross Australia and Koala Hospital. Find tickets here. Drexlers When: February 4 This bilevel bar in Alphabet City from the folks behind Mister Paradise, Paper Daisy, and other East Village cocktail spots will host a Drink Up to Down Under fundraiser to raise money for the Australian Red Cross, NSW Rural Fire Service and WIRES (NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Services). $20 will get you a free cocktail and access to a raffle and auction featuring a luxury hotel stay and dinner at speakeasy steakhouse Paradise Prime. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 06:55:46|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Grand Canal Square is lit up red for the coming Chinese New Year in Dublin, Ireland, Jan. 16, 2020. A launch ceremony to light up Dublin red for the coming Chinese New Year was held here on Thursday evening. "Light up with Chinese Red" is an initiative first put forward by Dublin City Council five years ago and later copied by many other cities and counties in Ireland. (Xinhua) DUBLIN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A launch ceremony to light up Dublin red for the coming Chinese New Year was held here on Thursday evening. Chinese Ambassador to Ireland He Xiangdong, Deputy Mayor of Dublin Tom Brabazon, and Tourism Ireland Chief Executive Niall Gibbons attended the ceremony which was held at the famous Samuel Beckett Bridge. Named after Samuel Beckett, an Irish writer and a Nobel Literature Prize laureate, Samuel Beckett Bridge is a cable-stayed structure with steel cables shaped in a way to resemble the strings of a harp, a national symbol for Ireland. Flying over River Liffey that flows through the center of Dublin, the bridge is one of the iconic buildings and tourist attractions in the city. At the launch ceremony, the entire Samuel Beckett Bridge was lit up red with a huge screen formed by the cables of the bridge constantly displaying greetings for Chinese New Year both in English and Chinese. Several other landmark buildings in the city, including the Convention Center Dublin which stands right next to Samuel Beckett Bridge, were also lit up at the ceremony. When the Chinese New Year celebrations hit its peak period which will extend from Jan. 24 to Jan. 26, a number of other landmark buildings across the city will all be lit up red, said Brabazon, adding that they include Mansion House, the official residence of the Mayor of Dublin, and Dublin City Council, and Guinness Storehouse, a historical site for producing the famous beer Guinness. "Light up with Chinese Red" is an initiative first put forward by Dublin City Council five years ago and later copied by many other cities and counties in Ireland. It is no longer news that a bill seeking for an Act to make special provision for Federal grants to Lagos State in recognition of its strategic socio-economic significance and other connected purposes was rejected by the 8thSenate. The bill, which was then sponsored by Senator Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central), purportedly sparked huge uproars at the upper chamber that it took the frantic intervention of Senator Ike Ekweremadu who presided and had to bang the gavel a number of times to still fraying nerves. Indeed, that was the second time that the said Bill would be experiencing stiff opposition at the upper chamber. Recall that it was earlier presented during the 7th Senate, but was turned down at the committee level on the ground that according Lagos such status should be a matter of political decision, which should be kept out of the Constitution. Thus, it could be said that with the 8th Senate, the bill made an appreciable progress. Though in the second instance, when the bill was eventually put into voice vote the nays obviously had the day. From the tone of strong opposition to the bill in the previous Senate, the following could be inferred. First, it was supposed Lagos already had sufficient resources to take care of its needs. Second, tribal interplay was quite evident as senators who supported or opposed the bill did so in a manner that suggests tribal sentiment. Third, legal or constitutional constrain was a major issue. Fourth, political contemplation was equally a strong factor. The truth, however, is that the need to accord a special status for Lagos is more of a national project. There is hardly any Nigerian that doesnt have a stake in Lagos. A special federal grant for Lagos is, therefore, a necessary blueprint for the development of the country. Being the pane through which the whole world views the country, granting a special status to Lagos remains the best possible way to drive Nigeria's development as Lagos is the country's most industrialized city with needs that align with national growth and development. On the position that Lagos State already has sufficient resources to meet its many needs, it is must be stressed that the population, cosmopolitan and commercial nature of Lagos put enormous pressure on its resources and infrastructure. Recent downturn in the national economy equally exerts further pressure on Lagos as it seen by many as a place that offers soccour for economic survival. In-spite of its small landmass, Lagos is presently experiencing such phenomenal population explosion that it is being projected to be the largest megacity in the world by 2022. Many are of the view that, the citys best possible population is 40 million. Whereas the annual population growth in the developing world is 3% and Nigerias is 2.7%, that of Lagos stands at a stunning 8% and it is likely to keep accelerating. The states landmass is rather small by Nigerian standard (Kano State which officially has about the same population with Lagos is about four times in landmass). As if to aggravate the situation, a considerable part of the metropolis is covered by water, a situation that complicates its infrastructural needs. The Lagos transformation project, no doubt, requires an enormous financial requirement, far beyond the capacity of the state government. Former Governor of the state, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), once revealed that a sum of N6.14 Trillion was needed to build and upgrade infrastructural facilities in the state in the next 15 years. And that was about eight years ago! This, then, is the significance of the call for the state to be accorded a special status by the federal government. A recent survey indicates about 25, 000 people come into Lagos daily. Thus, despite huge fund being expended on infrastructure development by the State Government, the efforts are not enough for obvious reasons. In the last twenty years, the state government has invested a huge amount of money on infrastructure development, especially construction of drainages, durable roads, beautification and restoration of parks to forestall the negative impact of flooding, erosion and other environmental hazards. However, these efforts are not enough for obvious reasons. Today, Lagos does about 10,000 metric tons of refuse daily, more than what the whole of Ghana is generating. The branch networks that some banks have in Lagos outstrip what they have in the whole country. The number of heavy duty trucks and other vehicles that ply Lagos roads on a daily basis is quite alarming. Same goes for the number of pupils in its public schools as well as those that daily visit its public hospitals. Consequently, the State spends more on infrastructure upgrade and provision of other basic life necessities than any state in the country. Lagos, with over 150,000 workers in its employment, apart from the Federal Government, remains the greatest employer of labour in the country. Ironically, many of the states in the country with lesser population and infrastructural needs receive almost same monthly federal allocation as Lagos. Aside the pressure on its infrastructure, there is a crucial moral angle to the quest to accord Lagos a special status. When the FCT was moved from Lagos to Abuja, there was a subsisting agreement that the city would not be abandoned. Indeed, the Late General Murtala Mohammed acknowledged the onerous nature of the responsibility of leaving Lagos alone to deal with the burden of infrastructure the FG were leaving behind then, bearing in mind that if Lagos hadnt been the federal capital, it probably would not have been having these problems. In fact, five cities; Enugu, Port-Harcourt, Ibadan, Kaduna and Lagos were later designated as Centres of Excellence by the Murtala Administration as part of a plan to make them cities of pride by the federal government. However, successive Federal Governments have refused to take a cue from countries such as Germany, Brazil, Malaysia, Australia and Tanzania, which, after relocating their capitals, did not hold back developmental programmes in the former capitals. No nation grows by treating the needs of its golden geese with discomfiture. Undoubtedly, the future growth of Nigeria is tied to the development of Lagos which generates the bulk of the VAT accruable to the country, hosts over 85 per cent of Nigeria's industrial hub and over 65 per cent of its financial nucleus as well as over 75 per cent of its active workforce. One hopes that the current Senate, under the leadership of Senator Ahmad Lawan will dispassionately look into the subject and do the right thing. Given the centrality of Lagos to the overall social-economic aspiration of Nigeria, the upper chamber and other critical stakeholders should rise above primordial considerations and treat the Lagos special question more impassively. Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja Residents of a small town have been told to evacuate following a severe bushfire warnings. Victoria Emergency issued the warning on Friday for Buffalo Creek, Buffalo River, Merriang, Merriang South and Nug Nug in the state's north-east. An out-of-control bushfire has broken out on the north west side of Mt Buffalo and is threatening the Buffalo River Valley. Victoria Emergency issued the warning on Friday for Buffalo Creek, Buffalo River, Merriang, Merriang South and Nug Nug in the state's north-east 'Fire activity is expected to significantly increase this afternoon [Friday 3.30pm] under the influence of strong and erratic wind from the south,' the warning read 'Fire activity is expected to significantly increase this afternoon [Friday 3.30pm] under the influence of strong and erratic wind from the south,' the warning read. 'If the fire produces a convective column, there will be high potential for spotting into the Buffalo Valley from this afternoon.' Meanwhile, Melbournians are also told to expect the smoke from the deadly Victorian bushfires to make its way back to the city by the weekend as they continue to burn through more than 1.5 million hectares. Victoria Emergency issued the warning on Friday for small towns due to an out-of-control bushfire After the smoky start to the week was broken for much of the state by thunderstorms, senior meteorologist Dean Stewart from the Bureau of Meteorology said the haze will return. 'Easterly winds over the fire grounds are likely to push that smoke back into central areas from tomorrow,' Mr Stewart said. 'There is a bit of uncertainty as to how bad that smoke haze will be but nevertheless at least some smoke haze in the area tomorrow and Sunday.' While the rain caused flash flooding in Victoria's west and metropolitan Melbourne, what showers did hit the alpine and East Gippsland regions on Thursday did little to help battle the fires. So far the blazes have burnt through more than 1.5 million hectares, 387 residential homes and 602 non-residential buildings. Five men have also died during the fires. As of midday on Friday, all 17 fires across the state were at watch and act level or lower, with an evacuation order issued for a fire near Mount Buffalo. Some new fires were sparked by lightning on Thursday. There are 1500 firefighters and 45 aircraft working on the blazes. Smoke from the Victoria bushfire fills the sky over Melbourne city on January 14, 2020 Smoke from bushfires covers the Melbourne CBD on January 15, 2020 Among them are 130 international personnel and three additional contingents from the US and Canada are arriving on Saturday, Tuesday and next Friday Friday saw a second heavy downpour that has fallen on parts of Australia's bushfire ravaged and drought-stricken east coast in New South Wales. The first significant rain in months fell on Thursday - drenching parts of Victoria and helping to extinguish more than 32 blazes in the state. Rain is again forecast for this weekend with the heaviest predicted for regions around Sydney, the NSW mid-north coast, and Brisbane. While the rain has given firefighters much-needed hope, there are also concerns the wet weather could cause flash flooding, landslides, and contaminate water with ash and debris. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 17:10:45|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Visitors learn about tie-dyeing technique of cloth and other fabrics during a cultural event celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year at Chinese Cultural Center in Rabat, Morocco, Jan. 16, 2020. Chinese Cultural Center in Rabat, Morocco's capital city, on Thursday night organized a cultural event under the theme of Chengdu Temple Fair, which marks the launch of "Happy Chinese New Year" events in Morocco. Artists, chefs and artisans from Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, performed at the temple fair, attracting more than 300 guests. (Xinhua/Chen Binjie) RABAT, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Cultural Center in Rabat, Morocco's capital city, on Thursday night organized a cultural event under the theme of Chengdu Temple Fair, which marks the launch of "Happy Chinese New Year" events in Morocco. Artists, chefs and artisans from Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, performed at the temple fair, attracting more than 300 guests. During the event, visitors can taste the Chengdu snacks such as "three cannon" dessert and dandan noodles, participate in traditional Chinese handicraft production such as oil umbrella production and mask drawing, and enjoy performances like lute Solo and Chinese acrobatics. Moroccan girl Jihane El Kbiri told Xinhua that the temple fair was rich in content and interesting, making her feel the joyful atmosphere of the Chinese Spring Festival and deepening her understanding of traditional Chinese culture. Hakima Bouchikhi, a Moroccan teacher who is learning Chinese, said that the temple fair makes her learn about the folk customs, food, and crafts related to the Chinese New Year, as well as strengthening friendship with Chinese friends. DUBLIN (dpa-AFX) - Experian plc. (EXPN.L) reported that its third-quarter total revenue grew 7 percent at actual exchange rates and 9 percent at constant exchange rates. Organic revenue growth was 7 percent at constant exchange rates. The company noted that overall the performance was in line with its expectations and its guidance for the full year is unchanged. In North America, quarterly total revenue growth was 11%, reflecting acquisition contributions from AllClear ID, MyHealthDirect and AutoID. Organic revenue increased by 10%, notwithstanding the effect of one-off third-party breach support revenue in the prior year. In Latin America, total revenue growth at constant exchange rate was 19%, reflecting the first-time contribution from the acquisition of Sentinel Peru. Organic revenue growth was 18% at constant exchange rates, including a stand-out performance in Brazil. In the UK and Ireland, both total and organic revenue declined 3% at constant exchange rates. At constant exchange rates, total revenue across EMEA/Asia Pacific declined by 1 percent, while organic revenue declined by 13 percent. The difference related to the contribution from the acquisition of Compuscan and other smaller acquisitions. The company will release results for the year ending 31 March 2020 on 20 May 2020. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Police investigating the 'suspicious death' of an 11-year-old boy in California are refusing to tell his family how he died or where his body was found, according to the boy's distraught parents. Roman Anthony Lopez was found dead in Placerville on Saturday hours after police put out a statement asking for the public's help in locating the boy, who was reported missing from his home in Coloma Street earlier that day. It has emerged that Roman lived in the home with his father Jordan, stepmother Lindsay and six other children, aged between 17 and two years old. Seven days into the investigation, police have released very little information about the circumstances surrounding the boy's death, which the Placerville Police Department earlier confirmed was being treated as 'suspicious'. Roman Anthony Lopez (pictured) was found dead in Placerville on Saturday hours after police put out a statement asking for the public's help in locating the boy, who was reported missing from his home in Coloma Street earlier that day Seven days into the investigation, police have released very little information about the circumstances surrounding what happened to Roman (pictured) Police have said the sensitivity of the case means they cannot release more information. Roman (pictured) had only moved into the home on Coloma Street from Michigan in December Roman's father Jordan Piper and stepmother Lindsay Piper said they still do not know how their son died or where his body was found. Police have also refused to say whether anyone has been arrested in connection with the boy's death. 'We have no idea what happened, where they found him, what the autopsy report said, if that's even done, any suspects, nothing. We have nothing. I've called repeatedly, all day long, everyday,' Jordan told The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday. Police have said the sensitivity of the case means they cannot release more information. 'The limited information provided to the public has been essential to this case because of the circumstances,' a statement released on Thursday said. 'There is very sensitive information that if released, could jeopardize the investigation.' El Dorado County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sergeant Anthony Prencipe confirmed that Roman's autopsy was completed Tuesday but they do not have the pathologist's report and 'will not be providing any further information in reference to the autopsy'. 'We do not anticipate that report for another four to six weeks,' he said. Any questions regarding the autopsy report should be directed to Placerville Police, he added. However, investigators have confirmed there is no threat to public safety and have promised to update the community 'as the case unfolds'. Roman and the family relocated from Michigan to Placerville in December. Jordan was awarded custody of Roman, after his birth mother Rochelle Lopez lost custody after suffering PTSD and substance abuse following her time in the US army in Iraq, Lopez has since said. Jordan is the father of the three oldest children, while the younger three are not biologically the children of the adults but are in the care of Lindsay. Kira Sutkay, mother of three of the other children, claims she had agreed to Lindsay home-schooling her three children and taking them to doctors appointments while living in Michigan, but learnt that Piper had moved her and the children out of the state without her knowledge. However, court records reveal Sutkay signed over attorney-at-law rights of her three children to Lindsay in July, and that a court hearing in September granted permission to move them to California. Placerville Police confirmed that six children who had been living in the same home as Roman were safe and had been taken into protective custody by Child Protective Services. The mystery around the circumstances of the boy's death comes as his birth mother has come forward claiming she only learned of his death on the news. Lopez, who lives in Wisconsin, said no one called her to tell her her son had died. 'I had to find out my son died from a news article. Nobody called me, his dad didn't call me,' she told KOVR. Roman was reported missing on Saturday by the Pipers, when they said they couldn't find him in their home. Roman's father Jordan Piper (left) and stepmother Lindsay Piper (right) said they still do not know how their son died or where his body was found. Police have also refused to say whether anyone has been arrested in connection with the boy's death Rochelle Lopez, Roman's birth mother, (pictured with her son) has come forward claiming she only learned of his death on the news In the interview with The Sacramento Bee, Lindsay said she went to fetch the 11-year-old boy for breakfast at about 9 am that morning to find him gone. 'We woke up for work like normal. Kids started waking up. Breakfast started getting made. I went upstairs to get Roman and he was not in his bed,' she said. Lindsay said Roman liked to hide in cubby-holes and secluded places around the family home. Two hours after finding the boy missing, the boy's stepmother said she and his father drove to the Placerville Police Department, about three minutes from their house but found the station was closed. Next, she said they went to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office who told the family they'd be on the lookout for the boy. The Pipers have criticized the police for taking hours to send an alert to officials about the missing boy. It is not clear why they did not call 911 to report the boy missing or why they waited two hours to go to the police station. Multiple law enforcement agencies participated in an extensive search of the community 44 miles east of Sacramento on Saturday. More than 40 of Jordan Piper's co-workers joined the search and missing fliers were printed and handed out in the area. Police scanner traffic from the night of the search indicates police went to El Dorado High School, close to the Pipers' home on Coloma Street. Police then confirmed they had found Roman's body that night. Roman (pictured) liked to hide in cubby-holes and secluded places around the family home, his stepmother said Authorities taped off the boy's home (pictured) on Coloma Street on Sunday after his body was found. The six minors living at the address are in protected custody The Pipers were taken to the Placerville Police Department to give statements and forfeited their wallets and IDs to investigators. Roman's family home was made the focus of crime scene investigators on Sunday. The family had moved into the home from Michigan in December. Two vehicles parked outside the property - a white Chevy truck with Indiana plates and a silver truck with Michigan plates - were marked with multiple yellow evidence flags. Neighbors said they saw investigators collect evidence from the apparent crime scene on Sunday. 'It's so sad,' Jordyn Gilmore, who lives next door to the family, told KRCA. 'Who would've thought your next-door neighbor. Things happen and it's just crazy.' 'They have little kids, too. Completely normal. They play out in the front yard. There was nothing weird going on.' Another neighbor, who only provided his first name, Ed, told KRCA he had helped investigators search the father's property, which is right next to his, for the missing boy. The officers then returned a few hours later to search the father's property again. The local community is demanding answers, with a Facebook group dedicated to the boy's 'suspicious death' reaching 1,742 members and voicing speculation that the boy could have been the victim of abuse. Sutkay told KTXL that she was worried for her three children's safety. 'There's just no way a child just dies, you know, unexpectedly,' she said. 'The boy was healthy. My three children, they always played with him.' 'That's why I feel my children are in danger,' she added. Flowers, candles and condolences have been placed outside the boy's home. Police have asked anyone with information about the case to contact Det Luke Gadow at (530) 642-5210, ext 116. Investigators were seen collecting evidence from the apparent crime scene on Sunday Iran suggests US cyberattack led to weapons system failure that killed 176 people By ICH & Agencies January 16, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Iran is investigating how a cyberattack by the US may have been the reason why the Iranian weapon system operator confused the passenger aircraft for a cruise missile. The Iranians believe that the Americans disabled their radar system after Iran fired missiles at US troops housed in Iraqi bases in Anbar and Erbil. Iran Guardian Council chairman Ahmad Jannati stated Wednesday that enemy sabotage cannot be ruled out, while Brigadier General Ali Abdollahi directly suggested that US military forces hacked Irans radar systems to make it appear that the airliner, containing 176 people, was an incoming missile. Abdollahi claimed that the operator of the missile fired at the plane had difficulty in receiving the message of the command center when the alert about cruise missiles was removed and mistook the plane for an incoming American missile. Abdollahi also said the possibility of involvement of enemy infiltrators in the air defense system was being probed by the Iranian intelligence bodies and could not be ruled out yet. Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter (ANSA) - Brussels, January 17 - Although the eastern Mediterranean and Balkan area registered growing migratory pressure, the number of irregular border crossings detected on the European Union's external borders in 2019 fell to the lowest level since 2013 due to a drop in the number of people reaching European shores via the central and western Mediterranean routes, EU border agency Frontex has reported. According to preliminary 2019 data collected by Frontex and discussed by the agency's executive director Fabrice Leggeri at a press conference Friday, the total number of irregular migrants detected in the eastern Mediterranean went up approximately 46% in 2019. Roughly 14,000 irregular crossings were detected at the EU's borders on the Western Balkan route last year - more than double the 2018 figure, the agency reported. Meanwhile irregular crossings fell roughly 41% to around 14,000 in the central Mediterranean and 58% in the western Mediterranean to around 24,000, Frontex said. Overall, Frontex said preliminary data showed a 6% fall in illegal border crossings along the EU's external borders to just over 139,000 - 92% below the record number set in 2015. Nationals of Tunisia and Sudan accounted for the largest share of detections on the central Mediterranean route with Moroccans and Algerians making up the largest percentage in the western Mediterranean, Frontex also reported. OTTAWA - Canada will respect any decision by the Iraqi government to expel foreign troops from the country, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Friday, even as reports suggested the United States was considering sanctions and cuts to military aid should Baghdad give American forces the boot. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. National Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is seen during an interview with The Canadian Press in his office at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019. Canada will respect any decision by the Iraqi government to expel foreign troops from the country, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Friday, even as reports suggested the United States was considering sanctions and cuts to military aid should Baghdad give American forces the boot. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - Canada will respect any decision by the Iraqi government to expel foreign troops from the country, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Friday, even as reports suggested the United States was considering sanctions and cuts to military aid should Baghdad give American forces the boot. Speaking to reporters by phone during a visit to the Middle East, where he met with some of the hundreds of Canadian troops participating in the five-year fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Sajjan said Canada wants to continue its military training efforts in Iraq. Yet the minister, whose visit included stops in Jordan and Kuwait, acknowledged that "obviously the Iraqi government has concerns" and that western allies are "listening to those concerns" and trying to address them through talks. However, he added: "We are there at the request of the Iraqi government. If they were to change that, we do have to respect that." Canada's mission in Iraq has two main elements. One involves about 200 troops who have been training local forces through NATO to fight ISIL. A similar number of special forces have been working separately with Iraqi counter-terrorist units as part of the U.S.-led anti-ISIL coalition. Both elements saw their missions suspended last week, with orders for the troops to hunker down on military bases or, in some cases, relocate to Kuwait, over fears Iran or its proxies would retaliate for the U.S.'s having killed Iran's most important general, Qassem Soleimani. Iran did fire a volley of ballistic missiles at U.S. and coalition bases in Iraq, including one in Irbil the Canadian special-forces troops have used for years. No serious injuries were reported. While some Canadian troops have since returned to work, others remain on lockdown. Overshadowing everything are questions about whether the Iraqi government will expel all foreign troops. Following Soleimani's death, the Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling for them to leave. While many Sunni and Kurdish parliamentarians boycotted the vote, outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi voiced his own support for the resolution. Abdul-Mahdi, who announced his resignation following mass demonstrations in December but remains in a caretaker role for now, has since said he will leave the decision on whether to allow foreign troops to remain in the country to the next government. The U.S. has pushed back against calls for American and allied troops to leave the country, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that President Donald Trump's administration is considering sanctions and cuts to millions of dollars in military aid if Iraq expels its troops. While discussions with the Iraqis are ongoing, Sajjan said, "rest assured that one of the things we have discussed is that we need to continue on this mission because ... even though they do not control territory, they (ISIL) pose a risk in the region." Sajjan's visit to the region coincided with the resumption of some Canadian Armed Forces activities in Iraq, including operations by special forces soldiers and supply flights by military transport planes and helicopters. The minister emphasized, however, that the safety of Canadian troops remained the "No. 1 priority." He would not comment on whether Canada was given advance warning that Iran planned to fire missiles at the base in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, where Canadian troops were located. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2020. 17.01.2020 LISTEN With the hike in the economic activities in the Central Region, the Alliance for Development and Industrialization, (ADI), has added its voice to the traditional leaders for the construction of a first-class airport in Cape Coast. The clarion call on government by the ADI comes in a wake of growing economic activities in the region, more especially to curb the struggle that tourists normally go through before getting to the region. The carnage on the Cape Coast Accra road is on the rise of which many lives have been perished and has deterred many business moguls and tourists from travelling to Cape Coast to undertake their respective business activities, according to a statement issued in Accra by Francis Mensah, Convener of the group. Already, the people of Cape Coast and its environs have welcomed the idea of the construction of a new airport in Cape Coast, ADI survey reveals. Cape Coast has been the central tourist location in Ghana and an ever-growing center of business; strategically located between Accra and Takoradi. The construction of the airport is long overdue and we think it's not too late for the government, through a strategic partner to construct this first-class airport to meet the growing demand of the region, the statement said. The establishment of an airport in Cape Coast will come as a long-awaited solution to curb the many travels, economic and social issues facing the tourist capital, it said Cape Coast by default became the official Year of Return Initiative City but the long 4hour trip due to the Kasoa-Buduburam trip, makes it very discouraging and unattractive. A journey, which is expected to be done in 2 hours, takes 4hrs to drive from Accra with heavy traffic zones. The success of the project Year of Return means people of the diaspora would love to have a great experience visiting home but the local travel experience and the hustle would scare many of these people, it said. Cape Coast attracts between Nineteen thousand to Twenty-five thousand tourist visits each month. The country raked in almost US$3.5 billion investment from the recent year of return event held. The objective of establishing the City of Return to encourage diaspora investors to build along the coast and develop holiday getaway resorts across the coast next to castles and forts would become bleak if the airport is not constructed due to the deadly and scary experience many people go through when traveling along that stretch, it said. The establishment of the airport would help to attract investment from the diaspora and other sources. It would also create employment for the youth, transport airport services and hotel services. The social incomes of the people in the region would be improved through higher demand for all forms of services, construction, creative arts, hotel and catering', it said. Cape Coast has a high number of Grade A schools as well as the University of Cape Coast; which attracts over 60,000 people working and schooling. The establishment of the airport would also help the parents to visit their wards at school without going through any hustle. ---Ruth Aboagye || GhananewsOnline.com.gh Bru-Reang refugee crisis solved, 34,000 displaced people to be settled in Tripura The central government on Thursday signed an agreement with the Tripura and Mizoram governments as well as representatives of the displaced Bru-Reang people, ending a crisis involving 34,000 refugees. Under the agreement the centre would extend a package of around Rs600 crore to Tripura for the rehabilitation and all round development of Bru-Reang Refugees. Union minister for home affairs Amit Shah presided over the signing of the agreement involving the centre, the state governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru-Reang representatives in New Delhi, to end the 23-year old Bru-Reang refugee crisis. The agreement is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision for the progress of the North East and the empowerment of the people of the region. Ever since taking office, PM Modi has initiated numerous policy level interventions that have improved infrastructure, connectivity, economic growth, tourism and social development of the region. Briefing the media, Shah said that under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi a permanent solution has been arrived at for this long standing issue of rehabilitating thousands of Bru-Reang people in Tripura and they can now look towards a bright future. Under the new agreement, he informed, around 34,000 Bru refugees will be settled in Tripura and would be given aid from the Centre to help with their rehabilitation and all round development, through a package of around Rs600 crore. These people would get all the rights that normal residents of the states get and they would now be able to enjoy the benefits of social welfare schemes of centre and state governments. The settlement has been reached after detailed discussions held by union government with the state governments of Mizoram and Tripura and the representatives of Bru tribes and Bru refugees, he added. Under the new arrangement, each of the displaced families would be given 40x30 sq ft residential plots, in addition to the aid under earlier agreement of a fixed deposit of Rs4 lakh, Rs5,000 cash aid per month for 2 years, free ration for 2 years and Rs1.5 lakh aid to build their house. The government of Tripura would provide the land under this agreement, the home minister informed. In 1997, following ethnic tension, around 5,000 families comprising around 30,000 Bru-Reang tribals were forced to flee Mizoram and seek shelter in Tripura. These people were housed in temporary camps at Kanchanpur, in North Tripura. Since 2010, Government of India has been making sustained efforts to permanently rehabilitate these refugees. The union government has been assisting the two state governments for taking care of the refugees. Till 2014, 1,622 Bru-Reang families returned to Mizoram in different batches. On 3 July 2018, an agreement was signed between the union government, the two state governments and representatives of Bru-Reang refugees, as a result of which the aid given to these families was increased substantially. Subsequently, 328 families comprising of 1,369 individuals returned to Mizoram under the agreement. There had been a sustained demand of most Bru-Reang families that they may be allowed to settle down in Tripura, considering their apprehensions about their security. [January 16, 2020] RiskFirst Targets North America Growth With Hire of Former PBGC CEO Fintech company RiskFirst (A Moody's Analytics Company) has appointed Charles Millard to develop its North American defined benefit (DB) pensions client base, which includes pension plans, consultants and asset managers. Millard, working in an advisory role based in RiskFirst's New York City office, will harness his expertise and extensive network of North American pension plans to help grow RiskFirst's client base in the US and Canada. RiskFirst provides risk analytics and reporting solutions to the pensions and investment markets through its platform PFaroe, and is firmly established as a market-leader in the UK. RiskFirst has seen significant growth in the US in recent years and is seeking to take this to the next level. Millard brings valuable experience, having held senior positions within the industry for nearly 20 years, including at the US Government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), Citigroup and BP Direct Securities. Through his role as CEO of the PBGC - which has a strong focus on the liabilities of corporate pension plans as well as its own liabilities - he is well-positioned to understand the challenges facing the industry, and the value of RiskFirst's solution, PFaroeDB, in assisting asset owners and their advisors in zeroing in on dynamic measurements of fuded status and liability. Millard comments: "RiskFirst is a leading organization with cutting-edge technology, and I am extremely pleased to become part of the team. I am looking forward to helping RiskFirst advance its client base and, through the power of its technology, helping to ensure North American pensions can meet the challenges of an increasingly complex market." Matthew Seymour, CEO of RiskFirst, states: "Being able to tap in to Charles's wealth of industry knowledge and reach will be invaluable in helping us to expand our presence and make our unique capabilities more widely known in the US and Canadian markets, and in turn help us to deliver real benefits to the pensions space. We have hired a number of outstanding individuals this year as we expand our North America focus and Charles will play a key role in enabling us to realize our goal of becoming the undisputed leader in these markets." -END- About RiskFirst RiskFirst is a financial technology company that provides innovative risk analytics and reporting solutions to asset owners, consultants and asset managers to help grow their businesses. Acquired by Moody's in 2019, RiskFirst's products allow institutional investors to better evaluate risk and understand portfolio performance, enabling better investment decisions. RiskFirst's flagship product, PFaroe DB, is now a market leader in both the UK and US: more than 3,500 pension plans, with in excess of $1.5 trillion in assets, benefit from our technology. With a drive for continuous innovation, RiskFirst has also launched powerful new solutions for endowments, foundations and front-office investment managers, including a global fixed income attribution solution, which recognizes the differing objectives, timeframes and opportunity set of each user. For more information please go to www.riskfirst.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005030/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Accusing superstar Rajinikanth of propagating a 'false' information about a 1971 rally to 'defame' social reformer E V Ramasamy 'Periyar', a Dravidian outfit in Tamil Nadu has demanded an unconditional apology and filed police complaints seeking action against him. In a statement, Dravidar Viduthulai Kazhagam (DVK) president Kolathur Mani alleged the actor uttered a "blatant lie that the images of Lord Ram and Sita were taken nude" in the rally held by Periyar as part of a superstition eradication conference at Salem. This 'false' information was propagated with "an ulterior motive to besmirch Periyar's reputation," he claimed and demanded an unconditional apology from the actor. Speaking to PTI, Mani alleged the actor appeared to fulfill the aspirations of the BJP by making such a remark adding "we cannot allow insult to Periyar." Such comments could affect public tranquility as well, he claimed adding he has asked his party functionaries to file police complaints in more places. Addressing the 50th anniversary-cum-readers' connect event of Tamil magazine 'Thuglak' on January 14 here, Rajinikanth had said "In 1971, at Salem, Periyar took out a rally in which undressed images of Lord Sri Ramachandramoorthy and Sita -with a garland of sandal-featured and no outlet published it." Only Cho Ramaswamy published it in his Thuglak and made "strong criticism", the 69-year old actor, expected to make his political foray ahead of Tamil Nadu assembly elections scheduled next year, had said while praising the late editor of the magazine. The publication of the brought a bad name for the DMK regime steered by M Karunanidhi, he had said adding the government then seized the copies of the magazine but Cho reprinted the copies which sold "like hot cakes". Mani, a former organising secretary of the Dravidar Kazhagam founded by Periyar, said already a complaint had been filed against Rajinikanth in Coimbatore and another was under process in Madurai. They sought action against Rajinikanth under the Indian Penal Code sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505 (making a statement that may incite one set of persons against others), he said. In a petition to Coimbatore Police Commissioner, DVK workers alleged the actor had attempted to defame an "highly respected social reformer". To a question, Mani said they will wait for sometime to see if the government acts on the issue. "If the government does not take action, we may be constrained to look into aspects including launching a campaign against Rajinikanth, his films, or we could hold protests in front of movie halls that screen his flicks," the DVK leader said. Mani was among the emissaries sent by the then DMK government to negotiate with forest brigand Veerappan to secure the release of legendary Kannada actor Rajkumar after he was kidnapped by the notorious criminal in 2000. Manin was also imprisoned for about a year during late J Jayalalithaa's rule in connection with a case that had links to Veerappan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ex-nurse pleads guilty in 1981 death of baby: A former Texas nurse suspected in the killing of dozens of children pleaded guilty Thursday in the 1981 death of an 11-month-old boy, receiving a life sentence that a prosecutor said should ensure she dies in prison. Genene Jones, 69, was imprisoned in 1984 for killing one child and giving an overdose to another. She had been set for release in 2018 under a mandatory release law that was in place when she was convicted. But prosecutors in 2017, citing new evidence, filed five new murder charges against her related to the deaths of children in the early 1980s. Jones will be eligible for parole in 18 years, prosecutor Catherine Babbitt said after the hearing in San Antonio. 'New Delhi showed itself willing -- at least for a period -- to tolerate the risk of conflict and to withstand Beijing's implicit and explicit threats.' 'But it also continued to try to cut some kind of deal with China to reduce tensions.' A revealing glimpse excerpted from Ian Hall's Modi And The Reinvention Of Indian Foreign Policy. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shore temple in Mahabalipuram, October 11, 2019. Photograph: ANI Photo By the time Modi came to power in 2014 the majority of India's political elite had come to the conclusion that China presented the most serious and pressing potential security challenges to the country. The new prime minister sought to make clear that India's foreign and security policy choices would not be circumscribed by Beijing or by worries that it might be upset by this or that action. This was the message sent by his invitations to the representatives of Taiwan and the Tibetan government-in-exile to his inauguration. Another -- that India was concerned about China's intentions and would act, alone and in conjunction with others, if its interests were threatened -- was conveyed during Modi's visit to Japan in August 2014 when he warned those States that believed in what he called 'expansionist policies' that it would better to return to 'the path of development'. Together, the aim was the make clear that New Delhi had options to complicate China's calculations and that it was concerned about its behaviour. None of this, however, precluded good relations -- provided both sides understood where they stood and Beijing was attentive to New Delhi's interests. Having dispatched these messages, Modi reached out to Xi Jinping in an effort to reset relations, establish a personal rapport with the Chinese leader with two bilateral summits and a number of meetings at mini-laterals like the BRICS summit, and attract inward investment from the People's Republic. China's responses were not wholly positive, however Xi's visit to Gujarat in mid-September 2014 was a lavish production, but produced less in the way of promised investment than hoped; stories of a commitment of up to $100 billion circulated prior to the meeting were not borne out by what was actually put on the table, which was about $20 billion. Most worrying of all, a major incursion of about a thousand PLA troops across the Line of Actual Control occurred at the same time as the summit, leading Modi to depart from past diplomatic practice and publicly criticise the action while standing alongside Xi in a carefully controlled press conference. This set the tone for Sino-Indian relations under Modi, as he tried to 'stand up' to Beijing. On the LAC and elsewhere, China pushed and probed. It stepped up its support for Pakistan, not least with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, announced in April 2015 during Xi's visit to Islamabad. It blocked a series of New Delhi's moves in international forums, including the effort to have India become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and to have Pakistani-based alleged terrorists listed as such by the UN. The most serious crisis in bilateral relations occurred, however, in Bhutan, over eight weeks in June, July and August 2017, when the Indian army confronted PLA units building a road through territory contested by Bhutan, to which New Delhi has treaty obligations, and China. The standoff triggered a wave of criticism from the Chinese foreign and defence ministries on New Delhi's behaviour, as well as threats of dire punishment to be inflicted on India, and a torrent of abuse from Chinese state media outlets. The Modi government's approach to the Doklam crisis -- named after the contested area of Bhutan in which the standoff occurred -- fitted the general pattern established early, in mid- to late 2014. It publicly criticised China's conduct, as it perceived it. New Delhi showed itself willing -- at least for a period -- to tolerate the risk of conflict and to withstand Beijing's implicit and explicit threats. It reinforced the troops on the ground and deployed other significant military assets closer to the border or to positions from which they could strike the PLA. But it also continued to try to cut some kind of deal with China to reduce tensions and establish a modus vivendi that implied tacit respect, on Beijing's part, of India's status, concerns and interests. To that end, Modi travelled to Wuhan to meet Xi for a so-called informal summit in late April 2018 to 'review', according to the opaque joint statement issued after the meeting, 'developments in India-China relations from the strategic and long-term perspective'. In effect, the two sides agreed to temporarily suspend behaviour that the other might consider problematic, as Modi entered the long campaign for re-election in 2019 and Xi tried to manage pressure from Trump's Washington over trade and security issues. To reinforce India's defences against China and bolster deterrent capabilities, it pressed ahead with long-range missile programmes, including the development of the nuclear-capable Agni-V, first tested in 2012, which has the range to strike Beijing, as well as nuclear missile submarines. It pushed on with modernising the navy to give it enhanced capabilities to deal with Chinese submarines, which began to venture into the Indian Ocean in late December 2013. In other areas, however, it struggled. Most obviously, it failed to find the funds to raise a Mountain Strike Corps, promised in 2013 by the Singh government. This led to accusations that the Modi government lacked the will and strength, as well as a coherent strategy, to manage Chinese pressure. IMAGE: Prime Minister Modi is greeted by his then Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on his arrival in Lahore, December 25, 2015. Photograph: PTI/PIB Modi's track record of dealing with the various security challenges emanating from Pakistan was similarly mixed. Immediately prior to the election, he vowed to follow in Vajpayee's footsteps, promoting economic development in Kashmir to address local disquiet and avert unrest, as well as dialogue with Pakistan. Early on, he unexpectedly attempted diplomacy, inviting Nawaz Sharif to New Delhi for the swearing in, and making a show of shaking the Pakistani prime minister's hand. But little progress followed. A meeting between Kashmiri separatists (the Hurriyat) and the Pakistani high commissioner to India prompted the Modi government to call off talks between then foreign secretaries Sujatha Singh and Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, due to take place in August 2014. Thereafter, the approach hardened for a time, as India tried to bring international pressure to bear on Pakistan over its alleged sponsorship of terrorism. That threat featured prominently in Modi's first address to the UN general assembly in late September 2014, which heralded a new push for a comprehensive convention on international terrorism, first proposed by India almost twenty years earlier. In early 2015, however, India signalled that it was ready once more to talk, and at the SCO summit in July the two sides agreed to a meeting of national security advisors later in the year. Two cross-border terrorist attacks swiftly followed, as did a dispute over including Kashmir in the talks, and the meeting was cancelled. Modi reached out to Sharif in late December 2015, making an impromptu visit to Lahore to wish the latter happy birthday; another foreign secretaries' meeting was arranged, but a terrorist attack at Pathankot in Punjab on January 2, 2016 put paid to that initiative. Instead, the Modi government stepped up its efforts to isolate Pakistan on terrorism, at the UN and elsewhere. It succeeded in getting a number of Middle Eastern States, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which both have deep ties to Islamabad, to include condemnations of support for terrorism in joint statements. A further attack, this time at Uri in Kashmir, on September 18, 2016, claimed the lives of 19 members of Indian security forces and four terrorists, and put paid to any further diplomacy. Eleven days later, Indian commandos conducted a raid -- framed by New Delhi as 'surgical strikes' -- across the Line of Control into Pakistani-controlled Kashmir and destroyed a series of camps, killing an unknown number of people. As with China, the Modi government attempted to change New Delhi's approach to Pakistan, but with very mixed results. Wittingly or not, Islamabad stymied, its attempts to use SAARC as a means of realising a more integrated region, leading to a resort to sub-regional mechanisms. With the CPEC, Islamabad also brought Chinese economic muscle to bear in a different South Asian theatre. Continued relationships with militant groups allowed Modi to try to isolate Pakistan both rhetorically -- not least with the memorable line that 'While India exports software, Pakistan exports terrorism' -- and diplomatically, but success here was only partial. While New Delhi did succeed in ensuring that interlocutors in South Asia and the Middle East spoke out against terrorism, the practical effect of these statements was debatable. Equally, the deterrent effect (if any) of the September 2016 and February 2019 strikes were unclear, despite the political capital the Modi government sought to extract from them. To be sure, the 2016 surgical strikes and the 2019 air strikes resonated positively with Modi's Hindu nationalist constituency and, to a considerable extent, with the broader community. No grand strategy was unveiled, still less one that clearly linked aspirations to a Hindu nationalist agenda, notwithstanding the intrinsic weaknesses and apparent contradictions of Hindu nationalist thinking in this area. Instead, the Modi government changed some of the language of policy, introducing ideas like becoming a 'leading power' and SAGAR, and modified some diplomatic settings, but not in ways that suggest the emergence of a markedly new, fully developed approach, underpinned by a set of clearly articulated principles. It doubled down on the strategic partnership with the US, took a more robust line with China, at least until the Doklam standoff, and oscillated between outreach and punishment with Pakistan. It is tempting to suggest that the mixed record of the Modi government on national security was a function of its ideology -- of its underlying ambivalence in Hindu nationalist thought about the acquisition and use of military power. It is clear that the Modi government struggled with the sheer scale of the challenge of overhauling the institutions that needed reform, prioritised other areas of both domestic and foreign policy, and lacked the resources necessary to bring about the change required. In so doing, it arguably left India exposed to both Chinese and Pakistani pressure, and to criticism from sceptical voices within putative partner States across the Indo-Pacific, keen to discount New Delhi's capacity to be the 'net security provider' it promised to be. Excerpted from Modi And The Reinvention Of Indian Foreign Policy, by Ian Hall with the kind permission of the publishers, Penguin Random House India. She the former Neighbours star who recently returned to Australia for a holiday after relocating to the U.S. And on Thursday, Nicky Whelan was all smiles as she enjoyed a night out with friends in Los Angeles. The 38-year-old actress showed off her figure in a plaid skirt and black sheer shirt as she celebrated a friend's birthday. All smiles! Nicky Whelan (pictured) showed off her figure in a plaid skirt and sheer shirt as she enjoyed a night out in Los Angeles on Thursday With LA extra chilly, she kept warm in a long grey coat and grey stockings alongside a pair of high black boots. Nicky kept her accessories minimal and opted to hold a black, fur bag as she united with her friends outside the establishment. The beauty slicked her golden locks back and wore a neutral palette of makeup with a pink lip. Let's party! Nicky was all smiles as she united with her friends outside an establishment to celebrate a birthday Under wraps: She kept warm in a long grey coat and grey stockings Beauty in black! Nicky kept her accessories minimal and carried a phone Meanwhile, Nicky recently enjoyed a well-deserved break in her native country, years after relocating to the U.S. In an interview with Galore in June 2017, Nicky spoke about trading Australia for the bright lights of Hollywood. 'I've been travelling here since I was 18 and moved here when I was 25 or 26. So, I was very familiar with LA,' she told the publication. Well booted! The star wore a pair of thigh-high black leather boots Keeping it simple: Nicky slicked her golden locks back and wore a neutral palette of makeup Details: The blonde beauty carried a black fur clutch bag in her hand She has the moves! Nicky played around with her pals outside the venue as it rained down She continued: 'I think it's not too much of a major culture shock. Not many people realise that there's an enormous transition moving to a new country by yourself.' In October, Nicky confirmed her romance with Kyle Schmid when they were spotted holding hands in Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico. Three days later, Nicky and Kyle cosied up at the Genlux Cover Release Party in Los Angeles. A University of Houston students tweet expressing frustration about the hefty price to remove a clamp the school placed on her cars windshield has gone viral. The tweet, posted Wednesday by a student identifying herself as babayaga, Friday had received more than 2,800 retweets, 12,000 likes and 1,300 comments, both supportive and critical. $920 to get this removed, the student tweeted with a sad face emoji. All bc the university doesnt have enough permits available nor parking options that are affordable for students that already pay to attend the University. Everyone send a dollar my way. On Thursday, the student tweeted shed received $210 from sympathizers. The original tweet included her mobile payment service accounts for CashApp and Venmo. The student, who tagged the universitys main and parking twitter accounts, did not immediately respond to the Houston Chronicles requests for comment. It is our responsibility to make sure that there is available parking for those who have paid to have a valid permit, UHs parking department tweeted in reply to babayaga. We offer a wide range of permits from garage to remote campus and we have had permits available throughout the fall and spring semester at all times. In response to comments that the parking department was exploiting students, UHs parking department tweeted that the law does not allow the department to receive any money from the state or university, so all funds are self-generated, with most going to pay for the garages. Some commenters suggested babayaga get her window replaced, pry the clamp off using a defroster and a credit card, or transfer to another school. Others criticized her for not paying parking tickets that led to the universitys placement of the clamp, known as a barnacle. UH spokesman Chris Stipes and Neil Hart, head of the universitys parking and transportation services, emphasized that barnacles the bright yellow, plastic immobilization devices that suction to vehicle windshields with up to 1,000 pounds of force and block the view of the driver are only used on the cars of habitual offenders of parking protocols. Removal of the barnacles costs $75, plus a $200 deposit, which is refunded once the driver returns the barnacle. Citations generally range from $30 to $50, amounts that double after 21 days of not being paid, they double. UHs barnacle devices, implemented in early December 2019 as a way to deter parking violators and simplify fining processes, are only used for cars consistently parked on campus without a permit and with five or more existing citations, according to the spokesmen. To date, 37 cars have been barnacled, with the violators receiving an average of nine citations for parking without a permit. When somebody is parking illegally and doesnt have a permit, theyre taking a space from someone else who has paid, Stipes said. This is a deterrent against that. We dont have free parking on campus. In the past, the university would tow the vehicle, a process that costs more time and money. Towing not only cost UH students $100, it required the driver to find a way to the tow lot, where they had to fill out paperwork, pay the fee and wait for the vehicle to be retrieved, said Stiples. He noted that barnacles can be unlocked at the parking spot with a code once the person pays the fee. The University of Oklahomas parking and transportation services recently withdrew its efforts to use barnacles on campus after receiving negative feedback from its students. UH aims to give students options for parking, permits and repayment of their citations, according to Stipes and Hart. Students are able to sign an agreement that gives them 21 days to pay any outstanding parking fees, said Stipes. If they are unable to pay them off in time, the parking department can transfer them over to their student bill. brittany.britto@chron.com Did Language Evolve With a Single Mutation? A New Study Says That's Unlikely. Legendary linguist Noam Chomsky is both revered and controversial. His ideas have helped found and frame modern cognitive science. One of those ideas is the notion that a single gene mutation, perhaps prompting a rewiring in the brain yielding novel neural circuitry, gave rise to human language between 70,000 and 100,000 years ago. "This controversial hypothesis leads to the conclusion that our modern language capacity emerged instantaneously in a single hominin individual who is an ancestor of all (modern) humans," researchers Bart de Boer, Bill Thompson, Andrea Ravignani, and Cedric Boeck summarized in a new article published to the journal Scientific Reports. That is quite a bold claim indeed, and many scientists have serious doubts about it. "Chomskys contention has little or no genetic support," University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Psychology Professor Frederick L. Coolidge wrote. "One gene does not suddenly cause hierarchically structured language." The researchers behind the new paper, all distinguished linguistics experts from preeminent institutions in Europe, also professed skepticism, but decided to grant all of Chomsky's assumptions in his original hypothesis and examine it from the standpoint of evolutionary dynamics. What is more likely, they asked, that a single, all-important language mutation sprung up and spread to all Homo sapiens over the course of 100,000 years, or that many, smaller mutations gave rise to human language over a vastly longer timespan? Conducting many simulations informed by known variables of evolutionary dynamics with various population sizes and generational timespans, the authors found that it's much more probable that language evolved through a gradual accumulation of many, smaller mutations, rather than one giant mutation as Chomsky proposes. A big factor undergirding this result is that many, smaller mutations could spread at the same time. Moreover, even if some fail to become fixed in the human population, other mutations that produce similar phenotypic effects could emerge and take their place. This is not the case for Chomsky's proposed single mutation it either becomes fixed or fades out. This research is all highly speculative, of course, as the evolution of language is notoriously challenging to explore with any certainty. "The basic difficulty with studying the evolution of language is that the evidence is so sparse," Ray Jackendoff a former student of Chomsky's and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University, wrote. "Spoken languages don't leave fossils, and fossil skulls only tell us the overall shape and size of hominid brains, not what the brains could do." Source: de Boer, B., Thompson, B., Ravignani, A. et al. Evolutionary Dynamics Do Not Motivate a Single-Mutant Theory of Human Language. Sci Rep 10, 451 (2020) doi:10.1038/s41598-019-57235-8 Chinese auto maker Great Wall Motors on Friday said it has inked a pact with General Motors (GM) to acquire the latter's manufacturing facility in Talegoan, near Pune. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the second half of 2020, Great Wall Motors (GWM) said in a release. The auto maker is set to debut its Haval brand and electric vehicle at the Auto Expo-Motor Show 2020, slated to be held in Greater Noida early next month. "Under a binding term sheet signed on Thursday, the GM India legal entity, which includes the Talegaon facility, will transfer to GWM," the release said. After more than two decades of operations in India, General Motors stopped selling cars in the country from 2017 end, as part of its global restructuring actions. GWM Global Strategy Vice President Liu Xiangshang said the transaction would underpin the company's plan to enter and invest in India. "The Indian market has great potential, rapid economic growth and a good investment environment. Entering the Indian market is an important step for Great Wall Motors' global strategy," he said. GWM will officially debut its Haval brand and GWM EV at the Delhi International Auto Show, and launch its Indian market plan, he said. "Great Wall Motors' investment will create more jobs, including direct and indirect employment, further enhancing the skill level in the auto industry, promote the development of the local supply chain, R&D and related industries," Liu added. GM will provide a separation package and transition support for employees impacted due to the deal, as well as an orderly transition for partners, the release said. "Since focusing the Talegaon plant on manufacturing for export markets in 2017, GM has been exploring strategic options for the better utilisation of the site," GM International Operations Senior Vice President Julian Blissett said. Talegaon manufacturing facility had delivered excellent vehicles for domestic and export markets, he added. General Motors' decision to cease production at Talegaon is based on its global strategy and optimisation of the manufacturing footprint around the world, Blissett said. "We will work closely with the state and national governments to secure the required approvals so that GWM can elevate production at the plant even further and maintain," he said. Chevrolet will continue to honour all warranties and provide after-sales support, including ongoing service and parts requirements for existing customers in India, the release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An American fitness model has accused Qantas of 'gender discrimination' after she was denied entry into their business lounge for dressing in active wear - when her husband was waved through in shorts and a t-shirt. Former WWE star Natalie Eva Marie claims she was barred from accessing the airline's lounge at Melbourne Airport on Thursday because she was dressed in a red two-piece active wear set. The Qantas dress guidelines clearly state travellers will be turned away from their lounges if they are wearing head-to-toe active wear, among other unsuitable pieces of clothing. Ms Marie, who was in Australia to launch fitness app PUSHH, took to Twitter to accuse Qantas of gender discrimination. Former WWE star Natalie Eva Marie claims she was barred from accessing the airline's lounge at Melbourne Airport on Thursday because she was dressed in a red two-piece active wear set Ms Marie shared two pictures of the couple (pictured) to compare how she was 'kicked out' while he was 'allowed in'. 'My issue is that standards should be equitably enforced,' she said 'In 2020 Qantas airlines Melbourne won't allow a woman holding a business class ticket to enter their business class lounge in active wear,' she told her 940,000 Twitter followers. 'My business IS fitness and an active lifestyle. Qantas prefers their women in a dress.' Ms Marie clarified her first tweet by explaining her husband was not denied entry, despite being dressed in t-shirt and shorts. 'Clarification: This is NOT a dresscode issue, I support a businesses right to enforce equitable dresscode standards,' she said. Ms Marie shared two pictures of the couple to compare how she was 'kicked out' while he was 'allowed in'. 'My issue is that standards should be equitably enforced,' she said. Some of Ms Marie's followers were quick to agree with the fitness icon, slamming their strict guidelines as a 'joke'. 'Wow... that's disgusting. Fair enough at having a dress code, but it should at least be equal,' one wrote in support of Ms Marie. Ms Marie, who was in Australia to launch fitness app PUSHH, took to Twitter to accuse Qantas of gender discrimination But others said it was not gender discrimination as her husband technically did not fail to meet Qantas' dress requirements. 'Active wear is not allowed. Shorts and t-shirt are,' one person said. 'He is wearing shorts and a t-shirt, in Australia this is not defined as gym wear... her outfit is,' said another. The Qantas website says the team will be decline guests entry into their lounges if the items of clothing are deemed too casual or inappropriate, including swimwear, sleepwear, and thongs. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Qantas for comment. The Moscow City Court on January 17 awarded 500,000 rubles ($8,120) to the mother of a man who was shot to death in a Moscow police station in November 2015. Natalya Zvereva initially sought 4 million rubles ($65,000) from the Moscow branch of the Interior Ministry in "moral damages" for the death of her son, 37-year-old Dmitry Demidov. In January 2019, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court awarded her 150,000 rubles ($2,440), a sum that Zvereva dismissed as "miserly." After appeals, the Russian Supreme Court found the amount to not be in line with the practice of the European Court of Human Rights and ordered the Moscow City Court to review the case. Demidov was shot in the mouth in November 2015 in a Moscow police station by police officer Andrei Artemev. A police investigation determined that Artemev was drunk at the time. He was convicted of reckless homicide and sentenced to one year and nine months in prison. He was released in January 2018. With reporting by Zona Prava Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, on Friday, reiterated the importance of the forensic audit of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). President Muhammadu Buhari had in October last year ordered a forensic audit of the commission from 2001 to 2019 for verification of the projects carried out. Mr Akeredolu stressed this in Akure during a courtesy visit by the Minister of State for Niger Delta, Tayo Alasoadura, He explained that the audit was very important, due to the many abandoned projects by the commission in the state. I am happy you are taking it this way because there are so many abandoned projects in Ondo, and also projects that overlapped. It cannot continue like this. Read also: We dont need new projects; the old abandoned ones on ground should be completed. Let me assure you that the state is ready to cooperate fully with you, he said. Earlier, Mr Alasoadura, a former senator, had lamented that things were done with impunity in the ministry in the past. He said nobody was reporting to anybody while huge amounts had gone to the commission over the years but nothing to show for it. It cannot continue to be business as usual. As at today, NDDC has close to 12,000 abandoned projects, so if we decide to start awarding contracts again, we will be adding to the problem on ground. So we decided and the president agreed that we should go for what we call legacy projects, and the first one is the Ilaje-lagos link road, he said. (NAN) As he looks at pictures of his parents and sisters who perished in Auschwitz, Szmul Icek begins to tremble, tears clouding his eyes. It may have been 75 years ago, but for this survivor of the Holocaust the memories of life and death in the Nazi extermination camp remain painfully fresh. More than a million Jews were killed at Auschwitz, in then occupied Poland. The last survivors, now all elderly, still live with the physical and mental scars of the horrors of that time. Since their liberation three quarters of a century ago, their skin has wrinkled with the march of time and the numbers tattooed on their left arms have faded. Much in the same way that the collective memory of the Holocaust is blurring. These survivors are the last witnesses to traumatic events which now in the 21st century are often called into question by anti-Semitic revisionists. So as Israel prepares this month to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp at a ceremony to be attended by a host of world leaders, AFP reporters met with about 10 survivors to hear their testimonies. Some have learnt their stories by heart, reciting every detail -- without tears. Others no longer have the strength to speak, some have had their memories ravaged by Alzheimer's. While others are still consumed by the shame of being one of Adolf Hitler's victims. Born in Poland, Icek, 92, struggles to talk following a car accident, and leaves it to his wife to recount the tragedy which befell his family. In early 1942, his two sisters responded to a notice from the Gestapo that children should present themselves to the notorious secret police in order to protect their family. "They left, but they were never seen again, never. We don't know what happened to them," said Sonia on behalf of her husband, who tensed up as she began to talk. For many years, Icek, number 117 568, kept his imprisonment at Auschwitz secret from his wife. After living together in Belgium for years, the couple now inhabits an apartment in Jerusalem where old family portraits hang in their living room. One shows his father with a full beard, wearing a round hat, while his mother's hair is cropped short in the style popular in that era. A month after his sisters disappeared, the Germans came for the rest of his family. His parents, two brothers and him. "When he arrived at Auschwitz, on getting off the train, he held onto his father's hand like a little boy," Sonia said of her husband's deportation. But Icek was separated from his dad by a Nazi. "He cried, he wanted to be with his father. But the German said: 'no, you (go) over there'." That was the last time he saw his father, who was sent to the gas chambers. Both his parents died, although his brothers like him managed to survive. Hearing his wife talk about Auschwitz where he spent two and a half years, Icek, dressed in a blue polo neck and a skullcap, became briefly animated. "It can't be, it can't be, no," he said, clasping his hands around his neck to mime the killings at the camp. - Burying the ashes - Like Icek, Menahem Haberman, born in the then Czechoslovakia in 1927, was a teenager when he arrived at Auschwitz and was separated from his family. Their paths never crossed at the extermination camp, nor in Jerusalem where Haberman now lives in a retirement home. His memory still sharp, he recounted how he was taken outside of the camp to the edge of some water and given a shovel. "There was a canal and I had to run to each side and pour ashes into the water. I didn't know what I was doing. When I came back, I asked a camp veteran: 'What have I done?' Haberman told the man he had only arrived at Auschwitz the previous day. "He told me: 'All your family were ashes in that canal four hours after their arrival.' "It was then that I understood where I was," Haberman told AFP. His bitter encounter with death at the camp was to drive his overwhelming determination to survive. "I told myself, I don't want to die here, I don't want my ashes to sink and flow in this canal towards the river," said Haberman. "There was a guy there who said in Yiddish: 'Those who don't have the strength to work, will end up in the chimney.' "I kept that phrase in mind and repeated: I do not want to die here." The experiences of the last remaining survivors, who were children when they were sent to the death camps, remain seared into their minds. "Every day I think about it, especially at night," said Haberman. "It's deeply engrained in me. Seventy-five years later, we still live with that, we don't forget... we cannot forget," said Haberman. "We are survivors, we are not escapees. The camps are imprinted in our skin." Six million Jews were killed by Nazi Germany. And of more than 1.3 million people imprisoned at Auschwitz, some 1.1 million died and Haberman remains baffled that he managed to survive. "I really knew people who were better men than me. Why did they die and why am I still alive?" - Stalked by hunger - In the suburbs of Tel Aviv, 91-year-old Malka Zaken sits in her small apartment surrounded by dolls, some of which are still in their original boxes. "Don't worry Sean, he's not German, he won't take me," Zaken reassured one of them, as AFP arrived to talk to her. While age has muddled some of her memories and her speech is confused, the traumas of Auschwitz remain vivid. "When I was little, my mother bought me lots of dolls," said Zaken, recalling her childhood in Greece with her parents and six siblings. "But she was burned by the Nazis. When I'm with the dolls, I remember her, it's like when I was a child at home, I think about it all the time," she said. Zaken spends her afternoons watching soap operas, at home with a carer. She remembers friends killed by the Nazis, as well as those who survived the war but have since died. In Auschwitz, she recalled being beaten "all the time, we were naked and they beat us... I never forget, never, I never forget how much I've suffered. "What hell! I don't even know how I made it to survive." Occasionally looking dazed, the number 76 979 marked on her wrinkled skin, Zaken said the memories haunted her long after she was freed. "After the liberation, I couldn't sleep, I lay awake at night crying, I was scared, and I was cared for for a long time." As well as fearing the gas chamber, Zaken also remembers the starvation which stalked the death camp and reduced prisoners to walking skeletons. Fellow survivor Saul Oren, 90, also recalled the unimaginable hunger with prisoners given watery soup. "And the soup was for the whole day. Or they gave us a small potato, or they gave us a small piece of bread," he said. "We didn't dare eat the whole bread because we wanted to save it for later, perhaps we couldn't stand the hunger," he said. Oren's mother was killed at Auschwitz and he has no photo of her, but tries to include her image in the paintings he does at home. Even after leaving the extermination camp, hunger followed him. He was forced onto the "Death March" when, as the Soviets advanced, the Nazis made prisoners from extermination camps walk in deep winter towards Germany and Austria. "We marched for 12 days, practically without eating... we stopped in a forest, we found a dead horse, everyone threw themselves on the horse. Each person took a bite," Oren said. Another survivor, Danny Chanoch, marched for weeks in the snow, scratching at the soil in the hope of unearthing some frozen grass. He is still affected by seeing survivors eating the bodies of prisoners killed by the Germans. "They couldn't stand the hunger so they took the human flesh, cooked, ate (it). "And we know that a red line is not to eat human flesh and not to take the bread from your comrade," said Chanoch, originally from Lithuania. - Guarding Eichmann - After being taken to the Mauthausen and Gunskirchen camps, Chanoch was eventually freed and made his way to Italy as a penniless 12-year-old. In the city of Bologna he was reunited with his brother, Uri, and a photo of the two boys taken by an Italian man hangs in his home. Chanoch, who lives in a village between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, was philosophical about his experience in the death camp: "Sometimes I say to myself, 'how could I live without Auschwitz?'" "It led me to the right way, to not skip anything, and do what you like to do," he said. Chanoch and his brother travelled illegally from Italy to Palestine, then under British mandate, while other Holocaust survivors later arrived in the land which had become Israel. The new state swiftly passed a law setting out the death penalty for crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The legislation was used to execute Adolf Eichmann, one of the masterminds of the Nazis' so-called Final Solution plan of genocide against European Jews. He was captured in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires 15 years after the war and smuggled to Israel, and tried. For Shmuel Blumenfeld, a 94-year-old Auschwitz survivor, tattooed with number 108 006, the Eichmann affair was a historic turnaround. Blumenfeld served as one of Eichmann's prison guards and spoke to the Nazi, telling him who had ultimately won. "One day I brought him food, I lifted my sleeve so that he saw my tattooed number. He saw it but acted as if nothing was amiss," said Blumenfeld, who offered Eichmann another helping. "Then, I clearly showed my number from Auschwitz and I told him: 'Your men didn't finish their mission, I spent two years there and I'm still alive'," Blumenfeld said in German, before translating the conversation into Hebrew. "Once Eichmann shouted to complain that he couldn't sleep, because there was too much noise. And I said to him: 'We are not in the office of Adolf Eichmann in Budapest, you are in the office of Shmuel Blumenfeld'." At his home, Blumenfeld keeps a fabric bag of earth collected from the places where all his family members were killed. "My mother told me 'never forget that you are Jewish' and I obeyed her," said Blumenfeld, who spent his career in the Israeli prison service. - 'I overcame' - Despite his age, Blumenfeld continues to travel to Poland with groups of young Israelis. At almost 95, the elegant Batcheva Dagan also remains energetic and determined to use her experiences to educate future generations. After making it out of a camp alive, she said she had one thing in mind: "Survive to tell (people)." She worked in the heart of Birkenau camp, which neighboured Auschwitz, at a depot where shoes and other prisoners' belongings piled up. "I spent 20 months there, 600 days and nights," said Dagan, who had to burn the luggage of Jews who arrived at the camp. "Work out the hours and the seconds, thinking that each second you're scared of dying. You have an idea of what that means, living each moment with the threat that that moment is your last." "I try to make something positive out of my experience for children, educational. "I don't only recount the horror of the Holocaust, but also wonderful things like helping each other, the capacity to share a piece of bread, the friendship... We remained human beings." The survivors' sense of victory comes through their poems, memories, but above all through living their daily lives and seeing future generations grow up. "I'm alive... I suffered, but I overcame!" said Dagan. Icek, who for years hid his Auschwitz tattoo under long shirts, has recently started to uncover it. "You didn't want to show it. Now the first thing that you do when you get into a taxi, you do this," his wife Sonia said, showing his forearm. "It's like he was ashamed... I told him: 'You have been to the camp, you must be happy, you came back,'" said Sonia, who had to hide during the war in Belgium to avoid being sent to a death camp. Sitting next to his wife, Icek said just three words before starting to cry: "I have won." But Sonia disagreed, saying he "didn't win anything" and lost his family whose pictures hang next to those of their grandchildren. "We have not won, but we have taught our grandchildren in a way that they understand what happened." Holocaust survivor Szmul Icek, 92, kept his imprisonment at Auschwitz secret from his wife for many years Szmul Icek's parents and sisters did not survive Auschwitz Batcheva Dagan said she had one thing in mind after getting out of Auschwitz, to "survive to tell (people)" Map of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp as it was in 1944 in Poland. Over a million Jews were exterminated in the camp by the Nazis between 1940 and 1945 Menahem Haberman was separated from his family when he arrived at Auschwitz as a teenager More than a million Jews were killed at Auschwitz, in then occupied Poland Malka Zaken, 91, says being with her dolls reminds her of being a child at home when her mother used to buy her dolls Saul Oren, 90, was forced onto the "Death March", 12 days, practically without eating Israel will this month mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz at a ceremony to be attended by world leaders Danny Chanoch is still affected by having seen survivors eating the bodies of prisoners killed by the Nazis Auschwitz survivor Shmuel Blumenfeld, 94, served as one of Adolf Eichmann's prison guards : The High-Powered Committee of ministers and bureaucrats on Friday conferred with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and discussed a host of issues related to the governments plan to go in for distributed capital functions. The HPC gave a PowerPoint presentation to the Chief Minister on its observations so far on the reports of the six-member experts committee and the Boston Consulting Group on the capital issue. The HPC has so far held three meetings and deliberated on the recommendations of the experts committee and the BCG. "We will go ahead with our plan in tune with the peoples aspirations. The Chief Minister told us all steps will be taken for the benefit of the farmers who gave up their lands for the capital. He suggested that a better package be given to the farmers," Municipal Minister Botsa Satyanarayana told reporters after the meeting. The Minister feigned ignorance when asked about the move to scrap the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, in the wake of the plan to shift the capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam. The HPC is expected to submit its report in a couple of days before the cabinet meets on January 20 to approve it. The HPC report will then be placed in the Legislature during the extended winter session beginning on January 20 for discussion upon which the government is expected to come out with its final decision on the state capital issue. The Chief Minister had on December 17 told the Legislative Assembly that the state could have "three capitals", executive capital in the port city Visakhapatnam, legislative capital in Amaravati and judicial capital in Kurnool, spreading across the three regions of Andhra Pradesh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) You are here: China Qingdao Customs in east China's Shandong Province said Thursday that it had seized 58 cactus seedlings in several inbound parcels sent from Germany and Italy. The cactus seedlings were identified as species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Qingdao Customs discovered seven suspicious postal parcels during an inspection and later found the 58 cactus seedlings wrapped in paper. All the postal parcels were delivered to one person in the city of Weifang. Investigation into the case is underway. AIKEN, S.C., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Parents, educators, and all community members are invited to explore the topics of school choice and parents' educational responsibilities at a school supply drive and movie screening of "Miss Virginia" on Saturday, Feb. 1. Based on a true story, "Miss Virginia" stars Emmy-winner Uzo Aduba as a struggling single mother looking for better educational options for her son and others like him. The movie screening is free, but event attendees are requested to bring a donation of school supplies for Operation Big Book Bag, a national service initiative of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. Operation Big Book Bag seeks to provide children with the resources for completing homework assignments in order to stay on their educational journey. The movie screening and school supply drive will take place 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Aiken Community Theatre, located at 126 Newberry St. SW. Hundreds of community members are expected to attend. A welcome reception with light refreshments will take place in the venue's lobby from 5 to 5:30 p.m. before the screening. This event is planned to coincide with the history-making celebration of National School Choice Week 2020, which will feature more than 50,000 school choice events across all 50 states. "Like Miss Virginia Walden Ford, many parents in the Aiken, SC community are concerned about the quality of education their children are receiving and the education options available," said Shaunette Parker, executive director of My SC Education. "While many students in the area are quite successful, there is a growing desire for parents to have a stronger voice in the education sector. This event will provide an opportunity for parents and other community members to screen the movie Miss Virginia and also engage in fruitful conversations about how they can grow as advocates for high quality education choices." The event is sponsored by My SC Education in partnership with the Eta Gamma Sigma Alumni Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. As a nonpartisan, nonpolitical public awareness effort, National School Choice Week shines a positive spotlight on effective education options for students, families, and communities around the country. From January 26 through February 1, 2020, more than 50,000 independently-planned events will be held in celebration of the Week. For more information, visit www.schoolchoiceweek.com. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links http://www.schoolchoiceweek.com The 33rd official Martin Luther King Jr. March takes place Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. Heres what you need to know. Who participates? Anyone who believes in the late civil rights leaders legacy of non-violent demonstrations in support of justice, peace and equality. Families and individuals, school groups and non-profit organizations, civic groups and corporate groups all are welcome. Registration isnt required. Just show up and walk with like-minded community members who still believe in Kings dream. What about vehicles? This is strictly for pedestrians. No cars, trucks or motorcycles are allowed. But wheelchairs, of course, are OK. When does it begin? The non-denominational, pre-march worship service begins at 8 a.m. outside MLK Academy, 3501 MLK Jr. Dr. The march itself begins at 10 a.m. Whats the route? It starts at Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, 3501 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. The route travels nearly a straight line east along MLK Drive for 2.75 miles to Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa St. What about parking? With more than 100,000 people expected to participate, that can get difficult. There will be some parking areas available near the start of the march route, but consider using VIAs park and ride service, which is free for this event. Park at Freeman Coliseum, 3201 E. Houston, Lot 1, or at St. Philips College, Lot 22, at Montana and Mittman streets. Buses will take you to the start of the route. After the march is over, buses will pick up passengers near Pittman-Sullivan Park on Nevada Street, between S. Palmetto and St. Anthony avenues, and take you back to the coliseum and college parking lots. Will it be raining? The National Weather Service says no. But it will be chilly, with a high predicted of 54 and northeast winds of 5 to 10 mph, which means its sure to be colder than that in the morning. And the chances of rain return to the forecast Tuesday, so the rain could get here earlier. Keep an eye on the forecast. Tips and FYI There are vendors along the route, but its a smart idea to be prepared and carry a bottle of water and a snack per person. Dress for the weather. Its best to wear layers because you may get warm as you walk along the route despite chilly temperatures. And FYI, cell phone reception is often spotty because there are so many people using their phones. For more info Call 210-207-2123 or go to sanantonio.gov/MLK 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 A conference to review the GIPAP/VPAP program implemented by Novartis to provide medication support for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) in Vietnam, as well as implementing post-program solutions, was held in Hanoi on Tuesday. The conference was organized by the Vietnam Medical Association (VMA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Novartis Vietnam Co., Ltd. The conference was chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuyen, VMA president and former Deputy Minister of Health, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ha Van Thuy, deputy director of the Health Insurance Department under the Ministry of Health, and nearly 130 representatives from departments of the health ministry, Max Foundation, and Novartis. GIPAP (Glivec International Patient Assistance Program) is a program to support patients with CML and GIST who have health insurance for less than 36 months to have access to Glivec, a treatment drug, completely free of charge. This program has been implemented globally by Novartis since 2002 to support patients in 80 low- and middle-income countries through the Max Foundation. In Vietnam, the program was implemented from 2005 to 2019 with coordination from Max Foundation and funded by Novartis, which pays for 100 percent of the cost of the Glivec drug treatment. The program was implemented in seven hospitals nationwide, including K Hospital, National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, Cho Ray Hospital, and Hue Central Hospital. VPAP (Vietnam Patient Assistance Program) is a program to support patients with CML and GIST having health insurance continuously for 36 months to have Glivec or Tasigna, another treatment drug, completely free of charge. Patients have 100 percent of their treatment costs covered under the program, where the Health Insurance Fund pays 40 percent and Novartis pays the remaining 60 percent of the cost for Glivec and Tasigna. The program was implemented in Vietnam under Phase 1 in 2010-2014 (according to Decision No. 5128 / QD-BYT dated 25/12/2009 of the Ministry of Health), Phase 2 in 2015-2019 (according to the Decision 5404 / QD-BYT dated December 27, 2014 of the Ministry of Health), and is currently being extended until February 29, 2020 according to Decision No. 6105 / QD-BYT dated December 31, 2019 of the Ministry of Health. The results of nearly 15 years of implementing the GIPAP and more than ten years of implementing the VPAP have helped nearly 100 percent of patients with the severe illnesses of CML and GIST to be examined and treated, helping to prolong their lives and reduce the pressure of treatment costs. Nearly 8,000 patients with CML and GIST have been supported under the program, with the number increasing every year (834 patients in 2010, 2,214 patients in 2014, and 4,435 patients in 2018). According to the The Ten-Year Assessment for Implementation of VPAP and GIPAP Program in Vietnam: Evaluation of Results, Impacts and Recommendations report released in September 2019, this was one of the first medication support programs implemented in Vietnam and is by far the medication support program which has the largest number of patients supported. The GIPAP/VPAP program has brought a lot of values to patients and helped transform their lives. The value that the program brings is humanity to the community and society. The program has helped patients return to normal life, have a better mentality, and reduce treatment costs, especially for poor patients. Hospitals now have access to a new treatment method, a chance to apply advanced scientific achievements, and the opportunity to compare the effectiveness of treatments and participate in scientific research reports around the world. The program also demonstrates the social security of the health insurance and its patient-centered policy. Patients increasingly trust the policies of the Ministry of Health, Social Insurance and health agencies. Thanks to the contributions and efforts of many parties, especially the Ministry of Health, Social Insurance, hospitals, Novartis, Max Foundation, and related agencies, the program has achieved positive results and recognition of the society. According to the signed agreement, the GIPAP and VPAP program ended in 2019 and is currently extended until February 2020. To continue to support and ensure the benefits of patients, the Ministry of Health, Vietnam Social Security, and other stakeholders are actively discussing new solutions after the program. Novartis Vietnam will continue to provide more innovative support to help Vietnamese patients in the future. VMA president Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuyen made the opening speech at the event, followed by presentations. The presentations at the conference included an introduction of GIPAP / VPAP in Vietnam by VMA deputy general secretary Dr. Tong Thi Song Huong, a review of the Chapter of VPAP and application of medical technology assessment in solution selection by the Department of Health Insurance under the Ministry of Health, a discussion by Dr. Bach Quoc Khanh, director of Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, and representatives of the treatment facility, patients sharing, and speeches from Novartis representatives. At the conference, the Ministry of Health, Novartis, and other stakeholders together discussed the solutions for patients after GIPAP/VPAP ends by changing Circular 30/2018/TT-BYT dated October 30, 2018 of the Ministry of Health. Haftar Agrees to Take Part in Berlin Conference on Libya - LNA Official Sputnik News 12:34 16.01.2020(updated 13:31 16.01.2020) Earlier this week, the office of German chancellor Angela Merkel stated that Berlin will host Libya peace conference on Sunday and will invite members of the conflicting sides as well as representatives of 11 nations, who are trying to resolve the crisis. The Libyan National Army's (LNA) Moral Guidance Department head, Brig. Gen. Khalid Al-Mahjoub, confirmed to on Thursday that the LNA's head, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, would participate in the Berlin conference on Libya. "With God's help ... This means we must attend [it]. He will, but we have not yet officially announced it," Al-Mahjoubsaid, when asked if he could confirm Haftar's presence at the conference. On Monday, Haftar met with Libya's UN-recognised Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj in Moscow for talks mediated by Russia and Turkey. Next day, however, it was announced that the general had left Moscow without signing a ceasefire deal. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Haftar was positive about signing the final statement with the Government of National Accord (GNA) but needed two days for domestic discussions. Following the failed talks, Germany said that it would host Libya peace conference in Berlin on Sunday. Besides the heads of the conflicting sides, Germany has invited representatives of Russia, the US, the UK, France, China, Turkey and the UAE. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case, Jalees Ansari, who went "missing" while on parole, was arrested on Friday from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, an official said. Ansari (68), a Mumbai resident who was serving a life term in a Rajasthan jail, was nabbed in a joint operation of Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Sqaud and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), he said. Ansari, known as Dr Bomb for his suspected involvement in more than 52 blast cases across the country, went "missing" on early Thursday morning. He was on a 21-day parole and was expected to return to Ajmer Central Jail by Friday evening after end of the parole period, he said. Ansari, a resident of Mominpura in Agripada in central Mumbai, is a MBBS doctor by training. While on parole, he was ordered to visit the Agripada police station everyday between 10.30 am and 12 pm to mark attendance, he said. However, Ansari did not visit the police station on Thursday during the designated time, the official said. In the afternoon, his 35-year-old son, Jaid Ansari, approached the police station with a complaint about his "missing" father, he said. According to the complaint, Jalees Ansari woke up in the early hours and told family members he is going to offer namaz, but did not return home. On his complaint, the Agripada Police registered a missing case, he said. The Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police, the Maharashtra ATS and other agencies launched a massive manhunt for the terror convict, he said. Jalees was allegedly connected with terror outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahideen and taught their members how to make bombs, which earned him the sobriquet Dr Bomb, he said. He was also questioned by the NIA in 2011 in connection with the 2008 bomb blast in Mumbai, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Facebook to help Pakistan in polio eradication ISLAMABAD: Pakistan says Facebook will help the country in its fight against polio after authorities blamed anti-vaccine content posted last year on the social network site for a leap in the number of cases. Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio has not been eradicated, but a years-long effort began to show fruit with a major drop in cases from 2016. By 2018 just 12 cases had been recorded, but to the dismay of Pakistani authorities and the World Health Organization, that number soared to 136 last year. Pakistani officials quickly tied the surge to a slew of fake news reports and videos claiming many children had been killed by the vaccine that garnered thousands of views and shares on social media. They called on Facebook do more to remove harmful anti-vaccine content from the site, saying it was jeopardising eradication initiatives and putting the lives of polio workers at risk. Health authorities later said Facebook had removed dozens such videos. This week a delegation from the company visited Islamabad and reaffirmed their commitment to the campaign, a Pakistani government statement said. We stand behind the national and global efforts to create a polio-free world and will continue to support these efforts, Rafael Frankel, a Facebook regional director, was quoted as saying in a statement released by Pakistans ministry of health. Dr Zafar Mirza, a Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on health, highlighted the importance of communicating correct health information online and stressed the need to counter harmful content on social media. Facebook did not immediately respond to AFPs request for comment. Vaccination campaigns have faced stubborn resistance for years in Pakistan, with many refusing to have their children inoculated because of misinformation and conspiracy theories. Islamist opposition to all forms of inoculation grew after the CIA organised a fake vaccination drive to help track down Al Qaedas former leader Osama Bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar was holding talks in Athens on Friday, just two days ahead of a peace conference in Berlin which he and the head of Tripoli's UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj are expected to attend. His visit comes as world powers step up efforts for a lasting ceasefire, nine months since an assault on Tripoli by Haftar's forces sparked fighting that has killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands. An interim truce that came into force on Sunday has mostly held, despite accusations of violations from Haftar's forces and the rival Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Haftar walked away from ceasefire talks in Moscow on Monday, but German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited his eastern Libya stronghold of Benghazi on Thursday to persuade him to join the Berlin conference. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias (left) welcomed Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar to Athens. By Aris MESSINIS (AFP) He flew to Athens on a surprise visit on Thursday, with Greece seeking to build ties with Haftar after the GNA signed a maritime and military cooperation deal with Turkey in November. Athens is vehemently opposed to the contentious Turkish deal with Libya, which claims much of the Mediterranean for energy exploration, conflicting with rival claims by Greece and Cyprus. Haftar met Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias after his arrival on Thursday and they were holding further talks on Friday. He is also set to meet Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Greece is seeking to take part in the Berlin talks but has yet to be invited. Haftar agreed in principle Thursday to go to Berlin after Sarraj signalled he would be present, Germany's Maas said, adding that he had agreed to abide by the current ceasefire. He "wants to contribute to the success of the Libyan conference in Berlin and is in principle ready to participate in it," he tweeted, calling it "the best chance in a long time" for peace. The key players in the Libyan conflict after a ceasefire started Sunday. By Jonathan WALTER (AFP) But Sarraj, whose GNA did sign up to a permanent truce deal in Moscow, cast doubt over Haftar's intentions after he refused to also sign. Haftar "has chosen not to sign the agreement and asked for a delay", he said, calling that "an attempt to undermine the Berlin conference before it starts". The oil-rich North African state has been in turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi, and multiple foreign powers have become embroiled. The GNA is backed by Turkey and Qatar, while Haftar, who backs a rival administration in Libya's east, has the support of neighbouring Egypt as well as Russia and the United Arab Emirates. External interference The United Nations said the Berlin talks aim to end foreign interference and division over Libya. Fayez al-Sarraj (left) and Khalifa Haftar are both expected to attend the Berlin peace summit. By FETHI BELAID, HO (AFP/File) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will take part and voice support for truce efforts, the State Department said Thursday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Wednesday for firm support for the peace talks and asked for a halt in the fighting. In a report to the Security Council he urged all parties to "engage constructively towards that end, including within the Berlin process". Guterres also warned against "external interference", saying it would "deepen the ongoing conflict and further complicate efforts to reach a clear international commitment to a peaceful resolution of the underlying crisis". The conference will aim to agree six points including a permanent ceasefire, implementation of a much-violated UN arms embargo and a return to political efforts for peace, Guterres said. Turkish troops have been deployed to support the GNA, while Russia, despite its denials, is suspected of supporting Haftar with weapons, money and mercenaries. Some 11 countries and several international organisations are set to attend along with the Libyan parties. The fighting has spurred a growing exodus of migrants, many embarking on rickety boats towards Italy. Nearly 1,000 intercepted at sea have been forced to return to the war-ravaged country since January 1, mostly ending up in detention, the UN's International Organization for Migration said Tuesday. burs/txw/wdb Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 20:49:15|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close VALLETTA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Maltese Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar has resigned from his post, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Friday. The prime minister said that the Justice Minister had received the resignation letter. The resignation has been accepted and Police Assistant Commissioner Carmelo Magri was appointed acting Police Commissioner until a permanent one is chosen. Abela said that at the next Cabinet meeting on Tuesday he will propose a method to choose the next Police Commissioner. Cutajar was heavily criticized over the way he led the investigation into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. He was seen as very slow in reacting to allegations and reports appearing in the media. But he did not mention the investigation in his resignation letter, saying he was making way for new blood for the upcoming reform of the police force following the appointment of a new prime minister, according to Abela. In his leadership bid campaign last week, Abela said he could not have a police commissioner who did not have the backing and trust of the entire nation. Cutajar was appointed as the police commissioner in 2016. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 00:15:42|Editor: yan Video Player Close ZAGREB, Jan. 17, (Xinhua) -- Croatia's Science and Education Minister Blazenka Divjak survived a no-confidence vote in the country's parliament on Friday. Divjak was supported by 77 members of the ruling center-right coalition, while 55 opposition members of parliament voted against her. The no-confidence motion was filed by the main opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP), which argued that the minister was responsible for the longest teachers' strike in Croatia. The strike that had dragged on for over a month ended in December after the government reached a deal with union leaders and decided to increase their job complexity indices and raise salaries. During a long debate in parliament that ended in the early hours on Thursday, Divjak said that she had improved the education system and that the curricular reform was being implemented in all schools. She stressed that they had received three positive reports about the reform from the European Commission. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic backed the minister, who comes from the junior party in the government, the Croatian People's Party (HNS). Some members of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) told journalists earlier that a vote of no-confidence in parliament would probably mean an early election. Croatia is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections later this year, most likely in November. According to the latest polls, the ruling HDZ party has lost support among voters and the Social Democrats are leading in the polls. This change in the lead came after the runoff of the presidential election on Jan. 5, when opposition candidate and former Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic beat the incumbent President and HDZ candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. Doctors are looking for couples to try a male birth control gel that is rubbed into the shoulder. University of Kansas researchers have promised to pay couples who take part more than $4,000 (3,063) in compensation. Each man will need to apply the clear gel to their arm or shoulder every day for two years and be having regular sex with his partner. The gel is absorbed into the skin and reduces the amount of sperm a man produces. Couples must be willing to have a baby in case the gel fails but it is expected to be more effective than condoms. A new method of birth control for men is being tested by couples in the US in the form of a contraceptive gel that is applied to a man's arm or shoulder (stock photo) The Kansas trial is part of ongoing research whereby 420 couples across the world will test the gel over three years. So far, research at other universities has indicated the gel, called NES/T, can cause side effects of weight gain, muscle gain and acne. Currently, men who want to control their fertility have limited options condoms or vasectomies, surgical procedures to block sperm. There are myriad forms of birth control for women, which come with complicated and disruptive side effects. If the gel proves safe and effective, it would be the first new birth control for men since the condom was introduced in the 1800s. It could reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies, lead investigator of the Kansas trial Dr Ajay Nangia said. 'Men only have a vasectomy and condoms. The world has changed,' said Dr Nangia said. The gel has been in development over the past decade by The Population Council, a non-profit organisation, in collaboration with The National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH-funded trial is recruiting 420 couples to test the gel, including in Edinburgh, Manchester, Los Angeles, Washington, Italy and Sweden. Now, KU Medical Centre, part of University of Kansas, are inviting couples in the area to join the trial at no cost to them, CBS Detroit reports. They must have been in a relationship for at least a year to take part, and be open to the possibility of having a child. HOW DOES THE GEL WORK? The contraceptive gel contains the hormones progesterone and testosterone. The progesterone essentially sends a signal to the brain's pituitary gland to shut down the production of sperm in the testicles, one researcher involved in the trial at Edinburgh University, Dr Cheryl Fitzgerald, told Sky News. It takes between six and 12 weeks for the man's sperm count to drop to make him clinically infertile, meaning he can't get a woman pregnant. But because the testicles also produce most of the body's testosterone, a side effect of the gel is that the men's level of their sex hormone also drops. Low testosterone can cause weight gain, low sex drive, mood changes and erection problems. To counteract this, the gel also contains testosterone which can be absorbed by the skin and boost the man's levels back up to normal. The researchers say a man's fertility should return to normal within months after stopping using the gel. Advertisement Men will be paid $2,985 (2,286) to turn up at the clinic 31 times over two years, while their partners will receive $1,140 (873) for visiting ten times. At first, the couple can use other forms of contraceptive. Then, when the man's sperm is measured to at a low level, they will trial the gel exclusively for around one year. NES/T contains two hormones - progestin and testosterone - that are absorbed through the skin when the gel is rubbed onto a man's back and shoulders. Progestin - found in most hormonal female birth controls - naturally blocks the action of testosterone, keeping the testes from producing sperm. But testosterone is also key to male physical features and sex drive, so the gel also delivers a dose of replacement hormone. The gel is anticipated to be more than 90 per cent effective, making it roughly three per cent more reliable than condoms. The effects are reversible within three to four months of use, bringing sperm production to the man's normal level. Scientists say the gel will not reduce sex drive, which can be a problem for women using contraceptives. Emerging evidence from trials elsewhere in the US indicate some possible side effects of the gel. In an earlier trial of the gel, some men gained weight, although mostly in muscle, and other men who had trouble with acne as a teen had recurrences. Despite this, Dr William Bremner, of the University of Washington one of the universities involved in the study - said, 'the potential of this new gel is huge'. If the trials are successful, the substance may become available to couples within 10 years after relying on women's options such as the Pill for decades. The first oral contraceptive, Enovid, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as contraception in the 1960. A Portland U.S. Bank employee said she was fired after giving $20 of her own money to a customer who was broke and stranded at a gas station on Christmas Eve. The man she helped called her firing ridiculous. I was a customer of U.S. Bank, I needed help, and she went above and beyond, said Marc Eugenio of Clackamas. I felt so bad. She was the only one helping me. On Dec. 23, Emily James, a senior banker at a U.S. Bank call center in Portland, said she spent more than an hour trying to help Eugenio, a bank customer whose paycheck from a new job had been placed on hold. The hold meant he couldnt access the funds just over $1,000 and was essentially broke before Christmas. She told Eugenio to visit his Clackamas bank branch in the morning Christmas Eve and ask a bank manager to verify the funds from the issuing bank. Eugenio went to his bank and got his boss to verify his employment, but the branch manager was on vacation, and the bank was closing early for the holiday. There was no one, he was told, who could lift the hold. (The woman at the bank) said, My hands are tied, I cant do anything, he said. When Eugenio left the bank, he said workers locked the doors behind him. Frustrated, he again called the U.S. Bank 800 number to speak to the woman who had helped him the day before. He said he was calling from a gas station in Clackamas, unable to even fill his tank. I said, I wish I had just $20 bucks to get home, Eugenio recalled. And she said Wait, hold on. James handled calls from customers across the country and said it was rare to speak to anyone local. But in this case, Eugenio was just a few miles away. On Christmas Eve? It seemed like a sign. She told Eugenio to stay put and that shed be there within 30 minutes with some gas money. I didnt want her to do it, he said. But Im not proud to the point that Im going to refuse help. James said she got permission from her supervisor to drive out to the 76 gas station at Southeast 122nd Avenue and Sunnyside Road, about 14 miles from her office. I handed him $20 in cash, said Merry Christmas and went right back to work, she said. Eugenio said he thanked her and gave her a hug. It was like, Wow, she really cares, he said. Most supervisors, maybe they would have tried, but nobody would have ever come out because I was stranded. She had a big heart. She believed what I was saying. James finished the rest of her shift that day and again on Monday, Dec. 30. But on New Years Eve, she said, the regional service manager was waiting for her when she arrived at work. She said, Were sorry, we cannot keep your employment,' James said. The reason, James said, was because of her unauthorized interaction with a customer. They were worried about my safety, James said. He could have kidnapped me or shot me. But I wouldnt have left or even tried to ask if that was OK if I thought that this person would hurt me. The interaction with Eugenio happened in the middle of the day, at around 3:30 p.m., with other people around. James said her supervisor, who gave her permission to deliver the money, was also fired, though The Oregonian/OregonLive was unable to independently confirm this. When reached for this story, a spokeswoman with U.S. Bank said the company does not comment on employee matters. James said shes never been disciplined on the job, and she provided The Oregonian/OregonLive with more than a dozen certificates, accolades and awards she received over the course of her two years of employment. One of them was a Silver Shield Award in 2018, which says, We do the right thing. Its what we believe. Its how we act. And its a core value youve recently brought to life through your work. Another recognition, from April 2019, was for exemplifying the companys core value: We put people first. I just dont understand why you wouldnt help someone if you had the ability to, James said. Its Christmas Eve, its already a rough time for people, and youre going to leave someone stranded? I couldnt in good conscience do that, knowing it was something I could fix, or at least get him home. Had I known then that I was going to be let go, I would have just removed the hold on the check, because that absolutely would have gotten me fired. She laughed. Hindsight is 20/20. Eugenio said he eventually did get the check cleared but not until several days after Christmas. For his kids, ages 9 and 13, he had to leave IOUs under the tree. It was one of the saddest Christmases, he said. Promissory notes for Christmas gifts. And I cant believe (James) lost her job over it. The only one who seemed to care was Emily, and she got fired for that. James said her original motivation in sharing her story was to get her job back. Now, shes not so sure. I dont think I would want to continue to work for someone who would do that, she said. -- Samantha Swindler; sswindler@oregonian.com; @editorswindler Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. 4 life. Photo: Kyle Kaplan/Kyle Kaplan They aint. Going. Nowhere. No, really. The bad boys of Miami law enforcement, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, arent going anywhere, because Sony has just given the go-ahead to a fourth Bad Boys franchise installment. Just one week after Bad Boys for Life, the third film in the franchise, debuted to reviews so positive that many critics were surprised to be won over including Vultures own Bilge Ebiri the studio has tapped Chris Bremner, one of the writers credited on the new movie, to develop another chapter. The news comes courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, which also drops the little morsel in its reporting that Bremner is also working on National Treasure 3. So, good for him! The beginning of the postMichael Bay era of Bad Boys is officially in bloom. The DUTA will ensure that the matter is raised in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, a member said. (Photo Credit: File Photo) New Delhi: A day after the HRD Ministry appealed to Delhi University teachers to end their stir, the DUTA said it will resume classes but continue to boycott evaluation of the semester-end examination papers. Keeping in mind students' interest, the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) held a general body meeting was held in which it decided "to modify the present form of agitation". Teachers will resume work but will continue to boycott evaluation and screening, it said. The day-and-night dharna outside the VC office will continue to mark protest against unresolved issues of one-time regulation for absorption, promotion, pension, recovery and other issues, the teachers' association said. "The DUTA will take forward its struggle for one-time regulation for absorption as by immediately reaching out to the Members of Parliament," it said. "The DUTA will write again to the visitor and the prime minister on the matter and will seek appointment," the association added. The teachers' body said it will organise a massive long march to Parliament during the forthcoming Budget Session and will reach out to leaders of political parties for their support. "The DUTA will ensure that the matter is raised in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, it said. The teachers' body also demanded the removal of university Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi. While the HRD Ministry in December had announced that in a one-time relief the ad-hocs will be able to appear for interviews for permanent positions, it told the vice chancellor on Wednesday that those ad-hocs recruited permanently should be given benefits of their previous service by counting the years as ad-hoc in their total service. "The university has confirmed the move to us and will now issue notification in this regard. With this two major demands of the teachers have been met," a senior ministry official said. More details have emerged in the death of Richard Huckle, a prolific British pedophile who committed the majority of his heinous crimes in impoverished neighborhoods in Kuala Lumpur. After being handed 22 life sentences by a British court in 2016, he was found dead in his Full Sutton Prison cell in Yorkshire, England in October of last year. At the time, media outlets offered scant details of the nature of his death, though some reports claimed that Huckle had been stabbed. Yesterday, the tabloid the Daily Mail reported that Britains worst pedophile, as Huckle was often called, was in fact strangled to death with a guitar string in his prison cell. The report went on to claim that a source revealed that Huckles throat was also stuffed with condoms and pens. Police confirmed earlier this week that a 29-year-old man has been arrested in connection with Huckles death, and that a file on the matter has been handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service, with officials awaiting their decision before proceeding with charges. Huckle is estimated to have abused over 200 children over several years of posing as a freelance photographer and English teacher in poor Malaysian communities. His victims ranged in age from a 6 months to 12 years old. Though he is believed to have committed the bulk of his offenses over a nine-year period in Malaysia, the National Crime Agency also says he committed child abuse in Cambodia. Often grooming poor children from schools and orphanages in Kuala Lumpur, he later took pictures and videos of himself raping them, sharing the images in pedophile groups on the dark web. In a blog that he kept, Huckle developed a system of Pedopoints that he awarded himself, noting that he had abused 191 children on his scorecard. Investigators uncovered images where he forced his child victims to pose with signs that advertised his business of abuse. Huckle had also circulated a 60-page guide he titled Pedophiles & Poverty: Child Lover Guide. The UK judge who presided over his case called it a truly evil document at the time. Story continues His abuse began during a gap-year teaching in Southeast Asia. Police finally arrested Huckle in 2014 at Gatwick Airport, after his return from Malaysia for Christmas. His capture followed a tip-off from Australian investigators who had recently shut down a website dedicated to pedophilia with over 9,000 members. At the time of his arrest, Huckles behavior seemed to be escalating, with the suspect planning on creating a pedo Wiki guide for his depraved followers. Some 20,000 thousand images of child abuse were found on Huckles computer and camera, 1,000 of which were of him raping his victims. Refusing to cooperate with investigators, he declined to share passwords to other encrypted files. Following his arrest, his family sold their home and sought anonymity. His sister-in-law was quoted by UK media outlet Sky News as saying: None of his family will speak about him. None of us ever want to see Richard again. This article, Britains worst pedophile Richard Huckle died of strangulation, had condoms stuffed down throat: report, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters! Elon Musk urged Twitter boss Jack Dorsey to improve the site by ridding it of bots and fake accounts, while also predicting that in a few years humans will be tweeting from Mars. The Tesla CEO doled out advice to Dorsey during a video link-up hosted by Twitter at a company-wide meeting in Houston on Thursday. 'Give us some direct feedback,' Dorsey told Musk during the video conference, which was projected onto a giant screen in a hall where thousands of Twitter employees were in attendance. 'If you were running Twitter, what would you do?' Dorsey asked the SpaceX chief. 'I think it would be helpful to differentiate' between bots and real users, Musk said. 'Is this a real person or is this a bot net or a sort of troll army or something like that?' Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey (left) asked Tesla chief Elon Musk (right) how he would fix the micro-blogging site Musk spoke to Dorsey during a video conference attended by thousands of Twitter employees in Houston on Thursday 'Basically, how do you tell if the feedback is real or someone trying to manipulate the system, or probably real, or probably trying to manipulate the system,' Musk continued. 'What do people actually want, what are people actually upset about versus manipulation of the system by various interest groups.' Musk, who has some 30 million Twitter followers, has spoken up in the past about the phenomenon of bots. In September, he tweeted: 'If advanced AI (beyond basic bots) hasn't been applied to manipulate social media, it won't be long before it is. 'Anonymous bot swarms deserve a closer examination. If they're evolving rapidly, something's up.' Musk on Thursday also predicted that humans would be tweeting from Mars in five years. The SpaceX CEO reiterated on Thursday his desire to see humans build colonies on Mars. The image above is a rendering showing SpaceX's vision of a human colony on Mars On Twitter, he wrote of his ambitious plan to build 100 Starships - the reusable rockets that will be able to deliver humans to the Moon and Mars - per year so that they could send 100,000 humans to the Red Planet when the Earth and Mars are in orbital sync When one Twitter user asked if Musk planned to land a million humans to Mars by 2050, he replied: 'Yes.' Bots are fake accounts created anonymously on social media in order to influence opinions or steer the discourse among users. Musk himself has been the target of bots on Twitter. One bot impersonated Musk on Twitter and ran a scam inviting users to send cryptocurrency in exchange for a chance to win 'crypto giveaways,' according to Decrypt. Twitter and other social media platforms have come under fire since the 2016 election, during which alleged Russian bots posted inaccurate information about candidates in order to sow discord among the American public. During his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian organizations for creating 'bot armies' and 'troll farms.' The Russians were charged with 'posing as U.S. persons and creating false U.S. personas, operated social media pages and groups designed to attract U.S. audiences. These groups and pages, which addressed divisive U.S. political and social issues, falsely claimed to be controlled by U.S. activists when, in fact, they were controlled by' the Russian entities, according to the indictments. In July 2018, Twitter removed tens of millions of suspicious and fake accounts from its platform in an effort to purge the system of bots that spread disinformation. Musk on Thursday also predicted that humans would be tweeting from Mars in five years. The SpaceX CEO reiterated on Thursday his desire to see humans build colonies on Mars. On Twitter, he wrote of his ambitious plan to build 100 Starships - the reusable rockets which he aims to use to allow people to travel to the Moon and Mars - per year so that they could send 100,000 humans to the Red Planet when the Earth and Mars are in orbital sync. The Starship's precursor, the Starhopper, was successfully tested in Texas last August. The prototype ship blasted off from the Boca Chica, Texas test site on August 27, 2019, just after 5pm local time (6 p.m. ET) for its 150 meter untethered flight test The distance between the Earth and Mars gets reasonably close every 26 months - 33.9 million miles. Both planets do not have a perfectly circular orbit around the sun. Their orbits are elliptical-shaped, so the distance between the two planets changes. When one Twitter user asked if Musk planned to land a million humans to Mars by 2050, he replied: 'Yes.' The Starship's precursor, the Starhopper, was successfully tested in Texas last August. Following the successful test, Starhopper will transition into a vertical test of SpaceX's Raptor engines and eventually even larger prototypes of Musk's coveted Starship craft, according to NASA Spaceflight. Starhopper is the test vehicle for SpaceX's ultimate goal of developing a sleeker craft called the Starship which Musk hopes will eventually take human passengers on a number of missions into space. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 05:23:08|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIRUT, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Lebanon celebrated on Friday the Chinese New Year with the performance by China's Heilongjiang Symphony Orchestra. Lebanese officials and Chinese expatriates in Lebanon participated in the event, which was organized in collaboration with Lebanon-based Caracalla Dance Theatre and the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music. Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian described the occasion as an opportunity to introduce the Chinese culture to the Lebanese people. Chinese artists have come to Lebanon on many occasions and performed in an excellent way that showcases their talents to the Lebanese people, he told Xinhua. "During this new year, we are ready to increase our cooperation with Lebanon on the cultural, artistic, educational and touristic levels in a bid to expand bilateral ties between the two countries," Wang said. For his part, caretaker Lebanese Minister of Culture Mohammad Daoud said the Lebanese are proud of the great cooperation between Lebanon and China. Daoud also expressed Lebanon's high appreciation for China's contribution to building a national conservatory in Lebanon. "We are looking for boosting our ties with China in all cultural fields by organizing such musical concerts in both countries," the Lebanese official said. Deal Expands CarGurus Market-Leading Scale and Unique Dealer Value Proposition CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CarGurus, a leading global automotive marketplace, today announced it has acquired Autolist, an innovative car shopping platform based in San Francisco, CA. The acquisition expands CarGurus category-leading consumer audience and will help enable the company to further enhance its unique value proposition for subscribing dealers. CarGurus will operate Autolist as a standalone brand and website. CarGurus, with its focus on bringing trust and transparency to the car buying process, is already the most visited automotive shopping website in the US, with nearly three times the consumer traffic of its nearest competitor.1 More than 28,000 US dealers list inventory on CarGurus through paid subscriptions, which enable dealers to connect with car shoppers and sell more cars. Autolist, founded in 2014, has leveraged its popular mobile app, innovative car search technology and a large aggregated inventory of car listings to build a consumer audience of more than 1.3M unique monthly visitors on its website2 and nearly 400K unique monthly app visitors through iOS and Android3. We are thrilled to welcome the Autolist team to the CarGurus platform, said Jason Trevisan, Chief Financial Officer at CarGurus. Like CarGurus, Autolist is a technology company with a pioneering mindset, which makes them a great fit with our innovative culture. We are excited about joining forces to provide best-in-class products and services that make car buying easier for shoppers and drive more sales for dealers. With Autolist, CarGurus will drive consumer traffic and shopper connections for dealers across both sites, creating additional value for the companys premium subscription dealerships. In addition, CarGurus plans to pilot new product and partnership initiatives on the Autolist platform and mobile app. The Autolist team will continue to operate independently out of their San Francisco location under the leadership of Corey Lydstone, founder, who will now report to Trevisan at CarGurus. Story continues We could not be more excited to join CarGurus, a company that shares our passion for solving big problems and building great products," said Lydstone. "The Autolist journey so far has been incredible, and with CarGurus massive scale and category leadership we believe well be able to accelerate Autolists growth while continuing to deliver on our promise of building a better automotive buying experience for everyone. Im so proud of our team, and I am looking forward to our future together at CarGurus. Dealers on CarGurus premium-level listings packages get access to enhanced on-site branding, more connection methods, and additional marketing tools that help them generate more connections to in-market shoppers with significant ROI. With this acquisition, those dealers will now gain access to connections from Autolist shoppers. Dealers can find more details on the combined offering in the CarGurus Dealer Resource Center . Terms of the deal were not disclosed. About CarGurus Founded in 2006, CarGurus (CARG) is a global, online automotive marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of new and used cars. The Company uses proprietary technology, search algorithms and data analytics to bring trust and transparency to the automotive search experience and help users find great deals from top-rated dealers. CarGurus is the most visited automotive shopping site in the U.S. (source: Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform, Automotive Information/Resources, Total Audience, Q3 2019, U.S. (Competitive set includes: CarGurus.com, Autotrader.com, Cars.com, TrueCar.com)). In addition to the United States, CarGurus operates online marketplaces in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain. To learn more about CarGurus, visit www.cargurus.com. Press Contact: Brian Kramer CarGurus pr@cargurus.com 2020 CarGurus, Inc., All Rights Reserved. CarGurus is a registered trademark of CarGurus, Inc. All product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. _______________________________ 1 Source: Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform, Automotive Information/Resources, Total Audience, Q3 2019, U.S. (Competitive set includes: CarGurus.com, Autotrader.com, Cars.com, TrueCar.com). 2 Source: Google Analytics, December 2019. 3 Source: Firebase, December 2019. Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding: the impact that our acquisition of Autolist may have on our market-leading scale, key business metrics, business performance, product offerings, and ability to create additional value for our subscribing dealer customers; our plans to independently operate Autolist and pilot new product and partnership initiatives on the Autolist platform and mobile app; our ability to accelerate Autolists growth by integrating our technology, scale and leadership to Autolists existing platform; our ability to deliver on our promise of building a better automotive buying experience for everyone; the value proposition of our products and our market awareness, are forward-looking statements. The words anticipate, believe, continue, estimate, expect, guide, intend, likely, may, will and similar expressions and their negatives are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks related to our rapid growth and ability to sustain our revenue growth rate, our relationships with dealers, competition in the markets in which we operate, market growth, our ability to innovate and manage our growth, our ability to expand effectively into new markets, our ability to realize benefits from our acquisitions of PistonHeads and Autolist and successfully implement the integration strategies in connection therewith, our ability to operate in compliance with applicable laws, as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth in the Risk Factors section of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed on November 5, 2019 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and subsequent reports that we file with the SEC. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, achievements or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will occur. We are under no duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Among many events planned to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., students will address current social justice issues as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contests set for Jan. 22 on the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Gainesville Campus and Jan. 29 on UNG's Dahlonega Campus. Participants will answer two questions: What would Dr. King see as the biggest social justice issue today? How can society address it? Dr. Robert Robinson, director of Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA), said the contests serve as a forum for some students' initial public speaking experiences. "We want to do things to not just expose students to social justice issues. We want them to be engaged," Robinson said. "They get a chance to express what they feel are some of the important social justice issues, which is one of the first steps in democracy." Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contests Gainesville Campus When: Noon Jan. 22 Where: Robinson Ballroom, Student Center Dahlonega Campus When: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 29 Where: Hoag Great Room Nathalia Ingles, a sophomore from Buford, Georgia, pursuing a degree in communications with a public relations concentration, will discuss the misrepresentation of people of color in media. "People judge you because of the color of your skin," Ingles said. "This is a great experience because I'm not only representing my family and friends. I'm representing people who can't find a place to fit in. We should embrace our heritage and our culture." Jennifer Ramsay, a sophomore from Lawrenceville, Georgia, pursuing a degree in communications with a multimedia journalism concentration, will talk about prejudice in already marginalized groups, such as racism among the LGBTQ community and colorism among black people. "When we turn on each other, it doesn't help anything," Ramsay said. "We're slowing down our progress by doing that." Matthew Penado, a freshman from Gainesville, Georgia, pursuing an associate degree on the art pathway, will discuss the wealth gap between minorities and non-minorities and how it affects other social justice issues. "In order for anything to change, you first have to start talking about it," Penado said. "It's a way to learn from someone else's perspective and get a better, well-rounded view of the world." Simeon Salia, a junior pursuing a dual degree in physics and engineering with a computer science minor, will talk about the division he said is hurting the country. "It's become a lot of us and them groups, particularly when it comes to political parties," Salia said. "It's an issue that impedes a lot of work from getting done, especially in Congress and in other areas socially." Wade Manora Jr., assistant director of MSA, is eager to see the students make their speeches. "It is my hope that everyone that hears the words of our oratorical participants will go out, find and act on an inequality in their surrounding community," Manora said. In addition to the oratorical contests, UNG is holding a pair of MLK service projects: a campus beautification project Jan. 17 on the Dahlonega Campus and, on Jan. 20, assistance for the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in Watkinsville in setting up the organization's annual thrift sale. Other events scheduled on the Dahlonega Campus include: Iran's supreme leader said President Donald Trump is a "clown" who only pretends to support the Iranian people, as he addressed Friday prayers In Tehran for the first time since 2012. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Trump will "push a poisonous dagger" into the nation's back. He said the outpouring of grief at the funeral for Iran's top general, who was killed in a US airstrike earlier this month, shows that Iranians support the Islamic Republic. Khamenei said America had "cowardly" killed the most effective commander in the fight against the Islamic State group when it killed General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike in Baghdad. In response to Soleimani's killing, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting US troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. As Iran's Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after it took off from Tehran's international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Khamenei called the shooting down of the plane a "bitter accident" that saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. He said Iran's enemies had seized on the crash to question the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard and the armed forces. He said Western countries are too weak to "bring Iranians to their knees". Khamenei said Iran was willing to negotiate, but not with the US. Khamenei has held the country's top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of Soleimani and vowed "harsh retaliation" against the United States. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. Their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since President Donald Trump withdrew the US from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which had imposed restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The White House has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Trump has openly encouraged the protesters even tweeting in Farsi hoping that the protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a longtime adversary. After Soleimani was killed in the US airstrike in Baghdad, Iran announced it would no longer be bound by the limitations in the nuclear agreement. European countries who have been trying to salvage the deal responded earlier this week by invoking a dispute mechanism that is aimed at bringing Iran back into compliance and could result in even more sanctions. Khamenei was always skeptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the US could not be trusted. But he allowed President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, to conclude the agreement with President Barack Obama. Since Trump's withdrawal, he has said there can be no negotiations with the United States. Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called Israel a "cancerous tumour" and vowed to support anyone confronting it. He also warned against any US strikes on Iran over its nuclear program, saying the US would be damaged "10 times over". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kimberley McRae (pictured) was found dead in her apartment in Coogee on Tuesday A sex worker murdered inside her Sydney beachside apartment may have been strangled. Kimberley McRae was found dead in her apartment on Mount Street, Coogee, about 10am on Tuesday. Police are yet to confirm the cause of death pending an autoposy, although her body may have been there for up to a week before it was found. Daily Mail Australia has been told a real estate agent made the shocking discovery after Ms McRae's sister raised the alarm. New South Wales police say the last known sighting of Ms McRae - a long-time and well known Coogee local - was on Tuesday, January 7. But neighbours inside her unit block claim they saw her more recently than that. 'I'm positive I saw her on Friday, just before we went away to the Central Coast for the weekend,' one neighbour said. 'We returned on Monday and then on Tuesday the real estate agent found her body. 'Her sister apparently tried to call her but she wasn't answering so she contacted the real estate agent, but they couldn't get onto her either. Ms McRae was a well-known identity in the beachside suburb, and recently wrote a book about her struggles with gender identity Crime scene fingerprint dust on the front door to Ms McRae's apartment where she had lived for the past six months before she was found dead Ms McRae's worried sister contacted the real estate agent when she couldn't raise her. The agent and police then made the horrific discovery of her murdered body inside the Coogee unit 'It's so sad, she was always really lovely and would say hello to me and my kids each time we saw her.' She had lived at the current apartment block for the past six months, and prior to that in another building on the same street for almost 12 years. Police said Ms McRae lived alone and did not own a vehicle, but was known to walk and exercise in the area and had 'distinct personal style with recognisable features'. New South Wales Homicide Squad boss Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said the last known sighting of Ms McRae was on January 7, at her Coogee unit. He said the next seven days until her body was found on Tuesday remain a mystery. Ms McRae, who also uses the first name Sabrina, was a well-known identity in Coogee, in Sydney's east A friend Presley Hunter (right) described Ms McRae (left) as 'an icon of Coogee for over a decade' 'Investigators are aware Kim worked in the sex industry and may be known to some of her associates as Isabella, Samantha and Sabrina,' Det Supt Doherty said. 'Of course, we'd be keen to speak to anyone who has information or knowledge of Kim's social activities.' Under the name Isabella Lawson, Ms McRae wrote a book last year titled 'Hey Boys, She's Got a Gash and other Tales of Gods - A Memoir' - which detailed the struggles of being transgender. 'Isabella Lawson lays her soul bare in this intense and beautiful memoir. Lawsons life is rich in experience, shes pretty much tried everything and built an anthology that she articulates with bold poetic prose,' a description of the book read. 'Maintaining a hopeful outlook without blame or regret she shines a spotlight on conservative Australia in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, the harsh values and gender repression and expectation.' Ms McRae wrote a book last year under the name Isabella Lawson, which detailed the struggles of a transgender person living in Sydney's east A resident who lived near Ms McRae said police had canvassed several apartment blocks on Mount Street in the early part of this week. 'They knocked on our door and told my wife of a suspicious death in a neighbouring apartment building,' the man said. 'I wasn't home at the time but they asked my wife if she'd heard any shouting of screaming on the Friday before.' Another man said he regularly saw Ms McRae out walking, describing her as 'the best known person in Coogee'. 'She was always out walking around town and with big hair and glasses, it was very hard to miss,' he said. A friend Presley Hunter paid tribute to Ms McRae and described her as one of the kindest people. Daily Mail Australia understands Ms McRae's body had been inside her apartment on Mount Street (pictured), Coogee, for several days before neighbours raised the alarm 'She was certainly an icon of Coogee for over a decade. She was 'out there' but she's the kindest person I've known,' she said. Police said a post mortem examination had been conducted, but further tests are required to determine exactly how Ms McRae died. An autopsy is currently being performed by the state coroner which detectives hope will provide a clearer idea of how she died. Anyone with information about Ms McRae's death is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. As people struggle with their New Year resolutions to 'enjoy' Dry January or Veganuary, these dubious pleasures have thankfully passed soapland by. Instead, the year has started as it means to go on (nothing new there) with mad women (Corrie's Jade), murder (Emmerdale's Graham) and violence (EastEnders' Gray and Chantelle an all-too-believable storyline). But it's the proverbial secrets and lies that have dominated the first weeks of the new decade. EastEnders brought us a hilarious exchange between Jean, Kush and Daniel what, you knew/you didn't know/you didn't say that you knew that he knew? over Daniel's return from the 'dead' (more evidence of the show's return to magnificent form). Walford's also seen Linda's sly drinking, Keanu's secret non-death, Martin's lies to Ben and Phil, Sonia's underhand activities all destined for the can of worms guaranteed to be opened at a later date. Emmerdale introduced the mother of Cain's secret son Nate (can even he recall how many kids he has?), and Corrie made us wonder when Hope's lies will come to light after Jade's exposure. New year, same old problems. CORONATION STREET: LOSING HOPE When the police search Jade's house, they find nothing, but Fiz (Jennie McAlpine) is not convinced and hits Jade (Lottie Henshaw) over the head with a chopping board, pictured You can't blame Hope for wanting to do a runner with Jade; half the time Fiz can't even remember her and Ruby's names. Clean your teeth, girls/Get ready for school, girls/Eat your tea, girls lots of orders to the pair. Did they get any Christmas presents, or were they too busy at infant boot camp to enjoy them? With Hope still in secret communication with Jade, Fiz and Tyrone are horrified to discover the back door open and one of The Girls gone (will Fiz even know which one?). LEAST LIKELY PLOT Thingsll get back to normal. Steve to Tracy, Corrie Advertisement When the police search Jade's house, they find nothing, but Fiz is not convinced and, in an altercation, hits Jade over the head with a chopping board (that'll be the first time she's picked one of those up; a Domestic Goddess she ain't). When an unconscious Jade is found in the ginnel, the police want to question Fiz (inset). Bethany is upset when Ray makes Alya manager of the Bistro, where staff still outnumber diners. Who's going to the Cash & Carry now Robert's dead? After running to Daniel, Bethany gets mixed signals when he suggests she leave Weatherfield and apply for a place on a creative writing course. My advice: master the art of taking orders first. EASTENDERS: FREEDOM OF SPEECH Unable to carry her guilt any longer or stay off the booze, Linda (Kellie Bright) drunkenly reveals all to Sharon (Letitia Dean), pictured 'You can't tell anyone,' said Martin, when revealing to Karen that Keanu was alive. Linda wanted to come clean. No, said Martin. Well, we all know telling Linda not to do something is not like holding a red rag to a bull but a circus marquee; the woman has more trouble zipping her mouth than she must have had getting into that sequined monstrosity she wore over Christmas. Fair play to Kellie Bright, it's been a bravura performance, and there's more to come this week when, unable to carry her guilt any longer or stay off the booze, Linda drunkenly reveals all to Sharon. Oh, dear. Why not hire the O2 for the day and announce it live? Or go one step further and bring Keanu on stage for a rendition of I Will Survive? In denial, having forgotten she dropped the bombshell (a problem she never has when carrying a bottle you've got to admire her balance), she reveals the truth when Sharon threatens to ask Martin. It's not long before the Mitchells are on the back foot now Sharon is set on revenge. Phil has another problem on his hands when Lisa tells him that she and Louise are moving to Portugal. Oh, not that old chestnut again; haven't you gone yet, woman? TAP Air Portugal has multiple non-stop flights to Lisbon a day; I'll drive you to the airport myself and throw in a bottle of Mateus rose for you to drink in the car. Anything to just stop you banging on about flamin' Portugal. EMMERDALE: THE USUAL SUSPECTS It's a relief this will put paid to plans by Rhona to move to France, though; she learned English by talking to animals, so a crash course in French was always going to be beyond the pale With Graham's forthcoming murder and an endless list of suspects, there's little else for anyone to talk about. It's a relief this will put paid to plans by Rhona to move to France, though; she learned English by talking to animals, so a crash course in French was always going to be beyond the pale. Whodunnits are always fun, but my guess is all the women have more of a grudge against Graham than the men who, quite frankly, are always too drunk in the pub to find their way out, let alone wield a killer blow. The week certainly gives the concept of outdoor pursuits a whole new meaning. A New Jersey man released from prison in May after a child porn conviction admitted he sent obscene photos to someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl just two months later, authorities said. Zackary McFerren, 28, of Winslow, pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden to two counts of of transferring obscene matter to minors, the U.S. Attorneys Office for New Jersey said in a statement Thursday. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each count when he is sentenced April 22. McFerren was already on parole for a similar offense when he used to a cell phone in July to communicate with an undercover FBI employee posing as a teenage girl over a three-day period. He then sent the FBI employee obscene images of himself and expressed interest in having sex with the person with whom he was communicating. Court papers didnt indicate the method of communication. McFerrens previous crimes took place in 2015 when he lived in Egg Harbor Township. He used the messaging app Kik to exchange lewd photos with a girl in Michigan using a home computer, authorities said. McFerren used the screen name Emily," federal prosecutors said. He also convinced a girl living in the Philadelphia area to send him 14 nude images of her and a friend. Later in 2015, he used Snapchat to send an obscene photo of himself to a Florida girl under the age of 16. McFerren was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison on Oct. 17, 2016 and began five years of supervised released on May 3, 2019. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. You are not equal. I know its easy to think you are. T-shirts declare womens power. Kids books talk about rebel girls. Corporations hashtag your girlboss-ness. But you are not equal. Not in the Constitution. Not under the law. Not even according to practical metrics like wages and household chores. You earn less and work more. Thats just one of the reasons that for almost 100 years women have been trying to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Jennifer Carroll Foy remembers the exact moment when she learned she wasnt equal. Foya legislator in the Virginia House of Delegatestold me she was just a teen when she found out. She was in a high school Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps when a decision came down in United States v. Virginia, a landmark Supreme Court case that ruled 7-1 that the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) had to admit women. At the time Foy had no idea that the VMI was one of the premier military institutions in America. But the battle over its gender policy gave rise to one of the first times she heard friends and classmates tell her she wasnt equal. Everyone, my friends, were saying women shouldnt be admitted because they werent strong enough, werent good enough. The court forced the VMI to admit women. And the school grudgingly agreed, but only after considering going private to avoid the integration. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a dissenting opinion, arguing that because the 14th Amendment to the Constitutionwhich guarantees equal protection under the lawdoesnt explicitly include the word women, then it doesnt explicitly apply to women. The equal protection portion of the 14th Amendment states: No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Story continues Watching that decision on TV, hearing friends and classmates debate what the precise restrictions on her rights should bethat was the moment when Foy decided to go to the Virginia Military Institute. I had a friend, she said in an interview, who told me he wanted to go with me to the VMI to watch me fail. He bet me a dollar I wouldnt graduate. She didnt fail. She graduated, even when all the men from her JROTC had dropped out. I did everything those men did, she said. I put on that uniform. I fought with them. I graduated with them. Foy understands a battle. Shes worked as a public defender, and she campaigned for her seat in the Virginia House of Delegates pregnant with twins. Shes also a black woman in a world where black women are disadvantaged not just compared with white men but with white womenearning 50 cents to the white mans dollar (less than white women do) and suffering from maternal deaths at a higher rate than white women. The stakes of the Equal Rights Amendment are real to her, and so she took the fight to the House of Delegates. To pass a constitutional amendment, the effort needs to be ratified in 38 states. The ERA was first proposed in 1923, and the battle to see it implemented has taken every single one of the years since. Some states have rescinded their ratification. Others have pushed off the debate around it. Congress set an initial deadline for 1979 for ratification for the ERA. The deadline was extended to 1982. Of course, even that deadline has since passed, but whether those deadlines are enforceable or not is still a question. (The 27th Amendment, for example, was ratified almost two centuries after it was first passed.) Even in the face of such headwinds, Virginia is now the 38th state to back the ERA, securing its ratification on January 15, 2020. The amendment states: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. With an unclear road ahead to formalize this much anticipated development, the passage of the ERA in Virginia is at the moment a symbolic victory. But its not an empty one. The erosion of equal rights is happening under this administration. Recently, 207 Republican lawmakers signed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion nationwide. In some cases, Roe is all that stands between women and regressive laws like fetal-heartbeat bills and the continued effort to defund Planned Parenthood clinics. In Iowa, where I live, the governor announced her intention to pass an amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit abortion. There are also laws in Iowa that bar trans women from access to medically necessary surgery covered under Medicaid. Our rights, said Foy, should not hinge on an election. I dont need to imagine a world in which women are not treated like equal citizens. I live in it. And its not hard to picture how it could get worse. Because it used to be worse. Last year my mother sent me a copy of the divorce decree from one of my relatives who dissolved her marriage in the 1940s. The decree forbade her to get remarried without the consent of a judge. My mom can remember a time when women couldnt get home loans or open up lines of credit without their husbands consent. In The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood warned us of a near future in which women have no rights to their bodies at all. I can see that world too. What I cant imagine is a world where we are equal. I cant imagine the world of the ERA, because its hard to see past the profound inequality we live with day by day. I asked Foy what that world would look like. She tells me its intersectional, that it hinges on the inclusion of trans women and women of color. I still have a hard time thinking about what that means. What would it mean for me to make just as much as the men around me? What would it mean for the women I know not to face discrimination in doctors offices and their places of work? I dont know. I have broad outlines, but I cant understand the ramifications. Its like that parable about the fish where one fish asks the other, Hows the water? And the other fish responds, Whats water? When youve been swimming in it your whole life, its hard to see the thing itself. What Foy and activists and politicians like her are pushing for is a hope for something better. Its a vision that insists we dont have to be grateful for what we havewe deserve more, we deserve to be protected. That this world of equality is worth whatever it takes to get there. Lyz Lenz is a writer based in Iowa. Her writing has appeared in Pacific Standard, Marie Claire, Jezebel, and the Washington Post. Her book God Land was published in August 2019. Follow her on Twitter @lyzl. Originally Appeared on Glamour Jet Aviation has received International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) Stage 1 Registration from the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) for its Amsterdam and Rotterdam FBOs in the Netherlands. The company intends to achieve IS-BAH Stage 2 Registration for both FBOs by December 2021. ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> As a safety management system, IS-BAH establishes criteria to ensure handling systems, processes and practices meet rigorous safety and security standards. These registrations demonstrate Jet Aviations ongoing commitment to the highest safety standards for its customers and employees, said Edwin Niemoller, director FBO operations and general manager Netherlands. I couldnt be prouder of the team for their unwavering professionalism, which was acknowledged by customers in the 2019 AIN survey and is now being recognized by the industry. VP regional operations Europe and general manager Geneva, Cyril Martiniere, felt these new registrations highlighted the teams flexibility and willingness to adapt to changing demands. Our highly skilled team of handling professionals in the Netherlands has long been recognized for its ability to provide excellent service quickly and efficiently. That they were able to meet all the rigorous standards for IS-BAH registration while simultaneously integrating operational procedures with Jet Aviation is a real testament to their drive and dedication. Jet Aviation expanded its network to The Netherlands with the acquisition of the KLM Jet Center in October 2018. Together, the Amsterdam and Rotterdam FBOs support more than 7,500 movements per year. A Republican senator who could tip the balance of Donald Trump's impeachment fate has said she could side with Democrats in calling key witnesses. Susan Collins, the longstanding moderate lawmaker from Maine, said she is open to hearing from both sides of the aisle before making up her mind on whether to vote to subpoena individuals and documents. But she hit back over 'mischaracterization and misunderstanding' of her stance on how the trial, which got underway yesterday, should be structured. Collins set the record straight via a statement where she clarified her belief that senators should vote on the calling of witnesses after both sides were allotted time to make their case for subpoenas. This would mirror the structure of Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, the last and second President to have articles filed against him. The Republican-stacked senate is almost certain to quash the articles of impeachment, but testaments of certain witnesses could seriously damage the President in an election year. Republican senator Susan Collins (right), who could tip the balance of Donald Trump's (right) impeachment fate, has said there has been 'mischaracterization and misunderstanding' of her stance on how the trial should be structured All rise: The Chief Justice told all the senators to stand, raise their hands, and take the oath Trump's impeachment trial got underway yesterday To summon witnesses to the trial, the minority Democrats need only four Republicans to vote with them, and it was believed that moderate senator Collins was prepared to defy her party. But in a tweeted statement last night, Collins said: 'There has been a lot of mischaracterization and misunderstanding about my position on the process the Senate should follow for the impeachment trial. 'Rather than have my position relayed through the interpretation of others, I wanted to state it directly.' She then spells out a five-point plan for her desired trial structure, in which she argues for a debate to be afforded before a vote on whether to call witnesses. She wrote that 'it is likely that I would support a motion to call witnesses', but insisted she has not made a decision on any particular individuals. In particular Democrats want to call John Bolton, the former national security advisor, to give evidence. They've asked for four witnesses in total and three sets of documents. Donald Trump vented again at the 'hoax impeachment' in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, during an announcement of the 'guidance on Constitutional prayer in public schools' Sworn in: John Roberts raises his hands as Senate president pro-tempore, Chuck Grassley, administers the impeachment oath The 67-year-old Maine senator, who voted to subpoena witnesses and documents in the trial of President Clinton, said she wanted to hear arguments 'from both sides' of the aisle. Her openness to side with Democrats is a marked contrast to an increasingly polarized Congress, which has been accused of blind partisanship during Trump's impeachment. The President's Senate trial began yesterday when John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the United States, was sworn in. It came after the House impeached Trump last month for threatening to withhold military aid to Ukraine unless they investigated former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate frontrunner Joe Biden. A positive psychology program created by researchers at Queen Mary University of London focuses on promoting wellbeing in refugee children. It is unusual in that it focuses on promoting positive outcomes, rather than addressing war trauma exposure. This is the first positive psychology-based intervention to be systematically evaluated for use with refugee children. The purpose of the intervention, known as Strengths for the Journey, is to build positive psychological resources in young refugees - such as positive emotions, character strengths, optimistic thinking, community and nature connectedness, hope, and mindfulness - in order to promote their wellbeing and resilience. In a study, published in the journal Development and Psychopathology, the researchers show that the intervention improved the children's positive outcomes (wellbeing, optimism, and self-esteem) and reduced their depressive symptoms. Specifically, it more than doubled participants' ratings of their wellbeing and optimism and led to dramatic reductions in depressive symptoms. Dr Sevasti Foka, lead author of the study from the Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology at Queen Mary University of London, said: "The key finding of the study is that the Strengths for the Journey intervention seems to be quite effective. Our results suggest that short, inexpensive positive psychology interventions such as Strengths for the Journey can lead to real improvements in refugee children's mental health and wellbeing, even when those children are experiencing the many challenges of living in a refugee camp." The program is delivered over a seven-day period and was evaluated in refugee camps in Lesvos, Greece, with 72 children ranging from 7 to 14 years-old. The children were predominantly displaced from Syria and Afghanistan. Over a million refugees have arrived by sea in Greece in the last four years, almost half of whom are under 18 years old*. Upon arrival in Greece, many are placed in camps with limited access to school and mental health services, and report high rates of attempted suicide, panic attacks, anxiety, and aggressive outbursts**. The intervention is one of very few programs to be developed specifically for use with kids living in refugee camps. Refugee camps are quite a different context from resettlement or settlement in communities and are very challenging places for children to live. The researchers suggest that the intervention should be expanded to a larger group of refugee children in Greece - and potentially those living in refugee camps elsewhere - because it has real potential to improve their mental health and wellbeing. Isabelle Mareschal, an author of the study from Queen Mary University of London, said: "It seems like child refugees living in low-resource settings like refugee camps would benefit from Strengths for the Journey or other short positive psychology interventions that promote resilience." In the study, the researchers ran a pilot evaluation using a wait-list controlled trial design to see whether the intervention improved children's mental health and wellbeing. This involved providing the program to one group of children and then providing it to the next group a little later in order to compare outcomes while still providing treatment for all participants. The researchers were improving on most previous work in three ways: by doing a controlled trial, focusing on children living in refugee camps, and by looking at positive outcomes rather than just psychopathology. Dr Kristin Hadfield, the corresponding author of the study from Queen Mary University of London, added: "In addition to the intervention being different, our evaluation of it is also different. Very few interventions for use with refugees are rigorously evaluated. NGOs and governments spend a lot of money attempting to improve refugee children's outcomes through various programmes, but many do not actually check whether these are effective. We have compared changes in the kids who took part in Strengths for the Journey with changes in kids living in the camps who did not take part to see whether those who took part in Strengths for the Journey did better." ### Notes to editor: *(UNHCR, 2018) **(Hermans et al., 2017; Medecins Sans Frontieres, 2018) Link to Strengths for the Journey: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbcs/about-us/our-departments/psychology/strengths-for-the-journey-project/ Research paper: 'Promoting wellbeing in refugee children: An exploratory controlled trial of a positive psychology intervention delivered in Greek refugee camps'. Sevasti Foka, Kristin Hadfield, Michael Pluess, Isabelle Mareschal. Development and Psychopathology. For a copy of the paper please contact below. Contact: Rupert Marquand PR Officer Queen Mary University of London r.marquand@qmul.ac.uk Tel: 020 7882 3004 About Queen Mary Queen Mary University of London is a research-intensive university that connects minds worldwide. A member of the prestigious Russell Group, we work across the humanities and social sciences, medicine and dentistry, and science and engineering, with inspirational teaching directly informed by our world-leading research. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework we were ranked 5th in the country for the proportion of research outputs that were world-leading or internationally excellent. We have over 25,000 students and offer more than 240 degree programmes. Our reputation for excellent teaching was rewarded with silver in the most recent Teaching Excellence Framework. Queen Mary has a proud and distinctive history built on four historic institutions stretching back to 1785 and beyond. Common to each of these institutions - the London Hospital Medical College, St Bartholomew's Medical College, Westfield College and Queen Mary College - was the vision to provide hope and opportunity for the less privileged or otherwise under-represented. Today, Queen Mary University of London remains true to that belief in opening the doors of opportunity for anyone with the potential to succeed and helping to build a future we can all be proud of. Kaia Gerber's relationship with Pete Davidson has been widely reported since they were first romantically linked in October. And with the highs and lows of their brief fling, the young model has recently become his latest high-profile ex. Following a quick post-breakup trip to Miami, Gerber was spotted rocking a winter chic look Thursday in New York City. Winter chic: Following a quick post-breakup trip to Miami, Kaia Gerber was spotted rocking a winter chic look Thursday in New York City The 18-year-old kept warm in an ankle-length grey tweed pinstripe duster, which channeled a hint of 1980s Wall Street. She hid her short brown hair under a white knit cuffed beanie, completing the look with black leather combat boots. It was announced Tuesday that Gerber and Davidson, 26, have reportedly called it quits nearly three months after they were first romantically linked. A source told Page Six: 'It looks like Pete and Kaia are over. It got very overwhelming for Kaia. Wall street vibes: The 18-year-old kept warm in an ankle-length grey tweed pinstripe duster, which channeled a hint of 1980s Wall Street Big girl boots: She hid her short brown hair under a white knit cuffed beanie, completing the look with black leather combat boots 'Pete has a certain M.O. and hes very intense to his girlfriends. Kaia is only 18 and its a lot to deal with.' Davidson was first spotted leaving Gerber's apartment in late October, and the two have made several romantic outings since. The relationship quickly drew controversy, as Davidson had only split with ex Margaret Qualley a week before, and Gerber had only turned 18 in September. In late December, Kaia's model parents Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber were spotted having an intense discussion outside their daughter's apartment. They seemed to be referring to Davidson (who left the building moments later), saying someone 'scratched eyes' and was 'freaking out.' It's over: A source told Page Six: 'It looks like Pete and Kaia are over. It got very overwhelming for Kaia. Pete has a certain M.O. and hes very intense to his girlfriends. Kaia is only 18 and its a lot to deal with' Hot and heavy: Davidson was first spotted leaving Gerber's apartment in late October, and the two have made several romantic outings since Barely legal: The relationship quickly drew controversy, as Davidson had only split with ex Margaret Qualley a week before, and Gerber had only turned 18 in September The incident came days after the comedian joked on an episode of Saturday Night Live that he would be 'going on a little vacation' to rehab. Amid their reported split, Kaia has since taken to Instagram with friends Antoni Porowski and Tommy Dorfman from a Miami getaway. The brunette beauty was seen Wednesday arriving home in New York City with mom Cindy Crawford, who was also in Miami with husband Rande Gerber. Meanwhile, Davidson appeared Tuesday as the face of Alexander Wang in the brand's latest fashion campaign. He reportedly first met Kaia last June, when they both walked in the Alexander Wang Collection 1 runway show at New York Fashion Week. Davidson has had quite the dating history over the past year (including Kate Beckinsale, 46), since his engagement with Ariana Grande ended in October of 2018. Miami getaway: Amid their reported split, Kaia has since taken to Instagram with friends Antoni Porowski and Tommy Dorfman from a Miami getaway Advertisement By WestKyStar & Baptist Health Staff Jan. 16, 2020 | PADUCAH By WestKyStar & Baptist Health Staff Jan. 16, 2020 | 11:44 AM | PADUCAH In February, Baptist Health Paducah offers classes and support groups to educate and encourage better health in the community: Baptist Health Paducah Stroke Support Group Monday, Feb. 3, 3 to 4:30 pm Carson-Myre Heart Center conference room The group provides support for stroke survivors and their caregivers, family and friends. Light refreshments will be served. Phone Mary Legge at 270-575-2880 to register. Baptist Health Paducah Prepared Childbirth Classes Monday, Feb. 3 and 10, 5 to 7 pm Saturday, Feb. 8, 9 am to 12:30 pm Mike and Tammy Zimmerman NICU Education Center, Medical Park 2, Baptist Health Paducah Free class designed to help expectant parents in their second or third trimester learn about the labor and delivery process. Season of Honor Support Group Tuesday, Feb. 4, 6 pm Atrium Classroom, Medical Park 2, Baptist Health Paducah. Baptist Health Paducah Congregational Network for Healthcare, in partnership with First Baptist Church Paducah, provides this support group to help caregivers through common experiences, emotional encouragement and spiritual support. Kangaroo Klub for Breastfeeding Mothers Tuesday, Feb. 4, 1 to 2:30 pm Mike Miller Park Visitors Center, Draffenville Friday, Feb. 7, 1 to 2:30 pm Classroom A, Medical Park 2, Baptist Health Paducah Thursday, Feb. 20, 10 to 11:30 am Immanuel Baptist Church, 1119 Market St., Metropolis, IL Support group for women who breastfeed or expectant mothers who plan to breastfeed. Phone 270-415-4680 for more information. Parkinsons Support Group Wednesday, Feb. 5 and Feb. 19, 9:30 to 11 am Atrium Classroom, Medical Park 2, Baptist Health Paducah. Phone 270-575-2721 for more information. Spinal Cord Injury Support Group Thursday, Feb. 6, 5 to 6 pm Baptist Health Rehabilitation, 115 Kiana Court, Paducah. The goal of this group is to provide information on local resources and an avenue to build new relationships with people with spinal cord injuries and their caregivers whom are going through similar transitions. Phone 270-534-1200 for more information. Diabetes classes Monday, Feb. 10 and Wednesday, Feb. 12, 1 to 4 pm Atrium Classroom, Medical Park 2, Baptist Health Paducah. Free class with a certified diabetes instructor to assist with any question or concerns about diabetes. A physician order is required. Sibling Class Monday, Feb. 17, 5 to 6 pm Mike and Tammy Zimmerman NICU Education Center, Medical Park 2, Baptist Health Paducah Free class helps prepare children ages 2 to 9 for the arrival of a new brother or sister. Phone 270-5752229 to register. Breastfeeding Classes Monday, Feb. 17, 6-8 pm Mike and Tammy Zimmerman NICU Education Center, Medical Park 2, Baptist Health Paducah Free class helps prepare expectant mothers for the breastfeeding experience. Phone 270-575-2229 to register. New Delhi: It was again an emotional day for the contestants of 'Bigg Boss 13' as most of them got to meet their loved ones after over three months. The family members visited the house as part of the captaincy task 'Jaadugarni Ki Pariksha'. Aarti was the first contestant to meet his brother Krushna Abhishek and her nephews on Wednesday and the task continued on Thursday as well. Mahira's mother then went inside the house and asked Paras not to get too close to her daughter. On the other hand, she advised Mahira to play her individual game and not to be dependant on Paras. She told Mahira and Shehnaz not to fight between themselves because of Paras. Mahira, however, got irked and told her mother that she doesn't stay in the house and hence, cannot figure out what exactly happens through the day. Next to enter the house was Shehnaz Gill's father. An elated Shehnaz quickly hugged him and the father-daughter duo spent some time together. He also advised her to stay away from Paras Chhabra and said he is not the one for her. He also made Shehnaz promise him that she will end her ties with Sidharth Shukla, but met him nicely and interacted with him. Shefali's husband Parag soon came to meet her. Shefali ran and opened the gate and hugged him tightly. Excited to see Shefali after a long time, the couple has a good time. Meantime, he also interacted with Shefali's friend-turned-foe Asim. He warned him to maintain his relationship with Shefali and lashed out at him for raising his voice at her. He also informed Asim that Himanshi has sent a message saying that she had parted ways with her boyfriend and is not getting married and is waiting for him outside. Asim confirmed the news with his brother when he entered the Bigg Boss house and he also said that this indeed is true. He also told Asim that he is playing well and is a winning material. RIO DE JANEIRO President Jair Bolsonaros top culture official was dismissed on Friday over an address in which he used phrases and ideas from an infamous Nazi propaganda speech while playing an opera that Adolf Hitler regarded as a favorite. The address by Roberto Alvim, the culture secretary, set off an outcry across the political spectrum as Brazilians reacted with exasperation and incredulity. It was the latest flash point in a broader debate over freedom of speech and culture in the Bolsonaro era. The president campaigned on a promised course correction after an era of rule by leftist leaders, whom he accused of trying to impose cultural Marxism. Critics say that he and his allies are taking a dogmatic approach to the arts, the public education system and to sexuality and reproductive rights. ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Taste of St. Croix is gearing up to launch its 20-year celebration on April 2, 2020. The 2020 culinary tasting event will be returning to the historic town of Christiansted, St. Croix. More than 50 local chefs, restaurants, farmers, caterers, brewers, distillers, wineries and more will line the streets offering tastes and sips to attendees. Purveyors will be showcasing the diverse and delectable cuisine and culture of St. Croix with its influences from all over the Caribbean and the world. Proceeds support many great local programs that promote the island's hospitality industry and youth education in the culinary arts year-round. Attending this year's event will help the Taste of St. Croix raise funds that support the local community, tickets are $95 per person and $150 for a VIP ticket. Learn more about the grand 20-year celebration at http://www.tasteofstcroix.com/. Taste of St. Croix attendees enjoy food, wine, music and more. Photo by Kelly Greer Tents line the streets of the historic town of Christiansted, St. Croix for Taste of St. Coix. Photo by Kelly Greer The Taste of St. Croix is committed to sharing the distinct culinary scene of St. Croix and the Virgin Islands. Initially, Taste of St. Croix was a way to connect St. Croix's chefs, farmers, fishermen and other purveyors in a celebration of island's culinary diversity, but the event has evolved from a one-night event to a week full of "feastivities" that raises funds, awareness and provides entertaining and educational opportunities. As a non-profit organization, they are dedicated to the cultivation and expansion of the "seeds of opportunity" for the overall growth of the Virgin Islands. Taste of St. Croix has donated more than $400,000 to community programs and local organizations since its inception in 2001. Last year's event saw more than 200 off-island visitors, introducing St. Croix's cuisine to a world stage. Closing out last year's event, Taste of St. Croix was able to donate: $10,000 to the Lighthouse Mission, $5,000 to the Women's Coalition, $1,800 contribution to the Local Farmers' Market Coupon/Grant Program (in collaboration with the V.I. Department of Agriculture), $8,800 contribution to the Restaurants Grant Program, and smaller donations and grants of $500 or less. Held annually, the Taste Winners' Cook-Off brings winners from Taste of St. Croix, together for a professional 'winners' cook-off, Iron Chef style. Last year's winner received an all-expense paid weekend to attend A TASTE OF 2 ISLANDS on St. Thomas. The Taste of St. Croix is known nationally and abroad as one of the finest food and wine events in the Caribbean and continues to attract thousands of guests including international winemakers, rum distillers, beer brewers, and celebrity chefs. The 20th Anniversary of Taste of St. Croix is sponsored but the Office of the Governor, USVI Department of Tourism and other supporting sponsors. Thank you! ABOUT TASTE OF ST. CROIX A 501(c)(3) charitable organization, Taste of St. Croix has donated more than $350,000 to community programs and local organizations since its inception. In 2016, Taste of St. Croix gave $10,000 to The Lighthouse Mission, granted two full-time scholarships to the University of the Virgin Islands Hospitality and Tourism Management Program and established a travel fund for high school students participating in culinary competitions. In addition, Taste of St. Croix's 365 Program comprises a year-round calendar of projects to support and promote the island's hospitality industry. Projects include: Reef Responsible, St. Croix Culinary Juniors and Farm-to-Table. Media Contact: Jane Watkins 305.235.8575 [email protected] SOURCE Taste of St. Croix 2020 Related Links http://www.tasteofstcroix.com P aul Feeney is a man who knows his own mind. The chief executive of UK-focused wealth manager Quilter speaks with such conviction that his words animate his body; his foot taps out the rhythm of his syllables, he pats his palm with a clenched fist on each sentence. Yet Feeney knows his mind can also be his undoing. The 56-year old half-Irish Mancunian is many things: a FTSE 250 chief executive, head of a 120 billion wealth manager, the man who masterminded Quilters move to become an independent company (it used to be owned by insurance giant Old Mutual). But hes also a champion of mental health in the workplace, a rarity in the hard-driving world of FTSE CEOs. Mental health issues are a scourge because I know it from my own experience, he says over cheese sandwiches in his glass-panelled corner office in the City. I have mental issues I have struggled with and struggle with still. It took me two decades to even open up and talk about it. I couldnt have conceived about opening up in some of the firms I worked in. Most people in the macho City dont like talking about mental health preferring sports, or weather, or floating rate credit derivatives presumably out of embarrassment or fear it will harm their careers. Feeney is on a mission to make it less taboo so those suffering feel comfortable putting their hand up to say they are struggling. He says many suffer in silence, turning to drink, drugs, sex and gambling to cope with the stress and anxiety of their jobs rather than opening up to their bosses. Worst of all, he says, HR departments are not equipped to cope with the problems. The best way to deal with those issues is to be open about them, and lead from the front on them, which is what weve been trying to do at Quilter. Feeney had a difficult upbringing in inner-city Manchester money was so tight he shared a bed with his twin brother and a strained relationship with his often-absent father. When a family member nearly died from an eating disorder a decade ago, the sense of helplessness rekindled painful memories of his childhood and he struggled to cope. Today he recognises that as post-traumatic stress disorder, but at the time he didnt have the mechanisms to deal with it. I was constantly going over things in my head, keeping quiet and not talking about things. I wasnt able to deal with some of this stuff, he says, wriggling forward in his chair. He seems at ease now, dressed in the wealth manager uniform of white shirt, blue tie and black brogues. A chunky watch gleams on his left wrist. He climbs mountains to cope with stress (the latest being El Capitan in Yosemite) and has similarly awesome ambitions for Quilter, which he believes can be a FTSE 100 company. The firm, which was spun out on to the stock market by Old Mutual 18 months ago, is the relative new kid on the block in the listed wealth management sector, running in a crowded field against rivals such as St Jamess Place, Brewin Dolphin and Rathbones It makes money by charging customers fees on investments and financial advice, targeting people with between 50,000 and 5 million of assets. Shares sit a healthy 30% above their float price, after bouncing back from an early slump. Feeney says the rally is down to delivering on promises to pay off 300 million of debt and sell Quilters fund manager unit and assurance book. The 30-year industry veteran, who earns 2.8 million, says hes in the battle for the savings of middle Britain: teachers, nurses, pilots. Yet those people might not be as receptive to the world of finance as they once were. The collapse of Neil Woodfords empire has prompted another bout of scandal in the fund management industry, raising questions over the value of so-called star fund managers and their promotion by intermediaries. Feeney wont go into Woodford whom he calls Neil, having known him professionally for several years but its clear he thinks the doomed venture broke its promise to savers. If you set up an equity income fund, thats a widows and orphans fund. Give me a dividend. Im sorry, it is. Youve got to fit how you invest to the promise youre making, he says. Feeney was a key executive at Gartmore, the defunct British fund manager that relied heavily on high-profile fund managers to bolster inflows, but he says he would never be seduced by the star fund manager cult at Quilter. We will never promote one fund manager. We will use often high-profile fund managers in our portfolio but they will be a small percentage. What we wont say is you should be in this fund with this fund manager, he says, leaning forward to pick a grape from a bunch sitting on a glass coffee table. But didnt Feeney, who also worked at BNY Mellon, hire fund superstar Richard Buxton from Schroders to bolster Old Mutual? Wasnt that playing the star fund manager card? He rebuffs the idea. I brought in Richard to help build up the asset manager which I then sold for 600 million, he says, holding the grape between his thumb and fingers. We didnt have that as a proposition to the retail market. We built up a wholesale asset manager, not a retail one. Would I go out to all my customers and say you should buy Richards fund? Never. As good as Richard is, thats too concentrated. Feeneys plans for the future include increasing Quilters advisers and doing more on the mental health agenda. Is he happy? There is a reason this country has not fought a civil war for almost 400 years. In the 17th century, Roundheads and Cavaliers battled each other to a standstill over religion and politics, leaving nearly one in 20 of the population dead the equivalent today of three million people. Being a pragmatic nation, while we revere our history, we try not to repeat it. So when faced with danger and division, while Americans might reach for their six-shooters, the French take to the barricades and Russians find a new dictator, we British look for more peaceable ways of settling our differences. As Winston Churchill famously pointed out, we think that jaw-jaw is better than war-war. In the rumbling argument over Harry and Meghan's future, the monarchy has become the vehicle for an emerging proxy war over what kind of nation Britain wants to be. Pictured: The Queen and the Duchess of Sussex at the royal wedding Perhaps the neatest expression of the British genius for keeping the peace has been to channel the energies of our warring tribes into non-violent loyalties. Cities divided by religious adherence Liverpool and Glasgow, for example fight out their battles on Saturday afternoon at Anfield, Goodison Park, Ibrox or Parkhead, as do the Jewish and Irish tribes who support Spurs and Arsenal in North London. In the 1960s, some saw the way that Mods and Rockers squared up as a coded expression of our deep differences over whether post-Imperial Britain should look to America or Europe for its future. Rockers wore their hair in Elvis-style pompadours and drank bourbon and Coke. Mods shrouded themselves in parkas, rode Italian scooters and hung out in coffee bars. But nowhere has provided a better symbolic battleground on which to play out our national dramas than what some would regard (wrongly in my view) as the most pointless national institution of all: the Royal Family. And I believe that in the rumbling argument over Harry and Meghan's future, the monarchy has become the vehicle for an emerging proxy war over what kind of nation Britain wants to be. When the smoke clears over Megxit we may well discover who is winning the culture wars that are breaking out all over the country vividly illustrated on BBC1's Question Time on Thursday night. The actor Laurence Fox provoked indignation in the studio by suggesting that racism has played no part in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to leave Britain. One irate member of the audience a lecturer on race and ethnicity, incidentally told him that as a 'white, privileged male' he was in no position to proffer an opinion. When the smoke clears over Megxit we may well discover who is winning the culture wars that are breaking out all over the country. Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leaving Canada House, London, earlier this month Fox robustly countered by accusing his critic of herself being 'racist' towards him for her comments. Within minutes, social media had erupted: Meghanites were outraged; anti-Meghanites had backed Fox in numbers. This spat is just a sign of deeper divisions between two emerging factions. One Britain wants to join the 'progressive', globalist, woke world epitomised by Meghan and Harry's circle George and Amal Clooney, Oprah Winfrey and the Obamas et al. Another yearns for the comfortable, domestic, common sense future in which the Queen, William, Kate and Mary Berry represent the nation's beating heart. Even many of those who apparently share a common cause can sit on different sides of the growing cultural chasm. The young followers of environmentalist Greta Thunberg, for example, will have no hesitation in lining up on the Duchess of Sussex's side. Those who are fans of Thunberg's mentor, Sir David Attenborough and who sat glued to his memorable TV encounter with the Queen when the two nonagenarians chatted and wandered around Buckingham Palace's grounds may find themselves shaking with indignation at what they perceive as Harry and Meghan's disrespectful treatment of our monarch in recent days. Much has been said and written about reporting on the Duchess of Sussex by our media but we should keep this in perspective. For the past four years, the vehicle for our culture wars has been Brexit. Pictured: Leave and remain supporters trying to block each others' banners during a protest opposite Parliament Square, London, in September Most anti-Meghanites probably wish the couple well; they just don't want to pay for the couple's upkeep if they aren't doing royal business a principle with which they themselves seem comfortable, at least in theory. I accept that some of the commentary may have been unduly personal. But one aspect of our not taking ourselves too seriously as a nation has always been the British propensity to bare their buttocks at their rulers. We no longer cut off the head of an unpopular monarch, but we do reserve the right to be rude about our royals and always have. So the suggestion that Harry and Meghan have been uniquely persecuted by the Press is hard to maintain when compared with the treatment of others. A century ago, the entire family was routinely derided by mass circulation British newspapers as German interlopers, even after they had changed their Teutonic names Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to plain Home Counties 'Windsor'. The now much-loved Duke of Edinburgh was referred to as 'Phil the Greek' in almost every major daily. More recently, the future Queen, when she was just plain Kate Middleton, must have found the daily dissection of her dress and diction, and snobbish commentary on her family painful, and at least as hurtful as anything said about the Duchess of Sussex who, after all, entered the royal spotlight in her mid-30s rather than her early-20s like Kate. Contrast this treatment with the joyous and celebratory coverage of the Sussexes marriage in May 2018, hailed by The Guardian no less as a 'celebration of blackness', and followed by a delirious welcome for the Royal Family's first mixed-race birth in centuries not least by me on these pages. In that article, however, I did point out that I thought the couple would have very little impact on Britain's race relations partly because we are already a far more tolerant (though not necessarily equal) country than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. Yet the New York Times and several other liberal papers which have lined up behind the Sussexes' wish to 'step back' from their royal role have centred their criticism on the media's supposed racism towards Meghan. If that is an over-riding issue for the couple and it may well be too late my advice would be: pause, take a breath. Britain is objectively the best place in the developed world to live if you are a person of colour. So look before you leap to North America, where they still settle racial disputes with guns, and vote into power, not once but twice, a leader who has adopted 'blackface' repeatedly as Canadian premier Justin Trudeau has. In fact, I doubt that many anti-Meghanites are racists; and while the small minority of people in our society who are genuine bigots will almost certainly be anti-Meghanites, that's not the same thing. The truth is that both sides aren't really divided by attitudes to this couple and their son. The battle over their future is really a proxy for a larger one whose contours are becoming clearer by the day. For the past four years, the vehicle for our culture wars has been Brexit. Research by the former Conservative Party deputy chairman, Lord Ashcroft, conducted in the weeks after the EU referendum in June 2016, showed that the Remainer and Brexit tribes were not divided by attitudes to economics. Asked whether they regarded capitalism as positive or negative, the two tribes split evenly there are as many anti-capitalists among Leavers as there are among Remainers. What really separated the two groups are what we now call identity issues feminism, multiculturalism, freedom of speech. Remainers lean heavily to the view that Britain is a place where inequality, racism and hate speech poison too many lives; Leavers believe that we are a country where 'live and let live' should be our watchword, and bullying by Leftish busybodies is making life intolerable for most of us. Both tribes have a case to make, but disturbingly we seem increasingly deaf to the view of those who are not on whichever side we favour. No one epitomises this better than the Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition. Jeremy Corbyn's inability to navigate this divide almost entirely accounts for his humiliation in the General Election on December 12. A person who doesn't know what time the Queen's speech is on Christmas Day even if it's just to make sure that the TV is switched off really isn't paying attention to Britain. And his failure to express outrage at the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal by Vladimir Putin's agents in the quiet city of Salisbury marked him out as someone who is keener to take the side of dictators over his own people. Now he has aligned himself with the Meghanites, speaking of Press intrusion and 'racial undertones'. There is no doubt in my mind that the arguments between Meghanites and anti-Meghanites are revealing the true division between Brexit's warring tribes. On the one side stand those who seem neither to know or care much about Britain as it is. The Meghanites would prefer us to be more American (or at least more 'West coast'), more German, more Russian or even more Venezuelan, perhaps. Against them stand the anti-Meghanites, who would like us to be ourselves, only better a little more productive, a bit less stuffy and certainly less class conscious. To be honest, though I sympathise with the royal couple as individuals, I am by nature an anti-Meghanite. What do I mean by that? Well, I see us as a tribe that is ready to welcome foreigners who make a contribution to the economy and society, but which balks at immigration cheats. We abhor discrimination, and understand some people suffer because they feel they were born into the wrong body; but most of us are baffled by the idea that 'men' and 'women' are simply ideas that can be abandoned at will. We are glad that the cruelties of Empire no longer bedevil us, but we resent the implication that everything built by our forebears was wrong. We embrace the internet and new technology, but we just don't buy the idea that the nation has to put itself in thrall to American and Chinese tech billionaires. And while we're alive to the claims of some degree of autonomy by the nations that make up the United Kingdom, we wonder why anyone thinks that destroying a union that led the Industrial Revolution and brought education, economic prosperity and clean water to many across the world would be a good idea. None of which is to say I don't wish the Sussexes well. I think that they would have benefited from seeking counsel or from better counsel in making their announcement: not least advice to take themselves a little less seriously. The frank warning this week from Canada's largest daily newspaper, The Globe and Mail, should give them some pause for thought: by all means come to Canada, but understand that the nation already has its own Royal Family (the Queen is its head) which is 'close to our hearts but far from our hearths' and a governor-general. And certainly don't expect to be treated as any more special than one of the Chinese entrepreneurs or Sikh engineers who are transforming that country's economy. As for us, back in Blighty, we are at the start of an epochal battle for the future of our nation. We need to decide what kind of people we want to be. The fact that we will stage that conflict on what may look to other nations like the most trivial of battlegrounds is a tribute to British genius. In other nations, you are asked to lay down your life for your tribe. In Britain, we will take sides and we will argue with passion, and then we will settle our differences over a cuppa or a pint, no doubt with lashings of fudge and a large helping of compromise. But at the end of the day no blood will be spilt not even that of a corgi in our culture wars! A FEARLESS member of an Irish RNLI lifeboat crew who defied horrific sea conditions to save six fishermen on a sinking trawler has been awarded the first gallantry medal to be presented in Ireland for over a decade. The entire Castletownbere RNLI lifeboat crew will now be honoured for their heroism during the successful rescue of the stricken trawler, Clodagh O, on October 10 2018. It represents the first gallantry medal presented to an Irish RNLI crew member in a decade. Coxswain Dean Hegarty is now to be awarded a bronze medal for gallantry - one of the highest awards offered within the lifesaving community. The west Cork crew of mechanic Martin O'Donoghue, lifeboat volunteers Seamus Harrington, John Paul Downey and David Fenton, along with Deputy Launching Authority Michael Martin-Sullivan will all receive a framed commendation letter from the RNLI chairman for their courageous actions almost two years ago. Thanks to the courage of the Castletownbere RNLI crew, all six fishermen on the Clodagh O were saved. On the evening of October 10, the trawler issued a mayday alert while off 'The Pipers', an area south west of Castletownbere harbour. The lifeboat launched in darkness into a Force 9 gale, driving rain and heavy squalls, to rescue the crew who were in grave and imminent danger due to their vessel having lost all power after their propeller became fouled on their fishing gear. Arriving on scene, the lifeboat crew saw that the fishing vessel was located in a precarious position and the Coxswain made the decision not to take the crew off the boat but instead establish a towline in breaking four to five metre swells. With the weather deteriorating, there was only a short window of opportunity to save the men before the vessel hit the rocks or cliff face. With the Coxswain skillfully manoeuvring the lifeboat into position and holding it steady in mountainous seas, the lifeboat crew on deck established a tow on first attempt. The Coxswain had to initially steer the lifeboat out to sea to gain a safe separation between the rocks and cliffs before he could then turn the lifeboat and start the journey back to the harbour. The tow was carried out at a speed of a half a knot in case it parted, only gathering speed as they found shelter. Once inside the safety of the harbour two local tugboats helped to secure the boat safely alongside the pier. News of the gallantry awards were made to the Castletownbere crew on Thursday evening by RNLI Lifesaving Manager Sean Dillon, who delivered a letter from RNLI Chief Executive Mark Dowie. Both Owen Medland, RNLI Lifesaving Lead and Brian O'Driscoll, Area Lifesaving Manager were also in attendance. Mr Dowie's citation reads: "In making the awards, the RNLI Trustees recognise the complexity of the service, the level of risk and the quality of decision making by all involved in the service. These awards mark the courage, skill and dedication shown by the Coxswain, crew and officials involved, and are a testament to outstanding teamwork and seamanship in perilous conditions which resulted in the successful rescue of six people." Castletownbere RNLI operations manager Paul Stevens, who was formerly the Coxswain's school principal said it was a very proud day for the unit. "We are extremely proud of our lifeboat crew for their incredibly brave actions that night, which resulted in the saving of six lives," he said. "The RNLI does not give out awards for gallantry lightly and to receive one is a great privilege. We are a strong fishing community here and we have seen too much loss at sea." "This rescue was relatively fast in lifeboat terms but carried out in extremely challenging conditions and relying on absolute precision and split-second decision making by our Coxswain." "The skill and expertise of the lifeboat crew onboard meant that every action was well-executed and successful along with the sound judgement of the Launching Authority. I look forward to a great day out with our crew when they receive their honours in front of their proud families." It represents the first bronze medal awarded to an Irish RNLI crew member for over a decade. Portrush RNLI station mechanic Anthony Chambers received a bronze medal for his rescue of two boys trapped in a cave near Castlerock with a rising tide. The awards presentation will be made in the near future. Azerbaijan is considering plans to join French military efforts in Africa's Sahel region, according to one of the country's top official, as France looks to EU allies to shore up local forces who are being increasingly targeted by deadly jihadist attacks. "Azerbaijan is ready to start such kind of discussions with our potential partners, but we need more knowledge and expertise," Hikmet Hadjiyev, Assistant of the President of Azerbaijan told RFI. The presidential advisor was speaking ahead of this week's G5 Sahel summit in Pau that concluded with France and five West African countries pledging to step up their cooperation to fight against terrorism in the vast sub-Saharan expanse. Azerbaijan, located in the southern Caucasus and sandwiched between Russia, Turkey, and Iran, has been helping Nato countries in the war on terror in Afghanistan and indications are that it might be tempted to join French military efforts in the Sahel. "Azerbaijan has a peacekeeping potential," continued Hadjiyev. "Our officers have been deployed to South Sudan and engage in humanitarian efforts on the African continent," he said. With the right proposal, the Eurasian country hints that France may call upon it. Paris is currently struggling to find European allies to be part of the new Takuba task force, a separate entity to its Barkhane operation. Costly support Such support will not come cheap. Azerbaijan is looking to France to help it resolve an ongoing conflict of its own--the long-running Nagorno-Karabakh conflict--which has pitted Baku against its neighbour Armenia. "There should be strong demand, political diplomatic pressure by co-chair countries [including France], they should demand from Armenia to fulfil its obligations under international law," insisted Hadjiyev. France is one of the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which aims to settle the border dispute in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh that has claimed an estimated 30,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Story continues The conflict began in the final throes of the Soviet Union when Armenia occupied the Nagorno-Karabakh region--an ethnic Armenian enclave--and seven surrounding areas. Armenian leaders have eagerly advocated for Armenians to move into the region, viewing Karabakh as their historic homeland. A ceasefire was called in 1994, but decades of internationally mediated negotiations with the OSCE's Minsk Group have failed to result in a resolution. "Our appeal to the international community, including the OSCE Minsk Co-Chair countries, is that they should redouble their efforts for the soonest resolution of the conflict based on the norms and principles of international law," Hadjiyev said. "Military occupation is illegal." In crossfire of US-Iran conflict Security is likely to be one of the issues on the agenda when French President Emmanuel Macron travels to Ajzerbaijan later this year. His trip was expected to take place as early as next month, but experts say the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East triggered by the US-Iran conflict have made a trip to the South Caucasus risky. Hadjiyev himself reckons there is a "strong potential for the confrontation between Iran and the United States to get worse," a situation which could have a direct impact on Azerbaijani nationals living in Iran. Baku maintains "friendly" relations with Tehran, with whom it shares "traditions and cultural contacts." It enjoys diplomatic relations too with the United States, and has succeeded in getting along with countries who are at each other's throats through its non-alignment approach and efforts to "build cooperation" with its partners. France is a partner of choice, comments Hadjiyev. "Macron has an open invitation to Azerbaijan. Previous French presidents: Nicolas Sarkozy, Francois Hollande have visited Baku, and my President Ilham Aliyev came to France [in July 2018]," he said, describing the French-Azerbaijani relationship as a "love story." Poor human rights Frictions appeared between the two sides nonetheless during Aliyev's state visit, when human rights activists accused the French government of welcoming an authoritarian leader, criticised for corruption and human rights violations. "We are open to criticism, there is no perfect country," presidential advisor Hadjiyev responded. "Azerbaijan's independence has been a 25-26 year process. In the 1990s, the country was almost a failed state and on the threshold of war. But where is it now? It is a mid-income European country, and stable in an island of instability." This notwithstanding, the oil-producing former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea has come under criticism from the EU Commissioner for human rights for failing to protect freedom of expression. There are hopes that next month's snap elections on 9 February will open up the democratic space. President Aliyev and his father Heydar before him have dominated Azerbaijini politics. "In the election, 19 parties are taking part in the electoral process," said Hadjiyev dismissing claims the elections are orchestrated. "Human rights should not be turned into a political instrument, we're against that. But we are ready for a constructive engagement," he said. Photo: The Canadian Press The Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says it is pleased, but not surprised, by the Supreme Court ruling that shut down British Columbia's attempt to regulate what can flow through an expanded Trans Mountain pipeline. Tim McMillan, CEO and president of Canada's largest oil and gas industry association, says the project has undergone historic levels of consultation, reviews and court challenges. He says it has been found to be in the best interests of Canadians. The B.C. government wanted to require provincial permits before heavy oil could be shipped to the province through pipelines from Alberta. The Supreme Court decision upholds a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that said such permits would violate Ottawa's authority under the Constitution to approve and regulate pipelines that cross provincial boundaries. The high court's ruling Thursday removes one of the remaining obstacles for the project that aims to twin an existing pipeline that runs between the Edmonton area and Burnaby, B.C. Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan welcomed the ruling, saying it is a core responsibility of the federal government to help get resources to market and support good, middle-class jobs. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he looks forward to construction continuing on the project and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the pipeline is in the interests of all Canadians. B.C. Premier John Horgan expressed the province's disappointment, saying his government will do what it can to protect the B.C. coast and environment. (Newser) Rep. Ayanna Pressley says she isn't going to keep it a secret any longer: She has lost all of her hair due to alopecia. The Democratic congresswoman tells the Root that she first became aware of the condition last fall, when she was getting her hair retwisted. She says the autoimmune condition progressed rapidly, with "sinkfuls of hair" coming out daily, and the last of her hair fell out on the eve of her vote to impeach President Trump. Pressley, who was known for wearing her hair in Senegalese twists, says she wore a wig for the vote because she didn't want her bare head to be interpreted as a message. "This is my official public revealing," she says. "I'm ready now because I want to be free from the secret, and the shame that the secret carries with it." story continues below Pressley says she hopes going public with the condition "starts a conversation about the personal struggles we navigate" and "creates awareness about how many people are impacted by alopecia." The New York Times reports that an estimated 6 million people in the US have alopecia, though many of them disguise it. "Could you imagine losing all your hair on the eve of an enormously public day? And then turning that intensely intimate ordeal to make space for others?" tweeted fellow "squad" member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Jenn Jackson, an assistant professor for political science at Syracuse University, tells the Washington Post that stigma surrounding the condition often causes it to go undiagnosed in black communities, and it is "liberating" to see Pressley go public. (Read more Ayanna Pressley stories.) With Sweeping Constitutional Changes, Analysts Say Putin Eyeing New Role At Russia's Helm By Matthew Luxmoore January 16, 2020 MOSCOW -- When Russian President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly announced a raft of constitutional changes during a speech on January 15, Georgy Satarov had few doubts that the declaration concealed ulterior motives. A former aide in the 1990s to Russia's first president, Boris Yeltsin, Satarov was one of the architects of the constitution Russia adopted in 1993. While he conceded that the document was ripe for change, he suspected the ultimate aim of Putin's proposal was to enable him to remain Russia's real arbiter after his final presidential term expires in 2024. "This is the start of the project of power transition, ahead of time," Satarov said in a telephone interview. "And the changes Putin proposed to the constitution have another goal: to ensure the stability and manageability of that transition." Replacing Yeltsin It was a bloody political fight that paved the way for Russia's current constitution to be adopted in 1993. A power struggle between the maverick Yeltsin and a parliament determined to impeach him ended only when the military stormed the parliament building to arrest leaders of the resistance. Some 200 people were killed in the skirmishes that the standoff set in motion. The document ultimately voted through in a referendum that December enshrined a set of laws and principles inspired, among others, by the French Constitution that professed respect for human rights and democratic values and mandating a limit of two consecutive four-year terms for any future president. But if the authors aimed at instituting checks and balances in the exercise of power, they would be disappointed. "The constitution is contradictory," Viktor Sheinis, one of the document's other co-authors, told Meduza. "It allows for an expansion of the powers of the president, of the executive branch, of the legislative and judiciary. We have sort of a 'teeter-totter' where first one and then another side or branch ends up on top." Putin, who replaced Yeltsin in 2000, dutifully stepped down as president after two consecutive terms in 2008 to be replaced by then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. But before Medvedev vacated the presidency in favor of Putin's return for another two terms in 2012, he amended the constitution to extend presidential terms to six years. That allowed Putin, who was re-elected for a fourth term in 2018, to remain in power until 2024 and become Russia's longest-serving leader since Josef Stalin. But it also left open the question of what comes next. Putin's political future post-2024 has emerged as the key political mystery in Russia since his resumption of the presidency in 2018. Officials soon began hinting at the possibility of amending the constitution again, in comments that tested the waters of public opinion and made clear to many observers that something was afoot. "Our constitution has shortcomings," Valery Zorkin, the Constitutional Court chairman wrote in October 2018. "They include the lack of an adequate balance in the system of checks and balances, bias in favor of the executive branch, and an unclear distribution of powers between the president and the government." Putin himself has been vague on the issue, hinting in December that the constitution could be changed to rephrase a clause that states no individual can serve beyond two consecutive presidential terms. The ambivalent comment, uttered during his annual press conference in Moscow, threw Russia watchers into a heated debate about its practical implications. State-Of-The-Nation Speech But it wasn't until his state-of-the-nation address on January 15, usually a predictable summary of the year that had passed and a prognosis of the one to come, that the Russian president appeared to end the speculation. His proposal for constitutional changes -- which will be put to a national vote of some kind before May 1, according to Russian media reports on January 16 -- include bestowing new powers upon Russia's parliament to appoint the country's prime minister and buttressing the role of the State Council, a largely ceremonial body headed by Putin himself. Within hours of that announcement, Medvedev had been replaced as prime minister by technocrat Mikhail Mishustin and appointed to a new role as deputy chairman of the Security Council, another body headed by Putin himself. This appointment prompted speculation that the Security Council could become the new nexus of power after 2024. "[Putin] wants to be sure that the future president will continue his policies, but he also wants to be able to get involved in decision-making," Tatyana Stanovaya, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Moscow Center, told RFE/RL. She dismissed the notion, advanced by some, that Putin was eyeing a return to a premiership with newly expanded powers. Under the proposed changes, she said, "the prime minister will become more dependent on [parliament], and the president will be able to dismiss the prime minister. Putin wouldn't want to expose himself to this risk." As an elderly statesman who has relinquished the office of president after overseeing Russia's resurgence as an international power broker, she said, "he won't want to get involved in everyday politics." Instead, Putin may rely on his leadership of a beefed-up State Council, the expanded prerogatives of which are yet to be sketched out. If true, the move would echo the transition engineered in neighboring Kazakhstan by Nursultan Nazarbaev, the strongman president who resigned after nearly 30 years in March but retained leadership of the ruling party and the country's influential Security Council. "Putin will have to find a successor, and this successor will be given space to work," said Stanovaya. But she added that Putin will want to retain levers of influence over the position. Medvedev was widely viewed as a placeholder when he replaced Putin in 2008, a protege who wielded little real power. But the two men clashed publicly in 2011 over Russia's decision not to veto a UN resolution on coalition air strikes in Libya, and were riven over other issues. Putin undid many of Medvedev's initiatives after he returned to the presidency. "To avoid conflicts with the future successor, like Putin had with Medvedev, Putin wants mechanisms that will oblige the future president to agree major decisions with him," Stanovaya said. Using leadership of an enhanced State Council or Security Council could be the answer. Satarov, who at 72 stays involved in politics as president of an independent anti-corruption watchdog in Moscow, admitted that the 1993 constitution suffers from "birth trauma" and could be improved. But he's wary of the ways its loopholes could be exploited for political gain. "There is an imbalance of power [written into the constitution], but it shouldn't be changed the way Putin suggested," he said. "That has nothing to do with any natural or logical political idea. It has to do with a concrete political project." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/with-sweeping-constitutional -changes-analysts-say-putin-eyeing-new-role- at-russia-s-helm/30381533.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 Jonas Brothers Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas are out with their new single What A Man Gotta Do. Just like their comeback song Sucker, the music video of What A Man Gotta Do also features the Jonas Brothers significant others Priyanka Chopra, Sophie Turner and Danielle Jonas who are often called the J-Sisters by fans. Nick, Joe and Kevin woo Priyanka, Sophie and Danielle, and sing to them, Im not trying to be your part-time lover, Sign me up for the full time Im yours. The lyrics express their inclination towards a lasting love rather than a fleeting romance. Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas paid tribute to Risky Business. Earlier, Priyanka shared a few stills from the video of What A Man Gotta Do, in which she was seen recreating scenes from the iconic Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay-starrer Risky Business with Nick. The two were seen in oversized shirts and she cheekily captioned the post, Im risky... hes the business. Joe and Sophie pay homage to the iconic 1978 Hollywood blockbuster Grease, while Kevin and Danielle give their own twist to the stereo scene from the popular 1989 romantic drama Say Anything. Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner recreated scenes from Grease. Watch the video here: What A Man Gotta Do is the Jonas Brothers first release of the new decade, after their extremely successful album Happiness Begins. Their comeback single, Sucker, was the popular boy bands first song in six years after they parted ways in 2013. It recently became the top song of 2019 on US radio, with nearly 3.5 million audience impressions, according to Billboard. Kevin Jonas recreated John Cusacks iconic scene from Say Anything. Meanwhile, the Jonas Brothers will perform at the Grammy Awards 2020, which is scheduled to take place on January 26. The band announced the news on their Instagram page and wrote, See you at the #Grammys. Their stunning wives Priyanka, Sophie and Danielle are expected to attend the awards night to cheer them on during their performance. Follow @htshowbiz for more Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have resolved to stage a protest across the streets of Abuja over the recent verdict of the Supreme Court that sacked one of its governors, Emeka Ihedioha. The partys national chairman, Uche Secondus, stated this on Friday during the partys emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the partys secretariat in Abuja. Mr Secondus stated that the aim of the protest was to impress it on Nigerians that injustice has been done to the party. No date has been fixed for the protest. According to him, the declaration of Hope Uzodinma of the ruling party, APC, as the Imo State governor is a miscarriage of justice. He said although justice comes only from God, the aggrieved PDP leaders must speak out against injustice as their silence could be taken to mean consent to the injustice. The 87th NEC meeting was attended by several party bigwigs including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Governors of Sokoto, Zamfara and Adamawa states. The Judgment The Supreme Court had on Tuesday nullified the election of Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as the governor of Imo State. The apex court declared Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressive Congress (APC) the winner of the March 9 governorship election in the state. Mr Uzodinma originally came fourth in the election while Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance (AA) and Ifeanyi Ararume of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) came second and third respectively. READ ALSO: The seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad gave the unanimous decision on Tuesday in Abuja. The PDP had on Thursday called for the immediate review and reversal of the decision of the Supreme Court on the Imo State governorship tussle. The party also called for the exit of Mr Muhammad as the chief justice, accusing him of influencing the judgement. Advertisement Greta Thunberg whipped up thousands of climate protesters in Switzerland today during a rabble-rousing speech where she warned world leaders 'you haven't seen anything yet'. The 17-year-old figurehead of environmentalism addressed crowds crammed into the square in Lausanne ahead of next week's Davos summit where some of the planet's most powerful movers and shakers will get together to map out responses to global challenges. In a withering assessment of global efforts to combat climate change, the eco-warrior told the masses: 'So far during this decade we are seeing no sign whatsoever that real climate action is coming. 'That has to change. This is just the beginning. You haven't seen anything yet. We assure you of that!' Wearing a beanie hat and clutching a billboard reading 'school strike for climate' - the campaign which propelled the teenager to international fame - Thunberg then trudged among the crowds on a protest march. Greta Thunberg whips up thousands of climate protesters in Switzerland today during a rabble-rousing speech where she warned world leaders 'you haven't seen anything yet' The 17-year-old figurehead of global environmentalism addressed the crowds crammed into the square in Lausanne Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks to the crowd after an environmental Fridays for Future climate strike demonstration in Lausanne, Switzerland According to organisers, the demonstration drew 15,000 on to the cobbled streets of the city centre, which ground to a standstill on Friday morning amid a carnival-like atmosphere According to organisers, the demonstration drew 15,000 on to the cobbled streets of the city centre, which ground to a standstill on Friday morning amid a carnival-like atmosphere. Buoyed-up by Thunberg's speech, animated activists hollered: 'One, two, three degrees! It's a crime against humanity!' while a group at the head of the march held up a banner saying: 'Let's Change The System, Not the Climate'. Some of the young protesters took inspiration from the latest extreme weather events around the world. One held up a soft toy koala with a sign around his neck reading simply 'HELP' - a reference to the bushfires that have ravaged Australia, while another brandished a cardboard sign reading 'Wake Up and Smell the Bushfires'. 'Fear for the glaciers', read another sign - echoing concern among residents of the Alps about the rapidly shrinking mountain ice formations due to climate change. Clutching a billboard reading 'school strike for climate' - the campaign which propelled the teenager to international fame - Thunberg then trudged among the crowds on a protest march Buoyed-up by Thunberg's speech, animated activists hollered: 'One, two, three degrees! It's a crime against humanity!' while a group at the head of the march held up a banner saying: 'Let's Change The System, Not the Climate' US President Donald Trump will renew his running battle with young climate campaigner Greta Thunberg when they join the A-list movers and shakers attending the 50th anniversary of the Davos conclave next week The eco-warrior holds a placard reading 'School strike for Climate' - the campaign which propelled her to international fame According to organizers, the demonstration drew 15,000 on to the cobbled streets of the city centre, which ground to a standstill on Friday morning amid a carnival-like atmosphere Thunberg walks on during 1st Anniversary Climate Strike, as she gears up to address the Davos summit 'There Is No Planet B', 'I Have a Green Dream' and 'We Want A Cooler Planet', read some of the other signs. Thunberg is due to address the summit in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos next week with a call on governments and financial institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels. She will tell her corporate audience that it is 'madness' to continue investing in fossil fuels as disasters such as the wave of wildfires in Australia focus new attention on the baleful effects of rising temperatures In response to the global climate movement spearheaded by the Swede, big businesses are trying to establish their green credentials, and the topic has been bumped up the Davos agenda. Wall Street titan BlackRock - whose CEO Larry Fink is a Davos perennial - said it was partially divesting from businesses reliant on production of electricity-generating coal. But climate-sceptic Donald Trump will likely reignite his war of words with Thunberg, with both bringing rival messages to the 3,000-delegate summit in the Alps. The state tourism ministry, headed by Aaditya Thackeray, is likely to rope in Instagram influencers to promote Maharashtra as a global tourist destination. The department is also planning to come up with a new website that will consist of detailed information and exclusive features about the destinations in the state. Thackeray, who took charge of the ministry earlier this month, in an exclusive chat with HT, said there are several destinations that can boost tourism in Maharashtra. However, most of the spots are not marketed well and are not popular among tourists outside the state. These influencers travel the world. They put in a lot of thought in planning their holidays and choosing their destinations. I want to take into consideration their perspective on Maharashtra tourism and how we can take the state to the world. I want to bring them on board so that they can pitch the idea of travelling to the state to a global audience. Besides, I also want to take their feedback on how we can develop tourism in Maharashtra, Thackeray told HT. A social media influencer has a large follower base and can promote several destinations through their reach. The ministry could form an informal committee to incorporate the social media influencers. A lot of professionalism can be added [through the committee]. We can think out of the box, Thackeray added. Thackeray said he would soon bring the other departments on board to push tourism in the state and visit some of the destinations. Earlier in the week, Thackeray had interacted with a social media influencer couple at the Facebook and Instagram headquarters in New Delhi on the ways to boost the states tourism and asked them about their preferred destinations in Maharashtra. However, tourism department officials are sceptical about the plan. How many of these followers can be actually converted into a footfall increase will have to be seen. Travelling involves a lot of money. Apart from promoting destinations, there are other issues, such as providing and upgrading amenities and infrastructure at these spots. Meanwhile, the tourism department will also come up with a new website, as the current one maintained by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is not up to the mark. We will invite an expression of interest (EoI) to develop a new website. It will be an interactive website, said a senior tourism department official. Thackeray said some the feedback from travellers could be incorporated into the website. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 35-year-old junior engineer of state power department was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district, an official said on Friday. Pradeep Kumar was shot at in the stomach around 9.30 pm on Thursday in Jamuna Paar area when he was returning from Panigaon power sub station, said Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Meena. He said it is unlikely to be a case of loot as Pradeep's belongings, including his motorcycle, laptop and purse, were found at the crime scene. The junior engineer was transferred from his home town Agra to Mathura around five months ago, a power department official said. Pradeep is survived by his wife and two children. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 16:31:40|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ASADABAD, Afghanistan, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A total of eight militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group have surrendered to security forces in Manogai district of the eastern Kunar province over the past 24 hours, said an army statement released here Friday. "Eight anti-government militants affiliated with the hardliner Islamic State group have given up fighting and surrendered to security forces in Manogai district over the past 24 hours," the statement added. The former militants surrendered in two groups and handed over their weapons to security forces. IS militants who are operational in Kunar province with Asadabad as its capital, 185 km east of Kabul, have yet to make a comment. File photo of Novice Sloan after he was charged with sexually assaulting a woman. Read more A rape prosecution against a former Philadelphia police officer was dismissed in court Thursday for lack of evidence. Novice Sloan, 29, of the citys Crescentville section, however, remains charged with child pornography in a separate case. Sloan was fired from the Police Department after he was arrested and charged in late September with sexually assaulting a woman at the end of a date. The alleged assault happened in August, officials charged. Municipal Court Judge Karen Y. Simmons on Thursday dismissed the case, according to court records. Sloan was originally charged with sexual assault, indecent assault, and simple assault. At some point a first-degree felony rape charge was added. His bail had been set at $1 million, but was reduced on Nov. 15 to $75,000. In the child pornography case, the original bail amount was $2 million, but that was reduced Nov. 15 to $25,000. Sloan has been free since then. The District Attorneys Office is reviewing our options. Those options include re-filing the charges in the rape case, Jane Roh, spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner, said in a statement. Roh did not elaborate in her statement on what happened that led to that case being dismissed. Shaka Johnson, who was representing Sloan in both cases, could not be reached for comment Thursday night. Sloan, who has used the name Nyeeb Griffin, reportedly joined the Philadelphia Police Department in 2018, Before that, he was an officer with the Temple University Police Department. In March 2017, he received an award from an organization of security professionals for rescuing a family from a burning house. Prosecutors said Sloan first met the woman in the dismissed case last summer at her workplace while he was on duty and in uniform. After several weeks, the two agreed to go on a date. Sloan allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted the woman at his home, prosecutors said. He allegedly recorded video of the woman during and after the attack. Police investigators allegedly found that Sloan possessed videos showing sex acts with other females. Police said they believed there may be other victims. In October, Sloan was charged with child pornography, according to court records. The offense date listed is Aug. 5, three days before the alleged sexual assault of the woman. In December, another judge ruled that there was enough preliminary evidence in the child pornography case to proceed. No further public information on the case was immediately available. The Republican Party has come a long way from the Ev and Charlie Show of the 60s. When Eisenhower turned the White House over to John Kennedy in 1961, the Democrats controlled both houses of Congress as they would for the next 20 years. So, the minority Republicans held a weekly press conference by the minority leader of the House, Charlie Halleck, and the minority leader of the Senate, Everette Dirksen. Its official title was "The Republican Congressional Leadership Statement, but everyone called it The Ev and Charlie Show, because of Dirksens sense of humor. Memories of that weekly show remind me now of the important distinction between loyal opposition and the obstructionism we see today. Dirksen was the star of the show and could always elicit laughs from Democrats and Republicans. He was the one who said, "When a member of the House moves over to the Senate, he raises the IQ of both bodies." Then the Republican Southern Strategy came along. It led to the Nixon victory and the partys hopes for success right up to this day. The Democrats were losing the solid South since the civil rights acts of 1964-1965 and the Republican Party was happy to step in an absorb the Dixiecrats." Southern Democrats were called Dixiecrats, because they were liberal on every policy (especially farm subsidies) except integration. After the 1964-65 Civil Rights acts--which were supported by some moderate Republicans--they fled the Democratic Party in droves. Richard Nixons re-election campaign hired a gang to steal documents from the DNC offices in the Watergate Apartments, but the thieves got caught. Nixon tried to obstruct the special prosecutor investigating the robbery. For this Nixon was impeached for obstruction of justice and on two other charges. He was convinced by fellow Republicans to resign rather than face trial in the Senate. But Nixon was still a moderate conservative who founded the EPA, OSHA, and signed the endangered species act, among other accomplishments. I grew up in North Carolina in the 50s and was told time and again that the Civil War was not about slavery, but about states rights. Yes, it was true, specifically, the right of states to maintain slavery. After that war, it became the right of states to maintain segregation. In his 1980 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan gave a speech in which he expressed support for expanding states rights. He chose Neshoba County Fair to deliver that speech. The capital of Neshoba County is Philadelphia, Mississippi, where James Chaney, Michael Swerner, and Andrew Goodman had been murdered in 1964 for organizing African Americans to vote, leaving little doubt of what he really meant. When Reagan won by a broad margin and was reelected by an even greater one, the Republicans were convinced they had struck gold. Everyone knew the Southern Strategy was white nationalist, but this could be hidden under euphemisms like states rights, block vote, and others which only Southerners would understand. Now we have Donald Trump, again gaining the presidency from documents stolen from the DNC and again impeached for obstruction of Congress. Trump is a pathological liar and someone who sees the presidency as a marketing boon for his private interests. He is the logical conclusion of the path the Republican Party set out on under Nixon. There was a time when only honorable men ran for the Presidency; the parties saw to that. The Democrats are still doing a good job at this. The Republicans have long since lost sight of it, letting their sense of humor degenerate into anger. Robert Beard is Professor Emeritus, Linguistics & Russian Programs , Bucknell University By PTI NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Congress MP Karti Chidambaram to withdraw the Rs 20 crore which was deposited with the apex court registry as a condition for allowing him to travel abroad. The apex court in January and May 2019 had granted Karti Chidambaram permission to travel to foreign countries after depositing Rs 10 crore each respectively with the registry. When the matter came up for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said there was no objection from the Enforcement Directorate to the plea seeking withdrawal of the amount since he has returned. Taking note of the submission, the bench also comprising justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant said Karti can withdraw the said amount since he has already returned. The condition was imposed by the apex court after the ED had opposed his plea for travel abroad. Karti has been facing ED cases in INX media and Aircel-Maxis matters. On May 7 last year, the top court had allowed Karti to travel to the United Kingdom, the US, France, Germany and Spain. The court, on the ED's request, had earlier asked Karti to file an undertaking that he would return to India and cooperate with the investigation and warned that if he did not do so it would "come down heavily" on him. The probe agency had earlier opposed Karti's plea seeking permission to travel abroad and alleged that he has been evasive, non-cooperative and caused a delay in completing the investigations. The ED had earlier claimed that Karti has been "blatantly misusing" the liberty granted by the court in allowing him to travel abroad and has been using the same to protract the investigation in the case. Karti is facing several criminal cases being investigated by the ED and CBI including one which relates to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to INX Media for receiving foreign funds of Rs 305 crore when his father was the finance minister. What was it that made these three defendants circumvent all the rules they were aware of? the lead prosecutor, Rachana Pathak, said in her closing remarks in November. Money, money, money. At Fridays sentencing, Ms. Hrynenkos lawyer countered that characterization. He described his client as a survivor of domestic abuse who was a loving woman. She cares about others, the lawyer, Michael K. Burke, said. She cares about people. Mr. Kukics lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said his client, a refugee who had fled war-torn Montenegro decades ago, was a dedicated worker striving to help bring his family members to the United States. Mr. Kukic told the court that he would trade his life for those of the victims in a second. From the start, the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., described the case as a death-dealing plot of deceit, chicanery and subterfuge. After the death of her husband in 2004, Ms. Hrynenko assumed control of his housing stock. She hired Mr. Kukic to renovate apartments at 121 Second Avenue in 2013. The work was completed the next year, but the utility company Consolidated Edison did not approve gas lines for the apartments. Still, Ms. Hrynenko immediately began shuffling tenants into the building, subletting apartments at an average price of $6,000 each per month. Hyeonil Kim, the owner of Sushi Park, a popular Japanese restaurant on the buildings ground level, said he had wondered how the apartments got hot water and cooking gas since the only gas line into the building was dedicated to his restaurant. She is a jet-setting superstar. And Rihanna served up yet another dazzling airport look when she was glimpsed arriving in New York City on Thursday. The 31-year-old pop act wore a tangle of dazzling necklaces including a cross, adding to her bauble collection with drop earrings. Out and about: Rihanna served up yet another dazzling airport look when she was glimpsed arriving in New York City on Thursday Popping on a pair of massive sunglasses, she warded off the wintertime chill with a black fleece jacket over a thick sweater. Rihanna clashed her black sweats with a pair of sparkly platform heels, dragging along a see-through carry-on bag with her through the airport. A day earlier she could be spotted on Instagram wearing a good deal less as she modeled lingerie for her Savage X Fenty Valentine's Day collection. Bejeweled: The 31-year-old pop star wore a tangle of dazzling necklaces including a cross, adding to her bauble collection with drop earrings In the new snapshot she cupped one of her breasts while wearing scarlet underwear and letting a matching anorak slide beguilingly down her arms. Rihanna's Savage X Fenty line made a splash with its star-studded extravaganza at New York Fashion Week late last year. The blowout show, which included names from Laverne Cox to Cara Delevingne to DJ Khaled, was filmed and released on Amazon Prime. In transit: Popping on a pair of massive sunglasses, she warded off the wintertime chill with a black fleece jacket over a thick sweater Although there was a flurry of rumors among her fans that she would drop her ninth studio album in 2019, New Year's Day went by and the record went unreleased. The album is however in the works and the Barbadian bombshell spoke to Vogue this past autumn about some of the content listeners will get to enjoy. 'I like to look at it as a reggae-inspired or reggae-infused album. Its not gonna be typical of what you know as reggae. But youre going to feel the elements in all of the tracks,' said Rihanna, whose latest album Anti came out in 2016. Police are inquiring into a link between the line of work and the death of a sex worker whose body was found in her unit in Sydney's eastern suburbs this week. Kimberley "Kim" McRae's body was found in a state of partial decomposition inside her apartment in Mount Street, Coogee, on Tuesday, homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told reporters on Friday. Kimberley McRae was found dead in her Coogee apartment on Tuesday. Credit:NSW Police He said that Ms McRae, 69, was known to conduct her work from her apartment. Police were called to the unit block by Ms McRae's sister, who was concerned because she had not heard from her. Queen Elizabeth II has finally granted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle the freedom that they want. However, it comes with a consequence that they may not be allowed to go back to the U.K. ever again. After the crisis meeting called by Queen Elizabeth II a few days ago to address the issue of the Sussexes' decision to step back from their royal duties, Her Majesty came up with a callous and concrete decision to approve what the two desire. In a statement released under her name, Queen Elizabeth II said that the whole royal family is supportive of Prince Harry and Meghan's plans to start walking on a new path as a currently family-of-three. "Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family remaining a valued part of my family," the statement reads. Despite the Queen's acknowledgment, however, it looks like Prince Harry and Meghan may never go back to the lifethey previously enjoyed considering the recent developments in the royal family. No Looking Back As the crisis summit at Sandringham came to an end, the royal couple started their "period of transition" as former senior royal members. As part of it, the Palace made some changes in the Sussexes' household. Two of their permanent employees -- the house manager and a cleaner -- were moved and sent to other duties in Queen Elizabeth II's household. The source confirmed the news to the Mail and said, "There is a skeleton staff there [at Frogmore Cottage] all the time, consisting of one cleaner and a house manager. Others work as and when needed." Losing the long-time staff at Frogmore after the Sussexes quit fueled speculations that the recent summit would be the last engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan before they leave the royal family for good. Moving On One of her friends disclosed that Meghan has finally escaped the "soul-crushing" and "toxic" life as a royal and can now breathe. "She also felt like she couldn't be the best mother to Archie if she weren't her true, authentic self," Meghan's pal revealed. The said friend also claimed that Prince Harry and Meghan's choice to stay away from royal life is also to protect Archie since the 38-year-old former "Suits" actress saw Britain as a toxic environment that has "too much tension and pent-up frustrations." Even BAZAAR.com's royal editor Omid Scobie thought that Canada -- or anywhere outside Britain -- is an ideal country for Prince Harry and Meghan. "Canada is a safe place for the couple - they were able to go unnoticed there for a while," Scobie stated. "It's an essential place for Meghan, and she has family and friends there. It's also part of the Commonwealth. Due to their full-packed schedule and pressure that comes from leaving the family, Scobie also predicted that Prince Harry and Meghan also do not want to prioritize having another baby this year (though it would be a 'wonderful surprise' if it happens). Moreover, the editor is also sure that they do not want the royal palace to be the place where they could welcome the child. The 31-year-old was convicted of posting an altered picture of another man on his Instagram account, depicting him as a dog, the Khaleej Times said in a report on Thursday. Dubai, Jan 17 (IANS) A Dubai court has ordered an Indian expat teacher to pay a 10,000 dirham ($2,722) fine after he was found guilty of a defamation charge. The court confiscated his smartphone, took down the post and shut down his Instagram account. According to public prosecution records, the case dates back to April 2019. On June 4, 2019, the complainant, a 40-year-old Indian manager, learned that the defendant posted a photo of him on his Instagram account by altering it and adding a dog's picture with a caption reading "we have a new breed of dogs for sale". The manager reported him to the criminal investigation department and the cybercrime department, after which the teacher was apprehended. The complainant told the investigator that he learned from an Indian woman about the post which the latter claimed was also shared on Twitter and other social media platforms. ksk/ Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 23:30:36|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A group of people with Dunhuang Academy were bestowed the title of "role model of the times" on Friday in recognition of their outstanding performance in protection and utilization of cultural relics. The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee announced the decision in Beijing Friday. The group, including Chang Shuhong, Duan Wenjie, Fan Jinshi and others, were hailed guardians of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, northwest China, a key cultural heritage site under state-level protection. For more than 70 years, they have devoted themselves to the protection and restoration of the precious cultural relics of the Mogao Grottoes, to the research and promotion of Dunhuang culture and art, and to the rational development of cultural tourism there, the department said. Washington The FBI, in a change of policy, is committing to inform state officials if local election systems have been breached, federal officials said Thursday. In the past, the FBI would alert local governments about attacks on their electoral systems without automatically sharing that information with the state. That meant state officials, left in the dark, might be in a position of certifying the accuracy of election results without realizing there had been problems in individual counties. Alerting local governments about breaches, but not the states, was in keeping with FBI policy of protecting the privacy and identities of the hacking victim. Now, though, the FBI will notify both counties victimized by breaches as well as the state's chief election official in most cases, the secretary of state. Under the new policy, that notification is to be done in person. The state will be notified simultaneously or around the same time, officials said Thursday. The change is intended to bolster federal-state cooperation, which has often been difficult on electoral issues, and is one of several government efforts to rethink how information about cyber threats is shared and with whom. It may also ease concerns of local officials who in the past have complained about the lack of information they've received from the federal government, though cooperation has improved ahead of the 2020 election with concerns that Russia or another nation could interfere. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The policy change was shared with state officials on Thursday and made public later in the day. Senior officials from the FBI and Justice Department described the outlines of it to The Associated Press ahead of the formal release on condition of anonymity. State elections officials praised the change, saying the notifications are essential to securing elections in their states. The secretaries of state in Ohio, Colorado and West Virginia issued a joint statement calling it a "good step forward in protecting" elections. A woman in China has been caught trying to sneak two live giant salamanders through security checks at a train station after buying the rare animals for their meat, according to reports. The giant salamander, billed as 'the living fossil', is one of the world's oldest animal species dating back more than 170 million years. There are very few of them left in the wild. The passenger claimed that the pair of giant salamanders were artificially bred and she was bringing them home to cook. The picture shows one of the giant salamanders intercepted by railway police in Zhangjiajie, China, on January 13. A female passenger tried to bring two such creatures onto a bullet train The traveller was stopped by police after officers saw the creatures on their X-ray screen. Police told the press that the amphibious beasts are a protected animal species in China and authority had strict control over them, even if they were raised on a farm Police told the press that the amphibious beasts are a protected animal species in China and authority had strict control over them, even if they were raised on a farm. The giant salamander is listed as 'critically endangered' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The incident was reported by Chinese news outlet Pear Video. According to the report, the giant salamanders were sealed in two styrofoam boxes when the unnamed passenger stuck them into a baggage X-ray machine on Monday at the West High-speed Railway Station of Zhangjiajie, a city in southern China's Hunan Province. She was stopped after officers saw the creatures on their screen. A police officer is seen checking the boxes after finding them suspicious during security screening. The woman claimed that she wanted to eat them to help her recover from surgery It is believed by some Chinese people that giant salamanders have anti-ageing benefits, although there is no scientific evidence to support this. But the woman claimed that she wanted to eat them to help her recover from surgery. She told police: '[I bought them] at an official breeding base. [I] bought [them] to boost my health. I just underwent an operation.' The giant salamander is listed as 'critically endangered' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and a protected animal species in China (file photo) Yue Yin, a police officer, told Pear: 'The giant salamander is a second class protected species in our country. Even the artificially bred ones have their individual record with the authority.' Officer Yue said that the woman's purchases were confirmed to have come from a breeder instead of the wild. While hunting, killing and trading wild giant salamanders can lead to more than 10 years of imprisonment in China, trading or consuming artificially bred ones is legal. In the end, the police helped the woman send the giant salamanders home by post after telling her live animals, except for guide dogs, were not allowed on the train. [January 17, 2020] Auxly Announces Repayment of Remaining Unsecured Convertible Debentures and Expiration of Warrants Due January 16, 2020 TORONTO, Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (TSX.V: XLY) (OTCQX: CBWTF) (Auxly or the Company) today announced that, further to the Company's October 30, 2019 press release, it has settled the remaining 6% unsecured convertible debentures that matured on January 16, 2020, for approximately $2.7 million. In addition, warrants issued on January 16, 2018 to purchase 32,200,000 shares of the Companys common stock at a strike price of $1.80 expired as of January 16, 2020. The warrants, which traded under the TSX venture symbol XLY.WT.A, have been delisted. The repayment of the remaining debentures, together with the expiration of the 2018 warrants, has simplified our capital structure, said Hugo Alves, CEO of Auxly. As we look to continue to lead the derivative cannabis market and increase revenues throughout 2020, our investors can focus on the strengthening fundamentals of our business. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Hugo Alves" CEO About Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (TSX.V: XLY) (OTCQX: CBWTF) Auxly is an international cannabis company dedicated to bringing innovative, effective, and high-quality cannabis products to the medical, wellness and adult-use markets. Auxly's experienced team of industry first-movers and enterprising visionaries has secured a diversified supply of raw cannabis, strong clinical, scientific and operating capabilities and leading product research and development infrastructure in order to create trusted products and brands in an expanding global market. Learn more at www.auxly.com and stay up t date at Twitter: @AuxlyGroup; Instagram: @auxlygroup; Facebook: @auxlygroup; LinkedIn: company/auxlygroup/. Investor Relations: For investor enquiries please contact our Investor Relations Team: Email: [email protected] Phone: 1.833.695.2414 Media Enquiries (only): For media enquiries or to set up an interview please contact: Email: [email protected] Notice Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. This information is only a prediction. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking information throughout this news release. Forward-looking information includes but is not limited to: consumer preferences, political change, future legislative and regulatory developments involving cannabis and cannabis products; and competition and other risks affecting the Company in particular and the cannabis industry generally. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from a conclusion, forecast or projection contained in the forward-looking information included in this release. The forward-looking information in this release is based on information currently available and what management believes are reasonable assumptions. Forward-looking information speaks only to such assumptions as of the date of this release. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information contained in this release. The forward-looking information contained in this release is expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements and is made as of the date of this release. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise. None of the securities referenced herein have been, or will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release will not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities and nor will there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] WARMINSTER, Pa., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DreamLine will be unveiling their highly anticipated Design Center featuring Design by Kate Rumson of The Real Houses of Instagram at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) on January 21, 2020. The show will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada from January 21st through the 23rd. Kate will be present to work with attendees in the Design Center, and also to celebrate the reveal of her new shower door design collaboration with DreamLine. DreamLine The Design Center is a fully immersive pop-up experience that will allow trade show attendees to experience DreamLine products in a completely unique way. Customers can envision and design solutions for their bathroom space using staged vignettes, high-end retail options, and an extensive shower door, tub door, and shower enclosure library. The Design Center will showcase everything homeowners need to personalize their bathroom design in a way that reflects the layout of their space, as well as their individual needs and preferences. Additionally, the Design Center will tap the resources of real estate mogul, Instagram influencer, and interior design powerhouse Kate Rumson. Kate will be onsite to guide customers through the selection process and offer advice on how to make the elements work together. Kate will also be at KBIS this year to celebrate the launch of two brand-new shower doors that she designed in partnership with DreamLine, which will be revealed live at the event at 10:00 AM PST on January 21st. A visit to the DreamLine Design Center is exclusively for KBIS attendees and by appointment only. When a trade show attendee uses the Design Center to create their perfect shower door, they may also have the chance to see the style they created come to life. It's this experience that will make their visit to KBISand their bathroom designcompletely unforgettable. About DreamLine Headquartered in Warminster, PA, DreamLine is a market leading, technology-driven designer, manufacturer, and marketer of premium shower products including frameless glass shower doors, shower enclosures, tub doors, and acrylic shower bases. DreamLine offers over 5,000 products across over 60 models including top selling frameless shower doors. For more information please visit www.DreamLine.com Media contact: Mark Zagnojny Director of Digital Marketing 866-731-8378 x 107 [email protected] SOURCE DreamLine Britain's finance ministry on Friday said it had added Lebanon's entire Hezbollah movement to its list of terrorist groups subject to asset freezing. The ministry previously only targeted the Shiite organisation's military wing but has now listed the whole group after the government designated it a terrorist organisation last March. The change requires any individual or institution in Britain with accounts or financial services connected to Hezbollah to suspend them or face prosecution. The group had "publicly denied a distinction between its military and political wings," the Treasury said in a notice posted on its website. "The group in its entirety is assessed to be concerned in terrorism and was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK in March 2019," it added. "This listing includes the Military Wing, the Jihad Council and all units reporting to it, including the External Security Organisation." Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, said the United States was "very pleased" with the decision, adding that it had long been seeking such a move from European allies. "We would like to congratulate the United Kingdom," he told reporters in Washington. "There is no distinction between Hezbollah's political arm and its military arm." The Treasury in London said the change followed its annual review of the asset freezing register, and brought it into line with the 2019 decision by the interior minister to blacklist all of Hezbollah. "The UK remains committed to the stability of Lebanon and the region, and we continue to work closely with our Lebanese partners," a spokesman said. Hezbollah is a Shiite militant movement established in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Its capture of two Israeli soldiers in 2006 sparked a 34-day war in which 1,200 people were killed. The group is seen as a key component of Shiite-majority Iran's strategy for regional influence. Britain's move comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, after the US killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in an air strike earlier this month. Tehran retaliated by firing a volley of missiles at US troops stationed in Iraqi military bases. Britain currently proscribes 75 international terrorist organisations under terrorism legislation passed in 2000. BROWNSVILLE, Texas, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Schools from across the Valley representing private and public sector options are hosting a weeklong lineup of public events in celebration of National School Choice Week. Parents who want to explore new education options or celebrate great local schools have a myriad of options to choose from. On Monday, St. Luke Catholic School in Brownsville will host a rally to show school spirit and raise awareness about the importance of school choice to their school community from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. On Tuesday, St. Mary's Catholic School in Brownsville will host a community-building breakfast for parents, featuring remarks from the diocesan administration and a representative from EdChoice, a national education policy organization. On Wednesday, St. Joseph Catholic School in Edinburg's "Celebrating the Family" event will invite grandparents to school to visit classrooms, attend a book fair with their grandchildren, and share lunch. On Friday, Pharr Oratory of St. Philip Neri School System will host a walkathon beginning at 8:00 a.m. Also on Friday, IDEA McAllen Academy & College Prep's campus will hold an open house from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m., featuring speakers, school tours, and more. These events are planned to coincide with the history-making celebration of National School Choice Week 2020, which will feature more than 50,000 school choice events across all 50 states. Event addresses and points of contact for each school can be obtained by contacting Priscilla Casas of EdChoice Texas at [email protected]. As a nonpartisan, nonpolitical public awareness effort, National School Choice Week shines a positive spotlight on effective education options for students, families, and communities around the country. From January 26 through February 1, 2020, more than 50,000 independently-planned events will be held in celebration of the Week. For more information, visit www.schoolchoiceweek.com/texas. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links www.schoolchoiceweek.com The Disciplinary Committee of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Asante Akyem South Constituency has cleared William Yamoah, a former President of the National Union of Ghana Students of any misconduct. This follows complaints made against Mr. Yamoah, a prospective Parliamentary Aspirant, by Executives of Asante Akyem South that he was flouting the party's rules by secretly holding meetings with polling station executives prior to the opening of nominations. It will be recalled that thirty-eight (38) station executives were suspended in August 2019 for allegedly holding meetings with prospective parliamentary aspirants including Mr. Yamoah. The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, and popularly known as Chairman Wontumi has since intervened in the misunderstanding between the suspended polling station executives and the Constituency Executive Committee. The complaints against Mr. Yamoah were contained in a letter dated 13th day of September 2019. However, in a copy of the report sighted by Citi News, the committee after its investigations had found Mr Yamoah not guilty of all charges levelled against him. The Committee in its report has declared Mr Yamoah eligible and qualified to pick up a nomination form when the process begins. Below is a copy of the Disciplinary Committee's report: ---citinewsroom Eoghan Murphy has said that if his party is returned to government, he wants to stay on as housing minister. Speaking at a campaign event regarding social housing, Mr Murphy, who survived a motion of no confidence during his tenure, answered categorically Yes when asked if he would like to return to the portfolio if Fine Gael is elected to government after February 8. I have been quite clear that the job that we have started in housing when Fine Gael got the housing brief in 2016 and we started to make some inroads in the problems we face, and I think I have made some important reforms in the last couple of years, he said. Speeding up the planning process, were going to see many more apartments built because of the changes we made to the Department of Planning, I increased the amount of money were spending on social housing by 30%, regulating Airbnb, where we need to do more, in particular hiring resources and getting on in enforcement, and there are more things I want to do. Eoghan Murphy says that if he and his party is returned to government, he wants to stay on as Housing Minister and says there is "more for me to do". #GE2020 aoife moore. (@aoifegracemoore) January 17, 2020 I think given where we are in the housing cycle, I think its important that we continue with the plans that we have and we improve on what we can, and where we know we need to, and I would like the opportunity to continue what Ive been doing so far. The party was holding a media event on social housing, an area in which the party has been consistently criticised by its political rivals as Irelands homeless crisis shows no major signs of abating. Fine Gael said it is delivering the largest social housing programme in decades and will ensure that 60,000 social houses are provided over the next five years. Ten thousand social houses were provided last year and 11,000 will be this year, Mr Murphy added. I dont want anyone resigning from that commitment (to social housing), were putting in plans that responsibilities given to local authorities cant be taken away from them, regardless of who is minister. Fine Gael party sources said they are braced for housing to be a major issue on the doorsteps, and in the days since the election was called, more widely publicised issues around homelessness have come to the fore. On Tuesday, a homeless man was left seriously injured following an incident in Dublin city centre. The man was sleeping in a tent near the Grand Canal when it was removed by an industrial vehicle during works to tidy the canal walkway. On Wednesday, a homeless woman in her twenties died in a hostel in Dublin. Official Government figures show that 10,448 people are currently homeless in Ireland, 3,752 of whom are children. The father of a physical therapist who confessed to killing his wife, three children and the family dog at their Disney developed home was convicted of trying to murder his own spouse 40 years ago. Anthony Todt, his wife Megan and their children Alek, Tyler and Zoe were found dead in their gated community in Celebration on the outskirts of Disney Hollywood Studios theme park last week. The 44-year-old confessed to the slayings and is cooperating with detectives, according to Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson. It has since been revealed that Todt had a troubled past filled with violence. In 1980, his father Robert hired a hitman to shoot his mother Loretta inside their family home in Philadelphia in a failed murder-for-hire plot. Anthony Todt in court yesterday. Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said he confessed to killing his wife and three children at their Florida home Robert Todt, the father of Anthony Todt, was convicted of the attempted murder of his wife Loretta in 1980. He was also convicted of criminal solicitation and conspiracy charges and received a 10 to 20-year jail sentence He told a detective at the time he heard his mother scream and saw a man 'wrestling with her on a bed'. Todt's mother survived being shot in the face - but lost an eye and was left with a bullet lodged in her skull. His father was later convicted of hiring a former special education student at the school where he worked to try and murder his wife. John Chairmonte was convicted in the 1980 'failed murder for hire plot', according to the Bucks Courtier Times. Chairmonte reportedly cut a deal to testify against Robert, so he was only sentenced to four years in jail Robert was handed a prison term of 10 to 20 years for attempted murder, criminal solicitation and conspiracy charges. Anthony Todt, his wife Megan and their children Alek, Tyler and Zoe an dog Breezy. The family were reported missing before their bodies were found at their home in Celebration - a Disney developed town of 7,400 people in Florida Anthony Todt with his three children and their dog. Police found the bodies in the family home on Monday but were unable to definitively identify them until Wednesday Wrestling teacher, Robert, who admitted having an affair, denied being involved in the plot and launched appeals against his conviction, even with the support of his wife Loretta who refused to believe the prosecution's version of events. She later moved away from Pennsylvania and divorced Robert, according to the Hartford Courant. Robert Todt was convicted of ordering a former student at the school where he worked in Pennsylvania to try and kill his wife in 1980 Forty years on, Anthony has confessed to killing his own family and leaving their bodies in the Florida home for up to two weeks. He appeared in court for the first time on Thursday and is facing four charges of first- degree homicide and one of animal cruelty for also having killed the family's pet dog Breezy. The three children's ages ranged from four to 13. Court documents revealed the physical therapist was being investigated in Connecticut for health care fraud motivated by his need to pay off personal loans. The files, which were unsealed this week, state Anthony Todt was being investigated for submitting fraudulent claims for physical therapy by the FBI and agents with the US Department of Health and Human Services, according to an affidavit and criminal complaint. According to agents, the allegations involved Todt and his Colchester, Connecticut-base clinics submitting claims to Medicaid and private insurers for physical therapy services that weren't given to patients. Court records in Osceola County show the landlord of their five-bedroom home was seeking their eviction, saying they owed him more than $5,000. They were paying a monthly rent of more than $4,900. The family had recently moved from Connecticut to the rented home in Florida on the outskirts of Disney World and in December were served with an eviction notice for their rented home The Tods were married for 20 years and their anniversary fell on January 1, right around the time of the murders (pictured as a young couple in an undated photo) One relative said she was worried about Todt's state of mind and had asked deputies in Florida to do a well-being check on the home in Celebration in late December. Deputies made the check but didn't see anything suspicious. The bodies were found Monday when the federal agents and deputies went to the house in Celebration to serve an arrest warrant. The family had not been seen since January 6 and friends and family had started a Facebook group to look for them and share information. That prompted police to begin investigating their disappearance. Celebration, to the south of Orlando and the Disney theme parks, was developed in the 1990s by Disney World, which no longer owns the properties. The community has long been the subject of urban myths, such as the apocryphal tale that people were hired to walk dogs in the early days to make it look more homey, or that the almost 8,000 residents get free annual passes to the Disney parks. Bombshell (15) Verdict: Not explosive, but well aimed Rating: A Hidden Life (12A) Verdict: Ambitious, but self-indulgent Rating: This week's Academy Award nominations have rightly recognised both Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie for their superb performances in Bombshell. The powerful drama is ostensibly about the downfall of Roger Ailes, the U.S. TV titan who turned Fox News into one of the mightiest bulwarks of Rupert Murdoch's media empire. I say ostensibly, because director Jay Roach uses the Ailes story to shine an unforgiving light on all predatory sexual behaviour, not just on the transgressions portrayed here. Empowered: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie in Bombshell - a drama ostensibly about the downfall of Roger Ailes, the U.S. TV titan who turned Fox News into one of the mightiest bulwarks of Rupert Murdoch's media empire All the same, this picture, set during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, will help to ensure that Ailes (a tremendous John Lithgow) won't chiefly be remembered for his many professional accomplishments, any more than Harvey Weinstein will be. I wonder when Hollywood will chronicle Weinstein's alleged crimes on screen? For now, Ailes is an easier target, having died in May 2017 less than a year after Murdoch (played here by Malcolm McDowell) forced him to resign. Since then, and now further propelled by this feature film, his name has become synonymous with sexual harassment and worse. Ailes habitually used his stature to manoeuvre female journalists at Fox into granting him sexual favours in return for career advancement. In the movie industry that squalid equation has always been known as the casting couch. Here, it might be renamed the broadcasting couch. The film then becomes a kind of thriller, as the network's star female anchor, Megyn Kelly (Theron), wrestles with her conscience, which is itself at odds with her ambition Bombshell offers him another opportunity to vent against Right-wing politics, but on the whole he does so with restraint and humour Bombshell's most most disturbing scene sees a go-getting young producer called Kayla (Robbie), desperate for a presenting gig, wangle a private audience with the boss. He invites her to stand and twirl, so he can assess her physical attributes. After all, he tells her, 'television is a visual medium'. There's no arguing with that, and it might even be interpreted as benign encouragement, yet for Ailes it is merely the opening salvo in his grooming strategy. He asks Kayla to hoist her dress higher, and higher, and higher still. Horrified, embarrassed, humiliated, she obliges. Film-makers less clever than Roach (who, in what must seem like another career altogether, directed the Austin Powers and Meet The Parents movies), might have been tempted to show more graphic sexual abuse. But it's been a while since I've sat through a scene so charged, in its sleazy, sinister way, with dramatic tension. Unlike the other central characters, Kayla is semi-fictionalised a composite. She is too junior to topple Ailes, but if you picture his reputation as a pile of Jenga blocks, the first brick is removed by Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman, also brilliant), who dares to sue him after being fired from her slot on a talkshow. The film then becomes a kind of thriller, as the network's star female anchor, Megyn Kelly (Theron), wrestles with her conscience, which is itself at odds with her ambition. She has already rather let presidential hopeful Donald Trump off the hook when quizzing him on his attitude towards women, in a televised interview. The screenwriter is Charles Randolph, who wrote 2015's The Big Short, and Bombshell has something of that film's zest and zip But will she stop short of accusing Ailes who, early in her career, subjected her to his gruesome advances? Or will she whip away the all-important brick, terminally destabilising one of the most influential men in U.S. media? The screenwriter is Charles Randolph, who wrote 2015's The Big Short, and Bombshell has something of that film's zest and zip, with Theron's character at times talking direct to camera as if fronting a documentary. I'm also assured by those who watch Fox News that prosthetics have made both her and Kidman look eerily like the women they play, which enhances that documentary vibe. It's probably safe to say that Roach himself is not one of the Fox faithful. His most recent film, his first major departure from comedy, was 2015's Trumbo, a sympathetic biopic of Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who was blacklisted in the 1950s witch-hunts of well-known suspected Communists. Bombshell offers him another opportunity to vent against Right-wing politics, but on the whole he does so with restraint and humour another Fox producer, jauntily played by Kate McKinnon, is far more worried about her support for Hillary Clinton leaking out than she is about her closeted lesbianism. Besides, Kelly and Carlson were very public cheerleaders for the Right. They are not obvious figureheads for today's #MeToo movement, which is embraced most robustly on the Left. But then, what's so horrifying about this extremely well-told story is not that it happened at Fox News, where Trump is lionised, but that it might have happened anywhere. Resistance to grotesque abuses of power is also the theme of Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life (pictured) which is based on the true story of a conscientious objector in wartime Austria In 1939, Tyrolean farmer Franz Jagerstatter (August Diehl), a happily married father of three and devout Catholic, declines to swear an oath of allegiance to the Fuhrer Resistance to grotesque abuses of power is also the theme of Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life, based on the true story of a conscientious objector in wartime Austria. In 1939, Tyrolean farmer Franz Jagerstatter (August Diehl), a happily married father of three and devout Catholic, declines to swear an oath of allegiance to the Fuhrer. He continues to refuse even when he is conscripted into the German army, even when he is imprisoned, beaten, degraded and finally sentenced to death. 'Sign and you'll go free,' his lawyer (Matthias Schoenaerts) tells him. 'But I am free,' Franz replies. Malick, now 76, has made only ten films since his remarkable 1973 debut, Badlands. They have come relatively thick and fast in recent years, but a new Malick film is still a cinematic event, albeit rather in the way that the first day of the sales is an event some people might want to run in the opposite direction. A Hidden Life its title taken from a passage in George Eliot's Middlemarch, about goodness being defined by 'unhistoric acts' showcases much of Malick's stylishness, but also plenty of what makes some of his films so maddening. It exquisitely evokes an era before rural life was mechanised. We see lots of drawing water from wells and scything in the fields. But the near three-hour running time needs scything, too. Ultimately, this film feels as much an exercise in self-indulgence as storytelling. Noble, yes, but it's an open-and-shut case of trial by cliche Just Mercy (12A) Verdict: Cheesy legal procedural Rating: Waves (15) Verdict: Forensic family study Rating: Just Mercy tells a true story that of an idealistic young lawyer called Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), who at the start of the film, set in the late 1980s, is a humble intern working towards his Harvard law degree. Rather like a legal version of Sidney Poitier's detective in In The Heat Of The Night, Bryan is an African-American from the North who is shocked by the institutionalised racism of the South. In Monroeville, Alabama the very town which partly inspired Harper Lee, who grew up there, to write To Kill A Mockingbird he finds a flagrant miscarriage of justice. Miscarriage of justice: Michael B. Jordan (left) and Jamie Foxx (right) in Just Mercy A black man, Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) is on death row, having been convicted of murdering an 18-year-old white woman. The evidence that nailed him is flimsy to say the least, and the police and district attorney know it, but the district attorney (Rafe Spall, dishing up some great Southern-fried vowels) is adamant that Walter, nicknamed Johnny D, deserves the electric chair. Destin Daniel Cretton's film follows Bryan's attempts to prove otherwise, hinging largely on him persuading another convict (Tim Blake Nelson, in wonderful sleazebag mode) to admit that he lied about Johnny D in court. It's a shocking tale that deserves to be widely known, but Cretton undermines it himself by effectively portraying Bryan, who in real life has gone on to save many other prisoners sentenced to the death penalty, as a secular saint. There are lots of movies about racist wrongdoings in the American South, but the best of them simply tell the story, without trying to correct the injustices themselves. That's where this film goes wrong. Even death row is presented as a citadel of nobility, with every police station and courtroom a moral vacuum, while the narrative overflows with cliches and gossamer-thin characterisation. Just because Bryan's colleague is played by Brie Larson, doesn't mean her lines have to be quite so cheesy. It is a shocking tale that deserves to be widely known, but Cretton undermines it himself by effectively portraying Bryan, who in real life has gone on to save many other prisoners sentenced to the death penalty, as a secular saint Waves, another African-American story, is a smaller release but a much better bet, and a bravura piece of film-making by Trey Edward Shults. His last movie was the terrific 2017 horror-thriller It Comes At Night, but this is very different a forensic portrayal of a decent family in emotional meltdown. Kelvin Harrison Jr is excellent as Tyler Williams, a talented teenage athlete with a pretty girlfriend whose world begins to cave in after he sustains a career-threatening injury. His life continues to spiral out of control in ways I shouldn't disclose here, but what it means is that Shults hands the second half of the film to Tyler's sister Emily (a similarly fine performance by Taylor Russell). Lucas Hedges is splendid, too, as Emily's boyfriend, a young man with troubles of his own (I sometimes wonder whether U.S. directors have to sign a pledge to cast only Hedges, or possibly Timothee Chalamet, as tormented young adults). And so is Sterling K. Brown as Tyler and Emily's well-meaning but domineering father. It's a compelling film and, I might add, a safer investment of time and money than A Hidden Life (see above), which is worth noting because Shults is a protege of Terrence Malick, who in this week's releases is comprehensively mastered by his apprentice. Academy misses may see me eat Rocketman's hat The Oscar nominations have shamed the BAFTA shortlists by making a best actress contender of Britain's Cynthia Erivo, for her fantastic performance as a 19th-century abolitionist in Harriet. What Erivo has to do to nudge her own countryfolk into recognising her talent, heaven only knows. But that doesn't mean the American Academy voters aren't guilty of some oversights. The Oscar nominations have shamed the BAFTA shortlists by making a best actress contender of Britain's Cynthia Erivo, for her fantastic performance as a 19th-century abolitionist in Harriet Making Little Women a nominee for best adapted screenplay and two acting awards, but not recognising Greta Gerwig as a potential best director, is mystifying. I hate tokenism, but nobody could have been accused of posturing by including Gerwig she made a glorious film. As it is, the anomaly remains that only five female directors have ever been nominated in the entire history of the Oscars, with only one winner (Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker in 2010). If you think that's because just five women have deserved it, I'm afraid you're wrong. As for other quirks of this year's nominations, the best supporting actor category either venerates experience, or shows that voters have precious little imagination. The average age of the five world-famous contenders is 71, with Brad Pitt the relative greenhorn at 56. I'll have more to say about both sets of awards. But for now let me add one more lament: that Julian Day, the British designer of all those extraordinary costumes in Rocketman, didn't receive an Oscar nod. I wrote last year if he didn't get a nomination, I'd eat his hat. If he'd like to send me one, I'll have a go. Image 1 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace) In its first launch of the year, Arianespace successfully used an Ariane 5 rocket to launch two new communications satellites into orbit for Eutelsat and India. The rocket lifted off from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana on Jan. 16, at 4:05 p.m. EST (6:05 p.m. local time, 2105 GMT). It then deployed the Eutelsat Konnect and GSAT-30 satellites into orbit. See photos of the mission here! Full Story: Ariane 5 launches satellites for India, Eutelsat into orbit Image 2 of 21 (Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Video du CSG/JM Guillon) An Ariane 5 rocket rises between the silhouettes of two palm trees as it lifts off into the cloud-covered evening sky in Kourou, French Guiana, in this photo from Arianespace's first launch of the year. Image 3 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube) The Ariane 5 rocket lifted off into a cloud-covered sky, right on time, at 6:05 p.m. local time in French Guiana (4:05 p.m. EST or 2105 GMT). Image 4 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube) Smoke billows out from below the Ariane 5 rocket as it lifts off from ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Center. Image 5 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace) An Ariane 5 rocket lifts off from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana, carrying the Eutelsat Konnect and GSAT-30 communications satellites into orbit. Image 6 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube) The Ariane 5 rocket soars into space, emerging from a blanket of clouds that obstructed the view for the first minute after liftoff. Image 7 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube) The Ariane 5 rocket is seen shortly before its two solid rocket boosters separated. Image 8 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube) One of the two solid rocket boosters is seen separating from the rocket in this view from an on-board camera. Image 9 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube) Both of the rocket's solid boosters separated successfully after 2 minutes and 21 seconds of flight. Here, they are seen moving away from the rocket's main stage. Image 10 of 21 (Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P. Baudon) The Ariane 5 rocket stands ready for launch at the Guiana Space Center on the evening before its mission. Image 11 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace) Image 12 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace) The Ariane 5 rocket is transported from the Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch zone. Image 13 of 21 (Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P. Baudon) The Ariane 5 rocket is transported from the Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch zone. Image 14 of 21 (Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P. Baudon) The Ariane 5 rocket nears the launch site at the Guiana Space Center's ELA-3 after leaving the Final Assembly Building. Image 15 of 21 (Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P. Baudon) The Ariane 5 rocket arrives at the ELA-3 launch site at the Guiana Space Center. Image 16 of 21 (Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P. Baudon) The Indian Space Research Organisation's GSAT-30 communications satellite is readied for launch. Image 17 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace) The upper composite of the Ariane 5 rocket composed of Eutelsat Konnect, the SYLDA payload dispenser system and a protective payload fairing is lowered over GSAT-30 in preparation for launch. Image 18 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace) GSAT-30 is lowered for installation on the Ariane 5 rocket's core stage. Image 19 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace) The Ariane 5 rocket stands ready for launch at the Guiana Space Center's ELA-3 launch site. Image 20 of 21 (Image credit: Arianespace) The Ariane 5 rocket stands ready for launch at the Guiana Space Center's ELA-3 launch site. Zugzwang is not Covfefe. Its a legitimate word, which I learnt recently from Indias Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin. It is a German word that is spelt tsuk, tsfan and means, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, The necessity of moving in chess when it is to ones disadvantage. The Chinese intervention on Kashmir at a closed-door, informal discussion of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday was Zugzwang. It found no traction with any of the other 14 members, a majority of whom have concluded this is a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve between them, and the discussion itself led to nothing. China may pretend to have waged this battle for Pakistan, its all-weather friend, but it will have to own the defeats as its own. China has looked isolated and ineffectual, and an outlier among the other Permanent Five countries (France, United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States), who, as victims of terrorism, are united in their resolve to combat terrorism and condemn countries that use terrorism as a tool of their foreign policy. Chinas cynical support of terrorism, as an expression of solidarity with Pakistan, a top sponsor of terrorism, was reflected most starkly in its resistance to United Nations Security Councils condemnation of the Pulwama attack on February 14, 2019. More than 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in the attack. China would not even allow the release of a pro forma statement of condemnation until it was forced to, after a week of that attack. China then opposed the designation of Masood Azhar, the founder leader of Jaish-e-Mohammad, the outfit that had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack, by the Security Councils 1267 Sanctions Committee, for the fourth time. It relented only when challenged jointly by the United States, France and the United Kingdom. That was another battle lost. China would not give up, but it was now facing global scrutiny for its handling of Uighur Muslim minorities in its Xinjiang province. The United States led a meeting of more than 30 countries on the sidelines of the UN general assembly meetings in September to condemn the horrors of State repression in Xinjiang. India did not attend that meeting, but watched it closely and has since wondered if it should have, and done more. yashwant.raj@hindustantimes.com The views expressed are personal Steely Dan and Steve Winwood will head out on a summer tour with a pair of regional stops in the Boston area and Saratoga Springs, NY. The pairing will come to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on June 30 and the Xfinity Center in Mansfield on July 1. Tickets for the shows are on sale beginning Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. through Live Nation at livenation.com. The Rock Hall of Fame band was founded in 1972 by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Two years later, the duo retired from live performing and became a studio-only band. The group has sold over 40 million records and is known for hits like Deacon Blues, Reelin In The Years," and Rikki Dont Lose That Number. Fagen and Becker eventually returned to touring together up until Beckers death in 2017. Winwood has his own place in classic rock history as a member of The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith, along with a solo career that produced hits such as Back In the High Life Again. Shop for concert tickets here: StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today supported Iranian journalists who denounced interference with their editorial independence, following the resignation of at least two senior journalists working for Iranian state broadcaster over the cover-up of the recent shooting down of the Ukrainian plane. On 8 January, a Ukraine International Airlines plane crashed a few minutes after taking off from Tehran airport. All 176 people on board were killed. At first, the official state version claimed the crash was due to a technical failure and dismissed reports of a missile strike, as it was established to be the case a few days after. For three days, Iranian officials imposed their narrative over the crash on state-owned media, even referring to those who questioned it as enemy agents. When a top official of the Iranian aerospace forces said the plane was shot down by a short-range missile by mistake, the admission provoked a huge media trust crisis in Iran. "While people were watching the shameful headlines of some of the media for allegedly plotting a missile crash on the stalls, they were simultaneously reading through the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces and the Presidents Office admitting the rocket fire," the Tehran Association of Journalists said in a statement, describing the day as the disaster day for media. At least two presenters working for the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB have resigned and apologised for the lies. One of the anchors, Saba Rad, said: Thank you for your support in all years of my career. I announce that after 21 years working in radio and TV, I cannot continue my work in the media. I cannot. On top of this, authorities shutdown critical media websites that demanded the resignation of officials, such as Entekhab media. The IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: This incident shows that journalists and the Iranian public have lost confidence in the Iranian authorities to tell the truth. We support Iranian journalists that work in total independence and to report on facts. The IFJ will always stand in solidarity with them. Algonquin Capital Corp. is wading into the nascent market for liquid alternatives in Canada, launching a hedge fund-like mutual fund thats available to retail investors. The firm is planning to raise as much as $3 billion over the next three to five years for the credit fund, adding to its $450 million in assets under management, partner Brian DCosta said. We want to be a true active manager, which means having the ability to do security selection, run concentrated positions and using leverage and shorting securities, DCosta said in an interview at Algonquins Toronto-based offices. Then we will put a levered short Canada investment-grade overlay on the fund which should give investors a 100 to 150 basis points yield enhancement. So-called liquid alts which encompass everything from hedge funds to real estate, private debt and equity and infrastructure are taking off as investors chase higher yields outside those offered by traditional bonds. Investments have reached about $882 billion (U.S.), including about $47 billion in exchange traded funds, according to Greenwich Associates. A year ago, regulators cleared the way for the mutual funds in Canada. A total of 37 funds from 15 companies had been launched by July, with assets reaching $3.4 billion (Canadian), according to a report by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Unlike typical hedge funds, investors can take money out on a daily basis. Theyre often more transparent and cheaper than the 20 per cent performance fee that hedge funds typically carry. Algonquins fund has no performance fee. The first $50 million in investments will pay a 50-basis point management fee and after that the fund will charge 95 basis points. Other funds are doing a light version of a hedge fund and were really building a much enhanced version of a normal bond fund, DCosta said. We really want it to replace all the rubbish bond funds that are out there where people have added all kinds of other risks to to enhance yields. Algonquin will focus on purchasing North American investment-grade corporate bonds while shorting government notes to leverage lower risk positions. Leverage will typically be about 2.25 times. The goal is to get a five per cent yield, without an enormous amount of high-yield debt and staying away from emerging markets, commodities and currency risks. Bond maturities will typically be four years, which brings the interest-rate risk down, portfolio manager Alex Schwiersch said. A traditional bond fund is going to return three per cent to 3.5 per cent a year if youre lucky over the cycle. And youre going to have to take a lot of risks, a lot of duration, to do that, Schwiersch said. We can offer a product that, even though its a liquid alternative, its going to behave more like a bond fund. Up to six per cent of Algonquins new fund, which launched this week, could be held in a single asset. It expects to invest in a broad range of sectors including financials, communications, consumer products, energy, health care, industrials, infrastructure, real estate, technology and provincial bonds in Canada and the U.S. Typically around 25 per cent of the fund may be invested in non-investment grade credits. Anthony Todt the Colchester man accused of killing his wife, three children and the family dog in Florida appeared before a judge Thursday and was denied bail on the murder charges. He was granted a public defender. Judge Margaret Schreiber is presiding over the case. Todt, 44, was charged Wednesday by the Osceola County Sheriffs Office. Police confirmed during a Wednesday afternoon news conference that 42-year-old Megan Todt, 13-year-old Alek Todt, 11-year-old Tyler Todt and 4-year-old Zoe Todt were killed sometime in late December. The familys dog, Breezy, was also killed. Anthony has cooperated with the investigation and he has confessed to killing his wife Megan Todt ... and their three children, said Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson. Anthony also killed their family dog, Breezy. The bodies were discovered Monday when deputies went to the Reserve Place home in Celebration, Fla., with federal agents to serve an arrest warrant for Anthony Todt from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Deputies made contact with Anthony (Todt) in the home with federal agents and he was immediately detained. A safety check of the home was conducted where deputies discovered four deceased individuals inside, Gibson said. Gibson wouldnt say how the wife and children died, but said he wanted to wait until the coroner released definitive findings This is still very much an active investigation. Gibson said the Sheriffs Office was still awaiting official identification of the bodies from the medical examiner but, given the circumstances and Todts confession, investigators are confident they are Anthony Todts wife and children. Gibson said he was unsure whether Anthony Todt told investigators why he allegedly killed his family, but did say that Anthony Todt has been cooperating with the investigation. Although the family had been living in Florida for about two years, Anthony Todt did not live in Florida full-time. Anthony Todt worked Monday through Friday at his physical therapy practice in Connecticut, then returned to Florida on the weekends. Court records across three states made clear that he had been facing mounting financial pressure, and he is also currently the subject of both state and federal fraud investigations. The federal arrest warrant for Todt was issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General for charges of health care fraud, according spokeswoman Tesia Williams. Anthony Todt had been licensed to practice physical therapy in Connecticut since 1999, but his license had expired due to non-renewal at the end of September, according to Connecticut records. Megan Todts license was still active through the end of January. By Express News Service KOCHI: With the release of his latest book Amour - A Tale Of Two Lost Souls, co-authored with Ipshita Choudhuri, a student pursuing masters at Jadavpur University, 28-year-old Noufer Vettikat Aboobacker speaks to CE about love and the journey through it. When did you discover your passion for writing? I discovered it when I was in school. When I was younger, I tried to write some investigative stories. I had no intention of publishing or submitting it to a magazine. I was merely inspired to create. How did you meet Ipshita Choudhuri? We are old friends. We worked together to direct my short film in 2017, which went on to bag three awards Best Fiction and the Audience Award at the 12 Months Film Festival, Romania and Best Fantasy at Global Film Festival Awards, Los Angeles. We made a good team and thats when we decided to write a book together sometime. How was your experience of writing the book? I am an engineer by profession. I work in a marine vessel at Abu Dhabi. We started writing the book midway of 2018. I was on the vessel, so we coordinated via WhatsApp messages and phone calls. Communication was our biggest problem because I couldnt receive calls when I was on the sea. It took one and half years for us to complete the story. What was the inspiration behind the main characters? We created Neer and Hassini out of sheer imagination. Hassini is a girl from Chennai. She is going to study engineering in Coimbatore. What was the main focus of your book? The main focus of our book was to portray the life of a girl growing up in an orthodox society. We wrote the story of a girls transformation at various stages of her life. It is mostly about satisfying the readers expectations for a good story, by showing a compelling character transformation. Hassinis life begins with happiness, but alas it ends with a tragedy. Did you ever face writers block? How did you overcome it? Yes, we faced it in between. Writers block is a personal thing and each of us has to approach it differently. When youre staring at a blank screen, obsessing over perfection is not the answer. Writing in bullet points helped. I sometimes wrote in my native language. It does not have to be perfect, it just has to be written. That was how I overcame it. What is your favourite part of the book? The scenes that take place in the college. Especially the initial stage of romance between Neer and Hassini. Many readers said that those portions took them back to their college life. Any favourite authors? Khaled Hosseini is one of my favourite authors...he is an awesome story-teller. I love the way his stories encompass the raw emotions of his characters, their tryst with destiny and with society. He can make me cry tears of joy, sorrow, grief and hope. She's in Paris for Men's Fashion Week and to promote her own upcoming designs. And Victoria Beckham cosied up to husband David at the Dior Homme Menswear Fall/Winter 2020-2021 show, which was held as part of Paris Fashion Week in the French capital on Friday. Before the show, the fashionista, 45, revealed that the sportsman, 44, had helped her tie her shoelaces as her trousers were too tight in a hilarious Instagram video. Rare PDA: Victoria Beckham cosied up to husband David at Dior fashion show in Paris on Friday Victoria put on a stylish display as she paired a scarf neck blouse that she tucked into a pair of bottle-green high waist fitted trousers from her bespoke label's pre Autumn/Winter 2020 collection. The former Spice Girl showed off her keen eye for fashion as she cinched her outfit at the waist with a red belt that had a gold swan buckle, and kept warm in a black trench coat. Her brunette locks were swept back into a chic updo, while she accentuated her pretty features by wearing smokey eye shadow and a natural palette of make-up. Taking to Instagram to share the fun video, which saw David helping her out as she wrote: 'Backstage at @dior! Thanks davidbeckham for tying my shoes when my pants r so tight I can't bend down x' Helping hand: Before the show, David hilariously helped her tie her shoelaces as her 'trousers were too tight' Amused: Taking to Instagram to share the fun video, she wrote: 'Backstage at @dior! Thanks davidbeckham for tying my shoes when my pants r so tight I can't bend down x' Glamorous: Victoria looked stylish in a scarf neck blouse that she tucked into a pair of high waist fitted trousers from her bespoke label's pre Autumn/Winter 2020 collection Dapper: Meanwhile David was suited and booted for the occasion, as he wore a black suit with a white shirt, which he opted not to wear with a tie Meanwhile David was suited and booted for the occasion, as he wore a black suit with a white shirt, which he opted not to wear with a tie. Their son Brooklyn opted for a more cosier ensemble, donning a chunky, cream cable-knit cardigan. The aspiring photographer looked chilled as she squeezed himself in between his parents on the front row. Stylish: The former Spice Girl showed off her keen eye for fashion as she cinched her outfit at the waist with a red belt that had a gold swan buckle, and kept warm in a black trench coat Glam: Victoria's brunette locks were swept back into a chic updo, while she accentuated her pretty features by wearing smokey eye shadow and a natural palette of make-up Cosy: Their son Brooklyn opted for a more cosier ensemble, donning a chunky, cream cable-knit cardigan Family outing: Victoria, David and Brooklyn posed beside stylist Kim Jones Concentrating: Brooklyn appeared deep in thought at the star-studded event What a show: Brooklyn scraped his hair back for the show and wore two earrings as well as a gold necklace Earlier in the day Victoria took to Instagram to show off her sensational legs while donning a monogrammed robe and sipping a large glass of red wine. She later posed in a camel blouse over a turtleneck jumper as she unveiled the effects of her moisturiser to dazzling effect. Victoria looked incredible in the robe which boasted her initials at the chest while she also clutched on to a glass of wine. Family outing: David lead the way as he held onto Victoria's hand after the Dior show Sweet: David held onto Victoria's hand as they left the show later in the evening Doting: Victoria looked lovingly at her son as he enjoyed the fashion show Beaming: Brooklyn couldn't help bus smile as he sat beside his famous parents What a picture: The front row of the runway was sure to delight other attendees as the A-List stars enjoyed the show Icons: Victoria sat beside supermodel Kate Moss and her daughter Lila Grace at the event Good looking: The Beckham clan later posed with stylist Kim Jones Looking good: David completed his look by stepping out in white converse shoes In another snap, she donned a turtle neck cream jumper underneath a loose-fitting camel coloured blouse which featured a plunging neckline. Victoria added a pair of beige trousers with a black band and chain around her waist. She captioned the snap: 'So excited for today!!' And in another snap to her Instagram Stories she gazed upwards to showcase the effects of her moisturiser. The former Spice Girls star wore a nude palette of makeup to enhance her stunning features, and tied her brunette tresses back into a chic low ponytail. Style queens: Victoria and Kate were the picture of glamour as they sat side-by-side Assistance: Victoria walked alongside a stylish bodyguard as she headed to the show She penned: 'Today's look. Obsessed with my @victoriabeckhambeauty CRPM moisturizer!! Oh wait... another secret product!!! Coming soon for the perfect glow!!!' In the next, more lighthearted snap, she showed off the 'sort of bib' that she uses to keep her makeup off her clothes. She wrote: 'Always good to wear some sort of "bib" when putting your makeup on.' Chatty: David spent some time talking with Cara Delevingne during the runway show A status yellow low temperature and ice warning will be in place from 6pm in Leinster and Connacht. Met Eireann is forecasting temperatures to dip as low as -4C in places. Many of the existing diseases that strike us are poorly treated not because effective drugs dont exist, but because theres no reliable way of delivering the drugs to their intended destinations. Anyone following this publication will be familiar with the dozens of types of synthetic vessel that scientists have created to ferry drugs to tumors, infections, and other disease sites. These tend to be suspicious to the immune system and often end up not functioning inside the body as expected. Now, researchers at McMaster University in Canada have developed a way of emptying red blood cells, filling them with drugs, attaching a homing mechanism, and sending them out to find specific targets. We call these super-human red blood cells, said Maikel Rheinstadter, a senior advisor on the study, in a press release. We think that they could work as the perfect stealth drug carriers which can outsmart our immune system. To make this possible, the team modified the surface of red blood cells to make them attracted and stick to certain tissues, organs, or bacteria. In the process, they were able to replace the molecular insides of the red blood cells with drug compounds and to reconstruct the cell membranes so they again seem like normal blood cells. These modified cell constructs can then be injected into the body without triggering an immune response. We have combined synthetic material with biological material and created a new structure, which has never been done before in this way, said Sebastian Himbert, lead author of the study. Heres a McMaster University video describing the research: Study in journal Advanced Biosystems: Hybrid Erythrocyte Liposomes: Functionalized Red Blood Cell Membranes for Molecule Encapsulation Via: McMaster University Funnel, a Stockholm, Sweden-based provider of a marketing data platform for businesses, raised $47 in Series B funding. The round was led by Eight Roads Ventures and F-Prime Capital, with participation from existing investors Balderton Capital, Oxx, Zobito and Industrifonden, in addition to Kreos Capital. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its plans in the U.S., invest in its teams. Founded in 2014 by Fredrik Skantze and Per Made, Funnel provides marketers with a platform to automate the real time collection, cleaning, and normalization of online marketing data from multiple stacks to visualize and analyse their online marketing spend. The company has 140 employyes in Boston and Stockholm. FinSMEs 17/01/2020 A 40-year-old man was driving drunk with three children in his car when he struck and seriously injured a pedestrian in Lacey last month, authorities said Friday. David Winkle, of the Forked River section of Lacey, was driving east on Lacey Road at about 5:40 p.m. on Dec. 15 when his SUV hit the 67-year-old woman as she attempted to cross the street from south to north, Lacey police said Friday. The woman, also a Forked River resident, was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune with serious injuries. Winkle was arrested on drunken driving charges that night. On Friday, Winkle was also charged with assault by auto and thee counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He had previously been issued summonses for driving while impaired, driving while impaired with a child passenger, reckless driving, unsafe tires and operating an uninsured vehicle. His blood alcohol content following the crash was .17, more than twice the legal limit, police said. Winkle is being held in the Ocean County jail. Lacey police and the Ocean County Prosecutors Office are still investigating the crash. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tip The government on Friday announced financial assistance of Rs 20 lakhs to the wife of the deceased election officer Ratan Lal. Lal, a native of Jaipur, used to work as a teacher in a government school. Lal died due to a heart attack while on election duty at the Lakshmi Kheda polling station in Bijolia. Under the provision of State Service and Pension Rules, the amount was transferred directly to the bank account of Ratan Lal's wife. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Submitted photo Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton and Precinct 3 Constable Wayne Thompson were recently honored by County Judge KP George and members of the Commissioners Court for organizing and leading a recent multi-agency human trafficking sweep. "Efforts such as these are greatly appreciated and needed in battling human trafficking, Judge George said during the Commissioner Court Meeting held Tuesday, Jan. 14. Singh explained how he played a key role in several anti-terror operations and how he led from the front despite the risk. Hyderabad: Just as he sweet-talked top bureaucrats and politicians in Jammu and Kashmir into getting things his way, terrorist DSP Davinder Singh succeeded in convincing J&Ks first Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Girish Chandra Murmu that he was a true patriot who risked his life numerous times in the service of the nation and therefore deserved a promotion. Making the most of his posting in the Srinagar airports anti-hijacking squad, Davinder Singh managed a brief audience with the L-G at the airport and presented his case for promotion to Superintendent of Police (SP). Thereafter, his file moved at lightning speed and but for the arrest, he would have soon been SP. Highly-placed sources told this newspaper that this happened during one of Mr Murmus visits to New Delhi from Srinagar in December when Davinder, who received and saw-off dignitaries as part of his duty, took the opportunity to introduce himself to the L-G in the VIP lounge. (Murmu was in the lounge following a delay in departure.) Singh explained his role in the Special Operations Group (SOG) where he led anti-terror operations. Wearing his trademark broad smile, Singh explained how he played a key role in several anti-terror operations and how he led from the front despite the risk. Most of my operations yielded results, he said. Singh drew Murmus attention to the bullet wound on his left leg, explaining how a militant opened fire during an operation aimed at flushing out a militant hideout in the Valley. I have taken a bullet for my nation and worked fearlessly in tackling militancy, he told Murmu. I have been DSP for about 20 years and my promotion as SP is long due. Sources said Murmu was impressed. The L-G assured him he would look into his case. His staff made a note of Singhs request. After the meeting, which lasted a little over five minutes, Singh escorted the LG up to the aircraft and saw him off. Days later, the Home department began processing Davinders file. When top administration officials learnt that Singh had met the LG, they wondered how a DSP-rank official easily managed an appointment with Murmu on his own. They learned of the airport encounter only later. Davinders file was near ready when news came of his arrest in Kulgam on January 11, along with top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Naveed Ahmed Shah who is responsible for killing over a dozen policemen. The LGs office, which had earlier sought immediate clearance of Davinders file, now had to issue orders forfeiting the Sher-e-Kashmir police medal for gallantry awarded to Singh. Davinder Singh's name first appeared in the grey zone after Parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru levelled serious allegation against him during his defence in the trial court. But back then both the state police and the intelligence agencies had dismissed those allegations as a figment of a terrorist's mind. Days after the 2016 presidential election that defied the prognostications of pollsters, pundits and the candidates themselves, a friend of mine accurately predicted the need for sensible shoes. Buy comfortable shoes in preparation for marches and rallies if the new guy in charge goes after reproductive rights, gay marriage, mass deportations, Muslim banning, environmental issues or whatever cause you back, I wrote in a Nov. 12, 2016, column, turning her shoe soothsaying into one of 10 suggestions on how to move forward through an administration that promised major policy shifts and a massive polarization. Now as we head into this administrations fourth year, it appears that policies have shifted or been outright obliterated, and the divide between supporters and resisters has grown ever deeper and more bitter. And those shoes? Well, for many, theyve come in handy at many marches and rallies, the largest and most transformational being the first Womens March in January 2017, a day after the much smaller Trump inauguration. Its believed to be the largest single-day demonstration in recorded U.S. history, with millions of pink-hatted, poster-holding women (and men) filling the streets in Washington, D.C., and in hundreds of cities around the world where sister marches were simultaneously held including in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Fort Sumner and Deming. That day, I spoke with many women who had never attended a protest or been involved in political activism. This was different, they said. This was a fight for the heart and soul of the nation, for values that mattered to them, such as equality, diversity and democracy. It was the birth of the resistance, and who better to give birth than women? The fourth annual Womens March takes place Saturday in Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Because of a conflict with the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March, Albuquerque will hold its Womens March at Civic Plaza on Sunday. Speakers in Albuquerque include Rep. Deb Haaland and Albuquerque first lady Elizabeth Kistin Keller. Few expect the same turnout as the first time, although New Mexico Womens March Chairwoman Samia Assed said the enthusiasm and interest in the Albuquerque march have been high. Nationally, participation has decreased over the years, partly over controversy that blew up last year over concerns that the four national chairwomen were steering the movement away from its original course of empowerment and inclusion and into anti-Semitism and homophobic interests allegations the women denied. Several marches in major cities were canceled, and some sponsors and prominent supporters walked away. Assed, a longtime Albuquerque activist who has been with the Womens March from the start, said that the conflicts were disappointing but not damning and that the march is still vital, perhaps more than ever before. Every movement has growing pains, but one needs to step back and look at the bigger picture, the need to keep lifting up another sister and standing up against fascism and for democracy, she said. Sustaining the movement is so crucial. You dont just march for one year and thats it. We still have so much more to do to effect change. Its exhausting work, but it has to be done. Last fall, three of the four national chairwomen stepped down. The board now consists of 16 members from diverse backgrounds and communities. Assed is one of the members. This years theme is Women Rising, with a focus on climate change, immigration and reproductive rights. But Assed said participants bring their own reasons for marching. We always try to make it as inclusive as possible from anti-war, homelessness, suicide, missing and murdered indigenous women, she said. We have everyone from the Raging Grannies to young people, every ethnicity, from politicians to the poorest. Of special significance in this election year is the marchs mission to harness the political power of diverse women and their communities. The movement has been credited with helping inspire the unprecedented number of women who ran for office during the midterms and won. This year, politically active women are expected to play a key role in who wins or loses the presidential election and other, down-ballot races. A renewed sense of empowerment and community is what Assed said she hopes participants walk away with. Those sensible shoes have miles to go. UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor. Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) members will take strike action on Tuesday, February 4, just four days before the country goes to the polls in the general election. The action is planned over what the TUI describes as the ongoing failure to eliminate the injustice of pay discrimination. The Union represents some 19,000 members in second-level schools, colleges of further and adult education and Institutes of Technology/Technological Universities. In October, TUI members voted by a margin of 92% to 8% to engage in a campaign of industrial action, up to and including strike action, on this issue, and the Union announced in November that it would take strike action in February unless the matter was resolved. The Union stated that while its campaign has resulted in progress, those teachers employed after January 1, 2011, will still earn some 110,000 less than longer-serving colleagues over the course of a career. Critically, they will earn over 50,000 less in the first ten years of their career when key life choices are made. Speaking today, TUI President Seamus Lahart said: "We have exhausted every avenue open to us to bring this matter to resolution and have been left with no choice but to take strike action over the ongoing scandal of pay discrimination. "Regrettably, the commitment made by Minister McHugh last April that the issue of pay inequality would finally be addressed has not been honoured. The approach of the Minister and his Government since then has been to completely ignore the issue in the hope that it would somehow disappear. "As our overwhelming mandate for industrial action shows, this short-sighted approach has only served to strengthen the resolve of our members. We are making it clear today that our campaign will continue until pay discrimination has been eliminated. "Discrimination has no place in our schools. Paying colleagues different rates for carrying out the same work is morally wrong and has proved hugely detrimental to the morale of teachers and lecturers. "Service to students has also been damaged, with the two-tier pay system fuelling an ever-deepening crisis of recruitment and retention of teachers in second-level schools. A survey of principals carried out by TUI last April found that over the previous six months, 68% of schools advertised positions to which no teacher applied, while 47% of schools had unfilled teaching vacancies. In practical terms, this means that many schools are not in a position to offer the full range of subjects and levels. "While TUIs intention had always been to take strike action in February if this issue was not resolved, the dates proximity to the general election affords our members and their families a focus point to make pay discrimination a key election issue. In the coming days and weeks, candidates of all political hues should be asked to outline their views on this matter; do they commit to a final ending of this nine-year-old injustice as a matter of urgency?" A dog has given birth to a puppy whose fur is a bright, garish shade of green. The unusual phenomenon occurred in North Carolina, US on Friday, when a white German Shepherd named Gypsy gave birth to a litter of eight puppies. The dog was in labour for three hours, her owner, Shana Stamey, told local news station WLOS. Everything about the birth occurred as one could have expected, apart from when the fourth puppy made his arrival. The puppy was peculiarly born with lime green fur, an occurrence that may have happened due to the meconium in the mothers womb, which is the earliest stool produced by an infant mammal. "The puppy's green hue is likely to have been caused by meconium, a puppy's first faeces which may be passed ahead of birth, or placental pigments," Daniella Dos Santos, president of the British Veterinary Association, tells The Independent. "In any case, this should fade over time." Ms Stamey said that while she knew the colour of the puppys fur wasnt harmful she had to look it up again to make sure. Recommended Dog gives birth to one of largest ever Labrador litters Mum licks it away until I bathe it and then, I guess after a couple of weeks, it will finally fade out, she said. The owner revealed she and her family decided to name the infant Hulk, after the green Marvel comic book character. Hulk! It was lime green. He was super mad. So, yeah, he became Hulk, she stated. Her family considered other names for the puppy, including Gremlin and Pistachio. However, as the puppys fur has now turned a more yellowish shade, he has also been nicknamed Pikachu, after the yellow Pokemon. In July 2017, a Golden Retriever in the Scottish Highlands, gave birth to a litter of nine puppies, one of which came out with green fur. It was believed that the puppys unusual shade of fur was caused by a bile pigment called biliverdin, found in the placenta of dogs, mixing with the amniotic fluid. The group's top leader Le Manh Hung expressed gratitude to the parners at PetroVietnam Partnership Meeting 2020 held recently in Ho Chi Minh City, featuring many of the group's contractors, operators, and foreign partners. The conference was also attended by representatives of ministries, central branches; PetroVietnams leaders including president and CEO Le Manh Hung, member of the Board of Directors Phan Ngoc Trung, vice president Nguyen Quoc Thap, vice president Le Xuan Huyen; and representatives of the Administration Office and associated divisions; as well as leaders from member units. PetroVietnam Partnership Meeting 2020 gave a thorough account of the group's activities in 2019 On the occasion, Hung also reported the groups major production and business results in 2019 and tasks for the coming year. PetroVietnam president and CEO Le Manh Hung addressing the event In recent years, PetroVietnam has been gradually expanding co-operation with partners from around the world, such as the Russian Federation, the US, Japan, South Korea, besides partners in the ASEAN and the Middle East. In recent years, PetroVietnam has been gradually expanding co-operation with partners from around the world. Especially in 2020, Vietnam and the Russian Federation will be organising diverse activities for the Vietnam Year in Russia and the Russian Year in Vietnam to mark the 25th in-principle signature of the Treaty on Vietnam-Russia friendship and 70 years of establishing bilateral diplomatic relations. Last year, the increase in oil and gas reserves reached 13.38 million tonnes of oil equivalents; total oil and gas production reached 23.29 million tonnes of oil equivalents; electricity production reached 22.54 billion kWh; fertiliser production reached 1,577 million tonnes; petrol and oil production reached 11.50 million tonnes; the revenue of the entire group was VND736.2 trillion ($32 billion), the groups contribution to the state budget was VND108 trillion ($4.7 billion). Furthermore, all member units of the group have achieved, some even outperformed, the set targets. Some units had fulfilled business targets from one to two months ahead of schedule. In the past year, PetroVietnam achieved the independent credit rating by Fitch Ratings of BB+, reflecting that the groups goal of innovating and improving financial management and business activities is timely, practical, and effective. PetroVietnam has also maintained its position in the top 500 of Vietnam's most profitable enterprises in 2019 by Vietnam Report JSC. In addition, many units consistently rank high in the awards tally, winning praises for production capacity, executive management, creativity, and environmental protection. PetroVietnam leaders congratulate and award medals to contractors, partners, and units producing outstanding achievements in 2019 On the occasion, PetroVietnam presented flowers and medals to many contractors, operators, oil and gas partners, and member units with outstanding achievements in operating and managing oil and gas activities in 2019. A lawyer for a Stayton woman accused of causing the death of her 2-year-old son says prosecutors warned that they would pursue harsher charges which she now faces if she declined to plead guilty and insisted on a trial. Jessica Pearce was indicted eight months ago on a charge of second-degree manslaughter after her son Christopher died in a house fire. A trial date was never set. Then earlier this month, a Marion County prosecutor convened a second grand jury that delivered an elevated charge of first-degree manslaughter. The Jan. 7 indictment also added two new felony counts of criminal mistreatment, alleging Pearce withheld necessary care from two other children months after her son died. She will be arraigned Feb. 11 on the three new felony charges, as well as a misdemeanor count of second-degree child neglect that was part of the original indictment. Pearces attorney, Salem public defender Sara Foroshani, said, The state did tell us if we set the case for trial, they would go back to the grand jury to amend the indictment. A cell phone message left Thursday morning for the lead prosecutor in the case, Marion County deputy district attorney Brendan Murphy, was not returned. He also did not respond to questions sent by email Thursday afternoon. Because grand jury proceedings are closed to the public, its unclear what may have changed before prosecutors convened the second grand jury that delivered the amended indictment against Pearce. One piece of evidence filed with the court after the original indictment was a report about the history of Pearces interactions with state child welfare officials prior to Christophers death. It was immediately sealed from the public. Foroshani said she and her co-counsel have listened to a recording of the testimony considered by the recent grand jury and remain confident in their clients defense. Based on the recording that weve heard, we question the states ability to prove the charges, Foroshani said Thursday, hours after a status hearing in Pearces case. Foroshani declined to discuss specific allegations against Pearce, including what may have changed to constitute the elevated charge tied to Christophers death. Legally, the difference between a first- and second-degree manslaughter charge turns on whether the defendants actions show an extreme indifference to the value of the victims life. Both Measure 11 charges accuse Pearce of unlawfully causing the death of her son by neglect or maltreatment. The first-degree manslaughter charge carries the extra accusation of extreme indifference -- and a longer mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years, versus six years and three months. Kevin Sali, a Portland criminal defense attorney, said its not uncommon for prosecutors to seek amended indictments for many reasons, such as new facts that arise during the course of an investigation. He said every case is different and he does not know the facts of this case. It is a little more concerning in situations when its perceived as happening for leverage purposes, he said. Christophers death drew immediate attention to small-town Stayton soon after the fire on Feb. 1, 2019. Investigators said they believed the fire was arson. Police and prosecutors have never publicly disclosed who they believe started the fire. The blaze erupted inside a home that Pearce and Christopher shared with roommates. Her roommates, who had rented the home for years, were in the process of being evicted. The deadline to pay past rent coincided with the day of the fire. Pearce was not home at the time and told police she left Christopher in the care of a friend while she did errands, according to a search warrant affidavit. A roommate who went with Pearce said they arrived home to find the house on fire. A neighbor who heard Pearces cries and saw the flames tried to make it up the stairs to Christopher but was overwhelmed by smoke, the court papers say. The babysitter told police that he left at some point while Pearce was gone and left the toddler in the care of the roommates who remained at home. Pearce was indicted two months after the fire on charges of second-degree manslaughter and second-degree child neglect. She was released from jail in July and agreed to follow certain rules, including no contact with her two surviving children unless approved by child welfare case workers. The court didnt place any restrictions on caring for other children. It is unclear how the two children she is accused of mistreating came into her care. The new indictment does not say. The court filing says Pearce unlawfully and knowingly withheld necessary and adequate physical care from the children sometime between when she was released from jail in July and arrested again in November. During that time, she failed to appear at a September court hearing and a judge ordered that the release agreement be revoked. Jail records show she was arrested Oct. 31 and has remained in the Marion County Correctional Facility ever since. Jessica Pearce (Marion County Sheriff's Office) The new indictment does not say when the grand jury first met to consider the new charges against Pearce. Court filings show that after the original indictment, prosecutors received a file review from the Department of Human Services regarding its interactions with Pearce and Christophers family before his death. A judge sealed the review from the public. DHS separately issued a three-page public report under laws that require it to disclose details about recent interactions with families of children who die by abuse or neglect. That report offers few details except for the fact that no allegation of abuse against Christopher was ever substantiated before he died. The new grand jury delivered its four-count indictment Jan. 7. Ten people testified during the proceedings, including police officers, a fire marshal, Christophers babysitter the day of the fire and four other witnesses. One of the witnesses, a Turner woman, was indicted the same day as Pearce on charges of criminal mistreatment and endangering the welfare of two minors. The children are the same children Pearce allegedly failed to care for. Court papers in the other womans case say she was the only person who testified during the grand jury proceedings against herself. Sali, the Portland criminal defense attorney, said people who know they are a target of an investigation typically dont testify before the grand jury. Its relatively unusual absent some kind of agreement with the prosecutor, Sali said. Murphy did not respond to a question about whether his office had any made or reached any deals with the woman regarding her case. A trial date for Pearce still has not been set. -- Molly Young myoung@oregonian.com Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Read more: Guatemalas new President Alejandro Giammattei cut diplomatic ties with the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday and ordered the closure of its embassy in Caracas. We have instructed the foreign minister that the only person left in the embassy in Venezuela should return, and that we definitively end relations with the government of Venezuela, Giammattei said. We are going to close the embassy. The conservative Giammattei, who took office on Tuesday, had already indicated he would cut ties upon assuming power. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Rodriguez, in a response on Twitter, accused Giammattei of bowing down to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. His government will surely become another bad joke, Rodriguez wrote. Our respect and affection for the people of Guatemala. By Sofia Menchu Inside Hook Back in July, a study from The Annals of Internal Medicine found that only two of 16 popular supplements provided a significant link to longevity or heart health, one being fish oil. Now, research suggests those little yellow capsules may be even more crucial for men. Fish oil supplements were found to contribute to higher sperm count, higher semen volume and larger testicular size in a new study from the University of Southern Denmark, as reported by The New York Times. The common supplement, which contains essential omega-3 fatty acids, is often taken with the goal of reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and other heart-health issues. Pharmacists are being encouraged to bring up health issues with customers. [Photo: Getty] Pharmacists are being urged to discuss weight loss with obese customers. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which advises the NHS, has released new guidance encouraging chemists to bring up everyday health issues when people come to pick up their prescription. With pharmacies a mainstay on the high street, advocates argue they are well placed to dish out health advice and could relieve pressure on the NHS. Critics warn, however, sensitive customers could be offended regardless of the chemists good intentions. READ MORE: Pharmacy prompts debate after selling 3 morning-after pill Popping into the local chemist and having a chat about health issues is, for a lot of people, hugely less threatening than a formal appointment with 'the doctor', Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said. Chemists welcome this contact as they seek to play a greater role in their customers' wellbeing. When it comes to weight issues, some will appreciate that extra training may be required to handle the conversation, but that will be par for the course for a health professional. Nearly a third (29%) of adults in England were obese in 2017, NHS Digital statistics show. Most pharmacies have closed-off areas where customers can discuss private or sensitive issues. READ MORE: Sam Smith shares weight struggles Nonetheless, not all are convinced the approach will be welcomed. Christopher Snowdon, from the think tank Institute of Economic Affairs, said: NICE seems to think GPs and pharmacies have nothing better to do than deliver banal health lectures to the public. I suspect the majority of customers would feel as offended by a pharmacist commenting on their body weight as they would if it came from any other shopkeeper, The Telegraph reported. Mr Fry argued, however, those who have a friendly association with their chemist may welcome the conversation providing the right language is used. As well as weight loss, NICE also recommends pharmacists talk to customers about quitting smoking or cutting back on alcohol. Story continues Community pharmacists engage every day with people who buy over-the-counter medicines, collect prescriptions or ask for advice, Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at NICE, said. This is a vital opportunity to support people to maintain good health but also signpost them to other health services. READ MORE: Female presenters praised for weighing themselves on live TV Pharmacists have good relationships with the local population, and an understanding of the physical, economic and social challenges some individuals face, NICE states. In 2017/18 alone, the UK had 10,660 hospital admissions for obesity, 489,300 for smoking and 337,870 for excess drinking. The NHS is making care more easily and conveniently available on the high street, with pharmacists offering more expert services than ever before as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, Keith Ridge, chief pharmaceutical officer for the NHS, said. Pharmacists are already playing a bigger clinical role in the NHS through providing advice and treatment to people with minor illnesses, as well as increasingly being able to advise on killer conditions like heart problems and helping to tackle antibiotic resistance. Primary care minister Jo Churchill added: Highly-skilled community pharmacists are an integral and trusted part of the NHS and we want every patient with a minor illness, or those seeking wellbeing guidance, to think 'Pharmacy First'. As the health service treats more patients than ever before, it is paramount that, where appropriate, patients can be assessed close to home, saving unnecessary trips to A&E or their GP and helping them get the care they need quicker. A New Haven man with a long criminal history faces up to 40 years in prison for credit card fraud and identity theft offenses, according to federal authorities. Steven A. Finkler, 55, of New Haven, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport and faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of up to 40 years in prison, according to a release from the office of Connecticut U.S. Attorney John H. Durham. Finkler also has used the name Andrew Finkler and other aliases and anyone who believes they have been victimized by the scheme, or by Finkler, is encouraged to call the U.S. Secret Service at 203-865-2449, Durham noted in the release. Finkler stole credit cards from two of his employers customers in August 2017 and used the cards to make more than 40 fraudulent charges in Connecticut and New York, according to the release, which cites court documents and statements made in court. The charges included Finklers purchase of jewelry for his girlfriend, Apple products and electronic devices, and other high-end consumer and retail goods for either himself or his friends, the release said, noting the total loss to victims was $20,892.75. Then, in September 2018, Finkler, using another individuals identity, opened a membership at a fitness center with gym locations throughout Connecticut and used the same stolen identity to create accounts with mobile device payment applications, the release said. Between September 2018 and May 2019, Finkler visited multiple gym locations and stole credit cards from lockers and other locations while the victims were located elsewhere in the gym, federal authorities said in the release. Using the stolen credit cards, and the mobile device payment applications, he made approximately $144,000 in fictitious charges to bank accounts that he created and controlled. He then returned the credit cards to the victims wallets before the victims returned to the locker room. At least 49 individuals were victimized through this scheme. Finkler pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud (credit card fraud), one count of wire fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft, federal authorities said. His sentencing is scheduled for April 1. Finkler has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $145,682.08, the release said. Finkler, who has been detained since his arrest on Aug. 15, 2019, has a criminal history that spans 35 years and includes numerous convictions, including five federal convictions stemming from various fraud schemes, federal authorities said in the release. The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, and the Wallingford, Avon, North Haven, Madison, Glastonbury and Branford Police Departments. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarala Nagala and Margaret Donovan. The founder of the Sotitobire Miracle Centre, Oshinle, Akure in Ondo State, Alfa Babatunde, will remain in prison until February 5, pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution. This was the decision of the Chief Magistrate at the magistrate court in Oke-Eda, Charity Adeyanju, on Friday at the resumed hearing of the case against the pastor. Mr Babatunde was charged over the kidnap of a one-year-old child on November 10, 2019, at his church. Journalists who were at the court to cover the case were, however, walked out of the court by the judge. A controversy began in the courtroom when the police prosecutor, Uloh Goodluck, an inspector, ordered the already seated journalists to vacate their seats without offering any reason. The seated journalists were reluctant, arguing that the prosecutor lacked the power to evict them from the courtroom. He then approached the judge in her chamber to make a case for the eviction of the journalists. Mrs Adeyanju walked into the courtroom to meet the journalists waiting and immediately gave an order for all journalists to vacate their seats. Curiously, no sooner had the journalists left the courtroom, than Mr Babatunde arrived at the court premises alongside six workers of his church amidst heavy security at exactly 9:27 a.m. The magistrate, who gave no reason for her action against the journalists, ordered that Mr Babatunde should remain at the Olokuta Correctional Facility till February 5, 2020, pending the hearing of the legal advice from the DPP. The pastor was first remanded on December 23, 2019, by the court along with some members of his church. He is being prosecuted by the State Security Services for complicity in the abduction of the child, Gold Kolawole, who is still missing since he was taken away from the Sotitobire church by unknown persons in November last year. The same judge had on Wednesday remanded four persons in prison for allegedly murdering a police sergeant while participating in a mob attack on the Sotitobire church in Akure on December 18. READ ALSO: She sent Yusuf Owa, Adebayo Adeyemi, Adeleye Omowumi, and Adu Babatunde to the Olokuta Correction Correctional Centre on charges of murder, arson, malicious damage and stealing at Sotitobire Church. PREMIUM TIMES reported how a mob razed the church following rumours that the body of the missing child was exhumed from the churchs altar. The rumour turned out to be false, but the uproar resulted in the burning of the church and the killing of a police sergeant, Sheidu Ocheopo, and another civilian while the police were trying to prevent the destruction of the church property. The trial of the four suspects was adjourned to January 20. The special security force (SSF) guarding Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu has been strengthened with induction of 19 more police personnel and support staff, officials said. As per the order issued by Special Secretary, Home Department, Shakeel-Ur-Rehman, 13 personnel including three officers and six police staff have been sent on deputation with the SSF with immediate effect on Thursday. This step has been done to strengthen the security cover around the L-G, they said adding that the force will now have a total of 80 well-trained officers. In 2018, the then State Administrative Council (SAC) of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir had approved a bill for setting up the force for providing proximate security to the governor. The bill, which was later given approval, contains provisions related to the constitution and regulation of a separate security force in the state for providing proximate security to the governor, members of his immediate family and matters connected therewith. Those posted with the SSF, like their counterparts in the SSG, have commando training. The legal framework related to constitution and regulation of a separate security force in Jammu and Kashmir for providing proximate security to the chief minister, members of his immediate family and other connected matters is contained in the Jammu and Kashmir Special Security Group (SSG) Act, 2000. The SSG, which was set up in 1996 after the National Conference president Farooq Abdullah came to power, will continue to provide security to the chief minister and the former CMs. The SSG at present provides security to four former CMs including Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP and Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Year's Most Expensive Race The Trump Factor Competition at the Legislative Level The Republican Party has dominated state-level politics for the past decade. That's unlikely to change in any dramatic fashion this year.Democrats added to their numbers among both governors and legislatures in 2018 and 2019, but it's possible they've already plucked most of the low-hanging fruit. Even Democratic strategists admit that their target lists aren't terribly long this year.There are only 11 races for governor in 2020. Most of those aren't going to be competitive in November. Meanwhile, some 5,000 legislative seats will be in play, but it's more likely that existing Democratic and Republican majorities are going to grow, as opposed to partisan control of many chambers switching hands. "My sense is there's not a lot of potential for there to be huge changes, in terms of legislative competition," said Kyle Kondik, who edits a political newsletter at the University of Virginia.The GOP made historic gains in 2010 the last election year before a redistricting cycle and the party added to its totals in 2014. Democrats regained some ground in 2018, winning seven governorships and the same number of legislative chambers. With control of the redistricting process at stake this year in many states, Democrats aren't going to be caught napping again at the state level. As recently as November, Democrats knocked off a GOP governor in Kentucky and took control of both chambers in Virginia.The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has bulked up its staff and fundraising efforts, while a number of other groups have sprung up during the Trump presidency with the goal of electing more Democratic legislators. Those groups include the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which is led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and supported by former President Barack Obama."We need to focus on state races," said David Turner, communications director for the Democratic Governors Association. "We took our eye off the ball in 2010, and we're still paying consequences for it as a party right now."But legislative majorities have grown larger over the past decade, leaving the out party with fewer opportunities. Historically, an average of 12 chambers have flipped every cycle. In 2018, however, only seven changed hands, while only six switched in 2016.Republicans control the legislature in every state that Donald Trump carried in 2016, while Democrats have the legislature in every state where Hillary Clinton won, except for the Minnesota Senate (which wasn't up for grabs in 2018).Currently, Republicans have 26 governorships to the Democrats' 24. The GOP controls the legislature in 30 states (with an asterisk on the Alaska House, which has a GOP majority but where a Democratic-led coalition is in charge), compared to 19 legislatures for the Democrats.Neither of those numbers is likely to shift markedly in 2020.Both parties agree that the year's marquee race for governor will take place in North Carolina. Democrat Roy Cooper is seeking a second term. He's likely to face Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, but Forest still must outlast state Rep. Holly Grange for the GOP nomination. "That is going to be a big one for us," said Turner, the DGA spokesman. "It's probably going to be the most expensive state in the country."Cooper unseated Republican Gov. Pat McCrory four years ago, but has had to deal with GOP majorities in the legislature ever since. The legislature moved to strip the governor of certain powers immediately after Cooper's election, which triggered long legal battles between the branches.More recently, Cooper and GOP legislators have been at odds over the budget. Cooper vetoed last year's budget, demanding that the package include an expansion of Medicaid. The legislature has been unable to override him, leaving the state without a budget.Republicans hope that Cooper will pay a political price for vetoing spending for popular priorities such as a teacher-pay increase. "There's been gridlock since Day One," said Amelia Chasse Alcivar, communications director for the Republican Governors Association. "People are looking for state government and politicians to get things done. Roy Cooper ran as a moderate, but has been the opposite as governor."The race will be heated, but Cooper still commands some loyalty from blue-dog Democrats who vote Republican for other offices. In 2016, North Carolina split its vote between Trump and Cooper. This year, a lot of attention will also go to a competitive race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Thom Tillis.Democrats are hoping that even if their presidential nominee loses the state, Cooper can again come out on top. "If he were to lose, that would just be part of a bad night for Democrats," said Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball.The state most likely to flip this year is Montana, where Gov. Steve Bullock is term-limited. Democrats have held the governorship for 16 years despite the state's Republican voting habits at other levels, including Trump's 20-point victory margin over Clinton in 2016. "Since this has been a solidly red state for quite some time at the federal level, we see this as a great opportunity," said Chasse Alcivar.Democrats are certainly not conceding. Bullock has endorsed Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, who is running in the June 2 primary against state House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner and consultant Whitney Williams. The daughter of a former congressman, Williams has proven to be a strong fundraiser.On the Republican side, Congressman Greg Gianforte has been leading in polls against state Attorney General Tim Fox. Despite its red leanings, Democrats think they have a good shot at holding the seat, especially if Gianforte is the nominee, since he narrowly won re-election to the U.S. House two years ago.Even in these polarized times, citizens have been willing to split their votes when it comes to governor. A total of 13 governors face legislatures that are divided or held by the other party. In November, Democrat Andy Beshear defeated GOP Gov. Matt Bevin in Kentucky, an otherwise bright-red state, while Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards won re-election in Louisiana.Republicans believe two of their governors have inoculated themselves against their party's general unpopularity in a pair of blue states. Phil Scott of Vermont and Chris Sununu of New Hampshire both enjoy approval ratings that are among the highest in the country. Both won re-election by comfortable margins in 2018. (New Hampshire and Vermont are the only states where governors serve two-year terms.)But Democrats believe the dynamics will be different in a presidential year. Scott has not yet formally announced whether he'll run again. And strategists in both parties believe that New Hampshire will be more competitive this year than it was in 2018.Democrats have recruited solid challengers in both states. Vermont Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman announced his candidacy on Jan. 13, joining Rebecca Holcombe, a former state education secretary, in the race.In New Hampshire, the Democratic field includes state Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes and Andru Volinsky, a member of the state's executive council. "Sununu really has governed more as a partisan," Turner said. "He's more vulnerable than people, at least in D.C., seem to think."Vermont will hold its primary in August, while New Hampshire's primary isn't until September. That will give the eventual Democratic nominees little time to bind wounds following their nomination battles or raise money for the November election.Missouri is another state where the presidential vote could be decisive. Trump carried the state by 19 points in 2016. If his margin is that large again, there's little chance that Democrats can unseat Republican Gov. Mike Parson.But Trump's approval ratings have come down in Missouri since his election. Heading into the 2016 election, Democrats held four of the six statewide constitutional offices. Now, state Auditor Nicole Galloway is the only one left. This year, she's challenging Parson.Democrats consider Galloway one of their top recruits of the cycle. Parson remains relatively little-known, having risen to the office in 2018 with the resignation of Eric Greitens amid scandal. "I still expect Parson to win because he has most of the advantages of incumbency, and he is running in a state that has suddenly turned rather red," said Kenneth Warren, a political scientist at St. Louis University.There's not expected to be much competition in the other states. Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's approval ratings have ticked down not uncommon back home following a presidential run and a third term is often a tough sell, but he remains the favorite.Other incumbents including Democrat John Carney of Delaware and Republicans Eric Holcomb of Indiana and Doug Burgum of North Dakota are all considered safe. West Virginia GOP Gov. Jim Justice faces a serious primary challenge. But in that state, as in Utah, where Gary Herbert is stepping down after more than a decade in office, the eventual GOP nominee will be a good bet in November.Democrats and allied groups spent some $65 million on Virginia legislative races last year, more than double their total in 2015. "If you look at what they spent in Virginia in 2019, we think it's a harbinger of what they'll spend in other states this cycle," said David Abrams, communications director for the Republican State Leadership Committee. "We're sounding the alarm for what Democrats are doing, the unbelievable resources that Democrats are putting in, after paying no attention in 2010."Democrats made major inroads in the Virginia House in 2017, falling a seat short before taking over last fall. Nationally, Democrats look to Virginia as a model, aiming to erode GOP majorities in one cycle and claim victory in the next. "What happened in Virginia didn't happen overnight," said Gaby Goldstein, political director for Sister District Project, which helps to elect Democrats at the legislative level. "We need as a movement to have a multiple-cycle strategy."But Virginia may be unique. Democrats were aided by a new court-ordered district map. Other states may not present as many opportunities. Instead, the party is likely to lose yet more rural seats, particularly in the South. In Kentucky, a quarter of the remaining House Democrats are retiring, and the party fielded only 36 candidates to run in the 61 GOP-held seats. "It seems like the Republicans are slated to make some state legislative gains where they have the majority already," said Kondik, the University of Virginia political analyst.In 2018, Democrats scored a net gain of 325 seats at the legislative level. Far from a "blue wave," that total was actually well below the average of 425 seats historically lost by the president's party during a midterm.Most of the Democratic gains came in suburbs. The party won suburban seats outside of Charlotte, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, Seattle and other cities. But the Democrats have now picked up most of the formerly Republican districts that had supported Clinton in 2016. Well under 10 percent of all legislative seats nationwide are held by the party that lost the presidential vote within that district.That leaves relatively few targets available to either party."We had such a great 2010 cycle and have won so much over the last decade, we are victims of our own success," said Abrams, the RSLC spokesman. "We've got some defending to do, but we've done it over the last several cycles and will continue to do it in 2020."Democrats certainly hope to pick up the two seats they'd need to win control of the Minnesota Senate. They also have their eyes on at least one chamber in states including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. "The target list isn't as long this year, but it definitely lets the Democrats go on offense in states like North Carolina and Texas," said Carolyn Fiddler, communications director for Daily Kos, which raises money for Democratic candidates.In Texas, Democrats are hoping a win in a Jan. 28 special election will cut the number of seats they need to take control of the state House down to eight. They picked up a dozen seats in 2018. That year, Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, carried roughly that number of House seats that are still held by the GOP in his losing campaign against Ted Cruz.But even victory in the upcoming special election is far from assured. Democrats racked up dozens of wins in special elections between 2016 and 2018, signaling the party's growing strength heading into the midterms. This cycle, they haven't enjoyed the same sort of momentum."We're not scared at all," said Abrams. "It's a new concept, for Democrats to spend in states. It doesn't make us any less effective as a party on the Republican side." RICHMOND, Va. - A Circuit Court judge upheld Gov. Ralph Northam's temporary ban on firearms in Capitol Square ahead of Monday's gun rights rally, which is expected to draw thousands of armed activists from around the country. From Friday night until Tuesday, weapons of any kind will be prohibited on the grounds of the Capitol under a state of emergency. Northam, a Democrat, said the precaution was necessary because of "credible intelligence" that militias and gun rights advocates are threatening violence at the rally. "This is the right decision," Northam said in a statement about Richmond Chief Judge Joi Jeter Taylor's ruling on Thursday afternoon. "These threats are real - as evidenced by reports of neo-Nazis arrested this morning after discussing plans to head to Richmond with firearms." Earlier Thursday, the FBI arrested three alleged members of a white supremacist group on gun charges, in part out of concern over the potential for violence at the planned rally in Richmond. The three were to appear in court in Maryland. Northam announced the gun ban Wednesday and it was quickly challengedin court by the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), the rally's primary organizer, as well as Gun Owners of America. Taylor held a whirlwind hearing Thursday afternoon and promised to rule quickly, to allow time for appeals. Arguing for the pro-gun groups, lawyer David Browne told the judge that Northam's order was "an unconstitutional restraint on rallygoers" that violated state law and infringed on protesters' rights to arms, assembly and speech. Taylor rejected that argument. "The Second Amendment right to bear arms is not unlimited," the judge wrote, citing a federal case that upheld a ban on weapons on U.S. Postal Service property. The gun rights groups filed an appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court late Thursday. "Basically I didn't hear anything in her ruling that made any sense in our case, so on to the next level," Philip Van Cleave, president of the VCDL, said earlier in the day. A Democratic-controlled rules committee last week imposed a permanent ban on carrying guns inside the Capitol and a legislative office building; the court case heard Thursday did not challenge that ban. Led by Northam, Democrats who gained majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly in last fall's elections have pledged to enact a package of gun-control measures this year. The Senate passed three gun-control bills on Thursday, sending them to the House for its consideration. They would require background checks on all firearms sales, cap handgun purchases at one per month, and let local governments ban weapons from government buildings, parks and certain events. Two Republicans, Siobhan Dunnavant of Henrico and Emmett Hanger Jr. of Augusta, joined Democrats to support the background check bill. The others passed on party lines, 21-19. A proposed ban on assault weapons has stalled as some Democrats waver on particulars. A "red flag" law allowing authorities to temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat was approved in a Senate committee but has not yet been taken up by the full chamber. The prospect of Democratic action, after 26 years of Republican control had effectively blocked all gun restrictions, has stirred anger among gun advocates in Virginia and beyond. In recent weeks, militias and extremist groups around the country have urged thousands of people to descend on Richmond on Monday to protest. Law enforcement officials say they've been monitoring threatening language on websites and social media, including promises of violent insurrection and civil war. Organizers are trying to get more than 50,000 people to attend, and law enforcement authorities are taking that prospect seriously. "To those who would come here intending to incite violence I simply say stay home. Don't come to Virginia. Don't come to Richmond," state Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, whose solicitor general had defended the ban, said Thursday in a statement. Browne, the lawyer for the VCDL, told the judge Thursday that he did not dispute the governor's decision to declare a state of emergency. "We understand why he did that in order to have additional resources to manage an event that's expected to be very large," Browne said. But Browne cited a law passed by the General Assembly in 2012 that prohibits the governor from using an emergency declaration "to in any way limit or prohibit the rights of people to keep and bear arms." He insisted that the VCDL intends the rally to be peaceful but acknowledged that "I don't think anybody can predict what is going to happen at an event that is several days away." Like Northam, Browne invoked the specter of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, in which armed militias clashed with counterprotesters and one young woman was killed when a white supremacist ran his car into a crowd of people. But Browne said Northam's actions "ironically would increase the chances of another Charlottesville-type event," by restricting armed attendees to the streets around Capitol Square, where they would be more likely to clash with opponents. Virginia Solicitor General Toby Heytens said that Northam's "targeted, limited" ban does not infringe constitutional rights; that protesters will be free to speak and hold signs; and that public safety is a paramount concern. Taylor ruled that Northam has the authority to impose the ban as part of his duties to ensure safety around the Capitol. When a governor declares an emergency, she wrote, previous decisions established that " 'courts must give deference to the professional judgment' of those tasked with making 'complex, subtle, and professional decisions.' " - - - The Washington Post's Laura Vozzella contributed to this report. Iran says 'daily enrichment' of uranium higher than 2015 Tehran, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday that his country's "daily enrichment" of uranium was currently "higher" than before the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal. Rouhani, who instigated the negotiations, made the comments while justifying his nuclear policy and Iran's progressive disengagement from the accord. He also stated his willingness to continue dialogue on the agreement. "Today, we are under no restrictions in the area of nuclear energy," he said during a speech in Tehran. "Our daily enrichment (of uranium) is higher than it was before... the agreement," he added, in remarks apparently directed at Iranian ultraconservatives who denounce his nuclear policy as a total failure. Rouhani did not specify whether Iran was now producing a greater quantity of enriched uranium, or whether it was enriching ore with uranium 235 isotopes at a higher level than before the deal. The 2015 agreement was struck in Vienna between Iran and France, Britain, Germany, the United States, China and Russia. But it has threatened to collapse since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States in 2018, before reimposing a series of intensifying economic sanctions on Iran. In response, Tehran has progressively reduced a number of its key commitments to an agreement that drastically limited its nuclear activities. Iran is now producing uranium enriched beyond the 3.67 percent set by the agreement, and no longer adheres to the limit of 300 kilogrammes (660 pounds) imposed on its enriched uranium stocks. The Islamic republic announced on January 5 that it was no longer bound by limits on the number of centrifuges it could run to enrich uranium, saying this was its last step back from the commitments it made in Vienna. Before then, Iran announced it was enriching uranium to a level of five percent, far from the 90 percent needed to produce an atomic bomb. Before the nuclear deal, Iran was enriching uranium to 20 percent. A source close to the International Atomic Energy Agency told AFP on January 10 that there had been "no notable change in Iran's nuclear activity" since January 5. January 17, 2020 (Nashville, Tennessee) All For Nothing, a new single from sister duo Alicia & Whitney , is set to go for adds today to Christian INSPO/Soft AC and Christian AC-formatted radio outlets. The song also is releasing today to iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and all other digital platforms. All For Nothing, written by Alicia McDermott-Yanik and Whitney McDermott, and produced by Sean Hill, follows New Thing, the duos first single. New Thing debuted at No. 1 on CRC Weekly and hit No. 4 on the CRC Monthly chart. The sisters, who grew up in a musical family, have been singing since they were young. The death of their father when the sisters were young adults rekindled a passion for songwriting as they worked through their grief by writing songs. It was during this time that the young women felt God urging them to go back to the core of who He created them to be and to help others come to know Him and the purpose He has for each person. Their debut album, Core, is a collection of songs meant to help others reflect and heal from the inside out through the love of Jesus. In recent years, Alicia & Whitney have toured throughout the United States, sharing their ministry of music and speaking. They also have traveled internationally to Honduras, Tanzania and Israel. In addition to writing and performing music, Whitney is an author. Her debut book, Beauty for My Ashes, was written to help people cope with grief in a healthy way after losing a loved one. Her second book, Occupy While Waiting, is a singles guide to pursuing God, purpose and healthy relationships. To learn more about Alicia & Whitney, visit aliciaandwhitney.com, like the duo on Facebook and follow on Instagram and Twitter. Subscribe to Alicia & Whitneys YouTube channel here. ### Moscow's envoy to New Delhi, Nikolay Kudashev, on Friday said that Russia had no doubt on the position of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government that its August 5, 2019 decisions on Jammu and Kashmir was an internal affair of India. Kudashev said that he did not need to visit J&K as Russia had always maintained that Government of India had been well within its sovereign right to take the decisions it had taken on August 5 last year. Russia's ambassador to India was not among the 15 foreign envoys whom the government had recently taken on a tour to J&K so that could they have a first-hand assessment of the efforts being made by it to bring the situation in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) back to normal. Those having doubts over India's approach on Kashmir can go there, we don't have any doubt, he said on not being invited to visit J&K. He, however, said that he could visit J&K as a friend of India of the Government of India invited him. He reiterated Moscow's support to New Delhi's position that the issue of J&K was a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and the two sides should settle it through dialogues, in accordance with the 1972 Shimla Agreement and 1999 Lahore Declaration. Russia was among the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council which took up the cudgel for India on Wednesday and foiled China's bid to bring back the issue of J&K back on the Horse Shoe Table. [January 17, 2020] Securing the Budget You Truly Need! The Google Translate for Communicating to C-Suite SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jim Mirochnik, CEO at HALOCK Security Labs and Board Member of The DoCRA Council, will be presenting at the RSA Conference 2020 taking place on February 24th 28th in San Francisco, CA, at the Moscone Center. "Securing the Budget You Need! Translating Technology Costs to Business Impact" is scheduled for Friday, February 28th at 8:30 a.m. The session describes how an industry-proven methodology, Duty of Care Risk Analysis (DoCRA), can help communicate to the C-Suite in a new way to justify the budget needed. This method allows the Business to understand their security risks in terms of (a) their customers, (b) their business objectives and (c) third party obligations. By defining security risks in terms that are understood by the business, DoCRA enables the business to make informed decisions and approve appropriate resources. This presentation will include recent client case studies, demonstrating how security needs were misunderstood using traditional rik assessment methods and how DoCRA helped communicate these risks in business terms and with positive results. Attendees will: Receive free downloadable templates for a proven budget justification narrative. Learn how DoCRA can establish a common language for risk tolerance with the Business. Experience through real-life case studies how DoCRA helped justify and secure budgets. This year, RSA Conference focuses on the Human Element, highlighting the relationship between people and technology. Over 45,000 cybersecurity professionals attend this leading event to learn and network with industry peers and thought leaders and provides a beneficial opportunity for further insight. ABOUT DoCRA DoCRA is a not-for-profit (501(C)(3)) organization that authors, maintains, and distributes standards and methods for analyzing and managing risk. The DoCRA Council is comprised of member organizations that require standards of practice in risk analysis and risk management, and who therefore have an interest in the methods used for analyzing risks and safeguards that reduce risk. ABOUT HALOCK Security Labs Founded in 1996, HALOCK Security Labs is a thought-leading information security firm, that combines strengths in strategic management consulting with deep technical expertise. HALOCK's service philosophy is to apply "just the right amount" of security to protect critical assets, satisfy compliance requirements, enhance social responsibility, and achieve corporate goals. With HALOCK, organizations can establish reasonable security and acceptable risk. HALOCK's services include: Security and Risk Management, Compliance Validation (HIPAA, PCI DSS, CCPA), Penetration Testing, Incident Response Readiness, Security Organization Development, and Security Engineering. 1 ISACA's State of Cybersecurity 2019 Survey - http://www.isaca.org/About-ISACA/Press-room/News-Releases/2019/Pages/ISACA-State-of-Cybersecurity-2019-Survey.aspx?utm_referrer= CONTACT: Cindy Kaplan 847-221-0204 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/securing-the-budget-you-truly-need-the-google-translate-for-communicating-to-c-suite-300988651.html SOURCE HALOCK Security Labs [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have issued a detainer for an illegal immigrant who allegedly sexually assaulted and killed a 92-year-old woman in the early morning of Jan. 6, according to multiple reports. As reported by Fox News, Reeaz Khan, a 21-year-old, is currently in the custody of the New York Police Department. As indicated by the news outlet, the 92-year-old woman, Maria Fuertes, was making her way home near Liberty Avenue and 127th Street when Khan attacked her. Reeaz Khan, 21, an unlawfully present Guyanese national, was arrested Jan. 10 by the NYPD and charged with murder, sexual abuse, contact by forcible compulsion, and sexual abuse against a person incapable of consent, as indicated by a news release issued by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fuertes was found at around 2 a.m. on Jan. 6, and according to the criminal complaint, she had laid on the street half-dressed for two hours, where the temperature was 32 degrees, Fox News reported. Following her discovery, she was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the news outlet said. NYPD Chief Rodney Harrison posted on Twitter, asking for the public for information regarding the homicide of Fuertes, writing, The NYPD is asking for the publics assistance identifying the male depicted in these photos for questioning in regard to the homicide of the 92-year-old women in the area of 127th St & Liberty Ave in Queens. When authorities investigated the incident, the surveillance footage indicated that Khan was a possible suspect in the incident, and police officers set out to find him, according to Fox News. As reported by the New York Post, after he was brought in for questioning, Khan confessed to killing Fuertes and was arrested. NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea posted a tweet on his Twitter page, informing the public that Khan was taken into custody. In another tweet, Harrison posted an update on his Twitter page, writing, Reeaz Khan, the subject arrested for the murder of Maria Fuertes, has been charged with the following: Murder 2nd Degree-Depraved Indifference, Murder 2nd Degree-Felony Murder, Sex Abuse-Forcible Compulsion, and Sexual AbuseVictim Physically Helpless. Before the incident on Jan 6, Khan was arrested by the NYPD on Nov. 27, 2019, on assault charges as well as criminal possession of a firearm, according to the news release issued by ICE. When Enforcement and Removal Operations ordered a detainer for Khan, it was not honored, and on the same day, Khan was released as per the sanctuary city policies. Thomas R. Decker, the field office director for Enforcement and Removal Operations in New York called the sanctuary city policies in New York flawed. It is made clear that New York Citys stance against honoring detainers is dangerously flawed. It was a deadly choice to release a man on an active ICE detainer back onto the streets after his first arrest included assault and weapon charges, and he now faces new charges, including murder, Decker said, according to the news release issued by ICE. New York Citys sanctuary policies continue to threaten the safety of all residents of the five boroughs, as they repeatedly protect criminal aliens who show little regard for the laws of this nation. In New York City alone, hundreds of arrestees are released each month with pending charges and/or convictions to return back into the communities where they committed their crimes, instead of being transferred into the custody of ICE. Clearly, the politicians care more about criminal illegal aliens than the citizens they are elected to serve and protect, Deck said. Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], Jan 17 (ANI): All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) workers and leaders paid rich tributes to former Tamil Nadu chief minister MG Ramachandran on his 103rd birth anniversary at the party headquarters here on Friday. A sea of party workers was present at the party headquarters. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam paid floral tributes to the late AIADMK headquarters on the occasion. Born on January 17, 1917, Ramachandran or MGR, as he was known to people, was regarded as one of the influential actors in Tamil cinema prior to joining politics. He was popularly known as "Makkal Thilagam" or the People's King. He became the Tamil Nadu chief minister in 1977 and remained in office till his demise in 1987. (ANI) The plea said Chandrashekhar was not a criminal and claimed imposing such conditions were wrong and undemocratic (Photo Credit: File Photo) New Delhi: Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who has been accused of inciting people during an anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid on December 20, Friday moved court seeking modification of the conditions imposed on him by a Delhi court while granting him bail in the case. The court on Wednesday had restrained Azad from visiting Delhi for four weeks and directed him not to hold any dharna till the elections in the national capital and said that "the nation cannot be exposed to anarchy". The plea, filed by advocates Mehmood Pracha and O P Bharti, said Azad was not a criminal and claimed imposing such conditions were wrong and undemocratic. The court will hear the matter on Saturday. It had earlier also said that before going to Saharanpur if Azad wants to go anywhere, including Jama Masjid, in Delhi, police will escort him there. Special circumstances call for special conditions, the judge had said. During pronouncement of the verdict, Azad's lawyer had said the Bhim Army chief faces threat in Uttar Pradesh. Azad's outfit had called for a protest march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on December 20, without police permission. Other 15 people arrested in the case were granted bail by the court on January 9. As protests against the combination of Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, updation of National Population Register and creation of National Register for Citizens continue, minister of state for home, Nityanand Rai met with senior representatives from the states on Friday to seek their cooperation to conduct Census 2021 and update NPR database. Representatives from West Bengal are not attending the meet as the chief minister Mamata Banerjee has announced on that NPR wont be implemented in the state. The NPR first came into being in 2010 and was updated in 2015. Unlike the Census database, which is protected and the data released is aggregated up to block and Tehsils, the NPR is household specific and data is not protected. The NPR records include details like name, age, address, along with biometric data links like Aadhaar, mobile phone number and passport among others. However, providing these data points to update NPR are voluntary. Such preparatory conference are routine before a census and updating NPR database, but it assumes significance because of apprehension expressed by some states, a senior MHA official, who didnt want to be named, said and added, issues like appointment of trainers, enumerators etc who will collect data both for the Census 2021 and NPR will be discussed in the conference. The Register General of India (RGI) will also address the senior state representatives to clarify issues around the two enumeration exercises. The government had initially said that the updation of NPR would be followed by a National Register of Citizens (NRC) where in individuals are supposed to prove their citizenship either by birth or by naturalization. Those left out of NRC would then have to appeal to Foreigners Tribunals to be regarded as citizens. In the face of protests across the country, the Centre has maintained that updating NPR is necessary to better frame and target developmental schemes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was, however, quick to assure the fear of people. In a political rally in Delhi, the Prime Minister said that no decision has been taken by the government on NRC so far. We expect the protest and resistance to die down as people are made aware of why NPR is required, a senior government official said on condition of anonymity. Opposition ruled states of West Bengal and Kerala have put updation of NPR on a temporary hold only and the states of Punjab , Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have issued notifications to update the NPR. The BJP, alongside the governments campaign to raise awareness about NPR, is also doing a door to door campaign. It hopes to touch five crore households by February. Home Minister Amit Shah also participated in the door to door campaign in Delhi. In addition, Centre hopes that like West Bengal, Kerala, etc, who have been at the forefront opposing NPR and NRC, will also come around given the benefits an updated NPR would bring to administering government schemes. While the consolidation of the decrees, incentives, subsidies, and benefits governing taxation in Puerto Rico improves transparency, Act 60 introduces more rigid, restrictive, and expensive requirements. The former Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, signed Act 602019, commonly known as the Puerto Rico Incentives Code, into law on July 1, 2019, which came into effect on January 1, 2020. The Incentives Code consolidates various tax decrees, incentives, subsidies, and benefits, including Act 20, the Promotion of Export Services Act, and Act 22, the Act to Promote the Relocation of Individual Investors to Puerto Rico. Act 60 replaces Acts 20 and 22, meaning they are no longer in effect, and all applicants must instead comply with the requirements of Act 60. Chapter 3 of the Incentives Code, formerly Act 20, governs the exportation of goods and services. It introduces significant changes relating to employment, oversight, eligible businesses, tax exemptions, and municipal contributions. Under the new law, exempt businesses with actual or projected total revenue of more than $3 million must directly employ at least one full-time employee, which may be the business owner. Moreover, the Office of Industrial Tax Exemption (OITE) will perform an independent audit of exempt businesses at least every two years. Whether this applies to businesses established before the implementation of the Incentives Code remains unclear. Additionally, blockchain-related services are now specifically included as an eligible business activity. With Act 60, exempt businesses can enjoy a 75% exemption on the municipal and state property taxes during the validity of the decree and a 50% exception on municipal contributions or municipal patents applicable to eligible services provided by the businesses during the validity of the decree. Qualifying small and medium businesses can also enjoy a 100% exemption on municipal and state property taxes during their first five years of operation. Chapter 2, Individuals, formerly Act 22, changes regulations relating to annual charitable donations, the purchase of real estate, and crypto assets, among others. The required annual charitable donation has doubled from $5,000 to $10,000, with half payable to a government-approved charity and the other half to any Puerto Rican charity of the grantees choice. Furthermore, within two years of obtaining the decree, grantees must purchase property in Puerto Rico. This property must be the grantees primary residence throughout the validity of the decree, and grantees cannot rent out these properties. Finally, cryptocurrencies and other crypto assets are now explicitly included as eligible for tax exemptions. Under Act 60, the initial decree is now granted for a term of 15 years and may be extended for an additional 15 years. Furthermore, the Department of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico, also known by the Spanish acronym DDEC, will now publish a yearly report on all the incentives requested and granted. The report will include the name of the business and principal shareholders, the date the decree was granted, the name of the municipality in which the business operates, and the number of jobs created by the business. While the consolidation of the decrees, incentives, subsidies, and benefits governing taxation in Puerto Rico improves transparency, Act 60 introduces more rigid, restrictive, and expensive requirements. For more details on the new act, visit PRelocate. Please note that the changes listed here are not exhaustive and that you should contact an attorney for specific legal advice about your individual situation. About PRelocate: PRelocate provides individuals and small businesses the knowledge and services they need to relocate to Puerto Rico. The company believes that living and working in Puerto Rico is a tremendous opportunity that should not be overlooked due to cost, disjointed information, and an overall lack of clarity. Its goal is to enable and empower its clients to make a sound decision about whether Puerto Rico is right for them. If it is, PRelocate makes it happen for them in a straightforward, accurate, and economical way. Photo: Kane Reinholdtsen/Unsplash Looking for something to do this week? From a birthday bash to a variety of concerts, here's a rundown of options to help you get social around town. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Johnny's B'day Bash From the event description: Johnnys B'day Bash benefits the Orlando Firefighters Benevolent Association, Inc. When: Saturday, Jan. 18, 5-10 p.m. Where: Johnny's Other Side, 1619 E. Michigan St. Admission: Free (General Admission); $100 (VIP Admission) Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Zach Deputy and Resinated From the event description: On his path towards becoming a successful touring musician, Zach Deputy serendipitously landed a solo gig in his early 20s by walking into a bar just after that nights featured artist had bailed. Deputy soon introduced the world to the sound hed eventually dub island-infused, drum n bass, gospel-ninja-soul. When: Saturday, Jan. 18, 7-11:30 p.m. Where: Iron Cow, 2438A E. Robinson St. Admission: $20 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Wintarmanoth Fest From the event description: The Wintarmanoth Fest features Against Us All, Kill the Imposter, Kill the Sound, Blood Bath and Beyond and The Dev. When: Saturday, Jan. 18, 9 p.m.- Sunday, Jan. 19, 12 a.m. Where: Will's Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave. Admission: $10 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Marlon Craft, Bobby Feeno and more From the event description: Marlon Craft is a hip-hop artist from Hells Kitchen, New York City. The 26-year-old MC offers an essential mix of new-school oxygen and golden-era sensibilities. When: Sunday, Jan. 19, 6-11:30 p.m. Where: Soundbar, 37 W. Pine St. Admission: $12 (General Admission) Click here for more details, and to get your tickets This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Rocket attacks from Gaza shattered a fragile truce in the region on Jan. 15, prompting retaliatory strikes by the Israeli air force. No matter that the rocket attacks may have been launched by "rogue Islamic Jihad militants," as Shlomi Eldar reports. Israel is holding Hamas accountable either for having a direct role in the attacks or just for letting them happen. Hamas is playing with fire and risking its ties with Egypt, perhaps at the bidding of Iran in the wake of the US killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3. Hamas must also contend with the more confrontational and aggressive tactics of Islamic Jihad, which has even closer ties to Iran and relishes its role as a spoiler. And this all takes place in the context of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus bid to remain prime minister in the upcoming March 2 elections. Israel holds Hamas accountable for rogue Islamic Jihad attacks In November 2019, an Israeli air attack killed senior Islamic Jihad commander Bahaa Abu el-Atta. On December 25, rocket fire from Gaza chased Netanyahu from the stage at a political rally in Ashkelon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded with air attacks on Hamas and Islamic Jihad positions the next day. While Hamas suggested the rocket attacks were the work of Islamic Jihad, Israels response, through both its strikes in Gaza and Egyptian intermediaries, made clear that if more attacks happen, Hamas, as the ruling authority in Gaza, will pay the price. Israel, Egypt, Hamas thought they had a deal The Christmas escalation had led to a cease-fire that seemed to work for Israel, Hamas and Egypt. Bibi could claim Israels tough response facilitated calm. Hamas and other Palestinian factions agreed to halt the weekly Great March of Return protests on the Israel-Gaza border for three months (until March 2020). In response, 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, Rasha Abou Jalal reports. 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. The Israeli concessions gave some reprieve to Gazans living under oppressive military and economic conditions and some breathing room for Hamas to weigh its next moves. and then Haniyeh went to Soleimanis funeral The US killing of Soleimani ended hope of a reprieve. Last week we noted that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziad al-Nakhaleh led their respective delegations to Soleimani's funeral in Tehran on Jan. 6. Haniyeh was the only non-Iranian to speak at the funeral. Soleimanis daughter Zeinab mentioned Haniyeh as among those who will avenge her fathers death, as Adnan Abu Amer writes. Hamas has been rebuilding ties with Iran since the group broke with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, a close Iranian ally, in 2011. Hamas and Islamic Jihad count on Iranian financial and military support. Hamas owes a debt to Iran, writes Shlomi Eldar, who describes its conundrum: If a violent confrontation erupts between Iran and the United States and Hamas sits on the fence instead of fulfilling [Hamas leader Saleh Al] Arouris promise to function as Irans first line of defense, the movement can forget about Iranian military aid. On the other hand, if Hamas keeps its promise to Khamenei, it would create a front against Egypt and end any chances for an arrangement with Israel. And should Hamas stop reining in Islamic Jihad, the group may pull Hamas into a dangerous military adventure leading to war with Israel. Hamas burns bridges with Egypt We wrote back in July about the shadow war between Egypt and Iran in Gaza. Those tensions may be coming more and more out of the shadows. Egypts leaders expect Hamas not to get drawn into Iranian intrigues and warned Haniyeh not to go to Soleimanis funeral. Cairo had blocked Haniyeh from traveling from Gaza since 2017 but made an exception this month for a regional tour that included Qatar, Turkey and Malaysia. It wasnt supposed to include Iran, as Entsar Abu Jahal reports. Sensing an Iranian hand behind the Jan. 15 attack, Egypt this time refused to mediate between Hamas and Israel. Egypt was so furious that it immediately turned off its supply of cooking gas for the Strips 2 million residents to signal the heads of the organization that Haniyehs provocative step would not go unpunished, Shlomi Eldar reports. Over the past week, the Egyptians have clamped down on the movement of goods and people through its Rafah border crossing with Gaza. No one knows what might happen once Haniyeh asks to return to the Strip and whether Egypt will let him through. Despite Egypts discontent with Haniyeh, his leadership of Hamas seems unchallenged, at least for now. Khaled Meshaal, who led the Hamas politburo from 1996-2017 and is known for his close ties with Qatar and Turkey, is rumored to be weighing a return to his previous role or even a run for Palestinian Authority president, Adnan Abu Amer reports. Meshaal was the one who broke ties with Syria, and by extension Iran ties Haniyeh has sought to repair. Given his strong relations with Qatar and Turkey, Meshaals return would likely not be welcomed in Cairo. Egypt would prefer a return of former Gaza-based Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, who would need to overcome the enmity of both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas, as Daoud Kuttab reports on the contender to succeed Abbas. And then there is the Israeli election The tensions in Gaza cant be separated from the Israeli elections. There is buzz in Israel that the Trump administration may release its long-awaited peace plan before March 2. If so, that could work to Bibis advantage. Ben Caspit writes, The publication of the plan would divert Israeli public attention toward domains that Netanyahu masters well and in which he faces practically no criticism: A diplomatic plan from the White House, the closeness of Netanyahu to Trump and perhaps a few bonuses and goodies thrown into the deal, such as US approval for Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley if Israel responds to the blueprint in the affirmative. Akiva Eldar argues that Netanyahus role as Mr. Security may be overhyped, considering that the situation seems to have worsened as a result of Bibis lobbying US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal. Hamas inevitable losing streak Hamas is getting pressed from all sides, including, and most importantly, by Gazans. The only "wins" it can achieve in governance is when there is a cease-fire that allows some economic respite for Gazas citizens, and that requires negotiated calm with Israel via Egypt. But Hamas needs Iran, and Islamic Jihad is there to press the action. The Trump peace plan, if and when it is offered, will, at least in the short term, present an entirely new dynamic to the regional picture. And both Iran and Hamas will be on the outside looking in. A last word on Omans Sultan Qaboos: wise insights and quiet dignity' Al-Monitor notes the passing of Sultan Qaboos of Oman, a US ally whose inspired leadership was a valued and essential component to diplomacy in the region. Former Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, in his book The Back Channel, referred to Sultan Qaboos as full of wise insights and quiet dignity. Hunaina Al-Mughairy, Omans ambassador to the United States, told Al-Monitor that [O]ne of the main pillars of our foreign policy is to talk to people and negotiate. Without talking to people and negotiating, you cannot solve any problem. Despite speculation about a potentially rocky transfer of power, The transition to the new sultan, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, a first cousin of Qaboos, proceeded rapidly and smoothly, just as Omani officials had quietly predicted it would, writes Kristian Coates Ulrichsen. A Blount County apartment complex maintenance worker has been charged in the sexual assault of a 72-year-old mentally incapacitated woman. Kip David Ferrell, 52, is charged with first-degree rape. He was arrested Jan. 9 and remains in the Blount County Jail on $60,000 bond, according to court records made public Thursday. Oneonta police on Dec. 22, 2019 were dispatched to the victims apartment. She told officers that she heard a knock at the door and allowed the maintenance man into her apartment. She said the two watched television and then he took her by the hand, led her to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. The victim said he proceeded to rape her, even though she expressed to the male her lack of desire to have intercourse with him. After the rape, according to charging documents, the man went outside to smoke. The victim said she went to the bathroom and returned to let the man back in, but said he was gone. At the time, (the victim) could not remember the males name but that he worked as a maintenance man for the apartments within which she resides, the detective wrote. (The victim) could also recall that the male had the same birthday as her as this was one way he would always start a conversation with her. The victim was taken to the St. Vincents Blount emergency room and then transported to the United Way Crisis Center to be examined by a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurse. The nurses written report indicated the presence of abrasions consistent with the act of intercourse. Her clothes and biological evidence were sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Hoover. Investigators learned from a DHR Adult Protective Services Program case worker that the victim suffers from dementia as well as physical ailments that render her incapable of properly caring for herself. Doctors have deemed she is a good candidate for a nursing home. Police familiar with the apartment complex developed Ferrell as a possible suspect. On Jan. 8, the victim was taken to the police department to meet with detectives to determine if she could pick the suspect out of a photo lineup. She identified Ferrell as the man who had assaulted her. The following day, detectives brought Ferrell in for questioning. He told them his relationship with the victim was strictly professional. He said he had only been inside her apartment when a work order had been put in, but that there was usually nothing wrong. He told them he believed that she was off mentally and that she talks out of her head. Ferrell initially denied being in the womans apartment on the night of the sexual assault. After noticing a wedding band on his finger, the detective wrote, I asked Ferrell if this may be the reason as to why he was not being truthful and after a long pause he stated, yes. He then admitted to having intercourse with the victim, according to the report. Ferrell said the woman had asked him over to her apartment that night because of problems with her heat. Ferrell claimed she asked him to rub his back and he obliged. Ferrell stated that (the victim) asked him to have sex and he eventually said yes, the report states. Ferrell said he completed the act quickly. He is charged with rape because the victim was deemed incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated. Court records do not indicate an attorney for Ferrell to comment on his behalf. The case is expected to be presented to a grand jury in May. 3.5k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, unloaded on GOP senators on Thursday, saying they should ashamed of themselves for taking an oath they dont plan to keep. During a discussion with MSNBCs Brian Williams and Nicolle Wallace, Steele said Republicans have already admitted they wont be impartial in Donald Trumps impeachment trial, so taking an oath they know they will violate is un-American. They should be embarrassed to stand there and take the oath of office when theyve already told us they plan to lie when they do so, Steele said. Video: Steele said: The question is whether or not you can slice out pieces of votes to cobble together a coalition of the willing, who want to willingly have an open trial that would allow for witnesses and documents and testimony because theyre more interested in the truth, theyre more interested in knowing whether or not what has been alleged did, in fact, occur the way it did, or whether this was, in fact, a witch-hunt. See, thats the part that rubs me here is that if the president had the perfect phone call, Republican senators, then put forth the testimony to back that up, then put forth the witnesses to back that up. But all you have done since the beginning of this whole thing is to shut down and to project and, in fact, say openly, I dont even want to care about the evidence. Lindsey Graham: I dont care about the evidence. Im not even looking at the evidence. So dont stand in the chamber today and take the oath. Take your behind out of the chamber when its time to swear in because you will be lying to the American people because youve already told us you plan not to be an honest juror. So this is almost a joke in the sense that you have some of these senators walking into this room, standing in front of the country, standing in front of the chief justice of the United States, raising their damn hand to swear an oath that they know theyre not going to defend nor uphold. And so what signal does that send to the American people? It says to us that the rule of law, the process of jurisprudence in whatever form it takes doesnt matter, at least for some. Thats the responsibility at this moment that I think a lot of these members are going to let slip by and its, quite frankly, Brian and Nicolle, disgusting. Its un-American. And they should be embarrassed to stand there and take the oath of office when theyve already told us they plan to lie when they do so. Most GOP senators are happily violating their oath Since day one of this impeachment saga, most Republican senators have refused to even listen when confronted with the damning and indisputable evidence that Donald Trump violated his oath office. If there was any doubt remaining that the president was extorting Ukraine into helping him cheat in another election, it all went away after Rachel Maddows explosive Wednesday night interview with Lev Parnas in which the former Rudy Giuliani associate corroborated all the damning testimony we heard during the impeachment inquiry. But again, most Republicans are unmoved by the increasingly troubling evidence against the president. They know that being an impartial juror will mean they have to remove Donald Trump a president who now owns the GOP from office. Theyd rather violate their oath than let that happen. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter Nearly 20 municipal leaders, including four former mayors, as many ex-deputy mayors and a host of sitting and former councillors figure in the first list of candidates announced by the BJP on Friday for the Delhi Assembly polls. The BJP, which swept the 2017 civic polls in Delhi, seems to be betting big on its municipal leaders to shore up the party's fortune for the February 8 polls. Master Azad Singh, Ravindra Gupta and Yogender Chandolia, are all fomet mayors of North Delhi; and Khushi Ram, former mayor of South Delhi, whose names figured in the list. The municipal leaders, serving and former councillors of the three BJP-led civic bodies -- North, South and East Delhi municipal corporations (NDMC, SDMC and EDMC) -- number about 20. Singh will fight from Mundka, Gupta from Matia Mahal, Chandolia from Karol Bagh while Ram has been fielded from Ambedkar Nagar. The list has 11 candidates from scheduled castes for reserved seats, four women nominations and seven from Poorvanchal region -- eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Most of the candidates announced on Friday were also nominated by the BJP in 2013 and 2015 assembly polls. The polls to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 8 and results will be declared on February 11. The former deputy mayors who will contest the high-stakes polls are -- Vijay Bhagat (North Delhi) Badli; Kailash Sankla (South Delhi) from Madipur; Kiran Vaid (East Delhi) from Trilokpuri; and Rekha Gupta (North Delhi) Shalimar Bagh, according to the list. The sitting councillors include Jai Prakash, standing committee chairman of the NDMC; Shikha Rai, councillor and former Leader of House of the SDMC; Manish Chaudhary of the NDMC; former standing committee chairman of SDMC Ashish Sood; Shailandra Monty and Krishna Gahlot of SDMC; and former councillors include Mahendra Nagpal, Suman Gupta, Lata Sodhi and Anil Sharma. Ravinder Gupta, who is currently Delhi BJP's general secretary, was elected mayor of North Delhi in 2015, and feels the party is "banking on the experience of municipal leaders". "Perhaps never before in the Delhi polls so many corporation-level leaders have been fielded, and civic leaders will leverage that experience to benefit the prospects of the party and eventually the people if they get elected," he told PTI. Hitting out at the AAP, which has announced all its 70 candidates, Gupta claimed, "The BJP is about 'sahi irada' (right determination to do good) but the AAP is about 'jhootha vada' (false promises)". All the three municipal corporations -- North, South and East -- in Delhi are controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "We have the BJP government at the Centre and the party leading the three corporations. And once we get a BJP-led government in Delhi too, it would a triple-engine-led growth. We would also be able to better implement the Centre's policies in Delhi," Gupta claimed. The ruling BJP had not fielded its sitting councillors in the MCD elections in 2017 and brought in fresh faces, including four Muslim candidates. There are a total of 272 wards in the three municipal corporations in the city, including 104 each in South and North Delhi municipal corporations, and 64 in the East Delhi municipal corporation. In the 2017 civic polls, the BJP had scored a hattrick, comfortably retaining control of the three municipal corporations, dealing a severe blow to the Aam Aadmi Party and dashing the Congress' hope of a revival. Winning 181 out of 270 wards where elections were held, the saffron party had added muscle to its decade-long domination of the corporations effortlessly bucking anti-incumbency by riding on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP's corporation-wise tally was: SDMC - 70, NDMC - 64 and EDMC - 47 as against AAP's tally of 16, 21 and 11, respectively. The Congress had finished last with 12, 15 and 3 wards. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The rift between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and the CPM-led LDF government escalated further on Friday, with the former seeking a report on the suit filed by the state in Supreme Court challenging Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Khan told the reporters in the national capital that by not seeking his approval before filing the suit in apex court, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had violated rule 34 clause 2 of the rules of business of the government. The following classes of cases shall be submitted by the Chief Minister to the Governor before the issue of order; cases which affect the relations of the state with the Centre, or any other state government, Supreme Court and the High Court. The Governor said that some might say that this was only for passing the information. Even if this is accepted, in the present case, I was not informed that the government is going to Supreme Court to challenge a Central law which is none of states concern. Citizenship is a Central subject, he said. It is the duty of the Chief Minister whether he comes personally, sends his ministers or one of his officials writes to my principal secretary. That is his concern. But he is duty bound to submit this before issuing an order, the Governor said. I have to ensure that constitutional machinery in the state does not collapse, he said. Reacting to the Chief Ministers dig on Thursday that the era of residents of British Raj was over, Khan said, Yes we are not living in colonial period. Here nobody is supreme. Supreme is the Constitution. But what he is saying should reflect in his action. I am appealing to Chief Minister to realise that we are not living in colonial India anymore. Now it is rule of law. I am not above law. I am constitutional head of the state. I am below the law, and so is everybody else, he said. US Pulls 3,000 Soldiers From Norwegian Winter War Games Amid Stand-Off With Iran Sputnik News 08:52 16.01.2020 The United States' participation in Cold Response, an international winter drill held since 2006, has been affected by the tense situation in the Middle East. The US has pulled 3,000 soldiers from the upcoming Cold Response drill to be held in Norway from 2 March to 18 March, Norway's national broadcaster NRK reported. Press spokesman at the Armed Forces operational headquarters, Ivar Moen, was reluctant to go into which departments the US is withdrawing from the international biannual exercise held since 2006, but said that Washington's decision was affected by the strained situation in the Middle East. Since Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was killed in a targeted US drone attack earlier this year, the situation between the two countries has been tense. Following the US withdrawal, the number of participants in the international winter drill will be reduced to about 16,000, which has been the average participation figure for the exercise in recent years. According to the Norwegian military, America's departure will not affect the course of the exercise, which will go ahead as planned. "A planning conference will be held next week. There, we will discuss what adjustments we need to make as a result of the Americans reducing their participation", Moen told the military newspaper Forsvarets Forum, stressing that the number of participants can both increase and decrease. The exercise takes place in northern Norway from Narvik to Finnmark, but the main part of the drill will be focused in Troms County, the Armed Forces said. Moen described Norway as "a leader in winter services within NATO", stressing that it was important to share and hone skills with allied nations. The Norwegian Armed Forces stressed that openness about the exercise was important for building trust and preventing misunderstandings. The exercise provides soldiers with important training in mastering operations in cold and snow. In addition to Norwegian forces, soldiers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Latvia, Finland, and Sweden will take part. On the night of 3 January, the United States conducted a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport that killed Soleimani, a top general in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Tehran blasted the attack as an act of terror and retaliated a few days later by launching dozens of missiles at military bases housing US troops in Iraq, killing none and describing the strike as "legitimate self-defence". Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that the US had threatened to impose a 25-percent tariff on European automobiles from Germany, France and Britain, if they refused to condemn Tehran's actions and trigger a trade dispute mechanism within the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Claire Coutinho is MP for East Surrey. The UKs FinTech sector is booming. Investment into UK FinTech new technology to improve financial services is at record highs, accounting for over a third of all investment into the sector in Europe. Last year, London had more people working in FinTech and a greater number of venture-capital investment deals than any other city in the world. Companies like Monzo, Revolut and Starling are some of the great financial success stories of the post-2008 era. Amidst this surge in technology, a new Policy Exchange report suggests, there is an opportunity to address a long-standing undercurrent working against Britains lowest earners and to develop a financial services market which works for the traditionally underserved. This is no small problem. There are an estimated 10 million people, largely on low incomes, who are under-served by their bank. This has led to a chronic poverty premium with a higher overall cost of banking and poor-quality insurance and savings products for people on the lowest incomes. Lack of access to affordable credit has driven people towards high-cost short-term loans. For our lowest income households, a broken washing machine can quickly spiral into an endless cycle of crushing debt. And although successive governments have made progress in tackling the systemic drivers of problem debt, more needs to be done for people on low incomes. Low income customers are not well served, in part because they tend to be loss-making under the traditional banking model. But unburdened by the legacy costs of older banking providers, FinTech providers can and do see low-income consumers as sought after, valuable customers. This gives them the ability and incentive to provide more accessible, more tailored and cheaper services. Policy Exchanges report, Fintech for all, sets out a series of ambitious solutions to help encourage the development of FinTech services and products for people on low incomes. For example, the Government could look to open up the Help to Save scheme to FinTech providers. This saving scheme allows certain people entitled to Working Tax Credit or receiving Universal Credit to get a bonus of 50p for every 1 they save over four years. Allowing FinTech firms to participate could allow customers to benefit from innovative saving tools, such as rounding up their everyday transactions and putting the difference in a savings account. Other tools include using AI to predict future financial commitments and the optimum amount for low income customers to save each month. Another of its ideas is for the Government to fund Universal Credit Banking Vouchers. Banks could reclaim vouchers funded by the largest providers of personal current accounts if low income customers banked with them. This could inject sorely needed competition for low income customers into the banking market, increasing the incentive for our best FinTech innovators to develop new products designed especially for them. The good news is there is some countrywide support in the Conservative Party for fresh thinking in this area. Gareth Davies, MP for Grantham and Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham are two fellow newly elected Tory MPs who also contributed to this report. Many more of our new and older intake are passionate about effecting real change in left-behind communities. They too should consider carefully the opportunities presented by our thriving FinTech sector. After all, an inclusive banking system would allow those on low incomes to fully share in the advances in banking services as they continue to develop. From access to affordable credit, bespoke budgeting tools, savings and insurance products, a new wave of FinTech offerings could transform the way we approach Financial Inclusion in the UK and ultimately lead to low income individuals getting the banking services they want and need. The UK FinTech industry presents an exciting growth opportunity for our economy to push new boundaries in technology and to allow access to good quality financial services for all. We must support these changemakers if we are truly to unleash Britains potential at home and on the world stage. Whats changed in the 21st century Crisis of representation Protests are explicitly against neoliberal reforms, or against legal changes that threaten civil liberties The tendency towards street protest will be encouraged too by the climate crisis, whose effects mean that the most heavily exploited, including along race and gender lines, have the most to lose. When the protests in Lebanon broke out, they were taking place alongside rampant wildfires. Thinking strategically As protesters gain experience, they consciously bring to the fore questions of leadership and organisation. In Lebanon and Iraq there has already been a conscious effort to overcome traditional sectarian divides. Debates are also raging in protest movements from Algeria to Chile about how to fuse economic and political demands in a more strategic manner. The goal is to make political and economic demands inseparable, such that its impossible for a government to make political concessions without making economic ones too. There has also been a resurgence of the far right in many countries, emboldened most visibly by parties and politicians in the US, Brazil, India and many parts of Europe. This resurgence, however, has not gone unchallenged. The convergence of crisis on these multiple fronts will reach breaking point, creating conditions that will become intolerable for most people. This will galvanise more protest and more polarisation. As governments respond with reforms, such measures on their own will be unlikely to meet the combination of political and economic demands. --- *Senior Teaching Fellow, SOAS, University of London. Source: The Conversation The question of how to create new vehicles of representation to assert popular control over the economy will keep emerging. The fortunes of popular protest may well depend on whether the collective leadership of the movements can provide answers to it.--- In France, a general strike in December 2019 over President Emmanuel Macrons proposed pension reforms has revealed the extent of opposition that people feel towards his government. This comes barely a year after the start of the Yellow Vest movement, in which people have protested against fuel price hikes and the precariousness of their lives.The tendency towards street protest will be encouraged too by the climate crisis, whose effects mean that the most heavily exploited, including along race and gender lines, have the most to lose. When the protests in Lebanon broke out, they were taking place alongside rampant wildfires.As protesters gain experience, they consciously bring to the fore questions of leadership and organisation. In Lebanon and Iraq there has already been a conscious effort to overcome traditional sectarian divides. Debates are also raging in protest movements from Algeria to Chile about how to fuse economic and political demands in a more strategic manner. The goal is to make political and economic demands inseparable, such that its impossible for a government to make political concessions without making economic ones too.As the 2020s begin, its clear were living in an unprecedented moment: a climate emergency and ecological breakdown, a brewing global financial crisis, deepening inequality, trade wars, and growing threats of more imperialist wars and militarisation.There has also been a resurgence of the far right in many countries, emboldened most visibly by parties and politicians in the US, Brazil, India and many parts of Europe. This resurgence, however, has not gone unchallenged.The convergence of crisis on these multiple fronts will reach breaking point, creating conditions that will become intolerable for most people. This will galvanise more protest and more polarisation. As governments respond with reforms, such measures on their own will be unlikely to meet the combination of political and economic demands. The first two decades of the 21st century saw the return of mass movements to streets around the world. Partly a product of sinking confidence in mainstream politics, mass mobilisation has had a huge impact on both official politics and wider society, and protest has become the form of political expression to which millions of people turn. 2019 has ended with protests on a global scale, most notably in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, Hong Kong and across India, which has recently flared up against Prime Minister Narendra Modis Citizenship Amendment Act. In some cases protests are explicitly against neoliberal reforms, or against legal changes that threaten civil liberties. In others they are against inaction over the climate crisis, now driven by a generation of young people new to politics in dozens of countries.As we end a turbulent two decades of protest the subject of much of my own teaching and ongoing research what will be the shape of protest in the 2020s?Following moments of open class warfare in the late 1960s and early 1970s, battles against the political and economic order became fragmented, trade unions were attacked, the legacy of the anti-colonial struggles was eroded and the history of the period was recast by the establishment to undermine its potency. In the post-Cold War era, a new phase of protest finally began to overcome these defeats.This revival of protest exploded onto the political scene most visibly in Seattle outside the World Trade Organization summit in 1999. If 1968 was one of the high points of radical struggle in the 20th century, protest in the early 2000s once again began to reflect a general critique of the capitalist system, with solidarity forged across different sections of society.The birth of the anti-globalisation movement in Seattle was followed by extraordinary mobilisations outside gatherings of the global economic elite. Alternative spaces were also created for the global justice movement to connect, most notably the World Social Forums (WSFs), starting with Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001.It was here that questions over what position the anti-globalisation movement should take over the Iraq War, for example, were discussed and debated. Though the WSFs provided an important rallying point for a time, they ultimately evaded politics.The global anti-war movement led to the biggest co-ordinated demonstrations in the history of protest on February 15 2003, in which millions of people demonstrated in over 800 cities, creating a crisis of democracy around the US and UK-led intervention in Iraq.In the years leading up to and following the banking crisis of 2008, food riots and anti-austerity protests escalated around the world. In parts of the Middle East and North Africa, protests achieved insurrectionary proportions, with the overthrow of one dictator after another.After the Arab Spring was thwarted by counter-revolution, the Occupy movement and then Black Lives Matter gained global attention. While the public, urban square became a central focus for protest, social media became an important but by no means exclusive organising tool.To varying degrees, these movements sharply raised the question of political transformation but didnt find new ways of institutionalising popular power. The result was that in a number of situations, protest movements fell back on widely distrusted parliamentary processes to try and pursue their political aims. The results of this parliamentary turn have not been impressive.On the one hand, the first two decades of the 21st century have seen soaring inequality, accompanied by debt and the neglect of working people. On the other, there have been poor results from purely parliamentary attempts to challenge it. There is, in other words, a deep crisis of representation.The inability of modern capitalism to deliver more than survival for many has combined with a general critique of neoliberal capitalism to create a situation in which wider and wider sections of society are being drawn into protest. More than a million people have poured onto the streets of Lebanon since mid-October and protests continue despite a violent crackdown by security forces.At the same time, people are less and less willing to accept unrepresentative politicians and this is likely to continue in the future. From Lebanon and Iraq to Chile and Hong Kong, mass mobilisations continue despite resignations and concessions.In Britain, the Labour Partys defeat in the recent general election is attributed largely to its failure to accept the 2016 referendum result over EU membership. Decades of loyalty to the Labour Party for many and a socialist leader in Jeremy Corbyn calling for an end to austerity couldnt cut through to enough of the millions who voted for Brexit. Viking Cruises has just announced the launch of Viking Expeditions, an exciting new chapter in the companys history. This new arm of the ever-expanding brand will focus on small-ship trips to Antarctica and the Great Lakes of North America. Courtesy of Viking Cruises Viking will begin these voyages in January 2022 with the Viking Octantis, a Polar Class 6 vessel with 189 staterooms and designed by the same team as its award-winning ocean ships. The Octantis will be followed by a second ship, Viking Polaris, in August 2022. Both vessels will be small enough to make their way through narrow waterways like the St. Lawrence River in Canada but large enough to handle the open seas. Eventually, theyll offer sailings through Norways Svalbard archipelago, along the coast of Brazil, and island hopping around the Caribbean. Courtesy of Viking Cruises Courtesy of Viking Cruises Our guests are curious explorers, said Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking, at a launch event held Wednesday night at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Now, in creating the thinking persons expedition, we are perfecting polar expedition cruising, and we will usher in a new era of comfortable exploration in the heart of North America. This is Vikings first foray into the Great Lakes region, and the announcement came with a commitment to bolster tourism and economic development in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. (The Great Lakes, incidentally, are having a moment. T+L chose them as one of our 50 Best Places to Travel in 2020, as more high-end cruise lines, including French company Ponant, are entering the region.) As for experiences guests should expect on board, Viking has created an exclusive partnership with the Cambridge University-based Scott Polar Research Institute and The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (a leading bird research facility), which will match top researchers with each sailing, so guests will be fully prepped for their shore excursions. Additionally, Viking has partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), whose scientists will join expeditions in the Great Lakes to conduct research focused on changes in the regions weather, climate, and ecosystems. NOAA scientists may also offer lectures about the Great Lakes unique environment to Viking guests during these voyages. Story continues %image1 The lines own 25 person-strong Expedition Team will also join every voyage. These experts, from biologists to botanists, geologists to glaciologists, as well as submarine pilots and photographers, with host daily lectures and briefings. On shore, guests have the chance to assist in field work, which might mean tracking migratory patterns of penguins, or trek with scientists as they collect various samples of flora and fauna. And while both ships are designed for challenging conditions, the on board experience is a different world, with six restaurants, a spa, sauna, and The Aulaan auditorium with floor-to-ceiling windows and 270-degree views and will act as the central educational hub. Courtesy of Viking Cruises Courtesy of Viking Cruises Expedition cruising wasnt the only topic of conversation at the launch event. After a performance by Sissel Kyrkjeb, one of the worlds leading sopranos, she officially named the newest ship in Vikings ocean fleet, the Viking Jupiter. And it all happened live via satellite, as the ship sailed between the Falkland Islands and Cape Horn, off the southern tip of Chile. Talk about an expedition. Too many popes: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI vowed to live hidden from the world after he resigned in 2013. But in a new book, Benedict appears to undermine his successor, Pope Francis, by taking a hard line on maintaining the rule of priestly celibacyat a moment when Francis is openly considering loosening it. Ruth Graham delves into the latest drama in the Catholic Church. Yes men: The stakes for this years worldwide threats briefing to Congress are especially high amid renewed tensions with Iran. Thats why intelligence agencies are trying to get out of the public portion of the briefing: They dont want to be seen disagreeing with President Donald Trump. Fred Kaplan explains the growing tendency, on the part of federal agencies, to bow to his will. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attack and defense: The Trump administration is upping the pressure on Apple to weaken its encryption to give the FBI full access to iPhones, with Attorney General William Barr publicly criticizing the company on Monday. Aaron Mak explains the security concerns and why Apple would rather have the FBI hack into its devices than build in a back door itself. Swoon: Weathering With YouMakoto Shinkais follow-up to Your Name, the most successful anime of all timeis a climate change parable tailor-made for emo teens, so thats how Dan Kois watched it: with a gaggle of teens. Read his dispatch on the film, which opens in the U.S. this week. For fun: Sorry, Greta Gerwig. Amy still sucks. Its always about Laurie, Vicky Living in tents, thousands of Puerto Rico's earthquake survivors wait for relief Yauco, Puerto Rico, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 Living out in the open, their nerves on edge after a series of earthquakes that have shaken Puerto Rico, some 5,000 people are hoping that their president, Donald Trump, will heed the island's plea to be designated a disaster zone and free up much-needed aid. Since December 28, more than 1,000 tremors have rattled the US island territory in the Caribbean, which just two years ago was devastated by two powerful hurricanes in quick succession. In Yauco, one of the areas worst hit by the earthquakes, dozens of people were sitting on cot beds Wednesday in the parking lot of a municipal stadium, sheltered from the sun by white tents and blue tarps handed out by the federal disaster management agency, known as FEMA. "The most difficult thing is the psychological aspect," said Wilfredo Rodriguez, 31. His house had been fractured by the seismic movement and he has spent a week living with his kids, aged six and 10, under an awning. "We are living in constant fear of another powerful tremor," he said. He only returns to his house to wash, then hurries back to the shelter. "We worry that there'll be a more powerful tremor while we are inside the house," he said. Throughout the day, volunteers arrive to hand out food and toys for the children who fill the shelters: schools have been suspended because the buildings are not sturdy enough to withstand another quake. The island's earthquake detection system has registered 1,104 tremors in the past two weeks alone, of which 186 could be felt by the population. By comparison, during the whole of 2019 there were 6,442 tremors, of which just 62 could be felt by people on the island. Further south, in Guanico, Juan Santiago decided to move into a shelter on Saturday after a tremor of 5.9 on the Richter scale hit the island. "The mountain shook and rocks and earth started to come down," said the 30-year-old. "My house has a crack in it and is about to fall down," he added. His home had weathered the Category Five winds of Hurricane Maria in September 2017 and of Hurricane Irma which followed it just two weeks later. "It's different to a hurricane. What is happening now is much nastier," he said. As he was talking the earth shook again, a tremor of 5.2 magnitude. Vehicles rocked like hammocks in the wind, but the quake-hardened victims barely reacted. The houses in this part of the island are mostly rudimentary constructions built by the people who live in them with scant resources available in the mountains, where no regulations stipulate that buildings should be earthquake resistant. The government of Puerto Rico said that as of Monday, there were 4,924 people living in 28 shelters in 14 municipalities. There were no figures on how many buildings had been damaged or destroyed. - Seeking disaster designation - Puerto Rico's governor Wanda Vazquez Garced called on Trump to declare the earthquake a disaster and clear the way for desperately needed aid. Trump had declared an emergency days before, but the governor wanted more. The declaration of an emergency frees up to $5 million dollars in aid for the island, although Congress can bump that figure up. But if the situation is designated a disaster, there is no ceiling on funding, a FEMA spokesman said. On Wednesday, the government said it would release $8.2 billion in delayed hurricane relief that had been stalled after the president threatened to divert Puerto Rico's emergency funds to help pay for his wall on the US-Mexico border. In the past few days there have been growing calls among Democratic lawmakers for Trump to declare the situation in Puerto Rico a disaster. It is a delicate subject, as Trump has accused the government of Puerto Rico of incompetence and of siphoning off hurricane relief money, triggering a public spat between the president and the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, as well as the former governor Ricardo Rossello, who was forced to step down last summer amid massive protests. The Puerto Rican leaders accused Trump of treating the population of the island like second class citizens. BEAVERTON, Ore., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital identity theft and fraud is a continuing and growing threat to both businesses and consumers. With the plethora of data breaches that keep happening, it is clear no solution has yet been able to get ahead of the problem. The need to protect individual identities has never been higher. Consumers demand it, businesses need it to establish and maintain customer trust, and compliance mandates it. Traditional methods of authentication and verification, passwords, SMS passcodes and knowledge-based authentication are increasingly vulnerable. Q5id was founded by Steve Larson, a successful businessperson and entrepreneur with a history of demonstrated success in identity enrollment technologies. Against this backdrop launches Q5id, a new multi-factor biometric enrollment solution technology that provides an unprecedented level of protection for its users. Q5id and its new Proven Identity Management (PIM) technology is poised to be the toughest combination of biometric and live real-time authentication, reducing the probability of identity theft to one out of trillions. Screened with the latest biometric enrollment and authentication methods, it succeeds in efficiently and effectively proving identity for securing transactions at the highest level. The Q5id solution is a true win-win for consumers and businesses. It protects individuals at every point, starting by enrolling them into the system by proving their identities and then authenticating future transactions against that identitysomething that cannot be stolen or replicated. For businesses, the Q5id solution gives them a way to support their customers by protecting their identities. It also enables companies to prevent the financial and brand damage associated with breaches or other events. According to the Identity Fraud Study from Javelin Strategy & Research, the number of consumers who were victims of identity fraud was 14.4 million in 2018. The report also found that criminals are improving their attempts to foil authentication processes for mobile phone account takeovers, with victims doubling to 680,000. The Consumer Sentinel Network maintained by the Federal Trade Commission showed consumers reporting losses of $1.48 billion to fraud in 2018. And 2019 brought to the forefront a new scandal in the college admissions bribery event, nicknamed Operation Varsity Blues, highlighting the vulnerabilities in the exam proctoring sector. Q5id proves that a person's digital identity and real-world identity are the same. This unique enrollment and authentication solution delivers a proven and secure digital identity for everyone. The applications are broad and diverse: financial services, telecommunications, higher education, proctoring and more. Q5id is the only company that truly proves identities; the only solution that includes a live video interview to prove liveness; the only solution that offers the breadth of factors to prove an identity. Many providers use one or two of the factors as Q5id but no other service puts together the end-to-end comprehensive solution that Q5id does. Q5id was founded by Steve Larson, a successful businessperson and entrepreneur with a history of demonstrated success in identity enrollment technologies. Larson officially launched Q5id in January 2019 and serves as the CEO and Chairman of the Board. In 2001, Mr. Larson founded SureID, Inc., a leading provider of identity management and access control solutions for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, serving as Chairman and CEO. In 1987, Mr. Larson founded Unicru, Inc. Unicru was the leader in Human Capital Management (HCM) automation technology and was among Oregon's fastest-growing private companies prior to its acquisition by Kronos, Inc. for $150 million. Steve is recognized locally and nationally for his leadership skills and business expertise. Steve has participated on the boards of several technology companies and has assisted in funding and recruiting executives and board members for other companies. About Q5id Q5id's mission is to provide consumers and businesses with the most robust Proven Identity Management solution available. Through a comprehensive, powerful and frictionless biometric enrollment and authentication process, Q5id meets every customer and proves their digital identity is secure, preventing identity theft and fraud. Founded in 2019, Q5id is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon. Visit www.Q5id.com Media Contact: Melissa Taylor Marketing Director, Q5id [email protected] 503.360.4641 SOURCE Q5id Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 04:32:04|Editor: yan Video Player Close ROME, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Italian exports fell by 4.2 percent in November 2019 compared to the previous month, and by 3.2 percent compared to November of 2018, ISTAT national statistics agency reported on Friday. The year-on-year decline in exports to the non-EU market and EU market was 3.7 percent and 2.7 percent respectively. The sectors which most contributed to the yearly contraction in exports included transportation vehicles excluding cars (down 23.7 percent), computers and electronic and optical equipment (down 11.5 percent), machinery and equipment (down 5.5 percent), and metals (down 5.1 percent). Sectors that bucked the downward yearly trend included pharmaceuticals (up 22.4 percent), leather goods excluding clothing (up 5.9 percent) and clothing (up 3 percent). On Thursday, Coldiretti farmers association warned that U.S. tariffs on Italian products, which went into effect in October 2019, caused food and wine exports to the North American country to plunge by 10.4 percent in November. This was "a drastic reversal of the trend of the 10 preceding months, in which exports to the United States had grown by 11.3 percent on average," Coldiretti wrote. In comments to RAI News 24 public broadcaster, Italian Agriculture Minister Teresa Bellanova said that she has written to European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan, who was on a mission in Washington D.C. to discuss a EU-U.S. trade deal. "We asked him to strongly support the line that not only must there be no more tariffs imposed, but the existing ones should be removed," Bellanova said. PORTAGE A 26-year-old woman was taken into custody Thursday afternoon on a warrant after police said they found her with an infant in a disabled vehicle without any heat in below freezing temperatures. An officer said he was driving eastbound in the area of 6121 U.S. 20 shortly before 4 p.m. when he noticed a disabled vehicle on the side of the highway. The driver, identified as Amber Brennan of Portage, was feeding an infant on her lap as the officer approached the vehicle, police said. Brennan told the officer her vehicle had been broken down for 30 to 45 minutes and she believed help was on the way, according to the incident report. Police said the vehicle was unable to produce heat and the outside temperature at the time was around 20 degrees. When police checked the woman's driver's license, it was discovered she was wanted on a warrant from Niles, Michigan, according to the report. The woman and child were moved to a police car to warm up. When the infant and vehicle were turned over to Brennan's mother, Brennan was taken into custody to be held and transferred to Michigan, police said. TORONTO - An American civilian court has refused to order a military court to decide an appeal from former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. TORONTO - An American civilian court has refused to order a military court to decide an appeal from former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr. In a brief decision this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied Khadr's request to force the issue. "At this time, (Khadr) has not demonstrated a 'clear and indisputable right' to the extraordinary remedy," the court said. American troops captured Khadr, 33, as a badly wounded 15-year-old in Afghanistan in July 2002. He pleaded guilty to five war crimes, including the murder of a U.S. special forces soldier, before a widely disparaged military commission in 2010. As part of the plea deal, the court sentenced him to eight more years rather than to the jury-recommended 40 years. Khadr later said the deal was his only way out of the infamous American prison in Cuba. He filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review in 2013 after arriving in Canada, arguing the offences to which he had pleaded guilty were not war crimes when he allegedly committed them. However, the military appellate court known as the CMCR put his case on hold while civilian courts decided another commission case, that of Ali Hamza al-Bahlul. A military commission had convicted al-Bahlul in 2008 for doing media relations work for terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, but a civilian court quashed most of his convictions in 2013. Khadr turned to the D.C. Circuit Court to order the U.S. Court of Military Commission review to hear the appeal. In denying his request, the D.C. court noted some legal issues related to al-Bahlul are outstanding. "We are confident that (the CMCR) will act upon (Khadr's) appeal promptly following the resolution of Bahlul v. United States," the D.C. court said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The U.S. government opposed Khadr's request, saying he had waited to file his appeal "after he had pocketed the agreement's benefits, received his 32-year sentence reduction and transfer to Canada, and was beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. courts." It said the long delay in hearing the case was reasonable. Khadr's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His U.S. lawyer, Sam Morison, had accused the military appeal court of failing to review the validity of Khadr's conviction, saying it amounted to a veto of his client's appeal rights. Last August, the D.C. Circuit Court ordered the U.S. government to respond to the request. The government argued Khadr had been released unconditionally and had suffered no prejudice from the appeal delay. This article was first published by The Canadian Press on Jan. 17, 2020. How tired are you right now? If you're like many Americans, your answer probably leans more toward the sleep-deprived side. Fifty to 70 million of us suffer from sleep problems, according to the National Sleep Foundation. And it's not just falling asleep that vexes us. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that one-third of the U.S population -- 100 million people -- arent staying asleep during the night. As a nation, we are not getting enough sleep, says Dr. Wayne Giles, M.D., the standing director of the CDCs Division of Population Health. To compound its importance, lack of sleep negatively affects overall health. A recent study found that individuals with insomnia are five times more likely to suffer from anxiety or depression and have double the risk of congestive heart failure. It comes as no surprise that finding remedies for sleep is a lucrative industry. Hundreds of billions of dollars a year are spent on doctor visits and medical costs related to sleep disorders. Unfortunately, over-the-counter sleep aids have well-known negative side effects, including drowsiness and creating chemical dependency. In 2019, the FDA required new boxed warnings for sleep pharmaceuticals Ambien and Lunesta for their negative side effects like sleepwalking and even sleep driving. Enter CBD In recent years, CBD products have hit the market offering promises of sleep relief with little-to-no side effects. There are capsules, tinctures, gummies. Brookestone has even advertised a CBD-infused pillow. Sounds dreamy, but do these products work? While more research is needed to back the current published findings, several hopeful studies have begun to emerge that show CBD as an aid for insomnia and sleep. RELATED: The Top 5 CBD Gummies On The Market Right Now What The Science Says CBD is one cannabinoid that has been found to interact indirectly with CB1 and CB2 receptors in your endocannabinoid system (ECS). These two receptors are considered by current research to be the part of the ECS that aids with pain relief, inflammation, relaxation, and therefore sleep. One study published in January of 2019 called Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series, points to CBD as a hopeful sleep aid. While it looked at a small pool of only 72 adults, the study found sleep scores improved within the first month of CBD use in 66.7 percent of the patients, 48 adults. It attributes sleep relief can to CBDs calming effect in the central nervous system. Over time, the benefits fluctuated. 56 percent reported improvement in sleep after about two months of continued use. Another notable survey conducted by Project CBD examined a larger pool of 1,521 people who used CBD for issues falling and staying asleep. It found that CBD reduced the average time it took these individuals to fall asleep from 62 to 20 minutes. Users also reported waking up less throughout the night, from 4 times on average to just once with CBD. It also concluded that 75 percent of non-CBD users reported waking up tired; that number dropped to 9% for people using CBD. The evidence is admittedly limited at this point, said Scott Christ, CEO and Founder of Pure Capsules Company told Green Entrepreneur. Christ speaks to CBDs benefit as a business owner as well as from his decade-long personal experience with insomnia.I've had trouble falling asleep and issues with waking up multiple times throughout the night. I've been tracking my sleep for a couple of years, so I had some good baseline data of how much time I took each night to fall asleep, how much I spent in Light, REM, Deep sleep, and how much time I spent on week awake each night. FitBit is one app that tracks sleep which would make the discovery of your dose also more easy to find. CBD has helped me fall asleep much faster, within 5 minutes most nights versus 30 to 45 minutes previously, says Christ. I spend significantly more time in REM sleep, and fall back asleep easier after waking up during the night. Christ has found through clientele who take PureCapsules, that the magic number hovers around 25 milligrams for sleep Falling Asleep Versus Staying Asleep Data is piling up showing that CBDs benefit is in its ability to help you remain asleep for longer. A 2012 study comparing CBD with a sleep aid called nitrazepam found that high-dose CBD at 160 milligrams increased the subjects duration of sleep. It continues to suggest that higher doses of CBD are therapeutic for anxiety, insomnia, epilepsy, and that CBD allows for, mental sedation. How does the entourage effect, so the combination of two or more cannabinoid, affect sleep? Does CBD need to be mixed with the cannabinoid THC to be effective, like it is often advertised in dosist products? One 2018 study performed on 409 adults over the course of two years looked at insomnia and each individuals level of symptom relief. It concluded the cannabinoids CBD and THC both showed a statistically and clinically significant improvement for insomnia. This improvement on sleep and reduction of negative symptoms was stronger for Indica than Sativa strains. The study also parsed apart the effect of varying THC and CBD percentages. It found that, THC potencies tend to be much higher than CBD potencies across all levels of symptom relief. This may indicate an interaction effect or that the optimal ranges may differ for the two cannabinoids. The study also suggests general improvement in symptom relief for those suffering from insomnia worked best with higher CBD levels and lower THC levels. When it comes to the entourage effect, one study conducted in 2007 called Cannabis, Pain and Sleep found the effects of both cannabinoids THC and CBD in concert to be positive. The study measured CBD and THC for sleep aid and found results that indicate a mild activating effect of CBD, and slight residual sedation with THC-predominant extracts. This is particularly solid when it comes to symptom reduction permitting better sleep. The studys author says its not a hypnosis effect, but that individuals who experience less pain, inflammation, and anxiety is in fact what will help improve sleep. Improvements on overall sleep are hopeful but not yet conclusive. Credible studies looking at CBD (PubMed lists 6,810 at the time of this writing) do not find negative side effects for sleep when it comes to CBD use. One 2018 study from the Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, administered 300 milligrams of CBD to 27 healthy adults. The study found it did not effect the sleep-wake cycles of healthy adults. Its a small pool, and the study didnt focus on people with sleep issues to begin with. So take it with a grain of salt. RELATED: Is CBD Oil Addictive? CBD And Melatonin, CBN, And Mixing Sleep Aids Another trend in CBD sleep aids is the combination of CBD with melatonin as well as other natural sleep aid mixtures. Those mixtures are beginning to include lesser-known cannabinoids like CBN. What does the science behind these combinations, and are they safe? When it comes to the combination of CBD and natural sleep aid melatonin, it appears to be. There are no known negative interactions between CBD and melatonin. Both are recognized as endogenous, which means they occur naturally in the body. The body already makes both CBD and melatonin, which is another reason they exhibit significantly less side effects. CBN is a cannabinoid that may hold untapped sleep aid potential. Dr. Jeremy Riggle, International Cannabis Research Institute two time poster acceptee. Dr. Riggle is a keynote speaker and the current Chief Scientist who oversees a quality-control, laboratories, research development, testing of raw materials and finished products, and a team of biochemists for Marys Brands. Unfortunately, and as is the case for most of the minor cannabinoids, the research is very limited, particularly studies on human subjects, Dr. Riggle told Entrepreneur. There is a study from 1976 by Musty, et al. in which they administered CBN to human volunteers and found that it produced greater sedation than THC. Another study using an animal model found that CBN extended the sleep cycle of rodents. CBN has also been shown to be more effective when combined with other can, Dr. Riggle explained. Its for this reason Marys Medicinals launched a combination product that contains both CBD and CBN, focused on sedation.Dr. Riggle said Marys customer feedback has been, effective for helping them fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. He adds the comapnys consumers have also reported no residual grogginess that sometimes occurs after using other common sedatives. An interesting thing about CBN is that the plant doesnt make very much of it naturally. For this reason, Dr. Riggle says, it is often created through a degradation product of THC. Over time, when THC is exposed to heat or light it will slowly convert to CBN. We just accelerate this process crude THC extract and expedite the degradation of THC, converting the THC to CBN.. In this particular product, a tincture, the company produces it is made using no additional chemicals such as oxidizers and acids, solvents. It is part of the Marys Medicinals line because the CBN is indirectly made from cannabis, not hemp. Your endocannabinoid system is naturally occuring, all cannabinoids including THC, CBD and CBN are simply plugging in to those receptors. When looking at how CBD and CBN may interact with one another, the short answer is, they dont. They wont really interact with each other, nor will they compete for receptor binding sites. In fact, they actually have quite different pharmacologies different effects on the body have completely different biochemical mechanisms. The psychoactive effect of THC is believed to be due to it binding to CB1 receptors. CBN is a weaker agonist at CB1 and CB2 receptors than THC, said Dr. Riggle. This means CBN has a lower affinity for binding to the CB1 CB2 receptors. CBN, because it does bind to these receptors albeit to a lesser degree than THC, could potentially exhibit psychoactive effects. This would be more likely in a less experienced consumer than in one who consumes more frequently, but the possibility certainly exists, Dr. Riggle explained. Hemp-derived CBN materials are starting to become available, slowly, Dr. Riggle explained. But there is a downside. Typically, hemp-derived CBN is isolated using chemicals and some type of oxidation. Thats why CBN products, like Marys, are sold in dispensaries because of they are cannabis-derived. The Unregulated CBD Market In July of 2019, the FDA warned CBD companies that they cannot make unsubstaniated health claims in order to market and sell their products. This warning pointed to specific claims that CBD could cure or help with cancer, alheimers, anxiety, pain relief. This warning does not mention sleep. Meanwhile, the FDA has also not made any substantial moves in its own research and claims to support or deny. Unregulated CBD is unfortunately being sold online so be cautious and only purchase from trusted manufacturers. Consult a doctor and listen to your body when it comes to the dosage and the use of CBD. RELATED: 6 Things You Need To Know When Shopping For CBD Oil Here Are 5 CBD Brands For Sleep You Should Consider: While any CBD tincture or capsule from a trusted brand can work for sleep, here are five different brands we have found to be effective. (Photo courtesy of Marys Brands) The Remedy CBN: CBD from Marys Nutritionals Marys Brands, both of their sister companies Marys Nutritionals CBD line and Marys Medicinals cannabis line, offertinctures called The Remedy. In particular, the companys CBN:CBD combination tincture is a good option for those seeking some sleep relief. The company told Entrepreneur their hope was to create a product with the potential to help reduce common causes of sleep disturbances.More cannabinoid research is emerging to prove it as an effective option. White Fox Remedies Tranquility Tincture (Photo by Lindsey Bartlett/Green Entrepreneur) Tranquility from White Fox Remedies The company White Fox Remedies makes a sleepy, sedative tincture called Tranquility. Ingredients in this relaxing coconut-oil based mixture include kava kava, skull cap, vanilla beans, and chamomile. Their flavor is subtle, a slight taste of coconut oil is welcomed. Each bottle contains 300 milligrams of CBD and each dropper at 10 milligrams. White Fox says to expect a 15 to 20 minute onset time. (Photo courtesy PureCapsule Company) PureCapsules CBD Tincture from PureCapsule Company The PureCapsule Company A new company has a trusted and well-manufactured lineup of tincture and capsules worth trying for sleep aid. PureCapsules mint CBD Oil features full-spectrum CBD, meaning it contains more than the cannabinoid CBD but other beneficial cannabinoids as well. This is what constitutes the full spectrum of the hemp plants natural cannabinoids. The tincture is great for insomniacs because it works faster than other administration methods, says Pure Capsule Company's founder Scott Christ. The bottle contains 750 milligrams total, with 25 milligrams per dropper, which is his personal recommended dose for a nighttime. From his own experience with insomnia, Christ says tracking your sleep is crucial; You cant improve what you dont measure. Adding the time period for noticing difference should be at least three to four weeks, for some people even months. (Photo courtesy of Mellowment) Gravity PM from Mellowment Mellowment has a popular series Sleep Aid capsules that contain, inside each, 25 milligrams of what Mellowment has called nano CBD: plus 1 milligram of melatonin, 1 milligram of chamomile. What is nano CBD you ask? Gravity says it extracts CBD from hemp using a unique process of water-soluble cannabinoid-rich nanoemulsion. Gravity PM gets its namesake from production partner Gravity Blankets, the inventor of those popular weighted blankets you keep hearing about. Drops+ Sleep from Plant People Another combination CBD and CBN mixture can be found in this popular tincture line from Plant People called Drops+ Sleep. The formulation contains CBD, a small ratio percentage (about 1:6) of CBN and CBC, plus terpenes Myrcene, Linalool, Humulene, Geraniol, Terpineol, Delta-3-Carene, Nerolidol. The offering comes in two different options for potency: 720 milligrams and 1440 milligrams. A company focused on transparency, Plant People lists its complete lab report online for its most recent batch. For even more good karma, the company donates a percentage of every single sale to environmental protection organization American Forests. Related: Get a Workout Anywhere with These Affordable Kettlebells Block It Out: Bose 700 Noise Cancelling Headphones Can CBD Help You Sleep? Here's What The Research Tells Us Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved District officials were forced to abruptly close a North Philadelphia elementary school Friday morning after new air tests revealed elevated levels of asbestos fibers. The emergency decision came two days after McClure Elementary reopened, following a days-long asbestos cleanup that had shuttered the building Dec. 19. District officials assured teachers and parents on Thursday that the school was safe, but additional air tests, taken late Thursday evening, proved otherwise. District officials notified parents of the schools closure at about 6 a.m. Friday, leaving parents to scramble for child care. Two air samples came back slightly elevated. As a result, McClure will remain closed today for additional cleaning and further testing to ensure student and staff safety," the district wrote in a statement. Just a day earlier, district officials had questioned why leaders of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) were insisting that McClure stay closed until further testing was done. The district is unclear as to why the PFT continues to raise questions and, in some cases, seek school closures after tests confirm schools are safe for re-occupancy," school officials stated Thursday. "The district remains committed to the safety and education of our children. The debacle further eroded trust in the districts ability to safeguard students and teachers from asbestos hazards in dozens of aging schools across Philadelphia. The district has closed six schools since the start of school due to asbestos hazards. We feel that this calls into question a lot of the work that was done in the school and a lot of the information provided by the School District, McClure school nurse Emily Seiter said Friday. We work really hard to have these close relationships with parents and by coming into the building yesterday, we had all these conversations with parents about whether or not the school was safe and I relayed the information provided by district officials. Now we know that we should not have trusted the School District and any trust that parents had in the district has been completely destroyed. Jerry Roseman, the PFTs environmental scientist, called the districts repeated failures to control asbestos a big concern. Protocols are lacking and they are lacking across the district everywhere," Roseman said. It bit McClure this time. This is the downside of the lack of controls, and we are actually talking about something real here and that is exposure to a carcinogen. The School District hired Pepper Environmental Services to remove and patch damaged asbestos at McClure on Jan 2. The district also hired an environmental firm, Synertech, to monitor Pepper workers and conduct air testing, district documents show. >> READ THE AWARD-WINNING SERIES: Toxic City: Sick Schools The district had paid those same firms to do asbestos removal work at Benjamin Franklin High and Science Leadership Academy, which was abruptly shut down in early October, prompting the relocation of some 1,000 students, after Pepper and Synertech missed potential asbestos hazards. The error resulted in contractors disturbing asbestos that should have been removed prior to the projects start. Asbestos is not considered a hazard when in good condition, but when it becomes damaged, tiny fibers can be released into the air and can cause cancer when inhaled. As the school year began in early September, union leaders and district officials disclosed that a longtime elementary schoolteacher, Lea DiRusso, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare and deadly asbestos-linked cancer. She taught at two South Philadelphia schools with asbestos hazards for nearly 30 years. That news touched off a wave of concern among teachers and parents. Then, problems with exposed asbestos during the renovation at Ben Franklin-SLA, which closed on Oct. 1, heightened that anxiety and fueled anger. In December, McClure teachers asked Roseman and the districts environmental manager to walk through the building and check for damaged asbestos. They found several troubling areas, and the district closed McClure. Environmental crews with Pepper and Synertech got work at McClure, removing 1,100 feet of asbestos pipe insulation in hallways and stairwells, district documents show. Air tests cleared the building for occupancy, but during a final walk-through with staff on Tuesday one day prior to the scheduled reopening teachers noticed that an entrance to the attic, which was supposed to have been sealed because of asbestos contamination, was breached. The attic had been slated for asbestos cleanup at a later date. Synertech agreed to take air samples in a room adjacent to the attic that was used for aftercare and extra student instruction. Those test results, which came back Wednesday morning, documented elevated levels of airborne asbestos. District officials closed off the room Wednesday night and said additional testing just outside of the now-sealed contaminated space came back safe for occupancy. But Thursday, during a tense, daylong meeting, teachers and union leaders pushed district officials to take air samples in parts of the building that had not been tested. Federal rules require the district to conduct thorough asbestos inspections of schools every three years, and a visual inspection every six months. The school closures have highlighted hazards that environmental inspectors either failed to note or the district let sit. Synertech declined comment. Pepper did not return a phone call from The Inquirer. FBI looking for man who tried to rob Overland Park bank OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- The FBI is looking for a man who tried to rob an Overland Park bank Thursday afternoon. The attempted bank robbery was reported at 3:20 p.m. at First Federal Bank at 86th and Metcalf Avenue. According to investigators, the man entered the bank, showed a weapon and demanded money. The ATM of the Golden Ghetto offers up more cash to this hipster with a gun . . . Read more on the soft target: New Delhi, Jan 17 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has questioned the NIA probe in Jammu and Kashmir's suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh case and tweeted with the hashtag #WhoWantsTerroristDavinderSilenced. Rahul Gandhi raised objections to the NIA chief and alleged that "the case is as good as dead." Rahul tweeted: "The best way to silence Terrorist DSP Davinder, is to hand the case to the NIA. The NIA is headed by another Modi - YK, who investigated the Gujarat Riots & Haren Pandya's assassination. In YK's care, the case is as good as dead. #WhoWantsTerroristDavinderSilencedA And why??" A day earlier on Thursday, former Congress president had questioned the silence of the Prime Minister on Davinder Singh who was arrested for ferrying terrorists, and had also questioned the suspended Deputy SP's role in Pulwama attack. "DSP Davinder Singh sheltered 3 terrorists with blood on their hands at his home & was caught ferrying them to Delhi. He must be tried by a fast track court within 6 months & if guilty, given the harshest possible sentence for treason," Rahul had tweeted on Thursday. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi also criticised the government on Davinder Singh saying, "his arrest in J&K raises disturbing questions critical to India's national security. It seems rather odd that he not only evaded detection but was entrusted with extremely sensitive duties like escorting foreign envoys to J&K under the prevailing circumstances." Davinder Singh was arrested on January 11 along with Hizbul Mujahideen commander Naveed Babu, his accomplice Rafi and a lawyer named Irfan from a car on the highway near Kulgam. He was allegedly taking Babu to Jammu to help him travel to Pakistan in connivance with Irfan. Two Australians in Syria have been stripped of their citizenship over links to Islamic State, sparking family concerns about the status of their young children. The stripping of the couple's citizenship has been backdated to 2016 before the youngest two children were born leaving the wife and the children stranded in the notorious al-Hawl camp in Syria. The husband is in a Syrian prison. Islamic State wives and children in the foreign section of al-Hawl camp, Syria, in April 2019. Credit:Kate Geraghty The Department of Home Affairs says children do not lose their citizenship if their parent loses the right to be an Australian national. The pair are among 17 people who have lost their rights to be citizens of Australia under laws that allow the government to strip the citizenship of dual nationals. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal The commission also re-elected Roberta Salazar-Henry as vice-chair of the commission on Friday. Salazar-Henry was appointed in June 2019, and represents Catron, Socorro, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, Sierra and Dona Ana counties. She worked at Game and Fish for 25 years and is a former board member of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, a group that advocates for public lands, sportsmen and women, and wildlife management practices. Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal. Sharon Salazar Hickey, who was announced on Thursday as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's new pick for the state game commission, was elected chair of the commission at the Friday meeting in Las Cruces. The new commissioner replaces Joanna Prukop, a longtime Game and Fish employee who was not reappointed by the governor after her term expired Dec. 31. Hickey has served on the New Mexico Youth Conservation Corps Commission since 2012. The Corps employs youth for natural resource preservation projects around the state. I have been so honored for the last eight years to serve on (that) commission, Hickey said at Friday's meeting. Having that experience, I have become very knowledgeable about our resources and our communities. Hickey, a Los Alamos native, works at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a program manager for the Associate Laboratory Director for Environment, Safety, Health, Quality, Safeguards and Security. I do not represent the lab, Hickey said as she pledged to keep her work at LANL separate from her commission duties. Hickey spoke of the importance of transparency and fairness on the commission. In the past year, the commission has voted on several high-profile issues, including the non-navigable waters rule and changes to trapping on public lands. The new commissioner has a law degree, but said that she does not currently practice law. Hickey lives in Santa Fe with her husband, and the couple have three children. According to a Game and Fish announcement, she enjoys hiking, biking and snowshoeing. She was appointed to the New Mexico State Governor's Fellows Program Board of Directors in 2007. Be part of the most important health and wellness tourism event in Central America and the Caribbean in its fifth edition, which will bring together the key stakeholders of the sector. SANTO DOMINGO:--- Mr. Alejandro Cambiaso M.D., president of the Dominican Health Tourism Association (ADTS for its acronym in Spanish), and Mrs. Amelia Reyes Mora, president of AF Comunicacion Estrategica, have announced the celebration of the 5th International Health and Wellness Tourism Congress. The event will take place from October the 21st to the 23rd 2020, at El Embajador, a Royal Hideaway Hotel, in Santo Domingo. Dr. Cambiaso informed that this edition of the Congress will address the new trends and projects that define the direction of the Dominican healthcare and tourism industry. It will focus on reputation and destination crisis management, public-private sectors partnerships, the process of international accreditation, digital healthcare implementation and transformation, the development of healthy cities and top-tier centers; as well as local, international and traveler's insurance policies and the role of hotels in the wellness industry, among timely topics. Moreover, Ms. Reyes Mora indicated that this biennial summit promotes the innovation, integration and the development of businesses in the sector. Also, this Congress places health tourism as an industry of national and regional interest. In 2018, approximately 47,725 international patients and 69,550 tourists were treated or assisted, respectively, by an area of medical tourism. This contributed to an economic impact of more than 13 billion Dominican Pesos. The Congress will feature relevant conferences and panels, which will be aimed at the leaders that are involved in the broad chain of value of health tourism: healthcare centers, insurance companies, travel agencies, airlines, tour operators, hospitality, financial industry, government authorities, logistics, legal, pharmaceutical industry and education, among other sectors. Once the organizers concluded with the details of the announcement, they highlighted that the Congress promotes quality, safety and compliance of local regulations and international accreditations. This will further strengthen the country's medical practice and health indicators and position the Dominican Republic as a reliable and safe healthcare destination. Additionally, it will encourage new local and foreign investments, as well as help diversify the national tourism offering. Statistically, 80% of healthcare tourists will travel with partners and spend roughly eight times more than a conventional tourist, therefore leading to a significant economic impact to the local economy. In the past two editions, the event gathered more than 800 participants, 74 exhibitors and 112 sponsors, who have become champions of the promotion of innovation, competitiveness and quality standards of healthcare services in the Dominican Republic. For information and registration visit congresoadts.com or call +1 809-567-2663 or +1 809-544-0524 When it comes to fast food options many people have their favorites. For juicy hamburgers and crispy fries people will automatically spark the age old debate between McDonalds and Burger King, even though everyone knows Wendy's is the absolute best (no questions, just accept it). Then, in the big pizza debate, there's Domino's versus Pizza Hut, with Little Caesar's sneakily keeping people fed with their rock bottom prices and constant promotion. But when it comes to fast Mexican food, Taco Bell is the king. Established in 1962 Taco Bell has had a long history of supplying the masses with tacos, burritos and nachos to keep their customers constantly running back for a quick fix. And it's made them one of the most popular fast-food Mexican chains in the entire United States. From Wikipedia; Taco Bell was founded by Glen Bell, who first opened a hot dog stand called Bell's Drive-In in San Bernardino, California[5] in 1962 in Downey, California. in 1967, the 100th restaurant opened at 400 South Brookhurst in Anaheim. Original Taco Bell's featured walk-up windows only, with no indoor seating or drive-thru service. In 1968, its first franchise location east of the Mississippi River opened in Springfield, Ohio.[6] In 1970, Taco Bell went public with 325 restaurants. Since that time there have been other entries into the taco game like Qdoba, Baja Fresh and Chipotle, but everyone knows that the granddaddy of them all famously asked the question 'Yo Quiero Taco Bell' many moons ago. However, just because you're an established piece of Americana doesn't mean that some crazy things won't happen inside your stores. And Taco Bell has seen its fair share of incidents that have made many wonder exactly why things took a turn all the way left. Fox News reports that in a Pennsylvania Taco Bell recently two customers must have been fed up with the small amount of cheese on their burritos because they got so upset with workers behind the counter a physical altercation ensued. Story continues Jennifer S. Bowling and Jaime E. Ramos-Carrillo were charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct, Herald Mail Media reports.The duo allegedly got into an argument with an employee at a Taco Bell in Chambersburg, Pa., on Jan. 2. When the employee attempted to walk away, Bowling and Ramos-Carrillo walked behind the counter, where a fight reportedly broke out. Both suspects are accused of assaulting two Taco Bell employees before leaving the store. Unfortunately, not too long before this incident another Taco Bell store experienced an unusual break-in in Georgia. The break-in occurred around 12:15 in the morning on Christmas day, WSB-TV reports. The footage shows the suspect pull bags of ingredients out, and work the fryers before eating his meal and then taking a nap. The Gwinnett County Police Department uploaded the footage to Facebook, where they captioned it, On Christmas morning, a man broke into a local fast food restaurant, prepared some food, and eventually took a nap. This occurred at the Taco Bell at 4880 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville. Sure the meals are delicious and cost-effective but violence and squatting should never be the answer to fixing your taco cravings. Hopefully, these will be isolated incidents that won't affect Taco Bell's good name throughout the rest of the year. NCR-based Gaurs Group is planning to invest Rs 10,000 crore over the next five years for its residential, commercial, education, retail, hospitality and healthcare projects. It may also consider sunshine sectors such as co-working, service apartments and co-living, Managing Director Manoj Gaur told reporters. "We have completed and delivered more than 50,000 units in the last 25 years. Now, we are targeting to deliver another 50,000 units in the next five years. We will increase our focus in commercial segment which has performed better than the other asset classes," he said. "Of the Rs 10,000 crore, 50% will be for residential and remaining 40 percent for commercial and another 10 percent will go to schools. Some funds have also approached us for the rental business. We will be delivering 8 million sq ft in 2020, it accounts for almost 8000 homes. The investment for this year is expected to be Rs 2,500 crore," said company's director Sarthak Gaur. These projects would be mainly at Noida, Greater Noida, Yamuna Expressway and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. He claimed the company's sales bookings have been strong despite demand slowdown in the housing market. Sales booking jumped to Rs 4,000 crore from Rs 1,600 crore in the previous year, he said. The company also has plans to foray into Dehradun market with a mixed-use project On the commercial segment, Manoj Gaur said the company has so far developed about 25 lakh sq ft of commercial area of which around 15 lakh is under the lease model. "We plan to develop 10 million sq ft of commercial space in the next 5 years. We have a rental income of Rs 100 crore currently and target is to touch Rs 400 crore in the next five years," he said. Asked if the company plans to take the IPO route, Gaur said that there were no plans in the offing but said the About the company's turnover and debt, Gaur said the turnover fluctuates between Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 2,000 crore depending on revenue recognition based on area completion, while its debt is around Rs 2,000 crore. It currently has projects in Noida, Greater Noida West, Ghaziabad and Yamuna Expressway. Review at a glance I n July 2016, Roger Ailes, the apparently all-powerful CEO of the hugely successful Fox News for 20 years, was fired by Rupert Murdoch after multiple claims of sexual harassment had emerged against him. His fall was rapid. On July 6, former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit against Ailes personally, alleging she had been fired for resisting his advances. Other women from Ailess past came forward and an internal investigation was launched. On July 19, the starry Fox news anchor Megyn Kelly told the investigators Ailes had made sexual advances to her too. On July 21, Ailes was out, receiving a $40 million pay-off. Suffering from haemophilia, he died less than a year later, after a fall, aged 77. These events, which preceded by a year the October 2017 exposure of Harvey Weinstein and the creation of the #MeToo movement, had a huge impact in the States and very rapidly became the subject of books, documentaries and a TV dramatisation last year, The Loudest Voice, in which Russell Crowe played Ailes, winning a Golden Globe, and Naomi Watts played Carlson. Now heres a new docudrama going over the story again, for which Charlize Theron, who plays Kelly and also co-produced, has been Oscar nominated for best actress. Margot Robbie, who plays a fictional character, a young and vulnerable aspirant at Fox News called Kayla, is nominated for best supporting actress. Harassment case: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie in Bombshell The script is by Charles Randolph, who won a best adapted screenplay Oscar for The Big Short, and the film proceeds very recognisably in that explainer style, with bold inserts and frame-breaks; the director of photography here, Barry Ackroyd shot The Big Short too, using the same approach of dynamic subjective views and quasi-documentary following around. Jay Roach, best known for his Austin Powers and Meet The Fockers comedies, directs crisply. Still, Bombshell plays a little oddly to UK audiences without much previous investment in this tale. Few British viewers will have heard of Gretchen Carlson or Megyn Kelly, let alone find them instantly recognisable, and perhaps know little of Roger Ailes either. Yet enormous effort has been put into emulating their appearance with extensive prosthetics for Nicole Kidman, who plays Carlson, for Theron, and above all for John Lithgow, who plays Ailes with prosthetic cheeks, nose, neck, ears and so forth, plus a full body suit. The films other Oscar nod is for best makeup and hairstyling and its deserved. For these prosthetics, for once, do not hinder expression and even play into the way these presenters have to mould themselves into a highly made-up, blonde-helmeted, heavily-lashed Fox look, a horror show in itself. Another aspect of the film that might escape UK audiences is the sheer extent to which Fox News and its presenters are reviled by liberals as disgraceful, reactionary and Trump-supporting, so that there is, for some, a real tension in portraying the harassment of these women, so ambitious to work for the very devil, sympathetically. The ingenue Kayla comes from a conservative, evangelical background and she is genuinely shocked when she has a drunken night with colleague Jess (Kate McKinnon) and discovers that shes a closet Hillary supporter. Jess sadly explains that Fox was the only job she could get and now shes forever tainted. Its this element of recoil from total sympathy with these harassed women that makes the film intriguing though. They are victims and they are not, for they are also voluntarily participating in a sexual sell, as well as the exploitative approach to news (scare/titillate) at the channel. And Ailes is shown to have genuinely helped and promoted his female stars as well as preying upon them. Despite the Oscar nods going elsewhere, the great performance here is that of John Lithgow. He makes Ailes both utterly repellent and yet invariably fascinating. The biggest film releases of 2020 still to come 1 /14 The biggest film releases of 2020 still to come Portrait Of A Lady On Fire In 18th-century Brittany, a female painter is bewitched by her angry, acutely observant subject (the wonderful Adele Haenel). Look out for the ground-breaking abortion scene (featuring an adorably inquisitive baby). As in Carol and Call Me By Your Name, a gay affair ends in tears, yet we come out smiling. A Quiet Place: Part II In the tense original, a family were preyed on by noise-sensitive aliens. Director John Krasinski seems the last man on earth to make a meh sequel. Yippee! We reckon the adventures of newly widowed-mum-of-three, Evelyn (Emily Blunt), will have us sucking our popcorn so as not to break the spell. Netflix Onward Pixars latest follows a pair of elf brothers (Tom Holland and Chris Pratt) who head out into the world in source of ye olde magic and the top half of their father, after a spell to bring him back to life only goes so far as his waist. Expect lots of laughs, and more than a few tugs at the heartstrings, too. Octavia Spencer and Julia Louis-Dreyfus also lend their voices. Mulan Disney is at it again with the remakes, turning this beloved 1998 cartoon into a live-action film. Hopefully itll be better than last years Dumbo, and less eerie than the Lion King update. Liu Yifei takes the title role. Disney No Time To Die Bond is back, with Daniel Craig in his fifth and last outing as 007. Craig is joined by Rami Malek as new villain Safin and Ana De Armas as Paloma, a CIA agent on the case with Bond. Expect all the hallmarks of Bond the Astons, the watches as he does his bit to rescue a kidnapped scientist. With Phoebe Waller-Bridge brought in to help tidy up the final scripts, expect it to be a step-up from 2015s dreary Spectre (you know, the one that prompted Craig to say hed rather slash his wrists than return). Rocks When her mum buggers off, 15-year-old east Londoner Rocks (Bukky Bakray; astonishing) is forced to take charge of her little brother. With the help of friends, she keeps interfering teachers and social workers at bay. For a while. Like The Florida Projects Moonee, Rocks wont just break your heart, shell smash it to smithereens. Promising Young Woman In this rape-revenge comedy produced by Margot Robbie, heroine Cassie (Carey Mulligan) sets out to punish the sort of outwardly decent man who sees a blind drunk woman and thinks Im in! One of Mulligans co-stars is the polymath Bo Burnham (who directed last years gem, Eighth Grade). Very promising indeed. Black Widow The endless saga of superhero movies rolls on. Still, at least its for a decent character: Scarlett Johanssons Black Widow has proven hugely popular with fans since her screen debut in Iron Man 2, and has since come to the fore in the Avengers. The first trailer was met with rave reviews, and with a huge supporting cast including David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Florence Pugh and O-T Fagbenle, expect this to be something of a runaway success. Marvel Legally Blonde 3 While there is a literal Barbie film out in 2020 Margot Robbie is set to voice a live-action take on the doll, directed by Greta Gerwig expect more from Reese Witherspoon as she returns for the third time as ditzy-but-not-really Elle Woods. Some 17 years have passed since Woods was last on screen, but like, why wouldnt this be great? Details on the plot, sadly, are very thin. Still, Geminis and law students alike shouldnt object to this one. Top Gun: Maverick Its definitely another case of Playing With The Boys here, as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and the Iceman (Val Kilmer) both return to screens and the skies for the follow-up to the 1986 smash. Three decades later, Maverick is no longer the young hot shot, but a seasoned flight instructor, this time helping train Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of the late Goose. From the first trailer, it looks to be a spectacle of aerial acrobatics, and the rest of the cast is fairly high-flying, too John Hamm, Glenn Powell, Jennifer Connelly and Jay Ellis also star. Tenet Christopher Nolan looks set to continue his extraordinary run of hits which include The Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar and Dunkirk with this, a psychological, sci-fi thriller set in the future. In it, scientists and secret agents work to prevent World War Three and a fate "worse than a nuclear holocaust". Little is firmly known about the project, though it looks like Nolan is returning to the theme of time travel, and has enlisted some huge names to help him: Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh are the great British thesps starring alongside John David Washington, Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Robert Pattinson. Theres no ambiguity about the vileness. No one wants to watch a middle-aged woman sweat her way through menopause, he shouts at Carlson. Hes known for telling women to get ahead you have to give a little head. The scene in which he first grooms Kayla, who has wangled her way into his office, is terrific. Stand up and give me a twirl, he tells her, its a visual medium. Breathing heavily, he compels her to lift her skirt higher and higher, promising he could move her all the way to the front of the line but she needs to prove her loyalty. Ultimately, she tearfully tells her true friend Jess: He just kept saying good girl, be a good soldier, earn your place he didnt even unbuckle. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 07:37:49|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close Chinese Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken speaks at a new year event of the Chamber of Commerce Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany, Jan. 16, 2020. Chinese Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken on Thursday invited more German companies to invest in the ever-wider opening China, and urged Germany to treat Chinese investment equally. "German companies are not only leaders in investing in China, but also witnessing reform and opening up and benefiting from China's economic development," said Wu at the new year event of the Chamber of Commerce Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg attended by 2,200 people, most of them business representatives. (Xinhua/Wang Qing) VILLINGEN-SCHWENNINGEN, Germany, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken on Thursday invited more German companies to invest in the ever-wider opening China, and urged Germany to treat Chinese investment equally. "German companies are not only leaders in investing in China, but also witnessing reform and opening up and benefiting from China's economic development," said Wu at a new year event of the Chamber of Commerce Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg attended by 2,200 people, most of them business representatives. Wu said the total volume of trade between China and Germany in 2019 reached 200 billion U.S. dollars. According to the German Chamber of Commerce, exports to China have created around 900,000 jobs in Germany, and around 6,000 German companies are currently investing in China. At the beginning of the new year 2020, China published a new reform package and passed various laws and regulations on foreign investments, showing that the Chinese government is still endeavoring to open up to the outside world, according to Wu. "We invite even more German companies to invest in China and also encourage Chinese companies to come to Germany and Europe," said Wu. The Chinese ambassador said although Chinese investment is only a tenth of the investment of German companies in China, there are many voices such as "protection from China". The German Federal Government has revised the foreign trade regulation twice in recent years and tightened the investment review. "We often hear that Chinese investors are still warmly welcomed in Germany, but on the other hand, it is hard to miss the fact that the tightening of the investment review is aimed precisely at Chinese companies," said Wu, adding that in recent years many Chinese companies that have invested or want to invest in Germany have experienced explicit or implicit hurdles. "In China people wonder why Germany is closing its door, while the door of China is opening ever wider," said Wu. "In my opinion, Germany must, in its own interest, speak out clearly against unilateralism and protectionism," he said. Wu said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had said clearly that there had been no suspected cases of China's tech firm Huawei so far. According to the German Office for Information Security, no information has been received so far that there are intelligence activities in the field of technology, Wu said. "There is a saying in China: Real gold is not afraid of fire. I hope that the German economy can have a keen eye and a rational voice on the subject of Huawei," the Chinese ambassador noted. This was a nightmare campaign day for the outgoing Fine Gael-led government as-on the hour-the real horror of crime in Ireland was emerging and threatened to engulf the start of the election race. It was a long day in which Taoiseach Leo Varadkar must have known by the end that election 2020 will be all about day-to-day concerns for voters and not the grand old chess game that is Brexit. Crime, housing, health, education all came across his radar-even when he tried to raise the B word. The day began with an early visit to Drogheda Garda station, where gardai briefed him and Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan about the investigation into the gruesome murder of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods. The nation, stunned by the depravity of the killing, want action. And so, passionate and ready to respond, Mr Varadkar ahead of the garda meeting, had told reporters the government would put the killers behind bars and make Drogheda safe once again. It sounded convincing. But how? Mr Varadkar said there were enough gardai. Later, he sniffed at suggestions the laws should be beefed up. Fine Gael is the party of law and order and people know that, insisted Mr Varadkar. Only a short time latter, news filtered through of another suspected gangland-linked attack: a double shooting in Dublin. By yesterday afternoon, there were calls for tougher laws, for garda opinions to be allowed to jail gangs. Despite the defence of the government, the focus still remained on garda numbers. And people on the streets of Drogheda remain dazed and shocked by the killing of one of their teenagers. Mr Varadkar believes that special task forces, similar to one which has helped Dublin's inner city, could be set up in Drogheda and other towns. Such approaches worked to ease gang warfare in Limerick. But they take time and resources, in part to support deprived areas and help divert youngsters away from crime. This idea will unlikely come to fruition during an election campaign. But the proposal should be tried, he explained: This will be in our manifesto. I think what we've done in Dublin's north east inner city has made a difference. We need to be tough on crime but we also have to be tough on the causes of crime. And that means removing some of the issues that cause people to go down the road of crime. Disadvantage, lack of parental supervision, all of those things. Next stop for Mr Varadkar and the Fine Gael team was the outskirts of Birr, Offaly, where he opened a newly expanded 14m Grant Engineering factory. Managing director Stephen Grant pushed for biofuel investment, outlining how his company's domestic heating appliances are adapting for a zero-carbon future. It was an opportunity for Mr Varadkar, not just to cut the ribbon on the new site, but to hammer home the government's efforts to help the midlands leave its peat burning past behind and to roll out radical climate change measures. An attentive crowd looked on, eager to learn how the country and its workforce can adapt to carbon reductions. Jobs may become redundant, but people shouldn't, the Fine Gael leader explained. Party TDs Marcella Corcoran Kennedy and Charlie Flanagan were among the crowd. They too will be hoping for a 'Just Transition' when it comes to their seats as well as the future of the midlands. Then the Fine Gael convoy moved onto Birr town, where in the twilight of the day and what has been a tough week for the Fine Gael campaign was coming to an end. Mr Varadkar posed with a newly married bride, met the locals, was photographed with more babies and made his way down the main street. To add to the outgoing coalition's troubles, an almighty row around the housing crisis had erupted back in Dublin and teachers have also threatened to strike just days ahead of polling next month. Nonetheless, Mr Varadkar and his entourage stopped to meet Offaly locals, exchanged pleasantries and smiled as the curtain began to finally come down on a long political week. Brexit has been to the forefront of the Fine Gael election campaign, including the claim the best team should remain in office to negotiate the next phase of Britain's chaotic EU exit. Stopping outside Guinan's Footwear store in the town, Mr Varadkar was introduced to local Betty Spain. What are you going to do for us, she quizzed the Taoiseach.He responded immediately that he and the government would get a good deal on Brexit. But within a few sentences, she cut him off and said her concerns were about the health system and that her daughter was a nurse. How would you like it if you had a parent or relative working in it, the lady asked. Mr Varadkar replied that he did, that his sister was a midwife. But the moment was lost. And the woman's point had been made. Standing beside her, Ray Larkin, from Raheen, said something must be done to support mental health. He had been "one minute away" from committing suicide before, he told Mr Varadkar, but now ran a support group. Both the Taoiseach and deputy Corcoran-Kennedy mentioned the newly launched helpline. Again, services and supports trumped Brexit. And this is what we can expect from the rest of this campaign. By Abdul Kerimkhanov Azerbaijan will become a major tourist destination in Western Asia and the Caucasus, Peter M. Tase, a strategic adviser on international affairs and public diplomacy to governments, universities and corporations in Europe and the Americas said in an interview with Azernews. He also made a number of forecasts about Azerbaijans international and foreign policies. Listing Azerbaijans regions, he noted that Qabala, Oghuz, Sheki and Quba have a potential to accommodate a great number of international visitors. In addition, he mentioned Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, which he called a major powerhouse of renewable energy production and economy of agro-forestry systems in the Caucasus and beyond, in the face of being under a ruthless economic blockade, imposed by Armenia for over three decades. "The attractive region of Nakhchivan, under the impressive vision of President Ilham Aliyev, and Chairman Vasif Talibov has developed attractive and sustainable tourism industry, promoted food and dairy production, financed agro-forestry projects and provided its citizens with new public education infrastructure. Nakhchivan has ample, spacious road infrastructure (fully paved roads) that is envied by large European countries; its unique landscape will definitely attract a larger number of tourists in 2020," he stated. As a major tourist destination in Europe, he added, a five-star ranking Hotel Tabriz in Nakhchivan will accommodate a growing number of international tourists from the Far East, Argentina, Latin America, Europe and the United States. Tase further shared his forecasts about Azerbaijans political and economic policies. "Azerbaijans Foreign Policy will heavily engage in multilateral diplomacy, to ensure that Armenia withdraws all its armed forces from the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan: Nagorno-Karabakh and its seven surrounding regions that have been totally destroyed and plundered under the ruthless Armenian Occupation (for over three decades)," he said. The expert considers Azerbaijan will effectively harness a national policy of economic development, enhance the results of economic diplomacy, maintain stable macroeconomic levels and increase the capacity - effectiveness of public works investments. "The Azerbaijani government has a keen interest to embrace technological innovations in the fields of agriculture, logistical parks, civil engineering, robotics, healthcare and artificial intelligence. Baku will come forward as a global metropolis in the fields of science, research and development projects, innovation in engineering education and research in petroleum engineering," Tase stated. He also noted that Azerbaijan has a transparent government, a public policy that is focused mainly towards improving the lives of more than one million Internally Displaced Peprsons and has invested significant resources towards healthcare, logistical parks services and public works. Tase emphasized that in 2019, Azerbaijan pursued a productive foreign policy strategy based on its national interests at a time of growing political and economic turmoil in the context of regional and international relations. "Although the region had a series of adverse processes, Azerbaijan achieved an even greater economic growth of international standing owed to preservation of internal stability and the rhythm of consistent sustainable development. The government of Azerbaijan has carried out significant public administration reforms, embraced attractive economic growth and effectively implemented strategic infrastructure and transportation projects," he said. Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Commenting on Azerbaijans foreign policy, the expert called it an integral part of the national comprehensive development strategy. "It has contributed to strengthening the international posture and assistance of Azerbaijan as a reliable and economically sustainable partner, following the principles of multilateralism, defence of human rights and international public interest law, guided by a transparent government, and by a philosophy of peace and regional stability," Tase noted. As a result of these inspiring efforts, he added, the world community has increased its support towards Azerbaijan's territorial sovereignty and integrity, a number of multilateral organizations have expressed their concerns on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh armed conflict, and openly defend. "Azerbaijans territorial sovereignty is based on principles of International Law and inviolability of international borders," the expert underlined. Touching upon the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit held in Baku on 25-26 October 2019 that brought together 120 member countries, he recalled that the heads of governments emphasized the inadmissibility of acquisition of territory by armed forces, also stressed the importance of resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict on the basis of the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. "The NAM Summit confirmed that no Member State shall recognize as legal the situation that has erupted from the occupation of the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan. At the recent Summit, the NAM chairmanship was transferred to Azerbaijan, with a three-year mandate," the expert informed. TANAP project Speaking about the regional projects, Tase called the signing of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project between Turkey and Azerbaijan on 26 June 2012, as the most strategic initiative led by the Azerbaijani government in the last two decades. He added that the contemporary history of Azerbaijan recognizes the economic and financial benefits that TANAP Project will generate for the people of Azerbaijan. "As of November 2019, the 16 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijans Natural Gas are being delivered to Turkey and a portion of its overall quantity is delivered to European Union markets. Such a priority of Azerbaijan, implemented under the guidance of President Aliyev, shapes a vigorous geostrategic influence of Baku in Brussels and will enhance the legal defense of entire territorial sovereignty of Azerbaijan under the institutional framework of European Union, United Nations and Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)," the expert highlighted. Tase believes that TANAP will serve as an Azerbaijani passport that will convincingly admonish all International Institutions on the present security threat that exists from the Armenian occupation of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan that unraveled three decades ago in the doorsteps of Europe. "The European Commission Leadership, the European Council, UN Security Council and NATO must become aware of the geostrategic challenges that Southern Caucasus represents; human suffering and destruction of cultural heritage sites within the Nagorno-Karabakh region (sovereign territory of Azerbaijan), are a great loss for all humanity. All these atrocities were committed by the Armenian Armed Forces; and TANAP will give ample headway to the defense of territorial sovereignty and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan, in the shriveling concert of nations. The implementation of TANAP project meets energy, security strategy, economic and geopolitical interests of Azerbaijan," he emphasized. The expert believes Azerbaijan ensures Europes energy security and is a key partner and EU supporter. "Azerbaijan has a balanced foreign policy in Europe; it has established as a consolidated democracy, foreign policy and surges as an attractive economic partner that ensures completion of large energy (pipelines) projects on schedule," Tase concluded. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Mumbai: Maharashtra government on Friday announced that all the establishments falling under gated communities like restaurants, malls, multiplexes and retail outlets will be allowed to operate 24x7 across Mumbai. The new rule will be implemented in the city from January 26. Maharashtra State Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray called a meeting on Thursday (January 16) which was attended by Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi, the Police Commissioner Sanjay Barve and senior officials from both departments, along with representatives of shopping malls, hotels and restaurants including the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI). Live TV After the government moves, HRAWI president Gurbaxish Singh Kohli welcomed the move and said that the Association has been spearheading the petition for making Mumbai a global tourism destination for nearly two decades. He further said that they had approached Aaditya Thackeray with their proposal and they are extremely happy that their demand was taken into consideration. The HRAWI has termed this move as a sign of progress, benefitting both employment and tourism. Kohli said, ''This decision holds the potential to increase employment opportunities by at least 25 per cent in the city and eventually across the State. This is a definite boost to tourism and the economy and will help the hospitality sector to emerge even stronger. The implementation is now up to the stakeholders and how quickly they implement it. To promote footfalls in malls and other gated communities, retailers could offer discounts to post-midnight shoppers and theatres could offer lower-priced tickets for late-night movie shows.'' Aaditya Thackeray took oath as Minister on December 30 and became the first member of the Thackeray family to take oath as a minister in the state cabinet. - Mbula Kasyula said her two children aged 24 and 25 have not walked since birth - Her daughter was born with all her body parts fully functioning until at one and a half years when she was diagnosed with a terrible pneumonia - The two siblings take special food and their mother has to purchase wheelchairs for them A middle-aged woman is now pleading for help after solely raising her two disabled children. Mbula Kasyula who hails from Kyuso in Mwingi north sub county said her her husband passed on 20 years ago leaving her with the burden of raising their two disabled children. READ ALSO: Babu Owino: Detectives recover gun, nine bullets following shooting incident Jane Kasyoka, 25 and Sammy Muimi (right) have been on wheel chairs since birth. Photo: TUKO.co.ke. Source: Original READ ALSO: Mbunge Babu Owino adai mahasidi wake wa kisiasa wanataka kumuangamiza The two, Jane Kasyoka, 25, and Sammy Muimi , 24, have been on wheel chairs since birth. According to the woman, Jane was born with all her body parts fully functioning until at one and half years when she was diagnosed with a terrible pneumonia attack. I took her to a hospital near our home where she received medical care but when we returned home, she could not sit or stand, narrated the mother. She made attempts to take her to the hospital again to explain what had happened after the girl was cured of pneumonia but doctors said the girl might have developed spine problems. The mother then took her home hoping she would improve but up to date, she has never walked. Sammy Muimi on the other hand was born with weak legs and has never walked since birth but his hands are strong, according to his mother. Outlining the challenges she faces raising her two disabled children, the mother of four stated she exhausted all she had while taking care of them. Ever since their father passed on, I have been on my own and meeting their expenses is very cumbersome, she added. Mbula disclosed that she initially used to take them to a boarding special school in Mombasa for care but she stopped citing hard financial times she currently faces. From my home to the special boarding school in Mombasa, I had to hire a taxi because they cannot board public service vehicles among other expenses, the widow added. Mbula said the two also take special food and she has to purchase wheelchairs for them at KSh 40,000 each which are in a bad state now. She also noted that the KSh 2,000 she receives from the government through National Funds for Disabled Kenya is too little as their expenses are too high. Mbulas eldest daughter who works in Nairobi is neither of help for she too has a medical condition, epilepsy, and she is mostly in and out of hospital. My elder daughter sometimes requires my financial backup to aid her get medical attention, said the distraught woman. Mbula who operates a small shop in their Kyanika village is now pleading for support from well-wishers. I plead to any well-wisher to come to my aid and financially support me in order for me to fully take care of my children, the mother of four pleaded. She stated if a good Samaritan helped her put up a business, she would also be in a position to take her last born son to school who just completed Form Four. Sammy also stated that if a well-wisher could build a house for him, he would appreciate for he also hopes have a family one day. Kasyoka on her side said she can oversee a business for her legs and hands are weak. Any well wisher can reach Mbula Kasyula through 0726268588. Story by Linah Musangi, TUKO.co.ke correspondent. 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. I chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Some 70% of companies with at least 10 employees in Hungary provided mobile devices with access to the internet to their staff in 2019, according to data by Eurostat, the official statistical agency of the European Union. The EU average stood slightly below the Hungarian rate, at 68%. Eurostat says that in 36% of EU enterprises, more than one-fifth of the staff were provided with such devices. The highest share of companies that provided mobile devices with internet connection last year was registered in Finland (96%), followed by Denmark (92%), and Sweden (87%). The rate was 80% or more in Croatia, Lithuania (both 86%), the Czech Republic, Slovenia (both 83%), Estonia and Austria (both 80%). At the other end of the spectrum, only 46% of the enterprises in Bulgaria provided their staff with such devices. This share was 60% or less in Greece (56%), Romania (58%), and the United Kingdom (60%). Photo courtesy of Eurostat Chattanooga State Community College has been awarded $140,000 from an American Association of Community Colleges Expanding Community College Apprenticeships grant to further build its apprenticeship program in response to employee training needs from the areas advanced manufacturers. The regions manufacturers report scrambling for workers as more high-tech companies from around the world have located in the area over the past eleven years and the existing workforce approaches retirement age. Some Chattanooga area employers, such as Wacker Polysilicon, Tennessee Rand, Whirlpool, Volkswagen, Gestamp, Wirtgen Group and BASF, have initiated their own apprenticeship programs with Chattanooga State to recruit/grow technicians. Despite these efforts, many employers continue to face staffing shortages. Currently, more than 150 full-time, college-sponsored, registered apprenticeship positions are slated to occur throughout the life of this grant/pilot. The occupations this project addresses have been strategically selected to provide the widest coverage of skills in advanced manufacturing and to develop guided pathways from entry-level to advanced workplace proficiencies. The end results will be completion of industry credentials and post-secondary education to meet employer demands for a ready-workforce now and in the future. Special efforts will be made to recruit and increase access to populations underrepresented in apprenticeship programs, including targeted and focused outreach to veterans, military spouses, transitioning service members, women, people of color, and ex-offenders. All individuals who participate in the project will be 16 years of age or older and not currently enrolled in school within a local education agency. Participants will likely be non-traditional college students seeking immediate workforce training and skill upgrades needed for in-demand employment opportunities with partner employers. Chattanooga State has a history of providing the academic training component for various industry-recognized apprenticeship programs. The College has developed customized curricula to meet a specific companys needs. Building on this background, Chattanooga State is developing College-Sponsored, U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship programs that are open to all regional employers. This model offers a scalable and sustainable workforce development tool for all partnering companies desiring to create a long-term, skilled talent pipeline. Chattanooga State, in partnership with the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, unveiled its first College-Sponsored, Registered Apprenticeship program in December 2018. Thanks to the input of local business and industry, as well as labor market information, the initial program was identified and confirmed to train Industrial Maintenance Technicians in a structured two-year training program that combines on-the-job learning and training-related classroom instruction. Industrial maintenance technicians completing this program will have earned a diploma in Industrial Maintenance from the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, an apprentice certification from the USDOL, and two years of directly related work experience with a full-time job and career pathway. Through this grant, the College is working to further build its apprenticeship program, offer industry certifications, and create additional Registered Apprenticeships. The Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Department is working with other divisions on campus and their extensive base of industry partners to identify the next occupations that will be added to Chattanooga States apprenticeship offerings. As additional college-sponsored registered apprenticeships are developed, Chattanooga State will target selected occupations within the H1-B sector of advanced manufacturing to meet employer demand through expanded apprenticeship opportunities throughout the region. According to Tennessees Department of Economic and Community Development, over the past five years, the state of Tennessee has ranked in the Top-10 for the largest percentage increase in the United States in manufacturing gross domestic product, which reached $53.2 billion in 2016. Tennessee is a high-tech incubator, with some of the most sophisticated manufacturing facilities in the world located within its borders. Advanced manufacturing touches everything produced in Tennessee, and job creation within this sector from 2011 to 2017 was at 26.5 percent, far outpacing national growth at 4.3 percent. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Meet Nathan, an average, middle school student who lives in a small mid-western town with his parents and two sisters. One night at the dinner table his dad starts a discussion about the importance of prayer. During which he tells Nathan that he needs to pray everyday, even when hes at school. Thats when Nathan said, But dad we cant pray in school; everybody knows that. His sisters agreed, Yeah dad, were not allowed to pray in school; its against the law. Unfortunately there are many students across the country that, like Nathan, really believe it is illegal to pray in school, when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Prayer has not been outlawed in Americas public schools. Why then is this issue so widely misunderstood? When did our free Country officially ban prayer in public schools? Perhaps well find the answer when we look at the beginning of this controversy and consider each side of the debate. It all began in 1962 with the Supreme Court case, Engel v. Vitale, in which the Court passed a law that states: Because of the prohibition of the First Amendment against the enactment of any law respecting an establishment of religion, which is made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment, state officials may not compose an official state prayer and require that it be recited in the public schools of the State at the beginning of each school day. (p. 422-436 Miller, para. 4) Harrison and Stone (1991) wrote, This decision was a result of a case concerning a school district in New Hyde Park, New York which directed the Schools principal to cause the following prayer to be said aloud by each class in the presence of a teacher at the beginning of each school day: Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country. Thus prayers led by, and sanctioned by, school officials were prohibited. This ruling however does not forbid students to pray on their own; the justices merely said that government officials had no business composing a prayer for students to recite. (p.36) The government, and the administrators, who run our schools, may not lead children in prayer or force them to pray a certain way. However, all children have the right to pray voluntarily before, during, or after school. In other words, during free time at school, whether its lunch, in between classes, or any other time of the day when you are able to talk to your friends you can also talk to God, and you can talk to your friends about God. Not only will the school allow you to pray during these times but you can read your Bible in school as well. In fact, you can find a copy of the Bible in most school and public libraries across the nation. Justice Abe Fortas (1969) wrote for the U.S. Supreme Court, It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse door. The Supreme Court has upheld the right of students in public schools to free exercise of religious belief. The Supreme Court rulings on prayer and religious programs in public schools do not prohibit individuals from praying, on their own, during the school day or during school-sponsored extracurricular activities. The first amendment to the Constitution gives us the right to religious freedom in this country. Students can pray and read the Bible; the law is clear on this point. The first amendment to the United States Constitution states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. (The first amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified December 15, 1791) Prayer in school has been a hot topic in the U.S. over four decades now and many prominent church leaders, politicians, and cultural icons have been at the forefront of this debate. Americans from all walks of life have added their voices to the argument creating an overflow of misconceptions on this subject, and doing so at the expense of our children. More harm has been done to confuse and distort the facts by well meaning yet, misinformed opponents (and proponents) on the topic of prayer in school than the actual law itself. It is not hard to see how this issue has become shrouded in confusion when you consider both sides of the argument. According to Peter McWilliams (1995), "This case is vilified as one that kicked God and prayer out of the schools" (p. 170). This expression is used routinely, and believed, by many people in this country. When covering a school board meeting in East Peoria, Ill., for the Peoria Journal Star, journalist Larry Pahl (1995) said the following, I heard a school board member say, as if it was a fact as sure as the sun's daily rising, "we've taken God out of the schools." Murray (1995) said, We live in a society that officially bans prayer in its public schools and most other institutions. (p. x) The danger in these widely held misconceptions is that children today are being misled concerning their rights as Americans, students, and Christians. Consider the following statement from former President Bill Clinton who wrote in a 1998 letter to, then, U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard W, Riley, "...Schools do more than train children's minds. They also help to nurture their souls by reinforcing the values they learn at home and in their communities. I believe that one of the best ways we can help out schools to do this is by supporting students' rights to voluntarily practice their religious beliefs, including prayer in schools.... For more than 200 years, the First Amendment has protected our religious freedom and allowed many faiths to flourish in our homes, in our work place and in our schools. Clearly understood and sensibly applied, it works." (1998) Religious activity in the public schools has been growing in recent years. In the last several decades many religious groups have placed increased interest in student evangelism, and have established thousands of prayer and Bible study clubs in the public schools. This case first came to court in 1962 and twenty-eight years later there was a group of teens that gathered for a retreat, during which, they felt burdened to pray for their fellow students. A report on syatp.org (2005), declared that these young people gathered around the flagpoles of three separate schools to pray. The teens prayed for their friends, the school, and school leaders. God birthed from this the idea that has come to be known as, See you At the Pole. On September 12, 1990, 45,000 teenagers gathered at the flagpole in four different states to pray before school started that morning. Oneyear later one million students from Boston to California gathered at 7:00 a.m. to pray prior to the start of school. This ministry has continued to grow over the years since. Now more than three million students from coast-to-coast and around the world gather to pray one day a year. There will be teachers and school officials, who will be misinformed on this subject, therefore, students must know the truth about prayer and Bible reading in school and they must be aware of their rights in the schoolhouse. If they wish to pray and read the Bible during free time, when it does not interrupt the process of learning, the law gives them the right to do just that. Americas children spend a great deal of their time at the school and will be heavily influenced by that system. We must teach our kids to stand up for what they believe, and we must do this in a way that does not breed rebellion to authority in the heart of the child. This can be done by keeping the mind of Christ and the spirit of love as we approach the issue of prayer in school. Instead of presenting it in negative tones, such as, They wont let you pray or even, They can't keep you from praying, we should instead, inform the students and let them know that The school will allow you to pray. One day in this country it may well be that our religious freedom is stripped away but for today, prayer and the Bible have not been banned from the public schools. And if the day comes that they are, I pray that we will have a generation of kids who, like Daniel, will set their heart to pray- and let nothing stand in their way. 1 2 Next COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT 17 JANUARY 2020 TRADING UPDATE FOR THE THIRD QUARTER ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2019 Financial highlights Sales in the quarter increased by 6% at actual exchange rates and by 4% at constant exchange rates compared to the prior year period, both including and excluding Online Distributors Strong growth in Europe and the Americas; Asia Pacific up low-single digit, with strong double digit increases in China and Korea more than offsetting a marked contraction in Hong Kong SAR, China - all at actual exchange rates High-single digit progression in retail and online retail sales, outperforming muted wholesale sales growth at actual exchange rates Sales increases across most business areas at actual exchange rates, led by robust performance from the Jewellery Maisons October-December 2019 m October-December 2018 m Change at constant exchange rates versus prior period (%) Change at actual exchange rates versus prior period (%) Sales by region Europe 1 263 1 147 +9% +10% Asia Pacific 1 429 1 389 +2% +3% Americas 874 801 +5% +9% Japan 341 344 -7% -1% Middle East and Africa 249 234 +3% +6% Sales by distribution channel Retail 2 212 2 049 +5% +8% Online retail 747 694 +5% +8% Wholesale 1 186 1 164 - +2% Royalty income 11 8 +37% +38% Sales by business area Jewellery Maisons 2 162 1 985 +6% +9% Specialist Watchmakers 818 790 +2% +4% Online Distributors 670 638 +2% +5% Other 522 525 -3% -1% Inter-segment eliminations -16 -23 -35% -30% Total Sales 4 156 3 915 +4% +6% Review of trading in the three month period ended 31 December 2019 at constant exchange rates versus the prior year period During the quarter under review, sales progressed by 4%, with growth in all regions except Japan. Sales in Europe grew by 9%, benefiting from favourable comparative numbers and strong sales in most markets. Sales in Asia Pacific increased by 2%, driven by strong double digit sales growth in China and Korea, which more than offset a severe sales contraction in Hong Kong SAR, China and contrasted performances in other Asian markets. Sales in the Americas rose by 5%, led by good performances in the US that compensated for declines in other markets. The 3% sales increase in the Middle East and Africa reflected a good performance of retail (both online and offline) and favourable comparative numbers in a soft economic environment. Sales in Japan decreased by 7%, impacted by lower tourist spending given a comparatively stronger Japanese yen and the October 2019 value added tax increase that benefited first half sales. The retail channel posted a 5% increase in sales, notwithstanding the negative impact of temporary store closures in Hong Kong SAR, China during most of the period under review. Sales were particularly noteworthy in China. The online retail channel saw a mid-single digit sales progression, with strong demand in the US. Sales in the wholesale channel were broadly in line with the prior year period, reflecting good performance of franchise stores, notably in Korea, partly offset by the impact of ongoing cautious watch inventory management and distribution optimisation initiatives which have now reached completion. The 6% sales progression at Jewellery Maisons was broad-based, driven by jewellery and watches across collections. The performance of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Buccellati was particularly noteworthy given the negative impact of Hong Kong SAR, China. Sales grew in all regions except Japan. The Specialist Watchmakers registered modest sales growth, notwithstanding a challenging situation in Hong Kong SAR, China, with higher sales in directly operated boutiques and wholesale sales broadly in line with the prior year period. At the Online Distributors, an increasingly competitive pricing environment in online retail and disruption caused by storm damage to MR PORTER's Landriano warehouse facilities limited sales growth to 2%. The Group's other businesses recorded a 3% decline in sales, reflecting challenging trading conditions for our Fashion & Accessories Maisons with the exception of Peter Millar which continued to show strong momentum in the US. The Group's net cash position at 31 December 2019 amounted to 2.4 billion (2018: 2.3 billion). Trading in the nine month period ended 31 December 2019 Sales over the nine month period to December increased by 8% at actual exchange rates and by 5% at constant exchange rates, broadly in line with the trend seen in the first six months of the financial year. They are presented in Appendix 1a. As a reminder, sales for the prior year period included eight months of sales for YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP and seven months of sales for Watchfinder & Co. Corporate calendar The Group's results for the current financial year will be announced on Friday, 15 May 2020, and its annual general meeting will be held on Wednesday, 9 September 2020 in Geneva. About Richemont Richemont owns a portfolio of leading international 'Maisons' which are recognised for their distinctive heritage, craftsmanship and creativity. The Group operates in four business areas: Jewellery Maisons, namely Buccellati, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels; Specialist Watchmakers, namely A. Lange & Sohne, Baume & Mercier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis and Vacheron Constantin; Online Distributors, namely YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP (NET-A-PORTER, MR PORTER, YOOX, THE OUTNET) and Watchfinder & Co.; and Other, mostly Fashion & Accessories Maisons, including Alaia, Chloe, dunhill, Montblanc and Peter Millar. For the financial year ended 31 March 2019, Richemont reported sales of 13 989 million, operating profit of 1 943 million and profit for the year of 2 787 million. Richemont 'A' shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, Richemont's primary listing, and are included in the Swiss Market Index ('SMI') of leading stocks. Richemont South African Depository Receipts are listed in Johannesburg, Richemont's secondary listing. Investor and Media contacts Sophie Cagnard, Group Corporate Communications Director James Fraser, Investor Relations Executive Investors/analysts +41 22 721 30 03 investor.relations@cfrinfo.net Media +41 22 721 35 07 pressoffice@cfrinfo.net richemont@teneo.com Disclaimer The financial information contained in this announcement is unaudited. This document contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Richemont's forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's business and performance, the economy and other future conditions and forecasts of future events, circumstances and results. As with any projection or forecast, forward-looking statements are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside the Group's control. Richemont does not undertake to update, nor does it have any obligation to provide updates of or to revise, any forward-looking statements. Appendix 1a: Sales for the nine months ended 31 December 2019 April-December 2019 m April-December 2018* m Change at constant exchange rates versus prior period (%) Change at actual exchange rates versus prior period (%) Sales by region Europe 3 484 3 218 +8% +8% Asia Pacific 4 158 3 937 +4% +6% Americas 2 221 2 014 +6% +10% Japan 988 878 +5% +13% Middle East and Africa 702 676 - +4% Sales by distribution channel Retail 6 020 5 606 +5% +7% Online retail 2 007 1 653 +19% +21% Wholesale 3 493 3 435 -1% +2% Royalty income 33 29 +15% +14% Sales by business area Jewellery Maisons 5 898 5 439 +6% +8% Specialist Watchmakers 2 385 2 340 - +2% Online Distributors 1 849 1 531 +18% +21% Other 1 463 1 460 -2% - Inter-segment eliminations -42 -47 -13% -11% Total Sales 11 553 10 723 +5% +8% *YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP and Watchfinder & Co. have been consolidated in the Group's financial statements since 1 May and 1 June 2018 respectively Appendix 1b: Foreign exchange rates Average exchange rates against the euro April-December 2019 April-December 2018 United States dollar 1.11 1.17 Japanese yen 121 129 Swiss franc 1.11 1.15 Renminbi 7.75 7.80 Actual exchange rates for the period are calculated using the average daily closing rates against the euro. In terms of sales at constant exchange rates, average exchange rates for the year ended 31 March 2019 are used to convert local currency sales into euros for the current three month period, the current nine month period and comparative figures. Exchange rate translation effects are thereby eliminated from the reported sales performance. Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA 50, Chemin de la Chenaie | Case Postale 30 | 1293 Bellevue | Geneva | Switzerland Telephone +41 (0)22 721 3500 www.richemont.com The tumultuous relationship between Jersey Shore star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and his on-off girlfriend, Jen Harley, has reached its latest standoff. People reports that Ortiz-Magro, 34, who lives in Las Vegas, alleges Harley attacked him when he was sleeping on Jan. 11. At that time, Ms. Harley entered his home while he was sleeping and started viciously assaulting him," Ortiz-Magros lawyer said in a statement to the outlet. TMZ reports that Ortiz-Magro alleges Harley attacked him using eyeliner she found in the trash, claiming that she tried to poke his eye. A photo Ortiz-Magro reportedly provided to police shows injuries to his face, including bruising. The reality TV personality filed a domestic violence complaint against Harley. A judge granted Ortiz-Magro an emergency order for protection that will be in effect until Feb. 25. Ortiz-Magro stars in the MTV Jersey Shore revival series Jersey Shore Family Vacation." He and Harley have a daughter, Ariana, who turns 2 in April. Harleys attorney, Lisa Bloom, told People that Harley hadnt received a restraining order but would fight one if she was served. In October, Oritz-Magro was ordered to stay 300 feet away from Harley after he was arrested on a kidnapping charge following an alleged fight with Harley in Los Angeles. That order expired on Oct. 11. Police responding to the scene used a stun gun on Ortiz-Magro in order to subdue him. The felony charge of kidnapping was dropped but he was additionally charged with brandishing a weapon, child endangerment, threatening to commit a crime, resisting arrest and misdemeanor domestic violence. Bloom told People that Harley was granted another restraining order against Ortiz-Magro in November. That month, Ortiz-Magro pleaded not guilty to the charges in Los Angeles. The alleged physical altercations between Ortiz-Magro and Harley follow a series of other allegedly violent encounters involving the two. In January of 2019, Harley was alleged to have thrown an ashtray at Ortiz-Magros head during a New Years Eve party in Las Vegas. Harley was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery in May of 2019 after she reportedly called the police to say that someone had a gun and officers found she had an outstanding warrant from January. Harley did not face domestic violence charges. In 2018, Harley was alleged to have hit Ortiz-Magro in the face during an incident in which she was also alleged to have dragged him from her car. A domestic battery charge against Harley was dropped due to a lack of evidence. Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Dukas Linden and Pedro Salazar have been appointed at GLC's New York and Lisbon offices respectively The Global Communications Alliance (GCA), a network of 16 independent communications agencies in 14 countries covering four continents, is pleased to announce the addition of two new key members - Dukas Linden Public Relations (DLPR) of New York and PedroSalazarPR of Lisbon, Portugal. Based in New York, in the heart of Manhattan, DLPR (www.dlpr.com) is a leading independent public relations agency known for representing leaders in investment management, financial and professional services, and fintech. DLPRs strategies help clients expand their share of voice, enhance their brand value andmost importantengage audiences in a competitive global marketplace. Pedro Salazar PR (www.pedrosalazarpr.pt) is a boutique public relations agency located in Lisbon, Portugals coastal capital city. From crisis management to media relations and digital-PR, they develop and promote the editorial concepts and the communication strategies that allow the media to tell the best stories for their clients across Portugal. Both Dukas Linden Public Relations and PedroSalazarPRare leaders in their respective markets of New York and Lisbon, and they embody the GCAs values, strategic perspectives and high-quality client service. Their addition to the GCA enables Global Communications Alliance members to further expand the on-the-ground reach of public relations, crisis communications and public affairs advice and delivery for our clients, said Susan Smith, Chair of the GCA and Principal of Bluesky Strategy Group in Ottawa, Canada. DLPR CEO Richard Dukasadded, Dukas Linden PR is very pleased to bring our financial communications and public relations expertise to the Global Communications Alliance. We look forward to leveraging the GCAs global network for the benefit of our clients, and working with our GCA colleagues to expand their reach in the US financial communications market. Pedro Salazar, the founder of pedrosalarpr.pt, agreed.PederoSalazarPRsmotto is about making our clients business the news. The Global Communications Alliance provides an opportunity for our clients to reach broader audiences and for GCA members to connect on-the-ground with the Portuguese market. We are delighted to be members of the GCA. Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) [January 17, 2020] VersaPay Corporation Mails Special Meeting Materials in Connection with Proposed Arrangement with an Affiliate of Great Hill Partners TORONTO, Jan. 17, 2020 /CNW/ - VersaPay Corporation (TSXV: VPY) (the "Company" or "VersaPay"), a leading provider of cloud-based invoice-to-cash solutions including electronic invoice presentment and payment, automated accounts receivable, cash application and collections management, announced today that it has commenced mailing materials to the shareholders of VersaPay (the "Shareholders"), including the management information circular of the Company dated January 15, 2020 (the "Circular"), for the special meeting of VersaPay Shareholders (the "Meeting") to be held on February 14, 2020 in connection with the proposed acquisition by 1233518 B.C. Ltd. (the "Purchaser"), an affiliate of Great Hill Partners ("Great Hill"), of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company ("VersaPay Shares") by way of a statutory plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act (the "Arrangement") previously announced on December 13, 2019. Materials for the Meeting, including the Circular, are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and are available on the Company's website at www.versapay.com. The Consideration Under the Arrangement, each Shareholder will receive cash consideration of $2.70 for each VersaPay Share held (the "Consideration"). The Consideration represents a 47.5% premium to the closing price of the VersaPay Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") on December 12, 2019, the last trading day prior to the announcement of the Arrangement, and a 64.5% premium to the volume weighted average price of the VersaPay Shares on the TSXV over the 30 trading days prior to December 12, 2019. Board Recommendation The board of directors of the Company (the "Board"), after consulting with its financial and legal advisors, and after considering, among other things, the unanimous recommendation of the special committee of the (the "Special Committee") and the fairness opinion of Capital Canada Limited, unanimously determined that the Arrangement is in the best interests of VersaPay and fair to the Shareholders, and unanimously recommends that Shareholders vote in favour of the Arrangement. The Board and the Special Committee, in unanimously determining that the Arrangement is in the best interests of the Company and fair to the Shareholders, and in making their respective recommendations, considered and relied upon a number of factors, including, among others, the following: Premium to Market Price The Consideration represents a 47.5% premium to the closing price of the VersaPay Shares on the TSXV on December 12, 2019 , the last trading day prior to the announcement of the Arrangement, and a 64% premium to the volume weighted average price of the VersaPay Shares on the TSXV over the 30 trading days prior to December 12, 2019 . The Consideration represents a 47.5% premium to the closing price of the VersaPay Shares on the TSXV on , the last trading day prior to the announcement of the Arrangement, and a 64% premium to the volume weighted average price of the VersaPay Shares on the TSXV over the 30 trading days prior to . Form of Consideration The form of Consideration to be paid to Shareholders pursuant to the Arrangement is all cash, which provides certainty of value and immediate liquidity to Shareholders. The form of Consideration to be paid to Shareholders pursuant to the Arrangement is all cash, which provides certainty of value and immediate liquidity to Shareholders. Credibility of Great Hill Great Hill's commitmnt, credit worthiness and record of completing transactions and anticipated ability to complete the Arrangement and the fact that the Purchaser's obligation to pay the Consideration and other payments required to be made by the Purchaser pursuant to the arrangement agreement between the Purchaser and the Company in respect of the Arrangement will backed by an equity commitment letter from a fund managed by Great Hill. The Board UNANIMOUSLY recommends that Shareholders vote FOR the Arrangement Your vote is important regardless of the number of VersaPay Shares you own. As a Shareholder, it is very important that you read the Circular and related materials with respect to the Meeting carefully and then vote your VersaPay Shares. You are eligible to vote your VersaPay Shares if you were a Shareholder of record at the close of business on January 8, 2020. VersaPay Meeting The Meeting will be held on Friday, February 14, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (Toronto Time), at the offices of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Suite 2100, Scotia Plaza, 40 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario. At the Meeting, Shareholders will be asked to consider and, if thought advisable, to pass a special resolution approving the Arrangement. The Circular contains a detailed description of the Arrangement, as well as certain additional information relating to VersaPay. If the requisite Shareholder approval is obtained at the Meeting and if the other conditions to the Arrangement becoming effective are satisfied or waived, it is expected that the Arrangement will be completed on or about February 21, 2020. YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT PLEASE VOTE TODAY Shareholder Questions and Assistance If you have any questions or require assistance voting your VersaPay Shares, please contact our proxy solicitation agent, Laurel Hill Advisory Group, at 1-877-452-7184 toll-free in North America, or outside North America at +1 416 304-0211, or by e-mail at [email protected]. About Great Hill Great Hill Partners is a Boston-based private equity firm targeting investments of US$25 million to US$500 million in high-growth companies across the consumer, digital infrastructure, financial technology, healthcare, and software sectors. Over the past two decades, Great Hill has raised nearly US$8 billion of commitments and invested in more than 75 companies, establishing an extensive track record of building long-term partnerships with entrepreneurs and providing flexible resources to help middle-market companies scale. For more information, visit www.greathillpartners.com. About VersaPay Corporation VersaPay is a Fintech company and leading provider of cloud-based invoice-to-cash solutions, enabling businesses to provide a superior customer experience, get paid faster, streamline financial operations, and dramatically reduce DSO and costs. VersaPay ARC is the first platform to provide Customer-Centric ARO with a customer self-service environment to view invoices online, collaborate on inquiries and disputes, and facilitate secure online payments (EFT/ACH and credit card). Businesses gain access to a suite of powerful tools that enable efficient collections, cash application and real-time insight into accounts receivable. VersaPay ARC automatically reconciles payments and account information through integrations with a wide range of ERPs and accounting software providers. More information about VersaPay is available at www.versapay.com or under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward Looking and Other Cautionary Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Meeting and the completion of the Arrangement, including expected timing, and statements with respect to the anticipated benefits of the Arrangement to VersaPay and the Shareholders. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of terminology such as "anticipates", "believes", "expects", "plans", "intends", "estimates", "schedules", "forecasts", "budgets", "proposes", or variations or comparable language of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Forward-looking information is based upon certain assumptions and other important factors that, if untrue or incorrect, could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such information. Readers should not place undue reliance on forwardlooking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forwardlooking information include, but are not limited to, the possibility that the Arrangement will not be completed on the terms and conditions, or on the timing, currently contemplated, and that it may not be completed at all, due to a failure to obtain or satisfy, in a timely manner or otherwise, required Shareholder and court approvals and other conditions of closing necessary to complete the Arrangement or for other reasons, the possibility of adverse reactions or changes in business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the Arrangement, and changes in equity markets. Specific reference is made to the "Risk Factors" section of the Circular which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com for a discussion of some of the factors and risks underlying forwardlooking information. All of the forwardlooking information in this news release is qualified by these cautionary statements and are made as of the date hereof. The Company assumes no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances other than as required by law. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE VersaPay Corporation [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Massachusetts on Thursday took a big step toward becoming only the 11th state to require that sex education taught in public high schools contain medically accurate information. While just 24 of the 50 states require that sex ed be part of a school curriculum, only 10 currently mandate that that education actually contain accurate medical facts, according to the education-news site The 74 Million. But in a 33-2 vote this week, the Massachusetts State Senate passed an overhaul of the Commonwealths school sex ed program that would finally require that teens receive medically accurate information in the school programs, according to Boston Universitys WBUR radio. "If we do not teach this in our schools, our kids still learn about this in an inaccurate way," said Sal DiDomenico, the Democratic state senator who was lead sponsor on the bill. "They're learning from their friends, from their peers, and learning information that is not accurate and could be dangerous for their health." The Massachusetts Senate contains only four Republicans, two of whom cast the only votes against the sex education bill. The bill, dubbed The Healthy Youth Act," would require that schools teach reproduction and sexual development, how to discuss safe sexual activity, human development changes, anatomy, the benefits of abstinence and importance of contraceptives, healthy relationship and communication skills and more, according to the WBUR report. The bill must now go to the Massachsuetts House of Representatives, which is also overwhelmingly Democratic, with 127 Dems to 32 Republicans, and one independent. But the House has nonetheless been more reluctant to pass the sex education reforms, letting similar bills simply die without a vote in 2015 and 2017. But this latest, 2020 version of the bill has already signed up 97 co-sponsors in the House, up from 70 in 2017. Assuming all 97 stay the course and vote for the legislation, the bill has the votes to pass the Housethough Speaker Robert DeLeo has not committed to allowing a vote on the bill, saying only that the sex ed legislation is on our radar. Photo By Another Believer/Wikimedia Commons Almost 5,000 people died while on a health service waiting list in Northern Ireland in the last year (stock photo) Almost 5,000 people died while on a health service waiting list in Northern Ireland in the last year. The number of deaths is increasing year on year, rising by almost 50% since 2014. In the last five years more than 22,000 died while waiting for treatment, an investigation by this newspaper found. The timeframe includes the three-year period when Stormont was not sitting. Some people died having been on a waiting list for up to five years. Health officials said the deaths may not be linked in any way to being on a waiting list. Read More Yet the extent of people passing away before undergoing treatment or operations is another shocking revelation to emerge from a health system in the midst of crisis. The most recent official figures show a record 306,180 people were on a waiting list as of September. Strike action by nurses and other health staff has also piled pressure on the system. This newspaper can reveal the full impact of the spiralling waiting times for appointments and surgery in our hospitals. Figures show: 22,001 people died while on waiting lists across the five health trust areas in the last five years. The number of deaths has risen from 3,206 in 2014 to 4,699 in 2019 - a rise of 46.5%. On average, 12 people are dying every day while on a waiting list. In one health trust the number of deaths has more than trebled since 2014. The figures were obtained by this newspaper after Freedom of Information requests. Each health trust provided details of how many people had been removed from their waiting lists because they had died. The figures cover inpatient and outpatient cases. In each case, they stressed that it was not possible to determine if a patient's death was linked in any way to the reason for them being on the waiting list. A patient may have died for another, entirely separate reason and unrelated to the waiting list they were on at the time. However, the figures give an insight into the thousands of people dying each year while waiting for procedures. SDLP health spokesman Mark H Durkan MLA said the figures were "shocking". "For someone to spend their final days on a health service waiting list is unacceptable," he said. "These people - regardless of whether their death was as a result of being left on a list or not - will have spent their last months, or as is increasingly the case, their last years in agony and pain. "They will have died waiting for treatment for conditions and that is not acceptable." He added: "Often people, whether it is health professionals, politicians or the media, look at waiting lists and see figures. "Yet each of these figures is a real person, many with a family, and a story like this really brings home the human tragedy behind the health crisis." Three health trusts provided figures by financial year, two others by calendar year, and thus the figures will not be precisely comparable. However, the five-year totals provided by the trusts show a total of 22,001 patients on a waiting list died. The highest number of deaths was in the Belfast Trust, Northern Ireland's biggest. Deaths rose by 41% between 2014/15 (1,056 deaths) and 2018/19 (1,494 deaths). In the Northern Trust, the number of waiting list deaths trebled in five years - rising from 417 in 2015 to 1,261 in 2019. In several hundred cases across the various trusts, people died after waiting on a list for more than a year. In a handful of cases they had been waiting for up to five years. Patricia McKeown from the health workers' union Unison said: "Apart from being profoundly sad, this is utterly unacceptable. "We saw that horrendous report before Christmas that said a patient here can expect to wait up to 100 times longer than in England - how can you justify that? "If there has been a 40% increase in deaths in the last five years, is that caused by these unduly long waiting times?" Ms McKeown said data should be closely examined to spot trends. "If it can be shown that waiting lists are increasing, and there is also an increase in people dying while on them, then there is a moral imperative to act and put it right," she added. The Department of Health said: "The Department is acutely aware of the impact of growing waiting lists on patient care and the distress they cause. "There is a concerted effort across the HSC to ensure the most urgent patients are prioritised and staff are working tirelessly to do this. "It is important to note that, from the figures released, it is not possible to determine if a patient's death was linked in any way to the reason for being on the waiting list or to waits for any services. "There is ongoing analysis to further understand the impact delays are having in the care and outcomes of patients and service users. Health Minister Robin Swann has identified tackling waiting lists as a top priority for his department. This will require a combination of sustained investment and transformation of how services are delivered." By Zachary Fagenson OCHOPEE, Fla. (Reuters) - Thomas Aycock's life flashed before his eyes one night in the Everglades as a 13-foot Burmese python squeezed his arm and a leg in its coils. Aycock, who was trying to bag the snake by himself, still recalls feeling its tail across his back."I knew what it was doing, it was going for my throat," said the 54-year-old Florida Army National Guard major who was able to wrestle free during that incident in the summer of 2018. "I said to myself, 'It can't go down like this.'"That scare has not stopped him from returning again and again to the sprawling wetland, devoting almost every spare moment to searching the thick brush and sawgrass for more snakes, as he was doing during this interview. The state encourages hunters to capture or kill the giant, invasive south Asian snakes that are decimating local wildlife. Dozens of hunters are prowling the Everglades during Florida's 10-day Python Bowl, which ends Monday. Armed with long metal hooks that resemble fireplace pokers and bags, many hunters catch the snakes and take them in live. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission staff bag a Burmese python in the Everglades Those who take the most longest and heaviest pythons each will win $2,000 in cash. Other prizes include off-road vehicles. Aycock and his fellow hunters are spending days and nights slowly creeping across the webs of levees that span the Everglades by foot, bicycle and souped-up SUV looking for the glint of an eye or the shine of brown and black scales.First found in the Everglades around the year 2000, the snakes were introduced by pet owners and possibly a snake research facility that was destroyed when Hurricane Andrew struck the region in 1992. The behemoths, some of which measure more than 18 feet (5.5 m) long and weigh more than 100 pounds (45 kg), have wreaked havoc on the fragile ecosystem. A 2012 study in Everglades National Park by the United States Geological Survey found 99% fewer raccoons, 98% fewer opossums and 87% fewer bobcats. Massive snakes have even been found trying to eat alligators. "I saw an opossum last night out on the levee and it was the first small animal I've seen in probably five or six months," Aycock said.Agencies including the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission have all launched python removal programs in recent years, offering hunters hourly wages and bonuses depending on the size and weight. According to a 2019 report, contracted python hunters brought in about 1,900 snakes since the program launched in March 2017. The success has been hard fought. Despite their size and numbers, which some estimate in the hundreds of thousands, Aycock said it can take eight hours on average to find a snake. Story continues HUNDREDS CAUGHT From the start of the program to mid-2018, the most current data available, hunters working for both agencies spent 14,000 hours in the field yielding 1,186 snakes. Some larger females have been found holding up to 100 eggs. "We're targeting removal in bird rookeries, in sensitive ecological areas, so regardless of the snakes' population we know every one removed makes a difference," said Kristen Sommers, the state's wildlife impact management section leader.Yet on Wednesday night, finding even one proved impossible for Aycock. The cooler weather meant the cold-blooded serpents stayed hidden and out of sight."Every python removed out of this ecosystem serves a purpose in restoring this ecosystem," Aycock said. "We have a good time out here, but it's also a mission we take seriously and are willing to work at." (Editing by Scott Malone and David Gregorio) Keira Knightley is to star in a film about how the British spend Christmas Keira Knightley is to star in a film about how the British spend Christmas. Its described as a fun movie for people who secretly dread the holidays. At the heart of the untitled picture will be a married couple navigating life during the festivities. The Oscar-nominated actress will play the wife. The role of the husband has yet to be cast but every actor in his 30s wants the part. Even American marquee names such as Rami Malek have expressed an interest. But he, and others, have been told that the role must be played by a Brit. The couples screen son will be played by 12-year-old Roman Griffin Davis, who broke through in the controversial dark comedy Jojo Rabbit, which has been nominated for Baftas and Oscars. His mother, Camille Griffin a filmmaker and writer will direct the picture (which she also wrote) for producers Trudie Styler and Matthew Vaughn. (Vaughns Marv Films made the Kingsman movies, and also produced the hit Rocketman.) Details of the festive film are being closely guarded, but I gather the contemporary tale focuses on an extended family having a big Christmas dinner in a country setting. Its for people who secretly dread Christmas and all that it entails, was how one of the creative team described it to me. Another said the picture was about families and romance and the particular and peculiar rituals of the English. The couples screen son will be played by 12-year-old Roman Griffin Davis, who broke through in the controversial dark comedy Jojo Rabbit The production is moving forward at pace, taking advantage of Knightleys availability. There was something about Griffins screenplay that grabbed her, and she signed on to do it immediately. The 34-year-old likes to mix it up, and I thought she was terrific in the recent, under-rated drama Official Secrets. It was based on the true story of Government Communications HQ translator Katharine Gun who, in 2013, turned whistleblower, releasing classified documents pertaining to the invasion of Iraq. Knightley also has a big screen comedy, Misbehaviour, coming out on March 13, about the time feminist activists stormed the stage at the Royal Albert Hall and disrupted the 1970 Miss World pageant. The Christmas film will start shooting within weeks. If you own shares in Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE:BKD) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. First, we have company specific volatility, which is the price gyrations of an individual stock. Holding at least 8 stocks can reduce this kind of risk across a portfolio. The second sort is caused by the natural volatility of markets, overall. For example, certain macroeconomic events will impact (virtually) all stocks on the market. Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Beta is a widely used metric to measure a stock's exposure to market risk (volatility). Before we go on, it's worth noting that Warren Buffett pointed out in his 2014 letter to shareholders that 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' Having said that, beta can still be rather useful. The first thing to understand about beta is that the beta of the overall market is one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market. See our latest analysis for Brookdale Senior Living What BKD's beta value tells investors Zooming in on Brookdale Senior Living, we see it has a five year beta of 1.53. This is above 1, so historically its share price has been influenced by the broader volatility of the stock market. If the past is any guide, we would expect that Brookdale Senior Living shares will rise quicker than the markets in times of optimism, but fall faster in times of pessimism. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether Brookdale Senior Living is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below. Story continues NYSE:BKD Income Statement, January 17th 2020 How does BKD's size impact its beta? With a market capitalisation of US$1.4b, Brookdale Senior Living is a small cap stock. However, it is big enough to catch the attention of professional investors. It's not particularly surprising that it has a higher beta than the overall market. That's because it takes less money to influence the share price of a smaller company, than a bigger company. What this means for you: Since Brookdale Senior Living tends to moves up when the market is going up, and down when it's going down, potential investors may wish to reflect on the overall market, when considering the stock. In order to fully understand whether BKD is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as Brookdale Senior Livings financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for BKDs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for BKDs outlook. Past Track Record: Has BKD been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of BKD's historicals for more clarity. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how BKD measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this free list of prospective options. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. The outgoing 12th Chinese medical team pose for photos with Chinese and Namibian officials in Katutura State Hospital in Windhoek, capital of Namibia, on January 16, 2020. The outgoing 12th Chinese medical team stationed in Namibia managed to administer Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to over 20,000 patients during their one year and a half tenure at the Chinese Acupuncture Department of Katutura State Hospital as well as other facilities in the country. [Xinhua/Musa C Kaseke] WINDHOEK, January 16 (Xinhua) The outgoing 12th Chinese medical team stationed in Namibia managed to administer Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to over 20,000 patients during their one year and a half tenure at the Chinese Acupuncture Department of Katutura State Hospital as well as other facilities in the country. Namibia's medical officials together with Chinese Ambassador, Zhang Yiming on Thursday commended the outgoing team at the welcoming ceremony of the incoming Chinese team at an event held in Windhoek. In her opening remarks, acting chief medical superintendent of Katutura State Hospital, Mwadina Shiweda praised the work administered by the outgoing team led by Chu Hailin, as it contributed immensely to the country's public health care system. "Their efforts were welcomed by the patients, especially the elderly who upon hearing of TCM's effectiveness, often opted for TCM rather than modern medication," she said. Despite some challenges experienced by the team, they managed to overcome and portray exceptional professionalism, she said, adding that it was a pleasure and privilege for the local team to work hand in hand with the Chinese, she added. "We look forward to working with the new team," she said. Namibia Health Executive Director, Ben Nangombe, welcomed the cooperation between the two countries, citing that 90 percent of Namibia's public health care is dependent on partnerships. "Namibia has benefited greatly and the number of patients of more than 20,000 translates that," he said. Meanwhile, the Chinese ambassador, Zhang Yiming said the China Namibia medical team has become a showcase for China-Namibia friendship, noting that TCM is fast becoming a household service in the medical field as it continues to gain popularity. Zhang further welcomed the 13th Chinese medical team led by Fang Lianqiang. The first agreement between China and Namibia in the area of health was signed in 1996 and the specific protocol for acupuncture services was extended every two years since 2010 at the request of the Namibian government. (Source: Xinhua) CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2020 / Jade Leader Corp. (JADE.V) ("Jade Leader" or "the Company") is pleased to announce an update of the photo gallery for Wyoming Project Jades on its webpage at Jadeleader.ca, including stone testing results to date, including a range of stones from the last trenching and mapping program conducted in September/October of 2019. Stones tested to date have shown high degrees of competence and workability, little to no fracturing, and a range of color from greens to black to "sage" colored Jades. The textures of Jades tested to date have ranged from medium to very fine grained material, outlining potential uses for those materials ranging from carving, ornamental use and fine jewelry, as well as collector's specimens. Mr. Jean-Pierre Jutras, P.Geol, the President and a Director of Jade Leader, stated "Stone testing to date by in-house cutting, carving and polishing of Jade recovered from both outcrop and our trenches in bedrock have shown that our target systems carry a wide variety of colors and textures in highly workable nephrite Jade material. We continue to be very encouraged with results to date, and have now expanded the range of colors and textures found in our activities in Wyoming to encompass some highly desirable fine grained green Jades previously known to exist in this area from historical records, yet whose sources had remained largely elusive to date." Over the next week, the Company will be presenting and exhibiting its Jades at both the Global Chinese Financial Forum Vancouver Resource Investment Conference hosted by NAI Interactive on January 18th (booth number 3), as well as exhibiting its Jades at the Vancouver Mineral Exploration Roundup with a Core Shack booth on both Monday and Tuesday January 20 and 21st (booth 1022). Mr. Jean-Pierre Jutras, P.Geol., President of the Company, is the Qualified Person for the Company's Jade projects as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release. Story continues On Behalf of the Board of Directors, "Jean-Pierre Jutras" Jean-Pierre Jutras, President/Director The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release. Except for the historical and present factual information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release, including words such as "expects", "projects", "plans", "anticipates" and similar expressions, are forward-looking information that represents management of Jade Leader's internal projections, expectations or beliefs concerning, among other things, future operating results and various components thereof or the economic performance of Jade Leader. The projections, estimates and beliefs contained in such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Jade Leader's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, those described in Jade Leader's filings with the Canadian securities authorities. Accordingly, holders of Jade Leader shares and potential investors are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted. Jade Leader disclaims any responsibility to update these forward-looking statements. SOURCE: Jade Leader Corp. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/573327/Jade-Leader-Posts-Tested-Jade-Materials The NDA in Bihar is united and the BJP JD(U) alliance is unbreakable, Mr Shah said at a rally in Vaishali. Patna: Ending speculations Union home minister and BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday said that the BJP and JD(U) will contest the 2020 Bihar Assembly polls under the leadership of chief minister Nitish Kumar. Some political parties have been trying to create confusion about the unity of NDA in Bihar. I want to end all rumours by declaring that the NDA will contest the Assembly elections under the leadership of chief minister Nitish Kumar. The NDA in Bihar is united and the BJP JD(U) alliance is unbreakable, Mr Shah said at a rally in Vaishali. Sources said that Mr Shahs statement will silence those who have been raising questions about Mr Kumar leadership. Crisis deepened recently when dalit leader and BJP MLC Sanjay Paswan said, The party has the capability to contest and win elections in Bihar on its own. People want a BJP leader becoming the chief minister. Mr Kumar has been NDAs face in Bihar since 2005. In 2013, he had walked out of the NDA over the elevation of Narendra Modi, then Gujarat CM, as the prime ministerial candidate. In the 2015 Assembly elections, his party JD(U), along with the RJD and Congress, had formed a grand alliance and defeated the BJP with a huge margin. However, in July 2017 after the CBI registered corruption cases against RJD chief Lalu Yadav and his son Tejashwi, he returned to the NDA and formed a government with the support of the BJP. Mr Shah was in Vaishali to create awareness among the masses about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Using the occasion to accuse the Congress, RJD and other Opposition parties of misleading people about the CAA, he said, The Act is about granting citizenship to minorities who were persecuted in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. I am here to tell leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Lalu Yadav not to mislead people about the act. The Oppositions effort to mislead people and spoil the atmosphere will not work as the BJP has decided to hold rallies and create awareness about the Citizenship Act, he added. One person was killed and one person was seriously injured in an avalanche at a Tahoe ski resort Friday, authorities said. The avalanche happened around 10:15 a.m. near the Subway ski run at Alpine Meadows ski resort, according to the Placer County Sheriffs Office. Authorities say a 69-year-old man from Wuhan died on Wednesday as Thailand reports second case of the virus. A second person has died in China from a mystery virus that has stricken dozens and appeared in two other Asian countries, officials said late on Thursday. The news comes as Thailand reported on Friday that a second Chinese national has been found to be infected of the mystery virus. In China, local authorities said a 69-year-old man died on Wednesday in Wuhan, the central Chinese city believed to be the epicentre of the outbreak of the virus traced from the same family as the deadly SARS pathogen. The outbreak has caused alarm because of the link with SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong in 2002-2003. At least 41 people have been hit with pneumonia linked to the new virus in China. The Wuhan health commission said 12 people have recovered and were discharged from hospital while five people were in serious condition. The man who died had become sick on December 31 and his condition worsened five days later, with pulmonary tuberculosis and multiple organ functions damaged, the commission said. Three other cases were detected in Thailand and Japan with authorities in both countries saying the patients had visited Wuhan prior to their hospitalisations. The second Chinese patient who was reported to be infected is a 74-year-old woman. She has been quarantined since her arrival in Thailand on Monday, Thailands Public Health Ministry said on Friday. Human-to-human transmission possible? Last week, a 61-year-old man from Wuhan died from pneumonia which is suspected to be linked to the mysterious virus. Authorities in Wuhan said a seafood market was the centre of the outbreak. It was closed on January 1. No human-to-human transmission of the virus behind the Wuhan outbreak has been confirmed so far, but the health commission has said the possibility cannot be excluded. A World Health Organization (WHO) doctor also has said it would not be surprising if there was some limited human-to-human transmission, especially among families who have close contact with one another. The Wuhan health commission said on Wednesday that a man who had been diagnosed worked at Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, but his wife had been diagnosed with the same illness despite reporting no history of exposure at the facility. South Korean quarantine officials use thermal cameras to measure the temperatures of passengers from China at Incheon International Airport [File: Yonhap via EPA] The woman diagnosed in Thailand had also not reported visiting the seafood market, the WHO said on Tuesday. She was reported to be in stable condition earlier this week. The patient in Japan, who was released from hospital, had also not visited the market. Japanese officials said it was possible that the man had been in contact with a person infected with the virus while in Wuhan. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can lead to infections ranging from the common cold to SARS. Some of the virus types cause less serious disease, while some like the one that causes MERS, are far more severe. SARS originated in southern China in 2002 and infected more than 8,000 people in 37 countries before it was brought under control. Nearly 800 people died worldwide. The latest outbreak comes ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, when many of Chinas 1.4 billion people will be travelling to their home towns or abroad. The Chinese government expects passengers to make 440 million trips via rail and another 79 million trips via aeroplanes. USB-C charging has become the de-facto charging standard for all premium smartphones, but not so much on more budget-friendly models. A drafted law awaiting an EU Council vote could disrupt the affordable handset space by making USB Type-C charging mandatory for all smartphones sold in the European Union. The current state of charging standards The drive to make USB Type-C charging the EU standard stems from its 2014 Radio Equipment Directive that encouraged USB Type-C as the standard but didnt mandate it. The EUs hopes at the time were to see USB-C take its rightful place as the universal charging standard in its borders. Manufacturers continued to provide mixed results, some adopting USB-C on high-end models but maintaining micro-USB charging on lower-end models. To ensure that USB-C becomes the standard and doesnt remain merely a manufacturer option, the EU has drafted legislation to that end. The result will be that every phone, whether premium or ultra-cheap, must adopt USB-C technology. Advertisement Why have manufacturers not adopted USB-C charging across the board? The reason why the EU must draft a law to this end is because OEMs refuse to adopt USB-C charging on their own. Why is this the case? A large part pertains to the financial aspect. Manufacturers spend less on micro-USB charging as opposed to USB-C, where the higher and newer charging standard mandates more money per phone versus the older micro-USB standard. The same is true for water and dust resistance. OnePlus still hasnt given IP ratings to its OnePlus lineup because waterproof ratings cost money, the company said in an advertisement last year. And that, in and of itself, is why some companies have been holding out on USB-C adoption: they dont want to fork out extra money for charging certification. Benefits of USB-C charging Added cost is a headache for OEMs, but a universal USB-C adoption would ease problems for consumers. For one, phone buyers would be able to use any friends, relatives, or associates charging cable, as thered be one charging standard for all phones. Next, phones would have faster charging by OEMs adopting USB-C. Its no secret that USB-C charges faster than micro-USB, giving phone users more battery charge in a smaller time frame. Advertisement Last but not least, more phones would have access to battery packs. Larger Android OEMs like Samsung are making battery pack accessories for their smartphones, but their battery packs work for any USB-C-enabled smartphone. More budget-friendly models would allow buyers to use battery packs on the go, keeping their phones in buyers hands longer. And smaller OEMs without the financial resources to build accessories for their phones wouldnt have to; they could rely on larger OEMs to build accessories but make their phones accessible. For a slightly higher cost, smaller Android players could do themselves a favor. These benefits are all good reasons for OEMs to adopt USB-C and lay micro-USB to rest. Advertisement The cost of USB-C, for both OEM and buyer The new USB-C standard in the EU will require all global OEMs to adopt USB-C whether they want to or not, and there is a financial cost associated with its adoption for both OEM and buyer. OEMs may not want to assume the cost alone, and the added cost is likely to trickle down to smartphone buyers. What this means is that smartphone buyers can expect to pay a little more for their handsets in the near future than they have in the past. Theres reason to believe that larger Android OEMs are already packing added cost into their smartphone prices because of USB-C, but leaving USB-C behind in entry-level handsets has been a key to selling them: the lower the price, the easier the sale. With the EU soon to mandate USB-C adoption, OEMs will have to foot the cost somewhere, and theyre not going to take it out of their profit when they can charge so much extra per handset. No OEM is that generous. The EUs drafted law will be voted on next Monday, and theres a large consensus that the drafted law will become approved legislation by the EU Council. Its a good move in the right direction for the progress of technology and consumer convenience, but OEMs likely wont be too happy about it. Consumers will pay the price, but at least they wont have to put up with two competing charging standards anymore. In that regard, the price (both figuratively and literally speaking) is worth it. Union Minister Sanjay Dhotre has told students to think out of the box, think big and expand their vision in order to achieve success. The Union Minister of State for HRD, Electronics and IT on Thursday said students play a pivotal role and lead all the major campaigns like Khelo India, Fit India, Swachh Bharat, Ek Bharat Srestha Bharat, Say No to plastic and Save water. "You have to think out of the box, think big and expand your vision in order to achieve success," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi always keeps students in focus as they are future of the nation, the Union minister said. Dhotre said Modi will interact with 2,200 selected students, including 28 from Odisha, on January 20 in 'Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020' programme. During a visit to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Mundali in Cuttack, the Union minister urged the students, teachers and parents to actively participate in this interactive programme and exchange their ideas and thoughts with the prime minister. Dhotre suggested to the students to engross in noble thoughts, be compassionate and always think for others. This will be helpful in repelling negative thoughts, frustration and boost your morale and confidence. The Union Minister of state for HRD said the government has implemented a slew of schemes and scholarship programmes for the benefit of the poor and underprivileged meritorious students. He also visited the National Data Centre of NIC Bhubaneswar and reviewed the progress of various works with senior officials. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chandigarh, Jan 17 : The Haryana government has decided to deploy 1,652 home guards for security of medical practitioners and of all primary health centres, community health centres, and district hospitals, state Home Minister Anil Vij said on Friday. He said the home guards would also be deployed in health centres of all districts. Mukesh Singh, one of the four men on death row in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, on Friday exhausted all his legal options with President Ram Nath Kovind rejecting his mercy plea and the Home Ministry sending it on to the Delhi government, officials said. On Friday, a Delhi court issued a fresh death warrant for February 1, 6 am, against the four convicts. The president's rejection of Mukesh's mercy plea came after the Union Home Ministry forwarded the petition to his office late on Thursday night. On Friday, after he turned down the mercy plea, the ministry sent it to the Delhi government -- Tihar Jail, where the four men have been lodged, comes under the Delhi government. Officials said the petition was sent to the Delhi government for the dissemination of information to prison authorities. "It's a very good thing. Our hopes have gone up after the disheartening that the execution might be delayed," the young woman's father told PTI as came in of the rejection. "We are happy that the chances of them getting hanged have increased. We are assured that as soon as they file mercy pleas they will be rejected," he added. Singh had filed his mercy petition two days ago. The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gangraped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital. The brutality of the crime shook the nation, leading to country-wide protests and a change in India's rape laws. Six people -- Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh, Pawan Gupta, Ram Singh and a juvenile -- were named as accused. The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court in March 2013. The prime accused, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Tihar jail days after the trial began. The juvenile, who was said to be the most brutal of the attackers, was put in a correctional home for three years. He was released in 2015 and sent to an undisclosed location amid concerns over a threat to his life. The juvenile, when released, was 20 years old. Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were convicted and sentenced to death in September 2013. They were to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail, a Delhi court had announced on January 7 while issuing their death warrants. However, the Delhi government informed the high court during a hearing that the execution of the convicts will not take place on the designated day as a mercy plea had been filed by Mukesh. "The Home Ministry has forwarded the mercy petition of Mukesh Singh to the president. The Ministry has reiterated the recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for its rejection," a Home Ministry official said on Friday morning. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's office sent Mukesh Singh's mercy petition to the Home Ministry on Thursday, a day after the Delhi government recommended its rejection. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The traffic police in the Madhya Pradesh capital has been asking two-wheeler riders caught without helmets to write down a brief essay to explain the reason for not wearing the headgear while driving. During the past six days, over 150 violators of helmet rules in Bhopal have written 100-word essay each explaining the reason for ignoring the use of the protective gear, whose use is mandatory under traffic norms, police officials said. The initiative has been launched during the Road Safety Week that ends on Friday. Helmets are very essential for protection of riders of two-wheel vehicles. During the ongoing Road Safety Week, riders of two- wheelers found without a helmet are being told to write an essay in 100 words to explain as to why they were violating this necessary safety norm, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Pradeep Chouhan told PTI. He said this initiative will continue even after the end of the Road Safety Week (January 11 to 17). In the last six days, the traffic police in Bhopal have taken out rallies to create public awareness about traffic rules. During the period, they also distributed pamphlets among the local residents to inform them about traffic rules. An eye check-up camp for auto-drivers was also organised, an official said. What do you think of this unusual punishment? Dushyant Chautala, 31, became Haryanas deputy chief minister in October last year when his Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the latter fell short of a simple majority in Haryana. He spoke to Sunetra Choudhury about issues like the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act that has triggered protests across the country. Edited excepts: Where is your stand on the CAA? Many, including those in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, like Shiromani Akali Dals Sukhbir Singh Badal, have said Muslims should not be left out... Leaving out somebody is one thing, but giving citizenship to somebody is another thing. There is a misconception that everybodys citizenship will go away. Somebody who is a citizen of our nation will not be debarred from citizenship. That was introduced and I was going through parliamentary records and the first meeting on this act was done under the leadership of the then minister Pranab Mukherjee with all these senior advocates of Congress like P Chidambaram... Was not this act started by them? The Congress was talking about refugees but now the act has a clause about various religions and excludes Muslims. That is why the Akalis have said this. ... If a country is based on religion, only then will they take on minorities. If I talk about UAE, can an Indian go there and get citizenship? We cant. Parliament passed this law and you have to ask MPs during the debate, what things were challenged? What amendments were put in? And if a law is passed today, there can be amendments later also... But making it an issue where violence has occurred, I think its not the right way to raise your voice. So you are...open to changes? If Prakash Singh Badalji has suggested something, he is a veteran leader. He became a CM in his 30s and today he is 90. I think his viewpoint should be considered. What I have learnt in Parliament, government is always flexible to make changes... During the period of GST coming in, people said GST will destroy everything ... But changes came. I think Mr Jaitley did it very well... Things change when people react to them. But I think you have to mould it with the time and flexibility so that it shouldnt be a threat to your Constitution. And NRC? Will Haryana be implementing it in the state? I think it will be a decision of the government. Let it come to cabinet, we will discuss and make a policy decision. It is just regularising people... Can you now reveal to us the background of what happened during Haryana government formation? Who called who and made the first move? Everybody was trying to get in touch and Amit Shah ji called, we spoke and we made a decision within the party that, yes, we have to get a stable government. And Congress, having only 31 MLAs, couldnt give a stable government... Has the fact that you dont have your common minimum programme out show that you are facing challenges? We have taken multiple steps on the CMP and there are things that sometimes we need to discuss and CM and I sit together... to discuss issues. Which is the most debatable issue? I cant quote that in an interview but there are things. There are problems of division of land we are facing in Haryana and cases that are pending for years... But has keeping your flock together been a problem? One of your MLAs went public with his grievance. People have grievances... If my colleague expresses, we will try to figure out a way to get those things resolved. What about the differences between the home minister( Anil Vij) and the CM (Khattar) ? I dont think there should be a talk in public every day on department allocation. CID is part of the home ministry but when Chaudhary Devi Lal [his great grand father] was the CM, he gave the home department to someone else and kept the CID with him... However, you went into polls criticising the BJP. So is it a bit embarrassing sitting with Khattar after a bitter campaign? Campaign is a part of your movement... Sitting with Manoharji is a learning experience. His experience of five years in the government helps. I think there are some things that as a young person, I can put in such as in the last cabinet meeting, we decided that Hindi has to be a part of all the subordinate judiciary orders. It was never done. We got it done ... Last April, as a military uprising roiled Venezuela, Nicolas Maduros socialist government ordered pay TV providers to immediately cease transmission of CNN and the BBC. DirecTV, which is wholly owned by AT&T, quickly obliged, yanking the two networks off the air as live images of military trucks running over protesters were being broadcast to the world. Now, pressure is building against the Dallas communications giant to stand up to Venezuelas government censors. In December, officials from the State Department met in Washington with executives from AT&T to urge them to help pull the plug on Maduros propaganda machine, according to five people familiar with the discussion. The meeting followed months of outreach to AT&T by Venezuelas opposition, according to the five individuals. Under a plan being promoted with the Trump administration, DirecTV, Venezuelas largest pay TV operator, would restore to its lineup a half dozen international news channels that local regulators have banned in recent years, according to the five individuals. The strategy harkens back to a Cold War playbook of leveraging information to fight anti-U.S. propaganda and undermine authoritarian rule. But instead of covertly beaming U.S.-government produced content into foreign countries as Radio Free Europe did in the former Soviet Union, this effort consists of pressuring a private company to bring back access to private, international news outlets that, until recently, Venezuelans took for granted. AT&T faces a difficult choice: comply with a Maduro regime that the U.S. government no longer recognizes and has heavily sanctioned, or go along with the plan and risk seizure of its installations and the loss of its license. According to corporate filings with the Security and Exchange Commission, the company doesnt actually need a physical presence in Venezuela to beam content into the country. It could instead use broadcast centers in Argentina, Brazil or California. The U.S. officials and opposition operators are concerned that DirecTV is being used to broadcast state TV programming by Maduro to attack his opponents, who have no way to respond, according to the five individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was briefed and expressed initial support for the plans to enroll DirecTV to help undermine Maduro, according to two individuals with knowledge of the discussions. Planning is in the early stages, the two individuals said, and its just one of several options under consideration to pressure Maduro, who remains firmly in power even in the face of U.S. sanctions aimed at propping up Juan Guaido, the opposition leader recognized as Venezuelas rightful leader by more than 50 nations. The two individuals said no decision has yet been made on how much to lean on AT&T, which is pushing back strongly against any initiative that would jeopardize operations. A key to Maduros staying power are dozens of government-controlled newspapers, social media accounts and TV channels that have replaced the once highly confrontational private news outlets. Joshua Goodman is an Associated Press writer. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 18:25:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday said that the U.S. assassination of Iran's Quds commander, Qassem Soleimani, was a "cowardice act" which hurt its superpower prestige. During his Friday prayers sermon, Khamenei said the Americans could not face Soleimani in the battlefield and hit him "furtively." In revenge, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)'s missiles shower on the U.S. bases in Iraq was also a military "strike" on the U.S. as the superpower, he said. Besides, the huge turnout of the Iranians and regional people in Soleimani's funeral ceremony was a "disgrace" for the United States, Khamenei said. "The Iranians as well as the people of regional countries praised Soleimani and set ablaze the U.S. and Israeli flags," he said. On the funeral ceremony of Soleimani, millions of Iranians displayed their "allegiance" once again to the Islamic republic, he added. The Iranian leader noted that "Soleimani was an anti-terror commander, who is acknowledged by the people of many countries." Earlier this month, U.S. airstrike near Baghdad international airport assassinated Soleimani and in retaliation, the IRGC launched multiple missile attacks on the U.S. bases in Iraq. Khamenei also slammed the recent move by Britain, France and Germany (E3) to trigger dispute resolution mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The Iranian authorities should not have trusted these European countries in the nuclear talks as "their negotiations are seasoned with deception," said Khamenei. Speaking of the recent Ukrainian passenger plane crash, Khamenei called on the Iran's authorities to investigate "the painful crash," adding "it is necessary to seriously prevent the repetition of such disastrous incidents," while condoling the families of the victims. The Iranian leader also said that the "Iranian enemies" used the passenger plane crash to "tempt and provoke" anti-government sentiments and to undermine the assassination of the Iranian senior commander by the United States. On Jan. 8, a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 passenger plane crashed near Tehran, and all of the 176 people on-board were killed. The incident coincided with Iran's missile attack on the U.S. military base in Iraq. Later, Iran's armed forces confirmed that an "unintentional" launch of a military missile by the country shot down the Ukrainian airliner. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-17 09:00:02 Press release Stockholm 17 January 2020 Management succession in Denmark and United Kingdom Mark Luscombe, today country manager in UK, will in August return to Denmark, where he gradually will replace Peter Holtermand as country manager. Anders Engstrand, Head of Debt Capital Markets, will in August replace Mark Luscombe as country manager in UK. Both will in their roles as country managers be additional members of the Group Executive Committee. With this long-term succession plan in place we feel confident that we, together with our clients, will continue to grow our business in both Denmark and UK, says Johan Torgeby, President and CEO of SEB. Peter Holtermand has worked in SEB since the establishment of the Copenhagen branch in 1997 of which the last 18 years as the country manager. During these 23 years, SEB has developed into a leading corporate and investment bank in Denmark. Peter will as part of the new succession plan gradually hand over his management positions during a period up to SEBs 25th anniversary in 2022. Mark Luscombe has been truly instrumental in the successful expansion of SEBs activities in London over the last five years and he knows the Danish business and clients well from his previous position as Head of Corporate Banking in SEB Denmark. He will from August initially be head of the Large Corporates & Financial Institutions division in Denmark to later fully shoulder the role of country manager. Anders Engstrand, Head of Debt Capital Markets, will during the spring initiate his move to UK and will formally take over as country manager in August. Anders has extensive experience from the investment banking and capital markets area, which will be significant on SEBs continued journey in UK to become the leading financial advisor to our UK clients. For further information, please contact Frank Hojem, Head of Corporate Communication +46 70 763 99 47 frank.hojem@seb.se SEB is a leading Nordic financial services group with a strong belief that entrepreneurial minds and innovative companies are key in creating a better world. SEB takes a long-term perspective and supports its customers in good times and bad. In Sweden and the Baltic countries, SEB offers financial advice and a wide range of financial services. In Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany and UK the bank's operations have a strong focus on corporate and investment banking based on a full-service offering to corporate and institutional clients. The international nature of SEB's business is reflected in its presence in some 20 countries worldwide. At 30 September 2019, the Group's total assets amounted to SEK 3,046bn while its assets under management totalled SEK 1,943bn. The Group has around 15,000 employees. Read more about SEB at http://www.sebgroup.com . Two people were killed and 31 others, mostly Chinese nationals, were injured in a tourist bus and truck collision in Chitwan district of Nepal on Friday, officials said. The accident occurred when the bus carrying tourists, including those from China, was enroute to Pokhra and hit a truck travelling in the same direction from the backside in Bharatpur Metropolitan City, police officials said. After hitting the truck, the bus also hit a roadside house in the area, said the police. "Two people who sustained serious injuries during the accident died while they were being taken to the hospital for treatment," the police said. While the deceased have not been identified, those injured are undergoing treatment at different hospitals. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two women are holed up in an office on a college campus, and they're arguing with fire and conviction. One is white, the other black. One is a liberal history professor, the other her politically active student. One is pushing the need for primary sources and judicious scholarship, the other pushing the need for openness, sensitivity and radical new modes of thinking that acknowledge injustices both present and past. "There is one appropriate way of responding to a woman of color who says, 'I have an idea to assert.' And that," explains the student, "is to shut up and listen!" Which does not go over well. The pair having it out are actors Christina Reeves and Monet Thompson, aka professor Janine Bosko and student Zoe Reed. The setting for their quarrel is the Beaudoin Theatre at Siena College's Foy Hall, where the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York is rehearsing "The Niceties" Eleanor Burgess's two-woman play about race, history, academia and the need to strip back conventions in the quest for candor. It opens for a four-performance run on Thursday, Jan. 23. "When I read this I said, 'This is my kind of story and stories," said Jean-Remy Monnay, the theater troupe's artistic director. The two-act drama opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club in October 2018; after stumbling across it in an anthology of plays by women, he knew from the get-go he had to stage it himself. "I think that it can really open a lot of people's eyes in professors and students, black and white, in any school. But mainly a school like this" small, private, liberal arts. It's a good fit for Siena, he says, and a good fit for the decade-old Black Theatre Troupe, which is committed to telling untold and under-told stories of the black experience. "We do have a diverse campus, but it's important to represent all perspectives and Black Theatre Troupe really helps us to tell everybody's story on stage," says Krysta Dennis, who is on the creative arts faculty at Siena. She and her students teamed up with the troupe for a production last summer of "Yours for the Oppressed," a play about abolitionists Harriet and Stephen Myers that toured the state. With "The Niceties," she says, the setting indeed "could be Siena. It could be any college. This could be any college anywhere, and that's why it really speaks to me." "The Niceties" speaks sometimes hotly to foundational notions of history and identity. The spark that sets off the plot is Zoe's latest history paper, which maintains that "a successful American Revolution was only possible because of slavery." It wasn't truly radical, she says. Instead it was moderate, underpinned by all the whites who supported and benefited from the institutional sale and bondage of countless human beings. Her professor disparages this thesis as "fundamentally unsound," too reliant on Wikipedia and lacking in proper scholarly citations. "If you need evidence, you are excluding the people who couldn't leave history behind," Zoe responds, arguing for all the voices that were silenced for so long. Is the professor racist? Clueless? Does it matter? As the play progresses, Zoe ramps up the accusations along with the stakes, and "The Niceties" hits on all sorts of cultural hot buttons: sexual preference, pronouns, slavery, reparations, privilege and the everyday insensitivities of a white professor who doesn't bother to ask how a student of color's name is pronounced. "Like my name, for example," says Monnay, a native of Haiti. "I have everybody call me 'Remy' because everybody was calling me 'Gene' or 'John.' I said, 'That's not my name, you know? ... My mother didn't name me Gene-Remy." "Growing up black, you just kind of deal with things," says Thompson, comparing her own views with Zoe's. "She doesn't deal with them." Although her alter ego is "a little more radical in her thinking than I am," the actor comprehends her. "It was very interesting to see her perspective, because a lot of the things she feels, I don't feel that way at all. But I can feel where the emotion's coming from. I can feel where she got those ideals." Her own goal for the play: "To just have someone walk out of here challenging their own values, challenging their own thoughts, and how they view the world. ... I want them to see the traits in each of us and see, evaluate, themselves as a person." Monnay hopes the show will rattle people a little bit, make them see things in a new light. "People from anywhere any background, any race will take something" from it, he says. The play will "make them think when they leave there. It's definitely going to open a lot of minds. ... It opened my mind myself when I read it." Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. It opened Reeves', too. With its characters seething from their opposite poles, "The Niceties" brings ideas to the fore that don't often get aired. "They're both kind of a little crazy, very smart, and they're embodying these two kind of extreme points of view," she says. The play strips away the decorum and the fear that can prevent folks from saying what needs to be said. "We're much more, you know, tactful and polite. We have the niceties going on, you know? These are niceties. And these two people get a little beyond the niceties, which is important. You start to see what's real." In the end, there's no easy way to cross the gulf between Zoe and Janine. But there's still the need to question, challenge, talk. "It's great having a play that says we need to keep having the conversation," Dennis says. Sometimes, in academia and elsewhere, people get locked into one perspective or one fixed narrative. "Like, no. We need to have this conversation, because different people have different experiences in the world and oppression exists, and you can't make it go magically away in your classrooms." "I think theater is special with the intimacy between the audience and the performers," Thompson says. "I think that that's important for a play like this, where we want to challenge people's thoughts. ... We get to kind of experience it together, with the audience, and hopefully bring them in." Agrees Monnay: "Anybody comes to see the show, you're gonna want to be a part of the conversation. You're gonna want to join them." More Information If you go "The Niceties" Where: Foy Hall, Siena College, 515 Loudon Road, Loudonville When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23; Friday, Jan. 24, and Saturday, Jan. 25; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. Tickets: $15, or $10 for students, veterans and seniors Info: siena.edu/creativeartstickets See More Collapse Even that thorny professor deserves some empathy, Thompson says. "She's trying her best. You know, she tried her best her whole life." "The Niceties" isn't cut-and-dried. It doesn't offer answers for all the questions it asks. "Like, you don't dismiss it as 'Oh, they're wrong and I'm right,' or vice versa. Like, it's always going to be more nuanced than that." But just because it's nuanced, just because it's messy, just because there aren't any easy answers, isn't reason to stop the conversation before it starts. With Zoe, Thompson says, the message is this: "That things are the way they are doesn't mean that they should be. And that there should be more questions asked. There should be I don't know how to put this like, logical reparations. We should be going back and fixing. Fixing. And not just saying we should move on." abiancolli@timesunion.com 518-454-5439 @AmyBiancolli President Muhammadu Buhari has said as a beneficiary of a free and fair elections in the country, he would bequeath the same to his successor and the nation in 2023. The president, according to a statement by one of his spokesmen, Garba Shehu, spoke at a dinner with members of the legal team for the 2019 presidential election petition on Thursday in Abuja. Mr Buhari recounted that the turnout of Nigerians during his presidential campaigns to the 36 states of the federation in 2019 convinced him that his re-election was not a fluke. The number of people that turned out in every state across the country was more than anybody can buy or force. This gave me so much confidence and the election proved that with the votes I got. That is why I insist that elections must be free and fair because I am a clear successor to a free and fair election, he said. The president told the legal team that he was already looking forward to a peaceful hand over in 2023, stressing that he was morally bound to fulfil that wish. Morally, I want to have a clear conscience. I swore by the Holy Book that I will abide by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari hosted members of Presidential Legal Team to a dinner at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. (Photo: Official Twitter) I will continue to do my best and I hope that by 2023, I can hand over quietly to whoever succeeds me and I wish him the best of luck, he said. The president commended the legal team led by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, for the outstanding legal successes recorded in the presidential election petition. He praised the team for the effective legal strategy that thrived in piloting his election litigation. You creditably demonstrated a deep understanding of the law and its practices and I am indeed proud of you all. President Muhammadu Buhari hosted members of Presidential Legal Team to a dinner at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. (Photo: Official Twitter) I am confident that by securing a convincing and unanimous legal victory at the Supreme Court you have by so doing ensured that the political mandate of the Nigerian electorate is now firmly secured, he said. The president added that the legal teams enormous contributions had affirmed the rule of law and further entrenched democratic governance in Nigeria. This legal team is an assemblage of some of the most scholarly legal teams ever assembled in this country. I must note that the aforesaid legal successes recorded through your excellence have assisted me in fulfilling this governments desire for a better Nigeria, he said. On behalf of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the president told the team to accept his commendations and best wishes for their meritorious service. In his remarks, the lead counsel, Mr Olanipekun, said the legal victory was won based on the facts of law, stressing that the president never used his position or office to influence the decision of the courts. The courts were allowed to do their job Mr President and I must commend you for that sir. Nobody whispered to anyone of us, how we are going to see Judge A or Judge B? Thats the way it should be. Judges must be allowed and be given a free hand to do their job. President Muhammadu Buhari hosted members of Presidential Legal Team to a dinner at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. (Photo: Official Twitter) Mr President, we are happy to have been called upon and we are happy that we delivered, Mr Olanipekun said. On electoral reforms, Mr Olanipekun acknowledged that while the National Assembly was working on the Electoral Act, the law required some rejigging and cleansing. We are happy to know that the National Assembly is doing something about the electoral law. Advertisements We are ready to cooperate with them without taking a dime, whether as consultants, whether as legal practitioners, whether as experts. If the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) will co-opt us we are ready to give assistance, he said. Mr Olanipekun also commended the presidents commitment to the rule of law, saying it is the surest legacy Mr President can bequeath to our dear nation. (NAN) YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. The body of former NSS Director Georgy Kutoyan was found by his wife in their apartment, a top detective working at the scene told reporters. Investigations Committee division for high-profile investigations chief Artur Melikyan told reporters that they cant yet point out any version. He said detectives and working at the scene to determine the circumstances. A firearm was found in the apartment, he said. When we arrived to the apartment his wife and father were there. We have been told by first responders that his wife discovered the body. Coroners are also participating in the crime scene investigation, he said. CCTV footage from the buildings entrances is being studied, he said. Former National Security Service Director Georgy Kutoyan was found shot dead in his Yerevan apartment on January 17. Kutoyans body was found in his apartment on Paruyr Sevak Street. Kutoyan served as NSS director from 2016 to 2018. Photos by Tatev Duryan Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan 1.3k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Lev Parnas a central figure in Donald Trumps scheme to shake down a foreign power for dirt on Joe Biden now admits that the former vice president did nothing wrong with respect to Ukraine. During an interview with MSNBCs Rachel Maddow, Parnas said that after looking at all the evidence, he saw nothing to indicate that the former vice president is guilty of anything. I dont think Vice President Biden did anything wrong, Parnas told Maddow. I think he was protecting our country and getting rid of probably a crooked attorney general and people used this to their advantage. Video: Parnas said: After analyzing all the evidence and sitting back and really understanding whats going on, I dont think Vice President Biden did anything wrong. I think he was protecting our country and getting rid of probably a crooked attorney general and people used this to their advantage. A lot of rich people in Ukraine have their own agenda. And they use us here for their own political stuff. So I think this is was a big one. Not even the man running Trumps Ukraine scheme found any dirt on Biden Donald Trump is trying to convince the American people that Joe Biden a man who is well-respect and generally well-liked by voters is a crook who engaged in shady foreign dealings. Since this Ukraine scandal blew up, Trumps been spewing the lie that it was Biden, not he, who engaged in scandalous, criminal behavior. But if the man on the ground in Ukraine running Donald Trumps criminal scheme to take down a political opponent cant even find dirt on said political opponent, then chances are there wasnt any. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter Internal emails from Boeing Co. employees could strengthen the legal case for families claiming the companys push to minimize the training needed for new 737 Max aircraft contributed to two crashes that killed 346 people. Employees bragged about fooling the Federal Aviation Administration into thinking pilots whod flown older 737 models would need only computer training to fly the new version, emails released by the company show. Those comments support lawsuits claiming Boeing compromised safety to sell jets and may increase its liability, said Justin Green, an attorney representing 32 families of people who died in the Ethiopian Airlines crash last year. The lack of training is essential to our case, Green said. These documents show that Boeing led the FAA around by the nose and they confirm everything the families have alleged. Boeing is accused in the lawsuits of seeking to bring a new airplane to market as quickly as possible to compete with Airbus SEs A320 neo. Part of the purported sales pitch was that pilots who already were qualified to fly the older 737 models wouldnt need costly and time-consuming new training for the Max. Both the Ethiopian Airlines crash and the Lion Air plane that went down in the Sea of Java in 2018 have been blamed on the 737 Maxs Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, which caused the airplanes to dive shortly after takeoff. Since then, all 737 Max planes were grounded, sales of Boeing jets plunged, and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg lost his job last month. The shares tumbled, and the company faces wrongful-death lawsuits filed by victims families that could cost $2 billion to settle, as well as legal battles with investors, pilots and workers. Last Thursday, under pressure from lawmakers as it seeks to get the 737 Max flying again, Boeing disclosed a new trove of internal documents related to development of the aircraft. The company had turned them over to investigators for the FAA and Congress last month. In one 2013 memo, a Boeing employee recommended describing MCAS as an addition to an existing speed trim system, instead of as a new feature: If we emphasize MCAS is a new function there may be greater certification and training impact. In 2016, after the FAA had provisionally agreed that only computer-based training was needed for pilots transitioning from the 737 NG to the 737 Max, a Boeing employee said in an email: You can be away from an NG for 30 years and still be able to jump into a Max? LOVE IT!! Then in June 2017, a Boeing employee referred to Lion Air officials as idiots for seeking more simulation training on the Max for its pilots, records show. Lion Air abandoned the idea after the planemaker convinced the airline it was unnecessary. Reckless Disregard The new disclosures could be quite damning for Boeing and could support claims for reckless disregard for safety, which may entitle the plaintiffs to punitive damages on top of compensation for losses, said Robert Rabin, a law professor at Stanford University. In addition, the revelations related to the FAA may put pressure on the agency to be super-cautious in allowing the 737 Max back into the air, Rabin said. In the court of public opinion this has to be bad for Boeing, any way you slice it, said Timothy Ravich, an aviation law expert at the University of Central Florida. This smells very, very bad. In a court of law, on the other hand, Boeing may try to keep the internal documents out of the case as either hearsay or as unfairly prejudicial, according to Ravich. But given that its unlikely that Boeing will want to go to trial with the families of the crash victims, the internal communications probably will give leverage for the plaintiff lawyers to secure a favorable settlement, Ravich said. Boeing has to put this to bed as soon as possible, he said. With deliveries of new Max jets halted by the crashes and orders canceled, Boeing disclosed Tuesday that it had lost the title of worlds largest planemaker. Deliveries last year tumbled to 380 jetliners, less than half the 863 tallied by rival Airbus. On Wednesday, Malaysia Airlines Bhd. said it suspended deliveries of 737 Max aircraft it had on order for this year, the first Southeast Asian carrier to publicly take such a step since the planes were grounded in March. Inappropriate Language Boeing declined to comment on the litigation. These documents do not represent the best of Boeing, Greg Smith, who was the companys interim CEO until David Calhoun took over this week, said in a message to employees Friday. The tone and language of the messages are inappropriate, particularly when used in discussion of such important matters, and they do not reflect who we are as a company or the culture weve created. The company said in November it had reached settlements with more than 60 of the Lion Air lawsuits filed in Chicago, where a federal judge has signaled he may grant Boeings request for pending claims to be resolved in Indonesia rather than the U.S. Aside from the lawsuits by families of crash victims, Boeing is defending against claims by pilots affected by the grounding of the airplanes. Lawyers seeking to represent as many as 5,000 pilots in a class action already filed an amended complaint Monday in federal court in Chicago. One of the new causes of action that we added captures succinctly the range of deception by Boeing, which was characterized by the tone of the recently released emails, and other behavior witnessed by our clients, Joe Wheeler, an attorney for the pilots said in an email. What the emails indicate to me is that there are not just rotten apples at Boeing, the whole orchard is infected. With assistance from Janan Hanna and Julie Johnsson. Topics Lawsuits Claims Aviation Training Development Aerospace Congress corporator from Thane Vikrant Chavan was on Wednesday caught on camera allegedly hurling abuses at a woman journalist, who was recording him misbehaving with the metro station staff. Taking to Twitter, journalist Tabassum Barnagarwala shared the video where the Congress leader could be heard telling her 'chal, shani ban' (try to be smart). "I am a corporator, do you know that?" was the first thing I heard as I entered the metro station today. Congress corporator Vikrant Chavan was shouting at two Metro staffers and two security personnel who tried their best to calm him down. Being a journalist, I was curious," she wrote in a series of tweets. When the journalist enquired, staffer Sajid replied, "He is a corporator, that is the only reason he is shouting. He will not even listen." Later, she intervened and asked Chavan politely to calm down. "His voice grew louder, he said "Tu ja yahan se. Mein Vikrant Chavan hun. Corporator". At that point, we decided to make a video. Chavan turned violent and hit my hand to stop the video," she said. Highlighting the cases filed against Chavan, she said: "In 2015, Congress' Chavan, from Thane, was charged with abetment to suicide after Thane builder Suraj Parmar committed suicide.H e was accused of "mental harassment and demanded payoffs" by Parmar forcing him to end his life." "Chavan, with three other corporators, was accused of creating a nexus involving politicians and builders. He was even imprisoned for some time in Parmar's suicide case. In 2017, Thane police raided his and his family's house due to undeclared assets," she added. Stressing that this year Congress nominated Chavan to contest from Oval Majiwada seat for the state assembly elections in Thane, the journalist said: "It is sad to know that politicians avail such freedom to shout and assault at their whim and still get nominated by party." Reacting to this, Chavan said he had an argument with the metro staff as they were unable to find his stuck token in a machine which is required to travel in Metro. "I had argument with officials after my ticket got stuck in a machine at a metro station. A woman started taking video. I pushed her mobile away. If I am wrong, she can sue me, if I am not wrong I will take action," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Responding to Iranian presidents recent remarks that European soldiers could be in danger in the Middle East, the U.K. Defense Secretary, Ben Wallace has said that Britain would take the threat seriously. "Today, the American soldier is in danger, tomorrow the European soldiers could be in danger [in the Middle East]," Hassan Rouhani warned on Wednesday, January 15. The Islamic Republic fired missiles at two American bases in Iraq last week in retaliation for a U.S. drone strike that killed one of its top general, but smaller, unprovoked attacks by Irans proxies on bases housing Americans have been a regular occurrence in recent months. But now Iran is angry that the U.K., France and Germany have decided to trigger a dispute mechanism related to the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA). This was in response to Iran reducing its commitment and enriching more uranium. Europes step can lead to renewal of international sanctions against Tehran. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, January 16, the U.K. Defense Secretary, Ben Wallace insisted that the JCPOA still could be salvaged. "We want the JCPOA to succeed, and we don't think it is finished. We think there's still life in it. Though we also want Iran to play its full part, as a civilized nation in the world, and to do that, it must address some of its other behavior," Wallace asserted. Responding to Rouhani's threat, Wallace noted, "We would take all that seriously whoever it may come from. The United Kingdom will do what it has to do to protect both itself and its allies in the theater and further afield. We take statements like that by President Rouhani seriously." However, U.K. Defense Secretary maintained that the only way to de-escalate the situation is addressing the fears of all parties. "The way to de-escalate is for all the sides to come together, talk about these, address each other's fears, such as the JCPOA, such as American fears that where some of that money is going to be spent. At the end of the day, it is de-escalation that we look forward to; we are not looking for rhetoric," he reiterated. In the meantime, France has insisted that the only way to address "Iran's crisis," is comprehensive negotiation with the U.S., including the future of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program after 2025, its policies in the region and Tehran's missile program . The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also supports President Donald Trumps policy of negotiating a comprehensive deal with Iran. Washington has repeatedly pointed out that its maximum pressure on Tehran would go on until the Islamic Republic relents and returns to the negotiating table. A second person has died after a new virus linked to Sars caused an outbreak of pneumonia in China. A 69-year-old man surnamed Xiong fell ill with the respiratory condition on 31 December and died on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission on Thursday. Some 41 people in Wuhan have been diagnosed with a novel coronavirus, a family of viruses that can cause both the common cold and more severe diseases such as Sars and Mers. The death comes as a second patient in Thailand and another in Japan were diagnosed with the virus. Xiong is the second person to die during the outbreak after a 61-year-old man who had abdominal tumours and chronic liver disease died last Saturday. 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 Xiong exhibited abnormal renal function, severe impairment in multiple organs, inflammation of the heart muscle and other pressing conditions when he was admitted to hospital. It was not clear from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commissions statement whether these were pre-existing issues or consequences of the viral pneumonia. As of Thursday, 12 of the 41 patients have been cured and discharged, while five were being treated for acute conditions. Authorities have tracked more than 700 people who were in close contact with infected patients, though no related cases have been found among them. However, the commission has not ruled out limited human-to-human transmission, revealing a woman may have contracted the virus from her husband. The Chinese government is keen to avoid a repeat of the previous Sars or severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak. The Sars epidemic began in southern China in late 2002, then spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800 people. Most of the coronavirus patients this time either worked at or visited a particular seafood market in Wuhan. The market has since been shut down for investigation and disinfection. A 74-year-old tourist was intercepted at a Thai airport on 13 January with symptoms of a lung infection, the countrys public health ministry said on Friday. She is being treated in the same hospital, east of Bangkok, as a Chinese woman who was diagnosed with the virus after entering the country last week. The Chinese woman is getting better and will soon be released, said Sukhum Kanchanapimai, Thailands permanent secretary for public health. Japans health ministry said on Thursday the virus had been confirmed in a man who had been hospitalised in Japan with pneumonia symptoms after travelling to Wuhan earlier this month. His condition has improved. Kyodo News agency reported the man is Chinese. Authorities in Thailand have been ramping up checks on Chinese visitors as nearly a million are expected to visit the country for the Lunar New Year holiday next week. The World Health Organisation warned the virus could spread. Considering global travel patterns, additional cases in other countries are likely, it added in a statement on Thursday. Additional reporting by agencies Officials in Sauk County are concerned there may be stronger illegal drugs than usual in the area after six non-fatal opioid overdoses were reported since early December. Sara Jesse, the countys community health strategist, released a statement with the number provided by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The alert sent Monday noted six non-fatal opioid overdoses were treated in Sauk County hospitals. We wanted to alert people to this spike because, even though the numbers arent great, six people, that is way more than we typically see in our emergency departments, Jesse said. And its kind of been sustained over time. Opioid overdoses can be caused by prescription painkillers or through the use of heroin. Prescriptions used to be the leading cause of overdoses within Sauk County, but have plateaued in recent years, Jesse said. Jesse noted the most common cause of overdose within the county is due to heroin cut or altered with fentanyl, a highly-addictive synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin. Even non-narcotic substances like cocaine and methamphetamine have been found to be laced with fentanyl. CATONSVILLE, MD, January 14, 2020 - How long has it been since you logged onto a Web site and you were prompted to decide whether to opt out of "cookies" that the site told you will enhance your online experience? Minutes? Hours? While you may be familiar with the term, you may not completely know what a cookie is or what it does. A computer "cookie," also known as a web cookie, Internet cookie or browser cookie, represents data packets that are sent to your computer to help a website track your visits and activity. As a result, the site is better able to track items in your shopping cart when browsing an ecommerce site, or personalize your user experience on the website so that you are more likely to see content and ads you want to see. New research has explored the real value of the cookie to websites, advertisers, and found that cookies represent higher revenue to online publishers. According to the study, there is a 52 percent reduction in advertising revenue to publishers when cookies are eliminated through Internet user opt-out protocols. On the other hand, when cookies are present, publishers' ad pricing doubles. The study, to be published in the January edition of the INFORMS journal Marketing Science, is titled "Consumer Privacy Choice in Online Advertising: Who opts out and at what cost to industry?" It is authored by Garrett Johnson of Questrom School of Business at Boston University; Scott Shriver of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado; and Shaoyin Du of the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester. According to the study authors, while most Americans decide not to opt-out of online advertising, 0.23 percent of American online ad impressions arise from users who decide to opt out of online ads. These users, in effect, have opted out of the use of cookies to track their online navigation of a particular site. This group was the focus of the study's research to determine the impact of cookie removal on publishers. In 2010, the American advertising industry decided to self-regulate by implementing its AdChoices program. This is where consumers are given the option to opt out of online advertising based on users' behavior, simply by clicking the overlaid "AdChoice" icons on ads. "In addition to finding that only a small percentage of Americans actually decided to opt out of online ads, one of our more important findings was that opt-out user ads tend to fetch 52 percent less revenue on the transaction than do comparable ads for users who allow behavior targeting, or opt in," said Johnson. The study authors calculate that the inability to behaviorally target opt-out users results in a loss of roughly $8.58 in ad spending per American opt-out consumer. This cost is covered by publishers and the AdChoices exchange. For context, while the American advertising industry maintains an opt-out system, European regulators favor an opt-in policy through the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which requires users to provide consent before they see an ad targeting them. "This study provides the first evidence of the adoption rate of AdChoice, which is 0.23 percent of American impressions," said Shriver. "More specifically, we were able to uncover a privacy paradox. Consumers' stated preferences overstate actual preference measures they take to assure their privacy. Multiple surveys show that about two-thirds of American consumers oppose online behavioral advertising, and 20 percent even claim to have opted out using AdChoices. Still, actual opt-out rates are much lower." "Though few users tend to opt out, we note that certain types of users are more likely to opt out, and that has certain consequences for the advertising industry," said Du. "We find that opt-out rates are higher among users who install non-default browsers, such as Firefox and Chrome, which tells us that opt-out users are likely more technologically sophisticated. We also note substantial variation in opt-out rates by region by city and state and by certain demographics." ### About INFORMS and Marketing Science Marketing Science is a premier peer-reviewed scholarly marketing journal focused on research using quantitative approaches to study all aspects of the interface between consumers and firms. It is published by INFORMS, the leading international association for operations research and analytics professionals. More information is available at http://www.informs.org or @informs. (CNN) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, amid public fury over the military's shooting down of a passenger jet and sky-high tensions with the US. Khamenei mocked US officials as "American clowns" and criticized France, Germany and the UK as "lackeys" of the US that can't be trusted. He also expressed his condolences to the families of victims of the plane crash. It is rare for Khamenei -- the highest spiritual and political authority in Iran -- to lead Friday prayers, and the move is thought to be an effort to rally support after several tumultuous weeks that have piled pressure on the Islamic Republic's rulers. Iran's most important general, Qasem Soleimani, was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq two weeks ago, and Iran retaliated with strikes on US targets, bringing Tehran and Washington briefly to the brink of all-out conflict. Iran's military then shot down a Ukrainian commercial flight in Tehran, killing all 176 people onboard, including 82 Iranians, prompting days of protests and finger-pointing between rival factions of the government. In a defiant sermon Friday, Khamenei described the "martyrdom" of Soleimani and Tehran's retaliation against the US as "acts of God, not man," and boasted that Iran had delivered a slap in the face to the United States. "What took place could not have been the work of any human actor, only the hand of God," Khamenei said. "The day in which the missiles of [Iran's Revolutionary Guards] rained down upon the American base, that was also the day of the Almighty." "We saw history in the making. These are not normal days. The fact that a power, a nation, does possess the spiritual strengths in order to respond to the biggest bullying power in the world with such a slap in the face, this shows the divine hand, the hand of God", the Supreme Leader said. Khamenei also railed against US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who have said on social media that they stand with Iranian protesters. He said "American clowns" lie to the public when they say the US is with the people of Iran. "If you stand in close proximity to Iran, it is with the intention of driving a knife into the chest of the people," he said. Khamenei added Iran is open to negotiations, but not with the United States. "We have no fear of negotiations," he said, "but of course not with America." The leader said his country would only negotiate with others "from a position of strength," not "weakness." He did not provide any details about which countries Iran was open to negotiating with when he said "others." Huge crowds were present to witness the rare sermon, with President Hassan Rouhani in the front row alongside parliament speaker Ali Larijani. The last time Khamenei presided over Friday prayers was in 2012 to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. He also led prayers in 2009 amid protests that erupted after disputed presidential elections. Over the past few days Iranian radio broadcasts and television had been encouraging people to join the prayers. They come at a pivotal time for Iran, after vigils to mourn those who died in the Ukraine International Airlines crash quickly turned into mass anti-government demonstrations, with calls for Khamenei to step down and for those responsible for downing the plane to be prosecuted. Iran's military initially denied shooting down the plane before admitting to it several days later, saying the plane was "accidentally hit by human error." Khamenei expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, but said foreign press had tried to deceive Iranians over the crash. "Our enemy tried to manipulate the bitter crash of the plane to overshadow our accomplishments," he said. "The events that followed the crash must not be allowed to repeat themselves," Khamenei added, which could be taken as a stern warning to security forces not to allow further protests or unrest. Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said earlier this week that people had taken to the streets because they were "lied to for a couple days." Khamenei also addressed ongoing tension with France, Germany and the UK -- the so-called E3 nations -- who triggered a dispute mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal that could lead to a further unraveling of the accord. "Today it has been clear that these European countries are the lackeys and yes men of America," he said. "But, you the European countries must bear in mind the America has not managed to bring the Iranian nation down to its knees, let alone you, you are much less mighty than America." The Europeans are "an iron fist that has been given the veil of a velvet glove," said Khamenei. "They cannot be the people who we trust." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Iran's Supreme Leader blasts 'American clowns' as he leads Friday prayers for first time in 8 years" Gurdaspur: A team of Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday seized at least 22 packets containing heroin from Pakistani smugglers near the Chauntra post in Gurdaspur. According to reports, the BSF team also recovered around 90 bullets, 2 magazines and WiFi connectors from the Pakistani smugglers who succeeded to escape from the spot. The recovery was made after a BSF patrolling team spotted some activities near the fencing at the Chauntra post around 3.50 am. Live TV The BSF personnel fired in the air in order to warn the suspected smugglers, who fled leaving the drugs and other items at the spot. A search operation is currently underway. As we reach that point in January when it definitely is too late to say Happy New Year any more, and the one-month mark since the election has rolled by, it seems a natural moment to explore where the new Government goes from here on its most pressing issue. Whats next on the Brexit front? First, theres the question of fulfilling that iconic pledge: Get Brexit Done. The Withdrawal Agreement Bill is with the Lords, having stormed through the newly-elected Commons not surprisingly, given the extraordinary mandate it won at the ballot box. While it is yet to pass, the progress of the Bill in itself shouldnt be downplayed. As recently as a few weeks ago, it was possible that this country would never leave the EU at all. If getting Brexit done is the first priority, the second should be ensuring that it is widely communicated that it has actually happened, at long last. Theres already an effort underway to try to claim that it is somehow impossible to do Brexit that even the act of leaving the institutions of the EU wont really count, because political debate and change arising from leaving will continue. This is bogus obviously, exiting the EU means fulfilling the promise to do so; if it did not, those opposed to leaving wouldnt be so bothered about it happening but the spin effort has a reason behind it. The hope in hardcore Remainer/Rejoiner circles is that they can disillusion those who voted Leave and/or for Boris Johnson through bitter experience. Get Brexit Done proved a compelling message, and so they fervently hope to discredit it by arguing it is a broken promise. I doubt that the Government would actively choose to have the media discussion largely framed, weirdly, through the lens of whether Big Ben should Bong as Brexit happens or not, but their main hope will be that everyone knows that Brexit is happening at that time, on that day, as promised. So Brexit can indeed be done. And its simply inaccurate to talk of the entire future thereafter negotiating a new relationship with the EU, hammering out trade deals around the world, re-establishing and re-learning ways to govern ourselves in a host of repatriated areas of sovereignty as amounting to it somehow not happening. Rather, those are the key elements of post-Brexit life; the fact that democratic self-government needs work and takes time is not a case for having stayed in the EU, it is part of what the goal of Taking Back Control always meant. Much of the Governments policy for life after EU membership is as yet unpublished and unknown. Some is still being developed, some will be influenced by changes at the top (including the reshuffle and potential Whitehall re-organisation), and some is sensibly kept under wraps ahead of sensitive negotiations. It is nonetheless possible to glean a few things from what the Government has and hasnt done so far. Overall, the signs point to a continuation of the strategy which distinguishes this administration from its predecessor: the belief in practice, not just rhetoric, that successful negotiation rests on the availability of and willingness to pursue a tough alternative. That position is sometimes misunderstood, and more often misrepresented. Remember all the bombastic claims that Boris Johnson couldnt possibly get a new deal, that he wasnt even interested in trying to do so, and even that he actively desired No Deal? And yet his approach worked to avoid exactly that outcome. Extending that logic from the autumn to today means the Government retains the willingness to march out of transition without a deal, and intends to hold to the deadline of the end of 2020. The size of the majority, and the new popular electoral mandate, bolster that position. They also weaken the routes by which it is possible to breach deadlines while avoiding the blame its hard when one has a majority of 80 to argue that a Hung Parliament forced you into delay, for example. It might at a push be possible, if both sides have signed a workable future relationship deal before the December deadline, to see some sort of new timetable established a mutually agreed fudging under a new brand (an implementation period, perhaps?) but its hard to see that being acceptable unless it were brief, strictly time limited, delineated from transition, and explicitly for the sole purpose of putting the technicalities of an already-agreed future relationship in place. At the same time, as Stephen Booth recently suggested on this site, there may be an agreement to bundle together the various other deadlines currently scattered through the year for tricky talks on fishing, financial services equivalence, and data and reschedule them for the end of 2020, too. Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, as somebody once said. After the failure to properly assess the risks of different schedules in the previous round of negotiations, expect Westminster to be far more robust in fighting for its preferred timetable this time. So what sort of relationship will the UK seek? That is bound up with the time available. The EUs preference, naturally, would be to argue that a short 11-month negotiation window ought to encourage something akin to continued membership ongoing compliance with existing EU law and continued dynamic alignment with new measures. The UKs interests, and the bitter lessons of political experience under Theresa May, argue for the opposite not starting with the monolith of EU membership and shaving bits off apologetically here and there, but starting from the assumption of maximum flexibility and agreeing to compromise on that where absolutely necessary. That would be the route by which the back-up alternative a UK economy designed to out-compete the EU through swift divergence is easiest to achieve. And therefore it is the most productive way to encourage an agreement instead. It would also, of course, allow the newly-elected Government to frame the negotiations in less apologetic terms than May: self-government is an opportunity, not a risk to be limited, and compromises which the EU might seek are concessions to be won from the UK. There are signs of the groundwork being laid for such an approach. The Governments rejection of amendments to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill which would require it to deliver one particular outcome or another from negotiations is a sensible start. If the proponents of those amendments havent yet got it, ministers have no intention of starting talks with their hands bound or their position compromised. We see similar provisions being made for maximum flexibility elsewhere, too. The new Agriculture Bill does not include a legislative ban on new trade deals varying the standards applied to food imports, for example, which had been demanded by the NFU, among others. Likewise, Clause 26 of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill itself proposes to give ministers the power to issue regulations telling courts (below the Supreme Court, which already has this power) to disregard ECJ and EU case law on a range of potential issues. That has an obvious implication the transition period provides for stability and continuity in the authority of EU law over the UK, but if we really need to then we can start to loosen some of those constraints early. The Government hopes, and works on the assumption that, the talks will be productive and constructive but it retains the right to make provision for the UK to best serve its interests if they do not work out, and rightly so. It will be worth watching carefully to see how forthcoming legislation like the Immigration Bill might reflect this approach; or, for that matter, if the Budget will contain any measures which could be seen as preparing the UK to compete more energetically with its EU neighbours. While Brussels sometimes talks as if the UK ought to gratefully sign up to compliance and alignment some would say obeisance on all fronts, the fact is that now, more than ever, it is aware of the risk and challenge of a divergent competitor on its doorstep. The EU knew that Philip Hammond was unlikely to seriously prepare for such an outcome, and that the Parliamentary numbers were not there even if he wanted to do so. Now he is gone and there is a Commons majority, backing a Government which is willing to act if needed. That was evident as a factor in Angela Merkels remarks to the Financial Times this week about Brexit as a wake-up call to the EU to become more competitive. Even Mark Carney recently argued that the UK must make the most of its advantage in financial services by retaining flexibility and regulatory self-government. The implication of all this the timescale, the preparation of an alternative, the retention of the right to diverge is that the priority is getting an agreement in good time, without excessive sacrifice of control. That points to a simpler, looser relationship, which would itself raise two huge questions: first, how would the UK then make the most of its newfound flexibility in terms of domestic regulation and taxation, and negotiation of new trade deals? And second, how would it mitigate the impact on sectors which could lose out as a result particularly those with complex international supply-chains stretching into the EU, which are fearful of delays and costs from customs complexity? It is perhaps no coincidence that the other benefit of prioritising a swift agreement is that the Government gains more time to address both of those questions through its actions well before the next election. WASHINGTON Chief Justice John Roberts and the nation's senators were sworn in Thursday afternoon for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. After being sworn in himself as presiding judge for the trial a little after 2 p.m. ET, Roberts asked the senators to "solemnly swear" to "do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws." The senators said "I do" together, and the clerk called senators up to sign the impeachment oath in groups of four. Two Republican and two Democratic senators Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. escorted the chief justice to the chamber. Roberts entered the room in his judicial robes and was sworn in by the Senate's president pro tempore, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. "God bless you," Grassley said before leaving the dais. Roberts, who has adamantly defended the nonpartisan role of the judiciary, is unlikely to relish presiding over the trial as senators weigh whether to remove Trump from office. Asked by NBC News about the mood among his Republican colleagues, Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., said as he left the Capitol: "For me, personally, it was a somber feeling, when you listen to the articles and you know how important this is from the historical context. And I think most of us wonder how we've gotten into this twice in 20 years." Earlier Thursday, the seven House managers chosen to serve as prosecutors in the trial proceeded from the House to the Senate chamber and read the two articles of impeachment. The managers began the procession through Statuary Hall and the Capitol Rotunda at noon ET. The lead manager, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., then read the two articles on the Senate floor as the other managers faced the dais. "Donald J. Trump has abused the powers of the presidency, in that: Using the powers of his high office, President Trump solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States presidential election," Schiff said, reading the text of the first article into a microphone. "He did so through a scheme or course of conduct that included soliciting the government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations that would benefit his re-election, harm the election prospects of a political opponent, and influence the 2020 United States presidential election to his advantage." Granny Annies bar in Londonderry has been put up for sale or let with a sale price of 1.5m (stock photo) Granny Annies bar in Londonderry has been put up for sale or let with a sale price of 1.5m. The rental price for the bar, situated on the Diamond, is 150,000 a year and includes all fixtures and fittings but does not include the Granny Annies branding. The premises were bought by the Granny Annies Group in 2016 from UK pub chain Wetherspoon's, which had operated it as Diamond JD Wetherspoon's. Granny Annies also operates venues in Limavady, Enniskillen and Belfast. Listed by EO'C Estate Agents, the Derry property is described as a "large city centre bar/night club and restaurant situated in the Diamond being sold as going concern with full licence". A spokesman for parent company W&R Holdings said that "the directors have decided to list the building as 'for sale/to let' in order to test the market place". "This comes on the back of various parties showing an interest in the building and also a recent article whereby the JD Wetherspoon's chain have indicated a desire to return to the city in the future," he added. "Furthermore with an uplift in the housing market locally in the North West and the directors having historically a foothold in this sector, they are keen to pursue other investment and development opportunities." He said that W&R Properties held a number of other properties around Northern Ireland, which were leased out. Last year the company leased out another outlet, which had been Electric Annies. It's now been rebranded Rosie Joe's by its new tenant. But the spokesman added that putting the Derry venue on the market "by no means indicates a move away from hospitality by the company and in fact the two-year plan is to expand operations in selected geographical locations". "I would point out that the directors will continue to retain the Granny Annies brand regardless of sale or lease as it specifically forms part of the company's long term plans," he said. According to reports, Tim Martin, Wetherspoon's founder and chairman, said last month: "We would like to go back to Derry if we can find the right building with a garden." BJP leader claims editorial policy of the newspaper, owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is agenda-driven. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed the editorial policy of the Washington Post, calling it biased and agenda-driven. Vijay Chauthaiwale, chief of the BJPs foreign affairs department, said on Friday there was a lot of problem with the newspapers coverage of India, but did not give any specific examples. The swipe at the Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, came a day after an Indian cabinet minister gave short shrift to Amazons plans to create a million jobs in the country by 2025. The Washington Post editorial policy is highly biased and agenda-driven. Vijay Chauthaiwale, BJP's foreign affairs cell Bezos has praised India during his ongoing visit, saying the 21st century will be the Indian century and that the dynamism and energy in the country was something special. I am not opposing Amazon as a company. In fact, I am a regular customer Jeff Bezos should go home tell Washington Post what is his impression about India, Chauthaiwale told Reuters news agency. The Washington Post editorial policy is highly biased and agenda-driven. Amazon has been compared with British East India Company, which ruled over India in the 19th century [Adnan Abidi/Reuters] The Washington Posts India bureau chief, Joanna Slater, referred a Reuters request for comment to the newspapers spokespersons in Washington, who did not immediately respond outside regular business hours. Amazon too did not respond to an email seeking comment on Chauthaiwales remarks. Re-up of the complete thread on @washingtonpost's Kashmir coverage. https://t.co/AVbaA3ltS2 Niha Masih (@NihaMasih) January 10, 2020 Chauthaiwale has in the past been critical of foreign medias reporting on political issues, including on the disputed region of Indian-administered Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan, saying the coverage has been biased against Modi. The Washington Post has in the past been attacked by Saudi Arabia for its coverage in the wake of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi that caused a global outcry. Months after Khashoggi murder, Amazon chiefs private messages and photos were leaked to a tabloid. An investigation later revealed that Bezoss phone was hacked at the behest of Riyadh. Bezos faces protests The comments by the BJP leader come when the Indian government is increasingly attacking e-commerce firms in light of concerns raised by Indias brick-and-mortar retailers. It has created a public relations nightmare for Amazon during the billionaire businessmans visit. Indias shopkeepers have represented a core constituency for the BJP since the early days of the party. And sources told Reuters that Modi, who has otherwise courted foreign investors, was unlikely to meet Bezos during his visit despite repeated requests by the company in light of traders concerns and the continuing antitrust probe. Small businesses say they have been hit by Amazon and Walmarts Flipkart which flout regulations and burn billions of dollars to offer steep discounts. The companies deny the allegations and say they comply with all laws. Indias Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, a veteran BJP leader, on Thursday said Amazon had done no big favour to India by announcing a new $1bn investment to help small businesses, raising questions on its business practices. He added that a recently announced India antitrust investigation of Amazon and Flipkart to look at the allegations of deep discounting and whether the firms discriminate against small sellers were an area of concern for every Indian. Iran accuses EU of abandoning nuclear deal for fear of 'bully' Trump Tehran, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 Iran accused European governments Thursday of sacrificing a troubled 2015 nuclear deal to avoid trade reprisals from US President Donald Trump who has spent nearly two years trying to scupper it. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Trump was again behaving like a "high school bully" and the decision by Britain, France and Germany to heed his pressure to lodge a complaint over Iranian compliance deprived them of any right to claim the moral high ground. The three governments "sold out remnants of #JCPOA (the nuclear deal) to avoid new Trump tariffs," Zarif charged. "It won't work my friends. You only whet his appetite. Remember your high school bully?" Germany's defence minister on Thursday confirmed a Washington Post report that the United States had threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars if EU governments continued to back the nuclear deal. "This expression or threat, as you will, does exist," Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told a news conference during a visit to London. Zarif said Europe's unwillingness to antagonise the United States made a mockery of its stated determination to rescue the nuclear deal. "If you want to sell your integrity, go ahead," Zarif tweeted. "But DO NOT assume high moral/legal ground." The European states triggered a dispute mechanism established under the deal, which allows a party to claim significant non-compliance by another party before a joint commission, with appeals possible to an advisory board and ultimately to the UN Security Council. Since Washington pulled out of the agreement and reimposed crippling unilateral sanctions in 2018, EU governments have sought to find a way to allow European businesses to continue trading with Iran without incurring huge US penalties. As its economy has gone into reverse, an increasingly frustrated Iran has hit back with the step-by-step suspension of its own commitments under the deal. The three European governments said they lodged their complaint in response to the latest step by Tehran suspending the limit on the number of centrifuges it uses to enrich uranium. Speaking in India on Wednesday, Zarif already questioned how the European Union could allow itself to be "bullied" by Washington when it was the world's largest economy. He warned the three EU governments party to the deal that their complaint could backfire, charging that they themselves were in violation because they had fallen in line with the US sanctions. "They are not buying oil from us, all of their companies have withdrawn from Iran. So Europe is in violation," he said. Zarif held talks in New Delhi on Thursday with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell. An EU statement said the two had "a frank dialogue" in which Borrell "underlined the continued interest of the European Union to preserve the agreement". The cooling of Iran's relations with Europe comes at a time of red-hot tensions with the United States since a US drone strike in Iraq killed a top Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander earlier this month. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 18:50:59|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The data of China's first seismo-electromagnetic satellite have been included in a new global geomagnetic reference model, which could facilitate high-precision navigation and basic geoscience research. The 13th generation International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF13), recently released by the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy, was based on data from 12 countries including the United States, Britain, France, Denmark, Russia and China. The international geomagnetic reference field is used to describe the earth's main magnetic field and its changes. The model has been updated every five years since 1900. This is the first time that data from China were included in the model. China's first seismo-electromagnetic satellite, also known as Zhengheng 1, was sent into space on Feb. 2, 2018, to study the global electromagnetic phenomena and seismic precursors, which might help establish a ground-space electromagnetic information and earthquake monitoring network in the future. It also helps scientists monitor the electromagnetic field, ionospheric plasma and high-energy particles. Shen Xuhui, the satellite's chief scientist who is also chief engineer with the Institute of Crustal Stress under China Earthquake Administration, said the satellite has been working stably in orbit and has obtained global geomagnetic observation data. 17.01.2020 LISTEN 'The realisation of this vision will of course involve significant changes in all fields of human endeavour and in all spheres of life. In essence, it would entail the structural transformation of the economy, correction of socioeconomic imbalances, enhancement of the role of the private sector, strengthening of the physical and social infrastructure, provision of greater access to social and economic amenities and fostering of positive moral and cultural values. (These were part of the Foreword, written and signed by the then President of Ghana, ex-President J.J. Rawlings to the Ghana-vision 2020: THE FIRST MEDIUM-TERM DEVELOPMENT PLAN (1997-2000). Some 25 solid years ago, this nation was awakened from its slumber after tinkering with Economic Recovery Programmes (ERP), Structural Adjustment Programmes 1 and 2 (SAP) and other allied economic recovery programmes aimed at resuscitating an economy which had been in decline since the late 1970s. A lot of draconian economic measures with their attendant social difficulties were imposed on the people. The policies were supported with whips which made it very difficult for the citizenry to express their views about them, let alone, offer divergent opinions. The culture of silence was born in that era. The weakness and strengths of these policies notwithstanding, the wind of political change globally, following the collapse of the Berlin wall in Eastern Europe and the perestroika and glasnosts in the then Soviets Union, many authoritarian regimes changed their political directions from 'one man show of power' to some semblance of multiparty democracy where the citizenry or at least a section of the citizenry were given the opportunity to express their views on matters that affect the collective good of the majority of the people. Prior to that, it was common to hear politicians and policy makers, shouting 'water for all by the year 2000, health for all by the year 2000 and on and on they shouted their voices hoarse. It was within this period in 1996 when the nation decided to develop a blueprint that was supposed to be the guide lines for the nation's development, taking into consideration, all the critical areas of the economy holistically for its national development in the next 25 years. The document had the first Medium-Term Development plan which began from 1996-2000, which came to be known as the 'First Step' was to use the first five years as a foundation stone from 1996-2000 'to consolidate the gains so far secured over the past decade and to lay the foundation for accelerated economic growth and human development from the beginning of the 21st Century. The plan according to the document for the first step 1996-2000, was to lay a sound foundation for accelerated economic growth and human development in the early years of the 21st Century. The plan was essentially human-centred and its thematic focus was on: Human Development, Economic Growth, Rural Development, Infrastructure and enabling environment. These were to be achieved by the year 2000 as solid foundations upon which the growth and development in the coming 20 years were to be hinged, by the year 2000 the state of our human development was nothing to write home about. Taking the various thematic areas one by one, which of the areas can we, as a nation, say with pride, had performed better by the year 2000? The nation's human-development index as of 2000 was nothing to be proud of since most of the nation's educational infrastructure were in very deplorable state. A total expected inflow of 198.00 billion of old into the Ghana Education Fund (GETFUND) was in arrears by the end of 2000, while educational infrastructure at all levels were dilapidated and basic exercise and text books at various levels of our education were absent. The economy as at the end of 2000 which was supposed to be the end of the 'First Term' and the foundation stone was the worst in over 14 years. Incidence of poverty was alarming and not good enough to use as foundations towards the attainment of the overall goal of Vision 2020. The nation therefore entered the 21st Century with very weak fundamentals, in fact the nation had long been declared as a highly indebted poor country, a situation which made Ghana a high risk nation for both external borrowing and foreign investments. A nation with so much domestic debts resulting from the excessive borrowing by government who in the process crowded out the private sector, an economy which had almost grounded to a halt, could not have been good to support our development objectives in the coming years. Rural infrastructure had declined in mass to the point that rural dwellers had no business continuing to live there. By the end of the First Step period, many young and energetic rural dwellers had taken their steps to move out of the suffocating rural conditions that made them look like sub-human species. Roads were so poor, potable water was a very scarce commodity for many rural dwellers, even though the provision of electricity to rural areas had improved over the years, there were still a sizeable number of rural communities without electrification. Educational standards were falling on the basis of poor educational infrastructure, lack of decent accommodation for trained and posted teachers to many rural communities, inadequate learning and teaching materials for both pupils and teachers and lack of incentives to encourage newly trained teachers to take up appointments in very remote areas. The socio-economic environment of Ghana by the end of the year 2000 was so bad that the nation had become a laughing stock in the eyes of the international community. Personal insecurity was mounting by the day leading to the abduction and murder of women all over the country among others. Unemployment was rising because local businesses were collapsing, the manufacturing sector was contributing very low towards the GDP and the economy was not growing. We failed woefully in the First Step programme which should have propelled us in the Vision 2020. Perhaps we all sat down thinking that 2020 was never going to come. Nations have developed on plans and goals they set for themselves. They worked on them. They set the rules, the dos and don'ts and monitored what was being done; they evaluated the outcomes vis-a-vis inputs. They ensured the continuity in set programmes, the leaders were all ready for the national objectives irrespective of who initiated what and where they got to. While I agree that changing circumstances and situations may require a review of original plans and activities, variations in planned activities and programmes are meant to strengthen them and achieve original set goals and not to as it were pull everything down and begin all over again when there is no need for it. This is what happened to our Vision 2020 which became blurred just at its first stage. I will in the coming weeks look at the main targets in the VISION 2020 proper and see which of the main targets we were able to work towards as a people, why and how and those we were unable to achieve, why and where we went wrong. The year 2020 is with us now. Where are we and where are we going and within what time frame? Daavi, I pomised not to visit you this year oo, but some cold oo. Just give me three tots for the beginning. [email protected] By Kwesi Biney Bristol, Tennessee-based developer Steve Johnson hired Ramsey as a lobbyist with the goal of amending the Regional Retail Tourism Development District Act, which was signed into law last year. The law allows a municipality in Washington County to establish a tax incentive district that functions like the border region tourism district that The Pinnacle is in. Johnsons legislation has not yet gone before the Tennessee General Assembly. Johnson City is seeking to establish one of these districts in the Boones Creek area. If the state approves the district, the city will be able to offer incentives that allow developers to use a large chunk of state sales taxes and usage taxes generated by the business on the properties to pay for applicable costs incurred from development. The city also gets a small part of state sales taxes with the state pocketing the rest. The new law says retailers who are already in state and have a store within 15 miles of the district cannot get incentives to build a new store or relocate in the district, unless the floor space of the new store is at least 35% larger than the existing store. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Beijing plans to construct 100 battery swapping stations this year and further improve the new energy vehicle (NEV) deployment. Last year, 90 battery swapping stations were completed in the capital. The cumulative number of NEVs and charging piles in the city reached about 300,000 units and 200,000 units respectively by the end of 2019. In many areas in downtown Beijing, the average service radius of the charging network is fewer than 5 km, and 1 km in the denser areas, Zhang Chungui, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Administration Commission, told the media during the 2020 Beijing municipalitys two sessions. To alleviate the charging problem, great attention should be paid to the departure location and destination. At present, 140,000 of the 200,000 existing charging piles in Beijing are private, accounting for up to 70%. Beijing proposes to promote large-scale, chain- and brand-oriented development of charging facilities in public areas to form a network with a service radius of fewer than 5 km on average in the whole area of Beijing (excluding mountainous areas) by 2020. The city intends for the charging service radius of the core urban areas, Tongzhou New city, Yizhuang, Winter Olympics areas in Yanqing to be fewer than 0.9 km. Besides, BAIC and other automakers have begun to provide battery swapping service. Many taxis in Beijing have already employed the swapping mode and it takes a few minutes on average for a taxi to replace its battery. Australian zookeepers have been filmed using broomsticks to keep alligators at bay, and rescuing soaking wet koalas, after a deluge of rainfall led to flash floods. Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales (NSW) was forced to close as a result of what park director Tim Faulkner called the worst floods for 15 years. The wildlife park published footage of Mr Faulkner carrying drenched koalas to safety amid roaring floods. Keepers were reportedly kept stationed at Alligator Lagoon to monitor the rising water levels, which appeared close to the top of the enclosure fence. Some 35 alligators live in the lagoon, and while there is reportedly another fence between the carnivorous reptiles and the wild, keepers would have been forced to catch them had they escaped. The intense thunderstorms brought a welcome reprieve to firefighters, who have spent months battling bushfires that have killed 29 people and millions of animals, and destroyed more than 2,500 homes as they razed an area roughly the size of Bulgaria. 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 Fire services said the rain would not extinguish all the blazes, but would greatly aid containment. Severe storms are forecast to continue in many fire-stricken regions of NSW and Queensland, including areas that have not seen heavy rainfall for years, slightly easing a three-year drought. But it also comes with dangers, such as landslides, flash flooding and falling trees. On Friday, a three-year-old girl and her Jack Russell who spent nearly 24 hours of being alone and without shelter after their route home became blocked by floodwaters were both found alive and well. And despite the dramatic footage, Mr Faulkner said all staff and animals at the reptile park were also safe and accounted for. All animals are safe and the park is enjoying the much-needed rain regardless of the circumstances, Mr Faulkner wrote on social media on Friday. The flooding has subsided and the clean-up has begun. We have been overwhelmed with offers of community support and help. Additional reporting by Reuters The committal proceedings against Soldier F who faces two murder charges in relation to the Bloody Sunday killings in Derry are to be held in Belfast, it has emerged. The case was heard again today at Derry Magistrate's Court and again Soldier F did not appear. A barrister for the prosecution told the court the timetable that was set on the last hearing had been adhered to. He said the prosecution could now take a view as to the potential length of any committal proceedings and also witness availability. The prosecutor said questions about location now needed to be decided and it was hoped to set a date for committal proceedings either today or in the near future. District Judge Barney McElholm said the Court Service had been looking at dates and had provisionally identified dates and were looking at the issue of venue. Referring to the courtroom the case was being heard in the judge that it was the best in the building but added it was limited in terms of accommodation. He said it was an old building and there were issues with acoustics. Judge McElholm said they were trying to find a venue where most of those who wish to attend can do so in comfort. He said that it was proposed to move the hearing to Belfast as it had to be held in a courtroom and despite efforts to find somewhere closer to the city there was no location available. The case was adjourned until 7 February to set a date for the committal and venue. Judge McElholm said anyone who wanted to make representations about the venue could do so. Malian National Charged With the Overseas Murder of a U.S. Citizen and Providing Material Support to Two Foreign Terrorist Organizations FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, January 16, 2020 The Defendant Is Currently in Custody in Mali A criminal complaint was filed yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging Mimi Ould Baba, 32, a citizen of Mali, with the murder of U.S. citizen Michael J. Riddering and conspiring to provide material support, including personnel (including himself), services, and property to two designated foreign terrorist organizations, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and al-Murabitoun. The defendant is currently in custody in Mali pending investigation and prosecution by Malian authorities. "The charges filed allege that Mimi Ould Baba played a central role in the planning of two separate terrorist attacks directed at Westerners in Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire in early 2016. Those attacks resulted in the murder of American citizen Michael Riddering and 48 other innocent victims from numerous countries," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. "Baba is currently in Malian custody for his terrorism-related activities. We fully support the Malian investigation and prosecution of Baba and will continue to work with the authorities there to pursue our shared goal of holding Baba accountable for his crimes. At the same time, these charges reflect that the U.S. justice system remains a powerful tool to bring to bear against those who harm our citizens abroad. We will continue to pursue justice for Mr. Riddering and for all American victims of terrorism. Our memories are long and our commitment to justice is unending." "The Eastern District of New York and our partners in U.S. law enforcement will continue to work tirelessly with foreign counterparts to identify, incapacitate and prosecute terrorists who target American citizens anywhere in the world," said United States Attorney Richard P. Donoghue for the Eastern District of New York. "Counter-terrorism remains our number one priority." Mr. Donoghue expressed his grateful appreciation to the governments of Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire and Mali for their continued support and assistance throughout this investigation. "There's nothing we could ever do to take away the pain felt by the families of those Baba killed during his 2016 terrorist attack in Burkina Faso, but four years later, we take some comfort in the fact that he will be held accountable for his egregious crime. I can only hope that as time goes on, we will remember the victims' names instead of the attacker's, especially our own American citizen Michael Riddering, who was killed that day," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney. "Among the 30 killed in the attack four years ago was an American, Michael Riddering. Michael was in charge of an orphanage and a women's crisis center in Burkina Faso. This case is another reminder that when terrorists kill an American, even half a world away, the FBI Special Agents and New York City Police Detectives of the JTTF will work as long as it takes, and go as far as it takes to bring justice," said NYPD Commissioner Dermot F. Shea. As alleged in the complaint, Baba, along with the operations chief of al-Murabitoun and others, planned the Jan. 15, 2016, terrorist attack at the Cafe Cappuccino and Hotel Splendid in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Baba assisted in the planning and preparation for the attack by conducting surveillance of potential targets frequented by Westerners, facilitating the transportation and storage of AK-47 assault rifles and hand grenades to be used in the attack, conducting a walk-through of the attack with the three suicide operatives, and driving the armed operatives to the attack site on the day of the attack. Thirty people were killed in the terrorist attack, including American Michael J. Riddering and numerous victims from other Western countries and Burkina Faso. Riddering, a patron at the Cafe Cappuccino, was shot multiple times by the attackers and died at the scene. Following the attack, AQIM issued a public statement claiming responsibility for the attacks on behalf of AQIM and al-Murabitoun. Baba also participated in the planning and preparation for the March 13, 2016, resort attack in Grand Bassam, Cote d'Ivoire. Following the attack in Ouagadougou, Baba met with the operations chief of al-Murabitoun to plan another attack against Westerners, this one in Cote d'Ivoire. Thereafter, Baba identified an individual to assist with the preparations for the attack and in identifying three suicide operatives to conduct the attack. Baba also procured the vehicle that was used to transport the weapons that were used in the attack. On March 13, 2016, three suicide operatives armed with AK-47s and grenades attacked resort patrons along the beach of Grand Bassam, Cote d'Ivoire, killing 19 people from a number of countries and wounding many others. Following the attack, AQIM issued a public statement claiming responsibility for the attack. The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The government's case is being handled by the Office's National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret E. Lee and Michael T. Keilty are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Katie Sweeten of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice. The Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department assisted in the investigation. Topic(s): Counterterrorism National Security Component(s): National Security Division (NSD) USAO - New York, Eastern Press Release Number: 20-43 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Indian Army is entrusted with guarding our borders from infiltrators and terrorists. From being posted at biting-cold places like Siachen to hot furnaces-like places in Rajasthan, Indian Army soldiers never shy away from putting the country before anybody else. These soldiers not only guard our borders but they also help those in distress. Here's the lowdown on instances where the Indian Army has gone beyond their call of duty in helping citizens in pain and distress. 1. Indian Army Jawans Walk For 4 Hours In Heavy Snow Just To Take A Pregnant Woman To Hospital The Indian Army's XV Corps (Chinar Corps) shared a video in which army personnel and civilians were seen carrying a pregnant mother through heavy snowfall in the Kashmir Valley. The woman, Shamima, a resident of Dard Pora village near Tangmarg area of Baramulla in north Kashmir, had developed some pregnancy-related complications and had to be rushed to a hospital. #HumsaayaHainHum During heavy snowfall, an expecting mother Mrs Shamima, required emergency hospitalisation. For 4 hours over 100 Army persons & 30 civilians walked with her on stretcher through heavy snow. Baby born in hospital, both mother & child doing fine. #VRWithU4U pic.twitter.com/BpDcXRvuUH Chinar Corps - Indian Army (@ChinarcorpsIA) January 14, 2020 The video showed Army personnel and civilians carrying the women, on a stretcher through heavy snow. Her husband, Riyaz Mir sought the help of the Army after they were unable to take Shamima to the hospital because of the snow. 2. Indian Army Comes To The Rescue Of Over 1,500 Tourists Stranded At Nathu La Pass Due To Snowfall Around 1,500 - 1,700 tourists from across the country who were stranded along the Jawaharlal Nehru road in Sikkim were brought to safety by the Indian Army in December last week. The tourists who were travelling in nearly 300 taxis, were returning from Nathula Pass - Tsomgo Lake area when they got stranded along Jawaharlal Nehru Road due to heavy snowfall. According to the army, the rescue operation carried out on December 27 was challenging due to poor visibility and inclement weather and snowfall. The stranded tourists including women, children, and elderly persons were accommodated at Army Camp at 17th Mile. 3. Baby On Board: Female Officers Of The Indian Army Help Deliver Premature Baby On Howrah Express While we shower praises on the Indian Army jawans, we tend to forget the women officers. When a woman who was travelling in Howrah Express went into labour, she had nothing to worry about because two brave Indian Army captains (both female) who were travelling on board, immediately came to her rescue. Soon after a co-passenger informed them about the incident, Captain Lalitha and Captain Amandeep of 172 Military Hospital, facilitated the premature delivery of the passenger's baby. They also made sure that both the mother and the baby were healthy. The good news was shared by the official account of Additional Directorate General of Public Information, Indian Army, on Twitter. They tweeted the picture of the two woman officers and wrote, 'Captain Lalitha & Captain Amandeep, #IndianArmy 172 Military Hospital, facilitated in the premature delivery of a passenger while traveling on Howrah Express. Both mother & baby are healthy & hearty. #NationFirst #WeCare'. Captain Lalitha & Captain Amandeep, #IndianArmy 172 Military Hospital, facilitated in premature delivery of a passenger while traveling on Howrah Express. Both mother & baby are hale & hearty.#NationFirst#WeCare pic.twitter.com/AFQGybwJJ6 ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) December 28, 2019 4. Indian Army Just Built A Road Completely Out Of Plastic Waste In Guwahati. We Can Just Laud Them Plastic waste generation in our country remains unabated and if we don't act on it, it might threaten our future. The Indian Army on the other hand is setting a great example in making the most of such plastic pile-up in our country and putting it to greater use. Indian Army's Military Engineer Services is undertaking a pilot project at Narangi Military Station for road construction utilising plastic as partial substitute to bitumen. Approximately 1.24 MT of waste plastic has been used to construct a road using the technology. 5. Swachh Siachen: Indian Army Removes 130 Tonnes Of Solid Waste From The Glacier The environment is increasingly degrading and much of it is because of the actions of humans. From solid waste to pollution of water bodies, the environment is losing its sheen at an alarming rate. In September 2019, the Indian Army in a much needed step has removed 130 tonnes of solid waste from the Siachen glacier as part of a mega drive to protect the eco-system of the world's most dangerous battlefield. Presence of sizeable numbers of troops saddled the glacier with tonnes of waste and the Army is determined to rid the area of pollutants, Army officials were quoted by PTI. Given how much Indian Army does for the country and its citizens, we can't thank them enough. SPRINGFIELD With Illinois now more than two weeks into the legalization of cannabis for adult recreational use, some Illinois congressmen are sounding off on if the federal government should follow suit. Illinois was the eleventh state to legalize cannabis for recreational sales. Before Jan. 1, Illinois decriminalized possession of small amounts before it went legal at the beginning of the year. Before that, the state had a years-long medical cannabis pilot program that was recently made permanent. There are other states that have medical programs, or have decriminalized possession, or both. Workplace safety consultant DISA says only eleven states in the country have cannabis possession and use being fully illegal. In the first 12 days of sales, Illinois state officials said there was nearly $20 million in marijuana products sold. U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said he has more of a states rights stance on the issue. Because our state legislature chose to legalize marijuana in Illinois, than those legally operating businesses ought to be able to use our financial services institutions, Davis said. And I voted to make sure those things happen. Davis said he has a more liberal view of cannabis than some of his Republican colleagues, but he doesnt think its ripe for full congressional approval. I dont think were at that level right now in Washington. I dont think it will pass, Davis said. He said while he doesnt think the federal government will legalize it any time soon, he hopes Congress will lead in getting standards for sobriety checks to see if somebody is under the influence too much of THC and if thats the case, then I think it makes the roads even safer. And thats an issue Im going to be leading on through our highways and transit subcommittee that I lead for our Republicans in Washington, Davis said. U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, says the federal government needs to reexamine its outdated stance on marijuana. I have been a longtime advocate for federal research of marijuana so that we can more fully understand the health impacts and base our laws in science, he said. Foster joined several other Democratic U.S. Representatives from Illinois in signing on to the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act in Congress, but the measure has yet to advance. Despite Illinois legalizing cannabis for adults over 21 to purchase, possess and consume, U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, said hes not in favor of legalizing adult-use of marijuana on a federal level. He said todays cannabis is too potent, could harm developing brains and is a gateway drug. Between the federal laws that we have in place related to Schedule 1 and what these states are doing, theres conflicting rules on this that have not been resolved, LaHood said. So I have real concerns about that, and I dont think its going to be the money-maker everyone thinks its going to be. More information will come in the Treasurys next quarterly announcement of sales of longer-dated debt, on Feb. 5, the department said in a statement. Given that the long-standing practice is to avoid a market-timing issuance strategy, the sales will be done in a regular and predictable manner in benchmark size, the Treasury said. Actor Michael B. Jordan soared to superstardom after playing the bad dude in the blockbuster Black Panther. Now hes back on the big screen . . . but as the good guy. Jordan, 32, portrays civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson in the gripping drama Just Mercy. Stevenson founded what became the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. Back in 1989, Stevensons mother didnt want her son going South because she feared for his life. And he was indeed harassed daily by law enforcement. But he also saved 130 Death Row inmates from execution. Jordan, 32, (pictured alongside costar Jamie Foxx in the film) portrays civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson in the gripping drama Just Mercy Someone has said they found Jordans portrait of Stevenson too saintly. But Stevenson does divine duty in the Deep South, and is the closest many African American prisoners have to a deity. A TED Talk the lawyer gave in 2012 about the nature of his work, and the dark realms he has to traverse, has been viewed 6.25 million times on YouTube. His memoir, upon which Just Mercy is based, was a bestseller in the U.S. I read it a few years ago and Ive been following his good work ever since. Hes thoughtful and reserved, Jordan said of Stevenson. When you meet him, he throws a blanket of humility over you. Hes so humble that he makes you come to his level of understanding. Such a quality is vital in the South, where one wrong move or word if youre stopped by police (yes, even now) could cost you your freedom, or your life. Someone has said they found Jordans portrait of Stevenson too saintly. Pictured are Jordan and Jamie Foxx in the film If he was emotional or angry, often justifiably so in certain situations, he wouldnt be able to get anything done, Jordan told me.The actor acquired the screen rights to Stevensons story four years ago and worked on the script over two years with director Destin Daniel Cretton and screenwriter Andrew Lanham. They zeroed in on the case of Walter McMillian, who ran his own lumber business and was convicted in 1988 for the murder of a young white woman. Six years later, Stevenson was able to prove without a doubt that McMillian was miles away when the killing occurred. Jordan went after Jamie Foxx, who won an Oscar for his spot-on portrayal of Ray Charles, to play the innocent man. Jordan went after Jamie Foxx (pictured together), who won an Oscar for his spot-on portrayal of Ray Charles, to play the innocent man Foxxs performance is superb though he wears a pretty bad wig in early scenes. Jordan gave a hearty laugh at that as Foxx protested: That wig was necessary, man! Foxx said that initially, it was difficult for him to comprehend being on Death Row for something you did not do. The 52-year-old had many conversations with Stevenson about McMillian: and also met with his relatives. Jordan won acclaim when he appeared in the first season of The Wire as teenage drug dealer Wallace. In real life, though, he couldnt get arrested. The agency that now represents him wouldnt take him on back then. These days, hes one of their biggest clients; theyve even helped him set up his own production company to develop film and TV projects. Hes doing a third Apollo Creed movie, and he spent months in Berlin last year playing Tom Clancys rough hero John Clark in No Remorse. Further down the line there are plans to remake the Steve McQueen heist film The Thomas Crown Affair. Were working on the script its a way off, insisted Jordan, who says he has based his business model on how folk like Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise and Leonard Di Caprio have handled their careers. Ive seen so many artists creating companies. Im building something as diverse and eclectic as my tastebuds and I like a lot of different things. I started to build my own recipe, and its still evolving, he said, noting that creating his own studio in a few years is not out of the question. He wants to play a broad range of characters though hed prefer it if they are still alive at the end of the picture. My mother was traumatised watching her son die on screen, he admitted. She was distraught when he was gunned down in 2013s Fruitvale Station, directed by Ryan Coogler his closest collaborator, who went on to work with him on the Creed films and Black Panther. Jordans character in the latter, Erik Killmonger, met with a sticky end, too though Foxx teased that he might show up again in the sequel. Did Erik really die in Black Panther? he pondered. Well, Jordan has told me he likes characters who survive to fight another day. What a scandal! Paula Vogels scorching play Indecent is heading to the Menier Chocolate Factory. Vogel and director Rebecca Taichmans beautiful play tells how the Broadway company of another play Sholem Aschs God Of Vengeance was indicted in 1923 for being involved in an indecent, immoral performance because of a passionate lesbian kiss. What a scandal! Paula Vogels scorching play Indecent is heading to the Menier Chocolate Factory Vogel and director Rebecca Taichmans beautiful play tells how the Broadway company of another play Sholem Aschs God Of Vengeance was indicted in 1923 for being involved in an indecent, immoral performance because of a passionate lesbian kiss David Babani, artistic director of the Menier, where Indecent will run from March 13, said its about tolerance, noting that we need this as a little bit of medicine to be taught that empathy is good. The much-in-demand Ms Taichmans latest show, Sing Street, based on the Dublin-set film of the same name, transfers from the New York Theatre Workshop, where I saw it, to Broadways Lyceum Theatre from March 26. The Menier season also includes a revival of Alan Bennetts farce Habeas Corpus (from May 15), which Patrick Marber will direct. Menier Chocolate Factory members can book for Indecent from Monday; general booking opens on January 27. The much-in-demand Ms Taichmans (pictured with Vogel) latest show, Sing Street, based on the Dublin-set film of the same name, transfers from the New York Theatre Workshop, where I saw it, to Broadways Lyceum Theatre from March 26 Siegfried Sassoon, whose poems about World War 1 captured the hellish horror of trench warfare, will be portrayed by Jack Lowden in a new film to be made by acclaimed director Terence Davies, whos often considered a visual poet himself. Daviess film, called Benediction, will shoot this spring. Lowden, 29, told me he was captivated by Daviess screenplay, which follows Sassoons wartime service, during which he won the Military Cross. Siegfried Sassoon, whose poems about World War 1 captured the hellish horror of trench warfare, will be portrayed by Jack Lowden in a new film He wrote that incredible letter, said Lowden, referring to the famous protest Sassoon penned and sent to the war department, which declared: I believe that this war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it. Sassoon hoped the letter would provoke public debate. But instead, he was effectively silenced by being sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh. The authorities tried to make out he was suffering from shell shock, Lowden said, adding that while at the hospital,l Sassoon met fellow poet Wilfred Owen and medical expert W. H. R. Rivers. The actor said the script also details some of Sassoons postwar exploits, including an affair he had with composer Ivor Novello. Lowden studied the WW1 poets at school but said he learned much more from Daviess script. Sassoon had this huge life and Terence has got it all down. Terence Davies's film, called Benediction, will shoot this spring. Lowden, 29, told me he was captivated by Daviess screenplay, which follows Sassoons wartime service, during which he won the Military Cross Daviess other films include Distant Voices, Still Lives and The Deep Blue Sea. Lowden divides his time between stage and screen. He portrays Ian Macdonald, the QC who helped some of the defendants in the 1970s Mangrove Nine court case, in an episode of director Steve McQueens BBC drama series Small Axe. He also produced and appears with Tamara Lawrance and Fiona Shaw in the film Corvidae. He told me he and Shaw play really creepy bastards in the movie, which has hints of Rosemarys Baby about it. The actor, who appeared in Dunkirk and Mary Queen Of Scots, also has a role in Fonzo, in which Tom Hardy plays Al Capone. No wonder hes a contender for this years EE Rising Star Award at the Baftas. Fellow nominees include Awkwafina, Kaitlyn Dever, Kelvin Harrison Jr and Micheal Ward. You can vote via ee.co.uk/BAFTA. The winner will be revealed at the ceremony on February 2. Robert De Niro will portray John D. Rockefeller in a film about the magnate who founded the Standard Oil Company and turned a $4,000 investment into a multi-billion-dollar business empire. Charles Randolph, who wrote the film Bombshell, said David O. Russell would direct the movie, once De Niro, star of Martin Scorseses The Irishman, has completed his next couple of movie projects. Rockefeller had land in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, with derricks every 15ft, Randolph said. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki have discussed security cooperation between Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries, according to the NSDC press service. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki. During the meeting, the parties discussed the investigation into the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 flight PS 752 plane in Iran, the current security situation in Europe and the world. They paid special attention to the strengthening of security cooperation, reads the statement. In particular, the NSDC secretary told about the work of the group of Ukrainian experts in Iran at the crash site. In turn, the Polish ambassador expressed his condolences over the tragedy. Considering the issue of bilateral cooperation, Danilov noted the need for enhancing the strategic security cooperation in the region, in particular, between Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states. "We are neighbors, we share a common history, and we need to work together to make our countries strong and powerful, the NSDC secretary said. In addition, Cichocki assured of Poland's unwavering position on the need for keeping sanction pressure on the Russian Federation, and stated about the readiness to provide all possible assistance in the probe of the Ukrainian plane crash. The officials also discussed preparations for the visit of Head of the National Security Bureau of the Republic of Poland Pawe Soloch, scheduled for the end of January 2020. iy A US government agency is looking into allegations that all three of Teslas electric vehicles can suddenly accelerate on their own (PA) The US governments vehicle safety agency is looking into allegations that all three of Teslas electric vehicles can suddenly accelerate on their own. An unidentified person has petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) asking for an investigation into the claims. An agency document outlining the allegations shows 127 owner complaints to the government that include 110 crashes and 52 injuries. The agency said the allegations include about 500,000 Tesla Model 3, Model S and Model X vehicles from the 2013 through to 2019 model years. Expand Close The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into the claims (PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into the claims (PA) The agencys investigations office will evaluate the petition and decide if it should open a formal probe. The petition adds to a growing list of federal investigations into the California carmakers vehicles. The NHTSA is investigating three December crashes involving Tesla vehicles in which three people were killed. The agencys special crash investigations unit sent teams to California and Indiana to probe two fatal crashes. Another crash in Connecticut is also under investigation. Also, the National Transportation Safety Board will hold a hearing on February 25 on a separate fatal crash in Mountain View, California, involving a Tesla that was operating on the companys Autopilot driver assist system. Authorities are trying to determine whether the cars were operating on Autopilot, a system designed to keep a car in its lane and a safe distance from other vehicles. Autopilot can also change lanes on its own. Tesla has said repeatedly that its Autopilot system is designed only to assist drivers, who must still pay attention and be ready to intervene at all times. The company contends that Teslas with Autopilot are safer than vehicles without it, but cautions that the system does not prevent all crashes. [January 17, 2020] Germany Launches One of Europe's Most Modern Gas-Fired Power Plants Replacing Coal-Fired Power Station German municipal utility, Stadtwerke Kiel, launched one of Europe's most modern and flexible gas engine-based combined heat and power (CHP) plants on the eastern shore of the Kieler Forde inlet in northern Germany. Representatives of Stadtwerke Kiel, Kraftanlagen Munchen GmbH (KAM) and INNIO celebrated the launch with a ceremony marking the culmination of a five-year project. Collectively, the 20 Jenbacher J920 FleXtra gas engines provide a total electrical output of 190 megawatts (MW) and a thermal output of 192 MW. Both power and heat from the coastal power plant feed into the electricity grid and district heating network operated by Stadtwerke Kiel, helping maintain grid stability across North Germany. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005022/en/ One of Europe's most modern gas-fired power plants: Coastal power plant in Kiel (Copyright: Stadtwerke Kiel AG) The German government has embraced a comprehensive plan to reduce carbon emissions across the electricity sector. Two critical pillars of the government's plan for a cleaner electricity sector include increasing the adoption of renewable energy and eliminating coal-fired power plants. With the support of German policy, wind and solar power energy sources now exceed coal-fired electricity generation. The proliferation of renewable energy across the German power system has led to significant electricity supply variability. With the onset of renewable energy integration to the grid, natural gas-fired power generation has become pivotal to renewable energy development, leading to greater grid stability and reliability for energy consumers. Increasingly, natural gas has been the fuel of choice to support renewables in replacing coal in power and heat generation. In 2015, Stadtwerke Kiel made plans to shutter its 323-MW coal-fired power station. The municipal utility kicked off its plans to transition from coal-fired electricity generation to that of natural gas with the signing of a contract to acquire 20 Jenbacher J920 FleXtra gas engines. The Kiel order of INNIO Jenbacher's most powerful gas engines comprised the largest ever order for the gas engines product line in Jenbach. During the successful completion of a 20-day trial run of the power plant in November 2019, the 20 Jenbacher gas engines exceeded 92% overall efficiency. As compared to the previous coal-fired power plant - which was decommissioned in March 2019 - emitting over 70% less carbon dioxide. Stadtwerke Kiel focused on achieving the greatest possible flexibility as a primary requirement of the plant. Given the high proportion of wind-generated electricity in the regional grid, the coastal power plant is able to feed full power into the local electrical grid within a short period to offset the volatility of the wind level, thereby ensuring stability of the grid. The Jenbacher J920 FleXtra gas engines have proven results in excellently compensating for renewale energy fluctuations. The efficient state-of-the-art Jenbacher gas engines can achieve full capacity in less than five minutes, operating as complementing technology and application to support the implementation of the energy transition plan across Germany. "INNIO is pleased to have been selected to provide Stadtwerke Kiel with our most advanced gas engine technology to support their phase out from coal. With Germany's plans to shutter all coal plants and rely primarily on renewable energy, our Jenbacher J920 gas engines will help balance the Kiel grid," commented Carlos Lange, president and CEO of INNIO. "As renewable energy usage will continue to grow across Germany, INNIO will continue to make significant investments in research and development and will further expand its technological leadership in power generation based on regenerative gases-in specific, hydrogen and hydrogen carrier gases-to help build out 100% carbon neutral and carbon free power plants." INNIO and KAM engineered and implemented the coastal power plant. While INNIO provided the gas engines and engineering expertise, KAM operated as the general contractor responsible for engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning the turnkey power plant, including the auxiliary buildings and integrating the heat storage and electrode boiler. The team arranged the power plant in four units of five blocks each, with the advantage of being operable in slices. "This construction was the largest investment in the history of Stadtwerke Kiel. It challenged us all and required a lot of strength, time and energy. Now the energy supply of the future is a reality in Kiel, and we look with a lot of pride at our coastal power plant," says Frank Meier, CEO of Stadtwerke Kiel AG. "On November 28th, 2019 I signed the acceptance protocol, and we now have seven weeks of operational experience with our coastal power plant, setting new standards in terms of flexibility, efficiency and sustainability. We are not only shaping the future of Kiel's energy supply, we are also contributing to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions," adds Dr. Jorg Teupen, Board Member for Technology and Personnel at Stadtwerke Kiel AG. The plant supplies over 73,000 households and facilities in Kiel with environmentally friendly district heating. Additionally, the electric power generated feeds into Kiel's 110-kilovolt power grid, which supplies electricity both to households in the state capital and some of the surrounding municipalities. Excess energy is passed on to the upstream power grid. "Kraftanlagen Munchen is committed to support our customers in the development and implementation of their most complex challenges," said Stephane Stoll, Chairman of the General Management of Kraftanlagen Munchen GmbH. "Our team of engineers have worked diligently to support Stadtwerke Kiel in realizing their vision of a modern energy future for residents and businesses. The coastal power plant in Kiel will provide cleaner, flexible power and heat for many years to come." About Stadtwerke Kiel Stadtwerke Kiel supplies the region with electricity, gas, water and heat. The energy supplier delivers its products to where private households and businesses need them and offers its customers security and reliability every day. The company is increasingly focusing on sustainable energy generation and expanding and upgrading its district heating network to supply the region securely and cost-effectively with energy and heat. By building the K.I.E.L. coastal power plant, Stadtwerke Kiel is ensuring the supply and expansion of district heating energy efficiently in the long term. www.stadtwerke-kiel.de About the Kraftanlagen Group Kraftanlagen Munchen GmbH belongs to the French group Bouygues Construction and, together with its subsidiaries, forms the Kraftanlagen Group. As a versatile partner for industry, energy and real estate, Kraftanlagen Munchen GmbH uses state-of-the-art processes and technologies throughout Europe. With its companies and investments in numerous locations, the Kraftanlagen Group offers an extensive service network with over 2,200 employees. It carries out major projects as a general contractor as well as individual trades in the following product areas: Energy and power plant technology, decentralised power generation, nuclear technology, industrial plants, utility services and fabrication. About INNIO INNIO is a leading solutions provider of gas engines, power equipment, a digital platform and related services for power generation and gas compression at or near the point of use. With our Jenbacher and Waukesha product brands, INNIO pushes beyond the possible and looks boldly toward tomorrow. Our diverse portfolio of reliable, economical and sustainable industrial gas engines generates 200 kW to 10 MW of power for numerous industries globally. We can provide life cycle support to the more than 50,000 delivered gas engines worldwide. And, backed by our service network in more than 100 countries, INNIO connects with you locally for rapid response to your service needs. Headquartered in Jenbach, Austria, the business also has primary operations in Welland, Ontario, Canada, and Waukesha, Wisconsin, US. For more information, visit the company's website at www.innio.com. Follow INNIO on Twitter and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005022/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] WASHINGTON - Batman, Wonder Woman and the Incredible Hulk all make appearances in "Comic Art: 120 Years of Panels and Pages," but this Library of Congress exhibition doesn't emphasize the superheroes who ate Hollywood. As its subtitle indicates, the show covers a lot of history, beginning in 1896 with "The Yellow Kid" and concluding with a video screen that cycles through examples of almost 20 web comics posted online since 2009. Along the way, the selection features many comics that were unconventional or underground. The first American newspaper strips were comic, if sometimes surreal. So this is a mostly good-natured array, with little space devoted to despicable villains and grandiose heroes. (One exception is a bombastic post-9/11 vignette in which Superman poses with heroic New York first responders.) There are no war or horror comics, but Archie, Blondie and Snoopy are all on hand. The earlier half of "Comic Art's" chronology shares the focus of many comics histories and anthologies published since the art form began to be taken seriously. The show favors the most ambitious and eccentric early strips, including Winsor McKay's "Little Nemo in Slumberland," George Herriman's "Krazy Kat" and Walt Kelly's "Pogo." All avoided typical characters and standard gags in favor of idiosyncratic outlooks and genre-bending styles and layouts. No doubt there were as many mediocre strips in earlier eras as there are today, but they seem to have crumbled along with the newsprint on which they were printed. Among the more recent pages and panels are the work of the heirs to that innovative earlier tradition, including Trina Robbins ("Rip Off Comix"), Jaime Hernandez ("Love and Rockets") and Chris Ware ("Oak Park"). The relatively small assortment of comic books mostly forgoes the bestsellers. Instead, it offers a 1953 edition of "Mad" (before it switched to a magazine format); a copy of the feminist "Twisted Sisters" and the one and only issue of "All-Negro Comics," published in 1947. D.C. was never a comics center, but this show does contain items of regional significance. Among these are contributions from the Small Press Expo, which began in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1994, and Stephen A. Geppi, a Baltimore comics retailer and distributor. There's a sequence from the brilliant "Cul de Sac," created by the late Richard Thompson and originally published in The Washington Post. One curiosity the show's organizers could hardly have resisted is a "Zippy the Pinhead" strip in which the mummu-clad hero is disappointed to learn that a valuable "Atomic Duck" archive is headed, like Geppi's collection, to the Library of Congress. "Comic Art" doesn't just pack several dozen artifacts into a modest-sized gallery. It also provides information on each piece, distilling a comprehensive introduction to American illustrated storytelling into captions. The publishing wars started immediately, with a battle between the New York World and the New York Journal over which one owned "The Yellow Kid" after its artist, Richard Felton Outcault, departed the first paper for the second. (The text is instructive but not infallible: The note on a 1952 "Peanuts" strip identifies Patty, one of the strip's original characters, as Peppermint Patty, who wasn't introduced until 1966.) Comic strips and books, however imperfectly preserved after publication, are mass media. So there's no need to travel to Capitol Hill to see examples of "Mickey Mouse" and "Gasoline Alley," or even Harvey Pekar's autobiographical and utterly unheroic "American Splendor." What distinguishes this show, in addition to the rarities it presents, is lots of original art. Visitors can see the pencil lines beneath the India ink, and the white-out on top. "Comic Art" shows how everything from Brenda Starr's newsroom to Little Nemo's dream world was conjured, line by line. In a time of CGI-heavy superhero flicks, that simplicity is immensely appealing. New Delhi, Jan 17 : State-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) has once again written to Solicitor General of India (SG) seeking his opinion on the proposed investment by Tata Group consortium partner GIC, the Singapore government's sovereign wealth fund, in home-grown airport major GMR group's airport business. The move was necessitated after the Tata Group rejigged the transaction to lower its stake to comply with local regulations but in the process, GIC's stake went up. "It has been pointed out by some airlines that GIC may also be one of the investors in airlines operating to and from India and hence can not hold more than 10 per cent stake in the Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL). After Tata rejigged investment, the GIC stake has gone up. We have, therefore, written to the SG for his opinion," an official source told IANS. DIAL is a special purpose vehicle with GMR group being the lead consortium partner and having 64 per cent stake. The AAI holds 26 per cent and Fraport AG the remaining 10 per cent in the country's busiest airport. As per a clause in concession agreement for the Delhi airport, an airline company cannot hold more than 10 per cent stake in it, either directly or indirectly. Tata Group controls and runs two airlines -- Vistara and Air Asia India. Citing this, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), representing three carriers GoAir, IndiGo and SpiceJet, objected to the deal saying it breached the rules which barred companies running an airline to hold more than 10 per cent stake in DIAL. GMR Infrastructure Ltd, the flagship group company, had, in March 2019, announced the proposed investment of Rs 8,000 crore by Tata Group, GIC and SSG Capital Management in its airports business. As per the original deal, Tata group was to hold a 20 per cent stake in GMR Airports Ltd (GAL) while GIC had 15 per cent stake. SSG Capital Management was to hold 10 per cent stake in the airport vertical of GMR group. Members of FIA had urged the government to get the proposed investment by GIC also examined. "While we had got legal opinion on keeping Tata group at the core, this time the legal opinion has been sought on GIC. We do not want any legal issue to come up later,"said the official quoted above. In a regulatory filing on January 16 (Thursday), GMR Infrastructure said that it has decided to increase the transaction size by agreeing to divest 49 per cent in GMR Airports Limited (against previously agreed 44.44 per cent) to TRIL Urban Transport Private Ltd (part of TATA Group), an affiliate of GIC and SSG Capital Management in one or more tranches. "This is another step in our endeavour to deleverage and demonstrate our commitment towards the same," GMR Infrastructure said. (Nirbhay Kumar can be contacted at nirbhay.k@ians.in) 'It will be shameful if I don't call him out for saying that those indulging in violence can be identified by their clothes itself,' the Bhim Army chief said. IMAGE: Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad holds a copy of the Constitution during a protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Jama Masjid in New Delhi, on Friday. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo A day after being released from the Tihar Jail, Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad said on Friday that his primary concern was not to fight the Delhi polls, but to strengthen the 'movement' against the 'discriminatory' Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Aazad, who has been accused of inciting people during an anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid in New Delhi on December 20, moved court on Friday seeking modification of the conditions imposed on him by a Delhi court while granting him bail in the case. The court on Wednesday had restrained Aazad from visiting Delhi for four weeks and directed him not to hold any dharna till the elections in the national capital and said that 'the nation cannot be exposed to anarchy'. The plea, filed by advocates Mehmood Pracha and O P Bharti, said Aazad was not a criminal and claimed imposing such conditions were wrong and undemocratic. The court will hear the matter on Saturday. It had earlier also said that before going to Saharanpur if Aazad wants to go anywhere, including Jama Masjid, in Delhi, police will escort him there. Special circumstances call for special conditions, the judge had said. IMAGE: Aazad was released from prison on Thursday night after a Delhi court granted him bail. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo Earlier on Friday, the 33-year-old Bhim Army chief visited the Jama Masjid, located in the old quarters of Delhi from where he was arrested, and read out the preamble to the Constitution as he called for repeal of the amended citizenship law. Aazad was released from prison on Thursday night after a Delhi court granted him bail. He termed the amended law a 'Black Act' and stressed that nothing was more important than keeping the country together. Swarmed by his supporters and locals, Aazad, donning his trademark blue scarf, spent close to 40 minutes at the historic mosque. Later at a press conference, he said the court granted him bail under certain conditions and told him not to disrespect Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "But it will be shameful if I don't call him out for saying that those indulging in violence can be identified by their clothes itself." "The court asked me to respect Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), I want to ask him to respect the Constitution. I am ready to give my blood ... let Modiji also give his blood... and let's find out who loves the country more," Aazad said. IMAGE: Aazad speaks at a press conference in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI Photo "My priority is to make the people aware about the discriminatory citizenship law and mobilise them against it... It's time to strengthen this movement, politics can happen later," he said. Sources in the Bhim Army had in December said the Dalit group could take a political plunge in the Delhi assembly elections and fight panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh. Aazad also said that he withdrew from contesting against Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections because he did not 'have enough money' and it would have affected the Dalit movement. "Our protest against CAA will continue. We request the court to allow us to protest. The government is spreading misinformation on the issue and we are just putting a check on it," the Bhim Army chief said. Aazad claimed that he was arrested for reading out the preamble to the Constitution on the stairs of Jama Masjid and that he will continue to 'read it daily'. He also recited poet Rahat Indori's ghazal 'Agar Khilaf Hai Hone Do', which has become a rallying cry in the recent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the planned National Register of Citizens (NRC). On the violence at Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawarharlal Nehru University, Aazad said, "Women are worshipped in this country, but here they were beaten up." IMAGE: Aazad offers prayers at Valmiki Temple in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI Photo Earlier in the day, the Dalit group leader visited the Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir in Gole Market, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib and Jama Masjid, and addressed members of the Bhim Army before the 24-hour court-imposed deadline to leave the city ended. He also paid a visit to the Karbala at Jor Bagh. Aazad lauded the women participating in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Millia Islamia as well as in other parts of the country. Anti-CAA agitation have also been taking place near the Jama Masjid. "This (anti-CAA) movement is for the future of this country, for our identity and to uphold the Constitution. It is our responsibility to strengthen it," he said while stressing that it is the fundamental duty of citizens to protect the Constitution and urged people to carry out the protests peacefully. A Delhi court granted bail to Aazad on Wednesday and restrained him from visiting the national capital for four weeks. The court further directed him not to hold any dharna in Delhi till the Assembly elections in Delhi are over. It, however, had said that before going to Saharanpur, if Azad wants to visit any place, including the Jama Masjid, within 24 hours of his release, the police will escort him. Last Mondays ceremony marking the opening of the new Law Year welcomed a new appointee to the panel of judges assigned to the local jurisdiction. Trinidad and Tobago national Justice Angelica Teelucksingh began her tenure here when she took the parade and inspected the Guard of Honour mounted by the Royal SVG Police Force in the Court Yard, Kingstown, a traditional component of the ceremony. During a Special Sitting that followed the parade and guard of honour, Attorney General Jaunty Martin welcomed Justice Teelucksingh, describing her appointment as an important step in reducing the backlog of criminal matters here. Martin took the opportunity to refer to three pieces of legislation which he anticipates will improve justice here. Those are the Legal Profession Bill, Public Service Bill and Administration of Justice Bill. He also referenced the Hall of Justice, construction of which is expected to start in June 2020, as a welcomed improvement to current accommodation for Court proceedings here. The Attorney General also acknowledged that St. Vincent and the Grenadines was no "exception with respect to the Chief Justices remarks. Director of Public Prosecutions Sejilla McDowall expressed her anticipation of that building. She noted the upgrade of the National Prosecution services, and pledged that resources and personnel needed for the new court will be provided. President of the Bar Association Rene Baptiste welcomed Justice Teelucksingh, and pointed to measures the Bar Association had taken to keep the profession updated. She alluded to plans to keep members of the profession in tune with the latest aspects of legal education. Baptiste was excited about plans to expose students to Bar related activities, including having President of the Caribbean Court of Justice- Vincentian born Adrian Saunders speak to them. An OESC Bar Association meeting is set to take place here, and Baptiste is looking forward to the full participation of the local body. Roderick Jones, speaking on behalf of the Utter Bar, welcomed the new Justice. He is holding Attorney General Martin accountable if the Hall of Justice does not start in June. Representative image The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on January 17 declared candidates for 57 of the 70 Assembly seats going to polls in the forthcoming Delhi Assembly polls. BJP's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari declared the list of candidates during a press briefing. AAP rebel Kapil Mishra will contest from Model Town assembly constituency, while Ravindra Kumar Indraj will contest from Pawana constituency. Vijender Gupta will contest from Rohini while Pradyumn Rajput will contest from Dwarka. The party, however, did not name its candidate against AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with Tiwari saying the candidate from New Delhi seat will be announced soon. The BJP's central election committee met on January 16 to finalise the party's candidates for the Delhi Assembly polls. Its top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari besides working president J P Nadda among others, held consultation at the BJP headquarters here over the names of probables for the February 8 elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari was also part of the meeting. Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday had named all its candidates. The BJP had won only three assembly seats in the previous assembly elections, while the AAP had won 67. The elections will witness a triangular contest with the Congress being the third major player as political watchers believe that the BJP and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP are likely to be the main rivals in most of the seats. Delhi assembly polls will be held on February 8 and the results will be declared on February 11, the Election Commission of India (EC) announced on January 6. The term of the 70-member Delhi Assembly is ending on February 22 and a new House has to be constituted before that. Workforce Readiness Google Expands IT Training Offerings Google has introduced a new Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate, a program designed to provide job-ready skills in Python, Git and IT automation in under six months. The new certificate is part of the company's Grow with Google initiative, a commitment to providing access to skills training and education for workers. Grow with Google launched its first certificate program, the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, two years ago. IT Automation with Python comprises six courses hosted on Coursera: Crash Course on Python; Using Python to Interact with the Operating System; Introduction to Git and GitHub; Troubleshooting and Debugging Techniques; Configuration Management and the Cloud; and Automating Real-World Tasks with Python, including a final project designed to simulate problem-solving in an actual job environment. Those who complete the program receive a shareable certificate as well as access to career resources and the option to share information with potential employers. According to a company blog post, 84 percent of people who have taken Google's original IT Support certificate program "report a career impact like getting a raise, finding a new job, or starting a business within six months." The cost for Google's certificate programs is $49 per month (financial aid is available). For more information, visit the Google site. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: Batting for population control and emphasising the relevance of having small families to draw equal benefits of development, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said the two-child norm should be introduced in the country. He said this was what the Sangh believed but added that the final decision rested with the Centre. The RSS chief also denied that the contentious issues of reclaiming the Kashi and Mathura shrines were on the Sanghs agenda. Bhagwat was addressing a special session -- Jigyasa Satra -- of Sangh volunteers during his four-day stay at Moradabad on Thursday. The RSS chiefs opinion on population control appears to be in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modis appeal during his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort last year. The PM had laid stress on the need for population control while having a word of praise for those who had smaller families. He had delved, at length, on population control during his speech saying population explosion would cause many problems for future generations. He also said the policy of having a small family was a gesture of patriotism. National Family Health Survey figures show that the country has a population size of 1.37 billion. After PM Modis call for population control, the Niti Aayog was entrusted to formalise ideas that can then be proposed to the Prime Ministers Office over the issue. This newspaper had reported that the Aayog was mulling a national level population policy intervention following the PMs emphasis on the issue. The Aayog has held a number of meetings to discuss models from states that have adopted a limited two-child policy and sterilisation programme introduced by the Congress government in 1975. Replying to a query by a volunteer on the Ram temple issue, the RSS chief claimed that the role of the Sangh was limited only to the establishment of a temple trust to oversee the construction. Subsequently, the Sangh would disassociate itself from the issue, he said. As per insiders, Bhagwat also declared in the meeting that the Sangh did not have the reclamation of disputed religious sites at Kashi and Mathura on its agenda. In fact, the Sangh never had the issues of Kashi and Mathura on its agenda and neither will it have them on its agenda in future, the RSS chief reportedly told the gathering. Replying to the queries of volunteers over the ongoing protests and nationwide unrest over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Bhagwat reiterated Sanghs support to Modi government over CAA saying the organisation would not step back on the issue. Be it CAA or abrogation of Art 370, Sangh is firmly standing behind the Modi government on these issues, the Sangh Pramukh said. He rather exhorted the volunteers to sensitize people on the Citizenship Act. The sources said the RSS chief was addressing a gathering of around 40-50 volunteers of the Sanghs regional executive council. Press Release 17 January 2020 The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is proud to announce the return of five regional Revenue Optimization Conferences (ROC) in five major cities around the world in 2020: London, Singapore, San Antonio, Sao Paolo, and Dubai. The conferences gather hospitality professionals responsible for leading revenue optimization and pricing for brands, management companies, ownership groups, hotels, and resorts, with more than 1,200 expected to attend worldwide. Advertisements HSMAI's annual ROC regional conferences deliver the most all-encompassing and robust revenue optimization event for the hotel industry. "Year-over-year HSMAI ROC conferences empower revenue leaders from around the globe and give hospitality executives the insights, tools, and resources needed to make an actionable change within their teams and with partners," said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, president and CEO of HSMAI. "I am thrilled to see what unique takeaways and perspectives arise out of the individual regional ROC conferences." HSMAI ROC Europe - January 28, 2020, London, England HSMAI Europe ROC 2020 will prepare attendees to take the lead in revenue strategy by elevating leadership and business acumen, anticipating and responding to headwinds, aligning sales, marketing, and revenue optimization efforts, adapting to the ever-changing landscape of hospitality technology, and driving profit throughout the customer journey. In addition to HSMAI's ROC Europe, over 300 hospitality professions will gather at the Savoy Hotel in London on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, for HSMAI Sales Leader Forum Europe, HSMAI Europe Awards, HSMAI Region Europe Chief Commercial Officer/ Commercial Director Roundtable, CRME, and CHDM certification courses. HSMAI ROC Asia Pacific - June 4-5, 2020, Marina Bay, Singapore Each year, ROC for the Asia Pacific is held in Singapore. The conference delivers the most compelling and comprehensive revenue management event for the local hotel industry and convenes more than 150 key stakeholders to address the most critical trends affecting revenue management in hotels today. All conference programs are organized by HSMAI Asia Pacific's Revenue and Digital Advisory Boards. The two-day program also features an executive roundtable, academy day, and a partner showcase. HSMAI ROC Americas - June 16-17, 2020, San Antonio, Texas, United States For almost two decades, HSMAI ROC has delivered the most compelling and comprehensive event for the hotel revenue optimization discipline, with more than 650 leading professionals coming together to address the most critical trends affecting hotels today. This June, senior leaders in hotel revenue optimization, sales, marketing, and distribution will connect in San Antonio, Texas, to engage in meaningful, thought-provoking conversations about the most important strategic issues facing the business. Hospitality leaders at this event are responsible for leading revenue optimization and pricing for brands, management companies, ownership groups, hotels, and resorts. ROC also showcases partner companies serving the revenue management industry, including consultants, technology vendors, and companies providing products and services in revenue management, execution, and reporting. In addition to the main conference, HSMAI presents "HSMAI Helps," a volunteer opportunity benefitting San Antonio, Research in Action presentations and reception, and a VIP reception honoring Certified Revenue Management Executives (CRME). HSMAI will also host an awards ceremony presenting the Vanguard Award for Lifetime Achievement in Revenue Management, and the Revenue Management Professional of the Year Awards. HSMAI ROC Brazil - August 7, 2020, Sao Paulo, Brazil This year ROC Brazil will bring together nearly 100 hospitality and tourism professionals who are responsible for leading revenue optimization and pricing for brands, management companies, ownership groups, hotels, and resorts for a half-day conference that will spark meaningful, thought-provoking conversations about the most important strategic issues facing the business. HSMAI ROC Middle East - December 8, 2020, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Co-located with HITEC Dubai, HSMAI ROC Middle East returns in December 2020 for a full day of education and conversation surrounding revenue optimization, gathering over 100 hotel revenue management executives from the Middle East for enlightening educational sessions and a partner showcase. Learn more and register for regional ROCs at https://global.hsmai.org/roc/. New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday (January 17) launched an attack on the Narendra Modi-led government in the Centre accusing it of trying to silence the case of arrested Jammu and Kashmir DSP Devinder Singh by transferring it to National Investigation Agency (NIA). In a tweet on Friday, Rahul Gandhi said, "The best way to silence Terrorist DSP Davinder, is to hand the case to the NIA. The NIA is headed by another Modi - YK, who investigated the Gujarat Riots & Haren Pandya's assassination. In YK's care, the case is as good as dead. #WhoWantsTerroristDavinderSilenced And why??" The best way to silence Terrorist DSP Davinder, is to hand the case to the NIA. The NIA is headed by another Modi - YK, who investigated the Gujarat Riots & Haren Pandyas assassination. In YKs care, the case is as good as dead. #WhoWantsTerroristDavinderSilenced And why?? Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 17, 2020 A day earlier, on January 16, the former Congress president had questioned the silence of PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor (NSA) on Jammu and Kashmir DSP, who was arrested in Pulwama while ferrying terrorists. Rahul also questioned the suspended Deputy SP's role in Pulwama attack and asked 'who was protecting him'. Live TV "DSP Davinder Singh sheltered 3 terrorists with blood on their hands at his home & was caught ferrying them to Delhi. He must be tried by a fast track court within 6 months & if guilty, given the harshest possible sentence for treason," he had tweeted on Thursday. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi also criticised the government on Devinder Singh saying, "his arrest in J&K raises disturbing questions critical to India`s national security. It seems rather odd that he not only evaded detection but was entrusted with extremely sensitive duties like escorting foreign envoys to J&K under the prevailing circumstances." Union Ministry of Home Affairs on January 16 asked the NIA to investigate the case of J&K DSP, sources said. Jammu & Kashmir's Home Department will take a call on the dismissal of Singh, who was arrested on January 11 along with Hizbul Mujahideen commander Naveed Babu, his accomplice Rafi and a lawyer named Irfan from a car on the highway near Kulgam. The J&K police officer was allegedly taking Babu to Jammu to help him travel to Pakistan in connivance with Irfan. Arms and ammunition were later recovered from multiple raids conducted at the residences of Davinder in Srinagar. The disgraced DIG is currently being interrogated by a joint team of the Centre and J&K. China's birth rate dropped last year to its lowest level since the Communist country was founded in 1949, adding to concerns that an ageing society and shrinking workforce will pile pressure on a slowing economy. To avoid a demographic crisis, the government relaxed its one-child policy in 2016 to allow people to have two children, but the change has not resulted in an increase in pregnancies. In 2019, the birth rate stood at 10.48 per 1,000 people, down slightly from the year before, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Friday. The number of births has now fallen for three consecutive years, still, there were 14.65 million babies born in 2019. He Yafu, an independent demographer based in southern Guangdong province, said the number of births was the lowest since 1961, the last year of a famine that left tens of millions dead. He said there were around 11.8 million births that year. US-based academic Yi Fuxian, senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told AFP that even though China has abolished its one-child policy, there has been a shift in the mindset of the population, with people now used to smaller families. He added that a higher cost of living is also a factor, noting that daycare is expensive and inconvenient in China, posing another deterrence. He believes that China's population is over-estimated, and according to his work, the real population "began to decline in 2018". According to official figures, China's population stood at 1.4 billion by the end of 2019, increasing by 4.67 million from the year before. While China's limit on family sizes could be removed altogether eventually, the demographer He said citizens are still being punished for having three children, even though some areas have reduced punitive measures. China has signalled that it might end limits on family size as a draft of the new Civil Code -- due to be introduced at the annual session of the rubber-stamp parliament in March -- omits all mention of "family planning". The one-child policy was introduced by top leader Deng Xiaoping to curb population growth and promote economic development, with exceptions for rural families whose first-born was a female, and for ethnic minorities. The measure was mainly enforced through fines but was also notorious for forced abortions and sterilisations. The result was dramatic: fertility rates dropped from 5.9 births per woman in 1970 to about 1.6 in the late 1990s. The replacement level for a population is 2.1. This could pose a problem for the economy in the future, as the country's workforce continued to shrink last year. The NBS said there were 896.4 million people aged between 16 and 59 -- its population of working age -- a drop from the 897.3 million in 2018. This marks the eighth consecutive year of decline, and the workforce is expected to decline by as much as 23 per cent by 2050. "The demographic problem is a slow, long-term one," He told AFP. He noted that ageing Japan, which saw rapid growth in the 1980s, has seen almost zero percent growth in recent years. China's economy grew by 6.1 per cent in 2019, its slowest pace since 1990 as it was hit by weaker demand and a bruising trade war with the United States. "Because China's education levels have been going up, in the short term, the population issue should not impact growth too much," he said. "But in the long run, if the trend continues, it would pose a huge drag on economic growth. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 24-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint in Mariners Harbor early Thursday morning, according to police. The victim told police he made a deal to purchase an iPhone on Letgo an app that allows users to sell items locally. The sellers profile, which didnt include a full name, purported that he is from New York, according to police. The victim and seller agreed to meet outside of a home on the 200 block of Netherland Avenue, an NYPD spokesman said. When the victim arrived outside the semi-attached home, the perpetrator, who identified himself as the seller on Letgo, came outside the building and told the 24-year-old to pull his car up before the suspect re-entered the home, the spokesman said. Shortly after, the unidentified perpetrator emerged from the home with a black firearm and told the victim to give me the money or Ill shoot," police said. According to the spokesman, $600 was removed from the victim before the suspect fled. The Advance previously reported that the suspect fled northbound on Maple Parkway following the incident. A level-one mobilization was initiated by the NYPD after the incident was reported, but the suspect was not found. The suspect was described by police as a black man thought to be in his 20s who stands about 511 tall and weighs about 160 pounds. He was seen wearing a checkered hoodie, black pants and black shoes. No arrests have been made. York County detectives said Lana Clayton admitted to giving her husband Steven Clayton drinks laced with Visine York: A South Carolina woman pleaded guilty to fatally poisoning her husband by putting eye drops into his water for days. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Lana Sue Clayton, 53, pleaded guilty Thursday to voluntary manslaughter and tampering with a food or drug, news outlets reported. York County detectives said Lana Clayton admitted to giving her husband Steven Clayton drinks laced with Visine. She poisoned him with Visine for three days in July 2018 before the poison eventually caused his death, prosecutors said. Lana Clayton said her husband was abusive and she didn't mean to kill him. "I did impulsively put the Visine in Steven's drink, but I just did it to make him uncomfortable..." Lana Clayton said in court. "I never thought it would kill him." She was originally charged with murder but accepted a plea deal. Her lawyers in court said Lana Clayton was a good person having worked as a Veterans Affairs nurse in Charlotte. They said Lana Clayton was abused as a child, raped on a military base and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. She attempted to kill herself during the investigation in August 2018 Court records show the couple lived on property worth more than $1 million and Steven Clayton, 64, has over a $1 million in other assets. He was a retired businessman from Florida. Lana Clayton knew the Visine would kill her husband and continued to poison him, prosecutors said. They accused her of destroying his will so she could inherit his money. "How can you maintain you did this to teach him a lesson, when it is obvious from the facts that you let him suffer for three days," Judge Paul Burch told Clayton in court. "You ignored him." The decision of the Abuja High Court sitting in the Bwari area Council which purportedly 'sacked' Senator Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) has been described as the greatest disservice to the Principle of Rule of law and a massive travesty of justice given the fact that the Court overreached itself and made an order that is substantially dubious and unsustainable because the person being asked to be sworn was never in the ballot paper. A frontline Civil Rights Advocacy group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) which reacted to the ruling stated that the Abuja High Court has increased the credibility crises tearing the nation's judiciary apart because it has just awarded the Senate seat of an election to a claimant that was never in the ballots just as the Rights group said it will approach the National Judicial Council to ask for severe sanctions for the presiding judge Mr. Bello Kawu for bringing the nation's judicial system into disrepute. HURIWA recalled that the court, in a ruling by Justice Bello Kawu, nullified Ubahs election, for allegedly using a forged National Examination Council (NECO) certificate to contest the senatorial election that was held in the state on February 23, 2019 just as the judge had on April 11, 2019, ordered that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to withdraw the Certificate of Return it issued to Ubah and issue a fresh one to Obinna Uzoh of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who came second in the poll.Ubah polled a total of 87, 081 votes to emerge, winner of the Anambra South Senatorial District . Senator Ubah then approached the same court to ask for a review since there was a manifest display of unfairness but the Court restated her earlier ruling. Ubah said he was neither served with the court processes nor hearing notice with respect to the suit before the court proceeded to deliver the judgment against him. HURIWA recalled that Following his application for a stay of execution, Justice Kawu, on December 4, restrained the Senate president from swearing-in Uzoh, pending the hearing and determination of the motion challenging the verdict just as the court equally ordered all the parties, including the INEC to maintain the status quo until it decides the merit in Ubahs contention. However, the judge has just held that Ubahs application to vacate its judgment lacked merit and accordingly dismissed it just as he also dismissed a motion another claimant to the PDP senatorial ticket, Chief Chris Uba, filed to be joined as an interested party in the substantive suit marked CV/3044/2018, which was filed before the court by an electorate in the state, Anani Chuka. The Rights group said by not joining the actual PDP Senatorial Candidate Chief Chris In a the Abuja High Court has clearly demonstrated an unnatural interest in midwifing a predetermined outcome in the suit. The Rights group said it will ask the NJC to investigate the Judge to ascertain his special interest in the matter. HURIWA said the judgment is a travesty of justice just as the Rights group said in a statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf said that on good authority we can state that the ruling is irregular and all the legal wrongs in the above suit are hereby enumerated as follows: LACK OF TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION. The Federal Capital Territory High Court lacks territorial jurisdiction to hear the Young Progressive Party primary election that took place at Nnewi in Anambra state for the nomination of the partys candidate for the Anambra South Senatorial District at the National Assembly. See the case of MAILANTARKI vs. TONGO (2018) 6 NWLR PT. 1614 page 69 where the supreme court held thus at Pg. 86 para C-D. A court in one state of the federation does not have jurisdiction to hear and determine a matter either exclusively within the jurisdiction of another state or which arose within the territory of another state. No court in any state, including the High Court of FCT has extra territorial jurisdiction. See. Rivers state government of Nigeria vs. Special Konsult (Swedish Group) (2005) 7 NWLR (Pt 923) Page 145 referred to. b. At page 89-90 in the case of MAILANTARKI vs. TONGO (2018) 6 NWLR PT. 1614 page 69, the supreme court further held as follows:A court in one state does not have jurisdiction to hear and determine a matter which is within the exclusive jurisdiction of another state. The territorial jurisdiction of the High court of federal capital territory is restricted and confined to causes and matters that arose within the Federal Capital Territory. There can be no justification for the institution of a suit before the high court of the FCT in Abuja on a matter that occurred outside the Federal Capital Territory. The filing of such suit would be a clear example of forum shopping in the hope of securing a favorable outcome. Such a practice had been seriously deprecated. Such practice does not promote the administration of justice. It is also an unethical practice on the part of the Legal Practitioner who filed the suit. In the instant case, the appellant, having instituted his suit at the High Court of Federal Capital Territory Abuja, a court which was not in the jurisdiction where the cause of action arose, involved in forum shopping which amounted to abuse of judicial process.a) By virtue of section 87(9) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), it is only an spirant to this Primary Election of his/her Political Party who can complain that any of the provisions of the Electoral Act and the guidelines of the Political Party has not been compiled with in the selection or nomination of a candidate of the Political Party for election. Section 87(9) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) is available to a dissatisfied aspirant who participates in his party primaries. It confers jurisdiction on the Court to hear the complaint from a candidate who participated at his Partys Primaries can question the conduct of the primaries. No other person, whether within the Political Party or outside of it can ventilate his grievance arising from party nomination as there is no law backing him up.The above position and principle of the law is in accordance with the Supreme Court decisions in the following cases; AL-HASSAN vs. ISHAKU [2016] 10 NWLR (Pt. 1520) Pg. 320P.D.P vs. SYLVA [2012] 13 NNWLR (Pt. 1316) Pg. 85 DANIEL vs. INEC [2015] 9 NWLR (Pt. 1463) Pg. 113;EMEKA vs. OKADIGBO [2012] 18 NWLR (Pt. 1331) Pg. 55; OMBUGADU vs. C.P.C. [2013] 3 NWLR (Pt. 1340) Pg. 31 HURIWA stated that the Court was wrong and had no jurisdiction to join Dr. Obinna Uzo who was not an aspirant and a member of Peoples Democratic Party in a Pre-Election dispute that bordered on the nomination of the candidate of the Young Progressive Party. In the case of IGWEMMA vs. OBIDIGWE & 2 ORS [2019] 16 NWLR (Pt. 1697) Pg. 117 at Page 140 paras E-H, the Supreme Court held thus:-A person who did not partake in the primary as a candidate or aspirant cannot invoke section 87(9) of the Electoral Act (as amended) to institute a case in court. In otherwords, a party who did not partake in the primaries as an aspirant has no locus standi to invoke the jurisdiction of the high court in the circumstances. HURIWA said it has already put machinery in motion to petition the National Judicial Council so these monumental display of judicial rascality and professional incompetence by the judge is sufficiently addressed. Now Open 17 January 2020 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world's largest hotel franchising company with over 9,200 hotels across more than 80 countries, is continuing the fast-paced growth trajectory of its Trademark Collection by Wyndham brand in the U.S. with the addition of its first hotel in Atlanta, The Burgess Hotel Trademark Collection by Wyndham. This major market location is one of five hotels across five states - including Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and California - to recently join the brand, further cementing Trademark Collection's position as one of the fastest-growing soft brands in the hotel industry. Located in the heart of Atlanta's stylish Buckhead district, The Burgess Hotel recently completed a multi-million dollar renovation transforming the property into a sought-after boutique experience for travelers near the city's main attractions and businesses. Updated features include 102 guest rooms with custom furniture and original artwork; a relaxing outdoor pool and courtyard; more than 1,200 square feet of meeting and event space; an on-site restaurant, Fia, inspired by the Mediterranean coast; and the chic Mr. B Bar. Trademark Collection's recent additions across the U.S. demonstrates Wyndham's strategic efforts to steadily expand the soft brand in key markets domestically in the last year, during which the brand saw a 118 percent growth in number of rooms year over year, as of September 30, 2019. Wyndham also added to the brand's international collection in 2019 - which saw an 18 percent growth year over year as of September 30, 2019 - welcoming its first Trademark Collection hotels in Mexico and Belize, and widening its existing presence in Canada. Some of the newest locations to raise the Trademark Collection brand flag in the U.S. include: Magic Village Views, a contemporary gated villa community in Kissimmee, Fla., situated steps from Walt Disney World parks and sister Trademark Collection location Magic Village Yards; Hotel Retlaw, a modern, luxurious throwback to the roaring 1920s in Fond du Lac, Wisc.; Cantilever Hotel, a newly constructed hotel in Ranier, Minn., with industrial influences and an on-site distillery; And the Bay Area's Pacifica Lighthouse Hotel, just steps from the shores of Pacifica, Calif. With more than 100 hotels globally, Trademark Collection is a soft-branded, independently minded collection of upper-midscale and above properties, designed for everyday travelers seeking distinctive, attainable accommodations in sought-after destinations. Among just some of the notable hotels in the collection are The INFINITY Hotel & Conference Center in Munich, Germany, the HYPERION Hotel Basel in Basel, Switzerland, as well as notable American locations like the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky., Ravel Hotel in Long Island City, N.Y, and the Zermatt Utah Resort & Spa in Midway, Utah. In the first mission of the year for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Indias forty-first communication satellite GSAT 30 was on Friday launched by the European commercial launcher Arianespace. The satellite will enhance television broadcasting, satellite-based news gathering, and direct-to-home services. India's communication satellite #GSAT30 was successfully launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit by #Ariane5 #VA251. Thanks for your support !!! For details please visit: https://t.co/FveT3dGuo6 Image Courtesy: Arianespace pic.twitter.com/67csn0zZq7 ISRO (@isro) January 16, 2020 Confirming the successful launch, Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel tweeted, A strong start to 2020 as #Ariane5 successfully deploys its two satellite passengers EUTELSAT KONNECT and GSAT-30 into geostationary transfer orbit! I appreciate the trust from the two customers on this mission: @Eutelsat_SA and @ISRO #VA251 #MissiontoSuccess. A strong start to 2020 as #Ariane5 successfully deploys its two satellite passengers EUTELSAT KONNECT and GSAT-30 into geostationary transfer orbit! I appreciate the trust from the two customers on this mission: @Eutelsat_SA and @ISRO #VA251 #MissiontoSuccess pic.twitter.com/bL2DG2fuem Stephane Israel (@arianespaceceo) January 16, 2020 The satellite provides extended coverage in C-band, which is used by broadcasters to beam their programmes over India, Gulf and Asian countries, and Australia. The satellite has a mission life of 15 years. It will join the 19 communication satellites that are currently operational. The mission comes over a month after the previous PSLV mission that put in orbit one Indian Earth Observation Satellite along with nine customer satellites. Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope made centuries to hammer a South Africa team already hit by a ban for its top bowler as England took control on a potentially decisive day of the test series on Friday. Stokes made 120, Pope 135 not out for his maiden test century, and England surged to 499-9 declared on the second day of the third test in Port Elizabeth. South Africa couldn't safely see out 18 overs at the end and lost Pieter Malan (18) and Zubayr Hamaza (10) to be 60-2 in reply. Spinner Dom Bess took both wickets. England was on top throughout a one-sided day and South Africa was relieved when rain finally allowed it to get off the field in the early evening. Bess constantly troubled the batsmen and fast bowler Mark Wood was clocking speeds of 90 mph (145 kph) at the other end. With star allrounder Stokes leading the charge once again, England built a commanding position in the match and had possibly carved out a key moment in the series, which is level at 1-1 but leaning heavily in the tourists' favor with one more test to come. South Africa was way behind trailing by 439 runs and burdened by the additional blow of fast bowler Kagiso Rabada being banned for the series-deciding fourth and final test in Johannesburg next week. Rabada's ban was announced on Friday morning, a punishment for his provocative celebration in the face of England captain Joe Root on the first day of the test at St. George's Park. With that hanging over them, the South Africans appeared completely deflated in the field and Stokes and Pope took full advantage on a pitch that's pretty tough for bowlers anyway. Stokes and Pope took their careful 76-run partnership overnight to an unbroken and flourishing stand of 187 by lunch. They put on a mammoth 203 for the fifth wicket by the time Stokes hit a square drive to be caught by Dean Elgar after lunch and give Dane Paterson a first test wicket on his debut for South Africa. On a day when the start of play was delayed by nearly an hour, also because of rain, the overall outlook for South Africa was particularly gloomy. Stokes, voted the world player of the year this week, played cautiously at the end of the first day to consolidate England's promising position but broke free on the second morning and was in complete attack mode. He lashed 12 fours and two sixes in all as he charged to a ninth test century. Three of those hundreds have come in the last five months and Stokes continued to punish South Africa on this tour. He blitzed 72 off 47 balls, took a record-equaling five catches in an innings, and collected the match-winning wickets in England's series-tying victory in the second test in Cape Town. Stokes also had strong support from Pope in Port Elizabeth, and Pope went on to a big century after Stokes' exit. Sam Curran added 44 down the order in a half-century stand with Pope, and tailender Wood (42) and Pope added 73 for the ninth wicket as South Africa fell apart. They launched a barrage of boundaries, with No. 10 Wood hitting five sixes. Pope finished with 18 fours and a six. England's 499-9 declared was the fourth highest total ever in a test at St. George's and the second best by a visiting team. Only Australia in 1950 has made a bigger statement at the ground by a touring team. England, 224-4 overnight, added 111 runs in first session, another 91 after lunch, and was rampant by scoring those 73 runs for the last wicket in just over eight overs before the declaration. Rabada, who was South Africa's best bowler on the first day, took no wickets on the second and looked as if his morale was shot. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj had to lead the struggling and dispirited home attack with 5-180. On a miserable day for him, Rabada had Wood out caught just before the end of England's innings but was pulled up for a no-ball. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 45-year-old trader, Morufu Adekoya aka Six Tiger, was Thursday sentenced to death by hanging for armed robbery and 15-years imprisonment for raping a 24-year-old student. According to New Telegraph, the sentencing was handed to him at the Ikeja High Court, Lagos by Justice Raliatu Adebiyi. It was also gathered that the sentencing was carried out yesterday, Thursday, January 16th 2020. READ ALSO Christmas: Sanwo-Olu Sets 6 Inmates Free, Commutes 3 From Death Sentence To Life Imprisonment The State Prosecutor, Mrs O. R Ahmed Muili, told the court that the convict committed the offences on March 26, 2014, at Odo-onosa Epe. See Post Here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B7acSKPHIZI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Omolola Ajayi, the 23-year-old Nigerian woman recently suspected to have been trafficked to Lebanon, has arrived in Abuja and handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Friday. Miss Ajayi had cried out for help in a video which went viral, claiming that she was sold into slavery in Lebanon. The video was seen on many social media platforms where she was pleading for help, a situation that triggered federal government into action for her rescue. The Director of NAPTIPs Public Enlightenment, Orakwe Arinze, who received the victim, said her rehabilitation would commence immediately. Mr Arinze said, now that the victim had been received, profiling of her details would commence, followed by rehabilitation. He urged Nigerians planning any illegal journey to be weary of the kind of promises they received from people abroad. He said the streets of Europe and Asia are not painted with gold, there is a thin line to every promise, we must be very careful. Ms Ajayi was earlier received by officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service, along with NAPTIP officers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Meanwhile, the Enugu State Police Command, has paraded two suspected child traffickers who specializes in moving children from Plateau State in North Central zone to River State in South-South zone. Parading the suspects in Enugu, the state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Abdurrahman, said the suspects were intercepted trafficking nine children on January 4. He said the suspects and the children were in a luxury bus travelling from the Northern part of the country. Mr Abdurrahman said they were intercepted at Orba Check-point in Udenu council area of the state by the army troop Operation Atilogwu Udo 1. He noted that the army authorities, however, handed over the victims and suspects to the command for further investigation. He said the nine children, including four girls and five boys aged between two year and 13 years, were recovered from the suspected child traffickers. He said one female suspect was moving with the children in the luxury bus before the interception. We also have another suspect, who arranges the children being trafficked for Nwachi from Barkin Ladi council area in Plateau State, he said. The commissioner, however, said the police was still tracking the end receiver of the trafficked children, who allegedly runs an orphanage in Port Harcourt, River State. This is a type of organised crime where children are trafficked from the Northern part of the country to the South-East and South-South. This syndicate runs their illegal business using orphanage as a cover-up. We have reached and contacted the parents of trafficked children and some said that they gave their children to the (suspect) on condition that he will provide better welfare and education for them. Some other parents said that they did not know when their children moved out of their homes and they have declared them missing for some time now. While at the end receivers point, only God knows what these children are used for; some might be used as sacrificial lambs, child labour; and others subjected to a lot of criminal activities. Parents especially people in Plateau State should be wary of the where about of their children. Parents should endeavour to take care of their children themselves, he advised. The commissioner said that the children would be handed over to their parents after investigation. Advertisements I personally appreciate our sister security agencies especially the Nigerian Army that made this arrest possible, he added. (NAN) Spending in early nominating states Share of each candidates total Facebook ad spending in the 90 days ending Jan. 11. Charts are ordered by share spent in Iowa. Note: The nine Democratic candidates who spent the most on Facebook ads are shown. | Sources: Acronym, Facebook With just over two weeks left until the Iowa caucuses, Facebook ad data offers a lens into the primary strategies of the Democratic presidential candidates. Since October, Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind. who has built his campaign around a potential victory in Iowa has spent about a fifth of his overall Facebook budget in the state. Andrew Yang, a political newcomer, has spent more than 85 percent of his Facebook budget in Iowa and New Hampshire, a clear sign of how critical strong performances in those states are for him to be taken seriously in the elections and caucuses that follow. While the three leading Democrats former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts spent a significant share of their Facebook budget in early states, they are taking a more national approach on Facebook than they are on other paid mediums, like television, in part to attract small dollar donors in a broader universe. Mr. Yangs campaign highlighted an article about him by The Gazette, a newspaper in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mr. Buttigiegs campaign ran ads like this one encouraging people to turn out for the Iowa caucuses. Source: Facebook Over the past 90 days, the Democratic field has spent more than $31 million on Facebook ads, $6.4 million of that on ads in the first four states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. In that time, President Trump has spent about $7.5 million on Facebook ads, though a lot of his efforts are also focused on combating the impeachment narrative. Though digital campaigning has been a part of presidential politics since 2008, it has taken on an especially central role in nearly every campaign in 2020. Last year, Mr. Trump and the top four Democrats spent more on digital advertising than on television advertising, according to data from Acronym, a progressive nonprofit group, and Advertising Analytics, an ad tracking firm. With the ability to target voters in a much more sophisticated way, generating direct responses or donations, Facebook has become the go-to platform for digital messaging. The ability to see exactly where campaigns are spending their money online, and with what messages theyre driving to which voters, gives us an unprecedented window into a campaign strategy, said Tara McGowan, the founder of Acronym, which provided the Facebook ad data. We can see exactly what voters campaigns are prioritizing and where they see their path to victory. While its likely that voters reached in a given state were geographically targeted by a political campaign, it is also possible that they overlapped with other target audiences in the same area. For example, if a campaign ran an ad to a custom list of its most dedicated supporters, and some of those people lived in Iowa, it could look as if Iowans were specifically targeted, when in fact the ad was meant for a different audience. Tom Steyers campaign ran ads encouraging voters to make $1 donations to his campaign. Source: Facebook The Facebook data also shows how a candidate was able to break through debate qualification thresholds set by the Democratic National Committee. Tom Steyer, the self-funding billionaire with no political experience, has been ubiquitous on the early state airwaves, spending more than $51 million on television, which has helped him climb up the national and early state polling ladder, one of the debate criteria. But the debate qualifications also require a significant amount of individual small-dollar donors, which a television ad cant provide. So Mr. Steyer has blanketed Facebook with ads asking people to donate to his campaign, spending more than $10 million nationally since October. That effort appears to have paid off he has qualified for the past four debates. Similarly, Mr. Yang, who has spent on Facebook ads extensively in the first two states, had strong showings in early-state polling, earning him a spot even on the winnowed debate stage in December. Perhaps even more important than the first four states are the 14 states with primaries on March 3 Super Tuesday. Spending in Super Tuesday states Share of each candidates total Facebook ad spending in the 90 days ending Jan. 11. Charts are ordered by share spent in California. Note: The nine Democratic candidates who spent the most on Facebook ads are shown. | Sources: Acronym, Facebook The Democratic candidates have spent nearly $12 million in those states, and six of them have spent at least 10 percent of their total Facebook ad budget in California the biggest Super Tuesday prize. Among them, Michael R. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who is self-funding his campaign, has poured more than half of his Facebook ad budget into Super Tuesday states, while barely spending anything in the first four states. He spent 17 percent in California alone. His unorthodox campaign strategy is to skip the first four states and try to make a major splash in the Super Tuesday delegate scramble. The decision was made in part because he began his campaign much later than other candidates, and a target of Super Tuesday seemed more in reach, especially with his vast resources, rather than competing with established ground games in Iowa and New Hampshire. Mr. Sanders has also had an outsize focus on California, spending 16 percent of his recent Facebook advertising on the state. His Facebook strategy mirrors the rest of his campaign apparatus in California. He also has 80 staff members in the state among the most of any candidate as of last month and has held the most public events there. This, Ms. McGowan notes, could be in part because California is home to a wide array of liberal activists and donors, and is among the most fertile grounds for campaigns like Mr. Sanderss to build out lists and donor bases. That is often why campaigns advertise aggressively in California and New York, two very liberal states with huge populations. While running TV ads in large cities like Los Angeles is almost prohibitively expensive if a candidate is simultaneously running a ground game in Iowa, Facebook offers a relatively low-cost alternative to begin to look beyond the early states. If you have to buy TV in a place like Los Angeles, youre committing to a really expensive move, and its less targeted because its such a huge, diverse city, said Kenneth Pennington, a founder of Middle Seat, a Democratic digital strategy group and the former digital director for Mr. Sanderss 2016 campaign. On Facebook, youre hitting people that you know are in your persuasion or Get Out the Vote audience, and youre not having to pay for it being a big city. Throughout any campaign, Facebook ads allow campaigns to react much more quickly than they could on television, radio or direct mail. Total spending in early nominating states Total amount spent on Facebook ads in the seven days ending Jan. 11 Sources: Acronym, Facebook Take again Mr. Sanders, and his effort in Nevada. In most polls, Mr. Sanders leads the field in appeal with Hispanic voters. Back in November, when he was trailing Mr. Buttigieg and Mr. Biden in Iowa polling, his campaign began spending more in Nevada, up to $19,000 per week in the two weeks before Thanksgiving. The ads were focused mostly on his Medicare for all plan, and included ads in Spanish. Similarly, Mr. Steyer has focused increasingly on South Carolina as a state where he could make a surprisingly strong stand. At the beginning of December, Mr. Steyers Facebook ads made up a quarter of all political ads running in the state, but other candidates still had a noticeable presence, including Ms. Warren with 12 percent. Midway through the month, Mr. Steyer more than tripled his Facebook ad spending, and by early January was spending $177,000 per week, or 80 percent of the overall money spent on Facebook in South Carolina. The television airwaves were similarly clogged by Mr. Steyer in South Carolina. A recent Fox News poll put Mr. Steyer at 15 percent in the state, a surprising result to some Democrats and good enough for second behind Mr. Biden. This election is the sea change thats making digital the core component of a modern campaign, Ms. McGowan said. Campaigns now recognize the real power of digital advertising to not only grow their email lists and their support bases, but also their ability to drive event attendance and volunteer recruitment and really driving narrative in a competitive primary. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 22:23:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of National Defense hosted a Lunar New Year reception for nearly 260 military attaches and their wives from more than 80 foreign countries on Friday. State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and some senior Chinese military officials attended the reception. The Chinese Lunar New Year falls on Jan. 25 this year. To register her twin daughters for kindergarten a few years ago, Marissa Hoechstetter needed their birth certificates. It had been quite a while since she had last looked closely at them, and when she pulled the papers out, what she saw made her stomach turn, she said. There, on a document that legally and symbolically marked the start of her childrens lives, was the name of a gynecologist in New York City who she said sexually abused her, Robert A. Hadden. I felt sick, Ms. Hoechstetter said. I was like, oh my God. Why is his name there? Her realization ignited a yearslong effort that culminated in a New York City law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, allowing parents to remove a doctors name from their childrens birth certificates, if the doctor has had his or her medical license revoked for misconduct. The legislation stemmed from Ms. Hoechstetters experiences with her doctor, Mr. Hadden, who has been accused by multiple patients of sexual abuse, including Evelyn Yang, whose husband, Andrew Yang, is a Democratic presidential candidate. CEDAR FALLS The Black Hawk County Census 2020 Complete Count Committee has established the Complete Count Census 2020 Fund with the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa. This special project fund will support local marketing and outreach efforts of the 2020 Census. In addition to the creation of the new fund, the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, the Leighty Fund (a fund held with CFNEIA) and the Otto Schoitz Foundation came together to award $5,000 each, for a total of $15,000, in grant funding to bolster local census work. Occurring every 10 years, the census is used to determine each states representation in Congress as well as the distribution of more than $650 billion in federal dollars for vital programs and services in education, health, housing, public safety and transportation. This is the first year the census is available for completion online and by phone. Additional information about the 2020 Census can be found at youcount-bhc.com. Financial gifts to the Complete Count Committees fund are welcome and can be made to the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, 3117 Greenhill Circle, Cedar Falls, IA, 50613. Checks should be made payable to the Complete Count Census 2020 Fund. Gifts can also be made on the Community Foundations secure website at fund.cfneia.org/census2020. Donors to the fund can take advantage of normal federal deductions for charitable gifts. Photos: A girl, a guy and a dog on an epic bike journey Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 New Delhi, Jan 17 : The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to examine, within three months, the representation of BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking establishment of Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) in every tehsil (revenue subdivision) of the country. A bench, headed by Justice N.V. Ramana, said the courts cannot decide on the issue concerning the nature of school to be opened at any location, but it can direct the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to decide on the matter within three months. The petition said: "The low fee structure of Kendriya Vidyalayas will help the poor students in getting a quality education along with an exposure to the competitive world. The establishment of KVs will also encourage the nearby schools to provide a better education as they will face a competition." Upadhyay has challenged the Delhi High Court order and directions needs to be issued to the Centre to set up a KV in each tehsil in the country. In October last year, the Delhi High Court said it is a policy decision, and instead of courts, the government should take a call on it. The plea said there are 5,464 tehsils but only a total of 1,209 KVs. Haiti - News : Zapping... 7 ex-senators complain to the CEP ALOMON (OPL), Dieupie Cherubin (KID), Ronald Lareche (VERITE), Nenel Cassy (FANMI LAVALAS) and Youri Latortue (AAA), lodge a complaint with the Provisional Electoral Council, contesting the decision of President Jovenel Moise to end their mandate. An approach which is not supported by the Senators still stationed in the Upper House. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29760-haiti-flash-the-senators-react.html Croix-des-Bouquets : arrest of 4 armed men Thursday, the National Police of Haiti (PNH) assigned to the Commissariat of the Croix-des-bouquets proceeded to arrest 4 individuals. The first was arrested with an illegal weapon in his possession, the other 3 were arrested in the jumecourt area (Tremblay 1). A total of 2 illegal weapons were seized. Inauguration of the Mombin Crochu / Vallieres road This Friday, January 17 will take place the inauguration of the Mombin Crochu / Vallieres road section (North-East) in the presence of the President of the Republic Jovenel Moise as part of the program called "Louvri wout wo nodes". "Haitians deserve a responsive government" "Haitians deserve a responsive government that meets economic and security needs. Chancellor Bocchit Edmond and I discussed cooperation, regional issues and the need for a political agreement on the formation of the Government and an electoral calendar in Haiti" said Michael G. Kozak, Deputy Secretary ai of the Office Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States Department of State See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29747-haiti-politic-jovenel-moise-will-not-abuse-decrees-says-chancellor-edmond.html The opposition against the dictatorship... The signatories of the opposition to the Marriott agreement https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29254-haiti-politic-transitional-political-agreement-text-of-the-agreement-of-the-opposition.html promise to use all the peaceful means necessary to prevent the reinstatement by Jovenel Moise of the dictatorship in the country, announcing the establishment of a mechanism of permanent concertation allowing to apply the Marriott agreement. The Fusion Party faced the institutional vacuum The Fusion Party of Haitian Social Democrats highlights the need for the executive to adopt provisions to fill the institutional void in parliament, arguing that the 10 senators with large bodies cannot take constitutional action. HL/ HaitiLibre A South Jersey police sergeant was placed on administrative leave following a crash last year for which he was charged with assault by auto and driving while intoxicated, NJ Advance Media has learned. David Aristizabal, of the Pleasantville police in Atlantic County, was charged Nov. 23, court records show - and his police department leadership confirmed in a statement Thursday. Aristizabal, of Egg Harbor Township, was off-duty and driving a four-door Chevrolet pickup when the crash occurred at about 10:45 p.m. in Galloway Township. He was also issued moving violations after the crash including improper turns and reckless driving, municipal court records show. The assault by auto charge is a fourth-degree offense pending in Superior Court, according to that courts records. A pre-indictment conference is scheduled for for Jan. 30. It was unclear Thursday who was injured in the crash. Pleasantville placed Aristizabal, a 15-year veteran, on administrative leave without pay after learning of the charges, according to an emailed statement. Aristizabal is represented by attorney Steven Scheffler, who practices in Egg Harbor Township. A message left at his office Thursday was not immediately returned. Pleasantville police said they are working with the county prosecutors office on an internal investigation, in accordance with state Attorney Generals Office guidelines. Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. tech2 News Staff After the Pixel 3a was launched early last year, we were only looking forward to the Pixel 4a in 2020 right now (and hoping it would be launched in India as well). However, looks like Google has plans for more than just that one mid-ranger Pixel phone. According to a report XDA Developers, three new codenames were found buried in the open-source code for Android sunfish, redfin, and bramble. Reportedly, sunfish is most likely the Pixel 4a. The code also reveals that the device will use Qualcomm Snapdragon 730, which means it can only connect to 4G networks. The code also shows two builds for it, one based on Android 10 and one on Android 11. It will likely be launched with Android 10 and then upgraded to Android 11. Redfin, on the other hand, is a more premium device with Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 powering it. The chipset has built-in 5G, so it may be the premium model among the mid-range Pixel family. This phone is being developed on top of Android 10. The third, bramble, will reportedly also feature Snapdragon 765 chipset, and both Android 10 and Android 11 variants were spotted in the AOSP repository. Notably, though, according to another post by Android Central, this news must be taken with a grain of salt as apart from Pixel devices, Google apparently also gives fish-based codenames to its internal development models for testing. "Any or all of the devices referenced in the company's code could just be prototypes made for its labs only." In this weeks Corporate Buzz podcast, host Keerthana Tiwari catches up with Moneycontrol Corporate Bureau Chief Prince Thomas to find out the top news from the corporate world. Thomas first discusses the Air Asia case, in which the Enforcement Directorate has summoned CEO Tony Fernandes due to alleged violation of FEMA rules. He gives an insight into the AGR telecom case as Supreme Court dismisses the review plea submitted by telecom companies. In the pharma sector, Wockhardt becomes the first Indian company to get a nod for two novel antibiotics. Lastly, Thomas talks about the Bajaj Chetak, the most-talked-about electric scooter which was launched on January 14. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas met Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi - via REUTERS Libyan strongman General Khalifa Haftar has agreed to abide by a ceasefire and said he was ready to participate in an international conference in Berlin on Sunday, Germany's foreign minister said. Libya's UN-recognised government in Tripoli has been under attack since April from Gen Haftar's forces, with clashes killing more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displacing tens of thousands. The leaders of the North African state's warring factions were in Moscow early this week at talks aimed at finalising a ceasefire orchestrated by Russia and Turkey. "During my visit to Libya today, General Haftar made clear: He wants to contribute to the success of the Libyan conference in Berlin and is in principle ready to participate in it. He has agreed to abide by the ongoing ceasefire," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted after talks in Benghazi. After the Moscow talks, Gen Haftar had walked away without signing the permanent truce, sparking fears about the shaky ceasefire. A fighter loyal to Libya's UN-backed government on the outskirts of Tripoli Credit: REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic Mr Maas had travelled to meet Gen Haftar in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi - one of the general's strongholds - in a bid to persuade him to join in the peace initiative. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, welcomed the news, and said the conference must try to get a weapons embargo enforced again. "It is a good message that he is willing to keep to the ceasefire," Mrs Merkel said at a news conference with the Croatian prime minister on Thursday. The trip came days after Mr Maas spoke with Gen Haftar's rival Fayez al-Sarraj, who serves as head of the UN-recognised government in Tripoli. Separately in Tripoli, Mr Sarraj announced he would attend the Berlin talks held under the auspices of the United Nations. The battle over Tripoli is the latest unrest to wrack Libya since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Since then, Libya has been caught up in fighting between rival armed factions, including Islamist militants. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 12:29:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- UN Chief Economist Elliott Harris said Thursday that the signing of the phase-one economic and trade agreement between China and the United States is a positive sign and helps reduce some of the uncertainties. "Progress in achieving agreement to resolve some of the simmering trade disputes is a positive sign, and it will reduce some of the uncertainties that have been plaguing investment, and will certainly lead to a resuscitation of some of the trade flows," said Harris at a press conference launching the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020 at the UN headquarters in New York. "And we hope that it is strong enough to counter some of the decline and weaknesses we've seen in the global economy over the last couple of years," said the Harris, who is also UN assistant secretary-general for economic development. Calling the agreement part of the progress relative to the current situation, Harris, however, cautioned "not to assume that that has resolved all of the problems." "We would caution against thinking that this is a positive development in all respects," he said. China and the United States formally signed their phase-one economic and trade agreement in Washington on Wednesday, with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. President Donald Trump inking the papers in the White House. The latest UN WESP expected a global growth of 2.5 percent in 2020, but meanwhile warned of a flare-up of trade tensions, financial turmoil, or an escalation of geopolitical tensions, which would derail a recovery. The UC Clermont College Poetry Series will welcome two authors to the colleges Batavia campus this spring. Author Katy Didden will visit the college Feb. 12. Didden is the author of The Glaciers Wake (Pleiades Press, 2013). Didden has a PhD in English and Creative Writing from the University of Missouri, and her poems and essays appear in journals such as Poetry Northwest, Ecotone, Poetry, 32 Poems and The Kenyon Review. A former Hodder fellow at Princeton University, she is currently an assistant professor at Ball State University. Didden will be on campus Feb. 12 for a Q&A with the author at 9:05 a.m., followed by a reading and reception at 10:10 a.m. in the UC Clermont Park National Bank Art Gallery, and a writing workshop at 11:15 a.m. Then on April 8, UC Clermont will welcome poet Lindsay Lusby. Lusbys debut poetry collection Catechesis: A Postpastoral (2019) won the 2018 Agha Shahid Ali Poetry Prize from the University of Utah Press, judged by renowned poet Kimiko Hahn. She is also the author of two chapbooks, Blackbird Whitetail Redhand (Porkbelly Press, 2018) and Imago (Dancing Girl Press, 2014) and the winner of the 2015 Fairy Tale Review Poetry Contest. Her poems have appeared most recently in The Cincinnati Review, Passages North, The Account, North Dakota Quarterly and Tinderbox Poetry Journal. Lusby will be on campus April 8 for a Q&A with the author at 9:05 a.m., followed by a master class on publishing a literary journal at 11:15 a.m., and a reading, reception and book signing in the UC Clermont Library at 1:25 p.m. The UC Clermont Poetry Series has been bringing local and national poets to the college for more than 10 years to read from their work, talk with audiences and conduct master classes, said Phoebe Reeves, professor of English. Were all looking forward to hearing the poems and writing advice of these two exciting contemporary poets. As always, we warmly invite the local community to join us at these events. All Poetry Series events are open to the public. UC Clermont is located at 4200 Clermont College Drive, Batavia, Ohio 45103. Bhubaneswar, Jan 17 : Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Friday alleged that the Central government has enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to harass the minorities in the country. "There was no need to bring the CAA in the country. Because, the central government already has provision to accord citizenship to a person," said Singh while addressing mediapersons here. He said the CAA is the first step and the second step will be National Register of Citizens (NRC). This is meant to divert attention from issues like economic slowdown and unemployment, he added. Singh said the Narendra Modi government has failed in fulfilling the promises it had made to the people in the last six years. While there is an economic slowdown and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is decreasing in the country, the central government has failed to generate employment opportunities for the people, he said. Moreover, the government has started retrenching people from the public sector undertakings, said Singh. Attacking the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), he said there is a deep-rooted understanding between Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. "There is an understanding between Modi and Odisha Chief Minister, which is there in Odisha that you go your way and we go our way. But when it comes to voting in the Parliament, you support BJP. Therefore, there is a deep-rooted understanding between the BJP and the BJD," said the senior Congress leader. He said only 5T secretary V. Karthikeyan Pandian has the access to the Chief Minister while the MLAs and Ministers have no access to him. "Is it a democracy or autocracy?" he asked. He said that the 5T secretary has taken control of all the departments. Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- California Water Service Group (Group) (CWT) and its subsidiaries donated more than $1.25 million to local non-profits, community organizations, and other philanthropic entities in 2019, exceeding 2018 contributions by an estimated $250,000. Last years increase was mostly due to California Water Services inaugural Firefighter Grant Program, which was created to support the needs of local fire departments. The utility also donated $70,000 to the Salvation Army of Oroville for a mobile kitchen trailer that could provide food to natural disaster evacuees. An additional $75,000 was pledged to the Butte Humane Society to help build a new, critical animal wellness facility. Other contributions made in California, Washington, Hawaii, and New Mexico supported charitable groups by providing funding for food, shelter, and resources to those in need, including the Visalia Emergency Aid Council, Bakersfield Homeless Center, Habitat for Humanity, and Homeless Backpacks, Inc. The utility also provided college scholarships totally $60,000 to 22 local students. In addition to making financial contributions, employees also volunteered their time with non-profits, including the Boys & Girls Club of Monterey County, Second Harvest Food Bank, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Toys for Tots, United Way, Dixon Family Services, and American Cancer Society, among many other organizations. The contributions, which are used to help improve the quality of life in the communities the utility serves, are part of the Groups philanthropic giving program and do not affect customers rates. Our commitment to providing quality, service, and value to our customers means not only delivering safe, reliable water to the tap, but also caring about our communities, said President and CEO Martin A. Kropelnicki. By giving back, we are able to enhance the quality of life in our communities. About California Water Service Group California Water Service Group is the parent company of California Water Service, Washington Water Service, New Mexico Water Service, Hawaii Water Service, CWS Utility Services, and HWS Utility Services. Together, these companies provide regulated and non-regulated water service to more than 2 million people in California, Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii. California Water Service Groups common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CWT. Additional information is available online at www.calwatergroup.com . HOUSTON, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In December, Ryan Companies, along with Page and BBVA USA, announced their plans to build a 60-story, 770-foot-tall multi-use tower in downtown Austin. BBVA currently conducts business operations on the site and expects to continue in a new 4,000 square-foot space upon project completion. Last month, the bank also announced that it was one of a few companies that participated in the beta testing period for Yext Answers, a new natural language processing search engine that businesses can embed in their own websites and use to provide brand-verified answers. The search engine product now available is integrated into BBVA USA's website to help customers get the answers needed for their financial journey. Also, in December, the BBVA Foundation wrapped up the seventh year of its signature holiday initiative, Project Blue Elf. In collaboration with its nonprofit partners from across the bank's footprint, the BBVA Foundation hosted 26 holiday events across 23 markets to recognize more than 1,000 individuals and families participating in its financial education program. Presented below are articles and news from December 2019 that were posted on the bank's online newsroom ; global media platform, bbva.com ; and financial education blog, MoneyFit . Corporate News BBVA USA takes part in new multi-use tower in downtown Austin BBVA USA joined Ryan Companies and Page in announcing their plans to build a 60 floor multi-use tower in Austin's Central Business District. "BBVA's mission of creating opportunities and its commitment to the places it calls home is epitomized in this project," said BBVA USA Austin CEO Jon Rebello. "Our involvement in this landmark project will enhance our ability to serve our Austin clients." BBVA USA named the 2019 CX Leader for U.S. Commercial Middle Market Banking by Greenwich Associates BBVA USA has been named as a 2019 CX Leader for U.S. Commercial Middle Market Banking Greenwich Associates, a research-based financial consulting firm. The firm recognizes the bank for building and implementing a detailed customer experience program that identifies and addresses issues. BBVA USA named one of GOBankingRates' Best Regional Banks of 2020 BBVA USA was named one of the Best Regional Banks of 2020 by GOBankingRates, an online resource that helps consumers find the best financial products nationwide. The listing highlighted BBVA's free checking account options and 12-month CD rate, as well as its fee-free ATM access for higher level checking accounts. BBVA USA appoints Heather Pesikoff as Senior Trust Advisor and Head of Specialized Trust Services Pesikoff, a 20-year veteran in the asset management, tax and estate planning and trust services industry, will be responsible for the management of all fiduciary and trust activity, a key facet of BBVA Investment Services Market Spotlight BBVA USA promotes long-time employee and leader Susana Valencia to the position of Texas Border and Gulf Coast CEO BBVA USA announced that Susana Valencia has been named its Texas Border and Gulf Coast CEO. Her responsibilities include overseeing commercial banking operations in Beaumont, El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley, Corpus Christi and Laredo, a market where she previously served as Laredo City President. A Q&A with BBVA USA's new Austin CEO, Jon Rebello In November 2019, BBVA USA appointed Jon Rebello as its new Austin CEO, taking over a booming market in both the digital and economic landscape. With an eclectic market to oversee, and an experienced team behind him, Rebello is more than ready to make the jump from his previous position of Texas Border and Gulf Coast CEO. BBVA USA Jacksonville Market CEO Nelson Bradshaw named to second FDFC term BBVA USA Jacksonville Market CEO Nelson Bradshaw was named by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to serve a second term in the Florida Development Finance Corporation. Bradshaw, who serves as the organization's treasurer, was one of four members announced and the only returning member. BBVA USA gives $30,000 in grants to Jacksonville nonprofits working to promote small business and entrepreneurship BBVA USA provided $10,000 grants to three nonprofits in Jacksonville who are focused on growth and development of small business and entrepreneurship. The $30,000 brings the bank's 2019 grant total in the Jacksonville area to over $180,000. BBVA USA announces the addition of five business bankers to its Houston Commercial Emerging Markets team BBVA USA, in its continued commitment to creating opportunities for the area's business landscape, added five veteran bankers to its Houston Commercial Emerging Markets team. The new hires are comprised of experienced banking professionals with diverse backgrounds in the industry, ranging from commercial lending, credit analysis, retail, and auto lending, among other areas. Digital Banking & Innovation Revolutionizing customer experience across industries with BBVA Open Platform In this article, BBVA USA President and CEO Javier Rodriguez Soler shares insight on how the bank is enhancing the customer experience not only in the banking sector, but across industries. With BBVA Open Platform, companies can leverage the bank's API-driven banking and payment services under their own brand to create innovative solutions for customers. Got a question? BBVA USA search has the (right) answer. Search engine tech company Yext has created a natural language processing search engine that businesses can embed in their own websites. BBVA USA was one of a few companies across all industries that participated in the beta period for Yext Answers. With Yext Answers' natural and predictive search capabilities integrated in BBVA USA's website, the bank can better serve up brand-verified answers for customers' questions. Forbes "100 Stats on Digital Transformation and Customer Experience" reflects BBVA's own digital transformation In a recent Forbes article, contributor Blake Morgan shared 100 stats that demonstrate the growth and importance of digital transformation and its impact on customer experience. At the heart of its own digital transformation, BBVA has been continuously focused on blending human relationships and the digital experience. Responsible Business A decade of service: AFP and BBVA team up once again For the tenth consecutive year, BBVA USA sponsored the Association for Financial Professionals' annual community service day project, AFP Aware 2019's projects aimed to uplift the Boston community. BBVA Momentum winner named to Forbes magazine list of 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs Laura Hertz of Gifts for Good recently won first place in the 2019 edition of BBVA USA's social entrepreneur accelerator program, BBVA Momentum. Adding to her list of accomplishments, Hertz was recently recognized by Forbes in its list of 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs for 2020. Economic Research BBVA Research releases U.S. Recession Risk Monitor BBVA Research released its U.S. Recession Risk Monitor, noting that the probability of a recession within the coming 12 months (from December 2019) is at a one-year low, with the likelihood at 30 percent. BBVA Research releases U.S. Oil Prices Outlook BBVA Research released its U.S. Oil Prices Outlook, highlighting the expectation that oil production will expand further in 2020, though at a slower pace. Resource Articles What is a CDFI? Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) are private institutions dedicated to facilitating economic growth, job creation and opportunity in low-income communities through credit, investment and affordable financial services. BBVA has provided support and funding for CDFIs, recently reaching $100 million in CDFI investments. Can you be successful in the gig economy? More and more Americans are working on a contract, short-term basis for a variety of customers, rather than working on a long-term basis for one employer. Despite the challenges, millions of Americans are making their living as gig workers. Interested in joining the gig economy? In this article, we provide a checklist to help you. The benefits of multiple accounts at a single bank There are a few reasons that people maintain multiple accounts, including organization, goal-setting and earnings rates. If you share finances with a partner or other person, privacy and independence could also come into play. When is the best time to buy a car? Buying a car is complex enough there are financing options to consider, models to take into account, gas mileage, safety, budget, among other aspects. However, what could help you in your quest for a quality automobile is figuring out exactly when the best time of year is to purchase a car. Investments: What is asset allocation? Investors often spread their resources over various types of investments such as stocks, bonds, cash accounts and mutual funds. Rather than picking each investment on its own, thoughtful investors tend to look at their holdings as a whole, building portfolios that match their personal goals, life stage, time frame and tolerance for financial risk known as asset allocation. Financial Fundamentals: Understanding retirement planning Most financial experts agree that retirement planning is the most important financial planning you can do. Even so, there are still many Americans who have no retirement savings and many others who don't have enough. Understanding the different types of retirement savings accounts can be extremely helpful as you start to plan for the future. In this article, we provide some of the most common types of accounts. For more BBVA news visit, www.bbva.com and the U.S. Newsroom . Additional news updates can be found via Twitter and Instagram . For more financial information about BBVA Compass, visit bbvausa.investorroom.com . About BBVA BBVA Group BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a strong leadership position in the Spanish market, is the largest financial institution in Mexico, it has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States. It is also the leading shareholder in Turkey's Garanti BBVA. Its purpose is to bring the age of opportunities to everyone, based on our customers' real needs: provide the best solutions, helping them make the best financial decisions, through an easy and convenient experience. The institution rests in solid values: Customer comes first, we think big and we are one team. Its responsible banking model aspires to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable society. BBVA USA In the U.S., BBVA is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 641 branches, including 330 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 63 in Arizona, 61 in California, 44 in Florida, 37 in Colorado and 17 in New Mexico. The bank ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (6th). In the U.S., BBVA has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and ranked 8th nationally in terms of dollar volume of SBA loans originated in fiscal year 2018. SOURCE BBVA USA Related Links www.bbva.com Kuldip Kumar & Chader Talreja We are in the last quarter of the current financial year and this is when most taxpayers start focusing on their tax-saving investments, as they are required to submit the proof of such investments to their employers to avoid excess withholding of taxes from their pay. While tax saving is not the only consideration for investments, it is an important consideration nonetheless. Timely investments are also necessary for the improvement of the returns on the investments made. It is also important to select the appropriate mode of investment so that ones own financial goals are met, and any future monetary requirements are covered. The Income-tax Act, 1961, contains provisions for several tax exemptions and deductions. This article highlights some important exemptions/deductions and how one can make use of them. LTA/HRA exemption If you are a salaried taxpayer, do not forget to submit the proof of your leave travel allowance (LTA) claim to your employer. LTA exemption is allowed twice in a block of four calendar years for travel undertaken within India for self and family, while on leave. The current running block for LTA exemption claims is 20182021. If you are receiving house rent allowance (HRA) from your employer and paying rent, you can claim exemption for the same. If the rent paid is more than Rs 50,000 a month, dont forget to deduct taxes at 5 per cent on the rent paid during the year. Such deduction should be made from the rent paid in the last month of the financial year or the last month of the tenancy (if the property is vacated during the year). In case the landlord is a non-resident, you will need to calculate the withholding at normal rates (30 per cent plus applicable surcharge [if any] and education cess). Failure to do so will attract penal consequences. In case you are not getting HRA and paying rent, you can still claim deduction under Section 80GG, up to a maximum of Rs 60,000. Investments under Section 80C Section 80C of the Income-tax Act is the most commonly understood section by taxpayers, as it allows for deduction of up to Rs 150,000 for the various investments/expenses incurred. Before you make any investments and declare them under Section 80C, first ascertain the expenditure/investments you have already incurred that will get you tax benefits. For example, you may be contributing to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), paying life insurance premiums, paying for the tuition fee for the full-time education of your children, and repaying your housing loan. All these expenses/investments are eligible for tax deduction. But if the limit of Rs 150,000 is still not reached despite all your expenses/investments, you can choose from the other investment options available to make full use of Section 80C. You may invest in the Public Provident Fund (PPF), purchase National Savings Certificates (NSCs), increase your contribution towards your EPF, begin term deposits of five years with banks or post offices, and invest in schemes such as equity-linked saving schemes and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana. Your investments must be made in a manner that helps you to reach your financial goals. National Pension Scheme (NPS) NPS is an attractive investment option that not only helps in saving taxes, but also ensures a comfortable retirement. Employers can contribute up to 10 per cent of employees basic salary towards NPS. The contribution is eligible for deduction under section 80CCD (2). Not only is your own contribution eligible for deduction under section 80C, but there is also additional deduction available of up to Rs 50,000 under section 80CCD (1B). Health insurance Employers generally provide health insurance cover for their employees, and occasionally for their families as well. But in case your family or parents are not covered, taking a top-up option will help you insure your family and get you tax benefits. Under Section 80D, tax deduction of up to Rs 25,000 can be claimed for the health insurance of self, spouse and dependent children. An additional deduction of up to Rs 25,000 (Rs 50,000, in the case of senior citizens) can be claimed for parents as well. If you have incurred any medical expenditure for your senior citizen parents and they are not covered under any health insurance scheme, you can claim a deduction of up to Rs 50,000. Tax break on interest paid on educational loans If you have taken an educational loan to pursue higher studies (a full-time graduate or postgraduate course) for self, spouse or children, you can claim tax deduction on the interest paid on such loans under Section 80E. The deduction is available for a maximum of eight years, beginning with the first year of payment of interest and seven subsequent years or till the last year the interest is paid whichever is earlier. Deduction on interest paid on housing loans In case you have taken a loan to purchase or construct a house, tax deduction can be availed on the interest paid (of up to Rs 200,000) during the repayment of such a loan, in case the house is self-occupied. If the house is let out, the entire interest on the home loan can be considered as a deduction. If after such deduction, the net income results in a loss, the same can be adjusted against the income from other sources, including salary. However, such set-off is restricted to Rs 200,000 only and the remaining loss can be carried forward for eight years, to be adjusted against future income from the house. First-time home buyers can avail additional deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh in a year, under Section 80EEA. This deduction is applicable for housing loans taken for acquisition of residential house property between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, provided the stamp duty value of the residential house property does not exceed Rs 45 lakh. Donation to charitable organisations If you have donated to any charitable organisation during the financial year, dont forget to obtain the receipt for the same. You can claim tax deduction under Section 80G for up to 100 per cent/50 per cent of the amount donated, depending on the approved institution/authority. Tax deduction on purchase of electrical vehicles If you bought your first electric vehicle (EV) by taking a loan from a financial institution, the interest to be paid on such a loan is tax-deductible under Section 80EEB up to Rs 150,000, and is subject to fulfilment of certain conditions. The importance of timing Taxpayers should plan their investments at the beginning of the financial year, rather than investing during the last few months of the year. The interest earned on many investments such as EPF, PPF or the return from NPS is exempt from tax. If you make early investments, your invested amount starts to earn tax-free returns and also get you tax benefits for the investment made in a particular financial year. (Kumar is Partner & Leader and Talreja is Executive Director Personal Tax, PwC India. The views expressed in this article are personal) Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,, center, speaks as fellow candidates businessman Tom Steyer, from left, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. listen, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, during a Democratic presidential primary debate hosted by CNN and the Des Moines Register in Des Moines, Iowa. Read more Although foreign policy has hardly figured in the Democratic primaries, the impeachment trial reminds us its time to look at which Trump opponent would make the best commander in chief. Almost any candidate would be preferable to a president who disgraces his office by trying to blackmail a foreign leader into investigating his Democratic opponent. And Trumps second demand of Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky to pursue a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, hacked Democrats emails in 2016 was even scarier, because it reveals a man totally susceptible to Kremlin propaganda. So, yes, the restoration of honor and rationality to the White House is the most essential prerequisite for the next commander in chief. But the killing of Irans Gen. Qassem Soleimani reminds us that this job also requires good judgment and strategic thinking about impacts that will reverberate far longer than any presidents term. READ MORE: After Soleimani killing, how does this Iran war end?I Trudy Rubin It was timely, then, that the latest Democratic primary debate in Iowa finally discussed foreign policy due to intensified tensions with Tehran. What emerged was sketchy, but a necessary start toward clarifying candidates differences from one another and from a president who views foreign policy as a vehicle for self-promotion. As became clear, any of the Democratic candidates would work to repair frayed relations with allies and revive the use of diplomacy, with an eye to resuscitating a degraded State Department. Any Democrat would make fighting climate change an essential part of diplomacy. Any Democrat would include protections for workers in trade agreements (as they successfully pressed for in the new trade agreement with Mexico). And all called for U.S. combat troops to wholly or mostly quit the Middle East and Afghanistan, with much of the discussion over how quickly theyd leave. Their performances left me with some preferences on their foreign-policy chops but some serious doubts. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders I admire Sanders passion and prescience in voting against the Iraq war. But with his justified urge to rebuild America and stop endless wars, I think he underestimates the foreign-policy challenges hed face. His stress on bringing the world together to resolve international conflict diplomatically sounds good. But Trumps use of force backed by no diplomacy cant be replaced by diplomacy backed by no force. Similarly, Warren, was (rightly) eager to talk about the need to renew congressional authorization for the use of force before making war. But when asked whether there were any circumstances in which shed take military action without that approval short of direct attack, she was vague. Her righteous passion to fight corporate greed seems to absorb her far more than interest in Americas future global role. Both those progressive candidates are responding to a U.S. (and Iowan) mood that displays far more interest in the home front, whose renewal will be an essential component of national security. Yet we are entering an era of frontal competition with China and a vengeful Russia, including technology and space, that will require a commander in chief to possess foreign-policy skills and focus. The focus of Sanders and Warren lies elsewhere. Joe Biden The good news is that Biden, a well-known quantity, would restore decency to the White House. He would stand up proudly for American pluralism and democracy as an alternative to the autocracies Trump loves. Biden is more measured about troop withdrawals than the progressives, arguing that special forces (but not combat troops) must be left abroad to counter terrorism. However, under Sanders criticism, he bragged about directing the pullout of all U.S. troops from Iraq as vice president. I believe the final pullout in 2011 was a mistake, helping ISIS take over swathes of Syria and northern Iraq. Similarly, if the Iraqi government could be quietly convinced, I think it would be better to leave some troops in Iraq. What worries me most about Biden is his level of energy and concentration, so droopy on the Iowa stage. Is he up to the challenge? Not at all clear. READ MORE: Trump's Impeachment defense based on lies about Ukraine I Trudy Rubin Amy Klobuchar Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar impressed me with her internationalism of the heartland (an apt phrase coined by fellow columnist David Ignatius when he interviewed her several years ago). Klobuchar is energetic and detailed about how she would try to renew nuclear talks with Iran with the aid of European allies. She speaks of rebuilding Asian alliances to double-team China on North Korea talks and on trade. She is also thoughtful on how to withdraw troops, and which forces to leave in place. And she talks clearly of how she would restore Americas moral authority and image abroad, after Trump has aligned our country with the forces of corruption and authoritarianism. If Biden falters, Klobuchar deserves more attention as a potential commander in chief with energy and vision. (Ive skipped Pete Buttigieg because I think his chances for the nomination are zero). But, to repeat, any of the Democratic candidates would bring more honor and principles to this role than President Trump. The owners of Northern Ireland cafe business Synge & Byrne are scouting for the chain's first location in the Republic as they seek to Brexit-proof their business. Director and co-owner Adrian Garvey said the chain hopes to open its first outlet there by the second quarter of this year, and will target regional and commuter towns for expansion. Synge & Byrne has seven outlets in Northern Ireland, in towns and cities including Belfast, Newry, Derry and Dungannon. In 2018, a number of stores owned by the brothers were temporarily closed in the wake of an investigation by the UK's Revenue & Customs that involved a raid by as many as 120 revenue officers. The outlets reopened within days. Solicitors for the pair said the probe related to accounting technicalities and that the brothers were confident they would be vindicated. Adrian Garvey said the matter continues to be the subject of discussion between BWL Group's accountants and Revenue & Customs. Mr Garvey, who runs the business with his brother Damien, said that the chain had put expansion in Northern Ireland on hold in the last few years due to a more subdued business environment there. He said that finding staff in Northern Ireland also remains difficult, although with near full-employment in the Republic, the chain is likely to encounter similar difficulties here. He confirmed the company's plan was always to expand into the Republic. "That's where the growth is for the future," he said. Mr Garvey added that Synge & Byrne believes growth will be in what he called "community cafes", that have deep local roots and which become focal points in the towns and villages in which they operate. "We have done very little in Northern Ireland in the last two years," he said, citing business uncertainty here. "But you have to move on from that." He said that around Dublin, Synge & Byrne would steer away from locating premises inside the M50 due to the higher costs associated with stores closer to the city. The Garveys, whose BWL Group also operates the O'Brien's Sandwich Bars chain in Northern Ireland, developed the Synge & Byrne concept in 2013 and initially opened three outlets with plans for almost 20 by 2018. The group is the latest company in Northern Ireland to reveal its plans for 'Brexit-proofing'. This week Co Londonderry company MCL InsureTech announced it would be opening premises in Swords, Co Dublin, to service its 900,000-strong customer base in the Republic. The Coleraine-based firm, which is behind brands Its4women, 25Plus and BoxyMo, said the move would Brexit-proof its business. The company had been servicing around 70m of gross written premium in the Republic from Coleraine for the last 10 years. But MCL said it is switching support for its customers over the border to the north Co Dublin town after receiving regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Ireland. FLINT, MI Members of the Flint Community Schools Board of Education said they cannot agree to close any district schools in face of millions of dollars of structural deficit. The five present board members concurred at a Thursday, Jan 16, special board meeting that they do not support the closure of any schools. Council members Blake Strozier and Carol McIntosh were not present at the meeting. The board must reach a decision on how to cut around $5 million of yearly operational expenses by February in accordance with its enhanced deficit elimination plan. In addition to the cost reductions, the district hopes voters will pass a $30 million bond proposal and sinking fund renewal. Superintendent Derrick Lopez urged the board to continue considering action to consolidate buildings or reduce spending to meet the districts plan. During the meeting, he emphasized that if no decision is reached, reductions could be far more severe in the hands of the states Department of Treasury. I think its important for us as a community to be in a self-determination space and not to have someone come in and tell us what to do, Lopez said. Making fiscally responsible decisions now will affect funding in the future, he said. Its important for us to be fiscally responsible and self-determined in this work, Lopez said. Lopez suggested a compromise, proposing the closure of only Northwestern and Scott, which eliminates Eisenhower and Pierce from his originally proposed closure list. Flints Eisenhower Elementary School taken off possible closure list This would mean the district would only have to find an additional $899,000 in the budget to reduce in order to reach its enhanced deficit elimination plan, he said. If Scott closed, Lopez suggested moving its students into Southwestern Classical Academy which would operate as a school within a school between two halves of the building. Discussion will continue at a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan 23. The board will meet an hour earlier to see a presentation on the recently approved bond proposal and sinking fund renewal the district is asking voters to pass March 10. A Thursday, Jan. 30 meeting is tentatively planned for the board to vote on the plan. The administration building should be up for consideration for closure, Board Vice President Diana Wright said, adding that every time a school has closed in a district, students were lost to other schools. I am tired of planning the demise of our district, Wright said. While the board has sworn to be fiscally responsible, Wright said it also needs to make the right decisions for the kids. She believes this means the board should not close any schools. Multiple residents spoke during public comment before and after board discussion, asking that schools remain open. Most were there to advocate for Pierce Elementary School. The board and community also echoed a desire for further support from the state of Michigan and the Genesee Intermediate Schools District Im going to make my decisions based on what my constituents have asked me to, Wright said. When a school closes, a community becomes devastated, councilwoman Vera Perry said. She spoke of living in the Civic Park Neighborhood, where a school closed in 2010. I swear it looks like a bomb hit second ward, she said of the neighborhood following the closure of the school. The board asked Lopez for further information on possible reductions in the coming board meetings, which he said he would provide. Lopez has said a $5.7 million yearly deficit accumulated by the district is due to two things: legacy debt (about $2.1 million per year) and inflated special education costs (about $3.6 million per year). Legacy debt began with a loan taken out by the district after it found itself in a $21.9 million deficit in 2014. It will cost the district $2.1 million a year through 2038, Lopez said at the November meeting. He said the yearly amount paid on the debt equates to about $450 per student. The district still owes $18.4 million on the 2014 loan. It pays about $920,000 just in interest, he said. The district is also facing a 25-30 percent student population special education rate, over two times the state average, Lopez said. Students with Individualized Education Program needs cost 1.5 to two times more than a student without these needs, he said. Bhim Army Chief Chandrasekhar Azad holds a copy of the Constitution during a protest against Citizenship Amendment Act at Jama Masjid in New Delhi on Friday. Azad, who has been accused of inciting people during an anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid on December 20, on Friday moved court seeking modification of the conditions imposed on him by a Delhi court while granting him bail in the case. (Photo: PTI) Kolkata: West Bengal BJP president and MP from Midnapore Dilip Ghosh said on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would give barely four months time to the people to apply for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He said at a rally in support of the CAA in Howrah that no documents would be required for applying for citizenship under the CAA. Ghosh, however, made it clear that each person from Bangladesh living in India would be mandated to fill up the CAA form. Ghosh said, Modiji will give three-four months time. You have to fill up the forms according to the CAA. No documents will be required. You will only state the date you entered India and mention your fathers name with the address say Saatkhira (Bangladesh). This is the proof. No other document and attestation will be needed. Aadhaar card or voter card is not the citizenship, he added. Taking a dig at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the BJP MP, who has become the state party chief for the second time, alleged, Didi is saying: Do not fill up the forms. Never fall prey to her ploy. Ask those businessmen who did not register themselves in the GST and had to pay fines later. An attempt is being made to fool Bengalis. You will become an Indian citizen from the date you would state in the form. Someone might have come in 1975, others in 1980 and 1985. You will state the date of your arrival correctly. Those who have come here till December 31, 2014 will be awarded citizenship. So your word is the last word. Lashing out at Trinamul Congress for their anti-CAA protests, he argued, They are scaring people saying the dates of birth of parents would be asked for. It would not be sought. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 10:49:07|Editor: ZX Video Player Close CHICAGO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A pickup truck on Thursday crashed into a Starbucks in U.S. state of Illinois, injuring several people and seriously damaging the coffee shop. Five people -- the driver and four people in the shop -- were injured. Three of them were transported to the hospital, two of them in critical condition. Police said that the truck was traveling westbound when it ran off the roadway in the city of McHenry, about 80 km northwest of Chicago, and collided with the building. Investigation was underway to determine the cause. (Newser) In his first Friday sermon in Tehran in eight years, Iran's supreme leader said President Trump is a "clown" who only pretends to support the Iranian people but will "push a poisonous dagger" into their backs. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the mass funerals for Iran's top general, who was killed in a US airstrike earlier this month, show that the Iranian people support the Islamic Republic despite its recent trials. He said the "cowardly" killing of Soleimani had taken out the most effective commander in the battle against ISIS. Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting US troops in Iraq in response, and Khamenei said that strike dealt a "blow to America's image" as a superpower. In part of the sermon delivered in Arabic, he said the "real punishment" would be in forcing the US to withdraw from the Middle East. story continues below As Iran's Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Khamenei called the shootdown of the plane a "bitter accident" that saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. He also lashed out at Western countries, saying they are too weak to "bring Iranians to their knees." He said Britain, France, and Germany, which this week triggered a dispute mechanism to try and bring Iran back into compliance with the unraveling 2015 nuclear agreement, were "contemptible" governments and "servants" of the United States. He said Iran was willing to negotiatebut not with the US. (Iran has denied shooting at protesters outraged by the shooting down of the plane.) A "cold Neptune" and two potentially habitable worlds are part of a cache of five newly discovered exoplanets and eight exoplanet candidates found orbiting nearby red dwarf stars, which are reported in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series by a team led by Carnegie's Fabo Feng and Paul Butler. The two potentially habitable planets are orbiting GJ180 and GJ229A, which are among the nearest stars to our own Sun, making them prime targets for observations by next-generation space- and land-based telescopes. They are both super-Earths with at least 7.5 and 7.9 times our planet's mass and orbital periods of 106 and 122 days respectively. The Neptune-mass planet--found orbiting GJ433 at a distance at which surface water is likely to be frozen--is probably the first of its kind that is a realistic candidate for future direct imaging. "GJ 433 d is the nearest, widest, and coldest Neptune-like planet ever detected," Feng added. The newfound worlds were discovered using the radial velocity method for finding planets, which takes advantage of the fact that not only does a star's gravity influence the planet orbiting it, but the planet's gravity also affects the star in turn. This creates tiny wobbles in the star's orbit that can be detected using advanced instruments. Due to their lower mass, red dwarfs are the primary class of stars around which terrestrial mass planets can be found using this technique. Cooler and smaller than our Sun, red dwarfs--also called M dwarfs--are the most common stars in the galaxy and the primary class of stars known to host terrestrial planets. What's more, compared to other types of stars, red dwarfs can host planets at the right temperature to have liquid water on their surfaces on much closer orbits than those found in this so-called "habitable zone" around other types of stars. "Many planets that orbit red dwarfs in the habitable zone are tidally locked, meaning that the period at which they spin around their axes is the same as the period at which they orbit their host star. This is similar to how our Moon is tidally locked to Earth, meaning that we only ever see one side of it from here. As a result, these exoplanets are a very cold permanent night on one side and very hot permanent day on the other--not good for habitability," explained lead author Feng. "GJ180d is the nearest temperate super-Earth to us that is not tidally locked to its star, which probably boosts its likelihood of being able to host and sustain life." The other potentially habitable planet, GJ229Ac is the nearest temperate super-Earth to us located in a system in which the host star has a brown dwarf companion. Sometimes called failed stars, brown dwarfs are not able to sustain hydrogen fusion. The brown dwarf in this system, GJ229B, was one of the first brown dwarfs to be imaged. It is not known if they can host exoplanets on their own, but this planetary system is a perfect case study for how exoplanets form and evolve in a star-brown dwarf binary system. "Our discovery adds to the list of planets that can potentially be directly imaged by the next generation of telescopes," Feng said. "Ultimately, we are working toward the goal of being able to determine if planets orbiting nearby stars host life." "We eventually want to build a map of all of the planets orbiting the nearest stars to our own Solar System, especially those that are potentially habitable," added Carnegie co-author Jeff Crane. This research effort--which also included Carnegie's Steve Shectman, John Chambers, Sharon Wang, Johanna Teske, Matias Diaz, and Ian Thompson, as well as Steve Vogt of U.C. Santa Cruz, Hugh Jones of University of Hertfordshire and Jennifer Burt of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory--culled and reanalyzed data from the European Southern Observatory's Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph survey of 33 nearby red dwarf stars, which operated from 2000 to 2007 and was released in 2009. "We have been led to this result by antique data," joked Butler. Once targets were discovered in the UVES archives, the researchers used observations from three planet-hunting instruments to increase the precision of the data. The Carnegie Planet Finder Spectrograph (PFS) at our Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, ESO's High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) at La Silla Observatory, and the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES) at the Keck Observatory were all crucial to this effort. "Combining the data from multiple telescopes increases the number of observations and the time baseline, and minimizes instrumental biases," Butler explained. A companion paper featuring the re-analysis of the UVES search for planets around red dwarfs was recently published in The Astrophysical Journal. Support for this work was provided in part by a NASA Hubble Fellowship. The Carnegie Institution for Science (carnegiescience.edu) is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science. Astrobiology Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Britain's police forces are fighting back against the county lines drugs menace gripping the nation with raids in Merseyside and North Wales - just 24 hours after a dramatic crackdown in Coventry. Home Secretary Priti Patel was on the front line today when officers used a chainsaw to break into a suspected drug dealer's home in Liverpool today. More than 120 officers from local police forces and the British Transport Police have been involved in a major drugs raid in Merseyside and North Wales. Executing 10 warrants at several address in Wallasey, Kensington, Rhyl, and Abergele, video from the raid on a property in Norris Green captured the moment police deployed a chainsaw to smash down the front door. Home Secretary Priti Patel (above) today was on the front line of a drugs raid in Norris Green, Liverpool, as more than 120 officers storm properties in Merseyside and North Wales The raids have so far resulted in three arrests, and officers have seized an unspecified quantity of Class A drugs, while searches at the properties continue. Ms Patel was on the front line of one drugs raid, marking the culmination of a long-running investigation into a county lines operation called Project Medusa. The Home Secretary said: 'I will not tolerate these abhorrent gangs that are terrorising our towns and exploiting our children. I'm pleased to see such strong results from the police - they have my full backing in this crucial work. We will continue to support their efforts in confronting this threat with 20,000 new officers.' In dramatic scenes, police smashed down a suspected drug dealer's front door with a chainsaw before storming the Liverpool property Scenes of devastation in Liverpool on January 17 as police conducted a major raid Home Secretary Priti Patel with Chief Constable Andy Cooke watching a police raid Home Secretary Priti Patel (above, being advised by officers) vowed to battle 'abhorrent gangs that are terrorising our towns and exploiting our children' The Home Secretary added that the Government would 'continue to support their efforts in confronting this threat with 20,000 new officers' The operation is the third this week conducted by Merseyside Police with other force areas, having carried out raids with police in Cumbria and Staffordshire. In Cumbria, one male was arrested following the recovery of a quarter of a kilo of Class A drugs and a controller phone. The operation with Staffordshire Police resulted in the arrests of nine people for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Significant quantities of heroin, cocaine, and MDMA were recovered along with 3,000 in cash. Yesterday, police smashed their way into a house in Coventry and arrested six men linked with county lines drug running. Dramatic footage of the raid at 5.15pm shows officers smashing the front door down. Home Secretary Priti Patel tours Liverpool Lime St train station, Merseyside, with senior police officers and detectives Video footage from yesterday shows the dramatic moment police smashed down a door in an address in Coventry during a spectacular drugs raid Eight people were arrested and stashes of crack cocaine and cannabis seized as police raided addresses in Coventry yesterday linked to a county lines drug network The officer whose bodycam captured the action is heard screaming: 'Police officers, hands down, put your hands down now! Everybody down!' The officer whose bodycam captured the action is heard screaming: 'Police officers, hands down, put your hands down now! Everybody down!' As the suspects cower, the officer says: 'Anybody up here? I've got a taser! 'Clear here. Pushing upstairs, pushing upstairs! Upstairs secure!' County lines: the germ menacing the nation 'County lines' is a term used when drug gangs from big cities expand their operations to smaller towns, often using violence to drive out local dealers and exploiting children and vulnerable people to sell drugs. These dealers will use dedicated mobile phone lines, known as 'deal lines', to take orders from drug users. Heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine are the most common drugs being supplied and ordered. In most instances, the users or customers will live in a different area to where the dealers and networks are based, so drug runners are needed to transport the drugs and collect payment. A common feature in county lines drug supply is the exploitation of young and vulnerable people. The dealers will frequently target children and adults - often with mental health or addiction problems - to act as drug runners or move cash so they can stay under the radar of law enforcement. In some cases the dealers will take over a local property, normally belonging to a vulnerable person, and use it to operate their criminal activity from. This is known as 'cuckooing'. People exploited in this way will quite often be exposed to physical, mental and sexual abuse, and in some instances will be trafficked to areas a long way from home as part of the network's drug dealing business. Source: National Crime Agency Advertisement A Twitter user even commented: 'Someone's been binging on Peaky Blinders before work! Everybody down!' Police found six men aged 25 to 40 inside the property along with 2kg of cannabis and 40 wraps of white powder. One of the men had 5,000 in cash. In another raid, police burst into a house in Wren Street, near Gosford Green, Coventry, where 70 wraps of crack cocaine were seized. Officers arrested a 48-year-old man and 45-year-old woman. Three flats were also searched in Holbrook Lane where more drugs were found, while warrants were executed in Edgwick Road and Morey Street. In total, eight people were arrested in connection with a County Lines drugs plot to flood Warwickshire and Leicestershire with cocaine and heroin. Chief Constable Paul Crowther, from British Transport Police, said: 'We are the specialist force for policing the rail network and my officers have great experience in tackling issues which span the nation, such as county lines. 'We have seen first hand the devastating impact these exploitative gangs have on young people, and we are determined to disrupt this criminal activity. 'Since the founding of the county lines taskforce we have seen excellent results, with 80 gang members being arrested and drugs and other potential lethal weapons being seized. With each arrest comes valuable intelligence on how these corrosive gangs operate, and likewise we can help safeguard exploited children from harm.' Insp Steve Malone, running yesterday's Coventry operation, said: 'We suspect children are being used to carry out street-level dealing on behalf of the County Line so we will also be looking at whether there are any child exploitation offences. 'In addition to the drugs we've also seized several mobile phones which we suspect are being used as the dealer hotlines. They will be sent off for analysis. 'County Lines is a despicable crime with offenders often recruiting vulnerable people, including children, to deal drugs on their behalf. 'People behind these lines make the money while vulnerable people are groomed to do the dirty work and take all the risks. 'If anyone suspects a property is being used to deal drugs then I'd urge them to get in touch so we can take more action.' American rapper Quavo went to Paris fashion week after-party and punched a staff member of the club for not recognising him. The after-party was a celebration for Offset's Paris Fashion Week show for his collaboration with Chaz Jordan's label, Laundered Works Corp. Quavo even posted a couple of videos from the Paris Fashion Week on his Instagram story. A witness told TMZ that Quavo had arrived after Offset and Cardi had already left. And the security at the party didn't recognise him and stopped him at the entrance. However, after he got through when Les Twins stepped in and told security to let Qua inside. He seemed very pissed and even punched one of the staff members and didn't stay much longer. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) What would you do if you were a witness at a death scenethe death of a man scheduled to report on findings of a government cover-up the next day? Would you stay out of the public eye until you testified? Would you barricade your door and keep the curtains closed? Would you move to a safe house and hide in fear that your end was near? Or, would you go on a months-long bender and have government-issued bodyguards follow you around town? In the convoluted case of the death of Argentine lawyer and Federal Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, Natalia Fernandezknown as La Testigo (The Witness)decided to party down. She got wasted while waiting to give her official testimony and during the chaotic aftermath of Nismans suicide. It was during this time, five years ago, when I was in Buenos Aires. I just so happened to be introduced to La Testigo and partook in some copious drinking with her and her entourage. Netflix recently released the docuseries: Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President, and the Spyshedding light on this movie-like murder plot/cover-up and thrusting the story once again to center stage in Argentina and across the globe. Nisman was found dead in the early hours of Jan. 18th, 2015. It was initially reported as a suspected suicide. Nisman had been investigating the deadly AMIA Jewish Center bombing in Buenos Aires 1994, which killed 85 and injured hundreds, where subsequently those who perpetrated the terrorist attack were shielded from persecution. According to the Buenos Aires Times, Nisman, in 2006, accused the government of Iran of directing the terror attack and the Hezbollah militia of carrying it out. They also stated that in 2015, after years of digging, Nisman had discovered that President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and other members of her cabinet, had agreed to create conditions that would guarantee immunity for Iranian officials involved in planning the AMIA bombing in exchange for the trade of oil and grains. And then, the day before making his statement, Nisman was lifeless on the bathroom floor of his apartment, lying in a pool of blood, with a gun by his side and a bullet in his head. La Testigo left the restaurant where she worked at around 2:30/3:00am on Jan. 18th, 2015, in the Puerto Madero district of Buenos Airespart of the city with light foot traffic at night. Puerto Madero consists mainly of upscale offices and refined high-rise apartment buildings. So when La Testigo was walking to a bus stop coincidentally near Nismans building, she was randomly selected to be an impartial observer of how the evidence was handled (or rather grossly mishandled). La Testigo saw that the scene was not preserved properly, and that certain tests had been neglected during the collection of evidence. I had arrived in Argentina on Jan. 11 to study Spanish. On Monday, Jan. 19, during my morning walk to class, all of the TVs in the shops and restaurants were tuned in to the coverage of Nismans death. The majority of the stations were broadcasting that it looked like he had taken his own life. Buenos Aires was a buzz of the news of Nismans conveniently timed demise, and the word on the street was that then President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had ordered a Mafioso-style hit on him. That evening after classes, I wandered down to the Plaza de Mayo to check out my first South American protest. Thousands upon thousands of people gathered in the square in front of the Casa Rosada (location of the seat of the Argentine national government and presidents office). The energy of the protesters was a mix of somber silence, frustration with government corruption, and raucous rage. The bitterness of the crowd was palpable. People held candlelight vigils and held signs saying, I am Nisman, as a show of solidarity. About a month after the whole Nisman death debacle, I made fast friends with an American gal (who prefers to remain anonymous) while I was traveling in Southern Argentina. When I made my way back to Buenos Aires, my American friend was staying in the capital as well, and we met up to paint the town red. We went out dancing and drinking way too much Fernet (an Italian digestive akin to Jagermeister, but more herby and less syrupy, that Argentinians seemingly guzzle by the bucketload mixed with Coca-Cola). One night my American friend invited me to an eloquent speakeasy-style establishment. We walked into a sparkling flower shop with orchids and other sexy blossoms arranged atop crystalline shelves. We said the secret word and were shown through the refrigerator downstairs to an opulent, velvety, gold-encrusted basement bar. The bartenders were wearing suspenders, and Im pretty sure they all sported hipster beards as they poured stiff drinks infused with lavender or burnt cinnamon in swanky glasses. We saddled up to the crimson bar and ordered a couple of delicious, over-priced elixirs. It was here that I met La Testigo. She had a larger than life persona, and rockabilly stylewith thick cat eyeliner and a mess of dark hair piled on top of her head a la Amy Winehouse. La Testigo and her friend had started the night before us and were well on their way to being inebriated when we ran into them. I recently caught up with my American friend to help fill in the holes of my hazy recollections from five years ago. She affectionately referred to La Testigo as Putita (Little Bitch). La Testigo was a friend of hers that she had met when shed been living Buenos Aires in 2011, shed come back in 2015 to visit friends and travel around. Those were crazy times! My friend said about Buenos Aires in the start of 2015. It was like two days after my birthday and wed been partying and I was hung over and I woke up and on the TV was, The lawyer, Nisman committed suicide but, did he not? She continued, saying that nobody commits suicide when theyve been working for ten years on a case, and writes Justice will be served in the morning, via text. He said he had what he needed to take Cristina down, and then, Oh ya, I guess Id better kill myself! For me it was, such a gripping time to be in the city, my American friend said. She and her Argentinian roommate would sit in the kitchen, glued to the TV in the days following Nismans death, in awe as they watched the story unfold. Every day I would wake up, she said, and I was like, Whats going on?! When La Testigo told my friend and her group of local amigos in her involvement in the Nisman case, they all thought she was making it up. We were like, bullshit, said my friend, but then she [La Testigo] shows up with a picada (a snack to share) and some wine, and two security guards at the front doorand I was like, no Fucking way!! Nismans death was later determined to be a homicide by federal police, but the national forensics team who led the primary investigation, to this day, claim that there is no concrete evidence. Even though his autopsy revealed that he had suffered blows, broken bones, had been drugged, and had no gunpowder residue on either of his hands. That night that back in 2015 when I met La Testigo I didnt understand exactly what role she played in the whole Nisman thing. I just knew that people around us were staring and pointing. I heard numerous murmurings of la testigo, la testigo. She was basking in the attention. She didnt appear to have an ounce of fear. This lack of concern may have been due to the liquid courage she had coursing through her veins, or more likely, due to the two large government-issued bodyguards that stood with their immense arms crossed about fifteen feet away maintaining a watchful eye. After a spell at the ostentatious speakeasy, we sashayed to the trendy yet somewhat seedy San Telmo neighborhood to get our drink on in more affordable, divier bars. The bodyguards shadowed us every step of the way. La Testigo explained that it had been unsafe for her to work, so she had taken advantage of the forced staycation by partying to the max, with bodyguards accompanying her from fancy watering holes to more nefarious parts of town. As the night wore on to the twilight hours, my vision blurred and my speech slurred. I was unable to communicate in my freshly acquired Spanish and my mother tongue of English wasnt much better. So I said my goodbyes as my American friend, La Testigo, and her crew continued on. My American friend said they went to a house party and ended the night drinking wine in a plaza as the sun came up. Some things might not look so great in retrospectlike Trump recently ordering a strike on a top Iranian military general, or the death of Nisman being staged as a suicide, hours before revealing damning information on President Kirchner. Or when you find yourself, as my friend did, at the end of a night of hard partying, dying of thirst and you are trying to drink from water from a fountain where pigeons bathe. As you hear La Testigo say, Dont drink that. Its dirty. All the while in the misty morning sun, government-issued bodyguards watch over you, watch over the debauchery. A Congress MLA in Madhya Pradesh on Friday announced that he would stage a protest on the state Assembly complex premises here on Saturday against the government of his own party over its "non fulfilment" of promises. The ruling party MLA, Munnalal Goyal, who represents Gwalior (East) constituency, also said that he boycotted the proceedings of the special session of the Assembly on Friday as a mark of protest against the government's "negligence" towards his region. The legislator said he has written a letter to Chief Minister Kamal Nath, informing him about his planned sit-in. "I will stage a dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi's statue on the premises of the state assembly complex between 11 am and noon on Saturday. I have written a letter to the CM, in which I have said that the government has failed to fulfil the promises made by the Congress in its poll manifesto," Goyal told PTI. In the letter, he also alleged that the government has neglected his constituency and failed to carry out any development works there. "The Congress had promised to provide pattas (land ownership documents) to the poor. However, the administration has rendered around 400 families in my constituency homeless in the time of intense cold. The bureaucracy is dominating in the government," he said. In the letter, the MLA said, "I have been writing letters to ministers and the CM since the past six months about the issues in my constituency, but the situation has remained unchanged." State Congress spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi urged the administration and ministers to act against the problems being faced by the people of Goyal's constituency. "Goyal is an elected legislator and people come to him with their problems. The ministers and the administration should pay heed to the people of his constituency and their woes. He is responsible to the people. I hope the CM and ministers will soon sort out the issues," Chaturvedi said. State BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said several Congress legislators have expressed their displeasure over the functioning of the Kamal Nath-led dispensation. "Several Congress MLAs have been expressing their displeasure openly about the functioning of the state government. Several others are expressing their annoyance privately. Overall, the Congress government in MP has not been fulfilling its responsibility towards people," he alleged. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Georgi Kutoyan, who headed Armenias National Security Service (NSS) in the final years of former President Serzh Sarkisians rule, was found shot to death in Yerevan on Friday. A spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee, Naira Harutiunian, reported in the afternoon that Kutoyans body had a gunshot wound then it was discovered by his wife at his Yerevan apartment a short while ago. Forensic experts and other officers of the law-enforcement agency are already working at the scene, Harutiunian wrote on Facebook. A high-ranking Investigative Committee official, Artur Melikian, said later in the day that preliminary indications are that Kutoyan, 38, was killed by a gunshot fired at his head. But investigators also found dozens of bullets in the apartment and forensic experts will determine whether those were fired from the same pistol, he told reporters outside the apartment building cordoned off by police. Melikian said that premeditated murder is therefore one of the theories of Kutoyans death considered by the investigators. We dont yet have information that anyone heard gunshots, he said, adding that more residents of the apartment block will be questioned in the coming days. A lawyer by education, Kutoyan had worked as an assistant to Sarkisian from 2011 until his surprise appointment as director of the NSS in February 2016. He was sacked by newly elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in May 2018 immediately after the Velvet Revolution that toppled the countrys former leader. Kutoyan has made no public statements since then. He also kept a low profile during his tenure. Sarkisian offered condolences to Kutoyans family and said he is deeply shocked by the death of the former NSS chief whom described as a highly competent and decent individual. In a statement, the ex-president also called for public scrutiny of the unfolding probe of his death. Armen Ashotian, the deputy chairman of Sarkisians Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), also expressed shock at the murder of Kutoyan. This tragic incident is very strange and raises many questions, he wrote, demanding a transparent and comprehensive investigation from law-enforcement authorities. Edmon Marukian, the leader of another opposition party, Bright Armenia, likewise demanded that relevant authorities find clear answers to many questions resulting from the fatal shooting. This is an unexpected and shocking development which we need to seriously analyze and understand what caused it, Alen Simonian, a senior lawmaker representing the ruling My Step bloc, told RFE/RLs Armenian service. Simonian suggested vaguely that Kutoyans death is one of the echoes of the past which we are still hearing. He declined to elaborate. Kutoyan is the second former senior security official found shot dead in the last four months. Hayk Harutiunian, a former chief of the Armenian police, was found dead in his country house in September. Harutiunian reportedly had a gunshot wound to his head. Investigators suggested that he committed suicide. In the months leading up to his death, Harutiunian was repeatedly interrogated in an ongoing criminal investigation into the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan. The Special Investigative Service, which is conducting that inquiry, told the Armenpress news agency that it never questioned Kutoyan as a witness or suspect. The Investigative Committee and the NSS did not investigate or interrogate Kutoyan either, according to the committee spokeswoman. In truth I know very little about Keane Mulready-Woods aside from the imprint left behind, a photo of a young man who still seemed to possess echoes of boyhood innocence, yet faced such evil in his final moments. Keane was only 17. He seemed to love the latest style, like most boys his age. This was evident by the designer clothes he wore to his death. A photograph of the teen, given by his family to gardai, illustrates a boyish face, smiling subtly while holding a phone to his ear. No doubt Keane felt a man in his designer clothes, a uniform of youth, of cool, as he walked the streets of Drogheda, Co Louth. He could never have known this uniform would now be key to helping the public and gardai put together his final, horrific moments. Everyone in Ireland today knows Keane's face, for he is the boy who never came home and who we're told made connections in dark circles. A terrifying gang culture bleeding into our society, robbing parents of their children, resulted in his murder, his body parts mercilessly dumped in Coolock and Drumcondra on two consecutive nights. Much has been reported about the nefarious activities the youth was said to have been involved in, as part of a gang culture sweeping Drogheda. But no one apart from Keane's family and friends knows who this young man was deep down inside. No doubt he made terrible errors and committed crimes, but he deserved the chance to turn his life around. He was just 17. Keane had so much time, but his future was robbed from him in an act of monstrous savagery. Those who killed the teenager, who was due to turn 18 next month, left his body parts in two different locations to send a message, to spread fear among rivals and to horrify the country, to mock our democracy and our justice system. The killers have made a statement of how they now feel all-powerful and above the law. By leaving the boy's remains in two decent and law-abiding communities in Dublin, they have tried to threaten the security of the families who live there. We must stand together in Drogheda and Dublin and, as a country, to say they will not win. We will not let them. A study released last month, Building Community Resilience, found children as young as 12 were being enticed into gangs dealing drugs and committing organised crime in Dublin's south inner city. The study - compiled by Johnny Connolly, from the University of Limerick Centre of Crime, Justice and Victim Studies - found the gangs considered children "expendable" and "plentiful". Dr Connolly said a whole-system approach needed to be taken in order to prevent young people being groomed by gangs. He pointed to a multi-pronged approach that could be utilised, including increasing the number of outreach workers and community gardai. The report led to Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, Fianna Fail's justice and equality spokesman, to express his outrage at the findings. Last month a new Bill was put forward by Fianna Fail TD John Curran on the issue in an attempt to create two offences around buying drugs from children or using children to transport drugs. Mr O'Callaghan said: "We are calling on all parties in Dail Eireann to put politics to one side, to wake up to the abuse of children that is ongoing by these gangs and to get behind this Bill." At the beginning of last year, another study from Blanchardstown drug and alcohol task force found children as young as 10 were being used to deal drugs. One thing echoes loud and clear - the young men and children, groomed by gangs, are from deprived areas and they're offered little for great risk and the ruination of their future. And as adults we all realise that sometimes the young do not own the foresight to see just how they are losing the light of their childhood. These are the boys who walk a dark road, somehow believing it leads to adventure and not, in fact, despair. There's no doubt the children and young people involved in gangland in Dublin and Drogheda have harmed their communities and innocent people. There's no doubt they need to be taken to task and dealt with by a system that can punish but also offer hope and a future. But, as law-abiding citizens, we must all stop and look at Keane's photo showing a teenager dressed in his designer tracksuit, as we breathe in the essence of a boy who travelled the wrong path. We must contemplate who Keane could have become. This boy could have been someone one day - a father, a professional, a man who had seen his errors and paid to fix them. And we must also offer our condolences to his family and friends, who have lost so much and now have to face untold horror. No parent, no sibling, should ever have to meet this nightmare on earth. Those in Drogheda who have any answers to who killed a young man in such a barbaric way must offer all information to gardai so they can execute justice and end a reign of terror, to restore faith in our democracy. Today, as a country, we can start a journey to healing by allowing ourselves outrage and letting criminal gangs know they're not free to take children so full of promise; to lead them away to their ends. The only home left for the killers of Keane - the evil men who are feeding from fear - should be a long stay in a small cell. Bollywood star slams Uber after 'scariest experience' Mumbai, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor Ahuja has warned Uber users against the ride-hailing app in London after suffering "the scariest experience" with a driver in the British capital. The award-winning actress, 34, daughter of "Slumdog Millionaire" star Anil Kapoor, said her driver was apparently "unstable and was yelling and shouting" during the journey. "I was shaking by the end of it," she tweeted to her 12.8 million followers late Wednesday in London, tagging Uber, which responded with an apparently automated message. "I tried complaining on your app, and just got multiple disconnected replies by bots. You guys need to update your system. The damage is done. There is nothing more you can do." "The best and safest is just to use the local public transportation or cabs," she suggested. Hours later, an Uber spokeswoman in London said the incident was "regrettable and concerning". "What's been described has no place on the Uber app and we're reviewing the matter," she said. Ride-hailing giant Uber has come under a storm of global criticism over its passenger safety record. The company lost its license in London after transport authorities said it had failed to fix a litany of safety issues -- including at least 14,000 cases of drivers handing their permits to unlicensed friends or relatives. It continues to operate in the city pending an appeal. In 2017, a woman raped by an Uber driver in India filed a US lawsuit accusing the service of invading her privacy and defaming her character. Last month, Uber released a report saying it had tallied nearly 6,000 sexual assaults in the United States -- its biggest market -- over the past couple of years. That included more than 450 cases of rape. In France, the firm is under pressure from a viral campaign detailing sexual assault involving its drivers, under the hashtag #UberCestOver (Uber it's over). Ahuja's Uber incident comes a week after she criticised British Airways on social media for allegedly losing her luggage for the second time this month. bur-amu/stu/fox Was the former United States Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch to Ukraine Being Stalked for a Possible Assassination? By James DiGeorgia In a shocking turn of events earlier today, Ukrainian law enforcement authorities announced that they opened an investigation into whether former U.S. ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was being surveilled by associates of Rudy Giuliani (Donald Trump) while she was in Kyiv last spring. The new Ukrainian probe was launched in response to the release of documents by the U.S. House of Representatives release of documents, texts and tape recordings this past Tuesday that showed communications between Lev Parnas and President Trump donor and candidate for the 2020 GOP U.S. Senate Robert Hyde that discussed Yovanovitchs movement, location throughout Kyiv that open the possibility that she was a target for assassination. In an interview last night, Rachel Maddow Lev Parnas denied any sinister nature regarding the messages and said he was humoring Hyde, whom he accused of being an alcoholic. However, if Parnas and Hyde were involved in an unexecuted plot to assassinate the former U.S. Ambassador, both could face conspiracy to commit murder. During his interviews yesterday, Lev Parnas was not under oath. These and other revelations should immediately be investigated, beginning with the deposition of Lev Parnas under oath. Parnas should be considered as a primary witness to events during the impeachment trial of President Trump, which is about to get underway. After all President Trumps demands to open an investigation into former Vice President and his son Hunter Biden, the announcement of an official investigation into Giuliani and his associates connected to President Trump is especially ironic. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 19:46:07|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close DHAKA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese dance and music show was held on Thursday in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year. Dozens of artists from China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region performed in the event to greet the upcoming Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 25. The spectacular cultural event gained grand applause from the audience of hundreds. The event featured a blend of traditional Chinese dance and music, introducing specially Xinjiang's ancient cultural heritage. Dignitaries including Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming and Bangladeshi State Minister of Cultural Affairs KM Khalid attended the ceremony. The event was held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, the state-sponsored national cultural center of Bangladesh. Australians in the drought-ravaged bush have partied in the mud as intense thunderstorms brought heavy rains that eased the east coast's crippling 'big dry'. Raging bushfires have blazed throughout the nation's east coast since September and the fires have killed 28 people, more than a billion animals and razed an area roughly a third the size of Germany. Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, three of the most affected states, saw heavy downpours on Friday, which are forecast to continue through the weekend. Australians have celebrated as intense thunderstorms brough heavy rains to dampen the drought across the east coast Fire services said that while the rain will not extinguish all the blazes, it will help greatly to contain them. 'Our fingers are crossed that this continues over the coming days,' the New South Wales Rural Fire Services tweeted on Friday. While the wet weather brings relief to fire fighters and drought-hit farmers, it also comes with dangers, such as flash flooding and falling trees, many structurally destroyed by the intense bushfires. The storms have helped disperse heavy smoke in Melbourne, which sheathed the city disrupted the Australian Open qualifying matches and other sporting competitions, but winds are set to bring back unhealthy air over the weekend. The smoke haze that has plagued Australia's major cities for weeks has been tracked by NASA circumnavigating the globe and the space agency satellites showed on Thursday there is also a large concentration of lower smoke over the Pacific Ocean. Around Australia, people were seen celebrating the much-needed downpour. On Thursday two young boys skipped out on their chores to gleefully jump around in the mud on their drought stricken farm. Others were seen laughing and enjoying themselves as they were towed behind an ATV as they slid around in the mud on the previously dry land. Iraq denies resuming joint ops with US-led coalition Baghdad, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 An Iraqi government spokesman denied reports on Thursday that joint operations had resumed between local forces and the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State group sleeper cells. The coalition, active in Iraq since 2014, said on January 5 that it was pausing anti-IS operations and training missions due to security concerns after a series of rocket attacks on bases where US and other international troops are located. The New York Times, citing two American military officials, reported Thursday that the US -- which makes up the bulk of the coalition -- had resumed the operations. But the Iraqi prime minister's spokesman on military affairs told AFP the coalition did not have permission from Baghdad to carry out any joint missions. "The joint operations have not resumed and we have not given our authorisation," said Abdulkarim Khalaf. He said the Iraqi government had ordered the coalition to halt its joint operations following two US air strikes including one that killed a top Iranian commander. The first, in late December, killed 25 Iraqi paramilitary fighters in the country's west, in retaliation for the killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack. The second was a US precision drone strike outside Baghdad airport on January 3, which killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and leading Iraqi military official Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. "The agreement was that the coalition was here to fight IS and help the Iraqis fight IS, so we considered these strikes to be unilateral actions," said Khalaf. In response, he said, "joint operations, which include the use of Iraqi airspace, were banned". The Pentagon told AFP it had no information to provide concerning a resumption. The US-led coalition's spokesman in Baghdad also declined to comment. But a top US defence official told reporters last week that the operational pause was a coalition decision -- and resuming them would be, too. "It is absolutely our call," the official said, saying the security situation was still too tense. "As soon as it's permissive, we'll turn it back on." The official also said the coalition had continued flying surveillance drones over Iraq despite Baghdad's complaints. "I need that to see the environment. So I'll continue to fly that as long as I need it to protect," the official said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that Iraqi leaders have told him privately they support the US troop presence, despite public appeals for them to leave. "They won't say so publicly. But privately they all welcome the fact that America is still there executing its counter-terror campaign," Pompeo said at a forum at Stanford University. Iraqi lawmakers this month also urged the government expel all foreign forces deployed in the country, which include around 5,200 US troops. New Delhi: The Punjab government passed a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state assembly on Friday (January 17) demanding to scrap the controversial Bill. State Minister Brahm Mohindra moved the resolution against the CAA on the second day of the two-day special assembly session. The move comes close to the heels of the Kerala Assembly passing a similar resolution. Live TV On January 14, the Kerala government ed by Pinarayi Vijayan moved the Supreme Court against the CAA saying the amended law is against the provisions of Right to Equality granted by the Indian Constitution. The petition was filed under Article 131 and sought the law to be declared unconstitutional and in violation of Article 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. In its petition, the Kerala government has said that the CAA should be declared violative of Articles 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution and the basic structure of secularism in India. Article 131 states that the Supreme court is the guardian of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed under Article 14 which states that if there is any kind of violation of the fundamental rights, then one can go directly to the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution (this being a fundamental right too). Article 14 promises Right to Equality to all while Article 21 says 'No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law'. Article 25 says 'all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience'. With this, the Kerala government is the first state government to move the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Act, to which several states have raised objections. Kerala was also the first state assembly to move a resolution against CAA. Earlier this month Kerala assembly had passed a resolution demanding the repeal of Citizenship Act. The first looks of three films were out over the past two days. Sara and Kartik in Love Aaj Kal While there was a lot of speculation if the Imtiaz Ali film would be called Love Aaj Kal 2 as it was being looked upon as a sequel to 2009 film Love Aaj Kal, Imtiaz Ali came up with an interesting concept along with producer Dinesh Vijan for this Kartik Aaryan-Sara Ali Khan starrer. In the poster, the word AAJ has a hashtag with the year 2020 and KAL has the year 1990. Kal was tomorrow in the first part and implies yesterday in the second part. Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan along with Rishi Kapoor and Giselle Monteiro had toplined the cast of the first part of the film. Thus, the film is a take on love in modern times with a rush of reminiscence. Love Aaj Kal is hence a contemporary and relatable portrayal of two stories set in different times that interact to learn (or perhaps unlearn) from each other the different facets of love, commitment and relationships. The film also stars Randeep Hooda and debutant Arushi Sharma in key roles. The films team took to social media on Thursday to release the first look poster that shows its lead pair Zoe (Sara) and Veer (Kartik) caught in a candid moment. The film will release on February. Sidharth Malhotra in and as Shershaah Alia Bhatts co-star from their debut film Student Of The Year, Sidharth Malhotra also released his look from Shershaah on Thursday. Shershaah was the codename for Captain Vikram Batra who was honoured with a posthumous Param Vir Chakra after the 1999 Kargil war. Sidharth plays a double role in the film of the twins Vikram and Vishal Batra. The film is a biopic on the life of Captain Vikram Batra, Kiara Advani plays the role of Dimple Cheema who was Vikrams girlfriend and planned to marry after the Kargil war. A total of three posters were released which has Sidharth in an action mode holding a machinegun in a war scene. The tagline for the film says, Based on the untold true story of Captain Vikram Batra (PVC) His Code Name, and the title Shershaah is revealed. Shershaah is billed for a third July release and has been directed by Vishu Varadhan of south films Billa and Panja fame. It is produced by Karan Johar and Shabbir Boxwala and written by Sandeep Shrivastava.Alia Bhatt in and as Gangubai Kathiawadi The primary poster of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis much-awaited film Gangubai Kathiawadi was out on Wednesday. The film has been in the news ever since Bhansali made the announcement to cast Alia Bhatt in the role of a brothel owner who became a mafia queen after hobnobbing with Mumbais top ganglords. The poster has Alia in a very interesting look and in the first real biopic, not counting Raazi as it was based on the book Calling Sehmat and was apparently based on a real-life person. The uber-cool girl of Student Of the Year, Alias metamorphosis to a desi girl with an ultra-large red bindi adorning her forehead in a monochrome poster, while another poster shows her seated in a brothel girl posture leaning on a table with a gun placed on it, is worth a look. The music for Gangubai Kathiawadi has also been given by Bhansali and is scheduled for a September 11 release. And the early poster release only indicates that there is a lot more coming up soon. While the film is already in the filming stages, no other actor has been officially announced yet. Sanskriti Media Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 02:19:55|Editor: yan Video Player Close BUDAPEST, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is seriously considering pulling his Fidesz party out of the European People's Party (EPP), the largest group in the European Parliament (EP), he said in his regular Friday morning interview on public radio MR1. Orban made the remarks following a resolution adopted by the EP on Thursday criticizing the conduct of his government. The resolution, adopted with an overwhelming 446 votes in favor, 178 against and 41 abstentions, noted that reports and statements published by the European Commission, the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe indicate that "The situation in both Poland and Hungary has deteriorated since the triggering of Article 7." The resolution said that the EP "notes with concern that the (Article 7) hearings are not organised in a regular, structured and open manner." It calls on the European Council to address concrete recommendations to Poland and Hungary, including deadlines, to ensure that EU law is respected. Launched last autumn, the procedures under Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) could ultimately strip Hungary and/or Poland of their EU voting rights, citing the "existence of a clear risk of a serious breach of the values on which the Union is founded." "This cannot continue," Orban reacted on public radio. "If the EPP doesn't stand up for Hungary, then we will have to start a new, Christian-Democratic European movement," he said. "Fidesz is one centimeter away from leaving the EPP, as the group's majority betrayed us," Orban argued. However, he said the support of the EPP's French, Spanish and Italian member parties persuaded Fidesz to stay in the bloc -- at least for now. He accused Hungarian-born American billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, his adversary, of being the person behind the EP resolution: "Behind all of these machinations stands George Soros and his network." "George Soros is the world's number one oligarch, a rich man who has bought political influence," he concluded. Conscious uncoupling isnt just for stars like Gwyneth. Arlene Harris talks to three women who have stayed on good terms with their ex We all rolled our eyes at the PC language when Gwyneth Paltrow announced that she and Chris Martin were consciously uncoupling. But several years and different partners later, they remain on good terms and are regularly seen together with their children. Recently the Hollywood actress confirmed what we already suspected, that they are still very close. A very mature attitude indeed for the divorced parents of two and it seems as though they are not alone in their magnanimous feelings towards each other as it was revealed recently that Princess Beatrice will welcome her fiances ex-girlfriend to their upcoming nuptials this year. Of course, not everyone remains best buddies with their ex-partner and many have no desire to ever cross their paths again. However, Niamh Hogan, who is married to Paul and has a 14-year-old daughter, is firmly in Gwyneths camp. Niamh Hogan Not only is she on friendly terms with her ex-boyfriend, but also attended his wedding last year. Hogan, who is the chief executive of Holos Skincare products, says being friends with an ex makes life easier for everyone concerned. I was with my ex for four years and we still share friends from our wider social circle, she says. We now have busy lives, partners, kids, and jobs so dont see each other as much as we did but he and my husband became friends and are like two bold children when they get together. We were at his wedding last year and like him, his wife is a lovely, kind person. To be honest, even referring to him as my ex feels weird as he is a good family friend and will be for life. I dont think theres any magic formula [for staying friends] but even after the breakup, we spent a lot of time together, which all felt very normal. I think we both just wanted each other to remain in our lives as neither of us hated the other one. The relationship had changed but the friendship never died so we became a sounding board for each other, got on with our own lives, met other people, and married them. The funniest thing was when he sent me a text to save the date as he was getting married and I sent him one back saying, Thats brilliant and I secretly got married two days ago. We dont see each other lots these days but when we do, its always fun. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin The Wexford woman believes that staying friendly with previous partners can be therapeutic. I think that in Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martins situation, its important for them to remain on good terms as they have children together, she says. It also seems important personally for them, which shows the respect they have for each other and that they were great friends. I believe if a strong friendship exists in a relationship, then it can withstand a breakup. Also, I think Princess Beatrice inviting her fiances ex is a lovely thing to do as she is acknowledging the life he had before her and showing that she does not feel threatened by his ex it shows great trust between her and her fiance. Sinead sees more of her ex-boyfriend than either of their partners realise, though she says its completely innocent and they are simply good friends. Ive been with my husband for three years but I was with my previous boyfriend for five and we were at college together so we have known each other a long time, says the Dublin woman. We started out as friends and then just began seeing each other romantically. And as we always got on so well, a lot of people didnt even realise that our relationship had changed from a platonic one until we told them. When we finished college, I went travelling and he stayed here as he had been offered a good job. We naturally drifted apart. Then when I returned, he was seeing someone else and they eventually got engaged. If Im being honest, I was a bit miffed about it as I always thought we would end up together but I could see that he was in love with her and they were very well suited. We stayed in touch and because we have a lot of friends in common would often be at the same events and I got on with his fiancee from the start. Then when I started seeing my husband, we would bump into each other from time to time and always had fun together so we have been open with our partners that we are still friends. The marketing executive hasnt told her husband she meets her ex on several occasions for drinks after work, but doesnt think its an issue. We work around the corner from each other now so sometimes we will be in the same pub on a Friday evening, she says. And we have met each other while out getting a sandwich so had lunch or on occasion, a drink after work. Its all innocent we are old friends having a catch-up and a laugh together. Neither of us has mentioned it to our other halves, but I dont think its a big deal as I wouldnt mention it if I met a female friend from college either. Keri Denney is also friends with her ex-boyfriend. The massage therapist, who is married to Gary and has a 10-year-old daughter, believes it is important to try and be friends with ex-partners, but admits sometimes that isnt possible. Keri Denney I think it is very healthy and natural to remain friends with someone youve had a good relationship with, says the Kildare woman. My ex and I were together for two years and while we did work together, we have since moved on to separate careers. We spent time in each others social circles and by coincidence or universal design he met his wife in my circle. But its not awkward at all we are connected on Facebook and chat from time to time. He just had a health scare recently and the day before he posted about it, I felt something was going on with him and knew I should check-in. She is aware that not every couple will want to stay in touch after a breakup. Not all relationships are healthy so [sometimes] all ties must be severed in order to grow and move on, she says. We all get into relationships for a variety of reasons, known or unknown, so do not stay connected just because you think you should. SINGAPORE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Singapore's exports made a surprise rebound in December after nine months of contraction, partly due to a sharp rise in pharmaceutical shipments, official data showed on Friday. Non-oil domestic exports from the city-state expanded 2.4% year-on-year in December, data from trade agency Enterprise Singapore showed, following a 5.9% decline in November. This was significantly better than the 1.8% decline predicted by economists in a Reuters poll. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exports expanded 1.1% in December after growing 5.8% in November. The poll had called for a 1.3% contraction from the month before. (Reporting by John Geddie; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) At least 11 American troops were injured in an Iranian attack on an Iraqi base where American soldiers were deployed, US Central Command said Thursday, although the US military had previously maintained there were no casualties. While no US service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed, US Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban said in a statement. In the days following the attack, out of an abundance of caution, some service members were transported from Al Asad Air Base, he said, specifying that 11 troops had been sent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, for screening. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON On 17 January 1966, four atomic bombs fell near Almeria, three on land and one in the sea. The bombs were being carried by a US Air Force B-52 bomber, which was flying alongside a refuelling aircraft. The two planes collided, killing all four crew members on the refuelling craft and three of the seven on the B-52. The crash sent the planes hurtling towards the ground from around 31,000 feet - part of the B-52 landed near a school in Palomares, though no residents were harmed that day - and the four nuclear bombs on board the B-52 were released. The bombs did not have their detonators activated, preventing any explosion. However, the parachutes attached to two of the devices failed to open, meaning they contaminated their crash areas with radioactive plutonium. A huge US army presence was established in order to recover the bombs and establish the scale of the contamination. The US took away a five-centimetre layer of topsoil from the 25,000 square metres of affected land (or over 1,500 tonnes) and transported it to a storage facility in North Carolina. The operation to recover the bomb that had fallen in the sea took nearly four months, aided by local fisherman Francisco Simo Orts, who became known as 'Paco el de la bomba'. Efforts were made to reassure local residents that there was no threat to their health - a famous photo, seen above, shows then-Minister of Tourism Manuel Fraga in the surf near Palomares, alongside US ambassador Angier Biddle Duke. In reality, however, Palomares is still seriously contaminated as a result of the accident. Experts stated in 1986 that it had the worst plutonium contamination anywhere in the world. How the region would look today had the bombs - 65 times more powerful than the weapon that flattened Hiroshima - detonated does not bear thinking about. American funds for continual monitoring of the area lasted until 2009. In October 2015, the US agreed to continue the clean-up operation, removing any remaining radioactive waste. However, the agreement was vague, not specifying when the operation would be carried out, nor who will bear its cost. 2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Prince William community has proven resilient. The Prince William Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning -- 4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS. We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover. We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Prince William Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come. No trip to the Bayou City is complete without a little Tex-Mex fare. Chrissy Teigen got her fix at El Tiempo at 2814 Navigation on Thursday night. The model, television personality and author, who is married to singer-songwriter John Legend, arrived at the Second Ward restaurant at approximately 7:20 p.m. with seven friends and stayed for an hour and a half, according to manager Jonathan Garcia. OAKLAND, Calif. After months of acrimony between California and the Trump administration over the states homelessness crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Thursday that he would send an envoy to meet with administration officials and discuss ways to address the issue together. Mr. Newsom spoke of the meeting in an interview after announcing at a news conference that the state was mobilizing 100 camping trailers to shelter some of the states more than 150,000 homeless people. We really have an open hand, not a clenched fist on this, Mr. Newsom said in the interview, inside one of the trailers arrayed in a parking lot near Oakland International Airport. I hope we can professionalize our relationship. The governor toured the state this week to discuss the homelessness crisis, saying California would respond as urgently as it would to a major earthquake. Volumes through the country's busiest port indicate a shift from the UK to a growing trade with the continent. Figures from Dublin Port show volumes to Britain fell by 0.2pc last year, while volumes on services to continental Europe grew 10.7pc. Dublin Port trade volumes hit another record in 2019. The port, whose traffic was hit in the period by work on its docks for a major expansion project, said it expected traffic with mainland Europe to continue its strong growth. "The effect of the deployment in recent years of new ships on direct routes to continental Europe by shipping lines such as Irish Ferries and CLdN is clear to be seen, and we expect to see this trend continue as trading patterns adapt post-Brexit," said CEO Eamonn O'Reilly. Overall tonnage growth for the year was just 0.4pc, due in large part to construction work on the huge Alexandra Basin development, which reduced the number of ship arrivals by 71 to 7,898. Volumes were affected when ore exports from the Tara Mine were suspended for four months due to the construction. The traffic numbers from the port showed roll-on, roll-off shipping traffic rose 2.6pc to 1.1 million units. Containerised shipping has now recovered to pre-crash levels and volumes grew by 6.5pc to 774,000 20-foot equivalent units, the industry standard size. "Behind these growth figures, however, we saw a marked difference between the UK and the EU-26," said Mr O'Reilly, who noted that volumes to Britain fell by 0.2pc for roll-on, roll-off and container traffic, and that it expanded by 10.7pc for Europe. Data from the Central Statistics Office has also shown a decline in trade with Britain, which accounts for 9pc of exports, and a rise with countries in the eurozone. The value of exports to Britain in the first 11 months of last year fell 358m, or 3pc, to 12.45bn from the same period in 2018. By contrast, exports to the eurozone rose to 48.29bn from 45.89bn. Exporters face another year of Brexit tension, as the UK negotiates the terms of its trade deal with the bloc, and there is the threat that it could still go for a no-deal exit on commerce. An estimate published this week by consultancy Copenhagen Economics put the potential cost to the economy of a hard trade outcome at 18bn. "While the final impacts from Brexit remain unknown, we have completed a series of projects during 2019 in conjunction with the OPW to provide infrastructure needed for whatever level of checks are ultimately required," said Mr O'Reilly. In the cruise sector, 158 ships arrived, up from 150 in 2018, with a 16.7pc surge in visitor numbers to 323,234 people. The port is spending 277m on its Alexandra Basin redevelopment, which is due to be finished next year, and will boost capacity for large ships by deepening and lengthening 3km of its 7km of berths. Editor's note: SpaceX has delayed the launch of its Crew Dragon in-flight abort test flight to Sunday, Jan. 19, at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT). Read our full story. Original story: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. SpaceX will intentionally destroy one of its rockets in the name of safety this weekend. This is the last major hurdle the company needs to clear before its Crew Dragon spacecraft can begin to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Scheduled for a 4-hour launch window opening at 8:00 a.m. EST (1300 GMT) Saturday (Jan. 18), the mission stars an unpiloted crew capsule that will blast off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center here in Florida. (You can watch the flight here at Space.com , courtesy of SpaceX, or directly through the company's YouTube page .) Its goal: to test the spacecraft's emergency escape system. When NASA's fleet of space shuttles was retired in 2011, the agency shifted its focus to the commercial sector, selecting SpaceX and Boeing as its future space taxi providers. These two companies have worked to build a spacecraft capable of safely carrying crew, under contracts worth a total of $6.8 billion. Once operational, their vehicles SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner will be NASA's primary means of transporting astronauts to space. Related: See the Evolution of SpaceX's Rockets in Pictures More: How SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft works (infographic) A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is perched on a Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for an in-flight abort test on Jan. 18, 2020. (Image credit: SpaceX/ Twitter But before that can happen, SpaceX has to prove that its Crew Dragon capsule has what it takes to keep astronauts safe during flight. One of the difficult lessons learned from the loss of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986 was that all future crewed vehicles would need emergency escape systems, which the shuttle did not have. While in-flight anomalies are rare, they do happen. Most recently, October 2018, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin were carried to safety by a similar abort system when their rocket failed during flight. NASA wants to ensure that, if one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets were to have a similar anomaly, its astronauts would still be brought home safely; this is what the in-flight abort test is all about. There are two approaches to such escape systems. The spacecraft of the Mercury and Apollo eras, as well as the Russian Soyuz capsule that astronauts ride in today, relied on a rocket that pulled the spacecraft away from its launch vehicle. In contrast, both the Crew Dragon and the Starliner use a built-in system to push the spacecraft to safety . Related: Emergency Launch Abort Systems of SpaceX and Boeing Explained Embedded within the outer hull of the Dragon capsule are eight engines called SuperDracos. If the vehicle's computer senses that something is amiss during flight, it will trigger these thrusters to fire. Then, the SuperDracos will push the Crew Dragon up and away from the rocket. Once the capsule is at a safe distance from the troubled rocket, the Crew Dragon will deploy its parachutes and land in the Atlantic Ocean, where recovery vessels will retrieve the capsule and the crew. The company has conducted similar testing on the ground , but this is the first time the company is executing the entire escape process midflight. Here's the breakdown. A used Falcon 9 rocket, stripped of its iconic landing legs and grid fins, will sit perched atop its launchpad at Kennedy Space Center's historic Launch Complex 39A. The rocket will roar to life at 8:00 a.m. EST (1300 GMT). About a minute and a half after liftoff, the Crew Dragon's SuperDraco engines will fire, separating the capsule from the rocket. As the capsule is being pushed away, the rocket's main engines will cut off; the Falcon 9 will then fall back to Earth,, breaking apart during its descent. SpaceX will recover the rocket debris at the end of the test, according to a recent NASA statement . Meanwhile, the capsule's parachutes will allow for a soft landing in the Atlantic Ocean, where recovery teams will be standing by to scoop the vehicle out of the ocean. It is currently unknown where precisely Crew Dragon will splash down in the Atlantic Ocean. Weather conditions on launch day will impact how much of the action spectators on the Space Coast will see. But fireworks have been advertised: Following a successful test firing of the rocket on Jan. 11, SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk tweeted that the Falcon would be "destroyed in Dragon fire." Saturday's mission will be the fourth and final trip for this booster. In 2018, it made three trips to space, lofting the first Bangladeshi satellite, an Indonesian communications satellite and then an epic rideshare mission that launched an eclectic stack of 64 satellites. No one will be on board the Crew Dragon during this test, but SpaceX is treating the drill as if it were an actual emergency. To that end, SpaceX outfitted one of its boats with a helicopter landing pad designed to facilitate the recovery of the Crew Dragon during nominal and emergency landings alike. Related: How Risky Spacecraft Launch Aborts Work (Infographic) This test is the last major hurdle that SpaceX must clear before it can launch astronauts. As such, both NASA and SpaceX will be paying close attention to the test. In May 2015, the company conducted a ground-based version of this test, known as a pad abort , designed to mimic an emergency prior to launch. During that test , the system performed exactly as intended. But not every test has gone according to plan. Last April, while the company was test-firing the Crew Dragon's SuperDraco engines following a brief sojourn at the International Space Station, the capsule exploded. An investigation revealed that a leaky valve caused the anomaly, and SpaceX modified the abort system. The company successfully test-fired the system in November 2019. Once the Crew Dragon is cleared to carry humans, SpaceX will fly two NASA astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, to the space station for a two-week stay. If that flight goes smoothly, NASA will certify Dragon, and the vehicle will be able to begin regular crewed flights, even carrying international partners. Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook. NEW DELHI: Alleging a foul play in the case, Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi on Friday said that political parties were playing politics over the sensitive issue and deliberately delaying the execution of four convicts. "It has been 7 years and we didn`t get justice. The government can`t see our pain. Parties are playing politics on my daughter`s death. I think the hanging is being deliberately postponed," Asha Devi told Zee News. "So far, I have never spoken about politics, but now I want to say that those people who held protests on streets in 2012, are today playing politics over my daughter`s death for political gains," she added. On Thursday, BJP alleged that the AAP government is responsible for the delay in the hanging of Nirbhaya convicts. Later, Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia hit back at BJP and said, ''Give us Delhi Police and law-and-order responsibility for two days and we will hang Nirbhaya convicts.'' Commenting on Sisodia's remark, Asha said, "It would be good if Sisodia had said 'give me Delhi Police, I will protect girls." Nirbhaya's mother also reportedly urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that the hanging of convicts takes place on January 22. Advocate Rahul Mehr, the Standing Counsel for Tihar Jail authorities, has said that the execution of convicts in 2012 gang-rape case will not take place on January 22. "It can only take place 14 days after the mercy plea is rejected as we are bound by the rule which says that a notice of 14 days must be provided to the convicts after the rejection of mercy plea," he added. In a related development, President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy plea filed by one of the convicts of the Nirbhaya gangrape case Mukesh Singh clearing all roadblocks to the execution of the four convicts. Live TV The mercy plea was filed by Mukesh Singh recently after his curative plea was rejected by the Supreme Court. On January 15, the Delhi government recommended the Centre to reject the mercy petition filed by Mukesh Singh, one of the four men sentenced to death for the 2012 gangrape. According to reports, Mukesh's mercy plea was first rejected by the Delhi government, which forwarded the same to the Lieutenant Governor recommending 'rejection'. Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal accepted the recommendation of the Delhi Government and forwarded the file to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The MHA sources later confirmed that the ministry has received mercy petition of Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case convict Mukesh Singh from Delhi government. On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court had refused to stay death warrants after the state government said that it 'can't hang convicts on January 22'. While refusing to set aside the death warrant issued for the hanging of four Nirbhaya gangrape-murder convicts, the high court said that convict Mukesh Singh could approach the trial court, which issued the death warrant. The HC also said that it found nothing wrong in the death warrants issued by Delhi's Patiala House court for the hanging of four convicts. The four convicts - Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) - are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am. Carl Weathers is drawn to the story. Its always been that way. There are so many things now that are driven by a story, Weathers says. That is what attracts me to a project. It has to have some meaning to me. At this point in my life, thats what Im looking for and thats what Ive been doing. Weathers has been a staple in film for decades. Hes brought to life some iconic characters. He rose to fame during the late 1970s and 1980s with his roles in films such as Action Jackson, Predator and the Rocky franchise, in which he played Apollo Creed. In the 1990s, he had roles in three Adam Sandler films. More recently, Weathers career has been revived with roles in Toy Story 4 and The Mandalorian, in which he played Combat Carls and Greef Carga, respectively. Weathers will be one of the dozens of guests this weekend at Albuquerque Comic Con, which is celebrating its 10th year. Weathers will participate in panels at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, and Sunday, Jan. 19. Everything has been very positive, he says of his life. No matter what I may complain about, its truly First World problems. Weathers strives to be fulfilled with each project. By having choices and being able to do those things with enough craftsmanship and artistry is what does it, he says. There are ideas and concepts that never get out there. For me, its all challenging and fulfilling if you are asked to be part of a project and it succeeds. There are a lot of stories that need to be told. In between projects, Weathers does make time to attend comic conventions and says theres a certain amount of fun to be had. Its a lot of work, he says. Anytime you are engaging with that many people with that short a time. Its about being focused and giving your attention to each person. It can drain you, but being able to interact with fans peps you up. Weathers says he cant recall having filmed a production in New Mexico. Hes hoping that something will come along to change that. Ive been attracted to the idea since Breaking Bad and how well that did, he says. The landscapes in the show are beautiful, and theres something about it that has a serenity to it. Cities and big cities in particular are so scarred by so much and theres an intensity to daily life. To be in landscapes that are more placid and natural and isnt so infested with just activity and commerce its a relief and joy that New Mexico still holds onto that. Delay: An artists impression of the new building on the Apollo House site in Dublin Plans by Pat Crean's Marlet Property Group to increase the height of the 11-storey office block it is delivering on the site of the former Apollo House in Dublin to 21 storeys have been put on hold. This follows An Taisce and one local resident, Mark Conan, appealing the Dublin City Council submission to An Bord Pleanala to grant planning permission for the additional 10-storeys. The residential tower comprises 54 build-to-rent apartments and the combined height of the amended College Square development would rise to 78.95m. However, in the appeal, Kevin Duff of the Dublin City Association of An Taisce has told An Bord Pleanala that were the building to be permitted, "Dublin would be headed toward an incoherent Manchester or Brussels-type city centre, with modern high-rise towers randomly inserted into the historic urban structure and looming up behind old streets and buildings". An Taisce claims that the proposal does not protect the major cultural inheritance of College Green or the historic Trinity College campus enclosure. However, the city council planner's report, which recommended planning permission be granted, concluded that "the proposed development will add to the upgrading of one of the most prominent locations in the city". A decision is due on the appeal in May. As one of the first brands to partner with JD on C2M in China, HP cooperated with JD successfully in the gaming PC segment. In 2015, HP launched its Gaming Brand OMEN and successfully introduced the OMEN Gaming PC series, now JD is officially HP's "Best WW partner for OMEN by HP Growth" in 2019, HP and JD plan to launch 100 C2M products in the next two years. Trial experiences to target Office 365 users JD and Microsoft China will promote a trial experience to target Office 365 users. The two companies have been partnering closely during the recent years to bring the omnichannel retail experience to Chinese users and have launched the Microsoft Re-imagined Retail at JD's Retail Experience shops in the cities including Wuhan, Suzhou and Meizhou. US $800 million in sales over the next three years JD and Kingston start a new milestone through beginning a second 10-year partnership following years of successful cooperation beginning in 2009. The two companies are targeting US $800 million in sales over the next three years. Worldwide Most Valuable Partner JD is named Western Digital's "Worldwide Most Valuable Partner" for 2019, and both parties strengthen cooperation. JD and Western Digital cooperate strategically in tailored products, supply chain and marketing solutions, which helped Western Digital gain significant sales growth. Tao Ren, General Manager of JD Computers and Digital Products said: "We are proud to make these new commitments which can only be brought about through strong partnerships forged in trust. We are pleased to partner with the world's leading consumer electronics brands to bring the best they have to offer over 330 million Chinese consumers." During this past Single's Day sales period, JD launched "JD E-SPACE", a custom-built, 50,000-square-meter shopping destination in Chongqing, China, which provides experiential shopping through integrating fun, technology and convenience for consumers. At the store, customers can get their hands on the products displayed during CES, including the new Microsoft Surface Pro 7 launched in November and the Surface Laptop 3 launched in December, 2019. SOURCE JD.com The resolution provides for the appointment of Oleksandr Merezhko, MP with the Servant of the People faction, as a new chair. The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has dismissed MP Bohdan Yaremenko from the post of Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation. The relevant decision was backed by 317 MPs, an UNIAN correspondent report. The resolution provides for the appointment of Oleksandr Merezhko, MP with the Servant of the People faction, as a new chairman, relieving him of his duties as a member of the Legal Policy Committee. The resolution also provides for the appointment of Yaremenko member of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, relieving him of his duties as its chairman. Read alsoUkraine's PM Honcharuk submits resignation letter Volodymyr Viatrovych, MP from the European Solidarity faction, has been elected a member of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy. As UNIAN reported, on October 30, 2019, journalists of one of the online publications made a compromising photo of Yaremenko chatting on a dating site, while working at the session hall. After that, three factions called to dismiss Yaremenko. On the same day, Yaremenko announced he would submit a letter of resignation to Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Huseyn Safarov Trend: The adoption of the resolution entitled "Annual report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy" by the European Parliament, which supports Azerbaijans territorial integrity and obliges European officials to adhere to the document in the EU foreign policy, is indeed Azerbaijans important diplomatic victory, Director of Russia's Institute of Contemporary Development, political analyst Dmitry Solonnikov told Trend. This will allow putting forward the issues for discussion and adopting more specific documents on a number of issues of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including those of direct action on the basis of the provisions stipulated by the resolution, the analyst added. "The Azerbaijani side will have more reasons to advance its position, Solonnikov added. This may also apply to the problems of internally displaced people affected as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, making unambiguous decisions shall not be expected. As for the position of some members of the European Parliament, they traditionally adhere to their own idea of the legal parameters of international issues, Solonnikov said. So, something extraordinary shall not be expected. "The members of the European Parliament who voted against the adoption of this resolution are unlikely to consider themselves constrained within this resolution, the analyst said. This may concern both the dissemination of alternative information and the visits to the occupied Azerbaijani territories at the invitation of the Armenian side. Undoubtedly, the adopted resolution is Azerbaijans success in foreign policy, but this is not a final victory, the analyst stressed. The voting on the resolution, in which the majority of MEPs - 454 out of 704 MEPs involved in the elections - voted in favor of adopting the document, was closed in the European Parliament on January 15. Unlike standard resolutions of the European Parliament, this document is doctrinal, that is, it obliges European officials to abide by its provisions in the EU foreign policy, sets priorities and main areas of the EU activity in contacts with other countries. 63 Shares Share Ive often been struck by a painting of Maimonides in my medical school. The artwork features him holding pages of a book that say, Teach thy tongue to say I do not know and thou shalt progress. That quote resonates with me more each day. As a first-year MD student, Ive uttered the words I dont know much more than ever. Ive discovered that, whether Im naming nerves found in the infratemporal fossa during anatomy observations or coming up with differential diagnoses for a healthy young woman who came into the emergency department with shortness of breath, medical school humbles you quickly. Ive been trying to feel less uncomfortable about this and have started using these moments to patch gaps in my knowledge. Hearing the words I dont know from a physician recently stirred up a host of emotions in me, not because of my experiences at medical school but because of my personal experiences with the medical profession at home. This year brought new and unexpected challenges to my family. On New Years Day, I was at home in Queens, New York, contemplating how relaxing and boring winter vacation was while I looked forward to classes starting up again. That evening, everything changed. I heard my younger brother, Sadaab, cry for help, and alert us that he was about to fall as he exited the bathroom. My father and I quickly rushed to grab him as he lost consciousness, collapsing into our arms. My brother suffers from a pain condition called complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). We had never seen anything like this happen to him before. After a few minutes, he was able to hear us and drink some fluids but wasnt able to open his eyes or stay seated for long. Years of experience with his CRPS made us hesitant to go to the emergency department. As weird as that sounds for a medical student to say, EDs are notorious within the chronic-pain patient community for not having the knowledge needed to deal with those episodes. This time we had no choice. Riding in the back of the ambulance with my brother, I observed him wincing in pain with every bump in the road. Despite the discomfort, he was able to answer all of the emergency medical technicians questions, and to thank her for her help. At our local ED, my brother repeated the medical history he has recited hundreds of times in the past. To that list, he added the symptom he felt prior to his episode of syncope: a rapid surge in heart rate. In the early morning, after receiving a couple of bags of intravenous fluid, he was able to open his eyes, but his heart rate was still elevated. An electrocardiogram (EKG), urine sample, and blood sample all came back negative, though, and the attending told us that there was no definitive diagnosis for my brother. He recommended we follow up with Sadaabs neurologist. Basically, the hospital staff didnt know what was wrong. Back at home, we discovered that Sadaabs balance issueswhich had eased with treatment, allowing him to use a cane for walkinghad returned, forcing him back into steadying himself using the walker hed previously ditched. The neurologist said my brothers symptoms were mainly cardiovascular. We were advised to see a cardiologist. After another EKG, as well as an echocardiogram, structural abnormalities of my brothers heart were ruled out. His cardiologist still wasnt able to provide him with any answers or medication to help alleviate his symptoms. So, after a week when his heart was monitored, the results came backyou guessed itnormal. The cardiologist said he shared our frustration, adding that the symptoms were most likely due to an autonomic neuropathy affecting the nerves to my brothers heart, resembling conditions such as POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). POTS symptoms of resting tachycardia and blood pressure plummeting when standing (leading to dizziness and fainting) certainly matched my brothers experience. Unfortunately, physicians dont know what causes POTS or have any effective treatments for it, other than prescribing medicine to elevate blood pressure. Still, the doctor couldnt say it was POTS. I was annoyed. Sadaab was once again relegated to being a medical mystery, instead of being able to live the life of a normal 21-year-old college student. What I appreciated, however, was how the physician admitted he didnt know exactly what was wrong with my brother. Five years earlier, when he was first diagnosed with CRPS, we didnt know much about it. After a host of exams, he was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Manhattan to complete inpatient physical therapy and to receive help in regaining mobility in his left leg, which had been affected by incredible pain. The pain remained, but the physician in charge of his care assured us that previous patients with CRPS had responded well to therapy. She seemed too confident in this, and we were glad. However, an accident soon after Sadaab returned homemade matters worse. The physician whod previously expressed confidence about my brothers recovery now suggested that the pain was inside my brothers mind. We thought this was ludicrous, but Sadaab followed through with therapy. After multiple sessions, it was determined that my brothers pain had no psychological basis. For the next year, the pain and tremors continued, and my brothers condition deteriorated. After Sadaab switched physicians and started a new pain-management regimen, his pain levels decreased. With this latest episode, he is again fighting to learn how to walk without an assistive device. Observing his new struggles has helped me come to terms with the phrase I dont know. The intensity of emotions that patients and their families experience is so strong that Im determined not to pretend to know the answer to a question or diagnosis and add to their frustration. I want to be the type of doctor who will seek answers myselfor find colleagues with the answers. I want to be the type of physician wholl admit when there isnt a good answer. Most of all, as I train to become the M.D. that I would want for patients like my brother, I will keep in mind the power and importance of the words I dont know. Sadiq Rahman is a medical student who blogs at the Doctors Tablet. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Kanpur, Jan 17 : Infamous 'Dr Bomb' Jalees Ansari, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, was arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) from Kanpur on Friday after he jumped parole and went missing. Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police O.P. Singh said that Ansari was arrested while he was coming out of a mosque in Kanpur. A missing person complaint had been filed by Ansari's family on Thursday in Mumbai. The DGP said: "He had been out on parole. His arrest is a major achievement for the state police." The 68-year-old convict of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case had been serving a life term. He was on parole for 21 days from the Ajmer Central Prison, Rajasthan, and was expected to surrender before prison authorities on Friday. During the parole period, he was ordered to visit the Agripada Police Station everyday between 10.30 a.m. and 12 p.m. to mark his attendance. However, Jalees Ansari did not visit the police station on Thursday during the designated time and his 35-year-old son Jaid Ansari approached the police station with a complaint about his "missing" father. According to the complaint, Jalees Ansari woke up in the early hours and told family members he was going to offer namaaz, but did not return home. On the son's complaint, the Agripada Police registered a complaint. The Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra ATS had launched a massive manhunt to trace him. The Uttar Pradesh Police received a tip-off about his presence in Kanpur. Jalees Ansari, known as Doctor Bomb in the underworld, was allegedly connected with terror outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahideen and taught terror groups how to make bombs. He was also questioned by the NIA in 2011 in connection with the 2008 bomb blast in Mumbai, the DGP said. On Thursday, his family members complained to the Agripada Police Station that he had gone to offer 'namaz' at 5 a.m. and then went 'missing', his phone switched off and no trace anywhere. The Mumbai Police alerted the Maharashtra ATS and others on Thursday and a massive manhunt was launched to trace and arrest Ansari. A medico by profession, Ansari, who served with the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation at one point of time, had undergone terror and explosives training in Pakistan in the early 1990s. He was finally convicted for the Jaipur serial blasts, Ajmer blast and Malegaon blast case and awarded a life sentence in jail. Besides, Ansari was reportedly involved in several other blasts in Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad and other places ostensibly as vendetta for the felling of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1992. Influenced by a terror mastermind Abdul Karim Tunda, Ansari had developed expertise in timer devices and TNT bombs, besides creating terror modules for IM, HuJI, SIMI, indoctrinating more to their cause, etc. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) Two operatives of East African militant group al-Shabab were killed in a US airstrike in Somalia, Africa Command said in statement. "In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, US Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabab terrorists in the vicinity of Qunyo Barrow, Somalia, Jan. 16," the statement said on Thursday. "Initial assessment concluded the airstrike killed two terrorists." Al-Shabab appears to be gaining strength in Somalia as a scheduled May pullout of African Union troops approaches, the Soufan Group said in a report released earlier in the day. The militant group weathered an intensified US campaign last year that included at least 60 strikes. Since March of 2017, al-Shabab has launched 900 attacks against civilians, according to the report. While the AFRICOM statement said that Thursday's airstrike did not hit any civilians, Amnesty International said in September that it has documented six cases where US air strikes are believed to have resulted in civilian casualties in Somalia, killing a total of 17 people and wounding eight. Liberal Moscow City Duma Deputy Yulia Galyamina has called on Muscovites to rally on January 19 against Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposed sweeping constitutional reforms. Galyamina wrote in a post on the VK social-media site on January 17 that the changes Putin proposed in his January 15 state-of-the-nation address amount to a "state coup." She urged the public to attend a previously scheduled rally that will mark the anniversary of the January 2009 murder of liberal lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova. Also on January 17, the Moscow mayor's office approved a 10,000-person rally against the constitutional reforms for February 1 on Sakharov Avenue. It was not clear who was organizing the demonstration. Opposition leader Aleksei Navalny posted on Twitter that the current Russian Constitution is "disgusting." "It contains within it the mechanism for usurping power," he wrote. "According to this constitution they took everything away from us from elections to our pensions. And they want to take more. There's no point in defending it." During his speech, Putin proposed numerous revisions to the constitution in what analysts have seen as preparation for a power transition after his current term as president ends in 2024. Under the current constitution, he is not allowed to seek a third consecutive term. Based on reporting by AP and Meduza Have a look at yourselves and see how bad and dreary your lives are! No one sums up Anton Chekhovs work better than the man himself. The Russian playwright and short story artiste is regarded now as one of the greatest pioneers of psychological realism. Chekhov is never far from the London stage. With themes of dissatisfaction, missed opportunities and the meaninglessness of life, its just so damn relatable. Next up, Ian Rickson directs a new adaptation of Uncle Vanya in the West End, so we have rounded up five of the playwrights greatest theatrical works. Uncle Vanya (Seamus Ryan) Uncle Vanya is a reworking of a play already published a decade before. The Wood Demon was not well received, so Chekhov returned to his script to cut the character list in half, merge some of the more confusing plotlines and get shot of any happy endings (textbook Chekhov). Under the direction of Konstantin Staislavski, Uncle Vanya came to be a permanent fixture on the Moscow stage. Sonya, her uncle Vanya and Doctor Astrov live a mundane life in the countryside. The two men contemplate the futility of existence and the unrequited love of the same woman, the new wife of Professor Serebryakov, whose arrival brings up long-repressed emotions. Toby Jones takes the title role in the latest staging of this play, with Richard Armitage playing Astrov in Conor McPhersons adaptation in the West End. Three Sisters The three sisters in question are Olga, Masha and Irina Prozorov, who have moved to the countryside but obsess over their dream of returning to Moscow. Over the course of the play, all three women, dissatisfied with their lives (familiar theme?), look for ways to make themselves happy but ultimately fail. As is Chekhovs way, the moments of action take place off-stage, leaving the audience to witness the fallout of various catastrophic events and the emotions they bring. Unsurprisingly, at the end of the play, everyone is in a worse off place than when they started. Weve seen a whole slew of sisters treading the London boards over the past year. Rebecca Frecknall directed a version at the Almeida in April, followed by The Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg taking to the West End. The National Theatre transposed the story to 1960s Nigeria in Inua Ellams interpretation. The Seagull Charlie Gray Who better to describe The Seagull than the man himself? It's a comedy, there are three women's parts, six men's, four acts, landscapes (view over a lake); a great deal of conversation about literature, little action, tons of love. Opening night of The Seagull in 1896 was a complete failure. The audience was hostile, the lead actress lost her voice and Chekhov removed himself from the auditorium and went backstage for the last two acts so he didnt have to watch it. When the play later became a success, he refused to believe people who told him of its triumph, thinking they were just being nice. The Seagulls rise under the direction of Stanislavski, who transformed it into a tragedy, saw the play dubbed one of the greatest events in Russian theatre history. An aspiring writer, a successful writer, an actress and a bored young woman consider hopes and broken dreams in an isolated country estate. Emilia Clarke will make her West End debut as Nina in a modernisation of the play by Anya Reiss, and directed by Jamie Lloyd. Ivanov Middle aged-men feeling like theyd thrown their lives away is a common theme for the playwright, and heres another one. Ivanov is in the earlier half of his output and the first of his plays to be professionally produced. Commissioned to write a comedy, Chekhov instead responded with a drama, which took only ten days to write. (He did have to subsequently rewrite it after absolutely hating its first outing, but still ten days!) Self-loathing and negligent office worker Ivanov is in a huge amount of debt, spiralling out of control of his own life and coping with a dying wife, while having a mid-life crisis. "I do nothing and think about nothing, but I am tired body and soul," he laments, so he runs away to party with the people to whom he owes money. The Cherry Orchard Alexander Bakshy Chekhovs final play, first produced just months before he died from tuberculosis, was much more difficult to write. Incapacitated by illness, he could only write one or two lines a day. It tells of an aristocratic woman who returns home prior to its auction to a former peasant. The title refers to a cherry orchard, at risk of being cut down after the house is sold, which represents the cultural change in Russia at the time: the rise of the middle class and the fall of the aristocracy. Emily Thornberry today vowed to be an 'unashamedly socialist' Labour leader if she takes over from Jeremy Corbyn as she also pledged to quit if she did badly in the top job. Ms Thornberry formally launched her leadership campaign with a speech in her home town of Guildford this evening as she desperately tried to make an impact on the contest. Her speech came after the publication of a new poll which showed the battle is increasingly a two horse race between Sir Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey. The YouGov survey suggested Sir Keir had extended his lead over his rivals with the shadow Brexit secretary on course to beat Ms Long-Bailey in the final round of voting by 63 per cent to 37 per cent. That is an increase for Sir Keir on the company's poll last month which put him on 61 per cent and Ms Long-Bailey on 39 per cent. The numbers are likely to cause alarm in Ms Long-Bailey's leadership team as she appears to be losing ground to her fellow front runner. She will launch her campaign at an event in Manchester tonight. Emily Thornberry launched her leadership bid in Guildford this evening as she pledged to bring forward an 'unashamedly socialist' manifesto if she takes over from Jeremy Corbyn But a new YouGov poll showed Sir Keir Starmer is on course to win the Labour leadership race An earlier Survation poll of Labour members for the LabourList website published on Wednesday suggested Ms Long-Bailey had the support of 42 per cent of members with Sir Keir second with 37 per cent. Jess Phillips had the support of nine per cent of members and Lisa Nandy had the backing of seven per cent. Ms Thornberry was last out of the five candidates with just one per cent of support. The shadow foreign secretary tried to kick start her campaign this evening as she said that if she becomes Labour leader she would put forward an 'unashamedly socialist' manifesto. 'We must not make the mistake of defining it as a choice between who will take us to the left, or to the centre or to the right, because the only issue that really matters now is who will take us forward,' she said. 'Who will stand up and lead the fight? Who will give us strength, experience and passion? Who will give us an unashamedly socialist but deliverable manifesto? Who will win back the voters we lost in the last two years? And crucially, who will take us to victory and take us back into government? A YouGov poll of 1,005 Labour members, pictured, found that Keir Starmer was the clear favourite to win the nomination 'And its because I believe I have the skill, the values and the vision to achieve all of those goals that I decided to stand up and fight for the Labour leadership.' She also promised that she would step down as Labour leader if people did not believe she was on course to win the next general election. She said: 'If Im elected leader, and if I believe at any point, or you tell me, or my colleagues tell me, or the polls tell me, that I cant win an election and take us into power, I will always put the Labour party first. 'I will do what I believe is best to ensure we get a Labour government. So in those circumstances, I would stand down and give someone else the chance to achieve the only goal that counts for our country: getting a Labour Prime Minister back in power.' She warned that Labour faces 'a long, tough road back to power' after the party last month suffered its worst general election defeat since 1935. She set out why she believes she is best placed to take the fight to the Tories. 'In my 42 years as a member of the Labour Party, there is no fight or campaign our movement has waged where I have not been on the frontline,' she said. 'And since coming to Parliament 15 years ago, I've also been on the frontline in the fights against climate change, Universal Credit, and anti-abortion laws in Northern Ireland. Rebecca Long-Bailey, pictured in Westminster on January 14, will launch her leadership bid in Manchester tonight 'I've led the charge as shadow foreign secretary against Donald Trump and the war in Yemen. 'And in the two years I shadowed Boris Johnson as foreign secretary, I showed him up every time for the lying, reckless charlatan that he is.' Ms Thornberry squeaked into the next stage of the leadership race on Monday after managing to secure the backing of the required 22 MPs needed to progress. Now the five candidates must win the nominations of 33 local constituency parties or three Labour affiliates, including at least two trade unions, to enter the final postal ballot of members. Party members will then vote between February 21 to April 2 with the winner announced on April 4. Despite rain, women protesters continued their indefinite sit-in at Mansoor Ali Park in Roshan Bagh area here for the sixth day against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and NRC (National Register of Citizens) here on Friday. They offered Friday prayers (namaz) at the protest spot for the success of their movement. While the number of women protesters swelled at the park, a large number of men stood outside as members of different organizations and political parties expressed their views against CAA and NRC. The protesters had an argument with women police personnel as they tried to enter the park in the afternoon. However, senior officials intervened and the women police personnel were deployed outside the park. The administration remained alert on Friday and deployed companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) at different crossings of the city as a precautionary measure. Local Intelligence Unit officials and policemen in plain clothes kept watch on the developments. The officials remained in touch with local leaders and religious heads. In small groups, women protesters marched from the old city towards Mansoor Ali Park where they joined the sit-in after the Friday prayers. Initially, only a few policemen were deployed at the protest spot. On Thursday morning, the administration increased the police presence in anticipation of protest marches and rallies against CAA and NRC on Friday. A fire tender was also sent to the spot earlier. Meanwhile, senior Supreme Court lawyer Mehmood Paracha, activist Veena Rana and Madhu Garg reached Mansoor Ali Park where they expressed their views and encouraged the agitating women. Following the rain, volunteers at the spot arranged shade, tents and more bonfires. The locals ensured regular supply of tea and snacks besides food and water for the women, whose numbers are increasing every day. Tarranum Khan, leader of the protesting women, said inclement weather would not deter women on the indefinite sit-in. PHOTO CAPTION: Muslim women offering prayers at Mansoor Ali Park on Friday for success of their indefinite sit-in against CAA (HT) Japan firms take few steps to brace for increasing floods: Reuters poll Tools used for are metal processing are seen at a flood-damaged factory in Kawasaki By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Izumi Nakagawa TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese companies have contingency plans for the floods that increasingly drench this island nation, but most have done little to fortify facilities, relying instead on insurance and securing alternative supply sources, a Reuters poll found. Japanese have long been conditioned to prepare for earthquakes, but powerful typhoons and heavy rains have brought the risk of flooding to the forefront, as climate change brings ever more frequent bouts of extreme weather. The monthly Corporate Survey found 77% of Japanese firms have compiled business continuity plans for disasters, but just 45% of companies have taken steps to protect their facilities from inundation. Some 80% have bought insurance and three-fourth diversified their supply chains, the survey showed. "We need to reconsider (risk scenarios) on the assumption that abnormal weather is here to stay," a manager of a transport equipment maker responded in the survey. A manager at a metal-products maker wrote, "It's physically impossible to deal with all expectations." Japan has increasingly been lashed by floods described as the worst in decades, and last year likely saw the fifth straight year of growing flood damage. Policymakers worry about a delay in recovery from supply- chain disruptions caused by typhoons and floods, which will take a heavy toll on the export-reliant economy already grappling with global slowdown. Typhoon Jebi, the strongest in 25 years, killed at least 13 people in western Japan in 2018 and inundated the region's major airport. Last year, Typhoon Hagibis ripped across a wide swath of central and eastern Japan, including Tokyo, killing at least 56, injuring more than 200 and leaving towns, factories and farms under water. DAMAGES The direct damage from floods last year is expected to exceed that of 2018, when it reached $12 billion, a government official told Reuters. That puts 2019 on track for the most direct flood damage since 2004, when it hit $17.3 billion. The capital escaped the worst of the death and damage. But if a storm were to overwhelm the massive dikes and levees protecting the Arakawa river that runs through low-lying eastern Tokyo, the economic damage could exceed $800 billion, warns Yoshiaki Kawata, a Kansai University professor. Story continues "We want the administration to explain the cause of the flood and the measures to be taken in the future," said Haruaki Amari, whose small factory making parts for semiconductor production machinery in Kawasaki, southwest of Tokyo, was crippled by last year's powerful typhoon and floods. "Without such efforts, any new equipment we may install here will go to waste," Amari told Reuters, surveying the damage. Water surged over the nearby river banks, inundating eight of its 10 machine tools on the factory's ground floor. It scaled back production as it waited to have the machines fixed. It cost Amari's firm $1.36 million, about a year's sales, he said. The Corporate Survey, conducted from Dec. 25 to Jan. 10 for Reuters by Nikkei Research, canvassed 502 big and midsize non-financial companies. Roughly half of them answered questions on disasters on condition of anonymity to express opinions freely. Japan Inc relies on an intricate network of suppliers, many of them tiny, family-owned companies, that keep the titans humming. Mazda Motor Corp <7261.T> suffered a loss of about $250 million when its subcontractors were struck by heavy rains in July 2018, forcing the automaker to suspend production of 44,000 cars. In contrast, Subaru Corp <7270.T> halted production of about 10,000 cars in October's typhoon but was able to resume output in four-and-a-half days thanks to thorough supply-chain and risk management. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party has called for a new ministry tasked with overseeing disaster prevention and recovery, while his cabinet has budgeted 7 trillion yen (49 billion pounds) for three-year infrastructure projects to boost national resilience. (Additional reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) While that may have been an element in the Legislatures appropriations inaction, it shouldnt have been. Actually, SQ 781 didnt leave the calculation open to debate. The (OMES) calculation shall be final and shall not be adjusted for any subsequent changes in the underlying data, SQ 781 says. Perhaps in response to the DOCs complaints, OMES revised the way it calculated the SQ 780 savings for fiscal year 2019, basing it on DOC receptions of inmates charged with the crimes covered by SQ 780. A different process brought the calculated SQ 780 savings down to $26.8 million for fiscal year 2019. The figures updated quietly to a legislative committee in October arent academic, despite the fact that the money hasnt been distributed as it was supposed to be. Everyone in Oklahoma should sit up and notice this underlying point: The states first genuine effort at smart-on-crime reform worked! Its saved nearly $90 million in two years! And it did it without legitimately making us any less safe. New Delhi: Russia on Friday said it has conveyed to India on multiple occasions its concerns over the US-backed Quadrilateral coalition for the Indo-Pacific and held that introduction of competitive structures will create friction among the countries of the region. Russian Ambassador Nikolai Kudashev said Moscow was "concerned and apprehensive" over the Indo-Pacific strategy of the US as it has completely ignored existence of Russia and China while pushing forward its agenda for the strategically key region. Kudashev's comments at a press conference came two days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov strongly criticised the US-led Indo-Pacific initiative, calling it a "divisive approach" to disrupt existing regional structures and contain China. "I would say quite frankly that we expressed to India time and again our concerns about the American strategy, our concerns about the Quad. As far as I understand, our concerns were taken into consideration and our dialogue on these issues (with India) is continuing," said the Russian Ambassador. In November 2017, India, the US, Australia and Japan gave shape to the long-pending "Quad" coalition to work closely in the Indo-Pacific region. The move was seen as an attempt to contain China's growing influence in the region. "We need to deepen our mutual understanding of the events evolving in the Pacific ocean and Indian Ocean... Why should we introduce some competitive structure to divide the countries of the region rather than bringing them together," the Russian envoy said. Last September, the four countries held talks at the foreign ministerial level, signalling "significant elevation" of the cooperation. The US, Japan and Australia have also been pressing for a greater role by India in the Indo-Pacific region. In an address at the Raisina Dialogue on Wednesday, Lavrov called the Indo-Pacific strategy of the US as "divisive". "We are concerned and apprehensive. We are not in favour of the western design and western concept of Indo-Pacific strategy. They want to negate the dialogue culture in the region. They ignored the existence of Russia and China though Russia has one of longest shores facing the Pacific," said Kudashev. He said India's strategy is not to contain anybody and to deny anybody opportunity in the Pacific Ocean. Asked about India being part of the US-backed 'Quad', Kudashev said: "I cannot speak for India... I am not in a position to interfere in India's foreign policy. We never mix India and the US. India is our special privileged strategic partner. This is the difference." The Indo-Pacific has been a major focus area of India's foreign policy in the last few years and its strategy is pushing based on bringing peace and stability of the region. Last month, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh said the Quad does not have a military role at the moment. There has been concern in India over China's fast expanding military and economic clout in the Indo-Pacific. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/17/2020 -- Global Underground Mining Market: Key Highlights The global underground mining market was valued at ~US$ 21.5 Bn in 2018, and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of ~2% during the forecast period. Based on equipment, the drilling equipment segment accounted for a major share of the global underground mining market in 2018. In terms of method, the unsupported segment held a significant share of the global underground mining market in 2018. Room-and-pillar mining is an old method applied to horizontal or nearly horizontal deposits. This method has been refined over the years, and is used in coal and non-coal mining. In terms of operator, the contract mining segment constituted a key share of the global underground mining market in 2018. Several contractual agreements are used in contract mining. These can be broadly classified into traditional contracts, risk sharing contracts, and strategic alliance contracts, depending upon the mine life or duration of the contract. Latin America is estimated to offer high growth potential to the underground mining market in the next few years. Abundance of mineral resources and significant investments from mining companies are driving the underground mining market in the region. Key Drivers and Restraints of Global Underground Mining Market The renewable energy sector is expanding at a significant pace across the globe. However, it is unable to meet the rising demand for power. This has resulted in a chasm between the demand for power and its generation, which developing countries such as China, India, and Indonesia are striving to meet through coal-based generation. This is driving the use of coal in power generation applications. According to the World Coal Association, coal accounted for approximately 38% share of the total electricity generated in 2018. This percentage has remained almost unchanged in the last 20 years. Thus, rise in the demand for power is expected to boost the demand for coal in the power industry. This is likely to drive the underground mining market. Coal production in the U.S. increased to 273 million short tons through underground mines in 2017, up from 252 million short tons in 2016. Implementation of IoT in underground mining provides several opportunities to companies to increase their productivity. IoT enables data integration from an increasing number of sources. This enables mining companies to plan their mining operations with accuracy. Companies require skilled professionals with technical skills, high degree of problem-solving, and considerable understanding of such tools and machines to work with technologically-advanced tools and machines. According to a survey by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America, Inc., in January 2017, 73% of businesses faced difficulty in finding skilled workers, and 55% businesses identified worker shortage. Thus, dearth of skilled labor is hampering the implementation of smart mining methods. This is adversely affecting the underground mining market. Latin America Offers Lucrative Opportunities to Global Underground Mining Market Latin America dominates the global underground mining market. The mining industry in the region has been thriving since the last few years. In 2017, 305 companies invested US$ 2.38 Bn for exploration in the region. Chile, Peru, and Mexico received 25%, 22%, and 21% of these investments, respectively, in the year. Favorable government policies and automation of processes in excavation operations are anticipated to drive the underground mining market in Latin America during the forecast period. Currently, Brazil has more than 180 active mines. The most productive underground mines in the country extract up to 1,000,000 tons of minerals every year. Currently, Brazil has two major underground mines: Morro Velho and Serra Grande Gold Mine. Chile is a prominent producer of copper in Latin America. It produces 32% of copper in the world. According to Cochilco, Chile's state copper agency, the country produced its largest volume of copper ever (i.e. 5.83 million tons) in 2018, up by more than 6% of that produced in 2017. Global Underground Mining Market: Key Developments In April 2019, Epiroc Australia and Mobilaris announced that it had been contracted by OZ Minerals to deploy the Mobilaris Mining Intelligence information management system for digitization of one of its underground operations. This digitalization aims to increase production, efficiency, and safety in OZ Mineral's new Carrapateena underground mine in South Australia. In September 2019, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology launched the new Sandvik RDX5 rock drill to complement its rock drill offering for underground drill rigs. The new RDX5 rock drill is a strong replacement for the established HLX5 rock drill model in Sandvik's drilling equipment, which has a heritage and longstanding reputation of being the most reliable rock drill in the world. In November 2018, West African Resources awarded an underground mining contract for the M1 South deposit at the Sanbrado gold project in Burkina Faso to Byrnecut. The contract, worth US$ 110 Mn over five years, is Byrnecut's second in the West African country. Request A Sample of Underground Mining Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2372 Underground Mining Market: Competition Landscape The global underground mining market is highly fragmented, with the presence of a large number of players. High capital investments in facilities, equipment, technologies, and transport vehicles poses a high barrier to the entry for new players in the global underground mining market. Regulatory pathways for clearance and approval of underground mining are time-consuming and capital-intensive. This creates another barrier for the entry of new players into the market. Key players operating in the global underground mining market are BHP, Rio Tinto, Glencore, Vale S.A., Alcoa Corporation, Coal India Ltd, Anglo American Plc, Barminco, CIMIC Group Limited, OZ Minerals, The Redpath Group, Thyssen Mining, China Shenhua Energy Company Limited, Norilsk Nickel Group, Implats Platinum Limited, Amur Minerals Corporation, GBF Underground Mining Company, and Freeport-McMoRan. A man holds a sign in the street as Lev Parnas arrives to court in New York, Monday, Dec. 2, 2019. Read more WASHINGTON Lev Parnas said he arrived for his May meeting in Kyiv with a top aide to Ukraines president-elect, Volodymyr Zelensky, with a clear directive from Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trumps personal lawyer: Unless Zelensky announced an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden, one of Trumps possible 2020 rivals, his countrys relationship with the United States would sour. Among the consequences he threatened, Parnas said in interviews this week: that Vice President Mike Pences expected attendance at Zelenskys inauguration later that month a high-level recognition that the Ukrainians urgently sought would be canceled. When Ukrainians were unresponsive, Parnas said he relayed the bad news to Giuliani. "OK, they'll see," the president's lawyer responded, Parnas told MSNBC. The very next day, Trump instructed Pence to cancel his trip to Ukraine for Zelensky's inauguration, according to a whistleblower complaint and congressional testimony from one of Pence's own aides. The rapid sequence of events in mid-May marks one of the earliest known moments when Guilianis shadow campaign to pressure Ukraine to launch investigations that would benefit Trump inextricably merged with official U.S. foreign policy and, if Parnas account is accurate, appeared to move the levers of the American government. In the process, the vice president was dangled as a bargaining chip perhaps unwittingly to exert leverage over a foreign government, according to Parnas, a Soviet-born businessman who functioned as Giulianis fixer in Ukraine. Trump's supporters have attacked Parnas' credibility, noting that he is under indictment in New York for campaign finance violations. In a statement, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham called Parnas "a man who is currently out on bail for federal crimes and is desperate to reduce his exposure to prison." Giuliani, who denied to the New York Times last year that he directed Parnas to deliver a warning to the Ukrainians, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. The aide to Zelensky who met with Parnas, Serhiy Shefir, and an attorney for Igor Fruman, another Giuliani associate in attendance, have also disputed aspects of Parnas' account. However, text messages and other documents released by the House this week, as well as congressional testimony during the impeachment inquiry, corroborate the timeline that Parnas detailed in interviews with MSNBC and CNN about the episode and show how a rogue operation engineered by Giuliani began subsuming official U.S. policy. A Very Harsh Message The takeover did not happen immediately. Beginning in 2018, Giuliani and two associates Parnas and Fruman spent months pursuing material in Ukraine to benefit Trump and agitating for the ouster of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, whose removal was sought by a top Ukrainian prosecutor who promised to help Trump in exchange. By the spring of 2019, Giulianis campaign finally seemed to be paying dividends. Yovanovitch was abruptly recalled back to the United States in late April. And Ukrainian government officials appeared willing to cooperate with Trumps lawyer particularly Yuri Lutsenko, at the time Ukraines top prosecutor and a close political ally of then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. But when Zelensky a comedian and political neophyte trounced Poroshenko in the final round of Ukraines presidential election in late April, Giulianis project was thrown into doubt. In early May, as Zelensky prepared for his inauguration later that month, Giuliani tried to make inroads with the new Ukrainian leadership and planned a trip to Kyiv with the hope of meeting the president-elect. The former mayor told the Times on May 9 he was planning to ask Zelensky, among other things, to investigate the involvement of Bidens son on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. Giuliani asserted that his mission to Ukraine was a personal one, being undertaken to assist the presidents personal defense in the special counsel investigation even though that probe had concluded. "This isn't foreign policy," Giuliani told the Times. In a letter dated May 10, sent through Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, Giuliani asked Zelensky for that meeting so he could make a "specific request" in his "capacity as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent." He didn't mention Biden by name. After Giuliani's travel plans became public and prompted an outcry, he scrapped the trip. Giuliani went on Fox News the night of May 10 and said he wasn't going to Kyiv because Zelensky was surrounded by enemies of Trump and enemies of the United States. The comments irked Zelensky's team in Kyiv, which wanted to secure Trump's support but saw his personal lawyer calling them enemies on cable television. At that point, Parnas told MSNBCs Rachel Maddow in an interview that aired Wednesday, he was tapped by Giuliani to convey a very harsh message that the U.S.-Ukrainian relationship would be sour unless the Zelensky administration announced the investigations Giuliani wanted. "The most important was the announcement of the Biden investigation," he said. Without that, "Pence would not show up" at Zelensky's inauguration. While Giuliani emphasized his Ukraine trip was intended for Trumps personal benefit, Parnas said he went to Ukraine empowered to invoke core powers of the U.S. government military aid, official travel, a White House visit to force the Ukrainians hand. Messages exchanged on WhatsApp between Parnas and Shefir, the top Zelensky aide, show that the Giuliani associate introduced himself to the Ukrainian hours later on May 11. "I am mayor rudy Giuliani's friend please call me," he wrote in Russian. As his calling card, Parnas sent a copy of the letter Giuliani had sent to Zelensky to prove his association. Shefir responded and agreed to meet Parnas on May 12 at an upscale restaurant in Kyiv. Parnas told Maddow that the meeting was tense. He said Shefir told him he would have to get back to Parnas with an answer to his demand. But when Parnas tried to message the Ukrainian aide that night for an update, he said he got no response. The text messages show that evening, Parnas messaged Shefir saying, "Serhiy good evening is there any news!" Shefir didn't respond to any of Parnas' text messages after that, according to the cache of messages released by House Democrats. In a statement to the Times in November, Shefir did not directly address what was discussed at the meeting, but said that the Zelensky team did not view Parnas and Fruman, who accompanied him, as official representatives who "could speak on behalf of the U.S. government." On the night of May 12, Parnas said, he called Giuliani and told him things were a no-go. Pence's top Russia adviser, Jennifer Williams, said she was surprised the following morning to receive a call from an assistant to Pence's chief of staff, informing her that preliminary plans for Pence to travel to Ukraine for the inauguration had been canceled, she later testified to Congress. Williams said the news was curious, because preparations were already underway. She testified that when she asked about the sudden change, she was told that Trump had directed Pence to skip the event but not the reason why. My understanding from my colleague and, again, I wasnt there for the conversation was that the president asked the vice president not to attend, Williams testified. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv were also taken aback by the change in plans, according to congressional witnesses. David Holmes, an official in the U.S. Embassy, testified that he, too, had been told that Pence would be leading the delegation for Zelenskys inauguration. Later, he said he was informed that the White House had whittled down an initial proposed list for the official delegation to the inauguration from over a dozen individuals to just five, led by then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Zelensky's team had expected Pence to come because Biden led the delegation at Poroshenko's inauguration five years earlier. The Ukrainians were hoping Pence would attend to show continuity in U.S. support for Ukraine. Marc Short, Pence's chief of staff, said that Parnas' account is not credible and should not be believed. This is very simple: Lev Parnas is under a multi-count indictment and will say anything to anybody who will listen in hopes of staying out of prison, he said in a statement. Its no surprise that only the liberal media is listening to him. Asked about Parnas by reporters as he traveled through Florida on Thursday, Pence said, "I don't know the guy." The vice president also dismissed as "completely false" the speculation by Parnas that Pence was aware of the goal to get Zelensky to announce an investigation into Biden. A senior administration official said that Pence and his team had no knowledge of the meeting between Parnas and Shefir, nor was the vice president's office aware of any conversation between Giuliani and Trump immediately before Trump's directive to Pence that he skip Zelensky's inauguration. The official would not share what reason Trump gave Pence for canceling his trip, citing the White Houses long-standing policy to not comment on private conversations between the president and the vice president. A sudden change in tone The Ukrainians desperately needed Trumps support as they faced a continuing war with Russian-backed proxies in the east, which since 2014 has left some 13,000 people dead. They were particularly eager to ensure a White House visit for Zelensky as a potent symbol of the United States support for Ukraine and its untested new president in its ongoing struggle with powerful Russia. Weeks earlier, Zelensky had appeared to be on good footing with the Americans. In an April 21 phone call, Trump congratulate him on winning Ukraine's presidency in a warm conversation. "I think you will do a great job," Trump told Zelensky, according to a transcript of the call released by the White House. "I have many friends from Ukraine who know you and like you." After that call, Williams, the Pence aide, said she received an email from Pence's chief of staff, informing her that Trump had asked Pence to attend the Ukrainian president's inauguration. And on April 23, Pence congratulated Zelensky in a phone call of his own. According to Williams, who was listening to the call, Zelensky invited Pence to attend his inauguration and Pence accepted, provided the dates worked out. The Ukrainians appeared startled by the sudden rebuff, Parnas said. Now they get word, because obviously, when Pence cancels, they get word that Pence is not coming, he told MSNBC. So, now, they realize that what I what I was telling them was true. By the end of May, Trump's attitude toward Ukraine and Zelensky was hostile. During a meeting in the Oval Office, he told Perry, then-special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and then-U. S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland three top government officials he had tasked with leading U.S. policy toward Ukraine that he was skeptical that Ukraine was committed to anti-corruption efforts, according to congressional testimony. Sondland testified that Trump also griped that Ukrainians had "tried to take him down" in the 2016 election. As the group pushed Trump to invite Zelensky to the White House, Sondland said, the president made it clear who was driving the U.S. posture toward Ukraine: "He just kept saying: Talk to Rudy, talk to Rudy." The Washington Posts Tom Hamburger contributed to this report. Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Myanmar's capital Friday on a state visit aimed at buttressing the embattled government of Aung San Suu Kyi and driving through multi-billion-dollar infrastructure deals. The wide highways and manicured lawns of Naypyidaw, purpose-built by generals under Myanmar's junta, were dotted with red banners bearing Xi's face and greetings in Burmese and Mandarin. Xi will sign a series of mammoth infrastructure deals as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative -- a global trade plan that promises to change the face of Myanmar. The centrepiece of the so-called China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) is a $1.3 billion deep-sea port at Kyaukphyu in central Rakhine state, giving Beijing a gateway to the Indian Ocean. A high-speed rail link is on the cards to connect the port and nearby planned industrial zone with the countries' shared border. China is an economic lifeline for Myanmar, a country where wariness lingers over the increasing influence of its giant neighbour. Bilateral trade was worth $16.8 billion last year and Beijing holds the largest share -- around $4 billion or 40 percent -- of Myanmar's foreign debt. Billions of cubic metres of gas and millions of barrels of oil from offshore rigs are pumped each year across the country into China. "The next one, two, three decades will be defined by Myanmar's relationship with China," said Yangon-based analyst Richard Horsey. After a welcome ceremony and dinner Friday, Xi will sit down with Suu Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing in separate meetings Saturday. Suu Kyi made a rare visit to Kachin state on the border with China ahead of Xi's visit. Kachin is the site of a planned Chinese-backed $3.6 billion, 6,000 megawatt dam that was mothballed in 2011 in the face of vociferous criticism across the country. This is thought to have been a personal slight to Xi, who signed off on the Myitsone dam with Myanmar's then-military junta as vice-president in 2009. - Protests planned - Activists are expected to protest in the commercial hub Yangon on Saturday against any reinstatement of the project. Economic interests aside, Myanmar's relationship with the superpower has other benefits. In an op-ed in Myanmar's state-run media this week, Xi said China supports Myanmar in "safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests and national dignity". China shields Myanmar at the United Nations, where pressure is mounting for accountability over the Rohingya crisis. Suu Kyi personally defended her nation against accusations of genocide at the UN's top court last month after a 2017 military crackdown forced 740,000 people over the border into Bangladesh. The alleged atrocities took place in Rakhine state -- an area that has since descended into a civil war between the military and an ethnic Rakhine rebel group. Myanmar has nonetheless declared the state open for business. While many Western investors are staying clear, China -- competing against other regional giants -- has few such qualms. Suu Kyi needs economic wins as well as diplomatic support as she heads towards elections due at the end of this year. Rakhine locals, meanwhile, fear they will again be overlooked after previous Beijing-backed infrastructure projects left many without land or livelihoods. "They didn't bring any benefits for us, not even any jobs," Moe Moe Aye from Kyaukphyu SEZ Watch Group told AFP. If you think damaging a heritage site such as Machu Picchu has no grave consequences, think again. More than a week after Peru launched an effort to rehabilitate and protect Machu Picchu, tourists have been arrested after they were found exploiting the area. According to Mitu, a group of six tourists made up of one French, two Brazilians, two Argentines and a Chilean, in their twenties and early thirties were arrested on Sunday after Peruvian park rangers and police officers caught them dumping their feces in a restricted area of Machu Picchu's Temple of the Sun, a revered part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Authorities have also discovered damages in the Temple of the Sun after a piece of stone had "broken off a wall and caused a crack in the floor." Regional police chief Wilbert Leyva said in an interview with a local news agency, "The six tourists are being detained and investigated by the public ministry for the alleged crime against cultural heritage." If found guilty of damaging Peru's heritage, the offenders will face at least four years in prison. Several parts of the semicircular Temple of the Sun are off limits to tourists for preservation reasons, including the part where the tourists defecated. Worshipers at the temple would make offerings to the sun which is considered the most important deity in the Inca empire as well as other pre-Inca civilizations in the Andean region. The Machu Picchu, built in 15th century, includes three distinct areas for agriculture, housing and religious ceremonies. Ruling a large swathe of western South America for 100 years before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, it is considered the most iconic site from the Inca empire. In 2014, authorities denounced a trend that saw tourists getting naked at the sacred location. This led to the detention of four American tourists March of that year for removing their clothes and posing for photos at the heritage site. In a pair of separate incidents earlier in the same week, two Canadians and two Australians were detained for stripping down for pictures there. In 2013, a naked couple was videotaped by other tourists while racing across Machu Picchu's grass field and bounding down a stone staircase like a pair of adolescent antelopes. In Quechua, a language indigenous to the area, Machu Picchu means "old mountain." Penalizing tourists exploiting the site is only one of Peru's major efforts to preserve Machu Picchu. Last week, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra announced launched a campaign to plant 1,000,000 trees in the protected zone around the Machu Picchu sanctuary, according to an article by Latin Post. Machu Picchu is located at the top of a lush mountain and was built during the reign of the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438-1471). The historic site lies around 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Andean city of Cusco, the old Inca capital in southeastern Peru. American explorer Hiram Bingham rediscovered the site in 191. Meanwhile, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1983. Ukraine Opens Probes Into Possible Surveillance Of Former U.S. Envoy Yovanovitch By RFE/RL January 16, 2020 Ukraine says it has launched two criminal investigations into the possible illegal surveillance of former U.S. ambassador to Kyiv Marie Yovanovitch before she was recalled from her post last year. The Interior Ministry made the announcement on January 16, two days after investigators at the U.S. House of Representatives released documents showing Lev Parnas, an associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, communicating about Yovanovitch's removal. In its statement, the ministry said that Ukrainian police "are not interfering in the internal political affairs of the United States." But it said the published messages "contain facts of possible violations of Ukrainian law and of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations." The ministry said it had asked the FBI to provide Ukraine with all the materials related to the case and offered U.S. representatives to take part in the investigations. Yovanovitch served as the U.S. ambassador to Kyiv from 2016 to May 2019, when she was abruptly recalled amid public criticism from Trump allies about her performance. She has testified in the House impeachment inquiry against Trump and was critical of the president's Ukraine policy. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/giuliani-associate-parnas -says-trump-knew-exactly-what-was-going -on-in-ukraine-campaign/30380729.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 Nerita Somers always wanted to be a pilot. But she is now $77,000 out of pocket without the commercial pilot licence she wanted after her flying school was stripped of its accreditation. The 31-year-old is among dozens of students considering a class action against Soar Aviation, which ran a course through Box Hill Institute. Last week, 400 students studying a diploma of aviation (commercial pilot licence aeroplane) were told Soar Aviation was not compliant as a registered training organisation. The company is looking to appeal the decision by the Australian Skills Quality Authority. Nerita Somers is considering joining a class action. Credit:Simon Schluter Ms Somers signed up in 2017 to study aviation part time, two nights a week, on top of her full-time job as an analyst in Melbourne. With a series of new US military deployments, Washington is escalating its preparations for a full-scale war with Iran. The buildup is continuing despite what has been universally described in the media as an easing of tensions following the January 3 US drone missile assassination of Irans Gen. Qassem Suleimani and a largely symbolic Iranian retaliation in the form of a casualty-free missile strike against two US-occupied bases in Iraq. The Pentagon has dispatched a squadron of F15-E fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, the newspaper Stars & Stripes, which covers the US military, reported Thursday. Deployed at the Prince Sultan Air Base, the warplanes are in easy striking distance of ground targets inside Iran. Their deployment follows that of another F15-E squadron to the Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates last October. The US Air Force last month issued a statement announcing that its 378th Expeditionary Air Wing had resurrected what had been a major US air base in Saudi Arabia 15 years ago and that it grows daily. The head of the units operations group, Col. Robert Raymond, said, We turned what was just a patch in the desert to a full-up operating location. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said on Wednesday that the Pentagon is preparing to ship new missile defense systems and other assets to the Middle East in preparation for a confrontation with Iran. Theyre a very capable enemy, McCarthy said. They have capabilities that can strike and kill Americans. He added, It could be a variety of enablers, like missile defense and others, so were looking at that. Meanwhile, the Norwegian military has revealed that Washington has pulled some 3,000 troops out of war games dubbed Cold Response that are scheduled from March 2 to March 18, citing the need to shift forces toward the conflict with Iran. The biannual exercise, which includes Norwegian forces as well as soldiers from the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Latvia, Finland and Sweden, is aimed at preparing for war against Russia. The Pentagon has already sent 4,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division into the region as well as deploying to the Persian Gulf 2,000 Marines aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan. This has been joined by the repositioning of a bomber strike force consisting of six B-52 heavy bombers to the US military base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, a British colonial possession that is within striking distance of Iran but beyond the range of Irans longest-range missiles. President Donald Trump said that the January 8 Iranian missile strike, which hit the Ain al-Asad Air Base in Iraqs Anbar province and a second base at the Erbil airport in Iraqi Kurdistan without killing or wounding a single American, was a sign that Tehran was standing down. He responded by announcing a new round of draconian economic sanctions and demanding that Washingtons NATO allies become more involved in the campaign against Iran. On the one hand, this approach was designed to intensify US imperialisms maximum pressure campaign against Iran, an effective economic blockade tantamount to war, and to enlist Washingtons erstwhile allies in Europe to ratchet up pressure on Tehran. The governments of the UK, France and Germanyspurred on by fears of US military action as well as economic blackmail in the form of a threatened 25 percent tariff on automobile exportsfell into line this week, threatening to reimpose United Nations sanctions against Iran that were ostensibly lifted as part of Tehrans 2015 agreement with the major powers to accept limits on its civil nuclear program in exchange for normalization of economic relations. In the face of the three European powers failure to counter the sanctions regime imposed by Washington after Trump unilaterally abrogated the nuclear accord in May of 2018, Tehran has progressively reduced its commitments under the accord. President Hassan Rouhani stated on Thursday that Iran is now enriching more uranium than before signing the 2015 agreement. US imperialism seeks to exploit this gang-up against Iran to compel the countrys Shia cleric-led bourgeois nationalist government to capitulate and accept a new Trump deal. This would entail not only effectively ending Irans nuclear program, but also disarming the country by scrapping its ballistic missiles and rolling back its influence throughout the Middle East. Washington and its allies are calculating that they can manipulate divisions within Irans ruling establishment and, above all, the Iranian bourgeoisies fears of a social revolt from below, to force Tehran to capitulate. At the same time, however, the Pentagon is actively preparing for the escalation of a war that has already been initiated with the murder of Suleimani together with nine other Iranians and Iraqis at Baghdads international airport, a killing spree that constituted both an act of war and a war crime. It has since been revealed that the killing of Suleimani had been adopted as US policy last June, following the Iranian downing of an American spy drone over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Trumps order to execute this policy following the storming of the US embassy in Baghdad by Iraqi protesters, however, caught the US military unprepared for an uncontrolled spiral of retaliations and counter-retaliations. The latest deployments indicate that preparations for all-out conflict are now well underway. Whether achieved through maximum pressure or all-out war, US imperialisms aims are the same: the imposition of a pliant puppet regime in a geostrategically critical country that links Europe and Asia, commands the crucial choke point of the Strait of Hormuz through which 20 percent of the worlds traded oil flows, and possesses the worlds fourth-largest proven reserves of oil and second-largest of natural gas. The conquest of Iran is viewed by Washington as an indispensable strategic preparation for direct conflict with its great power rivals, China and Russia. The extent to which US imperialism is prepared to go to achieve this aim was indicated in a chilling article by longtime military analyst William Arkin published this week by Newsweek titled With New Weapon in Donald Trumps Hands, the Iran Crisis Risks Going Nuclear. Arkin cites previously classified information that in 2016, before Trumps inauguration, the US military carried out an exercise dubbed Global Thunder 17 that simulated a US nuclear response against Iran in retaliation for the sinking of an American aircraft carrier and the use of chemical weapons against US troops. He cites a government contractor who helped write the war scenario as saying that it was chosen because it allowed the greatest integration of nuclear weapons, conventional military, missile defense, cyber, and space into what nuclear strategists call 21st Century deterrence. Since those war games, Arkin writes, the Pentagon has deployed a new nuclear weapon which increases the prospects for nuclear war. The new nuclear weapon, called the W762, is a low yield missile warhead intended for exactly the type of Iran scenario that played out in the last days of the Obama administration. These weapons, deliverable by Trident II missiles fired from submarines, are considered a more credible deterrent because they are more usable than larger warheads. As the current nuclear war plans are written, Arkin warns, the use of such a weapon could also be justified almost Hiroshima-like, as a shocking thunderclap to forestall a wider and theoretically more destructive all-out war. Arkins article cites four unnamed senior military officers as expressing concern over a Donald Trump factor, i.e., that there is something about this president and the new weapons that makes contemplating crossing the nuclear threshold a unique danger. The reality is that the doctrine providing for a preemptive nuclear strike against Iran was inherited by the Trump administration from the Democratic administration of Obama. The criminality of US imperialism, expressed in the Suleimani assassination and on a far wider scale in the threat of a preemptive nuclear strike against Iran, is a measure of the crisis of US imperialism, which is driven to offset the decline of its global hegemony by a resort to devastating military force. OTTAWA - Canada is still vying to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council but it's already warming up the chair with a plan to hire trainers for Canadian officials. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The UN Security Council holds a meeting on the Middle East Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 at United Nations headquarters. Canada is still vying for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, but it's already warming up the chair with a plan to hire trainers for Canadian officials. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mary Altaffer OTTAWA - Canada is still vying to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council but it's already warming up the chair with a plan to hire trainers for Canadian officials. The federal government issued a notice Friday saying it intends to award a contract worth an estimated $120,000 to New York-based organization Security Council Report to educate Canadian personnel. The contract is expected to run from Feb. 24 through the end of the year, the notice says. Canada is seeking a non-permanent seat on the Security Council, considered the most powerful UN body, for two years beginning Jan. 1, 2021. It faces tough competition from Norway and Ireland for one of two available seats in the June election. The council, which has five permanent members and 10 elected, non-permanent ones, can authorize military action, organize peacekeeping missions and apply economic sanctions. The government notice says the training must "address thematic and country priorities of interest to Canada in its preparation for a seat on the council." Canada has five priorities it hopes to pursue through a seat: sustaining peace, addressing climate change, promoting economic security, advancing gender equality and strengthening multilateralism. Global Affairs Canada plans to give the training contract to Security Council Report, an independent, non-profit body, unless another potential supplier indicates by the end of the month it can meet the department's detailed requirements. The organization's website says it works to advance the transparency and effectiveness of the security council by providing information about its activities, encouraging analysis of issues and assisting incoming members. Global Affairs spokeswoman Angela Savard said Friday that as Canada pursues a council seat, it must get ready to fulfil the roles and responsibilities expected of elected members. "This training will enhance Canada's ability to engage multilaterally on key global security issues relating to the UN Security Council's work," Savard said. "It will be valuable irrespective of the result of the June vote." The tender notice indicates the sessions will teach Canadian officials about the council's mandate, dynamics, working methods, tools and powers including use of force, sanctions and fact-finding missions. They will also delve into council relations with other international and regional organizations, resolution-drafting and negotiation, considerations about peace operations, the council's recent actions on various issues, and members' positions and interests. "Canada is deeply committed to working with our international partners and has been leveraging all opportunities to discuss how we can build a more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable world together," says a note on the council bid prepared last month for Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. By the end of October, Canada's campaign to win a seat had spent just under $2 million on operational expenditures. That does not include the salaries of 13 full-time employees assigned to work on the campaign in 2019-20. "A campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN requires time and resources," the note for Champagne says. "Canada is running a fiscally responsible campaign, which will allow us to strengthen our diplomatic ties in the process and advance other priorities." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked former prime minister Joe Clark and former Quebec premier Jean Charest to serve as special envoys for Canada's candidacy. They have both travelled to a number of countries to discuss shared priorities and to help advance Canada's bid, the note says. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2020. A couple in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district has found a unique way to show their support for the implementation of the National Register of Citizens and the newly enacted Citizenship Amendment Act. Mohit Mishra and Sonam Pathak, who are getting hitched on February 3, have inserted a line in Hindu in bold letters on their wedding card saying, "We support CAA and NRC." Several protests have erupted across the country after the implementation of CAA, which 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. The NRC is a register maintained by the government containing names and certain relevant information for the identification of all genuine Indian citizens. S ocial media giants should be forced to hand over data and pay towards research into their potential harms, a new report backed by the father of Molly Russell argues. Concerns about the impact of social media on vulnerable people come amid suicides, including that of 14-year-old schoolgirl Molly in 2017, who was found to have viewed harmful content online. The Royal College of Psychiatrists said a proposed 2 per cent levy on the UK revenues of major tech companies does not go far enough. Instead, it wants the so-called "turnover tax" to apply to international turnover and for some of the money from it to be used for mental health research. Molly's father, Ian Russell, spoke of the urgent need for greater action in an emotional foreword to the report, in which he described the "wrecking ball of suicide" that "smashed brutally" into his family, blaming "pushy algorithms". He said of her social media accounts: "Among the usual schoolfriends, pop groups and celebrities followed by 14-year-olds, we found bleak depressive material, graphic self-harm content and suicide-encouraging memes. Facebook said it was already taking "a number" of steps recommended in the report / PA "I have no doubt that social media helped kill my daughter." Mr Russell also detailed one of Molly's final notes which described how she felt "with heart-breaking clarity". "I'm the weird sister, quiet daughter, depressed friend, lonely classmate," she wrote. "I'm nothing, I'm worthless, I'm numb, I'm lost, I'm weak, I'm gone. I'm sorry. I'll see you in a little while. I love you all so much. Have a happy life. Stay strong xxx." While welcoming the UK Government's White Paper on online harms, the College's report calls for an independent regulator with powers to be able to establish a protocol for the sharing of data from social media companies with universities for research, such as behavioural data. It also points to evidence that increased social media use may result in poorer mental health, particularly in girls. We will never understand the risks and benefits of social media use unless the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram share their data with researchers Dr Bernadka Dubicka, chairwoman of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and co-author of the report, said: "As a psychiatrist working on the front line, I am seeing more and more children self-harming and attempting suicide as a result of their social media use and online discussions. "We will never understand the risks and benefits of social media use unless the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram share their data with researchers. "Their research will help shine a light on how young people are interacting with social media, not just how much time they spend online. "Self-regulation is not working. It is time for Government to step up and take decisive action to hold social media companies to account for escalating harmful content to vulnerable children and young people." In a joint article for The Daily Telegraph, Mr Russell and Ms Dubicka wrote that: "On social media, Molly found a world, sadly full of similarly struggling people with a marked lack of access to professional help, that grew in importance to her. "Social media's pushy algorithms sucked her further into her digital life, and continued to feed harmful content to her. "The posts she saw would clearly have normalised, encouraged and escalated her depression; isolated her and persuaded her to keep it all to herself. They convinced her she had no hope." Claire Murdoch, NHS national director for mental health, said: "If these tech giants really want to be a force for good, put a premium on their users well-being and take their responsibilities seriously then they should do all that they can to help researchers better understand how they operate and the risks posed - until then they cannot confidently say whether the good outweighs the bad." The biggest social network, Facebook, said it is "already taking a number of the steps recommended" in the report. "We remove harmful content from our platforms and provide support for those who search for it," a spokesman said. "We are working closely with organisations such as the Samaritans and the Government to develop industry guidelines in this area." A Government spokesman said: "We are developing world-leading plans to make the UK a safer place to be online. This includes a duty of care on online companies, overseen by an independent regulator with tough enforcement powers, to hold them to account. Social entrepreneurs working with the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship have distributed USD 6.7 billion in loans or value of products and services, improving lives of more than 62 million people in 190 countries, and India is the top-most country in terms of their presence, a new study showed on Friday. These social entrepreneurs have also helped mitigate more than 192 million tonnes of CO2 and improve education for more than 226 million children and youth. Besides, they have helped provide energy access for more than 100 million people, and have driven social inclusion for over 25 million people. The report, titled Two Decades of Impact: Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, has been released ahead of the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos and focusses on how social entrepreneurs can achieve impact at scale, change the systems in which they operate and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. "The community has distributed more than USD 6.7 billion to projects and products that have enhanced livelihoods, including increasing healthcare access, providing clean energy solutions, and improving education outcomes," the report said. "This report challenges the notion that models of social innovation can be dismissed as small, isolated islands of success amidst our overwhelming global challenges," said Hilde Schwab, Co-founder and Chairperson of the Foundation. "Consider the combined capability of all social innovators in the world, those recognised in networks like the Schwab Foundation, and the hundreds of thousands that exist in local communities around the world," she said. This community of social enterprises operate in more than 190 countries, with 25 per cent of them reaching at least 90 countries each. All 10 countries in which social entrepreneurs are most active are low to middle income markets (with the exception of the US), and six of those are in Africa. They include Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and the US. India is on the top with 46 such social entrepreneurs, followed by 40 in the US, 34 in Kenya, 29 in Brazil and 26 each in South Africa and Uganda. "Social innovators have pioneered sustainable approaches and inclusive business models, and serve as a clear demonstration that models of stakeholder capitalism can indeed work," said Klaus Schwab, the WEF Founder and Executive Chairman. The Schwab Foundation was established 20 years ago as a platform to support an under-recognized movement of people who were developing innovative business models delivering social or environmental good. It provides exposure, capacity building and a trusting community of social-change leaders within the World Economic Forum. It now represents 384 late-stage social innovators operating in more than 190 countries worldwide. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indonesian authorities have begun to screen tourists entering their airports for the deadly Chinese coronavirus after it travelled to Thailand and Japan. There are fears the mysterious SARS-linked virus could hit Bali after a second case was reported in Thailand on Friday. Two men aged in their 60s have died in China after being struck by the virus, which is understood to have broken out in Wuhan. Indonesian authorities have begun to screen tourists entering their airports for the deadly Chinese coronavirus after it travelled to Thailand and Japan. Pictured: Passengers walk through fever scan camera system used to detect human temperature at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2016 There are fears the mysterious SARS-linked virus could hit Bali after a second case was reported in Thailand on Friday. Pictured: Denpasar International Airport on tropical island Bali Anung Sugihantono, from the Indonesian Health Ministry, said the nation had anticipated an outbreak and heightened detection at entry points around the country, The Jakarta Post reported. There are thermal scanners at ports and airports in Indonesia to monitor travellers fevers amid fears the virus could spread. Anung said there was not yet a travel warning for China. 'We are following the World Health Organization, which has not even issued a travel advisory,' Anung told the publication. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the virus could spread and reportedly warned hospitals worldwide to prepare for cases. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to the deadly SARS, which killed hundreds of people in China and Hong Kong in the early 2000s. A health worker monitors a thermal scanner as passengers arrive at Narita airport on January 17 The new coronavirus, which causes cold-like symptoms including a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat and a fever, has never been seen before and has not yet been named. The WHO has said 'much remains to be understood' about the coronavirus, which has been described as 'novel'. Local authorities said a 69-year-old man died on Wednesday in Wuhan, the central Chinese city believed to be the epicentre of an outbreak of a coronavirus. Pneumonia linked to the new virus has hit at least 41 people in China, with the outbreak centred around a seafood market in Wuhan. Of these 12 have recovered and been discharged from hospital, according to the Wuhan health commission, while five others are in a serious condition. A notice for passengers from Wuhan, China is displayed near a quarantine station at Narita airport on January 17, 2020 in Narita, Japan The second man to die became sick on December 31 and his condition worsened two weeks ago, it said, with the disease causing pulmonary tuberculosis and damage to multiple organ functions. Three other cases have been detected - two in Thailand and one in Japan - with health managers in both countries saying the patients had visited Wuhan prior to their hospitalisation. Thailand reported its second case of the coronavirus on Friday - a 74-year-old Chinese woman who had arrived from Wuhan earlier this week. Her condition is improving, said Thai health officials, who urged people not to panic as there was 'no spread of the virus' in the Southeast Asian country. Thailand has announced a second case of Chinese coronavirus that has killed two people. One case has been detected in Japan. A total of 41 patients have been confirmed in Wuhan, a Chinese city where the outbreak began At meeting held on 16 January 2020 The Board of GOCL Corporation at its meeting held on 16 January 2020 has decided to accept a line of credit/SBLC facility of USD 300 million from Union Bank of India (UBI). Out of this, USD 150 million is to support HGHL, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company based in the United Kingdom for their business operations. The balance line of credit / SBLC facility of USD 150 million is kept for future needs. This SBLC facility will be collaterally secured by the factory land parcel of the Company at Hyderabad and also will be guaranteed by Gulf Oil International (GOIL) along with a Cash Deficit Undertaking to UBI. For the aforesaid transaction(s), GOCL would be entitled to 100 bps per annum plus costs incurred for the SBLC facility, towards commission / charges for providing security for the said SBLC facility Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hyundai Rotem's K2 Black Panther tank equipped with "power pack" successfully conducts 3,200 kilometers driving and ignition tests below 32 degrees Celsius in this Feb. 20, 2019 photo. Courtesy of Defense Acquisition Program Administration By Kim Hyun-bin Hyundai Rotem was aiming to strike a $9 billion tank development deal with the Polish government. If the deal actually happens, it would mark the first time for the company to export its integrated defense technology overseas. Hyundai Rotem is planning to partner with the Polish government to develop and produce 800 K2 Black Panther class tanks. The monetary value of the possible deal was unknown. There are other prestigious tank developers such as the U.S. M1 Abrams, Russia's T-90 and England's Challenger 2 that could be secured but Poland's fundamental principle is to develop homegrown weaponry which suggests Hyundai Rotem is as a strong contender in the race. "The official project bidding is expected to be announced in the first half of this year and we definitely will take part in the process. The total project is said to be divided into two stages to produce a total of 800 tanks," a Hyundai Rotem official said. Hyundai Rotem officials met with Polish officials several times to explain the specifics of the qualifications and functions of the K2 Black Panther. In 2008, the South Korean company won a bid to sell K2 tanks to the Turkish government beating Germany, one of the world's leading tank manufacturers. Earlier reports were that the Polish government partnered with Hyundai Rotem to produce next generation tanks scheduled to be stationed starting 2023. Poland also inked a deal with Hanwha Defense in 2016 to export 120 K-9 self-propelled howitzers, for which its performance was highly spoken of in the local region. The K2 Black Panther finished development in 2008 and has been used by the Korean Army as its next generation tank since 2014. The K2s are capable of firing 120mm rounds while cruising at up to 70 kilometers an hour. Authorities identified two young men killed within 24 hours this week in separate Hayward shootings that marked the citys first two homicides of the year, officials said. In the first homicide, Farrarri Johnson, 19, of Oakland, was shot and killed Sunday at an Airbnb house party, according to Hayward police. Officers responded to a reported shooting around 5:23 a.m. on the 1800 block of Osage Avenue where they found Johnson suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said Johnson was at a party at an Airbnb rental property on that block when he was shot by an unknown suspect or suspects who fled the scene. Five people were killed at an Airbnb party in Orinda in October, prompting the company to announce policy changes aimed at banning party houses. A Chronicle investigation found at least 42 people were shot 17 fatally in six months in 2019 at short-term rental properties nationwide. Hayward police spokeswoman Claudia Mau confirmed that the property where the shooting took place was an Airbnb rental. A second fatal shooting occurred less than 24 hours later in Hayward. In that case, authorities said, Hayward resident Garland Scott, 21, was shot and killed on the 22000 block of Alice Street. Officers found Scott suffering from gunshot wounds when they responded to reported gunshots around 12:30 a.m. Monday, police said. Scott was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The suspect or suspects fled the scene. 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. No arrests have been made in either case. At this point there is no evidence the homicides are related, police said. This appears to be an isolated incident and there is no danger to the general public. There were five homicides in Hayward in 2019, Mau said, including two unrelated fatal shootings that occurred eight hours apart in early December. No suspects have been arrested in either case. Anna Bauman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @abauman2 Chinas birth rate has fallen to its lowest since the founding of the communist Peoples Republic 70 years ago. Last year there were 14.6 million births, a drop of 580,000 from the year before, according to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Friday. The birth rate of 10.48 per 1,000 people marked the third consecutive year to see a decline in the overall number of births. Despite abandoning its long-standing one-child policy in 2016, China has seen little success in reversing its declining birth rate. The policy allowing couples to have a second child has been met with little enthusiasm amid a lack of incentives and rising costs for housing, food, health care and education. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Chinas population reached 1.4 billion by the end of 2019, an overall gain of 4.67 million people, the bureau said. However, the countrys working age population, those between 16 and 59 years old, declined by 890,000. Meanwhile the number of people aged 60 or older grew by 4.39 million, making up 18.1 per cent of the total population. In January last year, a Chinese government-affiliated think tank warned the population of the worlds second-biggest economy could begin shrinking as soon as 2027. Ian and Barley embark on an epic quest in search of a rare Phoenix Gem in an effort to fully conjure their late dad for one magical day. ( 2020 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.) After defying the odds with Toy Story 4, the unexpectedly perfect epilogue to the perfect trilogy, Pixar is returning to its roots in 2020 with two entirely new, original properties: Onward in March and Soul in June. Directed by Monsters Universitys Dan Scanlon, Onward is produced by Pixar stalwart Kori Rae whose credits at the studio stretch back to 1998s A Bugs Life. Set in a modern fantasy world, populated by gnomes, goblins and wizards with mobile phones, where magic has... well, lost its magic, and unicorns are pests who eat garbage from trash cans, it tells the story of two elf brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot, voiced by Marvel stars Tom Holland and Chris Pratt. The odd couple siblings embark on a quest to resurrect their father, who sadly died when they were young, and its a deeply personal project for Scanlon who also lost his father at an early age. Years later, he heard his fathers voice for the first time when an old recording from a wedding resurfaced, sparking the idea for Onward. Trailers for the film have leaned heavily into its unique fantasy setting (think Netflixs Bright, but much more family friendly), but at a recent preview event for the film, Rae told Yahoo that the mythical fantasy world was a late addition to the project. Read more: Toy Story 4s alternate ending As part of Pixars ongoing development cycles, studio creatives are annually invited to pitch potential projects, with only the most compelling ideas moving forward towards production. Rae says the initial pitch for the film was radically different. We pitched a couple of films, Rae explained, but this one obviously stood out because of the personal nature of it. The film was so different back then and they evolve and they change, but the heart of the story was still there. It was the story of two brothers who go on a journey to find remnants of their father. So there was a sibling aspect that was there from the beginning. Tom Holland as the voice of Ian Lightfoot, and Chris Pratt as the voice of Ian's older brother, Barley. (2019 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.) And then I can't spoil the ending but we've had the ending of the film from the very, very beginning. And so that has been our stake in the ground so to speak, and so I think that ending... people really responded to [it] at the time when we first pitched it. Story continues And that was the hook that everyone got excited about and could see, even though the film evolved so much over the coming years, that the heart the sibling story and the heart of the ending was really the clincher. Was the fantasy element always been part of the story when it was pitched, we asked? Producer Kori Rae, Tom Holland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chris Pratt, and Director Dan Scanlon of 'Onward' at Disneys D23 EXPO 2019. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney) There was always a fantasy [element], but we weren't sure how to portray it. Because there was magic, so first there was [just] magic, and it wasn't initially in a fantasy setting. That kind of came a little bit later, but we knew, because of the magic aspect of it and if we had wizards, that we would have to go that way, [to] go that route into a fantasy world. But at the very beginning it was really more about magic. And then it kind of unfolded and evolved into fantasy. Heres what else we learned about Onward, from how the film landed two MCU icons to the films 70s rock influence. How do you go about building a fantasy world from the ground up? We didn't want to do a period piece. We dabbled with that at the beginning again, knowing that we needed magic and fantasy. And we were watching a ton of movies and doing research and everything, and we didn't really want to have it take place in the world of the prologue that we showed. We didn't really want the whole film to take place in that. We wanted remnants of that, but Dan really wanted to turn it on its head and say, Well, what if it's modern day? And what if we can create a world and bring those elements into modern day? Because it's something that we hadn't really seen before. So the process was just figuring out what would be modern day fantasy and how do we reflect that? And it was quite a challenge in the design aspect of the film, to try to figure out how much modern, and how much fantasy? And so there was a lot of work that went into figuring out scene to scene what that ratio was. Brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot (voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt) are given a special gift from their late father on Ian's 16th birthday. (2019 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.) We came up with a rule, so to speak, that things would be like 70% modern and 30% fantasy. And we realised quickly that, because the characters are all fantasy characters, that that outweighed... it kind of shifted the balance, and so scene by scene, depending what characters were in the sequence, then we would have to maybe back off a little bit on the fantasy of the world, so that that balance was always there. Read more: What happened to the humans in the world of Cars? Because if we had a truly fantasy [world] and we wanted there to be a kind of evolution through the film, where they start out in their neighbourhood and then we get a little bit more into fantasy as they go to the bottomless pit and later in the film, it gets a little bit more fantasy. And it works. That balance holds, because it's really just Ian and Barley mostly at that time, there aren't a lot of other characters who are changing that balance. So the challenge was getting things to meld and to match and not weight it one way or the other, if that makes sense? There seems to be a 70s rock aesthetic to it - prog-rock record covers specifically - particularly with Barley... For him, yes. There were versions of the film where he was way more into music, and we shifted away from that. But he was a bard at some point or something in one of the many versions of the film that we worked on. But I think what we wanted, the character aspect of that, is just that he's brash and loud and into fantasy rock. Just because it would be annoying to Ian. Just because it would be too much and too out there for him. So that was the whole point of that. The interior of his van, his vest. It's all just too much for Ian. It's just like what would Ian hate? And that's how we designed Barley. You must have had a lot of fun coming up with the band names on the badges of his jacket? Yeah, the graphics in the film are fabulous. The team had a great time working on those graphics. A close up detail of Barley's rock vest. (Disney) You said you struggled to find the right person to play Ian: How much did seeing Tom Holland as Spider-Man influence your decision, because Peter Parker is also a nerdy teenager that doesnt quite fit in... Well, I think it was really encouraging when we watched his acting in that, because he's funny, a little bit nerdy, he just checked all the boxes. And he was just so compelling in that film, and we felt like he would be really just bring Ian to life. And did you speak to a lot of people to try and find the right person to play Ian? We didn't audition. We auditioned a few people before we met with Tom, but we just weren't finding it. And I think some of that reason is we were just struggling to figure out who the character was to be quite honest. And what are the subtleties of the character, the nuances that we could be really looking for that vocal quality? Because that's really what we're looking for. We're looking for acting ability, but also a specific vocal quality and having a 16-year-old is an interesting age group to try to navigate, because you want a solid actor who has experience, but then they will sound too old. Brothers Ian and Barley use a spell gifted to them on Ian's 16th birthday to magically conjure their dad - half of him, anyway - right down to his signature purple socks. (2019 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.) And then finding a 16 or 17-year-old with the breadth of experience is also tricky. And so Tom was just that sweet spot of having great acting ability and a lot of experience, yet still having that youthful voice, and that youthful kind of nerdy little, you know, not quite sure of himself, voice that comes that comes through. Even though he's so amazing and quite confident himself, it's just his vocal quality was perfect. And then Chris Pratt joined after Tom Holland? Yes. Possibly because of their relationship in the real world? APRIL 12: Actors Chris Pratt (L) and Tom Holland attend CinemaCon 2016. (Todd Williamson/Getty Images for CinemaCon) No, it was just a coincidence. We sit in a room and we don't look. We play the voices blind. We don't know who the actors are, and we're just really, really listening to the character and the vocal quality. Read more: Ratatouille director shoots down fan theory And so we just were listening to a bunch of actors for Barley and then once we kind of honed in on a few, then we would play them against Tom and see how they sound together. Because that's obviously important and especially in this film, where there's a whole lot of talking. And there's a lot of dialogue between these brothers. So we needed to make sure that their voices worked well together. And they did, so that's what drove it and it was kind of just a complete bonus and luck that they had this relationship. Presumably you cast Julia Louis Dreyfus because she's amazing and why wouldnt you? Ian Lightfoot's mum (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has his back even when his hyperactive pet dragon, Blazey, is misbehaving. (2019 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.) Exactly, exactly. Because we're two of the hugest fans of hers. She's amazing and I was lucky enough to work with her on A Bug's Life. I was managing the animation department and I was able to go to a couple of recording sessions with her when she was Princess Atta in A Bug's Life. She's perfect. How many different races of creatures are there in the film? When we started we just opened it up just to see how much we needed to fill out the world, thinking what would make it interesting. From shapes and sizes, and we wanted to just make everything very diverse, and have the world look full with various creatures. Ian and Barley find themselves at odds with a gang of tough - but tiny - biker sprites. (Disney) And so we started big, and then realised that we didn't have to have as many as we thought, necessarily. Because we could do different shapes, or you know, huge trolls and then smaller trolls. And so we did adults, children of each of those species. And we wanted to use ones that were recognisable. That was important to us so that people understood. People kind of know what a Satyr and what a Centaur is, and so we wanted to take some of the more common ones if you will. And then gnomes, I don't know, they were just funny and adorable with their little red hat's. So we just had fun with it mostly. Have you thought about what sort of creature yourself and Dan would be in that world? I haven't actually, I'm sure Im gonna get asked that a lot. It's hard not to relate to the main characters but I think I think the Manticore is pretty cool. Ian and Barley seek an ancient map from the Manticore (Octavia Spencer), once a mighty warrior whose tavern served as a waystation for travelers embarking on epic quests. (2019 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.) How did you decide on the visual language of this world, and how would you sum it up? I think because it's a fantasy world we wanted to make sure that it had a definite level of stylisation. So we weren't going for photoreal. It is fairly stylised, but just because of our rendering and everything, things look somewhat photo real. But we were going for a more stylised look, so that it matched the characters, and all of the craziness of the fantasy world. So even with Guinevere, she's a car, but we tried to make her even a little bit stylised, with a lot of the accoutrement that's on her and in her and stuff like that. In Disney and Pixar's Onward two teenage elf brothers embark on an extraordinary quest in a van named Guinevere (2019 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.) You just try to find it in the design. You do a bunch of tests and try to figure out what level of that characterisation we're going for, but we were we were trying to push it a little bit stylised. In terms of the technology, is there anything new in this film that Pixar developed animation-wise that we've never seen before? We purposefully didn't really choose, and the story didn't demand, for us to do any groundbreaking new technology for the film. What we did that was challenging was a lot of the simulation, a lot of the cloth... we have a lot of hair and cloth, and cloth on hair, and layers of that. So that was a little bit of a challenge but we didn't really do any massive groundbreaking technology. 16-year-old Ian (voice of Tom Holland) yearns for the father he lost back before he was born. ( 2019 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.) And it was kind of a choice. The story didn't necessarily demand it. And we knew we needed effects. We needed magic and, but we already have a lot of that. We already have the technology for a lot of that. So things that we needed for the story, we already had. So it was just trying to make it look great. Onward comes to cinemas on 6 March. Watch a trailer below. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday demanded apology from the BJP-led government in Haryana for the Jat quota violence in February 2016, in which 30 people were killed and property worth several crores of rupees was damaged. The government was responsible for the violence and losses. This was not only alleged by Balraj Singh Kundu (independent MLA), but the Prakash Singh Committee report had also indicated it. Now, the government should apologise without any further delay, Hooda said while talking to mediapersons at Karnal on Friday. Some people might be involved (in the violence) but an entire community cannot be blamed for it, he added in an obvious reference to Jat youths booked in the violence. Hoodas statement comes a day after a mahapanchayat of the Jat community decided to pardon the youths accused of setting on fire former Haryana finance minister Captain Abhimanyus Rohtak residence on February 19, 2016. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against 51 people in connection with violence and arson at Abhimanyus residence. The khap leaders also held them guilty and imposed a collective fine of Rs 11,000 on them. The panchayats agreement is a welcome move, Hooda said. Replying to a question Hooda said the paddy purchase scam has caused a loss of several crores of rupees to farmers, but the government was not taking the issue seriously. Hooda also demanded a special girdawari to assess the loss caused to crops due to hailstorm and rain in the state. On Delhi assembly elections, he said there is a straight fight between the Co Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Friday he wants to avoid war after Tehran and Washington appeared on the brink of direct military confrontation in early January for the second time in less than a year. Ahead of parliamentary elections on February 21 -- predicted to be a challenge for Rouhani's camp -- and amid high tensions between Tehran and the West over Iran's nuclear programme, the president said dialogue with the world was still "possible". "The government is working daily to prevent military confrontation or war," Rouhani said in a televised speech. The region seemed on the brink of new conflict earlier in January after the US killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad, prompting Iran to retaliate against US military targets in Iraq with a volley of missiles days later. The strike caused significant material damage but no casualties, according to the US military. Rouhani said the strike amounted to "compensation" for the death of Soleimani, the architect of Iran's Middle East military strategy. The tensions between the two enemies seemed to subside in the wake of the accidental downing of a Ukrainian passenger airliner hours after the retaliatory strikes, as Iran was on high alert for US reprisals. The tragedy killed 176 people, mostly Iranians and Canadians. Canada's foreign minister on Thursday vowed to push Iran for answers about the tragedy. "Families want answers, the international community wants answers, the world is waiting for answers and we will not rest until we get them," Francois-Philippe Champagne said in London. Ottawa said earlier that US President Donald Trump's policies had contributed to the heightened tensions that led to the catastrophe. In June 2019, Iran and the US had also appeared to be on the brink of direct military confrontation after Tehran shot down a US drone it said had violated its airspace. Trump said he called off retaliatory strikes at the last minute. The animosity between Washington and Tehran has increased since Trump withdrew the US from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions. In Iran, the air disaster sparked outrage and anti-government demonstration took place every day from Saturday to Wednesday. Concentrated in the capital, they appeared smaller than a wave of national protests in November. Prompted by a fuel price hike, those demonstrations were met with a crackdown that left at least 300 people dead, according to Amnesty International. Rouhani implicitly acknowledged a crisis of confidence in authorities, but looked to regain control on Wednesday, calling for "national unity", better governance and more pluralism. On Thursday, Rouhani also defended the policy of openness to the world that he has pursued since his first election in 2013, and which Iran's ultra-conservatives criticise. "Of course, it's difficult," he acknowledged, but he added, "the people elected us to lower tensions and animosity" between the Islamic republic and the world. Rouhani said that with the nuclear deal "we have proven in practice that it is possible for us to interact with the world." Rouhani was speaking the day before supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is expected to lead the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran for the first time since 2012. Khamenei, who maintains the West is not trustworthy, bans dialogue with Trump. On Thursday, Rouhani said Iran's "daily enrichment" of uranium was currently "higher" than before the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal. Rouhani, who instigated the negotiations, made the comments while justifying his nuclear policy and Iran's progressive disengagement from the accord. He also stated his willingness to continue dialogue on the agreement. In response to the US withdrawal from the deal and sanctions, an increasingly frustrated Iran has hit back with a step-by-step suspension of its own commitments under the deal, which drastically limited its nuclear activities. On Tuesday, Germany, the UK and France -- the three European parties to the deal -- announced they triggered a dispute mechanism in response to the latest step back from the deal by Tehran. But Germany on Thursday confirmed a Washington Post report that the US had threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars if EU governments continued to back the nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the European parties of having "sold out" the deal to avoid trade reprisals from the US and said Trump was again behaving like a "high school bully". According to a European Union Statement, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met Zarif in New Delhi on Thursday and urged Iran to "preserve" the increasingly fragile nuclear deal. Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke over phone with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong on Thursday, and the two leaders agreed to make joint efforts to cement bilateral relations. This year marks the 70th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties, and is also of great importance in the socialist causes of both countries, noted Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. Xi said that as both the Chinese and Vietnamese people are preparing for the traditional Spring Festival, he is pleased to have this phone conversation with Trong, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee. "In recent years, I have kept close contact and exchanges with Comrade General Secretary Trong, and we have reached a series of important consensus on the development of relations between our countries and between our parties," Xi added. The sound development of China-Vietnam ties, Xi said, has injected new impetus to the socialist causes of both countries and made positive contributions to regional and global peace and development. China and Vietnam are good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners with a closely interconnected future, Xi said, adding that the socialist causes of both countries are developing vigorously while facing increasing risks and challenges. The Chinese leader said he is ready to strengthen strategic communication with his Vietnamese counterpart and jointly draw a blueprint to guide the development of China-Vietnam relations in the new era. "We need to continuously consolidate political mutual trust, carry forward our traditional friendship, and strengthen the foundation of our bilateral ties," Xi suggested. Meanwhile, the two neighbors should properly handle and solve their differences with the larger picture in mind and from a long-term view, and secure a favorable external environment for both countries' development, he added. They also need to seize the opportunities and build on the momentum to comprehensively lift the level of exchanges and cooperation, promote the joint construction of the Belt and Road, and continuously expand bilateral exchanges and cooperation, so as to enable the people of both countries to enjoy a stronger sense of fulfillment and happiness, Xi said. Xi pointed out that the CPC and the CPV not only serve as the leadership core for their respective socialist causes, but also play a key leading role in guiding China-Vietnam relations. Noting that the CPV is about to celebrate the 90th anniversary of its founding, Xi, on behalf of the CPC and the Chinese people, expressed warm congratulations to the CPV and the Vietnamese people. The CPC, Xi added, stands ready to join hands with the CPV to open new prospects for the two countries' socialist causes as well as their relations in the new era. Trong, for his part, said he is glad to talk with Xi over phone ahead of the Spring Festival and the 70th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties. He extended congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and on the great achievements China has made during the past more than 40 years of reform and opening-up. He also thanked China for its long-running valuable support and assistance for Vietnam's national liberation and socialist cause. Over the past 70 years, Vietnam-China ties have generally maintained positive momentum of development, Trong said, adding that facing new circumstances and missions, Vietnam hopes to work with China to push for greater development of bilateral relations. He called for joint efforts to strengthen political mutual trust and exchanges of governance experience, promote practical cooperation in economic and other fields, consolidate the public support for bilateral friendly cooperation, and enhance communication and collaboration on multilateral occasions. Xi and Trong also exchanged Spring Festival greetings to each other and jointly wished the people of both countries a happy new year. A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Lee Baca, a former Los Angeles County sheriff convicted of obstructing an F.B.I. investigation into his departments troubled jails, to report to prison within three weeks. Mr. Baca, 77, was convicted in March 2017 on felony counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators. He was sentenced that May to three years in prison, but he remained free on bond throughout his appeal, according to court documents. The United States Attorneys Office for the Central District of California, which prosecuted the case, declined to comment on Thursday. Lawyers for Mr. Baca did not immediately return phone calls or respond to emails seeking comment on Thursday evening. On Monday, the Supreme Court denied a petition to open his case for review, clearing the way for Judge Percy Anderson of United States District Court to set the deadline for Mr. Bacas surrender. Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa on Friday said the Cabinet expansion is the responsibility of Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, while stating that there is nothing wrong with Swamy Vachananda's demand for the ministerial berth for his community leaders. "The Cabinet expansion is the responsibility of Amit Shah and Chief Minister Yediyurappa. The date for the Cabinet expansion has not been decided yet. There is a demand for the ministerial berth. There is nothing wrong with Swamy Vachananda's demand for the Cabinet berth for his community leaders," Eshwarappa told media persons. "Swamy Vachananda requested the Chief Minister to induct his community leaders in the Cabinet. It is common that all seers respective of their mutts are demanding the ministerial berth. I request all to stop this now," he said. Eshwarappa's statement comes two days after Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa got visibly irked and offered to resign while attending an event here, after the seer of Panchamsali sect of Lingayats, Swami Vachananda demanded a ministerial berth for BJP MLA Murugesh Nirani. "Yediyurappa will lose the support of Panchamasali Lingayats if Murugesh Nirani is not accommodated in the ministry," the seer told the Chief Minister, who was seated right next to him. An irked Yediyurappa abruptly rose from his seat and stopped the seer halfway in his speech and even touched his feet before adding: "You can make suggestions being a Swami, but please do not demand. It does not suit your position as a seer." Later on, addressing the audience, Yediyurappa urged the Swamy to understand his position and not make any demands. He added that he was "ready to quit" if demands are made instead of suggestions. "17 legislators had quit for me to become the Chief Minister. It is their sacrifice and Panchamasali Mutt's blessings with which I have become the Chief Minister. You can suggest me how to govern for three years, But if you are not willing to accept my request, then I'm ready to quit and go home," he said. Eshwarappa also stated that Home Minister Shah will be holding a rally in Hubli to brief everyone about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "Shah will hold a rally in Hubli. He will tell everyone about the CAA and the misconceptions being spreading about the citizenship law. Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are trying to bring real freedom in India," said Eshwarappa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) YEREVAN. Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, is very impressed with all the efforts being made to promote judicial reform in the country. She said this in a conversation with reporters today, answering the question how she assesses the work of the Armenian government. The envoy said she thinks the situation is really improving, but there are a number of reforms that need to be implemented. She said there would be no human rights unless there is a rule of law. Wiktorin said she has been in Armenia for four months now, she is very impressed with all the efforts made to promote judicial reform in the country, and that the EU will be an important partner in this process. She said a Partnership Committee meeting was convened in Brussels in December, with both sides agreeing that they are making progress, but that does not mean they can stop and finish everything tomorrow. As per the EU envoy, all that requires time and continuous engagement, and the EU ambassador said she sees it from the Armenian government, and they can be sure that it exists between the EU. She added that she was very impressed by the government's efforts in reform, anticorruption strategy. Asked what major obstacles Armenia needs to overcome in the path of democracy, the EU ambassador said that the political will is really important and it exists. She added that now they have to do it together, the international structures are ready to support in different areas, and now it is important to go step by step with the reforms. Asked whether there are any elements observed on pressure on the media in Armenia, the ambassador said she thinks there is a great deal of media freedom in the country, but of course there will be pressing situations when there may be pressure on certain media, they see it in any country, and we cannot exclude it. She added that today they are considering the possibility of working with the Armenian government on combating disinformation, too. Andrea Wiktorin said there is also a capacity-building issue, and they are looking at how they can help train journalists, as anyone can always improve. Facebook has reportedly backed away from its plans of introducing ads on WhatsApp. Earlier, the California-based company planned to introduce advertisements in WhatsApp stories. The social media giant reportedly disbanded its team working on ways to integrate ads on WhatsApp. The teams work was deleted from WhatsApps code, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Introducing ads was Facebooks initial quest to monetise WhatsApp. The company bought WhatsApp for a whopping $22 billion in 2014 and hasnt yet found a way to get returns, in spite of the messaging app being used by 1.5 billion. The report states that Facebook does plan to introduce ads to Status, but for now it plans to build more features that allow businesses to communicate and manage queries of customers on the app. WhatsApp currently offers tools that automatically manage and respond to customer service queries, and display product catalogues within the app. Additionally, advertisers on Facebook and Instagram can choose to redirect users to WhatsApp after they click or tap on the ad. Facebook had previously announced at the Facebook Summit in the Netherlands that it would start showing ads from 2020. A company representative also uploaded images from the event on Twitter to show how ads would be incorporated in WhatsApp. Bringing ads to WhatsApp Status would become another source of revenue for Facebook. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company reportedly generated 98 percent of its revenue via ads in Q3 2019. Combined with WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and core Facebook platform, the company has a monthly user base of 2.8 million. After reviewing all 20,762 of the signatures submitted by Foxxs team, 10,641 were deemed valid, which put her well above the necessary needed to run for reelection, board officials wrote in their decision. And just as the hearing officer Barbara Goodman noted, the objectors didnt offer evidence to prove what they called a pattern of fraud. Sydney's luxury property agents are bringing forward listings and spending up on fancy cars to impress international clients on the eve of Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year is an annual high point in the local sales calendar but has lost steam since mid-2016 as a result of tighter restrictions on foreign ownership. Sothebys director Michael Pallier in a Bellevue Hill home he is showing to Chinese clients. Credit:Kate Geraghty Juwai, China's largest property portal, registered an uptick of interest in Australian property in early 2019, with inquiries increasing 40 per cent. Last year, Chinese buyers made 60 per cent more inquiries for Australian property on the platform in the five weeks after the holiday than they did on average during the whole year. "Chinese New Year always boosts Chinese interest in Australian real estate because [travellers] have a whole week off it is the perfect time to visit friends and family who live here already," Juwai chief executive Georg Chmiel said. "While in town, [they] look for real estate. India's most valuable company Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) reported a 13.5 per cent rise in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31. Sensex hit a fresh all-time high of 42,063 in early trade on Friday amid higher Asian markets after China reported 6.1% economic growth in 2019. Breaking the six-month spell, electricity generation from conventional power plants grew 5.4 per cent on a month-on-month basis in December 2019. Read for more top stories from the world of business and economy: 1. Reliance Industries posts record Q3 profit at Rs 11,640 crore; revenue down 1.4% This is the highest quarterly net profit earned by any private company, surpassing its own previous best of Rs 11,262 crore in the July-September 2019 period. 2. TCS reports Q3 net profit of Rs 8,118 crore; revenue up 6.7% TCS' Q3 revenue grows 6.7% to Rs 39,854 crore as compared to Rs 37,338 crore in the December 2018 quarter; TCS also declares its third interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share of Re 1 each. 3. Sensex hits all-time high of 42,063, Nifty at 12,385: 10 things to know about the rally Sensex hits all-time high: Bharti Airtel (6%), Reliance Industries (2.20%) and Hero MotoCorp (1.29%) were the top Sensex gainers. 4. Finally, power demand grows in December after six months of decline Electricity generation from conventional power plants, which include thermal, hydel and nuclear, grew 5.4% on a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis in December 2019. 5. China's biggest SUV maker Great Wall Motor to buy General Motors' India plant for $300 million The deal will give a jumpstart to Great Wall's plans to build and sell cars in India and is likely to pave the way for GM's exit from manufacturing cars in the country. [January 16, 2020] The Innovation Forum "Blockchain Technology in Support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals" concludes at the United Nations The Innovation Forum "Blockchain technology in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" was held successfully on January 15, 2020 at the United Nations. The Forum was organized by the Blockchain Alliance International (BAI (News - Alert)) in collaboration with Permanent Missions of UN Member States, UN agencies, as well as global information and technology companies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005902/en/ The Innovation Forum "Blockchain Technology in Support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals" concludes at the United Nations (Photo: Business Wire) Following the call of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the turn of the new year to embrace technologies like blockchain that can help accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, the event is part of a series of meetings and debates addressing the core value, enefits and potential application of blockchain in support of sustainable development. At onset, ambassador Mrs. Milica Pejanovic Durisic, Permanent Representative of Montenegro to the United Nations congratulated the forum, reiterated the importance of the new technologies in achieving UN strategic objectives, and welcomed multi-stakeholder approach to deployment of technology for advancing the SDGs. Circa 40 ambassadors, senior diplomats and representatives from Member State Missions of Montenegro, Belarus, Tajikistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Honduras, Paraguay, among others, multilateral organizations including the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission, UN-Women, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as academia, private sector and civil society organizations including China Ethnic International Economic Cooperation Co., the Chinese Institute of Digital Assets (CIDA), Singapore Tai-E Cyber-Tech Pte. Ltd., Davox Technology AG, Tesra Supernet, ChainDD, Achain Galaxy, and Zhongdu High-tech attended the Forum. Participants brought into discussions the use of blockchain technology in the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs, technological trends and realities for global economy, multi-stakeholder partnerships in developing new financial solutions to achieving SDGs. Prof. Jiaming Zhu, a well-known economist and CIDA director made a keynote presentation highlighting the importance of blockchain as the infrastructure in bridging the gap of trust crisis and trust deficit in global development. During the event, BAI also successfully enrolled a number of institutional and individual partners for the deployment of blockchain technologies around the world. The forum is a major step in BAI's collaboration with the United Nations. The outcome of the Forum and of future BAI events will complement the UN efforts as defined in the UN Secretary General's Strategy on New Technologies towards the use of these technologies to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and to facilitate their alignment with the values enshrined in the UN Charter and the norms and standards of international law. The Blockchain Alliance International is a non-governmental organization with the aim to promote and facilitate the sustainable and inclusive development through the usage of new technologies. BAI collaborates with non-profit organizations, the private sector, academia, as well as government entities from countries and regions of the world, for the purpose of advancing digital development and digitization of people's lives. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005902/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] New Report: Trump Violated US Funding Law at Center of Impeachment Trial By Ken Bredemeier January 16, 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump violated the country's spending law last year when he temporarily withheld $391 million in congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine while at the same pressing Kyiv to launch investigations to benefit himself politically, a government watchdog agency concluded Thursday in a decision that is at the heart of the impeachment case against the U.S. leader. Trump released the assistance that Ukraine wanted to help fight pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country in September after a 55-day delay without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy opening an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, one of Trump's top 2020 Democratic challengers, and his son Hunter Biden's lucrative work for a Ukrainian natural gas company. But after an investigation, the Government Accountability Office ruled that "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the president to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law." It said that the Trump-controlled U.S. budget agency blocked release of the money "for a policy reason," which is not allowable under U.S. law. The ruling by the GAO came less than two hours before the formal start of Trump's Senate trial on two articles of impeachment, that Trump abused the office of the presidency by trying to get Zelenskiy to open the Biden investigations while withholding the military aid and then obstructing congressional efforts to investigate Trump's Ukraine-related actions. Senate trial Seven lawmakers from the House of Representatives, called managers of the case against Trump, formally presented the articles of impeachment at a solemn midday reading in the Capitol. House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff read the charges against the country's 45th president in what is only the third Senate impeachment trial in the 2 centuries of U.S. history. Later, Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court was sworn in to preside over Trump's trial, and moments later he swore in 99 of the 100 members of the Senate to act as jurors to decide Trump's fate. (Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma was absent because of a family emergency; he will take the oath next week, when the trial begins.) The oath the lawmakers took said they are to administer "impartial justice," although a substantial number of the senators have long declared they will either vote to convict Trump or to acquit him. With the preliminaries out of the way, the impeachment trial is expected to start in earnest next Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the Senate chamber. The Office of Management and Budget and the White House rebuffed the GAO's conclusion. "We disagree with GAO's opinion," an OMB spokeswoman said. "OMB uses its apportionment authority to ensure taxpayer dollars are properly spent consistent with the president's priorities and with the law." A senior Trump administration member said the GAO finding was "a pretty clear overreach as they attempt to insert themselves into the media's controversy of the day." With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the Senate, Trump remains all but certain to be acquitted and remain in office since conviction on either of the impeachment articles and Trump's ouster requires a two-thirds majority vote. Some Republicans have criticized Trump's bid for the Biden investigations, but no Republican has called his conviction and removal from office less than a year before he faces voters again in the November national election as he tries to win a second term in the White House. Some Democrats, however, quickly latched on to the GAO report as more evidence supporting Trump's alleged abuse of power. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, told CNN, "This will definitely be part of the trial. It establishes that the president violated U.S. law. The president abused his power by this illegal action." White House officials are predicting a short trial of no more than two weeks and Trump's quick acquittal. But the proceeding could extend much longer if Democrats can persuade at least four Republican senators to vote with them to call new witnesses who did not testify during the weeks of investigations carried out by the Democrat-controlled House. Witnesses Democrats want to question former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney about their knowledge of Trump's actions pressing Ukraine for the Biden investigations. Some Republican lawmakers say that if that happens, they want to subpoena either or both of the Bidens, as well as the still-unidentified government whistleblower who first disclosed Trump's July 25 overture to Zelenskiy to "do us a favor" by investigating the Bidens. Trump's release of a rough transcript of his conversation with the Ukrainian leader showed that the basic facts of the whistleblower's complaint against Trump that he was seeking an investigation of a political rival proved to be accurate, despite Trump's claims to the contrary. As the impeachment drama has unfolded in Washington, Trump has almost daily ridiculed the Democrats' efforts targeting him, calling the investigation unfair and a hoax. But as the House lawmakers prosecuting the case against him at the U.S. Capitol arrived in the Senate, Trump was silent on Twitter about the case. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the final step Thursday is to notify the White House and "summon the president to answer the articles and send his counsel." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the articles of impeachment at a ceremony Wednesday, moving the process forward after delaying for about a month as House Democrats tried to get Senate leaders to agree to allow testimony from new witnesses during the trial. McConnell has resisted calling witnesses, saying that decision would come later in the trial. As Pelosi announced the impeachment managers at a morning news conference, Trump tweeted the impeachment was "another Con job by the Do Nothing Democrats." White House ready A senior administration official told reporters the White House is ready for the trial "because the facts overwhelmingly show that the president did nothing wrong." White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said Trump "looks forward to having the due process rights in the Senate that Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats denied to him, and expects to be fully exonerated." This is the third time in the country's 244-year history a U.S. president has been impeached and targeted for removal from office. Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 were both impeached by the House but acquitted in Senate trials. A fourth president, Richard Nixon, resigned in 1974 in the face of certain impeachment in the Watergate political corruption scandal. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China reveals its most advanced nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile, the DF-41, at the National Day parade in Beijing on October 1, 2019. Photo: Fan Lingzhi/GT The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force has conducted a nuclear attack survival exercise where troops in an underground missile facility had to endure extreme conditions and make sure they could still launch nuclear counterattacks. During the undated exercise, a Rocket Force brigade mobilized into the launch bunker at an undisclosed location and completely sealed themselves off from the outside world, as the troops readied for combat, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday. The bunker was then struck by a mock hostile nuclear attack as the troops inside, fully dressed in protection suits, carried out contingency plans and operated missiles for upcoming counterattacks, according to the report. They also simulated a situation where missile fuel leaked after a hostile strike and a troubleshooting team was immediately deployed to repair. Tactics including a fast missile condition check, rapid logistics, bunker defense and hasty launch were also practiced, CCTV reported. While China is one of a few countries in the world that operate nuclear weapons, it has promised no first use, a military expert who asked not to be named told the Global Times on Thursday. It was crucial the force survive an initial hostile strike to launch a counterattack, the expert noted. Such exercises ensure that capability and contribute to China's nuclear deterrence, the expert said. China has a series of defense facilities located deep under mountains dubbed the "Underground Steel Great Wall," which "guarantee the security of the country's strategic arsenal" against potential attacks, including those from hypersonic weapons, Qian Qihu, a key architect of the fortifications who won China's highest science and technology award of 2018, told the Global Times in a previous interview. At the National Day military parade on October 1 last year, China displayed the DF-5B silo-based nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile. The parade also showcased the DF-31AG and DF-41 road-mobile ICBM, DF-26 nuclear/conventional intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) and JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). No nuke is expected to be ever used again, but China needs to protect itself by retaining its nuclear deterrent, developing and practicing with the weapons, analysts said. Shinjiro Koizumi, son of an ex-prime minister, said he hopes to open debate on issue that remains sensitive in Japan. Japans popular environment minister announced the birth of his son on Friday, and will become the first top public official to take paternity leave. Today, January 17th midnight, as a father, I am glad and relieved that a healthy boy was born, Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said. Its great that both mother and child are healthy. I am relieved and happy that I was present. On Wednesday, Koizumi had announced that he will take two weeks of leave over three months on the condition it would not affect his parliamentary and cabinet duties. During his announcement, Koizumi acknowledged that his decision to take paternity leave, a sensitive topic in Japan, has its advantages and disadvantages. This is the first time for a minister to take paternity leave, and whenever you do something unprecedented, criticism is always inherent, he said. Koizumi said he hopes that his unprecedented decision will pave the way for normalising the subject. I hope we can create a society that when someone making this action or judgement [of taking paternity leave], it wont be the norm that it becomes news. The 38-year-old politician earlier said it was a difficult decision, but that he was going ahead with the plan to pave the way for other male employees in his ministry and working fathers elsewhere. With Japan facing an ageing population and a dwindling birthrate, the government recently began promoting paternity leave. Last month, it adopted a policy allowing male public servants to take more than a month of leave with the birth of a child. While the governors in Hiroshima and Mie in western Japan have taken paternity leave, Koizumi is the first cabinet minister to do so. Koizumi is the son of maverick former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and is considered a future prime ministerial hopeful. Following the announcement on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga congratulated the Koizumi family. There are no official records on whether cabinet ministers have previously taken parental leave, but Koizumi is the first to publicly announce he is doing so. Pata-hara Japan has relatively generous parental leave policies, allowing men and women partially paid leave of up to 12 months. While recent surveys show a majority of eligible male employees hope to take paternity leave in the future, changes are coming slowly and few fathers of newborns take time off due to the intense pressure to focus on work. Only 6 percent of eligible working fathers took paternity leave in 2018, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, far short of the governments modest 13 percent target for 2020. Many working fathers fear taking paternity leave will damage their careers, and those hoping to take leave often face warnings from their bosses or colleagues. A handful of men have sued their employers alleging they were subject to what is known in Japan as pata-hara, short for paternity harassment, after taking parental leave. Koizumi is the son of maverick former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and is considered a future prime ministerial hopeful [Jiji Press via AFP] The issue is a particular concern given Japans birthrate, which in 2018 was one of the worlds lowest and far below the rate the country needs to maintain its population. NORWALK A city man accused of showing interest in mass shootings caused a brief scare Thursday morning when he left his apartment wearing a helmet, camouflage and boots, according to police. A panicked woman called police around 10 a.m., claiming Brandon Wagshol, 22, was dressed suspiciously. The outfit, the woman told police, frightened her considering she knew Wagshol was arrested in August after the FBI National Threat Operations Center received a tip from one of his family members that he was trying to purchase extended magazine clips in New Hampshire. Sgt. Sofia Gulino, a Norwalk police spokeswoman, said officers were dispatched to the Bedford Avenue apartment complex where Wagshol lives, but they did not make contact with him. Police later learned Wagshol was en route to a scheduled meeting with his probation officer. They determined there was no need for a further investigation and no arrests were made. The incident occurred just one day after Superior Court Judge Gary White modified Wagshols conditions of release based on good reports from his probation officer. The modifications allow Wagshol to attend weekly services at Beth Israel Chabad. White also gave Wagshol permission on Wednesday to leave his home to go to work if he finds a job, according to his attorney Darnell Crosland. Wagshol has been confined to his fathers Bedford Avenue apartment on house arrest since his release in September on $250,000 bond for four counts of illegal possession of large capacity magazines. Wagshol is next scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 20. Police said an investigation into Wagshols internet history showed an apparent interest in mass shootings. The search warrant said Wagshol had an interest in mass shootings that dated back to 2008, when he was a sixth-grader at Ponus Ridge Middle School. In November of that year, Wagshol threatened to shoot another student using his fathers guns because the other child was making it hard for him to concentrate, the warrant said. Ill make Virginia Tech look like nothing, he muttered under his breath, the warrant said, in reference to the Virginia Tech shooting in which 33 people died the previous year. Wagshols case was later referred to the state Department of Children and Families. Local experts who examined Wagshols social media posts following his arrest said there were signs of self-radicalization. When police raided his Bedford Avenue home, they seized a .40 caliber handgun, a .22 caliber rifle, a rifle scope with a laser, four firearm optic sites, a firearm flashlight, body armor with a titanium plate, a full camouflage outfit, a ballistic helmet, tactical gloves, a camouflage bag, computers, and numerous .40 caliber, .22 caliber and .300 blackout rounds of ammunition, according to the search warrant. In his witness statement, Wagshol, a graduate of Brien McMahon High School and Norwalk Community College, said he drove to New Hampshire to acquire 30-round magazines and ammunition to circumvent what I viewed as an unconstitutional restriction on the Second Amendment. However, Wagshol said he did not have any intention of committing a mass shooting whatsoever. Connecticut law defines a large-capacity magazine as one that accepts more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Transporting large-capacity magazines into the state is a felony. New Hampshire does not have magazine restrictions. In the wake of his arrest, Wagshol was suspended and temporarily banned from Central Connecticut State University. WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate opened the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump with quiet ceremony Thursday senators standing at their desks to swear an oath of impartial justice as jurors, House prosecutors formally reciting the charges and Chief Justice John Roberts presiding. The trial, only the third such undertaking in American history, is unfolding at the start of the election year, a time of deep political division in the nation. Four of the senators sitting in judgment on Trump are running for the Democratic Partys nomination to challenge him in the fall. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! intoned the Senates sergeant at arms, calling the proceedings to order just past noon. Senators filled the chamber, an unusual sight in itself, sitting silently under strict rules that prohibit talking or cellphones, for a trial that will test not only Trumps presidency but also the nations three branches of power and its system of checks and balances. The Constitution mandates the chief justice serve as the presiding officer, and Roberts made the short trip across the street from the Supreme Court to the Capitol. He has long insisted judges are not politicians and is expected to serve as a referee for the proceedings. Senators rose quickly when he appeared in his plain black robe. Will all senators now stand, and remain standing, and raise their right hand, Roberts said. Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God? The senators responded they would, and then they lined up to sign an oath book. Trump faces two charges after the House voted to impeach him last month. One, that he abused his presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using military aid to the country as leverage. Trump is also charged with obstructing Congress ensuing probe. The president insists he did nothing wrong, and he dismissed the trial anew on Thursday at the White House: Its totally partisan. Its a hoax. Eventual acquittal is expected in the Republican-controlled Senate. However, new revelations are mounting about Trumps actions toward Ukraine. The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the White House violated federal law in withholding the security assistance to Ukraine, which shares a border with hostile Russia. At the same time, an indicted associate of Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas, has turned over to prosecutors new documents linking the president to the shadow foreign policy being run by Giuliani. The developments applied fresh pressure to senators to call more witnesses for the trial, a main source of contention that is still to be resolved. The White House has instructed officials not to comply with subpoenas from Congress requesting witnesses or other information. What is the president hiding? What is he afraid of? asked Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. The gravity of these charges is self-evident, he said. The House of Representatives has accused the president of trying to shake down a foreign leader for personal gain. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the new information from Parnas demands an investigation, which she doesnt expect from Trumps attorney general. This is an example of all of the presidents henchmen, and I hope that the senators do not become part of the presidents henchmen. Before the swearing-in, House Democrats prosecuting the case stood before the Senate and Rep. Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee formally read the articles of impeachment. Seven lawmakers, led by Schiff and Rep. Jerrold Nadler of the Judiciary Committee, made the solemn walk across the Capitol for a second day. All eyes were on Schiff as he stood at a lectern in the well of the chamber, a space usually reserved for senators. House Resolution 755 Impeaching Donald John Trump, president of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors, he began, reading the nine pages. The other House prosecutors stood in a row to his side. Senators said later that when Roberts appeared the solemnity of the occasion took hold. Security was tight at the Capitol. I thought this is a historic moment, and you could have heard a pin drop, said Republican John Cornyn of Texas. And so I think the gravity of what are undertaking I think was sinking in for all of us. Republican House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took a far different view of the charges and proceedings. He opened the chamber decrying Pelosis decision to hand out souvenir pens on Wednesday after she signed the resolution to transmit the charges to the Senate. This final display neatly distilled the Houses entire partisan process into one perfect visual, McConnell said. It was a transparently partisan process from beginning to end. GOP Sen. James Inhofe was absent, home in Oklahoma for a family medical issue, but plans to take the oath when he returns as the full trial begins next week, his office said. The Senate will issue a formal summons to the White House to appear, with the presidents legal team expected to respond by Saturday. Opening arguments will begin on Tuesday. The president suggested recently that he would be open to a quick vote to simply dismiss the charges, but sufficient Republican support is lacking for that. Instead, the presidents team expects a trial lasting no more than two weeks, according to senior administration officials. That would be far shorter than the trial of President Bill Clinton, in 1999, or the first one, of President Andrew Johnson, in 1868. Both were acquitted. It would take a super-majority of senators, 67 of the 100, to convict the president. Republicans control the chamber, 53-47, but it takes just 51 votes during the trial to approve rules, call witnesses or dismiss the charges. A group of four Republican senators is working to ensure there will be votes on the possibility of witnesses, though its not at all certain a majority will prevail for new testimony. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee are among those involved. I tend to believe having additional information would be helpful, Collins said in a statement. It is likely that I would support a motion to call witnesses. Romney said he wants to hear from John Bolton, the former national security adviser at the White House, who others have said raised alarms about the alternative foreign policy toward Ukraine being run by Giuliani. The House managers are a diverse group with legal, law enforcement and military experience, including Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Val Demings of Florida, Jason Crow of Colorado and Zoe Lofgren of California. Two are freshmen Crow a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Garcia a former judge in Houston. Demings is the former police chief of Orlando, and Jeffries is a lawyer and member of party leadership. Lofgren has the rare credential of having worked on a congressional staff during President Richard Nixons impeachment he resigned before the full House voted on the charges and then being an elected lawmaker during Clintons. ___ Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Alan Fram, Matthew Daly, Andrew Taylor, Mary Clare Jalonick, Laurie Kellman, and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report. Real estate draws foreign investors In 2019, FDI investment in the real estate sector was more than USD 2.7 bn, accounting for 17.8% of total capital investment, ranking second after the processing and manufacturing industry. Notably, in 2019, the number of foreign investors looking to explore investment opportunities in Vietnam increased by 30% compared to the same period in 2018. Among which, many delegations sought opportunities to shift their investments from China to Vietnam. The investors were mainly from Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. This shows that the real estate sector has always been an attractive option for foreign investors. There are many reasons for FDI inflow into the real estate sector in Vietnam. First, Vietnam has political stability, macro-economic growth, and an active investment environment which all helps the real estate market to retain growth and stability. In addition, with the current fast growing economy, people's rising income, especially that of the young labor force, has led to a rapid increase in housing demand in big cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other central industrial areas. Besides this, Vietnam has a vast coastline of more than 3,000 kms with many beautiful landscapes and beaches, and many mountainous and river areas that are conducive for the construction of tourist resorts. This diversity of historical and cultural sites has brought about many real estate investment projects and this new driving force will continue to attract many foreign investors to Vietnam in coming times. Along with growth in the economy, the process of economic integration is also accelerating. Demand for offices, apartments for rent, hotels and commercial buildings are growing rapidly, especially the demand for apartments and hotels for domestic and international tourists in big cities as well as tourist resorts in the country. In particular, Vietnam has signed many free trade agreements, and Vietnam's economic stability is expected to continue to attract many foreign investors. Therefore, the demand for investment and development in industrial real estate will be the basis to create a strong belief in the growth of industries in Vietnam that will bring in more foreign investments. Selecting strategic investors According to the Ministry of Construction, the annual demand for housing has increased by more than 100 million sq.m. Besides, the low-cost segment, tourism, resorts, hotels, industrial and infrastructure projects that require high-quality architecture, vast amounts of capital, and complex technology are on the rise. With limited resources, domestic real estate investors really need more foreign investors to raise capital, technical capabilities, and higher standards of management. However, in order for FDI to flow into the real estate market and contribute greatly to the socio-economic development of the country, the process of attracting FDI should be conducted carefully and with consideration and in accordance with detailed planning. First, detailed and specific socio-economic development plans are needed. On that basis, a real estate plan to suit short-term, medium and long-term development needs must be designed. Reasonable planning of real estate investment will help fully and promptly to meet the infrastructure for socio-economic development, avoid accumulation, uneven distribution and stagnation of projects. Second, it is necessary to complete all the legal mechanisms and policies related to the purchase, sale, ownership and use of different types of real estate. In principle, the purchase and sale are only made when there are actual goods. However, due to high value and long construction time in real estate projects, Vietnam has allowed investors to "pre-sell" the products. But due to lack of specific regulations, that are not strict, many disputes occur. Moreover, the type of condotel serviced apartments being built do not have specific definitions and legal regulations, so it is an ongoing issue in the market. Third, it is necessary to create clear standards for investors and FDI projects, with a mechanism to consider and appraise financial sources, design, cost estimates, ability to build and manage projects. Thereby, Vietnam can select good investors, that are experienced, capable, and able to connect international tourism and real estate markets in the country. Fourth, domestic real estate enterprises need to prepare for all financial conditions, land use rights, programs and projects to invest in business quickly, precisely and definitely for each project. In business, ambiguity, lack of goodwill and commitment must be avoided. The contracts must be clear, meticulous and have specific responsibilities based on the laws to ensure enforcement and legal efficiency. Fifth, we need to strengthen joint ventures, associate with foreign investors to attract capital, and familiarize with customers in developed countries, ensuring a long-term investment for lucrative projects. It is necessary to identify ways and means of joint ventures and co-operations and the real estate sector must be careful in choosing the right foreign partners. Investors with resources, skills in construction and real estate business experience must have long-term commitment plans before the implementation of any joint venture project. Translated by Mathew Hung Asso. Prof. Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh, Economic Expert at Finance Academy OYO Hotels & Homes, the world's leading chain of hotels, homes, and spaces has recently announced its new direction, centered four strategic objectives towards building a leaner, healthier, and more agile organisation. These include sustainable growth, operational excellence, training & governance, and driving a clear path to profitability for 2020 beyond. From one hotel in Gurugram in 2013, OYO has enjoyed the love and support of thousands of OYOpreneurs (employees), asset owners and customers and therefore grown to 800 plus cities across the world. During this period, OYO has actively evolved as a company, encountered several opportunities and challenges and accordingly adapted to change. As the company enters 2020, it is taking steps to optimize and strengthen the by focusing on four strategic objectives of sustainable growth, operational excellence, the path to profitability and training and governance. As this strategy comes into effect, OYO will be focusing on the following - * Sustainable Growth: Balance the speed of our growth with our operational capabilities, to ensure our growth is sustainable. * OYO has built world-class capabilities since it started and in 2020 are forming a global capabilities team for each core function that will dramatically shorten the learning curve of every OYO market through knowledge sharing and drive consistent strategy and execution across our brands, teams, and locations. * Operational and Customer Excellence: Leverage technology and data insights along with our culture of service to simplify operations and drive consistent, high-quality execution * Drive uniform adoption of OYO's own tech products across different geographies. This also makes the guests', hotel partners' and lives easier and efficient. * Move 90 per cent plus hotels from OYO to more than 7/10 rating through network planning, technology-enabled tools, and targeted investments * Profitability: * Increase efficiency while focusing on core businesses and rationalizing growth avenues * Focus on profitable locations and buildings and avoid growth that dilutes our margins * Further, reduce operating costs * Training and Governance: Enable OYOpreneurs with the right tools to drive productivity, consistency, and governance, while building a high-performing and employee-first work culture "We are excited about OYO's 2020 vision. The senior management team in India and I are fully committed to creating a sustainable model following our core values. We will continue to double down our efforts in providing enhanced customer experience, delivering value for our asset owners while ensuring the professional development of all our OYOpreneurs and building a fantastic culture. We have a terrific business not just in India, but also globally", said Rohit Kapoor, CEO - OYO India & South Asia. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Washington, Jan 17 : The US Senate has approved a bill to implement the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The measure passed the Senate on Thursday in an 89-10 vote, following an approval from the US House of Representatives last month, with a 385-41 vote. House Democrats and the administration had negotiated for months over issues including labour and environmental enforcement, as well as pharmaceutical provisions before finally reaching an agreement, Xinhua reported. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a longtime Republican US Senator from Kentucky, said on Twitter that he is grateful to the president "for prioritizing this deal and delivering on this major promise," noting that it's a "big win" for Kentucky and for American families in all 50 states. After the Senate passage of the bill, President Trump is expected to sign it, which would put the new trilateral trade deal into effect more than a year after leaders of the three countries signed the new deal, replacement of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While the Trump administration has touted the USMCA as pro-growth, a recent analysis published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) showed that the deal is "a net negative" for all three economies. The USMCA modernizes trading rules and strengthens the enforcement of labor and environmental rights, but its restrictions on auto trade and investment and on auto production "will hurt US industry", said PIIE trade economists Mary Lovely and Jeffrey Schott, authors of the analysis. "The Trump administration's stated goal was to ensure that more of the vehicles will be produced in North America. But the outcome will be just the opposite," the economists said. United Airlines Boeing 757 Newark REUTERS/Gary Hershorn A United flight from Newark to Los Angeles had to return to the airport Wednesday when an engine failed after takeoff. No one was injured, but passengers described the frightening experience and posted videos of sparks coming from the engine. Passengers were accommodated on a later flight on a different plane. Sign up for Business Insider's transportation newsletter, Shifting Gears, to get more stories like this in your inbox. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A United flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to Los Angeles was forced to return to the airport on Wednesday when an engine failed shortly after takeoff. United flight 1871 had just taken off from Newark when sparks appeared to come from the right wing and the engine stopped running, passengers said on Twitter. "Most terrifying experience of my life," passenger Nicole Adamo said on Twitter. "Flight delayed 2 hours for Maintenance issues. Flight takes off, Right wing of the plane (where I'm sitting in the aisle seat) sparking & now one engine failed. They're making announcements but i can't hear anything b/c people are screaming." According to United, the plane landed safely at Newark and passengers were able to deplane. "United 1871 from Newark, New Jersey to Los Angeles returned to Newark due to a mechanical issue," a United spokesperson told USA Today. "The flight landed safely and passengers deplaned normally. We are working on changing aircraft to get our customers to their destination as soon as possible." No one was injured in the incident, another United spokesperson told Business Insider, and passengers were accommodated on a later flight on a different plane. The original plane is being inspected by maintenance teams. Another passenger, who identified herself as "Gabby," posted video that she said was from the flight. Earlier this week, a Delta flight made news when it suffered a similar engine failure upon takeoff from Los Angeles and dumped fuel on a residential neighborhood as it returned to the airport. Story continues A United spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that the Newark flight did not eject fuel before landing. The Delta flight, from Los Angeles to Shanghai, was significantly heavier on takeoff because it was loaded with fuel for the longer flight. The plane type, a larger 777-200, is able to eject fuel to bring weight down before an unscheduled landing. The plane operating United 1861, a Boeing 757, does not have the fuel ejection capability, partly because the plane's maximum suggested landing weight is relatively close to its maximum takeoff weight. Data from FlightRadar24 show that the flight circled several times in a holding pattern before returning to Newark. Read the original article on Business Insider A primary school teacher died after suffering a cardiac arrest while on duty during polling for panchayat elections in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district on Friday. The state government has provided financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh to the aggrieved family members. Ratan Lal Bunkar, a Class 3 teacher posted at Gega Kheda Middle School in Bhilwara district, was on duty at Lakshmi Kheda polling centre in Bijolia as assistant polling officer when he suffered a cardiac arrest and eventually died, an official statement said. Bhilwara District Collector Rajendra Bhatt reached the hospital to condole the death and handed over an approval letter of financial assistance to the family members. The sanctioned funds were directly transferred to the bank account of Bunkar's wife Leela Devi. The collector informed the family about the rules of job application under compassionate ground and asked the dependent to apply for the same within 90 days for taking further action in the case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) JACKSON, MI Patrick Burtch, 56, could be leaving for a job in Ohio after serving as Jackson city manager since 2012. The Maumee City Council has approved Burtch as its new city administrator, the Toledo Blade reports. Burtch would start in Maumee Feb. 17, if he takes the offer, per the Blade. A statement will be released when the time is appropriate, Jackson Public Information Officer Aaron Dimick said, declining to comment further. Maumee officials and Burtch couldnt immediately be reached for comment. Before coming to Jackson as assistant city manager in 2011, Burtch was the Dundee village manager for 23 years. He has worked with economic development, grant money, master planning, budgets, negotiations, all the things we were looking for, Maumee Mayor Richard Carr told the Blade. He exceeded our expectations. Burtch had council approve changes to his contract in December, allowing for him to accumulate 16 weeks of vacation instead of 10 and get health and prescription benefits upon retirement, at which time the city would pay for Medicare Parts A and B or an equivalent, until hes Medicare eligible, among other changes. Burtch will take a roughly $20,000 pay cut to go to Maumee, as his new salary will be $145,000, per the Blade. But the pay is a vast improvement from the Maumees last city administrator, who earned $112,935 annually, per the Blade. My kids all live down there. Im from that area, Burtch said of Maumee in September, when it was revealed he was a candidate for the job. When a job comes up thats close to your family, everybody considers that. Maumee is a southwestern suburb of Toledo and has a population of just under 14,000. Jackson has just under 33,000 people, per U.S. Census estimates. Former Maumee City Administrator John Jezak retired in April 2019, per the Blade, after a months-long dispute with Mayor Richard Carr and select members of council over his handling of an investigation. PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the deadly wildfires that have ravaged Australia, OnPoint Community Credit Union announced today it will donate $10,000 to support the people, wildlife and environment relief efforts, which will be split between the Australian Red Cross and WWF Australia. OnPoint is encouraging its members and the community to join them in donating to the cause. "At OnPoint, our purpose is to help build strong communities and when a disaster of this magnitude occurs, we want to do our part to help," said Rob Stuart, President and Chief Executive Officer, OnPoint Community Credit Union. "We are proud to donate on behalf of our members as Australia works to rebuild and recover." Australian officials report recent rainfall is helping with containment; therefore, this donation will offer support for the relief and ongoing recovery efforts for the people, animals and communities that have been impacted. The Australian Red Cross will utilize OnPoint's donation to provide affected people with emergency assistance and recovery programs. WWF Australia will direct OnPoint's donation toward its $30 million Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund supporting wildlife response, habitat restoration for people and wildlife, and long-term conservation strategies. As the largest credit union headquartered in Oregon, community support is of vital importance to OnPoint. In 2019 alone, it donated more than $1,052,836 to local nonprofits and allocated 12,080 paid volunteer hours to its employees for the causes they support. While OnPoint primarily directs its donations to the counties it serves, it has a demonstrated history of donating to worldwide disaster relief efforts, including the California Wildfires in 2018, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Oso Mudslide in 2014, Philippines Typhoon in 2013, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and the Haiti earthquake in 2010. ABOUT AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS Relief in times of crisis, care when it's needed most, and commitment when others turn away. Red Cross is there for people in need, no matter who they are, no matter where they live. Its purpose is to reduce suffering across Australia and internationally through mobilizing the power of humanity. With millions of volunteers worldwide and thousands of members, volunteers, and supporters across Australia, they can reach people and places like nobody else. For more information, click here: https://www.redcross.org.au/ ABOUT WWF AUSTRALIA WWF Australia is part of the WWF International Network, the world's leading, independent conservation organization. Founded in 1961, it is active in over 100 countries and has close to five million supporters internationally. In Australia and throughout the oceanic region, WWF Australia works with governments, businesses, and communities so that people and nature can thrive within their fair share of the planet's natural resources. WWF-Australia is a not-for-profit organization with nearly 70% of its annual income donated by our dedicated supporters. For more information, click here: http://www.wwf.org.au ABOUT ONPOINT COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION OnPoint Community Credit Union is the largest credit union in Oregon, serving more than 390,000 members and with assets of $6.1 billion. Founded in 1932, OnPoint Community Credit Union's membership is available to anyone who lives or works in one of 13 Oregon counties (Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington and Yamhill) and two Washington counties (Skamania and Clark) and their immediate family members. More information is available at www.onpointcu.com or 503-228-7077 or 800-527-3932. SOURCE OnPoint Community Credit Union Related Links https://www.onpointcu.com/ BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: AzerTelecom, backbone internet provider connecting Azerbaijan to the global internet network, is successfully implementing Azerbaijan Digital Hub program to turn the country into a digital center for the Caucasus, CIS, Central and South Asia, Middle East and surrounding regions. Within the first phase of the program, the company is engaged in sustainable, large-scale infrastructure projects in and beyond the borders of the country. Currently, the project on laying the fiber-optic cable lines through Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan routes along the bottom of the Caspian Sea has launched and is under implementation. The intergovernmental agreements on laying the fiber-optic cables along these routes were signed between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on March 19, 2019 while, between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on November 28, 2019. According to these documents, the laying of 400 km length fiber-optic cable line (TransCaspian Fiber Optic TCFO) along Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan route will be carried out AzerTelecom, from Azerbaijan side, and KazTransCom and Transtelecom, from Kazakhstan side. The Project is to complete in 2021-2022 years. The ceremony dedicated to the launch of the project for Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan route was held in Aktau in November last year and attended by the Prime Ministers, public officials and heads of companies, executing the project. The Project for 300 km length Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan route will be implemented by AzerTelecom and Turkmentelecom operators. Fuad Allahverdiyev, AzerTelecom General Director, stated that, the cable line will allow the transmission of the data with a capacity of at least 4-6 terabit/s in Kazakhstan route, while 2-3 terabit/s in Turkmenistan route. The day before yesterday the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev received the minister of Transportation, Communication and High Technologies Ramin Guluzade. During the conversation, the president referred to the construction of fiber-optic cable line along the bottom of the Caspian Sea. Emphasizing the importance of Project, the Head of the State mentioned that, since Azerbaijan has already become one of the important transport centers of Eurasia, our country must certainly turn into a center in the field of laying communication lines, the Internet and fiber-optic communications. Our main target is successful implementation of these strategical projects under the Azerbaijan Digital Hub program which is in the focus area of Mr. President Fuad Allahverdiyev noted. The transmission of fiber-optic cables along the bottom of the Caspian Sea will build up a digital silk way between Europe and Asia through Azerbaijan on the route of ancient silk way. The data transmission demand of Kazakhstan and China will be met by Kazakhstan route, while that of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afganistan, Pakistan and India will be met by Turkmenistan route. AzerTelecom is the subsidiary of Bakcell Company, the country's first mobile operator and the fastest mobile internet provider. AzerTelecom offers various services to local and foreign companies in the telecommunication sector. GREENFIELD - A judge has ordered a 39-year-old Greenfield man to undergo a psychiatric exam after he was charged by police with blasting a family of five with chemical bear repellant because he believed they were all spies for Russia. Erik Grippo is charged with vandalism and eight counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon following an incident from Sept. 22 on Verde Drive. Five of the eight A&B counts relate to his neighbors, a mother and father, and their 3 children, being exposed to the bear spray according to The Greenfield Recorder . The vandalism charge stems from an allegation that Grippo hit the familys minivan with a bottle of hot sauce. At his arraignment Wednesday in Greenfield District Court, Judge William Mazanec III ordered Grippo to undergo an exam to determine if he is competent to stand trial. He is due back in court on March 23. Bear spray is made of the same ingredients contained in canisters of pepper spray, although it has a lower concentration of capsaicin, the chemical in chili peppers that can irritate the eyes and make it difficult to breathe. While pepper spray, used as a defensive weapon, is designed to send a stream directly at an attacker, bear spray sends a cloud out over a wide area to discourage aggressive bears. When police arrived on the scene, the parents and 3 children were all complaining of red and watery eyes and were experiencing some signs of difficulty breathing. The police report notes that Grippo told officers he felt threatened by the family and believed them to be Russian spies, the Recorder reported. While most of us Britons are battling high winds, grey skies and a dreary morning commute, the Rich Kids Of Instagram are having no such problems. Envy-inducing pictures from the Instagram accounts of the Rich Kids in the Dubai, Nigeria, Tirana and beyond capture flashy teens flaunting their wealth in mind-bloggling snaps. Making the most of the January sun, those in warmer climates enjoy a stay in Dubai's luxury Atlantis hotel and set sail on yachts. Elsewhere others show off their love of fast cars and private jets, with one excitable driver racing by Paris' Eiffel Tower in a Ferrari. A different January blue! Envy-inducing pictures from the accounts of the Rich Kids in the Dubai, Nigeria, Tirana and beyond capture flashy teens flaunting their wealth in mind-bloggling snaps. Influencer Any Salceanu, from Dubai, is seen posing on the rooftops of a penthouse by the Dubai Marina as she makes the most of the January sunshine Elsewhere influencer Jamie Chua, from Singapore, revealed the very luxurious way she travels the wolrd, in a private cabin complete with double bed and three course dinners Instagram star Zinhle Ngwenya shared a picture as she drove through a picturesque park thought to be in Nigeria as she made the most of the warmer climates European beach club founder Natallia Yakimchyk shared a snap as she luxuriated on a yacht overlooking the Dubai skyline French business student Ollie Zeineddine shared a picture as he raced by the Eiffel Tower in his Ferrari, writing: 'A bad night in Paris is still better than a good day anywhere else Elsewhere the Rich Kids of Dubai account shared a picture of two lucky Dubai dwellers visiting The Atlantis in Dubai, and enjoying a dip in the hot tub as they watched the local wildlife Meanwhile the Rich Kids of Nigeria shared a picture of an influencer enjoying a ride on a private jet, writing: 'The wife of a billionaire is also a billionaire' And the Rich Kids of Tirana, Albania, posted a snap of Tur Kasa taking a ride in a Rolls Royce as he enjoyed a bottle of top notch champagne Laurent Correia of France enjoyed a sunny break to Dubai, where they made the most of their private pool (TNS) At 2 a.m. on a November morning, Shirley Breitman began to scream for help from the bed of her assisted-living facility in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.Her pained cries were streamed live to the smartphones of Breitmans two adult children Richard, in Minneapolis and Laurie, in Los Angeles through an Internet-connected camera placed in her bedroom. Within minutes, Richard was on the phone with the facilitys nursing staff, asking them to check on their 98-year-old mother, who has advanced dementia and was experiencing an adverse reaction to new medication.Once you install one of these cameras, you cant imagine living without it, said Richard Breitman, an attorney. It gives you peace of mind knowing that another set of eyes is on our mother.In recent years, a raft of new video surveillance technology has made it possible for families to monitor the daily movements and care of their aging relatives with remarkable clarity and precision. Yet Minnesota law has long been silent on whether people actually had the right to install such equipment in residents rooms at care facilities, an omission that sowed confusion and conflicts between families and senior homes.Now, after years of legal wrangling, state law is finally clear: Minnesotans have the right to use electronic monitoring devices in most senior care facilities, provided they notify the facility and obtain consent from residents being monitored. Effective this month, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the state are required to inform residents of their right to use the cameras.The small, Internet-enabled cameras can bring peace of mind to families who suspect abuse of a loved one, or who simply want to keep better tabs on their care. The remote monitoring systems, which can be purchased online for less than $200, have become increasingly sophisticated. People can now receive automatic alerts to their smartphones when someone enters a loved ones room, or when there is unusual activity or sound.Breitman said the streaming videos are so vivid that, on a recent morning, he could see the type of food aides left for his mother as well as the quality of the bandages on her injured wrist. Its stunningly good, Breitman said, as he watched the video feed.But not all seniors want to live under round-the-clock surveillance. Last year, elder care advocates, industry representatives and state health officials struggled to work out a compromise between invasion of privacy and fears of resident abuse. The result is a complicated set of new reporting requirements and some confusion over how the new law will be implemented. Some advocates worry that the bevy of new rules will discourage the very surveillance it was designed to protect, and that some people may be subject to retaliation for using the devices.Modeled after legislation in Illinois, Minnesotas law requires that families obtain the residents to consent to the use of a camera and notify the facility of their plans. If a resident occupies a shared room, the roommate must also provide consent. In cases where senior residents are too frail or cognitively impaired to give consent, relatives must fill out a 9-page form with a written statement from a medical professional.The prior notification requirements also have advocates worried about possible retaliation. In the past, families who suspected abuse or neglect of a loved one could put hidden cameras in their loved ones room without ever telling facility staff. In many cases, families would take this step as a last resort, when attempts to work out problems with facility staff have failed, advocates noted.Now, however, residents or family members who install a surveillance camera without first notifying the facility and completing the required consent forms are violating state law. The new law does allow for an exception: If a resident or family member fears retaliation, they can install the device for two weeks without notifying the facility, provided they submit a special form to the Office of the Ombudsman of Long-Term Care.Jean Peters, president of Elder Voice Family Advocates, a nonprofit that advocates for safe and quality care in long-term care facilities, said the new law and its bevy of new rules are unnecessarily punitive, and leave families vulnerable to retaliation.All people want to do is monitor the care of their loved ones, to make sure they are getting what they are paying for, Peters said. These reporting requirements will have a chilling effect on families.Sean Burke, public policy director at the Minnesota Elder Justice Center, which helped craft the regulations, acknowledged that some families may find the new paperwork overly burdensome. But, he said, the state had to respect the privacy rights of seniors, including those who may be incapable of understanding that they are being filmed.With this new technology, its literally like `The Truman Show,? Burke said. You are putting [your loved ones] entire life on film, potentially, including their most intimate cares. That is an awesome power.Staff tampered with cameraAllegations of abuse in senior homes are notoriously hard to prove, and hidden cameras are one of the few ways that families can corroborate claims by elderly relatives. Increasingly, the footage is also being used by law enforcement officials and state health regulators, in some cases to bring criminal charges.Across Minnesota, many seniors and their relatives are learning about the technology for the first time. Care Providers of Minnesota, a long-term care industry trade group, is urging its member facilities to include information about the new law in admissions packets for new residents.Eventually, everyone should be educated, said Patti Cullen, president and chief executive of Care Providers.Lisa Papp-Richards is among the first to take advantage of the new law. Three years ago, she tried to install a camera in the Bemidji nursing home where her 77-year-old mother lived after she noticed a sudden decline in her health without any clear explanation. Soon, however, facility staff began tampering with the camera even placing a towel over it and eventually seized the camera without her consent. The family filed a police report alleging theft.Last week, emboldened by the new law, Papp-Richards reinstalled the camera in the same place, high atop a wooden cabinet, with a clear view of her mothers room. Already, she is checking the video stream on her smartphone four to five times a day, and shes noticed an improvement in her mothers mental well-being. Her mother, she said, has become more relaxed knowing that her daughter is keeping a closer watch on her care. On the video feed, Papp-Richards could see staff joking and interacting well with her mother, which helped assuage worries that her mother was being left alone.At my mothers age, things can change in an instant, so its vitally important to be able to react immediately, Papp-Richards said. The cameras are a reassuring, last line of defense. The investigation is an unusually bold move for Ukraines government, which has tried to stay out of the impeachment debate and needs Washingtons help in its conflict with Russia. It centers on text messages that suggest Robert Hyde, an obscure Republican candidate for Congress, secretly tracked the movements of the diplomat, Marie Yovanovitch, whom Mr. Trump later removed from Ukraine. Background: Lev Parnas, the Soviet-born businessman who exchanged the messages with Mr. Hyde, turned them over to congressional Democrats scrutinizing Mr. Trumps campaign to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. Mr. Parnas had worked with Mr. Trumps personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, to oust Ms. Yovanovitch, whom the presidents allies considered an impediment. Responses: In separate television interviews on Wednesday, Mr. Parnas said he had not taken Mr. Hyde seriously, and Mr. Hyde said the messages were colorful texts in which he was joking around. Related: A nonpartisan U.S. government watchdog said the Trump administration had violated American law by withholding nearly $400 million in congressionally allocated security aid to Ukraine a decision at the heart of the impeachment case. Today President Trump signed a guidance issued by the Department of Education on Constitutionally Protected Prayer and Religious Expression in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools. It updates the last such guidance, which was issued in 2003. The president promoted the event, coinciding with National Religious Freedom Day, as a step toward freedom of religion. President @realDonaldTrump announced historic steps to protect the Constitutional right to pray in public schools! pic.twitter.com/YsORcxUpWa The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 16, 2020 It is a sign of the times that you have to do a fair amount of Googling to get past the usual spin from media sources and find the actual guidance document. Almost all media commentary focuses on the political ramifications of prayer in school, rather than the content of the guidance. This is a big topic, beyond the scope of a single post, but the White Houses summary of the guidance is at least a start. I would add a few observations: 1) One always wonders whether such documents have teeth. This one provides: [A]s a condition of receiving ESEA funds, an LEA must certify in writing to its SEA that it has no policy that prevents, or otherwise denies participation in, constitutionally protected prayer in public schools as detailed in this updated guidance. In my view, there is no good reason why the federal government should be sending money to local school districts. Still, this presumably means that some kind of enforcement might follow, at least until the next Democratic president revokes the guidance. 2) The complaint I have heard many times, here in Minnesota, is that Muslim students receive favored treatment compared with Christian and Jewish students. In many instances, they are dismissed from class in order to pray, special prayer rooms are set up along with foot-washing stations, and so on. Todays guidance addresses all religions equally, but does not specifically say (as far as I can see) that religions must be treated equally by the public schools. I hope I am missing something here, and perhaps, by affirming the general right of religious expression in the public school sphere, the guidance will at least imply equality among religions. 3) The main thrust of the guidance is to say that, while public schools cannot endorse or promote any particular religion, or religion in general, they also cannot discriminate against religious expression or religious groups in comparison with how they treat secular expression or secular school groups. I am so old that I can remember when such an injunction would have been unnecessary. Now, it apparently is considered radical by most mainstream news outlets, like, say, NPR: Trump Defends School Prayer. Critics Say Hes Got It All Wrong. That is what we taxpayers are sponsoring, but somehow, I cant remember ever voting for such principles. The war over religious freedom has a long way to go, but today the Trump administration took at least a modest step forward. It is perhaps symptomatic of the craziness of modern liberalism that it is left to a figure like Donald Trump, who certainly never set out to be a hero of religious observance, to erect a firewall against the Lefts implacable hostility toward the Christian and Jewish faiths. MIDDLETOWN State Police are warning residents to beware of phone scams that appear to be on the rise, according to a statement. Dispatchers and Troopers from around the state have been contacted by concerned citizens about unusual phone calls they have received, police said.. The phone calls are from people claiming to be from the Connecticut State Police, among other agencies or organizations. In some cases, scammers ask callers deposit a check they provide and then wire the money from that account. In other calls, scammers insist that consumers make a decision and provide private information immediately. Resist these calls by simply hanging up. Citizens need to be pro-active in minimizing the chance that they will be scammed. State Police remind consumers to always follow this vital safety rule: Never, never, never provide critical private information over the phone. If the IRS, your bank or other agencies want to contact you, they will do so in writing. Bank account numbers, Social Security Numbers and other identification numbers should be kept completely private. Hang up on any suspicious calls and report them by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP or visit ftc.gov/complaint. Heres a great website for resources regarding this issue: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0076-phone-scams As a reminder, the Connecticut State Police is a state agency that is funded solely by the state budget; we do not solicit funds over the phone. Deadline set for changing parties LITCHFIELD The Presidential preference primary will be held April 28. Voters who are registered Democrats may vote in April for the presidential candidate they prefer to run in the November election. There is no plan to have a Republican primary. Voters who wish to change their party affiliation must do so three months before the date of the election: Jan. 28 is the last day that current voters can change their party affiliation in time to vote in the Primary. To register to vote, visit the Town Hall, call the Registrars Office at 860-567-7558 or or email bputnam@townoflitchfield.org or nsouthard@thownoflitchfield.org and ask have a registration card mailed, or go to https://voterregistration.ct.gov/OLVR/welcome.do Auxiliary offers healthcare scholarships TORRINGTON The application deadline of March 1 is approaching for those interested in applying for one of the ten $1,000 scholarships offered by the Charlotte Hungerford Hospital Auxiliary. They are offered to local students pursuing an education in a heathcare field. Two additional scholarships, the Doctor Alfred Fabro Award and the Doctor Joseph Curi Award will also be awarded in the amount of $1,000 each. Applicants must reside in a community served by Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and must be planning to matriculate at a college or institution of higher education for a healthcare degree. Applications and instructions for completing the application may be obtained by e-mailing chhscholarship@gmail.org. Area colleges and high schools also have applications available online through their guidance departments. All completed applications and attachments must be printed out and sent by mail, postmarked no later than March 1, 2020, to the attention of Ellen Durstin at 102 Tanglewood Rd., New Hartford, CT 06057. A letter will be sent to all applicants by the first week of May 2020 notifying them of their status. Recipients of the scholarships are expected to be present at the award ceremony scheduled for May 5, 2020. To request an application, send e-mail chhscholarship@gmail.com. For more information call 860-482-3135 Chase students take part in festival WATERBURY Three Chase Collegiate School students participated in the Connecticut Music Educators Association Southern Region High School Festival. Sarah Svitlik (21, Waterbury) played flute in the band, led by notable conductor and composer Vincent LaMonica. Emily Segal (21, Southbury) and Maggie McGuire (20, New Milford) sang in the mixed choir, conducted by Dr. Carolina Flores, Associate Professor of Music at Manchester Community College. The festival was held on Jan. 11-12 at Maloney High School in Meriden. Participating students are in good standing with their high school band or chorus and audition for one of the limited spots by performing a provided solo, scales, and sightreading. All three Chase students who auditioned were selected to participate. The CMEA has been advocated for teaching music in Connecticut for 87 years, and is one of the oldest state music educators associations in the nation. With over 1,000 active members, CMEA represents music education at every level and discipline. For more information about CMEA or the Southern Region High School Festival, visit their website: https://cmea.org/. The government may increase customs duty on several products like paper, footwear, rubber items and toys in the forthcoming Budget with a view to promote 'Make in India' and boost manufacturing growth, sources said. The Commerce and Industry Ministry in its Budget recommendations to the Finance Ministry has proposed rationalisation of basic customs or import duty on over 300 items from different sectors, including furniture, chemicals, rubber, coated paper and paper boards, they said. For new pneumatic tyres of rubber, it has proposed to hike customs duty to 40 percent from the current 10-15 percent. Similarly, on footwear and related products, the ministry has suggested an increase in duty to 35 percent from the current 25 percent. "There is a significant increase in imports of undervalued and cheap footwear. Hike in the duty will help address the issue of price competition. Majority of imports are coming from ASEAN countries, with which India has a free trade agreement. It is also suspected that China is re-routing large quantities of footwear through these countries," the sources said. The ministry has proposed to increase import duty on wooden furniture to 30 percent from the current 20 percent. For coated paper, paper boards and hand made papers, it has suggested doubling the duty to 20 percent. However, it has asked for the removal of import duty on waste paper and wood pulp, which is currently at 10 percent and 5 percent, respectively. The paper industry has expressed concerns about cheap imports and a surge in inbound shipments. "This has a significant negative impact on coated paper manufacturing industry. Increase in duty will help the domestic industry to compete with global players. It would also protect local manufacturers and ensure sustained growth of the domestic paper industry," one of the sources said. For wood, metal and plastic toys, the ministry has suggested an increase in import duty to up to 100 percent from the current 20 percent. Import of these toys increased to $304 million in 2018-19 from $281.82 million in 2017-18 from China and Hong Kong. ALSO READ: Budget 2020: What the govt can do to boost income of the poor, revive demand ALSO READ: Budget 2020: Govt needs to strengthen ARCs; provide stimulus to the voiceless sector E U Brexit chief Guy Verhofstadt said a post-Brexit free trade deal will be "very difficult" to attain if Britain does not sign up to the bloc's rules on standards. Mr Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit coordinator, said such an outcome will depend on Britain's willingness to comply with standards followed by member states. "I think both sides have an interest to be very ambitious. But how far this will go is very difficult to say because it will depend on what the willingness is of the UK side to also comply with a number of standards in the European Union," he told BBC Radio 4 Today. "We are always saying 'No tariffs? OK. No quotas? OK.' "But also - no dumping. That can be state aid, that can be ecological standards, social standards." Asked on the outcomes if Britain does not sign up to such stipulations, he said: "It will be very difficult to have a broad free trade agreement at that moment." He spoke with Stephen Barclay on Thursday and stated the Brexit secretary had conceded over allowing EU citizens to have a hard copy of their settled status confirmation. Those who had settled status were previously told to use a screenshot of their confirmation on their phones as proof. Boris Johnson says its epicly likely there will be a comprehensive trade deal by the end of this year Mr Verhofstadt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "They said we are going to look at it so people can print it so they have a physical document. "People will have the opportunity to have a printout, probably a PDF document. "That was the conclusion of our conversation." Boris Johnson has vowed to secure a free trade deal by the end of 2020, when the Brexit transition period following January 31 is set to run out. This marks another blow for that, with the EU having repeatedly said it thinks the timeframe is too small to attain such an agreement. Asked about chances of securing a comprehensive deal, which the EU has suggested looks unlikely be the end of December, the PM told BBC Breakfast: "Enormously likely, epically likely." Pressed on the possibility of such an agreement not coming to fruition, he added: "You always have to budget for a complete lack of common sense." A US ambassador to South Korea has defended himself against criticism of his moustache after it became a "point of fascination". Harry Harris's facial hair has been critiqued due to people pointing out that the Japanese governors-general had moustaches during Japanese colonial rule between 1910 and 1945. Mr Harris, 63, believes he is being targeted due to his ethnic background as a Japanese-American. "My moustache, for some reason, has become a point of some fascination here," Harris said at the briefing on Thursday. Harry Harris has defended his moustache / AFP via Getty Images He is also reported to have said he has drawn criticism "in the media here, especially in social media, because of my ethnic background, because I am a Japanese-American. Defending his choice to grow the facial hair in an interview in December, he said: "I didn't grow a moustache because of my Japanese heritage, because of the independence movement of Korea or even because of my dad. I grew it because I could and I thought I would and I did." In a protest last year, protesters picked the facial hair off posters of Mr Harris's face. "I understand the historical animosity that exists between both of the nations," Mr Harris said of the lingering tensions between South Korea and Japan. "But I am not the Japanese-American ambassador to Korea I am the American ambassador to Korea." On Friday he also drew criticism from the highest levels of government in Seoul for suggesting that South Korea consult with Washington about the possibility of reopening tourism with North Korea. Flash China will continue deepening bilateral relations with Zimbabwe as the two countries celebrate four decades of diplomatic relations, Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun said on Thursday. Speaking at a reception held in Harare to mark the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, Guo expressed optimism that four decades of diplomatic relations between the two sides will lay the foundation for an even more brilliant future. "The year 2020 is a milestone in the history of Zimbabwe and in our bilateral relations; as Zimbabwe celebrates its 40 years of independence, its diplomatic relationship with China will also mark its 40th anniversary. This is not a historical coincidence, but a testament to our special bond which was made official on the very same day of Zimbabwe's independence," he said. He said both sides should continue supporting one another in order to tackle common challenges and to embrace a brighter future. "Looking ahead, we must further upgrade our practical cooperation to boost our economic ties so that they match our high-level political trust. Today, both the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road initiative are two major platforms for us to deepen cooperation." He said in the process of striving for national independence and safeguarding national sovereignty, China has always given firm support to Zimbabwe. "Forty years of history of China-Zimbabwe diplomatic relations offer us valuable experience," he said. Speaking at the same occasion, Chief Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Zimbabwe Lovemore Mazemo expressed gratitude to the Chinese for their unwavering support to Zimbabwe's developmental needs. He said the two sides should continue deepening political mutual trust and enhance their level of cooperation. When the law changed in 1995, giving anyone in Virginia the right to carry a concealed weapon unless the local jurisdiction could show a good reason not to issue a permit, Mr. Van Cleave started carrying again and said his interest in gun rights grew. While lobbying state lawmakers on his own, he met members of the organization that would become Virginia Citizens Defense League and joined up, eventually becoming president in 2001. The group has donated tens of thousands of dollars to lawmakers over the years, lobbying to preserve gun rights and stop any new restrictions on owning weapons. That job became tougher in November, when Democrats won control of both chambers of the General Assembly. Along with the governorship, they now have full control of state government for the first time in a generation, and have declared their intention to pursue proposals for background checks, red-flag laws that allow guns to be taken away from people who pose potential harm, and limiting firearm purchases to one a month. As part of the opposition to that effort, Mr. Van Cleave, who did not return calls for comment, has helped to convince more than 100 cities and towns in Virginia to either vote in support of gun rights or declare themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, in which officials say they would resist any new gun laws. President Trump expressed support for the rally in a tweet Friday, saying that gun rights were under very serious attack in Virginia. Thats what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away, he wrote. Between May 2015 and April 2016, the researchers said, about 62,000 murre carcasses washed off onto beaches. (Photo Credit: File Photo) Washington: The unprecedented death of nearly one million birds between 2015 and 2016, whose remains washed ashore in Alaska, US, was brought on by a severe and long-lasting marine heat wave, a new study says. The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, said the common murre underwent the largest avian die-off ever witnessed due to an extreme marine heat wave known as "the blob" which squeezed out the bird's fish food supply in the Pacific Ocean. "We believe that the smoking gun for common murres -- beyond the marine heat wave itself -- was an ecosystem squeeze: fewer forage fish and smaller prey in general, at the same time that competition from big fish predators like walleye, pollock and Pacific cod greatly increased," said study co-author Julia Parrish from the University of Washington in the US. According to the study, warmer surface water temperatures off the Pacific coast -- a phenomenon known as "the blob" -- first occurred in the fall and winter of 2013, and persisted through 2014 and 2015. This warming then increased through 2015-2016 due to a weather phenomenon called El Nino affecting wind and cloud movement patterns. According to the scientists, this period saw a number of other species experience mass die-offs, including tufted puffins, Cassin's auklets, sea lions and baleen whales. But the common murre die-off was by far the largest, they said. Between May 2015 and April 2016, the researchers said, about 62,000 murre carcasses washed off onto beaches from central California through Alaska in the US -- a number that is 1,000 times more than normal for these shores. "The magnitude and scale of this failure has no precedent. It was astonishing and alarming, and a red-flag warning about the tremendous impact sustained ocean warming can have on the marine ecosystem," said lead author John Piatt, a research biologist at the US Geological Survey. Based on their analysis of fisheries studies conducted during this time period, the researchers said persistent warm ocean temperatures associated with "the blob" increased the metabolism of several marine organisms across the food chain. These included small cold-blooded organisms from zooplankton, and foraging fishes, up through larger predatory fish like salmon and pollock. As the predatory fished ate more than usual, the demand for food at the top of the food chain was unsustainable, the scientists said. The once-plentiful schools of forage fish that murres relied on became harder to find as a result, they added. "Food demands of large commercial groundfish like cod, pollock, halibut and hake were predicted to increase dramatically with the level of warming observed with the blob, and since they eat many of the same prey as murres, this competition likely compounded the food supply problem for murres, leading to mass mortality events from starvation," Piatt said. The scientists believe the common murre deaths may help explain other die-offs which occurred during this marine heat wave period. The study noted that scientists have also recently identified another marine heatwave forming off the Washington coast and up into the Gulf of Alaska in the US. "All of this -- as with the Cassin's auklet mass mortality and the tufted puffin mass mortality -- demonstrates that a warmer ocean world is a very different environment and a very different coastal ecosystem for many marine species," Parrish said. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A third grade Spring ISD teacher has been charged with child sex crimes after several students informed staff at the school their teacher was allegedly touching them inappropriately. Danilo Rafael Martinez was charged Jan. 13 with two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact, a second-degree felony, court records show. Martinez is a third-grade bilingual teacher at Ralph Eikenroht Elementary School. Martinez is accused of inappropriately touching two of his female students while on campus in December 2019. A teacher at the school informed principal Robert Green of the incident after several students mentioned being touched inappropriately by their teacher, court records show. Martinez denied the accusations but did admit he hugged some of his students. Two 10-year-old female students underwent forensic interviews at a children's assessment center where they accused Martinez of touching them inappropriately over multiple occasions, including at a Christmas party held at the school. Spring ISD released the following statement to the Houston Chronicle: As soon as the school and district were made aware of the allegation in December, Martinez was immediately removed from the classroom, and his students parents were notified. Martinez has been suspended without pay and recommended for termination. The safety of our students is our highest priority. We are extremely concerned that a charge of this nature has been brought against a teacher in the district. We ask any families in our district who have information, which might help our Spring ISD Police Department with further investigation, to please call 281-891-6911." Martinez is out on a $75,000 bond. He is due back in court on March 2. BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: Get your Houston breaking news alerts delivered to your Inbox Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend: Uzbekistans National Project Management Agency has developed a draft document on the initial placement of crypto assets into state-owned companies - Universal Mobile Systems and Uzbekhydroenergo, to attract investors, Trend reports citing Uzbek media. The draft presidential decree "On measures to further develop the scope of the circulation of crypto assets in Uzbekistan" is open for discussion on Uzbekistans regulatory portal SOVAZ until January 31. According to the document, a regulatory sandbox for development of digital technologies of Uzbekistan Blockchain Valley will be created to test and launch pilot projects to introduce blockchain technology, crypto assets circulation and other digital innovations. By the end of 2020, projects on the initial placement of crypto assets (Security Token Offering - STO) will begin to work in it to attract foreign investment in Universal Mobile Systems and Uzbekhydroenergo. STO is a form of attracting investments through the sale of tokenized securities to investors. It is distinguished by the fact that tokens are registered in the regulator. Such a measure helps provide additional security and transparency for investors. --- Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 16:30:40|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MOGADISHU, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Somali and U.S. security forces killed two al-Shabab militants on Thursday in an airstrike about 25 km north of Qunyo Barrow in southern Somalia, said a Somali government official. The airstrike was conducted by the Somali government in coordination with the federal member states and the U.S. military, Somali government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar Omar said in a statement Thursday evening. No civilians were killed or injured in the attack, Omar said. "This strike and other recent battlefield successes show the FGS (Federal Government of Somalia) and its partners' resolve in bringing to justice those who terrorize and exploit the citizens of Somalia and its East African brothers and sisters," he said. This is the second airstrike in 2020 in Somalia after the U.S. military conducted a record 63 strikes in the Horn of Africa nation last year. The U.S. strikes have largely targeted al-Shabab figureheads based in southern and central Somalia where the group still maintains a strong grip in some regions. The group has recently increased its attacks in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, targeting hotels and other public places. A few years ago, then President Barack Obama was appearing at dinner and on stage with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Nancy Pelosi was heaping praise on Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg for "inspiring women across the world to believe in themselves." Now, top Democrats appear to be going to war with Facebook and its leadership. On Thursday, Pelosi ripped Facebook, calling it a "shameful" company. She accused it of being "accomplices for misleading the American people with money from God-knows where." In an interview with The New York Times published Friday, former Vice President Joe Biden also had harsh words for Facebook and Zuckerberg. "I've never been a fan of Facebook," Biden told The Times. "I've never been a big Zuckerberg fan. I think he's a real problem." He also called for revoking a major law protecting Facebook from being liable for what is posted on its platform. Facebook has so far been silent in response to the renewed criticisms. The company declined to comment on Pelosi's remarks Thursday and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Biden. Where did it all go wrong? Misinformation, Russian interference, Cambridge Analytica, data breaches and President Donald Trump's sophisticated use of the platform have all contributed to Democrats' growing hostility toward the company. Tensions first appeared to boil over after the 2016 election when, according to special counsel Robert Mueller, Russians used Facebook as part of a campaign to undermine the candidacy of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Since then, Facebook has also faced mounting scrutiny on both sides of the political aisle but especially from Democrats over what is seen by lawmakers as its market dominance, as well as the perception, expressed in an interview published this week with Democratic presidential nominee Pete Buttigieg, that Zuckerberg has too much power. Facebook's refusal to remove a doctored video of Pelosi last May clearly irked Democrats, including Clinton, who called the video "sexist trash" and suggested the argument for taking it down "wasn't even a close call." But what really hit a nerve with Democrats more recently was Facebook's insistence last September that it would not fact-check ads from politicians a policy many Democrats saw as beneficial to Trump's reelection campaign. Facebook, the Democratic National Committee said, was allowing Trump "to mislead the American people on their platform unimpeded." Sen. Elizabeth Warren ran a deliberately false ad to highlight what Democrats saw as the ludicrousness of the policy. The false ad claimed Zuckerberg had endorsed Trump's reelection campaign. When Biden's campaign demanded Facebook remove a false ad from the Trump campaign accusing Biden of corruption of his role in Ukraine policy during the Obama administration, Facebook refused. "Our approach is grounded in Facebook's fundamental belief in free expression, respect for the democratic process, and the belief that, in mature democracies with a free press, political speech is already arguably the most scrutinized speech there is," Katie Harbath, Facebook's head of global elections policy, wrote in response last October. The pushback among Democrats against Facebook is part of a wider backlash in Washington against the tech industry. Warren has called for the breakup of not just Facebook, but also Amazon and Google. Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the Stop BEZOS Act (which stands for: Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies) after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. But Facebook often appears to be the Democrats' favored target even as leading Democratic candidates for president continue to sink money into the platform for their campaigns. As with so much about Facebook, it's complicated. Russia's foreign policy chief on Friday blamed what he described as "aggressive" US policies for growing global tensions, noting Washington's reluctance to extend a key nuclear arms pact. Sergey Lavrov, who serves as acting foreign minister in the wake of Wednesday's resignation of the Russian Cabinet, said this week's meeting of top US and Russian diplomats on strategic stability didn't achieve any immediate results, adding that dialogue is continuing. Russia-US relations have been at post-Cold War lows since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea. Speaking at an annual conference, Lavrov said that the US has stonewalled Russia's push for extending the New Start nuclear arms treaty that expires in 2021. The agreement is the last US-Russian arms control deal still in place, and Moscow has argued that its demise will remove the final barrier stemming an arms race. We will act strongly to avoid depriving the world of agreements that control and limit nuclear weapons, said Lavrov, who has was appointed foreign minister in 2004. We stand for the extension of the New Start treaty without any preconditions, he said. I hope that the Americans hear us, but we haven't received any coherent signals from them. US President Donald Trump's administration has pushed for China to join nuclear arms cuts, but Lavrov described the idea as unrealistic. He pointed at Beijing's refusal to discuss reductions in its nuclear arsenal, which is much smaller than those of the US or Russia. Lavrov emphasized that the US push for Russia to encourage China to change its mind doesn't make sense. We respect the Chinese position and we won't persuade China to change it, he said. Turning to other issues, Lavrov criticized Britain, France and Germany for caving in to pressure from the US over a nuclear deal with Iran. Earlier this week, the three countries reluctantly triggered the accord's dispute mechanism to force Iran into discussions over its violations, starting the clock on a process that could result in the snapback of UN and EU sanctions on Iran. The three nations are being pressed on one side by Trump to abandon the agreement like he did unilaterally in 2018, and on the other side by Iran to provide enough economic incentives for it to continue honouring the deal. Lavrov noted that the European Union boasted about creating a mechanism for trade with Iran bypassing US sanctions, but never put it into action. He described the move by Britain, France and Germany as a dangerous turn, arguing that the three nations used the moment of heightened tensions between the US and Iran to blame Iran for all what happened. Following the US drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen Qassem Soleimani, Iran announced what it said was its fifth and final step in dropping its commitments under the 2015 deal. Iran said it would no longer abide by any limitations to its enrichment activities. Turning to Libya, Lavrov said he expects the warring parties in the North African nation to observe a lasting cease-fire after their talks in the Russian capital earlier this week. He explained that the talks in Moscow between Libya's rival leaders focused on a document spelling out conditions of a cease-fire that could serve as a basis for Sunday's Libya talks hosted by Germany. Lavrov said he plans to attend the talks in Berlin, which will be attended by both Fayez Sarraj, the head of Libya's UN-recognised government in Tripoli, and his rival, Gen Khalifa Hifter, Sarraj and Hifter attended Monday's talks in Moscow, but didn't meet directly. Their relations are tense, and they don't want to be in one room together, let alone talk to each other, Lavrov said. He added even though Hifter refused to sign the cease-fire document that was signed by Sarraj, the most important outcome of the talks was that the truce was still holding. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The head of a delegation from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Bernd Denzlaf, has praised Egypts economic growth and the improvements in its economy, adding that Germany has supported Egypts economic reforms since the beginning. Denzlafs statements came during a meeting in Cairo on Thursday with Egypts Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, in the presence of German Ambassador to Egypt Cyrill Nunn. Denzlaf added that the performance of the Egyptian economy will have a positive impact on the developmental cooperation between the two countries. At the meeting, Al-Mashat revealed that German-Egyptian cooperation is worth 1.69 billion and covers 50 projects, with a focus on education, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), renewable energy, water resources, irrigation, and solid waste management. The two officials discussed deepen developmental and economic cooperation between Egypt and Germany in order to achieve Egypts national agenda and its sustainable development objectives. COLOMBO, Nov. 13, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Gotabaya Rajapaksa (2nd L), Sri Lanka's presidential candidate of the main opposition Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), attends a final campaign rally in Homagama, outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Nov. 13, 2019 Image Source: PK Colombo, Jan 17 : Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa are scheduled to visit China and India with the aim of further strengthening regional cooperation and enhancing relations with the two Asian powers, it was reported on Friday. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will visit Chinaon an invitation extended by the Chinese government, reports the Colombo Page newspaper. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who visited Sri Lanka earlier this week formally invited President Rajapaksa to Beijing. During the visit, the President is expected to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and other top government officials and business leaders. He is also expected to speak with representatives of the technology, tourism, infrastructure and other sectors. The date of the visit was yet to be announced. This is President Gotaabaya's first visit to China and the second official overseas visit after winning the presidential election on November 16, 2019. Soon after assuming office, he visited India on an invitation extended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is scheduled to leave for India on February 7 at the invitation of the Indian government. During his visit, he is scheduled to meet Modi and other top officials of the Indian government. He will also visit Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. This is Mahinda Rajapaksa's first visit to India since becoming the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on November 18, 2019, and he is the third Sri Lankan government leader to visit India following the presidential election last year. Besides the President, Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena had also visited New Delhi. Barack Obama has shared a sweet message on social media for his wife, Michelle Obama, on her birthday, calling her his "star". On Friday 17 January, the former US first lady celebrates her 56th birthday. To mark the special occasion, Barack posted a series of black and white photographs on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, showing the couple happily posing together in a photo booth. The caption written by the former US president succinctly summarises his feelings towards his partner, reading: In every scene, you are my star, @MichelleObama! Happy birthday, baby! Barack's social media posts have prompted scores of praiseworthy messages from adoring fans, in addition to plenty of happy birthday wishes for Michelle. This picture just made my day, one Instagram user wrote. Omg. Love like this, another remarked. In one of the pictures, Michelle appears to be sitting on Baracks lap as she cups his face with her hand. In another image, Barack is facing away from the camera as he embraces Michelle and kisses her on the cheek. Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes Show all 10 1 /10 Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes On the key to a successful marriage In our house we dont take ourselves too seriously, and laughter is the best form of unity, I think, in a marriage. On Live with Regis and Kelly in February 2011. Getty Images Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes On not underestimating yourself "You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own." In a speech to schoolgirls at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in North London in April 2009. Getty Images Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes On inspiring young people I want our young people to know that they matter, that they belong, so dont be afraid. You hear me? Young people, dont be afraid. Be focused, be determined, be hopeful, be empowered Lead by example with hope, never fear, and know that I will be with you, rooting for you and working to support you for the rest of my life. In her final White House address in January 2017. Getty Images Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes On double standards regarding parenting When a father puts in long hours at work, hes praised for being dedicated and ambitious. But when a mother stays late at the office, shes sometimes accused of being selfish, neglecting her kids. At the "Let Girls Learn Event" in Madrid, Spain in June 2016. Getty Images Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes On the importance of diversity in film and TV For so many people, television and movies may be the only way they understand people who arent like them I come across many little black girls who come up to me over the course of this 7 years with tears in their eyes, and they say: Thank you for being a role model for me. I dont see educated black women on TV, and the fact that youre first lady validates who I am.' In an interview with Variety in August 2016. AFP/Getty Images Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes On maintaining hopeful following the election of Donald Trump See, now we are feeling what not having hope feels like, you know. Hope is necessary. It is a necessary concept. What do you give your kids if you cant give them hope? In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in December 2016. Getty Images Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes On motherhood "My most important title is 'mom-in-chief'. My daughters are still the heart of my heart and the centre of my world." At the Democratic National Convention in September 2012. AFP/Getty Images Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes On championing women's education Men in every country need to look into their hearts and souls and ask themselves whether they truly view and treat women as their equals. And then when you all encounter men in your lives who answer no to that question, then you need to take them to task. You need to tell them that any man who uses his strength to oppress women is a coward, and he is holding back the progress of his family and his country. In a speech at the summit of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, July 2014. Getty Images Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes On dealing with bullies When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you dont stoop to their level. No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high. At the Democratic convention, July 2016. Getty Images Michelle Obama's most empowering quotes On the meaning of success "Success isnt about how your life looks to others. Its about how it feels to you. We realised that being successful isnt about being impressive, its about being inspired." In a speech at the Oregon State University commencement, June 2012. Getty Images Michelle was recently named the most admired woman in the world, according to a major US survey. For the second year in a row, Gallups annual poll found the author to be the most revered woman in the world, beating Melania Trump, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Greta Thunberg to the top spot. Fresh death warrants were issued by a Delhi court on Friday for the execution of the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape-murder case on February 1, shortly after the President quickly rejected the mercy petition of one of them. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora while ordering that the four men, who are lodged in Tihar jail, be hanged at 6 am on February 1, however, expressed displeasure over the delay in their hanging. "This case presents a scenario when convicts were given the opportunity to file mercy but only one preferred. There might be delay tactics. For how long will this go on? Had death warrant not been issued, the convicts would not have initiated their legal remedies," he said. The judge was hearing the plea by Mukesh Kumar Singh for postponement of the date of his execution scheduled for 7 am on January 22 in view of the pendency of his mercy petition. According to the Delhi government, the Prison Rules mandate a buffer period of 14 days between the day of the rejection of the mercy petition and the day of execution. Besides Mukesh, 32, Vinay Sharma, 26, Akshay Kumar Singh, 31, and Pawan Gupta, 25, were to be hanged. Judge Arora issued death warrants against them on January 7. Jail authorities have made preparations and staged mock hanging sessions using sandbags with new ropes. The curative petitions of Mukesh and Vinay have already been dismissed by the Supreme Court, the last judicial recourse to challenge the death penalty awarded to them. Akshay and Pawan have not filed any curative petitions yet. Also, the two men and Vinay have the option of filing mercy petitions before the President. Pawan, meanwhile, moved the Supreme Court, against the Delhi High Court verdict rejecting his juvenility claim at the time of offence. Nirbhaya's mother expressed disappointment at the postponement of the execution. "I will fight and I will keep struggling I will wait," she said. The Tihar jail authorities sought issuance of fresh death warrants against the four convicts after Public Prosecutor Irfan Ahmed told the court that Mukesh's mercy plea was rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind. Remedies available for Mukesh to escape the gallows were effectively exhausted with officials saying the mercy plea has been rejected by the President and the Home Ministry sending it on to the Delhi government. The postponement of the hanging also triggered a political slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Admi Party. Union minister Smriti Irani said it was because of the AAP government in Delhi that the four death row convicts couldn't be hanged in a time-bound manner after their review petitions were dismissed by the Supreme Court in July last year. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for his part urged the BJP not to indulge in politics over the Nirbhaya case and instead work together in ensuring that justice in such cases is delivered at the earliest. The AAP supremo said he feels 'sad that politics is being done on such an issue'. The president's rejection of Mukesh's mercy plea came after the Union Home Ministry forwarded the petition to his office late on Thursday night. Mukesh filed his mercy petition two days ago. On Friday, after the President turned down the mercy plea, the home ministry sent it to the Delhi government. Officials said the petition was sent to the Delhi government for the dissemination of information to prison authorities. "It's a very good thing. Our hopes have gone up after the disheartening news that the execution might be delayed," the young woman's father told PTI. "We are happy that the chances of them getting hanged have increased. We are assured that as soon as they file mercy pleas they will be rejected," he added. A Ministry of Home Affairs official said the ministry has forwarded the mercy petition of Mukesh to the president. "The ministry has reiterated the recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for its rejection," a MHA official said on Friday morning. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's office had sent Mukesh's mercy petition to the home ministry on Thursday, a day after the Delhi government recommended its rejection. The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital. The brutality of the crime shook the nation, leading to country-wide protests and a change in India's rape laws. 2019 02 02T215644Z_18594522_RC1218FFA6D0_RTRMADP_3_USA NUCLEAR RUSSIA.JPG Nicole Neri/Reuters Visitors to the Titan missile museum in Arizona can sit at the now decommissioned controls of the intercontinental ballistic missile once built to attack Russia with devastating nuclear force. The Titan II at this facility had a pre-set destination of "target 2" a location that remains secret and would have struck with a force 250 times that of both the US bombs used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. SAHUARITA, ARIZ. The Titan II missile museum here is one of 54 former Titan II missile silos across the US, but it's the only one where tourists can go underground, sit at the controls, and take a look at the real, 103-foot-long Cold War-era nuclear Titan II missile once built to attack Russia with nuclear warheads. The 147-foot-deep silo is open to the public and is located just outside Tucson, Arizona. Read on for a look at this chilling artifact of the Cold War. From the outside, the Titan II missile museum doesn't look like much just a small building housing the gift shop, a few dopplers outside, and a dust-colored steel mound covering the missile underneath. 2019 02 02T222018Z_185836666_RC1487DC1A90_RTRMADP_3_USA NUCLEAR RUSSIA.JPG Nicole Neri/ReutersBut, after a short introductory video inside the main building, visitors embark on a guided tour in the control room and the hidden silo itself, which reaches 147 feet underground. IMG_1857 Ellen IoanesWhen the silo was operational, personnel on duty descended into the control room through the access portal and into the entrapment area, where they had to confirm their clearance to access the site using a code spoken through a telephone like the one below. IMG_1863 (1) Ellen IoanesFour crew members were on duty at all times in the silo. Each crew member served a 24-hour shift, and no crew member could be left alone during the shift because of the classified activity at the site. IMG_1873 Ellen IoanesThe 24-hour clock in the control room was set to Zulu, or Greenwich Mean Time, and had to be rewound manually every eight days. It's still ticking for visitors. Story continues unnamed Ellen IoanesThe control room, where crew members awaited a phone call from the National Command Authority telling them to launch the Titan II missile, looks exactly as it did when the site was commissioned in 1963. cr1 Ellen IoanesThe facility, one of 18 in the Tucson area and 54 total in the US, became operational in 1963, and was deactivated in 1982 during then-President Ronald Reagan's effort to upgrade the US's nuclear weapons. The other facilities were in the areas surrounding Little Rock, Arkansas, and McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas. 2019 02 02T215812Z_158420199_RC1361618D00_RTRMADP_3_USA NUCLEAR RUSSIA.JPG Nicole Neri/ReutersThe control room is separated from the outer wall of the facility by 11 inches of highly engineered shock absorbers so that in the event of a nuclear blast or some other type of explosion, the crew members in the control room wouldn't even spill their coffee, according to tour guide Jim Sprigg. IMG_1865 Ellen IoanesThe missile itself was launched from the control room by two crew members simultaneously turning their launch keys at their control stations. Fifty-eight seconds after the keys were turned, the missile would launch, "and no human could stop it," Sprigg said. IMG_1882 Ellen IoanesAt the Sahuarita facility, the missile's destination was Target 2 and none of the crew members knew where that was. The information is still classified to this day. IMG_1877 Ellen IoanesThe Titan II would reach its target destination 30 to 35 minutes after it was launched. Powered by 43,000 pounds of thrust, the missile had a yield of nine megatons about 250 times the yield of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. unnamed (1) Ellen IoanesThis drawer held the launch keys for the missile, and the locks on either side of the drawer were considered classified equipment. IMG_1875 Ellen IoanesTarget 2 was designated as a ground burst, meaning the Titan II at Sahuarita was intended to destroy a facility underground by concentrating its explosive force downward. Its hypergolic propellants nitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine ignited only when they combined, creating a fast and reliable detonation. IMG_1890 Ellen Ioanes Several scenes from Star Trek: First Contact were filmed here at the museum. It's one of only two such museums in the US the other being the Minuteman Missile Silo in South Dakota. IMG_1884 Ellen IoanesThe crew on duty inspected the missile silo facilities top to bottom each day a process that could take three to four hours. 2019 02 02T215427Z_2005807528_RC1DB333EC20_RTRMADP_3_USA NUCLEAR RUSSIA.JPG Nicole Neri/Reuters Read the original article on Business Insider Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 02:07:54|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Friday called for the release of Siham Sergewa, a member of the Libyan House of Representatives, or the parliament. Sergewa was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen and taken to an unknown location six months ago in the eastern city Benghazi. "Siham Sergewa, an elected member of the House of Representatives, was seized at night from her home in the heavily fortified Buhedima District of Benghazi. Since her violent abduction, Sergewa's fate remains unknown," UNSMIL said in a statement. "UNSMIL continues to follow up on the enforced disappearance of Sergewa and reiterates that the authorities in eastern Libya are responsible for respecting international human rights law and are legally obliged to establish the fate and whereabouts of Sergewa," the statement said. In July 2019, unidentified gunmen kidnapped Sergewa from her home in Benghazi, took her to an unknown location and shot her husband. The UN-backed Libyan government based in the capital Tripoli held the rival eastern-based army responsible for the incident. Benghazi is under the control of the eastern-based army, which is currently engaged in a deadly armed conflict against the UN-backed government over the control of Tripoli. The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday 25 April, heralding the end of awards season. Since its inauguration in 1929, the Oscars has been eagerly watched by devoted cinephiles but, over the years, it has also become one of the most-anticipated events for fashion aficionados. Among Hollywoods brightest stars walking the red carpet in front of millions of viewers, the strongest candidates set themselves up to be sartorially scrutinised and battle it out for the evenings most hotly contested accolade; that of the best dressed. From Audrey Hepburns timeless take on formal dressing in the 50s to the fully-fledged glamour of the likes of Nicole Kidman in the 90s and todays dazzling ensembles from Lupita Nyongo and Emma Stone, the Academy Awards provides the perfect platform for A-listers and designer brands alike to celebrate the symbiotic relationship between film and fashion. In recent years, awards season has been dominated by the #MeToo and Times Up movements. However, while attendees were encouraged to come together in support of the movements via all-black ensembles at the Golden Globes and the Baftas, no such dress code was issued at the Oscars. The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Show all 20 1 /20 The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time To receive the award for Best Actress at the 1954 Academy Awards, Audrey Hepburn wore a white lace gown by Hubert de Givenchy. This was the first time that she wore the designer off-screen and he remained her favourite designer throughout her life. The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Grace Kelly wore a pale blue dress by Edith Head to receive the Best Actress Oscar for The Country Girl in 1955. The star accessorised the gown with rosebuds in her hair. Rex Features The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time A year after wearing that safety-pinned Versace dress, Liz Hurley wore a similarly show-stopping gown by the same designer. Rex Features The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Not only did Gwyneth Paltrow cement her status as Best Actress for Shakespeare in Love in 1999, but she also gave us one of the most memorable dresses in Oscar fashion history designed by Ralph Lauren. AFP/Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Attending the 1997 Oscars with Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman wore a bespoke Christian Dior Couture gown in chartreuse. The striking dress was designed by the recently appointed creative director John Galliano. AFP/Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Julia Roberts accepted her Best Actress Oscar for Erin Brockovich in 2001 wearing a monochrome Valentino gown. Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time In 2002, Halle Berry walked the Oscars red carpet wearing a semi-sheer floral gown designed by Elie Saab. The actor became the first African-American woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Monsters Ball. Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Charlize Theron accepted her award for Best Actress for Monster in 2004 wearing a shimmering gold Dior gown. Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time In 2005, Cate Blanchett collected her award for Best Supporting Actress in The Aviator wearing a pale yellow Valentino gown with a contrasting maroon belt. Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Penelope Cruz wore a voluminous blush pink gown designed by Atelier Versace at the 2007 Academy Awards. Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Amy Adams wore an emerald green-coloured gown by Proenza Schouler to the 2008 Oscars. The dress featured a corseted bodice and fishtail skirt. AFP/Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time To collect her award for Best Actress in 2013, Jennifer Lawrence wore a pale pink Dior ballgown. The actor famously tripped in the dress as she made her way on to the stage. Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Michelle Williams wore a saffron-coloured Vera Wang to the 2006 ceremony. The actor attended with her then-boyfriend, the late Heath Ledger, who was nominated for his role in Brokeback Mountain. AFP/Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Meryl Streep wore a gilded wrap dress by Lanvin in 2012 as she accepted the award for Best Actress for her role in The Iron Lady. AFP/Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Wearing an Atelier Versace dress, Angelina Jolies stance on the red carpet spawned a flurry of memes in 2012 thanks to the gowns thigh-high split. AFP/Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time While it is hard to choose just one dress that embodies Lupita Nyong'os ascent to style icon, this custom Prada dress in Nairobi blue in honour of where she grew up in Kenya just tops the list. The actor wore the gown to collect her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 12 Years A Slave in 2014. Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Pregnant Keira Knightley dressed her baby bump in a dreamy Valentino dress for the 2015 Academy Awards. Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time La La Land actor Emma Stone wore a beaded Elie Saab gown in pale shades of green which perfectly complimented her porcelain skin and red hair. Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time Last year, Saoirse Ronan attended the Oscars wearing a pastel pink Calvin Klein by Appointment gown, which featured a dramatic bow and train. Getty Images The most iconic Oscars dresses of all time After being announced as the newest Chanel ambassador, Margot Robbie wore a couture gown by the fashion house to walk to red carpet in 2018. Getty Images Ahead of this years ceremony, weve rounded up our pick of Oscar outfits that have earned a special place in fashion history above. For the first time in the maritime history of the country, Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), the oldest operating port in India, is expected to present its own tableau, under the aegis of the union shipping ministry, in the upcoming Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26. The oldest surviving major port in the country, which completed 150 years in November last year, will showcase its rich history under the tageline of Glorious Past Vibrant Future. It is a part of its sesquicentennial celebration this year. It will be the first time any port in the country will ... Thyago Mathias FTI Consulting has appointed Thyago Mathias as a senior director and Adriana Prado as a director in its strategic communications segment. Mathias comes to FTI from Latin American-focused communications consultancy LLYC, where he was senior director for advocacy and strategic communications. He has also been an external relations advisor to the president of the legislative assembly of the state of Rio de Janeiro and a consultant to Brazilian higher education institution and think tank Fundacao Getulio Vargas. Prado was mostly recently a director at Brunswick Group, where she advised Brazilian and international companies as well as co-leading the firms cybersecurity, data protection and privacy offering in Brazil. She has also managed digital projects as an executive with Live Content, served as a social media analyst for FSB Comunicacao, and worked as a reporter for ISTOE magazine and O Globo newspaper. Mathias and Prado will both be based in Sao Paulo. Lauren Cooper RooneyPartners has promoted Lauren Cooper to managing director and Ahmet Reisli to director of creative services. Cooper manages the agencys work for several of its digital clients and plays a central role in new business development. Before joining RooneyPartners in 2017, she was investigative content manager for food and health at Consumer Reports and previously held positions at Microsofts msnNOW.com and AOL Daily Finance.com. Reisli has been with the agency since 2015. He oversees such services as graphic design and branding, web development, SEO strategy and search marketing assignment in several industry verticals. Daisy Ortiz Berger SB One Bank has named Daisy Ortiz Berger vice president of marketing and Communications. She has previously served as a strategic marketing executive for the New York Region of Bank of America, director of credit card acquisitions for Citibank and digital marketing manager for Isuzu Finance of America. In her new position, she is responsible for the Banks overall marketing and communication strategy and supporting its growth in the region. Stephen Chavez The Hispanic Public Relations Association-Los Angeles Chapter has named Stephen Chavez as its president for the third consecutive year. Chavez is the president and CEO of ChavezPR. Also appointed to HPRA-LAs executive team are mitu director, account management/brand strategy Cynthia Zavala, who is vice president/president elect; Lagrant Communications account supervisor Elia Verduzco, who was named treasurer; and Beverly Hills Sports Council publicist Emily Reza, who is secretary. The organization also appointed its 2020 board of directors. HPRA-LA works to advance the practice of Hispanic public relations as a marketing discipline. The Washington County Sheriffs Office said Thursday that it had served a search warrant on Catlin Gabel School as part of its criminal investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse by staff members over the past three decades. The agency served the warrant on the private school on Monday. The document was sealed at the request of investigators. The Southwest Portland school released an explosive internal investigation last month that described repeated instances of sexual abuse by former faculty members. The report named six former faculty members, accusing them of groping, fondling and having sexual intercourse with students. It also detailed three other cases of sexual abuse, though the perpetrators werent named. Catlin officials said they provided their report to the Sheriffs Office in November. Ken DuBois, a spokesman for Catlin, said the school is fully cooperating with Washington County authorities. We were served with a search warrant on Monday seeking documents related to the investigation, DuBois wrote in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. DuBois wrote that school trustees reported the former educators who were found to have engaged in misconduct to state child welfare officials and police. Some of these educators had already been reported in the past, he wrote. We continue to cooperate fully with the Washington County Sheriffs Office, and we are updating law enforcement when we have additional relevant information about educator misconduct, he wrote. Prosecutors have only so long to file charges. Its likely too late to file criminal charges in many of the Catlin cases, which date back to the 1970s and 80s, legal experts say. Oregonian staff writer Jeff Manning contributed to this report. -- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. The members of the My Step faction of the National Assembly were satisfied with the response that Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan gave in regard to the closure of maternity hospitals. This is what head of the My Step faction Lilit Makunts told reporters today. When journalists asked why Arsen Torosyan was attending the meeting of the My Step faction with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Makunts said she had personally invited Torosyan. By the factions charter, board members and anyone, for that matter, can attend meetings at the invitation of the head or secretary of the faction, she said. When asked if she was concerned about the fact that maternity hospitals are going to be closed in a couple of regions of Armenia, Makunts said the following: The members of the faction had a meeting with Arsen Torosyan, who thoroughly presented the policy and the field-related specialists attitude. The policy is going to benefit those who are expecting children. The members of the faction were satisfied with the ministers response. CONCORD, N.H. - An attorney for a man charged with repeatedly raping a teenage boy at New Hampshires state-run youth detention centre in the 1990s said Friday the allegations are motivated by money and greed. Stephen Murphy, 50, was charged in July with 26 counts of rape. He and another former youth counsellor are accused of assaulting a teen at the Youth Development Center in Manchester. Last week, the victim in the criminal case, David Meehan, filed a class-action lawsuit against the state, Murphy and others, alleging that not only was he repeatedly raped and beaten, but that other workers ignored him when he sought help. His attorneys also represent 35 other men and women who say they were abused as children between 1982 and 2014 by both male and female staffers. The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been victims of sexual assault, unless they go public, as Meehan has. Murphys attorney, Bruce Kenna said the allegations are false and that his client will be exonerated. He accused Meehan of blaming his family, the state, Murphy and others for his life of crime and substance abuse, according to a press release. The real motive behind the false claims being made by David Meehan and his lawyers is very clear. Money and greed, he said. Murphy, who is from Danvers, Massachusetts, went on to work as a clubhouse attendant for the Boston Red Sox, which suspended him without pay in July. Kenna said the team has effectively declared him guilty and that his clients reputation and future have been irreversibly damaged. His young family has been intimidated, humiliated and subjected to unbearable anxiety and stress, he said. Rus Rilee, Meehans attorney, said Friday that Meehan has been completely honest about the trouble he has been in, much of which can be traced to the trauma he suffered as a child. David, like many other children who are abused, was the perfect target for predators because of his challenges and background. Predators specifically abuse children who are vulnerable and who they think will never be believed. This is a very common, mindful and predatory practice of offenders, he said. Discrediting victims and sowing disbelief is a typical response by abusers when victims come forward. The Manchester youth centre, now called the Sununu Youth Services Center, houses teens ordered to a secure facility by the juvenile justice system. The allegations against Murphy and the other former counsellor prompted a broad criminal investigation by the attorney generals office into the centres operations and staff. By Abdul Kerimkhanov Hikmet Hajiyev, the head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration, has described as absurd Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashniyans condescending comments about martyrs of Black January massacre that saw the Soviet troops kill over a hundred Azerbaijani civilians. "What else can you expect from the one who could compare Solzhenitsyn with a fascist executioner like Garegin Nzhdeh, who served Nazis?!," Hajiyev questioned. He further stressed that the January 20 tragedy is recognized by the international community, which honors the blessed memory of martyrs. Hajiyev said that instead of expressing absurd populist ideas regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Armenian side should take the most necessary steps, such as the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. "The settlement of the conflict should not be the subject of populism. Armenia is an occupying country, more than a million people have become refugees and internally displaced persons. Therefore, if we want to advance in the process of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it is necessary to eliminate the factor that forms the fundamental basis of the conflict, that is, the occupation. After this, various measures can be taken to settle the conflict, including measures to restore trust," Hajiyev stated. He reiterated Azerbaijan's position that Armenia must withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions. "Armenia conducts various activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which should be stopped. Only after this, Armenia can claim that they are constructively and sincerely participating in the negotiation process," Hajiyev concluded. Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on the country. Since a war in the early 1990s. To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz In 1966, when Norma Tanega released her first single, rock fans were becoming used to unusual lyrics. But as it turned out, that song, Walkin My Cat Named Dog, wasnt as quirky as the title suggested: The song was inspired by her cat, whose name was indeed Dog. I had always wanted a dog, but because of my living situation, I could only have a cat, she said on her website. I named my cat Dog and wrote a song about my dilemma. She turned that situation into a lilting song about freedom, perpetual dreamin and walkin high against the fog around town with Dog. (In real life she really did walk her cat.) Accompanying herself on guitar and also playing harmonica, she sang, in a low voice: Dog is a good old cat/People, what you think of that?/Thats where Im at, thats where Im at. Several candidates have announced their intention to run against Ilhan Omar in Minnesotas 5th District. The latest to join the fray is Dalia al-Aqidi. Al-Aqidi is an Iraqi refugee and a Muslim, so she superficially resembles Omar. But she couldnt be more different. Ive been hearing about her for a while from my friends at Madison McQueen, who made this campaign launch video. I am pretty sure you will like it: Interesting fact: in 2014, al-Aqidi began wearing a cross to show solidarity with Christians being murdered by Islamic radicals. In the first 24 hours of her campaign, Dalia seems to have made a pretty big splash. She doesnt say it in the ad, but she is a Republican. Many think there is no way a Republican can win in Minnesotas 5th, the modern-day equivalent of a rotten borough, and that Omar can only be defeated in the Democratic primary. I guess we will find out. In the meantime, it is nice to see a fellow refugee mounting a full frontal assault on the corrupt Ilhan Omar. For some, a lipstick is just a lipstick. But for others, its a source of strength, creativity, and expression. In our series Power Faces, well explore the relationship between strong women and the makeup they choose to wear or not. Our latest subject, in partnership with Target Beauty, is Enam Asiama, a 25-year-old model and plus-size advocate born in Ghana currently living in London. This story was told to Jennifer Mulrow and edited for length and clarity. My first point of contact in terms of beauty was my mother. She was hyper-femme, and everything had to be very classy with bold prints and full makeup. I grew up watching her get ready for special occasions mainly church. Church, especially in Africa, is such a massive culture in and of itself. I would sit and watch her doll up, and I would be mesmerized, so eager to help her pick new eyeshadow colors to try. I took on my mothers love for beauty, even working as a makeup artist during my gap year. Its a lot of hard work, and when you always want something right, it can drive you crazy sometimes. I dont think I was ready for that. But thats how I got into the modeling industry. A lot of photographers on set would say, Oh, Id love to shoot you. You look amazing. I have quite a bold personality, too, which helped. FORGING IDENTITY I was born and partly raised in Ghana, until I was 9 years old and we moved to Birmingham, England. I grew up in a Christian household, so a lot of the things that I saw in terms of beauty were about modesty and elegance. The culture in Ghana is that women have to look and act like women, and men have to act and be like men. I feel like that transcends globally. The beauty standards in Ghana have changed a lot. It was one of the first places in Africa to ban bleaching when, at the time, it was such a prevalent part of Ghanaian and African culture. The lighter your skin was, the better looking you were. People treated you differently because of your proximity to whiteness, meaning you came off as more classy, rich, educated, well put together. Thats the culture I was raised in. Story continues My baseline for measuring my beauty came from words that were used to describe me as a child: fatty bombom, obolobo, and so on. I had fairer skin and was physically much taller and bigger than my peers, which I was teased for at times. My parents always taught my siblings and me to focus on our education as a means of rising above, as their parents taught them. As an adult, Ive had time to form my own understanding of beauty while curing some of the damage. I am a Black, African-British, fat, queer, and femme individual. I happen to fall under labels that are deemed undesirable and unworthy of any real protection. I am humbled and saddened by the limited amount of representation for people that look like me, but I believe that representation can start with me. COME AS YOU ARE I eventually moved to London for university and decided to stay because I felt I could express myself better here. Being in England is a massive contrast from being in Ghana, in terms of the things I saw and the type of people I was around. In London, Im always seeking areas that are full of life and different cultures and diversity. A lot of who I am has been influenced by the drag queer scene. When I first moved to London, the people I was hanging around were taking over queer nightlife. The way that you dress for a night out, you have to come through with a look. Think: multi-colored eyeshadow to match your colored eye contacts; glossy vibrant lids to accompany sticky, bold lips; over-arched brows drawn to nearly touch your baby hairs. There wasnt any pressure to look or act a certain way, though you just come as you are. I noticed that a lot of people wore bold makeup, had big hair, or had a specific personality that was quirky and weird. I finally felt like I fit in. Ive taken on my moms attitude of being hyper-femme, but hanging around the people I do now, who dont play into gender norms, has shown me that its good to tap into my masc side, as well. To me, that means putting less pressure on myself to look a certain way and being more dominant in what I want from myself and what I want for those around me to be performative about strength. With makeup, I tap into my hyper-femme side by creating colorful brows, overdrawn lips, smoldering smoky eyes, or graphic shapes. I even like to use flowers or draw hearts or stars with shimmery shadows to be the center of attention not just on arrival. Tapping into my masc side, I try to keep it basic: light concealer instead of foundation, tinted lip balms and natural-looking blusher, simple mascara with no lashes. I still keep my lips overdrawn but in a classic, brown shade with no gloss. I feel that my hyper-femme side will always play into my more masc-appearing self, for balance. GODDESS ENERGY I feel like everybody needs to fall into activism at least once in their life. So much of what I know about society is dont do this and dont do that. Dont wear this and dont look that way. Im a stubborn person, so Ive channeled all my stubborn energy into taking over the world by showing who I am, showing my character, and telling people its okay to focus on positivity and being a light and a voice in someones life. If youre a good person and you have great intentions for others and for yourself, first and foremost it will show through as this goddess energy. That is such a massive, driving force in who I am and what my platform represents. That is what beauty is all about. Being around a lot of creatives, Ive heard so many stories of those around me striving to make the media more inclusive of Black people, something thats been missing for the longest time. I think that if I bring that energy, especially as a plus-size Black person, I can be part of the fight for inclusivity for every type of person out there. I will forever promote the agenda that Black is beautiful and fat folks are worthy of visibility and love. TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNIQUE I feel the most like myself in theatrical and editorial makeup that involves lines, colors, textures, and shapes anything with unplanned, 3D, or freehand designs. I believe makeup is art, and when I put on makeup to go out, its like working on a piece of art. I love having color choices, like with this retro 80s colorblocked eyeshadow. It takes pops of greens and pinks to a whole new level. When Im on set, the makeup brings this energy, a driving force. I feel visible and I feel seen. All of my intersects being Black, queer, femme, fat all of these different minority groups come together and create this one bubble of strength. Its like Im seen now, and Im heard. I feel the most confident in Hollywood-glam makeup: golden bronze eyes, black-winged liner, and a dark red or burgundy lip like the daring, dark-brown lip look from today, which complements my equally brown skin. My makeup has to be all-around diva. I want your soul to be snatched. I want people to sense that their souls are about to get snatched before I walk out the door. And when I walk past, I want the, Oh my god, who is she? And Im like, ENAM! Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? Opalesque Industry Update - After a one-month reprieve, the hedge fund industry returned to net outflows in November with $4.7 billion in redemptions, a reversal from October's $1.9 billion in industry inflows. November's redemptions represented 0.2% of industry assets, according to the Barclay Fund Flow Indicator published by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. A $19.1 billion November trading profit brought total hedge fund industry assets to more than $3.16 trillion as the month ended, up from $3.13 trillion at the end of October. November's redemptions were driven by numerous economic events and indicators that worried investors as summer came to a close, prompting sizable redemption volumes from funds in the U.K., the U.S. and China. November data from the nearly 7,100 funds (excluding CTAs) in the BarclayHedge database showed investors pulling $6.2 billion from funds in the U.K. and its offshore islands, $4.4 billion from funds in the U.S. and its offshore islands and $1.0 billion from funds in China. "The last weeks of summer posed a number of challenges for investors including the impact of heightened trade tensions between the U.S. and China on equity markets, reports of shrinking economies in the U.K. and Germany, ongoing Brexit uncertainty and recession fears prompted by an inverted yield curve," said Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. For the 12 months ending Nov. 30, the hedge fund industry experienced $122.9 billion in redemptions, 4.0% of assets. A $182.6 billion trading profit over the 12-month period contributed to the industry's $3.16 trillion in total assets as November ended, up from nearly $3.09 trillion a year earlier. Most hedge funds sectors experienced redemptions for the 12-month period, though a few bucked the trend. Sectors posting 12-month inflows included Macro funds which added $22.4 billion, 6.9% of assets, Event Driven funds with $22.2 billion in inflows, 15.7% of assets, and Emerging Markets - Latin America funds which took in $1.6 billion, 14.9% of assets. Relative underperformance against their benchmarks by hedge funds in equity and fixed income sectors continued to be reflected in the funds posting the largest 12-month redemptions. Equity Long/Short funds led the way with $40.7 billion in redemptions, 18.5% of assets, followed by Equity Long Bias funds which shed $37.5 billion over the period, 11.4% of assets, and Fixed Income funds which experienced $19.5 billion in 12-month redemptions, 3.5% of assets. The managed futures industry also experienced net outflows in November with $905.8 million in redemptions. A $3.0 billion trading profit for the month brought total industry assets to $310.2 billion as November ended, up from $305.4 billion at the end of October. "Back-to-back losses in September and October on the back of uninspiring year-to-date returns pushed some investors to redeem in November," said Waksman. CTA redemptions were the norm in most regions in November, led by the U.K. and its offshore islands which saw $1.4 billion in redemptions, 2.4% of assets. CTAs in Asia excluding China and Japan shed $264.4 million during the month, 3.4% of assets, while funds in Continental Europe experienced $125.0 million in redemptions, 0.4% of assets. Among the regions running counter to the redemption trend, CTAs in the U.S. and its offshore islands took in $399.9 million, 0.2% of assets, in November. For the 12 months ending Nov. 30, CTA funds experienced $17.3 billion in outflows, 4.9% of industry assets. A $16.7 billion trading profit over the period contributed to the industry's $310.2 billion in total assets at the end of November, which was down from nearly $350.7 billion a year earlier. The Japan share market advanced on Friday, 17 January 2020, with most sectors rising, as risk appetite buying picked up on tracking the record closing highs overnight on Wall Street after sealing of an initial U. S.-China trade deal and Senate approval of a new trade deal between the U. S., Mexico and Canada, and upbeat economic data. Meanwhile, momentum further supported by yen depreciation against greenback and better than expected China's gross domestic product (GDP) numbers. Around late afternoon, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 25.20 points, or 0.11%, to 23,941.78, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange sank 1.81 points, or 0.1%, at 1,729.25. Total 25 issues of the 33 industry category of Topix index inclined into positive territory, with Iron & Steel, Marine Transportation, Metal Products, Securities & Commodities Futures, Transportation Equipment, and Rubber Products issues being notable gainers, while Electric Power & Gas, Services, and Retail Trade issues were notable gainers. The markets continued to benefit from recent upward momentum following the official signing of the U. S.-China phase one trade deal on Wednesday. The U. S. President Donald Trump and China's chief negotiator, Liu He, signed the Phase 1 deal before a group of corporate executives and reporters at the White House, marking a truce in the dispute over import tariff which has unsettled markets world-wide and slowed economic growth. The pact eases some sanctions on China. In return, Beijing has agreed to step up its purchases of U. S. farm products and other goods. Also, the U. S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the U. S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on Thursday, sending the pact to President Donald Trump for signature just a day after he inked a high-profile trade deal with China. The major exporters were higher on a weaker yen. Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic, Sony, and Canon were higher in between 0.1% to 2%. Among auto stocks, Honda Motor rose 0.7% and Toyota Motor was up 0.1%. CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen, often viewed as a safe-haven currency in times of economic uncertainty, weakened against a basket of currencies. The yen's traded at 110.16, weakening from the 109 level for most of the week. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The offers arrive like water from a fire hose a steady torrent of letters, postcards and phone calls from investors wanting to buy Grace Hills homes on the East Side. Most tout cash and a speedy closing, while others solicitations resemble alarming notices from bill collectors. Strange numbers flash across Hills home and cell phones late into the night. Sometimes developers walk up and down the block jamming fliers in doors. In Denver Heights, where Hills foster parents left her their home years ago, house flippers are refurbishing aging houses for new residents and investors are devouring vacant lots. The house Hill and her late husband bought in Skyline Park is near the Red Berry Estate, a sprawling property thats being redeveloped for housing, a catering companys headquarters and event space. Everybodys coming into this area, Hill said. They just came out here overnight. San Antonio homeowners say they are being inundated with offers through a variety of channels. Investors send postcards and letters to homeowners and also call or text. Some peruse code violations, foreclosures and tax records online to target potential sellers, while others use open government laws to requests lists of properties where the water has been shut off from the San Antonio Water System, a practice first highlighted by the Rivard Report. Some homeowners also suspect developers of calling code enforcement on them to report problems to further pressure them to sell. Mike Shannon, director of the citys Development Services Department, said hes heard concerns about investors using code enforcement for that purpose but hasnt confirmed it. Most of the complaints they receive are anonymous, he said. A majority of investigations of potential code violations 80 percent are initiated by staff, not complainants, according to the city. Some residents feel under siege, annoyed by the offers or worried theyll be pushed out by new arrivals. Others welcome the churn, pointing to dilapidated homes that are being rehabilitated and new shops or restaurants opening up. For the full story, visit expressnews.com. madison.iszler@express-news.net The Fixers: The Bottom-Feeders, Crooked Lawyers, Gossipmongers, and Porn Stars Who Created the 45th President By Joe Palazzolo and Michael Rothfeld Random House. 433 pp. $28 --- "The Fixers" is not a particularly enjoyable read. Amid a trying Democratic primary race, an impeachment that revealed stunning offenses but is nonetheless unlikely to result in the removal of the president, and the slow grind to what many worry will be a 2020 Trump victory, reading excruciating detail after excruciating detail of the depravity, stupidity and venality of all the president's men is enough to send one full-pitch into an existential crisis. You should probably read this book anyway. The Trump presidency is so messy that it feels beyond the ability of any single human to keep up with all of the scandals, the criminal allegations, the acts that would have been unimaginable from a president just a few years ago - not to mention the impossibility of keeping track of the president's entourage of petty grifters, sleazy wiseguys and, increasingly, convicted criminals. The more the shady dealings stack up, the higher the bar for badness gets. The more bad actors surround the president, the less his relationship with any single one seems troubling enough to be disqualifying. Until you see them all listed in one place. That's what Joe Palazzolo and Michael Rothfeld have done here. As the subtitle - "The Bottom-Feeders, Crooked Lawyers, Gossipmongers, and Porn Stars Who Created the 45th President" - suggests, this is not exactly a trim read. Instead, Palazzolo and Rothfeld, who together won a Pulitzer Prize for their work for the Wall Street Journal covering Donald Trump's hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, have put together a nearly encyclopedic accounting of every unsavory character who built the Trump presidency. This does not make for an easily totable book. The text is necessarily substantial, because there are a whole lot of unsavory characters. Palazzolo and Rothfeld's reporting breaks some new ground, including the particularly delicious detail that the crowd supposedly cheering Trump's campaign announcement included some 50 hired extras. And notably disturbing is the story from decades ago that Trump ordered Mar-a-Lago staff to fumigate the silverware after a visit from Roy Cohn, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1986. There are also new tidbits about the bottom-feeding and Trump-championing National Enquirer, including specifics of the allegation that the publication paid off a onetime Trump doorman to keep his mouth shut about a rumor that Trump had a child with a former employee. Much of the rest of what appears in the book isn't brand-new, but that's not the point. The world Trump came from explains much about the president and offers a few (terrifying) insights into how much lower American politics might still sink. It's impossible to understand Trumpism without understanding Trump's people. It's through them that he first instituted a kind of tin-pot dictator's requirement of loyalty above all else (even while he was systematically disloyal and backstabbing), developed a taste for publicly humiliating any perceived rivals (and a particular disgust for women who challenged him) and honed the craft of flat-out lying without worry (and realizing he could do so without consequence). The first fixer to come into Palazzolo and Fothfeld's sights is Cohn, whose playbook is as follows: "Attack - mercilessly. Never admit you're wrong. Declare complete victory, even when making concessions. Follow through only when pressed, and only as much as required." Sound familiar? Then there's David Pecker of the National Enquirer, who clawed his way to the top of his publishing empire and used his perch to do dirty deals for friends and those he thought might be useful to him. And of course there's Michael Cohen, a character both mercenary and hapless, who in a far-too-literal turn wanted to draw more attention to the nascent Trump campaign, already a media circus in the making, by bringing an elephant to the announcement. These little gems are what keep "The Fixers" from tipping over into the simply depressing, even as the anecdotes that offer bits of levity often double as insights into how truly pathetic these men are. In 2014, for example, Cohen was ordered to rig a CNBC online poll of "Top Leaders, Icons and Rebels" of business in Trump's favor. Trump begged for votes on Twitter, then demanded that Cohen get him into the top 10. When that failed and his name wasn't even in the top 100, Trump raged with all the emotional depth of an adolescent not invited to a cooler kid's party, tweeting, "Stupid poll should be canceled - no credibility." Years later, while Trump was in the White House, Cohen pleaded guilty to what a New York judge called "a veritable smorgasbord of fraudulent conduct." Now, Trump has new fixers. Chief among them are Rudy Giuliani and, perhaps more dangerously, Attorney General William Barr. Giuliani has been in Trump's orbit for decades, ever since, as the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, he dropped a probe into potential money laundering by Trump - after Trump said he would raise $2 million for Giuliani's mayoral campaign (in true Trump fashion, he ended up raising just $41,000). Barr elbowed his way into Trump's good graces, and the president seems to have rightly assessed him as a good soldier, someone who won't let the law get in the way of what Trump wants. This is the only part of the book that feels a little thin. Palazzolo and Rothfeld touch on these men's roles in the White House and in the scandals involving Russia and Ukraine, but, given that those stories are still unfolding by the day, the retelling of them is understandably incomplete. Giuliani and Barr are the president's current buffers, protectors and advocates. Trump has also managed to turn much of the GOP into a party of fixers, willing to bend the rules, overlook wrongdoing and put loyalty to a single craven man over duty to country. To understand how we got to this dark moment, "The Fixers" is the place to start. How we fix this mess the fixers put us in, well - that may be a question for the next book. --- Filipovic is a journalist and the author of "The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness." By Lee Gyu-lee Korean American star Daniel Henney has warned fans of a "fake Daniel Henney" who asks for money on social media. "We have received reports from fans that the scammer asked them for money while pretending to be him through direct messages or emails," his agency Echo Global Group said in a statement Friday. The group on to say, "Henney will never ask for money under any circumstance." Except for his current official social media accounts, the actor does not have any other secondary account, the agency noted. Henney debuted in Korea through the 2005 TV drama "My Lovely Sam Soon." He expanded his acting career to the United States and starred in police procedural drama "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders" in 2016. He joined the series "Criminal Minds" as a main cast member the following year. India on Friday began thermal screening of passengers returning from China at three international airports Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata as second death was reported due to the novel coronavirus infection that has broken out in China. Thermal imaging scanners are used to check arriving passengers surface (skin) temperature. A travel advisory was also issued asking passengers, who feel sick while returning from China, to report to the airport health authorities. as a matter of abundant precaution the Ministry of Health has instructed screening of international travellers from China at designated airports namely, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata through thermal scanners. In coordination with Ministry of Civil Aviation, in-flight announcements are also being made..., the health ministry said in a statement. Thailand detected its second case of the coronavirus on Friday. The latest patient was from Chinas central city of Wuhan, which has reported 41 cases of pneumonia potentially linked to the new type of virus. Two deaths have been reported as countries across the world prepare to guard against the outbreak. In India, the advisory on the outbreak was issued after the Union health ministrys technical wing held its second meeting with experts of the World Health Organization. Although as per World Health Organizations risk assessment, the risk for global spread has been stated as low, as a matter of abundant precaution, the travellers to China are advised to follow simple public health measures at all times, the advisory issued by the Union ministry of health and family welfare added. Experts have not yet established the mode of transmission of the virus but there is little evidence of significant human-to-human transmission, which is why one should avoid contact with live animals and consumption of raw and undercooked meats. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause respiratory illnesses. This family includes the viruses that cause SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) and viruses that cause milder illnesses such as the common cold. Japan reported its first case of the infection on Thursday after a Japanese man returned from Wuhan. More than 500 Indian students study in Wuhan, mostly in medical universities in and around the city, which is known as Chinas university town. Many Indian students could be travelling back to India for the Chinese New Year holiday, which has begun. The novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan and until now, all cases of the viral infection have been detected in people from the city, the capital of Hubei province, or among those who travelled to the city. Coronaviruses are highly infectious and very prone to mutation; its difficult to predict their behaviour. Since it is an acute respiratory tract infection, it spreads easily and fast. However, India doesnt need to panic as of now, said Dr Ekta Gupta, senior microbiologist at a Delhi government-run hospital. People visiting China must maintain personal hygiene and follow respiratory etiquette such as covering mouth when coughing or sneezing. An Indian Council of Medical Research official who asked not to be named said: There is no evidence of human-to-human transmission as of now. It appears to be a new zoonotic (animals-to-human) coronavirus. There are no plans as of now to check samples. However, we are prepared to investigate if necessary. (With inputs from Sutirtho Patranobis in Beijing SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON NEWTOWN - Newtown police traveled to a Massachusetts Correctional Facility where they took custody of David Anderson, 51, formerly of Newtown, and charged him with possession of first and third-degree child pornography. Anderson was transported him back to Newtown where he is being held on $150,000 bond. He will will be arraigned Friday in Danbury Superior Court. The warrant stems from an investigation that started back in November 2012, after a complaint was made to the Newtown Police Department. Anderson was arrested by Newtown police in November 2012 after his estranged wife found hundreds of images on his computer, including pictures of children as young as 3 years old being sexually abused, authorities said. Some of the photographs of young women who were either naked or partially clothed, were taken surreptitiously in the bathroom of the family cottage in Salisbury, Mass., police said. That led Newtown detectives to contact Salisbury authorities, who said they conducted a search on the cottage on Nov. 14, 2012 the same day Anderson was being arraigned in Danbury Superior Court on possession of child pornography charges. Police said at the time the search yielded "hundreds, if not thousands" of images on two hard drives, including video of women secretly recorded as part of a scheme in which Anderson portrayed himself as a doctor conducting research. Anderson was later sentenced in Massachusetts in that case. More News Newtown man faces child porn charge Newtown police Lt. Aaron Bahamonde said, the investigation by our detectives crossed state lines into Massachusetts and New York. Anderson was arrested in Massachusetts and subsequently served seven years in prison. Anderson waived extradition and was brought back to Connecticut to face additional charges for the crimes that took place here in Newtown. "Detectives did an excellent job working with other state agencies, conducting computer forensics, and putting a case together to put this predator away," Bahamonde said. Our community is made safer when individuals such as Anderson are identified and taken out. Anderson is in a place where they cant victimize unsuspecting residents and receiving the rehabilitation he needs." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 17) Anyone found within Taal Volcano's 14-kilometer danger zone will meet a sure death during the anticipated hazardous eruption due to a number of dangerous scenarios, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Friday. "Hazardous po iyon kasi mabilis 'yung ganoong movement and mainit siya. Definitely deadly kung sinong nasa vicinity," said Danniko Rivera, Phivolcs Senior Science Research Specialist. [Translation: It is hazardous because the movement is fast and hot. [It will be] definitely deadly for someone in the vicinity.] Volcanologists and Joint Task Force Taal closely monitored the volcano through an aerial inspection. Phivolcs continues to peg the danger at Alert Level 4, meaning a hazardous, explosive eruption can take place within hours or days. When the eruption does occur, the public can expect a base surge or a horizontal movement of hot gases, volcanic fragments and ash at 60 kilometers per hour as fast as a car moving at average speed, state volcanologists said. They added that the surge can traverse Taal lake and easily reach the mainland within the danger zone surrounding the volcano and other identified high-risk areas. National Institute of Geological Sciences professor Carlo Arcilla of the University of the Philippines said the instant death will come from inhaling the hot gases. He said the temperature of the magma can be at least 600 degrees Celcius to 1,000 degrees Celcius. "What will kill you is when you breathe in the 600-degree air, that's a fast death....You will be burnt. Maluluto 'yan [That will be cooked] (your skin)," Arcilla described to CNN Philippines' News Night. Possible scenarios Apart from the base surge, another explosion is also possible if magma will come out of Taal's vents and interact with water. This on top of the volcano also possibly belching a column of ash and launching projectiles such as rocks that can be as big as blocks or bombs, fatally hitting people nearby. Phivolcs said it is still anticipating an explosive event after seeing similarities in the volcano's activity to its movement during the eruption in 1754 and 1911.This despite volcanic activity visually weakening. "Visually we can say nag-we-wane 'yung...hitsura po ng column kung icocompare natin noong Sunday o Monday pero... internally, seismisity, gas measurements and changes in the ground and fissure mapping up until yesterday, so nakikita namin may ground movement," explained Rivera. [Translation: Visually we can say that the appearance of the column is waning if we compare it to how it was on Sunday or Monday but...internally, seismisity, gas measurements and changes in the ground and fissure mapping up until yesterday, so we can see there is ground movement.] READ: How to prepare for Taal's imminent explosive eruption A total of 634 volcanic tremors have been plotted around Taal area since Sunday, Phivolcs said in its latest advisory. Exisiting cracks in the streets of Lemery, Agoncillo, Talisay, and San Nicolas in Batangas also widened, the agency added. Over 70,000 residents of Cavite and Batangas are taking temporary shelter in 300 evacuation centers since Taal Volcano's stream-driven eruption on Sunday. Thick ash plumes burst from the volcano's crater, bringing ashfall to nearby provinces including Metro Manila. As a result, homes and fields with still planted crops have been blanketed in a heavy layer of ash. The agriculture sector has suffered over 3 billion worth of damage from the incident. CNN Philippines' Correspondent Triciah Terada and Digital Producer Janine Peralta contirbuted to this report. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Elchin Mehdiyev Trend: The visit of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to the region is scheduled for the first quarter of the year, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters in Baku, Trend reports on Jan. 17. The exact date of the visit will be determined later, the minister said. The ways of resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be discussed during the visit. 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. An earthquake with a magnitude 5.5 has been recorded in the Pacific Ocean off the Kamchatka coast in Russia's Far East, according to U.S. scientists and Russian officials. State-run TASS news agency quoted the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry on January 17 as saying the quake's epicenter was 94 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of 20 kilometers. The earthquake was registered at 4:31 a.m. local time. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also recorded the quake, initially measuring it at 5.3 magnitude. TASS said no injuries or damages have been reported, although residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky said they had felt the tremors. The arc formed by the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kurile Islands between Russia and Japan is one of the most seismically active areas in the world. This week, NYU Skirball announced the cancellation of its planned run of The Trial, Franz Kafka's 1925 novel, adapted to the stage by Polish director Krystian Lupa. The official reason was the withdrawal of funds by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, a division of the Polish Cultural Ministry charged with promoting Polish culture abroad. Lupa was quick to label this censorship, pointing a finger at Poland's rightwing Law and Justice Party, which currently dominates the government. But how is it possible for a foreign government to censor a play in New York? This Story of the Week will explain how it happened, and how the artists are responding. What is The Trial? Published in 1925, one year after Kafka's death, The Trial tells the story of Josef K., a bank cashier who is arrested for an unspecified crime and subjected to an incomprehensible trial. Lupa, who is a celebrated theater director in Poland, adapted the novel into a nearly five-hour stage play that not only tells Kafka's story, but illuminates the personal circumstances under which he wrote it. It has been produced successfully in Poland and France. The two-day run at Skirball (March 7 and 8) was going to be the production's North American debut. "Kafka's The Trial is the story of political corruption, government censorship, and social malevolence a story that mirrors our current global realities," said Skirball director Jay Wegman in a press statement. "Sadly, and ironically, the Polish government has pulled its funding in an attempt to silence Krystian Lupa, making this North American premiere impossible." Halina Rasiakowna and Andrzej Klak appear in Franz Kafka's The Trial, adapted and directed by Krystian Lupa. ( Natalia Kabanow) Why was The Trial canceled? According to reporting in The Forward, Lupa and his company were counting on the government-run Adam Mickiewicz Institute (AMI) to fund the hefty cost of travel and lodging for the 46-member company of The Trial, and AMI director Krzysztof Olendzki, who visited Skirball last year, had promised as much. But when Olendzki was replaced in September by Barbara Schabowska (a pro-Law and Justice Party journalist), the talks with AMI broke down and funding was revoked through an official letter, with no explanation why a Kafkaesque flourish if there ever was one. In his four-year stint as Poland's Minister of Culture, Piotr Glinski has led a campaign to make the country's cultural institutions friendlier to the Catholic and nationalist sympathies of his Law and Justice Party. In a recent statement to the New York Times, Glinski insisted that the government was "restoring the right balance and building a fair system, in which every artist, regardless of his/her views, can count on the support of the state." In practice, this appears to mean defunding artists with whom the Law and Justice Party disagrees. Lupa is blunt in his assessment: "The declaration of Minister Glinski is clear: Artists who do not sympathize with the current leadership's cultural policy, who criticize its values, decisions and actions will be treated as enemies of Poland and will not be supported by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in any form." Speaking to The Forward, Lupa also revealed, "We're not the only people this is happening to. There was a festival in Lithuania and three months before they were supposed to do a Polish production, Barbara [Schabowska], pulled that contract. No one is speaking out in Poland, because they're afraid of repercussions." Krystian Lupa is the director of The Trial. ( Magda Hueckel) Can governments just stop funding art they do not like? Yes, and they frequently do. While I've written previously about Viktor Orban's moves to impose his ideological vision on Hungary's arts establishment, this is not merely a central European problem: For years, conservative American politicians have waged war on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the federal agency charged with funding art across our union. This campaign reached a dramatic high point in the early '90s around federal funding for exhibits by photographers Andres Serrano and Robert Mapplethorpe, whose provocative work many conservatives objected to on religious and moral grounds (Serrano's Piss Christ still raises hackles). This led to a sharp reduction in federal appropriations for the NEA in 1996, and the budget has never fully recovered. American artists often look enviously on their European counterparts and the spending their governments lavish on the arts. In 2013, the NEA granted $4.3 million to theater projects, distributed among 146 different organizations. By comparison, the UK's National Theatre received $28 million in government funds for that year alone. But as Poland and Hungary show, that money sometimes comes with strings attached. While relying on the generosity of private patrons is not a perfect system, it does diversify the source of funding so that there is not one major donor holding a sword over an arts organization it's not just wealthy individuals and major banks funding the theater, it's also viewers like youand the person next to you. So when Donald Trump threatens to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, American theaters forge ahead in the knowledge that federal funding only represents a tiny fraction of their total budgets, and that any revocation of that money could provide the basis for a major fundraising drive that would more than make up the difference. It certainly doesn't deter them from producing plays like this. A scene from Krystian Lupa's production of The Trial, which has just canceled its New York run. ( Natalia Kabanow) What will happen in lieu of The Trial? On March 8 at 3pm, NYU Skirball is planning a marathon reading of Kafka's novel, in association with the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, PEN America, and CUNY's Segal Center. A panel discussion with Lupa and others will take place at 1pm, before the reading. Tickets are free and you can reserve them here. I suspect this isn't the last we'll hear of The Trial, a production that has been well-received by critics and audiences alike. In fact, its temporary cancellation offers American arts patrons a golden opportunity to step up and show the value of our system of private arts funding by bringing the full production to New York. If private funding of the arts really is superior to government funding, now is the time to prove it. UPDATE: The Polish government responds to this story. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-17 23:27:05 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 975 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / Lucky Minerals Inc. ("Lucky" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its plans to advance its properties. Lucky will be focusing its efforts on gold exploration in 2020 as it seeks a joint venture partner for the advancement of known copper opportunities on its 550 km2 Fortuna Project in Ecuador.Lucky CEO, Adrian Rothwell, stated "Fortuna is a large project, with multiple known copper-moly-gold porphyry type exploration and high sulfidation epithermal gold targets located on the twelve concessions. We believe that a project of this size offers the potential for multiple partners. Our strategy to focus our capital on gold discovery and to use partnerships to explore for copper deposits should allow us to quickly showcase the potential of the Fortuna Project." Lucky Appoints Exploration ManagerLucky is pleased to welcome Mr. Victor A. Jaramillo, M.Sc.A, P.Geo. as Exploration Manager and Qualified Person. We thank Mr. Alain Moreau, formerly the Company's Vice President of Exploration, and member of the Technical Advisory Board for his services to the Company over the past three years. Mr. Moreau was part of the discovery team on the El Buitre Cu-Mo-Au porphyry target and was instrumental in the Company's acquisition of the Fortuna Project.Mr. Jaramillo is an international geological consultant with over 30 years' experience in regional exploration, mineral property evaluation, resource estimation and mine operations and focused on precious metal deposits and porphyry systems. He was instrumental in the discovery of the La Langosta (Mexico) Cu-Au porphyry, Santa Rosa Au mine and Las Lomas Au porphyry (Peru) and has previously held positions in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and South America with major and junior mining companies as exploration manager, senior project geologist and chief mine geologist. Mr. Jaramillo is a Professional Geoscientist, registered with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia. He is a Fellow of the Geological Association of Canada and Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists. Mr. Jaramillo holds an M.Sc.A. degree in Mineral Exploration from McGill University.Lucky CEO, Adrian Rothwell, stated "It is a privilege to work with someone with such extensive experience in porphyry and epithermal systems in this region of the world. His experience in project review, and diligence in planning and execution will be a welcome addition to the team." Capital PlanSubsequent to the Company's news release dated December 5, 2019, the settlement of a total of $1,569,993 in debts through the issuance of 31,399,851 common shares of the Company has been completed.The Company intends to close the balance of the debt settlement transaction to American CuMo and certain directors and officers of the Company of an aggregate of $114,057 of debt consisting of $4,584 as to technical committee fees, $53,113 as to directors fees, and $56,360 as to consulting fees, through the issuance of 2,281,144 common shares of the Company (the "Final Shares") at a deemed price of $0.05 per Final Share (the "Transaction") upon receipt of shareholder and final TSX Venture Exchange approval. All of the Final Shares of the Company issuable in connection with the Transaction will be subject to a four month hold period.This settlement was necessary to make future capital available to execute the Company's operating plan, including exploration of Fortuna.Illustration 1: Fortuna Concession MapIllustration 2: Fortuna Regional MapFortunaThe Fortuna Project is comprised of twelve concessions and occupies 550 square kilometers within the central cordillera in the heart of a proven and highly mineralized Miocene age volcanic belt which extends from Chile and Peru into Ecuador where significant Porphyry copper deposits have been found. The recently discovered (2018) El Buitre Porphyry System, is a Tertiary (Mid-Miocene) intrusion, which is located along a major NNE regional fault which lies at the junction of a major EW fault. Terra-Spec and multi-elements assays have defined a significant alteration footprint, comprising a phyllic (quartz-sericite-pyrite) and potassic (secondary biotite and k-spar) altered envelope. This alteration coincides with Mo-Cu-Bi anomalous rock Geochem samples which cover an area of more than 2 square kilometers.Mapping and surface sampling completed to date on the El Buitre Porphyry system, is contained within the Fortuna 3 concession. It lies approximately 60 km north-west of the Fruta del Norte mine. At the present stage, the El Buitre Porphyry is an almost ready Cu-Mo-Au drill target. Ground geophysics (IP/res) is planned to help locate the best drill locations.The Company has signed Non-Disclosure Agreements with several major publicly traded and private mining groups to explore the possibility of entering into strategic partnerships, joint ventures or working alliances.While Lucky's management team and board of directors continue discussions with these interested parties, a number of site visits are planned to observe and evaluate the potential scope of the porphyry targets.Exploration Focus for 2020Priority exploration targets include:Epithermal Precious Metal Exploration: A total of 7 dome-like features within a NE trending altered volcanic belt (Fortuna 8, 9 and 10) have been outlined. Within this belt, are areas of quartz stockwork veinlets in kaolinite and alunite altered volcanic rocks. Some of the quartz veinlets show banded and vuggy textures. Also, coincidental anomalous Au, As and Sb rock chip geochemistry corroborates the location of these highly prospective areas. Initial work will include detailed geological mapping and rock chip and soil sampling.El Buitre Porphyry Exploration: Satellite imagery has identified a caldera-like feature which overlaps the Fortuna 1 and 3 concessions. It contains an extensive phyllic altered area with quartz stockwork veinlets and breccia zones within an area of approximately 3 x 2km. This alteration zone is coincidental with rock chip Cu, Au, Mo and Bi Geochem anomalies.The company and/or a partner, intend to complete an infill rock and soil sampling program followed by ground 3D IP / res geophysics. This work will assist in locating the best drill locations.Emigrant Project UpdateIn November 2015 the Company submitted an application for an exploration license Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 03:24:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close HOUSTON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A photo exhibition featuring the development of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was held Thursday night in Chinese Consulate General in Houston. The exhibition, named "Human Rights in Xinjiang - Development and Progress," consisted of more than 80 pictures taken in Xinjiang, showing its political, economic and social development. The exhibition was part of the activities of the Chinese Lunar New Year reception held in the consulate general with around 500 attendees. Chinese Consul General Cai Wei told Xinhua that this was a good opportunity to introduce and promote Xinjiang to American people, "especially to show them the recent and real development of that area." "I've talked to some guests, both Americans and Chinese. They were so interested in and amazed by the advanced infrastructure in Xinjiang and how ethnic groups live together in harmony," Cai said, adding that more photo exhibitions will be organized to better show China to Americans. Celebrating the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, which will begin on Jan. 25 this year, the reception was attended by representatives from various local groups and overseas Chinese. The hall of the consulate general was decorated with red balloons and Chinese knots, showing festive atmosphere to all the guests. Traditional Chinese dishes were also prepared. The Supreme Court has defined the power and duties of a three-member commission headed by a former apex court judge set up to inquire into the alleged encounter killing of the four accused in the gang-rape and murder case of a woman veterinarian in Hyderabad. Fixing the terms of reference for the commission headed by former SC judge V S Sirpurkar, the court said the panel would go into the circumstances that led to the death of the four and ascertain if any offence has been committed in the course. A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant said if any offence appears to have been committed in the course, the responsibility of erring officials will be fixed. "To inquire into the alleged incident resulting in the death of four persons on December 6, 2019 in Hyderabad, namely, Mohammed Arif, Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu, Jolu Shiva and Jollu Naveen, who were arrested in connection with the rape and murder of a young veterinary lady doctor, while they were in the custody of police," the bench said in its first term of reference. In the second term of reference for the commission, the court said it would "inquire into the circumstances that led to the death of afore-mentioned four persons and to ascertain as to whether any offence appears to have been committed in the course. If yes, to fix the responsibility of erring officials". The order of the court was uploaded on the apex court website recently. The top court also fixed the remuneration for the commission. The chairman will be paid Rs 1.5 lakh per sitting and the members Rs 1 lakh, it said. It added that the other directions regarding facilities to be provided to the chairman and the members will be as per the court's order of December 12, 2019, when the court had appointed the panel. The commission, which also included former Bombay High Court judge Rekha Sondur Baldota and ex-CBI director D R Karthikeyan, will submit its report to the Supreme Court in six months from the first day of hearing. The court had ordered that the three-member commission will be provided security cover by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The commission shall have all the power under the Commission of Inquiry Act for conducting inquiry. It had said that the panel will sit at Hyderabad and all the expenses including for the secretarial staff would be borne by the Telangana government. Further, the state will render all assistance required by the commission. Two petitions were filed in the Supreme Court, one by lawyers G S Mani and Pradeep Kumar Yadav, and the other by advocate M L Sharma, seeking independent investigation against the police officers involved in the encounter killing. The PILs claimed the alleged encounter was "fake" and an FIR should be lodged against the police officers involved. The Telangana Police had said that the accused were killed in an exchange of fire. The incident had taken place around 6.30 am when the accused were taken to the site of offence for the reconstruction of the scene of crime as part of the investigation. The four accused were shot dead on NH-44 near Hyderabad -- the same highway where the charred body of 27-year-old veterinarian was found. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Young men taking steroids to get a 'Love Island look' will cause a surge in hospital appointments in 20 years' time, experts warn. The ripped six packs, toned arms and broad shoulders of reality TV hunks are the envy of many and some will go to extreme lengths to try and get them. Anabolic steroids are prescription-only drugs which are illegal to sell. They work by supercharging the body's natural muscle-building ability. But taking them regularly can have devastating side effects including infertility, liver or kidney problems, high blood pressure and a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. A report by UK Anti-Doping says more than half of male steroid users are taking them to improve their body image and the number of users has 'increased significantly'. An expert at the organisation said this may be down to them being 'bombarded with imagery of the ideal sculpted body' on TV and social media. Rises in cosmetic procedures have also been seen in women in recent years and surgeons last year pleaded with network bosses to stop advertising plastic surgery during Love Island ad breaks. A new season of Love Island began last week and the contestants represent much of the same for viewers men and women with perfectly slim, muscular and toned bodies (Pictured: contestants Ollie Williams, left, and Mike Boateng, right) There is no evidence or suggestion that any Love Island contestants are using steroids UK Anti-Doping's report said generation Z and millennial men were most at risk of steroid abuse. That includes those born since 1981, according to US think-tank Pew Research. The report said: 'The largest population of IPED [image and performance enhancing drugs] users is young males whose motivations could primarily lie around body image. 'Many media reports and experts have cited current societal trends as some of the reasons behind this desire to improve body image. 'These include: near universal use of social media and exposure to "body image influencers", popularity of the "Love Island look", and a normalisation of injecting practices through easily accessible procedures like Botox and Melanotan. 'One concern is that if children and young people view the Love Island look as "normal" and desirable, when in fact it may be very difficult to achieve, there is a fear that they may be tempted to use IPEDs which risks their health and wider public health concerns from vial and needle sharing. 'The broader issue of the impact of IPED use on public health is described by some experts as a "time bomb".' NHS CHIEF WARNS ADS ARE PRESSURING YOUNG WOMEN NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said on the Andrew Marr show last year that decisions to advertise breast surgery during ITV's Love Island were risking damaging young women's mental health. According to Mr Stevens, breast enlargement adverts that were played during Love Island put pressure on young people over their body image. On the show he said: If you look at the increasing pressure on young people around eating disorder services, we have to think about the whole environment which children are being exposed to. Hitting out at the breast enlargement adverts, he also urged the broadcaster and others to look very carefully at the kinds of impacts that it is having. Mr Stevens went on to say that some of that is social media, but I mean even if you take a show like Love Island look at the adverts that are being shown alongside Love Island. Youve got explicit ads aiming at young women around breast cosmetic surgery. That is all playing into a set of pressures around body image that are showing up as a burden on other services. He went on to say that now is the time to really think long and hard as to whether we should be exposing young people to those kinds of pressures and social media and advertising has got to look very carefully at the kinds of impacts that it is having. I think thats been accepted as part of the childhood obesity strategy, but its as relevant in mental health. Advertisement Images of extremely fit bodies have already been linked to rising mental health problems among young people but there are physical consequences, too. Steroids are strong, addictive drugs which disrupt people's hormones and are used to strengthen the body in people with serious genetic conditions or very low testosterone. Illegal doses used by athletes or gym-goers are usually considerably higher than what would be prescribed by a doctor and people may take them for longer. The report quotes Mike Mallet, who runs an NHS needle exchange in Newport and fears illegal users will end up in doctors' offices in coming years. 'My worry,' he said, 'is that in 20 years time, maybe less, GPs will see an increase in the number of 40- and 50-year-old guys with a 20-year history of using steroids with liver, thyroid and kidney problems, or heart conditions.' He said the men aren't likely to go to the doctor until symptoms of serious illness have started, by which time treatment will be more difficult and less likely to work. The report said this is what doctors are describing as a 'time bomb'. A seven-year study of 500 men in Denmark, it said, found that premature deaths were three times more common among steroid-users than in men who never used the drugs. UK Anti-Doping added that it was important to consider steroid use as a 'consequence of mental health pressure'. It added influencers on social media sites like Instagram and Snapchat certainly played a role. 'Influencers who appear on these sites can be powerful in affecting behaviour or personal moral,' the report said. 'Many demonstrate the perceived benefits of IPED or supplement use, without articulating the significant risks, and are [paid] to do so.' Clumsy: Jack says he's a total klutz Cosmetic procedures are also on the rise in young women, who often go as far as to have surgery to make their breasts or bottoms bigger. Research has revealed at least half of people who watch Love Island admit that it makes them feel more self-conscious about their bodies. Last year, campaigners urged network bosses to stop showing adverts for plastic surgery and weight-loss drinks during ad breaks. Commenting on today's report, the chief executive of UK Anti-Doping, Nicole Sapstead, said young men are 'bombarded' with images of perfect bodies. 'However, not everyone has the motivation or in fact the physiology to achieve this body type through exercise and healthy eating,' she told The Times. 'And some of these individuals may feel that using IPEDs [image and performance-enhancing drugs], and steroids in particular, is the only or fastest way to achieve their goal.' Anger or irritability or excitement, she said she didnt mind any of that, said the Irish actress Aoife Duffin, who plays Ophelia. The one thing she said she doesnt want in the room is indifference. Negga, for her part, didnt hold back. I drew a lot on my anger and frustration grappling with his character, and wondering just what I was doing, she said. Taking the stage in both Dublin and Brooklyn, Negga joins a grand line of female Hamlets dating back to 1741. Over the years, the greatest actresses of every age have tackled the role, from Sarah Siddons in the 18th century to Charlotte Cushman in the 19th; in 1900, the legendary Sarah Bernhardt became the first actor, of any gender, to play Hamlet on film. Why have so many women clamored to play an indecisive, often rage-filled young man? Its the best part in drama, said Tony Howard, an English professor at the University of Warwick and author of Women as Hamlet: Performance and Interpretation in Theater, Film and Fiction. And as actresses have become more and more powerful in their own right, its become obvious that they should play that part. Thats not to say Negga is taking the opportunity lightly. I think a lot of actors who reach a certain pinnacle of success in their career, generally men, and often white men, will sort of go, Do I get my Hamlet now?, Farber said. Theres nothing about Ruth that takes any of this for granted. When Negga first began working on the production, Farber said, we kept stumbling over the pronouns. I said to Ruth, I dont think were changing this into Hamlette, or stepping into the gender neutral of it. It wasnt a negating of her femininity or a bolstering of a masculinity. It was simply Hamlet. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: It is not too late to deprive First President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev of the Nobel Prize, Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev said. Hajiyev made the remark at an event at ADA University in Baku dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy, Trend reports on Jan. 17. "The January 20 tragedy was not just an event that happened on the night of January 19 to January 20, 1990, the head of the department said. The January 20 tragedy must be considered as a process which followed the Sumgayit events and then continued in Khojaly city." Hajiyev stressed that a policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis was conducted in Armenia. "This process also occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh region, the head of the department added. It was carried out after Heydar Aliyev was dismissed from his position in the political bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It is also necessary to consider the January 20 tragedy from a military point of view, Hajiyev said. A plan of occupation of Baku as a foreign city was prepared. Tanks and other armored vehicles were used. There was not only artillery. The goal was the mass destruction of people on the streets." Moreover, these events occurred during information blockade of Azerbaijan, Hajiyev added. "Foreign journalists were accredited in Moscow and were not allowed to visit Baku. After a small number of journalists covered the press-conference of Heydar Aliyev, who appeared in the Azerbaijani Permanent Mission in Moscow, the international community learned about the events from other viewpoint, the head of the department added. The international media reported on the tragic events in Baku. However, Gorbachev was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize on October 15 [1990], Hajiyev added. It is not too late to deprive Gorbachev of the Nobel Prize. The Soviet government wanted to break the will of the Azerbaijani people, but failed. Azerbaijan has gained independence, and we must preserve it. We are proud of our martyrs who gave their lives for Azerbaijans independence." Marriage Story, the latest critically acclaimed Hollywood offering on family life, garnered six Oscar nominations this week, one sign of its popularity in the industry. But as good as it is to watch in purely dramatic terms, the movie ends up painting a bleak, dispiriting, and unrepresentative portrait of marriage today, not only in the nation at large but even in Hollywood. The movie tells the story of a marriage between a New York director, the Adam Driver character, and a Los Angeles actress, the Scarlett Johansson character, unraveling over workfamily tensions Should we live in New York or LA? Does his career come first or does hers? and the kind of minor emotional drama that plays out in most marriages, with a young son caught up in the emotional and practical turmoil that unfolds as they end up in divorce court. So, basically, what we have here is a movie about a marriage coming apart for no good reason, literally in (West) Hollywood. The movie is but the latest offering in a long line of movies and shows from The Graduate to Friends to Single Parents from an industry that mostly shies away from depicting stably married families in a positive light, and spotlights, more often than not, the rise of diverse families that depart from the traditional intact-family model. Hollywoods offerings are also emblematic of the larger cultural and legal role that California has played in pioneering and amplifying particular cultural values e.g., from individual fulfillment to if-it-feels-good-do-it-ism to easy divorce that have undercut stable marriage across the nation. After all, no-fault divorce was invented by California, signed into law by Governor Ronald Reagan just over 50 years ago, before being exported across the United States, to the detriment of kids across America. The irony in all this, though, is that our new research indicates that the actual neighborhood that stands at the center of historic Hollywood, the Whitley Heights neighborhood just between the Hollywood sign and the Dolby Theatre, where the Oscars are held, has virtually no single parents amid the hundreds of families who make their home there. And it turns out that most of the best neighborhoods in the hills or along the beaches of Southern California from Pacific Palisades to Rancho Palos Verdes to Beverly Hills are dominated by two-parent families. These neighborhoods have fewer than 20 percent of children living in single-parent families, which makes them among the most stable in the state. Story continues They are also consistent with another major theme in our report: When it comes to family, California elites tend to talk left but live right. Of Californians ages 18 to 50, we find that college-educated Californians stand out for their more progressive views on family issues. The vast majority of Californians (85 percent) with a college or graduate degree agree that family diversity, where kids grow up in different kinds of families today, should be publicly celebrated, compared with 69 percent of Californians without a college education. But a clear majority of college-educated Californians, 68 percent, report that it is personally important to them to have their own kids in marriage, and 80 percent of them who are parents are in intact marriages, compared with just 60 percent of their peers in the state who dont have a college degree. So, California elites pair progressive family values with traditional family living including steering clear of divorce court. Why is it a big deal that so many of the producers, writers, professors, marketing executives, journalists, teachers, and other well-educated culture-shapers in the state personally tend to forge strong and stable marriages for themselves and their kids but do not lend support to a marriage-friendly ethic in public or even do the opposite in their professional roles? After all, their kids undoubtedly benefit from being raised in a stable, two-parent home being more likely to flourish in school, steer clear of trouble with the law, and end up as college graduates. And, because they are more likely to remain married, elite Golden State men and women are more likely to enjoy a good income and a substantial nest egg. No, the problem isnt that they themselves are forging stable marriages for the 21st century. The problem is that they are not generally producing films or teaching classes, writing stories, or crafting ads that reflect the improving realities of contemporary married life. How men and women like themselves are embracing particular values and virtues to build stable families for themselves and their kids today. How their child has a better shot at excelling in school and realizing the American Dream because they managed to keep it altogether. How marriage in America has stabilized, with the divorce rate falling to a 40-year low, which means that an ordinary couples risk of divorce today stands well below 50 percent, probably about 39 percent, and with the share of American kids being raised in intact, married families actually rising for the first time in years. This marriage story is almost entirely untold by Hollywood. Of course, there are exceptions that convey the new realities of contemporary married life in America the movie This Is 40 comes to mind, as does the show The Middle, cultural offerings focus on reasonably successful families in, respectively, upper-middle-class and working-class communities but Californias culture-shapers do not do nearly enough to spotlight the new family realities about marriage in America. This is especially problematic because their poor and working-class peers in California and around the nation are having a much tougher time of forging strong and stable marriages of their own. Partly for economic reasons, of course, but also because the popular culture in which they are immersed does not provide enough clear-eyed and compelling not to mention true messages about how good families work today. In fact, we find that Californian parents without college degrees who dont embrace marriage-friendly values are fully 22 percentage points less likely to be in intact marriages than are their less-educated peers in the Golden State who do. Its partly for this reason that the producers, writers, and directors who make their homes in places such as the Whitley Heights neighborhood in Hollywood need to tell a better family story. But its important also because so many Americans dont know the new truth about marriage: today most marriages are ending up happily ever after, even in Hollywood. In other words, give us less Marriage Story and more of The Middle. Bradford Wilcox, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, is a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Wendy Wang is the director of research at the Institute for Family Studies. They are the co-authors of the new Institute for Family Studies report State of Contradiction: Progressive Family Culture, Traditional Family Structure. More from National Review MP for North Leeward, Roland Patel Matthews has made the cause of traditional marijuana farmers, especially in North leeward, a person crusade. Roland Patel Matthews, Member of Parliament for the North Leeward constituency, is leveling claims of victimization and intimidation against marijuana farmers, by the police force and the government. According to Matthews, two men were recently arrested for marijuana cultivation in North Leeward, on a farm that was awaiting processing of its application (paid for) for a licence to become operators in the Medical Marijuana Industry here. The farmers concerned are also waiting for the Amnesty to tip in so that as traditional cultivators of marijuana, they would be able to make the transition without undue encumbrance. Matthews was livid when THE VINCENTIAN spoke with him. "There are other marijuana farms in the same vicinity and the police saw them but did not touch them, said the MP. And Matthews has another explanation for why action was taken against these two men in particular. He strongly believed that the action by the police to arrest the men was motivated or encouraged by others, because a family member of the owner of the farm had granted him (Matthews) permission to use his business place to hold a political meeting. "Here is why... I had a successful political meeting in Fitz Hughes last night (Jan 13)... the meeting was held at a private business owned by the son of the owner of the farm where the men were arrested; this is no coincidence, according to Matthews in a posting on his Facebook page. He told THE VINCENTIAN further the issue of licensing for marijuana farmers continues to be a frustrating process for the farmers. "The legislations have been passed since December of 2018 and so far, no farmer from North Leeward has a licence in their hands. They have been given the run around and so far, the farmers are yet to capitalize on the fact that we have passed laws to make marijuana cultivation for medicinal purposes legal, Matthews asserted. On the other hand, Matthews said, the government was collecting millions of dollars from an industry that has not yet given the local farmers the opportunity to benefit similarly. "In my opinion, this is unfair. The traditional farmers have carried this industry, though illegal at the time, on their backs literally for years, and now it is legal, they are not making any money. The farmers are very frustrated, and the government is all talk and no action, declared Matthews who is the Opposition Shadow Minister for Agriculture. THE VINCENTIAN understands that the two men who were arrested were released without charge. Political parties and civil society organisations of Mizoram on Friday welcomed the agreement that puts an end to the over two-decade-old Bru refugee crisis. Thousands of Bru community people have been living in relief camps in Tripura since 1997. They had fled their homeland Mizoram to reach the neighbouring state because of ethnic clashes. By now, the number of these internally displaced people has risen to over 30,000. Many Bru families have refused to return to Mizoram, citing security concerns and inadequate rehabilitation package. There has also been a demand for a separate autonomous council for the community. Following an agreement signed by representatives of the Brus, the central, Tripura and Mizoram governments in New Delhi on Thursday, these tribal people will permanently settle in Tripura. Political parties such as the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), Congress and the BJP, and civil society organisations like the Yong Mizo Association (YMA) and student bodies expressed happiness over the pact. "It is a matter of joy that a pact, which would finally resolve the Brus imbroglio, has been finally inked. We are highly indebted to Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Mizoram government for their outstanding effort in signing the historic agreement," YMA Central Committee general secretary Prof Lalnuntluanga said in a statement. One good thing about the pact is names of the Bru people would now be permanently deleted from the state's voter list, the YMA said. Hailing the agreement as "historic", the MNF expressed hope that the pact is materialized quickly. In a statement, the Congress said it had made earnest efforts during its regime in the state to repatriate the Bru people or allow them to permanently settle in Tripura. The party claimed that former chief minister Lal Thanhawla had proposed that those Bru people who are unwilling to return to Mizoram be allowed to live permanently in Tripura but it could not be materialised because of objections raised by the CPI(M)-led Left Front government. The state BJP said neither the Congress nor the MNF could resolve the crisis for more than 20 years. Welcoming the agreement, the state's apex student body, Mizo Zirlai Pawl, asked the state government to ensure that those Bru families who had repatriated to the state are treated well and benefited from development schemes. The agreement was signed one-and-a-half months after the latest initiative to send the Bru refugees back to Mizoram failed, as it was found that only 171 families of the targeted 4,447 returned to their homeland. The ninth round of repatriation began on October 3 and concluded on November 30. The Brus are staying in six camps at Kanchanpur and Panisagar sub-divisions of North Tripura district. They get free ration and a cash dole from the Centre. The vexed Bru issue started from September, 1997, following demands of a separate autonomous district council by carving out areas of western Mizoram adjoining Bangladesh and Tripura. The situation was aggravated by the murder of a forest guard in the Dampa Tiger Reserve in western Mizoram by Bru National Liberation Front insurgents on October 21 that year. The first attempt to repatriate the Brus from Tripura was made in November 2009. The Centre, along with the governments of Tripura and Mizoram, had been trying to repatriate them to their home state over the past one decade, with little success. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Island Government is a periodic roundup of Staten Island political and civic events.) Councilman Steven Matteo and Sundog artist Lina Montoya view the artwork with PS 39 students. (Courtesy/Lance J. Reha) CITY HALL -- Unlike other crowded 2021 citywide races, the upcoming race for the Islands next borough president only has one official candidate in the running to date: Minority Leader Steven Matteo. The Mid-Island Republican is the only candidate so far in the borough who has registered a committee with the State Board of Elections and raised money to replace Borough President James Oddo who will be term-limited out of his seat come 2021. According to candidates latest filings with the Campaign Finance Board, Matteo raised $156,162 -- the most money of all other candidates running for borough president in the other four boroughs. At least three others have either expressed their intent to run, filed a committee or are rumored to be running for borough president. However, they have yet to raise any campaign cash. Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore), registered a committee with the State Board of Elections in 2019 but has raised no campaign cash to date and has continuously declined to say what she plans to do once she is term-limited out of office in 2021. Rose has said she opened the committee mostly to explore her options post-City Council. "I'm not ready to disclose what my next move is, but my campaign committee is open and I hope to have some activity in the next reporting period, Rose said this week, noting that there is still a lot of time left to raise money. Ex-Staten Island Republican Party Chairwoman Leticia Remauro announced plans to run for borough president in 2018, but has yet to register a campaign committee nor raise any funds. Remauro said this week she plans to officially file to run sometime before the primary race in June, a race she said she is focused keeping it a Republican-controlled seat. I am focused on helping Nicole Malliotakis win back the congressional seat to return it to Republican control," Remauro said. Thats important for Staten Island this year. Thats where our focus should be, Remauro said. Democratic Assemblyman Michael Cusick is another rumored candidate who has his sights on Borough Hall. But Cusick did not respond to request for comment about his future plans. Matteo said: "We have been steadily fundraising and preparing for a run for borough president, and the money we have raised so far is an indication of the energy and widespread support we have been generating. Its humbling that so many people have not only reached into their pockets to donate their hard-earned money to our efforts, but have also put their names behind my campaign. I will continue to work hard to make sure their voices are heard and to do all I can to improve the lives of the residents of this borough that I love so much, he continued. Last year, current Borough President James Oddo ruled out another run for elected office when he announced he would not run for judge of Surrogates Court and instead remain at Borough Hall through his second term. The next race for borough president, mayor and other elected offices will be held in Nov. 2021. STATE GOP CHAIR BACKS MALLIOTAKIS, SLAMS MAX ROSE State Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy called freshman Rep. Max Rose the enemy of the president and democracy as he announced the state partys endorsement of the military veterans Republican rival Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis in the competitive congressional race. Max Rose is an enemy of the president and democracy. He lied to the people of the 11th congressional district and wasted no time joining the radical left in Washington whose socialist policies and obsessive hatred of President Trump are so extreme they are posing a danger to our nation, state GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy said. Max Rose needs to be fired, and Nicole Malliotakis is the no-nonsense leader who can send him packing, Langworthy continued. Langworthys jab at the centrist Democrat followed his warning last year that constituents would remember how Rose changed his position on supporting an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump after he said he was against impeachment in September. So far, Malliotakis has won the full support of the state and local Conservative parties as their nominee for Congress and was also recently unanimously endorsed by the Staten Island and Brooklyn Republican Executive Committees. Over the course of his first year in office, Congressman Max Rose has proven just how liberal he is; hes voted with Nancy Pelosi over 95% of the time and with Alexandria Ocasio Cortez over 90% of the time, Malliotakis said. Hes supported the impeachment of President Trump and worked with far-left Democrats to block the Presidents agenda time and again. Here in New York, Max Rose has supported Mayor de Blasios ill-conceived plan to close Rikers Island and Governor Cuomos insane bail reform law that puts dangerous criminals back on the street instead of behind bars in a jail cell. Chairman Langworthy is right, Max Rose needs to be sent packing." Rose shot back at Langworthys and Malliotakis attack. Nicole never put on the uniform so maybe she doesnt understand that when you go to war, you go with Democrats, Republicans and Americans of every background and creed. Disagreeing doesnt make you an enemy of America, its proof of how great this country truly is. If Nicole doesn't understand that, she doesnt deserve to represent the proud patriots who make up this district, Rose said. MAX ROSE, FELLOW FRESHMAN DEMOCRATS LAUNCH ANTI-CORRUPTION CAUCUS Island Rep. Max Rose and Katie Porter (CA-45) launched the end Citizens United Action Fund congressional caucus this week. The caucus will support legislative items to keep dark money, corporate PACs, and special interests out of our government. Starting from Day 1, weve been focused on sending a clear, unmistakable message to the American people: That we are here to fight for them and only them not the special interests and corporate PACs, said Rose. Im proud to bring together so many of my colleagues with Congresswoman Katie Porter to form End Corruption, because from fighting to ban corporate PACs, close lobbyist loopholes, increase transparency and kick the special interests out of the halls of Congress, we wont stop in our efforts to put government back on the side of working people. Great emotion and participation in the funeral. Moments of tension when the relatives of one victim ripped the flag from the coffin. 123 of the 176 passengers on board identified. Police and security forces patrol universities. IMF: if sanctions continue, unemployment will exceed 20% and the economy will drop by 7.2%. Tehran (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Iranians have begun to bury the victims of the Ukrainian airliner, shot down by the Iranian army over the skies of Tehran in the frantic night of attacks against US targets in Iraq. The incident triggered street protests which continued for five consecutive days - in the capital and in the main centers of the country, forcibly repressed (with bullets according to unconfirmed reports) by the security forces. The funerals saw mass participation and moments of tension. In a video posted online, the relatives of one of the victims are seen removing the Iranian flag from the coffin where the body was laid and the mother repeatedly screaming "Take it off", indicating the national flag. According to reports from the Ilna agency, the head of forensic medicine recognized the identities of 123 of the 176 total victims. Some of the bodies have been buried in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, south of Tehran, while others will be transferred abroad. Several universities in Canada (nationalities of 63 of the 176 people on board) held a prayer vigil and one minute of silence for the victims, many of whom were students, teachers and researchers from 19 universities in the country. The aircraft crashed on the night of maximum tension (January 8) between the Islamic Republic and the United States, when Tehran launched a missile attack against US targets in Iraq in response to the killing of General Qasem Soleimani, head of the Qods Force. Yesterday social media re-launched the invitation to new protests across the country, however there were no mass demonstrations on the streets as in the previous days. On the other hand, riot police patrolled the external areas of the most important universities in the capital, the heart of the protest. Meanwhile, the effects of US sanctions against Iran are beginning to bite. US President Donald Trump re-introduced the measures in the aftermath of the withdrawal from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and the introduction of a "maximum pressure" policy towards Tehran. The Iranian economy is traveling faster and further towards recession in this fiscal year and foreign reserves could drop to $ 73 billion by March, with a loss of at least $ 40 billion in two years. The economy contracted by 4.6% in the 2018-2019 fiscal year and a further contraction to 7.2% is expected for this year. Last week, the White House introduced further sanctions against 17 metal producers and mining companies in response to the attack on US troops in Iraq. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stresses that if the United States maintains the sanctions "after two years of deep recession, growth will remain contained in the medium term, unemployment will grow over 20% and reserves will drop to 20 billion in 2023". On the other hand, if the US were to ease the sanctions, according to the IMF, growth could exceed 6% per annum, foreign reserves would reach 143 billion and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will double to 639 billion by March 2024. WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday broke nearly 72 hours of silence over alleged surveillance and threats to the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, saying he believed the allegations would prove to be wrong but that he had an obligation to evaluate and investigate the matter. In interviews with conservative radio hosts, Pompeo said he had no knowledge of the allegations until earlier this week when congressional Democrats released documents from an associate of President Donald Trumps personal attorney suggesting that Marie Yovanovitch was being watched. He also said he did not know and had never met Lev Parnas, the associate of Rudy Giuliani who made the claims. Pompeo, who was travelling in California when the documents were released, had been harshly criticized by lawmakers and current and former diplomats for not addressing the matter. The documents provided by Parnas suggested there may have been a threat to Yovanovitch shortly before she was abruptly recalled last spring. We will do everything we need to do to evaluate whether there was something that took place there, he said in a radio interview with Tony Katz, an Indianapolis-based broadcaster. I suspect that much of whats been reported will ultimately prove wrong, but our obligation, my obligation as secretary of state, is to make sure that we evaluate, investigate. Any time there is someone who posits that there may have been a risk to one of our officers, well obviously do that. It is always the case at the Department of State that we do everything we can to ensure that our officers, not only our ambassadors but our entire team, has the security level thats appropriate, Pompeo said. We do our best to make sure that no harm will come to anyone, whether that was what was going on in our embassy in Baghdad last week or the work that was going on in Kyiv up and through the spring of last year when Ambassador Yovanovitch was there, and in our embassy in Kyiv even today, he said. Pompeo made similar but less specific comments to conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt. Until he spoke, the State Department had declined repeated requests to offer any public defence of Yovanovitch, drawing fire from many. House Democrats on Friday evening released a new batch of messages from Parnas that added to the questions about the ambassadors security. In them, an unidentified individual with a Belgian country code appears to describe Yovanovitchs movements. Nothing has changed she is still not moving checked today again, the individual wrote in one message, later adding, its confirmed we have a person inside. In another message the person wrote, She had visitors. The ouster of Yovanovitch as ambassador is central to the impeachment inquiry into Trump, who faces a charge that he abused his presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using military aid to the country as leverage. Trump says the inquiry is a hoax. At the time, Trumps allies were trying to have Yovanovitch, who was seen as a roadblock to a Biden investigation, removed from her post. She was recalled in late May ahead of the end of her tour. Yovanovitch returned to Washington after being told in a late-night phone call to get on the next plane home for her own safety by the director general of the Foreign Service, according to witness testimony in the impeachment inquiry. The nature of any possible threat was not specified and remains unclear, although the Parnas documents suggest the surveillance was a prelude to some kind of action. In a partnership that seems like it's completely out of left field, Priyanka Chopra has teamed up with Crocs for a very good reason. The actor and the much-maligned shoe, popular with chefs, nurses, dads, and kids at water parks, have come together to donate 50,000 pairs of Crocs Classic clogs to children in Belize. Chopra, who's been a UNICEF ambassador for more than 10 years, says that she's a die-hard Crocs fan and that she would even go as far as wearing the shoes on the red carpet. As the new face of the brand, she's hoping to help kids everywhere get a pair of shoes. Steve Granitz/Getty Images RELATED: Priyanka Chopra Found the Ultimate Naked Dress "The relationship sort of happened very organically, I have to say. I have been a fan and a user of Crocs for a very, very long time ... [and have been] working with UNICEF for a really long time," she told Elle. "So, I remember I was doing a UNICEF trip one time, and I saw all of these kids with no shoes or rundown shoes. And I remember saying at that point that I wear Crocs so often, that Crocs would be a better shoe that would last, look good; kids would have comfort." "And that conversation started with Crocs. And we partnered with UNICEF and Crocs, and delivered about 50,000 shoes to kids in need [in Belize]," she added. "We decided to come together for this campaign because again the campaign is very organic to me." Story continues Chopra goes on to say that she's worn Crocs with everything, including skirts, and that the shoes are great for every day, since it's more common for her to be running around than actually strutting down a red carpet. But, she adds, it's not completely out of the question. RELATED: Get Ready for a Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas Wedding Competition Show "If I were to wear Crocs on a red carpet, I would wear the Crocs sandal because it has a heel. And I would wear that with a dress that had a slit, so that you can see one side of the leg and it would add length to it," she said. "I would probably choose a black pair, and have like a really cool pedicure as well, with the slide, so the leg would look really amazing. I think you made me just make up my own red carpet Crocs from it." And as the ultimate style move, she's also gotten her husband, Nick Jonas to slip into a pair. "He's worn Crocs. He wore them at a holiday [trip] we were recently," she said. NORRISTOWN A jury determined a Philadelphia man intended to kill his ex-girlfriend outside her Whitemarsh workplace when he stabbed her and then repeatedly ran over her with his three-ton vehicle, crushing her to death. Lawrence Maurice Crawley, 34, showed no reaction on Thursday as a Montgomery County jury convicted him of first-degree murder, an intentional killing, in connection with the 2:25 a.m. Aug. 3, 2018, attack of his ex-girlfriend Angela Maya Stith while she was on a workplace break outside Vector Security along the 5100 block of Campus Drive. The attack occurred several days after Stith, a 33-year-old mother of three, ended her relationship with Crawley, prosecutors alleged. This case was one of the worst that I have ever seen. This is the face of domestic violence, said county District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, referring to Crawley. It was difficult for a jury to listen to. I thank the jurors for their heroic work because this man needs to spend the rest of his life in prison. Relatives of Stith wept and hugged each other as they left the courtroom after the verdict was announced. The jury of nine men and three women deliberated about two hours before reaching the verdict after a four-day trial before Judge Thomas C. Branca. With its verdict, the jury rejected a defense argument that Crawley committed third-degree murder, a rage or heat of the moment killing that was not intentional. Crawley, of the 800 block of North 13th Street, Philadelphia, also was convicted of charges of possessing instruments of crime, making false statements on federal firearms documents and unsworn falsification to authorities. Crawley faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment on the first-degree murder charge. Branca set formal sentencing for April 3. Hell spend the rest of his life in jail. He earned that, said Steele, vowing to seek additional prison time, over and above the life term, against Crawley on the other charges of which he was convicted. Every day that we can get on this defendant will be deserved. Imposing additional prison time essentially would make it more difficult for Crawley to ever have the life sentence commuted by a future governor. This is probably the most heinous murder that we have seen, said co-prosecutor Allison Ruth, who argued the killing was premediated and deliberate. The intent in this case, it was overwhelming. Crawley did not answer reporters questions as he was escorted from the courtroom by sheriffs deputies. He will remain in the county jail while awaiting sentencing. During the trial, prosecutors showed the jury disturbing video surveillance footage from Vector Security that recorded the entire attack. Jurors also heard the chilling 911 call from one of Stiths coworkers who witnessed the attack and frantically tried to come to her aid. The video surveillance showed Stith, of Philadelphia, exiting a rear door of the business where she worked as a dispatch operator about 2:13 a.m. and walking to her parked Toyota sedan during a workplace break. Several minutes later, the video surveillance depicted Crawley chasing Stith on the parking lot. Steele and Ruth argued Crawley lay in wait for Stith and intended to kill her when he stabbed her four times and then ran over her with his vehicle multiple times. When this man lost control over Maya he made the decision that if he couldnt have her, no one could. Then he acted on that, Steele argued during his closing statement to jurors. Steele and Ruth said the final plunge of the knife was so forceful that the handle broke off and the blade remained in Stiths back. Crawley, prosecutors alleged, then got into his vehicle and floored it, running over Stith, crushing her ankle, her ribs, her femur, her tibia and her skull, adding Stiths organs were minced together from being run over so many times. He turned a three-ton vehicle into a deadly weapon, Steele said. Steele and Ruth argued Crawley committed first-degree murder, an intentional killing, which carries the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. But defense lawyer Carrie L. Allman suggested the incident was more akin to a rage or heat of the moment killing and was not intentional. Allman suggested Crawley committed a lesser degree of homicide. Its a third-degree murder, thats what this is. That is a rage. That is malicious. It is not a specific intent. It is rage and hurt and anger and broken heart, Allman argued during her closing statement, suggesting the killing was not planned or deliberate. This is out of control behavior. A conviction of third-degree murder, a killing with malice, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison. An autopsy determined Stith died from combined blunt and sharp force injuries. Testimony revealed that on July 27, Stith sent Crawley a text message telling him, Leave me alone. Stop contacting me. Stay away from me. Prosecutors alleged that on Aug. 2, about 12 hours before the fatal attack, Crawley tried to purchase a firearm at a Philadelphia gun shop. However, he was turned down when a records check showed he was convicted on July 18 of a misdemeanor charge of simple assault in connection with a May 23 domestic incident following an assault of Stith in Montour County. Crawley was accused of lying about the conviction when he filled out the paperwork to purchase a gun. Testimony also revealed that while he was at the gun store Crawley posted a note on Facebook which read, Ill try to do something that puts me at peace. Steele argued the attempted gun purchase and Facebook post were additional evidence of Crawleys intent to kill Stith. After the attack, Crawley fled the scene in his vehicle and was spotted several hours later by state police traveling on the westbound Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County. As troopers followed the vehicle, Crawley sliced his wrist and used gasoline to set himself on fire before crashing inside the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel of the turnpike. Troopers testified that when Crawley was removed from his vehicle he uttered, The voices, the voices in my head made me kill her. Crawley survived and spent weeks in a western Pennsylvania hospital being treated for severe burns to his face, arms and hands. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 16:30:40|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close XIAMEN, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- To address the problem of insufficient capacity due to its grounding of Boeing 737MAX aircraft, Xiamen Airlines has planned to introduce 10 new A321neo aircraft, scheduled to be delivered from the second half of 2021 to 2023 by operating lease. The airline company said on its website that it is currently inviting leasing companies for inquiries. It also listed basic requirements for qualified lessors, including their proposal and an audited financial report for the most recent year. The net worth of potential lessors shall be no less than 50 million U.S. dollars, the website notice said. Xiamen Airlines is operating a fleet of 167 Boeing aircraft. According to a previous plan, the company planned to introduce 30 Boeing 737 MAX8s and 10 Boeing 737 MAX10s. In 2019, Xiamen Airlines introduced one Boeing aircraft. However, it grounded 10 Boeing 737 MAXs starting March 2019 following the plane crash in Ethiopia. Representatives of Xiamen Airlines were invited to pay a visit to Airbus in October, but no orders were placed during the visit, said a source of Xiamen Airlines. Xiamen Airlines, established in 1984 and based in Xiamen, a coastal city in east China's Fujian Province, operates a network of nearly 400 domestic and international air routes. An arrest warrant has been issued for a former Olmsted County employee who failed to appear at a sentencing hearing earlier this month on three charges of identity theft. Kanong Alsen Vang, 31, pleaded guilty in November in Olmsted County District Court to three felony counts of identity theft. The three charges are in three cases. Vang was facing charges in a total of five cases. All of those cases involved allegations of identity theft. She was employed with the countys Human Resources Department from February 2016 to Oct. 16, 2018. She was scheduled to be sentenced on the charges on Jan. 6 but failed to appear in court. In December, Vang filed a motion with the court through her attorney for permission to leave the state for the month. The letter said that Vang wanted to go to California as she had an opportunity to make money working on a vegetable farm that she could put toward restitution in the court matters, the letter read. "A central issue in this case is restitution. Part of the plea agreement concerns the state asking for less jail time if a particular portion of restitution is paid on the day of sentencing," the letter reads. ADVERTISEMENT The Olmsted County Attorney's Office objected to the request, saying that Vang's crimes were "all crimes of dishonesty involving her former employment with the Olmsted County Human Resources Department." "The State finds it suspect that these cases have been pending for 11 months, and Ms. Vang is just now attempting to secure substantial employment," the county attorney's office wrote. "The state also finds it suspect that this temporary employment is so short in duration, less than two weeks." Vang's request was granted by Judge Pamela King on Dec. 9. The plea agreement presented to the court in November indicated that two of the five cases were likely to be dismissed, and that Vang may receive a stay of imposition of the sentence and be ordered to pay restitution to Mayo Credit Union and Wells Fargo. She may also be ordered to pay restitution directly to at least three alleged victims. A 120-day jail sentence may also be ordered as well as up to five years of probation, according to court records. On Tuesday, the Olmsted County Attorney's Office filed a motion to withdraw from its plea agreement with Vang, specifically the 120 day jail cap that was proposed in the agreement. University Health System is leading the region in developing a mobile wayfinding platform to improve overall access to healthcare for patients. Digital transformation in healthcare has arrived, and University Health System is leading the region in developing a mobile platform that will improve overall access to healthcare for our patients, Selene Mejia, University Health System digital marketing manager. University Health System has selected Atlanta-based Gozio Health to develop the systems interactive mobile wayfinding platform. The hospital-branded mobile wayfinding and patient engagement platform will provide intuitive, turn-by-turn indoor navigation at University Hospital and its parking garage, with additional access to 28 satellite clinics and urgent care centers. The wayfinding platform will cover more than 3 million square feet of navigation. The interactive digital platform will also give patients and visitors immediate access to physician directories, electronic medical records, and locations of cafes, pharmacies and the closest restrooms on their smartphones. Digital transformation in healthcare has arrived, and University Health System is leading the region in developing a mobile platform that will improve overall access to healthcare for our patients, said Selene Mejia, University Health System digital marketing manager. Not only will our mobile wayfinding platform direct patients to their exact appointment location, it will make it very convenient for patients to schedule an appointment or view health records through the app. Statistics based on adult, university and childrens hospital systems show that once a Gozio mobile wayfinding app is installed to navigate to a destination within the hospital system, more than 85 percent of users return to the app to schedule appointments, access medical records, search physician directories and view hospital amenities. For hospitals to remain competitive, they must provide patients with a digital platform that features location-based services, appointment scheduling, and access to their patient portal from their smartphone, said Joshua Titus, CEO and Founder Gozio Health. We welcome the opportunity to work with University Health System and support their commitment to innovation in patient experience. Gozio Health Gozio Health transforms indoor navigation and significantly improves patient experience with an experiential wayfinding platform specifically designed for hospitals and healthcare systems. Gozios platform optimizes the patient journey beyond wayfinding with API integrations of electronic health records, urgent care and emergency department wait times, Save My Spot scheduling for urgent care, virtual visits, and more. For more information, visit http://www.goziohealth.com or find Gozio Health on Twitter and LinkedIn. University Health System University Health System is a nationally recognized teaching hospital and comprehensive network of outpatient healthcare centers throughout San Antonio, Texas, and is the regions only civilian Level 1 trauma center. University Health System is owned by the people of Bexar County and partnered with UT Health San Antonio, making it South Texas only academic medical center. It's a wonderful way to process and preserve the experience of foreign travel. Keeping a travel journal is one of the best ways to keep the memory of a trip alive. There's nothing like going back and reading your own words describing a day in a foreign country to make you realize how easy it is to forget little details. I think of my travel journals as extending and preserving my trips and squeezing more value out of them. For people unaccustomed to writing on a daily basis (or for people like myself who write professionally all day long and feel little desire to continue doing it after-hours), keeping a travel journal doesn't have to be hard. It requires only a small effort. I usually set aside 15-20 minutes at night before going to sleep, which forces me to be concise and efficient. I like to use an old-fashioned notebook and pen because it contrasts with the hours I spend writing on a computer and makes the journalling experience more special. Plus, I trust it to last longer than computer-based documents and will never go obsolete. To prove this point, I received a bag of old travel journals from my recently deceased grandmother's home, describing a year of camping around Europe and the Middle East in the 1970s and her life on the island of Crete for three years. They're perfectly legible and I love seeing her handwriting again. My grandmother's journals. K Martinko When keeping a travel journey, I recommend focusing on the highlights of each day, rather than doing an hour-by-hour description, which gets tedious for any writer. Ask yourself what made you smile, laugh, or cry if you overheard funny phrases or words, what signs had been mistranslated, what you ate or smelled in the air, how a quirky character was dressed, what the locals were doing. I like to pop in small history lessons for context, the ages of monuments, any local legends or sayings that might entertain your future self. On a recent trip through Sri Lanka, I committed to a nightly scribble, but only about two pages of my Midori Traveller's Notebook. That was enough to record an overview of the day, with sufficient detail to spark further memories and writing material down the road, if needed. Sometimes I reminded myself in brackets to look at a specific photo or Instagram post, in case I needed a visual reference. I also let grammatical perfection slip, using incomplete sentences, sometimes with bullet points. For example: Dec. 9/19 "Negombo fish market at crack of dawn. Well, only 6 AM, which is early enough to catch the tail end. Apparently the market starts at 3:30 every day except Sunday. A riotous scene of blood and guts, glistening sides of fish, the reek of sea creatures and muddy ocean, auctioneers shouting, birds crying. Lots of yellowfin tuna with bright yellow fins sticking out of their bodies like pieces of Post-It notes. Some weighed 100 kgs. Sharks, too, small ones. I watched a guy cut off the fins, toss it in a pile, felt the guts splatter on my leg. It was surreal to watch something that I've read and written about, yet never witnessed. I am totally opposed to shark finning, and yet it seemed a natural part of life here." I could've written lots more about the market, of course, but the tuna and sharks made the biggest impression on me, so that's what I focused on. While I recommend paper journals for daily writing, it doesn't hurt to have a multi-media approach. On the bus in Sri Lanka, it was too bumpy to write by hand, so I used my phone to take notes as thoughts or observations occurred. This turned out to be a rich store of random information that might appear like gibberish to anyone else, but makes perfect sense to me, and could possibly get turned into future writing projects. For example: - Public bus ride, karaoke lights, Bollywood music blasting - Guy cutting grass with machete - Signs for 'Jesus Miraculous Church' and 'Do Not Seat Here' - Bakery cart plays same song as my childhood Playmobil toy - Dogs asleep on road in early morning because they like the warmth, can't lie down in wet grass - P. says, "Tuk-tuks must be named after the sound they make going up a hill." - Spice market guide: "Red bananas are an aphrodisiac. Why do you think Sri Lankans are always smiling?" - Palm trees riddled with bullet holes Some travelers recommend carrying a glue stick, so you can add ticket stubs and other bits of paper to each day's entry, making a sort of scrapbook. Or you can follow prompts such as, "Which souvenirs do you wish you could've brought home?" and "What world events took place while you were away?" Writing down street names, describing any holidays or special events you witnessed (e.g. No alcohol is sold in all of Sri Lanka when there's a full moon), and listing unusual items found in a grocery store are other fun ways to get your creative juices flowing. Keeping a travel journey should be fun, but you do need to commit to doing it daily. You'll find that the end result is well worth the effort; it becomes a treasured possession, something that will be appreciated down the road if not by you, then perhaps your grandchildren. A Wisconsin man who has been arrested on drug trafficking charges along with his girlfriend has admitted to mixing his deceased mother's ashes into marijuana and 'ingesting' the concoction. Austin Schroeder, 26, and Kaitlin Geiger, 21, were arrested in their Menomonee apartment on January 10 on counts of manufacturing, possession and distribution of THC and other controlled substances, as well as maintaining a drug trafficking place and possession of drug paraphernalia. According to police, they were tipped off last month about a drug deal that took place in November involving Schroeder and his girlfriend of four years. Austin Schroeder, 26 (left), and his girlfriend, Kaitlin Geiger, 21 (right), were arrested in Wisconsin last week on counts of manufacturing, possession and distribution of THC, which the man allegedly 'cut' with his mother's ashes and ingested The pair are suspected of operating a drug den out of their Menomonee, Wisconsin, apartment, and selling controlled substances to friends and undercover cops The informant told investigators that they had seen several pounds of marijuana, THC edibles and a pipe used for smoking methamphetamine at Geiger and Schroeder's apartment, and were able to buy illegal drugs there, according to documents cited by Fox 6 Now. As part of the investigation, police arranged drug buys from the suspects using confidential informants between January 6-8. On January 10, the Waukesha County Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Group executed a search warrant at the couple's home and seized suspected drugs, including dried poppy pods and MDMA, and paraphernalia. They also found three safes in Schroder's room, which contained unknown powders and vegetable-like substances, as well as a large amount of gold and platinum, according to police. During an interview with detectives, Schroeder allegedly admitted to adding the cremains of his mother, who passed away last November, into a variety of substances, some of which he 'ingested.' Schroeder claimed he bought various substances legally and traveled across state lines to purchase THC-infused gummies. Geiger told police her boyfriend cooked drugs on the stove and had gold and platinum in his safe The 26-year-old told detectives that he legally purchased large amounts of unknown powders and marijuana-like vegetable material, which he said he thought was a CBD flower that was legal. He also admitted to travelling across state lines to Illinois and Michigan to buy THC-infused gummies and marijuana. Under questioning, Geiger told police that Schroeder cooked up drugs using chemicals in a pot on the stove in their apartment, and that her friends would come over and buy drugs from him. She also claimed that her boyfriend had purchased the gold and platinum during a 2017 trip to Germany. The pair made their initial court appearances on Tuesday. They are due back in court on January 28. Now the story has become national news , and it's a perfect example of the kind of easy-to-understand and emotionally charged issue that can become a major factor in a national election. Making matters worse, some of the repeat offenders have been arrested for committing acts of anti-semitic assault and harassment just as New York is seeing a disturbing spike in those crimes. In what's becoming an almost hourly stream of depressing updates, New York's newspapers, local TV news shows, and news sites are posting story after story about violent crimes being committed by people instantly released after arrests because of bail reform. Less than three weeks after the law went into effect, it sure looks like the naysayers were right. But critics of the law have been warning for months that eliminating bail was sure to put too many criminals with violent tendencies back on streets, even if they weren't currently under arrest for very violent crimes. That issue is the controversial bail reform law pushed through the New York State legislature by Governor Andrew Cuomo late last year. The law eliminates cash bail on the argument that cash bail discriminates against poorer defendants. A story that's beginning to boil over in New York is about to become a major issue in the 2020 election. Crime stories also have a rare ability to energize otherwise non-politically active Americans. Ask anyone who lived through the urban crime waves of the late 1960s through the 1980s to confirm that. In case you need to be convinced how big a political issue this could become, remember that violent crime stories are visceral in many ways. They often involve life and death, and can be easily painted in terms of "good guys" and "bad guys" with very little gray areas in between. Crime stories also have a rare ability to energize otherwise non-politically active Americans. Ask anyone who lived through the urban crime waves of the late 1960s through the 1980s to confirm that. If all of this sounds like something tailor-made for President Trump to take advantage of, you're right. While he hasn't commented on any of the crimes committed by any of the released offenders this year, he did preview the situation in a tweet last November: Trump tweet Remember that Trump has already made a wedge issue out of sanctuary city policies and crimes committed by illegal immigrants. His decision to pinpoint those issues as a candidate helped him win over Republican voters in the 2016 primaries. But Trump could find even more bipartisan support by highlighting these no bail-related crime stories, which are already affecting Democratic elected leaders and their voters. That's even true for New York's Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was most responsible for the bail reform bill passing last year. He stated earlier this week that he thinks some changes should be made to the law. But he didn't say how or when. On the much more urgent side of that fence are six Democratic state senators from suburban Long Island, who now say they've made changing the bail reform laws their top legislative priority for the upcoming session. That's a dramatic about-face for a party that celebrated the bail reform law it passed just 10 months ago as a paragon of economic and racial equality. It would be a wise move for the Democratic Party's national leaders to take a cue from those Long Island state senators. We're just a Trump tweet away from New York's bail problem from becoming something the entire party and its remaining presidential candidates will have to bear. The good news for the Democratic presidential candidates is that none of them can be personally connected to the bail reform law the way the George H.W. Bush campaign successfully saddled then-Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis with prison furlough programs in the infamous Willie Horton ad. But the danger to the party as a whole is real. This is an issue that's resonating in the suburbs, where polls show Trump's support has been weakening. The even better news is that some Democrats running could take almost as much advantage of this issue as Trump. That is, if they want to stand out from the still-crowded primary field. If Joe Biden resumes his push to present himself as the more moderate candidate, these crimes in New York would be a perfect trend for him to decry publicly. Strongly criticizing the no bail law would also be a perfect stance for Mike Bloomberg to take based on his strong anti-crime track record as New York City's former mayor. Of course it won't be that easy. The Democratic presidential candidates on the campaign trail have so far mirrored the overall leftward shift of the party. That includes Bloomberg, who previewed his official entry into the presidential race by apologizing for the NYPD's "Stop and Frisk" policy that left wing groups strongly opposed during his time in office. In the American election game, it comes down to which candidate is the most persuasive. Right now, this bail issue is a perfect "jump ball" opportunity for any of the remaining presidential candidates to prove just how persuasive they can be. It's likely that Trump and at least one of the Democrats running will grab hold of this issue. The only question is who will do it first. Jake Novak is a political and economic analyst at Jake Novak News and former CNBC TV producer. You can follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny. Kansas City Relaxed Chase Slow-speed chase along Independence Avenue in Northeast Kansas City Thursday morning, multiple law enforcement agencies pursued the driver of a vehicle in a slow-speed chase. Police followed the vehicle through Northeast Kansas City, Sugar Creek, Independence, and then circled back into the Northeast. The driver was finally apprehended on Independence Avenue near Columbus Park neighborhood. Vape Crackdown Underway Kansas attorney general proposing legislation to ban vaping inside public places KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Vaping inside many Lee's Summit public places is now banned. This month, the city council added e-cigarettes to the existing Clean Indoor Air Act, which prohibits smoking indoors. And now, the entire state of Kansas could follow suit. Domestic Drama Postscript Overland Park man charged with murder in sister's killing KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An Overland Park man was charged Thursday in the slaying of his sister, who was found dead earlier this week in what police described as a domestic situation. Parker John Mays, 27, was charged in Johnson County District Court with premeditated first-degree murder, District Attorney Steve Howe said Thursday. Youngster Innocent After JoCo Homicide Charges Jury says 13-year-old charged with murder of 14-year-old in Olathe is not guilty OLATHE, Kan. -- Johnson County's district attorney said Thursday that a jury found a 13-year-old not guilty of second-degree murder of another teen in Johnson County. Zavier Mendoza, 14, was murdered at a townhome near South Constance Street, not far from South Black Bob Road and 125th Street on Thursday, Aug.8, 2019 around 2:17 a.m. NextGen Hacker Tactics Confront Missouri Criminals are using 'Frankenstein identities' to steal from banks and credit unions It started out like any other online loan. Notre Dame Federal Credit Union reviewed the application. It did the necessary background checks, and authenticated the applicant's credit score and background. But it wasn't until a group of borrowers in Missouri abruptly stopped making payments that the South Bend, Indiana-based lender smelled trouble. Rural End Game Jackson County Sheriff investigating after body fond near US Hwy. 24, Shoshone Drive Twitter: @sheriffforte SOURCE: Twitter: @sheriffforte The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is investigating after a body was found in far eastern Independence.Sheriff Darryl Forte tweeted Thursday afternoon that a person's body was found off of Shoshone Drive , which is off of U.S. 24 Highway in the Fort Osage area of Independence. Permanent Porch Piracy Police search for thieves who pose as Amazon drivers, steal packages OLATHE, KS - Olathe and Overland Park police are looking for individuals posing as Amazon drivers and stealing packages off of porches, instead of delivering them. https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/police-search-for-thieves-who-pose-as-amazon-drivers-steal-packages Lots of news links and items related to police action, court cases and all manner of ALLEGED misdeeds from around the metro. Take a look at the latest:Developing . . . WASHINGTON - Selfies on a Women for Trump bus tour through Iowa. Volunteer training at a Black Voices for Trump organizing session in Philadelphia. A vice-presidential headliner at a Latinos for Trump event in Florida. President Donald Trumps surrogates fanned out across the country Thursday in a show of force that is part of an aggressive and uphill effort to stretch his appeal beyond the base of working-class white voters who propelled him to victory in 2016. With a recognition that Trump will need to turn out new voters in November to be reelected, his campaign has dramatically stepped up outreach efforts to various constituencies, including African Americans, Hispanics and women, building a coalition operation that officials believe is the most robust of any Republican campaign in history. The outreach marks a dramatic departure from 2016, when Trumps volunteer National Diversity Coalition struggled to make an impact. Theres no comparison between 2016 and now, said Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh of the effort. He described the outreach effort as a significant department unto itself, complete with dedicated staff, resources and a budget that is expected to reach tens of millions of dollars. These are all well-financed, well-organized coalitions intended to reach out to the voters that theyre targeting. And we know that no Republican campaign or president has ever had as muscular a coalitions outreach, he said. The operation was in full force Thursday when the presidents daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, senior campaign adviser Mercedes Schlapp and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany began a two-day Women for Trump bus tour through Iowa aimed at engaging women with training sessions, round tables and panel discussions. The tour comes less than three weeks before Democrats will begin to cast their first nominating ballots in the states kickoff caucuses. Meanwhile, in mustwin Florida, Vice-President Mike Pence headlined a Latinos for Trump event in Kissimmee at Nacion de Fe, an evangelical church with a mostly Latino congregation as part of his own bus tour. Were going to get four more years and Latinos for Trump are going to lead the way, he told the about 400 people in attendance, emphasizing the countrys low Hispanic unemployment rate and the administrations anti-abortion stance. Around the same time in battleground Pennsylvania, a few dozen people filled the pews of First Immanuel Baptist Church in Philadelphia for a Black Voices for Trump discussion focused on Trumps impact on the African American community ahead of a volunteer training session. The churchs pastor opened with a call to make Pennsylvania great again. The flurry of activity, long before Democrats have settled on their nominee, underscores just how dramatically different Trumps campaign is this time around. While much of Washington has been focused on the upcoming Senate impeachment trial and the ongoing contest between Democrats, the presidents campaign has been on the ground, trying to make the case to voters who may have passed on Trump in 2016. There is plenty of room for improvement. Trump won just 6% of black voters last time, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of people who participated in its polls and were confirmed to have voted. And polling shows that African Americans continue to be overwhelmingly negative in their assessments of the presidents performance, with his approval hovering around 1 in 10 over the course of his presidency, according to Gallup. He also lost by wide margins among Hispanics and women, who continue to lag behind men in their support for the president. Nonetheless, Trump allies insist that the presidents support has grown since 2016 in ways that arent reflected in traditional polling. I believe that you cannot look at these polls as an indicator because theyre missing people, said Paris Dennard, a member of the campaigns black outreach coalition who led Thursdays Black Voices for Trump discussion at the Philadelphia church. I think theres a movement going on, he said. While critics have accused the president of being racist and not caring about black communities, Dennard pointed to the campaigns significant investment in his coalition beginning with its kickoff event in Atlanta in November, which was attended by the president, vice-president, the secretary of housing and urban development and other senior officials as a testament to the commitment the president has made. Indeed, the campaign has already spent more than $1 million on black outreach, including radio, print and online advertising in dozens of markets since the coalitions launch to help Trump build support in a community that has long leaned overwhelmingly Democratic, the campaign said. While Trumps message to black voters in 2016 boiled down to the question: What have you got to lose? supporters now say they have a record to point to, including the low black unemployment rate, investments in historically black colleges and universities, and criminal justice reform in the form of the bipartisan First Step Act Trump signed into law. And the campaign insists its working. Hes expanding his pool of voters, without question, said Murtaugh. We see movement already. In addition to its outreach to Hispanics, African Americans and women, the campaign has also launched groups focused on veterans and evangelical voters two groups where support for Trump is strong. On Thursday, his administration took a series of steps aimed at maintaining his standing among white evangelical Christians, with Trump reaffirming students rights to pray in public schools and nine Cabinet agencies acting to remove regulatory burdens placed on religious organizations participating in federal programs. We will not let anyone push god from the public square, Trump said at an Oval Office event with school prayer advocates. We will uphold religious liberty for all. Jacob Frost, 21, who drove two hours to Kissimmee, Florida, to see Pence speak after being turned away from an crowded afternoon rally in Tampa, said he couldnt resist being part of history and seeing the vice-president speak the same day that the House formally delivered its impeachment articles the Senate. The pro-choice stance really turns me off from the Democrats, he said About 8 in 10 self-identified white evangelical protestants approved of Trumps performance as president, according to AP-NORC polling last month. ___ Associated Press writers Tamara Lush in Kissimmee and Elana Schor in Philadelphia contributed to this report. ___ Follow Colvin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/colvinj ___ Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game. About two-thirds of the way through the documentary Cunningham, Merce Cunninghams close-knit, bohemian company is forced to grow up. Theyve toured the world and are finally getting some respect. The year is 1966. The choreographer, some of his dancers and administrators sit in a boardroom where everyone looks bored to tears, although someone obviously had the presence of mind to film the meeting. Stabilizing the company financially was a pivot point; from that moment on, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company would operate as a nonprofit business, not just a labor of love. This is one of few scenes in Alla Kovgans luminous new documentary that has no dancing or preparation for dance in it. But its telling. I feel like a bystander whos been trapped, the choreographer says after the meeting, before we see him bound through a doorway and leap into the fresh air. Cunninghams company flourished until 2011, when it disbanded, as he wished, two years after he died. Kovgan limits her film to his early career years from 1944, when he was a struggling dancer, to 1972, when the last of his original company members retired. That limitation isnt as contrived as it sounds, fixing on the fertile era when Cunningham developed his style and his radical notions about dance. This is when he connected with the avant-garde composer John Cage, who became his life partner, and the visual artist Robert Rauschenberg, his artistic director for about a decade. Its also when he pioneered movement that had more in common with abstract painting and sculpture than ballet or even modern dance. It wasnt just about a hybrid style: He freed movement from the confines of narrative, music and traditional stage directions. Cunningham spent a lot of time explaining himself to interviewers, and Kovgan has unearthed gems from the companys archives that allow her to let him and his early dancers do all the talking. (His measured, unemotional voice provides the films pace.) Scrapbooklike pastiches of still images and text might be read as a film equivalent to his working notebooks. But Cunningham sings because it is equal parts new dance-for-camera. Kovgan features the last-generation Cunningham company in excerpts of 14 iconic early works, aiming to translate the choreographers ideas, not his dances, into compelling cinema. Shot in 3D, these scenes look slick and expensive, filmed in locations that include a tunnel, a forest, a palace and a rooftop. They have the dreamy sensibility of the best dance film ever made, Wim Wenders 2011 masterpiece Pina, about the work of the dance-theater pioneer Pina Bausch. The centennial of Cunninghams birth last year also inspired Tacita Deans magnificent 16 mm art film Craneway Event, which captures him late in life, wheelchair bound, as his company rehearses for three days. Using only ambient sound, Dean comes closer to evoking the experience of watching a live Cunningham performance; its both mesmerizing and excruciating, testing your patience. Cunningham Rated PG: for some smoking Where: Landmark River Oaks, Houston **** (out of 5) See More Collapse Kovgan makes Cunninghams pointillist Summerspace, designed by Robert Rauschenberg, look more immersive than it ever did on a proscenium stage. She beautifully adapts bits of RainForest, with pillowlike silver balloons designed by Andy Warhol. And her rooftop vision for a few moments of Winterbranch is dramatic and fantastic. With the dance-for-camera work, of course, Kovgan doesnt really set her film in 1972. These dancers are still active. By alternating their work with archival footage of the first generation, though, she shows us what Cunningham must have foreseen when he leaped out of that meeting in 1966. Yes, the institution would endure and thrive. But some piece of its spirit would inevitably be lost. The last-generation dancers look utterly perfect, formal in ways their predecessors werent. They had a lot to live up to, and by their era, not as much was left to chance. molly.glentzer@chron.com The dailies have covered a wide range of topics spanning from politics, education, court tussles to health issues likely to affect young ladies who are selling their eggs to make quick money. In the political scene, the newspapers have looked at the growing influence of Opposition leader Raila Odinga, particularly in Mt Kenya region, and the political storms that continue to hit Deputy President William Ruto. READ ALSO: Mt Kenya musicians deny receiving pay from William Ruto to compose songs against Uhuru Kenyan newspapers review for January 17: Sam Shollei spills the beans on why he divorced Woman Rep Gladys Shollei. Photo: UGC Source: UGC READ ALSO: Governor Kivutha Kibwana says he can beat Raila and Ruto 1. The Star The publication has given priority to intrigues within Jubilee administration that have continued to haunt Deputy President William Ruto. The latest development, according to The Star, indicate there are plans to oust Senator Kipchumba Murkomen as the Senate Majority leader and replace him with KANU leader and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi. Uhuru is said to be considering to convene a parliamentary group meeting to discuss the possibility of replacing the Elgeyo Marakwet senator with the young Moi. READ ALSO: Willis Raburu azidi kugubikwa na majonzi, amuandikia marehemu mwanawe barua The Star unravels plans by President Uhuru Kenyatta to replace Kipchumba Murkomen with Gideon Moi as the senate majority leader. Photo: UGC Source: UGC Murkomen, a close ally of Ruto has been critical of the president for so long, a habit Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu confirmed has provoked the president to consider replacing him. 2. The Standard The daily looks at the growing influence of Opposition chief Raila Odinga in the country and particularly his shining political star in Mt Kenya region. According to the publication, the former premier is destined to become the country's next head of state courtesy of the handshake and blossoming ties with Uhuru, the region's political kingpin. The Standard reports on the growing influence of Opposition Raila Odinga in Mt Kenya region and a possibility of him succeeding Uhuru. Photo: UGC Source: UGC With power brokers from the region embracing his advances and disowning Ruto, the newspaper notes Raila is likely to gain tremendous support considering the region has no defined leader after Uhuru. 3. Taifa Leo The Swahili newspaper brings to the fore the high number of 2019 KCPE candidates who have failed to join secondary schools due to lack of fees. As such, the publication questions how the funds and bursaries allocated to support such students are being used. Taifa Leo questions how money allocated to sponsor education is being spent in the wake of increasing number of 2019 KCPE candidates who failed to joined high school due to lack of fees. Photo: UGC Source: UGC The paper further demands answers from the state on whether or not it is sponsoring education through implementation of the free education programme. 4. Nation The newspaper reports on growing habits among young ladies particularly universities students who have resorted to making quick money by selling their eggs in Nairobi-based clinics. According to the paper, the ladies are selling the fertility-enhancing organs between KSh 50, 000 to 70, 000 oblivious to the risk they are exposing themselves to. Daily Nation reports on increasing number of young ladies who are selling their eggs to make quick money. Photo: UGC Source: UGC The process known as In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) involves taking eggs from one woman and transferring them into the uterus of an aspiring mother or surrogate in the hope of achieving pregnancy. 5. The Nairobian The explosive newspaper lays bare the ugly scenes that rocked the marriage of ex- Standard Media Group CEO Sam Shollei and his wife Gladys Boss Shollei. According to the publication, Sam who successfully petitioned the court to end the marriage claimed the Uasin Gishu Woman Rep was cheating on him with another man. The paper recounts that on one chilling night, Sam returned home after a series of hectic meetings in town and was taken aback to find Gladys in bed with another man. The Naironian gives an in-depth report on the marriage woes between Sam Shollei and his wife Gladys Boss Shollei which culminated into a divorce on Jan 8, 2019. Photo: UGC Source: UGC According to the source quoted by the publication, the woman rep was also totally drunk and was unable to open the door forcing the husband to call for reinforcement and break into the house. At first, the media consultant thought his wife had been attacked by the man but was shocked to learn the two were just having good time together. The matter was amicably resolved by elders and close associates and the two lovebirds carried on with their marriage. Sam, who is accredited for bankrolling the woman rep's 2017 campaigns, was bothered his wife's highhandedness and her perennial drinking habits that often left her disorderly. This among a host of other accusations compelled Sam to seek court's intervention to terminate the marriage. 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. I chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke BEIJING The Chinese authorities have released a prominent #MeToo activist and journalist whose detention nearly three months ago prompted an outcry from human rights groups, her friends said on Friday. The activist, Huang Xueqin, 32, was detained by the police in October in the southern city of Guangzhou on charges of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, a vague accusation that the government often uses to silence activists. Ms. Huang gained prominence as a #MeToo activist who confronted Chinas patriarchal culture, helping dozens of women report cases of sexual harassment. More recently, she had drawn attention for traveling to Hong Kong and writing essays about the antigovernment protests there. In a message to her friends on Friday, Ms. Huang said she was grateful for their support. This is Xueqin, and Im back, she wrote, according to a friend who received the message and asked not to be identified. One second of darkness doesnt make people blind. Photo: C-SPAN/c-span.org Yesterday was an especially distressing one for President Trump, as the Senate received articles of impeachment, which he has called a stigma. The president is especially prone to triggering by anything that questions his legitimacy such as his famous Inauguration Day meltdown, when the massive anti-Trump marches and sparsely attended inaugural festivities led him to order press secretary Sean Spicer to make absurd lies. Initially, Trumps favorite method of insisting I am too a real president was to fabricate charges that he would have won the national vote but for massive voter fraud. (In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally). By the middle of his first year, he had discovered a map that seemed to convey the same point. That map of counties he won sitting on the Resolute Desk has been a talisman since soon after Sessions recused from the Russia probe. He started handing them out to people shortly before Mueller was named; aides got the first large one to frame the day after Comey was fired. https://t.co/uMWip7u6gX Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 17, 2020 Yesterday, hosting a Christian right event, Trump brought out his emotional support map again. A county-by-county red-blue projection relied on the visual trick that Republicans tend to reside in counties with low populations, while Democrats tend to reside in counties with high populations. Thus the minority of voters who supported Trump is turned into a majority of acres: Photo: Carlos Barria/REUTERS That land mass alone is an unreliable indicator is a conclusion that has been reached long ago by every schoolchild who stared at a map and then learned that Canada and Greenland are not world powers. It may or may not have sunk in with the president (who has, perhaps not coincidentally, sought to acquire Greenland). In any case, the map seems to fulfill Trumps need to prove to himself or others that he actually is loved by the people, or at least by acreage. Hyderabad: Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav said the BJP was trying to ensure a Hindu Israel, a Hindu Pakistan in the name of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Speaking at the interactive session on Citizenship Constitutionality and Social Justice: CAA-NRC-NPR and beyond here, Mr Yadav said, After the successful demonstration of democracy and the precedent of unity in diversity for 70 years and at a time when Europe and the rest of the universe are willing to accept our idea, we are giving the impression that there is a fault in our model and leaving it for a model which was discredited in Europe. He said even if the CAA is not enforced against a single citizen and no one looses their citizenship, it is still dangerous because for the first time in history citizenship is being linked with religion. The CAA is a signalling device which prevents Muslims from seeking shelter in India. Israel awards citizenship to anyone if he is a Jew, on the same lines we are trying to develop India as Hindu Israel and Hindu Pakistan. He said Swami Vivekananda had in his famous speech in Chicago said he was proud to be an Indian because the nation had given shelter to anyone who had sought refuge from any religion or nationality. However, the CAA says it will offer refuge but before that the nationality and religion of the applicant will be checked. Yadav said that the Centre will not step back as the CAA has been notified on January 10 and the process of National Population Register has started. We too cannot go back. It is about a matter of safeguarding the very soul and idea of India. We have to recreate the Idea of India and we definitely will, but we will have to struggle for a long time. He said what had begun as a protest to oppose the CAA had now become a movement for the soul of India, a movement that reaffirms the idea of India. We call it Bharat Jodo Andolan on the lines of Bharat Chodo Andolan (Quit India movement against the British). If they will continue to divide and break India, we will continue to wage a battle to ensure India will remain united, Yadav said. The two governments will sign dozens of economic agreements. Naypyidaw represents a crucial junction for the Chinese "two oceans" strategy. Many Burmese, including even army generals, have developed a deep fear of China. It is widely believed that China wants a weak and unstable Myanmar in order to maintain control and influence. Naypyidaw (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives today in Myanmar for a two-day visit with a strong geopolitical significance, in the year in which the two countries celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations. The purpose of Xi's trip is to strengthen economic ties along the shared border, as well as Chinese investments in other parts of Myanmar under the Belt and Road Initiative (Bri) and infrastructure projects of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (Cmec) . According to analysts and observers, the two governments will sign dozens of economic agreements, projects to improve roads, promote commercial relations and assist social and economic development. The interests of the Chinese president are concentrated on the implementation of projects such as the seaport of the Special Economic Zone of Kyaukphyu, in Rakhine (western Myanmar); the Economic Cooperation Zone, on the northern and northeastern border of Myanmar; and the New Yangon City project. Beijing sees Myanmar as a crucial hub for the Chinese "two oceans" strategy - with reference to the Pacific and Indian oceans. It aims to redistribute the balance of power in the region in favor of the communist regime, expanding naval operations from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, where Beijing is to conduct "offshore operations". But China's geopolitical, economic and strategic interests in Myanmar are currently the subject of much debate. Critics say that Myanmar is returning to China's orbit, or even struggling to maintain its neutrality and independence. Many Myanmar citizens, even army generals, have developed a deep fear of China. During the dictatorship, many oppressed people in Myanmar denounced China's support for the brutal military regime that ruled the country with an iron fist. But today, the Burmese business community would be all too happy to see even more Chinese investment. On the other hand environmentalists and human rights activists in Myanmar are calling China to abandon a series of controversial projects in the country - such as the Myitstone dam in the state of Kachin. According to opponents, these megaprojects lack transparency and public information; therefore, they face meeting the resistance of local communities. On the military front, Myanmar generals are wary of Chinese influence on rebel ethnic armies and have recently expressed concern about Beijing's support - in the form of arms sales - for groups operating along the northern border. Several armed organizations have very close ties to China; The proof is in the numerous official statements made yesterday, which welcome President Xi. Furthermore, China's warmth towards the civilian government is also a sore point for Myanmar's military leaders and has certainly created a new dynamic in domestic politics. In this era of post-dictatorship transition, Myanmar is jointly administered by two forces: a civilian government and the army. Many in Myanmar claim that China wants a weak and unstable Myanmar in order to maintain control and influence over the country. However, Myanmar has recognized China's support for international condemnation and sanctions from the West over the humanitarian crisis that has affected the Rohingya minority in the State of Rakhine; Naypyitaw thanked Beijing and many citizens are aware that, at a critical moment, China preferred to support Myanmar rather than join the international community. Screenings for the novel coronavirus that's afflicted 48 people in China, Thailand and Japan will begin tonight for passengers arriving from Wuhan, the centre of the to outbreak, at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK), US officials said Friday. On Saturday morning, screenings will also begin at San Francisco International Airport, which receives direct flights from Wuhan, as well as at Los Angles International Airport (LAX), which receives a comparable number of indirect flights. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials have created questionnaires about symptoms of the newly identified virus that's killed two people to distribute to passengers. The virus belongs to the same family as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), which killed 774 people in 2003 and 787 people in 2018, respectively. Passengers with symptoms will then be questioned more thoroughly and examined for fevers and undergo a diagnostic test for the virus on-site before potentially being referred to off-site and unidentified quarantine and assessment facilities. CDC officials say that the risk of exposure is currently considered low, but Dr Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said she thinks that it's 'more than likely that we'll see at least a case in the US' before the outbreak is over. JFK will become the first US airport with screenings for the new coronavirus that's sickened 48 in China, Thailand and Japan on Friday night (file) Up to 4,500 patients in China may have caught the same strain of coronavirus that has killed two people, scientists fear. Health officials in Wuhan the city at the heart of the outbreak confirmed four new cases today, taking the total to 48 Dr Martin Cetron, director of the CDC's Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, said he estimates some 5,000 passengers will be screened in the US in the coming weeks. So far, Wuhan has not been conducting exit screens, but he said they may begin doing so on Friday. WHAT IS THE NEW CORONAVIRUS SPREADING FROM CHINA? An outbreak of pneumonia-like illnesses began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019. Its symptoms are typically a fever, cough and trouble breathing, but some patients have developed pneumonia, a potentially life-threatening infection that causes inflammation of the small air sacs in the lungs. Scientists in China recognized its similarity to two viruses that turned into global killers: SARS and MERS. SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome is caused by the SARS coronavirus, known as SARS Co, and first emerged in China in 2002. By the end of the outbreak, the virus had spread to several other Asian countries as well as the UK and Canada, killing 774. MERS, or Middle East respirator syndrome originated in the region for which it's named, ultimately killed 787 people and belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as SARS. The new virus wasn't a match for either of those two, but it did belong to the same coronavirus family. Coronaviruses are a large family of pathogens, and most cause mild respiratory infections - i.e. the common cold. But because the SARS and MERS proved deadly, the emergence of another new coronavirus has health officials on edge around the world. Like its two dangerous cousins, the new coronavirus appears to have originated with animals - particularly seafood, chickens, bats, marmots - found at a Wuhan market that's been identified as the epicenter of the outbreak. The symptoms of SARS, which may be similar to those of the new coronavirus, include: a high temperature (fever) extreme tiredness (fatigue) headaches chills muscle pain loss of appetite diarrhoea After these symptoms, the infection will begin to affect your lungs and airways (respiratory system), leading to additional symptoms, such as: a dry cough breathing difficulties an increasing lack of oxygen in the blood, which can be fatal in the most severe cases So far, there isn't a treatment for the new virus or SARS, though the new virus has been sequenced, allowing for rapid diagnostics. Advertisement 'The current risk from this virus to the general public is low,' said Dr Messonnier during a Friday call with reporters. 'For a family sitting around the dinner table tonight, it's not something they need to worry about.' Nonetheless, she and the CDC are taking every precaution when it comes to protecting the US from the novel coronavirus that emerged at the end of last year in Wuhan. 'Any time there is a new virus or pathogen in a population that we've never seen before, it's concerning, because that population doesn't have existing immunity, treatment or vaccines,' said Dr Messonnier. 'We're especially concerned [by the new coronavirus] because we have the precedents of SARS and MERS and those were difficult outbreaks with many illnesses and deaths. Health officials in Wuhan the city at the heart of the outbreak confirmed four new cases today, taking the total to 48. But Imperial College London researchers say this may be the 'tip of the iceberg' after analysing flight and population data. They estimated there has been 1,700 cases of the coronavirus which has never before seen in humans. But they added it could have passed 4,000. This is based on the fact three cases have been detected outside of China, despite the likelihood of infected patients travelling abroad is low. Thailand today announced a second confirmed case of the coronavirus in a woman who had travelled from Wuhan. Japan reported its first case on Thursday. Two men in their sixties in Wuhan have already died in the outbreak, which has left health chiefs scrambling to contain the virus amid fears it will spread. People carrying the novel coronavirus may only have mild symptoms, such as a sore throat, and assume they have a common cold, British scientists warned. Professor Neil Ferguson, who led the research, told MailOnline: 'Our main estimate is 1,700, but the range means we are 95 per cent sure the real number relies within 190 and over 4,000. 'I became more concerned when cases were detected in places other than China. Generally when we see cases overseas it implies there are more cases. 'There have been three cases detected overseas. There is about one in 600 chance each case would happen to be getting on a plane and going somewhere. 'If thats the case, it would imply there is 1,700 cases in Wuhan itself. Which is a lot more that has been so far confirmed. There have to be a lot more cases.' A total of 48 people who have pneumonia-like symptoms have now tested positive for the coronavirus, Wuhan Municipal Health Commission has said. Four new cases were revealed today, all of whom were male and fell ill between January 5 and 8, and hospitalised between January 8 and 13. They are now in a stable condition at Jinyintan Hospital. 'We dont know if this is the tip of the iceberg. We need more information, we only have scant details,' Professor Ferguson said. He investigated the spate of cases in Wuhan city with colleagues at MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, a branch of Imperial College London which provides advice for new diseases. Using flight data, they report that 3,300 people in Wuhan fly internationally per day, and Wuhan International Airport has a catchment population of 19million individuals. Based on these figures, they calculated that there is only a one in 574 chance that a person infected in Wuhan would travel overseas before they sought medical care in their holiday destination. Using the number of cases detected outside China, it is possible to estimate the true number of clinically comparable cases within Wuhan City. Three travellers from Wuhan have tested positive for the coronavirus outside China, which implies there might have been over 1,700 cases in Wuhan so far [(three x 574]. Although it doesn't receive direct flights from Wuhan, LAX has a comparable number of passengers arriving indirectly from the Chinese city to San Francisco and JFK, so screenings will also be done there (file) The first direct flights from Wuhan will arrive Saturday morning. Screeners there will all passengers questionnaires about any possible coronavirus symptoms (file) Estimates range from 190 cases to 4,471 because the team explored different scenarios. The report concludes: 'It is likely that the Wuhan outbreak of a novel coronavirus has caused substantially more cases of moderate or severe respiratory illness than currently reported.' It added that if cases are this high, substantial human to human transmission can't be ruled out. So far, health officials have said there is 'limited' to zero evidence that humans can spread the virus, focusing their attention on animals as the source. The majority of the infected patients in Wuhan have been traced to the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, which has been shut down since January 1. The new coronavirus, which is yet to be named, causes cold-like symptoms including a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat and a fever. Professor Ferguson said: 'It's winter, its an enormous city with lots of people with cold and flu. People would realise they were feeling ill, but not that they have the coronavirus. 'We want to start recommendation from this that surveillance needs to be enhanced across the city, looking for people that are reporting even flu like symptoms. 'They need to start looking generally in hospitals for people with respiratory symptoms that might be happening already but we dont know.' The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said 'much remains to be understood' about the coronavirus, which has been described as 'novel'. Although the genetic sequence of the strain has now been released, scientists are still questioning how deadly it is, and whether it can be spread between humans. Professor Ferguson said information like this tends to come to light around one month after the outbreak begins, but relies heavily on co-operation from China. He said: 'We need more systemic data from China. They're only really two weeks from discovering this and I suspect they are focusing on collecting data. 'We really dont know the spectrum for the disease severity is.' Some 1.4billion Chinese citizens will be travelling abroad during Lunar New Year. Pictured, a notice for passengers from Wuhan is displayed in Japan, where one case has been detected India's key trade partners, the United States and China, just announced a truce in their 18-month long trade war after China agreed to boost the purchase of US goods and services by additional $200 billion in two years. The US, in return, will withdraw the additional tariffs it announced on some Chinese products. Will it impact India's plans to deepen its engagements with both the US and China? Especially since India was hoping to become one of the sourcing destinations for both the countries when retaliatory tariffs and restrictions on trade make some products more expensive and hence alternate markets become more attractive? The answer is 'no', at least for now. Firstly, the truce itself is not complete. It is just the beginning. The US decision is partially to put on hold or cancel its planned decision to slap additional tariffs on products like toys or cellphones. Wherever existing tariffs have seen a reduction because of the truce, the 7.5 per cent tariff rate still remains. Further, a huge set of products are still carrying the high tariffs that were imposed by both countries as part of the trade war. A 25 per cent tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods imported to the US remains and China's retaliatory tariffs on goods worth over $100 billion also remain. Until further negotiations between the two countries lead to a substantial reduction in tariffs across the board, the opportunities India was looking to explore, more or less, remain intact. Secondly, trade experts are of the firm belief that even if there's a rollback, it is likely to be from 25 per cent to say, 10 per cent and not a complete rollback, which leaves some cushion for India. They also point out that India was not looking at the US-China tussle as just another trade opportunity but to attract investments. Ajay Sahai, Director General & CEO of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, says the investment part is already beginning to happen. Chinese companies, whose main market is the US, are now coming to India for investment as they feel even 10 per cent tariff may take away their competitiveness, he adds. "They are looking to invest into the Indian MSMEs (small and medium scale enterprises) as they (Chinese) feel Indian MSMEs have the flexibility to execute such orders if some capital or technology is infused into them," he says. It seems small industrial towns like Ludhiana and Coimbatore, particularly with their prowess in engineering, are the focal points of such investments. And that's good news. Also read: Oil prices gain after US, China sign 'Phase one' trade deal, rise in inventories Also read: US and China tiptoe around holes in new trade agreement The man had been in Wuhan, a city in central China where the new coronavirus originated. It is the second case discovered outside of China after the hospitalization of a woman in Thailand. Asian governments take precautions in anticipation of the Lunar New Year, when the influx of Chinese tourists will increase. Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A Chinese man tested positive in the first confirmed Japanese case of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus from China. Tokyos Ministry of Health and government sources report that health authorities in Wuhan, central China, diagnosed the virus - known as 2019-nCoV - to 41 people, including one patient who died. Japan is the second infection discovered outside of China after a case in Thailand. The news comes a few days before the Lunar New Year, a peak period for Chinese tourists traveling abroad: health officials from all over Asia are now on high alert and are taking preventive measures. The first Japanese case of new pneumonia concerns a man in his thirties, residing in the prefecture of Kanagawa (south of Tokyo). The man developed a fever on January 3 while in Wuhan and was hospitalized in Japan on the 10th, but was discharged two days ago because he had recovered and is now recovering from home. He no longer has a fever but has a slight cough. On his return to Japan, the man passed the airport quarantine test because he had taken medicine. Meanwhile, Asian governments are taking precautions ahead of the Lunar New Year when the influx of Chinese tourists increases. According to protocols introduced more than 15 years ago during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, foreigners arriving in Japan will be invited to visit a medical facility if they feel unwell. Elsewhere in Asia, health officials have stored protective equipment, preparing isolation beds and even boarding trains to individually check passengers for the virus. Yesterday, the Vietnam Ministry of Health confirmed that two Chinese visitors to Wuhan were placed in solitary confinement after arriving two days ago in Da Nang with fever-like symptoms. Indonesia has stepped up the selection of travelers entering airports and seaports, focusing in particular on passengers traveling from China through Singapore to the islands of Batam and Bintan. Thermal scanners have been installed in all accesses to the country, to check visitors' temperatures. In Thailand, authorities earlier this week confirmed the first coronavirus case outside China when a Wuhan woman was hospitalized in Nonthaburi near Bangkok. She was admitted on arrival with symptoms including fever, sore throat and headache. According to the Thailand Tourism Council, around 800,000 Chinese tourists are expected in the country during the Lunar New Year. The Ministry of Public Health will continue to monitor the four Thai airports where daily flights from Wuhan arrive - Suvarnabhumi, Don Muang, Chiang Mai and Phuket - adding Krabi airport in southern Thailand to the list of sensitive airports. The Daily asks a lot of our newsroom colleagues. Take Ben Dooley, our guest on Tuesdays show about the fugitive businessman Carlos Ghosn, who escaped house arrest in Tokyo and emerged, a free man, in Beirut. During the holiday break, wed heard that Ben was in discussions with Ghosns representatives about interviewing him in Beirut, a journalistic coup. Our first request to Ben? Purchase a high-quality recorder before he left Japan. Ben had an old phone with a so-so internal recorder. We figured his interview with Ghosn would become central to the episode we had in mind and wanted the best possible audio. His new recorder in hand (a Zoom H4N, for audiophiles), Ben flew to Beirut and carried out our second request: to record his journey and his experience on the ground there. Ben did just that, capturing the sounds of himself boarding planes, entering Lebanon and arriving at Ghosns crowded news conference, all of which were incorporated into the episode. At the end of 2019, Pensacola, Fla., city government shut down its entire network after being hit by a cyberattack -- the whole network. Online payments, emails, phones and other services, including 311 customer service lines, went dark. This was moderate compared to the attacks that crippled multiple Louisiana state agencies in November. That incident was the second largest digital assault the state suffered in the last six months, and it forced the governor to declare a state of emergency. For attackers, crippling agency operations is one objective, but its not the only one. Cybercriminals want to catch big fish -- personal data including bank account details and Social Security numbers. As government agencies increasingly rely on online services at both the state and federal levels, the risk becomes progressively greater that data will be stolen. Recent incidents are evidence of the trend. Ransomware attacks hit the Baltimore and Atlanta city governments in the last year, and almost two dozen small Texas towns were targeted. A recent study in collaboration with IDC revealed that governments are essentially sleepwalking into millions of dollars in DNS cyberattack damages each year. Its one of the most popular vectors for attacks, and cybercriminals know it. The domain name system is a gateway into any network, making it an obvious target. Last year, each DNS attach on government organizations cost an average of $558,000. When breached, most agencies are forced to shut down entire networks. According to the report, its in-house applications (51%) that suffer the most -- rendering many vital services useless. Compromised websites -- which many local residents use to pay bills, fines or purchase permits -- were affected almost half of the time (41%), and one in five governments reported the theft of intellectual property or sensitive data. These results may seem bad, but the time to discover and then remediate the attack is worse. Most organizations took over seven hours -- a full business day -- to notice, fix and mitigate an attack, indicating countermeasures were not in place to ensure service continuity. This leaves the door wide open to a huge loss of sensitive personal or financial data. Take charge of the situation with DNS traffic analysis Despite the risk, one-third (32%) of government organizations do not recognize the critical nature of DNS to operations. Many reported that DNS security is considered a low or only moderately important priority. Agencies must rethink their cybersecurity policies to factor in DNS traffic. In particular, they should start by conducting detailed analysis of traffic patterns, such as data exfiltration via DNS. Solutions exist that agencies can to assess any trends. In the IDC survey, government and the health care sector tied in putting the least importance on machine learning for detecting unknown malicious domains or domain generation algorithms. Government also had the lowest rate of adoption for the zero-trust cybersecurity approach of any sector surveyed. Look to zero trust Agencies must learn how to contain risks. Reliable services, availability, bandwidth and control -- all elements crucial to network integrity -- are critical. Disaster recovery and avoiding single points of failure must be part of the mitigation process. This is where adopting a zero-trust strategy is critical. Perimeter security, long considered the solution, is not enough. Todays threats come from inside of the network, often in the form of malware and phishing invitations. All it takes is one employee to click a nefarious link, and the doors open to the perpetrator. To stop the spread of threats, agencies must scale down their network architecture into tiny segments, sometimes as small as a single client or server. The principle behind this segmentation strategy is that everything is treated as a threat by default. When user behavior is analyzed at a granular level, menacing patterns in network traffic can be detected. It allows administrators to know what is going on, where, in real-time -- something key to zero trust. Today, almost all internet connections are initiated through DNS. Cybercriminals arent going away anytime soon; they are just becoming more sophisticated. And government agencies in particular, must step up and better secure their networks before they are the next ones to call for a state of emergency. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said the State Department will investigate the possibility that former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was illegally surveilled while serving in Kiev. We will do everything we need to do to evaluate whether there was something that took place there, Pompeo told conservative radio host Tony Katz in an interview. Earlier this week, House Democrats released texts between Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas and Connecticut Republican congressional candidate Robert Hyde in which Hyde rails against Yovanovitch and suggests he had her under surveillance while she was in Kiev and was reporting her actions back to Parnas. Shes under heavy protection outside Kiev, read one message; its confirmed, we have a person inside, read another, possibly referring to the U.S. embassy. The secretary of state added that he is skeptical of reports that Yovanovitch was spied on. I suspect that much of whats been reported will ultimately prove wrong, but our obligation, my obligation as secretary of state, is to make sure that we evaluate, investigate. Any time there is someone who posits that there may have been a risk to one of our officers, well obviously do that, Pompeo said. Ive not met this guy, Lev Parnas, to the best of my knowledge. Ive never encountered, never communicated with him. Until this story broke, I had, to the best of my recollection, had never heard of this at all, Pompeo said in another interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. Ukraine announced Thursday it would open a probe into the spying allegations. Hyde has denied he participated in a spying operation targeting Yovanovitch, and Parnas defended him on Wednesday, saying he believed Hyde was not being serious when he sent the texts. I dont believe its true. I think he was either drunk, or he was trying to make himself bigger than it was, so I didnt take him seriously, Parnas told MSNBC. Yovanovitch was fired from her post in Kiev in May, prompting speculation that she was dismissed because she was undermining efforts by the White House to secure a promise from Ukraine that it would investigate Joe Biden. Giuliani said last month that he informed President Trump a couple of times about Yovanovitchs chilling effect on investigations into Biden as well as potential Ukrainian meddling in the 2016 election. Story continues During her testimony before the House in November, the former ambassador said that she believed Giuliani and his associates wanted to replace her with an ambassador who would be more amenable to their business dealings in Ukraine. More from National Review Rep. Lim Jae-hun of the Bareunmirae Party, center, with members of groups of the disabled, criticizes ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Hae-chan's remarks disparaging the disabled, during a press briefing at the National Assembly, Thursday. / Yonhap By Kim Rahn Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Hae-chan is under fire for disparaging the disabled again. He has apologized, but the criticism continues. In a YouTube clip on the party's official channel, Wednesday, Lee said people with innate disabilities were weak-willed. He said people without disabilities were "normal." Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Hae-chan. / Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun Hardliner BJP West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh said on Friday that NRC was "a must" to weed out illegal immigrants from the state and his party will "morally support" the measure if it is voted to power in the 2021 assembly election. Ghosh, who was elected state BJP president for a second term on Thursday, said every civilized nation has a register of citizens and wanted to know why shouldn't India have one. His comments came at a time when the Modi government is facing unrelenting fire from its rivals over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NRC. Despite Modi and BJP president Amit Shah's clarification that the issue of a pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) has so far not been discussed in the government, the protests are continuing in several cities and towns. "There has been no discussion at the Centre on NRC as of now. We had said that since the Supreme Court had ordered NRC updation in Assam, its implementation is also needed in Bengal as the rate of infiltration has been much higher in the state," he told PTI in an interview. "The implementation of the NRC does not depend on us, it depends on the Centre. But yes, we are morally in favour of the NRC being implemented in Bengal. But when it will happen? Who will do it? These are the matters that will be decided in future," he said. Ghosh, unfazed by criticism over his controversial remark that anti-CAA protesters "were shot like dogs" in BJP- ruled states, said he will continue to speak his mind "come what may". "No one will be able to shut my mouth....even if it creates controversy, I will speak the truth...my mind," he asserted. The 55-year-old leader exuded confidence about winning both the 2021 assembly polls in West Bengal and the upcoming elections to 109 municipal bodies, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, to be held in April this year. Ghosh is being credited for the BJP's remarkable performance in the Lok Sabha elections when it won 18 of the state's 42 seats. He alleged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had made the NRC an issue "out of nowhere" despite Modi and Shah's clarification. When asked about his propensity to make comments that triggered controversy, Ghosh asserted," I say what I feel is right. I don't try to create controversies with my comments. If playing in an offensive way helps my party, so be it. Nobody can silence me. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Spoon a bit of sauce over the bottom of a casserole dish. Lay down four or five no-boil noodles with their edges overlapping exactly one smidge. Spoon blobs of ricotta onto the noodles about every 2 inches, then sprinkle the whole lot with shredded mozzarella. Ladle sauce over it liberally, enough to cover the layer completely. Repeat layers until you reach the top of the casserole. My last layer is usually noodles topped with mozzarella, sauce and Parmesan. Cover the casserole in foil and throw it in a 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes, until the sauce is boiling on the sides and your no-boil noodles are cooked through. If youre kicking it old school with pre-boiled noodles, everythings already cooked anyway and all you have to do is heat it through, which will still take 30 45 minutes. Uncover it for the last 10 minutes of baking to brown the Parm. Two women labourers were killed on the spot and two severely injured when an overloaded tractor trailer carrying 12 workers overturned at Jonnalagadda village Krishna district on Friday, police said. The other injured were rushed to the Nandigama government hospital, from where two workers were shifted to a hospital in Vijayawada as their condition turned critical. All the workers were from Gumadiduru village, police said. They were travelling on the trailer from Gumadiduru to Desinenipalem village for work when the mishap occurred, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fat Camera/Getty Images En espanol | Of the almost 30 million adults in the United States who have type 2 diabetes, it's no secret that African Americans are more likely to be affected: almost twice as much as Caucasians by middle age. What's been less clear? The prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes among Hispanics and Asian Americans. New findings covering five years of health data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), now show that 22 percent of Hispanics and 19 percent of Asians in the U.S. have diabetes, compared with 20 percent of blacks and 12 percent of whites. "These are the first national estimates that include Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian subgroups, says study coauthor Sharon Saydah, senior scientist in the Division of Diabetes Translation at the CDC. The study not only suggests that Hispanics have surpassed African Americans as the ethnic group with the highest rates of diabetes, it also offers a more nuanced picture of who specifically is at greatest risk within these communities. It turns out that not all Hispanics are at equal risk for developing type 2 diabetes; nor are all Asians. There is considerable variation among the subgroups, Saydah says. Among Hispanics, those of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent face the highest risk, compared with those from Central or South American backgrounds. For example, 25 percent of Mexican American adults have diabetes, more than double the number of all those of South American descent with the disease. Among Asian Americans, 23 percent of those from India, Pakistan and other South Asian countries have diabetes, while only 14 percent of those of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent do. The study does not explain the reasons for such differences among ethnic groups, although some experts suspect that cultural traditions affecting obesity may play a role. The hope is that these findings will help health care providers tailor their prevention and treatment strategies to better meet the needs of individual communities within these growing populations. (Collectively, Hispanics and Asians account for 23 percent of the overall population in the U.S.; that number is expected to jump to 38 percent by 2060, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.) I felt rather pleased with myself when, in need of cutlery for a very under-dressed farmhouse, I acquired a bunch of handsome and slightly mismatched silver from a favourite local junk shop. Using them delighted me further still. So sweetly did the dessert spoon slip into your mouth, so evenly did the fork balance upon the plate, with such cultivated confidence did the teaspoon stir the billy-brewed tea, you could feel the passage of practical wisdom through the ages. I was reminded of this on Monday with the death of my favourite philosopher, Roger Scruton, who famously compared two forks modern Swedish and classical fiddle-pattern to show how apparently superficial aesthetic choices contain an entire world view. Illustration: Simon Letch Credit: The classical fork, wrote Scruton, a Professor of Aesthetics at Birkbeck College, London, proportioned like a column with base and capital and with a frieze of prongs, partakes of a language rich in implications. Meanwhile the medicinal aesthetics of Scandinavia bespeaks the pursuit of uncluttered function, not as a fact but as a symbol. Aesthetics is one of the most widely misunderstood of all disciplines. It isnt about what you like. Neither taste nor agreement is the point. Scrutons lifelong project, executed with extraordinary eloquence, was to point out that beauty has meaning. Its not simply personal, and not an optional extra. Beauty creates meaning, forming a relationship that elicits our best selves. So its no mere nice-to-have. Beauty is a core human value. Japan confirmed a patient tested positive for the new China coronavirus that has killed two persons so far. Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a statement released on Jan. 16, a manin his 30shad recently traveled to the Chinese city thats thought to be the epicenter of the outbreak. It was confirmed yesterday that one person who had stayed in Wuhan city tested positive for the new coronavirus, and this is the first case in Japan, Suga said. I heard this person has already been dischargedwe will steadily implement quarantine and we will keep dealing with it in a thorough manner. The World Health Organization has said it could spread and has warned hospitals worldwide. The new strain of coronavirus originated in Wuhan, the largest city in central China. Thailand confirmed its first case of infection earlier this week Jan. 13. The outbreak has cast a shadow over Lunar New Year celebrations and put the rest of Asia on alert. Lorenz Duchamps contributed to this report. DualShock 5 could be backwards compatible with PlayStation 4, according to a new FAQ posted on PlayStation Frances official website. The FAQ, which has now been edited to prevent further leaks, has also stated that the name of the incoming PS5s controller would indeed be DualShock 5. The name is not a surprise if you consider Sonys previous controllers name but still news that hasnt been confirmed thus far. PlayStation Frances official page was presented to share similarities and differences between PS4 and PS4 Pro; when talking about controllers, every PS4 was said to be compatible with DS4, DualShock 4, together with a DS5, which sounds like a DualShock 5. Again, while the name of the controller itself doesnt feel particularly groundbreaking, the news that the DualShock 5 could work on PlayStation 4 is new and would make for a significant change in how Sony handles transitions from a current-gen console to a next-gen one. Microsoft has already committed to a full backwards compatibility program for Xbox Series X, which will officially support not only games from the original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One but also controllers and accessories from Xbox One on the newest generation console. Things are slightly different for PlayStation 5, though. Sony has made it clear that it is working on backwards compatibility, but it has not been revealed yet which consoles from the past will be covered, and theres a chance that only PS4 games could be included. On top of that, accessories have never been mentioned. Monica Lewinsky has weighed in on Donald Trumps newly announced legal team, which notably includes former independent counsel Ken Starr. This is definitely an are you f*****g kidding me? kinda day, Ms Lewinsky wrote on Twitter. Ms Lewinksy, a former White House intern who is now an anti-bullying activist, became a household name in the US when details of her affair with then-president Bill Clinton were made public and became a central feature of his impeachment trial. Although extramarital affairs are not considered to be impeachable offences, Mr Starr and Republicans in Congress targeted Mr Clinton for perjury after he lied about his relationship with Ms Lewinsky under oath. In the investigation that followed, Ms Lewinsky and Mr Clinton were the subject of intense tabloid and press scrutiny. In recent years, Ms Lewinsky has re-emerged in the public arena, and has weighed in on her past as well as the American culture of public shaming that she said she personally endured. Ms Lewinsky also spoke about her feelings towards Mr Starr in a 2018 essay for Vanity Fair, in which she detailed a chance encounter with Starr at a restaurant, years after Clintons impeachment trial had taken place. Ken Starr asked me several times if I was doing O.K.. A stranger might have surmised from his tone that he had actually worried about me over the years. His demeanour, almost pastoral, was somewhere between avuncular and creepy. He kept touching my arm and elbow, which made me uncomfortable, she wrote. Mr Trumps Senate impeachment trial is due to begin in earnest on Tuesday, when Mr Starr and the rest of the presidents legal team which includes lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who counts OJ Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein among the clients he has defended, and former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi will address the presidents behaviour. All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Show all 6 1 /6 All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Alan Dershowitz Dershowitz is a controversial American lawyer best known for the high-profile clients he has successfully defended. Those clients have included OJ Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. One longtime Harvard Law associated told the New Yorker Dershowitz "revels in taking positions that ultimately are not just controversial but pretty close to indefensible." Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Ken Starr Starr became a household name in the 1990s as the independent counsel who led the investigation that led to Bill Clinton's impeachment. That investigation began as a look into a real estate scandal known as Whitewater, and eventually led to impeachment after Mr Clinton lied under oath about having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. AP All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Jay Sekulow Sekulow is the president's longtime personal attorney, and, now, personal lawyer in the White House. He has been accused by former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas of being "in the loop" during the Ukraine scandal. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pam Bondi Bondi is the former attorney general in Florida, and a longtime backer of the president's. She made a name for herself in Florida for taking hyper partisan stances on issues, and her penchant for publicity. She is likely to be a prominent public-facing figure during the trial. AFP/Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pat Cipollone Cipollone is the White House counsel, and leading the president's defence team. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Rudy Giuliani While not officially named as one of the president's impeachment lawyers, it is hard to ignore Giuliani's outsized role in this process. The former mayor of New York has been making headlines for months as he defends his client, and for his apparent role in the effort to compel Ukraine to launch the investigation into Joe Biden. We'll see how he figures in the actual trial, which he has said he would like to be a part of. Reuters Regardless of legal representation, it is widely accepted that Mr Trump is likely to be acquitted by the Senate, due to the high vote threshold needed for a presidents removal from office and the fact that Republicans control the majority of the legislative bodys votes. Mr Trump has claimed that he did nothing wrong in his attempts to compel Ukraine to initiate an investigation against Joe Biden. Text messages show that the grandfather of an 11-year-old boy who shot dead a teacher and wounded six others at his Mexico school knew of his plans and even provided the guns used in the attack. Mexican news outlet Zocalo revealed Thursday that Jose Angel Ramos Saucedo was questioned by his daughter after her nephew, Jose Angel Ramos, shot his 50-year-old teacher and wounded six people at the Miguel Cervantes School in Torreon, a municipality in the state of Coahuila. 'Why did you give it to him dad, see what happens?' the shocked woman wrote. 'When I saw it I was surprised, I knew it was you that gave it to him.' The 58-year-old Ramos Saucedo, who is currently under arrest, then replied: 'He wanted to do it, I couldn't stop him, it was his will, daughter.' The messages were on a phone that was confiscated from the grandfather by authorities following his apprehension Monday. Ramos Saucedo is due back in court Sunday when he will be formally processed on charges of criminal negligence. WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT Text messages secured by Mexican authorities and obtained by Mexican news outlet Zocalo reveal that Jose Angel Ramos Saucedo (right) admitted knowing that his grandson, Jose Angel Ramos, was going to shoot up the private school he attended. The 11-year-old boy killed a teacher, wounded five students and a teacher, and killed himself January 10. Pictured left is Rebecca Jimenez, Ramos Saucedo's wife and schoolboy's grandmother Jose Angel Ramos (pictured), the 11-year-old boy who shot dead a teacher and then killed himself at a school in Mexico on January 10, was determined on carrying out the shooting and could not be stopped by his grandfather, who provided him with the guns The guns used in the January 10 school shooting in Mexico were illegally obtained by the schoolboy shooter's grandfather The Coahuila State Attorney General's office found that two guns that his grandson used were illegally purchased. One of the weapons was of exclusive use to the military. If convicted he could face a prison sentence of up to 35 years if convicted. Miguel Cervantes School welcomed back students Friday morning under increased security measures after Ramos killed Maria Medina when the English teacher approached him in the hallway the morning of January 10 after he had asked for permission to go to the bathroom to change his pants. The sixth-grader then shot five students and 40-year-old gym teacher Aldo Omar Saldivar. They have since been released from a local hospital. Since apprehending Ramos Saucedo, Mexican authorities have been analyzing the family's financial records after discovering a series of irregularities. On Tuesday, Mexico's Financial Intelligence Agency froze bank accounts totaling over $6million in deposits that belonged to Ramos Saucedo, his wife, Rebecca Jimenez, and his son, Jose Angel Ramos Jimenez, the schoolboy's father. None of the three had reportedly filed taxes in recent years. Maria Medina, a teacher at private school in Mexico, was killed by one of her students Friday morning. She confronted Jose Angel Ramos, who was holding two guns, after the boy had asked her for permission to go to the bathroom to change his pants Pictured is the Miguel Cervantes School in Torreon, Coahuila, where a student killed a teacher and himself last Friday. Five students and a teacher were also wounded in the shooting Santiago Nieto Castillo, the Financial Intelligence Agency director, said Ramos Saucedo had purchased three BMW and three Jeep Cherokee during the last two years. Government records from the state of Durango and the city of Torreon found that Jimenez received $18,000 for the rental of a ballroom the family owns as well as for social programs. She also bought three luxury trucks and processed several wire transfers to banks in the United States. 'Some type of irregular activity was found regarding the cash flow to their bank accounts and companies linked to it, as well as international transfers to the United States,' Nieto Castillo said. 'This has motivated the need to verify the illicit origin of the resources.' Mexican authorities have frozen bank accounts tied to Jose Angel Ramos Jimenez (left), the father of the 11-year-old boy who killed a teacher and himself at a school in Mexico. The boy was living with his paternal grandparents ever since his mother, Yezmine Natali Betts (right), died four or five years ago while undergoing cosmetic surgery The Financial Intelligence Agency did not mention how much money was in the account registered under Ramos Jimenez account. The Drug Enforcement Agency was arrested him on methamphetamine trafficking charges in 2016. Ramos Jimenez was released October 28 after serving a 46-month sentence in a Texas jail and was returned to Mexico that same day. The grandparents had custody of Ramos, who was described by Mexican government officials and school parents as a good student who did not present any problems. Ramos' mother, Yezmine Natali Betts, died five years ago while undergoing cosmetic surgery. Her mother, Ana Yanez Hernandez, was assassinated in 2010. She was romantically linked to a former associate of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, who co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. Authorities said Ramos was possibly under the influence of a violent video game linked to the Columbine massacre. Paramedics carry one of the injured victims out of the school in Torreon, Mexico The schoolboy appeared to be dressed in the same clothes one of the teen killers wore during the massacre. Ramos was wearing a pair of black jeans, suspenders and a white t-shirt bearing the name of the first-person shooter video game 'Natural Selection' on the chest. Columbine killer Eric Harris wore the same t-shirt when he and Dylan Klebold murdered 12 students and one teacher on April 20, 1999. New Delhi, Jan 17 : HE Amjad Khan's upcoming directorial "Gul Makai" tells the story of Pakistani education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. He says he has been getting many death threats but he never felt like dropping the project. Khan agrees that the story of Malala is known to all but he is sure that few people know about her life before she was shot by the Taliban in 2012. "This film portrays her earlier life and the spine-chilling incidents that she experienced when she was living in Swat," Khan told IANS. The UN had organised a "Gul Makai" screening in London about a year ago. "It was overwhelming to see the biggies giving a standing ovation. They liked it so much that even during interval, no one left his or her seat. Each and every woman was crying. "Even though Malala's father was watching the film for the second time, he couldn't console himself. He said 'you made our nightmares come alive again'," recalled the director. What was Malala's reaction? "She tightened her jaws and her fists, and continuously tapped one of her feet," Khan shared. The film is set to hit the screens on January 31. He feels it's the right time for a theatrical release. "At present people need inspirations, especially women. This film is all about being courageous and determined during the worst situation of life. Fear is like an elastic band. You keep stretching and it keeps expanding. And this film is not only about a girl who has won the title from the UN as the most inspirational figure of decade but also a story of a father, a mother, a teacher, a soldier. Every person can relate to the story," said Khan. But making the film wasn't an easy task. In the beginning of the project, a Bangladeshi student who was supposed to play Malala had to back out due to security reasons. Even the director got "death threats from so many fundamental groups from Pakistan". "I never thought of backing out. I was worried about my artistes' security on set during the shooting in Kashmir. On the first day in Kashmir, I thought of terrorist alignments with the locals but I was wrong. Kashmiri people are more patriotic than us. "I still receive threat mails, abusive mails from unknown mail IDs," he said. Later, he chose some interesting names from India for his film's cast. "I wanted to cast actors who resemble the real people. But at the same time, I wanted fabulous actors to portray the characters. And casting was really lengthy but I am happy that fine actors like Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta are part of my film. Unfortunately, 'Gul Makai' is late Om Puri ji's last film," said Khan. Selecting a reel Malala was most challenging for him. "Earlier, a Bangladeshi girl named Fatima was selected for the role. But then Muslim extremists stoned and vandalised her home. She backed out. Then fortunately we got Reem Shaikh who got into Malala's skin so well that I forgot her real name and existence. She went through rigorous workshop where her accent and mannerisms got corrected," he shared. Why didn't he go for a Pakistani actor? "At that time both the countries were going through tensed moments, and Pakistani performers were being banned from our country. I have no regrets on casting Reem though. She did her job fabulously," he said. When Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, warned that Lebanon and Mount Lebanon region are on the brink of starvation, there was uproar. Many accused him of returning to being a provincial and sectarian leader. In an audio recording, Jumblatt was heard saying: Mount Lebanon is on the brink of famine. Mount Lebanon and Lebanon; but Mount Lebanon is important to me. Today, as the countrys political and economic crisis escalates, Lebanon is on the brink like no other time in its modern history. The production sector is small and the country mostly relies on importing food products and industry; and its exports are few and have diminished due to the Syrian crisis. Lebanons real money-makers, workers remittances and bank deposits, are now at the heart of the crisis. Tourism, coming from Iraq and Egypt, has all but evaporated after protests began. There is also political turmoil in Iraq, which has become a major source of tourism to Lebanon after Gulf tourists stopped coming. In the past, world countries moved quickly to save Lebanon from financial crises, but today the world is busy with more serious troubles in the Middle East, from Iran to Libya, and Gulf countries, Europe and the US are not racing to save a country where the government is dominated by Hizbullah. Even worse, at the peak of this crisis and while Hizbullah is distracted by Qassem Suleimanis assassination and the siege by the West, its partner and ally Gebran Bassil, the presidents son-in-law, is trying to take advantage of the situation to expand his quota in the cabinet and control one third (which could block cabinet decisions and lead to its resignation). It was understood that picking Hassan Diab to form the government would lead to a technocratic cabinet in order not to antagonise protesters, the West, and even the 14 March Movement. The most serious element in the Lebanese crisis is that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Hizbullah does not want to concede to forming an independent technocratic government that will appease the masses and allow reconnecting with the West and Gulf countries to receive assistance. The Free Patriotic Movement is refusing to curb its ambitions, while Amal is confused between its desire to appease its ally Hizbullah, attempting to reach agreement with its traditional interlocutors Jumblatt and Saad Al-Hariri, connecting with Gulf countries and the West, and also bickering with its so-called ally, Bassil. Historic Lebanese leaders who are known for their wisdom during times of crisis have left the reins to Hizbullah after they became stuck between the anger of the street and a cold shoulder by Western and Arab countries because of their partnership with Hizbullah in the resigned cabinet. Hizbullah is focused on overseas crises that are greater than Lebanon, and is leaving the domestic turmoil to its most recent ally, the Patriotic Movement led by President Michel Aoun, to provide it with political cover. The group desperately needs this due to the international and Arab boycott. Meanwhile, Aoun is reading the scene as a war on the Patriotic Movement because of his alliance with Hizbullah, an alliance that brought him to power. If Aoun abandons Hizbullah, he will not only lose the support of this political heavyweight but it could trigger a more serious conflict due to Hizbullahs firepower and influence, along with Amal, in various state agencies. They are now at the helm of a government that has no resources. The Lebanese lira continues its free fall, banks pay salaries in installments, and no one knows how much longer the government can pay the salaries of civil servants during this crisis. Jumblatt previously objected to raising salaries and years ago predicted that if Lebanon collapses like Greece, there will not be a Europe to save it and Arabs are no longer focused on it. Today, Jumblatt is focused on providing basic needs for his sect who live on a mountain famous for its breath-taking beauty, but is not self-sufficient. It is a plush mountain with abundant water, where apples can grow but not wheat. Nonetheless, there are reports that Jumblatt directed his party to support families in need within the Druze sect, distributing food packages, encouraging the planting of wheat, lentils and grains. Also, stockpiling medicine, treating patients and calling on Lebanese expatriates abroad to support agencies in Druze areas, especially hospitals, and creatively brainstorming about how to create more jobs. After Jumblatts outcry last month, activists in Mount Lebanon began broadcasting photos showing young men in Ain Wazein plowing the land, as one of them prepares a large reservoir with a capacity of 60 barrels of diesel fuel in case the power goes out. Due to Lebanons geography and economic focus on tourism and financial services, it is not self-sufficient by any means. It earns economic revenue by being open to the world and based on confidence in its banking system, which have now both dissipated. Depositors have lost confidence in the banking system which now only pays dues by shares and quotas due to a bank run, when people panicked after banks closed their doors for a time. Many withdrew their deposits out of fear the banks will go bankrupt. Under normal circumstances, liquidity at banks is about 10 per cent of deposits, and the bank will default if there is heavy demand on withdrawals, and so it imposes restrictions. Even if the financial crisis subsides in Lebanon, regaining confidence in the banking system will take time. Lebanon is well known for its openness, but this ended since a party came to power that is affiliated with a country that is already under siege. Its partners in power distanced themselves from this party, so even if Hizbullah overcame its bickering with its ally Bassil and formed a technocratic government, it is unlikely this would lead to a deluge of international aid to Lebanon. Even if Prime Minister Diab, who is designated to form a technocratic government, succeeded, everyone at home and abroad will continue to view it as Hizbullahs government and no one will be willing to give money to save Lebanon. Former Lebanese finance minister Nasser Saeedi previously told Reuters that Lebanon is in need of financial rescue worth $20-25 billion, including from the IMF. Accordingly, Hizbullah is trying to make room for Hariris return as prime minister, but the latter seems to understand that the powers interested in Lebanon will not repeat what they view as past mistakes of saving the country financially and handing it over to Syria and now Iran through Hizbullah. The formula of Western-Gulf funds while Iranian arms dominate is no longer viable. For many countries interested in Lebanon, this is the moment they have been waiting for, to end or at least curb Hizbullahs control of the country. Perhaps they could suggest disarming Hizbullah altogether, but for a group that believes its firepower is a red line, this would mean Lebanons economic crisis will worsen and the Lebanese people will pay the price. Amid fears the state will stop paying salaries to civil servants, including security and military forces, this will increase the influence of political parties that are the only refuge for citizens as the state withdraws from its duties. This will lead to more sectarianism and rallying around old leaders the popular uprising originally demanded be ousted. *A version of this article appears in print in the 16 January, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Expanding on a steadfast history of providing compelling employee benefits, Pathway Vet Alliance, a leading national veterinary management group, has rolled out full 8-week paid parental leave as of January 1, 2020. New parents eligible under Pathways parental leave program will receive 100 percent of their salary for eight weeks while they care for their new child and adjust to the new work-life demands that come with growing a family. Most importantly, Pathways philosophy of inclusion and diversity shines through in this policy as the company recognizes a variety of family models beyond just birth mothers; the benefit also applies to the spouse or domestic partner of a woman whos given birth, those who have adopted or are fostering a child, and families who use a surrogate. With the addition of this new program alongside existing market-competitive employee benefits, we have affirmed our commitment to supporting our team members physical, emotional and financial wellness, as well as establishing us as a leader in supporting inclusion, said Pathway Vet Alliance CEO Stephen Hadley, DVM. Our goal is simple: to become the veterinary industrys employer of choice by helping team members pursue their passion with the support of relevant, competitive, and inclusive programs. This new benefit is available to team members working at Pathways Austin, Texas support office, as well as those working across the companys network of over 225 veterinary hospital locations nationwide. When I read the policy, I immediately thought about the feelings I went through as a father, said Neil Simon, a client experience lead at a Pathway practice in New Jersey. I, as a manager, am thankful to have these resources to offer my team, a team I truly care about. I see the difference it makes for them. The parental leave benefit was designed to support current Pathway employees as well as those considering joining the organization. Offering this industry-leading benefit is a testament to our belief in our people and will allow our company to better compete for top talent in a tightening job market for veterinary professionals, said Andrea Clayton, chief people officer at Pathway Vet Alliance. In October, Pathway COO, Odis Pirtle, and Clayton began holding the aptly named Employer of Choice town halls at various hospital locations nationwide as part of the initiative The Employer of Choice Tour. The tour has visited eight locations and is still underway, with locations in 10 cities on the schedule. During each town hall, Pirtle and Clayton share key business updates and, more importantly, open the floor to address employee feedback. Understanding how we can most positively impact our team members experience at Pathway is the most important work that I can do. It is why I chose a career in human resources more than twenty years ago. Having recently joined in 2019, a listening tour seemed the best way to get the answer to that critical question to ensure that programs we launch at Pathway hit on the most important needs of our people, said Clayton. Since 2017, Pathway has led the industry in growth by adding over 175 hospitals to its national network and more than 6,000 employees. Pathway has continued to lead the veterinary industry in growth due to the companys unparalleled onboarding process of veterinary practices. Veterinary practices joining Pathways network retain their culture and original team of veterinary professionals, while benefiting from Pathways additional administrative support, educational opportunities, resources, and purchasing discounts. Through Pathway, practice owners are able to offload business management responsibilities onto the companys dedicated support team, which allows them to focus on providing the best possible care to their patients. For more information about Pathway Vet Alliance, the companys leadership team, employment opportunities and more, visit http://www.pathwayvets.com. About Pathway Vet Alliance Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Pathway Vet Alliance has grown from a single veterinary practice to over 225 locations across the U.S. Pathways mission is for its team members to be change agents for good, who support people doing what they love so, together, they can transform the veterinary industry and the world for the better. Pathway looks for practices and doctors seeking opportunities to grow and provides personalized management support to help them focus on providing the best possible care to their patients. Pathway has differentiated itself by focusing on the unique needs of each practice and partnering with the local team to implement their vision and work with their values. Learn more at http://www.pathwayvets.com. Dear everyone. Happy Friday. Love, Eminem. The Detroit rapper released a secret album just after midnight on Friday. Titled Music to be Murdered By, the 20-track album has an Alfred Hitchcock-inspired cover depicting a dapperly-dressed Eminem holding a gun and ax to his head. The album cover is an ode to the only album Hitchcock ever released, a 1958 collection that had the legendary director dropping bits of his trademark dry humor in between instrumental arrangements. And despite its dated inspiration, the album lyrics include multiple references to gun violence across the United States, as well as the bombing that killed 22 people during an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in 2017. The album includes collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Skylar Grey, Royce Da 5'9", Black Thought, Q-Tip, Denaun, White Gold, Young M.A, KXNG Crooked, Joell Ortiz, Don Toliver, Anderson .Paak and Juice WRLD, who died after suffering a medical emergency in December 2019. "It's your funeral..." Eminem wrote on Twitter. The Master of Suspense himself makes an appearance during an interlude. "How do you do? Ladies and gentlemen/My name is Alfred Hitchcock and this is Music To Be Murdered By/It is mood music in a jugular vein/So why don't you relax? Lean back and enjoy yourself/Until the coroner comes," Hitchcock says in the clip. Music to be Murdered By is Eminems 11th studio album and first since Kamikaze, which was also a surprise release in 2018. A music video to the song Darkness was released alongside the surprise album. The entire album can be streamed on Spotify and is available for purchase wherever music is sold. Confirmation comes from Pentagon sources, who speak of "concussion" during the "evaluation" phase. They are being treated at facilities in Kuwait and Germany. For the first time since 2012, the supreme leader leads the Friday sermon in the capital. A gesture of high symbolic value. Tehran (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least 11 US soldiers were injured in the missile attack on US military bases in Iraq on January 8 in response to the killing of General Qasem Soleimani, head of the Qods Force. At first, both the Ministry of Defense and President Donald Trump had denied the involvement of men or vehicles following the bombing carried out by the Islamic Republic. The news was revealed by the American portal specialized in military themes Defense One, which cites Pentagon sources according to which the soldiers reported concussions of varying degrees. The soldiers injured during the Iranian attack were reported to have been hospitalized in Kuwait and Germany. "Although there were no casualties among US military personnel in the Iranian attack on al-Asad base on 8 January - underlines Central Command spokesman Bill Urban - several people were treated for concussion." The officer adds that the wounded "are still undergoing an assessment" and, as a precautionary measure, some of them "have been transported to facilities for subsequent screening." Today, meanwhile, for the first time since 2012, the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will lead Friday prayers in the capital Tehran. A decision that confirms the climate of deep tension that reigns in the country, the scene in recent days of numerous protests following the shooting down of the Ukrainian airliner by the army in the frantic night of attacks against US targets in Iraq. In recent days, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has repeatedly raised calls for unity in the face of external challenges and threats, primarily the US sanctions that are bringing most of the population to their knees. At the same time, he - in one of the rare moments of internal conflict - invited the military to provide a comprehensive explanation of the incident. According to reports from the Iranian agency Mehr, 80-year-old Khamenei will lead Friday prayers in the Mosalla mosque in Tehran today. Official sources say that "the Iranian nation will once again show its united face and its greatness". The last time that the supreme leader appeared in the capital for prayer was 2012, on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that brought the Ayatollahs to power. Analysts and experts point out that leading Friday prayers in Tehran takes on a high symbolic meaning. It is a gesture that is reserved on occasions or times when the authorities want to deliver an important message to the nation. While campaigning in Houston on Thursday, former Vice President Joe Biden warned that President Donald Trump is only going to become more erratic as the walls close in on him. At a fundraiser in River Oaks, Biden said Trump has already undermined the nations standing in the world, has put the country on the brink of war with Iran and is threatening the existence of NATO. This president has done enormous damage," Biden said. Folks, weve got to turn this around quickly he still has another 9 or 10 months. God knows what can happen. Biden said because of all of that, the nation needs a leader with the foreign affairs experience and international relationships he brings to the table. For subscribers: Democratic presidential contenders turn attention to Texas The next president of the United States is not going to have time for on-the-job training, Biden said in the second day of a two-day campaign run through Texas just over 30 days before early voting starts in the Texas presidential primary on Feb. 18. On Wednesday night and early Thursday, Biden was in the Dallas area where he delivered a speech to the National Baptist Convention in Arlington and held a fundraiser. While most of the Democratic presidential campaigns are focused on early voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, theyve started picking up their campaigning in Texas. Last weekend, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg campaigned along Interstate 35. Before that, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg made fundraising stops in Houston and Dallas. On Friday, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is opening a campaign office in Houston her third such office in Texas. For subscribers: Biden says hed consider ORourke and Castro for VP President Trumps re-election campaign was ready for Biden to campaign in Texas, warning the Democrats policies would ultimately hurt the states oil and gas industry economy. As Joe Biden blitzes the Lone Star State solely to line his campaign coffers, Texans know he has no interest in looking out for them, Trump Victory campaign spokesperson Samantha Cotten said. Trump himself is expected to be back in Texas on Sunday. Trump is scheduled to speak to the American Farm Bureau Federations annual convention in Austin. It will mark Trumps 14th visit to Texas since taking office. That is more visits in just over three years than former President Barack Obama made to Texas in eight years in office. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) employs 45,000 workers to pick orders for its grocery pickup business, according to comments made by a company executive at the 2019 Groceryshop convention. That's a sizable workforce manually doing work that seemingly could -- maybe should -- be automated. That automation process has now started with the company testing its new Alphabot in its Salem, New Hampshire, location. The robot handles much of the order-picking process. That's good for investors watching the company's bottom line. It's less than encouraging for workers hoping to hold onto their jobs. What is Walmart doing? The retailer has been building out its curbside grocery pickup and grocery delivery services. These offerings require the company to assemble orders that consumers place online. That's currently being done by humans -- the 45,000 people mentioned above -- but Alphabot could quickly cut into that workforce. "The system operates inside a 20,000-square-foot warehouse-style space, using autonomous carts to retrieve ambient, refrigerated and frozen items ordered for online grocery," wrote Walmart's TJ Stallbaumer in a blog post. "After it retrieves them, Alphabot delivers the products to a workstation, where a Walmart associate checks, bags and delivers the final order." Human workers will continue to hand-pick produce and other fresh items. That makes sense because frozen and packaged goods don't need to pass a quality assurance test while loose, fresh items do. "By assembling and delivering orders to associates, Alphabot is streamlining the order process, allowing associates to do their jobs with greater speed and efficiency," Walmart's Senior Manager of Pickup Automation and Digital Operations Brian Roth said. "Ultimately, this will lower dispense times, increase accuracy and improve the entirety of online grocery. And it will help free associates to focus on service and selling, while the technology handles the more mundane, repeatable tasks." What Roth said is true, but it's only part of the story. Yes, robots can free up human workers for customer service work that requires human interaction. The reality, however, is that the company will need fewer people overall as it adds Alphabot to more stores. What's next for Walmart? Currently, Alphabot only operates in one store. The chain is using that location to study processes and to figure out how to best deploy the technology. Ultimately, it makes sense for Walmart to bring its robot to all of its locations. It will help it reduce headcount and lower long-term costs. That's essential if the chain wants to offer grocery pickup and delivery for a minimal added cost to consumers. "This is going to be a transformative impact to Walmart's supply chain," Roth said. "Alphabot is what we think of as micro-fulfillment -- an inventive merger of e-commerce and brick-and-mortar methods." Automation will help Walmart keep its costs in line (after the initial investment it takes to implement the technology). That's good for investors at the same time it's a threat to some of the company's workers. Walmart is careful and executives like Roth always focus the discussion on how robots will free up human workers for other tasks. That's true, but it's only a piece of the story. Robots mean fewer people which lowers costs and allows the company to offer expanded grocery services cost-effectively. Immediate restoration of the semi-presidential governance model must be the primary objective of the constitutional amendments. This is stated in the statement issued by the Armenian National Congress political party. The statement reads as follows: On December 30, 2019, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan adopted a decision on the creation of a commission to prepare for constitutional amendments. The decision envisages developing the package of constitutional amendments in accordance with the 2019-2023 Strategy for Judicial and Legal Reforms approved by the Government of Armenia on October 10, 2019. In this regard, the Congress deems it necessary to state the following: 1. The existing Constitution was developed for the purpose of eternalizing the power of the former regime and its head, was adopted through the falsification of 500,000 votes, but based on the real results of the vote, it was rejected by the prevailing majority of the citizens of Armenia; thus, it is illegitimate, and what happened dealt a serious blow to the foundations of Armenian statehood. 2. It is important to state that the parliamentary governance model wasnt actually accepted by the people of Armenia. It has led to political crises in several democratic countries, and in the long run, it will lead to constant political crises in Armenia as well. 3. Consequently, immediate restoration of the semi-presidential governance model must be the primary objective of the constitutional amendments. This will ensure political stability, security and the potential for reforms in the political and economic systems of the country. 4. However, judging from the governments Strategy, the proposed package of constitutional amendments will help solve tactical, not strategic issues, particularly with regard to overcoming the crisis in the Constitutional Court. 5. No matter how important the solution to the aforementioned issues is important, if the proposed package of constitutional amendments is only restricted to the correction of the flaws of the constitutional governance model, it will overlook the several issues caused by the referendum that was falsified in 2015. 6. The creation of the commission for constitutional amendments had to be preceded by large-scale public consultations and deliberations with the participation of political parties and non-governmental organizations, and these consultations and deliberations had to lead to the creation of a concept paper on constitutional amendments, and most importantly, approaches to the informed and lawful adoption of a governance model by the public. CLEVELAND, Ohio A Cleveland man was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for robbing a bank in the citys AsiaTown neighborhood, and will serve that time in addition to the three years he is serving for a bank robbery in Oklahoma. Joshua Gilchrist used a handgun when he robbed the KeyBank in the 3600 block of Chester Avenue on Dec. 8, 2017, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. He told customers and employees to get on the ground, demanded money and fled with $3,496. Two months later, Gilchrist had made his way to Oklahoma. On Feb. 6, 2018, he robbed the Bank of Oklahoma in Tulsa with a fake gun and stole $740. Police in Joplin, Missouri arrested him the same day and he confessed to the Oklahoma robbery, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty in federal court in September 2018 to the Oklahoma robbery and a judge there sentenced him to three years in federal prison. He pleaded guilty Oct. 2 in federal court in Cleveland to charges of armed bank robbery and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. Chief U.S. District Judge Patricia Gaughan imposed the 147-month sentence on Wednesday. She also ordered him to pay restitution for the money he stole from KeyBank. His attorney James McDonnell wrote in a sentencing memo that his client suffers from schizophrenia and would benefit from drug treatment. If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Fridays crime and courts comments section. BEIJING The number of babies born in China last year fell to a nearly six-decade low, exacerbating a looming demographic crisis that is set to reshape the worlds most populous nation and threaten its economic vitality. About 14.6 million babies were born in China in 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That was a nearly 4 percent fall from the previous year, and the lowest official number of births in China since 1961, the last year of a widespread famine in which millions of people starved to death. That year, only 11.8 million babies were born. Births in China have now fallen for three years in a row. They had risen slightly in 2016, a year after the government ended its one-child policy and allowed couples to have two children, a shift that officials hoped would drive a sustained increase in the number of newborns. But that has not materialized. Experts say the slowdown is rooted in several trends, including the rise of women in the work force who are educated and dont see marriage as necessary to achieving financial security, at least for themselves. For Chinese couples, many cannot afford to have children as living costs increase and their jobs demand more time and energy. And attitudes have shifted. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday alleged that Maharashtra Minister Rajendra Patil Yedravkar was manhandled by Karnataka Police and stopped from speaking at a meeting organised at Hutatma Chowk in Belagavi. "Maharashtra Minister Rajendra Yedravkar was manhandled by Karnataka Police. He was not allowed to pay homage to Hutatma. Will Maharashtra BJP even condemn this act of terrorism by Karnataka? I am going to Belagavi tomorrow, let's see what happens," Raut tweeted in Marathi. Talking to reporters, the Shiv Sena leader said that he came to know that he has been barred from entering Belagavi. "I have come to know that I have been banned there. However, I will still go there. Belagavi is in India. I am an MP. I have the right to go there. If someone wants to stop me, then stop me in a lawful manner," he said. Reportedly, Yadravkar was detained by the police and stopped from speaking at the martyr's day event organised in memory of pro-Marathi activists who died in the language riots in the 1980s. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Starlink is the name of a satellite network developed by the private spaceflight company SpaceX to provide low-cost internet to remote locations. SpaceX eventually hopes to have as many as 42,000 satellites in this so-called megaconstellation. The size and scale of the project flusters astronomers, who fear that the bright, orbiting objects will interfere with observations of the universe, as well as spaceflight safety experts who now see Starlink as the number one source of collision hazard in Earth's orbit. In addition to that, some scientists worry that the amount of metal that will be burning up in Earth's atmosphere as old satellites are deorbited, could trigger unpredictable changes to the planet's climate. Starlink:The initial plan SpaceX's first 60 Starlink internet communications satellites are released all at once in this animation of images taken during the successful May 23, 2019 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. (Image credit: SpaceX) SpaceX's satellite internet proposal was announced in January 2015. Though it wasn't given a name at the time, CEO Elon Musk said that the company had filed documents with international regulators to place about 4,000 satellites in low Earth orbit. "We're really talking about something which is, in the long term, like rebuilding the internet in space," Musk said during a speech in Seattle when revealing the project. (Musk also owns electric car company Tesla, but Tesla does not produce satellites.) Musk's initial estimate of the number of satellites soon grew, as he hoped to capture a part of the estimated $1 trillion worldwide internet connectivity market to help achieve his Mars colonization vision. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted SpaceX permission to fly 12,000 Starlink satellites, and the company has filed paperwork with an international regulator to loft up to 30,000 additional spacecraft. To put that into perspective, as of Jan.5 2022, 12,480 satellites have been launched in all of history with only 4,900 still active, according to the European Space Agency. SpaceX launched its first two Starlink test craft, named TinTinA and TinTinB, in February 2018. The mission went smoothly. Based on initial data, the company asked regulators for its fleet to be allowed to operate at lower altitudes than originally planned, and the FCC agreed. The first 60 Starlink satellites launched on May 23, 2019, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The satellites successfully reached their operational altitude of 340 miles (550 kilometers) low enough to get pulled down to Earth by atmospheric drag in a few years so that they don't become space junk once they die. How Starlink satellites work The current version of each Starlink satellite weighs 573 lbs. (260 kilograms) and is, according to Sky & Telescope magazine, roughly the size of a table. Rather than sending internet signals through electric cables, which must be physically laid down to reach far-flung places, satellite internet works by beaming information through the vacuum of space, where it travels 47% faster than in fiber-optic cable, Business Insider reported. Current satellite internet works using large spacecraft that orbit 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above a particular spot on Earth. But at that distance, there are generally significant time delays in sending and receiving data. By being closer to our planet and networking together, Starlinks satellites are meant to carry large amounts of information rapidly to any point on Earth, even over the oceans and in extremely hard-to-reach places where fiber-optic cables would be expensive to lay down. Musk has said that the Starlink network would be able to provide "minor" internet coverage after 400 spacecraft were up and running, and "moderate" coverage after about 800 satellites became operational. As of early January 2022, SpaceX had launched more than 1,900 Starlink satellites overall. The constellation is now providing broadband service in select areas around the world, as part of a beta-test program with download speeds of between 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s and latency as low as 20 milliseconds, according to a Starlink guide. Users on the ground access the broadband signals using a kit sold by SpaceX. The kit contains a small satellite dish with mounting tripod, a wifi router, cables and a power supply, according to the company's website. Starlink versus astronomy A train of SpaceX Starlink satellites are visible in the night sky in this still from a video captured by satellite tracker Marco Langbroek in Leiden, the Netherlands on May 24, 2019, just one day after SpaceX launched 60 of the Starlink internet communications satellites into orbit. (Image credit: Marco Langbroek via SatTrackBlog Within days of the first 60-satellite Starlink launch, skywatchers spotted a linear pearl string of lights as the spacecraft whizzed overhead in the early morning. Web-based guides showed others how to track down the spectacular display. "This was quite an amazing sight, and I was shouting 'Owowowow!' when the bright 'train' of objects entered into view," Netherlands-based satellite tracker Marco Langbroek told Space.com in 2019 via email. "They were brighter than I had anticipated." That brightness was a surprise to almost everyone, including both SpaceX and the astronomical community. Researchers began to panic and shared photos of satellite streaks in their data, such as this one from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona. They expressed particular concerns about future images from highly sensitive telescopes such as the Vera Rubin Observatory (formerly known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope), which will study the entire universe in exquisite detail and is expected to come online in 2022. Radio astronomers are also planning for interference from Starlink's radio-based antennas. In photos: SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites to orbit The International Astronomical Union (IAU) expressed concerns in a statement released in June 2019. "Satellite constellations can pose a significant or debilitating threat to important existing and future astronomical infrastructures, and we urge their designers and deployers as well as policy-makers to work with the astronomical community in a concerted effort to analyze and understand the impact of satellite constellations," the statement said. In April 2021, Thomas Schildknecht, the deputy director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern, who represents Switzerland in the IAU, said at the European Space Agency's space debris conference that the union was calling on the United Nations to protect pristine night sky as cultural heritage against the uncontrolled expansion of megaconstellations. In a report released in October 2022, the American Astronomical Society (ASS) likened the impact of megaconstellations on astronomy to light pollution. The report said the sky may may brighten by a factor of two to three due to diffuse reflection of sunlight off the spacecraft. Starlink as a major source of orbital collision risk SpaceX received more backlash in September 2019, when the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that it had directed its Aeolus satellite to undertake evasive maneuvers and avoid crashing into "Starlink 44," one of the first 60 satellites in the megaconstellation. The agency took action after learning from the U.S. military that the probability of a collision was 1 in 1,000 10 times higher than ESA's threshold for conducting a collision-avoidance maneuver. In August 2021, Hugh Lewis, the head of the Astronautics Research Group at the University of Southampton, U.K. and Europe's leading space debris expert, told Space.com that Starlink satellites represent the single main sources of collision risk in low Earth orbit. According to computer models, at that time, Starlink satellites were involved every week in about 1,600 encounters between two spacecraft closer than 0.6 miles (1 kilometer). That's about 50% of all such incidents. This number rises with every new batch of satellites launched into space. By the time Starlink deploys all 12,000 satellites of its first-generation constellation it could reach 90%, Lewis said. Lewis also expressed concerns that Starlink's operator SpaceX, a newcomer into the satellite business, is now the single most dominant player in the field whose decisions can affect safety of all operations in low Earth orbit. Starlink's effects on the atmosphere SpaceX plans to refresh the Starlink megaconstellation every five years with newer technology. At the end of their service, the old satellites will be steered into Earth's atmosphere where they will burn up. That is certainly commendable when it comes to space debris prevention, however, there is another problem. The vast amount of satellites that will be burning in the otherwise pristine upper layers of the atmosphere could actually alter the atmospheric chemistry and have unforeseen consequences for life on the planet. In a paper published in May 2021 in the journal Scientific Reports, Canadian researcher Aaron Boley said the aluminum the satellites are made of will produce aluminum oxide, also known as alumina, during burn-up. He warned that alumina is known to cause ozone depletion and could also alter the atmosphere's ability to reflect heat. "Alumina reflects light at certain wavelengths and if you dump enough alumina into the atmosphere, you are going to create scattering and eventually change the albedo of the planet," Boley told Space.com. That could lead to an out-of-control geoengineering experiment, a change in the Earth's climate balance. The effects of such alternations are currently unknown. Karen Rosenlof, an atmospheric chemistry expert at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told Space.com she too was concerned about the effects of the particles from the burning satellites in the atmosphere. Rosenlof actually has expertise in modelling the effects of geoengineering interventions. David Fahey, the Director of NOAA's Chemical Sciences Laboratory, and Martin Ross, a physics and meteorology scientist at the Aerospace Corporation, both told Space.com that more research is urgently needed to understand the effects of burning increasing amounts of satellites in the atmosphere. The problem, the scientists said, is that in those high layers of the atmosphere, the particles are likely going to stay forever. Boley said that while the amount of satellites burning in the atmosphere will be considerably smaller than the amount of meteorites, the chemical composition of the artificial objects is different, thus the presence of the products of their burning is something scientists know nothing about. "We have 54 tonnes (60 tons) of meteoroid material coming in every day," Boley said. "With the first generation of Starlink, we can expect about 2 tonnes (2.2 tons) of dead satellites reentering Earth's atmosphere daily. But meteoroids are mostly rock, which is made of oxygen, magnesium and silicon. These satellites are mostly aluminum, which the meteoroids contain only in a very small amount, about 1%." As the accumulation of those particles would increase over time, so would the intensity of the effects. It thus cannot be ruled out that over decades the pollution from burning megaconstellation satellites could lead to changes on a scale akin to what we are currently experiencing with fossil-fuel-induced climate change. "Humans are exceptionally good at underestimating our ability to change the environment," said Boley. "There is this perception that there is no way that we can dump enough plastic into the ocean to make a difference. There is no way we can dump enough carbon into the atmosphere to make a difference. But here we are. We have a plastic pollution problem with the ocean, we have climate change ongoing as a result of our actions and our changing of the composition of the atmosphere and we are poised to make the same type of mistake by our use of space." Starlink did not respond to Space.com requests for comment. What SpaceX plans to do SpaceX has stated that it will work with organizations and space agencies to mitigate the impacts of its megaconstellation. And the company has tried to assuage astronomers' concerns over Starlink's effect on the night sky. "SpaceX is absolutely committed to finding a way forward so our Starlink project doesn't impede the value of the research you all are undertaking," Patricia Cooper, SpaceX's vice president of satellite government affairs, told astronomers at a January 2020 meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Honolulu, Nature reported. SpaceX has taken action to this effect. For example, recently launched Starlink satellites sport visors designed to prevent sunlight from glinting too brightly off their most reflective parts. But the huge numbers of satellites in megaconstellations from SpaceX and other private space companies, such as OneWeb, suggest that light-pollution and other issues may continue, and advocates have called for greater regulations from government agencies. "Here is a gift for the leaders of the world, a task more non-partisan than any other which has come before: protect our skies," stargazer Arwen Rimmer wrote in The Space Review, a weekly online publication devoted to essays and commentary about space, in early 2020. Additional resources Watch this video describing the Starlink satellite project, from SpaceX. Read how astrophysicist Ethan Siegel thinks SpaceX can fix the damage Starlink satellites are causing to astronomy, published in Forbes. Follow the #starlink hashtag on Twitter to catch the latest news and opinions about Starlink. Bibliography NOIRLab, Report of the SATCON2 Workshop: Executive Summary, July 16, 2021 https://noirlab.edu/public/media/archives/techdocs/pdf/techdoc031.pdf Boley, A., Byers, M. Satellite mega-constellations create risks in Low Earth Orbit, the atmosphere and on Earth, Scientific Reports, 20 May, 2021 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-89909-7 McDowell, J. The Low Earth Orbit Satellite Population and Impacts of the SpaceX Starlink Constellation, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, April 6 2020 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ab8016/meta Massey R. et al. The challenge of satellite megaconstellations, Nature Astronomy, 6 November, 2020 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-01224-9 This article was updated on January 6, 2022 by Space.com senior writer Tereza Pultarova. Srinagar: Four former legislators including a former minister were released by the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday as part of the ongoing exercise to free detainees. They were under house arrest since August 5, when the Centre abrogated Article 370 and bifurcated the state into two union territories. The four freed leaders included Haji Abdul Rasheed, Nazir Ahmed Gurezi, Mohammad Abbas Wani and former minister Abdul Haq Khan. On Thursday five political leaders were released, including National Conference leaders Altaf Kaloo, Showkat Ganaie and Salman Sagar, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders Nizamuddin Bhat and Mukhtar Bandh. Salman Sagar is a former mayor of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation. With the release of the four leaders, there are 21 leaders in detention in the valley presently. These include three former chief ministers -- Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehboob Mufti. Farooq Abdullah has been retained in his house on the Gupkar Road in Srinagar, which has been designated as a sub-jail. Omar Abdullah is detained in the Hari Niwas and Mehbooba Mufti at a government bungalow on the Maulana Residency road in Srinagar. A total of 35 mainstream politicians were moved from the Srinagar based Centaur hotel to the MLA hostel in the city in November last year. Last Friday, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice N.V. Ramana had ordered the union territory administration to review all curbs that have been in place for over 161 days in Jammu and Kashmir. Faced with a lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted a subordinate female officer, Air Force Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, strenuously maintains that he is innocent. However, he said, the experience of being accused has made him more aware of the problem of military sexual assault -- and now he wants to be part of the solution. Beginning next week, the Joint Staff will have a special assistant who will analyze people and family programs -- such as sexual assault and domestic abuse prevention and response, suicide prevention and response, mental health treatment and privatized housing -- among other key issues impacting both the military and civilian force, Hyten told Military.com in an exclusive interview Thursday. The female special assistant "will help develop and spearhead policy changes" and provide "executive level guidance and strategic accountability and risk management planning necessary to drive change in departmental, service-level expectation management" in these areas, Hyten's spokeswoman, Maj. Trish Guillebeau, said Thursday. Other areas of focus include hazing, child care, medical treatment and gender issues, she added. Related: Air Force Releases Report Showing It Found No Evidence of Sexual Misconduct by Hyten Creating the position is just one of Hyten's priorities as he begins his new role as vice chairman, because it puts a spotlight on improving the lives of service members and their families, he said. It began with a simple suggestion. Hyten's daughter Katie was present for his tense confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee last July and later offered her point of view. "My daughter pointed out something really important to me as I came out of that, and she pointed out that because of what I've been through over the last year," the general during the interview at the Pentagon. "My daughter works with a lot of these areas, and she said, 'You have a choice you can make. You can ignore these problems. You can pretend they never happened and just move on with your life. Or you can decide -- because of your experience -- you can try to make a difference.' And so I decided I'm going to try to make a difference in these areas," Hyten said. "When you look across the Joint Staff in particular, you don't see a single general officer responsible for what I call the 'people and family programs.' So I'm going to create a focal point here." In August, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations released a heavily redacted, 59-page report into unsubstantiated allegations of sexual assault brought by Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser against Hyten in spring 2019. As stated by the Air Force when the allegations surfaced in July, the report showed that investigators were unable to corroborate an unprofessional relationship when Spletstoser, in the Army for 28 years, worked for Hyten at U.S. Strategic Command as his Commander's Action Group director. The Senate Armed Services Committee advanced Hyten's nomination in a 20-7 vote in September. Spletstoser, who was also present for the Senate hearing, maintains her claim of unwanted sexual assault by the general. In November, she filed a federal lawsuit against Hyten seeking $5 million in damages. The lawsuit is pending. "We are aware of the lawsuit that was filed in a California federal court," Guillebeau said. "As is our practice in all ongoing litigation, we are not going to comment on the details." Hyten, who has served for nearly 40 years, said programs that have been implemented or overhauled to help sexual assault and suicide victims have fallen short. "I know that what we're doing hasn't been working in many of these areas. We haven't been making the improvements that we want to," he said. The Pentagon for years has attempted to improve its sexual assault and harassment prevention programs, as well as the services' handling of reports and prosecutions. But the Defense Department's fiscal 2018 Report on Sexual Assault in the Military released in May found that roughly 20,500 service members experienced sexual assault that year -- up from an estimated 14,900 in 2016. The Pentagon needs a fresh perspective, Hyten said. The special assistant will give Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and staff "an outsider's view on this problem because she is an outsider coming in without experience in the Department of Defense," Hyten said. "She's not going to do anybody else's job," he added. The Pentagon still has a long way to go to earn victims trust in the reporting system, but Hyten said he's a big believer in the truth. "I have had some very unique experiences this summer when I went through the confirmation process, and that was a difficult process," he said. "I believe, as painful as the Air Force process was, I believe in the process. As painful as the Senate process was, and it was even maybe more painful, I believe in the process. I believe in our legal process. I believe in the truth. "It is the most important thing to me -- truth and integrity -- the most important things to me," Hyten said. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Read more: Air Force Two-Star Fired Amid Investigation into Misconduct Allegations Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and the parent of iPhone assembler Foxconn plan to set up a joint venture to build electric cars and develop internet-connected vehicles, the two groups said. Fiat Chrysler (FCA) confirmed on January 17 it was in talks with Hon Hai on the potential creation of a 50-50 joint venture to develop and manufacture new generation battery electric vehicles in China and engage in the IoV, or 'Internet of Vehicles', business. The Italian-American car maker is looking to make up ground in the battery-powered vehicle space and is set to launch its first full-electric model - the 500 small car - this year. FCA's statement came after Taiwan's Hon Hai - the parent of Foxconn, the Chinese assembler of Apple iPhones - announced the potential joint venture in a separate statement. Hon Hai said it would hold its 50 percent share both directly and indirectly and its direct shareholding would not exceed 40 percent. FCA last month reached a binding agreement for a $50 billion tie-up with France's PSA that will create the world's No. 4 carmaker. FCA said that the proposed cooperation was initially focused on the Chinese market. It "would enable the parties to bring together the capabilities of two established global leaders across the spectrum of automobile design, engineering and manufacturing and mobile software technology to focus on the growing battery electric vehicle market," it said. FCA said it was in the process of signing a preliminary agreement with Hon Hai, aiming to reach final binding agreements in the next few months. However, it added there was no assurance that final binding agreements would be reached or would be completed in that timeframe. Foxconn has been investing heavily in a variety of future transport ventures for several years, including Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride services giant, and Chinese electric vehicle start-ups Byton and Xpeng. Foxconn also has invested in Chinese battery giant CATL and a variety of other mostly Chinese transportation tech start-ups. Just four months after the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case in December 2012, another gruesome gang rape of a five-year old girl in the national capital had taken place which was overshadowed. The sensational 2013 case of gang rape of a five-year-old girl in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar area is likely to come to an end after six years as a Delhi court is likely to pronounce its judgement in the case on Saturday. Additional Sessions Judge Naresh Kumar Malhotra had on Wednesday deferred the verdict as the judgement which is likely to be a lengthy one was not ready, said a lawyer privy to the matter. While in the Nirbhaya case, a trial court had convicted and awarded death penalty to the four convicts in a span of 10 months, it took six years, seven judges and 57 prosecution witnesses to complete the trial in the 2013 gang rape case. In the five-year old girl's gang rape case, the charge sheet was filed by the Delhi police on May 24, 2013 against the two accused -- Manoj Shah and Pradeep Kumar, and charges were framed against them by the court on July 11 the same year, it took more than five years to complete recording of the statement of 57 prosecution witnesses in a Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) court. The POCSO court recorded the statements of the prosecution witnesses from July 24, 2013 to October 26, 2018. Two persons -- Manoj Shah and Pradeep Kumar-- are accused of allegedly raping the girl and shoving off objects in her private parts on April 15, 2013. Both the accused, currently in judicial custody, had fled after allegedly committing the crime, leaving the victim at Manoj's room believing her to be dead. The child was rescued 40 hours later on April 17, 2013. Manoj and Pradeep were later arrested by Delhi police separately from Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga in Bihar respectively in 2013. The trial saw an interesting turn in 2014 when one of the accused, Pradeep, had moved the court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of his arrest. The trial court took three years to decide his application of juvenility and on April 12, 2017, transferred the case to Juvenile Justice Board (JJB). Pradeep was granted bail by the JJB in June. Following this, the mother of the rape survivor moved the Delhi High Court against the trial court's order declaring Pradeep to be a juvenile. The high court had in 2018 declared that Pradeep was not a juvenile and sent him to trial before the sessions court. It also took almost a year for the POCSO court to complete recording of the statement of both the accused, from December 5, 2018 to September 25, 2019, following which the prosecution and the defence counsel completed their final arguments in December last year. The court had framed charges of raping a minor, unnatural offence, kidnapping, attempt to murder, destruction of evidence and wrongful confinement with common intention under the IPC against the two accused. It had also framed charges of aggravated sexual assault under the POCSO Act which entails a maximum punishment of life term. Charges of rape and unnatural offence were slapped on the two accused by the court as these two sections were not invoked by the police in its charge sheet. The police had said some foreign materials -- three pieces of a candle and one hair oil bottle -- were taken out from the body of the victim, which was also proved by doctors during recording of their statements in the court. As the anger over the gruesome rape spilled onto the capital's streets, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said that collective efforts were needed to root out such "depravity" from society. "The gruesome assault on a little child a few days back reminds us of the need to work collectively to root out this sort of depravity from our society," Singh had said. The city had witnessed outraged students and women staging demonstrations at India Gate, Police Headquarters and near the residences of the then Prime Minister Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Placard-wielding protesters had also gathered at AIIMS, where the girl was undergoing treatment, and burnt the effigy of then Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, demanding his sacking. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nirbhayas mother Asha Devi on Friday accused BJP and AAP of playing politics and alleged that the hanging of convicts of 2012 gang-rape case which was scheduled to take place on January 22, is being deliberately postponed. It has been 7 years and we didnt get justice. The government cant see our pain. Both parties are playing politics on the girls death. I think the hanging is deliberately been postponed, Asha Devi told ANI when asked about the war of words between BJP and AAP in the case. Till now, I never talked about politics, but now I want to say that those people who held protests on streets in 2012, today the same people are only playing with my daughters death for political gains, she said. ALSO WATCH | 2012 Delhi gangrape victims mother urges PM Modi to order convicts hanging On Thursday, BJP alleged that the AAP government is responsible for the delay in the hanging of Nirbhaya convicts. Later, Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia hit back at BJP and said Give us Delhi Police and law-and-order responsibility for two days and we will hang Nirbhaya convicts. Commenting on Sisodias remark, Asha said: It would be good if Sisodia had said give me Delhi Police, I will protect girls. The mother also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that the hanging of convicts take place on January 22. Standing Counsel for Tihar Jail authorities Advocate Rahul Mehra has said that the execution of convicts in the 2012 gang-rape case will not take place on January 22. It can only take place 14 days after the mercy plea is rejected as we are bound by the rule which says that a notice of 14 days must be provided to the convicts after the rejection of mercy plea, he added. Earlier, Mukesh Singh, one of the four convicts in the gang-rape and murder of a paramedic student in 2012, had informed the Delhi High Court that his mercy petition is pending before the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the President of India and he should be given a minimum 14 days notice between the rejection of his mercy petition and scheduled date of execution. The Delhi High Court has refused to set aside the trial court order which issued a death warrant. The court had asked the convicts counsel to approach the trial court and apprise about the pending mercy plea. The Supreme Court had already dismissed curative petitions of the two death row convicts, including Mukesh Singh in the case. Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh had moved the curative petitions in the top court after a Delhi court issued death warrants in their names for their hanging on January 22. Besides them, two other convicts named Pawan and Akshay are also slated to be executed on the same day at 7 am in Delhis Tihar Jail premises. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has sent the mercy petition of 2012 Delhi gang-rape case convict Mukesh Singh to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday night, sources said. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Chinas Missile Volume Edge Threatened by Joint US-Israeli Iron Dome Advances News Analysis Chinas military advantage as fielding the most active missile program in the world is threatened by joint U.S.-Israeli advances in the Iron Dome missile interceptor. Israels Defense Ministry announced on Jan. 12 that after a decade of joint funding, development and production with the United States, the latest testing effective rate for Iron Dome anti-missile interceptions is 100 percent. The Rand Corporation think tank shocked military analysts in 2017 when its annual U.S.-China Military Scorecard rated China as having gained the advantage over America in aerial attacks against Taiwan and the U.S. fleet. The incoming Trump administration responded by increasing cooperation with Israel to fund layered anti-missile defenses. National Interest reported in early December 2019 that several of its sources alleged: Chinas iron-fisted leader, Xi Jinping, is losing patience and could order the invasion of Taiwan in the early 2020s. The worlds most dangerous flashpoint might witness an overwhelming amphibious blitz, perhaps before July 2021 to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Chinese regime has prepared for such a momentous ploy by focusing its military spending on ballistic missiles, cyber warfare capabilities, and counter-space weapons. National Interest warned that given Chinas skill in the dark arts of strategic deception, Taiwan and the United States would only have four weeks of advanced warning of a Chinese invasion. But given the distance of 100 miles from China to Taiwan and an attack scenario that might include anti-satellite weapons blinding U.S. early warning systems, massive missile attacks against the U.S. Navy in Japan ports and DF-26 missiles employed in concert with Chinese Navy ships and aircraft to keep the American aircraft carriers at bay, there would only be about 4 minutes to respond to Chinas first-strike launches. China held its largest military parade on Oct.1 that featured mobile DF-31AG and DF-26 conventional/nuclear armed missiles. But it also showcased 6 previously unseen area dominance missile systems that included 3 new cruise missiles (YJ-12B, YJ-18, and CJ-100), 2 ballistic missiles (JL-2 and DF-41), and a hypersonic glide vehicle (DF-17). In 2008, the United States and Israel began joint funding, development and production to field the Arrow-3 hypersonic anti-ballistic missile with a goal of 99 percent interception effectiveness. The program morphed after 2013 into the Iron Dome, which has had a record of over 90 percent effectiveness in shooting down over 2,400 projectiles. The $190 billion U.S. Defense Budget for 2020 pivoted from focusing on fighting terrorists to confronting China and Russia as high-tech strategic competitors. Israel has already fielded 10 Iron Dome batteries to protect its citizens and infrastructure. Each battery includes 3 to 4 stationary launchers that can fire 20 Tamir missiles at incoming threats launched from ranges of up to 60 miles. The interceptors feature electro-optical sensors, steering fins and proximity-fuse blast warheads. The Tamirs missile components are procured through Raytheons U.S. supply chain. The United States already fields many battalions of Patriot missiles to intercept large cruise missiles. But the unit cost of Patriots run about $2-3 million each, because the system is optimized to very ballistic missiles operating at higher altitudes. The 2020 U.S. Defense budget plans to buy a variant of the Iron Dome manufactured from Raytheon called SkyHunter that will feature a slightly longer missile interceptor. The cost per launch for the new interceptor will only be about $80,000 and is designed to integrate with the existing Armys Sentinel and Marines G/ATOR field radar systems. To add a further layer of missile defense at shorter ranges, the United States and Israel are jointly working on new generations of air, land and sea-based high-energy laser cannons. The estimated cost would only be about $3.50 per interception. Laser cannons could theoretically offer unlimited defense shots, but laser doesnt work as well in bad weather and for targets over the horizon. For many, the thought of catching a plane is far from luxurious: from spending countless hours lining up at security, to wrestling armrests with other passengers as you face a crammed long-haul flight in economy. But somewhere else in the sky on board a private jet, high fliers are having their every need attended to while they enjoy their very own cinema, bedroom and living room. It's a travel privilege enjoyed by a lucky few -- from celebrities, royals, self-made entrepreneurs and oligarchs. But the smooth running of private jets depends, usually, on a select few. Among the most attentive are flight attendants who spend hours, often alone, tirelessly ensuring their passengers receive a premium, 5-star service. While life as a VIP air hostess comes with the perk of traveling the world, their jobs can be demanding and stressful. They may serve their passengers every need, but the skills required by flight attendants are much more than that of a waitress -- they're cocktail mixologists, cleaners, personal assistants, caterers and even dog sitters. Flight attendant Kimberley Benton has been working in the industry for nine years. She says it was her love for traveling that drew her into the world, which has enabled her to embark on 14 world tours. During her lifetime, she's traveled to more than 130 countries and traveled on 27 different types of business jets. For her, being a VIP flight attendant is more than just delivering the best possible service to her clients, but about "creating an experience." "They're expecting you to be a lot more personal," the 32-year-old told CNN Travel. "They expect you to know exactly what they want, when they want it and it could be something as little as as soon as they get on the plane they want a shot of a Nespresso, the foot rest up and their Sunday Times [newspaper] waiting for them." She's held birthday parties in the sky, after-parties for pop stars who she's flown with for their concert tours, and even put on full banquets for her guests. It's a job that requires her to be constantly adaptable to whatever situation she's in. "Pop bands, royalty, millionaires, billionaires, heiresses," Benton lists as people she's flown with. "I've [flown] a lot of people you see on TV and you can get a bit nervous, but when you fly these people you understand they're just like everyone else." As for the parties, she says there's a need to make sure they "don't get out of control." "You kind of need to be on the ball a little bit -- not letting them drink too much, but not spoil the fun and kind of having a balance," Benton says. "I've hosted a few parties in the sky before when I know they're going to have guests on board and they want all the champagne and ice ready to go," she adds. "You want to make sure they've got everything they want -- their favorite whiskies and scotch," she adds. Exotic parrots, guns and dead bodies Mary Kalymnou has also worked as a flight attendant for 13 years, working for high-ranking international clientele such as royal families, heads of states, CEOs and celebrities. She says she's worked on a variety of jets, including the long-range Gulfstream G550 and the Embraer Legacy which allows up to 14 passengers on board. Kalymnou says she's flown for royal families, heads of states, CEOs and celebrities. She says the job of a VIP flight attendant is demanding and one that "requires a lot of sacrifices." "It requires a lot of patience, flexibility, and for sure -- high levels of self-esteem," Kalymnou explains. "The clients expect the best, the operators demand the highest so you must be willing and of course be able to offer the best of yourself." Otherwise, she says, you could be easily replaced. "Every girl could learn this job ... but only a few will eventually stand out. Being professional is not enough -- you must be unique," she says. "You can easily be replaced by someone new, someone younger, someone prettier, someone smarter, someone more flexible. So since day one, I knew I had to be like a sponge in order to survive in the industry." Kalymnou's career has led to her running the luxury travel and lifestyle blog, Maryhop. Kalymnou says in order to succeed a flight attendant needs to have "premium catering skills, creative thinking, great manners as well as an elegant and hospitable attitude." Her career eventually led to her running the luxury travel and lifestyle blog and Instagram, Maryhop , which has gained over 23,000 followers and inspires others to pursue a career in aviation. She also provides one-on-one consulting to help others improve their customer service. Travel the world for $119,000 Benton now works as a freelance flight attendant for TAG Aviation and various other operators that provide private and business aviation services. But previously, Benton worked on board the Four Seasons' state-of-the-art luxury private jet . The Toronto-based luxury accommodation brand leased its very own Boeing 757 to fly up to 52 guests on global tours, setting back passengers $119,000 for a 24-day nine-destination trip. Interior of the Four Seasons private jet. "It's a private jet experience because the guests are on this aircraft for their full tour, it could be for four to five weeks and It's their aircraft, there's no one else getting on the plane," Benton explains. Each journey includes air travel, bespoke excursions, meals, drink and accommodation, she said. "A lot of these guests are repeat guests and sometimes they do request the same crew on their next trip," Benton said, adding that eight attendants usually worked on board. However unlike on the Four Seasons flights, when Benton's operating smaller, more exclusive jets, she often works alone. Before each flight, both Kalymnou and Benton have to organize catering for the flight -- which can sometimes be challenging. "You could have a very low maintenance owner that doesn't want much, maybe just beans on toast and some might want a full banquet, family dinner and a five star service," Benton said says. While Kalymnou once received a last minute order from her client who requested a shark's fin soup on a flight out of London. The rare dish, which usually needs to be ordered 48 hours in advance, led Kalymnou to scramble. "That was a difficult challenge as this was mainly forbidden in the UK and only certified suppliers and restaurants could actually deliver the order," she said. "Having great connections in the UK, I managed to get the request on board just a few minutes before the passengers arrived," Kalymnou says. But after all the stress that she went through to get it on board, once she offered the menu to her guests they decided they wanted to carry on eating the burgers they had bought on the way to the airport instead. "This is a typical example of our daily lives as VIP flight attendants. We strive for the best, even if it's not needed," she explained. Kalymnou has to organize catering for the flight, which can sometimes be challenging due to guest demands. Fendi toilet seats and silk carpets Once, Benton says, she worked on board a plane that was decorated with silk carpets throughout, and toilet seats made by the Italian luxury fashion house, Fendi. "It was 100% pure silk carpet so you'd have to be aware of all the engineers coming on in their big boots. You'd be like 'oh god, please take your shoes off ... don't touch anything!'," she laughs. Benton has worked in the industry for over nine years. There was also a Formula One driver whose private jet had most things made out of carbon fiber. "It was really expensive and he had all that and black leather," she remembers. Benton says while some large commercial airlines provide private rooms to customers if they want a more luxurious experience, it still can't compete with the exclusiveness of a private jet. "You still haven't got the ability to change the schedule and that's what makes private so much more bespoke and tailored in comparison to commercial." While there isn't a set universal uniform for VIP flight attendants, Benton says that she has known some who have been required to wear platform high heels that have been bought for them by the jet owner. "I do know people who have to wear Louboutins in and outside the cabin," Benton reveals. But usually, she says, owners just like them to look presentable -- with simple hair and makeup. Living life on 'permanent standby' Life as a flight attendant is a job that can put Benton on "permanent standby," where you may not know where you'll end up in 48 hours or even two weeks. "Sometimes you don't always get the opportunity to fully have a day off," Benton adds. She says as a freelancer, flight attendants can earn anywhere from 150 ($195) to 450 ($587) a day, depending on your experience and what you can negotiate with the operator. "There's no set salary," she adds. "Everyone's got their own little deal going on." Benton says the biggest perk of her job is being able to meet new people and see new places. Benton says while they don't usually receive tips, she has received gifts such as expensive handbags from those she's flown for. And while she admits it is a perk, she says the best part of her job is having the opportunity to meet new people and visit new places -- such as the Maldives, Japan, Easter Island and Bali. "One of the massive perks is part of the job. It's going to all these different places and being able to say this is your job," she said. "You travel for a living and you're doing what you love." ---CNN Representative image The Jammu and Kashmir administration has released from house arrest four politicians one each from the NC, PDP, PC and Congress -- after keeping them in detention for over five months following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, officials said on January 17. The four politicians released late night on January 16 include a former minister and a former deputy Speaker of the last Assembly of the erstwhile state. "Former minister Abdul Haq Khan from PDP, former deputy Speaker Nazir Ahmad Gurezi, former MLA Mohammad Abbas Wani from Peoples Conference and former MLA Abdul Rashid from Congress have been released from house detention," the officials said. Investor BGF has said its portfolio of clients, ranging from coffee shops to kitchen firms, grew during 2019 and it has now backed five companies in Northern Ireland Its latest investment was in Toomebridge kitchen door and components firm Uform. BGF said that since its investment, the business has expanded staff numbers and revamped its design centre. Coffee chain Bob & Berts also continued its expansion after receiving 2m in BGF funding in 2017. It opened eight new coffee shops over 2019. Patrick Graham, head of central Scotland and NI, said BGF hoped to continue its growth in 2020. One day after Virginia governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency ahead of a pro-gun rally drawing potentially violent extremists, the FBI arrested three white supremacists reportedly heading to the state's capital. Per the New York Times: One of the men, Patrik Jordan Mathews, 27, a main recruiter for [the white nationalist group known as The Base], entered the United States illegally from Canada, according to the officials. He was arrested along with Brian M. Lemley Jr., 33, and William G. Bilbrough IV, 19. Mr. Mathews was trained as a combat engineer and considered an expert in explosives. He was dismissed from the Canadian Army after his ties to white supremacists surfaced. Mr. Lemley previously served as a cavalry soldier in the United States Army. Mathews and Lemley were charged with transporting firearms and 1,500 rounds of ammunition with the intent to commit a felony. Bilbrough was charged with harboring an illegal alien, namely Mathews, who entered the country illegally. The three men are reportedly members of the Base, an international neo-Nazi organization that, according to the Associated Press, discussed in encrypted chat rooms "committing acts of violence against blacks and Jews, ways to make improvised explosive devices, their military-style training camps and their desire to create a white 'ethno-state.'" Heidi Beirich, director of Southern Poverty Law Centers Intelligence Project, told VICE that the Base poses a major threat to public safety, saying their propaganda "encourages individuals toward the terroristic so-called 'lone wolf' or terror cell-oriented mentality" and instructs followers to "prepare themselves to, in fact, become potential threats to public safety." An 18-year-old in New Jersey was arrested late last year for using the Base to orchestrate vandalism of two midwestern mosques. White nationalist terrorism has been on the rise internationally, including multiple attacks on U.S. synagogues, the bloody assault on two mosques in New Zealand, and the mass shooting at a Texas Walmart. Just last year, a Canadian man was sentenced for killing six people at an Islamic cultural center in Quebec. Story continues Other white nationalist and militia groups are expected to arrive en masse in Richmond, Virginia, on Martin Luther King, Jr Day to protest gun control legislation going through the newly Democrat-led state legislature. Northam's state of emergency has banned all weapons from the Capital Square from Friday through Tuesday, but, according to VICE, in the event's Facebook group some attendees have announced that they don't plan to abide by the order. In a press conference on Wednesday, Northam announced that he was coordinating Virginia's state and local police to ensure public safety. Terrorism A Most American Terrorist: The Making of Dylann Roof What are you? a member of the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston asked at the trial of the white man who killed eight of her fellow black parishioners and their pastor. What kind of subhuman miscreant could commit such evil?... What happened to you, Dylann? Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah spent months in South Carolina searching for an answer to those questionsspeaking with Roofs mother, father, friends, former teachers, and victims family members, all in an effort to unlock what went into creating one of the coldest killers of our time. Originally Appeared on GQ Rodney Chatman considers breakthroughs with students among his greatest achievements as University of Dayton executive director of public safety and chief of police, especially creating bonds with students from backgrounds where there's much distrust for police and even interacting with police in social settings is seemingly impossible. Chatman, who leaves UD Feb. 7 to become the chief of police for the University of Utah, reflected on two interactions during his four-year tenure that stick out to him. "A student came to my office to talk. She said where's she's from, her neighborhood and her family don't like or trust the police. And never did she think she'd proactively come to a police station and proactively seek out the chief to have a conversation. She was blown away she was sitting here," he said. As part of public safety's outreach to students, Chatman and his officers often meet with international students to help them understand U.S. laws, the role of police and scams targeting international students. "A young lady said in her wildest dreams she never thought she could sit next to uniformed police officers and eat pizza," Chatman added. Those and similar instances tell Chatman the department is having an impact in demystifying the uniform and showing campus that security and safety isn't us vs. them, but we." "My greatest joy and fondest memories are relationships I've built with students," he said, adding that everything he helped implement was with the students in mind. For his department's efforts, UD Public Safety received the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators Award for Innovations in Community Policing in 2018. The association presents the award for significant evidence-based crime prevention programs or initiatives and development of strong community partnership programs. "Chief Chatman emphasized the importance of community policing and worked to foster strong connections between public safety and the entire campus community, especially students," said William M. Fischer, UD vice president for student development. "He has been a strong voice for our UD police officers and their professional development. Chief engaged in his work with the highest level of professionalism and integrity." Throughout his time as chief, Chatman emphasized community outreach to "meet students where they are," establishing a community engagement team and a student public safety advocate team to be a bridge between students and the department, situating their base in a house in the student neighborhood. He also sought opportunities for his officers to be in the presence of students like during lunchtime in the student union, at student organization meetings, or barbecues and bowling nights with students so they can ask questions. "We don't want to be seen only when something's wrong," Chatman said. "We want to be more prominent where most of the students are. We can take our services to them on their schedules in a familiar, comfortable setting rather than students having to come to us in Fitz Hall. Some initiatives seek to empower and educate students. Public safety conducts self-defense workshops and a Citizen Police Academy, a five-week program during which faculty, staff and students get a taste of public safety's day-to-day operations. Sessions include how public safety solves crimes, including an opportunity to "solve" a sample crime and conduct a sample traffic stop. Other initiatives focus on professional development a fair and impartial policing workshop; Lexipol, a service to ensure public safety policies and procedures are up-to-date; and training with a virtual reality system that trains and evaluates officers on interacting with the public and reacting during high-stress situations. Also, each supervisor reviews 10 body camera videos a week "so we can see the extraordinary work our officers are doing, commend them, and address certain issues before they become problematic," Chatman said. Public safety also improved the way it notifies the University community about threats under Chatman. He developed Flyer Aware messages for instances that don't rise to the level of a safety advisory and and started using social media for crime prevention tutorials. UD also installed an emergency alert siren for severe weather warnings and other situations requiring the University community to tune to the campus emergency notification system for more information. "I have come to know Chief Chatman as an incredible role model for inclusive and bold leadership," said Bryan Borodkin, University of Dayton Student Government Association president during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 academic years. "His work with UD police was transformative and broke all molds for what many students thought collegiate policing would look like. Specifically, his efforts to increase community policing made our campus safer and more welcoming. Chief's energy and enthusiasm for the safety of the University was truly second-to-none. I know I, along with my fellow students, will miss him dearly and hope for the absolute best in his future endeavors." Iran's supreme leader said Friday that demonstrations at home over the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner were unrepresentative of the Iranian people and accused the country's enemies of exploiting the disaster for propaganda purposes. Leading the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran for the first time since 2012, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the January 8 incident was a "bitter" tragedy but should not be allowed to overshadow the "sacrifice" of one of Iran's most storied commanders, assassinated in a US drone strike. His sermon came after a traumatic month for Iran in which it approached the brink of war with the United States and mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian jet, killing all 176 people on board. "The plane crash was a bitter accident, it burned through our heart," Khamenei said in an address punctuated by cries of "Death to America" from the congregation. "But some tried to... portray it in a way to forget the great martyrdom and sacrifice" of Major General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the foreign operations arm of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards who was assassinated in Baghdad on January 3. Khamenei said Iran's enemies had tried to use the plane tragedy to undermine the Islamic republic. "Our enemies were as happy about the plane crash as we were sad," he said. "The spokesmen of the vicious American government keep repeating that we stand with the people of Iran. You're lying," Khamenei said. He also slammed Britain, France and Germany, which on Tuesday decided to trigger a dispute mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, following US threats to impose tariffs on European cars. "It has been proven now, after about a year, that they are, in the true sense of the word, America's lackeys," he said. President Donald Trump reacted by tweeting that Khamenei should watch his words. "The so-called 'Supreme Leader' of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe," Trump tweeted. "Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words!" - 'The deceived ones' - The air disaster triggered scattered protests in Tehran and other cities, but they appeared smaller than nationwide demonstrations in November in which Amnesty International said at least 300 people died. On Friday, anti-riot police staged a massive deployment in Tehran, an AFP correspondent said. Khamenei said the protesters were unrepresentative of the Iranian people, who had turned out in their hundreds of thousands in what he called a "million-strong crowd" for Soleimani's funeral. Praising the slain general, Khamenei said his actions beyond Iran's borders were in the service of the "security" of the nation and that the people support "resistance" against its enemies. It was people like Soleimani, not the protesters, who had devoted their lives to Iran, Khamenei told thousands of worshippers who crammed into the mosque and spilled into the snowy streets outside. - 'Divine help' - Khamenei's sermon came at a tumultuous moment for Iran, which had seemed headed for conflict earlier in January after Soleimani was killed on January 3 outside Baghdad airport, prompting retaliatory strikes against Iraqi bases housing US troops. Khamenei hailed the strikes as a "sign of divine help". "It was a strike to their reputation, to America's might. This cannot be compensated by anything ... sanctions cannot return the lost prestige of America," he said. The animosity between Washington and Tehran has soared since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday urged a "de-escalation" of the tensions and an end to the "constant threats". The plane tragedy "is a very serious red flag and signal to start working on de-escalation and not on constant threats and combat aviation flights in this region", Lavrov said. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Friday he had met his Canadian counterpart Francois-Philippe Champagne in Oman to discuss cooperation among nations affected by the disaster. The Boeing 737 was carrying 63 Canadians among other nationalities when it was shot down. "Politicization of this tragedy must be rejected. Focus on victims' families," Zarif tweeted. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Iran to hand the plane's black boxes to France, saying it has one of the few laboratories capable of properly examining them. In June 2019, Iran and the United States had also appeared to be on the brink of direct military confrontation after Tehran shot down a US drone it said had violated its airspace. Trump said he called off retaliatory strikes at the last minute. President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday that Iran was "working daily to prevent military confrontation or war", and maintained that a dialogue with the world was still "possible". Seoul (South Korea) [India], Jan 18 (ANI): South Korea and the United States are not discussing the possible deployment of South Korean troops to the Middle East in connection with their defense cost-sharing talks according to Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea's ambassador. "We are not talking about troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz or anything outside the framework of the Special Measures Agreement (SMA)," he was quoted as saying by Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea's ambassador to the defence cost-sharing negotiations with the United States on Thursday (local time). "We are not discussing anything other than those aspects related to our contribution to the alliance," he said. The agency in its report said that in addition to higher financial contributions, Washington has sought to expand the SMA's coverage and get Seoul to shoulder the cost of rotational troop deployments to the peninsula. Under the previous SMA, which expired at the end of December, Seoul was required to pay US$870 million. (ANI) By William Schwartz | Published on 2020/01/16 While "Dr. Romantic 2" has been setting excellent ratings via the depiction of its idealistic lead character, the medical profession in the real world of South Korea has been taking a beating. Advertisement Famed surgeon Lee Gook-jong, best known for saving a North Korean defector, has become a focal point thanks to leaked recordings that depict him enduring verbal abuse from a hospital administrator. Lee Gook-jong had publically criticized his hospital's funding priorities. Though "Dr. Romantic 2" was not produced with specific persons or incidents in mind, the nature of the leaked conversations unintentionally bring the drama to mind. The main source of contention in the leaked conversation is over the helicopter budget, and helicopters have frequently factored into both seasons of the drama. "Dr. Romantic 2" is highly likely to weigh in on issues of medical resource allocation on the side of Lee Gook-jong. Cast and crew have been specific in discussing their ideals for better hospital administration systems and how this forms a key aspect of the titular romanticism of the drama's lead character. Any potential plotline directly influenced by recent events, however, is likely weeks away. Written by William Schwartz ___________ "Dr. Romantic 2" is directed by Lee Gil-bok, Yoo In-sik, written by Kang Eun-kyeong, and features Han Suk-kyu, Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Sung-kyung, Kim Joo-hun, Shin Dong-wook, So Ju-yeon. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2020/01/06~Now airing, Mon, Tue 22:00 on SBS. fergusonlibrary.org Stamfords Ferguson Library is hosting a Year of the Rat celebration Sunday, Jan. 19, that includes a performance by a Chinese acrobat, Korean drummers and dancers, a Tae Kwon Do demonstration and arts and crafts for ages 5 and up and their families. The drop-in program requires no registration. The schedule is as follows: An 18-year-old girl, Victoria Oshioke, has told the heartbreaking tale of how her boyfriend sold her into prostitution for 500,000 cefa (N350,000). Oshioke, who spoke with Daily Trust, was rescued alongside three other girls identified as Joy Aloaye, Amaka Eze and Anuoluwapo Mustapha by operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). She revealed that she was first sold to the syndicate when she was 16-years-old and taken to Cotonou, Republic of Benin and later to Mali to engage in prostitution. She narrated further that she returned back to Nigeria because she couldnt cope with sleeping with different men every day. She said, The syndicate took me to Mali where I was made to sleep with different men. I came back two years ago and later got a call from my boyfriend, Maxwell, that I should come to Benin. I was living in Auchi then. When I got to Benin along with my elder sister, my boyfriend asked me to go back to Mali. I refused. in the midnight, he threw us out of his apartment. For fear of being attacked, we agreed to go. Read Also: Lady Beats Husband For Calling Her A Prostitute (Video) The next day, which was Tuesday, he put us in a bus coming to Lagos after calling his contact, who resides at Iyana-Ipaja. According to the NSCDC on Thursday January 16, a 30-year-old suspected member of the syndicate identified as Omowunmi Michael, has been arrested at her residence in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos. Omowunmi reportedly got into a heated exchange with the girls and threatened to send them back to Edo State after they refused paying an upfront payment of N1 million before she will hand them over to the syndicates leader in Cotonou. The girls who stormed out of the room in anger, shared their ordeal with the NSCDC officials after being spotted in a truck whose driver they begged for a lift. Omowunmi was then arrested on Wednesday January 15, while trying to traffick four ladies to Mali for prostitution. Commandant of NSCDC Lagos State Command, Cyprian Ehi Otiobhi said, Two of the victims, Victoria Oshioke and Joy Aloaye, were transported from Benin, Edo State, by one Favour, who is currently on the run, while Amaka Eze, who hails from Onitsha, Anambra State, was linked to the suspect by one Lekan. Officials in Thailand have announced a second case of the new Chinese coronavirus that has killed two people. The 74-year-old woman had been quarantined since her arrival on Monday, with tests later confirming she had caught the infection. She is from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where 41 cases of 'unexplained pneumonia' have been linked to the new type of coronavirus. Two patients have died, with officials announcing the second fatality yesterday. Both patients were male and in their 60s. Thais have been urged to remain calm as the country ramps up checks of Chinese tourists ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays. Japan reported its first case of the infection on Thursday a man who returned from visiting Wuhan, a city home to 11million people. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the virus could spread and reportedly warned hospitals worldwide to prepare for cases. Thailand has announced a second case of Chinese coronavirus that has killed two people. One case has been detected in Japan. A total of 41 patients have been confirmed in Wuhan, a Chinese city where the outbreak began The 74-year-old tourist was intercepted at Thailand's biggest airport Suvarnabhumi on January 13. Pictured, Bangkok airport staff performing thermal scans on a traveller The Chinese woman, 74, was from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where 41 cases of 'unexplained pneumonia' have been linked to the new type of coronavirus. Pictured, a notice for passengers from Wuhan is displayed in Japan, where one case has been detected Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to the deadly SARS, which killed hundreds of people in China and Hong Kong in the early 2000s. The new coronavirus, which causes cold-like symptoms including a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat and a fever, has never been seen before and has not yet been named. The WHO has said 'much remains to be understood' about the coronavirus, which has been described as 'novel'. Forty-one cases have been contained in the Chinese city of Wuhan since December and dozens more have been hospitalised as suspected patients. Among the confirmed cases, two have died, five are in a serious condition, 12 have been discharged and the rest are stable. The 74-year-old tourist was intercepted at Thailand's biggest airport Suvarnabhumi on January 13 with symptoms of lung infection, the country's public health ministry said. It is hoped she will return home soon after being treated in the same hospital, east of Bangkok, as a Chinese woman who was diagnosed with the virus after entering the country last week. The 61-year-old, quarantined on January 8, was the first case of the coronavirus to be detected outside of China, raising fears the virus would spread rapidly. Japan confirmed its first case of infection from the new virus - a man in his 30s from Tokyo who had recently visited Wuhan. Pictured, pedestrians in Tokyo wearing protective masks Forty-one cases have been contained in the Chinese city of Wuhan since December. The majority of patients have been traced to the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market (pictured) THE NEW CORONAVIRUS IN CHINA TIMELINE December 31 2019: The WHO China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. Around 44 suspected cases were reported in the month of December. January 1 2020: A seafood market was closed for environmental sanitation and disinfection after being closely linked with the patients. January 5 2020: Doctors ruled out severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as being the cause of the virus, as well as bird flu, Middle East respiratory syndrome and adenovirus. Meanwhile, Hong Kong reported January 9 2020: A preliminary investigation identified the respiratory disease as a new type of coronavirus, Chinese state media reported. Officials at Wuhan Municipal Health Commission reported the outbreak's first death on January 9, a 61-year-old man. January 13 2020: A Chinese woman in Thailand was the first confirmed case of the mystery virus outside of China. The 61-year-old was quarantined on January 8, but has since returned home in a stable condition after having treatment, the Thai Health Ministry said. January 14 2020: The WHO told hospitals around the globe to prepare, in the 'possible' event of the infection spreading. It said there is some 'limited' human-to-human transmission of the virus. Two days previously, the UN agency said there was 'no clear evidence of human to human transmission'. January 16 2020: A man in Tokyo is confirmed to have tested positive for the disease after travelling to the Chinese city of Wuhan. A second death, a 69-year-old man, was reported by officials at Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. He died in the early hours of January 15 at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan city having first been admitted to hospital on December 31. January 17 2020: Thailand announces it has detected a second case. The 74-year-old woman had been quarantined since her arrival on Monday. She lived in Wuhan. Advertisement A statement from the country's public health ministry said on Friday: 'People don't have to panic as there is no spread of the virus in Thailand.' Monitoring at four airports that have daily flights from Wuhan - Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueng, Chiang Mai and Phuket - has been increased, Thailand's Public Health Ministry added. Some 13,624 passengers across the airports have been scanned with thermal checkers since January 3. It comes just days before Lunar New Year holidays next week, when nearly a million Chinese visitors are expected to arrive in Thailand. Some 1.4billion Chinese citizens will be travelling abroad, leaving airports scrambling to implement surveillance in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan. Yesterday, Japan's health ministry announced its first case, a man who had been hospitalised with pneumonia symptoms after travelling to Wuhan earlier this month. Though the known cases of the pneumonia outbreak so far involve only individuals who have travelled to or live in Wuhan, the WHO has warned that a wider outbreak is possible. Uncertainty around the exact cause of the outbreak remains, though a seafood market in the city is suspected to be the epicentre. The majority of the infected patients in Wuhan have been traced to the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, which has been shut down since January 1. 'Environmental samples' taken from the market tested positive for the virus, Wuhan health authorities said. The first patient diagnosed with the novel strain was a regular customer at the seafood market on Wuhan's outskirts. The 61-year-old man has since died, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said last week. He also suffered from abdominal tumours and chronic liver disease. A statement from the commission yesterday revealed a second death at 12.45am on January 15. The patient, known only as Xiong, fell ill on December 31, 2019. His condition worsened on January 4 and he was transferred to the Jinyintan Hospital of Wuhan. He had severe cardiomyopathy a heart condition, abnormal kidney function, and seriously damaged organs. It is not clear if these were complications of the virus or underlying conditions. Some 1.4billion Chinese citizens will be travelling abroad during Lunar New Year. Airports have stepped up surveillance, including in Japan (pictured) Health workers monitor thermal scanner as passengers arrive at Narita airport in Japan 'Environmental samples' taken from the market tested positive for the virus, Wuhan health authorities said. Pictured, Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team search the market Although the virus was initially thought to be transmitted by animals, due to the connection with the food market, the WHO said there is now 'limited evidence' of human-to-human transmission. Hospitals have also been alerted of the potential threat of spread. Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, acting head of WHO's emerging diseases unit, said hospitals worldwide had been given guidance about infection control. This includes the potential of 'super spreading' in health care settings, which is when a few ill patients can transmit the virus to dozens at a time. Discussing the potential spread of the virus, Dr Kerkhove said: 'This is something on our radar, it is possible, we need to prepare ourselves.' Some hospitals in China have already been directed to report cases of fever in anyone who has travelled to Wuhan in the past 14 days. DECATUR A Decatur woman and her daughter gained entrance to MacArthur High School on Wednesday morning so the girl could help her sister fight a student, court documents say. According to a sworn affidavit, a 40-year-old woman cheered as her two daughters punched, pushed and pulled a students hair during a fight in the school's hallway. One of the daughters doesnt attend MacArthur. A teacher attempted to break up the fight but was unable to do so without police and school security assistance, court documents say. After several verbal commands to stop fighting, the school liaison officer escorted the woman to the office, along with her daughter who did not attend the school, the sworn affidavit said. The other daughter who attends MacArthur was stopped by school security, according to documents. Both girls were petitioned to juvenile court on preliminary charges of aggravated battery. The sworn affidavit said the school liaison officer recognized the 40-year-old woman from a previous incident during which she yelled at a boy outside of the high school for harassing her daughter The woman is facing preliminary charges of mob action, contributing to the criminal delinquency of a minor and criminal trespassing to state supported property. Bond was set at $25,000, and records show she was released from jail after posting $2,500 bail. Preliminary charges are reviewed by the state's attorney's office. 2019 mug shots from the Herald & Review Contact Kennedy Nolen at (217) 421-6985. Follow her on Twitter: @KNolenWrites Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Cybersecurity is a very serious issue for 2020 and the risks stretch far beyond the alarming spike in ransomware. In addition to the daily concerns of malware, stolen data and the cost of recoveringfrom a business network intrusion, there is the very real danger of nefarious actors using cyberattacks to influence or directly impact the outcome of the 2020 U.S. general election. Today, every company that has a computer or any connected devices or software should see itself as a tech company. Everyindividual with a smart TV, virtual assistant or other Internet ofThings (IoT) device could be at risk as well and the risks include beingvictimized by cyberstalkers or having personal data compromised. We are seeing growing attack surfaces for example, automotive, drones,satellites and hardware components, said Michael Sechrist, chieftechnologist at Booz Allen Hamilton. There is also increased obfuscation fromsophisticated actors that is, malware code reuse and similarities, he told TechNewsWorld. Several major domestic and international events will likelyprovide attackers opportunities for digital disruption across largeand small companies and governments alike, Sechrist said. Although everyone whos connected in this increasingly connected world is a potential target, understanding the risks can help alleviate the overall threat. The main threat companies face is in not adequately keeping pace withthe ever-evolving security threat landscape, said Ellen Benaim,information security officer at Templafy. It is a constant battle to keep abreast of the latest issues. Tomake matters worse, we predict that in 2020 cyberthreats will becomemore frequent and sophisticated, spanning a wider attack surface andcausing a more deadly impact, she told TechNewsWorld. Old Threats Still Have Teeth Many of the same threats that have been around for years willcontinue to pose real problems in 2020. Among them are phishing attacks. Phishing is essentially tricking others into taking an action thatcan be profited from, said Tom Thomas, adjunct faculty member inTulane Universitys Online Master of Professional Studies in Cybersecurity Management program. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Since all those millions are still sitting in a bank in Nigeriafor over 20 years now, I am sure phishing is here to stay as long aspeople are greedy and easily tricked, he told TechNewsWorld. Education is quite common, but these scams are evolving as well and some of these email scams are very believable unless you lookclosely, which most people do not, warned Thomas. Another cybersecurity threat is one that isnt really an attack, butrather a problem due to overworked and at times underpaid softwaredesigners. This is the issue of software errors, and those errors canresult in exploits that hackers and other criminals can target. These are valid concerns, and with the rise of software as king in theIT space, this means that developers are going to have to addresssecurity within their code, new and old, said Thomas. Threats From Within One overlooked area of cybersecurity is who has legitimate access tothe data, and whether those individuals can be trusted. Edward Snowdenis just one example, but the issue has plagued tech companies foryears. In the spring of 2018, Apple had to fire an employee forleaking details of the companys software roadmap. This problem is likely to get worse, as there is now a cybersecurityworker shortage, and companies are being less diligent when it comes tonew hires. A big threat facing companies in 2020 is the insider threat, saidTemplays Benaim. Whether it is deliberate or not, the impact of these threats can bedevastating, she added. Insider threats can manifest in a number of ways for example, anovertired employee might simply forward confidential data to thewrong recipient, Benaim said, or a disgruntled former employee might downloadcustomer records from a CRM tool with malicious intent. Both scenarios could lead to a severe data breach, triggering inordinate fines for your company under GDPR. Pointed Attacks Even trusted employees can make critical mistakes. Hackers usesocial engineering techniques to breach a network and gathersensitive data as well as tools to encrypt data or break security systems. A D V E R T I S E M E N T In 2020 we could see more multi-layer spearphishing, where multipletargets inside a business are used to gather information and gainaccess, warned Laurence Pitt, global security strategy director atJuniper Networks. The delivery mechanisms will also be more complicated, he told TechNewsWorld. Any threat that costs money, and especially where it affects publicmoney government and healthcare will remain newsworthy, Pitt added. Well see more attacks using common vectors, such as phishing,download via malvertising, etc., he predicted, but also attacks that use old methodswith new vectors. The Masad Stealer attack, reported by Juniper ThreatLabs in late 2019, is a good example of this, where data and money wasstolen via malware injected into a used and respected piece of software. Malware Hangups It isnt just computer networks that could be at risk in 2020. Alreadyweve seen that little has been done in recent years to ensure thatmobile devices are protected adequately from cyberattacks. In the case of smartphones, devices could become infected simply bydownloading apps even from what should be trusted platforms. The StrandHogg malware is using malicious but popular apps on thePlay store as a delivery mechanism, and until Google closes thevulnerability that allows this to work, any device and user issusceptible, said Pitt. Mobile phones have become a gateway to our most sensitive andpersonal information, and yet the offer of a free application stillgets millions of downloads without a thought as to whether itssafe,' he added. Users need to stop blindly accepting device requests for access toresources; stop downloading free apps that they do not need andprobably will only use once; and, finally, deny if an applicationrequests access to something that seems strange or unnecessary forexample, a PDF reader wanting access to SMS messages, advised Pitt.This will help keep devices and data more safe. Fake Out Another major concern for 2020 might not affect data directly, but it should be on everyones radar nonetheless: the rise of deepfakes, manipulated videos that have been used to discredit individuals, to spread misinformation, and to cause harm in seemingly endless ways. Deepfakes have increased in sophistication. Ever more powerfulcomputers and even mobile devices are making it all too easy to create convincing fakes. One concern is how they might be used in conjunction with fake news across mobile platforms. Deepfake technologies will be used to attempt to influence the 2020elections in the United States and beyond, predicted Erich Kron, securityawareness advocate at KnowBe4. Fake videos and audio will be released close to the election time inorder to discredit candidates or to swing votes, he warned. While these will be proven as fakes fairly rapidly, undecided voterswill be influenced by the most realistic or believable fakes, Kron added. Securing the Cloud One misconception about cybersecurity is that off-site or hostedstorage comes with greater risks. The cloud may have certainadvantages, in fact. There is a common misconception that the cloud is inherently lesssecure than traditional on-premises solutions, said AndrewSchwarz, professor in the Information Systems & Decision Sciences program in the E. J. Ourso College of Business Administration atLouisiana State University. The problem is that when there is a cloud breach such as the breachover the summer at AWS it makes huge headlines, and skeptics point tothese examples as reasons why companies should be reluctant to movetheir own systems into the cloud, he told TechNewsWorld. The problem with these examples is that network security issubject to the principle of the greatest weakness your data will bevulnerable in the interface that is the weakest, he added. Cloud security is going to continue to improve as the cloud itselfmatures, said Tulanes Thomas. In fact cloud, if implemented correctly, can increase security risks so ensuring that these risks are mitigated is critically important,he pointed out. Last summers AWS breach showed that the cloud isnt the fundamental problem. Itwasnt the cloud provider that was at fault but a misconfigured firewall, which was due to a decision the client made. Furthermore, cloud providers will only survive if their clouds aresecure and are investing R&D in providing new approaches to securitythat will push the boundaries of security as we know it, saidLSUs Schwarz. Any breach means a certain death to providers. Thus it is intheir best interests to keep systems secure. The answer is thereforethat the cloud is not only secure, but is more secure than most, ifnot all, on-premises data centers. Security in Real Time Cybersecurity isnt just about computer networks or consumer devices. There are several significant upcoming happenings that hackers could target, and what is at stake goes well beyond money or data. There are three major events in 2020 that will certainly be a magnetto cybercriminals and nation state actors: the U.S. presidentialelection; the first-ever online U.S. census; and the Olympic games inTokyo, noted Mounir Hahad, head of Juniper Threat Labs at Juniper Networks. We will identify meddling attempts on social media; attempts atinfiltrating campaign staff; security holes in the census process, andattempts to exploit them; and that some attack on the Olympicsinfrastructure will probably succeed to some extent, he told TechNewsWorld. I am very concerned about the election. Government IT Security iswoefully lacking, especially when you get down to the county andprecinct level, which is where these machines are accessible, notedThomas. Electronic voting is still evolving slowly and that is what concernsme, as we have seen in the news that electronic ballots are far easierto subvert than paper ballots, he said. None of these problems will be easily addressed this year, or even inthe years to come. Cybersecurity remains a field that has too manyopenings and too few candidates. It requires constant diligenceand neverending training. The cost of not doing enough, however, could be even greater. The fact of the matter is that as long as criminals can gain accessto data, they can impact the confidentiality, integrity oravailability of it and theres little a company can do at that point,said KnowBe4s Malik. Companies should appropriately protect datawith cryptography, so that even if criminals gain access to the data,they cannot impact the integrity or confidentiality, he recommended. Finally, thetrend we will likely continue to see is the breaching of companiesthrough the supply chain or other trusted third parties. BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke over phone with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong on Thursday, and the two leaders agreed to make joint efforts to cement bilateral relations. This year marks the 70th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties, and is also of great importance in the socialist causes of both countries, noted Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. Xi said that as both the Chinese and Vietnamese people are preparing for the traditional Spring Festival, he is pleased to have this phone conversation with Trong, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee. "In recent years, I have kept close contact and exchanges with Comrade General Secretary Trong, and we have reached a series of important consensus on the development of relations between our countries and between our parties," Xi added. The sound development of China-Vietnam ties, Xi said, has injected new impetus to the socialist causes of both countries and made positive contributions to regional and global peace and development. China and Vietnam are good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners with a closely interconnected future, Xi said, adding that the socialist causes of both countries are developing vigorously while facing increasing risks and challenges. The Chinese leader said he is ready to strengthen strategic communication with his Vietnamese counterpart and jointly draw a blueprint to guide the development of China-Vietnam relations in the new era. "We need to continuously consolidate political mutual trust, carry forward our traditional friendship, and strengthen the foundation of our bilateral ties," Xi suggested. Meanwhile, the two neighbors should properly handle and solve their differences with the larger picture in mind and from a long-term view, and secure a favorable external environment for both countries' development, he added. They also need to seize the opportunities and build on the momentum to comprehensively lift the level of exchanges and cooperation, promote the joint construction of the Belt and Road, and continuously expand bilateral exchanges and cooperation, so as to enable the people of both countries to enjoy a stronger sense of fulfillment and happiness, Xi said. Xi pointed out that the CPC and the CPV not only serve as the leadership core for their respective socialist causes, but also play a key leading role in guiding China-Vietnam relations. Noting that the CPV is about to celebrate the 90th anniversary of its founding, Xi, on behalf of the CPC and the Chinese people, expressed warm congratulations to the CPV and the Vietnamese people. The CPC, Xi added, stands ready to join hands with the CPV to open new prospects for the two countries' socialist causes as well as their relations in the new era. Trong, for his part, said he is glad to talk with Xi over phone ahead of the Spring Festival and the 70th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties. He extended congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and on the great achievements China has made during the past more than 40 years of reform and opening-up. He also thanked China for its long-running valuable support and assistance for Vietnam's national liberation and socialist cause. Over the past 70 years, Vietnam-China ties have generally maintained positive momentum of development, Trong said, adding that facing new circumstances and missions, Vietnam hopes to work with China to push for greater development of bilateral relations. He called for joint efforts to strengthen political mutual trust and exchanges of governance experience, promote practical cooperation in economic and other fields, consolidate the public support for bilateral friendly cooperation, and enhance communication and collaboration on multilateral occasions. Xi and Trong also exchanged Spring Festival greetings to each other and jointly wished the people of both countries a happy new year. DES MOINES -- Iowans clashed Thursday over renewed efforts to restrict abortions in Iowa by amending the state constitution. Those who oppose abortion rights decried judicial overreach by the Iowa Supreme Court that must be challenged. But those in favor of keeping abortion rights charged Republican politicians with trying to strip rights from women. The purpose of a constitutional amendment is to establish rights, not deny them, Urbandale resident Jordanne Beach told members of a Senate State Government subcommittee. This perverse weaponizing of our state constitution would mean that it no longer applies equally to Iowans. Subcommittee members decided 2-1 to advance amendment language that eventually could come before Iowa voters to declare the Iowa Constitution shall not be construed to recognize, grant or secure a right to abortion or to require the public funding of abortion. Republicans who hold control of the Legislature by margins of 32-18 in the Iowa Senate and 53-47 in the Iowa House are seizing on Gov. Kim Reynolds call in this weeks Condition of the State speech to approve a constitutional amendment they say is needed to undo a new state right to abortion created by unelected Iowa Supreme Court justices. The state Supreme Court in 2018 struck down a law that would have required a 72-hour waiting period for an abortion. In 2019, Reynolds decided not to appeal to the high court a district judges ruling that a fetal heartbeat law violated the state constitution. If approved this session, Senate Joint Resolution 21 would have to pass in the exact same form by the next General Assembly elected in November before it would be placed on the 2022 ballot for Iowa voters. Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel, said the amendment is needed to rein in judicial activism of judges who rewrote our constitution and overstepped their authority by usurping powers reserved for legislators and the governor. When the Supreme Court of Iowa creates a new fundamental right under Iowas constitution, it is the responsibility of the Legislature to push back and say this isnt your authority, Chapman said. Speakers opposed to abortion rights lined up during the hour-long Statehouse hearing to express their support for Maggie DeWitte of Iowans for Life, calling the states current situation even more extreme that the U.S. Supreme Courts 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Caitlyn Dixon of the Iowa Right to Life Committee said that this amendment is what pro-life Iowans want and all Iowans need. However, Beach called SJR 21 one of the most extreme attacks on reproductive rights in Iowa history. Planned Parenthood representatives called Thursdays action a step toward stripping Iowans of their right to access abortion and dismantling reproductive health care in Iowa. Iowans deserve freedom from political interference in their personal lives and will not be fooled by politicians who want to insert themselves in what should be private health care decisions between a woman and her doctor, said Erin Davison-Rippey, Iowa executive director of Planned Parenthood North Central States. Senators plan to move the resolution through committee as a session priority. House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said conversations are taking place between the two chambers but no agreement has been reached on the preferred language that would go into a constitutional amendment. Our caucus has proved were a pro-life caucus, were very strong on that issue, Grassley told reporters, but Im not going to stand here and say were absolutely going to pass something that we really havent even talked about with the caucus. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 It is hardly surprising that late-night drinking establishments in the city's core draw patrons who have crime and violence on their minds. Alcohol, when combined with the late evening or early morning hours, often produces tragic results. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. It is hardly surprising that late-night drinking establishments in the city's core draw patrons who have crime and violence on their minds. Alcohol, when combined with the late evening or early morning hours, often produces tragic results. Such was the case last Sunday at 3 a.m. outside the venerable Windsor Hotel on Garry Street. Three young men were shot, one 20-year-old suffered fatal wounds. An argument inside the hotel apparently spilled out into an adjoining parking lot, where the deadly encounter took place. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bullet holes in the lobby of the Windsor Hotel after a shooting last weekend. The Winnipeg Police Service acknowledged the Windsor had been "on our radar" for some time. That also is not surprising; police seized drugs, guns and large amounts of cash in three incidents at the Windsor over a five-day span in early November. In yet another incident last year, a woman was threatened at gunpoint and struck with the butt-end of a shotgun. At that time, police expressed concern that the 117-year-old hotel was becoming a hot spot for criminal activity. Insp. Max Waddell suggested that steps be taken to pull the hotel's liquor licence. Withdrawing the right of the owner to serve alcohol would be, Waddell said, "a move in the right direction." For anyone who has enjoyed live music at the Windsor, those words had to sting just a bit. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Police put a man in a cruiser after an incident at the Windsor Hotel last April. The Winnipeg Police Service acknowledged the Windsor had been "on our radar" for some time. Every city needs a few long-standing, shabby bars full of character. Joints that are solely devoted to quiet drinking, mingling and, quite often, live music. These are the drinking establishments that serve as an effective antidote to the pre-packaged, over-priced fake pubs and bars that are ubiquitous today. A venue with a long and notable history of live blues music, the Windsor, for the majority of its lifespan, had been one of those wonderfully shabby but generally safe places to go for genuine downtown culture. It was particularly loved by aficionados of the blues, a genre of music best consumed amid small, unbalanced tables, rickety chairs and deliberately insufficient lighting. Lamentably, in recent years the Windsor Hotel has become, as the police have so graphically noted, more dangerous. It is certainly not alone among downtown bars that have become havens for criminals and violence. The Main Street location of Johnny G's, one of the original late night bars and eateries, was closed for an extended period last year after two men were fatally shot in its main bar last February. It was the second time that popular bar had been the scene of a fatal shooting; in 2013, a man was killed by a shooter from a rival gang. The bar reopened in June. The owners of both the Windsor and Johnny G's adopt more or less the same argument when negative attention is drawn to their establishments: there's little they can do, late night spots draw unsavoury characters, their bars are not in and of themselves the cause of gang grudges, drug activity or violence. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Police tape surrounds Johnny G's on Main St after a double homicide shooting inside the late night eatery in February 2019. For the most part, the owners are correct. These bars do not play a causative role in illegal activity. Unfortunately, they inadvertently play a role in sustaining the people who cause the illegal activity. Like moths to a flame. What options does the city have? Police suggested pulling the liquor licence, a move that would effectively make it impossible for the Windsor to remain open as anything more than a rooming house. However, that is a rarely used tactic. ROSANNA HEMPEL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Winnipeg police seized drugs and firearms at the Windsor Hotel last November. In the years since liquor licensing has been done by an authority independent of Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, only one establishment has had its licence pulled because of concerns about criminal activity or violence. Last November, a 23-year-old man was shot dead at the Citizen nightclub on Bannatyne Avenue. The Manitoba Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority (LGCA) suspended the Citizen's nightclub liquor licence. Eventually, it was cancelled and the club never reopened. A spokeswoman for LGCA said efforts are made to work with police whenever a licensed establishment becomes the scene of criminal activity or violence. If that activity persists, the LGCA is prepared to take action. However, the spokeswoman said no formal complaints have been made about the Windsor Hotel, and no request has been made to suspend or terminate its licence. So, it's unclear whether any steps will be made to close the historic Windsor. Dan Lett | Not for Attribution A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world that is sent every Tuesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. As rough around the edges as it is, perhaps there's middle ground, a way to discourage criminals from using downtown bars and restaurants as clubhouses and storefronts for illicit activities. Perhaps. The tidal wave of gun, drug and gang activity that seems to be washing over parts of Winnipeg, may ultimately require authorities to sweep away loveable, shabby bars such as the Windsor. However, without a concerted effort from police, the city and other players like the LGCA, the bad people who hang out at the Windsor will find somewhere else to exact their mayhem. The city would be better off without the criminal activity that seems drawn to bars like the Windsor. But the loss of the hotel itself won't make our city a better place. It will only make it exceedingly less interesting. dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca Former Vice President Joe Biden rapped Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for possible 'collusion' for allowing Russians to take advantage of his platform and says the tech giant should be subject to lawsuits for content it posts. Biden issued the brush-back in an interview with the New York Times editorial board, which found he moved 'fluidly' among policy issues, even as he became occasionally 'tangled in his own syntax' during their meeting. 'He should be submitted to civil liability and his company to civil liability, just like you would be here at The New York Times,' Biden told the paper referencing that people can sue a newspaper for libel if it prints falsehoods with malice or reckless disregard for truth. Former Vice President Joe Biden attacked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for content on his site, saying he should 'know better' Biden called Zuckerberg a 'real problem.' 'Ive never been a fan of Facebook, as you probably know. Ive never been a big Zuckerberg fan. I think hes a real problem,' he said. Referencing the 2016 elections, when Russian bots and hackers exploited Facebook and other online platforms, he said: 'Whether he engaged in something and amounted to collusion that in fact caused harm that would in fact be equal to a criminal offense, thats a different issue.' 'Thats possible,' Biden said. 'Thats possible it could happen. Zuckerberg finally took down those ads that Russia was running. All those bots about me. Theyre no longer being run.' Facebook Mark Zuckerberg holds a hearing titled "Facebook Social Media Privacy, the use and the abuse of data" in front of US Senate Judiciary committee at the US Hart Senate Building Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committees, Washington DC, 10 Apr 2018 Russian President Vladimir Putin The Mueller report found Russian hackers used Facebook and other platforms for fake posts that tried to sow divisions and attack Hillary Clinton in 2016. Biden continued: 'He was getting paid a lot of money to put them up. I learned three things. Number one, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin doesnt want me to be president. Number two, [North Korean dictator] Kim Jong-un thinks I should be beaten to death like a rabid dog and three, this president of the United States is spending millions of dollars to try to keep me from being the nominee. I wonder why,' he said. As the Times notes, section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides immunity from litigation for users of online platforms who pass on information by others. Biden urged Facebook to take down an ad posted by a pro-Trump super PAC in October that labeled him 'Quid pro Joe' and accused him of blackmailing Ukraine on the eve of a key debate in Ohio. 'He knows better,' Biden said of Zuckerberg, who got grilled in Congress after the extent of the manipulation in the 2016 elections was revealed. Rival Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has called for breaking up Facebook and other tech giants. 'And you know, from my perspective, Ive been in the view that not only should we be worrying about the concentration of power, we should be worried about the lack of privacy and them being exempt, which youre not exempt,' he told the paper. 'The idea that its a tech company is that Section 230 should be revoked, immediately should be revoked, number one. For Zuckerberg and other platforms An online journalist was physically assaulted and threatened by gunpoint for his coverage of a transport company in Aceh on January 4. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia denounce the threat on his life and urge the police to investigate the matter. Firmansyah, a reporter for online outlet modusaceh.co, published a story on transport company Tuah Akfi Utama(TAU) for failing to pay the road tolls. TAU transports piles used in the construction of the steam power plants in West Aceh and had agreed with the locals to pay a road toll. The chairman of TAU, Akrim, alleged Firmansyah was biased in his coverage and requested a meeting. While he initially declined a meeting, the journalist later agreed to meet Akrim in his office after being approached by two men who reiterated Akrims meeting request. At the meeting on January 4, Firmansyah was threatened in Akrims office by a man holding a gun, while another held his neck. The journalist was forced to write a statement admitting the story was false. He was also threatened that if the story had not been publicly corrected within a week that he would face consequences. According to AJI, police arrested Akrim on January 9 and held him for three days before releasing him on remand. AJI noted that police are pursuing prosecution under the Press Law instead of the Criminal Code. AJI call on the police to investigate the incident and guarantee the safety of Firmansyah and his family. The IFJ said: Indonesias police must show a commitment to ending impunity and taking threats to journalists lives seriously. We condemn the threats on Frimansyahs life and urge police to immediately ensure the safety of him and his family. FILE PHOTO: Man stands next to a logo of Sinopec at an expo on rubber technology in Shanghai By Chen Aizhu SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China's Sinopec, expected to be the next major Chinese buyer of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), is planning to review terms of a potential $16 billion supply deal with Cheniere Energy Inc after a sharp drop in LNG prices, industry officials said. That could delay sign-off on a deal that would help Beijing meet ambitious targets it set for U.S. energy purchases in a Phase 1 trade agreement it signed with the United States on Wednesday. Sinopec, officially named China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, and Houston-based Cheniere had been expected to sign the 20-year deal once a trade truce was reached between Beijing and Washington. However, the LNG market has shifted since news of Sinopec and Cheniere's negotiations became public early last year. In the intervening period, the U.S.-China trade war sapped Chinese purchases of U.S. LNG, and several other gas suppliers, including Qatar, the lowest-cost producer, decided to build new export plants. That coming supply would add to an existing glut that has caused gas prices to collapse to their lowest levels in years and could keep them suppressed - giving Sinopec additional leverage with Cheniere. Both companies declined to comment. A source familiar with the talks said many items needed to be reviewed as U.S. gas prices have more than halved since 2018. "Sinopec is talking to several other U.S. suppliers," said a second source. "It's really not clear at this stage what will come out." The firm, as one of the few state buyers with appetite to sign new multi-year LNG supply deals, also needs to lobby Beijing to remove or rebate a 25% tariff that has made U.S. imports uneconomical in the past year, one of the sources said. "(The deal) will be renegotiated... over delivery terms and price," said an industry executive with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be named as the matter is not public. "It may not be tough, but will take time." Story continues LITTLE COMMUNICATION Sinopec, which plans to more than double its LNG receiving capacities to 41 million tonnes by 2025, emerged last year as China's biggest spot buyer of LNG, as it is a much smaller purchaser under long-term deals than PetroChina Co Ltd or China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC). Those two firms are committed to other long-term contracts, and therefore much less likely to seek new supply agreements with U.S. exporters. They are also facing slower domestic demand growth and weaker prices, which have led to losses in their LNG import business. State oil firm China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has already fulfilled its supply needs through existing deals with Cheniere, and is also anticipating new supply from investments in the Russian Arctic and Mozambique, said one trading executive. The prospect of buying U.S. LNG is even more remote for China's so-called second-tier independent gas companies, because they have little access to terminal facilities. "We'll be in close contact with U.S. suppliers, but price is always the key," said Frank Li, assistant to the president of private city gas distributor China Gas Holdings. "For now Russian pipeline gas is cheaper, Qatari gas is cheaper." A top state-oil trading executive said his level of management had received no internal briefing from the government over what products Beijing had in mind when agreeing the Phase 1 trade deal. "We're already under steep pressure to absorb high-cost term supplies ... and as the market is expected to stay over-supplied beyond 2023, why should we sign up to more term deals?" a CNOOC gas manager said. (Reporting by Chen Aizhu; additional reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston and Scott Disavino in New York; Editing by Florence Tan and Jan Harvey) Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has pledged to put the killers of teenager Keane Mulready Woods "behind bars" and to make Drogheda safe once again. Ahead of a meeting with gardai in the Louth town, Mr Varadkar also said he wanted to set up a task force similar to tackle crime similar to one set up in Dublin's North inner city. Speaking in the town this morning, Mr Varadkar said he wanted to reemphasise "condemnation and revulsion" over the brutal murder of the young boy and to reassure the people of Drogheda that the government was behind them. We are going to get these people behind bars and we are going to make this town safe again. He said he wanted to hear from gardai if there was anything else the government could do. He said gardai and authorities needed evidence and information and those who supplied it would be protected. What has to happen is that we restore going law and order to any part of our country, where there are serious crimes occurring. We are going to get these people behind bars, we are going to make this town safe again, promises @LeoVaradkar as he visits Drogheda See @irishexaminer for more shortly #iestaff #GE2020 pic.twitter.com/ruflMc2urw Juno McEnroe (@Junomaco) January 17, 2020 Drogheda teenager Keane Mulready-Woods was murdered and his body dismembered before being left at a number of locations in Dublin. A house in the Rathmullen Park part of Drogheda remains sealed off as garda forensic specialists continue a detailed examination of the property. Mr Varadkar pledged that increased garda numbers were helping the fight against crime around the country. We've pledged that there will be an extra 700 gardai recruited every year. That's a very different approach to a previous government which ended garda recruitment, we will get the garda service up to 21,000 people by next year. But Mr Varadkar also said he would like to see a special task force, similar to one established in Dublin city centre, to help tackle crime and anti-social elements. That could be expanded, not only in Drogheda, but other parts of the country, he pledged: That hasn't solved all the problems in the northeast inner city by any means, but I do think it has made a difference. I'd like to do, if we are reelected to office, is to expand that to maybe six or seven other parts of the country. From the outside, the facade of Destination (a prominent Beijing venue that expressly welcomes gay people) is downright drab. But inside this four-story cultural center on the east side of the city, the works in the nonprofit art gallery can push boundaries. This is no easy feat as censorship restrictions have been tightening in China under President Xi Jinping. And, although same-sex relations were decriminalized in 1997, gay Beijingers say they continue to face discrimination. They look longingly to Taiwan, where a recent decision to legalize same-sex marriage on the self-ruled island of 24 million is being celebrated throughout the world. Taiwan has long been the heart of gay Asia. In mainland China, acceptance of same-sex couples has progressed at a glacial rate. Many gay Chinese will never come out to their family, and there are still gay conversion centers around the country. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 17) Taal Volcanos eruption has caused severe damage to the Philippines agricultural sector, with losses climbing to 3.06 billion, the Agriculture Department said Friday. Affected were coffee, cacao, pineapple, rice, coconut, and other high value agricultural produce, the department said in its latest bulletin. The fisheries sector meanwhile recorded the highest value of damage after the eruption, as it lost 1.6 billion for the tilapia and milkfish (bangus) culture around the Taal lake. The eruptive activity also affected 15,970 hectares of land as well as 1,923 animals in the Calabarzon region. It was not immediately clear if the animals mentioned refers to those who died or were injured. The department earlier assured affected farmers and fisherfolk in the region that they will be provided 21.7 million in cash aid to help them get back on their feet. It added appropriate agencies have already delivered feeds and medicine to all the rescued livestock. Over 15,000 families or about 66,000 individuals have been evacuated following Taals steam-driven eruption on Sunday. With Alert Level 4 raised, volcanologists have warned of a possible hazardous explosive eruption soon. This prompted the local governments of Batangas and Cavite to place the provinces under state of calamity. Despite Taal's reduced activity on Thursday, state scientists said they will still have to observe the downtrend before deciding whether to lower the alert level over the volcano. READ: Down but not out: Saving kapeng barako after Taal Volcanos unrest IMAGE: Anti-CAA graffiti in Bengaluru. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo A Bengaluru 'terror module' has been busted with the arrest of six members of the Social Democratic Party of India who had allegedly attempted to kill a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker on December 22 for taking part in a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act rally, police said on Friday. The arrested have been identified as Irfan, Syed Akbar, Syed Siddiqui, Akbar Basha, Sanaulla and Sadiq Amin alias 'Sound Amin', all residents of KG Halli in the city, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao told reporters. Bharatiya Janata Party Bengaluru south MP Tejasvi Surya and right wing leader Chakravarthy Sulibele were among the prominent speakers at last month's pro-Citizenship Amendment Act rally. According to Rao, the SDPI members reached the venue on three stolen motorcycles. They wanted to storm into the crowd initially but due to heavy police presence, they could not. They wanted to create a panic situation by hurling stones so that people will flee deserting their leaders making it easier to eliminate their targets, the commissioner said. However, the stones missed the target. They later decided to zero in on RSS worker Varun who was supplying water and taking care of the participants at the rally. When he was on his way home, the SDPI activists waylaid and attacked him, Rao said. According to the commissioner, Varun survived due to timely medical assistance. They wanted to carry out the act to create a lot of disturbance in the city, Rao said. "All of them are from the SDPI and they wanted to carry out the dastardly act to create lot of disturbance in Bengaluru City on December 22," Rao told reporters in Bengaluru. They were being paid Rs 10,000 per month from their handlers to carry out their agenda, the commissioner said, adding the matter has now been handed over to the Anti-Terror Squad. In addition to it, a Special Investigation Team will be formed to ensure that such people do not create any disturbance, Rao said. "We are not going to spare anyone whoever their handlers and financiers are whether inside the country or outside.I am constituting an SIT to see that such people do not create any disturbance," Rao said. The arrested members were all radicalised and their agenda was to recruit cadres, train and radicalise them, cause destruction and kill prominent people to cause mass disturbance in the city, he said. "We have named them as the Bengaluru terror module of chapter-1. All of them are in our custody. They wanted to kill the main speakers of the event (pro-Citizenship Amendment Act rally)," Rao said. After the incident, a special team was formed which examined footage of more than 700 CCTV cameras, identified and nabbed the perpetrators of the crime. Besides registering a case of attempt to murder, cases have been booked against them for creating enmity between two religious communities and under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Rao said. Reacting to the arrest, Tejasvi Surya said, "SDPI is an organisation, which has not been banned yet. The SDPI has become strong because the then chief minister Siddaramaiah dropped cases against its members." He called the arrest only a tip of the iceberg and said he would bring the activities of the SDPI to the notice of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Foreign Ministries of countries that lost their citizens in the tragedy created the mechanism that would let them bring Iran to responsibility Iran's representative will soon arrive in Ukraine with the official apologies within the case of the flight PS752 tragedy. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko reported this during the question hour at the Parliament on January 17. "In the near future, I guess, at the beginning of the next week, a special representative of the Iranian government will come to Ukraine with an official apology and his explanations. We'll have a chance to meet him", the Minister said. According to him, Foreign Ministries of five countries that lost their citizens in the tragedy created the mechanism that would let them bring Iran to responsibility. "Yesterday, I spoke with the Iranian minister. Currently, we enjoy full cooperation with Iran; (...) at that, mechanisms of joint work in the criminal investigation are developed. Besides, a group was created in the UN, which jointly considers options to increase international pressure on Iran. That is, we have all mechanisms at our disposal to apply pressure and get not only apologies but also everything else, including the compensation to our citizens", the Foreign Minister said. As we reported earlier, Boeing 737 of Ukraine's International Airlines, flight PS 752 with 176 people aboard crashed in Tehran, not far from Imam Khomeini airport. No one, including 11 Ukrainians survived the tragedy. The aircraft was on its way from Tehran to Kyiv. The crash took place soon after the takeoff. Iranian media reported that, quoting the airport administration. The officials said that the reason for the crash was a "technical malfunction" of the plane's engine. The Ukrainian air company that owned the aircraft denied that there was such a malfunction; a pilot's mistake was ruled out, too. Later, Iran recognized that the plane was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile; it was fired because the operator of the AA defense system could not tell the civilian aircraft from a hostile object and decided to fire anyway. Iran pleaded guilty and offered its condolences to families of the victims. On January 16, Iran's government claimed that the procedure of identification of bodies was over, and the remains of Ukrainian citizens who perished there would be brought to Ukraine by January 19. As Tet nears in Vietnam, locals typically prepare to shell out some extra cash for beer because prices traditionally rise to meet the spike in demand, considering locals stocking up for Lunar New Year parties and family get-togethers. This year, for the first time in memory, prices seem to be falling, thanks to Vietnams recently enacted drink-driving laws which impose still penalties on anyone caught driving any vehicle with a breath or blood alcohol level higher than 0. The new law, which came into effect on January 1, stipulates that drivers must be completely sober while operating bicycles, motorbikes, automobiles, and any other vehicles on Vietnams roads. Those caught operating a vehicle with alcohol in their system now face fines of up to VND40 million ($1,730) per violation and a revocation of their driver's license for up to two years. Since the beginning of the year, police officers throughout the country have been setting up breathalyzer checkpoints, causing many to think twice before having a drink and, overall, sending alcohol sales into a downward spiral. After weeks of setting beer prices high in preparation for the Lunar New Year, which falls on January 25, to meet the high demand typical of the run-up to Vietnams most popular holiday, brewers in the Southeast Asian country have been forced to lower their rates in the hope of making up for sluggish sales. In the last few days alone, beer prices have dropped by VND5,000 10,000 per 24-can box across all brands, said Thanh Yen, a beverages retailer in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City. Decree 100 [which specifies DUI fines] came into effect so close to Tet holiday and its been pretty shocking to us, Yen said. Many retailers still havent sold out of their old inventory and probably wont need to restock, so we expect beer prices to continue dropping the closer we get to Tet. Nguyen Tung, an authorized distributor for a local beer brand, said he had seen unbelievably lackluster sales from lower-level retailers over the past few weeks. Tung estimated that beer sales have plummeted by nearly 30 percent compared to the same period last year and that he has had to cut his prices to meet the lower demand. Meanwhile, the group of brewers who capture the majority of Vietnams beer market share have declined to comment on their Tet sales when reached by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. A representative of a foreign brewery based in the Mekong Delta province of Long An said their wholesale price has remained unchanged and affirmed there is no abrupt change in the market this year, while refusing to disclose their output volume. In supermarkets, beer prices do not seem to have budged since last week, though the demand is 20-25 percent lower than the same period last year, according to managers of beverages segments in various outlets contacted by Tuoi Tre. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Most migrants around the world would like to stay where they are, and few would like to move again -- and if they did, very few would like to move back home. Gallup finds this is true of migrants living in every part of the world. However, a new analysis shows that these desires depend largely on where migrants are living now, where they came from and what their lives are like in their adopted countries. Desire to Migrate Among Migrants Who Live in Different Regions Among first-generation migrants living in these regions Migrants who want to stay Migrants who want to move to another country Migrants who want to move home Sub-Saharan Africa 64 28 8 European Union 69 22 9 Latin America and the Caribbean 71 17 13 Middle East and North Africa 74 19 7 Europe-Other 78 16 7 Commonwealth of Independent States 81 14 6 Northern America 85 11 4 Rest of Asia 86 13 2 Australia-New Zealand 88 9 4 Gallup World Poll, 2010-2018 Like other migrants around the world, the majority of migrants living in sub-Saharan Africa still want to stay in their adopted countries. However, the 64% of migrants who want to stay is the lowest percentage in the world, and the 28% who would like to move somewhere else (except home) is the highest in the world. Just 8% would like to move home. While these numbers may not be that surprising, interestingly enough, the numbers in sub-Saharan Africa aren't that much different among migrants in the European Union. Sixty-nine percent of migrants living in the EU would like to stay where they are, while 22% would like to move to another country and a much smaller 9% would like to move home. The common thread that ties both of these seemingly disparate regions together is that they are both home to substantial intraregional migration. However, there are big differences in where migrants in these regions would like to move to. The majority of migrants in the EU would like to move to another EU country and the majority of migrants who live in sub-Saharan Africa want to leave the region and go to Northern America or Western Europe. Northern America and Australia-New Zealand -- both high-receiving regions for migrants with lower percentages of intraregional migration -- are on the other end of the spectrum. The percentages of migrants who want to stay are the highest in the world, and extremely few want to move home. "Thriving" Doesn't Equal "Staying" At the global level, migrants who want to remain in their adopted country (40%) are more likely to rate their lives positively enough to be considered "thriving" than those who want to go home (37%) or move to another country (30%). However, the global numbers mask some interesting regional differences. Life Evaluations and Desire to Migrate Among first-generation migrants living within these regions Thriving Suffering % % Australia-New Zealand Migrants who want to stay 62 2 Migrants who want to move to another country 56 2 Migrants who want to move home 50 5 European Union Migrants who want to stay 39 7 Migrants who want to move to another country 30 10 Migrants who want to move home 34 9 Gulf Cooperation Council Migrants who want to stay 42 3 Migrants who want to move to another country 37 4 Migrants who want to move home 36 5 Gallup World Poll, 2010-2018 The relationship between thriving and migrants' desire to stay or move largely follows the global pattern in some of the top receiving regions for migrants. In top-destination regions such as Australia-New Zealand, the EU and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the less likely migrants are to be thriving, the less likely they are to want to stay in their current country. But in a host of other regions, including the Commonwealth of Independent States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa (excluding GCC), these same patterns don't play out. Life Evaluations and Desire to Migrate Among first-generation migrants living in these regions Thriving Suffering % % Commonwealth of Independent States Migrants who want to stay 25 18 Migrants who want to move to another country 22 17 Migrants who want to move home 22 28 Latin America and Caribbean Migrants who want to stay 41 10 Migrants who want to move another country 37 7 Migrants who want to move home 42 7 Middle East and North Africa (Excluding GCC) Migrants who want to stay 19 21 Migrants who want to move to another country 19 23 Migrants who want move home 27 9 Gallup World Poll, 2010-2018 For example, migrants in the CIS who rate their lives poorly enough to be classified as "suffering" are the most likely to want to move home. Migrants in MENA (excluding the GCC) who rate their lives positively enough to be classified as "thriving" are more likely to want to move home than if they are "suffering." So, in one case, people are doing poorly and want to go home, and in the other, they are doing well and want to do the same thing. Implications People's desire to migrate depends on where they live now, what their lives are like in their adopted countries and what the situations are like back in their countries of birth. But differences by region and by people's life evaluations underscore the complexity behind the reasons why migrants might want to stay or to keep moving. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to understanding them all, which is why Gallup will continue digging deeper into the phenomenon with additional analyses of these attitudes at the country level. The distraught mother of a black girl, 9, who committed suicide after being told to kill herself by a white boy is suing her daughter's school for punishing her and failing to stop the bullying when she repeatedly made pleas for help. McKenzie Adams, who had dreams of being a scientist, took her own life at her grandmother's home in Linden, Alabama, in December 2018 after enduring months of racist, sexist bullying by the boy at US Jones Elementary School, the lawsuit said. The boy allegedly told McKenzie to kill herself, instructed her how to do it and said she would be 'better off dead' the day she took her life, it said. McKenzie Adams (pictured), who had dreams of being a scientist, took her own life at her grandmother's home in Alabama in December 2018 after months of racist, sexist bullying The bully allegedly told McKenzie (pictured) to kill herself, instructed her how to do it and said she would be 'better off dead' the day she took her own life She also endured racial and obscene slurs from the boy and wrote about bullying by at least one other boy in her diary. The fourth-grader's heartbroken mother, Jasmine Adams, is suing the school for failing to protect her daughter by ignoring the complaints and even punishing her when the abuse was reported. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, said that the child, her mother and her grandmother Janice Adams all complained to the school about the bullying but officials failed to act. The fourth-grader's heartbroken mother, Jasmine Adams (pictured with McKenzie) is suing the school for ignoring the complaints and even punishing her when the abuse was reported The child, her mother (pictured together) and her grandmother Janice Adams all complained but school officials failed to act to stop the bullying, the suit claimed Instead, administrators and teachers showed 'deliberate and blatant indifference' to the bullying, it said. When McKenzie pleaded for help from her teacher, Gloria Mims, the teacher allegedly told her to 'tell it to the wall because I do not want to hear it'. Rather than punishing the main bully, Mims then disciplined the girl for telling on him, the lawsuit claimed. The family's attorney Diandra Debrosse Zimmerman, condemned the 'morally appalling' behavior of the school. 'The ultimate consequence of this lack of interest and empathy was the tragic death of a 9-year-old,' she said in a statement. 'Tell it to the wall because I do not want to hear it': McKenzie's fourth grade teacher Gloria Mims (pictured) ignored the girl's pleas for help US Jones Elementary School teachers and administrators showed 'deliberate and blatant indifference' to the bullying, the lawsuit said 'The behavior of school and district officials was not only morally appalling but also a direct contravention of federal and state law, which require schools to enact and enforce policies against harassment and bullying,' the family's attorney said. US Jones Elementary School pictured above As well as the school and Demopolis City Schools District, Demopolis City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff, former US Jones Elementary School Principal Tori Infingerand, Assistant Principal Tracy Stewart and Mims have all been named in the suit brought by McKenzie's family. The suit, filed in the US District Court in Mobile, accuses the school of failing to follow state and federal law meant to guard against bullying. Under the Jamari Terrell Williams Bullying Prevention Act, schools are required to define, control, report and take other measures against bullying. The victim's mother and grandmother, listed as plaintiffs, are seeking an unspecified amount. A lawyer for the Demopolis city school system did not immediately return a message seeking comment. McKenzie is one of three students whose tragic suicides in the space of just six months sent shockwaves through Alabama last year. Madison 'Maddie' Whittset, 9, committed suicide in November 2018, just one month before McKenzie's death. This was followed by Nigel Shelby, 15, who took his own life in Huntsville in April 2019. Families of all three victims cited bullying as the cause. Ramesh Aravind will soon be returning to the big screen after a hiatus of almost two years. The actors next titled Shivaji Surathkal, is all set to release on February 21. Ramesh will be seen playing a detective who solves the case of Ranagiri Rahasya. The movie directed by Akash Srivatsa will be the actors 101st outing at the silver screens. Shivaji Surathkal has a running time of two hours and four minutes and has already been certified by the censor board with a U/A certificate. The investigative thriller has been written by Abhijith YR. The story revolves around a murder investigation being headed by Rameshs titular character Shivaji Surathkal. The film has a tag line that says, Case of Ranagiri Rahasya. The makers have previously also revealed that they are planning on turning the project into a franchise starring Shivaji the detective. The keenly awaited movie also stars Radhika Narayan and Aarohi Naryan in pivotal roles. The music of Shivaji Surathkal has been composed by Judah Sandhy and the songs have been penned by Jayanth Kaikini. The whodunit has been produced by Rekha KN and Anup Gowda. The costumes of the film have been done by Shachina Heggar while the cinematography has been handled by Guruprasad. For the uninitiated, Ramesh Aravinds last big-screen appearance was in the movie Pushpaka Vimana back in 2017. ALSO READ: Shivarajkumar Starrer Bhajarangi 2 Second Look Poster Released ALSO READ: Darshan To Collaborate With Milana Prakash And Dushyanth For A Yet-Untitled Project Harley and her trainer, Keith Pittman, walk down a hallway in Vidant Medical Center as they demonstrate Harleys ability to detect C. diff, bacteria that can cause severe illness. | Photos: Cliff Hollis | Video: Rich Klindworth Sniffing out the problem Dogged determination Vidant Medical Center patient Thomas Radford enjoys a visit from Harley the beagle as she checks his room for C. diff spores. Because of Harley Vidant Medical Center patient Thomas Radford enjoys a visit from Harley the beagle as she checks his room for C. diff spores. Harley the beagle refused to run rabbits-a character flaw that left her future uncertain.Now, the wayward hunting dog has finally found a worthy prey-but not of the woodland variety.Harley visits Vidant Medical Center in Greenville twice a week to sniff out Clostridioides difficile, more commonly known as C. diff, a bacterium common in health-care settings that can cause severe diarrhea, colitis and other complications.The 2-year-old dog partners with Dr. Paul Cook, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University to identify and eradicate the bacterium. With the support of Vidant Health, the team is going a step further to eradicate the threat of C. diff in the hospital and ensure that patient treatment areas are as safe and sterile as possible.Harley is assigned to sniff for C. diff spores in rooms, in hallways and on equipment. When she detects the spores, she sits-signaling that she has pinpointed their location, which is then re-cleaned with a bleach agent.C. diff commonly is spread when people touch surfaces that have been contaminated with fecal matter from an infected person. Harley's ability to identify especially stubborn C. diff spores is routinely on target.said Cook, who believes Harley is currently the only dog in the United States sniffing out C. diff in a hospital.For Vidant Medical Center, which is already ranked among the top quartile in the prevention of infection, deploying Harley is an innovative approach in its relentless pursuit of improving patient outcomes.said Brian Floyd, president of Vidant Medical Center.According to the Mayo Clinic, most C. diff infections occur in people who are or who have recently been in a health care setting - including hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities - where germs spread easily, antibiotic use is common and people are especially vulnerable to infection. In hospitals and nursing homes, C. diff is mainly transmitted on hands from person to person, but also on cart handles, bedrails, bedside tables, toilets, sinks, stethoscopes and thermometers.C. diff can produce toxins that attack the lining of the intestine. The toxins destroy cells, produce patches (plaques) of inflammatory cells and decaying cellular debris inside the colon and cause watery diarrhea.According to the Centers for Disease Control, C. diff causes approximately 500,000 illnesses in the United States each year. One in five patients who contract C. diff will experience a recurrence. Within a month of diagnosis of a health care-associated C. diff infection, 1 in 11 cases in people over age 65 are fatal.Doctors have long searched for answers on how to diminish the threat of this worldwide problem. Cook's research led him to findings from the Netherlands and Canada-where two other dogs successfully and consistently sniffed out C. diff and in turn helped improve patient outcomes.Dr. Marije K. Bomers' research at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam included the use of Cliff, a beagle, to sniff out C. diff based on the idea that since humans can sometimes detect the scent of the infection, dogs' much more keen sense of smell would be more effective. Cliff's precision and success rate lent hope to the hypothesis, further cemented when he identified C. diff in 25 of 30 infected patients. Cliff recently retired from his duties.Angus, a springer spaniel, has provided his services for Vancouver Coastal Health in Canada since around the time that dog detection program began in 2016.Cook said.Cook contacted colleagues at ECU and Vidant Health to share context and background for the project and explore the possibility of bringing it home. Early in the process, he also reached out to get clearance from ECU's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee to ensure that Harley is being treated humanely and does not pose a health risk to people. This process has to be renewed on a yearly basis.The project is backed financially by Vidant Health, Cook said, whose leaders were enthusiastic about an innovative idea that they also found pragmatic.said Dr. Keith Ramsey, chief of infection control for Vidant Medical Center.Along with shorter hospital stays and fewer infections, Harley brings other benefits as well, Cook said.Cook said.Cook reached out to Keith and Laura Pittman of Sniff Us Out, LLC, in Greenville, Harley's owners and trainers. Keith Pittman earned biology and chemistry degrees from ECU in 1987 and worked in ECU's Department of Surgery for 30 years-15 years studying the immunology of transplanted organ rejection and 15 years studying cancer immunology. Cook reached out to him because of his reputation for training dogs and his medical-field experience.he said,Laura Pittman is a student in ECU's Master of Arts in English degree program. She and her husband have evaluated different sporting dog breeds to assess their abilities in bomb sniffing for homeland security-an experience that helped them understand the attributes needed for a dog who would sniff out C. diff.Laura Pittman said.Keith Pittman said beagles' sense of smell is 300 times greater than a human's, making them able to detect the one scent they want to single out-whether it's bombs, drugs or C. diff. Pittman has seen that skill at work with hunting dogs most of all, but sees this as an opportunity to provide a service in other meaningful ways.he said,During a recent shift at Vidant Cancer Care at the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Tower, Harley bounced down a pristine hallway in a pink collar and a lively mood. A toddler who was part of a visiting family started down the hallway, saw Harley and shrieked,Harley responded in kind, baying with joy as the two communicated in their own way-then she turned her attention toward a patient bay. The rest of the team suited up in protective wear, and Keith Pittman gathered Harley's leash in his hand and moved in. Moments later, they emerged.he said.a passing nurse called.Harley paused for a water break and preened in the praise before moving on toward a virology lab to test and showcase her skills.one lab technician announced.In addition to the happiness and health benefits she brings to the hospital, Harley has also spurred changes in protocol in equipment sterilization. After she detected C. diff spores on an ultrasound wand used on C. diff-positive patients and the preferred cleaning agents didn't kill C. diff, hospital leaders figured out a new way to eradicate the bacteria without damaging the equipment with bleach agents that are too harsh for the machinery.said Jarvis Campbell, assistant nurse manager at Vidant Health.Harley's abilities are anticipated to benefit even more patients in the future.Keith Pittman said. Two men have been sentenced to prison on charges in connection with working on behalf of the government of Iran to monitor a Jewish center in Chicago and Americans who are members of an exiled Iranian opposition group. Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, 39, a dual Iranian-U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 38 months in prison on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington after pleading guilty Oct. 8 to one count of conspiracy and one count of acting as an undeclared agent of the Iranian government. Majid Ghorbani, 60, an Iranian citizen and U.S. permanent resident living in Costa Mesa, California, was sentenced to 30 months in prison by Friedman on one count of violating U.S. sanctions by giving photographs to Doostdar that he knew Doostdar would take to Iran, according to court records. Ghorbani was arrested in August 2018, and Doostdar that September. Both were accused of conducting surveillance and collecting information about Americans involved with the Mujahideen-e Khalq, or People's Mujahideen of Iran, an Iranian dissident group that seeks regime change in Iran. U.S. officials said law enforcement will pursue those acting covertly to intimidate Americans. "This case illustrates Iran's targeting of Americans in the United States in order to silence those who oppose the Iranian regime or otherwise further its goals," U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement. "The defendants, working for Iran, gathered information on Americans that could then be used by the Iranian intelligence services to intimidate or harm them or their families." In a statement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a Paris-based group linked to the MEK, called the defendants Iranian Intelligence Ministry agents, and said that since 2018, European countries have expelled seven people operating under diplomatic cover for Iran and arrested more than a dozen others for alleged terrorism or spying charges against dissidents. "The arrest and sentencing of these two MOIS agents in the U.S. is not sufficient," said Alireza Jafarzadeh, the deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and one of the Washington-based men Ghorbani surveilled. Jafarzadeh added: "Terrorism is a survival tool for the Iranian regime to eliminate members of its main opposition movement. . . . The United States must dismantle the entire network of spying and terror of the Iranian regime in America." As part of his plea, Doostdar admitted traveling three times to the United States to meet with Ghorbani and to direct his activities on behalf of the government of Iran. Ghorbani admitted that he was paid $2,000 by Doostdar in late 2017 after turning over notes and photographs of demonstrators at a rally against the Iranian government Sept. 20, 2017, in New York City, money that Doostdar said came from his Iranian government handler. Ghorbani also took photos at an Iran Freedom Convention for Human Rights in the District of Columbia, on May 4, 2018, according to court documents. Doostdar admitted that he spoke with Ghorbani about how the latter could provide the information to Doostdar in Iran. Both events were supported by the Iranian opposition group. In sentencing documents, lawyers for the two men requested leniency; they obtained sentences about half as long as the government requested. While Doostdar admitted to targeting "the politically charged and controversial MEK, he is not a proxy for the Government of Iran" and should not be sentenced "to achieve some symbolic victory in a geopolitical conflict that has now escalated to perilous levels. Doostdar is an individual and must be sentenced as such," his attorney, Joshua Herman, wrote. Ghorbani's attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Mary Petras, said her client did not attend the dissident group's events"for any nefarious purpose," but rather at the request of its members. He did nothing to harm the group, Petras said. San Francisco, Jan 17 : The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a probe into the vandalization of a newly inaugurated gurdwara in California, saying it was a possible hate crime, a media report said. The Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara Sahib, located in Orangevale, about an hour from San Francisco, was inaugurated on January 12. It was vandalized with white nationalist graffiti, which included the phrase "White Power" and depicted a swastika on a concrete slab at the front entrance. Along with the FBI, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office were also actively investigating the incident. Harbans Singh Sraon, a spokesman for the gurdwara, told the India-West newspaper that FBI detectives have consistently visited the facility since the "bias-motivated crime" occurred. Sacramento Sheriff Deputy Lacey Nelson told India-West that detectives specifically assigned to investigate hate crimes have been actively investigating the incident since Monday morning. Crime scene investigators have been collecting forensic evidence from the scene, and detectives have canvassed the neighbourhood, speaking to residents who may have observed the crime. Detectives have obtained video footage from the neighbourhood, said Nelson, adding that the nature of evidence found in forensics and on video has yet been released. "This is an ongoing investigation. We do take these types of cases very seriously," the Deputy added. The gurdwara has also received support from the interfaith community. Pastor Dave Ratcliff of the Sierra Presbyterian Church, said: "We stand with you and your congregation in rejecting all acts of violence and hatred. You are not alone." The Council on American Islamic Relations also condemned the hate crime, saying "we must all stand up against hate in our communities". "We are here to support the Sikh community and encourage any witnesses to come forward with information about this hate attack on a house of worship," it added. The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund noted the alarming rise in the number of hate crimes committed by white supremacist groups. By PTI NEW DELHI: The BJP has fielded first-time candidate Ravi Negi against AAP heavyweight and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia from the Patparganj constituency and banked on its experienced leaders to take on other ministers in the Delhi government. Negi could not contest the 2017 municipal election from Vinod Nagar ward as his nomination papers were rejected. The 42-year-old is also BJP's mandal (ward) president from Vinod Nagar. "Heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the Delhi BJP state leadership for expressing confidence in a small party worker like me and making a candidate from Patparganj assembly constituency," he wrote on Facebook in Hindi. Negi was among the 57 candidates announced by BJP on Friday for the February 8 polls. BJP also fielded three-time Congress legislator S C Vats against Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain from Shakur Basti constituency. Vats unsuccessfully contested the 2015 election. Senior BJP leader and two-time MLA Naresh Gaur will be taking on Labour Minister Gopal Rai from Babarpur assembly constituency. Gaur had won elections in 2008 and 2013. Ajeet Kharkhari, who had successfully contested the 2013 assembly polls from Najafgarh, will face Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot. Najafgarh has a large chunk of rural voters. Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain, who is an MLA from Ballimaran, will contest the election against senior BJP leader Lata Sodhi. Lata's father-in-law Moti Lal Sodhi has been an MLA. Releasing the list, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said sitting MLA Vijender Gupta will contest from his Rohini seat, Azad Singh from Mundka and former AAP legislator Kapil Mishra from Model Town. The BJP did not announce a candidate against AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the first list. Brighton has become the latest city to consider banning cars to tackle congestion and pollution. It follows similar proposals to exclude cars or impose congestion charges in York, Bristol, Oxford, Cardiff and the City of London. Birmingham council also revealed proposals this week to ban private cars from the city centre to improve air quality. Brighton has become the latest city to consider banning cars to tackle congestion and pollution Brighton and Hove city council will vote on Tuesday whether to bar private vehicles from 2023 after Green Party councillors pledged to reduce air pollution. The proposal says that 'the climate emergency, the environmental and public health crisis caused by air pollution, and dangerous roads can and must be tackled by drastically reducing private car use in the city centre'. Green councillor Amy Heley, who proposed the move, said she wanted to investigate the feasibility and costs of stopping private vehicles entering the city centre. Research suggests that 54 people living in the centre of Brighton die prematurely every year as a result of pollution from nitrogen dioxide, a gas produced by vehicle exhaust fumes. Research suggests that 54 people living in the centre of Brighton die prematurely every year as a result of pollution from nitrogen dioxide, a gas produced by vehicle exhaust fumes Brighton resident Neil Reggae, who supports the ban, said: 'Driving in Brighton is daft. 'You're in a queue for ages and there's nowhere to park when you get to your destination. 'Plus the air quality is dire thanks to the slow-moving traffic clogging up the town.' But critic Justin Hill said: 'Just watch how fast the shops and restaurants start to close down.' Next years race for the Republican nomination for New Jersey governor is starting to take shape. Jon Bramnick, the highest-ranking Republican in the state Assembly, told NJ Advance Media on Friday hes making moves for a possible run at the partys nod. And Jack Ciatterelli, a former member of the Assembly, said hell announce Tuesday that hes formally seeking the GOP nomination for a second straight time. Bramnick said in a phone interview Friday hes been calling Republican county chairs and other leaders to discuss that hes seriously considering running. No final decision has been made because I think its way too early, said the veteran state lawmaker, who has served in the Assembly since 2003 and been its minority leader since 2012. Whoever wins the Republican primary would likely challenge Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat whos up for re-election in 2021. Theres been chatter around Trenton that Murphy may face a Democratic primary challenge first. Bramnick, a 66-year-old attorney from Union County (who moonlights as a standup comedian), considered running for governor in 2017 but ultimately decided not to enter the race. In November, the Westfield resident won re-election to the Assembly despite facing a fierce challenge in a suburban district that has become increasingly Democratic and anti-President Donald Trump in recent years. I think my district reflects the state, and I won by a comfortable margin in a district where they spent close to $3 million against me," Bramnick said. "And I think that sent a message that a Republican can win in an area that looks to be difficult. Bramnick is also a longtime friend and ally of former Gov. Chris Christie. Ciatterelli, a 58-year-old former lawmaker from Somerset County, has spent months considering a second run at the Republican nod for governor after he finished second to then-Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in 2017. Guadagno went on to lose to Murphy in the general election. Ciatterelli, a certified public accountant who once ran a small publishing company, will announce his new candidacy on Tuesday at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Raritan, where he was raised. New Jerseys broken, and I remain passionate in the need to fix it," Ciatterelli, now a Hillsborough resident, said in a phone interview Friday. "And I remain confident in my plan to do just that. Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman, is shown in 2017. State Republican Party Chair Doug Steinhardt is also possible contender for the nomination. He told NJ Advance Media in an interview on Monday that his focus is on picking up gains across the state in 2020. Then well be in a better position to shift our focus to 2021 and make sure Phil Murphy is a one-term governor, Steinhardt said at the GOPs offices in Trenton. Republicans may face an uphill battle to take back the governors office. There are nearly 1 million more registered Democratic voters than Republicans in New Jersey. Democrats control the governors office, both houses of the state Legislature, both U.S. Senate seats, and 10 of the states 12 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. But Republicans scored a modest victory last year when they won back three South Jersey seats in the Legislature. Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. What divides Iowa Democrats most starkly is not income, education, gender, or even ideology. Rather, age is the factor that most strongly correlates with whether an Iowa Democrat supports Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders. In the latest Monmouth poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers, which shows Biden holding a six-point lead over Sanders (24 percent to 18 percent), the frontrunner is in fourth place among voters aged 18 to 49, but hes in first place because he has an astounding 31-point lead among voters 65 years of age and older. Sanders, by contrast, is powered by younger voters. His support among Iowa Democrats over 65 is in the single digits, but he is in first place, leading Elizabeth Warren 26 percent to 22 percent, among voters under 50, according to Monmouth. In 2016, when Sanders finished just 0.3 points behind Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucus, he carried voters under the age of thirty 84 percent to 14 percent. What explains the youth appeal of the 78-year-old socialist who had a heart attack a few months ago? It is partly, but not entirely, a matter of ideology. The share of Iowa Democrats under age 50 who describe themselves as very liberal is nearly twice as large as the share of Democrats older than 50. Theyre looking for somebody who is strongly progressive take-no-prisoners in their policy stance, says Monmouth pollster Patrick Murray. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the young progressive star who endorsed Sanders, said earlier this month: In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party, but in America, we are. At a Sanders townhall earlier this month in Grundy Center, Iowa, I spoke to several young voters about their support for Sanders. Some talked not only about policies like Medicare for All but about the sense that they were part of a movement. One huge reason I go for Bernie instead of Warren is that he has a very clean track record over all of these years supporting all of these things I believe in, Cecilia Sileo of Iowa City told me. I always think about how in the 60s when he was in college he was arrested in a civil-rights protest for chaining himself to a black woman. Story continues Sileo, who is heading off to college in the fall, added Warren has some good ideas now, but many years ago she was a Republican. But Sanderss youth appeal isnt simply a function of ideology: He is also the top-vote getter among self-described moderates under the age of 50. This group broke down, according to Monmouth, 23 percent for Sanders, 20 percent for Biden, 14 percent for Warren, and 14 percent for Buttigieg. Younger self-described moderate Democrats may be more drawn to Sanderss authenticity and the sense that hes committed to solving their kitchen-table issues. At the same townhall event, I spoke to Olivia and Mitchell Boeck, who are married and both 26 years old. Four years ago they backed Marco Rubio in the Republican caucus, but voted for Hillary Clinton on election day and found their worldview become significantly more progressive since then. They brought their six-month-old twins in a stroller to the Sanders townhall event, where Mitchell asked Sanders a question about his paid family leave plan. At the end of it, Mitchell, who just finished graduate school to be an occupational therapist, remained undecided between voting for Sanders or Andrew Yang. Olivia, who holds three part-time jobs, was still trying to choose between Sanders and Warren. She said deciding which candidate has the best policies was the biggest factor in her vote. Warren has the support of only 6 percent of Iowa Democrats over 65, while Sanders garners support of 8 percent of this group, according to Monmouth. And that means that the fight Warren picked with Sanders in which she effectively accused him of sexism by alleging he privately said that a woman cant win the presidency will be won or lost based on how younger voters respond. Warrens closing message seems risky for two reasons: One, her decision to effectively abandon Medicare for All in favor of identity politics could allow Sanders to consolidate support among very liberal voters who care more about policy. Two, younger voters could find her claim to be a cynical ploy by a politician who has been caught telling falsehoods before. Sanders rebutted Warren by pointing out he recruited her to run for president in 2016. With two weeks to go until caucus day, another big question mark about younger voters is how many will turn out. In 2016, under-30 voters accounted for just 18 percent of Iowa Democratic caucusgoers. In 2008, under-30 voters made up 23 percent of Iowa Democratic caucusgoers. If 2020 turnout is closer to 2008 than 2016, that could swing the election to Sanders. More from National Review Sysco, the nations largest food distributor, will pay a pretty penny to replace its chief executive. Tom Bene, Syscos outgoing chief executive, is set to receive a $6 million severance payout after he leaves the Houston-based company on March 1, according to a filing Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Kevin Hourican, the CVS Pharmacy president who will replace Bene Feb. 1, will be paid a one-time, sign-on bonus of $2 million. In addition, Hourican will be eligible to receive a make-whole bonus of at least $1.45 million to make up for any forfeited annual cash bonus from his previous employer as well as a make-whole equity award of $12.8 million to make up for any forfeited stock award from his previous employer, according to the filing. Sysco said Monday it was replacing Bene with Hourican, whose expertise in sales, supply chain, logistics, operations and digital technologies, would help the company unlock meaningful value for customers and other key stakeholders. The leadership shakeup came as a surprise to some Wall Street analysts, who said Sysco has performed well under Benes leadership. On HoustonChronicle.com: Sysco replaces chief executive, chairman in surprise move to accelerate performance Syscos return on invested capital improved to 16.7 percent in 2019, up from 15.9 percent in 2016, and its stock posted a 17.3 percent annual return over the past three years, outperforming the food distribution index average of 13.6 percent in the same time period, according to investment research firm Morningstar Inc. While Syscos performance has improved steadily the last few years, the board believes that the senior leadership changes announced today will enable the company to accelerate performance, fully capitalize on its scale advantages and drive meaningful operating improvements, Sysco said in a statement Monday. Hourican, a 20-year retail industry veteran who also served as executive vice president of CVS Health, will be paid a base salary of $1.3 million as well as $8.5 million in stock and stock options during fiscal year 2020, according to Syscos employment letter dated Jan. 10. Hourican has held roles at Sears and Macys and, most recently, overseeing CVS $85 billion retail division, including 9,900 stores and more than 200,000 employees. Bene who joined Sysco in 2013 and rose through the ranks to become chief executive in January 2018 and chairman in September 2018 will step down from his posts at the end of the month. He will stay on as an executive adviser until March 1 to assist with the transition. Bene was paid a base salary of $1.18 million and total compensation of $10.7 million, including bonuses, stock and stock options, according to Syscos most recent proxy statement. Sysco markets, sells and distributes chilled and frozen food products to restaurants, hospitals, schools, hotels and other institutional clients. The company, which employs more than 69,000, operates 330 distribution facilities worldwide, serving more than 600,000 customer locations. paul.takahashi@chron.com twitter.com/paultakahashi New Delhi [India], Jan 17 (ANI): Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday said that he was arrested for reading the Constitution during the protest against CAA at Jama Masjid in the national capital. Speaking at a press conference, Azad said, "What I had said at Jama Masjid was not a provocative speech but the same is written in the Constitution. I was arrested for that speech." Azad then read out the Preamble of the Constitution and said he will read it daily. "We are fighting for the unity of the country. I went to Jama Masjid on December 20 to oppose the CAA, NRC and NPR. This is because it is a historical place where the mausoleum of Abul Kalam Azad is located," he said. "During the division of the country, Abul Kalam Azad had said that Muslims should not go to Pakistan and this country belongs to them and its division will bring them only loss. Now I think that with CAA and NRC, the country is divided on religious lines again," the Bhim Army chief said. He further said, "I hail from a village and I know whenever communal riots took place, no politician is harmed and only the common man dies. We do not want this to happen to our country. That is why I came out to protest." "The court has advised me to respect Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I respect him because he is at a constitutional post but at the same time, I request him to honour the Constitution," Azad added. Azad was arrested on December 21 last year after he led a march from the Jama Masjid against the CAA. He was sent to the judicial custody till January 18 at the Tihar Jail. The Bhim Army chief was on Wednesday granted bail in connection with the Daryaganj violence case. He was charged with rioting, unlawful assembly and inciting the mob to indulge in violence after vandalism in Delhi's Daryaganj area. (ANI) 'With a less than comely bride and no dowry to speak of, the prospects of landing a good match look bleak, a grim, sinister and no-nonsense prospective father-in-law notwithstanding,' says Anjuli Bhargava. Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters The other day, a news report caught my attention. t quoted a government official claiming that two airlines -- IndiGo and Etihad -- had evinced interest in acquiring Air India. It also stated that the Tatas had not yet shown any interest in the proposed sale. As things stand, only an Indian-owned carrier can opt for 100 per cent of the stake; a foreign airline or investor can own only 49 per cent. Of all the possible airlines, the two mentioned in the report struck me as most unlikely suitors. IndiGo already commands close to 50 per cent of the domestic market share and although Air India's domestic presence has been on a steady decline, the combined entity would cross 50 per cent of the market share, attracting the attention of the Competition Commission of India. As it is, IndiGo is driving fares and many in Jet argue that its closure was driven by the market leader's predatory pricing once Jets problems surfaced. A former CCI chairman told me that there was no chance that the CCI would approve an acquisition of the national carrier by Indigo. Expecting Etihad -- which recently burnt its fingers with Jet's closure and has plenty of troubles of its own -- to step in would be equally naive. In 2018, the airline posted a loss of $1.8 billion, taking its three year deficit up to $4.8 billion. There have, in fact, been talks of Etihad being bought out by Emirates or one of the stronger partners in the Gulf region. To float its name as a potential taker for Air India at this stage sounds almost silly. Meanwhile, Air India's own internal problems refuse to abate. The airline's net loss for 2018-2019 was Rs 8,400 crore, against a revenue of Rs 26,400 crore. Although at some stage during the current financial year and after Jet's demise, Air India hoped to lower its losses for the year and even post a small operating profit, it now seems unlikely. CAPA estimates that the airline will end the year with a loss upwards of $500 million, but the industry is willing to bet the final loss will be much higher than the CAPA estimate. In addition to its mounting losses, a substantial part of Air India's fleet is on the ground due to maintenance problems and parts being unavailable due to a paucity of funds. Almost through the last year, between 25 and 35 aircraft were grounded, give or take a few. This, of course, is paradoxically good news for the carrier as more aircraft in the air means higher losses. Typically, airlines don't want to keep any planes on the ground and look at maximising utilisation. As with the country as a whole, none of the usual yardsticks apply in the case of our national carrier! An acute shortage of funds has the airline strapped on all fronts. Salary delays are a given, no one expects timely payments. They are, in fact, grateful that payments are still being made. CMD Ashwini Lohani meanwhile has been out with a begging bowl, yo-yoing between the threat of closure and reassurances of continued operations, a daily comedy circus that no one takes very seriously any longer. Responses to his threats and exhortations appear to be taken in from one ear and let out from the other by a government that is mired in all manner of controversy. Although Lohani with his more tempered handling of staff has proved better for employee morale than his predecessor, junior pilots in the airline have been putting in their papers. Resignations have been high enough in numbers to raise a degree of alarm, stirring the director operations into action, making himself available to meet the aggrieved in the last week of the holiday season in December. Heavens must truly be falling! Resignations of any kind are a rarity in our national carrier, known for the stickiness of its staff in general. After you have worked in Air India, a job in any other airline feels like actual work so you'd really have to be bitten by a mad dog to quit. When I asked one of the senior employees -- who has been there since the late 1980s -- about this strange and recent phenomenon, he pointed out that it must be the younger lot. "The high command and commanders of the airline will never leave until it shuts down; who else will tolerate their tantrums?," he said in jest but with an uncanny degree of realism. So dear reader, loath as I am to be the harbinger of bad news, I am really not optimistic on any kind of wedding in 2020. With a less than comely bride and no dowry to speak of, the prospects of landing a good match look bleak, a grim, sinister and no-nonsense prospective father-in-law notwithstanding. Catherine McVay Hughes, who led the community board in Lower Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy, supports the outer harbor barrier because, she said, protection measures built solely on the coastlines, yet high enough to ward off the biggest floods, would be unsightly. Do we want a 20- or 30-foot-wall between Battery Park and the river? she asked. Advocates like Ms. McVay Hughes are attracted to the prospect of an enormous barrier that would protect much of the region. They also say that the use of locally tailored, onshore solutions alone, like berms, wetlands restoration and raised parks, would likely benefit wealthy areas first, not the low-income communities that suffered disproportionately from Sandy in 2012. But despite its boldness, a barrier like this has alarmed many resilience planning and environmental experts, who say it is an oversimplified, myopic concept that does not attempt to address several major climate threats and could even make things worse. The Corpss barrier designs aim to address only storm surges. They would not counter two other climate-related threats flooding from high tides and storm runoff and they could trap sewage and toxins, which would threaten the nascent ecological revival of New Yorks waterways. The Corps estimates the wall to cost $119 billion, and it is unclear if the city, New York State, New Jersey and Congress will agree to jointly fund the project, which would take 25 years to build. Even if construction went smoothly, opponents say, the barrier could be obsolete within decades because, they say, the Corpss estimates of future sea levels are too low. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Norman Harsono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 Indonesian and Chinese companies have signed a US$695 million contract to construct the Mempawah alumina refinery in West Kalimantan, as Indonesia moves to add value to its mineral products and create a domestic mining industry value chain. Indonesian state-owned construction firm Pembangunan Perumahan (PP) and China Aluminum International Engineering Corporation Limited (CHALIECO) signed the contract on Jan. 11 in Beijing with the smelters owner, Borneo Alumina Indonesia (BAI). Construction of the facility is expected to be complete by 2022. Smelter construction began in December 2019, although BAIs shareholders initially expected it to begin in late 2018 to meet a 2021 completion date. BAI is a joint venture between the Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco), state-owned aluminum producer Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) and state-owned mining company Aneka Tambang (Antam). 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 Representatives of CNIPA, EPO, JPO, KIPO, USPTO and WIPO gather at the first meeting of the IP5 Task Force on New Emerging Technologies and Artificial Intelligence in Berlin on 15/16 January 2020. 17 January 2020 The five largest intellectual property offices held the inaugural meeting of their joint Task Force on New Emerging Technologies and Artificial Intelligence this week in Berlin. Known as the IP5, the five offices which are the EPO, the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) together handle about 85% of the worlds patent applications. The meeting was organised jointly by the EPO and KIPO. Launched at the IP5 annual meeting last June in Incheon, South Korea, the new task force will explore the legal, technical and policy aspects of new technologies and AI, their impact on the patent system and on operations at our five offices. The aim is to pinpoint which areas can most benefit from joint IP5 responses, ranging from employing AI to improve the patent grant process, to applying the patentability requirements to inventions in the field of AI, and handling applications for inventions created by machines. This task force is the IP5 offices first joint response to a changing global patenting landscape and evolving user needs in the field, said Christoph Ernst, the EPOs Vice-President for Legal and International Affairs, opening the event. He added: New emerging technologies and AI touch upon almost every aspect of daily life and seem to question the traditional models for the generation and utilisation of knowledge flows and decision-making. This translates into considerable challenges in IP, and the task force is a chance for us to demonstrate that we, as the worlds leading offices, are agile and responsive to change. In his opening remarks, the Director of the International Co-operation Division at KIPO, Daewon Lee, highlighted the benefits of co-operation given that the five offices face similar challenges and opportunities when it comes to rapidly-evolving technologies: We hope to learn from each other and help each other, he said. The meeting was attended by 30 experts from the legal, patent examination and IT departments of the five offices, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Over one-and-a-half days, participants took stock of ongoing work in the area of AI and new emerging technologies not only at their individual offices but also within the main IP5 working groups and set out a list of areas for possible future IP5 co-operation in legal, IT and strategic aspects. They also discussed how to involve representatives of industry from the five regions in the task force in order to receive their feedback and raise awareness of the benefits of IP5 projects for users of the patent system. By June the task force aims to develop a scoping document for work in the area of AI and new emerging technologies to be submitted to the heads of the five offices. For the EPO, hosting the first task force meeting in Berlin aligns with the Offices Strategic Plan 2023, under which the EPO plans to develop its Berlin office into a centre of expertise on Artificial Intelligence. Further information Correction appended Former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith is among six people whove filed notices of intent to run for late Portland Commissioner Nick Fishs open seat on the Portland City Council as of Thursday, according to the city auditors office. Smith and Ryan Farmer, a lawyer who is not currently employed, filed Thursday to seek that seat. Community organizer and Portland Rental Services Commissioner Margot Black applied Tuesday and nonprofit and political consultant Julia DeGraw filed Wednesday. The four join community activists Robin Castro and Diana Gutman, who threw their names in the ring Monday. Metro Commissioner Sam Chase announced Thursday in an email to supporters that he plans to join that race, but hasnt yet filed a notice of intent to run, said City Elections Officer Deborah Scroggin. None of them have qualified yet to appear on the May 19 special election ballot. The qualification process includes getting 100 signatures from valid Portland voters as an endorsement. The eventual winner of the election will complete the remainder of Fishs term, which expires at the end of 2022. Fish died of cancer Jan. 2. Smith and DeGraw are both running for city council for the second time in three years. Smith worked for Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden for more than two decades before being elected to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners in 2010. She was reelected in 2014 and term limits forced her to leave the position at the end of 2018. Smith lost a general election race that same year for Portland City Council to Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. She has since opened a consulting firm called Dream Big Communications. DeGraw, an environmental advocate, lost to Fish in the 2018 primary election. She has previously been an executive director for Portland Forward, a government reform nonprofit. Black helped create Portland Tenants United and is a Lewis & Clark College math instructor. She is also a member of the citys Rental Services Commission. Farmer is a licensed attorney with a background in programming and intellectual property. Chase, who has been on the Metro Council since 2013, previously served as chief of staff for Fish and housing policy advisor to late Portland Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury, the mother of current Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury. Note: A previous version of this story misstated Margot Blacks positions on the Portland Rental Services Commission and Lewis & Clark College. -- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. WASHINGTON, DCEven as the U.S. Senate prepares with great pomp and ceremony to begin the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, new information about his case continues to come out. For instance, just in the past few days, Lev Parnas, an associate of the presidents personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, has been making the rounds of talk shows explaining texts and documents of his that have been released in way he says implicates Trump in exactly the kind of shakedown conspiracy hes been accused of, and accuses Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Attorney General William Barr of being co-conspirators. Its explosive stuff. And it may be untrustworthy Parnas is a shady character who is facing charges of his own in a New York court. Still, its not in dispute that he worked with the guy who works for Trump, so it does seem like the kind of information that youd want to examine and test in, say, a trial. Perhaps like the one getting underway in the Senate now. But many Republicans in the Senate who will decide on the rules for the trial over the next few days seem dead set against hearing from Parnas, or from even more obviously credible witnesses such as former National Security Adviser John Bolton or Trumps acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, or hearing any new information at all that may be available. Im going to judge the case based on the evidence assembled by the House, Im not going to expand the record, Sen. Lindsay Graham said on a Fox News program this week. Sen. Susan Collins, one of a handful of Republicans who has indicated she might vote to hear from some witnesses, also suggested that the emergence of Parnas revelations are a sign the House didnt do its job before impeaching the president. These are in line with a principle Sen. Marco Rubio tried to outline this month on Twitter: The testimony & evidence considered in a Senate impeachment trial should be the same testimony & evidence the House relied upon when they passed the Articles of Impeachment. Our job is to vote on what the House passed, not to conduct an open ended inquiry, he wrote. They seem to be suggesting that it would somehow be improper for a trial to hear directly from witnesses, or hear and test new evidence. Like many Canadians, my formal study of the American legal system amounts mostly to repeated viewings of Law & Order. But that television background has been enough to allow a basic understanding that in impeachment, the House acts almost like a grand jury evaluating whether theres enough evidence on the face of it to charge the president (similar to a preliminary inquiry in Canada) with a vote to impeach being essentially an indictment. Then it is the Senates job to hold a trial to hear and test the evidence, evaluate it, and pass judgment. Given that, it is bizarre to hear people suggest that a trial is the wrong place to hear testimony and examine evidence. Courtroom dramas have taught us that is exactly what a trial is for. Isnt it? Absolutely correct, says Michael Sozan, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, who studied law at George Washington University rather than on a television screen, and has practised privately and as an attorney for the Department of Justice. It is both allowed and common in criminal trials, he says, for evidence to be presented in court that wasnt heard before a grand jury. And the same, he says, is true of impeachments. In fact, I was looking back at the trial of President Andrew Johnson, his impeachment trial. And there were 41 witnesses allowed there. Interestingly, in that case (one of only two precedents for a presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history), the House didnt really conduct an investigation at all before bringing articles to the Senate for trial. In the Clinton case, after an exhaustive four-year-long investigation, the Senate heard from three witnesses. The types of arguments that Lindsey Graham or that Susan Collins are making just dont seem to be well taken here. Its just not correct. A survey of experts on Twitter by LawandCrime.com after Rubios tweet came to the same conclusion. Its a trial, not an appellate argument based only on the record from the House. Federalist 65 says the Senates trial can never be tied down by such strict rules, Orin Kerr, a law professor at UC Berkeley tweeted in response to Rubio. What is true is that, as Kerr suggests, unlike a jury or even the judge in a traditional court, senators in an impeachment arent required to hear from any witnesses or consider any particular evidence. The impeachment trial is not at all bound by formal evidentiary rules. Its bound by whatever the Constitution says, which is very, very little. So there is broad latitude at this in the Senate trial, Sozan says. Senators can vote on whether to allow evidence, and that is really what this is wrapped up in. Senators make the rules for the trial. If Republicans or Democrats for that matter in the Senate dont want to call witnesses or hear evidence for political reasons, whether to protect the president or otherwise, they dont have to. But for them to claim theres some kind of constitutional principle which would make it improper is simply untrue. Read more about: A man in India has been killed during a cockfight after a sharp blade tied to a rooster cut his abdomen. The cockfight took place in Pragadavaram village in West Godavari, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, despite a Supreme Court ban on the practice. Cockfight organisers tied the razor-sharp blade to the leg of the rooster, police said. A man in India has been killed during a cockfight after a sharp blade died to a rooster cut his abdomen. Pictured: Roosters attack each other during a cockfight as part of Jonbeel festival near Jagiroad on Friday, January 17 The fatal injury was reportedly inflicted as one of the organisers held the animal in his hands, waiting to release it into the arena to fight. Without warning, the bird suddenly struggled against his grip in a bid for freedom, and the blade fatally pierced the abdomen of a spectator who was standing nearby, inflicting a deep wound. The victim has been named by local media as Saripalli Venkateswara Rao, 55. The ban on cockfighting was defied in several areas in East and West Godavari, as part of celebrations for Makar Sankranti, a festival day in the Hindu calendar, dedicated to the deity Surya. Makar Sankranti was this year celebrated on Wednesday, January 15. The ban on cockfighting was defied in several areas in East and West Godavari, as part of celebrations for Makar Sankranti, a festival day in the Hindu calendar, dedicated to the deity Surya. Pictured: A rooster bleeds after participating in a cockfight as part of Jonbeel festival near Jagiroad, 47 miles east of Gauhati on Friday Ten people sustained injury in the village of Kavvagunta in West Godavari District, while two people were injured in Chintam Palli village. Organisers of the cock fights, called kodipandayam in the Telugu speaking states, continue to host the betting contests, despite a ban on the practice. The Supreme Court of India has banned cockfighting as a violation of the 1960 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Despite this, the activity has remained popular, especially in the rural coast of Andhra Pradesh around the time of the Sankranti festival, with large amount of betting involved. A boy shouts to encourage his rooster during a cockfight near Jagiroad on Friday In Andhra Pradesh, the fowls are raised at extraordinarily high expenses to brace them for the doordie contest. Proteins and nutrient rich foods like almonds and cashew nuts besides minced mutton and muscle pumping steroids and antibiotics are given for about a year or even longer to raise the prized cocks. Knockout fights are staged till one bird is either critically injured or dead. Sharp blades are tied to the fighter bird's limbs. BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- JennAir, the luxury kitchen appliance brand hell-bent on driving progress throughout the industry, opened the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) with the reveal of JAXBOX, a revolutionary pop-up showroom experience. Taking cues from the JennAir Experience showrooms (JAX), the JAXBOX puts the brand's RISE and NOIR design expressions and statement pieces into shipping containers, transporting visitors into a world of progress and creative freedom. The JAXBOX will be on display in the International Builders Show (IBS) Village outside the Las Vegas Convention Center from January 21 through January 23 as a part of the brand's Defiant by Design experience. JAXBOX, the revolutionary JennAir pop-up showroom experience "This is the JennAir brand's first year at KBIS, and knowing we had a vision that would take us beyond the traditional spaces of the convention center floor, we made it our mission to go all in on our progressive marketing approach," said Jon Hall, product and brand marketing director, JennAir. "The debut of JAXBOX represents the next step in our fight for appliance progress, as it breaks every traditional way of thinking about the kitchen shopping experience and immerses our guests in the JennAir version of bespoke luxury, just like our JennAir Experience showrooms have done across the nation. As show attendees descend on Las Vegas, our surrounding marketing efforts will beckon the fearless spirits of the industry, ensuring JennAir brand's footprint is impossible to miss." JAXBOX takes its inspiration from the brand's JennAir Experience showrooms, which began to sweep the nation last year. Comprised of four reclaimed steel shipping containers, the multi-level JAXBOX was engineered to hit the road as a self-contained product experience that is modular, mobile and fully integrated with the signed-on digital experience of the brand's brick and mortar showrooms. The immersive experience empowers personal discovery and delivers the tools for customization and seemingly limitless creative freedom craved by designers and the new modern luxury consumers they serve. With containers dedicated to the RISE design expression, the NOIR design expression, the brand's statement pieces, as well as columns and custom cooktops, visitors can come face to face with intricate product design details while accessing more than 5,000 customizable product combinations through touchscreen technology. KBIS and IBS attendees seeking a stark departure from the convention center's sea of stagnation are invited to join JennAir throughout the week for exclusive Defiant by Design JAXBOX tours every morning and talks every afternoon. Tours will immerse guests in the brand's signature Bound By Nothing creative ethos, which serves as the brand's operating system, and highlight the JennAir statement pieces and RISE and NOIR design expressions. Each afternoon, JennAir will host talks moderated by leading publication Architectural Digest, featuring industry rebels discussing the importance of breaking the chains of conformity in home and kitchen design. Marquee guests include designers Jeremiah Brent, Athena Calderone and more. Attendees seeking priority access are invited to sign up here . Throughout the week, JAXBOX guests are invited to refuel body and mind in an indoor-outdoor lounge designed to cure convention coma. Stay tuned for more details on where the entirely portable JAXBOX will land next, with more displays of luxury on the horizon in 2020. To learn more, visit JennAir.com, @JennAir on Instagram and Twitter. About JennAir Defying physics with the invention of downdraft ventilation, Lou Jenn forged the path to an open concept and changed the kitchen forever. Founded in that progress, JennAir fearlessly carries his torch hell-bent on burning down the tired conventions of luxury. JennAir crafts distinctive luxury kitchen appliances that push form and function to transform spaces. With exceptional performance, masterful execution and provocative design, JennAir offerings are powerful, yet bespoke to individual tastes, shattering norms to deliver the progress that today's luxury consumer deserves. To speak with a concierge at the JennAir Epicenter or learn more about the new offerings from JennAir, please visit JennAir.com or join us on instagram.com/JennAir, facebook.com/JennAir, twitter.com/JennAir and youtube.com/JennAir. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE JennAir Related Links http://www.jennair.com Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], Jan 17 (ANI): Karnataka Health Minister and BJP leader B Sriramulu on Friday claimed that Congress supports Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Popular Front of India (PFI) to disturb peace in the state. His statement came after the arrest of 6 SDPI supporters in connection with an attack on a BJP-RSS follower during a pro-CAA rally held in December last year. "The Congress party 100 per cent supports SDPI and PFI. Whenever they do not get the power, they try to disturb the peace with the support of SDPI and PFI. I will propose in Karnataka Assembly session to ban these organisations in Karnataka. We will discuss this matter," Sriramulu told ANI. "We had already demanded for the ban on these organisations in Karnataka when I was an MP. Shobha Karandlaje, Yediyurappa and I had met Rajnath Singh, the then Home Minister in Delhi and we had given a memorandum to ban SDPI and PFI," he added. A case has been registered against arrested SDPI supporters under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Bengaluru Police is constituting a new Special Investigation Team (SIT) to handle this case. "There were 6 people belonging to SDPI, who were here to carry out attacks on leaders supporting CAA. These people were being paid Rs 10,000 from their handlers to create ruckus here. Now this will be handled by the Anti-Terror unit," said Bhaskar Rao, Bengaluru Commissioner of Police. Earlier today, Karnataka Minister Jagadish Shettar called for a ban on SDPI. "SDPI always denies their involvement but it has been proved now. I welcome the police's action. Their organisation should be banned as they have always been involved in anti-social activities and government of India should take very serious note of this," Shettar told ANI here. (ANI) WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) will host its 8th Annual Stomach Cancer Capitol Hill Advocacy Day in Washington D.C. on February 10-11, 2020. The annual meeting allows stomach cancer patients, their families, and caregivers an opportunity to share their personal stories with members of Congress and relay the latest statistics and facts about stomach cancer to ensure that the disease remains eligible for funding through the Department of Defense's Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP). Debbie's Dream Foundation advocates posing on Capitol Hill for the 7th Annual Stomach Cancer Capitol Hill Advocacy Day in 2019 On December 20, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law the "Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020" (H.R. 1865), which funds federal agencies for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2020. Congress again designated stomach cancer as eligible for research funding through the PRCRP, which saw its budget increase to $110 million. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also experienced a funding increase of $2.6 billion for a total of $41.7 billion. Of this amount, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will receive $6.44 billion. In addition, the spending bills contain the most consequential language to date for stomach cancer research and early detection. Specifically, the agreement directs the NCI to develop a scientific framework using the process outlined in the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012 for stomach and esophageal cancers and urges NCI to continue to support research with an emphasis on developing screening and early detection tools and more effective treatments for all recalcitrant cancers. NCI is directed to provide an update on NCI-supported research to advance these goals in the Fiscal Year 2021 Congressional Justification. Also, NCI is directed to add esophageal and stomach cancers to future Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization reports. DDF's Chief Executive Officer Andrea Eidelman sees these recent developments as the direct result of the organization's advocacy efforts for the past seven years. "Thanks to the vision and implementation of our late Founder Debbie Zelman, we can proudly say that DDF's advocacy work on Capitol Hill has not gone unnoticed," said Andrea Eidelman. This year, Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois's 16th congressional district will be presented with the Congressional Champion Award for his demonstrated commitment to reducing death and suffering from stomach cancer through his leadership in ensuring stomach cancer's continued eligibility for funding through the PRCRP and as a member of the Deadliest Cancers Congressional Caucus. DDF is also pleased to present its Volunteer of the Year Award to DDF supporter and stomach cancer survivor Denise Leprine of New York for her incredible devotion to the fight against stomach cancer. To learn more about DDF and its advocacy efforts, visit www.DebbiesDream.org. About Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer DDF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about gastric cancer, advancing funding for research, and providing education and support internationally to patients, families, and caregivers. DDF seeks as its ultimate goal to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality. DDF was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with stage IV incurable gastric cancer in 2008 and given only weeks to live. Debbie is considered a pioneer by many for bringing awareness to the plight of stomach cancer patients worldwide, as well as to the lack of federal funding for stomach cancer research. She did all of this while receiving hundreds of rounds of chemo, in addition to daily oral treatments. Debbie passed away on December 23, 2017, at the age of 50, almost a decade later. As a result of her leadership, DDF now has a Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of world-renowned doctors and chapters throughout the United States and in Canada and Germany. DDF strives to continue Debbie's mission and to make her dream a reality. To learn more about DDF, please visit us at www.DebbiesDream.org. Media Contact: Brittnay Starks Communications Coordinator Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (954) 475-1200 [email protected] www.DebbiesDream.org SOURCE Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer Related Links http://www.DebbiesDream.org She is popular presenter and television host, with an eye for style. And Lizzie Cundy showed her flair for fashion as she headed to a glitzy party and greeted friend Eamonn Holmes with a friendly kiss on the cheeky at Annabel's private members club in London on Thursday. The brunette beauty, 51, showed off her toned legs in a striking optical illusion bodycon dress paired with vertiginous heels. Strut: Lizzie Cundy showed her flair for fashion as she headed to a glitzy party at Annabel's in London on Thursday The stunning black wrap dress teased a glimpse of her cleavage and boasted sparkling white stripes which accentuated the beauty's trim waist. She accessorised with black fluffy arm bands, a leather handbag and a pair of sparkling earrings. Her caramel flecked brunette tresses were styled in soft waves while the star accentuated her pretty features with a rich palette of make-up. Peck: Lizzie planted a peck on her pal Eamonn Holmes's cheek as they greeted one another Toned: The brunette beauty, 51, showed off her toned legs in a striking optical illusion bodycon dress paired with vertiginous heels Pose: The stunning black wrap dress teased a glimpse of her cleavage and boasted sparkling white stripes which accentuated the beauty's trim waist Lizzie confirmed her blossoming romance with DJ Friese, 47, while appearing on the Jeremy Vine show back in December. She admitted that while she's 'having fun' with Brandi Glanville's ex she wants to 'play it cool' as 'it's early days' between the pair, following a 'tough' break-up from businessman Jeremy Gordeno, 53. Lizzie blushed as she was teased about her relationship by her fellow panellists - host Jeremy, journalist Angela Epstein, and Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner. The media personality - who was first spotted with the hunk in late November - enthused: 'Well I have someone who is rather interested in me, so we'll see what happens. Glamour: The beauty added height to her look with a pair of patent stiletto heels When asked about whether he boasts a 'solid' physique, a shy Lizzie nodded before sharing more details about her new partner. The This Morning star explained: 'It's early days. You have to play it cool. They are new beginnings, fresh start, it's going to be a great year... it's all fun.' Lizzie and DJ's trip to the theatre comes after she was left terrified when she started to go blind after having filler injected into her eye sockets. Good to see you: Lizzie was seen sharing a friendly hug with presenter pal Eamonn as she went to the Brasserie in Soho Stepping out: The This Morning presenter, 60, stepped out with Sky News star Jacquie Beltrao later on at Annabel's She said she opted to have the Harley Street procedure after her ex Jeremy Gordeno developed a close friendship with his former fiancee's daughter, 21. Admitting she was ridden by fear at the side effects, the media personality told MailOnline: 'I have never been so frightened as to think I could nearly have lost my eyesight by not doing my research and just wanting to look and feel better!' Lizzie had the procedure in a bid to get rid of her eye bags after a friend had the same procedure and looked great and she too, wanted a quick fix. The model said that within minutes, she knew that something was awry. She said her eyes puffed up and as time went by, her vision started to go blurry. Luckily Lizzie was able to enlist an experienced eye doctor who was able to save her sight, but she wants others to think twice before having similar procedures. Detailing her recovery, Lizzie told MailOnline: 'As soon as he put the dissolving solution in, I could see it all disappearing and literally my eyesight came slowly back within minutes. 'I am a very lucky girl and would warn others to think twice before having any filler as it actually travels and I nearly lost my eyesight!' The TV star also admitted she feared she wouldn't be able to see her two sons, Josh and James, again. High on the wall of a German church where Martin Luther once preached, an ugly remnant of centuries of antisemitism is now at the centre of a court battle. The so-called Judensau, or Jew pig, sculpture on the Town Church in Wittenberg dates back to around 1300. It is perhaps the best-known of more than 20 such relics from the Middle Ages, in various forms and varying states of repair, that still adorn churches across Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Located about 13 feet above the ground on a corner of the church, it depicts people identifiable by their headwear as Jewish people suckling on the teats of a sow, while a rabbi lifts the animal's tail. In 1570, after the Protestant Reformation, an inscription referring to an anti-Jewish tract by Luther was added. Judaism considers pigs impure, and no one disputes that the sculpture is deliberately offensive. But there is strong disagreement about what consequences that should have and what to do with the relief. A court in the eastern city of Naumburg will consider on Tuesday a Jewish man's bid to make the parish take it down. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty It's the second round in the legal dispute, which comes at a time of mounting concern about antisemitism in modern Germany. In May, a court ruled against plaintiff Michael Duellmann, who wants the relief put in the nearby Luther House museum. Judges in Dessau rejected arguments that he has a right to have the sculpture removed because it formally constitutes slander and the parish is legally responsible for that. Mr Duellmann appealed. The relief is a terrible falsification of Judaism ... a defamation of and insult to the Jewish people, Mr Duellmann says, arguing that it has a terrible effect up to this day. Mr Duellmann, a former student of Protestant theology who converted to Judaism in the 1970s, became involved in the issue in 2017 the year Germany marked the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. He says he joined vigils in Wittenberg against the sculpture and was asked if he would be prepared to sue when it became clear that the church wasn't prepared to take it down. Recommended German church using Nazi bells with swastikas faces legal action Luther is said to have nailed his 95 theses to the door of another church in Wittenberg in defiance of Roman Catholic authorities in 1517, starting the German Reformation. He also is known for anti-Jewish invective, from which Germany's Lutheran church has distanced itself. Luther preached at the Town Church, now a regular stop for tourists visiting Wittenberg. When the church was renovated in the early 1980s, the parish decided to leave the sandstone sculpture in place, and it was also restored. In 1988, a memorial was built on the ground underneath it, referring to the persecution of Jewish people and the killing of 6 million in the Holocaust. In addition, a cedar tree was planted nearby to signify peace, and a sign gives information on the sculpture in German and English. Pastor Johannes Block says the church is in the same boat as the plaintiff and also considers the sculpture unacceptably insulting. The parish, he says, also is not happy about this difficult inheritance. However, he argues that the sculpture no longer speaks for itself as a solitary piece, but is embedded in a culture of remembrance thanks to the memorial. We don't want to hide or abolish history, but take the path of reconciliation with and through history, he says. The majority of the Town Church parish doesn't want this to become a museum piece, but to warn and ask people to remember history on the building, with the original, Mr Block says. Mr Duellmann isn't impressed. The 'Jew pig' is not weakened by the memorial, he says. It continues to have a terrible antisemitic effect in the church and in society. There are mixed opinions in the church, too. Last year, the regional Lutheran bishop, Friedrich Kramer, said he favours taking down the sculpture from the church wall and exhibiting it in public at the site with an explanation. He doesn't favour putting it in a museum. He praised the 1988 memorial but said it has weaknesses, including a failure to address Luther's antisemitism. Recommended Jewish cemetery attacked in southern France If judges do order the sculpture removed, that may not be the end of the story. Mr Block says the church would ask authorities to assess whether it is possible to remove it from a building that is under a preservation order, and more talks with the court would probably follow. The church is a Unesco World Heritage site, a status that it gained in 1996. Mr Duellmann has little sympathy with the church's preservation order dilemma. He contends that authorities deliberately failed to mention the offending sculpture at the time of the application in order not to endanger it. Whatever the outcome, Mr Block says he regrets that the case went to court. We are not advocates and initiators of the sculpture, he says. We are heirs and are trying to deal very conscientiously with this inheritance. Associated Press Civil society organisations in Niger have called for protests to demand action against increased attacks by armed groups in the Sahel region. Activists in Niger are calling for action against attacks by armed groups in the Sahel region. At least 160 soldiers have been killed in less than two months and thousands of people displaced. Mounting casualties have left many families struggling. Al Jazeeras Ahmed Idris reports from the capital Niamey. On the first day of President Trumps impeachment trial for a campaign to coerce Ukraine into smearing his enemies, officials in Kyiv finally announced a politically charged investigation involving a U.S. official. But it wasnt the one Trump and company wanted. Ukraines Interior Ministry announced Thursday that it was looking into possibly illegal spying on a former U.S. ambassador to the country, Marie Yovanovitch, whom Trump disparaged and eventually ousted. The probe is in response to newly disclosed text messages in which a Republican congressional candidate told Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, that people tailing the ambassador were willing to help for a price. Parnas, one of two Giuliani henchmen arrested on campaign finance charges just before they boarded a one-way flight to Germany in October, was the source of a trove of revelations in press interviews and documents released by House impeachment investigators this week. They further strengthened the case for a substantive Senate trial with witness testimony. The third such trial in U.S. history began without a resolution of that question Thursday, when Chief Justice John Roberts swore in the Senate as a jury. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has sought to limit further damage to the president by staging a show trial with no witnesses. Expected to proceed to arguments next week, the trial was triggered when the House voted Wednesday to transfer articles of impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress to the Senate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi also named seven House managers who will act as the proceedings prosecutors, among them fellow Bay Area Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose. Lofgren, an attorney whose experience now spans three impeachment inquiries, is well suited to make the case for fair consideration of the charges against Trump. Pelosi, D-San Francisco, withheld the articles for nearly a month in an effort to wrest concessions from McConnell. While the majority leader managed to keep the witness question open, the delay made room for developments that weakened his position. Former national security adviser John Bolton, a firsthand witness to much of the Ukraine affair, announced his willingness to testify, while recently unearthed emails showed another potential witness crediting Trump himself with blocking the countrys security aid. A report released Thursday by Congress nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found the administrations interference to be illegal. Now Parnas story and documents provide more evidence that Trump orchestrated a push for politically motivated investigations that brandished a variety of potential punishments and rewards. While Parnas account and those of other potential witnesses can and should be questioned, the value of hearing from them should not. This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters. Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Myanmar from Friday to Saturday, also Xi's first state visit this year, will usher in a new era of China-Myanmar relations, said U Khin Maung Lynn, Joint Secretary of the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies (MISIS). The teaching building of a high school donated by the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline project in Naypyidaw, capital city of Myanmar. Photo by Sun Guangyong from People's Daily Xis visit is of great significance as the year 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar, U Khin Maung Lynn said, adding that the Burmese people look forward to the visit of the Chinese president. The MISIS belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Myanmar and is a think-tank that carries out research on the foreign policy and international issues of Myanmar. He pointed out that Myanmar and China have formed a deep friendship in history and the senior leaders of the two countries have frequently paid visits to each other's country. Xi's visit this time will certainly deepen the "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between the two peoples and vitalize the traditional relations in the new era. For a long time, China has strongly supported Myanmar in developing the national economy and improving the livelihood of the people, U Khin Maung Lynn noted. A project constructed by the State Grid Corporation of China that links the Kachin State, the northernmost state of Myanmar, with the 230-KV main power grid. Photo by Sun Guangyong from People's Daily While Myanmar is striving to facilitate economic growth, Xi's visit will strengthen the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries and promote more solid progress in major projects such as the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC). According to him, Myanmar boasts different kinds of natural resources, yet it has failed to fully exploit such resources for many reasons. China, however, gains strengths in constructing infrastructure and developing and utilizing resources, which leaves great potential for the two countries to cooperate. The CMEC, which serves as a great opportunity for China and Myanmar to achieve win-win results, will significantly improve the life of the people along the route, he said. U Khin Maung Lynn thinks that the cooperation of China and Myanmar on building the Belt and Road will not only benefit Myanmar, but will generate more development opportunities for the entire Southeast Asia and even Asia. The national flags of China and Myanmar fly high in the street of Myanmar before Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to Myanmar. Photo by Sun Guangyong from People's Daily The joint construction of the Belt and Road is also a poverty reduction project in the region, he said, explaining that the infrastructure connectivity can help people in many remote areas of Myanmar to get rid of poverty. Xi's visit will promote the bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), he noted. While the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government along with the Chinese people are trying to secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, Myanmar hopes to make use of Xi's visit and strengthen its cooperation with China to achieve national stability and comprehensive development at an earlier date, said the expert. He pointed out that he really admires the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind. No country can seek development on its own in the face of serious challenges in the era of economic globalization, he said, adding that Myanmar is willing to forge a brotherly friendship of shared destiny and fortune with China and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind. The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington on May 7, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) US Supreme Court to Hear Trump Appeal in Obamacare Contraception Fight WASHINGTONThe U.S. Supreme Court on Friday took up an appeal by President Donald Trumps administration seeking to enforce new federal rules allowing employers to obtain religious exemptions from an Obamacare requirement that health insurance that they provide to employees pays for womens birth control. At issue is a challenge by the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the administrations 2018 rule that permits broad religious and moral exemptions to the Affordable Care Acts contraception mandate and expands accommodations already allowed under the 2010 law dubbed Obamacare. The administration has asked the Supreme Court to reverse a nationwide injunction issued by a lower court blocking the rule from taking effect. Arguments in the case before the high court, which has a 5-4 conservative majority including two justices appointed by Trump, are likely to be in April with a ruling due by the end of June. The Obamacare contraceptive mandate requires that employer-provided health insurance include coverage for birth control with no co-payment. Previously, many employer-provided insurance policies did not offer this coverage. The blocked Trump rule would allow any nonprofit or for-profit employer, including publicly held companies, to seek an exemption on religious grounds. A moral objection can be made by nonprofits and companies that are not publicly traded. The administrations rule also applies to religiously affiliated universities that provide health insurance to students. In practice, many of these employers can still seek exemptions because of a different injunction issued by a judge in Texas last year that provides similarly broad exemptions to the contraception requirement. The legal question is whether Trumps administration had legal authority to expand the exemption under both the Obamacare law itself and another federal law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allows people to press religious claims against the federal government. The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year upheld a nationwide injunction issued by a district court judge in the lawsuit by New Jersey and Pennsylvania, blocking implementation of the rule. Separately, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year upheld a lower courts injunction blocking the rule in a group of 14 states. It is the second time the justices addressed the question of religious accommodations to the contraception provision in the healthcare law signed by Trumps Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. In 2016, the justices sidestepped a decision on previous rules issued by the Obama administration, sending the dispute back to lower courts. The administration was joined by the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Roman Catholic order of nuns that is one of the groups seeking an exemption for its employees. At that time, religious employers including the Little Sisters opposed the government rules. This time, following changes made by the Trump administration, they supported them. Under the Obama rule, religious entities were exempt and an accommodation was created for religiously affiliated nonprofit employers, which some groups objected to for not going far enough. In a 2014 Supreme Court decision involving Christian-owned craft store chain Hobby Lobby Stores Inc, the court said that privately held companies could bring objections to the contraception mandate on religious grounds. By Lawrence Hurley YEREVAN. - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived at the ruling Civil Contract party headquarters where he will meet with members of the majority My step faction in parliament. As Pashinyan got out of the car he hit the journalists with a snowball. And when asked what questions would be discussed, he replied: "Ordinary." Yesterday the Prime Minister met with members of the majority My step bloc of the Yerevan Council of Elders. Koalas that were in the path of a raging bushfire a week ago have been rushed to safety after they were almost swept away by flash floods in Australia. Months of drought that fuelled the torrent of flames gave way to torrents of rain on the country's east coast on Friday morning, endangering animals at the Australian Reptile Park. The rapidly rising waters in the biggest flood for 15 years also brought two American alligators within a metre of freedom. Scroll down for video Koalas at the Australian Reptile Park, near Sydney, have been rushed to safety following a flash flood a week after they were in the path of raging bushfires The animals were left in harmsway after months of drought gave way to downpours Australian Reptile park director Tim Faulkner acted fast to move these wet koalas to a safer area as a precaution Rains helped to douse fires around the east coast, while they continue to rage in other areas Soaking wet koalas clinging onto gum trees, and zoo keepers carrying marsupials through raging waters, have been pictured by the park. In one image, a zoo keeper is seen leaning over the fence and trying to push an alligator back down with a broom as it stretches up in an apparent bid to escape. 'This is incredible, just last week, we were having daily meetings to discuss the imminent threat of bushfires,' park director Tim Faulkner said. 'Today, we've had the whole team out there, drenched, acting fast to secure the safety of our animals and defend the park from the onslaught of water. 'We haven't seen flooding like this at the park for over 15 years.' The park was closed on Friday as staff moved quickly to protect the animals after flood waters began rapidly rising about 7.30am. The bushfires, which began in September, have claimed 28 lives and are estimated to have killed more than a billion animals across eastern and southern Australia. Staff fended the large male alligator off the Alligator Lagoon's first fence with a broom Australian Reptile Park staff immediately closed the park and moved the animals to safety The wet weather this week has given exhausted firefighters a huge boost, helping to reduce or contain some blazes. But dozens of fires remain out of control, and authorities have warned the crisis could worsen again with Australia only half way through its summer. 'The contrast between the current bushfire crisis and this sudden flooding is striking,' Faulkner said. 'But we are well-aware that a huge part of Australia is still burning, and millions of animals are still under threat.' Mr Faulkner said keepers were stationed at the Alligator Lagoon to monitor the water levels, which were rising beyond the fence line. 'We haven't seen flooding like this at the Park for over 15 years,' he said in an emailed statement. Floodwaters pour down a road at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, NSW, near Gosford Mr Faulkner checks the soundness of a bridge barricade during the rapid flood Workers probe the ground for hazards and inspect a flood-damaged fence on Friday The park's enormous alligator lagoon is home to 35 of the potentially dangerous reptiles, native to north America, which grow up to 3.5m and weigh up to 400kg. It is ringed by two fences for safety. Even if an alligator made it past the first fence, it is understood that it would be in no position to escape into the wild - but it would be quite difficult to catch them between the two fences and put them back in the lagoon. The alligators are said to have become highly excited in the rain after months of dry weather and are understood to be 'having a ball' in Friday's flood. The waters rose so rapidly on Friday they dislodged a small dinghy which can be seen in the video crossing the Alligator Lagoon with nobody at the helm. Fortunately, it later floated back onto shore. An alligator looks out to freedom. The floodwaters rapidly rose beyond the first fence line The biggest flood waters in 15 years quickly rose to the top of the first fence. Daily Mail Australia understands the Lagoon is guarded by two fences so they were not at risk of escape The giant predators became highly excited by the rain and rapidly rising floodwaters Mr Faulkner said the contrast to the bushfire crisis was striking. 'This is incredible,' he said. 'Just last week, we were having daily meetings to discuss the imminent threat of bushfires, just 8km away from the Park here in Somersby.' Mr Faulkner said the staff are aware that the bushfires are still burning and the rain doesn't replace the millions of hectares of lost animal habitat. The Australian Reptile Park works to protect native animals including the bushfire survivors through its conservation charity Aussie Ark. The Bureau of Meteorology's rainfall map on Friday. Spot thunderstorms dumped heavy rain in localised areas causing hotspots of flash flooding, including on parts of the Central Coast. The wet weather is likely to continue until Wednesday The Australian Reptile Park was closed Friday as staff cleaned floodwaters from the buildings He had just returned from a mission to the drought-shrivelled creeks in the Barrington Tops area to rescue endangered Manning River turtles and platypus when the flash flood suddenly struck on Friday morning. On Friday, staff at the park were busy mopping out the offices and display areas, and checking all the enclosures, repairing any damage. Mr Faulkner said the staff's quick action had got the flooding under control and he said he expected the park to reopen on Saturday. 'We'll be open and ready to welcome visitors for the rest of the summer school holidays,' he said. Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Neale Fraser said 30mm to 40mm of rain had fallen quickly on Somersby and surrounding Central Coast areas from about 7am to 8.30am on Friday causing some localised flooding. 'There were showers overnight but they intensified with thunderstorms for about an hour,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'Things are so dry it's (the water) probably running off rather than soaking in.' Mr Fraser said the Central Coast could expect lighter showers today and tomorrow. London: Hull KR coach Tony Smith has confirmed Mose Masoe's rugby league career is over and admits he faces a fight to walk again. Former Sydney Roosters and Penrith forward Masoe suffered a spinal injury during a trial match last week and rushed to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. The 30-year-old has been transferred to a specialist spinal unit at Pinderfields Hospital in Yorkshire and Smith said the giant forward remains positive about making a full recovery. "This is a career-ending injury," Smith said at a press conference on Thursday. An 11-year-old quadruple amputee has become the first person to receive an R2-D2 bionic arm. Kye Vincent, from Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, began crowdfunding for the Star Wars-themed hero arm after losing four limbs to meningitis when he was just eight years old. The infection took less than 24 hours to spread through his body, and doctors had to amputate both of his lower legs, his right hand and part of his left hand. His mother, Cheryl Vincent, said: They didnt have much of a chance of saving his limbs. Kye said he wanted to be a bionic boy, so we started fundraising. Seeing Kye with a hand again was very, very emotional. I was full of pride, I could burst. I was so happy for him. From a very young age, hes always loved Star Wars. And to have it on a prosthetic arm, it shows what hes into. The arm is one of several hero arms manufactured by Bristol-based company Open Bionics. The 3D-printed multi-grip arm is the only one of its kind available for children. Among the different choices are Disney and Marvel-themed arms, including Frozen and Iron Man. Samantha Payne, co-founder of Open Bionics, told the PA news agency: We wanted to show that people with a difference can be superheroes. There are no other multi-grip prosthetics available for children, and the ones that are can be quite ugly or impractical. She added that they were working with the NHS to make the limbs more widely available they can currently only be secured through private treatment and funding. We are waiting for NHS England to update their out-of-date guidelines to give access to amputees in the UK this multi-grip technology that costs the same or less than current NHS myoelectric solutions, she said. The arm works using EMG sensors that detect muscle movements, and the hand is controlled by tensing the same muscles which are used to open and close a biological hand. Growing children can be fitted for a normal prosthetic up to twice a year, however, the bionic arm has an adjustable size which means it can grow alongside the child. Open Bionics also offers an insurance policy, with free refits for up to five years. The company has provided bionic arms to children in the UK and US. Curt Wainwright, from Green Bay, Wisconsin, bought an Iron Man arm for his 13-year-old son, Jonathan. He told the PA news agency: Normal prosthetics are more cosmetic. He wanted it to be of use to him. He was born without a hand, so he has become accustomed to using his nubbie. So at his age, he wanted it to be useful. He shared a video of his son using the arm to drink apple juice: The look on his face is all you need to know. Joel Gibbard, co-founder and chief executive of Open Bionics, said: Were really grateful to Lucasfilm for allowing us to find inspiration from their incredible Star Wars characters which has helped us to empower children with limb differences. The R2-D2 covers for the Hero Arm are easy to take on and off, allowing children like Kye to accessorise their bionic arm to match their mood. The covers showcase that your uniqueness is your superpower and you shouldnt feel like you have to hide your limb difference instead you can show it off. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Friday lodged a complaint in connection with the online circulation of a booklet named as 'New Indian Constitution,' which has been attributed to Mohan Bhagwat. The RSS has termed this book as a conspiracy against them and has registered a complaint against it at the Kotwali Police Station here. The RSS has denied having published any such booklet. "Some anti-social elements have promoted this booklet on social media," a release by the RSS said. "We have full faith in the Indian Constitution and have not presented any idea on a new Constitution," it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) High quality of copies of the Oscar nominated Best Picture films 1917, Ford v Ferrari and Little Women have leaked online in recent weeks. The World War I drama 1917 won the Golden Globe for best film and received 10 Academy Award nominations earlier this week. The files apparently came from digital screeners or DVDs, which were mailed to voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. On Thursday, copies of 1917, Richard Jewell, A Hidden Life, Color Out of Space, Dark Watersand Queen and Slim first appeared on file sharing sites, according to the website Torrent Freak. They were posted by bootleggers know as TOPKEK and Hive-CM8. They follow the illegal uploading of Ford v Ferrari, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Frozen 2, Knives Out, Bombshell and Little Women weeks earlier. The first screener leaked during the 2020 awards season was Uncut Gems, which was soon followed by Portrait of a Lady on Fire and JoJo Rabbit. Shortly before Christmas, Hive-CM8 let it be known on websites that it was looking to bootleg Frozen 2 and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the latter which has still not surfaced online in high quality. So far, 16 Academy screeners have been pirated and uploaded to the internet. Last year, Hollywoods crackdown on piracy resulted in only six screeners being uploaded a record low in the industry. The Academy does not take kindly to piracy by its members. In 2004, Godfather actor Carmine Caridi became the first and only Academy member to be expelled for sharing screeners. The FBI was contacted and he was given immunity in exchange for testimony. However, he was subsequently sued by Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. and ordered to pay them $600,000 plus attorney fees. Two days after Keralas tourism department courted controversy by tweeting a recipe of a beef dish on Makara Sankranti, a day considered auspicious by Hindus, minister Kadakampally Surendran came down heavily on critics. Giving a communal colour to an advertisement is deplorable. The tourism department has no intention to hurt the religious feelings of anyone. After all, food has no religion. Some communal elements are whipping up passion deliberately, tourism minister Surendran said on Friday adding that communalising such issues were highly condemnable. The tourism department had tweeted a picture of beef ularthiyathu, a popular dish from the state, on Wednesday on its official Twitter handle. Tourism officials later clarified that it was a mere coincidence and earlier also they put such ads. Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices, coconut pieces, and curry leaves. A recipe for the most classic dish, Beef Ularthiyathu, the stuff of legends, from the land of spices, Kerala the tweet with a link to an article on the departments website, said. Soon many social media users accused the Left Front government of issuing the advertisements deliberately on an auspicious day to hurt the religious feelings of Hindu. Many leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad also echoed the same view. It seems the Kerala government has declared a war on Hindus. The government is taking a ride on Hindu sentiments by glorifying beef on Makara Sankranti day, senior BJP leader from Karnataka Shobha Karandlaje said. The VHPs spokesperson Vinod Bansal also slammed the timing of the advertisement. The Kerala Tourism must understand that you cant promote anything like this by hurting religious sentiments of millions of tourists who worship cows, he tweeted. Though the tweet evoked sharp reactions outside, it failed to make much noise in Kerala, where beef amounts to 60% of the total meat consumed. Known as the poor mans meat, around 60% of the states population eats beef. Apart from Muslims and Christians, a majority of Hindus also eat dishes made of red meat. After the kitchen of Kerala House in New Delhi was raided by the police in 2015 to probe a complaint that beef was being served at its canteen, it triggered loud protest in the state. The Kerala government and the canteen authorities had denied the charge, saying it was buffalo meat. And to mock the Centre, left-backed students outfits had conducted beef festivals on many campuses across the state. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON We now offer lithium prices and coverage free for reference. Click here to read all about it. Join our growing community of participants who want to learn more about electrification and how this market is developing. An employee union of Pawan Hans Ltd has urged aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri to remove the ban imposed on capital expenditure for purchasing helicopters as the government has failed to secure a bidder in the last three years, a source has said. The union, in a communication to Puri last week, has also sought a meeting with him, and has stated that the growth of a public sector undertaking (PSU) should not be hampered during its strategic sale process. Pawan Hans Ltd is a joint venture with the government holding 51 per cent stake and oil and gas behemoth ONGC the rest 49 per cent. The government has made at least three attempts to offload its entire stake under a strategic disinvestment plans since 2017. "The disinvestment process got extended over three years now (is) adversely affecting the present operations and long-term strategic plans. The operational flexibilities have (also) been kept on hold or restriction enforced respectively. "...During the process of strategic sale of any PSU growth path should not be hampered," the union said in the letter to the ministry. The union also alleging that the disinvestment of the PSUs will create "more unemployment" in the country, it said due to long process of strategic sale since three years, performance of company is deteriorating which needs serious attention. From a profit-making entity till 2018-18, PHL reported a net loss of Rs 63 crore in FY2018-19, which is expected to surge to Rs 100 crore in this fiscal, the source said. Hence, the government should "immediately allow PHL for major capital expenditure/investment so that it can purchase the new aircraft and replace its old fleet as per the market requirement," it said. PHL, which largely caters to ONGC's offshore flying requirements, has afleet of 43 helicopters and most of them are old. "In view of the above the Union request to Minister for Civil Aviation to kindly spare some valuable time for meeting with us," the union said in the letter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The first part of a new terminal at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport has opened with an operational capacity able to provide services for as many as 20 million travelers annually. Terminal C-1 opened on January 17 in the north of the airport's terminal complex after being combined with Terminal B for domestic flights. The new terminal is expected to increase the airport's overall capacity to 80 million passengers per year, airport officials have said. According to the officials, an equivalent of almost $520 million was spent to build the terminal with parking for 2,500 vehicles. Aleksandr Ponomarenko, the chairman of the Sheremetyevo International Airport Joint Stock Company, told reporters at a ceremony marking the opening of the new terminal that a second section, C-2, will be built by 2026. Sheremetyevo's southern complex consists of terminals D, E, and F and the Aeroexpress train station. It is Russia's biggest airport and the main hub of the countrys largest airline, Aeroflot. Based on reporting by Forbes, Interfax, and TASS The family of a three-year-old girl who was found safe and well after wandering off and spending 24 hours in the remote outback Australia has praised their 'hero' pet dog for keeping the girl safe. Matilda Moule left her house on Noreena Downs Station in northern Western Australia at about 2.30pm Thursday with her pet Jack Russell terrier named 'Wolfy' by her side. A land and air search was mobilised for the girl on the family's 368,000 hectare property after concerns she could be trapped by rising creek waters from heavy rain earlier in the week. The three-year-old was spotted at about 2pm on Friday by one of the station's helicopters about three-and-a-half kilometres from her homestead with Wolfy still by her side. Scroll down for video The family of a three-year-old girl who was found safe and well after spending 24 hours in the remote outback Australia has praised their 'hero' pet dog (pictured) for keeping the girl safe Matilda Moule ( pictured) left her house on Noreena Downs Station in northern Western Australia at about 2.30pm Thursday with her pet Jack Russell terrier named 'Wolfy' by her side Matilda Moule after she was found on Friday afternoon with her parents and grandmother The family is spoiling Wolfy after the pair were brought home safely Matilda's aunt posted a picture of 10-month-old Wolfy, covered in red dirt and mud, to Instagram on Friday. 'This little dog is the hero to our family. He spent the whole night and today with Matilda while she was missing in the bush,' she wrote. 'Both were found safe and well today. Wolfy is the goodest boy a little girl could wish for.' She later posted a video of Wolfy playing with other dogs after he had received a bath. The pair were found between two creeks on the property about 150km north of the town of Newman in the remote Pilbarra region of Western Australia. It is thought Matilda had wandered through one of the creeks when it was shallow but then the water rose. Inspector Craig Parken from Pilbarra Police said there were helicopters owned by the station, 10 police officers, local SES crews, and also seven riders from the local horse club that were looking for Matilda. 'The helicopter was able to go in and pick her up between the two waterways,' he told ABC radio. 'Apart from being a little bit dehydrated she was in very good health. The only thing she was concerned about was that someone had eaten her piece of chocolate cake that was still in the fridge.' 'The dog stayed with her for the entire time, he was there to protect her as they wandered out of the house.' The youngster and her hero pet were quickly flown back to her home on the million-acre property where she was embraced by her parents Kate and Nathan - and given a big glass of water. Officers combed through bushland (pictured) to find the toddler, who was missing for more than 24 hours and was eventually found between two creeks with her pet dog Wolfy The girl wandered off from her family's million-acre homestead, 70km from Nullagine in WA 'I'm sure she's a free spirit and her backyard is a million acres,' Kim Massam, the WA Police superintendent who led the rescue operation, told media. 'She's (now) at home on a station with her mum and dad and her grandma. The story could not end any better than that.' The youngster had wandered off from her family's enormous homestead to take her dog for a walk on Wednesday afternoon. When her parents noticed she was missing they quickly raised the alarm, leading to a major search. Heavy rain from ex-Tropical Cyclone Blake had made search conditions challenging and filled a number of creeks surrounding the property. By the time she was found, Matilda's green top and pink dress was covered in mud. But that didn't bother her parents or grandmother, who all happily embraced her as she was returned to the homestead. After getting a hug from her loved ones the three-year-old girl was given a big glass of water. Supt Massam praised the Jack Russell for staying by Matilda's side through the night. 'It's in the nature of pets to look after the people they love,' he said. 'That little Jack Russell stayed by her side and gave her that moral support to get through a night and a day in that harsh climate. 'That little dog will be the toast of the station tonight.' The three-year-old went missing in an area that covers some of the most remote cattle land in the state, leading police to call it a 'very concerning' situation before her dramatic rescue. The family station in the East Pilbara region has been running since 1983, and like much of Western Australia has had intense rain this week. Newman recorded 143mm of rain in just 24 hours last Wednesday, causing flooding and road closures. Three helicopters, ten police officers, eight SES personnel and seven horses were deployed to search for Matilda who was found safe He was axed from the Today show last month and, unlike his other colleagues, wasn't given another role at Channel Nine. But Steve Jacobs is moving past his career setback by enjoying a picturesque holiday in tropical Vanuatu. On Friday, the 53-year-old showed off the beautiful scenery while also encouraging his fans to book a holiday at his rental property, The Boathouse. 'Book in, breathe, relax and unwind': Ex-Today show weatherman Steve Jacobs is encouraging people to stay at his Vanuatu rental property after he was axed from Channel Nine last year 'Morning vibes at The Boathouse in Vanuatu. Book in, breathe, relax and unwind. Only three hours from Sydney. Absolute paradise,' he wrote on Instagram. Steve also included links to his website where holidaymakers can find more information and make reservations. The Boathouse has two gorgeous bedrooms and two bathrooms, and is surrounded by crystal clear water and white sand. Both his daughters, Francesca and Isabella, were pictured in his advertisement post lounging around on hammocks. Picture perfect: On Friday, the 53-year-old showed off the beautiful scenery at The Boathouse in a series of photos shared to Instagram Time for a holiday! The Boathouse has two gorgeous bedrooms and two bathrooms, and is surrounded by crystal clear water and white sand Relaxing vibes: Steve also included links to his website where holidaymakers can find more information and make reservations Getaway: Prices at The Boathouse start from $400 per night Prices at The Boathouse start from $400 per night. Steve was axed from Today before Christmas, following the announcement that the program was being relaunched with Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon as hosts. Taking to Instagram after his sacking, he said he was looking forward to spending more time with his daughters. Gone: Steve (pictured with his daughters) was axed from the Today show before Christmas 'Today has been my home for almost 15 years and I love the program and my colleagues dearly,' Steve wrote. 'Sadly I can't commit to the future travel requirements of the job and have to put my beautiful daughters first. They are my world, my life and my joy.' In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, a Nine spokesperson said at the time: 'Stevie will be leaving Nine but we hope to work on another project with him very soon.' Freeholders in Cape May have approved a resolution declaring the county a Second Amendment / Lawful Gun Owner Sanctuary, following in the footsteps of several pro-gun N.J. municipalities. The resolution states opposition to any legislation, at the state or federal level, that could have the effect of infringing on the rights of law abiding citizens to keep and bears arms. It was approved in a 4-0 vote on Tuesday night, two weeks ahead of President Donald Trumps Jan. 28 campaign rally in Wildwood. Unlike similar resolutions adopted late last year in West Milford and Sussex Borough, Cape Mays version does not single out for criticism a new state law allows for removing weapons from someone judged a threat to themselves or others. However, while silent on New Jerseys so-called red flag law, it condemns an Assembly bill that would require gun owners to obtain at least $50,00 in liability insurance. Cape May is believed to be the first county in New Jersey to adopt a pro-gun resolution. The wording is similar to resolutions that have been approved by county and local jurisdictions in several other states this year. Most notably, in Virginia, nearly half of the counties there have adopted resolutions declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries. The use of sanctuary is a play on jurisdictions using the same term to express support for undocumented immigrants in their communities. Freeholder boards in two other Republican-dominated counties, Salem and Sussex, are considering resolutions. Salem County Freeholder Director Benjamin H. Laury said a vote is possible at the boards next meeting. We took an oath to uphold the constitution, which includes the Second Amendment," he said. West Milford adopted its first-in-the-state resolution Dec. 4, six days before a deadly shooting spree in Jersey City killed four people, including a Jersey City police officer and three inside a grocery store. The day after the shootings, Gov. Phil Murphy reiterated his call for federal gun legislation to lessen gun violence. The two suspects in Jersey City, both of whom were killed after a three-hour standoff with police, brought four guns into the store and had one in a van parked across the street. Unlike West Milford, the Sussex Borough Council opted not to characterize the borough as a sanctuary" for law-abiding gun owners, though regardless of the wording neither resolution overrides state and federal laws regulating weapons and ammunition. Nicholas Joseph, a Gloucester County resident, said he co-founded the NJ 2A Sanctuary group Dec. 23 that is seeking support for the pro-gun resolutions throughout the state. In addition to West Milford and Sussex Borough, Joseph said that resolutions have been adopted by Down Township and Maurice River in Cumberland County, Alloway in Salem County, and Franklin and Hamburg in Sussex County. We have an advocate in every single county that is pushing out resolutions, he said. This story has been updated with comments from Nicholas Joseph. Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. [January 17, 2020] OneAmerica Unveils New Web Design for Retirement Services Audience OneAmerica today launched a new design for its group annuity digital platforms, used to administer company retirement plans. This change was made to meet the ever-evolving needs of retirement plan sponsors, advisors and third-party administrators. Clients routinely give feedback about site functionality, and plan sponsor surveys conducted in 2019 provided insight into the desire for a refreshed site design. The new look provides an attractive and engaging experience, streamlining page navigation, improving the readability of the fonts and implementing a cleaner presentation overall. "We make it a priority to listen to our clients and offer solutions that meet their needs," said Sandy McCarthy, president of retirement services. "While our retirement plan sites have been consistently rated high by DALBAR, we're committed to staying responsive and working to continuously improve our customer experiences. The refreshed site design provides an updated look and feel that will allow for a more user-friendly web experience." The improvements involve accounts operated by 5,000 financial advisors, close to 2,000 TPAs, and approximately 21,000 individuals at the employer level who handle retiement planning for their personnel. "We are known in the industry for our emphasis on relationships, education and customization," added McCarthy. "We're proud of these digital enhancements because they really showcase our commitment to all three factors that differentiate us and they build a foundation of human-centric, intuitive and seamless experiences for our stakeholders." OneAmerica is the marketing name for the companies of OneAmerica. Products issued and underwritten by American United Life Insurance Company (AUL), a OneAmerica company. Administrative and recordkeeping services provided by McCready and Keene, Inc. or OneAmerica Retirement Services LLC, companies of OneAmerica which are not broker/dealers or investment advisors. DALBAR is not a OneAmerica company. About OneAmerica A national provider in the insurance and financial services marketplace for more than 140 years, the companies of OneAmerica help customers build and protect their financial futures. OneAmerica offers a variety of products and services to serve the financial needs of their policyholders and customers. These products include retirement plan products and recordkeeping services, individual life insurance, annuities, asset based long-term care solutions and employee benefit plan products. Products are issued and underwritten by the companies of OneAmerica and distributed through a nationwide network of employees, agents, brokers and other sources that are committed to providing value to our customers. To learn more about our products, services and the companies of OneAmerica, visit OneAmerica.com/companies. The OneAmerica 2018 Annual Report is also available for download. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005420/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] PORTLAND, Oregon, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Automatic Door Market by Type (Sliding, Swinging, Folding, and Others) and End User (Commercial, Industrial, and Residential): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026." According to the report, the global automatic door industry was estimated at $22.40 billion in 2018 and is expected to hit $41.74 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 7.8% from 2019 to 2026. Drivers, restraints and opportunities- Rapid urbanization & industrialization, increase in residential & non-residential construction, and rise in spending on home remodeling drive the growth of the global automatic door market. On the other hand, high initial costs and less demand for automation in small and emerging economies impede the growth to some extent. Nevertheless, surge in need for safety and security is expected to create a plethora of opportunities in the industry. Download Report Sample: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/3158 The sliding segment to dominate by 2026- Based on type, the sliding segment contributed to more than two-fifths of the global automatic door market share in 2018, and is projected to rule the roost during the study period. The same segment is also expected to register the fastest growth of 8.4% by 2026. Rise in new construction and home improvement activities are expected to provide lucrative opportunities for growth of the segment. The commercial segment to lead the trail throughout the forecast period- Based on end user, the commercial segment held the largest share in 2018, generating nearly half of the global automatic door market. The installation of automatic doors with swinging & sliding mechanism during construction of buildings has helped builders enhance the overall appearance of the building, thereby fueling the growth of the segment. Simultaneously, the residential segment would cite the fastest CAGR of 8.7% during 20192026. Rise in demand for residential buildings and increase in consumer expenditures on home improvement are expected to drive the growth of the segment. Asia-Pacific, followed by Europe and North America, to remain lucrative in terms of revenue- Based on region, Asia-Pacific, followed by Europe and North America, accounted for nearly half of the global automatic door market revenue in 2018, and is expected to retain its dominance till 2026. The same region would also showcase the fastest CAGR of 9.1% throughout the estimated period. Strong economic growth, rapid urbanization, and increase in population contribute to the growth of the market in the region. Make Purchase Enquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/3158 Leading players in the industry- Deutschtec GmbH GEZE GmbH Royal Boon Edam International B.V MANUSA GEST, S.L. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. & Decker, Inc. ASSA ABLOY Group Nabtesco Corporation Rite-Hite Holding Corporation dormakaba Holding AG Sanwa Holdings Corporation Access Avenue (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model) at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/Avenue-Membership-details Avenue, a user-based library of global market report database, provides comprehensive reports pertaining to the world's largest emerging markets. It further offers e-access to all the available industry reports just in a jiffy. Avenue is a premium subscription-based model that serves as an informative solution on which the world-leading companies can rely on. Similar Reports: Home Automation Market Is Expected to Reach $81,645 Million, Globally, by 2023 Exterior Doors Market to Reach $107,954 Million, Globally, by 2023 Europe Interior Doors Market to Garner 18,025 Thousand Units by 2023 Global Interior Doors Market Expected to Reach $85,410 Million by 2025 Japan Windows and Doors Market to Reach $14,267 Million, by 2023 Windows and Doors Market Expected to Reach $282 Billion, Globally, by 2022 Pre-Book Now with 12% Discount: Storefront Glass Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact Us: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free (USA/Canada): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022, +1-503-446-1141 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 [email protected] Web: www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow us on: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allied-market-research SOURCE Allied Market Research In this image from video, presiding officer Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts swears in members of the Senate for the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. AP photo Washington: The US Senate opened the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump with quiet ceremony Thursday senators standing at their desks to swear an oath of impartial justice as jurors, House prosecutors formally reciting the charges and Chief Justice John Roberts presiding. The trial, only the third such undertaking in American history, is unfolding at the start of the election year, a time of deep political division in the nation. Four of the senators sitting in judgment on Trump are running for the Democratic Partys nomination to challenge him in the fall. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! intoned the Senates sergeant at arms, calling the proceedings to order just past noon. Senators filled the chamber, an unusual sight in itself, sitting silently under strict rules that prohibit talking or cellphones, for a trial that will test not only Trumps presidency but also the nations three branches of power and its system of checks and balances. The Constitution mandates the chief justice serve as the presiding officer, and Roberts made the short trip across the street from the Supreme Court to the Capitol. He has long insisted judges are not politicians and is expected to serve as a referee for the proceedings. Senators rose quickly when he appeared in his plain black robe. Will all senators now stand, and remain standing, and raise their right hand, Roberts said. Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God? The senators responded they would, and then they lined up to sign an oath book. Trump faces two charges after the House voted to impeach him last month. One, that he abused his presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using military aid to the country as leverage. Trump is also charged with obstructing Congress ensuing probe. The president insists he did nothing wrong, and he dismissed the trial anew on Thursday at the White House: Its totally partisan. Its a hoax. Eventual acquittal is expected in the Republican-controlled Senate. However, new revelations are mounting about Trumps actions toward Ukraine. The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the White House violated federal law in withholding the security assistance to Ukraine, which shares a border with hostile Russia. At the same time, an indicted associate of Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas, has turned over to prosecutors new documents linking the president to the shadow foreign policy being run by Giuliani. The developments applied fresh pressure to senators to call more witnesses for the trial, a main source of contention that is still to be resolved. The White House has instructed officials not to comply with subpoenas from Congress requesting witnesses or other information. What is the president hiding? What is he afraid of? asked Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. The gravity of these charges is self-evident, he said. The House of Representatives has accused the president of trying to shake down a foreign leader for personal gain. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the new information from Parnas demands an investigation, which she doesnt expect from Trumps attorney general. This is an example of all of the presidents henchmen, and I hope that the senators do not become part of the presidents henchmen. Before the swearing-in, House Democrats prosecuting the case stood before the Senate and Rep. Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee formally read the articles of impeachment. Seven lawmakers, led by Schiff and Rep. Jerrold Nadler of the Judiciary Committee, made the solemn walk across the Capitol for a second day. All eyes were on Schiff as he stood at a lectern in the well of the chamber, a space usually reserved for senators. House Resolution 755 Impeaching Donald John Trump, president of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors, he began, reading the nine pages. The other House prosecutors stood in a row to his side. The 10th annual National School Choice Week (NSCW) will kick off January 26 with some 25,000 schools participating in a mind-boggling 51,300 independently organized events encompassing all 50 states. The growth of this event serves as an indicator of the rising American interest in families having as free a choice among schools as they have when they pick out a pair of shoes at the mall. Good fits are essential. By contrast, in 2011, Year One, there were just 150 rallies and other activities. By 2013, 3,059 schools were participating in NSCW. Growth burgeoned during the rest of the 2010s, resulting in recent speculation that we may be at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties for school choice. At the center of these diverse celebrations of educational choice in K-12 schools are students dancing to the years official song (Best Day by Loomin for 2020) while wearing and vigorously waving the weeks signature yellow scarves. When watching these youthful performances, I see joy, exuberance, and pride in the schools of choice many of these children attend. You can view some of the dance renditions and judge for yourself here: www.schoolchoiceweek.com Sadly, those bright yellow scarves serve as a triggering mechanism for some on the Left who see them as a symbol of rebellion against the collectivist model of government-dominated education they prize. A few years ago, a People for the American Way grump wrote that the scarves serve as a flashy distraction from an agenda of undermining public education. Never mind that NSCWs go out of their way to keep the happenings inclusive and nonpartisan. They sing the praises of all kinds of schools that exhibit any degree of openness to parental choice: traditional public, charter, and magnet, along with private, religious, online, and home schools. At the risk of further incurring the ire of statists, NSCW president Andrew Campanella has even launched a Happiness Blog to report and celebrate good news in education whenever it exists. Bemoaning what social observers have termed an Unhappiness Epidemic, Campanella issues this invitation: Together, lets push back against this trend with all the good news about education we can find. Of course, the evidence of the failures of centralized education is so massive as to be impossible to ignore. The documented failures of the vaunted Common Core standards to raise reading and math scores on the Nations Report Card or to improve student readiness for higher education are a matter of record. Why not celebrate individual successes in the hope they may become models for others striving for excellence? The following are three exemplary schools -- all of them participants in NSCW -- featured recently by the Happiness Blog: DeBakey High School for Health Professions, a public magnet school in Houston. Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as among the best public schools in the nation, DeBakey gives students leaning toward health-care careers a chance to shadow physicians and other professionals in the largest medical complex on Earth. Recently, some students were able to view a livestream of an open-heart surgery. Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy, a charter school that immerses its students in the classic literary works of Western civilization. Using the Socratic method, the academys teachers encourage students to ask questions and engage in lively discussions about nature and humanity. Students also study Latin, by no means a dead language, given its influence on modern reading, writing, and vocabulary. Flushing (NY) Christian School. Founded by three pastors in 1950, this private school seeks to provide a joy-filled Christian education. Its fifth-graders, dubbed The Navigators, scored a stunning achievement when they took the National Geographic Challenge and developed a filtering system to reduce pollution in the Hudson River. They earned first place in a 1,000-team competition and won a $25,000 prize that will be used to put their innovative system into practice. School Choice Week showcases the interest in school choice and pent-up demand for more of it. Whether supply meets that demand will depend in part on decisions in the political and legal realms -- specifically, a Supreme Court decision expected in June that may knock down 19th-century anti-Catholic Blaine Amendments that stifle private choice in some states, and, of course, the results of the federal election in November. Robert Holland (holland@heartland.org) is a senior fellow for education policy at The Heartland Institute. Asia Disease That Killed Millions of China's Pigs Poses Global Threat Pigs are seen in a piggery at a village near Warsaw. Russia suspended imports of Polish pigs in February, citing concerns African swine fever among wild boars in Poland could spread to farmed pigs. / Reuters CHICAGOBettie the beagle, a detector dog for US Customs and Border Protection, picked up the scent of pork on a woman arriving from China at Chicagos OHare International Airport. Soon the dogs handler discovered and confiscated a ham sandwich in the purse of a passenger who had flown on a China Eastern Airlines flight from Shanghai. The danger? That the food might be contaminated with African swine fever and spread the disease to the United States. China has lost millions of pigs in outbreaks of the disease, pushing its pork prices to record highs, forcing purchases of costly imports and roiling global meat markets. Its very likely it may come here if we arent more vigilant, said Jessica Anderson, the handler for the pork-sniffing dog and an agricultural specialist for the border protection agency. Bettie is among an expanded team of specially trained beagles at US airports, part of a larger effort to protect the nations US$23-billion (33.87-trillion-kyat) pork industry from a disease that has decimated Chinas hog herd, the worlds largest. Governments worldwide are scrambling to shore up their defenses as the disease spills over Chinas borders, according to Reuters reporting from nine countries. The efforts underscore the grave threat to global agriculture. African swine fever has spread to Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, with cases found in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Korea, Myanmar, the Philippines, Poland, Belgium and Bulgaria. Around the globe, those countries and others that have so far sidestepped the epidemic are cracking down on travelers, increasing cargo screenings and banning meat imports. (View an interactive graphic on Chinas swine-fever crisis here.) Pork-producing countries stand to lose billions of dollars if the disease infects their industries because outbreaks devastate farms and shut export markets. African swine fever does not threaten humans but theres no vaccine or cure for infected pigs. If the disease enters the United States, the top pork-exporting nation with 77.3 million hogs, the government would struggle to protect the industry, participants in a four-day drill in September told Reuters. If this gets in, it will destroy our industry as we know it, said Dave Pyburn, the National Pork Boards senior vice president of science and technology. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) simulated an outbreak in Mississippi that spread to the nations top pig-producing states, including North Carolina, Iowa and Minnesota. Veterinarians, farmers and government officials gathered at command centers where they tested their capacity to swiftly detect, control and clean up after an outbreak. The experience showed the US needs to increase its capacity to quickly test pigs for the disease and to dispose of the animals without spreading it, said Pyburn, who participated in the drill. In China, the top global pork consumer, the disease has been devastating. The exact number of hog deaths is not known. Rabobank estimated the country lost up to 55 percent of its pig herd last year. But the Chinese government has reported smaller losses in the countrys $1-trillion hog sector since the first case in August 2018. Global response The US government is fielding dogs at airports and seaports, conducting outbreak-response drills and adding capacity to test pigs. France and Germany are killing hundreds of thousands of wild boar that might carry the disease. France also erected 132 kilometers of fencing to keep out wild boar and is planning stricter sanitary rules for pig farming, including requirements to disinfect trucks that transport swine. Thailand culled pigs in a province close to Myanmar, where the disease has been found. South Korea ordered soldiers on its border with North Korea to capture wild boar, while Vietnam used troops to ensure infected pigs were culled. Australia expelled travelers from Vietnam for smuggling pork and banned imports of pork products. Australia also deployed advisers to Pacific islands in an attempt to protect its closest neighbors from African swine fever. If such efforts fail, it could cost the country more than 2 billion Australian dollars (2.03 trillion kyats) over five years, according to Australian Pork Limited, an industry group. It is certainly the biggest threat to commercial raising that we have ever seen, and arguably the biggest threat to any commercial livestock species weve seen, said Mark Schipp, Australias chief veterinary officer. US officials plan to suspend domestic shipments of pigs among farms and to slaughterhouses if African swine fever is detected. The USDA and states could issue orders halting the movement of livestock in certain areas as a way to contain the disease. The USDA said in a statement to Reuters that the September drill highlighted shortcomings in its guidance to states detailing when and how to limit the movement of pigs. The government is also increasing the number of laboratories it uses to test for African swine fever. We have identified some gaps, said Amanda Luitjens, who took part in the drill and is animal welfare auditor for Minnesota-based pork producer Christensen Farms. The thought of it making it to the United States is scary. Bans of garbage feeding Travelers transporting meat represent the biggest risk for African swine fever to spread to the United States because the disease can live for weeks in pork products, Pyburn said. Contaminated food can be fed to feral pigs or livestock in a practice known as garbage feeding, which the USDA says has caused outbreaks of swine diseases around the world. US farmers are supposed to obtain a license to feed pigs with food waste that contains meat and cook it to kill disease organisms. African swine fever can also spread from pig to pig, from bites by infectious ticks and through objects such as trucks, clothing and shoes that have come into contact with the virus. China banned the transportation of live pigs from infected provinces and neighboring regions in an unsuccessful bid to contain its outbreaks. It also culled pigs and outlawed the use of kitchen waste for swine feed. The disease has been detected in food products seized at airports in South Korea, Japan, Australia, the Philippines and Northern Ireland. African swine fever is thought to have arrived in the Philippines through contaminated pork smuggled from China. The Philippines is now conducting mandatory checks on carry-on luggage of passengers from countries with outbreaks. The government of the province of Cebu in the central Philippines banned imported products and those from the main Philippine island of Luzon to avoid swine fever. More than 60,000 pigs have died or been culled in Luzon because of the disease. The Philippines Department of Agriculture also banned garbage feeding that included leftover food from airports, airlines and seaports. In the United States, low inspection rates at ports of entry increase the likelihood for illegal pork to enter the country undetected, the USDA said in a report assessing the risk from African swine fever. The agency works with Customs and Border Protection to alert all US ports each time a new country is confirmed to have the disease, requesting increased scrutiny on travelers and shipments. But Customs and Border Protection estimates it needs 3,148 people to specialize in agricultural inspections at entry points like airports and only has about 2,500. The US Senate last year authorized the annual hiring of 240 agricultural specialists a year until the workforce shortage is filled, and the training and assignment of 20 new canine teams a year. The government approved 60 new beagle teams to work at airports and seaports last year, for a total of 179 teams, according to USDA. Those teams face a daunting challenge, said Senator Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat who introduced the legislation with other lawmakers. Every day, millions of passengers and tens of thousands of shipping containers carrying food products cross our nations borders, he said, any one of which could do significant damage to Americas food supply and agricultural industries. You may also like these stories: China Pig Farmer Profits Soar After Disease Wipes out Third of Herd, Boosts Prices Millions of Small Pig Farmers in Asia Threatened by Swine Fever Outbreak Minister of state for health Rajendra Patil-Yedravkar was detained in Belgaum and was not allowed to speak at a meeting organised by the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti on Friday. The border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka is likely to intensify with Shiv Sena leader and Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut announcing that he will travel to Belgaum on Saturday. The minister had gone to Belgaum to pay respects to the martyrs of the united Maharashtra movement. He was scheduled to speak at the event and address the workers of the committee, but he was allegedly manhandled, disallowed to speak and escorted back to the border by the police. Raut is scheduled to reach Belgaum at 2 pm on Saturday. I have learnt that the Karnataka government has issued special orders to prevent my entry in Belgaum. Belgaum is in India. There may be border issues between Maharashtra and Karnataka. I am, however, a Rajya Sabha MP and an Indian citizen, hence I have decided to go. The border dispute between the two states has been simmering for decades. Tensions had reignited in the border areas between December 28 and 30 last year. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray raked up the issue and described Belgaum district as Karnataka occupied Maharashtra. Effigies of Thackeray and Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa were burnt on both sides of the border by local outfits. State transport buses were stopped between Kolhapur and Belgaum as a precautionary measure. On Friday, Raut alleged that Marathi-speaking people were under attack in the neighbouring state. For some time now, Marathi people and Marathi language are constantly under attack by the Karnataka government and even Marathi literary meets have been banned, he added. Maharashtra claims an area of 2,806 square miles involving 814 villages. Three urban settlements of Belgaum, Karwar and Nippani were all part of the Mumbai Presidency before independence. The Marathi-speaking villages are spread across Belagavi and Uttar Kannada in north-western Karnataka, and Bidar and Gulbarga districts in north-eastern Karnataka all bordering Maharashtra. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: Azerbaijan has passed a development path equal to a century and has now joined the ranks of strong countries on a global scale, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his speech at a meeting on the results of 2019, Trend reports. "Today we will talk about the results of last year and exchange views on the work to be done. I can say that, in general, 2019 was a successful year for our country. All the goals we set ourselves at the beginning of the year have been successfully met and the country's sustainable development has been ensured. Thus, great strides have been made in political, economic and social spheres. Azerbaijan lived in stability. Stability is the main condition for the development of any country," President Ilham Aliyev said. The head of state noted that throughout the year, we observed an increase in tensions in various places around the world. "Bloody clashes, wars, public protests, police violence, flagrant violation of human rights, breach of democratic values all this was observed practically throughout the world. Tensions are growing in Europe, Asia, Latin America, in post-Soviet countries, in our region, in the Middle East, in the world. Azerbaijan is developing as a stable place. The Azerbaijani people are the guarantor of stability in Azerbaijan. The will of the Azerbaijani people is the main guarantor of stability in Azerbaijan. Popular support and a high assessment of our policies inspire us even more and, at the same time, ensure stability in the political and economic spheres in our country. When stability is disrupted, crises and chaos occur in countries, which does them a great deal of harm. We saw this in our own history in the early 1990s. Stability in Azerbaijan was disrupted, the country was gripped by crisis and we suffered heavy losses. But Azerbaijan has been living in the conditions of stability for 26 years now. Over these years, our country has passed a very long development path. I can say that our country has passed a development path equal to a century and has now joined the ranks of strong countries on a global scale," President Ilham Aliyev said. The head of state underlined that the facts already noted clearly confirm that Azerbaijan's international positions are strong enough and were further strengthened last year. The head of state noted that a summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking states has been held in our country, and Azerbaijan has taken over chairmanship in this organization. "Our country has also hosted a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. Within the framework of this summit, by a unanimous decision of 120 member-countries, Azerbaijan assumed chairmanship in this second largest international institution after the UN. I want to emphasize this fact because certain countries that are members of the Non-Aligned Movement do not get along with each other, if I may say so. There are conflicts and disagreements between them. Despite this, all countries supported the candidacy of Azerbaijan. This once again shows the high level of respect and trust in us in the international arena. The second summit of religious leaders of the world was also held in our country. Religious leaders of 70 countries arrived in Azerbaijan, got acquainted with our realities and praised the work our country has been doing in the interreligious and intercultural sphere. A session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has been held in Azerbaijan. This is also a very reputable event on a global scale. As part of the session, the Palace of Sheki Khans and the central part of Sheki were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. I believe that this is a very important event because Gobustan, Icherisheher and the Shirvanshahs Palace had been included in this authoritative list earlier. I believe that the inclusion of the Palace of Sheki Khans on this list is a fair decision and yet another great success of ours," President Ilham Aliyev said. "I would also like to draw your attention to another international event the International Astronautical Congress held in Washington last year," President Ilham Aliyev said. "This is the most prestigious event in the field of astronautics. The congress passed the decision to hold the International Congress of Astronautics in 2022 in Azerbaijan. This is also a very important event both the congress itself and the fact that along with Baku, three other big cities participated in this competition - Rio de Janeiro, Singapore and Delhi. Azerbaijan won this difficult competition. In other words, this is a sign of the great attention being paid to our work and a manifestation of the confidence placed in Azerbaijan as a whole. I must also note that the International Congress of Astronautics was held in the Soviet Union only once almost 50 years ago, in 1973 and it was held in Baku. At that time, thanks to the efforts of Heydar Aliyev, it was Baku that was selected to host this congress. After almost 50 years, this congress will once again be held in Baku, the capital city of the already independent Azerbaijan, the city of Baku. Many important events have occurred on the international plane. I am simply highlighting the main issues. The facts already noted clearly confirm that our international positions are strong enough and were further strengthened last year." Angry passengers are demanding to know why they were left stranded for several hours after the RAF demanded air traffic controllers shut down Heathrow's airspace for around 30 minutes. The RAF told civilian controllers they needed an 'unplanned' use of airspace, which forced several aircraft to divert and forced others to circle until Heathrow reopened. The military emergency concerned nearby RAF Northolt, which is home to the Royal Flight as well as some electronic surveillance aircraft. Some passengers believed the event was due to a security alert which required the RAF to have access to the airspace. However, the RAF has stressed there was no emergency. According to the RAF: 'RAF can confirm that a flight was completed this morning by one of our assets from RAF Northolt, this flight was coordinated with Heathrow ATC but had to extend by a few minutes. The minor delays caused to civilian air traffic are regretted.' At least four Heathrow-bound British Airways flights and one Virgin Atlantic aircraft were forced to land at other airports such as Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. The hour-long backlog of flights waiting to land led to several planes running low on fuel, forcing them to seek clearance to divert to nearby airports. Passengers of one Virgin Atlantic flight revealed how their pilot announced over the tannoy that they only had 'five to ten minutes' of fuel left and had to land at Gatwick. The Ministry of Defence confirmed to MailOnline that the disruption was caused by one of its aircrafts from RAF Northolt needing extra time to finish its flight over civilian air space. Passengers have been left stranded across the south of England after dozens of flights bound for Heathrow were diverted or delayed this morning after an RAF plane demanded an 'unplanned' use of airspace Flight data shows how the hour-long backlog of flights led to several planes running low on fuel, forcing them to seek clearance to divert to nearby airports Flights arriving at Heathrow have been diverted after an RAF plane demanded an 'unplanned' use of airspace (stock) British TV producer Anne Henry told The Mirror how her Virgin Atlantic flight from Los Angeles was diverted to Gatwick due to a lack of fuel. She told Mirror Online: 'It was quite alarming when the captain announced after circling Heathrow for a while, "Ladies and gentlemen we have about five to ten minutes" fuel left so we may need to divert to Gatwick'. Why were planes diverted away from Heathrow? Here MailOnline looks at the possible reasons behind the Heathrow delays: 1. Was RAF Northolt tasked with flying a VIP and did the plane get into difficulty? RAF Northolt is home to 32 Squadron, which is at times tasked with flying VIPs such as the royal family and politicians in Leonardo AW109SP GrandNew helicopters. Both the RAF and Downing Street have told MailOnline they were not involved in today's operation however. 2. Could a mysterious privatised spy plane unit be behind the delays? Gareth Corfield, defence writer for The Register, told MailOnline that a privitised spy plane unit based at Northolt - which runs Islander planes - could be behind the incident. He said that if an Islander got into difficulties south of Heathrow and wanted to get back it might have caused the delays as it is a slow plane. 3. Was there slow communication between Air Traffic Control, the RAF and other parties? As the RAF aircraft demanded an 'unplanned' use of airspace it would have to inform NATS, the company which provides air traffic services to UK airports. Air Traffic Control would then have to inform other parties including Heathrow Airport. If this communication had been slow it might have led to delays in the area. 4. Did a training exercise run overtime causing the RAF to request an extension to the airtime required? Aviation expert Julian Bray told MailOnline that the incident might have been an exercise that went on for slightly too long. He added that Whitehall related exercises would take place in that area. He noted that the weather yesterday and overnight might have meant the exercise had to be delayed into the morning. 5. Was the airspace closed due to a national security emergency? While this is possible, the MoD refuse to discuss such issues as a matter of policy. Advertisement 'Weve been on the ground for about an hour but we're not allowed to get off. 'The official line from the pilot on the tannoy has been "security incident". Tough for the crew as theyve only had one or two hours of sleep and have to keep going.' RAF Northolt is home to 32 Squadron, which is at times tasked with flying VIPs such as the royal family and politicians in Leonardo AW109SP GrandNew helicopters. Other aircraft based at the RAF base includes the BAE146 CCMK2 and CMK3. Northolt's website states that the CCMK2's primary role is 'the transport of senior government ministers and MOD personnel and, most famously, senior members of the Royal Family.' However, military sources confirmed to MailOnline that today's incident do not have any royal connection. Downing Street also confirmed it was not involved in today's flight over Heathrow. A NATS spokesperson said: The events of this morning will be subject to internal review as well as review with operationally relevant external stakeholders. Gareth Corfield, defence writer for The Register, told MailOnline: 'From what I gathered, they shut the main Heathrow approach path for about 20 minutes. You don't do that unless there's something seriously bad going on, because the cost of putting planes back into the holding stack is 10,000s a minute and that comes out of the Governments pocket. One explanation he had was that one of the RAF aircraft had got into serious difficulty, adding: Obviously the locals around Northolt are not going to be happy as they trust the Air Force not to drop planes on their head. Mr Corfield added: The other theory, there's a whole bunch of military aircraft, it could have been one of the Queens Flight losing one of the engines. Speaking about other possibilities, Mr Corfield said: There is the privatised spy plane unit based at Northolt. They run planes called the Islander. If an Islander got into difficulties south of Heathrow and wanted to get back to Northolt, its a slow aircraft, so that could be another explanation. He added: Theres something very unusual happening there. The Ministry of Defence confirmed to MailOnline that the disruption was caused by one of its aircrafts from RAF Northolt (stock image) extending its sortie into civilian air space Those caught up in the delays have taken to Twitter to complain of diverted flights and how the information was relayed to passengers (above and below) It was revealed in late 2018 that the Piper PA-31 Navajo was being used for Islander spy plane operations and the work had been privatised to fast-growing aviation group 2Excel. The planes continue to operate from RAF Northolt by 2Excels Scimitar business unit, according to reports. Were you caught up in the disruption? Email james.wood@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement Aviation expert Julian Bray told MailOnline that the flight would have likely been a 'high-security' operation and that it would have had an escort. He said: 'Northolt would usually transport VIPs and for some reason they decided to fly through Heathrow this time and not around it. 'I've heard that it might have been an exercise that went on for slightly too long. Whitehall related exercises would take place in that area. 'These kinds of exercises are going on all the time but obviously come to attention when they result in delays like today'. He added that as the weather had been particularly bad yesterday and overnight it might have meant a delay was required. The closure of airspace - which began at around 9am on Friday - lasted for approximately 20 minutes. Other passengers claimed that pilots had also informed them over the tannoy that the situation had been caused by a security incident. A Heathrow spokesman told MailOnline that the incident was not security related, but refused to elaborate further. He added: 'Arrivals were paused briefly this morning due to an RAF request for an operational flight within part of Heathrow's airspace. 'Arrivals are now operating as normal.' Gareth Corfield, defence writer for The Register, told MailOnline that a privatised plane based at RAF Northolt may have gotten into difficulties and could be the reason for the delays (pictured, the Piper PA-31 Navajo used by MI5 to gather information on UK suspects) A Ministry of Defence spokesperson added: 'The RAF can confirm that a flight was completed this morning by one of our assets from RAF Northolt. 'This flight was coordinated with Heathrow ATC but had to extend by a few minutes to complete its sortie. The minor delays caused to civilian air traffic are regretted.' Passengers took to social media in the aftermath of the incident as they appealed for more information. One wrote: 'I'm on one of the few planes that were now cleared for landing' 'Our pilot just informed us that they're restricting arrivals to allow a plane with a security incident on board to land.' Another passenger added: 'Captain said Heathrow is closed for arrivals for a 'security incident' but nothing in the news. What's going on?' A third said: 'Still on the ground and waiting for info.. Seems like there is two options right now, refuel and get back to Heathrow or bus to London.' In a statement, Virgin Atlantic said: 'Our VS8 flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow has diverted to Gatwick due to a brief closure of airspace over London Heathrow. 'The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority, were now doing all we can to get our customers to their final destination as quickly as possible. 'Wed like to apologise to our customers for the disruption to their journey and thank them for their patience.' Lima (AFP) - Five tourists arrested for damaging Peru's iconic Machu Picchu site will be deported to Bolivia later on Wednesday, police said. A sixth was released from custody and ordered to remain in Machu Picchu pending trial after paying bail of $910. The six tourists -- four men and two women -- were arrested for damaging Peru's "cultural heritage" after being found in a restricted area of the Temple of the Sun on Sunday. They were also suspected of defecating inside the 600-year-old temple, an important edifice in the Inca sanctuary. "We've got the order. Today the five foreign tourists will be expelled," Cusco police official Edward Delgado told AFP. "We're going to take them by road to the city of Desaguadero, on the border with Bolivia." The border town, a nine-hour drive away, is the nearest frontier point to the southern Cusco region where Machu Picchu is located. The sixth tourist, 28-year-old Nahuel Gomez, must sign at a local court every 10 days while awaiting trial. He admitted to removing a stone slab from a temple wall that was chipped when it fell to the ground, causing a crack in the floor. He could face four years in prison if found guilty of damaging Peru's cultural heritage. Several parts of the semicircular Temple of the Sun are off limits to tourists for preservation reasons. Worshipers at the temple would make offerings to the sun, which was considered the most important deity in the Inca empire as well as other pre-Inca civilizations in the Andean region. The group -- made up of a Chilean, two Argentines, two Brazilians, including one of the women, and a French woman -- allegedly entered the Inca sanctuary on Saturday and hid on site so they could spend the night there -- which is prohibited. A source with the public prosecutor's office told AFP that Nahuel admitted to the damage but said "it wasn't intentional, he only leant against the wall." The Machu Picchu complex -- which includes three distinct areas for agriculture, housing and religious ceremonies -- is the most iconic site from the Inca empire, which ruled over a large swath of western South America for 100 years before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Machu Picchu, which means "old mountain" in the Quechua language indigenous to the area, is at the top of a lush mountain and was built during the reign of the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438-1471). F or far too long, commuters in south-west London have had to put up with woeful performance from South Western Railway (SWR). The service affecting around 600,000 passenger journeys every day has been plagued by delays, cancellations and strikes. Following the latest news that SWR has declared a 137 million loss in the year to March 2019 we believe that the only sustainable solution is for Transport for London (TfL) to take over the metro services in this franchise. TfL already runs a reliable overground service in London with a record that far exceeds most other train operating companies. It is only political dogma that is standing in the way of this much-needed change taking place. Siobhan Benita, Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate Ed Davey, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats and MP for Kingston and Surbiton Sarah Olney, MP for Richmond Park Munira Wilson, MP for Twickenham and Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Cllr Liz Green, Leader of Kingston Council Cllr Gareth Roberts, Leader of Richmond Council Editor's reply Dear Siobhan et al, There are two issues here. The first is the awful service on SWR. Some of that is down to management. Much more is the fault of the RMT union and its outrageous month-long strike. Id recommend reading the brilliant essay about this on the London Reconnections blog to understand why. A Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union flag / PA The second is that London needs better public transport away from the centre, to cut car use. In most places in Zone 3 and beyond its easier to drive now, so people do. A coordinated metro service should help that. When I was an adviser at the Department for Transport I tried to work with Transport for London to get there. But just smashing up the current SWR and dumping some services on TfL wont work it doesnt have the cash and has big worries of its own. The 137 million loss you mention is after SWR has paid a big fee to the Treasury. If you yourselves dont want to pick up the bill youll have to persuade the state to take less. Good luck with that one. Julian Glover, Associate Editor (Comment) At last, the circus wild-animal ban in circuses begins In a fitting start to the new decade, Englands long-awaited legislation to ban wild-animal circuses comes into force this week. This follows years of protests, ad campaigns and pressure from animal protection groups, the public and celebrities including the 94 per cent of people who responded to the government consultation on the issue by demanding a complete and permanent ban. Most of us understand that animals shouldnt be caged, chained, beaten into submission and deprived of all thats natural and important to them for the sake of human amusement. Animal circuses around the world are on the decline and were rejoicing. Elisa Allen, Director, PETA Foundation Banks, be alert to economic abuse is a serious issue As a retired police officer and an authority on stalking I was pleased to read Ayesha Hazarikas column [Domestic abuse isnt just physical financial control can trap women long after the bruises have faded, January 15] in which she highlights the devastating effect economic abuse can have. Domestic abuse is not just about physical violence but also acts to maximise control. Victims deserve better support and it is imperative banks understand the psychological damage this behaviour can cause. Hamish Brown MBE Nandy has proven herself a leader Lisa Nandy / PA Lisa Nandy's robust denunciation of Jeremy Corbyns failure to condemn Russia after the attempted poisonings in Salisbury [Lisa Nandy: Jeremy Corbyn got it totally wrong over Salisbury poisonings January 15] is spot-on and marks her out as a future party and national leader. It is consistent with her earlier resignation from the shadow Cabinet in 2016, dismayed by Corbyns general mismanagement and the malign influence of the hard Left. This contrasts greatly with other Labour leadership candidates who, despite Corbyns manifest failings, continued to serve him and indeed advocate for him to be the next PM. Elections to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and 92 other civic bodies in West Bengal are likely to be held in April, a senior state government official said on Friday. It has been decided that the election to the KMC will be held first and then in the other 92 civic bodies, he said. The elections to the 92 civic bodies will be held in two phases and completed by April 25, the official said, adding the election notification could be issued by March. The elections to the civic bodies are being tipped as "mini assembly elections" ahead of the crucial 2021 assembly poll in West Bengal. Besides Kolkata, elections will be held to Siliguri and Chandannagar municipal corporations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A long-running legal battle over federal oil-and-gas leasing in California may be nearing resolution after new findings by the U.S. Bureau of This is the shocking moment a six-year-old boy gets behind the wheel of a Mercedes SUV and speeds off down the road. The video was filmed in the city of Almaty, south-eastern Kazakhstan, and shared on social media by the boy's parents who were later fined for the reckless incident. Footage shows the youngster casually step into the driver's seat of the black Mercedes-Benz G-Class. The six-year-old boy climbs into the black Mercedes-Benz G-Class (left) in the city of Almaty, south-eastern Kazakhstan. He appears to release the handbrake before driving away (right) He then turns to the camera with the window open as he speeds off down the road on his own. In the next scene, a man is heard giving the boy instructions as he drives along a tree-lined street. According to local media, the parents have been fined 265 (130,000 KZT) by the authorities after the video was posted online. The boy looks at the camera as he drives away with the window down (left). In another scene the boy is behind the wheel while his father gives him instructions (right) Police spokesperson Nurlan Almasbekov said: 'Even if we consider that the boy was driving in a safe zone, we cannot ignore the potential risk for him in the first place. 'His father should have been aware of that.' Mr Almasbekov also confirmed that the boy's father has admitted his mistake and has vowed not to do anything similar in the future. Bahrain is among the economies that improved most globally in gender equality, according to a new World Bank report, thanks to laws improving the protection of women at workplace and introducing criminal penalties for sexual harassment. The report Women, Business and the Law 2020 which tracks legal equality between men and women in 190 economies also hails the Kingdom for introducing reforms allowing women to be head of households. The 10 economies that improved the most were Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, South Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Jordan and Tunisia. Each of the top improvers saw a score increase in at least two Women, Business and the Law indicators. The World Bank project tracks how the law affects women at various stages in their lives and explores the relationship between womens empowerment and economic outcomes. The indicators chosen are Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension. Eight economiesBelgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, and Swedenscored 100, meaning that women are on equal legal standing with men across all eight indicators. Women mobility Bahrain recorded an 8.8 point progress since 2017 to reach a score of 46.3 points out of 100 points in improving gender equality. In mobility, Bahrain, which falls in the high-income group, recorded a score of 50 mainly for allowing women to apply for passport and travel outside the country in the same way as a man. Also bettering Bahrains score was provisions on sexual harassment in employment and criminal penalties for perpetrators. The reforms, World Bank says, have brought positive changes to the Kingdom as research shows clearly that reforms and policies that empower women boost economic growth. When women can move more freely, work outside the home and manage assets, theyre more likely to join the workforce and strengthen the economy. Zero restrictions The report points out that women here are allowed to work in the same fields as men in several industries including Agriculture, water and transportation. There are also zero restrictions in the Kingdom for women in jobs deemed arduous. Further, Labour laws which allow a maternity leave of 60 to 75 days for women along with paid leave for fathers also prohibits the dismissal of pregnant workers. With Mr. Trump, there was no special prosecutor investigating the Ukraine matter so it was left to the House itself to unearth the details of what happened. But the president refused to turn over documents and tried to block testimony by current and former advisers. That led Democrats to make the strategic decision not to wait for a prolonged court fight to force key witnesses like Mr. Bolton to testify, reasoning that the evidence they had already turned up was enough to justify articles of impeachment. But they said that decision should not stop the Senate from trying to get to the truth. In the Clinton case, the fight focused on witnesses who had already testified during Mr. Starrs grand jury and they had no new information to provide during the Senate trial. Refusing to hear from Mr. Bolton or others who have never testified like Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, means senators would decide guilt or innocence without access to the fullest version of the facts. After complaining in the House that the witnesses who testified generally offered secondhand or hearsay accounts, Republicans would now be in the position of turning down testimony from advisers who do have firsthand information. It seems evident the Senate will have to call witnesses if they are going to uncover the rest of the story, said Byron L. Dorgan, a Democrat from North Dakota who was a senator during the Clinton trial. Still, there is risk involved for Democrats prosecuting the president. Mr. Parnas in some ways mainly amplifies what is already known from other evidence and to the extent that he adds to the case against Mr. Trump, his credibility could be attacked given that he has been indicted on campaign finance charges. As for Mr. Bolton, no one knows for sure what he would say if he did testify. While he was described as critical of the Ukraine pressure campaign by other officials, it is not known whether he would implicate or exonerate the president himself. He left the White House on acrimonious terms and has criticized some of the presidents foreign policy decisions, but he has not become a Never Trumper-style critic and some Democrats are privately nervous about his potential testimony. Even if they do not end up with the witnesses and documents they want, Democrats argue that the latest revelations from Mr. Parnas and the G.A.O. report indicate that the House charges were on track. Legislation passed in the Senate Thursday to designate all forms of illegal fentanyl as Schedule 1 narcotics. Senator Lamar Alexander said, Last year, more Tennesseans died from opioid overdoses than were killed in car crashes. And the leading cause of these opioid related deaths was fentanyl a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin. The opioid crisis is ravaging Tennessee communities, and by designating all forms of illegal fentanyl as Schedule I controlled substances, this bill will save thousands of Tennessee lives. Last year, I led a delegation of five senators and two members of the House of Representatives to Beijing to meet with senior Chinese government officials. At the urging of U.S. Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, we made fentanyl and the opioid crisis the primary point of our visit. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, almost all the illegal fentanyl coming to the United States is produced in China. President Trump in an earlier meeting spoke with the Chinese president about this. China had already taken steps to stem the flow of fentanyl into our country by controlling 25 different types of fentanyl, Alexander said. We asked the Chinese officials to control all forms of fentanyl and to allow Chinese narcotics agents to go after anyone in China who uses or produces fentanyl illegally or improperly. So China, working with the Trump Administration, took the first step in May by making the selling of fentanyl subject to the maximum penalty under Chinese law. Now I hope the House of Representatives will quickly do the same, and pass this bill so it can be sent to President Trumps desk to be signed into law. Fentanyl-like substances (analogues) can be created by modifying the chemical structure of fentanyl to escape law enforcement scrutiny, including manufacturing, distribution, importation and exportation. The legislation passed in the Senate Thursday would make fentanyl analogues Schedule 1 narcotics. Scheduling fentanyl analogues as Schedule I narcotics would place the most stringent restrictions on the distribution of these substances, and allow for strict law enforcement penalties, including criminal penalties. According to data from the Center for Disease Control, drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, excluding methadone, for the 12-month period ending October of 2018 reached 30,511, more than triple the corresponding data for the period ending October of 2015. The Stopping Overdoes of Fentanyl Analogues (SOFA) Act was introduced by Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wi.) and is cosponsored by Senators Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.), Tom Cotton (R-Ar.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Blackburn (R-Tn.) Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Mike Braun (R-In.). Hours after being released from Tihar Jail, Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekar Azad visited the historic Jama Masjid on Friday where he stayed for close to 40 minutes. Swarmed by his supporters and locals, Azad, with his trademark blue 'safaa', read out the Preamble to the Constitution. Calling for repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which he termed as a "black act", he said nothing is bigger than keeping the country together. Before visiting Jama Masjid, he paid obeisance at Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir near Gole Market and also visited Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. Thirty-three year old Azad was released from Tihar Jail on bail on Thursday night and received a rousing welcome by his supporters. At Jama Masjid in old Delhi, where anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest was taking place, Azad also lauded women participating in the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Millia Islamia and other parts of the country. "This (anti CAA) movement is for the future of this country, for our identity and to uphold the Constitution. It is our responsibility to strengthen it," he said. Azad said it is the fundamental duty of citizens to protect the Constitution and also urged people to carry out peaceful protests against the CAA. He also visited the Karbala at Jor Bagh. A Delhi court Wednesday had granted bail to Azad who has been accused of inciting people during an anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid here on December 20, while restraining him from visiting Delhi for four weeks. The court further directed him not to hold any dharna in the national capital till the elections here and said that "the nation cannot be exposed to anarchy". The court also said that before going to Saharanpur if Azad wants to go anywhere, including Jama Masjid in Delhi in 24 hours, police will escort him there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maharashtra government on Friday told the Bombay High Court it had released Rs 24 crore to Wadia Hospitals in the metropolis, a day after the HC came down heavily on the ruling dispensation for dragging its feet on financial aid to the medical facility. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation also told the court it had released Rs 10 crore for Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children and Rs 4 crore for Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital. A division bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and R I Chagla is hearing a public interest litigation seeking release of grants to Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children and Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital from the BMC and the state government. As per the rules, the maternity hospital gets grants from the state government, while the children's hospital gets grants from BMC. The BMC told court the claims made by the hospital was without any substance and they need to verify the same. To this, Justice Adhikari said partners don't need verification. "If you think the bills are illegitimate, people are drawing double salary.. withdraw from the partnership," he said. Justice Adhikari also asked why the issue of over payment and financial irregularity was not raised earlier. Pointing out that the civic body had released about Rs 45 crore over a period of time, the judge said, "If there was large-scale irregularity, you shouldn't have released the fund." "What did you do in the board meeting as you were part of the management...If you want an inquiry.. there will be an independent inquiry against your officers (BMC) too," Justice Adhikari said. He further said if these are the discrepancies, nobody will come forward for philanthropic activity, and "you (BMC) want strategic partners everyday". After the state government also raised doubts on the hospital accounts, the HC asked all three stakeholders to convene a special meet to sort out issues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sonora Elementary School View Photo Sonora, CA A local school community touched by an anonymous gesture of kindness is sharing its gratitude. Sonora Elementary Principal Chris Boyles confides to Clarke Broadcasting that in a call that came to him just before winter break, a man heard about instances when somebody paid off the lunch bill for the students of their school. He wanted to do it for Sonora El, Boyles recalls, adding that when he researched the ledger, he found that the lunch debt was about $2,500. I told him, Im going to give you a number, but dont feel obligated, and that we will take any act of kindness, Boyles recalls. He said, give me a number and I gave him the number and he said great, I can do that. Boyles says that while in recent years there have been a couple of donors who gave a few hundred dollars towards lunch accounts, which school administrators applied to accounts where there was the most need, this was the first time he can recall that the donation netted a zero balance. The principal notes the total dollars owed within delinquent accounts is typical for a semester. Were a big schoolover 700 kids, he maintains. We are not going to turn away a child for lunch. About 43 to 45 percent of the study body is signed up for free or reduced lunches, according to Boyles, and the rest pay a regular price and parents generally pay in advance to have a credit balance in place. While some go into arrears because the parent simply loses track, others might lag because a family might be in need but for some reason does not apply to qualify for free or reduced lunches. Boyles says the generous person insisted on remaining anonymous. He did share with me that at some point of his life he immigrated to the United States and when he did he did not have a lot and said he knows what it feels like to have that need and now says he is in a much better place financially and wanted to give back. A century ago Friday, the 18th Amendment came into effect, outlawing the production, importation and sale of alcoholic beverages. Ever since, that day has been celebrated or mourned for formally ushering in the Prohibition Era. Except that it didnt. Contrary to popular imagination including recent coverage of the amendments centennial there was no mad dash for hooch on the night of Jan. 16, 1920, no going out of business liquor store sales on Prohibition Eve. The United States had already been dry for the previous half-year thanks to the Wartime Prohibition Act. And even before that, 32 of the 48 states had already enacted their own statewide prohibitions. With little that differed from normal wartime prohibition drinking habits, New York City entered at 12:01 oclock this morning into the long dry spell, this newspaper solemnly noted. A few restaurants and hotels held mock funerals for booze, but the citys saloons had long since been shuttered, and the spontaneous orgies of drink that were predicted failed in large part to occur. What with debates over ratifying the Peace of Versailles and a war scare with Bolshevik Russia, the 18th Amendment was barely front-page news. That the final triumph of prohibition was met with shrugs, rather than the outraged street protests we tend to imagine, says less about prohibition back then and more about our inability to understand it today. The entire idea of prohibition seems so hostile to Americans contemporary sensibilities of personal freedom that we struggle to comprehend how our ancestors could have possibly supported it. The leader of Yemen's southern separatists has warned against the looming collapse of a power-sharing deal, saying the region is menaced by the twin threats of economic catastrophe and Islamist attacks. The agreement to resolve a battle for control in the south, which was signed in Riyadh last November, was hailed as a step towards ending the wider conflict in Yemen that pits the government against Iran-backed Huthi rebels. However, analysts have said it is effectively defunct, having failed to meet deadlines for key measures including the formation of a new cabinet with equal representation for southerners, and the reorganisation of military forces. In an interview with AFP, Aidarous Al-Zoubeidi, who heads the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC), said he was committed to the deal "under the leadership of Saudi Arabia" which leads a military coalition against the Huthis. Zoubeidi said the agreement, which observers had welcomed as preventing the complete break-up of Yemen, united the south against the Huthis and recognised the STC as a legitimate party. "We consider the Riyadh Agreement an important political step, because we gained regional and international recognition," he said as he sat behind his desk in the main southern city of Aden in front of the flag of the formerly independent south. - 'People are suffering' - In August, deadly clashes broke out between the government and STC forces who seized control of Aden, ousting unionist forces who had set up base there when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled the Huthi-held capital Sanaa in February 2015. While the government and the STC are technically allies in the long war against the Huthis, the secessionists believe the south should be an independent state -- as it was before unification in 1990. However, Zoubeidi said they were willing to set aside that goal as the allies focused on the fight against the Huthi rebels, which had threatened to be derailed by the power struggle in the south. "We do not aspire during this phase for independence, we aspire for partnership... and the right to choose our own fate through democracy," he said. The troubled rollout of the deal comes against amid what Zoubeidi said was a dire situation in the south of Yemen -- a country which the grinding conflict has pushed to the brink of famine. "There is a shortage of food products, the warehouses are empty in the south and there are only reserves to cover the needs of the people for the next 10 days," he said. "People are also suffering from not getting their salaries," he said, referring to a chronic lack of funds to pay public sector employees. Zoubeidi said that Yemen's currency was sharply depreciating, and that it was possible that in the next few months the rial would be abandoned in favour of the Saudi or US currencies "because it will have no value". - Threats loom - Zoubeidi said that "many threats" loom large over the Riyadh Agreement, but the most critical was intensified activity by militant groups including the Muslim Brotherhood, which he said was working "under the cover" of the government. The tussle for control of the south, dubbed a "civil war within a civil war", exposed divisions between the coalition partners -- Saudi Arabia which backs the government, and the United Arab Emirates which has backed and funded the STC. The UAE, like the STC, has a zero tolerance policy towards the Muslim Brotherhood and Yemen's Brotherhood-influenced Al-Islah party which has representatives in Hadi's government. "These terrorist organisations threaten the Riyadh Agreement because they are terrorist organisations that will conduct terrorist activities that may lead to the failure of the deal," Zoubeidi said. The Riyadh Agreement set a timetable for the government's return to Aden, the appointment of a new head of security and a governor of the city, and the formation of a new 24-member cabinet with equal representation for southerners. Yemen's Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik returned to the city in December but the two sides have failed to meet the other deadlines. Around 3.3 million people have been displaced by the Yemeni conflict and some 20 million -- more than two-thirds of the population -- need help to survive what the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Yves here. This study supports our hypothesis that CalPERS Marcie Frost, who has managed to greatly increase her compensation since she joined the public pension fund, is overpaid. In general, in public pension funds, CEOs engage in administrative oversight and politicking, neither of which have much impact on performance. I wonder if these findings can also be generalized to US not-for-profit hospital systems, which have been invaded, locust-like, by MBAs who seem much better at personal rent extraction than service delivery. By Katharina Janke, Lecturer in Health Economics Modelling, Lancaster University; Carol Propper, Professor of Economics of Public Policy, CMPO, University of Bristol; Professor of Economics, TBS, Imperial College and CEPR Research Fellow; and Raffaella Sadun Thomas S. Murphy Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. Originally published at VoxEU Studies have shown that in the private sector, top managers and CEOs can make a difference in the performance of their organisations and have a style that is portable across firms. This column uses the setting of hospitals in the English National Health Service to examine whether CEOs can make a difference in large and complex public sector organisations. The findings suggest that the CEOs of large public hospitals do not have a significant impact on performance, casting doubt on the turnaround CEO approach to management in the public sector. Governments seeking to improve productivity in public services frequently turn to the private market for inspiration. A popular reform model is to give CEOs greater autonomy to run their organisations, accompanied by manager-specific compensation policies, performance-related pay, tighter monitoring, and dismissals (Besley and Ghatak 2003, Le Grand 2003). Such policies have been advocated internationally by organisations such as the World Bank and the OECD and have been implemented in countries across the globe. These ideas build on findings that in the private sector, top managers and CEOs can make a difference in the performance of their organisations, and that CEOs have a style that is portable across firms (Bertrand and Schoar 2003). Devolving decision making to the top managers of small organisations that provide public services such as schools and development projects, or public-service organisations with simple tasks has been shown to improve outcomes for service recipients (Bohlmark et al. 2016, Bloom et al. 2016, Fenizia 2019). But the effect of top managers on large and complex public sector organisations has hardly been examined. Can CEOs make a difference in this context? To answer this question, we examined the impact made by the CEOs of large and complex organisations operating in the public sector specifically, in public hospitals in the English National Health Service (NHS) (Janke et al. 2019). The NHS is the fifth largest employer in the world, with approximately 1.2 million employees. NHS hospitals maintain an average of 4,500 employees, multi-million turnovers, and labour costs accounting for around 70% of the costs of production. NHS CEOs are well paid compared to other top managers in UK public service organisations. As we show in Figure 1, they are also well paid relative to NHS doctors and nurses, a fact that has led to press headlines decrying the pay of fat cat bureaucrats in the NHS. Figure 1 Mean annual pay of NHS staff by job type (CPI adjusted) NHS hospitals provide an ideal setting in which to examine whether managers have a style that can be taken across organisations to bring about change, creating policies that give greater autonomy to managers who effectively improve productivity. In the late 1980s, the English government embarked on a large reform programme that replaced an administrative approach to hospital management with a highly decentralised model in which CEOs were given responsibility for the management and performance of individual public hospitals, and hospital boards could select and reward individual CEOs autonomously. Meanwhile, frequent moves by the same CEOs across different but comparable NHS hospitals make it possible to separate the role of manager-specific discretion for hospital performance from other persistent differences in hospital characteristics. Finally, government-published data on NHS hospitals cover inputs, throughputs, and outputs both financial and clinical and require hospitals to publish the pay awarded to their top managers. This allows us to complement the analysis of CEO performance with an examination of their compensation, and compare perceived differences in managerial ability (as proxied by their compensation) to actual differences (from our analysis of objective production measures). We find considerable and persistent differences in CEO pay across NHS hospitals. These differences persist as CEOs move between hospitals and suggest that the independent NHS hospital boards, which hire CEOs and set their remuneration, perceive some to be better than others. Does this perception reflect actual differences in performance? We find the answer is basically no: there is little consistent evidence that CEOs generate persistent performance effects across the organisations they lead. Put another way, we find that a CEO who has improved financial performance, decreased waiting lists, or improved clinical performance in one hospital cannot simply replicate this effect in the next. We examine a number of possible reasons for this apparent lack of CEO effects in hospital production, which stands in contrast with the substantial and persistent differences in pay. First, we examine whether the lack of persistence across hospitals in production is driven by the assignment of good CEOs to poorly performing hospitals, or hospitals that have structural features that negatively affect the possibility of achieving good results. If this were the case, differences in pay across CEOs would not necessarily be mirrored by differences in hospital performance, since the best CEOs would be assigned to harder-to-change organisations. Second, we examine whether the lack of persistent CEO effects could be driven by the fact that mobile CEOs in the NHS tend to have short tenures (the average CEO is in one post for less than four years). In this case, CEOs might in fact differ in terms of their potential effect on hospital performance, but the effects could fail to materialise over short time horizons. Finally, we examine whether evidence exists of CEO-hospital match effects i.e. whether specific types of CEOs perform better in specific types of hospitals, which would imply that CEOs matter, but only when there is a good fit between manager and hospital. We find little evidence of endogenous assignment: a good performance is not followed by a bad one because the CEO moved to a difficult-to-manage hospital. But we do find some evidence of tenure effects: those CEOs who stay for a longer-than-average tenure seem to have more success generating change. This finding combined with the evidence of substantial and persistent pay differentials suggests that employers may overestimate the ability of CEOs to effect change over short periods. We do find some evidence that certain types of CEOs perform better in certain types of hospitals: those who are medically trained deliver higher clinical quality when running teaching hospitals, whilst those with a private sector background turn in a stronger financial performance when placed in hospitals which face more competition. But these effects do not persist when the CEOs move to another type of hospital, again suggesting that employers may overestimate the ability of CEOs to bring about change regardless of the circumstances they face. Overall, we find that the CEOs of large public hospitals do not necessarily impact hospital performance, a result that contrasts sharply with earlier findings relating to the private sector and to smaller public sector organisations. Various structural factors may account for this lack of effect, including the public sector nature of the NHS, which may have inclined the effort of NHS CEOs towards the pursuit of political targets rather than performance-enhancing policies. The lack of a CEO effect may also be due, more broadly, to the complexity of hospital production, which transcends the fact that the NHS is publicly owned. From either perspective, our results cast doubt on the effectiveness of a turnaround CEO approach the model in which top managers frequently rotate across hospitals in pursuit of performance improvements for large and complex public sector organisations. See original post for references Karnataka Minister Jagadish Shettar on Friday called for a ban on Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) after the arrest of its workers in connection with an attack on a BJP-RSS supporter during a pro-CAA rally held in December last year. "SDPI always deny their involvement but it has been proved now. I welcome the police's action. Their organisation should be banned as they have always been involved in anti-social activities and government of India should take very serious note of this," Shettar told ANI here. Six SDPI supporters were on Friday arrested in connection with the attack on a BJP-RSS supporter following a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally on 22nd December last year, said Bengaluru Commissioner of Police. A case has been registered under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Bengaluru Police is constituting a new Special Investigation Team (SIT) to handle this case. "There were 6 people belonging to SDPI, who were here to carry out attacks on leaders supporting CAA. These people were being paid Rs 10,000 from their handlers to create ruckus here. Now this will be handled by the Anti-Terror unit," said Bhaskar Rao, Bengaluru Commissioner of Police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 19:43:06|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Governor Jay Inslee of the U.S. state of Washington on Thursday complained that a state court ruling will negatively affect his government's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Inslee was responding to a ruling by the Washington State Supreme Court that voted 5-4 earlier in the day to reinstate a severely limited version of his plan to cap carbon pollution in the state. The court partially invalidated the state's Department of Ecology's 2016 Clean Air Rule, saying that clean air standards cannot apply to "indirect emitters" that do not make their own emissions, such as fuel distributors and natural-gas companies. The Department of Ecology only has the authority to regulate "actual emitters" who burn the fuel, the court said. Inslee argued that the ruling would significantly affect the state's ability to cut emissions. "This underscores the need for legislative action this year to combat climate change. I am optimistic we will see such legislation make it to my desk this session," he said in a statement. "Our state will not give up on its commitment to the preservation of our environment, nor our message to the politicians in the other Washington: Action on climate change cannot wait," he said. Washington has vowed to cut emissions by 20 million metric tons by 2035, but Inslee said Tuesday that the state is still 30 percent short of its 2035 statutory requirement of having emissions drop 25 percent below 1990 levels. He urged the lawmakers to approve the Clean Fuel Standard to cut the emissions, nearly half of which come from transportation. A recent survey by the Department of Ecology showed transportation emissions accounted for 45 percent of the state's total, with aviation fuels representing about 9.5 percent. She recently came out as a transgender woman and spoke candidly about wishing her journey had started sooner. And Rodrigo Alves looked sensational as she made a fashionable arrival in Milan on Friday. The media personality, 36, flaunted her curves in a pair of skin-tight jeans which she paired with a Gucci belt. Looking good: Rodrigo Alves, 36, looked sensational in skin-tight jeans and a silk red shirt as she made a fashionable arrival at Milan airport on Friday Rodrigo added a splash of colour to her ensemble with a red silk shirt, which she left unbuttoned at the top, and patent leather ankle boots. She donned a warm layer to her outfit in her black padded jacket and accessorised with a large silver cross necklace. The blonde beauty wore her long locks down and poker straight and rocked a full face of makeup including pink blusher and a nude lipstick. Flaunt it: She added a warm layer to her outfit in her black padded jacket and accessorised with a large silver cross necklace Making sure to travel in style, Rodrigo rolled a cabin-sized Gucci case and rested a large matching holdall bag on top. Rodrigo was later seen with two more cases - which were adorned with stickers from past trips - as she made her way through arrivals. Last week the star spoke to MailOnline about her 'rebirth' as a transgender woman and said she wishes she had started the transition sooner. All packed: Rodrigo rolled three cases as well as a large Gucci holdall out of the airport Perfectly presented: The blonde wore her long locks down and poker straight and rocked a full face of makeup including pink blusher and a nude lipstick Roddy told MailOnline: 'It's God's will for me to be female. I feel like he wanted to use me as an instrument to teach others about being trans.' Rodrigo said she wishes she had started her journey to transition sooner, rather than spending more than 600k on cosmetic surgery to try to feel comfortable as a man. She said: 'When I was little, I loved dolls and dresses and I felt like I was a little girl, but I had no idea what being transgender meant. Casual: She exuded confidence in her relaxed but stylish travel outfit Smile: Rodrigo told MailOnline she wished she had started her journey to transition sooner, rather than spending money on surgery to try to feel comfortable as a man 'Now it's something that is much more understood. I spent thousands on having fake abs and biceps, but I felt like a failure as a man, It wasn't who I was meant to be.' Rodrigo is yet to legally to change her name and is keeping her chosen moniker a secret for now, although she has previously used the name Jessica as her alter-ego. She said that since she has come out as a woman, people have been incredibly supportive. She said: 'The feedback has been really positive. A lot of men have been asking me for dates.' However Rodrigo also revealed that things haven't always been easy and living life as a man made her feel like a fraud and she wanted to end things. She told MailOnline: 'At times I felt like taking my life would be easier for myself and for everyone around me. 'I became very distant from my friends and family and I got very depressed because I really wanted to come out as a woman. Honesty: Rodrigo spent over 600k on cosmetic surgery but felt as though she failed as a man 'I felt like I couldn't do that because of my job in TV and my family and it got to the point where I didn't want to put my clothes on because they felt typically male. 'Because of this, getting ready to go out for the day became a big ordeal.' Rodrigo also explained she wanted to tell her story in order to help others in similar situations and she wants others to know that they are not alone. For confidential support 24/7 in the UK, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org BLOOMINGTON Loreta Jent took a stand against alcohol before she even knew much about it. Signing a pledge when joining the Illinois Womans Christian Temperance Union decades ago, the resident of Normal made a promise which she still honors today. By the help of God and a WCTU pledge I signed when I had just turned 12 years old, I have never had a drink of alcohol, Jent said. I am so thankful that I have been spared even the possibility of becoming an alcoholic and all of the other negative effects of alcohol. The Illinois WCTU was founded in Bloomington in 1874 with the aim of promoting total abstinence from alcohol. As members, women pledged total abstinence from all intoxicating liquors as a beverage. They worked to change local, state and national laws, educate youths and others, and provide social pressure for promoting the cause of total abstinence. Shadows of that legacy remain apparent today: The WCTU chapter remains active; Goodfield just went "wet" in 2018; and Normal was "dry" for almost 40 years. Normal ordinances still forbid bars but allow restaurants that sell alcohol. The recently opened Bakery & Pickle restaurant in downtown Bloomington has a speakeasy theme, with a password required for entrance to the dining room and bar area. In the days of Prohibition, a Bloomington man, Sam Capshaw, was well-known to law enforcement and those wanting to buy illegal booze. Candace Summers, director of education at the McLean County Museum of History, believes Capshaw was the only local person to be killed as a result of activities associated with illegal alcohol delivery or possession during that era. I didnt think that McLean County would be a typical area with a lot of bootleggers and rum runners, said Summers. But I was wrong. According to Pantagraph archives, on Dec. 27, 1928, Capshaw, known in police annals as a bootlegger, refused to sell a pint of liquor to Henry Mendina. The laborer pulled a gun and shot Capshaw dead. He led police on a 15-minute chase but pulled the gun on himself before he could be placed under arrest. Capshaw is buried at Park Hill Cemetery in Bloomington. We didnt have mobs here like (Al) Capone or the Shelton gang, but actually there were some Sheltons who did a little stuff up here, Summers said. But there wasnt a big organized crime ring. There were a lot of enterprising people who decided to make a living by doing a lot of illegal activities. McLean County residents found plenty of places to drink, such as The Shady Nook at the Bloomington-Normal border on Jersey Avenue, The Mountain House on West Market Street, The Alhambra in downtown Bloomington and The Night Hawk on Lumber Street. Other Bloomington sites included The Royal Palm Social Club on West Market Street and The Nomad Club, known as the rowdiest bar in town. In one raid, Sheriff J.E. Morrison and his crew carried illegal alcohol from a storeroom to a sewer, where 1,020 gallons of liquor some described as good, some as bad, and some as real dynamite, was emptied into a sewer. Prohibition ended on all alcohol in 1933. Residents in Normal voted to return to dry status in 1935, and the town remained dry until 1973. Contact Kevin Barlow at (309) 820-3238. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_barlow 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. Indicted Limestone County Judge Doug Patterson has admitted to stealing from public funds and from former elderly and disabled legal clients. In a letter sent to Limestone County Presiding Judge Robert Baker, Patterson wrote that his own conduct had been unethical, criminal and reprehensible. No excuses are offered, because the things I did were not, and are not, excusable, Patterson wrote in the one-page letter. Efforts to reach Patterson and his attorney for comment werent immediately successful Thursday afternoon. The letter, which was made public as part of a complaint filed against Patterson this week by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission, was sent to Judge Baker on Dec. 17, 2019 five days after Patterson was arrested on three felony charges. [You can read the complaint and Pattersons letter here or at the bottom of this story.] Patterson was indicted by a Limestone County grand jury on charges of using his position for personal gain, financial exploitation of the elderly and third-degree theft. He is accused of using his position as a district judge to steal about $47,000 from a juvenile court fund. During his previous work as a lawyer, Patterson is accused of stealing thousands from two clients: one who was incapacitated and living in a nursing home for veterans and a second who died. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison. In the new six-page complaint filed this week by the Judicial Inquiry Commission, Patterson is accused of violating the Alabama Canons of Ethics by either having committed at least one of the crimes charged in the indictment or having created the appearance he had committed one or more of those crimes. In either instance, his conduct has brought the judicial office into disrepute and degraded public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary, the complaint states. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary will hear the complaint. After a public hearing, the court will determine whether to take the following actions against Patterson: removal from office, suspension without pay, censure, or such other sanction as may be prescribed by law, according to the courts website. The courts members include three judges, two attorneys and three Alabama citizens who arent lawyers. The Court of the Judiciary hears only complaints against judges. The proceedings, which only affect a judges job, are separate from criminal cases, which carry criminal penalties. In his criminal case, Patterson is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 11 in Limestone County Circuit Court. At arraignment, defendants either plead guilty or not guilty. Retired Circuit Judge Steven Haddock, of neighboring Morgan County, is presiding over Pattersons criminal case. In an order issued this week, Haddock wrote that he plans to schedule a trial in June. A prosecutor from the Alabama Attorney Generals Office earlier this month asked the judge to schedule Pattersons trial as quickly as possible. Kyle Beckman, an Alabama assistant attorney general, wrote that among the reasons for a speedy trial was the fact that Patterson remained on the state payroll despite being suspended from the bench. AL.com has reported that even though Patterson hasnt been hearing cases since at least September, he has continued receiving his monthly gross salary of $10,808.84. The Minority in Parliament has challenged the government to release its investigative report on allegations of corruption among officials of the Forestry Commission regarding rosewood dealings. Builsa South MP, Clement Apaak who represents the NDC on the Public Accounts Committee said there is no reason the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh should be keeping the report which was submitted to him some fortnight ago. I find it strange and I dont understand, Dr. Apaak told JoyNews Joseph Opoku Gakpo, adding the Minister should not take more than three days to peruse the report and release same to the public. The government commissioned the committee after a Washington DC-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), released a report titled, Ban-Boozled: How corruption and collusion fuel illegal rosewood trade in Ghana. According to the EIA, despite a government ban on harvesting, transportation and export of rosewood which has been in place since 2012 and renewed on in March 2019, the illegal trade has been ongoing. The report fingered officials of the Forestry Commission which they said have established an institutionalised scheme, fueled by bribes, to mask the illegal harvest, transport, export, and illegal licensing of the timber. CEO of the Commission, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, however, said the allegations against him and officials of the Commission by the Environmental Investigative Agency (EIA) are false and not a true reflection of what transpires at there. He said the former head of the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, Nana Adu Nsiah, who was cited in the report is a truthful man who has served the Commission diligently for many years. Speaking to JoyNews, Mr. Owusu Afriyie insisted that the EIA reporters failed to speak to Mr. Nsiah who they cited in the report. He indicated the Commissions readiness to cooperate with any investigations into the matter. Dr. Apaak, however, called the integrity of the investigative committee into question. The committee is put together and will report to the Minister, it's chaired by one of his deputies and has members drawn from the Forestry Commission, the Ministry, Customs among others. How can the very same entities alleged to be deeply complicit in the ongoing illegal rosewood trade investigate a matter they are alleged to be involved in or superintending over, the MP queried. ---Myjoyonline.com On an unseasonably warm Sunday on Jan. 12, I managed to find a room even more full of hot air than anywhere else. That room was the site of the town hall meeting with Gov. Ned Lamont, hosted by state Sen. Will Haskell and state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, at which tales of tolls were spun like records at a David Solomon club party. A full recap of the town halls ridiculousness would be beyond the scope of an op-ed, but some highlights are certainly in order. First, I learned that Haskell does not believe that a toll is a tax, but rather a user fee. No, I am not joking he genuinely seemed to believe that is a meaningful distinction. Perhaps Haskell has yet to read Shakespeare. For just as a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, so a tax by any other name would cost as much. Haskell and his colleagues could call the income tax Bob if they chose; it still takes money out of our paychecks. Tolls are no different. Second, and perhaps more shocking, is every elected official on the dais (Lamont, Haskell, Steinberg, state Sens. Bob Duff and Carlo Leone, and state Rep. Lucy Dathan) objected strenuously to the assertion that the state government has ever raided the Special Transportation Fund. Duff and Steinberg stated flatly that such an assertion was untrue fake news, if you will. Leone somewhat more helpfully explained that the legislature had not taken money out of the STF, but had instead taken money that was supposed to be deposited in the STF and simply decided not to deposit it. Hence, no raiding. Haskell went a step further and offered an analogy a charitable person who pledges to donate $100 per month to NPR, but who, in a month when expenses were running high, contributed only $50. Surely, he said, one would not accuse our benevolent NPR fan of stealing money from NPR. I also like analogies and stories, and so I will offer Haskell and his colleagues a more helpful example. When Haskell was elected, the state promised him a salary of $28,000 per year, along with $5,500 per year for unspecified expenses. However, times are tough here in Connecticut, so imagine the state elected instead to pay him $10,000 per year in salary and $1,000 per year for expenses. I think everyone would agree that paying Haskell $11,000 instead of the $33,500 promised would be the equivalent of taking $22,500 from him. And that is the difference. The STF is not an NPR pledge drive; it is one of the aspects of the state budget most essential to the economic vitality of Connecticut. That none of Lamont, Duff, Haskell, Leone, Dathan or Steinberg understand the difference should be concerning to every state resident, regardless of political stripe. But this line of reasoning brings me to my third and most important point. The Democrat contingent on stage made one thing unequivocally clear: Literally everything else in the Connecticut budget is more important to them than fixing the states crumbling transportation infrastructure. How else to explain the logic of their STF non-raid? That they consistently refused to transfer to the STF money that was meant to be contributed to the STF necessarily means that they could find absolutely nothing else in the budget less important than transportation infrastructure. This should be shocking to everyone, and should make everyone listen that much more critically to the arguments being offered by proponents of tolls. Like former President Barack Obama, these Democrats love straw man arguments. In fact, I havent seen such a continuous display of straw men as I saw at the town hall since I last watched The Wizard of Oz. Listening to Lamont, Duff, Haskell, Leone, Dathan and Steinberg go on and on about the Mianus bridge collapse, the number of bridges and roads in a state of disrepair, the Moodys report highlighting Connecticut transportation infrastructure as an economic inhibitor, and other matters, one could be forgiven for thinking that a large contingent of state residents was pushing back against making improvements to transportation infrastructure. In fact, no one is making that argument. Everyone agrees that transportation infrastructure needs to be improved. But a large swath of Connecticut rightly wonders why the only way to accomplish that is to introduce tolls. The answer, of course, is that tolls are not necessary. What is necessary is responsible government officials willing to make difficult choices about funding priorities. What the town hall made abundantly clear is that no one on that stage is such an official. Accordingly, if you find yourself currently represented by Duff, Haskell, Leone, Dathan or Steinberg, I would encourage you to explore your options come November. Irina Comer Candidate for state representative, District 142 (Norwalk, New Canaan) A former Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy who lied about being shot by a sniper and used a knife to create fake bullet wounds in his uniform was arrested for insurance fraud and filing a false report. Angel Reinosa, 21, was taken into police custody at 2.30pm on Thursday afternoon when the Sheriffs Departments Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau served an arrest warrant during a traffic stop. He was then transported to the Los Angeles County Jail, where his bail was set at $40,000. Angel Reinosa, a former deputy with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department was arrested on Thursday for two counts of insurance fraud and one count of filing a false report Pictured: Reinosa's law enforcement uniform that was cut with a knife to create fake bullet holes before the hoax attack Reinosa told authorities that the shooting occurred in the parking lot of the LA Sheriff's Department's Lancaster station. He claimed the gunfire came from a nearby apartment complex. Reinosa's arrest comes one year after he caused a law enforcement frenzy when insisting he was shot outside the department's Lancaster station on August 21. He told dispatchers that while he was walking to his car in the parking lot, he was hit by rifle fire from the nearby Arbor Fields apartment building. Reinosa claimed that one bullet had been stopped by the protective vest he was wearing, while a second bullet grazed his shoulder. 'Two felonies and a misdemeanor are a sad ending to a promising career. We have an ethical standard for every employee, one that I will always maintain in order to earn the publics trust,' said Sheriff Alex Villanueva of the charges. Several authorities, including the SWAT team, arrived at the scene following Reinosa's report of a shooting Authorities say the insurance counts are related to the worker's compensation he received after the hoax attack. Reinosa is scheduled for his arraignment on Friday at the Superior Court in Los Angeles, California. If convicted, he could face a maximum of five years and six months in county jail. Shortly after Reinosa reported the fabricated crime to his colleagues, a massive law enforcement response to hunt down the suspect began. The SWAT team, armored vehicles and other personnel arrived at the scene. Local residents were told to avoid the area. SWAT officials swept into the apartment complex, which houses low-income and some mentally ill residents, to clear people out of their homes in a vain attempt to find the suspected shooter. Mayor R. Rex Parris (left) and Sheriff Villanueva both publicly responded to the fabricated crime with initial support for Reinosa The Arbor Fields apartment complex where the shooter reportedly fired from houses people who suffer from mental illness At the time, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris shifted blame to the residents in The Arbor Fields and pointed to mental illness as a cause. 'Its a building filled with people who were being treated for mental illness. Of course, its a concern. Of course its insanity,' Parris said, according to KCAL. But authorities began to question Reinosa's story in the days following the alleged shooting as evidence began to fall through. Sheriffs Capt. Kent Wegener described Reinosa's statement as, 'self-serving and didnt make a whole lot of sense.' 'There were many things that didnt add up,' he added. Additionally, authorities were unable to find any bullets at the scene and Sheriff Villanueva noted that Reinosa wasn't suffering any immediate bullet wounds. 'He didn't have an obvious bullet wound. He had what appeared to be sort of a contusion on his shoulder. It was red, but it was covered partially by a bandage,' he said. Reinosa's radio call after the incident was too calm, even for a seasoned deputy, and the holes in his uniform were too big for the minor wound he apparently suffered. In three days time, it was apparent the shooting was a hoax. Reinosa confessed to fabricating the incident and was fired from his position within a week, NBC Los Angeles reports. Reinosa has not yet disclosed the motivation for the faking the shooting, but Parris said the man was having trouble during his time at the department. 'He was not advancing through the training program at an adequate pace. There had been a lot of attention on him,' Parris said. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department was forced to apologize after Reinosa created the hoax shooting, with them saying several members were 'embarrassed' and 'angry' Reinosa was probationary employee and had only been with the Sheriff's Department since August 2019. 'We are all appalled and disappointed. We took the deputy at his word at first. We intend to hold the individual responsible for breaking the law and most importantly for betraying the community,' Villanueva told Los Angeles Times. 'We know the what and how. We dont know the why,' he added. The department addressed Reinosa's admission on Facebook, saying that deputies within the force were equally hurt and confused. 'Angry. Embarrassed. Furious. Unbelievable. Ashamed. These are some of the words circulating our stations hallways since last night as our deputies try to wrap their minds around last nights press conference surrounding the incident that occurred in our parking lot on Wednesday, August 21, 2019,' they wrote. The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. New Delhi : A day after being released from Tihar Jail on conditional bail, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad defied a court order and joined anti-CAA protesters at historic Jama Masjid on Friday. Chandrashekhar Azad even addressed protesters over there and urged people of all religions to join the ongoing protest against the new Citizenship law. Peaceful protest is our strength. People from all religions who support us should join us in great numbers to prove it to the govt that these protests are not led by Muslims alone, he said. Flanked by his supporters and locals, he also read out the Preamble to the Constitution. Calling for repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which he termed as a "black act", he said nothing is more important than keeping the country together. Delhi: Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad reads the Preamble of the Constitution, at Jama Masjid. https://t.co/ksSDK3uLKk pic.twitter.com/XF230k0CDB ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2020 For the uninitiated, a Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to Azad, who was accused of inciting people during the protests against the Citizenship Act at Jama Masjid. The court also restrained Azad from visiting Delhi for four weeks and directed him not to hold any dharna till the elections in the national capital. Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau had granted the relief to Azad on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 25,000. Azad claimed he has been falsely implicated While granting bail to Azad on Wednesday, the judge recited Rabindranath Tagore's famous poem 'Where the Mind is Without Fear' and said citizens have a fundamental right to peaceful protest which cannot be curtailed by the state. Bhim Army chief claimed that police invoked boilerplate charges against him and arrested him mechanically without following the due process of law. Azad claimed he has been falsely implicated as the allegations levelled against him in the FIR were not only "ill-founded", also "improbable". Azad's outfit had called for a protest march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar against the amended Citizenship Act on December 20, without police permission. The Delhi High Court Friday held as 'void' the election of former law minister Jitender Singh Tomar to the legislative Assembly in 2015 polls for furnishing false information of his educational qualification in the nomination papers New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday held as "void" the election of former law minister Jitender Singh Tomar to the legislative Assembly in 2015 polls for furnishing false information of his educational qualification in the nomination papers. The court said the false declaration by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Tomar of his educational qualification that he obtained a valid LLB degree, and vocation has resulted in "inducement and thwarted free exercise of the electoral right of the voter". Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said as a citizen and elector, "I would want the election of the candidate who had lied qua his/ her educational qualification and vocation, to be set aside." Tomar is contesting the upcoming Delhi Assembly election to be held on 8 February and is likely to file his nomination from Tri Nagar constituency on Saturday. The court said as Tomar was not a graduate and not eligible for three years LLB programmes, his law degree cannot exist and axiomatically his enrolment with the Bar Council of Delhi is null and void. The court passed the 40-page judgement on a plea by BJP leader Nand Kishore Garg alleging that Tomar's 2015 election had been "materially affected by deliberate concealment, misrepresentation, wrong declaration and wilful suppression of the educational qualification in the affidavit filed along with the nomination form". Garg had contested against Tomar in the 2015 legislative assembly polls. The court held that Tomar had "published statements of fact which were false and which he did not believe to be true in relation to his educational qualifications and to unduly influence the voters/electors in his election and which act of the respondent no.1 (Tomar) amounts to a corrupt practice." "Resultantly, in my opinion, the result of the election of the respondent No.1 to the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi from AC 16, Tri Nagar Constituency, in the General Elections to the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi held in the year 2015 has been materially affected by improper acceptance of the nomination of the respondent No.1 and by a corrupt practice committed in the interest of the respondent No.1 by the respondent No.1 and the election of the respondent No.1 is thus void... "I accordingly declare so and allow the Election Petition." the judge said. The court said the AAP leader has not obtained the law degree lawfully and he was not duly enrolled as an advocate at the time of filing his nomination. It held that his nomination was improperly accepted. It further said Garg was successful in proving that Tomar's claim of being a graduate in two years B.Sc programme of Avadh University was also fabricated. The court said owing to Tomar being not a graduate and not eligible for three years LLB programme of TMBU, the LLB degree obtained by him also cannot exist and axiomatically the enrolment with the Bar Council of Delhi obtained by him on the basis thereof, is null and void. "On first principles, without adverting to law, I, as an elector, would feel cheated if the candidate I vote for and who is elected, is ultimately found to have made a false representation while canvassing his candidature and particularly qua his / her educational qualification and profession/vocation," the judge said. The court observed, "Educational qualification and vocation/profession is a significant part of one's persona. A person is assessed by others, in the initial interaction, by his / her educational, qualification and vocation and only after making an initial breakthrough, may in the course of subsequent interactions, be assessed by other facets of his / her persona. "However without the initial breakthrough, there would be no opportunity to interact, to be judged on other parameters. In an election, a candidate cannot possibly have long interactions with electors/voters, and initial breakthrough is of utmost importance." It said the election is purely and simply a statutory right and once Tomar is found to have been elected in violation of the statute, he cannot be permitted to remain elected. "Moreover, need to maintain the purity of the stream of elections is the need/right, not only of the petitioner but of the other citizens as well and once it is found that the respondent no.1 has secured his election by violating the statute, the election cannot be permitted to stand, irrespective of whether the petitioner who has challenged the election is estopped from doing so," the court held. It said unless Tomar felt that he would be able to influence the electors to vote in his favour by representing himself to be an advocate, there was no need for him to say so and he could have claimed to be having the qualification of senior secondary school certificate which he alone held. Irans supreme leader said Friday that demonstrations at home over its accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner were unrepresentative of the Iranian people and accused the countrys enemies of exploiting it for propaganda purposes. Leading the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran for the first time since 2012, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the January 8 downing was a bitter tragedy but should not be allowed to overshadow the sacrifice of one of Irans most storied commanders, assassinated in a US drone strike in Baghdad. His sermon came after a traumatic month for Iran in which the country had appeared on the brink of war with the United States before mistakenly shooting down the Ukrainian jet with the loss of all 176 people on board. The plane crash was a bitter accident, it burned through our heart, Khamenei said in an address punctuated by cries of Death to America from the congregation.- But some tried to portray it in a way to forget the great martyrdom and sacrifice of Major General Qasem Soleimani, the assassinated head of the foreign operations arm of Irans elite Revolutionary Guards. Khamenei said Irans enemies had seized on the plane tragedy in a bid to undermine the Islamic republic. Our enemies were as happy about the plane crash as we were sad happy that they found something to question the Guards, the armed forces, the system, he said. The air disaster triggered scattered protests in Tehran and other cities, but they appeared smaller than a nationwide wave of demonstrations prompted by a fuel price hike in November. At least 300 people died in a crackdown by security forces after those demonstrations, according to Amnesty International. On Friday, anti-riot police staged a massive deployment in Tehran, an AFP correspondent said. The deceived ones Khamenei said the protesters were unrepresentative of the Iranian people as a whole, who had turned out in their hundreds of thousands for Soleimanis funeral. Praising the slain general, Khamenei said his actions beyond Irans borders were in the service of the security of the nation and that the people are in favour of firmness and resistance in the face of enemies. The few hundred who insulted the picture of General Soleimani, are they the people of Iran, or this million-strong crowd in the streets? he asked. Khamenei appeared to be referring to the reported tearing down of a portrait of Soleimani by protesters in Tehran just days after mass funeral processions for the general. It was the likes of Soleimani, not the protesters, who had devoted their lives to Iran, Khamenei said. Not only did the deceived ones not give their lives for Iran, but they did not sacrifice one of their interests for their country. Khamenei was speaking opposite a huge portrait of Soleimani hung behind the congregation. Thousands of worshippers crammed into the mosque and more spilt over onto the streets outside, kneeling in the snow. Police were out in force as they have been since the protests erupted over the downing of the airliner, AFP correspondents reported. A commemoration for the victims of the crash held in the city of Isfahan on Thursday turned into a protest, video footage posted on social media showed. Concentrated in the capital, the protests appeared smaller than the nationwide demonstrations n November. Divine help Khameneis sermon comes at a tumultuous moment for Iran, which had seemed headed for conflict earlier in January after Soleimani was killed on January 3 outside Baghdad airport, prompting retaliatory strikes against Iraqi bases housing US troops. Khamenei hailed the strikes as a sign of divine help. It was a strike to their reputation, to Americas might. This cannot be compensated by anything sanctions cannot return the lost prestige of America, he said. The animosity between Washington and Tehran has soared since Trump unilaterally withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday urged a de-escalation of the tensions and an end to the constant threats. The plane tragedy is a very serious red flag and signal to start working on de-escalation and not on constant threats and combat aviation flights in this region, Lavrov said. In June 2019, Iran and the United States had also appeared to be on the brink of direct military confrontation after Tehran shot down a US drone it said had violated its airspace. Trump said he called off retaliatory strikes at the last minute. President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday that Iran was working daily to prevent military confrontation or war, and maintained that a dialogue with the world was still possible. SOURCE: AFP | PHOTO: AFP The Jan. 29 earnings call will be the first for new CEO Dave Calhoun, who took the helm on Monday, days after the company released a trove of shocking internal messages that showed employees dissing regulators and airlines and boasting about getting them to approve less time-consuming training. One showed employees complaining that Lion Air, the operator of the first 737 Max that crashed, wanted simulator training for pilots before they flew the planes. The news isn't going to be so rosy on its fourth-quarter earnings call this year. Those bestselling planes were grounded worldwide in March after the second of two fatal crashes that claimed 346 lives. The crisis cost former CEO Dennis Muilenburg his job , prompted Boeing to suspend production of the planes, drove down orders to the lowest level in decades , hurt its supply chain, and wracked up costs that are now around $10 billion. Wall Street is expecting more bad news. Calhoun is tasked with cleaning up Boeing's culture, improving employee morale and repairing damaged relationships with regulators and airlines. "Many of our stakeholders are rightly disappointed in us, and it's our job to repair these vital relationships," Calhoun told Boeing employees on his first day. "We'll do so through a recommitment to transparency and by meeting and exceeding their expectations. We will listen, seek feedback, and respond appropriately, urgently and respectfully." Jeff Windau, industrials analyst at Edward Jones, said he hopes the call will shed some light on the company. "It would be nice to get some candid comments," he said. "I'm not expecting a date [of the return to service] but it would be nice to get some indication where they're at." Several Wall Street analysts now expect Boeing, which reports full-year and fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 29, to take additional charges related to the troubled airplane. The company took a $5.6 billion pretax charge in July to compensate airlines and other customers for the grounding, which is now in its 11th month. "They're going to have to pay more," said Ron Epstein, aerospace analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He estimates the total cost of the grounding could reach $20 billion excluding any settlements from lawsuits from crash victims' families if the planes return by June or July. Epstein estimates that about 40% of Boeing's profits last year came from the Max. Moody's Investors Service said it was putting Boeing's debt on a review for a possible downgrade, less than a month after cutting its credit rating by one-notch, as the crisis wears on longer than expected. The lower the credit rating, the more expensive it is for Boeing to borrow. Boeing, which declined to comment on a potential charge, has previously said it would tap the debt markets if it needs more cash to cover the costs of the crisis. Sheila Kahyaoglu, aerospace and defense analyst at Jefferies, estimated this week that the charges for aircraft customers' compensation is likely to rise to $11 billion, and that some of that will be reported later this month. That's assuming the planes return to service in April, she said. The Wall Street estimates for its earnings vary widely from a loss of 23 cents a share to a profit of as much as $2.52 a share, according to analysts polled by Refinitiv. On average, analysts expect the Chicago-based company to report a profit of $1.53 a share a 72% decline from a year earlier. They estimated a more than 26% drop in revenue to $20.8 billion. Earlier this month, Boeing threw airline customers another curve ball: It's recommending additional simulator training for pilots on the Max, a reverse of its previous stance and a step that promises to further delay the planes return to service and drive up costs. As of Thursday, all U.S. airlines with Maxes in their fleets American, Southwest and United have pulled the planes from their schedules until early June, a delay that's threatening to last until the peak travel season of late spring and the summer. Analysts are also looking for news on how Boeing will manage its supply chain. Spirit Aerosystems, which makes fuselages and other parts for the planes, announced initial job cuts of 2,800 people last week. Moody's downgraded its debt to junk territory. Even the planned pause in production won't stop the cash drain and will cost Boeing $1 billion a month, estimates J.P. Morgan. "It doesn't give you the warm and fuzzies when Spirit lays off 2,800 people," said BofA's Epstein. Suppliers are walking a tightrope with the 737 Max, because they don't want to lack workers when Boeing can resume production. "It's a tight job market and I'm sure there are a lot to companies that would like to hire them," Epstein added. Investors are also closely watching Calhoun for cues about Boeing's bigger picture. The company has faced problems with its KC-46 refueling tanker. Because it's hobbled by the 737 Max issues, Boeing hasn't been able to move forward with a new middle-market airplane, giving a bigger lead to rival Airbus, which recently won orders for its forthcoming long-range, single-aisle plane from airlines including American and United. And the scrutiny of the Max could become more time consuming when regulators review its wide-body Boeing 777X. Its every educators nightmare: A long-planned initiative gets rushed into implementation before planning is finished. Sometimes that situation is avoidablebut not for Marshall Public Schools in Minnesota late last year. The district had been developing an e-learning program that would prevent learning from getting interrupted on snow days. Each snow day after the first one of the school year would be an e-learning day, with students completing assignments and communicating with teachers from home. The plan was for teachers districtwide to do a trial run with students during the regular school day on Nov. 27until it snowed that day. After that, district administrators instead asked teachers to devote some time over the next couple weeks to sharing the details of the e-learning program with students. But before all the teachers could complete that task, another round of precipitation closed schools again, on Dec. 9, as reported in the Marshall Independent . We wanted to honor the plan that we had shared with families and with teachers, said Jeremy Williams, director of teaching and learning. Thats sometimes how you learn the most when you actually go through and live it. Education Week asked Williams by phone to reflect on the experience of implementing a program in an unexpected hurry. What was the original plan for e-learning? Last school year, the district closed numerous times for snow, but didnt take advantage of the Minnesota state statute that allows for up to five e-learning days. Our winter was not good last year, Williams said. Our plan had been, wed make up days in the spring, at the end of the year. You think about our high school kids, they end up with make-up days being in a whole different quarter. They end up missing that class. We said itd be really important for them to have that connection for those days. Developing an e-learning program that suits all students meant thinking about serving special education students as well as a sizable population of English language learners, Williams said. Though the district has 1-to-1 computing for all grades, students in grades K through 4 dont typically take their devices home. One of the big criteria was we dont want anything on an e-learning day that kids havent already experienced with a teacher, Williams said. How did you resolve those challenges? A lot of discussion went into looking at what other districts are doing. We have a lot of districts that are using e-learning days. We had conversations at professional organizations, whats working for you and not working. We pulled that back to an e-learning day committee. For special education students, the committee included language in the plan that allowed for case managers to add specialized plans for individual students, rather than imposing a structure for all students with a variety of needs, Williams said. The committee also encouraged teachers to prepare differentiated lessons for English language learners. For K-4 students, we created an activity matrix for each grade level to share assigned work that includes a blend of online and more traditional learning activities for students to access, Williams said. How did you prepare teachers for implementation? We put a presentation together from the district office so each site had a staff meeting talking about e-learning days, laying out expectations and protocol. We have an e-learning page on our websitewe shared out the e-learning day plan. All teachers had full access to that. Then we did some checklists for each different e-learning level. We also have professional learning communitiesthere was PLC time dedicated to reviewing those checklists, reviewing their matrices for what goes out to kids, thinking about that lesson planning, whats going to best meet the needs of our kids. They had teaming time to work through some of that. What was the original timeline? Once the Nov. 27 trial day was a bust, Williams team decided against rescheduling a districtwide practice. We told everyone in classrooms, take time over the next two weeks, walk through expectations, run a class with your kids, Williams said. He estimates only half the teachers got that done before the next snow day on Dec. 9. How did Dec. 9 go? All things considered, the day went pretty well, Williams said. But there were glitches. We had some elementary classes that didnt have all the data they would need to have at home, he said. The principal scanned things and emailed them out to parents so they had them, in a different manner than what the original intent was. Teachers used email, Bloomz, Schoology, and other tools to connect with students. Some were available by phone as well. For those that were home via phone, we included Google Voice, so they had a phone number they could share if they didnt want to share their personal phone number with kids, Williams said. Williams said his team is rethinking the amount of work that will be required of middle and high school students during e-learning days. How did students and teachers respond? One teacher said several students called during the day to let her know they were thinking about her, suggesting that the program could benefit from more sustained teacher-student interaction, Williams said. Another teacher initially wasnt sure what to do because she had planned to give a test that day. Instead, she ended up offering students some spiral review. Some of these contingencies could have been addressed earlier in the planning process, but the snow day moved up the timeline. Its a case by case, classroom by classroom conversation, Williams said. What advice would you give to other educators who have to implement a plan before its fully ready? I really think it comes down to, like most things, open communication. Were going to be open to, if it doesnt go exactly as planned, thats okay. It happens in a classroom every day. What can we do and how can we make the best use of the day that we have? Williams said his team will plan for a practice day earlier in November next year: You shouldnt have snow days that early, but you never know. Image: m-imagephotography/Getty LONDON The European Union wants to make it easier to charge your cellphone and other devices. This week, members of the European Parliament held a hearing on a measure to require smartphone makers to produce a common charger for all mobile and portable devices sold in the region, including tablets, e-readers and digital cameras. The goal: no more frustration at borrowing a friends charger only to find it has a Lightning connector when you need a USB-C. The proposal has been promoted not only as a matter of convenience, but also as a way to reduce electronic waste. Chargers have been estimated to produce more than 51,000 metric tons of waste annually in the European Union. We are drowning in an ocean of electronic waste, said Roza Thun, a member of the European Parliament from Poland. Demand grows and with it waste and exploitation of natural resources. Julia Roberts and husband Daniel Moder had a rare public date night earlier this week, making an appearance for a good cause. The couple stepped out on Wednesday night at Sean Penns 10th annual Community Organized Relief Effort gala in L.A. to raise money for the organization, which was founded in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Roberts and Moder have been married since 2002, and celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary in July. The two are also parents to son Henry, 12, and twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 15. RELATED: Julia Roberts and Michelle Obama Teamed up for the Best Reason Roberts and Moder met on the set of the film The Mexican, which she starred in, and on which he was cinematographer. "I think that first kind of real 'seismic shift' was meeting Danny," Roberts told Gwyneth Paltrow on the Goop podcast in 2018. "Getting married to Danny. That was the first, like, my life will never be the same in the most incredible, indescribable way He truly, to this day, to this minute, is just my favorite human. I'm more interested in what he has to say or his point of view just more than anybody. Really, we're so lucky in that way. We just really, really like each other and we just enjoy each others company. By PTI NEW DELHI: European Union High Representative Josep Borrell Fontelles on Friday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the interaction, the prime minister said India and the European Union were natural partners and he was looking forward to a productive India-EU Summit in March 2020. Modi reiterated India's commitment to deepen the engagement with the EU, particularly in the fields of climate change, and trade and economic relations, a statement from the prime minister's office said. The prime minister also recalled his earlier interactions with leadership of European Commission and European Council. Borrell conveyed that the leadership of the European Union keenly looked forward to hosting the next India-EU Summit in Brussels in the near future. He also dwelt on the shared priorities and commitment of EU and India, which include democracy, multilateralism and rules-based international order. Big government has unfortunately figured out a way to drive a firetruck through the loopholes in our legislative statute, she said. And that, said Carter, forces firefighters to have to hire lawyers to get the benefits she believes they are due. That loophole is a provision in the 2017 law that says the presumption a firefighters cancer is work related and therefore entitles that person to workers compensation benefits may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence that there is a specific cause of the cancer other than an occupational exposure to a carcinogen. What that has done is allowed cities and fire districts to deny coverage, even to those with one of the listed cancers, by providing medical testimony arguing that an employees disease actually was caused by exposure to something outside of the job, or was due to some chemical to which the firefighter was not likely to have been exposed. That, said Carter, is not fair. This new proposal would spell out that if a firefighter was diagnosed with one of the listed cancers in the law, that provides conclusive and irrefutable evidence that the disease is work related. And that, in turn, ensures that workers compensation benefits are available. Would a female Democratic nominee have a harder time beating Donald Trump than a male one? I cant tell you, because I dont have a crystal ball and because its a stupid question, its answer dependent on which female candidate youre talking about, on how she runs her campaign, on the twists and turns of the national conversation between now and November. But I can tell you this: Either of the two women among the six candidates on the stage in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday night would give Trump a serious run for his money. Both have earned the right to take him on. Both would be formidable presidents. And both made clear, with commanding performances, how absurd it is that this country hasnt yet shattered the highest glass ceiling of all. Im focusing on Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar because during the most electric stretch of this seventh debate of the Democratic primary, the focus was indeed on them or, rather, on the idea that their party couldnt risk nominating one of them at a juncture when getting rid of a Republican incumbent has seldom, if ever, been so important. You know the backstory. According to media reports over recent days, Warren and Bernie Sanders met 13 months ago to discuss their nascent presidential campaigns and he told her he didnt believe a woman could win the 2020 election. Sanders denies saying that. He denied it again Tuesday night, and Warren declined to get into a back-and-forth about that conversation. What she did instead was more effective and certainly more stirring: She drew a contrast between the two women and the four men who had made the cut for this debate, which was the final one before the Iowa caucuses and had the fewest candidates so far. That contrast was perfect and got better still when Klobuchar chimed in, because what the two women said brilliantly cast them not as trailblazers who had something extra to prove, not as outsiders who had finagled a way in, not as underdogs urging voters to take some extraordinary leap of faith, not as high-minded gambles. They turned the stubborn, sexist notion that their presence and presidential ambitions were exotic on its head, citing yardsticks by which they were demonstrably superior to their male rivals. I think the best way to talk about who can win is by looking at peoples winning record, Warren, a second-term senator from Massachusetts, said. Look at the men on this stage. Collectively, they have lost 10 elections. She didnt name the men or the elections, but Joe Biden is the veteran of two previous, miserably unsuccessful campaigns for the presidency. Pete Buttigieg lost bids to become the treasurer of Indiana and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. In contrast, Warren noted, The only people on this stage who have won every single election that theyve been in are the women Amy and me. And the only person who has beaten an incumbent Republican any time in the past 30 years is me. Klobuchar, a third-term senator from Minnesota, said you dont need to be male to win just as you dont need other qualities pronounced necessary or optimal by some unnamed, amorphous committee of pronouncers. You dont have to be the skinniest person in the room, she said. You dont have to be the loudest person. You have to be competent. And when you look at what I have done, she added, I have won every race, every place, every time. I have won in the reddest of districts. I have won in the suburban areas, in the rural areas. That, she added, was why she had the most endorsements of current Iowa legislators and former Iowa legislators in this race. I dont mean to romanticize Warren and Klobuchar. Warrens boast about vanquishing a Republican incumbent? That incumbent was Scott Brown, whose victory in a special election in deep blue Massachusetts was considered something of a freak occurrence. And when Klobuchar began to tick off the names of women recently elected to high posts, she suddenly froze, unable to remember who the governor of Kansas was, though shed just said, Im very proud to know her. (Her name is Laura Kelly.) Im also not saying that Warren or Klobuchar would be the partys best bet. I dont know who would be. Im just saying that on a night when the viability of women aiming for the White House went from subtext to text, these two women found words not just in addressing that issue but also in talking about prescription drug prices, climate change, nuclear weapons and more that exposed the bigotry and shamefulness of doubts about female candidates. @FrankBruni This photo illustration shows the highest denomination Vietnamese dong banknotes in Hanoi on May 21,2019. Vietnamese authorities ordered a local bank Friday to freeze several accounts of people involved in deadly protests Jan. 9 over the planned construction of a military airport near the capital Hanoi, including an account that had collected a huge sum in donations for the family of an elderly community leader killed in the protest. Le Dinh Kinh, 84 was shot and killed by police who swarmed his home in a 4:00 a.m. assault in Hanois Dong Tam commune that involved about 3,000 security officers from the police and armed forces. According to an announcement from the Ministry of Public Security, the accounts were frozen because of ongoing investigations into the protest. In order to serve the investigation and with the aim of preventing the financing of terrorism, the Investigation Agency has proposed to credit institutions both inside and outside the country to take concerted actions in examining and freezing related accounts, the ministry said. The announcement also urged individuals and organizations not to give money to those claiming to be collecting donations for the residents of Dong Tam and to report them to the authorities. Earlier in the day, the Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) announced the freeze of the account under the name Nguyen Thuy Hanh which had accumulated more than 500 million dong (U.S. $22,000). The accounts holder told RFAs Vietnamese Service that the sizable balance consisted of contributions from individuals offering their condolences to the family of the late community leader. She said that she had attempted to make a withdrawal from the account Friday morning, but was denied. This morning I went to the bank to withdraw a large amount of money, about 524 million dong ($22,500), from my bank account, but the banks staff took a long time over the phone, finally telling me the account was blocked, said Nguyen. I asked them to provide a reason but they did not offer any explanation, she said. RFA contacted the bank to inquire, but bank employees refused to supply information, citing security of client information. Hundreds of donations poured in after activist Trinh Ba Phuong highlighted the familys hardship on his Facebook account following Les killing. Nguyen said the freezing of the account is a violation of human rights, because she is not a criminal. The bank has a history of freezing the accounts of political activists at the behest of authorities In 2011, it froze some 50 million dong ($2150) in the account of the late Nguyen Thanh Giang, a well-known Vietnamese dissident who had taken part in anti-China demonstrations. The money was frozen until 2015 when, after many objections, the bank was ordered to repay the frozen assets to the activist. According to Vietnamese law, bank accounts may be frozen in whole or in part if this is agreed by the account holder and relevant organizations, or at the request of authorities, or as required by law. Australian MP wants investigation Reacting to the Jan. 9 incident, Chief Opposition Whip Chris Hayes of Australias parliament Thursday penned a message condemning the Vietnamese governments handling of the situation. It is certainly disheartening, if not infuriating, to see that the human rights situation in Vietnam has continued to worsen, with a crackdown on basic human rights and freedoms very much intensifying, wrote Hayes. We regularly see those who speak out against the Vietnamese government are being charged under vague national security laws and are being thrown in prison without a fair trial, he wrote. The Vietnamese government have shown that they are unwilling to adhere to the rule of law and are keen to oppress, jail and exile those who simply advocate for the most basic of human rights, he added. In the message, Hayes urged Canberra to use its seat on the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the incident. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Huy Le. Written in English by Eugene Whong. New Delhi, Jan 17 : After months of speculation, the BJP has now made it official -- it will elect its new President on January 21, that is "if an election is at all necessary". A communique released by BJP's national election returning officer Radha Mohan Singh says the nominations will be done on January 20. On January 20, the nomination process for the post of BJP President will begin at 10 a.m. and will go on till 12.30 p.m. For the next hour, the filed nomination papers will be examined and another one hour till 2.30 p.m. will be provided to withdraw nominations, if any candidate wishes to. But it's almost certain that J.P. Nadda, BJP's current working President, will win unopposed and in that case, the result will be out on January 20 itself. IANS earlier reported that the "world's largest party" will elect its new President on January 20, as it is an 'ekadashi', which is an auspicious day according to the Hindu faith. In Sanskrit, 'ekadashi' means 11, as in the eleventh day of two fortnights of the waxing and waning moon. The fact that Nadda is all set to win unopposed is evident from the wording of the communique released by Singh, which says: "If election is necessary, then the casting of ballots will take place on January 21, between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m." The party constitution mandates completion of election of at least 50 per cent of state Presidents for the election of national President to happen. In the last few days, the BJP has completed the election of a slew of state Presidents like in West Bengal, Nagaland among others. The process of election of the national BJP President is quite elaborate and has been described in detail in the party constitution, which says that the national President shall be elected by an electoral college, comprising members of the national council and the state councils. "Any 20 members of the electoral college of a state can jointly propose the name of a person, who has been an active member for four terms and has 15 years of membership, for the post of national President. Such joint proposal should come from not less then five states where elections have been completed for the national council. The consent of the candidate is necessary," it says. A former Philadelphia police officer has pleaded guilty to taking a seized 2018 Porsche SUV from an impound yard and using it for his stepdaughters prom last April, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced Friday. James Coolen Jr., 47, who resigned from the force in October before surrendering to face charges, was sentenced to one year of probation after his guilty plea Thursday to a misdemeanor count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, Krasner said in a statement. According to prosecutors, Coolen seized the Porsche Cayenne during a drug investigation in April and placed it in the Narcotics Bureau Headquarters secure impound lot. Two weeks later, the police Internal Affairs Unit opened an investigation after receiving information from the bureau about the possible theft or unauthorized use of the vehicle, officials said. Surveillance video showed Coolen drove into the secure parking lot with his personal pickup truck on April 25 and then left in the Porsche, officials said. Two days later, the Porsche was returned to the secure parking lot and the driver, not identified on video because it was dark, drove off in Coolens pickup truck. Prosecutors said other evidence, including GPS data from the Porsche, showed Coolen had used the SUV for his stepdaughters prom. James Coolen betrayed the public trust and his fellow Philadelphia police officers when he improperly and illegally used a 2018 Porsche Cayenne SUV, that was impounded as evidence in a case that he was assigned to, as transportation for his stepdaughters prom, Krasner said in the statement. Coolen has since turned himself in, resigned from the Police Department, and taken responsibility for his crime. It is never easy, but it is always right, to hold a friend or colleague accountable when they do wrong. BMS Group, an independent specialist reinsurance broker, has appointed of Alejandro Ceron as BMS Latin America & Caribbean chief operating officer, effective immediately. Ceron will be based in Miami and reports to Jose Astorqui, CEO of BMS Latin America & Caribbean. Ceron joins BMS with more than 28 years experience in international corporate management. He was founder and CEO of his own consulting firm that was formed in 2016 with a focus on corporate governance and organizational growth strategy. Ceron also worked at Marsh & McLennan in the US and Latin America, where he led the HR and sales operation for Latin America between 2002 and 2016. Prior to that, he held various senior HR roles at Philips Lighting in the Netherlands and PepsiCo in Mexico. Astorqui said BMS has been expanding its operations and increasing its brand recognition in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2015. The company brokered approximately $200 million in premiums n the region in 2019, and is launching the next phase of its Latin American expansion. He added Ceron will contribute significantly to the companys growth. BMS Group has teams of experts in the fields of reinsurance, wholesale and direct insurance and provides customized products in the fields of wholesale, reinsurance and direct insurance, and capital advisory. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 00:02:41|Editor: yan Video Player Close YAOUNDE, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Election materials for the parliamentary and municipal polls scheduled for next month in Cameroon are now available, Cameroon's Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, said on Friday. "We have seen that all the printing has been done. All the ballot papers going to the regions have been printed. Work has been finished 10 days before the schedule. It is a job well done," Nji told reporters in the capital, Yaounde during an inspection tour of the election materials. "We are now confident these elections will hold on Feb. 9. We will take the necessary security measures for these materials to go to the various destinations in the days ahead," he added. Campaigns for the twin elections are scheduled to begin on Jan. 25 amid threats by separatists to disrupt the elections in the two troubled English-speaking regions. Government has assured hitch-free elections nationwide, stressing that "all necessary security measures" shall be taken to ensure that the elections take place peacefully throughout the country. When World Biggest Music Management Co. Gets Into Gaming, Pay Attention When, Red Light, the worlds biggest music management company launches a standalone company focused on gaming, the industry pays attention. Red Light Management has ventured into the world of gaming with the launch of Hit Command, a new, standalone company focused on creating branding opportunities for brands, artists and content creators in the gaming space. Red Lights diverse management roster includes the Dave Matthews Band, Luke Bryan, Alabama Shakes, Chris Stapleton, Odesza, Phish and dozens of others. As first reported by Billboard, the company was founded by CEO William Morris and Red Light partner Steve Satterthwaite. Morris brings significant experience in the gaming and e-sports world to the new role, most recently serving as the head of gaming for Red Light, but with previous stints as Vice President of e-sports for the Roc Nation affiliated Seven20. The company is already up and running and has already produced an event at Insomniacs Countdown in partnership with its client, the streaming platform Twitch that saw professional streamers play Rocket League with festival-goers and artists. Share on: A surging international and interstate tourism market has generated record-breaking visitor figures for Brisbane and other Queensland destinations. In the year to September 2019, international visits to Brisbane were up 3.6 per cent to a record 1.4 million, of which 747,000 people were visiting for holidays. A record number of tourists travelled to Queensland and its capital. Credit:Jono Searle/AAP International visitors who came to Brisbane to see family and friends also created a record, with a 9.1 per cent increase to 456,000. Those international visitors spent $2.8 billion in the city, also up 4.4 per cent from the year prior. China's President Xi Jinping was heading to Myanmar on Friday for a state visit likely to deepen the countries' already close bilateral relations at a critical time. While the visit nominally marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar, it comes with the prospect of significantly boosting China's profile and investments in the future. China's ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai told Chinese journalists last week that during Xi's two-day visit, the two countries would sign agreements "covering politics, economy, livelihoods and regional cooperation." Some of these are expected to expedite major infrastructure projects that will extend Beijing's strategic presence all the way to the Indian Ocean. A complicating factor is Myanmar's general election, scheduled for late 2020, since too much wheeling and dealing with China could leave Aung San Suu Kyi's government vulnerable to accusations by political opponents that it is selling out the country. The trip will be Xi 's first to Myanmar and his first foreign visit this year. Jiang Zemin was the last Chinese president to visit Myanmar, when he signed several economic and border agreements in 2001. Ambassador Chen said that Xi will meet with Myanmar's President Win Myint, State Counselor Suu Kyi, who is the country's de facto leader, and military chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, as well as legislators and other opinion-makers. Myanmar is a linchpin of China's geopolitical ambitions, offering access to the Indian Ocean that would allow its sizable oil and gas imports from the Gulf to bypass going through the Strait of Malacca, and serving as a bridge to South Asia and beyond in Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative to build railroads, highways, ports and other infrastructure connecting China with other points in Asia and into Europe and Africa. China serves as a no-questions-asked ally to Myanmar, giving it diplomatic cover as the country faces widespread condemnation over its human rights record. The reaction to its brutal counterinsurgency campaign that drove more than 700,000 members of the country's Muslim Rohingya minority to flee for safety in neighboring Bangladesh threatens it with economic sanctions from Western nations. Last month a case charging Myanmar with genocide came before the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands, virtually ratifying the Southeast Asian country's near-pariah status. China for years has defended Myanmar in forums such as the United Nations, and Myanmar has returned the favor by following Beijing's positions on issue such as China's claims over territory in the South China Sea. More importantly, China as a top investor and trade partner with Myanmar offers economic insurance if Western nations do impose sanctions. Just days before Suu Kyi went to The Hague in December to lead her country's delegation at the initial hearings of the International Court of Justice, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with her for talks. The court holds another hearing next week. Xi is visiting Myanmar at the very right time. And Myanmar wants to show the Western world that China is backing them. Just before the ICJ hearings in December 2019, China's FM visited and now before issuance of provisional measures, Xi is going to visit, Germany-based Rohingya activist Nay San Lwin told The Associated Press. "I think it is not a coincidence. Myanmar wanted to say to the West to be careful if you impose any sanctions." Beijing in recent years has waged a strong battle with Washington for influence in Southeast Asia. China also uses it influence with various Myanmar ethnic rebel groups based along the countries' border who are battling battle for autonomy from the central government. While China has promoted peace talks between the the rebels and Myanmar's government, its close ties with some of the rebel groups allows it to retain the option of threatening violence by using ethnic guerrillas as proxies. What appears to be a mutually beneficial quid pro quo with China won't necessarily play well domestically, a worry for Suu Kyi and her ruling National League for Democracy party as it faces new elections. There has always been a strong undercurrent of anti-Chinese sentiment in Myanmar, and it is boosted by sometimes heavy-handed implementation of Chinese-backed projects that run roughshod over local communities, provoking allegations of land-grabbing, environmental damage and selling out the country's resources. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) You may also like these stories: In November last year, the Tatmadaw reported seizing more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition and some 170 weapons, including RPGs and FN6 anti-aircraft missile launchers, from three TNLA caches in Homein Village in Namhsan Township. The arms cache was found inside a small cave around 4,000 meters southwest of Namkhaik Village. The Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) is still investigating to determine which group the weapons belong to. We assume the 107-mm launcher tripod and rockets were manufactured by the Kachin Independence Army [KIA]. The KIA and the TNLA [Taang National Liberation Army] are active in the area, said Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun. Among the items seized were one 107-mm launcher tripod, six 107-mm rockets, 12 107-mm rocket shells, one 107-mm remote control, 22 107-mm projectiles, 108 rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), 108 RPG rocket shells, 299 40-mm grenades, 12 60-mm grenades and 60 packs of explosive for grenades, according to the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services. YANGONThe Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) seized a haul of weapons and other military hardware near Namkhaik Village in northern Shan States Hsenwi Township on Wednesday evening. Karenni Activists Demand Meeting With Suu Kyi to Raise Issues Over Statues and Land During Visit Myanmar Govt Denies Its Move to Allow Officials to Import Cars Tax-Free Is Vote Grab For India, There Are Many Reasons to Engage Myanmar Six BRI Projects in Myanmar to Monitor During Chinese President Xis Trip ICJ to Rule on Emergency Measures in Myanmar Genocide Case on Jan. 23: Gambia Ex-EU Diplomat Reportedly Accused of Spying for China as Police Conduct Raids in Germany, Brussels Fresh, Affordable and Just a Little Spicy: Jana Mon Serves up Myanmars Mon Cuisine in Yangon Xi Jinping Calls for Concrete Planning and Implementation of Chinese Projects Ahead of Myanmar Visit Myanmar Court Set to Issue Warrant for US Man Who Failed to Attend Court in Cannabis Case The Day When a US Medic was Jailed in Myanmar for Treason What Will 2020 Mean for Myanmars Democracy? We do not encourage viewing this site in this width. Please increase the size of your window. An army delegation from Russia visited the key military logistics' installations and the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra as it wrapped up its two-day tour to the Uttar Pradesh city on Friday. The five-member delegation, led by Major General Andrei Kozlov, Chief of the Directorate of the Military Railway Service of the Eastern Military District, visited the Army Base Workshop and the Central Ordnance Depot in Agra, an official release issued here said. The delegation was briefed about the modernised logistics installation, which provides important electrical and technical equipment to the Indian Army, it said. The visit of the Russian delegation to various Indian Army logistics establishment further strengthens the cooperation and military ties between the two nations, the release said. India and Russia have a history of strong strategic, military, economic and diplomatic relations, which has witnessed further growth and development in the recent times, it said. Before returning to Delhi, the delegation visited the Taj Mahal, the release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Draft now returns to parliament, where lawmakers from governing right-wing Law and Justice party hold the majority. Polands senate on Friday rejected a controversial draft law aimed at punishing judges who question government-backed judicial reforms that the European Union says are out of step with the rule of law. The upper house, where the opposition holds a narrow majority, voted 51 to 48 to reject the draft, senate speaker Tomasz Grodzki said. The draft now returns to parliament, where lawmakers from the governing right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party hold a majority and have vowed to force the measure into law despite the senates objection. The PiS government argues that the reform will tackle corruption in the judiciary, but opponents insist it is aimed at gagging critical magistrates and so undermines judicial independence. Supreme Court president Malgorzata Gersdorf has denounced the draft bill as a muzzle law. Since taking office in late 2015, the PiS has introduced a slew of controversial judicial reforms that it insists are designed to tackle corruption in the courts, still haunted by the communist era. The changes have, however, sparked widespread protest in European legal circles, where concern is mounting that they threaten not only the rule of law in Poland but also, more broadly, the EUs entire legal system. Judges from nearly all EU member nations joined hundreds of their Polish colleagues in Warsaw last Saturday in an unprecedented street protest against the draft law on disciplining judges. In late 2017, the EU launched unprecedented proceedings against Poland over systemic threats posed by the reforms to the rule of law that could see its EU voting rights suspended. The European Court of Justice has questioned several of the reforms. The non-compliance with EU law in Poland is now having an impact on the functioning of the EU legal order, Laurent Pech, a professor of European law at Middlesex University London, told journalists in Warsaw this week. From the EUs point of view, this is a survival matter, he said, adding that Poland would have to repeal all judicial reforms introduced by the PiS since 2015 in order to comply with EU law. Otherwise this is the beginning of the end of the EU legal system as such. Over 1,500 bakers and chefs in Kerala, India, have hit the headlines after making a cake that stretched over six kilometres. The 10cm wide and thick vanilla cake with chocolate ganache frosting weighed 27,000kgs and was prepared using 12,000kgs of flour and sugar. READ ALSO: Atwoli declares himself third most powerful person in Kenya after Uhuru, Raila 1,500 Indian bakers made a record-breaking cake. Photo: The Guardian. Source: UGC READ ALSO: I never worked out: Bahati's baby mama discloses how she acquired killer body in short time The event was organised by Bakers Association Kerala (BAKE) and the group's leader, Naushad, said Guinness World Record had assessed the cake as 6.5km, DW and other international news outlets reported. The cooks prepared the huge cake on thousands of tables and desks which were set up across a festival ground in the city of Thrissur, Kerala. The cake weighed 27,000kg and was made using 12,000 of flour and sugar. Photo:The Guardian. Source: UGC "This is an effort to showcase our skills to the world," said Naushad. "We ensured hygiene and taste are up to the mark," he added. READ ALSO: Busia boy, 16, walks 87km to join Form One in Maseno School The event was organised by Bakers Association Kerala. Photo: The Guardian. Source: UGC The group is looking forward to smashing Chinese bakers' record who made a cake measuring 3.2km in 2018. 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 cut off this breast - Sharon Atieno | Tuko TV | My Story. Source: TUKO.co.ke : A teacher of a government girls school at Kodungallur in Kerala has been suspended after he allegedly asked students to go to Pakistan if they were not willing to accept the Citizenship Amendment Act. According to officials, the action was taken against the Hindi teacher Kaleshan on Thursday, after the department deputy director here inquired into the incident. This followed a complaint filed by the father of a student through social media. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar has agreed to abide by a ceasefire and said he was ready to participate in an international conference in Berlin on Sunday, Germany's foreign minister said. Libya's UN-recognised government in Tripoli has been under attack since April from Haftar's forces, with clashes killing more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displacing tens of thousands. The leaders of the North African state's warring factions were in Moscow early this week at talks aimed at finalising a ceasefire orchestrated by Russia and Turkey. "During my visit to Libya today, General Haftar made clear: He wants to contribute to the success of the Libyan conference in Berlin and is in principle ready to participate in it. He has agreed to abide by the ongoing ceasefire," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted after talks in Benghazi. After the Moscow talks, Haftar had walked away without signing the permanent truce, sparking fears about the shaky ceasefire. Maas had travelled to meet Haftar in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi -- one of the general's strongholds -- in a bid to persuade him to join in the peace initiative. - Battle for Tripoli - The trip came days after Maas spoke with Haftar's rival Fayez al-Sarraj, who serves as head of the UN-recognised government in Tripoli. Separately in Tripoli, Sarraj announced he would attend the Berlin talks held under the auspices of the United Nations. The battle over Tripoli is the latest unrest to wrack Libya since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Since then, Libya has been caught up in fighting between rival armed factions, including Islamist militants. In his report to the UN Security Council late on Wednesday, UN chief Antonio Guterres urged all warring parties to stop fighting and "engage constructively towards that end, including within the Berlin process". He also warned against "external interference", which he said would "deepen the ongoing conflict and further complicate efforts to reach a clear international commitment to a peaceful resolution of the underlying crisis". The Berlin conference will aim to agree six points including a permanent ceasefire, implementation of the arms embargo and a return to the political process for peace, Guterres said. As well as killing hundreds of people, the fighting in Libya has also spurred a growing exodus of migrants, though nearly 1,000 intercepted at sea have been forced to return this year, according to the UN. A picture taken on January 13, 2020 during a press tour organized by the U.S.-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group, shows a view of the damage at Ain al-Asad military airbase housing U.S. and other foreign troops in the western Iraqi province of Anbar. Several U.S. service members were treated for concussions after Iran launched ballistic missiles earlier this month in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander, the Pentagon said Thursday. "While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack ... several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," Capt. Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement. "All personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injury, and if deemed appropriate are transported to a higher level of care," Urban said. In the days after the attack, 11 service members have been transported to two hospitals, in Germany and Kuwait, for follow-up screening, Urban said. He said that the service members were expected to return to Iraq following screening. The day after the missile strikes, President Donald Trump said that no American or Iraqi lives were lost because of precautions that had been taken, the dispersal of forces "and an early warning system that worked very well." The president also said then that no Americans were harmed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that while some symptoms of traumatic brain injury, which include concussions, can appear right away, others may not be noticed for days or months after the injury. Iran launched ballistic missiles against two bases in Iraq that house U.S. forces, including the Ain al-Asad base about 110 miles northwest of Baghdad, on Jan. 8 as retaliation for a drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's secretive Quds Force, and another man who is said to be the deputy of militias in Iraq. Hours after the ballistic missile launch in Iraq, Iran's military unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet that had taken off from Tehran's airport. All 176 people aboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 were killed, including many Iranians and Canadians. Iranian officials blamed "human error," and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called it a "disastrous mistake." Initially, Iranian officials soon said that mechanical failure was suspected. Iran's foreign minister this week acknowledged that people "were lied to" for days. The shootdown sparked protests in Iran. Iran's judiciary said this week that an undisclosed number of suspects involved in the accidental downing of the plane had been arrested. When Tsuta, the first ramen shop in the world to ever win a Michelin star, announced that it would be expanding to the U.S. via San Francisco, it joined a recent wave of Japanese ramen imports to the Bay Area that includes Afuri, Taishoken and Ramen Nagi. The one major thing it had over the rest its Michelin Guide endorsement practically ensured its success here. Much of the press surrounding the opening has highlighted the star; multiple signs at the restaurants entrance mention it as well. And yet, while lines stretched to an hour long or more when it opened in the Metreon in October, business has thinned out significantly. In fact, every time that Ive shown up, I was able to simply walk in. This contrasts with the original Tokyo shop, where every day hopefuls begin to queue up at 7 a.m., four hours before the doors open, to nab one of the coveted 150 bowls of ramen produced each day by chef Yuki Onishi and his team. (Onishi recently relocated the shop to a larger, 25-seat space in Tokyos Yoyogi neighborhood.) It doesnt seem like the bustle of the original location has transferred to San Francisco. So what gives? Tsutas American outpost was clearly planned for big business, expanding on the originals nine-seat layout to a comparatively massive 50-seat one. Its kitchen, fully viewable from the counter seats, is stocked with high-end equipment: dedicated noodle boiling machines, well-calibrated induction ranges and other specialty gear. Its team of servers is warm and prepared to explain the whole menu, from the types of wheat flour used in the noodles to the differences between shio and shoyu. (At the Tokyo location, ordering is still done via ticket machine.) Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle The ramen seems faithful to the original, at least on paper. Onishi flew out to San Francisco to train the staff himself and make sure the flavors were on-point. The shop opened with shoyu (soy sauce), shio (salt) and miso ramen varieties (all $12), each made with a clear broth of chicken and shellfish. Onishis take on the classic working persons dish includes noodles made daily at an off-site kitchen from multiple strains of wheat, the broths flavored with artisanal soy sauce sourced from Wakayama Prefecture. Ramen fans could also get excited about Onishis geeky insistence on calling the ramen soba, which is an old-timey Japanese name for the dish derived from the phrase chuka soba, or Chinese noodles. But after a week, Onishi returned to Tokyo to leave the kitchen in the care of local chef Bobby Siu. This baby bird had to learn how to fly on its own. It still hasnt. Tsutas signature shoyu ramen is meant to showcase the restaurants French-Japanese sensibilities. Thin wheat noodles and clear broth are topped with a circular piece of trussed pork shoulder chashu, sliced leeks, marinated bamboo slices and a small spoonful of shaved black truffle in oil. Its scent is complex and exciting; the musk of real black truffle is unmistakable. But reality hits when you actually spoon into the bowl. Any complication promised by the truffle aroma or delicate balance of shellfish bits and bobs is washed away by the dominant soy sauce flavor: The cooks have put too much tare (seasoning concentrate) into the bowl. Ill theorize about what may be happening: Usually this is mitigated by using a uniform ladleful for each portion, but even small gestural variations can over- or under-season a broth. Many ramen chefs shake their ladles before pouring to ensure that the bowls dont get even one extra milliliter of seasoning. Another possibility is that, simply, the tare itself is too salty. Miso ramen suffers from the same imbalance. Its porcini mushroom oil, which sounds quite nice and fancy on paper, is completely muscled aside by the salty miso-flavored broth. This selection of lighter bowls seemed refreshing at first, since San Franciscos ramen scene favors the heavier pork fat-infused tonkotsu broth. (The notable exception, Hinodeya, centers a clear shellfish broth.) But on later visits, there was tonkotsu on this menu first as a seasonal special in December, then as a permanent fixture in the new year. The mala tonkotsu, flavored with chile oil, tingly Sichuan pepper and goji berries, turned out to be the standout from the menu as a whole. The layered spice offsets the richness of the broth perfectly, helping it go down easy. Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle But one good broth isnt enough to rescue badly executed toppings. The chashu, which should be tender and a little melty from the heat of the soup, is unevenly cooked and often has the chew of boiled supermarket bologna. Made from pork collar butt imported from Denmark as a frozen product, the chashu seems optimized for the kitchens industrial meat slicer: Tenderness is sacrificed for even thickness. Each basic bowl comes with a single piece, but you can upgrade to a $16 version that includes four slices and a whole soy sauce-marinated egg. The egg itself is fine, boiled so that the yolk takes on a great jammy texture, but its hard to finish when everything else is so salty. The sides dont fare much better. Pan-fried gyoza ($5 for three, $9 for six), a classic ramen accompaniment, are cooked in an impressive, steamy machine that looks like a laundry press. As a result, the pot stickers bottoms are crisp and uniform, but their scant filling is bland and just plops out of the wrapper once bitten. Generally, dumpling fillings and wrappers are meant to be eaten together. This indicates that the restaurant is skimping on filling, or at least not ensuring that the dumplings are being wrapped properly. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Aburi niku ($5), cubed pieces of chashu that are charred with a handheld butane torch, is chewy and stinks of gas. The best part of the dish is its sauce of minced and browned onions, which has a lovely sweetness thats reined in with a healthy sprinkling of black pepper. If you really want something extra, stick to basic edamame ($3). Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle All of this is to say that a Michelin star isnt hereditary or contagious if anything, its extremely context-dependent. Since Tsuta earned its single star in 2016, the company has expanded to franchises in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines none of which have earned a star of their own. During the local opening blitz, the companys representatives hinted at the San Francisco location being a herald of further expansion into the United States. Perhaps the menus shakiness could be explained away by the restaurant being a testing ground of sorts. That argument falls limp when you see all of the mentions of the star, and the standard it implies, in the new restaurants surroundings. It just comes off like some celebritys offspring trying to get free drinks by name-dropping his dad. A darker, yet plausible alternative: If this is indeed the same ramen that Michelin lauded back in 2016, perhaps the honorable inspectors dont know what good ramen is. The crowd that initially swarmed the restaurant likely dissipated because they realized this, too. Soleil Ho is The San Francisco Chronicles restaurant critic. Email: soleil@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hooleil U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris poses for a photo after a group interview at the ambassador's residence in Seoul on Jan. 16, 2020. AFP South Korea should consult with the U.S. about its plans to engage with North Korea to avoid any "misunderstandings" that may trigger sanctions, the top U.S. envoy to Seoul said Thursday. Ambassador Harry Harris made the remark as South Korea is pushing to expand inter-Korean exchanges to facilitate the stalled nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang. President Moon Jae-in said earlier this week that individual tours to the North do not violate the U.N. sanctions and that it could eventually induce the North to return to dialogue and win international support for partial relief of sanctions. "President Moon's continued optimism is encouraging," Harris was quoted by Reuters as saying to foreign journalists in Seoul. "But with regard to acting on that optimism, I have said that things should be done in consultation with the United States." "In order to avoid a misunderstanding later that could trigger sanctions, it's better to run this through the Working Group," he said. The Working Group was set up in 2018 to coordinate North Korea-related issues. Moon's remarks referred to the South Koreans' suspended tours to the North's Mount Kumgang on its east coast. Group tours to the scenic mountain were halted in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot and killed by a North Korean guard. captain amarinder singh Chandigarh : Describing the controversial legislation as inherently discriminatory and a negation of the very secular fabric on which the Constitution of India is based, the Punjab Assembly on Friday adopted, by voice vote, a hard-hitting resolution seeking immediate repeal of the unconstitutional Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA), which Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh compared with the ethnic and religious cleansing of Hitlers Germany. Clearly, no lessons had been learnt from history, said a visibly anguished Chief Minister during the discussion on the resolution, which also urged the Central Government to put on hold the work on the National Population Register (NPR), till forms/documents associated with it are amended suitably, in order to allay apprehensions that it is a prelude to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and designed to deprive a section of persons from citizenship of India and implement CAA. Advertisement The resolution, which termed CAA as divisive and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, was introduced in the House by Cabinet Minister Brahm Mohindra, and witnessed extensive discussion before being put to vote by Speaker Rana KP Singh. Pointing to the omission of Muslims and such other communities as Jews from the ambit of citizenship under the CAA, the resolution asked for a repeal of the Act to avoid any discrimination on the basis of religion in granting citizenship and to ensure equality before law for all religious groups in India. Talking informally to media persons outside the House, the Chief Minister said the Centre would have to make the necessary amendments to CAA if it had to be implemented in Punjab and other states opposing the legislation. Like Kerala, his government would also approach the Supreme Court on the issue, he added. In response to a question, he made it clear that the census in Punjab would be conducted on the old parameters and the new factors added by the Centre for the purpose of the NPR would not be included. Advertisement Terming the divisive Act as a tragedy that he was unfortunate to witness in his lifetime, the Chief Minister earlier spoke from the heart in the House to lament that what happened in Germany under Hitler in 1930 is happening in India now. Germans did not speak then, and they regretted it, but we have to speak now, so that we dont regret later, he asserted, urging the Opposition, particularly the Akalis, to read Adolf Hitlers `Mein Kampf to understand the dangers of CAA. He said he would get the book translated and distributed so that all could read and grasp the historical mistakes that Hitler made. What is happening in India is not good for the country, said Captain Amarinder, adding that people could see and understand, and were protesting spontaneously, without any instigation. Making an impassioned plea to the Akalis to rise above politics and think about their own country before deciding on their vote, he said he had never imagined such a tragedy could happen in a secular nation like India, which had more Muslims than Pakistan. Where will all those people, who you brand as non-citizens, go? Where will the 18 lakh people declared illegal in Assam go if other countries refuse to take them? Has anyone thought about it? Has the Home Minister even thought about what has to be done with the so-called illegal people? Where will the poor people get their birth certificates from? asked the Chief Minister, declaring that we all have to live together as citizens of secular India in our own interest. Advertisement People of all faiths have lived harmoniously together in this country all these years, and Muslims have given their lives for this country, said the Chief Minister, citing the example of Indian Army soldier Abdul Hamid, who received the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his actions during the Indo-Pak war of 1965, just like many others. The Cellular Jail in Andamans was full of Muslim names, he pointed out. Why have Muslims been excluded? And why have they (Centre) not included Jews in the CAA?, asked Captain Amarinder, pointing out that India had a Jew Governor, General Jacob, who also fought for the nation in the 1971 war. Those responsible for this situation should be ashamed of themselves, said the Chief Minister, even as he lashed out at the Akalis for supporting the legislation in Parliament and then speaking on it in different voices to promote their political agenda. Pointing out that Punjab had just celebrated the 550th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji, who taught that koyi Hindu nahin, koyi Mussalman nahin, sab rab key bandey, Captain Amarinder asked the Akalis if they had forgotten the Gurus teachings. You should be ashamed, and you will repent this one day, he said, adding that he felt bad about speaking in such language but circumstances had made it necessary. Maldives' Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid poses after an interview with Reuters in New Delhi, India, on Jan. 16, 2020. (Alasdair Pal/Reuters) Report on Alleged Chinese Corruption in Maldives Due by June: Minister NEW DELHIA report on alleged Chinese corruption in the Maldives will be completed by June, the Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said on Jan. 16, as the current government investigates a surge of investments by China in recent years. The tropical archipelago grew closer to Beijing under the rule of former president, Abdulla Yameen, with China funding an airport, bridge and social housing as part of its One Belt, One Road (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road) initiative. Critics of Yameen, who was voted out in 2018 after five years in office, say government contracts were awarded at inflated prices, and that the spending threatened to sink the islands tiny economy. Incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced a commission in November 2018 to look into deals made during Yameens rule. It will reveal its findings in the first half of this year, Shahid told Reuters during an interview in New Delhi. In Beijing, I found a willingness to engage with the current government, Shahid said regarding the deals made by Yameen. The irresponsible borrowing of the previous government is being looked at. The Maldives is now attempting to balance its relations with traditional ally India as well as China, which holds huge influence in the island nation. Mohamed Nasheed, president of Solihs ruling Maldivian Democratic Party and a former leader of the country, told Reuters in November 2018 that the Maldives would pull out of what he termed a one-sided free trade agreement between Male and Beijing. But Shahid said on Thursday the government may now not be able to back out of the deal. We have very clearly said as members of parliament, that the process was flawed, Shahid said. It is a thousand-page document and the process (of the free-trade deal passing through parliament) took something like five minutes. But now we are in government, and we also have to honor the sovereign decision of a government that has taken place, but it would be unfair for us to decide without examining the contents of the agreement. China has consistently said its projects in the Maldives are aimed at developing its economy, and that contracts were awarded fairly. Yameen, who was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering in November, denies corruption in his deals with China. The Maldives, a string of palm-fringed islands and atolls lying 325 miles southwest of the southern tip of India, is best known as a luxury holiday destination. During a five-year construction boom in the Maldives, China built a sea bridge connecting the capital, Male, to the main airport and is developing the airport itself, as well as building housing on land reclaimed from the sea. The Chinese investment in Maldives is seen as part of its String of Pearls strategy, developing a network of friendly ports in the region from Sri Lanka to Pakistan. The Maldives finance minister has said that of the countrys total $3.7 billion debt, $1.4 billion is owed to China, mostly for funding OBOR projects. Beijing launched the OBOR initiative in 2013, its flagship foreign-policy agenda to build geopolitical influence via investments across Southeast Asia, African, Europe, and Latin America. U.S. officials have previously called out Chinese investment behaviors under OBOR as predatory lending. India and Western nations have worried that the strategy ultimately aims to help Chinas military extend its reach. By Alasdair Pal and Devjyot Ghoshal. The Epoch Times contributed to this report. A bottle of nascetta is photographed at Alimentari, the new wine bar-restaurant above DiBruno's Rittenhouse store on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. Read more Weve only just begun to sip the virtues of a wine revolution in Pennsylvania: Changing laws in the state-run liquor system have allowed restaurants to become bottle retailers, and markets that once could never sell wine can do so now and pour it, too. The creation of Alimentari, the wine bar-restaurant above Di Bruno Bros. on Rittenhouse Square, has every step of those options covered. The added bonus of talented wine pros like Sande Friedman, Di Brunos retail wine director, and Michael McCaulley, Alimentaris service and beverage director who was also a former co-owner of Tria, reminds us what weve been missing all along knowledgeable sommeliers to guide diners to worthy bottles they otherwise might never have discovered roaming the aisles of a state-run store. The Alimentari list, with a dozen rotating glass choices and 40 bottles, all available for retail downstairs, has no overlap with state stores inventory, and features largely independent producers that range from approachable Scarpetta Sangiovese on draft to Cravens juicy-funky South African orange wine and obscure grapes that deserve wider notice. One of the best examples is Ellena Giuseppes Nascetta, a dry but aromatic Langhe white recently saved from near-extinction in Italys Piedmont region. It smells like honey and herbs, with nutty tones on the palate. Most importantly: Its the perfect match for anything from Alimentaris mozzarella bar. Ellena Giuseppe Nascetta, $13 glass, $46 bottle to dine-in, $21.99 bottle retail at Alimentari, Di Bruno Bros., 1730 Chestnut St., 2nd Fl.; dibruno.com/alimentari. Also available for retail at Di Brunos other bottle shops at the Franklin and on Ninth Street. Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Dec. 21, 2018. Reuters South Korea and the United States are not discussing the possible deployment of South Korean troops to the Middle East in connection with their defense cost-sharing talks, a chief Seoul negotiator said Thursday. Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea's ambassador to the defense cost-sharing negotiations with the United States, made the remark as he departed Washington following a sixth round of talks that ended without an agreement. He was addressing speculation that the two sides are discussing a South Korean troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, in support of U.S. security operations there, to partially offset Washington's demands for a large increase in Seoul's contributions to the cost of stationing 28,500 American troops on the Korean Peninsula. "We are not talking about troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz or anything outside the framework of the Special Measures Agreement," Jeong told reporters at Washington's Dulles International Airport, referring to the allies' defense cost-sharing deal. "We are not discussing anything other than those aspects related to our contribution to the alliance." Kathmandu [Nepal], Jan 17 (ANI): A man has been quarantined here with a mystery strain of corona virus just days after his return from the Chinese city of Wuhan, authorities said on Thursday. Sukraraj Tropical Hospitals Director Dr Basudev Pandey confirmed that a person is kept under observation and various tests are being carried out to determine whether he has been infected. The suspect has not shown any symptom so far. The only thing is he returned from China, Pandey confirmed to ANI over the phone. Doctors have warned that the virus responsible for the outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan could also enter Nepal. The pneumonia is believed to be caused by a new strain of corona virus and has killed one person. Forty-one people were diagnosed with pneumonia believed to have been caused by the new virus, according to The Himalayan Times. The World Health Organisation has alerted Nepal about the prevention of transmission of the virus. However, the country lacks proper health centres and laboratories for the treatment and diagnosis of such highly infectious diseases. The possibility of infection is high among the Nepali population because of migration. People coming from China and those going to China from Nepal risk contracting and spreading the disease, said Dr Baburam Marasini, former director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. If anyone suffers from such infection then s/he should be transported in such a way so as to prevent the disease from spreading. But we even lack proper ambulance service to transport such patients. They should be transported in double cab ambulance, which we dont have, he was quoted as saying. (ANI) 'I don't think such a meeting ever happened... I don't see how it is even possible without people coming to know immediately,' says Julio Ribeiro. IMAGE: Haji Mastan, left, with Sundar Shaekhar, his adopted son. Photograph: Kind courtesy Bharatiya Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh/Facebook Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and Saamna Executive Editor Sanjay Raut kicked off a controversy with his revelation that then prime minister Indira Gandhi met Haji Mastan and Karim Lala who ruled the Bombay underworld in the late 1960s and 1970s. Raut issued a denial, but the furore won't die down. Sundar Shaekhar, Haji Mastan's adopted son, has confirmed that his father did meet Indira Gandhi and Raut was right in saying so. To find out more, Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com spoke with five former Mumbai police officers who had dealt with Haji Mastan and Karim Lala. "As a former police officer, my frank opinion is in those days smugglers were not treated as criminals. Though I don't have any evidence to back what I am saying, I can say this for sure as a police officer they were financing political parties," says Y C Pawar, who had several run-ins with Varadarajan Mudaliar, once Haji Mastan's lieutenant. "Not to my knowledge (that Indira Gandhi could have met Haji Mastan and Karim Lala) but there are reasons to believe that," says another retired IPS officer, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There is a huge possibility that Indira Gandhi might have met them. They would go to meet these leaders as politicians. Haji Mastan had started his own political outfit. As a leader when you address public meetings, lots of people meet you and click photographs with you after the meeting. The photographs circulating on social media could have been clicked after one such meeting," this police officer adds. Julio F Ribeiro, Mumbai's police commissioner between 1982 and 1986, categorically states that such a meeting between Indira Gandhi and Mastan/Lala never took place. "I don't see how it is even possible without people coming to know immediately about this meeting. Any prime minister coming to Mumbai would be known to everyone, especially the Mumbai police," says the legendary Ribeiro. "I don't think such a meeting ever happened. I am rather stupefied (by these allegations). At least it didn't happen when I was in Mumbai," says Ribeiro during whose tenure both Masxtan and Lala were arrested by then assistant commissioners of police Madhukar Zende and Isaque Bagwan. When asked about photographs of Mrs Gandhi and the two dons being circulated on social media, Ribeiro said, "I don't think Mrs Gandhi could have met them at his home." While Bagwan refused to comment on the controversy, Zende supported Ribeiro's contention that no such meeting took place. "I arrested both of them (Mastan and Lala). I don't want to say anything," says Bagwan, who has written Me Against the Mumbai Underworld, a book on the city's crime scene. "There was no political pressure on the police after or before their arrests," he says. Zende, who Bagwan calls his mentor, says, "I can't remember any such meeting." Recalling the day when he arrested both Mastan and Lala, Zende, who shot into the limelight after he arrested international criminal Charles Sobhraj after he escaped from Tihar jail in March 1986, says, "I first arrested Haji Mastan in 1964 for assaulting a policeman and then in 1984 I arrested both Mastan and Karim Lala under MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act)." "While Mastan was arrested from near Chandan cinema (in Juhu, north west Mumbai), Lala was arrested from near Novelty cinema (south Mumbai). Both meekly came along with us to the police station. When I produced them before Julio Ribeiro (then the police commissioner) he couldn't believe that the arrested person was Haji Mastan because he was so ordinarily dressed." Both Mastan and Lala were released from jail within a month. Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray had castigated then Maharashtra chief minister Vasantdada Patil for their release. Mastan went on to start a political outfit which was soon disbanded for lack of popular support. Elaborating on the politician-gangster nexus, Ribeiro says, "Usually big gangsters would take advantage of their money and muscle power to peddle influence among politicians. That is normal. It is not possible for the police to control the politicians. But the police chief could always control his own men." "If any cop was found meddling with the underworld during my time he would be in serious trouble," says Ribeiro who had a reputation as a tough officer. "The cops would surely come to know if the meeting had happened." "I can assure you that nothing of this sort (the meeting) happened during my time," he insists. While any discussion on the Mumbai underworld cannot be completed with mentioning the D-gang, the police officer, who does not want his name cited in the report, adds, "Dawood Ibrahim was not treated as a criminal before the March 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts. He was treated as a respected citizen. It is tragically ironical, but this is a fact." His intention was to raise money to grow his business, Onorato said. He saw opportunities in super PACs. He got into that fervor. He knew it was wrong, but he didnt think it would catch up with him. The four convicts of 2012 Delhi gang rape case were on Thursday shifted to four separate single cells inside jail number 3 of Tihar. Jail officers said that while the hanging courtyard (phansi kotha) is also in jail number 3, the transfer of the four prisoners on Thursday does not mean that they will be hanged immediately. The prison authorities said they will proceed as per the courts order after they file a status report on Friday related to the legal remedies of the convicts. The four convicts are lodged in single cells that have at least two CCTV cameras and are guarded by 2-3 jail guards round-the-clock. The prisons spokesperson, Raj Kumar, confirmed that the four men had been transferred to jail 3. Also Watch l Delhi govt asks Centre to reject 2012 gangrape convicts mercy plea Until Thursday afternoon, Pawan, Akshay and Mukesh were lodged in jail number 2 while Vinay was in jail 3. Prison officers had already begun preparation for their execution on January 22 by ordering ropes (to be used for the execution) and seeking a hangman from Uttar Pradesh prisons department, according to a city courts order. Focus on safety near Vinobhapuri, Badarpur Metros: HC The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the city police to look into safety and security around two Metro stationsVinobhapuri and Badarpurafter it was informed that the stretch is dark and isolated and instances of eve-teasing have been taking place. A bench of Justice GS Sistani and Justice AJ Bhambhani asked the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Legal Cell) to look into the issue after the amicus curiae, advocate Meera Bhatia, informed the court that she had received an email highlighting incidents of harassment that take place at these two Metro stations because the areas are dark and isolated. The court was hearing a plea which it had initiated itself after the December 16 gang rape in 2012. Mercy plea being processed: Home ministry Union Home Ministry is processing the mercy petition of one of the four gang rape and murder case convicts, Mukesh Singh, officials said. Delhi L-G Anil Baijal has recommended rejection of the plea and forward the mercy plea to the MHA as per procedure, a senior official said . The petition is being examined and a decision will be taken soon, the official said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Ilhama Isabalayeva Trend: The management and senior officials of Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency paid working visits to France, Belgium, Georgia, Russia, Argentina, Belarus, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2019, Chairman of the agency Goshgar Tahmazli said. Tahmazli made remark in Baku at a reporting conference on the results of 2019, Trend reports on Jan. 17. The working meetings were held with representatives of a number of international and national organizations within the visits, the chairman said. As a result, relations of cooperation with the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health and the EU Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety were expanded. The Agency signed cooperation agreements with two countries and one organization and 15 draft agreements with 12 countries were developed within bilateral cooperation, Tahmazli said. The draft international agreements on cooperation in the field of food safety, veterinary medicine, quarantine and plant protection have been submitted to eight countries for review, the chairman said. Signing of contracts related to these spheres will simplify the export of food products from Azerbaijan to these countries. The Agency also took part in the Azerbaijan International Food Industry Exhibition - World Food Azerbaijan-2019 on May 15, 2019. At the same time, the Agency held the second International Food Safety Conference in Baku in 2019, which was attended by over 250 delegates from 25 countries. During the year, the employees of the Agency took part in 44 international events and attended 16 international training courses in the country and abroad. (@FahadShabbir) Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have discovered a rare asteroid orbiting snugly within the inner confines of the solar system, according to a Caltech release on Wednesday LOS ANGELES, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Jan, 2020 ) :Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have discovered a rare asteroid orbiting snugly within the inner confines of the solar system, according to a Caltech release on Wednesday. The asteroid has been discovered by Caltech's Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a survey camera based at Palomar Observatory. The newfound body, named 2020 AV2, is the first asteroid found to orbit entirely within the orbit of Venus. "Getting past the orbit of Venus must have been challenging," said George Helou, executive director of the IPAC (Infrared Processing & Analysis Center) astronomy center at Caltech and a ZTF co-investigator, who explained that the asteroid must have migrated toward Venus from farther out in the solar system. "The only way it will ever get out of its orbit is if it gets flung out via a gravitational encounter with Mercury or Venus, but more likely it will end up crashing on one of those two planets," Helou said. 2020 AV2 belongs to a small class of asteroids known as Atiras, which are bodies with orbits that fall within the orbit of Earth. More specifically, it is the first "Vatira" asteroid, with the "V" standing for Venus, according to Caltech. The ZTF camera is particularly adept at finding asteroids because it scans the entire sky rapidly and thus can catch the asteroids during their short-lived appearances in the night sky. The asteroid spans about 1-3 km and has an elongated orbit tilted about 15 degrees relative to the plane of the solar system. During its 151-day orbit around the sun, it always travels interior to Venus, but at its closest approach to the sun, it comes very close to the orbit of Mercury, according to Caltech. Ex-judge to stand trial on $80k embezzlement allegations RIA Novosti, Igor Zarembo 11:24 17/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 17 (RAPSI) - A court in Nalchik, a city in Russias Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, will consider a 4.7 million-ruble (nearly $80,000) embezzlement case against a former magistrate judge, according to a statement of the Prosecutor Generals Office. Investigators claim that from 2001 to 2004, the former female magistrate judge embezzled money by false pretenses from 10 local citizens and property items totaling to more than 4.7 million rubles. She is charged with large-scale embezzlement and fraud, the statement reads. Burma Myanmar Activists Refused Yangon Embassy Protest During Xi Visit Xi Jinping arrives in Naypyitaw on Friday afternoon. / MOI Yangon Amid the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Myanmar, the Yangon authorities have refused to allow a protest at the Chinese Embassy on Saturday. We were told that the Yangon regional government did not give permission to gather outside the embassy as it might harm bilateral relations, said Ko Aung Soe, an event organizer. They were hoping to urge Xi to terminate the Myitsone Dam project, to protect the environment and to have full transparency in investment and other projects. They also wanted to see benefits to residents from investment and projects, an end to illegal Chinese migration and more cultural understanding from Chinese tourists and business owners to avoid misunderstandings. They planned to give a letter to Xi after the event. The Dagon police said we were not allowed to protest so we have changed the plan, Ko Aung Soe added. The activists instead plan to gather in front of City Hall on Saturday at 2 p.m. Only four organizers are allowed to walk to the embassy, approximately 4 km from City Hall, to hand over the letter. Kyauktada police told us they will not take responsibility if something happens to the four people walking to the Chinese Embassy. They mean they worry a lot of people will follow us, said Ko Aung Soe. Xi arrived in Naypyitaw on Friday and is scheduled to meet President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. He is due to leave Myanmar on Saturday at 2 p.m. Xis visit is seen as an effort to boost bilateral economic ties, focusing on infrastructure projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone in Rakhine State and boosting border trade. Many believe that resuming the long-stalled Myitsone Dam project is on the agenda for Xis visit. Nearly 40 Myanmar civil society groups sent an open letter asking Xi to scrap the Myitsone dam project. On his arrival, 14 civil society groups, including former political prisoners, Yangon Watch and People Affairs Networks sent an open letter to Xi, urging understanding for residents suffering, calling for an end to arms imports to all sides and to end the trafficking of women into forced marriage in China. The letter also asked Xi to stop Chinese traders from working illegally in Myanmar. You may also like these stories: Chinese President Xi Jinping Arrives in Myanmar for Two-Day Visit An Unstable, Weak Myanmar: Chinas Strategic Goal? Ethnic Armed Groups Based on Myanmars Border With China Welcome Xi Jinping NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Urban water infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is witnessing enormous investments in order to cater to the needs of the growing population and to address the challenges posed by rapid urbanization, and climate change.Key investments in the region are towards replacement of old pipes, expansion of existing pipe network, water treatment, water reclamation, storm water harvesting, quake resilience, development of smart water grids and improving consumer infrastructure.Climate change policies and the UN's Sustainable Development Goal of universal access to clean drinking water and sanitation are encouraging APAC countries (and others globally as well) to invest in developing adequate infrastructure and provide sanitation facilities for their citizens.Aging infrastructure in most of the countries presents yet another avenue for investments and market entry.Developed nations within the region are shifting towards complete digitalization of water assets and establishing smart water grids, while developing nations are more focused on building the necessary infrastructure to provide safe and reliable drinking water and sanitation facilities.With smart cities being a new focus across APAC, many new advanced infrastructure development opportunities have arisen or are expected to come up in the coming years. As a result, advanced water infrastructure such as membrane technology-based water/wastewater treatment, improved energy efficiency, smart metering, data analytics and predictive/preventive systems are seeing increased acceptance within the region. Furthermore, digital water sets the foundation for the application of data science and augmented intelligence techniques to business problems which will enable accurate real-time monitoring and quality control of water assets.On the other hand, the water sector in APAC is underfunded and is highly dependent on official development assistance (ODA) funding and FDI to propel development and growth. For example, the massive Chinese water market has more than 10% of its projects funded by FDIs. Nonetheless, investors are especially cautious about investing in essential infrastructure sectors such as water and power since these projects are often the first to face citizen backlash and, consequent, heavy-handed government action. Another major deterrent of digitalization of any sector in general is the loss of jobs - utilities that are protective of their human assets may think twice even when the benefits outweigh the costs of digitalization in order to protect jobs.Key growth opportunities in this market would be the need for integration and convergence of ICT solutions and business processes and value-add services to promote the use of smart devices in consumer infrastructure. Countries covered in this study include India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05835602/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com More than a dozen cook-off teams will go head-to-head at Papas Ice House, vying for the Best Chili award on Saturday, Jan. 25. During the inaugural Go Wild Chili Cook Off, the rule is: there are no rules. At least compared to conventional cook-offs. The no rules means its a cook off-site and they can have whatever they want if its turkey, venison, vegan, whatever theres no rules on it, said Jenan Blank, president of the Spring Klein Chamber of Commerce, the organization hosting the event. Related: Expert highlights indicators of Spring-Klein areas economic growth The cutoff for team registration is Wednesday, Jan. 22. Some people are a team of one, some people are a team or four or more it depends on how many they want on the team; theres not a rule on, you have to have this amount of people, Blank said. Participation fees start at $20 for Chamber members and $40 for nonmembers. Teams should be prepared to serve about five gallons of chili. Electricity wont be provided at the event, meaning teams should cook ahead or bring burners. Community members of all ages are invited to attend the event as tasters and vote on their choices for the Best Chili, Best Spirit, and Battle of the Badge awards. For $5 at the door, guests receive a tasting kit with cups and voting materials to present to their favorite teams in each category, including a bean for Best Chili, poker chip for Battle of the Badge, and a pom-pom for Best Spirit. The no rules also applies to how teams try claiming the spirit award, Blank explained. You can say, Hey, Ill give you a cookie if I get your spirit pom-pom, or Ill give you a cinnamon roll, or a gift card, Blank said. So, theres no rules on getting your spirit award. Makes it a little fun. Battle of the Badges is an exclusive award for teams of first responders. But chili wont be the only competition between first response agencies, as the Spring Fire Department and Harris County Precinct 4 Constables engage in a lemon squeezing contest. They have a really good rivalry relationship; we do a couple other competitions throughout the year and theyre really funny together, so we were like, Lets put them together and lets see who can get the most lemon juice, Blank said. And it kind of lets the kids there see something cool. Then they can come up and squeeze the lemons after and see how hard it really is to get that much lemon juice. We just wanted to add something entertaining. Related: Luncheon in Spring honors first responders, service members The chili competition will also include a Boards Choice category decided by Chamber board members. Winning teams in each categories will receive a trophy and bragging rights. In addition to voting, event guests can enjoy live music by School of Rock in Spring, while participating in a raffle and silent auction. Event proceeds will go toward Chamber initiatives to provide educational tools for members, as well as aid to businesses following disaster situations such as storms. The Go Wild Chili Cook Off is intended as an annual event that Blank hopes will bring the community and businesses together. Sometimes I think its daunting to go up to somebody and talk to them if youre needing some services and so hopefully this is kind of a fun atmosphere thats a little more relaxed and that our businesses will get noticed by our community and keep that going, and our community will get good service in return, Blank said. The Go Wild Chili Cook Off is scheduled from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Jan. 25. Papas Ice House is located at 314 Pruitt Road in Spring. For more information, visit springkleinchamber.org. mfeuk@hcnonline.com The friction between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, the two most powerful leaders of Congress in Rajasthan, doesnt seem to end. After steering the party to Assembly victory from a phase when it was down to 21 seats in the 200-member house, Pilot was considered to be the natural claimant for the post of chief minister after December 2018 elections but that didnt happen. There are many stories about how Gehlot managed to tilt the confidence of the Gandhi family in his favour, none of which could be verified. But from the time Pilot took oath as Gehlots deputy to a year later, he has never considered himself as any less important in states politics and has caused consternation by his public utterances that put the government in the dock. When Gehlots cabinet took oath at Raj Bhavan, in a break from tradition, a chair was kept for Pilot, too, on the dais. Normally, only the Governor and the Chief Minister occupy this space. Also Watch l No point blaming others: Sachin Pilot on infants deaths in Kota Both Gehlot and Pilot have made comments against each other without taking each others names on several occasions. After the Lok Sabha election in 2019, the CM said Pilot should take responsibility for the rout the party lost all 25 seats and more for the loss of his son, Vaibhav Gehlot, in Jodhpur. Pilot didnt take this lying down. He said if the CM campaigned across the state instead of spending too much time in Jodhpur alone, the results could have been different. On all other occasions, when Gehlot says something to stress that the people of the state and all the party MLAs wanted to see him as the CM, as if to rub it in, Pilot retorts in equal measure. The interesting things is both have said on public forums that theres no problem between the two of them almost the same number of times that they have targeted each other in veiled manner. Who can forget the photo-op at a Rahul Gandhi rally in Jaipurs Ramlila Maidan in the campaign for the LS polls when the then party president made the two leaders hug each other? Recently, after more than 100 infants died at a government hospital in Kota, Pilot lost no time in pulling his own government down, saying that the government should have been more humane in handling the crisis, obviously referring the CMs statement in which he said deaths do happen. Pilot, who visited the hospital a day after health minister Raghu Sharma had been to Kota, got primetime air-time on national TV with his impromptu presser. In an interview to HT following this event, Pilot repeated that he felt that the government could have handled the situation in a more compassionate manner, and said he felt he should share peoples pain when asked why he was the only Congress to visit the families that lost their infants. A few days, Gehlot said there was no tradition of condolence meeting in houses where kids die. If there isnt such a tradition, then lets make it, Pilot said. That the two leaders dont get along is widely known in political circles. Even officers in the secretariat say the two dont get into each others path but cant resist retorting to each other. The files of panchayat raj and rural development department, which is with Pilot, dont go to the CMO and the CM has never held review of these departments even though he has reviewed almost all other departments, said an officer of the principal secretary rank requesting anonymity. Pilots lavish government bungalow is also talk of town. The 11, Civil Lines, address looks fortified with tall walls, much like the former CM Vasundhara Rajes bungalow. People also talk about the money spent on refurbishing this bungalow. Political experts feel the infighting is affecting the government. Wherever there is uncertainty in an organisation, its working gets affected. The head of the party and the head of the government walking in two different paths often create confusion among the workers about whom to follow. This doesnt bode well for any party, says political analyst Narayan Bareth. People, who voted for the Congress, expect good governance and not infighting between its top leaders. If this doesnt end soon, the party will pay a price, Bareth added. The BJP revels in this friction. It says theres an Opposition within the government. Two power centers cannot work in interest of the state. The CM is often running to Delhi to save his chair, and that affects governance in the state, said BJP spokesperson Mukesh Pareek. He said even though theres no protocol for a deputy CM, Pilot always behaves like the CM. A deputy CM is nothing more than a cabinet minister, Pareek pointed out. Major showdowns Before the municipal elections, the government brought a new rule that even unelected members could stand for the post of Mayor and head of municipalities. Pilot spoke against this on many occasions, saying this will lead to back-door entry into civic bodies. This forced the government to retrace its steps on that clause and remove it After the acquittal of accused in the Pehlu Khan case, Pilot said if the special investigation team (SIT) was formed earlier, the acquittal may not have happened On infant deaths in Kota, Pilot put his government in a spot when he called for fixing accountability for the deaths, targeting the health minister, who is considered to be a Gehlot man After the Lok Sabha loss, Gehlot said Pilot should take responsibility for the defeat of his son Vaibhav from Jodhpur because he as party president had said with six MLAs in the constituency, the party will sail through. Pilot has put his government in the dock over allegations by tourism minister Vishvendra Singh that officers of the department didnt send files to him for approval. If a senior minister has pointed out something, the government should act on it with immediate effect, he said. Singh met Pilot on January 16 New Delhi, Jan 17 (UNI) The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will soon takeover the security cover of Jammu and Srinagar airport by the end of this month, the officials said here on Friday. The decision was taken by the Jammu and Kashmir Administration on Thursday evening which asked the national civil aviation security force for immediate security take over of the Jammu and Srinagar airports. This moves comes out following the arrest of Jammu and Kashmir Police DSP Davinder Singh on January 11, ferrying two Hizbul terrorists at Mir Bazar in Kulgam district. This issue of handing over of airport security to CISF has acquired immediate view of recent developments of arrest of Davinder Singh who was posted as DSP airport security and caught transporting terrorists to the other parts of the country, the state administration order said. The state administration had decided last year to hand over all the three airports of the state to CISF. The security at Jammu and Srinagar airports are being provided by another para military force Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the state police. "There is a Standard Operative Procedure for deploying security cover at any installation and the man and machines have to be installed which takes time but seeing the urgency of the situation, the force will take over both the airports as soon as possible", a CISF official said on condition of anonymity. After taking over the Jammu and Srinagar airport security, the Leh airport will also be under CISF security cover, the source added. CISF, the national Civil Aviation Security force, guards 61 airports including Delhi and Mumbai in the country. UNI AKS JAL 1151 The European Union is considering new legally binding requirements for developers of artificial intelligence in an effort to ensure modern technology is developed and used in an ethical way. The EUs executive arm is set to propose the new rules apply to high-risk sectors, such as healthcare and transport, and suggest the bloc updates safety and liability laws, according to a draft of a so-called white paper on artificial intelligence obtained by Bloomberg. The European Commission is due to unveil the paper in mid-February and the final version is likely to change. The paper is part of the EUs broader effort to catch up to the U.S. and China on advancements in AI, but in a way that promotes European values such as user privacy. While some critics have long argued that stringent data protection laws like the EUs could hinder innovation around AI, EU officials say harmonizing rules across the region will boost development. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged her team would present a new legislative approach on artificial intelligence within the first 100 days of her mandate, which started Dec. 1, handing the task to the EUs digital chief, Margrethe Vestager, to coordinate. A spokesman for the Brussels-based Commission declined to comment on leaks but added: To maximize the benefits and address the challenges of Artificial Intelligence, Europe has to act as one and will define its own way, a human way. Trust and security of EU citizens will therefore be at the center of the EUs strategy. Facial Recognition The EU wants to urge its member states to appoint authorities to monitor the enforcement of any future rules governing the use of AI, according to the document. Additionally, the EU is also considering new obligations for public authorities around the deployment of facial recognition technology and more detailed rules on the use of such systems in public spaces. The provision suggests prohibiting use of facial recognition by public and private actors in public spaces for several years to allow time to assess the risks of such technology. In the draft, the EU defines high-risk applications as applications of artificial intelligence which can produce legal effects for the individual or the legal entity or pose risk of injury, death or significant material damage for the individual or the legal entity. Artificial intelligence is already subject to a variety of European regulations, including rules on fundamental rights around privacy, non-discrimination, as well as product safety and liability laws, but the rules may not fully cover all specific risks posed by new technologies, the Commission says in the document. For instance, product safety laws currently wouldnt apply to services based on AI. Key Requirements The EUs AI strategy will build on previous work coordinated by the commission, including reports published in the last year by a committee of academics, experts and executives. EU rules often reverberate across the globe, as companies dont want to build software or hardware which would be banned from the blocs vast developed market. One of the reports outlined a set of seven key requirements that AI systems should implement in order to be deemed trustworthy, including incorporating human oversight, respect for privacy, traceability and avoiding unfair bias in decisions taken by the systems. The other report outlined policy and investment recommendations for the EU and its member states. The experts said unnecessarily prescriptive regulation should be avoided but that governments should restrict the development of automated lethal weapons and consider new rules around unjustified tracking through facial recognition or other biometric technologies. Alphabet Inc.s Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai will also make a rare public appearance in Brussels next week to give a speech at a think-tank about the development of responsible AI ahead of the EUs February announcement. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Friday accused Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of having a "fascist approach" and gaining "political mileage" by protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). He further alleged that CM Vijayan is lying to people about updation of the National Population Register (NPR). "Kerala government is slapping cases against those protesting against CAA. It is a fascist approach. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is trying to take political mileage pretending to protest against it and is lying to people on NPR updation," Ramesh Chennithala told the media persons on Friday. Chennithala, who is also the opposition leader in the Kerala assembly, also claimed that the chief minister is opposing CAA in public but is secretly trying to implement it in the state. The Congress leader's comments came after the Kerala assembly moved a resolution against CAA seeking its withdrawal of the law. CM Vijayan recently had recently written letters to his counterparts in 11 states asking them to consider passing a similar resolution in their respective states. READ | Congress Slams Kerala Governor, Says He Is Acting Like The 'state BJP President' READ | BIG: Kerala Government Challenges CAA In Supreme Court, Becomes First State To Do So Kerala govt challenges CAA in SC The Kerala government also moved the Supreme Court on January 14, challenged the CAA which grants Indian citizenship to minorities from three countries - Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. In the petition, the government stated that the act violates "Articles 14, 21, and 25 of the Constitution of India" and is violative of the basic structure principle of secularism as well. With this, the Kerala government becomes the first state government to move the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Act, to which several states have raised objections. Kerala was also the first state assembly to move a resolution against CAA. READ | Narasimha Rao Calls Kerala Govt's Challenge To CAA In SC A "mature" Move Kerala's IUML moves to SC against CAA Challenging the Centre's notification announcing the enforcement of CAA in the country, Congress ally - Kerala's Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Thursday, January 16, moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the law. Moreover, the League has requested the Supreme Court to ask if the Centre had a plan on implementing a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). READ | After Kerala Govt, IUML Moves SC Seeking Stay On CAA; Governor Not Informed, Not Happy (With inputs from ANI) The following reflects the opinion of The Flint Journal Editorial Board. The Flint Water Crisis has no pending criminal cases today. Theyve all been dismissed. A year ago, there were cases against at least eight state and local officials. There have been no significant convictions. No real consequences. Its a travesty that theres no justice, no one held to blame for the poisoning of an entire American city. Its our societys moral imperative to hold people accountable for disasters like this. Its not enough for officials to say, We all failed, and move on. The water crisis was a preventable, manmade catastrophe, the product of budget-slashers trying to save a few bucks. Its been 5 years. Flint still doesnt trust the water The leaders in charge at the time Gov. Rick Snyder, his cabinet heads and the emergency managers appointed to run the city failed the people of Flint. And yet no one has been held responsible. In June, criminal cases were dismissed against Nick Lyon, former DHHS director; Eden Wells, former chief medical executive for the state; former emergency managers Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Earley; DHHS officials Nancy Peeler and Robert Scott; Department of Environmental Quality official Patrick Cook; and former Flint Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft. Wells has since been hired back at the state and is making a six-figure income in a protected position. Lyon remained in his position until incoming Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took office and changed department heads. Then theres the folks over at the former DEQ now called DEGLE like Liane Shekter-Smith, the former chief of the states Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance. Shekter-Smiths cases were dismissed last week. Similar cases against Michael Prysby, Stephen Busch and Patrick Cook were previously dismissed. Each had some connection to overseeing or approving plans for Flints treatment water plant. Those four are all poised to get their jobs back if they havent already. Cook, Prysby and Busch remain on EGLEs payroll, according to Scott Dean, the departments spokesman. Prysby is back to work. Shekter-Smith is in the process of trying to get her job back, too. None of this feels like justice. The message is that its OK to do it again. The criminal justice system exists not just to punish, but to deter people from committing similar crimes. Government officials across the country perhaps the world can now look at Flint and feel emboldened that they will not face any real consequences for committing grave mistakes at the expense of public health. It sends a message that when government fails, there will be no repercussions. Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud has promised to refile criminal charges, but its been more than 200 days and weve not seen anything. Attorney General Dana Nessel has still promised to deliver justice. Were hopeful but have grown skeptical. A slew of civil cases were filed in the matter too. We hope those are resolved promptly and judiciously. The biggest winners in this catastrophe of public health and justice are the attorneys who have reaped, at our last count, more than $30 million of taxpayer money. This isnt over yet. Those bills continue to mount. Even though the water has been declared fit for drinking, city residents are still being advised to drink bottled and filtered water until every last lead pipe is replaced. A generation of children were poisoned by lead in the city water. What happens to them in the years to come? Nobody knows. The officials in charge at the time of the water crisis have seemingly moved on. But the people of Flint still dont trust their water, much less their government anymore. Something really bad happened to the people of Flint. Surely someone is to blame. NEW FLORENCE The wife of a snake breeder in Montgomery County who was shot and killed in 2017 was arrested this week along with a second person on charges that they killed the man, authorities said Friday. Investigators on Thursday arrested Lynlee Renick, 31, in Columbia, Missouri, and Michael Humphrey, 35, in Jefferson City on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 29-year-old Benjamin Renick, the Missouri Highway Patrol said in a statement. Ben Renicks body was found June 8, 2017, inside his business, Renick Reptiles, where 300 to 400 exotic snakes were kept. He had died from gunshot wounds. Lynlee Renick was his wife, authorities said. Her attorney, Al Watkins, said Friday that, As with any criminally accused, our client is looking forward to her day in court, and being given a fair trial. Meghan Markle's half-sister today used a British TV interview to lay into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over their 'incredibly wrong and shocking' treatment of her father Thomas and declared: 'They have quite a bit of apologising to do'. Samantha Markle, 55, who is Mr Markle's daughter from his first marriage, also claimed the couple's bombshell decision to quit and emigrate to Canada would have been made by Meghan not her husband. In a wide-ranging interview with ITV's This Morning Ms Markle, who lives in Florida, claimed quitting as senior royals after just 20 months of marriage was a 'gross breach of duty' to the Queen. She said today: 'Prince Harry and Meghan have quite a bit of apologising to do. We aren't talking about teenagers, we are talking about adults who knew what they were doing and in regards to my father it was so incredibly wrong and shocking'. She also said Meghan initially enjoyed the attention of being a royal, accusing her of adopting a 'contrived British accent', but wanted out once she was criticised about her 'spending'. Ms Markle also appeared to deny that the criticisms of her half-sister were laced with racism, calling the claim: 'A misplacement of blame to avoid accountability'. And she said Meghan's legal against the Mail on Sunday is 'ludicrous' - and warned her the 'truth' will come out if it gets to the High Court. Samantha Markle, 55, claimed the royal couple's bombshell decision to quit and emigrate to Canada would have been made by Meghan herself. She told Eamonn and Ruth on ITV's This Morning Ms Markle, that Meghan and Harry's decision was a 'gross breach of duty' to the Queen Samantha Markle, pictured with her half-sister Meghan Markle at her graduation in 2008 - but they have fallen out badly and are estranged Meghan and Samantha's father Thomas, who lives in Mexico, could be forced to give evidence against his Duchess daughter in London over a claim she brought against the Mail on Sunday after he shared a letter she sent to him from Kensington Palace. He also claimed he messaged his daughter saying he couldnt come to her wedding because of emergency heart surgery and received a text that appeared to be from Prince Harry that admonished him, accused him of causing hurt to his daughter and did not ask about his health. Samantha Markle said today it would be her half-sister, not Harry, who will have made the final decision to quit as frontline royals. She said: 'From my perception, I feel that she [Meghan] did enjoy it when there was the fab four and the photographs of her hair blowing in the wind and the smiling and the contrived British accent. 'But when the public state to criticise the behaviour and expenditure the tune changed and it became a bit more attribution error, avoiding accountability, flipping the script, and its quite hurtful I've never seen anything that was racist in nature so it seems a misplacement of blame to avoid accountability. She added: 'I just thought it was a gross breach of duty or honour and confidence that was placed on her'. A young Meghan is pictured with her father Thomas Markle, from whom she is also estranged. Her mother Doria was the only relative who attended the royal wedding after Mr Markle fell ill She has said their father Thomas is ready for a showdown with the Duchess 'in a trial of the century' and told the BBC: 'If he is called, he will come.' It comes after defence papers revealed this week that Associated Newspapers, the Mail on Sunday's publisher, could call Mr Markle, 75, as its star witness against Meghan. The Duchess of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers for publishing a letter she wrote to her father in August 2018 in which chastised him for speaking to the press and how he had 'broken her heart into a million pieces'. Samantha Markle has previously been highly critical in interviews about Meghan's character, including calling her a 'social climber with a soft spot for gingers'. And last week she branded Meghan and Harry's decision to step back as senior members of the Royal Family as a 'slap in the face'. She lives in Florida, but it appears unlikely that Meghan and Harry moving to North America will lead to a thawing of relations between the half-sisters. Ms Markle has previously blamed Meghan for freezing out their father and other members of the family, called her 'inhumane' and 'the Duchess of Nonsense'. Mr Markle, 75, has given lawyers previously unseen text messages sent in the build-up to Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry that reveal the breakdown of the relationship between father and daughter. Some of the messages were detailed this week in defence papers filed at the High Court in London. The documents say that after Mr Markle messaged his daughter saying he couldn't come to her wedding because he had been rushed to hospital for emergency heart surgery and told not to fly on health grounds, he received a text that appeared to be from Prince Harry. The message admonished him, accused him of causing hurt to his daughter and did not ask about his health. It left Mr Markle 'deeply hurt'. In return, Mr Markle wrote: 'I've done nothing to hurt you Meghan or anyone else I'm sorry my heart attack is any inconvenience for you.' The Duchess of Sussex launched legal action against Associated Newspapers last year after it published extracts of a letter she wrote to her father in August 2018. Meghan, 38, has accused the newspaper the sister paper of the Daily Mail of breaching her privacy, her data protection rights and her copyright when it published extracts. The MoS filed its defence to her case at the High Court in London this week. It denied her claims and argued there was a 'huge and legitimate public interest' in the Royal Family, including its 'personal and family relationships'. The defence papers also said: Thomas Markle only released Meghan's letter to the world to show it was not the 'loving' plea her friends had been making out; He had kept her handwritten note private for months, and only revealed it to expose 'false' claims that the duchess had been reaching out to repair their relationship; He only decided to release extracts of the letter to the Press after she had allowed her friends to talk about it first in the US magazine People; That one of Meghan's best friends, Jessica Mulroney, once intervened to try to fix a 'favourable' press article for the duchess; Mr Markle had insisted he made multiple attempts to contact his daughter by phone call and by text message, but received no response; That apart from the August 2018 letter, Mr Markle had not heard from his daughter since he told her he was too ill to attend her wedding. He had never been introduced to her husband Prince Harry, nor met his eight-month-old grandson Archie. Meghan was spotted this week leaving the $14million Vancouver Island home where she and Prince Harry stayed over the holidays with their son Archie. Shown here visiting a charity in the city The latest development in the court case has come in a turbulent week which has seen the Queen hold crisis talks about Meghan and Harry's role in the Royal Family after they announced their wish to step back from their royal duties. The duchess was last night pictured in Canada for the first time since she returned there following the bombshell 'Megxit' statement. She was seen boarding a sea plane from Vancouver Island which appeared to be destined for Whistler ski resort. Meghan launched her legal action against the MoS last year after it published excerpts of her letter to her father. Mr Markle gave the letter to the newspaper after unnamed friends of the duchess told the People magazine that she had written the 'loving' letter in an attempt to repair their relationship. Lawyers for the newspaper alleged that Meghan had 'knowingly' allowed her friends to leak details of the letter to the magazine effectively that she had helped to breach her own privacy. The Duchess made a surprise visit to the Downtown Eastside Women's Center in Vancouver yesterday to 'offer support' and to 'boost the staff's spirits' If the case goes before a judge, the paper said it would ask for Meghan to be forced to hand over all communications in which she had 'caused or permitted her friends to provide information about her to the media or to seek to influence what is published about her'. It could lead to the prospect of Meghan coming face-to-face with her father in the High Court. Mr Markle, a retired Hollywood lighting director who lives in Rosarito, Mexico, has said his daughter cut off all contact with him after her wedding, except for the letter at the centre of the case. If he were to be called as a witness, he would effectively have to brand his own daughter a liar who had invaded her own privacy. The Sussexes have said they will fund the legal proceedings privately. Iran missile attack on Iraq's Ain Al-Asad base: a timeline Ain al-Asad Air Base , Iraq, Jan 14 (AFP) Jan 14, 2020 A timeline of last week's Iranian missile attack against the Ain Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, as seen through the eyes of some of the 1,500 US soldiers deployed there. - Tuesday, January 7 - 9:00 pm: Ain al-Asad's top brass briefs commanders that an attack on the base will take place that evening. Commanders start making plans to minimise casualties. "The plan was everyone goes into their bunkers at 23:00," said Chief Warrant Officer Mike Pridgeon. "I start kicking in doors and telling everyone to wear warm clothes because I don't know how long we'll be in here." 10:00 pm: The Air Force has a different idea. "I got half my personnel in the air in aircraft. That was our quick thinking," said Lt. Colonel Staci Coleman. She said hundreds of airmen were flown to a different location and returned to the base about 20 hours later -- long after the attack was over. 11:00 pm: Troops pile into bunkers and wait. "The bunkers were jam-packed. We're smushed in there like sardines in a can," US soldier Alex Bender told AFP. - Wednesday January 8 - 1:35 am: "Is that... Is that a flare?" While most soldiers piled into bunkers, some were positioned in guard towers to spot any potential ground attack accompanying the missiles. They saw the first sparks in the sky and at first glance, thought they were flares. 1:42 am: A second missile volley strikes. "That one blasted me pretty hard" even in the bunker, said Pridgeon. "I was concussed. Five or six missiles came in and you could just see the orange" streaks of flame in the sky and on the ground, through an reinforced observation window. "We'd get three to four missiles within a minute and a half." 2:06 am: A third volley hits. "It's the scariest thing I've ever been through," said US army soldier Eliot Toledo, from Florida, who was stationed at a guard post. Around 4:00 am: After a long lull, troops are allowed to leave their bunkers and carry out an initial damage assessment. One strike had pulverised living quarters and set them on fire. A row of craters dotted the airfield. "Things were still smouldering," Pridgeon said. - Daylight and clean-up - 7:00 am: The sun rises and troops stationed around the perimeter relax. "I was so happy to see the sun come up," said Toledo. 9:00 am: The army's drone surveillance team can finally land the last of the drones that had been flying throughout the attack. Around noon: Clean-up begins, as does analysis of the strike patterns and missiles to glean as much information as possible about Iran's capabilities. There are at least 14 impact locations as well as several duds, which are collected for examination. "There are parts and fragments that are being put together and analysed now," said Lt. General Tim Garland, who heads US-led coalition operations at the base. "There are definitely things left over that are helping us see what this threat was." Bazaar Corporate Radar | Feb 22, 2021, 12:00 AM IST Bazaar Corporate Radar Bazaar Corporate Radar is your window into the minds of top CEOs, Boardrooms, global economists, fund managers and sector analysts. If it?s making news, you?ll find it on Bazaar Corporate Radar. SC allows Karti Chidambaram to withdraw Rs 20 cr deposited for travelling abroad India pti-PTI New Delhi, Jan 17: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Congress MP Karti Chidambaram to withdraw the Rs 20 crore which was deposited with the apex court registry as a condition for allowing him to travel abroad. The apex court in January and May 2019 had granted Karti Chidambaram permission to travel to foreign countries after depositing Rs 10 crore each respectively with the registry. When the matter came up for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said there was no objection from the Enforcement Directorate to the plea seeking withdrawal of the amount since he has returned. Taking note of the submission, the bench also comprising justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant said Karti can withdraw the said amount since he has already returned. The condition was imposed by the apex court after the ED had opposed his plea for travel abroad. Karti has been facing ED cases in INX media and Aircel-Maxis matters. On May 7 last year, the top court had allowed Karti to travel to the United Kingdom, the US, France, Germany and Spain. NEWS AT 3 PM, JAN 17th, 2020 The court, on the ED's request, had earlier asked Karti to file an undertaking that he would return to India and cooperate with the investigation, and warned that if he did not do so it would "come down heavily" on him. The probe agency had earlier opposed Karti's plea seeking permission to travel abroad and alleged that he has been evasive, non-cooperative and caused delay in completing the investigations. The ED had earlier claimed that Karti has been "blatantly misusing" the liberty granted by the court in allowing him to travel abroad and has been using the same to protract the investigation in the case. Karti is facing several criminal cases being investigated by the ED and CBI including one which relates to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to INX Media for receiving foreign funds of Rs 305 crore when his father was the finance minister. DV (Newser) Passengers arriving at three US airports from a city in China will be screened for a new type of coronavirus starting Friday. The CDC is dispatching about 100 people to help staff the quarantine stations at New York's JFK and the Los Angeles and San Francisco international airports, the Hill reports. The screenings will apply to travelers from Wuhan, where the outbreak began. The CDC said its response could change as it learns more from its investigation of the virus. Scientists around the world are studying its genome sequence in the effort to understand it. story continues below Two people, both men in their 60s, have died in the outbreak, per CNN. At least 40 in central China have become ill, and the virus has spread to Japan and Thailand. The virus can cause fever and coughing as well as serious outcomes such as kidney failure. It's in the same family as the respiratory conditions SARS and MERS but apparently less dangerous, experts said. The risk of Americans contracting the virus is low at this stage, the CDC said. Asia also is on alert, with hundreds of millions of Chinese planning to travel during the new year period; the Lunar New Year is Jan. 25. (In Japan, a visitor to Wuhan returned home with the illness.) Around the world, the universal outcome of climate-change related disasters is that those who can least afford itthe working class and the poorsuffer the greatest and longest-term impact. The fires that have burnt through large areas of Australia since October have most severely affected low-income workers and welfare recipients, self-employed contractors, small-business owners and family farmers who were already struggling to make ends meet. The recovery measures being provided by the federal and state governments, and the assistance from charities, offer only short-term relief. Losses are already devastating. At least 28 people have lost their lives nationally, including four volunteer firefighters. Thousands more have been injured, traumatised or forced to seek emergency treatment for respiratory conditions aggravated or caused by the toxic smoke blanketing large areas of the country. Some 11 million hectares have gone up in flames, including hundreds of thousands of hectares of prime farmland, orchards, vineyards, commercial timber plantations and logging forests. An estimated seven thousand beehives have been incinerated, with major implications for honey production and the pollination of valuable agricultural industries. Stock losses run into the tens of thousands, especially on Kangaroo Island. The impact on native vegetation and wildlife has been immense, with as many as one billion animals killed. Fire on the outskirts of Harrington, NSW (photo credit Kelly-ann Oosterbeek) Nationally, over 2,600 homes have been lost. In New South Wales (NSW), currently the worst affected state, the Rural Fire Service reported on January 13 that 2,132 homes, 4,518 outbuildings such as sheds and 218 facilities, such as shops and other commercial buildings, have been destroyed. Hundreds more homes and buildings have burnt out in the fires that have ravaged eastern Victoria, South Australias Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island, along with areas of Western Australia, Queensland and the southern island state of Tasmania. Thousands of cars and farm vehicles have also been destroyed. So far, over 11,000 insurance claims have been made, totally over $1 billion, according to the Insurance Council of Australia. But it can be predicted with certainty that many people who have lost assets were either underinsured or had no insurance at all because they could not afford the premiums. While there is not yet an estimate for the current crisis, at least 13 percent of those who lost their homes in the 2009 Black Saturday fires in Victoria were uninsured. A study undertaken after the 2003 fires in Canberra concluded that insured households were underinsured by between 27 and 40 percent of the cost of rebuilding. Even those households with the most comprehensive insurance coverage are likely to struggle. The cost of replacing lost assets generally far exceeds the insurance pay-out, particularly for older properties that have to be rebuilt to meet more stringent construction standards. Banks are offering no-interest loans to cover the gap and 12-month mortgage repayment freezes, but people will still only be able to afford to rebuild by going deeper and deeper into debt. Insurance premiums will also soar over the long-term in every area that the banks and finance companies assess as high-risk natural disaster zones. With major flooding now taking place regularly in the tropical north-eastern state of Queenslandanother consequence of global climatic changeinsurance costs have increased by 300 percent or more in particularly prone areasor coverage for floods is not offered at all. As part of the $2 billion package announced by the federal Coalition government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison this month, fire affected households are now eligible for one-off emergency assistance of just $1,000 per adult and $400 per child under 16. State governments are offering their own small financial aid to the worst impacted people. Private charities, which are taking in tens of millions in donations, are also offering cash grants. Examples beginning to appear in the media give a glimpse of how people have been left for weeks without meaningful relief. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) interviewed people this week in the north-eastern NSW town of Wytaliba, which was devastated by fire on November 8. Two people lost their lives. Dozens of homes and the public school were destroyed. Al Bacon, a concreter, suffered serious burns and was hit by a car during the worst of the fire emergency in the town. He was uninsured and lost his home and virtually all his possessions. He spent weeks in hospital and has been unable to return to work. One month after the fire, he and his partner received a total of $1,280 from a state government relief fund, which was immediately spent on an ambulance bill and covering rent for temporary accommodation. Eight weeks after the fire, they are still waiting for financial assistance from the charity St Vincent de Paul. They are only now applying for the federal amount. Initially, the federal social welfare agency Centrelink was refusing to even give out the $1,000 payment to people unless they had been rendered homeless. Amid the storm of anger over fire victims being denied relief, Morrison personally intervened. Even so, only 33,000 payments have been made, totaling just $40 million. Morrison has also announced that the owners of some 19,000 farming businesses and other small businesses which have been severely impacted by the fires can apply for an immediate $75,000 cash grant. State governments are also offering packages of up to $15,000. Such amounts pale in comparison with the losses that have been suffered. Crops have been decimated or smoke damaged. Farmers have had to sell or destroy valuable stock and are spending thousands of dollars each week to buy emergency fodder as grazing land has been burnt out. Just the fencing that has been destroyed on some farms will cost up to $100,000 to replace. Farming couple David and Carolyn Duff, who own a cattle farm on the NSW mid-north coast, told the ABC this week that, while grateful for any assistance, $75,000 has been swallowed up just with feeding cattle. They are spending up to $12,000 a week just trucking in hay to their property. They estimate their total losses from the firesincluding machinery, fences, outbuildings and stockto be at least $1.2 million. Moreover, the number of businesses indirectly affected by the firesthrough loss of trade in particularis estimated by the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia to number over 100,000. Many of the impacted regions are popular holiday destinations during the Christmas-New Year period. Hotels, motels, caravan parks and sight-seeing operators have suffered a collapse in bookings, while restaurants, cafes and service providers have gone weeks with drastically reduced custom. In many cases, businesses have lost between 50 and 90 percent of the revenue they earn during the peak season of the year. Moreover, agricultural industries and the wilderness and natural beauty that attracts holidaymakers have been laid waste and will not recover for several years. A legacy of the fires will also be the perception, both in Australia and internationally, that what were once considered prime tourist destinations are dangerous to visit during the fire season. Areas of the country face the prospect of protracted economic slump, large-scale business failures and mass unemployment. The victims of the fire crisis being treated with the greatest indifference are the low-paid temporary, casual, part-time and contract workers who have lost hours or been stood down. They will never be compensated for the loss of income they are suffering. The only assistance they are eligible for is 13 weeks of payments equivalent to the below-poverty unemployment benefitproviding they can demonstrate to Centrelink that their loss of paid employment is the direct result of fire. Thousands of impacted workers in the major cities and regional towns cannot provide such proof. By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - European Union trade commissioner Phil Hogan said his meetings with senior U.S. officials marked a "good start" to resetting trade ties with Washington, but there was more work to do. Hogan said on Thursday that he had a good exchange of views with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer twice during his visit, underscoring Brussels' desire to negotiate solutions for several open disputes between the allies and avoid costly and economically damaging tit-for-tat tariffs. "It's a good start ... but we've a lot more to do," Hogan told reporters after over three days of meetings with U.S. officials, lawmakers and business executives, with further trips planned in February and March. He said Brussels hoped to leverage concerns it shares with Washington, about China and the need to reform the World Trade Organization, to move forward on settling disputes about aircraft subsidies, digital service taxes and trade barriers. "I didn't expect to be successful in resetting the relationship in two days," Hogan said. The USTR had no immediate comment on the meetings with Hogan beyond a statement on Tuesday together with the EU and Japan that unveiled a joint proposal to call for global rules on use of market-distorting government subsidies by China and other countries. Former EU agriculture commissioner Hogan said he had worked with Lighthizer in the past to successfully resolve a dispute over hormone-free beef. "Sometimes we like the messages and sometimes we dont, but at least we know where we stand, and thats nice to have as well," Hogan said of his dealings with Lighthizer. The EU was open to considering a mini-trade deal similar to those negotiated by Washington with Japan and other countries, Hogan said. One prospect might be to focus on sanitary and phytosanitary standards, he said. Brussels was not ready to put agriculture on the table in broader trade talks, Hogan said, but the EU had already increased purchases of U.S. soybeans, cereal and liquified natural gas as a goodwill gesture. Story continues He said there was also greater U.S. engagement with an EU proposal to resolve a dispute over government subsidies to Boeing Co and Airbus. U.S. officials viewed the proposal as insufficient, but it offered a basis for discussions, Hogan said. China and its aircraft industry will be the biggest winners if the United States and the EU do not resolve their differences and work together, Hogan said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event. He said tit-for-tat tariffs would harm both sides, but the EU would respond if Washington slapped tariffs on EU products in the aircraft subsidy case. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Grant McCool) live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Tata Consultancy Services, the country's largest IT services company, January 17 registered a 0.94 percent sequential growth (up 0.16 percent YoY) in third quarter net profit at Rs 8,118 crore, impacted by lower other income (down 40 percent QoQ). Revenue in rupee terms grew by 2.3 percent QoQ (up 6.7 percent YoY) to Rs 39,854 crore for the quarter ended December 2019, while dollar revenue increased 1.3 percent sequentially to $5,586 million amid seasonally weak quarter, which missed the poll of analysts conducted by CNBC-TV18 that was pegged at 1.45 percent growth. "We saw the sectoral trends of the first half of the year continue to play out in the third quarter. Robust order book during the quarter reflects our ability to pitch innovative technology solutions to address the business needs of different stakeholders in the enterprise, and participate in customers' enterprise-wide transformation initiative," Rajesh Gopinathan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director said. Constant currency revenue growth for the quarter slowed down further for third consecutive quarter, coming in at 6.8 percent YoY against 8.4 percent in September quarter and 12.1 percent in December quarter 2018. It indicated that the company may end the year with high end of single digit growth, experts feel. "It was below our expectations of 7.7 percent, but margin was above estimates," Amit Chandra, Associate VP at HDFC Securities told CNBC-TV18. "The high valuation is concern for TCS given moderation in growth rate, hence its valuation gap with Infosys will come down," said Chandra who expects slightly negative reaction on the stock front and has neutral rating on TCS. At operating level, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose by 6.5 percent sequentially to Rs 9,974 crore and margin expanded by 100bps to 25 percent for the quarter ended December 2019 due to currency benefits and execution, which came in above the poll of analysts conducted by CNBC-TV18 that was pegged at Rs 9,782 crore and 24.5 percent respectively. "Our ability to expand margins in a volatile environment speaks of the strength of business model, strong execution focus and the higher quality revenues we are getting on account of strong positioning in customers' growth and transformation spends," V Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer said. IT services attrition rate for the quarter stood at 12.2 percent. While addressing press conference, N Ganapathy Subramaniam, Chief Operating Officer & Executive Director said the client mood has been swinging based on trade war discussion. The company discontinued giving digital and non-digital breakup. Total contract value of deal wins stood at $6 billion for the quarter and $18 billion for nine months of FY20 (up 22 percent YoY), Subramaniam said, adding TCS has been gaining marketshare amongst BFSI client in the last 4 quarters and the insurance portfolio was doing exceedingly well. Revenue growth year-on-year was led by life sciences & healthcare segment (up 17.1 percent YoY), communications & media (up 9.5 percent) and manufacturing (up 9.2 percent). Other verticals - BFSI registered a 5.3 percent growth YoY, retail & CPG 5.1 percent and technology & services 3.3 percent, TCS said in its BSE filing. Among geographies, growth was led by Europe (up 15.9 percent YoY) and MEA (up 10.8 percent) and UK (up 7.5 percent). North America and Asia Pacific grew 4.1 percent and 5.7 percent respectively. India grew 6.4 percent while Latin America showed 6.2 percent growth. "US & UK have been challenging for BFSI, but we see strong participation in demand & growth across market for BFSI as we are seeing strong addition of new accounts in North America," said Gopinathan while addressing press conference. TCS has added 20 new clients in BFSI from newer geographies, he added. The traditional retailers are increasing their competitiveness, he said, adding the company is seeing retail industry is in a turnaround space but will remain volatile. "We are doubling down with investments in the lifesciences & healthcare space." The IT company announced a dividend of Rs 5 per share for the quarter. The stock was down 0.91 percent to Rs 2,218.05 ahead of earnings announced after market hours. However, it rallied 19 percent in last one year. (Newser) We've met the Democratic managers for President Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate. Now it's time to meet the commander in chief's defense team. A source tells the Wall Street Journal that, under the leadership of White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Trump's trial lawyers will include personal attorney Jay Sekulow, former independent counsel Robert Ray, and ex-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. But two new names added to the list are garnering special buzz: retired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and Kenneth Starr, the ex-independent counsel whose probe into Bill Clinton led to his impeachment. A White House official tells the Washington Post that Trump hand-picked Dershowitz (who confirmed his place on the team to the paper) and Bondi because he thinks they'll be effective on television. story continues below "While Professor Dershowitz is nonpartisan when it comes to the constitutionhe opposed the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and voted for Hillary Clintonhe believes the issues at stake go to the heart of our enduring Constitution," said a defense team statement issued Friday. Starr, meanwhile, reportedly appealed to Trump because of his involvement with Clinton's impeachment. Dershowitz's background in constitutional law means the president will be relying on him to lead the argument that this impeachment and any attempt to remove Trump from office is unconstitutional. "My argument is going to be directed at the constitutional criteria and why they haven't been met," Dershowitz says, adding that "obstruction of Congress" and "abuse of power" shouldn't count as "high crimes and misdemeanors." (Read more Trump impeachment stories.) SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Terence Hallinan, a former criminal defense lawyer who went on to become a San Francisco supervisor and then the San Francisco District Attorney died on Friday at the age of 83. Hallinan was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1988 and was elected District Attorney in 1995 and 1999. But in 2003 he was defeated by a 12-point margin by Kamala Harris, who later was elected California Attorney General and is now a U.S. Senator. Harris said in a statement on Friday, "California has suffered a terrible loss with the passing of Terence Hallinan. He was a fighter who dedicated his life to pursuing justice and serving the people of San Francisco." Harris said, "He will be greatly missed. My condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time." San Francisco Mayor London Breed said, "I am saddened to hear of the passing of Terence Hallinan. His storied legal career was intertwined with so much of our great city's history, and he was a dedicated public servant, both as a member of the Board of Supervisors and as District Attorney." Breed said, "He was outspoken and fierce in his pursuit of justice, his defense of those in need, and his love for this City. Terence was, simply put, a true San Francisco legend. My thoughts and sympathies are with his family and loved ones." Newly-elected District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who, like Hallinan, was a defense lawyer before becoming the city's top prosecutor, said, "Today, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office mourns the loss of Terence Hallinan, who led the office from 1996 until 2003." Boudin said, "I was saddened to learn of Terence Hallinan's passing this morning, and my heart goes out to his family. He was a fighter." Former San Francisco sheriff and supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who was Hallinan's legislative aide in City Hall and directed campaigns for district attorney in 1995 and 1999, said, "Terence Hallinan was an original and was a champion of the underdog and was never shy about taking on institutional resistance to progressive change in City Hall and in the criminal justice system". Mirkarimi said Hallinan "was the only district attorney in California to support Proposition 215 to legalize medical marijuana in 1996 and he worked to curtail the injustices of the Three Strikes Law and the death penalty." Mirkarimi, who worked for Hallinan in the district attorney's office until he was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2004, said Hallinan's administration "innovated a number of victim-rights and re-entry programs that resonate today as mainstream criminal justice reform." California Bar Association records indicate that at the time of his death Hallinan was suspended from practicing law because he failed to pass a professional responsibility exam. 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. 11.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is now the most unpopular senator in America, according to a new tracking poll from Morning Consult. The survey shows that Collins net approval rating has dropped 10 points since September around the same time the House of Representatives announced its impeachment inquiry into Donald Trumps scheme to extort Ukraine. According to Morning Consult, Sen. Collins approval rating is just 42 percent, while a majority 52 percent disapprove of her performance. The numbers should worry the GOP lawmaker as she tries to hold onto her Senate seat this year. Over the past few months, Sen. Collins has taken her usual approach: pretend to be concerned about this corrupt presidents behavior, and then eventually fall in line behind him. Just this week, in fact, the Maine senator basically admitted that she doesnt care about explosive new evidence thats come to light in recent days. Realizing that her moderate mask slipped off slightly, Sen. Collins tried to walk back her comments by saying Thursday that she probably would support a motion to call witnesses. Regardless of what she ends up doing when it all comes to a vote, the people of Maine are likely tired of watching the senators constant dithering, especially because it always leads to the same place caving in to Donald Trump. The three least popular senators are Trump loyalists Just below Susan Collins on the list of three most unpopular U.S. senators is Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell the man currently doing his darnedest to run a sham impeachment trial without any evidence or witness testimony and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, another Republican lawmaker who has indicated that she, too, will fall in line behind this corrupt president. The complete top 10 via Morning Consult: Top 10 Most Unpopular Senators 4th Quarter Polling (Disapprovals): Collins: 52% McConnell: 50% Ernst: 42% Murkowski: 41% Menendez: 40% Gardner: 40% McSally: 40% Fischer: 40% Warren: 40% Paul: 39% Morning Consult / December 31, 2019 / n=494,899 / Online#Democrats #Republicans Polling USA (@USA_Polling) January 16, 2020 At the end of the day, Republican lawmakers, both in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, are betting that their seats are safe as long as they keep their base happy and stand by Donald Trump through the impeachment process. Unfortunately for them, they appear to be losing that bet. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter AS MANY as 100 jobs are expected to be created in Limerick over the next five years as a New York-based company has announced their opening of business operations in the county this Friday morning. AxiomSL, the industrys leading provider of regulatory reporting and risk management solutions, has today announced the opening of their office in the National Technology Park in Plassey. The project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland the agency responsible for the attraction and retention of inward foreign direct investment into Ireland. Welcoming todays announcement, Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen welcomed the news, saying: I am delighted to be present at the announcement of AxiomSLs new offices in Limerick. I very much welcome this development, which will bring up to 100 high-quality new jobs to the wider Mid-West region. "Their decision to locate here is a significant boost to the Mid-West region, reflecting a vote of confidence in the capacity of our local people to provide the expertise and commitment necessary to support ambitious and progressive companies looking to grow and thrive. #BREAKING: Some good news on the jobs front to kick the weekend off with. Risk management firm @AxiomSL is to open an office in Plassey creating 100 new jobs. #jobfairy @Limerick_Leader pic.twitter.com/nXqkUNXkwB Nick Rabbitts (@Nick468official) January 17, 2020 IDA Irelands, Executive Director, Mary Buckley, noted: This is a terrific investment for the Mid-West region, creating as many as 100 jobs in the financial services sector. An investment of this scale will further raise the profile of the region for additional investment in financial services activities. It closely aligns to the Ireland for Finance strategy, which focuses on increasing financial services investment in regional locations. I wish AxiomSL every success here. AxiomSL is a privately held company with global headquarters in New York and offices throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. Its flagship, data integrity and control platform, ControllerView, empowers financial Institutions (FIs) to create transparent processes and deliver trusted data to meet regulatory reporting requirements and inform competitive intelligence across the enterprise. The new business operations centre in Limerick will initially house technical support and product management for AxiomSLs RegCloud offering. RegCloud is AxiomSLs proprietary cloud-native service that enables FIs to bring the clouds commercial, technical and operational advantages to their risk and regulatory data management and reporting initiatives, in a highly secure environment. With the rapid expansion of our RegCloud business, AxiomSL sought a strategic location with access to world class talent and the ability to expand service and support for our global client base. said Peter Tierney, Global Head of AxiomSLs RegCloud business. The support from the IDA team combined with the proactive engagement from local universities caught our interest. The existing community of FinTech and RegTech companies and the deep pool of multi-lingual tech and financial talent became evident as we investigated further. "This expansion to Limerick and the hiring of key talent within the region will enable us to leverage these skills to continue our growth efforts within Europe and around the world." About AxiomSL AxiomSL is a global leader in risk analytics, data-management, and regulatory-reporting solutions. Leveraging more than 25 years experience, AxiomSL combines its deep industry experience and intelligent data-management platform to deliver solutions and services around regulatory and risk reporting, liquidity, capital and credit, operations, trade and transactions, and tax analytics. The platform can be deployed on premise or on the cloud. Its client base spans regional and global financial institutions with more than $43 trillion in total assets and investment managers with more than $9 trillion in assets under management. Its coverage encompasses more than 110 regulators across 55 jurisdictions. AxiomSL is in the top 20 of the Chartis RiskTech100 2020 ranking. Western democracy has always been founded upon the principle of something called 'losers' consent'. In simple terms, it means that defeated parties accept the result of a legitimate election, until they have the chance to reverse it at the ballot box. Unfortunately, in recent years the idea that the will of the people is sacrosanct has gone out of the window on both sides of the Atlantic. In Britain, we have just been through one of the most divisive and destructive periods in our political history as embittered Remainers tried to Stop Brexit. The vast majority of the so-called 'liberal elite' repeatedly refused to implement the result of the EU referendum, despite promising solemnly to honour it. O.J. Corbyn is still hanging around like a bad smell, mouthing his usual deranged platitudes, says Richard Littlejohn They spent three and a half years using every trick in the book parliamentary, extra-parliamentary and judicial to frustrate the democratically expressed decision of the British people. It was the ultimate manifestation of the odious Peter Mandelson's hubristic boast, during the New Labour ascendancy, that 'the era of pure, representative democracy is coming to an end'. They were the masters now. Happily, that isn't how it worked out. When the people did finally get the chance to reassert their sovereignty in the December general election, they did so in spectacular fashion. We all know how well that turned out for the Remainer ultras. Labour, which cynically betrayed its traditional supporters in the North and Midlands, paid the heaviest price, yet appears to have learned nothing. O.J. Corbyn is still hanging around like a bad smell, mouthing his usual deranged platitudes. On the day Union Flags were being burned in Tehran by demonstrators chanting 'Death To Britain', he was at a rally in Trafalgar Square expressing solidarity with the theocratic dictatorship in Iran. Meanwhile, the contest to elect his successor is cranking laboriously into gear, featuring a deeply unimpressive collection of third-rate candidates. A nation yawns. The front-runners are 'Sir' Keir Starmer, the Max Headroom lookalike who fashioned his party's disastrous, deceitful No Brexit policy, and Labour's answer to Mrs Merton, Rebecca Long-Bailey. When the people did finally get the chance to reassert their sovereignty in the December general election, they did so in spectacular fashion, says Richard Littlejohn, in reference to Boris Johnson's dominant election win Asked to mark Corbyn's performance in the election, which delivered Labour's worst result since 1935, Mrs Merton gave him ten out of ten. Here we go Looby Loo! Starmer, as Director of Public Prosecutions, is the man who launched the vindictive, politically motivated witch-hunt against Sun newspaper journalists which cost 30 million and resulted in zero convictions. He also fashioned the 'always believe the victim' policy which emboldened Nonce Finder General Tom Watson and Scotland Yard to destroy the lives and reputations of blameless men falsely accused of 'historic' sex crimes. Bringing up the rear are Lady Nugee, aka Emily Thornberry, last seen sneering at a white van man for flying the Cross of St George, and pretend prole Jess Phillips, a shameless self-publicist who enlivened the last Parliament by screaming like a fishwife at Boris Johnson. One thing they all have in common is a tendency to exaggerate their alleged working-class backgrounds. They all seem to be as creative about their past lives as Fettes-educated Tony Blair. Neither Nugee nor Starmer use their titles. If Starmer doesn't believe in political honours, why did he accept a knighthood in the first place? Democrats have been trying to impeach Trump since before he was even inaugurated He claims to be the son of a toolmaker. I covered a number of strikes by toolmakers in the Seventies, but don't remember Starmer Senior on the picket lines alongside Red Robbo at Longbridge. That's probably because he owned his own successful manufacturing company in Surrey. Phillips puts on the 'barefoot and pregnant' routine, but comes from a professional family. We're told her husband is an 'ex-lift engineer', but more recently he's worked in politics for his wife. Similarly, Mrs Merton plays up her previous jobs in a pawn shop and a furniture factory, which is intended to disguise the fact that she's a lawyer who studied politics at university. Needless to say, she's the official candidate of hard-Left Momentum, which is run by a bunch of wealthy ex-public school boys. The field is completed by someone called Lisa Nandy, who most people thought was a popular chicken restaurant. Cheeky Nandy has received a thumbs up from two-time loser Neil Kinnock, who once campaigned to get Britain out of the EU and then spent the rest of his career with his snout in the Brussels trough. Cheeky is said to be a Brexit realist, although she has ruled out doing a trade deal with Donald Trump because she doesn't like his climate change scepticism. Which brings us seamlessly to Washington, where the Democrats seem not to have been paying attention to the fate of their 'liberal' counterparts in Britain. They are pressing ahead with a doomed impeachment process against Trump, on the basis of scant evidence most of which would be inadmissable in a court of law. Their solemn procession through the Capitol building on Wednesday was like a funeral cortege minus a corpse. It reminded me of John Bercow's ostentatious parades through the Palace of Westminster, pursued by flunkies. The parallels with the shenanigans over Brexit are obvious. The Democrats have never accepted the result of the 2016 Presidential election and, like our own dear Remainers, have exhausted every avenue, legitimate or otherwise, in their frenzied attempts to overturn it. Democrats have been trying to impeach Trump since before he was even inaugurated. Like Bercow and the Stop Brexit ultras they have paralysed Parliament in the demented pursuit of their prey. But nothing they have thrown at him so far has stuck. This stunt won't stick either. Trump is the Teflon Don. Meanwhile the real scandal is being swept under the carpet. When Joe Biden was the Obama administration's point man in Ukraine, his son, Hunter Biden, was paid $83,000 a month to act as a consultant to a Ukrainian energy company despite having zero experience of the energy industry. It's also claimed that Biden threatened to withhold U.S. aid unless Ukraine sacked the prosecutor investigating his son's links to the company. Trump's 'crime' is said to be pressuring the Ukrainians to get to the bottom of this lucrative arrangement. Even if that's true, surely he was only doing his job. Aren't the American people entitled to ask questions about why Biden's son was put on the payroll of a foreign company, despite being unqualified? Meanwhile, like Labour, the Dems are trying to pick their next leader from an equally unimpressive field, led by Biden who Trump calls Sleepy Joe Barmy Bernie Sanders, a socialist Corbyn clone, and Elizabeth Warren. Trump's best gag is saddling Warren with the nickname 'Pocahontas', on the grounds that despite being as white as a loaf of Mother's Pride wrapped-and-sliced on her application to Harvard she claimed to be a Red Indian, at a time when the university was seeking to hire more minorities. The President eventually shamed her into taking a blood test which showed she was just one in 1,024th Native American. For now, there are so many weirdos throwing their rings into the hat that the line-up at this week's Democratic debate looked like the cast of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. They are all suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, the Siamese twin of Brexit Derangement Syndrome. Outside the navel-gazing Washington bubble, the impeachment process is gaining little traction. All it will achieve is shoring up Trump's base and repelling voters just as the Stop Brexit pantomime propelled Boris back into Number 10 with a massive majority. In a democracy, the proper place to remove a President is at the ballot box, not in a bogus impeachment hearing. Americans will get the chance to pass their verdict on Trump in November. The Democrats should take heed of what happened to the 'liberal elite' in Britain last month. Which bit of democracy don't they understand? Until they accept the principle of 'losers' consent' they will go on being losers. Have you ever been told that you dont belong? Have you ever had the experience of being told that people like you arent welcome here? I know what that feels like. I am a member of the Somali Bantu community and a refugee here in Springfield. Now, let me tell you how I ended up here: At one time, my parents had a peaceful life in Somalia. It was 1991 when my parents whole life turned upside down. The civil war broke out in Somalia and the minority Somali Bantu became a target. Everything was taken away from my parents. The farm that they had worked so hard for was stolen from them. They were robbed and violently attacked. Knowing things were getting worse my parents made the difficult choice to leave Somalia and find safety in a refugee camp in Kenya. After years of being in the camp in Kenya, and when I was 7 years old, half of my family was granted the opportunity to come to America. We were resettled in Springfield and have now been here for 14 years. We consider Springfield our home. An executive order issued in September gave states and cities more say as to their willingness to continue refugee resettlement. For many decades, these decisions have been made at the federal level. Because he was given a choice, and after more than thirty years of welcoming refugees to Springfield, our citys mayor now claims that refugees are a burden to the city and has decided that people like me are no longer welcome. As a proud graduate of Springfield Central High School and now a junior at Smith College, I ask myself why the leader of my city sees me and people like me as weighing Springfield down. As I pursue my chemistry degree and move forward on the pre-med track, I plan to become either a pediatrician or family medicine doctor. In the future, I plan to open my own clinic in Springfield. I am just one of the many refugees that aspire to do great things and take advantage of the opportunity that we have been given here in the United States. This past summer, I had the opportunity to travel back to Kenya to see my brothers, sisters, uncle, aunt, and grandmother in the refugee camp for the first time in 14 years. It broke my heart to see the harsh conditions in which they were living. Even more painful is knowing that theres now even less possibility for them to get the same opportunity that I had to come to America. Because of our presidents executive order, my family back in Kenya may never be able to escape the grim reality they live in and my family may never be reunited. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Maryland blocked the presidents executive order which means that at least for now, Mayor Sarno will not be able to prevent refugees from being resettled in Springfield. This is good news, but it doesnt change the fact that our mayor made it clear that he wants to end refugee resettlement in Springfield. His intent hasnt changed because of a court ruling. We now know where he stands and that he sees people like me as a burden to this community. I may not have been born here, but Springfield is my city, too. Whether your family came to Springfield in the last few years or even two hundred years ago, perhaps you can relate to my story just a little bit. Our families and our ancestors all came here seeking an opportunity to build a better life. Thats what America is all about. We all have something to offer, no matter where we come from. Please dont let anyone ever tell you or your family anything different. Mayor Sarno, you and your family are more than welcome to come visit my clinic here in Springfield once its open. Rumbila Abdullahi is a Springfield resident and a junior at Smith College. A Burlington County man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage waitress at his wedding reception in Pennsylvania was sentenced to probation Thursday as part of plea deal with prosecutors, according to reports. Matthew Aimers, 32, of Willingboro, pleaded guilty to charges of simple assault from a separate fight at his wedding venue, along with misdemeanor indecent exposure and disorderly conduct offenses during a hearing Thursday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Prosecutors in Bucks County, Pennsylvania dropped more serious charges as part of the deal and Aimers was sentenced to six years of probation, according to the newspapers report. The deal came after prosecutors consulted with the victim. Aimers, of Willingboro, was initially arrested Nov. 25, 2018 as his wedding celebration ended with a brawl at the Northampton Valley Country Club in Richboro, Pennsylvania, according to previous reports and court records. The groom was charged with asking a young server to go outside and make out, and later offered her $100. When he was rejected, authorities alleged, he followed her to the womens bathroom and assaulted her. Aimers attorney, Louis Busico, told The Intelligencer newspaper of Doylestown, that he was prepared for trial, but his client took the deal as a way to move forward. He and his wife are as strong as ever she remains his most dedicated supporter, Busico told the newspaper. Aimers has a lengthy criminal history dating to 2006 with previous convictions for robbery, theft, assault, harassment and drug offenses, according to court records. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik has issued a statement on his official letter head, welcoming a Supreme Court judgment that was never delivered. The apex court on Thursday reserved its order on a plea by a mining company seeking its nod to commercially use and transport the already mined iron ore lying unused in its mines in Goa. However, the Union minister, who is also a Member of Parliament from North Goa constituency, issued a statement welcoming the Supreme Court "judgement" on iron ore mines in the state. "Welcome judgement by Hon'ble Supreme Court of India (SC) for passing judgement on allowing ore mined till 15th March 2018 as legal and authorized for transportation," Naik said in the statement issued on Thursday on his letter head. Immediately after the minister's letter, BJP leader and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant issued a statement, saying the Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on transportation of the ore extracted prior to the mining ban. "The Supreme Court on 16th January 2020 has reserved its judgment on transportation of ore extracted prior to mining ban and lying inside as well as outside leased areas. Arguments have been concluded today. If permitted by the Supreme Court, it will be temporary relief to mining-affected areas. The State has moved the apex court in a review petition against the order," the CM's statement said. Iron ore mining in the state has come to standstill since February, 2018, after the apex court quashed 88 mining leases. The state moved the court with a review petition against the order. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - The Beninese government plans to build a database of health professionals as part of the reforms undertaken in the sector, PANA learned on Friday from official sources in Cotonou France Deploys Only Aircraft Carrier To Anti-IS Mission In Middle East By RFE/RL January 17, 2020 France will deploy its only aircraft carrier to join coalition operations against the Islamic State (IS) terror group, President Emmanuel Macron has announced. "The aircraft carrier will support Chammal operations [in the Middle East] from January to April 2020 before deploying to the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea," Macron said in a New Year's address to the French military. Operation Chammal is the French component of the U.S.-led anti-IS mission in the Middle East. Macron said the carrier, named the Charles de Gaulle, will be escorted by a European squadron that will include vessels from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Greece. Macron did not give the exact nature of the mission, but French warplanes have joined the fight against IS positions as part of the coalition, and there are some 1,000 French troops in the region. The Charles de Gaulle also supported operations against IS for a month last year when Western-backed Kurdish forces overran the extremist group's last stronghold in Syria. The French president said his country's forces would remain in the fight against IS, which has claimed responsibility for most of the terror attacks in France during 2015-16 that killed more than 230 people. Macron said that while the group no longer holds set territory, "its menace remains, in another lurking, more insidious form." The anti-IS coalition scored big successes by driving the extremist group from nearly all the territory it gain in 2014 in Iraq and Syria. But recent events have represented setbacks for the coalition. Turkey invaded northeastern Syria in October to fight the Western-backed Kurdish forces that defeated IS extremists in the region, disrupting final cleanup operations and allowing some IS prisoners held by Kurdish forces to escape. In Iraq, meanwhile, many coalition troops have pulled out of the country, at least temporarily, following raised tensions between the United States and Iran over the U.S. move to assassinate a top Iranian military commander. With reporting by dpa, Reuters, and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/france-deploys-carrier-middle- east-islamic-state/30382245.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 Supreme leader delivers first Friday sermon in eight years as Tehran faces pressure at home and abroad. In his first Friday sermon delivery since 2012, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has defended the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) amid a growing backlash after it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board. Khameneis address comes as Iran and its rulers face intense pressure at home and abroad after the United States assassinated General Qassem Soleimani, former leader of the elite Quds Force, and public anger erupted at Irans military after its accidental downing of the commercial airliner soon after it took off from Tehran on January 8. The Iranian leaders statement drew a quick response from US President Donald Trump, who on Friday evening wrote on social media: He should be very careful with his words. He added in a separate post that Iranians deserve a government thats more interested in helping them achieve their dreams than killing them for demanding respect. In his sermon earlier on Friday, Khamenei described the downing of the plane as a bitter tragedy and also claimed that Irans enemies used the crash and the militarys admission to weaken the IRGC. The plane crash was a bitter accident, it burned through our heart, Khamenei said. But some tried to portray it in a way to forget the great martyrdom and sacrifice of Soleimani, he added, referring to the slain head of the IRGCs foreign operations arm. Our enemies were as happy about the plane crash as we were sad happy that they found something to question the Guard, the armed forces, the system. Thousands of worshippers gathered inside a large prayer hall in central Tehran to listen to Khameneis address. They packed the area and streets outside the building, chanting: Death to America. After denying a role in the plane crash, the IGC, an elite military force answering directly to Khamenei that acts as guardian of the Islamic Republic, admitted on January 11 that one of its air defence operators mistakenly shot down Ukraine Airlines International flight 752. Iranian authorities said earlier this week that a number of people had been arrested over the Ukrainian airliner incident. But the downing of the plane and belated admission triggered protests in Tehran and other cities, with the authorities responding by deploying riot police outside universities, where many students had protested. Video footage posted online showed protesters were beaten and footage also recorded gunshots, tear gas and blood on the streets. Irans police denied firing at protesters and said officers had been ordered to show restraint. Speaking from Tehran, Al Jazeeras Assed Baig said that Khameneis first public sermon in eight years was due to the tension and pressure Iran has been experiencing following the tumultuous events of the past weeks. Khamenei usually comes out to rally support and calm the situation down, and that is essentially what he has done today here in Tehran, Baig said. Hand of God In his sermon, Khamenei also showed support for the missile strikes on US targets in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Soleimeni, saying they showed Iran had divine support in delivering a slap on the face to a world power. The fact that Iran has the power to give such a slap to a world power shows the hand of God, said Khamenei, adding that the US killing of Soleimani showed Washingtons terrorist nature. The US said on Thursday that 11 of its troops were treated for concussions after the missile attacks, after initially saying that none of its forces were wounded. Trump, who pulled Washington out of a nuclear deal with Iran in 2018 and ratcheted up tensions by reimposing sanctions, had ordered the January 3 drone strike that killed Soleimani, who built up proxy militias across the region. Praising Soleimani, Khamenei said his actions beyond Irans borders were in the service of the security of the nation and that the people are in favour of firmness and resistance in the face of enemies. The few hundred who insulted the picture of General Soleimani, are they the people of Iran? Or this million-strong crowd in the streets? he said in an apparent reference to the reported tearing down of a portrait of the dead commander by protesters in Tehran a few days after hundreds of thousands turned out for his funeral. Khamenei accused the US of lying in its expressions of support for the Iranian people. He said that even if they were with the people, it is to stab them with their poison dagger. Khamenei also said on Friday that three European states party to the 2015 nuclear pact cannot be trusted, after the United Kingdom, France and Germany triggered a formal dispute mechanism in the agreement, which could lead to UN sanctions being reimposed. According to Baig, Khamenei compared the European states involved in the nuclear deal to a steel hand in a velvet glove. Hes not only a spiritual leader, hes the theological and political leader of Iran, Baig said, referring to Khamenei. And him attacking the Europeans like this could signify a change in attitude and how Iran deals with those three European countries. The Delhi government wants the convicts of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case to be hanged at the earliest, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday. "All the work that was under the Delhi government was completed by us within hours. We never delayed any work related to this case. Delhi government hardly has any role in it. We want convicts to be hanged at the earliest," Kejriwal told reporters here. His response came after the victim's mother Asha Devi accused BJP and AAP of playing and alleged that the hanging of convicts of 2012 gang-rape case which was scheduled to take place on January 22, is being deliberately postponed. "It has been 7 years and we didn't get justice. The government can't see our pain. Both parties are playing on the girl's death. I think the hanging is deliberately being postponed," Asha Devi told ANI when asked about the war of words between BJP and AAP in the case. "Till now, I never talked about politics, but now I want to say that those people who held protests on streets in 2012, today the same people are playing with my daughter's death for political gains," she said. Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind today rejected the mercy petition of one of the convicts in the case, Mukesh Singh. MHA has received the communication in this regard, sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Alasdair Pal and Devjyot Ghoshal NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The tropical Maldives may lose entire islands unless it can quickly access cheap financing to fight the impact of climate change, its foreign minister said. The archipelago's former president Mohamed Nasheed famously held a cabinet meeting underwater to draw attention to submerging land and global warming a decade ago. Yet the Maldives, best known for its white sands and palm-fringed atolls that draw luxury holiday-makers, has struggled to find money to build critical infrastructure like sea-walls. "For small states, it is not easy," Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid told Reuters in New Delhi. "By the time the financing is obtained, we may be underwater." At the U.N. climate talks in Madrid in December, the Maldives and other vulnerable countries pushed for concrete progress on fresh funding to help them deal with disasters and longer-term damage linked to climate change - but failed. Shahid was hopeful the next round of talks, slated to take place in Glasgow in November, would yield better results. One of the world's lowest-lying countries, more than 80% of the Maldives' land is less than one meter above mean sea levels, making its population of around 530,000 people extremely vulnerable to storm surges, sea swells and severe weather. In 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami ravaged the Muslim-majority state, causing financial losses of around $470 million - 62% of GDP - and hitting infrastructure, including its only international airport that was shut for several days. 'WE NEED IT' Two of the country's main industries - tourism and fishing - are heavily dependent on coastal resources, and most settlements and critical infrastructure is concentrated along the coast. In 2014, more than 100 of the archipelago's inhabited islands were already reporting erosion, and around 30 islands are identified as severely eroded. The Maldives spends around $10 million annually for coastal protection works, but will need up to $8.8 billion in total to shield all of its inhabited islands, according to a 2016 estimate by its environment ministry. Story continues "In order to protect the islands, we need to start building sea walls," Shahid said. "It's expensive, but we need it. We can't wait until all of them are being taken away." The United Nations has created a pot to help developing nations, called the Green Climate Fund, which has already approved nearly $24 million in funding to the Maldives, according to its website. Some individual nations have also offered help, including Japan which contributed to a sea wall round the Maldives' capital Male. Shahid did not specify where his government was pushing for more funding. However, Environment Minister Hussain Rasheed Hassan said recently his country would have to turn to banks given inadequate funding elsewhere despite the fact small nations like his were paying the price for the developed world's pollution. "We have to beg some of these (big) emitters to provide money for us. Is that fair?" he said. (Reporting by Alasdair Pal and Devjyot Ghoshal in New Delhi; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) SCHENECTADY While huge crowds are expected to flock Saturday to the nations capital for the national Womens March, people in Schenectady will take to the streets in solidarity with them to highlight the same issues. The city's first-ever Womens March will kick off Saturday on the steps of City Hall where speakers will fire the crowd up before they march to the YWCA in the Stockade neighborhood where they will hear from more advocates. Angelicia Morris, executive director of the county Human Rights Commission, said Friday that they she broached the idea for the march during a meeting and that officials with Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, one of the sponsors, ran with it. The others are YWCA of Northeastern New York, Zero Waste Capital District, Progressive Schenectady, and Moms Demand Action. Morris said its only fitting that the march, which runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. be held on the weekend before the Martin Luther King holiday given that the slain civil rights leader was a strong advocate of womens rights. The major themes of both the national and local march are womens reproductive justice, immigration and climate change. The list of speakers includes Morris, Hemavattie Ramtahal with Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, Sarah Rogerson with Albany Law School and The Legal Project, Sally Courtright with Climate Reality Project, Kim Siciliano with the YWCA, and Sara Baron with First United Methodist Church of Schenectady. On Sunday, the Human Rights Commissions Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition will also hold one of its signature events with Congressman Antonio Delgado, who is from Schenectady, serving as the keynote speaker. He will be talking and focusing on the significance of Dr. Kings legacy and sharing how his legacy impacts us today but also inspiring and empowering us here in 2020 to continue to celebrate King ... (and) continue the work King left for us to do, Morris said. Were super-excited to have Congressman Delgado with us in Schenectady especially as a hometown hero. The theme of the 34th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration is Time to Act: Now More Than Ever. The gathering will also feature a performance by the guest choir from Mount Calvary Baptist church adult choir in Albany. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Later Sunday, Proctors is hosting a We Shall Overcome concert feature composer Damien Sneed at 7 p.m. His production ties together a living lineage of music and culture that includes traditional gospel, modern gospel, classical, jazz, Broadway and spirituals, according to information on Proctors web site. Talks come as world powers step up efforts for lasting ceasefire in North African country. Libyan renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar was holding talks in Athens on Friday, days ahead of a peace conference in Berlin which he and the head of Tripolis UN-recognised government, Fayez al-Sarraj, are expected to attend. He met Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias and was due to meet Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as well as other senior Greek officials. The talks come as world powers step up efforts for a lasting ceasefire, nine months since an assault on Tripoli by Haftars forces sparked fighting that has killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters, displacing tens of thousands. The oil-rich North African state has been in turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew and killed longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, and multiple foreign powers have become embroiled. Following disputed elections in 2014, the country has been divided between competing administrations, with the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli and a rival administration in Libyas east, which is aligned with Haftar. The GNA is backed by Turkey, while Haftar has the support of neighbouring Egypt as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). An interim truce that came into force on Sunday has mostly held, despite accusations of violations from Haftars forces and those allied with the GNA. Haftar flew to Athens by private plane on Thursday and was taken to a luxury hotel where he was met by foreign minister Dendias for an initial round of talks, TV footage showed. Greece has sought a more active role in Libya after the GNA signed maritime and military cooperation deals with Turkey in November, carving out energy spheres of influence in the Mediterranean. [During the meeting] we expect the Greek side to outline its position very clearly to the general, Al Jazeeras John Psaropoulos reporting from Athens said. [The government] said [it] will not accept any Libyan solution that doesnt include the scrapping of [the] maritime deal. The Turkish deal claims much of the Mediterranean for energy exploration, conflicting with rival claims by Greece and Cyprus. Reporting from Tripoli, Al Jazeeras Mahmoud Abdelwahed said Turkey has no intentions of scrapping its security and maritime deals. President Erdogan has [said] they will continue deploying Turkish troops to Libya as long as [this is] requested by the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Prime Minister Mitsotakis has said Athens will veto any agreement brought before the European Union for approval unless the contentious agreement is dropped. Haftar agreed in principle on Thursday to attend a peace conference in Berlin on Sunday after al-Sarraj signalled he would be present. Failed initial negotiations Haftar had walked away from ceasefire talks in Moscow on Monday, but German Minister for Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas visited his eastern Libya stronghold of Benghazi on Thursday to persuade him to join the conference. Haftar wants to contribute to the success of the Libyan conference in Berlin and is in principle ready to participate in it, Maas tweeted, calling it the best chance in a long time for peace. He added that Haftar has agreed to abide by the ongoing ceasefire. But al-Sarraj, whose GNA did sign the Moscow deal, cast doubt over Haftars intentions. Haftar has chosen not to sign the agreement and asked for a delay, he said, calling that an attempt to undermine the Berlin conference before it starts. Haftar had walked away from ceasefire talks in Moscow on Monday [AFP] External interference The United Nations said the Berlin talks aim to end foreign interference and division over Libya. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will take part in and voice support for truce efforts, the State Department said on Thursday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Wednesday for firm support for the peace talks and asked for a halt in the fighting. Guterres also warned against external interference, saying it would deepen the ongoing conflict and further complicate efforts to reach a clear international commitment to a peaceful resolution of the underlying crisis. The conference will aim to agree to six points including a permanent ceasefire, implementation of a much-violated UN arms embargo and a return to political efforts for peace, Guterres said. Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani in his Ukraine endeavors, "completed his break with the White House on Wednesday, asserting for the first time in public that the president was fully aware of the efforts to dig up damaging information on his behalf," The New York Times reported late Wednesday. And Parnas said through his lawyer that he's now eager to cooperate with federal prosecutors in Manhattan who are investigating Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer, and Giuliani's Ukraine dealings now at the center of Trump's impeachment. Parnas was arrested in October on tangentially related campaign finance charges, and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have both his case and the so-far-unannounced Giuliani investigation. "We very much want to be heard in the Southern District," Parnas' lawyer Joseph Bondy told the Times. "We very much want to provide substantial assistance to the government." Parnas has provided evidence already to federal prosecutors and House impeachment investigators, and he spoke with both the Times and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Wednesday. Parnas told Maddow that "Trump knew exactly what was going on." He told the Times that while he met with the president several times, he knows Trump was aware of the Ukraine efforts mostly because Giuliani showed him so. He provided some evidence to back that up. "I am betting my whole life that Trump knew exactly everything that was going on that Rudy Giuliani was doing in Ukraine," Parnas said. Parnas also said he regrets his involvement in the Ukraine affair and "trusting so much" in Giuliani, who is a godfather to his son. "I thought I was being a patriot and helping the president," he told the Times, and he "thought by listening to the president and his attorney that I couldn't possibly get in trouble or do anything wrong." Giuliani texted the Times that Parnas is "a proven liar," suggested he's turning over evidence for "attention," and claimed it's "sad to watch how the Trump haters are using" him. More stories from theweek.com Trump again denied knowing Lev Parnas. So Parnas' lawyer posted more robust proof. The start of Trump's impeachment trial had solemn oaths, 'lengthy' yawns, 'pained expressions,' lots of lefties Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for (Natural News) Most American foreign policy experts and diplomats know that Ukraine is a deeply corrupt country and has been for decades since the breakup of the Soviet Union not that Moscows Communist government was much better. With that said, its new president, Volodymyr Zelensky is in the same vein as President Donald Trump: He, too, wants to drain the swamp and rid his government of the grifters, the skimmers, and the deep state types who are working daily to undermine the legitimate government. The problem is, the corruption is so pervasive it is going to be difficult to eradicate if possible at all. Thats why its difficult to imagine why Ukraine would ask our own FBI to assist in a probe of a suspected cyber attack into Burisma the energy firm at the center of corruption allegations involving Joe and Hunter Biden. The firm hired Hunter Biden during the Obama administration, when his father, Joe, was serving as vice president, to be a board member for a fee of about $50,000 per month. Its also the company that was being investigated by the state prosecutor for corruption when Joe Biden got him fired by then-President Petro Poroshenko. Suddenly, according to reports, out of nowhere it is hacked by (wait for it) Russian hackers. And were supposed to believe that. In any event, as Zero Hedge reports, the company is notorious for its corruption. More than that, the site reminds readers that the investigation of Burisma corruption and the firms relationship with the Bidens is at the heart of impeachment proceedings against the president brought by Democrats. The FBI, mind you, is at the center of the Spygate scandal involving the attempt to enact a soft coup against Trump. And of course, we were told the Russians hacked the Democratic National Committees servers leading up to the 2016 election. Wow, what a confluence of corruption. So many coincidences On Monday, The New York Times noted that Area 1, a Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity firm, said that Russian hackers from a military intelligence division formerly known as the GRU and operating under the alias Fancy Bear used phishing emails that were designed to steal passwords and usernames in order to gain access to the energy firms network. On the surface this sounds legitimate because Moscow stole the Crimea from Ukraine and has been militarily supporting separatists in Ukraines east. So, why not hack a Ukrainian company? Okaybut why this company, one that is currently at the center of so much political controversy as another election cycle approaches? It is noted that the hacker attack most likely took place in cooperation with the Russian special services, said Ukrainian Interior Ministry official Artyom Minyailo at a briefing, adding that the FBI had been requested to assist in the investigation. Later, the interior minister said his office had launched an investigation into claims that former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, was illegally placed under surveillance by associates of Trump presidential lawyer Rudy Giuliani. More coincidences? Is someone trying to steal evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens? As Zero Hedge reports further: Of note, Area 1 was co-founded by two former NSA hackers one of whom was a lead employee at cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, which was the only company allowed to analyze the DNC servers in connection with a 2016 breach which it concluded fancy bear was also behind. Area 1 founder Oren Falkowitz is an active donor to Democrats, contributing to the 2020 election campaigns of both Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker. So many coincidences, so little time to sort through them all. If youre beginning to think this all smells like its somehow related, youre not the only one. Stranger things have happened stemming from the 2016 election, all in an effort to get Trump. It sure seems like some suspicious activity is cranking up again ahead of 2020. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com NewsTarget.com Moroccos trade minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy said that the Kingdom and Turkey have started negotiations to review some provisions to make their Free Trade Agreement more balanced. He said Morocco loses 2 billion dollars annually in trade with Turkey, adding that the two parties have agreed to reconsider the agreement in order to make it more balanced and mutually beneficial. Rebalancing the agreement would necessitate more Turkish investments in Morocco and better access of Moroccan exports to the Turkish market, he said. A Moroccan-Turkish committee met in Rabat for that purpose but a final agreement on the amendments to the Free Trade Deal are expected by January 30. Turkish minister of Trade, Ruhsar Pekcan, attended the meeting. Moroccan imports from Turkey have reached 21.5 billion dirhams in 2018, while Moroccan exports to this country did not exceed 5.54 bln dirhams. The government has issued a travel advisory asking citizens to follow certain precautionary measures while visiting China in the wake of the outbreak of an infection there because of a new strain of virus which is causing respiratory problems. The advisory issued by the Union health ministry stated that even though the mode of transmission of the novel coronavirus is unclear as of now, those visiting China are advised to avoid travel to farms, live animal markets or where animals are slaughtered, and refrain consuming "raw or undercooked meat". It suggested avoiding close contact with people who are unwell or showing symptoms of illness, such as cough, runny nose among others. The travellers are advised to wear a mask if thy have symptoms of respiratory problem. The advisory asks travellers to China to follow some "public health measures at all times" like observing good personal hygiene, practice frequent hand-washing with soap and follow etiquettes like covering mouth when coughing or sneezing. It also stated that as on January 11, as many as 41 confirmed cases of infection with the novel coronavirus have been reported so far, of which one person has died. "Only travel-related cases have been reported (one each) in Thailand and Japan. The clinical signs and symptoms are mainly fever with a few patients having difficulty in breathing. "The mode of transmission is unclear as of now. However, so far there is little evidence of significant human-to-human transmission. Although as per the World Health Organisation's risk assessment, the risk for global spread has been stated as low," the advisory read. All travellers to China, in particular to Wuhan city, have been advised to monitor their health closely. "If you feel sick on flight, while travelling back to India: Inform the airlines crew about illness, seek mask from the airlines crew, avoid close contact with family members or fellow travellers and follow the directions of airline crew while disembarking," the advisory read. It asked travellers who feel sick on flight or at the time of disembarkation to report to airport health authorities or immigration and follow the directions of the airport health officer. "If you feel sick with in a span of one month after return from China: Report the illness to the nearest health facility and also inform the treating doctor regarding your travel history," the advisory states. The WHO on Thursday stated that not enough is known about the novel coronavirus to draw definitive conclusions about how it is transmitted, clinical features of disease, or the extent to which it has spread. "The source also remains unknown," it said while urging all countries to be prepared to tackle the spread of the virus. "WHO encourages all countries to continue preparedness activities on the novel coronavirus," the global health body had tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Matiur Rahman, editor-in-chief and publisher of Prothom Alo, one of Bangladeshs largest daily papers, speaks during an anniversary program in Dhaka, Nov. 7, 2014. Updated at 3:30 p.m. ET on 2020-01-17 The editor-in-chief of one of Bangladeshs largest newspapers Thursday was named in an arrest warrant for alleged negligence in a teenagers death by electrocution, officials said, while journalism advocates described the court action as another potential blow to press freedom in the country. Matiur Rahman, who leads Prothom Alo, along with deputy editor Anisul Hoque, four other staffers and four employees of an event management firm, were named as targets of arrest warrants issued by a Dhaka court over the death of Naimul Abrar Rahat, 14. The teen died after being electrocuted during an event hosted by one of the papers magazines in November, a lawyer for the victims father and police said. Police have found the allegations against the accused valid. The death occurred because of negligence So, we argued for issuing arrest warrants under Section 304 of the Penal Code. The court has taken the findings of the police to cognizance and have issued the arrest orders, Omar Faruk Asif, an attorney representing Rahats father, who had filed complaints with police and a Dhaka court over the youths death, told BenarNews. According to a report by the Associated Press, Rahat suffered an electrical shock by touching a wire behind the stage during a Nov. 1 celebration of the anniversary of the Kishor Alo magazine, a publication that caters to Bangladeshi youths. In his complaint, the teens father alleged that, because organizers of the event had been negligent in ensuring safety, his son was electrocuted. Rahat, who died at a hospital, was a student at the Dhaka Residential Model College. Late Thursday, Matiur Rahman, who is also Prothom Alos publisher, declined to comment on the warrant for his arrest, saying he could be held in contempt of court if he spoke publicly about the case. The court issued the warrants against Rahman and the nine others under Section 304, which deals with rash or negligent acts. A person found guilty of committing a related offense can face up to five years in prison. The court, after receiving the case, had ordered to exhume the body for an autopsy and asked the Mohammadpur police station to investigate and file a report, Abdul Alim, a police investigator, told BenarNews. We have acted according to the court order and have filed our investigation report. The warrants for the arrests of the ten came out a day after New York-based Human Rights Watch, in its annual global report for 2019, criticized Bangladeshs record for press freedom and free speech during the year after Hasina secured a record fourth term. The silencing of critics, journalists, students and activists did not subside even after the Awami League claimed the 2018 election, the watchdog said in its report. Instead, the landslide victory seemed only to embolden authorities in their crackdown. On Thursday, media personalities in Bangladesh said the warrants against Rahman and the others were highly questionable and could be a ploy to muzzle Prothom Alo. There is scope to question the motive behind implicating the editor in the case, Ali R. Raji, a professor in the Mass Communication and Journalism Department at Chittagong University, told BenarNews. Shaban Mahmud, the secretary general of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, demanded transparency in the case. We expect utmost transparency in issuing an arrest warrant against a prominent editor, he said. [W]e want to believe that the judicial process will not be influenced in any way. Kader Gani, the president of the Dhaka Union of Journalists, expressed doubt that Rahman, if arrested and prosecuted, would get a fair trial. It is a ploy of the government to keep Prothom Alo under pressure as part of its policy to muzzle the media, he said. CORRECTION: An earlier version misidentified professor Ali R. Raji. President Trump's personal White House lawyer Jay Sekulow knew about Rudy Giuliani's efforts to get Ukraine to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, but "didn't agree with what Rudy was doing," Lev Parnas told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. In an interview that aired Thursday night, Parnas, an associate of Giuliani, said Sekulow was "in the loop" but "didn't want to be involved in the Ukraine stuff." He said he heard Sekulow and Giuliani talk about the matter, and Sekulow "didn't agree with what Rudy was doing, but he knew what he was doing." Parnas and his business partner Igor Fruman were arrested in October and charged with campaign finance violations. John Dowd, Trump's former attorney, was briefly Parnas' lawyer, and Parnas told Maddow that during a visit to the jail, Dowd told him to "be a good boy." Maddow asked if Dowd was "telling you to sacrifice yourself to protect Trump," and Parnas responded, "Yes ... they tried to keep me quiet." Parnas said soon after, he fired Dowd. New evidence Parnas submitted to House impeachment investigators was released this week, including an email from Sekulow dated Oct. 2, 2019. It states, "The president consents to allowing your representation of Mr. Parnas and Mr. Furman [sic]." Trump has claimed multiple times that he does not know Parnas; Parnas has promised to release photos of the two together every time he makes a denial. More stories from theweek.com Mindhunter just got Netflixed Trump is getting the band back together The Patriots only have one option SACRAMENTO State Sen. Scott Wieners bill to clear a path for denser housing around public transit and in wealthy suburbs got a big push forward Friday when the Senates leader steered it out of the committee where it stalled last year. Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said she moved SB50 out of the Appropriations Committee, whose chairman, Democratic Sen. Anthony Portantino, blocked it in 2019 and gave a frosty reception to the amended version that Wiener is now proposing. Atkins sent the bill to the Rules Committee, where it could advance directly to a Senate floor vote before a deadline for passage at the end of the month. She said the decision would give Wiener, D-San Francisco, more time to negotiate with the bills opponents, who say it takes away local governments control over how their communities develop. While many communities still have clear concerns about SB50, our affordable housing crisis demands we make every attempt to reach agreement on potential solutions, Atkins said in a statement. Wiener introduced amendments this month that would allow cities to circumvent some of SB50s major provisions by coming up with their own plans to increase housing. Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge (Los Angeles County), said Wiener did not consult him before proposing the changes and called the amended measure more theater than an implementable plan to truly engender broad support. Key elements of the bill remain intact: It would raise height limits around transit lines, allow denser development in high-income areas and effectively open up the entire state to multifamily housing. By moving SB50 out of Portantinos committee, which would have had to advance the measure by the end of next week, Atkins circumvented a potentially intractable roadblock. She and other Capitol leaders took a similar strategy last year during a bitter fight over a bill to tighten Californias rules on police use of force, pulling civil liberties advocates and law enforcement groups into discussions that eventually produced a successful compromise. Atkins and Gov. Gavin Newsom have expressed their commitment to pass SB50 in some form this year to help California boost construction and confront its housing shortage. It still must get out of the Senate before the end of January to stay alive, but Wiener has said he is optimistic that he has the votes. It would then have to be approved by the Assembly before the end of August. Wiener and Portantino both declined to comment on Atkins move Friday. Under the bill, local governments in counties with more than 600,000 people would have to allow buildings at least four stories tall within a half-mile of a transit stop and five stories within a quarter-mile, provided that those projects meet other local design standards. Five Bay Area counties San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Mateo meet that population threshold. The measure would also remove density limits and reduce parking requirements within a quarter-mile of stops on bus lines with frequent service and in high-income census tracts with lots of jobs and good schools, regardless of their proximity to transit. In smaller counties, including Marin, Sonoma, Solano and Napa, cities with more than 50,000 people would have to allow up to 15 extra feet of height for buildings within a half-mile of transit stops. Wiener has now delayed the date that the measure would go into effect by two years longer for neighborhoods at risk of gentrification giving communities extra time to come up with plans that could accommodate the amount of new housing that SB50 would require. The League of California Cities, which opposed the bill last year, says Wieners amended measure doesnt have enough information about the alternative planning process. Without those details, the group said, its unclear whether cities would have their needed flexibility. Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 17) Coffee farmers in Batangas and Cavite known for producing the strong barako variety could take more than a year to recover from Taal Volcano's wrath. Rene Tongson, a director of the Philippine Coffee Board, said local growers are about to lose around 5,000 metric tons of coffee from the two provinces, already worth 600 million. The figure is much higher than the initial estimates of the Department of Agriculture, which pegged damage at 73.96 million as of Friday noon. READ: Agricultural damage from Taal eruption hits 3.06-B Tongson said losses could reach as high as 1.2 billion if computed based on the current market price of roasted coffee products. "Most of the leaves are actually covered with ashes, and it will affect the health of the coffee trees. It cannot process photosynthesis because it's covered. Some (plants) may not survive," Tongson told CNN Philippines' Business Roundup. "It will probably take them a year and a half to recover and really grow back." The industry group is conducting its own assessment of the situation, Tongson said, as part of crafting plans on how to rehabilitate farms and help coffee planters recover. Agriculture Secretary William Dar earlier said coffee plantations can still be rejuvenated as branches can still be trimmed to generate new blooms. But Tongson said Taal's heavy ashfall blanketed coffee fields with thick ash just as the plants were beginning to bear flowers and berries. Batangas and Cavite produce about 10-15 percent of the country's coffee bean harvests. The government has pledged 5,000 mother coffee plants to give affected growers a fresh start, alongside an offer of five-year loans worth 25,000 with zero interest. Coffee has been a prime harvest in Calabarzon, dating back to 1740 when a Spanish Franciscan monk introduced the first coffee tree in Lipa, Batangas. Coffee farms have since sprouted in the towns of Ibaan, Lemery, San Jose, Taal, and Tanauan, according to the Philippine Coffee Board. Down but not out: Saving kapeng barako after Taal Volcanos unrest A coffee supplier from Rosario, Batangas has expressed concern that the quality and prices of beans could be affected by the volcanic eruption for the coming years. "Baka mag-worry din sila (consumers) na baka 'yung coffee supply namin is not that (good), na baka may pulubra or powder galing sa Taal ashfall," Christina Recabar told CNN Philippines. [Translation: I worry that consumers will think that our coffee supply is not that good, that it might contain powder from the Taal ashfall.] Apart from the famous barako, Batangas growers also produce robusta, excelsa, arabica, and liberica coffee beans. Tongson said it will take a while for the Philippines to again become a coffee exporter, with local farms currently producing about 40 million kilograms (kg) of beans against a local demand of about 135 million kg a year. He said Taal's unrest would only bloat the supply shortfall and will push even more coffee imports. A Pakistani court has sentenced 86 people to 55-year prison terms each for taking part in violent rallies over the acquittal of a Christian woman in a high-profile blasphemy case. Those convicted were all workers and supporters of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a hard-line Islamist party that had spearheaded violent protests across Pakistan in late 2018 in the wake of Asia Bibi's acquittal. An anti-terrorism court in the city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, announced the verdicts late on January 16 following a trial that lasted for more than a year. Senior party leader Pir Ejaz Ashrafi said the sentences -- unusually harsh in Pakistan, where blasphemy is a very sensitive issue -- would be appealed. Those convicted are not expected to spend more than 25 years in prison -- the equivalent of a life sentence under Pakistani law. Among those sentenced were a brother and a nephew of TLP head Khadim Hussain Rizvi. Bibi was convicted of blasphemy in 2009 and sentenced to death on charges of insulting Islam. She consistently denied the charges against her. Pakistans Supreme Court overturned Bibis conviction in 2018. But following nationwide rallies against the ruling, authorities held her in protective custody before she was allowed to leave for Canada last year to reunite with her family there. Domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used in Pakistan to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores. Last month, a court sentenced Junaid Hafeez, a 33-year-old Muslim professor, to death after finding him guilty of spreading anti-Islamic ideas. Hafeez had been held for six years awaiting trial. Nearly one month after the sentence was handed down, more than 80,000 people have signed a petition on change.org to ask for justice for Hafeez and for Pakistans blasphemy laws to be repealed. With reporting by AP, AFP, Dawn, and RFE/RLs Radio Mashaal CHICO, Calif. - The Wells Fargo Bank and the Foor Foundation donated $50,000 to the Torres Community Shelter for help with their Restoration Dignity project. $40,000 from Wells Fargo is meant to go toward replacing the 16-year-old bunk beds in the facility. The other $10,000 from the Foor Foundation is for shelving and storage for those who stay at the shelter. "When guests check-in we can relieve the burden of carrying their items along with them everywhere they go," said executive director Joy Amaro about the new storage. The Torres Shelter serves about 160 people a night, with many sleeping on mats on the floor. The shelter says this is the first time since their opening in 2003 they have been given "gifts designed to restore dignity amongst the guests they serve nightly". Australian department retailer Harris Scarfe has launched a massive 'closing down' sale just weeks after going into voluntary administration. Shoppers can expect huge savings, with prices slashed by up to 60 per cent across homewares, cookware, decor, electrical items, clothing, footwear, sporting gear, lingerie and sleepwear. The retail chain has announced 21 stores will shut around New South Wales, ACT, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. All stores affected are having further discounts across thousands of items from now until Tuesday, January 2020, or while stocks last. Australian department retailer Harris Scarfe has launched a massive 'closing down' sale Harris Scarfe closing stores: NEW SOUTH WALES Greenhills Albury Erina Fair Macarthur Square Top Ryde Tweed City Nowra Dubbo ACT Dickson VICTORIA Bendigo Box Hill Mildura QUEENSLAND Cairns Townsville Hervey Bay Mackay Morayfield Rockhampton SOUTH AUSTRALIA Rundle Place WESTERN AUSTRALIA Midland Gate Joonalup Advertisement 'As you may be aware, Harris Scarfe is currently in voluntary administration. As a result the decision has been made to close 21 stores,' the Harris Scarfe team said. 'While we'll be sad to say goodbye, before we do these stores will be offering exclusive store-wide closing down offers. 'Our remaining stores including our online store will continue to trade as normal. 'We appreciate your ongoing support and hope that you continue to shop with us now and into the future. Thanks for supporting us.' The massive sale comes just weeks weeks after the retailer went into voluntary administration The popular brands to look out for include Maxwell & Williams, Smith & Nobel, Thermos, Scanpan, Tefal, Pyrex, Sunbeam, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, Remington, Nutri Bullet, Bonds, Puma, Lonsdale and more. Shoppers can expect 50 per cent off all Manchester items such as household linen, cotton sheets and towels, homewares, utensils, cookware. The retailer has slashed up to 60 per cent off cushions and throws and 40 per cent off kitchen appliances such as blenders, toasters, sandwich press, kettles, air fryers, rice cooker, slow cooker, deep fryer, food chopper and mixer stand. Other electrical items on sale include iron, men's grooming kit, hair straightener, hair dryer, garment steamer, vacuum cleaner, fans, and even tools. Shoppers can expect huge savings, with prices slashed by up to 60 per cent across homewares, cookware, electrical, clothing, footwear, sporting gear, lingerie and sleepwear In the clothing aisles, customers can find 50 per cent off all clothing and footwear, and 40 per cent of sporting garments and footwear, and all underwear, bras and sleepwear. The massive sale comes after the retailer announced the business had gone into voluntary administration in December 2019 after 169 years of selling homewares, bedding and linen to Australians. There are currently 66 stores around the country - as administrators Deloitte Restructuring Services previously confirmed they will attempt to retain as many staff as possible by re-purposing and selling the business. The chain's downfall, which comes despite it making an estimated $380million in sales each year, is the latest in a string of prominent retail and food chain collapses - as shoppers continue the switch to online. A new group is being formed to tackle sheep and cattle health issues following a positive response from the industry. The formation of the Ruminant Health and Welfare Group (RHWG) aims to deliver a more coordinated approach to tackling health and welfare issues. The recruitment of a chairman will now proceed with an intention to have the first meeting sometime in April 2020. NFU Vice President Stuart Roberts said the group's formation comes as the industry faces an 'unprecedented time of change and opportunity'. Despite our industry being highly regulated, with leading health and welfare standards, supported by a world class research community, we face ongoing challenges of improvements in productivity and continuing high levels of endemic disease. We support the formation of this new group. It will be ideally placed to set a UK-wide ambition for the ruminant sector post-Brexit. Mr Roberts said it will prioritise the UK's animal health status and help eliminate those non-notifiable diseases that limit farmers production potential, adding financial burden on individual farm businesses. The NFU also believes that a united farming industry voice will help strengthen the great story we have to tell about our livestock sector, he added. The union has been members of the Steering Group which developed the concept of the RHWG before handing it over to AHDB to manage the industry consultation. NFU President Minette Batters sent a letter supporting the concept of the group prior to the consultation. This letter was joined by supporting letters from NFU Cymru, Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU), NFU Scotland (NFUS) and Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW). All UK levy bodies and the UK Chief Vets support the initiative. A self-described millionaire accused of murdering his mother and brother has told a court he cannot get the lawyer of his choice because his financial assets are frozen. Paul Cohrs, 60, is to face trial in July, having pleaded not guilty to murder over the shooting death of his elderly mother, Bette Schulz, on October 30, 2018 in Red Cliffs, near Mildura. Police allege Mr Cohrs earlier that day shot and killed his brother Raymond, 63, in the NSW town of Rufus. He then allegedly crossed into Victoria and killed his mother. Alleged murderer and former Wentworth Shire deputy mayor Paul Cohrs. Mr Cohrs, a former deputy mayor in the Shire of Wentworth, is to be extradited to NSW after his Victorian trial to face a murder charge over his brother's death and the alleged kidnapping of another man. HANOVER, N.H. - January 17, 2020 - Researchers from Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed an original approach to flight scheduling that, if implemented, could result in a significant increase in profits for airlines and more flights that align with passengers' preferences. The approach is presented in a paper, "Airline Timetable Development and Fleet Assignment Incorporating Passenger Choice," recently published in Transportation Science, the leading journal in the field of transportation analysis. Some of the most critical decision-making steps taken by airlines across the world rely on tools that do not fully incorporate passengers' preferences and the dynamics of flight scheduling, resulting in missed profits and unsatisfied passengers, according to the authors. The new paper uses 2016 data from Alaska Airlines to introduce an original integrated optimization approach to comprehensive flight timetabling and fleet assignment while taking into consideration passengers' preferences, such as flight departure time. "Beyond ticket prices, perhaps the biggest thing that air passengers care about is the convenience of flight schedule. Yet, due to the associated computational complexities, nobody has really tried to completely redesign an airline's flight schedule from scratch to take passenger preference into account," said co-author Vikrant Vaze, assistant professor of engineering at Dartmouth. "This paper does just that, by proposing a comprehensive mathematical model and a new algorithm to solve it. It aligns the flight schedules to passenger preferences, in turn maximizing airline profits." The model's flexible and comprehensive approach would enable airlines to increase the number of passengers with one-stop itineraries, and, consequently, dramatically increase the total one-stop revenue and the total operating profit compared with the most advanced approaches currently used in the industry. In addition, the paper suggests that an airline using this approach would experience a significant increase in market share. First author Keji Wei, who was an engineering PhD candidate at Dartmouth while working on the study, received the Anna Valicek Award at the Airline Group of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (AGIFORS) Symposium last fall for his work on this paper. Wei is now a senior operations research analyst at Sabre Corporation, a leading technology solutions provider to the travel industry. In addition to Wei and Vaze, the paper was co-authored by Alexandre Jacquillat, an assistant professor of operations research and statistics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. The authors note that the paper doesn't consider factors such as business strategy and aircraft orders because the data is not available, as well as airport gate and slot availability for simplicity's sake. However, the approach is designed to be versatile and usable for a variety of strategic planning decisions made by major airlines with a realistic computational budget. Vaze is currently working on a follow-up paper that will incorporate revenue management considerations into scheduling and fleet assignment. ### Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. has offered to invest between $30 billion and $40 billion in the development of the new Indonesian capital on Borneo Island, a close aide of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said Friday. In a meeting last week with Jokowi, SoftBank Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son expressed interest in participating in the development of the yet-to-be-named capital and bringing the newest technology and "a lot of artificial intelligence" to the new smart city. "The financing structure to develop the new capital is now still being finalized, (but) I will meet Masayoshi again in Davos and later in Tokyo," Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan told a press conference. The new capital will be located between the East Kalimantan provincial capital of Samarinda and Balikpapan, its largest city, located some 90 kilometers to the south. Both are situated near the east coast of the world's third-largest island. A senior Kerala government official on Friday said that the State will attend the meeting called by Ministry of Home Affairs, of State Chief Secretaries and Director of Census to discuss census, Population Register (NPR) and seek suggestions and training and appointment process on the same. Meeting of Chief Secretaries of States and Census directors will be held today at Ambedkar Bhawan in Delhi. It will be chaired by MoS Home Nityanand Rai and Union Home Secretary AK Bhalla. The meeting will discuss the next census and NPR. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Citing a drastic lack of cooperation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoenaed Denver law enforcement on Monday for information on four undocumented immigrants arrested by local authorities and wanted for deportation, the first time the agency has ever subpoenaed law enforcement. Three of the men had already been released and ICE said the police did not give them information on the release times. In the past, we had full support. We collaborated in the interest of public safety, Henry Lucero, deputy executive associate director for ICEs Enforcement and Removal Operations, told the Associated Press. This is a drastic change, and one ICE is forced to do, and puts other agencies on notice that we dont want this to happen. We want to protect the public. Denver, however, denied withholding the information from the agency, saying its immigration ordinance fully complies with federal law. ICE officials contacted Denver to request jail release notifications involving four inmates, Ryan Luby, a spokesman for the city attorneys office, said. Contrary to what ICE is saying, we honored three of those requests for the three inmates released at that time. We will honor the request for the fourth inmate when he is released. The four men, three Mexican nationals and one Honduran, had all been previously deported, according to ICE. One man from Mexico was arrested for sexual assault, another for vehicular homicide and a third for child abuse and strangulation assault. The Honduran man was released after he was arrested on domestic violence charges. ICE has encountered difficulties from local law enforcement around the country in trying to enforce immigration law. In November, attorney general William Barr and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf sent a letter to state supreme courts in Washington and Oregon which had barred ICE arrests at courthouses saying they were promoting dangerous and unlawful protocols. More from National Review The article originally ran in AVN Men magazine. Click here to see the digital edition. One of the trophy boys at the 2020 GayVN Awards, Riley Finch is nominated in the Best Group Sex Scene category and is also vying for a fan-voted award. The only porn star Riley Finch followed before getting into the business was Joey Mills. Imagine his joyand shockwhen it was Mills who picked the newbie up at the airport for his first shoot ever. I had no clue he was going to be there, says the gushing Colorado native. I was completely nervous and star-shocked. I was like, Oh my God, thats Joey Mills! And I didnt say anything, of course. I was like, I cant let him know that Ive seen him naked before. I need to be cool. 8teenboy saw something special in the newcomer, and the feeling is mutual. It was kind of like stepping into a brand-new world for me, figuring out who everyone was it was huge, and its really cool to be a part of everything, shares Finch. He was a chemistry major in college before switching to cosmetology schoolalong with working at an upscale resort in Colorado Springs. He got a taste of performing and he wanted more. I used to go on Omegle and Id talk to other guys and basically find people around my age, and youd jack off together. And one of them was a Chaturbate model. He was like, When you turn 18, you should do this. So he signed up as soon as he turned 18 and did Chaturbate on the side for about four months. I was making like $200 every night I did it. Id go there twice a week after working just to get some extra spending cash, and all my fans were telling me to join porn. I was not really liking my job at the resort because I was working like 54 hours a week, and I was also going to cosmetology school for like 30 hours a week. So Finch applied online for 8teenboy, which contacted him the following day to send more pictures. After that we talked for like four days, and they offered me my first filming gig. So I quit my job at the resort and started filming, he says, noting that his first shoot was in July of 2018. I was super nervous my first time filming, but it was a lot of fun. I flew back the following week, and I filmed a lot when I first startedand it just kind of stuck. I did that while I was in cosmetology school to kind of finance myself. It doesnt hurt that Mills was waiting for him at the airport. I remember them flying me out, and my best friend was texting me the whole time. Shes like, If anything happens, Ill fly out in a second and come save you! Basically, I was just chatting with her the whole time, and I told Max [Carter] she was my wifey, and I was living with her at the time. She was just making sure I was comfortable and everything was going good. I was just dazed by meeting all the models, and we all went cliff divingme, Angel [Rivera], Joey and Maxmy first week. It was a lot of fun. Honestly, I was just happy to be there. I was like, Oh my God, this is crazy! Finch found himself in 8teenBoys smash hit Winter Break, which required him to sharpen his acting skills. Id done musicals and stuff before, so when I was out in Breckenridge, I was like, How can I become a better actor? How can I do this better? Im always thinking even now, How can I portray this to be as good as possible for the fans, and how can I become better myself and further myself in this career? The shoot solidified Finchs confidence in his decision to shift his career focus. The highlights have just been the relationships Ive formed with some of the models. Me and Trevor [Harris] text back and forth, and I just have friendships with a lot of the models, and Winter Break was a big part of that. Taylor Coleman was my little movie boyfriend, and wed have group video calls to learn all our lines. And just seeing Blake Mitchell and everybody being a part of it, and knowing what was going to happen before it got put out there I was super excited when the videos finally got released. When the gang went to Breckenridge, Finch drove to the airport with Carter to pick up all the models. I drove up to Breckenridge, and basically it was just all of us hanging out at the house. We had a lot of funwe did karaoke night, and we just would tell each other about our lives. We got to know each other, and its really cool to be with a studio when you can connect to the other boys. His family, however, took a little longer to warm up to the idea. Basically everyone in my family knows except for my grandma, but I dont want her to know. My mom knew the week I flew out, she was like, Im not sure Im comfortable with this. She knew I was doing Chaturbate before, and she was not too happy with that. But now shes come to accept it and she actually was like, I want to come to the award shows and everything! Shes super cute about it; and my sister, she thinks its cool, but she doesnt want to see any of my pictures online. (He does, however, make her babysit his plants when he goes on a shoot.) Finch recently got a job at a salon in Colorado Springs (theyre pretty flexible when it comes to filming, so whenever I have go out and shoot they will make time for me), which makes his recent GayVN Awards photo shoot experience all the more shocking. I was super excited to meet the photographer and everyone, and I was also super nervous because my hair was really messy. I usually do my hair in the morning, but I forgot my round brush. I was like, Stupid cosmetologist! But once I got there and met everyone, I went into hair and makeup and was talking to her about cosmetology, and the hairstylist gave me a round brush. I did my own hair the way I usually have it, as authentic as possible, he laughs. Finch has also focused on growing his Twitter and social media presence (Ive been trying to be better with producing OnlyFans content) and putting himself out there. Ive had the biggest crush on Ben Masters since I started Twitter, hes super cute; and Sven Basquiat is pretty cute, too. It would be cool to meet them and see what theyre like in person, along with many other people Ive seen on Twitter since Ive started. Finch has shot exclusively with 8teenboy since entering the business in late 2018, and it has helped him grow not just as a performer, but as a person. I honestly just want to do more stuff with the studio, and just make sure my performances are better than they were (last) yearand meet new people. I want to do some crossover scenes with the Helix boys; Im really hoping that I can do that, he says. Through this process, Ive definitely become a lot more confident with who I am, and not being as nervous as I used to bejust putting myself out there, not hiding who I am and being myself as much as possible. Because when I first started, I was definitely scared to be who I was. I was like, Maybe people wont like who I am. But learning to be myself has been one of the most important things Ive learned. People respond way better to you just being yourself and being out there than when you try to be someone youre not. Trade ministers from India and Malaysia are likely to meet on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos next week amid a palm oil spat between the two countries, a Malaysian government spokesman told Reuters on Friday. The government has repeatedly objected to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaking out against recent policies which critics say discriminate against Muslims. Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation, is the second biggest producer and exporter of palm oil and India's restrictions on the refined variety of the commodity imposed ... The new codeshare agreement will strengthen the two airlines strategic partnership, first initiated in 2001. With 10 Qatar Airways destinations covered by the airlines current codeshare cooperation, the expanded agreement will allow Malaysia Airlines passengers to book travel to 20 additional Qatar Airways gateways in Europe, America, and Africa. In turn, Qatar Airways passengers will benefit from access to four exciting new destinations in South East Asia. They can now book travel on Malaysia Airlines flights to Sibu, Malaysia; Alor Setar, Malaysia; Medan, Indonesia; and Surabaya, Indonesia. This brings the total number of codeshare routes in Malaysia Airlines network to 24. Qatar Airways Group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: Since 2001, both airlines have witnessed the significant benefits codeshare cooperation have brought, providing passengers with unrivalled service and seamless connections. The expansion of codeshare cooperation between Qatar Airways and Malaysia Airlines is a natural next step in the strengthening of our partnership. Malaysia Airlines Group chief executive, Izham Ismail, said: Malaysia Airlines is delighted to further develop and grow our relationship with Qatar Airways with this codeshare agreement. Through this cooperation, we will be able to provide travel options for our outbound travellers as well as inviting more travellers to experience the beauty Malaysia has to offer. We look forward to sharing our Malaysian hospitality further and provide a truly Malaysian experience for our passengers. Uttar Pradesh minister Sidharth Nath Singh on Friday alleged that the opposition parties were spreading falsehood on the Citizenship Amendment Act and trying to create fear among minorities. Hitting out at the opposition, he said the BJP has beeen organising pro-CAA rallies and spreading awareness about the new Act. "In the name of protests, the opposition parties are spreading falsehood on the CAA and trying to create a fear among the minorities...there was violence and it was a planned violence. We saw it in New Delhi, in Karnataka and in Uttar Pradesh," the senior BJP leader told reporters here. To counter these protests, he said the BJP has beeen organising awareness campaigns about the new Act. The party would reach out to three crore houses and for this 10 lakh workers would be mobilised, Singh said. On political parties in Tamil Nadu opposing the CAA, he said leaders like DMK chief M K Stalin and others should refrain from spreading "falsehood" on CAA. These parties should accept that the CAA has got nothing to do with Indian citizens, he said. On senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's strident criticism of the CAA, he claimed "a lot of videos were in circulation on Chidambaram advocating citizenship amendment, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register when he was Home minister. He has absolutely made a U turn now. It is very unfortunate...," he said. Referring to the violence in JNU, Singh said the Centre considers the Jawaharlal Nehru University as a premier institution and its ethos needs to be maintained. "Any premier institution's ethos needs to be maintained and I am sure the government is committed to maintaining that," Singh said. Asked about some BJP leaders reportedly echoing the need to close the university following the violence that rocked it, he said "Many can have their own individual views. I do not think .. very senior people in the BJP, again I am clarifying, had spoken like this," he said. "The government considers and is of the opinion that JNU is a premium organisation and an institution which has given stalwarts to this country," he added. BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy recently said the JNU should be shut for two years and reopened with a new name. Violence broke out at the JNU on January 5 night as a group of masked people armed with sticks attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, prompting the administration to call in the police. Referring to the appointment of Tamil Nadu unit BJP chief, Singh said the selection process has been going on and the party would make a formal announcement "very soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ayham Najar, a Syrian refugee who fled to Germany, has used his art to share the words of suffering of other Syrian refugees reports Zaman Al Wasl. Syrian calligrapher Ayham Najar has become widely known in Germany, just a few years after moving there as a refugee, painting with the words of suffering from the Syrian people. After surviving arrest in Syria, Najar fled with his family to Germany in 2016, after a difficult and long four-month trip. The artist, currently living in Hamburg, explained that any written work requires a content on which he bases the painting, whether in composition, color or line type, insisting that he does not use any commercial style in his works. In December 2019, Najar held his first exhibition in the Cultural Salon of Arab Women in Hamburg, sponsored by the Islamic Society, his paintings highlighting the aesthetics of Arabic calligraphy. The artist aspires to open a small center, in which he will offer free courses for those who want to learn this art, with the goal of passing it on to future generations. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Boca Raton, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/17/2020 -- Fifteen years on, GovernmentAuction.com has been helping land buyers' access land parcels across the US. The company operates a technology driven online platform where land parcels are auctioned at great savings and with clear and free titles. The auctions are conducted in three options, namely Live Auctions, Timed Auctions and Buy It Now Auctions. Each auction type has its own redeeming features, making it valuable for different investors and different objectives. Regardless of his/her credit history or investment experience, any American can participate in these auctions. However, registration is required, which is achievable quickly and free of cost. The spokesperson at GovernmentAuction.com recently stated, "GovernmentAuction.com is the only stop needed for investors seeking a wholesome, diversified investment portfolio. We offer land lots in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, and Wyoming respectively. We have land parcels across categories, such as farmland, underdeveloped land, government land, hunting land, and more. Our land lots come from foreclosures, tax lien sales, bankruptcies, surplus land, liquidation sales, along with estates and trusts. To this end, we work closely with state, county and city governments. The land lots range in size from 1 acre to 640 acres, are available at up to 60 percent savings and with various payment options." GovernmentAuction.com maintains transparency across auctions. Assessor's parcel number (APN), parcel size, location, taxes, terrain, zoning, sewer and septic, roads, dues, time limit to build, power, water, phone, and other key details regarding the property is provided upfront via the portal. Unlike competitors, the company does not charge hefty closing costs or registration fees. Only $199 as transfer fee is applicable, and no credit checks and qualifying financing involved. The winning bidder can pay via Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PayPal, Cashier's Check, and Wire Transfer. The company, for a hassle-free experience, does all the paperwork. On Nevada land auctions, the spokesperson further stated, "Nevada is the 7th largest and 32nd most populous state in the United States. The state is surrounded by Oregon in the northwest, Arizona in the southeast, Idaho in the northeast, and California and Utah in the west and east respectively. Nevada frequently makes headlines for Area 51 and the boomtown, Las Vegas. The state also flaunts a diverse geography, including Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Great Basin and Mojave Desert. Tourism has been the mainstay of the state's economy. Recently, Nevada has been attracting investors seeking commercial and residential land lots for sale." GovernmentAuction.com offers parcels of land for sale in Nevada. The land lots can be acquired through financed sales and single payment sales. In both sale types, the highest bid wins the rights of the property. The only difference is in payment options. In the financed sale, the buyer gets the sale financed and makes monthly payments until it is paid off. Conversely, single payment sale involves paying one lump sum at the time of closing. About GovernmentAuction.com GovernmentAuction.com is U.S.A.'s leading online land auction company with a legacy of 15 years. The company offers farmland, underdeveloped land, government land and hunting land in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming. Currently, GovernmentAuction.com is the only stop needed for those wanting to find undeveloped land for sale. Contact Information: GovernmentAuction.com 360 Glenwood Drive Delray Beach, Fl. 33445 Phone: (661) 823-1543 Email: chrisb@governmentauction.com Web: https://www.governmentauction.com/ The ads aim to reach potential caucus-goers through voices of their own friends and neighbors, according to a Buttigieg campaign release. Growing support for Pete happens one conversation at a time, and some of the most important conversations we can have are within our own networks, telling our friends, family and neighbors why we support Pete, said Iowa Organizing Director Kevin Groh. In an ad from Muscatine County, Bridgette Bissell says she supported Buttigieg after meeting him in August and sharing with him that she is autistic. Seeing Buttigieg "being just unabashedly himself," Bissell said, "finally inspired me to be completely unashamed of who I was." In a Clinton County ad, Darwin Andreessen, a Buttigieg precinct captain from DeWitt, says he's supporting Buttigieg because he's "the adult in the room." "He appears to be the one who is calm, cool and collected," Andreessen said. "I also like that he's more centrist than a little bit farther to the left." Graham Ambrose is the Iowa politics reporter for the Quad-City Times. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 E leven US troops were hurt in the Iranian missile strike on the Al Asad air base in Iraq despite claims by Donald Trump and the Pentagon last week that there were no casualties. Todays about-face announcement by US officials came after it emerged that several American soldiers had been treated for concussion. After the January 8 attack, President Trump tweeted all is well and said no US servicemen or women had been killed or injured. There are also claims that the 16 missiles fired in retaliation for Americas killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani the week before were aimed wide of the mark as the US and Iran teetered on the brink of war. Aerial images of Iran missile strike 1 /6 Aerial images of Iran missile strike What appears to be new damage at Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture via REUTERS What appears to be new damage at Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture via REUTERS What appears to be new damage at Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture via REUTERS Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture taken is seen in December, before the missile strike via REUTERS What appears to be new damage at Al Asad air base in Iraq is seen in a satellite picture via REUTERS A spokesman for the US Central Command Bill Urban said in a statement on Friday: "While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," As a measure of caution, some service members were taken to US facilities in Germany or Kuwait for "follow-on screening," he added. He said: "When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq." Following the attack the Pentagon said that no casualties had resulted from the 16 missiles fired by Iran. The US military defines a casualty as either an injury or fatality involving personnel. Iran: Tehran Plane Crash - In pictures 1 /13 Iran: Tehran Plane Crash - In pictures via Reuters AP AFP via Getty Images People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Images AP AP via Reuters AP Rescuers check the debris following the plane crash via Reuters Part of the wreckage from Ukrainian plane that crashed in Tehran shortly after take-off via Reuters Asked about the apparent discrepancy, an official told CNN: "That was the commander's assessment at the time. Symptoms emerged days after the fact, and they were treated out of an abundance of caution." Last week, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had said the initial assessment found only damage to property. "The current (Battle Damage Assessment) is, if you will, again, we can get you details, things like tentage, taxiways, the parking lot, a damaged helicopter, things like that; nothing that I would describe as major, at least as I note at this point in time. So that's the state of -- of the attack at this point as we know it. Most importantly, no casualties, no friendly casualties, whether they are US, coalition, contractor, etc.," Mr Esper said. The news of the injuries comes after the US claimed responsibility for the drone strike on General Soleimani, claiming it as an attempt to de-escalate tensions with Iran. But Tehran has since described it as an act of war and state terrorism. In the days following the strike, 176 people, including four British nationals, on board the Ukrainian International Airlines flight from Tehran to Kyiv were killed when the plane came down moments after take-off. LaTonya Myers (left) and Justina Rockeymore hug as Rockeymore comes up to receive her award during the Probation Awards Ceremony presented by Above All Odds Inc. at the Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy in Philadelphia on Thursday. Read more For LaTonya Myers, receiving a citation from Mayor Jim Kenney in 2018 for her work as the Defender Association of Philadelphias first-ever Bail Navigator felt like the moment shed finally overcome her past the 2011 conviction on drug- and gun-possession charges and the 14-year sentence of prison, probation, and parole that followed. Then, she got a notice in the mail: She was in violation of probation for missing an appointment while she was being honored at City Hall. It felt as if the probation officer wasnt interested in her accomplishments, only her failures, she said. I was scared because here I am going to [the city prisons on] State Road to help people get home, and I could have been taken into custody. Thats when Myers, 30, decided to file for early termination of probation and to start a movement spreading the word about the thousands of people just like her: doing their best to do good, but living under constant threat of incarceration. Her first step is to give out what shes calling the Probation Awards, a ceremony recognizing those people and lifting them up as candidates for early termination. People can be valedictorians and student-body presidents after they made a mistake. And if you let people go, they can thrive even further without being in survival mode, having one foot in the jail and one foot in the street," she said. READ MORE: Lost jobs, constant fear: This is life on probation for thousands in Philadelphia Myers brought together reform advocates and public defenders, as well as state senators and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, for an award ceremony Thursday evening in the grand mock trial room at Drexel Universitys Kline School of Law. Before the ceremony began, Myers gathered her honorees in a hallway and urged them to speak their truth: Think about everything the DA and the judge thought about you. Let them know that you are not throwaways, that you are not incorrigible. Honorees included Meghan Ross, serving a nine-year probation term for a drug charge; though shes sober now, and a working mom, she was recently denied early termination of probation; and Michael Luna, who likens probation to the feeling of cinder blocks on his shoulders, is now in his final semester at Community College of Philadelphia, with a 3.9 GPA. Monique Mull, who created a nonprofit record label for formerly and currently incarcerated artists, will mark the end of 20 years on parole in February. What shes most looking forward to is the sense of personal safety: I can call the police if need be, without the fear of police-contact violations. Curtistine Willis, who spent 18 years on probation for her only criminal conviction, related to squatting in an abandoned property while she was homeless, said it was a rare moment of recognition in what had been a lifetime of hardship. Shes spent that time providing elder care and babysitting, often for single mothers who cant afford to pay for the service all without recognition, until now. Also recognized was Joseph Baynes, one of more than 300 juvenile lifers in Philadelphia resentenced to terms including lifetime parole in recent years. Abdallah Lateef, another former lifer now on lifetime parole, presented the award. In the honor, Lateef said, What I hear is a cry and indeed a demand to recognize our humanity. The indignity that continues post-release, through probation and parole is an indictment against all of us. A secondary goal was to demonstrate the need for systemwide reform in a state with one of the nations highest rates of probation and parole, and unusual laws that keep people under supervision for decades. READ MORE: When it comes to probation Pennsylvania leaves judges unchecked to impose wildly different versions of justice State Sens. Larry Farnese and Art Haywood, Philadelphia Democrats, told the honorees they were important to that fight. Its important for the City of Philadelphia and the state to recognize those who have overcome the odds, and to move beyond this punishment-only approach. This is a step along the way, said Haywood, who presented each honoree with his own commendation. Its the most high-profile effort yet by Myers fledgling nonprofit, Above All Odds, which organizes bookbag giveaways for LGBT kids at the Attic Youth Center, and collects jackets left at the Gayborhood clubs Woodys and Voyeur to distribute in the wintertime. Myers invited judges, prosecutors, lawmakers, and probation officials, hoping these stories will connect with decision-makers and cast those under supervision in a different light. She wants to make early terminations more routine; many people dont know they can petition for that, and get free help from the Defender Association. She recalled when, last June, she testified in Harrisburg about the work shes done to transform her life, and a representative for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association called her an outlier. It was like a blow to the stomach, she said. Thats why, she said, Probation Awards are necessary. This is to say were not going to conform to the narratives you put on us. RIL led by richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, reported a net profit of Rs 11,640 crore, or Rs 18.4 per share, in October-December (Photo Credit: PTI File) Mumbai/Delhi: India's most valuable company Reliance Industries on Friday posted a record quarterly net profit of Rs 11,640 crore as a turnaround in oil refining business together with the continued rise in the share of its consumer businesses of retail and telecom countered lower profitability in petrochemicals. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate, led by richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, reported a net profit of Rs 11,640 crore, or Rs 18.4 per share, in October-December, up from Rs 10,251 crore, or Rs 17.3 a share, in the same period of the previous financial year, the company said in a statement. This is the highest quarterly net profit earned by any private company, surpassing its own previous best of Rs 11,262 crore in the July-September 2019 period. State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) holds the distinction of posting the highest ever quarterly profit by any Indian firm when it had reported a net profit of Rs 14,512.81 crore in January-March 2013. However, consolidated revenue fell 1.4 per cent to Rs 168,858 crore in the third quarter of 2019-20. While oil refining margins rose after six straight quarters of decline, the company opened 415 more retail stores and added 37.1 million subscribers to its Jio mobile phone service that helped increase the profitability of the venture. But the weakness in its traditional petrochemical businesses continued. The operator of the world's largest oil refining complex saw pre-tax earnings from the business rise 12 per cent to Rs 5,657 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal year. It earned USD 9.2 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel as compared to a gross refining margin (GRM) of USD 8.8 per barrel in the October-December 2018. The GRM was, however, lower than USD 9.4 per barrel earned in July-September 2019. Reliance reported record pre-tax profit from its retail and telecom businesses. The two segments now account for nearly 40 per cent of its EBITDA, up from close to 25 per cent last financial year. With its retail store strength rising to 11,316 from 10,901 at the end of the second quarter, the retail business posted a 58 per cent jump in pre-tax profit to Rs 2,389 crore and a 27 per cent rise in revenue at Rs 45,327 crore. Reliance Jio, the group's telecom arm, posted a standalone net profit of Rs 1,350 crore, which was 62.5 per cent more than the previous year, as subscriber base swelled to 370 million. Earning per subscriber rose to 128.4 per month from Rs 120 in the previous quarter. This is the first reversal as earning per subscriber had been on a decline since the first quarter of 2018-19 when it clocked Rs 134.3. Jio crossed Rs 5,600 crore quarterly EBITDA for the first time and saw a 40 per cent data traffic growth and 30 per cent voice growth year on year, the company said. Retail is growing faster than every other player, expanding across geographies, formats and verticals. Over 176 million customers walked into its stores, 42.6 per cent more than last year, as it now has over 26.3 million square feet of retail space spread across nearly 7,000 towns. Despite repeating record production of 9.9 million tonnes, the petrochemical business saw pre-tax profit drop 28.5 per cent to Rs 5,880 crore on fall in product prices. Reliance's twin refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat processed 18.1 million tonnes of crude oil, marginally higher than 18 million tonnes a year back. Loss in the oil and gas exploration and production business widened to Rs 366 crore from Rs 185 crore in October-December 2018. Commenting on the results, Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd said: "The third-quarter results for our energy business reflects the weak global economic environment and volatility in energy markets. Within our oil-to-chemical (O2C) chain, downstream petrochemicals profitability was impacted by weak margins across products with subdued demand in well-supplied markets." ALSO READ: Mukesh Ambani- Here's How Much Money Reliance Industries Chairman Made In 2019 Refining segment performance improved in a difficult operating environment given the continuous focus on cost positions, high operating rates, and product placement. Consumer businesses continue to establish new milestones every quarter, he said. "We saw consistent same-store sales growth and record footfall across our stores driven by our compelling proposition of great shopping experience and superior value. Jio is focused on giving unmatched digital experience to consumers on a nationwide basis at most affordable price, and accordingly expanding network capacity and coverage to keep pace with demand." He said Reliance was making good progress on the value unlocking initiatives announced earlier but did not give details of the proposed sale of 20 per cent of O2C business to the Saudi Arabian national oil company. ALSO READ: Reliance Jio With 36.9 Crore Users Emerges As Largest Telecom Player: TRAI In August 2019, Ambani had announced plans to sell a fifth of the O2C business to Saudi Aramco for a valuation of USD 75 billion. The deal is expected to close next year. Having completed its major investment cycle, Reliance said its outstanding debt rose to Rs 306,851 crore as on December 31, 2019, from Rs 291,982 crore as on September 30, 2019, and Rs 187,505 crore in March-end. Cash in hand increased to Rs 153,719 crore from Rs 134,746 crore at the end of the September quarter. GALVESTON The Coast Guard has suspended a search and rescue mission to locate two missing fishermen that were thrown overboard after a collision Tuesday with a chemical tanker near Galveston. Cmdr. Jordan Baldueza, who led the Coast Guards search and rescue operation, told reporters at a press conference Thursday that the decision was made to suspend the search in part because of dense fog conditions and the fact that the window of survivability for the two fishermen had passed. At this point we have exceeded over 24 hours from the time of survivability, Baldueza said. Based on those factors, which account for water temperature, air temperature, height and weight of the (missing fishermen), we already exceeded 24 hours. It was a difficult decision to suspend the search and we send the heartfelt sympathies to the families. The Coast Guard and state and local partners searched over 49 square miles over 3 days. The collision happened when the 81-foot fishing vessel Pappys Pride around 3:35 p.m Tuesday ran into the 600-foot chemical tanker Bow Fortune in foggy conditions in the Houston Ship Channel near the Galveston jetties. The fishing vessel capsized, sending four of its crew overboard. The Houston-Galveston Coast Guard sector issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched two Station Galveston response boat crews to the scene. Two of the fishermen were pulled from the water by the crew of a good Samaritan vessel and a response boat crew from the Galveston Coast Guard station. One of the fishermen pulled from the water was unresponsive. The crew administered CPR before transferring him to EMS personnel. The Coast Guard was later notified by the medical examiners office that the fishermen had died, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman. The other man pulled from the water was transferred to University of Texas Medical Branch hospital Tuesday evening. The Coast Guard is not releasing the names of any of the fishermen. Coast Guard Cmdr. Eric Carerro said there were no signs of damage to wildlife or the shoreline from the collision, despite diesel fuel that spilled from the capsized fishing boat. Carrero said divers were doing a damage survey of the vessel and a lift crane would be removing the boat from the water in the coming days. The cause of the crash is still under investigation by the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board. nick.powell@chron.com ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The Taliban has presented the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan with a proposal to reduce violence and restart long-stalled peace talks, according to Pakistani and Taliban officials, as negotiators met in Doha, Qatar, for what the Taliban said was expected to be "several days" of informal talks. "In response to the demands of the U.S., our Qatar office has put the proposal of reduction in violence on the negotiating table," a Taliban official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. A Pakistani Foreign Ministry official confirmed that the proposal was handed over to Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy. The "Americans are looking into it," he said, also speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. In a meeting with reporters in Washington, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi hailed what he called an announcement that the "Taliban gave a nod of approval to an Afghan cease fire, and that could lead to an agreement." He said hoped there would be a "reduction of violence pointing toward a cease fire." Peace talks between the United States and the Taliban have been stalled for months. Talks were scuttled in September with a tweet from President Donald Trump, and Khalilzad has been working for months to bring both sides back to the table. Negotiations resumed in December but were paused days later following a Taliban attack on the highly fortified U.S. Bagram air base, north of Kabul. This round of informal discussions has been "fruitful" and is expected to continue for "several days," Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said Friday. The two sides "discussed the signing of the agreement and the ceremony for it," he tweeted. It's unclear what agreement Shaheen is referring to. He did not respond to requests for comment. For the Afghan government, a reduction in violence is insufficient. "A ceasefire is the only way to achieve a lasting and dignified peace," Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesman for Afghanistan's president, tweeted Friday. A State Department spokesperson said "the Taliban will need to demonstrate that they are committed and able to reduce violence and eventually abide by a cease fire." The State Department would not comment on whether the Taliban delivered a proposal to Khalilzad or release details of what a reduction in violence would look like. "Our team in Doha has made exceedingly clear to the Taliban that the current level of violence is not conducive for peace," said the spokesperson, who was authorized to release information only on the condition of anonymity. A diplomat based in Kabul briefed on the Doha negotiations said the Taliban's proposed reduction in violence would apply to major cities and include a cessation of high-profile attacks. The proposal also included the possibility of halting attacks along highways, the diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. American negotiators are pushing for a reduction in violence against all Afghan government forces, as well as NATO coalition forces and U.S. troops, the diplomat added. Once formal peace talks restart, American and Taliban negotiators will return to drafting a peace agreement. The draft deal reached in September would have withdrawn thousands of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in exchange for a Taliban pledge not to harbor terrorists with aspirations of carrying out international attacks. In the years before he ran for president, Trump called for ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan. There are about 13,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. military command in Kabul, down from 15,000 in late 2018. Earlier this month, a Taliban attack claimed the lives of two U.S. service members when a roadside bomb exploded as their vehicle passed. A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, touted the attack on Twitter, saying the blast shredded the vehicle and killed the "invaders." - - - Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan. The Washington Post's Shaiq Hussain in Islamabad, Sayed Salahuddin in Kabul and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report. India strongly believes in multilateralism and will work for the strengthening of the WTO with other stakeholders said Union Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways,Piyush Goyal, in New Delhi yesterday. He was part of a panel discussion at the Raisina Dialogue being held in the National Capital on 14-16 January 2020. India has been at the receiving end of unfair trade practices for a very long time and therefore believes in the creation of a far more reformed rules based trading system said the Minister. He further stated that India also believes in the strengthening of the WTO and is one of the first four countries to pay all its dues to the World Trade Body. Commerce and Industry Minister stated that it is the right time now to make trade policies that are people centric to be sustainable, to eliminate poverty and raise prosperity levels for all citizens. Piyush Goyal informed that India has not imposed any curbs on imports from either Malaysia or Turkey or any other country and it believes in fair play and equal terms for all trading partners and if curbs are imposed,they apply to all countries. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India on Friday summoned a senior official of the Pakistan High Commission here and lodged a strong protest over recent cases of abduction of minor girls belonging to minority Hindu community in that country, official sources said. As per reports, two minor girls, Shanti Meghwad and Sarmi Meghwad belonging to the minority Hindu community were abducted from a village in Sindh province on January 14. "Pakistan has been conveyed the grave concerns as expressed amongst various quarters of the Indian civil society at such a shocking and deplorable incident involving minor girls from the minority Hindu community there. The incidents have been strongly condemned, and India has asked for immediate and safe return of these girls to their families," said a source. These girls belonged to Umar Village in Sindh, according to reports. In another incident, a minor girl, Mehak, also belonging to the minority Hindu community, was abducted from the Jacobabad district of Sindh province in Pakistan on January 15, according to reports. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (FOR USE AS DESIRED) Philadelphia Police Department crime tape In North Philadelphia August 15, 2019. Read more The body that police found this week in a dumpster in Philadelphias Olney section has been identified as a 22-year-old man, officials said Friday. Darius Cheeseboro, who lived on the 100 block of East Albanus Street, less than 10 blocks from where his body was found, had been missing since Dec. 20, according to missing-persons websites. Homicide detectives were investigating how the victims body, which had multiple stab wounds, ended up in a dumpster at North Sixth and West Rockland Streets. Officers were led to the scene Tuesday after officials at a nearby school were told by a teenage girl that a homicide had happened over Christmas break and where the body could be found, police said. Officers followed the girls tip and found Cheeseboro shortly after 1:30 p.m. Acting Police Commissioner Christine Coulter told 6ABC Tuesday that the girl said the homicide happened in late December, and that she witnessed it. A spokesperson for Philadelphias Medical Examiner on Friday could not confirm an approximate time of death. No arrests have been made and police declined to provide any identifying information on the girl or the school. The mantra Never give up plays over and over in Anna Regers head. With her Christian Louboutin heels, Louis Vuitton bags and lush lashes, Reger, who co-owns Rockstar Property with husband John Reger, knows her life could have turned out so differently. It doesnt matter where you start; its really where you end, she said, standing in front of a large painting of red lips at their northwest Houston office building. Regers life began humbly in a poor neighborhood on Houstons north side. She was the oldest of six children. Her father lost his eyesight to a rare illness and couldnt work; her mother worked multiple jobs to keep the familys lights on. There were many times they didnt have enough money to buy clothes. Reger was charged with taking care of her younger siblings, which meant she never attended high school. Their poverty hurt so deeply, Reger swore she would make a different life for herself. More Information Home: Memorial Pairs of shoes: 300 Celebrity style crush: Melania Trump (no political relevance) Favorite designers: Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent Must-have in closet: Jeans. "I have over 200 pairs. I love Joe's and AG." Would never wear: Miniskirts, bike shorts Favorite travel destination: Bahamas Bucket-list travel spot: Italy Secret talent: "I can figure out anything." Favorite food: Sushi Favorite cocktail: Vodka mojito Most-wanted superpower: To heal children Theme song: "Hall of Fame" by the Script, featuring will.i.am See More Collapse By age 14, she had moved in with her teenage boyfriend, taking a job caring for children with disabilities in a nearby foster home. Eventually, she went to work for an agency that provided assistance for children with disabilities. I loved the children, said Reger, who is in her early 40s. Many of them couldnt talk, but they showed me love. They felt like my family. Her life took a tragic turn at age 21, when she was involved in a car accident. Her boyfriend was driving after a night out drinking; a backseat passenger was killed, another passenger was left in a wheelchair. Reger, who was in the front passenger seat, ended up in a hospital intensive-care unit for a week, then in a wheelchair before she could walk again. After she recovered a few months later, Reger fell asleep at the wheel after a long shift at work. She crashed. This time, her face was crushed, requiring multiple reconstructive surgeries that left a scar from ear to ear. Her nose was put back together using cartilage from one of her ribs. Reger felt like giving up and sank into a depression, she said, but a clients mother encouraged her to complete her education. And she did, earning her GED, an associates degree in science from Houston Community College and later a bachelor of science from the University of Houston. She married at age 24 and was divorced by her early 30s but continued to mother two stepdaughters from the relationship. She has a daughter, Leilani, 8, with husband John, and he has five more children. Regers stepdaughter, Mariah Fausett, 28, met Anna when she was 9. Anna always had this hustle that I admired, she said. She instilled in me to be independent, to work hard and be safe. Anna is one of a kind. She easily became my second mom and will always be. Reger and her husband have amassed a rock-star fortune with their investment properties, which she manages, and their Rockstar Wig company, which offers fun costume wigs for cosplay, anime and Halloween; they are sold at Party City. They also own Rock a Lash, which specializes in costume lashes that can be paired with the wigs, and the Dont Kiss the Baby bib line, which was started when their daughter was an infant as a tongue-in-cheek warning to adults to keep germs away. Like her life, her style has evolved, too. Even when we were poor, I was always a jeans girl and wore high heels everywhere, she said. When I started making a little money, I bought Michael Kors, and then I treated myself to a pair of Louboutins. More than anything, Reger hopes her story will inspire young women who feel trapped by poverty and tragedy. Just because you dont make the right decisions when youre young or you come from nothing doesnt mean you should give up, Reger said. Im still alive. Im still here. Im never giving up. joy.sewing@chron.com Volkswagen AG is set to take a 20 percent stake in Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Guoxuan High-tech Co Ltd, two sources told Reuters, as the German firm accelerates its electric push into the world's largest auto market. The deal would mark Volkswagen's first direct ownership in a Chinese battery maker and comes as the Wolfsburg-based automaker strives to meet a goal of selling 1.5 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) a year in China by 2025, including plug-in hybrid cars. The top foreign automaker in China plans to acquire the stake in Shenzhen-listed Guoxuan via a discounted private share placement in the coming weeks, the two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Based on Guoxuan's market capitalisation of $2.8 billion, a 20% stake in the company at present is worth about $560 million. The deal's details have been mostly finalized and the two firms are waiting for new Chinese regulatory rules on private share placements that will provide a more flexible pricing mechanism and shorter lock-up periods for majority shareholders, said one of the people, speaking on condition of anonymity. After the stake purchase, Volkswagen will become the battery maker's second-largest shareholder with a 20% stake, behind Zhuhai Guoxuan Trading Ltd, a firm controlled by Guoxuan's founder Li Zhen, which currently holds 25%. Shares in Guoxuan surged by their maximum 10% on the news on Friday to trade at their highest level since March last year. Volkswagen declined to comment. Guoxuan and the China Securities Regulatory Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. An executive at Guoxuan's board secretary's office told the government-backed Securities Times newspaper it had not yet received news about a stake acquisition. SECURING SUPPLIES Guoxuan is among a swathe of mid-tier Chinese battery makers behind CATL and BYD. It is based in China's eastern city of Hefei, where Volkswagen is also building electric vehicles with JAC Motor, one of a number of its Chinese joint venture partners. A third source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Volkswagen has long wanted to control a battery maker to better manage its supply chain. To achieve its NEV sales goal in China, Volkswagen has built a new $2.5 billion electric vehicle plant with partner SAIC Motor that will have annual output capacity of 300,000 cars and is also revamping manufacturing facilities in China's southeastern city of Foshan to build electric cars with partner FAW Group. Volkswagen has also identified CATL as a strategic supplier and Volkswagen board member Stefan Sommer told Reuters in July last year that it could even build its own battery cell manufacturing plants in China. "By holding a stake in the top Chinese battery makers, carmakers can gain more bargaining power on battery prices," said Yale Zhang, managing director of Shanghai-based consultancy AutoForesight. "Foreign carmakers are now catching up with their Chinese counterparts on securing battery supplies in China." Volkswagen's rivals in China include Tesla, which earlier this month began delivering cars from its $2 billion factory in China. The U.S. electric car maker eventually plans to manufacture 250,000 vehicles a year in the plant's first phase. China has been a keen supporter of NEV - pure battery electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrids - and has started implementing NEV sales quota requirements for automakers. However, cuts to subsidies have dealt the market a blow, with NEV sales contracting for the first time last year. Sales this year are likely to be flat or rise only slightly, according to China's top auto industry association. 1917 Director - Sam Mendes Cast - George Mackay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth No amount of positive press, including this review, will further 1917s chances at the Oscars more than a behind-the-scenes clip currently spreading like wildfire on social media. It juxtaposes set footage with the final scene from the film, side-by-side for viewers to fully appreciate sheer scale of director Sam Mendes vision. We see the young actor George MacKay emerge from a trench and sprint across a battlefield, as hundreds of soldiers charge directly at the enemy. He falls several times, but with a single-minded devotion to his duty, picks himself up and continues running, directly towards the camera, and us. Watch the 1917 trailer here Mendes co-writer, Krysty Wilson-Cairns wrote on Twitter that when the scene was being filmed, the crew gasped when MacKay fell the first time it wasnt scripted but the actors split second decision to get up and continue the shot created movie magic. Shes quite right. The scene is among the finest stretches of action youre ever likely to see this year or any other year. It is the crescendo at the end of an epic opera, the zenith of a cinematic peak that I have no idea how Mendes conquered. 1917 is filled with moments of such wonder that I often found myself sitting back in awe, both transfixed by the bombast and somewhat surprisingly, moved by the moments of quiet introspection. There was another tweet I read recently, in which someone had offered theory as to why female filmmakers are routinely overlooked for awards. They said that while male directors couldnt help but show off just this year, Martin Scorsese has dabbled in digital de-ageing and Quentin Tarantino has lovingly recreated period Hollywood on practical sets the women are more likely to let the stories do the heavy lifting, thereby diverting attention from themselves instead of attracting it. If you consider some of the best films directed by women this year The Farewell, Booksmart, Gully Boy youd have to agree with this theory. This image released by Universal Pictures shows Dean-Charles Chapman, left, and George MacKay in a scene from 1917, directed by Sam Mendes. (AP) And Mendes most certainly isnt helping. While hes never been one to show off (besides that opening shot in Spectre), he appears to be concentrating on little else in 1917 than pulling off an incredible technical feat the illusion of a single, unbroken shot. Reuniting with his regular cinematographer, the legendary Roger Deakins, Mendes seems to be building on the foundation laid by Alfonso Cuaron in Gravity, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu in Birdman and The Revenant. Each of these three films won their directors Academy Awards, and barring an upset, Mendes will likely pip favourites Martin Scorsese and Bong Joon-ho for the honour at this years ceremony. We open on a rather placid note. Two young soldiers are awoken from their nap and instructed to meet their General (Colin Firth). He informs them that the Germans have feigned a retreat and are preparing an ambush on more than 1500 British troops, whove interpreted the fallback as a signal to attack. The young soldiers must travel across enemy lines, brave the elements, and deliver a message to the commander of the 1500-strong battalion (Benedict Cumberbatch), instructing him to call off their assault. The film is structured almost like a video game; mission-oriented, with thinly sketched characters who run into bosses after every level they complete. I can only imagine the effect 1917 will have on audiences that arent familiar with the techniques Mendes and Deakins are about to unleash upon them. As you watch Lance Corporals Schofield and Blake embark upon their quest, the camera glides through cramped trenches, hovers over bogs of water littered with dead bodies, and floats across expansive fields. In moments of tension, it tiptoes towards the young actors faces, and sneaks in for close-ups; in epic action sequences like the one being shared in the viral clip I spoke about earlier, it races across ravaged landscapes. One moment in particular, which involves a distant aerial dog-fight, will make you recoil in your seat. Another, lit entirely by flares will single-handedly win Deakins his second Oscar. This image released by Universal Pictures shows George MacKay in a scene from 1917, directed by Sam Mendes. (AP) But what Deakins camera never, ever does, is stray too far from our two protagonists. 1917 wouldnt have worked as well as it does had Schofield and Blake not been decent men. On their journey, they come across several soldiers (including a Sikh sepoy) -- each of them more cynical than the last. Lance Corporal Schofield was chosen for the mission quite randomly a twist of fate that Mendes perhaps intends as a deliberate mirror to the arbitrary manner in which governments send men to war but towards the end, he transforms from a reluctant hero to a man who represents the bravery of the millions of soldiers who died in World War 1; an entire generation lost. Amid all the visual razzle-dazzle, 1917 somehow finds the time to make grand humanist statements about war. It isnt so much interested in the politics of warfare, but like Christopher Nolans Dunkirk and Steven Spielbergs Saving Private Ryan, is more concerned with transporting audiences to the battlefield, so that next time, they have the good sense to not invoke Siachen ke jawaan in their petty arguments. Follow @htshowbiz for more The author tweets @RohanNaahar A 34-year-old Indian-origin woman who was reported missing two weeks ago has been found dead under mysterious circumstances in the trunk of her car in the US state of Illinois, according to media reports. Sureel Dabawala was reported missing by her family on January 1 after she failed to return to her home in Schaumburg, Illinois on December 30, Schaumburg Police Department said in a statement. She had gone to work out at a gym and was last seen driving her car. She never came home after that, her family was quoted as saying by the Chicago Tribune. On Monday, the Chicago Police Department contacted Schaumburg Police to report that a deceased person had been recovered from the inside of the vehicle owned by missing endangered, Dabawala from Schaumburg, the statement said. The Chicago Police Department is handling this as a death investigation, it said. After private investigators hired by Dabawala's family located her white sedan parked in Chicago's West Garfield Park neighbourhood, Chicago police officers were called there, Chicago police spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli was quoted by the Chicago Tribune. The trunk of the car was opened, after her father arrived with the keys of the car. Dabawala was found wrapped in a blanket and authorities later pronounced her dead, it said. The medical examiner's office released her identification on Tuesday. However, results from an autopsy could not be completed on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the office said. Toxicology results take at least a month to arrive. In autopsy cases in which they're required, no details of the investigation are released until those results are available, Natalia Derevyanny, director of communications for the Cook County Bureau of Administration, was quoted as saying by dailyhearld.com. Dabawala's sister said her family was not yet sure what happened to her sister, and they were awaiting updates from the police and information from the autopsy before speculating about her final moments, the report said. Dabawala had completed her MBA from University Chicago and was working at a medical center managed by her father, who is a doctor, abc7Chicago.com reported. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Donald Trump still wants a vote in the Senate to dismiss the articles of impeachment against him as both sides prepare their arguments for when the president's trial begins on Tuesday. President Trump also fears his defense attorneys will not be aggressive enough in fighting for him, The New York Times reported. Trump is known to care optics and expressed concern about how he will come across when the trial plays out on television screens across the country. He spent Friday morning retweeting officials who were praising his USMCA and China trade deals and pundits who were criticizing the impeachment trial. President Donald Trump still wants a vote in the Senate to dismiss the impeachment charges against him White House Counsel Pat Cipollone (top left), Trumps private attorney Jay Sekulow (top right), and Cipollone deputies Patrick Philbin (bottom left) and Michael Purpura (bottom right) are expected to be part of the Trump defense team The White House has not officially announced who will defend the president when the Senate trial begins next Tuesday. But officials have already begun laying the groundwork for the president's counter argument to impeachment. Vice President Mike Pence wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, urging Senate Democrats to renounce the impeachment trial, asking if there 'would be a Senate Democrat willing to stand up and reject a partisan impeachment passed by the Democrat-controlled House.' And, on a call with reporters on Wednesday, a senior administration official argued the impeachment articles are so weak that 'if this was a court proceedings they would be subject to dismissal,' adding you wouldnt take up peoples time with such a weak case. White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway took questions from the reporters on the White House driveway on Thursday to offer another round of defense. Lets stop pretending this is about the Ukraine call. This is about getting the president and if they had any faith in all those white people left on the Democratic debate stage running for president wow because if they had any faith they could beat Donald Trump at the ballot box they would put all their energy into that. But instead they want to get the president now. And they cant. Hell be acquitted in the Senate and he wont be removed from office and hell be re-elected,' she said. Additionally, Conway, in response to a question from DailyMail.com, said the president's defense team could be announced as early as today but I would imagine in the next few days. She said White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, Trumps private attorney Jay Sekulow, and Cipollone deputies Patrick Philbin and Michael Purpura will all be part of the process. But she and other administration officials have declined to say if Rudy Giuliani, Trump's private attorney who's been defending him on television, or Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican congressman who offered a fiery defense of the president during the House impeachment hearings, will join the team. 'We'll be making an announcement about the team at the appropriate time,' a senior administration official said Wednesday on a call with reporters. Both the White House and some Senate Republicans are arguing Trump's trial should only take two weeks - Bill Clinton's 1999 trial took about six weeks - and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has pushed for a short session with no witnesses. Trump, however, has publicly mulled wanting witnesses for the defense, including Hunter Biden, who the president repeatedly attacks for his work on the board of a Ukrainian gas company, and the whistleblower, whose revelation of the details of Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky started the impeachment process. Democrats, meanwhile, want to call four additional witnesses - acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, former National Security Adviser John Bolton and two other White House aides. They only need four Republican votes to force McConnell to allow witness testimony and at least four GOP senators have said they are open to hearing from additional witnesses. A vote on calling witnesses will be taken after each side makes its opening arguments in the case. McConnell, meanwhile, has warned the president additional witnesses can cause unknown factors to arise, The Times reported. Officials have declined to say if Rudy Giuliani, Trump's private attorney who's been defending him on television, or Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican congressman who offered a fiery defense of the president during the House impeachment hearings, will join the Trump defense team After the senators were sworn in, President Trump sent out a tweet - in all caps - responding to his impeachment Thursday marked a day of pomp and circumstance on Capitol Hill as the impeachment articles against the president were formally read on the Senate floor and Chief Justice John Roberts arrived to issue an oath to senators. Trump was scheduled to meet with students about school prayer in the Oval Office at the same time senators were raising their hands to be sworn in. Instead he kept them waiting over 30 minutes, presumably to watch what was unfolding on Capitol Hill. The president defended himself against impeachment in that Oval Office meeting and on Twitter. 'I JUST GOT IMPEACHED FOR MAKING A PERFECT PHONE CALL!' he wrote in all caps after the Senate finished swearing in lawmakers Thursday. And he went on a long riff against the impeachment trial when speaking to reporters at his school prayer event. 'It's a hoax. Everybody knows that. It's a complete hoax,' Trump said. I have to go through a hoax. A phony hoax. Put out by the Democrats so they can try to win an election that hopefully they're not going to win. It was put out for purposes of winning an election. Our country is doing great. Our country has never done better,' he added. Thursday's hearing began as a series of new bombshell exploded in the Ukraine scandal. At 2.10pm, John Roberts was sworn in. Chuck Grassley, the president pro-tempore administered the oath, saying: 'Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, President of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice, according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God?' 'I do,' Roberts replied, his left hand on a Bible. Then he turned to the senators and invited them to do the same. All 100 stood and said, 'I do.' They were then invited to come forward in fours to sign the Book of Oaths, confirming their commitment to impartial justice. 'When the chief justice walked in you could see the weight of the moment. I saw members on both sides of the aisle visibly gulp,' said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in the moments after. All rise: The Chief Justice told all the senators to stand, raise their hands, and take the oath Donald Trump vented again at the 'hoax impeachment' in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, during an announcement of the 'guidance on Constitutional prayer in public schools' It was the final moment of unity the chamber will see; on Tuesday, it will debate the rules of the trial, opening the way for a vicious brawl over the calling of witnesses. Democrats are trying to pile pressure on moderate Republicans to agree to more witnesses. Additionally on Thursday, the non-partisan Government Accountability Office ruled that holding aid to Ukraine was illegal, because the White House Office of Management and Budget defied Congress to do so. And new evidence prompts Ukrainian police to open a formal investigation into whether U.S. Amb. Marie Yovanovitch was being surveilled while holding the top diplomatic post in the country. That evidence came courtesy of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani's associate Lev Parnas, who turned over messages to House Democrats before they transmitted the articles of impeachment over to the Senate. Those messages included ones Parnas received from pro-Trump Congressional candidate Robert Hyde that insinuated he had men watching Yovanovitch's movements. 'They are willing to help if we/you would like a price,' the message said. Parnas told MSNBC he didn't believe Hyde had people actually spying on Yovanovitch and said he didn't think the ambassador was in harm's way. Still, it got a reaction from Ukraine's Interior Ministry, which runs the police. 'Our goal is to investigate whether there actually was a violation of Ukrainian and international law, which could be the subject for proper reaction. Or whether it is just bravado and fake information in the informal conversation between two U.S. citizens,' the ministry said in a statement Thursday. Trump's impeachment revolves around the accusation that he held up $400 million in military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the country's new president to announce investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden and the origins of the 2016 Russia probe. Former Vice President Joe Biden is one of the leading 2020 Democratic candidates. Another ransomware attack vector against small and medium financial institutions will be a "pay-per-install" scheme. The successful launch of cryptocurrencies such as Libra and Gram might lead to the worldwide spread of this type of asset, which naturally will attract the attention of criminals. During the last few years, cybercriminals have invested a lot in methods to bypass anti-fraud systems, because now it's not enough just to steal the login, password and PII - they now need a digital fingerprint to bypass anti-fraud systems in order to extract money from the bank. To safeguard financial institutions from cyber threats, the forecast to potential cyber threats in the year 2020 are: Attacks against Libra and TON/Gram The successful launch of cryptocurrencies such as Libra and Gram might lead to the worldwide spread of this type of asset, which naturally will attract the attention of criminals. Given the serious surge in cybercriminal activity during the rapid growth of Bitcoin and altcoins in 2018, we predict that a similar situation will most likely unfold around Gram and Libra. Large players in this market should be especially careful, as there are a number of APT groups, such as WildNeutron and Lazarus, whose interests include crypto assets. They are very likely to exploit these developments. Reselling bank access During 2019, we witnessed cases where groups who specialize in targeted attacks on financial institutions appeared in the victims' networks after intrusions by other groups that specialize in selling rdp/vnc access, such as FXMSP and TA505. These facts are also confirmed by underground forums and chat monitoring. In 2020, we expect an increase in the activity of groups specializing in the sale of network access in the African and Asian regions, as well as in Eastern Europe. Their prime targets are small banks, as well as financial organizations recently bought by big players who are rebuilding their cybersecurity system in accordance with the standards of their parent companies. Ransomware attacks against banks This forecast logically follows from the previous one. As mentioned above, small financial institutions often become victims of opportunistic cybercriminals. If these criminals cannot resell access, or even if it becomes less likely that they will be able to withdraw money, then the most logical monetisation of such access is ransomware. Banks are among those organisations that are more likely to pay a ransom than accept the loss of data, so we expect the number of such targeted ransomware attacks to continue to rise in 2020. Another ransomware attack vector against small and medium financial institutions will be a "pay-per-install" scheme. Traditional botnets will eventually turn into increasingly popular delivery mechanisms against those financial institutions. 2020: the return of custom tooling Measures taken by antivirus products to effectively detect open source tools used for pen testing purposes, and the adoption of the latest cyberdefense technologies, will push cybercrime actors to return to custom tooling in 2020 and also invest in new Trojans and exploits. Global expansion of mobile banking Trojans: result of leaked source Our research and monitoring of underground forums suggests that the source code of some popular mobile banking Trojans was leaked into the public domain. Given the popularity of such Trojans, we expect a repeat of the situation when the source code of ZeuS and SpyEye Trojans were leaked: the number of attempts to attack users will increase at times, and the geography of attacks will expand to almost every country in the world. Investment apps on the rise: new target for criminals Mobile investment apps are becoming more popular among users around the globe. This trend won't go unnoticed by cybercriminals in 2020. Given the popularity of some fintech companies and exchanges (for both real and virtual money), cybercriminals will realize that not all of them are prepared to deal with massive cyberattacks, as some apps still lack basic protection for customer accounts, and do not offer two-factor authentication or certificate pinning to protect app communication. Several governments are deregulating this area and new players are appearing every day, becoming popular very quickly. In fact, we have already seen attempts by cybercriminals to substitute the interfaces of these apps with their own malicious versions. Magecarting 3.0: even more attacker groups and cloud apps to become prime targets Over the past couple of years, JS skimming has gained immense popularity among attackers. Unfortunately, cybercriminals now have a huge attack surface that consists of vulnerable e-commerce websites and extremely cheap JS skimmer tools available for sale on various forums, starting at $200. At the moment we are able to distinguish at least 10 different actors involved in these types of attacks and we believe that their number will continue to grow during the next year. The most dangerous attacks will be on companies that provide services such as e-commerce as a service, which will lead to the compromise of thousands of companies. Political instability leading to the spread of cybercrime in specific regions Some countries are experiencing political and social upheaval, resulting in masses of people seeking refugee status in other countries. These waves of immigration include all sorts of people, including cybercriminals. This phenomenon will result in the spread of geographically localized attacks in countries that have not previously been affected by them. YPSILANTI, MI -- The Washtenaw County Democratic Party plans to host an art exhibition showcasing the works of Ypsilanti Community Schools graduates. Visitors can see what six Ypsilanti schools alumni have been creating since graduation in the Ypsi Emerging exhibit, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17 at the Washtenaw County Democratic Party headquarters, 418 W. Michigan Ave., in Ypsilanti. We want to showcase the strengths of their work, as well as the strength of the program at Ypsilanti schools, said Margaret Schankler, a Democratic Party volunteer. They graduated high school a few years ago and theyre beginning art careers, but there isnt necessarily a lot of opportunity for artists at that level in their career. Graduates Paris Green, Skylar Clouse, Terrell Jones, Mi Pham and Tello Wessells will be featured in the exhibit, along with music by KAITO. Some of their work includes manipulated photography, paintings, drawings, textile art and customized shoes. Party volunteers reached out to Ypsilanti Community High School art teacher Lynne Settles to find alumni of the art program. Green was the first person they approached, and the show grew from there. Jones has been creating artwork as long as he can remember. He recalls drawing on the walls of his home with crayons. For me, it reminds me of back when I was just coming out of high school. I participated in a lot of things like this, so its giving me that same feeling back, said Jones. Its cool to see where Im at now. Four pieces by Jones will be on display at Ypsi Emerging. In the past, the local Democratic Party hosted a reception and show for Ypsilanti artists to raise funds for students to attend an exhibition in Washington D.C. Ypsilanti schools were the first in Michigan invited to attend the D.C. exhibition hosted by the Department of Education. Organizers felt it went well and decided to provide a space for graduates of Ypsilanti schools with plans for a series of events. We brainstormed ideas about how to become more of a community center and resource, so we came up with the idea of doing some art shows and receptions, said Schankler. CHADWICKS, N.Y. --Deborah Leonard, the mother of Lucas Leonard, the boy killed in the 2015 Word of Life Church beating, has been released from prison. Oneida County District Attoney, Scott McNamara has confirmed this with NEWSChannel 2. Deborah, along with her husband Bruce, were sentenced in Feb. 2017 for the beatings. Deborah Leonard was convicted of Assault in the 1st degree, and Assault in the 2nd degree. Her original release date was slated for Jan. 18, 2020 but released two days early. Her post-release supervision will run through Jan. 17, 2025. Deborah Leonard received credit for time served before she was sentenced, and credit for good behavior while in prison. The beatings also left Lucas' brother, Christopher, seriously injured. Real Estate agent Alice Jennings of Houlihan Lawrences New Canaan brokerage was recently awarded Realtor Citizen of the Year by the New Canaan Board of Realtors. The award, which exemplifies professionalism and dedication to the community, was presented to Jennings at the organizations holiday party, which was held Dec. 3 at the Carriage Barn Arts Center. Jennings, who is a native New Canaanite, has been a full-time residential broker for the last 27 years. She and her husband raised five children and they all attended the New Canaan public schools. Jennings is a member of the Connecticut Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors and a graduate of the Graduate Real Estate Institute (G.R.I.). Her volunteer commitments include former board member of The Waveny Chamber Music Society, the New Canaan Artisans/New Canaan Sewing Group and Meals on Wheels. Art museums, classical music concerts and the New Canaan YMCA are among her outside interests. For more information about Jennings, and the award, visit Houlihan Lawrences website at houlihanlawrence.com. GRANITE CITY Members of the Senate special committee on Opioid Crisis Abatement met in Granite City Thursday to hear testimony from state and local agencies. I am pleased with the effort and progress made by the committee and departments who testified during committee, said state Sen. Rachelle Crowe, D-Glen Carbon. The conversations allowed us to identify issues with access to treatment programs and areas lacking resources, giving us better insight as we begin to start designing legislation to address these discrepancies. Matt Hancock has suffered an embarrassing court defeat after his controversial policy on suspending doctors pensions was deemed illegal. The health secretary was granted more power last year to suspend pension benefits to NHS staff charged with a crime, which the High Court has ruled breaches human rights. The court said the measure was wrong in principle and inherently unfair. Justice Andrews said it is a fundamental principle that a person facing such criminal charges is presumed innocent until the prosecution has made a jury sure of their guilt. She said: That principle cannot be displaced or watered down. NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Show all 18 1 /18 NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, addresses demonstrators following the march AFP/Getty NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary EPA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Reuters NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary EPA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary PA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary PA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images The British Medical Association, which challenged the measure in court, said people can lose their rights to other public sector pension schemes when found guilty, but not before. The High Court found that when the government amended NHS pension rules in April 2019, it wrongly conflated someone charged with a crime who may well still be innocent and someone who had been convicted. Mr Hancock had pushed ahead with the policy, despite outcry from the BMA. In April last year, the trade union for doctors warned the proposal risks unfairly subjecting innocent members to hardship in the magazine Pulse. After the ruling, the BMA said: We are glad that these regulations, which should never have been approved in the first place, will now be struck from the statute book. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the associations council chair, said: These rules assume guilt from the outset with little regard for the impact on a doctors wellbeing, career or personal life. We could not allow the government to simply disregard the fundamental principle that a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: We are considering the implications of the Courts judgment. 17.01.2020 LISTEN Yesterday, some civil society organisations (CSOs) met with top officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) at Alisa Hotel in Accra. Two important ingredients for the success of such engagements were however missing: sincerity and open-mindedness. Entering into the engagement hall with a closed mind which was what happened yesterday did not help matters. We could not have expected anything otherwise considering the entrenched position of the said CSOs and their colours. Perhaps the meeting should not have even taken place at all because the guests of the EC were not prepared to consider under any circumstances the positions put forth by the Commission for a new voters register. CSOs are supposed to assist in the streamlining of the democratic process but when as it is palpable that such bodies have entrenched positions because of their origins, then any engagement with a view to arriving at conclusions useful for the country becomes useless and unproductive. Information available to us indicates without doubt that the CSOs only turned up for the meeting for the cameras; their positions as it were unchangeable. The simplicity with which the statement they read soon after leaving the venue of the engagement is as puzzling as it is amazing, considering the stature of those behind the action. Under no circumstances should the source code of elections management be outside the reach of the EC as the reality of the situation suggests. This has been the case over the years. And the CSOs want the status quo unaltered? Let us be serious. The CSOs, it would appear, deliberately glossed over the importance of sovereignty in such matters. Why would a critical state institution such as the EC be at the mercy of a foreign entity when arrangements are available to reverse this anomaly? Even the opaque ballot box syndrome as it were was not easily changed but eventually it gave way to the transparent. The CSOs should not belittle the intelligence of the IT experts at the disposal of the EC whose input have impacted the arguments of the elections management body in this unnecessary hullabaloo. It is not for CSOs to put forth their arguments with a concentrated dose of hubris. This is the picture their statement conveys and palpably so. We need a new voters' register and the earlier that is the better. The absence of a backup against the possibility of a crash is something which we ignore at our peril. The decision to gang up against innovations from the EC appears to have been hatched ever since the order changed at the elections management body and with a willing gang of CSOs available to raise the decibel of noise the cacophony is unsurprising. The presidential debate novelty and the dashed hope of being tapped for the headship of the EC are remote causes of the seeming opprobrium for anything emanating from the Commission. The EC management have been mandated to take decisions that best serve our democracy. Ganging up to disrupt a good cause is inappropriate and smacks mischief. Go EC, go EC. SIMSBURY Insider or fabulist, international Trump operative or expletive-slinging social climber, one thing cant be taken away from Robert Finley Hyde, a wannabe congressional hopeful who insinuated himself into the Ukraine scandal and the presidents impeachment. Hyde had inside knowledge of the administrations desire to replace the U.S. ambassador. In private, social media exchanges with now-indicted Trump operative Lev Parnas dating back to March, released this week by House Democrats, Hyde clearly was aware of Trump inner-circle concerns with then-Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch months before the issue burst into the news. Hyde then wrote messages to Parnas that appeared to show he was tracking the whereabouts of Yovanovitch on behalf of President Donald Trumps back-channel operations, led by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Was that a joke between two alcohol-fueled political operatives? Thats what Hyde said Wednesday night in a conservative media interview, and what Parnas said, also Wednesday night, in an interview with the liberal MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. Federal investigators arent treating it as a joke. They visited Hydes Simsbury home and his Avon office on Thursday morning. Was Hyde, a former landscaper and construction contractor, really involved in international espionage? If he was, that could affect Trumps upcoming impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate. And in Ukraine, police said Thursday they have launched an investigation into the possibility that the U.S. ambassador came under illegal surveillance before she was recalled from her post in May, the Associated Press reported. Experts and political insiders acquainted with Hyde and with cybersecurity and intelligence told Hearst that Hyde would have neither the contacts nor the clout to spy on Yovanovitch in the weeks before Trump recalled her. I always thought this guy was full of B.S. from the beginning, said Dick Foley, a longtime state GOP consultant who has occasionally met Hyde at various political events. I dont think this guy could surveil a dead person. This never struck me as something he could do. The world is full of dreamers and for Democrats to put any stock in this guy at all is to mislead themselves tremendously. No one just waltzes into Kiev and starts conducting surveillance, said Arthur House, a former military intelligence officer and head of cybersecurity for the state of Connecticut under former Gov. Dannel Malloy. You dont wander around Kiev for crying out loud, freelancing intelligence operations, House said Thursday. The Russians would track you, the Ukrainians would track you, the Americans would track you. House, who was in Kiev on security-related business in 2016, agrees with the fantasy theory. An awful lot of people have a modern novel or a James Bond sense of what intelligence does, House said. It is a field that is given to fantasies and you do see people who are not all that tightly wrapped imagining themselves in a cloak-and-dagger escapade, and celebrating it and bragging about it when nothing happened. Perhaps not coincidentally, Hyde, a 40-year-old decorated veteran of six years with the Marines Corps, was asked by Ballotpedia to name the fictional character he would most like to be. His answer: James Bond, 007. In Washington, theres even more skepticism on Hydes credibility, tempered with a need to get to the truth. This guy is a blow-hard, said U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4. Hes outrageous. Hes a disgusting human being. Even the head of the Connecticut Republican party is making that argument. Behind the bluster, however, there might have been nuggets of facts of Trumps agenda against Yovanovitch, who was seen as an opponent to the presidents attempt to push Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Bidens son. One expert in political operations suggested that Hyde was participating in a farce but that Parnas might have actually thought Hyde was tracking Yovanovitch. My gut tells me it was a schemer scheming a schemer, the person said. In that scenario, Parnas thought he was a real contact and Hyde was trying to somehow collect a payday a theory supported by Hyde mentioning money in at least one message. All of which demands more digging. I think it is likely that he is showing off and bloviating, Himes said of Hyde. But the subject matter is so very serious that it has to be investigated, certainly by law enforcement. If there is a U.S. citizen who is in some way indirectly affiliated with the White House maybe it goes Giuliani, Parnas, Hyde thats about as serious as it gets, particularly since there were threats, veiled threats. In the communications with Parnas, Hydes used explicit language disparaging the ambassador, with references to spying on her actions. From a law enforcement and security stand point - thats why I say my opinion doesnt matter - you check these things out, Himes said. Again, the other piece of this is: The president associates with these terrible people. Manafort, Gates, Stone, Cohen, it goes on and on and on. Those are just the ones who are in jail right now. All of the sleaze that surrounds the president is really horrifying. Weve just become dulled to the fact that the most powerful man in the world is surrounded by people like this. United States Rep. Val Demmings, D-FL, a member of the House Intelligence Committee and a House impeachment manager, said in an interview that he didnt want to parse whether Hyde was drunk, as Parnas said, or joking, as Hyde said in an interview on the conservative Sinclair network. Im not going to get into that, but the text messages speak for themselves. Thats why documentation is so important. What were the circumstances? What was the Mr. Hydes motivations, conditions, all of those things? I dont know if he was drunk, said U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill, of Hydes behavior portrayed by Parnas. But I certainly believe that based on the fact that the night that (Yovanovitch) was called to depart Ukraine, she was told there were security concerns about her and now were seeing this follow up information. I actually think there should be an inquiry done. People should find out what the heck happened. Who was in the embassy helping with the surveillance? On Thursday afternoon, after federal agents left his home, Hyde posted a simple Twitter post: an image of the American flag. Dan Haar and Kaitlyn Krasselt contributed to this report. Two years before his dads death at 75, Dwayne Johnson paid tribute to the man who shaped him with a sentimental Fathers Day post. Dwayne, 47, shared a sweet throwback picture of him and his dad Rocky Johnson flexing when the actor was a young boy in June 2018, explaining how his tough love shaped him as a man and a father. Rocky, a former WWE Hall of Fame wrestler, died Wednesday at 75. Happy Fathers Day to this hardly ever smiling OG badass. Little boys by nature, look up to and idolize their old man. They want to be just like em, do whatever they do and are always looking for their approval. Funny thing is the day I stopped looking for that approval was the day I understood what it meant to be man and more importantly, a father, Johnson said. That shift lifted me to a new level of gratitude for the tough love he always gave. Years later as a man and father of three girls, I know that tough love, is a helluva lot better than no love at all. Ill take it. Its made me who I am today. Grateful to the original Rock. #HappyFathersDay #KingStache #RockyJohnson, he concluded. RELATED: Dwayne Johnsons Father, Professional Wrestler Rocky Johnson, Is Dead at 75 Dwayne and Rocky Johnson | Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock In another Instagram post two years earlier, Johnson gave insight into his dads difficult upbringing in Canada and how that made him the toughest guy he knew. Describing his dad as a minimalist who never asks me for much, Johnson went on to tell an incredible and sad story from his dads past. Crazy story, my dads dad died when he was 13yrs old. That Christmas, my dads mom had her new boyfriend over for Christmas dinner. Her boyfriend got drunk and pissed on the turkey, Johnson revealed. My dad went outside, got a shovel, drew a line in the snow and said if you cross that line Ill kill you. The drunk crossed it and my dad laid him out cold as a block of ice, he continued. RELATED: Dwayne The Rock Johnson Buys His Dad a Car for Christmas and Tells Amazing Story About His Rough Childhood Story continues When the cops arrived, Johnson said his mother was given an ultimatum: either her son stays, or the new boyfriend stays. In front of the entire family, my dads mom looked at him and said get out. He was 13yrs old and now homeless. The incident happened in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1954, according to Johnson, who wrote of his father, He needed the bare minimum then, just like does now. I always think about that story and my dad having every odd stacked against him at 13, but he fought though it and still made something of himself. His dads toughness wasnt always easy for Johnson to handle as a kid. When they trained together, he said his dad often told him, If youre gonna throw up, go outside. And if youre gonna cry, then go home to your mother. While he said he hated it growing up, he now embraces the tough love. Made a man outta me. Without pissing on my turkey, he joked. Cookies op Tweakers Tweakers maakt gebruik van cookies Tweakers is onderdeel van DPG Media en maakt gebruik van cookies, JavaScript en vergelijkbare technologie om je onder andere een optimale gebruikerservaring te bieden. 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Accepteer cookies ... Om deze pagina op Tweakers te kunnen bekijken, moet je cookies accepteren. Cookies accepteren Heb je al een account? Dan kun je hier inloggen! Some residents were fleeing towns in Victoria's north-east for the third time in weeks as an out-of-control bushfire south of Myrtleford threatened homes. But the fire flared up on Friday evening, and locals in Buffalo River and Nug Nug were told it was too late to leave. People in Buffalo Creek, Merriang and Merriang South were urged to get out immediately. The warnings came as residents from Mallacoota, Genoa and Gipsy Point were invited to register to return home to their bushfire-ravaged towns. They will be flown in or escorted into town by road with emergency services and defence personnel when it is safe. The emergency warning for Buffalo River and Nug Nug was issued about 6.30pm, when the bushfire at Mt Buffalo threw spotting and headed north up the Buffalo Valley. The central administrative tribunal (CAT) here on Friday quashed the appointment of Dinkar Gupta as the Punjab director general of police (DGP). The CAT directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and empanelment committee to prepare a list of three officers strictly in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment in Prakash Singhs case and complete the exercise within four weeks. A 1987-batch IPS officer, Gupta succeeded Suresh Arora as the Punjab DGP on February 7, 2019, superseding five senior officers. The appointment was challenged by two colleagues Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, DGP, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, and Mohammed Mustafa, DGP, Punjab State Human Rights Commission. Apart from Mustafa and Chattopadhyaya, the other officers superseded were Hardeep Dhillon, Jasminder Singh and Samant Goel. CM SAYS GUPTA WILL CONTINUE The CAT special bench, comprising chairman L Narsimha Reddy and Mohammad Jamshed, had reserved its order on January 8 on the two pleas filed in February and March 2019. Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh said that Gupta will continue on the post. The matter has to be sorted out between CAT, UPSC and the officer. However, Dinkar will continue to be the DGP of Punjab, the chief ministers media adviser, Raveen Thukral, had tweeted even before the full judgment was made available. The CAT, in its order, said that the procedure adopted by the empanelment committee and UPSC for preparation of the panel violated the Supreme Court judgment in Prakash Singhs case. The judgment says selection shall be made on the basis of (a) length of service, (b) very good record and (c) range of experience for heading the police force. The easiest way for a state government to ensure that an officer of its choice and who is pliable as DGP, would be to continuously post him in any specific activity, howsoever inconsequential it may be, and then to make an effort to accord primacy to such activity in the process of selection, the CAT observed. There cannot be a better instance of arbitrariness and favoritism, than this. The selection process would stand reduced to a mockery. Any aspiring officer would make endeavour in ensuring that he remains in the good books of the administration and he is posted continuously in a particular activity, it said. ELIGIBLE BUT IGNORED Mustafa had claimed that he was more eligible for the post of the DGP according to all three criteria that the Supreme Court set. The UPSC was kept in the dark while it recommended officers for the top post because of vested interests, he alleged. As for Chattopadhyaya, he said seniority was ignored. The DGP, PSPCL, had also sought to summon records pertaining to the appointment before the CAT. The government has all along maintained that Dinkar Guptas appointment was made in accordance with the directions passed by the Supreme Court and as per the guidelines of the Union Public Service Commission. VANCOUVERRelatives of a B.C. family of three who were killed in a downed Ukrainian passenger jet outside Tehran were relieved this week when they received the remains of their loved ones. But there was one thing that caught them off-guard: The remains were returned in caskets wrapped in the Iranian flag. Government officials never asked the familys permission, said a cousin of Port Coquitlam, B.C., residents Ardalan Ebnoddin-Hamidi, his wife, Niloofar Razzaghi and their 15-year-old son, Kamyar Ebnoddin-Hamidi, all of whom were killed in the crash. They did what they wanted and they have to accept it, said the cousin by phone from Tehran, where a funeral was held for the three family members this week. The Star agreed not to identify him because of his fear that speaking out could jeopardize his safety. Interference from what some call Irans propaganda machine has been an added burden on already-grieving families, several members of the Iranian-Canadian community said this week. And its not just the flag-draped caskets causing a fuss; relatives of some of the victims are also allegedly facing pressure to appear on state television to make supportive statements about Irans regime. Its kind of known for the government of Iran to, in a situation like this, try to leverage the situation and pressure the family as much as they can to create their own propaganda stories, said Reza Akbari, president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton. In Iran, the system is fully controlled at every level by the government, by the regime. Ottawa, meanwhile, says it is deeply concerned about reports some Iranian-Canadian families have been pressured to bury their loved ones in Iran instead of repatriating them to Canada. The Iranian government must respect the will of the families when it comes to the repatriation of the bodies: this is a message that the Minister of Foreign Affairs has conveyed directly to his Iranian counterpart, read a statement from the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, who is in London to chair a meeting with his counterparts from countries who lost citizens in the crash. Of the 176 people who perished on Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which was brought down unintentionally by missiles fired by the Iranian military, 138 were bound for Canada 57 of them Canadian citizens. Though burials have begun, it is not clear where the Iranian government is at in terms of identifying and turning over all the remains. The RCMP did confirm this week that it was asked to collect DNA samples from relatives of some of the Canadian victims to assist with identification of remains in Iran. On-site disaster victim identification assistance from Canada has not been requested at this time, the RCMP said in a statement. Relatives of the Port Coquitlam family killed in the crash say they were pleased to learn their loved ones remains were identified relatively quickly through DNA matches with other family members in Iran. Government officials there told relatives they appreciated the victims sacrifices and described them as champions. But the sight of the caskets wrapped in Iranian flags was still a bit jarring, said the cousin in Tehran. Its a little bit unfair. They shouldve asked the family But they never asked, he said, adding it especially doesnt make sense for the son because he was born in Canada. One video widely circulated on social media this week appears to show one family tearing off the flag from a casket. While some families feel emboldened to take such measures, others may feel reluctant worried there could be consequences for such an act of defiance, said the cousin. One thing is clear: The mood of the mourners has shifted from grief to anger over the fact no one has been held accountable over the errant missile launch, the cousin said. The cries now have changed to hate. The cousin, who used to live in B.C. but returned to Iran a few years ago, said he had hoped to use some of his Canadian experiences to help improve Iran but the system is hard to change. In Canada they say when you come, you bring your culture to add to Canada. The approach here is different. Its very hard to use your experience, he said. The system is not as open. Sima Ghaffarzadeh, editor-in-chief of B.C. Farsi-language magazine Hamyaari, said her brother recently attended a funeral in Iran for a friend killed in the crash. He told her many families have been sent to Tehrans main cemetery, Behesht Zahra, to collect the remains, which are wrapped in white cloth shrouds, then placed in caskets adorned with the Iranian flag. My brother says that should be done to martyrs only and in his view these victims are not martyrs, she said. Apparently families have also been given the option of burying their loved ones in a special section of the cemetery devoted to martyrs, but Ghaffarzadeh said her brother told her most families did not accept. Relatives of the Port Coquitlam family said they opted to bury them in a regular section of the cemetery. The question of whether these crash victims are martyrs or not is a difficult one to answer, said Amir Bajehkian, a member of B.C.s multicultural advisory council. Its complicated. To me they are martyrs because they lost their lives as a result of an action taken by (Iran). To them, they died in a war as a result of U.S. aggression. At the same time, Bajehkian said he can understand why some families would wish to remove the Iranian flag from caskets. Understandable how some families dont want to take part in (Islamic Republic of Iran) propaganda, he said. By no means do I think the U.S. is a saint. Their lunacy in killing Soleimani started this, he said of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the powerful Iranian commander targeted by a U.S. airstrike. But this does not mean (Iran) is not responsible. Meanwhile, Akbari alleges government officials have told some families if they want the processing of remains to be done more quickly, they need to sit with us in front of the camera, say and act the way we want it. Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad has posted a couple videos online in recent days purportedly showing the families of two victims who were studying in Canada appearing on Iranian television. She suggests their appearances were made under duress. In one video, the TV presenter introduces the family of Fatemeh Mahmoodi, who was a graduate student at St. Marys University in Halifax, standing alongside a military general, who appears to be Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Another video shows the father of University of Alberta PhD student Amir Hossein Saeedinia saying that his son wanted to come back to Iran. How can one not pay attention to the words of Irans Great Supreme Leader, he says, according to Alinejads translation. While some families have appeared on state television, others have not spoken at all. Kei Esmaeilpour, president of the Civic Association of Iranian Canadians in B.C., says that is another way the rigidity of the regime and concern about its image has been demonstrated. Its his understanding that before crash victims remains are turned over, families have been given instructions from government officials: Do not speak to the foreign media. Some families would like to speak out, he said, but they are reluctant because they are afraid of the (Iranian) government. Read more about: LONDONRocks-Off reps have returned from the ANME Founders Show, which was a big successs for the pleasure products manufacturer. Our new releases were well received, and our customers were delighted to add them to their existing Rocks off inventory, said Sales Manager Sham Galoria. Our range of rechargeable products are doing super well for everyone and they continue to out-sell for us, which obviously means they are doing very well in the market, Galoria continued. We fully expect that Havana and Xerus, both of which are rechargeable, will follow suit. For more, visit Rocks-Off.com. Heres what you need to know about Cinco de Mayos history in Mexico and the U.S., plus more than 80 amazing recipes for this years celebration: What Is Cinco de Mayo? Cinco de Mayo, which translates to the fifth of May, celebrates the Mexican armys 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. To understand the significance of the holiday, youve got to understand the events leading up to the Battle of Puebla. Heres a little history lesson: When Benito Juarez was elected president of Mexico in 1861, the country was in the middle of a period of economic upheaval. The Mexican-American War and the Reform War (a civil war that was fought over the Catholic churchs involvement in the Mexican government) had all but bankrupted Mexico. Juarez issued a moratorium shortly after his election that suspended all foreign debt payments for two years. France, Britain, and Spain took issue with this decision, and sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. While Britain and Spain withdrew after they negotiated deals with Mexico, France stood its ground. Napoleon III wanted to expand his French empire to Mexico, and this was the perfect opportunity to seize power. The French invaded Veracruz in late 1861, forcing the Mexican government to retreat. You still with me? Good, because heres where things get interesting: French troops, led by General Charles Latrille de Lorencez, set out to conquer Mexico City in 1862. However, they were met with extreme resistance in the small town of Puebla de Los Angeles in east-Central Mexico. Though they were vastly outnumbered and ill-equipped, the 2,000 Mexican troopssent by Juarez to Puebla and led by General Ignacio Zaragozaforced the French into retreat on May 5. Though the French were eventually able to overtake Mexico City, the unlikely Mexican victory in Puebla inspired people throughout the country and strengthened the resistance movement. Cinco de Mayo vs. Mexican Independence Day Story continues Cinco de Mayo is often mistakenly called Mexican Independence Day, and conflated with the American Fourth of July. While there is a Mexican Independence Day, its not celebrated on the fifth of May. The Mexican equivalent of July Fourth, which is called El Grito or Grito de Dolores is actually celebrated on September 16. El Grito commemorates the start of the 1810-1821 Mexican War of Independence from Spain. Cinco de Mayo in Mexico Unlike El Grito, Cinco de Mayo is not a national holiday in Mexico, which means banks and most offices remain open and fully functional. Its mostly celebrated in Puebla with military parades, battle reenactments, and festivals. Cinco de Mayo in the U.S. By many accounts, Cinco de Mayo is more widely acknowledged in the U.S. than it is in Mexico. Its been celebrated in parts of California since the 1860s, but skyrocketed in nationwide popularity a century later. Mexican-American activists involved in the civil rights movement of the 60s, known as Chicanos, began using the anniversary of Mexicos unlikely 1862 victory over France as a day to celebrate Mexican culture. The fact that the holiday has been so little celebrated in Mexico while being so widely celebrated in the United States leads to the conclusion that the commemoration took two very different, independent paths, one indigenous to the United States and one indigenous to Mexico, wrote UCLA professor David Hayes-Bautista in his 2012 book El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition. Over time, the day has lost some of its historical significance in favor of commercial marketing and cultural appropriation, according to Hayes-Bautista. Im trying to get a better sense of how that became so thoroughly lost, he told The New York Times in 2018. Itd be like if the Fourth of July were reduced to beer and hot dogs. When NYT reporters Claudio E. Cabrera and Louis Lucero II asked Hayes Bautista to imagine an improved Cinco de Mayo celebration in the U.S., he explained that he doesnt disapprove of drinking and partying on the holidaybut that he wishes celebrants would focus more on the historical significance of May 5. Lets bring it back to its roots as a civil rights and social justice commemoration, he said. Cinco de Mayo Recipes Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox No matter how you feel about the holiday, you cant argue that celebrating Cinco de Mayo with food and drink is a pretty big deal in the U.S. Nielson reported in 2013 that Americans spent more than $600 million on beer on May 5thats more than what was spent on the Super Bowl or St. Patricks Day. If youre planning a respectful celebration of Mexican food and culture this year, weve got your Cinco de Mayo menu covered. Check out more than 80 party-perfect appetizer, drink, and dessert recipes: By Express News Service HYDERABAD: In a tragic incident, a 10-year-old boy, who was flying kites on the terrace of a building, accidentally fell off it and died on the spot in Madhapur on Wednesday. The deceased has been identified as Kumakula Nikhil. According to Madhapur police, the victims family, belonging to Warangal district, were residing at Siddique Nagar of Madhapur under Cyberabad police commissionerate. Kumakula Nikhil was a Class III at a private school. On Wednesday afternoon, Nikhil along with a few other children from the locality were flying kites from the top of a multi-storeyed building near their house. He accidentally fell off it and sustained multiple injuries. He was rushed to the hospital, but doctors declared him brought dead. Madhapur police registered a case and have begun investigation. [January 16, 2020] IT Solutions Firm CBTS Partners With Hawaiian Telcom to Launch Hawaii Office CBTS, a leading technology provider that delivers communications, cloud, infrastructure, and consulting solutions to clients across North America, announced today that it is joining forces with Hawaiian Telcom to support enterprise customers across the state. Hawaiian Telcom manages Hawaii's largest next-generation fiber network, and offers world-class communications and networking solutions. CBTS is a leading IT services provider to over 3,000 enterprise clients across North America. CBTS supports clients in all industries, including dozens of Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies. Kevin Paul, Senior Vice President of Advanced Services at Hawaiian Telcom, will lead the CBTS initiative in Hawaii. CBTS, like Hawaiian Telcom, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell (News - Alert) Inc. "I am excited to lead this new initiative that will leverage Hawaiian Telcom's fiber network and bring CBTS' cutting-edge IT solutions to enterprise organizations across Hawaii," Paul said. "CBTS offers the agility, flexibility, and customer focus of a smaller company, coupled with the ability to deliver the resource scale and capabilities required by large organizations." CBTS has more than 1,800 employees, including 800 certified engineers. Its technology partners include Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell EMC (News - Alert), and IBM. Joining forces with CBTS enables Hawaiian Telcom to tap into the depth and breadth of CBTS' experience while leveraging its established relationships and reputation as a trusted technology expert in Hawaii. Hawaiian Telcom's sales team, led by Jason Fujita, Vice President of Sales, will work cloely with the CBTS Hawaii team and continue to serve local businesses. "CBTS' scale and experience enhance our ability to serve our business customers," said Fujita. "Early collaborations have resulted in transformative projects such as modernizing corporate IT and cybersecurity, which strengthen our role as Hawaii's Technology Leader." "CBTS looks forward to helping enterprise organizations in Hawaii drive business outcomes through our cloud, communications, infrastructure, and consulting solutions," said Jeff Lackey, Chief Operating Officer of CBTS. "Like our colleagues at Hawaiian Telcom, CBTS is committed to delivering clients with an outstanding customer experience. We are delighted to partner with Hawaiian Telcom, and to have Kevin Paul leading this effort." To learn more about the CBTS launch in Hawaii, please visit this website. ABOUT CBTS CBTS serves enterprise and midmarket clients in all industries across the United States and Canada. From Unified Communications (News - Alert) to Cloud Services and beyond, CBTS combines deep technical expertise with a full suite of flexible technology solutions that drive business outcomes, improve operational efficiency, mitigate risk, and reduce costs for its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbts.com. About Hawaiian Telcom Hawaiian Telcom, established and headquartered in Honolulu since 1883, offers a full range of services to business and residential customers including Internet, video, voice, wireless, data network solutions and security, colocation, and managed and cloud services - all supported by the reach and reliability of its next generation fiber network and 24/7 state-of-the-art network operations center. With employees statewide sharing a commitment to innovation and a passion for delivering superior service, Hawaiian Telcom is proud to be Hawaii's Technology Leader. For more information, visit hawaiiantel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005864/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] DETROIT Labor costs for the Detroit automakers are expected to increase by up to roughly $1 billion in the coming years as a result of contracts ratified last year with the United Auto Workers union. The Center for Automotive Research on Wednesday forecast average hourly labor costs during the four-year deals will increase by $11 per worker for Fiat Chrysler and $8 per worker at General Motors and Ford Motor. Based on the number of workers in each company, the increased labor cost would add between $800 million and $1 billion to the automakers' expenses by 2023. Those are costs the companies will look to offset in other ways, however they are expected to widen labor cost gaps with foreign competitors that don't have a unionized workforce in the U.S. like Toyota Motor. "The gap with the non-union automakers has widened quite a bit," Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, labor and economics at CAR, said during a presentation on the results. Labor costs for non-unionized foreign automakers in the U.S. are expected to increase by an average of just $2 an hour by 2023, according to CAR, a nonprofit research group based in Ann Arbor, Mich. CAR estimates Fiat Chrysler's average hourly labor costs per worker will increase to $66 by 2023; GM will hit $71; and Ford will jump to $69. That compares to non-unionized foreign automakers at $52 an hour on average during that time period. We are fortunate to have Brian join us as our CFO, to help drive our financial targets for even more revenue and growth and support our financial strategy for proactive analysis of financial metrics." RelaDyne welcomes new Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Brian Robinson. Mr. Robinson will be responsible for helping to achieve financial targets, drive financial strategy and lead a world class finance organization. Mr. Robinsons hire comes after longtime Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Paul Helton, retired after a long and prosperous CFO career. Mr. Helton joined RelaDyne in 2012 from Petermann Partners, the largest privately held provider of school bus transportation services in the world, where he had been Vice President and CFO. As CFO of RelaDyne, Mr. Helton was instrumental in helping to develop and improve RelaDynes financial structure. Under Pauls leadership RelaDyne grew 8-fold both organically and through acquisition, said Larry Stoddard, CEO of RelaDyne. We are forever grateful for his commitment and focus of helping make RelaDyne the premier distributor of fuel, lubricants and Reliability Services in the industry. We wish Paul all the best in his future ventures. After a nationwide search, Brian Robinson was selected to become the CFO of RelaDyne. Mr. Robinson joins RelaDyne from DuBois Chemicals, in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was the CFO. As CFO he was active in the acquisition growth strategy for Dubois highlighted by 8 add-on acquisitions in the last two years. Mr. Robinsons most recent experience with DuBois Chemicals will be instrumental in continuing the acquisition integration process at RelaDyne. We are fortunate to have Brian join us as our CFO, to help drive our financial targets for even more revenue and growth and support our financial strategy for proactive analysis of financial metrics, said Larry Stoddard, CEO of RelaDyne. He is a great addition to our Executive Leadership Team, and we look forward to the next phase of growth at RelaDyne. Mr. Robinson has 28 years of global experience as a finance executive, with multiple CFO roles as well as oversight of accounting, capital structure management and tax at General Cable, which is the world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry. Other companies associated include Getronics and Deloitte and Touche, with international experience in London, England. Mr. Robinson attended University of Dayton where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, graduating Magna Cum Laude in Finance. He resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and has three children. I am truly excited about the opportunity afforded me at RelaDyne to expand upon what has been developed here over our 10-year history and help us grow to even greater heights, Mr. Robinson said. Through financial strategy and business analytics, we will enhance our abilities as a world class finance organization. About RelaDyne RelaDyne, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is one of the nations leading providers of lubricants, fuels, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), and reliability services for industrial, commercial, and automotive businesses in the United States. RelaDyne was formed in 2010 by the combination of four well-established industry-leading companies and has since grown to more than 60 locations by strategically acquiring other industry leaders in the lubricant, fuel distribution, and industrial service segments. For more information, visit http://www.RelaDyne.com. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Mostly sunny and bitterly cold. It will feel like it's in the single digits and low teens.. Tonight Partly cloudy and extremely cold. Wind chills around or below 0 degrees. The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Hill International, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based construction management consulting company, and two of its former executives for engaging in fraudulent accounting practices and failing to maintain accurate books and records, which led Hill to artificially boost net earnings from approximately May 2014 to March 2017. The company and its former Chief Accounting Officer, Ronald Emma, have agreed to settlements to resolve the claims. As alleged in the complaint, Emma and Nicholas Tornello, a senior accountant reporting to Emma, identified approximately $5 million in errors in accounting for Hill's foreign currency exchange losses. According to the complaint, rather than immediately correcting the error by recognizing the losses, Tornello - with Emma's approval - allegedly attempted to "bleed" the losses out over time in order to reduce the negative impact of those losses on the company's financial statements. As a result, Hill's periodic reports overstated the company's net income. The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Hill violated the antifraud provisions of Sections 17(a)(2) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933, the reporting, books and records, and internal accounting control provisions of Sections 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A), and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, and 13a-13 thereunder. The complaint alleges Emma violated Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act and Section 13(b)(5) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13b2-1 thereunder, and aided and abetted Hill's violations of 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A), 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, and 13a-13, and that Tornello violated Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act and Section 13(b)(5) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13b2-1 thereunder, and aided and abetted Hill's violations of 13(a) and13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, and 13a-13. Hill and Emma have, without admitting or denying the allegations, consented to the entry of judgments that impose permanent injunctions and civil penalties of $500,000 and $75,000, respectively. Emma agreed to be permanently suspended from appearing and practicing before the SEC as an accountant, which includes not participating in the financial reporting or audits of public companies. The settlements are subject to court approval. The SEC's case is being handled by Jack Easton, Cecilia B. Connor and Daniel Berman, and supervised by Kingdon Kase and Kelly L. Gibson. The SEC's litigation will be handled by John V. Donnelly and supervised by Jennifer Barry. Vodafone Idea (Representative Image) live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Shares Vodafone Idea plunged 39 percent, while Bharti Infratel share prices slipped 13 in early trade on January 17 after the Supreme Court, on January 16, dismissed a review petition filed by telecom companies seeking relief from the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) verdict. Telecom companies, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, had sought a relief on interest and penalty payments. RailTel, the only PSU in the sector, had also filed a review petition. "It is a big shock for Vodafone Idea and Kumar Mangalam Birla. The Chairman of Vodafone Idea already said that they would shut shop if they don't get a relief in AGR case," Nitin Soni of Fitch Ratings told CNBC-TV18. Earlier this week, Bharti Airtel completed a massive fund raising exercise worth $3 billion through QIP and FCCB route as the telecom operator has been preparing for payment of statutory dues of more than Rs 35,000 crore. Also Read - Experts believe telecom could become a two-player market after SC dismisses telcos AGR review plea According to Edelweiss, Bharti Airtel would be able to repay the dues and gain market share, and maintain positive stance on Bharti & Reliance Jio. However, the telecom companies may file a separate petition seeking a payment extension, it added. In total, 15 telecom companies would have to pay dues worth Rs 1.47 lakh crore. After this judgement, it clearly indicated that they have to make a payment of license fee dues by January 23, 2020. Citi expects a sharp negative reaction in shares of Vodafone Idea & Bharti Infratel on AGR Judgment. The situation precarious for Vodafone Idea given the liability equates to >2x os its current market capital. Companies have the option to file a curative petition with a wider bench and may approach government for an extension of payment timelines, said Citi. According to Credit Suisse the risks to telecom exposure increases once again and net debt-to-EBITDA for Vodafone Idea would be elevated at > 8x. On the other hand, several non-telecom public sector undertakings (PSUs) like GAIL, DMRC, Power Grid and RailTel were affected as the DoT wrote to them seeking repayment of AGR fee dues. These companies would likely file fresh review pleas. The total dues that the non-telecom PSUs are staring at comes up to a total of around Rs 4.6 lakh crore. At 09:18 hrs Bharti Infratel was quoting at Rs 218.35, down Rs 24.50, or 10.09 percent and Vodafone Idea was quoting at Rs 5.13, down Rs 0.90, or 14.93 percent. On This Day The Day When a US Medic was Jailed in Myanmar for Treason Dr. Gordon Seagrave on his arrival at Rangoon Jail. Ghana as a nation has enjoyed a massive boost in terms of natural resources for more than five decades now, but still not developed as it has been presumed by many researchers. Statistics show that the total population of Ghana is now estimated at 30,762,351 which is equivalent to 0.4% of the total world population with a total land area of 227,540 Km2 (87,854 sq. miles). Reports showed that 43.94 % of the total population lives in rural areas as at 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. The lesser part of the population is what is indirectly supporting the entire nation. The research undertaken by the Chief Executive Officer of As I Grow (NGO), Mr. Debrah Bekoe Isaac showed that in most deprived communities, about 95% are lagging behind in terms of development. Their work over the years has been in the form of advocacy, research, donations and human resource empowerment in deprived communities in Ghana. Speaking to our correspondent, he pointed out that Ghana has major resources such as cocoa, bauxite, manganese, gold, crude, diamond, salt, palm plantations, food crops, etc. which could have been used as a means to develop the entire nation to curb poverty. He explained that Ghana has not developed as we really thought these available resources would have lead to improvement of the lives of the populace in terms of education, economic, and social lives through the many efforts of past and present leaders. With his experience in rural advocacy work, he said the average spending of the current individual in the deprived communities in Ghana is less than two Ghana cedis (Ghc 2) which is below the daily minimum spending of an average citizen in Ghana. He made mention of places like, Miawani, Togodo, Adebonsera, Oboadaso, Takase, Hele, Obuobi Akura, Traio, Kumikrom and some areas they have visited to render their support. He further explained that these deprived communities have intertwined problems which include: poor road networks, abandoned school projects and buildings, lack of water,lack of health facilities, lack of market for farm products and storage facilities for farmers. On his part,he called on the government to trickle down his development to these remote areas since they are the major boost of the economy in Ghana and without them, Ghana's natural resources will not meet the standard requirements. An example of a community he mentioned was Krutiase where he suggested a cassava dough industry for the village to support them. He was of the view that children in these communities need better education since they are part of the national educational plan which is for the whole nation. On his part, he indicated that most of these areas have about 70% of their children having no access to better education which could be detrimental to the future of Mother Ghana. Taking a deep sigh, he drew our attention on how Miawani MA school and community in the Suhum municipality has been left out. Children school under dangerous structures which remains a threat to their lives as well as the poor state of water which leads to a myriad of diseases to the entire community. He finally urged all stakeholders especially Municipal chief executive officers, District Chief executives, chiefs, organizations, and other stakeholders to fully participate in the process of developing deprived communities in Ghana as they are the backbone of the nation. ---AsempaNews.com Leaders of six liberal groups that have endorsed either Warren or Sanders issued a joint statement Thursday saying the senators campaigns and supporters will need to find a way to cooperate. They added, The crossfire amplified by the media is unhelpful and does not reflect the relationship between two Senate colleagues who broadly worked well together for most of the last year. It outlined a strategy to build alliances between delegates for the two candidates going into the Democratic convention. On his Facebook page, Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic), hero of Artsakh, Lieutenant-General Arshavir Gharamyan expressed his condolences to the family and relatives of former director of the National Security Service of Armenia Georgi Kutoyan on his tragic death. I worked with former director of the National Security Service of Armenia, Major General Georgi Kutoyan on ensuring the security of our Homeland (the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia) for more than two years as director of the National Security Service of the Republic of Artsakh. I express condolences to the family and relatives of Georgi Kutoyan on his tragic death. Arielle Patrick, a spokeswoman for both companies, disputed U.S. PIRGs estimate of Cengages market share because, while Cengage produces digital coursework and electronic textbooks, it does not consider itself a book publisher. She added that as students stray from traditional publishers and turn to other sources for course materials such as Amazon and Chegg the company formed by the merger of Cengage and McGraw-Hill would be only one of several options for students. Chinese fishing trawler fails to pay US$1 mn fine imposed for illegal fishing in Ghanaian waters by Clement Adzei Boye January 17,2020 | Source: Ghanaian Times Gyinam Fisheries Limited of Tema, has failed to pay the US$1 million penalty imposed on it by government following the arrest of one of the company's vessels earlier last year for illegally fishing in Ghanaian waters. The penalty and an additional fine of GH 124,000, was due to be paid by November 8, 2019, by Gyinam Fisheries, following a 30-day period agreed upon by the Fisheries Commission and the management which ended on November 8. The industrial Chinese trawler, Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956 (AF 756), was arrested by the Fisheries authorities and charged with illegal fishing in the Western Region while heading to Cote d'Ivoire for fishing expedition on Sunday, June 16, 2019. Consequently, the matter would have to revert back to the court for further direction since the out-of-court settlement had failed, the Ghanaian Times sources have disclosed. "They have not paid the penalty and so we will go back to court soon," the source at the Western Regional Directorate of the Fisheries Commission (FC) told the Ghanaian Times, but, did not give a definite date. The source however, suggested that the Ghanaian Times contact the Executive Director of the Fisheries Commission for confirmation. It recalled, that the penalty was arrived at the Fisheries out of court settlement committee in Takoradi, comprising Fisheries Commission, Marine Police, Ghana Navy and Attorney General's Department arranged an out of court hearing of the case on October 9, 2019 with counsel representing the accused persons and company, Mr Wahid Iderisu Wampouri, the Western Regional Director of Fisheries Mr Godfrey Tsibu-Baidoo. 2020 AllAfrica Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods. She went from starring front of the camera to successfully working behind it as a producer. Reese Witherspoon looked as if she was hard at work in her new role on Thursday as she headed to a business meeting in Los Angeles. The 43-year-old Big Little Lies star and producer showed off her winning smile while rocking a classy blazer. Like a boss: Reese Witherspoon, 43, looked as if she was hard at work on Thursday as she headed to a business meeting in Los Angeles while dressed in a black blazer Reese stayed warm in her black blazer, which featured stylish peaked lapels, and she had a black top underneath that was tucked into her dark blue jeans. The 5ft1in beauty got comfortable in a pair of black loafers, and she accessorized with a crocodile-print Yves Saint Laurent belt and a custom Goyard tote bag with her initials emblazoned on the side. She added some flair with a gold chain around her throat and a classic pair of black Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses. The Legally Blonde star wore her shoulder-length blonde locks styled straight and swept to one side. Business casual: She wore a black top tucked into her dark jeans with an Yves Saint Laurent belt and black loafers In the bag: She accessorized with a custom Goyard tote bag featuring her initials on the side, along with a gold chain necklace The day before, Reese tried out some more playful looks after getting a surprise delivery from Beyonce. The Morning Show star pushed a massive orange box up her driveway in a video posted to her Instagram. Once she opened up the gift, she found a wardrobe inside stocked with the pop star's entire Ivy Park x Adidas collection. Royal mail: The day before, Reese tried out some more playful looks after getting a surprise delivery from Beyonce Enormous: The Morning Show star pushed a massive orange box up her driveway in a video posted to her Instagram Special gift: Once she opened up the gift, she found a wardrobe inside stocked with the pop star's entire Ivy Park x Adidas collection Reese put on a fashion show for the camera, first trying out a cream-colored tunic-style hoodie and purple leggings. She also changed into a redviolet jumpsuit with coral stripes and white platform sneakers. The Inherent Vice actress finally strutted around in a figure-hugging purple dress with a high slit. Sporty chic: Reese put on a fashion show for the camera, first trying out a cream-colored tunic-style hoodie and purple leggings Covered up: She also changed into a redviolet jumpsuit with coral stripes and white platform sneakers Flawless figure: The Inherent Vice actress finally strutted around in a figure-hugging purple dress with a high slit Reese has been on fire lately with major film and television roles, and 2020 promises to be just as packed. She's currently shooting the Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere, which she's producing and starring in opposite Kerry Washington and Joshua Jackson, based on the bestselling novel of the same name. She'll also reprise her voice role in the singing competition film Sing 2. The actress will return to her most popular character, Elle Woods, for the forthcoming Legally Blonde 3, and she'll also star in the comedy Wish List and the Peter Panadjacent movie Tinker Bell. Crisis of a lifetime Re: Coalition offers aid to migrants, Front Page, Sunday: Thanks for the article on the work of the Interfaith Welcome Coalition as it provides assistance and ministry to refugees from Central America escaping the horror and violence of the cartels and even the local law enforcement officials of their countries. Accolades to Dr. Jane Fried for her leadership in the IWC Backpack Ministry that fills backpacks with food, toys, toiletries and a blanket twice a week at El Divino United Methodist Church. Your article is appreciated because it provides publicity to the major humanitarian crisis of our time refugees. Unfortunately, this crisis will not go away soon. The Rev. Bert Clayton Those already here Re: Abbott says Texas wont accept any new refugees, Front Page, Saturday: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott decided we need to take care of our own poor first, then the refugees who are already here and, finally, undocumented immigrants who are also here. Better to do a good job taking care of what we already have rather than diluting ones limited resources to help more refugees, because in that scenario, they all lose. Robert M. Louie, Houston On ExpressNews.com: Abbotts rejection of refugees incomprehensible [Editorial] More bang for effort Re: Holiday saw zero fireworks citations written, Front Page, Wednesday: Why have an ordinance if it cant be enforced? Also, why have a hotline no one seems to answer? Do the police have something better to do? Certainly. Why expect them to handle this, too? The solution: Give the enforcement of noise ordinance back to Code Compliance which had it originally with the fireworks ordinance. Have a hotline that is adequately manned during the times these things usually occur. That way, the nonemergency police line will be open for gunfire calls and the code officers can concentrate on noise and fireworks. Then the residents of San Antonio will no longer feel ignored and powerless. Sue Snyder Details added (first version posted at 13:45). BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend: The Armenian side makes absurd, contradictory statements, Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev told reporters, commenting on the statements of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the martyrs of January 20, 1990, Trend reports. Hajiyev noted that Pashinyan used the expression "extremists" when talking about the martyrs of January 20. "That's insanity. What else can you expect from the one who could compare Solzhenitsyn with a fascist executioner like Garegin Nzhdeh, who served Nazis?!" Hajiyev added. The official stressed that the January 20 tragedy is recognized by the international community, which honors the blessed memory of martyrs. Various events to commemorate January 20 are being held at the international level, in all diplomatic missions, Hajiyev said, noting that foreigners are informed about the tragedy. Hajiyev said that instead of expressing absurd populist ideas regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Armenian side should take the most necessary steps, such as the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. "The settlement of the conflict should not be the subject of populism. Armenia is an occupying country, more than a million people have become refugees and internally displaced persons. Therefore, if we want to advance in the process of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it is necessary to eliminate the factor that forms the fundamental basis of the conflict, that is, the occupation. After this, various measures can be taken to settle the conflict, including measures to restore trust," Hajiyev said. The Azerbaijani official stressed that Armenia's international, legal and political responsibility lies in the fact that it must withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions. "Armenia conducts various activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which should be stopped. Only after this, Armenia can claim that they are constructively and sincerely participating in the negotiation process," Hajiyev added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 23:18:35|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The international community's current approach to the Libyan issue has not been successful, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday. "The futility of such an approach is evidenced by the failed experience of all previously held multilateral meetings on Libyan issues," a ministry statement said. Promoting a Libyan settlement remained one of the priority tasks facing Russian diplomacy in North Africa throughout 2019, said the statement. Russia has always adhered to balanced approaches and maintained equal relations with all the influential socio-political forces of Libya, it added. The ministry said that Russian representatives had been in constant contact with the warring parties since the last escalation of armed confrontation in Libya, persistently encouraging them to stop the bloodshed and sit down at the negotiating table. Russia has readily responded to the German initiative to hold a conference on Libya in Berlin this Sunday, and it is actively involved in the preparation of this forum, the statement said. Moscow hosted intra-Libyan talks brokered by Russia and Turkey on Monday, but without reaching a settlement. The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the West Bengal government to present its views before it on a report submitted by a one-man judicial commission on alleged excesses by police during a clash between advocates and civic employees in Howrah. A division bench comprising Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice A Banerjee directed the state to come up with its views by February 7, when the matter will be heard again. The bench also directed that a report by the Justice (retd) K J Sengupta commission on the incident be circulated among the parties in the matter. The report was submitted before the court in December last year. Lawyers had gone on a month-long shutdown across courts in the state on a call by the Bar Council of West Bengal to protest alleged excesses by police during the clash that occurred on April 24, 2019. A division bench of the high court appointed the Justice Sengupta Commission after hearing a suo motu case initiated by Chief Justice T B N Radhakrishnan about the clash. Several persons, including lawyers, were injured in the incident when police allegedly entered the Howrah court premises without requisite permission, and baton charged to control a mob. Lawyers of the Howrah district court and the staff of Howrah Municipal Corporation, the premises of which are located opposite to each other, had allegedly clashed over issues relating to parking of vehicles. Following the incident, the Bar Council asked all bar associations, representing lawyers at different courts in the state, to observe cease work. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal has extended the Delhi Police's detention powers under the National Security Act, 1980, for a three-month period between 19 January and 18 April, The Leaflet reported The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal has extended the Delhi Police's detention powers under the National Security Act, 1980, for a three-month period between 19 January and 18 April, The Leaflet reported. As per The Leaflet, this is a routine order passed by the LG of Delhi after every four months. The notification, issued on 10 January 2020, to the Home Department, stated that the LG of the National Capital Territory of Delhi directed that the Delhi police commissioner may exercise the powers of detaining authority under the NSA, for three months. This development comes amid the National Capital being roiled by two major anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests: one at Shaheen Bagh and another at Jamia Millia Islamia and agitations near Jamia Masjid. The NSA is a legislation critics decry it as draconian that allows preventive detention of people whose actions may be in one way or another prejudicial to the security of the State for up to 12 months. As per a report in India Today, the person detained need not be charged during this period of detention. The goal is to prevent an individual from committing a crime. A person detained under the NSA can be held for 10 days without being told the charges against them. The detained person can appeal before a high court advisory board but they are not allowed a lawyer during the trial, as per the India Today report. A similar order was issued in Andhra Pradesh on 14 January. Previous use of NSA Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who was released by authorities last night, was previously detained under the NSA from 2 November, 2017 to 14 September, 2018. In January 2019, the Bulandshahr district administration invoked the NSA against three people arrested in connection with the alleged cow slaughtering incident in Siyana tehsil in December 2018. Cattle carcasses were found strewn in the fields outside village Mahaw in Siyana on 3 December, 2018, after which a mob went on a rampage, attacking the local Chingrawathi police post. A police inspector was killed in the incident. In December 2018, Firstpost reported that Manipur journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem, a 39-year-old TV news and current affairs anchor, was slapped with the NSA and punished with detention for 12 months. With inputs from PTI Mumbai: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday flagged off Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express, the second train to be operated by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The commercial run of the train will start from January 19, 2020, from Ahmedabad. The first Tejas Express is being run between the Lucknow-Delhi and has been operational for last year. This train 82902/82901 shall ply six days in a week on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Ahmedabad route with Thursday as an off-day for maintenance activities. The train will cover the entire distance of 533 km in 6 hours and 30 minutes. It would only have six halts - Nadiad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Vapi and Borivali stations. Tejas Express Schedule and Timings: The train will start its journey at Ahmedabad at 06:40 hours and will reach Mumbai Central at 13.10 hours, having scheduled commercial halts at Nadiad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Vapi, and Borivali. For the return journey, the train will leave Mumbai Central at 15:40 hours and will reach Ahmedabad at 21:55 hours having scheduled enroute halts at Borivali, Vapi, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, and Nadiad. How to book Tickets: The tickets of Tejas Express can be booked only online through the official website of IRCTC and there will be no booking available at railway reservation counters. Apart from the IRCTC official s website, the tickets of Tejas Express can also be booked online travel portal partners like Paytm, Ixigo, PhonePe, Make My Trip, Google, Ibibo, Railyatri, and others. To start with, this fully air-conditioned train shall have two executive class chair cars having 56 seats each and eight chair cars having a capacity of 78 seats each. The total carrying capacity of the train will be 736 passengers. Train fare will be dynamic in nature keeping in consideration the prevailing bus, taxi, rail, and airfares. The train will have different series of fares for lean, busy and festive seasons. Further, train fares will be on point to point basis. Current booking and tatkal quota: Current booking will be available to users after the preparation of the first chart which will normally be between four hours before and up to five minutes before the scheduled departure of the train. There will be no tatkal quota or premium tatkal quota in the train. There will be only General Quota and Foreign Tourist Quota. Foreign Tourist Quota of 6 seats in EC and 12 seats in CC will be available for Foreign Tourists. All passengers travelling on IRCTC train will be provided with Rail Travel Insurance of up to Rs 25 lakhs, free of cost by IRCTC. This complimentary travel insurance also includes an exclusive coverage of Rs. 1 lakh against household theft / robbery during the travel period of the passengers. With PTI Inputs For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Booker Ends Presidential Bid After Polling, Money Struggles Democrat Cory Booker dropped out of the presidential race Monday, ending a campaign whose message of unity and love failed to resonate in a political era marked by chaos and anxiety. His departure now leaves a field that was once the most diverse in history with just one remaining African American candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Since launching his campaign last February, Booker, a U.S. senator from New Jersey, struggled to raise the type of money required to support a White House bid. He was at the back of the pack in most surveys and failed to meet the polling requirements needed to participate in Tuesdays debate. Booker also missed last months debate and exits the race polling in low single digits in the early primary states and nationwide. ADVERTISEMENT In an email to supporters, Booker said that he got into this race to win and that his failure to make the debates prevented him from raising raise the money required for victory. Our campaign has reached the point where we need more money to scale up and continue building a campaign that can win money we dont have, and money that is harder to raise because I wont be on the next debate stage and because the urgent business of impeachment will rightly be keeping me in Washington, he said. Booker had warned that the looming impeachment trial of President Donald Trump would deal a big, big blow to his campaign by pulling him away from Iowa in the final weeks before the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses. He hinted at the challenges facing his campaign last week in an interview on The Associated Press Ground Game podcast. If we cant raise more money in this final stretch, we wont be able to do the things that other campaigns with more money can do to show presence, he said. More on Election 2020: Change that can win? Democrats grapple with core question 2020 Democratic race is wide open in Iowa as caucuses near Wisconsin judge orders up to 209K voter names be deleted In his email to supporters, Booker pledged to do everything in my power to elect the eventual Democratic nominee for president, though his campaign says he has no immediate plans to endorse a candidate in the primary. Its a humbling finish for someone who was once lauded by Oprah Winfrey as the rock star mayor who helped lead the renewal of Newark, New Jersey. During his seven years in City Hall, Booker was known for his headline-grabbing feats of local do-goodery, including running into a burning building to save a woman, and his early fluency with social media, which brought him 1.4 million followers on Twitter when the platform was little used in politics. His rhetorical skills and Ivy League background often brought comparisons to President Barack Obama, and hed been discussed as a potential presidential contender since his arrival in the Senate in 2013. ADVERTISEMENT Now, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has mastered the art of the selfie on social media. Another former mayor, Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, is seen as the freshest face in the field. Former Vice President Joe Biden has built a strong base of support with Black voters. And Bookers message of hope and love seemed to fall flat during an era characterized perhaps most strongly by Democratic fury over the actions of the Trump administration. An early focus on building out a strong and seasoned campaign operation in Iowa and South Carolina may have hampered his campaign in the long run, as the resources he spent early on staff there left him working with a tight budget in the later stages of the primary, when many of his opponents were going on air with television ads. That meant that even later in the campaign, after he had collected some of the top endorsements in Iowa and visited South Carolina almost more than any other candidate, a significant portion of the electorate in both states either said they were unfamiliar with his campaign or viewed him unfavorably. On the stump, Booker emphasized his Midwestern connections often referencing the nearly 80 family members he has still living in Iowa when he campaigned there and delivered an exhortation to voters to use radical love to overcome what he considered Trumps hate. But he rarely drew a contrast with his opponents on the trail, even when asked directly, and even some of Bookers supporters worried his message on Trump wasnt sharp enough to go up against a Republican president known for dragging his opponents into the mud. Booker struggled to land on a message that would resonate with voters. Hes long been seen as a progressive Democrat in the Senate, pushing for criminal justice reform and marijuana legalization. And on the campaign trail, he proposed establishing a $1,000 savings account for every child born in the U.S. to help close the racial wealth gap. He was among the first candidates to release a gun control plan, and at the time it was the most ambitious in the field, as it included a gun licensing program that would have been seen as political suicide just a decade before. He also released an early criminal justice reform plan that focused heavily on addressing sentencing disparities for drug crimes. But he also sought to frame himself as an uplifting, unifying figure who emphasized his bipartisan work record. That didnt land in a Democratic primary that has often rewarded candidates who promised voters they were tough-minded fighters who could take on Trump. Bookers seat is up for a vote this year, and he will run for reelection to the Senate. A handful of candidates has launched campaigns for the seat, but Booker is expected to have an easy path to reelection. Bookers exit from the presidential race further narrows the once two dozen-strong field, which now stands at 12 candidates. New Delhi, Jan 17 : Hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raised doubts over a NIA probe into the case of suspended DSP Davinder Singh, the opposition party put posers on the investigation by the central agency headed by Y.C. Modi. Gandhi took to Twitter and wrote: "The best way to silence terrorist Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder is to hand the case to the NIA. The NIA is headed by another Modi - YC who investigated the Gujarat riots and the Haren Pandya assassination case. "In YC's care, the case is as good as dead. #WhoWantsTerroristDavinderSilenced and why?" The NIA chief is a 1984-batch officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre and previously served in the Central Bureau of Investigation. He was part of a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team that probed then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Speaking to the media at the party headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Supriya Srinate said that the National Investigation Agency's own role has been under suspicion as far as cases of BJP's Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur and Swami Aseemanand are concerned. "I really think it is incumbent on the (central) government to come on record, to clarify the role of Singh to ensure that any probe is above board," she said. She said that the suspended DSP was not just another police official in J&K, but "somebody responsible for the security of foreign envoys". On January 9 - three days before he was arrested in the company of two alleged militants - the police officer was responsible for the security of 17 foreign envoys who visited the Valley, the Congress leader claimed. "Singh was not just an important official -- he had the confidence of the government. He was -- I want to put it on record -- DSP (DR) in Pulwama region where a terror attack occurred on February 14 last year, in which 40 innocent CRPF troopers lost their lives," she said. The Congress leader pointed out that the country was still haunted by a question regarding the huge quantity of RDX used in the attack. Srinate said that Singh had faced three FIRs in extortion cases, apart from the fact that his name cropped up in the Parliament attack case of 2001. "Why is the government silent? Its conspicuous silence raises more uncomfortable questions. "Whom did Singh report to? Was he a mere pawn in the larger scheme of things? Why is the government, the National Security Advisor (Ajit Doval), the Home Minister (Amit Shah) or the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) silent?" she questioned. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Mehdi Cherifia (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France Fri, January 17, 2020 20:06 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32297fa5 2 Entertainment France,director,Christophe-Ruggia,Sexual-assault,trial,Adele-Haenel Free French filmmaker Christophe Ruggia was charged Thursday over accusations that he sexually assaulted actress Adele Haenel when she was a minor, the Paris prosecutor said. The 55-year-old was charged with sexual assault of a minor "by a person with authority over the victim," the prosecutor's office said after Ruggia was detained for two days of questioning. Adele Haenel, 31, lodged a formal complaint against Ruggia in November after accusing him in an interview of sexually harassing her when she was between the ages of 12 and 15. She accused Ruggia, who directed her in the 2002 movie The Devils, her first film role, of repeatedly touching and kissing her. Her accusations stunned the French film industry, which has been slower than Hollywood to react to the #MeToo movement turning the spotlight on sexual abuse in the sector. Ruggia at first fiercely denied harassing Haenel before asking her to forgive him. He then said that she was targeting him because he denied her a part in another film. Haenel won support from some top names of French cinema, including actress Marion Cotillard who praised her for "breaking a silence that was so heavy". Ruggia has been placed under judicial supervision pending the investigation, and is barred from meeting Haenel, a source close to the investigation told AFP. Haenel, who starred in the period drama Portrait of a Lady on Fire -- one of last year's art house hits -- initially declined to file an official complaint, slamming the "contempt with which the judicial system treats women". But prosecutors opened an investigation of their own accord and Haenel eventually did file a complaint. Read also: Top French actress files abuse charge against director #balancetonporc Haenel explained in a statement it was her "responsibility as a public personality" to take part in the process, "given the gravity of the facts and the consequences for everyone". She said Ruggia's public denials had made her "determined to obtain through judicial means the status of a victim". In another case to shake the French cultural world, the award-winning essayist Gabriel Matzneff is the subject of a rape investigation after prominent publisher Vanessa Springora published a memoir describing a sexual relationship she had with him while she was still a minor. And director Roman Polanski has been under pressure since a French woman claimed last November that he raped her in 1975 when she was 18 after beating her "into submission" at his Swiss chalet. He has denied the accusation. The #MeToo movement against sexual abuse and harassment of women by men in positions of power -- translated as #balancetonporc (expose your pig) in French -- was slow to get off the ground in France, where critics say a culture of permissiveness still exists towards unwanted advances. 90 Day Fiance stars Evelin Villegas and Laura Jallali have been feuding recently. Evelin Villegas went live with John Yates and dished on the feud, but it seems as if Laura Jallali still isnt done at least, not according to Corey Rathgeber. Now, Rathgeber is telling Laura Jallali that she needs to back off, or else hell be taking legal action against her. Heres what went down. 90 Day Fiance star Evelin Villegas disheson Laura Jallali Evelin Villegas and Corey Rathgeber of 90 Day Fiance | coreyrathgeber_90 via Instagram During a chat with Instagrammer John Yates, Evelin Villegas dished on what was going on with her feud with Laura Jallali from 90 Day Fiance. Allegedly, Evelin Villegas and Corey Rathgeber welcomed Laura Jallali to Ecuador, in order to help her get back on her feet after her split from Aladin Jallali. However, Villegas claims that Jallali grew steadily nastier, and eventually began spreading rumors about Villegas and Rathgeber. Jallali claimed that Villegas was cheating on Rathgeber. Its false what she says about me and what she says about Corey, Villegas said. She told Yates, We both see that she and this other friend were trying to break us up, and we were like, you know what, were both stepping away from them both. Evelin Villegas went on to add that she essentially had to act as a support system for Laura Jallali. Villegas says she had to translate for Jallali nonstop, as she speaks no Spanish. She told Yates, I was such a huge support for her, even if she doesnt want to admit it. And if she doesnt want to admit it, fine. Villegas also informed Yates that as of now, Laura Jallali has no plans to leave Ecuador, and in fact got her visa renewed for another three months. Corey Rathgeber threatens legal action Its just so sad that this is the only way Laura can manufacture attention by going live with the gay houseboy from Ecuador and making up the most ridiculous stories about Corey, Evelin, Deavan and myself. #HowDareJuuu #90DayFiance #90DayFianceTheOtherWay #YohnJates pic.twitter.com/4ep9e0Jde6 John Yates (@JohnYates327) January 12, 2020 Meanwhile, Corey Rathgeber has had enough of Laura Jallalis antics. The 90 Day Fiance alum went live on Instagram to send a message to Jallali. In the video, he said, This is for Laura. I have no way of getting in contact with her because shes blocked me, so I gotta do it this way I guess, sorry guys. Anyways, if you say anything about me again, anything at all, publicly, I am pressing charges against you. He continued, What youre doing is so messed up and so wrong. You have no right to be saying anything. Stop it with the stories, stop it with all of your nonsense. Bother somebody else if you want to, but dont pick on me. I have done nothing wrong to you. Me and Evelin both have been nothing but nice towards you, continued the 90 Day Fiance star. I dont know why youre doing this right now, but you say one more word about me, one more word about Evelin, youre going to wish you didnt, Im serious. Im taking legal action against you. It seems as if Corey Rathgeber isnt willing to brook any more rumor-mongering or gossip from Laura Jallali. Whether or not she heeds his warning is another matter entirely. Corey Rathgeber is indeed in Ecuador with Evelin Villegas Corey and Evelin of 90 Day Fiance | TLC Meanwhile, some fans were confused for a while where Evelin Villegas and Corey Rathgeber stood as a couple. However, it is now clear that Rathgeber is back in Ecuador with Villegas, and it seems as if the two are doing just fine. Villegas even recorded a live video in January in which Rathgeber made an appearance, and Rathgeber also has several pictures of the couple together in Ecuador on his Instagram. The fire station on the front lines of California's homelessness crisis: 'We're trying to stop the bleeding' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Paramedic Scott Lazar, a 16-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department, is used to treating the same person, sometimes on the same day, on Skid Row. "Deja vu, yeah, it's every day down here," Lazar told "Nightline" as he treats a man for an overdose, as he did just the day before. Over five months, "Nightline" got an exclusive look at life at Lazar's LAFD Station 9, rare access to the day-to-day operations of this team and a glimpse into daily life for this city's most vulnerable. Station 9 is one of the busiest fire stations in the country, receiving an average of 80 calls a day -- mostly to treat those living on the street in L.A.'s well-known Skid Row. PHOTO: Over five months, Nightline got an exclusive look at life at LAFD Station 9, getting rare access to the day-to-day operations of this team and a glimpse into daily life for this citys most vulnerable. (ABC) Watch the full story on "Nightline" TONIGHT at 12:35 a.m. ET on ABC Lazar and his partner, Mike Contreras, are members of the fast-response vehicles at the station. Their job is to dart ahead of fire engines to assess the situation and gauge the required resources. It's been described that each homeless person is like a lock with its own unique key. There isn't a single solution that works for all of them. It's something the firefighters have come to know. During one of our embeds over the summer, on Lazar's third overdose case of the morning, he said he recognized the man. He'd cut open the man's jeans pocket to ensure he wouldn't be stuck by needles when he hoisted the man into a gurney. PHOTO: Paramedic Scott Lazar, a 16-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department, is used to treating the same person, sometimes on the same day, on Skid Row. (ABC) "That is an everyday occurrence. If I work tomorrow, I'm pretty sure I'll [see] him again tomorrow with the same problems," he said. "He didn't get the right locksmith, maybe one day he will." There are nearly half a million people experiencing homelessness nationwide -- many in California. In Los Angeles County, about 60,000 people live on the streets, right beside the luxury and glamour of Hollywood. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom called the issue "a crisis. This is a state of emergency." Story continues PHOTO: Thousands of residents rely on LAFD paramedics as their primary health care provider. (ABC) But potential solutions are stalling as fears over disease and public safety clash with the realities of mental illness, addiction and poverty. MORE: Progress stalled on closing racial gap in health insurance since Trump took office Last week, Newsom proposed a $1.4 billion plan to address this as debate in the state rages over long-term solutions. Amid the turmoil, there's a quiet domesticity at the station. Sharing meals, cleaning gear, fitting in quick workouts -- it's a brotherhood. "[We] pretty much live here," engineer Mark Tostado told "Nightline." "We live here a quarter of our time -- so I do live here. This is our home away from home." PHOTO: [We] pretty much live here, Engineer Mark Tostado tells Nightline. We live here a quarter of our time. So I do live here. This is our home away from home. (ABC) LAFD Medical Director Mark Eckstein said responders at this station are exposed to extraordinary danger every day. "They're exposed to needles, violent crime, communicable diseases you think would only exist in third-world countries, and they're literally running nonstop," Eckstein said. Yet some, like Tostado, keep coming back. This is his 11th year at the station and his second tour of duty. MORE: From homelessness to Ironman: How this amputee made history at the Ironman World Championship "You have to want to be here ... to see what's going on here ... feces, throw up, needles and overdoses and death -- most people don't see that at all," Tostado said. "I can't even count how many times I've seen death. And you just get used to it." PHOTO: Station 9 in Los Angeles is at the epicenter of the crisis, receiving an average of 80 calls a day. (ABC News) Over several months with Station 9, there was a fair share of misery, but also glimmers of hope -- like a man who goes by the name Mango. He's become a self-appointed aide to the firefighters, stepping out into crowded streets to stop traffic so fire trucks can zip through. Sometimes he'll even clear the city's street gutters. "He helps us out a lot here," Tostado said. Mango gave "Nightline" a tour of the Skid Row neighborhood, where he was often greeted as if he were the mayor. He helped a disabled woman get a blanket. She broke into tears. Despite not having teeth, she tried to convey someone had run over her foot. "It's warfare out here," he said. "These people out here need to be in shelter." PHOTO: 'Mango' has become a de facto aide to the firefighters, stepping out into traffic to stop cars so the fire trucks can zip through. (ABC) Moments later, Station 9 got another call and "Nightline" rushed back. Tostado told us there was a report of a disturbed woman. When "Nightline" arrived, four firefighters were talking to her when, suddenly, she started to swing at them. They subdued the woman, who was still kicking and crying on the sidewalk, as gently as possible by borrowing a security guard's handcuffs. Tostado said he sees situations like this "weekly." "I mean, it's not their fault, a lot of times it's a psych issue or they're doing drugs. And it's an effect of the drugs," he said. MORE: Manhunt underway for Baton Rouge killer possibly targeting homeless That woman would be taken to the emergency room, which is part of the problem, Eckstein said. "Having paramedics roll on someone who's hearing voices, who endorses suicidal ideation, take 'em to an E.R. with no mental health professionals, how does that help?" he said. "If someone's intoxicated, what do we do in the E.R.? We check for any treatable medical or traumatic conditions, which often involves very expensive, redundant testing. And we basically let 'em sober up and they go back on the street. Do it all over again." Eckstein said it's a good thing there are new resources "but we haven't solved the problem." "We're trying to stop the bleeding. We're trying to get help for the most vulnerable people in our society," he added. PHOTO: Los Angeles Fire Station 9 is at the epicenter of the crisis, receiving an average of 80 calls a day. Thousands of residents rely on them as their primary health care provider. (ABC) LAFD Chief Ralph Terazas said one of the problems is regulatory. Paramedics can only transfer patients to the emergency room, without the option of transfers to mental health facilities or sober houses, which might be more appropriate. "It's crazy to me. Because police officers, with minimal medical training, have that authority now to take 'em wherever they want. But our paramedics, who have much higher medical authority, are not allowed to do so ... because it's not compliant with county protocol," he explained. That's what's causing the backlog at hospitals and sapping the city's budget, Terazas added. He and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti are now lobbying the state for those changes. The crew here at Station 9 notches wins every day, as they say, treating each individual without bias because their patients are human beings, and this is the job. "Imagine going treating someone who's covered in dirt, human waste. They respond [to calls from] people with these problems every day and they treat them with the same level of respect as a CEO working in a high-rise two blocks from here," Eckstein said. "That is quite noble and quite admirable. And they do it day in, day out." Sporting Lisbon boss Silas is convinced that Bruno Fernandes is worth more than his current market value amid interest from Manchester United. Silas confirmed that Fernandes will feature against Benfica on Friday as a protracted transfer to Old Trafford this month remains some distance from completion. Reports in Portugal on Thursday claimed that the two clubs remained some way apart on the valuation of the player. United won't go above paying 42million up front for Fernandes, while Sporting demanding at least 55m for their captain. Bruno Fernandes is being undervalued as Manchester United continue to negotiate a move Sporting Lisbon boss Silas is adamant that Fernandes is being undervalued in the market But in the eyes of Silas, Fernandes is 'extraordinary' and is being undervalued in the market. 'He is an extraordinary player, the best and most valuable in the league, as he was last season,' Silas said. 'I've heard someone say that he's not worth the money you are talking about and it's true, he's worth a lot more. 'In addition to attacking he also sacrifices himself to defend. Bruno is the best and the most valuable. When we have such a player it's normal for everyone to want him.' Fernandes leaps into the air to control the ball during a clash with Porto earlier this month United and Sporting still need to agree a fee for the player with less than two weeks remaining of the window, with agent Jorge Mendes set to present a proposal after he attended United's FA Cup clash with Wolves on Wednesday night. Sportsmail understands Fernandes has agreed a contract worth around 130,000 a week with the Old Trafford side. Sporting are said to be insisting on a guaranteed fee of 55m plus bonuses - something United are not prepared to do. However, the Red Devils are reported to have offered 42m plus bonuses that could reach 68m but the Portuguese giants feel they're unobtainable to meet. It's believed that the possible bonuses include United winning the Premier League and/or the Champions League as well as Fernandes winning the Ballon d'Or. Certainly at present, the first two seem unlikely for the time being. Portuguese television station TVI 24's website says that the transfer is now 'at risk'. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants Fernandes after losing Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay to injury United have suffered a spate of injuries in central midfield and have also lacked a creative spark to link the play with the attack this season. Fernandes would represent a major upgrade in that problem area and already boasts 15 goals for Sporting from midfield this season. The 25-year-old finished with 31 goals last season, including 20 in the Portuguese league. ST. PAUL Minnesota voters are set to be the first in the nation to begin casting ballots Friday, Jan. 17, for candidates in presidential nomination contests. For the first time since 1992, voters will weigh in in the contest in partisan primaries. And while the primary election is set to take place on Super Tuesday, March 3, state law requires early voting to begin 46 days ahead of Election Day. Ahead of the initiation of early voting, presidential hopefuls and their surrogates in the state planned to make a show of the event and encourage Minnesotans to get out the vote. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who is hoping to clinch the Democratic nomination, plans to hold campaign events around the state during the day and will appear at an event at First Avenue along with supporter Gov. Tim Walz. And Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-MN05, is scheduled to stump for Sen. Bernie Sanders in Minneapolis. Ahead of (early) Election Day, here's what you need to know. Do I need an excuse to vote early? No, Minnesotans can vote early in the primary contest without an excuse for why they might be unable to cast their votes on March 3. ADVERTISEMENT Do I have to pick a party to vote? Yes, voters casting ballots in the presidential primary will have to choose either Republican or Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to weigh in in one of the contests. Who is on the ballot? On the Republican ballot, President Donald Trump will be on the ballot along with the option for voters to write in a candidate. Minnesota GOP leaders will determine which candidates will be accepted and counted as write-in options. Those voting in the DFL primary will see a longer ballot. Fifteen candidates will be listed, including three that have suspended their campaigns, and voters will also be able to select an "uncommitted" option. Candidates slated will be Michael Bennet, Joseph Biden, Michael R. Bloomberg, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, John K. Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Deval Patrick, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang. Booker, Castro and Williamson have dropped out of the race in recent weeks. The state's two so-called "pot parties," the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party and the Legal Marijuana Now Party are not set to hold primary contests. What will happen with my information if I decide to vote? All four major parties will have access to the lists of voters that weigh-in in the Democratic and Republican primary contests. Party leaders have said they will use the information to campaign for candidates and don't plan to make public those lists. But advocates for voter privacy worry the lists will come into the public eye and could chill voters' desire to cast ballots moving forward. Lawmakers who approved the move from caucuses to primaries in 2016 had little to say on the matter. But now, some have said the Legislature needs to find a way to keep the information private . Secretary of State Steve Simon on Thursday said he'd ask lawmakers to consider "guardrails" aimed at keeping voter information a secret. What if I change my mind after voting early or the candidate I picked drops out? Depending on when you change your mind, you can claw back your ballot and change your vote. Under Minnesota law, primary voters have the option to do a take-backsies up to seven days prior to Election Day if they voted early. Will there still be caucusing? Yes, on Feb. 25, partisan precinct caucus meetings will take place all over the state. Voters who attend will help shape party platforms, inform which candidates go on to receive the nomination and choose delegates to participate in future partisan nominating conventions. ADVERTISEMENT Who is paying for this primary? The taxpayers. According to the Secretary of State's office, the election will cost an estimated $11.9 million to administer. Visible police patrols of just four hours a week cut crime by more than 20 per cent, a Cambridge study has shown. A six-month experiment at 57 London Underground stations found that four 15 minute patrols each day, four days a week, caused a drop in crime of 21 per cent. A massive 97 per cent of the drop was recorded when officers weren't actually present, researchers dubbed the 'phantom effect'. Visible police patrols at tube stations were responsible for a 21 per cent drop in criminal acts Researchers from Cambridge University studied the impact four 15-minute patrols at a tube station would have on crime levels each day. The study found crime levels reduced even after officers had left the station The experiment showed the long-lasting effect of short bursts of patrols can be, said the Cambridge University team behind it. Study co-author, Prof Lawrence Sherman, said: 'The total crime prevention benefit of police patrols may be greater when they are absent than when they are present. 'In the London Underground experiment we see a huge residual effect of brief appearances by patrolling officers after they leave. 'This phantom effect suggests that crime declines when potential offenders are apprehensive about a possible police presence based on recent patrolling patterns - even when there are no police in the vicinity. 'In London stations, it may be that more professional kinds of offenders are particularly sensitive to changes in police presence, such as pickpockets and distraction thieves. 'This London Underground paradox could have implications for debates on police priorities in an age of austerity, such as the benefits of investigating past crimes compared with the benefits of preventing future crimes.' A total of 115 of the Underground's most crime-ridden stations, such as Russell Square, Oxford Circus and Earl's Court were chosen for the test with 57 of those randomly chosen to get patrols between 2011 and 2012. While the experiment was running, a total of 3,549 calls to police from the platform came from stations without patrols, compared to 2,817 in the stations with a sporadic police presence. Based on their results, the researchers are now recommending more patrols to reduce crime. Dr Barak Ariel, fellow in experimental criminology at the University of Cambridge, said: 'The more that uniformed police have been there, and the more recently, the less likely the future crimes may be to occur. 'For every hour police spend in cars driving to answer non-emergency calls, we can now see that investment in reactive policing as a choice, not a duty. 'If the question is whether proactive patrols do the most good where the most harm is likely to occur, communities might finally move to reallocate preventive patrols to locations where we have documented their optimal effects, as long recommended by the National Research Council.' The platform patrols were the first of their kind in the Underground's 155-year-long history. Researchers said choosing platforms gave them a glimpse of how effective police patrols can be by using an 'uncontaminated' environment. Dr Ariel said: 'Platforms are small, stable and confined places with finite entry and exit points. These characteristics make them optimal for measuring the localised deterrence effects of police patrols. 'We wanted to measure what happens when police patrols are introduced into an urban environment for the first time in over 150 years.' The team targeted 'hot spots' - areas where crime is more concentrated, and preventative patrols can have greatest effect - by ranking stations based on the previous year's crime rates. Researchers also honed in on 'hot hours' and 'hot days' - for example, data showed platforms experienced more crime and calls to police from Wednesday to Saturday between 3pm and 10pm. Twenty uniformed BTP officers were selected and trained to work exclusively on patrolling the platforms of the 'treatment' stations during 'hot' days and hours. Each two-person unit was allocated between three and five stations, with platforms patrolled for fifteen minutes four times a day. Officers were asked to conduct these patrols in a random or unpredictable order within the 'hot hours', and encouraged to engage with the public while patrolling. Police were most effective at preventing platform crime during periods and days when patrols were scheduled - but just 3 per cent of that reduction came when officers were actually scheduled to patrol. The researchers also found 'regional' effects - crime in the rest of the station fell almost as much as crime on platforms during the four days when regular patrols were deployed. Dr Sherman added: 'Our findings indicate that consistent patrols can cause large reductions in both crime and emergency calls in areas that have never before been proactively patrolled by police in this way.' After nine years of being together, Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler have broken up, leaving many fans heartbroken. RadarOnline confirmed that the reason for their split is because of Butler's booming career. According to their insider, Hudgens and Butler were in two different places when it came to their career, which eventually took a toll on their relationship. "Austin's career has skyrocketed in the last year. He appeared in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' and is starring as 'Elvis' in a new movie, so for him, he is just focusing on that, and it impacted his relationship with Vanessa," the source said. E! News also reported that the two lovebirds broke up because they were spending too much time apart due to their busy acting schedules. According to their source, "They're just shooting on two different continents, and it's a matter of distance. There is no bad blood at all, and they have a lot of respect for each other." Right now, Hudgens is filming "The Princess Switch 2" in Scotland, while Butler is in Australia filming the "Elvis Presley" biopic. Another E! News source said that they might not be together right now, but the former couple is still in good terms. The breakup is clearly because of distance, and there is a chance that they will date again once they go back to the same place. Elle Magazine said that the nine-year relationship isn't "permanently finished yet." Their source explained, "The two are split for now, but they are going to see what happens." Hudgens and Butler have such a history and deep connection that they could find their way back to one another. "Right now, she [Hudgens] felt like he [Butler] needed to go and be single and see if that's what he wants," Elle Magazine's source added. In a Cosmopolitan UK interview earlier this January, Hudgens was asked about how she and Austin cope with long-distance relationship. In response, she said "FaceTime, good communication, respect, and trust." Hudgens added, "The longest we've been apart was four months. It sucks! You start hating hearing yourself say, 'I miss you.' But if it's your person, you make it work." The couple -- who started dating in September 2011 -- sparked rumors that they broke up after not being able to spend the holidays with one another. Hudgens spent her Christmas without her then boyfriend, as she posted on Instagram a winter getaway with friends on Switzerland. Meanwhile, on New Year's Eve, she was dressed in a black gown for dinner all by herself. The two have also been noticeably absent from each other's social media pages, save for a few Halloween pictures that feature Butler. Vanessa captioned one of the pictures, "And sit together, now and forever. For it is plain, as anyone can see. We're meant to be." Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler have already crossed paths before dating. They started as friends during Hudgens' "High School Musical" days back in 2005 and meeting through mutual BFF, Ashley Tisdale. Butler was not part of any Disney shows and movies but had been doing some extra work appearing in "Hannah Montana." "It's great because Austin was my best friend since way before they got together, so it's just nice to have your two best friends be in a relationship," "High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale told People Mag in 2016. Queen Elizabeth is calling for an emergency meeting in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markles shocking announcement that they plan to step back as senior members of the Royal Family. The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William have united to tell their offices to work at pace to find a solution to Meghan and Harrys desire to step away from frontline royal work. They have asked their teams to work with the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs office and governments on both sides of the Atlantic on the issue. The Queen, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Cambridge have directed their teams to work at pace with governments and the Sussexess office to find workable solutions and this is expected to take days, not weeks, a royal source tells PEOPLE. Its clear that the monarch, 93, wants to get to a conclusion quickly. RELATED: Meghan Markle and Prince Harrys Decision Is Unprecedented in the Modern Royal Family This has moved from shock and a range of emotions to something more constructive, the source adds. It is complicated. This is happening very quickly. And the proof in that is the fact that this will take days and not weeks. David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock The palaces need to talk openly with governments both here and across the Atlantic, the source continues. People are trying to work fast through these complicated issues in order to find something that works for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Discussions are focusing on funding for the couple and their team, security and protection, and whether they will have official residences. And then there is the question of what kind of roles they are hoping to fulfill on behalf of the Queen and, if so, whether that includes foreign tours. The governments will be consulted on those key issues, too. On Wednesday, Harry and Meghan revealed their plans to carve out a progressive new role within this institution, they wrote in a statement on Instagram. We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. Story continues Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/POOL/AFP via Getty We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support. RELATED: Who Really Gets to Decide If Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Can Keep Their Titles? The source didnt know if the couple had their sights on Canada or America. Just hours after Harry and Meghan shared their plan, Queen Elizabeth reacted by saying the conversation is still in early stages. While there was some idea of the couples desire to take a different route, as discussions have been confirmed to be taking place, insiders tell PEOPLE that the 93-year-old monarch and senior members of the royal family, including Prince Charles and Prince William, were caught off guard by the release of the couples statement on Wednesday. There is a lot of hurt about this, one royal source tells PEOPLE. 'The content given in it intends to create hatred and malign the image of the RSS and its head', the complaint said Lucknow: An FIR was registered against unidentified people for circulating a 16-page PDF file, 'Naya Bharatiya Samvidhan', on social media with a picture of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, police said. "We have given an application for the registration of FIRs at the Gomti Nagar and Hazratganj police stations against the message having a picture of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwatji," RSS Awadh prant sah prachar pramukh Diwakar told PTI. "The content given in it intends to create hatred and malign the image of the RSS and its head," the complaint said, adding that the facts given in the document were against the Constitution of the country. "We have registered an FIR and the probe is on," police said. Children and adolescents detained in the youth justice system experience poor health across a range of physical and mental health domains, according to new research. In the first global review, researchers from the University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and University of Sheffield in the UK have examined the health of detained adolescents from 245 peer-reviewed journal articles and review publications. Researchers found that detained adolescents have a significantly higher prevalence of mental health disorders and suicidal behaviours than their peers in the community, along with substance use disorders, neurodevelopment disabilities, and sexually transmitted infections. In a concurrent paper also published today, researchers examined the ways poor health and poverty drive children into youth justice systems. Researchers found that learning disabilities, poor mental health, and experiences of trauma and adversity in childhood can increase the risk that a young person will be exposed to the criminal justice system. This risk is further amplified by societal factors including inequality and disadvantage. University of Sheffield Professor of Adolescent Health and Justice, Nathan Hughes said the research highlights the need for a whole-of-system approach to addressing health and social inequalities in childhood and adolescence. "Research shows that it is our most disadvantaged and unwell young people who end up in the youth justice system," Professor Hughes said. "Their health and welfare needs are complex, and many detained adolescents have multiple, co-occurring health issues that are compounded by communication difficulties, risky substance use and trauma." Head of the Justice Health Unit at the University of Melbourne and MCRI, Professor Stuart Kinner said that to reduce the rates of reoffending and improve health outcomes for vulnerable adolescents and the community, appropriate evidence-based treatment during and after detention must also be provided. "Investment in coordinated health, education, family, and welfare services for our most disadvantaged young people must be a priority, both to keep them out of the youth justice system, and to ensure that their health and social needs are met if they do end up in detention," Professor Kinner said. "We need to recognise that these vulnerable young people typically spend only a short time in detention, before returning to the disadvantaged communities from which they have come. "If we can screen for health and developmental difficulties while adolescents are in the justice system, we can identify unmet needs - often for the first time - and tailor evidence-based support to improve health outcomes and reduce reoffending once they return to the community. However, to make these improvements a reality we need greater investment in transitional programs and public health services." ### This research was published today in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health and The Lancet Public Health. Media enquiries: Holly Watkins | 0466 514 367 | holly.watkins@unimelb.edu.au Note: Due to limited literature available, 90 per cent of peer-reviewed papers and 100 per cent of reviews came from high-income countries. Researchers state that more robust, independent research examining the health of detained children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries is urgently needed. Professor Kinner chairs the National Youth Justice Health Advisory Group in Australia. The European Union will take "a different approach" than the U.S. when it comes to managing the trade relationship with China, the EU ambassador to China told CNBC on Friday. Ambassador Nicolas Chapuis emphasized, however, that the EU is "in the same boat" as the U.S. despite the divergence. "We think that policy of engagement, clarity, the possibility to strike smart deals, to take stock of China's innovation policies and formidable economy of this country is of interest to us and engagement rather confrontation is the right path," Chapuis told CNBC's "Street Signs." The ambassador said that the EU is working to deliver "a smart and sensible agreement" and that his staff will "take stock of the potential of economic, trade, political relationship between the EU and China." The fact that trade tensions may be reduced, thanks to the U.S.-China deal is good news. On the other hand, managed trade, quantitative targets, bilateral deals, this is not what a global world needs. Nicolas Chapuis EU ambassador to China EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said on Thursday that the EU will be closely monitoring the newly signed "phase one" trade deal between Washington and Beijing, to ensure it complies with WTO rules. "As my commissioner said... we do not like bilateral arrangements in globalization. Of course, the U.S. is entitled to any deal it wishes with China. But if it is not WTO compatible, then we have an issue," the ambassador said. The EU will monitor progress on the U.S.-China deal "extremely closely to see if our concerns on managed trade, on quantitative targets are valid or not," said Chapuis. He said that he received a call from Chinese officials after the deal was signed that assured the EU "will not be impacted by the U.S.-China trade deal." US-China trade deal's global impact A Delhi court Friday granted bail to two people arrested in connection with violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in northeast Delhi's Seelampur area, saying no useful purpose will be served by keeping them in custody. Additional Sessions Judge Lalit Kumar granted the relief to Danish and Islam on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 15,000 each and a surety of a like amount. "Considering the circumstances coupled with the fact that the accused were in judicial custody since December last year, they were no more required for further custodial interrogation and co-accused were already enlarged on bail. "Therefore, no useful purpose would be served by keeping the accused in custody. Hence, case for release of bail is made out," the court said. It added that accused should scrupulously appear at each and every stage of the proceedings before the court so as not to cause any obstruction or delay in its progress. They should not engage in any criminal activity, the court said, adding that the accused should not influence any witness or tamper with the evidence in the case. The additional public prosecutor, appearing for the police, opposed the bail applications on the ground that the accused were actively involved in hurling stones at police personnel, damaging vehicles and government property, setting a police booth and vehicles on fire. He further submitted that the investigation was at an initial stage and hence, the accused should not be granted bail. The investigating officer, however, had told the court that both the accused were no more required for further custodial interrogation. Advocates Zakir Raza and Abdul Gaffar, the counsels for the accused, said their clients were falsely implicated in the case. The counsel told the court that they were arrested from their house and not from the site of protest and nothing has been recovered from their possession so far. A magistrate's court had in December sent 16 people to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the case. Fourteen persons were granted bail earlier by a sessions court earlier. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has disclosed that the state has introduced community policing. He said the introduction of community policing in the state is to complement the police and other security agencies in combating crime. Mr Sule said this in Abuja on Thursday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Punch Newspaper reports. The governor, who was responding to questions from State House correspondents on the launch of Operation Amotekun by the South West, said all local governments and communities in the state had one form of vigilante group or another. He expressed hope that it would transit ultimately to state police. Amotekun is a regional security outfit, formed by states in the South-west geopolitical zone. Governors in the South West region announced the formation of the regional paramilitary outfit last week to complement the work of the police. We believe in community policing and already we have community policing in the state. We hope that along the line, it will go into state police, the governor said. He also noted that crime had reduced drastically in the state. Mr Sules comments come days after he and the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, held several meetings with the view of curbing crisis and criminal attacks in the state. His comments also comes barely two days after the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, declared Amotekun illegal. Many have argued that the AGF was wrong to declare the security outfit illegal. The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum condemned Mr Malamis pronouncement. The forum said Mr Malamis statement was in furtherance of the widely held suspicion that sections of the country were deliberately being rendered vulnerable for herdsmen and other criminals by the federal government. The Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, Kayode Fayemi, has also insisted that the police authorities specifically, were involved in the setting up of Amotekun. He said the South-West governors had made it clear that it was in response to the security challenge in the zone. The Amotekun vision is a logical end product of President Buharis compelling vision on community policing and bottom-up approach to security sector governance across the length and breadth of the country. Far from being a competitor with the existing national security platforms, it aims to complement them in the areas of neighbourhood watch, information and intelligence gathering, detection of early warning signs and engaging in early response in a pro-active manner, apart from acting as liaison between the conventional security outfits and the local population, he said. 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Emily James from Portland was working at a U.S. Bank call center as a senior banker when a customer came on the line explaining how a delay in cashing his monthly paycheck would leave him penniless over the holidays. Marc Eugenio of Clackamas was dealing with James for more than hour on the phone, but it soon became clear that his check for more than $1,000 would not clear until after Christmas. Feeling sorry for him and realizing that he was speaking from only a short distance away from the call center, James obtained permission from her supervisor and traveled to meet Eugenio to give him $20 of her own money for gas. ''I felt terrible about the whole situation and there were no ways to have the funds from his paycheck released,' James told DailyMail.com. 'The only options I had were outside the box and so I decided to drive over and meet him.' Emily James from Portland, pictured, was working at U.S. Bank when a customer phoned to explain how a delay in cashing his paycheck would leave him penniless James realized the man was not far away from the call center where she worked and decided to drive to meet him and give the gentleman $20 for gas money. She was later fired for the act 'I decided to help him because I've been in the same situation. I've been stranded and left feeling helpless. Christmas is the one day of the year to be kind to one another,' James continues. She thought little of her good deed until she was told almost one week later that she would be fired for an 'unauthorized interaction with a customer'. The supervisor who gave her permission to carry out the good deed also lost his job, according to The Oregonian. Eugenio has since called the firings 'ridiculous.' 'I was a customer of U.S. Bank, I needed help, and she went above and beyond,' he said. 'I felt so bad. She was the only one helping me.' 'I said, "I wish I had just $20 bucks to get home,"' Eugenio said as he recounted the telephone conversation to James. 'And she said "Wait, hold on."' James, who takes calls from customers all across the country says it is rare to speak to anyone local, but in this particular instance Eugenio was just a few miles away. She said that it felt like a sign - especially on Christmas Eve. She told Eugenio to stay put and that she'd be there within 30 minutes with some gas money. 'I didn't want her to do it,' Eugenio said. 'But I'm not proud to the point that I'm going to refuse help.' James agreed to meet Marc Eugenio at this gas station, pictured, some 14 miles from the bank James obtained permission to drive about 14 miles from her office to the gas station where Eugenio was waiting at about 3:30pm. 'I handed him $20 in cash, said Merry Christmas and went right back to work,' she said to OregonLive. One week later, a senior manager at the bank fired James, pictured, her for having an 'unauthorized interaction with a customer' 'It was like, "Wow, she really cares,"' Eugenio said. 'Most supervisors, maybe they would have tried, but nobody would have ever come out because I was stranded. She had a big heart. She believed what I was saying.' A week later on New Year's Eve, James was suddenly called in to speak with the regional service manager. James explained: 'She said, "We're sorry, we cannot keep your employment because of unauthorized interaction with a customer."' 'They were worried about my safety,' James said. 'He could have kidnapped me or shot me. But I wouldn't have left or even tried to ask if that was OK if I thought that this person would hurt me.' '"You're going to fire me for doing something good?"' James asked her manager. 'I never even got to stand up for myself or contact HR,' she told DailyMail.com. James, who had worked for U.S. Bank for two years, says that it is the first time she has ever been disciplined on the job. In fact, she has received more than a dozen certificates, accolades and awards. One of them for a 'Silver Shield Award' reads: 'We do the right thing. It's what we believe. It's how we act. And it's a core value you've recently brought to life through your work,' while another citation from April 2019, was for 'putting people first'. 'I just don't understand why you wouldn't help someone if you had the ability to,' James said. 'It's Christmas Eve, it's already a rough time for people, and you're going to leave someone stranded? I couldn't in good conscience do that, knowing it was something I could fix, or at least get him home. Had I known then that I was going to be let go, I would have just removed the hold on the check, because that absolutely would have gotten me fired.' James says that she originally wanted to get her job back after feeling an injustice over the way things turned out, but now she is not so sure. 'I don't think I would want to continue to work for someone who would do that,' she said. U.S. Bank has since released a statement regarding James' behavior: 'Our policies and procedures for call center representatives are in place to both help and protect our employees and customers. Ms. Jamess employment was terminated because rather than using the proper processes and procedures to help the customer, she chose to pursue a course of action that placed herself and the bank at risk. Based on a review of the calls with this customer, our investigation concluded that Ms. James could have helped the customer had she simply pursued the legitimate solution that was known and available to her. 'Instead, Ms. James chose to knowingly break the rules, putting herself and the bank at unnecessary risk. Taking disciplinary action in situations like this is always difficult, as it impacts people. We never take that lightly. But it was necessary to protect our employees and our customers.' Holy Moly Donut Shop | Photo: Carey C./Yelp Craving doughnuts? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable doughnut hot spots in Detroit, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to fulfill your urges. 1. Dutch Girl Donuts Photo: FOODWANDERER A./Yelp Topping the list is Dutch Girl Donuts. Located at 19000 Woodward Ave. in Chaldean Town, the bakery, which offers doughnuts and more, is the highest-rated cheap doughnut spot in Detroit, boasting 4.5 stars out of 206 reviews on Yelp. Choose from doughnut flavors such as cinnamon rolls, blueberry glazed and sour cream. Yelper Sabrina C., who reviewed Dutch Girl Donuts on Oct. 14, wrote, "I got a few different ones, but had about 3 of the original glazed ones. Better than Krispy Kreme. Easily. I don't know how a donut could have such a soft but thick cake-like consistency, but they do. Mine literally melted in my hand as I held it." Jodi F. noted, "If you're looking for a really amazing, solid donut, stop here. It's not gonna win a pretty aesthetics or trendy Instagram pic donut award, but if you're looking for melt in your mouth sweetness, these will be hard to beat." 2. Dilla's Delights PHOTO: SHELLY K./YELP Next up is downtown's Dilla's Delights, situated at 242 John R St. With 4.5 stars out of 70 reviews on Yelp, the spot to score doughnuts, coffee and tea has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a low-priced option. Dilla's Delights serves doughnuts featuring flavors like toasted coconut crumble, chocolate ganache, banana pudding cake and lemon glaze. If you're hungry for more, we found these details about Dilla's Delights on Yelp. "Hand-crafted doughnuts made with 100% organic flour" the business notes on Yelp in the section explaining specialties. 3. Holy Moly Donut Shop PHOTO: KRISTA M./YELP Holy Moly Donut Shop, a spot to score doughnuts and desserts, is another inexpensive go-to, with four stars out of 68 Yelp reviews. Head over to 201 W. 8 Mile Road, Suite B to see for yourself. Indulge in a cinnamon roll or apple fritter or create your own doughnut with toppings that include chopped Snickers, mini marshmallows, Better Made hot chips, candied bacon and Fruity Pebbles. Also, choose from cookies, brownies and ice cream sandwiches. Story continues Yelp offers more information about Holy Moly Donut Shop. "I am the owner and love doughnuts and want you to come and enjoy!" the business says on Yelp in the bio section of its profile. Concerning signature items, "You pick your doughnut, your icing/glaze and toppings, and we'll design it for you. You can also customize your own doughnut (or cookie or brownie) ice cream sandwich!" 4. Detroit Mini Donut Photo: DETROIT MINI DONUT/Yelp Downtown, check out Detroit Mini Donut, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 14 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the street vendor and caterer spot, which offers doughnuts and more, by heading over to 214 E. Grand River. Yelp has more information on Detroit Mini Donut. "We started making doughnuts and lemonade under a 10 x 10 tent in 2011," the business says in the history section of its Yelp profile. "We hustled until we could upgrade to a food trailer ( which we still use). We then hustled some more until we could get into a brick and mortar!" As to what the business is known for, "We are a mobile food/snack vendor specializing in fresh made mini donuts with a variety of toppings, as well as our Detroit-themed lemonade bar," the business states on Yelp in the section highlighting specialties. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 11:06:10|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close by Xinhua writer Shi Xiaomeng BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States signed a phase-one economic and trade agreement on Wednesday in Washington, marking an important first step towards a final settlement of their trade disputes. The hard-won agreement, inked by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, and drafted after 13 rounds of consultations, reflects the principles of equality and mutual respect, and proves that the world's top two economies are capable of properly addressing their differences. In the deal, the U.S. side has pledged to cancel some of its additional tariffs on Chinese products, marking a policy change from hiking to cutting additional tariffs. The two sides have also agreed to further broaden market access, including further opening up of each other's financial markets, in order to provide more opportunities for both Chinese and U.S. businesses. The deal is of great significance for the two countries as it reins in the destructive trade frictions between the world's two largest economies. Trade wars have no winners, plain and simple. Over the past 18 months since the United States initiated its protectionist tariff campaign against China, the immeasurable losses have grown too gargantuan to deny. Farmers in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois watched their soybeans pile up, fearing they might lose the China market. U.S. importers are paying the price of punitive duties at customs and struggle with rising costs; ordinary working families have to pay more for the same products at Walmart and Target. Over the decades, bilateral trade between the two countries has become stupendous in scale, and still boasts tremendous potential. With China in the midst of pursuing high-quality economic development, the deal can help meet China's swelling demands in agricultural and energy products, and offer more quality goods and services to Chinese consumers. For the United States, China is not only the second largest importer of America's agricultural products, but also an indispensible host to many U.S. enterprises. A normalized economic and trade relationship would mean more business opportunities for U.S. firms. Expect the world to profit from the trade pact. The global economy has been battered hard over the past two years. A spike in tariffs has taken stock markets worldwide on a roller coaster ride, rattled global supply chains, and obfuscated global economic prospects. Consequently, the world economy in 2019 is expected to deliver its slowest growth since the 2008 global financial crisis, according to the International Monetary Fund. Amid an increasingly uncertain global economic outlook, the deal can help shore up global confidence, and stabilize financial markets. During the consultations, Beijing has demonstrated consistent strategic composure, utmost sincerity and steadfast patience, and has turned back Washington's unreasonable demands. The trade talks have provided a blueprint for the two sides to tackle other areas of concern and manage their differences. Signing the deal is only a start. The two sides need to implement the agreement and continue to meet each other halfway. Decision-makers in Washington must join their Chinese colleagues in moving China-U.S. relations forward, based on coordination, cooperation and stability. Doing so would ensure the sound stewardship of the world's most important bilateral relationship. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Global Embedded Systems Market: Overview Embedded system is a computer system, used within in large mechanical and electrical systems to solve real time computing constraints. It is integrated within the hardware of the electric or mechanical parts. These systems provide better adaptability, reliability, accuracy, power and smaller size. Embedded systems are employed in variety of industry verticals such as electronics, mobile communication, railways, automobiles, healthcare and aeronautics tom fulfill specialized purposes. The Embedded Systems market is expected to be driven by increasing adoption in automobiles, wearable devices, smart appliances in smart homes, use of multi-core processor technology in military applications and burgeoning demand in healthcare equipments. Moreover, innovation in technology coupled with smart grid initiatives likely to fuel of the Embedded systems market. However, the market is constrained with production of embedded systems, which requires set of complications arise on real time embedded systems implementations and theft and data privacy concerns. Request for Report Sample: http://www.marketgrowthanalysis.com/reports/sample/85 The revenue generated in the global market for embedded systems is, as a result, expected to progress at a strong CAGR of xx % from 2018 - 2025. This market is expected to reach US$ xx billion by the end of 2025. GlobalEmbedded Systems Market: Segmentation Embedded system market, by Functionality Stand alone embedded systems Real time embedded systems Networked embedded systems Mobile embedded systems Embedded system market, by Microcontroller Small scale embedded systems Medium scale embedded systems Large scale embedded systems Embedded system market, by Types Request for Report More Information@ http://www.marketgrowthanalysis.com/reports/enquiry/85 Embedded Hardware Embedded Software Embedded system market, by Application Automotive Telecommunication Healthcare Industrial Consumer electronics Aerospace and defense Others Regional Outlook The major chunk of total revenue in the embedded systems market is expected to come from North America. The region is has consistently remained top consumer of embedded systems and is likely to show high demand in the region. Asia Pacific is expected to show meteoric rise in demand for the embedded systems in the coming years. The region comprises of large number of industries that are rapidly evolving will require embedded systems to streamline their processes. The availability of skilled professionals in software development and presence of fabrication plants in the regions will further augment the growth of the embedded systems market. Competitive Scenario The companies operating in the Embedded Systems Market are Intel Corporation (US), Infineon Technologies AG (Germany), Renesas Electronics Corporation (Japan), Texas Instruments Incorporated (US), Microchip Technology Incorporated (US), STMicroelectronics N.V. (Switzerland), Qualcomm Technologies Incorporated (US), Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (US), Analog Devices Inc. (US), Broadcom Limited (US), Fujitsu Limited (Japan), NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Netherlands), and Toshiba Corporation (Japan). Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 03:56:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects the guards of honor in the company of Myanmar President U Win Myint during a grand welcome ceremony at the presidential palace in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a grand welcome banquet hosted by Myanmar President U Win Myint here Friday evening. Xi arrived earlier Friday for a state visit to the Southeast Asian country. It is Xi's first overseas trip in 2020, and the first visit to the Asian neighbor by a Chinese president after an interval of 19 years. Accompanied by Myanmar leaders including the president and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Xi stepped into the banquet hall at the presidential palace. In his speech, U Win Myint said that Xi visits Myanmar as his first foreign trip in the new year, and the Myanmar people are deeply honored by that. He expressed gratitude for China's support and assistance to Myanmar's peace and development. Myanmar and China have always adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, respected and understood each other, and have been committed to developing closer cooperative partnership, he said. U Win Myint said he believes that Xi's visit will become an important milestone in the development of bilateral relations, and wished Xi a successful and fruitful visit. For his part, Xi said he appreciates the hospitality of the Myanmar government and people. He said the reason why the "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between the two countries can last thousands of years and become ever stronger is that they have always been sincere to each other, stood together through thick and thin, and adhered to mutual respect and mutual benefit. Looking into the future, the two sides should take the opportunity of the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations to jointly build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future and usher in a new era of bilateral ties, he said. Xi urged the two countries to continue to be good neighbors like passengers in the same boat, and create a more favorable environment for their people's work and life and for their economic and social development. They should persist in being good friends who share weal and woe, and continue to work together to promote the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, firmly support each other's major concerns, and jointly promote world peace, stability, prosperity and development, he said. They should also continue to be good partners for win-win cooperation, and push the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor into substantive construction to bring greater benefits to the two peoples, said the Chinese president. He also urged the two sides to be good brothers to pass on their friendship from generation to generation. Xi expressed his belief that in the new year, China and Myanmar will continue to help each other, and work together for new progress in their respective national development and write a new chapter in their friendship. New Delhi [India], Jan 17 (ANI): Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that Delhi government never delayed any work related to the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case rather all the work which was under the ambit of the state government was completed within hours. "All the work that was under the Delhi government was completed by us within hours. We never delayed any work related to this case. Delhi government hardly has any role in it. We want convicts to be hanged at the earliest," said Kejriwal while speaking to the reporters here. Launching a scathing attack on Aam Aadmi Party, BJP on Thursday alleged that the negligence of state government was the reason behind the delay of the hanging of the Nirbhaya convicts. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had asserted that AAP is responsible for the delay in justice. On this, Kejriwal said: "He (Prakash Javadekar) is playing politics. Such matters should not be seen as politically. What is our role in this? We do not have the police, neither we have the law and order in our hands. We only send files from here and there." Kejriwal's statement came after President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy petition of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case convict Mukesh Singh. One of the convicts of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, Mukesh's mercy plea has been rejected by President Kovind, MHA has received the communication in this regard, sources said. The MHA had sent Singh's mercy petition to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday night, sources said. Earlier, Mukesh Singh, one of the four convicts in the gang-rape and murder of a paramedic student in 2012, had informed the Delhi High Court that his mercy petition is pending before the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the President of India and he should be given a minimum 14 days notice between the rejection of his mercy petition and scheduled date of execution. The Delhi High Court has refused to set aside the trial court order which issued a death warrant. The court had asked the convict's counsel to approach the trial court and apprise about the pending mercy plea. The four convicts were sentenced to death for raping a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in the national capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012. The victim, who was later given the name Nirbhaya, had succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Singapore where she had been airlifted for medical treatment. (ANI) How human-caused global warming worsens wildfires What the science says... Global warming worsens wildfires by drying vegetation and soil, creating more fuel for fires to spread further and faster. In some areas like southeastern Australia and California, altered atmospheric patterns may also be creating stronger and/or more frequent high pressure systems, resulting in less precipitation and thus both dryer conditions and longer fire seasons. Heat worsens wildfires The clearest connection between global warming and worsening wildfires occurs through increasing evapotranspiration and the vapor-pressure deficit. In simple terms, vegetation and soil dry out, creating more fuel for fires to expand further and faster. This is particularly a problem in Mediterranean climates that are prone to drought, like in California and Australia, as climate scientist Kevin Trenberth explains in the interview below with videographer Peter Sinclair. For example, California's record-breaking wildfire season in 2018 came at the culmination of the state's five hottest years on record (20142018) and a record-breaking drought (20122017). Australia's record-breaking bushfire season of 20192020 followed the continent's two hottest and driest years on record, and expanded during a record-breaking heatwave that included an average country-wide high temperature of 41.9C (107.4F) on 18 December 2019. Though many factors contribute to wildfires, the reason the Australian wildfires are so much worse this year than other recent years is the combination of record drought and record heat. #AustraliaFires History of national-average temperature and precipitation since 1910. pic.twitter.com/aHh3kDFIZ7 Robert Rohde (@RARohde) January 4, 2020 Because of the long-term warming trend, the Fourth National Climate Assessment Report concluded, Climate change has led to an increase in the area burned by wildfire in the western United States. Analyses estimate that the area burned by wildfire from 1984 to 2015 was twice what would have burned had climate change not occurred. Furthermore, the area burned from 1916 to 2003 was more closely related to climate factors than to fire suppression, local fire management, or other non-climate factors. Climate change has driven the wildfire increase, particularly by drying forests and making them more susceptible to burning. Acres burned by wildfires in California 19872019, with the linear trend shown. Data from Cal Fire. Cumulative forest area burned in the western United States 19842015, and attribution to human-caused climate change. Source: Fourth National Climate Assessment. Changing atmospheric circulations A second, though more scientifically uncertain connection between climate and worsening wildfires involves changing atmospheric circulation patterns. California's aforementioned record drought was exacerbated by a high-pressure ridge sitting off the Pacific coast, coined the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge. That ridge diverted storm systems to the north of California; the resulting period of low precipitation combined with record high temperatures to create dangerously dry wildfire conditions. Rutgers climate scientist Jennifer Francis over the past decade has been researching the connection between changes in the Arctic and extreme weather patterns throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In recent years a growing number of climate scientists have found evidence supporting her groundbreaking research. In a 2017 paper in Nature Communications, researchers led by Ivana Cvijanovic and Ben Santer found evidence of a connection between disappearing Arctic sea ice and these high-pressure ridges in the Pacific. And in an October 2018 paper in Science Advances, scientists Michael Mann, Stefan Rahmstorf and colleagues found that depending on how human fossil fuel pollution changes in the coming years, the frequency of wavy jet stream events that often lead to high-pressure ridges off the California coast could triple by the end of the century. The situation in Australia is again strikingly similar to that in California. Researchers have shown that global warming is expanding an atmospheric circulation pattern known as the Hadley cell. This circulation is caused by hot air at the equator rising and spreading toward the poles, where it begins to cool and descend, forming high pressure ridges. In Australia, this process creates whats known as the subtropical ridge, which as CSIRO notes, has become more intense as a result of global warming expanding the Hadley cell circulation. A 2014 study, CSIROs David Post and colleagues reported that stronger high-pressure ridges have been decreasing rainfall in southeastern Australia in the autumn and winter. The lack of rainfall creates more dry fuel for fires and lengthens the bushfire season. Based on this scientific research, the latest IPCC report found in 2014 that fire weather is projected to increase in most of southern Australia, with days experiencing very high and extreme fire danger increasing 5100% by 2050. And a 2015 CSIRO report concluded, Extreme fire weather days have increased at 24 out of 38 Australian sites from 1973-2010, due to warmer and drier conditions [forest fire danger index] increase across southeast Australia is characterised by an extension of the fire season further into spring and autumn partly driven by temperature increases that are attributable to climate change. Global warming will keep worsening wildfires Some are quick to point out that droughts and wildfires happen naturally, and the latter are often sparked by human activities. While that's true, it's also the case that human-caused climate change is responsible for making wildfires spread further and faster, by creating drier conditions and likely by changing atmospheric circulation patterns that result in less rainfall in some fire-prone regions like California and Australia. This rebuttal was updated by Judith Matz in September 2021 to replace broken links. The updates are a result of our call for help published in May 2021. Last updated on by dana1981. View Archives If they could talk, 15 dogs might thank Bradley Dodge for a second chance at life. The dogs, which came from Louisiana, were saved in memory of the former Fremonter who died on Jan. 15, 2019. FurEver Home, Inc., in Fremont was a busy place on Wednesday afternoon as folks worked to get the canines situated in kennels. A miniature pinscher named, Lucy, wiggled excitedly, while a terrier-mix called, James, wore a more timid look. Fremonters Donna and Len Dodge tenderly held a black and brown terrier mix, named Dodger. Their son, Brad, had been a dog lover, too. Hed grown up with the familys dogs. Gunner was a Rottweiler. They did everything together, his mom said. And although he didnt have sheep to herd, a border collie named, Dirty, seemed to like herding Brad and his brother, Tim, when they were outside playing. Brad was in sixth grade when his family moved from North Bend to Fremont. He graduated from Fremont Senior High School in 2005 and Midland University in 2012. Hed been employed with a construction company for the last several years. His mom described him as a caring person, who loved spending time with his now 7-year-old son, Parker. He had a kind heart, his mom said. He was a great father. His son misses him a lot. Last year, Brad was in a construction accident on Jan. 14 and was pronounced dead the next day. As an organ donor, the 32-year-old man helped five other individuals. The idea of rescuing 15 dogs on Jan. 15 the date of Brads death began with a conversation, said Deb Newill, founder and president of FurEver Home, Inc. Donna Dodge is one of Newills friends and fellow founders of FurEver Home, and serves as the boards vice president. At first, Newill offered to help the Dodges by going to the grocery store, shoveling their sidewalks or making a meal. I left it at that because I can only imagine how much grief is associated with the loss of a child, Newill said. But as the months passed, Newill wondered what more she should be doing to help. She wanted to acknowledge the anniversary of Brads death, but wasnt certain of how to do that. I just was brainstorming what nice gesture I could do or if there was a way to put into words that we were still there for Donna and Len and then I got to remembering that Brad was an organ donor, she said. Newill thought about the families whose loved ones had benefited from Brads gift and how children can do things that make their parents proud. I thought this was something they should be proud of as to how many lives hes impacted not just the recipients, but the families that did not have to say goodbye like Donna and Len, Newill said. In turn, Newill began thinking about what FurEver Home does by saving the lives of dogs and sheltering them. Thus came the idea of saving 15 lives on the 15th of January to celebrate the gift of life that Brad gave. Newill wasnt sure how the Dodges were prepared to recognize the day, but hoped the dogs arrival and second chance at life could provide at least a little renewed hope for that day. So around last Thanksgiving, Newill brought up the idea to Fremonter Martha Bang, FurEver Homes executive director. They reached out to Brittany Hebert, whos involved in animal rescue in the Crowley, Louisiana area, and with three shelters there. Bang and Sara Munson of Phoenix Remix Animal Rescue in Lincoln set out on Monday morning for what would be a more than a 1,950-mile round trip. On Tuesday, they met shelter networkers whod found the dogs and families to foster them, got the animals vaccinated so they could cross state lines and who were involved in coordinating efforts in Louisiana. Bang and Munson toured city and county shelters. When we toured the shelters there, I dont think even I understood how financially challenged of an area that is, Bang said. But in an economically stressed area, if a stray dog isnt claimed its put up for adoption. If all of their kennels (at the city shelter) are full and an animal comes in, they take the one thats been in the shelter the longest and euthanize it so the one that just came in the door can have the kennel space, she said. The shelter isnt unique in this practice. It happens everywhere, Bang said. The Nebraskans picked up 11 dogs in Crowley on Tuesday evening and four more in Lafayette, Louisiana and drove back to Nebraska. They reached Fremont before 2 p.m. Wednesday. On her Facebook page, the Louisiana woman praised the work of FurEver Home. Today, I witnessed the beauty of compassion, Hebert wrote. We loaded up 15 precious lives to head out to Nebraska to find forever homes. This special group of dogs varied in many ways, from dogs on euthanasia lists to full, long-term shelter residents. Bang said of the 15, a few had been in shelters for four to six months. Their time was long up, Bang said. In the meantime, Bang saw other dogs there as well. It was really hard for me to walk out of that county shelter and not be able to take the ones I saw there with me, she said. Hebert commended the FurEver Home endeavor. I want to graciously thank you for your tremendous work and for choosing our Southern shelter dogs, she wrote. Without you, their futures would be unknown my life will be forever changed, and so will theirs. The rescued dogs are: Joey, Daisy, James and Taylor, all terrier mixes; Magnus, a basset-dachshund mix; Dodger, a Yorkie-terrier mix; Stella and Leo, pit bull-terrier mixes; Darci, a Shar Pei-shepherd mix; Yoshi, a bull terrier; Lucy, a miniature pincher-mix; Frankie, a female Doberman-mix; Jewel, a Labrador-greyhound mix; and Mork and Mindy, two terrier pups. All dogs come vaccinated, spayed or neutered and microchipped, Newill said. Standard adoption fees are: puppies, $235; dogs ages 1-7, $185; and dogs older than 7 years old are $85. The dogs will be available in 14 to 21 days, said Peg Gaudreau, event and pantry coordinator. We take assessments to get to know them (the dogs) what their likes and dislikes are, Newill said. We take pride in knowing as much about the dogs as possible. After that, the organization will post photos and bios of the dogs on its Facebook page and website, which is www.fetchingfureverhomes.org, and would be adopters can read and decide if theyre a match. We feel its important that potential adopters know as much about the dog as we can find out for them so all personalities in the home match the best, Newill said. Plans are to get basic biographies of the dogs by next Wednesday, Gaudreau said. Some photos of the dogs already are on Facebook. Those wishing to adopt a dog may go through the nonprofit organizations website and complete an application. The adoption team then can contact them to arrange a meet and greet with the dog for which theyre applying. Well go from there to see if its a match, Newill said. Adoption forms also are available in the organizations office at 236 W. Sixth St., in downtown Fremont. Potential adopters also can call 402-979-8800 and leave a voice mail. The organizations office hours are: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6:30-8 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and by appointment on Saturdays and Sundays. We absolutely love watching their personalities come out and getting to know them and just seeing how well they fit when they finally choose the family thats right for them, Newill said of the dogs. Dodge appreciates the FurEver Home project. It means a lot, she said. Its from the heart so it means everything to me. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 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. New Jersey is suing the federal government over a rule change that could strip food benefits from thousands. Currently, some adults may only receive food stamps for three months during a three-year period if theyre not working or volunteering. However, states may extend that window if residents are having a hard time finding jobs. The new rule from President Donald Trumps administration would make it harder for states to grant those extensions. About 12,000 people in New Jersey could lose benefits, out of more than 670,000 residents in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Taking food off the table of someone whos struggling wont help them thrive, and in this case, it violates federal law, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. The lawsuit argues that this change need Congressional approval, and that the federal government didnt follow the correct process for changing rules. Thirteen other states, along with Washington D.C. and New York City, were also part of the suit, which was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Sonny Perdue, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, previously argued that there are enough jobs to support the change. Now, in the midst of the strongest economy in a generation, we need everyone who can work, to work," Perdue said in a statement last month. Messages left with the department about the lawsuit were not immediately returned. About 3.4% of state residents looking for work were unemployed in November, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, similar to the country overall. The rule is scheduled to take effect in April. This change is different from a proposal to cut the programs budget, which could remove tens of thousands more from benefits. Blake Nelson can be reached at bnelson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BCunninghamN. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Editor's Pick Our Favourite Life Science Interviews from 2019 2019 was a great year for News-Medical Life Sciences. We had the pleasure of conducting some fascinating interviews with leading thought-leaders from the life sciences community. Here are just a few of our favorites. Using Multiplex Assays to Discover Biomarkers for Parkinsons Disease At the start of 2019, we spoke to Dr. Nicole Polinski from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) and Dr. Elnaz Atabakhsh from Abcam, about the importance of developing biomarkers for the Parkinsons and partnership between MJFF and Abcam. Abcam and The Michael J. Fox Foundation have been working together for almost ten years. The collaboration aims to develop antibodies for difficult-to-detect targets in Parkinson's disease. Find out what happened when we interviewed Nicole and Elnaz here. Super-Resolution Raman Imaging with Plasmonic Substrates In late spring, we caught up with Renee Frontiera, Associate Professor from the University of Minnesota, to discuss the development of a super-resolution Raman microscope that could one day supersede fluorescence-based super-resolution microscopes. The technique combines two different techniques that are already available. From the microscopy community, we borrowed ideas from Stimulated Emission Depletion Microscopy (STED). We combined this with expertise from the field of Stimulated Raman Microscopy to create a super-resolution microscopy technique. Essentially, our microscope involves a three-laser beam technique, where we generate a stimulated Raman signal in a sample, and then we can turn it off in a donut-shaped region around this initial excitation spot. We get a Raman signal only from the centre of this donut. This is similar to how STED works with fluorescence. Watch the video, 'Ultrafast and Nanoscale', featuring Renee Frontiera. Data Integrity in the Pharmaceutical Industry During the summer we had the pleasure of speaking to Dr. Christoph Jansen, market manager food & pharma at Mettler Toledo about data integrity in the pharmaceutical industry and some of the hurdles of digitizing a formerly paper-based set of records and procedures. Typically, a pharmaceutical analytical QC laboratory has a large mixture of instruments that generate data and results. Different techniques, brands and models. Many of them might not come with software and even if they do, it is a big effort to validate them all. A proper computer system validation may take 3-6 months depending on the level of experience of the validation team and if they follow certain practices. "The future of data integrity is digital. It does not take much to predict this. Whereas paper records will always be accepted, especially when there is no electronic alternative, it will become more and more difficult to pass audits with paper, I suppose." ~ Read the full interview here. Spatial Gene Expression Profiling of Neurological Disorders In October, we spoke to Cedric Uytingco, Ph.D. about the key benefits of visualizing gene expression patterns in neurological samples. Traditionally, neuroscientists used histology to infer cell type based on known morphology and location of cells. However, using this classification alone can obscure information that is necessary to understand normal development and disease pathology. Gaining an understanding of gene expression patterns and cell-to-cell interactions within tissue provides additional context, magnifying insights that can be gained and accelerating biological discovery. Read the interview by clicking here. The Union Health Ministry has issued advisory to travellers visiting China due to novel coronavirus outbreak in the country. A statement released by the health ministry said: "An infection with a novel coronavirus has been reported from China. Till 11 January, 41 confirmed cases have been reported so far, of which one has died. Only travel-related cases have been reported (one each) in Thailand and Japan. The clinical signs and symptoms are mainly fever with a few patients having difficulty in breathing." "The mode of transmission is unclear as of now. However, so far there is little evidence of significant human-to-human transmission. Although as per the World Health Organization's risk assessment the risk for global spread has been stated as low, as a matter of abundant precaution,"it said. The Health Ministry has directed travelers to China in particular Wuhan city to monitor their health closely. "Travelers have been asked to follow simple public health measures and maintain a good standard of hygiene,"it added. The health ministry has advised that if a traveller feels sick on the flight while returning back to India- should inform the airline's crew about the illness, wear the mask, follow the instructions given by the airport officer and not come in close contact with any person. "Once you reach to India, report the illness to the nearest health facility and also inform the treating doctor regarding your travel history," said the official. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MARQUETTE, MI Two former Upper Peninsula police officers are facing felony charges related to using and selling anabolic steroids, which are schedule three controlled substances, Upper Michigans Source reports. The men were caught after one of their cell phones was searched during an investigation into prescription drugs missing from a police department take-back box, the report said. Then-Negaunee Police Department officer Richard Neaves admitted to taking the drugs. When his phone was searched, Michigan State Police found text messages between him and then-Marquette Police Department officer Todd Collins in which they discussed buying and selling illegal steroids. In the investigation, police reviewed more than a years worth of text messages between the men, searched the in-vehicle laptop of Collins and reviewed bank account records, the report said. They also interviewed a third former Marquette police officer who discussed buy and selling steroids with Neaves in text messages. He admitted to purchasing steroids from Neaves, the report said. 31-year-old Neaves of Marquette and 36-year-old Collins of Negaunee were both arrested in November and arraigned in December. Charges include conspiracy to commit controlled substance delivery or manufacture, which is a seven-year felony and/or $20,000 plus a $10,000 fine; and using computers to commit a crime, a felony that carries four to 10 years. Both men are out on bond. Their preliminary hearings were scheduled for earlier this week. No other court dates have been set. Neaves worked for the Marquette Police Department for two years with an explosive-detecting K9 before moving to the Negaunee Police Department in 2018; he was later fired. Collins worked for the Marquette department for 11 years until he resigned on Dec. 2, which was 11 days after he was arrested. Collins handled a drug-detecting K9. READ MORE: Former state corrections officer sentenced for smuggling drugs into prison U.P. police use drone, snowmobiles to search for woman missing on North Country Trail State Police investigate U.P. inmate death A heroine of the Grenfell Tower disaster killed herself two years after volunteering to help survivors, an inquest was told. Dr Deborah Lamont, 44, won the Red Crosss highest award for her work in the aftermath of the 2017 blaze which claimed the lives of 72 people. But an inquest heard she had battled alcohol and mental health problems since her teens and made previous suicide attempts. Dr Lamonts team at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff attended an event in March 2019 to congratulate them for their work. But the court heard the divorcee appeared sullen and told her new boyfriend and work colleague Jim Rees she felt claustrophobic and needed get away. Dr Lamont booked into a hotel and sent text messages to Mr Rees saying: Life is overwhelming. I feel like treating myself as badly as possible. Mr Rees told the hearing he gave her the Samaritans telephone number and called 999 after the texts escalated with one saying: I think my job on this earth is done. The messages included I think my life should end so the pain will stop and its my time. Police found Dr Lamont with a ligature around her neck in her room at the Village Hotel in Whitchurch, Cardiff. She told officers she had attempted suicide but it had gone wrong. The inquest heard police were powerless to detain her under the Mental Health Act because she was not in a public place. The case was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and South Wales Polices Professional Standards Department but no action was taken. The inquest in Pontypridd continues. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates The global veterinary therapeutics market is projected to grow at a significant rate on account of rising demand for meat and meat products. Fortune Business Insights in its new report, titled Veterinary Therapeutics Market Size, Share and Global Trend By Product Type (Drugs, Vaccines), Animal Type (Companion, Livestock), Route of Administration (Oral, Parenteral, Topical), Distribution Channels (Veterinary Hospitals, Veterinary Clinics, Pharmacies & Drug Stores) and Geography Forecast till 2025 finds that the growing population across the world is positively impacting the veterinary therapeutics market. In 2017, the global market for veterinary therapeutics was valued at US$ 35,005.2 Mn and is projected to reach a value of US$ 54,968.3 Mn by 2025. Furthermore, the report predicts the global market to expand at a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period. Veterinary therapeutic drugs are expected to emerge dominant in the global veterinary therapeutics market by 2025. The segment covered a share of 51.1% in the year 2017 in the global market. This is ascribable to the rising use of therapeutic drugs on pets and growing awareness about animal health. In addition to this, fast approval on new products is also driving the therapeutic drugs segment. Highlights of the Report: In-depth analysis of various insights, namely, Veterinary Therapeutics Market trends, growth drivers, opportunities, and other related challenges. Comprehensive details of key market players, their core competencies, and Veterinary Therapeutics Market share. The potency of suppliers and buyers to make better business decisions. Lists out the market size in terms of volume. For more information in the analysis of this report, visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/veterinary-therapeutics-market-100138 Key Players Operating in The Veterinary Therapeutics Market Include: Key players are involved in mergers and acquisition to strengthen their market position. Owing to increasing competition frequent innovations are taking place in the market. Some of the companies operating the industry are: Zoetis Intervet Inc. Vetoquinol S.A. Elanco Merial IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. Bayer AG Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH Virbac Ceva Increasing Access to Treatment for Companion Animals to Propel the Market The increasing research and development (R&D) activities in the veterinary therapeutics area will create ample opportunities for the markets growth, stated a lead analyst at Fortune Business Insights. This has further resulted in the discovery of novel treatment and surgical capabilities for companion animals, which will positively impact the markets growth, he added. Also, the rising population across the world, combined with rising demand for food, will act as a chief growth driver of the global veterinary therapeutics market. In addition to this, the rising demand for veterinary therapeutics treatment is an outcome of the growing preference among consumers for livestock, dairy products, and meat products. This is further encouraging companies to introduce novel veterinary therapeutics. Pet ownership is increasing in developing and developed countries, paving way for the entry of veterinary therapeutics and pharmacology. Moreover, there is a rising demand for high quality meat protein especially in developing countries. This factors are likely to increasing the demand for dairy and meat products. The use of veterinary therapeutic services and medication is increasing with the rising emphasis on prevention of diseases among animals and ensure their wellness of animals by veterinarians. Overall, the above factors, coupled with the rising awareness about veterinary healthcare, are encouraging the growth of the veterinary therapeutics market. Request a Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/veterinary-therapeutics-market-100138 Strict Government Rules May Restrict the Market Certain factors may hamper the growth of the veterinary therapeutics market. The chief factor likely to restrict the markets growth is implementation of stringent government regulations. In addition to this, minimum returns on research and development activities associated with veterinary therapeutic drug monitoring may impede the growth of the veterinary therapeutics market. Detailed Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Pipeline Analysis Regulatory Scenario for Key Countries Pricing Analysis Key Industry Developments Overview of Animal Diseases by Key Countries Snapshot on the Novel & Upcoming Therapies Overview of Treatment Plans for Different Animal Diseases Overview of Incidence & Prevalence of Animal Diseases Global Veterinary Therapeutics Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2014-2025 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Product Drugs Vaccines Feed Additives Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Animal Type Companion Livestock Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Route of Administration Oral Parenteral Topical Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Distribution Channels Veterinary Hospitals Veterinary Clinics Pharmacies & Drug Stores Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/veterinary-therapeutics-market-100138 Report Focus: Extensive product offerings Customer research services Robust research methodology Comprehensive reports Latest technological developments Value chain analysis Potential Veterinary Therapeutics Market opportunities Growth dynamics Quality assurance Post-sales support Regular report updates Reasons to Purchase this Report: Comprehensive analysis of the Veterinary Therapeutics Market growth drivers, obstacles, opportunities, and other related challenges. Tracks the developments, such as new product launches, agreements, mergers and acquisitions, geographical expansions, and joint ventures. Identifies market restraints and boosters. Identifies all the possible segments present in the market to aid organizations in strategic business planning. Users Also Search For- veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics, journal of veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED: What is the market size and growth rate of the global and regional market by various segments? What is the market size and growth rate of the market for selective countries? Which region or sub-segment is expected to drive the market in the forecast period? What Factors are estimated to drive and restrain the Veterinary Therapeutics Market growth? What are the key technological and market trends shaping the market? What are the key opportunities in the market? What are the key companies operating in the market? Which company accounted for the highest market share? 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Phone: US :+1 424 253 0390 UK : +44 2071 939123 APAC : +91 744 740 1245 Email:sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Linkedin | Twitter | BLogs BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: The 9th meeting between Azerbaijans Defense Ministry and the Joint Staff Headquarters of Pakistan at the level of Azerbaijan-Pakistan working group took place in Rawalpindi city, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. Azerbaijani delegation was led by chief of the International Military Cooperation Department, Major General Huseyn Mahmudov. During the meeting, the current state and prospects for the development of military cooperation, issues of regional security and the strengthening of friendly relations between the armies of the two countries, including holding of joint events in 2020, were discussed. Following the meeting, a protocol was signed. 11 US service members treated for blast injuries in Iran missile attack, military confirms originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The U.S. military confirmed late Thursday that some American troops were evacuated for blast injuries sustained in Iran's ballistic missile attacks on bases in Iraq last week. Ten service members injured at Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq were flown out of the country on Wednesday, and another service member was flown out on Jan. 10. Eight were taken to Landstuhl, Germany, while the three others were taken to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command. MORE: Trump addresses nation, de-escalates crisis over Iran's missile attacks "While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," said Capt. Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, in the statement released Thursday night. "As a standard procedure, all personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injury, and if deemed appropriate are transported to a higher level of care." "When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening," Urban said. "The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority and we will not discuss any individual's medical status." PHOTO: U.S. soldiers stand at the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq, Jan. 13, 2020. (John Davison/Reuters) Pentagon officials told reporters on Friday that some of the individuals did not report symptoms until several days after the attack. "The symptoms of suspected TBI often do not fully materialize themselves until days after an injury and thus often require continued monitoring and follow on care," said Pentagon press secretary Alyssa Farah. MORE: What's behind the latest European bid to save the Iran nuclear deal Because Al Asad does not have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan on base, it was determined the service members should receive treatment at other medical facilities, the officials said. Story continues It was first disclosed that some Americans suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the Al Asad attack earlier this week when journalists were allowed to tour the damage to the base on Monday. The Pentagon and Defense Secretary Mark Esper were only notified on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the bulk of the troops were evacuated, the officials said. Esper then told the department to release the information publicly, said Chief Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman. Staff at the White House were also informed of the evacuations, Farah said. In the wake of the attack, which was done in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, President Donald Trump said no one was injured. "I'm pleased to inform you the American people should be extremely grateful and happy," Trump said Jan. 8 in an address to the nation. "No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime." But the officials said the president was likely not aware of the service members with TBI symptoms. Injuries reported up the chain of command are those deemed life-threatening or if an individual loses a limb or eyesight. Given those reporting requirements, TBI would not meet the threshold for the Pentagon to be notified of the injuries, and that's why the department was only told on Thursday, officials said. A Delhi court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to a man, who, according to police, allegedly instigated a crowd to throw stones at police personnel during a protest against the amended citizenship law in east Delhi's Seemapuri area last month. Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra granted the relief to Haji Chand, a social worker, on a bail bond of Rs 20,000 and one surety of like amount. The judge also asked him to join the investigation as and when required by police. Chand has been directed by the court not to indulge in any activity that could disturb peace. During the hearing, the investigating officer told the court that Chand had allegedly instigated the crowd at Seemapuri to throw stones at police during a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on December 20. When the court asked if there was any evidence to substantiate the allegations, police said they do not have any CCTV footage or video clips to show that Chand instigated the crowd. Advocates Zakir Raza and Abdul Gaffar, appearing for Chand, told the court that he has been falsely implicated and he is a member of a peace committee of the locality. They also submitted photographs to the court showing Chand attending programmes with the Seemapuri station house officer and other police officials. The additional public prosecutor appearing for the police, told the court that the photographs were not of the day of the incident. The counsel also submitted a video clip which showed Chand, along with other protesters, giving roses to police officials. Gaffar said December 20, there were two protests being organised in Seemapuri against the Act, and Chand was not a member of the crowd that had became violent. The court had earlier granted anticipatory bail to Haji Tahir who, according to police, had also instigated the crowd to throw stones at police officials. Tahir along with Chand, Haji Mehraj, Shafiq, Ibrat and Majid had led the protest and raised slogans against the citizenship law, the FIR said. The police had said in the FIR that despite telling them repeatedly not to hold a protest march, they had led the march of around 1000 to 1500 protestors at Seemapuri on December 20. The competent authority had not given permission for the march and despite announcements to call off the protest, they continued to raise slogans against the citizenship law, the FIR stated. The police told the crowd that it was an unlawful assembly and asked them to disperse, the FIR said. It further alleged that when police tried to stop them from marching forward, the protestors started pelting stones targeting them and a public bus which was passing from there. Several police officials were injured and the additional DCP of Shahdara district had to fire in the air to control the violent crowd, the FIR claimed. December 20, stone-pelting and incidents of violence were reported from Daryaganj in Old Delhi and Seemapuri during protests against the CAA. Fourteen people, who were arrested in connection with the case, have been granted bail by the court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The legal team of Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn issued a statement Friday refuting the latest allegations by the Japanese automaker against the fugitive businessman. Nissan Motor Co. on Thursday filed a new set of allegations to the Tokyo Stock Exchange against Ghosn, who skipped bail and fled to Lebanon earlier this month, saying he could not get a fair trial in Japan. The lawyers said that Nissan's complaints were biased and that it never questioned Ghosn about them. They also said Nissan never tried to interview Ghosn or Greg Kelly, another former executive facing charges of financial misconduct, or bothered to solicit their knowledge of the facts." His lawyers also complained that Latham & Watkins, which conducted the investigation, had long been Nissan's outside counsel. Nissan confirmed both were true, but denied there was any conflict of interest. Ghosn's legal team also complained that Nissan waited for months to investigate Ghosn's successor, former Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa, and only after Kelly publicly raised concerns. Saikawa resigned last year over allegations about dubious income. He has not been charged. This report confirms that Nissan's investigation was biased, lacked integrity and independence, and was designed and executed for the predetermined purpose of taking out Carlos Ghosn, Frank Pasquier and the other lawyers said in a statement. Both Ghosn and Kelly say they are innocent. Ghosn was charged with under-reporting his future compensation and breach of trust in diverting Nissan money for personal gain. He says the compensation was never decided on or paid, and the payments were for legitimate business. Kelly is accused of helping Ghosn underreport his income. Yokohama-based Nissan says Ghosn single-handedly" decided on his compensation. It has promised to beef up corporate governance since the arrest of Ghosn in November 2018. Japan and Lebanon do not have an extradition treaty. Experts say it is virtually impossible to continue Ghosn's trial in Japan. Kelly and Nissan as a company are still expected to stand trial. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SPRINGFIELD Senators plan to return to Springfield Sunday to pick the chambers next leader. Whoever is picked will only be allowed to serve in that capacity for a decade. After the Senate adjourned on the final day of the fall legislative session, Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, announced his retirement. Senators will pick his successor over the weekend. While it was a different chamber, longtime state politics professor Kent Redfield recalled that in 1972 selecting the leader of the House took 93 ballots. The Democrats took control of the House, they deadlocked after 93 ballots I think, Redfield said. There was a compromise candidate, a DuPage County Democrat who got Republican votes. At one time the Illinois Senate took 173 votes and about a month to get a presiding officer. Redfield said he doesnt expect there to be any deadlocked votes or party crossover on Sunday because Democrats have a supermajority. This is kind of a contest where people go out and raise money, Redfield said. When senators return, they are expected to go into private Democrat and Republican meetings. Immediately after, theyll open session with Gov. J.B. Pritzker presiding over the vote for the next senate president. While Cullerton isnt leaving because of term limits, as he had seven years left to serve in that capacity, the next Senate President would only be allowed to serve for 10 years, according to Senate rules. Redfield said that could change. These are rules, rather than a constitutional provision, so they can always change the rules, he said. Susan Garrett, a former state legislator who now leads the Center for Illinois Politics, said Democrats and Republicans agreed to limit leadership terms in the Senate. The House has not and I think thats why were seeing [term limit measures filed at the statehouse], so they should actually mirror each other, the House and the Senate, in term limits, she said. While House Democrats dont have limits on leadership in their rules, House Republicans do. There wont be a new election for House Speaker until 2021 when a new legislature is seated. House Speaker Michael Madigan recently marked his 35th year as Speaker of the House. Madigan also serves as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church Edited by Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O'Neal Epiphany. 274 pp. $18.99 paperback --- Even as the American Christian right maintains its power and influence - despite a recent dust-up with President Trump - its children continue to abandon the fold. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows that fewer Americans across the political spectrum are identifying as Christian, and the phenomenon is particularly pronounced among the young. In "Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church," mostly Gen X and millennial writers describe their disillusionment with the faith of their youth and their departure from their religious communities. In a foreword, Frank Schaeffer, who in 2007 published a memoir of leaving evangelicalism, calls the thinning of the ranks "a generational exodus from toxic Christianity." The essayists in the book - who include Carmen Maria Machado, ("Her Body and Other Parties," "In the Dream House"), Garrard Conley ("Boy Erased") and Linda Tirado ("Hand to Mouth") - come from a variety of Christian backgrounds: Mormon, Catholic, mainline Protestant and evangelical. All grew up in schools, social circles, families or churches where religion took a conservative, if not an authoritarian, form. Some faced rejection because of their sexual orientation; some were abused; at least one was taught that black people and white people belonged to different species, and that the Earth was 6,000 years old. Most of them had multiple reasons for giving up on the church. Conley's parents' efforts to turn him straight were not only traumatic for him (he had thoughts of suicide) but also faith-destroying: "It became impossible to take seriously the notion that I could continue communicating with a God who seemed to prefer me dead to gay." In an essay about growing up in Singapore's Americanized megachurch culture, Ruby Thiagarajan recalls the two phases of her departure. She initially had trouble reconciling her beliefs with church teachings. After a church corruption scandal, her belief that church was simply not for her transformed into sadness for those who put their faith in undeserving leaders. Many essays in the collection highlight the spiritual stakes of social relationships. In these cases, crises of religious faith stem from disappointment or disillusionment not so much with God but with other people. A similarity emerges in the narrative arcs of the essays: Childhood faith falters and then dissolves in the face of corruption, hypocrisy, rejection, abuse or beliefs that do not align with reality. While many of the essayists testify to having felt isolated, this collection makes clear that - to paraphrase editor Lauren O'Neal - they were part of a community they did not know existed. Each time I read a piece in which the writer had no one to talk to about their dissipating faith, or the abuse they were enduring, I wished they could reach through the pages and into another essay, where they might find relief or solidarity. Of course, that's exactly what this collection enables them, and their readers, to do. Though most of the essays are decidedly personal, rarely (and only briefly) veering away from individuals' stories to describe their social or political context, O'Neal and editor Chrissy Stroop have transformed them here into a document of collective pain and loss. Whereas Tara Westover's "Educated" and Megan Phelps-Roper's "Unfollow" - two recent memoirs of leaving Christian extremism - recount exceptional individual experiences, "Empty the Pews" traces a broader social phenomenon. As in any successful collective project, the weaker entries feel less weak than they otherwise would, since they are contributions to a valuable whole. And the stronger entries do not stand out as much as they might if you read them alone. The thematic repetition - and the sincere, direct tone in which most are written - can make the essays blur together, through no fault of their own, despite the particularities of each story. Topher Lin's excellent piece titled "Selling Out," for example, is distinct in its moral complexity. His church was homophobic and regressive, yes; but while his beliefs have diverged, he suspects that his split was driven as much by his desire to seem cool as by his moral qualms. Lyz Lenz, in her essay "Cottonwood Creek," displays a unique gift for evoking place. By linking her loss of faith to the loss of her beloved childhood home, "where the greenbrier curled around trees and scratched our legs and the water oak tipped lazily over the stream as if in a constant half-state between dreaming and awake," she makes the pain of her loss sharper and more tangible. But the essays' shared trajectory of exodus leaves such a strong impression that these distinctions might fade into the background for those who read the book quickly. At times, this trajectory even steamrolls Christianity and, by extension, religious belief into a one-dimensional phenomenon. There are exceptions, such as Rooney Wynn's moving essay about coming to embrace a faith less doctrinaire than the one she grew up with. But the collection's overall framing seems to equate the bigotry and ignorance of some Christians with Christianity itself. As Schaeffer writes in his foreword, "The grim 'witness' of how Christians have behaved and voted is too heavy a blow for faith in magical thinking to survive." Here his critique of the Christian right slides into an implied critique of belief ("magical thinking"). In the book's final essay, Isaac Marion is even more explicit: "All religious belief is a game of pretend." One possible explanation for such categorical dismissal appears in Mel Wells' essay about Mormonism: "I ... struggle to accept that other people's experiences being raised Mormon were different, milder, even positive. My own was such a potent, violent version, delivered through the knuckles and barbed words of my stepdad, heavy on Patriarchy, Obedience, and Ways You Are Doing It Wrong." This passage is one of many reminders that the equation of Christianity with homophobic, racist, misogynist and false beliefs did not originate with any of these writers. It's an equation that some parents, teachers and church leaders make again and again: To be a good Christian you must not be gay. To be a good Christian you must submit to your husband. To be a good Christian you must believe that the Earth is 6,000 years old. To be a good Christian you must vote Republican. Their children have simply taken them at their word. --- Marz is a writer in Chicago. WINTERSET, Iowa Almost exactly three years ago, Leila Schlenker marveled at the crowds at the Womens March in Des Moines, which drew more than 26,000 people to the grounds of the state capitol and reminded her of the large social protests of the 1960s. Her daughter, now a mother herself, used to roll her eyes when her mom would talk about the importance of fighting for issues like abortion rights and equal pay. But Ms. Schlenker has seen how the current political moment has convinced her daughter that her rights could be taken away, and that sexism remains a force in both of their lives. And shes watched in horror as the Trump administration has worked to roll back funding for clinics specializing in reproductive health care, the field she worked in for more than a quarter century. Yet, as she sat in the front row of a crowded banquet hall on Monday morning, waiting for Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., to take the stage, Ms. Schlenker, 66, made clear that there was at least one area of her life where gender was not a determining factor. I would love to see a woman in office, she said. But I still like Pete. In the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses, the two leading female candidates remaining in the Democratic primary are embracing their gender as an asset, decisively pushing back against concerns that a woman cant be elected president. Those sensitive conversations burst into public view this past week at the Democratic debate, in a nationally televised discussion about sexism and experience between Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Love Island star Amy Hart plans to freeze her eggs in March. [Photo: Getty] Love Island star Amy Hart plans to freeze her eggs over fears she may be heading for an early menopause. The former reality show contestant went for a fertility MOT after her mother, aunt and grandmother all went through the change in their early forties. READ MORE: Half of women aged 18 to 24 would consider freezing their eggs Hart, 27, told the Loose Women panel her Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is quite low for her age. Produced by the ovaries, AMH indicates a womans egg reserve and therefore fertility, according to CREATE Fertility. The former air hostess said she will definitely freeze her eggs in March, regardless of whether she meets the one beforehand. The reality show contestant worries she is heading for an early menopause. [Photo: Getty] After having a blood test, doctors reportedly told Hart her AMH level was low. Thats your prognosis for how long youll be fertile for, she said. It fits in with my family history in that Ill probably go through the menopause in early forties. Menopause normally occurs between 45 and 55 years old, with 51 being average in the UK, according to the NHS. Asked by panelist Stacey Soloman if shell freeze her eggs, Hart said: Im definitely going to in March. Im not going to live my life by whatever man Ill meet. Hart added she will also consider a sperm donor if she doesnt find the right person. Id love to meet someone, get married, have kids, she said. But if that doesnt happen, Ive got my insurance. What does egg freezing involve? The egg-freezing process typically takes two-to-three weeks. A woman is first tested for infectious diseases, like HIV. An HIV+ patient can freeze her eggs, however, they must be stored away from others to prevent contamination. She then starts IVF, which involves up to two weeks of hormonal injections to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. When ready, the eggs are collected under general anaesthetic or sedation. Most women have around 15 eggs collected, however, it may be less for those with naturally low numbers. Story continues READ MORE: Egg freezing: the reality of putting your fertility on ice Unlike IVF, the eggs are not then mixed with sperm but added to a freezing solution. Eggs frozen electively are stored for up to a decade. Cancer patients whose fertility is at risk due to chemo or radiotherapy may be able to store their eggs for up to 55 years. When ready for use, the eggs are thawed. Surviving ones are injected with either a womans partners sperm or a donors via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). ICSI is necessary due to freezing making the outer coating of eggs tougher, leaving sperm less able to penetrate during IVF. If fertilisation takes place, the embryo is transferred into the womb in the hope it will lead to pregnancy. When to freeze your eggs Age is the single most important factor for success, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Its report Should I freeze my eggs?, states if a woman has the procedure at under 35, she will be more likely to conceive using these eggs than if she tried to become pregnant naturally, particularly from 40 onwards. The timing of egg freezing can be tricky. Law dictates if a woman freezes her eggs at 20, she has to use them by 30, however, she may not be ready at this age. If she waits until her late thirties, her fertility is already in decline. She may therefore need several rounds of treatment to collect enough viable eggs, creating a financial and emotional strain. To maximises their chances of success, older women often use frozen donor eggs. Is egg freezing safe? Egg freezing is generally considered very safe, according to the HFEA. Some women experience mild side effects from the injections, like tenderness. A third (33%) of those having IVF develop ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), with just over 1% of cases being moderate or severe, Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG) statistics show. This occurs when the body overreacts to the drugs used during IVF. The overstimulated ovaries swell and release chemicals into the blood. READ MORE: Egg Freezing: 5 Things You Need to Know Fluid from the blood vessels then leaks into the abdomen, and sometimes the heart and lungs. A small number of deaths have been reported, the RCOG reports. Mild cases usually get better on their own, however, if a woman is vomiting, passing little urine or battling chest pain, she should go to hospital. There is no specific treatment. Anti-sickness drugs and IV drips can replace fluids lost by vomiting. Some studies suggest thawed eggs are more likely to result in miscarriage. Considering only around 2,000 babies have been born via egg freezing worldwide, evidence is limited, the HFEA states. The cost of freezing your eggs Some are eligible for egg freezing on the NHS. For example, cancer patients depending on where they live, according to the HFEA. The rest usually have to foot the bill. This is unregulated, with private clinics setting the price. The collection and freezing process usually costs 3,350 ($4,298), while a woman can expect to spend up to 1,500 ($1,924) on the injections. Eggs can be stored for up to a decade, with a woman usually paying up to 350 ($449) a year. The thawing and embryo transfer process costs around 2,500 ($3,207). Overall, a woman usually spends between 7,000 ($8,980) and 8,000 ($10,263), with no guarantee it will work. Find licensed UK clinics in your local area here. Loose Women is on weekdays from 12:30pm on ITV. "The Genomic Medicine Symposium convenes a diverse group of scientific experts who help serve as a vanguard for precision medicine," said David Perlin, Ph.D., chief scientific officer and vice president of the CDI. "At the Center for Discovery and Innovation, we are working to make genomics a central component of clinical care, and we are delighted to host our peers and partners from other institutions." "The event is one-of-a-kind," said Benjamin Tycko, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the CDI working in this area, and one of the hosts. "We are bringing together great minds with the hope it will help inform our planning for genomic medicine within Hackensack Meridian Health and inspire further clinical and scientific breakthroughs." Cancer treatments, neuropsychiatric and behavioral disorders, cardiometabolic conditions, autoimmune disease, infectious disease, and a wide array of pediatric conditions are areas where DNA-based strategies of this type are already employed, and new ones are being tested and refined continually. The speakers come from diverse medical institutions and will talk about a variety of clinical disorders in which prevention, screening, and treatment can be informed through genomic and epigenomic data. Among the speakers are: Daniel Auclair, Ph.D., the scientific vice president of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation; Joel Gelernter, M.D., Ph.D., Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Genetics and of Neuroscience and Director, Division of Human Genetics (Psychiatry) at Yale University; James Knowles, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of Cell Biology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn; Tom Maniatis, Ph.D., the Isidore S. Edelman Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, director of the Columbia Precision Medicine Initiative, and the chief executive officer of the New York Genome Center; Bekim Sadikovic, Ph.D., associate professor and head of the Molecular Diagnostic Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Western University in Ontario; Helio Pedro, M.D., the section chief of the Center for Genetic and Genomic Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center; Kevin White, Ph.D., the chief scientific officer of Chicago-based TEMPUS Genetics; and Jean-Pierre Issa, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of the Coriell Research Institute. The event is complimentary, but registration is required. It will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the auditorium of the CDI, located at 111 Ideation Way, Nutley, N.J. The event counts for continuing medical education (CME) credits, since Hackensack University Medical Center is accredited by the Medical Society of New Jersey to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Hackensack University Medical Center additionally designates this live activity for a maximum of 7 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. For more information, visit https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/CDIsymposium. ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children's hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick. Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 34,100 team members, and 6,500 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves. The network's notable distinctions include having four hospitals among the top 10 in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker's Healthcare's "150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2019" list. The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it. Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies. For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org. About the Center for Discovery and Innovation: The Center for Discovery and Innovation, a newly established member of Hackensack Meridian Health, seeks to translate current innovations in science to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases and other life-threatening and disabling conditions. The CDI, housed in a fully renovated state-of-the-art facility, offers world-class researchers a support infrastructure and culture of discovery that promotes science innovation and rapid translation to the clinic. SOURCE Hackensack Meridian Health Related Links http://www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted the panel of Supreme Court justices that delivered judgment in the Imo State governorship election saying the judgement should be reviewed and reversed. The opposition party also called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad to step down. Speaking at a media conference on Thursday, addressed by the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, the party asked the six other justices who were part of the judgment on the Imo case to recuse themselves from the remaining election petition cases pending before the supreme court. Cases pending before the apex court in which the PDP is involved, are Sokoto, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Plateau and Kano states. He said, That the Supreme Court, as presently constituted under Justice Mohammed Tanko, has become heavily compromised; lost its credibility and is now annexed to execute ignoble agenda of the APC-led Federal Government against the Nigerian people. That the judgment of the Supreme Court voiding the lawful election of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha (who scored 276,404 votes) and awarding fictitious votes to declare Hope Uzodimma of the APC, who scored 96, 458 votes as governor of Imo state, is highly irrational, unfounded, a provocative product of executive manipulation and a recipe for crisis, which should not be allowed to stand. With the verdict, the Supreme Court executed a coup against the PDP and the people of Imo state as well as other Nigerians, and such must not be allowed to have a place in our democracy. The so-called results from the 388 polling units were rightfully rejected, in line with several decisions of the Supreme Court, by the Tribunal and Court of Appeal as it was merely dumped on the tribunal in a Ghana Must Go bag, by a policeman who had no mandate of the police to testify at the Tribunal. The Tribunal did not even open the Ghana Must Go bags as there was no basis to do so. It is one of the great wonders of the world how the Supreme Court opened the bag, counted the results and added them to only the APC Candidate. What is more perplexing is the fact that INEC produced a schedule of reasons why results were not produced from the 388 units. Indeed election did not even take place in most of the units for one reason or another, like violence, etc and so no result could possibly be obtained from those units. The results were not merely rejected or cancelled by INEC. None of the candidates or their counsel, except perhaps APC, as we speak, are aware of the number of votes scored by each party from the 388 polling units. The Tribunal or Court of Appeal did not mention or ascribe any figure from the units to any party in their decisions. In fact, in the cross examination of the APC candidate, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, he could not read any figure from the Oluwole results. He said that the figures were not clear. And so it beats our imagination where the Supreme Court conjured and manufactured the figures it used in declaring Uzodinma/APC as duly elected, Secondus added. Knocking the apex court further, Secondus said, The fact is that, the Supreme Court, as presently constituted under Justice Tanko, has lost its credibility and no longer commands the respect and confidence of Nigerians. If the people no longer repose confidence in the Supreme Court, then our democracy, national cohesion and stability are at great risk. The constitution of the panel that heard the appeal itself was a product of drama. The panel was changed three times and any judge that showed signs of not agreeing to murder democracy, in this case, was promptly removed by the CJN. The result had to be unanimous to satisfy the script of rationality. But can any judge who sat on that panel go home and sleep well? Can any judge who sat on that panel face his Creator and swear that impartial justice was done? We think not. We had intelligence before the verdict on the Imo governorship that the hierarchy of APC had decided that they must use the Supreme Court to capture the states won and controlled by the PDP such as Imo, Sokoto, Bauchi, Adamawa and Benue. Read Also: Imo Guber: PDP Should Apologise To Supreme Court Over Outburst: Keyamo Can the PDP rightly trust the impartiality and independence of the panel headed by Justice Tanko Mohammed, the CJN, to adjudicate on the remaining cases involving the PDP like Kano, Sokoto, Benue, Bauchi, Adamawa, Plateau and others? Is the same fate awaiting the Governors of these states that are controlled by the PDP and other states like Kano where the PDP clearly won and was robbed? Should Justice Tanko Mohammed and his colleagues on the Imo Governorship Panel not recuse themselves from the remaining cases involving PDP? The PDP firmly holds that if the flawed judgment of the Supreme Court on Imo governorship election is allowed to stand, it would be a recipe for anarchy, chaos and constitutional crisis not only in Imo state but in the entire country. Our party has it in good authority that Justice Tanko and his panel are working on instruction from certain forces in the Presidency to use the Supreme Court to take over states lawfully won by the PDP and award them to the APC. The PDP, therefore, advises Justice Tanko not to allow himself to be used to push our nation to the path of anarchy and constitutional crisis as any further attempt to subvert justice in the pending petitions on Sokoto, Bauchi, Benue, Adamawa as well as Kano and Plateau states will be firmly and vehemently resisted. In other to avoid an imminent breakdown of law and order, the PDP demands that Justice Tanko Mohammed immediately steps down as CJN and chairman of the National Judicial Council as Nigerians have lost confidence in him and a Supreme Court under his leadership. Justice Tanko must not head the panel to determine the remaining election petitions before the Supreme Court The Kerala government has been in the eye of a storm ever since the tourism department shared an image of a traditional non-vegetarian delicacy called Beef Ularthiyathu on Makar Sankranti. Makar Sankranti, which is a Hindu festival celebrated with much fanfare across the country, is a religious as well as seasonal affair. In light of this and the belief that beef is prohibited for consumption as per Hinduism, the January 15 tweet drew immense criticism from all quarters. To pacify naysayers, State Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran attended a press conference on January 17 and told the media that no one associates food with religion in Kerala. He went on to say that the Kerala Tourism Department is not interested in hurting the religious beliefs of any group. Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices, coconut pieces, and curry leaves. A recipe for the most classic dish, Beef Ularthiyathu, the stuff of legends, from the land of spices, Kerala: https://t.co/d7dbgWmlBw pic.twitter.com/aI1Y9vEXJm Kerala Tourism (@KeralaTourism) January 15, 2020 The controversy started with Kerala Tourism sharing the recipe of a beef dish relished by Keralites and hunted by tourists. Sharing the link to an article on the Kerala tourism website, they tweeted: Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices the stuff of legends from the land of spices. While the tweet garnered a mixed reaction on social media, the matter escalated when Shobha Karandlaje, the BJP parliamentarian representing Udupi, dubbed it a war against Hindus on Twitter. Kerala communist govt have declared a war against Hindus of the state! Kerala Govt is taking a ride on Hindu sentiments by glorifying Beef on #MakarSankranti day. Sick mindset of Commies of Kerala is out for display. Communism is a disease, shame on u @KeralaTourism! https://t.co/GScZsI8RZ0 Shobha Karandlaje (@ShobhaBJP) January 16, 2020 She wrote: While Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on January 17, dismissed the hullabaloo, claiming it to be a non-issue, Surendran said it is condemnable to give this a communal colour, reported NDTV. In Kerala, no one links food with religion. The government does not have any interest in hurting the religious beliefs of anyone. Giving communal colour to this is condemnable. The minister further said: Those who are trying to add a communal angle to this are saying share pork pictures. What they dont know is, pictures of pork dishes are already there on the website. Besides, beef also includes buffalo meat, which most people dont mention and propagate that beef means only cow meat. Tourists who come to Kerala love savouring all sorts of dishes -- pork, beef, and fish. No state in the country has more followers than us and when it comes to countries, very few fare better than Kerala. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2020) - The Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE" or "the Exchange") is pleased to announce that it will participate in the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference ("VRIC") taking place on January 19-20 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. The CSE is proud to be a returning Gold sponsor of the conference, which is a flagship annual event for the junior mining sector. The mining industry has long exhibited some of the most dynamic entrepreneurial activity in Canada. As Canada's leading exchange for entrepreneurs, the CSE is proud to host more than 165 mining listings and is a strong supporter of the industry, which represents a significant component of Canada's capital markets for emerging companies. This marks the 15th consecutive year in which the CSE has been involved in the VRIC conference. CSE representatives will be available to speak with attendees at booth #1116 and complementary issues of Public Entrepreneur, the Exchange's magazine, will be available at the booth. Registration for the conference is available at http://www.cambridgehouse.com/ In addition, the CSE is partnering with Edge Investments to host Between 2 Rocks at the New Investor Media Booth #1122. This interactive event will feature exclusive interviews with some of the mining sector's most prominent thought leaders, including Rick Rule, Frank Holmes, Gwen Preston, Mickey Fulp, Jamie Keech, and many more. Investors that cannot attend in person can follow Between2Rocks on social media and watch the interviews on CSETV at http://www.youtube.com/c/CSETV. The CSE is also pleased to be sponsoring the fourth annual Groundup Networking Reception at The Vancouver Club on January 20 at 4:00 p.m. (PT). The CSE is a founding sponsor of Groundup, which is a leading networking event for the mining industry and draws attendees from both the VRIC and Mineral Exploration Roundup conferences. About the Canadian Securities Exchange: The Canadian Securities Exchange is a rapidly-growing stock exchange focused on working with entrepreneurs to access the public capital markets in Canada and internationally. The exchange's efficient operating model, advanced technology and low fee structure help companies of all sizes minimize their cost of capital and maximize access to liquidity. The CSE fosters positive working relationships with issuers, providing superior responsiveness to their specific needs. It offers investors in Canada and abroad access to a multi-sector stable of growth companies through a liquid, reliable and highly regulated trading platform. The exchange strongly supports entrepreneurship and has established itself as a leading hub for discourse in the entrepreneurial community. The CSE has more than 560 listings and offers trading services for Canadian-listed securities. Its issuers, which are active in diverse industries such as cannabis, technology and mining, have raised more than $3.7 billion in the last 12 months. The exchange was founded in 2004 and has corporate offices in Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, please visit www.thecse.com and our blog at http://blog.thecse.com. Contact: Richard Carleton, CEO 416-367-7360 richard.carleton@thecse.com Visit Between 2 Rocks at the New Investor Media Booth #1122 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5318/51605_520020d894bc08ae_001full.jpg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/51605 Zach Gibson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., revealed in an interview Thursday that she has been living with symptoms of alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. In an interview with The Root, the freshman lawmaker said her desire to be honest with her supporters at home and abroad, many of whom identified with her signature Senegalese twist hairstyle, spurred the decision to disclose her condition. "I think it's important that I'm transparent about this new normal," she said. Alopecia causes a body's immune system -- which is supposed to fight external pathogens -- to attack its own hair follicles, resulting in hair loss, according to the National Institutes of Health. It is neither painful nor contagious, and in some cases, hair may even grow back. There is no cure for alopecia, though, and its cause is uncertain. Experts believe an undefined combination of environmental and genetic factors can trigger the disease. Pressley said that she first discovered signs of the condition in the fall last year, when she noticed small patches of missing hair during a hair appointment. She soon started finding "sinkfuls of hair" and tried to stymie the progression of the disease with a variety of techniques. "Every night I was employing all the tools that I had been schooled and trained in throughout my life as a black woman because I thought that I could stop this," she said, adding that she didn't want to sleep because she feared waking up to more lost hair and facing down "a person who increasingly felt like a stranger" to her in the mirror. Pressley said that she came to the decision in December to eventually disclose her condition while hiding in a restroom stall in the U.S. Capitol -- right after voting to impeach President Donald Trump. She had worn a wig that day, but said, "I couldn't recall the last time I'd ever felt more naked." Despite well-meaning efforts to comfort her -- some have tried reminding her of the India Arie song "I Am Not My Hair" -- Pressley said her hair was a "synonymous and conflated part" of her personal and political identities, and that at the end of the day, "I still want it." She said that she thinks making her condition public will help her come to terms with her condition. "It's about self agency. It's about power. It's about acceptance," Pressley said. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Jayshree Tea and Industries share price rose 10 percent intraday on January 17 as the company decided to sell stake in two of its tea estates in Africa. The company has entered into a definitive agreement with Grand Lacs Trading SA, Belgium, to sale stake in Mata and Gisakura tea estates in Rwanda. The sale is expected to be completed by February 14, 2020. At 1342 hours, Jayshree Tea and Industries was quoting at Rs 57.50, up Rs 3.65, or 6.78 percent on the BSE. The share touched its 52-week high of Rs 84.40 January 16, 2019 and 52-week low of Rs 39.95 on August 23, 2019. It is trading 32.46 percent below its 52-week high and 42.68 percent above its 52-week low. American troops use a lot of technology in combat and some aspects have been advancing rapidly. The best example of this is night vision equipment, which has undergone rapid evolution since the 1990s and has been even more rapid since 2014 when the army switched from analog night vision devices to digital ones. The latest innovation combines a scope type FWS-I (Family of Weapon Sights Individual) thermal sight on the rifle and links it via an encrypted wireless connection with the helmet-mounted ENVG III thermal sight. Using this combination the soldier can scan the area with his ENVG and if he spots a target, he can move his rifle so that the picture-in-picture shows his FWS-I rifle sight lined up with his ENVG image. This way the soldier does not have to be looking in the same direction as his weapon to make an accurate shot at night. The soldier can switch between both thermal devices but because they can easily work together he can keep his weapon pointing in one direction while just turning his head to sweep the area for possible targets. Safely firing around corners or from behind any cover is easier with this twin sensor arrangement. There are other advantages. The FWS-I weapon scope is larger, heavier and more powerful than the wearable ENVG III and is accurate out to a thousand meters for man-sized targets with 70 percent probability. The closer the targets gets the more certain the identification. This is about three times as far as ENVG and other monocular helmet-mounted devices, and provides the kind of long-range night vision previously available only on vehicle-mounted thermal sights. FWS-I weighs 740 gr (about 25 ounces), has an 18-degree field of view and uses three AA batteries that last seven hours when used alone and three hours when using the wireless link to ENVG III. There is also a daylight option when dealing with fog or smoke that is effective out to 300 meters. FWS-I costs about $10,000 each. The lighter ENVG III has a 40-degree field of view, uses four AA batteries that last seven hours when used alone and three hours when using the wireless link to an FWS-I rifle sight. The cost is about $7,000. There is also a heavier binocular version (ENVG B) which provides a larger field of vision and better depth-perception than when using the standard monocular device. ENVG B also links wirelessly to FWS-I and provides greater capability to rapidly and accurately scan a large area. The ENVG/FWS-I combination is initially intended for scouts and SOCOM (Special Operations Command) troops. Most infantry will use existing monocular night vision which has about the same capabilities as ENVG III but without the FWS-I link. For regular infantry platoons, one or two troops using ENVG/FWS-I can scan a wide area to support nearby troops equipped with just the helmet-mounted thermal devices. The FWS-I equipped scouts can alert the other troops to the approach of enemy forces nearly a thousand meters away and track the enemy until they are close enough for the other troops to see and fire on. At that point, the scouts can fire on more distant enemy forces while those who are closer are under heavier fire from the troops with the shorter range helmet-mounted vision devices. ENVG first entered service back in 2009 costing about $18,000 each. Since then ENVG has evolved into a lighter, cheaper and more capable digital night vision device. This is typical of night vision devices, which first reached the troops in the 1960s as handheld, telescope-like, devices using amplified light technology. This enabled troops to see more in moonlight or starlight and proved to be an enormous advantage in combat, especially against a foe who liked to make night attacks. These early devices became smaller, lighter and more powerful over subsequent decades. Until recently the devices were analog. Then, in 2014, came digital light amplification technology. With a digital device, you get much more amplification (up to 300 times), software that can clarify a murky image or quickly adjust the amplification of a device so that a user going from the dark into a lighted room would not be temporarily blinded. Digital images can be easily transmitted wirelessly. In 2014 the digital goggles weighed 680 gr (24 ounces) and were first used successfully used by SOCOM operators. The digital light enhancement tech worked well enough with existing thermal (heat) imaging tech to quickly blend data from both to produce an even more accurate image for the user. The digital light amplification came quickly after two new night vision designs reached the combat zone. U.S. Army troops began receiving the helmet-mounted ENVGs (Enhanced Night Vision Goggle) back in 2009 and in 2011 another major improvement; SENVG (Spiral Enhanced Night Vision Goggles) showed up. The main improvement with SENVG is a much sharper, true-color image. Troops who tested them did not want to give them up. SENVG is more expensive and the initial order was for fewer than a thousand. That has since more than tripled, but SENVGs are allocated to units that need them most. Field testing of the original ENVG (the AN/PAS13) took place in 2005. This device worked with the current AN/PVS-14 night vision goggles (which use light amplification) but added the capability to use thermal imaging (seeing differences in heat). As more combat moved to Afghanistan, the ENVG became more critical for battlefield success at night. The ENVGs were so successful that the army ordered 50,000 so that all troops in a combat zone can have them. The ENVG was particularly useful spotting for hidden (in the brush) enemy gunmen at night. Troops equipped with ENVG have a 50 percent probability of spotting these hidden hostiles at 300 meters and an 80 percent probability at 150 meters. This made it much more difficult for enemy fighters to ambush American troops at night. Since the enemy rarely has night vision gear, they have to rely on sound and fleeting glimpses of the approaching Americans. That means the U.S. troops have to be less than 50 meters away before the enemy can open fire. Thus ENVG provided a crucial edge at night. This was great for American morale, not so good for the Taliban. The SENVG goggles simply increase the American edge. What made the ENVG so popular was that it combines the older light enhancement technology with thermal (heat sensing) night sight. This combined goggle weighs about one kilogram (two pounds). The older ENVG (thermal only) weighed 864 gr (1.9 pounds), while the AN/PVS-13 light-enhancing device weighed 568 gr (1.25 pounds), for a total of nearly a kilogram (2.15 pounds). The new sight is not only lighter, but more compact and easier to use. It provides a total of 15 hours' use (7.5 hours for thermal imaging and the same for light enhancement). In most cases (where there is some star or moonlight) the light enhancement sight will do. But where there is no other light (as in a building or cave) the thermal imager works. The thermal imager also works through fog and sand storms. Until 2006, thermal imaging equipment was large and bulky and only available in vehicles (M-1 tanks and M-2 Bradleys). But after 2006 smaller and lighter thermal imagers have come on to the market. The U.S. Army Special Forces has been using these lightweight thermal imagers to great effect from the very beginning of their development. Field testing of the combined light amplification/thermal device began in 2008 and was quickly found to be popular and reliable. The earlier thermal imager was also very popular, but carrying both night sights was not. At first, the plan was not to equip all combat troops with the more expensive combined sight. That soon changed once user reports came back, praising the ENVG and describing how much of a life-saver it was. Not all non-combat troops will have an ENVG, but every unit will have some. The army found the money ($770 million) to buy over 50,000 of the new ENVGs, which cost about $15,000 each. The SENVGs were equally expensive and difficult to produce and special operations troops (Special Forces and SEALs) got them first. The new technology in Spiral Enhanced Night Vision Goggles will be included in weapons sights as well as vehicle night vision equipment. Same with the new all-digital equipment. The meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers is scheduled for late January, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said. He noted that he had a meeting with Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, who supported holding of the meeting at the level of foreign ministers. "If no other issues occur, the meeting is planned to be held at the end of this month," Mammadyarov added. Pipeline 17 January 2020 Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), South Asia's largest hospitality company, today announced the signing of a SeleQtions hotel - Pilibhit House in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. This hotel is in partnership with Prasad Heritage Pvt. Ltd. The 35-room hotel, located at a short distance from all major attractions, has a distinctive design that focuses on tranquillity and harmony. The elegantly appointed rooms are designed to give guests a sense of place and calm, drawing from the cultural ethos of Haridwar. The other features include a multi-cuisine restaurant, pool and spa with a private bathing ghat (steps with access to the River Ganga for bathing.) It is slated to open in mid-2021. Haridwar, in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand, is one of the oldest living cities and is regarded as one of the seven holiest places for Hindus. It is one of the four places in India that hosts the famous Kumbh Mela and is the base to travel to other popular towns such as Rishikesh, Devprayag and the famous Char Dham Yatra tourist circuit. IHCL has five hotels in the state of Uttarakhand, including two under development. Pilibhit House complements the existing religious and leisure circuit with IHCL's hotels in Corbett and Rishikesh. Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping have established themselves as the world's most powerful authoritarian leaders in decades. Now it looks like they want to hang on to those roles indefinitely. Putin's sudden announcement this week of constitutional changes that could allow him to extend control way beyond the end of his term in 2024 echoes Xi's move in 2018 to eliminate constitutional term limits on the head of state. That could give them many more years at the helm of two major powers that are frequently at odds with Washington and the West over issues ranging from economic espionage and foreign policy to democracy and human rights. Both moves reflect their forceful personalities and determination to restore their countries to their former glory after years of perceived humiliation by the West. They also mesh with a trend of strong-man rulers taking power from Hungary and Brazil to the Philippines. Russia and China are on another level though when it comes to influencing international events China through its economic might and rising military, Russia through its willingness to insert itself into conflicts such as the Syrian one and to try to influence overseas elections through misinformation or make mischief through cyber attacks. Putin "believes that Russia is more powerful today than it has been since the end of the Cold War, including in places such as the Middle East", said Ramon Pacheco Pardo of the Department of European & International Studies at King's College London. "Thus, it is a good time to remain in power and use this power." How much of a challenge he and Xi are to Western models, values and multiparty democracy depends on where you sit. The China-Russian model inspires emulation among some in both smaller powers and major nations. President Donald Trump has praised both Xi and Putin, even while the US battles their countries for economic and strategic dominance. China touts its authoritarian system as providing the stability and policy continuity that has made it the world's second-largest economy and pulled some 700 million people out of extreme poverty. Many Russians have backed Putin for standing-up to the West and improving their quality of life following the chaos after the fall of the Soviet Union. For all their similarities, Xi, Putin and the systems they run have distinct features. Xi has repeatedly cited the fall of the former Soviet Union as a cautionary tale, saying its leaders failed to firmly uphold the authority of the ruling Communist Party. China's ruling communists have crushed all opposition and are tightening their hold on the economy and what remains of civil society, all while projecting an exterior image of seamless unity around Xi. Russia at least maintains some of the forms if not the functions of a multiparty democracy, even as Putin, the security services and the oligarchs who run the economy call the shots. Blunt attempts to single-handedly run the country are often met with large-scale protests like in 2011-2012, when tens of thousands of people took to the streets following Putin's announcement to return to the presidency for the third time and reports of mass rigging of a parliamentary election. And while Putin managed to suppress the opposition with draconian anti-protest laws, crippling fines and arbitrary arrests, people's growing frustration with the regime continues to spill out on the streets. According to the country's constitution, Putin will have to step down in 2024, having served two consecutive terms. But the amendments Putin proposed this week would allow him to shift to the prime minister's seat or continue to run the country as head of the newly defined State Council, a previously consultative body that consists of regional governments and federal officials. "All of these are potential power bases where Putin could retreat after 2024, which would allow him to preserve a delicate political balance while pulling strings from the shadows," said Cardiff University professor of international relations Sergey Radchenko. Putin cast his constitutional change proposals as a way to strengthen parliament and bolster democracy. Kremlin critics described the proposed changes as an attempt by Putin to secure his rule for life. However, the suggested reform was so vague and far-reaching that there was hardly any public outrage about it. When Xi moved to remove term limits in March 2018, there was barely a murmur of dissent. The official explanation was that the office of head of state needed to align with those of the other top posts party general secretary and chairman of the Central Military Commission. Other explanations aren't discussed and even party-backed scholars say the issue is a taboo topic. The son of a former high communist official, Xi worked his way up through a series of increasingly important provincial positions before taking over as party head in 2012. He then began to consolidate power through a multi-pronged strategy of eliminating dissent and enforcing discipline through an anti-corruption campaign whose scale was unprecedented in recent years. Xi's ending of term limits was seen as an attack on former leader Deng Xiaoping's attempts to regularize and institutionalize power following the cult of personality surrounding Mao Zedong and the political chaos of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. Xi further upended the thin precedents set in recent years by refusing to indicate a potential successor, leading to speculation he plans to continue ruling well beyond his second five-year term. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia will deliver five S-400 air defence systems to India by 2025, Moscow diplomat Roman Babushkin said on Friday, adding that the missiles will serve well for the Indian security. "Both Sides India and Russia are committed to the timely implementation of our defense deal, so we have our payment issue resolved and the implementation of all the contract is moving as per scheduled," Russian deputy ambassador to India, Babushkin told ANI. "We will give five S-400 missiles defense system (to India) by 2025. Russia is possessing one of the world's best defense system and it would serve well for Indian security," he added. India signed a USD 5.43-billion deal with Russia for the purchase of five S-400 systems during the 19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit in New Delhi on October 5, 2018, for long-term security needs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With surging protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 and the National Register of Citizens, and the governments knee-jerk approach to dealing with democratic queries of its own citizens, it may appear that the Maoist rebellion is no longer considered by the government to be Indias greatest internal security threat. 2020 will mirror the previous years approach of attrition, and steadfast avoidance of peace talks with Maoist rebelswhich is strange when much is made of peace talks with rebels in Northeast India. Maoist rebellion-affected statesin 2019, officially designated as 11, with 90 affected districtswill largely be left to their own devices to combat and contain Maoist rebels. In part, this is because policing and maintaining law and order are matters devolved to states. In the ministry of home affairs (MHA) own words, the Maoist rebellion is dealt with primarily by capacity building of the state governments, both in areas of security and development". As in the past dozen years, this will continue with better police training, better intelligence gathering, reinforcing police stations in conflict zones, and recruiting locals into auxiliary forces. And, as before, MHA will continue to provide as additional hammers, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and other paramilitaries under its command. MHA will monitor the big picture even as it secures for states and joint forces the chisel of intelligence gathering outfits such as the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), which has in the past year increased drone surveillance over the densely forested Abujhmad area in southwest Chhattisgarh, which remains the main rebel hub. Such a security blanket has certainly contained the rebels across 90 affected districts (of which 19 are in Jharkhand, 16 in Bihar, 15 in Odisha, 14 in Chhattisgarh, 14 across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, 3 in Maharashtra, with the remainder in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, and one in West Bengal). Most Maoist-affected states in India have a surrender and rehabilitation policy, and it rides in tandem with search-and-destroy missions that police and paramilitaries provide. This pincer has massively depleted rebel leadership and ranks with regular killings, arrests, and surrender of its leaders and cadres. However, its far from breaking the rebellions back. There has been speculation of a break between the southern and northern groups of the rebels, often interchangeably referred to as Naxals by government and media, but over the past two years they have managed a shift in leadership of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Nambala Keshav Rao, who goes by the nom de guerre of Basavraj (or Basava Raju) has taken over as chief from Muppala Lakshmana Rao a.k.a Ganapathy. Rao was formerly a long-time head of CPI (Maoist)s central military commission, the umbrella operational command. The simple point is, Left-wing rebellion, a reality for over 50 years, wont end until poor governance does. Perhaps MHA can turn its eye to the ongoing human cost even if it abjures peace talks. In Chhattisgarh, for instance, it is crucial for the conflict-displaced to return to their homes. Activists, including Shubhranshu Choudhary, who among other things initiated what is popularly known as Bultooa simple and effective Bluetooth-based rural communication platform in Chhattisgarhhave for a couple of years been campaigning for the return and rehabilitation of those who escaped to other states. Chhattisgarhs Congress government, which took office at the end-2018 breaking a three-term Bharatiya Janata Party streak, has also made encouraging noises. However, the reality is still daunting. Where do the returnees go? Their old homes in villages and forests, to which they are actively discouraged from returning by agencies of state? Or to new homes in state-mandated enclaves, slumlike clusters, really, with little economic imperative besides daily wage labour and scrambling for government handouts and, for some, jobs as paramilitaries and state-sponsored vigilantes by another name? That is in any case the present for much of the 50,000 or so who did not manage to escape to Telangana and elsewhere, but were corralled in state-run camps, or were relocated to state-managed rehabilitation villages. The central government and its cohorts would do well to focus here and in beginning negotiations for peace, instead of bolstering the mythology of the Urban Naxal, a species that exists not to undermine India, but to evidently provide government spinmeisters a catchy hashtag along with a rickety windmill. This column focuses on conflict situations and the convergence of businesses and human rights, and runs on Thursdays. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics There's a striking contradiction at the heart of the developments that dominated Australian business this week. On the one hand, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 equity index rose to fresh highs above the symbolic 7000 mark. On the other hand, there were fresh signs that the nation's capital markets landscape is more vulnerable than previously thought to climate risks - or at least investors' changing perceptions of those risks. This week, the climate wars that have torn national politics apart for over a decade caused serious ructions in the corporate and investment sphere. BlackRock, the worlds largest institutional investor, announced a retreat (of sorts) from the resources sector, as part of what it described as a climate-driven "fundamental reshaping of finance". Australia is vulnerable to a climate backlash. Credit:Robert Rough Meanwhile, this masthead revealed further fractures in the membership base of the nations top corporate lobbying group - the Business Council of Australia (BCA). The chief executive of mining giant Rio Tinto Jean-Sebastien Jacques, of all people, has been pressuring the organisations leadership to change its climate stance. This emerged after outspoken tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes (also in these pages) savaged the BCA for its claims that deeper cuts to emissions would be "economy-wrecking". 2020 is the year for new visions and for a variety of new things to come. I would like to begin by introducing a new name to the 5th District Napa County Board of Supervisor race, Mariam Aboudamous. Although Mariam is a new candidate for this election, she is not new to us who live in American Canyon. Mariam moved to American Canyon when she was 2 years old, and attended all the local schools, and is a 2004 graduate of Vintage High School. At the age of 13, she began volunteering for the Parks and Recreation Department and was hired with them at the age of 16. In 2016, Mariam was elected to the American Canyon City Council after unseating an incumbent and also finished as the top vote-getter in the race. Although her name was not well-known politically, Mariam was by the virtue of all of her involvement in our city. Not new to the political scene, Mariam was a member of the Napa County Democratic Central Committee, and served tenures with the United Nations in the Netherlands, and with Congressman Mike Thompson in his Washington, D.C. office. She is an attorney practicing in Napa and specializes in immigration and real estate law. She is currently the vice mayor for the city of American Canyon and focused on issues such as affordable housing, traffic relief, water and economic opportunity. Her key issues on the Napa County Board of Supervisors will continue to be housing, traffic, and economic development. Although these have been subjects that have confronted Napa County for many years, her determination, energy, and support of her endorsers will prove to be a great benefit in her challenge to accomplish her goals and those of her colleagues. As a City Council member in American Canyon, she has kept an open mind, listens to her constituents, and is very approachable. I encourage anyone who would like to meet with Mariam, to please reach out to her. You will soon become a supporter, and she will work hard for our needs and the needs of Napa County. Beth Marcus American Canyon US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday met visiting Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and discussed bilateral issues, the situation in Iran and Afghanistan. State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo and Qureshi spoke about the importance of US-Pakistan cooperation for the Afghan peace process. "Iran's malign activities in the region" and bilateral economic ties were also discussed, he said. Qureshi is on a two-day visit to Washington DC, as part of which he met Pompeo and is scheduled to meet US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien. On Thursday, he met lawmakers at the US Capitol. Earlier he addressed the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank and reiterated Pakistan's demand that US President Donald Trump should mediate to resolve the Kashmir issue. Defending the Kerala government's decision to move the Supreme Court against the controversial CAA, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury Friday said there was no need to inform the Governor before approaching the top court. Yechury also said that the country functions as per the Constitution and it was more important to protect it. His remarks came on a day when Governor Arif Mohammed Khan made it clear in Delhi that he may seek a report from the Left government for not informing him prior to moving the court. "The state and the country is functioning according to the Constitution of the country and not the Rules of Business. I don't think there is any need to inform the Governor about moving the Supreme Court," Yechury told reporters here. The Left veteran, who is here to attend the three-day meeting of the CPI(M)'s central committee, which began on Friday,said it was more important to protect the Constitution. "If there is no Constitution, there is no Governor nor the Government," Yechury said. Khan had earlier claimed that protocol and courtesy were not followed by the state government and he came to know about the state approaching the apex court through newspapers. The CPI(M) on Friday also alleged that there was a central government-sponsored attack on anti-CAA protests and said more such agitations would follow in the coming days. "There is a central government-sponsored attack on the anti-CAA protests across the country.There is enough evidence to prove the police highhandedness with regard to this," Yechury said. The CPI(M) also plans to organise protest marches against the CAA on January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, January 26 (Republic day) and January 30, (martyrs day) when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. On January 26, mass reading of the preamble of the constitution and oath taking would be held, he said. "Anyone can join the protest on these days. It's a general call. It's the stand of the political parties with regard to the CAA and that is more important," Yechury said. The central committee is expected to discuss various matters, including continuing the agitation against the Modi government, spearheading anti-CAA protests and collaborating with other movements to challenge the economic and agricultural policies of the BJP government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | By Alex Likowski Nobody understands the value of a higher education better than I do. I am so privileged to be in this role because it allows me to fulfill my obligation. In just the second week of his tenure as chancellor of the University System of Maryland, former University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Jay A. Perman, MD, was honored Jan. 15 by more than 100 leaders from academia, government, and business at Baltimores Center Club. That obligation, Perman explained, derives from his early years. His parents were immigrants who fled persecution in Ukraine and settled in Chicago, where they established a hand laundry. Perman dreamed from a young age of becoming a physician and was accepted to Northwestern University, but the cost of medical school seemed an impossible mountain to climb. Sen. Ben Cardin speaks to the importance of higher education. About three weeks before I was supposed to start in medical school, a letter comes in the mail and it says, Congratulations, you are the Ploner Scholar, Perman said. All of his expenses were paid. So, this is where my sense of obligation comes from. When people have asked me what youre going to do after you're done with the presidency, I used to say, I am going to do everything I can, not necessarily with money, but with my expertise that hopefully I have garnered along the way to make sure that anybody who wants a higher education can get it. After the presentation of a farewell video, which included testimonials from former UMB colleagues and West Baltimore community members, two notable attendees added their praise. It is appropriate that we're here to honor him [Perman] for his incredible service to UMB over the past 10 years, said Gov. Larry Hogan. I think that video really told the most important part of the story. We can talk about all your accomplishments and all the things you've done for the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and all your accomplishments throughout your entire career, but the way you've touched so many people, the fact that all those people were that emotional and that everybody was crying, I almost started crying. After presenting Perman with a governors citation, Hogan gave the podium over to U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, JD 67, who began his remarks with a moment of levity. You may have heard that we will be starting a Senate trial in regards to impeachment, he started. Im not going to get into that at all. But the trial requires 100 senators for perhaps the next couple weeks to sit in their seats and not speak. So, thank you for allowing me to speak tonight so I get some of this out of my system. Cardin continued, reinforcing Permans sentiments about the importance of access to higher education and his commitment to providing access to qualified Maryland students. Jay, you understood early, and Im glad you told your life story, that education is the great equalizer. Its an equalizer for the students who are there so that they can achieve their dreams and capitalize on all their talent. Its a great equalizer because we invest in the research and the discoveries that take place in academic centers. And its a great equalizer for what they can do, the institutions in the communities in which they are located, Cardin said. Though appreciative of the kind words and encouragement, Perman had another goal for the evening affair. When I was told by my colleagues that they wanted to do this, I said on one condition, that my so long or whatever were going to call it also becomes an opportunity to introduce the fellow that's going to carry on in an interim role, Perman said, introducing Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, interim president of UMB. Partnership, collegiality, collaboration. Thats Dr. Jarrell. Working in teams, teaching students how to work in teams, he's embraced that. And Dr. Jarrell has embraced the work in the community. There are a lot of people who say to me, Whats going to happen now that you've left? It'll be just fine, Perman assured attendees. Jarrell, former UMB provost and Graduate School dean, offered further reassurance that Permans legacy of community engagement would continue undiminished with a personal story. An accomplished surgeon with decades of experience, Jarrell now uses his hands for a very different pursuit, the art of the blacksmithing. Last summer I was at my shop working away, and my four beautiful granddaughters wandered into the shop. And they said, Pop-Pop, we want to do something with you. So, I said, Well, what would you like to do? And they said, We'd like to write our names. Jarrell explained that his anvil sits atop an oak stump, and that he created brands with which the girls burned their names into the stump. Every time he sees their names, Jarrell explained, he is reminded of the wonderful time they shared. Now, I think of UMB sort of the same way. UMB is this great big anvil. We forge out new doctors, new lawyers, we address social ills and other problems. We take care of patients. We look at all kinds of things to improve ... our mission which is to improve mankind. And that big old UMB anvil sits on a stump, and on that stump there are other words that have to do with our mission. I love to teach teaching is on there. We do research it's important. We take care of patients its important. So, when I think about what Jay Perman has done at our University, he's actually done something on that stump. Hes burned a new word onto that stump. That new word is community. And it has been burned deep. It's not going to come off. And were going to keep committed to that. So, Jay, I want to thank you very much for that wonderful new word on my stump. STAMFORD U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal visited the headquarters of Americares Friday, expressing support for the nonprofits response to last weeks devastating earthquake in Puerto Rico and calling for more government support for the troubled U.S. territory. Stamford-based Americares responded immediately to the 6.4-magnitude tremor on Jan. 7 Puerto Ricos worst earthquake in a century, as it killed at least one person, damaged hundreds of buildings and knocked out power across the island. It has sent a series of shipments of medical supplies, hygiene kits and portable solar lights, while its mental-health experts have provided more than 350 consultations to Puerto Ricans. Americares helps people when they are down its generosity knows no bounds, Blumenthal said, with pallets of shipments destined for the island stacked behind him in the Americares warehouse at 88 Hamilton Ave. Folks who give to Americares are making a difference. Your money couldnt be better spent. More than 1,280 earthquakes have struck Puerto Ricos southern region since Dec. 28, with more than two-dozen of them registering at a magnitude 4.5 or greater, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake and a subsequent 5.9-magnitude aftershock that hit Jan. 11 damaged at least 789 homes, of which 88 collapsed entirely and 257 are seriously damaged, according to Puerto Rico Secretary of State Elmer Roman. Seismic activity has prompted nearly 8,000 people to take refuge in government shelters in southern Puerto Rico. People are afraid at this point to stay in their homes People who are working in areas in San Juan and high-rise buildings are also afraid to go to work, said Kate Dischino, Americares vice president of emergency programs. Americares is on the ground assisting survivors. Our mental health-experts have been providing support and psychological first aid in some of the hardest-hit communities. Relief efforts received a boost Thursday when President Donald Trump signed a major-disaster declaration for Puerto Rico. The proclamation is set to release more federal funds and allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to inspect homes and offer hotel vouchers, among other provisions. Also this week, the Trump administration released $8.2 billion in long-delayed aid for relief and recovery efforts related to Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which devastated the island in 2017. The decision followed months of criticism by Congressional Democrats, who asserted the administration was unfairly holding up desperately needed funds. In addition, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat who chairs the Appropriations Committee, is introducing a $3.4 billion emergency spending bill to respond to the earthquakes. I can pledge to you to that I will fight for that additional aid, said Blumenthal, a Democrat who is serving his second term in the Senate. The images of people suffering in Puerto Rico are riveting. Following the 2017 hurricanes, Americares established an office in San Juan, Puerto Ricos capital, to oversee recovery programming. Fourteen are based out of the office, with all of them responding to the earthquakes. Since the 2017 storms, Americares said it has delivered to Puerto Rico more than 100 shipments of medicine and relief supplies, repaired damaged health facilities and provided programs to help residents experiencing stress and trauma. Marias impact is estimated to have contributed to approximately 3,000 deaths. Americares responds to approximately 30 natural disasters and humanitarian crises worldwide each year. Since its founding 40 years ago, the organization has provided more than $18 billion in aid to 164 countries, including the U.S. Sen. Blumenthal has been a longtime friend of Americares and stood beside us on many of these previous disaster responses, said Dr. E. Anne Peterson, Americares senior vice president of global programs. Our life-changing programs, medicines and supplies reach millions every year. The Associated Press contributed to this report. pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott Rain is finally falling on Sydney and many of the areas devastated by bushfires over the past three months. That is welcome news but now that the immediate threat to life and property has abated, minds must turn to the challenge of helping communities rebuild. The task is enormous. More than 2000 homes have been destroyed, about 1600 in NSW, and as many as 14,000 insurance claims have been lodged. More important is the human toll of at least 29 lives lost, hundreds injured and tens of thousands traumatised. Many people are now staying in temporary accommodation. They have lost all their treasured possessions and some are living out of the boots of their cars. The Herald reports today on the heartrending story of Roy Annesley, who suffered burns to 55 per cent of his body while trying to save his home in the Mid North Coast town of Yarranbella. He is now in Sydney receiving treatment and wondering how he can rebuild the home and repay a $30,000 loan. (Reuters) - The FBI has arrested three suspected members of an armed neo-Nazi group known as The Base that hopes to start a race war in the United States, officials said on Thursday. The arrests came just days before a gun-rights rally in Virginia that was expected to draw thousands of people. (Reuters) - The FBI has arrested three suspected members of an armed neo-Nazi group known as The Base that hopes to start a race war in the United States, officials said on Thursday. The arrests came just days before a gun-rights rally in Virginia that was expected to draw thousands of people. Here is how the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a non-profit, non-partisan organization that tracks extremist groups, and the Anti-Defamation League, characterize the group: - The Base is an "accelerationist group that encourages the onset (of) anarchy and so it can then 'impose order from chaos.'" The CEP says The Base seeks to train members to fight a race war and draws inspiration from the book "Siege" by the neo-Nazi James Mason. - The Base was launched by Norman Spear, also known as Roman Wolf, in 2018. The CEP said both names are believed to be pseudonyms. The Base's members portray themselves as vigilante soldiers defending the "European race" from a broken "system" infected by Jewish values, according to the Anti-Defamation League. - The Base has organised training camps around North America on weaponry and military tactics and distributed manuals for "lone-wolf terror attacks, bomb-making, counter-surveillance and guerrilla warfare." - "The Base," is the English translation of al Qaeda, although it is not clear if that was intentional and if there are other similarities between the two. - The network is also present in Europe and Australia, CEP said. Although members mainly organise online, it's real-world presence has increased, the Anti-Defamation League said. (Reporting by Maria Caspani and Mark Hosenball, Editing by Frank McGurty and Cynthia Osterman) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. HOWELL, MI Ousted Livingston County District Judge Theresa Brennan will serve six months in jail for lying on the stand and betraying the publics trust of the judicial system, a judge has ruled. Calling probation wholly inadequate, visiting Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Paul Cusick sentenced Brennan Friday, Jan. 17 to serve jail time. The purpose of any court proceeding is for it to be a search for the truth. When it was time for you to tell the truth, you decided not to, Cusick said. Based on your actions and your position, probation is wholly inadequate. Brennan must turn herself in to the Livingston County Jail at 9 a.m., Jan. 24, to begin her sentence. After the six months has been served, she will be on probation for 18 months and owe the county 200 hours of community service, Cusick ruled. No good answer exists to why I lied, Brennan said, weeping before the court. Because of my actions, I have lost my career, I am a felon and the public now has a more negative view of judges. Brennan pleaded guilty Dec. 3 to the felony perjury charge. Charges of misconduct in office and tampering with evidence were dropped as part of a plea agreement, the Michigan Attorney Generals office said in a statement. Teflon judges: They wield great power, but are tough to remove Cusick was selected to preside over the case after all Livingston County judges recused themselves to avoid any conflict of interest. The former 53rd District Court judge was removed from the bench June 28, by order of the Michigan Supreme Court, which followed a Judicial Tenure Commission recommendation to defrock Brennan and suspend her from any judicial position for six years. On Dec. 19, the state suspended her license to practice law. State suspends ousted Livingston County judges law license The commissions complaint detailed how Brennan lied about her relationship with a Michigan State Police trooper, the lead detective in a double-murder case over which she presided. The commission also accused Brennan of failing to disclose her relationship with an attorney representing a litigant in a case over which she presided, failing to immediately recuse herself from hearing her own divorce case, tampering with evidence in her own divorce case and lying under oath," according to the Supreme Courts summary of the case. The defendant in the murder trial, Jerome Kowalski, was sentenced to life in prison, but now faces a new trial this month. An analysis by The Ann Arbor News/MLive explored how difficult it is to remove judges from office in Michigan. The review of a decade of JTC annual reports and 2018 voting records shows misbehaving judges are more likely to face a private scolding than removal. Elections, too, are an unlikely avenue of ousting a sitting judge -- Brennan was re-elected twice despite multiple grievances filed against her MORE: Michigan quietly scolded biased, absent judges, records show Should Michigan stop electing judges? Secretary of State, Supreme Court justice weigh in 6 Michigan judges removed in the last decade BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Elchin Mehdiyev Trend: Azerbaijan actively participates in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev told reporters. Azerbaijan is constantly represented in the forum at the level of the president and participates in various seminars, discussions and conferences, the head of the department added. The meetings are held with businessmen, heads of state and government of other countries, officials and heads of international organizations within the Davos forum, Hajiyev added. The reports which are prepared by this forum reflect the essence and factual truth about Azerbaijans development because the countrys realities are revealed comprehensively and in detail from the point of view of political, socio-economic development at the level of the president during the forum, the head of the department said. "Azerbaijan will continue cooperation in the Davos format and our country also plans to actively participate within the upcoming forum," Hajiyev added. People, part of a caravan of migrants heading toward the United States, travel on the back of a truck as others walk along a road in Agua Caliente, Honduras, on Jan. 16, 2020. (Stringer/Reuters) More Than 2,000 in Migrant Caravan Enter Guatemala With US in Their Sights GUATEMALA CITY/TEGUCIGALPAAt least 2,200 people have entered Guatemala as part of a fast-growing U.S.-bound caravan from Honduras, authorities said on Thursday, putting pressure on the region to satisfy Trump administration demands to curb illegal immigration. U.S. border agents looked on as the group of Central American migrants crossed into Guatemala on their way north, a representative of the regional human rights department said, while Mexico braces for their arrival on its southern border. The event is likely to be closely monitored by the U.S. government after the Trump administration made cutting illegal immigration a priority. U.S. border agents are assisting Guatemala, a U.S. embassy spokesman told Reuters. Guatemalas National Migration Institute said in a statement that at least 2,274 people had entered the country. Institute spokeswoman Alejandra Mena said the migrants had mostly crossed the northern part of the border with Honduras. U.S. President Donald Trump, threatening trade sanctions, pressured Mexico and Central American nations to accept a series of migration pacts that aim to curb illegal migration and promote regional stability. In order to create jobs and spur investment in the Guatemalan economy, the Trump administration on Wednesday signed an agreement to pump $1 billion into the countrys private sector. The financing will not go to the Guatemalan government. Its a billion dollars of financing from us, which should catalyze about $4 billion, Adam Boehler, chief executive of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) told Reuters after he signed a memorandum of understanding. The United States and Guatemala share a commitment to building a more prosperous, stable, and secure Western Hemisphere. The MOU signed by our two countries todaywhich will create meaningful economic opportunities and improve the lives of the Guatemalan peoplerepresents a milestone in our cooperative efforts to achieve this common vision. La delegacion de #EEUU y empresas operando en #GUA discutieron como aumentar la inversion del #SectorPrivado y crear #Empleos en . El comercio ya supera los USD10 mil millones por ano, y Programas como #AmericaCrece pueden aumentar esta cifra! #EstamosUnidos pic.twitter.com/B7NoXti3hM US Embassy Guatemala (@usembassyguate) January 14, 2020 Following the signing, U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala Luis E. Arreaga said, Todays memorandum of understanding is evidence of the United States commitment to partner with Guatemala to grow the economy, improve citizen security, and ensure transparent, accountable governance that supports human rights. It offers a tool to grow the economy for all Guatemalans, particularly those in greatest economic need. The Honduran government said in a statement it was creating economic opportunities and legal migration options, adding, This caravan is another attempt to disrupt this. Most migrants caught on the U.S. border with Mexico have left El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, looking to escape chronic poverty or gang violence. Here theres no work, theres nothing. Thats why we are fleeing to the United States, a young man traveling with his wife and two children as part of the caravan told Honduran television. One local media in Honduras posted an ad for the caravan on its social media, as had been done in 2019. Guatemalas new president, Alejandro Giammattei, said on Wednesday that Mexicos Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard had told him the country would not allow the new caravan to cross its southern borders. Mexicos Interior Minister Olga Sanchez has said the border will be policed and the Mexican government would not issue any safe conduct visas to the migrants. Thats very clear, she told reporters. Some of the migrants shared communications on messaging service WhatsApp showing that some Hondurans had said they planned to meet in Guatemalas northern town of Santa Elena and head for the Mexican border on Saturday. Giammattei said those in the caravan with the necessary documentation would be allowed to enter Guatemala, according to the freedom of movement accord among northern Central American countries. Honduran police on Wednesday fired tear gas on caravan members who tried to cross the Guatemalan border without going through the proper migration checks. Some who managed to cross were turned back by Guatemalan police. By Sofia Menchu. With additional reporting by Epoch Times staff. WASHINGTON The US Senate on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to approve a new North American trade pact, handing President Donald Trump a second back-to-back trade win just as his impeachment trial was beginning in Washington. After a brief debate, lawmakers voted 89-10 in favour of a bill allowing the US-Mexico-Canada agreement to take effect, overhauling trade relations among the three countries. The USMCA bill faced some opposition -- including from Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who said it failed to address the threat of climate change -- and Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who complained that it erected barriers to free trade. Given that the USMCA was negotiated at his instigation, Trump's signature is not in doubt, however. In split-screen drama and with the vote scarcely concluded, House lawmakers who will serve as prosecutors in Trump's trial gathered in the well of the Senate bearing articles of impeachment which were later read aloud to the chamber -- setting the historic proceedings in motion. The second straight day of good news on the trade front offered a welcome boost for the embattled president, who faces a tough re-election fight 10 months from now. Adoption of the continent-wide agreement comes less than a day after Washington and Beijing reached a separate partial deal, pausing a damaging trade war between the world's top two economies and letting farmers and businesses breathe a sigh of relief. Wall Street also welcomed the news as stocks closed at fresh all-time highs for the fifth time in January. In an internet video, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador hailed the USMCA's Senate passage, calling the news "very meaningful" as it signaled "more confidence in Mexico" and would lead to growth and investment. The USMCA is billed as an update to the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump had long lambasted as a job killer and threatened to scrap outright. House lawmakers voted last month to adopt the USMCA after winning changes to the text, including stronger guarantees that Mexican labor reforms can be enforced, as well as changes governing medications and environmental standards. "Today, the Senate passed a USMCA that has been transformed by Democrats' leadership," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. Mexican lawmakers adopted those changes last month while Canada has yet to vote on the text, the final step for it to enter into force. Trump had long blamed NAFTA for the offshoring of American jobs, and negotiations for what would become the USCMA began in August of 2017. Mexican and Canadian officials likewise conceded that the 26-year-old NAFTA, ratified in an era before the rise of digital commerce, was in need of an update. Trump strategy vindicated? The new treaty was signed by the three countries in November 2018. The earlier NAFTA created a vast free-trade zone across North America, leading to radical shifts in the makeup of industries in the three countries and vastly increasing cross-border exchanges in goods, services and people. While the agreement produced winners and losers in some areas, economists say overall it increased growth and raised the standard of living in North America. The new deal changes content rules on auto manufacturing and requires higher salaries for some Mexican auto workers. It also makes changes to e-commerce, intellectual property protections and dispute settlement for investors, as well as tougher labor provisions that require reforms to Mexico's labor laws US trade with Canada and Mexico supports 12 million American jobs and 49 of 50 US states list Mexico or Canada among their three top export destinations, according to the US Chamber of Commerce. Canada and Mexico together represent 40 percent of the growth in US goods exports. Trade with those two countries reached $1.4 trillion in 2018. AFP They met on Facebook through their enthusiasm for cars. Theyve been corresponding on and off for two years. One man is from Indiana, the other lives in Tennessee. In September, Jason Wilhelm, 42, told Jonathan Martin that he was planning to leave Lafayette, Indiana, and drive to the Florida Keys. He said he would be traveling through Tennessee. Martin, according to police reports, told Wilhelm to stop by his house on his way through the state, saying it would be a great excuse for the men to finally meet in person. Jason Wilhelm Wilhelm took him up on the offer, and his stay in Putnam County, Tennessee, set in motion a chain of events that ended up with a federal grand jury indictment this week, as well as questions about a series of rapes committed in his hometown. Soon after Wilhelm arrived, Martin was dosed with a date rape type of drug, and when he woke up the next day, Wilhelm was gone and so were several guns belonging to Martin, according to a report from the Putnam County Sheriffs Office in Tennessee. The report did not state the exact number of stolen guns. On Nov. 1, Monroe County sheriffs deputies arrested Wilhelm on charges of falsifying his identity to pawn a gun, entering the Keys without registering as a convicted felon and possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. More charges were added three days later while he was locked up in the Stock Island jail, including two felony counts of using another persons identity to obtain money. Details about those charges were not immediately available. The sheriffs office is holding him on a combined bond of $125,000. Adding to his legal woes, a federal grand jury Thursday indicted Wilhelm on possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years on the federal count. According to the Putnam sheriffs office report, Wilhelm has an extensive criminal history, and when he left for the Keys, he was out on bond on a charge that hed pushed a pregnant woman down a flight of stairs. Story continues Police in Lafayette told their Putnam County colleagues that Wilhelm is a suspect in multiple rapes in the area, and those women were raped after being given the same type of drug that knocked Martin out before his guns were stolen, according to an Oct. 13 email from Tennessee police to a Monroe County detective. He was also known to deal in illegal drugs, Putnam Detective Craig Capps wrote in the email. Lafayette police did not immediately return requests for comment on the rape cases. A Key Largo woman told deputies on Oct. 5 that she had just kicked Wilhelm out of her house on First Court after meeting him 10 days earlier. She said when he left, he was carrying two rifles, an AK-47 and an AR-15, Deputy Max Antoine wrote in his report. The woman told the deputy that Wilhelm pawned the weapons. Deputies went to the Coral Financial Pawn Shop in Key Largo on Oct. 9, and the serial number of one of the pistols there, a .380 Kimber Micro Carry, matched that of one of the guns stolen from Martins home in Tennessee, according to Antoines report. A pawnshop employee picked Wilhelms photo out of a lineup, deputies said. It was not immediately clear from available police and court records what happened to the other guns Martin reported stolen. ALBANY County Court Judge William Carter was abruptly barred Thursday from handling criminal matters brought by the office of Albany County District Attorney David Soares a change neither Carter nor court officials would explain. Carter, who was elected to County Court in November 2016 after serving in City Court since January 2002, was physically replaced on the bench Thursday by state Supreme Court Justice Thomas Breslin, the administrative judge for Albany County and six other regional counties. State court officials provided no reason why Carter, 60, was reassigned. It is not considered a suspension. Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the state's Unified Court System, said in a Thursday statement that Carter had been pulled from handling all criminal cases. "Effective immediately, Albany County Court Judge William Carter will not be hearing any criminal matters and will be assigned to other judicial duties," Chalfen said. He said Breslin "will be assigning other judges from neighboring counties to cover the criminal calendar." But Friday morning, Chalfen corrected himself in an email to the Times Union: "Judge Carter is still handling criminal matters but cannot handle any matters that are brought by the Albany County District Attorney. He will be assisting in other counties with criminal matters and will handle matters in Albany that do not involve the District Attorneys Office." Chalfen attempted to explain the error as "a clarification I apologize our fault we werent clear." Carter and Soares, both Democrats, have clashed repeatedly over the years. In 2013, their disagreement over Soares' decision not to prosecute minor charges against Occupy Albany protesters. Carter threatened to hold Soares' top assistant, Chief Assistant District Attorney David Rossi, in contempt if he did not call witnesses against the activists. The Court of Appeals ultimately sided with Soares but not before then-Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman described the case as a "personal issue back and forth" between Soares and Carter. Chalfen would not elaborate Thursday on the reason for the change. Carter declined to comment when contacted by the Times Union. Breslin did not return a call seeking comment. Carter was in the spotlight this week as the county is dealing with implementation of the state's new bail reform laws, which went into effect on Jan. 1. The reforms, passed in last year's state budget, ask judges to consider the least restrictive non-monetary conditions for defendants. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Judges can no longer set bail for defendants accused of most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. Carter presided over the case of Paul Barbaritano, whom authorities allege choked and stabbed 29-year-old Nicole Jennings to death last July in a Brevator Street home. On Jan. 2, Carter ordered Barbaritano's release after five months of confinement because the charge he faced second-degree manslaughter was no longer a qualifying offense for bail to be set. The defendant's release drew wide criticism from Republicans who ripped the reforms passed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders, all Democrats. On Wednesday, after a grand jury in Albany indicted Barbaritano on a charge of second-degree murder, Carter ordered the defendant held in the Albany County jail. Barbaritano's defense lawyers, Assistant Public Defenders Rebekah Sokol and Michael Feit, argued that Soares' office brought the case to the grand jury because they sought to make Barbaritano a poster child in their strong opposition to bail reform. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer McCanney, in turn, said the grand jury had been scheduled to review the case before Barbaritano was released. Carter, who said in court that he had spoken with Soares' office about the rules of professional conduct before Wednesday's hearing, criticized McCanney for not knowing when a grand jury transcript would be available. "That answer is no longer acceptable," Carter said. "We need to have a timetable. That's one of the biggest things in this (reform) legislation." Carter is a former state trooper, defense attorney, assistant attorney general, chief assistant district attorney in Albany County and adjunct law professor at Albany Law School, where he graduated. He was admitted to the bar in 1992. In 2006, the Commission on Judicial Conduct censured Carter for two ill-tempered outbursts including one in which he stormed off his bench, took off his robes and glasses and confronted a defendant, saying, "You want a piece of me?" The judge apologized, saying through his attorney at the time, "I can do no less than take full responsibility for my actions and my mistakes. I have done so. For almost two years, I have worked each day to make amends to the public for my failure and will continue to do so." One of the countrys leading ER specialists has said cocaine is synonymous with grotesque violence. Dr. Chris Luke, Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Public Health in University College Cork, is calling for drug screening of suspects in all violent crimes, particularly murders. The Consultant in Emergency Medicine, who spent most of the last 40 years working in ERs in Ireland and the UK, said he has first-hand experience of the peculiar blood lust fuelled by cocaine. The bottom line is cocaine is almost synonymous with grotesque violence, the sort of violence you see in movies and TV series like Narcos, he said. He said the drug can have horrific consequences when taken by sociopaths or psychopaths. Its most obvious and familiar effect is it gives people this intense euphoria, what they call the Master of the Universe syndrome. The problem is that in the wrong context with the wrong human being you end up with perhaps a sociopathic or psychopathic mindset with the Master of the Universe effect. A certain number of people become grotesquely violent. I think that is what is fuelling the barbarity were seeing now. While he said the three main drugs linked to violence are alcohol, cocaine and benzodiazepines, cocaine is the drug most linked to shocking levels of violence. Without a shadow of a doubt if youre working in an Emergency Department, the drug that is associated most commonly with extreme violence is cocaine. He said another relatively unknown effect is supercharged strength it can give users. Basically, you have an often damaged mindset, you may have foetal alcohol syndrome, you may have grown up in a violence household and then you add in the drugs, particularly cocaine. I believe they are already a sociopath, but you are turning them into a monstrously supercharged sociopath or psychopath with extraordinary strength. Cocaine confers incredible strength, so you need four, five, six men to restrain you even if you are a skinny weakling. "Thats what cocaine does. Thats what Jekyll and Hyde is about, it is about the effects of cocaine. He said the coca plant, which produces cocaine, was linked to human sacrifice in the Andes where it was grown. My view is that cocaine is a product of the coca shrub on the side of the mountains in the Andes and thats where it belongs," he said. The local Indians use it to endure the difficulties there, the lack of oxygen and lack of food. But it has always been associated in a sense with Inca and Aztec culture and human sacrifice and that hints what I call the blood lust which is so often attributable to cocaine. The doctor believes decriminalisation of drugs is nonsensical. You have to keep trying to interrupt the supply chain, you have to lock these kinds of barbaric people away and stop with the decriminalisation nonsense because drug-fuelled savages are not interested in what the gentile chattering classes are saying. My big, big message is we have to do drug screening for everybody who is arrested in relation to violence. Im absolutely convinced the most important thing in the drug debate is to screen for drug use in people who have been involved in severe violence, particularly murder, I think it would reveal an astonishing level of connection. I think youre talking about 80 to 90% of homicides that will have some amount of alcohol, benzos, cocaine and maybe amphetamines. "But of all the drugs cocaine is the worst, there is just this peculiar lust for blood. malaga. Many children dream of what they want to be when they grow up, but it never progresses beyond a dream. Being an astronaut, of course, is one of the favourites, but no more than 700 people have ever travelled into space and returned to tell the tale. This is one of the most exclusive professions in the world. So, how does one get a job that is never advertised anywhere? Alvaro Soria is 26 years old, 1.85m tall and slim. Many have described him as "brilliant" and Forbes magazine has already included him as one of the 100 most influential young scientists. After leaving San Estanislao de Kostka school in Malaga he went to the Polytechnic in Madrid to study Science and Aerospace Technologies. He graduated with flying colours in four years, and came to the attention of Maria Paz Zorzano, an eminence in the aerospace sector and associate professor at the Lulea Technological University in Sweden. She is leading an ambitious project to develop a mechanism which improves fuel saving in the satellites that gravitate in orbit. Alvaro didn't think twice about her offer, and was taken on by the Swedish institution. In action. The aerospace engineer experiences zero gravity during a parabolic flight, operated by French company Novespace, under the supervision of the ESA. / SUR At the same time as his research, he is also working on his doctoral thesis, which he will be presenting in March. It is based on an even more ambitious project: the ExoMars 2020 mission. If all goes according to plan, in June the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos will launch a lander to Mars. It will be fitted with an instrument developed by Alvaro. The project is called 'Habit', from its initials, and is also being led by Maria Paz Zorzano. The aim is to find out more about the habitability of the red planet. The work, he admits, has not been easy. "The 'Habit' is part of the ExoMars 2020 project, a mission which is being carried out jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Federal Roscosmos Space Agency, to look for life on Mars. It consists of a rover, the Rosalind Franklin, and a surface platform called 'Kazachok',which is where the instrument is placed. The instrument consists of a meteorological station which will be used to demonstrate and measure, for the first time, the transitory existence of liquid water on the surface of the planet. Water is essential for life, as we know from the Earth," Alvaro explains. Despite his achievements, he remains modest. He knows he is part of a very competitive world. However, the question has to be asked: is he going to be the first astronaut from Malaga? "No," he says. Not for the moment, anyway. "Planetary exploration is what fascinates me, and I want to focus my efforts on the scientific aspect. I like building instruments and being able to work on solving problems for the aerospace industry," he says. The idea first attracted him when he was 14 and he decided to take it further. There are other talented youngsters, of course, but when German astronaut Matthias Maurer was looking for someone to expand his research team at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, he selected Alvaro. Nobody from Malaga has ever been closer to the moon. Under direct tutelage of the ESA, he has taken part in several experiments into the viability of a permanent installation on the surface of the moon. "It was an incredible experience. You have breakfast in the cafe with astronauts. You see them train in the swimming pool at the centre, and preparing for zero gravity," he recalls. If anything characterises aerospace research, it is the high costs involved. Alvaro says people don't understand the return on the investment. "On average, it costs each European citizen six euros a year, and in return they get TV, 4G services, safe communications, hospital instrumentation and a lot more," he says. Evolution The space race has evolved considerably. The Cold War has given way to collaboration between space agencies from different countries. NASA, ESA and Roscosmos now work together to save on costs. "I'm convinced my generation will see a permanent, inhabited base on the moon," says Alvaro, who would love to contribute to that. The particles are accelerating. After ExoMars 2020, NASA already has other plans: in 2024, an astronaut will set foot on the red planet. 'Religious people live longer, happier' lives, evangelist argues in debate against atheist Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Glen Scrivener, director of the evangelistic ministry Speak Life, went head-to-head with famed atheist commentator Matt Dillahunty and argued that religious people are happier and live longer than those who do not believe in God. The Australian-born Anglican minister and Dillahunty, an American atheist activist and host of the popular Atheist Experience YouTube show, were guests on The Big Conversation on Friday. The show is an online debate series moderated by Unbelievable? host Justin Brierley. A question asked throughout the discussion was can atheism deliver a better world? Scrivener held the position that intrinsic religiosity, people whose lives are informed by their faith, is the way to live one's best life. If you ask those people [with an intrinsic religiosity] on any kind of measure of reproduction: how many babies do you have, longer life, are you happier?, their resistance to depression, to recovery from illness, recovery from surgery, resistance to divorce, to suicide, there are any number of factors where an intrinsic religiosity would make society better they give more money to charity, Scrivener said during the debate. The minister also noted that people of faith give more to secular charities than secular people do. He continued, There is a tremendous amount of public benefit for religions to flourish in societies. Those people thrive in a world where, if the government were able to put a magic elixir into the water that could deliver those benefits longer life, happier, healthier, societies, all of these things have been demonstrated in thousands of studies it would make society better. Dillahunty argued in The Big Conversation debate that he doesnt believe quality of life is attributed to religion, but rather having a good community. He insisted that secular people would do the same if they could strengthen their community. The truth has to do with who we are and it maybe is the case that what people need is the community which religions have done a really good job of building. And its one of the things that secular organizations are working toward doing now, building stronger communities, Dillahunty said. But we had to fight for just the right to exist and be open and talk about this before we could get to a point of building those sorts of communities, he added. The self-professed atheist and host of The Atheist Experience then declared that he can prove prayer works. If youre in a cave and you pray, you are more likely to be rescued. Not because theres some God listening to answer that, but because prayer has a calming effect on you which extends the amount of time that you can be trapped, which extends the likelihood that you can be rescued, Dillahunty asserted. Scrivener based his claims about happiness and longevity as it relates to religion on several new studies, including those by atheist psychologist Jonathan Haidt. In a paper titled, Moral Psychology and the Misunderstanding of Religion, Haidt says that religious believers in the United States are happier, healthier, longer-lived, and more generous. The conversation also touched on human value and who determines that if not the Judeo Christian belief system, to which Dillahunty responded by saying that he didnt know. Scrivener concluded: The consequences of getting rid of this story, especially the Christian story of the God who became weak, is to create a certain callousness in the rest of society, and I think that issue will play out in negative ways about how we treat the least and the last and the lost. Watch the debate between Scrivener and Dillahunty in its the entirety below: : A crucial meeting of the Andhra Pradesh Council of Ministers has been advanced to Saturday, where the state governments plans on the state capital could get formal approval, based on the recommendations made by the High-Powered Committee of ministers and bureaucrats. The HPC submitted its report to the Chief Minister at a meeting here on Friday afternoon, a minister, who did not wish to be quoted, confirmed. As per the original schedule, the Cabinet was to meet on January 20, hours before the start of the three-day extended winter session of the Legislature, to approve the report of the HPC on "distributed capital functions". Now that the HPC submitted its report, the Cabinet meet has been advanced to 3 PM on Saturday, the sources said. The HPC on Friday conferred with Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and discussed a host of issues related to the government's plan to go in for distributed capital functions. The HPC gave a PowerPoint presentation to the Chief Minister on its recommendations, upon 'analyzing' the reports of the six-member experts committee and the Boston Consulting Group on the capital issue. The recommendations of the Sivaramakrishnan Committee, constituted by the Centre in 2014 post-bifurcation, which the HPC took into consideration while drafting its report, were also discussed at the meeting with the Chief Minister, the sources added. The HPC held three meetings and deliberated on the recommendations of the experts committee, the BCG and the Sivaramakrishnan Committee. "We will go ahead with our plan in tune with the peoples aspirations. The Chief Minister told us all steps will be taken for the benefit of the farmers of Amaravati region who gave up their lands for the capital. He suggested that a better package be given to the farmers," Municipal Minister Botsa Satyanarayana told reporters after the meeting. The Minister said they had discussed in detail the steps needed to protect the farmers' interests. "Ours is a farmers' friendly government and we will take decisions accordingly. At the same time, we are also committed to the equitable development of all 13 districts of the state," Botsa said. The Minister feigned ignorance when asked about the move to scrap the AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, in the wake of the plan to shift the capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam. The HPC report will be placed in the Legislature during the extended winter session beginning on January 20 for discussion upon which the government is expected to come out with its final decision on the state capital issue. The Chief Minister had on December 17 told the Legislative Assembly that the state could have "three capitals", executive capital in the port city Visakhapatnam, legislative capital in Amaravati and judicial capital in Kurnool, spread across the three regions of Andhra Pradesh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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. Moradabad, Jan 17 : It is not Mathura or Kashi that is on the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) agenda. It is now population control that the RSS will push for. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat who is presently on a four-day visit to Moradabad, has said at a meeting that a law for two children should be brought in to ensure proper development of the country. Addressing the meeting at the Moradabad Institute of Technology (MIT) on Friday, Bhagwat said that RSS will support any law that calls for two children only. "We feel this is the need of the hour though it is up to the government to take the final call on this. This law will not have any relation to any particular religion and will be applicable to all," he said at a meeting of about 40 senior Sangh functionaries. Underlining the need for population control, he said that India was a growing country but uncontrolled population growth was not healthy for development. Talking about the Ram temple, Bhagwat said that the role of the RSS on the issue was only for the temple was formed. "We will disassociate ourselves from the temple construction once the trust is formed. He further said that Mathura and Kashi are not on the RSS agenda. The RSS chief also supported the central government on the issue of CAA but said that there was a need to create awareness on this issue. Everybody wants to be paid a fair wage for an honest day's work, but what happens when your employer isn't honest or honourable? Some workers in Vietnam's capital found out recently. The police take declaration from the workers. Photo thanhnien.vn A spokesperson of the Investigation Police Team for Drug-related Crimes under the Thanh Xuan District Police in Hanoi on Monday told the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper that they had temporarily detained Le Van Anh, 30 and Dang Quang Huy, 27. Anh is a security guard whereas Huy is a supervisor of a construction site in Ha Dinh Ward. Last Friday, police raided to the construction site after a tip-off from local residents. They caught nearly 20 workers in the act of using heroin. The workers admitted to police that they were from poor remote areas and came to Hanoi to work as builders. However, instead of being paid with money, they were paid with heroin to use together. Police believe Huy supplied the heroin and Anh delivered it to the workers. The police said 12 of the workers have been encouraged to go to detoxification centres and the remaining, who have not become addicts yet, would receive administrative fines. They say don't bite the hand that feeds you, but when that hand is trying to feed you heroin, perhaps biting is the correct response. VNS Nearly 1.3 tonnes of synthetic drugs seized in HCM City in nine months Crimes related to drug dealing and trafficking had been on the rise in HCM City in recent years, said inh Thanh Nhan, deputy head of HCMC Police. Nearly 53,000 drug users receive Methadone treatment to cure addiction Nearly 53,000 drug users in Vietnam has received Methadone treatment to cure their addiction since the treatment was first piloted in Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong in April 2008. Gap Inc (GPS.N) on Thursday scrapped its plan to spin-off Old Navy and said it would instead work to stem dropping sales, while fewer discounts during the holiday season helped full-year earnings, sending its shares up about 4%, Trend reports citing Reuters. The move came as a surprise as just two months ago the company had stuck to its plan to separate despite several analysts calling for the strategy to be canned due to weak sales and the abrupt exit of Chief Executive Officer Art Peck. Peck unveiled the plan in February last year when Old Navy was a bright spot for the company, which was struggling with out-of-fashion apparel at its Gap brand. However, sales for Old Navy have slowed in recent quarters, raising doubts about the brands value as a separate entity. Old Navys business has not been good. With the CEO out of the way, this is the right move, said Jane Hali, at research firm Jane Hali & Associates. Instead of thinking of spinning off companies, they should get back to the basics of giving customers what theyre asking for. The company on Thursday also said that Mark Breitbard, head of Banana Republic, will lead the Gap brand on interim basis after the departure of Chief Executive Officer Neil Fiske. The work weve done to prepare for the spin shone a bright light on operational inefficiencies and areas for improvement, Gap interim CEO Robert Fisher said. The company is searching for a permanent CEO, whose primary task, according to Craig Johnson, president at retail consultancy Customer Growth Partners, will be to fix the big three brands - Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic. Launching an independent Navy when none of the big brands is ready for prime time would be a bridge too far, he said. Gap said same-store sales for 2019 would be at the higher end of its prior outlook, but would still drop from a year earlier as brick and mortar retailers lose holiday shoppers to online competition. It forecast adjusted 2019 earnings to be moderately above its prior outlook of $1.70 to $1.75 per share. Gap shares were up at $19.44 in extended trading. Police have found the mobile phone of Gaurav Chandel, who was allegedly murdered on January 6 in Akash Nagar in Greater Noida. Earlier, the police found the car of the deceased from Akash Nagar under Masuri police station limits of Ghaziabad. 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. On the orders of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Meerut Inspector General Alok Singh and District Magistrate BN Singh earlier visited the residence of Gaurav Chandel. Singh extended financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh to Chandel's family and promised the early arrest of his murderers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) FREEHOLD, N.J., Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE: UMH) today announced that, on January 15, 2020, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the size of the Board from 10 to 11 directors and appointed Dr. Amy Lynn Butewicz as a Class I Director for the term of Class I expiring in 2022. Dr. Butewicz is a pharmacist and realtor licensed in New Jersey, and currently serves as a council member on the Millstone Township Agricultural Advisory Council and the Millstone Township Open Space and Farmland Preservation Council. Dr. Butewicz currently works as a full time realtor for Keller Williams Princeton Real Estate, specializing in equestrian properties, farms and land across the entire State of New Jersey. She previously served for 8 years as a supervising pharmacist at a leading long-term care pharmacy in Monmouth County. Dr. Butewicz is also actively engaged in a number of charitable programs and initiatives, including her position as a co-chair on an advisory board of the Rutgers University Equine Science Center. Dr. Butewicz earned her Doctorate of Pharmacy from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University, where she graduated summa cum laude. Samuel A. Landy, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, We are pleased to welcome Dr. Amy Butewicz to our Board of Directors. Dr. Butewicz is a highly educated and respected community leader as well as a successful realtor who will be a valuable addition to our Board at this time of continued growth for the Company. UMH Properties, Inc., which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 122 manufactured home communities containing approximately 23,000 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan and Maryland. In addition, the Company owns a portfolio of REIT securities. Contact: Nelli Madden 732-577-9997 # # # # # ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AVRA Medical Robotics, Inc. (the Company) (OTCQB: AVMR), a medical software and artificial intelligence company that is in the process of building a fully autonomous medical robotic system through the use of new technologies combining artificial intelligence, machine learning and proprietary software; is attending the 38th J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco this week. The Company is represented by its CEO, Barry Cohen. Mr. Cohen has held meetings with various Investment Banking firms and potential strategic partners to update them on the Companys progress with its medical software procedure program and the development status of its Autonomous Robotics Surgical System, as envisioned by the Company. As Mr Cohen explains, The potential of our robotic systems is to perform operations with greater precision than human hands are capable of. Contacts: Barry Cohen AVRA Medical Robotics, Inc. Chairman and CEO bcohen@avramedical.com Note to Editors: About AVRA Medical Robotics AVRA Medical Robotics, Inc., (OTCQB: AVMR) is empowering doctors and the practice of surgery through the use of software and artificial intelligence. AVRA, with a research agreement in place with the University of Central Florida known for its advances in robotics and guidance systems, is developing a fully autonomous surgical robotic system that robotizes a wide range of surgical procedures currently being performed by human hands using surgical and non-surgical devices and instruments. AVRA is concentrating its research and development efforts to meet rising expectations of patients and practitioners alike for the precision, efficiencies and safety offered by robotics, artificial intelligence and proprietary software when combined with proven medical devices and surgical instruments. AVRAs current focus is developing a treatment-independent precision guidance system, applicable to a variety of minimally and non-invasive procedures, to leverage the growing demand for practical medical robotic devices, with an initial focus on skin resurfacing aesthetic procedures. For more information visit the companys website at www.avramedical.com . About the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference The annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is known to be the largest and most informative healthcare investment symposium in the industry, bringing together industry leaders, emerging fast-growth companies, innovative technology creators, and members of the investment community. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) London, United Kingdom Fri, January 17, 2020 17:14 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32291a83 2 World reynhard-sinaga,rape,UK Free Britain's attorney general on Thursday appealed against a minimum 30-year prison term given to an Indonesian man described as the country's worst-known sex offender, calling it "unduly lenient". Geoffrey Cox asked the Court of Appeal to consider imposing a "whole life order" on mature student Reynhard Sinaga, 36, so he is never eligible for release from jail. Sinaga was convicted of 159 offences in total, including 136 rapes and eight attempted rapes, at four separate trials which began in June 2018 and ended last December. A judge in Manchester said he would serve at least 30 years in jail as part of a life sentence for a catalogue of offences on unsuspecting men he drugged and assaulted. Police believe he may have attacked as many as 195 men after luring unsuspecting, mainly heterosexual men on nights out in Manchester city centre into his flat. "After carefully considering the details of this case, I have decided to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal," Cox said in a statement. "Sinaga carried out an egregious number of attacks, over a prolonged period of time causing substantial pain and psychological suffering to his victims," he added. "It is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence." The attorney general has the power to appeal certain sentences imposed by crown court judges in England and Wales if they appear to be "unduly lenient". So-called whole life orders result in the offender never being released from prison and are usually restricted to the most serious cases of murder. Sinaga, a slightly built, young-looking doctorate student, is thought to have used sedatives to render his victims unconscious before filming the attacks. Most knew nothing about the assaults. He was arrested in 2017 after a victim who woke up managed to snatch his mobile phone and took it to police. On it, detectives found hours of footage and photos of his crimes. The deputy chief crown prosecutor for northwest England, Ian Rushton, called Sinaga "the most prolific rapist in British legal history". The lurid case has sparked revulsion in his native Indonesia and the mayor of Depok, near Jakarta, where he lived before going to Britain, has ordered raids against the city's small LGBT community which have prompted criticism from rights groups. In 1999, Larry Page and Sergey Brin offered to sell Google to a rival internet search engine for $750,000. The pair were working out of a two-car garage in suburban California at the time, using a computer server made out of Lego. Yet despite their modest circumstances, they claimed to have found a way to make the worlds information "universally accessible and useful and they wanted to cash in. The suitor was Excite at the time the worlds second biggest search engine, topped only by Yahoo! but CEO George Bell decided it wasnt worth it. I think the decision we made at the time, with what we knew, was a good decision, Bell said in a 2015 interview. Its laughable to say that now, I suppose. Within five years of the $750,000 deal falling through, Google was going public at a valuation of $23 billion. Just over 20 years later, it is now worth $1 trillion. Googles 2004 IPO valued the company at $23bn. It is now worth more than 40-times that amount (The Independent) For some, it is one of the greatest success stories of free-market capitalism of the 21st century. For others, it is one of the greatest failures: an out-of-control and insidious leviathan whose original aim of providing people with information has been perverted by profit-seeking towards a new objective of instead taking peoples information. For 20 years, the most famous phrase in Googles corporate philosophy was Dont be evil. But in 2018, amid privacy scandals and antitrust allegations, the company quietly removed the preface from its corporate code of conduct. The company is no longer simply a search engine, having long ago mutated into a technology giant encompassing everything from ultra-powerful artificial intelligence, to drone delivery services. It is also no longer just called Google, after a 2015 restructuring saw it become a subsidiary of Alphabet. Alphabet is estimated to employ around 100,000 people around the world (The Independent/ Google) Under this umbrella, the company now has near-monopolies in almost every aspect of online life. Its Chrome web browser has a 63 per cent market share, while its Android mobile operating system is used on nearly 90 per cent of all smartphones. Its maps tell people how to get places, its email service allows people to communicate, and its music and video app is the most popular entertainment platform in the world. Google has announced hundreds of acquisitions over the last two decades (The Independent) And all of this seemingly for free. But as the adage states: If youre not the customer, youre the product. Google is one of two companies alongside Facebook that together take more than half of all digital advertising money, much of which is acquired through targeting web users with ads using personal data theyve collected. The company's rise has inevitably led to privacy concerns, fuelled by various data breaches and scandals in recent years. The company was the first to be targeted by regulators under the EUs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), leading to a 50m (44m) fine in 2019. (One year before it was also at the receiving end of the EU's largest every fine: $5 billion for antitrust violations.) Privacy International warned last year that Google is creating a surveillance-as-a-default environment that is harmful to personal dignity and identity and leads to discrimination and exclusion. Googles vast data-gathering operation has been frequently criticised by privacy advocates (The Independent) The enormous power and reach of Google has led to calls for it to be broken up, with Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren among those claiming it has grown too big. Todays big tech companies have too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy, She wrote in a blog post last year. Theyve bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. Last month, Brin and Page formally ceded control by stepping down as the heads of the company, saying in a letter to Alphabet shareholders they were deeply humbled" by the growth of their "small research project". But even without them, and despite the ever-circling scandals and threats of regulation, their creation shows no sign of slowing down. Tyler Peck consumed fatal levels of the liquid morphine Oramorph and the drug Gabepentin that had been prescribed to Holly Strawbridge (PA) A woman who supplied her son with powerful prescription drugs that led to his death has been jailed for 10 years. Holly Strawbridge, 34, gave powerful painkillers to Tyler Peck, 15, and one of his friends at her home in Salcombe, Devon. She sat with the pair until the early hours drinking alcohol, inhaling aerosol fumes and taking a cocktail of her medication, police said. Holly Strawbridge, 34, gave powerful painkillers to Tyler Peck, 15, and one of his friends at her home in Salcombe, Devon (PA) Tyler went to sleep at about 2.30am on February 2 last year, but never woke up. The boy had consumed fatal levels of the liquid morphine Oramorph and the drug Gabepentin that had been prescribed to Strawbridge. Plymouth Crown Court heard that Strawbridge put drugs into their drinks, with Tylers friend later telling officers they were drinking morphine and Tyler was swigging from the bottle. Read more from Yahoo News UK: Cambridge graduate died after underwater 'party trick' went wrong at birthday party EU citizens will not be deported from Britain after Brexit, says Guy Verhofstadt Moment Range Rover drives through jeweller's window before robbery thwarted by public Strawbridge was convicted of two charges of child cruelty and two of supplying the boys with a Class A drug following a trial at Plymouth Crown Court in December. On Friday, Judge Paul Darlow sentenced her to 10 years, saying she had shown a deliberate disregard for her sons welfare. He said: That ill-treatment consisted of the supply and indeed encouragement of you for them to take your prescription drugs, That took place during the course of an evening of drinking at your house, an evening during the course of which you yourself were heavily under the influence of certainly alcohol and who knows whether drugs as well. Court artist sketch of Holly Strawbridge who was jailed for 10 years at Plymouth Crown Court on Friday (PA) The risk of serious injury to both those young boys was obvious. The consequences to Tyler, of course, were fatal. Detective Inspector Ian Ringrose, of Devon and Cornwall Police, described the death of the teenager as completely avoidable. He died due to the actions of his mother who should have protected him, not put him in harms way, he said. Strawbridge also put Tylers friend in grave danger that night and he is fortunate not to have suffered the same fate. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo News UK Advertisement A plane slid off the taxiway at an airport on Friday due to icy conditions that also have closed schools, universities and government offices as a sprawling winter storm hits large sections of the Midwest and beyond. The Delta Air Lines A319 was taxiing from the terminal at Kansas City International Airport when the nose wheel dropped off the taxiway pavement, reported KMBC-TV. Airport spokesman Joe McBride told the station that the passengers and crew were all safely returned to the terminal and there were no injuries. The closures come after the National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter weather advisories, saying the storm will create hazardous travel conditions from the Plains into the Northeast through the weekend, putting as many as 90 million people under a weather alert. Snow is forecast over much of the Great Lakes, with a blizzard warning for parts of the Upper Midwest, before the storm travels to New York City. The Big Apple is expected to get between one and three inches of snow, while upstate and New England are looking at anywhere from three to six inches. A plane slid off the taxiway at Kansas City International Airport on Friday due to icy conditions (pictured) as snow is expected to hi the Midwest and New York City over the weekend Snow is forecast over much of the Plains and Great Lakes, with a blizzard warning for parts of the Upper Midwest The storm will then travel to the Northeast, where weather advisories have been issued for New York City and southeastern New England Airport officials said a plane slid off the taxiway at Kansas City International Airport due to icy conditions early Friday morning. A Delta Airlines A319 slid off a taxiway while preparing to take off. Airport spokesman Joe McBride flight 1114, bound for Detroit, was taxiing from the terminal when the nose wheel dropped off the taxiway pavement. Buses were brought out to remove passengers from the flight and return them to Terminal B. Delta Airlines issued this statement, "In preparation for departure, the nosegear of Delta flight 1114 exited the taxiway. We apologize to our customers for the delay and inconvenience and are working to reaccomodate them. There were six crew members and 123 passengers on board the plane at the time of the incident. Delta said the plane was taxiing to deice prior to departure. No injuries were reported. KCI airfield has been closed and reopened multiple times Friday morning for crews to deice runways. The winter weather advisory extended south into western Oklahoma and northern Arkansas, where freezing rain was expected Friday. In South Dakota and Minnesota, dozens of schools canceled classes Friday ahead of snowfall expected during the day. In Kansas Governor Laura Kelly closed state offices in the Topeka area, urging people in a news release to 'stay safe and warm, exercise caution and allow road crews to do their job.' The storm originated as a bomb cyclone in the West, bringing snow to the cities of Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, as well as rain to California. A blast of Canadian air they force the storm system to travels to the Plains and the Midwest, causing blizzard warnings to be issued. Meteorologists expect Omaha, Nebraska; Des Moines, Iowa and even St Louis, Missouri to have an icy mixture on Friday during the day as the storm heads east. According to the NWS, the storm will cause 'a fairly widespread area of travel difficulty over the central US by Friday night, with very slippery roads and locally poor visibility.' The Dakotas, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan are all expected to get snow where enough cold air remains. The Dakotas, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan are all expected to get know - potentially a foot in some areas Blizzard warnings have been issued for parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa as all other affected areas received winter storm warnings, advisories or watches Snow has already fallen in some areas such as Iowa where a storm has created near-whiteout conditions on Interstate 235 in Des Moines on Friday Some places could expect more than a foot. Pictured: An unidentified woman walks with skis in the snow in Sioux City, Iowa on Friday Teresa McElroy, an employee at Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City, Iowa, walks in blowing snow on Friday, Jan. 17, 2020, past a sign announcing the now-cancelled community event with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden The storm will be over by Saturday, dumping six to 12 inches over the majority of the Midwest. But areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan could see more than a foot and even up to 16 inches. Accuweather states that winter weather advisories have been issued for New York City as well as southeastern New England. New York City was greeted was bright sunny skies on Friday, but residents should expect to see clouds on Saturday. Between one to three inches of snow are expected across the five boroughs before the snow mixes with rain, creating sleet, according to Accuweather. Temperatures are expected to hover in the low 30s on Saturday morning before rising into the upper 30s and potentially the low 40s. But by Sunday, temperatures will fall into the 20s. Matt Abbott of Sioux City, clears snow in front of the Tastee Inn & Out drive through in Sioux City, Iowa People clear snow from a car on Friday, in Salt Lake City, Utah after five inches of snow fell over four hours A snowplow clears a street as snow fall hampers the morning commute on Friday in Salt Lake City Worley and Sonja Parton, of Hinsdale, New Hampshire , shovel their driveway together after an early morning snowstorm on Thursday Ava Kramer, nine, helps her 'Ninny,' Ethel Hallock, shovel snow from their driveway along Pond Road in Lewiston, Maine on Thursday For upstate New York and central New England, winter storm watches are in effect beginning at 1pm EST on Saturday. According to New York Upstate, most areas are expected to get between three and six inches of snow. But on Tug Hill, an upland region in Upstate New York, residents can expect as much as two feet of snow. In New England, temperatures will drop into the highs 20s in the south on Friday night and into the 10s in the north. The snow will fall late in the day on Saturday and last through Saturday night, up to half a foot in some areas, reports NBC Boston. It seems that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's next chapter is beginning sooner than we thought. This week, the couple returned to the United Kingdom following their six-week sabbatical in Canada and kicked off their first engagement of 2020 with a visit to Canada House in London. However, according to People, baby Archie wasn't with them. Instead, Harry and Meghan's eight-month-old son stayed back in Canada with close friend Jessica Mulroney, who Meghan befriended in Toronto during her time on "Suits." Jessica and her husband Ben Mulroney, the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, attended the royal wedding back in 2018, with all three of their children serving in the wedding party. During the royals' visit to Canada House on Monday, Meghan opened up about her son's exciting reaction to their visit to Canada. "To see Archie go ahhh when you walk by and just see how stunning it is, so it meant a lot to us," she told staff at Canada House, adding that the "warmth" they received from locals meant a lot. On Wednesday, Harry and Meghan announced to the world that they're taking a step back from royal life to become financially independent from the crown. They also revealed that they will split their time between the United Kingdom and North America, most likely in Canada. The Delhi High Court on Friday sought response of the CBI on expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar's appeal challenging his conviction and life term for raping a minor girl in UP's Unnao in 2017 New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday sought response of the CBI on expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar's appeal challenging his conviction and life term for raping a minor girl in UP's Unnao in 2017. A bench of justices Manmohan and Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal allowed Sengar to deposit in 60 days the fine amount of Rs 25 lakh, out of which Rs 10 lakh will be released to the rape survivor without any condition. The court also sought response of the survivor on Sengar's appeal and asked his counsel to give copies of documents to the woman's counsel. During the hearing, the court said it was not inclined to suspend the sentence or fine amount of Sengar as he is facing prosecution in other cases after which his counsel withdrew the application for suspension of the sentence. Sengar's advocate claimed he was the sole earning member in the family, has two daughters of marriageable age and was facing difficulty in arranging Rs 25 lakh and the trial court had only given him time till 20 January to deposit the amount. He urged the court that the time to deposit the amount be extended. The counsel for CBI said Sengar's wife was also a public servant and he should first pay Rs 10 lakh as directed by the trial court to the rape survivor and rest Rs 15 lakh is to be deposited with the court. The bench has now posted the matter for 4 May. Sengar has sought to quash of the 16 December 2019 judgement of the trial court which convicted him. He has also sought setting aside of the 20 December order sentencing him to imprisonment till remainder of his life. The trial court had convicted the 54-year-old Sengar under various provisions including Section 376 (2) of IPC which deals with the offence of rape committed by a public servant who "takes advantage of his official position and commits rape on a woman in his custody as such public servant or in the custody of a public servant subordinate to him". It had awarded him the maximum punishment of life term with a rider that the convict will remain in jail for "remainder of his natural biological life" and also imposed an exemplary fine of Rs 25 lakh on him to be paid within a month. The woman was kidnapped and raped by Sengar in 2017 when she was a minor. The trial, which started on August 5 last year after it was transferred from Unnao to Delhi on the Supreme Court's directions, was carried on a day-to-day basis. The apex court, taking cognisance of the rape survivor's letter written to the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, had on August 1 last year transferred all five cases registered in connection with the Unnao rape incident from a Lucknow court in Uttar Pradesh to the court in Delhi with directions to hold trial on a daily basis and completing it within 45-days. U.S. senators were sworn in for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump and Americans got a look at a couple of the nifty thugs who circulate in the presidents orbit. At the same time, supporters of Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren got into a nasty Twitter fight and showed why America is likely doomed to another four years of Trump, Thugs and Co. It all left me looking back at the week and asking: What the (BLEEP) just happened? A map showing the location of the Jan. 10 earthquake just off the coast of Puerto Rico. (USGS) Major Disaster Declaration in Puerto Rico After Earthquakes: White House President Donald Trump, on Thursday, approved a major disaster declaration for Puerto Rico in the wake of several damaging earthquakes over the past several weeks. The declaration allows Puerto Rico to use federal funding in Guanica, Guayanilla, Penuelas, Ponce, Utuado, and Yauco municipalities. Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and more municipalities and additional forms of assistance may be designated after the assessments are fully completed, the White House said in a statement. The declaration will make available assistance, including grants for home repairs and temporary housing, low-cost loans to cover losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster, the statement said. Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vasquez Garced declared a state of emergency following a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Puerto Rico on Jan. 7, setting off a series of aftershocks. But numerous earthquakes have hit the island since Dec. 28. Trump on Jan. 8 also signed an emergency declaration. On Thursday, lawmakers in the House introduced an emergency aid package to assist Puerto Rico. The New York Times reported that the aid package is worth about $3.3 billion and includes $1.25 billion to repair roads and $2 billion in general disaster relief. When we return from the district work period, the House will vote on an emergency supplemental for #PuertoRico to provide assistance as the island recovers from earthquakes. House Dems are proud to stand with #OurFellowAmericans & help them recover & rebuild stronger than before, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) the majority leader, tweeted. The House is slated to reconvene on Jan. 27, according to a schedule on its website. More than 1,200 earthquakes have hit Puerto Ricos southern region since Dec. 28, 2019, officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday. In a forecast bulletin on Wednesday, the USGS said there are several scenarios for the seismic activity in the coming days. The most likely scenario is that aftershocks will continue to decrease in frequency over the next 30 days and will be significantly lower in magnitude than the M6.4 that occurred on the 7 January 2020 (i.e., will be less than M6.0). Some of these moderately sized aftershocks (M5.0+) may cause localized damage, particularly in weak structures. Smaller magnitude earthquakes (M3.0+), when at shallow depth, may be felt by people close to the epicenters, the agency said. There is a 79 percent chance of this happening within the next 30 days. A less likely scenario is an earthquake occurring of similar size as the M6.4 event. This is called a doublet: when two large earthquakes of similar size occur closely in time and location. This earthquake could cause additional damage in the same region and increases the number of aftershocks, it said, adding that there is an 18 percent chance of this occurring in the same time frame. The USGS said there is a 3 percent chance of a more massive earthquake occurring. India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has seen its gross non-performing assets (NPAs) under Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans doubling in just a matter of three years. The onus of higher delinquencies partly rests on the trend of farm loan waivers that had started nearly four years ago. However, the general slowdown in the economy, rural distress and lower price realisation have also been the contributors to growing NPAs in the KCC segment. According to available figures, SBI's gross NPAs have doubled to 16 per cent by September 2019 from 8 per cent in 2016-17. The size of gross NPAs is about Rs 17,000 crore-plus for the public-sector bank. SBI being India's largest bank with total assets worth Rs 37 lakh crore, alone contributes 15 per cent to the total outstanding NPAs of banks, cooperative banks and regional rural banks put together. If SBI's gross NPAs are to be taken as a yardstick, the industry's NPAs under KCC would roughly come around at Rs 1 lakh crore-plus. Currently, the total outstanding loans under KCC amount to Rs 7.09 lakh crore for the industry. The outstanding KCC loans were to the tune of around Rs 6.68 lakh crore in 2017-18. The biggest share of (outstanding) KCC loans comes from Uttar Pradesh (UP) with an outstanding card balance of Rs 1.09 lakh crore. Rajasthan is next with Rs 81,070 crore followed by Madhya Pradesh (Rs 64,725 crore), Punjab (Rs 57,073 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 55,934 crore) and Gujarat (Rs 44,998 crore). KCC, a two-decade-old product, offers collateral-free loans especially for meeting the working capital requirements of farmers, who are allowed to use the funds for cultivation, post-harvest expenses and consumption. The interest charged by banks is very nominal at 7 per cent per annum. KCC mirrors the NPA trend in the overall agriculture portfolio. SBI's agriculture NPAs have trebled over the last three years. In fact, the public sector banks (PSBs), especially the Bank of India, IDBI Bank and other lenders, have also seen NPAs of over 15 per cent-plus. A recent RBI study has drawn a correlation between the farm loan waivers announced by the states and the growing defaults in those states. The RBI has always discouraged the Centre from announcing loan waivers as it creates a moral hazard. There is a tendency of people defaulting in anticipation of relief from the government. Before 2014, the loan waivers were few and far between. Almost three decades ago, the central government announced a nation-wide farm loan waiver scheme which was followed by another waiver after 18 years under the Congress-led UPA government. This new trend of states announcing loan waivers is a dangerous one as the state finances are already stretched. The loan waivers are already constraining the resources of the states for public expenditure. While the government has taken some path-breaking insurance-led steps such as crop insurance and medical support, a lot needs to be done for developing a strong agriculture infrastructure. The investments during the post-harvest phase have been completely neglected, which is an area that needs to be looked into by the government. Along with states, the banks are also becoming the biggest casualties of rising NPAs due to KCC loans as it also impacts their balance sheets. Also Read: Reliance Industries reports Q3 profit at Rs 11,640 crore Also Read: TCS reports Q3 net profit of Rs 8,118 crore; revenue up 6.7% Also Read: Sensex hits all-time high of 42,063, Nifty at 12,385 The Planetary Society Our Vision Know the cosmos and our place within it. Our Mission Empowering the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration. This is the shocking moment a gang smashes a Range Rover into a Shepherd's Bush jewellers and ransack the store with a sledge hammer before hero shoppers capture the armed robber. Ben Wegener, 34, pleaded guilty to robbery, dangerous driving, and possession of offensive weapon, criminal damage and receiving stolen goods. He and two accomplices drove a black Range Rover through the front of a jewellery shop in west London. Pictured: The Range Rover crashes through the jewellery store in Shepherd's Bush, west London Ben Wegener (left) ransacked the west London shop with his gang (right) but was brought down by shoppers When the vehicle narrowly missed the people inside, the robbers got out and then smashed the glass display cases using a sledgehammer and a hammer, and put items of jewellery into bags. Having ransacked the store, the suspects attempted to flee the scene. But then the 34-year-old, of no fixed address, was prevented by escaping by members of the public who gathered outside and captured him. Pictured: The thugs raid the shop in Shepherds Bush, west London, in a failed attempt to make off with jewellery He was detained by police a few minutes later, subsequently arrested and charged with the offences. He pleaded guilty on November 26. The Range Rover used by the robbers was recovered by police, and found to have been stolen from an address in Wandsworth earlier that month, and displaying false number plates. Detective Constable Sam Weller of the Central West Robbery Squad, who led the investigation, said: 'This was a reckless robbery committed in front of shoppers on a busy high street. 'It was sheer luck that no one was seriously injured when the vehicle smashed through the shop front, and the shop owner and customers were threatened with serious violence when the robbers where inside. The gang are pictured sweeping up jewellery in the store only for their leader to be brought down seconds later 'The raid was thwarted by members of the public who chased down and held Wegener as he tried to escape. 'This was a terrifying incident for the victims and everyone who witnessed it unfold, and Wegener will now spend a significant period of time in jail.' DC Weller added: 'Unfortunately, his two accomplices left the scene and remain outstanding. 'We will continue to pursue leads in order to identify them, and we would urge anyone who has information about those people to contact police.' United Nations: The United Nations has projected that the Indian economy will grow by 5.7 per cent in the current fiscal year and it is expected to rise to 6.6 per cent in the next. The projection in the UN`s World Economic Situation and Prospects report released on Thursday are higher than the 5 per cent made by the World Bank earlier this month. The UN growth estimate for the current fiscal is drastically lower than the forecast of 7.6 per cent made in last year`s report in January and 7 per cent in the May update. The head of UN`s Global Economic Monitoring Branch, Dawn Holland, said that although there has been a steep decline in growth, India was still one of the high performers globally. She said that it was expected to improve its growth rate in the coming year because of the steps being taken. According to the report, only China has a higher growth rate than India among the world`s large economies with a 6 per cent forecast for the current calendar year. Briefing the media about the report, UN`s Chief Economist Elliott Harris presented a dire picture of the global economy last year when the world`s gross product growth rate dropped to 2.3 per cent, the lowest in a decade. Live TV He said that rising tariffs and rapid shift in trade policies were responsible for the slower growth rate with the United States-China trade disputes playing a significant part. In South Asia, Bangladesh is forecast grow by 8.1 per cent this fiscal year and 7.8 in the next, while Pakistan`s growth rate estimated at 3.3 per cent for 2019-20 is projected to slip to 2.1 per cent next year. Associate Economics Affairs Officer Julian Slotman, the UN`s point-person for Indian and South Asia, said in an interview to IANS that "a huge decline in investment and in private consumption" were the major reasons for the economic slowdown in India. External factors have also contributed to the slower growth, he said. "Globally we have seen a large impact of trade tensions, particularly between the US and China, but also other major economies, that have affected growth rates across the globe and also, of course, India which is a very open economy, that has a lot to gain from international trade," he said. In India, he said, the Modi government has responded to those issues by announcing some stimulus steps, which we do expect to improve economic growth in 2020 going forward. However, fiscal stimulus in itself will not be enough." He mentioned two areas where India could do better: Labour and green energy. "The labour markets are not performing optimally with high levels of informality (and) gender barriers that effectively limit the participation of women," he said. In addition, a high number of youths are neither working nor undergoing training, he said. "This is something the government will have to address, to both improve long-term economic growth and to reach (the UN`s) sustainable development goals," he said. Access to clean and affordable energy is another major area for improvement, both to improve growth in the long-term and to reach green energy goals for sustainable development, Slotman said. Moreover, "India being an importer of energy has much to gain from improving access to clean and affordable energy" even if it has to put up with high upfront costs, he added. Another barometer of economic growth in India and the world will be coming out on Monday when the International Monetary Fund releases its World Economic Outlook report. Lara Trump, who serves as the face of Donald Trumps 2020 presidential campaign, has seemingly mocked Joe Biden for stuttering after the former vice president opened up along the campaign trail about overcoming his speech impediment. The 37-year-old senior adviser to the presidents re-election campaign and wife of his youngest son Eric, made the controversial comments during a Women for Trump event in Iowa on Thursday, telling a crowd of supporters: I feel kind of sad for Joe Biden, and you know thats when its not going well for him, right? Im supposed to want him to fail at every turn, she added, but every time hes on stage and they turn to him Im like, Joe, can you get it out? Lets get the words out, Joe. Mr Biden, a 2020 Democratic hopeful who has led most national polls in recent months, revealed in an interview with The Atlantic that he dealt with stuttering ever since he was a child, when he used to feel shame in high school and experienced bullying. Ms Trump was not the first person within the presidents orbit to mock the leading Democratic candidate for his stutter: former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also appeared to make fun of Mr Biden over a moment at the December debates last year. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty Ms Sanders seemingly imitated a stuttering child in a tweet during the debate, writing: I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what Biden is talking about. The former White House official was later forced to apologise, claiming she was unaware Mr Biden dealt with stuttering. I've worked my whole life to overcome a stutter, he replied in a tweet of his own. And it's my great honour to mentor kids who have experienced the same. It's called empathy. Look it up." Ms Sanders later said she should have made her point respectfully. Mr Biden said stuttering gave me an insight I dont think I ever would have had into other peoples pain in his interview with The Atlantic, adding that he was not concerned if Mr Trump mocked him for stuttering if he became the eventual Democratic nominee. If you ask the polls, 'Does Biden stutter? Has he ever stuttered?,' you'd have 80 to 95% of people say no," he said, adding that the president would be exposed for what he is if he made fun of his stutter. Advertisement These fascinating photos show inside the largest flag factory in Iran where US, UK and Death to Israel flags are made for burning in protest at Western sanctions. As tensions with Iran have intensified in recent weeks, the factory is doing a roaring trade in flags for destruction. Photographer Farhad Babaei was allowed to see the production line which produces hundreds of thousands of flags a year. Each flag is painstakingly printed on the stone with templates by hand before being hung to dry and later washed US, UK and Israeli flags are regularly burned in demonstrations in Tehran, including this protest outside the former US embassy in November 2015 An Iranian flag manufacturer is busy creating US and British flags for people to burn during heated demonstrations The factory is in Khomeini City, about four hours south of Tehran. As well as British and US flags, the manufacturer produces Israeli flags Many of the flags produced by the factory are used in demonstrations in Tehran to protest against the UK and the West In the West we have grown used to images of Iranians burning national flags in rallies against the UK, US and Israel. In Khomeini City, the birthplace of Ayatollah Khomeini, a four hour drive south of Tehran, a building houses a production line. One flag, a customisation of the national flag of Israel is particularly popular. It features the Star of David with the words 'Death to Israel' in Persian alongside it. As these images show the factory produces US, British and other flags from scratch and not all are destined to be burned. The Iranian and Hezbollah flags are for hanging in homes or for rallies supporting the government. One flag, a customisation of the national flag of Israel is particularly popular. It features the Star of David with the words 'Death to Israel' in Persian alongside it The factory employs 42 people and they produce almost 1.5 million square feet of flags each year Here some protesters are burning flags from the UK, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States during an annual demonstration to mark the anniversary of the birth of the Iranian revolution Often demonstrators shout 'Death to America' or death to which ever country's flag they happen to be burning at the time These protesters gathered in May 2018 after US President Donald Trump announced he was pulling out of the Iranian nuclear deal, which caused anger on the streets of Tehran, prompting people to gather outside the former US Embassy to burn a few flags The Diba Parcham Khomeini factory produces flags to order and the owner said a lot of them are made for those who participate in Islamic Republic of Iran demonstrations Both men and women work inside the factory which employs 42, and it produces nearly 1.5 million square feet of flags a year. Each flag is painstakingly printed on the stone with templates by hand before being hung to dry and later washed. The Diba Parcham Khomeini factory produces flags to order and the owner said a lot of them are made for those who participate in Islamic Republic of Iran demonstrations. He said: 'We are not responsible for how people use them and I hope for friendship, peace and love for all the nations despite any kind of use of these flags. 'People burn them or walk on them because we have economic problems because of the sanctions. 'Khomeini City is the birthplace of Ayatollah Khomeini, Islamic republic of Iran's founder, so it is good we make the flags here.' Taliban Ready For Reduction in Afghan Violence To Advance Talks With US, Says Pakistan By Ayaz Gul January 16, 2020 Pakistan announced Thursday the Taliban is ready to reduce violence in Afghanistan, calling it a major breakthrough toward reaching a long-awaited peace deal the insurgent group has been negotiating with the United States. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi revealed in a video message that Islamabad has been helping in the peace process to bring stability to Pakistan, Afghanistan and the region. "Today a major development has taken place in this effort. The Taliban has accepted the demand for a reduction in violence. I believe it is a major step toward the (U.S.-Taliban) peace agreement," Qureshi said. He did not share further details. "The good thing for Pakistan is that the responsibility it took for promoting the (Afghan) reconciliation has effectively been discharged," the foreign minister noted. Pakistan hoped the effort would lead to peace so it would benefit the people in both neighboring countries, Qureshi added. The foreign minister, who is currently visiting Washington, made the revelation ahead of his meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor Robert O' Brien. The announcement comes amid media reports Taliban chief Haibatullah Akhund has approved a week-long cease-fire with U.S.-led foreign forces to end the deadlock in signing a foreign troop withdrawal agreement U.S. and Taliban interlocutors have negotiated in their yearlong talks, held mostly in Qatar. Chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid when asked for a confirmation on whether his leadership has agreed to a cease-fire, told VOA: "I am in the process of collecting the information and will share the details as soon as I get them." U.S. chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad has been demanding the Taliban agree to a brief cessation in hostilities before the two adversaries in the 18-year-old Afghan war could sign the deal. Insurgent negotiators in Doha, reports said, were expected to share their cease-fire decision with Khalilzad on Wednesday. The U.S. envoy is said to be staying in the Qatari capital to hear from the insurgents whether they were ready to accept his demand, though U.S. officials have not commented on his presence in the Gulf nation. Khalilzad paused the dialogue process last month after insurgents staged a major attack on the largest U.S. military base of Bagram in Afghanistan that killed several Afghan civilians and injured scores of others. The proposed agreement, if signed, would require the Taliban to immediately enter into negotiations with Afghan stakeholders to discuss a nationwide cease-fire and a power-sharing understanding to bring an end to decades of deadly hostilities in the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Five Burkina Faso soldiers were killed Friday when their vehicle was hit by a roadside explosive in a northern province, security sources said, in the latest attack on the country's armed forces. No group claimed immediate responsibility for the bomb, but jihadist violence in Burkina Faso has been blamed on militants linked to both Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups. "A homemade explosive was used in an attack Friday morning against a military unit," on patrol in a wildlife reserve in Soum province, leaving five dead, a security source told AFP. "Reinforcements were sent to the zone to clear the area while the wounded were evacuated." A wave of attacks at December killed 35 civilians, mostly women, and dozens of soldiers in an assault on a military base and a town in the north of the country. Burkina Faso, as well as neighbouring Mali and Niger, has seen frequent jihadist attacks which have left hundreds of people dead since the start of 2015 when Islamist extremist violence began to spread across the Sahel region. According to the UN, around 4,000 people were killed in jihadist attacks in the three Sahel countries last year. There are 4,500 French troops deployed in the Sahel region as well as a 13,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in Mali to fight insurgents, backing up national forces of the G5 -- Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Search Keywords: Short link: Pakistani Foreign Office has dismissed reports of Egypt sanctions imposed on its nationals by Egypt. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aisha Farooqui clarified that Egypt has not placed any ban on the issuance of visas for the nationals, reported Pakistan-based Dunya News. The outlet in its report stated that the spokesperson debunked media reports on the visa refusal and said that Cairo has not taken any such action. This comes after reports of a ban on the visas of Pakistani industrialists and citizens emerged. Apparently, it said that the passports of Pakistani businessmen were held at the Egyptian Embassy for two months. The Foreign Office also termed the reports that the victims appealed to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Foreign Secretary to take notice on the matter as fake. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 15-year-old ran from his home with a gun after a family fight led to a gun being brandished and then fired along with a suicide threat, the Oakland County Sheriffs Office reported. The incident occurred in Commerce Township, and the boy was found by deputies after the 6:30 p.m. Wednesday call for help. The gun had been dropped by the boy and secured by a family member, but earlier, deputies said it had been pointed at family members. After being taken into custody by deputies, the boy was taken to an area hospital and officials will prepare a juvenile petition. The gun had been fired into the ceiling of the home. It looks like a fantastical skate park or an abandoned modernist shopping mall, with its huge sloped concrete surfaces defaced by graffiti and its grimy glass panels, but this decaying edifice is one of Europe's most important surviving monuments to communism and it's about to undergo a transformation. The Pyramid of Tirana was erected to celebrate the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha immediately after his death in 1985. It took three years to build on the city's main boulevard and opened with much ceremony in October 1988. It was the creation of four architects: Hoxha's daughter, Pranvera Hoxha, her husband Klement Kolaneci, plus Pirro Vaso and Vladimir Bregu, according to InfoAlbania. Covered in white marble tiles and topped with a red star, it was a striking structure. The interior was of course dominated by a statue of the great man and the building was a place of pilgrimage in a hardline communist state with a personality cult. The opening ceremony was a proud moment for Albania, with film of the event showing officials walking through ranks of the schoolchildren of the communist youth movement. There was just one little problem - the communist regime collapsed in 1990, two years after the Pyramid was completed, and Hoxha's reputation crumbled with it. The building closed and then went through a variety of incarnations: As a conference center; a national jazz festival venue; a lecture hall; a theater; as NATO HQ during the war in Kosovo; as home to a TV station; and even as the site of a nightclub. It's long been abandoned and closed to the public, and the city council even decided to demolish it in 2011, but it was saved after an outcry and now, finally, there are plans to put it to good use, according to Joni Baboci, Tirana's general director of planning and urban development. It will be reborn as an education center where tourists will also be welcome. The project is being co-financed by the central and city governments with the Albanian American Development Foundation. Work may start as early as next month and is expected to take 1 years. (The budget hasn't yet been announced.) "I was active in the movement to stop it from being demolished to make way for a new parliament," says 32-year-old Baboci. "Although it holds bad memories, for my generation it is iconic. It was completed in the year of my birth, and growing up, it was one of the few buildings in Tirana you could immediately recognize where you were. We'd climb up and slide down or rollerblade in front." The Rotterdam-based MVRDV architectural practice was commissioned to reimagine the building as a multifunctional technology education center for young people, opening up the sides and turning the interior into a giant atrium filled with trees and light. Even the roof will be accessible, with steps to a platform offering views of the city. In its reincarnation, the pyramid will be known at the Tumo Center, the seventh location of an Armenia-based program that seeks to offer teenagers training and workshops in technology and design. There will also be an open plaza with public spaces, including a library. And there will be units that startups can hire, especially those that are complementary to the Tumo program. "The pyramid will function as a not-for-profit center whose total leaseable area inside is 6,500 sq meters, out of which 3,000 square meters will house Tumo Tirana and the other half will be dedicated to arts, media, visual arts and the ICT (Information and communications technology) community," according to the Albanian American Development Foundation. 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. There's a lot of work to do. Baboci gave me a tour of Tirana's most famous white elephant and it is indeed in a sorry state. The interior is dark and dank, with broken stairs and tangled cables. There's rubbish and graffiti and pools of water. Even bits of ceiling hang loose over deserted walkways, damage from a recent earthquake just adding to the effect of years of neglect. "Today the building stands as the most famous Albanian architectural carcass - yet it conceals the potential to become - through revitalization - one of the most vibrant and interesting structures in Eastern Europe," Baboci said. For a first-time visitor, Tirana is a surprisingly clean and ordered city under a progressive administration that is encouraging enterprise and innovation. But one thing has yet to change: The late dictator's villa still stands unused 35 years after his death, apart from occasionally hosting lectures and events p no one can decide what to do with it. - - - Vines is chief food critic at Bloomberg. A couple in the Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh has found a unique way to express their support for the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Mohit Mishra and Sonam Pathak, who are tying knots on February 3, have added a Hindi line in bold letters on their wedding card saying, "We support CAA and NRC." Several protests had erupted across the country after the implementation of CAA and over the proposed NRC. Uttar Pradesh is the first state to have implemented CAA amid violent demonstrations all over the state. READ | Uttar Pradesh: AMU Students Gather To Protest Against CAA & NRC READ | Punjab Govt Set To Move Resolution Against CAA In State Assembly About CAA The CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. The act is for the groups that came to India on or before December 31, 2014. The process of implementing the CAA has started, with Uttar Pradesh becoming the first state to start the implementation process after the Centre issued a gazette notification announcing that the CAA has come into effect from January 10, 2020. There have been widespread demonstrations across the country against the contentious law for the past several weeks. CAA was implemented in Uttar Pradesh amid massive protests in the state. The protestors are of the view that the law is "divisive" and "discriminative" for the people. Moreover, the Opposition asserts that the law goes against constitutional norms. READ | Manjinder Sirsa slams Pakistan for its treatment of minorities, explains why CAA is needed About NRC The NRC is a register maintained by the government containing important personal information for the identification of all genuine Indian citizens. On the apex court's order, the NRC identified illegal immigrants from Assam. Though this has been a state-specific exercise to keep its ethnic uniqueness unaltered. Since its implementation, protests have erupted in several parts of the country. With protests picking up against the CAA, the opposition to the idea of a nationwide NRC also picked up. READ | Amit Shah Arriving For CAA Outreach, Tejashwi Issues NPR-NRC Challenge To CM Nitish Kumar (With inputs from ANI) On Thursday, EAM Jaishankar tweeted, Appreciated his sharing of perspectives and assessments. New Delhi: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday met his visiting Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in New Delhi and took forward the bilateral discussion on Chabahar, the seaport in Iran that is if vital strategic significance to India. The Iranian minister had earlier called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday during which Mr Modi thanked the Iranian leadership for the progress in Chabahar project, including through designating it as a special economic zone. India has been worried over recent military tensions between the United States and Iran due to any possible fallout on its strategic port development project at Chabahar which provides sea-land connectivity from India to Afghanistan and Central Asia bypassing Pakistan. On Thursday, EAM Jaishankar tweeted, Appreciated his sharing of perspectives and assessments. Took forward our bilateral discussion on Chabahar. Earlier on Wednesday, the Iranian foreign minister while speaking at the Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi had lambasted the United States, comparing it to a high-school bully. Ties between the US and Iran had plummeted to dangerous levels recently after the US assassinated Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in Baghdad a few days ago, in a missile strike by an American drone. HARDIN Southern Illinois fruit growers will gather for the 2020 Southwestern Illinois Commercial Tree Fruit School on Tuesday, Feb. 4, in Hardin and the 2020 Southern Illinois Fruit and Vegetable School on Wednesday, Feb. 5 in Mt. Vernon. The programs, sponsored by University of Illinois Extension, will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Hardin and the Double Tree Conference Center in Mt. Vernon, respectively. Registration starts at 7:45 a.m. and the programs run 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. Armenias foreign ministry continues the practice of announcing the meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers at the same time, MFA spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan told Armenpress, commenting on the statement of Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov who said that he and the Armenian FM will hold another meeting by the end of January. The Armenian foreign ministry informs about every meeting according to an accepted procedure, after reaching an agreement on all details via the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. We continue this practice of publicizing the meetings, she said. The Azerbaijani foreign minister in his announcement stated that the meeting date and location are not clarified yet. He said that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs insisted to hold such a meeting. Mammadyarov also added that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs will visit the region in the first quarter of 2020. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan PASADENA, CALIFORNIA -- The 2016 presidential campaign may be over, but Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote but lost to Donald Trump, is still speaking out about what she believes in. Its a trait that has characterized Clinton since her youth, as Hillary, a new documentary series coming to Hulu makes clear. There was nothing off limits, Clinton said Friday morning, as she talked about Hillary and answered questions during an appearance at the Television Critics Association 2020 winter press tour. Clinton was accompanied by Hillary director Nanette Burstein. Hillary began, Clinton said, as a sort of campaign documentary. But Burstein decided there was more to the story, and that she wanted the film to explore Clinton as, Burstein said, a historical figure who is incredibly polarizing, and look at why that was the case. Clinton sat for around 35 hours of interviews with Burstein for the four-hour Hillary, which begins streaming March 6 on Hulu. The film includes archival photos and clips that chronicle Clintons college days, her marriage to Bill Clinton, plus behind the scenes footage of Clinton on the 2016 campaign trail. The film also features interviews with Bill Clinton, friends, colleagues and more, to paint what Burstein called an intimate portrait of Clinton. In her long years in public life, Clinton has been admired and reviled. I became a kind of Rorschach test for women, and womens roles, Clinton said Friday. She recalled how, when her husband was elected president and asked Clinton to lead an effort on universal health care, little did I know it would create the most extraordinary backlash. Critics derided Clinton for being a First Lady who wanted to pursue substantial issues, an example of how women were caught between more traditional ideas about their identity, and the emerging womens rights movement. Clinton also spoke about the current political moment and the upcoming Democratic primary elections. Were an inclusive, generous, open-hearted country, she said, but were in a real struggle to move beyond the negative and mean-spirited elements that characterize the current cultural conversation. This is no ordinary time, Clinton said, adding that its important to try to vote for the person you think is most likely to win, because thats what matters. Americans needs to take the vote seriously, she said, because Lord knows what will happen if we dont retire the current incumbent, and his henchmen. Asked how one person can make a difference, Clinton said, Vote. Please vote. Though people may feel frustrated or disgusted by politics, Clinton said it wasnt so long ago that we didnt have to worry every morning about what would happen that day, or worry about a crazy Tweet" threatening war. Its essential, Clinton said, that a democracy agrees on basic facts, and that includes being conscious of having a more constructive relationship with social media." You can choose not to believe in climate change, or choose not to vaccinate your children, Clinton said. But there are facts. When it comes to how some people reacted to her during the 2016 campaign, Clinton said, she didnt do a good enough job of breaking through a lot of misperceptions. There were people around her, she recalled, who would shake their heads at how she was portrayed. I would blow it off, Clinton said, and brush it off and not think about it. Clinton said she was often surprised by how her comments would be taken out of context, and used to attack her. That tended to make her more cautious, more careful and more guarded, she said, which was kind of a vicious cycle, unfortunately. I was this lightning rod," Clinton said. A lot of the reactions to her have had, she said, nothing to do with her, but had to do with the times, and attitudes about women. Clinton seemed pleased with Hillary, though, she said, '"Its really hard to watch yourself for four hours. Thank God it was only four hours." -- Kristi Turnquist kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Love Island twins Jess and Eve Gale have baffled fans by drying their lashes with a hairdryer. The blonde duo, 20, instantly became a meme after the blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment on Thursday night's episode of the ITV2 reality show, which saw one of the girls blasting her face with hot air. Viewers were flabbergasted by the beauty regime, taking to Twitter to share their amusement at their getting ready routine. 'Wet lashes? No problem': Love Island twins Jess and Eve Gale baffled fans by drying their lashes with a hairdryer on Thursday night's episode of the show The Love Island account posted a meme of one of the girls fluttering her lashes while drying them, captioned: 'Wet lashes? No problem'. One viewer posted, 'That was a proper wtf moment', while another shared, 'I've seen it all now. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this.' While it might have been unfamiliar to some viewers, the trick is a tried and tested method to care for your lash extensions. Combing and drying your eyelashes on a low heat setting helps maintain them and give them added curl. Reaction: Viewers were flabbergasted by the beauty regime, taking to Twitter to share their amusement at their getting ready routine Beauty fans: While it might have been unfamiliar to some viewers, the trick is a tried and tested method to care for your lash extensions This comes after the twins' father rushed to their defence on Twitter after the girls became the victims of trolling online. Proud dad Brian shared a message aimed at the 'doubters', hitting back at sexist claims about their looks and insisting they're as smart as they come. Sharing links to student newspaper The Tab's articles, their father revealed details about the pair's prestigious university education. Speaking out: This comes after the twins' father rushed to their defence on Twitter after the girls became the victims of trolling online (pictured: Jess) Brian posted: 'Love Island Jess attends University College London and her sister Eve attends King's College London. So more competition'. He continued: 'Love Island. Eve and Jess. For the doubters. It is possible to be a girl, look really good, wear make up and dye your hair blonde and still go to a good University.' Eve, who told her fellow Islanders she is a Geography student, is enrolled at King's College London. Meanwhile, Jess began studying at Psychology at UCL in 2018 and opted to defer a year in order to appear on Love Island. Proud dad: Brian shared a message aimed at the 'doubters', hitting back at sexist claims about their looks and insisting they're as smart as they come (pictured: Eve) Speaking out: Sharing links to student newspaper The Tab 's articles, the girls' father revealed details about the 20-year-old duo's prestigious university education Her close friend Georgia Wallhead spoke to The London Tab, saying: 'I think that people will be shocked that they are really intelligent because a lot of people assume that girls who take pride in their appearance aren't clever.' In the villa this week, the girls insisted they had both brains and beauty, saying, 'We basically got all As in our GCSEs'. This comes after last year's contestant Molly-Mae Hague demanded fans stop trolling the show's late arrivals. Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the starlet, 20, hit back at a viewer who shared a before-and-after shot of the twins while writing: 'CAN I SCREAMMM?? #LoveIsland'. Tough times: This comes after last year's contestant Molly-Mae Hague demanded fans stop trolling the show's late arrivals Transformation: Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the starlet, 20, hit back at a viewer who shared a before-and-after shot of the duo while writing: 'CAN I SCREAMMM?? #LoveIsland' Sharing another tweet, Brian added: 'Thanks to Molly-Mae for her comments' Proving to be a true girls' girl, Molly hit back: 'Beautiful then and beautiful now. STOP TROLLING', in a message that comes after the influencer revealed she received death threats after her own stint in the villa. Sharing another tweet, Brian added: 'Thanks to Molly-Mae for her comments. For the record the girls did not go from redheads to blondes just before Love Island. This happened over 4 years ago when they were in Year 11 at school.' Meanwhile, Eve and Jess wound up viewers from Manchester on Tuesday night when they patronisingly branded it 'a new hot spot' and asking where it was located. The blonde students, who waltzed onto the show as latecomers on Sunday evening, were on a double-date with Callum and Mike who both hail from the northern city. Discussing the location, the girls - who come from London - declared it an up-and-coming hot spot. Geo-blocked! Eve and Jess wound up viewers from Manchester on Tuesday night when they branded it 'a new hot spot' and asking where it was located This enraged Mancunians who took to Twitter to slam them, claiming that it is already a hot spot - with some calling for the twins to be banned from ever visiting. They then asked Mike and Callum what's between London and Manchester, seemingly unaware of where the city precisely was. This outraged viewers further, who pointed out that Eve branded herself an A* geography student when she first entered the villa. Tweets cropped up slamming the twins to the tune of: 'These twins need to stay outta Manchester we don't want them!' Confused: The girls seemed to know so much... and so little... about Manchester Northern exposure: The blonde students, who waltzed onto the show as latecomers on Sunday evening, were on a double-date with Callum and Mike who both hail from the northern city Confused: Discussing the location, the girls - who come from London - declared it an up-and-coming hot spot Tweets cropped up slamming the twins to the tune of: 'These twins need to stay outta Manchester we don't want them' Another posted: 'The twins asked where is half way between Manchester and London... Isn't one of them studying Geography? I cant!!' A third tweeted: ''It's a new hotspot. It's actually becoming a new hotspot.' The #LoveIsland twins on Manchester, that little known hidden gem of nightlife.' A fourth added: 'Did she legit say 'Where half way between London & Manchester'. I swear one of the twins said yesterday she was studying geography. Bet all those A* were a lie to.' Keep them out! This enraged Mancunians who took to Twitter to slam them for their uninformed remark, claiming that it is already a hot spot - with some calling for the twins to be banned from ever visiting Fail! They then asked Mike and Callum what's between London and Manchester, seemingly unaware of where the city precisely was 'F**king twins saying Manchester is a new hot-spot f**k right off! #Manchester has always been a hot-spot!' another wrote. 'Petition to ban the twins from Manchester...' someone else suggested. As another typed: 'Study geography but don't know where half of Manchester & London is. Get these twins in the bin!' The twins haven't gotten off to the best of starts on the show, after they irritated Shaughna and Leanne by swooping in and stealing their men from under them. Romance? Fans also found them annoying when Eve bragged about Tyga sliding into her DMs, only for him to ridicule her about this on Twitter afterwards Funny: The rapper, 30, was tagged in a fleet of tweets when Eve revealed the news during the Spill The Tea challenge But fans also found them annoying when Eve bragged about Tyga sliding into her DMs, only for him to ridicule her about this on Twitter afterwards. The rapper, 30, was tagged in a fleet of tweets when Eve revealed the news during the Spill The Tea challenge. But fans poked fun at her revelation, with one sharing a photo of Tyga alongside a guy who looked like him, with the caption: 'Sorry she was talking about the guy on the right'. Tyga replied to the meme with a series of cry laughing faces. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Recent volcanic eruptions in the Philippines and New Zealand highlight the impact that unexpected events can have on travelers. All travel insurance policies include natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, as covered reasons to cancel a trip and be reimbursed for the trip cost, including flights, accommodations and missed tours. Travel insurance comparison site, Squaremouth, explains coverage for travelers planning an upcoming visit to a destination with nearby volcanoes. Policies Available Until Eruption Is Foreseen Travel insurance policies are designed to cover unforeseen events and travelers are able to purchase a policy up until an event becomes expected. Once an eruption is considered imminent, new policies will no longer include coverage for that eruption. Purchasing a policy early ensures the longest period of coverage and only travelers who bought a policy before an eruption is expected may be covered if their travel plans are impacted. Flights Affected By Air Conditions Volcanic eruptions can affect air travel, causing flight delays or cancellations, due to ash, debris and toxic gas being spewed into the air. If an eruption causes a traveler's flight to be delayed for a specific amount of time, or even canceled completely, they may be covered to cancel their trip and be reimbursed for any prepaid, nonrefundable costs. Destination Under Mandatory Evacuation Orders Travelers who purchased a policy before an eruption became foreseen may be able to cancel their trip or return home early if a destination on their itinerary falls under a mandatory evacuation order. If a traveler is already in the destination when the evacuation order is issued and they must leave, they can be refunded for any additional expenses incurred by moving to a safe location. Accommodations Are Unsafe and Uninhabitable If a traveler's accommodation has been deemed uninhabitable because of the volcanic eruption, lava flow or even a tsunami that occurs as a result of the eruption, they may be covered to cancel their trip. An accommodation may be deemed uninhabitable if there is significant structural damage, loss of power or water or the roads leading to it are closed. ABOUT SQUAREMOUTH SQUAREMOUTH compares travel insurance policies from every major travel insurance provider in the United States. Using Squaremouth's comparison engine and third-party customer reviews, travelers can research and compare travel insurance policies side-by-side . More information can be found at www.squaremouth.com . Available Topic Expert: Kasara Barto [email protected] SOURCE Squaremouth Related Links http://www.squaremouth.com Additional reporting by Cianan Brennan Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald is under fire for failing to sanction a party councillor who subjected Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to a personalised attack about his race and family status. While Mr Varadkar accepted an apology from councillor Paddy Holohan, questions have been raised about Ms McDonalds failure to act in the wake of the slur against the Taoiseach. Mr Holohan, a former mixed martial arts athlete, will not be sanctioned after Ms McDonald refused to punish him. Mr Holohan was forced to apologise after he said in a podcast that he would rather have a family man running the country than Mr Varadkar. He also suggested Mr Varadkars Indian heritage meant he was separated from Irish culture. The comments sparked a backlash online, with many taking Mr Holohans comments as an attack on the fact that Mr Varadkar is gay and does not have children. Responding yesterday, Mr Varadkar said the apology was good enough for him, but that a persons background should not matter in the kind of society that I believe in. At a campaign stop in Longford Town, Mr Varadkar said: Anyone in Ireland from a minority background, whether mixed-race or gay or lesbian, has experienced some form of racism or homophobia in their lives. Im fortunate that I havent received too much of it, I know its been a lot worse for a lot of other people. He said he hoped to run another cross-government campaign against racism. We need to raise awareness of the issue and make sure that we have a properly united country, whether youre a man or a woman, no matter what background you come from, whether youre a member of the Travelling community or not, or who you love, he said. None of those things should matter in the kind of society that I believe in. Ms McDonald refused to suspend Mr Holohan, adding: Our party is one of inclusivity, and Paddy has apologised for his remarks and that was the correct thing to do. This came after the councillor tweeted his apology, saying that his comments had been misinterpreted. Nonetheless, questions have been raised about Ms McDonalds refusal to act. Fine Gael candidate in Dublin-Rathdown, Neale Richmond, told the Irish Examiner: [Mr Holohans comments were] not a matter of interpretation, and his faux apology simply isnt good enough. In any normal political party, Councillor Holohan would be subject to a disciplinary hearing and sanction. I see no reason why Mary Lou McDonald thinks she can wash her hands with this. It is a damning indictment of a supposed new Sinn Fein. DCU professor of politics Gary Murphy said: There comes a time when these so-called apologies shouldnt be accepted. This is one of these times. Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Friday called on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi and urged her to expedite release of funds under the non-lapsable central pool of resources, an official statement said. Zoramthanga, who is currently in the national capital, also informed Sitharaman that some ongoing projects in the Northeast are being halted due to a change in the system. He asked the union minister to facilitate direct transfer of project funds to the states. The statement said Sitharaman told the chief minister that she will look into the matter and take necessary action. Zoramthanga also met Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and sought additional funds for supplying tap water to houses. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Little Gods By Meng Jin Custom House. 288 pp. $26.99 --- Meng Jin's ambitious, formally complex debut opens in Beijing at the climax of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, as a woman gives birth in a hospital ward that will soon be filled with the wounded. The maternity nurse who tends to Su Lan and her new baby is skeptical of the idealistic pro-democracy protesters: "Little gods, she thinks. Desperate to turn their own growing bodies, their own aches and despairs, into material that might reset the axes of worlds." This desperation is also what drives Su Lan, we see in the three linked monologues that circle back to tell her story after her death 17 1/2 years later. The first narrator is Zhu Wen, an elderly neighbor who cared for Su Lan's infant daughter, Liya, after Su Lan returned to Shanghai without her husband, apparently lost in the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The second is Yongzong, who along with a classmate named Zhang Bo competed for Su Lan's affections when they were university students. The third is Liya, 2 years old when Su Lan embarked with her for America to complete a Ph.D. (and leave an unhappy history behind); she abandons college in the wake of her mother's death to return to China in search of her unknown father. Jin skillfully, if at times schematically, uses their varied voices and perspectives to elucidate what drove Su Lan and resolve the mystery of Liya's father. She explores an intriguing array of themes: class distinctions in a supposedly classless society; language as a marker of identity and (paradoxically) a barrier to communication; the desire to eradicate the past, vividly embodied in the half-demolished building where Su Lan once lived in an ancient neighborhood being pulled down to make way for modern skyscrapers. Jin sometimes flags her themes with undue insistence. "Do you believe in time?" new mother Su Lan improbably asks the maternity nurse. A few pages later, Zhu Wen tells Liya that her mother was a physicist and "her subject was time ... Su Lan related to time as a prisoner." It's an odd insight to offer a recently bereaved teenager, and there are other moments in the novel when a character seems to speak more as the author's mouthpiece than from credible personal motives. Nonetheless, "Little Gods" gains plausibility and texture as it progresses, slowly unpacking the emotional forces underpinning Su Lan's intellectual quest to imagine the arrow of time running backward, so she could "remember the future and forget the past." Yongzong has a past he'd like to forget as well, an unhappy childhood as the relatively privileged son of a provincial city official who expected him to excel in school, attend Beijing University and join the Communist Party elite. Zhang Bo and Su Lan were from poor rural families, but both surpassed him on the all-important university entrance exam; they were tapped to study physics in Beijing, while his lower score relegated him to medical school in Shanghai. Yongzong's tortuous courtship of Su Lan makes palpable her agonizingly conflicted feelings. She's ashamed of her peasant roots and ashamed of her shame. Kind, unconflicted Bo, who knows and loves her true self, is "too good for me," she tells Yongzong. "Maybe I'm the kind of woman who deserves to be with dirt like you." An unlikely remark to a suitor, perhaps, but Su Lan's self-contempt rings true. We meet the woman she became in America in Liya's recollections of an emotionally disengaged mother who uprooted them over and over, always seeking a new beginning. Discontinuous but complementary, the three monologues accumulate to paint a powerful, poignant portrait of a woman crippled by her fear of looking back. Zhu Wen's and Yongzong's memories also give evocative glimpses of how China has changed - and not changed - in the experiences of their respective generations. Liya's voice is less compelling, muffled by some heavy plot lifting as she seeks the father whose identity has already been revealed to readers. It doesn't help that Jin pulls back abruptly to a third-person narrative for the enigmatic, too-brief completion of Liya's odyssey. Sketchy and muddled though this section is, there's a haunting poetry to Jin's final images, which present a vision of linear time collapsed into space-time and a traveler journeying toward reconciliation that once seemed impossible. "Little Gods" marks a bold first step for a novelist who promises to give us even finer work in the future. --- Smith is the author of "Real Life Drama: The Group Theatre and America, 1931-1940." Jet Airways was forced to suspend operations due to paucity of funds. IndiGo and SpiceJet reported record losses in the second quarter. And Air India is struggling to stay afloat, desperate to get a new owner through the government's disinvestment initiative. On the other hand, Air India Express is on course to post a net profit for the fifth year in a row. The Air India subsidiary had first turned profitable in the 2016 financial year. Since then, it has managed to strike a balance in expanding its operations, and keep its costs in check. A report by The New Indian Express, quoting sources at the airline, said that Air India Express is on course to report a profit of Rs 500 crore in the 2019-2020 fiscal. This will be a jump from the Rs 164 crore profit it earned a year ago. In fact, it will be its highest profit in its history. How is it that the budget airline is set to achieve record profitability, when bigger names in the industry are struggling to keep flying? The airline Air India Express was founded in 2005 as a low-cost arm of Air India to connect non-metro cities with destinations, mostly in the Middle East and South East Asia. The airline carried over 4 million passengers a year, with a fleet of 25 aircraft. "Air India Express enjoys 6 percent market share in India - International travel market, and 13.3 percent market share in the India - Gulf travel market," it says on its website. The airline, which is headquartered in Kochi, is led by CEO K Shyam Sundar. The mantra Key to the success of Air India Express lies in its performance on some key parameters. Its aircraft on an average fly 14 hours a day, which is higher than most of its peers. Most airlines average around 11 hours. While its load factor of 85 percent is comparable to its larger peers, Air India Express comes trumps in terms of schedule reliability. At 100 percent, it has an enviable record of not having cancelled any scheduled flights, unless in case of external exigencies. Interestingly, Air India Express also scores high on employee-to-aircraft ratio, something that ails its parents Air India. While the low -cost carrier's ratio is 60, Air India has more than 100 employees for each of its aircraft. Most of the other airlines have similar ratios. At the center of our Milky Way Galaxy lurks Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole that is four million times the mass of the Sun. Recently, two unusual dust-enshrouded objects have been found to be closely orbiting the black hole: the so-called G-objects, G1 and G2. Now, an international team of astronomers has spotted four additional G-objects, all lying within 0.13 light-years of Sagittarius A* and forming a class of objects that is probably unique to this environment. G-objects resemble clouds of gas and dust but have properties of star-mass objects. These objects look like gas and behave like stars, said Professor Andrea Ghez, an astrophysicist in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles. Their orbits range from about 100 to 1,000 years, added Dr. Anna Ciurlo, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles. Professor Ghez and colleagues identified the first G-object, G1, in 2005. In 2012, German astronomers made a discovery of the G2 object that made a close approach to the supermassive black hole in 2014. According to the scientists, G2 is most likely two stars that had been orbiting the black hole in tandem and merged into an extremely large star, cloaked in unusually thick gas and dust. At the time of closest approach, G2 had a really strange signature, Professor Ghez said. We had seen it before, but it didnt look too peculiar until it got close to the black hole and became elongated, and much of its gas was torn apart. It went from being a pretty innocuous object when it was far from the black hole to one that was really stretched out and distorted at its closest approach and lost its outer shell, and now its getting more compact again. One of the things that has gotten everyone excited about the G-objects is that the stuff that gets pulled off of them by tidal forces as they sweep by the central black hole must inevitably fall into the black hole, said Professor Mark Morris, also from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles. When that happens, it might be able to produce an impressive fireworks show since the material eaten by the black hole will heat up and emit copious radiation before it disappears across the event horizon. The team now reports the existence of four more G-objects: G3, G4, G5 and G6. While G1 and G2 have similar orbits, these new objects have very different orbits. The astronomers believe all six objects were binary stars that merged because of the strong gravitational force of the supermassive black hole. Black holes may be driving binary stars to merge, Professor Ghez said. Its possible that many of the stars weve been watching and not understanding may be the end product of mergers that are calm now. The merging of two stars takes more than 1 million years to complete, he said. The way binary stars interact with each other and with the black hole is very different from how single stars interact with other single stars and with the black hole. The findings were published in the journal Nature. _____ A. Ciurlo et al. 2020. A population of dust-enshrouded objects orbiting the Galactic black hole. Nature 577, 337-340; doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1883-y (Bloomberg) -- The Senate will be ready to begin Donald Trumps impeachment trial on Tuesday after House prosecutors and the presidents lawyers file their trial briefs over the weekend. Here are the latest developments: Parnas Messages to Be Part of House Filing (6:36 p.m.) House Democrats plan to include material from Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, as part of the official impeachment record accompanying the brief they will file before Trumps trial starts Tuesday. The brief will argue for admitting evidence not presented during the House investigation -- such as the material from Parnas -- as well as for calling witnesses not heard during the House probe, Democrats said in a briefing. Documents released earlier this week by House Democrats contained messages to Parnas from GOP congressional candidate Robert Hyde suggesting that someone had then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch under surveillance near Kyiv in March 2019. Additional Parnas material that will be part of the record was released by House Democrats Friday night, including a transcript of a Jan. 16 interview of Parnas on CNN, in which he says hes willing to testify at the trial. Democrats said they will argue that blocking witnesses goes against the history of impeachment trials, and that even Mitch McConnell spoke in favor of a request for three witnesses during President Bill Clintons 1999 trial. The seven House managers plan to work through the weekend to prepare for the trial, and will do a walk-through of the Senate chamber Monday, the eve of the trial. Their individual roles havent been fully determined. House Democrats set up a web page to serve as a repository for documents related to the impeachment trial. Pompeo to Probe Possible Envoy Surveillance (12:18 p.m.) Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said he has an obligation to investigate reports suggesting that the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine was under surveillance and possibly threatened by associates of Lev Parnas, who worked with Trumps personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to find dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine. Story continues I suspect that much of whats been reported will ultimately prove wrong, but our obligation, my obligation as secretary of State, is to make sure that we evaluate, investigate, Pompeo said on the Tony Katz Today syndicated radio show. The comments were Pompeos first public response to the claims surrounding Marie Yovanovitch, the ambassador in Kyiv who was recalled two months early in 2019 after Giuliani launched an effort to oust her. Documents released earlier this week by House Democrats contained messages to Parnas from GOP congressional candidate Robert F. Hyde suggesting that someone had Yovanovitch under surveillance near Kyiv. If you want her out they need to make contact with security forces, Hyde wrote in one message in March 2019. Pompeo has faced criticism for not defending Yovanovitch during the impeachment drama. His silence about the possible threats to Yovanovitch provoked a new wave of outrage from current and former diplomats who said he was sacrificing security to preserve his relationship with Trump. -- Nick Wadhams Weekend Briefs Promise Window Into Trial (10:17 a.m.) The Senate, now converted into an impeachment court, has given the president and the House a series of deadlines to prepare for next weeks trial. Trumps legal team has until 6 p.m. on Saturday to respond to the Senates summons and must file its trial brief by noon on Monday. The House must file its trial brief by 5 p.m. on Saturday, which is expected to be released publicly. The managers who will be prosecuting the Houses case have until noon on Monday to file their reply to Trumps response to the summons. The House can also reply to the presidents brief by noon Tuesday. The impeachment trial will begin at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, which will include a vote on the resolution from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to set the terms of the trial. -- Steven T. Dennis, Billy House Catch Up on Impeachment Coverage Trump Impeachment Defense Remains Work in Progress Near Trial Key Events Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in Thursday as presiding officer, and then administered the oath to senators as impeachment jurors. The Senate still needs to adopt trial rules.The House impeachment resolution is H.Res. 755. The Intelligence Committee Democrats impeachment report is here.Gordon Sondlands transcript is here and here; Kurt Volkers transcript is here and here. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitchs transcript is here and here; the transcript of Michael McKinley, former senior adviser to the secretary of State, is here. The transcript of David Holmes, a Foreign Service officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, is here.The transcript of William Taylor, the top U.S. envoy to Ukraine, is here and here. State Department official George Kents testimony is here and here. Testimony by Alexander Vindman can be found here, and the Fiona Hill transcript is here. Laura Coopers transcript is here; Christopher Andersons is here and Catherine Crofts is here. Jennifer Williams transcript is here and Timothy Morrisons is here. The Philip Reeker transcript is here. Mark Sandys is here. --With assistance from Laura Litvan, Steven T. Dennis and Nick Wadhams. To contact the reporter on this story: Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asseo, Anna Edgerton 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. Register with JOC.com and receive 5 free pieces of content for the first thirty days. After thirty days, you will receive 3 pieces of content and after sixty days you will receive 1 piece of content. To receive full access, Subscribe Today . You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter. Register Weve just put online the Fall 2020 issue of Religion & Liberty, which looks at environmental stewardship and current problems in conservation from a number of aspects (get over to Actons Facebook page to comment on the articles). In the cover story, I wrote about the demands for a citizens assembly to accelerate the agenda of the radical environmental organization Extinction Rebellion. Presumably, these new assemblies wont involve elected bodies like the U.S. Congress or the Parliament of the United Kingdom: perhaps nowhere are the adolescent fantasies of environmental apocalypse and the sort of high-certitude, simplistic responses to lifes problems commonly heard from teenagers more pronounced than in the Extinction Rebellion phenomenon. It aims for a net-zero emissions economy by 2025, five years ahead of Ocasio-Cortezs plan. XR is known for disrupting or shutting down roads and public transport in major cities worldwide. Never mind that the great mass of humanity is trying to get to work, pay their bills, take care of their families, and keep the fairytales of eternal economic growth chugging along. XR wants governments to accede to a key demand: creating a citizens assembly that accelerates society away from climate-destroying industries. It aims for a tipping point of 3.5 percent of the population mobilized and eager to sweep away the slow-moving deliberations of democracies that obstruct our net-zero future. We do not trust our government to make the bold, swift, and long-term changes necessary to achieve these changes, and we do not intend to hand further power to our politicians, XR announces. XR isnt saying when its citizens assembly will hand back the levers of power to democratically elected governments. Its political theorists cite the toppling of repressive regimes Milosevic in Serbia and Marcos in the Philippines as evidence that a highly committed cadre can effect change. The group might also have cited the relatively small numbers of Bolsheviks and Mensheviks in Russia in 1910 (fewer than 100,000 in a nation of some 125 million). Then theres Greta Thunberg, the 17-year-old Swedish activist who has been scolding leaders of industrialized nations about the need to de-carbonize their economies. Shes the perfect cats-paw for environmental activists on the left who have been busily organizing childrens crusades on climate change to shame the grown ups. But heres a puzzle: Would you allow an angry, know-it-all teenager to run your household? Then why would you listen to her industrial policy? Religious cultures have often had deep strains of apocalyptic or millenarian sentiment, including the Christian and Jewish traditions, but the extreme forms of environmental apocalyptic today are rooted in the material and and are devoid of any sort of (excuse me here for the $5 word) eschatological aim such as the renewal of Creation or deriving some meaning out of final things. No, movements like Extinction Rebellion are simply pessimistic and nihilistic. What happens when XR protesters, including Rev. Sue the Anglican priest, glue themselves to commuter trains to press their point about BUSINESS AS USUAL = DEATH? Well, the people who actually have to get to work in the morning take great exception. Even those with deep sympathy for environmental issues are outraged by this arrogant, XR eco-preening. Set against this bleak outlook is a resurgent conservation ethic on the political right. Attitudes are shifting toward a more positive engagement on the political Right, with organizations like ConservAmerica and the American Conservation Coalition. This past summer, a group of GOP senators and congressmen formed the Roosevelt Conservation Caucusto restore the partys credibility on environmental and conservation issues (and to counter the Green New Deal). While public opinion sentiments on climate change are most pitched on the Left, younger GOP voters are joining them. Talk to conservatives who are active in environmental work, and they will often say things like, Who doesnt believe climate change is real? This despite a healthy skepticism of a debate that is utterly polarized. In their 2015 article Conservatives and Climate Change, Jim Manzi and Peter Wehner said it was not enough to stake out a position of neutrality on climate science. Scientific ignorance is not an excuse for refusing to stake out a position, they wrote. Politicians rely on engineers to help them figure out which bridges are worth building, on physicists to suggest which defense projects are most feasible, and on biologists to better understand the threat of Ebola or Swine Flu. There is no reason why climate change should be different. Why not embrace policies and practices that focus on climate mitigation and adaption, and concrete and practical actions at the ground level that have the potential to make things better? Its a bet on the future, where there is no room for fatalism or despair. The philosopher Roger Scruton, who passed away on Jan. 12, described a way forward in his 2012 book How to Think Seriously About the Planet: The Case for Environmental Conservatism. Any environmental movement must be rooted in individual or civic action: Environmental problems must be addressed by all of us in our everyday circumstances, and should not be confiscated by the state, he writes. Their solution is possible only if people are motivated to confront them, and the task of government is to create those conditions in which the right kind of motive can emerge and solidify. To describe these grassroots motives, Scruton coined the word oikophilia (pronounced ECO-philia), or the love and feeling for home. The state, he writes, should make room for these ground-up efforts, although Scrutons careful not to demonize every government conservation program. Hes for exploring the ways in which rational beings can reach co-operative solutions to problems that cannot be addressed either by the individual or the centralized state. Scruton defends initiatives against global schemes, civil association against political activism, and small-scale institutions of friendship against large-scale and purpose-driven campaigns. On climate change, Scruton describes its appeal partly due to the ability to internationalize the problem and present a calamity so great that nothing in the way of everyday solutions will do. The only feasible response to the threat of global warming is to devote our resources to how we might produce energy cheaply and renewably, and then making those discoveries available around the world. Read the whole thing at Beyond the apocalypse: Getting serious about climate and conservation in Religion & Liberty. Photo: Extinction Rebellion protest march. Leon Wang / Shutterstock.com. (Editorial use only). * Sunrise says CEO and chairman to stand down * Executives to leave after failed UPC deal * Shareholder Freenet backs Andre Krause as new CEO (Adds comment from Sunrise in 8th paragraph, updates shares) By John Miller and Edward Taylor ZURICH/FRANKFURT, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Sunrise Communications chief executive Olaf Swantee has quit and Chairman Peter Kurer said he will not run for re-election after a shareholder uprising blocked the group's $6.3 billion bid for Liberty Global's Swiss cable unit. Sunrise said its Chief Financial Officer Andre Krause, a German national, will immediately succeed Swantee as the new CEO, a step which was welcomed by Freenet, the telecom firm's largest shareholder. Freenet, a German telecommunications company which holds a 24.56% Sunrise stake, was a vocal opponent of the UPC deal. Freenet said it did not want to pre-empt strategic decisions by Krause but said they had received assurances from the incoming CEO that he sees a stand-alone future for Sunrise. Krause had previously backed the UPC combination. "In the past weeks Freenet has spoken with him about potential changes, and he made it clear that he sees a successful future for Sunrise as a stand-alone company. This convinced us," Freenet said of Krause. "We believe in the future and the potential of the company. The attractive dividend, a great team and a very well-managed company are guarantees for a high shareholder return," Freenet said. "There is no reason for us to change our position." Krause declined a request from Reuters for an interview, with a spokeswoman saying he first wants to talk to employees and customers before going public in his new role. "Management and the board -- with the exception of the Freenet representative -- were firmly convinced that the takeover of UPC was the best plan, but that does not mean Sunrise cannot be successful on its own, too," the spokeswoman said. "Sunrise will continue its path as an independent company and Andre Krause, as new CEO, will further strengthen this successful direction." DISPUTED DEAL Story continues Sunrise shares, which dropped 12% in 2019 during the takeover battle, were up 0.5% by 1210 GMT. In the months-long UPC fight, Swantee and Kurer had become the public faces of the deal, arguing it would have created a more powerful rival to state-owned market leader Swisscom . Freenet had accused Swantee and Kurer of pursuing a transaction that would have saddled Sunrise with "inferior technology" at an inflated price and terms favourable to Liberty Global, but negative for the Swiss company's own shareholders. Krause has been at Sunrise since 2011 after a six-year stint as CFO of Telefonica O2 Germany, and "has been instrumental in its transformation", the group said in its statement. "As CFO, he drove the company through its successful IPO in 2015, and the subsequent sale of its tower assets. Andre has deep telecom industry expertise." Sunrise said Vice Chairman Peter Schoepfer would also leave. Like Kurer he declined to stand for another term after the deal for Liberty's UPC Switzerland unit failed in October. (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Jan Harvey and Emelia Sithole-Matarise) When President Trump needed to replace his first White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, he was looking for someone different. So when people recommended Pat A. Cipollone, a conservative lawyer who was well-liked by some of Mr. Trumps aides, the president welcomed him to the role. Where Mr. McGahn plays guitar in a band, Mr. Cipollone, 53, drives a pickup truck and stays almost entirely out of view of the news media. Where Mr. McGahn privately referred to Mr. Trump as King Kong and sought to curb some of his potentially self-destructive impulses, Mr. Cipollone has been described as more temperamentally agreeable to the president. In discussions about his legal team, Mr. Trump has asked aides whether Mr. Cipollone can do well in the impeachment defense, given that it will be a televised spectacle. Still, most people close to the president say that during their year working together, Mr. Cipollone has earned the presidents trust. There is a deep divide between rural and urban New Mexico, and changing the rules of debate will only make it worse. Anyone who watched the last legislative session would be forgiven for believing there were two different New Mexicos. Laws were passed, money was spent and taxes were raised all approved by those in the majority party and supported by the special interests, often benefitting those who live in the urban areas of the state. Meanwhile, many New Mexicans who live outside of Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces watched and wondered how their voices could matter so little. The people in my rural southwest district continue to ask me how Santa Fe could be so tone deaf to their needs. No doubt, part of this divide is natural. It only makes sense that someone living in Downtown Albuquerque might have a different point of view than someone in Winston, population 61. Our republic form of government affords us the opportunity for different perspectives to come together and debate what is best for our way of life. Thats why the very suggestion that the majority would consider changing the rules around committee and floor debates, effectively limiting the voice of the minority, would further minimize the voice of rural New Mexico. This would only deepen the divide between those who live in urban and rural communities. The idea of limiting debate was presented last session. And, recent press reports suggest the majority party is once again hinting that debate on the ideas moving through the Roundhouse should be even more restrictive than it already is. That means when there is a proposed tax increase, current committee chairs and leadership would hear fewer questions. A bill to weaken your Second Amendment rights? Fewer questions. A law to fundamentally change the way every New Mexican gets electricity? Again, fewer questions. I have served long enough in Santa Fe to know that when proposals are opposed by the public but supported by Santa Fe special interests, or those in the majority, those in charge will work to pass it with as little fuss and public engagement as possible. When the agenda isnt fair to all concerned, they always want fewer questions. For the last 45 years, the rule on debate has been the same; each proposed law is allowed three hours worth of questions. The majority of the proposals do not reach that time limit because, generally most of the legislative members are in agreement. However, when there are serious concerns and honest questions, legislators should be able to debate the entire three hours and nothing less. Isnt it ironic that the majority party wants to pass controversial bills in less time than it takes many rural representatives to drive from their district to Santa Fe? To be clear, the party in the majority can continue to ignore rural New Mexico if it wishes because it has the votes. I hope members will reconsider. Ruling is easy. Governing is hard. There is enough divisiveness coming out of Santa Fe without the majority using heavy-handed tactics to silence the voice of rural New Mexicans. Our state is crying out for leadership that values differences. Debate is not about disagreeing; it is about enriching the legislative process through the expression of diverse perspectives. Debate should and does result in better laws that value the liberty, equality, economy and diversity of the New Mexico. If the majority truly believes in the diversity of our state, then it should embrace diversity of thought as well. By PTI HYDERABAD: Hitting out at the Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat who said de-radicalisation camps are operating in the country, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has questioned who would deradicalise attackers of Muslims and Dalits. Speaking at a public meeting at Adilabad on Thursday night, the Hyderabad MP said de-radicalisation is needed for those who lynch and kill innocent Dalits and Muslims. "I want to inform the chief of Defence Staff, General Saab, if you want to deradicalise, then listen, you first read the Juvenile Act. IPC is not applicable to children. What kind of de-radicalisation you are talking about," he said. "General Saab says that they will bring new law to deradicalise children. Meerut SP says in Muslim localities that they (Muslims) eat here and sing songs in favour of Pakistan. He says go to Pakistan. Who will de-radicalise such SPs. Dalits and Muslims are being lynched. Who will de-radicalise those attackers?," the AIMIM chief said. Rawat on Thursday in an address at the Raisina Dialogue, said de-radicalisation camps are operating in the country as it was necessary to isolate people who are completely radicalised. The MIM supremo alleged that names of five lakh Bengali Hindus and an equal number of Muslims are missing in Assam and the Hindus will be given citizenship under CAA, leaving out the Muslims. He said the names of some family members of former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed were also missing in Assam and questioned who would de-radicalise those responsible for the blunder. In a series of tweets, Owaisi said this is not the first time that Rawat uttered comments undermining the civil administration. "This is not the first ridiculous statement he has made. The policy is decided by civilian administration not by any General. By speaking on policy/politics, he is undermining civilian supremacy," he tweeted. "Who'll deradicalise lynchers & their political masters? What about those opposing citizenship for Assam's Bengali Muslims? Maybe deradicalise "Badla" Yogi & "Pakistan jao" Meerut SP? Maybe deradicalise those imposing hardship on us through NPR-NRC?" the MIM leader said in another tweet. Gabon has opened a Consulate General in Laayoune this Friday at a ceremony chaired by Gabonese Foreign Minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze and his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita. The Gabonese Consulate General is the third diplomatic representation in Laayoune after the honorary consulate of Cote dIvoire that was inaugurated in June last year and the Consulate General of the Comoros, which started providing its services in December. Friday was also marked by the inauguration by Guinea of a Consulate General in the Southern city of Dakhla. The new diplomatic mission was officially opened by Guinean Foreign Minister Mamadi Toure in the presence of his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita. The same Moroccan Saharan city is also hosting since last week a Gambian consulate. All these African countries have decided to set up consular representations in the Moroccan Saharan cities to reaffirm their support to Moroccos territorial integrity and their backing to the Sahara as an integral part of Morocco. Reza Pahlavi, former Crown Prince of Iran, speaks about current events in Iran at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Jan. 15, 2020. (Photo by Eva Hambach/AFP/Getty Images) Iran Crown Prince Signals Collapse of Regime, Calls for Constructive Not Divisive Dialogue The former crown prince of Iran, heir of the deposed monarchy on Jan. 15 said that the beginning of the end of the Iranian regime has started, as he called for maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic and for constructive, not divisive dialogue. Maryland-based Reza Pahlavi said the protests that struck some 100 cities and towns across Iran beginning Nov. 15, and again, following the accidental downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet by Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard on Jan. 8, reminded him of the uprising that ousted his father in early 1979. We are beginning to see the end of this regime, the 59-year-old heir to the Peacock Throne told reporters at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Wednesday. Its just a matter of time for it to reach its final climax. I think were in that mode. This is weeks or months preceding the ultimate collapse, not dissimilar to the last three months in 1978 before the revolution. With this regime, there is no reasonable prospect of sustainable de-escalation. But with the Iranian people, there is the opportunity for sustained peace and friendship, because there is no quarrel, to begin with just shared interests, shared values, and for now, a shared enemy. Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) January 15, 2020 The exiled Prince said that for the first time in four decades, people smell the opportunity. The people have had it. Todays generation of young Iranians cannot take it anymore. They want to have an opportunity for a better future, he said. They want to be on the path of modernity and freedom. The only thing that stands between them and the free world is this regime. Pahlavi urged the United States and their representatives to support the Iranian people in overthrowing the regime while demanding Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis resignation and a peaceful transition with the minimum amount of casualties. Its time for him to let go and step down and allow the people of Iran to free themselves, he said. Widespread protests rocked the region after authorities announced a new petrol-rationing scheme that would see gasoline prices raised by 50 percent. Authorities said the new scheme aims to redistribute money to the countrys neediest citizens, however, it quickly faced a backlash from citizens throughout the country who took to the streets to call for an end to the Islamic Republics government. Amnesty International reported on Dec. 2 that at least 208 people were believed to have been killed during anti-government demonstrations in Iran, citing credible reports for its death toll, including sources inside and outside Iran, including victims relatives, journalists, and human rights activists. The real figure is likely to be higher, the report stated. Protests also erupted across Iran over the weekend after the downing of the Ukrainian airliner, which the military said it mistakenly shot down at a time when Tehran was fearing U.S. airstrikes. 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 Republics Supreme Leader. Pahlavi called for constructive, not divisive dialogue in the wake of heavy unrest across the region. Choose what you cover and how you cover it to see whether we can come up with a solution, rather than to simply tease arguments that have been divisive and not constructive towards a better future, Pahlavi said. He added that mechanisms should be built to provide the nation with yet another layer of protection to make sure that no one deviates from the law, that no one is above the law. AFP and Petr Svab contributed to this report. Britain will rejoin the EU because the younger generation will realise the country has made a mistake, senior MEP Guy Verhofstadt claimed today. The European Parliament's Brexit coordinator said the only question was how long it would take for the UK to align with the bloc again. The comments - just a fortnight before Britain is due to leave and despite an election landslide for Boris Johnson - came as the two sides drew battle lines over citizen's rights and future trade. Mr Verhofstadt had a bruising meeting with Steve Barclay in Westminster last night, with the Brexit Secretary accusing him of 'scaremongering' over the protections for EU citizens staying in the UK after January 31. Senior MEP Guy Verhofstadt had a bruising meeting with Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay in Westminster last night (pictured) A spokesman for Mr Barclay said: 'He reminded Mr Verhofstadt of the impact of scaremongering which feeds the anxiety of EU citizens we are seeking to reassure.' 'It's obvious that we need a close relationship. The distance between the continent on the one hand and Britain on the other hand will not increase. In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Mr Verhofstadt was asked about remarks by Labour MEP Seb Dance that Britain was only 'taking a sabbatical' from the EU and would rejoin. Mr Verhofstadt said: 'I think that will happen. It is difficult to say when. 'But there will be a generation, a young generation in the coming decades who will say ''what have we done? We want to go back.'' 'It will happen. Maybe I will not see it in my life any more, but it will happen.' Mr Verhofstadt said there had to be a close relationship between the UK and EU as the physical distance between them was not increasing. He also insisted he had extracted a concession from Mr Barclay over allowing EU citizens to have a hard copy of their settled status confirmation. Those who have been successful in claiming settled status were previously told to use a screenshot of their confirmation on their mobile phone as proof. Mr Verhofstadt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'They said we are going to look at it so people can print it so they have a physical document. 'People will have the opportunity to have a printout, probably a PDF document. 'That was the conclusion of our conversation.' Centuries from Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope helped England to reach a commanding position on day two of the third Test against South Africa. England declared their innings after smashing 499 for the loss of nine wickets. Resuming the day two from 224/4, Stokes and Pope provided England with a solid start. The duo stitched a 203 run stand and smashed 120 and 135 runs respectively. Dane Paterson dismissed Stokes in the 124th over to provide a much-needed breakthrough. Pope continued his splendid batting display and helped England put on a massive 499 in the first innings. In response, South Africa ended the day at 60/2 before rain played a spoilsport. Proteas openers Dean Elgar and Pieter Malan put up 50 runs for the first wicket, but Malan's stint at the crease was cut short by Dom Bess in the 12th over. Anrich Nortje and Elgar are unbeaten on zero and 32 runs respectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Casper police have arrested a Natrona County School District employee on suspicion of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, the police department announced Thursday. The employee, whom the department did not identify by name, was arrested Thursday. The announcement does not specify the nature of the allegations, except to state that the agency is recommending he be charged with an aggravated felony sex crime against a child. The employee is an adult man, according to the statement. We believe the suspects crimes may be connected to the functions of his employment with the Natrona County School District, the police department wrote in its announcement. It did not state what the nature of that connection was or the location of the crimes. The district has put in place safeguards to preclude the suspect from having further access to students, the announcement states. Police say they are working closely with the school district on the investigation, which remains open. When asked on Thursday afternoon if the suspect was a teacher, a police spokeswoman declined to release any details not already included in the written statement. After being questioned on social media as to why the department did not identify the school or other location where the suspect worked, police put out an additional statement Thursday evening. In it, the department acknowledged the frustration in the community, but said it was prohibited by state law from releasing information that would make the suspects identity apparent. Rebekah Ladd, the police spokeswoman who released the statements, said by text message shortly after that the agency believed releasing the name of the school where the person worked would identify him. She did not respond to a follow-up question asking whether the suspect worked in an elementary, middle or high school. The district released its own statement late Thursday afternoon. In it, the district said it would continue to work with Casper police. The Natrona County School District is committed to providing safe and healthy learning environments for students, staff and school visitors, the district wrote. We are incredibly appreciative of the superior policing services and commitment to the safety of our community as provided by the Casper Police Department. In response to multiple messages seeking more information on the arrest, district spokeswoman Tanya Southerland wrote in an email that this is an open and ongoing investigation, the information provided by NCSD is the information we have lawfully available to release. We will share more information, together with the Casper Police Department, as available to be released. She reiterated that the district had instituted safeguards to ensure the individual does not have access to students. Its unclear what safeguards shes referring to. Southerland did not respond to a follow-up email seeking additional information. Other district officials did not return messages seeking comment Thursday. Dana Howie, the boards vice-chair, told the Star-Tribune on Thursday afternoon that she knew nothing about the arrest, beyond media reports and Southerlands brief statement. She said she was angry about the arrest. Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen said by phone on Thursday afternoon that he had not yet reviewed a police charging affidavit and would not be able to comment on the case in a way that could identify the people involved. He said he does expect his office to charge the man Friday afternoon in Natrona County Circuit Court. Police are asking anyone with information on the arrest to contact investigators at 307-235-8472. Star-Tribune staff writer Seth Klamann contributed to this report. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 10 Angry 22 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Hoa Bien Vietnamese Restaurant | Photo: Molly M./Yelp Ready to celebrate Lunar New Year? On January 25, families around the world take part in the celebrations for Tet, the first day of the Lunar New Year and spring for Vietnamese families. To kick off the celebration, families gather at home or at a favorite restaurant on New Years Day for a reunion meal, featuring specialities that include dua hanh (pickled spring onions), banh chung (sticky rice with meat or beans wrapped in leaves) and boiled whole chicken. If youre looking for a feast to celebrate the Year of the Rat with friends and family, Hoodline has crunched the numbers to find the top Vietnamese restaurants in Saint Paul, based on Yelp ratings and our own methodology. Happy Lunar New Year! 1. Hoa Bien Vietnamese Restaurant Photo: Hoa N./Yelp Topping the list is Hoa Bien Vietnamese Restaurant. Located at 1105 University Ave. West in Midway, the Vietnamese spot is the highest rated Vietnamese restaurant in Saint Paul, boasting four stars out of 102 reviews on Yelp. 2. Pho Ca Dao Photo: Ivy C./Yelp Next up is Thomas Dale's Pho Ca Dao, situated at 439 University Ave. West. With four stars out of 134 reviews on Yelp, the Vietnamese spot has proven to be a local favorite. 3. iPho by Saigon Photo: Kat B./Yelp Summit-University's iPho by Saigon, located at 704 University Ave. West, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the Vietnamese spot four stars out of 385 reviews. 4. Tay Ho Photo: Tenzin C./Yelp Tay Ho, a Vietnamese spot in Summit-University, is another go-to, with four stars out of 100 Yelp reviews. Head over to 302 University Ave. West to see for yourself. 5. I Heart Pho Photo: Mindy B./Yelp Over in Payne Phalen, check out I Heart Pho, which has earned four stars out of 75 reviews on Yelp. You can find the Vietnamese spot at 850 Maryland Ave. East This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Tourism has become a trend for Chinese during the Spring Festival holiday. With the 7-day holiday approaching, the tourism industry is seeing a peak of orders for tourism products. Aerial photo taken on Jan. 7, 2020 shows a night view of the 21st Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) According to Lvmama, a Chinese business-to-consumer based e-tourism website, travel fever is expected to go up from Jan. 18, five days before the Spring Festival, and reach a peak between Jan. 24, Chinese New Year's Eve, and Jan. 26, the second day of the Chinese New Year. In addition, due to the rise in flight ticket prices and hotels during the holiday, tourism products are also raising their general prices. Prices for most products are expected to rise by over half, and some may even double. Experts noted that during this Spring Festival travel rush, nearly 40 percent of the passengers will not spend the Lunar New Year in their hometowns. Ten percent of them will celebrate the new year overseas, while nearly 30 percent will choose domestic tours. Ctrip, an online Chinese tour service provider, estimated that around 450 million Chinese will travel during the 7-day Spring Festival holiday this year if there are no extreme weather conditions. Prices are no longer an issue for Chinese tourists, as they are now focusing more on the quality and experience of their trips, said Mafengwo, a major rival of Ctrip. Forty-five percent of tourists said they place more attention to food during their trips, while 30 percent value the comfort of hotels and transportation. According to a big data report on tourism consumption habits jointly released by the China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, the northeastern Chinese cities of Harbin, Hailin and Changchun remained the top three destinations for winter tourism. Other sources also indicated the popularity of these places - one travel agency said the number of people planning to visit Changbaishan, Jilin and Zhangjiakou accounts for over half of the total visitors during the Spring Festival holiday. In addition, many tourists are choosing to go south to avoid the bitter cold in their hometowns. Sanya, Kunming and Dali are all hot destinations. With overseas destinations such as Japan, Sri Lanka and Thailand relaxing their visa policies for Chinese tourists, many Chinese visitors are planning to spend their holiday overseas. Some short-distance destinations that have implemented visa-free or visa-on-arrival policies for Chinese nationals are expected to see a further rise in visits by Chinese during the Spring Festival holiday, said Chinese online travel agency Tuniu.com. Russia on Friday said it has conveyed to India on multiple occasions its concerns over the US-backed Quadrilateral coalition for the Indo-Pacific and held that introduction of competitive structures will create friction among the countries of the region. Russian Ambassador Nikolai Kudashev said Moscow was "concerned and apprehensive" over the Indo-Pacific strategy of the US as it has completely ignored existence of Russia and China while pushing forward its agenda for the strategically key region. Kudashev's comments at a press conference came two days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov strongly criticised the US-led Indo-Pacific initiative, calling it a "divisive approach" to disrupt existing regional structures and contain China. "I would say quite frankly that we expressed to India time and again our concerns about the American strategy, our concerns about the Quad. As far as I understand, our concerns were taken into consideration and our dialogue on these issues (with India) is continuing," said the Russian Ambassador. In November 2017, India, the US, Australia and Japan gave shape to the long-pending "Quad" coalition to work closely in the Indo-Pacific region. The move was seen as an attempt to contain China's growing influence in the region. "We need to deepen our mutual understanding of the events evolving in the Pacific ocean and Indian Ocean... Why should we introduce some competitive structure to divide the countries of the region rather than bringing them together," the Russian envoy said. Last September, the four countries held talks at the foreign ministerial level, signalling "significant elevation" of the cooperation. The US, Japan and Australia have also been pressing for a greater role by India in the Indo-Pacific region. In an address at the Raisina Dialogue on Wednesday, Lavrov called the Indo-Pacific strategy of the US as "divisive". "We are concerned and apprehensive. We are not in favour of the western design and western concept of Indo-Pacific strategy. They want to negate the dialogue culture in the region. They ignored the existence of Russia and China though Russia has one of longest shores facing the Pacific," said Kudashev. He said India's strategy is not to contain anybody and to deny anybody opportunity in the Pacific Ocean. Asked about India being part of the US-backed 'Quad', Kudashev said: "I cannot speak for India... I am not in a position to interfere in India's foreign policy. We never mix India and the US. India is our special privileged strategic partner. This is the difference." The Indo-Pacific has been a major focus area of India's foreign policy in the last few years and its strategy is pushing based on bringing peace and stability of the region. Last month, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh said the Quad does not have a military role at the moment. There has been concern in India over China's fast expanding military and economic clout in the Indo-Pacific. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty In an interview with The Daily Beast, Lev Parnasan ex-associate of Rudy Giulianis whos at the heart of the impeachment scandalsaid hes determined to keep speaking out about his work in Trumpworld on Ukraine despite the backlash. Parnas sat with Rachel Maddow for an MSNBC interview that aired Wednesday, and then with CNNs Anderson Cooper for one early Thursday. In his conversation with Maddow, he said President Donald Trump knew all about his efforts to pressure Kyiv to give him political favors. And he said Giuliani told Ukrainian leaders that Parnas specifically spoke on the presidents behalf. The comments drew attention from Capitol Hill, and Democratic congressional investigators have pointed to them as good reason for the Senate to call witnesses in its impeachment trial of Trump. In another portion of the interview with Maddow that aired late Thursday, Parnas likened Trump to a cult leader and said he was more scared of our own Justice Department than criminals. He went on to claim that hed fired lawyers connected to Trump after getting the feeling that they tried to keep me quiet. Parnas told The Daily Beast that his former friends reaction to his arrest has strengthened his resolve to speak out. Parnas said that after he and his associate Igor Fruman were arrested at Dulles Airport on Oct. 9 and charged with campaign-finance violations, he was disappointed with Giulianis silence. He said Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensinga Trump-friendly husband-and-wife legal team with deep and longstanding ties in Washingtons conservative legal worldalso kept mum about their relationship with him. That silence, he said, left him feeling betrayed. I felt like my family left me, he said. He noted that the trio rarely shy away from defending controversial clients and allies on TV. But in his case, Parnas said, they were silent. Knowing everything about me, knowing that this was probably a hit job, they all just clammed up, he said. Story continues He noted that the president also disavowed knowing him, despite pictures of them together at multiple events. And he said hed hoped to cooperate with congressional investigators as soon as they asked for his help. Toensing, diGenova, and Giuliani did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump said on Thursday afternoon that he does not know Parnas and does not know what hes about. Earlier this week, Giulianiwho was shown to be in close contact with Parnas in text messages released by House Democrats this weekdismissed Parnas as a proven liar, claiming his decision to provide documents to congressional Democrats was a bid for attention. While Parnas has provided a trove of documents detailing his and Giulianis dealings with Ukrainian officials, he also has come under scrutiny for a past that is checkered with legal and financial troubles. The White House pointed to that past on Thursday to dismiss Parnas credibility. This is a man who owns a company called Fraud Inc., so I think thats something that people should be thinking about, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told Fox News. In addition to charges of violating campaign-finance laws, Parnas has repeatedly been hit with lawsuits accusing him of failing to pay rent or live up to his end of various business deals. As recently as 2016, he was ordered by a federal judge to pay more than $500,000 to a family trust after he borrowed money for a movie that never ended up being made. It is not clear if Giuliani was aware of Parnas past business troubles when he teamed up with him to seek kompromat on Joe Biden in Ukraine, but Giuliani himself did consulting work for Parnas Fraud Guarantee firm in 2018. Justin Baragona contributed reporting 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 44-year-old man who was charged with assaulting a 63-year-old woman with a suitcase has appeared in court. Michael Lee stood in a quilted jacket at Manhattan Criminal Court two weeks after Esther Guzman was left with a swollen face and bruised eyes in a vicious attack. Lee, from Hell's Kitchen, has been charged with assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon. In surveillance video from the scene near 10th Avenue and 51st Street, the suspect was seen is about to cross paths with the woman when he lunged forward and punched her. Michael Lee stood in a quilted jacket at Manhattan Criminal Court (pictured) two weeks after Esther Guzman was left with a swollen face and bruised eyes in a vicious attack Esther Guzman, 63, was assaulted in New York with a suitcase containing a speaker January 1 The local business owner, who has lived in the Hell's Kitchen area for more than 50 years, was left with a swollen face and bruises Guzman said the stranger began yelling insults before delivering blows and throwing her to the ground in the Hell's Kitchen neighorhood at 12.01am on January 1. The clip shared by police shows the man swing a rolling suitcase containing a speaker at the victim. 'He was cursing, he was fighting with someone on the corner,' Guzman told ABC 7. 'He took the boom box that he had, and hit it.' He continued to strike the woman while she was on the ground, as she held on to a small rolling luggage item of her own. The suspect then nonchalantly walked away but cameras captured the suspect's image. 'I was bleeding, I don't know what to do - good thing I didn't lose my conscience. I was scared he was going to come back,' she added. Then the swelling set in. 'My eyes went 'boom',' Guzman told NBC 4. 'I got a big bump here on my eyes, but the time I know I was bleeding, I came home, left my luggage and I took a cab to the emergency room.' Michael Lee, 44, was arrested Wednesday night on charges of assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon, after a two-week hunt In a surveillance video the man swings luggage at the victim and punches her several times Guzman returned to the scene of the crime to obtain video from the incident. He is seen walking away after the assault Local business owner Guzman returned to the scene of the crime herself to obtain video from the incident in a desperate bid to make sure her attacker was removed from the streets. She said she was afraid to leave her home of more than 50 years. Crimestoppers also asked the public for help detaining the man. Meanwhile a local store owner said Lee had visited since the assault and is a regular customer at his business, where Guzman also shops. 'I had an encounter with him, along where he lives and I told him to never come back here anymore,' Mohammed Altareb said. 'He's come by several times and we called the police but they never arrived on time.' According to reports, Lee is known for blasting music around the Midtown Manhattan area. He was arrested in the vicinity at 7.50pm on Wednesday on charges of assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon. Lee was released from custody. Electors, once appointed, are free to vote as they choose, Judge Carolyn B. McHugh wrote for the majority of a divided three-judge panel. While the Constitution grants the states plenary power to appoint their electors, it does not provide the states the power to interfere once voting begins, to remove an elector, to direct the other electors to disregard the removed electors vote or to appoint a new elector to cast a replacement vote. In a petition seeking Supreme Court review in the case, Colorado Department of State v. Baca, No. 19-518, lawyers for Colorado wrote that states may require electors to vote consistent with the states popular vote. The appeals courts decision, the petition said, threatens to undermine the democratic principles underpinning over two centuries of electing United States presidents. The framers of the Constitution seemed to contemplate that electors would use independent judgment, the Supreme Court has said. Doubtless it was supposed that the electors would exercise a reasonable independence and fair judgment in the selection of the chief executive, Chief Justice Melville Fuller wrote in an 1892 Supreme Court decision. Over time, he added, the original expectation may be said to have been frustrated. Alexander Hamilton described the original expectation in the Federalist Papers. Men chosen by the people for the special purpose of selecting the president, he wrote, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations. Judge McHugh of the 10th Circuit said the text of the Constitution also supports elector independence. The words of the relevant provisions, including elector, vote and ballot, she wrote, have a common theme: They all imply the right to make a choice or voice an individual opinion. On election night in 2016, the electoral vote was expected to be 306 for Donald J. Trump and 232 for Mrs. Clinton. In the end, though, it was 304 to 227. Seven electors succeeded in voting for other candidates. A fourth Democratic elector in Washington State voted for Faith Spotted Eagle, a Native American tribal leader and prominent opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline, and a Democratic elector in Hawaii voted for Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Republican electors in Texas voted for Mr. Kasich and Ron Paul, a former representative of Texas. Table Talk Pies, an iconic 95-year-old Worcester business, has announced that it will move its Kelley Square bakery to an underdeveloped plot of land, building a brand new, state-of-the-art bakery in the citys Main South neighborhood. Table Talk is partnering with Chacharone Properties to build the new 120,000-plus square foot bakery to produce dessert pies within the former Crompton & Knowles Complex, the company wrote in a news release Thursday. The news comes one year before the Worcester Red Sox plan to begin playing at Polar Park, a new stadium in the Canal District directly abutting the Table Talk factory. Accompanied with the Polar Park project is the complete redesign of Kelley Square, which Table Talk trucks traverse every day. Worcester has been an important part of Table Talks success over the years, said Harry Kokkinis, the president of Table Talk Pies. We are very excited to find a location, with the help of Chacharone Properties and the City of Worcester, where we can build a facility that supports our desire to maintain and grow our presence in Worcester. Leasing the building from Chacharone Properties, the plan is to streamline production and replace the Kelley Square operations, according to the news release. The new facility will include food-grade production space, warehouse and office space. Table Talk will continue to bake pies in Kelley Square during construction of the new building. When the new bakery is fully functional, the company will phase down production and then consider its options for the future development of the property, Table Talk said. Table Talk said it hopes to have the project complete and ready to begin operations in June next year. There are no plans to move the companys retail store, The Pie Store, from its current location at 153 Green St., the company said. Massachusetts land records indicate Southgate Street Realty LLC purchased land on Tainter, Gardner and Hollis streets from Ralph M. Dworman for $850,000 in September. Southgate Street Realty LLC is managed by Meletios Chacharone. The new bakery will require about $10 million of private investment by Chacharone Properties and $12 million in equipment and building improvements by Table Talk, according to the news release. The company intends to seek support from the city in the form of tax incentives. In recent years, Table Talk and Chacharone Properties opened a new Table Talk facility the South Worcester Industrial Park, adding life to the area with the 25 Southgate St. bakery and Armory Street Cold Storage facility. Chacharone Properties is excited to once again team up with Table Talk Pies, said James Chacharone, the founder and principal of Chacharone Properties. Working with the City, we were able to assemble this 8 +/- acre site and we look forward to developing this facility for Table Talk Pies, which will continue to improve the South Worcester and Main South communities. Table Talk says it plans to employ 180 full-time operation staff at the new location, including 130 current full-time production staff that will be relocated from the Kelley Square bakery. The additional 50 full-time positions will be added over three years, the company said. More than 60% of Table Talks employees live in Worcester, according to the news release, many in Main South. My father and his partnertwo Greek immigrantsmoved to Worcester and started Table Talk here because it was a city where they could build a life for their families and a business, said Mary T. Cocaine, the Table Talk Pies majority shareholder. I am proud that over 95 years later, Worcester is still a city that the company calls home and the Table Talk family can continue to grow. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday demanded that the Maharashtra government revoke Mumbai University's action against actor and dramatics teacher Yogesh Soman over his criticism of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Such action was not expected against a person who praised Vinayak Damodar Savarkar when 'the chief minister himself believes in Savarkar's idology', he said. Soman, who is the director of the university's Academy of Theatre Arts, was sent on compulsory leave after he criticised Rahul Gandhi in a video post. Soman slammed Gandhi over the latter's remark at a rally in Delhi that his name was Rahul Gandhi and "not Rahul Savarkar" so he would not apologise over his "Rape in India" comment. In a letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Fadnavis said it was unfortunate that Soman was punished for praising Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the Hindutva ideologue and freedom fighter. "I urge you to intervene and withdraw the action against Yogesh Soman," the former chief minister who is now Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly said. "The action raises a question whether one should praise iconic figures such as Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi and Veer Savarkar," he said. "Soman spoke highly of Savarkar and NSUI (student wing of the Congress) protested against that. To enable the students to withdraw their protest, the university sent Soman on compulsory leave. The action saddened nationalists," Fadnavis said. "When the state is being ruled by a chief minister who believes in Savarkar's ideology, such punishment is not expected. The punishment should be revoked without falling prey to any political pressure," the BJP leader said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The 17-year-old facing five felonies in connection with a 2018 shooting incident in Mandan was found not guilty Friday of four of the five charges against him. A Morton County jury deliberated for one hour before finding Dequan Smith not guilty of attempted murder, reckless endangerment and two counts of aggravated assault. The jury of five men and seven women convicted him of selling an imitation controlled substance. The verdict came after 2 -day trial. Assistant Morton County States Attorney Gabrielle Goter said she was disappointed but despite the verdict still believes in the case and the work done by law enforcement. We did everything we could, Goter said. Sometimes thats just the way it rolls. Smith and defense attorney Justin Balzer declined comment after the verdict. A Mandan woman was injured on Dec. 30, 2018, when shots were fired into the van she was driving. The woman and her sister confronted Smith a week after a drug deal that went bad. Police say Smith on Dec. 23 took $650 from the wounded womans sister, who expected he would deliver a half-pound of marijuana in exchange for the money, a transaction arranged through a third party. He instead threw her a bag of corn flakes wrapped in multiple layers of plastic and ran away. The two women and their mother, who was in the van on the night of the shooting, identified Smith as the shooter even though they didnt know him personally, Goter said. They said this is the guy, Goter said. They had no reason to remember him but for these incidents. Investigators found five ammo casings -- all fired from the same gun -- at the scene. The shots that struck the van came from the west, where the women testified Smith was, Goter said. Balzer didnt dispute Smiths location, but pointed to testimony from neighbors and the women in the van that there was another man on the east side of the street. Whats in dispute is who fired the shots, Balzer said. The neighbors testified they were certain the shots were fired by a man who was on the east side of the street and stepped into the middle of the street, where the casings were found, Balzer said. There is reasonable doubt, and when there is reasonable doubt you must find the defendant not guilty, Balzer said. South Central District Judge Pamela Nesvig sentenced Smith to three years in prison and suspended all except the time hes served since December 2018. She placed Smith on probation for two years. Smith told Nesvig he plans to go to Minnesota and live with the aunt who adopted him. Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com Love 4 Funny 8 Wow 1 Sad 3 Angry 11 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Foodies gathered at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott and Convention Center Thursday night and indulged in the delicious gourmet treats from Montgomery Countys finest eateries at The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerces 34th annual Taste of the Town. More than 2,000 attendees tried food from over 30 different restaurants, bakeries and breweries in the area for the price of admittance. Signature dishes were presented for everyone to taste for themselves, and guests certainly obliged. The eateries displayed their most signature dishes and as guests enjoyed a bite of deliciousness, they were able to vote for which one they liked best. Woodlands residents Dawn Gill and her friend Jennifer Wadden, first timers at Taste of the Town, said that their favorite booth was the Broken Barrel, where chef Hilda Ysusi, the owner, was serving their food. They said they were gifted tickets for the event from someone and were able to lineup a babysitter in time, and were joyously trying the tasty bites offered. It has surpassed my expectations, Gill said. The quality of food that they provide is just amazing and I expected just a nice, fun and fulfilling event. Its far more than I expected. Wadden and Gill said that not only are they trying all the great food but they are also trying foods from places that theyve seen but havent been to. The quality of the food is fantastic theres a ton of variety and the opportunity to taste some and experience some of the restaurants that maybe I knew about but hadnt actually visited before, Wadden said. Speaking of first timers, Shenandoahs Convention and Visitors Bureau Director John Mayner said that he thought it was a well attended and a very nice event. Two Shenandoah-based restaurants won awards last night. Johnnys Italian Steakhouse won Best Appetizer and Killens Steakhouse won Peoples Choice. I think that speaks well of our citys dining scene, and with nearly 40 participating restaurants, it was an event that showcased the breadth of great dining options that the area has to offer both residents and visitors, Mayner said. Among the attendees that were not first timers are Shannon Overby, director of Conroes convention and visitor bureau and Conroe visitors marketing manager Jodi Willard. For three years both Overby and Willard have been attending and will be in the future as well. I always like to see a new restaurant that I havent tried before to be able to plan a trip and maybe go back, Overby said. My favorite was definitely the shrimp and grits. Willard expected the exciting environment, fun-loving people and the good food. And just like each years shes attended, shes back for more. I think Ive seen more restaurants, more people and more venues come in. I do enjoy it, this is a fun one, Willard said. laraib.hashmi@chron.com Russias Human Rights Commissioner asks Greek Ombudsman to intervene in Vinnik case RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 13:42 17/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 17 (RAPSI) Russias Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova has asked the Ombudsman of Greece to urgently provide assistance in protecting the rights of Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik jailed in Greece, in view of his critical condition. According to Moskalkova, by now Vinnik has been in custody in Greece for over 13 months, what, she believes, calls into question if the Greek authorities comply with provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights guaranteeing a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time. As Russias Ombudsman knows, at this moment Vinnik has been on hunger strike for 28 days, whereas his right to daily visit exercise yard of the penitentiary establishment he is confined in is being violated. Moreover, there is information that the jail authorities infringe upon Vinniks rights for legal assistance because of the isolation he is held in, while his wife is seriously ill, the statement of Moskalkova reads. All these circumstances make Vinniks condition critical, therefore an intervention on the part of the Greek Ombudsman as to supervision of protection of Russian citizens rights is required, Moskalkova writes. Louis Riel was a religious and political visionary leader who led two rebellions against Canada primarily to secure land and political recognition for the Metis, the predominantly French-speaking progeny of voyageurs and Indians whose fur trading exploits led to wilderness marriages and constituted, by the 1840s, the largest cohesive ethnic group west of the Mississippi. Louis Riel is perhaps the most famousand infamouscharacter in Western Canadian history. In Montana, where he spent five seminal years in exile, Riel is barely known. Louis entered Montana Territory in 1879, well past the midway point in a strange career that included spirited advocacy for the Metis, the establishment of Manitoba as a province (rebellion #1), a stillborn term of office in the Canadian Parliament, exile in the Northeast United States, incarceration in asylums, and failed attempts to convince President Grant that a grand coalition of Indian Tribes and Metis in the West could usher in a great northwest Catholic nation more friendly to the U.S. than the British Empire. The recently deceased scholar Nicholas Vrooman had a voracious appetite for cultural history and is a hugely respected authority on the Metis people. Nicholas contributed mightily to the crafting of a short documentary we produced in 2007 entitled A Prophet in Exile: Louis Riels Sojourn in Montana. See www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcTQhTBw7nQ&feature=youtu.be Our shared purpose was to highlight Riels experiences in this Montana. After settling down to teach school at Saint Peters Mission near Cascade, Riel became a strong advocate for a Metis Reservation in the southeast part of the state. He also engaged in local politics, joining the Republican Party (then the party of Lincoln) and proudly became a U.S. citizen in 1883. In 1885, Louis was summoned by a quartet of Metis horsemen to return to the Canadian Northwest to lead a second rebellion. That brief struggle ended at a fateful battle at Batoche, Saskatchewan, where lightly armed Metis irregulars confronted a large contingent of British Canadian forces equipped with cannon and a Gatling gun on loan from the U.S. For his alleged treason against the Crown, Riel was hanged on a scaffold in Regina. Prominent French Canadians in the U.S. urged the federal government to intervene on Louis behalf. Afterall, he was an American citizen! No dice. The execution of Louis Riel remains a contentious matter in Canadian jurisprudence. The late Harriet Meloy, whose occasional writings graced the pages of the Independent Record in the 1980s, was one of few local residents who grasped the significance of Riels activities in our midst. She found some poems hed written in Helena, one of which included these lines: Nice capital of Montana Listen, if you please, to my voice Homes, Hotels, Stores of Helena Hear, if you please, my hints of choice. The Iowa House, Rodney Street Is whither I land, welcome guest; to sit cheerful on a good seat, to enjoy meals when I eat and a good sleeping room to rest. Riels story is complicated, and controversial. The best accounting of this extraordinary saga is a book by Joseph Kinsey Howard called Strange Empire. If you read this historical narrative about Riel, watch our short video tribute, and delve into Nicholas Vroomans two thick, richly illustrated volumes on the Metis, I believe you will come to appreciate Riels legacy and his monumental importance to the Metis people. Helena can capitalize on all this by erecting a plaque or monument downtown. This form of material recognition would be long overdue, but still well-timed, in light of the U.S. Congress formal recognition of the Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians as an indigenous tribe. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a recognition bill this year, just days after Vroomans passing. The Senate amended the Little Shells recognition into the Defense Authorization Bill and President Trump signed it into law this past December. The braided interconnections between the Metis and the Little Shell are complex, but there is no denying Riels prominent role in their shared histories. Consider this: Scads of Canadians from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and more populous provinces further east whiz by the capital city every day, en route to Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. They dont stop in Helena. Why bother? Most gas up in Great Falls and dont need to do it again until they hit Butte. If there were a sign on I-15 alerting our northern neighbors to the presence of a Louis Riel Memorial in downtown Helena, they would be compelled to check it out. These visitors would bring an appetite for food and drink as well as a cultural connection. They couldnt stand not to visit the new Montana Heritage Center and the Capitol; and some might wander down to Rodney Street to see where Riel had a room and wrote poetry. The capital city has lots to offer out-of-state and out-of-county visitors. A material investment in Riels local legacy could contribute quite substantially to Helenas cultural tourism potential. I think this is worthy of an ongoing community conversation, leading to a funded public art project. Helena Civic Television can provide a platform for historians, local government officials, teachers, artists, and others toward this end. Stephen Maly manages special projects for HCTV and continues to advocate for global civics education. Love 1 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 DUBLIN, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Enterprise Tech Ecosystem Series: Alphabet Inc." report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Alphabet Inc. (Alphabet) is a multinational technology conglomerate. Google is its largest business, providing Internet-related products and services such as online advertising, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. The report provides information and insights, including: Insights of its digital transformation strategies Details of various partnerships and acquisition network map, ventures, in-house launches, and other industry innovation programs Detailed overview of Alphabet Inc.'s technology centers and innovation programs and financial highlights Reasons to Buy Gain insights into Alphabet Inc.'s technology innovations. Gain insights into its Digital Transformation Strategy. Gain insights into various product launches, partnership strategies of Alphabet Inc. Gain insights into various disruptive technologies and tech initiatives of the Company. Key Topics Covered Overview Digital Transformation Strategy Accelerator Programs and Innovation Centers Technology Focus Technology Initiatives GV, CapitalG, Gradient Ventures Investments Acquisitions Partner, Investor, and Acquisition Network Map ICT Budget & Contracts Key Executives Companies Mentioned Google Mayo Clinic Telkom Kenya SambaNova Collibra UiPath Botkeeper For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/w3t6te Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Facebook has blocked an Israeli start-up called The Spinner from its platform amid concerns over the company's attempts to 'brainwash' users with misleading adverts. The Spinner claims to be able to 'subconsciously influence' a person's thinking by bombarding them with misleading posts disguised as unbiased editorial content. The social media giant objected to the firm using Facebook and Instagram and has banned the company and its boss from the sites for any purpose. Scroll down for video Spinner (pictured) claims to be able to 'subconsciously influence' a person's thinking by bombarding them with misleading posts disguised as unbiased editorial content Courses from Spinner include encouraging a boyfriend to propose, nudging parents to purchase a dog and quit smoking/drinking The Spinner's co-founder and chief operating officer Elliot Shefler revealed to the BBC this will not stop the company from its mission. He also refused to rule out using Facebook in the future. The Spinner is a site which offers customers the chance to buy a bunch of articles with he hope of brainwashing another person. For example, a set of ten articles can be purchased for $79 and targeted at a person's wife to persuade her to 'initiate sex', according to the Spinner's website. Other campaigns include a set of articles designed to encourage a boyfriend to propose, nudge parents to purchase a dog, and persuade someone to quit smoking or drinking. Some of the campaigns on offer from The Spinner are more morally abhorrent, including targeting your own partner to persuade them to engage in a polyamorous relationship, with articles such as 'How Polyamory Saved My Marriage'. Some of the courses on offer from the Spinner are more morally abhorrent, including targeting your own partner to engage in a polyamorous relationship, with articles such as 'How Polyamory Saved My Marriage'. An article titled 'Four Tips to Help You Settle Your Divorce Out of Court' is listed as one example from the campaign designed to tempt your disgruntled spouse into not going through with the divorce. Facebook's law firm Perkins Coie sent a letter to Mr Shefler to complain about its practices, the BBC reports. 'It appears that The Spinner uses fake accounts and fake Facebook Pages to 'strategically bombard' Facebook users with advertisements,' it reads. 'These activities violate Facebook's terms and advertising policies. Facebook demands that you stop this activity immediately.' Facebook says the ads have now been removed, but Spinner claims it was posting on Facebook for more than a year. Elliot Shefler, The Spinner's COO told MailOnline: 'The Spinner never promised the content would appear specifically on Facebook or any other ad network. 'Messages may be exposed on major social networks, thousands of news sites, mail apps, games, anywhere you see ads. 'Most of the time the target is exposed to the chosen message on news websites. See screenshots. 'Posts are not fake. We only promote articles published by reliable news platforms. 'The Spinner's ability to deliver content to targeted users is not dependent on any specific social account or page. It's a concept. 'Continuous exposure to repetitive headlines and images delivering the campaign messages has been shown to be highly effective. ' WHAT IS THE SPINNER? The Spinner is a company that offers various courses designed to influence certain people into specific decisions or behaviours. A fee ranging from $49 - $79 ensures ten articles will be sen to a person. Some of the courses on offer from the Spinner are more morally abhorrent, including targeting your own partner to engage in a polyamorous relationship, with articles such as 'How Polyamory Saved My Marriage'. The article titled 'Four Tips to Help You Settle Your Divorce Out of Court' is listed as one example of the course designed to tempt your disgruntled spouse into not going through with the divorce. Range of things Spinner claims it can brainwash a person into include: Get back with your ex Propose marriage Initiate sex Get your kid a dog Move to the city Move to the countryside Settle your divorce out of court Accept a person's sexual orientation Quit smoking Become polyamorous Get a boob job Stop riding motorcycles Don't do drugs Stop drinking alcohol Become vegetarian Quit your job Don't divorce Drive carefully Lose weight Stay in school Accept a gaming obsession Accept cannabis addiction Prevent phishing Advertisement A woman in China has been accused of trying to abduct a young boy from a tuition centre by posing as his mother. Surveillance footage shows the woman walking up to the child, ordering him 'come home, quick' before dragging him by the hand. Her suspicious behaviour was stopped by the centre's receptionist, who decided to intervene after seeing the boy deliberately avoiding the woman. A woman, in white T-shirt, tries to drag a boy away from a tuition centre when a quick-thinking receptionist intervenes in Liuzhou, southern China's Guangxi Province, on January 8 The woman leaves the tuition centre in the Wanda Shopping Plaza after failing to take the boy The incident took place on January 8 in the city of Liuzhou in southern China's Guangxi Province. The woman's attempt was captured by a security camera at the Longmen National Studies Academy situated in the Wanda Shopping Plaza, according to reports. In the footage, the suspect who was wearing a white T-shirt and black trousers entered the business and immediately asked a boy: 'What are you doing here? Why are you not going home?' The boy who appeared to be waiting for his mother answered: 'You are not my mother.' Undeterred, the woman carried on to urge the child: 'Come home, quick!' When the boy stood up to avoid the woman, she grabbed him by his arm in an apparent bid to drag him away. The incident took place on January 8 in Liuzhou (pictured), a city with four million people The centre's receptionist, who was sitting across a desk from the boy, sensed that something was wrong. The worker reached out to the boy and queried him: 'Is she your mother?' After the boy answered no, the member of staff told him to stay away from the woman. The suspect then left. Management of the tuition centre immediately alerted their students's parents of the appearance of a suspected human trafficker, and urged them to take extra caution, according to Jiangsu TV which reported on the news last Saturday. The centre informed the police the next day, the report said. Upon investigation, police said that the 25-year-old suspect, known by her surname Lai, is a local resident. Officers from the Chengnan Bureau of Liuzhou Public Security Bureau said that, according to Ms Lai's family, the suspect had 'behaved abnormally' due to 'emotional problems' and been treated in hospital. The police did not specify what condition the suspect had, but stressing that her behaviour had not led to any children be trafficked. The incident occurred just days before police in Yunnan rescued a two-year-old girl after she had been abducted. In the surveillance footage above, the suspect is seen carrying the child Footage released by police also shows the suspect whisking the girl away with a tuk-tuk According to Chinese news site Caijing, around 200,000 boys and girls are estimated to be missing every year in the country. Among them, only 200, or 0.1 per cent, would be able to find their parents at some point of their lives. The incident in Liuzhou occurred just days before police in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan rescued a two-year-old girl after she had been abducted by a suspected human trafficker on a street. The abducted girl was rescued by police and reunited with her family (pictured) on Wednesday The toddler, known by her surname Xin, was taken by force in the Yongfeng Town of Zhaotong city at around 3pm on January 14. Footage released by police show an adult carrying a girl in her arms before whisking her away with a tuk-tuk. The girl was rescued by police 26 hours later in a nearby village and reunited with her family the same day. Police also released a video showing the child's devastated family members coming to the police station to pick her up Wednesday night. New Delhi, Jan 17 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that people should vote for his party in the February 8 Assembly elections only if they feel they have worked in the last five years, and not otherwise. He said in the 2015 Assembly election, people voted for the Aam Aadmi Party for its honesty, and this time, they will vote for its work. Kejriwal, who is also the AAP National Convener, was speaking while inaugurating a party election office in Shakurbasti assembly constituency. He added that the free welfare schemes will continue if people voted for AAP, "but not if you vote for BJP". "For the first time in the country, people are appreciating and lauding a government after its tenure of five years, instead of criticising it. Wherever we go and ask people whether we have worked for them, they count our efforts in front of us. I credit the development of the state to the people of Delhi." He said despite two political parties in Delhi standing in the previous elections, people voted for a new party, by giving a huge mandate. "I have been repeatedly asked by the media regarding the mandate of seats this time, and I think the people have decided to elect us on all the 70 assembly seats this time." Praising his MLA and Cabinet Minister Satyendra Jain, Kejriwal said Jain is an architect by profession. "The Wazirpur flyover was to be constructed with an estimate of Rs 325 crore, but the aptitude of Jain made it possible to be constructed in Rs 200 crore. The Rani Jhansi flyover which was to be constructed in Rs 400-500 crore by the MCD, took around 15 years to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore." Heshimu Jaramogi, 67, a veteran Philadelphia newsman and multimedia journalist, died Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020. He worked in radio as a producer and host and in recent years published his own newspaper, the Neighborhood Leader. A former president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, he received the group's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Read more Heshimu Jaramogi, 67, a veteran journalist who worked in radio, published the Neighborhood Leader newspaper, and once served as president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, died of cancer Tuesday, Jan. 14, at his home in Philadelphia. Mr. Jaramogi was born in Philadelphia, the first of two children of the late James Henry Wilson Sr. and Rosa Braxton Wilson. He was a graduate of West Catholic High School and earned a bachelors degree in political science from Northeastern Illinois University. During the political activism of the 1970s, Mr. Jaramogi, who was born James Henry Wilson Jr., changed his name to a Swahili one because he no longer wanted the name of enslaved ancestors, said his daughter, Asha Jaramogi. In the early 1980s, he was a radio producer at WHYY and hosted the program Lets Talk About It. In a career that spanned nearly 40 years, he also worked at several other radio stations, including WUSL (Power 99 FM), WDAS-FM (105.3), WCAU-AM (1210), and WRTI-FM (90.1). He later started Jaramogi Communications and published his own newspaper, where he not only wrote stories but took photographs as well. In 2011, the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Michael Days, vice president for diversity and inclusion at The Inquirer, met Mr. Jaramogi years ago when they both worked out of the City Hall pressroom. Heshimu was a remarkable human being, a terrific journalist, and entrepreneur who was multitasking on all kinds of platforms long before most of us had a clue, Days said. And he did not do drive-by conversations. They were usually nuanced and thoughtful and designed to make you think deeply about your own positions, and maybe challenge yourself. Through it all, there would usually be a lot of laughter involved. Hes been my brother for almost 35 years. Its going to take me more than a minute to make peace with his passing. Karen Warrington, a former WDAS radio host and former spokesperson for both former Mayor Wilson Goode and former U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, knew Mr. Jaramogi early in his career. Heshimu was a solid media professional who successfully navigated his way through the rapidly changing media landscape while always serving as an important voice of the African American community. He was a cultural brother whose African-centric point of view informed him as a communicator. Mr. Jaramogi also served for a time as an adjunct professor in journalism at Temple University and worked with Temple professor Linn Washingtons multimedia reporting lab. He was good at both audio and video, Washington said. And he had a sensibility and sensitivity for urban reporting. He was engaging with the students and he made the transition to teaching very quickly. Its often hard for working reporters to translate skills that they know almost automatically and delineate them in a classroom setting. He was able to do that. Asha Jaramogi said her father explained black history and the black experience to her at an early age. While she was still very young, he took her to see the film Amistad, a true story about African captives who overthrew the ship taking them into slavery and tried to steer it back to the African continent. We talked about whether I may have been too young when he started telling me about our history. But he gave me a good foundation of what it is to be black in America. Asha Jaramogi said her father was very spiritual and exposed her to a variety of religious beliefs. He took me to different types of services, Catholic, Baptist, Episcopal, Yoruba, and to Quaker meetings even before he became a Quaker. He had a strong fascination with religion, she said. He never tried to push anything on me, but he wanted me to have a healthy curiosity about religion. Raised in the Catholic Church, Mr. Jaramogi had at one point thought about becoming a Catholic priest, Asha said. He later became a Yoruba priest and also a Quaker. WRTI-FM radio jazz host Bobbi Booker, who also hosts a Sunday morning show called Spirit Soul Music on Ovations, said Mr. Jaramogi was engaged in a number of African religions and sometimes contributed to the program. That spiritual quest may have contributed to how he carried himself, Booker said. He was always upstanding, always a gentleman, and carried himself in a respectful way, Booker said. In addition to his daughter, Mr. Jaramogi is survived by a son, Anwar Malik Neale-Jaramogi; a granddaughter; a sister; his partner, Tremain Smith; and other relatives and friends. A memorial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Arch Street Friends Meeting House, 320 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19106. Burial was private. Lev Parnas, the indicted Rudy Giuliani associate at the center of the Ukraine controversy, has disrupted the days leading up to President Donald Trumps impeachment trial. With a slate of newly released documents from House investigators and round of TV interviews, Parnas and his attorney have offered remarkable if true details about just how far Trump and his allies were willing to go to dig up dirt on the presidents potential 2020 rival, Joe Biden. Text exchanges show potential surveillance of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. Digital chats reveal Ukraines former prosecutor general, Yuriy Lutsenko, dangling dirt on Biden in exchange for Yovanovitchs firing. And Parnas has alleged he was acting at the behest of the president. Each allegation already has the potential to fuel new investigations on Thursday morning alone, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mused about a special prosecutor and the Ukrainian government opened its own probe and change the landscape of Trumps Senate trial. And Parnas might not be done. You understand whats going on, said his attorney, Joseph Bondy, earlier this week. Stay tuned. Heres what the latest revelations mean and what to watch for from Parnas in the coming days. Parnas is likely angling for a lighter punishment Parnas and his attorney are doing what they think will be most beneficial for them, even if they are arguing its also whats best for the country. When Parnas handed his personal documents over to Congress, it was likely an attempt to show federal prosecutors and the judge assigned to his case, U.S. District Court Judge J. Paul Oetken, that Parnas wanted to help investigators however he can. And it may have been a move the legal team adopted after a cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors did not work out. Oetken an appointee of President Barack Obama and known as a light sentencer in the legal world was seen as a fortunate draw for Parnas. The current strategy may be an attempt to appeal to that reputation. Story continues We have decided to speak to the audience that will listen to us, Bondy said. Its in Levs best interest to be as truthful as he can be. Addressing the possibility of a cooperation agreement, Bondy noted, with regard to the Southern District of New York weve achieved many objectives I would have in trying to get a cooperation agreement with the federal government. But, he added, we are also doing whats in the best interest of America. Parnas pleaded not guilty last October to the federal indictment accusing him and Igor Fruman of funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars in foreign money into U.S. elections, including a pro-Trump super PAC. Federal prosecutors told Oetken in December they were considering filing additional charges against the two men, one of several issues that have delayed the judge from setting a trial date in the case. More Trump allies targeted Yovanovitch The documents released this week fill in more blanks about why Yovanovitch was specifically targeted. Previously, sworn testimony from career diplomats and foreign service officers had shown that the Yovanovitch smear campaign was waged by Parnas, Fruman, Giuliani and the former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko. The circle was actually wider than that, though, according to the new Parnas materials. A lawyer with close ties to the White House, Victoria Toensing, was also eager to see Yovanovitch removed. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill on Nov. 15. "Is the Wicket Witch gone?" Toensing wrote on March 23, 2019. Parnas replied with some images and said the [Daily] wire and Breitbart are doing story's, referencing the conservative medias drumbeat of negative coverage about the ambassador. Still, Toensing pressed: "And still no movement?" Toensing and her husband, Joe diGenova, represent Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash, who is fighting extradition to the U.S. and reportedly leveraged his network of sources in Ukraine to help pursue the political probes sought by Giuliani and Trump. Parnas told MSNBC on Wednesday that he tried to get the extradition order quashed in exchange for Firtashs help undermining special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation and digging up dirt on Biden. Harry Sargeant III, an American businessman and influential GOP Trump donor, also appeared invested in Yovanovitchs departure. Shes gone, Parnas texted Sargeant on March 23. AWESOME!!! he replied. Parnas thought he was Trumps direct proxy Parnas documents and interviews have also undermined Trump allies claims that Giuliani and his associates were freelancing with their scheme to oust Yovanovitch and gather dirt on the Bidens. He lied, Parnas told MSNBC on Wednesday when asked about Trumps claims that he didnt know Parnas or his associate, Fruman. "He was aware of all my movements, Parnas said. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president. When meeting with Ukrainian officials, Parnas said, he would call Giuliani and put him on speakerphone in front of the Ukrainains to prove that he was legitimate and acting on behalf of the president and his personal lawyer. The documents also include an email from Trumps other lawyer, Jay Sekulow, revealing that Sekulow spoke to Trump about his former lawyer John Dowd representing Parnas and Fruman. The president consents to allowing your representation of Mr. Parnas and Mr. Furman [sic], Sekulow wrote on October 2, 2019. Parnas handed over photos of himself with members of Trumps family and his administration including Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions further highlighting his ties and access to the president and members of his inner circle. Giuliani represented himself as acting on Trumps behalf, too. Included in the trove of new documents is a letter Giuliani wrote to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 10, 2019, asking for a meeting in his capacity as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent. At the time, Giuliani signaled in the media that the visit was related to his pursuit of investigations that might be beneficial to Trump. Im asking them to do an investigation that theyre doing already and that other people are telling them to stop, Giuliani said at the time. And Im going to give them reasons why they shouldnt stop it because that information will be very, very helpful to my client, and may turn out to be helpful to my government. Giuliani has not responded to requests for comment about the Parnas charges. In a text to a Washington Post reporter, the former New York mayor replied , Believe him at your peril. There could be new investigations The fresh details from Parnas has Capitol Hill and the legal world buzzing about whether it has created new avenues for prosecutors. Already, the Ukrainian government has said it will look into the surveillance allegations, which came out in text exchanges between Parnas and a Trump donor, Robert F. Hyde. Its unclear if the U.S. government will do the same. Bondy said the FBI has never questioned Parnas about the stalking issue. The FBI declined to comment, citing its standard practice of neither confirming nor denying the existence of an investigation. On Capitol Hill on Thursday, Pelosi suggested that in the past, the mounting evidence that was emerging would normally lead to a special prosecutor. But she conceded that such a route was unlikely with the administrations current leadership. The veracity of some of Parnas most explosive claims in recent interviews including that Attorney General Bill Barr was on the team pursuing Biden dirt has also been called into question. The documents released so far dont corroborate the Barr accusation, for example, and Hydes surveillance claims are being described by Parnas and others as an odd, unserious boast. Additionally, Hyde has a history of erratic behavior and outlandish statements, POLITICO reported on Wednesday. Still, FBI officials did visit both the home and business of Hyde on Thursday, CNN reported . Its unclear whether that action was spurred by the newly released documents or if it was a bid to ensure that the GOP operative didnt destroy potential evidence as they continue to investigate the case. Overall, though, legal experts noted that some of the latest Parnas claims and document dumps represent hearsay evidence appearing largely based on what he was hearing second-hand from figures like Rudy, instead of directly from Trump or Barr. The evidence could influence the Senate trial Democrats on Thursday used the Parnas discoveries to stump for their argument that Trumps Senate impeachment trial should include witnesses and fresh evidence. Senators have still not set down the final rules governing the trial, leaving an opening for Democrats to keep pounding the drum for their preferred trial. But Republicans showed no indication that their stance had changed most want a contained, quick trial with no unexpected testimony or revelations. Bondy indicated that he was squarely on the side of opening up the trial, and acknowledged that they were trying to influence the upper chambers proceedings with the media blitz and congressional cooperation. We are trying to raise awareness for the need for there to be a fair tribunal, with additional evidence and witnesses called, Bondy said in an interview just after Parnas transmitted the first batch of documents to the House Intelligence Committee. We are raising the stakes. Parnas may have more evidence The Parnas-Bondy publicity campaign continued throughout Thursday, with no indication that it will abate in the coming days. Only minutes after Trump repeatedly and vigorously denied knowing Parnas Thursday afternoon, Bondy was swift to issue a snarky tweet with a video of Trump and Parnas interacting at Mar-a-Lago, the presidents South Florida resort. It was indicative of Bondys social media campaign he has waged in recent days, tweeting out short photo slideshows of Parnas grinning next to Trump and his family, issuing calls to Call the witnesses. Hear the sworn testimony, and rounding it off with call-to-action hashtags: #LetLevSpeak #LevSpeaks #LevRemembers #TheyAllKnew. But in an interview, Bondy was coy about exactly what else they might have to offer. Yes but no, Bondy said on Thursday when asked whether Parnas has additional material to back up his claims. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday urged Iran to hand over the damaged black boxes from last week's downed airliner to France, saying it has one of the few laboratories capable of properly examining them. "Iran does not have the level of technical expertise and mostly the equipment necessary to be able to analyze these damaged black boxes quickly," Trudeau said. So, he said, "the right place to send those black boxes to get proper information from them and in a rapid way" is France, adding "that is what we're encouraging the Iranian authorities to agree to. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) HURON COUNTY The Huron County Health Department set off the course of 2020 in continuation of its fight against opioids and underage drug use. Medication lock boxes are available again this year; free of charge and no questions asked. Grant funds in the amount of $7,073 entirely fund the boxes, in an initiative to combat the use of marijuana and opioids by minors. It started last September, when the departments health officer Ann Hepfer sent a proposal to Michigan Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The health department received $7,795 from the Medical Marihuana Operation and Oversight Grant. $2,000 was invested in lockboxes while $4,500 went to medical marijuana flyers, educational pamphlets and other informational materials. The department handed out 317 free lockboxes last year. They went quickly, after made public in a news release. The lockboxes were very popular, Koroleski said. We had a waiting list and had to order more. Department prevention educator Shelly Grifka urged more people to lock up their medicine and help keep those around them safe. "I'd like to encourage people to not hesitate if you have pets and/or children in the home" Grifka said. "Even those households that have children who may visit, but don't live there full time. This includes all medications, especially medical and recreational marijuana." Meanwhile, efforts are being made across the state to address the opioid epidemic. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced the allocation of $17.5 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services State Opioid Response Grant. We need to use every tool in the toolbox to address it, said Whitmer. These efforts will help move us closer to our goal of cutting the number of opioid deaths in half in five years. On Monday, Health Services Director Mitzi Koroleski confirmed that $6,000 would be awarded to Huron County. Plans as to how this money will initially be spent have been agreed on. We know that local law enforcement needs additional disposable bags and gloves, Koroleski said. We will see what their needs are before anything else. Area police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and correctional officers serve on the front lines of this epidemic. Accidental needle sticks greatly increase the chances of contracting hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus. Concurrent with the beliefs of other local officials, Koroleski will prioritize the protection of first responders. Whether joining the fight against opioids or keeping medications out of the hands of children, there are plenty of opportunities to help keep those around you out of harms way. If you or someone you know would like to receive a free lockbox, visit the Huron County Health Department at 1142 S. Van Dyke Road, Bad Axe. Tuscola County Health Department has some available as well at 1309 Cleaver Road, Caro. Huron County Health Department Prevention Educator Shelly Grifka woudl be happy to answer any related questions, call: 989-269-3333. Area health departments are open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and closed for lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m., excluding major holidays. MEXICO CITY - An explosion of a fireworks cache killed two people and critically injured another in a town on the northern outskirts of Mexico City. The government of Mexico State, which surrounds the capital, reported on its online information portal that a male victim died at the scene of Thursdays blast in Zumpango and a female victim died at a hospital. In an update Friday, it said the unidentified third victim had suffered severe burns and was in very serious condition at a hospital. Dramatic video captured by a state government security camera at a distance from the explosion showed an intense orange fireball rising above the trees, individual fireworks popping off in bright flashes and a plume of smoke billowing into the sky. The surrounding residential area was temporarily evacuated as a precaution. That part of greater Mexico City is known for its fireworks manufacturing, a cornerstone of the local economy and also for the dozens of accidents each year in which warehouses, markets and home fireworks stashes erupt, often with deadly results. In 2016 the open-air San Pablito market in Tultepec, Mexico State, was destroyed by a spectacular chain reaction of flames and rockets that killed at least 42 people just days before Christmas. Germany says Libya's Haftar committed to ongoing truce, to participate in Berlin talks Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 6:52 PM Germany says Libya's renegade general Khalifa Haftar, commander of the east-based army, has agreed to abide by an ongoing ceasefire with the internationally-recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, known as the GNA, following a nine-month-old war. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced the news on Thursday, saying during a visit to the North African country Haftar promised not to break the existing temporary truce between the two warring sides which took effect on Sunday. "During my visit to Libya today, General Haftar made clear: He wants to contribute to the success of the Libyan conference in Berlin and is in principle ready to participate in it. He has agreed to abide by the ongoing ceasefire," the German top diplomat tweeted after talks in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. Mass had traveled to Libya to persuade Haftar to join in the upcoming peace initiative in Berlin, three days after the Libyan commander left the Russian capital Moscow without signing a permanent truce agreement expected to put an end to a persisting war in and around Libya's capital Tripoli. The Moscow peace talks were mediated by Russia and Turkey. Since 2014, Libya has been divided between two rival camps: one based in the eastern city of Tobruk, and the other, the UN-recognized GNA, based in Tripoli. Haftar is the self-proclaimed commander of an array of militia groups, collectively known as the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA), and is apparently supporting the eastern government. The LNA launched an offensive to capture Tripoli in April last year, interrupting peace negotiations underway at the time. Despite intense and deadly clashes between the two sides, Haftar has so far failed to achieve his objective and his offensive stalled outside Tripoli. In a declared attempt to restore peace in Libya, Turkey and Russia mediated peace talks between Sarraj and Haftar, who spent about eight hours of indirect talks in Moscow on Monday, but the talks ended at an impasse, after Haftar failed to come to terms with Serraj, sparking fears about the shaky ceasefire. However, Haftar's agreement to observe the existing ceasefire and his pledge to participate in Berlin talks are considered as an apparent advance for efforts to end a near-decade of turmoil in Libya. Separately in Tripoli, Sarraj also expressed his readiness to attend the Berlin talks, which will be held under the auspices of the UN. On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged the two sides to stop fighting and "engage constructively towards that end, including within the Berlin process." Figures show that since April, clashes between the two sides have left more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters dead. They have also displaced tens of thousands of people. Turkey supports the GNA and has sent troops to the North African country to help Sarraj's government defend itself against Haftar's attacks. The deployment, which has further complicated the situation, came after Ankara and the GNA reached a military agreement recently, angering Haftar. Libya plunged into chaos in 2011, when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi and his execution by unruly fighters. Sarraj's government has been attempting to establish order ever since. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan and the United States on Friday lauded the decades-old security treaty that is the bedrock of their alliance, but which U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised as "unfair" and imbalanced. The comments from the two countries' top diplomatic officials marked the 60th anniversary of the current treaty, which was first signed in 1951 and revised in 1960 under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's grandfather, then-premier Nobusuke Kishi. "While honoring the achievements of the past 60 years, we reiterate our unshakeable commitment to strengthen the Alliance and to uphold our common values and principles towards the future," said a joint statement by Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Taro Kono, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Mark Secretary Esper. The treaty obligates the United States to defend Japan, which under its U.S.-drafted constitution renounced the right to wage war after World War Two. Japan in return provides military bases used by Washington to project power deep into Asia. Kishi was forced to resign afterwards following a huge public outcry from Japanese critics who feared the pact would suck their country into conflict. Echoing his long-held view that Japan is a free-rider on defense, Trump last June told a news conference in Japan that the treaty was "unfair" and should be changed, at a time when China is flexing its regional military muscle and North Korea is pursuing nuclear and missile programmes. Abe since taking office in 2012 has boosted Japan's defence spending by 10% after years of decline and in a historic shift in 2014, his government reinterpreted the constitution to allow Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two. But public wariness about putting troops in harm's way and fear of entanglement in U.S.-led wars has hampered Abe's push to revise the postwar constitution's pacifist Article 9. Story continues Article 9, if taken literally, bans the maintenance of a standing military but has been interpreted to allow armed forces for self-defence. Although generally supportive of the alliance, Japanese voters remain concerned about entanglement in U.S-led conflicts. A recent survey by Kyodo news agency showed 58.4% opposed Tokyo's decision to send forces to the Middle East to help ensure the safety of merchant ships. Trump's administration has also pushed for Japan to pay more for U.S. forces stationed in the country. Under an agreement reached in 2015, Japan pledged to boost its spending for U.S. forces stationed there by 1.4% over the following five years to 189.3 billion yen per year on average. (Reporting by Linda Sieg; Additional reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Toby Chopra) Tet (Lunar New Year) is an important time of year for every Vietnamese person worldwide, but it's that little bit more special for Lu Van Phong and his family this year. UXO kills more than 40,000 people in Vietnam Unexploded bombs continue to haunt Ha Giang HELPING HAND: Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Soat (right) gives presents to victims of landmines in Ha Giang Province. That's because the 47-year-old war veteran from Hoang Su Phi District in the northern province of Ha Giang, and his family will celebrate their first Tet in their new home. The house was built with financial support form the Vietnam Association for Supporting Unexploded Ordnance/Mine Action (VNASMA) and the local Red Cross association. I was injured seriously when I took part in the Vi Xuyen battle against the Chinese invasion in 1984, Phong said. Life is so difficult as I lost 25 per cent of my health and cant really do hard work. My wife has to work in the field alone. With our little savings, we could never build a house without support from the VNASMA and the Red Cross. Phong is one of many war victims receiving support from the VNASMA, according to Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Soat, hero of the Peoples Armed Forces and former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. LIFE-CHANGING: A victim of UXO in Ha Giang receives a prosthetic limb. As president of the VNASMA, Soat and his comrades in co-operation with local Party committees, local authorities and international organisations have supported victims of unexploded ordnance (UXO) nationwide and worked to eliminate UXO. A ceremony took place last week in Hanoi to review the activities of the VNASMA since its establishment in 2014. In five years, VNASMA has been developed with the participation of 1,500 members, said Soat. We have helped more than 5,500 victims through activities such as building houses, giving breeding stock and raising peoples awareness of UXOs effects, he said. For Soat, one of the most memorable trips to help victims of landmines was his first as president of the VNASMA to Ha Giang to offer prosthetics for victims of bombs and mines. I dont know if you can imagine the emotion when I saw 35 disabled people who had lost either their legs or arms that came to ask us for help, he said. It was very cold. Seeing one or several disabled people is not an unusual experience but seeing a line of 35 people is really haunting. Especially when I know that there are tens of thousands of Vietnamese people who have been injured by bombs and mines left from war. Many things to do There are an estimated 800,000 tonnes of unexploded bombs in Vietnam, with 9,200 communes contaminated by ordnance, accounting for 21 per cent the country's area, according to Soat. There are many things to do. When I hear news about an accident caused by UXO, I feel hurt and worried as its our responsibility, Soat said. The explosion of an old bomb in Ha Dong District, Hanoi, in 2016 killed four people, injured many and shook society. Soat said he's pained that such accidents still happen in the capital because of a lack of awareness. We have not fulfilled our duty to educate the people on how to handle unexploded ordnance left over from the war. In the capital, people still dont know how to tackle UXO, how about people in the rural and remote areas? The question makes me ponder. We have told ourselves to do more in our mass communication campaign to help people handle such a situation, he said. Soat reckons education has to start with children, as most adults are often too busy to teach about UXO. Last year, we released a cartoon series to publicize the danger of UXO and how to tackle UXO, the method really works as it received the attention of children. They will tell their parents about the information they get from the cartoon and they can protect themselves from UXO. "The VNASMA plans to carry out more education, vocational training, resettlement support, and community integration in areas severely contaminated with UXO in 2020 and beyond," Soat said. We have also received support from former US pilots who were our enemies during the war in the northern Vietnamese airspace, such as Charlie Tutt, head of the US veteran pilot delegation, and American Legion National Commander Charles E Schmidt. Soat revealed that Vietnamese and US veteran pilots have met several times to discuss how to support Vietnamese war victims through an official US government programme. LIFE ON THE FARM: Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Soat (right) handles a cow for a victim of landmines. Photos courtesy of the VNASMA Pham Thi Tan, vice chairwoman of the Red Cross Association of Ha Giang, said building houses and offering vocational guidance were really meaningful and necessary for war victims. However, she said raising awareness of the people and clearing the land were the most important work. In the future, we expect that the VNASMA and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent will help eliminate the UXO, its really a big campaign that we need the help of international experts in finance and technique, she said. Nguyen Van Hoi, director of the Department of Social Insurance under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said he highly appreciated the work of the VNASMA. Together with the support and policies of the Government, the VNASMA has helped many victims of landmines and gathered other organisations involved in the work, Hoi said. VNS Minh Thu STAMFORD The attorney charged in the Jennifer Dulos homicide could have his law license suspended. Under a motion filed by Brian Staines, of the states Chief Disciplinary Counsel, the law license of attorney Kent Mawhinney would be temporarily suspended and another attorney would be appointed as a trustee for his clients while the criminal case is pending. A hearing on the suspension is slated for Jan. 28 in state Superior Court in Hartford, records show. Mawhinney, due to his incarceration and any conditions that may be imposed upon his release from custody cannot attend to the legal needs of his clients and there exists a substantial threat of irreparable harm to his clients or to prospective clients, Staines said. Since the law firm he ran with attorney David Markowitz closed in October, Mawhinney is considered a solo practitioner operating out of Bloomfield and does not have a trust account with his clients money pooled with a financial institution, Staines said. Staines is seeking to have the court appoint a trustee to inventory Mawhinneys files, secure his clients funds and to take such action necessary to protect the interests of them. Mawhinney, a close friend and former attorney for Fotis Dulos, has been entangled for months in the investigation into the May 24 disappearance and death of Jennifer Dulos. Mawhinney is accused in arrest warrants of attempting to provide an alibi for Fotis Dulos on the morning his estranged wife disappeared and was also linked to what a witness described as a human grave at an East Granby gun club. According to the warrant, Mawhinneys cellphone pinged off a tower near the Windsor Rod & Gun Club around 11 p.m. on May 31 hours after police visited Fotis Dulos Farmington home and conducted an intense search in Hartford where they say clothing and other items were found in the trash containing Jennifer Dulos blood. The next day, Fotis Dulos and his former girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, were arrested on tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution charges. Fotis Dulos, 52, was additionally charged last week with felony murder, murder and kidnapping in his estranged wifes homicide. Troconis, 45, and Mawhinney, 54, were charged last week with conspiracy to commit murder. Fotis Dulos and Troconis are each on house arrest after posting bond, while Mawhinney remains held in lieu of $2 million bond. States Attorney Richard Colangelo said he considered Mawhinney a flight risk after he tried to avoid being arrested and was eventually taken into custody at gunpoint in Tolland. Mawhinney represented Fotis Dulos in real estate development deals and the $2.5 million lawsuits filed against him by his mother-in-law, Gloria Farber. Mawhinney withdrew his representation in the lawsuits when Fotis Dulos was arrested in June. Attorney Norm Pattis, who is representing Fotis Dulos in the criminal proceedings, has said his client had a meeting with an attorney on the morning his estranged wife vanished. According to arrest warrants, Mawhinney arrived at Fotis Dulos Farmington home for a scheduled meeting at 7:40 a.m. on May 24. Mawhinney said he stayed for about 40 to 50 minutes before leaving and said he did not see Fotis Dulos that morning, the arrest warrants state. Mawhinney was going through his own divorce at the time and last January was charged with spousal sexual assault, disorderly conduct and unlawful restraint. Mawhinney was then charged in June with violating a protective order after Fotis Dulos reached out to his estranged wife on his behalf in an apparent effort to mend their marriage. In Mawhinneys June arrest warrant, police said the woman believed Fotis Dulos was working with her husband to get rid of her. She stated that she believed that Mawhinney wanted her dead, police said in the arrest warrant. According to the womans affidavit in a court filing for a restraining order against Mawhinney, Fotis Dulos first contacted her on May 16 and then reached out several more times before arranging to meet at a bar on May 19. The woman refused Fotis Dulos offer to come back to his Farmington home, where he said she and Mawhinney could use a room to be intimate, the affidavit said. The woman said her last conversation with Fotis Dulos, whom she had only met once before in her husbands office in 2014, occurred on May 22 two days before Jennifer Dulos vanished, according to court documents. Zenas Zelotes, a Stamford divorce attorney representing Mawhinneys estranged wife, has wondered if the two men were plotting to harm their wives considering the circumstances of the cases. The first thing that went through my mind was who was that grave intended for? Zelotes opined in an exclusive interview last week with Hearst Connecticut Media. I was thinking, was my client the wife that survived? Around the same time Fotis Dulos contacted Zelotes client, two members of the Windsor Rod & Gun Club discovered a large hole near the woods on the 25-acre property that Mawhinney helped acquire more than a decade ago, according to his arrest warrant in Jennifer Dulos homicide. In early June, one of the men noticed the hole was gone, covered as neat as a pin with leaves and sticks, the warrant said. When state police searched the property in August, no human remains were found. Hungary unveils 'Christian democratic'-based climate strategy Budapest, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 Hungary unveiled a climate change strategy Thursday that has been described by Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a "Christian democratic" approach to tackling global warming. Published on the government's website, the National Energy and Climate Plan sets out targets including 90 percent carbon-neutral electricity production by 2030, mostly from nuclear and solar energy. Orban said last week the strategy was "Christian democratic-based" -- a label which he often uses for his policies, including his fierce opposition to immigration from Muslim countries. Critics have described the latter stance as far-right and nativist. Orban told reporters at a press conference last week that "the protection of the created environment and of nature just on a biblical basis is an especially Christian democratic policy". "Conserving nature for our children and grandchildren can be imagined as conserving something that was created by God," Peter Kaderjak, a state secretary for the environment, told AFP afterwards. "It's a general principle but the strategy's concrete objective is to create a clean sustainable country where you can have a good life," said Kaderjak. The strategy cements a recent change of tone by Orban and his ruling Fidesz party, whose politicians have often seemed ambivalent on climate change. Last year one of Orban's senior ministers called Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg a "sick child" and her street movement "repellent" to ordinary Hungarians. Pro-Orban media commentators also regularly cast doubt on the link between human-induced global warming and extreme weather events. "Orban doesn't want climate change to be solely a leftist topic, either in Hungary or in Europe," Agoston Mraz, an analyst with the Nezopont Institute in Budapest, told AFP Thursday. "He is trying to build up a conservative right-wing green politics as a counterbalance," said Mraz. After initially vetoing the EU's carbon neutrality goal for 2050, Orban signed up last month after securing a concession from Brussels over its reliance on nuclear energy. An upcoming climate action plan will include pledges to clean up rivers, ban illegal rubbish dumping, and equip all cities with electric buses by 2022, said Orban. The mere mention of the name Smithsonian Institution elevates any conversation into the hallowed, rarefied air of history, innovation, science and culture. Moving forward, the name Springfield Museums can share space in that discussion. "Our first three years of our partnership with Springfield Museums were about the laying the framework,'' said Tricia Edwards, deputy director for Smithsonian Affiliations, as she helped introduce a new technology exhibit in the Quadrangle. "The next three years will be about deepening that relationship, especially within the community,'' she said. Edwards was joined by museum officials, representatives of the sponsoring MassMutual Foundation, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and other officials Friday for what Springfield Museums president and CEO Kay Simpson called a double celebration. It was a chance to unveil Spark!Lab, an innovation maker space developed by the Smithsonian in 2008 and now in Springfield - and a way for visitors to learn about inventions by actually participating in their creation. The other was announcement that the three-year partnership between the Smithsonian and Springfield Museums, begun in 2016, was being extended another three years. Planning is underway for more new and interactive exhibits and programs. For the fabled national museum, the renewal continues its 21st Century policy of bringing the Smithsonian out of Washington, D.C., and within visiting distance of children and adults throughout the nation. For the Springfield Museums, it maintains a direct relationship with the national institutions experts in history and science, imaginative programs and the vast Smithsonian resources. Sarno said the relationship and particularly Spark!Lab delivers education to children in ways they will enjoy. "If you make (education) fun, the kids will love it - and theyll learn,'' said the mayor, who recalled the special nature of his own childhood field trips to the museums. Edwards described a strategy by which the Smithsonian will partner in programs and events within museum walls, but also throughout Springfield at schools, libraries and community centers. One exhibit in Washington is the National Portrait Gallery, a exhibition of art with a variety of historical and cultural themes. Edwards said it will go on tour, with Springfield as the first stop. Spark!Lab is already here. It allows children, families, and groups to learn with hands-on methods. They learn about the invention process, inventors and inventions in American history, and modern innovations that are changing our world today. Most importantly, they are empowered to create their own inventions. "We jumped on the chance to be part of this,'' said Simpson, who applauded MassMutuals support. Rather than portray technology breakthroughs as Aha! moments, Spark!Lab defines inventions as results of a systematic process. Visitors are allowed to use their own creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills to navigate their way to solutions and advancement. Essentially, the visitors become the inventors. By engaging in these activities, everyone can be inventive. Everyone can work and create through the steps that can lead to a finished product, said Larissa Murray, Springfield Museums director of education. The activities in Spark!Lab center on steps including problem identification or need, research, sketches, creation, testing, refinement and marketing. The ideas of the visitors, and not previously determined restrictions and guidelines, are the driving forces of this 21st Century educational technique. "We live in a technology driven society. The Springfield Museums and MassMutual are on a journey together. Spark!Lab is a great representation of that,'' said Sherriff Balogun, the MassMutual chief of staff for enterprise technology and experience. The Springfield Spark!Lab is one of only nine in the nation, and the only such exhibit northeast of Washington, D.C. Edwards drew applause by saying every first-grader in the Springfield Public Schools will visit both Spark!Lab and the Dr. Seuss Museum. Sarno said the new learning space, and the expanded partnership, vaults the prestige of the Springfield Museums to unprecedented heights. "When you think of a gold standard, you think of the Smithsonian and MassMutual, and now the Springfield Museums,'' he said. Governor Charlie Bakers office was represented by Patrick Carnevale, the director of the governors Western Massachusetts office. "This will impact Springfield but also all of Western Massachusetts. Kids will be able to be creative and inventive,'' Carnevale said. When we work together, this is what we get. Balogun said the partnership and the new innovation space, which will advance the exposure of children to modern STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs, fit MassMutuals vision for the city and its future. But he said it also carried personal meaning for him. "Im a Springfield kid at heart who is a product of the Springfield Public Schools and its after-school program,'' he said. I spent many hours here (at the museum). Weve brought in programs for special education, art, music - a rich and diverse set of programs, the type this city deserves. For all of us, this is a very exciting day. Russia's acting foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that documents for a Libya peace conference were nearly ready but the war-scarred country's rivals refused to speak to each other. World powers are preparing to hold a peace summit in Berlin this weekend as they step up efforts to find a lasting ceasefire in the north African country. "In my opinion, final documents look practically ready," Lavrov told reporters. But he underlined the huge tensions between the heads of Libya's warring sides -- eastern military strongman Khalifa Haftar and the head of Tripoli's UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj. "So far ties between them are very tense, they don't even want to be in the same room to say nothing of meeting each other," Lavrov said. Earlier this week, two men attended talks in Moscow but Haftar abruptly left on Tuesday without signing a permanent truce to end nine months of fighting. Lavrov said it was important for both sides not to "repeat past mistakes" and put forward additional demands after the Berlin conference. The oil-rich North African state has been in turmoil since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was killed in the 2011 NATO-backed uprising and multiple foreign powers have become embroiled. Last April, an assault on Tripoli by Haftar's forces sparked fighting that has killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters, displacing thousands. Search Keywords: Short link: PHILADELPHIA (AP) An explosion that left two people dead and destroyed five row houses in Philadelphia last month was caused by a crack in a gas main, officials announced Thursday. The investigation by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission into the underlying cause of the crack in the 92-year-old natural gas main that also forced the evacuation of 60 residents is ongoing, Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said at a news conference. Before the announcement, city officials had mostly declined to publicly comment on what caused the Dec. 19 fire and explosion. But the commissioner said that by Dec. 23, Philadelphia fire marshals had determined a crack in the gas line, causing the natural gas to leak, and leading to the blast. Damage is visible at the scene where an explosion and fire Thursday left several homes destroyed on the 1400 block of South 8th St. in Philadelphia on Friday, Dec. 20, 2019. (Tim Tai/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)AP The state commission's in-depth investigation is now "exploring the cause and circumstances surrounding this incident, along with whether there are any violations of state or federal pipeline safety regulations," according to a statement from the agency. There was no indication the pipe was leaking prior to the explosion and officials said no one reported an odor, according to Douglas Moser, Philadelphia Gas Works executive vice president and acting COO. Airports in Srinagar and Jammu are to be 'immediately' brought under the security cover of the CISF in view of the arrest of DSP Davinder Singh, a Jammu and Kashmir government order has said Srinagar: Airports in Srinagar and Jammu are to be "immediately" brought under the security cover of the CISF in view of the arrest of DSP Davinder Singh, a Jammu and Kashmir government order has said. The two sensitive airports are to be "handed over" to the CISF by 31 January, the order of the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department to the Director-General of Police (DGP) said. "This issue (CISF security at Srinagar and Jammu airports) has acquired immediacy in view of the recent developments relating to the arrest of Davinder Singh, DSP airport security, for trying to assist militants to travel to other parts of the country," the order issued on Wednesday said. Police had arrested Singh, a deputy superintendent of police, at Mir Bazar in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district on Saturday, along with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists Naveed Baba and Altaf, besides a lawyer who was operating as an overground worker for terror outfits. The two airports are guarded by the CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police at present. The Union government had last year decided that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will be handed over security of these two airports along with the one in Leh in view of their sensitive and strategic location and the threats it faced related to possible terrorist and hijack attempts. CISF is the national civil aviation security force and at present, it guards 61 airports including the ones at Delhi and Mumbai. PTI had on January 13 reported that the Union home ministry sanctioned about 800 personnel to the CISF in order to take over security duties at the three airports of the newly created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. As per the original plan, the CISF was to take over Jammu airport by next month and the Srinagar and Leh airports after the spell of severe cold ends. However, officials said, keeping in mind the arrest of the DSP and his alleged links, the latest order has been issued which also directs the J-K Police to make arrangements for accommodation, transport and other logistical requirements of the armed contingent of the CISF on a quick basis. Once inducted at the most-sensitive Srinagar airport, the CISF will secure access control at both city and air side (tarmac area) while the CRPF will be responsible for securing the outer periphery. At the Jammu airport, the peripheral security duties will be rendered by the JK Police. An assortment of surveillance and security gadgets like CCTVs, observation monitors, hand-held metal detectors, bullet-proof patrol vehicles and bomb detection and disposal equipment are also being provided by the airport operator, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), to the CISF. The Union government sometime back made it clear that CISF will be the only civil airports guarding force and all such facilities in the country will be gradually brought under its command to bolster aviation security and tighten anti-terror and anti-hijack protocols. Prince Harry and Meghan the 'half royals': how will it work? FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the WellChild Awards Ceremony in London By Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have announced they will step back from senior roles in the royal family - a move that raises questions about how they will earn an income, who will pay for their security, and what their new positions will involve. Exactly how they will combine private work and royal duties remains unclear. The couple in an initial statement said they hoped to become financially independent and set up a new charity, while continuing some royal duties. WHO PAYS? Harry and Meghan said in a question-and-answer section of their new website that they are seeking financial independence from the monarchy's funding, known as the "Sovereign Grant". This is a government handout that covers the running costs of the royal household and travel expenses. The couple said the grant was equivalent to 5% of their income towards running their official office. They did not say if they will give up the remaining 95 percent which comes from Prince Charles's centuries-old private estate. By foregoing money from the taxpayer, the couple indicated they will seek some form of private income. "They value the ability to earn a professional income, which in the current structure they are prohibited from doing," the statement said. "For this reason they have made the choice to become members of the Royal Family with financial independence." WHERE WILL THEY LIVE? They said they now plan to divide their time between the United Kingdom and North America. They will continue to base themselves at Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of the queen's Windsor Castle when in the United Kingdom. The property was recently renovated at a cost of 2.4 million pounds ($3.13 million) by taxpayers. Meghan was born in Los Angeles and she grew up in Hollywood. Harry and Meghan spent the last six weeks of 2019 in Canada and their first official appearance of 2020 was a trip to Canada House in London, home of Canada's diplomatic mission to Britain. Story continues WHO PAYS FOR SECURITY? The couple made clear that they expected the government to continue to finance their security costs as mandated by the Home Office, which is responsible for the security of the royal family. The cost of the security is never made public, but it is estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. HOW WILL THEY EARN MONEY? The couple's new website Sussex Royal does not outline how they intend to fund themselves in future. Some of the Queen's other grandchildren work, including Prince Andrew's daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, who work in business and the arts. Last year, it was reported that Harry would be executive producer of a documentary on mental health with U.S. television mogul Oprah Winfrey for Apple's video streaming service. Royal biographer Penny Junor suggested Meghan, who starred in TV legal drama "Suits", might revive her acting career, given the demand and fees she could command. Six months ago Harry and Meghan applied to the UK Intellectual Property Office to trademark the phrases Sussex Royal and Sussex Royal Foundation for use on books, stationery, clothing such as pyjamas and socks, charity campaigns and the provision of training, sport and social care. WHAT ABOUT THE MEDIA? The couple announced they are to radically change media access to their official engagements, and will no longer participate in the traditional "royal rota" system, which is an agreement providing access for royal correspondents. The royal rota system allows access to their engagements by accredited correspondents, who pool photographs and video, to ensure minimum interference with the engagement itself. Now the couple said their intention is to speak directly to the public through social media, and they would deny automatic access to some royal correspondents. This means that they could be the target of more paparazzi photographers, who will no longer worry about losing access to official events if they are already excluded. WHAT WILL HAPPPEN TO THEIR TITLES? The couple made no mention of giving up their royal titles. Instead, they stated on their website that other royal family members retain their titles while earning an income. "There is precedent for this structure and it applies to other current members of the Royal Family who support the monarch and also have full time jobs external to their commitment to the monarchy," the statement said. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Alexandra Hudson) Getting by with a little help from its friends: For many, Google's Stadia game-streaming service is a hard sell. Gaming from the cloud has met with limited success even for companies that have had a head start like Sony and Gamefly. But what if it was bundled with your TV or internet service? This appears to be the search giant's next strategy to get Stadia into your home. United Kingdom provider BT Broadband has partnered with Google to offer customers internet service packages bundled with Stadia. Now when people subscribe to BTs Superfast Fibre 2, Ultrafast Fibre 100, or Ultrafast Fibre 250, they will receive Stadia Premiere Edition for free. The plans start at 40. Googles Stadia Premiere Edition regularly lists for 120. It includes three months of Stadia Pro, a Chromecast Ultra, Stadia controller, and Destiny 2: The Collection. Presumably, at the end of three months, 9 will be tacked on to your bill to continue your Stadia Pro subscription, although the companys press release did not mention this point. Stadia requires a connection speed of at least 35Mbps for 4K gaming. BTs Superfast Fibre 2, which is the most widely available package, averages 67Mbps, which is theoretically sufficient so long as the network does not get bogged down. The ISP is still rolling out Ultrafast Fibre 100 and Fibre 250, so it is only available in limited areas, but the company claims it is on track to connect to more than 12 million homes by the end of the year. These packages offer speeds between 145Mbps and 300Mbps, with a guarantee to stay above 100Mbps (Fibre 100) or 150Mbps (Fibre 250). BT will refund customers 20 if their connection drops below these thresholds. The partnership is another step by Google to push its game streaming service into the mainstream. Since launch, it has been adding more games to the service with a promise of more than 120 coming in 2020. It has also been snatching up developers so it can start churning out first-party titles. Its latest acquisition was Typhoon Studios, which is working on Journey to the Savage Planet. Game streaming still has not proven itself to be a better alternative to owning hardware. However, that is not stopping Google from pouring resources into the platform to get it there. NEW DELHI - Hundreds of demonstrators perched themselves on the steps of an iconic mosque in the Indian capital on Friday to protest against a new citizenship law that excludes Muslim immigrants. Demonstrators carried placards and shouted slogans accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist government of pursuing policies aimed at forcing people to prove their citizenship and putting Muslims and other people from marginalized communities at risk The protest at the 17th century mosque, Jama Masjid, was led by Chandrashekhar Azad, leader of the Bhim Army, a political party of Dalits who represent the Hinduisms lowest caste. We will continue protest against the law till repealed, Azad said as he and hundreds of his supporters read out the constitutions preamble, which says there should be no discrimination on the basis of religion. Azad was arrested on Dec. 21 after leading a similar protest at the steps of the mosque. He was accused of instigating violence as the protest ended in a clash between the protesters and the police. A New Delhi court ordered his release from jail on Thursday. The court asked him to leave the capital within 24 hours of his release and to stay out of the city for four weeks. The cleric of Jama Masjid made announcements before Friday prayers that commented on 16 Muslims who were killed in Uttar Pradesh last month during protests against the new law. The lives of Muslim youth lost in Uttar Pradesh violence shouldnt go to waste, Syed Ahmed Bukhari announced to a congregation of thousands. He added people must raise their voice against the law in a peaceful way. The new citizenship law provides a path to naturalization for immigrants from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, unless theyre Muslim. It has triggered nationwide protests and clashes with police that have led to 23 deaths. The nationwide protests have brought tens of thousands of people from different faiths and backgrounds together, in part because the law is seen as part of a larger threat to the pluralistic social fabric of Indian society. Thousands of Hindus, too, have joined the protests to assure minority Muslims that they are not isolated. Modis party downplays the protests, saying they are orchestrated by opponents. Meanwhile, hundreds of women continued with a sit-in on a road side in New Delhi, braving freezing temperatures and attempts of law enforcement agencies to break them up for almost a month. Emulating their example, women across the many Indian states and small towns have carried out similar sit-ins in protest against the law. Also Friday, the Congress party, which is the governing party in northern Punjab state, adopted a resolution in the state legislature demanding scrapping of the controversial law, known as the Citizenship Amendment Act. The CAA enacted by Parliament has caused countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country, the resolution said. On Tuesday, the southern Indian state of Kerala became the first to legally challenge the new law. In a petition to the Supreme Court, the state government said the law violates the secular nature of Indias Constitution, and accused the government of dividing the nation along communal lines. TSA Found 4,432 Firearms in Travellers Hand Luggage in 2019 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported on Wednesday that it had found 4,432 guns in passengers hand luggage at U.S. airports last year and 87 percent of them were loaded. The continued increase in the number of firearms that travelers bring to airport checkpoints is deeply troubling, said TSA Administrator David Pekoske in the release. The TSA has seen the numbers increasing every year for 18 consecutive years since its foundation and the past year saw an increase of 5 percent compared to 2018s figure of 4,244. The guns were found either in passengers hand luggage or on their persons. Carrying a gun without following the proper procedures can lead to a maximum fine of $13,000, but it is really unnecessary. There is a proper way to travel safely with a firearm. First and foremost, it should be unloaded. Then it should be packed in a hard-sided locked case, taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared, and checked, Pekoske said. The top-ten airports in gun busts as reported by Security for 2019 were: 1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL): 323an increase of 25 firearms compared to 2018 2. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): 217 3. Denver International Airport (DEN): 140 4. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH): 138 5. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX): 132 6. Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL): 103 7. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL): 100 8. Nashville International Airport (BNA): 97 9. Orlando International Airport (MCO): 96 10. Tampa International Airport (TPA): 87 Its not known whether among those 4,432 firearms was the rocket launcher TSA officials intercepted at Baltimore Airport on July 29. TSA: Missile Launcher Found in Mans Luggage at Baltimore Airport A man from Jacksonville, Texas, was briefly detained for carrying a missile launcher in his luggage at BaltimoreWashington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Monday, July 29. Transport Security Administration (TSA) officers found the unloaded military-grade weapon in a checked bag and alerted the BWI Police. The airport police tracked down the owner and detained him for questioning. The unidentified man had been on active military duty stationed in Kuwait. He was on his way home to Jacksonville. He wanted to keep the rocket launchertwo stickers includedas a souvenir. However, military weapons are not allowed in checked bags or hand luggage, but at the same time they are not illegal, TSA spokeswoman, Lisa Farbstein, told the outlet. .@TSA officers at @BWI_Airport detected this missile launcher in a checked bag early this morning. Man said he was bringing it back from Kuwait as a souvenir. Perhaps he should have picked up a keychain instead! pic.twitter.com/AQ4VBPtViG TSAmedia_LisaF (@TSAmedia_LisaF) July 29, 2019 TSA said the weapon was not live, but it was confiscated and delivered to the state fire marshal for due destruction. The man was allowed to continue his journey. From NTD News There has been no shortage of speculation in regard to the actual release date of the PlayStation 5 and its final recommended retail price. The latest suggestion has come up with a slightly earlier date than many believe, while the worldwide market prices listed on this occasion for the PS5 seem to be in line with what is already generally expected. Working For Notebookcheck Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! English native speakers welcome! News Writer (AUS/NZL based) - Details here A new leak concerning the potential release date and market prices for the PlayStation 5 has made its way to the 4channel imageboard. While we already know the PS5 is scheduled for a Holiday 2020 release, with many guessing at some point in November, this supposed new secret information has plumped for an earlier October release instead. The post also makes mention of a PS5 reveal to take place on February 5. As for the prices for the PS5, the same post has gone with worldwide market price tags of US$499/449/449/54,999. Much of the speculation around the cost of the PlayStation 5 has fallen at around the US$500 mark, so these prices seem at the very least believable, if not necessarily genuine. There is also further mention of the consoles backwards compatibility, reaching all the way back to PS1 games. However, like all PS5-related rumors from spurious sources, it is wise to take this information in a skeptical manner. For instance, the post states Sony will return to E3 for 2020 to discuss more on the PS5 and other upcoming titles. As we recently reported, a spokesperson for Sony already made it clear that the company would not be figuring at E3 2020 thus casting some doubt over the veracity of these latest rumors. PlayStation 4 Slim on sale now at Amazon New Delhi Two women died in mysterious circumstances at the house of their in-laws in two separate incidents in the city. While one of the incidents was reported from east Delhis Pandav Nagar, the other was reported from Burari in north Delhi between Monday and Thursday. The police have registered separate cases of dowry death against the in-laws of the dead women in the two incidents. The initial enquiry in both the incidents, however, has indicated that the women allegedly killed themselves, the police said. On Thursday, the north district police received information from a private hospital in Civil Lines regarding a woman who was brought dead by her in-laws from Burari. A police team reached the hospital and met the doctors, who told them that it was a case of hanging. The 29-year-old womans in-laws told them that she had allegedly hanged herself from a ceiling fan. Her family members also arrived after being informed about the incident, said a police officer privy to the case. The womans father recorded his statement in which he accused her daughters in-laws of killing her for dowry. He alleged that the in-laws were demanding a gold biscuit and 50,000 in cash, despite the fact that they were given a car and other valuables as dowry during the marriage in January last year. The in-laws had been torturing her since the dowry demands were not being met, said the officer. Additional deputy commissioner of police (north) Dinesh Kumar Gupta said that a case of dowry death has been registered at the Burari police station on the complaint of the womans father. The allegations are being verified. The investigation is on, Gupta said. The woman was not pregnant, the additional DCP said, when asked about her pregnancy. In the second case, which took place on Monday in Pandav Nagar, a woman in her mid-twenties died after allegedly falling down from the terrace of the home of her in-laws. While the in-laws told the police that she jumped off the building, her family members accused them of killing her for dowry. We have registered a case of dowry death in which the womans husband and his brother are named, said another police officer. New Delhi, Jan 17 : The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday issued an advisory for travellers visiting China in the wake of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak in the neighbouring country. The advisory said: "Travellers to China should follow simple public health measures at all times. They should observe good personal hygiene, practice frequent hand washing with soap, follow respiratory etiquette, cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing. Avoid close contact with people who are unwell or showing symptoms of illness, such as cough, runny nose etc. Avoid contact with live animals and consumption of raw/undercooked meat. Avoid travel to farms, live animal markets or where animals are slaughtered. Wear a mask if you have respiratory symptoms such as cough or runny nose." As on January 11, 41 Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) confirmed infection case have been reported from China, of which one has died. One travel related case each has been reported in Thailand and Japan. The clinical signs and symptoms are mainly fever with a few patients having difficulty in breathing. The mode of transmission is unclear as of now. However, so far there is little evidence of significant human-to-human transmission. The advisory also said: "All travellers to China, Wuhan city in particular, to monitor their health closely. Cover your mouth while coughing or sneezing, Don't plan travel if sick. Seek medical attention promptly." The travellers were also advised to inform the airlines crew about illness and seek a mask from the crew and avoid close contact with family members or fellow travellers if they feel sick on flight, while travelling back to India. The ministry confirmed that they are closely monitoring the situation after the reports of 41 confirmed cases of the nCoV including one death from Wuhan, China on January 5. According to the WHO, the situation is still evolving and preliminary investigations suggest a link to the seafood market. Health Secretary Preeti Sudan said: "We are regularly reviewing the public health preparedness in the country since the news broke out. The public health preparedness is being reviewed on day-to-day basis and the core capacities to timely detect and manage importation of the nCoV into the country are being strengthened further." She added: "The situation is being monitored in consultation with WHO and keeping in view the limited human to human transmission the risk at global level is perceived to be low." In view of precautionary measures, the Ministry of Health has ordered screening of international travellers from China at designated airports namely, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata through thermal scanners. State governments have also been advised to take necessary precautions. The Ministry is also in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs, and the immigration officers at the airports have been sensitised. VERNAL, Utah - A sex offender recently released from an Iowa prison has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman on a Greyhound bus, Utah authorities said. Gregory Kehl was arrested in the small northeastern Utah city of Vernal after the driver stopped the bus at a restaurant and reported the alleged assault to a restaurant manager, KUTV reported Thursday. The woman told police that she moved away from Kehl during the bus trip but he followed her inside the bus, exposing himself and sexually assaulting her. Kehl, 64, told an officer that he was on his way to California following his release from the Iowa prison, police said. Kehl was detained in jail and could not comment. He did not yet have a lawyer who could comment on his behalf, according to court records Greyhound did not immediately respond to a request for comment, KUTV reported. European Union High Representative Josep Borrell Fontelles on Friday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the interaction, the prime minister said India and the European Union were natural partners and he was looking forward to a productive India-EU Summit in March 2020. Modi reiterated India's commitment to deepen the engagement with the EU, particularly in the fields of climate change, and trade and economic relations, a statement from the prime minister's office said. The prime minister also recalled his earlier interactions with leadership of European Commission and European Council. Borrell conveyed that the leadership of the European Union keenly looked forward to hosting the next India-EU Summit in Brussels in the near future. He also dwelt on the shared priorities and commitment of EU and India, which include democracy, multilateralism and rules-based international order. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hungarian bakeries are planning a 10-15% price increase in the coming weeks, reports economic daily Vilaggazdasag. Along with the rising price of raw materials, energy and wage costs, the transfer price of flour from mills will increase by HUF 3-5 due to the African swine fever (ASP) epidemic in January. Already in November last year, mills informed their customers that at the end of January, they would raise the price of flour by about HUF 3-5/kg, said Zoltan Lakatos, president and CEO of Hajdu Gabona Zrt. The raise is attributed to several factors, the most important of which is the price of raw materials. The quality of last years good average crop was greatly influenced by the presence of a fungal infection called fusarium, the removal of which reduced efficiency by at least 1%. ASP also affects the situation of mills. Although the virus has not yet been detected in the domestic pig population, many pigs have been slaughtered in Hungary for prevention. As this reduces the need for bran, mills are trying to sell off their accumulated inventory, which reduces their productivity by HUF 1.5-2 HUF per kilogram of wheat, vg.hu explains. ALTON After years of rumors and buzz about possible Alton Square Mall movie theater developments that never panned out, the news is real. Mall property owner The Hull Group on Thursday afternoon held a press event to announce NCG Cinemas plans to build an eight-screen theater in the space formerly occupied by Sears. Its expected to open this summer. Its been a very long time coming, Alton Mayor Brant Walker said at the announcement, held at the mall Wednesday, and attended by a flock of area officials. It took us 24, 25 years to make it happen, he said. Without the community, this wouldnt have happened. He said the project wouldnt be possible without a tax increment financing (TIF) agreement, which allows property owners to use property tax dollars, that would normally go to taxing bodies, to help pay for pricey infrastructure improvements and construction. Representatives from many of those taxing bodies, such as Alton School District, attended the event. This really is a true collaboration among not only the city of Alton, but the entire region, Walker said. Walker gave high praise to The Hull Group, which purchased the struggling property in summer of 2015 with confident promises of a data-driven business resurgence at the mall. Without Mr. (Jim) Hulls vision and his commitment to this community, none of this would have happened, so we couldnt be happier, Walker said. Thank you for the commitment and just the work youve done so far, we cant wait for more to come. Weve got many more announcements to come in 2020, but I cant think of a better way to start off 2020 than with the announcement of an eight-screen movie theater, here in Alton Square Mall, he added. Hull, who is based in Augusta, Georgia spoke, offering his customary confidence that the mall will continue building success. We love Alton, he said. Were so excited for the future, and having this NCG (Neighborhood Cinema Group) Cinema here this state of the art, (luxurious) theater. Alton is going to have the best theater, Hull continued. Better than any theater in St. Louis or anywhere else. Hull Groups Rob Johnson, whos leading the theaters construction, said the cinema will have four larger theaters and four smaller. He said construction will take about seven months, with another three or four weeks for NCG crews to install seating and its business operations. Were getting started early, while we finalize some other things, and were looking forward to the months ahead as challenging as itll be, but itll be worth the challenge at the end, he said. Wayne Grovenstein, general counsel for The Hull Group, also spoke, praising city and government officials hes worked with on the legal side of the malls redevelopment, which has been assisted by the TIF agreement. The complex agreements cap property tax funding allotted to taxing bodies for several years. The excess revenue generated by naturally increasing property values is then put into a coffer used to fund business infrastructure for private property owners, thereby accelerating all tax revenue. Ideally, TIF agreements will eventually benefit the taxing bodies involved when they expire. TIF plans must be agreed to by all affected taxing bodies. You all are very, very fortunate to have the type of leadership that you have in this community, he said. Its very strong, and very progressive. We wouldnt be here today without their work. Thank you to the (Alton) City Council for placing their trust in us and what were trying to do. This will be another catalyst, if you will, for more things, and better things, to come. State of Alton Square Mall Jim Hull on Thursday evoked a saying that hes used as a mantra when talking about The Hull Groups investments. There is no bad property. Theres just bad ownership. Hopefully were going to be the right ownership. The groups first major project was demolition of the space formerly occupied by Macys. That was followed by multiple interior renovation projects. Were feeling good about the interior, Hull said. Now, what weve got to do is make the exterior feel as good as the interior feels. Thats our future path. In March, the Hull Group announced plans for a new OSF St. Anthonys Healthcare speech, occupational and physical health facility. The 12,000-square-foot rehabilitation facility will be on the upper level of the mall in the area formerly occupied by the food court. To those who say the two major announcements arent enough, Hull maintains realistic goals. Weve got to keep the tenants we have now, he said. Thats what were going to work on. We have a lot to do, and were excited about the future. About NCG Cinema Group Neighborhood Cinema Group, branded as NCG Cinemas, is bringing the cinema to the city. NCG is a movie theater chain headquartered in Owosso, Michigan and are owned and operated by the Geiger family. The chain consists at present of 25 theaters with 147 screens across the Midwest. Operated by NCG, the Alton theater will feature eight state-of-the-art auditoriums, with luxury seating, in the space formerly occupied by Sears, inside the Alton Square Mall. Telegraph reporter Jeanie Stephens contributed to this story. Thousands of Delta Air Lines workers have suffered hair loss, skin rashes, nose bleeds and other symptoms from toxic chemicals in their work uniforms, according to a class action lawsuit filed on December 31. The now-infamous Passport Plum uniforms were purchased from Lands End, an American clothing retailer. They were issued to tens of thousands of employees, who were required to wear them after May 29, 2018. The uniforms were treated with a toxic cocktail of chemical additives and finishes that were designed to make them high stretch, wrinkle and stain resistant, waterproof, anti-static, and deodorizing, according to the lawsuit. This combination of additives and finishes caused skin rashes, headaches and other health problems among many workers. I am confident that these uniforms are affecting many thousands of people, attorney Bruce A. Maxwell said in an interview with the World Socialist Web Site. My office has fielded in excess of 2,000 calls. A closed Facebook page for flight attendants, he said, already has around 6,500 participants. Maxwell, of the Jacksonville, Florida law firm Terrell Hogan, is the lead attorney on the case. More than 500 workers have joined the lawsuit already, he said, adding that he would soon be amending the complaint to increase that number to around a thousand workers. These uniforms were issued to 64,000 employees, Maxwell says, of which 24,000 are flight attendants. The remaining 40,000 are customer service workers, ramp and gate agents, Sky Club workers, as well as cargo, maintenance and technical workers. In this latter category, which is numerically larger, relatively fewer workers have come forward so far, which Maxwell attributes to fear of being fired. Im hoping the more attention is brought to this matter, the more will come out. A Delta worker's skin after wearing the work uniform While images of skin rashes and boils are gruesome, Maxwell emphasized that the damage extends beyond the skin. The external is only part of this, he says. There is also the internal. According to the lawsuit, the health problems reported by affected workers, which have persisted in many cases long term, include a wide range of respiratory problems, including severe respiratory distress, vocal cord dysfunction, breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, coughing and tightness of chest. In addition, effects on the skin have included contact dermatitis, skin blisters, skin rashes, boils, hives, bruising, eczema, scarring, hair loss, [and] hair follicle inflammation. A Delta worker woke up bleeding profusely from the nose Workers have also reported blurred vision, dry eyes, nosebleeds, ringing ears, sinus problems, migraines, headaches, fatigue, muscle weakness, anxiety, swollen lymph nodes, anaphylactic type symptoms (severe allergic reactions) and auto-immune conditions. Among Maxwells clients are flight attendants who were previously in good physical shape, including workers who would regularly run for exercise. They cant run anymore. Their breathing difficulties are such that they cant do it. He described speaking to one worker whose hair was falling out in chunks. He described another worker waking up from a nap to discover blood everywhere, having bled profusely from the nose. A Delta worker's back after wearing the work uniforms Deltas employee absence level, recorded as call-ins for calling in sick, spiked after the introduction of the uniforms. The lawsuit details the individual ordeals of numerous workers who were poisoned by the uniforms. For example, flight attendant Stephanie Andrews of Murray, Utah suffered from asthma, vocal cord dysfunction, breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, coughing, tightness of chest, contact dermatitis, skin rashes, hives, hair loss, heart palpitations, fatigue, and auto-immune conditions. Flight attendant Janelle Austin of Atlanta, Georgia suffered from hair loss, skin irritation, rashes, itchiness, difficulty breathing, fatigue, headaches, eye irritation, and sinus irritation. Flight attendant Phyllis Heffeldinger of Londonville, Ohio suffered from chest pain and difficulty breathing. After the uniforms were implemented in May, by the end of August Delta itself had acknowledged that around 1,900 out of 64,000 employees had reported some type of concern with the uniforms. By November, the number had risen 3,000. A Delta worker photographed this clump of hair that had fallen out The lawsuit alleges that the uniforms pose ongoing, unreasonable risks of harm to the workers who are wearing them, asking the judge to order Lands End to recall the uniforms and to establish a monitoring program over the adverse health effects of the uniforms. According to the lawsuit, testing performed on behalf of the workers has revealed the presence of chemicals and heavy metals far in excess of industry-accepted safe levels for garments, including: Chromium harmful to the skin, eyes, blood, and respiratory system; Antimony harmful to the eyes and skin; causes hair loss; used to make flame-proofing materials; Mercury at high vapor concentrations, it can cause quick and severe lung damage; at low vapor concentrations over an extended period of time, it can cause neurological disturbances, memory problems, skin rash and kidney abnormalities; mercury can pass from a mother to her baby through the placenta during pregnancy and through breast milk after birth; Formaldehyde skin, throat, lungs and eye irritant; repeated exposure can cause cancer; Fluorine eye irritant; harmful to kidneys, teeth, bones, nerves and muscles; used as a stain repellant; and Bromine skin, mucous membrane, and tissue irritant; used as a fire retardant. Discussing the testing that has been conducted on behalf of Delta workers, Maxwell pointed to fluorine in particular. The numbers came back pretty high on that. Maxwell pointed out, as an additional concern, that after exposure to toxic chemicals and metals, a person can become sensitized. If that happens, your auto-immune system shuts down, and you become unable to fend off future exposures to that chemical. Workers have reported that even if they are no longer wearing the uniform, they can have adverse reactions simply to sitting next to someone who is wearing the uniform. This phenomenon is the result of off-gassing, or the release of airborne particles from the contaminated fabric. The lawsuit, which was filed against Lands End but not Delta itself, alleges that the uniforms were defective, that Lands End failed to provide appropriate and necessary warnings, and that Lands End was negligent in designing, testing and inspecting the uniforms. American Airlines workers reported similar issues with Twin Hill uniforms, which were distributed to 70,000 airline employees in September 2016. Workers interviewed by the WSWS in June of last year reported body rashes, burning throat and eyes, coughing and headaches. After the scandal over the Twin Hill uniforms, American Airlines attempted to reassure workers by promising to switch to Lands End. We are the new radium girls, flight attendant and author Heather Poole said at the time, referring to thousands of female workers at paint factories who were exposed to the radioactive element in the early 20th century. It took them years to get sick, so the company would deny responsibility. Delta Airlines is also notorious among flight attendants for its workers compensation regime, which systematically denies adequate healthcare even for crippling workplace injuries. The airlines third-party administrator, Sedgwick, is also the claims administrator for Amazon, where it is widely hated for its ruthlessness. A number of injured flight attendants spoke to the World Socialist Web Site about their experiences last year. After the Delta workers lawsuit was filed against Lands End, American Airlines claimed to workers that the new Lands End uniforms for American Airlines are safe, notwithstanding the lawsuit. I hope theyre sure about that, Maxwell says drily. Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines workers have also reported health problems resulting from their work uniforms. A recent Harvard study published in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Public Health, titled Symptoms related to new flight attendant uniforms, found a correlation between health problems among 684 Alaska Airlines workers and their uniforms. When the uniforms were introduced in 2011, health problems increased, and after the uniforms were recalled in 2014, the study showed a decrease. The study concluded: This study found a relationship between health complaints and the introduction of new uniforms in this longitudinal occupational cohort. Formaldehyde-releasing textile resins, in particular, constitute a cheap means for employers to limit wrinkles on employee uniforms, keeping employees looking neat. While the companies insist that the level of each toxic chemical and metal in the uniforms is limited to a safe level, it appears likely that the effects of the chemicals and metals are aggravated in combination with each other. We dont have any standards anymore in the US, Maxwell said. He pointed to the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, which gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate the industrial chemicals such as those to which Delta workers were exposed. This law is on the books, Maxwell said. Apparently, our government is not acting as a regulatory force on this law. I dont see where that is being enforced in the garment industry. Maxwell also pointed to Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has promulgated limits on exposure to toxic metals in the workplace. Delta workers were exposed to quantities that are way above that. Maxwell continued, I dont understand why thats not being applied or looked at because, my goodness, thats in the workplace. The U.S. military says 11 U.S. service members were treated for concussion symptoms following the January 8 Iran missile attack on a base in Iraq, despite earlier remarks by President Donald Trump that no Americans were harmed in the incident. "While no U.S. service members were killed in the January 8 Iranian attack on Ain Al-Asad air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement late on January 16. "In the days following the attack, out of an abundance of caution, some service members were transported from Ain Al-Asad air base," he said, adding that the troops had been sent to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait for further tests. Urban said that "when deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening." There were some 1,500 U.S. soldiers at the base at the time of the attack. Most had been huddling in bunkers after being alerted about the incoming missiles. The comments confirmed reports earlier in The New York Times and the Defense One publication. Following the attack, Trump said that Iran "appears to be standing down" after the country carried out the ballistic-missile attack on air bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq. In a January 8 address to the nation, Trump said that "no American or Iraqi lives were lost" in the strikes, "no Americans were harmed," and that the bases suffered "only minimal damage." U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper echoed those remarks, telling a press briefing on January 8 that most importantly, no casualties, no friendly causalities, whether they are U.S., coalition, contractor, etcetera occurred during the attack. Iran said the missile attacks on the Ain Al-Asad air base and the Harir air base were in retaliation for the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani. With reporting by Reuters, Defense One, and AFP Houston convention officials approved a plan that would deliver tens of millions of dollars in economic incentives to a development group proposing to build a W Hotel downtown. The board of Houston First Corp. voted 10-3 Thursday afternoon in favor of the deal, which will grant some $43 million in property, sales and beverage tax breaks for the luxury hotel, set to be developed atop the agencys 10-story building next to the George R. Brown Convention Center. Chairman David Mincberg was one of three board members who voted against the motion to approve a development agreement with Texas Hospitality Partners, which would build, finance and operate the hotel. At the end of the day, based on my real estate experience I didnt feel it was the best transaction that could be accomplished for Houston First and our community, Mincberg said after the meeting. Alex Brennan-Martin and Nicki Keenan also voted against the motion. The agreement now heads to Houston City Council for approval. Prime Property: Get Houston real estate news sent directly to your inbox Details of the potential arrangement released last year showed a package of state and local tax rebates worth an estimated $42.6 million to be provided over 16 years. The initial set of proposed incentives included rebates of the states hotel occupancy and sales taxes for 10 years; a portion of the citys hotel occupancy taxes for 12 years; and city property and sales and mixed-beverage taxes for 12 years. In addition, the developer would not pay rent on the air rights lease for 16 years. The incentives would decrease if the hotels profits exceed a specific amount. Al Kashani of Texas Hospitality Partners said the $130 million project would be an economic boon for the city. The 308-room hotel, he said, would be privately financed and create a minimum of 275 permanent jobs worth more than $14 million annually, along with more than 745 construction jobs. Im happy with the results, he said after the vote. Plans to build a hotel atop the office building have been in the works since 2014, when Houston First initially sought proposals from developers. At that time, however, it said no local rebates or abatements would be offered and that it envisioned a more modest hotel brand. Houston First continued to negotiate a development agreement even as a high-end W Hotel became the proposed brand. LISTEN: Stay in the know by subscribing to Looped In, the Houston Chronicles podcast all about real estate Neel Lund, a vice president with W parent Marriott International, said Thursday that Houston is the only major city in the country that does not have a W. The brand is geared toward a younger generation typically under 45 seeking specific amenities and a modern aesthetic. Houston is an important market for W, he said. Rob Hunden, president of Hunden Partners, a Chicago-based real estate consultant specializing in tourism developments, said bringing a W hotel to Houston could fill a void and elevate the citys tourism profile. Hunden said the said the incentive package is not out of line with other public-private convention hotel projects and that the addition of a W would help diversify the lodging options around the convention center. The reality is that most large convention headquarter hotels are all very high quality and include full-service amenities, but they dont often offer a unique experience. Brands like W offer such an experience with curated, modern food and beverage options, a hip vibe in the lively bar/lounge, the latest design elements and public areas enhanced with music, specific scents, active seating areas for people to work in the lobby and other unique spaces, he said. The proposed hotel would be built atop 701 Avenida de las Americas, a city-owned building called Partnership Tower designed to support a building addition. As the citys convention arm, Houston First manages more than 10 city-owned buildings, including the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, the convention center, Jones Hall for the Performing Arts and Wortham Theater Center. nancy.sarnoff@chron.com twitter.com/nsarnoff Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this story. SPRINGFIELD, Ore.-- The Springfield community got their first chance to meet five candidates to become the next city manager Thursday evening. The candidates come from around the country and all have at least a decade of experience in local government. Mayor Christine Lundberg said she and the city council went through a rigorous process to narrow down the applicants to five. "We have very specific qualities," Lundberg said. "Springfield is a growing as a vibrant community so we are looking for someone who recognizes that growing vibrancy and wants to be part of it." Here are the candidates: Adam Hammaty 12 years of experience in local government City Manager for City of Whitefish, Montana from, 2017 to 2019; Village Administrator for the Village of Kimberly, Wisconsin, from 2012 to 2017, Village Administrator for the Village of Suamico, Wisconsin, from 2010 to 2012; City Administrator for the City of Elroy, Wisconsin, from 2008 to 2010. Bachelor's degree in political science, Montana State University Master's degree in public administration, University of Montana Juris Doctor degree, University of Montana School of Law ICMA Credentialed Manager Jacque Betz More than 10 years of experience in local government Currently, the City Administrator for the City of Gladstone, Oregon Gladstones Assistant City Administrator from 2016 to 2017 City Manager for the City of Newberg, Oregon, from 2014 to 2015 City Manager for the City of Florence, Oregon, from 2012 to 2014 Bachelors degree in liberal studies, Oregon State University Currently completing a masters degree in public policy administration at Northwestern University ICMA Credentialed Manager Nancy Newton More than 10 years of local government experience Currently, the Assistant County Executive/Chief Operating Officer for Sacramento County, California Interim County Administrator for Clackamas County, Oregon, from July to September 2013 Deputy County Administrator for Clackamas County from 2010 to 2016 Bachelors degree in management and organizational leadership, George Fox University Masters degree in public administration, Portland State University Raymond Lee More than 10 years of local government experience Currently serves as the Public Works Director for the City of Amarillo, Texas Assistant Director of Street Services from 2015 to 2016 for the City of Dallas, Texas Variety of positions in the Street Services department from 2012 to 2015 for the City of Dallas, Texas. Business Manager for Library Services for the City of Dallas from 2010 to 2012 Bachelors degree in public administration, Henderson State University Masters degree in public administration, University of Kansas Robert Wood More than 21 years of local government experience City Administrator for the City of West Lake Hills, Texas, from 2007 to August 2019 City Manager for the City of Flatonia, Texas, from 1999 to 2007 Bachelors degree in economics, University of Texas Masters degree in public affairs, University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs ICMA Credentialed Manager The money must be returned immediately and in full to the village and appropriate disciplinary action must be taken, trustees said in their statement. This is a grave and embarrassing situation that is being compounded by the mayors refusal to cooperate. Ever since I wrote a story last year on a federal lawsuit on whether a Colorado charter school violated students constitutional rights , people have emailed me to ask: What happened to the students? Did a court ever rule on the situation? Its certainly not often that reporters get to return to stories they covered and this is a nice exception. Last October, the students, parents, and administrators of Victory Preparatory Academy reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount of money. Heres a short background for those of you new to the unusual. In 2017, students at VPA, a highly ranked charter school in Commerce City, Colo., had held a brief silent protest to draw attention to what they felt was an overly strict, punitive culture at the school. The schools administraton reacted severely: It made the entire student body go home for the remainder of the day, and then compelled some students parents to withdraw them from the charter school. The parents and students said this was a violation of the students First Amendment rights, as well as their due-process rights under the U.S. Constitution. I used this micro-example as a starting point to explore the much broader idea of whether schools have a duty to model good civic practices, as well as to teach them . Its part of our ongoing investigation into the way U.S. schools teach civics, and how they might improve it. To be clear, I highlighted this example because it seemed so extreme. VPA administrators conduct is probably not representative of charter schools or U.S. schools as a whole. But some of the themesa lack of student voice, a strict dress code and code of conduct, and so ondo echo in national debates over schooling, especially over how discipline policies tend to impact students of color more than their peers. These are, of course, extremely complicated issues. Schools are not democracies, after allthere have to be rules to ensure order and an opportunity to learn. And students constitutional rights do look different in schools. But at what point does the line get crossed? In a crucial moment last August, federal district court judge Raymond P. Moore ruled against a motion from the school to dismiss the case. In his ruling, he found most of the students and parents claims plausible, including the notion that the school deprived students of their due process. Defendents cite no authority for the proposition that school officials may summarily suspend an entire student body of approximately 120 students in the manner alleged here. It is inconceivable that these students had an opportunity to present their side of the story in the brief period between when they were called back to the gym and when Defendant Jajdelslki [VPAs principal] announced their collective suspension, he noted. On only one claim did he side with the defendants, saying that the 66-page student handbook was not facially unconstitutional. (This is generally a high bar to meet because one must show there are no circumstances whatsoever that the policy being challenged could be valid.) Reaching a Settlement Its not entirely clear what prompted the two parties to reach a settlement. But the fact that the judge did not throw the lawsuit out probably had something to do with it. Litigation is lengthy and costly, and this one had the added specter of potentially being certified as a class action on behalf of all the students attending VPA. (Principal Ron Jajdelski did not immediately return a request for comment.) Because this case is now settled, we dont know how the court might have ruled if, via discovery, it had been able to see all the evidence. But, said Iris Halpern, one of the attorneys representing the students, the order clearly embraced the importance of preserving students rights. I think what made us happy is that all of these rights were very clearly encapsulated. He wrote a very clear decision. He was not narrowly looking at these issues so they dont apply elsewhere, Halpern said. It reinforced students and parents rights to be critical of schools, which are huge institutionsand extremely important institutions in these communities and in parents and students lives. Thats especially important given that the school serves a mostly Latino population. VPAs troubles may not be over. Apparently as a result of the attention brought by the lawsuit (especially, at an evidentiary hearing), the schools authorizer, the Colorado Charter School Institute, last summer sent a letter notifying it of a breach in its charter contract. Its concern? The schools policy of counting expulsions as voluntary withdrawals, which the authorizer say ran counter to Colorado rules. Elsewhere, the CCSI also said that the student handbook needed to be revised for calling for suspensions and explusions for a variety of grounds not authorized in state law. The handbook appears to authorize suspension for such matters as failing to turn in homework, truancy/tardiness, and having food/beverages outside of the cafeteria, it noted. It is not yet clear how VPA responded, but in any case, a failure to correct these issues could lead to additional sanctions or ultimately a revocation of the schools charter. Image: Emilio Flores and his parents were among the individuals that sued a Colorado charter school for violating free-speech and due process rights. The case recently settled. There's a brand new way Democrats can make the debate stage next month. The Democratic National Committee announced requirements to qualify for February's primary debate Friday, saying the donor threshold will remain steady, with candidates needing at least 225,000 unique donors. Candidates will also, as before, need to hit at least five percent in four qualifying national polls or seven percent in two polls of New Hampshire, Nevada, or South Carolina voters. But there's now a third path that candidates can take to replace the poll requirement: If they win just one delegate in Iowa, they're in. This could open a path for candidates such as entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who hit the donor requirement but didn't have enough qualifying polls to make January's debate. The Iowa caucuses are Feb. 3, and the next debate is Feb. 7 in New Hampshire. More stories from theweek.com The strongest case for Joe Biden Under McConnell's rules, Trump's impeachment trial could last well past midnight or end immediately San Francisco Giants' Alyssa Nakken becomes MLB's 1st female coach Philippine protesters picket outside the Senate in Manila at the start of a probe by lawmakers regarding a Filipina overseas worker who was found dead inside a freezer in Kuwait, Feb. 21, 2018. The Philippines has imposed a total ban on sending new workers to Kuwait, after a maid who allegedly was raped and mutilated by her employer died, officials said, announcing the second ban since 2019 over grisly killings of Filipino laborers in the Gulf state. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III accused Kuwaiti authorities of a cover-up in the recent death of domestic servant Jeanelyn Padernal Villavende as he recommended the sanction on Filipino Overseas Foreign Workers (OFW). An autopsy by the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed she had been raped before being tortured and killed last month contrary to a report by the Kuwait Ministry of Health the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment alleged. The OFW was sexually abused and brutally murdered while some of her internal organs were missing, Bello said in a statement. An autopsy report released earlier by Kuwait had listed the cause of death only as heart failure arising from physical injuries, he said. It is definitely in contrast with the findings of the NBI that she was sexually abused, Bello said, referring to the bureau of investigation. The alleged attempt of the Kuwaiti government to cover-up the true cause of death of a Pinay overseas Filipino worker has fueled the Philippine government to impose a total [overseas foreign] worker ban in the Arab country, said the statement issued by the labor department issued on Thursday. The ban, Bello said, would remain in effect until the Philippine government got justice for Villavende. On Friday, a spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte said the leader had approved the labor secretarys recommendation. The ban includes skilled workers, spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement. Bernard Olalia, administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, said it would not process papers of those worker leaving for Kuwait. However, he said those who were able to secure their travel documents before this week would be allowed to travel to the oil-rich Middle Eastern state. Villavende, 26, who left her home in southern Cotabato province in June 2019, was declared dead on arrival when she was brought to a Kuwaiti hospital on Dec. 30. A couple suspected of being behind her death are in Kuwaiti police custody. This happened and now we would see how the government of Kuwait would react to this development. We already have a clear agreement with them, Philippine Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said. So, if they do not comply with their undertaking or responsibilities, government-to-government, in my opinion our OFWs can find work in other countries. He said there were clear indications that Villavende had suffered sexual abuse. Old wounds were found on her body, indicating she had been battered for weeks prior to her death. Last year, the Philippines imposed a total ban on the deployment of its workers to Kuwait, in the wake of the gruesome deaths of at least two Filipino workers. These included a maid, Joanna Demafelis, who was found dead in a freezer in her employers abandoned apartment in Kuwait City the previous year. President Rodrigo Duterte banned the deployment of new workers to Kuwait after Constancia Lago Dayag was declared dead in a hospital in Kuwait in May 2019. Duterte, however, later lifted the first ban after Kuwait apologized and agreed to sign a deal to protect Filipino workers. Among other conditions, Kuwait agreed to a demand by Manila that Kuwaiti employers be prohibited from confiscating the passports of their Filipino workers. Army of workers More than 2 million Filipinos work across the Middle East, including about 500,000 in Kuwait. These figures reflect the number of documented workers, and it is believed that tens of thousands of others are working in the region as maids and laborers without valid papers. They risk going there often through illegal means, putting their safety at risk, labor advocacy groups said. The latest ban on Philippine workers going to Kuwait came as Manila was in the process of trying to repatriate Filipinos from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon after tensions escalated sharply between Washington and Tehran following the killing of Irans top general in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3. The two longtime adversaries pulled back from the brink of war, but the Philippines has pushed on with efforts to evacuate and repatriate its workers in those three countries. This week, Manila repatriated 12 workers from Baghdad. Meanwhile, a government labor attache travelled to Saudi Arabia to help in the repatriation effort, though it remained unclear how many Filipinos had responded to their governments call to return home. Requests for repatriation from OFWs in Iraq, Libya and other Middle East hotspots have been received by our embassies and consulates and their exit clearances are now being processed, the Philippine Department of National Defense said. The Philippines repatriation team, led by special envoy Roy Cimatu, was exploring all possible routes by airlines, from Baghdad and Erbil in Iraq to Doha, Qatar, and then on to Manila. Jeoffrey Maitem contributed to this report from Cotabato City, Philippines. Libya: Putin and Pompeo will be at Berlin Conference Yesterday Haftar, Sarraj join. Erdogan: 'Haftar untrustworthy' (ANSAmed) - ROME, JANUARY 17 - Two days away from the Berlin Conference, which is scheduled on Sunday to discuss the near-term future of Libya, there are two new attendees: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It seems, therefore, that there may be a possibility for a political solution to the conflict: both factions involved - Tripoli Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and his rival Khalifa Haftar - on Thursday accepted the invitation by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to attend the conference in the country's capital, assuring her they would be at the negotiating table with the other regional and world leaders. Berlin, however, sought to manage expectations, with a statement by the German government's spokesman Steffen Seibert. "We can't solve all the problems with one conference," Seibert said. "It's the start of a political process, taking place under the auspices of the United Nations," he said. But the ceasefire that is the presupposition for the conference remains fragile. Haftar, who on Thursday ensured his "willingness to move forward with the ceasefire", which has been holding for a week despite the lack of his signature in Moscow, was accused on Friday by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being an "untrustworthy man" who "continued even yesterday bombing Tripoli". In the Tripoli camp, the Government of National Accord (GNA) led by al-Sarraj asked that Tunisia also be present at the conference on Sunday. It defined Tunisia as a country "of great importance, because it is a bordering country that protected thousands of displaced Libyans". It also asked for Qatar to be present, as it "was and still is the main country in support of the 17 February Revolution". These requests were seen by Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte as an "excellent sign". Now everyone, Russia included, is looking to Berlin as a last chance, while all-out frenetic contacts continue between chancelleries, travel, and meetings.(ANSAmed). The painting, 'Head of a Young Woman', was considered a national treasure. Images: Getty A former bank chairman and billionaire has received an $84 million (52 million) fine after being convicted of smuggling a valuable Picasso artwork out of Spain. The $42 million painting, Head of a Young Woman, had been classed as a national treasure when the ex-chairman of Spanish bank, Bankinter, Jaime Botin attempted to smuggle it out of the country. Botin was chairman from 1986 to 2002. The 1906 painting was taken from Botins yacht during a customs search on the French island Corsica in 2015. Spanish authorities accused the 83-year-old of attempting to sell the painting, however Botin claimed he had been moving the painting to Switzerland for safekeeping. Botin had asked about selling the painting in 2012, with auction-firm Christies in 2012 informing him that he would need permission from Spain for it to go on sale due to its national treasure status. But Botin went on to transfer the painting to Spanish port city Valencia, before asking the yachts captain to hide the painting. Madrids High Court noted this series of events in its ruling on Thursday. In addition to the fine, Botin was handed an 18-month prison term, with the painting also now belonging to Spain. National treasure status blocks Cimabue sale Late last year an elderly French woman discovered a$32 million painting by Italian painter Cimabue. However, after selling at auction for four times the expected price, the French government blocked the export of the painting for 30 months by conferring national treasure status upon it. The French government will now raise the required funds to buy the painting, Christ Mocked, back for the country. Make your money work with Yahoo Finances daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, property and tech news. The seized painting 'Head of a young woman' by famous Spanish painter Picasso. Photo: Getty Images/Garda Civil A Spanish billionaire banker, who is also an art collector, has been jailed for 18 months and fined 52.4m (44.6m, $58.4m) for trying to smuggle a national treasure Picasso painting out of the country to sell at an auction. The artwork, Head of a Young Woman, is valued at 26m and is regarded as an artistic treasure by the Spanish government, meaning it cant be taken out of the country or sold without special permission. In 2015, it was discovered by customs officials and police in the French island of Corsica on board the yacht of owner Jamie Botin, who was the-then head of the Madrid-based bank Bankinter (BAKA.SG). Spanish prosecutors say that Botin, 83, was told by auctioneers Christies in 2012 that hed need a special permit to sell the valuable painting that he bought in 1977 but had been denied one. READ MORE: Rare 1 coin sells for record 1m The court heard that Botin then sent the painting to his yacht in Valencia and ordered it to be stashed away. When it was discovered in French territory three years later, Botin argued he was taking it to Switzerland for safe-keeping. Spanish Civil Guards move the box containing Picasso's painting 'Head of a Young Woman' into the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid. Photo: Getty Images However, the Madrid High Court found Botin guilty on Thursday of attempting to remove cultural goods from Spain without a permit. He has also been ordered to give up the painting, which is now at the Reina Sofia art gallery in Madrid, according to a BBC report. Botin, who Forbes say has a net worth of $1.7bn, may appeal against his sentence and its unlikely hell be sent to jail because of his age and the non-violent nature of the crime. Botins father and brother were both chairmen of Spains Santander (SAN) bank and he was a vice-chairman before resigning in 2004. Picassos Head of a Young Woman (1906) is a rare example of his pink period (1904-1906), a precursor to the Cubism he is more well known for. READ MORE: This eight-year-old boy makes $26m a year on his YouTube channel Pune, Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Grinding Machines Market size is expected to reach USD 6.73 billion by 2026 on account of increasing demand from automobile industries worldwide. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights titled, Grinding Machines Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Product (CNC (Cylindrical Grinding Machine, Surface Grinding Machine, Others (Centerless Grinding Machine, Gear Grinding Machines)), Conventional), By Application (Automotive, General Machinery, Precision Machinery, Transport Machinery, Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026, the market value was USD 4.72 billion in 2018. The market is likely to exhibit a CAGR of 4.6% and grow remarkably in the forecast period of 2019 to 2026. Highlights of the Report The report on grinding machines is based on in-depth analysis and provides a 360-degree overview of the market. It mainly emphasized on growth drivers, restraints, trends, and opportunities. Besides this, the report classifies the various segments of the market and the names of the significant players operating in the Grinding Machines Market. The report also discusses the key strategies adopted by players such as mergers and acquisitions, product launch, company collaborations, and others. These strategies will help investors understand the competitive landscape of the market and its future scope. To gain more insights into the market with detailed table of content and figures, click here: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/grinding-machines-market-101950 Increasing Demand from Aerospace Industry to Augment Market Growth The rise in the capability of grinding machines that offer stable processing temperatures is a major factor boosting the grinding machines' market growth. This is further attributed to the improved heaters and chillers section that are used significantly in applications such as automotive and aerospace industries. Besides this, there is a rise in need for modern grinders with fast and flexible speed blades, and this is further expected to increase the overall grinding machinery market size during the forecast period. Moreover, the rising adoption of Industry 4.0 for data exchange and automation for manufacturing technologies have further propelled manufacturers to add sensors in grinders for maintenance and prediction purposes. This is further anticipated to help increase the overall grinding machine market size in the forecast period. Increasing Demand for Acquiring New Aircrafts to Help Asia Pacific Lead Market As per the geographical approach, the market is dominated by Asia Pacific on account of the rise in demand from different industries such as tooling applications, automotive, and aerospace. In 2018, Asia Pacific accounted for USD 2.62 billion grinding machinery market share on account of the procurement of new aircraft from developing nations such as India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. To cite an example, India is expecting the arrival of two B777 planes by the end of 2020. Additionally, the rise in demand from the metal processing industry is anticipated to help North America attract high grinding machine market revenue in the forecast period. Request a Sample Copy: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/grinding-machines-market-101950 Players to Focus on Improving Speed and Feed Rate of Grinding Equipment Key Grinding Machines Market manufacturers are emphasizing on introduction of special purpose grinding machines. To cite an example, crankshaft and camshaft grinding machines by JTEKT Toyoda Americas Corporation are specifically designed for high production in the automotive industry. Apart from this, players are also trying to improve the speed and feed rate of the grinding equipment in order to multiply the production rates in the coming years. Furthermore, market vendors are also trying to improvise on the grinder design for reducing the thermal problems and control heat fluctuation in order to enhance the productivity of grinding machines. Some of the key industry developments in the Grinding Machines Market are: January 2018 The world leading producer of CNC grinding machines ANCA launched their TapXmicro grinding solution for single setup grinding micro taps of 3mm. These grinding machines are specially designed for use in the micro tap market. August 2019 360-degree range of STUDER internal cylindrical grinding machines was launched by the United Grinding North America. This machine is applicable for use in high production and radii grinding operations. List of the key grinding machinery market manufacturers include: Falcon Machine Tools Co., Ltd JTEKT Toyoda Americas Corporation United Grinding North America DANOBATGROUP Junker Group ANCA Makino DMG Mori Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd Amada Machine Tools Co., Ltd. Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/grinding-machines-market-101950 Table of Content: Introduction Definition, By Segment Research Approach Sources Executive Summary Market Dynamics Drivers, Restraints and Opportunities Emerging Trends Key Insights Macro and Micro Economic Indicators Key Technological Developments Consolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players Global Grinding Machines Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Sizing Estimations and Forecasts By Product (Value) CNC Cylindrical Grinding Machine Surface Grinding Machine Others (Centerless Grinding Machine, Gear Grinding Machines and others.) Conventional Market Sizing Estimations and Forecasts By Application (Value) Automotive General Machinery Precision engineering Transport Machinery Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Region (Value) North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa Latin America Continued!!! Request for Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/grinding-machines-market-101950 (Have a Look at Reports Trending in Machinery & Equipment Industry) Browse Related Reports: Material Handling Equipment Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Equipment Type (Cranes & Lifting Equipment, Industrial Trucks, Racking & Storage Equipment), By Operations (Assembly, Distribution, Others), By Industry (Consumer Goods & Electronics, Automotive, Food & Beverages, Pharmaceutical, Construction, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Machine Tools Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Technology (Conventional, CNC), By Product (Metal Cutting, Metal Forming), By Application (Automotive, General Machinery, Precision Machinery, Transport Machinery, Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Metal Forming Machine Tools Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Technology (Computerized Numerical Control, Conventional), By Product (Rolling Mill Machines, Bending Machines, Hydraulic Presses, Mechanical Presses, Shearing Machines, Forging Machines, Wire Forming Machines, Others), By Application (Automotive, General Machinery, Precision Machinery, Transport Machinery, Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Metal Cutting Machine Tools Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Product (Machining Centers, Lathe Machines, Boring Machines, Grinding Machines, Milling Machines, Others), By Application (Automotive, General Machinery, Precision Machinery, Transport Machinery, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Lathe Machines Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Product (CNC, Conventional), By Application (Automotive, General Machinery, Precision Machinery, Transport Machinery, Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 CNC (Computer Numerical Controls) Machine Tools Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Metal Cutting, Metal Forming), By Application (Automotive, General Machinery, Precision Machinery, Transport Machinery, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Welding Equipment Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Technology (Arc Welding, Resistance Spot Welding, MIG/TIG Welding, Laser Beam Welding, and Others), By Automation Type (Automatic, Semi-Automatic, and Manual), By Application (Automotive, Building & Construction, Heavy Engineering, Railway & Shipbuilding, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Earthmoving Equipment Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Equipment Type (Excavators, Loaders, Dump Trucks and Others), By Industry (Construction, Mining, Agriculture & Forestry and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 Asphalt Pavers Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Track pavers, Wheel pavers & Screeds), By Pavement Width (Less than 2.5 Meters, 2.5 5 Meters & More than 5 Meters), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026 About us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. 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Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune - 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Fortune Business Insights LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs Women worked harder, longer to be recognized, says author By Kang Hyun-kyung History was written by men. Most "great minds" about whom we were taught in school are men. Male dominance continues today even though an increasing number of women have challenged the status quo and made their mark in fields that have long been the domain of men. Mason Currey, author of two books "Daily Rituals: How Artists Work" (2013) and "Daily Rituals: Women at Work" (2019), says the dominance of male figures in almost all fields, including creative areas, reflects that history has not been a level playing field, particularly for women, and the unfair competition still continues in some countries. Throughout history, he said women have been actively stymied in their efforts to make creative work central to their lives because expressing themselves through writing or artwork has not been considered a thing for women. "Many of the men enjoyed elaborate, detailed daily routines, with set times for working, editing, napping, walking, socializing and so on," he said in an email interview with The Korea Times. "By contrast, fewer women had the luxury of a set routine at all. So many creative women throughout history have had to fight just to get to the work to carve out the time in the midst of all their other obligations. And then they've also had to work harder and longer to get recognized and get their work in front of a large audience." Mason Currey, author of "Daily Rituals: Women at Work" / Courtesy of Rebecca Veit But that all changed Dec. 2 when Lightfoot abruptly fired Johnson, saying he had intentionally misled her about his conduct after a late weeknight out in October when he was found asleep in his running vehicle near his South Side home. Beck flew in from LA that afternoon to run the department until Lightfoot announces a permanent successor to Johnson. U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G-20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. A unilateral world of "great power rivalries" is likely to threaten an urgent need for action on key global priorities, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). The group's warning comes as policymakers, business leaders and investors prepare to travel to Davos, Switzerland for the forum's annual conference. The January get-together kicks off on Monday, with those in attendance scheduled to focus on the intensifying climate crisis. Ahead of the meeting, the forum's latest Global Risks Report 2020, published Wednesday, said collaboration between world leaders and business leaders would be needed "more than ever" to stop severe threats to the climate. It also warned that political inaction could endanger public health and technology systems. Speaking at the launch of the report in London, Mirek Dusek, deputy head of the center for geopolitical and regional affairs at WEF, said an increasingly unsettled world was the "super-risk" to much-needed action. A more polarized and competitive world, in which states are increasingly viewing opportunities through unilateral lenses, would most likely as a "drag" on us being able to tackle global issues, Dusek said. SANILAC COUNTY A mother and daughter who were recently reported missing have been located and are not in danger, according to police. According to the Sanilac County Sheriff's Office, with the support of law enforcement partners and the public, Tara Sheldon and her 3-year-old daughter Alydiauna Sophia Munn were located spotted at a business in Bay City. Former Assistant Secretary for the Department of the Interior Rick Montoya joined a growing field hoping to replace Democrat Tom Udall in the U.S. Senate. Montoya who served during the Reagan administration announced his candidacy Thursday. He is the sixth Republican to enter the race, joining former KRQE meteorologist Mark Ronchetti; Albuquerque businessman Louie Sanchez; anti-abortion activist Elisa Martinez; Albuquerque contractor Mick Rich; and former New Mexico State University professor Gavin Clarkson in the field. Congressman Ben Ray Lujan is being challenged by accountant Andrew Perkins on the Democratic side. I know Im getting in the race late, Montoya said. But we have a good team in place. Montoya, a Las Cruces native, is semi-retired and the owner of Rick Montoya and Associates a government consulting firm in Rio Rancho. He said he is the only Republican the race with experience delivering and understanding the complex workings of Washington, D.C. New Mexico needs an effective senator on day one, Montoya said. He said he would put New Mexicans first and place a priority on job creation. I have been active in conservative politics all my professional life and served as the first Trump alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2016, he said. This isnt Montoyas first political campaign. He made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1988. Montoya said he would work on issues affecting seniors, saying he would fight to protect Social Security and Medicare. He expressed similar positions as the other Republican candidates, saying he was a supporter of the 2nd Amendment and was pro-life and pro-family. Montoya also said he supported a wall on the border with Mexico. Election security cannot be overlooked, he said. I will introduce legislation to require proof of citizenship and a photo ID. The regional government of Spains Balearic Islands on Friday approved a law that cracks down on so-called booze tourism, where visitors are encouraged to binge-drink alcohol. The new regulation aims to put an end to bar crawls, 2x1 parties, happy hours and free drinks that are typically offered in the popular vacation destination, by making it illegal to promote or sell such activities to tourists. The new regulation also bans alcohol from being sold in nighttime stores, which will now have to close between 9.30pm and 8am. The restrictions, however, only apply to the most popular party spots of the islands Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza: Magaluf, Arenal de Palma and Sant Antoni de Portmany. It is the first law in Europe that restricts the promotion and sale of alcohol in set tourist zones Balearic regional government According to a press release from the regional government, it is the first law in Europe that restricts the promotion and sale of alcohol in set tourist zones. Spokespersons from the Balearic Islands government agree that this law could also have great repercussions outside of Spain. The law also targets so-called balconing, a term that refers to usually inebriated tourists jumping from balcony to balcony in their hotels, or attempting to launch themselves from great heights into swimming pools. The practice has cost many foreign tourists their lives in Spain. Under the regulation, hotels must remove everyone caught balconing from their facilities. In this case, the rule applies to the entire region. It will be considered serious misconduct, from both those who practice it and those who allow it, the law states. The regional head of tourism, Iago Negueruela, says the law is a positive step forward. We are going for a model of sustainable tourism and we want to improve relations between tourists and residents, he said. The regulation bans drinking tours from being organized or advertised to reduce drunken behavior in Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza. While tourists will not be restricted from arranging their own pub crawl, they will not be able to buy alcohol like before from establishments throughout the night, nor will they be offered free drinks or other similar promotions. Whats more, a set price will be put on alcohol to stop all kinds of offers, said Neguerela. Businesses could face fines of up to 600,000, or be shut down for three years for breaking the new law The law also cracks down on party boats, which invite guests on cruises involving large amounts of alcohol. Under the new rules, these businesses will be banned from putting up advertising in Magaluf, Arenal de Palma and Sant Antoni de Portmany, and from picking and dropping off clients from these spots. The regional government has also suspended the concession of new alcohol licenses to party boats. Businesses could face fines of between 1,000 and 600,000, or be shut down for a maximum of three years for breaking the new law. The law was put together following in-depth talks with the tourism sector, as well as the town halls that have highlighted the problems involved with booze tourism. Attracting a tourism of excess is counterproductive for the whole sector, thats why there are areas where the hotel owners are changing what they offer to attract a different kind of tourist, Jose Luis Zoreda, the vice president of the Spanish tourism lobby Exceltur, said recently. While the law currently only applies to Magaluf, Arenal de Palma and Sant Antoni de Portmany (with the exception of the balconing rules), Negueruela is open to extending the rules to other areas. More than 13 million foreign tourists visit the Balearic Islands every year. English version by Melissa Kitson. Photo: Rob Wynne/Flickr Missed the most recent top news in Baltimore? Read on for everything you need to know. Key takeaways from first Baltimore mayors race campaign finance reports The first campaign finance reports for the 2020 election cycle were due Wednesday at midnight, and one thing is abundantly clear: Theres a lot of money flowing into Baltimores crowded mayoral race. Read the full story on Baltimore Sun. Man faces up to 25 years for allegedly threatening members of Baltimore County synagogue The U.S. Attorney's Office says Stephen Lyle Orback, 65, made several threats to kill members of Rosh Pina Messianic Congregation in Baltimore County and to burn down the building. Read the full story on Baltimore Sun. Man pleads guilty to role in 2 armed bank robberies in 2019 Richard Adams, 59, of Baltimore pleaded guilty to two charges related to his role in two bank robberies in 2019. Read the full story on Baltimore Sun. Police cruiser collides with taxicab on I-83 A Baltimore police cruiser collided with a taxi cab in downtown Baltimore Thursday afternoon. No one was seriously injured. Read the full story on Baltimore Sun. Edgar Allan Poe house named literary landmark A national association representing libraries is honoring the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore. Read the full story on The Detroit News. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Poland, Moldova, Romania and Hungary called to be the potential users of Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities may interest Poland, Moldova, Romania and Hungary as Executive Director of Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine Serhiy Makohon reported on Facebook. We have significant infrastructure possibilities, which are not used fully now. For example, Ukrainian gas storages are the largest in Europe but currently, less than 50% is used. Our neighbors might be interested in our services on gas storage, particularly, Poland that announced the plans on the extension of its own gas storage. Moldova, Romania and Hungary also possess such need, Makohon wrote. He also underlined that the development of regional cooperation should become one of the priorities of the energy policy of Ukraine in the coming years. Earlier Makohon stated that Ukraine will be able to receive 6,6 billion cubic meters of gas from Poland per year. As we reported earlier, the reduction of gas transit through Ukraine would make 15 billion cubic meters this year due to the launch of the Turkish Stream from Russia to Turkey. New Delhi: An obese ISIS mufti who used to endorse rapes and ethnic cleansing has been arrested during a raid in Iraqs Mosul recently. Identified as one Shifa al-Nima, the cleric weighed 130 kg and was carted from his hideout in a truck, viral photos showed. Latest media reports say that Mufti was arrested by the SWAT police on Thursday. Known He was also one of the biggest heads who gave fatwas to execute, enslave, confiscate, and do all the filthy deeds of their followers, Mosul reporter Ali Y Al-Baroodi said on Twitter. British activist Maajid Nawaz said that, Most religious justifications provided to ISIS for enslaving, raping, torturing, ethnic cleansing & massacring Iraqis, Syrians & others are from this paltry beast who cant even stand on his own two legs. He was also one of the biggest heads who gave fatwas to execute, enslave, confiscate, and do all the filthy deeds of their followers. Abu Ayoob, the supreme mufti, was droned in Western Mosul during the battle to retake the city from ISIS, Baroodi said on micro blogging site. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Israel's Foreign Ministry, with the approval of the Israeli Cabinet, has authorized Israeli embassies and consulates abroad to collect funds for the events they will host in commemoration of Israel Independence Day. To be sure, the donations are to be vetted by a committee, and there are "certain guidelines" imposed: Corporations can't make donations and the sum total collected cannot make up more than 25% of an event's budget. One donor cannot give more than NIS 100,000 per year. The dispensation does not sit well with Israel's diplomatic corps worldwide, who rightly protest that "The role of Israel's envoys and diplomats is to represent Israel and the policy of its government, and not to beg for the generosity of rich people in order to finance our official activities." Even on its face, the prohibition of corporate donations is quite flimsy; corporations can easily get around that hurdle through individual proxy donors. The Foreign Ministry's "guidelines" are not written on a clean slate. The ministry's funding has been continually cut in recent years, and vital consulates in key cities have been shuttered. Israeli diplomats justifiably fear that the new "guidelines," in addition to being unprofessional, may well be a first step toward a de facto directive to proactively fundraise in order to maintain their posts of duty. The "guidelines," coupled with the recent fiscal history of the Foreign Ministry, are simply insufficient to prevent abuses by donors and diplomats alike. Ethical standards dictate that government employees and functionaries avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest in the performance of their official duties. Such ethical issues can arise frequently; indeed, in previous lives as a federal contracting officer, a U.S. government attorney, and a small claims arbitrator for the New York City Civil Court, I had occasions (plural) to take measures, informal and otherwise, to ensure that my impartiality and objectivity remained beyond question. Conflict situations are all the more likely to arise for diplomats and consular officers, whose social and professional bailiwick boundaries are, by nature, even less distinct than those of "desk jockey" bureaucrats. Public perceptions are always relevant in matters of international diplomacy, and this fundraising "guidelines" matter arises at a time when there are public perceptions, internal and external to Israel, of conflicting interests on the part of both Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and those who now accuse him of having such conflicts. Though the amounts that might be raised under the "guidelines" would constitute an insignificant fraction of the total sums donated for the benefit of Israel by world Jewish community members, the exchange would likely prove to be a foul bargain for Israel in general and its Foreign Ministry in particular. Those approached for donations would feel that they already contribute to Israel and may well be reluctant to increase their total donation dollars. Israel's American diplomats and consuls more than ever need to effectively reach out to American Jewry (and other Americans as well). Various purportedly Jewish institutions in America have lately played host to anti-Israel speakers and programs, as anti-Semitism becomes increasingly the norm in American academia. Too many American Jews have effectively turned against Israel by blindly remaining with the Democratic Party. The effectiveness of Israel's envoys cannot help but be blunted if Israel's friends and foes alike see that Israel is throwing its own diplomats and consuls under the bus by inadequately supporting them. Human nature being what it is, donors tend to expect some sort of quid pro quo for their contributions. There is reason to fear that if Israeli diplomats accept donations to cover costs that should be borne by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, then the missions of Israel's diplomats and consuls could be seriously compromised. Such in fact already happened with the annual Israel Parade in New York, whose organizers have allowed nominally Jewish individuals and groups having agendas that conflict with official Israeli policy to influence the parade's theme and message. Israeli politicos should be thinking (as its diplomats and consuls implicitly seem to be doing) in terms of a wealthy donor with an anti-Israel agenda (think George Soros or Qatar or Iran) using the Foreign Ministry's supplication "guidelines" as a back door through which to hijack and pervert Israel's implementation of its official foreign policy. Should such a thing happen, then America would find it all the more difficult to implement its own foreign policy and would become more vulnerable to interlopers in the process. The Israeli Defense Ministry's new "guidelines" may well prove to be an early stumble in a slide down an undesirable slippery slope. The "guidelines" need to be reversed and nullified. Kenneth H. Ryesky, a freelance writer currently based in Israel, taught business law and taxation at Queens College CUNY for more than two decades following service as an attorney for the IRS and as an analyst and contracting officer for the U.S. Department of Defense. Rudy Giuliani is President Trump's personal Batman. On Thursday, Trump had nothing but high praise for Giuliani, his personal lawyer. He told reporters in the Oval Office that Giuliani is "one of the great crime fighters in the history of our country" and "having him on my side is a great honor for me." Giuliani, he enthused, was also "the greatest mayor in the history of New York." Giuliani is a central figure in the impeachment case against Trump. On Tuesday, House Democrats made public new evidence provided by one of Giuliani's associates, Lev Parnas. Parnas was arrested last fall and charged with campaign finance violations. He has since been cooperating with House impeachment investigators. In one letter Parnas handed over, Giuliani asked Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky for a meeting, adding that he made the request with "the president's knowledge and consent." When asked about the letter, Trump said, "I don't know about a specific letter, but if he wrote a letter it wouldn't be a big deal." More stories from theweek.com Mindhunter just got Netflixed French officials warn of violence from subgroups in protest movement The hottest trend in book covers is colorful blobs A military deserter, who recently escaped from a hospital in Hoshiarpur, was arrested from Delhi on Friday morning, police said. Harpreet Singh (25), who had been booked for stealing rifles and ammunition from an army institute in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested from Connaught Place in Delhi at around 9 am. "Harpreet has been arrested from Delhi by a team of Hoshiarpur police," Hoshiarpur SSP Gaurav Garg said, adding that the accused had planned to escape to Nepal. On January 14, Singh had tricked police guards by making an excuse of going to the washroom and escaped from a civil hospital in Hoshiarpur by scaling its wall. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for a hand injury since December 31. Singh, who was a sepoy in the Indian Army, is facing charges for stealing two INSAS rifles and ammunition from the army's training institute in Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, they said. He was arrested from Chotala village near Tanda in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district in December after being declared a military deserter in October last year. Singh's three accomplices were also arrested at that time. Posing as army officers, the accused had stolen the rifles and ammunition in the early hours of December 6. The stolen arms and ammunition were recovered. Singh is facing charges under sections of 380 (theft), 399 (making preparation to commit dacoity) and 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, police had then said. The state government of New South Wales is urging property owners to list their holiday homes to help give shelter to those affected by the bushfires. Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Gareth Ward said vacant holiday homes will be able to provide affected families with a safe and secure place to stay. "If you own a property in a bushfire-affected area that isn't being used right now, it could be providing a family with a safe and secure place to stay in their time of need," Ward said. Ward said the NSW government's Bushfire Housing Assistance Service will be able to help people who have lost their homes find suitable short-term to long-term accommodation. Financial assistance through rental bond loans and advance rent payments will also available to those in need. New South Wales Transport Minister Andrew Constance also joined the call, urging holiday homeowners not just in Sydney, but also in Canberra and Melbourne, to welcome displaced families. "We need rentals to help support families who have lost everything in the bushfires and need a place to stay," he said in a series of tweets. A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his own wedding reception pleaded guilty to misdemeanours after more serious charges against the New Jersey groom were dropped, keeping him out of prison. In a Pennsylvania court on Thursday, 32-year-old newlywed Matthew Aimers received six years of probation as part of a plea agreement on misdemeanour charges of simple assault, indecent exposure and disorderly conduct during his November 2018 reception. Charges of indecent assault, imprisonment of a minor and harassment were dropped. Aimers was accused of telling a teenaged server to "go outside and make out" with him in the middle of his wedding reception at a Pennsylvania country club in 2018. She pushed him away, but he followed her into a women's bathroom then pulled her into a stall where he allegedly groped her and exposed himself, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. An affidavit says he also tried to offer her $100. He was arrested later that night after Northampton Township police responded to reports of a fight at the venue. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Mr Aimers allegedly punched another employee who had tried to stop him from taking an alcoholic beverage outside a building. When police arrived, Aimers was reportedly "pushing and punching people", according to the affidavit. Aimers tried to board a shuttle bus while ignoring officers' commands to stop, according to police. One officer had his Taser drawn while ordering Aimers to leave the bus. Assistant District Attorney Megan Hunsicker told The Philadelphia Inquirer "the victim in this case was highly traumatized" by Aimers' assault. "This conviction will, I hope, provide her with a resolution that allows her life to move on." Louis Busico, Aimers' attorney, said that when it was determined that a judgment would not lead to Aimers' incarceration or produce any felony convictions, "we believed it was in the best interest to resolve this case ... so his life can go on." By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Arguing that strained India-Pakistan ties had impacted Afghanistan tremendously, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai said maintaining balance between the two had been very difficult. India is the greatest friend of Afghanistan. India has been a tremendous contributor to Afghanistan, but the impact that Pakistan can make in Afghanistan is a lot greater than any other country. The unfortunate state of relationship between India and Pakistan has impacted Afghanistan tremendously. We did try to balance it, but the balancing was very very difficult, he said. Karzai was speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2020, where he said the only way forward for his country was talks with the Taliban. It isnt our war. It is not our conflict. It is somebody elses conflict. Why should we be dying in it? Why should the Taliban be used in the conflict against their own country? Debate over Indo-Pacific The US hit out at Russia for calling the Indo-Pacific concept divisive and said the concept was principled vision. US Deputy NSA Matthew Pottinger said countries that support the notion of a free and open Indo-Pacific are those that have citizen-centric visions, rather than regime-centric visions. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said the Asia Pacific was a concept from colonial times. (Today) global commons are important and Indo-Pacific is a global common, he said. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the Indo-Pacific concept was PM Narendra Modis vision and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was expanding it. The concept is inclusive. Medicare for All rally, protest AP Photo/Lynne Sladky Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive and now pro-Medicare for All activist, apologized for his role in designing the biggest argument against industry reform in a New York Times op-ed published Tuesday. He was referring to the idea of choice, or put another way, the freedom of Americans to pick their own health insurance plans and which doctors they want to see. The activist called it "a PR concoction," one filling him with "everlasting regret." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A former executive at a prominent health insurance company had one thing to say recently: I'm sorry. Wendell Potter, once a vice president for corporate communications at Cigna and now a pro-universal healthcare activist, laid out his apology in the New York Times on Tuesday for crafting one of the biggest arguments used against the creation of a single-payer system in the United States. He was referring to the idea of choice, or put another way, the freedom of Americans to pick their own health insurance plans and which doctors they want to see. It's a common argument the health industry employs to oppose any attempt to change the system. Most recently, its spearheaded a multimillion dollar effort to throttle proposals for Medicare for All, which would enroll everyone in the US onto a government insurance plan and virtually eliminate the private insurance sector. "When the candidates discuss health care, you're bound to hear some of them talk about consumer 'choice,'" Potter wrote, referring to the Democratic primary field. "If the nation adopts systemic health reform, this idea goes, it would restrict the ability of Americans to choose their plans or doctors, or have a say in their care. He called it "a good little talking point," effective at casting any reform proposal expanding the government's role in healthcare as drastically damaging. Story continues But Potter said that defense was ultimately "a P.R. concoction," and one that filled him with "everlasting regret." "Those of us in the insurance industry constantly hustled to prevent significant reforms because changes threatened to eat into our companies' enormous profits," Potter wrote. Potter resigned his position at Cigna in 2008. And he testified to Congress a year later about the practices of an industry that "flouts regulations" and "makes promises they have no intention of keeping." He's since become a leading reform advocate. The activist said in the Times op-ed that healthcare executives were well aware their insurance often severely limited the ability of Americans to personally decide how they accessed and received medical care, unless they wanted to pay huge sums of money out of their own pockets. "But those of us who held senior positions for the big insurers knew that one of the huge vulnerabilities of the system is its lack of choice," Potter said. "In the current system, Americans cannot, in fact, pick their own doctors, specialists or hospitals at least, not without incurring huge 'out of network' bills." The "choice" talking point, Potter wrote, polled well in focus groups that insurers set up to test their messaging against reform plans, leading them to adopt it. Now he is shocked to see an argument that he had a hand in engineering used among Democrats battling to claim their party's nomination to face off against President Trump in the 2020 election and Potter says the insurers likely see it as a huge victory for them. "What's different now is that it's the Democrats parroting the misleading 'choice' talking point and even using it as a weapon against one another," Potter wrote. "Back in my days working in insurance P.R., this would have stunned me. It's why I believe my former colleagues are celebrating today." One of the biggest divides among Democratic candidates is on health reform. The progressive wing of the party, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, largely supports enacting Medicare for All. So does Sen. Elizabeth Warren, though she's tempered her rhetoric backing it in the last few months after rolling out her own universal healthcare plan and drawing criticism for its hefty $20.5 trillion price tag. Moderates like former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg are pushing to create an optional government insurance plan for Americans instead. They've argued that a single-payer system could kick millions of Americans off their private insurance and restrict their ability to manage their care echoing the line of attack used by the healthcare industry. Potter had a warning for voters as they head to the polls in this year's election. "My advice to voters is that if politicians tell you they oppose reforming the health care system because they want to preserve your 'choice' as a consumer, they don't know what they're talking about or they're willfully ignoring the truth," Potter wrote in the op-ed. "Either way, the insurance industry is delighted. I would know." Read the original article on Business Insider By Trend Chairman of Kazakhstans Senate Dariga Nazarbayeva advocated the need to reconsider the program for development of countrys agro-industrial complex due to the decline in production and stagnation in the sector, Trend reports with reference to the press office of Senate. Nazarbayeva made the remarks at the meeting with leadership of Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurship and KazAgro National Management Holding. It was noted that two trillion tenge ($5.2 billion) was spent on subsidies within the framework of existing state programs for agro-industrial complex development; however, the industrys main indicators did not increase and even significantly stalled. Kazakhstan is an import-dependent country in terms of goods processing. This negatively affects countrys food security, and constant changes seriously affect agricultural producers, the report said. Lack of coordination between government agencies was also noted. Weak system of veterinary support was also named as one of the key problems in animal husbandry development. Numerous reforms in veterinary medicine have significantly weakened control over veterinary conditions in the country, as evidenced by the increasing incidence of dangerous animal diseases outbreaks. Another problem is falsification of reporting statements, the report said. The issue of the agricultural machinery service was also raised during the meeting. As an example, the work of service centers in other countries was noted, where even the most complex repairs according to the standard take three hours to solve, whereas in Kazakhstan the repair time varies from 12 days to three months. In this regard, it was proposed to reconsider the operating conditions of agricultural machinery service companies. Nazarbayeva noted that state support is needed in this issue, due to the fact that expensive service, in turn, will affect the cost of end product. Another problem raised during the meeting was the need to make amendments to the current legislation regarding the simplification of the unused agricultural land withdrawal. Following the meeting, Nazarbayeva ordered the Committee on Agrarian Issues, Nature Management and Rural Development to study issues raised during the meeting and prepare agenda for discussion at the parliamentary hearings. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Senior opener Shikhar Dhawan joined the list of injured players after Pat Cummins bouncer hit him on the rib cage while batting in the second ODI between India and Australia here on Friday. "Shikhar Dhawan got hit on the rib-cage on his right side. He will not be taking the field today. Yuzvendra Chahal is in as his substitute," a BCCI media release stated. Dhawan was hit off the second delivery of the 10th over of the Indian innings. While he was in pain but he carried on and scored 96 in India's total of 340 for 6. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UTICA, NY Senator Joseph Griffo and Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon are proposing a new program to address a shortage of physicians across New York State, especially in rural areas. Friday morning the legislators spoke about offering incentives like tuition benefits and tax abatement to attract doctors to the state. In return, the physicians would have to commit to staying and working in the area for a certain amount of time. According to a news release, the initiative spearheaded by Griffo and Buttenschon would: - Improve the Doctors Across New York program, which helps train and place physicians in underserved communities. - Allow students enrolled in a state-supported medical school to participate in the Excelsior Scholarship program. - Expand START-UP NY options to primary care to allow physicians looking to establish a primary care office in the field of primary care services to access the START-UP NY program. The Doctors Across New York program has been successful in attracting physicians to underserved areas throughout the state, says Griffo. However, our state continues to experience doctor shortages in both urban and rural. communities It is my hope that, as a result of this initiative that I have developed along with Assemblywoman Buttenschon and medical experts, we will be able to recruit and retain doctors and improve the quality and availability of healthcare for all New Yorkers. As many upstate families know, its difficult to find specialists or primary care doctors that are accepting new patients or whose practices are close to them, says Buttenschon. While the Doctors Across New York program has helped attract medical professionals to the state, we must do more to ensure upstate communities both urban and rural have access to affordable, high-quality health care. I look forward to working with Deputy Minority Leader Griffo to find new ways to encourage out-of-state doctors to set up practices here and New York doctors to remain in the state. The State Legislature would have to approve this proposal. Frances Armed Forces Minister is traveling to Washington in the coming days to discuss US military support to French forces in the Sahel region, the ministry said in a statement. The announcement comes a month after a report in the New York Times claimed the Pentagon was planning to reduce its military activities in West Africa or even pulling out entirely. According to the Times report, this is part of a general overhaul in defense spending where the focus would be redirected to other concerns such as China and Russia. Paris has 4,500 troops in Mali and the wider Sahel and announced on Monday Jan.14 the sending of additional 220 troops to the region to address the worsening security situation. The United States provides intelligence, logistics and drones support for the French forces, but there have been mixed signals from Washington that it could pull out. We count on the precious support of the United States for the success of this consolidated effort, Frances armed forces minister, Florence Parly told lawmakers on Wednesday. I will be in the American capital in the coming days to consolidate the existing deployment. French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week urged the Trump administration not to withdraw troops from Africa. If the US decided to withdraw from Africa, it would be bad news for us, Macron said at a news conference during a summit in Pau, with the presidents of the five African countries that make up the G5-Sahel coalition. In another development, the United States, on Wednesday Jan.15, asked the UN Security Council for an overhaul, coupled with a reduction, of the UN peace mission in Mali (MINUSMA), a position rejected by France and Russia. It is time for this Council to start developing an alternative approach to deal with the growing instability in Mali, said US deputy ambassador to the UN, Cherith Norman Chalet. We must recognize that peacekeeping missions are not the answer to the growing terrorist threats in Mali, she insisted. Washington has regularly questioned since 2018 the usefulness of the MINUSMA, a force of 15,000 peacekeepers requiring an annual budget of 1.2 billion dollars and present in Mali since 2013. Cherith Norman Chalet also stressed that MINUSMA must stop supporting the application of a peace agreement signed in 2015 and little respected by its signatories. It should focus on the protection of civilians and the mission can reduce its size, said the US diplomat. Cherith Norman Chalet called for a new approach that breaks the status quo by June, the expiry date of the MINUSMA mandate. She also called for the UN to adopt sanctions against individuals and entities from all parties to the conflict, including government officials and members of armed groups who violate the peace agreement. At the Security Council meeting Wednesday, both Russia and France expressed their deep disagreement with the American proposal to redefine the prerogatives of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 17) President Rodrigo Duterte has named a new chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP). Duterte announced Friday he is poised to appoint PNP Officer-In-Charge PLTGEN Archie Gamboa to lead the police force. "We have the PNP Chief, I'm going to appoint you as the regular PNP but you and Secretary [Eduardo] Ano and I will have a long, long talk first," he addressed Gamboa in a speech in Davao City. "Ipinakita mo sa akin 'yung sincerity mo [You showed me your sincerity] and I want you to leave something that you will be remembered by the country," he added. At the event, Gamboa stood up and acknowledged the President's remarks with a salute. The PNP welcomed the President's pronouncement to appoint Gamboa as its new chief. "Under the able leadership of PLtGen Gamboa, we assure the public that the PNP remains committed to intensify the campaign against criminality, illegal drugs and corruption," it said in a statement. Former PGEN Oscar Albayalde resigned as PNP Chief ahead of his retirement in November over allegations he intervened to lower the penalty for 13 of his subordinates involved in a controversial drug raid in 2013. Duterte appointed Gamboa Officer-In-Charge after Albayalde's departure. Doha, Jan 17 : The Taliban and the US have resumed their talks that are expected to continue for "several days" in the Qatari capital of Doha for finalizing an arrangement to sign a possible Afghanistan peace deal, the militant group said on Friday. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Efe news that its negotiating team led by Mullah Baradar Akhund held a meeting with US negotiators led by envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Doha. "They held talks about the signing of the agreement and its related ceremony," Mujahid said, adding that the fresh round of talks has been "productive" and would continue for "several days". Another Taliban spokesperson, Emran Khalil, wrote on his Twitter page that the two sides discussed the issues related to the "signing of the agreement and withdrawal mechanism of foreign troops" from Afghanistan. Khalil said there were no changes in the draft peace deal that was "completed" last September. "Hopefully, the date for the signing of the deal (will) be revealed soon." However, the spokesmen didn't mention about a ceasefire or a possibility of Taliban scaling down its violent activities, which have been among the main demands of the Afghans, particularly of the government in Kabul before a peace deal is signed between the US and the insurgents. On Thursday, Pakistan said the Taliban were ready to reduce violence for a breakthrough in the Afghan peace process. On December 30, 2019, Mujahid denied any possibility of a ceasefire, but said they were discussing the reduction in violent activities after the US asked for it. The new talks began earlier this week after a month-long break since the two sides paused the negotiations for internal consultations on December 12, 2019. The Taliban and the US resumed the negotiations on December 7 following a three-month stalemate after President Donald Trump abruptly called off the talks in September over a deadly attack in Kabul that also killed an American soldier. A possible US-Taliban agreement is expected to pave the way for intra-Afghan peace talks between the Taliban and the government of President Ashraf Ghani. The Taliban have for long rejected to hold any official and direct talks with the Afghan government before it reaches an agreement with the US on its troop withdrawal from the country. The US and Taliban negotiators during a yearlong nine rounds of talks were said to have completed a peace draft agreement last September. The draft agreement ensures that over 5,000 US troops will withdraw from five American bases in the first 135 days after the signing of the deal. Since the end of the NATO combat mission in January 2015, the US maintains one contingent within the framework of the new allied mission of advising Afghan troops and another for "anti-terrorist" operations. YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. In recent period number of Chinese tourists visiting Armenia has significantly increased. According to statistics, in 2018, compared to 2017, the number of Chinese tourists, who visited Armenia, increased by 59.9%. Growth dynamics also existed in 2019, as nearly 14.500 Chinese tourists visited Armenia compared to the 8430 in January-October 2018. Armenias state policy, the active work of the private sector contributed to this process. Founding director of Sotu Travel LLC Sona Sahakyan is working in the tourism sector already for several years, mainly on the direction of China. She told Armenpress that there is huge potential in this direction but is not fully utilized which means that active works are needed to be done. Sona Sahakyan moved to Armenia in 2015 from the Russian city of Irkutsk. She studied Chinese as this language was widely used in that city. Years ago I visited my relatives in Armenia. At that time I got acquainted with director of the Confucius Institute Gor Sargsyan. I had a chance to visit that Institute to get acquainted with the teaching staff, and they advised me to apply to the Chinese Embassy in Armenia as the latter was looking for an assistant to the Consul. Success came to me as I started working following the interview, she said. The Embassy was a good opportunity for me in terms of gaining experience. I liked working with the delegations. The organization process, developing program, hosting and guiding them was a pleasure for me. I decided to open a tour agency, focusing on the Chinese direction. I thought that I have communication skills, had no problems with Chinese, thats why I started my job. And now my tourism agency is working quite actively, Sona Sahakyan said. She remembered the work with the first group of Chinese people. It was a photo-tour, the guests were professional photographers. They stayed in Armenia for six days, visited several historical-cultural sites and revealed the country thanks to the specialists of the tour company. Sona Sahakyan said they carry out consistent works to raise awareness on Armenia. They are participating in tourism exhibitions in China and are also working separately with the tourism agencies. This is not just a business initiative for me. I see here love towards the job, an interest and patriotism. I think that if you look at your work only from commercial perspective, sooner or later you will fail, she said. Sona Sahakyan said mainly those Chinese people visit Armenia who traveled a lot, but now are looking for new discoveries. Sona said the Soviet Union is in their memory, and now, by having this chance, they want to visit the post-Soviet states. Chinese tourists mainly are conducting a regional visit, as they visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Chinese tourists perceive Armenia as the homeland of Noah. They may not know much about Armenia, but when you say the homeland of Noah, they mention Armenia. We take the Chinese tourists to all beautiful sites of Armenia. We include Etchmiadzin, UNESCO heritage sites in the tours, she said. Sona Sahakyan said Chinese tourists like the Armenian cuisine a lot. They like very much the Armenian lavash, soups, vegetables, and of course, the barbeque. Talking about the upcoming programs, Sona Sahakyan said they want to bring tourists from China as much as possible. According to him, the initiative on lifting the visa regime is very important, but the absence of direct flight makes difficult their work. She highlighted the need of increasing the number of Chinese-speaking tour guides. Interview by Anna Gziryan Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar was holding talks in Athens on Friday, just two days ahead of a peace conference in Berlin which he and the head of Tripoli's UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj are expected to attend. His visit comes as world powers step up efforts for a lasting ceasefire, nine months since an assault on Tripoli by Haftar's forces sparked fighting that has killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands. An interim truce that came into force on Sunday has mostly held, despite accusations of violations from Haftar's forces and the rival Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Haftar walked away from ceasefire talks in Moscow on Monday, but German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited his eastern Libya stronghold of Benghazi on Thursday to persuade him to join the Berlin conference. He flew to Athens on a surprise visit on Thursday, with Greece seeking to build ties with Haftar after the GNA signed a maritime and military cooperation deal with Turkey in November. Athens is vehemently opposed to the contentious Turkish deal with Libya, which claims much of the Mediterranean for energy exploration, conflicting with rival claims by Greece and Cyprus. Haftar met Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias after his arrival on Thursday and they were holding further talks on Friday. He is also set to meet Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Greece is seeking to take part in the Berlin talks but has yet to be invited. Haftar agreed in principle Thursday to go to Berlin after Sarraj signalled he would be present, Germany's Maas said, adding that he had agreed to abide by the current ceasefire. He "wants to contribute to the success of the Libyan conference in Berlin and is in principle ready to participate in it," he tweeted, calling it "the best chance in a long time" for peace. But Sarraj, whose GNA did sign up to a permanent truce deal in Moscow, cast doubt over Haftar's intentions after he refused to also sign. Haftar "has chosen not to sign the agreement and asked for a delay", he said, calling that "an attempt to undermine the Berlin conference before it starts". The oil-rich North African state has been in turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi, and multiple foreign powers have become embroiled. The GNA is backed by Turkey and Qatar, while Haftar, who backs a rival administration in Libya's east, has the support of neighbouring Egypt as well as Russia and the United Arab Emirates. The United Nations said the Berlin talks aim to end foreign interference and division over Libya. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will take part and voice support for truce efforts, the State Department said Thursday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Wednesday for firm support for the peace talks and asked for a halt in the fighting. In a report to the Security Council he urged all parties to "engage constructively towards that end, including within the Berlin process". Guterres also warned against "external interference", saying it would "deepen the ongoing conflict and further complicate efforts to reach a clear international commitment to a peaceful resolution of the underlying crisis". The conference will aim to agree six points including a permanent ceasefire, implementation of a much-violated UN arms embargo and a return to political efforts for peace, Guterres said. Turkish troops have been deployed to support the GNA, while Russia, despite its denials, is suspected of supporting Haftar with weapons, money and mercenaries. Some 11 countries and several international organisations are set to attend along with the Libyan parties. The fighting has spurred a growing exodus of migrants, many embarking on rickety boats towards Italy. Nearly 1,000 intercepted at sea have been forced to return to the war-ravaged country since January 1, mostly ending up in detention, the UN's International Organization for Migration said Tuesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ASX-listed mining giant Rio Tinto is lobbying on both sides of the Tasman as it seeks cheaper energy for its aluminium smelters. The majority owner of the Tiwai Point smelter said the aluminium industry continued to face low profitability in what it described as challenging conditions in global m... Read the full story at BusinessDesk subscribe now: https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/rio-tinto-reiterates-tiwai-position-as-aluminium-prices-stay-weak Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: 12th January 2022 Morning Report 11th January 2022 Morning Report Greenfern Industries Limited (NZX: GFI) Announces Cannvalate Transaction 10th January 2022 Morning Report 7th January 2022 Morning Report 6th January 2022 Morning Report 5th January 2022 Morning Report Harmoney Corp Limited (NZX: HMY) HMY Signs A$20m Corporate Debt Facility 24th December 2021 Morning Report Goodman Property Trust (NZX: GMT) GMT to develop North Shore facility for NZ Post Stoutly defending its decision to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council as an attempt to de-escalate Indo-Pak tensions and out of "good will", China on Friday claimed that "most of the members" of the Council have voiced their concern over the situation in the Valley. China's comments came a day after India asserted that Beijing's latest attempt to raise the Kashmir issue at the UNSC on Pakistan's behalf has failed, with an overwhelming majority of the 15-member body expressing the view that it was not the right forum to discuss the bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. China, Pakistan's 'all-weather ally', on Wednesday made the fresh pitch to raise the Kashmir issue under "other matters" during a closed meeting in the UN Security Council Consultations Room. Answering a barrage of questions at a media briefing here on why China is backing Pakistan to raise the Kashmir issue in the UNSC, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, "China's position is consistent and clear. This issue is a dispute left from history and should be properly resolved following the UN charter, UNSC resolutions, and bilateral treaties and in a peaceful way." "As requested by Pakistan, the Security Council reviewed the Kashmir issue on January 15. The Security Council members are concerned about the current situation and they called the relevant parties to observe the charter and resolve disputes peacefully, through political dialogue and exercise restraint and work on de-escalation," he said. Replying to a questing on why only China, among all the members, is making such claims, whereas no other member of the body has spoken about it, Geng said, "Indeed the UNSC reviewed the Kashmir issue on January 15 and there was no statement. But China as a permanent member participated in the review meeting and what I said was in line with the review. But if you think this is not true then you can look at other sources." When asked to name other countries he referred to, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "If you do not trust our views you may refer to other sites for information."At a press briefing in New Delhi on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, while replying to questions about the developments in the UNSC, said the overwhelming majority of the UNSC was of view that it was not the right forum for such issues. Pakistan's attempt to peddle baseless allegations and show an alarming scenario failed as it lacked credibility, he said. Commenting on India's statement, Geng said, "India's attitude and views, we understand them. But what I said was China's views and stance. I believe that India is aware of that and we have been in contact on that." To a question on why China is raising the Kashmir issue at the UNSC, when the top leaders of India and China made efforts to improve relations through informal summits, creating a negative perception among Indians, Geng said, "Because we want to work for de-escalation and work for regional peace and stability. This is out of good will. However, if the Indian side interprets it in other way, that will be a wrong interpretation." Following the Indian government's revocation of special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating it into two union territories on August 5 last year, China has criticised New Delhi for making Ladakh a union territory. China lays claim over several parts of Ladakh. Responding to a question that the Russian envoy in India has said that the Kashmir issue should be resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan, he said during the review most UNSC members expressed concern on the current situation in Kashmir and called for restraint and de-escalation of tensions through dialogue. "Russia is a member of the UNSC and its position has been fully expressed during the review," he said. Replying to a question on why China, which in the past has advocated that the Kashmir issue should be peacefully resolved between India and Pakistan, has now changed its stand by including UNSC resolutions and UN charter, Geng said Beijing's position on Kashmir is very clear. "We haven't changed our position. The issue between India and Pakistan has always been on the UNSC agenda. The UNSC should pay attention to the issue in Kashmir based on the latest developments. And in this region, there are still International Observer Groups and it has always been on UNSC agenda," he said. About India's decision to invite Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in the meeting of the Heads of the governments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries, Geng said, "SCO is a regional cooperation organisation. India and Pakistan are members of it. Both the countries, we hope, can work together closely under this framework for the healthy development of this organisation." "India and Pakistan are important countries in South Asia and I hope they can resolve their issues through dialogue and improve their relations," he said. To a question on allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir during the past five months, Geng reiterated China's stand, saying that Beijing stood for enhancing dialogue and mutual trust between India and Pakistan and exercise restraint and work for de-escalation of tensions. "As a responsible country, we have been in contact with both India and Pakistan, and are playing a constructive role on this," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The University of North Carolina system boasts a diverse set of institutions. There are many ways in which the 16 schools differ: size, geography, research intensity, curriculum, and student characteristics. They also differ in terms of students' family income.As part of the Opportunity Insights project at Harvard University, Raj Chetty and a team of researchers collected data about social mobility at the nation's colleges and universities. They describe the data:We calculate college-level values as means over students in the 1980, 1981 and 1982 birth cohorts. When data for a college from any of these cohorts are incomplete, we use data from 1983 and 1984 cohorts to obtain an estimate.That means that these data come from students who began college roughly 20 years ago, between 1998 and 2002. While there's reason to believe that some change has occurred since then, parental income still varies considerably between institutions. Percentages of students receiving Pell grants at each school in 2017-2018 reveal that the number of low-income students is much higher at the state's historically black colleges and universities than at its predominantly white institutions. Across the board, more students received Pell grants in 2017-2018 than in 2008-2009 (the first year for which Department of Education data are available).Since student need is based on cost of attendance and expected family contributions, that increase in Pell grant recipients could be attributed to either schools accepting more low-income students or the increasing costs of college. Or perhaps to both."Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility" by Chetty, et al fully explains the data at a national level. It can be downloaded HERE A controversial new, high-tech device is being used to catch parking violators and is sparking outrage over outrageous fines. The plastic tool is called the Barnacle and it works by clamping onto the windshield of cars, blocking the driver's view and making it impossible to remove. Once drivers pay a deposit and a fine, they receive a code that releases the device from the glass. One University of Houston student claimed she paid more than $900 to get the clamp removed from her car. The Barnacle has been employed at several universities, and even in a few towns across the US, but young student drivers in particular say their universities don't have enough spaces for them to park, causing tickets to add up. The Barnacle is a boot device used for drivers with outstanding parking violations or unregistered vehicles WHAT IS THE BARNACLE? Created by New York-based security firm Ideas that Stick, the Barnacle is a device used to immobilize cars that are either unregistered or have several parking violations. The lightweight and yellow tool attaches to the windshield of cars using too large suction cups. As opposed to a boot that makes the car impossible to drive away, the Barnacle makes it impossible for a driver to see. It's been used in towns in Connecticut, Hawaii, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and at universities and hospitals. It attaches onto the driver's side of the windshield using suction cups with 750lbs of force HOW DOES IT WORK? When a traffic officer sees an offending car, he or she will place the Barnacle on the windshield over the driver's side. A code is typed into the device and it latches onto the glass with 750 pounds of force making it impossible to remove. If a driver tries to take the Barnacle off, an alarm will go off. Attempting to pry it off could also damage the windshield. Additionally, if someone tries to drive off without removing the device, an alert will be sent to traffic officers. WHAT SHOULD A DRIVER DO IF A BARNACLE IN ON THEIR WINDSHIELD? Drivers can either visit the website or call the phone number listed and enter the Barnacle's device number. After paying the fine, and a deposit - which will vary from state to state - the driver will be given a four-digit release code. The code for the Barnacle is entered for it to be released and then drivers return the device to a drop-off location nearby. Drivers must pay a deposit and any outstanding fines before it can be removed Students at the Universities of Houston (pictured) and Oklahoma say they have parking tickets adding up because there aren't enough spaces to park their cars WHY ARE STUDENTS UPSET? The use of the device on campuses has sparked outrage, particularly at the University of Houston and the University of Oklahoma. At Oklahoma, the device is only used after three outstanding fines; at Houston, it's five such fines. University officials explain the Barnacle was meant to be more convenient and less expensive than simply towing away illegally parked cars. But students say their universities either don't have enough permits or enough spots for all student vehicles. 'I circle around 40 minutes, can't find a single spot and so the tickets started, you know, to add up,' Anna Chenoweth, a junior at Oklahoma, told News 4 Oklahoma. 'It cost about $400 total to get my car back in my hands.' And one Houston student said she had to pay $920 to remove the tool, reported KHOU 11. CHICO, Calif. - California Water Service will soon begin a water infrastructure upgrade on Esplanade Avenue that will strengthen water system reliability and infrastructure resiliency for customers' everyday needs and firefighters' emergency needs, Cal Water announced. The largest part of the project includes crews installing 8,000 feet of new 12-inch water main along Esplanade, from Amber Grove Road to 11th Avenue. Cal Water will begin initial construction preparations for the week of Jan. 21. The entire project is expected to be completed in six to eight months, Cal Water said. There will be a community meeting hosted by Cal Water on Tuesday, Jan. 29, in advance of actual construction beginning, to provide more information on what nearby residents and businesses can expect during construction. As well as how the project will improve the water system for local customers. The meeting will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Fairview High School Multi-Purpose Room at 290 East Avenue in Chico. Crews will also install 17 new fire hydrants and more than 100 new, individual service connections as part of the project. The project is being done ahead of, and in coordination with, the City of Chicos upcoming road paving project to be cost-effective and minimize temporary impacts to residents, businesses, and motorists. This important infrastructure upgrade will enable us to continue delivering a reliable supply of safe, high-quality drinking water to our customers while also helping first responders protect the community in the event of an emergency, said District Manager George Barber. Additionally, by working with the city of Chico to install the new water main before the road is paved, we can reduce paving costs and minimize any temporary inconvenience to those in and traveling through the area. Crews will make efforts to minimize traffic delays during construction, which will be performed Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Cal Water said. After installation, crews will conduct water quality testing and connect individual service lines to the new water main. Water service will be temporarily interrupted for one to two hours as crews connect customers service lines to the main; however, Cal Water said they will notify residents in advance of any planned shutdowns. Residents are encouraged to attend the meeting to learn more and ask questions. Calling the Citizenship (Amendment) Act "inherently discriminatory", the Punjab Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution by voice vote seeking its immediate repeal and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announced that his government would approach the Supreme Court against it, the second state after Kerala to do so. The ruling Congress, main opposition Aam Aadmi Party and the Lok Insaaf Party supported the resolution saying the law would "spoil the secular fabric of the country", but the BJP opposed it. The opposition Shiromani Akali Dal, an ally of the BJP, sought inclusion of Muslim in the list of communities that would be granted citizenship under the amended law. The CAA provides for granting citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014 from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Contending that the Act was a "negation of the secular fabric on the Constitution", the Assembly passed the resolution, moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra, after three hours of discussion. The Kerala Assembly was the first to pass a resolution against the amended Citizenship Act. Kerala has also moved the Supreme Court against the law. Chief Minister Singh said the Centre would have to make the necessary amendments to the CAA if it had to be implemented in Punjab and other states opposing the legislation. "Like Kerala, our government will also approach the Supreme Court on the issue, he later told reporters outside the Assembly. In response to a question, he made it clear that the census in Punjab would be conducted on the old parameters. The new factors added by the Centre for the purpose of the National Population Register (NPR) would not be included, he said. Inside the Assembly, Singh described the citizenship amendment Act as against secular fabric of the counry and said events unfolding now were similar to the ones witnessed in Europe when Adolf Hitler was at the helm in Germany. Participating in the discussion, Singh hit out at the Centre and said, "You want to change secular fabric of this country. It is very sad what is happening now. We had not even thought of such a thing. We want to break brotherhood merely for " "Clearly, no lessons had been learnt from history, he said. The resolution also urged the central government to put on hold the work on the National Population Register (NPR), till forms/documents associated with it are amended suitably, in order to allay apprehensions that it is a prelude to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and designed to deprive a section of persons from citizenship of India and implement CAA. Terming the "divisive" Act and NRC as a tragedy, he said, "Where will the poor go and from where will they procure their birth certificates...this is a great tragedy. And I am very sorry to say...I wish I was not here when this is happening to my country where we are going to be in a situation where brotherhood is being broken for " The chief minister said in the Assembly "what happened in Germany under Hitler in 1930 is happening in India now". "Germans did not speak out then, and they regretted it, but we have to speak out now, so that we don't regret later, he asserted, urging the Opposition, particularly the Akalis, to read Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' to understand the dangers of CAA. Making an impassioned plea to the Akalis to rise above and go by their conscience before deciding on their vote, he said he had never imagined such a tragedy could happen in a secular nation like India, which had more Muslims than Pakistan. "Where will all those people, who you brand as non-citizens, go? Where will the 18 lakh people declared illegal in Assam go if other countries refuse to take them? Has anyone thought about it? Has Union Home Minister Amit Shah even thought about what has to be done with the so-called illegal people? Where will the poor people get their birth certificates from?" asked the chief minister, declaring that "we all have to live together as citizens of secular India in our own interest." Why have Muslims been excluded? And why have they (Centre) not included Jews in the CAA?" he asked, pointing out that Punjab earlier had a Governor, General JFR Jacob, who was a Jew and fought for the nation in the 1971 war. Those responsible for this situation should be ashamed of themselves, he said and lashed out at the Akalis for supporting the legislation in Parliament and then speaking on it in different voices to promote their political agenda. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) by Kaila Colbin , Featured Contributor, January 17, 2020 Lets be clear: Im not a fan of the way Facebook has manipulated us: our interactions, our democracy, our sense of self. Im not a fan of the way it amplifies racism and hate speech. Im not a fan of the way it disseminates information. Im not at all convinced that, on balance, it represents a net positive to society -- although Im open to the debate. And so it feels strange to be in a position of defending Facebook. But last week, when my fellow Media Insider Maarten Albarda asked, What Is It With Facebook Not Doing The Obvious?, I felt compelled to answer. Maartens argument in a nutshell: Political advertising represents an insignificant part of Facebooks revenue, so -- given the headache it represents why not ban the whole political spectrum of ads, content, posts, etc.? advertisement advertisement If we assume this is possible, the first question is whether this would produce a good outcome. It would certainly, as Maarten says, prevent Facebook from being accused of bias for or against any political preference, real or imagined. But lets further assume that, when we say good outcome, we dont mean for Facebook, we mean for humanity. OK, so when we ban the whole political spectrum, what does that include? Yes, false political ads; yes, stretched truths; yes, people taken out of context. Your political opponents will no longer be able to sully your feed with blatant lies about your preferred politician, party or policy. But we wont only be banning the content we dont want -- we'll also be banning the stuff we like. In political thought experiments, its always useful to consider how you would feel if things were reversed. For example, if you think the electoral college sucks because your candidate won the popular vote but lost the electoral college, consider how you would feel if your candidate won the electoral college but lost the popular vote -- would you still feel the same? So now imagine your preferred politician, party or policy is no longer able to use Facebook to get the word out about their awesomeness. How will causes make themselves known? Three options: traditional advertising, earned media (meaning news coverage), and virality. Traditional advertising is way more cost-prohibitive than advertising on Facebook, so now youve fully advantaged the bigger players. Earned media is much harder to get if you havent made a bit of a splash in the first place, and relying on virality as a reach strategy is like relying on Lotto as a retirement strategy. So eliminating political ads on Facebook altogether would advantage the bigger, richer players, who can afford to use traditional advertising to grow their presence, making it more likely that the news will cover them. But heres the thing: the original assumption -- that its even possible to ban the whole political spectrum -- is false. If Facebook bans political ads, the community group fighting against a new coal mine is silenced, while the fossil fuel company advertising its eco-fuels is allowed. The parents group arguing for gun control is silenced, while the gun company advertising its new weapons is allowed. The nonprofit seeking clear food labeling is silenced, while the junk food company advertising directly to kids is allowed. You want to know why Facebook doesnt do the obvious and ban all political advertising? Its because everything is political -- especially our choices about who does and doesnt get to pay to have their voices amplified. Im all for fixing the way Facebook has poisoned our political discourse. But straight up banning political ads isnt it. There has to be a better way. Woman sentenced to 25 years in prison for poisoning husband's drinking water with eye drops originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A South Carolina judge has sentenced a woman to 25 years in prison after she admitted to poisoning her husband by inserting eye drops into his drinking water. Lana Clayton pleaded guilty in a York County courthouse to voluntary manslaughter and tampering with food or drugs charges related to the July 21, 2018, killing of Steven Clayton. Lana Clayton, 53, admitted to cops that she placed droplets of eye drop liquid in her husband's water glass starting two days before his death. Steven Clayton, 64, was believed to have originally died from natural causes; however, medical examiners found high levels of tetrahydrozoline, the chemical found in eye drops which constricts blood vessels, in his system during the autopsy. MORE: South Carolina woman allegedly killed husband by putting eye drops in drinking water Deputy solicitor Willy Thompson told South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Paul Burch Thursday that Lana Clayton, who was a nurse for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, knew the eye drops were tasteless and odorless and would not be detected by her husband, according to Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC. He added that when officers began to suspect foul play, Lana Clayton told them her husband put eye drops in his drinks all of the time. She was eventually arrested in September 2018 and charged with his killing. Solicitor Kevin Brackett told the judge that Lana Clayton had killed her husband for money. He claimed she burned his will and threw his phone in a lake so he couldn't call for help, according to WSOC. At the hearing, Steven Clayton's family and friends gave emotional testimony to the judge before the sentencing. His goddaughter, Lourdes Alvarez, held back tears and she urged the judge to punish Lana Clayton to the fullest extent of the law. "Lana has fooled a lot of people, please dont let her fool you, she said. Story continues PHOTO: Lana Clayton allegedly poisoned her husband with eye drops. (WSOC) Lana Clayton's attorneys said their client had been a victim of sexual abuse in her past and that Steven Clayton "hit her, kicked her and choked her during their five-year marriage. Lana Clayton told the judge that she put the drops in her husband's drinks to make him sick and uncomfortable and didn't intend on killing him. "I wanted him to leave me alone," she told the judge. Rosemarie Clayton-Leslie, Steven Clayton's younger sister, disputed the her sister-in-laws claims that her brother had abused her. "He was so funny. And he was so affection and caring," she said in an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America" airing Friday. "My brother was the type of person who loved romance. He was a hopeless romantic. He was a wonderful man -- a wonderful brother and an amazing friend." She said she's convinced that Lana Clayton began poisoning him long before he died with the intention of killing him slowly. "My brother was strong and he was healthy. He had gone through multiple bizarre illnesses over the last few years since he had been with Lana, but we really chalked it up him just having ear problems or benign positional vertigo," Clayton-Leslie told GMA. "My brother was very much a proponent of traditional Chinese medicine." MORE: North Carolina woman tried to spike fiance's soda with eye drops, police say She said her brother spent a lot of time with "an incredible acupuncturist" in the Charlotte area who she spoke to frequently after his death. "I had many conversations with him and he was also perplexed because as many treatments as he tried on him, they couldn't get to the nitty gritty of why he continued to do so poorly," she said. "And I think that it was the perfect combination for her knowing that he was not a person who relied on traditional Western medicine." "She knew that he wasn't going to go out and have blood drawn and they weren't going to find the things that she was putting into his system, which were more than just tetrahydrozoline," she added. This was not the first time the military overhyped new artillery weapons. The Armys first generation of artillery cluster shells was born out of the services bitter experience facing human wave attacks in the Korean War. A top-secret postwar program at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey raced to create a new generation of weapons it called COFRAM, for Controlled Fragmentation Munition. The idea was to design artillery shells that broke open in midair, dispensing little grenades that exploded in more uniformly sized pieces than earlier munitions did. The key, they found, was to score the inside walls of the grenade body in a crosshatch type of design. (The M67 fragmentation hand grenade still in use today is a direct descendant of the COFRAM program.) By blanketing large areas with smaller munitions, they hoped human wave attacks could be defeated. These COFRAM munitions stayed largely under wraps until early 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson panicked over the possibility of North Vietnamese forces overrunning the Marine base at Khe Sanh. The president discussed the possibility of using small nuclear weapons with Pentagon leadership to defend the base, but his commander in Vietnam, Gen. William Westmoreland, suggested that nukes would not be necessary. In January, the Pentagon agreed with Westmorelands request to declassify COFRAM for use in Vietnam. The Marine Corps official history of the war shows that less than a month later, a brigadier general flew to Khe Sanh with the first pallets of 105-millimeter cluster artillery rounds, and a warrant officer delivered handwritten instructions on their use. On Feb. 7, 1968, Marine howitzers fired the first artillery cluster rounds in support of the Special Forces camp nearby at Lang Vei. The Marine artillery commander who was ordered to use the new top-secret ammunition only fired a few rounds and doubted very much their effectiveness. He went back to firing normal high-explosive rounds but kept reporting to his superiors that he was using the new cluster munitions. 450 fine for Bollywood stunt at Trevi Fountain. A 20-year-old Egyptian man was apprehended by Rome police as he climbed up the side of the Trevi Fountain on 15 January. The man, who was not carrying any identification, was fined 450 and received a daspo urbano, a ban from returning to the area. The man excused his actions by saying he just wanted to recreate a scene from a Bollywood movie featuring the Baroque monument. Photo by Christopher Czermak on Unsplash Members of the Sikh American community attended the opening of the Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara Sahib in Orangevale, California on Jan. 12. The following morning, the head priest discovered that an address marker at the entrance to the facility had been spray-painted with a swastika and the words white power. Harbans Singh Sraon, Indian American spokesman for the gurdwara, told India-West that FBI detectives have consistently visited the facility since the bias-motivated crime occurred. (photo courtesy of Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara Sahib) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 02:12:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi after attending a grand welcome ceremony hosted by Myanmar President U Win Myint at the presidential palace in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 17, 2020. Aung San Suu Kyi came to the presidential palace to extend her warm greetings to Xi. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi had a cordial and friendly talk at Myanmar's presidential palace on Friday. Aung San Suu Kyi, who came to the presidential palace to extend her warm greetings to Xi, said that it has been a long-awaited state visit to Myanmar. The visit, ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year and against the backdrop of the 70th anniversary of the Myanmar-China diplomatic relations, bears special significance, she said. The Myanmar side appreciates and cherishes China's long-term and huge support, she added. The "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between Myanmar and China has stood the test of time, and its profound meaning could only be appreciated by the two countries, said Aung San Suu Kyi. China has always been a good friend to Myanmar and the two countries have been bound together, she said, adding that Myanmar stands ready to keep sharing weal and woe and build a community with a shared future with China. Aung San Suu Kyi said she believes that Xi's visit will usher in new developments in bilateral relations. For his part, Xi said he appreciates the hospitality of the Myanmar government and people. Xi said that it is his first visit to Myanmar as Chinese president and his first overseas trip in 2020, during which the two countries will celebrate and launch a series of events marking the 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar diplomatic relations. That, Xi said, is of great significance. China staunchly supports Myanmar in following the development path of its own choice, and stands ready to consolidate and deepen the "Paukphaw" friendship between the two countries and two peoples, keep enriching its connotation and jointly build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future, he said. Before the talk, Myanmar President U Win Myint hosted a grand welcome ceremony in Xi's honor at the presidential palace. Pope Francis receives the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Vatican and expresses satisfaction for the ratification of the Framework Agreement between the two States. By Linda Bordoni Pope Francis on Friday received in audience Felix Antoine Tshilombo Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to a Holy See Press Office statement, during the cordial discussions, the two leaders expressed satisfaction for the good bilateral relations between the DRC and the Vatican, and for the recent ratification of the Framework Agreement between the two nations. Matters of mutual interest were reportedly discussed, including the Catholic Churchs contribution to the democratic process and its promotion of the common good and integral development of the nation, especially in the fields of education and healthcare. The Pope and the President also focused on the situation in the eastern provinces of the African nation where the population is suffering because of a continuing armed conflict and the spread of the Ebola virus. Finally, talks centered on the urgent need for collaboration and cooperation at national and international level in order to protect human dignity and to promote civil coexistence, starting with the tens of thousands of refugees and displaced persons who are facing a grave humanitarian crisis. Framework Agreement between the Holy See and DR Congo Following his meeting with the Pope, President Tshisekedi met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and with the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher. At the heart of their discussions was the ratification of the Framework Agreement between the Holy See and the Democratic Republic of Congo, signed in the Vatican on 20 May 2016. The Document sets out the legal framework for mutual relations. In particular, it sanctions the Churchs freedom in apostolic activity and in matters of its specific competence. It also regulates various areas, including Catholic educational institutions, the teaching of religion in schools, the Church's charitable-assistance activity, pastoral care in the Armed Forces and in penitentiaries and hospitals, the Churchs patrimonial and fiscal regime, and regulations regarding entry visas and residence permits for religious personnel. Finally, the Agreement also provides for application agreements between the Episcopal Conference and the State on certain matters of common interest. Russia is "ready and looking forward" to training a team of Indian astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission, Moscow diplomat Roman Babushkin said on Friday. "A team of Indian astronauts is going to Russia this month. We have very good expertise in Russia on how to train astronauts which we have developed over decades. We are ready and looking forward to sharing what we have with India," Russian deputy ambassador to India, Babushkin, said during a press conference on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to India for the Raisina Dialogue 2020. At this year's annual press conference, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan had announced that four astronauts have been selected to undergo training in Russia for the Gaganyaan mission. The four astronauts, shortlisted for the mission, will receive training for 11 months. All the four astronauts selected for the mission are men but their identity cannot be revealed, Union Minister of State (MoS), Jitendra Singh had revealed. After 11 months of training in Russia, the astronauts will receive module-specific training in India. They will be trained in crew and service module designed by ISRO, learn to operate it, work around it and do simulations. As per the ISRO sources, India's heaviest launch vehicle "Bahubali" GSLV Mark-III will the carry astronauts to space. The Narendra Modi government has sanctioned Rs.10,000 crores for the Gaganyaan project. The Gaganyaan launch will coincide with the 75th year of India's Independence, 2022. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SALEM, Ore. A cannabis product being sold at shops around the state of Oregon is being recalled after failing a test for pesticide levels, according to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC). The agency said that is was "issuing an immediate health and safety advisory due to the identification of potentially unsafe pesticide residue" in pre-rolled joints sold with the brand-name Winberry Farms, under the name Sweet Leaf Blend. The strain name is "Trap Star." Cannabis in the product was cultivated by licensed producer Ard Di and packaged for sale by DYME Distribution. It has the identification number 1A4010300022859000015892. "The affected marijuana flower failed its pesticide test, because it exceeded the acceptable level, known as the 'action limit,' for the insecticide Imidacloprid," OLCC said in a statement. The OLCC said that it has locked down the product within its "Cannabis Tracking System" so that it won't be distributed or sold to any further customers. 700 of the pre-rolls had already been distributed, and the OLCC said that retailers had pulled 328 packages from their shelves. Tainted joints were sold beginning on December 17 through January 8 at nine different shops throughout Oregon, including one in Rogue River: Spark, 5103 NE Fremont Street, Portland Ancient Remedies, 2350 State Street, Salem Puff Oregon, 47700 NW Sunset Highway, Manning Rogue River Herbal PMC, 510 East Main, Suite C, Rogue River The Joint, 3270 Market Street NE, Salem Stoney Only Clackamas, 10289 SE Highway 212, Clackamas Tsunami Marijuana LLC, 36412 Highway 26, Seaside Track Town Collective, 3675 Franklin Blvd., Eugene Green Room, 2521 NW 9th Street, Corvallis Regulators said that a lab in Corvallis had failed to send samples of the product onto a second lab a requirement after the cannabis showed mixed results in initial tests. As a result, the OLCC didn't find out about the issue until January 6 when an audit of the products resulted in more failed tests. "Consumers who have these recalled products should dispose of the products or return them to the retailer where they were purchased," the agency said. There have been no reports of illness from using the products, but the OLCC said that health impacts from consuming that amount of pesticide is unknown. "Short and long-term health impacts may exist depending on the specific product, duration, frequency, level of exposure, and route of exposure," OLCC said. Were the political superiors informed? If not, why not? by Aijaz Ahmad Courtesy: Frontline India A historically novel kind of state seems to be arising in many corners of the world, which combines elements derived selectively from the two classic forms of the capitalist state, the liberal and the fascist. India under Narendra Modi too may be moving in that direction. The Indian polity is undoubtedly passing through a watershed moment, considerably more ominous than the Babri Masjid demolition of 1992, the making of the second A.B. Vajpayee government that assumed office in 1998 or the Gujarat killings of 2002. Those milestones in the rise of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS)-backed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power involved two orgies of violence a decade apart, with a smooth electoral transition in the middle of that decade. The Vajpayee governments of 1996 and 1998 would be inconceivable without years of bloodshed throughout the Ram Mandir movement and in the aftermath of the mosques demolition. Militarised Hinduism of V.D. Savarkars dream, and the fascist spectacles it generated, were translated into votes, proving that communal violence pays electoral dividends. The Gujarat pogrom was conducted almost immediately after Narendra Modi became Chief Minister. Electoral support for him grew with successive State elections, and more and more among the national middle class came to favour him as future Prime Minister. He never bridled his fire-eating communal vitriol even as public relations agencies re-made him into a Vikas Purush (Development Man); vitriol and promises of vikas were equally at work in getting him to form government in Delhi. The relation between the parliamentary and the extra-parliamentary in calculations and conduct of the RSS and its progeny could not be clearer. This combination of persuasion and coercion has achieved at least four things for the Sangh Parivar. First, expansion of political power. Electoral politics always involve ups and downs but, on the whole, over a 30-year period of violent politics, from 1989 to 2019 let us say, the BJP has gone from being a relatively small party on the national scale to becoming an overwhelming political machine; the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal, the Durga Vahiniand sundry other vahinis that appear and disappear routinelyshould get as much credit for this electoral success as the BJP itself, not to speak of the RSS cadres who take over the election campaigns whenever necessary. Second, there is probably an even larger expansion of the social base that adheres explicitly to the ideology of the RSS and the immeasurable numbers who have come to accept at least a part of the RSS world view in their daily dealings with the world. Mass mentalities tend to be highly malleable and very hard to assess accurately. Even so, the centre of ideological gravity has undoubtedly shifted. Third: with that shift in ideological gravity has come further coarsening in the moral fabric of the nation. The countless millions who come out to adore the likes of Modi and Yogi Adityanath are an index of that coarsening. The population of Uttar Pradesh is roughly equal to the combined population of Germany, France and the United Kingdom. That the Yogiin reality a Bajrang Dal activist in saffron robescan become the Chief Minister of so large a State without provoking a major backlash speaks volumes about the point at which we have now arrived. Let it be remembered that he is a star campaigner for the BJP in many States far beyond Uttar Pradesh and is often mentioned as a possible future Prime Minister. The fourth element of that success is, however, quite possibly the most dangerous in both the long and the short run: the ability of the RSS to command acquiescence not only from its key adversaries, such as the Congress, but also from precisely those, including the Supreme Court, whose duty it is to guarantee a law-based public life and to defend the fundamentals of the Constitution. Brief comment on only one instance should suffice: the Babri imbroglio. Preparations and cadre training for the demolition of the Babri Masjid by the Parivar and the Shiv Sainiks alike were so prolonged (a year or so), so elaborate and on such a scale that intelligence agencies must have known much about it even though they feigned ignorance. Were the political superiors informed? If not, why not? The calculated inaction of the P.V. Narasimha Rao government was stunning. Kalyan Singhs undertaking to the Supreme Court that the mosque would be protected was at best a prevarication. The court chose to fall for the strategem. When Kalyan Singh defied the court by simply ignoring what he had promised, he got away with barely a velvet tap on the knuckles. The whole fascist spectacle was televised and everyone saw which of the BJP leadersall luminaries of the Parivarwere present, screaming and abetting the demolition squad. None was ever punished. Justice M.S. Liberhan, commissioned to submit a report on the events surrounding the demolition in three months, took 17 years to submit one but then did name some names. Neither the Congress government of the time nor the Supreme Court chose to do much about it. The basic fact is that no major leader of the Parivarwhether from the RSS itself or the BJP, VHP, and so onhas ever been punished. In deed, when the United States and the United Kingdom governments decided to not issue visas to Modi because of the 2002 pogrom, Manmohan Singh protested against such insult to an Indian Chief Minister. Evasions of law and morality through niceties of etiquette! Ominous juncture Each of the moments that were mentioned earlier1992, 1998 and 2002contributed decisively to the ascent of the RSS to the zenith of power in the country. We are now at a far more ominous point in time, however. The fundamental difference is this. For the first 40 years of its existence1925 to 1970, roughly speakingthe RSS remained a relatively minor force and something of an untouchable in Indian politics, until it made its first major breakthrough with its masterly role in anti-Indira agitation of the mid 1970s. Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) commanded a personality cult and bluster but no organisation. Morarji Desai had personal stature but his Congress (O) was by then a spent force. The RSS alone had a cohesive leadership, well-trained cadre and a credible parliamentary front (the Jana Sangh). It thus dominated the right-wing coalition against Indira Gandhi and, after the 1977 elections, walked into Parliament with 94 members. That was the first time that the RSS came to be seen as a more or less normal part of the Indian political scene. That story has never been told properly. Between that and 2014 when Modi first formed government in Delhithat is, for the next 40 years of its existencethe RSS has been on an essentially upward path of power and prestige, with downs and ups of course. Returning to power after a 10-year gap but with a clear majority (282 seats) for the first time, Modis earlier innings in Delhi, 2014-19, was given largely to consolidating the accumulated power, gaining a tight grip on various institutions of the state, winning freedom from allies, undertaking greater saffronisation and lumpenisation of the BJP itself, getting the country used to more open and direct presence of the RSS in affairs of government and social life of the nation, and other such matters. Lynching of Muslims became commonplace across a vast region, from Muzaffarnagar in Western Uttar Pradesh to Bengal and Assam, with other such killings punctual but less frequent across western and southern zones of the country as well. Clones of the RSS began sprouting all over while lines of demarcation remained blurred: were these covert branches of the RSS that could be disavowed whenever necessary, or were they RSS-inspired but autonomous expressions of the same ambience of Hindutva beliefs? This question became paramount with high-profile killings of greatly respected intellectuals and journalistsfrom Professor M.M. Kalburgi to Gauri Lankesh. These assassinations had nothing to do with the Hindutva version of majoritarian nationalism that led to lynchings of isolated Muslims or Parivar-inspired mobs spreading terror in Muslim communities. This was a transition to the very heart of the Hindutva project as a movement of the Far Right, inspired by fascist anti-rationalist legacies, that is out to re-make Indian society as a whole, including its Hindu majority, its secular scholars, liberal thinkers and activists, communists and rationalists, and everyone else who is in any fundamental way opposed to the RSS version of history, society, politics and government. The attack on universities which also began during Modis first term as Prime Minister is very much a part of that same project. If poor Muslims were lynched by semi-literate individuals and mobs in small towns and rural hinterlands in the name of the cow, JNU Students Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar could be beaten on the premises of a judicial court by a mob of lawyers in the name of the nation. The Modi government had made a grand mess of the economy. Demonetisation and the untidy manner in which the goods and services tax (GST) was imposed are said to have been the twin disasters. In addition, politicisation of the Reserve Bank of India has not helped, nor the use of the nationalised banks for funnelling credit toward cronies. All capitalism is crony capitalism, but the Modi-Adani variant is just very much more so. By the time the 2019 elections came around, 11 million jobs had been lost in industry and the informal sector, accounting for almost half the national economy, was standing still, generating hardly any new jobs, while youth unemployment rose to 25 million and total unemployment was estimated at 6.2 per cent of the workforce. The rate of investment in the formal economy had also fallen below 1 per cent, indicating that no matter how much they loved Modi the great magnates did not have much confidence in the economy. It was widely expected that Modi would have to pay the price at the polling stations. Instead, he added 21 seats to his parliamentary majority, reaching a majority of 303. What happened? The obvious can be stated quickly. Regardless of the state of the economy, the corporate sector contributed massively, amounting to the equivalent of about half a billion dollars, and over 93 per cent of it went to the BJP. If Modi had spent as much on his 2014 campaign as did Barack Obama on his re-election, in 2019 he cumulatively had more. If the abysmal rate of investment indicated that the great magnates were unhappy about the state of the economy, why were they showering such vast campaign contributions on the man whose government had made that economic mess? Three explanations seem possible: that the money was coming mainly from the very cronies who had made super-profits under Modis dispensation, or that the said magnates saw no alternative to Modi and were betting on the horse that was bound to win. Second, the electronic media was by now even more universally and stringently tied to the politics of the Parivar than in 2014. With the singular exception of NDTV and a couple of very much lesser channels, virtually all the electronic media was by now profoundly corrupted and addicted to histrionics that simply regurgitated whatever it received from BJPs election and IT cells. This was combined then with the incalculable effect of what Ravish Kumar felicitously calls WhatsApp University, that is, the so-called social media, most of it deeply anti-social and anti-truth, which that same IT cell and its activist Hindutva brigade has used on a vast scale, with a savvy deployment of big data, to reach millions of adherents and innocents alike. Third, the gift of Pulwama. On February 14, 2019, less than two months before India went to polls, a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, for which Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad later claimed responsibility, killed 40 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and injured another 35. Twelve days later, on February 26, the Indian Air Force crossed into north-western Pakistan and dropped bombs close to madrassa (religious school), with the government claiming that it had killed 300 to 400 terrorists. The Pakistan government, by contrast, claimed that there had been no casualties. Open-source satellite imagery from half a dozen labs in different corners of the planet proved that even the building of the madrassa had not been significantly damaged. Soon enough, in the course of Pakistani retaliation, India lost one of its jet aircraft. The episode had thus been a real fiasco for the Indian side. But patriotic fervour is a simulated hysteria which necessarily produces identification with the ruler. Modi gained stature despite the dismal facts. Finally, the question of manipulation of votes through balloting machines, the infamous electronic voting machines (EVMs). These are used in many countries and are known to be easily manipulated; in India itself, at least one EVM was reliably reported to have registered all votes as BJP votes. The peculiarity of Indian elections is that there is no paper trail; EVMs are the sole and final means for casting and counting votes. Countless complaints were registered with the Election Commission and petitions filed in courtsall stonewalled. All these factors may well have favoured Modi. But a brute majority of 303 with the percentage of vote share rising by over 6 per cent? There has to be a structural and not a merely anecdotal explanation, some of which we shall indicate below. Meanwhile, let us contemplate two simple facts. The stipulation in India is that for a party to function as leader of opposition it must be the largest outside the Treasury benches and must have itself garnered at least 10 per cent of the seats in the House. The result is that Parliament has been without a formally recognised leader of the opposition since 2014. Second, 303 seats for the BJP still leave us with 245 MPs who do not belong to the ruling party. That is a very large number indeedwith a difference of less than 60. Can anyone claim that these 245 constitute any sort of coherent opposition, act in unison or have a minimum common programme or even profile? With these two simple facts alone, we can measure the degree of fragmentation and inertia among the non-BJP ranks. Fragmented opposition This fragmentation of the non-BJP political spectrum can be viewed in light of a public interview that Karan Thapar conducted with Arun Shourie, a veteran of Parivar politics and currently a renegade (reported in The Wire, September 2, 2018). Shourie had then argued that the 2019 elections may well be the last free elections in India, hence the last chance for anti-BJP forces to prevent the rise of long-term autocracy. His formula was simple: forget your mutual differences, get together on a united platform and field one, commonly agreed candidate against the BJP from every constituency. A statistic he cited was intriguing: in 2014 Modi received 90 per cent of the seats in States that contribute 60 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha. If the opposition combines in just three StatesUttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtrait will be impossible for Modi to win 90 per cent of the seats again. The argument was unanswerable but, alas, too utopian in the Indian context. The fact that this plea for total national unity to prevent the looming definitive success of the Parivar came from Arun Shourie, not from a leader of the CongressRahul Gandhi, for instance, or, better still, Sonia Gandhispeaks volumes and carries its own kind of pathos. It was proposed earlier that the Indian polity is passing through a watershed moment. A question now needs to be posed: is this watershed moment also a possibleeven probablepoint of no return? The question needs to be asked seriously, not rhetorically, because the unravelling of the Republic that was founded on August 15, 1947, and re-founded on January 26, 1950, is now not beyond the realm of possibility. That question is complicated and we shall try to address it briefly, below. We could start, though, with a simpler question. Let us suppose that the current juggernaut continues and more and more of the state apparatus keeps falling to RSS control but then, three years from now, the RSS starts receiving field reports from its networks that the BJP is not likely to win the next elections regardless of who its prime ministerial face is. Will it opt to step back and allow the BJP to lose, as it has done in the pastand thus risk losing key vectors of the power that it now has at its command, not to speak of all that it will have accumulated in the coming three years? Or will that be the moment for ensuring permanence of power through exceptional means? The temptation for the RSS will be very great because those elections will be coming just a year before its hundredth birth anniversary. Will it be content to celebrate that anniversary with a defeat? Main features of 2014 To understand the world as it now is after 2019 we have to first return to some of the main features of 2014. That was the first time in the history of independent India that with the exception of some reservations on the part of a maverick or two like Rahul Bajaj, virtually the whole of the Indian big bourgeoisie got united behind one political party and even just one man, Narendra Modi. That level of support has continued into 2019. Meanwhile, more stunning than the election of Modi was the sudden and terminal collapse of the Indian National Congress, a party that had dominated Indian politics for over a century. The diminution of its representation from 206 to 44 seats, immediately after governing the country for 10 years, was sign of an inner implosion, not a result of some spectacular failure of policies. It improved its tally by eight seats in 2019, going up to 52, but the days of glory are over, the implosion of 2014 is in place and there are no signs of rejuvenation. Electoral decline of the Left was slower but unmistakable. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) won 43 seats in 2004 but the number came down to 16 in 2009 even though its share of the vote remained essentially the same. It then lost the elections in West Bengal in 2011. In 2014, the number of seats in the Lok Sabha came down to nine and, more significantly, the vote share itself was cut by about 40 per centto 3.24 per cent, the lowest in its history since 1967. The most sweeping losses were in West Bengal and the writing was now on the wall. By 2019 the Left Fronts share of the vote there declined from 29.95 per cent in 2014 to roughly 8 per cent. By comparison, the BJPs vote share arose from 17.02 per cent in 2015 to 40.25 per cent in 2019. In short, the implosion of the Congress benefited exclusively the Right, not the Left, and it is quite possible that the electoral decline of the Left in West Bengal has also benefited the BJP. Moreover, it was the Left that had previously provided the centre of gravity for the formation of non-Congress, anti-BJP alliances, often conceived as a third force; with the Congress having imploded and the Left itself undergoing electoral decline, chances of assembling a third force are nil. Nor is it at all clear just how many of those 245 non-BJP members of the Lok Sabha are really opposed to the BJP. Some are already in the effectively defunct National Democratic Alliance (NDA); many others would go over if the BJP offered them a suitable bargain. Any inhibition about alliances with the BJP because it was a front of the RSS had disappeared for most political parties well before the end of the last century. Prospects for effective challenge to the Parivar in the electoral arena are bleak indeed, not because of any inherent strength or superiority of either the RSS or the BJP but because of the atomisation of alternative parties. Failure of institutions Almost the most striking feature of the past five years under Modi is how much partisan obedience he has been able to elicit from key institutions of the Indian state. This is as true of the higher judiciary as of the police force in small towns and big cities alike. As for the calculated and partisan dereliction of duty on the part of the Supreme Court, the most notable example is that of the judgment in the Babri Masjid case which amounts to rewarding the culprits of December 1992 and basing the judgment not on evidence but the primacy of faithrather, one particular faith. This particular judgment has come, furthermore, after a record of passivity and evasion over many years and over many aspects of the crime of demolition itself. Many other instances of such partisanship can be cited. Aside from the Supreme Court we have the case of the previous Army chief getting a Cabinet post almost immediately after retirement and the case of the General Bipin Rawat, Modis appointee as Indias first Chief of Defence Staff, going out of his way to criticise the people whom he takes to be the leaders of the recent popular protests. A serving general, and a Chief of Defence Staff at that, publicly criticising people who are protesting against the Prime Minister to whom he owes his appointment? Sign of times to come? And then there are the policemen, with their own orgies of communal violence all across Uttar Pradesh, uncaring of the fact that so much of it is on video and in the public domain; no one is going to punish them in any case. Similarly, we have video recordings of the police tear-gassing in hostels and libraries of Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia; policemen and goons intermingling as Ramachandra Guha, the famous historian, is manhandled in Bengaluru and when Yogendra Yadav, the psephologist and political activist, is pushed to the ground and mauled at the gates of Jawaharlal Nehru University. Registering first information reports (FIRs) not against the perpetrators of communal violence but against its victims has been a common practice in Uttar Pradesh. Inspired by such practices elsewhere, officials of the Delhi Police have registered cases against the president of the JNUSU, charging her with organising violence even as her own head was split open by masked men. These particular institutions of statethe higher judiciary, the army high brass, and the far more numerous police forceare getting special mention here because these are among the key institutions that the Parivar will need to do its bidding if and when it decides that it needs to suspend democratic norms and declare what German jurisprudence called the State of Exception. Or, in plain English, Emergencynot the half-hearted, short-lived Emergency of the sort that Indira Gandhi imposed, but the real stuff. A historically novel kind of state seems to be arising in many corners of the world, which combines elements derived selectively from the two classic forms of the capitalist state, the liberal and the fascist. My provisional term for such a state form is post-democratic and India too may be moving in that direction. This type of state keeps intact many of the institutional features of the liberal state (elections, freedom of press and assembly, etc.) but in fact signals the decay of the Lockean frames of political liberalism while authoritarian political parties with a Far Right agenda come to dominate the formally liberal structures, modifying them but not abolishing them altogether. From the Nazi past this form takes not the economic nationalism but the ethno-racial nationalism of Blood & Soil. For the Nazis that meant the will to exterminate the minority that is seen as the foreign element that corrupts the body politic of the true nation. In the Israeli scheme of things, the 20 per cent of the population that is Palestinian must be constantly terrorised, killed and maimed occasionally, expelled if at all possible but kept for the most part as second-class citizenry with highly restricted set of rights. As regards Muslims, the post-democratic state of the RSS, if that ever comes about, is likely to adopt not the Nazi but the Israeli model, possibly with direct participation of Israelis. The real problem they will face is not with Muslims who can be cowed into submission with all the means that the Parivar already has at its disposal. The problem and the likely confrontation will be with many, many elements of Hindu society itself (and I use the word Hindu here in a very broad sense, as a sociological category rather than a religious one: a matter merely of family origin and cultural heritage). Modis second innings has just begun and we have seen how swiftly he has moved on a whole range of issues of the RSS agenda, with the aid of various state agencies: on Kashmir, the Ram Mandir, triple talaaq, rights of citizenship, control of institutions of higher learning. This process of closing the gap between BJP policies and actual RSS agenda is likely to accelerate. RSS leadership did not make itself too visible in the days of the Vajpayee government, putting in just a few appearances; nor were there quasi-military marches of khaki phalanxes through the cities, like the one witnessed in Hyderabad recently. All this began more methodically during Modis first term. More and more of the BJP leaders who are members of Modis administration or just elected members of the Lok Sabha and the provincial Assemblies are already speaking the language of the RSS more punctually and freely, not only because they probably are all veterans of the RSS but because the RSS now seems to feel that its hold on power is firm enough for it now to start speaking its own thoughts, often in its own name. This second innings may even witness a gradual shift from the merely authoritarian to the post-democratic, that is, dimming of the liberal colours, sharpening of the fascist methods. Or, so the intention will be. The liberal frame of electoral politics has a better chance of survival if the Parivar is quite sure of winning the next elections. No one knows what might happen if they fear they are going to lose. There are two things that can buttress dreams of dictatorship. One, they have at their disposal a mass political movement of Hindutva hysterics, a multiplicity of fronts, and a well-trained, well-indoctrinated membership of five to 10 million. Secondly, key institutions of state, from the Supreme Court to the lowly police force, have been remarkably pliant. Given all the stories of sadistic brutality that have accumulated about the communal character of the U.P. policeand not only the U.P. policeas well as the Indian soldiery in Kashmir suggest that they will have at their disposal a very large complex of state personnel that acts in the classic fascist fashion. On the other hand, though, India is too diverseregionally, linguistically, in matters of ritual, custom and political convictionto submit itself to a singular will. And, with a population of 1.3 billion people speaking dozens of languages and dialects, India is too large. By comparison, Germany of the Nazis was a monolingual country of barely 50 million or so. Even the idea of an integrated Hindu society is largely fictitious; good bit is not Hindu at all and all the rest is even in matter of faith mostly a web of differences despite Brahminical injunctions of orthopraxy. And much of the educated urban India has been brought up on left-liberal and leftist ideas, and those ideas have gone very deep. Even a plan to verify everyones citizenship touched such a nerve that something like a spontaneous national uprising began spreading from city to city precisely because there is an instinctive revulsion against regimentation and intrusion in personal lives. In conclusion The last sentence of the previous paragraph points toward a phenomenon that has also arisen at the very beginning of Modis second innings but is unlike anything discussed in much of this essaythe popular rebellion of many shades that has erupted in all sorts of places in the country, ranging from sprawling university campuses to ghetto-like neighbourhoods of poor and lower middle class Muslims, ostensibly on the question of verification of citizenship and even the use of religion as the criterion for bestowing citizenship on some and denying it to others. All sorts of other grievances are woven into these most obvious ones. This rebellion is spearheaded by no political party, and only the Left seems to be active in its protests and mobilisations. Instead a whole new generation has taken charge of most things related to this rebellion, not only on campuses but also in all sorts of public places across the land. And, there has also been within the last couple of days an all-India strike involving, according to the organisers, some 250 million workers, which would make it the largest strike in human history. A popular rebellion and a workers strike of that magnitude. Can the two overlap and intersect? Potentials are immense. West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Friday said that Aadhaar and PAN cards are not proof of citizenship. He urged refugees to get their citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 or CAA. Ghosh, while addressing a pro-CAA rally here, urged people not to fall into the "trap" of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other TMC leaders, who have been saying that refugees living in West Bengal for decades and possessing Aadhaar and PAN cards need not apply for citizenship. "...This is misleading because refugees have to seek citizenship through new the citizenship law. If you do not submit your details, you will be in trouble," Ghosh said. Taking a dig at anti-CAA rallies in the city and across the country, he said, "the intellectuals had never hit the streets when Hindus had to flee to India from neighbouring countries". The state BJP president said the CAA has been brought in to give citizenship to refugees and not snatch it from citizens. "The opposition is trying to mislead the masses. The prime minister will give three to four months to apply for citizenship. "You all should apply for citizenship. You do not need documents to prove anything, just fill up the forms with the name of your parents and you will get the citizenship," he said. The amended citizenship law has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the state, with the TMC opposing the legislation tooth and nail and the BJP pressing for its implementation. Ghosh's comment was criticised by the ruling TMC. "Who is Dilip Ghosh to decide who is a citizen and who is not? The people of this state will give Dilip Ghosh and his party a befitting reply for its arrogance," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Tapas Roy said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the two weeks since Washington violated Iraqs sovereignty to assassinate Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) General Qassem Suleimani, major Canadian corporate media outlets and leading figures within the political establishment have voiced their support for such acts of state terrorism. To the extent that any criticisms have been made, they have revolved around the question of whether Suleimanis killing was a tactical error that could undermine US imperialisms position in the Middle East. Providing implicit support for the US drone strike, Canadas Foreign Ministry responded just hours after the illegal January 3 killing by issuing a statement denouncing Iranian aggression and calling for de-escalation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau avoided media appearances for several days thereafter, then remarked that he would have preferred that Canada had been informed in advance of the strike, given the large number of Canadian troops working alongside the US military in Iraq. When on January 8 a reporter again solicited his governments view of the assassination, which was illegal under both US and international law, Trudeau went even further in extending his governments support. Canada has long been aware of the threat posed by the IRGC on regional and global safety and security, said Trudeau. The Americans made a decision based on their threat assessment. It was a threat assessment the US was tasked with making and made. The Trudeau Liberal government has also welcomed Tuesdays move by the major European imperialist powersGermany, France, and Britainto file a complaint charging Iranian noncompliance with the 2015 nuclear accord. This step puts the European powers on a 60-day fast track to joining the US in imposing and policing crippling economic sanctions on Iran, although Tehran, as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and all the other signatories to the accord, fully adhered to its terms until Washington withdrew with the avowed intention of destroying it. Canada strongly supports the diplomatic engagement of France, Germany and the United Kingdom in pressing Iran to respect its commitments under the agreement, including through activating the Dispute Resolution Mechanism, declared Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in a statement. Major media outlets have chimed in with full-throated endorsements of Trumps targeted killing. In an op-ed piece bluntly titled Donald Trump is right on Iran, Globe and Mail columnist Konrad Yakabuski wrote of Suleimani, At some point, he had to be stopped. The real question is why it hadnt happened sooner. Turning to the justification Trump gave for the drone strike, Yakabuski all but argued that Washington should have a blank cheque to eliminate any military or political figure that gets in the way of its interests. Even setting aside the threat of an imminent attack on U.S. targets being planned by Gen. Suleimani evoked by the Trump administration to justify the timing of last weeks strike, he wrote, there is no doubt that Irans top military strategist had plenty of American blood on his hands He stoked a civil war in Yemen, propped up Bashar al-Assads butchering regime in Syria, funded and armed a Shia militia in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Eventually, someone in Washington had to stop Gen. Suleimani and put the theocrats in charge in Tehran on notice. It should have been done years ago. The breathtaking cynicism of such comments, reflected above all in their deliberate silence on the horrendous crimes of US imperialism and its allies in the Middle East over the past quarter century, can only be understood if one appreciates Canadas deep involvement in Washingtons drive to establish unbridled domination over the worlds most important oil-exporting region. Yakabuski portrays Suleimani as the evil genius responsible for pulling the strings behind the scenes in every major crisis in the Middle East over the past two decades to cover up the reality that American imperialism, with able assistance from its Canadian ally, bears responsibility for millions of deaths and the destruction of entire societies, from Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. Yakabuski also stated his approval of Trumps provocative May 2018 unilateral abrogation of the Iran nuclear accord. Parroting the lies of Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and willfully ignoring Washingtons war threats against Iran and arming of its regional allies like the Saudis and Israel to the teeth, Yakabuski claimed, Instead of encouraging Iran to abandon its terrorist activities across the Middle East, the sectarian regime in Tehran used the windfall it pocketed from the removal of sanctions to sow even greater chaos. The Globe, long considered the mouthpiece of the most powerful sections of Canadas Bay Street financial elite, also published a comment endorsing the Suleimani assassination by Hugh Segal. A former chief of staff to Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and an influential figure within policymaking circles, Segal denounced Suleimani as the most powerful and malevolent supreme commander of Irans terrorist and proxy forces. He then proceeded to urge the Canadian government to step up preparations for war with Iran by organizing a NATO ministerial meeting to declare that the military alliance would interpret any Iranian attack on US military personnel as a violation of NATOs Article 5, which requires all 28 member states to support military operations by a member if it comes under attack. [A] broader ministerial meeting to underline the reality of Article 5 would be broadly constructive, stated Segal. After all, it would be a serious path to restraint to make it perfectly clear that NATO would view a clear attack on the United States, its people, forces or homelandbe it kinetic, cyber or via terrorist proxyas an act of aggression against all NATO members. Segals comments make clear that the Canadian ruling class is preparing to join the United States in a military assault on Iran should Washingtons campaign of maximum pressure on Tehran provoke all-out war. Such a conflict would rapidly engulf the entire Mideast and risks drawing in the other great powers. The Trudeau government is already in the midst of a massive rearmament program, buying new fleets of warships and warplanes and implementing plans to hike military spending by more than 70 percent by 2026. The Canadian ruling elites collective silence on the illegality of the Trump administrations assassination of a foreign leader in a third countryan act that was manifestly both an act of war and a war crimeunderscores that in pursuit of its global predatory imperialist ambitions, it will not allow legal niceties, let alone moral qualms, get in the way. Despite Canadas carefully choreographed image as a peacekeeping nation committed to international law and diplomacy, the ruling elites disdain for legal principles when it comes to enforcing its aggressive foreign policy interests is nothing new. In 2003, when the United States, in open defiance of the UN and international law, invaded Iraq on bogus claims of weapons of mass destruction, Prime Minister Jean Chretien brushed aside questions about the legality of Washingtons actions by declaring that such matters would be a matter for future historians to debate. While Chretien did not deploy Canadian troops to join the invasion, Canada played a supporting role behind the scenes, and bore an increased share of the military burden in Afghanistan to facilitate the deployment of more American troops to Iraq. The cautious criticism issued from some quarters of the US assassination of Suleimani has nothing to do with opposition to war or concern about the legal and political implications of the most powerful imperialist country in the world adopting state terrorism as official government policy. Rather, these misgivings reflect, much like the comments made by leading Democrats in the US, the fears of a section of the ruling elite that Trump acted too hastily and does not have a broader strategy for the consolidation of US hegemony over the energy-rich and geostrategically critical Middle East. The right-wing National Post summed this up in an editorial entitled Suleimani deserved what he got, but well see what comes next. The question at the heart of the attack on Irans Gen. Qassem Suleimani isnt one of legality or justification, asserted the Post. The world is unquestionably better off without him. Whether it is safer is the key question. Weve been in this situation before, and the outcome doesnt bode well: In 2003 the administration of George W. Bush set out to make the world safer by overthrowing Saddam Hussein. The Post s standpoint is clear. Trumps lack of foresight and recklessness risks further destabilizing a region that is central to the geopolitical and economic interests of American and Canadian imperialism. What they want is a more considered, comprehensive diplomatic, economic and military strategy to push back Iranian influence and strengthen US imperialist control over the Middle East vis-a-vis its main strategic rivals, Russia and China. Panun Kashmir or Our Own Kashmir is an organisation of Kashmiri Pandits seeking a separate homeland for the community in the Valley. In an interview to HT, its chairman Ajay Chrungoo speaks about the Kashmir problem, the conditions on which the return of Pandits hinge and how the state erred by terming their exodus as migration. Edited excerpts. Its been 30 years since Pandits had to leave their homes in Kashmir. What has changed in all these years, do you see them returning anytime soon? Hindus of the Valley were victims of a genocidal war. Successive governments in state and the Centre treated the grave tragedy of this genocide as migration. Pakistan and Muslim separatist flanks in Kashmir were directly responsible. The Indian state and political class stood as bystanders. This genocide was expressed through Kill-one-and-scare-10 campaign initially followed by the destruction of Hindu habitat. The destruction of Hindu homes, temples and shrines was conducted systematically to cleanse Kashmir of Hindus. And while in exile, internally displaced Hindus had to face denial of their genocide. When you deny genocide it is genocide, too; it is called double killing. Abrogation of Article 370, and reorganisation of J&K into two Union Territories, and banning Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front has certainly raised hopes now. How was the Indian State was responsible for the denial of genocide? Over the years, the Indian state called the forced exodus of Hindus of Kashmir as migration. Initially, it did call it as a demographic assault in an attempt to manage international opinion. However, at the governmental level, this exodus was denoted as migration. The government of India gave a testimony to the National Human Rights Commission that exodus was a self-imposed displacement. The issue was treated as merely a migration. The real problem was not recognised till recently when the JKLF [Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front] was banned and the government, for the first time, accepted that the JKLF was responsible for genocide of Kashmiri Pandits. In 1948, when the genocide convention of the United Nations was drafted, the government of India was one of its main proposers. And, as per the convention, a signatory state is bound to punish and prevent genocide. However, till date, India does not have any law on the crime of genocide. And, since the government did not recognise this exodus as genocide and treated it as migration, it could not evolve proper policies to address the tragedy. In the first decade, nearly 25,000 people died due to absence of proper policies, which would address unnatural conditions to which displaced population was exposed, such as extreme heat, distress related to displacement and many other extraneous conditions. You see any hope for the communitys return to the Valley? We certainly have hope now. Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 was, in fact, a Muslim state in the territory of secular India. And, since it was a Muslim state, to expect the state government to respond to the crisis created by Muslim separatism was a tall order. I am hopeful now because of the abrogation of Article 370; the state is no longer a Muslim state with a separate constitution. I am also hopeful because, for the first time while banning JKLF, the home secretary used the term genocide. What are your expectations from the current government? The first step is to conduct a free and fair census in the entire UT of J&K, including a special census of Hindus of Kashmir who were displaced and are living across the country. The 2011 Census has shown a sharp rise in the population in Kashmir Valley and a steep dip in the population in Jammuclose to 10%. This dip has a catastrophic message. Any other country would have immediately instituted an inquiry to assess the reason for such a sharp dip. The second step is to undertake the process of delimitation based on a free and fair census. Then only can the political process start. The third step should be recognising the genocide of Hindus in Kashmir and committing to reversal of this genocide and not merely a tokenist return of the internally displaced people. You have been demanding a separate homeland. After the abrogation of Article 370, is there a change in that stance? The first step that needs to be taken is to recognise and start a process of reversal of genocide rather than mere rhetoric of creating conditions for return. Reversal of genocide means creating an act that will punish the crime of genocide and prevent genocide and atrocities from recurring; we have suggested such an act to the government. A separate homeland is a demand that still stands. Earlier there was a separate Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, so many would say it was legally impossible. Now, after the reorganisation of the state, this is legally a possibility. From the geopolitical point of view, dividing Kashmir to create one more UT for rehabilitation of victims of genocide is the only way of defeating separatism comprehensively in Jammu and Kashmir. Carving out a separate homeland along the north and east of river Jhelum in the Valley has become more relevant. Religious fascist movement will suffer a decisive defeat through this measure. One aspect of the exodus that is not talked about is the economic cost of dislocation. In the Panun Kashmir Genocide and Atrocity Prevention Bill that we have proposed, we have asked for the nullification of distress property sales. If land reforms (The Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, 1950 that imposed ceiling on land ownership) could be carried out without any compensation to the landowners, why cant the sale of properties under duress be reversed? Taking such an extraordinary step will send out a message. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Rather than simply staging the night parade on the first day of Chinese New Year, the HKTB is putting together a four-day long carnival that will run from January 25-28. Organized by the HKTB and title-sponsored by Cathay Pacific, the multi-day event will be held at the Art Park of the West Kowloon Cultural District also a first time for the HKTB's Chinese New Year celebrations. In addition to the signature parade, the event will feature a variety of family-friendly elements for people to kick off an auspicious new year with their loved ones. Highlights of the four-day Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Carnival: 1. Greatest number of international performing teams in the event's history 26 international teams hailing from 19 countries and regions in Asia , Europe , the Americas and Africa will take part in the parade and stage performances including famous dance troupes from hit television shows NBC's "America's Got Talent" and NBC's "World of Dance" 2. Photo spots with colourful giant installations and decorations Photo spots made up by eye-catching decorations including festive mouse cartoon characters and a giant inflatable caterpillar from popular children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, all against the backdrop of Hong Kong's stunning skyline 3. Eat & play elements galore A new Chinese New Year market serving up delicacies including Michelin-recommended fare and fun workshops More Details on the Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Carnival: HKTB Chairman Dr. YK Pang said, "The HKTB has been staging its Chinese New Year event for nearly a quarter of a century to spread happiness across the city. This year being the Year of the Rat, the leader of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, it is not only the beginning of a new cycle, but also marks the staging of the 25th edition of this signature event in Chinese New Year. This provides the perfect opportunity to celebrate the much-loved festival in a new way. While enjoying the carnival, we hope the people of Hong Kong will share the festivities with their families and friends living abroad. We will also certainly show to visitors from around the world with our fun, vibrant celebrations that Hong Kong remains an open and welcoming travel destination." Cathay Pacific Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Mr. Ronald Lam said, "As the home carrier of Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific has always sought to promote and showcase our home hub as much as possible, while also playing our part to help develop Hong Kong into a truly international city. We are delighted to once again be sponsoring this fabulous event for the 22nd year in a row as we celebrate the Chinese New Year. We hope that both the people of Hong Kong and visitors from all over the world will enjoy this spectacular carnival and experience the rich and vibrant festive culture of this city. We look forward to another great celebration, showcasing the fun, jubilant atmosphere and energy that embodies the character of Hong Kong." The four-day International Chinese New Year Carnival is free and open to the public. Both international and local performing groups will join the daily parades along the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade. For those who miss the parades, patrons can enjoy stage performances from day to night. The stimulating programs, along with the family-friendly activities, will guarantee festival-goers a great time whenever they join the event. Three highlights of the carnival include: 1. Greatest number of international performing troupes in the event's history The carnival will introduce 26 international performing troupes, a record for the event, plus 22 local performing teams, adding up to over a thousand performers. On top of taking part in the parades, they will provide stage performances on roster from day to night. The 26 international teams come from 19 countries and regions in Asia , Europe , the Americas and Africa . Among them, 22 teams will be performing in Hong Kong for the first time, doubling the number of last year's event. International teams that are performing in Hong Kong for the first time include: , , the Americas and . Among them, 22 teams will be performing in for the first time, doubling the number of last year's event. International teams that are performing in for the first time include: NBC's "America's Got Talent" stunt-masters V. Unbeatable from India , who rose to international fame with their hair-raising flipping acts and captivating dances; from , who rose to international fame with their hair-raising flipping acts and captivating dances; NBC's "World of Dance" hip-hop dance troupe royalty UPeepz and VPeepz from the Philippines will steal the spotlight with their dynamic moves. 2. Photo spots with giant installations and decorations Visitors and locals can take plenty of photos against various backdrops incorporating Hong Kong's skyline, which is especially mesmerising during sunset. Photo hotspots include: skyline, which is especially mesmerising during sunset. Photo hotspots include: Festive mouse cartoon characters; A giant inflatable of the caterpillar from favorite children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 3. Food & Games The first Chinese New Year market will feature 15 booths serving food and fun workshops: Enjoy flavorful Hong Kong , American, Taiwanese and Korean snacks, including Korean fishcake skewers in soup by Kelly's Cape Bop, a street food joint recommended by Michelin Guide Hong Kong for five years in a row; , American, Taiwanese and Korean snacks, including Korean fishcake skewers in soup by Kelly's Cape Bop, a street food joint recommended by Michelin Guide Hong Kong for five years in a row; Workshops on balloon twisting and face painting are available to keep children happily busy. For further information about the "Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Carnival," please refer to the HKTB website DiscoverHongKong.com/ChineseNewYear . SOURCE Hong Kong Tourism Board Related Links https://www.discoverhongkong.com/us/index.jsp Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we intend to prove it. Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends throughout. Here, they discuss the weeks events, with prompts from Tom Moran, editorial page editor of The Star-Ledger. Q. What are you looking for in the Senate impeachment trial? My big question is whether four Republicans will defy the White House and vote to allow testimony from witnesses like John Bolton, the former national security advisor. What do you think? Julie: The revelations of the last week have been troubling. The president of the United States has assembled a team that operates as some petty mafia family: stalking a United States ambassador, strong-arming foreign governments in exchange for political help and generally acting so incompetently that it is difficult to fathom. I am hopeful that there are four Republicans in the senate who will finally put country over party and call witnesses, but I am not optimistic. Mike: I will be surprised if theres a parade of witnesses. Sen. Mitch McConnell has stated publicly that this is not a typical courtroom trial but an impeachment trial, which has different rules and considerations. I would not hold my breath. Q. In the latest bombshell, Lev Parnas, a partner of Rudy Giuliani, has flipped. He presented documents and testimony that support the core charge in the House impeachment, that President Trump pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden. My question: Do facts and evidence like that matter anymore in these tribal times? Julie: They should matter, but they don't. We see it everywhere in politics, whether in Washington or in NJ. More and more, partisans are not only not interested in learning the facts, they are actually doing all they can to silence those who want to provide them, only to ensure that their guy doesn't get harmed. It's shameful and it makes them completely lack credibility on every other issue. As I keep saying, many people on both sides of the aisle seem to root for the team jersey and nothing else these days. Mike: If everything is a bombshell, nothing is a bombshell. I would not stake much on the many claims of good old Lev at this point, given that hes under indictment. I doubt he was hanging out much in the Oval Office discussing strategy though. Julies core point on politics is right. Nothing, good or bad, has changed peoples opinions about Donald Trump since 2016. I dont think Ive seen this much intransigence on each side when it comes to one politician ever. Q. In Trenton, Gov. Phil Murphy gave a state of the state address that included no serious proposals to contain taxes or spending. Does that give Republicans a chance to recapture the governorship in 2021? Julie: Let's wait for the governor's budget address before we debate the merits of his fiscal proposals this year. Mike: Yes, it gives Republicans an opportunity on the most important issue in NJ affordability. The governor only talked about more tax increases and more government spending. It is an important and easy contrast Republicans must exploit. Q. Senate President Steve Sweeney wants to discuss a grand bargain with the governor, one that would include a tax hike on income over $1 million in exchange for cuts to pension and health benefits. Does that seem reasonable? Any chance Murphy will bite? Julie: It depends on the contours of the deal but, as I keep saying, it's hard to strike a grand bargain when there is little trust between the parties. Mike: I applaud the offer. I hate the income tax increase but I know we need the reforms on pension and health benefits to keep our state pension system from going bankrupt. Governing is the art of compromise. Each side must give a little to get something they want. I am not sure there is enough trust though between these two camps to have constructive dialogue on what would be such a consequential achievement. If you look at policies, Gov. Phil @GovMurphy is usually on the right side, as with taxing the rich. But I've never seen a governor so entirely ineffective at dealing with the Legislature. (or the press, if you're asking)https://t.co/9TQh8xJ0vY tom moran (@tomamoran) June 16, 2019 Q. Murphy also spoke about sexism in New Jersey politics, saying it must be stamped out and women must be free to speak out about harassment and workplace conditions. Julie, an attorney for the governors campaign told me you are subject to a non-disclosure agreement that covers your work on the Murphy campaign. Do you feel free to speak about workplace conditions? Is Murphy in trouble on this issue? Julie: Governor Murphy claimed is his speech that women in New Jersey politics have suffered at the hands of those who felt empowered, if not protected, by Trentons culture. He is absolutely correct. Largely, that is because the men are automatically believed, while the women who call out their behavior almost always face retaliation. Very often, they are protected by those in power, who do everything possible to prevent these men from being held to account. This is why I am formally requesting that the governor release me and all other workers, consultants and volunteers on his campaign from the confidentiality provisions in their contracts. I do not concede that I am bound by the confidentiality provisions of my contract, but contesting that point in court costs money, and many women who signed these NDAs are naturally reluctant to take on that fight. On behalf of those women, and on my own behalf, I am asking the governor to make it clear in writing that anyone who witnessed workplace toxicity on his campaign is free to speak about it publicly. To be clear: I am not asking to speak publicly about proprietary information that should be kept secret. I am asking the governor to free women to speak only about workplace issues. I await his response. Sign the petition to tell all presidential candidates running for the #2020Election to support an end to forced NDAs for workplace sexual harrassment: https://t.co/mgd9H2eXED Lift Our Voices (@LiftOurVoicesUS) January 7, 2020 Mike: I have worked in campaigns in over 40 states and at the highest levels of US politics. I never once signed an NDA for a campaign or political committee. People who are untrustworthy with proprietary campaign information never get hired again to work on another one. Thats how it works in this business, no need for lawyers to enforce that. An NDA tells your campaign staff at the outset that you dont trust them and would likely have a chilling effect on young people especially. Campaigns are not corporate boardrooms. .@MikeBloomberg says both parties in the NDAs want to keep everything silent. I doubt it! This is exactly why we created @LiftOurVoicesUS NDAs are used to shut up women & men when bad things happen to them. Lets stop it once and for all. Join us. @julieroginsky @dianafalzone https://t.co/xlYACYPgBQ Gretchen Carlson (@GretchenCarlson) January 15, 2020 Q. Finally, Donald Trump is coming to Wildwood Convention Center on Jan. 28 to support Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who was elected as a Democrat but switched recently to become a Republican. What impact will a mass Trump rally have on that race? Is Van Drew likely to win re-election? Julie: It's too soon to tell about the outcome of this race, but Rep. Van Drew is smart to bring Trump to his district. It will help clear the field for him in the primary and energize the base. It's interesting that Trump is supporting a politician who voted against virtually every issue Trump pretends to care about but provided the one crucial vote to prevent Trump from being held accountable for his behavior. Republicans should remember that it's never about conservative ideology for this president just about supporting those who look the other way when they see his wrongdoing. Mike: This is going to be a huge help to Rep Van Drew. This will help him clear the primary and win the general election. The president is very popular in that district and will win it again. Van Drew was always a conservative who voted with Gov Christie more than Gov Murphy on matters of substance, especially on fiscal policy. For more then thirty years viewers has shared in the joys and tragedies of the residents of Ramsay Street on Channel 10's Neighbours. But for the first time the popular soap aired scenes in an episode which reflected a real life emergency unfolding Down Under. The episode, which aired on Thursday, showed characters Sheila, Aaron and David discussing Australia's ongoing bushfire crisis, and included a tribute to thank the firefighters and appeal to the shows UK audience for donations. Real life: For the first time in thirty years Neighbours have shared a special scene which reflects a real-life Australian crisis- the Australian bushfires The special scenes showed David and Aaron (played by Takaya Honda and Matt Wilson) dropping into Sheila's (Collette Mann) house to buy tickets to a fundraising dinner being held at Erinborough's local bar, The Waterhole. Sheila tells the boys they'll need to hurry up 'because we are almost sold out' before asking how their families are coping. Aaron confirms his family who live in Adelaide have had some 'hairy moments' but are safe. The real fires killed two people and destroyed more then 70 homes when they ripped through the Adelaide Hills in South Australia in December. 'This is the worst I have seen bushfires in my life' Colette Mann's character Sheila tells younger cast mates during the special bushfire tribute episode Meanwhile, David says his mum who lives in Sydney has been 'struggling with smoke'. Sydney spent several days blanketed in thick smoke which caused dangerous levels of air poor air quality. 'This is the worst I have seen bushfires in my life,' Sheila tells them to finish the scene. The episode concluded with a tribute from the cast to thank firefighters and acknowledge people who have lost homes and loved ones. Several cast members are shown positioned around Neighbours long term actors Stefan Dennis and Rebekah Elmaloglou. Stefan, who plays Ramsey Streets resident bad guy, Paul Robinson, began by acknowledging those who have lost their homes, farms, livelihood and loved ones. 'Our hearts go out to you and we feel your pain. You are part of a big community and we want you to know you are not alone,' he said. 'Our hearts go out to you and we feel your pain' Stefan Dennis from Neighbours acknowledged those who lost their homes and loved ones in a special tribute at the end of Thursdays episode Rebekah, who portrays Terese Willis on-screen continues. 'To our courageous firefighters and emergency workers who have risked their lives to save our homes and wildlife, thankyou!' she said. The scenes were shot on Monday when the cast and crew returned from their summer holidays and rushed through production to be aired on Thursday. Neighbours is normally filmed at least three months in advance. Touching: The cast of Neighbours came together to thank firefighters and emergency workers and to appeal to the UK audience for donations A source from Fremantle Production who make the program told Newsround it was unusual that Neighbours would reflect a real life emergency, but they felt it was vital to add. 'This is the first time that Neighbours has reflected a real life emergency, and the decision to include the scene felt vital given the current bushfire emergency across Australia,' they said. The catastrophic bushfire season in Australia has so far claimed 27 lives, destroyed 2,000 homes and killed more then a billion animals. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by the State over a finding of unconstitutionality concerning a law preventing recognition, for family reunification purposes, of marriages of refugees which took place after they sought protection here. The High Court's Mr Justice Max Barrett made the declaration of unconstitutionality last July in relation to Section 56.9.a of the 2015 International Protection Act, which states a refugee can apply for permission for a spouse to enter and reside with them in Ireland provided they had married before the applicant sought international protection here. He also granted a declaration under the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 that section 56.9.a is incompatible with the State's anti-discrimination obligations under Article 14 of the ECHR, read in conjunction with Article 8 of the ECHR, providing a right to respect for private and family life. As a result of his findings in favour of an Afghan man who brought the case, he ruled the man is entitled to an order quashing the Minister for Justice's refusal to recognise his marriage for family reunification purposes. The Minister and the State later sought a "leapfrog" appeal, one direct from the High Court to the Supreme Court, against his decision. The Supreme Court judges considered the application and, in a determination puiblished today, said the court would hear the appeal on a date to be fixed later. The appeal raised a net issue of law of general importance, they said. Arising from the State's arguments that Mr Justice Barrett had declined to follow another High Court decision, the Supreme Court said the appeal also raised questions as to the circumstances in which a High Court judge may depart from a decision of the judge of the same court. The case concerns a man who got refugee status here in July 2015 after fleeing Afghanistan. On April 3 2017, he went to Pakistan to marry a woman who was born there but whom he had grown up with in Afghanistan. He returned to Ireland and on April 19 2017, submitted a family reunification application. In October 2017, his application was refused by the Minister under section 56.9.a on grounds the marriage was not subsisting when he applied for protection in 2015. The man challenged the refusal in judicial review proceedings against the Minister and State with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission as a notice party. In his July judgment, Mr Justice Barrett accepted the mans arguments that section 56.9.a meant his marriage is treated less favourably than refugees who married before they applied for international protection. The judge ruled that distinction is unconstitutional. In dealing with the ECHR incompatibility argument, the judge followed a 2013 decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Hode and Abdi v the United Kingdom. In that decision, the European court stated that, inter alia, if domestic law confers a right to be joined by spouses of certain categories of immigrant, it must do so in a manner compatible with Article 14 of the ECHR. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 17) Despite its proximity to Taal, some parts of Tagaytay wont likely face the direct hazards of a possible volcanic eruption, the state seismology agency said Friday. Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Director Renato Solidum said the Tagaytay Ridge, despite being inside the 14-kilometer danger zone, is not considered a high-risk area due to its elevation. Authorities earlier ordered an evacuation of the 14-kilometer radius of Taal's crater, where nearly half a million people live. If we look at Tagaytay ridge, where most of the hotels are, they are within the 14-kilometer radius, but they are not part of areas identified as high-risk what we call base surges of pyroclastic density current, because they're somewhat elevated, Solidum told CNN Philippines The Source. In that case, they are not in danger of the pyroclastic density current, he added. A popular tourist attraction just outside Metro Manila, the Tagaytay ridge offers a birds eye view of Taal one of the world's smallest volcanoes and the lake that surrounds it. The 610-meter ridge was once part of a volcanic caldera, and is currently home to several hotels and developments. Phivolcs, however, reminded residents and visitors to still practice cautionas other volcanic hazards like ashfall can affect the area. When there is a strong explosion and the wind would blow the ash towards that direction, there can be ashfall, Solidum added. Tagaytay along with other parts of Calabarzon and Metro Manila experienced heavy ashfall following Taals steam-driven eruption on Sunday. Residents of neighboring cities and municipalities in Batangas province have evacuated, after volcanologists warned of a possible hazardous explosive eruption" soon of the country's second most active volcano. Tagaytay businesses to reopen, but Hotels and establishments in Tagaytay were meanwhile given the go signal to reopen their doors to the public on Friday. However, businesses will be required to comply with the sanitary standards set by the local government. They should consider yung cleanliness, yung maayos na at presentable ang kanilang mga establishments, Tagaytay City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) officer-in-charge Clyde Yayong told CNN Philippines Newsroom Ngayon. [Translation: They should consider the cleanliness, if their establishments are presentable.] Some business owners, however, have yet to respond to the order as authorities continue to conduct cleaning operations in the ashfall-laden city. Several parts of Tagaytay have also reported power and water outages. The Tagaytay government said the move was done to aid employees of the cityespecially in the tourism sector, which has been majorly affected by the eruption. However, officials still advised visitors to limit their trips amid the continued activity of Taal. Pagka nag alert level 5, we will immediately tell these establishments to close. Still I'm telling, kung wala namang gagawing importante sa Tagaytay, ay manatili po muna sa kanilang lugar, Yayong said. [Translation: If were on alert level 5, we will immediately tell these establishments to close. Still Im telling, if youre not doing anything important in Tagaytay, then just stay in your home area.] Despite Taal's reduced activity, state scientists said they will still have to observe the downtrend before deciding whether to lower the alert level over the volcano. Phivolcs meanwhile attributed Taals apparent calm appearance to less surface activitybut said magma movement may still be taking place beneath the volcano, as indicated by the presence of volcanic earthquakes and fissures in the area. In the past, Taal volcano has exhibited eruption episodes where there were some times of waning activity. But explosive eruptions would follow, Solidum said. We need to consider what is happening below because that is the threat that we need to consider. A total of 634 volcanic tremors have been plotted around Taal area since Sunday, Phivolcs said in its latest advisory. Exisiting cracks in the streets of Lemery, Agoncillo, Talisay, and San Nicolas in Batangas also widened, the agency added. Nepal has initiated health screenings of passengers flying in from China, Japan, and Thailand - the three nations where several patients have been tested positive for mysterious coronavirus, officials said on Friday. The decision was taken following a round of meetings between officials from various divisions under the Nepal government's Department of Health Services, Basudev Pandey, the Director at Kathmandu's Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Hospital, told ANI. This comes after a man was quarantined in Kathmandu with a mystery strain of coronavirus just days after his return from the Chinese city of Wuhan. Pandey had told ANI yesterday that the person has been kept under observation and various tests are being carried out to determine whether he has been infected. Doctors have warned that the virus responsible for the outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan could also enter Nepal. The Health Organisation has alerted Nepal about the prevention of transmission of the virus. However, the country has lesser proper health centers and laboratories for the treatment and diagnosis of such highly infectious diseases. "The possibility of infection is high among the Nepali population because of migration. People coming from China and those going to China from Nepal risk contracting and spreading the disease," said Dr Baburam Marasini, former director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. "If anyone suffers from such infection then s/he should be transported in such a way so as to prevent the disease from spreading. But we even lack proper ambulance service to transport such patients. They should be transported in double cab ambulance, which we don't have," he was quoted as saying. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Every dollar Terry Rolin had saved over a lifetime was stacked in a large Tupperware container: $82,373. At 79, he was aging and worried about keeping so much cash on hand, his daughter said, so during one of her visits he asked her to open a joint bank account. Rebecca Brown was catching a flight home from the Pittsburgh airport early the next day and said she didn't have time to stop at a bank. She confirmed on a government website that it's legal to carry any amount of cash on a domestic flight and tucked the money in her carry-on. But just minutes before departure in late August, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent met her at the busy gate and questioned her about the cash, which showed up on a security scan. He insisted Brown put Rolin on the phone to confirm her story. Brown said Rolin, who is suffering mental decline, was unable to verify some details. "He just handed me the phone and said, 'Your stories don't match,' " Brown recalled the agent saying. " 'We're seizing the cash.' " Brown said she was never told she or her father were under suspicion of committing any crime and neither has been charged with anything. A search of her bag turned up no drugs or other contraband. Neither she or her father appear to have criminal records that might raise suspicions. Brown and Rolin filed a federal, class-action lawsuit Wednesday against the DEA, Transportation Security Administration and agency officials, claiming the agencies violate the Constitution's ban on unlawful search and seizures by taking cash from travelers without probable cause. The lawsuit claims the only criteria the DEA has for seizing cash is if it finds amounts greater than $5,000. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Pennsylvania, seeks the return of Rolin's money and an injunction against the practice. Both the DEA and TSA declined to comment on the lawsuit's allegations. "We can't comment on ongoing litigation," said Katherine Pfaff, a DEA spokeswoman. "As a matter of policy, TSA does not comment on pending litigation," TSA spokeswoman Jenny Burke wrote in an email. Brown said the loss of the savings has prevented Rolin from getting treatment for painful tooth decay and gum disease and kept the family from fixing up his pick-up truck, which is his only means of transportation. Rolin is living on retirement benefits from a job as a railroad engineer. Brown said her grandparents kept their savings in cash because they lived through the bank runs of the Great Depression, and her father adopted the habit. "I get they are trying to quash drug distribution, but this is a blatant overreach," Brown said. "This is a working person, a taxpaying citizen of the United States trying to take care of her elderly parent, and they took the money." Dan Alban, a senior attorney for the Virginia-based Institute for Justice, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of Brown and Rolin, said the family's story is not unique. "This is something that we know is happening all across the United States," Alban said. "We've been contacted by people who have been traveling to buy used cars or buy equipment for their business and had their cash seized." The DEA made more than 8,850 seizures worth $539 million in 2017, according to the latest agency statistics for a full year. A 2016 USA Today investigation found DEA agents seized at least $209 million in cash from travelers at the nation's 15 busiest airports over the previous decade. Federal law gives the DEA and other law enforcement agencies power to seize cash and property linked to drug and criminal activity, a process known as civil asset forfeiture. The agencies say it is an important tool to undermine the financial viability of criminal networks, deprive organizations of illicit proceeds and confiscate property like cars and houses that might be used to carry out or harbor crime. But the practice has come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Critics argue local police departments and federal agencies have used asset forfeiture as a cash cow to fatten budgets. In the DEA's case, the agency feeds seized assets into a Justice Department fund that disburses the money to agencies and victims of crime. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. A 2017 review by the Justice Department inspector general found only 44 of 100 seizures by the DEA were related to an ongoing investigation or resulted in a new investigation, arrest or prosecution. Most of the seizures occurred at transportation facilities like airports or bus stations. The Supreme Court limited the power of local state agencies to seize property in an important ruling last year. Brown said she initially encountered issues when going through the TSA security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport on Aug. 26. Brown was flying to Boston, where she lives outside the city. A TSA screener noticed the cash in Brown's carry-on during a scan and pulled her aside for questioning, Brown said. The screener asked what the money was for, photocopied her ID and travel documents and held her luggage until a Pennsylvania state trooper arrived. The lawsuit claims the TSA exceeded its authority in holding Brown's bag. Brown said she repeated the explanation that the money was her father's life savings to the trooper and then retold it to his superior. Finally, she said she was allowed to proceed to the gate, where she was met by the DEA agent. Brown said it was humiliating to be questioned by the agent in front of other travelers at the gate. When he seized the money, she said he put it into a plastic bag and told her someone would be in touch with her. Brown said she stumbled onto her flight in shock as the doors were closing. She didn't have time to fully explain to her father what had happened before takeoff, and he left seven frantic messages while they were in flight. In October, she received a notice that the DEA planned to permanently seize the cash, citing its authority to make such moves to combat crime. "I was shaking the entire time," Brown said of the flight. "I was embarrassed. I was afraid." - - - The Washington Post's Alice Crites contributed to this report. A woman accused of poisoning her husband to death with eye drops then burning his will has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. South Carolina woman Lana Clayton pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter more than a year after she had spiked her husband's water with Visine until he collapsed inside the couple's multi-million-dollar home on 21 July 2018. A post-mortem examination revealed that Stephen Clayton had ingested dangerous levels of tetrahydrozoline, which relieves eye redness by constricting blood vessels. Police said Lana Clayton admitted to feeding her husband the eye-drops without his knowledge. In 2016, Clayton shot her husband in the back of the head with a crossbow, which she told police was an accident. She later admitted that she shot him after the couple had an argument. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty She told the court that the couple's "problems escalated through the years ... I did impulsively put Visine in Stephen's drink, and I did it to make him sick and uncomfortable." She said she "never thought it would kill him", according to NBC affiliate WCNC. Clayton was arrested on 31 August 2018 on charges of murder and malicious tampering with a drug product. Murder convictions in South Carolina can include a death sentence. She avoided the death penalty by agreeing to a guilty plea on a lesser charge of manslaughter. York County prosecutors said Clayton, a nurse at a US Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Charlotte, wanted her husband to "suffer" and to "teach him a lesson" following claims that her husband of five years was abusive. Mr Clayton had suffered for three days after drinking poisoned water until he fell from a staircase. Her defence lawyers argued that she survived violent abuse at the hands of Mr Clayton. "I wanted him to leave me alone", she told the court. Prosecutors argued that she destroyed his will to ensure that she would inherit his wealth after his death. Court records revealed that Clayton also left a suicide note after she tried to kill herself before her arrest by taking pills and turning on a gas stove. A white shepherd, Gypsy in one of a kind incident has given birth to a lemon bright green puppy that the family named after the Avengers marvel role "Hulk. The North Carolina family's dog owned by Haywood County resident Shana Stamey reportedly delivered eight puppies on Friday morning. The fourth of the eight puppies has turned out to be vibrant green quite contrary to his siblings. Stamey told the sources that Gypsy's three-hour labour was running smooth and in what they hadnt expected, the fourth puppy shocked the family as it came out as a relatively tiny and fragile, but mighty tuft of lime green fur. Hulk has "aggressive appetite She said that she had freaked out but was glad that everybody was healthy. She said that regular bath and daily licks from Gypsy are expected to fade Hulk's green hue in a few weeks most likely. Stamey reportedly named the pup Hulk owing to his neon green shade fur and his "aggressive appetite a trait she noticed about the pup contrary to his siblings. The video of the Hulk pup was posted online and the audience had some interesting responses. The video went viral. Some users questioned the shade of the pup considering that it was a German Shepherd, while the others argued the colour as yellow sparking a yellow-green debate. Read Wolf Pups Can Play 'Fetch' Like Dogs Without Being Taught The Game Read Video Of Dog Hitting The Gym In Australia Gives Major Fitness Goals Story tonight about a German Shepherd puppy born green just days ago in Canton. Animal experts say it happens from time to time, staining from birth fluids and not harmful, fades away. This pup's human family named him "Hulk. " More at 6. @WLOS_13 #LiveOnWLOS pic.twitter.com/7ex4i2wbOI Rex Hodge (@RexHodge_WLOS) January 15, 2020 Normal explanation for Hulks coloration Suzanne Cianciulli, the manager of Junaluska Animal Hospital in Waynesville, told news outlets that it might not be the pups original colour and there was a normal explanation for Hulks coloration defying the fact that the pup was exposed to any gamma rays. She said that the liquid from inside Gypsy's stomach has likely stained the white dog's fur during pregnancy. Read Tiktok Video Of A Dog's Reaction To A Conch Shell Goes Viral; Check It Out Read Dog Reunites With Its Toy In Bushfire-hit House, Netizens In Awe BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Tamilla Mammadova Trend Georgian wine was listed in Guinness World Records as the oldest, Trend reports referring to the Guinness Book of Records. As reported, the oldest wine was made in Georgia 8,000 years ago. This fact is confirmed by the remains of grapes in earthenware discovered during archaeological excavations. The earthenware found in Georgia is the oldest wine glassware to date. Earlier, the most ancient archaeological evidence of wine was considered pottery, found in the north-west of Iran and made 7,000 years ago. "Chemical evidence of wine, dating back to 60005800 BC (the early Neolithic period), was obtained from residues of ancient pottery excavated in the archeological sites of Gadachrili Gora and Shulaveris Gora, about 50 km south of Tbilisi. The residues were identified as wine since they contained tartaric acid, which only occurs in large amounts in the Eurasian grape (Vitis vinifera) in the Middle East and the wine made from it. The detection of other organic acids (malic, citric and succinic), also found in the Eurasian grape, provided confirmatory evidence, the Guinness World Records' official website said. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356 Despite change in one-child policy in 2015, pregnancies have not increased, leading to fears of a demographic crisis. Chinas birthrate dropped last year to its lowest level since the formation of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, adding to concerns of a long-term challenge for the government, as the ageing society and shrinking workforce pile pressure on a slowing economy. To avoid a demographic crisis, the Communist government abolished the one-child policy in 2015 to allow people to have two children, but the change has not resulted in an increase in pregnancies. In 2019, the birthrate stood at 10.48 per 1,000 people, down slightly from the year before, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Friday. The number of births has now fallen for three consecutive years. Still, there were 14.65 million babies born in 2019. Many young couples in China are reluctant to have children because they cannot afford to pay for healthcare and education alongside expensive housing Meanwhile, divorce rates are hitting records. In the first three quarters of 2019, about 3.1 million couples filed for divorce, compared with 7.1 million couples getting married, according to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Lowest number of births since 1961 He Yafu, an independent demographer based in southern Guangdong province, said the total number of births in 2019 was the lowest since 1961, the last year of a famine that left tens of millions dead. He said there were approximately 11.8 million births that year. US-based academic Yi Fuxian, senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told the AFP news agency that even though China has abolished its one-child policy, there has been a shift in the mindset of the population, with people now used to smaller families. According to official figures, Chinas population stood at 1.4 billion by the end of 2019, increasing by 4.67 million from the year before. But Fuxian believes that Chinas population is over-estimated, and according to his work, the real population began to decline in 2018. While Chinas limit on family sizes could be removed altogether eventually, the demographer said citizens are still being punished for having three children, even though some areas have reduced punitive measures. However, China has recently signalled that it might end limits on family size altogether. A draft of the new Civil Code, due to be introduced at the annual session of the rubber-stamp parliament in March, omits all mention of family planning. Slow, long-term problem The one-child policy was introduced by former leader Deng Xiaoping to curb population growth and promote economic development, with exceptions for rural families whose first-born was a female, and for ethnic minorities. The measure was mainly enforced through fines but was also notorious for forced abortions and sterilisations. The result was dramatic: Fertility rates dropped from 5.9 births per woman in 1970 to about 1.6 in the late 1990s. The rate was below the level needed to replace the population 2.1 births per woman. The stagnated birthrate could pose a problem for the economy in the future, as the countrys workforce continued to shrink last year. The NBS said 896.4 million people were of working age, between 16 and 59, in 2019, a drop from the 897.3 million in 2018. {articleGUID} This marks the eighth consecutive year of decline. The workforce is expected to decline by as much as 23 percent by 2050. The demographic problem is a slow, long-term one, He told AFP. Chinas economy grew by 6.1 percent in 2019, its slowest pace since 1990 as it was hit by weaker demand and a bruising trade war with the United States. Because Chinas education levels have been going up, in the short term, the population issue should not impact growth too much, He told the news agency. But in the long run, if the trend continues, it would pose a huge drag on economic growth. The United States treated 11 of its troops for symptoms of concussion after an Iranian missile attack earlier this month that hit an Iraqi base where U.S. forces were stationed, the U.S. military said on Thursday. While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attacks on Al Asad airbase, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed, Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement cited by Reuters. Iran on Jan. 8 fired a barrage of missiles at Al Asad Air Base in Anbar province and Erbil in the Kurdish autonomous region, both of which host American forces, in an apparent response to the recent killing of Irans top military general Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3 in Baghdad, via a U.S. drone strike that was ordered by President Donald Trump. Out of an abundance of caution, some service members were transported from Al Asad Air Base, Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, others were sent to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, for follow-on screening, said Col. Myles Caggins, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, Defense One reported. When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening. The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority, and we will not discuss any individuals medical status, he added. Initial media reports suggested that Iran calibrated its attack to cause minimal harm to American troops. Some Iranian officials also said the missile attack wasnt intended to kill anyone. However, in a press conference later on Jan. 8, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said he believed the attack was intended to kill U.S. personnel and cause significant damage at the Al Asad Air Base. The points of impact were close enough to personnel and equipment that I believe, based on what I saw and what I know, is that they were intended to cause structural damage, destroy vehicles and equipment and aircraft, and to kill personnel. Thats my own personal assessment, Milley said. Trump said in a televised address on Jan. 8 that [n]o American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken, the dispersal of forces, and an early warning system that worked very well. I salute the incredible skill and courage of Americas men and women in uniform. Trump also said that no U.S. service members were injured or killed. CNN reports that a military official explained that the discrepancy was because troops developed symptoms days after the attack. That was the commanders assessment at the time. Symptoms emerged days after the fact, and they were treated out of an abundance of caution, the official told the news outlet. Soleimani was the commander of the elite Quds Force unit within Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The IRGC is tasked with Irans extra-territorial military operations, including activities to expand Iranian influence in Syria and rocket attacks on Israel. The United States designated the IRGC as a terrorist group in April 2019. The Pentagon said in a statement on Jan. 2 that Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region, and that he and the Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more. Reuters contributed to this report. From The Epoch Times Government officials have rejected the findings of an annual rights report released by Human Rights Watch on Wednesday, saying the U.S.-based group was only looking to create disturbances in Cambodia. Human Rights Watch released its global assessment of human rights violations on Wednesday, with the Cambodia section pointing to severe decline in the countrys rights record. The five-page section highlights how the dissolving of the opposition and the creation of a one-party parliament after the 2018 election has exacerbated the curtailment of human rights. The report said there had been an increase in political prisoners, which is linked to the criminalizing of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, forcing its supporters and activists to live in fear or flee the country. Authorities criminalize involvement with the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP); 107 out of 118 senior CNRP politicians remained banned from engaging in politics for five years, it added. However, Justice Ministry spokesperson Chin Malin rejected the reports analysis outright, saying it was a revenge campaign by the rights group, not saying why Human Rights Watch wanted to take revenge against the government. We read all of their reports, meaning there is no legal basis to prove clearly about their claims besides releasing statements taking revenge against the government, he said. The report also noted the initiation of an investigation into the potential suspension of the European Unions Everything But Arms trade privileges, which is due in February. In its preliminary report, released in November, the EU pointed that there had been little improvement in the countrys rights record, and in some case it had gotten worse since the investigation was initiated. Koy Kuong, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Human Rights Watch report ignores the positive developments of Cambodia and the government was conveying these positives to the EU directly. Its a habit for the Human Rights Watch that [has done this] in the past; it never talks good about us, he said. This is its habit. Government spokesperson Phay Siphan said that the government will not be made to be a servant of anyone, and will engage with the EU to deal with the investigation. However, Am Sam Ath, monitoring manager at Licadho, said the government needed to work to restore democracy to protect Cambodians from losing their livelihoods referring to potential job losses from the end of trade privileges. Norm Pattis said Thursday he intends to request a probable cause hearing on behalf of his client Fotis Dulos in terms of the charges brought against him in relation to the homicide and disappearance of his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos. There is a low probability of success given the fact a judge has already signed the warrant, but it is a chance to hold Mr. Dulos accusers accountable, Pattis said Thursday. Fotis Dulos was charged Jan. 7 by Connecticut State Police with capital murder, murder and kidnapping. Charged that same day were Fotis Dulos ex-girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, and his former attorney, Kent Douglas Mawhinney. The two were each charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Troconis and Fotis Dulos were previous charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in the May 24 disappearance of Jennifer Dulos. Fotis Dulos next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 22, according to Pattis. At that time, he said, he will request a probable cause hearing for his client. There is a low probability of success given the fact a judge has already signed the warrant, but it is a chance to hold Mr. Dulos accusers accountable, Pattis said Thursday. Pattis said his client is determined to meet these allegations head on as quickly as possible. On Wednesday, 469 pages of documents detailing the evidence in the Jennifer Dulos homicide were unsealed. Those documents included search warrants, details about domestic violence incidents and more. We're looking forward to the trial and will press for one as quickly as possible, Pattis said in a statement Wednesday in regards to the released documents. According to previously released arrest warrants, Jennifer Dulos was last seen on a neighbors security camera at 8:05 a.m., returning to her Welles Lane home in New Canaan after dropping off her children at a nearby school. Police believe Fotis Dulos was lying in wait and attacked her in the garage, the warrants indicate. The search warrants also revealed that Fotis Dulos 2015 black Chevrolet Suburban was was spotted on a residential security camera parked on Thurton Drive, a dead-end street about 600 feet southwest of Jennifer Dulos Welles Lane home. Police took 19 swabs from that vehicle, including ones from what appeared to be bloodlike stains, the warrants said. Lisa Backus contributed to this report. City council and school board elections are set for May 2 in Deer Park and La Porte. Candidates can submit their applications until Friday, Feb. 14 every weekday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. In Deer Park Independent School District, positions 6 and 7 are up for grabs. The seats are held currently by Jason Morris and Brenda Cothran, respectively. To submit an application, Deer Park ISD trustee candidates should visit the districts Education Support Center at 2800 Texas Ave. They may also mail their application to the Education Support Center, attention Norma Hysler. For more information call 832-668-7000 or visit www.dpisd.org. In the city of Deer Park, council seats 4, 5 and 6 will be voted on. Councilmembers Bill Patterson, Ron Martin and Rae Sinor presently hold those positions. Candidates should visit www.deerparktx.gov/267/Elections for a candidate packet or stop by City Hall at 710 E. San Augustine. For more information call 281-479-2394 or visit www.deerparktx.gov. In La Porte ISD, voters will decide who will serve in positions 1, 2 and 3, respectively occupied now by Lois Rogerson, Pres. Kathy Green and Sec. Dennis Slate. To obtain a candidate application, stop by 1002 San Jacinto St. or call 281-604-7015. In the city of La Porte, applications for council positions 1, 6 and at-large B will be accepted at City Hall, located at 604 W. Fairmont Pkwy. Applications can be obtained online at www.ci.la-porte.tx.us or in the city secretarys office at City Hall. La Portes elections webpage is LaPorteTX.gov/Elections. For more information, call the city at 281-471-5020. Additionally, an informational and question and question-and-answer session for candidates and the public at large will be held at City Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. Topics will include the election process and responsibilities of serving on city council. Recovery of $1.4 mln from opposition figures in favor of school food supplier appealed RAPSI 14:50 17/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 17 (RAPSI) A foundation established by Alexey Navalny has filed an appeal against a ruling ordering recovery of 88 million rubles ($1.4 million) from the opposition blogger and his associate Lyubov Sobol in favor of a company supplying food to schools, RAPSI has learnt in the Moscow Commercial Court. In 2019, the court issued its ruling in favor of Moskovsky Shkolnik. Navalny was also ordered to retract and remove certain incorrect information from his YouTube channel. Moskovsky Shkolnik, a company catering Moscow schools and residential care facilities, claimed it had lost a customer after the information was published. On November 1, Moscows Zamoskvoretsky District Court, upheld a decision of the Justice Ministry to add the nonprofit organization created by Navalny to the list of NGOs acting as foreign agents. Russias Justice Ministry published its respective decision based on the Federal Law on NGOs in early October. The fact of the organizations conforming to the foreign agent criteria had been established during the monitoring of its activity conducted by the Justice Ministrys Moscow Main Directorate, the Ministrys official website informed at that time. The decision to give Navalnys foundation the status of a foreign agent was made based on evidence of its funding from abroad, the acting director of the Justice Ministrys NGO affairs department Vladimir Titov told journalists. The organization was to be brought to administrative liability by court if it failed to comply with legislation and refused to register as a foreign agent, according to the official. By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova An exhibition of carpet products by the famous Azerbaijani artist and sculptor Chingiz Babayev has opened in the Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Vienna, Austria. The director of the Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Vienna Leyla Gasimova informed the guests of the evening about the creative activity of the national artist. Chingiz Babayev successfully works in various art fields. He is engaged in a carpet design, jewelry and waxworks. His modern approach to Azerbaijan's carpet weaving art is of great interest among art lovers. The artist's carpets are included in the collection of the National Carpet Museum. Along with stunning carpets, the exhibition also features artist's sketches and silverware. Chingiz Babayev expressed gratitude for the organization of the exposition. Speaking about his works, which were included in the exposition, he noted that at the first glance at the carpets, viewers may have a feeling of similarity with ancient carpets. However, his carpets reflect modern world and the artist's view on daily life. A film dedicated to the work of Chingiz Babayev was shown at the event. The exhibition will run until mid-February. - Babu Owino was said to have shot a disk jokey at a popular Nairobi club - The controversial lawmaker blamed his woes on his political enemies - The controversial legislator in a statement claimed he was surrounded by a rowdy group where gunshot were fired - He claimed to have escaped an alleged assassination attempt in November 2019 Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has linked his arrest to an alleged assassination attempt which he claimed happened in 2019. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations detectives picked up the lawmaker for questioning on the morning of Friday, January 17, over a gun drama on the previous night. READ ALSO: Kenyan newspapers review for January 17: Sam Shollei spills beans on why he divorced Gladys MP Babu Owino was arrested over gun drama. He linked the arrest to alleged assassination attempt. Photo: Babu Owino. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Ukarabati wa barabara ya Mwiki-Kasarani kuanza mara moja baada ya maandamano ya siku 2 In a statement soon after, he blamed the latest woes on his political enemies claiming he has been forced to live under constant fear and intimidation. "A few weeks ago, I made a public statement regarding threats that I had been receiving against my life. At the turn of the year, I reported an attempted assassination at the Parliament Police Station under OB number OB21/17/11/2019 at 17:28hrs. I have been living under the weight of intimidation and threats by my political opponents," he stated. DJ Evolve who was allegedly shot by Babu. Photo: B-Club Nairobi. Source: Facebook The controversial and outspoken legislator is said to have shot Felix Orinda alis DJ Evolve at a popular Nairobi club and what caused the fracas is yet to be established. "Detectives based at Kilimani have today arrested Hon Paul Ongili alias Babu Owino, Member of Parliament for Embakasi East following a shooting incident at B Club located along Galana Road within Kilimani. The MP is in lawful custody as further investigations continue," confirmed the police. But in his own words, Babu said he was surrounded by a group of unknown aggressive men and in the process, there was exchange of gunfire. "While enjoying the company of my friends at a popular Nairobi restaurant, I was surrounded by a large group of aggressive individuals. In the melee, there was an exchange of gunfire," he added. According to the lawmaker, some four people have been trailing him aboard a saloon car and on Saturday, November 16, 2019, they made the first attempt on his life. "In recent weeks, this vitriol has been getting increasingly worse and over the last few days, I can report that I am a targeted man. I have been consistently followed during the day and at night by a saloon vehicle that I now know with four occupants. Yesterday, these men made an attempt on my life!" he said in a statement on November 17. The MP enlisted the services of Nairobi lawyer Cliff Ombeta following his latest woe. 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. I chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke The Deputy Mayor of Drogheda, Michelle Hall, has said that the people of the town have reached a threshold and will no longer stand idly by following the murder of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods. The people of Drogheda are mad, we're mad at the thugs who have given the wonderful historic town of Drogheda a name synonymous with drugs and crime. We're mad at the lack of judicial and political will that leaves Drogheda at the mercy of a tiny group of people and we won't stand idly by any more. We will be heard by those in authority in Dublin and in the judicial system, Ms Hall told Newstalk Breakfast. We're calling on our citizens to rally again, because we've done it last year already, because we're shocked, we're saddened by the level of violence and brutality that was carried out in the murder of a young boy Keane Mulready Woods, we are mad. The Deputy Mayor acknowledged that while well attended, some people had been afraid to come along to the previous protest. There was known to be criminal gangs monitoring that day, but I think the people of Drogheda have reached a threshold now, that line has been crossed - people are extremely mad and shocked that a youth has been murdered in this way and I think we are all fearful for our children and I think that is such a catalyst. So from something really bad happening I think this is going to be a catalyst that the people of Drogheda will want to come together and really stand with the parents, with the family of Keane Mulready-Woods to say we understand your pain, it's really upsetting for everyone. We want our voices to be heard. Drogheda has been left behind, we need investment in the town, we need jobs in the town. These kids come from areas of high social depravation, that's been generational, we need to break that cycle. We need people in authority, in the judicial system - political will is what we need to bring Drogheda back to the great place it should be to live in for everybody. Stella Olowofoyekun, was on Friday, remanded in a correctional centre by a Yaba Chief Magistrates Court in Lagos for allegedly stabbing her neighbour to death with a broken bottle. Chief Magistrate Oluwatoyin Oghere, ordered that the defendant(35), a petty trader, who is facing a count charge of murder, be kept at the Ikoyi Correctional Center, Lagos, pending legal advice from the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). According to the Prosecutor, Sgt. Modupe Olaluwoye, the defendant committed the offence at 11.30 pm. at Mati Community, Snake Island, Apapa area of Lagos. Olaluwoye told the court that the defendant had stabbed her neighbour, Mr. Monday Bella, to death with a broken bottle because he was playfully touching her. The prosecutor also explained that the deceased was touching the defendant on her waist, but she kept telling him to stop but he refused. Read Also: Lady Narrates How She Stabbed Man Who Harassed Her In Lagos According to the prosecutor, the matter quickly got out of hand, and the defendant picked up a broken bottle, and stabbed the deceased in the neck. She said that other neighbours rushed the deceased to a hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival. According to the prosecutor, the offence contravenes Section 222 and punishable under Section 223 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised). Section 223 stipulates death penalty for the offence of murder. Oghere, thereafter, adjourned the case till March 24. On Tuesday, Judge Trevor McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a surprising order further delaying any potential release of President Donald Trumps tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee. McFadden, who was appointed by Trump to the federal bench, has had that committees subpoena of Trumps tax returns before his court since July and has yet to issue a ruling. In Tuesdays order, the judge continued to delay, putting the proceedings on hold until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decides a completely separate matter. The tax returns casewhich has nothing to do with the ongoing impeachment inquiry of Trumpis now on hold until the circuit court rules on the Houses subpoena of testimony for former White House counsel Don McGahn in the impeachment inquiry. Because these cases have few similarities, it is difficult to understand McFaddens latest order as anything other than an effort to delay the release of Trumps tax returns for as long as possible. Coupled with D.C. Circuit Judge Neomi Raos effort to block a subpoena of Trumps financial records in the Mazars USA case, this is another instance of one of Trumps appointees to the federal bench taking a position that could undermine Congress ability to access critical information about this presidents finances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ways and Means Committee first brought the tax returns case last July, seeking to enforce a subpoena with which the Treasury Department had refused to comply. The committee relied on a provision of federal law, 21 U.S.C. 6103(f)(1), that says that [u]pon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives. . . the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request. As the committee argued, this language imposes a mandatory and nondiscretionary duty for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to furnish tax records to the committee when requested. And the committee noted that it was unaware of a single other instance when a treasury secretary has refused to transmit a tax return to the Ways and Means Committee upon request. Advertisement Advertisement Moreover, though the statutory language does not require the committee to offer a reason for a request, the committee argued that it plainly had a legitimate legislative purpose for requesting Trumps tax returns. As Chairman Richard Neal has explained, the committee is considering legislation related to the nations tax laws, including the extent to which the IRS can audit and enforce federal tax laws against a current or future president. In short, whether under section 6103 or its Article I oversight powers, the Ways and Means Committee argued that it had a legal right to obtain Trumps tax returns. The request became even more urgent this past October, when a federal whistleblower reported that a political appointee may have interfered in an audit of the president or vice president. Advertisement Advertisement But the committee still doesnt have the returns. On Aug. 20, the committee filed a motion for summary judgmentin effect, a motion for an order deciding the legal question in the case and requiring the Treasury Department to turn over the tax returns. On the same day, the committee filed a motion to expedite consideration of the case. As the committee explained, [t]ime is of the essence because the House is not a continuing body and the current Congress only exists until Jan. 3, 2021, at which point its subpoenas will expire. The committee therefore argued that it must obtain a prompt resolution of the issues in this case if it is to have enough time to investigate the tax issues implicated by President Trumps tax returns and return information and propose and pass any legislation that it may deem appropriate in response. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The district court rejected that motion, holding that the committee had failed to meet its burden to justify expedition, and suggesting that the court should not rush to decide the difficult legal questions presented in the case. The case was eventually argued on Nov. 6. It has now been more than two months since oral argument, more than six months since the case was first filed, and more than eight months since the subpoena was issuedyet McFadden still hasnt issued a ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Then, on Tuesday, McFadden delayed a decision even further. McFadden issued an order stating that the case is stayed pending a decision in Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives v. McGahn. But it is hard to understand why he would be awaiting a decision in the McGahn case. The two cases raise different issues: The tax return case raises the issue of Congress powers under a federal statute and its Article I investigatory authority, while the McGahn case raises a separate issue of the immunity of the presidents close advisers to congressional subpoenas during an impeachment inquiry. Advertisement To be sure, one could argue that both cases raise broader jurisdictional questions about Congress power to bring suits like these at all, but even that issue is not identical: the tax return case involves Congress power to enforce a right to documents that it has under a federal statute and to engage in oversight in aid of its legislative function, while the McGahn case involves Congress power to enforce a subpoena of a witness as part of an impeachment investigation. There is no judicial principle that requires McFadden to refuse to decide the case before him until the court of appeals has weighed in on a tangentially related issue in a separate case. And it is particularly unclear why he would wait here, given that multiple other district court judges in McFaddens district have already ruled that Congress can bring suits like the tax return one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McFaddens order is also troubling because of what it means for Congress ability to eventually obtain Trumps tax returns. The current Congress is already more than halfway over. Thus, even if the committee is correct on the law and is entitled to the tax returns, there is a real risk that Trump will manage to run out the clock and let any subpoena for his tax returns expire before it can be enforced. Thats especially true here, whereas an attorney for the House noted in a hearing before the judge issued his orderthere will need to be further briefing on the merits of the case even if the judge rules in favor of the House on the preliminary briefing. Advertisement The possibility that justice delayed could be justice denied is why judges should be expediting cases like this and ensuring that they are decided quickly to avoid any purposeful attempts at delay by the parties. To that point, it is noteworthy that several other cases involving congressional requests for documents and testimony from the Trump administration have moved far quickerfor example, the case involving financial documents from Trumps accounting firm Mazars, which is already at the Supreme Court and in which Rao dissented, and the case involving the portions of the Mueller report redacted as grand jury materials, which was already argued before the D.C. Circuit. Unfortunately, rather than moving quickly to decide a case of national import like this one, McFadden is delaying, possibly to the point that there will not be time for full resolution of the case. Let us hope the D.C. Circuit, which heard arguments in the McGahn case earlier this month, issues its decision quickly and prevents the district court from using the pendency of that case as an excuse to refuse to decide whether Trumps tax returns must be released. In the early morning hours of June 22, 1918, the second of two Hagenback-Wallace Circus trains was headed to Hammond from Michigan City when was rear-ended, as it was stopped to check a hot box on a flatcar. Michigan Central troop train engineer Alonzo Sargent was at the helm of that oncoming train that caused the tragedy. Eighty-six circus employees were killed and 127 others injured, as Sargent had dozed off at the controls. There are worse things in life than a thorough humbling. Put to proper use, the levelling of an ego can be a blessing in disguise. In that regard, it appears Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has used his comeuppance of the last 12 months wisely. Along with the accomplishments of his first term, Trudeau produced too many selfies, a little too much self-regard and, in the end, a disconcerting dissonance between the posture of idealism and the reality of governing. The SNC-Lavalin scandal showed an approach to governance that was anything but the new order and transparency on which the prime minister had campaigned. A spectacular falling-out with two of his senior women cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott saw him portrayed thoroughly against brand as something of an arrogant autocrat. Then came the election of 2019 and the release of a gallery of photos of a much younger Trudeau in outrageous blackface and/or brownface. Whatever the hue, it was a potentially lethal hit, suggesting that whatever sensitivity the prime minister possessed was of more recent vintage than most had thought. Owing largely to the ineptitude of Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, Trudeau and his Liberals survived the election, albeit with a minority mandate. But the prime minister had come to a crossroads. Would his second term see more of the same, or a fundamental change? Trudeau retreated to Costa Rica over the holiday season for what seems to have been a period of soul-searching. And judging by how he has handled the aftermath of the catastrophic shooting down of UIA Flight 752 over Tehran, it has paid off. Since his return to Canada, newly bearded, the prime minister has displayed more gravitas, a laudable emotional feel for the needs of the moment, and a surer grasp on the demands of leadership. For the country, it was difficult to comprehend the loss of accomplished professors and grad students from universities coast to coast, heart-scalding to see entire young families wiped out, extraordinary potential never to be fulfilled. As the country mourns, Trudeau has been sure-footed in responding to a crisis that offered so many opportunities for missteps, and presents a testing time for a leader both at home and on the global stage. If Trudeau has acquitted himself so well to date, perhaps it is because he understands sudden and grievous loss. In 1998, Trudeaus brother Michel was killed in an avalanche in the British Columbia back-country. I discovered that the cliche phrases were all based in reality, Trudeau wrote in his memoir Common Ground. I went numb, my heart sank and my blood ran cold all at the same time. Part of me was certain that Michel was still alive. I just couldnt conceive of a world in which he wasnt. Trudeau spent the following days handling calls and accepting condolences on behalf of the family. They helped me deal with my severe emotional pain. Through those experiences, Trudeau came to understand that a great deal of what matters in relationships, especially in times of trial, is simply showing up. In recent days, he has walked with the grieving at a vigil on Parliament Hill, travelled to Edmonton and mourned in the province hardest-hit by the death toll from Flight 752. Trudeau has shown that he understands unlike his counterpart Donald Trump in similar visits to Puerto Rico and Texas that in tragedy the story is not about his feelings so much as it is the use he can be to others. Over the past week and a half, Trudeau has been every bit as effective as consoler-in-chief as was former president Barack Obama during the many appalling mass shootings in churches and grade schools during his time in office. Throughout, the prime minister has maintained a sure and comforting emotional pitch even as his anger was palpable. Canada will not rest, he said, until it receives answers, transparency, accountability and justice that families of those who lost their lives deserve. As days passed, Trudeau also calmly expressed the outrage of Canadians at the recklessness of the American president in setting in motion the chaotic circumstances in which so many of our countrymen died. If there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be home right now with their families, he said in an interview with Global News. This is something that happens when you have conflict and war. Innocents bear the brunt of it. That went just far enough to recognize the obvious: that Trumps attack on a top Iranian general created the context for the tragedy that followed. But he stopped well short of blaming Trump for the death of Flight 752 itself. Thats the responsibility of the Iranian regime itself. The prime minister appears to have done much more than cultivate facial hair over the holiday season. He seems to have summoned a more mature bearing and a clearer resolve. Lets hope he brings all this to the challenges ahead. Read more about: Nothing is off the table when it comes to Naga cuisine. The tribes of Nagaland are broad-spectrum omnivores. From finding variations to cure and cook meat in all forms to finding inventive ways to incorporate bamboo, soya and other interesting vegetarian options in their raw, cooked and fermented state. No two Naga tribes are alike when it comes to their cuisines. Konyak cooking sticky rice in morning The two-meals-a-day tradition. Most tribals take only two early meals--one around 11-11:30 am followed by dinner around 7-7:30 pm--a day. Rice, the only cereal grain, is common to both meals. Breakfast is not considered compulsory among the 17 tribes, seldom settling on steamed glutinous rice cakes, which are also termed biscuits by Garo (Wante) and Kuki tribes. The 'unami' dimension. The 'unami' dimension of Naga food is through a fermented soya marinade, Axone (pronounced Akhuni). Said to be invented by the Sumi or Sema ethnic group--who also make it the best, by prepping it for three days to a month--Axone is used in various degrees of potency and form. The only other ingredient with a visceral footprint is bamboo shoots. Meaty Matters Pork is the default setting for all Naga tribes except Kacharis who prefer mutton, duck and chicken. The Garo tribe has a penchant for beef, along with one or two vegetable dishes, Naga dal, and king-chilli fortified salad. Chilli and fat help the Naga tribes to fight the cold. Meat preparations are either boiled, smoked, steamed or fermented chiefly using salt, chili (king or green) and Naga ginger for seasoning; garlic is sparingly utilised. Here are some of the highlights of the tribes and their cuisine: The Zeliang tribe Zeliangs live amid vast forest cover. They hunt and eat everything that moves on four. Flying squirrel, deer, porcupine, wild boar, monkeys are all dispensable cooked with Njegichang (fermented mustard leaf), which when added to Raja Mirchi forms a chutney called Njegichangtam. The vegetarian dishes include ferns and flowers. Animal skull display by Zeliangs Hebakgi, dry pork (can be beef or chicken) preparation, Hebakcha - fermented pork fat in spicy thick broth is also their specialty as is rice beer fermented in earthen pots. All across, rice beer which is chugged in bamboo tumblers and or buffalo horns, is known as Thuthse and Zutho. Sumi smoking meat The Lothas The hero-ingredient for the Lothas, is their bamboo, it is either consumed fresh, fermented and, or dried-shredded. Their preferred dish is the Penjunghan - a dry beef dish with black sesame and Mari Khumkho - a brinjal family berry that's served bolied and dried. The Sumis Awoshi (smoked pork), Axone infused pig head ( Awokutusu), baby-pig (Awoti) is often accompanied by Axone mashed in with local ginger (Akuwu) to make a chutney. Their specialized pork drying technique, Akipiki, can preserve the meat upto a year. They also make a dish called Akibi, mashed yams with green spinach leaves (malao) which is quite delicious. The Chakasangs This tribe uses the oak-fire smoking method for cooking pork, to make a dish called Thiche. It goes well with their zingy rice-beer. The Yimchungers Pork is prominent with Yimchunger tribe which cooks the meat with Kohlar (kidney beans). Kuki woman barbequing Pork-blood sausage The Changs In this tribe's cuisine, Ngong - black pepper - finds its way nearly in all dishes most notably in Khaisu, a pork blood sausage mixed in with liver, garlic, ginger, bamboo-shoots and pork-lard. The Aos This tribe is most fond of veggies. Mostly forsaking king chilli, they take recourse in the greener option or viridiscent versions like Kum Sum Chibi (mustard leaves that can last till three years) which they eat steamed or boiled. They can make boiled pumpkin tempting by just stirring in Nangpera (basil) and Napha (herb-type). Their meat dishes include- Wajem (pork/beef with Anishi) and Rapi / Asang (dry fish with yam-leaves/ fern). Simple Naga beans can turn to magic in Azungken (salad or chutney form) which can be heaped on Mabok Jang (sticky rice), or diluted with water for Sottsu (sweetened/ salted for taste). Also famous for Amsu (powdered rice porridge, mince meat - preferably preferably chicken and veggies) The Angamis This tribe prefers shelled gastropods, like snails. They add sesame seeds to cooked snails, they term it Kenya. Happy munchers of Mepfi (hornet bee), they make good use of Khuvie (chives) & Nyietso (local basil) and possess alluring preparations of porridges, notably, Galho (meat, fish, axone and forest greens) and Kebha (local chicken). The Sangtams Beans of the colored kind, Ling Le, are what Sangtams are recognised for, which they boil before admitting smoked medium-sized pork resulting in Ling Lehe, a mandatory item in every red-lettered celebration. They were the only ones found to ferment beer purely out of millet, (Tetse Yongkha) and Job's Tears (Mumtshe). Their ginger, Hongsee, is the strongest among Naga tribals and enjoy a healthy growth of Shongan (type of mint, used dry) that they add to meals. Like Angamis, they cook bison, Ngouphe, cooked fresh or smoked. The Konyaks In vegetables, yam surfaced as a standout. Konyaks, principally known for that tuber pair it with smoked pork, ginger, garlic, any green leaves in Deng. They are also known for a difficult-to-get fruit, Vekok Nbag, to produce a chutney, cooked with varieties of small/big mushrooms, eaten only on special ocassions. Yuphe (flying squirrel) is a supposed delicacy. The Rengmas The other big on yam harvests - the longer version , Rengmas who claim it to be better than the rotund species, dice it with forest-sourced Hentseru (their speciality mustard leaves, Hinpela (green leafy vegetables), They cook their river fish by burning out the Tsehushun (green bamboo) after having stuffed it with fish wrapped in banana leaves. The Kacharis Understandably, non-beef eaters, being the only Hindu tribe from Nagaland but surely are better recognised for their proficiency with silkworm(s) (Lotma) - which they consume after simple frying and in a dish called Maibrainlotma (steamed rice with silkworm); adding omelette turns it to, Maibrainlotmatoudi. Pork with Kohlar from Yimchingur The Phoms Yam (Tung) found in Phom's Yoo Thrang - chopped, sun-dried yam leaves, pig brain, bamboo shoot, wrapped in banana leaves, and steamed, if not in all their servings, is more starchy than its generic native tubers. When, Eshei (spring onion), Teng (ginger), Lakshing (garlic) is added to boiled pork/chicken/bison and slow cooked with constant stirring for two hours, they call it Anho. Six-seven types of forest sourced leaves like Tanglak, Kainam, Khaiphu Lak, boils down to Menchihow. The Khiamniungans Bison (Mithun) is majorly eschewed by the Khiamniungans, Jeyankne - bison skin (Nikhu) bunched with jhum (gummy) rice and Piuchiuchie - a bison with or without skin pickle benefiting from effects of hand-shreded ginger, chilli ( king / green) , being the standouts. They are the only ones to bear suggestions of Neim (a veg) with Zu (intense aromatic spice). The Kukis Kukis have Mepoh, an one-pot meal comprising local white rice (no fans of sticky rice, them) with curried pork/beef/chicken, king chilli, into which if wood-ash soda is put, becomes, Changalman. They make their sticky rice cake, Changalmanchanglhah, by submerging banana leaf-wrapped paste in boiling water. The Pochurys One of the most colorfully fitted natives, Pochury, the local propagators of salt-making - the only one to make salt brines swear by Kochu Machi (boiled local rice and half-dried fish cooked with axone), relishing it perhaps with Ajiju, a gummy rice (Kii-Nya) beer, called the champange of Nagaland. Sudipto Mullick is a freelance writer based in Kolkata. Photos are author's own. Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Home Department will take a call on suspended DSP Davinder Singh's dismissal, while the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate the matter. Earlier in the day, the Jammu and Kashmir administration stripped Davinder Singh of the Sher-e-Kashmir police medal for gallantry awarded in 2018. On Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir Police said it is recommending to the central government that Davinder Singh, who was arrested while travelling with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, should be sacked. "He has been suspended, we are recommending his sacking to the government. We cannot share right now what has been revealed during the interrogation," Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said. Yesterday, NIA Director-General met Union Home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla pertaining to the investigation into the matter. The sources said that a team headed by IG level officer will go to Jammu and Kashmir for the investigation soon. The probe team will investigate Davinder's link with terrorists. The NIA will also register a case after seeking details from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the sources added. BRIDGEPORT The University of Bridgeport will honor the memory of civil right leader Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events during the week of Jan. 20. King visited the city five times, once to receive an honorary degree at UB and four times to deliver talks on civil rights, racial equality and tolerance. We are extremely proud that Martin Luther King Jr. was the first recipient of an honorary degree from the University of Bridgeport in 1961, UB President Laura Trombley said. This year, we have expanded our celebration to a week of events and activities. They include a lecture by author Stephen Balkaran, Chasing the Dream: The Story of Dr. Martin L. King and the Civil Rights Movement: Reflections in the 21st Century. The event will take place at 12:14 p.m., Tuesday, in the John Cox Student Center and is open free to the public. At 2 p.m., Friday, the university will work with the Lifebridge Community Closet at 475 Clinton Avenue, a space where families can get clothing and other household items. Volunteers are welcome to participate. Also on Friday the university will host a downtown Bridgeport community clean-up from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. And on Saturday, there are two events. At 10 a.m., the university will participate in training for the 2020 Census Canvassing operation at B:Hive, 930 Main St., and at 1 p.m., the UB community will participate in a Seaside/South End neighborhood community cleanup. For more information on any of these events, contact Melaine Strout, director of civic engagement at mestrout@bridgeport.edu or (475) 422-1065. Terry Gou, once Taiwans richest man and a former presidential candidate, has slipped from first to fourth place on Forbes Asias latest rich list of Taiwanese billionaires and their families. Gou, who ran in the Kuomintang primary to compete in the 2020 Taiwan presidential election, saw his fortune fall from US$7.3 billion to US$6.9 billion. Gou made his fortune as founder and chairman of Foxconn, the worlds largest contract manufacturer and Taiwans largest employer. CNBC reported in May 2019 that Foxconn was the biggest assembler of Apple products. Overall, Taiwans 50 richest people or families saw their net wealth rise 7.7 per cent to US$112 billion from US$104 billion in November 2018. That gain was relatively poor, considering that Taiwans benchmark stock index rose 22 per cent in the same period, Forbes said. The richest family in Taiwan is that of the Wei brothers, who jointly own Ting Hsin International, which owns some of the most popular instant food brands such as instant noodles in China and is a shareholder in the Taipei 101 building. The Wei brothers are now worth an estimated US$7.2 billion. Ting Hsin International was at the centre of food scandals in 2013 and 2014, including the so-called Gutter Oil scandal, in which cooking oil was mixed with waste oil and animal feed. Tsai Eng-meng of snack maker Want Want China added US$1.4 billion to his net worth, rising to No. 3 on the list with a net worth of US$7 billion. Forbes Asia reported that 25 members of the list gained this year, and nine of them made their fortunes in the technology industry. Chinas drive to roll out 5G has boosted the fortunes of technology providers. Wu Li-gann saw his wealth rise 138 per cent thanks to his shareholding in WUS Printed Circuit, which is a supplier to Huawei and ZTE Corporation. Shares in WUS Printed Circuit have doubled in value since the beginning of 2019. Tsai Ming-kais fortune rose 80 per cent thanks to shareholdings in MediaTek, a developer of 5G chips. Story continues Moodys Investors Services noted that Taiwans government had successfully incentivised Taiwanese manufacturers back to Taiwan in the midst of the US-China trade war in its most recent credit opinion on Taiwan in November 2019. The Statistical Bureau of Taiwan has forecast GDP growth of 2.7 per cent in 2020. How well Taiwans billionaires do in 2020 may depend on the political landscape. Taiwan re-elected the DPPs Tsai Ing-wen as president in a landslide victory over Kuomintang candidate Han Kuo-yu, who favoured closer ties with mainland China. Though the DPP party is aligned with Taiwans independence movement, Tsai has not said she would declare independence, but she has rejected the one-country two-systems model of integration favoured by China. In remarks made just before the elections, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the Taiwanese people must understand that independence will only bring hardship. More from South China Morning Post: This article Terry Gou, founder of iPhone assembler Foxconn, replaced by instant noodle moguls at top of Forbes Asias Taiwan rich list first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. President Xi Jinping on Friday vowed to take China's ties with Myanmar to a "new level" during his maiden visit, which aims at boosting the Communist giant's investments in mammoth infrastructure projects, including a USD 1.3-million port deal that will provide Beijing a stepping stone to the Indian Ocean. On his arrival in Myanmar, the first by a Chinese leader in 19 years, President Xi received a royal welcome with two fighter jets escorting his plane after it entered the country's airspace. As his plane touched down in Nay Pyi Taw, children presented him flowers before he was whisked off to a greeting party, China's state-run Xinhua agency reported. Huge portraits of the Chinese President and banners celebrating the China-Myanmar friendship and cooperation were put up along Xi's route from the airport to downtown. According to Xinhua, Xi told Myanmar leaders that he was convinced that his visit will "take the bilateral ties to a new level and into a new era". China, which for decades has maintained close ties with Myanmar military even when the Myanmar State Counsellor, Suu Kyi, was incarcerated for years, has again became an important ally to fend off global isolation of Nay Pyi Taw in the wake of the Rohingya crisis. During his trip, Xi is expected to sign a series of infrastructure agreements as part of his ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which critics say, is saddling nations with debt. India has been severely critical of the BRI as it comprises the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). A key deal which the Chinese President is expected to finalise with Myanmar is the USD 1.3 billion project to develop the Kyaukphyu port, which will provide China a stepping stone to the Indian Ocean, besides energy security. Some reports said that the two countries have already reached an agreement on the deep-sea port project in 2018. China has already acquired the Gwadar port in Pakistan, followed by Hambantota in Sri Lanka in India's backyard. China's Ambassador to Myanmar, Chen Hai, on Sunday last said Xi was expected to oversee the signing of several deals during a two-day visit, including possibly putting the final piece of the puzzle in the USD 1.3 billion port deal, negotiations for which have been going on for several years, according to a report in Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. Once completed, the facility on the Bay of Bengal will provide Beijing with a direct link to oil supplies from the Middle East, as Kyaukphyu is at one end of a massive oil and natural gas pipeline network that runs all the way to Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan province, it said. The direct link will provide an alternative route for China's energy imports avoiding the Malacca Strait, which links the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea but has become a flashpoint for Sino-Indian maritime rivalry, the report said. A high-speed rail project to connect the port and nearby planned industrial zone with the countries' shared border is also on the cards. President Jinping and Suu Kyi had a meeting at Myanmar's presidential palace during which the two leaders had a cordial and friendly talk, the Xinhua reported. They agreed to have an in-depth exchange of views on China-Myanmar relations and issues of mutual concern on Saturday. Before the talk, upon his arrival at the presidential palace, the Chinese President inspected a guard of honour in the company of his Myanmar counterpart U Win Myint. Under attack from the global community over human rights violations by Myanmar's military against the Rohingya Muslims leading to their mass exodus to neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar pulled out all the stops to accord red carpet welcome to Xi. The silence of Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace prize winner, over the Rohingya crisis has come under intense global criticism. The International Court of Justice, where Gambia has filed a case of genocide against Myanmar, on Wednesday said it will deliver its decision next week on whether emergency measures should be imposed on Myanmar over alleged genocide against its Rohingya Muslims. "I think there are numerous expectations for Xi's visit, but there is also trepidation that the high-level visit is predicated on China cashing in on its diplomatic support for Myanmar over the Rakhine crisis, and unsticking stalled CMEC (China-Myanmar Economic Corridor) projects," said David Mathieson, an analyst based in Yangon. "The Western opprobrium heaped on Myanmar was not mired by China, who balanced its strategic interests with shoring up support for the NLD government, and now it's time for China to use that support to get its trade and infrastructure projects moving faster," he was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi Police has busted a factory manufacturing fake products and using labels of branded companies in outer north Delhi's Alipur area, police said on Friday. According to police, one Sanjeev Bahl, authorised representative of Surf Excel, Tide and Tata Salt, lodged a complaint regarding the manufacturing of fake products at Jindpur Village. When police raided the premises, they recovered 90 plastic bags of washing powder, 74 plastic bags of salt, 31 plastic bags of rappers and two packing machines. A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Alipur Police Station, a senior police officer said. "During investigation, it was revealed that a person named Mukesh Garg (42), a resident of Old Anaj Mandi in Narela took the plot on rent to manufacture these fake recovered products," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Gaurav Sharma said. Garg had been arrested earlier. He is currently absconding and team has been sent to nab him, Sharma said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Khaama Press, January 15, 2020 An Afghan religious clerk in western Herat province has started a widespread campaign, urging women to wear Islamic Hijab a large headscarf and has ordered his followers to punish those who disregard it. Mujeeb Rahman Ansari, a popular Islamic extremist and a religious clerk in the western Herat province installed dozens of billboards and signboards around the city, targeting Afghan women, urging them to wear Islamic Hijab. During several public speeches, Ansari called on his followers to apply Sharia rules on anyone who disregards the rules determined by him and his followers and not to wait for the government in such instances. Billboard message by Malawvi Ansari: A man is a coward whose woman disregard Hijab. Women with hejab are the guardians of mens honor.. Billboard message by Malawvi Ansari: A man is a coward whose woman disregard Hijab. Women with hejab are the guardians of mens honor.. Abdul Qayoum Rahimi, the governor of Herat was earlier questioned by a local media outlet about Ansaris movement in Herat province, wherein Rahimi said he is not going to confront Mawlavi Mujeeb Rahman Ansari as they are being good friends. The recent statements of Mawlavi Mujeeb Rahman Ansari have sparked mixed reactions among Afghan residents in social media, some condemn the messages spread by Malwavi Ansari, while on the other hand, another group and individuals endorse him. Any man who thinks he has ownership of women is a coward. A real man is the one who considers his wife to be his counterpart, not a commodity!, Waheed Omar, a government official tweeted in response to a billboard message by Malawvi Ansari where it says A man is a coward whose woman disregard Hijab. But the provincial Directorate of Hajj and Religious Affairs said the campaign by Ansari has not been conducted in collaboration with the government, and that Ansaris teachings go against Islam. Speeches by Mr. Mujeeb Rahman Ansari are in contravention of the religious teachings. Islam has always insisted on preaching, an official of the directorate, Fazl Mohammad Hussaini said. Mujeeb Rahman Ansari has studied Islamic religion studies in Saudi Arabia and is currently running a local radio station beside being an Imam for Gozargah Mosque in Herat city. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 The Jakarta administration's plan to revitalize a hub of roadside treats on Jl. H. Agus Salim in Central Jakarta, predominantly known as Sabang, met with objections by business owners over fears it would impact their earnings. Jakarta Tourism and Creative Economy head Cucu Ahmad Kurnia said the administration's goal was to transform Sabang into a culinary center with a modern concept. "Sabang was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. We would like to make it livelier, but with a modern touch," he said on Wednesday. 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 Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Whittier College announced this week that it is freezing yearly tuition at $49,000. The underlying reason is simple: like many other pricey private colleges, it needs to attract more low- and middle-income students to stay afloat. The problem is, how do you market $49,000 a year -- or upwards of $60,000, if you add room and board -- as affordable? "The sticker price scares a lot of people," said Stanford education researcher Anthony Lising Antonio. Especially the increasing pool of Latino high school graduates. For decades, the 112-year-old private college -- the alma mater of President Richard Nixon -- drew its students from the largely white, mid-20th century population in east Los Angeles County. But those aren't the demographics anymore. Today, the city of Whittier is nearly two-thirds Latino, and more than 70% of Whittier College's 1,700 students are Latino, African American or other people of color. Those populations overall have lower median family incomes than white families -- so it's important, Antonio said, for Whittier College to not only freeze tuition at its current level, but to emphasize its financial aid packages. Whittier provides financial aid to 93% of its students, and the college says it's been increasing the amount of aid by about 3% percent in the last few years (prior to the tuition freeze, it had increased annually by about the same rate, according to the announcement.) "Customer relations-wise [the tuition freeze] is a really smart move," Antonio said, because it may dispel the sticker shock. And that's good for potential students, he said, because it allows them to apply to a small, private college they may not have considered. COLLEGES WORRY ABOUT FEWER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES Birth rates dropped sharply after the Great Recession and now there are smaller high school graduating classes in many parts of the country. Larger colleges haven't seen drops in applications, but demographic shifts have forced some smaller, private colleges to merge with other institutions, while some colleges in the Northeast have closed. In California, the population shifts are more nuanced. According to California Department of Education data, 489,650 students were enrolled in grade 12 in the 2018-2019 school year, 7,251 fewer than four years earlier. The enrollment rate among white students dropped over those four years, but the number of Latino students enrolled in 12th grade increased. Whittier College's white student enrollment has dropped by nearly 100 students in the last four years, while Latino enrollment has risen by nearly 200 students. It's clear to administrators that the racial, ethnic and economic makeup of its applicant pool is changing. "Population trends determine the business model, from my point of view," said Linda Oubre, President of Whittier College. Whittier College President Linda Oubre. (Photo courtesy Whittier College) IS THERE ENOUGH FINANCIAL AID TO CLOSE THE TUITION GAP? The growing pool of Latino students is significantly poorer than their white counterparts. The income gap presents a huge hurdle for many students. Recent estimates compiled by the state legislature show that median family income for Latino families was $47,200 between 2010 and 2014. That's about $20,000 less each year than non-Latino families. The gap was larger in urban areas. According to the same report, 23% of Latinos in California lived at or below the poverty line, nearly double the percentage for non-Latinos. These numbers worry administrators at private colleges more than those at institutions that receive public funding like California State University, the University of California and the California community college system. These private Southern California colleges and universities tell LAist they've been increasing financial aid packages in recent years: Occidental College, Pepperdine University, Biola University, and Chapman University. None of them said they are considering a tuition freeze. Antonio said colleges must adapt to changing demographics to encourage more students to earn a degree. "It moves the needle in terms of students applying and attending," he said. New York: Three US airports will screen passengers arriving from central China for a new virus that has sickened dozens, killed two and prompted worries about an international outbreak, health officials said on Friday. Passengers walk past a thermal scanner upon their arrival at Narita airport in Japan. Credit:Getty Centres for Disease Control and Prevention officials say they will begin taking temperatures and asking about symptoms of passengers at three US airports who traveled from the outbreak city of Wuhan. Officials estimate roughly 5000 passengers will go through the process in the next couple of weeks at New York City's Kennedy airport and the Los Angeles and San Francisco airports. The first direct flight was expected Friday night at Kennedy, and the next expected Saturday morning in San Francisco. Doctors began seeing a new type of viral pneumonia - fever, cough, difficulty breathing - in people who worked at or visited a food market in the suburbs of Wuhan late last month. More than 40 cases of the newly identified coronavirus have been confirmed in Asia, including two deaths - at least one involving a previous medical condition. Officials have said it probably spread from animals to people but haven't been able to rule out the possibility that it spreads from person to person. Iran's supreme leader is expected to lead the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran on Friday, after a traumatic month in which the country had appeared on the brink of war with the United States and accidentally downed a Ukrainian passenger jet. The last time Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led Friday prayers at Tehran's Mosalla mosque was in February 2012, on the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic revolution and at a time of crisis over the Iran nuclear issue. His Friday appearance comes at a tumultuous moment for the country which had seemed headed for conflict earlier in January after the United States killed its top general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad, prompting Iran to retaliate against US military targets in Iraq with a volley of missiles. The strike, which caused significant material damage, wounded 11 US troops, according to a statement by US Central Command released Thursday, which contradicted the military's previous assessment of no casualties. Earlier in the day President Hassan Rouhani emphasized in a televised speech that Iran "is working daily to prevent military confrontation or war", and maintained that a dialogue with the world was still "possible". Tensions between Washington and Tehran seemed to subside in the wake of the accidental downing of a Ukrainian passenger airliner hours after Iran's retaliatory strikes, as Tehran was on high alert for US reprisals. The tragedy killed 176 people, mostly Iranians and Canadians. Canada's foreign minister on Thursday vowed to push Iran for answers about the tragedy. Ottawa said earlier that US President Donald Trump's policies had contributed to the heightened tensions that led to the catastrophe. In June 2019, Iran and the United States had also appeared to be on the brink of direct military confrontation after Tehran shot down a US drone it said had violated its airspace. Trump said he called off retaliatory strikes at the last minute. The animosity between Washington and Tehran has increased since Trump withdrew the United States from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions. In Iran, the air disaster sparked public outrage and anti-government demonstrations took place every day from Saturday to Wednesday. Security forces were deployed across the capital in response to the protests. According to an AFP journalist, around 50 riot police with batons, motorbikes and what appeared to be a tear gas launcher were posted at a major junction in north Tehran on Thursday evening. Concentrated in the capital, the protests appeared smaller than a wave of national demonstrations in November, prompted by a fuel price hike. They had been met with a crackdown that left at least 300 people dead, according to Amnesty International. Rouhani implicitly acknowledged a crisis of confidence in authorities, but called Wednesday for "national unity", better governance and greater pluralism. On Thursday, Rouhani also defended the policy of openness that he has pursued since his first election in 2013, and which Iran's ultra-conservatives criticise. "Of course, it's difficult," he acknowledged, but added, "the people elected us to lower tensions and animosity" between the Islamic republic and the world. That said, Khamenei, who maintains that the West is not trustworthy, bans dialogue with Trump. On Thursday, Rouhani said Iran's "daily enrichment" of uranium was currently "higher" than before the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal. Rouhani, who instigated the negotiations, made the comments while justifying his nuclear policy and Iran's progressive disengagement from the accord. He also stated his willingness to continue dialogue on the agreement. In response to the US withdrawal from the deal and sanctions, an increasingly frustrated Iran has hit back with a step-by-step suspension of its own commitments under the deal, which drastically limited its nuclear activities. On Tuesday, Germany, the UK and France -- the three European parties to the deal -- announced they had triggered a dispute mechanism in response to the latest step back from the deal by Tehran. Germany on Thursday confirmed a Washington Post report that the US had threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports of European cars if EU governments continued to back the nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the European parties of having "sold out" the deal to avoid trade reprisals from the United States, and said Trump was again behaving like a "high school bully". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PREMIUM TIMES has obtained more details of the negotiations that led to the release of five kidnapped aid workers in Borno State This newspaper broke the news of the release of the victims by a Boko Haram faction, ISWAP, on Wednesday. The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, however, said only three of the five victims were aid workers. They were abducted on December 22. Mr Kallon, who heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nigeria, said he was deeply relieved that some civilians, including three aid workers, who were abducted by non-state armed groups last year, were released and are now safe. Findings by this newspaper show that the two other civilians were private security officials working as consultants for some NGOs. An official had earlier on Thursday explained to PREMIUM TIMES that the two men hid their identity and claimed to be working for IOM and Red Cross, to save their lives. It has been the tradition of Boko Haram not to spare the life of any security worker, be them from the military, police or private security guards, the source said. They dont have mercy on security operatives. They dont even welcome any ransom payment, even if it was generously offered. They kill them at once. The Negotiations A top security official in Borno involved in the negotiations told PREMIUM TIMES that the negotiations were led by the State Security Service (SSS, also called DSS) and involved other security agencies and organisations. It was a multilateral collaboration by the security, a private negotiator and the humanitarian organizations whose staff were involved. Of course the DSS played a major role as a Nigeria security outfit that organised and supervised the deal to free the abductees, the source said. But the actual negotiation process and how the five abductees were eventually released and picked from a bush location to Maiduguri is credited to one freelance, named Ahmad Salkida, the source added. Mr Salkida, a Nigerian journalist, is known to have close contacts with the Boko Haram. He has written exclusive stories and reports about the sects activities and has been involved in past negotiations with the sect. But his relationship with members of the sect has also put him in conflict with security agencies, causing him to flee Nigeria at some point. Mr Salkida has however always stated that his relationship with the Boko Haram members is strictly professional, that of journalists and their sources. Ahmad Salkida Our security source also revealed that Wednesdays release of the humanitarian workers would not have been feasible without the commitment of one of the international NGOs, Action for International Medical Alliance (ALIMA). Two of ALIMAs officials, Jennifer Samuel and Asabe Cletus, were among the released victims. The source declined comments on whether ransom was paid. He said ALIMA did not stand for only its two female staff but all five victims. Apart from the two men that that feigned being staff of IOM and Red Cross, the other male abductee works with Solidarity International as a watchman. So, basically, the negotiations were done because of the two females who would have been condemned to a life of slavery if the deadline given for the release had elapsed. Meeting the freed aid workers The source said they had to allow Mr Salkida to embark on the trip alone as the insurgents insisted on no security escorts. You see, after all, was agreed, journalist Ahmad Salkida was trusted to go alone in an SUV to take delivery of the five abductees at a location mentioned by the insurgents. The source said though Mr Salkida was a bit afraid about his safety, being asked to drive alone, he had to be assured that military signal has been sent to all the military points on the way to allow the vehicle he was driving unfettered access on the highway. We understood the insurgents said the pickup location of the five humanitarians would be somewhere around Magumeri village, the source said. Magumeri is about 51km from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. Advertisements The insurgents had spelt it out that no security escort should be involved during the entire process of the negotiation up to when the release is carried out, the source said. That was why we encouraged and allowed Salkida to go alone after they had assured us of his safety as well. It was a huge risk taken by the negotiator, Salkida, who is just a civilian. But he must see it as a patriotic service done to the country. When contacted, Mr Salkida appeared unwilling to speak on his role in the rescue, rather focussing on his profession. Im primarily a journalist which is a noble profession with time tested heritage of professional ethics. I try in all my professional conduct to be very mindful of the ethical requirements of what I do. So, in effect, Im afraid that I have nothing further to add to your request, he said in reply to an enquiry by this reporter. But our source said the journalist returned to the office of the SSS in Maiduguri at about 3 p.m. with the five released abductees all looking dishevelled and traumatised. Debriefing The source said from the debriefing of the five released abductees by officials of the SSS, it was learnt that the insurgents kept them at remote locations were other earlier abducted humanitarian workers were also kept. He said it took hours of driving to get to the point Mr Salkida picked them up. The source said the freed humanitarian workers confirmed that two other female humanitarian workers, Grace Taku and Alice Loksha, a nurse, are still with the insurgents, have been converted to Islam and have taken Muslim names. It was shocking to hear that one of the female UNICEF medical personnel that was abducted in 2018 has been condemned to slave status and has been forced to head the medical team at the camp. They said she now provides medical care to the insurgents, like a medical doctor and sometimes she would be forced to perform cesarian sessions on women in labour, the source said. The senior security personnel said for ISWAP or Boko Haram insurgents abducting female medical personnel is a win-win situation for them. They keep them for their medical service needs. Whether the government negotiates their release or not, they really do not care. But for any other non-medical professional, when the government fails to negotiate they kill them. The official also commended the negotiation tactics of the SSS. You see, the current negotiating platform which the present leadership of the DSS has created aligns with the military targets and objectivesit is not all about giving a huge amount of money, he said. The spokesperson of the SSS, Peter Afunnaya, did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES enquiry. However, a Chinese news agency, Xinhua, quoted Mr Afunnaya as saying the rescue was done in collaboration with other critical stakeholders in military and intelligence services. The Abduction According to the narrative of the rescued aid workers during their debriefing, the ISWAP arm of Boko Haram waylaid them on their way to Maiduguri from Monguno in December. They said the insurgents were well dressed in full military uniform and kits, the source narrated. After asking where they were heading, the insurgents who spoke in English asked for their ID cards. United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon It was when they began to show IDs that trouble started. Those that were found to be security personnel, both military and private were shot dead. Those working for NGOs were asked to standby. However, two other persons working with private security outfits hid their ID cards and pretended to work with Red Cross and Solidarity International. We understood that they had to do that to survive because the chances of survival are 50 over 50 when an abductee says he or she is a staff of an INGO, the source said. The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has released new regulatory guidelines on Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) which state individuals are no longer allowed to initiate digital token offerings. Going forward, all digital token offerings will need to be carried out by exchanges in the form of Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) instead. Malaysia regulation bans ICOs but allows IEOs The new Malaysian regulation has been compiled after a great deal of thought. The SC originally released a consultation paper asking for feedback. After careful consideration, the regulatory body decided that IEOs were the best way forward for cryptocurrency companies looking to raise funds. Guidelines on Digital Assets will come into force in the second half of 2020; the public who wish to submit their feedback on any matter relating to the Guidelines may email to DAguidelines@seccom.com.my by 15 May 2020 https://t.co/cEiJusXS3f SC Malaysia (@SecComMY) January 16, 2020 The Securities Commission cites overwhelming industry support for allowing platform operators to oversee and issue digital tokens for fundraising. In essence, IEOs are very similar to ICOs. The key difference is that they are carried out through a cryptocurrency exchange rather than a solo token issuer. While this doesnt guarantee the success of the project, it does have some benefits for investors. For example, under the new Malaysian regulation, exchange operators are obliged to carry out their own due diligence on the offerings they list. They must also assess the viability and characteristics of the token something that can be hard for individual retail investors. According to the guidelines, the new regulation will come into force in the second half of 2020. The SC will also work alongside cryptocurrency exchange operators to assess eligible issuers. Story continues Who is eligible to act as an IEO operator? Not just any exchange can act as an IEO operator. First of all, the platform must obtain the necessary permission from the Securities Commission. Moreover, even before the new guidelines come into effect, it is now illegal for any individuals to engage in the act of holding an ICO. Chin Wei Min, SCs Executive Director of Digital Strategy & Innovation, conducted a technical briefing for the media on the release of the Guidelines on Digital Asset. pic.twitter.com/ZF1BNTnQD4 SC Malaysia (@SecComMY) January 15, 2020 IEO operators must also meet certain requirements under the impending regulation. They must have a minimum paid-up capital of RM 5m (about $1.2m) and be locally incorporated in Malaysia unless extenuating circumstances are approved by the SC. IEO operators must also maintain a trust account for funds received from investors that is licensed by a Malaysian financial institution. If the operator is also going to trade the digital assets they issue, they must register separately as a Digital Asset Exchange (DAX) platform operator. What about token issuers in Malaysia? There are also several stipulations for token issuers under the new law. They must have a physical presence in the country (be locally incorporated) with at least two executive employees whose principal residence is Malaysia. They must also possess a minimum paid-up capital of RM 500,000 ($125,000). Furthermore, in order to be approved as a token issuer, the project must demonstrate that it provides meaningful digital value or an innovative solution for Malaysia. Innovative is classified as projects that provide a solution or addresses an existing market need or problem or improve the efficiency of an existing process or service undertaken by the issuer or the industry. The guidelines further stipulate that tokens must be intended as payment instruments to be used in exchange for goods and services. However, rather curiously, issuers must also include the following disclaimer: Investors are reminded that Bank Negara Malaysia (the Bank) does not recognise digital tokens as a legal tender nor as a form of payment instrument that is regulated by the Bank and that the Bank will not provide any avenues of redress for aggrieved token holders. Limitations for investors While the Malaysian regulation doesnt leave retail investors out, there are some significant limitations on investors wishing to participate in IEOs. Retail investors are limited to just RM 2,000 ($500) per IEO. Not only that, but they have a total yearly investment limit of RM 20,000 (around $5,000). Angel investors are also restricted to a maximum of RM 500,000 ($125,000) over a 12-month period. There are no limitations on sophisticated/accredited investors. The takeaway The new Malaysian regulation is certainly a positive move in allowing fundraising though token issuance and enabling cryptocurrency innovation. Limiting offerings to registered IEOs is also a sensible way of reducing the number of rogue or unviable projects, adding a layer of protection for retail investors. However, the limits on retail investors are extremely low, leading Fintech Malaysia to comment: We do hope that down the line the limit of RM 2,000 per issuer will be raised to a more meaningful amount. The post Malaysia bans Initial Coin Offerings appeared first on Coin Rivet. London, Jan 17 : English actor Derek Fowlds, best known for his inimitable acting in "Yes Minister" and "Heartbeat" has passed away. He was 82. Fowlds died at Royal United Hospitals in the city of Bath, in the early hours of Friday morning. He was suffering from pneumonia, according to a report in theguardian.com. The website quoted Helen Bennett, his personal assistant and friend, as saying: "He was the most beloved man to everybody who ever met him. He never had a bad word to say about anybody and he was so well respected, adored by everyone." Fowlds is best known for his role of the Prime Minister's private secretary Bernard Woolley in the BBC satire show "Yes Minister". He essayed the role from 1980 to 1984, and also returned as Woolley in the sequel "Yes Prime Minister". He is also known as Oscar Blaketon in the ITV police drama "Heartbeat". Fowlds rose to fame as Mr Derek on the "Basil Brush Show", a children's comedy series, from 1969 to 1973. Paying tribute, Basil Brush wrote on Twitter: "I don't know what to say, I'm so desperately sad. such times we had, rest in peace Mr Derek, my best friend forever #DerekFowlds #BasilBrushshow." Fowlds was born in Wandsworth, London, and he started out as an actor on stage, at Prince of Wales theatre in the Welsh town of Colwyn Bay in 1958, while on summer vacation from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, theguardian.com added. [January 17, 2020] Citi Launches $150 Million Impact Investing Fund Citi announced today the launch of the $150 million Citi Impact Fund that will make equity investments in "double bottom line" private sector companies that have a positive impact on society. Citi will invest its own capital in U.S.-based companies that are applying innovative solutions to help address four societal challenges: Workforce Development - solutions that train and connect people to careers. - solutions that train and connect people to careers. Financial Capability - solutions that increase access to the financial system. - solutions that increase access to the financial system. Physical & Social Infrastructure - solutions that improve an individual's way of life through housing, healthcare and transportation. - solutions that improve an individual's way of life through housing, healthcare and transportation. Sustainability - solutions that address issues related to energy, water and sustainable production. "It takes companies of all sizes to address the challenges our society faces today," said Citi CEO Michael Corbat. "While Citi's global footprint and scale allow us to use our balance sheet to play an important role, smaller, newer, 'double bottom line' companies play an equally important role in driving change." This is the largest fund of its kind to be launched by a bank using its own capital. Investments, which could be as high as $10 million, will primarily be made in companies that have demonstrated proof of concept, built an existing customer base, secured prior rounds of funding and exhibited the potential for scale in multiple markets. A portion of the fund is designated for earlier stage seed investments. Citi will actively seek opportunities to invest in businesses that are led or owned by women and minority entrepreneurs. As part of that commitment, the seed funding will be allocated exclusively to investments in businesses led or owned by women and minorities. "The gender and ethnic gap in the startup world is very real, with reports showing a small fraction of venture capital funding being allocated to women and minority owned startups," said Ed Skyler, Executive Vice President, Global Public Affairs at Citi. "Our intention is to not only help these businesses scale and thrive but to also shine a light on the investment opportunities among this pool of often overlooked, high potential entrepreneurs." Citi's approach to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) includes executing a business model that adds value to society through its products, catalyzing innovation through strategic philanthropy and taking a stand on issues that matter. This fund will complement Citi's existing efforts, with the goal of achieving financial returns while making a positive societal impact. The focus areas above are areaswhere Citi has experience through its philanthropy, business transactions and its own operations and advocacy. Since 2014, Citi Foundation's "Pathways to Progress" initiative has connected hundreds of thousands of young people around the world to jobs, paid internships, workforce training and leadership development. This work is implemented in conjunction with community organizations and municipal leaders and leverages the time and talents of thousands of Citi employee volunteers. Through the "City Accelerator," a collaboration between the Citi Foundation and Living Cities, the cities of Pittsburgh, St. Paul, San Francisco and Washington, DC explored innovative practices aimed at closing the funding gaps in their city infrastructure plans, with particular attention to projects that have a positive economic impact on low-income residents. For example, the City Accelerator helped Washington, DC create an actionable plan for its initiative to convert 75,000 of the city's streetlights to cheaper, energy-efficient LED technology, and install a Wi-Fi access platform to improve wireless access to the public. Citi partners with other organizations to expand access for early-stage financing to companies that are addressing community challenges. For example, Citi, OPIC and the Ford (News - Alert) Foundation recently launched a $100 million loan guarantee facility that will enable Citi to provide early-stage financing in local currency to companies that expand access to products and services for low-income communities in emerging markets. Citi has been helping to drive sustainable business practices in the finance sector for more than two decades, from innovations in sustainable finance to environmental and social risk management to climate risk assessment. For example, as part of our $100 Billion Environmental Finance Goal, Citi facilitated the largest financing package in the global renewable sector for a greenfield UK offshore wind farm located in the southern part of the North Sea, which supplies clean energy to more than 1 million UK homes. To learn more about Citi's efforts around the world, visit http://citi.com/citizenship/. Citi Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter (News - Alert): @Citi | YouTube (News - Alert): www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook (News - Alert): www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn (News - Alert): www.linkedin.com/company/citi. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005287/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] (Corrects paragraph 7 to clarify that Phoenix Petroleum Philippines is not a PSI index heavyweight) * Singapore bourse sees worst session in 9 days * Indonesian stocks fall ahead of cenbank meeting * Vietnam index sole gainer in the region By Shruti Sonal Dec 19 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets edged lower on Thursday, with the Philippine index leading losses, as investors booked profits ahead of holiday season and as a lack of clarity over the interim Sino-U.S. deal and prospects of a hard Brexit weighed. The "phase-one" trade agreement announced last week suspended a threatened round of U.S. tariffs on a $160 billion list of Chinese imports. However, a dearth of clarity over the deal hampered investor optimism. "In any case, the markets have overbought following the recent U.S.-China trade news flow and it's not surprising to see some profit-taking at the end of the year," Liu Jinshu, director of research at Tayrona Financial said. Leading losses in the region, the Philippine index reversed course to drop 0.9%, dented by financials. Domestic lenders have been pressured by media reports https://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2019/12/17/BSP-Westpac-money-laundering.html?fbclid=IwAR3hA1_fJ07J83QDTDJWRrN1KftRKU53JPceI5gaLsZUkgHJ6FpX7ju8qaA%3Ffbclid suggesting that the Philippine central bank will probe about 10 banks for ties with Australia's scandal-hit Westpac Banking Corp . BDO Unibank Inc shed over 4.4% to hit its lowest since Nov. 27, while the Bank of the Philippine Islands extended losses for a fourth straight session. Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc, which is not a constituent of the main board, saw its worst session since Sept. 9, after the company put on hold its plans for a $2 billion Tanglawan LNG hub venture in Philippines with CNOOC Gas and Power of China. Indonesian stocks dropped, with most of the losses concentrated in financials, ahead of central bank policy meeting. Bank Indonesia is likely to keep rates unchanged at its final meeting of the year, though it may resume cutting rates in 2020, a Reuters poll showed. Shares of Bank Central Asia Tbk Pt dropped 1.9%, while Bank Mega Tbk Pt fell 5.9%. Trade-sensitive Singapore bourse marked its worst session in nine days, with information technology and telecom sectors being the biggest drags in the index. The foggy details on the U.S.-China arrangements regarding Huawei have hurt sentiment in Singapore's export-reliant electronics sector, Vishnu Varathan, senior economist, Mizuho Bank said. Index heavyweights Singapore Telecommunications and electronics firm Venture Corp fell nearly 2% each. Bucking the sombre mood, the Vietnam index was the sole gainer in the region, with financials and real estate sectors propping the index 0.5% higher. For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS As at 0420 GMT Market Current Previous close Pct Move Singapore 3202 3209.54 -0.23 Bangkok 1557.08 1563.74 -0.43 Manila 7663.12 7733.67 -0.91 Jakarta 6259.06 6287.25 -0.45 Kuala Lumpur 1594.61 1599.11 -0.28 Ho Chi Minh 953.31 951.13 0.23 Change so far in 2019 Market Current End 2018 Pct Move Singapore 3202 3068.76 4.34 Bangkok 1557.08 1563.88 -0.43 Manila 7663.12 7,466.02 2.64 Jakarta 6259.06 6,194.50 1.04 Kuala Lumpur 1594.61 1690.58 -5.68 Ho Chi Minh 953.31 892.54 6.81 (Reporting by Shruti Sonal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Things to do in the Attleboro area and beyond Ukranian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk submitted his resignation to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on January 17 after less than six months in the role. The President will now consider the letter. The resignation comes just hours after an audiotape of an informal meeting with few ministers and top officials from the National Bank was leaked online. According to the tape, Honcharuk was of the opinion that Zelenskiy had a very primitive understanding of the economy. While Zelenskiy office did not react to the leak, the Ukranian Prime Minister, in a video address, said that there have been many attacks in the media and online against him personally and against the government. He had asserted that such attacks indicated the government was on the right track which has already blocked a lot of corruption schemes and are stopping robbers from continuing to rob the country. Read: Ukraine Officials Ask Iran To Hand Over Black Boxes Of Downed Plane Read: Ukraine Opens Probe Of Possible Surveillance Of Ambassador No confirmation on the authenticity In the audiotape, Honcharuk and other officials were heard trying to find a simple way to explain Ukraines recent economic developments to Zelensky. However, Honcharuk and other attendees have neither confirmed nor denied the authenticity of the audiotape. The Prime Minister was scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum, along with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Davos, Switzerland next week but the latest development puts the visit in jeopardy. On January 22-23, during the @wef Annual Meeting, together with President @ZelenskyyUa I will be visiting Davos, Switzerland. Ill hold a number of meetings with leaders of foreign states and international organizations, as well as with international business representatives. Oleksiy Honcharuk (@PMHoncharuk) January 16, 2020 Read: Russians Hacked Company Key To Ukraine Scandal: Researchers Read: Ukraine President Speaks To Iran Counterpart Rouhani About Downed Jet; Reads Him Riot Act By Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) - Five countries whose citizens died when Iran shot down an airliner last week said on Thursday that Tehran should pay compensation to families of the victims, and warned that the world is watching for its response. By Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) - Five countries whose citizens died when Iran shot down an airliner last week said on Thursday that Tehran should pay compensation to families of the victims, and warned that the world is watching for its response. Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain said Iran should hold a "thorough, independent and transparent international investigation open to grieving nations," in a statement issued after a meeting of officials in London. The airliner was struck by a missile on Jan. 8 shortly after it left Tehran en route to Kiev. Iran admitted on Saturday it had shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane in error, after initially denying it had a role in the incident. All 176 people aboard, including 57 Canadians, were killed. The five countries asked Iran to conduct the process of identifying victims with dignity and transparency while respecting the wishes of families regarding repatriation. "The eyes of the international community are on Iran today. I think that Iran has a choice, and the world is watching," Canadian foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said at a news conference in London. The countries said they welcomed Iran's engagement to date. Earlier on Thursday, the foreign ministers of the five countries each lit a candle to commemorate the victims at the Canadian High Commission in London, and paused for a moment of reflection. Most of those on Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 were Iranians or dual citizens, many of them students returning to studies abroad or families on their way home after visiting relatives in Iran. The premier of Ontario, Canada's most populous province, proposed a fund on Thursday to disburse 57 scholarships of C$10,000 ($7,663.42) each, in honour of the number of Canadians killed in the crash. Many of the victims were academics, researchers and students linked to 19 Canadian universities. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Thursday that he had discussed with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif the repatriation of the bodies of Ukrainian victims. The bodies of all 11 Ukrainians who were killed have been identified and will be transported back to Ukraine on Jan. 19, the interior ministry said in a statement to Reuters. (Reporting by Alistair Smout and Pari Zemaryalai in London, Matthias Williams and Sergiy Karazy in Kiev, and Moira Warburton in Toronto; Additional reporting by writing by Andy Bruce; Editing by Stephen Addison and Daniel Wallis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The 2020 Walsh Cup will conclude when Galway and Wexford clash in the final at MW Hire O'Moore Park, Portlaoise this Saturday. Davy Fitzgerald's Wexford side recorded a double-digits victory over Kilkenny in the semi-final, racking up 2-18 along the way, to set up a final showdown against Galway. New Galway manager Shane O'Neill got his tenure off to a winning start against Dublin, who had eliminated Eddie Brennan's Laois hurlers from the competition the previous Thursday, by the narrowest of margins with a one-point win at Parnell Park. In will be the first time in recent years that a neutral venue has hosted the Walsh Cup final, and it will be the first neutral game for MW Hire O'Moore Park to stage in 2020. In what will be a repeat of the 2019 Walsh Cup final, Wexford will be hoping to overturn last year's result where Galway outgunned them by six points. Davy Fitzgerald and his Wexford hurlers are due back in Portlaoise the following weekend when they open their Allianz National League campaign against Laois on Saturday 25 January. Throw-in at MW Hire O'Moore Park is fixed for 4pm. Babulal Marandi was on Friday re- elected as the president of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) that he had floated 14 years ago after walking out of the BJP. The party also re-constituted its executive committee, which was dissolved on January 5, its Principal General Secretary Abhay Singh said. Marandi, who led the first BJP government in the newly created Jharkhand in 2000 but quit the saffron party later to float JVM (P) in 2006, is heading the regional outfit continously since its inception. The new committee comprises as many as nine vice- presidents, six general secretaries and nine secretaries, a party release said. Sanjay Toppo has been named as the partys treasurer. There are 122 members of the executive committee, besides 13 leaders heading its different wings and five spokespersons. Partys two MLAs- Pradip Yadav and Bandhu Tirkey - have found a place in the new team. Marandi is the other MLA of the party and has lent unconditional support to the new Hemant Soren-led coalition government. His support to the JMM-Congress-RJD government notwithstanding, media reports are agog with speculation of his possible return to the BJP. The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), however, has dismissed the reports. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rahul questioned the silence of PM Modi and home minister Amit Shah on DSP Davinder Singh, and asked who was providing the officer protection and why. New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the government over the arrest of senior Jammu and Kashmir police officer Davinder Singh. In a social media post, Mr Gandhi alleged that the decision to hand over the case to the NIA (National Investigation Agency) was the best way to silence terrorist DSP Davinder Singh and that any investigation into the case is now as good as dead. The best way to silence Terrorist DSP Davinder, is to hand the case to the NIA. The NIA is headed by another Modi YK, who investigated the Gujarat Riots & Haren Pandyas assassination. In YKs care, the case is as good as dead, Mr Gandhi wrote on Twitter, adding the hashtag #WhoWantsTerroristDavinderSilenced And why?? Mr Gandhi was referring to NIA chief Yogesh Chander Modi. Police had arrested DSP Singh at Mir Bazar in Kulgam district of south Kashmir along with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists Naveed Baba and Altaf, besides an unidentified lawyer who was working as an over ground worker for terror outfits. Mr Gandhi had, on Thursday, questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah on DSP Davinder Singh, and asked who was providing the officer protection and why. On Thursday, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had demanded a thorough investigation saying DSP Davinder Singhs arrest raises disturbing questions critical to Indias national security. It seems rather odd that he not only evaded detection but was entrusted with extremely sensitive duties like escorting foreign envoys to J&K under the prevailing circumstances, Ms Gandhi tweeted, and then asked under whose order he was working. A full investigation must be made. Helping terrorists plan attacks on India is treason, she tweeted. Apart from Ms Gandhi, Congress chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala had also asked the Centre about Davinder Singh and his connection with Hizbul and other Jammu & Kashmir terror groups. Vodafone Idea, reeling under massive debt of around Rs 1.17 lakh crore, had earlier cited acute financial stress on the company behind the decision to raise mobile call and data charges New Delhi: Debt-ridden telecom firm Vodafone Idea on Thursday said it is exploring further options, including filing of a curative petition after the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed its review plea on AGR matter. The apex court dismissed the plea of telecom majors, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, seeking review of certain directions of the apex court on recovery of past dues amounting to Rs 1.47 lakh crore from telecom service providers, according to a PTI report. "...we wish to inform you that Hon'ble Supreme Court, has dismissed the review petition filed by the Company and other telecom operators. The Company is exploring further options, including filing of a Curative Petition," Vodafone Idea said in a stock exchange filing. Vodafone Idea, reeling under massive debt of around Rs 1.17 lakh crore, had earlier cited acute financial stress on the company behind the decision to raise mobile call and data charges. According to an internal estimate prepared by Department of Telecom (DoT), total dues on the telecom service providers arising out of SC order are around Rs 1.33 lakh crore. As per DoT's estimate, the liability of Bharti Airtel Group is Rs 62,187.73 crore, Vodafone Idea Rs 54,183.9 crore and BSNL and MTNL Rs 10,675.18 crore. Airtel, Vodafone dues In July, the Centre had told the apex court that leading private telecom firms like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and state-owned MTNL and BSNL have pending licence fee outstanding of over Rs 92,000 crore till date. Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and state-owned MTNL and BSNL have pending licence fee outstanding of over Rs 92,000 crore till date, the Centre had told the Supreme Court earlier. In an affidavit filed in the top court, Department of Telecom (DoT) said that as per calculations, Airtel owes Rs 21,682.13 crore as licence fee to the government. Dues from Vodafone totalled Rs 19,823.71 crore while Reliance Communications owed a total of Rs 16,456.47 crore, DoT said. BSNL owed Rs 2,098.72 crore while MTNL owed Rs 2,537.48 crore, it said. The total amount which has to be recovered from all the telecom firms accrues to Rs 92,641.61 crore as on date, it said. New telecom policy and AGR As per the New Telecom Policy, telecom licensees are required to share a percentage of their Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) with the government as annual License Fee (LF). In addition, mobile telephone operators were also required to pay Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) for the use of radio frequency spectrum allotted to them. Telecom operators had moved the top court against the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal's (TDSAT) order which ruled that certain non-telecom revenues like rent, profit on sale of fixed assets, dividend and treasury income would be counted as adjusted gross revenue (AGR), on which licence fee would have to be paid to the government. The TDSAT order had exempted a large number of streams from the definition of AGR, like capital receipts, bad debt, distribution margins to dealers, forex fluctuations, sale of scrap and waiver of late fee. The telecom tribunal also said revenue from non-core sources such as rent, profit on sale of fixed assets, dividend, interest and miscellaneous income must be included while computing a carrier's AGR, dealing a setback to telecom operators who would have to shell out more towards licence and spectrum usage fees. ---With inputs from agencies The US deputy ambassador to the United Nations Cherith Norman has called for a new approach to address the growing instability in Mali. Norman has called on Wednesday the Security Council to reduce the size of the 15,000 strong peacekeeping force in Mali. According to her, it was time to recognize that peacekeeping missions were not the answer to growing terrorist threats in Mali. The deputy ambassador criticized both the government and armed groups for failing to implement a 2015 peace deal. She called on the Security Council to develop a new approach that disrupts the status quo by June, when the peacekeeping missions mandate comes up for renewal. Russia and France have both expressed their deep disagreement with the American proposal to redefine the prerogatives of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali. Before the Security Council meeting, the French ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, had told the media that MINUSMA remained a very important tool. We will continue to need it and support it, he added. For his part, the Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Dmitri Polianski, categorically rejected before the Council the American request relating to MINUSMA. We are not prepared to examine options for a serious revision of its operating parameters or for the reduction of its presence, he insisted. Speaking on behalf of the three African members of the Security Council, Nigers ambassador Abdou Abarry hailed the progress made in Mali and made an appeal to bilateral and multilateral partners to reinforce their support for the government of Mali in implementing the peace accord. Washington, which is considering reducing its own military presence in Africa, has been regularly questioning the usefulness of the UN peacekeeping mission to Mali, known as Minusma, since 2018. The 15,000 UN Blue Helmets in Mali have an annual budget of over one billion dollars and have been deployed in Mali since 2013. In recent years, militants linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State have strengthened their foothold in the north-central region of Africa, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso. France, which is leading the international military effort against Islamist militants in the Sahel region, has been calling for more countries to commit troops and resources to address the growing insecurity there. John Higgins arrived at Alexandra Palace looking to claim a third Masters title John Higgins castigated himself for a weak performance as he crashed out of the Masters quarter-finals, beaten 6-3 by Ali Carter. In an attritional match, Carter dug in repeatedly to grind out his first five, before loosening up to seal it with a flowing break at the death. And Higgins - a two-time champion in the competition and one of the favourites at Alexandra Palace this year - was thoroughly deflated after being beaten by outsider Carter, who was only called up to the tournament after Ronnie OSullivans withdrawal. I tried to blag it for a couple of frames, going quick, but it was a poor game. It wasnt enjoyable at all, said Higgins. I probably dragged Ali down. He was playing good safety, keeping me tight. My safety was all over the place. It was similar to my game against (Yao) Bingtao at the UK in the quarters - non-existent. I felt okay but played a weak shot in the yellow to try and bounce off for the green. It was a weak shot and then I didnt get a good contact on the green, but I shouldnt have been anywhere near hitting it as thin as I should have been. It was just a weak performance, simple as that. Despite all the hype around Higgins, it was Carter who wrapped up the first two frames as the pair set the tone for a gritty affair. The Wizard of Wishaw eventually got on the board in the third thanks in part to a break of 54, as he looked to push on. And he took a 46-point lead in the fourth, but could not wrap things up as a mistake on the brown allowed Carter to open up a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval. Carter ground out an epic fifth after the break, eventually keeping Higgins in his seat after a 37-minute frame. Higgins sparked next up, making a scintillating break of 140 to re-ignite his chances, following that up with a 73 in the next to get back to within one. There was controversy in the eighth when Carter claimed to have hit a yellow it appeared he had missed, and the called foul was overturned. Story continues Carter then cleared the crucial colours and settled a 47-minute frame to go within one of victory. And the 40-year-old was first into the balls in the ninth, and made no mistake as he set up a Saturday semi-final against Shaun Murphy. Watch the London Masters LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with analysis from Ronnie O'Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds. Some of the most disturbing and clarifying information Parnas has provided since turning on Trump involves the administrations fixation on Marie Yovanovitch, the former American ambassador to Ukraine. Its true that people around Trump saw her as an obstacle to getting Ukraines government to open a politically motivated investigation into Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, but that doesnt quite explain the scale of the animosity toward her. Trump didnt just fire her. He told Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, that she was going to go through some things. We learned this week that Robert Hyde, a deranged Trumpworld hanger-on and Republican congressional candidate, sent a series of messages to Parnas suggesting he was stalking Yovanovitch. (Ukraine has opened an investigation into Hydes activity, and on Thursday he was visited by the F.B.I.) A lawyer and Fox News regular named Victoria Toensing who has represented a Kremlin-aligned Ukrainian oligarch who is, according to the Justice Department, an upper-echelon associate of Russian organized crime figures texted Giuliani saying, Is there absolute commitment for her to be gone this week? Why the obsession with Yovanovitch? Parnas added to the evidence that when it came to Yovanovitch, Trump and his crew willingly allowed themselves to be manipulated by Yuri Lutsenko, a disgraced former chief prosecutor of Ukraine who loathed her for her anti-corruption work. (As the State Department official George Kent said during the impeachment hearings, you cant fight corruption without pissing off corrupt people.) In WhatsApp messages to Parnas, Lutsenko expressed fury that Yovanovitch hadnt been fired yet. He spoke of all hed done to push the spurious Biden scandal, adding, And yet you cant even get rid of one fool. In that text message to you, Maddow asked on Thursday, is Mr. Lutsenko saying, in effect, listen, if you want me to make these Biden allegations, youre going to have to get rid of this ambassador? Parnas replied: Absolutely. Absolutely. A few months ago, I wrote a column arguing that when it comes to Ukraine, Trump is at once a con man and a mark, and the information Parnas has provided backs this up. Having promised Lutsenko that hed get Yovanovitch fired, Parnas told Trump, falsely, that Yovanovitch had bad-mouthed him. His text messages show that he pushed Donald Trump Jr. to tweet about her. Parnas was the vehicle through which a dirty Ukrainian politician pulled Trumps strings to take revenge on an American official whod tried to uphold the rule of law. She was threatened, smeared and fired in part because Trump is easily influenced by the goons and bottom feeders in his orbit. By going public, Parnas has probably done nothing to sway Republicans toward removing Trump from office, not because they dont believe him, but because they know Trump did what hes accused of and dont care. Writing to Politicos John F. Harris, a Trump supporter recently described the president as our O.J., an apt analogy for Republicans vengeful determination to give a guilty man impunity. (As it happens, Trump will be represented by one of O.J. Simpsons old lawyers, Alan Dershowitz, at his Senate trial.) Shortly after the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution by voice vote against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday said his government like Kerala will approach the Supreme Court on the issue. He said the Centre will have to make the necessary amendments to the CAA if it has to be implemented in Punjab and other states opposing the legislation. "Like Kerala, our government will also approach the Supreme Court on the issue," Singh told reporters in an informal chat outside the state Assembly. In response to a question, the chief minister made it clear that the Census 2021 will be conducted on the old parameters in Punjab. The new factors added by the Centre for the purpose of the National Population Register (NPR) will not be included, he added. The Punjab Assembly passed the resolution by voice vote against the CAA, the second state after Kerala to do so. The resolution moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra was passed after over three hours of discussion. While the ruling Congress and the main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supported the resolution, the BJP opposed it. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) sought inclusion of Muslims in the list of communities that could be granted citizenship under the amended law. The CAA provides for granting citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014, from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It excludes members of the Muslim community. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indonesia will appoint state financial firm PT Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia as a holding company for state insurers to improve their finances, a deputy minister said on Thursday, as the government puts together a rescue plan for a second troubled insurer. The holding company will help pool cash flows among state insurers and may potentially help raise funds by seeking strategic partners, the Cabinet Secretariat said in a statement on its website. The move comes as the government plans to restructure life insurer PT Asuransi Jiwasraya after customers, who claim to be owed 16.42 trillion rupiah ($1.20 billion) for maturing bancassurances savings, pressed authorities for an urgent solution. Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for further reform still of the insurance and pensions sector. Insurance and pension funds need reform, Widodo said during an industry event in Jakarta. Improvements, be it on the regulatory side, or supervisory or even in capital requirements, are all important, he said, noting this was not just because of the Jiwasraya case. Jiwasraya is the second major Indonesian life insurer to run into financial trouble after Bumiputera, which has been in a restructuring process since 2013 following mounting claim liabilities. The two are among the countrys oldest insurers, formed over a century ago under Dutch colonial rule, and together have millions of policyholders. Deputy State-Owned Enterprises Minister Kartika Wirjoatmodjo told reporters that Bahana would be the holding company. From that holding there will be cashflow of 1.5 trillion to 2 trillion rupiah, Erick Thohir, State-Owned Enterprise Minister, said in the statement on the Cabinet Secretariats website. Jiwasraya, which has been put under watch by the Financial Services Authoritys (OJK), needs a 32.9 trillion rupiah ($2.4 billion) injection to boost its risk-based capital ratio to a minimum requirement of 120%, according to company documents submitted to parliament. The insurers short-term cash needs to pay interest, maturing policies and other liabilities until the end of 2020 amount to 16.13 trillion rupiah, while it had only 530 billion rupiah of current assets as of September, according to the documents. Prosecutors said last month that they believed they had found evidence of fraud at Jiwasraya and Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin said prosecutors had found Jiwasrayas former management had put nearly its entire portfolio in the stock market and mutual funds in assets with poor returns. Jiwasraya President Director Hexana Tri Sasongko said after prosecutors disclosures last month: We respect the legal process and direct all matters related to this [investigation] to shareholders and law enforcement officials. ($1 = 13,625.0000 rupiah) (Reporting by Maikel Jefriando; writing by Fransiska Nangoy; editing by Susan Fenton) Photograph: Traffic jam through Sudirman street during rush hour in Central Jakarta, Indonesia, on Friday, May 10, 2019. Photographer: Muhammad Fadli/Bloomberg. Related: Topics Carriers Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2020) - Fremont Gold Ltd. (TSXV: FRE) (FSE: FR2) (OTC Pink: USTDF) ("Fremont" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a consulting agreement with G2 Consultants Corp. ("G2"), a financial public relations firm, to increase Fremont's profile within the financial community. "I worked with G2 when I was a member of Canplats Resources Corporation's senior management team," said Blaine Monaghan, CEO of Fremont. "After the discovery of the Camino Rojo gold deposit, Canplats was acquired by Goldcorp Inc. in a deal worth more than CAD$300 million. G2 provided financial public relations services to Canplats from prediscovery until it was acquired by Goldcorp Inc. Based on my experience, I know that G2 can assist Fremont grow its audience as we ready the Griffon gold project for drilling. The drill program is fully funded and is expected to commence sometime this June. Griffon has not seen any drilling since the late '90s." G2 is a financial public relations firm that assists public companies achieve their marketplace objectives. G2's services include strategic consulting, message development, investor targeting, investor outreach, investor feedback, investor conferences and road shows. G2 has been retained for a term of six months at a monthly fee of $5,000 per month. The consulting agreement with G2 is subject to acceptance for filing by the TSX Venture Exchange. Griffon gold project Griffon is a past-producing gold mine located at the southern end of the Cortez Trend, approximately 75 kilometres southwest of Ely, and is accessed via paved highway and forest service roads. Mineralization at Griffon is Carlin-type and is comparable to the mineralization found at the Emigrant/Rain mine and the Alligator Ridge mine (incorporated into Kinross Gold Corporation's Bald Mountain mine in the mid-1990s). Griffon was first drilled in 1988 and a limited amount of shallow drilling (214 drill holes in total) focused on delineating the Discovery Ridge and Hammer Ridge deposits, leaving the remainder of the property essentially untested. From 1997-1999, Alta Gold Co. ("Alta") produced approximately 90,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 1.03 grams/tonne gold from Discovery Ridge and Hammer Ridge in an oxide heap-leach operation. Alta reported a number of unmined drill intercepts to the southwest of Hammer Ridge, including drill hole GR97-175 which returned 57.9 metres at 0.86 g/t gold, and proposed expanding Hammer Ridge before operations ceased. Griffon hosts numerous gravity, soil and stratigraphic targets. The Pilot Shale horizon - the primary gold host at Fiore Gold Ltd.'s nearby Pan Mine - has not been adequately tested, and the Joana/Chainman transitional horizon, which hosts gold at Griffon, may be concealed underneath and within the Blackrock fault. Lastly, there is also potential in and around the pits, as demonstrated by drill hole GR97-175. Underexplored and last drilled in the 1990s, Griffon offers multiple opportunities for the discovery of a Carlin-type gold deposit. Qualified person The content of this news release was reviewed by Dennis Moore, Fremont's President, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Fremont Fremont's mine-finding management team has assembled a portfolio of high-quality Nevada gold projects with the goal of making a new discovery. The Company's flagship project is the past-producing Griffon gold project, located at the southern end of the Cortez Trend. Fremont's other projects include Cobb Creek, North Carlin, Goldrun, and Hurricane. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Blaine Monaghan" Blaine Monaghan CEO Fremont Gold Ltd. For further information, contact: Corporate Information Fremont Gold Ltd. Blaine Monaghan, CEO Telephone: +1 604-676-5664 www.fremontgold.net https://twitter.com/GoldFremont https://www.linkedin.com/company/fremont-gold/ Investor Relations Inquiries G2 Consultants Telephone: +1 604-353-3557 Email: ir@fremontgold.net Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward looking statements Certain statements and information contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, which are referred to collectively as "forward-looking statements". The United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements and information regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that are based upon assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action. All statements and information other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "seek", "expect", "anticipate", "budget", "plan", "estimate", "continue", "forecast", "intend", "believe", "predict", "potential", "target", "may", "could", "would", "might", "will", "hope", "will be", "expected" and similar words or phrases (including negative variations) suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking statements in this and other press releases include but are not limited to the potential for the discovery of a Carlin-type deposits and the anticipated start date of the drill program at Griffon. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Fremont undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this press release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/53454 How climate change influenced Australia's unprecedented fires Posted on 18 January 2020 by dana1981 This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections, and has been adapted into a new myth rebuttal on climate-wildfire connections with the short URL sks.to/wildfires Australias frightening bushfires, which kicked off an early fire season in September 2019, have already had cataclysmic effects, and the continent is still just in the early months of the southern hemispheres summer. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has described the bushfires as unprecedented in size and scale, having burned more than 46 million acres (18.6 million hectares), killed at least 29 people, and destroyed more than 2,200 homes.* Parts of Australia have had the worst air quality in the world. The air quality in Sydney has literally been alarming, having set off smoke alarms in buildings throughout the citys central business district and exceeded hazardous levels for more than 30 days. Military assets have been deployed in response to the fires at a scale not seen since World War II. Researchers estimate that more than a billion animals have been killed. Several species will likely be pushed to extinction. The conditions and climate change-wildfire connections in Australia have been strikingly similar to those amplifying Californias record 2018 wildfire season, but on a much larger scale. Scientific unknowns remain regarding some of those connections, but others are a straightforward result of physics more heat creates more wildfire fuel. The politics and climate policy environment down under, on the other hand, more closely bring to mind those at the national level in the U.S. than to the situation in California. How climate change exacerbated Australian and Californian fires Despite widespread conspiracy theories about the bushfires, emerging science continues to find links between global warming and worsening wildfires, with the issue a focus of continuing investigation. As climate scientist Kevin Trenberth explained in a recent interview with videographer Peter Sinclair, global warming directly intensifies wildfires by drying out soil and vegetation, creating more fuel to burn farther and faster. Thats particularly a problem in drought-prone regions like Australia and California. The Millennium drought in southeastern Australia from 1997 to 2009 was the driest 13-year period on record, according to a report by Australias Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The drought was broken by Australias two wettest periods on record in 2010 and 2011, but then came yet another intense drought from 2017 to the present. In fact, 2018 and 2019 were Australias hottest and driest years on record. On December 18, the continent had its hottest day on record, with an average high temperature of 107.4 degrees F. California experienced a similar weather whiplash, swinging from record-breaking drought in 20122016 to a very wet rainy season in 20172018. That combination generated growth of new plants that were subsequently dried out by record heat, creating fuel for the states record 2018 wildfire season. Californias drought was made worse by a persistent high-pressure system off the coast known as the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge. That high-pressure ridge diverted storm systems to Californias north, leading to years of low precipitation. Researchers have suggested that climate change may cause such blocking systems to form more frequently. A 2018 study led by UCLAs Daniel Swain found that as temperatures continue to rise, California will see a shift to less precipitation in the spring and fall and more in the winter, lengthening the wildfire season. The situation in Australia is again strikingly similar to that in California. Researchers have shown that global warming is expanding an atmospheric circulation pattern known as the Hadley cell. This circulation is caused by hot air at the equator rising and spreading toward the poles, where it begins to cool and descend, forming high pressure ridges. In Australia, this process creates whats known as the subtropical ridge, which as CSIRO notes, has become more intense as a result of global warming expanding the Hadley cell circulation. A 2014 study, CSIROs David Post and colleagues reported that stronger high-pressure ridges have been decreasing rainfall in southeastern Australia in the autumn and winter. The significance? The lack of rainfall creates more dry fuel for fires and lengthens the bushfire season. Based on this scientific research, the latest IPCC report found in 2014 that fire weather is projected to increase in most of southern Australia, with days experiencing very high and extreme fire danger increasing 5-100% by 2050. And a 2015 CSIRO report concluded, Extreme fire weather days have increased at 24 out of 38 Australian sites from 1973-2010, due to warmer and drier conditions [forest fire danger index] increase across southeast Australia is characterised by an extension of the fire season further into spring and autumn partly driven by temperature increases that are attributable to climate change. Australia has among the worlds worst climate policies According to the Climate Change Performance Index created by environmental groups, Australia is 56th out of 61 countries evaluated. In the category of climate policy, Australia comes in dead last with a score of zero because experts observe that the newly elected government has continued to worsen performance at both national and international levels. In 2014, the Liberal Party (which, confusingly, is politically conservative by U.S. measures) became the first in the world to repeal a carbon tax. Echoing an approach taken by Oklahomas U.S. Senator James Inhofe on the floor of the Senate in 2015, Australias current Liberal Party Prime Minister Scott Morrison brought a lump of coal to the floor of the Australian House of Representatives in 2017. The countrys climate negotiators were accused of sabotaging the international climate agreement in Madrid in 2019, as they tried to use old carry-over carbon credits from the Kyoto Protocol to meet current climate goals. Australia is the worlds leading exporter of coal and the second-largest producer and exporter of liquid natural gas, and the government recently proposed opening new coal mines and ports in what would be one of the worlds largest fossil fuel expansions. According to a recent report produced by the United Nations Environment Programme, Australias fossil fuel extraction-based emissions will nearly double from 2005 to 2030. In November, the Swedish central bank divested from Australian government bonds because of the countrys high emissions. Despite all this, as record bushfires continue to rage, Liberal Party leaders have maintained their position that Australia does not need stronger climate policies. In short, as the countrys citizens and many visitors get a glimpse at its potentially dystopian future of worsening droughts and bushfires, its political leaders are doing everything they can to increase the fossil fuel extraction and combustion that experts conclude are exacerbating these extreme events. If the Paris climate goals are exceeded, the current record Australian temperatures will become the norm for the country. The public appears increasingly concerned: In a November Guardian Essential poll, 60% of Australian voters said the government should do more to reduce risks posed by the warming climate, and this concern has been clear in U.S. network and cable TV coverage of Australian citizens reactions to the fires. But Morrison and his Liberal party nonetheless prevailed in the last federal election in May 2019, and barring an early dissolution, they wont face re-election until 2022. Former Kazakh Minister Accused In Deadly Protests Named Head Of State Guard Service By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service January 16, 2020 NUR-SULTAN -- Former Kazakh Interior Minister Qalmukhanbet Qasymov, whom rights defenders accuse of ordering police to open fire at a protest by oil workers, has become the chief of the Central Asian nation's State Guard Service. President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev appointed Qasymov, a presidential aide and the secretary of the Security Council, to the new post on January 16, the presidential press service said. Qasymov led the Interior Ministry for eight years before he became the Security Council's secretary last February, just weeks before President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who led Kazakhstan for almost three decades, suddenly announced his resignation and picked Toqaev as his replacement. Toqaev, 66, was inaugurated as Kazakhstan's new president in June after an election that was marred by what international observers called "widespread voting irregularities." Despite stepping down, Nazarbaev, 79, continues to control social, economic, and political spheres by leading the ruling Nur-Otan party and the influential Security Council. He holds the title of elbasy, or leader of the nation, which also gives him wide privileges, including lifetime immunity from prosecution. Qasymov was harshly criticized by human rights defenders and civil right activists after police killed at least 16 people at the oil workers' protests in December 2011 in the southwestern town of Zhanaozen. The State Guard Service is a state body that directly reports to the president. Its main duty is to provide security for both the country's president and Nazarbaev. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/former-kazakh-minister- accused-in-deadly-protests-named-head-of -state-guard-service/30381172.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 Chandigarh, Jan 17 : After Kerala, Punjab on Friday became the second state to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The Congress-ruled government moved the resolution in the Assembly that got the support of the main opposition AAP. However, the Shriomani Akali Dal (SAD), an alliance partner of the BJP in the state, opposed the resolution, but protested against not inclusion of the Muslims under the CAA. The resolution was moved by Local Bodies and Parliamentary affairs minister Brahm Mohindra on the last day of the two-day special session. He favoured doing away with the CAA, saying it was "against secular valuesa. AAP legislator Aman Arora said the law was enacted to divert attention from "bigger issues", while SAD's Sharanjit Dhillon said that the Muslims should not be left out under the CAA. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh the issue of CAA had shaken the entire country. "What is happening in this country? We need to learn from history. In the 1930s, the same happened in Europe. First, they were against Communists, then they were against Jews. This is religious cleansing," said the Chief Minister. He said that there was an attempt to "change the secular fabric of this country". Slamming his rivals the SAD, he said "the Akalis have forgotten the teachings of even Guru Nanak while supporting CAA." He said he would gift Hitler's memoir 'Mein Kampf' to all the Akalis so that they would know how fascist ideology is being implemented. According to the resolution, the CAA enacted by Parliament has caused "countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country". "The CAA seeks to negate the very secular fabric on which the Constitution of India is based. It is divisive and stands for everything opposed to a free and fair democracy which must enshrine equality for all," it said. "Alongside the religion-based discrimination in granting citizenship, it is apprehended that the CAA is also likely to endanger the linguistic and cultural identity of some sections of our people. The CAA also envisages cancellation of the registration of Overseas Citizens of India (OC) card holders, if they violate any law," it said. It said: "The CAA is aimed at distinguishing illegal migrants on the basis of religion, which is not permissible under the Constitution. It is also violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees the Right to Equality and equal protection of the laws to all persons." "In the backdrop of these facts, it is evident that the CAA violates the secular identity of India, which is the basic feature of our Constitution; therefore the House resolves to urge upon the government of India to repeal the CAA to avoid any discrimination on the basis of religion in granting citizenship and to ensure equality before law for all religious groups in India," it said. "Given the apprehensions about the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and that the National Population Register (NPR) is a prelude to the NRC designed to. Depriving section of persons from citizenship of India and implement CAA, this House further resolves that Central Government should amend the forms documentation associated with the NPR to allay such apprehension in the minds of the people and only thereafter undertake work of enumeration under NPR," the resolution added. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The United States treated 11 of its troops for symptoms of concussion after an Iranian missile attack on an Iraqi base where US forces were stationed, the US military said after initially saying no service members were hurt. The attack was retaliation for a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3 that killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. President Donald Trump and the US military had said there were no casualties after the strike on the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq and a facility in its northern Kurdish region. "While no US service members were killed in the January 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement. As a measure of caution, some service members were taken to US facilities in Germany or Kuwait for "follow-on screening," he added. "When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq." As many as 1,500 Americans were deployed at the vast base deep in Iraq's Anbar desert. 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NNIT will remain responsible for the operation and development of the PharmaNet system, which is the backbone of the daily customer service and financial management at more than 365 pharmacy units across Denmark. NNIT took over responsibility for the system in 2007. The pharmacist needs an IT backbone that supports the stable, daily operations of a very complicated system. Meanwhile, we have great demands for the digitalization of the whole business area. It is therefore paramount for the Association of Danish Pharmacies to offer our members a system, which is continually adapted to their needs and the tough regulatory requirements," says Anders Kretzschmar, CEO of Association of Danish Pharmacies. "Over the past twelve years NNIT has adjusted their services to our needs and they continue to create value for our business, so we are pleased to continue our collaboration with them." Association of Danish Pharmacies has decided to retain its partnership with NNIT regarding on-site development, maintenance, help desk and support for the pharmacies, as well as the underlying operation of PharmaNet. The system is used for customer service and financial management. Commenting on the agreement, Senior Vice President at NNIT Ricco Larsen says: Our employees across the whole organization are very happy that NNIT once again extends the agreement with the Association of Danish Pharmacies extend. When a client accepts to extend the collaboration upon twelve years of collaboration it is an acknowledgement of our teams ability to create value for them in line with their needs. We are very proud of this achievement. The association of Danish Pharmacies and NNIT last agreed to extend the collaboration in June 2015. This agreement has now been extended with an additional four years. The new contract represents a moderate three-digit million DKK turnover over four years. ******** More information Helga Heyn, NNIT Communications, +45 30 77 81 41, hhey@nnit.com About NNIT NNIT is an international consultancy in the development, implementation, validation and operation of IT for the life sciences industry and the Danish private and public sector. We create value for our clients by treating their IT as if it was our own, and of course, we meet the industrys strictest regulatory requirements. We apply the latest advances in technology to make our clients software, business processes and communication more effective. NNIT A/S has more than 3,200 employees. For more information please visit www.nnit.com . About Danish Association of Pharmacies https://www.apotekerforeningen.dk/ Attachment A screengrab from The Online Citizen's interview with Mohan. (Video screengrab) SINGAPORE The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has refuted allegations made by a Singaporean man claiming to have been extradited to Malaysia without due process following his arrest in 2015. Responding to media queries on Friday (17 January), the SPF said the handover of Mohan Rajangam, 50, to the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) was done in accordance with the legal framework in our legislation and also shared details of the events leading up to his arrest. SPF said it was necessary in the public interest to issue a statement as there had been widespread, erroneous assumptions on what happened in this case. In an article posted on 7 January, socio-political website The Online Citizen shared an interview it conducted with Mohan, during which he raised several issues surrounding his arrest and his subsequent treatment by the Malaysian authorities. Among his claims, Mohan said he had been held by the Singapore police without representation for over 48 hours following his arrest and that his family had not been informed of his whereabouts or condition during this time. He also claimed that he had been held in Penang for four months during an investigation into an alleged murder during which he received no help from Singapores Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was left to make his own way back to Singapore after his release from custody. Mohan has since applied to a High Court for a criminal revision concerning his extradition to Malaysia. A criminal revision allows the court to examine records of any criminal proceedings before the State Courts as well as correct any irregularities in the decisions made. Linked to Penang murder case In its clarification, SPF said the RMP had shared with it information regarding members of a Malaysian organised crime gang from January 2015. Through follow-up investigations, it was established that Mohan was in regular contact with these Malaysian gang members, said SPF, adding that both police forces continued to monitor the persons involved and kept up the sharing of information. Story continues On 21 March 2015, SPF was informed that RMP officers had been involved in a shootout with members of the Mohan-linked gang. The incident led to the deaths of two gang members, one of whom was known to be in contact with Mohan. RMP later arrested three people, including a senior gang leader, at a Johor Bahru residence that was rented by Mohan. The Malaysian police then sought SPFs help in tracing and arresting Mohan on an urgent basis over his suspected involvement in the gangs drug activities and for harbouring members of the gang. Concerned over Mohans links to the gang and his involvement in violence, drugs and firearms, SPF decided to arrest him that same day. SPF noted that Mohan was informed of his suspected offences at the point of arrest and that his residence in Singapore was searched. On 23 March 2015, RMP provided SPF with an arrest warrant for Mohan over a murder case. RMPs investigations had linked the gang to a murder reported on 2 March 2015 in Georgetown, Penang. RMP was conducting investigations against Mohan for his possible involvement in the murder. The SPF added that the warrant was endorsed by a magistrate in Singapore. Mohan was then produced in the State Courts, where a magistrate directed that he be transferred to the Malaysian Court. Contrary to Mohans allegation that his family was not informed of his arrest and whereabouts, Mohans wife, mother and sister were present during the search of his residence on 21 March 2015, said SPF. In addition, SPF had contacted Mohans brother on 23 March 2015, the same day that Mohans custody was transferred to RMP, and had provided his brother with the contact details of the RMP investigation officer. SPF noted that RMP eventually decided to take no further action against Mohan and released him on 15 July 2015. Longstanding Singapore-Malaysia agreement SPF noted that the longstanding reciprocal arrangement between Singapore and Malaysia to mutually recognise and execute arrest warrants in their respective jurisdictions has enabled local law enforcement authorities to secure the return of many criminals who had fled to Malaysia after committing offences here. Between 2016 and 2019, Singapore sought assistance from the Malaysian authorities to arrest over 55 fugitives. The fugitives were involved in serious crimes such as murder, housebreaking, and commercial crimes that had caused substantial financial losses amounting to more than S$120 million, said SPF. During this period, local law enforcement authorities also helped their Malaysian counterparts in arresting and transferring custody of over 25 fugitives in Singapore who were wanted by the Malaysians. More Singapore stories: Ramesh Erramalli given 'stern warning' for harassing Whampoa condo security guard: police Thomson-East Coast Line 2 to open in later part of 2020 Last years threats occurred under NAFTA, which is the worst treaty in the history of the planet, according to him [Trump], Seade said in an interview. So now were going to have the best treaty in the world, according to him. Lithuanian English Siauliu Bankas AB, company code 112025254, address of the head office Tilzes str. 149, Siauliai, Lithuania. Siauliu bankas AB has received the notification of manager on transactions in securities issued by the bank (see attachment). Director of Securities Accounting Department Jolanta Dobiliauskiene is authorized by the Issuer to provide additional information and is available on tel.: +370 41 595669. Attachment The prime minister addressed the recently leaked audio recording of his meeting with government officials, which he called tailored. Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk on Friday, January 17, announced resignation. Honcharuk emphasized that he had come to the post to carry out the president's program since he is "a model of openness and decency." "However, in order to remove any doubts about our respect and trust in the president, I wrote a letter of resignation and submitted it to the president who can submit it to parliament," he wrote on Facebook. "He is a man to whom Ukrainians have expressed unprecedented confidence. And he has every right to evaluate the effectiveness of each member of his team that is changing the country," the prime minister said. The prime minister addressed the recently leaked audio recordings. "In recent days, all of you have witnessed events unfolding around leaked files assembled from fragments of government meeting recordings. Their content artificially creates the impression that my team and I do not respect the president, who is our political leader," he added. Creating such an impression is "beneficial to many influence groups that seek access to financial flows," Honcharuk stated, adding that "this is not true." Honcharuk also said the government had prepared a serious foundation for the country's development in 2020, and listed the main areas. "1. Next week we are launching the first state-owned online service package that will make people's lives easier from now on. This is the first step, which is by no means the last. 2. From February 1, an affordable lending program for entrepreneurs will be launched at 5/7/9%, and our goal is mortgage at 11-12% effective starting this autumn. 3. From March 1, we will launch our Big Construction program, which will allow repairing and building over 4,000 km of roads, ensuring quality upgrade of 100 schools, 100 kindergartens, 100 stadiums, and 200 emergency rooms. 4. We have adopted a healthcare guarantee program. From April 1, the government will fully compensate for the cost of childbirth, treatment of stroke, heart attack. We expanded the Affordable Medicine program, which now includes insulin. 5. We have prepared to launch privatization of over 500 unprofitable non-strategic enterprises, and this adds about UAH 12 billion (US$495.8 million) to the state budget. 6. The government will no longer overpay for external and internal obligations. Over the past month, we have attracted resources at 2.22% in euros and 9.88% in hryvnias. This is the best indicator for the last 10 years and an important factor for the growth of the entire economy," Honcharuk said. According to the prime minister, "segment by segment, market by market we are gradually restarting the entire economy." Honcharuk says the main challenge is that the government must finally overcome corruption in the public sector. "As for our team, I'll say frankly: this is a team of decent people. That is why I won't stop repeating this message: there's no corruption at the top government level. If any manifestations remained in place at lower levels, it was only because we hadn't yet managed to get to them," Honcharuk said. He regretted that it was rather difficult to destroy within a few months those criminal schemes that had been built for decades. "The main thing is that we don't have the right to stop, and we won't stop, no matter how much our opponents, who used to dwell in the shade, would want us to. Therefore, they use every opportunity to destroy people's trust in government," the prime minister said. Read alsoPM Honcharuk on leaked audio recordings allegedly with his voice: "You do not scare us" The President's Office Friday morning said Volodymyr Zelensky would consider the resignation letter. The decision will be announced separately. Today Irans supreme leader Ali Khamenei gave his first Friday sermon in Tehran for eight years to an audience of thousands, as he tried to calm down the furious public reaction to the Revolutionary Guards mistakenly shooting down a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers, then proceeding to lie about their responsibility for three days. Khameinei spoke of the cowardly killing of General Qassem Soleimani by the US, of President Trump using the destruction of the plane to push a poison dagger into the backs of the Iranian people. Rhetorical flourishes like this are not going do him a lot of good with critics who see the shootdown as epitomising the incompetence, duplicity and division of his government. But the nature of the crisis differs markedly from the way it is being portrayed abroad. For more has gone wrong than a series of blunders. Obscured amid the plaudits and denunciations directed at Soleimani and Khamenei is the fact that both mens policies in the Middle East had become counterproductive. Over the last four years, Iran has had great success in spreading its influence in countries with large Shia populations. But it has failed to consolidate the status quo it played such a large role in creating. The Iranians are good at gathering cards, but not at playing them, is an old saying in the region. Despite Iranian successes in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, the power structure in all three countries is rickety and prone to crises. Over the last four months, Iraq, Lebanon and Iran have been rocked by mass protest, while Syria is in the final throes of civil war. Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Show all 23 1 /23 Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather in front of Amir Kabir University AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranians demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of the Ukraine Boeing 737 crash in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans during a gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University - People hold flowers as tear gas fired by police rises Online videos purported to show that Iranian security forces fired both live ammunition and tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting against the Islamic Republic's initial denial that it shot down a Ukrainian jetliner AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University AFP correspondents said hundreds of students had gathered early in the evening to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster ISNA/AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian protester prepares to throw a tear gas canister back at police AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University A protester confronts an Iranian police officer AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gathe AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranians light candles for victims EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran People burn British and Israeli flags during a protest in front of the British embassy, in Tehran. Hundreds of Iranian hardliners gathered for a protest against Britain, a day after the UK ambassador to Iran Robert Macaire was detained after attending a a vigil for the victims of Ukraine passenger jet EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protestBritish embassy protest in Tehran Chanting "Death to Britain", up to 200 protesters rallied outside the mission a day after the brief arrest of British ambassador Rob Macaire AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran AFP via Getty Images Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Protesters chant slogans while holding up posters of Gen. Qassem Soleimani during a demonstration in front of the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. AP Much depends on how the Iranian leadership responds in the next few months to the assassination of Soleimani, formerly their high-profile viceroy overseeing the Iranian zone of influence. They could continue to head towards a full scale US-Iran conflict or, just possibly, veer towards some sort of compromise deal. Neither side wants a war, as demonstrated by Americas belated revelation that 11 of its soldiers were injured by the Iranian ballistic missile strike on two of its bases in Iraq on 8 January. At the time, Trump had reassured the world that there were no American casualties. and therefore no need for him to retaliate. Meanwhile, Iranian paramilitaries in Iraq have been instructed not to attack US facilities in order to de-escalate the crisis. In the longer term, if Iran continues with the policies pursued by Soleimani and Khamenei, it will feel compelled to resume low-intensity warfare to provide a counterbalance to US sanctions. Before this happens, Iran will have to decide if it is going to use the elimination of Soleimani to devise a new strategies to replace those that have failed. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei weeps at Soleimani prayers Nobody watches the changing political winds in Tehran as closely as Iraqis, who know that their country is where the US-Iran struggle is being fought out. Iran is in a very critical position, says a prominent Iraqi Shia politician in Baghdad quoted in the online magazine Middle East Eye. The policy that Khamenei previously pursued in managing the Iraq file and the region is no longer successful. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard had contributed to creating problems in Iraq that turned into a burden for Iran and became an obstacle in the way of its negotiations with the United States. Discussions now taking place in Iran are about whether the Revolutionary Guards should retain the Iraq file, or be handed over to some other body, such as intelligence or the foreign ministry. Soleimanis former deputy and nominated successor as head of the Quds Force, Esmael Ghaani, has been handling Afghanistan, and is less familiar with the Middle East. Quite aside from US pressure for disengagement, it is very much in Irans interests in Iraq to take a less hands-on role, and to look to the Iraqi government and Shia political parties to drive out the US. In Syria, where Iran had orchestrated support for President Bashar al-Assad after 2011, an Iranian pullback is feasible, because Assad has largely won the war to stay in power, and since 2015, the leading role in supporting him has been taken over by Russia. Given these developments, it should be easier than it looks for Tehran and Washington to reach agreement on reducing Irans regional activism. The problem is that in Middle Eastern politics, everybody tends to overplay their hand at one time or another, usually when they come to overconfidently believe that they can put their opponent permanently out of business. The US has repeatedly fallen into this trap in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and it is all too likely to do the same in its confrontation with Iran which, whatever the two sides intentions, will remain a dangerous stalemate, always at risk of tipping into outright war. US announces new sanctions against Iran The US maximalist demands on Irans nuclear facilities, ballistic missiles and regional influence effectively mean that it wants regime change or capitulation. Both outcomes are possible; neither is likely. The Iranian leadership tends to come together when threatened, and is prepared to use any degree of force to stay in power. Western capitals have been looking expectantly for an end to the clerical regime in Tehran since the overthrow of the Shah in 1979 but to no avail. President Trump withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal in May 2018 without a coherent explanation of what was wrong with it, or what would be put in its place. Since then, both Iran and the US have carried out what could be deemed acts of war, culminating in the last few months in the Iranians attacking Saudi oil facilities, and the US assassinating Soleimani. On each occasion, both sides avoided full-scale retaliation, but this restraint rests on a knife-edge, and cannot last forever. The basis for a deal exists, but that does not mean one will materialise. The family of a woman found naked and severely injured along a rail line in south Point Douglas is demanding answers and a renewed investigation from Winnipeg police. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The family of a woman found naked and severely injured along a rail line in south Point Douglas is demanding answers and a renewed investigation from Winnipeg police. Jaeda Vanderwal, 22, was found Jan. 5 shortly after 9 p.m. on the tracks east of Higgins Avenue. The young woman was experiencing hypothermia, and had catastrophic injuries after being struck by two trains, police say. A train operator called emergency services, who took Vanderwal to hospital where she died. SUPPLIED 22 year-old Jaeda Vanderwal whose body was discovered Jan. 5, in train yard near Louise Bridge in Winnipeg. Police say Vanderwal was found naked with hypothermia and injuries related to being hit by a train. "I just want to know why and how she was there how she ended up there. Thats what I want," Vanderwals mother, Natalie Beaulieu, said Thursday during a news conference at the Winnipeg office of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. Vanderwals family criticized the Winnipeg Police Services handling of the case. Elyssa McIvor, Vandwerals aunt, said relatives have been given the runaround by both WPS and the provinces medical examiner in trying to get details about what happened that Sunday in January. McIvor said police did not ask the family about Vandwerals whereabouts that day, provided only bits and pieces of information in the days following her death, and did not allow relatives to see the body. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Gate to the rail yards near the Louise Bridge where twenty-two year old Jaeda Vanderwal was found eleven days ago in Winnipeg. Police say Vanderwal was found naked with hypothermia and injuries related to being hit by a train. AMC Grand Chief Arlen Dumas said the manner in which Vanderwals family was notified of the death was also disrespectful. "Jaeda deserved better treatment from the Winnipeg police. Instead, from the beginning, she was like many of our men and women who are thought of as just another Indigenous person who had substance abuse problems that led to their untimely deaths," McIvor said. Vanderwal was remembered by family as a loving mother who was always happy, provided for her child unconditionally, and "made you laugh, even if you were crying." Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jay Murray said an investigation had determined Vanderwals death was not criminal. Investigators believe Vanderwal entered the rail line by climbing over a locked gate along Higgins Avenue, Murray said. She had left personal items, including a tablet and a jacket, outside of the fence. She was alone and walked along the tracks and around a number of vacant buildings. She returned to the tracks, where she was hit by a train and seriously injured. Police believe she removed her clothing at that time and crawled along the tracks before being hit by a second train. The train operator stopped the engine, provided first aid, and called 911, Murray said. Video footage from trains and buildings in the area have helped police determine what happened, he said, and based on tracks left in snow they believe she was walking. Paradoxical undressing, a phenomena associated with lethal hypothermia, might explain why Vanderwal removed her clothes, he said. The cause of death is blunt-force injury, Murray said, and hypothermia is a contributing factor. There is no evidence of sexual trauma, he noted, and results of a toxicology report are also outstanding. A clear timeline of the events prior to her being on the tracks and exactly when she accessed the rail line, however, has not been established by police, he said Thursday. "We've followed all the evidence that's available to us," Murray said, adding new information and evidence is welcome. "We can always reopen investigations based on new information that comes forward after." 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 last time Vanderwal was seen by family was earlier that day. Shed video chatted with her mother in the morning, and was in touch again at 3 p.m. McIvor said its extremely disturbing to her police cant account for the six hours no one heard from Vanderwal. "I am just so angry on how everything came about," Beaulieu said. "My daughter was never like this. She always let everybody know where she was." Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth has agreed to meet with Vanderwals family and AMC representatives Friday, Murray said. "Theres a series of questions that we will be bringing forward with the chief and from the assembly as to how this matter was dealt with," Dumas said. "And we require that there be further investigation and further information sought." danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca - Mwai Kibaki served in both Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Moi's administrations before he was elected Kenya's third president in 2002 - He was credited with reviving the country's economy when it was on the verge of collapse - His leadership was not all rosy as he was accused of rigging the 2007 elections denying Opposition leader Raila Odinga the elusive opportunity to be Commander in Chief - Corruption scandals also rocked his government tainting his otherwise stellar performance - Among Kibaki's most memorable achievement was provision of free primary school and subsidised secondary school education which saw many enrolled Kenyans have been left amazed by retired president Mwai Kibakis eloquent speech during his youthful days when he served in President Jomo Kenyattas Cabinet. In a viral video, Kenyas third president could be seen articulating government policies in a clear, eloquent British accent leaving netizens impressed. READ ALSO: I have been facing intimidation and threats by my political opponents - MP Babu Owino The then Finance and Development minister Mwai Kibaki at a public event in the 1970s. He was elected Kenya's head of state in 2002. Photo: Daily Nation. Source: UGC READ ALSO: William Ruto expected back in Coast region following Uhuru, Raila tour The veteran politician was speaking on the importance of family planning in Kenya in a two minute footage seen by TUKO.co.ke. The video was reportedly taken in the 70s when Kibaki was the Finance Minister. Family planning is an integral part of development planning. It is an essential part for the reason that you cannot hope to plan other forms of production if you cannot plan the production of the main resource the human beings, he said. The energetic Kibaki who was then in his 40s said the state was educating citizens at the time on the different methods of planning their families without feigning ignorance due to natural forces. We view it as an aspect of human freedom in the same way as we give people education so as to open wider horizons for them in the world the same way as you provide a farmer with greater knowledge about the seed so the person cannot be restricted in his living by ignorance and know the means of spacing children, he added. Mwai Kibaki served as Kenya's third head of state from 2002 to 2013. He was credited with reviving the economy. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Babu Owino akamatwa baada ya kumpiga risasi jamaa kwenye klabu The video excited Kenyans as they hilariously compared the speech to the ones he made when he assumed power in 2002 as the head of state. "Wow, so Kibaki was this articulate in his hey days! Impressive. We don't even see this kind of articulation in our current 12th Parliament, just perpetual peddling of petty politics at funerals. Sad that modernisation has not managed to breed a better caliber of leaders," one Charles Karanja said. Kibaki turned 88 on Friday, November 15. Photo: Daily Nation. Source: UGC "He sounded more British at that time," Tayo Films commented. "Compare that speech to kumbavu ( stupid)," another netizen Sam Bosco said. In 1974, it was about intellectual speaking but hapa 21st century ni mambo ya mavi ya kuku (in the 21st century he resorted to abuses albeit jokingly)," another Kenyan added. "I have a teacher of mine who told me that Kibaki gave them a lecture at Kenya Polytecnic in Nairobi in 1972. He knew his subject very well and he had a very good command of English," Ali Mohamed noted. "Vintage Kibaki. I used to go to Parliament just to hear him debating and what an orator he was. Eloquent, witty and persuasive," Chege Gatibui said. "I cant believe he is the one speaking, He was quite young here. Had family planning in Kenya been done successfully that time , Kenya would be a better place now - Meshack Kirui." The former Othaya MP was elected as Kenya's third head of state in 2002 replacing Daniel Moi who had served for a record 24 years. Kibaki was credited for reviving the country's economy at a time when it was on the verge of collapse following years of plunder by the Moi regime. His leadership was, however, not all rosy as he was accused of rigging the 2007 elections and denying Opposition leader Raila Odinga the elusive opportunity to be president. Grand corruption scandals also rocked his government tainting his otherwise stellar performance. Among Kibaki's most memorable achievement was provision of free primary school and subsidised secondary schools education which saw many enrolled. 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. The graduate who chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV | Inspire Kenya Source: TUKO.co.ke Russian Lawmakers, As Expected, Approve Putin's Choice For PM By RFE/RL's Russian Service January 16, 2020 Russian lawmakers overwhelmingly approved President Vladimir Putin's nominee for prime minister as part of his surprise overhaul of the country's political system. Mikhail Mishustin, the little-known tax chief who Putin handpicked to succeed Dmitry Medvedev, was approved by 383 deputies in the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, while 41 deputies abstained in the January 16 vote. Medvedev and his cabinet resigned a day earlier after Putin used his annual state-of-the-nation speech to call for a referendum on substantial constitutional amendments that he said would strengthen parliament's powers. The surprise constitutional shakeup could also help keep Putin, who has ruled Russia for more than two decades, in power beyond the end of his term in 2024. Mishustin told reporters after the vote that he expects to present his new cabinet in the coming days. "We have all the necessary resources to fulfill the goals set by the president," he said. "The president wants the cabinet to spearhead economic growth and help create new jobs. Raising real incomes is a priority for the government," he added. The approval was widely expected after the ruling party, United Russia, said earlier in the day that it would support Putin's choice. The party holds three-quarters of the seats in the lower house of parliament. Mishustin, 53, has worked in the government since 1998 and has been head of the Federal Tax Service since 2010. The change of government comes after a tumultuous summer that saw some of the largest protests against authorities in the two decades Putin has held power. Thousands took to the streets in Moscow and other cities to protest a lack of democratic rights and freedoms after several independent and opposition candidates were ruled out of participating in local elections in the autumn. Many ordinary Russians are also upset over deteriorating economic conditions, prompted in part by international sanctions against the country over its illegal annexation of the Crimea Peninsula in 2014 and a drop in global oil prices. "To develop further and ensure further growth of GDP, we need primarily to stimulate the growth of investment...to restore trust that has perhaps been lost between the authorities and business," Mishustin said. While noting the "huge amount of work" his administration faces, Mishustin said he would be open to "constructive criticism" and that it's "very important for us to hear what is happening" from ordinary Russians. Observers say that Putin's choice of Mishustin, who lacks any political weight, indicates that the latter will not play an independent role and that the president's dramatic speech was likely aimed at preparing the ground for 2024, when the 67-year-old must leave the presidency. Putin has occupied the president or the prime minister's job continuously since 1999 and was reelected in 2018 for a final six-year term under the current constitution. Announcing the moves in his address to Russia's Federal Assembly, Putin said the country's 1993 constitution should be amended, including giving the State Duma the right to name cabinet ministers and the prime minister, a power that currently belongs to the president. At the same time, Putin said Russia must remain a "strong presidential republic," with the president retaining powers such as the right to dismiss the prime minister and cabinet ministers, as well as naming top defense and security officials. Russia last conducted a referendum in 1993 when it adopted the constitution under Putin's predecessor Boris Yeltsin. Putin also suggested tightening the requirements for becoming president, saying any future Russian president should have lived in the country for at least 25 years and have no foreign citizenship or residency. In addition, he also talked about a constitutional change that would enshrine the priority of domestic legislation over international law. The speech came with the country still under Western sanctions for its actions in Ukraine and Syria, as well as its election meddling in the United States. The sanctions have hampered the country's economic growth, leading to rising poverty rates and growing discontent highlighted by protests last summer in Moscow. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-s-ruling-party- backs-putin-s-pm-choice-assuring -his-approval/30380508.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 prices would have further crashed had it not been for the state government including eggs in the mid-day meals and Anganwadi schemes. (Photo: Representational/Pexels) Hyderabad: Hyderabad, which has the distinction of being the highest producer of eggs, has gone on to upset farmers, with prices of the produce expected to go down further. As of now, a poultry farmer is getting a benefit of only 11 paisa per egg, points out the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC). The production of eggs has seen an all-time high, Mr Sanjeev Chintawar, NECC business manager told Deccan Chronicle. Usually, surplus eggs are exported to other states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. However, since the respective state governments are promoting their own poultry farmers, the city has ended up with surplus egg production. Since there is no one who is willing to import eggs, they are being sold at cheaper prices in the local markets, Mr Chintawar remarked. The prices would have further crashed had it not been for the state government including eggs in the mid-day meals and Anganwadi schemes. Just last week, egg prices rose to `4.62 per egg compared to `4.03 the previous week. However, with the glut in production, egg prices are expected to fall against the background of other states not importing eggs from the state. The overall state per capita consumption of eggs in the state stands at 178, close to the National Institute of Nutritions recommendation of 180. Meanwhile, chicken prices have continued to stagnate in the city, selling at `130 per kilogram. However, farmers arehopeful of prices increasing with the onset of summer, as birds are likely to be culled following illness. We're pretty sure people from other states roll their eyes when they hear us talking about how everything is bigger in Texas. But seriously, this candy is HUGE! The Mars Wrigley plant in Waco recently unveiled a Snickers bar that measures 24 inches high by 26 inches wide, and weighs more than two metric tons, according to a news release. An artist's impression of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft separating from the Falcon 9 rocket during the in-flight abort test. Editor's note: SpaceX has delayed the launch of its Crew Dragon in-flight abort test flight to Sunday, Jan. 19, at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT). Read our full story. SpaceX will launch its Crew Dragon spacecraft on a critical abort test Sunday morning (Jan. 19), and you can watch it live online. The private spaceflight company will use an expendable Falcon 9 rocket to launch the uncrewed spacecraft from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT). If the test flight, known as an in-flight abort, is successful, it will prove that the Crew Dragon has what it takes to keep onboard astronauts safe in the event of an emergency during launch. You can watch the launch live here on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, beginning at about 7:40 a.m. EST (1240 GMT). You can also watch the launch directly from SpaceX here, or from NASA here. NASA's webcast will begin at 7:45 a.m. EST (1245 GMT). Video: How SpaceX's in-flight abort Crew Dragon launch will work Related: SpaceX's Crew Dragon faces critical test for future astronaut flights Saturday This is SpaceX's second launch of the year and the second in just two weeks. The mission will also mark the third time SpaceX has flown a Falcon 9 first-stage booster for the fourth time; this booster previously hoisted the first satellite for Bangladesh, an Indonesian communications satellite, and more than 60 satellites as part of a rideshare mission. "Critical test launch before flying astronauts is green for Jan. 18," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted Jan. 11, following a successful test-firing of the Falcon 9. This test is the last major milestone SpaceX must complete before it can launch astronauts to the International Space Station. The company successfully launched an uncrewed Crew Dragon to the space station in March 2019, as part of a mission called Demo-1. That spacecraft was later destroyed during ground testing of the abort system. SpaceX made upgrades to the spacecraft to prevent such an anomaly from happening again, and then performed subsequent tests that showed the abort system was ready to be tested in flight. The Crew Dragon capsule is equipped with special abort engines that will pull the spacecraft away from its rocket if there's an anomaly during flight. In October 2018, a similar abort system on a Russian Soyuz rocket carried NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin to safety when their booster failed during flight. Related: Emergency launch abort systems of SpaceX and Boeing explained A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is perched on a Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for an in-flight abort test on Jan. 19, 2020. (Image credit: SpaceX/ Twitter Shortly after liftoff on Saturday, onboard software will intentionally trigger the spacecraft's launch-abort system midflight. That system, which comprises eight SuperDraco abort engines built into the spacecraft's hull, will pull the Crew Dragon free of its launcher before performing a parachute-aided ocean landing. A recovery vessel will be standing by to scoop up the Crew Dragon and return it to land. SpaceX is one of two commercial companies (Boeing is the other) that NASA contracted to build private space taxis to fly astronauts to and from the space station. Boeing's astronaut-toting spacecraft, called Starliner, recently completed its own orbital flight test. However, that spacecraft suffered a mission clock failure that prevented it from reaching the space station. Weather conditions are predicted to be between 50% and 40% favorable for the launch Sunday morning during the planned 4-hour window, according to the U.S. Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron, which performs weather assessments for space launches. "The primary weather concern is flight through precipitation," launch weather officer Mike McAleenan said during a prelaunch news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Friday (Jan. 17). SpaceX originally hoped to launch the mission on Saturday, but strong winds and ocean waves that could potentially impede Crew Dragon's recovery after it splashes down in the Atlantic prompted a 24-hour delay. SpaceX has a six-hour window in which to launch Crew Dragon on Sunday. The company also has another backup launch opportunity on Monday, Jan. 20 at the same time. Editor's note: This story, originally posted Jan. 17, has been updated to reflect SpaceX's launch delay. Visit Space.com for complete coverage of SpaceX's in-flight abort launch. Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook. 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. Starting off the new decade on the right foot, Austria's new government has announced the plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2040, and has affirmed its commitment to sourcing 100% of its electricity supply from renewable sources by 2030. To achieve these goals, Austria will rely on solar power more than any other renewable energy source, with a planned 11 TWh of installations by 2030. A part of this ambitious installation scheme centres on the rooftops of Austrians, with the government pledging to fit 1 million homes with solar. This is in line with SolarPower Europe's #Solar4Buildings campaign, which calls for solar to be installed on all new and renovated residential, commercial, and industrial buildings in the EU. As currently more than 90% of European rooftops are unused, fitting this space with solar offers the potential to save up to 7 million tonnes of CO2 each year, producing at least 680 TWh of renewable electricity. Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, said: "We expect to see more of this kind of bold action as the 2020s are set to be a solar decade', with EU countries increasingly opting for solar to meet the 32% renewable energy target by 2030. Our European Market Outlook shows that the EU solar market will continue to increase, breaking records for installations in both 2022 (24.3 GW) and 2023 (26.8 GW)." The father of the 23-year-old paramedic student, who was gangraped and brutally assaulted in December 2012, on Friday hoped that the men will not escape the gallows, after President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy plea of one of the four convicts. Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh, one of the four men convicted in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, sources said. The rejection came soon after the Union Home Ministry forwarded the petition to the president on Friday morning. "We are happy that the chances of them getting hanged have increased. We are assured that as soon as they file mercy pleas they will be rejected," he told PTI. He said the of the execution not happening on January 22 had disheartened them but Friday's developments have heightened their hopes. "There is a hearing at 3.30 pm at Patiala House Court and this development will have a positive impact on it. Kal jo nirasha thi woh aaj asha mein badal gayi hai (Yesterday's disappointment has turned into hope today)," he added. A Delhi court Thursday directed Tihar jail authorities to file a proper report by Friday about the status of scheduled execution of convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case. Mukesh had filed his mercy petition two days ago. The four convicts -- Mukesh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- were to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail, a Delhi court had announced on January 7 while issuing their death warrants. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Teagascs series of Forestry Advisory Clinics start next week Prior booking of a one-to-one forestry consultation is essential. To book your free consultation, please see table for contact details. Teagasc has organised a nationwide series of personalised Forestry Advisory Clinics between 20th and 30th January, promoting the establishment of forestry as a sustainable and rewarding land use on Irish farms. These clinics will be held in Teagasc offices around the country on specific dates, from 10 am to 4 pm each day, where a private and personalised one-to one consultation with an experienced forestry advisor can be arranged by appointment. Dr Nuala Ni Fhlatharta, Head of Teagascs Forestry Development Department said: Landowners consider forestry for many reasons. The Forestry Programme offers landowners and existing forest owners many options in relation to forest establishment with a range of attractive grants and annual premium categories available. She added, It is also a great opportunity for farmers to understand the requirements of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and other farm schemes before establishing a forest. These Teagasc Forestry Clinics are an ideal opportunity to flesh out the details of how forestry might work for you. A land use change to forestry, like any new farm enterprise, will raise many questions. A consultation with your Teagasc forestry advisor will provide independent and objective advice, empowering you to make informed decisions on many relevant issues including the following: Opportunities for farmers and other landowners under the Forestry Programme 2014-2020 Available grants and premiums Interaction with other farm schemes, e.g. BPS, GLAS, etc. How forestry can improve farm income and the environment How to apply and get the job done right first time Harvesting and timber sales The forestry programme also offers landowners, who are not farming, the opportunity to avail of the same annual planting premiums as farmers. These forestry clinics provide an ideal setting in which to discuss their particular situation. Although the emphasis for the upcoming clinics is on new planting; existing forest owners, regardless of what stage their forest is at, can also avail of this opportunity to pick up valuable management tips. Prior booking of a one-to-one forestry consultation is essential. To book your free consultation, please see table below for contact details. Please bring maps and other relevant information on the day to optimise the advisory experience and outcome. These clinics provide an ideal opportunity to get answers to your forestry questions dont miss it! For further details, visit www.teagasc.ie/forestryclinics or consult the table below: Table is in alphabetical order by county. Although you probably havent heard of her, Rachel Crothers was the most successful and prolific woman dramatist writing in the first part of the twentieth century. Seemingly lost to history, the Vortex Theatre has unearthed her most successful play, Susan and God, which besides being a Broadway hit in 1937, was made into a movie starring Joan Crawford and Fredric March in 1940. Its easy to see what made her, and this play in particular, such a hit: interesting characters, witty dialogue, and an engaging social problem. The play is ably directed by Lauren Dusek Albonico and performed well by its 10 actors, but what really makes the production riveting is the dynamite performance by Stephanie Grilo as Susan, capably supported by Stephen Armijo as her alcoholic husband Barrie and Amy Geores as her neglected daughter Blossom. Susan returns from Europe entranced by a new religious movement she discovered there, and she is on fire to convert everyone she encounters. Predictably, her pushy meddling only alienates her friends, as she pushes people together who have no business being together and tears people apart who are well-matched. She is not an attractive character, insufferable for much of the play. Susan is the type of religious person who characteristically repels people from religion; while not a religious hypocrite like Tartuffe, she is the next worst thing, a person who unconsciously channels her personal ambition and selfishness into a religious vocation, all the while truly believing she is being selfless and loyal to God. But it is her transformation near the plays end that makes this a most compelling drama. Susan and God is also surprisingly topical considering that it was written in a more conservative era in that it features a woman who must choose between career and family, her choice of vocation in lieu of the people who need her most showing up her religious pretensions as all the more hollow. The play is a social satire and comedy of manners, featuring characters among the wealthy jet set, and Susan is perhaps the shallowest of the bunch, at least initially. What makes this play so interesting is her sudden transformation to a genuine religious sensibility under the pressure of the pain her selfishness causes her husband and daughter. The last moment, with her arms around her family, uttering her heartfelt cry, we must dig and dig and tear the rot out of our hearts, was totally believable and quite moving. Set designer Richard Hess has crafted a charming simulacrum of upper-middle-class residence in 1939 Connecticut, ably transforming one posh living room into another for the second act. Likewise, Kevin Thornburgs costume design capably captures the insouciant lives of the east coast elite. Susan and God is the first play in a season at Vortex that will highlight important women playwrights from the 17th century to the present. If this is any indication of whats to come, it should be quite an interesting and entertaining season at the Vortex. Susan and God plays until Feb. 2, at the Vortex Theatre, 2900 Carlisle NE, Albuquerque. Go to vortexabq.org or call 247-8600 for reservations. The United States treated 11 of its troops for symptoms of concussion after an Iranian missile attack on an Iraqi base where U.S. forces were stationed, the U.S. military said on Thursday, after initially saying no service members were hurt, Reuters reported. The attack was retaliation for a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3 that killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force of Irans Revolutionary Guard. President Donald Trump and the U.S. military had said there were no casualties after the strike on the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq. While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed, Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement. As a measure of caution, some service members were taken to U.S. facilities in Germany or Kuwait for follow-on screening, he added. As many as 1,500 Americans were deployed at the vast base deep in Iraqs Anbar desert. A job at Barneys New York once represented a glimmering opportunity in a challenging retail landscape the kind of chain where sales associates might work for decades, earning competitive salaries as well as commissions, while honing expertise in fine jewelry and designer apparel. But that reality evaporated soon after Barneys filed for bankruptcy last year and liquidation specialists took over its stores. Since November, employees at Barneyss flagship at Madison Avenue and 61st Street have been in limbo, lacking basic information about the stores closing date, severance pay and their benefits. Paychecks were delayed this month after what a company email said was a cyber incident, further stressing employees, who dont know if their personal information was compromised. Many of the concerns were detailed in a letter filed on Tuesday to the judge overseeing the bankruptcy case from employees who have worked at Barneys for more than 20 years. The Government of India on Friday opened online nominations process for the Sardar Patel Unity Award. This award is the highest civilian award in the field of contribution to the unity and integrity of India. The last date for the nominations is April 30, 2020. The nominations are being received online on the Ministry of Home Affairs website https://nationalunityawards.mha.gov.in "The Government of India has instituted the award in the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Award seeks to recognise notable and inspiring contributions to promote the cause of unity and integrity and to reinforce the value of a strong and united India," said the Ministry of Home Affairs. The award is expected to be announced on the occasion of the Unity Day, that is, the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on October 31. The Award last year was conferred by the President by a Sanad under his hand and seal and presented by him at a presentation ceremony along with the Padma award presentation ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan. An Award Committee was last year constituted by the Prime Minister, which includes the Cabinet Secretary, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Secretary to the President, Home Secretary as Members and three-four eminent persons selected by the Prime Minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Judge temporarily blocks Trump executive order on refugee refusal in lawsuit by faith-based groups Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A federal judge has put a halt to an executive order that allowed local and state governments to prohibit the resettlement of refugees, siding with a coalition of faith-based charity groups. U.S. District Court Judge Peter Messitte of the District of Maryland granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday against the executive order in response to a lawsuit filed by Church World Service, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and HIAS, a Jewish group. In his decision, Messitte argued that giving states and local governments the power to consent to the resettlement of refugees flies in the face of clear congressional intent, as expressed in the legislative history of the statute. CWS President, the Rev. John L. McCullough, celebrated the ruling in a statement posted to the groups Facebook page Wednesday. This ruling means that newly arriving refugees wont have to choose between being together and accessing critical services as they rebuild their lives, McCullough wrote. It means that people of faith can continue to live out their calling to welcome the stranger. HIAS President Mark J. Hetfield also supported the decision, saying in a statement that he believed it shows the country how this administration was wrong to attempt a state-by-state refugee ban. Judge Messitte found it likely that the executive order is unlawful, and we are grateful for the clarity of this injunction. An overwhelming majority of governors and municipalities have already expressed their desire to continue welcoming refugees, he added. "To those few who have not, we say not only is it unkind and un-American to ban refugees from your states and towns, but it is unlawful. Last September, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13888, which allowed states and local governments to opt out of resettling refugees. In resettling refugees into American communities, it is the policy of the United States to cooperate and consult with State and local governments, to take into account the preferences of state governments, and to provide a pathway for refugees to become self-sufficient, stated the order. State and local governments are best positioned to know the resources and capacities they may or may not have available to devote to sustainable resettlement, which maximizes the likelihood refugees placed in the area will become self-sufficient and free from long-term dependence on public assistance. In response, the three faith-based groups filed suit last November against the administration over the executive order, being represented by the legal group International Refugee Assistance Project. Congress has been clear. State and local governments are to be consulted in decisions about where refugees are placed in the United States, stated IRAP senior litigation staff attorney Melissa Keaney last year. But the Refugee Act establishes Congress unmistakable intent that states and localities were given a voice but not a veto where refugees would be resettled. While the vast majority of state governors expressed their intention to continue accepting refugees for resettlement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked to opt out. Abbott explained in a statement that Texas carried more than its share in assisting the refugee resettlement process and appreciates that other states are available to help with these efforts. Abbotts decision garnered criticism from some Christian groups, among them more than 300 Texas-based Christian leaders who signed a letter to the governor encouraging him to change his position. WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. military is resuming operations against Islamic State militants in Iraq and is working to soon restart training Iraqi forces, U.S. officials said Wednesday, despite deep divisions over the American drone strike that killed an senior Iranian commander in Baghdad and the resulting missile attacks by Iran on Iraqi bases. One official said some joint operations between the U.S. and Iraqi forces have already begun, but there are not yet as many as before. The official said details are still being worked out to restore the training of Iraqi forces, but that could happen relatively soon. Relations with Iraq were fractured after the U.S. launched a drone strike near Baghdad's international airport on Jan. 3 that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The Parliament later voted to expel U.S. forces from the country and Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi asked Washington to work out a road map for a troop withdrawal. The U.S. flatly rejected that request and has not moved to pull the more than 5,000 troops out. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss decisions not yet made public. One official said military leaders have discussed the resumption of operations with the Iraqis, but it's not clear who was involved in those talks or whether Iraqi government leaders are publicly endorsing the move. Iraqi leaders were angry about the American drone strike and the retaliatory attacks by Iran. Iranian missiles struck Al-Asad Air Base last week, and hit near another base, but warnings sounded and no one was killed or injured. Iraq officials, however, called the U.S. strike that killed Soleimani an unacceptable breach of Iraqi sovereignty. That strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. And thousands of anti-government protesters turned out in Baghdad and southern Iraq, with many calling for both the U.S. and Iran to leave their country. Story continues U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, dismissed the calls for American troops to leave, saying the forces are critical to the fight against the Islamic State group. We are happy to continue the conversation with the Iraqis about what the right structure is," Pompeo said during one White House appearance last week. Tensions in Iraq had been spiking since late December, when a rocket attack at a base in northern Iraq killed one American contractor. The U.S. blamed Iran-backed fighters and quickly struck back. American airstrikes targeted Iranian-backed militia at five sites in Iraq and Syria, including weapons depots and command and control bases. Over New Year's, hundreds of Iran-backed militiamen attacked the highly fortified American embassy compound in Baghdad. The Pentagon deployed hundreds of additional troops to the region, and scaled back military operations and training inside Iraq. U.S. officials have said they believe Iraq is also interested in resuming the training, which has been going on since 2015, after IS began taking control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria. More details, including increased security for U.S. and coalition forces, are still being discussed. The New York Times first reported the resumption of joint military operations. 17.01.2020 LISTEN There is no other continent that has contributed so much foreign investments to world development at the time of Peace and Wars than the African Continent. Instead of returns in dividends and economic progress, Africa regresses into penury. Africans spurred economic development, businesses, riches, nurtured Trans-Atlantic trade and fought World Wars abroad for free; more than any other continent on Earth. Nevertheless, African contributions in Foreign Investments and Peace to the outside world has hardly been appreciated outside academic literatures. If anything, it has been derided for giving so much and keep on giving, not only in blood and sweat but in free labor, gold, diamond, uranium cobalt and lately in money laundering. It is a continent that gave everything it had and kept on giving while driving itself into states of Poverty. If one goes by their definition of foreign Investment taught in most prestigious Western and Eastern school of Economics, there is this reverse sociopolitical school of thought that they are the one pouring riches and humanitarian free labor into Africa! They package it so well, even many Africans believe that they are the receivers of Foreign Investments and Aids. Indeed, Africans keep on begging for more. They are obliged! Unfortunately, most Africans have been conditioned to believe no foreign Investment flow from Africa into Europe, America and Asia; only in the opposite direction. They want Africans to believe that after all they did, like the Marshall Plan for Europe after World Wars, Africans are impervious to progress and development. Many Africans are habituated into a trance of being indifferent to progress. Sadly, some Africans bought it and sell it to their fellow Africans and younger generation. In other words, nobody could be so generous and welcoming as the American Indians and not be subjugated, for their foolishness. Only naive people welcome those whose intention is to exploit every living soul out of you. Then, ask why you were so stupid after the fact. It is one thing to be trusting and accommodating, which is humanity in Africans but quite another to relegate useful lessons to history in view of today's economic realities. Even some Africans are against reparation. For what, they ask. If Africans gained nothing from foreign Investments into other continents, what do they have to gain from money laundering and fervent worship of foreign currencies that used to be backed by gold from Africa (Gold Coast) as promissory notes? They turn around to print payment vouchers that can only be used to purchase glittering foreign goods and services in their stores. The same pretty printed papers they generate as they wish while devaluing African currencies against theirs. So, how much of your currencies can you print as they devalue it for themselves to buy more? They devalue currency and watch Foreign Reserve like a hawk for the best place to invest. Some Africans cannot see the link, so they also campaign for Devaluation because they believe it will spur growth in African countries from those buying more. The more they buy, by their postulation, the more Africans that are employed. No, our young folks bolt out of the country to sell themselves cheap in order to escape poverty. Some Africans are following classic economic principle that has no relevance to those whose only contribution their exploiters want, are raw materials and what are allocated to them to grow in return for finished goods outside our sphere of influence. It basically means Africa is used as farm of production or plantation to feed their economies. There were some questions and answers between Stokely Carmichael and university students years ago at a foreign university, that came to mind. A student claimed his ancestors were originally from the West Indies, not Africa. Stokely, a Trinidadian by birth asked him where they were before West Indies and he claimed they were on the Sea. In that case, Stokely answered, that they were seamen or came from the sea! Stokely educated him that the West Indies were meant to be sugarcane plantations to feed the machineries in Europe and America, not countries. Stokely could have added African countries too, as private properties of African Trading Companies created by European private businesses until the English and French Armies took over to enforce the massacre of recalcitrant Africans resisting memberships as their "Protectorates". These stubborn Africans were Ashanti, Ijebu, Benin, Sokoto, Zulu etc. Indeed, African soldiers were used against one another. Jaja of Opobo, one of the rebels that cut off the British middlemen and started trading with Europeans directly had his own standing Army. Unfortunately, his Army and those of the Hausa were used to subdue the Ashanti that rejected British Protectorate. The same tactics were used to subdue him to control his influence and power on direct trade with Europe. Similarly, they subdued the Ijebu, Benin, Sokoto and went further South to subdue the Zulu. Their British and French Governments came to the rescue of their Private Companies operating around the Niger and Southern Africa communities in order to control and regain commerce. You call that foreign Investment into Africa, eh? African Armies across Africa called Senegalese, Hausa, Congo or Moroccan Tirailleurs contributed their blood for Peace during World War I and II to liberate France and Britain. We saw how poor Senegalese soldiers that protested against crumbs in pension after France liberation in World Wars were massacred by French soldiers to stifle their rights. Even Britain was until recently deporting old soldiers that fought to liberate them back to the Caribbean until it hit the newspapers in 2019. Their Black liberators that had lived in Britain without giving them the proper papers they deserved. They could not get the benefits they were due, as their fellow soldiers that served in the same World Wars! Their Black Plantations have nothing to do with creating countries but creating business centers and commercial influence that would feed Europe, America and now Asia. This is how they have been operating since then and now. What they call Foreign Investment is the total control of trade and commerce where they take the lion-share of African natural and human resources. Nothing has changed. Instead of begging for foreign Investment, Africans must learn how to keep their Investments at home. Stop exchanging mirrors for gold! In partnership with Lee University, the String Theory Outreach Initiative will host violinist Danny Koo for a week-long residency Jan. 22-26. The events will culminate in a solo concert at the Hunter Museum of American Art on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 1 p.m. Described as unstinting in energetic projection every step of the way (Calgary Herald), the STOI is excited to welcome the charismatic young Korean-American violinist for this seasons outreach residency. Mr. Koo is a well-known media personality in Korea with a passion for reaching children through his music. His presentation, focusing on the relationship between voice and the violin, will center around a classical repertoire incorporated into the story of Ferdinand the Bull. Danny Koo's passion for classical music education will provide an enriching and exciting learning experience for the community, said Dr. Gloria Chien, founder and artistic director of String Theory. Throughout the week, Mr. Koo will perform at elementary schools in the Chattanooga and Cleveland area, in addition to a special performance for senior citizens at the Alexian Village on Signal Mountain. There will be a social hour with Mr. Koo at the Tomorrow Building in Chattanooga on Thursday, Jan. 23, from 6-8 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m., Mr. Koo will hold a solo performance, Violin Voices, at Mizpah Congregation in Chattanooga. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.mizpahcongregation.org/. The week-long residency will conclude with the Annual Family Concert at the Hunter Museum of American Art on Sunday. The concert will be followed by an instrument petting zoo hosted by String Theory youth interns, a group of young arts advocates who make a social impact in Chattanooga through community outreach and education. The concert is free with paid admission into the Hunter Museum. Admission is free for Hunter members and youth under 17 with paying adult. The outreach week is funded through a grant given by the Performing Arts League. Musical instruments for the instrument petting zoo are provided by Mountain Music in Chattanooga. In the past four years, String Theory has brought award-winning musicians and ensembles to present educational outreach programs to the community. The program has reached over 6,000 students, many of whom live in communities with little access to the arts and are experiencing live classical music for the first time. For more information about Mr. Koo, visit http://www.dannykooviolin.com. For more information about String Theory or its outreach initiative, visit http://stringtheorymusic.org/education. Should Facebook groups that discuss grocery shopping hacks be blocking one gender from membership? (Images: Getty, Aldi Australia, Facebook) A popular Facebook group that discusses sale items at Aldi is blocking memberships based on sex. Aldi Mums is a busy posting board of more than 65,000 members who talk about bargains at Aldi and other grocery shopping hacks. Approval is required to join. While current members have told Yahoo Finance there is no hidden gender-specific content outside of shopping tips, a ban on male members is explicitly stated when a new person tries to join. "Are you aware this is a female only fan page? And only female accounts will be approved. Do not message admin asking for entry if you're not female," states the membership application window. (Image: Facebook) A Facebook Australia spokesperson told Yahoo Finance that denying membership based on gender is not a violation of its terms, as there could be perfectly legitimate reasons for doing so. "There are many all womens or all mens groups on Facebook for example, breast cancer survival groups, testicular cancer survival groups," said the spokesperson. "I know that I am a member of a number of womens only groups I personally find the conversation can be different than when men are in the group." Aldi Mums' founder Laura Mazza told Yahoo Finance that she wanted to make a "safe space" for women to discuss grocery deals and hacks. "Theres been many years of mens groups only, so this is nice for women to explore, communicate and be respected," she said. "Its about a community for women. We accept trans women as well." Mazza also pointed out that there is an Aldi Dads group. Yahoo Finance has observed that Aldi Dads is open to the public and no membership is required. Aldi Dads only has 61 likes, compared to Aldi Mums' 65,000 members, and as such the content has been dormant since June last year. Aldi Mums has seen 1,104 posts in the past 30 days. Make your money work with Yahoo Finances daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news. On Monday, authorities announced they used a new type of DNA analysis, a first for Illinois, to link Lindahl to Maurers murder, a cold case for over four decades. Police used the same method of analysis that led to last years arrest in the case of the Golden State Killer, who authorities say is responsible for dozens of rapes and multiple murders in California in the 1970s and 80s. If youre in need of an uplift about the state of the world, you could do worse than check out a new exhibition at the Mobile Museum of Art. BESA: A Code of Honor opened Friday, in conjunction with the 2020 Mobile Jewish Film Festival, which kicked off with a screening of BESA: The Promise. In the film, American photographer Norman H. Gershman explores a relatively little-known aspect of World War II and the Holocaust. Fleeing persecution in Germany and other countries, hundreds of Jewish families found refuge in Albania. In many cases they were taken into the homes of Muslims, and not to be hidden away in attics or basements: In keeping with a code of honor called Besa, they were treated as visiting relatives. Throughout the film, people marvel at what an unheard-of thing it is for Muslims to risk their lives to save Jews, while the hosts themselves say it was nothing marvelous at all, it was simply what Besa compelled them to do. The subversion was pervasive: The Albanian government refused to provide lists of Jews to Nazi occupiers and agencies helped provide refugees with official documents masking their identities. After the war, however, Albania was locked behind the Iron Curtain. Its heroism wasnt exactly forgotten, but the countrys isolation made it near impossible for decades for former refugees to make contact with their onetime hosts, or for outsiders like Gershman come in and collect their memories. Whats on display at the Museum through May 14 is a collection of Gershmans photos of Albanians, along with their statements about why they or their parents risked everything to defend strangers in need. The people themselves appear very ordinary. Their professions are anything but. I have always been a devout Muslim, says 91-year-old Beqir Quoqja. During the years of Communism all the institutions of God were closed, but not the heart. I did nothing special. All Jews are our brothers. It seems strange to be asked why my father did what he did for this Jewish family. Besa is a tradition of the entire nation of Albania, reads another testimonial. My father said that the Germans would have to kill his family before he would let them kill our Jewish guests, says another. In a world that tends to focus on extraordinary heroes wearing capes and wielding amazing powers, its good to be reminded that heroes can be very ordinary people too. BESA: A Code of Honor is on loan from the American Society for Yad Vashem. It is sponsored by the Gulf Coast Center for the Holocaust and Human Rights Education, the Mobile Area Jewish Federation, the Mobile Jewish Film Festival and the City of Mobile. The 2020 Mobile Jewish Film Festival continues through Feb. 2, screening 10 films in all at a variety of locations. Full information can be found at www.mobilejewishfederation.org. New Delhi: A fresh death warrant has been issued by the Patiala House Court on Friday (January 17) for the hanging of Nirbhaya rape and murder convicts on February 1 at 6 am. The hanging of all the four convicts will take place at the same time in Delhi's Tihar jail. Reacting to the latest development, Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi on Friday said that the sensitive issue was being politicised. "The government can`t see our pain. I lost my daughter seven years ago I want justice," Asha Devi told Zee News. She has alleged foul play in the case and that the execution of four convicts was deliberately being delayed. Live TV Earlier, President Ram Nath Kovind had rejected the mercy plea filed by one of the convicts Mukesh Singh clearing all roadblocks to the execution of the four convicts. The mercy plea was filed by after his curative plea was rejected by the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court had refused to stay death warrants after the state government said that it 'can't hang convicts on January 22'. While refusing to set aside the death warrant issued for the hanging of four Nirbhaya gangrape-murder convicts, the high court said that convict Mukesh Singh could approach the trial court, which issued the death warrant. The HC also said that it found nothing wrong in the death warrants issued by Delhi's Patiala House court for the hanging of four convicts. The four convicts - Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) - are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am. We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Resources & Energy Group Limited (ASX:REZ), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling. Do Insider Transactions Matter? It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market. We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'. View our latest analysis for Resources & Energy Group Resources & Energy Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chairman Gavin Rezos for AU$500k worth of shares, at about AU$0.05 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being AU$0.017). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Gavin Rezos was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! Story continues ASX:REZ Recent Insider Trading, January 17th 2020 Resources & Energy Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Insider Ownership Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 37% of Resources & Energy Group shares, worth about AU$2.5m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders. So What Do The Resources & Energy Group Insider Transactions Indicate? It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Resources & Energy Group shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in Resources & Energy Group and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. To put this in context, take a look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow. If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Turkey's state agency has published images of two men accused of helping fugitive businessman Carlos Ghosn escape via an Istanbul airport, as he fled a corruption trial in Japan. The security camera images, first made public on Thursday, show Michael Taylor and George Antoine Zayek at passport control in Istanbul Airport, according to state agency Anadolu. The Wall Street Journal described Taylor as a former US special forces operative now working as a private security contractor. Ghosn, the former boss of carmaker Nissan, fled from Japan reportedly by hiding inside an audio equipment box, later giving a conference in Lebanon. He has refused to comment on the details of his escape. Turkish police say he disembarked on foot at the smaller Ataturk Airport and transferred to another private jet for Lebanon. Anadolu's report suggests Taylor and Zayek accompanied Ghosn from Japan to Turkey, but then transferred across town to Istanbul's main airport and took a separate flight to Beirut with Lebanese Airways. Turkey has arrested five people as part of its investigation into the escape, including employees of MNG, the private jet firm used by Ghosn. The firm says its aircraft were used illegally in the escape and has filed a criminal complaint. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amazon founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos held a closed-door meeting with top industry honchos during the third day of his visit in Mumbai on Friday, CNBC TV 18 reported. The Amazon Inc CEO reportedly discussed issues surrounding technology, data privacy concerns and global alliances with who's who of the Indian business community. The business leaders who attended the meeting included Reliance Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani, Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal, Future Group founder and CEO Kishore Biyani, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar, Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy and Infosys Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh. On Thursday, Bezos took part in another event by Amazon India's Prime Video, where he was welcomed by several A-listers from the film industry, including Shahrukh Khan, film director Zoya Akhtar, Kabir Khan, among others. Also read: Piyush Goyal calls Amazon's $1 billion investment in India 'no big favour' Bezos had on Thursday said he his e-comm giant would invest $1 billion to help bring small and medium business online in India. Amazon India also announced to create one million new jobs in the country over the next five years. The $1 billion investment by Amazon.com is on the top of USD 5.5 billion funding it had previously announced. Meanwhile, a day after he scoffed at Bezos' offer to invest $1 billion in India, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday tried to do damage control saying the country welcomes all kinds of investments that follow the "letter and spirit" of the law. Goyal clarified his remarks on Twitter as well as to reporters saying some people have misconstrued his remarks by suggesting that he had said something negative against Amazon. "I was only saying that investment should come as per the rules and regulation," he told reporters in Ahmedabad. While Goyal had on Thursday raised questions about Amazon's business practices saying the company had done no big favours to India by announcing a new $1 billion investment, his party's foreign cell head Vijay Chauthaiwale tweeted barely-veiled criticism of Bezos-owned the Washington Post, which has been criticised by the BJP for its coverage of the Modi government's increasingly right-wing policies. Edited by Manoj Sharma with PTI inputs Also read: Amazon promises 1 million new jobs in India amid tensions with government The brothers teased the album back in November last year. Madlib and Oh No (Madlibs younger brother) have released their first collaborative album together as The Professionals. READ: The 25 Best Madlib Beats Of All Time The self-titled release features 13 tracks, including the previously-released lead single Superhumans. The album was released via The Beat Konductas Madlib Invazion imprint. The vinyl for the album is available for purchase at the Rappcats website, and it includes an instrumental LP, as well as a 45 record of Next Day, a song by The Professionals and Freddie Gibbs. The Professionals can be streamed below. Last year, Madlib released his collaborative album with Freddie Gibbs, Bandana. According to Gibbs himself, Bandana is a part of the trilogy, with the last release being a project titled Montana. Madlib is also working on an album with Black Star (Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli). Both and Bey and Kweli spoke about the forthcoming project during an appearance at last years Sole DXB festival in Dubai. This new album is ridiculous, Bey said of the album during an interview at the festival. And I dont really care if you all dont like it. This just means we like different things and thats fine. There is no [song] for the ladies or one for the clubs, Kweli said alongside Bey. We played the album for (US comic) Marlon Wayans and he was like yo, this is dope. But you all need one where they can feel you in the clubs. And I was like Marlon, you still go to clubs? An annual 2nd Amendment rally in Richmond, Va. scheduled for this Monday will see gun rights activists marching alonside an unusual ally: the local Antifa chapter. While Antifa groups are most famous for sometimes-violent protests against right-wing groups, the Richmond-based Antifa Seven Hills is joining 2nd Amendment supporters in support of gun rights. I think its been pretty important for us to focus on the fact that gun control in America has a legacy of racist enforcement, Seven Hills spokesperson James told Vice, requesting that his last name be withheld from publication. Like taking guns away from black people, because black people were perceived as a threat to property and the sanctity of the state. Several leftist gun rights groups have formed in response to the election of President Trump. This includes Redneck Revolt, which was established in 2016, and the Socialist Rifle Association, which was formed in 2018 and has chapters in all 50 states. I think whats particular about the South is that we have to be a bit more creative and sensitive to the people around us instead of fulfilling some sort of meme of what antifa is, James said. Thats really what were trying to work against right now, especially by talking to conservatives and showing we arent just a black-clad group of rabble-rousers who are out for attention and have jobs funded by George Soros. The presence of an armed left is not discussed, its not understood, he added. The rally itself became the subject of controversy after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency citing credible intelligence of groups with malicious plans to appear at the rally. The FBI on Thursday arrested three suspected neo-Nazis who were planning to attend the rally. One of the men is a former Canadian army reservist, and all were linked to a group called The Base that aims to establish a state populated only by whites. No one wants another incident like the one we saw in Charlottesville, Northam told reporters. We will not allow that mayhem and violence to happen here. More from National Review Nirbhaya Rapists Will Now Be Hanged On February 1, 6 AM As Court Issues Fresh Death Warrant A Delhi court issued fresh death warrants for February 1, 6 am against the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora was hearing a plea by one of the four death row convicts in the case, Mukesh Kumar Singh, seeking postponement of the date of his execution scheduled for January 22. Read more. Here are the other top news of the day: Heavy Rain Brings Relief In Bushfire-Hit Australia That Killed 28 People, Over Billion Animals Twitter Bushfires wreaked havoc in Australia and the continent witnessed one of the worst disasters in decades. As an old adage says there is light at the end of the tunnel, wide-spread thunderstorm systems moving across Australia's east coast are set to bring some much-needed relief to firefighting efforts, with even more rain predicted over the weekend. Read more. Bengal Man Stabs Himself, Family; Says Was Worried About NRC, Mistakes In His Documentation In a tragic incident, a 34-year-old man in West Bengal's Contai sub-division stabbed himself and his family members because he was worried about the fall-out of a possible National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise, the police said. Tahiruddin SK, a resident of Basantia village, has now been admitted to the NRS Medical College and Hospital in a serious condition after he attempted to take his own life. Read more. Sikhs To Be Counted As Separate Ethnic Group For The First Time In US Census In a moment that could be termed as a milestone, Sikhs in the US will be counted as a separate ethnic group in the 2020 census for the first time, an organisation of the minority community said. President of the Sikh Society of San Diego Baljeet Singh said the Sikh community's efforts have come to fruition. Read more. RTI Application In Kerala Seeks Proof Of PM Narendra Modi's Citizenship Amid the controversy surrounding the CAA, a Right to Information (RTI) application has been filed before the Kerala information department asking whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an Indian citizen or not. The RTI application was filed by Josh Kalluveettil, a native of Chalakkudy town in Thrissur district, on January 13. Read more. Omega Proteins fleet based in Reedville, Va., catches more than 70 percent of all menhaden harvested on the East Coast. The company uses planes to spot large schools of fish, then encircles them with nets that are pursed tight. The fish are sucked out of the water by the thousands in giant shipboard hoses. These massive harvests make the tiny town of Reedville one of the top five ports in the country for seafood landings. As a physician, I think the suggested solutions to surprise medical billing are unnecessarily complicated. There are two simple remedies to this inexplicably long-standing problem. First, those subspecialists who practice within the hospital confines and, therefore, minister to a captive patient population (emergency room physicians, anesthesiologists, radiologists, neonatologists, etc.) must agree to contract with the same insurers as does the hospital in their hospital contractual agreements. Second, outside specialists who do not participate with a patients insurer but agree to take call as part of their hospital privilege arrangements must accept a fair, prenegotiated fee that the patients insurance company is willing to pay as mandated by the states insurance commission as part of the insurers right to do business in the state. During the negotiations in Minsk, Ukraine put forward a new condition for holding the elections in Donbas, namely the return of IDPs and their participation in the vote. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the decisions of the Normandy summit in Paris should not remain on paper. "We hope the decisions adopted in Paris in December will allow us to move along the path of implementing the Minsk package of measures. But, of course, these decisions should not remain on paper as was under [Petro] Poroshenko's rule," he said, according to RIA Novosti. Read alsoDonbas elections only possible after Russia pulls its troops U.S. Mission to OSCE As reported earlier, during the negotiations in Minsk, Ukraine put forward a new condition for holding the elections in Donbas, namely the return of IDPs and their participation in the vote. The Ukrainian side emphasized that elections could only be held when the borders of Ukraine were again completely under its control or that of international observers. Prior to this, former U.S. Charge d'Affaires a.i. in Ukraine William Taylor said Ukraine could agree with the Russian Federation on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Donbas and the transfer of the border under control of international forces within one to two years. Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany held a Normandy Four meeting on December 9, 2019, after which a communique was signed. She rose to prominence following her role as Claire in the award-winning Fleabag. And Sian Clifford looked sensational as she posed for a stylish fashion shoot with online magazine Porter, while talking about her rocky path to stardom. During the interview the actress, 37, candidly revealed she suffered a breakdown while juggling three jobs before bagging her role on the hit BBC show. Glam: Sian Clifford looked sensational as she posed for a stylish fashion shoot with online magazine Porter, while talking about her rocky path to stardom Sian also discussed finding meditation during more trying times and her profound bond with Fleabag lead actress and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Before finding fame with Fleabag, Sian revealed she took on too much and started a meditation class and began creating her own well being website. She said:' I had a breakdown, because I had like three jobs: one for the money and two for love. And I gave myself six weeks to create, launch and brand this whole thing.' Explaining her vision, Sian revealed: 'I wrote the name Still Space at the top of the page and it felt like a gift. The vision was simple: I wanted to destroy the delusion that business and burnout equal success.' Moving on: During the interview the actress, 37, candidly revealed she suffered a breakdown while juggling three jobs before bagging her role on the hit BBC show On-screen: Sian pictured with Phoebe as they on-screen characters Fleablag and Claire 'It's not until you find yourself on the floor, and you can't get up, that you deal with it.' 'You are your greatest brand, supporter, ally, lover, all of those things. If you can do that, you can really survive anything.' Sian went on to reveal that she has used these techniques to be able to cope with her overnight fame following the rip-roaring success of Fleabag. She said: 'Last year, if I hadn't been in that place, it could have been extremely unsettling and overwhelming, because we never could have anticipated what happened to Fleabag last year.' Past projects: Before finding fame with Fleabag, Sian revealed she took on too much and started a meditation class and began creating her own well being website Sian, who has known co-star Phoebe since their drama school days, also touched on her reaction when she first read the script for the programme. The star said: 'I thought it was the best thing I had ever read. It was just so new and zeitgeisty, something insanely wonderful, fuelled by love, and it didn't matter to me whether it did well or not, because I was so thrilled we were making it.' She also revealed that she and the James Bond writer have further plans to keep working together as she teased future projects, adding: 'we want to keep on collaborating, because it is so easy and fluid the dialogue we have sometimes we don't need to say anything it's done with a look. I don't know if I will ever have that with someone else, the implicit trust of thoughts and ideas.' To see the full interview with Sian Clifford read Porter and/or download the NET-A-PORTER app for iPhone, iPad and Android. While Meghan Markle and Prince Harry figure out their own drama oversees, Americas extended first family is toiling with some minor shade thrown on Project Runway. After the judges said model Karlie Kloss wouldnt wear his dress, contestant Tyler Neasloney served it back up with Not even to dinner with the Kushners? and instantly went viral. Karlie Kloss is married to Josh Kushner, Ivanka Trumps husbands little brother. On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen Thursday night, Karlie didnt push back on her relationship with the Kushners and Trumps. Honestly, the real tragedy of this whole thing is that no one is talking about how terrible that dress was, she said. Thats why he went home. And, no, I would not wear that dress to any dinner. Even Andy wasnt satisfied with that answer, so the talk show host asked about her political life. Andy, Im sure Im not the only person in this country who does not necessarily agree with their family on politics, Kloss responded. I voted as a democrat in 2016 and I plan to do the same in 2020. Though, funnily enough, she is the only person whose family actually controls the country. Related Lambasting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy for extending by three months, the period of the existing preventive detention order in the state, Telugu Desam Party MP Galla Jayadev on Friday said the state government has resorted to 'oppressing the people' as it was unable to suppress the 'Save Amaravati movement'. "Unable to suppress the Save Amaravati movement, the AP Government has resorted to oppressing the people. With this order the Government can detain a person for upto 3 months, in any part of the State," TDP lawmaker from Guntur Jayadev tweeted. "If this is not oppression then what is? Where is the threat to Security in the State?" he asked. Andhra Pradesh government on Friday issued an order, empowering the collectors and district magistrates and the commissioners of police in the state to exercise powers of detention under the Security Act,1980 for up to three months. The "powers of detention" are already in existence for the past three months and will continue for the next three months. "The Security Act,1980 (No.65 of 1980)-Extension of period for empowering all the Collectors and District Magistrates and the Commissioners of Police in of Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam to exercise powers of detention there under for a further period of three months from January 16, 2020 to April 15, 2020," Nilam Sawhney, Chief Secretary to Government said. The decision was taken in regard to the circumstances and conditions prevailing and are likely to prevail within the local limits of the jurisdiction of all the collectors and district magistrates and the commissioners of police in the state. The order holds importance in wake of the YSRCP government's proposal of three capitals, following which, protests have erupted in several parts of the state, particularly Amravati. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) tech2 News Staff When the other mainstream brands like Samsung, Huawei, and Motorola were toying around with the idea of foldable smartphones, Xiaomi decided to take a different approach to the concept. Xiaomi unveiled Mi Mix Alpha in China last year. A smartphone that comes with a wrap-around display! It was launched at a starting price of CNY 19,999 (approx Rs 2,00,000). This smartphone was recently showcased in India at a media gathering, which makes us predict that the device may soon debut in the Indian market. Xiaomi has also teased an image of Mi Mix Alpha on its official twitter page that gives us all the more reasons to believe that it might launch in India soon. The company has also shared a short teaser video of the smartphone on Twitter. What does the future of smartphones look like? Presenting the #MiMixAlpha with 4D Surround Display. Discover more of this 5G Surround Display Concept Smartphone > https://t.co/DRPmq4yD7H#FutureWithoutLimits pic.twitter.com/gTeOWkFVbT Mi India #108MP IS COMING! (@XiaomiIndia) January 16, 2020 A dedicated Mi Mix Alpha page has also gone live on the company's official India website that has given all the detailed specifications of the phone. We also reached out to Raghu Reddy, head of categories, Xiaomi India, to learn more about the Mi Mix Alpha's arrival in the market, and we were told: "We are evaluating the commercial launch of Mi MIX Alpha globally as well as in India. Currently, there is only one production line capable of manufacturing the Mi MIX Alpha which is in China. The china price is CNY 19,999. So in India, after adding Import duty, custom duty & other expenses would make it approx Rs 2,50,000." Even though Xiaomi has given a lot of hints regarding the India launch of the phone, but we still do on have any official launch date. Mi Mix Alpha Specifications The surround screen on the Alpha wraps entirely around the device to the point where there's a thin strip at the back housing the cameras that is devoid of the display. This effect makes it appear as if the Mi Mix Alpha is entirely made of a screen with status icons like network signal and battery charge level displayed on the side. Since there are no buttons on the device, the phone has pressure-sensitive volume buttons which give the user haptic feedback, much like the Vivo Nex 3. Mi Mix Alpha is also going to use Samsung's latest 108 MP camera sensor which was co-developed with Xiaomi. Since the display wraps around the phone, the device does not have a selfie camera and uses the back camera to take selfies. There is also a 20 MP ultra-wide lens and 12 MP telephoto lens. Under the hood, we can see that the Mi Mix Alpha is powered by the latest Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset and it has 12 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage, 40 W wired fast-charging, and a 4,050 mAh battery. The phone also has support for 5G as well. (Newser) Lana Sue Clayton claimed she poisoned her husband with Visine eye drops to make him "uncomfortable" and teach him a lesson after years of abuse. Prosecutors said the 53-year-old grandmotherwho hid husband Steven Clayton's phone while he was dyingkilled the wealthy retired businessman because she wanted his money. Clayton, a Veterans Affairs nurse, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in South Carolina Thursday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the Herald reports. She had been charged with murder and could have gotten the death penalty if the case went to trial. Prosecutors said Steven Clayton, 64, suffered for three days in July 2018 after his wife of five years poisoned his drinking water. He was killed by a large final dose. Clayton claimed she poisoned him "impulsively" and never thought the eye drops would kill him. story continues below "This one takes the cake as far as being bizarre," Judge Paul Burch said. "The old saying, What a tangled web we weave.' Ms. Clayton, you sure have tangled this one up." Prosecutors said Clayton destroyed her husband's will to make sure all of his estate went to her and not any of his six ex-wives. Prosecutor Willy Thompson told the court that the type of poison Clayton used isn't normally tested for during autopsies, but was found by a private lab. "She almost got away with it," he said. WCNC reports that Clayton shot her husband in the back of the head with a crossbow two years before the poisoning and claimed it was an accident. (A North Carolina man is accused of using eye drops to kill his wife.) A 2017 Chicago Tribune investigation documented how, as chairman of the powerful Senate Transportation Committee, Sandoval intervened on SafeSpeeds behalf to push state transportation officials to change their stance and allow the companys cameras to be installed at the relatively safe intersection of Illinois 83 at 22nd Street in Oakbrook Terrace. Tripura Governor Ramesh Bais on Friday hailed the Union government for signing multiple agreements with Bangladesh last year to "facilitate trade and economic development" in the state and the country as a whole. The governor, during his address on the first day of the Assembly's winter session, also said that air and rail connectivity has significantly improved in the state over the last few years. "My government would like to thank the prime minister for signing bilateral documents with Bangladesh for facilitating economic and infrastructure development of Tripura. The agreement on adopting standard operating procedure (SOP) for use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports in Bangladesh will be highly beneficial for Tripura," he said. Seven agreements were signed between the two countries in October last year, during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi. These include an MoU for providing a coastal surveillance system, an SOP for the use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for movement of goods, and the withdrawal of 1.82 cusec of water from Feni river for supply to Tripura's Sabroom town. "I am sure all these endeavours will help Tripura become a model state in the real sense of the term. Our mantra remains 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikash and Sabka Viswas'," Bais told the House. The governor also said that a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Sabroom, sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Commerce, would boost industrial development and benefit thousands of families, directly and indirectly. Congratulating the Centre on abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, he said, "J&K is an integral part of India and the Narendra Modi-led government has fulfilled its promise to ensure 'Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan and Ek Pradhan' in the country." He also urged everyone to join him in welcoming the historic judgment given by the Supreme Court on the long- standing dispute over Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed settled charges against Daniel Markel, whose company raised more than $7.7 million from more than 100 investors in an unregistered securities offering. During the offering, Markel and his company failed to disclose that the device it used for patient treatment was manufactured in and imported from China in violation of Federal Drug Administration regulations. The SEC's complaint alleges that from 2013 to 2016, Sobriety & Addiction Solutions LLC, known also as MyLife Recovery Centers, a Toluca Lake, California-based company owned and operated by Markel, touted to investors its exclusive license to use a subcutaneous implant of Naltrexone to treat alcohol and opioid dependency. However, for at least one year, Markel failed to inform investors that MyLife used implants compounded and manufactured in China, in violation of FDA regulations. As alleged, MyLife's reliance on the Chinese-manufactured implants posed a direct threat to its business plan, future prospects, and value of securities, none of which was ever disclosed. MyLife is now defunct and DT Securities Ltd., the broker-dealer firm that Markel used to conduct the unregistered offerings for MyLife, was expelled from FINRA membership in 2016. Markel has agreed to settle the matter by consenting, without admitting or denying the Commission's allegations, to the entry of a final judgment that permanently enjoins him from future violations of the antifraud provisions of Sections 17(a)(2) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 and the registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act. In addition, the judgment orders Markel to disgorge $439,678 of commission payments, pay prejudgment interest of $65,224, and pay a civil penalty of $189,427. Markel also consented to an administrative order barring him from working in the securities industry, with the right to reapply in five years. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Peter Del Greco and supervised by Marc Blau, of the SEC's Los Angeles office. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 09:20:55|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close SAO PAULO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's coffee exports to China have more than doubled in the past five years, driven by the popularity of cafes among young urbanites, an industry expert said on Thursday. "The transformation that China is undergoing when it comes to coffee is spectacular," Eduardo Heron Dos Santos, technical director of the national Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafe), told Xinhua. "We now export double what we did five years ago ... Brazilian producers and exporters must discuss a planning strategy for China to meet the growing demand," said Dos Santos. Cafes have been mushrooming across China in recent years and Brazil is benefiting from the craze. According to Cecafe, Brazil's exports of coffee to China shot up by 110.33 percent from 2015 to 2019. In 2015, the South American country sold 84,352 bags of coffee to the Asian giant. By 2019, that number rose to 177,419 bags. Coffee's rapid rise in traditionally tea-drinking China is due to the growth of such chains as Luckin Coffee and Starbucks in major Chinese cities, said Dos Santos. Cecafe's president, Nelson Carvalhaes, stressed the importance to Cecafe and exporters around the world of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), which was held in Shanghai in November for the second year in a row. "These kinds of trade talks with the world are a great opportunity for Brazilian coffee," said Carvalhaes. Russian Acting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it was up to the warring parties in Libya to resolve their issues, no matter what the outcome of an upcoming Berlin conference on the long-lasting crisis might be. He added that current relations between both sides were "very strained, they don't even want to be in the same room, let alone speak or meet each other." The weekend summit in Berlin is aimed at halting the conflict in oil-rich Libya which is being fuelled by competing for international support for the warring sides. Since the 2011 ouster and killing of Libya's longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, the country has sunk further into chaos and turmoil. The country is divided into rival administrations, the Tripoli-based one in the west led by Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj and the one based in the country's east, supported by General Khalifa Hifter's forces. A federal appeals court Friday ordered the dismissal of a high-profile youth climate change lawsuit against the U.S. government, finding it was beyond the power of a federal court judge to order or design a remedial plan for a problem that requires complex policy decisions. A divided three-member panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reluctantly concluded that the case initiated by 21 youths must instead be made to the nations politicians or voters. There is much to recommend the adoption of a comprehensive scheme to decrease fossil fuel emissions and combat climate change, both as a policy matter in general and a matter of national survival in particular, 9th Circuit Judge Andrew D. Hurwitz wrote in the majority opinion. But it is beyond the power of an Article III court to order, design, supervise, or implement the plaintiffs requested remedial plan. Judge Josephine L. Staton dissented, accusing her colleagues of throwing up their hands and wrote that the youths should be able to proceed with their constitutional claims. Staton was sitting on the three-judge appellate panel as a U.S. District judge from Central California. Plaintiffs bring suit to enforce the most basic structural principle embedded in our system of ordered liberty: that the Constitution does not condone the Nations willful destruction, Staton wrote. So viewed, plaintiffs claims adhere to a judicially administrable standard. And considering plaintiffs seek no less than to forestall the Nations demise, even a partial and temporary reprieve would constitute meaningful redress,'' she wrote. "Such relief, much like the desegregation orders and statewide prison injunctions the Supreme Court has sanctioned, would vindicate plaintiffs constitutional rights without exceeding the Judiciarys province. Joining Hurwitz in the 2-1 majority opinion was 9th Circuit Judge Mary H. Murguia. The panel ordered U.S. District Judge Ann L. Aiken of Oregon to dismiss the case. Twenty-one young people sued the government five years ago, asserting a constitutional right to a sustainable climate and wanted the federal court to order the United States to prepare an energy plan that transitions the nation away from fossil fuels. Attorney Julia Ann Olson, representing the youths, said the plaintiffs will ask for a review of the decision by the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Juliana case is far from over,'' she said in a statement. The case is named after lead plaintiff Kelsey Rose Juliana of Eugene. "The majority opinion ignores the fact that we have yet to go to trial on the issue of redressability, Olson said. Juliana, now 23, said the decision stands against what shes been taught in school. "I am disappointed that these judges would find that federal courts cant protect Americas youth, even when a constitutional right has been violated,'' her statement said. "Such a holding is contrary to American principles of justice that I have been taught since elementary school.'' The government appealed a ruling in October 2018 by Aiken allowing the case to proceed to trial. At the same time, Aiken dismissed President Donald Trump as a defendant, citing respect for the separation of powers and calling his involvement nonessential because lower-level government officials carried out the challenged policies. Many of the young plaintiffs watched hourlong arguments in June before the federal appeals panel, which met in Portland. Attorney Jeffrey Bossert Clark Sr., representing the U.S. Department of Justice, called the suit a direct attack on the separation of powers and an effort to subvert due process and skirt administrative law and procedures that guide energy policies in the country. Its not for the judiciary to take over executive powers, Clark argued. Olson countered that individual channels arent adequate to pursue relief under the federal Administrative Procedure Act because the governments actions that harm the environment are so broad. The scale of the problem is so big because of the systemic conduct of the government, Olson said. Whenever a government system causes catastrophic infringement to peoples fundamental constitutional rights, its the courts duty to step in and correct the problem, she said. In addition to their constitutional claim, the plaintiffs had argued that the government has violated the publics trust through policies that promote oil and gas production. The resulting burning of fossil fuels has contributed to rising global temperatures, they said, and asked the appellate panel to halt about 100 government energy projects while the case was pending. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Subscribe to Facebook page A little disagreement within the family is healthy. Even if you share the same blood, DNA, values and upbringing, there will always have a time that some members will have clashing ideas, which may result in an argument. In fact, the royal family is not exempted from family disagreements, and they are not keeping it as a secret. It could be recalled that during the Royal Foundation Forum in 2018, the famous Royal Fab Four composed of Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was asked if they have experienced having disagreements as part of working as a family. The Fab Four laughed it off while Prince William answered on behalf of the group with a resounding "Oh yes!" which drew laughter from the audience. Being an outsider to the royal family, Meghan knew very well that this kind of disagreement could happen within the walls of Buckingham Palace. However, an insider recently revealed that the Duchess of Sussex was not prepared with the overwhelming "backstabbing" going on inside the palace. In fact, the toxicity and backstabbing in the family was so much that it led to the royal plot twist of the year of Meghan and Prince Harry stepping down as senior members of the royal family. "Meghan knew life as a royal wouldn't be easy. But nothing prepared her for the constant criticism and drama and backstabbing that goes on behind palace doors," a close friend of Meghan and Harry revealed to Us Weekly. The source added that the 35-year-old Prince Harry blames himself for what all the royal drama has caused to his wife. "To say he's upset about the way the royals and the U.K. press have treated Meghan is an understatement," the source furthered. Another insider said that it was not the intention of Meghan and Harry to quit the royal family the way they did, but they were left with no choice in dealing with the matters at hand. "This is not how they wanted to handle this, but Meghan and Harry's hand was forced. There is so much bad blood in that family-it's toxic. If relationships had been better, things would have been different," the insider told People (via Cosmopolitan). It could be recalled that on Jan. 8, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took to Instagram to drop the bombshell announcement about their decision to quit their royal duties and be financially independent of the monarchy. After calling the key members of the family for a royal meeting, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II released an official statement confirming Meghan and Harry's exit. The 93-year-old monarch expressed her full support on her grandson's "desire to create a new life as a young family." The Queen said that although they prefer having the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as a full-time member of the royal family, they "respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family." January 19-25, 2020 is National SnowCare for Troops Awareness Week and will shine a spotlight on the program's dedicated volunteers, the families they bring relief to and the need for more volunteers to join the cause. The SnowCare for Troops program, which is supported by BOSS Snowplow, is more than clearing driveways and sidewalks of snow and ice. It's a means to help military families maintain their independence and go about their daily routines taking care of family, work, school and more. Celebrating its 10th year, the need for SnowCare for Troops volunteers is still tremendous. With military deployments occurring regularly across the U.S., new volunteers are needed to provide snow removal service to the families of deployed military personnel. Volunteers are matched with families within their service area. "SnowCare for Troops provides military families in need with peace of mind and lifts a significant burden from their plates," says Cindy Code, executive director of Project EverGreen. "We're very grateful for the commitment of our dedicated volunteers and the continued support from BOSS Snowplow. The leadership they have demonstrated in support of military families goes above and beyond the call of duty." "BOSS Snowplow continues its support of the SnowCare for Troops program because we have seen firsthand the impact it has on military families," said Mark Klossner, director of marketing, BOSS Snowplow. "We are grateful for our armed forces and the freedom we have because of their sacrifice. This is one way we can show our support and appreciation." Project EverGreen also sponsors the GreenCare for Troops program that offers complimentary lawn care and basic landscape services for families of deployed military personnel. Registering for the program is easy and rewarding. Visit the Project EverGreen website today for more information or to become a volunteer. About Project EverGreen Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Project EverGreen is a national non-profit committed to bringing people together through its GreenCare for Communities initiatives to make a difference in how yards, parks and communities create a greener, healthier, cooler Earth. Project EverGreen also supports military families through the GreenCare and SnowCare for Troops initiatives. About BOSS Snowplow BOSS Snowplow is a leader in the snow and ice management business with a growing line of plows for trucks, UTVs, and ATVs, salt and sand spreaders and box plows built for the snow and ice management professional, as well as the homeowner. All products are designed for ease of use, quality and durability. With a market competitive warranty, uncompromising quality and high level of craftsmanship, BOSS has grown to be a leader in the sales of truck mount plows. BOSS products are designed and manufactured in Iron Mountain, Michigan in an approved ISO 9001:2008 registered facility. BOSS maintains a network of nearly 800 dealers worldwide. For more information visit BOSS Snowplow or call 800-286-4155. SOURCE Project EverGreen Related Links https://projectevergreen.org/ A Catholic priest has slammed the statements of Synod of Syro-Malabar Church on CAA and 'Love Jihad', saying they had not taken a clear stand against the law and it was not the right time to say something about the latter when the nation is "polarised along religious lines." Syro-Malabar Church priest Fr Kuriakose Mundadan condemned his Bishops' stand over the two controversial issues in his column "in between lines" in "Sathyadeepam", a weekly run by the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese. In his recent article "Can Citizenship Amendment and Love Jihad be Intertwined?", Mundadan, a former editor of the weekly, said all religions and castes have taken a clear stand against the "dangerous" CAA as it would "negatively affect" the pluralism and the democratic system of the country. But a "clear stand" against the legislation was not taken by he Catholic Church in Kerala, he alleged. While Latin rites of the Catholic Church and its Thiruvananthapuram Archbishop Soosa Pakiam strongly opposed the CAA, the Syro-Malabar Synod, chaired by Cardinal George Alencherry,also president of Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council, merely advised that "the Central government should resolve the concerns and apprehensions around CAA," Mundadan alleged. He said the laity of the Syro-Malabar Church wanted to now what was happening to the Catholic church in Kerala, which also comes under Pope Francis, "who has taken a strong stand for securing secular values in society." Attacking the Synod over its statement on 'Love Jihad', the priest pointed out that the Kerala High Court had dismissed such allegations after a thorough probe. In 2010, the Government of Karnataka had said that 'Love Jihad' was an illusion, the priest said. The Uttar Pradesh High Court also in 2014 had rejected the allegations of 'Love Jihad', Mundadan said and sought to know whether anyone had counted the number of men and women converted to Christianity in the name of love. His article comes two days after the Synod said "Love Jihad is a reality" and alleged that scores of women from the Christian community from the southern state were being lured into the trap of Islamic State and used in terror activities. When contacted, Mundadan claimed he was expressing the majority view of the priests and laity in the Syro-Malabar Church on the issue of CAA. "I have not said that there is no Love Jihad in Kerala. What I said was that this is not the time to make such a statement on Love Jihad at a time when the entire country is polarised on the basis of religion", the priest told PTI. "It was just like adding fuel to fire," Mundadan added. Kerala Finance Minster Thomas Isaac had said that the allegations of the Bishops have "no factual basis. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Trump admin. broke law by withholding Ukraine aid, GAO says Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Trump administration acted unlawfully when it withheld $214 million in security assistance to Ukraine, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. In a legal opinion released Thursday, the GAO concluded that the Office of Management and Budget violated federal law when it withheld aid to the Eastern European country from last July until last September. Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law, the GAO said in its opinion. OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act. The withholding was not a programmatic delay. Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA. According to the GAO, the OMB sent out a series of apportionment schedules starting on July 25 of last year in which they included a footnote that ordered a withholding of funds for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. On Sept. 12 of last year, OMB issued an apportionment removing the footnote that made the USAI funds unavailable, effectively ending the withholding. GAO General Counsel Thomas H. Armstrong said in a statement released with the report on Thursday that President Donald Trump has narrow, limited authority to withhold appropriations under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. OMB told GAO that it withheld the funds to ensure that they were not spent in a manner that could conflict with the Presidents foreign policy. The law does not permit OMB to withhold funds for policy reasons, Armstrong said. The Trump administration also expressed disagreement with the GAOs decision. Fox News quoted an unnamed administration source who called the decision a pretty clear overreach. GAO has a history of the flip-flops, reversing 40-years of precedent this year on their pocket rescission decision, they were also forced to reverse a legally faulty opinion when they opposed the reimbursement of federal employee travel costs, the source told Fox News. In their rush to insert themselves in the impeachment narrative, maybe theyll have to reverse their opinion again. OMB general counsel Mark Paoletta said in a memo in December that the administration had legal authority to withhold the funds. "For decades, OMB has routinely used its apportionment authority to prevent funds from being used," Paoletta said. James Freeman, assistant editor of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page, also took issue with the GAO report, pointing out that the administration still made the aid available to Ukraine before an obligatory Sept. 30 deadline. Its not entirely clear which date would have made GAO happy but in the agencys view the White House did not have an unavoidable programmatic delay which prevented funds from going to Ukraine, wrote Freeman. Wouldnt the logic of this decision also apply to Vice President Joe Bidens famous withholding of Ukraine aid until the local prosecutor investigating his sons company was fired? Last year, the House of Representatives voted largely on party lines to advance two articles of impeachment against the president. Trump was accused of using his office to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden when he asked him to look into the country's alleged interference in the 2016 election, and discussed Biden's threat to withhold $1 billion from Ukraine during the Obama administration and his son, Hunter, who sat on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father was managing the U.S.'s Ukraine policy. A transcript of Trump and Zelensky's conversation can be read here. Article one of the impeachment claimed that Trumps actions constituted abuse of power, while article two accused Trump of obstruction of Congress when he told administration officials to not cooperate with the congressional investigation. The GAO report comes as the Senate begins the impeachment trial, with United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the senators being sworn in on Thursday afternoon. WASHINGTON In unison along with rest of their colleagues, New Jerseys two U.S. senators raised their right hands on Thursday and swore to do impartial justice as U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath. Thus, Democratic U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez became jurors in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, which gets underway Tuesday when members of the U.S. House begin presenting their arguments for removing the president from office. The solemnity and gravity of the issue, for all the talk thats taken place before, now fully comes upon ones shoulder, Menendez said afterward. Every member had to feel that at the end of the day. A solemn moment. Just sworn in to be one of 100 jurors in the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump. pic.twitter.com/f55m5NlEnd Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) January 16, 2020 It is an extremely somber responsibility, Booker agreed. When I entered the Senate in 2013, I swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and today, I swore another sacred oath to do impartial justice throughout the impeachment trial. As I signed my name today, I felt the weight of carrying out both of these responsibilities. Menendez has a front-row seat. On Thursday, he took notes as the House impeachment managers, some standing in front of him, read the articles of impeachment against Trump from the Senate floor. Booker, who has less seniority, is further away from the action. Both will be asked to vote on rules to govern the impeachment proceedings and other resolutions, including whether to compel witnesses to testify. Trump prevented top aides with first-hand knowledge from appearing before the House, and some senators have pushed to have them testify during the trial. Despite his earlier criticisms of Trump, Menendez said he wont make any decisions on his guilt or innocence until the trial ends, listening to the arguments made by both the House managers and the presidents lawyers. I have obviously alarming concerns based on whats been alleged, but at the end of the day, if youre going to be a fair and impartial juror, you have to wait for all the facts and the information to be available, he said. Booker said he also planned to make up his mind after hearing all the evidence. While history watches, our country and our Constitution are counting on us to deliver a fair, impartial, and honorable trial and that is what Im hoping will happen in the coming weeks, he said. I am treating this process with the gravity that our founders intended it to have and will follow the evidence where it leads. Neither Menendez nor Booker will be able to speak during the trial. If they have questions, they can submit them to Roberts, who is presiding over the trial, to ask. To prepare for the trial, Menendez said he was reading the articles of impeachment as well as any other documents the House will put before the senators, plus any briefs filed by either side. Booker has been studying historical documents regarding impeachment, including the Federalist Papers and the debates at the Constitutional Convention. He posted many of those early documents on his Senate website. And Alexander Hamiltons Federalist No. 65, on why the Senate was the proper place to try impeachments. "Where else than in the Senate could have been found a tribunal sufficiently dignified, or sufficiently independent?" Hamilton posited. https://t.co/HiFuocFopU Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) January 16, 2020 For Menendez, this is the second time he will be participating in the impeachment of a president. In 1998, as a member of the U.S. House, he voted against impeaching Bill Clinton. Now he will be voting on whether to remove Trump from office. In the House, you make accusations, Menendez said. In the Senate, we act in a different role, which is not the accuser but the trier of fact and the trier of circumstances. In my personal view, I understand the importance of the essence of acting as juror and what it means to the fate of President Trump but also what it means to the fate of the country. Trump, only the third president ever to be impeached, is accused of withholding congressionally approved aid to Ukraine to pressure that country into announcing investigations of a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, and into the already debunked claim that Ukraine, not Russia, intervened in the 2016 presidential election. The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found that the Trump administration broke federal law by withholding the assistance. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Liu Fengmin (R) talks with a kid at the station hall of Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, January 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". [Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu] Yan Haiting (R), one of Liu Fengmin's apprentice, hands new year gift to a passenger at the station hall of the Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, January 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". [Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu] Wang Xiaoting (R), one of Liu Fengmin's apprentice, helps a passenger at Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, January 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". [Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu] Liu Fengmin (C) teaches her apprentices how to use the medicine box at Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, January 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". [Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu] Liu Fengmin (2nd R) and her apprentices serve a passenger at Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, January 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". [Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu] Liu Fengmin (C) and her apprentices serve a passenger at Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, January 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". [Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu] Liu Fengmin (2nd R) and her apprentices serve passengers at Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, January 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". [Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu] Liu Fengmin (2nd, R) and her apprentice serve passengers at Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, January 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". [Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu] Liu Fengmin (C) and her apprentice serve a passenger at Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, January 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". [Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu] Liu Fengmin (C) and her apprentices prepare to provide service to passengers at Bengbu Railway Station in Bengbu, east China's Anhui Province, January 15, 2020. Liu Fengmin, a passenger service assistant of Bengbu Railway Station of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., is going to retire at the end of 2020. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, apart from fulfilling her duty of serving passengers, Liu has burdened another responsiblity, which is cultivating successors for "Hongxiang studio". "Hongxiang studio" was founded by Lu Hongxiang, a former assistant of the Bengbu Railway Station who was entitled to the honor of the national model worker. In 2004, Lu retired and Liu Fengmin became the inheritor of "Hongxiang Studio", providing services for passengers, especially the elderly, the minors, the sick, the disabled and the pregnant. During the Spring Festival travel rush this year, Liu took two apprentices to work with her. She wants to teach them the service skills so that they can provide better service to passengers and pass on the spirit of "Hongxiang". [Xinhua/Han Xiaoyu] (Source: Xinhua) Andy Murray applauds as Britain took on Spain in the Davis Cup semi-finals in Madrid in November. (AFP/OSCAR DEL POZO) The 32-year-old former world number one, who hasn't played since the Davis Cup Finals in Spain in November, had pencilled in a return at either Montpellier in France or the Dutch city of Rotterdam next month. "I don't want to rush anything or put a timeline on my recovery," three-time major winner Murray was quoted as saying by British media. "I'm going to listen to my body and step back on the court to compete when the time is right." "The bone bruising is taking longer to heal that first thought, so I won't be playing in Montpellier or Rotterdam in February." The injury picked up at the Davis Cup had already forced him to miss the Australian Open which starts on Monday. Murray, now ranked at 127 in the world, had hoped to make his return to Grand Slam action in Melbourne following a hip resurfacing operation last year. But concerns over the fitness of the five-time losing Australian Open finalist were raised when he cancelled a scheduled block of training in Miami. Melbourne Park was the scene of an emotional press conference 12 months ago where he suggested he might retire as a result of his hip injury. Despite being less than fully fit Murray still played a gruelling five-set loss to Roberto Bautista Agut. A fortnight later the double Olympic gold medallist, twice a Wimbledon champion and the winner of the 2012 US Open, had hip resurfacing surgery. He started his return to action at the Queen's Club grass-court event in London in June where he teamed with Spain's Feliciano Lopez to win the men's doubles. Victory over fellow three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in the final of the ATP Tour event in Antwerp in October was Murray's first singles title in two years. However, he was injured during the Davis Cup and then watched from the sidelines as Britain went on to reach the semi-finals. From Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County The healthcare providers at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County have implemented a new set of screening questions to help identify risk and prevent suicide. If youre coming to the hospital for inpatient care, you may be asked some sensitive questions from the Columbia Suicide Severity Risk Scale (C-SSRS), part of The Columbia Lighthouse Project protocol. Hospital staff began working to implement the process over the summer. It went into effect in October, said Crystal Hamblin, a registered nurse who is part of MHSCs suicide prevention t... A New Jersey state trooper has been charged with aggravated assault after authorities say he threatened a driver with his handgun in Jersey City last month. The arrest came after an apparent road rage incident on Dec. 20 in which the trooper, Thomas D. DAlessio, cut off another driver at Wayne Street and Mill Road, according to the criminal complaint and the other drivers attorney. DAlessio then got out of his car and pointed a gun at the other driver. He was not in uniform at the time of the incident, and DAlessio did not identify himself as a law enforcement officer, said Randy Norris, who is representing the other driver. "The victim went on to explain the defendant then approached the (vehicle) further, pointing the handgun directly at his face and banging the butt-end of the handgun into the drivers side front window of his (vehicle) where the victim was sitting, the complaint said. The assault took place around 10 p.m. that night, after an undetermined interaction between the two drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike, Norris said. The victim lives in Hamilton and is a Port Authority employee, Norris said, noting that at the time of the incident he was on his way to work at the Journal Square PATH station. A spokeswoman for the Jersey City police did not respond to a request for details on the incident. DAlessio has been a New Jersey state trooper since 2015, according to state payroll records. He was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm for unlawful purposes. A lawyer for DAlessio did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the State Police told The Jersey Journal that DAlessio is currently suspended without pay, though the spokesman declined to say when the suspension began. DAlessio made his first court appearance on Jan. 6, according to court records. He is next scheduled to appear Feb. 7 for an early disposition conference. A man is suing Arizona police for $1.5million after he was arrested and held for a murder he did not commit after Google's GPS tracker wrongly placed him at the scene of the 2018 crime Jorge Molina, 23, of Arizona, was arrested at his job at Macy's and spent six days in jail in December 2018 for the murder of Joseph Knight, 29, in March of that year, who was shot nine times outside his Avondale apartment. Molina was fired from his job but was later released from jail without charge after prosecutors noted numerous inconsistencies with the location data that had tied him to the killing. Now he is suing his local police department for arresting him based on faulty Google location data. Jorge Molina says that since the arrest and six days spent in jail, he has lost his job at Macy's and been unable to find new work because he consistently fails background checks For months, police had struggled to make progress on the investigation, with only fuzzy surveillance camera footage showing a white Honda with an unreadable license plate at the scene of the crime to go on. Police then turned to Google to help them crack the case, issuing a warrant for geofence information on all the active accounts in the area at the time of the crime, according to a report from the Phoenix New Times. The warrant produced four accounts, including Molina's, which Google said had been logged into on a device in the area around the time. Molina also drove a white Honda, which in combination with the Google data, was enough to convince police that he was the likely suspect. The case against Molina fell apart quickly and prosecutors declined to bring charges, and last month, Molina filed a $1.5million lawsuit against the city of Avondale and members of its police department over their faulty reliance on Google's data. The lawsuit charges defamation, gross negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, which Molina claims he experience after the arrest. On December 13, 2018, Molina (pictured above in his mugshot) was arrested and spent six days in jail before the case against him unraveled due to numerous inconsistencies in the data from Google Police found surveillance footage of the crime, but because of the low quality they weren't able to identify the license plate number of the car used in the murder He was fired from his job at Macys, and has been unable to find new work both because the arrest causes him to fail background checks and because new stories about it prominently feature in Google searches for his name. Molinas lawsuit argues the data from Google should not have been used since Google allows multiple people to be simultaneously logged in to one account from multiple devices and locations. WHAT IS A GEOFENCE WARRANT? A geofence warrant is a type of warrant that police can issue to tech companies demanding location data about their users. A geofence is a specific area that's drawn with GPS coordinates. Tech companies like Google can be compelled to turn over information to law enforcement about specific users who were active within the geofence area. The exact requirements for when and how a geofence warrant can be issued vary from state to state. Advertisement The suit also argues that the data from Google couldnt actually identify the owner of the device, nor the phone number or IP address associated with the device. Molinas lawyers also found multiple location discrepancies in the Google data from other days, which should have been disqualifying. On one afternoon, Googles records showed he was at his mothers workplace in Scotsdale, while according to his debit card records, he was making a purchase at a Walmart 30 miles away. In other words, the suit argues, Google location data merely shows a possible physical location of a device that has been used to log into someone's Google account without revealing any identifying information of the person who is in possession of that device.' WASHINGTON - Nancy Pelosi's attacks on Facebook highlight how furious Democrats have become with the social network. The most powerful Democrat in the House accused the company with an office in her home district of cozying up to President Donald Trump during a Thursday news conference. "All they want are their tax cuts and no antitrust action against them," Pelosi said when asked whether Facebook was too powerful. "And they schmooze this administration in that regard because so far that's what they have received." The House speaker's words highlight how tensions between the tech titan and Democrats have escalated in the week since Facebook defied Democrats' calls andannounced it wouldn't police the accuracy of ads run by politicians on their site. Democrats warned the policy will benefit Trump in 2020, especially because his campaign has already been able to run unchecked ads making misleading claims about former vice president Joe Biden. For years, Facebook and other large Silicon Valley companies were widely viewed as Democratic darlings. But concerns that Facebook didn't do enough to prevent Russian interference during the 2016 election marked a key turning point, and the company's positions on fighting falsehoods have only strained it further. Pelosi also ripped Facebook as "shameful," "abusive," "irresponsible" and intent on being "accomplices for misleading the American people with money from God knows where." Pelosi's vitriol is in line with recent attacks on Facebook from leading Democratic presidential candidates. Her remarks were prompted by recent comments that Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, made to The New York Times editorial board about Facebook's unbridled power. "No one company and no one person should have the kind of power that they've accumulated," he said. Democrats across the political spectrum have united against the Menlo Park, California, titan. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who wants to break up the social media giant, and Biden have both warned that Facebook's political ad policies stand to benefit Trump. "Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have admitted they fear a Warren presidency because they know Elizabeth will hold them accountable and break them up," Saloni Sharma, a spokeswoman for the Warren campaign, said in a statement to The Technology 202. "It's no surprise they have tried to curry favor with the Trump Administration and have helped his re-election campaign by letting him run Facebook ads containing outright lies." (Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said a Warren presidency would result in an antitrust challenge for Facebook, according to leaked audio obtained by the Verge). Facebook is currently battling antitrust scrutiny on multiple fronts, as House lawmakers, the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and states attorneys general all open probes into the power of tech titans. Pelosi's comments come after some Democratic political commentators have questioned whether Facebook's position on fact-checking politicians was motivated by its concern about the Trump administration taking antitrust action. Facebook has said it first implemented its policy of not fact-checking political ads in September 2018, months before antitrust scrutiny of Facebook ramped up in Washington. But the debate over the move didn't escalate until this fall, when Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs and communications, made a speech saying Facebook didn't want to play the role of refereeing politicians' speech. Facebook has defended its stance as a matter of free speech and argued that no single private company should have the power to police political speech. Pelosi's attacks come just a week after The New York Times exposed a memo from a top Facebook executive warning the company not to tilt the scales against Trump. He said that as a liberal, he was tempted to use the platform against Trump. "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," wrote Andrew Bosworth, the head of Facebook's virtual and augmented reality division. Trump and Facebook have had a rocky relationship, as the president has frequently accused the social network and other companies of anti-conservative bias. But there are signs tensions have eased between conservatives and the company in recent months. The Trump campaign has praised Facebook's decision not to fact check politicians' ads. Trump and Zuckerberg also had two meetings in a two month-stretch last year, including an initially undisclosed private dinner with venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Zuckerberg told CBS in an interview Trump did not "lobby" him during the undisclosed meeting. "We talked about a number of things that were on his mind. And some of the topics that you'd read about in the news around our work," Zuckerberg said. Market regulators must perform effective monitor and sanctions mechanism over listed businesses, violators must be fined or even suspended transactions. Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE) recently sent a letter to the HOSE, asking to delay the deadline to announce this years financial statements. REE requested to extend the deadline for the submission of last years Q4 financial statement, within 30 days of the end of the quarter (December 31, 2019). The company also asked to extend the deadline for the submission of the 2020 reviewed semi-annual financial statement, within 60 days from the end of the first half of this year. REE said it needed more time to prepare the separate financial statements of its subsidiaries and process the consolidated figures. Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ) also requested an extension for last years Q4 financial statement and this years reviewed semi-annual financial statement. PNJ said the company would struggle to complete the publication of financial statements on the due date as it had up to 376 stores and branches as well as four subsidiaries across the country. It also said the compilation of documents, reporting and consolidating reports took a long time. Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company (HAG) faces the same situation. The enterprise attributed the delay to the diversification of business lines and its large number of subsidiaries and affiliates, both locally and in Laos and Cambodia. It was time-consuming to gather data for the preparation of separate financial statements and consolidated financial statements, HAG said. Some businesses even asked for the extension at the end of 2019, such as Nam Kim Steel Joint Stock Company (NKG), Apax Holdings Joint Stock Company (IBC), Techno - Agricultural Supplying Joint Stock Company (TSC), Vinalink Logistics JSC (VNL), Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation (TTF) and Ba Ria Vung Tau House Development JSC (HDC). According to a circular issued by the Ministry of Finance on October 6, 2015, listed organisations and large-scale public companies must publish quarterly financial statements within 20 days, reviewed semi-annual financial statements within 45 days and audited annual financial statements within 90 days after the endorsement of the auditor. If a company fails to submit the financial reports on the due date, the State Securities Commission (SSC) will consider a time extension, but it shall not exceed 100 days from the end of the fiscal year. Some experts said the extensions could easily affect information transparency and slow down investors' access to information. According to the SSC, by the end of January 31 last year, there were 191 enterprises on the three stock exchanges sending extension requests for their 2019 annual financial statements. Phan Dung Khanh, director of investment consultancy at Maybank Kim Eng Securities, said requests for delays happen every year, even every quarter, which highlights the lack of transparency in the Vietnamese stock market. In addition to the reasons for the delays listed above, Dung said some businesses had asked for an extension to distort data. Market regulators must effectively monitor and sanction listed businesses that violated regulations, he added. A young boy with a rare genetic disease that typically kills within weeks of birth is now 3 years old and in remission thanks to a collaborative effort that included physicians at King Saud University Department of Pediatrics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and immunologists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. A report published in The New England Journal of Medicine today describes how the global team combined exceptional supportive clinical therapy, genetic diagnosis and a novel immunotherapeutic drug known as a protein kinase inhibitor to bring the Saudi Arabian boy into full remission from his deadly disease, known as USP18 deficiency because it is caused by a mutation of the USP18 gene. The teamwork between our two institutions and others around the world is a textbook case of science without borders, says Dusan Bogunovic, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology, and Pediatrics, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and co-corresponding author of the study. We showed that even with a disease like USP18 deficiency, sound clinical care and timely drug administration can rescue patients from what was previously considered a death sentence. USP18 (ubiquitin-specific peptidase 18) is a protein coding gene involved in immune system. It is important to regulate inflammation driven by a substance that our body normally secretes to fight off viruses, type 1 interferons. Mutations of USP18 result in an uncontrolled response to type 1 interferons, triggering IFN-I-mediated inflammation thats lethal in utero or shortly after birth. JAK1 inhibitor drugs, like ruxolitinib, the protein kinase inhibitor given to the Saudi Arabian boy, take over the intended role of USP18, and thus have the potential for a prompt and sustained recovery by patients. Dr. Bogunovic and his lab, widely known for their work in the field of rare inflammatory diseases in children, first described USP18 deficiency in 2016. The following year, physicians at King Saud University reached out to Mount Sinai via Paris Descartes University in France about a gravely ill young patient in their intensive care unit who appeared to have a variant of the USP18 gene. Thus began a clinical/research collaborationwhich included Paris Descartes University as well as Rockefeller University in New Yorkin which scientists characterized in detail the molecular basis of the disease through a battery of whole exome sequencing, expression assays, protein analysis, and antibody detection. After seeing a potential variation in the USP18 gene, we conducted a complete set of tests to determine what it meant in terms of protein function, explains Marta Martin-Fernandez, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine and a first author of the published study, who performed many of its biochemical and genetic analyses. Those findings confirmed for us that ruxolitinib was the appropriate treatment. The young patient, who had been kept alive for months through the extraordinary care of physicians led by Fahad Alsohime, MD, Assistant Professor at the College of Medicine, King Saud University, was promptly put on oral, twice-daily doses of ruxolitinib. The dosage was increased after insufficient changes were seen, and within two weeks his symptoms began to rapidly improve, allowing doctors to wean him from respiratory support. Subsequent CT and MRI imaging showed a resolution of hemorrhaging, ischemia, cellulitis of the right forearm, and hydrocephalus, a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain. After two years of follow-up in an outpatient clinic in Riyadh, and continued administration of the JAK1 inhibitor, the child remains free of clinical problems and has been given an encouraging prognosis by his physicians. He will likely have to take ruxolitinib for the rest of his life. The success of this case has provided a further springboard for Mount Sinai scientists to investigate the genomics and molecular/cellular biology behind conditions less severe than the boys. This ongoing work links to other studies that have shown that JAK inhibitorswhich were initially developed as anti-cancer drugs but proved to be largely ineffectivecan improve symptoms and control disease activity in patients with other type 1 interferon abnormalities. We were able to demonstrate the benefits of rapid genetic diagnosis of an inherited disorder for which an immunosuppressant drug like ruxolitinib can provide effective and sustained treatment, says Dr. Bogunovic of Mount Sinai, a senior author on the publication. That kind of discovery and drug repurposing must continue to be pursued by the scientific community without interruption. About the Mount Sinai Health System The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest integrated delivery system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai's vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 7,480 primary and specialty care physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report's "Best Medical Schools", aligned with a U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" Hospital, No. 12 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Orthopedics in the 2019-2020 "Best Hospitals" issue. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai St. Lukes and Mount Sinai West are ranked 23rd nationally for Nephrology and 25th for Diabetes/Endocrinology, and Mount Sinai South Nassau is ranked 35th nationally for Urology. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, Mount Sinai West, and Mount Sinai South Nassau are ranked regionally. For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The civil rights revolution, to Caldwell, is nothing less than constitutional in scope or, more precisely, anti-constitutional, because it overturns the de jure constitution of 1788, with all the traditional forms of jurisprudential legitimacy and centuries of American culture behind it, replacing it with a new, minoritarian constitution that pushes race-consciousness into every cranny of society. White men, the losers in the new order, responded by adopting their own identitarian, victim-group mind-set. They fell asleep thinking of themselves as the people who had built this country and woke up to find themselves occupying the bottom rung of an official hierarchy of races. And so here we are, not one country but two, governed by two constitutions, not one. Democrats, loyal to the post-1964 constitution, could not acknowledge (or even see) that they owed their ascendancy to a rollback of the basic constitutional freedoms Americans cherished most. Republicans, loyal to the pre-1964 constitution, could not acknowledge (or even see) that the only way back to the free country of their ideals was through the repeal of the civil rights laws. The combination was a terrible one rising tensions along with a society-wide inability to talk or think straight about anything. Nor is even that miserable dispensation the whole of it. Engaging in what Marxists call heightening the contradictions, Caldwell argues that the oppressive imperialism of civil rights laws is not incidental. Citizens, he writes, must choose between these two orders. There never was a moderate, limited way to keep the promises of integration. Civil rights was always this way: Dignity was an integral and nonnegotiable part of what was demanded, and a government interested in civil rights must secure it, no matter what the cost in rights to those who would deny it. Associational freedoms and property rights were always on the chopping block, incompatible with the 1964 act. Caldwell notices that it tended to be segregationists who philosophized in this vein and yes, he does go there, quoting an old-time Southern segregationist to the effect that a merchants right not to serve blacks is simple justice. Perhaps the author should have come up for oxygen when he found himself suggesting that the Southern segregationists were right all along. Reading this overwrought and strangely airless book, one would never imagine a different way of viewing things, one that rejects Caldwells ultimatum to choose between these two orders. In that view my own America has seen multiple refoundings, among them the Jackson eras populism, the Civil War eras abolition of slavery, the Progressive eras governmental reforms and the New Deal eras economic and welfare interventions. All of them, like the civil rights revolution, sparked tense and sometimes violent clashes between competing views of the Constitution and basic rights, but in my version of history, those tensions proved not only survivable but fruitful, and working through them has been an engine of dynamism and renewal, not destruction and oppression. I worry about the illiberal excesses of identity politics and political correctness, but I think excesses is what they are, and I think they, too, can be worked through. Being a homosexual American now miraculously married to my husband for almost a decade, I cant help feeling astonished by a history of America since 1964 that finds space for only one paragraph briefly acknowledging the civil rights movements social and moral achievements before hastening back to But the costs of civil rights were high. Perhaps most depressingly, Caldwells account, even if one accepts its cramped view of the Constitution and its one-eyed moral bookkeeping, leads nowhere. It proffers no constructive alternative, no plausible policy or path. The author knows perfectly well that there will be no repeal of the civil rights laws. He foresees only endless, grinding, negative-sum cultural and political warfare between two intractably opposed constitutions. His vision is a dead end. Unfortunately, it also seems to be where American conservatism is going. The form read: The passenger has been observed to have a body size/shape resembling to a pregnant lady, according to Ms. Nishida, who said she showed airline employees her return plane ticket, but to no avail. I was then led by a female in plainclothes, who claimed to be the medical practitioner, to a public restroom, she wrote. I was handed a pregnancy test and when the result came out negative, she failed to record this on the medical form and instructed me to throw the test into the trash. Satisfied that I had no baby in me, the airline staff finally issued me a boarding pass. The airline, which Cathay Pacific bought in July, said the pregnancy test requirement arose early last year. In response to concerns raised by authorities in Saipan, we took actions on flights to Saipan from February 2019 to help ensure U.S. immigration laws were not being undermined, the airline said. Under our new management, we recognize the significant concerns this practice has caused. We have immediately suspended the practice while we review it. Wed like to apologize for the distress caused. The United States Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday night. Ms. Nishida wrote that she was well aware of Saipans reputation as a hot spot for birth tourism, but that she was appalled by the way the airline had treated her. Coming back to Saipan has always been a happy time for me as I look forward to seeing my family and catching up with friends, she wrote. But after this incident, I can only think of how I will be suspected, investigated and humiliated before I can return to a place I consider home. ST. JOHNS, N.L.Police are investigating after three people were found dead in a home ravaged by fire in Conception Bay South, N.L. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says officers responded to a report of a structure fire Thursday evening. A news release says the home was engulfed in flames when officers arrived at the residential street in the town west of St. Johns. People were believed to be inside and the police force says officers assisted the towns fire department in battling the blaze and trying to rescue the victims. The constabulary says the remains of three people were later found inside the home, and the provinces chief medical examiners office is determining their cause of death. The fire is under investigation and the constabulary is asking people with information to come forward. The Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif is set to hold talks with his Canadian counterpart in Oman today, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet on Friday without stating the subject of the meeting. Canadian officials have not made an announcement yet or commented about this meeting. It is not clear if Canada's top diplomat traveled to Oman to meet Zarif or he happens to be in the country. Oman and Iran have good relations and Muscat has mediated between Tehran and Washington on previous occasions. In a separate statement on Friday Mousavi said he was surprised by some remarks of the foreign ministers of the five countries whose citizens were killed in downing of Ukrainian plane last week. The foreign ministers of Sweden, Canada, Britain, Ukraine and the acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan yesterday met in London to discuss the international investigation of the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran on January 8 and called on Iran to pay compensation for the victims and to conduct a "thorough, independent and transparent international investigation open to grieving nations". "We urge all sides to not abuse humanitarian issues - specifically this tragic incident - in a bid to make political gestures and pursue their political dreams," Mousavi said in response to the "negative comments" of the foreign ministers' of the five affected countries. Mousavi criticized the words of the Canadian foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne who on Thursday said Iran needed to begin talks that would result in a fair financial settlement and added: Compensation flows directly from the full admission of responsibility from the Iranian government. The eyes of the international community are on Iran today. I think that Iran has a choice, and the world is watching, Canadian foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said at a news conference in London, Reuters reported. Iran and Canada have not had diplomatic relations since September 2012 when Canada cut ties with Iran and closed its embassy in Tehran. The Ukrainian airliner was targeted by Iran's air defense in the wake of an Iranian missile attack on Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops a few hours earlier. Iran initially attributed the crash to technical failure but eventually after 3 days the Revolutionary Guard accepted responsibility for downing the plane. Iranian officials insist that human error at a time of crisis caused by "U.S. adventurism" caused the disastrous crash. ST. LOUIS, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced ICU Care, the nation's leading provider of high-acuity telemedicine services, announced that The Regional Medical Center (RMC), a non-profit hospital providing leading-edge care in Orangeburg, SC, has implemented the company's tele-ICU care services. The tele-ICU care will support patients in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit and Coronary Care Unit. RMC's mission is to deliver high quality, compassionate care to every patient, every day. As an acute care, community hospital with a Level III Trauma Center designation, the decision to partner with Advanced ICU Care and launch tele-ICU services stemmed from the organization's dedication to improved, quality outcomes with consistent patient-centered care delivery. With access to Advanced ICU Care's high-acuity telemedicine technology, intensivists and advanced practice providers, the hospital's bedside teams will be supported by 24 x 7 x 365 clinical expertise for proven clinical results. The addition of Advanced ICU Care's collaborative care model within RMC expands upon an existing partnership between the hospital and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC Health). Advanced ICU Care and MUSC Health partner to expand and improve care of critically ill patients in South Carolina through the use of telemedicine. "RMC is the only acute care provider in the area, serving patients across a 2,400 square mile region of South Carolina, which is why our role in delivering the best clinical care is most critical," said RMC President and Chief Executive Officer Charles Williams, FACHE. "With the addition of Advanced ICU Care's tele-ICU care to our ICU and CCU, we look forward to improved patient outcomes, heightened quality of care, and decreased length of stay, while reducing the risk of burnout to our bedside critical care teams." "Advanced ICU Care is excited to join with MUSC Health to partner with The Regional Medical Center in support of their ongoing commitment to quality patient outcomes for critically ill patients within the communities they serve," said Lou Silverman, CEO of Advanced ICU Care. "We look forward to supporting their bedside critical care teams with our advanced tele-ICU care services and specialized team of remote clinicians." Today, Advanced ICU Care's team of U.S. board-certified clinicians delivers high-acuity monitoring, clinical care and proven results to patients at more than 90 hospitals in 26 states across the nation. The company has successfully implemented and managed more tele-ICU programs than any other organization and is well suited to address the high acuity care needs of both health systems and individual hospitals. About Regional Medical Center Owned by Orangeburg and Calhoun counties, Regional Medical Center (RMC) health care system includes a 286-bed, acute-care hospital certified by The Joint Commission and 24 primary care and specialty care practices. RMC also operates a new, 20,500-square foot emergency care facility serving Bamberg, Barnwell and surrounding areas. RMC has advanced certification as a Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and is designated as a Level III Trauma Center by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). About Advanced ICU Care Advanced ICU Care treats more ICU patients and saves more lives than any other independent tele-ICU provider in the nation. Our clinical response platform leverages U.S. board-certified clinicians, nine technology-enabled care centers, and sophisticated connectivity and diagnostic technology to deliver 24 x 7 x 365 clinical expertise and proven clinical results to patients at more than 90 hospitals nationwide. Serving a large and growing cohort of ICU patients, families, providers, hospitals and hospital systems since 2006, and adding in-patient telemetry monitoring services in 2016, the Advanced ICU Care team is proud to serve as a leader in telemedicine and honored to partner with our clients in defining and delivering the best of acute care to the patients we serve together. To learn more about our story, visit http://advancedicucare.com/. About Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC Health) Using the latest telehealth technologies, MUSC Health is connecting patients and providers across South Carolina with our expert health care team. MUSC Health is focused on expanding access to services, coordinating care and improving the health of communities. Whether you are a patient needing the care of a MUSC Health specialist through the convenience and comfort of your local doctor's office, or a provider interested in partnering to offer expanded services to your patients, MUSC Health has a telehealth program for you. Learn more about the many ways MUSC Health is changing what's possible through telehealth. The Advanced ICU Care and MUSC Health Tele-ICU program is one of the many programs offered by the Center for Telehealth. http://www.muschealth.org/telehealth/index.html SOURCE Advanced ICU Care Related Links http://www.advancedicucare.com Syria and Russia have called on the US to withdraw from Syria, to stop looting Syrian natural resources and allow the return of displaced Syrian writes SANA. Syria and Russia have renewed condemnation of the escalatory practices of the US and the attacks launched by its forces in the region and its continued attempts to maintain tensions in Syria to justify the illegitimate presence of its forces on its territories and to continue looting its natural resources for the longest possible period. In a joint statement on the return of displaced Syrians, the Syrian and Russian coordination committees pointed out that the Syrian Arab Republic and Russia condemn the attacks launched by the US forces in the Middle East, calling on Washington to commit to the UN principles. The statement pointed out that the US is trying by all means to maintain tension hotbeds in Syria in order to justify the presence of its forces and to continue looting its natural resources as long as possible without punishment. The withdrawal of the US military units will undoubtedly contribute to reducing tensions in the region, the statement pointed out, warning against the dire consequences of the US measures in Syria with regards to the deteriorating situation in the al-Rukban and al-Hol camps. It called on the US to halt its practices which aim to destabilize the situation in the Middle East and to completely commit to the principles of respecting the sovereignty of the countries and the UN principles. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. ALBANY Graduation rates rose incrementally in the Capital Region and across New York in 2019, according to data released by the state Education Department on Thursday. Statewide, 83.4 percent of students who entered high school in 2015 graduated last year, 0.8 percentage points above the previous class' 82.6 percent, according to the data. But significant racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps persist, noted state Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa. She pointed to the Board's ongoing review of New York's state graduation standards as part of their broader focus on improving equity in public schools. Related stories: The narrowing of achievement gaps is a step in the right direction, but we can never truly close achievement gaps until we address opportunity gaps," Rosa said in a statement. "We must ensure that our education system is providing opportunities for everyone, especially our most vulnerable students." Some of these gains can be attributed to the state's increased reliance on Local diplomas an alternative passing the state's rigorous Regents exams for students from underserved groups, according to Ian Rosenblum, executive director of Education TrustNew York, an educational advocacy group. For example, while the states overall high school graduation rate increased by 1.6 percentage points from 2016 to 2019, 86 percent of this increase was the result of greater use of Local diplomas. The numbers are starker for low-income students, where the overall high school graduation rate increase of 1.8 percentage points from 2016 to 2019 is entirely the result of a higher Local diploma rate increase over that period, he said. "While Local diplomas can serve as a safety net for students who otherwise struggle on exit exams, disproportionate reliance by school districts on Local diplomas for historically under-served groups of students could signify problems with instructional rigor, inadequate support, and lack of equitable access to challenging coursework," Rosenblum said. From 2018 to 2019 alone, the high school graduation rate increase for black students of 1.6 percentage points is made up of a 1.2 percentage point increase in the Local diploma rate and only a 0.4 percentage point increase in the Regents diploma rate. State education officials are currently reconsidering New York's reliance on the Regents tests to assess proficiency and readiness to graduate as part of their inquiry into state graduation standards and the significance of a New York diploma. In the Capital Region, nearly every school saw an uptick in graduation rates. Albany city schools made the greatest strides over a five year period, with its graduation rate climbing 30 percent, according to the data. While the graduation rate at Albany High School hovered at 53 percent in 2015, 68 percent of students graduated in 2019. The school district has also significantly narrowed its achievement gap for students of color since 2015. Black students graduated at a rate of 63 percent in 2019, and at a 50 percent rate five years ago. Sixty-five percent of Hispanic students at Albany High graduated in 2019, up from 43 percent in 2015. But racial disparities persist; 83 percent of white Albany High School seniors graduated in 2019, compared to 68 in 2015. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Achievement among students not proficient in English continues to be low across the board. At Albany High School graduation rates among this cohort have fluctuated in recent years. English language learners at the school graduated at a rate of 7 percent in 2015, 38 percent in 2018, and at a rate of 17 percent last year, according to the figures. Troy High School is also graduating more students than it did five years ago. In 2014, 74 percent of seniors graduated, while 85 percent of the class of 2019 received diplomas. Green Island school district, which serves 289 students from kindergarten to 12th grade, made gains in 2019. The tiny high school had a down year in 2018 when it graduated just 7 of its 17 seniors, or 41 percent. In 2019, the school's graduation rate jumped to 75 percent, with 15 out of 20 seniors graduating, a figure on par with earlier classes. Cohoes city schools also performed well last year. The district saw 85 percent of its seniors graduate in 2019, a 13 percent increase from the class of 2018 which had a graduation rate of 71 percent, according to the SED data. See how other local schools fared: . Police are looking to speak with a bald man after a woman was allegedly molested on an early morning train. The alleged pervert woke the woman by touching her sexually and exposing himself to her on Thursday January 9, police said on Friday. Police said the suspect boarded the train at Sydney's Central Station on Thursday January 9 at 6.20am, headed for Caringbah in Sydney's southern suburbs. Police want to talk to this man to help with their inquiries over the alleged sexual molestation of a sleeping woman on an early morning train in Sydney on January 9 Police want to talk to this man to help with their inquiries. The offender got off the 6.20am train fro Cetnral an hour later when it reached Caringbah He sat down next to the sleeping woman before allegedly molesting her. The woman woke to find the man touching her inappropriately and exposing himself to her, police said on Friday. The woman left the train and reported the matter to police. The offender then left the train at Caringbah in the Sutherland Shire around 7.30am, police said on Friday. Police released images of the man they are looking for on Friday who may be able to 'help with their inquiries'. The CCTV pictures of the man who may be able to help with the police inquiries show a thin man of caucasian appearance with a shiny shaved scalp wearing a black hoodie and a beanie. Police said the man in the pictures is about 40 years old and 170cm tall. He was last seen wearing blue pants and black shoes with a grey or brown satchel bag, police said. Police have asked anyone with information that could identify the man in the photo to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the Democrats' two leading liberal presidential candidates, accused each other of calling the other a "liar" in an exchange caught on a CNN microphone after the end of Tuesday's presidential debate. Their confrontation, visible to viewers, began when Ms Warren walked toward Mr Sanders and refused to shake his outstretched hand. "I think you called me a liar on national TV," Ms Warren told Mr Sanders. "What?" asked Mr Sanders. "You know, let's not do it right now," he added. "Anytime," Ms Warren said. The two have been feuding for days over what was said during a private December 2018 dinner. CNN reported on Monday that Mr Sanders had told Ms Warren a woman could not win the presidency. Mr Sanders denied the account. As he looks at pictures of his parents and sisters who perished in Auschwitz, Szmul Icek begins to tremble, tears clouding his eyes. It may have been 75 years ago, but for this survivor of the Holocaust the memories of life and death in the Nazi extermination camp remain painfully fresh. More than a million Jews were killed at Auschwitz, in then occupied Poland. The last survivors, now all elderly, still live with the physical and mental scars of the horrors of that time. Since their liberation three quarters of a century ago, their skin has wrinkled with the march of time and the numbers tattooed on their left arms have faded. Much in the same way that the collective memory of the Holocaust is blurring. These survivors are the last witnesses to traumatic events which now in the 21st century are often called into question by anti-Semitic revisionists. So as Israel prepares this month to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp at a ceremony to be attended by a host of world leaders, AFP reporters met with about 10 survivors to hear their testimonies. Some have learnt their stories by heart, reciting every detail without tears. Others no longer have the strength to speak, some have had their memories ravaged by Alzheimers. While others are still consumed by the shame of being one of Adolf Hitlers victims. Born in Poland, Icek, 92, struggles to talk following a car accident, and leaves it to his wife to recount the tragedy which befell his family. In early 1942, his two sisters responded to a notice from the Gestapo that children should present themselves to the notorious secret police in order to protect their family. They left, but they were never seen again, never. We dont know what happened to them, said Sonia on behalf of her husband, who tensed up as she began to talk. For many years, Icek, number 117 568, kept his imprisonment at Auschwitz secret from his wife. After living together in Belgium for years, the couple now inhabits an apartment in Jerusalem where old family portraits hang in their living room. One shows his father with a full beard, wearing a round hat, while his mothers hair is cropped short in the style popular in that era. A month after his sisters disappeared, the Germans came for the rest of his family. His parents, two brothers and him. When he arrived at Auschwitz, on getting off the train, he held onto his fathers hand like a little boy, Sonia said of her husbands deportation. But Icek was separated from his dad by a Nazi. He cried, he wanted to be with his father. But the German said: no, you (go) over there. That was the last time he saw his father, who was sent to the gas chambers. Both his parents died, although his brothers like him managed to survive. Hearing his wife talk about Auschwitz where he spent two and a half years, Icek, dressed in a blue polo neck and a skullcap, became briefly animated. It cant be, it cant be, no, he said, clasping his hands around his neck to mime the killings at the camp. Burying the ashes Like Icek, Menahem Haberman, born in the then Czechoslovakia in 1927, was a teenager when he arrived at Auschwitz and was separated from his family. Their paths never crossed at the extermination camp, nor in Jerusalem where Haberman now lives in a retirement home. His memory still sharp, he recounted how he was taken outside of the camp to the edge of some water and given a shovel. There was a canal and I had to run to each side and pour ashes into the water. I didnt know what I was doing. When I came back, I asked a camp veteran: What have I done? Haberman told the man he had only arrived at Auschwitz the previous day. He told me: All your family were ashes in that canal four hours after their arrival. It was then that I understood where I was, Haberman told AFP. His bitter encounter with death at the camp was to drive his overwhelming determination to survive. I told myself, I dont want to die here, I dont want my ashes to sink and flow in this canal towards the river, said Haberman. There was a guy there who said in Yiddish: Those who dont have the strength to work, will end up in the chimney. I kept that phrase in mind and repeated: I do not want to die here. The experiences of the last remaining survivors, who were children when they were sent to the death camps, remain seared into their minds. Every day I think about it, especially at night, said Haberman. Its deeply engrained in me. Seventy-five years later, we still live with that, we dont forget we cannot forget, said Haberman. We are survivors, we are not escapees. The camps are imprinted in our skin. Six million Jews were killed by Nazi Germany. And of more than 1.3 million people imprisoned at Auschwitz, some 1.1 million died and Haberman remains baffled that he managed to survive. I really knew people who were better men than me. Why did they die and why am I still alive? Stalked by hunger In the suburbs of Tel Aviv, 91-year-old Malka Zaken sits in her small apartment surrounded by dolls, some of which are still in their original boxes. Dont worry Sean, hes not German, he wont take me, Zaken reassured one of them, as AFP arrived to talk to her. While age has muddled some of her memories and her speech is confused, the traumas of Auschwitz remain vivid. When I was little, my mother bought me lots of dolls, said Zaken, recalling her childhood in Greece with her parents and six siblings. But she was burned by the Nazis. When Im with the dolls, I remember her, its like when I was a child at home, I think about it all the time, she said. Zaken spends her afternoons watching soap operas, at home with a carer. She remembers friends killed by the Nazis, as well as those who survived the war but have since died. In Auschwitz, she recalled being beaten all the time, we were naked and they beat us I never forget, never, I never forget how much Ive suffered. What hell! I dont even know how I made it to survive. Occasionally looking dazed, the number 76 979 marked on her wrinkled skin, Zaken said the memories haunted her long after she was freed. After the liberation, I couldnt sleep, I lay awake at night crying, I was scared, and I was cared for for a long time. As well as fearing the gas chamber, Zaken also remembers the starvation which stalked the death camp and reduced prisoners to walking skeletons. Fellow survivor Saul Oren, 90, also recalled the unimaginable hunger with prisoners given watery soup. And the soup was for the whole day. Or they gave us a small potato, or they gave us a small piece of bread, he said. We didnt dare eat the whole bread because we wanted to save it for later, perhaps we couldnt stand the hunger, he said. Orens mother was killed at Auschwitz and he has no photo of her, but tries to include her image in the paintings he does at home. Even after leaving the extermination camp, hunger followed him. He was forced onto the Death March when, as the Soviets advanced, the Nazis made prisoners from extermination camps walk in deep winter towards Germany and Austria. We marched for 12 days, practically without eating we stopped in a forest, we found a dead horse, everyone threw themselves on the horse. Each person took a bite, Oren said. Another survivor, Danny Chanoch, marched for weeks in the snow, scratching at the soil in the hope of unearthing some frozen grass. He is still affected by seeing survivors eating the bodies of prisoners killed by the Germans. They couldnt stand the hunger so they took the human flesh, cooked, ate (it). And we know that a red line is not to eat human flesh and not to take the bread from your comrade, said Chanoch, originally from Lithuania. Guarding Eichmann After being taken to the Mauthausen and Gunskirchen camps, Chanoch was eventually freed and made his way to Italy as a penniless 12-year-old. In the city of Bologna he was reunited with his brother, Uri, and a photo of the two boys taken by an Italian man hangs in his home. Chanoch, who lives in a village between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, was philosophical about his experience in the death camp: Sometimes I say to myself, how could I live without Auschwitz?' It led me to the right way, to not skip anything, and do what you like to do, he said. Chanoch and his brother travelled illegally from Italy to Palestine, then under British mandate, while other Holocaust survivors later arrived in the land which had become Israel. The new state swiftly passed a law setting out the death penalty for crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The legislation was used to execute Adolf Eichmann, one of the masterminds of the Nazis so-called Final Solution plan of genocide against European Jews. He was captured in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires 15 years after the war and smuggled to Israel, and tried. For Shmuel Blumenfeld, a 94-year-old Auschwitz survivor, tattooed with number 108 006, the Eichmann affair was a historic turnaround. Blumenfeld served as one of Eichmanns prison guards and spoke to the Nazi, telling him who had ultimately won. One day I brought him food, I lifted my sleeve so that he saw my tattooed number. He saw it but acted as if nothing was amiss, said Blumenfeld, who offered Eichmann another helping. Then, I clearly showed my number from Auschwitz and I told him: Your men didnt finish their mission, I spent two years there and Im still alive, Blumenfeld said in German, before translating the conversation into Hebrew. Once Eichmann shouted to complain that he couldnt sleep, because there was too much noise. And I said to him: We are not in the office of Adolf Eichmann in Budapest, you are in the office of Shmuel Blumenfeld. At his home, Blumenfeld keeps a fabric bag of earth collected from the places where all his family members were killed. My mother told me never forget that you are Jewish and I obeyed her, said Blumenfeld, who spent his career in the Israeli prison service. I overcame Despite his age, Blumenfeld continues to travel to Poland with groups of young Israelis. At almost 95, the elegant Batcheva Dagan also remains energetic and determined to use her experiences to educate future generations. After making it out of a camp alive, she said she had one thing in mind: Survive to tell (people). She worked in the heart of Birkenau camp, which neighboured Auschwitz, at a depot where shoes and other prisoners belongings piled up. I spent 20 months there, 600 days and nights, said Dagan, who had to burn the luggage of Jews who arrived at the camp. Work out the hours and the seconds, thinking that each second youre scared of dying. You have an idea of what that means, living each moment with the threat that that moment is your last. I try to make something positive out of my experience for children, educational. I dont only recount the horror of the Holocaust, but also wonderful things like helping each other, the capacity to share a piece of bread, the friendship We remained human beings. The survivors sense of victory comes through their poems, memories, but above all through living their daily lives and seeing future generations grow up. Im alive I suffered, but I overcame! said Dagan. Icek, who for years hid his Auschwitz tattoo under long shirts, has recently started to uncover it. You didnt want to show it. Now the first thing that you do when you get into a taxi, you do this, his wife Sonia said, showing his forearm. Its like he was ashamed I told him: You have been to the camp, you must be happy, you came back,' said Sonia, who had to hide during the war in Belgium to avoid being sent to a death camp. Sitting next to his wife, Icek said just three words before starting to cry: I have won. But Sonia disagreed, saying he didnt win anything and lost his family whose pictures hang next to those of their grandchildren. We have not won, but we have taught our grandchildren in a way that they understand what happened. The trial judge suppressed the evidence from the search. But an appellate court overturned that decision, ruling that even under decriminalization, marijuana remained illegal to possess, though amounts under 10 grams were a civil law violation penalized only by fines. The appellate court also ruled that it would be unworkable and absurd for police to have to somehow determine whether someone had a legal amount of cannabis before searching for it. A notorious drug peddler has been arrested from an area in the southern part of the city with two kilograms of heroin worth Rs 6 crore in the international grey market, police said on Friday. Acting on a tip-off, the anti-terrorist squad of Kolkata Police's Special Task Force on Thursday night nabbed noted drug peddler Hasibur Rahman from Purbalok area under Purba Jadavpur police station limits and seized two kilograms of heroin from him, a senior officer said. The heroin seized from Rahman, a resident of Nadia district, were concealed in packets meant to contain turmeric powder, he said. The accused has been arrested and booked under the NDPS Act, the officer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Identity and access management in 2022 - what will the future look like? As we enter into 2022, there is still a level of uncertainty in place. Its unclear what the future holds, as companies around the world still contend with the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote working has been encouraged by most organisations and the move to a hybrid working system has become business as usual, for the majority of businesses. Some have reduced their office space or done away with their locations altogether. Following best security practices With all this change in place, there are problems to deal with. According to research, 32.7% of IT admins say they are concerned about employees using unsecured networks to carry out that work. Alongside this, 74% of IT admins thought that remote work makes it harder for employees to follow best security practices. This need to manage security around remote work is no longer temporary. Instead, companies have to build permanent strategies around remote work and security. The coming year will also create a different landscape for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Here are some key predictions for next year and what to start preparing for in 2022: The reality of SMB spending around security will hit home SMBs had to undertake significant investments to adapt to remote working SMBs had to undertake significant investments to adapt to remote working, especially in comparison to their size. They had to undertake significant digital transformation projects that made it possible to deliver services remotely, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Weve seen a shift in mindset for these companies, which are now more tech-focused in their approach to problem solving. According to our research, 45% of SMBs plan to increase their spending towards IT services in 2022. Around half of all organisations think their IT budgets are adequate for their needs, while 14.5% of those surveyed believe they will need more, to cover all that needs to be done. Identity management spending to support remote work For others, the COVID-19 pandemic led to over-spending, just to get ahead of things and they will spend in 2022, looking at what they should keep and what they can reduce their spending on. Areas like identity management will stay in place, as companies struggle to support remote work and security, without this in place. However, on-premise IT spending will be reduced or cut, as those solutions are not relevant for the new work model. Services that rely on on-premise IT will be cut or replaced. The device will lead the way for security We rely on our phones to work and to communicate. In 2022, they will become central to how we manage access, to all our assets and locations, IT and physical. When employees can use company devices and their own phones for work, security is more difficult. IT teams have to ensure that theyre prepared for this, by making sure that these devices can be trusted. Wide use of digital certificates and strong MFA factors Rather than requiring a separate smart card or fingerprint reader, devices can be used for access using push authentication There are multiple ways that companies can achieve this, for example - By using digital certificates to identify company devices as trusted, an agent, or strong MFA factors, like a FIDO security key or mobile push authentication. Whichever approach you choose, this can prevent unauthorised access to IT assets and applications, and these same devices can be used for authentication into physical locations too. Rather than requiring a separate smart card or fingerprint reader, devices can be used for access using push authentication. Understanding human behaviour Alongside this, it is important to understand human behaviour. Anything that introduces an extra step for authentication can lead to employees taking workarounds. To stop this, it is important to put an employee education process in place, in order to emphasize on the importance of security. The next step is to think about adopting passwordless security, to further reduce friction and increase adoption. Lastly, as devices become the starting point for security and trust, remote device management will be needed too. More companies will need to manage devices remotely, from wiping an asset remotely if it gets lost or stolen, through to de-provisioning users easily and removing their access rights, when they leave the company. Identity will be a layer cake Zero Trust approaches to security Identity management relies on being able to trust that someone is who they say they are. Zero Trust approaches to security can support this effectively, particularly when aligned with least privilege access models. In order to turn theory into practical easy-to-deploy steps, companies need to use contextual access, as part of their identity management strategy. This involves looking at the context that employees will work in and putting together the right management approach for those circumstances. For typical employee behaviour, using two factor authentication might be enough to help them work, without security getting in the way. How enterprises manage, access and store identity data There will also be a shift in how enterprises manage, access, and store that identity data over time For areas where security is more important, additional security policies can be put over the top, to ensure that only the right people have access. A step-up in authentication can be added, based on the sensitivity of resources or risk-based adaptive authentication policies might be needed. There will also be a shift in how enterprises manage, access, and store that identity data over time, so that it aligns more closely with those use cases. Identity management critical to secure assets in 2022 There are bigger conversations taking place around digital identity for citizenship, as more services move online as well. Any moves that take place in this arena will affect how businesses think about their identity management processes too, encouraging them to look at their requirements in more detail. Overall, 2022 will be the year when identity will be critical to how companies keep their assets secure and their employees productive. With employees working remotely and businesses becoming decentralised, identity strategies will have to take the same approach. This will put the emphasis on strong identity management as the starting point for all security planning. The Islamic State has launched yet another surprize attack in in eastern Deir ez-Zor has left 10 regime soldiers dead reports Zaman Al Wasl. The Islamic State (ISIS) killed ten regime soldiers in a surprise attack in eastern Deir ez-Zor province, pro-regime news feeds reported Wednesday. In the last few weeks, ISIS has carried out a series of attacks on regime forces and Iran-backed militias in a desert area that links the central province of Homs and Deir ez-Zor. Also in Deir ez-Zor, activists on Tuesday said pro-Iran militias had committed the third massacre against civilians in retaliation for the killing of Irans second man in a US airstrike ten days ago. The village of Ayyash has mourned seven people they said were slaughtered by Iranian militants. Activists said the gruesome crimes were in retaliation to the death of Qassem Soleimani, the former leader of the Quds Force and all Shiite militias in Syria, who was killed two weeks ago in a US airstrike near Baghdads airport along with top Shiite militants. The Shiite militants beheaded six shepherds last Friday in northern Aleppo province, four days after the Raqqa massacre that left 21 dead. All the Shiite militias are working under the command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), led by Suleiman Rezaei, nicknamed The Iranian. The civil war in Syria began in early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on protestors with unexpected ferocity. It has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Himes an effective leader at home and in D.C. To the editor: Now more than ever, it is vitally important that we have smart, dedicated representatives in (Washington) D.C. Jim Himes is, and has been for as long as I have been aware of him, a remarkably effective and responsible guy. He has consistently championed and pushed for issues and accomplishments that benefit us here in Connecticut sensible gun control, jobs, infrastructure, education, the environment and election security among many others. He is a real advocate for seniors. He is also here and visible, a real part of our community with real active participation. He holds Town Hall meetings, workshops and roundtables. His constituent assistance offers real help with cases and issues involving Social Security, immigration and veterans affairs. On a personal note, years ago I was helping a family member navigate the government HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) policy during the financial crisis, an amazingly helpful but complex program. Jim and his home team in Stamford helped me to not only understand the amazing possibilities, but to implement them and actually make it happen. The result was life-altering and a godsend. I am forever grateful for that, but also that I am not alone in this regard because of Jims ongoing work for all of his southwestern Connecticut constituents. He is just what we need in Congress: Someone doing the hard work every day to improve the lives of families and businesses in Connecticut. The fact that he is also a voice of knowledge and balance on the Intelligence (both Defense and Support) Committee, as well as the Financial Services Committee and the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance makes him well-informed on a scale that can only benefit us all. He is a remarkably able representative and a wonderful guy. I look forward to his continuing service to us all in Connecticuts fourth district in 2020. Nancy Axthelm Westport 16.01.2020 LISTEN As Pan-Africanists, some of us want those who currently govern Nkrumah's Ghana to take an active interest in what is currently going on in Liberia - and work towards helping to bring tensions there under control. The last thing that the West African sub-region needs is for Liberian society to descend into chaos, yet again. God forbid. We also understand clearly that whiles nation-building in Africa is an enormous task, it is also incredibly easy for clever and ambitious self-seekers, to destroy societies struggling to transition to the stable conditions needed to attract risk-taking impact-investors, with longterm-vision, prepared to do business in nations with troubled-pasts, such as Liberia and Sierra Leone. What such societies need above all is peace - and to focus on uniting as a people with a common destiny to fight the real enemies of our continent: poverty, ignorance, and the diseases that ravage whole communities. Liberians need to learn from the magnanimity former South African President, Madeba Nelson Mandela, showed South Africa's whites, when he became South Africa's first elected Black African leader - and put the past firmly behind them and unite to move forward together as one people with a common destiny. They must look to the future - and be guided by its promise today. Furthermore, In today's Africa, no tribe is inferior or superior to another - and that is a message that needs drumming into the heads of all Liberians. It is absurd for so called Americo-Liberians to put on airs and think that they are superior to other Liberians. Ridiculous. All Liberians, whatever their ethnic heritage, are equal and full citizens of the Republic of Liberia (aka the Lone Star Republic). The troubling thing about the current situation in Liberia, is that there is something egregiously unconscionable about those who stir up the hornet's nest in nations in which millions daily struggle to make ends meet, and then turn round to escape to the comfort of luxury-homes-in-exile in places such as the United States of America, when the heat is turned on them. That is cowardice. Liberians must reject such self-righteous adventurers-with-secret-agendas. Full stop. Liberians must be wary and wise. Rome was not built in a day. The question they must ponder over is: What do those who seek to create needless tension in their country have to offer them in terms of radical policy plans to transform their lives - and leverage those policies to turn their country into a prosperous and equitable society? As someone who cares about the plight of a resilient and long-suffering people, whose nation is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, my prayer is that Liberians remain calm, reject the stealth-attempt to destabilise their nation in the name of fighting corruption, and think instead, of how to creatively leverage the many resources God blessed their land with, so generously, to enable them create a prosperous and all-inclusive society, which they can all benefit from, and be justly proud of. As it happens, as we speak, some of us are actually working hard, to help implement this project in Liberia: www.ecocoboard.net . We are also, as Pan-Africanist friends of Liberia, talking to a group of patriotic Liberians to introduce cutting-edge technology that will give truly affordable clean power, which never goes off, to Liberians across the whole of the landmass of that potentially super-rich nation. That is what Liberia needs, not rabble rousers, perpetually dreaming of leading their nation, willy-nilly - instead of working hard wherever in the world they are exiled, to bring investors to the Liberia that they are today busy destabilising: for their own selfish ends. If President Weah is indeed corrupt there are legal and administrative mechanisms in place to probe him. That should be the path for sensible and responsible people in Liberia to take. And, in any case, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), can work with the more responsible sections of the Liberian media, to investigate those claims being made by some of those who are unwittingly setting the clock back for Liberia and it's hapless, long-suffering people. Enough is enough. Liberians must reject rabble rousers - and unite instead to transform their much-troubled nation. Haaba. OTTAWA - Families of the Canadian victims on the Ukrainian passenger jet shot down over Iran last week will receive $25,000 each to help with immediate costs they have for travel or funerals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers his sermon in the Friday prayers at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. Iran's supreme leader said President Donald Trump is a "clown" who only pretends to support the Iranian people but will "push a poisonous dagger" into their backs, as he struck a defiant tone in his first Friday sermon in Tehran in eight years. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) OTTAWA - Families of the Canadian victims on the Ukrainian passenger jet shot down over Iran last week will receive $25,000 each to help with immediate costs they have for travel or funerals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. Trudeau said the victims' families face difficulties in paying bills now and cannot wait for a legal or international compensation process to play out. In the interim, Trudeau said, the government and families agreed that $25,000 per victim would be a helpful "first step" to cover funeral arrangements and travel. Trudeau said 20 families have asked to bring the remains of loved ones back to Canada for burial, though none had been transported by Friday. "Obviously this is immediate assistance for a range of needs that they might have," Trudeau said during a late-morning press conference. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada Minister of Foreign Affairs, speaks during a press conference after a meeting of the International Coordination and Response Group for the families of the victims of PS752 flight that crashed shortly after taking off from the Iranian capital Tehran on Jan. 8, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) "It is not the compensation that we expect will come, and should come, from Iran in due course, but these families need help now." The federal government could pay out about $2.15 million for the 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents who died when the plane crashed after an anti-aircraft strike Iran says was made in error as the plane left Tehran's international airport. Trudeau said the money would be paid out as quickly as possible in the coming days. He was less clear about what amount he expects Iran to pay out. "We haven't looked at what the full compensation would end up looking like from Iran," Trudeau said, "but I can assure you that any money from Iran to the victims would go straight to them, it wouldn't be to reimburse the Canadian government." After a similar tragedy three decades ago, the U.S. government paid US$61.8 million to the families of the 290 victims aboard Iran Air flight 655. A U.S. naval ship shot it down on July 3, 1988. The American government said the crew of the ship misidentified that plane as possibly hostile fighter jet and didn't accept liability as part of a settlement with Iran in the International Court of Justice. Likewise, Libya didn't admit responsibility for the bombing of a French passenger jet in 1989 when it agreed in 2004 to pay US$170 million to the victims' families. Like Iran now, Libya faced crippling economic sanctions in the lead-up to the payment. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Rod Winsor is a Toronto-based lawyer who worked on the Air India disaster, in which 329 people were killed when a terrorist bomb brought down a jet flying from Montreal to London in 1985. He said precedents suggest getting compensation from Iran could be a long and winding road with uncertain results. In the meantime, families could sue Ukraine International Airlines and potentially get settlements in months to years from the moment a claim is filed; an international process is driven by governments and would likely take a bit longer. Interim payments to the families like the one Trudeau announced could also come from Ukraine International Airlines or even Iran, he said. "In terms of the government's payment, they're absolutely right: The families are not going to get their final settlements for some time," Winsor said. "Everybody talks about this is going to take years and years and years. Well, that's a possibility, it's not a probability." Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne delivered the request for compensation during a face-to-face meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, in Oman on Friday. The demand was one of five that foreign ministers from Britain, Sweden, Afghanistan and Ukraine agreed on during a meeting Thursday in London, U.K. An Iranian summary of the conversation posted online said Zarif reiterated his country's regret over shooting down the airliner and promised co-operation in a probe of how it happened. A global team of investigators, led by Iran under international rules, is trying to determine the sequence of events that led to one and possibly a second surface-to-air missile taking down the passenger jet. Canada is seeking a formalized role in the probe to allow its investigators greater access, including to the voice and flight-data recorders, known as the "black boxes." Champagne told Zarif about the need for "a transparent analysis of the black-box data." The recorders were badly damaged in the incident and are likely to be sent to France for analysis, Trudeau said. Few countries have the capability to do the work. Iran initially denied it fired on the airplane. It was only after Trudeau went public citing intelligence to the contrary that Iran admitted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired on the civilian airliner, with the government pinning the blame on the military not being forthcoming with information. Days of protesters flooding the streets in anger prompted Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to make a rare sermon during Friday prayers in Tehran it had been years since the last time. He called the downing a bitter accident that saddened Iran and made its enemies happy by giving international rivals a chance to question the country and its armed forces. He also attacked the United States for its killing of a top Iranian general, which was a factor in putting Iranian air defences on high alert the day the Ukraine airliner was shot down. The Canadian Press has independently confirmed at least 90 victims with ties to Canada, many of them students and professors returning after spending the December break visiting relatives in Iran. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2020. With files from The Associated Press Africa Oil & Power 2020 highlights African integration across borders throughout the entire energy value chain; AOP 2020 welcomes presidents, ministers, national oil company and utility heads, IPP and renewables executives and more for the fifth edition of Africas Energy Conference; This years event will have a major focus on the driving factors behind Africas energy transition. The fifth edition of Africa Oil & Power (AOP) returns to Cape Town on September 15-17, for three days of deal-making and discussions focused on Africas energy transition, industrialization, regional business and economic transformation. For the first time, AOP will host the Africa Renewables Forum, the Africa LNG Forum and the Energy Finance Forum, in line with the vision of South Africas Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and government and private sector partners from all four corners of the continent. The theme of this years conference, marking the entering into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area, is #InvestWithoutBoundaries. AOP 2020 is the only conference on the continent that fully unites power with petroleum, focusing on the driving factors behind Africas energy transition. AOP 2020 is the meeting place for Africas government officials, global investors and executives, to get deals done and continue moving the continent forward. This years conference will encompass the entire energy value chain, including the economic significance of expanding oil and gas exploration, the role of gas-to-power in electrifying Africa; the need to fully utilize and integrate renewables and the importance of using energy to spur growth and economic development throughout the continent, says Africa Oil & Power Acting CEO, James Chester. With the African Continental Free Trade Agreement now in its operational phase establishing a single African market that encompasses the free trade of goods and movement between 54 countries cross-border trade on the continent will lure investment, encourage job creation and place an emphasis on the need for new technology and cross-border collaboration. Industry leaders will discuss gas exploration and production throughout the continent with countries including Mozambique, Ghana, South Africa and Equatorial Guinea positioning themselves as major gas players in Africa. The Mozambique-based Rovuma LNG project envisages a 15 million ton per annum two-train facility, taking gas from its offshore area 4 block. Led by Eni and ExxonMobil, the Rovuma LNG project will develop reliable, affordable energy in the form of liquefied natural gas and transform the future of Mozambique. The final investment decision on the project will be made this year, with operations expected to begin in 20205. Italian multinational oil and gas company ENIs Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) project in Ghana reached full production in 2019, producing 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. OCTP will provide domestic gas supply to national thermal power plants for more than 15 years, addressing energy requirements in urban and rural areas. Additionally, South Africas first LNG hub is set to be developed at the Coega Special Economic Zone in Port Elizabeth, which will stimulate the countrys gas economy and enhance energy security. Equatorial Guinea, meanwhile, is pioneering gas development and trade in West and Central Africa through the construction of an LNG storage and regasification plant at the Port of Akonikien under the LNG2Africa initiative. The use of renewable energy in Africa is rapidly increasing. South Africas Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement program has played a fundamental role in the countrys economic growth and providing an alternative form of energy. The hugely successful program has, to date, attracted R209.4 billion in investment and created over 38,000 jobs. The launch of the Africa Renewables Forum, the Africa LNG Forum and the Energy Finance Forum at AOP 2020 bring new and diverse energy sector audiences together on a single stage and in a single venue, said Chester. AOP brings new technology to Africa and stimulates new collaboration and trade on the continent. This is the platform where the next generation of projects and deals are initiated and advanced. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Lebanons security forces have released most of the more than 100 anti-government protesters arrested after two nights of violent encounters between police and demonstrators in the capital, Beirut. While the months-long protest movement has been largely peaceful, demonstrators clashed with security forces on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a committee of lawyers defending demonstrators saying 101 people had been arrested, including 56 on Wednesday, with five minors among them. The lawyers committee announced on Facebook on Thursday that all those arrested have been released with the exception of seven foreigners. The detained foreigners six Syrians and an Egyptian will be brought before authorities, the committee added. Protesters gathered again in Beirut on Thursday evening in front of the Central Bank and interior ministry, where several hundred demonstrators denounced police use of force and outgoing Minister of the Interior Raya al-Hassan. Lebanese security forces announced that 59 people were arrested on suspicion of vandalism and assault on Tuesday when protesters angered by stringent informal capital controls attacked banks in central Beirut. Under popular pressure, the detained have been released two days after a hysterical crackdown, Nizar Saghieh, who heads the Legal Agenda non-governmental organisation, wrote on Twitter. Vicious riot police International human rights organisations have criticised the conduct of security forces, with Amnesty International denouncing what it said were arbitrary arrests. What we have witnessed in the past couple of days is an alarming attack on freedom of assembly and expression, said the groups Middle East research director Lynn Maalouf. Acts by a minority of protesters who vandalised banks or threw stones is never a justification for such excessive use of force and sweeping arrests by law enforcement. Arbitrary arrests and beatings of protesters must immediately end in #Lebanon. https://t.co/mEpGCD8hrt. #humanrights. Amnesty UK Mid East (@AIMidEastGulf) January 16, 2020 Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Lebanons Ministry of Interior and Municipalities to promptly hold law enforcement officers accountable for using excessive force, saying riot police had beaten protesters and media workers. The unacceptable level of violence against overwhelmingly peaceful protesters on January 15 calls for a swift independent and transparent investigation, said Joe Stork, HRWs deputy Middle East director. The vicious riot police attack on media workers doing their jobs is an egregious violation of security force obligations to abide by human rights standards. Interior minister al-Hassan said in a tweet that she condemned the attacks on journalists, and that accountability proceedings were already under way. She later told reporters that, while the attacks were not justified, riot police were tired after months of protests. Protesters have taken to the streets since October to demand an end to corruption among Lebanons ruling elite and an overhaul of the confessional political system, where power is apportioned among ethnic and sectarian groups. Lebanon has been without a government since October 29, when the cabinet resigned under pressure from the protest movement. A former education minister and university professor Hassan Diab was nominated as a new prime minister last month and tasked with forming a new cabinet, but demonstrators have called for a government of independent technocrats to steer the country through its economic crisis. Local media reported that a new cabinet could be named on Friday, while caretaker Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil said on Thursday that politicians were on the doorstep of forming a new government. Istanbul, Jan 18 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed the Syrian regime for failing to comply with the ceasefire, which was brokered by Turkey and Russia. "It is a clear proof that the Syrian regime does not comply with the steps we have taken regarding the cease-fire," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on Friday, referring to the latest air strikes carried out by the Syrian forces in Idlib, the country's last rebel-stronghold province. "Developments in Idlib are disturbing," he said, noting that at least 20 civilians were killed in the attacks, Xinhua reported. The Syrian regime and Iranian-backed groups on Friday also launched a ground offensive in Aleppo province, a designated de-escalation zone, forcing at least 13,000 more civilians to move toward Turkey's border, according to the state-run Anadolu agency. Anadolu said over 1 million refugees are now in the area near the Turkish border, fleeing from strikes conducted over the last year. Erdogan said he would discuss the issue with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday in Berlin, Germany, during the international conference on Libya. "Even though the Berlin meeting seems to be mainly about Libya, I am considering bringing the Idlib matter up," he said. The cease-fire in Idlib was initiated by Turkey and Russia and supposed to come into effect on January 12. Members of the Kilkenny City Municipal District were full of praise for the new bus service in the city at their recent meeting. Councillor Andrew McGuinness said that it was the new service was fantastic and acknowledged that there was always going to be teething problems. One of the main problem areas where there have been problems is Parliament Street which has two stops. I have spoken to the local business owners and I am suggesting that we take out one or two of the more troublesome stops and put in some stops closer to the housing estates on the outskirts of the city. Potential Location The Fianna Fail councillor cited the Hebron Park as a potential additional location for a bus stop. There are pockets of areas where there are hundreds of houses where people would benefit from having a bus stop rather than having so many bus stops in the city, he said. Green Party councillor, Malcolm Noonan also praised the success of the service, which started last month. It is great to see the build up of people waiting to catch the bus and I think the numbers using the service are increasing. The feedback so far is that people love it and that young people are using it to go to school and people are also using it to go out and socialise. People are also leaving their cars at home and are reducing their car dependency. Momentum Cllr Noonan also suggested giving consideration to using a real time map to see where the buses are. The service is starting to gain momentum, he said adding that information leaflets should be available in business premises across the city. Cllr John Coonan also welcomed the new service and said that the public response had been excellent to date. This public service will reduce the number of people using cars especially for people living in the city environs, he added. The National Transport Authority in association with Kilkenny County Council will officially launch the Kilkenny City Bus Service on Monday next. Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority, and Cllr Peter Chap Cleere Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council will attend. The Kilkenny City Bus Service has been up and running since December 18. Open source Ukraine will be able to receive 6,6 billion cubic meters of gas from Poland per year. This was stated by the Executive Director of Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine Serhiy Makogon on Facebook. "Ukraine already has two connections with the Gas Transmission System of Poland: Drozdovichi and Hermanovychy. Recently, we have undergone reconstruction and we are ready to receive up to 6,6 billion cubic meters of gas per year from our side," Makogon wrote. As we reported earlier, the reduction of gas transit through Ukraine would make 15 billion cubic meters this year due to the launch of the Turkish Stream from Russia to Turkey. Executive Director of Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine Serhiy Makohon reported this on his Facebook page. Unfortunately, we could not stop it. We have already experienced its influence. The transit of gas through Ukraine in the Balkan direction since January 1, 2020, takes place only for the needs of Romania and Moldova. Bulgaria, Turkey and other countries in this region do not receive gas through Ukraine, he wrote. Les Miserables (Sondheim Theatre) Rating: Verdict: Les old ones are les best ones Rags The Musical (Park Theatre) Rating: Verdict: Fiddler's son has its own sparkle At 35 years old, Les Miserables struck me as an odd choice to signal a new future for a refurbished West End theatre reopening under a new name. Formerly called the Queen's Theatre, this grand old dame of a playhouse on a corner of Shaftesbury Avenue is now named after the great American musical composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. So shouldn't the theatre's new show be something er new? Perhaps something by, er Sondheim? Incidentally, Mr Sondheim was unable to make it over for the official relaunch this week, ahead of his 90th birthday in March. He had a fall at home in Connecticut, but is recovering well. All that's as maybe, but this 'new staging' of one of the world's longest-running musicals remains fit to burst the seams of the mightiest of stages. Laurence Connor and James Powell's rendition of Boublil and Schonberg's musical reinvention of Victor Hugo's novel is an absolute blinder. This 'new staging' of one of the world's longest-running musicals remains fit to burst the seams of the mightiest of stages Even as the tumescent score moves towards middle age, it provokes the febrile atmosphere of a Britain's Got Talent final. Matt Kinley's set packs in more scenery than the French Alps. There's not just huge barricades, tumbledown tenements and gated chateaus, no: it's augmented by projections inspired by Victor Hugo's own Turner-esque paintings. Meanwhile, the long (and, let's be honest, tiresome) barricade battles in the second half get extra whizz and bang with 3D sound effects. Best of all, in Jon Robyns they have a splendid, square-jawed hero Jean Valjean. He makes his Christological journey from recalcitrant prisoner to hero of the (failed) Paris revolution of 1832, before establishing himself as a living saint, then ascending into heaven. Pavarotti would have been proud of his volume (vocal, not physical), but Robyns has range, too. Sometimes he shakes the masonry, other times he offers a tender whisper. Bradley Jaden is a steadfast obsessive as Valjean's nemesis Javert, and Carrie Hope Fletcher despatches I Dreamed A Dream with airy grace as tragic single mum Fantine. There are great caustic turns from Josefina Gabrielle and Ian Hughes as the blackmailing innkeepers, too. But as the mountingly rapturous score continues to break over the stalls, I'm convinced we could still do with a reprise of I Dreamed A Dream at the end perhaps even with Susan Boyle. Why not? It would only blow the bloody roof off. Unfortunately for the comparatively petite musical Rags, it lives in the shadow of Joseph Stein's far more famous work: Fiddler On The Roof. After debuting on Broadway in 1986, the show about Eastern European Jews struggling in New York in the 1900s struck everyone as a sequel to Fiddler so it never quite broke free of its over-performing parent. Laurence Connor and James Powell's rendition of Boublil and Schonberg's musical reinvention of Victor Hugo's novel is an absolute blinder Even so, it's a fine show, and it's been given a feisty and wholesome revival by Bronagh Lagan at North London's Park Theatre (first seen last year at Manchester's Hope Mill). Musically, it's very much in Fiddler's 'klezmer' tradition of squealing violin, woody clarinet, wheezing squeezebox and plinking piano. There are lots of jaunty tunes, but no really big number in the mould of If I Were A Rich Man. Instead, the title tune has a little angry edge, while Children Of The Wind adds a touch of sadness. What David Thompson's updated story has in spades is characters: mostly lovable Jewish stereotypes, toiling in the sweatshop rag trade. Carolyn Maitland carries the show as the talented seamstress with her gorgeous apricot voice (soft, sweet and a bit fuzzy). She fights to establish herself and her son in the Lower East Side, only to be caught between her devious capitalist boss (Sam Attwater) and Alex Gibson-Giorgio's charming, opera-singing Italian, who organises resistance among the workers. You may guess how that ends. The clue is it's a musical! Shackleton And His Stowaway (Park90, Park Theatre) Rating: Verdict: Qualified success We Brits love a heroic failure. One of the titans of that craft, if not the de facto patron saint, was the Edwardian explorer Ernest Shackleton. He set out from Buenos Aires in 1914 on a so-called 'Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition', attempting to cross the South Pole. One crew member was Perce Blackborow, an 18-year-old from Wales who stowed away on Shackleton's ship 'Endurance'. The boat became stuck in ice after a month. Eight months elapsed while those aboard waited for the vessel to be freed, but instead, it was crushed by the ice and sank. The explorers then drifted on ice floes for two more months, before attempting to drag three, one-ton lifeboats towards stores 250 miles away, surviving by eating strips of their now air-dried huskies. Shackleton set his crew on the remote Elephant Island and took five men on a perilous 800-mile trip in one lifeboat, traversing 60ft waves, to the island of South Georgia where, alas, they were forced to land on the wrong side. After scaling intervening mountains, an isolated whaling colony helped Shackleton rescue the rest of his party but that added another four months to the incredible, and incredibly horrible, journey. Miraculously, the calamitous mission cost only a few fingers and toes, taken by frostbite. All that is the subject matter for Andy Dickinson's new play about the doomed venture. Honestly, it made me want to tap my head against a wall and whimper: 'Why, why, why?' Indeed, the play threatens to become a heroic failure of its own, with a script that sometimes seems merely to recite Shackleton's log. A small map outlining this grand folly would have been helpful, as would a clearer sense of the bewildering time scale involved. That said, this is a cheerfully budget account of the story. Simone Coxall equips her two actors with little more than Fair Isle sweaters, woolly hats, wooden pallets and a Union Jack which is pretty much what the real expeditionary party had anyway. Crucially, Richard Ede makes an affable, stiff upper-lip Shackleton. Aand Elliott Ross, as Perce (richly referred to as 'Idiot' by ES), gives us a pair of cheerfully disbelieving eyes, on an epic debacle worthy of Monty Python. Luzia Cirque du Soleil (Royal Albert Hall) Rating: Verdict: A runaway Circus success MELANIE McDONAGH Cirque du Soleil is (or was) a visionary take on conventional circus, back in London with its 38th show. Not having seen the previous 37, I was all set to be thrilled, frightened I never can watch an act that I think could actually kill the artists and entertained. And I was, I was. The show is called Luzia and the theme is Mexico, which I associate nowadays with drug cartels and a scary homicide rate, but which here involves Frida Kahlo-style dresses, huge Day of the Dead paper cutouts, cute cacti, girls dressed as hummingbirds and 1950s-style film sets ... from a time when Mexico really was glamorous. Oh, and rain; whole curtains of rain fall on the set, in astonishing decorative patterns. I never could work out where it all went. The clown the big, gangling Fool Koller doesn't talk, but his act, communicating through whistles with the audience, was the funniest of the evening. And the acrobats! The feats of strength and dexterity are something else. One muscleman hand-balances on a metal T-bar with balletic skill, while Ugo Laffolay does astonishing splits on some enormous bendy canes against a backdrop of camp onlookers in bathing costumes. But the point at which I couldn't watch, and instead sat with my head in my hands, was the swing to swing act, where the acrobats did somersaults from one moving swing-boat to another. My daughter, who is 13, relayed the results: 'They're doing it backwards! Triple somersault!! Two at a time!!!' The juggler, Cylios Pytlak, dazzled with his increasing numbers of shiny batons; when he got to seven, they slipped. Oddly, that one failure made the whole thing more human than all the perfect physical feats of the evening. [January 17, 2020] US and Global Markets and Trends, 11th Edition - Commercial Cards & B2B Payment Services - ResearchAndMarkets.com The "Commercial Cards and B2B Payment Services: U.S. and Global Markets and Trends, 11th Edition" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Much is afoot in commercial payment cards today. The industry is at a tipping point: While cards continue to provide the backbone, technology is reshaping and broadening their ability to meet customer pain points. Wrapped around them are an increasingly sophisticated array of software solutions and technology platforms that help bridge a gamut of challenges and providing increasingly seamless payment processes that involve not just cards. Yes, it's a multi-rail world, even for Visa and Mastercard, as industry participants rush to partner, acquire, and strategize to tap the broader global B2B payment opportunity. Meanwhile, to the tune of $2.35 billion in 2018 payment value, commercial card payment value trends suggest continued healthy growth in the U.S. and point to untapped international opportunity. The author's Commercial Cards and B2B Payment Services: The U.S. and Global Markets and Trends, 11th Edition provides needed insight into a growing market on the cusp of change. While cards are emphasized in market sizing, the report also includes significant analysis related to ACH and accounts payable automation. The report presents the size and growth of the market and related key metrics within the broader payment card arena. Included are discussions and analysis of the various card associations or networks, commercial payment card types, trends and factors affecting their growth, and a focused analysis of U.S. commercial card usage demographics and preferences. Major card brands and issuers are profiled. Specifically, this report: Provides a global payment card commercial card market size and forecast through 2022, with supporting the analysis of global, U.S. and non-U.S. consumer and commercial credit card and debit card payment value growth during 2014-2018. This includes total and commercial U.S. and non-U.S. credit and debit card payment value share among seven leading payment networks (American Express (News - Alert), Diners Club, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, UnionPay, and Visa). Places heavy emphasis on technology-forward B2B payments innovation, including new product launches, fintech partnerships and acquisitions, and related growth analysis. Examples include Mastercard B2B Hub, Visa B2B Connect, Ripple, and Bill.com. Dives into specialty B2B powerhouses WEX and FleetCor, emphasizing virtual card and AP automation strategies and successes. Market sizes for corporate and fleet card programs are included. Provides stand-alone Visa Europe 2014-2018 payment value, including commercial and consumer credit cards and debit cards. Includes U.S. ACH total and commercial payments value estimates through 2019, as well as same-day ACH and same-day ACH B2B payments Dives into American Express small business, middle market, and large/global U.S. and non-U.S. commercial card payment value, including trended analysis of top international mrkets (total payment value and SME payment value). U.S. and non-U.S. payment value market sizing for OPEN (News - Alert) small business payment value is also included. Provides global and U.S. ACH, cash and check, and payment card value payment value, including B2B payments; and a proprietary estimate for 2014-2018 U.S. B2B payment value by expenditure input. Provides guidance on U.S. business card usage penetration by card brand, business employment size, and occupation; among business purchase decision markers by type of involvement, card brand, and employment size. Analyzes the commercial payment strategies of American Express, China UnionPay, JCN, Mastercard, and Visa. This includes analysis of commercial card operations, technology-forward B2B payments initiatives, and U.S. and non-U.S. trends. Includes China UnionPay consumer and commercial domestic and international credit card and debit card payment value estimates, as well as related metrics. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary Report Scope Executive Summary Market Size and Forecast Commercial Card Network Operators: American Express China UnionPay JCB Mastercard Visa Specialty B2B Players U.S. Commercial Card Usage Trends 2. Market Size and Forecast Global Payments Opportunity Global Payment Value Reaches $235 trillion Cash and Check Still a Significant Factor B2B Payments Contribute 56% of Cash and Check Payment Value Global Commercial Card Market Size and Forecast Market Size Scope Global Consumer and Commercial Payment Card Market Size Global Consumer and Commercial Payment Card Forecast Global Payment Card Payment Value by Network Global Consumer and Commercial Credit and Debit Card Payment Value U.S. Payments Opportunity U.S. B2B Payments Market Size and Forecast U.S. Commercial Card Market Size U.S. Payment Card Payment Value Trends by Network Commercial Credit Cards vs. Commercial Debit Cards Commercial Credit Cards, by Network Commercial Debit Cards, by Network U.S. ACH Commercial Payment Market Size Commercial ACH Payments Value and Volume: 2012-2019 Same-Day ACH U.S. Commercial Check Usage Trends Non-U.S. Commercial Card Market Size Non-U.S. Payment Card Payment Value Trends Non-U.S. Commercial Credit Cards vs. Debit Cards Commercial Credit Cards, by Network Commercial Debit Cards, by Network Non-U.S. Commercial Card Market Size: Market by Market Mexico 3. Trends and Opportunities Cross-Border Payment Network Innovation The Old Guard: SWIFT The Upstart: Ripple The Future of B2B Retailer Payments Is Here Extended Terms Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Line-Item Detail on Commercial Cards Data Analytics 4. Commercial Card Network Operators American Express Overview American Express Commercial Payments Value Proposition SME Strategy Large/Global Business Strategy Other B2B Solutions American Express Global Business Travel Performance Trends Billed Business by Customer Segment Credit Card Loan and Charge Card Receivables Analysis China UnionPay Still a Monopoly, But Change (Might Be) Coming Digital-Forward Moves International Growth Strategies Business Cards B2B Cross-Border Commerce International Expansion Performance Trends International Payment Value JCB International Growth Initiatives Performance Trends Mastercard Commercial Payment Solutions Growing a Diverse Suite of Multi-Rail Product Solutions The Backbone: Commercial Cards The New Mainstay: Data and Security Solutions Real-time ACH Mastercard Send Mastercard Bill Pay Exchange Masterpass QR Mastercard B2B Hub Mastercard Track Performance Trends Geographical Reach Commercial Card Payment Value Trends Visa Commercial Payment Solutions B2B Opportunities Visa Direct Earthport Visa B2B Connect Performance Trends Co-Badging Impact 5. Specialty B2B Players WEX Inc. WEX Fleet Solutions Performance Trends WEX Travel and Corporate Performance Trends FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. Fleet Payment Solutions Corporate Payments Branching Out Performance Trends 6. U.S. Commercial Card Usage Trends Business Credit Card Usage Business Credit Card Usage Over Time Employee Business Card Usage by Company Size Employee Business Card Usage by Fortune 500 Status Business Purchasers Companies Mentioned Amazon American Express China UnionPay JCB Mastercard Ripple SWIFT Visa For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kzfkz6 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005350/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Ontarios public elementary teachers union will hold a third, daylong walkout next week and say they will continue until a deal with the province is reached or until a full-out strike is called. Members of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) will be off the job in a handful of boards on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and without a collective agreement more will be scheduled, the union said in a memo to all 83,000 members Friday morning. Unfortunately the phone has not yet rung and there are still no additional dates for contract talks, the memo said. Education Minister Stephen Lecce said it is unacceptable that ETFO would ramp up strike action and make families across the province scramble for child care. The province is providing parents with up to $60 a day per child to help cover the cost of daycare, with more than 33,000 families registered so far. I will continue to focus on reaching voluntary agreements with the teachers unions, so Ontario students stay in class where they belong, Lecce also said. At the moment, only the AEFO which bargains for teachers in French-language boards has any upcoming talks planned with the government and school boards. The elementary teachers will target Rainy River (Fort Frances area), Thames Valley (London area) and Rainbow (Sudbury area) on Wednesday. On Monday, members who include teachers, early childhood educators and school staff will be off the job in Ottawa-Carleton, York Region and Toronto public boards, as well as Toronto Catholic. On Tuesday, the walkout will hit Superior Greenstone (Thunder Bay area), Renfrew, Grand Erie and Trillium Lakelands (Haliburton/Kawartha). The elementary teachers union says the critical issues it wants the province to address include smaller classes, better supports for special needs students, a commitment to full-day kindergarten, as well as compensation. The province is offering a one per cent annual raise in line with recent legislation capping public-sector wage increases but teacher unions are seeking cost of living, or about two per cent a year. Also on Tuesday, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers is staging a province-wide strike, and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation is holding strikes in 13 boards. The provinces French teachers, represented by AEFO, have just begun a largely administrative work-to-rule. Teachers are fighting government plans to boost class sizes that will phase out thousands of jobs and limit course options in high schools, and the introduction of mandatory online courses for teens. Premier Doug Fords government has already announced it will spend up to $48 million per day to repay parents for child-care costs during any work stoppage. The escalating tensions between the province and teachers now means all four unions are engaging in job action for the first time in more than 20 years, from work-to-rule to daylong strikes. Because Ontarios teacher unions also bargain for support and professional staff in schools, Catholic, French and public boards can all be impacted by just one unions job action. Meanwhile, internal polling done for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation indicates public support remains strong, with about 60 per cent of the 500 surveyed believing the government is on the wrong track when it comes to education. Six in 10 said their sympathies lie with the teachers. Liz Stuart, president of the Catholic teachers association, said the union is only planning its one day of action on Tuesday at this time. We are ever hopeful the government will come to the table (and) rethink their priorities to date, she said. However, the reality is, were probably looking at having to take further steps. Stuart also said she has concerns about the Toronto Catholic board keeping full-day kindergarten classes running on Monday, when early childhood educators represented by ETFO are on the picket lines. OECTA members will not be doing another bargaining units work, she said, adding some principals and vice-principals are going to be very busy in schools, filling those gaps. We have the model for a reason two adults in the classroom. Read more about: (Bloomberg Opinion) -- White House counsel Pat Cipollone will reportedly lead the team that represents President Donald Trump in the Senate impeachment trial. Superficially, this may sound logical. The opposite is true. Its highly problematic for Cipollone to represent Trump in the Senate. For starters, Cipollone is the author of the letter to executive branch employees directing them not to cooperate with the Houses impeachment inquiry. Cipollones Oct. 8 letter told the House of Representatives that its impeachment inquiry was illegitimate and that Trump and the executive branch wouldnt participate in it. The letter was written on behalf of Trump. This letter was widely received as legally preposterous and constitutionally wrong. But thats not the worst of it. That letter became the basis for the Houses article of impeachment of Trump for obstruction of Congress. Cipollones conduct is therefore directly at issue in the trial. Its almost as if Rudy Giuliani was representing Trump, despite his involvement in the conduct at issue in the first article of impeachment. (I realize Giuliani is said to be seeking such a role, but it seems obvious that it would be crazy for Trump to allow it.) Its highly irregular for someone whose actions carried out wrongdoing to represent the person who directed him to take those actions. Whats more, the White House counsel doesnt represent the president personally. A presidents conversations with his White House counsel do not enjoy attorney-client privilege. The White House counsel and his staff are paid by the taxpayers. As former counsel Bob Bauer has put it, the counsel represents the office of the presidency, not the president. The office of the presidency isnt on trial in the Senate; Donald Trump is on trial. Cipollones presence as part of the defense falsely conveys the notion that one part of the government is trying another part, when in fact the Senate trial is focused on Trump as an individual. Story continues Unfortunately, there is precedent for a White House counsels appearance in a presidential impeachment trial. Cheryl Mills, then deputy White House counsel, argued in defense of Bill Clinton in his impeachment trial. And Clintons defense was directed by Gregory Craig, who, while not White House counsel, was Clintons special counsel working in the White House. This, too, was inappropriate White House lawyers should not have defended Clinton at the taxpayers expense. His alleged conduct, like Trumps, was outside the legitimate power of the presidency what lawyers would call ultra vires. An alleged abuse of the power of the presidency shouldnt be defended by lawyers who represent the presidency. The counterargument would be that although the impeachment allegations charge the president with abusing his office, Trumps defense will be that he acted within the legitimate powers of that office when he asked Ukraine to announce investigations into the Bidens. This defense does implicate the presidency itself, which falls within the White House counsels job description. My own view is that some indirect implication of the powers of the presidency is not reason enough to justify the president using the White House counsel as his personal defense attorney. But regardless, theres still the more glaring issue: Cipollone should not be representing Trump because of his role in the impeached conduct. If there were to be witnesses at the Senate trial, Cipollone could easily be one of them. He could be called, for example, to clarify what his letter meant, and whether and how it obstructed Congress. A potential witness should never be representing a defendant, even in a noncriminal case where the only sanction is removal from office. Its even happened before. John Dean, White House counsel, testified in the Nixon impeachment inquiry. And Don McGahn, former White House counsel, could also plausibly have been called as a witness in Trumps trial. In an ordinary court case, a lawyer who took part in the conduct at issue would never represent the defendant. Imagine that the president wanted to defend his conduct by saying he mistakenly relied on Cipollones legal advice Cipollone cant credibly make that argument himself. Would you want to be represented by the lawyer who got you into trouble in the first place? To contact the author of this story: Noah Feldman at nfeldman7@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sarah Green Carmichael at sgreencarmic@bloomberg.net This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of law at Harvard University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter. His books include The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Sunday cruise nights on Portage Avenue are a Winnipeg tradition, but cavalcades of convertibles and muscle cars rolling down the street can come with a noisy byproduct. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Sunday cruise nights on Portage Avenue are a Winnipeg tradition, but cavalcades of convertibles and muscle cars rolling down the street can come with a noisy byproduct. Next week, the city's executive policy committee will discuss some changes including noise cameras that capture licence plate data of particularly loud vehicles aimed at keeping the volume down. The recommendation, which would require provincial approval, comes on the heels of complaints from area residents about the Sunday night noise levels, says Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre). Rick and Sherry Busser watch cruise night from the back of their pickup truck on a Sunday night. (John Woods / Free Press files) "Most residents don't mind the cruise nights themselves," she said Thursday. "It's the revving and the screeching" and the modified mufflers. "The intent isn't to stop cruise nights. It's to have rules and regulations in place, and to enforce them." As part of a noise analysis, sensors were installed at Erin Street and Portage Avenue, where decibel levels were collected at three-second intervals Aug. 6 to 12, 2019. A total of 169,786 readings were taken; most fell in the zero to 75 decibel range, while about 20 per cent were higher. About 0.1 per cent of readings fell between 90 and 95 dB, roughly the range between a blender (88 dB) and a Boeing 737 approaching the tarmac (97 dB). A report submitted to the City of Winnipeg in December said there were noise spikes during certain points, including Sunday cruises. However, "loud noises are clearly not limited" to that event. "The intent isn't to stop cruise nights. It's to have rules and regulations in place, and to enforce them." Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) "The use of automated 24-hour enforcement equipment, specifically noise cameras... when noise spikes are detected is a potential tool that could be investigated further for use within Winnipeg," the report reads, adding current enforcement of noise control by the Winnipeg Police Service during cruise nights is "limited." Current noise control regulations don't state maximum decibel levels for vehicles; neither does the provincial Highway Traffic Act. However, the act states no person in control or in charge of a motor vehicle should start, drive, turn or stop it in a way that causes unnecessary noise from the engine, exhaust system, or brake system. It's also illegal to modify a muffler to create unnecessary noise. Edmonton city council deployed four noise monitors in 2018 as part of a pilot project to measure vehicular noise above 85 dB. It also put up four LCD monitors that displayed vehicle noise, but took those down after motorists began revving in front of them. Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) says the intent isn't to stop cruise nights and that most residents don't mind the cruise nights themselves. The revving of engines, tire screeching and modified mufflers are the source of the noise complaints. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files) "They wanted to see how high it could go," said Edmonton Coun. Ben Henderson, a longtime advocate for quieter roads. In 2019, the Alberta capital launched a noise enforcement pilot program, assigning peace officers to issue tickets to drivers who exceed 85 dB, along with $155 fines. Council is still waiting on a report on that program. Winnipeg cruise enthusiast Bob Chubala, a former chairman of the Manitoba Association of Automobile Clubs, said noise controls might make sense in residential areas, but Portage Avenue is part of Highway 1, where semis and buses regularly pass. 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. "It's a main corridor. What do you expect?" Chubala said of the issue. "There's probably a city councillor in the Wolseley area looking to make some noise," he said, ironically. "But until there's a standard (decibel level) set for the province of Manitoba, this will go nowhere. "We understand people's concerns... but they also have to understand a bus is gonna be a lot louder than a '67 Camaro." Gilroy said the proposed noise control would target all vehicles, not just the ones cruising on Sundays. A provincial spokesperson said any device using photo enforcement combined with noise infractions would require legislative amendments. ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca SIOUX CITY -- With less than three weeks to the important Iowa caucuses, Pete Buttigieg sought to close the deal with Northwest Iowans in an event Thursday that drew 350 people. Like other Democratic candidates who had spoken in Sioux City recently, such as Tom Steyer, Buttigieg encouraged people to support him on caucus night. He said he was the best candidate by virtue of coming from a Heartland state, his military background, not being afraid to speak about matters of faith and his desire to address the problems of climate change. "Iowa is in a position to make history. I realize my story is improbable," Buttigieg, 38, said, while noting another surprise occurred 12 years ago when Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses and then the presidency. Coming onstage to the song "High Hopes" by Panic! At The Disco, Buttigieg spoke about the need to make health care available to more Americans and help farmers rebound from a trade war with China, after tariffs were put in place by President Trump in 2018. One day ago, Trump pointed to a trade war reversal during a signing ceremony for the new U.S.-China trade deal. "Don't take credit for putting out the fire you started," Buttigieg said. He spoke at West Middle School, where he had also spoken in late November on a snowy night when the venue setup was reduced and 180 people showed up. The Iowa caucuses will be held on Feb. 3, as the first contest in the nominee selection process, and there are 12 Democratic presidential candidates seeking to deny Trump a second term. Buttigieg is polling in the top tier of candidates in Iowa alongside Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. In his first stop in Sioux City in July, a lot of young people were among the estimated 550 in attendance at North High School. Buttigieg is the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, many still call him Mayor Pete. On Thursday after his opening remarks, Buttigieg fielded 10 questions, which involved support of unions, gun control, education and how he would approach a possible presidential debate with Trump, a query that drew laughs. "When he tells a lie, we'll call it a lie...The key is the power to deny him the ability to change the subject," Buttigieg said, in noting the Republican president pinballs quickly from news cycle to news cycle, including picking fights with celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen on Twitter. Buttigieg said he would lead the country back into the Paris Accord in order to combat climate change, to give the U.S. a carbon-neutral economy by the middle of this century. He said that switch would create 300 million new jobs. Deb Kelley, of Ida Grove, Iowa, was seeing Buttigieg for a second time in person, and has decided to caucus for him. She attended the city event with a daughter and grandson, saying it was nice to have three generations take in the hour-long rally. Lara Trump in Sioux City says Democrats 'would ruin and bankrupt' the country SIOUX CITY -- President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law led a group of high-profile Republican women who stumped in Sioux City Thursday for Tru "(Buttigieg) cares about us and wants what's best for us. He will help the middle class and the working class," Kelley said. He also campaigned in Northwest Iowa on Thursday in Arnolds Park and Orange City, and Buttigieg planned to speak at the Plymouth County Museum, 335 First Ave. S.W., in Le Mars at 11 a.m Friday. Those are among 11 Iowa events he will hold over six days in his current swing through the state. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 And so it went, from one prisoner to the next, in a phone call with a reporter that stretched on for roughly an hour. The inmates complained about unreliable electricity and water, injuries that had not healed, and the vermin that forced them to hang leftover food from the ceiling. One inmate mentioned his girlfriend; another, the countdown to his release, now almost a month away. San Franciscos Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to ban gas appliances in new and significantly renovated city buildings. Its just the beginning, officials say: The board also passed a law to give incentives for all-electric construction, paving the way for a possible gas ban in all new buildings this year. I look forward to collaborating with environmental advocates, labor unions, developers and all stakeholders to end the use of natural gas in new buildings in San Francisco, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who plans to introduce the follow-on legislation, said in a statement. Tuesdays action is the latest in a controversial wave of laws across the Bay Area to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings by phasing out gas. San Franciscos Environment Department said buildings produced 44% of the citys emissions in 2017, the most recent year data were available. We cant ignore that we are seeing the consequences of the climate crisis every day, Supervisor Catherine Stefani said at Tuesdays City Hall meeting. Whether its the impact of sea level rise on our sea wall or the wildfires that are devastating communities locally and around the globe, we will be paying for the consequences of our climate decisions for a very long time. The change in the citys environmental code, which awaits a second vote by the board as a formality, could impact hundreds of construction projects costing billions of dollars, laid out in the citys capital plan for the next decade. Facilities that process water and wastewater are exempt, as are buildings related to electric utilities, vehicle charging and maintenance and emergency backup power. Some environmentalists think the new rules dont go far enough. Mayor London Breed pledged net-zero emissions for new construction by 2030 and for existing buildings by 2050. In September, two dozen environmental organizations pushed city officials in a letter to make all buildings electric. Stefani said Tuesday the change was an important first step in finding new ways to limit natural gas in our buildings. She told The Chronicle on Friday that she plans to introduce legislation to spur builders to go all-electric through tax rebates. Anything we can do to incentivize building owners to go electric, were exploring that now, Stefani said. I think incentives are the way to go. Thats instead of an all-out gas ban in new construction, which other local municipalities have enacted. Berkeley, San Mateo, Menlo Park, San Jose and Marin County either prohibit gas appliances in new homes or require the homes to be energy efficient if gas is used. Fifteen other communities have passed similar laws, pending approval from the California Energy Commission. Redwood City is considering its own ban on natural gas in new homes, with possible exceptions for affordable housing projects, the San Mateo Daily Journal reported. Gas bans have prompted resistance from some businesses. The California Restaurant Association sued Berkeley over its ban, and developers in Windsor took their town to court. Opponents argue that people deserve a choice, not least because the electric grid is unreliable thanks to power shut-offs. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes The Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance committee estimated that buildings with all-electric equipment had up-front construction costs comparable to those with gas ranging from $1.35 less expensive per square foot to 65 cents more expensive. That analysis doesnt take into account the cost of installing natural gas or consider the lifetime cost of the electricity or gas the appliances use. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission provides renewable electricity to city buildings; Pacific Gas and Electric Co. supplies gas. PG&E seemed in favor of the citys move in a statement Friday. PG&E supports local government policies that promote all-electric new construction when cost effective, spokesman Jason King said in an email. King said that beyond new construction, PG&E believes a multifaceted approach is needed to cost-effectively achieve Californias greenhouse-gas reduction objectives, including greater use of electricity and the use of alternatives to traditional natural gas, like renewable natural gas and hydrogen. He said PG&E welcomes the opportunity to avoid investing in new gas infrastructure that might be underused if local governments and the state work together to rely more on electricity. The California Public Utilities Commission recently approved $44 million worth of incentives to boost the installation of electric heat-pump water heaters in new and existing buildings. Its part of $830 million invested over five years under a program to encourage local generation and energy storage systems. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench A WA man who was hailed a hero after rescuing his elderly neighbour from a burning house has been sentenced on fraud charges after he took advantage of a Good Samaritan. Darren Kyle Hunter, 31, appeared in Perth District Court on Friday charged with four counts of gaining benefits by fraud, and one count of stealing after he stole an iPhone from a man who had helped him after an incident at a Rockingham pub in 2017. Darren Kyle Hunter in an interview with 9 News Perth last year, after he pulled an elderly woman from a burning house. Credit:9 News Perth Hunter previously made the news after he smashed a glass door and rushed inside a Mandurah home to drag an unconscious 60-year-old woman from the burning house in September last year. The court heard Hunter had been at a 50th birthday party at the Spearwood Tavern about 1am on April 2017 when he became involved in an incident and ran from the tavern. Gardai at the scene of a shooting in Killeek Lane, Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) One man remained in a critical condition on Friday night after a double shooting in north Dublin. He was one of two men, both aged in their 30s, injured in the incident in St Margarets near Dublin Airport on Friday morning. They were sitting in a parked vehicle at an industrial premises on Killeek Lane at around 11.30am when a lone gunman approached and fired several shots. The gunman fled the scene in a vehicle driven by another man. Expand Close A forensic officer at the scene of the shooting in Killeek Lane (Brian Lawless/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A forensic officer at the scene of the shooting in Killeek Lane (Brian Lawless/PA) The victims were treated at the scene before being taken to hospital one to Beaumount and one to Connolly Memorial. The car suspected to have been involved of the attack a black Citroen C4 reg 151D34526 was later found on fire in Greenwood Avenue in Coolock. Two men, also aged in their 30s, were detained around an hour after the shooting. Gardai have appealed for witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage from the area of the shooting or the cars discovery to come forward. Underlining the larger public interest, the Delhi Police on Friday urged the anti- citizenship law protesters at Shaheen Bagh to cooperate and help clear Road 13A, a 2.5km-long connection between Delhi and Noida, which has been closed since December 1. We appeal to agitators at Road No 13 A Shaheen Bagh to understand the sufferings that the complete highway blockade is causing to residents of Delhi & NCR, Senior Citizens, emergency patients & school going children. The matter has also come up before the Honble High Court, tweeted the Delhi Police. The closure of this particular road by the protesters has thrown traffic around south and central Delhi out of gear. What has further aggravated the traffic snarls is that parts of the Mathura Road, near the Ashram intersection, has been cordoned off for the construction of an underpass by the Public Works Department. Traffic police estimates show that the Ashram intersection, the worst hit by the closure of Road 13A, used to get nearly 3.5 lakh vehicles during peak morning and evening rush hours. However, over the last month, it has been taking an additional load of one lakh vehicles a day. 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. WeWorks parent SoftBank is in talks with the Singaporean fund and Shanghai-based private equity firm, sources said. Temasek Holdings and Trustbridge Partners have held talks with WeWork China over increasing their stake in the China branch of the troubled co-working startup to take majority ownership, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The plan values WeWork China at about $1bn, two of the people said. The proposal was submitted to WeWorks largest stakeholder, Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp at the end of last year said one of the people who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. Singapore state investor Temasek and Shanghai-based private equity firm Trustbridge want to buy more shares to give them a combined majority stake in WeWork China, according to the people. WeWork currently owns 59 percent of WeWork China, with the remainder held by other investors including SoftBank, Hony Capital and Trustbridge, according to the groups prospectus for its initial public offering. The Chinese unit had raised $500m in July 2018 from investors including Temasek, Trustbridge, SoftBank and Chinese fund Hony Capital in a deal valuing the firm at about $5bn. That was the second round, with the firm having previously raised $500m in 2017. A new deal giving Temasek and Trustbridge a majority stake would likely mean that WeWork China would go through a down round a fall in valuation following a new investment if the proposal got passed but could significantly ease the financial burden on WeWork and SoftBank. They added that the discussions were at an early stage and a deal was not certain. SoftBank, Temasek and WeWork declined to comment. Trustbridge did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The larger WeWork group is undergoing a broad restructuring after it was thrown a $9.5bn lifeline by SoftBank following a failed public offering and the removal of founder Adam Neumann. However, SoftBanks plan to secure $3bn from Japans three biggest banks have stalled, likely complicating its rescue package for WeWork, Reuters has reported. WeWork China has set out ambitious revenue goals for 2020, Reuters reported last month, even though it faces staff cutbacks and weak occupancy numbers at its properties across China. In 2018, WeWork China generated $99.5m in revenue, according to WeWorks IPO prospectus. WeWorks woes have had a ripple effect across the sector, impacting the likes of UCommune, WeWork Chinas rival, which is trying to launch an initial public offering in New York Citigroup Inc and Credit Suisse Group AG walked away from underwriting UCommunes IPO because they decided they could not deliver the offering at a previously discussed valuation. UCommune has now tapped little-known United States investment bank Benchmark Company LLC to launch its listing, Reuters reported earlier this month. Amnesty International on Thursday urged Nepal to amend a proposed bill which it fears could be used to criminalize the right to freedom of expression in the country. In a statement, the global human rights watchdog said Nepal's parliament must amend the Information Technology Bill (IT Bill) to bring it in line with international standards. "Provoking widespread criticism from Nepal's civil society, the proposed IT Bill would empower the government to arbitrarily censor content online, including on social media and punish offenders with up to five years' imprisonment and a fine of 1.5 million Nepali rupees (about USD 13,000)," it said. It said that Nepal was once envied by people across the region for its openness towards critical views and opinions. That reputation is now at risk as the government continues to crack down on what people say, write and even sing. "The IT Bill and all other legislation must be amended and brought in line with international law and standards to guarantee people's right to freedom of expression," Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International, said. The IT Bill is one of three proposed pieces of legislation that use vague and overbroad clauses to unduly restrict the right to freedom of expression. The bills have been proposed against the backdrop of intensifying attacks on free expression in the country, Amnesty said. "In 2019, laws like the Electronic Transactions Act 2006 were used to arbitrarily detain journalists for publishing stories which criticised the government or others who posted critical comments online. "In April, journalist Arjun Giri was charged under the Act for reporting on financial fraud. In June, comedian Pranesh Gautam was arrested for posting a satirical film review on YouTube. In October, musical artists Durgesh Thapa and Samir Ghishing, popularly known as VTEN, were arrested for the content of their songs," it said. Amnesty said that several provisions of the IT Bill do not meet the international human rights law and standards. "For instance, section 94 of the bill vaguely criminalizes people who post content on social media if it is deemed to be against national unity, self-respect, national interest, relationship between federal units," it said. Other provisions, which are open to very wide interpretation, could also be abused to stifle critical opinions, satire, public dialogue, and public commentary. For example, the bill prohibits "teasing", "deceiving", "demotivating" and "demeaning", it said. Section 88 of the bill also restricts the publishing of such content through the use of any electronic medium, which could include news sites, blogs, and even emails, Amnesty added. "Under international human rights law, states are permitted to limit the right to freedom of expression, but these limitations must be set forth in law in a precise manner, and be necessary and proportionate to a legitimate aim, as stipulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nepal is a party. "If passed in its current form, the provisions in the IT Bill further risk creating a chilling effect and will ultimately give rise to censorship and self-censorship online where people will no longer be able to share their feelings or debate ideas freely and without fear of repression," Patnaik added. Kummanam Rajasekharan challenges Kerala govt suit against CAA in SC Former president of the BJP in Kerala and former governor of Mizoram, Kummanam Rajasekharan has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala governments petition against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Rajasekharan said the state government is wasting public funds by engaging in worthless litigation against the centre and that the Left Front government in Kerala did not even consult the governor of the state before moving the petition. He also sought permission to be impleaded into the petition against CAA, in support of the central legislation. The petition is filed by Rajasekharan and one Ajikumar, a social worker, as per the details of the application. The CAA aims to provide citizenship to those Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan fleeing persecution on the basis of their religion. The Kerala government argues that CAA is discriminatory for excluding migrants from all countries which India shares borders with like Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bhutan, saying that there have been trans-border migrants from these countries as well. Rajasekharan in his petition argues that since Buddhism is the state religion in Sri Lanka and Bhutan, the religious minorities there are also Hindus, Christian and Muslims. It also wants the Kerala government to provide proof if these minorities are facing prosecution in those countries. The case of the plaintiff is that the above said minorities are excluded in the impugned Act and therefore it is discriminatory in nature. Though such a contention is made it is not explained how and whether the above said minorities are facing religious persecution in those countries," the plea reads. Further, it argues that there is no basis to say that the CAA will affect the social and fundamental rights of Indians, especially the residents of Kerala. A decision has been taken to unnecessarily to spend public money on a suit which has no legal and sound basis. Therefore, Chief Minister Vijayan along with the other Kerala cabinet ministers, who decided in favour of filing this suit, must be asked to pay the cost of the litigation," the plea says. The petitioners also wants the court to pass an order to realise the cost incurred by the state of Kerala in filing this suit from the ministers of the Kerala cabinet, including chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Kerala is the first state to move the SC against CAA calling it discriminatory. Meanwhile, the centre today convened a conference of the chief secretaries and administrators of states and union territories, respectively, in New Delhi, to work out the modalities of the Census 2021. The conference discussed the role of the states in the Census and the also on how the data collected in the Census helps in framing policies for the welfare of the people of the country. China, Pakistans efforts to internationalise Kashmir blocked in UNSC yet again China, at the urging of Pakistan, tried yet again to call for international intervention in Kashmir through the United Nations only to be blocked once again. According to media reports, the other 14 sitting members of the UNSC were of the view that this was not a matter that needed discussion at this point. Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Seeking a closed-door consultation under Any Other Business at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Wednesday, based on the old request of Pakistan which was scheduled for December 24 last year, sources stated that Chinas proposal found no takers. Indian envoy to the UN Syed Akbaruddin stated that the alarmist views painted by Pakistan of the situation in the region had failed to garner support and was dismissed as a distraction. We are glad that the effort was viewed as a distraction and it was pointed out by many friends that bilateral mechanisms are available to raise and address issues that Pakistan may have in its ties with India," he said. According to media reports, the other 14 sitting members of the UNSC were of the view that this was not a matter that needed discussion at this point, while France and the United Kingdom categorically called it a "bilateral" issue between India and Pakistan. Russian envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy also agreed Kashmir is a bilateral matter. In a tweet, he said, "UNSC discussed Kashmir in closed consultations. Russia firmly stands for the normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan. We hope that differences between them will be settled through bilateral efforts based on the 1972 Simla Agreement and the 1999 Lahore Declaration." French diplomatic sources said, "France has noted the request of a UNSC member (namely China) to raise the issue of Kashmir once again in this body. France's position has not changed and is very clear; the Kashmir issue must be settled bilaterally as we have stated on several occasions." The US also added that the issue did not belong in the UNSC. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said that China remains concerned about the situation on the ground in Kashmir. The issue of India and Pakistan has always been on the agenda of the Security Council and today we have also seen some tensions, so the Security Council had a briefing and heard at the briefing from the Secretariat concerning the current situation on the ground, he said, coming out of the meeting. On Jan. 9, the Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported that Isabel dos Santos the daughter of Angolas former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos once ranked by Forbes magazine as Africas richest woman is a citizen of Russia. Isabel dos Santoss ties to Russia have been the subject of journalistic investigations for nearly a decade. But the issue heated up more recently with corruption allegations made by the Angolan government against dos Santos, her husband and another businessman. She has been living outside Angola for several years; in December, an Angolan court froze her assets. Reuters cited a court document alleging that dos Santos and the others were responsible for more than $1 billion in losses to the state. Dos Santos and an associate were accused of attempting to transfer 10 million euros to Russia. Portuguese news outlets including the Jornal Economico and Expresso reported this month that dos Santos did business with the Russian state oil giant Rosneft in several countries, including Mozambique, Iraq and Turkey. She also owns a 25 percent stake in Nafta, an oil and gas company in Azerbaijan. The ability to claim Russian citizenship could prove important to dos Santos in order to protect her foreign assets from being seized by the Angolan government. Russia protects its citizens and assets from foreign or international prosecution under Article 61 of its constitution. Dos Santos claims the corruption accusations against her are false and politically motivated, and she called the media investigations fake. The corruption case was brought under the administration of Angolan President Joao Lourenco, elected in 2017 to replace dos Santos father, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who had ruled since 1979. Jornal Economico reported that Isabel dos Santos became a Russian citizen Isabel Dosovna Kukanova, in a process directed by President Vladimir Putin. Expresso reported that her Portuguese lawyer, Jorge Brito Pereira, last October and November filed changes to the shareholder registry data for two Maltese companies affiliated with dos Santos and her husband. The changes include the couple's new business address in Dubai and a new country of nationality for Isabel dos Santos Russia. I am Russian by birth, TASS quoted her as saying. Asked whether she received or restored Russian citizenship in 2013, she told TASS: I did not restore my citizenship, I always kept it. The news agency said she is in exile in Dubai and not planning on returning to Angola. Russias Foreign Ministry did not respond to a Polygraph.info inquiry about dos Santos' citizenship. A review of Russias citizenship law raises new questions about Dos Santos status. Initially adopted in 1992 after the Soviet Union collapsed, the law was overhauled and signed by Putin in 2002. Under the law, persons born in former Soviet republics other than Russia like Azerbaijan do not automatically inherit Russian citizenship from a Russian parent. Instead, they must apply to restore citizenship a process that can be both expensive and time consuming. Blood Ties Isabel dos Santos was born in 1973, in what was then the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Her parents attended college in Baku, the capital. Her father, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is Angolan, and her mother, Tatiana Kukanova, is a Russian from the provincial city of Penza. The couple moved with their baby daughter to Angola, where Jose Eduardo dos Santos became Angolas president. By the age of six, Isabel was a princess in the presidential palace, according to Forbes. Kukanova divorced Jose Eduardo dos Santos and reportedly moved to London with Isabel, but details are scarce. Multiple Russian sources claim Kukanova did not retain permanent residence in Russia after moving to London. Kukanova has no public social media accounts and only appeared once in her daughters Facebook posts on Christmas, Dec. 25, 2018. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reported in 2002 and 2015 that Isabel dos Santos was a shareholder in Ascorp, the Angolan diamond monopoly controlled by Russian-Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, who is a close friend of Vladimir Putin. The report said her mothers name was linked to accounts at HSBC that held as much as $4.5 million in 2006-2007, the ICIJ said. On Aug. 13, 2019, the Times of London reported that Isabel dos Santos had purchased a mansion worth 13 million pounds (about $17 million) in a London neighborhood the paper described as one of Britains most secretive gated communities. The Citizenship Law Russias citizenship law, Article 12, states that a child acquires Russian Federation citizenship by birth, if, on the day of the child's birth, one of the childs parents has Russian Federation citizenship, and the other parent is a foreign citizen, provided that the child was born on the territory of the Russian Federation. The law has special requirements for those born in areas like Soviet Azerbaijan that were outside the territory of the former Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), which was the largest Soviet republic and is now the Russian Federation. According to Article 13 of the citizenship law, anyone holding foreign citizenship who had Soviet citizenship by birth but was not born in the RSFSR must reapply for Russian citizenship. In addition, they must live in Russia for at least three years. That would appear to apply to Isabel dos Santos circumstances. Articles 28 and 29 of the citizenship law, however, give the Russian president sweeping authority to decide granting or restoring Russian citizenship. A vivid example of how Russias citizenship law is applied in regular, non-high-profile cases involves the Meskhetian Turks, who were deported by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin from their homes in Georgia and Azerbaijan to Central Asia during World War II. Thousands of Meskhetian Turks returned to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union but have been deprived of citizenship. In 2004, the U.S. granted humanitarian asylum to Russias Meskhetian Turks, resettling some 10,000 in Arizona, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Several Russian lawyers who specialize in citizenship restoration confirmed that dos Santos would be required to reapply for her citizenship. Radio Echo Moskvy, one of the countrys most popular news outlets, questioned dos Santos status in a report this month: If Isabel dos Santos had our passport before, it was only a Soviet one. After the collapse of the country, she had to exchange it for a Russian one. Embrace of Russia In 2013, the Forbes magazine, known for its annual lists of the worlds richest people, reported that dos Santos, then 40, was Africas youngest and only female billionaire. Forbes latest estimate puts her wroth at $2.1 billion. Dos Santos visited Russia last October to participate in the Russia-Africa Economic Summit in Sochi. In a Facebook post from the summit, dos Santos said: As passionate about my country and continent, I feel it is my duty to be at the forefront of the new era and reality of the world economy, defending our place The accusations against Isabel dos Santos in Angola are part of a wider anti-corruption drive under President Lourenco. He dismissed a number of government officials, removed Isabel dos Santos as head of Sonangol, the state oil company, and canceled state contracts with businesses connected to the dos Santos family. However, some observers question Lourencos anti-corruption drive, noting that he has specifically targeted the former presidents family while leaving others suspected of large-scale corruption untouched. In a recent interview with VOA, Isabel dos Santos criticized the Angolan government. In a country that I believe should have the rule of law, like Angola, Im very concerned for the future, she said. Im very concerned that these kinds of measures are going to be just arbitrarily put on someone from the private sector. Then it could be me today but it could be anyone else tomorrow. Reuters reported Thursday that dos Santos had expressed in running for the Angolan presidency in 2022. "It's possible," she told the news agency. GAO says Trump broke law Hours before the Senate embarked on President Trumps impeachment trial, a nonpartisan federal watchdog agency unexpectedly weighed in on an issue at the heart of the case: the presidents decision to withhold military assistance to Ukraine. The agency, the Government Accountability Office, said the White Houses Office of Management and Budget violated the law when it withheld nearly $400 million this past summer for a policy reason, even though the funds had been allocated by Congress. The law at issue, the Impoundment Control Act, was enacted in 1974 over the veto of President Richard M. Nixon. It limits a presidents power to withhold money that has been allocated by Congress, requiring approval from the legislative branch to do so. (New York Times) Featured stories Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., left, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., escort Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts into the Senate chamber Thursday at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)AP Trump impeachment trial begins as Chief Justice Roberts, senators sworn in (ABC News) Senate GOP hopes for a drama-free impeachment trial while bracing for Trump and his legal team (Washington Post) Indicted Giuliani associate Parnas says Trump ordered Ukraine ambassadors firing several times before recall (NBC News) U.S. service members treated for concussions after Iranian missile strikes (NBC News) Senate overwhelmingly approves USMCA trade deal in bipartisan vote (CBS News) National news Trump administration updates public school prayer guidance on National Religious Freedom Day (CNN) Judge upholds Northams ban on guns outside Va. Capitol for Mondays rally (Washington Post) DHS asks Pentagon to fund hundreds more miles of border wall construction (NBC News) 14 states sue Trump administration over food stamp rule (Politico) Expert finds signs of tampering on Georgia election server (The Hill) FBI arrests suspected neo-Nazis ahead of Virginia gun rally (BBC) Evelyn Yang reveals she was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN while pregnant (CNN) Anthony Todt, Colchester man accused of killing wife, three children in Celebration, Fla., held without bond after facing judge (Hartford Courant) I never thought it would kill him. S.C. woman sentenced in Visine eye drop poison case (Charlotte Observer) A woman went missing for six days. Rescuers found her inside an SUV buried in snow alive (Washington Post) 11-year-old girl kidnapped off the street found after motorist spots suspects car (NBC News) Yosemite National Park says 170 people ill in possible norovirus outbreak (Reuters) Hazardous travel ahead: Weekend winter storm to wallop Midwest and Northeast with snow and ice (USA Today) World news Iran plane crash: Khamenei to lead Friday prayers for first time since 2012 (BBC) U.S. agents aid in Guatemalan crackdown on hundreds of migrants headed north (The Guardian) Australias bushfire-stricken east welcomes drenching rain (Reuters) Displaced by the earthquake, Puerto Ricans cope with constant aftershocks and uncertainty (NBC News) Panama: Seven people found dead after suspected exorcism (BBC) Trumps China deal leaves some trade experts underwhelmed (NBC News) Philippine residents retrieve animals, belongings amid threat of volcano eruption (Reuters) U.S. ambassadors moustache gets up South Koreas nose (The Guardian) Hong Kong Express Airways sorry for making woman take pregnancy test (BBC) Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, the leading pan-India pathology specialist, has signed a binding agreement to acquire Ahmedabad based Shraddha Diagnostics Pvt Ltd Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, the leading pan-India pathology specialist, has signed a binding agreement to acquire Ahmedabad based Shraddha Diagnostics Pvt Ltd. With this acquisition, Metropolis has expanded its lab footprint from 17 to 20 in nine cities and towns of Gujarat; Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Mehsana, Rajkot, Navsari, Jamnagar, Bharuch and Gandhidham. Besides, presently, the company has 300 patient service network centres across Gujarat and services over 1500+ clients through its robust B2B network. Ameera Shah, Promoter and Managing Director, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd said, Gujarat has always been an important market for us. In October 2019, we acquired 4 laboratories in Surat that increased our market share and we are now leaders in the region. With the Ahmedabad acquisition, we are aiming to gain profitable market share by building better leadership, operational capabilities, and expanding our test menu. Our immediate focus would be to fully integrate and modernize these laboratories and in terms of diagnosis, deliver on our promise of integrity, empathy, and accuracy. Shraddha Diagnostic Pvt Ltd was started by Dr. Hiren Shah and Dr. Dushyant Patel. With these two young and dynamic pathologists joining the Metropolis Family, it is the right launchpad for modern and integrated laboratory services in Ahmedabad. Metropolis has a track record of acquiring and successfully integrating companies by bringing in industry best practices to these acquired businesses including standardized machines and standard operating procedures, in a phased manner, resulting in efficiency and quality enhancement. Metropolis, since 2002 has successfully used its brand strength to established large networks through acquisitions in Chennai, Rajkot, Surat, Bangalore, Pune as well as outside India. Switch the Market flag Open the menu and switch the Market flag for targeted data from your country of choice. for targeted data from your country of choice. Harare City Council senior managers reportedly secretly quadrupled their salaries, instead of a proposed 50 percent increment, angering councillors who have called for the immediate reversal of this followed by negotiations for a uniform pay rise for all staff. The least-paid municipal worker will be getting $1 100 a month, while the top bosses will be pocketing between $22 000 and $33 000 a month. Following the new salary changes, Town Clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango will be pocketing $33 000 a month, directors $28 000 and other managers $22 000. According to a leaked document, Eng Chisangos salary was increased to $32 912, including a stationery and education allowance of $2 904, while directors were in the range of $25 000 to $28 000. Human resources and general purposes committee chairperson Councillor Jacob Mafume yesterday said councillors were taken aback to learn about the 300 percent salary hike that quadrupled the top brass pay. We have not been able to increase any salary, he said. There is a proposal from management which is nowhere near such a figure of 300 percent. The basic salary was to be increased by 50 percent. We can only adjust the salaries by providing cushioning for all council employees which we have been doing as per need. We will look at the proposals and see whether they make sense in the current environment. And like we have been doing with all employees where the lowest is now earning $1 100, we hope revenues are increasing so we can offer a living wage. Eng Chisango was not answering his mobile phone following several attempts to get hold of him. He also did not respond to text messages. Harares acting corporate communications manager Mr Innocent Ruwende refused to be drawn into the matter, instead referring all questions to Clr Mafume. Zimbabwe Combined Residents Association president Mr McSteven Nyabvure raised a red flag over senior managers decision to secretly increase their salaries without council approval. The managers should instead prioritise offering quality services, rather than salary hikes, he said. We understand things are hard, but the salary increases should be done across the board, not for selected individuals. Sources within council said the managers and councillors were now at loggerheads, with some councillors calling for Eng Chisangos sacking. Some councillors want Eng Chisango fired as they allege that he is incompetent and undermining their authority, said a source. During the last full council meeting, councillors took a swipe at management for failing to improve service delivery. They said management was toothless after failing to remove illegal pirate taxis that were operating in Town Houses backyard. Meanwhile, the 15 refuse trucks bought by Harare City Council in South Africa are still stuck there almost three years on, as the council cannot raise over US$2 million required for their delivery. But there are conflicting figures on the amount required for delivery of the trucks, with council claiming that US$3,3 million was needed, while the supplier says US$2,4 million is all that is required. The 15 trucks holed up across the Limpopo River are part of the 30 compactors bought by the local authority from automotive manufacturer, FAW Group Corporation. Harares indifferent approach in taking delivery of the trucks when it was facing a shortage has raised suspicions among some that there could be a deliberate ploy by some council officials to continue delaying the process so that companies they contracted to collect refuse in some areas continue to benefit. Others question why council was not using the money it was collecting for refuse to source the foreign currency required to import the trucks. The acquisition of the refuse trucks has been mired in controversy after revelations that council may have already been prejudiced of about US$228 000 after it took delivery of 10 single-skip trucks instead of double-skip trucks it had ordered from FAW Zimbabwe. A standard single-skip truck in South Africa, where the trucks were sourced, costs about R400 000 (US$28 700), while a double-skip truck costs R800 000 (US$57 500). Mr Ruwende yesterday said money billed for refuse collection was not meant for capital projects. The trucks are 15 and they are with the suppliers, not at the border, he said. In terms of capital projects, they are not funded by rates as there are huge figures involved. Mr Ruwende said council had enough Zimbabwean dollars to buy the required US dollars for delivery of the trucks which they paid to FAW Zimbabwe, but foreign currency challenges remained an issue. Government has been assisting us with various projects and we have been engaging it over the matter, he said. Asked if council was pinning their hopes on a customs rebate, Mr Ruwende said: We will only get a rebate when the trucks are at the border. FAW Zimbabwe operations director Mr Patrick Masocha confirmed councils position. The arrangement was that RBZ would avail forex, but so far we have only received $900 000, which was paid for the 20 trucks that were delivered, he said. The other 15 trucks are at our plant and we took council officials there to see them. France has made proposals to the United States to resolve the dispute over taxing multinational tech giants that aims to seal the framework for a global deal by the end of the month, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Friday. "There are possibilities available, we are working with (US Treasury Secretary) Steven Mnuchin. I made several proposals to him," Le Maire said days before self-imposed deadline to find a resolution expires. On January 7, Paris and Washington set a two-week deadline to end a row over a French tax on multinational tech giants, with a US threat of sky-high retaliatory duties on USD 2.4 billion of French products from wines to leather handbags still hanging in the air. Le Maire declined to unveil details about the proposals or whether France had made a gesture on the implementation of the tax that would hit US firms like Netflix and Amazon. "We are going to keep that to ourselves for the moment, but I think there is a path to a possible compromise between the United States and France on the issue which would permit both to advance towards the only reasonable solution: an international solution via the OECD," he added. The deadline coincides with a scheduled meeting on the topic at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos from January 21 to 24. France last year approved a levy on tech firms as international efforts dragged on to find a new model for taxing companies who operate mostly over the internet. Currently, they often pay little tax to countries in which they are not physically present even though they earn lots of revenue in them via online sales and advertising. The levy would see them paying up to three percent of revenues earned in France. Washington says US companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Netflix and Amazon have been singled out by the French tax, and threatened duties of up to 100 per cent of the value of French imports of such emblematic goods as Champagne and Camembert cheese. After blocking the tech tax talks at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for several years, Washington relaunched them last year only to make proposals in December which France rejected before going ahead with its tax. Le Maire suggested that a resolution of the issue could progress in stages, with the first being a framework agreement on the basis of the text worked out at the OECD. If Washington agrees, the agreement in principle could be approved by OECD members at the end of the month, said the French minister, speaking alongside the director of the OECD, Angel Gurria. Then details about the parameters of the tax could be thrashed out until June, with an implementation of the tax soon thereafter, said Le Maire. He said this was one possible way to end the dispute, and added that France would keep its tax in place until an international levy is agreed. Gurria called the Davos meeting an opportunity to move forward on the issue and said that the OECD, which has helped countries try to find common ground, doesn't have a plan B if talks based on the current text fail. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 19:31:05|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close by Mahmoud Fouly CAIRO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The main gate of a downtown theatre belonging to Cairo Opera House was crowded with visitors who strived to get in and watch the Chinese and Egyptian folklore performances presented during an evening gala held on Thursday to mark the 2020 Chinese Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year. In the entrance of the theatre that leads to the over 600-seat main hall, the human-size digits 2020 were standing in red and surrounded by a line of flickering LED lights. About 20 Chinese and Egyptian shows were performed on the large stage with its background monitor and hanging Chinese-style red lanterns, including traditional dances and songs, a Chinese-Egyptian duet, a martial art show, a performance of Egyptian children, an Operatic song, a magic show and others. Wang Xiaolei, a Chinese dancer from Xiamen who performed a Uygur dance during the gala, said that she was extremely happy and impressed by the warm welcome she received from the Egyptian audience. "The performance tonight made me feel that the Egyptian people respect and love the Chinese art and culture, which moved me so much as an artist. I also felt that the Egyptian audience are open to different art forms," the Chinese performer told Xinhua backstage. "I have just watched a folklore dance by Egyptian artists and I admired them so much for preserving and being proud of their traditional art," she added. The event was held by the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo (CCC) and attended by Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang, CCC chief and Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt Shi Yuewen, as well as other Chinese and Egyptian diplomats, public figures, businesspeople and university professors. "We would like to seize this opportunity to extend our best wishes to the Chinese government and people on this happy occasion, for the Spring Festival is the largest holiday in China," said Hassan Ragab, dean of the Faculty of Language and head of Confucius Institute at Egypt's Suez Canal University. For her part, Rehab Mahmoud, director of Confucius Institute at Cairo University, said that such activities are important for boosting Egyptian-Chinese cultural interaction. She noted that the number of Egyptian learners of Chinese language has significantly increased over the past decade thanks to the growing knowledge about China through such cultural events. Among the troupes that took part in the festivity is that of Ain Shams University, which performed an Egyptian Tannura dance and two other performances of Andalusian and African styles amid cheers and applause of the audience. "Our participation in these activities brings us closer to the Chinese people and their culture and provides a chance to exchange knowledge about Chinese and Egyptian traditional arts," said Hassan Shehata, the troupe designer and leader. Shehata pointed out that his team performed once in China in the presence of the Egyptian and Chinese leaders during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing in 2018. The 2020 Chinese Spring Festival marks the beginning of the Year of the Rat, which is the first in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. Audience of different ages in the full theatre expressed happiness and admiration of the shows and appreciation of the growing ties of friendship between the Egyptian and the Chinese peoples. "The shows are wonderful and everything is beautiful in this festivity tonight," said Gihan Ahmed, an Egyptian housewife who attended the gala with her Chinese-speaking daughter who studied Chinese at an Egyptian university. The Egyptian lady hailed the Chinese organization of such events. "China is an amazing country and such activities let us know more about the Chinese culture and art," she told Xinhua. Even when a business is losing money, it's possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. For example, Ilika (LON:IKA) shareholders have done very well over the last year, with the share price soaring by 159%. But the harsh reality is that very many loss making companies burn through all their cash and go bankrupt. Given its strong share price performance, we think it's worthwhile for Ilika shareholders to consider whether its cash burn is concerning. For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway. Check out our latest analysis for Ilika Does Ilika Have A Long Cash Runway? A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. As at April 2019, Ilika had cash of UK4.0m and no debt. In the last year, its cash burn was UK3.0m. Therefore, from April 2019 it had roughly 16 months of cash runway. While that cash runway isn't too concerning, sensible holders would be peering into the distance, and considering what happens if the company runs out of cash. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years. AIM:IKA Historical Debt, January 17th 2020 How Is Ilika's Cash Burn Changing Over Time? Although Ilika had revenue of UK2.6m in the last twelve months, its operating revenue was only UK345k in that time period. We don't think that's enough operating revenue for us to understand too much from revenue growth rates, since the company is growing off a low base. So we'll focus on the cash burn, today. Over the last year its cash burn actually increased by 16%, which suggests that management are increasing investment in future growth, but not too quickly. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but investors should be mindful of the fact that will shorten the cash runway. Admittedly, we're a bit cautious of Ilika due to its lack of significant operating revenues. We prefer most of the stocks on this list of stocks that analysts expect to grow. Story continues How Easily Can Ilika Raise Cash? While Ilika does have a solid cash runway, its cash burn trajectory may have some shareholders thinking ahead to when the company may need to raise more cash. Companies can raise capital through either debt or equity. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash to fund growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations. Since it has a market capitalisation of UK46m, Ilika's UK3.0m in cash burn equates to about 6.5% of its market value. That's a low proportion, so we figure the company would be able to raise more cash to fund growth, with a little dilution, or even to simply borrow some money. So, Should We Worry About Ilika's Cash Burn? On this analysis of Ilika's cash burn, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap was reassuring, while its increasing cash burn has us a bit worried. While we're the kind of investors who are always a bit concerned about the risks involved with cash burning companies, the metrics we have discussed in this article leave us relatively comfortable about Ilika's situation. We think it's very important to consider the cash burn for loss making companies, but other considerations such as the amount the CEO is paid can also enhance your understanding of the business. You can click here to see what Ilika's CEO gets paid each year. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies insiders are buying, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts) 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 16:44:42|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has established an independent police department to combat domestic violence, the country's National Police Agency (NPA) said Friday. "Police officers at the department are responsible for the enforcement of relevant laws and regulations of the country and for intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of domestic violence," the NPA said in a statement. A total of 31,524 criminal cases, including 985 cases related to domestic violence, were recorded across the country last year. The number of people working and not paying the correct Social Security contributions in Malaga province, including the Costa del Sol, is on the rise. A recently released report from the ministry of Work in Madrid covering 2018 says that 1,369 incidents were found locally of Social Security fraud involving 2,059 people, up from 1,857 people in 2017. The increase in cases is despite a fall in the overall number of workplace inspections carried out in the area over the two years, from 14,081 in 2017 to 13,652 in 2018. The money found to have been evaded in the province in 2018 was 5.6 million euros The data covers a series of offences uncovered on the inspectors' visits to companies and includes both infractions by workers themselves and their bosses in underreporting employment. Offences include: foreigners employed but with no work permit for Spain; workers and self-employed not registered to pay monthly Social Security contributions; and employers who are underpaying into the system for the number of hours their staff work. The total amount of money found to have been defrauded in the province in the 2018 inspections was 5.6 million euros. This makes Malaga, with it high foreign population and reliance on temporary tourist work, the Andalusian province with the largest amount of black-market labour. The next highest province is Almeria, with its heavy use of migrant workers in the fruit industry, on 4.9 million euros of evaded payments. The sector of the economy with the highest number of offences was Hotels and Hospitality Despite efforts by the government to persuade people not to work under the table or warn employers against Social Security fraud, as this harms the overall economy, the local Malaga data shows a 10.8 per cent increase in identified offences in 2018. Of the 13,652 inspections in Malaga province, 87 per cent (11,809) were checks on workers to see if their employers, or the workers themselves if self-employed, were registered to pay monthly quotas to the State to cover healthcare, pensions and other rights. On a national level, the sector of the economy with the largest number of offences was Hotels and Hospitality, making up 23.46 per cent of the total. This was followed by Professional Services on 15.88 per cent and retail on 13.36 per cent. The Construction sector made up 10.21 per cent of the cases of workers or bosses not following the Social Security payments rules in some way. Iranians shout slogans against the government after a vigil held for the victims of the airplane of Ukrainian International Airlines - Anadolu Iran's Supreme Leader, in his first sermon in eight years, said yesterday that Britain and other European states who were party to a nuclear pact were American lackeys who "cannot be trusted". Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told thousands of worshippers gathered in Tehran that the UK, France and Germany were weak, after the co-signatories to the 2015 accord triggered a formal dispute mechanism in the agreement, which could lead to UN sanctions being reimposed. Iran has gradually scaled back its commitments under the pact in retaliation to USs withdrawal in 2018 and its reimposition of sanctions that have crippled the country's economy. I told you after US withdrawal that the E3 are just paying lip service, and telling lies, he said. "I said I don't trust them. Now you see they're just pawns of the US. They're trying to bring Iran to its knees. US, which was your master, failed to do so, let alone you tiny ones. Donald Trump responded on Twitter on Friday night, telling Khamenei to be very careful with his words. Iranians shout slogans against the government after a vigil held for the victims of the airplane of Ukrainian International Airlines Credit: Anadolu The so-called Supreme Leader of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe, Trump said. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words! Trump went on to urge Iran leaders to "abandon terror" and "Make Iran Great Again". The US has threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars if EU governments continue to back the nuclear deal, according to German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Khamenei, who has held the countrys top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions, addressed the nation following the US killing of celebrated Revolutionary Guard general Qassim Soleimani. Leading Friday prayers in the capital, which the ayatollah last did in 2012, is a symbolically significant act usually reserved for times when Iran's highest authority wishes to deliver an important message. Story continues Striking a defiant tone, he said Mr Trump was a clown who pretended to support the Iranian people but would push a poisonous dagger into their backs. He also accused Iran's "enemies", a term that usually refers to Washington and its allies, of trying to use Iran's accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner to overshadow a public show of grief following the death of Soleimani. He called the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner a "bitter" tragedy on Friday but said it should not overshadow the "sacrifice" of a top commander killed in a US drone strike. "The plane crash was a bitter accident, it burned through our heart," Khamenei said. "But some tried to... portray it in a way to forget the great martyrdom and sacrifice" of Major General Soleimani, the head of the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. "Our enemies were as happy about the plane crash as we were sad ... happy that they found something to question the Guards, the armed forces, the system." Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leading the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran. Credit: AFP Iran admitted last week it accidentally downed a Ukrainian airliner when it was high alert after strikes against US targets in Iraq in retaliation for Soleimani's killing. The tragedy killed 176 people, most of them Iranians and Canadians. Many Iranians in exile noted that Khameini did not offer any condolences to the victims of the crash, which they said showed a lack of respect. Praising Soleimani, Khamenei said his actions beyond Iran's borders were in the service of the "security" of the nation and that the people are in favour of "firmness" and "resistance" in the face of enemies. "The few hundred who insulted the picture of General Soleimani, are they the people of Iran? Or this million-strong crowd in the streets?" he said in an apparent reference to the reported tearing down of a portrait of the dead commander by protesters in Tehran a few days after hundreds of thousands turned out for his funeral. Police officers in Juja, Kiambu County Thursday recovered expired sanitary towels branded GOK at a residential house under construction in Witeithie Estate. The pads issued by the government through the Ministry of Education are believed to have been looted from Mombasa, Kilifi, Muranga and Kiambu Counties since 2018 with the aim of repackaging them for sale. Acting on a tip-off from members of the public, police raided the premises and impounded over 300,000 pieces of the expired pads. Juja Sub-County Police Commander Dorothy Migarusha said they arrested the owner of the premises, Stephen Muchoki. Some residents have told us that these sanitary towels were brought here back in 2018 and that Mr Muchoki leaves this unfinished house with loaded sacks to an unknown destination. We want him to explain how government property landed in his house and why, Migarusha said. The bust comes after Witeithie residents raised concern over the increased cases of female urinary infections in the area, attributing it to the use of expired sanitary towels. Its a shame that someone is making money out of free goods that are distributed by the government! It is quite sad that they are even expired towels no wonder we have so many cases of Urinary Tract Infections around, Zena Rotich told reporters. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 18:04:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG -- The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Investment Agreement signed between China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Australia entered into force on Friday, the HKSAR government announced. The agreements are expected to provide Hong Kong traders and investors with legal certainty and more favorable access to the Australian market, while creating more business opportunities and enhancing trade and investment flows between Hong Kong and Australia. (HK-Australia-FTA) - - - - SEOUL -- South Korea's unification ministry said on Friday that the country's policy on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) belonged to a matter of sovereignty. Lee Sang-min, the ministry's spokesman, told a press briefing that the policy on the DPRK belonged to the sovereignty of South Korea, saying the United States repeatedly expressed respect for the sovereignty through various channels. (S.Korea-DPRK-U.S.) - - - - BANGKOK -- A second Chinese tourist from Wuhan city to Thailand has been found infected with coronavirus, said a senior government official on Friday. The 74-year-old female tourist, who was reported to have had a fast heart beat and a high fever at Suvarnabhumi airport, was sent to Bamrasnaradura Institute hospital where she was found in a lab test to have been infected with coronavirus, Public Health Ministry Permanent Secretary Sukhum Kanchanaphimai said in a press conference. (Thailand-China-Coronavirus) - - - - SYDNEY -- Australia's wildlife are likely to be the hardest hit by the country's ongoing and unprecedented bushfire crisis, according to an ecologist. Prof. Christopher Dickman, an ecologist from the University of Sydney, told Xinhua that a large amount of wildlife are expected to be perished, which would provide food for scavenging animals, making it hard to ensure biodiversity. (Australia-Bushfire-Wildlife) Enditem The Kolkata Police on Thursday night arrested Mudassar Khan and Irfanuddin for allegedly stealing information from ATM cards of numerous unsuspecting senior citizens and less educated people when they visited unguarded ATM counters in the city. Both the accused are residents of Gaya, Bihar. They were arrested from Sealdah station when they were about to board the Darjeeling Mail. Electronic devices used for cloning ATM cards with stolen information, 39 cloned cards, a magnetic strip reader and a laptop were seized from their possession, said joint commissioner of police (crime) Murli Dhar Sharma. The accused used to stay in rented flats at Jadavpur and Tiljala in south Kolkata. Sharma said the duo used to target senior citizens and less educated people at ATM counters on the pretext of helping them and used to steal data from their cards using skimming devices. In November last year, about 80 bank account holders in Kolkata lost a few lakh rupees to an interstate gang that used skimmer devices to access ATM personal identification numbers (PIN) of unsuspecting people. Kolkata Police arrested Siliviu Florin Spiridon (28), a resident of Constanta, Romania, from Greater Kailash in this connection. Panic gripped pensioners and salaried people in Kolkata on November 1 when at least 30 people found that a few lakh rupees had been drawn from their accounts from ATMs in south Delhi. The withdrawals were made soon after salaries and pensions were deposited into these accounts. The ATMs used to make the withdrawals are located in Greater Kailash and Lajpat Nagar areas of south Delhi. The number of complaints received by police crossed 80 in the next few days. The victims, who have accounts in different nationalized and corporate banks, came to know of the theft from text messages sent by their respective banks. All the victims mentioned in their police complaints that they recently used certain ATMs in south Kolkata. This prompted the police to suspect that the culprits placed skimmer devices over the keypads of the ATM machines to record passwords. The complainants said they did not receive any call or messages requesting passwords. In 2018, a similar operation was carried out by a gang in which two Romanian nationals were involved. The gang was busted and ten people, including two Romanians, were arrested. They are now in jail. This gang, too, used ATMs in Delhi to withdraw cash. KALAMAZOO, MI -- The four police officers who shot and killed a Kalamazoo man will not face criminal charges, Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said Friday. The police officers were justified in using deadly force last April when they shot and killed Thomas Verile Jr. in Kalamazoo County, Getting said at a press briefing Friday, Jan .17. Verile, 37, died April 4, 2019, in the basement of a home in the 2800 block of East G Avenue in Kalamazoo. The man, who police say was wanted as a parole absconder, was hiding in a small, cramped basement under a pile of clothes when officers found him while issuing an arrest warrant, Getting said. Verile ignored multiple commands to show his hands, and told the officers he had a gun and threatened to kill himself and the police, Getting said. Verile moved forward suddenly while laying on his back with his hands still covered when four officers fired a total of 17 gunshots, striking Verile 13 times, Getting said. The officers believed Verile was armed and acted out of self defense, Getting said, though they did not ultimately find a weapon. The four officers involved were members of the Michigan State Police 5th District Fugitive Team, including Deputy U.S. Marshal Tony Casper, MSP Detective Sgt. Kevin Conklin, Michigan Department of Corrections Investigator Thomas Johnson and Battle Creek Police Department Officer Andrew Horn. The officers were not wearing body cameras and there were no video or audio recordings of the encounter inside, Getting said. The medical examiner determined Veriles cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death was homicide. Verile was shot in the chin, neck, shoulder, torso, abdomen, arm, thigh, leg and hand. According to toxicology reports, Verile had methamphetamine, methadone, amphetamine and morphine in his system at the time of his death. Getting said Veriles criminal history and previous encounters with police were very relevant in his decision. Officers were told ahead of the incident that Verile may run or hide from officers, that he may be armed and the officers should use caution. Getting said Verile posed an immediate, extreme threat to the officers. Verile was wanted for violating parole on previous convictions for breaking and entering and felony firearm. Police said he also had warrants against him after failing to appear in court on charges involving a short-barreled shotgun and child neglect. The shooting occurred two days after Verile escaped an arrest attempt, and fugitive team officers had him under surveillance for several days, police said. During the arrest attempt, state police said Verile fled in a vehicle and nearly struck two detectives. The vehicle then crashed through two gates and became disabled, but Verile jumped out and ran. Police called in a tracking dog but he was not found. Veriles ex-wife Amy Verile told MLive Friday that she doesnt believe the officers were justified in Veriles death. (The officers) get to carry on with their lives but my children are left to grow up without their father, Verile said. Also on MLive: Man shot and killed by police nearly struck officers with car two days earlier Man shot, killed by police in Kalamazoo didnt deserve to die, ex-wife says In the January 16 episode of the In The News podcast, host Anvita Bansal interacts with Siddhesh Raut, Ruchira Kondepudi and Dustin Yarde from the Moneycontrol News Desk for the top stories of the day. Ruchira talks about how the Russian government and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev have resigned after President Vladimir Putin announced constitutional reforms. Siddhesh talks about Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's comment on Amazon's plan to invest in India. He also shares details on the Supreme Court's dismissal of AGR review petitions submitted by telecom companies. Finally, Dustin gives details on why MS Dhoni's name was excluded from BCCI's central contract. Around 350,0000 people have fled Syria's Idlib since Dec. 1: UN Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 3:50 PM The United Nations says around 350,000 Syrians, mostly women and children, have been displaced in the country's northwestern province of Idlib since early December last year. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest situation report on Thursday that the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate as a result of "escalating" hostilities. David Swanson, Amman-based UN regional spokesman for Syria, also voiced concern over the latest displacement. "This latest wave of displacement compounds an already dire humanitarian situation on the ground in Idlib." According to the United Nations, nearly three million people are trapped in militant-held populated parts of Idlib province. On August 5, the Syrian army announced the start of an offensive against foreign-sponsored militants in Idlib after they failed to honor a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey and continued to target civilian neighborhoods. Under the Sochi agreement, all militants in the demilitarized zone that surrounds Idlib and also parts of the provinces of Aleppo and Hama were supposed to pull out heavy arms by October 17 last year, and Takfiri groups had to withdraw two days earlier. The Aleppo province is situated next to Idlib. Since the Syrian government troops regained control of Aleppo at the end of 2016, the city has been targeted intermittently by an array of terror outfits. The National Front for the Liberation of Syria is the main Turkish-backed militant alliance in the Idlib region, but the Takfiri Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is a coalition of different factions of terror outfits largely composed of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, holds a large part of the province and the zone. The HTS, which is said to be in control of some 60 percent of Idlib, has yet to announce its stance on the buffer zone deal. Foreign-backed militancy, supported by the United States and many of its Western and regional allies, erupted in Syria in 2011.The Takfiri terrorists overran large swathes of Syria's territory before being vanquished by government forces and allies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Realtors' apex body CREDAI on Friday said its developer members have given flat allotment letters to families of nine CRPF personnel martyred in terror attack at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. After the attack in February 2019, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) had promised to offer a two-bedroom house to each family of CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the Pulwama terror attack. On Friday, CREDAI, which has 12,000 members, organised a ceremony in Delhi-NCR to hand over flat allotment letters to the families of Pulwama martyrs. D S Chauhan, IPS, NS, IGP, members of CRPF and the developers who have donated the flats were present at the occasion. "The association has handed over 9 flat allotment letters to the families of Pulwama martyrs in Delhi-NCR," CREDAI said in a statement. Additionally, 10 flats have already been allotted in other states -- West Bengal, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand out of total 40 flats committed by CREDAI. Members who have offered flats include ATS, Gaurs group, Supertech, Prestige Group, Alcove Realty, Mirchandani Group, Anukampa Group, Manglam Group, Narvik Nirman & Financers, Wish Empire, Berry Developers, Krish Group, BCC Infra, Belani Group, Raheja Developers, Rameshwaram Group and Akshat Apartments. "Keeping up with the spirit of patriotism and recognizing the sacrifices made by the family, we have come forward with this gesture. As we promised to offer homes to the families of the deceased, we are pleased to announce the allotment of 9 flats in Delhi-NCR," said Getamber Anand, ATS Chairman and former President, CREDAI National. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-17 02:54:38 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 947 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2020 / CanadaBis Capital Inc. ("CanadaBis" or "the Company") is pleased to report that at its Annual & Special Meeting, held on January 15, 2020, Travis McIntyre, Gregory Smith, Donald Cowie, Alex Michaud, Barbara O'Neill and Shane Chana were elected to the Board of Directors. We are extremely pleased to welcome Mr. Chana who replaces Scott Reeves as a Board member. CanadaBis would like to express its thanks to Mr. Reeves for his contributions to-date, in the areas of securities, corporate governance, corporate finance and strategic operations.Mr. Chana has been the Chief Financial Officer of Centerfire Energy Group since 2016, which is an oilfield service group located in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Prior to this, he worked at MNP LLP, a Canadian national public accounting firm from 2009 to 2016 as a Senior Manager. Mr. Chana holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Northern British Columbia and obtained his Chartered Accounting designation in 2012."We are extremely pleased to welcome Shane Chana to our Board and look forward to benefiting from his vast experience in the areas of finance and fiscal management. While pursuing his Chartered Accounting designation, Shane was responsible for managing a wide range of small business clients primarily in the energy sector within Alberta, which has seen a significant amount of volatility over the years. Shane then transitioned to his role as Chief Financial Officer for Centerfire Energy Group which is a private enterprise that has seen significant grown in light of the downturn in the Oil Industry in Alberta over the last four to five years." stated Travis McIntyre, President and CEO of CanadaBis. "We look forward to learning and benefitting from his proven track record of leading successful teams to deliver outstanding returns to investors. We look forward to his leadership role in taking the Company through its next, and most important phase of growth and development." CanadaBis has also granted to Mr. Chana, under its Stock Option Plan, options to purchase up to 600,000 common shares for a period of five years commencing January 16, 2020 at an exercise price of $0.20 per share. The options will vest over a period of three years.Shareholders also approved fixing the number of directors at six, the appointment of BDO Canada LLP as Auditors and ratified the stock option plan.CanadaBis Capital, through its subsidiary Stigma Grow, currently operates 22,000 sq/ft of production space and has made significant progress in their Phase 2 expansion, which will increase this area to 66,000 sq/ft by mid-2020. The Company has established itself as a strong Alberta brand with the ability to influence several aspects of the emerging cannabis industry via four pillars of business: cultivation, processing & extractions, lifestyle products and retail.About CanadaBis Capital Inc.CanadaBis Capital Inc. (TSXV:CANB) is a vertically integrated Canadian cannabis company focused on achieving large-scale growth in the fast-emerging global cannabis market. By targeting organic growth opportunities alongside the right-fit partners, we remain focused on finding and capitalizing on chances to grow, diversify and continue to lead our industry.For more information on CanadaBis Capital, 1998643 (Stigma Roots) or INDICAtive Collection, please visit: www.canadabis.com or contact:Investor Relations1-888-STI-GMA1info@ stigmagrow.ca CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to our business and operations including development and expansion plans and the timing thereof. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of 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: compliance with extensive government regulation, the general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; requirement for further capital, delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; the results of operations and such other matters as set out in the Filing Statement available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflects management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on our future results, performance or achievements.Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. CanadaBis Capital does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law.Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.SOURCE: CanadaBis Capital Inc. Flying with British Airways can increase CO2 emissions by up to 46 per cent per passenger when compared to rival airlines on the same routes, according to a new investigation. Which? Travel looked at six popular international routes from London, which are well served by a variety of carriers, to compare CO2 emissions. It found that on four of these routes, out of the airlines in the study, BA had the most emissions. Flying with British Airways can increase CO2 emissions by up to 46 per cent per passenger when compared to rival airlines on the same routes, according to a new Which? investigation To conduct its snapshot analysis, Which? asked Flyzen, a firm specialising in carbon emissions data, in October 2019, to compare CO2 emissions for the six routes. The emissions were calculated by taking into account factors including mileage, aircraft model, the efficiency of the engine, seat configuration, the number of stopovers (if any) and the likelihood of the aircraft spending time taxiing at take-off or landing. Which? says it found that one passenger flying from Heathrow to Miami with BA would be responsible for 1.13 tonnes of carbon - almost a third more than for the same journey with Virgin Atlantic (860.9 kilos). Thats a difference of 544 kilos of CO2 for a return journey - the equivalent of more than two months of electricity in the average UK home. BA is a flag carrier and the consumer champion says these tend to have older fleets of wide-bodied aircraft, which use more fuel. These airlines also carry more business and first-class passengers who, because they are afforded more space in the cabin (resulting in fewer passengers overall), have a larger carbon footprint. For business class passengers on long-haul flights, Which? says that the impact is estimated to be around three times more than economy flyers. For first-class, its four times. But the findings were not only a long-haul phenomenon, says Which? A table from Which? showing the carbon emissions on six international routes from London on different carriers It also explained it found a BA flight from London Stansted to Palma de Mallorca (160 kilos of CO2 per passenger) emitted 46 per cent more than the same route with Ryanair, Jet2 or Tui (109.3 kilos). On a round trip, thats a saving of 100 kilos the same as leaving a 60W light bulb switched on for 161 days straight. The study also found that BA emitted more CO2 on its Gatwick to Alicante route (129.5 tonnes of CO2) when compared to Ryanair (111.9 tonnes of CO2), as well as on its Gatwick to Dublin service (62.5 tonnes of CO2) than Ryanair (58.8 tonnes of CO2). Aer Lingus emitted the same as BA. These figures come after it was reported last year that BA emits 18,000 tonnes of additional CO2 each year through an industry-wide practice of 'fuel tankering', which involves filling aircraft with extra fuel to avoid having to fill up at destinations where prices are higher. At the time, the airline said that the practice 'contributes less than 0.1 per cent of its total carbon emissions' but promised to review this. The study found that an indirect flight from London Heathrow to Singapore with Cathay Pacific (1.7 tonnes of CO2) produced three quarters more emissions than on the same journey with KLM (958 kilos) Which? reveals six ways air passengers can reduce their carbon emissions Meanwhile, in the worst case that Which? looked at, an indirect flight from London Heathrow to Singapore with Cathay Pacific (1.7 tonnes of CO2) produced three quarters more emissions than on the same journey with KLM (958 kilos). Thats a difference of almost 1.5 tonnes for a return journey the same amount of CO2 expelled by 100 full tanks of diesel in an average-sized car. Which? says this example shows that connecting in Hong Kong with Cathay rather than in Amsterdam with KLM means a couple more hours in the air, and therefore far more carbon being expelled. Flying has found itself at the centre of the debate on climate change with air travel giving rise to offsetting schemes, which promise to make flights carbon neutral. However, Which? says it found that passengers worried about their carbon footprint can make much more significant reductions to their emissions by changing who they fly with. Rory Boland, Which? Travel Editor, said: 'These figures show that swapping to a greener airline will allow the many of us concerned about climate change to immediately and significantly reduce our individual carbon footprint. 'If millions of us were to switch to a less polluting airline on our next holiday, it would bring pressure on the worst polluting airlines and force them to prioritise their impact on the environment by introducing more efficient aircraft and cleaner fuels.' A British Airways spokesman told MailOnline Travel: 'The figures are at odds with the figures calculated by the range of airlines it claims to have investigated. We are committed to net-zero by 2050.' Which? says it stands by its research. A spokesperson for Cathay Pacific said: 'Cathay Pacific is one of the leading airlines in taking a proactive stance in minimising our environmental impact and carbon footprint. We are the first airline to invest in an aviation biofuel company, as well as the first in committing to use 375 million US gallons of biofuel in a 10-year period when commercial production commences. The airline has also been consistently using blended biofuel on Airbus delivery flights since 2016. 'Our newest long-haul fleet, the ultra-efficient Airbus A350, is only two years old. Overall, our average long-haul fleet age stands at about five years. Cathay Pacific has 33 firm orders of brand new A350 and Boeing 777-9 long-haul aircraft, and with these new aircraft entering into service, our fleet age is only going to get younger and our efficiency higher. 'While the data doesnt reflect our own findings, Cathay Pacific welcomes the report from Which? and we are always reviewing how we can do better in all areas of our operations. 'There are different algorithms in measuring airline efficiency; in addition, the parameters being used in an equation also vary. For example, load factor, biofuel versus kerosene, full service versus low-cost carrier, amount of cargo carried on a passenger flight, etc. 'This makes it hard to make like-for-like comparisons. International aviation bodies measure carbon efficiency of global airlines regularly, and Cathay Pacific is among the top performers.' Mini mince pies have helped increase Mr Kipling sales by 10% the brands eighth consecutive quarter of turnover growth. Announcing its results for the 13 weeks to 28 December, brand owner Premier Foods said Mr Kipling its largest brand had benefited from increased marketing investment and new product launches. In total, Premier sold 201 million mince pies in 2019, up 7% on 2018, and equivalent to around three mince pies for each person in the UK. Following the success of the mini mince pies, a range of mini pies is being rolled out this month. Each pack (rsp: 1.99) contains nine individual pies or tarts, with three different flavours per box: Mini Bakewell Selection (lemon, cherry and caramel); Mini Fruit Pie Selection (apple & blackcurrant, Bramley apple and cherry); and Sponge Tart Selection (almond & raspberry, double chocolate and lemon & coconut). Sales of the companys Cadbury licensed product ranges have grown on a year-to-date basis, but Premier admitted they had been slightly weakened in December as lower promotional levels offset the launch of Cadbury cake mixes. Premiers own-label cakes business has been in decline in recent quarters as the business focused on its brands. It returned to growth in Q3, with sales up 8.8% year on year, although this was a reflection of weak trading a year ago when the business had problems with new warehousing and logistics systems. Overall sales across the companys cake business its Sweet Treats division rose 8%. Premiers total sales, including brands such as Bisto and Ambrosia, were up 2.6% year-on-year. However, Premiers international division, which has in previous years benefited from a strong performance by Mr Kipling and Cadbury cake, fell 17% year-on-year. The company said it was revising its approach to deliver more consistent sustainable growth. Commenting on the results, Premier chief executive officer Alex Whitehouse said the company had delivered 10 consecutive quarters of revenue growth and had consistently outperformed the market. Our biggest brand, Mr Kipling, has again been instrumental to this continuing momentum. Our proven branded growth model of delivering new product innovation based on consumer trends together with high-quality advertising behind our major brands continues to work very well. Whitehouse added the business was on track to deliver 5m in savings over the next two years, and that the companys profit expectations for the full year were unchanged. A Virginia circuit court judge has denied gun rights activists attempt to block a ruling on a temporary gun ban at the state capitol. The Virginia Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of America filed a suit against Gov. Ralph Northam and Capitol Police Chief Anthony Pike, reported the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Pikes agency would enforce the ban. Numerous pro-gun rights activists are planning to rally at the capitol on Monday, but Northam, in issuing the emergency declaration on Wednesday, said that there were reports of armed groups threatening to storm the capitol premises. The declaration means weapons of any kind will be prohibited on capitol grounds from Friday night until Tuesday. Richmond Chief Judge Joi Jeter Taylor issued the ruling on Thursday, according to the Dispatch. Its not clear if the groups involved in the lawsuit will file an appeal. Northam issued a statement following the ruling and defended his declaration. I took this action to protect Virginians from credible threats of violence, he said Thursday. These threats are realas evidenced by reports of neo-Nazis arrested this morning after discussing plans to head to Richmond with firearms. David Browne, who represents the gun rights groups, said Northams order is nothing more than an unconstitutional restraint on rallygoers, the Washington Post reported. Ahead of the judges decision, Virginia Citizens Defense League organizer Philip Van Cleave said Northam has touched the third rail and has motivated people to drive across the state and from other states to come protect our rights, USA Today reported. Whats more, the Lobby Day organized by Virginia Citizens Defense League has been held for about 17 years, Browne told the paper. He said there has never been an issue with guns during prior events. But Northam argued that his office has received credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies that there are groups with malicious plans for the rally that is planned for Monday. The intelligence shows the threat of armed militia groups storming our capitol, he added. Democrats, who gained majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly in the 2019 elections, said they would carry out a number of gun control measures, prompting numerous sheriffs offices in Virginia to declare their counties Second Amendment sanctuaries. Sheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpepper County proposed going one step further and vowed to deputize county residents. On Thursday, the FBI arrested three alleged members of an extremist group in Maryland, and officials told the Wall Street Journal and other outlets that they were going to the pro-gun rally in Richmond and were preparing for a potential race war. According to a news release from the Department of Justice, the FBI arrested Brian Mark Lemley of Maryland, William Garfield Bilbrough of Maryland, and Canadian national Patrik Jordan Mathews and charged them with the interstate commerce of weapons and, in the case of Lemley and Bilbrough, transporting illegal aliens. From The Epoch Times The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) held a series of meetings across the United States on the threat of war in the aftermath of the criminal assassination of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani. The meetings garnered significant attention and many youth demonstrated a genuine concern over the consequences of further escalation of conflict in the Middle East. There is widespread opposition to war among youth, whose entire lives have been overshadowed by consecutive imperialist wars. This generation, which is the first generation set to be worse off than their parents, is intimately familiar with the fiscal and human costs of war. The multitude of US interventions in the Middle East and North Africa, dating back to 2001, have cost over $6 trillion and created the greatest humanitarian crisis since World War II. In the United States, the social consequences of endless violence abroad are acutely felt by workers and youth. Exorbitant sums are secured to fund the US war machine, as workers and students struggle to make basic ends meet and are told that there is no money for healthcare, education and other social programs. Students increasingly struggle with food insecurity and homelessness, and incidents of gun violence and police brutality occur with an unnerving regularity. IYSSE members asked youth who attended meetings about their opposition to war, inequality, and the role of the Democratic Party and politicians like Bernie Sanders. Many of the responses are impassioned and reflect a deep hostility to war and the capitalist system. Steven, a WSU student Steven, a student at Wayne State University (WSU) in Detroit, said, Im opposed to war with Iran because its going to create an economic downslide. It will be the working class who are forced to fight the war. I think young people should get involved and fight for socialism because these are the issues that address how we live as human beings. To ignore them is to ignore the future of our world and our country. Jack, another WSU student, told IYSSE members, Ive grown up with multiple wars throughout my lifetime and now to see my classmates from high school in Iraq. For 18 years of my life Ive watched this war and seen nothing but the profiting, extraction of resources, and the misery and desolation thats been brought there. Why would I want to see more than that? Theres no reason for us to be anywhere else in the worldwe arent the world police. The reality is that weve manufactured these imperialist wars to profit. Not for us to profit but for those above usfor the ruling class to profit. Its being carried out for oil execs, Raytheon execs. You see it everywhere, every daythe promotion of war. Raytheon is now one of the sponsors of the Girl Scouts of America. This is becoming ingrained in our culture but there has to be some point that we say this is enough. And if were not going to say no now, when are we going to say it? So no, I do not think we should go to war with Iran. When asked about the Democratic Party, Jack responded, Every part of the Democratic Partys actions is just performative. The impeachment process, for example; theyll vote to impeach [Trump] but then theyll immediately pass his border funding, and theyll willingly pass increased military spending. So, youre telling me we can outspend the next eight countries combined for military spending, year after year after year, and continue to increase that spending and yet somehow theres still people who are homeless? And theres no money, somehow, to pay for their schooling. But we can drone strike leaders of sovereign nations? It doesnt make sense to me at all. Jack from WSU Literally every day Trump is in office hes committing crimes. Hes committing crimes publicly! He laughs about them, and we cant go after any of those? We have to focus it on Ukraine? They want to make it look like theyre doing something against Trump, but its all performative. The Democratic Party isnt really an opposition party, its not meant to enact change. It hasnt enacted change in over 50 years, it literally just exists to maintain the status quo. He continued, Were forced into these arbitrary choices between the two parties. One sides pretty bad and the other side is a little less bad, so I guess Im supposed to go with the side thats a little less bad? Year after year after year. There has to be some kind of change, some kind of stop to this cycle. There is no opposition party. Effectively, the Democrats dont oppose anything. Indya, a student at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said, My biggest fear is a war with Iran. While Iran isnt really much of a threat to us because of its low technological capabilities, the country is allied with many of our bigger enemies like Russia and China. Our president isnt helping; hes escalating the problem and fueling the fire. This could really set us up for WWIII. I know how crazy that sounds, but theres really enough going on here that it could truly happen. This war is going to devastate the working class, as many more of us will be the ones who actually get sent off to fight. The ruling class, that is the top 1 percent, are the ones who will be making money off of our family members being sent to die. Theres so many of us who are already being pushed down by the system. Why are we having to suffer so that the ruling class enrich themselves and build new penthouses, and more private islands? Theyre using my parents tax money to fund their wars. But if we all came together, we could become a truly unbeatable force. Discussing the threat of nuclear war, Indya said, With nuclear war, if theres one strike, theres going to be more out of retaliation. And nuclear weapons have a much higher destructive capacity than they did in WWII. Were still suffering the environmental effects from that war. Its a really scary thought that we might not be able to repair the world from another nuclear conflict. Itll affect generations for years to come. Sam, a theater student at the University of Michigan, attended the IYSSE meeting in light of his developing interest in Marxism. He told IYSSE members he wanted to hear a socialist perspective on the question of war. Asked about endless imperialist wars, Sam responded, I disagree with our entire history on this, and the idea that we should be in any war at all in the first place, especially done with an imperialistic motivation, for colonial reasons or imperial reasons or fascist reasons. Ive never agreed with it, but I would like to do what I can now to stop this from continuing anywhere in the world. Sam from the University of Michigan Sam showed an interest in the meetings critique of Senator Bernie Sanders. I have been thinking about this, he said, and my issue with Democratic Socialists and Social Democracy is that they have a reformist take instead of a revolutionary take on these issues. I disagree with that. Though I have some antagonisms about that, because I have a hard time not supporting someone as close to as true of a socialist candidate as were going to get for a long time. But it also bothers me that he doesnt really represent the things I believe in, in terms of actual socialism. He also stated he was glad the meeting emphasized the importance of internationalism: I think its incredibly important to organize workers on a worldwide basis so that if we do create a social revolution and create a socialist government, we can utilize those worldwide trade organizations, to operate independently with workers at the helm. And the best, or only, way to do that would be on a global scale. Internationalism is incredibly important. I was glad to hear it brought up so directly. Beth, a pharmaceutical worker attending an IYSSE meeting, said, I think the attack on Iran is totally criminal. I believe in the slogan law, not war, as Ive been reading recently about Ben Ferencz, the American lawyer who fought in World War II and who eventually prosecuted in the subsequent Nuremberg trials. He believed that there should be a universal law that applies to everyone, across international boundaries. Trump is guilty of war crimes and could totally be prosecuted if we were using the same standards. We know who war benefits. It benefits the rich, and its always the poor and the working class who suffer the consequences. My father fought in World War II and the Korean War and it totally destroyed him. He suffered with alcoholism my entire life, and his experiences haunted him. The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed review petitions by various telecom companies challenging its judgement in the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case. The hearing was conducted in closed chambers, however, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea had called for an open court hearing. As per the top court's direction, the companies have to pay pending AGR dues to the Department of Telecommunications by January 23. In a major setback to telecom companies, the Supreme Court had on October 24 last year, rejected the Telecom companies appeal against the Centre's definition of AGR, and asked these companies -- Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and many others --to pay more than Rs 90,000 crores to the Centre by January 2020. Telecom companies had then moved the apex court and filed a review petition seeking an open court hearing on the same. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prospective Student Checklist Become a part of Montana's premier university! Are you unsure of how to get started? Follow the steps below in the Prospective Student Checklist! Want to see a personalized version of your admissions checklist? Visit our MyInfo login instructions page to learn how to log in to your MyInfo dashboard. 1. Apply for Admission New students may apply for admission at any time without all the necessary required materials. Applicants will be notified of missing or incomplete documents needed to complete the admissions process. Apply online. The Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education have temporarily suspended the requirement that students provide ACT or SAT test scores for admission to its four-year campuses. This change is effective April 16, 2020 through Sept. 1, 2021. Optional: request that your official ACT or SAT test scores be sent directly to the Office of Admissions from ACT (MSU school code is 2420) or SAT (MSU school code is 4488) testing company Request ACT scores. Request SAT scores. request that your official ACT or SAT test scores be sent directly to the Office of Admissions from ACT (MSU school code is 2420) or SAT (MSU school code is 4488) testing company Request that all of your final, official college/dual enrollment transcript(s), Advanced Placement, and/or International Baccalaureate be sent directly to the Office of Admissions, if applicable. college/dual enrollment transcript(s), Advanced Placement, and/or International Baccalaureate be sent directly to the Office of Admissions, if applicable. Before or after you have applied for admission, MSU encourages you to visit the Montana State University campus or attend an MSU Friday (open to all students and family members). After you have applied, track your admissions status online at MyInfo. Log in using either your MSU Student ID or your Social Security Number and click on Admissions Checklist. If you need help signing into MyInfo, please see our MyInfo login instruction page. 2. Apply for Scholarships and Financial Aid As soon as possible after October 1, submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Include MSU in Bozeman as one of your college choices on the FAFSA. MSU's FAFSA Federal school code is 002532. Visit our Financial Aid website for more information. Montana State University awards millions of dollars in scholarships and waiver awards to new students who enter in the fall of each year. You might qualify for some of this money based on your academic record, financial need, group affiliation, or a combination of the three. If you qualify, some scholarships and awards are automatically awarded when you are offered admission to Montana State University. Visit our scholarships website for more information Inquire about College and Departmental New Freshman and Transfer Scholarships Applications within each MSU College and Department. If eligible, apply for VA educational benefits by contacting the Veteran's Affairs Office at (406) 994-3661. If eligible, explore opportunities available to Native American students, including tuition waivers and scholarships. 3. Apply for Housing Submit your housing application. If you do not know your MSU Student ID you can leave that field blank. If you have less than 30 semester credits ( post-high school graduation ) and will be attending Montana State as a full-time student, you are required to live in the residence halls, unless you are a single parent, a married student or complete the exemption process for another reason. ) and will be attending Montana State as a full-time student, you are required to live in the residence halls, unless you are a single parent, a married student or complete the exemption process for another reason. Graduates, single parents, and married students can find out about Family and Graduate Housing opportunities by visiting our Family and Graduate Student Housing website or call (406) 994-3730. 4. Submit Orientation/Class Registration Materials Information on orientation/registration is sent to students who are accepted for admission. Students entering in the fall will receive orientation information in spring shortly after they are admitted. Register online though the MyInfo student information system. Students entering in spring or summer terms will receive orientation information a couple of months prior to the start of the term or shortly after they are admitted. Attend New Student Orientation. Information and the session dates can be found online at the Orientation and Class Registration website. Once you have attended Orientation and registered for classes you will need to confirm your attendance. Log into the MyInfo website to confirm your attendance. Orientation registration for students entering in the fall of 2022 will open in February 2022. 5. Submit Immunization Records A list of required immunizations, the Immunization Form, and the Tuberculosis Screening form can be found on the University Health Partners website. For students entering in fall 2018 and beyond, please submit your required immunization data by logging into your University Health Partners portal, or email them to: [email protected] You must send proof of required immunizations and the Tuberculosis Screening Form to the MSU Student Health Service at least three weeks before your Orientation session. Proof of immunization is required to register for classes. 6. Submit Final High School Transcript MSU requires that each incoming freshman student submits a final, official high school transcript for evaluation. Transfer students do not need to submit a high school transcript. Request that your final, official transcript posting final grades and graduation date be sent directly to the Office of Admissions from the high school. transcript posting final grades and graduation date be sent directly to the Office of Admissions from the high school. Your official transcript must be sent directly from your high school to our office via mail or a secure online submission service. Unofficial mailed, faxed, or emailed copies from students or parents cannot be accepted. be sent directly from your high school to our office via mail or a secure online submission service. Unofficial mailed, faxed, or emailed copies from students or parents cannot be accepted. There is no need for freshman applicants to have partial transcripts sent to MSU. Please wait and request your final transcript after you graduate from high school. Mailing Address Office of Admissions P.O. Box 172190 Bozeman, Montana 59717-2190 Disabilities Allen Yarnell Center for Student Success - Disability Services (406) 994-2824 Information on accommodation options and support resources can be found at the Disability Services website. China's President Xi Jinping was heading to Myanmar on Friday for a state visit likely to deepen the countries' already close bilateral relations at a critical time Naypyitaw: China's President Xi Jinping was heading to Myanmar on Friday for a state visit likely to deepen the countries' already close bilateral relations at a critical time. While the visit nominally marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar, it comes with the prospect of significantly boosting China's profile and investments in the future. China's ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai told Chinese journalists last week that during Xi's two-day visit, the two countries would sign agreements "covering politics, economy, livelihoods and regional cooperation." Some of these are expected to expedite major infrastructure projects that will extend Beijing's strategic presence all the way to the Indian Ocean. A complicating factor is Myanmar's general election, scheduled for late 2020, since too much wheeling and dealing with China could leave Aung San Suu Kyi's government vulnerable to accusations by political opponents that it is selling out the country. The trip will be Xi 's first to Myanmar and his first foreign visit this year. Jiang Zemin was the last Chinese president to visit Myanmar when he signed several economic and border agreements in 2001. Ambassador Chen said that Xi will meet with Myanmar's President Win Myint, State Counselor Suu Kyi, who is the country's de facto leader, and military chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, as well as legislators and other opinion-makers. Myanmar is a linchpin of China's geopolitical ambitions, offering access to the Indian Ocean that would allow its sizable oil and gas imports from the Gulf to bypass going through the Strait of Malacca, and serving as a bridge to South Asia and beyond in Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative to build railroads, highways, ports and other infrastructure connecting China with other points in Asia and into Europe and Africa. China serves as a no-questions-asked ally to Myanmar, giving it diplomatic cover as the country faces widespread condemnation over its human rights record. The reaction to its brutal counterinsurgency campaign that drove more than 700,000 members of the country's Muslim Rohingya minority to flee for safety in neighbouring Bangladesh threatens it with economic sanctions from Western nations. Last month a case charging Myanmar with genocide came before the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands, virtually ratifying the Southeast Asian country's near-pariah status. China for years has defended Myanmar in forums such as the United Nations, and Myanmar has returned the favour by following Beijing's positions on the issue such as China's claims over territory in the South China Sea. More importantly, China as a top investor and trade partner with Myanmar offers economic insurance if Western nations do impose sanctions. Just days before Suu Kyi went to The Hague in December to lead her country's delegation at the initial hearings of the International Court of Justice, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with her for talks. The court holds another hearing next week. Xi is visiting Myanmar at the very right time. And Myanmar wants to show the Western world that China is backing them. Just before the ICJ hearings in December 2019, China's FM visited and now before issuance of provisional measures, Xi is going to visit, Germany-based Rohingya activist Nay San Lwin told The Associated Press. "I think it is not a coincidence. Myanmar wanted to say to the West to be careful if you impose any sanctions." Beijing in recent years has waged a strong battle with Washington for influence in Southeast Asia. China also uses it influence with various Myanmar ethnic rebel groups based along the countries' border who are battling battle for autonomy from the central government. While China has promoted peace talks between the rebels and Myanmar's government, its close ties with some of the rebel groups allows it to retain the option of threatening violence by using ethnic guerrillas as proxies. What appears to be a mutually beneficial quid pro quo with China won't necessarily play well domestically, a worry for Suu Kyi and her ruling National League for Democracy party as it faces new elections. There has always been a strong undercurrent of anti-Chinese sentiment in Myanmar, and it is boosted by sometimes heavy-handed implementation of Chinese-backed projects that run roughshod over local communities, provoking allegations of land-grabbing, environmental damage and selling out the country's resources. A bruised Boris Johnson has sought to quell criticism of his failure to make Big Ben bong for Brexit day by announcing details of Downing Streets own celebrations. A clock counting down to the moment Britain leaves the EU, at 11pm on 31 January, will be projected onto the outside of No 10, it was announced. A light show will illuminate buildings around Whitehall, Union flags will be flown in Parliament Square and the delayed commemorative Brexit coin will finally come into circulation. The package appeared to have been rushed out to try to calm protests from hardline Brexit supporters over the fiasco of the silencing of the worlds most famous clock. Mr Johnson has been criticised after his proposal of crowdfunding the 500,000 bill for restoring Big Ben to working order for Brexit day backfired badly. 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 Supporters have raised more than 200,000 in just three days, but the plan has been stamped on by the parliamentary authorities who said they would not accept publicly raised money. No 10 is now seeking to distance itself from the campaign, insisting it is a matter for MPs, despite the prime minister proposing it in the first place. Downing Street declined to put a cost on its celebrations, but said they were intended to heal divisions, re-unite communities and look forward. It is expected that broadcasters will be asked to replicate the sound of Big Ben ringing out to make up for the absence of the real thing. Mr Johnson will be one of the first people to receive one of the newly-minted 50p pieces after the first batch had to be melted down when Brexit was delayed in October. A special meeting of the Cabinet will be staged somewhere in the north of England on 31 January to emphasise the governments pledge to level up the country. Meanwhile, Brexiteers continued to rage over the Big Ben fiasco, with Tory MP Mark Francois revealing he had donated 1,000. We are now not far short of 220,000 and, by the end of the day, we probably wont be a million miles away from having raised half the total in two days, he said. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith insisted Big Ben rings on all the big occasions. It sounded out the end of the war in Europe, it sounded out the end of the war in Japan, and when we joined the EU, he said. And as we leave arguably the biggest decision we have made since the end of the war then the bell, I think, should sound for that. Meanwhile, the European Parliament confirmed that the Union flag which flies above the building in Strasbourg will be lowered after Britains exit and sent to the House of European History. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 16:42:42|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close KIEV, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said on Friday that he had submitted a letter of resignation to President Volodymyr Zelensky. "To remove any doubts in our respect for and trust in the president, I have written a resignation letter and submitted it to the president with the right to hand it to the Parliament," Honcharuk made the announcement on his official Facebook page. The presidential office said Zelensky had received the resignation and would consider it. The announcement came days after an audio recording emerged in which Honcharuk was reportedly heard criticising Zelensky's understanding of the economy. Pakistan's Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) has awarded 4,738 years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 13 million on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi's brother and nephew and 87 other activists. The court has also ordered to confiscate all moveable and immoveable property of all accused, reported The News International. The order was delivered by Rawalpindi Judge Shaukat Kamal Dar late in the night on Thursday. The court has awarded 55 years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,35000 for each accused. In case of non-payment of fine, the accused will face extra imprisonment of 146 years. There was high security all around in ATC Rawalpindi at the time of decision. As the court gave the decision, police and Elite Force/Special Branch officials loaded all accused in three buses to shift them to the Attock Jail. On November 24, 2018, police arrested TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi, his brother Ameer Hussain Rizvi, his nephew Muhammad Ali, besides 87 other religious activists, on charges of creating unrest. The arrests had been made after TLP led a protest, which lasted for days and included several other political parties. The sit-ins were against the Supreme Court's decision to release Asiya Bibi, a Christian woman on death row since 2010, acquitting her of blasphemy charges. The protests were ended after the government and the religious parties reached a 4-point agreement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry are back to dominating the headlines after taking the holidays off to spend time with their young son, Archie Harrison. The royal couple dropped a bombshell in early January on their Instagram account, announcing that they intended to step back as senior members of the royal family and spend their time making their own income and developing a brand-new charitable organization. In the days since, the royal family has been scrambling to come to a compromise with the couple and royal watchers wait and speculate about what this could mean for the future of the monarchy. There has also been a lot of bizarre rumors that have been circulating, with the palace actually taking the time to debunk one or two of them. The timing of one statement, in particular, from the palace truly showcases how blindsided the royal family was by Meghan and Prince Harrys announcement. What did Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announce regarding their royal roles? Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry | Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince Harry and Meghan have had a difficult year, dealing with the stress of becoming new parents all while undergoing a near-constant volley of attacks from the British media. Theres little doubt that the two finally had enough of the negativity, which likely led, in part, to their decision to step away from the royal family. Their statement revealed that they want to work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. This indicates that they want to still represent the royal family in some capacity while also pursuing their own interests and make their own money. However, one thing that their statement did not address when exactly all of this would happen. It is very possible that this transition could take months or the better part of a year. Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle live in Canada? Another portion of the royal couples statement indicated that they want to divide their time between North America and the United Kingdom. However, royal fans know that the two have a great fondness for Canada. Meghan spent a great deal of time there prior to her marriage to Prince Harry when she was working on her TV series Suits. Many royal watchers have speculated the Duke and Duchess of Sussex actually want to move to Canada, give up their royal titles, and go off the radar completely. An Instagram post to the couples account made only days before the announcement seems to add credibility to the rumor, as it reiterates the great love that they have for Canada and how much they enjoyed spending their holiday season there. What statement did the palace recently release? Prior to their announcement, The Sun reported citing a pal of the couple that Meghan and Prince Harry are relocating their office to Canada. The source said: It is true that Harry and Meghan will spend a fair amount of time in Canada over the next couple of months and possibly going forward too. Right now they are starting talks with their family about their plans for the future. Those conversations are at a very early stage. There is a very careful and serious process to go through which they are going to respect. But it is clear they are on a different and unique path, 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. Its been a very tough yeartheyre newlyweds and they have a young babyso theyre looking at what their life looks like in the future. Everything is on the table. In response to these reports, Buckingham Palace denied to comment to the Daily Mail saying it refused to comment on the speculation. This response specifically, the use of the word speculation suggests the palace saw no truth in these reports. Whats more, this statement was reported shortly before Meghan and Prince Harry made their massive announcement on Instagram. Surely Buckingham Palace would not have wasted their time denying to comment if they knew what the Sussexes were going to announce shortly. What does Buckingham Palace say now? The palace clarified further, when, after a January 13th summit, the queen released a statement saying that she is entirely supportive of Harry and Meghans desire to create a new life as a young family. The statement also revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be splitting their time between the United Kingdom and Canada as the entire family works to draw up some final plans for the couples new role. However, there were no details regarding any possible title changes, or when the public can expect to see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping back from senior royal positions. Currently, the royal family, as well as Markle and Prince Harry, are experiencing a definite period of transition. An alleged murderer and champion boxer has had his Olympic hopes dashed after he was refused bail by the South Australian Supreme Court. Musa Ali Alzuain is one of seven men charged over the murder of Jason De Ieso, who was gunned down outside his Adelaide workshop in 2012. Prosecutors had opposed all forms of bail, but a guarantor for the 28-year-old offered to put up $350,000 to secure his release. His lawyer had asked a magistrate to release him on home detention bail so he could pursue his dream of competing in the Tokyo Olympics. Musa Ali Alzuain is one of seven men charged over the murder of Jason De Ieso (pictured), who was gunned down outside his Adelaide workshop in 2012 Alzuain appealed to the state's highest court after his request was denied, but Justice Malcolm Blue dismissed the application during a brief hearing on Friday. Mr De Ieso's murder is thought to be linked to a longstanding feud between the Hells Angels and Finks bikie gangs. The other accused are Nicholas Sianas, Daniel Mark Jalleh, Ross William Montgomery, Kyle Lloyd Pryde, Husain Ali Alzuain and Mohamed Alzuain. All seven will appear next in Adelaide Magistrates Court in March along with another man, Jake Byron Martin-Herde, who has been charged with assisting an offender. Mr De Ieso's killing is believed to be a case of mistaken identity. CCTV footage previously released by investigators showed nine men walking towards the front of his workshop, with at least two of those carrying guns. The men opened fire, killing Mr De Ieso, before running from the scene. But police said the 33-year-old had no links to either the Hells Angels or the Finks and was just an "innocent bystander". Let's start with some good news according to Goldman Sachs chief global equity strategist Peter Oppenheimer, 2020 will see a continuation of last years surge. Oppenheimer believes 2019s bull run was down to valuation expansion. If the history books are anything to go by, then 2020 will see a repeat of the trend. Years of strong valuation expansion are generally followed by positive returns in the equity market, although typically at a slower pace. Moderate profit growth this year and higher starting multiples point to total returns in the high single digits for the asset class globally in 2020, Oppenheimer noted. With this in mind, we decided to have a look at two stocks Goldman Sachs thinks are poised to make headway in 2020. Just to be safe, we run them both through TipRanks Stock Screener tool to ensure that other analysts agree with Sachs. Let's take a closer look. Linx SA (LINX) Lets start off in Brazil, the home of Linx SA, Latin Americas largest retail management software company. LINX boasts over 40% of the retail management software market in Brazil; its cloud-based enterprise software offers retailers a variety of services, including payments solutions and business management tools. The company has been racking up partnerships recently; one with Rappi, a Latin American unicorn company and creator of an on-demand delivery app, which will enable brands in Linxs portfolio to sell through the app. The second is with PicPay, one of Brazils largest payment apps which boasts more than 13 million users. Consumers will be able to make QR Code payments at more than 100,000 establishments using the Linx system. Despite disappointing 3Q19 results and Linx Pays slower-than-expected progress, Goldman Sachs Diego M. Aragao believes the company has solid fundamentals. The 4-star analyst said, LINX has been reinforcing its distinguished ecosystem to become a one-stop-shop for all-size retailers in different verticals, providing a fully integrated platform for brick-and-mortar and digital customers in Brazil. The company has been also investing in capabilities to facilitate the end-to-end sales process with an innovative payment solution that leverages LINXs deep knowledge of the retail sector and clients, acquired over the past 20 years. Story continues While Aragao estimates that the financial benefits from new initiatives will take a while to become apparent, he believes the recent setbacks are already factored into the price, which represents a good entry point. Therefore, Aragao rates Linx a Buy with a price target of $11. The figure implies possible upside of 25%. (To watch Aragaos track record, click here) The Brazilian software company has only one other analyst currently keeping an eye on its prospects. The additional Buy, though, provides Linx with a Moderate Buy consensus rating. Put together, the average price target of $10.50 could see investors take home a 20% gain in 2020. (See LINX stock analysis on TipRanks) Wynn Resorts (WYNN) The US-China trade war impacted a number of industries in 2019 - automobiles, semiconductor companies and the agriculture sector all come to mind. With a foothold in both the US and China (specifically Macau), hotel and casino owner, Wynn Resorts has a vested interest in the two superpowers getting along. Despite the trade headwinds, Wynns share price outperformed the market in 2019, rising by 44% over the year. The stock got a significant boost in December following an announcement by the People's Bank of China that it will increase the daily wiring limit from individuals accounts from 50000 yuan to 80000 yuan ($11400). The figure represents a massive 60% increase and was seen as a boon to the Macau casino industry, as the Chinese are by far the largest visitors of the autonomous region. Almost 68% of Wynns operating revenue came from Macau in the last quarter. According to Goldman Sachs Stephen Grambling, improving cyclical trends, both in Las Vegas and Macau, coupled with President Xis recent positive policy initiatives for the region are reasons to add Wynn to the to the companys Conviction List. Grambling said, Given our more bullish outlook on Macau, our price targets move higher as we expect earnings revisions to follow positive commentary on the upcoming earnings calls. Our conversations with investors have become more constructive recently from a predominantly bearish tone in late 2019, giving us condence that positive commentary from management teams could serve as a catalyst to sustain positive momentum. Grambling, therefore, thinks the gambling establishment has a lot more fuel in the tank; along with reiterating a Buy on Wynn, the analyst upped his price target from $157 to $181. The new target implies upside potential of ~20%. (To watch Gramblings track record, click here) All in all, the current sentiment on the Street towards the casino owner is mixed; 6 Buys and 4 Holds coalesce into a Moderate Buy rating. (See WYNN stock analysis on TipRanks) The pharmaceutical plant, built in Kigali by leading Moroccan drug maker Cooper Pharma, will be operational in July, announced the local representative of Cooper Pharma. In its first phase, the 20,000 M2 facility will produce intravenous (IV) fluid before starting the production of antibiotics. Its construction started in 2017 following the visit paid by King Mohammed VI to Rwanda in 2016. The royal visit was crowned with the signing of several accords aimed at enhancing cooperation between Rabat and Kigali in various sectors including pharmaceutical industry. Once fully operational, the plant is expected to help Rwanda save millions of dollars spent annually on imports of medicines. Ayman Cheikh Lahlou, the CEO of Cooper Pharma said that the Kigali plant is designed in accordance with European Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) quality standards. Based in Casablanca since 1933, Cooper Pharma manufactures, imports, markets and promotes a hundred of drugs under license from more than 20 international companies. It is a key player in Africa and the Middle East in the industry. Cooper Pharma is one of several Moroccan firms seeking to expand their activities beyond domestic market. Moroccan banks, insurance firms, companies in telecoms, mining and construction have established a significant presence in African countries, making the kingdom 2nd major foreign investor in the continent. An 11-year-old Star Wars fanatic who lost his left hand and both legs below the knee to meningitis has been given an R2D2-themed bionic hand. Kye Vincent, of Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, was given days to live in April 2016 when he was struck down with the killer infection. The youngster, then eight, was placed into an induced coma and spent 38 weeks in hospital, where doctors were forced to remove his legs, his left hand and part of his right hand. But in the years since, Kye has made a remarkable recovery and has capped the end of a long journey with a 10,000 bionic arm. The prosthetic, called a Hero Arm, has been designed to look like the the droid R2-D2, an iconic character from the Star Wars franchise. Kye's mother Cheryl Vincent, 39, said: 'When Kye lost his limbs he said he wanted to be a bionic boy. An 11-year-old Star Wars fanatic who lost his left hand and both legs below the knee has become a real life Luke Skywalker after having a bionic hand fitted Kye Vincent, from Leighton Buzzard, Berdfordshire, was given days to live in April 2016 when he was struck down with meningitis 'So to see him with a hand again is very, very emotional. I was full of pride, I could burst. 'It will enable him to do basic things that most of us take for granted, like eat with a fork, hold a toilet roll - or even play Jenga.' She added: 'He has loved the Star Wars films and everything about them from a young age so to have a bionic arm with an R2-D2 design is amazing.' Kye's arm, which is not available on the NHS, is made by Bristol-based firm Open Bionics at a cost of 10,000. The youngster, then eight, was placed into an induced coma and spent 38 weeks in hospital, where doctors were forced to remove his legs, his left hand and part of his right hand In the years since Kye has made a remarkable recovery and has capped the end of a long journey after being fitted with an astonishing bionic arm The family raised money for the revolutionary new limb after starting a campaign on website Go Fund Me. The arm is produced using a state-of-the-art 3D printer and gives amputees much-improved mobility. It allows for precise and delicate movements which other prosthetic limbs cannot achieve. It is controlled by Kye's own muscles. The gadget contains electrodes which detect tiny electrical signals from the user's muscles. These signals activate movements in the prosthetic. Full-time carer Ms Vincent had only given birth to her second child, Layla, six days before Kye was struck down with meningitis. The infection affects between 400 and 1,200 people each year in the UK, as well as around 4,100 people in the US. Early symptoms can include nausea and vomiting, fever, headache, a stiff neck and blotchy skin. Mother-of-two Ms Vincent said she called for an ambulance after noticing an unusual rash on her son's body and realising he may have the infection. 'It was really scary because I was quite sure at that moment that he had meningitis, which I knew was something really serious,' she said. The prosthetic, called a Hero Arm, allows for precise and delicate movements which other prosthetic limbs cannot achieve by being controlled by Kye's own muscles Kye's mother Cheryl Vincent, 39, said: 'When Kye lost his limbs he said he wanted to be a bionic boy 'Within three hours Kye's entire body was covered in rashes, he looked like he had been battered and he was screaming in agony. It was such an awful and scary time.' Doctors at Luton and Dunstable Hospital then diagnosed Kye with meningococcal septicaemia. Septicaemia, also known as blood poisoning, is caused by large amounts of bacteria entering the blood stream. Symptoms include a high temperature, extreme tiredness, violent shivering and chills and rapid and shallow breathing. HOW DOES THE HERO ARM WORK? Open Bionics designs and manufactures the prosthetic limb, which uses an actuator, designed by Maxon. An actuator is a mechanical device that can turn energy into movement. It helps wearers move each finger. As muscles generate electrical signals when they contract, they create movement when connected to the electrodes in the prosthetic. Each Hero Arm is custom-built using 3D printing and 3D scanning technologies, so that it fits the user perfectly. It has six grip types, such as fist, hook, pinch and tripod, to allow for versatility. It is battery powered. The companies 'Hero Arm' claims to be less than half the price of its nearest competitor, and can be fitted for amputees as young as nine years old. The cost of the 3D bionic arms varies according to individual clinics. But a spokeswoman for Open Bionics said they are 'vastly cheaper' than existing advanced alternatives that cost between 20,000 and 60,000 for one hand. Advertisement After Kye's diagnosis, medics immediately put him into an induced coma for urgent treatment. He was then transferred to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, to be treated at a specialist infectious disease unit. Within just a few days the ends of his limbs started to turn black and doctors told Ms Vincent her boy might not make it out of hospital alive. 'I can't put into words what it feels like to hear that, I was so scared of losing him,' Cheryl said. 'I had given birth a few days before so it should have been the most amazing time of my life, but it was the complete opposite. Kye's arm, which is not available on the NHS, is made by Bristol-based firm Open Bionics at a cost of 10,000 The arm has been designed to look like the the droid R2-D2, a long-time iconic character from the Star Wars franchise 'All I could do was sit with Kye and tell him that I loved him.' When Kye woke up six weeks later doctors broke the devastating news that he would need to have part of all four limbs removed. After the amputations he spent six weeks at St Mary's before moving to Stoke Mandeville hospital for rehabilitation and physiotherapy. In total Kye spent 38 weeks in hospital before returning home to be with his mother, sister Layla, 3, and stepfather Luke Baxter, 30. His family then successfully raised money to fund the purchase of his new limb, which was fitted last month. His story echoes comparisons to one of his favourite Star Wars characters, Luke Skywalker, who had his arm sliced off by Darth Vader in the Empire Strikes Back. The arm contains electrodes which detect tiny electrical signals from the user's muscles. These signals activate movements in the prosthetic Kye's story echoes comparisons to one of his favourite Star Wars characters, Luke Skywalker, who had his arm sliced off by Darth Vader in the Empire Strikes Back In the film Luke's severed hand is replaced with a mechanical one - just like Kye's in real life. Cheryl said before receiving his bionic arm Kye had nothing by way of prosthetics to help him with everyday tasks. 'The new arm is really going to transform his life and help him do everyday things that we all take for granted,' she said. 'But even before this he never let anything hold him back, he is such a strong and brave boy to have dealt with all this and come out fighting.' Open Bionics work closely with Disney and Lucasfilm, which make the Star Wars films, on designs for children. The 11-year-old is the first person in the world to receive one with an R2-D2 design. Joel Gibbard, co-founder and CEO of the company said: 'We're really grateful to Lucasfilm for allowing us to find inspiration from their incredible Star Wars characters which has helped us to empower children with limb differences. 'The R2-D2 covers are easy to take on and off, allowing children like Kye to accessorise their bionic arm to match their mood. 'The covers showcase that your uniqueness is your superpower and you shouldn't feel like you have to hide your limb-difference - instead you can show it off.' Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-15 17:07:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A meeting of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Joint Commission is held in Vienna, Austria, Dec. 6, 2019.(Xinhua/Guo Chen) Europeans fail to "honor their commitments to pertaining to the Iranian nuclear deal," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says while slamming European move to trigger the dispute mechanism as "legally baseless." TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the move by Britain, France and Germany (E3) to trigger dispute resolution mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is "legally baseless," Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday. Zarif criticized what he called the Europeans' failure to honor their commitments to pertaining to the Iranian nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He also slammed E3's move to trigger the dispute resolution mechanism as "baseless in legal terms and a strategic mistake in political terms." Zarif made the remarks in India's New Delhi where he traveled to attend the Raisina Dialogue 2020. On Tuesday, the Europeans said that they have taken the step in response as Tehran has backed off nuclear commitments over the past months. Iran, however, had said that its withdrawal from practical commitments under the JCPOA is a reaction to the U.S. exit from the deal in May 2018 and the subsequent sanctions, and it is also a response to the Europe's sluggishness in facilitating Iran's banking transactions and its oil exports. Iran also had said that the cut of obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal was a "wake-up call" for the remaining parties of the deal to protect Iran's economic interests. Pump jacks and wells are seen in an oil field on the Monterey Shale formation where hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is used to extract gas and oil near McKittrick, Calif., on March 23, 2014. (David McNew/Getty Images) Environmental Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Fracking Environmental groups trying to halt hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in California have banded together to sue the Trump administration, claiming the oil and gas extraction method harms climate, water, and wildlife, and could even trigger earthquakes. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Jan. 14, follows a Dec. 12, 2019, decision by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that leaves more than a million acres of public lands in California open to oil and gas extraction. Meanwhile, the BLM argues that much of the public land thats the focus of the lawsuit was already open to oil and gas extraction for the past three decades. [President Donald] Trumps illegal, deeply unjust fracking plan would be a disaster for Central Valley communities, as well as our climate, wildlife, and water, said Clare Lakewood, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), in a statement issued Jan. 14. We need to phase out fracking and oil drilling, not throw open our public lands to polluters. The future of our beautiful state and our children depends on it. CBD is joined in the suit by Earthjustice, which represents several other groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, Central California Environmental Justice Network, Los Padres ForestWatch, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Sierra Club, Patagonia Works, and the Wilderness Society. BLM spokesman Derrick Henry downplayed concerns raised by the environmental groups in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times. The BLMs supplemental analysis on hydraulic fracturing did not make any new public lands or federal minerals available to oil and gas development, nor did it issue any new leases or approve any permits to drill, Henry said. If proposed, those actions and the potential impacts would be addressed at the site or project-specific level in subsequent tiered environmental analysis. Under the BLM resource management plan, fracking would be approved on a case-by-case basis in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura counties, including some land near Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon national parks and Carrizo Plain National Monument. These locations are under the jurisdiction of BLMs Bakersfield Field Office. Most of the acreage available within the Bakersfield Field Office jurisdiction for oil and gas development has been available for more than 30 years, Henry said. A high-pressure gas line crosses over a canal in an oil field over the Monterey Shale formation where hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is used to extract gas and oil near McKittrick, Calif., on March 23, 2014. (David McNew/Getty Images) In response to an earlier lawsuit brought against the Trump administration related to the BLMs leasing policies in five different western states, Henry said the BLM has acted within its authority. The BLMs leasing decisions are lawful and fully compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act, despite the claims made in the lawsuit, Henry said. In fact, these leasing decisions were informed by public input, as required by law, which was considered before issuing a final decision. The BLM is helping America meet its growing energy needs while making sure the public lands remain in good shape, before and after leasing activities, consistent with its multiple-use mandate. Earthjustice, which was founded in 1971 as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, changed its name in 1997 to reflect its role as a legal advocacy group for environmental justice activist groups. Its known for opposing many mining and logging initiatives, and supporting rewilding efforts on public lands in the western United States. In the past two and a half years, Earthjustice has filed more than a hundred lawsuits to defend environmental and health protections, the organizations website states. Rulings on the merits of 39 of the lawsuits have now been decided. Earthjustice has won 33 of the battles85 percent of the legal challenges decided thus far. Protestors demonstrate against fracking in California outside of the Hiram W. Johnson State Office Building in San Francisco on May 30, 2013. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) In November, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on fracking permits pending a review by independent scientists. These are necessary steps to strengthen oversight of oil and gas extraction as we phase out our dependence on fossil fuels and focus on clean energy sources, he said in a release. However, public lands fall under federal jurisdiction and are managed by the BLM, not the state. The federal government hasnt issued any oil and gas leases in California since 2012, when a federal judge ruled that the BLM had failed to conduct proper environmental impact assessments. The BLM completed the assessments last year. Trumps position in favor of fracking, which hes held since long before his inauguration, is well known. Fracking will lead to American energy independence. With [the] price of natural gas continuing to drop, we can be at a tremendous advantage, Trump wrote on Twitter in May 2012. When the president announced his Energy Independence Policy executive order just months after being sworn into office, he said, I am going to lift the restrictions on American energy, and allow this wealth to pour into our communities. The Western States Petroleum Association, a nonprofit trade organization representing companies that account for the bulk of petroleum exploration in the Western United States, declined to comment to The Epoch Times when asked about the potential use of the land in question for fracking. Tribal leaders seeking a way to counter President Jair Bolsonaros environmental policies, which they say are devastating their communities. Indigenous leaders in Brazil say they are fighting to preserve their land and culture. They have been meeting in the Amazon region for four days to find a way to counter President Jair Bolsonaros environmental policies, which they say are devastating their communities. Al Jazeeras Katia Lopez Hodayan reports. TWIN FALLS The Southern Idaho Muzzleloaders Association will hold its annual business meeting Saturday at Golden Corral, 1823 Blue Lakes Blvd. N. in Twin Falls. Dinner will start at 6 p.m. followed by the meeting at 7 p.m. Installation of new officers for 2020 will take place, as well as a discussion of the upcoming rendezvous in May and other business. All are welcome to visit and learn about the group. For more information: Leon Double Load Reed at 208-329-4902. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The U.S. Senate approved a bill to implement the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on Thursday, just ahead of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial in the upper chamber. The measure passed the Senate in an 89-10 vote, following an approval from the U.S. House of Representatives last month, with a 385-41 vote. House Democrats and the administration had negotiated for months over issues including labor and environmental enforcement, as well as pharmaceutical provisions before finally reaching an agreement. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a longtime Republican U.S. Senator from Kentucky, said on Twitter that he is grateful to the president "for prioritizing this deal and delivering on this major promise," noting that it's a "big win" for Kentucky and for American families in all 50 states. After the Senate passage of the bill, President Trump is expected to sign it, which would put the new trilateral trade deal into effect more than a year after leaders of the three countries signed the new deal, replacement of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While the Trump administration has touted the USMCA as pro-growth, a recent analysis published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) showed that the deal is "a net negative" for all three economies. The USMCA modernizes trading rules and strengthens the enforcement of labor and environmental rights, but its restrictions on auto trade and investment and on auto production "will hurt U.S. industry," said PIIE trade economists Mary Lovely and Jeffrey Schott, authors of the analysis. "The Trump administration's stated goal was to ensure that more of the vehicles will be produced in North America. But the outcome will be just the opposite," the economists said. A worker fits wheel hub badges on the Ford Focus automobile assembly line inside the Ford Motor Co. factory in Saarlouis, Germany, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019. Ford expects hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to make up over 50% of its European passenger vehicle sales by year-end 2022. With a skills gap plaguing manufacturing in a historically tight labor market, companies are spending big to "upskill" their current workforce and ensure a pipeline of talent. Manufacturers are set to spend $26.2 billion on internal and external training initiatives for new and existing employees in 2020 to combat the shortage of available workers, according to the Manufacturing Institute. Nearly 70% of manufacturers said they are creating or expanding training programs for their workforce. Three-quarters of respondents said upskilling workers helped to improve productivity, promotion opportunities and morale. "In manufacturing, you are constantly learning and growing, and the technological change is enormous," said Carolyn Lee, the institute's executive director. "What you are going to be able to continue to do as you layer new skills, on top of those fundamental skills, will make for a very interesting and dynamic career." The skills gap has been the No. 1 challenge for manufacturers for the past nine quarters, according to the National Association of Manufacturers' Outlook Survey, which found the inability to attract and retain workers has been a top concern. In the third quarter, nearly 80% of respondents said they are struggling to fill open positions. The lack of available workers has even forced one-third of companies to turn down business opportunities. Protolabs, a rapid prototyping manufacturer based in Maple Plain, Minnesota, is looking to add about 70 workers to its workforce of 2,800. "We are a growth company, and employees are critical to everything that we do. We want to be sure we can keep talent with us," said Robert Bodor, vice president and general manager for the Americas. While the company has been fortunate in retaining its workers, Bodor said the goal is to maintain a "good culture of continuous improvement." So Protolabs is investing in training its existing workforce, as well as new hires. To attract workers in this job market, Protolabs is offering new and flexible models with part-time labor, in addition to offering training and benefits such as a 401(k) plan with an employer match, employee stock-participation plans, and more. "We do both upskill and bring in new people all the time we are continually hiring so we have to train and onboard new employees but we are reinvesting in our employees to create career paths and opportunities for personal growth," Bodor said. "Our employees are critical to our success, so we want to be creating longevity with them." Securing the pipeline of future talent is a key to success for manufacturers. Data from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute found that some 4.6 million workers will be needed in the sector by 2028, but that 2.4 million of those jobs could go unfilled if steps aren't taken to ensure proper training. Lee calls recruitment a "full-court press." The goal of the organization is to close the skills gap by 25% by 2025. "We just need more people period," Lee said. "We have about 480,000 open jobs, and have been hovering around 500,000 openings in the past year after retirements and economic growth. We need to attract transitioning service members and veterans into the sector, and we need to bring the next generation of the workforce into the sector." Part of the recruitment efforts beyond training is showing potential hires the changes the sector has gone through it's not the manufacturing job of years past. Instead, its high-tech, clean, and can be lucrative for those who move up the ranks. Manufacturing Day, which was held in October, is part of that effort, where manufacturers across the country open their doors to students so they can see for themselves what a career in the sector is all about. "You should know entering manufacturing that your employer is going invest in you, because you are their greatest resource," Lee said. The suicide rate fell to 15.8 people per 100,000, a decline of 0.7 over 2018. Increased psychological services and hotlines played a key role in the improvement. So has a law limiting overtime and requiring a government-imposed annual stress tests on business with over 50 employees. Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) Suicides in Japan in 2019 dropped to 19,959 , the lowest number in more than 40 years, preliminary police data published on Friday indicate. This marks the 10th straight year of declines. Though suicide has a long history in Japan as a way of avoiding shame or dishonor, and its suicide rate still tops the Group of Seven nations, Japanese suicides have dropped by about 40 per cent in 15 years. The number of suicides last year fell by 881, bringing the overall number under 20,000 for the first time since record-keeping began in 1978. The suicide rate edged down to 15.8 people per 100,000, a dip of 0.7. By gender, 13,937 men and 6,022 women took their own lives. There was no breakdown by age group. Japanese suicides peaked at 34,427 in 2003, alarming policymakers and drawing foreign attention. Although the police did not give any reason for the decline, and an improving economy has undoubtedly helped, a 2007 suicide prevention programme tweaked in 2016 to allow for regional differences is apparently bearing fruit. Increased psychological services, a growing number of hotlines, and other volunteer outreach groups that help people express their innermost feelings have all played a role. Corporations, prompted by lawsuits from families of those who kill themselves because of overwork, have made it easier to take leave, with more offering psychological support. A law caps overtime, and the government mandates annual stress tests in companies with over 50 employees. Despite the lower number of cases in recent years, suicide remains one of Japan's most serious social problems. What is more, youth suicide has bucked the trend with experts pointing to school pressures and bullying as possible triggers for the rise. In 2017, the number of suicides among young people hit its highest level since 1986 with 250 elementary, middle and high school children taking their own life. The protection of life was also one of the main topics addressed by Pope Francis in his recent apostolic visit to Japan (23-26 November 2019). In fact, the theme for the papal trip was Protect all life. In a letter published on AsiaNews before the historic event, Archbishop Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo echoed the topic writing that Isolation, poverty, no respect for human life and inability to find hope are killing people in modern Japan. During his visit, when he spoke with the local bishops about the evils afflicting society, the pontiff noted that The increase in the rates of suicide in your cities, as well as bullying (ijime) and various kinds of neediness, are creating new forms of alienation and spiritual disorientation. Indeed, Since these affect the young in particular, I ask you to pay special attention to them and their needs. Try to create spaces in which the culture of efficiency, performance and success can become open to a culture of generous and selfless love, capable of offering to everyone, and not only to those who have made it, the possibility of a happy and successful life. Zaher Zunbarakji has been arrrested and is facing a minimum of five years in prison for illegally collecting money writes Al-Watan. Sources have told Al-Watan that the owner of the Shajrty organization, or the Korean Business Center, Zaher Zunbarakji, was arrested and is currently under investigation. The sources said that Zunbarakji did not have any bank accounts and that in his house, millions of Syrian pounds were discovered. The sources noted that Zunbarakji had distributed money among some of his friends and families and that work was underway to return it to its owners. A judicial source told Al-Watan that the crime of raising funds for fraudulent investments was punishable by a minimum of five years in prison, as well as fines, adding that his assets would be frozen and distributed to the plaintiffs. The source said that everyone who subscribed to the company must file a personal complaint against the companys owner, adding that anyone who did not make this claim could not recover their dues. A member of parliament and lawyer specialized in financial matters, Mohamed Khair al-Akkam, said that the harmed parties should file personal claims in the courts. After the arrest of a money collector, he should be transferred to the concerned courts to be tried in accordance with the Money Collection Act No. 8 for 1994. He noted that in cases like this, movable and immovable property of the money collector is frozen and that property in his name is liquidated and distributed to the wronged parties. He said that in cases like this, the money collector often does not leave bank deposits in his name or any other property and that he usually maintains financial liquidity, out of fear that some of his money could be smuggled outside the country. On Sunday, government agencies in Damascus closed Zunbarakjis offices, known as Shajrty or the Korean Business Center, in accordance with what was written on the notices attached to the doors of the companys headquarters. Al-Watan spoke to a number of those who attended to confirm the company closing. The company had recorded collecting money from about 30,000 citizens, most of them military or wounded, as the company had been focused on attracting military personnel, in the context of voluntary initiatives to support the army. According to the companys numbers, there were 26,000 registered last month. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Carles Puigdemont in the European Parliament earlier this week. ELYxandro Cegarra / Panoramic / Bestimage (GTRES) The vice-president of the European Parliament, Ewa Bozena Kopacz, announced on Thursday that the institution had put into action the procedure to vote on whether or not Catalan politicians Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin should have their immunity as Members of the European Parliament (MEP) lifted. The move comes in the wake of a request from the Spanish Supreme Court, which has been seeking the arrest of Puigdemont and Comin the former Catalan premier and an ex-regional minister, respectively to face trial for their role in the 2017 secessionist drive. The pair, along with several other members of the government, fled Spain that year to avoid arrest. Twelve of their colleagues in the independence movement, however, did face trial and nine are currently serving prison sentences for offenses such as sedition and misuse of funds. Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin after collecting their credentials as MEPs. GONZALO BOYE (TWITTER) The request from the Spanish justice system will be examined by the parliaments Committee on Legal Affairs, which will then send a recommendation to the chamber. MEPs will have the final say in a vote, which will require a simple majority (more yes votes than no) for approval. European conservatives, social democrats and liberals have already indicated that they will give the green light to the request. But Puigdemont, whose Together for Catalonia party in Spains Congress of Deputies recently aligned itself with right-wing parties to vote against the investiture of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, questioned on Thursday whether the Socialists are planning on voting with the fascists from [far-right Spanish party] Vox. Puigdemont and Comin, along with jailed Catalan Republican Left (ERC) leader Oriol Junqueras, successfully stood in last years European elections, but faced a legal battle to take their seats from that moment on. It was not until a ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in December that procedures began in the European Parliament to officially register the three as MEPs. Despite doubts about when Junquerass immunity became effective, the European Parliament recently accepted rulings from the Supreme Court and withdrew his status as a deputy given that his prison sentence means he is barred from such a role. If Puigdemont and Comin were to lose their immunity, they would still be MEPs until convicted of an offense back in Spain. Whats more, in order for them to be extradited back to their home country to face trial, a Belgian judge will have to rule on the European arrest warrant against them. The judges work on the issue was halted once the pair acquired immunity as MEPs. No room at the Greens Carles Puigdemont (l) speaks to Britain's Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage in the European Parliament this week. FREDERICK FLORIN (AFP) Since their arrival in the European Parliament, Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin have been seeking to join the Greens-European Free Alliance group, which is made up of environmental and regionalist parties. However, the Greens have so far rejected these advances, which leaves the pair in the Non-Inscrits MEPs who do not sit in one of the recognized groups, and whose number include the United Kingdoms Brexit Party. The spokesperson for the Greens, Philip Lamberts, said that there would be a lack of coherence if Puigdemont were to join their group in the European Parliament, and suggested instead that they join their Belgian best friends, in reference to the anti-immigration New Flemish Alliance party, which has been the main source of support for Puigdemont in Belgium. This would mean that Puigdemont and Comin would be members of the European Conservatives and Reformists, which counts on Spanish far-right party Vox among its number. Jordi Cuixart granted prison leave Jordi Cuixart Camilo S. Baquero / EL PAIS, Barcelona One of the jailed leaders of the Catalan independence movement, Jordi Cuixart, was released from prison last night on a 48-hour leave. The Catalan regional justice department this week granted leave to Cuixart, the president of Omnium Cultural, and Jordi Sanchez, the former president of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), both of which are pro-independence civic associations. The pair were handed down nine-year prison sentences for sedition by the Supreme Court for their role in the 2017 secessionist drive in the northeastern Spanish region. They were involved in a protest outside the regional Economic Affairs Department on September 20, 2017, which, according to the public prosecutor, was aimed at "impeding" Civil Guard raids ahead of the planned referendum. Sanchez and Cuixart were placed in pre-trial custody without bail on October 16, 2017, and have remained behind bars since then. Having served a quarter of their sentences already, the pair were able to apply for their first leave. Additional reporting by Alvaro Sanchez. English version by Simon Hunter. A bizarre rocket launch system that spins spacecraft into orbit at high speed without a chemical engine has moved a step closer to reality, say its developers. SpinLaunch, a California-based space startup, has been given an additional 27million ($35m) in funding by investors including Airbus to build a new type of rocket launcher. Instead of using propellants like a typical rocket launcher would, SpinLaunch slingshots the vehicle into space using a novel catapult technology. The company says it will use the extra funding to carry put its first test flight later this year - something CEO Jonathan Yaney says will 'change the history of space launch'. Scroll down for video The technology uses a centrifuge to store energy that then rapidly transfers the energy intoa c atapult that sends the payload into space The rockets will only be able to carry small payloads due to a need to remain light in order to achieve hypersonic speeds without chemical engines. SpinLaunch says its system will take miniature satellites for imaging, communications and scientific equipment into space. The technology uses a centrifuge to store energy, which is rapidly transferred into the catapult to send the payload into space. The latest investment in the California company, which was launched in 2014, came as part of its B round of funding. It received 30 million ($40 million) from investors including Google parent Alphabet's investment arm, GV, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Airbus Ventures as part of the previous funding round in 2018. The latest investors include Airbus Ventures, GV, KPCB, Catapult Ventures, Lauder Partners, John Doerr and Byers Family. SpinLaunch says the money will help to scale up the team and bring its technology a step closer to the goal of launching payloads from 2022. It will also expand its headquarters in California and the flight test facility at Spaceport America in New Mexico. 'Our team at SpinLaunch greatly appreciates the continued support of this formidable syndicate of investors', said CEO Yaney. 'They share our vision of enabling low-cost and frequent launch of imaging and communications constellations that will protect our planet and humanity.' SpinLaunch has already developed a working prototype of its launcher, but has provided few details on how it operates. So far all it has revealed is that the rocket has to be spun at 5,000mph in the centrifuge before it is released. SpinLaunch says the money will help to scale up the team and bring their technology a step closer to the goal of launching payloads from 2022 SpinLaunch is one of a number of companies working to make it cheaper to get payloads such as satellites and even spaceships into orbit and beyond. Like other private space firms, SpinLaunch hopes to be able to stage cheaper launches more frequently, perhaps several each week or even daily. The firm will charge less than $500,000 per launch, according to Bloomberg. Elon Musk-owned SpaceX has focused on developing reusable conventional rockets for the launch of its constellation of Starlink satellites, as well as potential crewed missions to the International Space Station. Those launches still cost millions of dollars each time they go up, but can carry significantly larger payloads than SpinLaunch will be able to hold. 'SpinLaunch fills this gap by providing dedicated orbital launch with high frequency at a magnitude lower cost than any current 'niche' launch system,' Yaney said. 'This will truly be a disruptive enabler for the emerging commercial space industry.' a single ladies celebration night out at luxe Los Cabos club Mandala with transportation via private limousine Overlooking the Sea of Cortez, boutique hotel Mar Del Cabo offers single ladies the ultimate girlfriends escape this February. A highlight of the three-night Galentines Day Experience is a single ladies celebration night out at luxe Los Cabos club Mandala with transportation via private limousine. Back at the hotel, gals can gather for a bonfire party on the beach one evening for Mexican chocolates and specialty cocktails. When its time for some pampering, the girls can head next door to the renowned Se Spa at Grand Velas Los Cabos, Mar del Cabos sister property, where they will receive a 20% discount on spa services. Accommodations during the Galentines Day Experience will be in the hotels two-bedroom Ocean Suite, perfect for four amigas, including: sweet and savory insuite amenities; champagne upon arrival; and private terrace with stunning sunset views. The Galentines Day Experience costs $2,549 USD for 4 people. For more information and to book, call 1.844.314.2352, email reservations@mardelcabo.com or visit https://mardelcabo.com/. About Mar del Cabo Located midway between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, Mar del Cabo debuted on Mexicos Baja Peninsula in December 2018. Mar del Cabo is a stylish adaptation of the classic boutique hotel, designed to captivate and comfort with its space of unassuming and pleasing minimalism. Created as a white canvas with touches of color and chic design, it is the deep blue of the Sea of Cortez and the golden beaches that add tone, depth and natural accents. All 46 one- and two-bedroom suites and two penthouses have a king or two queen size beds, kitchenette with coffee maker and microwave oven, terrace with sitting area, separate living area with sofa, bathroom width step-in rain shower, and daily turndown service. Organic cuisine inspired by local Baja dishes and coastal Mediterranean favorites are served at the Encanto Restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Two bars, spa services, sleek and sensual ocean-front pool, as well as outdoor spaces to hold private events complete Mar del Cabo. Eduardo Vela Ruiz, founder and president of Velas Resorts, operates Velas Resorts with brother Juan Vela, vice president of Velas Resorts, by his side. Mar del Cabo is the sixth property of Velas Resorts and its only European Plan offering. Ebenebe in Awka North LGA of Anambra State was once among the communities in Nigeria where forced and child marriages were customarily accepted despite being prohibited extant laws. It was however, unanimously abolished on 31st December, 2019, following series of sensitisation dialogues and meetings with various organs of the community, powered by Women Information Network (WINET), a Non-Governmental Organization based in Enugu. OKECHUKWU ONUEGBU writes on the genesis to the revelation of the practice and how it had impacted on them positively and negatively. Several years back when teenage and unmarried pregnancy was on the rise at Ebenebe, an agrarian community in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, the people reportedly devised various means of checkmating the unfortunate incident. Prominent among the measures was that whoever impregnates a girl must either marry her or pay a fine of N10,000 (Imani ara) if he was not ready to take her as his bride. When this was abused by some especially the affluent members of the society, the community adopted a more severe measure called Tum, Num or Ituba m ime inuba m loosely translates as You must marry me once you impregnated me. Under this cultural practice, whoever impregnates a girl must marry her irrespective of his or her age, financial status, religion, ethnic or social origin, health condition and so on. Although few flouted the practice, most families married off their impregnated daughters to men who committed the act without seeking their consent. Investigations also show that there were instances where impregnated girls who failed to identify their men responsible including those whose lovers denied having affairs with or both families for any cogent reason refused to take them as brides, were forced to marry other men of any age and status, who reached agreements with the girls parents. It was learned that despite this practice, teenage and unmarried pregnancy persists in the community. It was also gathered that this kind of marriage hardly lasts as it breeds abortion, out of school syndrome, divorce, stillbirths, maternal mortality, diseases, domestic violence, poverty, deaths, among others. The practice is also against the Anambra State Child Rights Law (2004) which came into full force in 2006 and was gazetted on May 4, 2017. The law which prohibits all traditional and cultural practices that violate the rights of the child and criminalises them also incorporates the basic principles of the Childs Rights Act (CRA), United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Charter 1990), the Labour Act Cap 198 of LFN 1990 and Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. Section 23 to 24 of it provided that No person under the age of 18 years is capable of contracting a valid marriage, and accordingly, a marriage so contracted is null and void and of no effect. No parent, guardian or any person shall betroth a child to any person. A betrothal in contravention of subsection (1) of this section is null and void. In section 25 of same law, a person who marries a child, to whom a child is betrothed, who promotes the marriage of a child or who betroths a child commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of five years or to both such fine and imprisonment. As a result, in 2016 when the Women Information Network (WINET), Enugu got wind of the practice in Ebenebe, they conducted a baseline study to ascertain the veracity of the claims and probably save the food basket of Awka North from its attedaby adverse effects. The Executive Director of WINET, Mrs Miriam Menkiti, said the study which employed Focused Group Discussion (FGD) and In-depth interview and was subsequently published in 2017, established that truly, child and forced marriages were culturally accepted by all the eight villages of the community. Menkiti explained that Child marriage is a marriage contracted between a man and a young girl aged between 12 and 17 years. The community also has a cultural belief which emphasises that no unmarried girl should have a baby while living with her parents. So, girls who get pregnant are forced into marriage. The study identified culture, poverty and greed as some of the causes of child and forced marriages. A respondent in the published report said Yes, we, the parents always force our pregnant daughters to get married to the person that got them pregnant. At times a girl is forced to get married to any man even if the person is as old as her father because it is not in our culture for a girl to give birth at her parents home. Some girls are forced by their boyfriends to constipate with them and when they get pregnant, their parents or uncles instead of allowing them to nurse the babies after which they will go back to school, force them to marry the men or other men who they do not like, a teenage respondent added in the report. The traditional ruler of the community retorted in the publication, As the traditional ruler of the community, I have to intervene in some cases of teenage pregnancy. There was one that the mother wanted to force to marry but she refused. She came to me and I called the parents, I advised the parents that they should not force her into child marriage. Today, the girl is a third-year undergraduate in the university of Calabar. Following the discovery, WINET, sponsored by a Spanish NGO, Mundo Cooperante, launched a campaign entitled "the Right to be a Girl", solely to sensitise the community on the need to abolish the practice, as at it was at variance with the provisions of Anambra State Child Rights Law, and Child's Rights Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. WINET in 2019 carried out sensitisation dialogues with different segments of the community including the youths, the girls, the men and the women, where they all released their commitment towards ending teenage marriages, WINET Executive Director disclosed. The efforts seemed to have paid off as the traditional ruler of Ebenebe, Igwe Christopher Emeka Nnaegbuna, on an occasion of the communitys cultural fiesta (Ebenebe Day), held on December 31st, 2019 proclaimed the practice abolished. Speaking on the occasion, Igwe Nnaegbuna said Ebenebe like every community has customs, rules and regulations which are not above the laws governing Anambra state and constitutions of Nigeria. Therefore, we cannot observe any practice that is against extant laws of the country. We have seen that under aged marriage impact negatively on people and society individually and collectively. It leads to diseases, stillbirths and deaths. The monarch, while also proscribing cultism and other forms of atrocities in the community, charged parents and guidance to train their children and wards in the ways of God to avoid teenage and unmarried pregnancies as the community would not hesitate in punishing offenders accordingly. On his part, the Traditional Prime Minister (Onowu) of Ebenebe, Chief Joe Nwegwu, said the Igwe's proclamation was apt and a unanimous decision reached by all stakeholders in the community such as Igwe-in-Council, cabinet chiefs, Ebenebe Town Union (ETU) executives, youths, women leaders and others, and must be abided by all. In separate interviews, the President General, Ebenebe Town Union (ETU), Hon. Paul Nnatuanya, a member of Igwe-in-Council, Chief Ezekiel Okafor and the President General of ETU Women Wing, Mrs Favour Nworah, assured their readiness to take the message to all the nooks and crannies of Ebenebe with a view to ensuring full compliance by both indigents and residents of the community. Expressing happiness over the development, the Executive Director of WINET, Mrs Miriam Menkiti urged Ebenebe community to queue behind the proclamation, advising that a task force should be set by the community to enforce compliance where the need arises. Boris Johnson has unveiled plans for a light show in Downing Street on Brexit night. This comes as he has attempted to defuse a row over his failure to get Big Ben to sound that evening. The Prime Minister will address the nation from inside No 10 as a clock counting down to the moment Britain leaves the EU at 11pm on January 31 is projected on to the outside. The Prime Minister has unveiled plans for a light show in Downing Street on Brexit night. Pictured: Boris Johnson stuck on a zip-line in Victoria Park, London Buildings around Whitehall will be lit up and Union Jacks will be flown in Parliament Square. Leading Tory Eurosceptics dismissed the plan as an inadequate substitute for the Big Ben bell being heard. No 10 was also forced to defend its decision to stage the countdown in Downing Street, which is not accessible to members of the public. However, aides insisted that the public will be able to watch it on television and on social media sites such as Facebook. As part of the official plans to mark the country's departure from the EU, the commemorative Brexit coin will come into circulation on January 31. The Prime Minister is expected to be one of the first to receive a newly minted 50p piece. This announcement comes after Mr Johnson attempted to defuse a row over his failure to get Big Ben to sound that evening Mr Johnson will hold a special meeting of his Cabinet in the North of England on exit day, when ministers will discuss the Government's plans to spread prosperity and opportunity across the UK. He will then make a special televised address to the nation in the evening. It is understood the Prime Minister will use the speech to call for the country to unite and move forward as one. Sources said Mr Johnson wants Brexit day to be a 'healing moment' where old divisions are left behind. 'No automatic deportation' Britain will not automatically deport EU citizens who fail to apply for settled status before the 2021 deadline, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay has assured Brussels. It emerged yesterday that he made the pledge to Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit negotiator, during talks in London. Mr Verhofstadt said he had been told the Home Office would consider those who missed the deadline on a case-by-case basis and potentially still grant settled status. It came as France told Boris Johnson it will not be bounced into a post-Brexit trade deal by the end of the year. It accused the Prime Minister of trying to put a 'straitjacket' on the EU and said 'if we need six more months, it's worth taking them'. Advertisement Earlier this week, the Prime Minister claimed the Government was 'working up a plan so people can bung a bob for a Big Ben bong'. But Downing Street yesterday admitted that even if 500,000 is raised the amount Commons authorities have said it will cost to ring the bell it is still unlikely to happen. Prominent Brexiteers last night criticised No 10's newly unveiled proposals for the light show and televised address. Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: 'Nothing can replace the bell. No light shows, no laser beams, no 'parties'. 'All the British people really want is for the bell which has been sounded out in all the key moments of the nation's history to chime at 11pm when we leave the EU.' He added: 'We don't need parties or extravagances, we just need to hear that magnificent and sonorous bell.' Mark Francois, who has led the parliamentary campaign for Big Ben to bong for Brexit, added: 'These preparations are all very well, but they are no substitute for the most iconic clock in the world chiming out freedom.' Nigel Farage, who is planning a Brexit night rally in Parliament Square, has accused the Government of being 'embarrassed' by Brexit. This comes as Tory Brexiteers accused the Commons of deliberately inflating the cost of ringing Big Ben on the night of January 31. Figures released yesterday showed it cost just 14,200 to sound the bell on New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday. But the House of Commons commission has claimed it will cost up to 500,000 to bring Big Ben back into use for Brexit. No 10 was also forced to defend its decision to stage the countdown in Downing Street, which is not accessible to members of the public The estimate includes 120,000 to build a temporary floor in the belfry and reinstall the temporary 'bonging' mechanism. They also said this would delay renovations by up to four weeks at a cost of 100,000 per week. Fresh doubt was cast on the extraordinary figures yesterday as the cost of bringing the bell back into use on previous occasions were disclosed. Mr Francois claimed that this proved 'officials have deliberately inflated' the 500,000 estimate, and called on Mr Johnson to force officials to ring the bell on Brexit day. Leave.EU founder and millionaire businessman Arron Banks donates 50,000 to campaign to make Big Ben bong for Brexit as pressure grows on Boris Johnson to 'overrule' Parliament and stop it blocking the plan Millionaire businessman and Leave.EU founder Arron Banks has given the campaign to make Big Ben bong for Brexit a massive boost after pledging 50,000 to the cause. The donation from Mr Banks, a former Ukip donor, and the Leave Means Leave group means fundraising efforts are now almost halfway to the 500,000 needed in theory to get the bell up and running. However, even if the target is reached it still seems unlikely that Big Ben - currently mothballed as it undergoes a major overhaul - will be brought back into service at 11pm on January 31. The House of Commons Commission has suggested it would be unable to accept public donations to pay for the necessary work which means the fundraising efforts could end up being for naught. Boris Johnson initially backed the fundraising campaign but Downing Street has gone cold on the idea, blaming the 'intransigence' of parliamentary decision-makers for blocking the bongs plan. Senior Brexiteers led by Sir Iain Duncan Smith are now urging Mr Johnson to 'overrule' Parliament and allow members of the public to pay for Big Ben to bong. Sir Ian told The Telegraph: 'I beg the Prime Minister to step up and tell the Commission they've got this wrong, and he and the government will overrule it unless they change their mind.' The government has said it will shortly announce its own plans for marking Brexit. It was claimed this afternoon that those plans could include a speech by the PM designed to unite the nation. The Stand Up For Brexit group which has organised the fundraising campaign has said that if it fails to raise the full 500,000 the money will be given to the Help for Heroes military charity. Scroll down for video. Arron Banks and the Leave Means Leave group have apparently donated 50,000 to the Big Ben Brexit fundraising campaign Sir Iain Duncan Smith has urged the government to 'overrule' the House of Commons Commission and allow Big Ben to bong for Brexit The campaign, organised by StandUp4Brexit, has until this weekend to raise the bumper figure or all the money will likely go to the military charity Help for Heroes Mark Francois, a Tory MP and one of the architects of the fundraising campaign, announced Mr Banks' donation this afternoon. He told the BBC: 'We're at 166,000 and I can now make a formal announcement. 'Following telephone calls this morning, Leave Means Leave and Arron Banks have now donated 50,000 towards the campaign. 'We are now not far short of 220,000, and by the end of the day we probably won't be a million miles away from having raised half the total in two days.' Mr Francois's comments came amid growing scepticism over the suggestion it would cost 500,000 after it emerged that making Big Ben bong on other special occasions during its renovations had cost just 14,000. Former Big Ben engineer slams 'ludicrous' 500,000 quote for bonging A former Big Ben engineer has rubbished the 500,000 price tag quoted by the House of Commons authorities for the bell to bong for Brexit, calling it 'unbelievable'. Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, a caller called Mike said: 'I was fortunate enough to work in Parliament for a couple of years and one of my jobs there was to project manage the extraction of the clock mechanism itself and to replace it with the electric motor that's up there now,' he said. He called the cost that the Commons Speaker cited 'unbelievable' and added,: 'I can only believe that they're trying to claw some of the money back because it's so over budget.' Advertisement Sir Paul Beresford, responding on behalf of the Commission to a parliamentary question from Mr Francois, said: 'The costs associated with striking Big Ben on Remembrance Sunday and New Year's Eve in 2019 were 14.2k including VAT on each occasion.' However, Sir Paul said these events had been made to fit around the planned works 'so as to minimise the impact on the project costs'. 'If the project team are required to strike the bell with less notice, the costs would substantially increase due to the unexpected impact on the project schedule,' he said. Number 10 sparked anger among Tory MPs yesterday after appearing to wash its hands of the campaign following Mr Johnson's decision on Tuesday to support the plan as he urged people to 'bung a bob for a Big Ben bong'. More than 9,000 people have now donated cash, including Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom who handed over 10. She wrote on Twitter: 'I admit I've donated a tenner. #LoveBigBen. The Big Ben must bong for Brexit campaign.' Former party leader Sir Iain condemned the House of Commons Commission and urged Mr Johnson to stop 'sitting on the fence'. 'On the eve of the single biggest change that Britain will undergo arguably since the end of the Second World War the House of Commons Commission, it appears, is determined to leave Big Ben mute. 'This bell has rung out at all the critical moments in our nation's modern history. But that it should be silenced now verges on the absurd. 'Somehow they managed to find time to clang the bell to welcome in the New Year which is of far less significance. They must rethink this and allow that bell to ring.' He added: 'I urge Downing Street to make a clear statement that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet want Big Ben to signal the moment when our great country officially leaves the EU.' Mr Francois had earlier said the PM would be 'mad' to back down after initially backing the campaign. 'As the Prime Minister effectively initiated this campaign live on TV two days ago and as we are clearly going to hit the target, he would be mad to back away from it,' he said. Downing Street sources had previously said the idea of restoring the bell for January 31 was 'dead', and Mr Johnson's spokesman appeared to confirm the news yesterday as he pointed the finger of blame at the Commons authorities. Conservative MP Mark Francois said he would pay 1,000 towards the 500,000 cost of sounding the bell at 11pm on January 31 'The House of Commons authorities have set out that there may be potential difficulties in accepting money from public donations,' he said. 'I think the PM's focus is on the events which he and the Government are planning to mark January 31.' A government source blamed the 'intransigence' of Commons officials, saying: 'We went to the House authorities saying 'how can we make this happen?' and they came back with a whole series of unhelpful comments. 'It's very difficult for us to say to people they should contribute money when the whole thing might still be turned down by Parliament. If they do raise the half a million pounds then the Commons authorities are going to have a very big decision to make.' Nigel Farage accused the government of being 'embarrassed' by Brexit over its failure to back the bid for Big Ben to bong. 'It seems to me they are embarrassed by Brexit and it makes me ask the question how much they really believe in it,' he said. Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who is chairman of the commission, set himself firmly against the idea saying the cost would be '50,000 a bong' and argued only people who live in Westminster would get to hear the bell. Commission officials warned of the legal and ethical problems of accepting public donations, calling it 'unprecedented'. The extraordinary cost is made up of 120,000 to reinstall and test the temporary 'bonging' mechanism. That also includes the cost of building a temporary floor in the belfry and then removing it again. They also said the Brexit bongs would delay renovations by up to four weeks at a cost of 100,000 per week. Last night another Commons source said No10 could have pushed the issue by forcing a vote in Parliament. 'The issue came up before the Commission and it was explained the cost and delay involved to the restoration of Big Ben and the Tower. If the Government really wanted it they could put forward some sort of motion and they could vote on it. That would overrule the commission.' The appeal was launched on Wednesday morning on the GoFundMe website. Writing on the site, one donor told the PM to 'get it done': 'I find it unbelievable that this wasn't arranged ahead of time and at reasonable expense just like it has been with every other significant event. Just get it done!' A federal judge sentenced a former pharmaceutical sales representative from San Antonio to more than two years in prison Thursday and ordered her to pay $1.7 million in restitution for her part in a national $8.8 million bribery/health care fraud scheme. But Senior U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, citing humanitarian reasons, allowed Holly Blakely, 46, to stay out on bond to get her affairs in order. She must turn herself in to the U.S. Marshals Service on June 15 to begin her prison term. He sentenced her to 30 months in prison. She had faced a maximum of five years. She also will be required to stay under supervision for three years after she completes her prison term. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio pharmacy rep pleads guilty in $8.8 million health fraud case Blakely pleaded guilty in February 2019 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud involving health care fraud, admitting she paid more than $400,000 in kickbacks and bribes to health care providers who prescribed compound medications for pain to people who didnt need them. Some of the patients didnt even know prescriptions had been written in their names, court records showed. Prosecutors said Blakely netted more than $1 million as part of the scam, from February 2013 through December 2014. Blakely received commissions from pharmacies based on the money they received from insurance providers including Tricare, the military program, and private insurance companies for filling the phony prescriptions, according to court records. Blakely had been scheduled to be sentenced last summer, but the judge delayed her sentence, saying he wanted to see who else was part of the scheme and what they would be receiving as penalties to ensure he handed out fair sentences to all involved. Yes, Ms. Blakely is guilty as sin, and should be punished, but it seems there are a whole lot of people in the healthcare provider field who also should be in court, Biery said at her sentencing hearing in July. On ExpressNews.com: Federal judge delays sentencing in pharmaceutical health fraud case Federal prosecutors in the San Antonio U.S. Attorneys Office acknowledged there were many others involved in the scam and told Biery that up to 20 others could be charged. Blakely was indicted in 2017 as part of an investigation that went into at least four states, including Texas and Florida. Many of the patients involved were veterans. It was unclear Thursday how many others had been charged or what sentences they have received, if any. At least one doctor alleged to have been involved settled with the federal government in 2015 and repaid more than $3.7 million. Blakely will be required to pay $1,746,222 in restitution under Bierys order. She already has forfeited $88,000 in proceeds from the sale of her home. Keep spending, save the environment. Thats the pitch from Mogo Inc., a Canadian fintech company thats offering a prepaid Visa card that includes a program to cut carbon emissions. Mogo will offset one pound of CO2 for every dollar spent using the card a first for the country, according to the company. Linking a spending account to the prepaid Visa can help Canadians control their spending too, Vancouver-based Mogo said. Financial health and the health of the planet are closely linked, chief executive officer David Feller said in a statement Friday. Overspending is not only one of the biggest reasons why Canadians are struggling financially, but overconsumption is also directly linked to climate change. Some 72 per cent of carbon emissions can be linked to individuals consumption, according to the company. January 16, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - As the United States seemed to teeter on the edge of yet another war, this time with Iran, the biggest concern was just how much support the government had for its mass-murdering schemes. But psychologists say that that is no mistake. As Americans, we have been conditioned for war all of our lives. Americans have been programmed to accept the violence and domination with a belief that the mass murders are done for some kind of good. Propaganda has been widely used along with patriotic images to make even those who consider themselves peaceful cheer for death, violence, and destruction. Americans are taught from a young age to accept their countrys militarism without question. This conditioning has numerous ingredients. Themes of nationalism and militarism are frequently injected into public life through the media and other institutions, for example, as is a sense of righteousness, a rarely challenged that the country is almost always a force for good. Psychology Today is also a major element in conditioning minds for war. Americans of all ages are often reminded, by their government and the media, that perceived enemies pose a constant danger. The Soviet threat was used to justify military spending and adventurism around the globe for much of the later twentieth century, validating the warning given by President Eisenhower in his 1961 farewell speech of the growing influence of the military-industrial complex. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter More recently, through constant reminders of the war on terror, Americans are effectively conditioned to see evildoers as always looming. There is little to no debate about whether slaughtering people and killing others thousands of miles away is right or wrong. Militarism and force through mass murder is always the conclusion drawn by most Americans. Anti-intellectualism seems to be an important ingredient in conditioning the American mindset for war, with the system relying on a population motivated by fear and forgoing critical thinking. We can see this anti-intellectualism taking shape even in the way society molds young minds. The United States is the only developed country that expects schools to regularly conduct a loyalty oath (a Pledge of Allegiance). This kind of exercise does nothing to encourage critical thinking or an understanding of the complexities of contemporary geopolitics but may go far in solidifying a sense of national greatness that can subsequently be used to portray as justified. The fact that those who question American militarism are seen by many as troublemakers is further evidence of how the national mindset has been conditioned for war. Psychology Today The surest sign of successful conditioning is a population that not only complies with the desired outcome but does so without question. We see this every time a new president is elected. Whether the laws are right or wrong morally, Americans will, by and large, see them as moral and acceptable if their master was chosen to rule the slaves. Morality is out the window. Weve been taught to just accept that the ruling class has authority over our lives and we have two choices: obey or have violence used against you. Whats worse, is we are taught to glorify the government and that just because the U.S. isnt as violent and tyrannical as say, North Korea, we are to accept our fate as slaves to powers that shouldnt be. Larken Rose makes this behavior rather apparent in his book, Most Dangerous Superstition . The primary threat to freedom and justice is not greed, or hatred, or any of the other emotions or human flaws usually blamed for such things. Instead, it is one ubiquitous superstition that infects the minds of people of all races, religions, and nationalities, which deceives decent, well-intentioned people into supporting and advocating violence and oppression. Even without making human beings one bit more wise or virtuous, removing that one superstition would remove the vast majority of injustice and suffering from the world. Start thinking for yourself. Ask yourself one question: who owns you? H/T [Psychology Today, David Niose] This article was originally published by "SHTFplan.com" - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== Every year, Seton Hall University freshmen walk by a marble circle with the words remember in capital letters in front of the entrance of Boland Hall. It serves as a reminder of the tragedy caused by an early morning fire on Jan. 19, 2000, when three students died and more than 50 others were injured. The fire investigation took years. In 2003, authorities charged two students, Joseph LePore and Sean Ryan, with starting the fire as a part of a prank. The two roommates from Florham Park pleaded guilty on the eve of their trials in 2006. Reflecting on his time as president of the university at the time of the fire, Monsignor Robert Sheeran said this week, Time has a way of at least stopping the bleeding but the scars are always there. It was an awful time that brought out the best of us all, he continued. Heres a look at where people are today. Joseph LePore Immediately following the Seton Hall fire, LePore transferred to the University of Delaware. He was arrested in June 2003 after investigators said he and Ryan set the fatal fire in their dorm by lighting a banner left lying over a couch in the third floor lounge of Boland Hall. After initially denying any wrongdoing, he pleaded guilty to arson in 2006 in a plea deal. LePore served less than three years in prison. In 2012, he married and has a young daughter. LePore, 39, declined to comment. His attorney, Sal Alfano, told NJ Advance Media this week his former client works in the home-improvement business. Sean Ryan Ryan remained at Seton Hall after the fire and was a senior when he was arrested in 2003. He, too, pleaded guilty to arson in 2006 and served a little more than two years in prison. Ryan also declined to comment. Michael Bubb, his former attorney, said Ryan, 39, is working in business in New York City and has a wife and a child. The Karol family Aaron Karol, 18, was one of three students to die in the fire. His older sister had a baby the same year as the fire, followed by two more children. She brings her children to anniversary ceremonies on the South Orange campus, and they have toured the third floor of Boland Hall, where their uncle died. Joe and Candy Karol, Aarons parents, continue to cope with daily grief. In addition to scholarships given in honor of Aaron Karol, his childhood friends formed a second charity, Aspiring Kindness, that gives grants to emergency responders. In the past decade, it has raised more than $250,000 and has given out $180,000 in grants to fire departments, ambulance squads, and Saint Barnabas Medical Center, which has a burn unit that treated victims of the fire. There is also a bench at the middle school in Green Brook where Aaron attended with his name on it. The Giunta family John Giunta, a Vineland resident, was killed in the blaze. He was 18. The Giunta family offers a scholarship in Johns name to future teachers who show a sense of devotion to the community and display the patience and discipline for which he was known. (www.rememberjohn.org) His older brother, Peter, has three boys, he sometimes takes them to Johns gravesite. Peter Giunta said he was often told after the fire that time heals all things. He has found that not to be true. "Its like having a wound, an open wound, he said. It doesnt heal. It doesnt scar over. You just learn how to cover it better, or how to dress it better. The Caltabilota family Frank Caltabilota Jr., from West Long Branch, was killed in the fire. He was 18. Caltabilotas younger brother, Thomas, said his father Frank Caltalibota Sr., remains angry to this day. I am angry at the Essex County Prosecutors Office for having a room full of evidence and years of investigating and putting us through this circus and in the end the boys only get to serve a 2-year sentence. Im angry that the families had to go to the parole board to extend their prison time. Im angry at the school for not taking false alarms more seriously that Frankie would tell me that he and his roommate would have to hide in the bathroom to avoid having to go out in the cold in the middle of the night during finals week. Thats what Im angry about, he relayed through his son. The Caltabilota family gives out scholarships in Franks name to recipients at both the schools he attended while growing up in West Long Branch. Shawn Simons Simons suffered second- and third-degree burns, mostly to his hands and face, during the fire. He spent two weeks in a medically-induced coma. Simons graduated in 2004 with a degree in business management. The 38-year-old has been married to his wife, Chinaire, for nine years. The couple lives in Roselle with their two sons, ages 14 and 17. Simons, who sings in his church choir in Newark, also spends a lot of time traveling to high schools and college campuses around the country to talk about fire safety. He does it with his friend and another man badly injured in the blaze, Alvaro Llanos. We figured why not take the situation that we lived through, talk to students and say, hey, we were just like you, Simons said. Alvaro Llanos Llanos, 38, was in a medically-induced coma for nine months; second- and third-degree burns covered 58% of his body. Llanos eventually went back to college, focusing on earning a degree in physical therapy. He has yet to complete his degree because, he said, his current work with young people is more satisfying. It was something tragic that we had suffered through but were saving so many lives, he told NJ Advance Media. Llanos married Paula Vasquez. The two have a 15-year-old daughter and a son, 12. The two divorced after 12 years of marriage. Llanos attends church every Sunday at Powerhouse Church in Wyckoff and has developed a stronger spiritual relationship with God, he said. Dana Christmas-McCain Christmas-McCain was a senior resident assistant in Boland Hall when the fire happened. After learning of the blaze, she went door-to-door waking students up to flee until she collapsed after suffering severe burns. Her heroic efforts earned her the name Angel of Boland Hall. She is now married with a daughter and is a minister living in Paterson. Her legacy lived on for many years in a scholarship, The Dana Christmas Scholarship for Heroism. Former Essex County Prosecutor Paula T. Dow After serving in the U.S. Attorneys Office from 1994 to 2003, Dow became the Essex County prosecutor for six years where she secured guilty pleas from LePore and Ryan. In 2010, Dow was appointed by Gov. Chris Christie to the position of acting attorney general, where she remained until 2012. She is currently a Superior Court judge in Burlington County. She did not return a call to her chambers to comment. Former Essex County Prosecutor Donald Campolo As an assistant attorney general, Campolo served as acting prosecutor for four years and was in charge as investigators spent years looking into the Seton Hall fire before Dow took over in 2003. Just before he left office, he was able to secure indictments against LePore and Ryan. Campolo then did some consulting work and is now happily retired, he said in an interview this week. It was an important case really because of the magnitude of the suffering, Campolo said. Ill never forget those families and what they went through. The team just wanted to get to the bottom of it and see if we could provide some measure of justice in the case. It was an important case for those reasons. Monsignor Robert Sheeran, former president of Seton Hall University Sheeran spent 15 years as Seton Halls president and moved into Boland Hall after the fire to help reassure students and families that the building was safe. After stepping down in 2009, he enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley where he took courses on Islam. Sheeran then moved to Jerusalem to spend the spring semester studying the Bible at an institute run by the University of Notre Dame. "I am leaving not because I feel I'm tired of the presidency or I'm getting old or people don't want me here. I think it's really a call of God," Sheeran told The Star-Ledger at the time. In 2011, Sheeran became the director for mission and ministry at Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, California, which is part of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He retired last year, a school spokesperson said. Sheeran, 74, is now back living on the Seton Hall campus as president emeritus. Staff writers Kelly Heyboer and Barry Carter contributed to this report. Kathleen OBrien also contributed reporting. Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Congress counted their votes. According to the voting advocacy group FairVote, Congress has accepted the vote of every vote contrary to a pledge or expectation in the nations history that has been transmitted to it a total of more than 150 votes across twenty different elections from 1796 to 2016. As in each of those elections, the 2016 defections did not change the outcome of the race. Twitterati on Friday hails the Indian Air Force Personnel for saving the lives of the 71 trekkers by carried out a Search & Rescue Operation at Niraq in Zanskar valley. The Indian Air Force @IAF_MCC shared a clip and wrote, "#SavingLives: Indian Air Image Source: IANS News Twitterati on Friday hails the Indian Air Force Personnel for saving the lives of the 71 trekkers by carried out a Search & Rescue Operation at Niraq in Zanskar valley. The Indian Air Force @IAF_MCC shared a clip and wrote, "#SavingLives: Indian Air Image Source: IANS News Twitterati on Friday hails the Indian Air Force Personnel for saving the lives of the 71 trekkers by carried out a Search & Rescue Operation at Niraq in Zanskar valley. The Indian Air Force @IAF_MCC shared a clip and wrote, "#SavingLives: Indian Air Image Source: IANS News Twitterati on Friday hails the Indian Air Force Personnel for saving the lives of the 71 trekkers by carried out a Search & Rescue Operation at Niraq in Zanskar valley. The Indian Air Force @IAF_MCC shared a clip and wrote, "#SavingLives: Indian Air Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Jan 17 : Twitterati on Friday hails the Indian Air Force Personnel for saving the lives of the 71 trekkers by carried out a Search & Rescue Operation at Niraq in Zanskar valley. The Indian Air Force @IAF_MCC shared a clip and wrote, "#SavingLives: Indian Air Force ALH Helicopters carried out a Search & Rescue Operation at Niraq in Zanskar valley (Ladakh) & rescued 71 trekkers in the last two days. The trekkers were on the famous 'Chadar Trek' when they got stranded due to sudden flooding in the river." As soon as the post get viral, Twitter buzzed with posts hailing the Indian Air Force. A user praised the IAF personnel and wrote, "Nation admires our brave Helicopter aircrew of Indian Air Force who rescued 71 trekkers in Ladakh." "Salute you heroes..." added another. A post read, "Salute to those involved in this rescue mission. Hope all are well." A Tweeple remarked, "Tourists entry at highly sensitive eco zones eg chadar trek & pangong lake should be restricted." Are you thinking of undertaking a professional course but you are not sure which one between CPA and CIFA? Traditionally, most accounting students simply went for CPA. However, the rise of CIFA and its inclusion as a requirement for a wide number of lucrative positions in the industry has led many to reconsider their options. CIFA vs. CPA has, therefore become a topic of discussion with many students unsure of the path to take. So, what is the difference between the two and does one have an advantage over the other? Image: unsplash.com Source: UGC In Kenya, the two professional courses, CPA and CIFA, are monitored by a government body known as Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examinations Board (KASNEB). The boards mandate is to create a syllabus, accredit institutions that teach the courses, conduct professional examinations, and award the candidates who complete the courses. CIFA vs. CPA in Kenya: What is the difference? CIFA and CPA are largely differentiated by their course content. CIFA, offers finance course content mainly on investment and financial analysis. CPA, on the other hand, mainly offers technical content in accounting, tax, and auditing. The choice between CIFA vs. CPA KASNEB courses depends on the direction you would like to take your career. For example, if you decide to undertake finance and investment as your career, then it makes more sense to study CIFA as it offers specialized technical skills that are required in the financial space. READ ALSO: Top accounting courses that are marketable On the other hand, if you are looking to grow your career in the accounting domain, then you should study CPA. All units offered in this course are geared towards helping you develop your career in accountancy. Before making that big leap that could decide your career, it is important to know more about CIFA vs. CPA course requirements. This gives you an in-depth understanding that could help you to make a better choice. What is CIFA? CIFA stands for Certified Investment and Financial Analysts. This is the certification given upon completion of this course. This professional course that seeks to increase specialised knowledge in the finance and investment fields. Successful candidates who complete the course acquire expertise in investment banking, financial analysis, pension funds management, corporate finance, asset management, and investment and securities consultancy. Image: unsplash.com Source: UGC To study this professional course, you must fulfil the same minimum professional requirements threshold as in CPA. CIFA course outline CIFA course content is divided into three parts. Each part has two sections. Part 1 The first part includes the following sections and units: Section 1 Financial Accounting Financial Mathematics Entrepreneurship and Communication Section 2 Economics Financial Institutions and Markets Public Finance and Taxation Part 2 The second part contains: Section 3 Regulation of Financial Markets Corporate Finance Financial Statements Analysis Section 4 Equity Investments Analysis Portfolio Management Quantitative Analysis Part 3 The third part is made up of: Section 5 Strategy, Governance, and Ethics Fixed Income Investments Analysis Alternative Investments Analysis Section 6 Advanced Portfolio Management International Finance Derivatives Analysis READ ALSO: CPA requirements and institutions offering the course in Kenya Where can you study CIFA? KASNEB has given accreditation to institutions where students can learn the course. The institutions offering CIFA include: KCA University Strathmore University Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology Pinnacle Business School Vision Institute of Professionals Royal Business School CIFA career opportunities The following are the CIFA job opportunities for students who attain this certification. Investment analyst jobs in investment banks and institutions Financial analysts in pension funds firms, banks, securities firms, and insurance firms Research analyst jobs in asset management firms, pension funds, insurance firms, and investment banks Finance officer jobs in private and public entities While still debunking CPA vs. CIFA, lets us look at the second professional course, CPA. What is CPA? CPA stands for Certified Public Accountants. It is the qualification given when one completes a CPA course from a certified institution. At the end of the course, you will acquire highly skilled competencies in the fields of accounting, tax, financial management, and auditing. The course content is divided into three parts with two sections each. A student is required to successfully complete one part at a time. Should the student fail any of the units or an entire section of the part, they are required to repeat and pass before proceeding to the next one. CPA course outline The subjects under CPA are covered in the following order: Part 1 The first part contains: Section 1 Financial Accounting Business Law Entrepreneurship and Communication Section 2 Economics Management Accounting Public Finance and Taxation Part 2 The second part has: Section 3 Company Law Financial Management Financial Reporting Section 4 Auditing and Assurance Management Information Systems Quantitative Analysis Part 3 The third part has the following sections and units: Section 5 Strategy, Governance, and Ethics Advanced Management Accounting Advanced Financial Management Section 6 Advanced Public Finance and Taxation Advanced Auditing and Assurance Advanced Financial Reporting READ ALSO: ICPAK registration requirements and fees payable CPA requirements for admission To qualify for this professional course there are specific minimum requirements that need to be met. They are: A mean grade of C+ (C Plus) or its equivalent in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education A University degree from a recognized institution A KASNEB professional examination certificate At least two principal passes in the Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education (KACE) after having achieved credits in mathematics and English at the Kenya Certificate of Education (KCE) level or other equivalent qualifications. Other qualifications that meet KASNEB approval These qualifications are similar to what you need to study for a CIFA certification. Image: unsplash.com Source: UGC Where to study CPA in Kenya You can study the professional course in both public and private universities and other accredited institutions. Some of the universities and colleges offering the course include: KCA University Strathmore University Zetech University Kibabii University Dedan Kimathi University (Main Campus) Pan African University (PAC) Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Main and Nakuru campuses Nairobi Institute of Business Studies (NIBS) Summit Institute of Professional Studies Vision Institute of Professional Studies Embu College Star College of Management Studies Stockwell School of Finance (Nairobi) The purpose of taking a professional course is to acquire specialized skills that can open up more opportunities. CPA career opportunities include: Accounting opportunities in both public and private firms Finance management in Non-Profit organizations and investment firms Tax management opportunities in accounting and tax firms Consultancy opportunities for both public and private entities It is important to take the courses in an accredited institution to acquire valid certification. KASNEB provides a list of accredited institutions to make it easier for you. READ ALSO: List of KASNEB courses available in the country Registration and examination fees Each student is required to register with KASNEB for their preferred professional course. At the end of each section, a student sits for KASNEB examinations which are conducted in May and November every year. Each student is required to book the examinations two months before commencement. The examination fee structure for both courses can be found on KASNEBs website. The two courses, CPA and CIFA are appropriate for the individuals who have chosen accounting and finance fields respectively. They are both designed to provide expert knowledge in these career fields. Is the CIFA vs. CPA conundrum still getting the better of you? Deciding between the two courses entirely depends on your chosen career path. Each professional course is highly recommended depending on what you would like to become in the financial industry. Both will give you knowledge and skills in their specific fields and this will open doors for you to get advanced professional career opportunities. READ ALSO: Roles and duties of an accountant Source: TUKO.co.ke Given her deep roots at the place, it makes sense that Terica Buckner would end up as the owner of a venerable Southeast Portland auto repair shop. She took the helm Jan. 1. Now 40, Buckner began working at Hawthorne Auto Clinic when she was a 17-year-old high school student. She never left. While most young people like the freedom that comes from driving a car, Buckner always wanted to know what was happening mechanically under the hood. As a student at Portlands Benson Polytechnic High School, Buckner signed up for an auto repair class. A few weeks in, Buckner was hooked and told her instructor she wanted a career as a mechanic. He said she needed real-world experience, so he helped get her an internship with the repair shop that she now owns at 4307 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. I did shop cleanup, she said. I recycled oil filters, filled fluids for the technicians and watched them working on cars. By chance, Buckner ended up at the perfect repair shop for a young woman starting in a business typically dominated by men. Liz Dally, company president and a co-owner with her husband, Jim Houser, was one of the first members of Portlands Association of Women in Automotive. The group was started by a few women mechanics to help women who wanted to break into the field. Dally, who grew up in Pittsburgh, was always interested in tools and making things in the basement of her familys home. She tried enrolling in a shop and drafting class in high school, but she was denied simply because she was a girl. This was in 1965 when there were no laws saying a girl had to have equal access, she said. So, I went in the opposite direction. She earned a scholarship to Reed College. She was living in the upstairs unit of a Southeast Portland four-plex and met Houser, who lived downstairs. They eventually married and now have two adult children. I earned a degree in political science, but I couldnt find anything I really wanted to do with the degree, she said. Jim and I had a friend whod started a co-op auto repair shop, so Jim and I joined. I had a knack and learned with the help of other people and books. There were no night classes to learn the trade back then. When Dally applied for jobs at Portland-area car dealerships she said bosses were incredulous that a woman wanted to be a mechanic. They wanted me to work in the office, she said. I applied at one shop and the man held up a power valve and asked what it was. When I told him, he said there were no openings. She eventually was hired as a mechanic at Hawthorne Auto Clinic. Three years later, in 1983, the owner said he was going to sell the business. I was sick of trying to convince people I knew how to fix cars, said Dally. It would be easier to own a shop. Jim and I bought it. It was just the two of us doing all the work. Then we grew. Terica Buckner holds her daughter, Emrys, in the shop area of Hawthorne Auto Clinic. She bought the business in January. In Buckner, Dally and Houser saw the chance to help a young woman who reminded them of Dally. They sponsored her, paying her to work in their shop for two years while she attended Mount Hood Community College to earn an associate degree in auto repair. When Buckner graduated, they hired her as a shop technician. It is so satisfying when you have a broken car, do a few tests and get it working again, said Buckner. A car has so many systems to learn. When the front office had an opening for a customer service adviser, Buckner asked Houser and Dally if she could have the job so she could learn more about the business. She was great, said Houser. She could talk with customers with confidence because she knew all about working on cars. She could explain to the customer what was wrong with the car and what was needed to fix it. When the company bookkeeper retired eight years ago, Buckner applied for the job. Houser and Dally helped pay for Buckner to earn a business degree at the University of Phoenix while she continued to work at the shop. She was good at everything she did here, Houser said. Last year, he and his wife decided to retire. Im 73 and Liz is 70, said Houser. It was time. Buckner said she wanted to buy the shop. And it made sense. I got into the business because I wanted to fix cars, Dally said. She was interested in cars, and the business. Houser called Buckner the perfect candidate to take over. What a natural fit, Houser said. She had all the skills in place, knew all the customers and employees. Buckner said taking over ownership has been nerve wracking. I am taking on incredible responsibility, she said. Not just for my future, but for the 10 employees. Buckner and her husband, Andrew, live in Vancouver and are the parents of an 18-month-old daughter. Buckner is the family breadwinner, and her husband is a stay-at-home father. Buckner said that adds additional pressure. She wants to make sure the business grows so she can pay herself a salary and cover the rent and employee salaries. Natalie Breece is a sevice technician at Hawthorne Auto Clinic. (Photo by Samantha Swindler/staff)Samantha Swindler But business is good, she said, and many of the customers have been coming to the shop since she first started working there. She is negotiating a deal with Houser and Dally to buy the building as part of a five-year lease option. Dally made it possible for someone like Buckner to get into the business, one in which women make up less than 1 percent of all the auto mechanics in the metro area, said Sarah Heidler, past president of Portlands Association of Women in Automotive. She estimated there are likely no more than 24 women mechanics working in the area. Buckner wants to help women the same way Dally helped her. The front office staff at her shop are all women, and Buckner has sponsored a woman who works as a technician while attending Mount Hood Community College. Buckner said its the right thing to do. Its rare in the auto business to have a woman be the owner of a shop, she said. A lot of women are not encouraged to get into the business. Women can be great technicians. You have to not know just mechanics, but computers. This is a highly skilled job. When she steps into her business each morning, Buckner said shes content. This is the only job Ive had, Buckner said. Its surreal that I own it. --Tom Hallman Jr; thallman@oregonian.com; 503-221-8224; @thallmanjr Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. MORE FROM TOM HALLMAN JR. Jagdeep Dhankhar has been engaged in a face-off with Mamata Banerjee and her party over a host of issues since assuming charge as the governor of the state Kolkata: Citing "preoccupations" West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will not attend an all-party meeting called by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday, to discuss issues pertaining to two bills, a Raj Bhavan official said. The chief minister's office informed the governor's secretariat that on account of preoccupations on Friday, it will not be possible for Banerjee to attend the meeting, the Raj Bhavan said in a statement on Thursday. Dhankhar has been engaged in a face-off with Banerjee and her party, the Trinamool Congress, over a host of issues since assuming charge as the governor of the state. The meeting was called by the governor to discuss two bills passed by the Assembly, which are awaiting his assent. The statement said that "on account of there being no inputs from the state government and the state Legislative Assembly in spite of repeated efforts" with regard to the pendency of 'The West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019 and 'West Bengal State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Bill, 2019', the meeting had been convened by the governor. "The Governor has urged the chief minister to give priority to this matter and spare time at the earliest" for a meeting on these issues," it said. Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Abdul Mannan, and Left Front Legislature Party leader Sujan Chakraborty have requested that the meeting be held on 21 January, the statement said, adding that it will be scheduled on that date. The Raj Bhavan has also been informed that the Leader of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Rohit Sharma, is currently bedridden, it said. In September of last year Igor Babushkin was elected governor of the Astrakhan region. A few months later he went to Baku, with which this Russian region has a long history of cooperation in the Caspian direction. Today Igor Babushkin told Vestnik Kavkaza about his visit to Azerbaijan and cooperation with this country. - The Astrakhan region is actively cooperating with Azerbaijan. What projects are you currently implementing? - Of course, since we're in the south of Russia, in the Caspian region, we're actively developing cooperation between the Caspian states. Before the New Year, I visited the Republic of Azerbaijan and held a meeting with President Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev. We discussed a wide range of issues related to the development of transport, freight transportation, and cooperation between our universities. In addition, we talked about capabilities of tourism development in the Caspian region. Today we plan to maintain this dialogue not only with Azerbaijan, but also with all Caspian littoral states, developing our good-neighborly Caspian relations. - What can you tell about preparations for the Caspian Economic Forum, which will be held next year? - We have been allowed to hold the Second Caspian Economic Forum in August of 2021. We're actively preparing for it. It's a great honor and a huge responsibility for us. (The Second Caspian Economic Forum will be held over two days and will be a place where several discussion platforms on economic, environmental and humanitarian issues will be held. An exhibition of foreign and domestic achievements in innovation, transport, equipment for port infrastructure, logistics services, and education is planned. The forum will allow to formulate business proposals to the governments of the Caspian littoral states on removing barriers and assistance in the progressive development of trade, concluding interstate domestic and international agreements and contracts). - What are your impressions of your visit to Azerbaijan? - I was in Baku for the first time, and I was struck by the beauty of this city. We intend to actively exchange visits, since the Azerbaijan Business Center already operates in Astrakhan. In June we will open the Astrakhan business center in Baku. I am sure that this will be a very serious help for even closer cooperation with Azerbaijan. - Will you personally open the Center? - Of course. At the meeting with Igor Babushkin, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the end of last year, "The Astrakhan business center is ready for opening and construction is almost complete. This is a very important event, because through these business centers we will promote mutual trade ... We already have direct We hope that both our tourists and tourists from Astrakhan will visit each other more. In general, the number of Russian tourists visiting Azerbaijan is growing. I think this figure will be close to 1 million this [2019] hes a man. This is a good indicator of cooperation, friendship and the fact that our citizens feel comfortable when they visit each other. " Olufemi Adigun has credibility issues. At the moment, hes serving a 14-year federal prison sentence for participating in a massive multi-million-dollar scam involving MoneyGram and Western Union. A federal appeals court panel shot down Adiguns latest bid to wriggle out of that punishment this week. Adiguns shot at freedom centers on a claim that his lawyer was ineffective for not telling him about a plea deal federal prosecutors offered before he went to trial. The problem is that supposed deal was imaginary, Judge David J. Porter wrote in the opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit denying Adiguns appeal. Only Adigun, his mother and his sister testified that such an offer ever existed, Porter noted. He agreed with an earlier finding by U.S. Middle District Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner that their testimony simply isnt believable. That is especially so, Porter found, because Adiguns lawyers denied he ever was offered any plea deal and the prosecutor could find no evidence of one in his memory or the case file. Because Adiguns counsel had no obligation to advise Adigun about a non-existent plea agreement offer, his trial counsel could not have provided ineffective assistance, Porter concluded. Adigun, a former Western Union and MoneyGram outlet operator, was a principal in a ring of scammers who lured in victims via mass marketing. They conned more than 1,200 customers nationwide out of nearly $4 million, investigators said Five of the victims were central Pennsylvania residents who each lost around $3,000. Golbert also raised concerns about the progress of promised health screenings for youth who are set to enroll in the plan. Health screenings for children with the highest needs were supposed to be completed before the full rollout, but as of last week, only 6,580 children out of the 17,000 in foster care had been assessed, Golbert wrote. The health screenings are being conducted so IlliniCare can create treatment plans for each child. Probate Court Week of Dec. 5-11 Estate of Sally Elizabeth Pullen, Deceased, Harbor Beach, #19-41,802-DE-Informal Probate, Proof of Service filed, Inventory filed Estate of David J. DeCourval, Deceased, of Bad Axe, File #14(1)39,674-DE Informal Probate, Notice of Continued Administration filed, Proof of Service filed Estate of Marianne Morgan, Deceased, of Port Austin, File #18-41,480-DE Informal Probate, Sworn Statement to Close Unsupervised Administration filed, Proof of Service filed Estate of Irene Veginski, Deceased, of Port Austin, File #16-40,750-DE Informal Probate, Notice of Continued Administration filed, Proof of Service filed Estate of Barbara A. Adams, Deceased, Caseville, #19-(1)41,793-DE-Informal Probate, Affidavit of Publication filed Probate Court Week of Dec. 12-18 Estate of Wesley G. Lewis, Deceased, of Bad Axe, File #19-41,5880-DE Informal Probate, Certificate of Completion filed Estate of Annabelle J. Bolzman, Deceased, of Bad Axe, File #19-41,800-DE Informal Probate, Petition for Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative filed, Notice of Hearing filed Estate of Donald S. Osmulski, Deceased, of Harbor Beach, File #19-41,755-DE Informal Probate, Inventory filed Estate of Florence B. Clayton, Deceased, of Dwight Twp., File #17-41,151-DE-Informal Probate, Notice of Continued Administration filed Estate of Margaret A. Carpenter, Deceased, of Kinde, File #19(1)-41,621-DE- Informal Probate, Sworn Closing Statement, Summary Proceeding, Proof of Service Filed Estate of Dennis Sylvester Peyok, Deceased, of Colorado, File #19-41,826-DE-Informal Probate, Application for Informal Probate filed, Certificate of Death, Testimony to Identify Heirs filed, Register's Statement filed, Acceptance of Appointment filed, Letters of Authority filed, Notice of Appointment & duties of Personal Representative filed, Notice to Creditors filed, Notice Regarding Attorney Fees Filed, Personal Representative Notice of the Friend of the Court filed, Proof of Service filed, Affidavit of Publication, Letters of Authority for Personal Representative Filed Estate of Bernadine M. Marsh, Deceased, of Port Hope, File #19-41,675-DE-Informal Probate, Substitution of Attorney, Proof of Service filed Estate of Robert V. Brown, Deceased, of Port Austin, File #19-41,763-DE-Informal Probate, Proof of Service filed Estate of Irene A. Grifka Wozniak, Deceased, of Sherman Twp., File #19-41,801-DE-Informal Probate, Proof of Service filed Estate of Sharon Gail Radlinski, Deceased, of Bad Axe, File #18-41,496-DE-Informal Probate, Notice of Continued Administration, Proof of Service filed Estate of Annabelle June Bolzman, Deceased, of Bad Axe, File #19-41,800-DE-Informal Probate, Proof of Service filed Estate of Lorraine Ann Roberts, Deceased, of Harbor Beach, File #17-40,811-DE-Informal Probate, Sworn Closing Statement Estate of Michael E. Beachy, Deceased, of Winsor Twp., File #19-41,552-DE-Informal Probate, Notice of Continued Administration Estate of Barbara J. Werth, Deceased, of Sebewaing, File #18-41,533-DE-Informal Probate, Proof of Service Estate of Mildred J. Steciak, Deceased, of Bad Axe, File #19(1)41, 834-DE-Informal Probate, Application for Informal Probate filed, Certificate of Death, Testimony to Identify Heirs, Register's Statement filed, Acceptance of Appointment filed, Letters of Authority for Personal Representative Filed, Notice of Appointment & Duties of Personal Representative filed, Personal Representative Notice of the Friend of the Court filed, Notice to Creditors filed, Inventory filed Estate of Eunice Engelhardt, Deceased, of Sebewaing, File #19-41,837-DE-Informal Probate, Application for Informal Probate filed, Certificate of Death, Testimony to Identify Heirs, Registers Statement filed, Acceptance of Appointment filed, Letters of Authority for Personal Representative Filed, Notice of Appointment & Duties of Personal Representative filed, Personal Representative Notice of the Friend of the Court filed, Notice to Creditors filed, Inventory filed Estate of Roberta V. Moetteli, Deceased, of Elkton, File #14-39,992-DE-Informal Probate, Sworn Closing Statement Probate Court Week of Dec. 26, 2019-Jan. 1, 2020 Estate of Boyd A. Buschlen, Deceased, of Bad Axe, File #19-41,573-DE Informal Probate, Sworn Statement to Close Unsupervised Administration filed Estate of Annabelle Bolzman, Deceased, of Bad Axe, File #19-41,800-DE Informal Probate, Statement and Proof of Claim filed, Order of Formal Proceedings filed Probate Court Week of Jan. 2-8 Estate of L. Wayne Sturm, Deceased, of Pigeon, File #19-41,779-DE Informal Probate, Inventory filed, Proof of Service filed Estate of Orville Gaffke, Deceased, of Port Hope, File #18-41,296-DE Informal Probate, Sworn Statement to Close Unsupervised Administration filed Estate of Elmer W. Brahmer, Deceased, of Ubly, File #19-41,744-DE Informal Probate, Inventory filed Estate of Eunice Engelhardt, Deceased, of Sebewaing, File #19-41,837-De Informal Probate, Affidavit of Publication filed Estate of Elaine M. Martin, Deceased, of Sebewaing, File #11-38,465-DE Informal Probate, Notice of Continued Administration filed, Proof of Mailing filed Estate of Sandra R. Parrish, Deceased, of Bad Axe, File #19-41,702-DE Informal Probate, Sworn Statement to Close Unsupervised Administration filed, Proof of Service filed Estate of Mildred J. Steciak, Deceased, of Bad Axe, File #19(1)41,834-DE Informal Probate, Affidavit of Publication filed Warranty Deeds Week of Dec. 30-Jan. 10 Ronald D. and Sharon E. Sobczak to Dennis J. and Deborah J. Stephenson; parcel of land located in Verona Township William J. Smith to Leon and Karan Guza, Jr.; parcel of land located in Sheridan Township Fredrick and Misty Dow to Robert Click; parcel of land located in Huron Township Teresa Cartwright to Steven M. and Doretta D. Lewis; parcel of land located in Lake Township Mary Frances Armbruster Estate to Kimberly A. Carr; parcel of land located in Village of Pigeon Eric M. Reinke to Judith Leach; parcel of land located in City of Bad Axe Frtiz Family Investments LLC to Brent and Tiffany Salas; parcel of land located in Village of Elkton Stephen J. Rehn to Roger Lee and Lori Hackelberg; parcel of land located in Port Austin Township Anthony L. Roggenbuck to Cole Roggenbuck; parcel of land located in Paris Township Mitchell P. and Gail S. Guster to Allison Wright and Wayne Kinney; parcel of land located in Lake Township Audrey A. Vollmer Trust to Terry Haag, L.L.C.; parcel of land located in Winsor Township Diane L. Bird to James J. and Kayla Krug; parcel of land located in Verona Township Rhonda Tkacz to Rob Scott; parcel of land located in Rubicon Township Robert D. and Rose Marie Bantien to Duane K. Arntz; parcel of land located in Caseville Township Marriage Applicants for the Week of January 13 James Gregory Hill, II and Brittany Michelle Eastridge Jeremy Lee Tonn and Brandi Lyn Ignash Caleb David Phelps and Kara Marie Machowicz Individuals and groups come forward to arrange for food and beverages as protests enter second month. New Delhi, India A group of Sikh farmers from the northern state of Punjab arrived at New Delhis Shaheen Bagh, picked a spot under a pedestrian bridge, and began to unpack its wares a gas stove, huge utensils, and provisions and fired up a community kitchen, or langar. Shaheen Bagh is the epicentre of ongoing protests, led by Muslim women, against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), an amendment to Indian citizenship law 1955 that is seen as anti-Muslim. The Sikhs, helped by the protesting women who rolled chapati (bread) for them while continuing their sit-in, prepared breakfast and lunch for more than a 1,000 people, including children, protesting against the CAA, which was passed last month. The new law aims to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities from Muslim-majority Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan while blocking naturalisation for Muslims. Muslims see their exclusion from the law that makes religion the basis of citizenship as yet another attempt by the Narendra Modi government to marginalise them. Coupled with a proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC), the community fears the moves are intended to strip millions of Indian Muslims of their citizenship. People from other disadvantaged caste and gender identities as well as women are vulnerable before NRC. Since December 11 when the law was passed, millions of citizens across India have rallied against the CAA despite prohibitory orders and a brutal police crackdown, in which at least 28 people have been killed. An act of kindness Marching alongside the protesters, with no pomp or waving banners, is an army of people providing them with food and beverages. Demonstrators carry placards and hold candles during a silent protest against the new citizenship law at Jama Masjid in old Delhi [File: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters] At New Delhis India Gate the iconic World War I memorial on a windy December evening, the mercury dropped to a chilly 13 degrees Celsius. But that did not deter 44-year-old Mohammad Fuaad from leaning on a yellow police barricade and calling out to passers-by, holding out a rectangular packet. Biryani le leejiye, Sir, veg biryani (Please have biryani, Sir, its vegetarian biryani), he called out, assuring people that the rice had been cooked with potatoes instead of meat, to avoid any trouble at a time when meat and the eating of it has become deeply polarised in light of rising Hindu nationalism under the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Fuaad was not trying to sell his biryani, he was offering it for free. In a space barricaded before the British-era monument, thousands of protesters were reading the preamble to the Indian constitution on a loop. Sikh community people are preparing kheer for the Shaheen Bagh protesters. Unity in diversity.#_ pic.twitter.com/coJx1NI4CL Shahnawaz (@Shanu__786) January 16, 2020 You know, a dark law has been brought in to threaten Indias unity and integrity, and students from across the universities are standing up against it, said Kamran Khan, Fuaads colleague from Khidmat Foundation, a social welfare collective. We have come here to support them in this mission, Khan, who lived in the older part of the Indian capital, told Al Jazeera. At approximately 8pm, when police asked the protesters to wrap up, Khidmats 80 kilogrammes (176 pounds) of biryani were almost finished. Its fiery aroma lingered and met that of a winter comfort few metres away: Chai langar or tea offering by members of Khalsa Aid, a Sikh charity organisation. At a protest like this where people are there regardless [of their identities], I saw this as an act of kindness, said 26-year-old Manpreet Kaur, who works as a travel agent. Community bonds Amarpreet Singh, Khalsa Aids managing director in the Asia Pacific region, told Al Jazeera it was the brutal police violence at two predominantly Muslim institutions New Delhis Jamia Millia Islamia university (JMI) and Uttar Pradesh states Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) that caused them to step in. In near-simultaneous attacks on the evening of December 15, police stormed the two campuses 130km (80 miles) apart, firing tear gas and live ammunition, attacking students with batons, and vandalising property. More than 100 students were wounded in the attacks, one losing an eye and another a limb. Students at both universities had been protesting against CAA. When we saw the news of students being beaten and things being handled cruelly, it seemed like a disaster situation to us, Singh told Al Jazeera. Demonstrators shout slogans as they attend a protest rally against CAA in southern Indian city of Kochi [Sivaram V/Reuters] Ishita Dey, food anthropologist and assistant professor of sociology at New Delhis South Asian University, told Al Jazeera that food is one of the oldest forms showing solidarity across communities. From natural disasters to conflict situations, the first thing you distribute is food, she said. In India, Dey said there is resistance to partaking of food between different communities because of the rules of inter-dining, specifically prohibitions around exchange of water and cooked food. But the anti-CAA protesters are subverting such ideas, thereby challenging the divisive rhetoric of Prime Minister Modi. Protest is a tiring thing Ghazala Meer is a 26-year-old woman from the Ladakh region (it was carved out of Indian-administered Kashmir in August) participating in protests across New Delhi. To go to a protest is a very tiring thing, its not something you would do for fun. You identify with a certain set of ideas and go stand for them, she told Al Jazeera. People have volunteered to offer food and beverages to the protesters [Akshita Nagpal/Al Jazeera] Meer said the availability of food at such protests brings a sense of comfort and togetherness. It isnt just for a certain group of people, but for everybody, said Meer. Activist Umar Khalid, who is frequently seen demonstrating, said it is not unusual for people to offer food to protesters, but the scale of support in the ongoing protests is unprecedented. Because the attack is on the very citizenship of every citizen of this country, everyone wants to contribute, he told Al Jazeera. At Shaheen Bagh, hundreds of female protesters are shaking up Indias traditional domestic makeup as they brave New Delhis coldest winter in a century, standing at the front of resistance while men support from the sidelines, cooking and caring for them. A dozen men in their early 20s are watching over a huge pot bubbling with secular chai (tea). A banner hangs over their spot: Secular Chai Made in India. The 23-year-old man running the stall said their branding of the tea is a protest against Modi, who had based his 2014 election campaign on the claim that he worked as a tea-seller in his childhood. Chaiwaley, teri chai unsecular hai (Tea-seller, your tea is unsecular), he said, requesting anonymity. Hesitant to claim credit However, many of those offering food and beverages are hesitant to claim credit. Khidmats Kamran Khan said about his support: It would be like getting a finger sliced and being counted as a martyr, suggesting that his was a modest contribution to the movement. On December 19 at New Delhis iconic protest site, Jantar Mantar, 28-year-old artist Daamini K was offered bottled water and bananas by a man in his 30s. I asked who is it by and he said, it is by all of us, she told Al Jazeera. The same day, Mumbai-based writer-photographer Anagh Mukherjee was offered water by a middle-aged man when he was marching with tens of thousands of people. I was really moved by the gesture because they were doing it to keep everyone charged, Mukherjee said. In West Bengal states North 24 Parganas district, anti-CAA protesters made food their mode of protest by blocking off a section of the highway and cooking biryani on an industrial scale. Not all gestures are that large, 36-year old researcher Anusha Pandey (name changed upon her request) carried biscuits with her to a protest, anticipating detention by police in Gujarats Ahmedabad city. She did end up being detained, along with 200 others. I ate and distributed them [biscuits] among the fellow detainees just two, three packets, nothing very large scale, Pandey said. The recipe for protest food Protest food involves money; the logistics of preparing, sourcing and transporting food; and its distribution. Individuals, collectives, and strangers banding together are the spine of this protest infrastructure. For nearly a month now, Mohamad Anas, a former student at Jamia Millia Islamia, has not gone to work at his disability rights advocacy organisation. He spends nearly 4,000 rupees daily to supply 30 litres (8 gallons) of tea at the protest outside one of the universitys gates. Anas has a locomotor disability and utilises his specialised four-wheeled scooter to hold the large steel containers in which he fetches tea from sellers in nearby Sukhdev Vihar. His friends help too. I do whatever my financial condition allows to ensure that students here can protest peacefully and with ease, Anas told Al Jazeera. He also offers tea to more than 150 police and paramilitary personnel stationed there. Abdul Rahman, a 42-year-old baker, is funding his food drive through Nawa-e-Haque, a social welfare organisation he is part of. Neighbours contribute in kind for the protest food he prepares at his bakery. I come here [to the Jamia protest] around 4pm every day since I saw the kids injured and hungry at the hospitals on the night of December 15, said Rahman, his voice cracking and tears streaming down his face. He gestured to say he could not speak any more. His colleagues 17-year-old son Saadiq Ghazi takes over. Ghazi has taken time off his grade 12 exam preparations to help with the protests. Between my fathers five friends and their sons, were a team of 10-15 people on any day, he said. Others like Bushra Khan run crowdfunding efforts. A shoebox acts as a donation box, with a jagged slot cut into the cardboard; it sits on the table she serves tea and snacks from at the Jamia gate. Back at Shaheen Bagh, where a round-the-clock protest by women has become emblematic of the anti-CAA and NRC movement, area residents have come together. When 45-year-old Hussain Khan, who reserves his food support for specific groups women, children, the elderly, artists, and journalists realises that his biscuit carton has lightened, he waves to 18-year-old Amaan Saifi to go buy another carton. Were both from Shaheen Bagh but I didnt know him before these protests, Saifi told Al Jazeera. At India Gate, as Fuaad packs off his empty biryani containers, he reveals his reason for charity and solidarity with the protesting students. When they are in positions of power in future, I believe they will be more involved with humanitarian causes. Bicester, a small town with almost 33,000 inhabitants in the British county of Oxfordshire, has a history that goes back to Roman times. However, Bicester became nationally and internationally well-known through the outlet centre, which opened in 1995 and since has become one of the most visited tourist attractions in [] Pleas for help in combating an invasion of feral hogs in various areas around The Woodlands Township are being heeded by local officials, with Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack on Friday unveiling a new feral hog trapping program that will begin immediately. According to a release from Noacks office on Friday, Jan. 17, Noack has, contracted with a professional wildlife removal company in order to trap feral hogs in targeted areas along Spring Creek. This is consistent with the precincts past efforts to mitigate and remove other nuisance wildlife such as beavers and coyotes. Andy DuBois, manager of precinct projects for Montgomery County Precinct 3, said the 90-day pilot program will be assessed at the end the time period, and if successful, could be expanded to other areas of Precinct 3. DuBois also noted that only parts of The Woodlands fall in the jurisdiction of Noacks precinct and that the issue of feral hogs has been under discussion and analysis by Noack and his staff for several weeks as reports of the swine have increased. The commissioner has been working on (feral hogs) for a least a few weeks. Hes done this before with both coyotes and beavers, DuBois said in a telephone interview on Friday. We had residents come by the office and also call. (Noack) walked the area recently and recognized the need for traps. He is going to use this pilot program to see if it is effective, and if so, possibly expand it to other areas. Related: Scared residents in Woodlands plead for help with feral hog invasion The release stated that Noack is aware of the high monetary costs of the damage feral hogs can wreak. Traps were scheduled to be set on various parcels of county property in the Spring Creek watershed beginning on Friday, Jan. 17, and may be relocated during the three-month pilot program depending on success of the effort. Noack has been communicating with wildlife experts, such as Texas Parks and Wildlife, as well as state and local officials in order to determine more long-term solutions, the release stated. Commissioner Noack does not believe it is in the best interest of his constituents to wait for more meetings, consultants and bureaucracy before providing relief to Precinct 3 residents in areas along Spring Creek such as Grogans Point. DuBois said Noack and his staff have already been working with officials from The Woodlands to coordinate a response plan that fits the needs of the community and is fiscally sound. The issue of feral hogs and the safety issues and damage they inflict has been a focal point of communities throughout Southeast Texas in recent months after the death of an elderly woman in Chambers County was attributed to feral hogs attacking her. The swine have been reported in many areas of The Woodlands, from the W.G. Jones State Forest and the senior community of Windsor Hills to the villages of Indian Springs, Panther Creek and Grogans Mill. On Jan. 15, more than a dozen residents of the Grogans Point neighborhood in the south township area along Spring Creek showed up and demanded help from township officials and board members in battling the invasive swine. Related: Woodlands OKs hiring feral hog consultant as problem continues Gordy Bunch, chairman of The Woodlands Township Board of Directors, said he was happy to hear of Noacks plan to help trap feral hogs in Precinct 3. I am glad to see the commissioner engaging the feral hog issues along Spring Creek after numerous constituents raised concerns during The Woodlands Township Board meeting this week. The Township also approved developing a plan to coordinate efforts with all stakeholders to make sure we have a long term cohesive strategy, Bunch said in an email to The Villager. I was able to speak with County Judge Mark Keough who committed to support and engage these feral hog issues countywide. If we can get all agencies and large parcel landowners working together we can make a real impact. This is a good initial step towards that objective. Efforts to control feral hogs in The Woodlands continued on Wednesday, Jan. 15, when in a unanimous vote, the township directors approved the hiring of a special consultant who is an expert in feral hogs and invasive species control methods for a cost of $25,000. The consultant, once hired, will work with township staff and a host of community stakeholders to develop a collaborative game plan for reducing the feral hog population in The Woodlands and also to try to prevent them from even coming to the area, said John Powers, the assistant general manager for the the township. jeff.forward@chron.com A former High Court judge has criticised a bitter feud between the vicar of a historic abbey and members of her choir as 'a disgrace to a Christian community'. Sir Mark Hedley was brought in by the Church of England to investigate complaints about the alleged behaviour of the rev Catherine Relf-Pennington at Wymondham Abbey, Norfolk. The initial allegations included a claim that the 63-year-old vicar bullied choristers and assaulted a worshipper, although the alleged victim reportedly refused to give a statement about it. Other complaints centred on her alleged 'over-authoritative and high-handed' management, particularly in relation to the abbey's annual parish meeting last year. It has been suggested that many of the complaints are rooted in opposition to the vicar's supposedly modernising approach being at odds with some of the tradition-loving worshippers. Sir Mark Hedley was brought in by the Church of England to investigate complaints about the alleged behaviour of the rev Catherine Relf-Pennington (above) at Wymondham Abbey, Norfolk The initial allegations included a claim that the 63-year-old vicar bullied choristers and assaulted a worshipper, although the alleged victim reportedly refused to give a statement about it. (Pictured, Wymondham Abbey) Sir Mark described an atmosphere of 'fear, resentment and unhappiness' at the 12th century abbey in his report about the affair. He urged both sides to settle their differences to avoid referring the case to a Church of England tribunal hearing which would lead to the allegations being aired in public. But he declared: 'I must confess myself sceptical that these parties have the requisite Christian maturity to handle what would be a lengthy and inevitably painful experience. 'Attitudes are clearly hardened and must now be recognised as such. However, if Ireland could do it in 1997, who are we to say that Wymondham could not do it in 2020.' Sir Mark said in his report that 37 complaints had initially been made against Ms Relf-Pennington, who became first female vicar of the abbey in 2017 after being appointed associate vicar in 2013. The majority of the complaints were said to have been made by members of the abbey's acclaimed choir. Sir Mark (above) described an atmosphere of 'fear, resentment and unhappiness' at the 12th century abbey in his report about the affair. He urged both sides to settle their differences to avoid referring the case to a Church of England tribunal hearing which would lead to the allegations being aired in public A total of 19 complaints were taken forward to the Bishop of Norwich, who decided they were so serious that they should be passed on to the Church of England's Clergy Discipline Commission. Sir Mark was ordered to investigate on behalf of the commission and produced his damning report on November 7 last year in which he requested his hopes of a resolution being found to avoid a tribunal being held. His findings raised concerns about the legitimacy of the allegations, saying some showed 'an unusual emotional fragility'. The rev Relf-Pennington and churchwardens denied the claims against her, according to Sir Mark's report which was leaked to the Eastern Daily Press newspaper. She and her churchwardens alleged that while her actions might have been 'firmly expressed', those making the complaints were 'a small group of troublemakers, with a history of trouble making,' Sir Mark wrote. The judge warned that some complainants faced possibly being 'publicly branded' as liars if the case went to a full tribunal hearing which would cost tens of thousands of pounds and occupy many hours of a court's time. Sir Mark also said it was 'strange' that the Abbey's director of music, Rob Goodrich, who was at the 'hub' of many complaints, had not made a statement. Built by Henry I's master butler: A history of Wymondham Abbey Wymondham Abbey was founded in 1107 and built as a Benedictine priory by William d'Aubigny, a notable Norfolk landowner and Master Butler of Henry I. During the 15th Century, Pope Nicholas V granted Wymondham Priory the right to become an abbey. The monastery was partly demolished in the 16th century during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, but much of the main building survived as a parish church. The abbey was extended in 2015 with the building of a new refectory and chapel. Wymondham Abbey was founded in 1107 and built as a Benedictine priory by William d'Aubigny, a notable Norfolk landowner and Master Butler of Henry I Advertisement Reflecting on the issues, Sir Mark said he had become 'increasingly appalled' by the prospect of what tribunal proceedings would mean for the complainants, the abbey and the wider Christian community. His report said: 'On the one side are a group of choir members and others associated with them. Their complaints are essentially of high-handed and over-authoritative behaviour amounting to bullying.' It added: 'While the respondent's actions may have been firm, and firmly expressed, such was necessary in respect of the small number of troublemakers, who were based in the choir.' Having read all 884 pages of evidence in the case, Sir Mark condemned the ongoing dispute as 'a disgrace to a Christian community' and concluded that both sides should reconcile their differences. He also said that any reconciliation must be 'entirely unconditional'. Sir Mark added: 'Much of the evidence adduced by the respondent suggests real life and growth in this community. 'Likewise the evidence adduced by the complainants suggests much fear, resentment and unhappiness here. It is quite likely there are real elements of truth in both views.' The rev Relf-Pennington who was born in Australia and raised in Hong Kong, was a research scientist in the field of artificial intelligence before becoming a priest. The Right Rev Graham Usher, the Bishop of Norwich, urged the warring factions to put their differences aside. The Bishop said in a statement: 'Following a number of formal complaints about the Rev Catherine Relf-Pennington, the vicar at Wymondham Abbey, the Clergy Discipline Commission has recommended that a process of conciliation is entered into to try to resolve these difficulties. 'The Church of England takes complaints about its clergy very seriously and seeks where possible to find ways in which a community and its priest can come together and move forward. 'I urge all involved at Wymondham Abbey to find ways to demonstrate the love and grace of Christ to one another and to work together in healing hurts and divisions.' Kevin Hurn, the Mayor of Wymondham, suggested that the complaints could have been sparked by Rev Relf-Pennington's 'less traditional approach'. He said: 'I am aware of the ongoing issues at Wymondham Abbey but personally have a very good relationship with the vicar. 'She is a radical thinker and takes a less traditional approach. Some services have been changed to reflect modern society, and I wonder if the town is ready for that.' The rev Relf-Pennington, the Wymondham choir and director of music Mr Goodrich all refused to comment about the dispute. German investigators have been given permission to use computer-generated child sex abuse images as they attempt to catch paedophiles. Police will be allowed to use the virtual imagery as they attempt to gain access to internet communities they suspect of distributing child abuse materials, after a vote in the German parliament. The investigation technique has been used in the past but has received some criticism from academics who argue it could pose legal and ethical issues. Such virtually created images have been distributed both by investigators a Dutch operation used a computer generated image called "Sweetie" to catch a number of paedophiles as well as by those genuinely looking for such images. The justice ministry said that investigators would need a court's approval to use the technique and would only be allowed to use it if there was little or no prospect of investigating by other means. 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 Justice minister Christine Lambrecht said sites used by paedophiles increasingly demanded that prospective users upload pictures and videos themselves to gain access. She wanted to give investigators all the legal tools possible to track down the people behind the sites, she said. "It is clear to me that police officials must not use real recordings," she added. The bill approved on Friday also tightens laws against so-called "cybergrooming". Contacting children for sexual purposes can be punished in Germany with a sentence of up to five years in prison. However, that was not the case so far if an offender believed he was contacting a child but in fact was in touch with an adult, such as a parent or a police officer. Such attempts also will be criminalized now. Access to Wikipedia in Turkey has been restored after a nearly three-year ban, which saw the site blocked after it refused to remove content tying the country to terrorist groups. The ban, which was imposed by Turkey in April 2017, came about after it concluded that Wikipedia was running a "smear campaign" against the government. It subsequently leveraged a law that permits the banning of any website deemed a national security threat. However, the decision was reversed in December last year by Turkey's Constitutional Court -- the highest court in the country. The court deemed the ban unconstitutional, and ruled that the restriction violated free speech. Local reports say that access to Wikipedia is now being restored across the country, although some users will be able to access the site sooner than others. In a blog post from Wikimedia -- which today celebrates Wikipedia's 19th birthday -- the foundation said that, "We are thrilled that the people of Turkey will once again be able to participate in the largest global conversation about the culture and history of Turkey online and continue to make Wikipedia a vibrant source of information about Turkey and the world." This is not the first time Turkey has resorted to banning websites and platforms for allegedly promoting anti-government propaganda. It has previously banned Twitter and YouTube, and has made threats to ban Facebook. - The pads were being repackaged at an incomplete house in Witeithie, Juja sub-county - The products were said to have been stolen from different counties including Mombasa, Murang'a and Kilifi - Juja police boss said the pads first arrived in the area in 2018 - Witeithie residents have been complaining about tract urinary infections for quite sometime - Police launched a manhunt on a businessman identified as Stephen Muchoki who is the prime suspect Police in Kiambu county have recovered several bundles of expired sanitary pads that were being secretly repackaged for sale. The pads which had the Government of Kenya (GoK) logo were allegedly stolen from different counties including Mombasa, Murang'a and Kilifi. READ ALSO: MP Babu Owino blames his arrest on political enemies Expired sanitary pads holed up in a building in Witiethie area in Juja. Photo: The Standard. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Kenyans amazed by retired president Mwai Kibakis eloquent speech during his youthful years According to Juja Sub-county Police boss Dorothy Migarusha, the pads were confiscated at an incomplete building in Witeithie estate following a tip-off from members of the public. The owner of the structure identified as Stephen Muchoki and who is a renown businessman was listed as the main suspect and police have launched a manhunt for him. "Its a shame that someone is making money out of free goods that are distributed by the government! It is quite sad that they are even expired towels," said Migarusha. Police display expired sanitary pads that were confiscated at Witiethie in Juja. Photo: The Standard Source: UGC The police boss said she gathered that the items were brought in the area back in 2018 and the owner of the building has been hiding and repackaging them inside the structure. Cases of urinary tract infections have been on the rise in Waitithie and Migarusha suspected they were using expired pads. "Locals have been raising concerns over the increased cases of female urinary infections in this area and we suspected it could be due to expired sanitary towels," said the police boss. In 2015, the government through the Ministry of Education launched the programme of issuing sanitary towels to school-going girls from poor backgrounds. The budget for the programme has been increasing since then in a move aimed at ensuring no girl misses the crucial products. 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. I chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke A 44-year-old Indonesian woman was apprehended in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district for trying to enter Nepal on a fake visa, a police official said on Friday. The Indonesian national, Rohana Emam Sabri, was on way to Nepal from Chennai when she was held by the Immigration department in Sonauli on Thursday evening, Station House Officer (SHO) Nirbhai Singh said. A case has been registered against Sabri under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Foreigner's Act, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (TNS) Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman is proposing new safeguards against ballot tampering and foreign manipulation of elections, as the states election administrators brace for attacks.Federal officials have warned that election tampering and disinformation by Russia or other foreign influences could grow more sophisticated than in 2016s presidential elections. That year, Russian hackers targeted the voting systems of all 50 states . Although they scanned Washington states voter-registration system in search of weaknesses, no breaches occurred, Wyman has said.Washingtons elections system is considered one of the safer ones in the nation partly because the mail-in ballot system serves as a paper trail for votes.Since the 2016 elections, Wyman and lawmakers have taken several steps to further protect against cybersecurity threats. But Wyman is calling for more protection, calling on lawmakers to pass legislation requested by her office as Senate Bill 6412 and its companion bill, House Bill 2647 Wyman is seeking $1.8 million in state money for security in county election offices that would make Washington eligible for another $8.6 million in matching federal funds, according to Wymans office. The legislation would also provide stricter penalties and restrictions surrounding the collection of ballots, and provide more thorough postelection audits for race recounts.In addition, the proposal would eliminate online ballots for military and overseas voters, to reduce the risk of potential malware coming into elections offices.In a news conference Wednesday, Wyman said the system, like others around the country, is under constant attack by foreign actors and others.Were anticipating that they are probably trying to influence campaigns as we sit here right now, she said, adding later: They just have to get it right once, we have to get it right 24/7.It remains to be seen whether the proposal sought by Wyman a Republican who is seeking her third term will move forward.The plan to ward off ballot tampering quickly drew criticism from Sen. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia.That part of the legislation would attempt to protect against ballot harvesting, where a person collects other peoples ballots. The proposal would create a class C felony for anyone who knowingly destroys or fails to deliver a ballot on behalf of someone else.It also would require people collecting ballots from voters they dont know to keep a log of those ballots and turn them over to elections officials. That would create a chain of custody to track ballots, Wyman said. Ballot collectors also would have to give receipts to the voters.Hunt said that more stringent requirements to collect ballots could result in voter suppression and he hadnt heard about any problems on that front.Its a solution looking for a problem right now, said Hunt, who chairs Senate State Government, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee.Hunt said that he does support the increased election-security funding, but that money can be included in this years supplemental state operating budget.King County Elections Director Julie Wise said she supports Wymans proposal to boost funding on cybersecurity, as well as Senate Bill 6134 , a proposal by Hunt to boost state funding more broadly for county election offices.Because security is expensive, and it is not a one-time thing, said Wise, adding later: As the hacks and the attempts get smarter and wiser, we have to build barriers that are stronger, as well.But she doesnt favor eliminating email voting for military and overseas voters, of whom Wise said there are roughly 20,000 in King County.Going to paper-only ballots in those circumstances could risk serious delays in ballots being sent or returned overseas, she said.Wise said her office must open email attachments regularly from voters, for example, when staff receive voter-registration applications or a request to get voter data.Wyman said she knows that part of her proposal might not be popular with county elections officials, because it could make their job harder.But from everything Im learning at the federal level, the more electronic a process is the more vulnerable our system is, she said, adding later: If anything, I would see us moving further away from electronic things.Since 2016, lawmakers, county elections officials and Wyman have worked to shore up Washingtons voter systems.Last year, the state implemented a new centralized voter-registration system, which among other things is expected to reduce the risk of fraud and strengthen the security of elections.Known as VoteWA, it had a bumpy rollout last spring, but handled the August primary and November general elections without major issues.In 2018, Wyman called in cybersecurity experts with the Washington Air National Guard to help defend against attacks. December 2-4, 2019 conference follows CEO Michael Ackerman's highly successful and widely covered Impact Investing presentation at Campden Wealth's 20th Family Office Conference in Geneva in May TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / Ecoforests Asset Management ("EcoForest") is pleased to announce successful participation in the Buildings Show in Toronto on December 4, 2019. Alexey Parilov, Innovation Manager at EcoForests, attended the international architectural roundtable session Mass Timber: Provocative Possibilities of Inventive Design with Wood. "It's clear that today's construction industry relies most on concrete and steel, but environmental concerns must push builders towards more sustainable solutions," said Parilov. "That doesn't mean completely eliminating the use of concrete or steel and substituting it with wood, rather it means finding a sustainable balance of the 3." Producing concrete involves quarrying for limestone and clay, and steel production requires mining of iron - both significant in producing emissions of CO 2 .[1] In contrast, wood harvesting produces significantly less CO 2 emissions. According to a Center for International Climate Research (CICERO) study[2], production of 1 ton of concrete can produce as much as 1.2 tonnes of CO 2 emissions. Another study conducted by the American Concrete institute indicated that production of 1 ton of metal products such as steel can account for as much as 3 tonnes of CO 2 .In contrast, 1 cubic meter of wood can store up to 1 ton of CO 2 during its lifetime.[3] Building structures from wood has both engineering and sustainability benefits. Engineering benefits include improved accuracy, ability to be leveraged in all weather temperatures, enhanced building performance with air tightness, less waste, and less weight.[4] From a sustainability perspective, a tree stores carbon dioxide and releases oxygen throughout its life, effectively reducing harmful CO 2 emissions. Given the sustainability benefits of building with wood instead of traditional framing materials, the building industry is driving an exponential increase on the demand for wood to satisfy current and planned projects. For instance in the US in late 2019 the 14 Tall Mass building code was approved, paving the way for 18 story wood buildings. Inclusion of 18 story wood buildings in the (IBC) International Building Code will be effective in 2021. Roundtable panelists at the annual conference included Alan Organschi, Principal at Gray Organschi Architecture, Andrew Waugh, Founding Director at Waugh Thistleton Architects Inc., Do Janne Vermeulen, Founding Partner/Architect at Team V Architecture, Elsa Lam, Editor at Canadian Architect and Richard Witt, Principal at Quadrangle Architects Limited. About EcoForests EcoForests is a Boutique Forestry Investment Management Company that manages high-end tropical timber species on behalf of their global private and institutional investors, maximizing returns through a commitment to quality, technique, and security. Headquartered in Toronto, with Forestry operations in Central and South America. If you are interested in obtaining a quote on sustainable forestry products, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. For media inquiries, please contact: Rachel Naiman r.naiman@ecoforests.ca For sustainable timber supply inquiries, please contact: 1-647-931-9133 info@ecoforests.com FOOTNOTES [1] Production of 1 ton of steel results in 1.9 ton of CO 2 . Production of 1 ton of concrete results in 1.2 ton of CO 2. 1 Cubic meter of hardwood timber can store up 1 ton of CO 2. [2] https://www.earth-syst-sci-data.net/10/195/2018/essd-10-195-2018.pdf [3] http://www.vhn.org/pdf/Eurofact3-Wood_as_Carbon_stores.pdf [4] Timber is on average of the weight of concrete. SOURCE: Ecoforests Asset Management View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573380/Ecoforests-Takes-Part-in-Sustainability-in-The-Building-Industry-Conference The Shiv Sena on Friday said it had never used Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's name for political gain. The party made certain observations in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana' about gangster Karam Lala, saying he once headed an organisation of the Pathan community and drew inspiration from Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who is also called Frontier Gandhi. The leading constituent in Maharashtra's ruling coalition said it had always respected Indira Gandhi, who it said, had a towering and strong personality. Whenever there were attempts to malign her image, the Shiv Sena acted as a shield. She was a powerful leader who split Pakistan and avenged Partition, the Marathi daily said. The paper expressed surprise that those who want to erase Gandhis memories permanently are worried about her image now. The editorial comes in the backdrop of a controversial statement by Sanjay Raut, the executive editor of 'Saamana'. On Wednesday, Raut said in Pune that Indira Gandhi used to meet Lala during Mumbai visits, drawing sharp reaction from the Congress, which is also a part of the Shiv Sena-led government. On Thursday, Raut withdrew his comment. The Bharatiya Janata Party latched on Raut's comment to embarrass the Congress with the former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis wondering whether the party was "funded by Mumbai's underworld". Fadnavis also questioned if (at that time) it was the beginning of "criminalisation of politics" in the state, and if the Congress "supported" those who attacked Mumbai. In another controversial statement, Raut had asked former MP and BJP leader Udayanraje Bhosale to give proof that he is a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The editorial said, When Indira Gandhi was prime minister, whom she met cannot be an issue of controversy. As PM, one has to hold talks even with separatists. Such discussions have taken place in recent times." Hitting out at its former ally, the Sena said, Since the BJP doesnt have any work now, it is busy digging out many issues. One can never say who can meet whom in politics. "If that wasnt so, one would not have formed government with Mehbooba Mufti who is accused of being soft on separatists. The BJP had formed government with Mehbooba Mufti's party Peoples Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir, but it collapsed midway. During the 1960s, Lala headed an organisation to resolve issues concerning Pathans the world over, the editorial said. Frontier Gandhi, as Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was known, was Lalas inspiration. Frontier Gandhi was of the view that India should not be partitioned on the basis of religion. "Several youths from the Pathan community lived in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India and endeavoured to have their own space. Karim Lala was one of them. "Lala's office in Musafir Khana in Mumbai had his photographs with prominent world leaders. That office no longer exists," it said. Lala had good relations with all and the underworld in Mumbai had not come into existence then, the daily said. Friday, January 17, 2020 at 10:15AM Facebook is reportedly "backing away" from plans to sell ad placements inside WhatsApp. According to The Wall Street Journal, the team in charge of building ads into the Facebook-owned messaging service was disbanded in recent months, with the work they've done "deleted from WhatsApp's code." But the app won't be completely ad-free. Facebook will still integrate it into WhatsApp's Status feature. Facebook will reportedly focus on WhatsApp features that will "allow businesses to communicate with customers and organize those contacts." WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Actonboth of whom have left the companyreportedly expressed concern about the impact a commercial messaging feature will have over the strength of its end-to-end encryption. Source: The Verge STORY LINK Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) Exchange Rate Dips, UK Retail Sales Fall in December GBP/USD Exchange Rate Eases as BoE Rate Cut Fears Rise on Poor UK Retail Sales USD/GBP Exchange Rate Rises as US Housing Starts Rise in December GBP/USD Outlook: Could Further Brexit Uncertainty Weaken the Pound? Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues: The Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate dipped today, with the pairing currently trading around $1.304 after Decembers UK retail sales unexpectedly fell by -0.6% month-on-month, while the year-on-year figure fell below forecasts to 0.9%.Quantitative Economist at UBS, Filip Lipev, commented:The UK seems to be heading to a rate cut on Jan 30, after retail sales disappoint amid increasingly dovish rhetoric by MPC members. Next weeks PMI likely to be important, too, though a consensus seems to exist that quick and aggressive action is needed to arrest the slowdown.Last months retail sales have heightened the likelihood of a rate cut from the Bank of England (BoE), leaving the GBP/EUR exchange rate subdued today as the UKs economic outlook dims.Brexit also continues to remain a concern for Pound Sterling investors, after European Commission, President Ursula van der Leyen, said that, within Prime Minister Boris Johnsons end-of-year timeframe, a UK-EU trade deal was impossible to negotiate.The US Dollar (USD) edged higher against the Pound (GBP) today following better-than-expected US housing starts in December, which rose from 1.375 million to 1.608 million. The report has provided a boost to the Greenback as the outlook for the US economy improves.USD has also benefited from its safe-haven status today after it was announced that Chinas economic growth had hit a near 30-year low in 2019.This follows this weeks signing of the US-China phase one trade deal, which has provided some stability for the US Dollar as geopolitical tensions between the worlds two largest economies continue to de-escalate.Robert Lighthizer, US President Donald Trumps top trade advisor, was more balanced in his analysis, however:Are we in an ideal spot? No. Is this a massively good first step? Yes.In US economic news, today will see the release of the preliminary Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for January, which is forecast to hold at 99.3. Any improvement, however, would prove USD-positive.Monday will see US markets closed for the bank holiday in respect of Martin L. Kings birthday.Instead, USD traders will be looking ahead to Wednesdays publication of the US home figures. Any signs of improvement in the housing sector providing a boost for the Greenback.Pound (GBP) investors will be looking ahead to Tuesdays release of the UK ILO unemployment rate report for November. However, as this is expected to rise by 3.9% we could see the GBP/USD exchange rate ease.Brexit will continue to drive the GBP/USD exchange rate next week, with any further signs of obstacles to a UK-EU trade deal emerging this year providing Pound-negative. International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements. TAGS: American Dollar Forecasts Dollar Pound Forecasts Pound Dollar Forecasts Eric Johnson is in the middle of a sound check in Mount Vernon, Washington. Hes used to the time it takes to get everything right, so he waits patiently. Weve been out for about a week, and the shows have been pretty phenomenal, Johnson says. The year is starting off right. In fact, the guitarist is preparing to release his 11th album, EJ Vol. II, on Feb. 28. Hes also bringing his 55-date tour to Albuquerque with a show on Friday, Jan. 24, at the KiMo Theatre. Its been a while since Ive been back to Albuquerque, he says. Im looking forward to showcasing what Ive been up to the last few years. EJ Vol. II is a collection of originals with a few cover songs. On the album, the guitarist got introspective. The song Waterwheel was inspired by the flow of the universe, he says, as was Golden Way. But in For the Stars, Johnson says, he looked inside himself and how he handles the loss of his mother. He says he looks up to the sky at night wondering where she is now. That will hit me at times, and I sit and wonder, he says. Its a powerful thing, because its something we dont understand. Over the course of his more than 40-year career, Johnson has composed hundreds of songs. He says the new album is a representation of where he in life now. The album isnt out yet, and Ive already been inspired for the next record, he says. Its an interesting time, because I break the recording process into segments now that Im on tour. Johnson says hes proud of the new album. I wanted to make it more emotional and connected to people, he says. That was the primary thing. My intention was to be more genuine and open myself to the fans even more. Its a learning process for me as well. With nearly a dozen albums under his belt, Johnson also has the freedom to choose which songs makes the set list. Right now, there are three or four from the new album, he says. I personally like being all over the map when it comes to performing the songs. I like the audience to get a taste of everything that Ive done. It also adds a little more spontaneity to the shows. Baghdad: An Iraqi government spokesman denied reports on Thursday that joint operations had resumed between local forces and the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State group sleeper cells. The coalition, active in Iraq since 2014, said on January 5 that it was pausing anti-IS operations and training missions due to security concerns after a series of rocket attacks on bases where US and other international troops are located. The New York Times, citing two American military officials, reported Thursday that the US -- which makes up the bulk of the coalition -- had resumed the operations. But the Iraqi prime minister's spokesman on military affairs told AFP the coalition did not have permission from Baghdad to carry out any joint missions. "The joint operations have not resumed and we have not given our authorisation," said Abdulkarim Khalaf. He said the Iraqi government had ordered the coalition to halt its joint operations following two US air strikes including one that killed a top Iranian commander. The first, in late December, killed 25 Iraqi paramilitary fighters in the country's west, in retaliation for the killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack. The second was a US precision drone strike outside Baghdad airport on January 3, which killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and leading Iraqi military official Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. "The agreement was that the coalition was here to fight IS and help the Iraqis fight IS, so we considered these strikes to be unilateral actions," said Khalaf. In response, he said, "joint operations, which include the use of Iraqi airspace, were banned". The Pentagon told AFP it had no information to provide concerning a resumption. The US-led coalition's spokesman in Baghdad also declined to comment. But a top US defence official told reporters last week that the operational pause was a coalition decision -- and resuming them would be, too. "It is absolutely our call," the official said, saying the security situation was still too tense. "As soon as it's permissive, we'll turn it back on." The official also said the coalition had continued flying surveillance drones over Iraq despite Baghdad's complaints. "I need that to see the environment. So I'll continue to fly that as long as I need it to protect," the official said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that Iraqi leaders have told him privately they support the US troop presence, despite public appeals for them to leave. Also Read: After Attacks On US Military Bases, MEA Issues Travel Advisory, Asks Indians In Iraq To Be Alert "They won't say so publicly. But privately they all welcome the fact that America is still there executing its counter-terror campaign," Pompeo said at a forum at Stanford University. Iraqi lawmakers this month also urged the government expel all foreign forces deployed in the country, which include around 5,200 US troops. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A new Pa. law will make it easier for Lower Makefield Township, Bucks County, and other dry municipalities to ask voters whether they want to allow alcohol sales. DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies is one of the Lower Makefield businesses that is currently BYO and supports shedding the township's liquor restrictions. Read more For seven decades, Lower Makefield Township has restricted the sale of alcohol. But a new Pennsylvania law that makes it easier to get a question on the ballot could help turn Bucks Countys only dry municipality wet. In order for Lower Makefield and almost 700 other dry or partially dry municipalities throughout Pennsylvania to allow alcohol sales, local voters would have to authorize it in a referendum. A state law that took effect in September makes the process much easier by changing the minimum number of registered voters signatures needed to trigger a referendum. Supporters of loosening Lower Makefields restrictions plan to use the law to get the question on the ballot for Aprils presidential primary, for which voter turnout is expected to be high. Ultimately, it should be the choice of Lower Makefield Township as to whether this over 70-year-old law should be done away with, State Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D., Bucks), who introduced legislation to lower the threshold, said during a news conference at DeLorenzos Tomato Pies, where patrons bring their own wine and beer. Santarsiero has lived in the township for more than 20 years and supports the change. As of September, 681 municipalities in Pennsylvania were dry or partially dry, according to the state Liquor Control Board. That includes 21 municipalities in Chester County and 12 in Delaware County. Montgomery County doesnt have any dry towns. Previously, a referendum required signatures equal to 25% of the highest number of votes cast for any office in the previous municipal general election. That would mean 2,930 signatures in Lower Makefield. The new law allows for either 25% of the highest vote count or a flat 500 signatures, whichever is fewer. Since a town vote in 1949, the township of roughly 32,600 people has banned the retail sale of beer and liquor. Residents and businesses in Lower Makefield have talked about getting rid of the ban for at least a decade, said John Lewis, a township supervisor. Residents have told him they want the convenience of grabbing beer at a local grocery store, and businesses want the ability to vie for some of the countys existing liquor licenses and bring in additional revenue. The township could attract new restaurants and pubs, and grocery stores could compete with those in neighboring towns, Lewis said. Previous attempts to get the alcohol sales question onto the ballot failed. A few years ago, supporters collected a couple thousand signatures, but they needed more than 5,000 under the old rule. Supporters have three weeks starting Jan. 28 to collect 500 signatures. In 2017, the year after the state loosened some of its liquor laws, the head of the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association said he expected to see an increase in ballot questions asking residents to get rid of restrictions on alcohol sales. But since then, only a few municipalities have loosened their rules. State Rep. Perry Warren (D., Bucks) introduced legislation to lower the signature threshold, even though he said he doesnt drink and doesnt live in Lower Makefield, because he wanted to make getting the question on the ballot less cumbersome and costly. I want what the people want, he said. If the referendum qualifies and is passed, the Lower Makefield supervisors would need to approve the transfer of each liquor license into the township, which they have said they would do. There are several types of stem cell transplant, also known as bone marrow transplant, umbilical cord blood transplant, or peripheral blood stem cell transplant. They are hematopoietic cell transplantation.[1]. Like any other operation, there is a potential risk for stem cell transplant complications from your stem cell or donation. Stem cells can become a different character of cells. Some of them can regenerate through fraction, even after having been dormant for a while. Approximately 18,000 transplants[2] are performed each year, with only 20 to 25 percent are eligible for hematopoietic cell transplantation coming from sibling donors. Over 70 percent of people who undergo transplants have now lived five or more years after a transplant. Genetically matching donor and recipient relates to the success of new ways to have bone marrow transplant. Sometimes it can be very difficult to find a good match between unrelated donors. How does stem cell transplants work Most common stem cells exist in the bone marrow. When they are collected and stored, a process called conditioning begins. In some cases, a patient can take high doses of chemotherapy, total body irradiation, or both. Patients with blood cell cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma need this conditioning. This will kill the cancer cells and destroy your damaged bone marrow making them more likely to accept the transplanted cells. The new cells from the normal bone marrow connect to your bloodstream with intravenous lines. The new ones collect in the bone marrow, take over your damaged bone marrow so that your body can produce healthy blood cells without cancer. What Causes stem cell transplant complication? In general, young people who have no other serious conditions or receive transplants from siblings are less likely to experience serious complications. People who receive autologous transplants are also less likely to suffer serious complications. stem cell transplant complication risk Factors Any type of transplant involved risk. Some people might experience mild complications while others experience severe complications that may require treatment or hospitalization later on. Others are life-threatening. The risk of both blood and marrow transplantation is susceptibility to infection and bleeding due to the cancer cells that doctors can treat at higher doses. In these cases, doctors can give patients antibiotics to prevent an infection. Blood and marrow transplantation might put you at risk for many reasons, including your transplant condition, transplant type, age, and overall health. stem cell transplant complication Types Suffering during the marrow transplant is challenging for many patients. As you recover in the first weeks and months, youre likely to have an immune system suppression. In addition, you may experience complications. Some of the complications come from high-dose chemotherapy and total body irradiation that comes as a part of the transplant process. Bone Marrow Suppression Direct high-dose chemotherapy destroys the bone marrows[3] ability to produce platelets, red blood stem cells and white blood cells, and platelets. Infections Common complications of bone marrow transplants are an infection caused by early immunosuppression. An estimated 30 to 40 % of cases[4] are diagnosed with bacterial infections during this initial period of neutropenia (low white blood cell count). Lung problems Pneumonitis is a type of inflammation (swelling and influx of the immune response) in the lung tissue that is a common sign in the first 100 days[5] after transplantation. However, some lung breathing problems may occur later, even 2 or several years after transplantation. Liver Damage High-dose chemotherapy can result in liver damage such as veno-occlusive disease of the liver (VOD) which can be severe and even fatal. Approximately 60% chance of developing Veno-occlusive disease[6] (VOD) after the transplantation. Graft-versus-Host Disease (GVHD) A common complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation is Graft-versus-host disease which can occur any time following transplantation. The risk of GVHD occurs between 30 to 50% and 70%[7] of transplant recipients that received stem cells from matched-related and unrelated donors, but it can happen to anyone with a bone marrow transplant unless the stem cells come from the persons own bone marrow (autologous). Graft failure The grafts fail when the body of a recipient does not accept the new cells caused by recipient T-cells. Transplant failure or graft rejection can lead to serious bleeding and infection as well. In patients with a blood disorder, the rejection rate[8] from identical donors was 0.1% percent compared to 5% of mismatched grafts. Transplant Complications Using Your Own Stem Cells If stem cells are collected from the patient himself, it is called an autologous transplant[9]. They are harvested, frozen, and stored, then injected back into the patient after intensive therapy. Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is different from an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which is using stem cells from a compatible donor. Autologous transplant is not always available using healthy bone marrow. However, it reduces some serious complications including risk occurring GVHD. Some people may experience short-term and long-term complications until normal blood stem cell production restores after receiving high doses of chemotherapy and radiation therapy before transplantation. These complications may include: Infections Bleeding and anemia Problems of organs such as liver and lung problems Mutations In Donors Stem Cells May Cause Problems For Cancer Patients Theres study of St. Louis University of Washington School of Medicine in healthy donors. They found out a genetic mutation that is extremely rare and destructive, although they do not cause health problems. Donors can be passed on as cancer to cell transplant recipients stem cells. Intensive chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and subsequent immunosuppression allow cells with these rare mutations to replicate rapidly, potentially creating health problems for patients receiving them. Scientists have sequenced 80 genes of a healthy donor, age ranging from 20 to 58 years old and an average of 26 years old, is known to be associated with and identifies containing at least one harmful genetic mutation in 11 out 25 donors, or 44. In addition, they showed that 84 of all the different mutations identified in donor samples were potentially dangerous and that 100 of the harmful mutations present in donors were found in recipients. Some of these are persisting and became more frequent over time. This data indicated that the natural selection of donor harmful mutations ensures the survival of cells. Although the study was not large enough to establish a cause and effect relationship. 75% of patients who receiving at least one dangerous mutation in 80 persistent genes developed the chronic graft versus host disease, while another patient has a 50% chance to develop the condition even if they did not receive it. As the study was small, this difference was not statistically significant but suggests further investigation of the association. Overall, about half of all stem cell transplant patients develop an implant against host disease. Conclusion Stem cell transplantation[10] appears to be a promising method to improve the treatment for all types of blood cancers. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a suitable treatment option for blood cancers. However, further research is in need to identify and isolate cancer stem cells in a variety of cancers. The last thing that needs consideration is to find a suitable match donor. The use of alternative donors would increase the number of potential donors that are available for the patient. However, the toxicity of the conditioning regimen, graft failure, and diseases of graft-versus-host must be addressed. Frequently Asked Questions But more than specific policies, strong tribal identities and intense competition for control of government drive our partisan polarization. One psychology study found, for instance, that public views on climate change polarize when Democrats and Republicans are told that the policies they are asked to evaluate were supported or opposed by the other party. The Affordable Care Act was designed to appeal to Republicans by adopting key elements from the GOP alternative to the 1993 Clinton health-care plan and from then-Gov. Mitt Romneys plan in Massachusetts. The unified Republican opposition was not about policy differences but was part of a deliberate strategy, crafted on the eve of Barack Obamas inauguration in 2009, to oppose and delegitimize all his major initiatives. On immigration reform, the Senate had broad bipartisan agreement during the Obama years, but legislation died in the House because of a desire to keep the president from securing a victory. Once Donald Trump took office, Republican senators who had supported those reforms turned against them. For example, Floridas Marco Rubio, one of the key architects of the earlier reform, shifted to back Trumps more restrictive approach. The owner a prized chicken that was mauled to death by a dog has been awarded a higher payout because the bird was a trained actor with movie experience. Ute Milosevic, 55, has been compensated 615 euros (523) for the loss of hen Sieglinde, which starred in the 2017 film We Are Sisters. She claimed to have ploughed hundreds of euros into 10 hours of training for the chicken only to watch her investment vanish when the animal was killed in a farm in Weeze, Germany, later that year. Today, a regional court in Kleve ruled Milosevic was entitled to a larger payout than initially granted owing to the acting lessons spent on the dead animal. Sieglinde the dead chicken on the set of the 2017 film We Are Sisters, which he starred in Ute Milosevic (pictured with her chickens), 55, has been compensated 615 euros for the loss of hen Sieglinde A lower court had previously awarded her only half that amount, saying she was partly at fault for letting Sieglinde roam free on the farm, but this has been overturned. Milosevic, a farmer who who keeps pigs, horses, alpacas, geese and dogs, waxed lyrical over Sieglinde who was 'very tame' and 'did everything a dog could do,' according to German news outlet WDR. She said the chicken would regularly want to be cradled in her arms and petted. Describing the horrible day of Sieglinde's death, she said: 'The dog raced here into the yard, ran into the paddock and grabbed the chicken.' Milosevic, a farmer who who keeps pigs, horses, alpacas, geese and dogs, waxed lyrical over Sieglinde who was 'very tame' and 'did everything a dog could do' At first, the dog owner rubbished claims his canine had mauled Sieglinde and insisted it was a different chicken, an ordinary egg-laying hen called Chalotte. But the court concluded the dead chicken was indeed Sieglinde, which Milosevic's lawyer said was being touted for future movie roles and thus secured a hefty payout. A regular chicken costs about 15 euros, but Sieglinde had appeared in at least one German TV movie, commanding three-figure daily fees. By Trend The meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers is scheduled for late January, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters in Baku. The minister stressed that he had a meeting with Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, who supported holding of the meeting at the level of foreign ministers, Trend reports on Jan. 17. "If no other issues occur, the meeting is planned to be held at the end of this month," Mammadyarov added. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz CALGARY, Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - TransAlta Corporation ("TransAlta" or the "Company") (TSX: TA) (NYSE: TAC) announced today its financial outlook and environmental, social and governance ("ESG") targets for 2020, highlighted by the addition of recently commissioned projects and productivity improvements, which are expected to drive strong comparable EBITDA and free cash flow ("FCF") performance in 2020. The Company also announced that the Board of Directors (the "Board") determined that following the retirement of Ambassador Gordon D. Giffin at the upcoming annual shareholder meeting, John P. Dielwart will be appointed Chair of the Board, pending his re-election to the Board. Lastly, TransAlta declared an increase in the annualized dividend to $0.17 per common share, representing a 6.25 per cent increase. 2020 Outlook Objectives for 2020 include: Achieving free cash flow in the range of $325 million to $375 million ; to ; Delivering a full year of cash flow from Big Level and Antrim , which reached commercial operation in December; , which reached commercial operation in December; Significantly progressing the construction of the SemCAMS cogeneration project and Windrise wind facilities for commercial operation in 2021; Completing the Sundance Unit 6 gas conversion in 2020; Advancing the Sundance Unit 5 re-powering project for commercial operation in 2023; Preparing Keephills Units 2 and 3 for gas conversions in 2021; Repaying the $400 million bond maturing in November 2020 ; bond maturing in ; Continuing the share buyback program in an amount up to $80 million in 2020; in 2020; Achieving commercial operation for the Windcharger battery project in 2020; and Progressing on our ESG targets. "Confidence in our strategy and our transformation has allowed the Board to begin the process of restoring a growing dividend at TransAlta," commented Ambassador Giffin, Chair of the Board. ESG Targets TransAlta has a long history of adopting leading sustainability practices, including 25 years of ESG reporting and voluntarily integrating its sustainability report into its annual report since 2015. TransAlta established its first ESG goals in 2014 and is proud to announce its 2020 and longer-term ESG goals, which are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. "We are in the midst of a transformation that will see TransAlta become a leading Canadian clean electricity company. We have already reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 36 per cent over 2015, we direct less than one per cent of our waste to landfills, and we have industry leading representation of women in leadership positions and on our Board", commented Dawn Farrell, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. The key components of the Company's approved 2020 ESG targets include: A continued focus on safe operations and environmentally sustainable practices, including by minimizing environmental incidents and undertaking significant reclamation work; By 2030, achieving a 95% reduction of SO2 emissions and a 50% reduction of NOx emissions over 2005 levels from TransAlta's coal facilities, and a Company-wide reduction of greenhouse gases emissions of 60% below 2015 levels; Undertaking initiatives that will enhance the environmental performance of the Company, including converting coal facilities to gas and developing new renewable projects that support customer sustainability goals to achieve both long-term power price affordability and carbon reductions; Supporting equal access to all levels of education for youth and Indigenous peoples through financial assistance and employment opportunities; Enhancing our commitment to workplace diversity and adopting a target of 50 per cent female membership on the Board by 2030 and achieving gender diversity of at least 40 per cent of female employment for all employees by 2030; and Maintaining our commitment to leading ESG disclosure. The full details of the approved ESG targets are now available at www.transalta.com/sustainability . More information in regard to these ESG targets and the Company's ESG performance will be included in the Company's integrated annual report for the year-ended December 31, 2019. Chair of the Board TransAlta announced today that the Board has determined to appoint John P. Dielwart as Chair of the Board, upon his re-election as an independent director at TransAlta's next annual shareholder meeting and immediately following Ambassador Giffin's retirement from the Board. As previously announced, Ambassador Giffin is retiring from the Board in 2020 after serving as Chair since 2011. "John has a distinguished reputation as a strategic business leader who has demonstrated an ability to enhance shareholder value in public companies, which makes him the ideal Chair," said Ambassador Giffin. "The Board conducted a thorough and deliberative succession process leading us to unanimously endorse John as our next Chair. It has been a privilege serving alongside such a dedicated Board and executive team. I wish everyone at TransAlta all the best and look forward to watching the Company continue to evolve its unique culture and execute on strategic initiatives that will deliver strong shareholder returns for years to come." Dawn Farrell commented, "It has been my pleasure to have worked closely with Gordon over the past number of years. His insight, judgment and dedication to the development of our strategy will be greatly missed by management. On behalf of all of TransAlta, I would like to thank him for his leadership and dedication." Mr. Dielwart has served as independent director on the Board since 2014, and currently serves as the Chair of the Governance, Safety and Sustainability Committee. He is also on the Investment Performance Committee of the Board and has previously served on the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee. Mr. Dielwart is a founder and Director of ARC Resources Ltd. from 1996 to present and served as Chief Executive Officer of ARC Resources Ltd. from 2001 to 2013. Mr. Dielwart earned a Bachelor of Science (Distinction) in Civil Engineering from the University of Calgary, is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) and a Past-Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). Mr. Dielwart is also a director and former Co-Chair of the Calgary and Area Child Advocacy Centre. In 2015, Mr. Dielwart was inducted into the Calgary Business Hall of Fame. "I am honoured to have the confidence of the Board as we continue our transformation into a leading clean electricity company," said Mr. Dielwart. "I offer Gordon thanks for expertly guiding us through a period of unprecedented regulatory change and doing so in a manner that established a clear path towards growth and clean electricity. I am also confident in our executive team's ability to execute on our strategy in order to realize continued success." Financial Outlook and Assumptions The following table provides additional details pertaining to our 2020 outlook: Measure Target Comparable EBITDA(1) $925 million to $1,000 million FCF (1) $325 million to $375 million Range of key power price assumptions : Market Power Prices ($/MWh) Alberta Spot $53 to $63 Mid-C Spot (US$) $25 to $35 Other assumptions relevant to 2020 financial outlook: Sustaining Capital(2) $170 million to $200 million (1) These items are not defined under IFRS. Presenting these items provides management and investors with the ability to evaluate earnings trends more readily in comparison with prior periods' results. Refer to the Free Cash Flow, Discussion of Segmented Comparable Results, and Earnings and Other Measures on a Comparable Basis sections of TransAlta's 2019 third quarter management discussion and analysis for additional information. (2) Excludes payments associated with finance leases. Dividend Declaration The Board today declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0425 per common share payable on April 1, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 2, 2020, which represents a 6.25 per cent increase in our dividend level. "We are committed to returning capital to shareholders, including through our normal course issuer bid and our dividend. The dividend increase demonstrates our confidence in our strategy and our commitment to the recently announced dividend policy of returning between 10% to 15% of deconsolidated funds from operations to shareholder", remarked Dawn Farrell. The Board also declared the following quarterly dividend on its Cumulative Redeemable Rate Reset First Preferred Shares for the period starting from and including December 31, 2019 up to but excluding March 31, 2020: Preferred Shares TSX Stock Symbol Dividend Rate Dividend Per Share Record Date Payment Date Series A TA.PR.D 2.709% $0.16931 March 2, 2020 March 31, 2020 Series B* TA.PR.E 3.682% $0.22949 March 2, 2020 March 31, 2020 Series C TA.PR.F 4.027% $0.25169 March 2, 2020 March 31, 2020 Series E TA.PR.H 5.194% $0.32463 March 2, 2020 March 31, 2020 Series G TA.PR.J 4.988% $0.31175 March 2, 2020 March 31, 2020 *Please note the quarterly floating rate on the Series B Preferred Shares will be reset every quarter. About TransAlta: TransAlta owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia with a focus on long-term shareholder value. TransAlta provides municipalities, medium and large industries, businesses and utility customers with clean, affordable, energy efficient and reliable power. Today, TransAlta is one of Canada's largest producers of wind power and Alberta's largest producer of hydroelectric power. For over 100 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud community-member where its employees work and live. TransAlta aligns its corporate goals with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and has been recognized by CDP (formerly Climate Disclosure Project) as an industry leader on Climate Change Management. TransAlta is proud to have achieved the Silver level PAR (Progressive Aboriginal Relations) designation by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. For more information about TransAlta, visit its web site at transalta.com. Forward Looking Statements and Non-GAAP measures: This news release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "may", "will", "should", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking information or statements. More particularly, and without limitation, this news release contains forward looking statements and information relating to: delivering a full year of cash flow from Big Level and Antrim; declaring commercial operation for the Windcharger battery project in 2020; significantly progressing the construction of the SemCAMS cogeneration project and Windrise wind facilities for commercial operation in 2021; completing Sundance Unit 6 gas conversion in 2020; achieving the Sundance Unit 5 re-powering project in 2023; the Keephills Unit 2 and 3 gas conversion being completed in 2021; repaying the $400 million bond maturing in November 2020; continuing share buyback program in an amount up to $80 million; progressing on our ESG Targets to achieve top performance in safety; expected 2020 financial results, including free cash flow ("FCF"), Comparable EBITDA, sustaining capital and productivity capital; the appointment of Mr. Dielwart as Chair of the Board; and amount of any future dividends that may be declared by the Board. These forward looking statements are based on a number of assumptions considered by the Company to be reasonable as of the date of this news release, including, but not limited to, the following: the Alberta spot power pricing of $53/MWh to $63/MWh and Mid-C spot pricing of US$25/MWh to US$35/MWh; no significant changes to applicable laws and regulations in the markets in which the Company operates, and assumptions regarding expected financial results from projects; and other assumptions noted in the 2020 financial outlook. The forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual performance, events or results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward looking statements, which include: operational risks involving our facilities; debt obligations, working capital requirements or future capital requirements being greater than anticipated; environmental requirements and changes in, or liabilities under, these requirements; changes in market prices where we operate; our ability to carry out planned outages and repairs in a cost effective and timely manner; energy trading risks; legislative or regulatory developments and their impacts; general economic conditions in the geographic areas where TransAlta operates and other risk factors contained in the Company's Management Proxy Circular dated March 26, 2019 and its Annual Information Form and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed under the Company's profile with the Canadian securities regulators on www.sedar.com and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on www.sec.gov. The purpose of the financial outlooks contained in this news release are to give the reader information about management's current expectations and plans and readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes and is given as of the date of this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking information except as required by law. For additional information on the assumptions made, and the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward looking information, refer to the Company's Annual Report and Management's Discussion and Analysis filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. The Company evaluates its performance and the performance of its business segments using a variety of measures. Certain of the financial measures discussed in this press release, include Comparable EBITDA and FCF, which are not defined under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and, therefore, should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to IFRS measures when assessing the financial performance or liquidity of the Company. These non-IFRS measures have no standardized meaning under IFRS, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. Non-IFRS measures are presented to provide management and investors with a proxy for the amount of cash generated from operating and trading activities. Please refer to the Company's MD&A, which is available on the Company's website or under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com for further discussion of these items, including, where applicable, reconciliations to measures calculated in accordance with IFRS. SOURCE TransAlta Corporation Related Links http://www.transalta.com New Jersey, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/16/2020 -- HTF MI broadcasted a new title "Global E-pharmacy Market 2020-2026,With Breakdown Data of Capacity, Sales, Revenue, Price, Cost and Gross Profit" with 101 pages and in-depth assessment including key market trends, upcoming technologies, industry drivers, challenges, regulatory policies, with key company profiles and strategies of players such as China, USA, Europe, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia & South America. The research study provides forecasts for E-pharmacy investments till 2024. The study also helps with cost structure benchmarking collectively derive after analyzing a vast coverage of industry players which is further compared with overall sector for each component such as Avg. Profit, Wages, Purchases, Depreciation, Marketing, Rent & utilities, Others etc. Get Free Access to Sample Pages @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/2430869-global-e-pharmacy-market Market Development Scenario Patent Analysis Briefing* No. of Patents Issuance by Year / by Players / By Issuing Office Key Development Product/Service Launch, Mergers & Acquisition, Joint Ventures Product Analysis: This Report provides a detailed study of given products. The report also provides comprehensive analysis of Key Trends & advance technologies. The Global E-pharmacy (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as , Prescription Drugs & Over-the-counter (OTC) Drugs Application Analysis: This report provides an advance approach to the market growth with a detailed analysis of the overall competitive scenario of the Global E-pharmacy market. The market is segmented by Application such as Skin Care, Dental, Cold and Flu, Vitamins & Weight Loss with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate. Industry Growth: An in-depth study about key trends and emerging drivers with market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional breakdowns, competitive landscape, shares, trend and strategies for E-pharmacy market. The market is expected to estimate at XX million by 2023 growing at a CAGR of XX%. Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/2430869-global-e-pharmacy-market Key Highlights of the Global E-pharmacy Market : - Market Share of players that includes China, USA, Europe, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia & South America to better understand how deeply they have penetrated the market. - Conceptual analysis of the E-pharmacy Market products, application wise segmented study. - Clear study and pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics - Analysis of major regional segmentation on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow Key questions answered in this comprehensive study Global E-pharmacy Market 2020-2026,With Breakdown Data of Capacity, Sales, Revenue, Price, Cost and Gross Profit What will the market size be in 2023 and what will the growth rate be? What are the key market trends? What is driving Global E-pharmacy Market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in Global E-pharmacy Market space? What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global E-pharmacy Market? What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Global E-pharmacy Market? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global E-pharmacy market? Get in-depth details about factors influencing the market shares of the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific etc? Enquire for customization in Report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/2430869-global-e-pharmacy-market There are 15 Chapters to display the Global E-pharmacy market. Chapter 1, to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Global E-pharmacy, Applications of , Market Segment by Regions; Chapter 2, to analyze the Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure; Chapter 3, to display the Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of , Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, Export & Import, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis; Chapter 4, to show the Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment); Chapter 5 and 6, to show the Regional Market Analysis that includes North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific etc, Segment Market Analysis (by Type) [, Prescription Drugs & Over-the-counter (OTC) Drugs]; Chapter 7 and 8, to analyze the Change in overall Market Analysis (by Application [Skin Care, Dental, Cold and Flu, Vitamins & Weight Loss]) Major Manufacturers Analysis; Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type [Prescription Drugs & Over-the-counter (OTC) Drugs], Market Trend by Application [Skin Care, Dental, Cold and Flu, Vitamins & Weight Loss]; Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis; Chapter 11, to analyze the Consumers Analysis of Global E-pharmacy by region, type and application; Chapter 12, to describe E-pharmacy Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source; Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe E-pharmacy sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source. Buy this research report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=2430869 Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia. Data governance more important now than ever As organisations generate and store ever-increasing volumes of data, governance of that data has never been more important. If unchecked, the proliferation of data will result in project files being replicated throughout a network, and in conjunction with unrestricted access to project folders, this can lead to risks of data exposure. Data governance is essential to data security, which requires organisations to know where data flows, with whom it is shared and where it lives at rest. By bringing data under stricter control, through using collaborative tools and rigid policies, organisations will not only improve data security, but will also make gains in efficiency, cost effectiveness and customer trust. Governance and transparency around how data is collected and protected is key to customer trust, and therefore makes good business sense, say privacy experts. A year on from the full implementation of the EUs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UKs privacy watchdog has urged organisations to embed sound data governance in all business processes. On November 17, Lunie Joseph stood outside the gates of the national police headquarters in Port-au-Prince, watching hundreds of police officers as they marched to demand better working conditions. Looking out at the crowd, Joseph, a 31-year-old journalist for Radio Zenith, was unaware that she was being filmed by two men inside a car parked behind her. As Joseph continued to report on the protests, the men uploaded a video of her to Twitter and Facebook. Here is one of the women at Radio Zenith who is lying, one of two male voices says in the video. Between mocking laughs, the two men accuse her of spreading false information. ICYMI: How the New York Times verified the Iran missile-strike footage The video was viewed and shared by thousands of people, and dozens made threats to Joseph in the comments. It was a tough moment, says Joseph. Now I feel sometimes that somebody is following me. Im scared of strangers. Joseph had been covering Haitis long-simmering national uprising. Public protests began in July 2018, in response to an increase in fuel prices. Soon after, young Haitians mobilized to demand an audit of a government fuel-subsidy program. They succeeded, and in June of this year, a 600-page audit conducted by an independent court revealed an embezzlement scheme implicating US-backed president Jovenel Moise. Mass demonstrations called for Moise to step down, and demanded an end to foreign meddling and neoliberal economic policies. Moise rejected the allegations in the audit, and the situation has intensified. Roads were barricaded in September, closing businesses and schools and paralyzing the country for two months. Meanwhile, many journalists report working in dangerous and even life-threatening conditions. Public perception of journalism has deteriorated; protestors accuse media outlets of supporting the government, and attacks on the press have escalated. Journalists are also harassed by counter-protesters and police from the opposing side. They report physical attacks, death threats, and defamation campaigns on social media. Sign up for CJR 's daily email We have problems with the protesters, and also with the leaders of the demonstrations, says Ralph Tedy Erol, founder of TedActu, an independent news site. And the police officers dont really respect the journalists. Erol told me that reporters who live-streamed the demonstrations for TedActu regularly faced verbal attacks from both protesters and police officers. They also received phone threats. Erol ultimately stopped streaming live coverage, deeming it too risky for his journalists. Once, during an opposition march, a gun was leveled at him when he attempted to take a picture. Likewise, media outlets have also been caught in the middle of the battle. In early October, protesters gathered in front of the offices of Radio Caraibes, the most prominent station in Port-au-Prince. Two advisers to the president had recently appeared on Ranmasse, Haitis most popular talk show, and members of the opposition were incensed. Someone threw a molotov cocktail at one of the advisers cars, and state security fired bullets in the air. I think the problem is due to the fact that the radio opens its microphone to members of the government so that they too can say what they think, says Michel Joseph, director of information at Radio Caraibes. As some protesters often say, if a media is not completely engaged in the struggle to overthrow the government it is because the media is against the popular movement. Kenson Desir, a reporter for Radio Television Pacific who covers mass demonstrations, explains that in Haiti, journalists are not seen as neutral professionals who inform and educate. The Haitian population, he says, tends to view journalists either as participants of the government, or as opponents. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and the Association of Haitian Journalists have documented an increase in violence against Haitian journalists and media workers in the two years since the protests started. In September, Chery Dieu-Nalio, a photojournalist, was injured when Senator Jean Marie Ralph Fethiere opened fire into a crowd of demonstrators outside the parliament. A few days later, a police officer shot Edmond Agenor Joseph, a cameraman, during clashes between protesters and police in Port-au-Prince. In 2018, freelance photojournalist Vladjimir Legagneur went missing while reporting in the neighborhood Grand Ravine in Port-au-Prince. Weeks later, human remains and a hat he was wearing on the day he disappeared were found. Police still have not shared the DNA results. In June, Petion Rospide, a radio anchor for Radio Sans Fin, was shot dead on his way home from the station. A few hours prior, Rospide had aired a broadcast criticizing protesters who set cars on fire at a different radio station. On October 10, Nehemie Joseph, a radio journalist who had been covering the protests, was found shot to death in his car in the town of Mirebalais. According to media reports, Joseph had mentioned that two politicians had accused him of inciting protests and threatened to kill him. Radio Zenith, where Lunie Joseph works, has held a strong editorial line against Moises presidency. The week before the video of Joseph was posted, the government had accused Radio Zenith of inciting violence and supporting the mobilization. In response, the station accused the government of targeting its journalists and media workers. Theres no consideration of us as professionals, they just see us as opposition, says Joseph. To find the men who filmed her, Joseph and her colleagues analyzed the video and identified the license plate of the car, which is partially visible. Joseph suspects that both men are police officers since they talk in cop slang, so she hasnt filed a police report. Now there is more pressure, more threats, more fear. Police officers curse journalists. Its different from previous years, says Joseph. Sometimes they take your picture and put it with a head of an animal or they design a fake nude of you. Despite her fear that further harassment and violence will occur, Joseph has continued covering the protests. She is hyperalert, and has adopted security measures such as modifying her daily routes. She no longer meets with unannounced visitors at the station. This really hurt me, and its one of the worst moments that Ive experienced in my work, she says. I felt like my world had collapsed. Jeanne-Elsa Chery contributed reporting. RECENTLY: Life and the big picture Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Chantal Flores is a freelance journalist covering enforced disappearance, womens issues and mental health in Latin America and the Balkans. Follow her on Twitter @chantal_f. This article has been corrected to reflect that New Mexicos oil and gas industry generated a record $3.1 billion in state revenue in Fiscal Year 19. The state Oil Conservation Commission voted Thursday to adopt rules to enforce fines for oil and natural gas companies that pollute New Mexicos air and water. The Oil Conservation Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department had lost the bulk of that authority in a state Supreme Court case in 2009. The power to enforce most fines fell upon the state Attorney General. But last years House Bill 546 restored the divisions ability to issue fines to energy companies. The commissions action Thursday echoes that legislation. Reinstating the Divisions authority to assess civil penalties gives us another tool in our toolbox to ensure that the oil and gas industry is acting responsibly in New Mexico, Adrienne Sandoval, Oil Conservation Division director, said in a statement. New Mexico is a great example of how industry can thrive while also being responsible, and this new rule is another step in the right direction to improving regulatory compliance and ensuring a level playing field for diligent operators. The vote comes the same day that the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association said the booming industry had generated a record $3.1 billion in state revenue in Fiscal Year 19. NMOGA had supported HB 546, saying that the law strikes a good balance of supporting industry while also protecting the states air and water. Spills of oil or wastewater in the oil field are some of the energy industry violations that can now be penalized by OCD. In 2018, OCD reported 1,712 violations by oil and gas companies, but collected no civil penalties. The division collected no fines from 2011 to 2015, and has issued only three fines since 2009. We applaud the Oil Conservation Commissions leadership for holding bad actors accountable and pushing the industry in New Mexico to meet global and national standards, said Jordan Smith, executive director of Climate Advocates Voces Unidas. New Mexicans deserve a state-of-the-art industry with state-of-the-art safeguards to match and the OCCs action is a step in the right direction. Under the new rules, OCD could levy fines of $2,000 to $10,000 a day. Other state agencies are enforcing fines for energy companies that violate state air and water quality standards. In November 2019, the state Environment Department issued notices of violation to Matador Production Co. and Mewbourne Oil Co. for air quality issues at their southeast New Mexico facilities. Earlier this week, NMED notified two more natural gas operators that their Permian Basin facilities may be in violation of state emissions standards. Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal. Marie Kondo and her theories of tidying up have introduced some conflict into my marriage. I cant be the only one. Her idea is simple: First, pick a category, like clothes; next, put all of them into the middle of the room; finally, pick out and keep only the ones that spark joy. Setting aside the fact that making time for such a project is enough to make me want to bury my head under one of my many unnecessary pillows, what I want to ask Marie is: What about all of my husbands things that dont spark joy? That instead spark intense, dark, brooding hatred? What to do with those? My husband feels sentimental attachment for things he has no business being attached to. Case in point: My grandmother lived for 60 years in a house on our block, and when it was time to sell her house, I managed to avoid taking almost anything, even the silver, which had an O engraved on it. After her 10 children had a chance to choose items they wanted, what remained went to the dumpster. Except for the things my husband insisted on keeping. Like a globe from circa 1960. It has the USSR on it! he said. Or the series of decorative tin plates from states my grandparents visited. Under no circumstance are those plates coming into my home, I said. Ill bring them to school, he said, his frequent rejoinder to my objection about keeping things. Several great-aunts have died in the last 15 years, leaving behind lives of accumulated stuff. Aunt Adelaide gifted us her gigantic ceramic Nativity set, which I swear I will give away this year, so help me baby Jesus. Aunt Maureen left us a series of five drawings, framed in gold, with instructions that the collection remain together. Although they could be valuable, I dont see an Antiques Roadshow trip in my future. Cant I just put them on the curb? Finally, there is Aunt Minnie. We bought Aunt Minnies house 14 years ago. Because we had little furniture, I agreed to keep the dining room set even though I detested it, until we got something else. Twelve years later, I managed to give the table and chairs to our neighbors daughter, but the hulking china cabinet remained until this year, taunting me. But of all the hand-me-down objects, perhaps my least favorite was the bullfighter painting that hung in Aunt Minnies red wallpapered bedroom. My husband loved it. Why did my aunt have such a painting? She had no connection to Spain or to bullfighting that I knew about. And neither do we. Yet it hung in my living room until last year, when I had a full-blown tantrum about it, and my husband, unable to part with it, moved it to the basement. My recent discovery of the Buy Nothing Project has helped us let go of things more easily. Buy Nothing is a website for hyperlocal Facebook groups with the purpose of keeping things out of landfills and building community through meeting neighbors. Members post items they want to pass along, and people who want them respond, no money exchanged. Through Buy Nothing, I have gifted desks, bureaus, china, clothes, shoes, a rug, dog costumes. I have also received a bassinet, a crib, a baby swing and a baby wrap. It feels great to give people things they want and need, and to receive the same. But Im still confounded when it comes to deciding with a spouse what stays and what goes. It seems fair that each partner should have a few things they love displayed in the house, so maybe the trick is to look for the things you can agree on, and find hidden spaces for the rest. We may need a professional referee. I wonder if Marie Kondo does consultations. Julie Owsik Ackerman teaches writing in Narberth, Pennsylvania. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 5G could be the key growth driver for "tech" stocks in 2020. That's the upshot of a new report out of investment bank Needham this week, as its analysts report back from the just-ended Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Accelerating sales of both handsets and the infrastructure needed to make them work will provide a "major growth catalyst" for semiconductor-makers in particular, and tech in general, opines Needham, accelerating off a slowdown in the second half of 2019. "5G handset roll-outs [will accelerate] throughout 2020, especially in the 2H," culminating in total phone sales of perhaps 200 million by the time the year is out. So... how do you plan to play this trend? Leveraging TipRanks' Stock Screener tool to comb through Needham's picks, we've come up with three stocks that win high marks not just from the analyst making this 2020 forecast -- but from Wall Street analysts in general. Here's what you need to know about them. Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) First up is Tower Semiconductor, which as the name implies is a maker of analog intensive mixed-signal semiconductor devices. Investors in Tower Semiconductor stock can expect to see "low double-digit" organic growth in 2020, says Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill. And while that may not sound like much, it's significantly faster -- potentially as much as twice as fast -- as the 6.7% growth rate that most Wall Street analysts are expecting (which could mean additional upgrades will follow as Tower delivers on its promises). Tower aims to aggressively expand capacity at its factories churning out 200mm and 300mm chips to supply growing demand for 5G smartphones, which are experiencing "stronger than expected 5G proliferation." In particular, Tower sees an opportunity to supply makers of OLED fingerprint sensors for these phones. Oh, and gross margins on these products may already have "bottomed out" at 19%. Story continues Indeed, Gill takes the lead on recommending this one, assigning Tower stock a "buy" rating and $30 price target. (To watch Gill's track record, click here) With sales growing faster than expected, and profit margins firming perhaps sooner than expected, the outlook for Tower is looking pretty good, and $30 a share is certainly not out of the question -- nearly a 17% profit from today's share price. TSEM has built its Strong Buy consensus rating on solid performance which has attracted three "buy" and one "hold" ratings in the last three months. This stock is selling for $25.55, so the $26.83 average price target implies an upside of 5%. (See Tower stock analysis at TipRanks) Marvell Technology (MRVL) Long known as a designer of analog and mixed-signal embedded and standalone integrated circuits, Needham analyst Quinn Bolton views Marvell Technology as a prime beneficiary of the growing 5G base station market, which Bolton sees as capable of producing up to $6 billion in annual sales globally. Huawei will be Marvell's primary competitor in this market, dominating sales in both China and Europe, which could pose a problem. However, the analyst still sees $4 billion in annual sales elsewhere as up for grabs. To win this work, Marvell must win business from the base station makers that aren't named Huawei, which include Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung. The good news here (for Marvell) is that Bolton believes "Huaweis ability to ship critical 5G infrastructure products ... targeting international markets may be further limited," decreasing the competitive threat outside of China and Europe. Result: Bolton believes Marvell stock is a "buy." In so doing, he's joining a chorus of nine other analysts who have assigned Marvell stock buy-equivalent ratings over the past month. (See Marvell stock analysis at TipRanks) Resonant Inc. (RESN) Last and certainly least-well-known, we come to Resonant. A bona fide microcap at just $80 million in market cap, Resonant hails from Goleta, California, where it's trying to build a business making designing filters for radio frequency electronics used in smartphones. The company's not profitable yet, nor free cash flow positive, yet Needham likes this one fully as much as its larger, better-known peers in the semiconductor space. Indeed, assigning Resonant a $4.50 target price (the stock costs less than $2.50 a share today), Needham's Rajvindra Gill makes the case that this stock could be a near two-bagger as it expands to serve 5G needs in an RF filter market that could grow to $28 billion in annual sales by 2025 (from just $12 billion in 2019). Ramping demand for "streaming video and increased bandwidth requirements" will be the catalyst here, as 5G speeds demand more advanced tech to service them. At the same time, though, Gill urges investors not to forget about 4G just yet, which will "continue to play major role in the market." This is because in the early stages of the 5G revolution, true 5G speeds won't be available everywhere, all the time, and investors should anticipate that "the 4G network to provide a backstop for 5G coverage holes." Because 4G is currently Resonant's strength, there's an opportunity for this tiny company to become a major player in the "old" technology as its competitors focus their attention elsewhere. Survey says... Wall Street agrees. A grand total of four out of four ratings published in the past two months say Resonant is a "buy." And even if not everyone's as optimistic as Needham, the consensus price target on this stock is still $4.25 a share -- and 71% upside for buyers today. (See Resonants price targets and analyst ratings on TipRanks) A Republican Central California district attorney made a surprising decision last week to quit the California District Attorneys Association whose president is Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley while calling the group out of touch in its positions opposing statewide criminal justice reforms. San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Salazar is the only one of 58 district attorneys in the state to abandon her membership in the association, which advocates for legislation in Sacramento, conducts training for prosecutors, produces legal publications and regularly meets to discuss criminal justice policy. As criminal justice reform sweeps through California and the nation, I witnessed the CDAA oppose most reform-based initiatives, which tells me the association is out of touch and unwilling to find new approaches to criminal justice, Salazar wrote in a Jan. 8 letter to OMalley, stating she would not renew her membership. In a phone interview with The Chronicle between meetings Wednesday at the associations winter conference in Palm Springs, OMalley rejected Salazars claims, saying the San Joaquin County district attorney has never participated in any of the groups meetings. She doesnt really have any information or firsthand knowledge of who we are as district attorneys or the work thats being done by the CDAA, OMalley said. Its unfortunate. She fires off a letter without having a real basis for the accusations. While the association has opposed many recent statewide legislative criminal justice reforms, OMalley called the group an evolving organization with a diverse membership with different viewpoints. Some of its members are traditional law-and-order conservatives, while others, like Chesa Boudin, San Franciscos new, progressive district attorney, and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has filed a barrage of lawsuits against President Trump, are also members. Boudin was welcomed by a round of applause at this weeks conference, OMalley said. Salazars decision to leave the association, she said, comes as her positions on criminal justice reform have changed. A Republican and former line prosecutor who once enforced the states heavy-handed laws of the past, Salazar said she has increasingly accepted data showing severe punishments dont always contribute to greater public safety. The tough-on-crime era including 1994s three strikes law, in which prosecutors could seek life sentences for a third felony, and Proposition 21 in 2000, which increased punishments for certain crimes and lowered the age juveniles could be charged as adults to 14 sent thousands of people to prison while disproportionately affecting the poor and people of color, according to a wide body of research. Criminal justice reform, long seen as a progressive issue, has increasingly been embraced by Republicans who control the majority of state legislatures around the country. Even Trump has supported modest reforms, signing the First Step Act in 2018, which eases some punitive federal prison sentences. The California District Attorneys Association, Salazar said, still holds on to outdated criminal-justice philosophies from the past and has lost credibility with state lawmakers on nearly every recent reform measure. The organizations record in Sacramento, she said, proves it. 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 association unsuccessfully fought Proposition 36 in 2012, which modified Californias three strikes law so that only serious or violent felonies qualified as third strikes. It also opposed Proposition 47, which reduced many nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors and raised the threshold for felony theft to $950, and Proposition 57, which allowed parole for some nonviolent felons, changed laws on juvenile prosecution and granted sentence credits for rehabilitation. The group also tried to suppress SB1437, which reformed the felony murder rule; SB1391, which bars anyone under age 16 from being tried in adult court; and SB233, which prevents law enforcement from arresting and charging sex workers who come forward as victims or witnesses to serious crimes. Rather than consider these difficult issues, CDAA has created a culture where we, and we alone know what is right and just and the voters are wrong, Salazar wrote in her letter. When change is frowned upon, or worse yet, suffocated by slow or reluctant implementation, we fail to represent the very people who have voted for change. Salazar canceled her office-wide membership to the association and is joining the National District Attorneys Association and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, which she said are more in line with her offices values. Prosecutors in the office can still be members of the state association on an individual basis, she said. OMalley said the associations legislative advocacy doesnt necessarily reflect its diverse membership, and the groups reform-minded prosecutors are working to influence the associations more conservative members. Salazar, OMalley noted, isnt aware of much of the work the association does. Her absence is her loss, OMalley said. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky Two picnic sites on the Upper Rock are now ready for the warmer spring weather. The one at Jews' Gate, at the lower entrance to the path leading to Mediterranean Steps, has been refurbished, and a new area with tables and benches has been created at the old Willis' Guard room, at the opposite (northern) end of the Upper Rock. The Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society was consulted beforehand to ensure that there would be no negative impact on wild animals or plants. BELOIT, Wis., Jan. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has become the first airline in the Middle East to introduce Comply365, a new state-of-the-art technology platform to host the extensive technical documentation of its Flight Operations Department. More than 6,000 employees will benefit from the replacement of multiple existing documentation systems with Comply365's single ProAuthor platform, which will be used to manage and distribute company manuals and all documentation from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), making compliance-related documentation and tracking much easier. "Etihad Airways is committed to expanding its sustainable practices and broadening the use of simplifying technology is a key element of our strategy," said Captain Sulaiman Yaqoobi, Etihad's Vice President of Flight Operations. "The airline needed a single place to author and manage all of our documentation, which is extensive, as well as a reliable mobile app for our flight crew," said Captain Yaqoobi. "Comply365's solutions are the best fit for our requirements, not just to manage our documentation in one place, but also to have a cloud-based solution hosted in a data center in the UAE. "The automated standards tracing feature of this system will also save time and improve accuracy over our previous manual process, as well as boosting our visibility over a document's revision status, and automating workflow and standards tracing." As the first Middle Eastern client for this advanced system, Etihad Airways is a significant addition to the base of airlines across the globe who rely daily on Comply365's platform for authoring and digital delivery of operational (manufacturer and company) manuals via mobile apps. Comply365 CEO Tom Samuel said: "I am pleased to welcome Etihad Airways into our client community. It is exciting to be partnering with such an innovative and global brand. Our team is looking forward to working with Etihad to simplify and automate its compliance management environment, and to help deliver higher value operational content to pilots and other operational staff." ABOUT COMPLY365 Comply365 is the leading provider of enterprise SaaS and mobile solutions for content management and document distribution in highly regulated industries including aviation, rail, and energy. Comply365 supports the world's most mobile and remote workforces with targeted and personalized delivery of job-critical data that enables safe, efficient, and compliant operations. Every day, hundreds of thousands of pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians, rail conductors and engineers, as well as energy workforce rely on Comply365 for digital delivery of operational content including OEM and internal company manuals. Having played an instrumental role in the regulatory approval of electronic flight bags (EFB) to replace the traditional, paper-based, pilot flight bags, Comply365 partners with clients to transform their industries. ABOUT ETIHAD AIRWAYS Etihad Airways, based in Abu Dhabi, is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. The airline was established by Royal (Emiri) Decree in July 2003 and is wholly owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi. The airline serves 80 passenger and cargo destinations with a young fleet of more than 100 aircraft. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gina Duwe Comply365 Marketing Coordinator +1 608.313.1500 Tony Harrington Etihad Airways +971 56 992 2245 While his choice wasnt quite that stark, Rodney Shelton said he nearly lost his job as a Chicago firefighter when his license was suspended in April 2015 over $18,000 unpaid parking tickets. Shelton, who spoke at the bill signing, said he racked up 77 tickets in 90 days on a car hed parked on a private lot. WASHINGTON, DC Storing highly radioactive waste along the Great Lakes is a terrible idea that needs to go away, says a group of Congressional lawmakers from Michigan opposing Canadas proposal to store that waste near Lake Huron. A bipartisan resolution was introduced on Friday, Jan. 17, calling for the Trump Administration to work with Canada to find a different site for the countrys permanent nuclear waste repository that isnt next to the drinking water source for 40 million people. The resolution was introduced by U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, both Democrats; U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint, and U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Midland. The Canadian governments proposal to use a site on the shores of Lake Huron for its nuclear waste is an affront to the cooperation between our two nations that has protected the Great Lakes for decades, said Moolenaar. The government of Canada should look for a new location that is far away from the Great Lakes for storing its nuclear waste. A similar resolution was introduced in the state House on Jan. 9 by two Republicans from eastern lower Michigan; Gary Howell, R-Lapeer and Shane Hernandez, R-Port Huron. The Bruce County, Ontario localities of Huron-Kinloss and adjacent South Bruce are being eyed by the Canadian Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) as an underground storage site for high-level waste generated by nuclear reactors, which is presently being kept on site at Canadian nuclear plants in above-ground wet pools and dry containers. In 2002, NWMO was tasked by the Canadian Parliament with designing and implementing a plan for safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel. The organization consists of nuclear plant operators Ontario Power Generation, New Brunswick Power Corp. and Hydro-Quebec. The Bruce County site is about 56 miles due east across the lake from Port Austin at the tip of Michigans thumb. The other Canadian site under consideration is Ignace, a rural township in northwest Ontario about 150 north of Lake Superior. Bruce County also encompasses Kincardine, a municipality on Lake Huron where an existing proposal by Ontario Power Generation to store low- to medium- level waste has already generated significant opposition in Michigan. Ontario Power Generation has said the nuclear waste stored in its underground bunker would not threaten the lake and would alleviate the risk from spent fuel being stored on site at reactors already located around the lake. The Detroit Free Press reported in December that NWMO must proceed with environmental evaluations, geologic studies and public engagement before proceeding with the latest plan. Activists opposed to the Bruce County plans have questioned the ability of the power company and the government to maintain the safety of the underground bunker in perpetuity. The pyramids of Egypt are only 5,000 years old; the Great Lakes are only about 10,000 years old, created by the last Ice Age, Gordon Edwards, president of the nonprofit Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, told the Free Press. The idea that we can create structures that can last longer than the lifetime of the Great Lakes since they were first created is very presumptuous. GREENSBORO, N.C., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (NYSE: SKT) announced today that its 2019 dividend distributions should be treated as follows for income tax purposes. Common Shares: 93.72% as ordinary income and 6.28% as return of capital. Detailed information regarding each distribution for 2019 is below. Shareholders are encouraged to consult with their personal tax advisors as to their specific tax treatment of the Company's dividend distributions. Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. - Common Stock (Symbol SKT) (CUSIP No. 875465106) Record Date 1/31/19 4/30/19 7/31/19 10/31/19 Totals % of Annual Total Ex-Dividend Date 1/30/19 4/29/19 7/30/19 10/30/19 Payable Date 2/15/19 5/15/19 8/15/19 11/15/19 Total Distribution Per Share 0.350000 0.355000 0.355000 0.355000 1.415000 Amount Included In Shareholders' 2019 Income 0.350000 0.355000 0.355000 0.355000 1.415000 Box 1a Total Ordinary Dividends 0.328020 0.332706 0.332706 0.332706 1.326138 93.72% Box 3 Non Dividend Distributions 0.021980 0.022294 0.022294 0.022294 0.088862 6.28% Box 5 Section 199A Dividends 0.328020 0.332706 0.332706 0.332706 1.326138 About Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (NYSE:SKT), is a publicly-traded REIT headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina that presently operates and owns, or has an ownership interest in, a portfolio of 39 upscale outlet shopping centers. Tanger's operating properties are located in 20 states and in Canada, totaling approximately 14.3 million square feet, leased to over 2,900 stores which are operated by more than 540 different brand name companies. The Company has more than 39 years of experience in the outlet industry. Tanger Outlet Centers continue to attract more than 181 million visitors annually. For more information on Tanger Outlet Centers, call 1-800-4TANGER or visit the Company's website at www.tangeroutlets.com. Contact: Cyndi Holt Vice President, Investor Relations (336) 834-6892 [email protected] SOURCE Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. Related Links http://www.tangeroutlets.com Little St. James Island, one of the properties owned by Jeffrey Epstein, is seen in an aerial view near Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, on July 21, 2019. (Marco Bello/Reuters) Epstein Operated Database of Victims, Continued Sex Trafficking Through 2018, US Virgin Islands Government Alleges The estate of Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier who allegedly led a child sex trafficking ring, has been sued by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, which claims the right to confiscate tens of millions of dollars in assets that Epstein is said to have used in committing dozens of crimes, including rape and human trafficking of minors. Epstein maintained an electronic database of his victims and his criminal enterprise operated from 2001 through 2018, the Jan. 15 complaint alleges. Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking minors. He died in his jail cell in New York City on Aug. 10. Perfect Hideaway The 49-page complaint details how Epstein bought his private island of Little St. James in 1998 and allegedly used it as the perfect hideaway and haven for trafficking young women and underage girls for sexual servitude, child abuse, and sexual assault. The secluded island not only served to conceal the crimes, but also to keep the victims captive, the suit alleges, since it can only be accessed by helicopter or boat. Epstein in January 2016 bought the adjacent island, Great St. James, for over $20 million to further shield his conduct, the suit says. The purchase demonstrates his intent to expand his illegal operation in the Virgin Islands for years to come, the government argued, also noting that it created additional barriers to prevent those held involuntarily on Little St. James from escaping or obtaining help from others. Jeffrey Epstein in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services sex offender registry on March 28, 2017, and obtained by Reuters on July 10, 2019. (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/Handout via Reuters) Epsteins estate, managed by his long-time lawyers, Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, valued the two islands at $86 million. The suit lays claim to the islands and other assets of Epsteins used to run his alleged criminal enterprise. That would likely include his private planes and helicopters and his boat. The estate valued Epsteins total assets at nearly $580 million, excluding his arts, antiques, and other valuables, which havent been valued yet, the suit says. Epstein owned shares in corporations that owned properties used by him, including a brownstone in New York City valued at $56 million, a ranch in New Mexico valued at $12 million, a gated home in Palm Beach, Florida, valued at $12 million, and seven units in an apartment building in Paris, valued at $8 million. Two days before his death, Epstein changed the terms of his 1953 trust and revised his last will to transfer all of his property to the trust run by the two lawyers. The suit alleges 22 crimes, including multiple counts of rape, human trafficking, human trafficking of minors, child abuse, engaging in sexual acts with children aged 13 to 16, and prostitution. Database, Escape Attempts, and Girls as Young as 11 The government describes incidents and details that illustrate the scope of Epsteins alleged crimes. Upon information and belief, the Epstein Enterprise kept a computerized list of underage girls who were in or proximate to the Virgin Islands, and able to be transported to Epsteins residence at Little St. James in the Virgin Islands, it says. One time, a 15 year old victim was forced into sexual acts with Epstein and others and then attempted to escape by swimming off Little St. James island, the suit says. Epstein and others organized a search party that located her and kept her captive by, among other things, confiscating her passport. Another victim, who was first engaged in providing massages to Epstein, was then forced to perform sexual acts at Little St. James in the Virgin Islands. When she attempted to escape from the private island, Epstein and a search party found her, returned her to his house, and suggested physical restraint or harm if she failed to cooperate. As recently as 2018, air traffic controllers and other airport personnel reported seeing Epstein leave his plane with young girls some of whom appeared to be between the age of 11 and 18 years, the suit says. Epsteins associates allegedly lured girls with promises of modeling opportunities, careers, contracts, and school assistance. The trafficking ring facilitated and participated in the sexual molestation and exploitation of numerous girls between the age of 12 and 17 years old, the government alleges. The suit used the phrase upon information and belief 16 times, suggesting it partly relies on unverified information. Suicide Epsteins death was ruled a suicide by the New York medical examiner, who said he had hanged himself with a sheet from his bunk bed. Famed pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, who was hired by Epsteins brother, Mark Epstein, to observe the autopsy, told Fox News in October that he believes the physical evidence suggests Epstein didnt take his own life. He said Epsteins injuries were more consistent with ligature homicidal strangulation than suicide. Recently, prosecutors Maurene Comey and Jason Swergold wrote that the video that was captured from outside Epsteins cell no longer exists, blaming a mix-up when they asked the jail to preserve the footage. Jack Phillips and Katabella Roberts contributed to this report. Update: The article was updated to reflect that the lawsuit alleges Jeffrey Epstein operated his criminal enterprise through 2018. Gods can work miracles where humans are helpless. BJPs maverick parliamentarian, Subramanian Swamy, thinks inscribing the image of Hindu Goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) on the currency note may improve the condition of the Indian currency. For an economy that is projected to grow at the lowest pace in last 11-years in FY20, the advice of a senior party leader is worth pondering. As such, the idea isnt new. For instance, Indonesia which has Lord Ganesha (remover of obstacles) on its currency notes. Why not something similar in India? In fact, India has lot more options other than Goddess Lakshmi. For instance, Christian parliamentarians could propose image of Jesus Christ on Indian bills; Budhha or Guru Nanak can bring good luck as well. The Indian currency could do with some divine intervention, given that it has lost nearly 11 percent in the last two two years between 2018 and 2020 (64 to 71 against US dollar). Its raining money for BJP While those possibilities can be debated, one thing is certain. If at all the Goddess of wealth has improved anyones financial condition in the last fiscal year, (2018-2019), it is that of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). In FY19, BJP has amassed Rs1,451 crore through electoral bonds and is ahead by a huge margin compared with the principal opposition party, Congress which managed only Rs383 crore, according to latest report by Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR). BJP has shown the highest income amongst the National Parties, an income of Rs 2,410.08 cr during FY 2018-19. This forms 65.16 percent of the total income of six national parties during FY 2018-19. The Congress party has declared the second highest income of Rs 918.03 crore which forms 24.82 percent of the total income of the 6 national parties, the report said. No questions asked The interesting part about electoral bonds is that no one can ask questions about the source of money. It is not an exaggeration to say that in barely three years of its existence, these instruments have turned the whole process of political funding in India even more opaque and mysterious. Electoral bonds clearly lack transparency and can effectively act as a channel for exchange of monetary and political favours between politicians and corporations. The irony is that even the income tax department cannot question the political parties about the source of the money. In other words, this means companies can channel even unaccounted cash through electoral bonds to bribe political parties in a legitimate manner. The relevance of Narada Transparency in political funding is a long-forgotten promise by the ruling party. To be sure, other political parties too, including the Congress, have largely kept mum on exposing the farce called electoral bonds since everyone benefits from these clandestine instruments. Remember, the unholy political-corporate nexus is the root cause of corruption and black money in any economy. Unless political funding is cleaned up, as many experts have pointed out time and again, it is difficult to kill black money in an economy. Perhaps, more than Goddess Lakshmi on currency notes, what we need right now is a Narada Muni on electoral bonds, the heavenly messenger and a story teller in Hindu mythology, to tell us the real story of these mysterious financial instruments. The worlds largest democracy deserves to know who is funding whom in domestic politics. While her mother Kate Middleton is a style inspiration to many, it was Princess Charlotte's style which some speculate has inspired Gucci's latest collection. After models strutted down the runway in Milan wearing the desiger's newest line, similarities to Princess Charlotte's, 4, style were clear. From the long socks, floral smock dresses with peter pan collars to the tailored wool coats, the collection appears to a homage to the style of the four-year-old royal. Prince William, 37, and Kate Middleton, 38, have long chosen to dress their children in pieces that are traditional and timeless. Gucci debuted their latest collection earlier this week in Milan, which appeared to pay homage to the style of Princess Charlotte, 4, (pictured left, a model wears a floral smock dress with a Peter Pan collar, and right, the little royal in a remarkably similar style in July 2018) Alessandro Michele, who has overseen Gucci for the past five years, said the womenswear pieces showcased during their menswear show, called Rave Like You Are Five, were influenced by the world of childhood. He told Vogue: 'The world of childhood is something that is surprising, poetic, captivating. And all the small things that children do. This is something that connects all of us. We were all afraid of losing our childhood.' But many of the pieces showcased at the menswear show appeared remarkably similar to those worn by the royal. A smocked floral dress worn on the runway was near-identical to one Princess Charlotte donned over the summer. Gucci sent a model down the runway styled in a chic tailored coat paired with spiked shoes and knee-high socks (left) while Princess Charlotte wore a similar jacket for the Christmas Day service at Sandringham (right) The dress, which had cap sleeves, a Peter Pan collar and a pink floral pattern, looked to draw inspiration from a style by The White Company that Charlotte wore to The King Power Royal Charity Polo Day at Billingbear Polo Club in Wokingham in July. Elsewhere models strutted their stuff in a selection of Gucci's double-breasted tailored coats, paired with Mary Jane shoes. The piece also resembled styles Charlotte has previously worn, most recently when she attended church with the rest of the royal family on Christmas Day in Sandringham. And even their accessories were similar to those worn by the Princess, with the models posing with bows tied into their hair in a style reminiscent of the four-year-old. Other models stepped out with similar accessories to the little royal, including Mary Jane shoes and bright blue bows in their hair (pictured left, the model in Milan and right, Princess Charlotte wearing her hair in plaits at Christmas) Despite the parallels, Alessandro hasn't confirmed the young royal, who is fourth-in-line to the throne, as the influence behind the collection. Instead he revealed he was captivated by children's clothing from years gone by and has a nostalgia for the time of innocence. He continued: 'Sometimes when I look at children's clothes in markets, I do buy them. Some are really incredible, very beautiful. 'What is small has a very particular fascination for me, because it's connected to the world of children who are allowed to do what they want.' From the floral smock dresses to the blue hair bows, the Gucci collection bore stark resemblance to the way Kate Middleton, 38, and Prince William, 37, dress their daughter In the past, royal expert and blog founder Marlene Koenig has explained Princess Charlotte's 'traditional' style. She told Bazaar.com: 'If you look at photos of young royal girls from Princess Anne to Charlotte, you will notice that they tend to wear smocked dresses as little girls when they are in public with their parents. 'Young female royals often get dressed up in "a clean, traditional look".' A new state analysis finds marijuana sales are strongest along Oregons border with Idaho a state where recreational marijuana is not legal. "In things you cannot make up, Oregon sales per adult along the Idaho border are 420% the statewide average, wrote Josh Lehner of the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis in a report issued Friday. (420, of course, is a colloquial term referencing marijuana or cannabis consumption.) Lehner found a similar phenomenon on Idahos border with Washington, another state where recreational marijuana is legal. The sales in counties along the Idaho border were much stronger than I anticipated, Lehner wrote. Obviously recreational marijuana is not legal in Idaho, but even after throwing the data into a rough border tax model that accounts for incomes, number of retailers, tax rates and the like, there remains a huge border effect. A border effect describes the phenomenon when two neighboring jurisdictions have different rules, prompting residents of one area to travel to the nearby region to take advantage of the different rules. Another well-known example is Southwest Washington residents traveling to Oregon to purchase products without paying a sales tax. The Marijuana Policy Project says Idaho is the only state in the U.S. that with no law for medical or therapeutic marijuana. Supporters are gathering signatures to legalize medical marijuana there. Beyond the border effect with Idaho, Lehner forecast continued rapid growth in Oregon marijuana sales over the next 10 years. Our offices forecast calls for sales to grow approximately 80% over this time period as incomes rise, the states population increases, and marijuana becomes more socially acceptable and usage rates rise, he wrote. -- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699 Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Samina Bibi has a fractured leg but is in good condition. Her home was buried and she lost her brother and sister. The Neelum Valley remains isolated. Recovery and rescue operations take place via helicopters. Tomorrow a more bad weather expected. Islamabad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - "I thought I would die": says Samina Bibi, a 12-year-old girl whowas buried under snow for 18 hours and rescued alive yesterday in Pakistan. The young woman is hospitalized in Muzaffarabad hospital, in Pakistani Kashmir, with dozens of other wounded. She is one of the survivors of the sudden avalanches that have hit the Neelum Valley region in the past two days. According to authorities, at least another 100 people died buried in the snow or swept away while they were at home. For Shahnaz Bibi, Samina's mother, describes the fact that her daughter is alive as "a miracle". The woman lost another daughter and son because of the avalanche that hit their home. "We were huddled around the hearth - she says - and it came in the blink of an eye. We didn't even notice." Then he adds that he did not hear the roar that usually precedes the avalanche and that "by now we had lost hope of seeing Samina again". The girl survived despite the cold. She has a broken leg and a split lip. She remember's "shouting for help while I was trapped." According to the National Disaster Management Authority, more bad weather is expected tomorrow which could cause further damage. The valley is currently isolated due to the detachment of snow and boulders from the mountains. Rescue operations take place only via helicopters. Authorities report that at least 84 homes and 17 businesses are completely destroyed, and 94 other homes and a mosque partially damaged. Other areas of the country have been hit by violent rains and cold. Accidents caused by rainfall forced the closure of the main roads and highways not only in Pakistani Kashmir, but also in the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked the competent authorities to provide "all humanitarian assistance possible immediately. The severe snowstorms and avalanches have caused misery and deaths. Qamar Javed Bajwa, head of the Pakistani army, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and ordered the military to continue supporting the civil administration in the rescue and assistance operations. New Delhi [India], Jan 17 (ANI): Russian Ambassador to India, Nikolay R Kudashev, on Friday said that he does not feel there is a reason to travel to Kashmir as it is an internal matter of India. "I do not feel that there is a reason for me to travel to Kashmir. Your decisions, as far as Jammu and Kashmir are concerned, this is your internal matter belonging to the constitutional space of India," said Kudashev, when asked whether he is planning to visit Kashmir in near future. "Those who are concerned about the situation in Kashmir, those who put in doubt the Indian policies in Kashmir, they could travel if they wish. They could see for themselves. We never put it in doubt," he added. The ambassador made these remarks during a press conference on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to India for Raisina Dialogue 2020. The envoy's remarks come a week after a 15-member delegation of envoys from different countries visited Jammu and Kashmir on a two-day visit to see first hand the efforts being made by the government in the region since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that accorded special status to the region. The group of foreign envoys included those from United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Maldives, Morocco, Fiji, Norway, Philippines, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, and Guyana. When asked about Wednesday's United Nations Security Council (UNSC) closed-door meeting over Kashmir that was called by China on the behest of Pakistan, the envoy said that Russia was never in favor of bringing the issue to the platform as it is strictly bilateral between New Delhi and Islamabad. "We were never in favor of bringing the issue in the UNSC because this is strictly a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan on the basis on Simla and Lahore Declaration," he said. China and Pakistan managed to hold an informal closed-door consultation on Kashmir in the UNSC in New York. However, the meeting ended without an outcome after the overwhelming majority of the UNSC conveyed that the world body was not the right forum to discuss the Kashmir issue, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Thursday. (ANI) As for the next set of DLC? I have a feeling that one of them will be an Overwatch character since Blizzard did express interest in adding one of them to Smash. This will be like the Banjo one all over since another third party is willing to work with Sakurai over it. I feel like most people whine about sword characters (sadly they're every rpg/jrpg progtagonist) but yet they request characters that use swords. At this point, its just evident they mask their hate for Fire Emblem using swords as an excuse. I feel bad for Sakurai, since fan boys are already @ing his mentions and telling him to retire all because of their precious characters they assumed he'll add didn't get in. Now I have a question for you. Which character do you not want to see in Smash? I feel like we always talk about who we want, so I think I'll start the opposite here. I do not want Geno in Smash, I'm sorry but he's an irrelevant character. I would rather have them partner with Square again to make a new Mario RPG. Reply Thread Link At this point, its just evident they mask their hate for Fire Emblem using swords as an excuse. Basically! Even when Fire Emblem was still considered a very niche game, with a humble but loyal fan base. Back then people were mad. Now that Fire Emblem is popular, especially since Awakening, and even more so now with Three Houses. They BIG mad about the "weeb anime waifu dating game." Which I never understood that complaint, yes, so what if it's a anime waifu/husbando sim game. It's still very good. Reply Parent Thread Link Five blue-haired sword wielders from the same franchise. Thanks, Sakurai? Reply Thread Link I know there are like 50 Fire Emblem characters in these games but the people on Twitter pissed about this cracked me up. Reply Thread Link Also....why not just put Cuphead and Mugman in as real characters.... Reply Thread Link I agree, I feel like it was bound to happen with the detail of the costume, but like he pulled it like he did with Sans. Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah that would been cool :( Reply Parent Thread Link Oh, they're adding Byleth! The Sublime Creator Sword will be interesting in action but there's already like 20 FE characters Reply Thread Link Last week yall were mad about Pokemon This week its Smash Yall gonna be mad about Kingdom Hearts next week? Glitch (@GlitchxCity) January 16, 2020 Reply Thread Link They wouldn't dare be angry at Animal Crossing! Reply Parent Thread Link I probably will be. But I still bought it anyway. Reply Parent Thread Link We're always mad about Kingdom Hearts! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link MFTE! Like yes duh we had to wait 15 years for a short ass game! Reply Parent Thread Link I was going to say! When are we not mad??? Hehe Reply Parent Thread Link Mhm Reply Parent Thread Link Its a fact that no one hates Kingdom Hearts more than Kingdom Hearts fans. Reply Parent Thread Link god, Three houses was so good. I'd have preferred they add Dimitri or Edelgard instead of Byleth tho Reply Thread Link omg im probably going to buy this just for cuphead Reply Thread Link You can get the Cuphead costume alone for I think $1? Reply Parent Thread Link so Ike is one of my mains and i love the FE games, but cmon pick a diff franchise lol. i know pokemon has a lot of characters in smash too but at least the characters do vary in their fighting style while the FE characters are majority just sword fighters. Reply Thread Link I can see why they went with FE, Three Houses is literally one of the best games and not to mention the franchise is huge in Japan. I feel like with the sword fighter critque that people use it but then they want characters like 2B, Sora, Rex, etc. who are sword fighters themselves. At least they gave Byleth more than just a sword. Like, I understand the disappointment but the fan boys on twitter are taking it to the next level. Reply Parent Thread Link i love three houses and awakening, its like playing an anime lol but its just disappointing with how hype some of the other characters were. like hot damn at joker and banjo dropping. i just literally think any character from a new franchise into smash woulda ended this dlc pack on an amazing note. i hope the next fighter pack doesnt include FE or pokemon. even tho its kinda funny i say this when my mains are pikachu and ike lol. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I was hoping for Pokemon trainer Byleth but giving them all the relics works too I guess. Excited to see who the next six are. Reply Thread Link Whew chillay. Smash fans are HEATED! And rightfully so tbh. Like I get, another sword user, that's from Fire Emblem... again. It's beyond a meme or whatever. But also, I'm a HUGE FE fan so... I'm getting my entire life. Lol But again, I get it Smash fans have a valid right to be angry or pissed. And Sakurai truly ain't shit, his ass knew people were going to be livid about this. Reply Thread Link Can you imagine if Sakurai added a character from a mobile game, that would definitely end his mentions. I just hope in future Smash games that means we'll see the start of less FE characters being added. I have a feeling he'll cater to Westerners again with the 1st fighter from the DLC pack vol 2. I honestly want more magic fighters or someone from another Nintendo game that isn't introduced in Smash yet. Reply Parent Thread Link Is online still ABYSMAL?! It was so disappointing trying to play online and EVERY FUCKING GAME was lagging, and the way you choose your mode is also ridiculous. Idky Smash Wii U was so flawless and this is crap! Reply Thread Link bc it's 2020 and Nintendo still doesn't know how to run an online service to save their lives. Reply Parent Thread Link yeah, online is still miserable. if you're on a wired connection and match with someone also on a wired connection it can be bearable but...that is not always the case lmfao Reply Parent Thread Link I would really love to see what kind of damn infrastructure they use bc I'm pretty sure it's PvP direct connecting to a Switch and everyone deals with the worst connection. Reply Parent Thread Link Wow what a snorefest. Cuphead is an exception bc that game was fucking amazing and I loved the aesthetics. So using him as a costume is just lol worthy. Megaman. For a costume. Lol k. Where my man Zero at? Reply Thread Link Sadly a costume and an assist trophy. Reply Parent Thread Link Smdh Reply Parent Thread Link the announcement inspired me to finally buy three houses, so the marketing worked on me. i've never played a fire emblem game before this one but i've always liked the FE characters tbh, they're cute and tend to have a nice variety of alts. so i wasn't too tight abt this announcement. the only characters i actively want in the game are all square enix and unlikely to get in for various reasons (2B too scantily clad, neku too obscure, sora too complicated bc of the disney thing) Reply Thread Link I have a feeling Sora is hard to get because of Disney and I heard rumors when Marvel vs Capcom was out that Disney had issues and wanted their characters to look good over the Capcom ones. I want another FF rep like Tifa. Reply Parent Thread Link tifa would be incredible, it could potentially happen with the remake coming out (though squeenix was a little stingy with cloud, and iirc didn't even want to allow him back in for ultimate) Reply Parent Thread Link I want Yuna and I want them to lean hard into FFX-2 for a lot of her move-sets, with her Final Smash being her summoning either Valefor or Bahamut. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) An Oakland man convicted of committing 17 Northern California bank robberies and two attempted heists within one year was sentenced in federal court in San Francisco Wednesday to eight years and one month in prison. Duane Makela, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who also ordered three years of supervised release after completion of the prison term. Makela pleaded guilty before Breyer in October to carrying out 10 armed robberies of banks and credit unions, seven unarmed robberies and two attempted bank robberies between March 2018 and February 2019. Defense attorneys said in a sentencing brief that Makela was addicted to heroin and methamphetamine at the time of the robberies. The robbed institutions included banks and credit unions in the East Bay, Peninsula and towns in or near the Sierra Nevada. 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. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham began her push to try to win over skeptics on the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana use on Thursday, telling Albuquerque business leaders the policy shift would immediately create 11,000 jobs and generate tax dollars that could be used on public safety programs. With a 30-day legislative session set to start next week, the first-term Democratic governor has made cannabis legalization one of her top priorities, even as Roundhouse insiders have suggested it might not have enough votes to get through the state Senate. Recreational cannabis is an economic game-changer, Lujan Grisham said during a luncheon hosted by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. Specifically, she said legalizing marijuana could open new career options for younger New Mexicans, while also suggesting it could catalyze new research into cannabis medicinal properties. It is an incredibly important opportunity, Lujan Grisham said. We are serious about getting it passed. However, the marijuana legalization bill will likely face significant hurdles in the form of skepticism from moderate Democrats and most Republicans after failing to clear both legislative chambers in recent years. The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, one of the states largest business groups, last year opposed legalizing recreational cannabis use, due primarily to concerns about whether businesses could still maintain drug-free workplaces. The chamber has not yet finalized its agenda for the 30-day session that begins Jan. 21, its CEO and executive director Terri Cole said Thursday. Meanwhile, the governors speech came on the same day the cannabis legalization bill she supports was filed at the Roundhouse. Under the proposal, Senate Bill 115, revenue generated by legalizing marijuana sales to adults age 21 and older would go toward law enforcement training and equipment, substance abuse treatments programs and the creation of a new fund to help pay for medical cannabis costs for low-income patients. In addition, the bill calls for state-level licensing and giving local governments some authority to determine where cannabis dispensaries could be located. But unlike in neighboring Colorado, counties would not be able to opt-out by barring cannabis sales. While the tax rate would vary by location, it would be an average of 19% or slightly higher than under recommendations proposed last fall by a working group that Lujan Grisham created. That would allow more revenue to be generated for law enforcement efforts and a proposed fund to help aspiring marijuana entrepreneurs get into the cannabis industry, said Pat Davis, an Albuquerque city councilor who led the governors working group. And unlike under a cannabis legalization bill that passed the House last year and was supported by several Senate Republicans, the bill filed Thursday would not include a provision calling for state-run pot shops. Meanwhile, New Mexico has already removed some legal barriers to marijuana. The states medical cannabis program had more than 80,000 enrolled members as of last month and has grown rapidly in recent years. In addition, lawmakers approved during last years legislative session a new law decriminalizing the possession of less than one-half ounce of marijuana. Nationwide, 11 states and the District of Columbia now have laws legalizing small amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use, with Colorado and Washington the first states to approve such policies in 2012. However, just two states Vermont and Illinois have approved cannabis legalization laws through the legislative process; other states have done so through ballot measures. Students in bushfire-ravaged communities across Australia will receive special consideration for university scholarships. More than 1000 scholarships will be available, worth up to $18,000 each. Minister for Education Dan Tehan also announced kids in child care and school students in bushfire-declared communities will receive additional mental health support. The federal government will provide $8million for charity Beyond Blue to fund 25 liaison officers and supporting clinicians to work with local schools and early childhood services. 'We need to focus on our young people's mental health because these bushfires will impact communities long after the flames are extinguished,' Mr Tehan said in a statement on Friday. 'Our government will also re-prioritise funding within the Community Child Care Fund for bushfire-affected areas. 'This funding could help pay for temporary premises, replacement of damaged playground equipment, or wages for affected staff.' David Gillespie, the federal MP for Lyne on the NSW central coast, said child care was critical for families affected by bushfires. 'In my electorate we are already seeing the community beginning to get back on its feet, with rebuilding work underway,' Dr Gillespie said. 'We also need to focus on the mental wellbeing of our communities, especially our youngest members.' How do you succeed as a retailer and thrill your shareholders when the High Street is in its worst crisis for a generation? Answers appear to include hiring former Love Island contestants to model your dresses, allowing teenage boys to live out their battlefield fantasies, opening more stores against the industry trend and giving snacks a 21st-century makeover. At least these are among the methods that Boohoo, Games Workshop, Next and Greggs respectively are using to thrive. They have been rewarded with handsome share price increases by a stock market weary of household-name stores that have been slow to reinvent themselves. Investors have been holding out for a retail hero. A pin-up has now emerged in the shape of Boohoo, wiping out the memory of former fashion darling Asos. Boohoo is valued at 3.8billion remarkably, it has overtaken Marks & Spencer at 3.6billion a result of the 16-24 demographic's love of a low-cut, low-priced dress, promoted by a reality TV star. In the final quarter of 2019 Boohoo's sales rose by 44 per cent. Its shares, tipped for 2019 by Daily Mail 'Wise Man' Richard Stone of the Share Centre, are 78 per cent higher than a year ago at 328p. Readers who followed his tip would have been well rewarded. Games Workshop, best known for its Warhammer board game, relies on a different kind of star: fictional characters such as the Grey Knights who feature in video games and are available in figurine-form which the youthful clientele can paint. Sales leapt by 44 per cent in the six months to December and the shares have advanced by 113 per cent to 7005p. As for Next, its typical customer is a bit more mature. In fact, she may have a son who buys Warhammer figurines online and a daughter who adores Boohoo. But while she, too, favours online shopping at Next's slick website, she also likes to collect these purchases from a branch which is why the company is adding stores. Next's market capitalisation is 9.15 billion thanks to a 47 per cent surge in its share price over the past 12 months to 6938p. A taste for a Greggs' lunch unites the generations and, increasingly, the social classes thanks to its vegan sausage roll and steak bake. Greggs' market value is 2.5 billion, and shares are 60 per cent higher than a year ago at 2424p. The performance of these companies is in marked contrast to woe elsewhere in the retail sector. Greggs' staff are to receive a bonus this year. John Lewis workers may not be so lucky. Skinny jeans may be a uniform for Boohoo's customers but they were less of a hit last year at Marks & Spencer. Backlash: Skinny jeans may be a uniform for Boohoo's customers but they were less of a hit last year at Marks & Spencer Retail is not dead, but it is changing dramatically. Some property investors are betting that the sector will adapt and thrive. But where should small investors look if they want a bit of retail therapy? Are the likes of Boohoo, Games Workshop, Next and Greggs now too expensive? Is it too late to jump on board? Might Marks & Spencer, which has teamed up with Ocado for online food delivery, finally delight this year? Anyone looking at the sector should first be aware of the difficulties facing all retailers, whether leaders or laggards. As the change in fortunes at Asos illustrates (the shares, now 3190p, climbed to 6152p and went as low as 2033p) management must be ever-vigilant, constantly monitoring rivals and shifts in consumer behaviour. This is hugely testing if they decide to expand, particularly overseas. It is also dangerous to assume that consumers, who have been more cautious because of stagnant incomes and uncertainty over Brexit, will return to their free-spending ways. Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: 'There is some worry that the caution about spending may be turning into a permanent mindset.' This would seem to spell bad news for M&S (whose shares are down 33 per cent over the past 12 months at 187.05p). Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, also considers Next to be in the higher risk category, arguing the company will find it difficult to continue to produce the kind of growth that surprises the market. He argues, however, that Boohoo, Games Workshop and Greggs have been overlooked by most analysts, which means that there is potential for further up-rating of the shares. There is even talk that Boohoo could be a candidate for the FTSE 100, from which M&S was ousted in 2019. Whether or not this turns out to be true, it still speaks volumes about the revolution in retailing. Japanese Ambassador Felicitates Dr. Jyotsna Suri on the Conferment of Decoration (Photo Courtesy: Embassy of Japan in India) Image Source: IANS News Japanese Ambassador Felicitates Dr. Jyotsna Suri on the Conferment of Decoration (Photo Courtesy: Embassy of Japan in India) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Jan 17 : Bharat Hotels Ltd head and former FICCI President Jyotsna Suri, who was recently conferred Japan's high honour of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, was felicitated here on Friday for boosting bilateral relations. At the ceremony here, Japanese Ambassador to India Suzuki Satoshi highlighted Suri's service in the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in enhancing Japan-India economic relations and organising the Japan-India Tourism Summit. "As the co-chair of FICCI Forum of Parliamentarians, she also contributed to revitalising exchanges between parliamentarians from Japan and India," he said, as per a Japanese Embassy statement. The reception was attended by Union Minister Piyush Goyal and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, among other dignitaries representing the Indian public and private sectors. Suri was conferred the Japanese honour at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in November 2019 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to strengthening Japan-India economic relations and promoting people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The recent statement by Ps. Gwang-Hoon Jeon spoken in a Christian Rally in South Korea has stirred Christians worldwide in protest towards the concern of the well-being of Christians in South Korea. Since then, believers around the world have now run forums, workshops, and protests to determine what is the truth in Christianity. Christians in Melbourne gather to voice out their disagreement against Ps. Gwang-hoon Jeon statement. PR-Inside.com: 2020-01-17 14:35:42 Press Information SCJ News Victoria 20 Mt Alexandre Rd, Travancore, 3032, Melbourne, Victoria Arkan Wa Media Person 0424 233 467 email http://www.shincheonji.kr # 447 Words 20 Mt Alexandre Rd, Travancore, 3032, Melbourne, VictoriaMedia Person0424 233 467 Melbourne, Victoria.Amidst the rainy and cloudy weather forecast on Sunday the 5th of January, over 200 Christians gathered at the Dockland Ron Barassi Snr Park in Melbourne to stand in support, with other Christians internationally in response to one of the most profane claims within the world of Christianity by Pastor Gwang-hoon Jeon, the current chairman of the Christian Council of Korea (CCK), who stated as quoted below:If God messes with me, Hes dead. Christians pray to God addressing him as FATHER in heaven. No children can accept their Father being threatened in public to be murdered. Murder is a crime punishable by law! If a criminal shows off aggressive threats, should the people let him be?Not only did the Chairman of CCK claim that he would kill God, if God messes with him but he also made a politically controversial statement that the world of politics in the Republic of Korea will revolve around him for the next decade.Should a nation not be secular? What does a pastor know about running (a nation)?Would the people of the nation be able to accept such a leader?In response to these comments, the young Christians who attended the Sunday event had a very clear message and that was: CCK OUT! Enough is Enough. The time has come for fellow Christians around the world to be awakened and ask, why would any pastor in their right mind, make such commentary about God?It is time for us to no longer be silent regardless of country, language or race but as a people who say we believe in one God, Christians must have the courage to speak up for the truth on a united front no matter where we are.Today, not only is Christianity the major religion in the world, but many people in Australia have also identified themselves as Christian. Therefore, believers within Australia have the right to be aware of what is happening within the religious world of Christianity both as a learning curb for reflection and to stand up together against such blasphemy.These actions can be seen as the tip of the iceberg, which exposes the corruption that occurs in the name of religion for the sake of political agenda. These incidents should ignite believers to reflect and ponder: What has driven a pastor to say something so impious? Is God really working through pastors who say such blasphemy? This callsfor discernment.It is now time, for people who consider themselves to believe in God of the Bible, to be aware of such abhorrent acts and together call out what is not right so that it can be corrected. THE boss of AxiomSL, which announced 100 new jobs for Limerick this morning, has outlined three key reasons why the firm picked Limerick for its multi-million euro investment. AxionSL, which is a leading provider of regulatory reporting and risk management solutions, is opening a new business operations centre at Hamilton House in the National Technology Park at Plassey. The positions will be in cloud programming, cloud architecture and client support, with the announcement was made at a special event in the Limerick Strand Hotel. Speaking at this, Peter Tierney, the global head of AxiomSL's RegCloud business, said a major reason why the firm came here is the already thriving financial services sector in Limerick. "Names like Northern Trust, First Data and Fexco, all proved to us we were in good company. The second reason we came is to do with the talent and demographics. No location we looked at anywhere were able to provide us with five universities and 70,000 students. I underatand there are 20,000 graduates here. I only need 100 of them, so I think I should be okay," he said. Finally, Mr Tierney is impressed with the co-operation between the university, industry and local government. "Every visit we had with the University of Limerick, they were pro-active, engaged, they understood our space and wanted to help us out." Headquartered in New York, AxiomSL is starting to recruit immediately. "We provide technology to large complex global financial institutions. Our technology helps them gather data and communicate it to their regulators in whatever market they operate in. An international bank in Dublin would use our technology to communicate with the Central Bank of Ireland, for example," he explained. While AxiomSL has traded for 30 years, its move towards the cloud technology sector comes following a shift in demand among its client base. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 17:50:51|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close COLOMBO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- In a bid to boost tourism, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday lifted a 25-year ban on the operation of helicopter flights by private operators from the heart of capital city of Colombo. According to the Civil Aviation Authority, private tourist helicopters can now land at the Defense Ministry grounds on Galle Face in Colombo. Four local operators have been granted permission to re-start flights. "We were waiting for a long time for this opportunity," Skylark Aviation Flight Operations Manager Captain Ravi Dharmawickrama told Daily FT, saying it was a "major landmark" in Sri Lanka's aviation history. "We can service the tourism sector better and contribute more to the economy," he said. According to Dharmawickrama, many high-spending tourists prefer to travel quickly between major tourist sites on the island while enjoying the scenic views provided by helicopter flights. Sri Lanka is eyeing at least two million tourist arrivals in 2020 and 10 million per year by 2025. Last year, Sri Lanka achieved 1.9 million tourist arrivals with over 240,000 visiting in December, statistics from Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed last week. India, China, Britain, Russia and Australia were the top five markets for Sri Lankan tourism last year, with Chinese tourists numbering over 167,000. Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here. LEWISBURG A year ago the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary had approximately 860 inmates behind its wall. Today, that number is 148. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons said the reason for the decrease is the Big House is being transitioned from a high-security to a medium-security prison. It also will house communication management units now at prisons in Marion, Illinois, and Terre Haute, Indiana, and a re-integration unit, BOP spokesman Justin Long said. Medium-security inmates are expected to begin arriving in a couple of months but Long said for security reasons he cannot provide a more definite time. In recent years Lewisburg housed a special management unit (SMU) that has been transferred to a prison in Thomson, Illinois. SMU inmates are considered the worst of the worst because they have caused problems in other prisons. They are locked in their cells 23 hours a day and their recreation time takes pl in cages. There are several pending federal lawsuits alleging mistreatment and torture of SMU inmates. The reason for the mission change, Long explained, is to provide relief to other medium-security institutions throughout the country. Inmates assigned to the community management units will have their telephone use, written correspondence and visits monitored completely. Inmates are placed in such a unit due to the nature of the offense, their conduct while in prison or other verified information, Long said. The frequency of inmate contact with people in the community might be limited as necessary to achieve the total monitoring goal, the Federal Register states. The BOP contends that limiting telephone use and visitors does not violate an inmates due process rights. Designation to the unit follows a decision that such placement is necessary for the safe, secure and orderly operation of BOP institutions or protection of the public, the registry states. The goal of the re-integration unit is to help inmates in special housing units adjust to less restrictive housing, Long explained. The inmates are afforded the same amenities as those in the general population within their designated housing unit, he said. No staff will lose their jobs and none of the currently filled positions will be eliminated by the mission change, Long said. There were 515 on staff in 2018 when the change was announced, he said. Lewisburg has been a high-security prison since it opened in 1932 as the U.S. Northeastern Penitentiary. It has housed a number of famous inmates including Jimmy Hoffa, Al Capone, John Gotti, Alger Hiss, Ralph Ginsburg and the 1992 World Trade Center bombers. A satellite camp currently houses about 350 inmates. -- Recent John Beauge stories on PennLive Outcome of Title IX suit will benefit Lock Havens women athletes for years to come: attorney Construction of thruway section to be bid in phases, PennDOT says Penn State accused of not providing due process to anyone as fight over former frat house continues Man admits robbing Middleburg bank in 2016 at gunpoint Lock Haven University agrees to improve support for its womens athletic program Northcentral Pa. bus demonstration project proceeding despite firing of transit systems GM The Supreme Court will decide whether Electoral College voters have a constitutional right to cast ballots for candidates who didn't win their state's popular vote, the justices announced in an order on Friday. The justices said they will hear two cases brought by Electoral College voters in Washington state and Colorado who refused to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016 despite her wins in those states. Like most states, Washington and Colorado require their electors to follow the will of their states' voters. But those laws are now being challenged by Electoral College voters who argue that such laws are unconstitutional. A decision in the matter is expected by the end of June, ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. The cases are the latest in a string of high-profile disputes the top court is expected to resolve in a contentious election year. Historically, the faithfulness of Electoral College voters has largely been a formality. In 2016, 10 out of the total 538 electors attempted to cast ballots out of line with their state's popular vote. But attorneys on both sides of the issue urged the top court to resolve the constitutional question before a crisis emerges. Larry Lessig, an attorney for the electors in Washington, wrote in court papers that a swing by 10 electors would have been enough to alter the results in five of 58 previous presidential races. In 2016 Xingya Feng was appointed CEO of Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (HKG:2238). This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at other big companies. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels. View our latest analysis for Guangzhou Automobile Group How Does Xingya Feng's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies? Our data indicates that Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. is worth HK$128b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as CN1.4m for the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at CN563k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations over CN55b, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be CN7.9m. There aren't very many mega-cap companies, so we had to take a wide range to get a meaningful comparison figure. A first glance this seems like a real positive for shareholders, since Xingya Feng is paid less than the average total compensation paid by other large companies. However, before we heap on the praise, we should delve deeper to understand business performance. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Guangzhou Automobile Group has changed over time. SEHK:2238 CEO Compensation, January 17th 2020 Is Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. Growing? Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 13% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It saw its revenue drop 16% over the last year. This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future. Story continues Has Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. Been A Good Investment? Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. for providing a total return of 36% over three years. 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... Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. is currently paying its CEO below what is normal for large companies. Since the business is growing, many would argue this suggests the pay is modest. The pleasing shareholder returns are the cherry on top; you might even consider that Xingya Feng deserves a raise! It's not often we see shareholders do so well, and yet the CEO is paid modestly. It would be even more positive if company insiders are buying shares. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Guangzhou Automobile Group. If you want to buy a stock that is better than Guangzhou Automobile Group, 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. Greece has said it will block any peace deal on Libya proposed by the European Union (UE) as it complained about her exclusion from Berlin conference planned for coming Sunday. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that his government will stand in the way of the deal unless it scraps a maritime deal between Turkey and the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. Greece at the level of a summit meeting will never accept any political solution on Libya that does not include, as a precondition, the annulment of this agreement, Mitsotakis told Greek television on Thursday. To put it simply, we will use our veto. Germany is set to host 11 countries in capital Berlin Sunday in view of pushing for a peace that will end ongoing rivalries between the GNA and opposed administration backed by retired General Khalifa Haftar. The conference reportedly will request the end of foreign interference in Libyan internal affairs. Several regional countries and world powers have been involved in a proxy conflict in the oil-rich country. Turkey, Qatar and Italy have provided support for the GNA while Haftar has enjoyed backing from Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Russia. Besides head of GNA Fayez al-Sarraj and Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, the German government announced that Turkey, Russia, China, France, Italy, the US, the UK, United Arab Emirates, Republic of Congo, Algeria, and Egypt were invited to the conference, in addition to the UN, EU, African Union, and the Arab League. Germany has refused to invite Greece to the conference though Athens insisted. Berlin said the UE country is not directly involved in the Libyan crisis. Greek authorities condemned and refused to abide by the November maritime agreement that grants Turkey exploration rights in large parts of the Mediterranean extending to Libyan territorial waters. Following the deal, Athens expelled the GNA envoy and established ties with the Libyan rival government and Haftar. Libyan rebel General who has accepted to be part of the Berlin meeting arrived in Athens on Thursday. He is expected to hold talks with PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias who also visited him in Benghazi last month. Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast / Photos Getty Can we try to take stock of these insane last 24 hours? First and most obviously, the articles of impeachment were delivered to the Senate. Third time in history. Consider the first two. One president fired a Cabinet official Congress basically dared him to firea politics fight, in other words. The whole thing was shaky enough that seven senators from the opposition party voted to acquit the president. The next president to be impeached, of course, lied about sex after being set up in a sting operation. By comparison, this president invited a foreign country to interfere in the next election. Not allegedlyhe and his chief of staff have admitted they did it. If that doesnt sound a lot worse to you than the first two, you have no idea what the Constitution and laws of the United States are about. And yet, Senate Republicans, supposedly the impartial jurors here, for the most part carry on with the up-is-down charade that its all a scam. Mitch McConnell, already staunchly against having John Bolton and other witnesses, has now moved to limit the Capitol Hill press corps ability to cover the trial. Transparency! Democracy! We got a look at those mind-blowing documents Lev Parnas provided to Congress, which showed that American foreign policy in Ukraineunder attack at the time from Russiawas being conducted by a group of freelance goons who a) were trying to convince Ukraine to pin a phony crime on Hunter and Joe Biden and b) claiming to be spying on the movements and engineering the firing of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, whom they wanted to get rid of. No, its not clear that phrase was meant in its most ominous sense, but the mob talk fits right in to who these people are. Oh, yes, those documents also showedfor the first timeRudy Giuliani saying that the anti-Biden plot was at Donald Trumps direction. Then we had Parnas stunning interviews, notably the Rachel Maddow one, in which he said President Trump knew exactly what was going on and Attorney General Bill Barr was basically on the team. Story continues And then Thursday morning, the Government Accountability Office dropped the hammer, flatly saying that Trumps Office of Management and Budget had broken the law by withholding Ukraines money: Faithful execution of the law does not permit the president to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law. Government Accountability Office Finds That Trump White House Illegally Held Up Ukraine Aid Is that everything? Oh, wait. For good measure, we learned that the president of the United States is a little foggy on what happened at Pearl Harbor. How foggy, Im not sure. It turns out that back in 2018, he did, in his usual thuggish way, threaten his supposed buddy Shinzo Abe with the words I remember Pearl Harbor. Which of course he does not, strictly speaking, remember, since he was born in 1946. Now. Imagine that instead of the United States, all this were unfolding in a country where we were accustomed to seeing strongmen who perverted the government so that it was little more than an extension of their piggish and corrupt personalities, enriching themselves by the billions (or at least multi-millions) of dollars in the process. Where the strongmans political party consisted of nothing but a collection of oleaginous yes-men and contemptible toadies. Where he drove crowds to frenzy railing against liberals and cosmopolitans and their, their, their liberal and cosmopolitan dishwashers, which failed the noble herrenvolk in just the same effete way their meddling laws did. Where the strongman, his henchmen, and the majority-party politicians placed the rule of law and democratic norms under constant attack. Where they constantly pulled the old time-honored trick of accusing the opposition party of doing exactly what they did to muddy things up and confuse people. And finally, where the state-owned propaganda network drove home, daily and incessantly, a reality that was the exact opposite of the truth. Oh, those crazy people in those unsophisticated countries, wed cluck. Well folks, we are those people. We are that country. Speaking of those countries, I just pulled up out of curiosity Freedom Houses world freedom rankings, which it issues every year. You can look at the map. Green countries are free, yellow are so-so, blue are in trouble. The United States is still green, which is a relief. But we score 86 out of 100, which is worse than Canada (99), Australia (98), Spain (94), Chile (94), the U.K. (93), and a bunch of other places, and about on par with Mongolia (85) and Ghana (83). And were slipping. Freedom House ranks countries in three categories: civil liberties, political rights, and overall freedom. In 2015, we had 1 rankings in all three. By 2019, we were 1, 2, and 1.5. Think where well be by 2024 if Trump is re-elected and Mitch McConnell maintains Senate power. This nation is being cheapened, weakened, destroyed. And they know it. Well, Trump may not know it. Trump is an emotional 5-year-old and a gangster whose only concern with laws is how to break them and whose only concern with corruption is how to increase it on his behalf. But the rest of them know. They know what theyre doing. Some are venal, some are just cowards, but at this point it hardly makes a difference. The end result is the same. Did you see what Susan Collins said? Is she a propagandist or just an idiot? I dont think shes an idiot. Her response, though laughable, showed that she can be fast on her feet. So shes not dumb. Shes a propagandist. And she, of course, is among the least bad of them. I will be very happily surprised if four Republicans vote to have witnesses. But I doubt it will happen. McConnell shows every intention of seeking to make the trial as short as possible. I guess Vegas hasnt established an over/under, but if you asked me to, Id put it at five days. And Id bet the mortgage on the under. Id love to be wrong. But if I am, it will be an aberration, a happy accident. If after these last three years youre still naive enough to think that these people will follow any rule except the rule that keeps them in power, then you really should move to one of those nice places that Freedom House still scores in the 90s. Because were now below that, and were spiraling down fast. 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 Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America By Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig Penguin Press. 465 pp. $30 --- In a way, Donald Trump has been our most transparent president. We almost always know what he's thinking, especially about himself. He lets us know directly, through tweets, and indirectly, through the psychological process of projection: the displacement of his fears and anxieties onto others. Just think of all the people he has called "crooked," "weak" or "scum." The very title of this devastating book, "A Very Stable Genius," is a form of projection. Trump obviously fears that he's the opposite. And when, in the most shocking revelation offered by Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, Trump launches a face-to-face tirade against the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, calling them "losers," "dopes and babies," and says, "I wouldn't go to war with you people," it isn't difficult to imagine who he's really talking about. That scene, which takes place in the Pentagon's secure sanctuary called the Tank, has been reported before, most notably by Bob Woodward in "Fear," but Rucker and Leonnig provide new details of the president's astonishing verbal assault and also the crucial context. The meeting is a conspiracy hatched by Trump's then-national security team, specifically Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster. They are concerned that the president doesn't know enough about the world, that he has a rather shaky grasp of geography, economics and military strategy. They're hoping to gently bring him up to speed. But Trump has ultrasensitive antennae - at least, when it comes to himself; he knows when he's being patronized. It drives him nuts. It also gives him the opportunity to do what he does best: to counterpunch, to insult and to direct attention away from his own weaknesses by acting like a middle school playground bully. Tillerson famously calls him a "moron" after the meeting in the Tank. Trump returns the favor by calling Tillerson "dumb as a rock." He also says Mattis doesn't deserve his nickname, "Mad Dog" - never understanding the irony inherent in the moniker: Mattis is a reasoned, thoughtful military scholar, the very opposite of Trump. "A Very Stable Genius" is superbly reported and written with clarity, but it is not an easy read. It is relentless, depressing and ultimately numbing; sort of like being an American citizen these past four years. It is the story of how Trump got rid of all the advisers - the so-called grown-ups in the room - who patronized him and tried to prevent him from doing what they considered to be stupid things. The authors have dislodged new sources who enable them to describe the thoughts and feelings of players like Tillerson, McMaster, Chief of Staff John Kelly, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and others. Rucker and Leonnig try to be scrupulously fair; they don't rant; they don't make judgments or pull back to give a more historic perspective. They leave the most devastating analyses of this presidency to their sources, sometimes in blind quotes provided by Trump staffers, sometimes with questionable effect. "Did people in the 1930s in Germany know when the government started to turn on them?" a lower-level aide opines. "Most Americans are more worried about who's going to win America's Got Talent. ... They aren't watching this closely." I don't doubt the accuracy of the quote, and I share the source's fears, but if you're going to raise the notion that the president is a proto-fascist, probably better to have it done it on the record, via a high-ranking official, or in your own words. There is another problem with source-driven reporting: Your sourcing may be incomplete. Tillerson, who seems a halting and barely competent leader in accounts based on State Department sources, comes off as decisive and courageous here. He confronts the president during a second meeting with the Joint Chiefs, this time in the White House Situation Room. Trump makes the outrageous suggestion that "we need to be making a profit" on wars like the one in Afghanistan. Tillerson braces the president: "I've never put on a uniform, but I know this. ... The people in this room, they don't do it to make a buck. They did it for their country, to protect us." It is one of the rare times that a Trump official actually stands up to the boss. Trump gets "a little red in the face" but chooses not to flash back at Tillerson. Another surprise is Robert Mueller, usually described as a pillar of competence and rectitude. He seems uncertain and elusive here. In his first meeting with Attorney General William Barr, Mueller reads from prepared notes, as the authors write: "Mueller's hands shook as he held the paper. His voice was shaky, too." Barr and Rosenstein "couldn't help but worry about Mueller's health." Indeed, Trump's attorneys - the eternally accessible Rudy Giuliani, the less well-known Jane and Martin Raskin - come off as more savvy and even more competent than the special prosecutor. It's not impossible that this account is accurate - Mueller was anything but forceful in his House Judiciary Committee appearance last summer - but without Mueller's side of the story, it is not entirely convincing. Russia remains the abiding mystery of the Trump administration, the area of least transparency. The authors provide no new insights into Trump's unseemly affection for Vladimir Putin and antipathy toward the U.S. intelligence community. He says, privately, that there is "no collusion" from the start. But is it a matter of incompetence - "We couldn't even collude with ourselves," says son-in-law Jared Kushner - or something more foxy? Does Trump have a clear understanding of where the bright line was, that he didn't have to conspire with the Russians because they were already doing his bidding? Does he understand that when he publicly called for Russia to find Hillary Clinton's missing emails, the Russian hackers would spring into action that very night, "literally working the graveyard shift at his request from half a world away?" Rucker and Leonnig offer lots of gory details about the president. He blusters about, desperately solipsistic, relentlessly ignorant. His gaffes are breathtaking. In a New Delhi meeting, Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, states his deep concern about China's growing power. "It's not like you've got China on your border," Trump states, apparently unaware that the two countries have had a history of military clashes on their Himalayan border. And yet, gradually, despite the consternation of his aides (and the authors' narrative intent), Trump emerges as more than just a needy adolescent throwing spitballs at the deep state. He has a definite worldview and a strategy, a feral brilliance that has cracked the political code in the digital, postmillennial era. He has made two historic conceptual breakthroughs - in style and agenda. He is to social media what Franklin Roosevelt was to radio and John F. Kennedy was to television. And he has created a coherent, if dangerously myopic, populist platform that borrows from the shattered remains of 20th-century liberalism and conservatism. He has created his own ideology and his own party. Rucker and Leonnig's sources make much of the need to keep guard rails on the president, but Trump has his own rigorous set of boundaries: He will always appear tough. He will always be crude. He will be relentless in his pursuit of his agenda. The problem is, ultimately, that the world is more complex than any ideology, especially one so simple as Trump's. Indeed, the fallout from his bold order to kill Qassem Soleimani may prove to be a metaphor for this administration: a scalding tweet of a drone strike, followed by chaos and long-term policy confusion that are the very opposite of stability or genius. --- Klein is the author of seven books, including "Primary Colors" and, most recently, "Charlie Mike." Mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan today received Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, reports Yerevan Municipality. Hayk Marutyan congratulated the guest on starting her diplomatic mission in Armenia and expressed certainty that it would be possible to expand the scope of cooperation through the joint efforts of the municipality and the Office of the Head of the EU Delegation. Several projects for the development of alternative energy, waste management, public transport (particularly modernization of metro stations) and water resource management are under implementation in Yerevan through the financial and advisory support of the European Union. In her turn, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin stated that the EU Delegation is willing to deepen and expand the boundaries of cooperation. Azerbaijan's Defense Minister Colonel General Zakir Hasanov met the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk today, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. During the meeting, an exchange of views was held on the current situation at the contact line of the troops, the results of the monitoring and the settlement of the conflict. U.S. Government Watchdog Says Trump Administration Broke Law In Freezing Ukraine Aid By RFE/RL January 16, 2020 A nonpartisan U.S. Congressional watchdog says the administration of President Donald Trump violated federal law by withholding security assistance to Ukraine. The Government Accountability Office (GOA) said in a January 16 report that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) violated the law last year when it withheld the aid that had been appropriated by Congress -- a key focal point of the impeachment proceedings into Trump. The nine-page report, written by the agency's general counsel Thomas Armstrong, concluded that "the law does not permit the president to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law." It further said the "OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA).... The withholding was not a programmatic delay. Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA." Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress is granted the "power of the purse," and the president, as the executive branch of government, is given a narrow scope in ignoring appropriations mandated by lawmakers and passed into law. The report was released just hours before the Senate was sworn in to start the impeachment trial of Trump, who is accused of abusing the power of his office for personal gain and obstruction of Congress. The two articles of impeachment specifically relate to Trump's dealings with Ukraine. They include holding up $391 million passed by Congress in military aid for Ukraine, a move allegedly intended to pressure Kyiv into investigating political rival Joe Biden, the Republican president's potential Democratic opponent in the November 3 U.S. election. It remains unclear how the watchdog's report will affect the impeachment trial given that the ground rules haven't been determined by the Republican-controlled Senate, including what, if any, new evidence will be admissible during proceedings. Although the GAO's findings aren't legally binding, its reports are considered reliable and the agency is viewed as the federal government's preeminent auditing agency. Based on reporting by CNN, Reuters, AP, and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-government-watchdog- says-trump-administration-broke-law-in- freezing-ukraine-aid/30381580.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 Boeing said on Friday it is addressing a new software issue discovered in Iowa last weekend during a technical review of the proposed update to the grounded Boeing 737 Max, a development that could further delay the plane's return to service. "We are making necessary updates," Boeing said in a statement. Officials at the planemaker said the issue relates to a software power-up monitoring function that verifies some system monitors are operating correctly. One of the monitors was not being initiated correctly, officials said. The monitor check is prompted by a software command at airplane or system power up, and will set the appropriate indication if maintenance is required, company officials added. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) did not immediately comment. ABC News reported the issue early Friday. Boeing is halting production of the 737 Max this month following the grounding in March of its best-selling plane after two fatal crashes in five months killed 346 people. U.S. regulators are waiting for an update from Boeing on how they will resolve the issue. A U.S. official briefed on the matter said Friday the FAA is now unlikely to approve the plane's return until March but it could take until April. This week, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both said they would extend cancellations of Max flights until early June. Also this month, the FAA and Boeing said they were reviewing a wiring issue that could potentially cause a short circuit on the grounded 737 Max. Officials said the review is looking at whether two bundles of wiring are too close together, which could lead to a short circuit and potentially result in a crash if pilots did not respond appropriately. U.S. and European aviation safety regulators met with Boeing in an effort to complete a 737 Max software documentation audit that was begun in November. Documentation requirements are central to certification for increasingly complex aircraft software, and can become a source of delays. A SARS-like coronavirus that first emerged in China has officially reached Japan, officials said Thursday. It seems to be the second time the radical coronavirus has been detected outside China after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed a case in Thailand. Japan's health ministry said a man who had visited the Chinese city of Wuhan, got hospitalized on January 10, four days after his return to Japan. He mentioned a recurrent fever. Tests at the patient, who was released from the hospital on Wednesday, showed he became infected with the new virus. "This is the first domestic discovery of a pneumonia case related to the brand new coronavirus," Japan's health ministry said a statement. "We will continue [vigorous] epidemiological studies and coordinating efforts with the World Health Organization and related partnerships to conduct a risk assessment." Just 41 cases of novel coronavirus (nCoV) were confirmed in China, of which seven are severely ill. A 61-year-old man died of heart failure after contracting the virus, but no new infections were found since January 8. A seafood marketplace in Wuhan was the center of the outbreak, according to the authorities. Japanese government stated the person had not visited the marketplace. It added that the patient might have interacted with a person infected with the virus while in Wuhan. An outbreak in Japan 'unlikely.' The risk of the sickness spreading from the patient was considered low, according to Health Ministry official Eiji Hinoshita. People who have been in near touch with the patient needs cautious laboratory exams. "At this point, we feel it's far unlikely this could lead to a dramatic outbreak," he stated, including that the patient was not struggling a fever and turned into improving at home. Officials declined to provide further facts on the man, including his nationality due to privacy concerns. The patient, according to reports, was a Chinese local in his 30s living in Kanagawa - just southwest of Tokyo. Public broadcaster NHK said the patient had already recovered and was resting at home, as quarantine officers at Tokyo's Narita airport boosted health checks on all travelers. The fitness ministry urged folks who develop a cough or fever after touring Wuhan to put on a surgical mask and "swiftly visit a scientific institution." Hinoshita stated Japan would want to be on guard ahead of the Lunar New Year, a well-known Chinese tradition. He said Japan would expect more visitors from China during that event. It isn't yet clear yet whether the virus might be transmitted between humans; however, authorities said Wednesday it might be possible to spread among a circle of relatives. The woman identified in Thailand, who is in a stable condition, said she did not visit the Wuhan seafood market. WHO physician Maria Van Kerkhove on Tuesday stated she "would not be amazed if there changed into a few restricted human-to-human transmission, particularly among households who have close contact with one another." Hong Kong authorities on Tuesday stated numerous people had been hospitalized with fever or respiratory symptoms after traveling to Wuhan, but no cases of the brand new virus have been showed just yet. It's been exactly a year after the cold blood murder of one of Ghana's most promising investigative journalists, Ahmed Suale who was then working with Anas Aremeyaw Anas' Tiger Eye PI. It is in this vein that the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has bemoaned the level of delay of justice on the part of the part those responsible to administer justice. The GJA is by this impressing upon the Ghana Police Service to intensify the search for and arrest of the assailants of Ahmed Suale. According to the GJA, the arrest of the murderers and their prosecution would send a clear and strident message that Ghana grants no immunity from impunity. The President of the GJA, Roland Affail Monney, in his address at the forum to mark the 1st anniversary of the death of Ahmed Suale, said even though the incident occurred 12 months ago, it was still fresh in the memory of the Ghanaian media community. The GJA president said little had been done to bring the perpetrators to book in spite of the fact that government and the police assured the media of their willingness to do so. The first glimmer of hope in exacting justice came from the police CID which announced last year that two persons had been arrested for questioning. Our sense of hope was reinforced by President Akufo-Addo who told a conference of the Ghana Bar Association that the killers of Ahmed Suale would be found and prosecuted, but this is yet to happen, he pointed out. He said Africa is not known to have a good record of fishing out criminals who murder journalists, citing cases of the assassination of Deyda Hydara of the Gambia on 16th December 2004, as well as the GJA Ashanti Regional Chairman, Samuel Kwabena Ennin, who was shot dead at a popular spot at Pankrono Estate in Kumasi on February 2007. This time around, we are hoping and trusting that the Ghana police would break the jinx to salvage our country's image and advance the cause of press freedom, he added. Mr. Monney further called on journalists to sharpen their sense of security, especially in this election year, and avoid areas and practices that could endanger their lives or safety. The Police CID Public Relations Officer, DSP Juliana Obeng, in a statement, said investigators on this case are working around the clock 24/7 to find the murderers. On behalf of the Ghana police, I can say that there is tremendous progress on the case, the Inspector General of Police assures the family and the media fraternity that investigation is vigorously ongoing and justice would certainly be served, she added. She encouraged the family, the media and members of the public to continue to volunteer not just information but timely and accurate information that would help the police in their investigations. A statement issued by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on behalf of its 600,000 members in 141 countries said, The assassination of our colleague Ahmed cannot be allowed to become just another statistic in the grim toll of journalist killed and impunity for the assassins. ---Daily Guide From 00:00 to 07:00 Kyiv time on Friday, January 17, Russian-led forces were observing the ceasefire. Russia's hybrid military forces on January 16 mounted 12 attacks on Ukrainian Army positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA). "The armed forces of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire 12 times on January 16. One Ukrainian soldier was killed as a result of enemy shelling," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation Headquarters said in an update posted on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on January 17. Read alsoDonbas settlement talks: parties agree on new disengagement area The enemy engaged Ukrainiain troops with proscribed 152mm and 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms. In addition, the enemy employed sniper fire. Under attack were Ukrainian positions near the villages of Novotroyitske, Travneve, Novotoshkivske, Myronivske, Luhanske, Novozvanivka, Orikhove, and Zaitseve. From 00:00 to 07:00 Kyiv time on Friday, January 17, Russian-led forces were observing the ceasefire. A farmer could not contain his excitement as torrential rain fell on his drought-stricken property. The heartwarming video posted to social media shows the overjoyed farmer welcoming the rain on his farm in New South Wales following months of drought. The farmer steps outside and is celebrating the rainfall showing off the downfall on his brown farm. The overjoyed farmer is welcoming the rain on his farm in New South Wales following months of drought As he cheers, the farmer takes off his hat and looks up at the sky as the rain fell down on his face. 'Send it down. Let's get wet,' he said as it continues to pour. He then shows off his cows standing out in the rain and puddles that are scattered around the property. He then shows off his cows standing out in the rain and puddles that are scattered around the property The farmer takes his hat off and enjoyed the rain falling on his face and property 'My cows heres some rain to give you some feed,' he says to his herd. Friday saw a second heavy downpour that has fallen on parts of Australia's bushfire ravaged and drought-stricken east coast. The first significant rain in months fell on Thursday - drenching parts of Victoria and helping to extinguish more than 32 blazes in New South Wales. Rain is again forecast for this weekend with the heaviest predicted for regions around Sydney, the NSW mid-north coast, and Brisbane. While the rain has given firefighters much-needed hope, there are also concerns the wet weather could cause flash flooding, landslides, and contaminate water with ash and debris. Purcell laments that her mother died before the Drover's Wife project was underway. She was my mother, she was my father, she was my hero. She was a drover when she was a young woman; her father was a drover. Me being the youngest, I guess it was my responsibility to look after her. She drank a little bit, she was drowning her sorrows of life. I looked after her and my nana, so thats how I related to the story and it just stayed with me for 42 years. The barramundi at Fatto. Credit:Chris Hopkins Part of the storys timeless appeal is the central character, the mother working tirelessly to care for and feed her children, protecting them from threats both natural and man-made, making the most of the meagre provisions at hand. For Purcell, that universality of experience is key. Whether youre black, white or brindle, everyone has a woman who is a tower of strength, she says. Everyone has had some sort of experience with a mum like that or missed out on that. As a teenager, Purcell was in an abusive relationship and fell pregnant at 17. A month after her daughter was born, Purcell's beloved mother, a Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri woman, died. "I had to pull my socks up and go, 'OK, Ive got to get myself together.' I guess for a little bit there I copied what my mother did and turned to the bottle for a little bit, but I didnt want to do that because Id grown up in pubs. I didnt want that for my daughter. Before she died, my mother said, Thats your kid, look after her.' And I took that to heart." Fatto's spaghettini with spanner crab. Credit:Chris Hopkins Leaving Murgon was her only way out; she packed up her yellow Datsun Sunny and took her baby to Merimbula and then Brisbane. "I had to for my own sanity, I was drinking a lot and I was having suicidal thoughts." Concern for her child kept her going and to this day she calls her ''my saviour''. At the moment, her daughter and two grandchildren live with Purcell and her partner of 28 years, Bain Stewart. They met soon after her arrival in Brisbane, for which she is eternally grateful. A strong sportswoman she was once picked for the All Blacks netball team Purcell trained as an aerobics instructor and that led to her meeting Stewart, who ran a martial arts gym and was a champion kickboxer. Now her business partner in production company Oombarra Productions, Stewart is, she says, ''the ideas man; I just churn it all out". The women who came before her and the indignity they suffered serve as a constant motivator. "My grandmother was part of the stolen generation, on her papers she was subhuman. My mother was part of, I call it the lost generation, they werent allowed to be given the culture, it wasnt allowed to be passed to them. They didnt know who they were and how to fit into a Western world which rejected them. I looked at myself and thought, Im born at a time when I can have a voice, I can prosper, and it would be a crime if I didnt, because of what my mother and grandmother went through." Purcell as the lead character in The Drover's Wife, the fierce Molly Johnson. Credit:Brett Boardmen We stop chatting to order the barramundi for her and spanner crab pasta for me, plus the broccolini with roasted chickpeas to share. The idea for returning to Lawsons story came to her in 2006 while making the film Jindabyne, directed by Ray Lawrence. The beauty and grandeur of the landscape struck her; it was calling out to be featured on screen. When we were up in Kosciuszko, I said, Im just putting it out here, while Im on country, Im going to be back here, Im going to write something, Im going to act in it. And I think its going to be The Drovers Wife.' And here we are, we just wrapped so what a blessing from the ancestors. Purcell says she has written most of her lead roles, largely because people dont know where to place her. "Because Im fair-skinned. Because Im such an activist, they put me in the black box and thats fine as well." Rhoda Roberts encouraged Purcell to create her first show, Box The Pony, co-written with Scott Rankin and detailing her life to that point. The playis on the high school curriculum in New South Wales, along with Black Chicks Talking, a book and documentary she made in the early 2000s featuring interviews with nine Indigenous women. Purcells success as a writer is remarkable, given she missed a lot of primary school; she was busy looking after her mother and grandmother. "I had a bit of a pattern, pension days I wouldnt come to school or Id take off at lunchtime." Filming for the next series of Wentworth, in which Purcell plays Rita Connors, is set to begin. Credit:Foxtel Performing in the school play revealed her talent as an actor and a choreographer; later, she was the first student to direct a production. Outside of that, her attendance was patchy and her results suffered. If I wasnt performing, I was a C-average student." Lawsons classic tale sat on a bookshelf for years, awaiting her attention. When that day came, rather than rereading it, she focused on her mother's retelling. Within seven days, she had a script drafted it subsequently won the Balnaves Scholarship for Indigenous Playwrights and the NSW Premier's Literary Award. When the show opened at Sydney's Belvoir Theatre in 2016, it received a standing ovation and five encores; a national tour is planned. A compulsive worker, Purcell wrote part of the script for The Drover's Wife while filming Wentworth. I was in the slot for a while, I had my computer and I was writing. People would ask, 'What are you doing?' Im working! Then Id come out and fight someone for a bit and then go back in The receipt for lunch with Leah Purcell. Purcell is not surprised by the strong interest in Indigenous stories apparent today. People are interested in our history as a country and want to learn; its human nature, she says. "Our history, this countrys history is black. It is ours, its everyones. Australians love a good yarn. As long as the yarn is good you can sprinkle your black pepper on it, you can sprinkle your Arabic pepper on it, you can sprinkle your whatever on it. The Drovers Wife is out now, published by Penguin; The Drover's Wife: the legend of Molly Johnson is set for release later this year. Fatto 100 St Kilda Road, city Pierce Brosnan's estranged son Christopher stepped out in London on Friday. The filmmaker, 47, cut a casual figure as he focused on his phone during a stroll around Notting Hill. Pierce and son Christopher have been estranged for 15 years after the former Bond actor, 66, revealed he had 'cut him off' when Christopher refused to kick his drug habit. Out and about: Pierce Brosnan's estranged son Christopher, 47, cut a casual figure as he stepped out in London on Friday Christopher cut a casual figure in a zip-up black utility jacket and jeans as he headed into the capital. He finished his outfit with a black flat cap and grey scarf as he enjoyed a spot of fresh air in the capital. Christopher seemed mostly preoccupied by his phone as he was spotted on a rare appearance in the capital. Relaxed: The filmmaker cut a casual figure in a black utility jacket, grey scarf and jeans during the stroll around Notting Hill Outing: Christopher seemed mostly preoccupied by his phone as he was spotted on a rare appearance in the capital Pierce adopted both Chris and his late sister Charlotte when their biological father Dermot died in 1986, while he was married to Cassandra. Chris's mother Cassandra, passed away at the age of 43 following a battle with ovarian cancer, back in 1991. His sister Charlotte tragically also died from ovarian cancer in 2013 at the age of just 41. Family woes: Chris' sighting comes 15 years after the actor, 65, revealed he had 'cut him off' following his refusal to kick his drug habit (Pictured together in 2007) Despite having famous parents, Christopher made a name for himself in the film industry, working as an assistant director on Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and The Thomas Crown Affair. Chris later starred on the original Love Island series in 2005. But the talented filmmaker fell into a downwards spiral and suffered from cocaine and heroin addictions. He once fell into a coma following an overdose and went on to have several brushes with the law. In 1997, the director was jailed for three months for drink-driving after being fined 1,000 for the same offence the year earlier. Family: Chris is the biological son of Australian actress Cassandra Harris - who passed away at the age of 43 following a battle with ovarian cancer in 1991 (Pictured with Pierce in 1983) He was also involved in a massive brawl at Browns nightclub in London and was later banned from the venue. Back in 2005, Pierce said Chris' woes had prompted him to 'cut him off'. Speaking to Playboy in 2005, Pierce said: 'Christopher is still very lost. Shockingly so. I know where he is, but he's having a hard life. 'I can only have strong faith and believe he will recover. He has tested everybody in this family but none more so than himself. He knows how to get out. He doesn't want to. 'He has tested everybody': Pierce was open and honest about their relationship at the time, claiming that Chris' woes had prompted him to 'cut him off' (Pictured together 1998) Heartbreak: Christopher's sister Charlotte (R) tragically died from ovarian cancer - the same illness that took the life of her mother - in 2013 at the age of just 41 (Pictured 2003) Proving that it was a case of tough love, Pierce continued: 'It's painful because you shut down. You never completely cut them off, but I have cut Christopher off. I had to say, "Go. Get busy living, or get busy dying". He has my prayers.' Pierce went on to marry Keely Shaye Smith. The pair have been together since 1994 and tied the knot at Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo, Ireland, in 2001. The actor has often been vocal about how Keely saved him from depression following his personal tragedies, describing her as a 'strength I wouldnt be able to live without'. Pierce has suffered a great deal of personal tragedy after losing his first wife Cassandra in 1991, and then his adoptive daughter Charlotte in 2013. Speaking in 2014 at the Stand Up To Cancer telethon in LA, he revealed: 'To watch someone you love have his or her life eaten away bit by bit by this insidious disease, that kind of sorrow becomes an indelible part of your psyche.' BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Ilhama Isabalayeva Trend: Azerbaijani State Agency for Compulsory Medical Insurance has disclosed the information related to Azerbaijans districts where the co-financing mechanism will be launched, Trend reports on Jan. 17 referring to the Agency. The introduction of the co-financing mechanism will be launched on April 1, 2020. However, this will be implemented in the districts that have been already covered by the compulsory medical insurance system as a pilot project. In other words, the number of districts and cities in which the co-financing mechanism will be applied will also increase as far as the territory covered by compulsory medical insurance is expanded. Residents of districts in which compulsory medical insurance is not applied will be able to use the services of medical institutions in nearby cities and districts without paying the amount of co-financing before the compulsory medical insurance is applied in those districts. At the preliminary stage, compulsory medical insurance is applied in 23 Azerbaijani districts, namely, Guba, Gusar, Khachmaz, Shabran, Siyazan, Khizi, Shamakhi, Ismayilli, Agsu, Gobustan, Balakan, Zagatala, Gakh, Sheki, Oguz, Gabala, Goychay, Ujar, Zardab, Kurdamir, Mingachevir, Agdash and Yevlakh. At the same time, compulsory medical insurance is used in Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Insurance is implemented by the State Agency for Compulsory Medical Insurance under the Cabinet of Ministers of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Twenty-one more districts will be connected to the system from April 1, namely, Ganja, Goygol, Goranboy, Dashkesan, Samukh, Naftalan, Shamkir, Gazakh, Agstafa, Gadabay, Tovuz, Barda, Tartar, Aghdam, Aghjabadi, Fizuli, Beylagan, Khojavand, Khojaly, Lachin, Kalbajar in the second stage. At the third stage, compulsory medical insurance will be applied in 15 more districts - Lankaran, Masalli, Lerik, Yardimli, Astara, Jalilabad, Salyan, Neftchala, Bilasuvar, Imishli, Saatli, Hajigabul, Shirvan, Sabirabad and Jabrayil. At the last, fourth stage, from Oct. 1, Baku, Sumgayit, Absheron, Khankendi, Gubadli, Zangilan and Shusha will be connected to the system. The amount of co-financing is a part of the cost of the medical service that must be paid by the insured in case of his or her non-compliance with the conditions specified in the Services Package. It is paid directly to the medical facility. Thus, if a citizen without a family doctors referral appeals to a medical institution at the place of registration for outpatient services, for each insured event he or she will have to pay the cost of co-financing in the amount of 5 manat ($2.9). If a citizen appeals to a medical institution located in another administrative territory for outpatient services, for each insured event he or she will have to pay the cost of co-financing in the amount of 5 manat. If a citizen, without a family doctors referral, appeals to a medical institution located outside the medical territorial department where he or she is registered for outpatient services, for each insured event he or she must pay the cost of co-financing in the amount of 15 manat ($8.8). If a citizen, without a referral from a medical institution at the place of registration or residence, appeals for in-patient services to a medical institution located in another administrative territory, but inside a medical territorial department, for each insurance case the cost of which exceeds 100 manat ($58.8), he or she will have to pay the cost of the joint financing in the amount of 30 manat ($17.6). If a citizen without a referral from a medical institution located in the administrative territory at the place of registration appeals for in-patient services to a medical institution located outside the medical territorial department where he or she is registered, for each insurance case the cost of which exceeds 100 manat, the citizen will have to pay the cost of co-financing in the amount of 90 manat ($52.9). If the conditions specified in the Services Package are met (appeal to a family doctor, appeal to a specialized doctor based on the referral from a family doctor, etc.) while providing emergency medical care, outpatient (excluding CT - computerized tomography and MRI - magnetic resonance imaging) and inpatient care, no payment of the cost of co-financing is required. ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A Fairbanks man killed his girlfriend in the apartment they shared and moved her body to a vacant unit across a hallway in the same building, according to state prosecutors. Eric Rustad, 39, is charged with first-degree murder, evidence tampering and misconduct with a corpse in the death of Kristen Huntington, 30. Rustad was arrested Thursday night. He is represented by the Alaska Public Defender agency, which does not comment on pending cases. An email sent to the agency Friday requesting comment was not immediately returned. Huntingtons co-worker on Jan. 10 told Fairbanks police that Huntington was missing and had not been seen for two days. The co-worker said it was highly unusual for Huntington to miss work and not call. In a sworn statement accompanying charging documents. Detective Avery Thompson said police early on Jan. 11 spoke to Rustad at his apartment and were told that he had argued with Huntington and that she had left. Police walked through the apartment and departed. That afternoon, Avery said, Rustad showed up at the police department lobby with his wrists and arms slashed. Rustad was suicidal, and officers administered first aid, police said, adding that Rustad also told police, I know I did it. When asked about Huntington, Rustad said that on Jan. 9, he had drank alcohol and blacked out. He took his child to school, he said, and when he returned, he found Huntington dead on the floor, he told police. Police searched his apartment again and could not find Huntington. The child later told police he had seen Huntington on the floor with a blanket over her. On Jan. 12, after witnesses said Rustad was packing, police spoke to the apartment manager. She told officers they should check a vacant apartment across from Rustads. Inside, police spotted toes protruding from beneath a blanket. The state medical examiner on Tuesday identified the body as Huntington. The examiner listed the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the face and back. A search of Rustads apartment revealed blood stains that someone had tried to scrub, police said. He is jailed at the Fairbanks Correctional Center. VATICAN CITY -- The Rev. R. Walker Nickless led mass for all of the bishops of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri before meeting with Pope Francis Wednesday. Nickless, bishop of the Sioux City diocese, presided and preached at the early morning mass in front of the apostle's tomb in St. Peters Basilica, according to the Catholic News Service. The privileged and sacred spot where millions of Christians have prayed through the ages, Nickless said, has special meaning for men chosen, as unworthy as we are, to be successors of Peter and the other apostles and serve the church as bishops. Reflecting on the life and witness of Peter, he said, is an opportunity for bishops to reflect on their own response to the call of the Lord to love him, serve him and his people. The Gospels many mentions of Peter reveal his faith, his doubt, his failure and his love, the bishop said. In many ways, he was so much like us and, thus, it is easy for us to identify with him. He was bold and outspoken, he was a sinner and called to be a saint, Nickless said. He walked on and sank in the water. Of all the accounts in the Bible of Peter and his faith, the bishop said, two episodes stand out and both involve Jesus asking him direct questions: Who do you say that I am? and Do you love me? All Christians must answer these questions at some point in our lives and, sometimes, more than once: Who is Jesus? Do I love him? he said. The only right answer, the bishop said, comes from knowing the Lord in the deep intimacy of friendship through prayer. The bishops were making their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The new government got to work this week with its first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Pedro Sanchez has moved the weekly meetings from Friday and his new-look team came together the day after being sworn in by King Felipe. The fresh Cabinet, with 23 members, is one of the biggest in recent history to accommodate the coalition between Sanchez's PSOE and partners Unidas Podemos (UP). The PM has appointed four deputy prime ministers, up from two last time, including Pablo Iglesias, UP leader. Four former PSOE ministers left the Cabinet. The overall government is seen as more solid and with more competence in Economics compared to the team from Sanchez's first period as PM in 2018. Commentators added that this is to counter any impression of being too radical now power is shared with left-wing UP and the fear of right-wing opposition parties gathering support. There was speculation during Monday's ceremony over how new government members from UP, supporting a republic, would react to swearing allegiance to the monarch. Alberto Garzon, a local MP for Malaga province and now minister of Consumer Affairs, is known for only referring to the King as "Citizen Felipe of Bourbon". In the end, the ceremony passed without incidence apart from some missing neck ties. Speaking on announcing the full details of his team, Pedro Sanchez laid out his vision for the coalition. "The Government will speak with various voices but always with common words." He added that his government was going to be progressive for all Spaniards. The Karnataka government would call on industry leaders and business tycoons for investments during the World Economic Forum summit at Davos in Switzerland from January 21 to 24, said Minister for Large and Medium Industries Jagadish Shettar on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, some central ministers and a few Chief Ministers would attend the event in which Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa would address the gathering, Shettar said. Since business leaders from across the globe are attending the event, we will put up our stall there informing investors about the industrial policy and conducive atmosphere for investment in Karnataka," he said. There would be an opportunity to interact with captains of big industries, said Shettar adding that there would be a one-on-one meeting with the heads of at least 40 multinational firms, including Lockheed Martin, Lulu Group, Dassault Systems, HP, SAP, Mitsubishi, GE, Novo, Nordisk, Denso, Adani, P&G, Volvo and IKEA. The summit would be utilised to invite business tycoons for the Global Investors Meet titled 'Invest Karnataka-2020' from November 3 to 5 in Bengaluru. Speaking about the new industrial policy of the state, Shettar said the draft was ready and has been sent to various departments for their suggestions. Later, it would be brought before the cabinet for its nod, he said. Speaking about the tax system for industries, he said a policy decision has been taken how the taxation should be in those industrial states, which have been handed over (to the industries) and those which have not been handed over yet. Many local bodies start taxing the industries once the industrial layout is developed but according to the regulations, unless the layout is handed over, taxes cannot be levied. It has led to many complications including legal ones, Shettar said. To resolve this, he said he would convene a meeting with the senior officials of Urban Development Department, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and Large and Medium Industries Department to take a policy decision to formulate a uniform taxation system. At present, the local bodies have two types of taxes on properties, either commercial or residential, but the industries dont fall under the two. So, we are going to adopt a medium-level tax system, said Shettar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Update: This story has been updated on Friday, Jan. 17, to include additional testimony from the preliminary examination) JACKSON, MI The crumpled tissue in the womans hand was used frequently to wipe her eyes as she testified Thursday about her alleged sexual assault. The 19-year-old had met up with Najee Thompson, 21, of Jackson, early in the morning of Oct 8, she said. They met through social media and had agreed to meet in Jackson, she testified in a preliminary examination Jan. 16, before Jackson District Judge Daniel Goostrey. They were supposed to meet so she could pay him to delete a nude photo of her, she testified. But, the interaction did not go the way she expected, she said. Instead, the woman said she was sexually assaulted. MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot does not name victims of sexual assault. Thompson faces two felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one felony count of unlawful imprisonment, one felony count of interfering with electronic communications and one misdemeanor count of intentional dissemination of sexually explicit material. The woman said she picked Thompson up, she handed him the money and he told her to drive while he deleted the photo. They drove to the closed Lincoln School Head Start, 154 W. Clark St., around 6 a.m., she testified. The woman had sent Thompson a nude photo as a sample so he could decide if he wanted to buy more before they met in person, she testified, adding that Thompson threatened to post her nude photos if she did not agree to sex with him. Thompson threatened to stab her if she did not have sex with him right then, she testified, adding that he was supposed to pay her $1,200 afterward but refused. The woman ran and called 911, but Thompson chased her down and dragged her back to the car, she said. Jackson County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Cullen Knoblauch responded. Multiple people had called 911 about a woman screaming, Knoblauch said. The woman told Knoblauch she agreed to have sex with Thompson and after he refused to pay her, she said it was rape, Knoblauch testified. You ran to the cops and said, Help Im being raped by this big black guy, right? defense attorney George Lyons said. Yes, the woman answered. Both Thompson and the woman agree that she said the sex was consensual until Thompson refused to pay her, Lyons said. (She said) if you dont pay me, its going to be rape, Lyons said. That to me is absolutely chilling because of the history it speaks to. After the woman finished her testimony, she left the courtroom crying and her sobs could be heard through the closed door. She returned to the courtroom to listen to the rest of the preliminary examination after regaining her composure. Thompson ran when Knoblauch arrived on scene. He told police he did not see the sergeant before he left, Knoblauch testified. Weve got two stories, Goosetry said. Theres questions for a jury. The case was bound over to Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson. Thompson was granted a $30,000 cash surety bond on Dec. 13, but he has not yet posted it. READ MORE JACKSON NEWS: Pot businesses can open closer to schools, as township makes changes to rules Teen shot in back in Jackson Teacher accused of serious misconduct resigns before investigation ends Jackson School Board selects officers, gearing up for active 2020 MEDIA COURTHOUSE A 32-year-old Glenolden man was sentenced to 30-60 months in a state prison Tuesday for possession and dissemination of child pornography, both felonies of the second degree. Daniel Newberg, of the 400 block of Werner Avenue, was also sentenced to six years of consecutive sex offender probation on one count of criminal use of a communication facility, a felony of the third degree, and must register as a sex offender for 25 years under Megans Law. Newberg was arrested Feb. 11, capping an eight-month joint investigation by Glenolden police and county Criminal Investigation Division Detective Sgt. Kenneth Bellis, a member of the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. He entered an open guilty plea to all three counts before Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge G. Michael Green in August. Investigators with CID received information that child pornography was being downloaded and viewed at Newbergs residence. He was at home when investigators arrived with a warrant to search his home shortly after 6 a.m. June 14, 2018. Newberg told investigators he had been using a file-sharing program on his computer for about 10 years and admitted that he used the program to download child pornography. A forensic examination on two laptop computers seized during the search revealed 83 videos and more than 188 images of child pornography. Assistant District Attorney Danielle Gallaher recommend the 30-to-60 month sentence with seven years of probation. She said the sentence was based on the large volume of images involved, Newburgs pedophilia disorder diagnosis and because some of the images involved children as young as 10 being forced to perform sex acts with adults. Defense attorney John Flannery characterized his clients actions as a cry for help, pointing out this was his first brush with the law and providing numerous character witnesses to that end. Flannery also said Newburg had been bullied as a child, suffers from depression and has tried to kill himself several times. The last attempt came after detectives served the search warrant at this home. Newburg also apologized to this family and the victims Tuesday, saying he never intended to harm anyone. Newberg has been free on 10 percent of $40,000 bail since Feb. 14, according to online court records. He was taken into custody to begin serving his sentence immediately Tuesday and is not eligible for early release. Bearing scars he received in a tragic dormitory fire 20 years ago, Shawn Simons approached the podium at Seton Hall University Friday and read three names the school vowed to never forget. Aaron Karol. Frank Caltabilota. John Giunta. Replace those names with your sons, daughters, your brothers, your sisters, your grandchildren," Simons said, looking at the crowd gathered on the South Orange campus. "It could have been any of us. Victims of the Seton Hall dormitory fire gathered with lawmakers and fire safety advocates Friday to mark this weekends 20th anniversary of the blaze -- and to call for a new law that could help prevent similar tragedies in the future. The law -- called the Campus Fire Safety Education Act -- would create a new federal grant program to help colleges fund fire safety awareness and fire training programs for students living on- and off-campus. Schools could use the money to partner with fraternities, sororities, non-profit groups or local fire departments. It would remind the country to continue to learn from what happened in Boland Hall on Jan. 19, 2000, Simons said. What happened to us here on this campus 20 years ago is not only a day of remembrance but a day of reflection, Simons said. We remember those who lost their lives, but we reflect on where weve come. U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) right, speaks at a press conference at Seton Hall University in South Orange to unveil legislation to increase fire safety measures on college campuses. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media)Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media The Seton Hall fire -- which killed three freshmen and injured 58 others -- led to a national conversation on the safety of student housing on college campuses. Within months, New Jersey passed the strongest law in the nation requiring sprinklers in college dorms. And a few other states passed similar laws strengthening campus fire safety rules. But it hasnt been enough, some lawmakers say. Since the Seton Hall fire, at least another 170 people have died in fires on college campuses or in off-campus housing, fraternities and sororities. I will never forget the tragic fire at Seton Hall. I will always remember how our community came together after the fire to honor the lives lost and demand change, said Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-9th Dist. I vowed on that day to do everything possible to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again." Pascrell and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., reintroduced the Campus Fire Safety Education Act in Congress and said the legislation has the support of several fire safety and higher education groups. The pair introduced similar legislation in 2017, but it stalled in Congress. Several survivors of the fire attended the event at Seton Hall in support of the legislation. They included Simons and Alvaro Llanos, roommates who were severely burned in the fire. Their recovery was chronicled in The Star-Ledgers After the Fire series. Llanos and Simons now work as speakers, telling their stories at events around the country and encouraging people to pay attention to fire safety in their every day lives. Llanos said he has to wear these scars for the rest of my life, but that he believes God gave him a second chance to help others. Fire education is near to my heart, Llanos said. I dont want anyone to experience what we went through the night of the fire. We will never know how many students we will affect, but if we reach one, we have done our jobs. You never know when it may be able to save your life, Simons said. Those attending the event included some of the first responders who rushed to the Catholic university campus as smoke rose from the freshman dorm. Michael Commins said he was one of eight men on duty in the South Orange Fire Department when the call came in. He was 32 and just three years on the job. He recalled students lined up on both sides of the street as his truck pulled up to Boland Hall. They were crying, telling us to hurry up, said Commins, now the deputy chief of the South Orange Fire Department. Thats something Ive never seen before. The fire was quickly extinguished, but firefighters heard a collective moaning coming from the students injured and scared students outside. Thats something Ill never forget ... But good things came out of that, Commins continued, referring to the fire safety requirements spawned from the fire. Two freshmen roommates Sean Ryan and Joseph LePore eventually admitted they set fire to a paper banner draped over a couch as a prank after a night of drinking. They each served less than three years in prison for the arson. The fire quickly set off alarms, but many students ignored them because Boland Hall had been hit with 18 fire alarms the previous semester, almost all of them pranks. The deaths and injuries at Seton Hall became national news and within six months New Jersey passed a new law that required the states 43 residential colleges and high schools to install fire sprinklers by 2004. The state provided $90 million in state loans to help pay for the work, though some colleges said it would be impossible to get sprinklers into all their dorms by the deadline. Though some schools, including Princeton University, missed the initial deadline, all of New Jerseys colleges eventually had sprinklers installed in their dorms. A few other states, including Pennsylvania, passed similar sprinklers laws. But efforts to require sprinklers stalled in other states and on the national level, largely due to disagreements between schools, builders and state governments over who should pay for the costly work of installing sprinklers in aging buildings. Critics say the campus dorm sprinkler laws only address part of the problem. The majority of student fire deaths occur in less regulated off campus housing, including student apartments, fraternities and sororities. Some of the survivors of the Seton Hall fire said they continue to feel a responsibility to keep the story of the fire alive and to make sure its lessons continue to spread around the country. Tom Pugliese, whose roommate was Caltabilota, one of the students who died in the fire, fought back tears as he spoke after the event about showing up because his late friend could not. I was close to Frank, Pugliese said. He was my roommate. Im here representing Frank. Pugliese spent about a month in the hospital recovering from burns he received in the fire. Twenty years later, he has two children, ages 2 and 5, and a new baby on the way. We are representative of a tragic event, he said of himself and the other survivors of the blaze. I was on the brink of being number four of those three (dead students). So me being here is representing those who couldnt." He said its important that, like Simons and Llanos, the survivors of the Seton Hall fire serve as a reminder of the importance of fire safety. Its pushing the story even further and driving the impact home to other colleges -- and understanding what could happen, Pugliese said. Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Ground-breaking ceremony at new ferry terminal site A ground-breaking ceremony was today held on the site of the Isle of Man Ferry Terminal in Livepool. The event, led by Chief Minister Howard Quayle MHK, was attended by Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram, Liverpools Deputy Mayor Councillor Lynnie Hinnigan, industry leaders from the North West, representatives from Peel L&P and those involved in the design and construction of the 38 million development. The terminal will be constructed at Princes Half-Tide Dock, within the Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site and the Stanley Dock Conservation Area. The site is half a mile downriver of the current Pier Head facility, which will be taken out of use once the new terminal is completed. Construction is due to get under way in earnest this month following a site clearance operation which took place before Christmas. A time capsule was presented at the ceremony and will be built into the terminal to provide a snapshot in time for future generations. Among its contents is a special edition of Noble News, a newspaper put together by pupils at Henry Bloom Noble Primary School in Douglas to commemorate the occasion. The capsule also contains a message from the Chief Minister, drone footage of the Isle of Man, pictures of the site before it was redeveloped and a number of items of cultural significance. U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts has publicly revealed for the first time that she is bald and suffering from the condition alopecia, which caused her to lose all of her hair over the course of just a few months. The 45-year-old Democratic congresswoman shared her story in a powerful video published by The Root on Thursday, explaining that up until that point, she had only taken off her wig in the privacy of her own home and with close friends. 'I am making peace with having alopecia,' she said as she showed off her bald head. 'I have not arrived there. I am very early in my alopecia journey. But I'm making progress every day and that's why I'm doing this today. It's about self-agency. It's about power. It's about acceptance.' Scroll down for video Candid: U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts showed off her bald head publicly for the first time in a video that was published on Thursday Opening up: The Democratic congresswoman revealed she suffers from alopecia and started losing her hair this past fall At the start of the video, Pressley wore her wig as she reminisced about how she loved to experiment with wigs and extensions before she got her now-signature Senegalese twists about five years ago. The politician admitted she knew some would interpret her hairstyle as a political statement and see her as someone who is 'militant' and 'angry,' but she wasn't prepared for the support she encountered. Pressley said she has received letters from women 'all over the globe' who also wear braids. When she walks into rooms, little girls are wearing shirts that say, 'My Congresswoman Wears Braids.' 'My twists have become such a synonymous and conflated part of not only my personal identity and how I show up in the world, but my political brand,' she explained. 'That's why I think it's important that I'm transparent about this new normal and living with alopecia.' Making peace: At the start of the video, Pressley wore her wig that she calls the 'OG' because it was the first one Going public: Although it's 'very early' in her journey, Pressley said she is 'making peace with having alopecia' According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disease that causes hair loss on the scalp, face, and sometimes other parts of the body. It affects as many as 6.8 million people in the U.S. As noted by The Root, The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found in 2019 that alopecia impacts African Americans at a higher rate than other racial groups. Pressley said she was first made aware that she had 'some patches' on her head when she was getting her hair re-twisted in the fall. 'From there, it accelerated very quickly. I'd been waking up every morning to sink fulls of hair,' she explained. 'Every night I was employing all the tools that I had been schooled and trained throughout my life as a black woman because I thought that I could stop this.' She said she wrapped her hair, wore a bonnet, and slept on a silk pillowcase, but every morning, she still woke up to more and more hair loss. Memories: Pressley said she loved to experiment with wigs and extensions before she got her now-signature Senegalese twists about five years ago Inspiration: The politician explained that she went public with her story because she felt like she 'owed' an explanation to all the girls who admired her signature braids 'I did not want to go to sleep because I did not want the morning to come where I would be met with more hair in the sink and an image in the mirror of a person who increasingly felt like a stranger to me,' she said. Pressley told The Root that the 'last little bit' of her hair fell out the day before the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump last month. 'I was completely bald. And in a matter of hours, was going to have to walk into the floor, the House Chamber and cast a vote in support of articles of impeachment,' she recounted. 'And so I didnt have the luxury of mourning what felt like the loss of a limb. It was a moment of transformation, not of my choosing. 'But I knew the moment demanded that I stand in it and that I lean in,' she continued. 'And I exited the floor as soon as I could and I hid in a bathroom stall. I felt naked, exposed, vulnerable. I felt embarrassed. I felt ashamed. I felt betrayed.' Pressley, who is part of 'The Squad' of four Democratic freshmen including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, said she knew that she would eventually want to go public with her story. She felt like she 'owed' an explanation to all the little girls who admired and were inspired by her signature braids. Looking back: Pressley said the 'last little bit' of her hair fell out the day before the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump last month Making peace: Pressley noted that she now feels 'the most unlike' herself when she is wearing a wig. 'I think that means I am on my way,' she said 'My husband says I don't you know, that everything doesn't have to be political,' she said. 'The reality is that I'm black, and I'm a black woman, and I'm a black woman in politics, and everything I do is political.' Pressley said 'well-meaning' people tell her 'it's just hair' or remind her of India.Arie's song 'I Am Not My Hair.' While she agrees that she is not her hair, she noted that she still wants it. 'This is my official public revealing,' she said after removing her wig. 'I'm ready now because I want to be freed from the secret and the shame that that secret carries with it. And because I'm not here to just occupy space, I'm here to create it, and I want to be free.' While she is still trying to make peace with her hair loss, she noted that she now feels 'the most unlike' herself when she is wearing a wig. 'I think that means I am on my way,' she said. Pressley said she has several wigs, including one she calls 'FLOTUS" because it 'feels very Michelle Obama' to her. The one she has on in the video is called 'OG' because it's the first one she got. 'I'm trying to get to a place where I give myself the space to find joy in options,' she explained. A 20-minute delay exists on BART's Richmond Line Thursday evening due to an earlier medical emergency in Berkeley, BART officials said. BART's system was recovering as of 5:58 p.m. from the problem, which was affecting trains headed to Millbrae. The defunct Thanh Chiem Palace (1602-1883) is seen as a cradle of romanised Vietnamese script, and the place was linked with Portuguese missionary Francisco de Pina (1585-1625) the founder of the modern writing system of the Vietnamese language and then his student French missionary Alexandre de Rhodes (1591-1660). New eco-tour site debuts in Triem Tay Village Mang Lang Church PRIESTS AND SCHOLARS: The design of a sculpture of Francisco de Pina (left) and Alexandre De Rhodes, created by sculptor Pham Van Hang. Photo courtesy of Pham Van Hang While removing three ancient tombs at Andre Phu Yen Church last year in Dien Phuong Commune, Dien Ban Town, Quang Nam Province, workers found European designed wooden coffins and big bones that would indicate burial 400 years ago. The three tombs unveiled that missionary priests had been buried in the churchs graveyard. Priest Joseph Nguyen Thanh Tung, who now manages Andre Phu Yen Church, said Jesuit priests were often laid to rest at the church when they passed away. Long and large bones were found in the well-preserved wooden coffins. These remains are believed to be from burials when the church was built around four centuries ago, Tung said. He said one of ancient tombs was the resting place of Francisco de Pina one of the first westerners who came to the country to teach Christianity, studied Vietnamese language and created the romanized Vietnamese script. The documents revealed priest Francisco de Pina had lived in the church for missionary work, and taught romanised Vietnamese script at the nearby Thanh Chiem Palace, he said. HISTORIC: This church in Dien Phuong Commune in Dien Ban Town in Quang Nam Province was a shelter of the priest Francisco de Pina and his assistants 400 years ago. VNS Photo Cong Thanh Pinas creation Professor Nguyen Dang Hung from University of Liege, in Belgium, said Francisco de Pina had helped the romanisation of Vietnamese script to make missionary work easier. He said de Pina was born in Guarada, a remote area in the north of Portugal, and joined the Jesuit order at the age of 19. The Portuguese was then sent to Hoi An in 1617. He was the only western missionary who spoke Vietnamese fluently when he came to Hoi An. He could preach to local people without an interpreter. The priest then settled the first school at Thanh Chiem a quiet and peaceful location for teaching Vietnamese Romanised script and religious education in 1619, Hung said, adding the church and school was built in 1623. He said the creation of the romanised Vietnamese script helped many Vietnamese people learn to read and write more easily. TIME TEAM: A worker excavates a tomb at the Andre Phu Yen Church. Photo courtesy of Andre Phu Yen Church He said before that only 3 per cent of the Vietnamese population could write in Han Chinese script before Pinas creation. According to an old document, de Pina drowned in 1625 after a hurricane hit the sea off Hoi An when he and his assistants were on board a small boat bringing documents to a larger Portuguese vessel. Roland Jacques, professor from University of Saint Paul, Canada wrote in a report that de Pina drew up as of 1622 an ambitious plan to explore the Vietnamese language, and he decided to create the romanised script, with the help of educated young men and a number of linguistic tools. BEGINNINGS: A document shows romanised Vietnamese scripts that Western missionaries created. Photo courtesy Nguyen Thuy Tien de Oliveira These tools would allow foreigners to master the language in its best form and entice the Vietnamese to develop their own language without depending upon the stiff Chinese model. Jacques report also unveiled that one tool was the transcription of phonetics into a Latin-based sophisticated system: the script known today as Chu Quoc Ngu (national romanised Vietnamese script). Jacques said after the premature death of de Pina in 1625, a number of his disciples took over his plan and worked to realise it. We know only the names of European scholars, principally Gaspar do Amaral, Antonio Barbosa and Alexandre de Rhodes. The Vietnamese young men trained by de Pina faded into the background, except a few mentioned into the book of de Rhodes in connection with the Christian mission, he said. I would mention just one of them, a confirmed literato that de Rhodes asked to train younger recruits in the ideographic script, we only know his Christian name Inacio. PLACE OF LEARNING: A painting of Thanh Chiem Palace. It was a school where the priest Francisco de Pina educated on Vietnamese and Vietnamese Romanised scripts. Photo courtesy of Dien Ban Town People's Committee Prof Hung, who was born in Dien Ban Town and has lived in Belgium from 1960, said de Pina compiled dictionaries in Portuguese-Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Portuguese, while de Rhodes came to study Vietnamese at school under de Pina. He stressed that de Rhodes learnt Vietnamese from de Pina and then updated the Vietnamese language from localities in the north of Vietnam. De Rhodes completion De Rhodes then completed a Portuguese-Vietnamese-Latin dictionary that used material from de Pinas dictionary, which helped make it possible to translate Vietnamese into Russian, French, Italian and Japanese, Hung said. According to Jacques, the dictionary finally came to light in 1651 under the name of Alexandre de Rhodes, but the publication happened in Rome. He said a number of copies were probably sent to Macau, mainland China, where the college included a few Vietnamese students, but it is unclear whether and when copies of the dictionary came into Vietnam. He added the publication of the 1651 dictionary has been widely celebrated as a huge step forward in the modern development of the Vietnamese language. Dr Nguyen Thuy Tien de Oliveira, from the Portugal-Vietnam Friendship Association, said Chu quoc ngu was seen as a precious treasure created by Jesuit priests in the 17th century. She said some Vietnamese intonation marks were transcribed into musical notes by de Pina with support from Vietnamese men. De Oliveira described in a report that de Rhodes had said: Vietnamese women speak like birds singing, while de Pina said: "The Vietnamese language was made by different tones like vocalisation, and it needs to tune musical notes before learning the alphabet. Chau Yen Loan, a researcher from HCM City, said Chu quoc ngu was created in the 17th century and completed in the 18th century. She said for 300 years, Chu quoc ngu was widely taught at schools in Vietnam, and King Khai Dinh decided to drop examinations in Han Chinese in 1918 before modernist scholars Phan Chau Trinh, Huynh Thuc Khang and Tran Quy Cap promoted the process of studying the romanised Vietnamese script. Vice chairman of Dien Ban Town Nguyen Xuan Ha said the first school of romanised Vietnamese script under priest de Pina was built in the area of today's Nguyen Du Primary School in Dien Phuong Commune. Ha said artefacts and ceramic jars and fragments found in 1990s excavations also proved the existence of the old palace. He said Quang Nam Province had started the construction of a memorial park in honour the creation of romanised Vietnamese script in Dien Phuong Commune. The province plans to promote the park as a national relic as a site for young generations to understand the history and development of the romanised Vietnamese script, as well as honour the contribution of western priests and Vietnamese scholars. VNS Cong Thanh Quang Nam on right track to preserve worlds cultural heritage A national forum on cooperative economy and cooperatives will be held in Hanoi in mid-October. Complex supramolecular nano-structure on a silver surface. The chiral pattern is controlled by hydrogen-bonding between hydroxamic acids decorating both ends of the rod-like building block. Nanoscience can arrange minute molecular entities into nanometric patterns in an orderly manner using self-assembly protocols. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have functionalized a simple rod-like building block with hydroxamic acids at both ends. They form molecular networks that not only display the complexity and beauty of mono-component self-assembly on surfaces; they also exhibit exceptional properties. Designing components for molecular self-assembly calls for functionalities that interlock. For example, our genetic information is encoded in two DNA strands, zipped together in a spiral staircase double helix structure in a self-assembly process that is stabilized by hydrogen bonding. Inspired by natures zippers researchers at the Technical University of Munich aim to construct functional nanostructures to push the boundaries of man-made structures. Building blocks for complex nanostructures Scientists at the Technical University of Munich, diverse in discipline, nationality and gender, joined forces to explore a new feature in two-dimensional architectures: a chemical group named hydroxamic acid. A conceptually simple building block was prepared at the Chair of Proteomics and Bioanalytics: a rod-like molecule with a hydroxamic acid group at each end. This building block was then transferred to the Chair of Surface and Interface Physics, where its assembly was inspected on atomically planar silver and gold surfaces. A nano-porous network A combination of advanced microscopy tools, spectroscopy and density functional theory investigations found that the molecular building block adapts its shape somewhat in the environment of the supporting surface and its neighboring molecules. This affords an unusual manifold of supramolecular surface motifs: two to six molecules held together by intermolecular interactions. Only a handful of these motifs self-organized into 2-D crystals. Among them, an unparalleled network emerged, whose patterns evoke images of sliced lemons, snowflakes or rosettes. They feature three differently sized pores able to snuggly hold individual small molecules of gas such as carbon monoxide in the smallest, or small proteins like insulin in the largest. In this regard, it is a milestone in the tessellations achieved by molecular nanostructures and the number of different pores expressed in crystalline 2-D networks, says Dr. Anthoula Papageorgiou, last author of the publication. It thus offers unique opportunities in bottom-up nano-templating, which we will explore further. Nanocages with a twist Like our left and right hands, the shape of two mirrored cage structures cannot be superimposed. Since the 19th century, academics have characterized this type of object symmetry as chiral, from the ancient Greek (hand). These kinds of molecules are frequently found in natural compounds. Chirality influences interactions of polarized light and magnetic properties and plays a vital role in life. For example, our olfactory receptors react very differently to the two mirror images of the limonene molecule: one smells like lemon, the other like pine. This so-called chiral recognition is a process that can determine whether a molecule acts as medicine or poison. The inner walls of the obtained nanostructure cages offer sites that can direct guest molecules. The researchers observed such a process in some of the larger pores, where three of the same molecules assembled as a chiral object. At room temperature, this object is in motion, like a music box ballerina, leading to a blurred image. In their future work, the team hopes to steer these kinds of phenomena for chiral recognition and artificial nano-machinery. There have been many untruths spoken about the American role in Iran since the rise of the revolutionary Islamist government in 1979. As Hassan Rouhani, the current president of Iran, infamously told audiences at a campaign rally: The beautiful cry of Death to America! unites our people. (Rouhani, mind you, is supposedly a moderate.) In fact, anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism have been foundational pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Whereas the Blame America First crowd throughout the world largely assumes that the Americans brought the threat of the Islamic Republic of Iran on themselves, the Americans are not responsible in any way for the abiding radicalism of the regime. Let us first divide the events which led to the rise of the current Islamist regime in 1979 from the events of August 1953, when an Anglo-American plot to remove Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh went into action. Too often, critics of U.S. foreign policy toward Iran conflate these two seminal events, using Washingtons role in the 1953 so-called coup to excuse the various provocations of the Iranian regime since 1979. Much like today (and in 1979), the Iran of 1953 was a hotbed of political uncertainty. The British and Soviets had divided the country between themselves during the Second World War when the Iranian king, known as the Shah, was rumored to be sympathetic to the Nazis. The British and Soviets forced the Shah to abdicate and hand power to his oldest son, Reza Pahlavi. The shahs had ruled Iran (previously known as Persia) since Cyrus the Great was coronated more than 2,000 years before the Second World War. Iran was a constitutional monarchy and in 1951 the Shah appointed Mohammad Mossadegh, a democratic firebrand who was both stringently anti-monarchical as well as fiercely anti-imperialist, to become prime minister. (The Iranian parliament had already nominated Mossadegh as such.) Iran in 1953: Cauldron of Chaos After the Second World War, the Soviets withdrew from Iran, leaving only the British Empire. Britain was Irans primary trading partner. Through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now British Petroleum), Britain developed and enjoyed most of the fruits of Iranian oil and natural gas. Mossadegh was unhappy with this arrangement. He understandably wanted Iran to have a greater stake in the British mining operation. The British refused and cut off trade with Iran. Soon, the fledgling Iran was isolated economically and diplomatically. These actions drastically harmed Irans economy and caused political instability in the country. As the instability increased, the Shah sought to remove Mossadegh and restore good relations with the West. Meanwhile, Mossadegh became politically reliant on the pro-Soviet Tudeh Party. The closer that Mossadegh got to the Tudeh Party, the more worried the Americans became. At that time, the United States had successfully contained the Soviet Union. If, however, a pro-Soviet regime arose in Iran, then Moscow would have broken its containment and would have gained access to one of the worlds most bountiful oil and natural-gas hubs, as well as Irans vital warm-water ports for the Soviet Navy. With the British, the Americans acted to oust Mossadegh. Yet, as Darioush Bayandor outlined in his 2010 book on the matter, the Anglo-American plot to overthrow Mossadegh was not the reason why the democratic prime minister was overthrown. In fact, the British and American intelligence operation was largely on the periphery of the movement against Mossadegh. The Anglo-American mission was but one of many attempts by various parties within Iran to push Mossadegh out from his position. Further, Irans clerical classthe same people who ultimately founded the Islamic Republic in 1979 and today wage a little Cold War against the United States and its alliesopposed Mossadegh as much as the British and Americans did. Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi, one of Ruhollah Khomeinis mentors, was the supreme leader of the Shiite faith in Iran. He was fond of telling followers, mamlekat shah mikhahad, or the country needs the king. Yet, Borujerdi represented the old guard. His students, like Ruhollah Khomeini, who would go on to found the Islamic Republic in 1979, did not share Borujerdis traditionalism. These young, avant-garde Islamists hated the Shah, because he was a vestige of Irans history of unbelief. Whats more, the Shahs close relationship with the West meant he was a conduit for Christian and Zionist influence. Mossadegh, however, was no better, according to the revolutionary Islamists in Iran. After all, Mossadeghs close associations with the Tudeh Party implied that his continuation in power would inevitably lead Iran into the bosom of the Soviets. This, in turn, would be a disaster for the Islamists, as the only thing more revolting than Western democracy was Soviet Communism. Besides, Mossadegh and the Tudeh Party supported womens rights in Iran, which was a non-starter for the Islamists. (The matter of womens rights in Iran would ultimately be one of the motivations for the Islamic revolution in 1979.) The Islamists of Iran are demagogues Generally, the Islamists chose to sit the 1953 coup out. Some Islamists did involve themselves in the coup, but it was to assist the Anglo-American plotters in removing Mossadegh. So why do critics of U.S. actions continue to argue that if the United States had not involved itself in the internal affairs of Iran in 1953, hostilities between the Washington and Tehran would not exist today? The clerics who toppled the Shah in 1979 did not behave as they did to avenge Mohammad Mossadeghs ouster in 1953. Whats more, the Islamic Republic today does not engage in international terrorism and nuclear brinkmanship with the West because of Americas ancillary role in the Mossadegh affair in 1953. The Iranian regime behaves as it does because it adheres to an ideology that is inherently violent and expansionistic. Such a regime will brook little compromise with the unbelieving West and will make good on its threat to see that Israel is removed and eradicated. So, when Iranian leaders blame America for their malicious actions, know that the Islamists of Iran are demagogues unworthy of being taken seriously. And as the Iranian people continue marching in protest against the regimewhile refusing to engage in the time-honored Iranian practice of stomping on American and Israeli flagsunderstand that the United States did not cause any of the events in Iran over the last 40 years. Only the Islamists have brought Iran to its present state. More importantly, only the Iranian people can remedy this sad state of affairs. The Lagos Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has rescued four girls that were meant to be trafficked to Mali. The Lagos Commandant of NSCDC, Mr Cyprian Otoibhi, while briefing newsmen on Thursday in Lagos said the victims were rescued on Jan. 15 at 9.20 pm at No13 Abuke Oku Street, Iyana Ipaja. According to the commandant, the victims were recruited by one Miss Micheal Omowunmi, who has spent two years in Mali, and one Mr Favour Owoke, who is at large. However, Omowunmi, who was allegedly involved in prostitution in Mali, returned home in 2017 , the commandant said. According to the commandant, the victims hail from Edo and Anambra states. The victims are Alaoye Joy, who is 22-year-old; Victoria Oshioke (18); Amaka Eze, (23); and Anuoluwapo Mustapha, (26). Otoibhi emphasised that the dangers of human trafficking were grave and the offence would not be treated lightly. I, therefore, enjoin the public to report such cases to appropriate agencies as this command will continue to ensure a crime-free Lagos. The suspects as well as the victims would be handed over to relevant agencies for further investigations and prosecution, he said. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates (Bloomberg) -- The Senate approved President Donald Trumps U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement on Thursday, handing the president a major political win on the same day senators will be sworn in as jurors in his impeachment trial. The Nafta overhaul, Trumps top legislative priority for the past year, cleared the Senate on an 89-10 vote and now heads to the president for his signature. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement passed the House in December on a bipartisan 385-41 vote the day after the Democratic-led chamber voted to impeach Trump. The Senate vote moved in tandem with the impeachment process, coming just a few hours before Chief Justice John Roberts is sworn in to preside over the trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell applauded the trade deal as a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation. A major win for our country. A major win for the Trump administration. A major win for those of us who are ready to move past this season of toxic political noise and get back to doing even more of the American peoples business, McConnell said on the Senate floor. Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, finally got behind the trade agreement in December after more than a year of wrangling with the Trump administration over changes to provisions regarding labor, the environment, pharmaceuticals and the overall enforcement of the deal. The vote split the two progressive candidates seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination for president: Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren voted for the deal while Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders voted against it. Climate Concerns Sanders said earlier this week that he opposed the USMCA in part because it isnt strong enough on climate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also cited climate concerns as the reason he voted against the deal. Despite the fact that it includes very good labor provisions, I am voting against USMCA because it does not address climate change, the greatest threat facing the planet, Schumer said in a statement before the vote. Story continues The two other Democratic senators who are presidential candidates, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet, voted in favor of the USMCA. Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey was the only Republican who voted against the agreement. He previously said he was concerned about the new wage requirements created for the auto industry, among other market interventions. McConnell initially said the Senate wouldnt act on the USMCA until it had finished with Trumps impeachment trial, but Pelosis decision to delay sending the impeachment articles to the Senate created a window for the vote this week. The Senate Finance Committee and six other panels rushed to approve the deal since lawmakers returned from their holiday recess last week. Economic Growth Passing this revision of the North America Free Trade Agreement gives Trump a victory to tout in his election-year State of the Union address scheduled for Feb. 4. While the USMCA is projected to add just 0.35% to GDP after six years, signing this agreement and the first phase of a China trade deal will relieve some economic uncertainty, helping Trumps pitch to voters based on the strength of the U.S. economy. For Democrats from narrowly divided or Republican-leaning districts, the USMCA allows them to show constituents that theyre working with the president and doing more than impeaching him. They have highlighted the labor enforcement provisions as a model for future free trade agreements. The Mexican Senate already approved the deal, so with Trumps signature, Canada becomes the only country that hasnt yet ratified the pact. Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government will move forward on ratification when parliament reconvenes in Ottawa later this month, but the speed of its passage will depend on opposition lawmakers, a Canadian government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Trudeau lost his parliamentary majority in an election last fall, but the deal is still likely to pass. (Updates with votes by Democratic candidates, status of Mexico, Canada beginning in sixth paragraph) --With assistance from Josh Wingrove. To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton 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. Representing Vietnam President of the UN Security Council in January, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of Vietnams Permanent Mission to the UN, shared the concern of countries over the humanitarian situation in Yemen, and attacks against civilians and civil infrastructure facilities. He called on parties concerned to exercise restraint and facilitate the UNs humanitarian on-goings in Yemen. He welcomed the recent progress while expressing his great appreciation for the roles and contributions of the UN Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths and the UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) to reduc tension in the region and accelerat the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement. He also asked relevant sides to build trust, fully implement previously signed agreements, as well as facilitate dialogues toward a comprehensive, long-lasting political solution that is in accordance with international law and the UNSCs related resolutions to bring unification to Yemen and meet the legitimate aspirations of its people. According to Martin Griffiths, Yemen had been kept safe in recent weeks even as the wider region had been in crisis. Most importantly, in this time of crisis, no major acts of military provocation have been seen in Yemen; and indeed, it has been one of the quietest weeks in the country since the war commenced five years ago. This achievement has not come by chance. Yemeni leaders and leaders from the region have deliberately exercised restraint and withheld from acts of provocation, he said. He spoke highly of the commitments of the Yemeni Government and Southern Transitional Council to implement the Riyadh Agreement with the support of Saudi Arabia. Griffiths underlined that although implementation of the Stockholm Agreement has been unsatisfactory, the UN and both sides remain committed to the deal. Though violence unfortunately continues in the southern districts, the relative calm on the frontlines in Hudaydah city shows that the measures to enhance the de-escalation ceasefire mechanism- is working, and this is something we can and should build on, he said. Military tensions could not be eased if there is no advancement in the political progress, he stressed, adding competent sides should channel more efforts to bring peace to Yemen in 2020. Meanwhile, other UNSC members welcomed recent positive developments in Yemen, and hailed the efforts of the UN and relevant countries. They also called on relevant parties to carry out the Stockholm and Riyadh Agreements, laying a foundation down to promote comprehensive peace talks under the UNs sponsorship. Tom Steyer speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University on January 14, 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa. Six candidates out of the field qualified for the first Democratic presidential primary debate of 2020, hosted by CNN and the Des Moines Register. Billionaire Tom Steyer is calling for a 10% tax cut for families and he plans to pay for it by raising levies on investment portfolios. The Democratic contender for president released the details of his tax plan on Thursday. Families earning less than $250,000, as well as individuals with income under $200,000 would receive a 10% cut to their current tax rate under this proposal, Steyer said. This would benefit 95% of Americans, he said. Steyer is also calling for enhancements to a pair of tax credits for working families: the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit. More from Personal Finance: Six tactics to avoid money fights with your teen A surprise health insurance tax is around the corner The 5 best states for retirees in 2020 The candidate proposes paying for these and other adjustments by raising capital gains taxes which can be as much as 20% for investments you've held at least a year to match the rates on ordinary income, which currently tops out at 37%. He has also proposed raising the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6%, from 37%. Steyer isn't the only presidential candidate to propose increasing capital gains rates to help broaden programs for families. Former vice president Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have all proposed taxing capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income for high-income households. Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - Congolese banks are increasingly participating in funding the economy through the ease of access to business loans, the Central Bank has said En espanol | A bill that would help older adults fight back against age discrimination on the job moved one step closer to becoming law Wednesday when the House of Representatives passed it with bipartisan support. The House voted 261-155 in favor of H.R. 1230, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA). The legislation would restore protections lost in a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision that has made it more difficult for people who face age discrimination in the workplace to successfully challenge such bias in court. "The House has sent a clear message that age discrimination must be treated as seriously as other forms of workplace discrimination, said Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer. Today's vote is especially heartening for older workers, who make vital contributions to society and to their workplaces, and whose numbers are growing. The law must be strengthened because age discrimination is widespread, yet too often it goes unreported and unaddressed. AARP urges the Senate to take up and pass these important protections." According to a 2018 AARP survey, 61 percent of older workers said they had either faced or seen age bias in the workplace. As older workers become a larger share of the nation's workforce 41 million workers will be age 55 or older in 2024, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics projections issues of age discrimination in employment could also become more prevalent, experts say. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects workers age 40 and older from being denied jobs or otherwise disadvantaged because of their age, but the 2009 Supreme Court ruling has forced older workers to prove that their age was a decisive factor in an employer's decision to discipline or fire them, a much higher standard than had been required for decades. Until that decision, workers were only required to prove that their age was one factor behind an employer's decision. POWADA would amend the ADEA and restore that earlier standard. AARP has urged Congress to pass this legislation since the Supreme Court issued its ruling more than 10 years ago. Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) were the lead sponsors of POWADA in the House. The legislative process now moves to the Senate, where bipartisan companion legislation (S. 485) is sponsored by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.). OTTAWA COUNTY, MI A dogged, devoted owner was able rescue his pooch from a devastating mobile home fire in Spring Lake Township earlier this week. The fire was reported at the Forest Lake Estates mobile home park just before 3 p.m. Jan. 14, according to a report from the Spring Lake Fire Department. Community members who noticed the thick black smoke were the ones who called in the fire at 17110 Michigan Drive. Arriving firefighters extinguished fire on the exterior before moving to the interior, according to the report. The homeowner, who wasnt home at the time, was summoned by staff from the park. When he arrived, he expressed concern about his dog and kicked in a side door to try to gain entry but was thwarted by smoke and flames, according to the report. The homeowner noticed his dog by a front window and was able to take a log and shatter the window, pulling his dog to safety, the report states. A Spring Lake Township Department of Public Works offered to take the animal for treatment by a local veterinarian. The dog is expected to be OK, according to the fire department. The home was a total loss, and was not insured. Investigators were still trying to determine a cause on Thursday, Jan. 16, said Spring Lake Fire Chief Brian Sipe. Assisting Spring Lake firefighters at the scene were the Ferrysburg and Crockery Township fire departments, the Ottawa County Sheriffs Department and NOCH EMS. Also on MLive: West Michigan Christian School dismissed early following cleaning incident Desperate 911 calls played during trial of man charged with killing wife Police and sniffer dogs were involved in Wednesday's operation. A total of 18 people were taken in to be searched and inspected. In some cases doctors undertook the examination in order to determine whether any foreign substances might be found that weren't immediately visible. This turned out to be the case with three of the individuals, who were then arrested and sent before the examining magistrate. Roughly 150g of drugs were found. In addition to this, five mobile phones and 2.500 were seized. The Public Prosecutor's Office also ordered a search of one person's home. A Chinese man who was found infected with a mystery strain of coronavirus just a few days after returning from Wuhan has been quarantined in Nepal. Sukraraj Tropical Hospital's Director Dr Basudev Pandey confirmed on January 16 that a male from the Chinese province of Wuhan is kept under observation and several tests are currently being carried out. However, Pandey has also said that the suspect has not shown any symptom so far. Doctors have reportedly warned that the mystery virus is responsible for the outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan could also enter Nepal. The new strain of the virus which is believed to cause pneumonia has already killed two people. Currently, at least 41 people are diagnosed with same pneumonia. The World Health Organisation has alerted Nepal about preventing the virus from transmitting. However, according to reports, Kathmandu lacks in proper health centres and laboratories for the treatment and diagnoses of infectious diseases. The former director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, Dr Baburam Marasini has also said that the possibility of infection in Nepal his relatively high because of the people migrating to and from China. Read - China Reports Second Death In Coronavirus Outbreak Meanwhile, Japan had also confirmed the first case of the virus which was reported in the mainland. The Japanese man had also been to the Chinese city of Wuhan where an outbreak has been declared. Marasini further added, If anyone suffers from such infection then s/he should be transported in such a way so as to prevent the disease from spreading. But we even lack proper ambulance service to transport such patients. They should be transported in double cab ambulance, which we don't have." Read - China On US Trade Deal, Russia, Coronavirus, UNSC First case of mystery strain WHO had confirmed the first case of a novel coronavirus outside China, which has the same family as SARS. The UN health agency had said that the person travelling from Wuhan, China was hospitalised in Thailand and is recovering from the illness. According to the WHO, novel coronavirus is a new strain in the large family of coronaviruses (CoV) which was not identified in humans before. CoV can cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). CoV is zoonotic which means such viruses transmit between animals and humans. Read - Patient In Japan Confirmed As Having New Virus From China Read - Japan Confirms First Infection From New Coronavirus (With inputs from agencies) Prysmian Group, a leading name in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, is to undertake a major cable supply project in Mexico to bring broadband to remote regions. The company has been awarded a contract worth about $38 million by the government-owned company Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) for the project called Proyecto de Conectividad Fibra Optica Red Electrica Inteligente (REI). This is said to be the largest project ever launched by the government in Mexico in terms of cable supply; it will connect remote regions in the country with high-speed broadband. It includes the design, supply and installation of a minimum of 9,800 km of optical ground wire (OPGW) cables and 5,100 km of all-dielectric self-supporting (ADSS) cables. OPGW cables will be produced in the Prysmian Groups plant in Spain, while ADSS cables will be produced in its plant in Durango, Northern Mexico. For this project, Prysmian, which describes itself as one of the worlds leading cable producers, delivering advanced solutions for telecoms cables, optical fibre, and optical and copper cabling, took part in an international tender involving several local and overseas producers. The company says it has been present in Mexico for a number of years, and that Mexico and Central America offer considerable scope for development in all telecom sectors in the near future, with broadband internet subscriber numbers constantly growing. Substitute teachers and other school employees may be eligible for unemployment benefits when theyre not called to work in a summer school session, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a case from San Francisco, the court unanimously rejected the city school districts argument that summer school sessions can never be considered regular academic terms that are the basis for unemployment benefits for on-call employees who are not summoned to work. A summer session is classified as a regular term, making out-of-work employees eligible for payments, if it resembles the normal fall-to-spring term in enrollment, staffing, budget, instructional program, or other objective characteristics, Justice Goodwin Liu said in the 7-0 ruling. The court did not decide whether 26 substitute teachers, janitors and other San Francisco school employees were entitled to the benefits they were denied by the state in 2011, and said lower courts should consider them under the new standards. But a lawyer for the union that sued the district seeking benefits for the workers said the ruling should make sidelined employees eligible for summer jobless benefits in large school districts with established summer programs. It means that more of our clients who make themselves available to help the district during the summer will get unemployment benefits if the district doesnt need them, which means the district will do a better job of planning, said David Rosenfeld, attorney for United Educators of San Francisco. A lawyer for the school district, however, predicted the state would still deny benefits under the courts standard. For districts like San Francisco that maintain a traditional academic calendar consisting of a fall and spring term, and an optional summer session, the general rule (in state law) that school employees are not eligible for unemployment benefits in the period between academic years or terms would still apply, said attorney John Yeh. He noted that the Legislature passed a state law last year providing some financial help to school employees who are out of work in the summer. Unemployment benefits are generally available to those who are temporarily jobless, through no fault of their own, and are seeking work they are able to perform. The standards have been less clear, however, for schools, where most full-time employees work about nine months per year. California law, similar to federal law, makes public school employees ineligible for benefits during the period between one academic term and another if they worked during the first term and had a reasonable assurance of work during the next term. In the San Francisco case, a Superior Court judge and a state appeals court ruled that the substitutes and other employees who were on call for work during the 2011 summer session were not eligible for jobless benefits, because the session was not an academic term, and they had been reasonably assured of jobs in the fall. 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. But the states high court said its not that simple. A district that offered a few weeks of summer classes, with limited offerings and enrollment, or provided remedial part-time courses to a particular group of students, would not be holding a regular academic term and would not make on-call staff eligible for benefits, Liu said. It would be different, he said, if the summer program offered the same types of classes as the regular school year and had comparable staffing, budgets and enrollment In such circumstances, school employees are expected to work over the summer, and they expect the income from that work to provide for their needs, Liu said. He cited the courts ruling in a 1984 case that said Californias unemployment insurance law must be interpreted liberally to further the legislative objective of reducing the hardship of unemployment. The case is United Educators of San Francisco vs. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, S235903. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko If whispers in the police are true, Singh would not bother to withdraw his salary for months together, as he was already making lakhs of rupees. Hyderabad: Stories of his ruthless ways of interrogating suspected stone-pelters and terrorists inside dingy rooms across the Kashmir Valley are well-known and police officials of all ranks of the UT police force have tales of their colleague DSP Davinder Singhs bravado, including one when terrorists opened fire and a bullet pierced his left leg during an operation a few years ago. But behind his khaki uniform was a man, it turns out, who allegedly threatened dozens of Kashmiri families with serious consequences after randomly picking up their loved ones and torturing them, on the mere suspicion of their involvement in stone-pelting or links with terrorist groups and later extorted money for their release. If whispers in the police are true, Singh would not bother to withdraw his salary for months together, as he was already making lakhs of rupees. The details of his extortion is tumbling out even as the National Investigation Agency is interrogating Davinder Singh, the DSP who was posted in the anti-hijacking squad at Srinagar airport and was arrested ferrying two wanted Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists in Kulgam recently. Sources associated with the probe as well as some colleagues told this newspaper that under Singhs direct supervision, while he was at SOG and positions like DSP, Pulwama, over the years, hundreds of youths were picked up after raids on their houses in different parts of the Valley. Kashmir witnessed cycles of stone-pelting incidents over the past decade, something that was an industry for terror groups. In the aftermath, the J&K police would crack down on stone-pelters and randomly pick up youth, detain them and allegedly torture them for days to extract the truth. Singh would reportedly check on the financial status of these families, and is said to have struck deals for releasing persons in his custody. Desperate families would pay anywhere between `30,000 to `70,000, or sometimes even more depending on their status, to get their loved ones released. Some subordinates would also be paid, said sources. Anyone who pleaded that they would not be able to pay up would be kept them waiting till they finally agreed, sources said. Besides releasing innocent persons Singh also allegedly set free some who were actually involved all for financial consideration. Davinder, from Tral in Pulwama district a hotbed of Hizbul Mujahideen was recruited as sub-inspector in 1994 and soon after was moved to the SOG. Nine newly licensed midwives delivered 98 babies in 26 Alabama counties last year, according to data compiled this month by the Alabama Midwives Alliance (ALMA), a group representing professional homebirth midwives. We thought it was important to get as much information as possible on the midwives working here, said Laura Reeder, a licensed midwife in Cullman who worked to collect the data for ALMA. This is the first full year weve had licensed midwives (in Alabama), so its good to see where we are. Until last January, it was illegal in Alabama to have a home birth attended by a professional, such as a midwife. Homebirths were legal, but only if they were unattended. Last January, the state midwifery board issued Alabamas first homebirth midwife licenses since 1976. As of this month, Alabama has licensed 15 homebirth midwives, according to ALMA. Chandler Harris of Birmingham delivered her daughter earlier this month at her home, attended by one of those newly licensed midwives. She said shed never considered a home birth with a midwife until learning early last year that Alabama had legalized the practice. I brought it up to my husband, and honestly, he looked at me like I was crazy, said Harris, who had a hospital birth with their firstborn. But he did his research and realized that if youre low-risk and healthy, home can be just as safe as a hospital. So we thought, lets go for it. Harris, attended by her midwife, her husband and her best friend, delivered her daughter in her living room in front of the fireplace in early January. It felt really good to know that when I was in labor, I didnt have to leave to go to the hospital, she told AL.com. It was special to be able to bring my daughter into the world at home, which played a huge role in keeping me calm. I think a big part of birth is being as emotionally comfortable as you can. After years of lobbying by midwifery advocates, the state legislature passed a law in 2017 allowing credentialed midwives to be licensed by the state to attend out-of-hospital births and provide prenatal care. (Certified nurse-midwives, who work in hospitals and have advanced nursing degrees, have always been legally allowed to practice in Alabama.) Right now, Alabamas 15 licensed homebirth midwives serve 41 of Alabamas 67 counties, according to the ALMA data. Of those counties, many are rural and lack obstetrical services, said Reeder. Even though there are only 15 in the state so far, we can still cover so much ground and provide services to people that otherwise might have to drive a long way to a hospital, said Reeder. By January 2020, there were 15 licensed homebirth midwives working in Alabama, covering 41 of Alabama's 67 counties, according to the Alabama Midwife Alliance. According to ALMA data, licensed homebirth midwives reported no maternal or infant deaths in 2019. About 12% of midwifery clients were transferred to hospitals for non-life threatening reasons, such as a mothers desire for an epidural, and 2% were transferred for life-threatening reasons. The transfers are not included in the total number of midwife-attended births because those babies were not delivered by midwives. Id love to see the transfer rate below 10 percent, but this first year, with midwives being more cautious, I think its to be expected, Reeder said. Most mothers using midwives were white. A racial breakdown of midwifery clients showed 83% white, 13% black and 4% other. I was hoping to see a little bit more diversity in clients, said Reeder. But some of the midwives said they had biracial couples but were only counting the mothers race in reporting. So its maybe not a complete reflection of the total family care. The average cost of midwifery care in Alabama, including prenatal appointments and delivery, is about $4,800, Reeder said. Charges ranged from $3,500 to $6,400, with additional costs for lab work, medications, ultrasounds and other supplies. About 97% of Alabama midwifery clients pay out of pocket, while the rest pay with private insurance. Reeder said most Christian cost-sharing healthcare plans cover midwifery services, as do many private insurances. While Medicaid does cover midwifery-attended births in other states, she said that process is still being worked out in Alabama. Medicaid pays for about half of all births in Alabama. Chandler Harris of Birmingham and her newborn daughter in January 2020. Harris chose a home birth attended by a certified professional midwife for her daughter's birth in January 2020. (Jordyn Longsworth Photography) Harris, the Birmingham mom, said she hadnt had a bad hospital experience the first time around; it just wasnt one that she found supportive. During prenatal appointments while pregnant with her first child, she said she would wait 30-45 minutes in her obstetricians office, and then get to talk with her doctor for maybe five or 10 minutes. With prenatal care with my midwife, Id go to her house, Id bring my son and hed play with her kids while I got a full hour with her, said Harris. She listened to every question and concern I had, and my son got to be involved in the appointment. I was nice to be able to have that one-on-one connection in a very comfortable setting. She said she would choose a midwife-attended home birth again, even though she gets skeptical looks from friends and family. Honestly, now that Ive done it, I realize how empowering and special it is, she said. I feel like society has made birth out to be this thing that we arent capable of doing without intervention. We are completely capable. The Karnataka cabinet on Friday decided amend a relevant act allowing the city civic body BBMP to levy two times the regular tax as penalty on unauthorised constructions until they were removed or demolished. The "double tax"was already applicable to other municipalities in the state, except Bengaluru. With this amendment, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) can also levy it, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said. We have decided to bring in an amendment to the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act so that two times the regular tax will be collected as penalty from those who have constructed houses in violation of plan and alignment till the unauthorised or violated construction exists, he said. Speaking to reporters here after the cabinet meeting, he said, Two times the regular tax will be levied until the unauthorized or violated structure is removed or demolished by the owner or the government." Other decisions taken by the cabinet included payment of Rs 3,000 as one-time incentive to Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA). As many as 41,628 ASHA workers will benefit and it will cost Rs 12.48 crore to the government, the Minister said. The cabinet also decided to extend by one year the tenure of the Special Investigation Team under the Karnataka Lokayukta that is looking into the illegal mining cases. It also decided to construct special godowns to safely store and protect electronic voting machines in all the 30 districts of the state and Rs 123 crore had been released for this along with required administrative approvals. The cabinet gave administrative approval with Rs 100 crore for the construction of high security wards at Bengaluru prison and Rs 99.98 crore for similar work at the Vijayapura prison, Madhuswamy said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have release women's rights activist and independent journalist Sophia Huang, also known as Huang Xueqin, on "bail," ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations at the end of the month, rights groups said. The Chinese Feminists group posted a message from Huang on its Facebook page, which read: "Hi, it's Huang Xueqin. I'm back." "I'd like to thank everyone ... I will remember [your support]. It's not convenient for me to thank you in person just yet," the message said, before striking a more defiant tone. "A single second of darkness isn't enough to make you blind," it said. Huang was detained on Oct. 17 by police in Guangdong's provincial capital Guangzhou, on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge that is often used to target peaceful critics of the government. Huang was previously held in Guangzhou's Baiyun District Detention Center, where police have interrogated her about a post she made about Hong Kong's anti-extradition movement on June 10. She was later transferred to an unknown location for "residential surveillance," leading to concerns that she may be at risk of torture and other mistreatment. Fellow activists have said Huang's family have been threatened by the authorities and are too frightened to speak out in public about her situation. Cases of harassment, assault Before her detention, Huang had been an outspoken member of the country's #metoo movement, and had carried out a survey of sexual harassment and assault cases among Chinese women working in journalism. Huang, 30, originally planned to study law in Hong Kong but had her travel documents confiscated in August. Many women who have tried to defend human rights in China have faced persecution, including arbitrary detention, torture and inhumane punishment by medical deprivation, according to the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network. Huang was already under a travel ban imposed following her return from a trip to Hong Kong and Taiwan from February through August. She had previously assisted in the investigation and reporting of a number of high-profile sexual harassment allegations against professors at Peking University, Wuhan University of Technology, Henan University and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. Huang was present at a million-strong protest in Hong Kong on June 9 against plans to allow extradition to mainland China The Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) says China is the largest prison in the world for journalists with at least 120 detainees and ranks 177th out of 180 countries and territories in the RSF World Press Freedom Ranking 2019. Reported by RFAs Cantonese Service and Mandarin Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. The department will continue making random proactive inspections with the new algorithm but will be able to focus on buildings where there have been previous violations. The algorithm also will consider other factors, such as the age of the building, the history of its landlord and anything else that increases the likelihood of violations, said Georgetown data science professor NaLette Brodnax. - Derrick Nyala Booker has been admitted at Ambira High School after staying at home for one year due to lack of school fees - The 2018 KCPE candidate's dream of completing his studies have finally been fulfilled - Connie Kabarry, the Kenyan Nollywood actress who led the mission, thanked her friends for joining hands to support the boy Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in A 2018 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidate whose dream to further his studies had nearly been killed due to lack of school fees is excited after well-wishers came to his rescue. Derrick Nyala Booker was admitted at Ambira High School after Consolota Mbogo alias Connie Kabarry, a Kenyan Nollywood actress, joined hands with her friends to sponsor the boys education. READ ALSO: Woman thanks God after atheist association pay her needy son's school fees Kenyan Nollywood actress Connie Kabarry and her friends have come to the rescue of Derrrick Nyala, a needy 2018 KCPE pupil who lacked school fees. Photo: Connie Kanbarry. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Lady gets out of control after taking too much Tramadol (Video) In a series of Facebook posts shared on her page Monday, January 14, the award winning actress thanked her friends for helping the boy who comes from a humble background. When God says yes! I brought Derrick's issue here, he did KCPE in 2018 and he was to join Ambira High school but he didn't join due to lack of school fees. He is already admitted at Ambira High school, it can only be God! Team Connie Kabarry and friends you are the best, God bless you my friends, best friends ever, she said. READ ALSO: 3 Kenyan kids become national heroes after inventing amazing dance move Her kind gesture came after well wishers led by comedian and radio presenter Jalang'o helped another needy boy named Levis Otieno Rabar after he reported to Kanga High School with only a metal box and two bars of soap. "Last night, I spoke to the principal and also got the chance to speak with the boy Levi Otieno , so work begins today. School fees are around (KSh) 53,000 per year, we want to pay for the four years," he said. READ ALSO: Full list of 50 most influential young Ghanaians in 2019 emerges Kabarry's gesture was appreciated by netizens on social media. Derrick Ayala all smiles after his admission to Form One, Ambira High School. Photo: Connie Kabarry. Source: Facebook In other news about needy people pursuing education, Maclean Mac Sarbah, a young Ghanaian who recently graduated with a Masters from Harvard University, has had a school block named after him at the Yejis Royal Educational Complex. In an interview with Myjoyonline.com, Sarbah who comes from a poor background said he was surprised and emotional when he discovered that his basic school decided to dedicate a building to him. It is indicated that Sarbah attended the rural school for both his primary and junior high school (JHS) education. Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh A U.S. proposal that the future international tax reform could be optional for companies is a "non-starter" and is no longer on the table, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday. Le Maire was speaking after meeting OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria to discuss global tax reform. He also said it was up to U.S. authorities to make a move in coming days on a French digital tax targeting big tech companies. New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sent the mercy petition of 2012 gangrape convict Mukesh Singh to President Ram Nath Kovind, recommending its rejection. The ministry had received the petition file from the Delhi government on January 16 afternoon and forwarded it to the President in the evening. On January 15, the Delhi government had recommended the Centre to reject the mercy petition filed by Mukesh Singh, one of the four men sentenced to death for the 2012 gangrape, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said. According to reports, Mukesh's mercy plea was first rejected by the Delhi government, which forwarded the same to the Lieutenant Governor recommending 'rejection'. Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal accepted the recommendation of the Delhi Government and forwarded the file to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Live TV The MHA sources later confirmed that the ministry has received mercy petition of Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case convict Mukesh Singh from Delhi government. On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court had refused to stay death warrants after the state government said that it 'can't hang convicts on January 22'. While refusing to set aside the death warrant issued for the hanging of four Nirbhaya gangrape-murder convicts, the high court said that convict Mukesh Singh could approach the trial court, which issued the death warrant. The HC also said that it found nothing wrong in the death warrants issued by Delhi's Patiala House court for the hanging of four convicts. The four convicts - Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) - are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am. Anzeige One of my favorite kinds of jokes are the American medical jokes about "first the bad news, then the good news" here is a slightly tasteless one. After his wife had undergone a long and risky operation, the husband approaches the doctor and inquires about the outcome. The doctor begins: "Your wife survived; she will probably live longer than you. But there are some complications: she will no longer be able to control her anal muscles, so shit will drift continuously out of her anus. There will also be a continuous flow of a bad-smelling yellow jelly from her vagina, so any sex is out. Plus her mouth will malfunction and food will be falling out of it" Noticing the growing expression of panic on the husbands face, the doctor taps him friendly on the shoulder and smiles: "Dont worry, I was just joking! Everything is OK she died during the operation." My good friend from Iran Kamran Baradaran wrote me a couple of days ago, after Iran and the US avoided full war and the tension was (temporarily) defused, that this joke provides a very good description of the present situation. First there was a succession of bad news which qualified the successful operation (the killing of Suleimani): scepticism of the US allies about the act; furious crowds on anti-American protests; threat of the Iranian revenge which may trigger a large-scale war Then a (fragile and temporary) balance was restored, but this balance sounds more like the final punchline of our joke: "Dont worry, the crisis was just a joke! Everything is OK nothing is resolved, we are back at the mortifying geopolitical games which cause a permanent crisis" Lesen Sie auch Exklusiver Beitrag von Putin Ein einziges Mal Schwache zeigen und schon gehts los It looked as if the killing of Suleimani served both sides: in Iran it led to a popular mobilization and a triumphant display of unity that momentarily obliterated internal struggles; for the US, it seemed to open the path towards a war that would eliminate the Iranian threat. Now we see that nobody really wanted a war. Anzeige First, Iran where is it now? The shooting-down of the Ukrainian plane led to the return of popular unrest which now threatens the very foundations of the Khomeiny revolution its basic legitimacy, not just the hard-liners predominance, is openly questioned. The use of the tension with the US as a means to mobilize the population in support of the regime thus backfired, the regime is more in peril than ever. The unforeseeable shooting-down of the Ukrainian plane thus made Trumps strategy work: Trump doesn't have to start a war against Iran since it looks that Iran is drowning in its own problems However, Trumps "successes" are part of his dangerous geopolitical game: whatever the final result of the Iranian crisis, the US are not only fast losing its grip on Iraq but are also gradually pushed out of much of the Middle East region. The fake "solution" of the crisis with Kurds in Syria - Turkey and Russia imposing peace so that each one controls its own side is now repeated in Libya, and in both cases the US silently withdrew from playing an active role. Russia and Turkey are now in an ideal position to exert pressure on Europe: the two countries control the oil supply to Europe, as well as the flow of refugees, so that they can use both as a means to blackmail Europe. Lesen Sie auch Slavoj Zizek Eine vernunftige Tat in einer verruckten Welt But what if Trump wants this? There are ominous signs which point to a YES as the answer. Trump is now threatening to move the customs war from China to EU, and it is clear that the hatred of a strong EU is what unites Trump, Russia, and Turkey. So which Europe bothers Trump, Putin, Erdogan, as well as the European populists? It is the Europe of transnational unity, the Europe vaguely aware that, in order to cope with the challenges of our moment, we should move beyond the constraints of nation-states; the Europe which also desperately strives to somehow remain faithful to the old Enlightenment motto of solidarity with victims, the Europe aware of the fact that humanity is today One, that we are all on the same boat (or, as we say, on the same Spaceship Earth), so that others misery is also our problem. Europe lies in the great pincers between America on the one side and Russia on the other who both want to dismember it: both Trump and Putin support Brexit, they support euro-sceptics in every corner, from Poland to Italy. The big loser of the ongoing Middle East crisis is thus Europe, much more than the US. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has assembled a made-for-TV legal team for his Senate trial that includes household names like Ken Starr, the prosecutor whose investigation two decades ago resulted in the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said he will deliver constitutional arguments meant to shield Trump from allegations that he abused his power. The additions Friday bring experience in the politics of impeachment as well as constitutional law to the team, which faced a busy weekend of deadlines for legal briefs before opening arguments begin Tuesday even as more evidence rolled in. The two new Trump attorneys are already nationally known both for their involvement in some of the more consequential legal dramas of recent American history and for their regular appearances on Fox News, the presidents preferred television network. Dershowitz is a constitutional expert whose expansive views of presidential powers echo those of Trump. Starr is a veteran of partisan battles in Washington, having led the investigation into Clintons affair with a White House intern that brought about the presidents impeachment by the House. Clinton was acquitted at his Senate trial, the same outcome Trump is expecting from the Republican-led chamber. Still, the lead roles for Trumps defence will be played by White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump personal lawyer Jay Sekulow, who also represented Trump during special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Democrats released more documents late Friday from Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, with photos, text and audio, as they make their case against the president over his actions toward Ukraine. There are some signs of tension involving the presidents outside legal team and lawyers within the White House. Some White House officials bristled that the announcement was not co-ordinated with them. The White House waited until late Friday night to confirm the full roster of the presidents lawyers. Hours after Dershowitz announced his involvement with the team in a series of tweets Friday, he played down his role by saying he would be present for only an hour or so to make constitutional arguments. Im not a full-fledged member of the defence team, he told The Dan Abrams Show on SiriusXM. He has long been a critic of the overuse of impeachment, he said, and would have made the same case for a President Hillary Clinton. A legal brief laying out the contours of the Trump defence, due at noon Monday, was still being drafted, with White House attorneys and the outside legal team grappling over how political the document should be. Those inside the administration have echoed warnings from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that the pleadings must be sensitive to the Senates more staid traditions and leave the sharper rhetoric to Twitter and cable news. White House lawyers were successful in keeping Trump from adding House Republicans to the team, but they also advised him against tapping Dershowitz, according to two people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions. Theyre concerned because of the professors association with Jeffrey Epstein, the millionaire who killed himself in jail last summer while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. A Fox News host said on the air that Starr would be parting ways with the network as a result of his role on the legal team. Other members of Trumps legal defence include Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general; Jane Raskin, who was part of the presidents legal team during Muellers investigation; Robert Ray, who was part of the Whitewater investigation of the Clintons; and Eric D. Herschmann of the Kasowitz Benson Torres legal firm, which has represented Trump in numerous cases over the last 15 years. Giuliani told The Associated Press that the president has assembled a top-notch defence team and he was not disappointed not to be included. Giuliani, who many in the White House blame for leading Trump down the path to impeachment by fueling Ukraine conspiracies, had previously expressed interest in being on the legal team. But he said Friday his focus would be on being a potential witness, though there is no certainty that he would be called. I will be getting ready to testify, he said. Trump was impeached by the House last month on charges of abuse of power and obstructing Congress, stemming from his pressure on Ukraine to investigate Democratic rivals as he was withholding security aid, and his efforts to block the ensuing congressional probe. Senators were sworn in as jurors Thursday by Chief Justice John Roberts. The president insists he did nothing wrong, and he complains about his treatment daily, sometimes distracting from unrelated events. On Friday, as Trump welcomed the championship Louisiana State University football team to the Oval Office for photos, he said the space had seen a lot of presidents, some good, some not so good. But you got a good one now, even though theyre trying to impeach the son of a bitch. Can you believe that? While the president speaks dismissively of the case, new revelations are mounting about his actions toward Ukraine. The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the White House violated federal law in withholding the security assistance to Ukraine, which shares a border with hostile Russia. Democrats deep into their own preparations released more information from the trove Parnas has turned over to prosecutors linking the president to the shadow foreign policy being run by Giuliani. Fridays release included multiple photos of the Soviet-born Florida businessman, including several with Giuliani and some with Trump and Trumps son, Don Jr. It also included messages between Parnas and a staff member for Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., a Trump ally. The GAO report and Parnas documents have applied fresh pressure to senators to call more witnesses for the trial, a main source of contention that is still to be resolved. The White House has instructed officials not to comply with subpoenas from Congress requesting witnesses or other information. Views on it all are decidedly mixed in the Senate, reflective of the nation at the start of this election year. Ill be honest, a lot of us do see it as a political exercise, Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa told reporters on a conference call. The whole process has really been odd or unusual or bizarre. Others spoke of the seriousness of the moment. Totally sombre, tweeted Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut. He sits next to Elizabeth Warren, one of four senators running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Trump in the fall, and said they agreed their overwhelming emotion was sadness. All said they will be listening closely to all arguments. As she filed for re-election Friday in West Virginia, GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told reporters, I think its been a very politicized process to this point and the president hasnt had a chance to present his side. Starr, besides his 1990s role as independent counsel, is a former U.S. solicitor general and federal circuit court judge. More recently, he was removed as president of Baylor University and then resigned as chancellor of the school in the wake of a review critical of the universitys handling of sexual assault allegations against football players. Starr said his resignation was the result of the universitys board of regents seeking to place the school under new leadership following the scandal, not because he was accused of hiding or failing to act on information. Dershowitzs reputation has been damaged in recent years by his association with Epstein. One of Epsteins alleged victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, has accused Dershowitz of participating in her abuse. Dershowitz has denied it and has been battling in court for years with Giuffre and her lawyers. He recently wrote a book, Guilt by Accusation, rejecting her allegations. Giuffre and Dershowitz are also suing each other for defamation, each saying the other is lying. _____ Associated Press writers David Caruso in New York, David Pitt in Iowa, Anthony Izaguirre in West Virginia, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report. For the first time, the per capita GDP of China, the world's most populous nation, has exceeded the $10,000-mark in 2019, a top official said on Friday. The per capita Gross Domestic Product in 2019 reached 10,276 US dollars at the average exchange rate, exceeding the 10,000-dollar mark, Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, Ning Jizhe said. As a country with 1.4 billion people and a per capita GDP of more than 10,000 US dollars, China will contribute more to the development and progress of the world, he said. "It showed that the quality of China's economic development is improving," Ning said, adding that "China's pace of progress is unstoppable". According to the World Bank, the population of countries with per capita GDP above 10,000 US dollars was nearly 1.5 billion in 2018. As China enters the ranks of such countries, their collective population will approach 3 billion, representing major progress in the economic and social development of the world, Ning was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. China's per capita disposable income stood at 30,733 yuan (4,461.95 US dollars) in 2019, up 5.8 per cent year on year in real terms, according to official data released by the NBS. Separately, urban and rural per capita disposable income reached 42,359 yuan and 16,021 yuan in 2019, up 5 per cent and 6.2 per cent in real terms after deducting price factors, respectively, it said. In 2019, the real growth of per capita disposable income in rural areas was faster than that in urban areas, indicating narrowing of the urban-rural income gap, according to the NBS data. Chinese per capita consumer spending increased by 5.5 per cent year on year in real terms to reach 21,559 yuan in 2019. The NBS data also showed China's economy grew 6.1 per cent year on year in 2019, within the government's annual target of 6 to 6.5 per cent. However, the growth rate was the lowest in 29 years. By 2020, China has said that it aims to double the per capita income of its urban and rural residents from 2010 levels. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 08:02 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c322741d7 1 Editorial #Editorial,Jiwasraya,Insurance-agents,insurance-companies,insurance,finance,financial-services,Asabri,financial-institutions,corruption,corruption-case,OJK,SOEs,state-owned-enterprises Free Following the exposure of the financial scandal involving state-owned insurer Asuransi Jiwasraya, we have been shocked yet again by the disclosure of a similar financial fiasco at another state-owned insurance company, Asabri. The company, which manages the pension and social security funds of Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police personnel, has incurred Rp 10 trillion (US$715 million) in losses allegedly due to corruption in the companys stock and mutual fund investments. Like Jiwasraya, the alleged corruption at Asabri started long ago, but had gone undetected due to weak supervision. Strangely, Asabri did not fall under the supervision of the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and was instead under the Defense Ministry. As the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) disclosed, Jiwasraya had been recording losses since 2006, but the OJK failed to detect this because it relied only on written reports from the insurer. Even stranger, the OJK also allowed Jiwasraya to launch JS Investment, an investment-linked insurance policy (ILP). Unlike the ILPs offered by other insurance companies, JS Investment, which was sold through cooperation with several banks, guaranteed greater returns than bank deposits or bonds. Even worse, the JS Investment funds were mostly invested in underperforming small and micro-cap stocks. According to the BPK, due to mismanagement and a drastic decline in the value of its investments, Jiwasraya lacks the funds to return JS Investment customers money, totaling Rp 12.4 trillion at the end of 2019. Speculators primarily target small and micro-cap stocks like those that Jiwasraya and Asabri bought in pump-and-dump scams, locally termed goreng-goreng saham (frying stocks). Other countries consider this practice a type of securities fraud because it involves stock manipulation and frequently causes great losses to investors. Many allege that Jiwasraya and Asabri were not among the victims of goreng-goreng saham, but among the perpetrators, buying the small-cap stocks in collusion with sellers during a sharp rise in price. Once the shares changed hands, and without any other big buyers stepping up, the stock prices fell sharply and the insurers lost heavily. Asabri and Jiwasrayas experience was clearly the result of weak supervision, both by the OJK and the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry. We can only reemphasize that in learning from this painful experience, the OJK needs to overhaul the supervisory mechanism in the insurance industry so it will be more effective in facing rapid changes in the financial sector. President Joko Jokowi Widodo has expressed his concern over the pump-and-dump scam on the local stock exchange. He called on the OJK and the Indonesian Stock Exchange to stop the practice, which has caused great losses to many investors. The government should prevent a similar financial scandal from happening again. It should pay special attention to two other state-owned financial services giants civil service pension company PT Taspen and the Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan) so that they, too, will not fall into the same trap. The hundreds of trillions of rupiah they have invested in the capital market must be protected. Advertisement A Russian vet has given a cat ravaged by frostbite a new lease of life by amputating her dead limbs and giving her four prosthetic paws. Dymka was on the brink of death in 2018 after being stuck outdoors for a long period of time in the Siberian winter. Severe ice burns meant that veterinarians had to amputate all four paws as well as cut off her dead ears and most of her tail. Dr Sergei Gorshkov, based in Novosibirsk, tended to her and fixed her up instead of euthanising the animal. Scroll down for video Dymka was on the brink of death in 2018 after being outdoors for a long period of time caused her to get frostbite on her tail, paws and ears Cat named Dymka in the veterinary clinic Best where she had a surgery to implant 3D printed bionic prosthetic legs; the cat lost its legs after an ice burn A Russian vet has given a cat ravaged by frostbite a new lease of life by amputating her dead limbs and giving her four prosthetic paws 'There are two likely scenarios: Either she ran away or she fell out of the window,' Dr Gorshkov told the local Ngs.ru news website last summer. 'Unfortunately, frostbite in animals is a very real problem in Siberia.' It is believed Dymka is only the second cat to get bionic prostheses on all four paws. Dr Gorshkov, from Siberia, also performed the first procedure, which was a success. He partnered with experts at Tomsk Polytechnic University to help produce the unique prosthetics. The engineers and designers opted to make the new legs out of titanium and 3D print them to ensure they were a perfect fit. Researchers from Tomsk Polytechnic University covered the prosthetic limbs with a special bio-coating to ensure that they took to the body. It took seven months for Dymka to fully recover from her large operation but she is now believed to be back to full fitness and adapting well to her new form of walking. She has also found her forever home in the form of the woman who first found her on the brink of death in the SIberian snow. It is thought the poor cat either ran away from home or fell out of a window and was left outside when she got frostbite all over her body Dr Sergei Gorshkov, based in Novosibirsk, tended to her and fixed her instead of euthanizing the cat. Over time she became accustomed to her new paws and made a full recovery Dr Gorshkov, from Siberia, also performed the first procedure, which was a success. He partnered with experts at Tomsk Polytechnic University to help produce the unique prosthetics Researchers from Tomsk Polytechnic University covered the prosthetic limbs with a special bio-coating to ensure that they took to the body It took seven months for Dymka to fully recover from her large operation but she is now believed to be back to full fitness and adapting well to her new form of walking. Dymka has also found her forever home in the form of the woman who first found her on the brink of death in the SIberian snow Jonathan Tack Joins GSI as Executive Vice President of Business Development Gemological Science International (GSI), one of the largest gemological organizations in the world and a global leader in diamond and jewelry certification, announced that Jonathan Tack will join the organization as Executive Vice President of... The formation of diamonds is associated with the split of the supercontinents Diamonds are known to form in the bowels of the Earth at a very great depth and at high temperatures. Diamonds rise to the surface as a result of volcanic eruptions, they are found trapped in igneous rocks called kimberlites. However, the origin of this... CIBJO General Assembly in Vicenza, Italy, postponed to March 17 and 18, 2022 CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has announced that the gathering of its General Assembly, which had been scheduled to take place in Vicenza, Italy, on January 24 and 25, has been postponed to Thursday, March 17, and Friday, March 18. It will... Titan sees revenue growing 36% in Q3 The Tata Group-owned Titan company's jewellery business witnessed strong demand across its consumer businesses and clocked 36 per cent revenue growth over the festive quarter last year, the company said in the quarterly update. NORRISTOWN A Norristown man faces time in a state prison for illegally possessing a gun in the borough. Jiles Griffen III, 40, of the 400 block of Barbadoes Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 21/2 to 5 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of person not to possess a firearm in connection with a May 2019 incident in the borough. Senior Judge Joseph A. Smyth, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, also ordered that the weapon Griffen possessed, a Taurus Model PT809 handgun, be forfeited to the district attorneys office. An investigation began about 6:23 p.m. May 26 when a borough man reported to police that a handgun he had previously purchased was stolen from the glove box of his vehicle. The victim said he placed the gun, which was loaded with 17 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, in the glove box earlier on May 26. Around the same time, borough police received a report of a disturbance involving two males and a female in the 1200 block of Swede Street. A 911 caller said he observed one of the males brandish a handgun during the disturbance and then discard the gun in the 1100 block of Swede Street, according to the criminal complaint. Police subsequently located the two males allegedly involved in the disturbance and identified one of them as Griffen. Police recovered the loaded semiautomatic firearm underneath a parked vehicle in the block and the investigation determined it was the firearm that was reported stolen from the vehicle by the borough resident earlier in the day. The investigation determined that Griffen knew the victim who reported the gun stolen and had been in the victims vehicle earlier that day, according to the arrest affidavit. The victim told police Griffen had been in the front passenger seat of the vehicle earlier on May 26. (The victim) told police that Jiles Griffen was the only person who had access to the glove box and he suspected Griffen as the person who removed his handgun without his permission, Norristown Detective David Mazza alleged in the arrest affidavit. During the investigation, detectives learned that Griffen was a person who was not legally permitted to possess a firearm due to a previous criminal conviction, according to court papers. As part of the plea agreement, the judge said Griffen is to have no offensive contact with the victim. The adage "Fake it until you make it" - the idea that someone can fake a positive attitude to elicit real-life benefits - often backfires when used with co-workers, according to a study led by a University of Arizona researcher. Instead, researchers say, making an effort to actually feel the emotions you display is more productive. Allison Gabriel, associate professor of management and organizations in the Eller College of Management, led a team that analyzed two types of emotion regulation that people use at work: surface acting and deep acting. "Surface acting is faking what you're displaying to other people. Inside, you may be upset or frustrated, but on the outside, you're trying your best to be pleasant or positive," Gabriel said. "Deep acting is trying to change how you feel inside. When you're deep acting, you're actually trying to align how you feel with how you interact with other people." The study surveyed working adults in a wide variety of industries including education, manufacturing, engineering and financial services. "What we wanted to know is whether people choose to engage in emotion regulation when interacting with their co-workers, why they choose to regulate their emotions if there is no formal rule requiring them to do so, and what benefits, if any, they get out of this effort," Gabriel said. Putting on a Happy Face Gabriel says that when it comes to regulating emotions with co-workers, four types of people emerged from the study: Nonactors, or those engaging in negligible levels of surface and deep acting; Low actors, or those displaying slightly higher surface and deep acting; Deep actors, or those who exhibited the highest levels of deep acting and low levels of surface acting; and, Regulators, or those who displayed high levels of surface and deep acting. In each study, nonactors made up the smallest group, with the other three groups being similar in size. The researchers identified several drivers for engaging in emotion regulation and sorted them into two categories: prosocial and impression management. Prosocial motives include wanting to be a good co-worker and cultivating positive relationships. Impression management motives are more strategic and include gaining access to resources or looking good in front of colleagues and supervisors. The team found that regulators, in particular, were driven by impression management motives, while deep actors were significantly more likely to be motivated by prosocial concerns. This means that deep actors are choosing to regulate their emotions with co-workers to foster positive work relationships, as opposed to being motivated by gaining access to more resources. Faking It Versus Feeling It "The main takeaway," Gabriel says, "is that deep actors - those who are really trying to be positive with their co-workers - do so for prosocial reasons and reap significant benefits from these efforts." According to the researchers, those benefits include receiving significantly higher levels of support from co-workers, such as help with workloads and offers of advice. Deep actors also reported significantly higher levels of progress on their work goals and trust in their co-workers than the other three groups. The data also showed that mixing high levels of surface and deep acting resulted in physical and mental strain. "Regulators suffered the most on our markers of well-being, including increased levels of feeling emotionally exhausted and inauthentic at work," Gabriel said. Lessons Learned While some managers Gabriel spoke to during the course of her research still believe emotions have little to do with the workplace, the study results suggest there is a benefit to displaying positive emotions during interactions at work, she said. "I think the 'fake it until you make it' idea suggests a survival tactic at work," Gabriel said. "Maybe plastering on a smile to simply get out of an interaction is easier in the short run, but long term, it will undermine efforts to improve your health and the relationships you have at work." "In many ways," Gabriel added, "it all boils down to, 'Let's be nice to each other.' Not only will people feel better, but people's performance and social relationships can also improve." ### Gabriel's co-authors included Joel Koopman, assistant professor of management in the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University; Christopher Rosen, a professor of management at the University of Arkansas; John Arnold, a doctoral student at Florida State University; and Wayne Hochwarter, a professor of management at Florida State University. The research is published online in the Journal of Applied Psychology. On April 11, 1968, with American cities rioting and smoldering one week after Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act. It would be the last major civil rights legislation marched and protested into existence by the civil rights movement and, like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it had Kings imprint. In 1966, King moved his family into a rundown apartment in Chicago, one of the nations most residentially segregated cities, in a campaign for open housing. The bill was making its way through Congress when Johnson used the emotions stirred by Kings death to push it through. The Fair Housing Act prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, sex, religion or national origin, and sought to end residential discrimination. Embedded in the act is a directive that local and state governments and any recipient of Housing and Urban Development funding affirmatively further its goals of fair housing and equal opportunity. In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that the act not only prevents intentional discrimination in the marketplace but also race-neutral policies, which didnt have that intent but have a disparate impact in discriminating against minorities. A few weeks later, the Obama administration strengthened the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing provision by issuing a rule that local jurisdictions examine patterns of racial discrimination in housing, report their findings every three to five years, and set goals and track the progress of reducing housing segregation. But earlier this month, HUD Secretary Ben Carson announced the Trump administration will revise the Obama-era rule, a decision that weakens enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing is defined as taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns, transferring racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws. Carsons proposal changes the definition to advancing fair housing choice within the program participants control or influence and releases jurisdictions from scrutinizing and reporting whether theyre making progress. Decadeslong residential segregation wasnt created and hasnt been sustained because of the choice of the residents who are segregated. This segregation wasnt created by chance, but by design of government policies, including redlining, which was used by the Federal Housing Administration to refuse insuring mortgages in or near black neighborhoods. Housing discrimination isnt just an injustice of our nations past but very much a part of our present. Last November, the New York newspaper Newsday published the results of a three-year investigation revealing widespread discrimination against minority testers posing as homebuyers. Beyond ending housing discrimination, an important goal of the 2015 rule was to stop the concentration of low-income people in blighted neighborhoods, which are choked off from resources and hope. The ability to use housing vouchers in better neighborhoods with good schools, public transportation, grocery stores and jobs expands the access to opportunities needed by families to better their lives. But this wont happen if the structural inequities that have created and sustained residential and economic segregation arent actively attacked by the federal government that created them. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 17:24:47|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close CAIRO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has underlined Egypt's strategic stance on supporting security and stability of Sudan, the presidency office said late Thursday. In a phone call with Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Thursday, President al-Sisi praised deeply-rooted historic ties with Sudan. For his part, al-Burhan lauded Egypt's efforts to cement cooperation between both countries and maintain Sudan's safety and stability, said Bassam Radi, spokesperson of the presidency. The two leaders also tackled the recent developments of common interests in the region particularly the Libyan crisis and the Ethiopian Dam talks, Radi added. Sudan on Thursday appointed a new intelligence chief to replace the general who quit after government forces controlled what it described as a "rebellion" by security forces. On Tuesday, the headquarters of the General Intelligence Service (GIS) Operations Authority witnessed heavy gunfire, which sparked fear among the citizens of central Khartoum. The 3X Bluicer Pro makes it easy to combine freshly extracted juice into blends, improving the taste of the final beverage and employing more fresh fruits and vegetables including those at risk of going off from the produce bin. Building on Breville's award-winning blenders and juicers, the 3X Bluicer Pro has a breakthrough, space-saving design that consists of one base with interchangeable parts: a juicing chute with an attachable pulp bin along with a blending jug that doubles as a carafe for juicing. The 3X Bluicer Pro is available at Williams Sonoma and Breville.com. Breville and SoulCycle Team Up to Support No Kid Hungry Breville and SoulCycle are partnering to raise money for No Kid Hungry, a national campaign working to end childhood hunger in America, as part of Breville's launch of the 3X Bluicer Pro. The partnership will begin in late January 2020 with a five-city tour of dedicated Breville "Bike and Bluice" classes in SoulCycle studios. These classes will include a suite of wellness experiences such as tastings of exclusive recipes for pre- and post-workout and talks from guest experts on the subject of healthy living. These bluice recipes will be created by Breville's network of nutritionist partners as well as SoulCycle's instructor talent such as Jenny Gaither, who stated, "What I love about this partnership is that it underscores SoulCycle's mission to have an impact on people's minds, bodies and souls. While the 3X Bluicer Pro makes it even easier for me to create nutritious post-workout bluices, at the same time, just having access to produce isn't something any of us should take for granted, and so I'm honored to be a part of this campaign with No Kid Hungry and Breville." The campaign will culminate with SoulCycle instructors polling their social media communities about the perfect post-workout bluice. Participants in these activations will be eligible for a sweepstakes to win the ultimate wellness package: a SoulCycle pass for 50 classes, a healthy living kitchen countertop suite of Breville products, and a $500 Williams Sonoma shopping spree. Wellness is, naturally, of importance to both Breville and SoulCycle and both companies are committed to No Kid Hungry, one of the country's most respected and effective campaigns combatting childhood hunger. Speaking on the partnership, No Kid Hungry's Chief Revenue Officer, Jill Davis stated, "At No Kid Hungry, we know the solution to end childhood hunger. We team up with the right partners across the country to make sure all kids get the healthy food they need to thrive." Breville SoulCycle Tour Event Dates: The 3X Bluicer Pro's features include: For Blending 5 One Touch Programs: Green Smoothie, Smoothies, Frozen Cocktail, Pulse/Ice Crush, and Auto Clean Green Smoothie, Smoothies, Frozen Cocktail, Pulse/Ice Crush, and Auto Clean A Variable Speed Dial with 10 Settings: For smoother and softer textures in everything from nut butters and nut milks to creamy dips and rich sauces For smoother and softer textures in everything from nut butters and nut milks to creamy dips and rich sauces A 1.5 Liter Blender Jug: with a Kinetix contoured blade and bowl system with a Kinetix contoured blade and bowl system Compatibility with the VAC Q: the 3X Bluicer Pro is compatible with the Vac Q vacuum pump (sold separately), which removes air from the jug before blending for brighter colors and smoother textures For Juicing An Extra Large (88 mm) Feed Chute : To accommodate whole fruits and vegetables : To accommodate whole fruits and vegetables Cold Spin Technology: Which allows juice to flow up and through the stainless-steel cutting disc, which is surrounded by an Italian-made mesh filter, to ensure an insignificant temperature increase of less than 1C. Which allows juice to flow up and through the stainless-steel cutting disc, which is surrounded by an Italian-made mesh filter, to ensure an insignificant temperature increase of less than 1C. An Elevated Juicing System: So that the juice goes directly into the 1.5 liter jug So that the juice goes directly into the 1.5 liter jug A Large (3 Liter) Pulp Bin: For continuous juicing About Breville Over the past 80+ years Breville has grown to become an iconic global brand, delivering kitchen products to over 70 countries around the globe. The company goes to market as the Sage Appliances brand in Europe, and as the Breville brand in the rest of the world. Breville has enhanced people's lives through the delivery of brilliant innovation and thoughtful design based on deep consumer insights, empowering people to do things more impressively or easily than they'd thought possible in their own home and ultimately allowing them to Master Every Moment. Breville.com About No Kid Hungry No child should go hungry in America. But 1 in 7 kids will face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty. SOURCE Breville Related Links http://Breville.com The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have suspended their ballot for industrial action The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has suspended its ballot for industrial action after "intense negotiations" with Health Minister Robin Swann. Mr Swann promised to give health staff pay parity with workers in the rest of the UK. He also promised to increase staff levels to address concerns around patient and staff safety. Midwives and maternity support workers will receive pay parity backdated to April 1 2019. RCM is set to consult with its members, but will recommend they accept the offer. Read More A consultation of RCM members on the outline agreement will start on January 20 running until February 3. GMB is the only union yet to respond to the Department of Health's pay offer. It is understood the union has concerns that the offer doesn't go far enough in terms of safe staffing levels. GMB staff are set to strike on January 24 followed by continuous action short of a strike from January 25. NIPSA has rejected the offer, saying the majority of its members would not benefit from the package on the table. A spokesperson said the union would consider further selective strike action and increase industrial action short of a strike. Read More RCM director for Northern Ireland Karen Murray said that the settlement offer was "hard won and hard fought for". "We have negotiated intensively on behalf of our members to get to this point. Within just a few days of the Assembly restarting we have got a fair pay deal on the table for our members," she said. We are recommending our members accept this offer and I urge them to respond to our consultation. This is a very positive step forward after falling behind other UK health workers on pay. Our actions and that of other unions has put pressure on the government and led to this agreement. Mrs Murray said that the government had finally recognised how important midwives and maternity support workers are and "the contribution they make to the wellbeing of women." "It shows that by taking a stand and using the power of unions and our members we have got a fair pay deal for our midwives and maternity support workers," she said. RCM joined the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unite, who suspended their planned strike action following the offer. Unison is also balloting members over Mr Swann's proposals and recommending they accept. Pasadena Police Department Pasadena Police are asking for the public's help locating a man who is wanted on multiple child sex crime charges and should be considered armed and dangerous. Eric Short is wanted on charges of continuous sexual assault of a child, sexual assault of a child and possession with intent to deliver, according to Pasadena Police. Short was last seen driving in the early afternoon on Monday in a gray 2016 Chevrolet Malibu with the Texas license plate GWJ1586 in the area of SH 225 and Goodyear. (Bloomberg) -- Sonos Inc. Chief Executive Officer Patrick Spence accused Alphabet Inc.s Google and Amazon.com Inc. of using their market power to thwart competition a week after filing a lawsuit against the worlds largest search engine. Todays dominant companies have so much power across such a broad array of markets and continue to leverage that power to expand into new markets that we need to rethink existing laws and policies, said Spence Friday at a congressional antitrust hearing in Boulder, Colorado, led by Representative David Cicilline, the Rhode Island Democrat who is investigating competition in the technology sector. Sonos, a 1,500-person company, sued Google Jan. 7 for allegedly infringing five patents covering multi-room audio technology. Spence said Googles dominance enabled it to violate the speaker companys intellectual property. He said that Google tries to prevent customers from using its voice assistants alongside another companys on Sonos speakers. While Amazon doesnt go that far, he said, it has used its power to to subsidize the conquest of the booming smart-speaker market, particularly by under-pricing its offerings. Sonos has worked with the committee since before it decided to file the lawsuit, according to a person familiar with the discussions. It has also responded to questions that the committee sent to customers of the large technology platforms. Google has disputed Sonos claims and said it will defend itself. The search giant, which faces antitrust probes by 48 state attorneys general as well as the U.S. Justice Department, says it faces robust competition. Cicilline is using the hearing to air grievances by smaller companies, following a series of Washington meetings that focused on the tech giants. It is apparent that the dominant platforms are increasingly using their gatekeeper power in abusive and coercive ways, Cicilline said in his opening statement. The panel also heard from David Barnett, the founder of Boulder-based PopSockets, which makes phone holders and stands. He alleged that Amazon frequently engaged in bullying, including deliberately selling counterfeits, threatening to go to unauthorized resellers and dropping prices without consulting. Story continues We have $10 million less to innovate this year because of PopSocketss decision to end its relationship with Amazon even though its more difficult to sell elsewhere, Barnett said. It seems like Amazon is so dominant that there is no alternative, said Representative Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican on the committee. Amazon said in a statement that PopSockets is a valued retail vendor and added: Weve continued to work with PopSockets to address our shared concerns about counterfeit, and continue to have a relationship with PopSockets through Merch by Amazon, which enables other sellers to create customized PopSockets for sale. The company said it refuses to work with some resellers to ensure low prices, and rejects the notion that its dominant, saying it represents just 4% of U.S. retail. The panel also heard from Kirsten Daru, general counsel of Tile Inc., which makes devices that pair with phones to help people locate lost items such as keys or purses. Apple Inc. is reportedly preparing to unveil a competing service, and Darus 100-employee company alleges the phone maker has started putting up roadblocks to Tiles business, such as burying permissions that allow the phone and Tile devices to communicate and prompting users to disable permissions that have been set. Youre playing up against a team that owns the field, the ball and can change the rules at any given time, Daru said in an interview before the hearing, adding that a majority of the companys customers are on Apples operating system. Apple said that its treatment of permissions, which focused on location, were designed to protect user privacy and that its working with developers whose customers may want particular apps to be able to track them at all times. Daru said Apple also removed Tile devices from its retail stores, and that it bid on search terms related to the would-be rival to drive up the cost of advertising 50% each week during the fall. Cicilline has said his goal is to develop a final report with recommendations for Congress this year. He told reporters on Tuesday that he wants to wrap up his probe by the end of March and said hes hopeful the tech giants will cooperate with requests for chief executives to give information without subpoenas, preferably in public hearings. Its hard to imagine that wed conclude the investigation without hearing from some of the large technology CEOs, particularly in companies whether theres such really centralized decision making, he said. (Updates with comments from PopSockets CEO from eighth paragraph) --With assistance from Mark Gurman, Rebecca Kern and David McLaughlin. To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Brody in Washington, D.C. at btenerellabr@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Paula Dwyer 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. WASHINGTON Fourteen states, New York City and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Thursday to block new rules that would tighten work requirements for food stamp recipients, accusing the administration of doing an illegal end run around Congress. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the Agriculture Department and its secretary, Sonny Perdue, argues that the finalized rule, set to take effect in April, is unlawful, arbitrary and capricious. The new rule eliminates state discretion and criteria regarding local economic conditions for waiving work requirements, resulting in the termination of essential food assistance for benefits recipients who live in areas with insufficient jobs, the lawsuit maintains. The Trump administration finalized a rule last month that would raise the bar for states seeking to waive certain work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents and living in economically distressed areas. The Agriculture Department estimated that the rule could push nearly 700,000 people off food stamps. They arrive by the busload and on ferries, many in pursuit of the perfect photograph for Instagram, others seeking the transcendence of a fairy tale land. Each year, one million travelers visit Hallstatt, Austria, a picturesque 16th-century hamlet they say inspired the fictional kingdom of Arendelle in the Disney animated blockbuster Frozen. Never mind that the 2013 film and its 2019 sequel was influenced by Norways wintry splendor more than 1,000 miles away. Or that Disney offers Frozen-inspired activities on its cruises in Norway. To be fair, Hallstatt looks remarkably like Arendelle, which is why visitors continue to arrive. But the 780 people who live there have had enough. In May, Hallstatt is embarking on a campaign to focus on quality not quantity tourism, according to local officials. Tour buses, which tally as many as 90 on the busiest days, will be capped at 50 and must register with the tourism office. Groups that arrange lunches at local restaurants, sign up for boat cruises or visit Hallstatts famous salt mines will be given preference. Thank you for your interest in applying to Montana State University! If you wish to apply now, please use the button below. If you have already applied to MSU but still need to submit your application fee, you can pay your fee now below. The Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education have temporarily suspended the requirement that students provide ACT or SAT test scores for admission to its four-year campuses. This change is effective April 16, 2020 through Sept. 1, 2021. If you are interested in learning more about the process of transferring to Montana State University, including recommneded steps, advising, and Orientation information, please visit our Transfer Student Guide. Transfer Student Information A transfer student has graduated from high school or its equivalent and attempted 12 or more quarter or semester credits of college-level courses at a regionally accredited institution after high school graduation. Students who have previously been awarded a baccalaureate degree who wish to apply as a Second Bachelors Degree student (Post-Baccalaureate) are also considered transfer students. College-level work is defined as those courses that are applicable towards at least an associate degree. It does not include remedial, certificate or developmental courses. Students who previously attended Montana State University and who are returning after attending another institution should refer to the Former MSU Students section. Applicants will be considered for admission based on transferable credits from all regionally accredited colleges or universities previously attended. As determined by the Office of Admissions, a 2.0 (or C average) cumulative transferable GPA (on a 4.0 scale) is required in order to be accepted for admission in good academic standing. Transfer students start with a new GPA upon enrolling at MSU. Students who do not meet the 2.0 cumulative transferable GPA are still encouraged to apply for admission and submit the necessary credentials. Montana State University will examine each students credentials on an individual case for admissibility. Some students who do not meet the requirements may be admitted on University Probation and will need to earn a 2.0 or higher GPA upon completing the first term attended at MSU to be placed in good academic standing. Application Process Receipt of the following credentials in the Office of Admissions constitutes a complete application for admission. Requests to have final credentials sent to MSU must be initiated by the applicant. Requests should be made by contacting the Registrars Office at the college/university previously attended. Credentials must be sent directly from each institution or agency to the Office of Admissions. Credentials that have been opened, are emailed, or are in an unsealed envelope are considered unofficial working copies and will not be accepted as official documents. Application materials and fees will be retained for one year from the original application term. To apply for a semester other than the one originally intended, notify the Office of Admissions as soon as possible. Note: if you are currently a student at a Montana University System campus, please fill out our application transmittal form. Be sure to submit the following items (if applicable): Admissions Application: An application for admission may be submitted online or downloaded and printed; if completing the paper application, please return the completed and signed application form to the Office of Admissions. The application may also be obtained from the Office of Admissions. Application Fee (non-refundable): $38 for the online application or $30 for the paper application. Checks should be made payable to Montana State University. The application fee will not be waived or refunded. The fee must be paid before the application for admission will be processed. Official College/University Transcripts: An official transcript must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions from each regionally accredited college or university attended. This academic information will be used to determine admission status as well as transfer credit. Applicants who are enrolled at a transfer school while applying to MSU will be considered for admission based on an incomplete official transcript showing all academic work completed and posted to date. A final official transcript must be received in the Office of Admissions by the 15th class day of the first term of attendance. If the college or university participates in secure electronic transmission of official transcripts, the transcripts should be sent to: [email protected] . Academic eligibility will be reviewed again upon receipt of that final transcript. For more information on how college/university courses will transfer to MSU, refer to the "Evaluation of Transfer Credit" section. Advanced Placement (AP): Applicants who have completed an Advanced Placement Examination should request that the official scores be sent directly to the Office of Admissions. Scores of 3 or higher on most AP Exams will earn college credit with a Pass grade for the equivalent courses. For more information on how AP courses will transfer to MSU, refer to the AP Course Equivalencies website. International Baccalaureate (IB): Applicants who have completed an International Baccalaureate Examination should request that the official scores be sent directly to the Office of Admissions. Scores of 4 or higher on IB Exams (primarily Higher Level) will be granted college credit with a Pass grade for equivalent courses. For more information on how IB courses will transfer to MSU, refer to the IB Course Equivalencies website Transfer students follow the Undergraduate Catalog in effect at the time of initial enrollment at MSU. Transfer students from community colleges and four year colleges in Montana may elect to follow the MSU catalog that was in effect when they began their freshman year at the above mentioned institution. Want more information about MSU? We're here to help. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us! You can email our staff at [email protected], or call us Monday - Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm MT at 1-888-MSU-CATS. A NEW WAY OF THINKING TRANFORMING AN 18-YEAR-OLD WEBSITE INSPIRATION FOR THE WEBSITES AESTHETICS THE FUTURE OF PORTLAND.GOV The team behind Portland.gov , the new homepage for the city of Portland, Ore., is dismantling the 18-year-old website used by residents to access services and interact with city hall replacing it piece-by-piece with a new user and mobile-friendly interface.The Portland Oregon Website Replacement (POWR) project team successfully navigated an alpha and beta website, but the public launch of the redesigned homepage is fast approaching. Portland.gov is slated to take over as the primary exchange between the city and residents in June. The handoff will be determined by how quickly the POWR team passes through five "gates," such as the migration of critical services; the creation of webpages for elected officials; redirection links for information that is either too old or still in transition; the creation of a new city park finder; and a revised presentation of the citys charter, code and policies. PortlandOregon.gov wont be decommissioned right away, facets will continue to be reworked to comply with the standards of Portland.gov with a tentative sunset of the proprietary Coldfusion website in 2021.Its a growing trend across government to increase resident engagement. The POWR team looked at several recent initiatives nationally and abroad, including Mass.gov, Boston.gov, Gov.uk and Australia.gov.au. Government IT groups designed each using open-source methods to create a standardized, accessible product.Deputy Chief Technology Officer Dan Bauer said the trajectory of Portland.gov is indicative of the evolution and optimization of Portlands digital services. Bauer, who was part of a team in 2000 charged with developing PortlandOnline.com that featured some of the citys first online transactions and information, said the intent of the POWR project is provide residents with a mobile or desktop experience akin to search engines.With each iteration of these services the teams have focused on delivering services that enhance the ability of our community and our government to interact in new and meaningful way offering a higher level of accessibility and availability of engagement, Bauer wrote in an email.After the approval of the POWR project, Bauer helped recruit Joshua Mitchell, who served as a member of citys Technology Oversight Committee and who upgraded the Multnomah County digital services platform.Mitchell came onboard as the consulting project manager and leveraged his experience with open-source Web design to keep the projects cost to a $1.2 million investment over four years.You could go to a licensed vendor product and youre going to have the development road map that theyve put together in order for them to remain profitable, Mitchell said. But you bring it in-house and its going to be the road map that your community needs based on the feedback your community has.The POWR team decided to build the redesigned homepage using the open-sourced content management system Drupal, which factored into the decision to recruit Mitchell, a former CTO of the Drupal Association.Knowing the road ahead it was a natural fit to engage Josh for the POWR project, Bauer said. This approach has been extremely beneficial to the city. Josh brings a depth of technology and product experience and best practice that allows our teams to execute to their full potential.Mitchell and the team identified three standards to measure their workflow against: search engine optimization, accessibility for the disabled and clear, simple language at the fifth- to eighth-grade reading level.The redesign, homepage transition and retirement of the legacy content management system is a big project, Mitchell said, he and the POWR team broke the lift down into three phases, further distilling it into quarterly goals and finally planning work into sprints of three to four weeks. An agile workflow allows the group to adapt to community and internal feedback quickly and efficiently.That is how software is built, Mitchell said. If you are not flexible and nimble, you will build something that no one is happy using.PortlandOregon.gov accumulated a sizeable amount of information throughout its lifespan. Mitchell put a ballpark estimate at around 350,000 content objects, roughly 70 percent of which are PDFs. He said the old platform was more akin to a folder structure with a multitude of documents stored within.The scope of content requiring revision and the turnover in staff responsible for posting and editing items that will be migrated to the new website has posed the greatest challenge for the POWR team, Mitchell said. There are about 250 active editors, most of whom are administrative employees who frequently move between the different bureaus within the city or leave civil service.This new platform is requiring us to change the average skills and abilities of a huge number of city staff, he said. That is a big effort in itself. We have had to do a lot of training and retraining to make that happen.While bureau officials have been excited and supportive of the change, he said theyve found themselves a bit overwhelmed with rewriting content to meet the potential needs of screen readers, the colorblind and vision impaired, and conveying a complex concept or service to a broad audience with varying levels of education.Editors are also responsible for ensuring that their bureaus posts are mobile friendly. Mitchell said about 50 percent of traffic to the citys homepage is from smartphones and staff need to be aware of how website elements change when viewed by different devices.Its not something that gets done with this one big launch [in June], Mitchell said. It took 18 years to create it it will take far less than that to transform it but its never done. Its still going to continuously have content added to it and new features added to it.Portland.gov has gone through various iterations and will continue to be tweaked even after it becomes the citys homepage. While Drupal has several design options, Mitchell said he and the team looked elsewhere for inspiration, too.A focal point has been Gov.uk , Mitchell said, because the digital services standards are well considered and tested.Portland isnt the only government reviewing interfaces nationally and globally. A team in California is developing an alpha redesign of the states homepage based on Gov.uk.The builders of Mass.gov provided a template for a phased transition to a redesigned website. In Massachusetts, a team began in 2016 with a detailed analysis of user traffic and the creation of pilot.mass.gov using Drupal. The Northeast state then launched the new user-centered state website in September 2017 and by leveraging user feedback and Web analytics served 90 percent of Web traffic by May of 2018, while running in tandem with the old interface.The POWR team adopted many of the methods used in the deployment of the new Mass.gov, such as rewriting services to be understood in Massachusetts' case at the sixth-grade level.The city of Boston edged out the state by launching a redesigned website in July 2016 that also featured 20,000 rewritten Web pages and 1 million words. Although the city partnered with IDEO, a design company and Acquia, a Boston-based open-source company.If the POWR team saw a website item from these predecessors that met their criteria but wasnt readily available in Drupal, then the group would borrow the concept and build a similar component in the open-source content management system for testing with the use of project management tools like GitHub, Jira and Circle CI.From a technical standpoint, I think we truly have one of the more successful implementations of continuous integration and continuous development that Ive seen in the government space, Mitchell said. Its a strong technical team.Deputy CTO Bauer hopes that the successful transition from the proprietary PortlandOregon.gov to the open-source Portland.gov will enhance the citys Smart City PDX , its urban data and technology division.Mitchell agreed that the POWR project has been a hub for a lot of changes and that Portland.gov is turning static information into data that can be queried and analyzed.We have a replacement project thats going on right now thats getting some extra resources, but the ongoing team that continues to support this into the future will continue to innovate, he said. Its not a one-and-done sort of experience or expectation.Of the five gates standing between the transition from the old website to the new, the team has successfully passed through one, Mitchell said. However, he pointed out that he and the team are closing the gap on the remaining four with slated completion dates ranging from the next couple of weeks to the end of March.Our overall goal is to switch over to the new Portland.gov homepage no later than June 2020. Right now, I think we will make that switch a bit sooner than that, he said. PLOS and other prominent organizations delivered the following letter to the Trump Administration on January 17, 2020. Dear President Trump, We, the undersigned organizations, represent leading publishers and non-profit scientific and scholarly societies registered in the United States, or with employees in the United States. We write to you in support of the proposed Administration policy that would mandate immediate open distribution of peer-reviewed journal articles reporting on federally-funded research. We also write to call into question some of the points made in the letter from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) dated December 18, 2019, and to make clear that not all American publishers support the position of this AAP letter. As organizations involved in the coordination, organization, enhancement, and dissemination of peer-reviewed research, we work in close collaboration with the stakeholders funding research, the stakeholders performing research, and the stakeholders reading research. All of these groups have a say in how scientific publishing should work, and all of these groups include the U.S. Federal Government and the researchers it funds. Our business interests are important, but must be considered in the context of this nation's collaborative research industry and community. If an important change that benefits the American taxpaying public emerges, it is up to stakeholders to support it, even if it includes some change and some risk. This is one of the pillars of the American work ethic -- innovation and perseverance during change. We the undersigned all operate, or partner with, successful publishing businesses which have pioneered, or are transitioning to, the new open publishing paradigm. We all consider the immediate and open dissemination of federally-funded research a priority, and we enable it via effective business models. There is nothing about the immediate availability of research that precludes publishing companies -- commercial or nonprofit -- from continuing to do business if they work hard, innovate, and collaborate. In fact, the immediate and open availability of research is an important prerequisite to another Administration priority -- the Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness of federally-funded research to maintain and "drive growth of the United States economy, enhance our economic and national security, and improve our quality of life." The Federal Government has long funded research that triggers further innovation and economic development when it can be built upon. The entrepreneurial ecosystem enabled by opening access to this research far outweighs its economic value as intellectual property of selected publishing companies and societies. Therefore we take issue with the notion from the AAP letter that it is the business success of a group of publishers that best showcases the strength of American science and research. As the AAP letter states, "the role of the publisher is to advance scholarship and innovation, fostering the American leadership in science that drives our economy and global competitiveness." However, our approach will serve this agenda more fully. The U.S. will best lead the world by showcasing its research for everyone, including the Americans taxpayers who have funded it, to learn from and build on. You cannot showcase the quality of federally-funded research to its full potential by limiting access to it. Additionally, the value and benefits of opening up research to be read and built upon should by now be self-evident: consider doctors dealing with disease outbreaks needing the most up-to-date information possible; patients making informed healthcare choices; teachers and students, wherever they are, accessing the wealth of US-funded knowledge; small business owners accessing the cutting edge of technology; farmers understanding the most recent research on crops. These are, as a reminder, also the people who have funded the research with their tax dollars. A peer-reviewed article, whether published via an AAP signatory, or a signatory of this letter, is ultimately authored and peer-reviewed by the same research community. There is nothing, therefore, contained in your proposed policy that jeopardizes the quality and integrity of American research. This research will continue to be performed and peer-reviewed by the same people, to the same high standards as before -- it will simply be disseminated for the benefit of the American people and the entire research community more cost-effectively, immediately, and openly. Such executive orders or policies do not "undermine" the marketplace. The Federal Government, as a funder and participant in the American research community, is an integral part of this marketplace and is free to state its priorities. We, the undersigned, look forward to continued collaboration with the Federal Government, and researchers supported by it, and to continuing to disseminate the outcomes of this world-class activity as openly as possible. We support this policy and urge you to put the needs and rights of the research community and American taxpaying public first, and help us serve this community in the way it clearly wishes to be served. Respectfully, Association for Research in Personality Executive Board California Digital Library - eScholarship Publishing eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. F1000 Research Ltd. Frontiers Media Inc. The MIT Press PeerJ PLOS Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science Executive Committee Ubiquity Press ### Pentagon Gets Request for Funding to Build Nearly 300 Miles Along Southern Border The Pentagon was asked by the Department of Homeland Security to fund the construction of about 270 miles of border wall in 2020 to counter drug smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border, officials told reporters on Thursday. The request came in on Wednesday and the Department of Defense (DoD) will ascertain how much will be allotted to Homeland Security, DoD officials told The Associated Press, Reuters, and other news outlets. They did not say how much it would cost, and an official told Reuters that it would take about two weeks to review the request. So far, President Donald Trumps administration has constructed approximately 100 miles of his signature border wall, with much of it replacing existing fencing. He and other federal officials have promised to construct more than 400 miles along the border. Sometimes when we get these areas, theyre not constructable or its difficult to do that at certain points, an official told Reuters. Then funding decisions are assessed simultaneous with that. At the same time, its not clear exactly when the wall construction would begin. Any funding for the plan would have to be spent by Sept. 30, which is when the fiscal year ends, the official remarked. Top military leaders would then review the potential impact on the DoD before a final decision is rendered by Secretary Mark Esper, an official told AP. The officials also told the news agency that the money allocated for countering drug smuggling can be used at the border since Homeland Security, which oversees the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has certified it as a drug-smuggling corridor. On January 15, 2020, the Department of Defense received a request from the Department of Homeland Security requesting DoD assistance in blocking up to 13 specific drug-smuggling corridors on Federal land along the southern border of the United States, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell told CNN Thursday. He did not elaborate on the wall or its length in the statement to CNN. The Department is evaluating this request and appropriate DoD officials will make recommendations to the Secretary in the near future, Mitchell confirmed. Earlier this week, in addressing unconfirmed reports about money being transferred by the DoD to fund the wall, Esper said the Pentagon is ready to provide financial support to the barrier. The first priority of DOD is protection of the homeland. So the southwest border is a security issue, and so well see how things play out, but we remain committed to supporting the Department of Homeland Security in its mission, he said, according to a transcript on Tuesday. When he was asked if that includes financial support, Esper said, If thats what it takes, we are prepared to support. The foie gras truffle torchon at the Beatrice Inn in Greenwich Village is a decadent indulgence: four discs of silky duck-liver mousse paired with triangles of buttery toast, all arranged on a silver platter. The appetizer goes for $28 a gateway, perhaps, to the menus $375 Porterhouse steak. The restaurant serves about 200 pounds of foie gras a week. Theres nothing like it, said Angie Mar, the restaurants chef and owner. Last October, when the New York City Council passed a ban on foie gras as inhumane, Mayor Bill de Blasio called foie gras a luxury item that the vast majority of us would never be able to afford. This, he added, is not where we should be shedding a tear. But two hours northwest of the city, in one of New Yorks poorest counties, foie gras plays a much different role. There it is not a luxury splurge but a domino in a fragile local economy. Almost all of the foie gras produced in the United States comes from two duck farms in Sullivan County, where about 400 workers, mostly immigrants from Mexico and Central America, rely on it for their livelihood. Climate change threatens Afghanistan's crumbling heritage Bamiyan, Afghanistan, Jan 17 (AFP) Jan 17, 2020 After bearing the brunt of jihadist dynamite and looting by thieves, the archaeological treasures of Afghanistan's Bamiyan province are facing a new and possibly more daunting threat: climate change. Nestled in the heart of the Hindu Kush mountains, the Bamiyan valley's picturesque cliffs -- where centuries-old Buddha statues were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 -- still contain a network of caves housing temples, monasteries, and Buddhist paintings. The valley is also home to the silk-road era Shahr-e Gholghola fortress and the Shar-e Zohak citadel to the east. Experts say that a pattern of dry spells followed by heavy rain, and larger than usual spring snowmelts, is putting this historic art and architecture at risk of destruction. Afghan officials warned in a 2016 United Nations report that the structures "may collapse and suffer from severe erosion"due to conditions directly linked to climate change. "The erosion processes are much faster, the rains more devastating and the wind erosion stronger, which has an extremely harsh impact on the sites," Philippe Marquis, the director of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan, told AFP. Marquis -- who has explored and worked in the region for decades -- explains that Afghanistan "is very fragile geologically, especially as vegetation cover has greatly diminished" due to deforestation. French imaging company Iconem concurred, saying Shar-e Zohak is "very fragile" due to erosion that has increased considerably over the last 30 years. For Baqe Ghulami, 21, who hails from Saikhand district in northern Bamiyan, climate change has long been a reality residents have had to confront. "The weather is changing, now summers are warmer and winters colder," he says, while overlooking the empty spaces where the two towering Buddha statues once stood. Many of the artefacts pre-date the arrival of Islam to the region but despite the fact they come from another religion, the residents who spoke with AFP proudly defended the area's history as their own. - 'Erosion is increasing' - From the empty caves, visitors can see the Cultural Center, which began construction in 2015 but has yet to be completed. It aims to educate visitors about the urgent need to preserve the area's heritage. "There is no benefit if people just see (the sites) without information," says Ali Reza Mushfiq, 26, director of the Department of Archeology at Bamiyan University, complaining that a dearth of funding has left many in the dark -- including his own students who lack access to books. The archaeologist readily admits that "erosion is increasing", but believes the real danger comes from "human influence at the site", including looters, who are rampant in Afghanistan. The Shar-e Gholghola Fortress and other key sites are now guarded to protect against such issues. The removal of landmines from the area has seen thousands visit in recent years, but the influx of recent visitors has done little to change the reality on the ground. "We must start training... (the) local people to teach them how not to destroy the site," says Mushfiq, adding that some residents continue to store feed and house livestock in the historic sites. A stone's throw from the cave of the great Buddha, Ammanullah, 37, says he and his family have moved into one of the caves, building a home inside made of odds and ends with plastic sheets for windows. He is not alone, many other poor families have sought shelter next to ancient artefacts and structures. "There are 18 families here... we didn't have other options," says Ammanullah. "We would go if we were given a house." For Marquis, however, the greatest threat does not come from local residents encroaching on the site or from theft. "Even if it is dramatic, it is much less damaging than the destruction caused by erosion," he said. Mitigating the impacts of erosion and the effects of climate change would cost billions of dollars in Afghanistan, but the war-torn country has little ability to shoulder such a burden. The Global Adaptation Initiative, run by the University of Notre Dame in the US, currently ranks Afghanistan 173 out of the 181 countries it scored in terms of a nation's vulnerability to climate change and its ability to adapt. The Taal Volcano continues to spew ash as seen from Tagaytay, Philippines, January 17, 2020. (Photo : REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez) Taal Volcano belched smaller plumes of ash on Thursday, but seismologists said that did now not mean the volcano became calming down because it constantly shuddered with earthquakes and cracked the floor in close by cities-signs that it changed into building up energy for a catastrophic eruption. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said intense volcanic earthquakes and excessive stages of sulfur dioxide emissions are symptoms that magma, or molten rock, is shifting up and will burst out of the volcano at any moment. "We are still studying what this lull period means," Maria Antonia Bornas, Phivolcs chief science studies specialist, told reporters. "A long lull might be just a break from its volcanic activity. The hazard remains," she said. Long silence "It's common in volcanic eruptions that there are intervals of a lull, specifically for Taal, like during its prolonged eruption in 1754," Bornas stated. After a protracted silence, Taal erupted for seven months that year, burying four towns in Batangas beneath ash and rocks, changing the view of the province. Born as said the current lull might go both ways. "If it continues, then it's good. We can be able to stand down," she said. However, the lull could be just a resting section for the volcano to go into a brand new cycle of explosive activity if it prolongs. No new fissures Taal shot weak, steam-encumbered plumes up to 900 miles into the sky and crackled with nine "discrete weak explosions" on Thursday, Phivolcs said, noting that the volcano's activity had "normally waned." Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said no new fissures had been noted on Thursday; however, the water in Taal Lake was receding at Alitagtag, Laurel, Lemery, and Talisay towns of Batangas province. Phivolcs on Wednesday said that Taal's main crater lake, near Pansipit River, had dried up - a signal of the volcano's persevering with restiveness. On Thursday, some citizens took advantage of what they perceived as a lull within the activity of Taal, the country's second most active volcano, to go back to their homes within the 14-kilometer radius danger zone to retrieve belongings and feed pets and farm animals. Permanent danger zone The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council mentioned more than 65,000 people were displaced by the eruption in the provinces of Batangas and in Cavite. The motive for the discrepancy turned into now not straight away clear. Mark Timbal, from National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council in the Philippines, told Al Jazeera that vegetation and animal life in Taal was dead, burned by the heat. Authorities are getting ready for two excessive worst-case scenarios: One in which the eruption could take region over some days and any other wherein the eruption lasts for weeks. "It might be short long," Philvocs volcano expert Bornas said, comparing Taal's maximum latest volcanic pastime with previous eruptions. Taal erupted over a period of three days in January 1911. The volcano erupted over a period of seven months in 1754. ALSO READ: Here's What Scientists Are Watching If Taal Volcano Explosively Erupt WASHINGTON It was a straightforward question being put to nearly every Republican senator in the Capitol on Thursday: Should the Senate consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial? But when Manu Raju of CNN, a longtime congressional reporter, put it to Senator Martha McSally of Arizona, a first-term Republican who is up for election this fall, she went on the attack. Youre a liberal hack, she said. Im not talking to you. Youre a liberal hack. She posted a video of the exchange on Twitter, earning plaudits from President Trumps allies, including the Fox News host Sean Hannity. And @TrumpWarRoom, a Trump 2020 account, congratulated Ms. McSally THIS is how you handle FAKE NEWS, the account wrote and urged followers to donate to her re-election campaign. OIL PRICE OUTLOOK: CRUDE OIL CHARTS CATCH SUPPORT AND HINT AT POTENTIAL UPTREND CONTINUATION Oil price action could climb from current levels with technical support around the 58.00 handle showing signs of keeping the commodity bolstered Crude oil has potential to regain upward momentum as petrol prices begin to bounce back after sliding 10% The price of oil may follow the broader trend of risk assets higher as traders rejoice tangible de-escalation in the trade war saga between the US and China with their signed trade agreement Crude oil prices could be on the cusp of a broader rebound attempt following the commoditys 10-plus percent slide from its January 08 swing high amid fading fears of geopolitical risk in the Middle East causing an oil supply shock. Market participants have subsequently shifted their focus away from US-Iran tension, however, considering President Trump steered away from military retaliation in lieu of economic sanctions. Furthermore, the attention of traders remains affixed to more upbeat developments like the recently inked phase one trade deal hammered out by Sino-American negotiators. Consequently, the price of crude oil is beginning to find buoyancy once again as the commodity catches bid alongside other risk assets in response to the increasing acceptance of the worlds rebounding economic growth narrative, which stands to increase crude oil demand. Check out our interactive Global Commodities dashboard for insight on worldwide commodity imports and exports over the last decade. OIL PRICE CHART: DAILY TIME FRAME (SEPTEMBER 2019 TO JANUARY 2020) Chart created by @RichDvorakFX with TradingView Oil is currently fluctuating around the $58.50 price level after ticking nearly 2% higher from the January 15 low around the $57.50 mark. The year-to-date low recorded by crude oil prices closely aligns with bullish trendline support extended through the intraday bottoms on October 03 October 10 lows. Dont overlook these Crude Oil Facts that every oil trader should know. Crude oil prices also could be catching technical support from its 200-day simple moving average and mid-point retracement of its October 2019 to January 2020 trading range, which roughly highlights the area of confluence at the $58.00 handle. On the other hand, crude oils 50-day simple moving average has potential to keep a sustained rebound attempt limited. OIL PRICE CHART: 4-HOUR TIME FRAME (DECEMBER 2019 TO JANUARY 2020) Chart created by @RichDvorakFX with TradingView Zooming in a bit on a 4-hour crude oil chart reveals a bullish channel potentially under development, which could be constructive for higher oil prices so long as the commodity can form another higher-low above the January 16 close. Likewise, crude oil prices are now trading above its 9-EMA on this closer time frame and speaks to an impending short-term uptrend. Although, the price of oil faces downward pressure stemming from its 34-EMA. Another upside obstacle faced by crude oil price bulls is the $59.25 area roughly aligning with the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of its year-to-date trading range. Technical confluence with potential of hindering additional upside in oil is also noted roughly around the $59.80 and $60.60 price levels. OIL PRICE CHART & VIX INDEX OVERLAY: DAILY TIME FRAME (SEPTEMBER 2018 TO JANUARY 2020) Chart created by @RichDvorakFX with TradingView Market volatility and perceived uncertainty or risk frequently quantified using the VIX Index has swooned as of late with the probability of a recession owing to improving US-China trade relations and wave of accommodative monetary policy from global central banks. That said, there is generally an inverse relationship between volatility and risk assets such as oil. While the rolling 20-day correlation between crude oil and the VIX Index has recently turned positive, a mean-reversion back to its historical relationship is likely. As such, sustained lack of volatility and destabilizing blows to appetite for risk could help facilitate a retracement higher in the price of crude oil. -- Written by Rich Dvorak, Junior Analyst for DailyFX.com Connect with @RichDvorakFX on Twitter for real-time market insight T he is the dramatic moment robbers drove a Range Rover through a jewellers front window to steal gems worth 150,000 before one was given a good kicking by have-a-go heroes. Ben Wegener, 34, and two other masked men jumped out of the vehicle, having narrowly avoided queuing customers, and smashed glass display cases with a sledgehammer and hammer. Passers-by gathered outside as the trio ransacked the Sultan store in Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush last October, Isleworth crown court heard. As the men tried to flee with jewellery in bags, members of the public collared Wegener, kicking and punching him to the ground and detained him until police arrived. The other two escaped. A Range Rover smashed through the front of the jewellers Jailing Wegener for 10 years yesterday, judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh said: You wanted to get in and get out as fast as possible but you couldnt do that as you were apprehended. You got away but not very far. Masked men jumped out of the car before smashing cabinets You were seen struggling on the floor of the shop and were given a good kicking. Some might have decided that was exactly what you deserve. The thieves made off with 150k of gems He added: You say you are sorry to the victims ... criminals do not understand how awful, traumatising and shocking it is for those people. Shop owner Jamal Sarhan, 34, thanked the public who intervened but said the raid nearly put him out of business. Jamal Sarhan, manager of jewellers / BBC He and his business partner had to fork out 102,000 to repair the damage and only 2,000 of the jewellery was recovered. Mr Sarhan told the Standard: It was the sort of thing you see in movies. There was a loud crash and I thought they were going to kill someone driving into a shop of people. The smashed up cabinets after thieves ram raided Shepherds Bush jewellers When I saw the sledgehammers, I believed my children would never see me again. I told them to take whatever they liked, But please do not hurt anyone ... that the public jumped in to help shows that we are all sick and tired of these smash-and-grab robberies. Wegener pleaded guilty to robbery, dangerous driving, possession of an offensive weapon, criminal damage and receiving stolen goods at a previous hearing. Thomas Mayall, defending Wegener in court, said he only intended to act as a driver on the job to pay off a 1,000 crack cocaine debt. Ben Wegener has been jailed He became more involved when the vehicle became wedged in the store front and with adrenaline pumping he got out armed with a CS spray. Police said the Range Rover was recovered. It had been stolen from an address in Wandsworth earlier that month and was displaying false number plates. Many CEOs live in fear that their companies will suffer a data breach. That's for good reason: In 2019 the average breach of U.S. companies cost $73,000. And the cost of the attendant reputational damage with vendors and customers can be far greater. It's probably no surprise, then, that in a recent Inc. survey, senior executives said their two greatest worries on a wide-ranging list of technology-related developments were having sensitive data stolen and being the victim of a ransomware attack. Some respondents know the pain firsthand--8 percent said their company has experienced a breach within the past two years, while 12 percent say they've experienced one in the past five years. With that in mind, Inc. spoke with cybersecurity experts to find out the latest when it comes to company breaches. The first thing they made clear is that the 12 percent figure is probably low, since there are likely an increasing number of breaches that companies aren't aware of and don't report. Something that might play into that: hackers' new methods of choice. More than half of all breaches last year were not performed using malware, according to a January report fromcybersecurity firm Crowdstrike. That's important because malware often is easily detectable. Increasingly, hackers are finding ways to access your company's network using its existing systems, like logging on with an employees' stolen credentials, says Shawn Henry, Crowdstrike chief security officer. "More time undetected means more success for them," Henry says, noting that the average adversary spent 95 days in an organization's network before being detected, up from 85 days a year ago. "It's similar to why you go for a colonoscopy, or you go to the dermatologist to be checked for unusual marks. It's preventive maintenance. If something is there for months or years undetected, you're in trouble." Gone phishing Hackers can find their way into your system in a number of ways, with phishing scams being one of the most prevalent. These attacks are becoming more sophisticated, according to Joseph Steinberg, author of Cybersecurity for Dummies and a former Inc. columnist. In some cases, a hacker might spoof the email address of an executive, send a note telling employees they've been laid off, and instruct them to log onto the network as soon as possible to fill out a form to receive their severance. The employees then click a link to their company's network and, not realizing it's actually a fake, enter their usernames and passwords. Suddenly, the hackers have a working set of login credentials--or many of them. What's more, now hackers are more often studying a company's personnel and learning their manner of speaking by email before spoofing them, Steinberg says. They'll glean personal information through the social media accounts of executives or their family members to find out, say, that they're about to head off on vacation. "Then they send a message to the CFO that sounds real and say, 'I'm getting on my flight to Disneyland, so don't bother calling me. Just take action.' " Suddenly, an employee is sending sensitive information--or even a wire payment--to a bad actor. "Phishing 10 or 15 years ago was a shotgun," Steinberg says. "I'm going to fire out hundreds of shells and hopefully some of them hit the target, whereas this is much more like a rifle. I'm trying to get this one person, but I'm hitting with a much more accurate and stronger attack." Shifting your mindset Though it's detectable once it's in your system, malware is infiltrating more discreetly than ever before. Last year saw a trend away from the use of malware in email attachments--which many employees have learned to recognize as a red flag--and toward links instead, according to cybersecurity firm Proofpoint. "The increasing prevalence of cloud applications and storage means that we are all conditioned to click through links to view, share, and interact with a variety of content," the company wrote in a December report. Adversaries increasingly are using URL shorteners to make links in emails appear legitimate, the firm says. Hackers sometimes use URLs that are just one character different than the real thing, like a letter with a line under it, which is tough to spot in hyperlinked text, according to Steinberg. The best ways to combat hackers So how to prevent against all this? While companies need to make sure they invest in cybersecurity measures, of course, the experts offer additional tips. 1. Make sure all employees are properly trained and educated. Have procedures in place for everything, Steinberg says. "And those procedures don't go away just because the CEO is getting on a flight to Miami," he says. 2. Get help from your rivals. Share information about attacks to competitors in your industry with the hopes that they'll do the same, Henry advises. "It's understanding that if they targeted my transportation company this week, they're going to target your transportation company next week," he says. "Let's share this intelligence with you so that you can better protect yourselves." She landed her first modelling job at just 10 years old and later rose to become one of the industry's most in-demand stars. And Cara Delevingne was sure to turn heads when she arrived in style at the Dior Homme Menswear Fall/Winter 2020-2021 show, which was held as part of Paris Fashion Week in the French capital on Friday. The model, 27, looked sensational as she showed off her washboard abs by opting to forgo a shirt and just wear a semi-sheer bra underneath a sleek grey blazer. Wow! Cara Delevingne looked sensational as she showcased her toned abs in a semi-sheer bra and a grey blazer at Dior Homme fashion show in Paris on Thursday She complemented her ensemble by wearing a pair of loose-fitting slacks, that she paired with sturdy black boots for an androgynous chic look. Adding a touch of glitter to her outfit, Cara accessorised with a green jewel necklace that fell over her slender torso, while she also wore a gold hand chain bracelet. The model wore her brunette locks in a slick gelled-down ponytail that was held in place with an elaborate feather hair-tie, while she wore a light palette of make-up to accentuate her pretty features. Power suit: Cara complemented her ensemble by wearing a pair of loose-fitting slacks, that she paired with sturdy black boots for an androgynous chic look Stylish: The model wore her brunette locks in a slick gelled-down ponytail that was held in place with an elaborate feather hair-tie Glam: Adding a touch of glitter to her outfit, Cara accessorised with a green jewel necklace that fell over her slender torso, while she also wore a gold hand chain bracelet Cara was seen without her Pretty Little Liars' girlfriend Ashley Benson, who she has was first romantically linked to in May 2018. The couple recently enjoying a trip to Brazil, and also recently visited Disneyland in Anaheim, California, joining Cara's sister Chloe and other relatives visiting 'The Happiest Place on Earth. They also touched down in Morocco, where Cara surprised Ashley with a trip to commemorate her 30th birthday. 'I was surprised on my 30th birthday,' the actress said in an Instagram post. Solo outing: Cara was seen without her Pretty Little Liars' girlfriend Ashley Benson, who she has was first romantically linked to in May 2018 Modelling prowess: Cara posed up a storm as she arrived at the star-studded show Fashion royalty: Cara sat beside Kate Moss, her daughter Lila Grace, and the supermodel's boyfriend Count Nikolai Von Bismarck She continued: 'Morocco has always been a place I've wanted to visit. I faced so many fears and took on new adventures with my best friend by my side. 'I couldn't have asked for anything better. I love you @caradelevingne. Thank you for making my birthday the best yet.' In October, Cara opened up about her relationship, calling herself 'the luckiest girl in the world' to be in a romance with Ashley. What a pair: Cara and Kate wore stoic expressions as they posed for photos together Blue steel: Cara also took photos beside actor Robert Pattinson and rapper Tyga Chatty: Cara spent some time talking with David Beckham during the runway show 'It's so nice to have someone in my life that supports me so much and loves me,' she told E! News at in Beverly Hills at the Girl Up #GirlHero Awards. When she received the award, Ashley was showing support again, writing on Instagram, 'So proud of you, I love you @caradelevingne.' Both remain thriving in their careers, as Cara remains one of the world's top supermodels, while Ashley is set to appear with Ewan McGregor and Val Kilmer in the upcoming drama The Birthday Cake in 2020. Dressed to impress: Cara and Tyga wore similar silver suits for the occasion Enjoying themselves: Cara and Robert appeared to be in bright spirits as they chatted together CALGARY, Alberta, Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Harvest, a Prairie venture builder, announced its partnership with Western Canadian Innovation Offices (WCIO) as part of a collaborative effort to advance innovation and entrepreneurship across the Prairies. The partnership with WCIO and its network of academic institutions across Western Canada will increase the ability for academic research to grow into globally competitive companies, and for researchers and institutions to deepen their connections with top corporate entities. As part of this process, Harvest will be selecting a region to anchor this partnership. This hub will act as a catalyst for academic commercialization opportunities across the Harvest network and provide opportunities for startups to grow within a world-class ecosystem of entrepreneurs, business professionals, and investors. With these partnerships, Harvest is capitalizing on research and development opportunities, while building a platform to commercialize ideas into companies, says Chris Simair, founder of Harvest and co-founder of startup success SkipTheDishes. These companies will have the potential to shape a more diversified Canadian economy. For example, companies like Beyond Meat, that are fueled at its core by innovation, are being founded in Silicon Valley when the primary, world-leading research is actually being developed at home here in the Prairies. The partnerships with the WCIO is integral in Harvests mission to keep innovative companies in the Prairies, addressing the loss of talent to other competitive markets often known as the brain drain. We believe Harvest, with its management expertise and unique model will be able to increase the success rate of new technology based startups across Western Canada and are looking forward to growing connections within our network to create economic impact across the Prairies, says Darren Fast, Director, Partnerships & Innovation at the University of Manitoba and lead for WCIO. Harvest recently announced its move into Calgarys M2 Building for its pilot operations and plans to set up offices across the Prairies. The venture builder is considering Western Canadian cities to call its headquarters, including Calgary, Winnipeg and Saskatoon. Harvests first portfolio company, Neo Financial , is also slated to launch this year. For more information on Harvest, visit harvest.builders . About Harvest: Harvest is a not-for-profit co-builder of companies in the Canadian Prairies. It does this by taking founders with disruptive ideas and equipping them with world-class talent, funding, and support to co-build their company into a successful, fast-growing business. Harvest was founded by Chris Simair, co-founder and former CEO of SkipTheDishes, which sold for $200M in 2016 and is one of the largest tech companies in Canada, with over 2,000 employees across Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary. The same infrastructure that made SkipTheDishes a success is what powers Harvest today. Harvests mission is nothing less than to create globally competitive companies right here in the Canadian Prairies and, in doing so, make the region a better place to live for future generations. About Western Canadian Innovation Offices: The Western Canadian Innovation Offices Consortium (WCIO) is an initiative that has been connecting Western Canadian industry needs with the array of research and innovation resources, including promising technologies that exist in WCIOs nearly 40-member consortium of universities, colleges and polytechnics across the West. For Media inquiries, please contact: Shauna MacDonald Brookline Public Relations, Inc. 403-538-5645 smacdonald@brooklinepr.com 'Taranjit has the ideal temperament to deal with the Americans who understand firmness and appreciate flexibility.' 'He can hold his ground with a cheerful face and still make it clear that India and the US are partners, not rivals,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan. IMAGE: Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, right, with Sreenath Sreenivasan, Marshall R Loeb visiting professor at the Stony Brook University School of Journalism in New York, left, Lekha Sreenivan and Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, second from right, at the high commissioner's home in Colombo. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ambassador T P Sreenivasan Nothing has made me happier recently than the news that our high commissioner in Colombo, Taranjit Sandhu, has been named our next ambassador in Washington. If the reports are true, he will break several records in the Indian Foreign Service, including mine. He will be the first to be posted to the US four times as against my three times, and even more significantly, he already had two postings at crucial positions in our Washington edmbassy itself. No other ambassador to the US has had the experience of being a foot soldier and a deputy before heading the mission on Massachusetts Avenue. The only officers, who had served in Washington before becoming ambassador are Lalit Mansingh and Arun Singh, who were both deputy chiefs of mission. Taranjit will bring to the post not only vast experience of the US, but also sterling achievements during his previous assignments. Happily, the days when only political ambassadors were sent to Washington are over and professional diplomats have been doing well there. For me, Taranjit was my ablest soldier at the battle we waged in the embassy of India, Washington following the nuclear tests of May 1998. The situation had to be seen to be believed. 'We are going to come down on those guys like a ton of bricks,' said President Clinton 24 hours after the news had reached Washington. The words used by Thomas J Pickering and Karl F 'Rick' Inderfurth were deception, lack of faith and betrayal. They took the position that there was no room for any dialogue and India had to be punished for its crime. Long silent intervals interrupted our conversations. Sweeping sanctions were imposed on India in the first application of the Glenn Amendment. High handed action by overzealous bureaucrats made the sanctions harsher than ever intended. The so-called 'people sanction' was largely undefined, but it looked possible that all contacts would be frozen and Indian migration would be suspended. The embassy geared up for the exceptional situation under the direction of Ambassador Naresh Chandra, who rejected the advice of our paid lobbyist that we should lie low. An action plan was drawn up to convince the state department, the house of representatives and the senate, the media and the Indian community of India's determination to be a responsible nuclear weapon State with a minimum deterrent. Taranjit became the 'Congressman' in the process as he already had considerable contacts on the Hill during our annual struggle against the Burton Amendment, which sought symbolic reduction in aid to India on account of 'human rights violations' in Punjab. According to a plan drawn up by Taranjot, Ambassador Chandra and I met virtually every US congressman and senator in a matter of a couple of months. He accompanied us to the meetings and held his own meetings with the staffers to prepare the ground. He was the most familiar Indian face on the Hill. Most of the senators and congressmen, even the members of the India Caucus had turned hostile except for strong Indophiles like Frank Pallone and Benjamin Gilman. The friendliest of them were more aggrieved than angry. They lectured us on the teachings of the Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru and advised us to take remedial measures. They blamed the new government for changing the course of history, though the preparation for the tests had taken place even under previous governments. Ambassador Chandra set the tone of our response, firm, analytical and non-repentant. The work done by the embassy in the first two months after the tests made a great difference to the perception of Indian nuclear policy in American minds. IMAGE: Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, then deputy chief of mission of the embassy of India in Washington DC, second from left, with Chandru Bhambhra, co-chairman, Indo American Community of West Coast, left, Venkatesan Ashok, India's consul general in San Francisco, and BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, speaking, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's visit to Silicon Valley in 2015. Even while President Clinton remained firm on India signing the CTBT as a condition for lifting the sanctions, a beginning was made by US Senator Sam Brownback, who under pressure from us and the Indian community, proposed that the sanctions should be relaxed so that trade relations could be saved. Then external affairs minister Jaswant Singh did not raise the sanctions issue in his conversations with then US deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott and left it to the embassy to deal with it. Much of the credit for coordinating the work on the Hill, which changed the mind of the Clinton administration, went to Taranjit, whom we designated as the 'Congressman' in the embassy. The relations that he developed with the congressional staff and some US congressmen will be an asset to him in his new responsibilities. Many of them are still active and some staffers have assumed state responsibilities. After all the walking done on the Hill, Ambassador Chandra remarked we should be given a 'shoe allowance' and I added that Taranjit should get double the amount. Taranjit has many qualities he has acquired in different parts of the globe, but what makes him an ideal ambassador in Washington is the skills he has acquired as a young diplomat on the Hill. He has the ideal temperament to deal with the Americans who understand firmness and appreciate flexibility. He can hold his ground with a cheerful face and still make it clear that India and the US are partners, not rivals. Needless to say, Taranjit has to hit the ground running as 2020 is going to be a tumultuous year in the US, with its implications for India. President Trump remains an enigma, wrapped up in mystery and he holds the key to developments in international relations during the year and maybe beyond. After escorting Mahinda Rajapaksa to New Delhi on a delicate mission, Taranjit may have to prepare the ground for a possible visit of President Trump to India. Of course, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip when it comes to US presidential visits. Then prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral sent me to Washington to prepare for a visit to India by Bill Clinton at the end of 1997, but the visit did not take place till March 2000. A presidential visit will make his travails on the Hill in 1998 look like child's play. What he needs is only abundant luck as he is already fully equipped for the toughest of jobs. T P Sreenivasan, (IFS 1967), is a former Ambassador of India and Governor for India of the IAEA. Ambassador Sreenivasan is a frequent contributor to Rediff.com and his earlier columns can be read here. Supermarket giant Walmart has been forced to apologize after an insensitive tweet involving actor Paul Walker. It began with an innocent enough tweet from user @Iamlaurenmiles who shared a story about Walmart selling Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls with strawberry and cream-flavored icing. The posting included a GIF video that showed a car speeding through traffic with the caption: 'me racin to the nearest Wally World.' It began with an innocent enough tweet from user @Iamlaurenmiles who shared a story about Walmart selling Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls with strawberry and cream-flavored icing Walmart tweeted, 'Hey, Paul Walker. Click it, or ticket' with a police siren emoji - a tweet that was deemed to be 'inappropriate' Paul Walker was killed at the age of 40 in 2013 while riding as a passenger in a friend's Ferrari Walmart then re-tweeted the post but added their own spin: 'Hey, Paul Walker. Click it, or ticket.' The joke was seen as particularly insensitive and tone-deaf since The Fast and the Furious star died in a car crash in 2013 at age 40. 'um paul walker died in a car crash and the gif is someone speeding carelessly. for walmart to make that joke was just...' @dwylie02 tweeted. Another user, @tkb1886 added: 'Paul Walker is an actor from Fast & Furious who actually died in a car accident so their joke seemed pretty inappropriate.' The line was actually a quote from the Comedy Central series Workaholics with Walmart failing to provide any kind of context in their follow-up tweet. The joke was seen as particularly insensitive and tone-deaf since The Fast and the Furious star died in a car crash in 2013 at age 40 It didn't take long for Twitter users to point out the 'insensitive' nature of Walmart's response The supermarket giant later deleted the post, but by then the damage had been done after being re-shared across social media. 'We apologize to Paul Walker's family, friends and fans,' Walmart said in a statement adding that the tweet had been 'posted in poor judgement,' according to USA Today. Walker was riding as a passenger in a friend's car when it crashed in Santa Clarita, California in November 2013. Walker was killed along with the driver. The LA County Sheriff's Department said that speed played a role in the crash. Twitter users were quick to pounce on Walmart's unfortunate Paul Walker reference Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Esther Samboh (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 08:32 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c322755ac 1 Opinion #commentary,commentary,Jiwasraya,Asabri,SOEs,state-owned-enterprises,finance,financial-institutions,corruption,corruption-case,insurance,Insurance-agents,insurance-companies Free If you wonder why you keep hearing the word Jiwasraya recently, heres why. State insurer Asuransi Jiwasraya is deep in financial trouble after failing to pay out on customers policies when they fell due. It turns out Jiwasraya promised customers hefty gains but invested their funds in questionable stocks. With several banks selling Jiwasraya products, there are fears that its failure could have a systemic impact on the financial services industry. Amid ongoing investigations, five big fish have been named suspects in the case, including tycoons Benny Tjokrosaputro and Heru Hidayat. Then it was found that Asabri, another state insurer and pension fund manager for military and police personnel and Defense Ministry employees, has also allegedly been hit by pump-and dump stock market manipulation. Like Jiwasraya, hundreds of millions of dollars have been lost from Asabris investment portfolio. Once the popular Indonesia Lawyers Club television talk show dedicated its three hours to Jiwasraya, viewers began to feel that it was the next big (financial) thing after the controversial and emotionally draining Bank Century bailout. But fundamental differences distinguish the Jiwasraya and Asabri cases from the infamous Rp 6.7 trillion (US$490 million) bailout, which saw the courts and lawmakers question the then-vice president, as well as the finance ministerthe latter holding tasbih (prayer beads) in her hand. First, the government and House of Representatives are agreed on no taxpayer bailout for Jiwasraya, although the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry plans to inject up to Rp 2 trillion into a state insurance holding company to create a lifeline for Jiwasraya. Let us assume this is simply a business decision regarding a state firm rather than taxpayers money being funneled into a failing state enterprise. Second, Jiwasraya is a nonbank financial institution, meaning no customer funds were guaranteed by the Indonesian Deposit Corporation (LPS)another reason the government is avoiding a bailout of Jiwasraya. With Bank Century we saw the LPS doing the dirty work of funneling hundreds of millions of dollars from state coffers into a lender that had allegedly been embezzled by its owners. Asabri, meanwhile, is doing just fine with good cashflow and assets, as SOEs Minister Erick Thohir said, and therefore will be able to cope with its investment losses. The handling of the Jiwasraya and Asabri cases is good enough as firefighting measures go, but the elephant in the room remains: poor good corporate governance in our state firms, and weak oversight by authorities. Without stronger enforcement and oversight, and putting the right people in power to apply good corporate governance, a time bomb waits to explode into another financial-service scandal. Just as a lack of fundamental action taken following Bank Century led to Jiwasraya. True, authorities cannot forbid anyone wanting to invest in shady stocks, as Jiwasraya and Asabri did. After all, they were still legitimate shares listed on the stock exchange. But as an institution with oversight of the performance of financial firms, and with the authority to enforce good corporate governance, the OJK simply doing its job is the least we might expect to safeguard the industry, and our investments. When you invest your money in professional pension funds, or simply prepare for a rainy day with adequate insurance, you have the right to assume the institution taking care of your precious money is above board if only because the authorities should be watching them. Indeed OJK regulations require insurers to file monthly periodic assessments. Insurance companies also must continually assess their risk and alert the regulator at least every two years or whenever they see fit. The OJK should have seen the Jiwasraya storm coming. In 2018, only 18 supervisors were in charge of overseeing 137 insurance companies, according to a Bisnis Indonesia article. Staff shortages have become the OJKs classic excuse in monitoring the financial services industry, not only insurance companies. Still, Jiwasraya is too big to go unnoticed, especially being a state insurer and given the size of its losses. Now, the people who simply expected to deposit their money in a professional state financial institution, regulated and monitored by authorities, cannot cash in their policies that have matured. They may need to wait months for government efforts to salvage Jiwasraya to bear fruit. Whether by injecting money into Jiwasaraya by forming a state insurance holding company, or waiting for an investor to buy stakes in the ailing state insurer, customers lose. Whatever the governments plans for Jiwasraya, returning customer money should be the top priority, and everything else secondary. As in the stock market, retail investors are the most vulnerable. This completely tarnishes the OJK, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and the governments agenda of persuading more individuals to invest in Indonesias financial markets. Worse, the IDX also appears toothless about suspicious transactions, including the pump-and-dump practices that caused Jiwasrayas calamitous losses. The two businessmen suspected of graft in the case, Benny and Heru, sold off their stocks which were in Jiwasrayas portfolio before the scandal exploded, causing Jiwasrayas investment value to plunge. The million-dollar question: Was the IDX not in the loop with the investigation carried out by the OJK, the Attorney Generals Office and the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), which claimed to have been suspicious for years? Is it too much to expect the IDX to flag up the transactions as suspicious? How far can the IDX step in to protect investors funds? The SOEs Ministry as the shareholder of state-owned enterprises, including Jiwasraya and Asabri, was no less disappointing. Citizens are entitled to modest expectations like having leaders with integrity who can enforce good governance in state firms. With the Jiwasraya and Asabri cases, as well as the flag carrier Garuda Indonesias smuggling case, it is high time for the ministry to look into the leaders of Indonesias state enterprises. Even if we are not customers of Jiwasraya, Asabri, Garuda or any other state enterprise, we still pay for them, as our taxes fund them. Expecting better governance and oversight of entities that should serve us is a basic demand. Otherwise, we will be walking in circles, waiting for the next Century, or Jiwasraya, to unfold. January 16, 2020 Release U.S. - PRC Defense Policy Coordination Talk United States' and People's Republic of China (PRC) defense officials met in Beijing on January 14, 2020, for the 15th U.S.-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, Mr. Chad Sbragia, co-chaired the annual defense talks with Maj. Gen. Huang Xueping, deputy director of the People's Liberation Army's Office for International Military Cooperation. U.S. representatives included officials from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and the U.S. Embassy Beijing. The talks resulted in consensus to maintain open channels of communication, strengthen mechanisms to prevent and manage crisis, and enhance cooperation on areas of common interest. The bilateral dialogue aligned with Secretary Esper's intent to forge a stable, constructive, and results-oriented defense relationship with the PRC. https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2058597/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Shock plans to bus pupils on a daily 20km round trip to new temporary accommodation have been abandoned. There was major upset in Griffeen Community College, Lucan, Co Dublin this week when the move was announced. Now they have been told that pre-fabs will be installed to allow them stay in their own area. The 140-pupil Griffeen CC is already in its third year of occupying a number of classrooms on the floor of another new school in the locality, Kishogue Community College. With both schools growing their enrollments, a move out of Kishogue CC has become necessary. While a permanent home is some way off, the Griffeen CC was expecting to move to stand-alone temporary accommodation in Lucan from September 2020. But Griffeen principal Rachel McGrath was told this week that the Department of Education had now decided they would be accommodated from September in the 600-pupil Kingswood Community College, Tallaght, about 9-10km away. Pupils would be bused there for a period of 12-24 months, depending on the length of time needed to acquire a permanent site and build a new school. It caused a furor and public meeting, to which local politicians were invited, was hastily convened. Today Fine Gael councillor and general election candidate Emer Huggins announced that a solution had been found. Instead of busing pupils to Kingswood, they will be accommodated in pre-fabs on the grounds of Kishogue CC and classes will be time-tabled so that both schools will share access to specialist classrooms such as science labs. These children will, rightly, be able to go to school locally until their new building is provided in 2022, she said. - Israel has officially started exporting natural gas to Egypt under a $15-billion/15-year deal in what is largely considered a landmark deal between the two. The gas from Israels Leviathan and Tamar offshore gas fields will flow to Egypt, where it will - BlackRock says it will be refocusing on companies that adequately address climate change, which the media is taking to mean a divestment in fossil fuels and thermal coal. BlackRock has major holdings in oil producers, including BP, Shell and ExxonMobil. Specifically, the fund said it would be focusing on sustainability as well as launching new investment products that screen fossil fuels. - Austerity is coming: The EIA is predicting a 50%+ deceleration of US oil output growth in 2021 due to an uptick in capital discipline for shale producers. For 2020, output growth is set to be just over 1 million barrels per day. For 2021, output growth is expected to be 400,000 bpd. - In addition to the Wednesday boost from a Phase 1 US-China trade deal that would ostensibly see China import tons of US LNG and coal, oil prices got a boost Thursday from the Senates approval of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, with Mexico and Canada being the top two targets for US petroleum exports. However, by Friday morning, oil was removing those gains in part on sluggish Chinese economic growth and data showing Chinese economic growth near a 30-year low. More Market Movers - In addition to the Wednesday boost from a Phase 1 US-China trade deal that would ostensibly see China import tons of US LNG and coal, oil prices got a boost Thursday from the Senates approval of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, with Mexico and Canada being the top two targets for US petroleum exports. However, by Friday morning, oil was removing those gains in part on sluggish Chinese economic growth and data showing Chinese economic growth near a 30-year low. - Austerity is coming: The EIA is predicting a 50%+ deceleration of US oil output growth in 2021 due to an uptick in capital discipline for shale producers. For 2020, output growth is set to be just over 1 million barrels per day. For 2021, output growth is expected to be 400,000 bpd. - BlackRock says it will be refocusing on companies that adequately address climate change, which the media is taking to mean a divestment in fossil fuels and thermal coal. BlackRock has major holdings in oil producers, including BP, Shell and ExxonMobil. Specifically, the fund said it would be focusing on sustainability as well as launching new investment products that screen fossil fuels. Discovery & Development - Israel has officially started exporting natural gas to Egypt under a $15-billion/15-year deal in what is largely considered a landmark deal between the two. The gas from Israels Leviathan and Tamar offshore gas fields will flow to Egypt, where it will be liquefied and re-exported. - Equinor is breathing new life into its Statfjord fields. It will now not decommission Statfjord A in 2022 as planned but will extend the life of the field to 2027. Statfjord B and C will be extended beyond 2035. Overall, 100 new wells will be drilled in the area through 2030. - Total has plans to drill the worlds deepest offshore well, by water depth, in Angola with a Maersk drillship. The well will be drilled in 3,628 meters of water, surpassing the current record-holder - the Raya-1 well in Uruguay at a depth of 3,400 meters. Write-Downs, Impairments & More - More bad news for Tullow Oil as the company is expected to take a $1.5-billion charge when it reports its 2019 results in impairments and exploration write-offs. That includes the slashing of reserves at its key field in Ghana, and disappointing exploration results in Guyana. - The US largest natural gas driller, Pittsburgh-based EQT has taken a $1.8-billion impairment for Q4 2019 in a massive asset write-down for a very troubled sector. - Three years after Oklahoma-based oilfield services company Horizontal Well Drillers landed a $1-billion-plus deal with Venezuelas PDVSA to drill 191 wells in the countrys Orinoco Belt, the company is closing its Oklahoma offices. - The big three service providers, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton have all announced that they are selling assets. The three have 26% of the oilfield services market, and the assets they have planned to sell, which includes Halliburtons pipeline and process services business, total $800 million. Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions - Norways authorities have awarded a total of 69 offshore blocks to 28 oil and gas companies to explore for petroleum in mature areas in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. A total of 33 oil companies had applied for licenses. The winners include Equinor, Aker BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Lundin, Suncor, Total, Var Energi, and Wintershall Dea. - Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador closed the door to oil auctions this year. He said that just 10,000 barrels per day of the country's oil production came from international oil companies even though the previous government awarded 110 contracts. President Obrador also announced that the authorities will review some government wind and solar contracts to determine if private companies are improperly subsidized. Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict - Russian President Putins approval ratings are not what hed like them to be, and in expert Putin fashion, his answer to the specter of waning power is to use a heavy hand to push through reforms that would weaken a future president and strengthen a future prime minister (hes done this before, in the reverse). That was Tuesday. On Wednesday, the entire government resigned, and on Thursday, Russia had a new Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, a former federal tax service chief with whom few are even familiar. - Iranian former crown prince Reza Pahlavi - the son of the shah who fled in 1979 and a figure who has not been in Iran since then - is now emerging in the spotlight in the US, calling for regime change and choosing very receptive conservatives in DC as his primary audience for gaining US support to bring down the government in Tehran. Pahlavi is not in a position to represent the Iranian people at large, but for the first time clearly sees an opportunity in local unrest, which he is hoping to further foment from afar, with US support. - The US-Iran conflict isnt likely to move oil in the near future - at least not long term - and particularly not when the Iraqi PM already seems to be walking back parliaments decision to kick out US troops. And particularly not when US troops have relaunched joint operations with the Iraqis in the interim as a bulwark against ISIS, which was just itching to take advantage of the geopolitical vacuum. - Belarus has thrown another punch at Russia in the middle of a diplomatic dispute over negotiations for a new deal on the transport of Russian oil through the territory of Belarus. Authorities in Minsk have signed a decree introducing a 50% tax on profits of companies transiting for crude oil and petroleum products via Belarusian territory. Belarus is heavily reliant on Russia for fuel and funding and is a key transit route for Russian energy supplies to Europe. Earlier this month, Russia temporarily halted oil supplies to Belarus amid a tariff disagreement. - As Syrias Assad accuses the US of plundering the countrys oil, Kurdish sources are reporting a convoy of 75 US military trucks crossing the border from Iraq and heading to US positions in the oil-bearing eastern province of Deir Ezzor and the northeastern province of Hasakah, where Washington has vowed to protect the oil, ostensibly from ISIS. Representative image Protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) snowballed into a pan-India movement in December 2019, following what transpired at a demonstration held by students of New Delhis Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University. The student protest there had turned violent with DTC buses being set on fire and private vehicles being damaged in South Delhi. The university claims that the arson was carried out by outsiders, not its students. Later that evening on December 15, the university virtually turned into a battlefield as Delhi Police entered the campus and allegedly used force, leading to students as well as some police personnel getting injured. The police detained many students, who were all released in the early hours of the following day. The same day, police had also entered the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and allegedly assaulted students. About 60 students were reportedly injured. These student protests were against the amended citizenship law. According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants and will be eligible for Indian citizenship. The law excludes Muslims. Those opposing the amended law say it discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. They also allege that the CAA, along with the proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC), is intended to target Indias Muslim community. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led 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 take away citizenship from anyone. The visuals and reports of violence coming out of Jamia and Aligarh, led to solidarity marches from university students across the country. These incidents were a catalyst for this movement. A day earlier, just over a dozen local women had started a small protest against CAA, nationwide NRC and the National Population Register (NPR) in New Delhis Shaheen Bagh. As days progressed, hundreds of locals joined in. Soon, the agitation turned into a 24x7, peaceful sit-in. The protest is largely being led by Muslim women, many of whom are being accompanied by their children. Even though men are participating, they have stayed on the sidelines. Remember, all this has transpired through New Delhis harsh winter conditions and has gone on for over a month now. This included the national capitals coldest December day in 199 years. While the nation ushered in the New Year, protesters at Shaheen Bagh sang the national anthem at the stroke of midnight. On January 15, hundreds of Sikhs from Punjab joined protest. The Sikh community members came from Moga, Barnala, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangroor districts as farmers' body Kisan Union (Ekta) (Ugraha) extended its support to the protesters. They also started cooking and sent up a langar the traditional community kitchen of Sikhs to serve the protesters. "Now they (the government) will get envious seeing the solid unity of Sikhs with Muslims and Hindus here (Shaheen Bagh). And this is just one step outside our home, the full journey will be completed when the government repeals this law," Jagjeet Singh, who came from Moga, told news agency PTI in a mix of Punjabi and Hindi. Delhi: 'Langar' being prepared in #ShaheenBagh where people have been sitting on a protest for last one month against #CAA and #NRC pic.twitter.com/Qo4oUYnK4S ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2020 "Guru Gobind Singh ji taught us that we must oppose oppression wherever we see it and that is our motivation to join this fight," he added. A striking element of this protest is that it appears to be a leaderless movement. Most of these protesters are common citizens, and middle and old-aged women. Dabang Dadis Three elderly women now popularly called the 'Dabang Dadis (fearless grandmothers)' of Shaheen Bagh have been at the core of the protest. They have spent over a month at the centrestage. Asked why they were protesting, the oldest woman among the three, Asma Khatun, told NDTV, "Ask (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi why we are protesting." "Why did we have to see a day like this? That I will have to sit in protest? I am against CAA," Asma said. When asked why she wanted the law to be revoked, Asma said: "He wants us to furnish documents to prove citizenship? There are so many people in this country who have no papers. Many lose their papers to natural calamities like floods and rain. Where will they get there documents from? I dare Modi to name seven generations of his family. I will name nine." Wont move half-an-inch Two individuals from Jamia Nagar 29-year-old Zainul Abidin and 50-year-old Mehrunissa have been on an indefinite hunger strike against CAA and NRC. Abidin, a social activist, told The Wire that nobody from the current government or administration has paid any heed to him. His siblings have reportedly been students at Jamia Millia Islamia University. Abidin has said he is agitating against the way the Delhi Police treated students who were raising their voice against the governments policies. Social activist Mehrunissa, who works at the Jama Masjid canteen, told the news portal that she is protesting to show womens strength. If Amit Shah says he will not move an inch on CAA and NRC, we say we will not move half-an-inch for the sake of this resistance, Mehrunissa told The Wire. Demonstrators attend a protest against the new citizenship law at Shaheen Bagh. (Image: Reuters) There are others who have stayed put at Shaheen Bagh for days and weeks. 50-year-old mother Bahro Nisa, a shopkeeper from New Delhi, has even quit her job to participate in the protest. "They (government) tried to stifle the voices of our children," Nisa told CNN. "So, as mothers, we decided to stand up." Nisa has also been on a hunger strike for two weeks. She told CNN that she will not eat until NRC is withdrawn and CAA is rolled back. "I am ready to die for this. So many people have died for this already," she said. "If they roll back the bill, we will leave." As a tribute to those who died during anti-CAA protests across the country, demonstrators have erected a replica of India Gate. Just like the names of 13,000 servicemen are inscribed on India Gate, protesters have inked names of fellow citizens who lost their lives since the anti-CAA agitation began. At least 32 people have died in relation to anti-CAA protests so far, mainly in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. On January 12 a Sunday number of people at the protest site swelled to multiple thousands. Demonstrators held a 'sarva dharma sambhava' multi-faith prayer. The 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 Gita, the Bible and 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," Syed Taseer Ahmed, one of the initial organisers of the protest, said. 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 interfaith harmony. Political leaders hijacking the protest? A number of political leaders have also visited the protest site. On January 12, Congress leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor visited the venue and expressed his support. The former Union minister said CAA was discriminatory and betrays ideals of unity that Mahatma Gandhi stood for. 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, Tharoor said. Glimpses of todays crowds at the three #CAA_NRC_Protests I addressed. Let there be no doubt, this is a peoples upsurge, going well beyond any political party. We should applaud the courage &determination of ordinary people without seeking to appropriate their movement. JaiHind! pic.twitter.com/U2wzwxYQ6o Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 12, 2020 Days later, another Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar went there to show solidarity but ended up sparking another controversy with his "qaatil (killer)" comment while addressing the gathering. While addressing the crowd, he alluded to a line from a famous patriotic verse Dekhna hai zor kitna bazuye qaatil mein hai. Though he did not quote the poem verbatim, he said: We will find out who is stronger us (the protesters) or the qaatil (killer). He said the BJP government stormed to power by promising sabka saath, sabka vikas (everybody's support, everybody's progress), but was now ensuring sabka saath, sabka vinaash (everybody's support, everybody's destruction). "The government has brought out CAA and NRC to distract the public's attention from the real issue, which is its failure to arrest the downfall of the economy. But the courageous women of Shaheen Bagh has told them that they cannot fool the people anymore," he added. He also praised demonstrators for protesting without the support of any political party. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad who was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in connection with a case of violence during an anti-CAA protest in New Delhis Daryaganj area was restrained by the same court from visiting Shaheen Bagh. Noted psephologist and Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav was also among those who visited the protesters. Political leaders visiting the protest site has been seen by some as an attempt to hijack a peoples movement and have warned that it could be counterproductive. Attempts to move protesters The Shaheen Bagh protest has its share of critics, with many pointing out that the demonstration has been inconveniencing commuters travelling between Noida and other parts of the national capital. While sticking to non-violent forms of resistance, demonstrators have blocked a key road in the Kalindi Kunj area, which connects Delhi and Noida, Uttar Pradesh. BJP has also taken a note of the protest happening in the poll-bound national capital. Its Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari tweeted a video appealing protesters to call off their agitation. He also attacked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for "ignoring plight of lakhs of people facing inconvenience because of the protests". "I am making this video because I am distressed... Lakhs of people in the city are facing inconvenience every day because of protests at Shaheen Bagh. They are completing a 25-minute journey in two-three hours," Tiwari said. Tiwari said Kejriwal should have urged for the protest to be called off but he is apparently glad that people are facing inconvenience. The BJP leader also appealed to the police to "convince people in Shaheen Bagh to call off the protest" and urged protesters to not believe in rumours. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel are pictured next to a barricade at the Shaheen Bagh protest site in New Delhi, India on January 14. (Image: Reuters) After Delhi High Court put the onus on the police to manage traffic on January 14, the protesters agreed to help ease congestion on the arterial road but refused to leave. Hina Ashraf, a 30-year-old protester, told ThePrint, Just like we have been making way for ambulances all this while, we can make way for school buses too. We are open to a discussion. But we wont move until the CAA-NRC are scrapped. In return, the police have said they will not use force to evict them. Shaheen Bagh has inspired similar sit-ins across the country including those in Prayagraj, Gaya, Nagpur and Kolkata. The question remains what is the endgame? Protesters have said they will not budge until CAA is withdrawn. But their larger goal is to save the constitutional rights of fellow citizens, irrespective of their religion. With the Centre having shown no sign of relenting on CAA, the future course of the Shaheen Bagh protest remains blur. - The 30 are among 75 staff who were arrested and interdicted after Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) planted detectives in form of interns at Times Towers - An inside source at the agency confided to TUKO.co.ke that a crackdown to eliminate employees colluding with tax cheats to frustrate achievement of revenue targets has gradually borne fruits - The agency has been enforcing more strict rules to increase efficiency besides shedding off inefficient managers who have not been meeting tax collection targets The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is set to sack 30 managers for allegedly facilitating tax evasion deals. The 30 are among 75 staff who were arrested and interdicted after Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) planted detectives in form of interns at Times Towers, the taxmans headquarters. READ ALSO: Kenyans amazed by retired president Mwai Kibakis eloquent speech during his youthful years Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) chief George Kinoti (left) with KRA Commisioner General James Mburu (second right) at a past event. Photo: Kenya Revenue Authority. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Court nullifies Mary Wambui's appointment as National Employment Authority chairperson An inside source at the agency confided to TUKO.co.ke that a crackdown to eliminate employees colluding with tax cheats to frustrate achievement of revenue targets has gradually borne fruits. According to the source privy to the on-goings, the agency has been enforcing more strict rules to increase efficiency besides shedding off inefficient managers who have not been meeting tax collection targets. A file photo of Times Tower. The taxman's headquarters. Photo: The Standard. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Babu Owino akamatwa baada ya kumpiga risasi jamaa kwenye klabu Those on the line are senior officials involved in illegal activities like taking bribes or altering tax amounts for cheats. So far, six top managers were fired in December 2019 after a lifestyle audit revealed discrepancies between their salaried income and their investments, the source disclosed. According to a commissioner at the agency, a probe conducted by DCI detectives linked the six to illegal dealings that saw a number of wealthy individuals and companies evade paying tax. James Mburu who officially took over as KRA boss in July 2019, has caused jitters at Times Towers. Photo: Citizen TV. Source: UGC KRA estimates indicate over KSh 25 billion was lost in the financial year 2018-2019 through such back door dealings involving KRA staff. The source privy to the investigations said the purge at Times Towers was enhanced after President Uhuru Kenyattas tough State of the Nation address on Tuesday, November 4, 2019, in which he said he would not take excuses from KRA officials. KRA has declined to renew contracts of the six managers for a new one-year-term. The six have vowed to sue the taxman over illegal termination of their contracts, the source further explained. KRA Commissioner General James Mburu however, said the agency has no obligation of renewing contracts of under-performing employees. A hard-line stance taken by Mburu who officially took over as KRA boss in July 2019, has caused jitters at Times Towers. TUKO.co.ke understands he was first appointed KRAs Commissioner of Intelligence and Strategic operations in March 2017. He was lauded for setting up an intelligence network that unraveled high profile tax evasion attempts and sent suspects to court. There have been shock-waves from last year. There is no automatic renewal of contracts as it used to be. The boss enforced the 2014 performance management system that has pushed truant workers in a tight corner, the source added. The insider disclosed that the performance management system had not been enforced and allowed employees and tax cheats collude. The enforcement of the performance management system was key in identification of 30 employees that were shown the door since June 2019. A similar more number will be leaving, the KRA insider explained. He added that the reforms have not been popular with many employees and managers who have been urging the KRA board to do away with lifestyle audits. Story by: Mercy Chebet, TUKO Correspondent. 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. The graduate who chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV | Inspire Kenya Source: TUKO.co.ke The redesigned 2020 Toyota Highlander is now available at San Francisco Toyota. The popular Toyota Highlander crossover SUV is completely redesigned for the 2020 model year, and it has arrived at San Francisco Toyota for Bay-area shoppers to see. The 2020 Toyota Highlander offers three rows of seating, with eight-passenger seating coming standard and seven-passenger seating available in higher trims with second-row captains chairs. Its available in five total trims: L, LE, XLE, Limited and Platinum, with every trim level offering its own unique take on the Highlander name. Each Highlander is equipped with a 3.5-liter V-6 Dual Overhead Cam 24-Valve D-4S Injection Atkinson Cycle-capable engine that dishes out 295 horsepower and 263 pound-feet of torque. That powerful engine helps to allow the new Highlander to tow as much as 5,000 pounds when properly equipped, making it a solid choice for families who own a boat for weekend trips to their favorite fishing spot. The spacious interior provides comfortable amenities such as available heated and ventilated front seats, available heated second-row seats, an available panoramic moonroof, available Qi-compatible wireless smartphone charging in the center console and more. The 2020 Highlander offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility so drivers can synchronize their phones to the vehicle and use select applications and enjoy hands-free calling and messaging while driving. The available Wi-Fi Connect allows for up to five devices to be connected at once so passengers can stream some of their favorite content or keep up on social media trends. San Francisco Toyota is a family-owned dealership that has been serving Bay-area customers since 1966. While specializing in selling new Toyota models, the dealership also offers a selection of pre-owned models from various manufacturers and has its own service center as well. Those interested in learning more about the arrival of the 2020 Toyota Highlander or any other vehicle are encouraged to call 415-504-1947 or visit http://www.sftoyota.com for more details. Bruce Gilley, a Portland State University political science professor, couldnt believe what he was seeing during an open house at his sons Southeast Portland middle school: a copy of Howard Zinns best-selling American history book on a students desk. What the hell is this doing here? Gilley recalled thinking. Youre giving them a communist propaganda sheet. Zinns 1980 book, A Peoples History of the United States, challenged the traditional approach to telling American history by offering a bottom-up, populist narrative that strove to bring back into the forefront the people who created what was called the economic miracle of the United States, Zinn told PBS host Bill Moyers in a 2009 interview, a month before the authors death. A Peoples History was a runner-up for the National Book Award and has been assigned reading in numerous college courses and public schools. A Young Peoples History of the United States, an edition aimed at middle schoolers, was adopted by the Portland School Board in 2008 for eighth-graders and is being used by some teachers, according to Portland Public Schools spokeswoman Karen Werstein. Zinn played a constructive role in the 1950s and early 60s in broadening the American history professions scope of political and social history to include under-represented groups, said PSU history professor David A. Horowitz, author of The Peoples Voice: A Populist Cultural History of Modern America, by email. But, Horowitz added, Zinn never seemed to acknowledge that historians had largely put his insights to good use in later years. More problematic, in Gilleys view, is that A Peoples History allowed readers to just take leave of complex historical questions and offered them an easy narrative about an evil system, Gilley said. Additionally, Zinn didnt pretend to be doing honest history, Gilley said. He was explicit about that. So when Gilley heard about the recently published Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation Against America (Regnery History, 352 pages, $29.99), he invited author Mary Grabar to speak in Portland. Grabar is scheduled to appear at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, at PSUs Smith Memorial Union, 1826 S.W. Broadway, in an event hosted by the Oregon Association of Scholars, which Gilley leads. Grabar, a resident fellow at The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization, said her critique of Zinn was that he misrepresents history. What Ive tried to do is just look at what he says and provide a factual rebuttal, Grabar said. I was quite surprised by the extent to which Howard Zinn distorted history, deliberately lied. For instance, she noted, Zinn wrote that internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II were kept secret. Not until after the war did the story of the Japanese-Americans begin to be known to the general public, he wrote in Chapter 16. In fact, numerous newspapers and magazines wrote about the camps at the time, quite a few editorializing in favor of them. Its amazing what youll find in that book when you start digging and its really shocking that historians have not raised a ruckus and demanded the book be withdrawn, Grabar said. He really has harmed traditional scholarship and the kinds of conversations that we should be having having a balanced and honest look at our history, the good points and the bad points. Grabars talk will include what Gilley calls a Save the Children from Howard Zinn book drive: Hes encouraging attendees to buy copies of Grabars book to donate to local libraries and schools. What if everyone had a Debunking Howard Zinn alongside their Peoples History? Well, thatd be a pretty great education, Gilley said. 2 Oregonians recognized by American Booksellers Association Love was in the air last August as 162 U.S. bookstores celebrated Bookstore Romance Day, a salute to the romance genre. The event was the brainchild of Billie Bloebaum, a bookseller at McMinnvilles Third Street Books, and made her one of two winners of the American Booksellers Associations inaugural Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, which includes a full scholarship to the associations winter meeting Jan. 21-24 in Baltimore. Bloebaum said she belonged to a Facebook group for booksellers who wanted to discuss romances without dealing with the general disdain for genre fiction, especially romance. When a romance author tweeted last year about not feeling supported by independent bookstores, it got a lot of the people in our group saying, But here we are we sell your books and we love your books, Bloebaum said. We decided just talking amongst ourselves wasnt enough. We needed to do something bigger. She suggested a day devoted to romance and it succeeded beyond her expectations. I asked Bloebaum if shed like to recommend some good romances. Here are five: Ayesha At Last, by Canadian author Uzma Jalaluddin, a Pride and Prejudice-inspired story set in Torontos Muslim community. Bloebaum called it a book-hangover book you stay up late into the night reading well past your bedtime. Get a Life, Chloe Brown, by British author Talia Hibbert. Bloebaum summarized the story as about a young woman with an invisible disability who decides to take control of her life, adding that all kinds of women are going to be able to see themselves in her. Last years winner of the genres prestigious RITA Award, Long Shot, by Kennedy Ryan, the first black woman to receive the award. Bloebaum called Ryans romance an amazing book about two people who meet the right person at just the absolute wrong time. Faker, Bend author Sarah Smiths debut, published last fall. The workplace rom-com has a heroine whos Filipina American, like the author, which Bloebuam noted is an example of the genres increasing diversity. Historical romance The Ladys Guide to Celestial Mechanics, by Seattle author Olivia Waite, about two women falling in love in 1816 England. One is an embroiderer and the other is a scientist and so its just got all of the nerdery that I love, Bloebaum said. 5 romance titles recommended by Oregon bookseller Billie Bloebaum.Courtesy of the publishers This years Bookstore Romance Day is scheduled for Aug. 15. The American Booksellers Association also recognized Lane Jacobson, a bookseller at Paulina Springs Books in Sisters, with one of five honorable mention awards. Jacobson said his submission for the award showcased the Sisters Festival of Books, whose inaugural three-day edition last year featured 48 authors. Festival profits went to a scholarship fund at Sisters High School. This years festival is scheduled for Oct. 16-18. To learn more, visit sistersfob.com. Portland authors Mortal Coil trilogy puts nothing less than humanitys future at stake Despite having learned how to hack our own bodies, humans are reeling from a ghastly viral outbreak whose victims die by detonation. Catarina, a teenage coding prodigy, may have the key to a vaccine, but someone doesnt want it released. As she pushes forward anyway, the life she thought she had crumbles before her eyes and she realizes humanity is at a crucial crossroads. Thats the world Portland author Emily Suvada has created in her Mortal Coil trilogy, whose first title, This Mortal Coil, was an Oregon Book Awards finalist. The action-packed, wildly imaginative series wraps up this month with the release of the final book, This Vicious Cure" (Simon Pulse, 416 pages, $19.99). Suvada discusses the series with fellow Portland sci-fi author Fonda Lee at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, at Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton. Portland author Emily Suvada's "Mortal Coil" trilogy is set in a future where humans have developed the ability to hack their genes.Simon Pulse Literary events for Jan. 17-23 Admission is free unless otherwise indicated. Illustrator Jessica Hische shares her new childrens book, Tomorrow Ill Be Kind. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Oregon mystery authors W.H. "Bill" Cameron and J.S. James present their latest mysteries, Camerons Crossroad and James River Run. 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, Vintage Books, 6613 E. Mill Plain Blvd., Vancouver. Oregon authors Melissa Hart and Mary DeMocker discuss how to use books to build family bonds. Hart is the author of Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens and DeMocker is the author of The Parents Guide to Climate Revolution: 100 Ways to Build a Fossil-Free Future, Raise Empowered Kids, and Still Get a Good Nights Sleep, an Oregon Book Awards finalist. 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, Maggie Maes Kids Bookshop, 43 N.W. Third St., Gresham. Portland author Kim Taylor Blakemore launches her historical mystery The Companion. 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, Rose City Book Pub, 1329 N.E. Fremont St., Portland. Elizabeth Rose Stanton reads her new picture book about a misfit donkey, Cowie. 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, Green Bean Books, 1600 N.E. Alberta St., Portland. Caren Beilin discusses her memoir, Blackfishing the IUD, with Portland journalist and editor Maya Dusenbery. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Mary Miller Doyle, wife of the late Lake Oswego author Brian Doyle, reads from his new essay collection, One Long River of Song: Notes on Wonder. 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20, Annie Blooms Books, 7834 S.W. Capitol Highway, Portland. (Read The Oregonian/OregonLive review.) Liska Jacobs presents her noir novel about a womans reckless trip to Italy, The Worst Kind of Want. 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Chad Dundas (brother of Portland Monthly editor-in-chief Zach Dundas) discusses his sophomore novel, The Blaze, about a soldiers re-entry into civilian life. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Portland high school students read from their work as part of Literary Arts Writers in the Schools program. Grant High School: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, Broadway Books, 1714 N.E. Broadway, Portland. Madison High School: 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, Old School Coffee, Portland Community College Southeast Campus, 8101 S.E. Division St. Suite 107, Portland. Science fiction author William Gibson signs his latest novel, Agency, sequel to The Peripheral. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. Former U.S. Rep. Les AuCoin presents his memoir, Catch and Release: An Oregon Life in Politics. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, Cornelius Public Library, 1370 N. Adair St, Cornelius. (Read The Oregonian/OregonLive review). Amy Stewart, author of the best-selling Kopp Sisters series, based on the life of one of the nations first female deputy sheriffs, helps celebrate the reopening of the Ledding Library. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, Ledding Library, 10660 S.E. 21st Ave., Milwaukie. Portland poets Emmett Wheatfall and John Sibley Williams read from their latest collections, Wheatfalls Our Scarlet Blue Wounds and Williams Skin Memory. 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, Annie Blooms Books, 7834 S.W. Capitol Highway, Portland. Kate Milford discusses her middle grade mystery, The Thief Knot: A Greenglass House Story, with Portland author Dylan Meconis. 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton. Oregon author John Bruning discusses his history of fighter pilots, Race of Aces: WWIIs Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Masters of the Sky. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, Powells Books on Hawthorne, 3723 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., Portland. Carmen Maria Machado discusses her much buzzed-about memoir of a toxic relationship, In the Dream House, with Portland author Lidia Yuknavitch. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, Powells City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland. awang@oregonian.com; Twitter @ORAmyW Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. London: The EU says Donald Trump is "bluffing" in threatening to withhold intelligence if the UK breaks ranks with the Five Eyes countries and allows Chinese firm Huawei to build Britain's 5G network. Phil Hogan, European Union trade commissioner. Credit:Bloomberg Australia, the US and New Zealand have all banned the telecommunications manufacturer because of security fears. The UK is poised to make its decision, nearly 12 months overdue, within the next fortnight and appears to be paving the way for Huawei involvement, despite intense lobbying from the US. Words on a hallway sign at the Rise School of Houston are no mere reminder to play well with others. Together Everyone Achieves More is more like a mantra instilled in students and staff since the opening, 20 years ago this month, of the school that serves young children both with developmental disabilities and without in the same classrooms. Ahead of an anniversary party Thursday, the Rise School family has been reflecting on the success of its model for inclusion. What I see at Rise is what I hope to see in the world: that everyone has a place, executive director Jan Stailey said. Stailey has led the school since its founding by Gulf + Western conglomerate president John Duncan and his wife, Brenda, in 2000. When the Duncans grandson Michael was born with Down syndrome, they wanted to help. They toured the flagship Rise program at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where they saw children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and other conditions learning alongside typically developing peers. They brought what they learned about comprehensive education, early intervention and therapy back to Texas, opening the Rise School of Dallas in 1997. Then, at John Duncans 71st birthday party, more than 100 friends surprised him with a gift of $1,000,001 to open a Rise School in Houston. The Duncans ponied up an additional $1 million, and Texas Childrens Hospital CEO Mark Wallace agreed to lease space for $1 a year. On Jan. 20, 2000, the school opened with 17 students. The Rise School of Houston For information or to schedule a tour, call 713-532-7473. See More Collapse Our whole history is a lesson in pay-it-forward, said Ashley Stainback Kress, director of advancement, whose son with Down syndrome, Blakeley, was in the first Rise class and now attends Clemson University. It is with a pang of sadness that the Rise School is marking its anniversary without one of its co-founders; John Duncan passed away Jan. 12, 10 days shy of his 92nd birthday. (None of us would be here without him, and our hearts are truly broken, Kress said.) The Rise School outgrew its original space; it has operated in its current location near the Texas Medical Center for 10 years. Today, Rise is at capacity with 100 children ages 6 months to 6 years enrolled and a wait list of 75. Almost three-fourths of families receive scholarships of 20 percent to 80 percent to defray some of the $20,520 tuition for the year-round school. We want Rise to look like Houston ethnically and socioeconomically, Kress said, noting the full annual per-student cost to Rise is $32,500. The difference is made up through donations and grants. Each of the 10 classrooms, color-coded by age, contains 10 students, five to seven of whom have a disability. And inclusion extends to the staff: A lead teacher with a masters degree is joined by two teacher assistants and a classroom assistant who has a disability. Texas Childrens Hospital provides the schools occupational, physical and speech therapists; a music therapist, language specialist and nurse also are on staff. Not only do the traditional learners develop an openness to differences, the children with disabilities have classmates after whom they can model behavior. Children learn from other children, Kress said. As teachers, we like to think were so important, but really theyre watching their peers. That acceptance of a peer who may look or communicate differently attracted Oak Forests Angela Currie and husband Brian, whose 11-month-old daughter, Jillian, has Down syndrome and profound deafness. She is their first child, and they didnt know where to turn following her diagnoses. We instantly knew this is where she needed to be, Angela said. A calm came over us: Our child is going to thrive. Jillian has attended for two months, and already her parents have noticed improved cognition. As she helped her Pink Room classmates wash baby dolls in a plastic tub, her mother cited the passion of the Rise School staff. Theyre rooting for us, Angela said. Alyson Landry, who lives in the Rice Military area, said she and her husband, Eastman, wanted a holistic and supportive setting for their daughter. Evelyn, who will turn 2 in April, has a rare genetic disorder called ATIC deficiency and has blossomed since arriving in August. This is truly a model of what I wish all education could be, Alyson said. An educator for 11 years, she said she likes that the staff engages the students in purposeful play to achieve new knowledge and skills. You never walk in and see kids playing and adults adulting. It sounds utopic, but its not by happenstance, she added, noting the schools research-based, conscious-discipline behavioral model. As an older class headed up the hall singing, Were on our way to wash our hands, Chris Scott, 43, stepped out of a room to talk about his tenure as a classroom assistant and his feature-film role. He was cast as Vanessa Williams developmentally disabled son in 2006s My Brother. He was one of Staileys initial hires. I love working here. I like to play with them, Scott said of the children. They uplift me. Born and raised in Houston, Scott said hes a reformed troublemaker from his time in school, where he didnt have much support. Here, sometimes he gets to lead circle time. I would never want another job, he said. For those who do leave, the Rise mission stays in their hearts. Twenty-year-old Ashton Butler is a nondisabled alumnus who is studying special education at Sam Houston State University. He graduated from the Purple Room to elementary school so well prepared that he skipped kindergarten. Today, between semesters, Butler returns to his old stomping ground, in the summer as a paid intern and more recently on winter break as a playroom volunteer. At 6 feet 5 inches, hes there if they need something lifted, he said to chuckles from Kress. Indeed, 10 years after children graduate from Rise, parents still call us as a resource about school stuff, Kress said. Stailey meets with childrens future kindergarten teachers to ease the transition to big school, Kress added. Baylor College of Medicines pediatric residents are also exposed to the Rise program. I want medical and educational professionals to come together, Stailey said. As for the Rise Schools next 20 years, Stailey said, its board is considering adding a training center for university students or building satellite locations in Katy or The Woodlands. One thing Houston wont see, however, is a Rise School for older children the focus will remain squarely on preparing young minds for great possibilities. For parents such as Alyson Landry, thats fine: It just feels good here. A Special World shares programs and experiences by and for the disabled community in Greater Houston. suzanne.garofalo@chron.com Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Jan 17 (ANI): Police have found the mobile phone of Gaurav Chandel, who was allegedly murdered on January 6 in Akash Nagar in Greater Noida. Earlier, the police found the car of the deceased from Akash Nagar under Masuri police station limits of Ghaziabad. 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. On the orders of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Meerut Inspector General Alok Singh and District Magistrate BN Singh earlier visited the residence of Gaurav Chandel. Singh extended financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh to Chandel's family and promised the early arrest of his murderers. (ANI) [January 17, 2020] PREDICT-LAA Trial Enrolls First Patient FEops, a leader in personalized predictive planning for structural heart interventions, is proud to announce that today the first patient has been enrolled in the physician-initiated PREDICT-LAA trial. The trial is led by Righshospitalet (Copenhagen, Denmark) and aims to assess whether the use of FEops HEARTguide computer simulations based on cardiac CT-imaging can contribute to better preprocedural planning and improved procedural outcomes of percutaneous LAA closure procedures with the Abbott Amplatzer Amulet (News - Alert) device. The trial is supported by both Abbott and FEops. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005274/en/ "Today we enrolled the first patient in PREDICT-LAA at our hospital. In a joined effort with 9 other sites, we will test the hypothesis that by using these new computer simulations, a better preprocedural planning of the intervention can be obtaned. This is essential information, since today it is not always possible to determine the exact anticipated 'landing zone' or 'position' of the closure device and, hence, to select the appropriate device size." said Dr Ole De Backer, Principal Investigator of the PREDICT-LAA PREDICT-LAA is a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial. In total, 200 patients eligible for percutaneous LAA closure with an Amplatzer Amulet device (Abbott, USA) will be enrolled - 100 patients will be allocated to the computational simulation treatment arm and 100 patients to the standard treatment arm. Primary endpoints are closure of the LAA, and presence of device-related thrombus. Estimated enrollment completion date is March 2021. "Our support together with Abbott in the PREDICT-LAA trial shows our strong commitment to generate a robust body of clinical evidence with FEops HEARTguide, contributing to better procedure planning and patient outcome." said Christian Vincent, Director Therapy Development at FEops. FEops HEARTguideTM, currently available on the EU and Canadian market, is a one-in-its-kind cloud based procedure planning environment for structural heart interventions that provides physicians unique insights to evaluate device sizing and positioning pre-operatively using novel computational modeling and simulation technology. Such insights have the power to help improving clinical outcomes in real-world hospital settings. The current release includes workflows for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAo) procedures. About FEops Privately held FEops, headquartered in Gent, Belgium, is a leader in personalized predictive planning for structural heart interventions. In September 2017, FEops announced that it closed a 6 million euros financing, led by Valiance, and joined by existing investors Capricorn Venture Partners and PMV. In December 2019, FEops received a 3.2 million euros grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) accelerator programme. FEops contribution to this project was made possible by the funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 945698. www.feops.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005274/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The BJP has fielded first-time candidate Ravi Negi against AAP heavyweight and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia from the Patparganj constituency and banked on its experienced leaders to take on other ministers in the Delhi government. Negi could not contest the 2017 municipal election from Vinod Nagar ward as his nomination papers were rejected. The 42-year-old is also BJP's mandal (ward) president from Vinod Nagar. "Heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the Delhi BJP state leadership for expressing confidence in a small party worker like me and making a candidate from Patparganj assembly constituency," he wrote on Facebook in Hindi. Negi was among the 57 candidates announced by BJP on Friday for the February 8 polls. BJP also fielded three-time Congress legislator S C Vats against Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain from Shakur Basti constituency. Vats unsuccessfully contested the 2015 election. Senior BJP leader and two-time MLA Naresh Gaur will be taking on Labour Minister Gopal Rai from Babarpur assembly constituency. Gaur had won elections in 2008 and 2013. Ajeet Kharkhari, who had successfully contested the 2013 assembly polls from Najafgarh, will face Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot. Najafgarh has a large chunk of rural voters. Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain, who is an MLA from Ballimaran, will contest the election against senior BJP leader Lata Sodhi. Lata's father-in-law Moti Lal Sodhi has been an MLA. Releasing the list, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said sitting MLA Vijender Gupta will contest from his Rohini seat, Azad Singh from Mundka and former AAP legislator Kapil Mishra from Model Town. The BJP did not announce a candidate against AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the first list. Tiwari, who was joined by Union minister Prakash Javadekar the BJP's poll in-charge for Delhi, said the party will soon name its remaining nominees. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump may hold an event similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modis successful Howdy, Modi! in Houston last September when he visits India next month, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. Hindustan Times learns that it is now almost certain that the visit will happen in February, although the dates are still being worked on. The people cited in the first instance said the visit will be a stand-alone one, extend across three days, and will involve Trump visiting one Indian city apart from New Delhi. That Indian city will hold a Houston-like event, one of the people said. Ahmedabad will likely be the city, this person added, although it is yet to be finalised. Prime Minister Modi is also expected to participate in the event. Americans of Gujarati origin are likely to join the Howdy Trump show, the first person said, adding that the event is being seen by the US Presidents handlers as a good walk-up to this years US elections, especially given the number of Gujaratis in the US. The Indian diaspora is an important vote bloc, especially in the US and the UK. In the latter, for instance, they played a significant role with the vote almost shifting en masse from Labour to Conservatives. Trump and Modi are expected to sign a short-term trade deal that could grant the US companies more access to Indian markets and restore to India trade benefits withdrawn last summer. They will also discuss a longer-term trade pact that could include a Free Trade Agreement. According to the people cited in the first instance, Trumps visit is likely to be preceded by a visit by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to finalise the trade deal. A second person familiar with the matter said that the trade talks are headed in a positive direction and should be completed within a month or 45 days. Indias commerce minister Piyush Goyal and the USTR have been in constant touch, this person added. India wants the Generalized System of Preferences, which provides duty free access to the US to around 3500 products from India to be restored. In the summer of 2019, just a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his second term, the Trump administration terminated Indias eligibility for the preferential trade system. The US President has also routinely railed against Indias tariffs, termed it tariff king, and his administration has put together a thick book of grievances against India on trade high tariffs (Harley Davidsons, for example, the president would mention frequently), trade imbalance, lack of market access, and other such. Still, the two countries have made progress, the second person said. Our first priority is restoration of GSP and the remaining issues will be worked out later. As a welcome gift to Trump, New Delhi is expected to approve the purchase of another six Apache attack helicopters from Boeing. Indeed, on the defence front, ties between the two countries have warmed. The United States renamed its Pacific military command as the Indo-Pacific Command in a nod to the growing importance of the region and ties with India. The administration also elevated Indias status to that of a NATO ally for purposes of trade in sensitive defence-related technology. The US cleared the sale of 24 MH-60R Multi-Mission helicopters Romeo Seahawks for an estimated cost of $2.6 billion in April 2019, and 13 MK 45 anti-surface and anti-air naval gun systems, along with ammunition and related add-ons, worth about $1.02 billion later in the year in November. India has also in the past placed an order for eight P-8I aircraft for $2.1 billion. On the security front too, ties have improved. When the US President put Pakistan on notice for its support of terrorists, New Delhi felt comforted. And the US has been steadfast in its support for India on the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council where China has repeatedly tried to raise the matter. The American president calls Prime Minister Modi a good friend, and they have indeed struck a rapport, as has been affirmed by officials on both sides. The joint appearance of Trump and Modi at the Howdy Modi outreach to the Indian diaspora in September is often cited as an example of the chemistry shared by the two leaders. The frequency of their meeting and interactions they have met three times in the last six months, and spoken multiple times on phone is the other pointer. In an election rally in October 2016, candidate Trump said India and the United States would be best friends and no relationship would be more important if he were elected president. He may well choose to repeat that in Ahmedabad. Larry Kudlow, director of the U.S. National Economic Council, speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. WASHINGTON The Trump administration is "looking at" making changes to a decades-old global anti-bribery law, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told reporters on Friday. "We are looking at it, and we have heard some complaints from our companies," Kudlow said, responding to a question about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The law generally prohibits American companies from paying bribes to secure contracts overseas. "I don't want to say anything definitive policy-wise, but we are looking at it," Kudlow added. Pressed about the specific changes the White House might try to make to the FCPA, Kudlow declined to offer details but signaled that the administration was working on a "package" of reforms. "Let me wait until we get a better package," before addressing specifics, Kudlow said at the White House. A White House spokesman did not respond to follow-up questions from CNBC about what was being considered. The questions about possible changes to the FCPA were sparked by revelations in a soon-to-be-released book about Trump, which describes an episode in which Trump bitterly complained about the law, which he sees as a hindrance to U.S. businesses competing overseas. According to Washington Post reporters Phillip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, in 2017 Trump told his then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that it was "just so unfair that American companies aren't allowed to pay bribes to get business overseas." BAGHDAD - Eleven U.S. military personnel required medical treatment outside Iraq after Iranian missile strikes, defense officials said, reversing earlier assurances from President Donald Trump and the Pentagon that there had been no American casualties. Eight of the service members are being assessed for concussion-like symptoms after the blasts, said Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesman. Three others sought behavioral-health treatment to cope with the bombardment, in which ballistic missiles launched from Iran crashed in waves into Ain al-Asad air base west of Baghdad on Jan. 8, Hoffman said in an interview Friday. Three of the service members left on a regularly scheduled flight to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait on Jan. 10, with the rest leaving Wednesday on a flight to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Hoffman said. The destinations were determined based on when their symptoms manifested and when planes were scheduled, he said. "They all walked onto the aircraft under their own power to assess whether they have a traumatic brain injury," Hoffman said. "These are people who were going to a doctor's appointment to get checked out." The U.S. military first acknowledged the treatment in a statement Thursday night after a media report by Defense One. Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman with U.S. Central Command, said that "several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed." "When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq following screening," Urban said. "The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority and we will not discuss any individual's medical status." The missile barrage last week against the sprawling air base in western Iraq left deep craters and the crumpled wreckage of living quarters and a helicopter launch site. At least two soldiers were thrown through the window of a tower that was about 15 feet high, U.S. military officials said in interviews. The acknowledgment is a departure from initial reports from defense officials and the president, who described as inconsequential the effects of the missile salvos launched in retaliation for a U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. "No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered no casualties. All of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases," Trump said soon after the attack. Hoffman said Friday that when the president spoke, his comments were based on "accurate, truthful information that he received" in the hours after the attack. Initial reporting from U.S. commanders in Iraq to the Pentagon said U.S. personnel suffered no loss of life, limb or eyesight, Hoffman said. Information has continued to emerge since then. On Jan. 13, military officers at Ain al-Asad air base told reporters that several service members were suffering from concussion-like symptoms. The effects are usually temporary and can include headaches and problems with concentration, memory, balance and coordination. Concussions are not always as immediately evident as shrapnel or gunshot wounds, and in the ensuing days, U.S. troops were assessed for blast injuries. The service members who left Iraq for treatment were sent for further care and screening "in an abundance of caution," Urban said. Doctors often describe a concussion as a "mild" brain injury because they are usually not life-threatening, but there can be serious long-term implications. In recent years, traumatic brain injury has been an increasing concern for the U.S. military. A 2018 report by the Pentagon's Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center found that from 2000 to 2018, about 384,000 service members experienced some form of traumatic brain injury, including concussions, with the majority of those injuries - 316,000 - being mild. Information about the service members who left Iraq for treatment Jan. 10 was slow in arriving at the Pentagon, reaching Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday after the second wave of patients left, Hoffman said. That came on the heels of Esper describing damage to facilities and equipment in an interview Jan. 12, while offering fresh assurances that there had been "no casualties." Casualties are typically described by the U.S. military as personnel who are killed or wounded to the point of being unable to do their jobs. The attacks came in waves for more than an hour and a half, with 11 missiles hitting the base, Esper has said. The air turned warm as light filled the night sky and shock waves ripped through the air, soldiers said in interviews, and the impacts sent door frames deeper into the ground. In the aftermath of the attack, Army Lt. Col. Tim Garland said, he had combed through the damage assessments with skepticism, thinking that it was impossible that no soldiers had been killed. "We all know that the initial report is always somewhat inaccurate. . . . I personally almost lost two of my soldiers," Garland told reporters at the base, describing how a blast some 50 yards from their position blew them out of a guard tower. "How they survived that, I have no idea. It's an absolute miracle," he said. The base hosts about 2,000 troops, 1,500 of them from the U.S.-led coalition. Commanders placed the base on lockdown at 11 p.m. on Jan. 8 after initial warnings of an impending attack. Then, before 1:30 a.m., a staff weather officer monitoring radar in the tactical operations center detected an imminent ballistic missile strike. The troops scrambled in response. Nonessential personnel who were not already inside bunkers were told to run for cover, said Army Chief Warrant Officer Alex Bender. The staff weather officer closed the door behind him, Bender said, right before an explosion tore through the night. "I'd just sent him to a bunker when the first round impacted," Bender said. "I thought: 'I've just killed him.' " Inside the operations room, Bender lay beneath his desk as everything seemed to fall - pin boards, lamps, shards of glass. The all-clear came shortly before sunrise, and as troops stepped into the open, they passed around cellphones so people could inform their families that they were safe and that no one had been killed. Although there was some speculation that the attacks were designed to avoid casualties, commanders at the base say they think the strikes were intended to kill U.S. personnel. - - - Horton and Lamothe reported from Washington. The Washington Post's William Wan contributed to this report. 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In a carefully choreographed video of the two men sitting at a desk that was released on Friday evening, in which Honcharuk was mostly silent, Zelenskiy said he would give Honcharuk and his government a chance. Honcharuk had offered to quit after an audio recording suggested he had criticised the president, though in earlier comments to Reuters he also indicated that he might end up keeping his job. A recording of a man discussing Zelenskiy's purported lack of knowledge of economics was circulated on messaging channels this week, apparently at a meeting of Honcharuk, the finance minister and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in December. Zelenskiy is a former comic actor who had no political experience when he swept to power in an election last year on the back of public anger over high-level corruption. "I decided to give you a chance ... and a chance to your government," Zelenskiy said, but added the government had to fulfil certain tasks such as sacking ministers who do not perform. Zelenskiy and the public had loaned Honcharuk their trust, he said to Honcharuk, adding: "you have not yet repaid this loan to our society." Honcharuk said earlier the recording had been doctored and was made up of different fragments of what had been said at government meetings. "Its contents artificially create the impression that my team and I do not respect the president, who is our political leader," Honcharuk said on social media. He did not say whether it was his voice heard in the recording. Central bank officials and the finance minister have declined to comment on the recording. Zelenskiy asked law enforcement agencies to determine who was involved in making the recording and how to prevent such incidents from occurring in future. Story continues Contacted by Reuters shortly after his announcement and asked whether he indeed intended to step down, Honcharuk said: "Do not jump to conclusions." Under Ukraine's previous president, Honcharuk's predecessor as prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman, also made threats to resign but ultimately stayed the course until last July's parliamentary election which Zelenskiy's party won. Honcharuk, appointed by lawmakers last August, declined to say whether he had used the resignation letter as a way of testing the president's confidence in him. "It doesn't show the prime minister's desire to resign, but rather it's a way for him to fight to stay in his position," Volodymyr Fesenko, a Kiev-based political analyst. "MODEL OF OPENNESS AND DECENCY" Honcharuk announced his resignation in a message on Facebook where he also praised Zelenskiy as "a model of openness and decency". Honcharuk appeared in parliament and reaffirmed his respect for the president, adding that Ukraine must remain united in the face of what he called information attacks and manipulations. He was given a standing ovation by a number of lawmakers, though some shouted "shame on you". Since taking office, Honcharuk has set out an ambitious reform agenda and secured provisional agreement from the IMF for a three-year-loan programme seen as key to maintaining investor confidence and economic stability. Ukraine's dollar bonds recovered their modest earlier losses on Friday. Honcharuk's government managed to secure a $5.5 billion IMF loan programme in December but this is still subject to Ukraine's performance on reforms and tackling vested interests. "(The resignation offer) will not affect them," Honcharuk said in his comments to Reuters on Friday, replying to a question about his government's reforms and the IMF programme. (Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets in Kiev and Tom Arnold in London; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Gareth Jones, Kirsten Donovan) : The Kerala Government has directed all District Collectors to ensure that the National Population Register (NPR) is not mentioned while sending communications on Census 2021. In a letter, Principal Secretary of General Administration Department K R Jyothilal has asked the Collectors to personally ensure this as the government had last month stayed all matters relating to NPR operations in the state, which was to be conducted along with the first phase of Census operations- 2021. The letter was issued as it had come to the government's notice that some census officials were mentioning NPR operations also while sending communications related to the 2021 Census. The secretary also directed the Collectors to take stern disciplinary action against such officials who fail to follow the directions. A controversy had erupted as the government was attacked by the opposition Congress led United Democratic Front for 'secretly' collecting details for the NPR against the backdrop of the census. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Just before Christmas I heard of a new European payments initiative called PEPSI, short for Pan European Payment System Initiative. Nice acronym although I prefer Coca-Cola, the Co-ordinated Car Co-operative Association. Or something like that. Anyways, whichever Cola you prefer, this new initiative is interesting. Backed by over twenty mainly French and German banks, the aim is to create a network to rival Visa and MasterCard, as well as the potential threat of Big Tech giants like Amazon. Rather than me waffle on about it, I thought it easier to share the full text of the speech by Benoit Cure, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Joint Conference of the ECB and the National Bank of Belgium from the end of November 2019. Towards the retail payments of tomorrow: a European strategy Brussels, 26 November 2019 Europe has made important progress towards a true banking union in recent years. We now have a single banking supervisor for significant institutions, a single framework for resolving failing institutions, a single fund to finance those resolution activities, and we will soon have a single backstop for that fund. There are also renewed hopes that political negotiations could soon begin on a European deposit insurance scheme. The European Commission has also launched an ambitious agenda for creating a capital markets union. Although the pace at which co-legislators, and Member States in particular, have progressed on individual Commission initiatives has often been sluggish, the recent establishment of a high-level expert group might help overcome the remaining impediments and reinforce efforts to make European capital markets deeper and more liquid.[1] Step by step, we are improving our financial structures to support a single market of half a billion consumers, underpin the stability of our single currency and channel savings towards financing sustainable growth. One area that has received less attention from policymakers in recent years, however, is the European retail payments market, in particular point-of-sale and online payments. It is true that a lot has been achieved at the back-end of European retail payments systems, most notably under the umbrella of the Single Euro Payments Area, or SEPA. SEPA allows payments to be processed across borders at the same cost, and as efficiently and safely, as national payments. More recently, the Eurosystem has also introduced TARGET Instant Payment Settlement, or TIPS. This service, which was launched a year ago, enables payment service providers to transfer funds to their customers in real time, around the clock, every single day of the year. And it settles the payments in central bank money. But progress at the back-end has not translated into similar progress at the front-end, which remains fragmented, with no European solution emerging for point-of-sale and online payments. National providers in particular have not been able, or willing, to act in a pan-European manner. 20 years after the introduction of the single currency, we still do not have a European card scheme. Ten European countries currently have national card schemes that do not accept cards from other EU countries. This has led to a notable rise in the use of non-European cards for non-cash payments. At the end of 2016, the share of transactions made with international card schemes was a little more than two-thirds. It is unfortunate that past harmonisation initiatives have failed to explore the significant economies of scale that the Single Market offers. In addition, the current situation has attracted new initiatives that aim to overcome shortcomings in cross-border retail payments by building a new separate payments ecosystem. These initiatives highlight the rapidly rising consumer demand for payment services that work across borders and that are also faster, cheaper and easier to use. Among younger people in particular, there is a willingness and curiosity to use new technologies and try new providers. Relying exclusively on non-European and new ecosystems presents two risks, however. The first relates to the untested nature of some initiatives. Global stablecoin arrangements, for example, raise potential risks across a broad range of policy domains, such as legal certainty, investor protection, financial stability and compliance with anti-money laundering requirements. Public authorities have made clear that the bar will be set very high for these stablecoin initiatives to be allowed to operate.[2] The second risk relates to the autonomy and resilience of European payments systems. Dependence on non-European global players creates a risk that the European payments market will not be fit to support our Single Market and single currency, making it more susceptible to external disruption such as cyber threats, and that service providers with global market power will not necessarily act in the best interest of European stakeholders. Strategic autonomy in payments is part and parcel of the European agenda to assert the euros international role.[3] The rising challenges to our global governance system have contributed to the belief that the EU may be more exposed to the risk that the monetary power of others is not used in its best interests, or is even used against it.[4] The Eurosystems retail payments strategy: a pan-European vision The only effective response to these risks is for European stakeholders to step up their collaboration and act together to provide payment solutions that both reflect the demands of consumers and strengthen the Single Market. With this in mind, earlier this month the ECBs Governing Council decided to relaunch its retail payments strategy. The aim of our strategy is to inter alia actively foster pan-European market initiatives for retail payments at the location of the purchase or interaction so-called point-of-interaction, or POI, payments. In the view of the Governing Council, these market initiatives would have to fulfil five key objectives. Pan-European reach and customer experience Customers should be able to make POI payments throughout the entire European Union just as efficiently and safely as in their home country. To this end, pan-European reach with wide merchant acceptance and a sound and efficient governance (see below) is needed to achieve critical mass, which is necessary for a network industry, and to fully exploit the benefits of the Single Market. Scale will drive consumer adoption and trust, which is pivotal in e-commerce. Convenient and cost-efficient A European retail payments solution will only be accepted if it fully addresses user needs and demands. So the solution needs to enable an easy, flexible, secure and user-friendly payment experience for both consumers and merchants. This requires that payments can be performed using different tools and instruments, such as payment cards, mobile phones, wearables and instant payments, as well through other channels and technologies, such as near-field communication. Relying on previously unavailable instant payments technology could be the key to designing a solution that is more efficient than existing ones. Subsequent cost savings for merchants will eventually lower consumer prices and benefit every citizen. Safety and security A new European payments solution must comply with all relevant legal and regulatory requirements. It should provide the highest levels of fraud prevention and offer consumer protection with robust complaint and refund procedures.[5] European identity and governance A common brand and logo should be adopted to foster European identity. A European governance structure could enable European payment stakeholders to have a direct influence on the strategic direction and business models. These stakeholders should be incentivised to design a payment solution under their governance that meets the needs of European customers. Global acceptance To fully meet the needs of end users, a new European solution should also be accessible to merchants based outside the EU, which will reinforce economies of scale and domestic adoption. Global acceptance should therefore be a long-term goal. The need for a pan-European market-led solution These five key objectives form the heart of the Eurosystems retail payments strategy. They provide a conceptual vision that should be fleshed out by the private sector. The Eurosystem therefore welcomes the strategic initiative of a number of major European banks to create a true pan-European retail payment solution that has the potential to meet the vision of our strategy. The proposed solution would be based on the SEPA credit transfer instant (SCT Inst) scheme, which is in our view the correct approach as it is future-oriented. And it could capitalise from day one on existing powerful and sophisticated infrastructures, such as the Eurosystems TIPS. What is now needed, however, is a strong commitment from the proponents of the new initiative, and a clear roadmap to meet the envisaged objectives, so that we can see tangible actions emerge soon. Proponents should also work closely with the European Commission to ensure that any project will be open and comply with EU competition rules. This also means that if and when other initiatives emerge, they will of course be considered equally. Public initiatives may be useful and needed from time to time to support industry-led solutions. The European Commission, for example, could propose legislation obliging payment service providers to adopt instant payments within a certain period if a critical mass has not been reached by, say, the end of 2020. Other regulatory changes may be needed in due course. For its part, the Eurosystem stands ready to provide additional technical assistance where useful and required. For example, we will analyse how we could support the search for solutions that ensure that SCT Inst-compliant clearing mechanisms can be fully integrated. Current private solutions for the clearing of instant payments still have not addressed interoperability issues in a satisfactory manner. This requires further analysis and action. The ECB will also continue to monitor how new technologies change payment behaviour in the euro area, for example through a reduced demand for cash. We will explore how, and to which extent, central banks would need to adapt their policies and instruments to face challenges to consumer protection and monetary policy transmission that could arise from such changes. For example, a central bank digital currency could ensure that citizens remain able to use central bank money even if cash is eventually no longer used. A digital currency of this sort could take a variety of forms, the benefits and costs of which the ECB and other central banks are currently investigating, being mindful of their broader consequences on financial intermediation. But potential central bank initiatives should not discourage or crowd out private market-led solutions for fast and efficient retail payments in the euro area. Conclusion Let me conclude. Global payments markets are undergoing a transformation. Rapid technological progress, regulatory reforms and rising cross-industry initiatives, in particular by large global digital firms, have led to unprecedented dynamics and are putting established banks and payment service providers under considerable pressure. In this environment, there are clear signs that Europe is at risk of losing its economic edge. Country-specific solutions lack the necessary size and scale, and national fragmentation has paralysed competition and stifled innovation on the pan-European level. In the worst case scenario, this may endanger the autonomy of European payment systems. The vision of an industry-led, pan-European retail payment solution is therefore at the heart of the Eurosystems retail payment strategy that I have outlined this morning. A pan-European strategy that facilitates instant, secure and inexpensive payments both online and in brick and mortar stores has the potential to make up lost ground and meet the rising needs of consumers for efficient cross-border payments. Better affordability, quality and choice will also promote financial inclusion. The Eurosystem therefore welcomes the recent initiative of European banks to join forces and envisage a payment solution for the euro area as a whole. Thank you. [1]See also Cure, B. (2019), European capital markets: priorities and challenges, dinner remarks at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Frankfurt am Main, 25 June. [2]See G7 Working Group on Stablecoins (2019), Investigating the impact of global stablecoins, October. [3]See Juncker, J.C. (2018), The Hour of European Sovereignty, State of the Union Address 2018; European Commission (2018), Towards a stronger international role of the euro, European Commission contribution to the European Council and the Euro Summit, 5 December; and European Council (2018), Statement of the Euro Summit, 14 December. [4]See Cure, B. (2019), The euros global role in a changing world: a monetary policy perspective, speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York City, 15 February. [5]In line with strong customer authentication (SCA) under the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2). Its fascinating to see yet another attempt within Europe to create an alternative payments scheme. Ten years ago, 24 European banks collaborated in a consortium called Monnet to create an alternative payments scheme for Europe. There was also the Euro Alliance of Payment Schemes (Eaps) and PayFair. These did not succeed and the large card schemes insist that increased competition in payment services would be a costly waste of time. So far, so true, although there are many schemes out there. The two largest are in India and China. India has RuPay and China has Union Pay. Described as Alternative Payment Methods, or APMs, there are many such schemes emerging around the world to try to avoid the foreign exchange and transaction costs of the major card processors. Having said that, the major card processors believe their breadth and depth of coverage globally makes it uneconomic for any local processor to compete with them. It will therefore be interesting to see how the PEPSI project plays out, bearing in mind that Europe has tried several times in the past to create an alternative card scheme that covers the region and failed. That is not just because of the lack of a co-ordinated and co-operative approach (the Coca-Cola way), but because there are domestic card schemes around Europe that dont want a Pan-European replacement. For example, there may be French banks behind PEPSI but they are also behind Cartes Bancaires, a major domestic scheme co-branded with Visa and MasterCard. This conflicted approach is why Europe has failed to create an alternative to Visa and MasterCard in the past. Will they succeed this time? I have my doubts, but then my country voted to leave all these guys to do their own thing so you never know. Posted on: January 17, 2020 January 16, 2020 - Hamilton, Ontario - Department of Finance Canada A strong economy starts with a strong middle class and a responsible fiscal plan. For the last four years, investments in people and communities, combined with the hard work of Canadians, have helped create more than a million new jobsdriving continued economic growth and creating more opportunities for people to succeed. Today, the Honourable Mona Fortier, Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance, accompanied by the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister of Labour, was at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, to continue the Government of Canadas consultations for Budget 2020. Minister Fortier took part in a roundtable discussion and tour to hear from local stakeholders and talk about investments to help grow the middle class and allow businesses to prosper. This years consultations focus on the priorities laid out in the 2019 Speech from the Throne: Strengthening the middle class and growing the economy Fighting and preparing for climate change and protecting the environment Keeping Canadians safe and healthy Continuing the work towards reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples Minister Fortier invites all Canadians to contribute their ideas on how the government can continue to build an economy that works for everyone. People can share their ideas through inperson events and also by making submissions through the Your Budget website. From left, director Woo Min-ho, actors Kwak Do-won, Lee Sung-min, Lee Byung-hun and Lee Hee-jun pose for a photo during a press conference for new film "The Man Standing Next" in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap By Kwak Yeon-soo Political thriller "The Man Standing Next" dramatizes the assassination of former Korean president and dictator Park Chung-hee, sparking a debate on how to interpret Park's legacy. People remain sharply divided over the legacy of Park, who ruled the country for 18 years after taking power through a military coup in 1961. Some recall him as a brutal dictator who suppressed Korea's democracy, while others give him credit for accelerating the country's economic development. "It's true that assassination of Park was a major event in the country's modern history, but I don't want politics to get in the way of assessing the film," Director Woo Min-ho said during a press conference for the film in Seoul, Wednesday. "I want to let the audience decide whether the assassination was an act of high treason or revolution." Set 40 days before President Park's assassination in 1979, the film unfolds a hidden story of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) and its political maneuvering in the 1970s. It also explores relationships and feuds between former and incumbent spy agency chiefs. The KCIA chief Kim Gyu-pyeong, played by Lee Byung-hun, apparently becomes the second-in-command after former KCIA chief Park Yong-kak, played by Kwak Do-won, flees to the U.S. to testify against the Korean government. However, Lee faces a power struggle as the chief officer of Presidential Security Service Kwang Sang-cheon, played by Lee Hee-jun, earns President Park's trust and outranks him. The film was adapted from a journalist-turned-writer Kim Choong-sik's book with the same title. "I first read the book in 1997 after being discharged from the army. I was amazed by how the author, then a journalist, dissects the story with an investigative mind," Woo said. "After the film "Inside Men" became a hit, I contacted the author and expressed my desire to adapt this book into a screenplay." At the press conference, Lee Byung-hun talked about the difficulty of playing a real-life character and filming close-up shots. "It's pretty overwhelming to play a real-life character, who is so well-known," he said. "Another challenging part was that there were a lot of close-up shots to allow the audience to focus on my character and emotions." Lee Sung-min, who plays President Park, has been praised for his performance and many have noted his physical resemblance to former President Park. "While shooting, I could feel the weight of history. I tried to stick to the authentic character as much as possible through voice, posture, fashion and prosthetic make-up," Lee said. The film will hit local theaters on Jan. 22. WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday broke nearly 72 hours of silence over alleged surveillance and threats to the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, saying he believed the allegations would prove to be wrong but that he had an obligation to evaluate and investigate the matter. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefs reporters about additional sanctions placed on Iran, at the White House, Friday, Jan. 10, 2019, in Washington with and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday broke nearly 72 hours of silence over alleged surveillance and threats to the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, saying he believed the allegations would prove to be wrong but that he had an obligation to evaluate and investigate the matter. In interviews with conservative radio hosts, Pompeo said he had no knowledge of the allegations until earlier this week when congressional Democrats released documents from an associate of President Donald Trump's personal attorney suggesting that Marie Yovanovitch was being watched. He also said he did not know and had never met Lev Parnas, the associate of Rudy Giuliani who made the claims. Pompeo, who was travelling in California when the documents were released, had been harshly criticized by lawmakers and current and former diplomats for not addressing the matter. The documents provided by Parnas suggested there may have been a threat to Yovanovitch shortly before she was abruptly recalled last spring. "We will do everything we need to do to evaluate whether there was something that took place there," he said in a radio interview with Tony Katz, an Indianapolis-based broadcaster. "I suspect that much of whats been reported will ultimately prove wrong, but our obligation, my obligation as secretary of state, is to make sure that we evaluate, investigate. Any time there is someone who posits that there may have been a risk to one of our officers, well obviously do that." "It is always the case at the Department of State that we do everything we can to ensure that our officers, not only our ambassadors but our entire team, has the security level thats appropriate," Pompeo said. "We do our best to make sure that no harm will come to anyone, whether that was what was going on in our embassy in Baghdad last week or the work that was going on in Kyiv up and through the spring of last year when Ambassador Yovanovitch was there, and in our embassy in Kyiv even today," he said. Pompeo made similar but less specific comments to conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt. 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. Until he spoke, the State Department had declined repeated requests to offer any public defence of Yovanovitch, drawing fire from many. House Democrats on Friday evening released a new batch of messages from Parnas that added to the questions about the ambassador's security. In them, an unidentified individual with a Belgian country code appears to describe Yovanovitch's movements. "Nothing has changed she is still not moving checked today again," the individual wrote in one message, later adding, "it's confirmed we have a person inside." In another message the person wrote, "She had visitors." The ouster of Yovanovitch as ambassador is central to the impeachment inquiry into Trump, who faces a charge that he abused his presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using military aid to the country as leverage. Trump says the inquiry is a "hoax." At the time, Trumps allies were trying to have Yovanovitch, who was seen as a roadblock to a Biden investigation, removed from her post. She was recalled in late May ahead of the end of her tour. Yovanovitch returned to Washington after being told in a late-night phone call to get on the next plane home for her own safety by the director general of the Foreign Service, according to witness testimony in the impeachment inquiry. The nature of any possible threat was not specified and remains unclear, although the Parnas documents suggest the surveillance was a prelude to some kind of action. As United States President Donald Trump's impeachment trial is set to begin on January 21, he will be in Davos, Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum. While the Senate will be hearing his opening arguments in his impeachment trial next week, he sees no risk in jetting away to Switzerland. While speaking to reporters at the White House Trump said, I'm going to Davos. Ill be meeting the biggest business leaders in the world, getting them to come here. Ill also be meeting with foreign leaders. READ: Trump's Trial Begins At The Start Of An Election Year Trump also predicted that his impeachment trial in the Senate will be over "very quickly" as he believes that the charges against him are a 'hoax'. The trial also began with preliminary proceedings after the swearing-in of ten Senators who served as the jury to prosecute the former over two charges of abusing the power and obstructing Congress. However, Trump is very confident that his Republican party majority will stay loyal and that is why he decided to attend the meeting with the foreign leaders. Trump is accused of abusing his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who served on the board of a gas company in Ukraine, as Trump withheld $391 million in military aid that he later released. The US President is also accused of subsequently obstructing a congressional probe into his actions. No matter what rules are in place for the Senate trial, Trump seems to be safe from the prospect of being convicted and removed from office as Republican Party holds a 53-47 majority in the chamber, and conviction requires a two-thirds majority. READ: Donald Trump Predicts His Impeachment Trial In Senate 'should Go Very Quickly' World Economic Forum Trump, who is already under immense political scrutiny, is likely to be one of the most influential and controversial world leaders to attend the annual event. Other leaders who are expected to attend the event include Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Democratic mega-donor George Soros, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg. According to reports, approximately 3,000 leaders from 118 countries are expected at the gathering which is set to take place in Davos from January 21 to January 24. READ: Donald Trump 'agrees' With Boris Johnson's 'Iran Deal' Remark READ: US House Speaker Pelosi Warns Senate Not To Act As Trump's 'henchmen' In Trial SALEM, Ohio Farmers in 14 northwest Ohio counties will be able to apply for a total of $30 million in funding through the H2Ohio initiative, beginning Feb. 1, at soil and water conservation district offices, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture. These funds will help farmers invest in 10 proven practices to reduce phosphorus runoff from agriculture. Scientists have identified phosphorus runoff from farmland as a major cause of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. These blooms can threaten human and animal health and drinking water quality. The eligible counties are Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Lucas, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, Williams and Wood counties. While the phosphorus reduction plan is focusing on the Maumee River Watershed and Lake Erie first, it will eventually open up to the rest of the state. Practices The 10 proven practices for reducing phosphorus runoff were established partly by the Ohio Agricultural Conservation Initiative and range from practices for fertilizing, to managing drainage water and incorporating wetlands and buffers at the edges of fields, to using cover crops and crop rotations. Farmers who receive H2Ohio funding will develop and implement nutrient management plans based on which combination of practices is the most effective for their farms. Meetings The ODA will host meetings throughout February with the OACI and local soil and water districts for farmers from the 14 eligible counties to explain the application process. The meetings will also explain the OACIs new farmer certification program and how the program will work with the H2Ohio initiative. Farmers do not need to be residents in the same county as the meeting they choose to attend. The eight meetings will be: Feb. 4, 3 p.m., Owens Community College, Veteran Hall, 30355 Oregon Road, Perrysburg; Feb. 5, 2 p.m., Delphos Eagles, 1600 E. 5th Street, Delphos; Feb. 5, 6 p.m., Defiance K of C Hall, 111 Elliott Road, Defiance; Feb. 11, 6 p.m., Auglaize County Jr. Fair Building, 1001 Fairview Drive, Wapakoneta; Feb. 18, 6 p.m., American Legion Hall, 601 North 2nd Street, Coldwater; Feb. 20, 6 p.m., Fogle Center, 815 East Mathias Street, Leipsic; Feb. 27, 6 p.m., Kissell Community Building, 509 North Main Street, West Unity; Feb. 28, 9:30 a.m., Ohio Northern University, McIntosh Center, 525 South Main Street, Ada. Budget The Ohio General Assembly set aside a total of $172 million in the budget in July 2019 to fund H2Ohio over two years. The ODA said the remaining funds for this year will be used to create wetlands and improve water quality by addressing failing septic systems and preventing lead contamination. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Friday slammed the Left-ruled state government for approaching the Supreme Court against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and said he may seek a report for not informing him about the move. Attacking Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Khan said the public affairs and the business of the government cannot be run in accordance with the "whims of an individual or a political party" and everyone has to respect the rules. The state government had on January 13 moved the top court challenging the Act and had sought to declare it as ultra vires of the Constitution. "Wherever I see there is any violation, wherever, they are departing from the rule, from the provisions of the Constitution, there is no way I shall not ask for a report," Khan told reporters in New Delhi. The governor also said he has to ensure that the Constitutional machinery in the state does not collapse. Khan, who met the media at Kerala House, said the role of the governor of a state was clearly prescribed in the Constitution and the Rules of business clearly states that such cases "which affect the relation between the state and the centre" should have been submitted to the governor by the Chief Minister. "Before a decision is taken, these classes of cases shall be submitted by the Chief Minister to the Governor. Cases which affects the relation of the state government with the Government of India, any other state government in the Supreme Court or the High Courts..the Chief Minister is duty bound to submit these cases to the governor," Khan said. The governor of the state, who is the "constitutional head", was responsible for the transactions of business of the government in accordance with the Constitution, he said opening his mind on the issue for the second consecutive day. In a suit filed in the apex court, the state government has sought to declare that the CAA 2019 is violative of Article 14 (Equality before law), 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty) and 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion) of the Constitution as well as violative of the basic principle of secularism enshrined in it. Reiterating that the provision of citizenship does not come under the purview of the state government, he said none was above the law in the country and all have to follow the constitution. "Nobody in this country is above the law. We all have to follow the law, Constitution. I represent the President of India. Once the President gives his assent, it becomes my duty to defend it," Khan said. The governor had told the media in Kerala on Thursday that protocol demanded that as a Constitutional head he should have been informed first before the top court was moved and termed the government's act as "improper." He had earlier criticised the state government for advertising in newspapers in Delhi about the state's anti-CAA stand and had said that spending public money for political campaigning was "thoroughly undesirable." Meanwhile, leader of the Opposition in the state assembly and senior congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said it was not appropriate for the governor to hold press meets. "Congress party had always expressed its sharp criticism and opposition against the stand taken by Khan on the CAA," Chennithala said. Asked about the governor's criticism against the LDF government for not informing him in advance about moving the Supreme Court against the CAA, the senior leader said he did not about the legal procedures and it was upto the government to examine it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) " " U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin participate in a press briefing at the White House Jan. 10, 2020 to discuss new sanctions imposed against Iranian officials. Alex Wong/Getty Images In early January 2020, as tensions between the U.S. and Iran that some feared would lead to war seemed to ease slightly, the Trump administration opted for an alternative to more missiles or bombs to attack Iran. Instead, President Donald Trump announced a set of "intensified" sanctions against eight senior officials in the Iranian regime and an array of Iranian steel, aluminum and copper producers. The administration also targeted Chinese businesses that bought and transported the metals, including the owner of a ship that hauled steel slabs from Iran to China. (Here's a complete list of the targets.) "As a result of these actions we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime, " the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during a press briefing with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Jan. 10, 2020. If you follow the news about foreign policy, you may have seen or heard the ominous-sounding S-word before. But you might be wondering what are sanctions, anyway? How are they imposed? What are they supposed to accomplish? And do they really work? Advertisement What Are Sanctions? Basically, sanctions are a sort of economic version of bombs and bullets, designed to turn up the pressure on another country and its regime's leaders by hitting them in the wallet. "Sanctions are any penalty or disruption in the normal economic relations between two countries," explains Ellen Laipson, director of the Master's in International Security degree program and the Center for Security Policy Studies at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government. She's also a former vice-chair of the U.S. government's National Intelligence Council. "Usually, sanctions are supposed to target a particular bad behavior or send a signal to an unfriendly country," Laipson says. Sanctions often involve freezing any of the target's assets such as real estate or funds in bank accounts that happen to be inside the U.S., and threatening to punish any financial institution inside or outside the U.S. that does transactions for the adversary or helps in some other way. (Those sorts of actions were laid out in a June 2019 executive order on Iranian sanctions signed by President Trump.) But as Laipson explains, sanctions also can take a variety of other forms as well, from interrupting international trade or closing a border to suspending arms sales. Sanctions can even be tailored to hit a specific industry or part of another nation's economy. Either way, it's a form of what's called coercive diplomacy. Sanctions come down to this. "How do you get their attention so that they're feeling some pain, and give them incentives to change their behavior? " Advertisement Who Has the Authority to Use Sanctions? The U.S. president has sweeping authority to impose sanctions on other countries and leaders under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, often referred to as IEEPA for short, which allows him or her to impose them "to deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat." Congress also has the power to hit other nations and people with sanctions as well. Back in 2012, for example, legislators passed the Magnitsky Act to impose sanctions against the Russian Federation. (The law is named after a corruption-exposing lawyer named Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian prison cell in 2009.) Congress imposed additional sanctions against Russia for its 2014 invasion of Ukraine, as detailed in this Congressional Research Service report. Congress often resorts to sanctions to avoid having tensions with another country explode into armed conflict, Laipson says. "Congress often believes, let's go carefully up the escalatory ladder. Let's express our disapproval in a resolution. If they don't pay attention, we'll then threaten sanctions," she explains. "If they still don't pay attention, we'll impose sanctions. And then we'll impose more sanctions. It's a longer continuum from peace to war." Either way, once sanctions are imposed, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control enforces the restrictions. Here's the lengthy list of U.S. sanctions programs currently in force, against countries ranging from Belarus to Zimbabwe. Other countries can impose sanctions as well, though nobody utilizes the economic weapon as frequently as the U.S. does, according to Laipson. Instead, most only want to participate in multinational sanctions, such as those imposed by the U.N. Security Council, which have included economic and trade sanctions, as well as arms embargoes and travel bans. Since 1966, the U.N. has used such measures 30 times punishing regimes ranging from Apartheid-era South Africa to North Korea. " " On the eve of new sanctions being imposed, Iranian protesters demonstrate outside the former U.S. embassy in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Nov. 4, 2018, marking the anniversary of its storming by student protesters that triggered a hostage crisis in 1979. Majid Saeedi/Getty Images Advertisement Do Sanctions Actually Work? "There's always this range of opinion about whether sanctions work or not," Laipson says. "It depends on what your intentions were. If your intention was to punish, then just measuring the economic pain on another country is a way of saying the sanctions are working. If your intention is to truly change the behavior of the other country, you have to use a very different metric. And in that case, most sanctions fail. Because countries become resistant they are willing to absorb the pain for nationalistic reasons. They don't want to concede to a more powerful country." Instead of giving in, for example, a targeted nation may find another, more powerful nation to act as its patron. After the U.S. imposed a sweeping embargo on the communist regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba in 1960, the island nation relied upon trade with the Soviet Union, which for years bought Cuban sugar at five to six times the world market price as a way of tweaking the U.S., its Cold War adversary. There's also increasing political pushback against the sort of sanctions that broadly target a nation's economy, out of concern that they punish the population rather than an adversarial government. As Laipson explains, that's led to a shift toward so-called smart or targeted sanctions, which might be designed to target a regime's leaders but allow the country to import needed medicines. Targeted sanctions might also include arms embargoes, financial sanctions on the assets of individuals and companies, travel restrictions on the leaders of a sanctioned state and trade sanctions on particular goods. Now That's Interesting As detailed in this analysis published by the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, someone who violates IEEPA can end up facing federal money-laundering charges, which have far stiffer penalties. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 13:31 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32281f55 1 News Eurail,Train,travel,Europe,destination Free For the first time in 61 years, all three of Baltic countries will be accessible for travelers to visit with a single train pass, Lonely Planet reported. In 2020, Estonia and Latvia have been added to the list of countries non-Europeans can travel to with the Eurail Global Pass. Now consisting of 33 countries, the list already includes destinations like Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Paris and London. Read also: JR-West rail passes now available on Traveloka The all-in-one, unlimited train ticket allows travelers to ride all local trains, high-speed trains and night trains across Europe, run by participating operators. Eurail Global Pass holders can now ride Latvias local operator, Pasazieru vilciens, from its main hub in Riga, and Estonias operator Elron from the capital city of Tallinn to other domestic destinations. They will also receive an up to 50 percent discount on ferry tickets from Riga to Stockholm and Germany, and from Tallinn to Stockholm and Helsinki. Travelers can choose between two Global Pass options: The Continuous Pass and the Flexi Pass. The former allows for unlimited travel over 15 days, while the latter allows for three, five or seven days of unlimited travel within a month. While the Eurail Global Pass is only available to non-Europeans, European travelers can get similar benefits with the Interrail Pass. (vel/kes) Topics : Eurail Train travel Europe destination Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of fighting a war against the Igbo... Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of fighting a war against the Igbo people as if the Nigerian Civil war has not ended. Kanu alleged that Buhari and his administration were still waging war against the people of the Southeast with their dehumanising treatment against the Igbo. The IPOB leader stated this in a radio broadcast from his base in the United Kingdom, UK, yesterday. He, however, maintained that even in the face of the maltreatment of Igbo, without apologies to anybody or group, we are the best of the best and finest of the finest you can find anywhere in the world. I say this without apologies to anyone or group. According to Kanu: The level of conspiracy, hatred and destruction unleashed on the things cherished by Biafrans by the current administration are unspeakable, unacceptable and uncondonable by any peace-loving section of the country. The war against the Igbo has not ended. The current administration in Nigeria is still fighting the war against the Igbo as if the Civil War has not ended. If the war of genocide against Biafrans has ended, why are Igweocha, Warri and Calabar seaports not opened? Why is Onitsha River port not functional? If the war has ended, why is there no international airport in the whole of Biafraland? If the war has ended, why does the Federal Government still station roadblocks across Biafraland and why are they still militarising Biafraland? Why is the government supporting the herdsmen to rape our old mothers and daughters across Biafraland? Congress is pressuring President Donald Trump to implement legally mandated sanctions on Egyptian officials following the death of a US citizen this week after more than six years of detention in a Cairo prison. Mustafa Kassem, a diabetic, died of a heart attack on Monday stemming from his yearlong hunger strike in protest of his incarceration. Lawmakers immediately clamored for the Trump administration to place visa bans on Egyptian officials involved in his detention, as required under the government funding bill the president signed into law last month. The State Department should immediately implement our provision to prevent foreign officials involved in the wrongful detention of American citizens from entering the United States, especially following the tragic death of Mustafa Kassem, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who introduced the bipartisan sanctions measure in the Senate foreign aid spending bill last year, told Al-Monitor. Egypts long history of unjustly detaining American citizens and nationals is exactly why we singled it out in our bill. Van Hollen and Sen. Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to Trump today calling on him to ban Egyptian officials involved in Kassems detention and death from entering the United States. The letter also asks Trump to hit the officials with sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which would block their US-based assets and prohibit American transactions with them. You have repeatedly stated that your highest priority is the protection of American citizens, the Democratic senators wrote in the blistering letter. Yet US efforts to secure the release of Mustafa Kassem, or other Americans detained in Egypt, are grossly undermined when you refer to President Sisi as a good man or your favorite dictator.'" A State Department spokesperson told Al-Monitor that the Trump administration is reviewing all options after Kassems death but declined to discuss policy deliberations or our communications with Congress. We are saddened by the needless death in custody of Mustafa Kassem and send our condolences to his wife and family, said the spokesperson. We have demanded more information from the Egyptian authorities as to the details of his death. Still, Kassems death didnt deter the Trump administration from hosting Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Washington on Wednesday to wrap up talks with Ethiopian and Sudanese officials on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Van Hollen and Leahy noted that the 2020 foreign aid bill contains a statute banning foreign officials and their immediate family members from entering the country if they have been involved, directly or indirectly, in significant corruption, which includes a gross violation of human rights. The letter also points to Van Hollens bipartisan amendment to the report accompanying the Senate foreign aid bill, which specifically directs the State Department to place visa bans on any Egyptian officials involved in Kassems detention. (The Van Hollen amendment also specifically singles out Egyptian, Saudi and Turkish officials for visa bans if they wrongfully detain American citizens or US consular employees.) Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., Kassems congressman, also became the first Republican to call for Egypt sanctions on Wednesday at a Capitol Hill event commemorating Kassem. The event was organized by the Project on Middle East Democracy, which supports the sanctions measures and advocates for Congress to cut and condition Egyptian military aid as leverage over the Sisi government. I am calling on the administration and the American government to assert the strongest possible pressure on Egypt, including threatening and enacting sanctions if we have to, and also accountability as to who did it and whos responsible and what assurance do we have for the other remaining Americans who are still in Egyptian jails, said King, who is retiring at the end of the year. Egypt is detaining at least six other US citizens and two permanent residents. They include Pennsylvania teacher Reem Mohamed Desouky and New York limousine driver Khaled Hassan. I would like the State Department to cooperate more and share publicly the names of Americans being held in Egypt, said Aya Hijazi, another US citizen previously detained by Egypt until the Trump administration secured her release. Let us know who they are and why theyre there, let us save their lives. The State Department spokesperson told Al-Monitor that US officials will continue to raise our serious concerns over human rights and Americans detained in Egypt, but that it would not share the names of detained Americans due to privacy considerations. Egyptian security forces beat and detained Kassem, a dual US-Egyptian citizen, while he was visiting his family in 2013. He was at a mall near Cairos Rabia al-Adawiya Square. The security forces were, at the time, shooting protesters in the square demonstrating against the military coup that ousted the late President Mohammed Morsi, Egypts first and only democratically elected president. Kassem smuggled a letter addressed directly to Trump from his Cairo prison when he began his hunger strike in 2018. I pray that you secure my freedom from an Egyptian prison and government that you just gave $1.2 billion, wrote Kassem. Like you I am from New York, and like you I am devoted to my children. The dream of returning to them has kept me alive for the past five years after being arrested and beaten by Egyptian Army and police officers for no other reason than being an American. It remains to be seen whether other Republicans will join Van Hollen, Leahy and King in pushing Trump to sanction Egyptian government officials. The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., both issued statements blasting Egypt for Kassems death, but stopped short of mentioning sanctions. I call on Egypt to release all other American detainees, political prisoners, peaceful protesters, journalists, lawyers and other members of civil society unjustly detained, said McCaul. The Trump administration reportedly followed through on its plan to limit Puerto Rico's hurricane disaster relief funds on Wednesday, the New York Times reports. Yes, but: In response to back-to-back earthquakes that began in late December, President Trump upgraded his assessment of the island's situation from an "emergency" to a "major disaster" on Thursday authorizing FEMA and Homeland Security to provide assistance on the ground. Thursday's approval also specifies that federal funding is available Puerto Ricans affected by earthquakes in Guanica, Guayanilla, Penuelas, Ponce, Utuado and Yauco. Driving the news: Two 5.5 and 5.0-magnitude earthquakes shook the island on Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey, along with a 4.8-magnitude quake and three 4.6 quakes. Thousands of people in Puerto Rico have been displaced by earthquakes that have killed at least one person. have been displaced by earthquakes that have killed at least one person. The U.S. Army built tent cities last weekend to house those displaced by the quakes, NPR reports, after a 5.9-magnitude temblor caused landslides along the southern coast. Details: The administration's efforts to restrict aid to the island initially approved in the wake of 2017's Hurricane Maria involve blocking money for its electrical grid and cutting a $15-an-hour minimum wage to workers on federally funded projects, per the Times. Puerto Rico will have to "submit budget plans to its federally mandated fiscal control board" and "bolster its property registration database" to access the $8.3 billion in disaster prevention funds and $8.2 billion in recovery funds, the Times reports. "submit budget plans to its federally mandated fiscal control board" and "bolster its property registration database" to access the $8.3 billion in disaster prevention funds and $8.2 billion in recovery funds, the Times reports. "Puerto Ricos government was already straining to spend federal money under earlier restrictions. The new conditions will make it much harder," the Times writes. Background: The effects of Hurricane Maria, which killed at least 2,975 people, have not been forgotten on the island. The recent string of earthquakes is "only amplifying fears that structures have been further weakened," per NPR. The Housing and Urban Development Department has released only $1.5 billion in congressional relief to Puerto Rico, while citing concerns about the island's political corruption, per the Times. has released only $1.5 billion in congressional relief to Puerto Rico, while citing concerns about the island's political corruption, per the Times. Just $5 million of those allocated funds have been spent. Go deeper: More earthquakes hit Puerto Rico, as island remains in fear HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AARP Pennsylvania today praised 10 Pennsylvania U.S. House members for voting to support bipartisan legislation to combat age discrimination the "Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act" (POWADA). The House of Representatives vote Wednesday approving the bill is the most important action yet in the long drive toward passage. Pennsylvania Representatives voting for the bill included Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-2), Matthew Cartwright (D-8), Madeline Dean (D-4), Mike Doyle (D-18), Dwight Evans (D-3), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-1), Chrissy Houlahan (D-6), Connor Lamb (D-17), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-5), and Susan Wild (D-7). "These representatives have joined with others in sending a clear message that age discrimination must be treated as seriously as other forms of workplace discrimination," said AARP Pennsylvania State Director Bill Johnston-Walsh. "This vote is especially heartening for older workers, who make vital contributions to society and to their workplaces, and whose numbers are growing. The law must be strengthened because age discrimination is widespread, yet too often it goes unreported and unaddressed. AARP urges the Senate to take up and pass these important protections." POWADA was first introduced, with AARP backing, after an adverse 2009 Supreme Court decision (Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.) that made it much more difficult for older workers to prove claims of illegal bias based on age. The legislation would restore longstanding protections under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which covers workers aged 40 and over. In the Senate, the bipartisan companion legislation (S.485) is sponsored by Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley. The House action comes as older workers play an increasingly important role in the workforce. Estimates are that by 2024, 41 million people ages 55 and older will be in the labor force, nearly an eight percent increase from the current number. In addition, next year the oldest millennials will start turning 40 and then will be covered by the ADEA. The percentage of those 65 and older in the workforce has been increasing incrementally for more than three decades, with more than one in five in that cohort currently working or seeking work. At the same time, the 2018 AARP "Value of Experience" study showed that age discrimination remains alive and well. The survey found that 61 percent of older workers said they had either faced or observed age bias. That figure is consistent with past surveys on the question. About AARP AARP has 1.8 million members in Pennsylvania. Follow AARP Pennsylvania on Facebook at AARPPA and on Twitter @AARPPA. AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media. CONTACT: Steve Gardner, AARP PA (717) 237-6481 or [email protected] Or Jacklyn Isasi, AARP PA (267) 825-9928 or [email protected] SOURCE AARP Pennsylvania Related Links http://www.aarp.org JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You should upgrade or use an You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser ZUMBROTA Blame it on the snow. U.S. Rep. Angie Craig's town hall meeting scheduled for Saturday at Zumbota-Mazeppa High School has been postponed a week. As part of her efforts to hold town hall meetings across her district, Craig, who represents Minnesota's second congressional district, which includes all of Goodhue and Wabasha counties, will host her 13th town hall since taking office last January beginning at 11 a.m. doors open at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 25 at Z-M High School, 705 Mill St., Zumbrota. "After hearing from constituents at 12 town hall meetings across the district in 2019, Rep. Craig looks forward to continuing the conversation in Goodhue County on issues facing Minnesota families," read a statement from her congressional office. The statement touted the fact that Craig has introduced 17 bills since taking her seat in the U.S. House in January 2019. She has also co-sponsored another 330 bills. Since being elected, Craig has stated that conducting at least one town hall public meeting a month in her district, which also includes Scott and Dakota counties, is a goal of hers. Palm oil imports by India, the world's biggest buyer of edible oils, could fall as much as 11 percent on the year in 2019/20, hit by a rally in prices and a diplomatic row that is turning its traders away from Malaysia, industry officials said on Friday. Last week, India slapped curbs on imports of refined palm oil and informally asked traders to halt all palm imports from Malaysia, the world's second biggest producer. The step followed repeated objections by India's Hindu nationalist government to comments by Mahathir Mohamad, the prime minister of Muslim-majority Malaysia, against some recent policies that critics say discriminate against Muslims. Indian traders said they have turned to top producer Indonesia to buy palm instead, and are also taking a small amount from Thailand. "Higher prices of palm oil and limited cargoes from Indonesia would reduce India's palm oil imports," said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil importer based in the commercial capital of Mumbai. The drop in Indian purchases could limit the rally in Malaysian palm which has surged more than 45 percent in the last six months, making rival edible oils more attractive to buyers. New Delhi's palm oil imports in the marketing year to Oct. 31 could fall to between 8.4 million and 9 million tonnes from 9.4 million last year, a spot survey of six industry officials showed. Indonesia will struggle to meet Indian requirements in the next two months, said Govindbhai Patel, managing director of trading firm G.G. Patel & Nikhil Research Company. But the situation will change gradually as buyers of Indonesian oil shift to Malaysia, lured by its discount over supplies from Jakarta, Patel added. "This will make supplies available for India in Indonesia," he said. Please click on link for graphic of palm oil exports to India from Malaysia vs Indonesia: https://tmsnrt.rs/30qPhDz India meets nearly two-thirds of its edible oil demand through imports and palm makes up the bulk because of its lower price. But palm's rising prices are also turning Indian buyers towards soyoil and sunflower oil, which are seen as having health benefits, traders said. Palm's discount to soyoil and sunflower oil has narrowed to $60 per tonne from $205 in July 2019, data from a Mumbai-based trade body, the Solvent Extractors' Association, shows. "Soyoil and sunflower oil have become very attractive at the current price level," said Patel. India's imports of soyoil in 2019/20 could rise 20 percent from a year ago to 3.6 million tonnes, while sunflower oil could jump 28 percent to 3 million, the spot survey showed. India imports soyoil mainly from Argentina and sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia. Demanding the repeal of Citizenship Amendment Act, the Kerala government moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday, saying the amended law violated Articles 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution and the basic structure of secularism in India. Kummanam Rajasekharan, former Mizoram governor and ex-Kerala BJP chief moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking the dismissal of the Pinarayi Vijayan government's lawsuit challenging validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Utkarsh Anand, legal editor of CNN-News18, reported that the application by Rajasekharan noted that there was no legal basis why the Kerala government challenged the validity of the CAA before the apex court. Labelling the Kerala government's plea a "political gimmick", Rajasekharan dismissed it saying there was no foundation that the law would affect the social and fundamental rights of the inhabitants of Kerala. #NewsAlert | BJPs K Rajasekhran seeks dismissal of Kerala govt suit. | @utkarsh_aanand with more details pic.twitter.com/QRsUuiFXEb News18 (@CNNnews18) January 17, 2020 "A decision has been taken to unnecessarily to spend public money on a suit which has no legal and sound basis. Therefore chief minister Vijayan along with the other Kerala cabinet ministers, who decided in favour of filing this suit, must be asked to pay the cost of the ligilation," read the plea. The application also cited the statement made by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan that he wasn't even consulted before the state government decided to move the Supreme Court. Taking a potshot at the Vijayan government, the governor on Thursday had said "common courtesy demanded that prior permission" should have been taken from him before the state decided to challenge the CAA in the top court. Khan stated that the state government's move was a breach of protocol. "I'm not saying that what they did is wrong. They may have every right to approach the Supreme Court," he said. "There is a legal maxim, neither I nor anyone is above the law. Clearly I am not against anyone approaching the judiciary. But, with me being the Constitutional head of the state, they (the state government) should have informed me about it, but I came to know through the newspapers. Some people here, think they are above law," said Khan. Demanding the repeal of Citizenship Amendment Act, the Kerala government moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday, saying the amended law violated Articles 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution and the basic structure of secularism in India. With this, Kerala becomes the first state to approach the apex court against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which has seen unprecedented protests all over the country. In its petition, the Kerala government has demanded that the CAA should be declared to be in violation of Articles 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. phil hogan.JPG Reuters The EU's trade chief warns that Boris Johnson's plan for a comprehensive UK-EU trade deal by the end of 2020 is "just not possible." Phil Hogan, the new EU Commissioner for trade, said on Thursday that both sides would not have time to reach an agreement on all aspects of the future UK-EU relationship by the end of this year. The prime minister has promised that it is "epically likely" the UK will secure a full, comprehensive trade agreement in the next 11 months. Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, has also warned that London's goal of securing a full free trade deal in 2020 was unrealistic. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. LONDON The EU's trade chief has warned that Boris Johnson's pledge to deliver a full free trade deal with the EU by the end of 2020 is "just not possible." The prime minister insisted this week that it is "epically likely" that the UK will secure a full, comprehensive trade agreement with the EU by the end of 2020 and will legislate against any further extensions to the transition period. However, Phil Hogan, the new EU Commissioner for trade who will play a central part in negotiations, warned on Thursday that both sides would not have time to reach an agreement on all aspects of the future UK-EU relationship by the end of this year. "Certainly by the end of the year, we are not going to get everything that's in the 36-page document about the future relationship agreed," he told a panel at a Global Counsel trade conference in London. "Prime Minister Johnson has decided that he wants to have everything concluded by the end of the year. It's just not possible," he said. The former Irish minister also warned Johnson against repeating the mistakes of his predecessor Theresa May by setting arbitrary timelines that were difficult to meet. "How we manage this politically between [the UK and EU] we are certainly open to suggestions, but I think the wisest thing to do is that we should not pencil ourselves into timelines again," he said. Story continues "We have seen that putting ourselves in timelines over the last three years has not been that helpful, especially the way it's played out in the House of Commons." Theresa May delayed Brexit twice after the House of Commons refused to pass her deal with the EU, with Johnson also forced into a third delay last year. Hogan's comments reflect a wider belief within the European Union that there is simply not enough time to negotiate a comprehensive deal this year. Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, warned earlier in January that London's goal of securing a full free trade deal in 2020 was unrealistic. "We cannot expect to agree on every aspect of this new partnership,'' he said. Read the original article on Business Insider Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:54:24|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close CAIRO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The cooperation portfolio between Egypt and the World Bank Group is estimated at 8 billion U.S. dollars, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement on Friday. "This amount covers the sectors with high priority to the government," the statement quoted Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly as saying. The amount includes 5.8 billion U.S. dollars of investment by International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and 2.2 billion U.S. dollars of investment by global financial entities, the statement added. It reiterated that the government attributed special importance to the private sector in the country's economic activities in partnership with the World Bank Group for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development objectives. Madbouly hailed the national economic reform, adopted in 2016, for its effect on the country's economic indicators, as the GDP growth hit 5.6 percent, cash reserve reached 45.5 billion U.S. dollars, unemployment rates declined to 7.5 percent, while tourism revenues reached 12.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. The remarks came after a meeting on Thursday with high-ranking executives from the World Bank presenting the results of Egyptian government's economic reform between 2016 to 2019. Egypt's economy has been battered by years of turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak. However, the country has recently shown signs of economic improvement amid strict reforms, including tax hikes and energy subsidy cuts recommended by the International Monetary Fund that supports Egypt's economic reform plan with a 12-billion-USD loan. By Abdul Karimkhanov Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said that the massacre of Azerbaijani civilians by Soviet troops in 1990, led to the end of 70-year old Soviet rule in Azerbaijan. In an address to the event to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Black January that marks the killing of 147 Azerbaijani civilians by Soviet troops on January 20, 1990, Mammadyarov said that "Soviet troops were brought under the pretext of protecting the Azerbaijani people. However, subsequently, USSR Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov said that the main task was to preserve the Soviet government, to punish non-communist national forces. Thus, they also wanted to teach a kind of lesson to national forces in other Soviet republics." He further touched upon the Sumgayit events in early January 1990, noting that at that time Eduard Grigoryan personally committed the killing of six people in Sumgayit. Black January, also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on a civilian population of Baku on the night leading to January 20 in 1990. According to official estimates, 147 Azerbaijani civilians were killed, 800 people were injured and five people went missing. However unofficial number put the number of victims at 300 dead. In 1995 Gorbachev apologized to Azerbaijan by stating: "The declaration of a state emergency in Baku was the biggest mistake of my political career." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Kolkata, Jan 18 : Holding aloft the tri-colour, hundreds of theatre personalities took out a protest march through the city streets on Friday against the new citizenship law CAA, calling it a conspiracy to divide people. Playwrights, theatre directors and actors, both old and young, walked from Rashbehari Mukta Angan to the Academy of Fine Arts extending support to the country student movement against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. "The nation is in crisis. Those who compose songs in contemporary context to awaken the people, they can hear the footsteps of the future," said actor Paran Bandopadhyay. "Everybody feels this law is not good for the people. It is a conspiracy to divide people," said thespian Bivas Chakraborty. "Desh kimba rajya, jekhanei sairachar, theatre er ei ekotrota janai dhikkar (Whether the country or the state, wherever there is autocracy, the unity of the theatre world condemns it)," said a banner carried by the protesters, who also displayed hoardings "No NRC, no NPR, no CAA". About 60,000 to 65,000 people a year travel to the United States from Wuhan. Over the next few weeks, some 5,000 passengers are likely to be checked for signs of the new infection, Dr. Cetron said. Only New York and San Francisco receive direct flights from Wuhan; passengers arriving in Los Angeles are on connecting flights. Travelers will be asked to fill out questionnaires asking if they have symptoms like a cough or a fever, and whether they have visited meat and seafood markets in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Screeners will also use thermal scanners that can be pointed at the forehead or temple to look for fever. People with signs of illness will be examined further, along with family members or others traveling with them. Those who seem likely to be infected with the virus will be sent to area hospitals for further testing and treatment. Dr. Cetron said hospitals in each city had been designated to handle possible cases, but declined to name them. It may not be easy to identify likely cases at airports, because the flu season is well underway, and winter is the peak period for common colds and other respiratory viruses that can cause coughing, fever and runny noses. The screening could take time, Dr. Cetron said, and some passengers may miss connecting flights. The illness was first reported in late December in Wuhan, in central China. Fears of a more widespread outbreak arose when two cases were found in Thailand and one in Japan, apparently carried to those countries by air travelers from Wuhan. By F. William Engdahl January 16, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - By the series of actions in recent months in Iraq and across the Middle East, Washington has forced a strategic shift towards China and to an extent Russia and away from the United States. If events continue on the present trajectory it can well be that a main reason that Washington backed the destabilization of Assad in Syria, to block a planned Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline, will now happen, short of Washington initiating a full scorched earth politics in the region. This is what we can call unintended consequences. If nature abhors a vacuum, so too does geopolitics. When President Trump months ago announced plans to pull US troops out of Syria and the Middle East generally, Russia and especially China began quietly to intensify contacts with key states in the region. Chinese involvement with Iraqi oil development and other infrastructure projects, though large, was significantly disrupted by the ISIS occupation of some one third of Iraqi territory. In September, 2019 Washington demanded that Iraq pay for completion of key infrastructure projects destroyed by the ISIS war a war where Washington as well as Ankara, Israel and Saudi Arabia played the key hidden roleby giving the US government 50% of Iraqi oil revenues, an outrageous demand to put it politely. Iraq China Pivot Iraq refused. Instead Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi went to Beijing as head of a 55-member delegation to discuss Chinese involvement in the rebuilding of Iraq. This visit did not go unnoticed in Washington. Even before that, Iraqi-China ties were significant. China was Iraqs number one trading partner and Iraq was Chinas third-leading source of oil after Saudi Arabia and Russia. In April 2019 in Baghdad, Chinas Deputy Minister of Foreign Relations Lee Joon said China was ready to contribute to Iraqs reconstruction. For Abdul-Mahdi the Beijing trip was a major success; he called it a quantum jump in relations. The visit saw the signing of eight wide-ranging memoranda of understanding (MoUs), a framework credit agreement, and the announcement of plans for Iraq to join Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It included Chinese involvement in rebuilding Iraqs infrastructure as well as developing Iraqi oilfields. For both countries an apparent win-win as the Chinese like to say. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter It was only a matter of days after the Beijing talks of Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi that nationwide protests against Iraqi government corruption and economic policies broke out, led by opposition cries that Abdul-Mahdi resign. Reuters witnessed snipers carefully fanning the violent protest firing on the protesters giving the impression of government repression much as the CIA did in Maidan in Kiev in February 2014 or in Cairo in 2011. There is now strong evidence that the China talks and the timing of the spontaneous October 2019 protests against the Abdul-Mahdi government were connected. The Trump Administration is the link. According to a report by Federico Pieraccini, Abdul-Medhi made a speech to Parliament speaking about how the Americans had ruined the country and now refused to complete infrastructure and electricity grid projects unless they were promised 50% of oil revenues, which Abdul-Mehdi refused. He then quotes sections of Abdul-Mahdis speech translated from Arabic: This is why I visited China and signed an important agreement with them to undertake the construction instead. Upon my return, Trump called me to ask me to reject this agreement. When I refused, he threatened to unleash huge demonstrations against me that would end my premiership. Huge demonstrations against me duly materialized and Trump called again to threaten that if I did not comply with his demands, then he would have Marine snipers on tall buildings target protesters and security personnel alike in order to pressure me. I refused again and handed in my resignation. To this day the Americans insist on us rescinding our deal with the Chinese. Now the US assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, just as he landed in Baghdad reportedly on a mediation mission with Saudi Arabia via Abdul-Mahdi, has thrown the entire region into political chaos amid talk of possible World War III. The soft Iranian retaliation missile firings on US bases in Iraq and the surprise admission by Teheran that they accidentally downed a Ukrainian commercial airline as if left Teheran, all amid reports that Trump and Rouhani were in back channel secret talks to calm things down, leave many scratching their heads as to what is really going on. Quiet silk inroads One thing is clear. Beijing is looking at its prospects, along with Russia to replace the domination of Iraqi politics that Washington has held since its 2003 war of occupation. OilPrice.com reports that beginning October just after Abdul-Mahdis successful Beijing talks, Iraq started exporting 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to China as part of the 20-year oil-for-infrastructure deal agreed between the two countries. According to Iraqi oil ministry sources, China will build its influence in Iraq by beginning with oil and gas investments and from there building infrastructure including factories and railways using Chinese companies and personnel along with Iraqi labor. The Chinese-built factories will use the same assembly lines and structure to be integrated with similar factories in China. Irans Vice President, Eshaq Jahangiri has announced that Iran signed a contract with China to implement a project to electrify the main 900 kilometer railway connecting Tehran to the north-eastern city of Mashhad near the border to Turkmenistan and to Afghanistan. Jahangiri added that there are also plans to establish a Tehran-Qom-Isfahan high-speed train line and to extend this up to the north-west through Tabriz. OilPrice notes, Tabriz, home to a number of key sites relating to oil, gas, and petrochemicals, and the starting point for the Tabriz-Ankara gas pipeline, will be a pivot point of the 2,300 kilometre New Silk Road that links Urumqi (the capital of Chinas western Xinjiang Province) to Tehran, and connecting Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan along the way, and then via Turkey into Europe. Once the plans for this are making substantial progress then China will extend the transport links into Iraq to the West. Additionally, according to Iraqs Electricity Minister Louay al-Khateeb, China is our primary option as a strategic partner in the long runWe started with a US$10 billion financial framework for a limited quantity of oil to finance some infrastructure projects[but] Chinese funding tends to increase with the growing Iraqi oil production. That is, the more Iraqi oil China extracts the more Iraqi projects it can finance. Today Iraq is dependent on Iran for gas to serve its electric generators owing to lack of gas infrastructure. China says it will change that. Further the oil industry source states that Russia and China are quietly preparing the ground to relaunch the Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline from Irans huge Persian Gulf South Pars gas field it shares with Qatar. A US-backed proxy war began against Syrias Bashar al-Assad in 2011 just after he signed a deal with Iran and Iraq to build the pipeline, rejecting an earlier Qatar proposal for an alternative route. Turkey and Saudi Arabia and Qatar poured billions of covert funds to finance terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and later ISIS in a vain effort to topple Assad. China is not alone in its efforts in Iraq and throughout the Middle East, as erratic and unpredictable US foreign policy drives former US allies away. Russia, which just brokered a ceasefire in Libya along with Turkeys Erdogan, just offered to sell its advanced S-400 Triumf air defense system to Iraq, an offer that would have been unthinkable even weeks ago. With Iraqi parliamentarians voting to demand all foreign troops, including US and Iranian, leave Iraq in the wake of the brazen US assassination of Soleimani in Baghdad, it is conceivable Baghdad would accept the offer at this point, despite protest from Washington. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Algeria, Morocco and Egypt, have all be in discussions with Russia in recent months to buy the Russian defense system, said to be the worlds most effective. Turkey has already purchased it. Before the US assassination of Soleimani, there were numerous back-channel efforts for detente in the costly wars that have raged across the region since the US-instigated Arab Spring between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran and Iraq. Russia and China have both in different ways been playing a key role in changing the geopolitical tensions. At this juncture the credibility of Washington as any honest partner is effectively zero if not minus. The temporary calm following Irans admission of shooting down the Ukraine airliner in no way suggests Washington will go quietly. Trump and his Defense Secretary Esper have defiantly rejected the call to pull US troops from Iraq. The US president just tweeted his support for renewed anti-government Iran protests, in Farsi. We are clearly in for some very nasty trouble in the Middle East as Washington tries to deal with the unintended consequences of its recent Middle East actions. F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine New Eastern Outlook. This article was originally published by " New Eastern Outlook " - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== Victims' Governments To Press Tehran For Answers After Plane Downing January 16, 2020 The foreign ministers of five countries that lost citizens in the downing of a Ukrainian passenger airliner last week gathered in London on January 16 to discuss their response to the tragedy. The ministers from Afghanistan, Britain, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine are expected to put fresh pressure on Iran to give a full accounting of what happened to the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737-800. The plane had just taken off from Tehran en route to Kyiv on January 8 when it was shot down by Iran's air defenses, killing all 176 people on board. Iran says the plane was brought down by error, hours after Iranian ballistic missiles targeted two bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq. The victims of the crash included Iranian and Canadian nationals, with smaller numbers of Ukrainians, Afghans, Swedes, Britons, and Germans. Countries have called for those responsible for the tragedy to be held accountable. The possibility of taking legal action and the issue of compensation to families of the victims would also be discussed at the London meeting, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko. Ahead of the talks, the ministers from the five countries lit candles at the Canadian High Commission to honor the dead. The plane disaster has angered many Iranians, leading to protests against the clerical establishment. On January 16, mourners shouted "death to the dictator" as they buried victims of the plane disaster in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj, videos posted online showed. They referred to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Based on reporting by the BBC and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/victims- governments-to-press-tehran-for-answers- after-plane-downing/30381328.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 Pakistan on Friday condemned the statements of Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat where he suggested de-radicalisation camps for radicalised youths in the Kashmir Valley and a concerted effort to tackle terrorism globally. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2020 in New Delhi, Rawat, in a clear reference to Pakistan, sought diplomatic isolation and blacklisting by anti-terror watchdog FATF of countries sponsoring terrorism. The Chief of Defence Staff also said girls and boys as young as 10 and 12 years were being radicalised in Kashmir. Condemning Rawat's statements, the Pakistan Foreign Office said, "These remarks are reflective of the extremist mindset and bankrupt thinking that have evidently also permeated the state institutions of India." The FO said Rawat's remarks on FATF were further proof of India's repeated attempts to politicise FATF's technical proceedings. "Pakistan has consistently sensitised the world community about India's malicious campaign in this regard. We expect that the FATF members would reject these Indian machinations," the FO said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Photo: Jenna B./Yelp Here's the latest and greatest news from Oakland's food scene. In this week's edition: a popular San Francisco brunch spot expands to Oakland, a fast-casual Asian restaurant chain has a new downtown location, and a longstanding Rockridge bakeshop is no more. Openings Rockridge Kitchen Story (5422 College Ave.) Photo: The Gourmet Penguin C./Yelp Last year, popular San Francisco brunch spot Kitchen Story announced that it would be expanding into the former home of Duchess in Rockridge, which closed at the beginning of 2018. Nosh reports that the restaurant opened on Jan. 2, serving brunch fare like Benedicts, scrambles, mascarpone-stuffed fried French toast and the popular "millionaire's bacon," which is candied with brown sugar and cayenne pepper. Kitchen Story also serves lunch and dinner, with burgers and a number of Korean-inspired items. Fans of the recent film "Parasite" may enjoy sampling its take on jjapaguri, the stir-fried noodles featured in the movie. In addition to Kitchen Story, owner Hoyul Steven Choi is also behind Asian-inspired dessert shop U: Dessert Story, which is set to expand to downtown Berkeley (1849 Shattuck Ave.) in February. He also owns another breakfast spot, Sweet Maple, with locations in Lower Pac Heights in SF and Terminal 2 at SFO airport. It's expected to expand to Palo Alto (150 University Ave.) in August. Downtown Bamboo Asia (1221 Broadway) Photo: Albertino M./Hoodline Tipline Hoodline veteran tipster Al M. alerts us that Bamboo Asia is now open in the former City Center Grill space. The eatery already has three San Francisco locations two in the FiDi, one in SoMa. The "fine-casual eatery serving Far East flavors with West Coast vibes" allows customers to choose from a "street-style marketplace" with dishes from different countries, including Japan, Vietnam or India. Closing Rockridge Katrina Rozelle Pastries and Desserts (5931 College Ave.) Photo: Albertino M./Hoodline Tipline Over in Rockridge, Al says that a longtime bakery is no more. According to a statement on her website, Katrina Rozelle is retiring from her namesake pastry shop after 33 years in business. Her Oakland shop, known for its wedding and birthday cakes and cookies, closed on Dec. 31. Story continues "Though a bittersweet decision, its time to step back and slow down," the post reads, adding that Rozelle is deeply grateful for all of the community support that she has received over the past three decades. Rozelle writes that she and her husband Ken are "also immensely thankful to the loyal and hardworking employees who have so tirelessly contributed to the success of the business over the years." Event Oakland Restaurant Week Oakland Restaurant Week is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, with special menus from January 9 20 at a variety of restaurants around town. Participating restaurants will offer prix-fixe brunch, lunch and/or dinner menus at price points between $10 and $80, with many donating a portion of proceeds to the Alameda County Food Bank. Grand Lake Kitchen, Nido, Magpie Oakland, MAMA Oakland, Nido's Backyard, Dosa by Dosa or Vegan Mob are among those participating. There will also be special events, such as food tours. Thanks to our veteran tipster Al M.! Have you noticed a new addition to (or subtraction from) Oakland's food landscape? Text a tip and a horizontal photo to 510-757-9959, and we'll look into it. France has deployed a radar system on Saudi Arabias eastern coast that faces the Persian Gulf to help the Kingdom protect its vital oil infrastructure, which was hit by attacks in September, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting senior French officials. After the mid-September attacks on Saudi oil facilities, which cut off more than 5 percent of daily global oil supply for weeks, Francewhich like the U.S. pointed the finger at Iran as the ultimate perpetrator of the attackspledged to help Saudi Arabia to protect its oil infrastructure and prevent new attacks. In the Arabian Peninsula and Arab-Persian Gulf, where tensions are mounting, we have deployed in record time the Jaguar Task Force, which contributes to reassuring the Saudi kingdom, Reuters quoted French President Emmanuel Macron as saying in a speech to the French military on Thursday. Through initiatives with our European partners, we are bolstering the maritime security in the region that is of strategic importance to us, Macron said on Twitter. The radar system on the eastern Saudi coast is part of the Jaguar Task Force mission, French officials told Reuters, declining to provide additional information. Since the U.S. withdrew from the so-called Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, tensions between the U.S. and Iran have been rising. The U.S. is looking to cut off all of Irans oil exports while Iran is accusing the United States of meddling with its affairs. The tensions escalated earlier this month, when the U.S. killed Irans most powerful and visible military leader, Qassem Soleimani, at the Baghdad airport in Iraq. Retaliation from Iran came several days later, when Tehran fired missiles at bases in Iraq that host U.S. troops, sending oil prices up by 4 percent for a few hours. On Friday, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Irans missile strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq last week were a slap on the face to the United States. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: DR Congo police fired tear gas to prevent anti-government protesters gathering in the capital Kinshasa on Friday, forcibly escorting an opposition leader back home to stop him participating in the rally. The attempted march was the latest protest by former presidential candidate Martin Fayulu since he lost a December 2018 election he claims was fixed in favour of President Felix Tshisekedi. One person was slightly injured on the head by police, who turned out in force, firing tear gas to break up small groups of opposition supporters trying to rally, an AFP correspondent said. The demonstration had been banned in advance by the authorities. "They confiscated my money. I wasn't even there for the march," said Jean-Paul, who was bleeding from his head after saying he was roughed up by police on a main road in the city. Security forces escorted Fayulu's car on foot and in vans back to his home, ensuring he could not march with his supporters following an early morning Roman Catholic Mass in the working-class Ndjili district. 'Balkanisation' Fayulu had called the demonstration to denounce militant attacks and what he calls the "Balkanisation" of the country's east, accusing officials of breaking up the region to the benefit of neighbouring countries like Rwanda. "The DRC is already Balkanised. It just needs to be put into practice on the ground," said Blaise, a member of Fayulu's political party Ecide (Commitment to Citizenship and Development). Map of DR Congo locating Beni, site of attacks. By (AFP) Talk of Rwanda is sensitive in DR Congo. The Democratic Republic of Congo was at the centre of two regional wars between 1997-2003 involving Rwanda and Uganda. In December a former premier, Adolphe Muzito, also called on the government to wage war on Rwanda as a way to stop militia violence in the east, which has been plagued for years by various local and foreign armed groups. Militants have killed dozens of civilians around the town of Beni in North Kivu province in eastern DRC since the army began a crackdown on the group three months ago. The massacres, blamed on the Allied Democratic Front (ADF), originally from neighbouring Uganda, prompted local people to storm a base of the UN MONUSCO mission late in November, accusing peacekeepers of failing to protect them. Fayulu challenged the result of the December 2018 election in the constitutional court, but his claim was rejected and Tshisekedi was declared the victor. The European Union has said doubts remain over the results. Officials banned Friday's march to "prevent breaches of the peace" on the public holiday marking the anniversary of the death of national independence hero Patrice Lumumba, who was assassinated on January 17, 1961. Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has granted power of detaining authority to the Delhi Police Commissioner under the National Security Act, according to a notification. The NSA allows preventive detention of an individual for months if the authorities feel that the individual is a threat to the national security, and law and order, sources said. In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (c) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt Governor pleased to direct that during the period January 19 to April 18, the Delhi Police Commissioner may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub-section (2) of the section 3 of the aforesaid Act, the notification stated. The notification has been issued on January 10 following the approval of the LG. It comes at a time when the national capital has been witnessing a number of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). However, the Delhi Police said it is a routine order that has been issued in every quarter and has nothing to do with the current situation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) They also need to understand that the purpose of K-12 education is to prepare kids ultimately to be part of the workforce. So what Ive learned in higher education in the last three years having spent my entire adult life in K-12 is that there is sometimes a disconnect between what were doing in K-12 and what kids need to be able to do not just in four-year college but also if they want to go to community college, join the military or get training and education. On her top priorities if elected: I think what we absolutely have to do that several entities are already starting to work on is we have to crack the nut on early literacy education. Too many kids in fact two-thirds of (fourth-graders) in North Carolina do not read at grade level. So we are not doing a good enough job of educating our pre-service teachers on how to teach kids to learn how to read. One of the main things that we can do is encourage our colleges of education to get on the same page as far as how we teach early literacy instruction to pre-service teachers and that means using the recommendations of the National Reading Panel. OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus looming visit to Winnipeg has drummed up interest from across the city and questions about whether his ministers will meet with any Manitobans. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus looming visit to Winnipeg has drummed up interest from across the city and questions about whether his ministers will meet with any Manitobans. "At this point in their mandate, it really doesnt mean anything unless they have these difficult conversations," said Conservative MP Candice Bergen (PortageLisgar). Trudeau is hosting a three-day cabinet retreat starting Sunday, where nearly three dozen ministers will hash out their plans and priorities for the winter session of Parliament. The federal Liberals have held cabinet retreats in different provinces, often inviting premiers and mayors, and occasionally groups impacted by major policy decisions. Guests at such retreats generally make presentations and answer ministers questions. There are generally few policy or spending announcements. Premier Brian Pallister intends to meet with Trudeau about the Interlake flood-channel outlets and the carbon tax, while Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowmans office said there has been no formal meeting set, but "the mayor corresponds with the prime minister on a regular basis." Keystone Agricultural Producers invited Trudeau in early November to visit a Manitoba farm and learn about the multiple issues impacting the sector. KAP had raised growing frustrations with the federal carbon tax, which the Liberals have exempted from some agricultural tasks, though it is still adding thousands to farmers bills. The PMO took six weeks to acknowledge KAPs letter. "We hope their team has the opportunity to visit Manitoba farmers to see firsthand the issues we face every day," the group wrote Wednesday. Bergen argues Trudeau needs to meet with groups like KAP to justify the expense of bringing his ministers to Manitoba. When Trudeaus office announced the Winnipeg retreat, it specifically cited the need to hear the concerns of Western Canada, where many of his ministers have made their first trips. Bergen said, in that spirit, Trudeau should invite reeves from rural municipalities grappling with infrastructure needs, and first responders dealing with crime borne from the meth crisis. "If they dont have these meetings, and hear some of the tough stories and the tough responses to their legislation, then I find its not helpful that they come here in fact its more harmful," the Tory MP said, fearing the retreat will instead involve photo-ops and meetings with political allies. Bergen was particularly interested in having the Liberals explain to local governments how they intend to expedite infrastructure funding, after Ottawa found hurdles in getting the money theyd pledged out the door. Trudeau announced his Winnipeg retreat Monday. Since then, there hasnt been an invite extended to the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, Manitoba Aerospace Association, nor Manitoba Metis Federation. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs did not respond to a request for comment. 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. Its unclear if Trudeau will partake in any events for the ongoing Manitoba 150 celebrations. The ministers will have their work cut out for them. Sunday and Monday will be packed with discussions over everything from the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion and Indigenous issues, to how to roll out gun-control measures, to how new spending programs in the budget this spring will match up with uncertain global economic trends. Trudeaus advisor for the Prairies, Winnipeg MP Jim Carr, is set to brief the cabinet on what hes heard from visits to Alberta and Saskatchewan, where the Liberals lost all their seats in last falls election. Ministers will likely make their own visits to local groups while in town for the retreat. For example, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Bardish Chagger is visiting the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on Saturday, and meeting with advocates of some local initiatives that touch on diversity. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 18:39:57|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close WINDHOEK, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Namibia is introducing new laws to deal with the influx of gender-based violence (GBV), the country's Ministry of Justice said on Friday. The new laws would allow for stringent prison sentences, the ministry said, adding that the increasing number of GBV cases is due to unemployment and alcohol abuse, among other factors. More than 7,000 GBV cases were recorded in 2019, according to the Namibian Police. However, about 2,600 of the cases opened were withdrawn, the police said, noting that most of the victims who withdrew the cases were women. The educational background of a San Marcos school trustee has come into question after a challenger in the upcoming election accused her of falsely claiming she had a college degree. San Marcos Unified School Board President Stacy Carlson had listed a degree in business administration from Vanguard University on the website for the governing board. However, her opponent in the Nov. 6 election, Christina Linden, claims that Carlson never graduated from the private, Christian University, located in Orange County. In response to questions about Carlsons record at the university, a spokeswoman confirmed that she attended Vanguard, but said the campus did not have a record of her graduation. Advertisement Stacy was a student at Vanguard University with senior status, but we do not have a record of her receiving a degree, Emilie Perkins, an account executive with the public relations firm Reveille Inc., stated in an e-mail to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Under Federal law, we cannot disclose any further information. Although Carlsons biography on the San Marcos School Board website had previously cited a degree from Vanguard, that reference was removed as of Wednesday. Carlson could not be reached by phone or e-mail by the Union-Tribune, but in a statement to Channel 10 News Tuesday, she said that she had walked in a commencement ceremony at Vanguard 16 years ago, with one lab course pending. She said she took the course the following summer at MiraCosta College and submitted transcripts that she believed fulfilled her degree requirements. As this has been the first time my degree has been called into question, this is the first time I had heard that my lab science course did not qualify, Carlson is quoted as saying in the statement to Channel 10. I am embarrassed that I have gone the last 16 years believing that I had my degree only to learn that I have a class pending. I am working with Vanguard to determine if the coursework I did in 2002 qualified at the time even if it does not qualify now. If it did not, then I will complete that course as soon as possible and ask for grace on behalf of all students maneuvering their way toward a college education. Linden questioned why Carlson was unaware that her degree was not finalized, and said she believes that Carlson was not truthful about her educational background. We find it disingenuous for Stacy Carlson to make the claim that in 16 years it never occurred to her to ask why her degree had never been mailed to her from Vanguard University, Linden said in a statement to the Union-Tribune. A School Boards first duty is to the guidance of the students of the district, and a Board has a duty to be completely transparent about their governance and credentials. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan But an intelligence analyst does not have a prosecutors luxury to decline to proceed in the face of ambiguous information; even when information is incomplete and conclusions uncertain, policymakers need to make decisions. We will rarely, if ever, have definitive proof of what Vladimir Putin is planning, or of the state of North Koreas nuclear arsenal, or whether Osama bin Laden is hiding in Abbottabad (estimates before the raid that killed him varied from 40 to 80 percent likely), but the president and his advisers still must decide what to do even in the absence of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. They need the intelligence communitys best understanding even when that understanding is incomplete or inferential. I nsurers took a pasting from investors after Hastings served up a profit warning and cut its dividend. The FTSE 250 car insurers results were damaged by a rise in claims for injuries and car repairs, so profit for the year will come in at 110 million 12% below what analysts in the City had calculated. The car industry has whinged for some time that claim costs are on the rise because tech-engineered cars like Teslas are more expensive to repair. The Government has also changed the way damages are paid to those who have serious injuries in accidents. Analysts at Barclays cut Hastings outlook for the year ahead and shares tumbled 8% or 15.2p at 170p. Rival Direct Line was down 1.8p at 329p and Admiral fell 45p at 2279p. On Londons blue-chip index, the FTSE 100 lacked any real direction once again up 47.40 points at 7657.21. Mining giant Rio Tinto was on the rise, despite reporting a 3% fall in iron ore shipments in 2019 as a cyclone and a fire at a port facility disrupted operations. Investors were buoyed by the company, saying it expected 2020 shipments to be 330 million to 343 million tonnes, an improvement on last year. Rio Tinto rose 112p at 4648p. But there are concerns among investors that miners could be affected by the wildfires and crippling drought in eastern Australia, which has threatened production of commodities. The drought is expected to persist and miners are scrambling for water to keep their operations going. Pearson was the surprise riser after a dismal update yesterday. The rumour among brokers is that the education publisher is very near to naming a replacement to current chief executive John Fallon. Shares added 16.4p at 579p. Further down the league table and sausage maker Cranswick made hay after a profit upgrade following a top performance by its exports division. The companys fortunes have been boosted by African swine flu, which has increased demand for its uninfected pigs in the Far East. Cranswick said export sales have continued to be exceptionally strong after the spread of African swine flu to pigs in Asia. Analysts at Shore Capital waxed lyrical, saying the profit upgrade was very welcome and they viewed the stock as a core component of any mid-cap UK equity portfolio. She is the face of the Clean Fresh Skin Milk Nourishing Foundation by Covergirl. And on Thursday, Lili Reinhart attended the launch party for the product in Los Angeles. The 23-year-old looked ladylike and lovely in a blush pink dress, complete with wide sleeves and a netted lace back. Stepping out: On Thursday, Lili Reinhart, 23, attended the Covergirl launch party for the Clean Fresh Skin Milk Nourishing Foundation in Los Angeles The Riverdale actress wore her blonde locks back in a tousled updo. Lili showed off her naturally beautiful features with light makeup. The Cleveland native highlighted her green eyes with soft pink shadow, which matched her lips and cheek flush. The star's look was topped off with delicate stud earrings, nude and clear heels. With her naturally stunning features, she was the right choice to be the product face Stunning: The actress looked ladylike and lovely in a blush pink dress, complete with wide sleeves and a netted lace back Minimalist: The Riverdale actress wore her blonde locks back in a tousled updo. Lili showed off her naturally beautiful features with light makeup In an interview with People, the actress spoke of how important it is to keep make-up light. 'I'm working with CoverGirl on this campaign to promote the idea that natural skin is beautiful. I love to experiment with makeup, but people are getting in a bad habit of hiding their skin under layers and layers of product. Ive learned you dont have to over powder your face and letting your actual pores show is actually really beautiful. Thats what I like.' Simplicity: The Cleveland native highlighted her green eyes with soft pink shadow, which matched her lips and cheek flush Girls' meetup: Lili was joined by Disney's Kim Possible star Sadie Stanley, 18, who was styled in double denim Absolutely beautiful: Sadie and Lili were joined by actress Sydney Sweeney, 22, who looked timeless in head-to-toe blush Pretty women: While at the event, Lili caught up with model and artist Beau Dunn, 32, who looked lovely in lace Also attending the event were several other young influencers. Actress Sadie Stanley sported double denim, while Madison Ray, Jordyn Jones and Amanda Stanton coordinated in white and denim. Meanwhile, TV host and reality star Julissa Bermudez, 36, looked trendy in a tan leather two-piece complete floral print heels. Model and artist Beau Dunn, 32, looked lovely in white lace. Spring ready: Madison Ray, Jordyn Jones and Amanda Stanton coordinated in white and denim Photo: The Canadian Press Worshippers attend Friday prayers ceremony led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei n Tehran, Friday. Iran's supreme leader lashed out at Western countries as he led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, dismissing American clowns who he said pretend to support the Iranian nation but want to stick their "poisoned dagger into its back. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used his rare appearance at the weekly prayers to deliver a fiery address in which he insisted Iran would not bow to U.S. pressure after months of crushing sanctions and a series of recent crises from the killing of a top Iranian general to the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane. Khamenei said the mass funerals for Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this month, show that the Iranian people support the Islamic Republic despite its recent trials. He said the cowardly hit on Soleimani had taken out the most effective commander in the battle against the Islamic State group. In response to Soleimani's killing, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting U.S. troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. Khamenei said the strike had dealt a blow to America's image as a superpower. In the part of his sermon delivered in Arabic, he said the real punishment would be in forcing the U.S. to withdraw from the Middle East. After the missile strike, as Iran's Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after takeoff from Tehran's international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. When it came, their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Khamenei called the shootdown of the plane a "bitter accident" that he said had saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. He said Iran's enemies had seized on the crash to question the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard and the armed forces. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Friday that his country wants Iran to issue a formal document admitting its guilt. Ukraine, Canada and other nations whose citizens died in the crash have demanded Iran pay compensation to the victims' families. German airline Lufthansa meanwhile said its flights would continue to avoid Iranian airspace through March 28, citing the continued unclear security situation. Khamenei also lashed out at Britain, France and Germany after they triggered a dispute mechanism to try and bring Iran back into compliance with the unraveling 2015 nuclear agreement. Iran began openly breaching certain limits under the agreement last summer, more than a year after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal and began imposing sanctions. After the killing of Soleimani, Iran said it was no longer bound by the nuclear deal. These contemptible governments are waiting to bring the Iranian nation to its knees, Khamenei said. America, who is your elder, your leader and your master, was not able to bring the Iranian nation to its knees. You are too small to bring the Iranian nation to its knees. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A 57-year-old woman who took part in a series of killings at the Alpine Manor nursing home in 1987 has been released from a Florida prison. Catherine May Wood was released Thursday, Jan. 16 from a Tallahassee institution after serving about 30 years for second-degree murder in the deaths of five elderly people at the nursing home. A co-defendant, Gwendolyn Graham, is serving a life sentence. Wood is in Florida because Graham is imprisoned at Michigans only facility for female inmates. Woods release follows more than a year of legal wrangling as opponents of her parole tried to keep her locked up. A Kent County judge in October ruled he could not find that the Michigan Parole Board abused its discretion in granting parole to Wood. According to parole documents, WOOD planned to live with a sister in South Carolina once released. Donald Trump tried to strong-arm Britain and its European allies into waging diplomatic war with Iran by threatening to impose 25 per cent tariffs on their lucrative car exports, the German defense minister revealed yesterday. The US President was piling pressure on Boris Johnson, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to formally accuse Tehran of violating the 2015 nuclear deal. At a press conference in London yesterday, Germany's Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer confirmed reports of such economic threats and said: 'This expression or threat, as you will, does exist.' A 25 per cent tax on cars would particularly hurt Germany, which exports around 23billion worth of vehicles across the Atlantic each year. On Tuesday, London, Paris and Berlin jointly announced they had been left with 'no choice' but to trigger the dispute mechanism of the nuclear deal against Iran, in a move that would have buoyed the President. Iran's foreign minister responded by accusing the trio of bowing to pressure from the US President. Donald Trump (pictured at a rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday) tried to strong-arm Britain and its European allies into waging diplomatic war with Iran by threatening to impose 25 per cent tariffs on their lucrative car exports, the German defense minister revealed yesterday The US President was piling pressure on Boris Johnson (left), Angela Merkel (right) and Emmanuel Macron (middle) to formally accuse Tehran of violating the 2015 nuclear deal Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (speaking at the London School of Economics yesterday) confirmed reports of such economic threats from the White House and said: 'This expression or threat, as you will, does exist Iran's hints at nuclear weapons President Rouhani yesterday Iran's president warned yesterday there is 'no limit' on the country's uranium enrichment programme since it abandoned the global nuclear deal in response to the killing of its top general in a US airstrike. President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech: 'We are enriching more uranium than before the deal was reached ... Pressure has increased on Iran but we continue to progress.' The speech increased fears Iran could be close to building its own nuclear weapons as European diplomats try desperately to salvage the 2015 deal which President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018. As Rouhani spoke, the European Union's top diplomat met Iran's foreign minister in India to press Tehran to 'preserve' the increasingly fragile deal, according to a statement released in Brussels. After the airstrike that killed General Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Iran's regional military operations, it said it would abandon all restrictions. Rouhani said its nuclear programme was now in a 'better situation' than it was before the deal was agreed with world powers, including Britain, Germany and France. Advertisement Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted they had 'sold out remnants of #JCPOA (the nuclear deal) to avoid new Trump tariffs'. Yet EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan distanced himself from Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer's account of White House threats, which was first reported in the Washington Post. Speaking of recent trade talks with US officials, he said: 'It [threats] was not mentioned, it was hardly mentioned. I think it should be good news for Germany.' Since Mr Trump gave the order to assassinate Iran's powerful general Qassem Soleimani, tensions in the region have turned hot, with the regime responding by firing rockets at a US base in Iraq. The Iranians then accused the US of wrongly blaming them for the downing of a Ukranian plane in Tehran which killed 176 passengers - but they later admitted it had been mistaken for a cruise missile and shot down by a trigger-happy member Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Washington also doubled down on sanctions designed to cripple the already weak Iranian economy. Mr Trump initially slapped sanctions on Iran when he unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear agreement in 2018. The nuclear deal - formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - was signed by Barack Obama, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia in 2015, when they agreed to lift sanctions on the regime in exchange for restraints on the suspected Iranian nuclear programme. But since the US reimposed its sanctions, Iran claims to have reacted by firing up their nuclear programme once again. President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday: 'We are enriching more uranium than before the deal was reached Pressure has increased on Iran but we continue to progress.' Britain's Mr Johnson signalled this week his desire to see a new nuclear deal negotiated that Mr Trump can also swing behind. He said: 'If we are going to get rid of it then we need a replacement...If we are going to get rid of it, let's replace it and let's replace it with the Trump deal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at a press conference in Tehran yesterday that the regime has started 'enriching Uranium', the element used in nuclear programmes Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystaiko (left) and Britain's Foreign Secretary and Dominic Raab (right) light a candle to commemorate the victims of the Ukrainian plane shot down in Iran 'From the American perspective it's a flawed agreement, it expires, plus it was negotiated by (former) President Obama. From their point of view it has many, many faults.' He added: 'President Trump is a great deal-maker - by his own account and many others. Let's work together to replace the JCPOA and get the Trump deal instead.' He added: 'President Trump is a great deal-maker - by his own account and many.' Threats to put hefty taxes on automotive exports appears to be a staple part of Mr Trump's modus operandi. In 2018 he began threatening to put tariffs on auto imports to defend US automakers, which alarmed Japanese and EU automakers in particular. But Japanese automakers appeared to be in the clear after Washington and Tokyo struck a new trade accord in September of last year. And a deadline for Mr Trump to make a decision on the auto tariffs appeared to lapse in November without comment from the White House. Posters of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, whose assassination by the US ignited tensions in the Middle East That month, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross - who oversaw the drafting of a report on whether US national security requirements justified such auto tariffs - raised the possibility that no tariffs would be imposed. Mr Hogan also said Thursday that US officials were not satisfied so far with EU efforts to resolve a dispute over subsidies to the aircraft maker Airbus. The United States in October slapped tariffs on $7.5billion in European exports after the World Trade Organization ruled that the subsidies were impermissible. 'But at least there's an opinion expressed in relation to the proposal,' Hogan said, adding that Brussels was now waiting for a Trump counter-offer. 'What we share is an objective of having a comprehensive outcome in relation to civil aviation,' he said. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gavels the end of the day at the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. Senate Television/AP Images Chief Justice John Roberts administered an oath to all 100 senators on Thursday, overseeing as they swore to "do impartial justice" during President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial. But dozens of senators on both sides of the aisle have already promised to break that oath. Chief among them is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "Everything I do during this, I'm coordinating with White House counsel," McConnell recently said. "The case is so darn weak coming over from the House. We all know how it's going to end. There is no chance the president is going to be removed from office." There's nothing in the rules governing the Senate's impeachment process that would allow Roberts or anyone else to ensure lawmakers uphold impartial justice. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Chief Justice John Roberts administered an oath to all 100 senators on Thursday, overseeing as they swore to "do impartial justice" during President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial. Every senator solemnly swore "that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help me God." But dozens of senators, on both sides of the aisle but particularly in the GOP, have already promised to break that oath. Chief among them is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "Everything I do during this, I'm coordinating with White House counsel," McConnell recently told Fox News' Sean Hannity of the impeachment trial. "The case is so darn weak coming over from the House. We all know how it's going to end. There is no chance the president is going to be removed from office." Rather than insisting they'll keep their minds open to the evidence they're presented with as a regular juror is required to do in a criminal trial many senators are clear that they've made up their mind on how they'll vote. Story continues And there's nothing in the rules governing the Senate's impeachment process that would allow Roberts or anyone else to ensure lawmakers uphold impartial justice. Constitutional experts say the oath's lack of teeth is just further evidence of the political nature of the impeachment process the Founders designed. Impeachment is a fundamentally political process the Constitution stipulates that only Congress, rather than a court of law, can impeach and remove a president from office. Both Democrats and Republicans are vulnerable to political pressures from the president to their constituents which may well influence their vote. Many Republicans argue Trump's impeachment is a partisan "witch hunt," so they see it as their responsibility to protect Trump from a political conviction. Democrats, meanwhile, may feel politically obligated to vote for removal. Democrats have also previously interpreted the oath as permitting them to advocate on the president's behalf. During former President Bill Clinton's 1999 impeachment trial, Chuck Schumer now the Senate's minority leader argued senators aren't required to be impartial in the traditional sense, calling the trial "a little bit judicial and a little bit legislative-political." "The Founding Fathers, whose wisdom just knocks my socks off every day, it really does, set this process up to be in the Senate, not at the Supreme Court, not in some judicial body," Schumer said then. "Every day, for instance, hundreds of people call us up and lobby us on one side and the other. You can't do that with a juror. The standard is different. It's supposed to be a little bit judicial and a little bit legislative-political." The Senate trial will officially resume on Tuesday, after lawmakers are given the day off on Monday to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The seven House impeachment prosecutors, also known as managers, will present the case against Trump first before Trump's team presents his defense. Read the original article on Business Insider King Mohammed VI who started Wednesday a visit to the Atlantic city of Essaouira paid shortly after arrival a visit to Bayt Dakira, a spiritual space that tells the story and history of Judaism in Essaouira and in Morocco, a space that preserves and perpetuates the Judeo-Moroccan memory and heritage. This historical, cultural and spiritual space hosts Slat Attia Synagogue; Bayt Dakira or the house of memory and history; and the Haim & Celia Zafrani International Research Center on the history of relations between Judaism and Islam. The visit to this edifice reflects the special interest that King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, attaches to the cultural and religious heritage of the Moroccan Jewish community, and his unrelenting efforts to preserve the richness and diversity of the spiritual components of the Kingdom and its authentic heritage. Upon his arrival at Bayt Dakira, the Monarch was greeted by Royal Advisor and president of the Essaouira-Mogador Association, Andre Azoulay, and by the members of the Scientific Committee of Bayt Dakira as well as by the board of the Essaouira-Mogador Association, initiator of this project, and the architects in charge of the edifice rehabilitation. The Sovereign was then greeted by the Chief Rabbi of Casablanca, Joseph Israel, and Chief Rabbi David Pinto, before visiting the Slat Attia prayer hall, one of the most emblematic synagogues of Essaouira-Mogador which reflects the exceptional singularity and richness of Moroccan Judaism. The Sovereign was also greeted by Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the UNESCO. During the visit, Andre Azoulay, who offered to the Monarch copies of The Koran and The Torah, delivered an address in which he affirmed that the Sovereigns visit seals the rebirth of the city of Essaouira, which has always been turned towards the rest of the world. It is a historic day that bears the imprint of our secular and millenary Morocco that has been able to protect the very great diversity, which is the central wealth of our country, the president of the Essaouira-Mogador Association said. This house is the house of memory and history. It is also that of the Moroccan compass that the world needs today, a world in search of landmarks, a world that turns its back on all those values that are those of our country under the leadership of HM the King, Commander of the Faithful, Azoulay added. Bayt Dakira is a place of memory that tells through objects, texts, photos and films the exceptional saga of Judaism in the city of Essaouira and its heritage. Bayt Dakira, which presents and explains all the passages of Jewish life in Essaouira, from birth to death and from Bar Mitzvah to marriage, is also a place of pedagogy thanks to the Haim and Celia Zafrani Research Center, which constitutes a space for exchange between researchers from different horizons and a platform for sharing, transmission and resistance to amnesia. The visit was marked by religious songs performed by Cantor Michel Abittan and prayers by the Chief Rabbi of Casablanca, Joseph Israel. At the end of the visit, the King was greeted by 27 personalities from the Moroccan Jewish community and the world. Later in the evening, King Mohammed VI offered a dinner banquet in honor of members of the Moroccan Jewish community and other Moroccan and foreign personalities who were present during the sovereigns visit to Bayt Dakira. You are here: World Flash Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday to appoint the former head of the Russian Federal Tax Service Mikhail Mishustin as the new prime minister, one day after the resignation of the previous government. The decree released on the Kremlin website becomes effective immediately. Also on Thursday, Putin signed another decree appointing former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, a newly created post in the institution headed by Putin. Earlier in the day, the Russian State Duma, or the lower house of parliament, approved Mishustin, 53, for the post by a majority vote. Under the Russian constitution, Mishustin has to present to Putin the composition of the new government within one week. The previous government headed by Medvedev tendered its resignation on Wednesday, shortly after Putin made an address to the Federal Assembly. Newberg attorney Christopher R. Best has been charged with domestic violence crimes in Clackamas County, including strangulation, harassment and menacing. The indictment lists three separate incidents over more than a year. The court documents state that Best intentionally, knowingly and recklessly injured a woman by applying pressure on the throat, neck or chest and blocking the nose or blocking the mouth, impeding her ability to breathe. One alleged assault was committed in the presence of the victims children, according to the indictment. Kateri Walsh, a spokeswoman for the Oregon State Bar, said there are currently two open complaints against Best one filed by the domestic violence victim in November, and the other filed this week by a third party, but related to the same domestic violence case. Walsh said while the investigations are open, Best is still licensed to practice law. She said the state bar is currently in the process of screening the complaints to see if theres enough evidence of possible misconduct. That process will likely take a few weeks. Walsh said. She said if there is evidence of potential misconduct, there will be a more formal investigation. Walsh said if an attorney is found to be in violation of ethics rules through the investigation process, they could face sanctions which range from public reprimand to a suspension of their law license to disbarment. Best is a shareholder at The Gatti Law Firm, which bills itself as the largest personal injury firm in Oregon. The firms website states that Best is currently acting as co-counsel in a suit involving one of the largest securities fraud investment scams in Oregon. He also represents Bryce Cleary, a Corvallis doctor who says his donated sperm was used to father at least 17 children despite an agreement with Oregon Health & Sciences Universitys fertility clinic that allowed for only five. Cleary filed a $5.25 million lawsuit last October against OHSU. -- Douglas Perry @douglasmperry --Jayati Ramakrishnan @JRamakrishnanOR Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Victims of sexual harassment across the UK are being urged to share their experiences to strengthen protection for workers. Ministers will carry out a survey to find out how many people are affected by harassment in workplaces and elsewhere. The Government Equalities Office said the move will give victims a chance to have their say on future laws. Ministers will carry out a survey to find out how many people are affected by harassment in workplaces and elsewhere. A stock image is used above for illustrative purposes [File photo] It is one of the biggest surveys of its kind, with 12,200 women and men interviewed but it is not clear how many will have suffered from harassment. A ComRes poll for the BBC in 2017 found 40 per cent of women and 18 per cent of men have experienced unwanted sexual behaviour at work. Victoria Atkins, minister for women, said: Sexual harassment is wrong and survivors must be able to share their stories. This survey will help us build a clear picture of who is affected and where. Working together with business, we can stamp it out. The survey is part of a package of pledges to tackle sexual harassment at work, which includes a new code of practice for employers. This will explain their legal responsibilities and advise them how to protect staff from sexual harassment. Meanwhile, a new study has revealed women in senior positions are subject to more sexual harassment at work than those on a lower grade. Swedish researchers said the reason was because they were caught in the middle and subjected to abuse by workers from above and below them. Women in the US, Japan, and Sweden all reported the same trend even though gender equality in the three countries differs greatly. Study author Professor Johanna Rickne, of Stockholm University, said: We expected a higher exposure for women with less power in the workplace. Instead we found the contrary. Advertisement She keeps popping into my head. And there's no doubt that the teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg would approve wholeheartedly of Costa Rica's much-heralded efforts to look after its outstanding natural beauty. It's just that Greta goes about her mission with such earnestness that you can't help wanting the girl to smile more, despair less and have some unadulterated fun. Thank goodness the people (some five million in total) in this spectacular country which has Nicaragua on its northern border and Panama to the south do a great deal of smiling and, as far we can see, have lots of fun. Captivating: The Rio Celeste waterfall in Costa Rica. Almost three million people visit the country every year, with Britons very much at the front of the tourist peloton Ticos, as Costa Ricans are called, are gentle, welcoming and wear their eco-credentials lightly, perhaps aware that for all the environmental high-mindedness, the bottom line counts, too. Almost three million people visit the country every year, with Britons very much at the front of the tourist peloton, helped hugely by direct BA flights. Despite its small size (roughly similar to Denmark), Costa Rica possesses more than five per cent of the world's total biodiversity, and its disbanding of its army in 1948 means that huge financial resources have been ploughed into education, resulting in a literacy rate way above the average for Central America. Costa Rica's slogan 'Pura Vida' (pure life) may be cheesy, but it's not without foundation when you consider its ancient rainforests, active volcanoes, waterfalls, coffee plantations, national parks, hippy-dippy surf towns, rumbustious Pacific and calm Caribbean coasts, plus, topping the bill, a wildlife that comprises 250 species of mammals, nearly 9,000 species of birds and more than 250,000 types of insect, including a quarter of the world's butterflies. So take binoculars. But, whatever you do, bring the most powerful mosquito repellent on the planet because we lose practically a whole day nursing our throbbing ankles, hands and arms after offering the midgies a perfect all-you-can-eat Anglo-Saxon gourmet dinner. It's early November when we visit. That means the Pacific west coast is in transition from the rainy to dry season, while on the Caribbean coast it's the other way round. Easy going: The beach at Santa Teresa. You put your watch away... especially at sunset when the spray of the surf catches the fading light, writes Mark Supermodel Gisele Bundchen, pictured, has a house in Costa Rica. Mel Gibson also has a place in town and David Cameron spent Christmas near Santa Teresa a couple of years ago We flit back and forth between the two and experience some ferocious but exhilarating downpours, plenty of clear skies, high humidity and temperatures around the 28 degree mark. Our aim is to see and do as much as we can over ten nights, with the help of tour operator Elegant Resorts and its excellent ground handlers, Travel Pioneers. For the most part we want to drive ourselves a road trip of sorts, albeit one that results each evening in a comfortable bed and good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. 'Don't bother with San Jose,' a friend had advised. But we are pleased to have brushed shoulders, fleetingly, with the capital, staying our first night at Grano De Oro, a colonial-style hotel about a mile west of the city centre. My wife, Joanna, collects antique glass and did a Google search before leaving the UK. So just after checking in, we order a taxi, hand the driver an address and head off heaven-knows-where. 'I wait for you,' says the cabbie, as we pull up outside a dilapidated antique shop. We're not sure if this is because we will find ourselves stranded or because he knows a good piece of business when he sees one. Turns out he insists on staying with us for the next two hours as we stop here and there, after which he charges only 15. It's about the only bargain we will encounter. Costa Rica is not cheap. Next day, we retrieve our rental car and head west to the Papagayo Gulf, not to the overly-built area where the Four Seasons and other big resort hotels cater mainly for Americans, but about an hour or so south where the serial Moroccan/French entrepreneur, Mehdi Rheljari, has just opened a five-room eco-lodge called Kasiiya. It's one of the most exceptional projects I've ever witnessed, mainly because you might never know it's there. Such is the footprint of the tented suites that it's the howler monkeys who have more of a presence than any of the man-made structures. Mehdi bought some 55 hectares of rainforest which towers over three beaches, accessible only from the sea if you are not staying at the hotel. Come to think of it, hotel is really the wrong word, but eco-lodge doesn't do it justice either. The young staff are totally committed to Mehdi's vision. There's a shaman-type character who operates from a tree-house spa; barefoot Bruno, originally from Berlin, offers 'movement sessions' (some of which involve taking your cue from animals); and trained naturalist Manfred takes you on hikes pointing out the wildlife (I swear there's a tear in his eye when an osprey does a fly-past). The beautiful Papagayo Gulf. Mark stayed at a five-room eco-lodge called Kasiiya about an hour south of here Mark said of Kasiiya, pictured: 'It's one of the most exceptional projects I've ever witnessed' Kasiiya was built by serial Moroccan/French entrepreneur, Mehdi Rheljari Paradise: The sun deck at Kasiiya, with views out across the glittering water You go with the flow here (there are only two choices at lunch and dinner and just the one at breakfast) because you know it will land you just where you want to be. Leaving after 48 hours is not easy and proves vexing as we head south to Santa Teresa, Costa Rica's little secret which is not such a secret any more. The drive is onerous. We've done everything possible by way of downloading the satnav app Waze and it should take us 4 hours, but nearly seven hours later we're crawling along a bumpy track in darkness, wondering why people are calling Santa Teresa the 'new Tulum'. 'Bad roads bring good people,' is a refrain we hear more than once. If true, Santa Teresa must be a community of saints. The main street, separated from the beach by a thin strip of woodland, has giant craters in it. Perfectly positioned Hotel Nantipa has been open for less than a year. Its modern design (teak wood, huge sliding glass doors, flashy bar and restaurant on the beach) is in stark contrast to Santa Teresa's hostels, shacks and yoga retreats with names such as 'Slower the better'; 'Believe' and 'The love zone'. Coffee pickers dressed in traditional clothing show off their ripe coffee cherries on a coffee farm in San Marcos de Tarrazu A tree frog, which is characterised by its small size and red eyes. Costa Rica possesses more than five per cent of the world's total biodiversity Mel Gibson has a place in town; so does supermodel Gisele Bundchen. David Cameron spent Christmas near Santa Teresa a couple of years ago, as did Canadian PM Justin Trudeau this year. And here's the rub: for now it's the pot-holed dusty track that makes sure Santa Teresa's bohemian vibe lives on, keeping away those New York bankers who have colonised the Mexican riviera. I'm not a surfer, but if I were this must be one the greatest places in the world to practise one's 'aerials' and 'backsides'. Two days here is absurd and contrary to the care-free vibe. You put your watch away and hang out in Santa Teresa especially at sunset when the spray of the surf catches the fading light and the dudes catch the final waves of the day. It will be fascinating to see what happens to this glorious spot over the next ten years. Then we head for Tortuguero National Park to introduce ourselves to sloths, iguanas, crocodiles, killer frogs and snakes. It's an eight-hour trip, so we break our journey in La Fortuna and stay one night at the new and highly recommended Amor Arenal. Dusk arrives early, but there's just time to visit a farm nearby where a taciturn man called Oscar has set up his own nature reserve, concentrating mainly on sloths. What extraordinary animals they are. By definition they don't do much, spending hour upon hour wrapped around a tree branch. 'The only come down to go to the toilet,' says Oscar. A green hermit hummingbird feeds in the rain in Costa Rica. The country is home to nearly 9,000 species of birds A three-toed sloth hangs from a tree in Costa Rica, which is home to 250 species of mammals COSTA RICA'S BIG TEN 1. Sloths: Look up because they seldom come down. 2. Monkeys: You'll see many varieties and hear howlers. 3. Whales: From December to March humpbacks call the warm South Pacific waters home. 4. Birds: Take your pick from more than 900 species. 5. Turtles: Leatherbacks, green turtles, Olive ridleys, loggerheads (below) and hawksbills are all here. 6. Iguanas: An adult green iguana can reach 6ft long. 7. Dolphins: Spot them all year round. 8. Tree frogs: Tiny and red-eyed. 9. Devil Rays: They fly out of the water as if suspended in mid-air. 10. Butterflies: The blue morpho is the most famous butterfly in Costa Rica. Advertisement La Fortuna is where Costa Rica tourism revs into gear, offering everything from white-water rafting to canyoning, zip-lining, horse-riding, marinating in hot springs or just strolling under a tropical canopy, all in the shadow of the country's biggest active volcano. The last time Volcan Arenal blew its top was in 1968, when 78 people perished, and it only stopped releasing lava in 2010. Today, it's an awesome sight when not hidden by a sombrero of cloud. The main access point to Tortuguero National Park is some four hours away from La Fortuna in La Pavona. Here, tour buses deposit their human cargo on the river bank and then flat-bottomed boats take them off to various lodges along the canal that is separated from the sea by a spit of land, while various watery subsidaries take you further into the rainforest. Our berth Tortuga Lodge has been around since the 1980s and it's beginning to show its age, but you're not here to marvel at the interiors when there's so much going on outdoors. Included in the rate is one morning and one afternoon safari, plus a trip to the village, where locals do their best to make a living from relentless tourism. We stay two nights at Tortuga Lodge but would have preferred just the one, especially once we arrive at our final destination Puerto Viejo in the far south-east of the country practically on the border with Panama. It's a colourful, buzzy little town where Jamaicans settled some 100 years ago. They came to Costa Rica to build the railways and never left. Ramshackle but with a growing number of chi-chi shops, bars and restaurants, this might be like Barbados was long before the Sandy Lane crowd took over. We stay just off the main drag at a delightful little place called Aguas Claras, with almost direct access to the beach. 'We've left the best until last,' I tell Joanna, sagely, as we saunter here and there before choosing a spot for our final supper. We opt for a fusion-style restaurant packed with locals and it seems entirely appropriate. Puerto Viejo is a glorious fusion of Central American and Caribbean cultures and reason enough to return to this gentle and engaging country. Advertisement Sci-fi writers have long dreamed of turning Mars into a more Earth-like planet for future colonisation. From the first photographic fly-by of Mars by the Mariner 4 spacecraft in 1965 to NASA's Orion project and Elon Musk's SpaceX venture, getting humans to the Red Planet has become one of the greatest challenges and preoccupations of our time. But conditions on Mars are deeply hostile to humans. It is too cold to maintain water and there is no ozone layer to shield against UV radiation. This means that sending humans to live there will be not just a new frontier for science, but also for design. Every detail of this extraordinary venture must be planned out from the journey, which takes around seven months, to considering what we will wear, eat and shelter in when we get there. Europe's ExoMars Rover will be launched with NASA's rover Mars 2020 in March. Pictured, an artist's impression of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and its entry, landing and descent module The role that design will play in humanity's journey to the Red Planet is explored in an exhibition entitled 'Moving to Mars', running at the Design Museum in London until 23 February 2020. It features over 200 exhibits, including original objects and material from NASA, ESA, SpaceX, Raymond Loewy, Chesley Bonestell plus new commissions from responsible design company RBURN, Anna Talvi and Konstantin Grcic. 'The interesting thing about going to Mars is that it is a total design project,' Eleanor Watson, Curator of Moving to Mars, told MailOnline. 'Every single aspect of the mission and life on the planet needs to be thought out, meaning that a huge number of designers are working on the subject in very different ways. 'In the exhibition we manage this by looking at the various stages of our likely roadmap to Mars, from the voyage, to surviving on the planet in the immediate, to possible outcomes in terms of the planets long-term future, and using each of these stages to look at what designers can bring to the conversation.' In an exclusive feature for MailOnline, Ms Watson offers her pick of the most innovative designs in the exhibition - from the first spacesuit designed for Mars, to a 3D-printed Martian home, and fashion made from space blankets. 1:1 Mars Habitat, Hassell, 2019 London-based architecture firm Hassell has created a full-scale prototype Mars habitat, as part of NASAs 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. The 3D-printed shell structure is constructed from Martian regolith and contains lightweight inflatable pods that have been prefabricated on Earth. Internal spaces include a state of the art laboratory, a fully-equipped workshop with digital fabrication facilities, a hydroponic greenhouse, and sleeping chambers containing gym facilities and immersive virtual reality platforms. London-based architecture firm Hassell has created a full-scale prototype Mars habitat, as part of NASAs 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge 'We feature a huge number of architectural proposals in the exhibition, showcasing different concepts for the type of house we might live in on Mars,' said Watson. 'While its nice to see the overall form of these buildings we thought it would be even better if visitors could step inside, so we collaborated with architecture firm Hassell to produce a full-scale version of one module from their Mars habitat proposal. 'Its really interesting being able to see the level of detail that needs to go into a Mars habitat, from the radiation shielding to the flexible storage systems inside. 'One detail I especially like in Hassells proposal is the use of bamboo for the flooring and shelving units. Sleeping chambers inside the Hassell Mars habitat contain gym facilities and immersive virtual reality platforms. Bamboo surfaces help to provide warm textures and make them feel more homely 'After speaking with people who had spent time in extreme, enclosed environments, the architects learnt that something people really miss is variety in texture. 'These spaces are usually highly functional, with plastic and metal interiors that are easy to clean and maintain, but people need to be stimulated and generally appreciate having warm textures inside their homes. 'Bamboo is perfect for this as it grows extremely quickly, has high tensile strength and can be used for a variety of home furnishings. 'The idea is that astronauts could bring a few bamboo plants along with them, grow them in their habitat and then cut them and use them for making furniture as needed.' The 3D-printed shell structure is constructed from Martian regolith and contains lightweight inflatable pods that have been prefabricated on Earth Map of Mars by Giovanni Schiaparelli, 1877 The exhibition also features several maps of Mars by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli in the late 1870s. 'No single person has influenced our perception of Mars more than the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli,' said Watson. 'He transformed the planet from an abstract red dot in the sky into a place, a destination, by publishing a series of highly detailed maps, the original manuscript of which we have in the exhibition. 'Schiaparelli famously described the dark lines he saw on the planets surface as "canali", which was rather disastrously translated as "canals" rather than "channels" and led to much of the Western world believing that there were, or had been, intelligent beings on Mars. 'The idea was that the planet was slowly drying out, and that the Martian population had built a system of canals to draw water from the poles to irrigate the rest of the planet whether or not they had been successful was up for debate.' Schiaparelli's described the dark lines on the planets surface as 'canals', which many misinterpreted as signs of intelligent beings on Mars The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover, European Space Agency, on-going The exhibition also includes a full-scale prototype of the European Space Agencys ExoMars rover, knows as Bridget. Bridget has formed much of the basis for the Rosalind Franklin rover - the first Mars rover designed specifically to find evidence of Martian life, past or present. 'The best part about working on the Mars exhibition has been coming into contact with some fantastically talented and interesting people, who have been very generous in sharing their knowledge and expertise with us,' said Watson. 'Key among these is the staff at the European Space Agency, who have lent us a full-scale model of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover, which is the next rover being sent off to Mars in Spring of 2020. Bridget is a full-scale prototype of the European Space Agencys ExoMars rover, Rosalind Franklin, which will search for signs of alien life on the red planet The model is exhibited alongside a series of three engineering prototypes that show the different types of locomotion that were tested during the rovers development 'The rover is being sent to look for traces of past life on the planet and will conduct a series of experiments using its nine built-in tools. 'The model is exhibited alongside a series of three engineering prototypes that show the different types of locomotion that were tested during the rovers development, which gives you an idea of how tricky it is to design something that can safely and reliably travel along the planets surface.' NDX-1 suit, Dr Pablo de Leon, on-going On display for the first time as part of the exhibition is NDX-1, the first prototype spacesuit designed specifically for use on Mars. It was created to withstand the planet's gruelling conditions, while soft fabric-joints improve mobility when compared to the suits used on the moon. 'Another stand-out exhibit for me is the NDX-1 spacesuit which has been developed by Dr Pablo de Leon from the University of North Dakota,' said Watson 'Dr de Leon has been working at the Space Suit Laboratory for a number of years developing the suit for NASA, producing a highly developed prototype of the type of suit astronauts are likely to wear on the Martian surface. The NDX-1 spacesuit was created to withstand the planet's gruelling conditions, and features soft fabric-joints to improve mobility 'I think what is interesting about it is how much it recalls the suits worn during the Apollo missions, but with some fundamental differences. 'The suit is lighter and allows for greater freedom of movement (crucial when conducting experiments). 'The helmet has an extra wide visor to broaden the field of vision, and the fabric of the suit is designed to be resistant to the damaging effects of Martian dust a toxic, sharp and sticky substance called regolith.' From Faeces to Food, Lydia Kallipoliti, 2019 As her final highlight from the exhibition, Watson picked a project by architect and engineer Lydia Kallipoliti, which imagines a Martian colony as a 'digestive inhabitable machine'. In her designs, human excrement is used to power combustion devices and the biological parts of the system they inhabit. 'Whether or not you would like to go to Mars, or even think that humankind should go there at all, there are a huge number of lessons that can be learnt from designing for the Red Planet that have direct and important applications here on Earth,' said Watson. 'Key among those is sustainability, as the limited payloads mean that any resource that is brought to Mars will need to be re-used and recycled in perpetuity. Lydia Kallipoliti' huge infographic shows what you would need to do to create a closed-loop system within a Martian habitat 'Having a zero-waste lifestyle on Mars is not "a nice thing to do" as we might think here on Earth, it is a matter of life and death. 'With that in mind, we commissioned the architect Lydia Kallipoliti to produce this huge infographic showing what you would need to do to create a closed-loop system within a Martian habitat. 'All inputs and outputs from the oxygen you breathe in, the carbon dioxide you breathe out, the food you consume, the faeces and urine you produce, your sweat, your body heat need to tally up perfectly to create a liveable ecosystem. 'It is an incredibly complicated exercise, and one of the main challenges for prospective Mars missions, but it helps us to appreciate the abundance of resources that we enjoy here on Earth, and hopefully will act as a reminder that we need to make more intelligent use of what we have.' The 'Moving to Mars' exhibition is running at the Design Museum in London until 23 February 2020. New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) Delhi senior Congress leader Ajay Maken, who had to face the music after he left for the United States just a few days before the assembly elections, was defended by party leader and former Delhi Lok Sabha MP Sandeep Dikshit on Friday. He also praised the party for drafting senior leaders to contest the polls. Taking to social media, Dikshit praised the party for drafting senior leaders to contest but defended Maken for the reasons he has cited to the party. Coming down heavily on Maken's critics, he wrote without taking names: "Few leaders who have been in different parties and have been kicked from there have come back to the party are making cheap comments on this incident and I have strong objections on it. "The direction of this attack is towards a former Education Minister of Delhi who was in the BJP for a few years and then returned to the Congress, besides contesting for the Lok Sabha polls from the party in 2019", said a source close to Dikshit. "I have strong differences with Maken but for the reason he has cited and refused to contest, I respect his decision. In this case if somebody is making cheap comments shows true colours" wrote Sandeep Dikshit on his Facebook page. miz/sdr/bg In 2017 a paper was published asserting that intravenous vitamin C given to patients with sepsis was literally a life saver. Despite the study only looking at 47 subjects the results garnered international coverage and was adopted in many ICUs worldwide. The global burden of sepsis is estimated at up to 19 million cases annually killing 5 million mainly in low income countries. The infection affects 1.7 million Americans a year and kills more than 250,000, making it one of the top 10 causes of death. In Australia more than 5,000 die from sepsis each year and it contributes to up to a half of all hospital deaths. A paper published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Monash researchers comprehensively quashes the idea that the vitamin C-based cocktail has any positive impact on patients with sepsis. Sepsis is the body's overreaction to a severe infection, leading to multiple organ failure and, frequently, death. Over the years, there has been indications that vitamin C might be effective against sepsis. For instance, people with sepsis tend to have surprisingly low levels of vitamin C in their blood. In 2014, Dr. Alpha Fowler published a paper involving just 24 patients, hinting that vitamin C was a benefit. In particular, Fowler noted that a measure of organ failure improved far more in the patients who had received vitamin C. Dr. Paul Marik at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in the US, after reading the study, gave a seriously ill patient with sepsis high dose intravenous Vitamin C, together with thiamine and steroids (the traditional treatment for sepsis) and the patient recovered. Dr Marik started using it regularly in his intensive care unit, reporting that the mortality rate for sepsis in his ICU had plummeted after he switched to this treatment. What became known as the "Marik protocol" has been adopted by many units worldwide. In today's JAMA publication a study led by Professor Rinaldo Bellomo, from Monash University and Co-Director of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC), refutes the idea that the combination of high dose intravenous vitamin C, thiamine (vitamin B1) and hydrocortisone is beneficial in the treatment of sepsis. The study (the VITAMINS trial) was set up by the ANZIC-RC across ten intensive care units in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil, looking at 216 patients in septic shock between May, 2018 and July, 2019. 216 patients were randomized to either the intervention group (thus receiving intravenous vitamin C, hydrocortisone and thiamine) or the control group (thus receiving hydrocortisone - a steroid - only). The study found no improvement in the duration of support with blood pressure drugs for the treatment of shock or survival of those receiving vitamin C + thiamine + steroid therapy compared to steroid therapy alone. According to Professor Bellomo, the study provides high quality evidence that, in patients with septic shock, the combination of high dose intravenous vitamin C, thiamine and hydrocortisone is not superior to usual care with hydrocortisone alone: A police clerk was booked for allegedly lifting a mobile phone seized from an alleged criminal in Ecotech 1 police station area. The clerk, Pradeep, has been booked under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) of the IPC. On November 26, Ecotech I police had arrested three members of Sunder Bhati gang and busted an extortion racket in Greater Noida. The suspects were identified as Sumit Bhati, Praveen and Anil Bhati, nephew of Sunder Bhati. Arun Kumar, SHO, Sector Ecotech 1 police station, said Anil had been heading the gang since his uncle Sunder Bhati was arrested by the police two years ago. Kumar said Anil was arrested in connection with the murder of a security guard and his mobile phone and other belongings were seized. The mobile phone was kept in the malkhana in the police station. However, recently we came to know that the mobile phone was missing. We launched an investigation and found that a police clerks son was using the phone, he said. Kumar said that he questioned the clerk about the matter. The clerk said it appears his son had visited the police station, and picked up the phone, without his knowledge, he said. We have also submitted a report regarding this. Senior officials will take suitable action in this regard, added. Supreme leaders appearance comes at a tumultuous time after the accidental downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is delivering a Friday sermon in Tehran for the first time in almost eight years, as the Islamic Republic grapples with the fallout from the targeted killing of its top general in a United States air attack and popular anger after it accidentally downed a Ukrainian passenger jet. The last time Khamenei led Friday prayers at Tehrans Mosalla mosque was in February 2012, on the 33rd anniversary of the countrys revolution. The Iranian nation will once again demonstrate their unity and magnificence, Tehran Friday Prayers headquarters said in a statement on Wednesday, as cited by Iranian state media. Khamenei has held the countrys top office since 1989 and has the final say on all important decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US air attack in Baghdad on January 3, and promised harsh retaliation. On January 8 Iran launched a series of missile attacks on facilities housing US forces in Iraq. At least 11 US troops were wounded in the attacks, according to a statement by US Central Command released on Thursday. The attacks also caused significant material damage. As Irans Revolutionary Guard braced for a US counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a passenger aircraft shortly after it took off from Tehrans international airport, killing all 176 people on board. The plane had been travelling to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and was carrying mostly Iranian and Canadian passengers. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. Their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests in towns and cities across Iran which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Families want answers Canadas foreign minister on Thursday promised to push Tehran for answers about the tragedy. Families want answers, the international community wants answers, the world is waiting for answers and we will not rest until we get them, Francois-Philippe Champagne said at a meeting in London. 200116184532161 Champagne was speaking after talks with counterparts from countries whose nationals were among the people killed when the plane was hit. Later in a joint statement, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain issued a five-point plan for cooperation with Iran. It called for full and unhindered access for foreign officials to and within Iran and a thorough, independent and transparent international investigation. Iran should assume full responsibility for the downing of flight PS752 and (recognise) its duties towards the families of the victims and other parties including compensation, the statement said. Separately, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said involved countries should avoid turning the plane crash into a political issue, semi-official ISNA news agency reported. A failed agreement Tensions between Iran and the US have steadily escalated since President Donald Trump withdrew the US from Irans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which had imposed restrictions on its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The White House has since reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the countrys economy deeper into crisis. Sporadic protests erupted last year after the government hiked the price of fuel in a surprise announcement. Rights groups have said hundreds were killed as security forces cracked down on the demonstrations, while Tehran has rejected the death tolls provided by the groups as inaccurate. Trump has openly encouraged the protesters even tweeting in Farsi. After Soleimani was killed, Iran announced it would no longer be bound by the limitations in the nuclear agreement. European countries who have been trying to salvage the deal responded earlier this week by invoking a dispute mechanism in the deal that could result in even more sanctions. However, on Thursday, Rouhani said Iran was enriching more uranium than it was before the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal. Meanwhile, Germany confirmed a Washington Post newspaper report saying that the US had threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars if EU governments continued to back the nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the European parties of having sold out the deal to avoid trade reprisals from the US, and said Trump was again behaving like a high school bully. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Justin Wood (The Jakarta Post) Singapore Fri, January 17 2020 The World Economic Forum will convene its 50th Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, next week under the theme Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World. Nearly 3,000 leaders from business, government, academia and civil society will discuss pressing issues and drive collective action to address them. Among the 118 countries taking part, Indonesia is sending a strong delegation of government ministers led by Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan. Many of the countrys business champions, thinkers and policymakers will join them. Two of the issues on the agenda at this 50th meeting are critical: the unfolding climate crisis, and the deepening social divisions arising from models of economic growth that are not inclusive. 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 FLINT, MI -- Heavy rains pushed more than 187 million gallons of partially-treated sewage into the Flint and Saginaw rivers last weekend, according to updated reports filed by wastewater officials in Flint, Saginaw and Bay City. The discharges, treated with disinfection and some settling, were also heavily diluted by rain and melted snow, according to reports filed by the three cities with the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. Flint, Saginaw and Bay City each have combined sanitary and storm sewers, which means runoff from rain ends up at sewage treatment plants that have retention basins but limited capacity. Once that capacity is reached, the overflow is released to prevent sewage backups. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls combined sewer overflows remnants of the countrys early infrastructure in which communities built sewer systems to collect both stormwater runoff and sanitary sewage in the same pipe. During dry weather, the combined sewers typically carry a manageable load of raw sewage, but during heavy rainfall or snow melting, systems can be overwhelmed and overflow into streams, rivers or lakes. The Flint River feeds into the Saginaw River, which discharges into Lake Huron. The wastewater treatment plant was working at upwards of five times its normal flow -- processing 77 (million gallons) through the plant, city of Flint spokeswoman Marjory Raymer said in an email to MLive-The Flint Journal. Normal dry weather flow varies between 15 and 20 (million gallons) per day. The wet weather created the spike in water flows, exceeding the plants capacity. Flint discharged more than 62 million gallons of stormwater and partially-treated sewage into the Flint River, according to state reports. Bay City released more than 47 million gallons in the Saginaw River after skimming and partial disinfection, and Saginaw released more than 78 million gallons of treated discharge into the Saginaw River from a series of retention basins that are used to hold overflows until capacity is reached. Earlier this week, the city of Lapeer also reported a 2.5-million gallon discharge into the Flint River. Saginaw also reported having treated the overflows, which had floatable and settleable solids removed ... with chlorine prior to discharge," according to its report to the state. Its the way the system was set up to work, Brian Baldwin, superintendent of the Saginaw wastewater treatment plant, said of the use of partial treatment and releases to the river. The EPA says approximately 860 communities with a total population of about 40 million people still operate with combined sewers, most of them in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions, particularly in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The agency calls combined sewers a major water pollution concern and among the major sources responsible for beach closings, shellfishing restrictions and other water body impairments" because of concerns about bacteria. Flint officials are among those who have questioned some requirements of the state concerning overflows, including bacteria testing. It sought an exemption from state requirements for the testing, contending its partially treated sewage discharges are in general cleaner than the receiving stream under high flow storm conditions. Just last year, however, the Genesee County Health Department turned down the citys request. Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright told the county Board of Commissioners Wednesday, Jan. 15, that health risks from sewage overflows are much higher when sewage isnt as diluted as weekend spills were. Wright said in one instance, human waste flowed into a storm drain in Shiawassee County and a child with an open cut was infected and eventually required a leg amputation. The Genesee County Health Department recommends against any contact with the Flint River under high flow conditions that typically include overflows, particularly downstream of releases. Page Content The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labor (VSA), held a series of Information & Registration sessions from January 49, 2020 at the various Community Help Desks. Participants at the sessions had the distinct opportunity to engage in discussions with the Honourable Minister of VSA, Mrs. Pamela Gordon-Carty. In her remarks, the Minister addressed the multi challenges that many families are still facing, as result of the 2017 hurricanes. As such, she made use of this platform, a community-based approach, to gather relevant information and to also engage in discussions with community members, as it pertains to how far they are with the repair of their homes and to inquire about other relevant social challenges that residents are faced with and to what extent they are coping with such. In addition, the Minister expressed her desire to see a reduction in the unemployment total, as it pertains to particularly skill workers. A practical approach is envisioned, as local contractors are encouraged, when and where possible, to make use of skilled persons from within their own communities when a fair opportunity is granted to them in participating in the rebuilding process. A total of 38 potential clients and nine contractors have registered, thus, far to participate in the program. Interested persons are hereby informed to register as soon as possible, at your nearest Community Help Desk, as the registration process will be halted upcoming Friday January 17, 2020. The social and technical assessment will then resume right after the closing of the registration process and then the actual implementation of the home repair will follow. Collaboration with other organizations will continue being sought on various level, as is the case now with NRPB and Red Cross, in order to reach a wider cross section of the community in the quest of assisting families and individuals in the ongoing recovery process. This home repair program is financed by the Government of St. Maarten, namely the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labour (VSA), and executed by the department of Community Development, Family & Humanitarian Affairs. About 15 years ago, an Amish family in the eastern United States was hit by an unexplainable tragedy as one of their children died suddenly while playing and running around. Just a few months later, the same fate befell another one of their children. Six years later, they lost another child. Two years after that, another one. The autopsies didn't offer any clues. The children's hearts appeared normal. The family had what they referred to as "the curse of sudden death." And medical examiners couldn't figure out why. After the deaths of the first two children, a medical examiner who conducted the autopsies got in touch with researchers at the Mayo Clinic Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory in 2004. Researchers at the lab had pioneered the concept of molecular autopsy, using genetic testing to understand the cause of death in sudden unexplained cases, and the examiner wanted to see if they could shed light on the mystery affecting the Amish community. The team suspected that a gene called RYR2 could be the culprit. Mutations of the gene can cause a cardiac arrhythmic disorder that can lead to exercise-fainting spells, seizures or even sudden cardiac death. But when they analyzed the gene to check for mutations, nothing turned up. The case remained cold for more than a decade. As the years went by, pediatric cardiologists and genetic counselors from other parts of the country reached out to the lab about other Amish families whose children had also died sudden deaths all looking for answers about this heartbreaking phenomenon. Then last week, researchers at the Mayo Clinic lab reported a breakthrough, published in JAMA Cardiology. With the help of new technology that wasn't around when they first started looking into the case, the team learned that these Amish children had all inherited the same genetic mutation from both of their parents. And out of the 23 young people who had inherited the mutation, 18 had died sudden deaths. "As we started building out the family structure, it became apparent to us that this was most likely a recessive disorder," David Tester, the lead scientist on the case, told CNN. "With more information and more technological advancement in terms of being able to look at genes, we were able to put this puzzle together." Children likely had common ancestor Turns out, it was RYR2, the gene the researchers had suspected all along. But there wasn't just one mistake in the gene. More than 300,000 base pairs in the gene had been duplicated. "We finally figured it out that it was an autosomal recessive condition where both bad duplications came from both parents, and those children were unfortunate to get the double dose," Michael Ackerman, director of the Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory, told CNN. To develop the duplication that causes sudden death, a child has to inherit a mutated gene from each parent, the chances of which are 25 percent. That four children in one family inherited the mutation and died sudden deaths is incredibly unfortunate, Ackerman said. The Amish may be more vulnerable to recessive inherited conditions because they are descended from a small number of ancestors and tend to intermarry, Tester said. The two families studied in the report are seemingly unrelated, but because the children all had the exact same duplication in a gene inherited from both parents, Ackerman said that it's likely that they have a common ancestor. Discovery can help prevent sudden death Now that researchers know about this genetic marker, there are steps that medical professionals can take to prevent sudden deaths from occurring in other Amish children, Tester said. "Having this genetic biomarker, we can now very easily test any individual for the presence of the mutation," he said. "Having that ability can potentially save lives." Knowing who has the mutation and who doesn't is the first step to preventing tragedies like the ones experienced by the families in the study, Ackerman said. If adults who are carriers for the mutation know that they have it, they can make informed decisions about whether or not they should marry another person who is also a carrier. There are still challenges ahead. For children who have inherited the mutation and are at risk of sudden death, the only solution to prevent it is an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), which can be extremely expensive. Ackerman said his team is working on understanding more about what causes the duplication in the gene so that a medication to prevent it can be developed, a treatment that would be much more accessible. "We're going fast and furious to try to get this figured out for this Amish community," he said. But for now, Ackerman hopes the discovery will provide some closure to the families who have lost their loved ones. "We finally have figured out the curse of sudden death for the Amish community, and they now have peace of mind as to the reason," he said. The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 4 Angry 0 Kartik-Sara's Date Night On Valentine's Day When a journalist asked Kartik and Sara about their Valentine's day plans this year, "We will be watching this (Love Aaj Kal) on Valentine's Day. What else will we do?" When the reporter asked Kartik the same question, Khan interrupted saying, "Why are you asking him? You won't come? "Together?," Kartik jokingly asked to which Sara stated, "Of course, what else? It's our film. Who else will you go with?" Finally Kartik said, "The two of us will see the movie that night. We will see Love Aaj Kal that night. It will be a date night. 13th February and 14th February, both nights we will see the movie." Kartik On Why He Has Shied Away From Confessing His Crush On Sara Unlike Her "When Sara had said on national television, I then had a crush on her. From then on, I have been getting shy all the time." He added, "I don't know what to tell you when you guys ask me this. Sara had said it clearly, but what would I say? Looking at Sara, Kartik further said, 'Tu haan kar, ya na kar, tu hai meri Sara'. Sara Ali Khan On Working In An Imtiaz Ali Film The actress said, "It has been a dream come true to work with Imtiaz Sir. He is such a warm, gentle and nurturing person. He knows exactly what he wants, and knows, at least in my case, how to get it from me. I am stammering today because I cannot believe that I have had the opportunity to work with him. I still remember the day I met him in New Delhi, when I was feeling terrible after giving a bad shot, and Imtiaz sir told me that I should feel that way. So, he knows how to tell you how you should feel, and that taught me a lot." Kartik Aaryan Says His Thought Process Has Changed After Working With Imtiaz Ali "It is like a dream come true. I remember the first time I got a call from him. I was shooting for Lukka Chuppi. I was surprised, and I locked myself in the vanity van. I told everyone that I was in the washroom as I had an upset stomach. But I was talking to Imtiaz sir on the phone, and I did not want to be disturbed at all. When we were talking about the film, it was something else, and Love Aaj Kal happened. Love Aaj Kal, Rockstar are amongst our favourite films. So, I don't know what to say. It is a complete circle. It is amazing how sir saw me in Veer and Raghu's characters. My thought process has changed so much while working with him. It was an experience working with Imtiaz sir," said Kartik. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Workers at cannabis company Cresco Labs' Joliet, Illinois facility have voted in favor of unionizing. Workers at the plant, which is a cannabis cultivation and production facility, voted 58-32 earlier this week to join Local 881 of the United Food and Commercial Workers or UFCW union. The UFCW already represents about 10,000 cannabis workers nationwide. This is the first time that workers in Illinois' marijuana industry have opted to unionize after recreational marijuana was legalized in the state, according to reports. UFCW Local 881 President Steve Powell reportedly said in a statement the union is proud of the Cresco Labs workers and 'looks forward to standing with them to negotiate a fair and just contract that will improve their working conditions.' In a tweet, Senator Bernie Sanders encouraged the Cresco Labs workers in Joliet to unionize and said he will help to double union membership across the country if he gets elected as president. Cresco Labs CEO and co-founder Charlie Bachtell reportedly said in a statement that his company looked forward to continuing to provide the employees a fair package of employee wages, health and retirement benefits as well as an environment that is a great place to work. In October, Cresco Labs said it has received state approval to sell marijuana for recreational use at all five of its medical cannabis dispensaries in Illinois. In September, the company received approval to grow marijuana for recreational use at its three existing Illinois cultivation centers. Cresco Labs recently said it has permission for the largest cultivation footprint at 630,000 square feet and ten retail dispensaries in Illinois, including three in in the city of Chicago. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. The Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif met with the Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in Muscat, Oman, on Friday. The two ministers discussed consular, technical and legal cooperation between Iran and the countries whose nationals were killed in the Ukrainian plane crash in Tehran on January 8. According to the website of Iran's Foreign Ministry, the Canadian Foreign Minister had requested the meeting. Iranian and Canadian experts will be in contact regarding the said issues and the two ministers will meet and confer again in the future, the statement said. Oman and Iran have good relations and Muscat has mediated between Tehran and Washington on previous occasions. Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau is expected to provide an update to Canadians later on Friday. In a separate statement on Friday Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said he was surprised by some remarks of the foreign ministers of the five countries whose citizens were killed in downing of Ukrainian plane last week. The foreign ministers of Sweden, Canada, Britain, Ukraine and the acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan yesterday met in London to discuss the international investigation of the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran on January 8 and called on Iran to pay compensation for the victims and to conduct a "thorough, independent and transparent international investigation open to grieving nations". "We urge all sides to not abuse humanitarian issues - specifically this tragic incident - in a bid to make political gestures and pursue their political dreams," Mousavi said in response to the "negative comments" of the foreign ministers' of the five affected countries. Mousavi criticized the words of the Canadian foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne who on Thursday said Iran needed to begin talks that would result in a fair financial settlement and added: Compensation flows directly from the full admission of responsibility from the Iranian government. The eyes of the international community are on Iran today. I think that Iran has a choice, and the world is watching, Canadian foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said at a news conference in London, Reuters reported. Iran and Canada have not had diplomatic relations since September 2012 when Canada cut ties with Iran and closed its embassy in Tehran. The Ukrainian airliner was targeted by Iran's air defense in the wake of an Iranian missile attack on Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops a few hours earlier. Iran initially attributed the crash to technical failure but eventually after 3 days the Revolutionary Guard accepted responsibility for downing the plane. Iranian officials insist that human error at a time of crisis caused by "U.S. adventurism" caused the disastrous crash. TROY The Volstead Act was in effect for just five minutes on Jan. 17, 1920 when a New Yorker had the dubious honor of being the first person arrested for violation of prohibition laws, according to news reports flashed by wire services across the country that day. Michael Minden, a cafe owner in Brooklyn, was accused of selling a glass of brandy to a federal revenue agent at 12:05 a.m., according to the United Press and local news stories. He'd eventually pay a $200 fine. While the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution made selling alcohol illegal, it took the Volstead Act to put the legal mechanisms in place to enforce keeping the nation dry. The act opened the Roaring 20s, when drinking illegal alcohol was part of changing American habits and saw the growth of organized crime. There are still lingering hangovers today from laws of that time. The Capital Region became notorious for local and regional bootleggers who ran speakeasies and brought in rum, whiskey and other illicit beverages in from Canada to quench people's thirst. Prohibition failed miserably in Troy, said Kathy Sheehan, the historian for Troy and Rensselaer County. The citys big breweries like Fitzgerald Brothers Brewing Company managed to survive with near beer and other business, until the 21st Amendment repealed prohibition in 1933 and alcoholic drinks were legal again. But it was too late for many of the smaller breweries, Sheehan said. Over those 13 years, the eyes of some of the authorities would turn away, as bars and taverns continued to operate undercover and were shuttered only when there was an occasional raid. Like Minden in the Brooklyn case, the local operators would pay a fine or sometimes spend a few weeks in jail. In Saratoga Springs, local bootlegger Louis Doc Farone controlled the southern terminus of the bootleg trail that ran down from Canada through the Adirondacks to the Spa City, said Greg Veitch, retired Saratoga Springs police chief and author of As Gangsters Paradise: Saratoga Springs from Prohibition to Kefauver. There are stories of Farones gang fighting off Jack Legs Diamond and Dutch Schultz to keep them away from Saratoga Springs, Veitch said. The city was important for bootlegging as it was where Route 9, the first paved highway headed south, began, he said. Diamond would be killed in the early morning hours of Dec. 18, 1931, in Albany, hours after he was acquitted during a kidnapping trial in Troy. The drinking of outlawed booze was accepted in a city whose main vice was gambling, a traditional draw for tourists since the early 19th century, Veitch said. Lake Lonely, near Saratoga Lake, was known for being a spot where whiskey was flown in from Canada, said Jamie Parillo, executive director of the Saratoga Springs History Museum. Prohibition began as the country was dealing with the disillusionment of World War I, but enjoying a decade of prosperity with a rising stock market and changing social values, said Jack McEneny, a retired Albany historian and state assemblyman. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. It took about a year before people realized it was changed, McEneny said about the impact of the alcohol ban. With sipping a drink now a crime, a trip to the neighborhood tavern turned people into scofflaws and changed what happened behind the doors closed to keep the authorities out. Jazz and women, who would not have been allowed in, were now there as the outlawing of drinking created a magical atmosphere, McEneny said. It was a time when organized crime strengthened as criminals moved into profit from people's thirst. The temperance movements success arrived, followed by the anti-immigrant atmosphere and laws of the 1920s, McEneny said, noting the similarity between events then and now. State law still has remnants of prohibition. In November, voters in Argyle, Washington County, lifted the century-old ban on the sale of alcohol. Residents approved four propositions that made the town wet again, allowing the purchase of locally sourced and crafted beer, wine and spirits in the municipality. It took six tries before voters lifted the no-sales rule that went into effect with the Volstead Act. In Albany, Gov. Andrew Cuomo included in his 2020 State of the State message proposals to boost the states growing microbrewery industry by rewriting prohibition-era laws to allow alcohol sales in movie theaters and allowing colleges to be licensed to sell the alcoholic beverages their students make when learning how to produce them. "New York's craft beverage industry is flourishing thanks to eight years of targeted investments and forward-thinking policies that are attracting new businesses and supporting our booming tourism industry," Cuomo said in a statement. "This measure will remove outdated Prohibition-era rules that hamper private sector investment, ensure we're training the next generation of workers in a critical industry and give more New Yorkers the opportunity to responsibly enjoy a drink at the movies." Students of Jamia Millia Islamia and residents of Jamia Nagar and Shaheen Bagh will send letters to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking repeal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act which they claimed was against the Constitution. A draft of the letter, framed by the students, were being circulated among residents of Shaheen Bagh, Batla House, Noor Nagar, Okhla and neighbouring areas. "These letters will be individually posted to the President's office. We have also got 50,000 postcards for the citizens to write to the president on the matter," President of Jamia Alumni Association Shifa-ul-Rehman said. Over 15,000 letters have so far been signed by the students and citizens that will be sent to the President's office next week, he said. The draft of the letter says, "The CAA is against the Constitution of India, which ensures justice and equality to all citizens of India irrespective of their caste, creed, colour and religion. There is no second opinion about violation of Article 14 and 15 (by the amended law)." "Article 14 deals with equality before law. While Article 15 declares that the state cannot discriminate between citizens on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex and pluralism. Therefore this Act is unconstitutional. It has the potential to endanger the national solidarity and pluralism. The central government in its power of majority is ruining the ethos of the Constitution and leading the country towards anarchy and division," it read. The CAA provides for granting citizenship for persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014 from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The students and residents, who have been protesting against the new law at Shaheen Bagh and outside Jamia Millia Islamia, wrote, "Our elders have offered great sacrifices for the freedom of the country. They opposed the two-nation theory strongly and preferred India's composite nationhood and the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb over communal division." Wasim Khan, a Jamia student, said, We drafted this letter with the help of some seniors and advocates."Mohd Abbas, a resident of Batla House, said, "The students are reading out the letter to us before handing over. My family and I signed these letters. This Act was brought in by Home Minister Amit Shah to divide the country."The students have requested the President to repeal the Act in order to protect the foundation of the Constitution and to keep its basic fabric intact. Fatima Sheikh from Shaheen Bagh said, I signed the letter along with around 120 women from Shaheen Bagh. We go to Jamia University everyday to lend our support to the protest. I have sought more families in the neighbourhood to sign this. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) She said she will continue to connect with correctional staff and all state government employees. Their thoughts and opinions would be held in the highest regard, she said, and in confidence. "I believe it is the right of all Nebraskans to speak freely as constituents to their senators," she said. "We rely on the experiences and advice of people who are the boots on the ground in these facilities when making decisions on how we fix a broken Corrections system." Often, she said, the best ideas for solving tough problems don't come from politicians or administrators, but from the people who work day-in and day-out closest to the problem. "We should be encouraging communication, not discouraging it," she said. The prisons have been in crisis for a while from overcrowding and understaffing. There was a riot in 2015 at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution that left two inmates dead, another deadly disturbance there in 2017, officer assaults, contraband seizures, a killing of an inmate by his cellmate and petitions from inmates complaining about lockdowns and restrictions on their abilities to meet as self-betterment clubs and use the prisons' law libraries. Outback pilot and adventurer Dick Lang and his youngest son Clayton, a skydiver, racing driver and plastic surgeon, have been remembered as 'larger than life' as hundreds gathered to pay tribute to the pair who died fighting the Kangaroo Island bushfires. The funeral home in Adelaide's northeast was filled beyond capacity on Friday, with many forced to watch from outside. Eldest son Derek Lang described his father as a 'force of nature' who had a deep love for Australia. 'I'm glad that he was able to live his life, doing what he loved on his terms, for as long as he did,' Derek said. 'My younger brother took a page out of that book and did the same.' Second son Justin said his father was a pioneer for much of his life. 'He was decisive, a man of action. He was educated, innovative, passionate and personable,' he said. Father and son Dick and Clayton Lang were laid to rest in a service on Friday (pictured) with so many people coming to pay the respects that they filled out the funeral home Friends of the family are seen after the funeral service (pictured) of Dick and Clayton Lang at Drumminor Gardens Cemetery in Adelaide on Friday 'Desert Dick Lang always seemed larger than life.' Mr Lang, 78, and his 43-year-old son died on January 3 when their car became engulfed in flames near Gosse. The pair had been helping fight the bushfires raging on Kangaroo Island for several days and were returning the family's hobby farm when they became trapped. Hundreds of mourners have gathered for the funeral of Dick and Clayton Lang, who died in the Kangaroo Island bushfire (pictured) The ceremony on Friday afternoon was preceded by a flyover to mark Dick Lang's long-standing career as an outback pilot (pictured) Justin Lang said the property on Kangaroo Island was a 'special place'. 'The farm was an escape, a sanctuary,' he said. Mr Lang's three surviving sons all told the gathering of how, after beginning his working life as a teacher, their father built up his business taking tourists into the Australian outback and further afield, including such places as Papua New Guinea and Africa. A highly regarded plastic surgeon, Clayton was also remembered as a talented racing driver and champion skydiver. Youngest son Lachlan Lang said his father had 'lived life to the fullest'. 'He saw a niche and made a career out of doing something that he loved. He opened up the outback to so many people over his 50-odd years of running tours. 'I'll be forever grateful for him instilling in me a sense of adventure and an appreciation of the wonders of nature.' Lachlan said even his father's death was extraordinary and he still could not quite believe it. Mourners paid their respects to the father and son (pictured), who died close to one another after battling the raging bushfire Dick (pictured), 78, was killed helping others battle the ferocious bushfire that tore through the west of the island, burning most of the prized Flinders Chase National Park 'I hope with all these fires that people will heed the call and holiday in affected areas and put tourist dollars into these fire-ravaged communities,' he said. 'I'm sure dad would have agreed.' Lachlan said his older brother Clayton had also enjoyed 'taking life to the extreme' as evidenced by his love of fast cars and jumping out of planes. 'You could say he died as he lived,' he said. 'I'm sure that pedal was to the metal in their hasty retreat from the fire and that the adrenalin was pumping. 'But it was a race they tragically lost. 'There are so many questions we'll never know the answers to, but perhaps we can take some small comfort in the knowledge that Clarrie definitely lived a full life in his 43 years. 'He not only sucked the marrow out of life, he then gave a dog that bone and went back for seconds, and maybe some dessert too.' His son Clayton, 43, was an Adelaide plastic surgeon who specialised in reconstructive hand surgery Friends of the Lang family are seen outside the funeral service (pictured) on Friday, where respects were paid to the father and son Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Myanmar's capital Friday on a state visit aimed at buttressing the embattled government of Aung San Suu Kyi and driving through multi-billion-dollar infrastructure deals. The wide highways and manicured lawns of Naypyidaw, purpose-built by generals under Myanmar's junta, were dotted with red banners bearing Xi's face and greetings in Burmese and Mandarin. Xi will sign a series of mammoth infrastructure deals as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative -- a global trade plan that promises to change the face of Myanmar. The centrepiece of the so-called China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) is a USD 1.3 billion deep-sea port at Kyaukphyu in central Rakhine state, giving Beijing a gateway to the Indian Ocean. A high-speed rail link is on the cards to connect the port and nearby planned industrial zone with the countries' shared border. China is an economic lifeline for Myanmar, a country where wariness lingers over the increasing influence of its giant neighbour. Bilateral trade was worth USD 16.8 billion last year and Beijing holds the largest share -- around USD 4 billion or 40 per cent -- of Myanmar's foreign debt. Billions of cubic metres of gas and millions of barrels of oil from offshore rigs are pumped each year across the country into China. "The next one, two, three decades will be defined by Myanmar's relationship with China," said Yangon-based analyst Richard Horsey. After a welcome ceremony and dinner Friday, Xi will sit down with Suu Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing in separate meetings Saturday. Suu Kyi made a rare visit to Kachin state on the border with China ahead of Xi's visit. Kachin is the site of a planned Chinese-backed USD 3.6 billion, 6,000 megawatt dam that was mothballed in 2011 in the face of vociferous criticism across the country. This is thought to have been a personal slight to Xi, who signed off on the Myitsone dam with Myanmar's then-military junta as vice-president in 2009. Activists are expected to protest in the commercial hub Yangon on Saturday against any reinstatement of the project. Economic interests aside, Myanmar's relationship with the superpower has other benefits. In an op-ed in Myanmar's state-run media this week, Xi said China supports Myanmar in "safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests and national dignity". China shields Myanmar at the United Nations, where pressure is mounting for accountability over the Rohingya crisis. Suu Kyi personally defended her nation against accusations of genocide at the UN's top court last month after a 2017 military crackdown forced 740,000 people over the border into Bangladesh. The alleged atrocities took place in Rakhine state -- an area that has since descended into a civil war between the military and an ethnic Rakhine rebel group. Myanmar has nonetheless declared the state open for business. While many Western investors are staying clear, China -- competing against other regional giants -- has few such qualms. Suu Kyi needs economic wins as well as diplomatic support as she heads towards elections due at the end of this year. Rakhine locals, meanwhile, fear they will again be overlooked after previous Beijing-backed infrastructure projects left many without land or livelihoods. "They didn't bring any benefits for us, not even any jobs," Moe Moe Aye from Kyaukphyu SEZ Watch Group told AFP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Honourable Kenneth W. Starr , former Independent Counsel (L) and U.S. Solicitor General and Attorney Alan Dershowitz. President Donald Trump's impeachment defense team will include Ken Starr, whose investigation led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, whose clients have included notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and O.J. Simpson. Also on the team is ex-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, CNBC has learned. In addition, Robert Ray, who succeeded Starr as independent counsel in the Whitewater investigation of Clinton, is expected to be on the team. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump's personal lawyer Jay Sekulow are heading the defense effort. The Trump team choices came to light four days before his trial is set to begin in earnest in the Senate. The Republican president was accused in impeachment articles passed by the House of abusing power and obstructing Congress. The charges relate to Trump asking Ukraine's new president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden the frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination while withholding congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine. The legal lineup will not include Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and another personal attorney for Trump. Giuliani's push last year to get Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden were the subject of extensive testimony and evidence in House impeachment proceedings. "The president asked me to do this, and the legal team asked me to do this," Dershowitz said in an interview with CNBC after his role on the defense team became known. Dershowitz said he will be making oral arguments in the Senate "to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal." He also said that although he opposed Clinton's impeachment and voted for Hillary Clinton against Trump in 2016, he "is participating in this impeachment trial to defend the integrity of the Constitution and to prevent the creation of a dangerous constitutional precedent." This flight of a Falcon 9 rocket with a Crew Dragon capsule on top is known as an in-flight abort test. It will not have any astronauts aboard, and it will not be like most launches where were really hoping for it not to be exciting, said Kathy Lueders, manager of the commercial crew program for NASA. About 84 seconds after launch, the Falcon 9 rocket will shut off its nine engines, simulating a failure, and powerful thrusters on the Crew Dragon will ignite to propel the capsule away. The force of that sudden departure will destroy the rocket, possibly even causing it to explode. Probably a fireball of some kind, Mr. Reed said. After reaching an altitude of about 25 miles, the Dragon will then drop off the trunk, or bottom half of the spacecraft, and small thrusters will push the capsule into the correct vertical orientation before parachutes deploy. It is to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean just 10 minutes after launch. While weather on Saturday looked favorable at the launchpad, waves and winds were high at the splashdown site. Iran's Khamenei slams 'cowardly' European governments Tehran, Jan 17 (AFP) Jan 17, 2020 Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday accused the governments of Britain, France and Germany of being "American lackeys" in the face of US pressure over the nuclear accord. The United States has threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars if European Union governments continue to back the nuclear deal, according to German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. The 2015 agreement was struck in Vienna between Iran and France, Britain, Germany, the United States, China and Russia. But it has threatened to collapse since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States in 2018, before reimposing a series of intensifying economic sanctions on Iran. In response, Tehran has progressively reduced a number of its key commitments to an agreement that drastically limited its nuclear activities. Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday announced they were starting the so-called dispute mechanism to try to bring Iran back into full compliance with its commitments under the accord. During a sermon at Friday prayers in Tehran, Khamenei accused the "wicked" governments of Britain, France and Germany of "threatening Iran to take the nuclear issue to the (UN) Security Council." Iran's top leader said the launch of the dispute mechanism was "done to overshadow" the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad, and Iran's subsequent retaliation. Last week, Iran fired a volley of missiles at US troops stationed in Iraqi military bases, wounding 11 American soldiers. Khamenei accused the European governments of historic animosity towards Iran. "These three countries are the ones that during the (Iran-Iraq war) helped Saddam Hussein as much as they could," he said, referring to the former Iraqi dictator and Iran's erstwhile foe. "It has been proven now, after about a year, that they are, in the true sense of the word, America's lackeys, and these cowardly governments are waiting for the Iranian nation to surrender," he said. "Even when they negotiate, their negotiations are tainted with deceit... those behind the negotiating table, those gentlemen, are the same as the terrorists at Baghdad airport" who killed Soleimani, he said. "They cannot be trusted." Senators remain gripped by partisanship as Trump's impeachment trial begins originally appeared on abcnews.go.com U.S. senators settled into their political foxholes on Thursday upon the kickoff of President Donald Trump's historic impeachment trial, saying they would take their duties as jurors seriously while also declaring that the upcoming proceedings were either depending upon their party necessary to save the country or a complete waste of time. "I'm ready for this trial to end," South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told ABC News' Mariam Khan. "And all the evidence I've seen has nothing to do with the facts as far as I'm concerned." "They've given us two very weak articles of impeachment," added Republican Sen. David Perdue. "Our job is to look at what they've brought us and decide if that rises to the level of impeachment." MORE: Trump impeachment trial live updates: Chief Justice Roberts, senators sworn in For the Democrats, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, speaking at a news conference, drew comparisons to President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal, and accused Trump of hiring "henchmen" to do his dirty work and then blocking all efforts by Congress to hold him accountable. "Nothing we do while we serve in the United States Senate will be more important than putting country above party in this procedure," Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. "The case is already overwhelming," he later added. If there was any doubt of the hyper partisan atmosphere, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York declared: "We want the truth, and maybe some Republicans would rise to the occasion." PHOTO: House impeachment managers walk through the Ohio Clock Corridor as they arrive for the procedural start of the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 16, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Trump's Senate impeachment trial officially began Thursday afternoon on a blustery January day in Washington as a group of House lawmakers designated "impeachment managers" -- marched across the Capitol carrying two articles that accused the president of abusing his power in office and obstructing Congress. Story continues During the House impeachment inquiry, the Democratic majority gathered evidence of a pressure campaign orchestrated by Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to get the newly elected Ukrainian government to announce an investigation that would take aim at the president's chief political rival, Democrat Joe Biden. According to documents and witness testimony, Trump last July ordered a hold on nearly $400 million in security assistance for Ukraine money the new democratically elected government desperately needed to fend off Russian troops at its border -- and refused to lift the hold despite the White House being warned that doing so was possibly illegal. As the Senate chamber prepared for the formalities of a trial this week, new evidence in the case continued to spill out. Lev Parnas, a close associate of Giuliani facing criminal charges provided phone texts and other documents that described the two men's push for a Ukrainian announcement on Biden, while also telling media outlets that the president "knew exactly what was going on." MORE: Witness Giuliani? What the latest evidence tells us about Trump's lawyer On Thursday, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, a federal government watchdog, ruled that the White House budget office indeed broke the law by withholding aid at President Trump's direction. Trump again called the allegations a "hoax" and insisted that he didn't know Parnas, despite Parnas' close relationship with Giuliani. "I don't know him at all, don't know what he's about, don't know where he comes from, know nothing about him." Trump said. MORE: Trump violated law by withholding Ukraine aid: Government watchdog Several Senate Republicans seemed unmoved by the new evidence. "To me, the source of evidence, at best is questionable The people involved are sketchy at best. I am ready to move on," said Graham. Added Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana: "I don't want America, once the Senate finishes its work to say well, we just got run over by the same truck twice.'" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted that Republicans were content in burying their heads in the sand. "They're afraid of the truth," she said. Late Thursday, GOP moderate Sen. Susan Collins of Maine issued a statement on the question of hearing witnesses and new evidence in the Senate trial, citing "mischaracterization and misunderstanding" about her position. "While I need to hear the case argued and the questions answered, I tend to believe having additional information would be helpful. It is likely that I would support a motion to call witnesses at that point in the trial just as I did in 1999," she said, referring to the Clinton impeachment trial, where the question of witnesses was voted on after opening arguments. "Prior to hearing the statement of the case and the Senators asking questions, I will not support any attempts by either side to subpoena documents or witnesses," Collins added. PHOTO: In this image from video, presiding officer Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts swears in members of the Senate for the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump at the Capitol, Jan. 16, 2020. (Senate Television via AP) Any partisan wrangling though was kept outside the Senate chamber, as 99 senators signed their names in a book promising to uphold "impartial justice." One senator, James Inhofe, R-Okla., was in his home state because of a medical issue involving a family member. Reporters described the room as completely silent as each member approached the book with Chief Justice John Roberts observing quietly. Told to minimize distractions, many senators sat with few materials in front of them. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, took a Bible from his desk and began reading. ABC News reporters Trish Turner, Mariam Khan, Beatrice Peterson, Allison Pecorin, John Parkinson and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report. A local special court on Thursday sentenced former IPS officer Rajendra Chaturvedi to five years of imprisonment for taking bribe for recruiting of jail wardens when he was the additional director general (prisons). Additional Sessions Judge S Pandey awarded the punishment to the Chaturvedi who allegedly accepted in excess of Rs 12 lakh between January 1 and May 26, 2003 on false promise of appointing some people as jail guards. In 2006, a complaint was lodged against him with the Economic Offences Wing. The court has also imposed on him a fine of Rs 8.75 lakhs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Committee of Unions in Tertiary Institutions (CUTI), an association of teachers in Kwara, has accused Abdulfatah Ahmed, ex-governor... The Committee of Unions in Tertiary Institutions (CUTI), an association of teachers in Kwara, has accused Abdulfatah Ahmed, ex-governor of the state, of lying about owing no salary arrears. Ahmed had said civil servants in the state were fully paid before he left office. But in a statement, Imam Abdulkadir, chairman of CUTI, debunked the claim of the ex- governor. He said Ahmed left at least seven months of unpaid salary amounting to N750m, adding that the refusal of the ex-governor to pay the salary arrears led to a strike action three months before the expiration of his tenure. The attention of Committee of Unions in Tertiary Institutions ( CUTI) has been drawn to the claim by former Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed through his media aide that the immediate past administration was up to date in payment of state civil servants salary before he left office particularly the state owned Tertiary Institutions, the statement said. To this end, the Unions wish to reiterate that the claims by the former Governor Ahmed through his aide Dr. Muhideen Akorede was false and misleading. The state-owned tertiary institutions were owed seven months salaries to the tune of seven hundred and fifty million naira. Equally, the policy of the immediate past administration to commercialise education in the state impacted negatively on both the staff and students of the institutions. It would be recalled that failure of the immediate past administration to pay salaries of the state Colleges of Education and CAILS led to the industrial action embarked upon by the institutions three months to the expiration of the Governor Ahmeds administration. Despite the industrial disharmony between the Unions and the then government, the said 7 months subventions and accreditation funds were not released to the Colleges until Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq assumed office. The union commended AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, governor of the Kwara, for settling the arrears and for releasing accreditation funds to state owned tertiary institutions. It is noteworthy to say that Governor Abdulrazaq, as at September, 2019, completed the payment of all outstanding salary arrears owed the Colleges by the immediate past administration, the statement read. Similarly, Governor Abdulrazaq has presently released accreditation funds to all the state owned tertiary institutions. It is equal of note to state that His Excellency has also absorbed staffers of Demonstration schools of the Colleges who are owed 37 month salaries by the immediate past administration in the state. The general public should consider the claim by the former Governor as not only misleading but false. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 01:49:52|Editor: yan Video Player Close ISTANBUL, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday slammed the Syrian regime for failing to comply with the cease-fire, which was brokered by Turkey and Russia. "It is a clear proof that the Syrian regime does not comply with the steps we have taken regarding the cease-fire," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul, referring to the latest airstrikes carried out by the Syrian forces in Idlib, the country's last rebel-stronghold province. "Developments in Idlib are disturbing," he said, noting that at least 20 civilians were killed in the attacks. The Syrian regime and Iranian-backed groups on Friday also launched a ground offensive in Aleppo province, a designated de-escalation zone, forcing at least 13,000 more civilians to move toward Turkey's border, according to the state-run Anadolu agency. Anadolu said over 1 million refugees are now in the area near the Turkish border, fleeing from strikes conducted over the last year. Erdogan said he would discuss the issue with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday in Berlin, Germany, during the international conference on Libya. "Even though the Berlin meeting seems to be mainly about Libya, I am considering bringing the Idlib matter up," he said. The cease-fire in Idlib was initiated by Turkey and Russia and supposed to come into effect on Jan. 12. "Great Day SA" viewers have a new personality to wake up to on KENS 5. Clarke Finney is on her way to San Antonio from West Texas, where she worked as an anchor for KMID and KPEJ in Midland. Her first day at the office is next Tuesday. Clarke is joining Roma Villavicencio and the team as a reporter and co-host. Her job duties will put her in a prime position to get around town and learn about San Antonio's traditions and quirks quickly, but she already has a head start on what's going on. She'll arrive just in time to get her bearings before the Fiesta madness revs up and is completely on board for all of the activity, especially since she's been told the party "will change (her) life." Speaking of life-altering, the self-proclaimed foodie gave her take on the Whataburger vs. In-N-Out debate. "In a perfect world, I would have Whataburger fries with an In-N-Out burger," the California native said. "The first time I had fries from Whataburger, it changed my life." Clarke is also aware of the city's other very important food pyramid category, tacos, and is on the search for the best asada. We shared our recommendations, but she's open for more suggestions to fill her foodie itinerary so she can hit the ground eating when she arrives. She says interacting with her new viewers is something she's passionate about and wants to meet San Antonio while she's out in public. "I want fans to know that I'm just me. In the industry, I think a lot of people can think on-air personalities aren't super genuine, or are putting on a show, but I've been true to my authenticity and that's the most important thing to me," she added. "That and serving my community." Clarke said she's proud to be a part of the KENS family in which she feels authenticity is a requirement. KENS Executive Producer of Local Programming Luis Munoz expects San Antonio's reception of Clarke will match her enthusiasm. "She's the whole package and I think people in San Antonio are going to love her," he said. In the meantime, Clarke and her pit bull mix named "Chance" are packing up for their move to San Antonio. Clarke spoke to mySA just after signing off from her Midland-Odessa newsdesk. Clarke rescued her pup while reporting on a house fire story during her previous gig. The dog was going to be taken into the shelter and she knew there'd be a high chance of him being euthanized, given his breed, so she adopted him. Now she's passionate about bringing awareness to proper training for the breed and pet adoptions. She said getting involved with a San Antonio group focused on advocating for pit bull mixes is high on her list of things to do during her transition to the city. If you see Clarke and Chance around town, say "hi," recommend a good taco spot and maybe try swaying her to fully commit to the Whataburger allegiance. Great Day SA airs weekdays on KENS 5, starting at 9 a.m. Madalyn Mendoza is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @MaddySkye When Stephen Ward was standing trial at the Old Bailey in 1963 on a charge of living off the proceeds of prostitution, I was 15 years old and acting as his gopher. One of my jobs was to whistle up a taxi at the end of each days proceedings. The trick was to time its arrival so that Stephen, the society osteopath who had shared a flat with Christine Keeler at the time of her affair with War Minister John Profumo, could step from the door of the court straight into the back of the cab. On the last day of the trial, as we rode back to his borrowed flat in Chelsea, I could tell he was deeply depressed. Before the judge began his brutal summing up, Stephen had been cheerful and chatty. But that had changed and he was now fearful of the jurys verdict. Stephen Ward, pictured with Christine Keeler, right, stood trial for living off immoral earnings Ward, who was a society osteopath, pictured second right, was concerned about the jury in his trial at the Old Bailey and decided to take his own life He scribbled a prescription on his knee as an osteopath he could prescribe privately and asked me to run into the Harrods pharmacy for it. I came out with a bottle of Nembutal pills, a form of barbiturate then popular with people who suffered from insomnia. What I didnt know then was that high doses could cause respiratory arrest, and that it was even used to carry out executions in some U.S. states. Hours later, Stephen used the pills I picked up for him to take his own life. When I heard the news, I was horrified at the thought that I had been instrumental in his suicide. The guilt haunts me still, even though I know I was just the delivery boy. To be shunned by society he had treated Prince Philip and Churchill and had a host of aristocratic and celebrity friends had hurt him deeply. I think he could have faced prison, but not the obliteration of his reputation. These memories have come rushing back in recent weeks, thanks to BBC Ones superb six-part drama The Trial Of Christine Keeler, on Sunday evenings though the truth is that Ive never forgotten a minute of those experiences. How could I? I may have been barely aware of the significance of it all at the time, but now I look back and realise history was happening all around me. The nation was gripped by the revelation that the Secretary of State for War, 46-year-old John Profumo, had had an extramarital affair with Keeler, a 19-year-old girl who had once worked as a dancer in a seedy Soho nightclub, and Ward was the man who had introduced them. Ward, pictured being rushed to St Stephen's Hospital in July 31, 1963, had taken a large dose of barbiturates which he had prescribed for himself To make matters worse, Profumo was romancing Keeler at a time when she was also allegedly sleeping with Yevgeny Ivanov, a senior naval attache at the Soviet embassy. It all added up to the scandal of the decade, with allegations of spying, orgies, black magic rituals and much, much more. Profumo resigned, the Russian went back to Moscow and Stephen Ward was put on trial by an unforgiving Establishment for being the pimp of Keeler and her friend Mandy Rice-Davies. My own involvement in the Profumo Affair came about via my father, Pelham Pound, who was Stephens literary agent. Dad had been features editor at the News Of The World exactly the sort of well-connected person Ward liked to court. But, rather to my mothers alarm, Dad had chucked in the steady office job to go freelance and Ward had become one of his clients. Like any good agent, my father saw it as his job to protect his clients when they hit a rough patch, so when the Profumo business was at its height and London was too hot for Ward, he came to stay at our home in Hertfordshire. As Stephens arrival coincided with the school holidays, I was around to run all sorts of errands. At the time, I was a pupil at an all-boys grammar school and my experience of girls was practically non-existent. I remember Ward as the coolest man Id ever known. He wore Ray-Ban sunglasses, and I couldnt believe anyone outside Hollywood could do that and carry it off. He may have been the son of a Torquay vicar but he had a clipped, upper-class accent and people said hed had a good war, serving as a second lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps in India, where (he liked to claim) one of his patients was Mahatma Gandhi. He told stories of his years working as an osteopath in America, too, with an offhand air that made him seem so cosmopolitan. To me, he had the effortless charm of Cary Grant. Former Labour MP Stephen Pound, pictured, was Ward's gopher, and even picked up the prescription from Harrods pharmacy for Ward - not knowing that the osteopath was planning to take his own life Many men in his position would not have noticed the teenage son of a friend, let alone treated him with respect. Yet Ward seemed to go further he let me in on the secret and, every now and then, when he was talking, hed give me a twinkling sidelong look, as if to say: Isnt this a great joke? How do I get away with it? But once the Profumo affair broke, there was nothing Dad could do to save Ward from the wrath of the Establishment and one day, in June 1963, policemen knocked on our door on a mission to arrest him. While he had once been a sought-after osteopath, with an illustrious list of clients that included Elizabeth Taylor, all that business had dried up since the Profumo Affair hit the headlines. So my father stood bail for Stephen, taking a bank loan to cover the cost. His money was later returned but he was still paying off interest on the loan years later. Ward also needed cash to fund his defence. Lawyers were expensive and he had no savings. Fortunately, Ward was a wonderful artist, often working in chalk on paper to create portraits with extraordinary deftness and economy of line. Many of his famous clients sat for him, including royals such as Prince Philip; Princess Margaret and her then husband Lord Snowdon; Katharine, Duchess of Kent; and Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood, the only daughter of George V. Other sitters included the Hollywood actor and producer Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who was dragged into the scandal when Mandy Rice-Davies claimed he had been one of her lovers when she took the witness stand during Wards trial. Mandy herself was another of his subjects sometimes nude as was Christine Keeler. Ward is being played by James Norton, pictured, in the BBC drama The Trial of Christine Keeler, which continues tomorrow at 9pm on BBC 1 Pictured is James Norton as Stephen Ward in The Trial of Christine Keeler News of Wards talent even reached the prime minister, Harold Macmillan, who gave him unique permission to draw MPs in session in the House of Commons. And I have a sketch he made of my father, which I treasure to this day. Most of his pictures had been drawn with no thought of selling them. But now he needed money, and quickly. He arranged with a man called Bobby Katz to stage an exhibition of his work. Katz was revolting, a pornographic book-seller with truly unpleasant habits, but Ward could no longer afford to be choosy about his friends. Most people who pretended to respectability had abandoned him: my father was one of the few who were loyal. Katz arranged for the drawings to go on show at a gallery in Museum Street, opposite the British Museum. To be shown, the drawings had to be signed, and it was my job each day to go over to Bloomsbury and collect a sheaf of pictures from the repulsive Katz. Then I went to the Old Bailey, where chief defence lawyer James Burge would accompany me down to the cells where Ward was kept during the lunchtime recess. He would sign each one and Id rush back to Museum Street in a taxi. The plan was for the pictures to go on display and, with luck, be sold piecemeal to collectors and curious members of the public. In the event, however, a gentleman in a raincoat, who was introduced as someone from the Royal Household, asked to see the drawings in a back room. They were bought for cash, and there was no exhibition. It seemed Ward still had at least one friend in a high place, even if they were obliged to remain anonymous. That, or someone at the Palace didnt want any art on the market that linked the royals to such a controversial figure. This is the line taken by The Crown, Netflixs blockbuster series about the Royal Family. In the first episode of season three, when Prince Philip tries to castigate Anthony Blunt, the Surveyor of the Queens Pictures and a defrocked Soviet spy, for betraying his country, Blunt turns the tables on Philip by threatening to release evidence of his connection to the Profumo Affair. The implication is that it was Blunt who had arranged for the drawings to be bought, to protect the reputations of the royals. During the trial, one of my jobs was to sit in an Italian cafe opposite the Old Bailey and fetch espressos for Christine, Mandy and a group of other girls. The coffee was served in glass cups and saucers, the fashion at the time. I thought this was terribly sophisticated. Christine Keeler was heart-stoppingly gorgeous. With her flawless profile and wide-open eyes brimming with naivety and mischief, she was an absolutely staggering beauty at the time. Christine and the girls knew the effect they were having on me, of course, and teased me remorselessly. How much pocket money do you get, then? one asked, and I went white, thinking I was being propositioned. It was all I could do to stop myself goldfishing staring with my mouth agape. Ward asked me once what I thought of Christine. God, I burst out, shes so beautiful. He nodded and pulled a wry face. Isnt she? he agreed. But I dont think she understands how beautiful she really is. Looking back, I can see he was right. She always seemed convinced she would end up on the losing side. I think she even considered that I, with my ordinary middle-class background and accent, had been dealt a far superior hand by fate. I was born in Wraysbury, she once complained to me, and brought up near Staines. What f*****g chance did I have? To see actress Sophie Cooksons portrayal is fascinating. TV can never replicate the electric effect such a sexually attractive woman as Christine has on the air around her, but the screenplay is right to stress the toxic relationship between her and her mother, Julie Payne (played by Amanda Drew). Even to a 15-year-old, it was obvious that Ward had been thrown to the wolves. The girls in the cafe certainly viewed him as a scapegoat. They could do nothing to help him indeed, one of them, Ronna Ricardo, was a witness for the prosecution. The police gave her no option: if she failed to testify, they said, her little sister would be taken into care. Part of the reason the affair is still shrouded in controversy more than 50 years later is that two key sources of information that could help clear up lingering questions are still under wraps. The judge ordered that the transcript of Wards trial be sealed for 90 years, and the transcripts of the interviews carried out by Lord Denning in the course of his 1963 Profumo inquiry are to remain confidential until 2048. Stephen was in a coma for three days after taking his overdose and, as he lay dying, the judge Sir Archie Marshall insisted that the jury return a verdict. They found him guilty of living off the immoral earnings of Keeler and Rice-Davies but I dont believe he was a pimp. I think he was just a man who loved the company of beautiful women. He sent several suicide notes, one of them to my father. If theres any money left, he said, make sure it goes to the girls. The note was handed to the police, I believe, and we didnt get it back. A photocopy turned up, however, in one of Christine Keelers books. There are two curious codas to this story. In the mid-Eighties, I was a housing officer in Hammersmith and one day I went out to a West Kensington estate to talk to a council tenant who was about to move to Brighton. She was Christine Keeler, now 25 years older and looking very drawn, tired and thin. The devastating beauty of her youth was gone, but her conviction that she was born to lose had not. She chain-smoked without pause during our interview. I didnt tell her who I was. I wanted to, but I bottled it. My memory of her was always fresh, however, and, when in 2001 she published her autobiography, The Truth At Last, I read it eagerly. To my amazement, I discovered she remembered me too. I always wondered what happened to Stephen Pound, she wrote. It turns out hes a New Labour MP! My decision to go into politics was, in no small part, down to the way she and Stephen were treated. People talk as if the powers that be are something vague and vaporous but I realised that summer they are real. That was the beginning of my interest in Left-wing politics, and it put me on the path to becoming an MP. Stephen Pound was MP for Ealing North, 1997-2019. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:08:19|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ABUJA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 14 people were killed by gunmen who invaded a village in Nigeria's northern state of Zamfara, a police spokesman said on Friday. An unknown number of people were also wounded in the attack on Babban Rafi village in Gummi local government area of the state, said Mohammed Shehu, the spokesman for Zamfara state police. The gunmen, whose motive was unknown, were suspected to have invaded the locality through neighboring Kebbi state, in northwest Nigeria, Shehu told Xinhua. Local sources said the gunmen rode on more than 40 motorcycles, shooting everyone at sight. Livestock and some valuable items belonging to the villagers were also taken away by them. Myanmar President U Win Myint met here Saturday with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi with both sides pledging to strengthen high-level exchanges to push bilateral ties to a new high. Before the field can start sprouting, the campus needs some work, which kicks off Monday, Jan. 20, on the MLK Day of Service. There will be a laundry list of tasks that children and families can do, says Elizabeth Sparks, 4-H youth development assistant agent, who oversees programming efforts of Tucson Village Farm. There will be some brawn-building activities like digging out Bermuda grass and cattails, and creative projects such as making stepping stones and working on art projects. Volunteers will gather at the farm entrance off east of Campbell Avenue and ride a hay wagon to the new plot, says Sparks. A photograph of the volunteers and workers will be snapped at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 20, Sparks says. The soil in the former turf facility requires considerable remediation, so a summer crop on the new field is not expected, says Sparks. Planting is expected to begin in the fall. WHATS COOKING A $445,000 grant from nonprofit Angel Charity is funding the existing buildings conversion. The culinary center will have a commercial teaching kitchen, a dishwashing area, and space for art projects and offices. They expect to cut the ribbon on the center in April, Sparks says. Norway's decision to allow a jihadi bride to return from Syria with her two children could lead to the collapse of the country's coalition government. Prime Minister Erna Solberg came in for immediate criticism after agreeing to the repatriation of the 29-year-old woman so her seriously ill five-year-old son could receive medical treatment. But the decision caused a rift in the coalition between her Conservatives and the populist anti-immigration Progress Party who say the woman poses a security risk due to her links with Islamic State. One Progress MP accused her of 'negotiating with a terrorist'. Prime Minister Erna Solberg (right) has come under fire from her coalition partner Siv Jensen (left), the leader of the anti-immigration Progress Party The 29-year-old jihidi bride will be arrested when she returns from Syria and her children will be given a temporary new guardian (file photo) Opposition deputy leader Hadia Tajik jumped on the remarks, saying that such a major disagreement is untenable between members of the same government. 'This issue shows, first and foremost, that Erna Solberg will truly swallow camels with backwards hair to stay in government,' Tajik told NRK. Progress Party leader Siv Jensen is now set to issue a set of demands to the prime minister in order to keep the shaky coalition intact, saying that her populist party was not prepared to remain in government 'at all costs'. She said: 'It will then be up to Erna and the Conservatives to take it seriously or not. This must happen quickly, because the cup is now full.' She said earlier: 'This comes in light of us long being denied support over our key issues, and we're not in government for this. 'We think the Conservatives are being far too accommodating to the Liberals and Christian Democrats. 'That results in an overall grey and boring politics.' Withdrawal from government by the Progress Party could potentially result in Solberg being forced to call an early general election. If Solberg continued as head of a minority government, she would still need the support of the Progress Party to pass legislation. Reports earlier in the week suggested that regional Progress Party leaders are already set on leaving the coalition. Dagfinn Henrik Olsen, leader of the party's Nordland county branch, said: 'It's high time we left before the last of what we know as the Progress Party is gone. What is happening now is simply embarrassing. It's hard for us genuine party members to see.' On social media, Progress Party MP Roy Steffensen accused the government of 'negotiating with a terrorist'. 'The terrorist won,' Steffensen tweeted. The 29-year-old mother will be arrested on arrival in Norway, NRK has reported. That means a temporary guardian would be assigned to her two children, aged five and three, the broadcaster writes. Meanwhile pressure on Jensen to make a drastic stand over the issue appears to be growing. With the Progress Party scheduled to meet again to discuss its strategy at the end of the month, Solberg is likely to have to take steps within the next two weeks to placate her erstwhile closest parliamentary ally. The current rupture between Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren over who called whom a liar is exposing genuine anger between two candidates who often present themselves as friends and allies. But it has also laid bare the central fight among liberals: Is the Trump era of scorched-earth politics a moment for purity or pragmatism? Sanders, I-Vt., has risen in the presidential field by pushing a revolutionary agenda with little regard for cost or compromise, while Warren, D-Mass., has won a following as a liberal who is ambitious but practical. On Thursday, as an array of left-leaning groups urged a truce, some acknowledged the difficulty of bridging the gap between two figures who despite their shared status as liberal icons have sharply different personalities and approaches. That split could play into opponents' hands, some liberals fear. "We should be finding a path forward through solidarity," said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants. "I think also that we have to have some perspective that this is the Democratic primary, and both of these people are running because they believe that they would best serve the American public as president United States." She added: "I think it's absurd to think that they wouldn't come together and find common ground. Is it going to happen before Iowa? Maybe not." The two have not spoken since Tuesday evening, Sanders said Thursday afternoon, and his campaign officials said the campaign sent emails to surrogates this week encouraging them not to escalate the conflict with Warren. But their differences are increasingly on display as the candidates make their closing arguments in the final days before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3, and the choice facing the newly energized liberal camp comes to a head. Their rift is colliding with a long-held ambition by liberal activists to unite around a candidate and prevent a more moderate Democrat from winning the nomination. Warren, who describes her philosophy as capitalism with tougher rules, has produced a slew of detailed policy plans, some with multiple pages listing funding mechanisms and other specifics. Sanders, by contrast, calls himself a democratic socialist and says billionaires shouldn't exist; he speaks in broad-brush terms and has shown less interest in justifying his ideas by explaining precisely how they would be enacted or detailing how they would be paid for. The two also show very different personal styles. Sanders recently revealed to the New York Times editorial board that he avoids calling people on their birthdays, which he sees as distasteful pandering that distracts from the issues. Warren uses nearly any excuse to contact numerous acquaintances, calling people when they get a new job just to wish them luck. But if the Sanders-Warren conflict has been a long time coming, the catalyst was abrupt and unexpected. In recent days, Warren has said that during a private 2018 dinner at her condo, as the two discussed the 2020 presidential race, Sanders told her he did not think a woman could beat President Donald Trump. Sanders forcefully denies saying that. The dispute erupted further on Tuesday, as both stuck to their accounts during the Democratic debate. After the event, Warren approached Sanders, and as he reached out his hand she refused to shake it, saying, "I think you called me a liar on national TV." Sanders, who seemed taken aback, replied: "You know, let's not do it right now. If you want to have that discussion, I'll have that discussion." Warren replied, "Any time." Sanders said, "You called me a liar. You told me - all right, let's not do it now." Until several years ago, neither senator seemed a likely powerhouse in the Democratic Party, but as the Trump era drives a surge in liberal activism, Sanders has found an audience for ideas he has championed for decades, and Warren's brand of academic populism has garnered a newfound appeal. But the Democratic primary is making it clear that they can't both be the liberal standard-bearer. Their supporters are battling over the best way to defeat Trump's brand of unconstrained, no-holds-barred politics - whether to respond with a countervailing purity and passion, or to seek allies and trim ambitions, if minimally, in the interest of attracting voters and allies. The pressure is especially intense given how badly liberals want to defeat Trump and usher in what they hope will be a progressive moment. Because of that, groups on the left have hoped for months that Warren and Sanders could avoid targeting each other and focus their fire on the more centrist candidates. With Democrats arguably embracing more left-leaning policies than at any time in years, liberals do not want to blow what they see as a historic opportunity to gain power. Leaders of six liberal groups that have endorsed either Warren or Sanders issued a joint statement Thursday saying the senators' campaigns and supporters "will need to find a way to cooperate." They added, "The crossfire amplified by the media is unhelpful and does not reflect the relationship between two Senate colleagues who broadly worked well together for most of the last year." It outlined a strategy to build alliances between delegates for the two candidates going in to the Democratic convention. "This is all about delegates," said Larry Cohen, who chairs Our Revolution, a nonprofit organization established by Sanders. "It's going to take collaboration to accomplish results in July in Milwaukee," he said, referring to the Democratic National Convention. Liberals will have to join forces to ensure that either Sanders or Warren is the nominee, Cohen said, or assemble enough delegates to block a candidate the left finds distasteful. In addition to Our Revolution, groups signing onto the statement included the Sunrise Movement, RootsAction, the Working Families Party, Justice Democrats and Democracy for America. On Wednesday, 18 liberal groups launched an effort that includes a pledge to "focus our fight for the nomination against candidates supported by the corporate wing, instead of fighting each other." Sanders and Warren met nearly two decades ago, when he was a member of Congress and she was a rising academic star. Warren made a presentation at a dinner salon hosted by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., describing her research on how middle-class families were going bankrupt, according to an account in The Boston Globe. Sanders invited Warren to be on his radio show from time to time, and even occasionally to speak as a guest at his town hall meetings in Vermont. He campaigned for Warren's successful Senate bid in 2012, boasting on one occasion that "I knew Elizabeth Warren before she was Elizabeth Warren." Sanders has said he spoke to Warren in 2015 before launching his own presidential campaign, saying he would defer to her as the left's standard-bearer if she wanted to get in the race and challenge eventual nominee Hillary Clinton. Warren chose not to run that year, however. And to the dismay of many liberals, she also did not endorse Sanders during that campaign, instead staying on the sidelines until the very end when she gave her nod to Clinton. So while Warren and Sanders are both staunch liberals, when one leading Democrat was asked whether anything suggests the two have a close personal relationship, replied, "Frankly, no." In the presidential race, Warren and Sanders are also drawing from different voter pools. Sanders has a wide margin of support among younger voters, while Warren does slightly better with older Democrats. Warren also has a small edge among women. She fares better with self-identified Democrats, and he does better with voters who say they're independent, as he is. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who has worked closely with Sanders and Warren, said in an interview several months ago that "both have a crusader mentality around correcting what is wrong." Warren, she said, is "very personable, she reaches out to people." And she texts frequently, Jayapal added: "She kind of makes it a point to do that." On Thursday, Sanders and Warren joined their colleagues in Washington for the first official day of Trump's impeachment trial, and the two senators attended a lunch for Senate Democrats in the U.S. Capitol. They sat at different tables, which isn't unusual for them, and did not appear to interact , according to a person with knowledge of the lunch who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting. As Sanders exited, he told reporters that he hadn't spoken to Warren. "We're talking impeachment of a president, allegations that he has tried to disrupt the American process through blackmail," Sanders said. "That is what we're focused on." A few moments later, Warren emerged from the luncheon. She did not respond to questions from reporters. But others said such disputes among candidates are to be expected. "It's a primary. You're going to have fights in the middle of a primary," said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who himself had considered running for president this year. "Nobody should expect anything otherwise." Stephen Teap is Cork Person of the Year for 2019. The tireless campaigner for those victims of the CervicalCheck screening scandal, who lost his own wife due to the screening debacle, says he fears even further delays in checks as the government is making lots of promises but delivering very little action. Mr Teap from Carrigaline lost who lost his wife Irene, to cervical cancer in July 2017. A year after his wife's death, Stephen alongside fellow campaigners Vicky Phelan and Lorraine Walsh, launched the 221Plus Patient Support Group, which helps victims directly affected by the CervicalCheck screening failure, providing them with advice, information and support. He's also one of the patient representatives on the CervicalCheck Steering Committee, whose members include representatives from the Department of Health, the HSE and the Irish Cancer Society. In August 2019, Stephen met with Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Simon Harris and was crucial in arranging a formal apology on behalf of the State to the women and families affected by the CervicalCheck scandal. Heartfelt thanks for @mmcgrathtd from @Stephenteap for the consistent behind the scenes support. Not a dry eye in the house, after hearing Stephens story, and the tragedy that has changed his, and his familys world. #CPOTY2019 pic.twitter.com/bWb3N6f9ng Cork Person of the Year (@Cork_POTY) January 17, 2020 The Irish Examiner reported earlier this week that thousands of women were given no follow-up cancer screening appointments, while more had their appointment deadlines missed due to huge pressure on the CervicalCheck services across the country. Stephen said he and fellow campaigners were aware of a decline in the ability of the clinics to handle the workload and were concerned nothing tangible has been done to address this. When HPV screening comes out in the next few months we're concerned this will slow the (CervicalCheck) process even more. We want to see a firm action plan to resolve this, he said. When asked what level of response there had been to campaigners' requests to the government and HSE for speedier checks, he said: There's been a lot of talk, but very little action. The couple have two sons, Oscar and Noah, now aged seven and four. I was widowed at 36. They are the reason I keep going. They're everything in the world. They're the reason I get out of bed in the mornings, Stephen said. Huge CONGRATULATIONS to my friend and fellow advocate @Stephenteap on being awarded @Cork_POTY You so thoroughly deserve this award for the sacrifices that you have made and for your selflessness while always thinking of others. I am SO proud of you. Enjoy the celebrations x https://t.co/3Rd5pthUvr Vicky Phelan (@PhelanVicky) January 17, 2020 He received a standing ovation from the 250 guests at the awards ceremony which took place at the Rochestown Park Hotel. Stephen said it was bittersweet getting such an accolade, but thanked all involved in the ceremony. In an emotional speech, he said he was accepting it for the women and families who suffered from the scandal and didn't have a voice of their own. The most important thing is this doesn't happen to any women or their families again, he said and personally thanked Michael McGrath TD for nominating him for the award. Meanwhile, Tanaiste Simon Coveney said the organiser, Manus O'Callaghan, had to be congratulated for keeping the event going for 27 years, "Every time I come to this event I'm reminded of the extraordinary people Cork produces," he said. The award judges were the Cork City Council chief executive Ann Doherty and the chief executive of Cork County Council Tim Lucey. Sponsors of the awards are the Irish Examiner/The Echo; RTE; Southern; AM OSullivan PR; Lexus Cork; Cork Crystal; Tony OConnell Photography; CAVS and Musgrave MarketPlace. Human development is about expanding the richness of human life, rather than simply the richness of the economy in which human beings live. It is an approach that is focused on people and their opportunities and choices. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 01:04:47|Editor: yan Video Player Close KATHMANDU, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- At least two Nepalis are missing in avalanche in Kaski district while four South Koreans have remained contactless, a local government official said Friday. Bhim Gurung, chairman of ward No-11 of the Annapurna Rural Municipality told Xinhua that two Nepalis, a trekking guide and a porter, are missing in the avalanche. "The status of contactless South Koreans who were separated from nine-member Korean team, is not certain," he said. He, however, confirmed that the local people rescued five Chinese tourists, five South Koreans and a Nepali from the avalanche-hit area. Of five rescued South Korean, one is injured, according to Gurung. According to local government officials, the incident took place at around 11 a.m., due to incessant snowfall in the area, which is a part of popular Annapurna Trekking Route. Although locals have been making efforts of rescue, police have not reached the area, which is two days walk from the nearby police post at Ghandruk, Kaski district. "There is no road connectivity in the incident site and aerial rescue operation also could not be possible due to bad weather throughout the day," Superintendent of Police Dan Bahadur Karki, who is chief of western Kaski district, told Xinhua on Friday evening. He, however, said that he had sent some police personnel for rescue by foot while asking the locals to help in rescuing the affected people. US warship sails through Taiwan Strait Taipei, Jan 17 (AFP) Jan 17, 2020 A US warship has sailed through the Taiwan Strait, mainland and Taipei officials said Friday, the first such passage since the island resoundingly re-elected its independence-leaning president. The warship was on a "routine mission" on Thursday, Taiwan's defence ministry said, as it traversed the stretch of water that divides the self-ruling island from the authoritarian Chinese mainland. The waterway bristles with hardware on both sides and China views any sail-by as a breach of its sovereignty. The US and many other nations say the strait is international waters and Washington regularly carries out so-called "Freedom of Navigation" operations to press the point. The sail-by comes after Tsai Ing-wen won a second term as president in weekend elections with an increased majority. The outcome was seen as a forceful rebuke of Beijing's ongoing campaign to isolate the island. China's leadership had made no secret of its desire to see Tsai turfed out because she and her party refuse to acknowledge their view that Taiwan is part of a "one China". Beijing regards the island as its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary -- especially if it declares independence. In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China "closely followed" the ship throughout its entire journey. "The Taiwan issue concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and is the most important, most sensitive issue in China-US relations," Geng said at a regular press briefing. He said the US must "abide by the One-China principle" in order to "avoid hurting China-US relations and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait." Afer Tsai's re-election, China warned against any move to push the island closer towards formal independence. Beijing has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan since Tsai came to power in 2016. The newly commissioned Shandong, China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, sailed through the Taiwan Strait in December just weeks before the election. Beijing's only other carrier -- the Liaoning -- has passed through the Taiwan Strait several times in recent years, most recently in June. NCP legislator Durrani Abdullah Khan has said there is enough evidence to prove that Saibaba was born at Pathri and there is a fear if the town in Parbhani district of Maharashtra is developed, the importance of Shirdi, which has a grand temple of the saint, will fade. Devotees in large numbers throng the Shri Sai Janmasthan Temple at Pathri and during a recent visit there, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had announced a grant of Rs 100 crore for development of the town. People of Shirdi, in Ahmednagar district, are afraid that if Pathri is developed, the importance of Shirdi will decline, Khan said. There is enough evidence to prove that Pathri is the birthplace of Saibaba and President Ramnath Kovind has also endorsed the fact earlier, the NCP leader added. "While Shirdi is Saibaba's 'karmabhoomi' (work place) and Pathri is 'janmabhoomi' (birthplace) and both these places have their own importance," he said. Tourists from across the country and world visit Pathri in large numbers, he said, adding that the town lacks good infrastructure. "The Chief Minister has agreed to grant Rs 100 crore to Pathri. People of Shirdi don't have an issue with the funds, they just don't want Pathri to be called Saibaba's birthplace," he said. Shirdi residents fear that if Pathari comes under the limelight, the flow of devotees to their town will come down, he said. The Saibaba Temple at Shirdi draws lakhs of devotees and is one of the most popular pilgrim destinations in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Erin Schweikert, 18, who was missing since September 2019, was found dead in a bathtub in the basement of a South Philadelphia row house. Read more A body found decomposing in a South Philadelphia twin was identified Friday as that of a teen mother last seen by her family and friends in late September. Philadelphia police said Friday there were no apparent signs of trauma on 18-year-old Erin Schweikert, whose severely decomposed body was found at 4:45 p.m. Thursday in the basement of a home on the 2100 block of Porter Street by sheriffs deputies and members of the Police Departments Special Victims Unit. Fridays police update corrected earlier information given by the Philadelphia Sheriffs Office that the body had been dismembered. Acting Police Commissioner Christine Coulter told reporters Friday morning that the house had a strong odor that would be impossible for anyone inside to ignore. The cause and manner of death were still undetermined, police said. On Oct. 18, the Police Department issued an alert asking for the publics assistance in locating Schweikert, who was last seen at 12 a.m. Sept. 27 on the 2300 block of South Lee Street. Friends started a GoFundMe page to increase awareness about her disappearance and to raise money to hire a private detective to help find her. Her family has not lost hope of finding her, however with each passing day the agony of not knowing where she is or if something has happened to her is agonizing for everyone that knows and loves her, read a message posted on the GoFundMe page, which was organized by family friend Christine Day. Erin is not familiar with the streets. It is out of character for her to just leave and not be heard from, the message said. Now, friends have created a GoFundMe for funeral expenses. Schweikert, who lived on South Lee Street in South Philadelphia and was active on social media, had three Facebook pages. Many of the pictures featured her with her toddler daughter or striking playful glamour poses. A woman who responded to a knock at the rowhouse where Schweikert and her daughter lived with her family said they did not want to comment at this time. Neighbors on the typical South Philly block were in tears when asked about the 18-year-old they watched grow up. She was like a little sister to me, said James Cacciatore, 21. Its a shame that it had to be like this, he said. I always had hope that maybe she would show up one day." Cacciatore remembered being with Schweikert at the parade for the Eagles 2018 Super Bowl win and lifting the 5-foot-tall brunette up onto his shoulders so she could see above the crowds. He described his friend and neighbor as very talkative and outgoing, but said he fears that she might have got caught up in the wrong crowd." His grandmother, Jeannet Hurley, 71, who lives on Lee Street, said she remembers Schweikert and other kids from the block running in and out of homes on the block during the summers. These kids all ran around together. I mean, this is South Philly, Hurley said. The street is just so quiet tonight, she added, while looking toward Schweikerts home. On Thursday, sheriffs deputies had gone to the twin on Porter Street to arrest Maddison Leidy, 25, who lived at the address, on a warrant in connection with a robbery. Officers with the police Special Victims Unit had gone along with sheriffs deputies because they had received a tip that a missing 18-year-old woman was inside. After the body was discovered, Leidy and four other people who were in the house were taken into custody for questioning, authorities said. The Sheriffs Office on Friday said Leidy was arrested for violation of probation for robbery. As for the other four, a Philadelphia police spokesperson said no one has been charged, but the investigation continues. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has finally called for an internal probe after the release of bombshell texts that appeared to show Rudy Giuliani associates surveilling the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. The State Department had been silent for three days after the release by the House Intelligence Committee of messages to and from Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, who has been indicted on campaign finance charges. Some show detailed information about the location and movements of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, who had come under harsh criticism by Giuliani and his team who branded her as anti-Trump. 'We will do everything we need to do to evaluate whether there was something that took place there,' Pompeo said. 'We will do everything we need to do,' said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for the first time saying the alleged surveillance of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch would be investigated But he also shared doubts at the get-go about the nature of what had occurred. 'I suspect that much of what's been reported will ultimately prove wrong,' he said. Pompeo on Friday broke nearly 72 hours of silence on the subject, saying he an obligation to evaluate and investigate the matter relating to an American posted overseas and placed under protection of U.S. diplomatic security. In interviews with conservative radio hosts, Pompeo said he had no knowledge of the allegations until earlier this week when congressional Democrats released documents from an associate of President Donald Trump's personal attorney suggesting that Marie Yovanovitch was being watched. He also said he did not know and had never met Lev Parnas, the associate of Rudy Giuliani who made the claims. Pompeo, who was traveling in California when the documents were released, had been harshly criticized by lawmakers and current and former diplomats for not addressing the matter. The documents provided by Parnas suggested there may have been a threat to Yovanovitch shortly before she was abruptly recalled last spring. Indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas turned over WhatsApp messages and other information to House investigators Hyde says 'F*** that b****' in relation to former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch The messages from Parnas came to light on the eve of Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial Parnas has been speaking publicly about his work along with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine matters 'We will do everything we need to do to evaluate whether there was something that took place there,' he said in a radio interview with Tony Katz, an Indianapolis-based broadcaster. 'I suspect that much of whats been reported will ultimately prove wrong, but our obligation, my obligation as secretary of state, is to make sure that we evaluate, investigate. Any time there is someone who posits that there may have been a risk to one of our officers, well obviously do that.' 'It is always the case at the Department of State that we do everything we can to ensure that our officers, not only our ambassadors but our entire team, has the security level thats appropriate,' Pompeo said. 'We do our best to make sure that no harm will come to anyone, whether that was what was going on in our embassy in Baghdad last week or the work that was going on in Kyiv up and through the spring of last year when Ambassador Yovanovitch was there, and in our embassy in Kyiv even today,' he said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefs reporters about additional sanctions placed on Iran, at the White House, Friday, Jan. 10, 2019, in Washington with and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Pompeo made similar but less specific comments to conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt. Until he spoke, the State Department had declined repeated requests to offer any public defense of Yovanovitch, drawing fire from many. The allegations, if true, are central to the impeachment inquiry into Trump, who faces a charge that he abused his presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using military aid to the country as leverage. Trump says the inquiry is a 'hoax.' At the time, Trumps allies were trying to have Yovanovitch, who was seen as a roadblock to a Biden investigation, removed from her post. She was recalled in late May ahead of the end of her tour. Yovanovitch returned to Washington after being told in a late-night phone call to get on the next plane home for her own safety by the director general of the Foreign Service, according to witness testimony in the impeachment inquiry. The nature of any possible threat was not specified and remains unclear, although the Parnas documents suggest the surveillance was a prelude to some kind of action. Robert Hyde, the Republican congressional candidate who exchanged text messages with Lev Parnas about the physical movements of Yovanovitch, claims he was drinking when he wrote about surveillance of her. 'For them to take some texts my buddy's and I wrote back to some dweeb we were playing with that we met a few times while we had a few drinks is definitely laughable. Schiff is a desperate turd playing with this Lev guy,' he wrote. Many of the texts provide information about Yovanovitch's security package not long before she was suddenly removed from her post. 'She under heavy protection outside Kiev,' Hyde wrote in one. Two days later, he wrote: 'They are moving her tomorrow.' Then he added: 'The guys over there asked me what I would like to do and what is in it for them.' 'Private security. Been there since Thursday,' he wrote in another message. 'They will let me know when she's on the move.' 'They are willing to help if we/you would like a price,' Hyde added in another message that day. 'Guess you can do anything in the Ukraine with money ... what I was told,' he wrote. 'Can't believe Trump hasn't fired this b****' Hyde says writes at one point. Yovanovitch's lawyer had demanded an investigation after the texts came out. The U.S. and China signed what they billed as the first phase of a broader trade pact on Wednesday amid persistent questions over whether President Donald Trumps efforts to rewrite the economic relationship with Beijing will ever go any further. The deal commits China to do more to crack down on the theft of American technology and corporate secrets by its companies and state entities, while outlining a $200 billion spending spree to try to close its trade imbalance with the U.S. It also binds Beijing to avoiding currency manipulation to gain an advantage and includes an enforcement system to ensure promises are kept. The ceremony in a packed East Room at the White House included Trump, dozens of American business people and U.S. lawmakers and Chinese officials and marked a rare moment of friendship lately between the worlds two largest economies. Acrimonious talks stretching back almost three years have roiled financial markets, cast a cloud of uncertainty over investment decisions and hurt growth in both nations. This is a very important and remarkable occasion, Trump said. Fixing what he sees as the injustices of past trade deals is probably the biggest reason why I ran for president, he added. Together we are righting the wrongs of the past. In a letter to Trump read out at the ceremony, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said the deal proved the two sides could work together to bridge their differences and declared it good for China, the U.S. and the whole world. The benchmark S&P 500 set an intraday record for the sixth consecutive trading session, finishing short of an earlier all-time intraday high. Stocks in Asia were mixed Thursday, with shares in Hong Kong largely flat. Economic Dialogues The deal, sealed on the same day the House voted to refer articles of Trumps impeachment to the Senate, seems most focused on arriving at peace in the trade war. Among its requirements is a resumption of the economic dialogues that past administrations have held with China. But the new pact has already been criticized for what is missing. It does nothing to address areas like what U.S. authorities have long claimed is Chinas state-backed hacking of American companies and government institutions. Nor does it require the Asian power to reform the vast web of state subsidies that form the spine of its model of state capitalism and have helped fuel the rapid growth of Chinese companies internationally. The administration says many of those issues will be covered in a second phase of a deal, though when those talks will begin and how long they will take remains uncertain. In the meantime, the U.S. is also set to maintain tariffs on roughly two-thirds of imports from China, something that Trump on Wednesday said was essential as leverage over the country until it agreed to further reforms. Asked about a phase two deal, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Thursday afternoon that Beijing and Washington would have to to accommodate each others main concerns while implementing phase one. The two sides need to work together in the spirit of equality and mutual respect to strictly observe the trade agreement, accommodate each others core concerns and implement the phase one agreement, Geng told reporters in Beijing. As soon as this kicks in were starting phase two, Trump said. I will agree to take those tariffs off if were able to do phase two, otherwise we dont have any cards to negotiate with. Trumps top negotiator, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, told reporters ahead of the signing that the administration was focused on implementing the initial agreement in the short term. Any further negotiations would only come after that, he said, adding that the initial implementation of phase one could take until the spring. Business groups broadly welcomed the agreement. But the lack of clarity on where things would go next also led many to call for those to be pursued more urgently so that tariffs could be lifted. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it was critical for the two sides to begin negotiations on a second phase as soon as possible. The work isnt done yet, said Craig Allen, head of the U.S.-China Business Council, which represents American companies doing business in the Asian nation. The phase-one agreement should be swiftly followed by continued phase-two negotiations on remaining issues. Democrats in Congress, meanwhile, blasted the agreement, saying Trump in agreeing to the limited pact gave away vital leverage he might have used to resolve tougher issues in the trade relationship, including Chinas massive subsidies to some key industries. The administration, in order to get a deal at all costs before the 2020 election, has thrown the American worker and American business overboard, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Chinese state media greeted the deal with cautious optimism but also fear it could fall apart. It is such a paradox that makes many people worry: Can a preliminary trade agreement, reached during a period when China-U.S. strategic relations are clearly declining, really work, the English-language Global Times said in an editorial. Trump called the deal more focused than a broader one that was on the table in May when talks broke down, triggering a summer of escalation that prompted wild swings in financial markets. He argued the deal was tougher as well. But missing from the agreement are many of the requirements for Chinese legal changes that U.S. negotiators accused Beijing of abandoning then, prompting the May breakdown. The deal states China must apply criminal penalties on anyone caught stealing commercial secrets and do more to stop the sale of pirated goods online, as well as fake pharmaceutical products. It also requires Beijing to deliver an action plan within 30 days of the deal taking effect on how it intends to meet its commitments on intellectual property. Separately, it includes a broad commitment for China to stop pressuring American companies investing in the country to share technology with local joint-venture partners and for the government to stop supporting or directing Chinese firms to buy up strategic technologies by acquiring foreign companies. Both have been chief complaints of the U.S., which has curbed inbound investments from China, particularly in the tech sector. One stated aim of the U.S. crackdown on China and companies like Huawei Technologies Co. has been to curtail their efforts to control strategic sectors like fifth-generation mobile networks and, as part of Xis Made in China 2025 program, to dominate 21st century industries like artificial intelligence and robotics. In his letter to Trump, read out by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the ceremony, Xi cited the spirit of the deal and urged Trump to allow investment by Chinese firms and said he hoped that the U.S. side will treat fairly Chinese companies. He also urged the U.S. to allow continuing collaboration by universities and other institutions to promote the mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries. Both Chinese investment and research exchanges as well as the thousands of Chinese students in the U.S. have been a target for national security hawks in Washington who argue they are part of a broader technology cold war playing out. Officials insist that they are harvesting significant commitments from Beijing that mean the first phase of the agreement will benefit U.S. businesses and workers even if discussions never go any further. Already Promised Many of the IP commitments in the deal, however, appear to be ones that China had either made already or was moving to address. Over the past year, it has made a rapid-fire series of legal changes to beef up protection. A new foreign-investment law that took effect on Jan. 1 bans administrative agencies from forcing companies to transfer technological knowhow as a cost of entry to the Chinese market. It exposes officials who disclose or leak trade secrets gleaned from regulatory approvals to potential criminal penalties. The Trump administration says what separates its deal most from others is the enforcement mechanism it establishes. Rather than rely on a slow-moving World Trade Organization dispute system that Trump in any case has already hobbled by blocking the appointment of top judges, the new agreement with China would allow the administration to move to punish Beijing with tariffs or other measures within 90 days if officials decided it was breaking its promises. But even Lighthizer acknowledged Wednesday that the effectiveness of the mechanism will depend on Beijing. This deal will work if China wants it to work, he told reporters. And Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, likened the mechanism and its requirement for consultations to a weak telephone tree. The deal is also unique in the breadth of specific Chinese purchase commitments it contains, which some critics in the U.S. see as uncomfortably reminiscent of the sort of state-directed central planning American diplomats have spent decades trying to get China to abandon. Even those purchase promises, the details of which are contained in a secret annex to the agreement signed on Tuesday, face questions. The text of the pact released Wednesday specifies $77.7 billion in additional Chinese purchases of manufactured goods including aircraft, $32 billion in new purchases of agricultural products, $52.4 billion in energy and $37.9 billion in services in the two years through December 2021. But it also left significant questions over whether U.S. farm exports to China to reach the $40 billion to $50 billion annual level that Trump has promised, which would mean doubling the $24 billion in agriculture and related products it imported from the U.S. in 2017, before the trade war began. Signing the deal is the easy part, Ken Morrison, a St. Louis-based independent trader, said by phone. I have yet to hear a sound argument on how China will execute this deal. Now read: Treasury struggles to fund SAA bailout The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman. Navigating a changing dairy industry requires fresh perspective and a close network of support. At the 2020 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit on February 5-6 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College, Pa, dairy producers will come together to explore current trends impacting the dairy industry and develop new strategies to remain competitive. With a line-up of acclaimed keynote speakers and in-depth breakout sessions, the Summit promises to help dairy producers think beyond their day-to-day responsibilities on the farm. Sessions will reignite their outlook on leadership, innovation, goal-setting, farm culture, and more. "The PA Dairy Summit is the premier meeting to be a part of when it comes to understanding our greater dairy industry beyond our state borders, our free stall barns, or our farm profit-loss statement, said Justin Risser of Meadow Vista Dairy, LLC in Bainbridge, Pa. Those who attend this event annually understand the importance of having a greater understanding beyond just milking cows." This years keynote speakers plan to reignite the audiences commitment to dairy by providing real-world business expertise, sharing eye-opening data, and empowering attendees to challenge their status quo. During the two-day event, attendees will enjoy the following presentations: Igniting the Storyteller in You Ty Bennett, founder of Leadership, Inc., will provide fresh insight and new perspective to hep dairy producers cultivate exceptional relationships on and off the farm, and learn how to compete in extraordinary ways. Fairlife: Sparking the Fire for Innovation Sue McCloskey, creative director at Fair Oaks Farms, will discuss innovation in the fluid milk category and share how her business experienced growth, even when fluid milk was trending down in sales. Producer Showcase: McCarty Family Farms, LLC Clay McCarty will share his insights and experience from his multi-generational dairy farm in western Kansas where they create wholesome products in a state-of-the-art processing plant. The plant is the only one of its kind in North America and maximizes quality and environmental sustainability. Calming the Embers: Animal Agriculture and Climate Change Dr. Frank Mitloehner, professor and air quality specialist at the University of California, Davis, will expose the truth about animal agriculture and climate change and renew producers confidence in their contributions to improved climate conditions in the U.S. In addition to keynote presentations, the 2020 Dairy Summit will feature interactive breakout sessions designed to help dairy producers consider new strategies and innovative ideas that could transform their farm. The breakout sessions are tailored to focus on four tracks: Technology, Value-Added, Cow-Side, and Current Issues. When I went to the Dairy Summit, I remember gaining a lot of really good information and tangible strategies from a dairy farm that spoke about their operations. They shared ideas that my ?family has considered implementing in the future, said Ashley Blair, a dairy producer in Warren, Pa. The Penn State Extension Dairy Team and the University of Pennsylvania will also lead five educational mini breakout sessions to help dairy professionals gain hands-on experience evaluating dairy products, taste-testing the various products available to consumers in todays dairy cases and developing strategies for dry cow management. Dairy producers and farm employees who register for the 2020 Dairy Conference will receive discounted registration rates. Registration is discounted to $75 for the first producer who registers and $50 for each additional person from the farm. Registration is $25 for producers who want to attend only one day of the conference. Visit padairysummit.org to register today and view full program details, including continuing education opportunities and full breakout descriptions. Contact the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit Business Office with questions at 814-355-2467 or email info@padairysummit.org. PDMP is a not-for-profit organization of progressive, positive-minded dairy producers and agribusiness leaders working together to advance the dairy industry in Pennsylvania through improved productivity and profitability. Programs offered by PDMP are designed by dairy producers for dairy producers. For more information on PDMP, visit their website at pdmp.org. The Center for Dairy Excellence is a non-profit organization initiated by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in 2004. Bringing together people from more than 40 different dairy organizations in Pennsylvania, the Centers mission is to enhance the profitability of the dairy industry by empowering people, creating partnerships, and increasing the availability and use of resources. Learn more at centerfordairyexcellence.org. A lot has changed in a century of Leitrim life, but the songs of Percy French are still sung, his stories and writings continue to inspire and entertain and even his paintings are still loved and fetching large sums! Percy French was born on May 1, 1854 in Co Roscommon, and died on January 24, 1920 Percy French had strong Leitrim connections, he had family roots here, resided here, performed and composed works in various locations around the county. One of the most sought after artists and entertainers of the late 1800s, performing for Kings and Queens, ambassadors and dignitaries; Percy French was very much at home among the characters and landscape of rugged Leitrim. Percy's maternal grandfather Rev WA Percy was born in Garadice Manor near Ballinamore and was rector of Kiltoghert. As an engineer in west Cavan he spent much time across the county boundary in Leitrim and some of his songs are inspired by characters in the area such as Eileen Og, Killyrann Wrackers and My Friend McGuire. One of his most famous songs Phil the Fluthers Ball is based on the story of Phil Reilly from Gortletteragh, who cleared his rent by having a ball in his house. The recitation The Fighting McGuire is understood to have been composed on an incident near Ballinamore. The Godleys of Killegar were good friends with Percy and he frequently visited the area. He also loved to visit Mohill, he performed in Hunt Hall and enjoyed relaxing in Knotts hotel. He also spent many hours painting in the Dromod area and Carrigallen. Some of his paintings have fetched up on 44,000 in recent auctions. Leitrim Society The County Leitrim Percy French Society was established in May 2012 by local Tish Dunleavy. Tish grew up on the songs and stories of Percy. Her father Gerald was a well known tenor who performed Percy's songs and her uncle Justice Dermot Dunleavy was one of the finest exponents of the works of Percy French. He was specially invited to perform The West Clare Railway at the closing of the narrow gauge railway line in Mohill, and performed at the centenary celebrations in Clooneyquin. Tish, over many years, has performed the songs and recitations of Percy French. She was joined over the years by some well known performers and by Frank Cadam who takes on the very impressive role of French during the stage show. 100th anniversary Special show On Friday, January 24, one-hundred-years to the exact day of Percy French's death, the public will have the opportunity to travel back in time and spend a delightful evening listening to the music and songs of one of the most accomplished composers this country has produced. From The Mountains of Mourne and Come Back Paddy Reilly to Phil the Fluters Ball and many many more, you can sit back and enjoy the tunes inspired locally. The show is performed by eleven members of the Leitrim Percy French Society in period costume. Tish Dunleavy is the musical director with Frank Cadam taking the role of the great man himself. Representatives from all over Ireland will attend this very special 100th anniversary show which will be performed in the Bush Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon at 8pm on January 24. The society are delighted to perform this show in The Bush Hotel, where Percy French previously sold out events. The proceeds for the show will towards fundraising efforts for Woodbrook NS, Co Roscommon. The show is two-hours long and will feature new stage performances and songs alongside the popular pieces. This is the Leitrim societys first show of 2020, they will also perform in Derry in April, Roscommon in May and in Carrigallen later this year. Tickets for Percy French Anniversary Show Show starts at 8pm in The Bush Hotel on Friday, January 24. Tickets are 15 and available from: The Bush Hotel on (071) 967 1000; Angela on (087) 2621042; Liz on (087) 7949021. Tickets also on the door on the night from 7.15pm. Also read: Leitrim jobs roundup NEW DELHI Indias top military commander has created shock waves by suggesting that Kashmiris could be shipped off to deradicalization camps, which rights activists consider an alarming echo of what China has done to many of its Muslim citizens. It was far from clear what the military commander, Gen. Bipin Rawat, chief of Indias defense staff, meant when he made the public comments on Thursday or whether a plan was afoot to set up large-scale re-education camps in the part of the disputed Kashmir region that India controls. But rights activists and Kashmiri intellectuals were deeply unsettled, saying that the generals words revealed how the highest levels of the Indian military viewed Kashmiri people and that his comments could presage another disturbing turn of events. Its shocking he would even suggest this, said Siddiq Wahid, a Kashmiri historian who earned his Ph.D. from Harvard. It reminds me of the Uighur camps in China. I dont think the general realizes the insanity of what he is talking about. North Korean women from the Hong Chao Zhi Yi garment factory ask for the price of fruit at a street market in the city of Hunchun, in China's Jilin province, Sept. 2, 2017. North Korean authorities have dispatched more security agents to China in order to boost control and monitoring of North Korean workers around the Lunar New Year holiday, with the goal of preventing the erosion of the workers loyalty and decreasing the likelihood of defections, RFA has learned. Up until now, one security agent controlled and supervised multiple work sites in cases where there were fewer than 100 workers, a source from the Chinese border city of Dandong told RFAs Korean Service on Tuesday. But these days, security agents have been dispatched so that there is one at every work site, even for very a small-scale workplaces, the source said. They are called security agents or deputy managers. They seem to be under the supervision of the manager who represents the North Korean workers, but in reality, the manager is under the control and monitoring of the security agents, the source added. Every workers passport and river-crossing pass, including the managers, are also kept by the security agents, said the source, referring to permits to enter China across the countries river border. The surveillance move is very unpopular among many dispatched workers. [The] workers at the sites where the security agents had not been [regularly] stationed are saying their good days are gone, because when they werent being watched by agents, they could have time off on holidays at the discretion of the manager, the source said, adding that the prospect of time off is not something that many expect anymore. Remain on the premises According to U.N.-mandated sanctions designed to curb the flow of hard currency to North Korea in order to slow its nuclear and weapons development, North Korean overseas workers were supposed to have been repatriated by Dec. 22, 2019 deadline, and no new work visas are supposed to have been issued over the past two years. RFA reported shortly after the deadline passed that many North Koreans in China appeared to be ignoring the deadline entirely. A South Korean businessperson who runs a sewing factory in nearby Donggang told RFA that North Korean employees are not even allowed to leave their workplaces anymore. There are about 50 North Korean women who work at a Chinese food-processing company across the street from our factory. Ive often seen them going to the grocery store near the factory gate, but not anymore, the second source said. I initially thought that they had all returned home to North Korea, but when I asked the owner of the grocery store, I learned that they are now not allowed to come out, said the second source. A new security agent has been dispatched from North Korea and he arranged that a single staff member would go to purchase things that the workers need from the store, the second source added. The newly arrived overseers may not be popular with the Chinese companies that employ North Koreans either. North Korea asks the Chinese company to provide about 20,000 Chinese Yuan (U.S. $2900) a month for accommodation and living expenses for the new security agent, the second source said. This is equivalent to the wages of about 10 workers, and sometimes this creates a dispute between the North Koreans and the Chinese company, the source said. The Korean International Trade Association, a private economic organization, estimated the number of North Korean workers in China at 70,000 to 80,000 in August 2019. South Koreas Foreign Ministry put the number of North Korean workers overseas at 70,000-100,000 as of the end of 2017. Research institutes in Seoul, including the Korea Institute for National Unification and Sejong Institute, estimate North Koreas overseas workers to be around 100,000, 80 percent of which are from neighboring China and Russia, with 50,000 and 30,000, respectively. Reported by Joonho Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Snowfall in the higher reaches and rain in the lower areas of Chamoli district affected normal life on Friday adding to chill and blocking traffic on half a dozen roads. Snowfall which started on Thursday morning continued on Friday covering 77 villages under sheets of snow, the District Disaster Management office said. Traffic was also disrupted on six roads of the district, it said. Temperatures plummeted due to snowfall and rain prompting the district administration to close all schools and anganwadi centres. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the Centre signing an agreement with the governments of Tripura and Mizoram as well as representatives of Bru-Reang community, under which around 34,000 internally displaced people will be settled in Tripura, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Thursday said the pact will permanently solve the 25-year-old "burning issue." "Today we have signed an important agreement with Bru leaders and the Government of Tripura and the Government of Mizoram. This will permanently solve the burning issue that has been going on for 25 years," said Zoramthanga in a press conference here. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said this step is "historic". "I want to thank the Prime Minister and Home Minister on the behalf of people of Tripura," he said. On the occasion, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said around 34,000 Bru refugees will be settled in Tripura under the new agreement and the state would be given a package of around Rs 600 crores for their rehabilitation. They would get all the rights that normal residents of the states get and they would now be able to enjoy the benefits of social welfare schemes of Centre and state governments, he said. North-East Democratic Alliance chief Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was also present, said they (Bru refugees) will enjoy all the facilities. "They had an option to go to Mizoram but most of them expressed their wish to stay in Tripura," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Grant, Irelands leading engineering company specialising in the plumbing and heating industry, today welcomed Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to officially open its newly expanded facilities in Birr, Co. Offaly, representing a capital investment of 14 million. The major expansion plans were announced in 2016 in response to increased demand for the companys heating products on a local and international level. In recent years Grant has enjoyed further success in Ireland, the UK and further afield including France, Greece and New Zealand and has diversified its product portfolio to meet the changing needs of its customers around the globe. The new facilities include a state-of-the-art R&D innovation centre, a customer services centre, a dedicated training academy featuring an auditorium and training suite, and an extension to the existing manufacturing facilities which has also seen further investment in robotics and automation. Speaking at the opening An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: My vision for the future of the Midlands begins with companies like Grant Engineering. They have developed a 21st-century facility for state-of-the-art, environmentally efficient heating products for the 21st century. And with the right vision, the right policies, and the right investment, the future for the Midlands itself is bright. As this area moves away from peat harvesting and electricity generation, we will leave no worker or community behind. "Our Just Transition funding of 116 million will create an estimated 400 jobs directly and indirectly, and significantly upgrade the social housing stock. The first Just Transition Commissioner has been appointed and his priority will be to help communities and workers affected by the imminent ending of peat harvesting for power generation in the Midlands region. With the right vision, and the right policies, I believe the Midlands can become a leader in other areas of the green economy, such as retro-fitting. "Through bog rehabilitation and tourism, we can also ensure that our bogs continue to be a source of employment. Decarbonising our economy with our Climate Action Plan means our air will be cleaner, our homes warmer and more comfortable, we will have secure energy supplies, and there will be new jobs in sustainable industries. Grant Engineering Founder Stephen Grant said: We are delighted to be starting the new year with the opening of our new facilities. This investment demonstrates our commitment to innovation, growth and to the local economy. In recent years we have expanded into new markets and developed new products to meet the needs of our customer base. "Our focus on sustainability continues to grow and to help achieve de-carbonisation I believe that home heating fuel needs to follow in the footsteps of transport and transition to electric or 100% biofuel heating. This is impossible to do in the short to medium term in an affordable way, however, the introduction of a Biofuel Obligation for home heating could enable homes to become sustainable. We have future-proofed our products over the last 5 years so that they can operate using biofuel but to aid transition and further reduce emissions we need the support of fuel suppliers and the government. Accelerating the electrification of heat is another way to aid transition and this is helped by current building regulations with new houses being predominately fitted with a heat pump. We have been supplying air to water heat pumps for nearly 10 years and these appliances are ideal for new build homes where the house design is matched to the heat pump, however, there is a huge issue for deployment of heat pumps to the retrofit market which is based on the affordability of deep retrofitting which cost up to 70k. "Together with my R&D team, I am excited to announce that we have developed new hybrid technology called EVOLINK which will be available later this year. EVOLINK is the first of its kind in hybrid technology and enables the smart integration of heat pumps to a property by combining with existing technology in a home whether oil, gas or biomass. EVOLINK uses intelligent software and complex algorithms to optimise the use of the heat pump throughout the year, optimising the operating temperatures of the two appliances through modulating pumps and hydraulic mixing circuits. "It also incorporates smart features like in-built weather compensation and can effectively reduce carbon emissions by 70% - 80% overnight at a fraction of the cost of deep retrofitting, thereby offering an affordable way to transition with minimal disruption. The EVOLINK hybrid can play a substantial role in the transition to full decarbonisation of residential heat as will biofuel. As recently as 2018, Grant Engineering expanded its footprint even further opening a premises in Lyon, France with the support of Enterprise Ireland. Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland said, Enterprise Ireland has worked closely with Grant Engineering, both in Ireland and internationally since its establishment. At Enterprise Ireland, we know that investment in innovation is critical across all sectors to maintain competitiveness and to drive export growth and we are delighted to directly support this new facility. "Grant Engineering has experienced strong progress over the last number of years, and I would like to congratulate Stephen, Niall and the team for their continued investment in Research and Development and their commitment to diversifying in international markets. "Hugely important to the local economy, Grant Engineering is an excellent example of an innovative, regionally-based company with global ambition that has expanded its reach to build a robust business in the face of challenges like Brexit. This new R&D Innovation and Training facility will enable Grant Engineering to continue to grow, and we look forward to continuing our work with the team both here and through our international office network as they progress on this upward trajectory. Grant designs and manufactures a range of highly efficient heating products including Vortex condensing oil boilers, Aerona 3 R32 air source heat pumps, solar thermal panels and pre-plumbed hot water cylinders. The company has recently diversified its offering to include heat emitters ranges - Afinia aluminium and Solo fan convector radiators and Uflex underfloor heating which are key features of its full home heating design, specification and supply solution. Grant Engineering at peak season employs over 370 people in Ireland between full and part-time roles and 80 in the UK. A British teenager found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus has launched an appeal against her conviction. The 19-year-old woman flew back to the UK last week after she was handed a four-month jail term, suspended for three years, at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni. She has vowed to continue her fight to clear her name, and lawyers said grounds for appeal against the public mischief conviction were submitted to the supreme court of Cyprus on Thursday. Michael Polak, from the Justice Abroad group, said: When the trial proceedings are considered dispassionately, it is clear that the teenager did not receive a fair trial before the Famagusta District Court, and that her unfair treatment, and the treatment of her representatives and witness, was in clear contrast to the treatment the prosecution and its witness experienced. 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 conviction of the teenager not only breaches the teenagers rights under Cypriot law, but it also amounts to a breach of Cypruss international obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and as a member of the European Union. The teenager claimed she was raped by up to 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in the town of Ayia Napa on July 17, before being charged herself after signing a retraction statement 10 days later. She maintains she was raped, but was forced to change her account under pressure from Cypriot police following hours of questioning alone and without legal representation. The dozen young men and boys, aged between 15 and 20, arrested over the incident were freed and returned home. Tashonna Ward, 25, (pictured) arrived at an emergency room complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath and was made to wait for two and a half hours before she decided to seek medical help elsewhere, but collapsed and died A woman who arrived at an emergency room complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath was made to wait for two and a half hours before she decided to seek medical help elsewhere, but collapsed and died. Tashonna Ward, 25, arrived at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin with her sister by her side at 4.58pm, seeking urgent medical attention on January 2. An X-ray quickly determined that she had an enlarged heart, a condition known as cardiomegaly. After the tests, Ms Ward was asked to wait in the emergency room for two to six hours until further help could be provided to her. Tashonna fired off a series of frustrated social media posts during her wait to receive the desperately-needed medical attention. 'I been here since 4:30 something for shortness of breath and chest pains for them to just say it's a 2 to SIX hour wait to see a doctor like that is really f**ing ridiculous,' she wrote in one post. Tashonna and her sister drove to the urgent care centre but she collapsed outside and was rushed back to Froedtert Hospital in an ambulance. She was pronounced dead just before 11pm At the time of publication, Froedtert's website said the ER wait time was nine minutes. A ProPublica analysis suggests patients may wait some four hours and 44 minutes In emergency room triage, patients with chest pain are supposed to be among the first seen. But Tashonna was deferred. According to the Journal Sentinel, the hospital staff gave Tashonna an electrocardiogram to assess her heartbeat. The results were reportedly normal, although her chest X-ray showed her enlarged heart, consistent with her previous diagnosis. Tashonna had given birth to a baby a few months prior, but the child was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck and, tragically, died. After her electrocardiogram, Tashonna was made to wait once more. While she waited and tried to keep her cool, she posted to Facebook, writing at 5:45pm: 'I really hope I'm not in this emergency room all night.' At the time of publication, Froedtert's website listed the wait time for its ER as nine minutes. But ProPublica's ER inspector tool lists the average time it took ER patients four hours and 44 minutes to be admitted. Those who were sent home were usually dismissed in less than four hours. Only three percent left without seeing a doctor. Increasingly frustrated, she posted again at 7:35pm. 'Idk what they can do about the emergency system at freodert (sic) but they damn sure need to do something,' Tashonna wrote. 'I been here since 4:30 something for shortness of breath, and chest pains for them to just say its a two to SIX hour wait to see a dr.' She would wind up among the three percent of patients who leave Froedtert unattended. After waiting for two and a half hours, she left the hospital at around 7.30pm because she 'felt she was waiting too long and decided to go to an Urgent Care,' according to a medical examiner's report seen by NBC News. Tashonna posted several frustrated updates on Facebook as she waited to be seen. After a recent pregnancy, Tashonna (left picture and left of right picture) was diagnosed with an enlarged heart Tashonna was picked up and went home for her insurance card, according to the Journal Sentinel, then was purportedly headed to urgent care. Froedtert called Tashonna's cell phone at 8:39pm, according to the Journal Sentinel. It was her sister, Briana who picked up, because Tashonna was on the ground. The 25-year-old had collapsed. An ambulance came but it was too late. She was pronounced dead just before 11pm. Devastated mother Yolanda Ward has requested an autopsy to determine what exactly caused her daughter's death. With nothing they can do to bring Tashonna back, her family and friends have instead taken to GoFundMe and Facebook to alert others to what's happened and raise money for funeral arrangements. Tashonna's mother, Yolanda, took to Facebook to post her devastation over the loss of her daughter. The family has been shocked by how many others faced long wait times at Froedtert After Tashonna's death and the echoes of bad experiences at Froedtert, Tashonna's cousin said that more people need to advocate for themselves. Pictured: Tashonna, the day before she died On post has already garnered 860 comments. While her family is appreciative of the solidarity and support, the hundreds reaching out to them are a sign of something more sinister, they worry. 'I was so shocked to see the comments,' Andrea Ward, Tashonna's cousin, told the Journal Sentinel. 'What that means is people dont know how to advocate for themselves.' It's not clear how many patients die while waiting to be seen by hospitals each year, but a 2012 study linked overcrowding in hospitals to a five percent higher risk that patients will die before they're discharged from the facility. Froedtert had not responded to request for comment at the time of publication. KALAMAZOO, MI -- The Kalamazoo County prosecutor will announce his ruling Friday on the police-involved shooting death of a Kalamazoo man more than nine months ago. Prosecutor Jeff Getting is expected at a media briefing Friday, Jan. 17, to present his findings and announce whether the police officers involved in the death of Thomas Verile Jr. last April will face criminal charges. Verile, 37, was shot and killed by police April 4, 2019, in the basement of a home in the 2800 block of East G Avenue in Kalamazoo. Police say they were trying to take him into custody when he allegedly threatened them and said he had a weapon. Police said they found no weapon on him after the shooting. Police said previously that several officers fired shots at Verile. He was transported to Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, where he was pronounced dead. Officers involved were from the Michigan State Police Fifth District Special Investigation Section, Battle Creek Police Department, Michigan Department of Corrections and the U.S. Marshals Service. Verile was wanted for violating parole on previous convictions for breaking and entering and felony firearm. Police said he also had warrants against him after failing to appear in court on charges involving a short-barreled shotgun and child neglect. The shooting occurred two days after Verile escaped an arrest attempt, and fugitive team officers had him under surveillance for several days, police said. During the arrest attempt on April 2, state police said Verile fled in a vehicle and nearly struck two detectives. The vehicle then crashed through two gates and became disabled, but Verile jumped out and ran. Police called in a tracking dog but he was not found. The April 4 shooting death of Verile was one of two fatal shootings in Kalamazoo County last year in which police officers fired the fatal shots. Officers also shot and killed a gunman during a March 12 shootout at a plasma donation center in downtown Kalamazoo. The officers were ruled justified in using deadly force in an April 16 ruling from the prosecutor. Germany is set to become the first country to drop both nuclear and coal power under a landmark agreement to compensate workers, companies and regional governments as it switches off brown coal-fired plants by 2038, Trend reports citing Reuters. The government struck a deal worth more than 40 billion euros ($44.7 billion) in the small hours of Thursday morning with the premiers of Germanys coal-mining regions. Once the heartland of Germany industry, the coal regions of North-Rhine Westphalia have fallen on hard times as traditional heavy industries have lost sway, while coal regions in the east have yet to fully shrug off the impact of four decades in Communist East Germany. Designed to ensure Europes largest economy meets its 2030 target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the exit will be accompanied by heavy investments in renewable energy. Germany, one of the strongest and most successful industry nations in the world, is taking huge steps towards leaving the fossil fuel era, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told a news conference. The decision marks a major turnaround for Chancellor Angela Merkels conservative-Social Democrat coalition. It abandoned as unachievable a key emissions target shortly before taking office in 2017, only to change course after growing public concerns about climate change fuelled a surge in polls by the Green Party. These were tough negotiations, Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said. But you can see the result - we are the first country that has a binding agreement to exit coal and nuclear power - and thats an important signal internationally. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the legislation would be brought before parliament by the end of January. The oldest, dirtiest plants, some dating back to the 1950s, will go first, starting with a 300MW plant in the Rhineland scheduled to close this year. Over the following 18 years, the remaining 29 will close. What we have here is a good agreement for climate protection because it makes it clear that we mean business, Altmaier told a news conference. Caught on the hop when a series of unusually hot summers and the impact of Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunbergs Fridays for Future movement caused public opinion to turn, the German government last year introduced a major climate package, which included economy-wide carbon pricing. The government added on Thursday that carbon emissions certificates held by power stations would be cancelled after they close, a move that should cap emissions and drive up the prices for certificates traded under the European Unions scheme. Analysts thought the impact on the coal market would be limited, since EU demand for coal has long stagnated in the face of competition from renewables and gas. Coal prices fell 40% last year and have barely recovered since. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the legislation would be brought before parliament by the end of January. The oldest, dirtiest plants, some dating back to the 1950s, will go first, starting with a 300MW plant in the Rhineland scheduled to close this year. Over the following 18 years, the remaining 29 will close. What we have here is a good agreement for climate protection because it makes it clear that we mean business, Altmaier told a news conference. Caught on the hop when a series of unusually hot summers and the impact of Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunbergs Fridays for Future movement caused public opinion to turn, the German government last year introduced a major climate package, which included economy-wide carbon pricing. The government added on Thursday that carbon emissions certificates held by power stations would be cancelled after they close, a move that should cap emissions and drive up the prices for certificates traded under the European Unions scheme. Analysts thought the impact on the coal market would be limited, since EU demand for coal has long stagnated in the face of competition from renewables and gas. Coal prices fell 40% last year and have barely recovered since. The process will see at least one more coal-fired power station brought online before a complete exit from coal. Utility Unipers (UN01.DE) new Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant will be connected to the grid, since the modern unit is cleaner than the first stations to be taken off line. Elsewhere, the loss of energy caused by the coal exit will be offset by adding natural gas-powered capacity at existing plants, for example at Jaenschwalde in Brandenburg. New footage shows Iranian missiles hitting Ukraine plane Washington, Jan 15 (AFP) Jan 15, 2020 New video footage has emerged showing two Iranian missiles tearing through the night sky and hitting a Ukrainian passenger plane, sending the aircraft down in flames and killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. The projectiles were fired 30 seconds apart and explain why the plane's transponder was not working as it hurtled to the ground -- it was disabled by the first strike, before being hit by a second, said the New York Times, which published the verified security camera footage Tuesday. The blurry film, shot from a rooftop in a village four miles from an Iranian military site, shows the Kiev-bound plane on fire and circling back to Tehran's airport, the Times said. Minutes later, the aircraft exploded and crashed. Iran had for days denied Western claims that the Boeing 737 had been downed by its missiles. Tehran came clean on Saturday when Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh acknowledged a missile operator had mistaken the Ukraine International Airlines plane for a cruise missile and opened fire. The incident happened when Iran's armed forces were on heightened alert after launching a volley of missiles at Iraqi bases hosting US troops in retaliation for the killing of top general Qasem Soleimani on January 3. Iran has struggled to contain the fallout over its handling of the air disaster and the tragedy has seen hundreds of angry protesters, most of them students, take to the streets. New videos circulating on social media purported to show fresh protests on Tuesday evening at universities in Tehran, along with clashes between students and Basij militia loyal to the establishment. It was not possible to immediately verify the videos. Earlier, AFP correspondents said around 200 mainly masked students gathered at Tehran University and were locked in a tense standoff with youths from the Basij. Kept apart by security forces, the groups eventually parted ways. Around 30 people have been arrested in the protests over the air disaster, according to judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili. On Tuesday Tehran said it had made its first arrests over the shooting down of the plane, though it gave no details. - 'Real rift' - Recent protests have been much smaller than nationwide demonstrations against fuel price hikes that turned deadly in November. But one commentator said the latest rallies showed there was a "real rift between the people and the authorities". "I hope that (police restraint) will continue and that no lives are lost, because this could be a catalyst for more protests," Mehdi Rahmanian, director of reformist daily Shargh, told AFP. In another sign of growing dissent, a group of artists cancelled their participation in the Fajr festival, held each year on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to Hamshahri newspaper. President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday Iran's judiciary "must form a special court with a high-ranking judge and dozens of experts... The whole world will be watching." "Anyone who should be punished must be punished". The office of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke to Canada's premier Justin Trudeau on Tuesday for a third time since the crash, with the latter asking for help from Kiev in liaising with Iranian authorities to help identify bodies of Canadian citizens. Nagpur : , Jan 17 (IANS) The Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavalamban Mission (VNSSM) has demanded a whopping Rs 3 lakh-crore as a 'Special National Agrarian Bailout Package' to end the farmers' distress in the country, a top official said. VNSSM President Kishore Tiwari said this package would be on the lines of the packages for the power, banking, automobiles and FMG sectors which would help reverse the recessionary trends, economic and agrarian crises confronting the country. "The agriculture sector is the most deserving, but it is currently facing a major collapse forcing thousands of farmers to resort to suicide each year, mostly due to the faulty policies in the banking, import-export, infrastructure and environmental issues," Tiwari said. He said the Rs 3 lakh-crore package would take care of development backlogs from various regions, help sustainable crop promotion, mega-micro irrigation schemes, farmers credit and infrastructure development needs. The package could also address demands of Minimum Support Price (MSP), cotton and soyabean to match production costs with a 50 per cent profit margin, new crop loans to farmers after waiving their existing debts, introduce new technology in farming and irrigation, financial assistance to farm widows and orphans, etc. He pointed out that progressive states like Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana have give farm loan waivers of more than Rs 2 lakh-crore plus a similar in terms of local subsidies and relief packages. However, these have failed to bring succor to the farmers owing to the Centre's policies like import-export, direct investment, a Reserve Bank of India-regulated farm credit policy and non-profitable Minimum Support Price. The non-professional functioning of agriculture bodies and the NITI Aayog coupled with "hostile" ministers and experts reluctant to tackle these grave issues, necessitate a drastic overhaul in existing policies and programmes for the agro-sector, Tiwari urged. "The government can compensate for the years lost with a serious look at the agriculture and rural economy sectors seriously with a generous development package for long-term benefits and ending the scourge of farmers' suicides," Tiwari said. He drew Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman's attention to the "utter failure" of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tackle the agrarian crisis and taking concrete measures to protect the farmers' interests. He reiterated his demand for a 'National Commission for Farmers' Rights' on the lines of the National Human Rights Commission or State Human Rights Commissions (IANS report, Jan 8) which can tackle the entire gamut of agriculture sector and arrest suicides of farmers. "We keep hearing that the FM is discussing the agro-crises with the government-aided NGOs or 'friendly experts', a second green revolution, etc, but none seem to have had any concrete impact on the lives of farmers who continue to kill themselves. Any more unfriendly measures will only trigger another spurt in farmers' suicides," warned Tiwari. "The FM must display her genuine concern and generosity in the coming Union Budget 2020-2021 by making an allocation of Rs 3 lakh-crore, which will be a historic step to resolve the agrarian crisis forever," he said. VANCOUVERThe BC Prosecution Service says a special prosecutor has been appointed to independently review its conduct in a case that concluded in 2013, when a babysitter was convicted in a toddlers drowning in death Cranbrook. Tammy Bouvette was initially charged with second-degree murder in the death of 19-month-old Iyanna Teeple, who was found unconscious and not breathing in a bathtub while under Bouvettes care. Bouvette was later convicted of criminal negligence causing death. The prosecution service says the assistant deputy attorney general for B.C. determined that a special prosecutor should be appointed to avoid the potential for improper influence in the administration of justice. It says the decision follows media inquiries about disclosure issues involving the pathologist in the case. Marilyn Stanford, a senior lawyer with a private firm in Vancouver, will serve as the special prosecutor, and the prosecution service says neither it nor Stanford will comment further until the results of the review are announced. Read more about: BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: I am sure that 2020 will also be successful for our country, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his speech at a meeting on the results of 2019, Trend reports. "The TANAP gas pipeline was commissioned last year. I consider this a historic achievement because TANAP forms the main part of the Southern Gas Corridor. It was after the TANAP agreement signed in 2012 that the development of the Shah Deniz-2 gas condensate field was sanctioned. If TANAP had not been signed, the development of Shah Deniz-2 would not have begun and we couldnt have obtained this additional volume of gas today. This could have created major problems. Therefore, the signing of the TANAP agreement, the early commissioning of this gas pipeline and the significant savings are a great historic achievement for us," President Ilham Aliyev said. The head of state noted that the remaining fourth project of the South Gas Corridor is also being successfully implemented. "The implementation level of the TAP project now exceeds 90 percent. I am sure that we will also celebrate the commissioning of the TAP project at the scheduled time this year. I want to bring one more issue to your attention. It consists in the fact that all the work done, including our positions in the international arena, the establishment of friendly relations with many countries, the stability and tranquility prevailing in our country all this has given a powerful impetus to the development of tourism. I have repeatedly said that the development of tourism is not limited only to historical monuments or some issues that attract attention and interest. In today's world, there is no region where there are no problems in fact, very serious ones. As I have already noted, wars, confrontations, coups, public protests, police violence, violation of human rights of course, the influx of tourists in countries experiencing all this is in decline," President Ilham Aliyev said. The head of state stressed that the stability in Azerbaijan, the strengthening of our international positions and the international events held in our country serve the development of tourism. "Last year, the flow of tourists reached a record high 3,170,000 foreigners visited our country. According to the information provided to me, foreign tourists spent 1.260 billion manats in Azerbaijan through bank cards alone. In general, we must take into account the fact that tourists come mainly from neighboring countries and cash payments prevail there, just as they do here. Calculations show that foreign tourists spent as much as 4.3 billion manats in Azerbaijan. I speak in manats, but this is actually currency. This currency is also a kind of exports. This plays a very important role in our macroeconomic stability. Of course, we earn the main currency from the sale of oil and gas although growth of non-oil exports by 14 percent provides for an influx of currency from this sector as well," President Ilham Aliyev said. The head of state underlined that tourism development will continue to be in the spotlight. "Thus, we could spend hours talking about the successes achieved in 2019. I have simply highlighted the issues I consider to be the main ones for citizens of Azerbaijan. I want to say again: we will follow this path of success in 2020. I am sure that 2020 will also be successful for our country," President Ilham Aliyev said. A new player has moved into the curriculum review market: Nonprofit consulting group Student Achievement Partners announced this week that it is going to start evaluating literacy curricula against reading research. The group released its first report on Thursday: an evaluation of the Units of Study for Teaching Reading in grades K-5 , a workshop style program designed by Lucy Calkins and published through the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. The seven literacy researchers who reviewed the program gave it a negative evaluation, writing that it was unlikely to lead to literacy success for all of Americas public schoolchildren. Children who come to school already reading or primed to read could likely stay on track with the program, the researchers write. However, children who need additional practice opportunities in a specific area of reading or language development likely would not. They found that Units of Study doesnt provide enough systematic, explicit instruction in foundational reading skills, and that there werent consistent opportunities for students to experience complex text and build background knowledge. The make your own adventure design left reviewers skeptical that crucial aspects of reading acquisition would get the time and attention required to enable all students to become secure in their reading ability, the researchers write. In an emailed statement to Education Week, Calkins responded to the critiques in the report. The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project has always been a learning community. Well learn from this review as we have learned from everything else, she wrote. Calkins also said that the program develops other skills that the review didnt evaluate. Teachers in our schools work to help students become passionate, critical, life-long readers, and writers who develop confident voices, she wrote. We applaud our schools for creating communities that increase equity as well as achievement. Student Achievement Partners new project comes amid a recent push for evidence-based early reading instruction. Recent reporting, including from Education Week , has identified the ways in which some popular instructional practices and early literacy curricula dont align with the science around best practices . Still, it can be difficult for schools and districts to evaluate whether materials are supported by validated research. There are organizations that independently rate curricula. The most-well known of these is EdReports, a nonprofit that enlists teams of teacher reviewers to examine math, English/language arts, and science materials. The group also recently took on foundational skills programs , which cover the basics of early reading and writing. But EdReports evaluates how well materials meet the Common Core State Standards. Looking at alignment to the research base is a different lens, said Meredith Liben, the senior fellow for strategic initiatives at Student Achievement Partners. Its significant that the organization has determined a need for reviews that look beyond the common core. Student Achievement Partners founders were lead writers of the standards. But there are factors that the standards alone cant capture, said David Liben, an adviser to the group. For example, he said, the common core says that programs need to teach vocabulary. But there are lots of different ways to go about doing that in a classroom, and not all of those practices are research-based. Thats the kind of information Student Achievement Partners is seeking to clarify with its reviews. Units of Study is one of the most popular early reading programs in the country. According to an Education Week Research Center survey, 16 percent of teachers have used the materials in their classrooms . The new report notes some of the features that have made the curriculum popular with teachers, including the value it places on learning to love reading as a lifelong habit, and the respect for teachers conveyed in the lessons. Its popularity is one of the reasons Student Achievement Partners chose to review Units of Study, according to Meredith Liben. Calkins approach is the balanced literacy prototype, she said. Eventually, Student Achievement Partners plans to review examples of several different types of reading programs: a basal reader, a knowledge-building curriculum, and a hybrid, innovative model. The goal is to give curriculum decision makers a better idea about the differences between programsso they can make informed choices when selecting materials, but also so that they can backfill the gaps that may exist in the materials theyre already using, Meredith Liben said. Lack of Systematic Instruction The Units of Studys workshop model takes a constructivist approach to education, prioritizing student choice and independent learning. Teachers demonstrate the skills and habits that good readers have, and then students practice them on their own in books of their choice, with teachers acting as guides. As Education Week has reported , the K-2 lessons emphasize students developing their identities as readers and exploring print, with comparatively little focus on learning how to decode words. Recently, Calkins has pushed back against critics . In November, she released a statement in response to the phonics-centric people who are calling themselves the science of reading. I want to point out that no one interest group gets to own science, Calkins wrote, in the statement. But the seven reading researchers who evaluated the program said that much of its content doesnt align to evidence-based best practice. Theres not enough explicit instruction in foundational skills, they write, and the focus on student choice of leveled books doesnt provide sufficient opportunity for children to grapple with complex text and build their knowledge. Mapping the print system to our oral speech system is whats fundamental in learning to read, said Claude Goldenberg, a professor emeritus at Stanford University and an author of the report. But in the Units of Study, theres no systematic building up of how you teach kids to understand and apply the alphabetic principle. Goldenberg, who is an expert on reading development for English language learners, said the lack of systematic instruction is a special concern for this group. And while Units of Study includes general guidance on supports for English learners in its introductory materials, individual lessons dont include guidance for differentiation for this group. The lack of explicit supports for ELLs, along with inflated claims about the programs alignment to the research base on supporting ELL literacy development, were surprising and concerning, Goldenberg said. In response to critiques of the programs support for ELLs, Calkins cited TCRWPs own analysis of state achievement data in core schools, which have been using the program for an average of 10 years. English learners in these schools outperformed English learners citywide by 13.5 percentage points, Calkins said. The program also uses the three-cueing system, a strategy that can encourage students to use pictures and sentence structure to figure out what words say. Teaching these cues is in direct opposition to an enormous body of settled research, the reports authors write. Looking beyond foundational skills, the researchers evaluated the programs text complexity and ability to build vocabulary and background knowledge. In grades K-2, when students are just learning to decode words, theyre relying on read-alouds for most of their exposure to complex, knowledge-building texts, writes Lily Wong Fillmore, a professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley and one of the reports authors. These read-alouds should be well above grade level, she says, to maximize students learning opportunities. But she found that for the most part, the read-alouds suggested in Units of Study are only at or slightly above grade level. In general throughout K-5, students are encouraged to stick to independent reading books that are at their grade level. Theres no research to support this practice, said Timothy Shanahan, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago, and an author on the report. And it limits students exposure to challenges like complex sentences and advanced vocabulary. Its also hard to know how well students independent reading books meet standards of text complexity, Shanahan said. Thats because teachers are instructed to draw on their own classroom libraries, and students pick the books they want to read. The chance that a youngster or a teacher would create a series of texts that would be an adequate challenge or supportit could happen, but its rather a chancey proposition, Shanahan said. Students who have already developed foundational reading skills and have a lot of prior exposure to books might be successful in Units of Study, said Shanahan. But the students who need more support are likely to struggle. Kids are going to have to figure out a lot of things for themselves, he said. Image: Getty MOSCOW President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is already juggling multiple international crises: A war with Russia-backed separatists, an unwanted starring role in the impeachment drama gripping Washington, and tensions with Iran over the downing of Ukrainian jetliner. Now he is facing growing political turbulence at home. Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, an ally of Mr. Zelensky, tendered his resignation on Friday after clandestine audio recordings appeared to show Mr. Honcharuk criticizing the presidents knowledge of economics. Hours later, Mr. Zelensky rejected Mr. Honcharuks resignation in a videotaped meeting that the presidents office posted to Facebook. The back-and-forth indicated that Mr. Zelensky, a 41-year-old former comedian, faces a power struggle within Ukraines elite, despite landslide victories in the presidential election last spring and parliamentary elections last summer. MRT file photo A 55-year-old Cutler Bay, Florida, man died Thursday afternoon after a two-vehicle wreck at the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 1379 and County Road 160, according to a press release from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Joseph A. Davis was driving a Kenworth truck-tractor towing a semi-trailer westbound on CR 160.A Dodge Ram 2500 towing a trailer was southbound on FM 1379. Davis ran the stop sign and hit the pickup, according to the release. Some people may have hoped for the extraordinary to happen right at the very last minute, just before the parties running for the 23rd Knesset were required to submit their candidate lists. But soon after the clock struck twelve, they saw their hopes shattered. The deadline was midnight on Jan. 15, and when it passed, there was no sign that any of the lists would break the deadlock between the two blocs. After the merger of Labor-Gesher with Meretz on the left, the parties to the right of the Likud followed their example with the merger of the New Right, HaBayit HaYehudi and the National Union. It looks like both camps learned their lesson. This time, competing egos and statements from the past were put aside, and merger agreements were cobbled together and signed in a matter of hours. In doing this, they were reducing the risk that one party or another would fail to pass the electoral threshold of four Knesset seats and that their absence would mean that the bloc would not have enough seats to prevent the rival bloc from forming a government. Still, on the right, Itamar Ben-Gvirs Otzma Yehudit party was not part of these recent mergers and will run independently. In the case of the right-wing parties, the merger agreement was only signed minutes before midnight, after the deadline was extended slightly. All in all, it was one of the most bizarre nights in the history of the Knesset, and there have been quite a few of those over the last year. As the new right-wing alliance (Yamina) was putting together its list of candidates, a stunned Ben-Gvir was making his way from one news studio to the next to attack Rafi Peretz, chairman of HaBayit HaYehudi and minister of education, on live TV. He slandered Peretz for violating an earlier agreement signed with him and leaving him out of the picture. At that moment, the religious Zionist movement seemed especially pathetic. It looked like little more than an aggressive group driven by internal interests. Rather than showing any independent leadership or authority, it looked like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was calling all the shots. As far as Netanyahu is concerned, this merger was the least possible evil. He threw everything behind ensuring that all the right-wing parties, including Otzma Yehudit, would run as a single list. In the end, Otzma Yehudit was left out, but the merger of the New Right, HaBayit HaYehudi and the National Union spared those three parties the risk of failing to pass the electoral threshold. Even after all the internal reorganization within the blocs, resulting in a smaller number of parties, it seems as if the breakdown of seats has not really changed at all. Polls released the next day, on Jan. 16, by all the news stations found that while the Blue and White party maintained a slight lead over the Likud, there was no significant change in the breakdown of power between the two blocs, when compared to previous polls. The polls all showed that the Likud would manage to win at least 30 seats, despite Netanyahus difficult week in the Knesset, which began to debate his immunity. The Blue and White party remains the largest party, with Channel 11 News actually increasing the gap between it and the Likud to five seats (36 seats for Blue and White to 31 seats for the Likud). Nevertheless, the chances of Israel finding out who its next prime minister will be on the night of March 2 is slim at best. It turns out that not much has changed since the April 2019 election. Netanyahu is still the leader of the Likud, and no one in his party threatens his leadership. He also has the backing of a very stable and loyal right-wing-ultra-Orthodox bloc. Running against Netanyahu is Benny Gantz, who remains safely ensconced in his leadership position in the Blue and White party. As in the previous two elections, the key to forming a new government lies with the chairman of Yisrael Beitenu, Knesset member Avigdor Liberman. The polls show him maintaining his strength, meaning that neither of the two blocs can get to 61 seats without him. But thats not all. All the restrictions, conditions and disqualifications remained in place. If anything, they only intensified since the September 2019 election. The front between Liberman and the ultra-Orthodox has heated up since then and effectively became a full-blown war. Liberman has also repeated his assertion that he has no plans to sit in a coalition with Arabs, whom he once again called supporters of terrorism. In the Blue and White party, Netanyahu remains a red flag if not worse. He has actually been indicted for bribery since the last September election, so the chances of forming a unity government with Netanyahu heading the Likud no longer exists. In-depth surveys commissioned by the various parties show a state of deadlock. Never has the percentage of undecided voters been so low. Right now, it can be measured in single digits just 5% while the percentage of voters who are still deliberating between the right and left-wing blocs is even smaller, at 2%. What this shows is that most voters have already made up their mind about how they intend to vote, and they have no plans to rethink their position. In the case of Netanyahu, it has been proven yet again that his entanglement in criminal proceedings has its price in Knesset seats. On the other hand, even though he has been weakened, he still has not collapsed, nor has he seen a sharp decline in support. Now that most of the right-wing parties have merged, and there is no longer a risk that they will fail to pass the electoral threshold, Netanyahu will certainly feel confident enough to grab some of their seats to reduce the gap between the Likud and Blue and White. Similarly, the Blue and White party will feel free to grab seats from the consolidated Labor-Gesher-Meretz list. It has already been noted that none of this will change the breakdown into blocs. Even if Gantz emerges as the head of a large party with 38 seats, he will have grown at the expense of other left-wing parties. Should that happen, he will likely be the first candidate given a mandate to form a government. The problem is that as long as Netanyahu manages to preserve the loyalty of his right-wing-ultra-Orthodox bloc and Liberman continues to sit on the fence, Gantz will soon find that he has come up against a dead end. Netanyahu remains blocked from almost every direction. Still, he is playing his few remaining cards quite well and managing to survive. His victory over Gideon Saar in the primaries for the Likud party leadership gave him the tailwind he needed and bolstered his standing within the party. His "immunity train" started rolling immediately after that (with his campaign in the Knesset to achieve immunity of prosecution). It soon turned out to be his weak point. The Blue and White party will do everything it can to keep the issue on the agenda right up until the election and beyond. In contrast, Netanyahu will do everything he can to sideline the issues of immunity and indictment from the electoral agenda and from public attention. On Jan. 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be visiting Israel. His visit will refocus the agenda and provide Netanyahu with a precious photo op with the Russian leader. If the assessments are correct and Putin announces by then that he plans to release Naama Issachar, an Israeli backpacker being imprisoned in Russia for drug smuggling, there would be more interest surrounding his visit, and Netanyahu would score some points. Nevertheless, it is doubtful that even that would be enough to impact the division of the parties into blocs. Netanyahu is adept at reading voting trends. He realizes that he will not be able to attract voters from the political center, or in other words, to get supporters of the Blue and White party to cast their ballots for the Likud. Instead, he is focused on keeping what he has. In a conversation with Al-Monitor, one Likud minister summed up on condition of anonymity Netanyahus situation like this: The chances of him winning 61 seats are miniscule, and he knows that. On the other hand, if he manages to keep his current strength, it would be a major achievement. What it would mean is that the Blue and White party will be unable to form a new government. At least 270 people have died from the H1N1 virus in the past three months. In 2019 almost 6,600 people were infected; 1,600 in the past two months. War and health crises hinder the fight against the spread of the disease. Fear over Dengue remains after it kills 78 youth under 16. Sana'a (AsiaNews) The Health Ministry of the Houthi-aligned National Salvation Government based in Sanaa has announced that at least 270 people have died in the past three months as a result of the swine flu. This follows recent cholera and Dengue outbreaks. The Health Ministry is reportedly introducing measures to counter the spread of the H1N1 virus across several governates, prompting a state of emergency being declared. The number of people infected with swine flu reached 6,600 cases during 2019, including 1,600 cases during the past two months, while the number of deaths reached 43, said Yusef Al-Hadhri, the Ministrys spokesman. A bout of fast-spreading swine flu has killed 94 people in October alone, while thousands of reported cases have overwhelmed health care facilities, already crippled by constant violence, said Mohammed Al-Mansour, a senior health official. The drop in temperatures during the winter season is a reason for the spread of the flu epidemic, but so is the economic situation linked to the ongoing war, Al-Hadhri said. Ahmed Hassan El-Qaeesh, head of epidemiological surveillance in Muhweet governorate, blamed the Health Ministry for not taking the issue more seriously. He noted the lack official records as most hospitals reject infected personnel, while dealing with most of them indifferently. Already ranked the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen plunged into a bloody conflict after Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, seized the capital Sana'a in 2014. Fighting between the pro-Saudi government and rebels got worse in March 2015 when Saudi Arabia intervened at the helm of an Arab coalition. More than 90,000 people have died so far, including thousands of civilians. What started as a result of local divisions gave way to a proxy war that displaced millions of people, triggering what the United Nations has called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with some 24 million Yemenis (80 per cent of the population) in need of humanitarian assistance. Children are particularly affected. Some 2,500 boys have been recruited as soldiers whilst about half of all girls are married before they reach the age of 15. Early on, international experts had raised the alarm about a possible dengue outbreak. In all, some 52,000 people have contracted the disease, with at least 78 minors under the age of 16 dying from it. The countrys hospitals and clinics are unable to cope with the crisis. Finding clean water has become increasingly difficult due to the war and recent rains. Far too many people have to use open water tanks to collect the water, exposing them to dengue and other contagious diseases. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 23:54:39|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation denied on Friday that it had encountered any "pressure to relinquish some of its demands" during the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Washington. The foreign ministers and water resources officials of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan reached a preliminary deal on Wednesday after three days of meetings in Washington with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and World Bank President David Malpass. The three countries agreed to meet in Washington from Jan. 28-29 to reach "a final agreement" for the filling and operation of the GERD. The ministers agreed that there is a shared responsibility of the three countries in drought management. The preliminary deal tackled the first stage of filling the dam. The filling will take place during the wet season, generally from July to August, and will continue in September given certain conditions, according to the Egyptian ministry. The GERD that has been constructed since 2011 on the Blue Nile in the northern Ethiopia highlands is expected to produce over 6,000 megawatts of electricity and become Africa's largest hydropower dam upon completion. However, Egyptian officials are concerned that filing the reservoir too quickly could significantly reduce the amount of Nile water available to Egypt. Ethiopia wants to finish filling the reservoir, with a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, in five to six years, while Egypt seeks to prolong the period to avoid the possible negative effects. The silicon on insulator (SOI) market is poised to grow by USD 1.28 billion during the period 2019-2023, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005471/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled global silicon on insulator (SOI) market 2019-2023. (Graphic: Business Wire) Consistent innovation in the electronics industry is driving the development of smaller and more efficient chipsets and processors, which can offer greater performance in smaller die sizes. Thus, the demand for chipsets for battery-driven devices with limited power supply has increased, which has led to the adoption of SOI wafers in chipset manufacturing. The SOI technology offers several benefits over the traditional bulk CMOS technology. The FD-SOI technology can be used in low-cost applications that use libraries with smaller logic transistor widths. SOI devices also help in achieving a high transistor gain because of its shorter gate length compared with bulk planar metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFETs). SOI technology also helps to reduce the die size, allowing more dies to be extracted from a single wafer. Such benefits help in driving down the cost of wafer fabrication and the power consumption of chipsets. Thus, the growing need for low-power, low-cost semiconductor solutions is expected to drive the growth of the silicon on insulator market. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30277 As per Technavio, the ongoing investments in new fabs will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other important trends and market drivers that will affect market growth over 2019-2023. Silicon on Insulator (SOI) Market: Ongoing Investments in New Fabs The growing demand for SOI from end-users have encouraged several established foundries to expand their 200 mm and 300 mm fabrication capacity for RF-SOI and FD-SOI processes. Major foundries, including Soitec, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, TSMC, and TowerJazz, have announced their plans to construct new fab facilities to gain first-mover advantages in the 5G and next-generation wireless technology markets. In October 2018, GlobalWafers announced its plan to set up a new 300 mm (12 inches) wafer line in Cheonan, South Korea, with an investment of USD 438 million. Such ongoing investments in New Fabs will drive the growth of the SOI market during the forecast period. "Factors such as the increase in outsourcing of activities in semiconductor industry and growing adoption of AR and VR technologies will have a positive impact on the growth of the silicon on insulator (SOI) market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Silicon On Insulator (SOI) Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the silicon on insulator (SOI) market by type (organic and inorganic), application (transportation lubricants and industrial lubricants), and by region (Americas, EMEA, and APAC). The APAC region held the largest share of the market in 2018, followed by the Americas and EMEA respectively. During the forecast period, the APAC region is expected to maintain its dominance and register the highest incremental growth as more foundries are expected expand their manufacturing capacity over the next five years. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Landscape Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market size and forecast Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation Geographical Segmentation Regional comparison Key leading countries Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005471/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 www.technavio.com 5,000 feral camels culled in drought-hit Australia Sydney, Jan 14 (AFP) Jan 14, 2020 Helicopter-borne marksmen killed more than 5,000 camels in a five-day cull of feral herds that were threatening indigenous communities in drought-stricken areas of southern Australia, officials said Tuesday. Aboriginal leaders in South Australia state said extremely large herds of the non-native camels had been driven towards rural communities by drought and extreme heat, threatening scarce food and drinking water, damaging infrastructure, and creating a dangerous hazard for drivers. The cull in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands -- home to about 2,300 indigenous people in the arid northwest of South Australia -- ended on Sunday, said APY general manager Richard King. "We appreciate the concerns of animal rights activists, but there is significant misinformation about the realities of life for non-native feral animals, in what is among the most arid and remote places on Earth," King said in a statement on Tuesday. "As custodians of the land, we need to deal with an introduced pest in a way that protects valuable water supplies for communities and puts the lives of everyone, including our young children, the elderly, and native flora and fauna first." King said weakened camels frequently became stuck and died in water holes, contaminating water sources needed by locals and native animals and birds. "The prolonged dry period, while not difficult for native wildlife, leads to extreme distress for feral camels," he said. APY officials said the operation had removed more than 5,000 camels. The cull came as Australia experienced its hottest and driest year on record in 2019, with the severe drought causing some towns to run out of water and fuelling deadly bushfires that have devastated the country's southeast. Camels were first introduced to Australia in the 1840s to aid in the exploration of the continent's vast interior, with up to 20,000 imported from India in the six decades that followed. Australia is now thought to have the largest wild camel population in the world, with official estimates suggesting more than one million are roaming the country's inland deserts. The animals are considered a pest, as they foul water sources and trample native flora while foraging for food over vast distances each day. Traditional owners in the APY Lands have for years mustered and sold off feral camels. But more recently they have "been unable to manage the scale and number of camels that congregate in dry conditions", according to the environment department. LOS ANGELES Jan. 15, 2020 US$ 3.2 billion North America North America Europe Germany France Spain Italy Asia-Pacific In July 2019 , Abbott Medical Optics Inc. announced partnership agreement with Johnson & Johnson, a provider of advanced software solutions for life science R&D. The partnership increases the development of cancer gene therapy products and increases the efficiency of strain development processes. , Abbott Medical Optics Inc. announced partnership agreement with Johnson & Johnson, a provider of advanced software solutions for life science R&D. The partnership increases the development of cancer gene therapy products and increases the efficiency of strain development processes. In October 2018 , Carl Zeiss Meditec AG signed acquisition agreement with IanTech. The acquisition focuses on providing technological solutions for viral vectorssurgeries. , Carl Zeiss Meditec AG signed acquisition agreement with IanTech. The acquisition focuses on providing technological solutions for viral vectorssurgeries. In November 2018 , Novartis AG received approval from European commission for luxturna, a gene therapy to treat patients with a vision loss. The approval enhances the brand identity of the company and enhances its customer base. , Novartis AG received approval from European commission for luxturna, a gene therapy to treat patients with a vision loss. The approval enhances the brand identity of the company and enhances its customer base. In January 2017 , Novartis AG signed partnership agreement with Caribou. The partnership focuses on innovation and development of gene therapies. Frank Wilson Rowland Heights, CA Asia /PRNewswire/ -- The globalsize is expected to reach aroundby 2026. Cancer Gene Therapy Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 29.7% during the forecast period 2019 to 2026.dominated the global cancer gene therapy market in the year 2018. The region has experienced the potential growth owing to the presence of cancer gene therapy companies such as Ziopharm, Cobra, Finvector, Sangamo Therapists Inc., and Novartis AGamong others. The presence of a large customer base along with favorable reimbursement policies is additionally accelerating the regional market growth. Moreover, favorable medicare policies and growing number of hospitals and clinic centres are expected to enhance the market growth in the global cancer gene therapy market in future. According to American Cancer Society, in 2017, around 15.8 million cancer cases are diagnosed and it is expected to witness the growth of cancer cases with 16.5 million in 2018. Growing prevalence of such diseases further expected to raise the demand for cancer gene therapy in. Theregion is expected to exhibit a second-largest share in the cancer gene therapy market. Stringent government regulations regarding hospital devices and rapid industrialization, technological advancement in therapy, growing number of surgeries in countries, such as, the UK,, and, are expected to enhance the market growth in the global cancer gene therapy market during the forecast.region is expected to exhibit highest CAGR in the cancer gene therapy market. The rapid growth in the urbanization, growing healthcare industry in developing countries, and liberalization of foreign direct investment in the medical sector are the major driving factor for the region in the global market. Moreover, the rising geriatric population and growing awareness regarding treatment options increases its dominance in the global cancer gene therapy market in future.Growing demand for cancer gene therapy in various end user applications, growing awareness about cancer treatment across the globe and multi-functionality of cancer gene therapy are the main drivers for the market growth of the global cancer gene therapy market over the forecast period. Furthermore, rising investment in research and development of cancer treatment and supportive government initiatives further grows the demand for cancer gene therapy over the forecast the period. Moreover, technological advancement and increase in the number of applications, and availability of advanced healthcare facilities in developing countries are expected to enhance the market size. This also expected to open investment opportunities in the global market for the manufacturers in the coming years.However, high treatment costs of cancer gene therapy, low purchasing power of consumers, risk associated with the therapy are expected to hamper the growth of the global cancer gene therapy market during the forecast period.Non-viral vectors segment have dominated the product segment in the year 2018 and the segment is projected to maintain its dominance over the forecast period from 2019 to 2026. Growing prevalence of blood cancer, epiretinal membrane and diabetic retinopathy and escalating demand for non viral surgery further expected to drive the demand for the segment. The manufacturers Sangamo Therapists Inc., Novartis AG, and Sarepta Therapeutics are the mainly investing in the development of Non-viral vectors, which expected the lead the market in the coming years.Hospital segment dominated the cancer gene therapy market on the basis of end use in the year 2018. The major factors that are driving the growth of this segment are availability of high-tech equipment and technologies in hospitals and growing number of hospitals across the globe. This expected to enhance the dominance of the hospital segment in the global market over the forecast period.are Cobra, Finvector, Sangamo Therapists Inc., Novartis AG, Sarepta Therapeutics, Caribou, Vigene Biosciences, Sirion Biotech, bluebird bio, Cellectis, and Ziopharm.Acumen Research and Consulting (ARC) is a global provider of market intelligence and consulting services to information technology, investment, telecommunication, manufacturing, and consumer technology markets. ARC helps investment communities, IT professionals, and business executives to make fact based decisions on technology purchases and develop firm growth strategies to sustain market competition. Among the industries served include aerospace and defense, information and communication technology (ICT), semiconductor and electronics, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, advanced materials, banking, finance services and insurance (BFSI), and others.Our collective industry experience of over 100 years has helped us to offer appropriate market information and our global reach and regional connects ensures appropriate insights into regional markets to guarantee apt delivery of information.Our regional market intelligence helps our clients to identify potential opportunities and develop growth strategies across regions and countries. Our services are geared towards offering best market research to our clients.Mr.Acumen Research and Consulting 17890, Castleton St #218,91748 United States Tel: US +1-407-915-4157 OR +1-408-900-9135: +918983225533 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cancer-gene-therapy-market-size-surpass-us-3-2-bn-by-2026--300987729.html SOURCE Acumen Research and Consulting An employee of a Lancaster County hotel was arrested this week after police say he tried to cover up the overdose death of a person he rented a room to and left the body in the courtyard. Cody James Guyer, 29, is charged with misdemeanor counts of abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, according to online court dockets. Manheim Township police say Guyer worked at the Clarion Inn & Suites and rented a room to someone he knew. The person, only identified as a male, died in the hotel room of a suspected drug overdose, police say. Guyer went into the room and took the body and left it in an open courtyard, police say. Guyer then went back into the room and took a hypodermic needle, a white towel covered in blood a white pillow and personal items belonging to the deceased, police say. The items were thrown away into two different trash containers, police say. Police interviewed Guyer and say he admitted to moving the body and throwing away evidence. Guyer was arraigned and is being held at Lancaster County Prison on $25,000 bail, according to online court dockets. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 29. Read more on PennLive: They announced their separation last month after 22 years of marriage, but it seems that Colin Firth and his wife Livia still share a close bond. In her first column for Vogue Arabia as its new sustainability editor, the Italian-born 50-year-old ethical fashion campaigner Livia referenced her estranged partner as 'my husband Colin' She has been enlisted to contribute to the publication's sustainability agenda, after her years of work attempting to make high-fashion more environmentally friendly. Her work began after Colin teamed up with fashion designer Tom Ford on his directorial debut 'A Single Man', and Livia refused to purchase multiple non-sustainable gowns for her husbands slew of premieres. In the January edition of the publication the activist recalls her first meeting with Tom, and refers to her estranged partner Colin as her 'husband', despite having announced their separation weeks earlier. It comes just weeks after it was revealed they rang in the New Year together with friends in a series of cosy snaps, shared to Instagram. Livia Firth has been appointed the sustainability editor of Vogue Arabia after the publication praises her 'red carpet activism' n the January edition of the publication refers to her estranged partner Colin as her 'husband', despite having announced their divorce weeks earlier In a Vogue interview praising her ten year's on the red carpet, the publication gushed: 'Here's a question: Who or what turned the red carpet into a sometime platform for activism? 'If you've heard of Econyl, or recall seeing Emma Watson at the Met Gala in a dress made of recycled plastic bottles, or have watched the documentary The True Cost you've got Livia Firth to thank. 'Savvy about the impact a red-carpet photograph beamed around the world could have, the environmentalist was one of the first to make sustainable statements in Hollywood.' In 2007, Livia and Colin co-founded Eco-Age, a company which advises brands on the state of their supply chains, their raw materials and their factories. Friendly: Colin Firth and his estranged wife Livia still appeared to be on friendly terms as they rung in the New Year together with a group of their friends on Tuesday evening Her work began after Colin had teamed with fashion designer Tom Ford (pictured) on his directorial debut 'A Single Man' In her first-ever column Livia outlined her aims for blog Green Carpet Fashion and discusses the 'fast-fashion crisis', to her friend Tom Ford. She recalls a meeting designer ahead of premieres for his directorial debut 'A Single Man', in which her estranged husband starred. 'I've known Tom Ford since he worked with my husband Colin on A Single Man, said Livia. 'We've been friends ever since, I can say, without any doubt, my fashion education started with Tom.' Amid the news of their split, Colin and Livia said they remain 'united in their love for their children' almost two years after it emerged she had an affair with her childhood friend. The couple confirmed the news in a statement last month, and Colin insisted he would maintain a 'close friendship' with Livia. Strong unit: Colin Firth and his estranged wife Livia proved they're friendly exes as they teamed up to host a special screening of The Great Hack in London (pictured with Christopher Steele, Carole Cadwalladr and Mike Lerner) Chilling: Livia shared an image of Colin and their friends sat out on their deckchairs in the sunshine, presumably taken on New Years Day The couple have been married for 22 years, and share two sons, Luca, 18, and Matteo, 16. The couple have remained close since their split and last week even attended a screening together of The Great Hack in London. Rumoured: Their split comes after it was revealed last year that Mrs Firth was alleged to have been having an affair with Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia (pictured) The screen star, 59, and the environmental activist, posed for snaps with their industry pals as they discussed the documentary - based on the FacebookCambridge Analytica data scandal in early 2018. The former couple appeared in great spirits alongside former intelligence officer Christopher Steele, author Carole Cadwalladr, and filmmaker Mike Lerner,after insisting they would maintain a 'close friendship' following the split. A statement from their publicists said: 'Colin and Livia Firth have separated. They maintain a close friendship and remain united in their love for their children. They kindly ask for privacy. There will be no further comment'. Their split comes after it was revealed in March last year that Livia was alleged to have had a year-long affair with Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia. She sparked a police investigation after claiming her childhood friend Mr Brancaccia harassed her with a 'frightening' barrage of messages. Family: The pair, pictured together at the London premiere of the sequel to Mamma Mia! in July last year, have two children together called Luca, born in 2001, and Matteo, born in 2003 The Oscar-winner confronted his wife over a 'heartbreaking and malicious' email from her ex-lover in March 2018. The message contained revelations 'designed to wound' the King's Speech star - who has maintained a dignified silence over the affair. At the time, a friend of Colin said: 'This guy Marco basically told Colin everything he had been doing with his wife for a year. The email was a detailed diatribe, humiliated Colin and was designed with no other motive than to wound. 'He described intimate meetings that would devastate any husband no matter what the state of their marriage. And he did so with the misguided and hopeless belief he could destabilise the efforts being made by Colin and Livia to sort things out. 'Colin presented this to his wife and in what must have been a very difficult confrontation. But he is the man that he is and has maintained his dignity throughout.' Bruce L. Gilmore December 4, 1927-January 15, 2020 Bruce L. Gilmore, 92, died on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020, at Brookestone Acres in Columbus. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, at First United Methodist Church in Columbus, with the Rev. Cindi Stewart officiating. Private family interment will be in Columbus Cemetery, with military honors by the American Legion Hartman Post 84 Honor Guard. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, Jan.17, at Gass Haney Funeral Home. Memorials are suggested to the Columbus Area Future Fund or the Columbus Community Hospital Foundation. Bruce was born Dec. 4, 1927, in Webster City, Iowa, to M.L. and Louise (Holaday) Gilmore. He joined the Navy and was sent to study at Doane College, Adams University, Notre Dame, and finished his degree in civil engineering at Iowa State University. He met his wife, Velma (Beggs), while at Doane. They were united in marriage Dec. 19, 1948, in Crete. After graduation, Bruce accepted the position of City Engineer of Columbus in 1949. In 1965, Bruce and Vel set up the business of Gilmore and Associates, where he did consulting engineering and surveying with Vel as the administrative secretary. They raised four children in their home/business until 1971 when they rented a business building, then they built a new office in 1974 at their current location on 33rd Avenue. Bruce was very proud that all three of his sons became civil engineers. Bruce was very active and served in many leadership roles within the community, including the Jaycees, the Library Board, Boy and Girl Scouts, United Methodist Church, Columbus Hospital Board, Columbus Industries, Inc., and Toastmasters. He was named King Ferdinand of Columbus Days in 1993. Professionally, he served with the U.S. Public Health Reserve, Nebraska Board of Health, Nebraska Hospital Association, American Consulting Engineers Peer Review, and Professional Surveyors of Nebraska. He was a member of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, the Iowa State Ambassadors, The American Legion, The Elks and Platte County Historical Society. He loved fishing more than anything. He also enjoyed growing his sweet corn and giving it all away to friends. He made the sweetest homemade pickles, and he was a competitive Bridge player. He was supportive and boastful when it came to the accomplishments of his grandchildren. He is survived by his children, Linda (Doug) Slycord of West Des Moines, Iowa; Paul, (fiancee, Theresa Snider) of Mesa, Arizona; Keith (Denise) and David (Joy) of Columbus; six grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Velma; and both of his parents. Condolences may be sent to www.gasshaney.com. Wendy Sheehan had not seen decent rain on her south-west Queensland property for nine months, but that changed on Thursday afternoon as pouring rain created raging rivers for her dogs to play in. While the rainfall recorded during the 24 hours to 9am on Friday would not break the drought, the weather bureau acknowledged it was "a step in the right direction" for parts of the state. Mrs Sheehan, who lives on a property in at Trinidad station, about 200 kilometres north-west of Quilpie, said Thursday's storm dumped 30 millimetres in the area. "It was a really good fall for us, we've had a few patchy storms over the past week ... but didnt go too far," she said. Maharashtra PWD minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan condemned the detention of minister of state Rajendra Patil Yadravkar by the Belgaum police in neighbouring Karnataka on Friday. Yadravkar, MLA from Shirol in Kolhapur, had gone to Belgaum, over 490 kilometres from here, to pay tribute to the martyrs of the movement for the merger of Marathi speaking villages in Karnataka into Maharashtra. A gathering is organised every year on this day to honour those who died during the first 'Samyukta Maharashtra Andolan' on January 17, 1956. "The high-handedness of the Karnataka police not to allow the minister to even lay a wreath for the martyrs is condemnable," Chavan said. Chavan also criticised the manhandling and detention of the minister by the police. The minister was later let off. Karnataka, which is locked in a border dispute with Maharashtra, has a BJP government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Marchers make their way up the Ben Franklin Parkway during the Womens March on Philadelphia on Jan. 20, 2018. Read more Three years after 50,000 pink-hatted, sign-wielding, enraged protesters converged in solidarity on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway following the inauguration of President Donald Trump, Philadelphia will host its fourth Womens March on Saturday. And in 2020, the year of a critical presidential race and a century after American women won the right to vote, one thing is top-of-mind for organizers: the coming election. Themed The Year of the Woman, this years march centers on making sure that all women can make a change, said Womens March on Philadelphia organizer Deja Lynn Alvarez. Coming together like this is more important now than ever, said Alvarez, a longtime public health and LGBTQ activist. Were on the brink of war at this point, were a country thats literally turned in on itself. ... Women, we can turn the tide here. We can make the difference. Unlike the separately run national Womens March in Washington, the Philadelphia event will highlight local issues that may not get discussed as much, such as human trafficking, sexual assault, immigrant rights, and equal pay, Alvarez said. The march will begin at 10 a.m. at Logan Circle, parading along the Ben Franklin Parkway toward the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Unlike last year, when two womens marches hosted by different groups took place on the same day, there will be just one event in Philly. The march will end at 12:30 p.m., with a shortened program to sustain interest on whats expected to be a frigid and snowy day, Alvarez said. A Get Out the Vote bus will also be present to register voters. The 2020 speaker list features three women elected to Congress following Trumps election: Mary Gay Scanlon, Madeleine Dean, and Chrissy Houlahan. Local activists such as Lorraine Ruppert of Pennsylvania Climate Strike, India Fenner of the Black Womens March, and community organizer Tyunique Nelson will also speak alongside Working Families Party Councilmember Kendra Brooks, State Rep. Donna Bullock, and Mayor Jim Kenney. READ MORE: How the first Women's March inspired me to run for office in Pennsylvania | Perspective A day out from the march, the all-volunteer group continues to seek donations, aiming to raise $20,000 to cover permits, vendors, port-a-potties, and more for the 2020 event. The Womens March movement got its start in 2017, one day after Trumps inauguration and months before the #MeToo campaign erupted, when millions of women across America and the world took to the streets in rage and solidarity, protesting the presidency and the patriarchy. The Womens March on Washington is believed to be the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. And though marches nationwide are expected to be smaller this year, the protests and shows of solidarity by large groups of people are still very visually effective, said Dawn Teele, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. Around 1,000 people have indicated on Facebook that theyre attending the Philadelphia march. READ MORE: After another Year of the Woman, how close is Pa. to gender parity in politics? (Not very) Mobilizing and creating policy change in a movement like the Womens March may prove more difficult, Teele said, noting that its nearly impossible to convert to a voting bloc for power because of the differences among women, including race and economic standing. Still, she said, theres pleasure in protest participation. Its a cathartic show of solidarity rather than a solid movement with a specific end, Teele said. The 2020 election may prove positive for this years Womens Marches, said Pamela Oliver, a professor emerita of sociology at the University of Wisconsin. Street protests are difficult to maintain. People get tired, especially if it seems like they are losing, Oliver wrote in an email. With the level of threat in the present administration, there is a high level of mobilization across a broad spectrum of political groups, and many different ideas about the best ways to keep the enthusiasm up, and promote what people view as positive social change. The future of the Womens March on Philadelphia, Alvarez said, hinges on what happens in this next election. But for now, shell bundle up and take to the streets Saturday, advocating for the women of Philadelphia and beyond. We can change whats going on in this country, Alvarez said. We have the power, now we need to seize it. Street closures Closed from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday: Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 18th Street and 20th Street (including Logan Circle) 19th Street between Race Street and Vine Street Race Street between 20th Street and Logan Circle Closed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday: Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 22nd Street and 24th Street Spring Garden Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to Benjamin Franklin Parkway Kelly Drive (outbound) from Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Fairmount Avenue Kelly Drive (inbound) from 25th Street to Benjamin Franklin Parkway Martin Luther King Jr. Drive between Eakins Oval and Sweetbriar Drive Parking restrictions Parking will be restricted from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday on the following streets: 20th Street from Race Street to Benjamin Franklin Parkway (east side of the street) Benjamin Franklin Parkway from 16th Street to 20th Street 19th Street from Cherry Street to Vine Street 18th Street from Arch Street to Vine Street 17th Street from Race Street to Arch Street Cherry Street from 16th Street to 17th Street Benjamin Franklin Parkway from 20th Street to Eakins Oval (all lanes) 21st Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to Race Street 22nd Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to Winter Street Spring Garden Street from 21st Street to 23rd Street (north side of the street) Winter Street from 20th Street to 21st Street John F. Kennedy Boulevard from Broad Street to 16th Street (north side of the street) SEPTA SEPTA Bus Routes 2, 7, 32, 33, 38, 43, 48, and 49 will be detoured from their normal routes through the Benjamin Franklin Parkway area from 8 a.m. on Saturday through about 3 p.m. An Essex County woman was arrested Friday for her alleged role in an online currency fraud scheme that encouraged investors to hand over $30 million, authorities said. Edith Pardo, 68, of Bloomfield, posed as a wealthy investor who provided millions in seed money to CG Blockchain Inc., according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. CG Blockchain owned a product called ComplianceGuard, which promised pension-fund investors a blockchain-based auditing tool to protect their funds, Carpenito said. ComplianceGuard and CG Blockchain were created by Boaz Manor, 46, of Toronto, Canada, a convicted criminal who served time in prison for a 2003 scam, according to Carpenito. While raising money for CG Blockchain, Manor hid his true identity and criminal past from investors and others by using a variety of aliases, including Shaun MacDonald, Carpenito said in a statement. Manor also changed his appearance by darkening his hair and growing a beard, Carpenito said. Manor secured most of the initial seed money to fund CG Blockchain from a close family member. In order to conceal the source of this money, Manor recruited Pardo," Carpenito said. Among the fraudulent claims were that Pardo and other investors each paid a $1 million yearly fee to CG Blockchain, Carpenito said. In 2017, CG Blockchain launched an Initial Coin Offering and began marketing a new product to potential investors called Blockchain Terminal that allowed hedge funds and financial institutions to trade in cryptocurrency, Carpenito said. In 2018, CG Blockchain publicly announced it had raised $30 million from its initial offering. Thats when investors became suspicious, Carpenito said. When confronted by an investor, Manor admitted that he had hidden his real identity and criminal past because disclosure of that information would have resulted in the company being destroyed, Carpenito said. Manor and Pardo were indicted on one count each of conspiring to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud in connection with a blockchain technology company. FBI agents quickly arrested Pardo and held her pending an appearance in U.S. District Court in Newark. Manor remains at large, Carpenito said. If convicted of conspiracy and wire fraud, Manor and Pardo each face 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The securities fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine, Carpenito said. Carpenito said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has also filed a lawsuit against both suspects. The SECs complaint, filed in federal court, accuses Manor and Pardo of violating the anti-fraud and securities registration provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC is seeking repayment of ill-gotten gains plus interest, penalties, and injunctive relief. The SEC is also asking for an order barring Manor and Pardo from acting as officers or directors of public companies and from participating in future securities offerings. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Irina Shayk wore very little in Carine Roitfeld's Zodiac inspired 2020 calendar which was released earlier this week. But on Friday the 34-year-old model was bundled up while on a stroll with daughter, Lea, aged two, in New York. This is the first time the cover girl has been seen since photos surfaced of her ex-partner Bradley Cooper chatting up actress Ana de Armas. Bundled beauty: Irina Shayk was spotted bundled up while out on a chilly morning stroll with daughter Lea in New York on Friday Mom and me: The supermodel made sure her 2-year-old was fit for the weather in a Versace coat and light pink Versace beanie The supermodel mom may have braved the morning's frigid temperature, but not without the proper attire. She donned a color-blocked sheepskin jacket layered over a thick, beige turtleneck. Irina slipped her feet into a pair of brown knee-high, heeled boots that managed to covered up a majority of her medium wash denim jeans. Her signature dark brown tresses cascaded down her back from the bottom of her black beanie. The model appeared makeup free behind her pair of large, black sunglasses. Lea, clearly not a big fan of the chill, donned a patterned Versace coat paired with a light pink beanie of the same brand. Just checking: Irina took the time to adjust Lea's blanket so that she could achieve maximum warmth while in her stroller Her tiny hand held onto her child sized Gucci purse, while the rest of her body resided warmly under a pink patterned blanket. The 2-year-old remained in her stroller, as her supermodel mom made sure her blanket remained perfectly placed around her pint-sized frame. Shayk, who shares Lea with actor ex Bradley Cooper, has been an openly single lady since June of 2019 when her and Cooper parted ways after dating since 2015. But, Cooper appears to have set his sights on someone new. Earlier in the month, the A Star Is Born director rubbed elbows with some of Hollywood's biggest names, while attending the AFI luncheon in Beverly Hills. Fractured family: In 2018, the couple were spotted during happier times while enjoying the 75th Annual Venice Film Festival with daughter Lea Cuban beauty, Ana de Armas, was spotted enjoying a lengthy chat with the famous bachelor during the luncheon. 'Bradley made a beeline for Ana and they chatted away for quite a while in the hotel lobby. They werent at all keen to rush off,' an insider shared with Radar Online of the encounter. In pictures, obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, Armas and Cooper can be seen engaging in conversation, while beaming in the other's direction. The star of The Hangover appeared to be thoroughly charming Ana during the conversation, with the No Time To Die actress laughing at his every joke. But this isn't the pair's first interaction. New gal: Bradley was spotted chatting it up with Knives Out actress Ana de Armas at the AFI luncheon earlier this month; de Armas was photographed here on the red carpet at the Golden Globes on January 5th They both starred alongside one another in the 2016 film War Dogs. The 31-year-old could be Cooper's perfect match, being that she's no stranger to failed romances. de Armas divorced her longtime partner, Spanish actor Marc Clotet, in 2013, and is very much available. Rebecca Long-Bailey has hinted that she took cannabis during a trip to Amsterdam as she prepares to formally launch her Labour leadership bid this evening. Ms Long-Bailey was asked during an interview with the Politics Joe website if she had 'ever taken illegal drugs'. She replied: 'Oh. Well, I've been to Amsterdam. That's all I will say.' The Dutch city is famous around the world for its cannabis cafe culture. Her comments came ahead of her campaign launch, with Ms Long-Bailey due to kickstart her bid to replace Jeremy Corbyn at an event this evening. She is expected to use her leadership launch to take a swipe at rival Sir Keir Starmer with a vow to end the 'gentlemen's club' at Westminster. Ms Long-Bailey cemented her status as the hard-Left's candidate yesterday when she was endorsed by the Momentum group. She and Sir Keir currently appear to be the favourites, with shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry - who is also kicking off her campaign today - Wigan MP Lisa Nandy and Birmingham Yardley's Jess Phillips making up the rest of the field. However, there is a long way to go until the result is declared in April 4. Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey are the favourites in the Labour leadership battle Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry is also launching her leadership bid today The docker's daughter aiming for Labour's top job Ms Long-Bailey, 40, is the hard-Left daughter of a Salford docker, groomed to take the helm of the Corbynite project by self-declared Marxist John McDonnell. She grew up in Old Trafford, Manchester, where she was exposed to left-wing politics from a young age. Her father Jimmy worked as a docker at Salford Quays and trade union representative at Shell at a time when workers' collectives wielded enormous power and threats of staff walkouts struck fear into ministers. On graduating from a Catholic high school, she worked in a pawn shop - an eye-opening experience which she says taught her 'more about the struggles of life than any degree or qualification ever could'. After holding down other jobs such as a call-centre operator, a furniture factory worker and a postwoman, she eventually studied to become a solicitor. Advertisement In a speech in Manchester tonight, Ms Long-Bailey will vow to 'shake up' the way government works and put power into the hands of voters. Ms Long-Bailey will promise to end the 'gentlemen's club of politics' by devolving power out of Westminster, while pledging to introduce a 'Green New Deal' that unites Labour heartlands. 'Where I grew up, Westminster, even London, felt like a million miles away,' she will say. 'The story of the last few years is that many people feel there is something wrong with their laws being drafted hundreds of miles away by a distant and largely unaccountable bureaucratic elite in Brussels. 'But I'll be honest, Westminster didn't feel much closer, and it still doesn't today. 'That's why I want to shake up the way Government works and deliver a clear message to voters: we will put power where it belongs - in your hands. 'The British state needs a seismic shock, to prise it open at all levels to the people - their knowledge, their skills, their demands.' Ms Long-Bailey will say 'proper democracy' takes power away from the 'offshore bank account and places it on the ballot paper, so workers can have more and chief executives less, and we can tackle the climate crisis with a Green New Deal that unites all of Labour's heartlands'. 'We will end the gentlemen's club of politics and we will be setting out plans to go further by devolving power out of Westminster to a regional and local level.' As well as her comments on illegal drugs, Ms Long-Bailey was also grilled during her interview with Politics Joe about why she believes she can turn around the fortunes of the Labour Party. Asked to give an example of what she had won in the past, she replied: 'I got a little badge for doing gymnastics when I was little. I remember winning that. 'I won the election in Salford and Eccles in the general election despite the devastating defeats that we had seen across the country.' Ms Long-Bailey was asked what her reaction was to the publication of the exit poll on election night which showed the Tories were heading to a crushing victory and she said she was 'absolutely devastated'. 'I was in a state of shock,' she said. 'I was in the kitchen of my house with my mum and dad who were going to look after my little boy while me and my husband went to the count later that night and my mum burst into tears and my dad who doesn't cry was kind of trying not to cry and my mum was saying "that's it, that's everyone's hope gone".' Ms Long-Bailey has the backing of the current Labour leadership in the battle to replace Mr Corbyn but she said: 'I am nobody's continuity candidate.' She defended Mr Corbyn who has been widely blamed for Labour's poor performance at the election as she insisted: 'I don't think Jeremy could have done any more than he did. He put his all into this.' She also said she would take the fight to Boris Johnson if she becomes leader: 'I am robust. I am angry. And I will pick a fight with anyone but I don't think we need to be Machiavellian because I don't think our voters want us to observe the dark arts.' The shadow business secretary scored a significant boost in her quest to lead the party after securing the backing of the Momentum campaign group yesterday. Meanwhile, Ms Thornberry will launch her bid in her hometown of Guildford this afternoon, after she narrowly secured the necessary support from MPs to enter the race on Monday. She will warn that Labour faces 'a long, tough road back to power' after the party suffered its worst general election defeat since 1935. 'In my 42 years as a member of the Labour Party, there is no fight or campaign our movement has waged where I have not been on the frontline. The successor to Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in the Commons this week) is due to be announced on April 4 'And since coming to Parliament 15 years ago, I've also been on the frontline in the fights against climate change, Universal Credit, and anti-abortion laws in Northern Ireland. 'I've led the charge as shadow foreign secretary against Donald Trump and the war in Yemen. And in the two years I shadowed Boris Johnson as foreign secretary, I showed him up every time for the lying, reckless charlatan that he is.' Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner was also endorsed as deputy leader following the confirmatory ballot of Momentum members. Meanwhile, the party said that around 14,700 people applied to register as temporary Labour supporters to vote in the leadership contest. The 48-hour window to apply to be a temporary supporter closed at 5pm yesterday, and applicants who meet the eligibility requirements will be able to vote in the leader and deputy leader elections. TSX: RMX |OTCQX: RBYCF TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Rubicon Minerals Corporation (TSX: RMX) | (OTCQX: RBYCF) ("Rubicon" or the "Company") has filed a new the technical report for the Phoenix Gold Project (the "Project") reflecting an updated mineral resource estimate for the Project (the "2020 Mineral Resource Estimate"), located in Red Lake, Ontario, in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (the "Technical Report"). The Technical Report, effective December 6, 2019, was prepared by T. Maunula & Associates Consulting Inc., which is independent of Rubicon. The Company issued a news release on January 7, 2020 announcing the results of the 2020 Mineral Resource Estimate, which are reflected in the Technical Report. A copy of the Technical Report can be viewed online under Rubicon's profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.rubiconminerals.com. Vancouver Resource Investment Conference 2020 Rubicon will be participating in this year's Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, which will be held in Vancouver, B.C. between January 19-20, 2020 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. Investors are welcome to visit Rubicon management at Booth #424. President and CEO George Ogilvie, P.Eng., will be presenting as part of the Red Lake Panel discussion on January 19, 2020 at 11:40 am PT. About Rubicon Minerals Corporation Rubicon Minerals Corporation is an advanced gold exploration company that owns the Phoenix Gold Project, located in the prolific Red Lake gold district in northwestern Ontario, Canada. Additionally, Rubicon controls the second largest land in Red Lake consisting of over 285 square kilometres of prime, strategic exploration ground, and more than 900 square kilometres of mineral property interests in the emerging Long Canyon gold district that straddles the Nevada-Utah border in the United States. Rubicon's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (RMX) and the OTCQX markets (RBYCF). For more information, please visit our website at www.rubiconminerals.com . RUBICON MINERALS CORPORATION George Ogilvie, P.Eng. President, CEO, and Director Cautionary Statement regarding Forward-Looking Statements and other Cautionary Notes This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" and "forward looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. In some cases, forward-looking information may be stated in the present tense, such as in respect of current matters that may be continuing, or that may have a future impact or effect. Forward-looking statements Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and represent management's best judgment based on facts and assumptions that management considers reasonable. If such opinions and estimates prove to be incorrect, actual and future results may be materially different than expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Rubicon to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those described in the Company's annual information form dated March 22, 2019 under the heading "Risk Factors" (the "2019 AIF"), the Cautionary Statements in Company's news release dated January 7, 2020 (the "January 7 News Release"), the Technical Report including but not limited to its Cautionary Statements, and the Company's other continuous disclosure documents, all available under its profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.rubiconminerals.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and Rubicon disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by the Cautionary Statements herein. Cautionary Note to U.S. Readers Regarding Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources This news release uses the terms "Measured" and "Indicated" mineral resource and "Inferred" mineral resource. The Company advises U.S. investors that while these terms are recognized and required by the Canadian Securities Administrators, they are not recognized by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The estimation of "Measured" and "Indicated" mineral resources involves greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of a "Reserve". The estimation of "Inferred" mineral resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of mineral resources. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an "Inferred", "Measured", or "Indicated" mineral resource estimate will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of "Inferred" mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility studies, pre-feasibility studies or other economic studies, except in prescribed cases, such as in a preliminary economic assessment (or PEA) under certain circumstances. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "Reserves" as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "Reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the Reserve determination is made. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of an "Inferred", "Measured" or "Indicated" mineral resource exists or is economically or legally mineable. Information concerning descriptions of mineralization and mineral resources contained herein may not be comparable to information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC. SOURCE Rubicon Minerals Corporation Related Links www.rubiconminerals.com Former Vice President Joe Biden (L) greets Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) before the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University on January 14, 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has been steadily climbing in popularity this year and is now nearly tied with former Vice President Joe Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination among registered voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos national poll. The online poll, released Thursday, shows that 20% of registered Democrats and independents said they would back Sanders over 11 other candidates to run in the general election against President Donald Trump, an increase of 2 percentage points from a similar poll that ran last week. Another 19% supported Biden, 12% said they would vote for Senator Elizabeth Warren, 9% backed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and 6% said they would support Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Sanders and Bloomberg have increased their level of support in each of the last three Reuters/Ipsos polls starting in mid-December, while support for Biden, Warren, and Buttigieg has remained flat. The poll also shows that about one in five potential primary voters remain undecided. And among those who have picked, nearly two out of three say they are open to changing their minds. Sanders, an independent who built a national network of fervent supporters while running for the party's nomination in 2016, has consistently ranked among the most popular candidates since he entered the race. The poll shows that standing does not appear to have been hurt by his recent confrontation with Warren over Sanders' views of women and politics. Warren, who is aligned with Sanders on a variety of issues, has accused him of telling her in 2018 that a woman could not be elected president. Sanders disputes that claim, and the two sniped at each other after this week's presidential debate about how they were framing the conversation in public. The dispute has the potential to reconfigure a Democratic nomination race that has stagnated for months with no single candidate emerging as the clear front-runner. According to Reuters/Ipsos polling from December to January, women are the party's biggest swing group: they are more than twice as likely as men to say they are undecided about which candidate to support. Among those women who have picked a candidate, nearly two out of three say they are open to changing their minds. So far, Sanders' and Warren's support remains unchanged among women, with about 15% supporting Sanders and 11% supporting Warren. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted in English throughout the United States from Jan. 15-16. It gathered responses from 681 Democrats and independents, including 552 who were registered to vote. The poll has a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 5 percentage points. Karlie Kloss blew up the Internet just a few days into 2020, after she was a guest judge on Project Runway and brutally took down a contestant who made a sly dig at her husbands family - the Kushners. Kloss, who is married to Ivanka Trumps brother-in-law Joshua Kushner, has since addressed the moment and revealed she intends to vote for the Democrats this year. The supermodel appeared on Watch What Happens Live! with host Andy Cohen alongside Martha Stewart, during which she was asked directly about the controversial moment. Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner / Getty Images Kloss was a guest judge on Project Runway, where the contestants were set the task to design a dress for her to wear to a CFDA event in Paris. After judge Brandon Maxwell told contestant Tyler Neasloney that he couldnt see Karlie wearing [your design] anywhere, honestly, Neasloney swiftly responded, Not even to dinner with the Kushners? At the time, Kloss face completely changed and was clearly unimpressed by his comment - which one Los Angeles Times reporter called MacArthur grant level shade. In an attempt to defend himself, Neasloney said, Thats your husband! She told him curtly, I was going to Paris, that was your challenge here. Keep it to the challenge. The moment swiftly went viral online - especially as Neasloney was later booted out of the competition. Cohen asked Kloss about it on his show. She attempted to make light of the moment, saying, Well listen, I was honoured to be one of the first memes of the decade. But honestly, the real tragedy in this whole thing is that no one is talking about how terrible that dress was. Thats why he went home." "And no, I would not wear that dress to any dinner - any kind of dinner," she continued. Cohen pressed Kloss on what her home life and family were like, clearly hinting at her relationship to the Trumps. Kloss married Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner (Ivanka's husband and a senior political advisor to the Trump administration), in 2018 after they had been dating for several years and has remained quiet regarding her relationship with the Trumps. That said, Ivanka and Jared were seen in Wyoming at the start of their second wedding weekend and Ivanka has previously voiced her support for Kloss on social media. Ivanka Trump, Dasha Zhukova and Karlie Kloss in 2016 at the US Open / Getty Images Cohen confronted her, Are you on the same page politically as the family? Andy, Kloss responded, her expression completely changing. Im sure Im not the only person in this country who does not necessarily agree with their family on politics. Martha Stewart, who was also a guest on the show, then chimed in by saying it was a good answer. Kloss clarified, I voted as a Democrat in 2016 and I plan to do the same in 2020. Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Donald Trump / Getty Images This means Kloss voted for Trumps opponent, Hillary Clinton, in 2016. Cohen seemed clearly taken aback by how forthcoming she was as he said wow in response. Kloss also clarified that she was passionate about different issues, including womens reproductive health and planned parenthood. She also explained that she had fallen in love with Kushner - who she described as a private person - in 2012 at the age of nineteen, before the Trump administration came into power. Without referring to her husband by name, she said, I met my man in 2012... it was a different world and my man and I have been through a lot together. And you know Im so proud hes my partner. Its not been easy but its been worth it, she continued. And I would make that same decision a million times again. On behalf of all the staff in the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise, I would like to sincerely thank the community for their support in this last year. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the great work that has been achieved throughout 2019. The hospital has continued to make significant improvements across all aspects of service delivery in 2019. Patient experience times have improved with compliance of 99% for the 24 hour and 83.6 % compliance with 9hr for patients aged 75 years and over. In addition, the hospital has achieved a reduction of 24.05% in the number of patients waiting on trolleys at 8 am in 2019 when compared with the same period in 2018. This improvement has been achieved against a backdrop of a 4.85% increase in new Emergency Department attendances to 38,513. In addition, we had 1,490 babies born in the Hospital which is an increase of 74 on the 2018 births. The hospital has introduced a range of measures which have contributed to the improved performance. These improvements include the establishment of an Acute Medical Assessment Unit in January 2019, the commencement of daily board rounds, the targeted development of Community Intervention Team and an overall integrated approach with community colleagues to support improved patient flow. As part of the hospital's winter strategy, an acute surgical assessment unit is also operational since December 2019. MORE BELOW PICTURE. A number of patient-centred service developments for maternity services have commenced at the hospital this year. These include the establishment of a perinatal psychiatry service and maternity bereavement service. The hospital has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Trinity College, Dublin to commence preparation for midwifery training for the hospital. Anatomy scanning is now offered to all maternity patients and Anti D prophylaxis was introduced. A range of other general services developments have also commenced. These include the provision of MRI onsite, introduction of dementia-friendly initiative, the commencement of a paediatric diabetic pump service and the commencement of paediatric allergy testing service. The commencement of a dermatology service at the hospital is at an advanced stage and expected to deliver an Outpatient and Day service. A COPD Collaborative Working Group is in place to develop Quality Improvement Plans for COPD patients and ensure that all COPD patients have a self-management plan to reduce unnecessary admissions. As part of the development of sexual health services nationally, the hospital has been designated as one of 4 centres for the provision of PREP service. The hospital has made considerable infrastructural improvements in the past year to improve the service user experience which includes the development of a maternity bereavement suite, the refurbishment of the end-of-life family room. The development of a hospital street in 2019 also provides direct access from the emergency department to the acute medical assessment unit. This development provides for improved patient flow and better infection control management. As part of a recent presentation to the Irish Hospice Foundation, the hospital has received funding to reconfigure and upgrade the mortuary viewing facility at the hospital. This project will afford bereaved families dignity, privacy and respect when visiting the hospital. As part of the Slaintecare Integration programme, the hospital have obtained funding to progress 2 key projects. 1. The introduction of an Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) Cardiology Heart Failure to improve patient access to Heart Failure clinic and service. The ANP will provide an assessment, diagnostic and screening role in relation to Heart Failure, helping to reduce wait times and a faster throughput of patients/clients. The ANP will assess, admit, treat and discharge patients, assisting in achieving goals of the National Clinical Programme for Heart Failure (NCPHF). This service will incorporate a Virtual Clinic; where the ANP in cardiology who would work with the Consultant Cardiologist in providing ambulatory care. A key component of which would be a telemedicine service (Virtual clinic) providing diagnostic and management support for GPs. The scope of patients would be prevention, low risk chest pain, palpitations and assessment of patients with heart failure and at risk of heart failure. 2. The development of a COPD outreach service (which incorporates a Clinical Nurse Specialist and a Senior Physiotherapist under the clinical governance of a Respiratory Consultant). This is a nationally recognized scalable project. It has been implemented successfully throughout the country and forms part of the clinical care programmes. However, to date this has not occurred in the Laois catchment area and as evident by the demographics there is significant capacity and scope to warrant the introduction of such a post in Laois. The effective and efficient management of people with COPD, using an integrated approach to prevent disease, slow disease progression, optimise quality and quantity of life and provide care in the most appropriate setting. COPD Outreach programmes can provide easily accessible support, education, health promotion and guidance to COPD sufferers which impacts greatly on their rates of exacerbation and hospital admissions but more importantly their own governance. The hospital recognises the importance of nutrition and food quality as a central element in supporting a patients recovery. The catering department at the hospital have been recognised nationally by various bodies for their role in the provision of high quality healthy and nutritional food. In 2018 the Catering Department at the hospital were the Overall National Winners of the EIQA (Excellence Ireland Quality association) Hygiene and Food Safety , National Q Mark Award 2018. This is a very significant and prestigious award for the department and the hospital as a whole. There were in excess of 140 companies competing for this award from both the private and public sector and the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise were the first acute hospital to have ever won this award. In May 2019 the catering department received a Gold Award from the Irish Heart Foundation. While the hospital awaits the conclusion of the consultation on the future of service provision, there exists many and varied challenges which include challenges to service development, recruitment and infrastructural development. However, we continue to deliver and build on our services for our patients and embrace 2020 with a focus on the future and acknowledging the dedication and commitment of our workforce who come to work every day and give everything to the service. We look forward to continuing our work through the SlainteCare Programme and embracing new ways of working and to developing our hospital campus with two developments including the approval to increase clinical accommodation by changing the use of existing administrative accommodation and new a new hospital entrance/foyer. The hospital intend to seek approval to proceed with the design stage of this project at the beginning of 2020. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the commitment and dedication of staff and reiterate our thanks to all our patients and the wider community for your continued support. Passengers travelling from China into Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco airports will be subject to "enhanced" screenings after an outbreak of mysterious coronavirus has killed two people and sickened more than 40 others. Travellers entering the US from direct and connecting flights through Wuhan will undergo entry screening at three American airports beginning this weekend, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Chinese authorities report that patients in the outbreak area were exposed to large seafood and meat markets, suggesting an animal-to-person spread of the virus, which was first reported in Wuhan late last month and reportedly spread to Thailand and Japan. Some patients reported that they didn't visit any animal markets, suggesting to health officials that the virus has spread through person-to-person contact. The CDC reports that Chinese authorities have reported "several hundred health care workers caring for outbreak patients are being monitored" and there are no reports of the virus spreading to health care workers. 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 One hundred health workers are being deployed to assist screenings at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK). CDC staff will supplement existing officials at quarantine stations in those airports. Travellers will be asked to fill out questionnaires about their symptoms, if any, and whether they've visited seafood or meat markets in the area. Thermal scanners will also be used to detect fevers. Roughly 60,000 people travel from Wuhan into the US each year. JFK and SFO receive direct flights from Wuhan. Coronavirus causes respiratory illnesses like colds and pneumonia. In 2003, a version of a coronavirus led to an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which was first discovered in China and spread globally, impacting more than 8,000 people and killing 800. Another coronavirus outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, also known as camel flu, first appeared in the region in 2012 and has been identified in 27 countries. World health organisations report that 30 to 40 per cent of people who were infected with the virus have died. Last week, the CDC updated its advisory to travellers in Wuhan to "practise usual precautions". The health agency reports that Americans' risk of exposure to the latest coronavirus is currently "deemed to be low". The province has granted Manitoba Hydro a licence to build an 80-kilometre transmission line that will help its boost power sales to Saskatchewan. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The province has granted Manitoba Hydro a licence to build an 80-kilometre transmission line that will help its boost power sales to Saskatchewan. Construction of the Birtle Transmission Project is expected to begin this summer. The cost of the project, which has been in the works for several years, was pegged at $69 million in 2018. The 230-kilovolt transmission line will run from a hydro station just south of Birtle to the Saskatchewan border at Tantallon, Sask. In 2018, Hydro and SaskPower signed a deal that would result in up to 215 megawatts of renewable hydroelectricity flow from Manitoba to Saskatchewan beginning in 2022. It would provide Saskatchewan, which still relies on coal-powered electricity, to meet the power needs for 82,000 homes. Hydro spokesman Bruce Owen said the anticipated in-service date for the transmission line is June 2021. "We do require one winter construction season to complete the project as the licence (from the Manitoba Department of Conservation and Climate) requires us to work on frozen-ground conditions," he said in an email. All land easements have been secured for the project, Owen said. Download Birtle Transmission Project When the power sale to Saskatchewan was announced, the deal was said to be for 18 years, with a potential extension to a total of 30 years. An official with SaskPower said at the time, the deal would help the corporation meet its commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent (compared with 2005) by 2030. Premier Brian Pallister has repeatedly argued Ottawa has not given Manitoba enough credit for hydroelectric power sales when it formulates its national climate change policies. Utilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin are important customers for Manitoba Hydro. The new contract with SaskPower could bring total electricity sales to Manitoba's western neighbour to as much as 315 mw by 2022. Manitoba estimates the exports could lead to emissions reductions of about 1.3 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year by displacing fossil-fuel power generation in Saskatchewan. Meanwhile, the project licence requires Manitoba Hydro to submit an environmental protection plan prior to the start of construction. The plan must identify measures to minimize impacts to "culturally and environmentally sensitive sites" along the route through the use of buffer zones, selective clearing, non-chemical vegetation management and other methods. It must also include specific sites identified by Indigenous communities for such uses as hunting, trapping, plant harvesting, ceremonial practices. 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 licence requires Hydro to provide a one-time $150,000 contribution, to be held by the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corp., for the costs of establishing a grassland habitat recovery program within the Spy Hill-Ellice Community Pasture. Manitoba Hydro is also required to provide cultural awareness training for staff working in construction areas within the development. "The training shall include recognizing cultural sites and management of any resources encountered," according to the licence. Hydro is also required to employ Metis and First Nation monitors to be present during construction within the Spy Hill-Ellice Community Pasture, "where there is potential for the discovery of historic resources." In addition to allowing for increased sales, the new transmission line will also improve the reliability of the electrical grid between the two provinces, its proponents say. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca TOKYO (AP) 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. 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. ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama The Delhi Police on Friday appealed to agitators to unblock the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch due to which the residents of Delhi and NCR are suffering, officials said. The protesters, who are opposing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and a proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC), have been siting on protest at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh for over a month. The road is a key link between Noida and Delhi and has been closed by the Noida Traffic Police in view of the ongoing protests. "We appeal to agitators at Road No 13-A, Shaheen Bagh to understand the sufferings, the complete highway blockade is causing to the residents of Delhi and NCR, senior citizens, emergency patients and school going children," a police statement said. The matter had also come up before the High Court. "We again urge protesters to cooperate and clear the road in larger public interest," it stated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang says she was sexually assaulted by an obstetrician while she was pregnant with the couples first child. Evelyn Yang said in an interview televised Thursday by CNN that the assault happened in 2012 and that she was initially afraid to tell anyone. She and 31 other women are now suing the doctor and the hospital system, saying they conspired and enabled the crimes. Yang said she was encouraged to speak out after seeing the positive reception she and her husband had been getting on the campaign trail by being open about their sons autism. Something about being on the trail and meeting people and seeing the difference that weve been making already has moved me to share my own story about it, about sexual assault, she told CNN. Yang said she first began seeing Dr. Robert Hadden in New York City in early 2012. As the months went on, Yang said, Hadden began asking her inappropriate questions about her sexual activity and spent more time conducting examinations. When she was seven months pregnant, Yang said, she believed her appointment was done and she was getting ready to leave when the doctor told her abruptly that he thought she might need a cesarean section. She said Hadden pulled her to him and undressed her, then used his fingers to examine her internally. I knew it was wrong. I knew I was being assaulted, she said. Haddens lawyer has denied Yangs allegations in legal filings. In 2016, she said, prosecutors agreed to a deal with Hadden in which he pleaded guilty to one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual assault. He also lost his medical license. TWO long-haul flights will resume out of Cebu by the second quarter of 2020. Qatar Airways is reviving its direct link from Cebu to Doha starting April 8, 2020 with three weekly flights while Philippine Airlines (PAL) is is also resuming its Cebu to Los Angeles route on May 2. The Gulf carriers comeback to Cebu will boost the southern aviation hubs connectivity to the Middle East, home to more than two million overseas Filipino workers. Cebu was among the eight new destinations the Qatar-based airline announced at the opening day of the Kuwait Aviation Show on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. The airline will fly to Doha, Qatar from Cebu every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Qatar Airways entered Cebu in 2003. It allowed greater accessibility for European tourists, as well as for overseas Filipino workers. However, 10 years after, the airline halted its Cebu service on March 26, 2012. The airlines Cebu-Doha route back then was unprofitable with the A330-200 because of the relatively low yields in the Cebu market, airline consultancy firm Capa-Center for Aviation said. Rising fuel costs and high operating expenditures were also the reasons the airline suspended its operations. But in 2016, Qatar Airways had expressed its interest to come back to Cebu. Besides Cebu, the other seven new destinations that Qatar Airways plans to mount direct flights to were Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Accra, Ghana; Trabzon, Turkey; Lyon, France; Luanda, Angola; and Siem Reap, Cambodia. Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad International Airport, to more than 160 destinations worldwide. Cebu-Los Angeles Meanwhile, PAL intends to directly connect Cebu again three times weekly to the US mainland via Los Angeles. The flag carrier last operated this route from March 2016 to May 2017. In a research note, Nigel Mayes, senior vice president at route development consultancy firm ASM, said PAL has likely chosen Cebu from which to add additional service to Los Angeles because of slot constraints in Manila. Story continues According to figures from Sabre Market Intelligence, overall origin and destination (O&D) traffic demand between Cebu and Los Angeles in the 12 months to June 2019 stood at 48,944 passengers, a year-on-year rise of 8.1 percent. Given that the route is yet unserved, the top three one-stop connecting points were Shanghai, Manila and Hong Kong, accounting for 25.2 percent, 21.8 percent and 17.7 percent of traffic, respectively. Los Angeles is home to a large Filipino community. A 2010 US census report said that Filipinos account for about 3.3 percent of Los Angeles 9.8 million population. Overall O&D traffic between Los Angeles and the Philippines has grown significantly in recent years, increasing from 392,765 two-way passengers in 2014 to 602,896 in 2018. Speakers, Agenda Announced for 2020 Entrepreneur & Investor Life Science Summit BioUtah, Utah's only trade association dedicated solely to the life sciences, along with the Center for Technology & Venture Commercialization at the University of Utah, today announced distinguished speakers and sessions for the 2020 Entrepreneur & Investor Life Science Summit to be held February 28, at the University of Utah's Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House. Early bird discounts are available for both BioUtah members and non-members who register by January 31. Sponsored by New York-based law firm Simpson Thacher, the E&I Life Science Summit promises to be an exceptional experience, convening Utah innovators, industry leaders, sector experts, and prominent local and national investors. "Whether you're an investor, a startup or established life sciences executive, the E&I Life Science Summit provides incredible value to all segments of our ecosystem," said Brandi Simpson, CEO of Navigen, and chair of the BioUtah board of directors. The E&I Life Science Summit will offer a content-rich agenda designed for Utah's growing life sciences community, investors, and service providers. Speakers include: Attendees will be able to tailor their engagement by selecting from the following three robust tracks, including: Entrepreneur - legal issues, IP, forming a Board of Directors Finance - venture capital and funding options Company presentations to investors Companies will also have the opportunity to personally meet with representatives from the NIH-National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences to learn about SBIR-STTR grants. "Utah has one of the fastest growing life sciences industries in the nation," said Kelvyn Cullimore, president and CEO of BioUtah. "The E&I Life Science Summit showcases the vibrant innovation, by companies large and small, that's happening here." "We're excited to present this conference with BioUtah," said Keith Marmer, executive director and associate vice president of the TVC. "Helping companies, especially early-stage companies, connect the dots to mentors, investors, and resources is critical to success." About BioUtah BioUtah is an independent 501(c)(6) trade association serving Utah's life sciences industry. Its member companies reflect a broad spectrum of the industry with strengths in medical device manufacturing and services, research and testing, biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, and advanced diagnostics, among others; and are a key driver of Utah's economy. About the Center for Technology & Venture Commercialization at the University of Utah The Center for Technology & Venture Commercialization is dedicated to helping the University of Utah's faculty inventors bring their innovations to market. TVC is responsible for all aspects of invention management, patent prosecution, licensing, startup formation and support, equity management and early-stage funding. The center's mission is to expand the university's reputation for innovation, and positively impact society. TVC is proud to help foster this spirit of discovery. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005095/en/ Key indices were trading flat in early trade. At 9:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 11.80 points or 0.03% at 41,920.76. The Nifty 50 index was down 6.80 points or 0.06% at 12,348.70. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.12%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.19%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 660 shares rose and 385 shares fell. A total of 49 shares were unchanged. Among stocks, GMR Infrastructure gained 0.42%. GMR Infrastructure said that the Supreme Court of India has lifted suspension of the environment clearance on GMR Goa International Airport (GGIAL). This in effect will result in resumption of the construction activities at the project site to build a greenfield international airport at Mopa, Goa, by GGIAL. Vodafone Idea crashed 31.18%, Bharti Airtel rose 3.69%. Reliance Industries advanced 1.78%. Telecom stocks were in focus after Supreme Court, yesterday, 16 January 2020, dismissed the review pleas from telecom companies that sought relief on interest and penalty payments in connection to the verdict on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR). The deadline for telecom companies to meet the license fee dues as per the apex court's AGR judgement is 23 January 2020. Wipro rose 0.78%. Wipro said that Wipro Ventures, announced the closing of its $150 million Fund ll. Buoyed by the success of its first $100 million fund launched in 2015, Wipro Ventures will continue to invest in early to mid-stage companies building innovative enterprise software solutions across key areas, including cybersecurity, application development, analytics, cloud infrastructure, test automation, and AI. Metropolis Healthcare was up 1.90%. Metropolis Healthcare said that the board of directors of the company have approved the acquisition of Shraddha Diagnostic Centre and the share purchase and shareholders' agreement were executed on 16 January 2020. HIL advanced 0.45%. HIL informed that informed that the board of directors of the company has approved sale and transfer of the company's calcium silicate insulation products division operated under the brand HYSIL to Calderys India Refractories through a slump sale arrangement on a going concern basis. UCO Bank fell 0.31%. UCO Bank informed that the board of directors of the Bank have approved the proposal for the issue of equity shares on preferential basis to Government of India against capital Infusion of Rs 2142 crore. Extraordinary General Meeting of the shareholders of the bank will be held on 14 February 2020 for seeking shareholders' approval. CEAT gained 1.58%. CEAT has informed that the board of directors of the company, will consider a proposal for issuance of listed/unlisted secured/unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures on private placement basis. Overseas, Asian stocks were trading higher on Friday after global stock indexes and Wall Street posted more records, with strong corporate earnings and upbeat US economic data adding to optimism after China and the US signed a partial trade deal. In US, stocks rallied again on Thursday, with all three benchmark indexes closing at new records, following the signing of a trade truce between the US and China on Wednesday and Senate approval of a new trade deal between the US, Mexico and Canada on Thursday. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Social media giants like Facebook and Instagram must hand over data so experts can analyse their impact on mental health, a major report warns. The Royal College of Psychiatrists' demand was backed by the father of Molly Russell, who blamed 'pushy algorithms' for his daughter's death in 2017. Fourteen-year-old Molly, from Harrow, north west London, killed herself after watching self-harm videos on Instagram. Her death sparked fury about why she was fed material linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide on the site. But scientists trying to investigate social media's impact on mental health have been hampered by the firms' unwillingness to reveal data about their users. Tragic Molly Russell, 14, (pictured aged 11) of Harrow, north west London, was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017 after showing 'no obvious signs' of severe mental health issues The schoolgirl took her own life after handing in her homework and returning to her family home Her father Ian Russell said the algorithms used by Instagram enabled Molly to view more harmful content, contributing to her death. Pictured: Molly on holiday aged six (left) and aged 11 Molly aged four, holding a cuddly toy in this poignant photo released by her family. Her father has backed the report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists Today's report demands they give up this anonymised information so researchers can study the the online habits of young people. Ian Russell, who authored the report's foreword, said: 'Two years ago Molly's suicide smashed like a wrecking ball into my family's life. 'I am in no doubt the graphic self-harm content and suicide encouraging memes on Molly's social media feeds helped kill her. 'Without research using data from social media companies we will never know how content can lead our children and young people to self-harm or, in the most tragic cases, take their own lives. 'The government must enact these calls from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.' Mr Russell also detailed how his daughter accessed 'bleak depressive material and suicide memes' on Instagram. Ian Russell said Molly's suicide 'smashed like a wrecking ball into his family's life' Pictured: One of the images that was shared on Instagram depicting people harming themselves Schoolgirl, 14, who took own life after viewing self-harm images on Instagram Molly Russell, 14, of Harrow, north west London, was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017 after showing 'no obvious signs' of severe mental health issues. Her family later found she had been viewing material on social media linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide and her father accused Instagram of 'helping to kill her.' Ian Russell today said the algorithms used by Instagram enabled Molly to view more harmful content, possibly contributing to her death. Molly was found dead just hours after handing in her homework and returning to her family home, where she had packed a bag to go to school the next day. In a devastating note, she told her parents and two sisters: 'I'm sorry. I did this because of me.' An inquest into Molly's death is expected later this year. It was only after her death in 2017 that the teenager's parents delved into her social media accounts and realised she was viewing distressing images. One account she followed featured an image of a blindfolded girl, seemingly with bleeding eyes, hugging a teddy bear. The caption read: 'This world is so cruel, and I don't wanna to see it any more.' Advertisement He described for the first time a note they found left by Molly, which said: 'I'm nothing, I'm worthless, I'm numb, I'm lost, I'm weak, I'm gone. I'm sorry. I'll see you in a little while. I love you all so much. Have a happy life. Stay strong xxx.' The RCP's report calls for an independent regulator with powers to establish a protocol for the sharing of data from social media companies with universities for research. The data collected would be anonymous and include the nature of content viewed, as well as the amount of time users are spending on social media platforms. Tech giants have also been urged to help fund studies that examines the consequences of social media use. Dr Bernadka Dubicka, chair of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and co-author of the report, said: 'As a psychiatrist working on the frontline, I am seeing more and more children self-harming and attempting suicide as a result of their social media use and online discussions. 'We will never understand the risks and benefits of social media use unless the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram share their data with researchers. 'Their research will help shine a light on how young people are interacting with social media, not just how much time they spend online. 'Self-regulation is not working. It is time for government to step-up and take decisive action to hold social media companies to account for escalating harmful content to vulnerable children and young people.' Last year, a major Lancet study found that children who frequently use social media are 40 per cent more likely to experience mental health problems. Social media firms giants have previously been in the dock over their failure to hand over data when it is in the public interest. This includes the data of Molly Russell, which her family were not able to view. Facebook also faced fury over its refusal to hand data over to police investigating the murder of 13-year-old Lucy McHugh. In a today's report, Mr Russell describes the day his daughter died as he urges social media to do more to combat online harms. He writes: 'Finding Molly's lifeless body at 7.20am left us not only immediately confronted by the onslaught of raw grief for losing someone so loved and adored but also, we were left dealing with many more devastating emotions. 'The unimaginable shock and horror of bereavement by suicide was supplemented by the realisation that we had not known Molly had been so unwell and we'd therefore not been able to do anything to help her. 'Suicide leaves in its wake an inevitable list of questions, most of which begin with a 'why?' In Molly's case, this list was perhaps even more bewildering than others. 'Our search for answers soon led us to her Social Media accounts, there we discovered what Molly had been viewing, 'saving' and 'liking'. 'Among the usual schoolfriends, pop groups and celebrities followed by fourteen-year-olds, we found bleak depressive material, graphic self-harm content and suicide encouraging memes. 'These horrifying discoveries helped us fill in some of the missing pieces of the suicidal jigsaw puzzle Molly had set for us. I have no doubt that social media helped kill my daughter.' For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a local branch or go to samaritans.org The Punjab assembly on Friday passed a resolution by voice vote against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, the second state in the country to do so after Kerala. The resolution moved by parliamentary affairs minister Brahm Mohindra was passed after over three hours of discussion on the second day of the two-day special session of the assembly. While the ruling Congress and main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supported the resolution, the BJP opposed it. The Shiromani Akali Dal, a key ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre, sought the inclusion of Muslims in the list of communities that could be granted citizenship under the amended law. The CAA provides for granting citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014, but not to members of the Muslim community. The Kerala assembly was the first to pass the resolution against the amended citizenship Act. During the debate, Congress minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Bikram Singh Majithia sparred, taking personal digs at each other after the minister questioned the Akali stand on CAA. Speaking for his party, SAD legislature party leader Sharanjit Singh Dhillon said, We are opposed to this resolution but want Muslims on the list of communities eligible under the CAA. Turning to Congress legislators, Dhillon said, You are seeking a repeal of the CAA so are you opposed to the persecuted Pakistani Sikhs and Christians who have benefited under the Act? CENSUS AS PER OLD PROCESS: CAPT On the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR), Dhillon asked Congress members in the House, Two NPR surveys were conducted during Manmohan Singhs tenure as Prime Minister, so why the opposition now? Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh said that the census would be carried out as per the old process. We will not allow changes such as the NPR, he said. During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Amarinder and his colleagues had expressed concern over the implications of the blatantly unconstitutional and divisive CAA, NRC and NPR. The Kerala Assembly had recently passed a resolution demanding the scrapping of the CAA, becoming the first state in the country to do so. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island is continuing the journey toward greater equity in schools across the borough, according to a collective group focused on educational equity. The New York City Department of Education (DOE), the Staten Island Foundation and the Equity Alliance of Staten Island (EASI), which works to ensure youth on Staten Island have experiences that prepare them for success, hosted an event Thursday at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Livingston, called the Collective Journey to Equity: Share Fair and Thank You Reception. Marquitta Speller, project director for the Equity Alliance of Staten Island, explained that the event was held to share the wonderful work we are doing in the community. Those at the reception shared the ongoing efforts and programs in place to improve outcomes for Staten Island children and achieve greater equity. Part of our goal here today is to look at ways to align our practice and make sure that our work is all for the good of kids, Speller said. I want to thank all of you for what you do to ensure that our young people have success. You do it through community-based organizations, some of you do it through schools and some of you do it through churches. But we are very grateful for all that you have done. EASI was launched in January 2018 and works with residents, community organizations, educators, health care providers and local and city government agencies. The organization is focused on improving conditions of well-being for all Staten Island students, with a priority focus on black and Latino students. Every student who is part of our public school system should have the same access to high-quality education that I did, Speller said. We both know that in order for students to thrive and survive, it takes more than what happens in our schools. Everything thats part of a childs ecosystem is important to ensure that that child experiences success. Anthony Lodico, executive superintendent, said that EASI was formed when a grant was funded in partnership between the Staten Island Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York and consulting firm FSG. Im so proud of the work were doing, said Lodico. Im proud of our students, Im so proud of our commitment, because although I love the fact that [Schools Chancellor] Richard Carranza has come on and given us the permission to be bold in our work around equity, this is not new work for Staten Island. He continued: Since I came back to Staten Island in 2014, that has been the work I, along with every single leader and every single school, has been doing. That is what the entire borough office has been doing. That is what the district team has been doing, and we know we have a lot more to do, but we have rolled up our sleeves and are ready to do it -- and make sure that every single student has the experience that they should have at each of our schools. We have 66,000 children who we are thinking about every single day. District 31 Superintendent Vincenza Gallassio shared the programs and efforts to advance equity in Staten Island schools, including: the creation of a District Equity Leadership Team (DELT); My Brothers Keeper program; My Sisters Keeper program; a $200,000 diversity grant from the DOE; anti-discrimination training; the implicit bias and CRE (culturally relevant education) initiative, and other professional development opportunities. Our journey is about professional development, its about training, its about rethinking, its about mindset change, Gallassio said. Its about all of those things. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. The Nebraska Department of Corrections is telling employees it will soon issue a policy that will outline how they can communicate with state senators and their staffs, in meetings or public hearings. Some Corrections staff have already been contacted by lawmakers since the Legislature's session started last week, an email from Corrections Chief of Staff Laura Strimple said. Lawmakers may want information from employees related to legislative initiatives, or they may be asking them to testify at hearings that begin next week. The department's policy is still being developed, but Strimple said that going forward, any requests from senators or their staff should be authorized by Corrections Department administration before employees respond to lawmakers. "In addition, permission must be provided by Director (Scott) Frakes before any staff member testifies on behalf of NDCS," the email said. They were asked to direct any inquiries to Strimple so they could be reviewed by Frakes. Lincoln Sen. Anna Wishart, whose District 27 is where many correctional officers of varying ranks live and includes the Nebraska State Penitentiary, said it's concerning that Corrections employees would be discouraged by administration from speaking to their state senators. She said she will continue to connect with correctional staff and all state government employees. Their thoughts and opinions would be held in the highest regard, she said, and in confidence. "I believe it is the right of all Nebraskans to speak freely as constituents to their senators," she said. "We rely on the experiences and advice of people who are the boots on the ground in these facilities when making decisions on how we fix a broken Corrections system." Often, she said, the best ideas for solving tough problems don't come from politicians or administrators, but from the people who work day-in and day-out closest to the problem. "We should be encouraging communication, not discouraging it," she said. The prisons have been in crisis for a while from overcrowding and understaffing. There was a riot in 2015 at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution that left two inmates dead, another deadly disturbance there in 2017, officer assaults, contraband seizures, a killing of an inmate by his cellmate and petitions from inmates complaining about lockdowns and restrictions on their abilities to meet as self-betterment clubs and use the prisons' law libraries. "To muzzle the employees so that information getting to the Legislature is tightly controlled is not helpful in solving the crisis over at the Department of Corrections," said Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Strimple said Friday employees of the Department of Corrections should not be speaking to senators about agency policy, since Frakes sets the policy for the department. If staff members intend to speak to senators as representatives of the agency, they need to obtain his approval first, she said. "Otherwise, there is the potential that senators could receive inaccurate, misinterpreted, misleading or contradictory information from multiple sources," she said. "That does not lead to a good legislative process." Employees are entitled to personal opinions, she said, but they must delineate when they are speaking for the agency and when they are speaking for themselves. A staff member can speak on their own behalf about personal issues, as a representative of an outside organization or as a union member. "But they should make that clear to the senator," she said. And do it on their own time, not while they are supposed to be working. But ACLU of Nebraska Executive Director Danielle Conrad sees the mandate to employees as another development in the crisis-riddled prison system, as federal courts and the Legislature scrutinize conditions that are not getting better. First, the labor agreement had a gag order on the employees' union to oppose any bill related to pay or employee classification of security staff proposed by the Legislature, she said. "And now they are silencing critical front-line whistleblowers," Conrad said. "What are they trying to hide?" In December, the corrections officers union and state administration agreed to a new pay plan with progression steps and pay increases. Fraternal Order of Police Corrections union President Mike Chipman said at the time the deal would put the Department of Corrections on the right path to address the prisons' staffing crisis and encourage people to make Corrections a long-term career choice. Reach the writer at 402-473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSLegislature Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman conducted a meeting with the News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) members. The meeting was attended by a popular TV journalist Arnab Goswami, the Vice Presidents, Jagi, M Panda and Sanjive Narain, and the Secretary-General Mr. R Jai Krishna. In the meeting, NBF had handed over a recommendation requesting for parity on GST with the newspaper industry. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met members of the executive body of the News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) on Friday, January 17, 2020. In the meeting, the NBF handed over a recommendation requesting for parity on GST with the newspaper industry. As of now, GST on the print media stands at 5% whereas the news broadcasters are charged 18% GST. In the meeting, the President of NBF Arnab Goswami highlighted the need for parity given the similarity in the business model and the importance of TV news broadcasting in the country. The Finance Minister accepted a copy of the recommendation of NBF and assured the members that she would look into the matter. The NBF was represented in the meeting by the TV Channel owner Arnab Goswami, the Vice Presidents Jagi, M Panda and Sanjive Narain, and the Secretary-General R Jai Krishna. Also Read: Union Budget 2019: When and where to watch Budget 2019 live Also Read: Union Budget 2019: Nirmala Sitharaman delivers budget speech in Hindi The Union Budget is all set to take place within a few days. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget. This Union Budget will focus on the relevant push to the economy demand and an expansionary fiscal stance to revive demand. There are various factors on which this year Budget should be designed. It includes the measures that are important to revive the demand, investment and growth. Her measures should be directed towards a positive if she assures with a commitment to debt sustainability. The entire budget should determine the expected nominal growth rate. For the uninitiators, all the tax projections are done on the basis of the nominal growth rate. In case the nominal growth rate is over-estimated, tax officials tend to give unrealistic targets. This happened in the previous year. Then tax officials achieve these targets through tax demands and raids. This only takes place followed by fear among investors and individuals. Both direct taxes such as income and corporate taxes and indirect taxes such as GST rely on the nominal GDP. A realistic assessment of nominal GDP should be done. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App In 2019 there were 14.65 million newborns: 580 thousand less than in 2018. The total population remains stable at 1.4 billion; the number of elderly people increases. The reduced number of births is the product of the "one-child policy" that has been in existence for nearly 40 years. Pregnancies disadvantageous for various reasons, including job competition, high rents and education costs. Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The birth rate in China has hit a 70 year low, that is, since the founding of the People's Republic of China, according to the latest report by the National Statistics Office released today. The experts say in 2019 there were 14.65 million newborns, or 580 thousand less than the previous year. The number of births has dropped to 10.48 per 1,000 people. The negative figure compounds the decline of the working age population (between 16 and 59 years old), which contracted by 890 thousand units. Meanwhile the elderly, the number of those over 65 years old has grown from 11.9% in 2018 to 12.3% in 2019. The total population remains rather stable, at 1.4 billion inhabitants (in 2018 it was 1.39 billion). According to the researchers, for a country the reduction in the number of children who come into the world every year poses various long and medium-term social challenges, especially in terms of assistance to the elderly population, social security and tax burden for the few young people who also bear responsibility for the subsistence of the family unit. For several years, the birth rate in China has continued to decline: it is the result of the "one-child policy" introduced in 1979 by the Beijing authorities with the aim of containing the demographic boom. Applied severely especially in the countryside, where there have been numerous cases of forced termination of pregnancy, the policy has led to a consistent demographic imbalance in favor of boys through the selective abortions of girls. The law was "lightened" in 2013, allowing couples to have two children in which at least one of the spouses was "an only child by law", and completely abolished in 2016. Despite the cancellation of the rule, the consequences are still visible today. According to Dr. Wang Feng, professor of sociology at the University of California in Irvine, the low birth rate partly reflects the decline of newborn babies since the 1990s, but also reveals something far more profound about the ongoing social transformations, which are even more worrying. " Among these, he suggests, internal migration, rapid urbanization, a ruthless work culture, high costs for housing and education and unbridled gender discrimination. All this contributes to the low birth rate and could continue to do so for decades. " Bengaluru: Sristhi Institute of Art, Design and Technology which was in the thick of controversy over graffiti on prime minister Narendra Modi painted on the college walls has decided to ignore the dress code diktat allegedly given by local BJP supporters. The BJP workers had stormed the institutes campus, angry over the graffiti on Prime Minister Narendra Modi which ran the line Sab Changa Si (all is well) across the bottom of the graphic with the PMs index finger pointed at his mouth. The BJP workers barged into the campus and peppered the authorities with questions on the dress code followed by students while announcing that wearing shorts and skirts was not in keeping with Indian tradition. They also objected to students smoking on the streets in public. However, the management refused to buckle under pressure from the saffron groups, and said they had given their students freedom to wear any dress they wanted in spite of the alleged threat by associates of the powerful local MLA from Yelahanka constituency S R Vishwanath, who is also the political secretary to chief minister B S Yediyurappa. MLA Vishwanath when contacted by Deccan Chronicle over the dress code clarified that neither he nor his supporters had raised an issue about a dress code. Why would I choose specifically one college to impose a dress code? My daughter wears jeans, I cant - and dont - question my family on dress code, why would I question the students, he maintained. As a public representative, he had to speak to the college authorities on issues of traffic jam and public smoking. The graffiti on the prime minister on the wall was not in good taste. It would have created unrest in the area. I spoke on these issues with the authorities, he clarified. When asked about it, Dr Geetha Narayanan, director of Sristhi Institute, stated, Well, on the matter of dress code, Srishti has always had a dress code which gives students the freedom to wear whatever they want, within a framework of respectability. We have not changed that rule and that is applicable to all. The allegation is being made by the parties who came to my office on that day, that this was not keeping in Indian traditional culture and that the students had to dress appropriately in a way that reflects Indian culture, she said. Now that is a difficult thing to enforce. We can enforce modesty, we can enforce respectability. But what is Indian traditional when everyone wears jeans, T shirts and dresses, and students no longer want to come in sarees or in only a salwar kameez, Dr Narayanan said. She maintained that as director of Srishti, she is very cautious about these things. Within a college, students are expected to come well-dressed, looking neat, and modest and thats all they ask. But, there are elements in our society that think dressing respectably means it must be a reflection of Indian culture. Then, I cant do anything to support that, she categorically stated. She said however that the police have been helpful: They have come here, they have spoken to me over the phone. We have not lodged any complaint in this regard so far, she maintained. We closed the college out of abundant caution. At the moment we said that the college would reopen on Saturday but students have gone on leave for the festival and they might come back from Monday. With attendance in mind, I will take call in this regard, Dr Geetha explained. When asked if any elements had come back to the college pressing for a dress code, she said: everything in life is matter of negotiation. What I would do is talk to them, talk to the students and build a safe climate of trust and collaboration in the neighborhood. That is my goal. Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine said Friday Iran was ready to hand over the black box flight recorders of the Ukrainian passenger plane downed by an Iranian missile. The Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737, crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran last Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board, mostly Iranian and Canadian citizens. Ukraine's foreign minister said Iran would grant a team of investigators from Iran and Canada as the countries that have lost the most nationals access to the recorders. "After that, the Iranian side is ready to separately transfer the black boxes to Ukraine," Vadym Prystaiko told lawmakers during a parliamentary session. "This is consistent with international standards, although we still demand that they be given to us immediately to ensure the independence and objectivity of the investigation," Prystaiko said. After initial denials, the Islamic republic admitted it has shot down the plane "unintentionally" while on high alert after firing missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani by a US strike. Prystaiko told CNN on Wednesday that Kiev has "good cooperation" with Tehran on the crash probe, but lacked "access to the information stored in the black boxes." "We just want to know that nobody will be tampering with the recordings themselves," he said. Prystaiko said an Iranian official will visit Kiev next week "to apologise officially and provide explanations." On Thursday, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain issued a five-point plan for cooperation with Iran during the investigation, calling for "full and unhindered access" for foreign officials. Job Title: Chief Engineer Organization: National Housing and Construction Company Limited (NHCC) Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda Reports to: Chief Executive Officer About US: National Housing and Construction Company Limited (NHCC) was founded in 1964 and is a Ugandan construction and real estate management company, partly owned by the Uganda Government. The Companys mandate is to increase the housing stock in the country, rehabilitate the housing industry and encourage Ugandans to own homes in an organized environment. Job Summary: The Chief Engineer will be responsible for providing leadership in project development, constructing and managing residential, industrial, commercial and any other projects and business units in furtherance of the Companys mandate and Strategic objectives. Key Duties and Responsibilities: Develops departmental policies, Strategies, work plans and budgets and ensure their successful Implementation. Coordinate design, development and supervision of Company products/joint venture projects as well as conducting research in order to ensure quality products, cost optimization and guarantee profitability for each project Review and approve project designs prior to implementation including Site infrastructure designs, Architectural Drawings, Structural Drawings, Electrical drawings, Bills of Quantities etc. Oversee development of Strategic Business Units (SBU) within the department and monitor their effective operations and profitability. Be a team player and provide technical input in attraction of financing for strategic projects Provide technical advice to Management with regard to the Companys investment opportunities and projects especially those involving Partnerships, External Contractors and other Service Providers Manage and develop departmental staff professionally as part of performance management practice. Qualifications, Skills and Experience: The applicant must hold a Bachelors degree in Building and Civil Engineering, or a closely related and relevant discipline, from a recognized University. A Masters Degree in Engineering, Management, Construction Management or any relevant field. Must be a registered Engineer with Engineers Registration Board (ERB) of Uganda or any other internationally recognized professional engineers institute, or body. Affiliation/Membership to any other professional body such as Uganda Institution of Professional Engineers (UIPE) and Association of Consulting Engineers etc shall be an added advantage. Specialized training, with appropriate post graduate qualifications in Project Planning and Management, from a recognized institution, as a MUST Proven knowledge and skills in application of the following Engineering related Software and Ms Office Packages is a MUST (Ms Project, Word, Excel and power point). Proven knowledge and competence in the following design soft wares will be added advantage (AutoCAD, Revit and Arch CAD etc). Relevant working experience of 12 years (three of which should have been at Senior Manager level) as a Civil Engineer, Construction Engineer/Manager, or in a similar senior position, in a large and reputable Construction, or Civil Works Company, or reputable Consultancy firm, or on any other large civil works project in public or Private Sector organization. Proven construction project management track record and working experience in housing, project implementation, with evidence of successful projects, will be an added advantage Personal Attributes: Good Understanding of the building industry Negotiation and Communication skills. Well developed business management skills Planning, coordination, and networking skills. Project supervision skills Competencies in Analytical thinking Interpersonal, and human relations skills Leadership, high ethics and integrity. How to Apply: All interested candidates are encouraged to send their applications indicating the position being applied for and accompanied by detailed Curriculum Vitae, copies of academic certificates, evidence of relevant working experience & contacts of three professional referees should be addressed to; The Chief Human Resource Officer, Plot 5, 7th Street, Industrial Area, P.O. Box 659, Kampala, Uganda. Or Email to: info@nhcc.co.ug . (All applications via email must be sent as one document not more than 10 MBs) Deadline: 7th February 2020 by 4:00 pm For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline In last weeks column I described at least some of the celestial treasures waiting for you within the great constellation Orion the Hunter. You can have a lot of fun checking them out in our Rochester sky with even a small telescope or binoculars. You can dig for other treasures just by browsing "celestial objects in Orion" on the web where youll find some helpful sites. There are also smartphone apps like "Sky Guide" and great star map software such as "Stellarium," which, by the way, is absolutely free. While Orion the Hunter is certainly rich astronomically, the mythological legends of the mighty hunter are equally rich. One of my favorite stories about Orion comes from Greek and Roman mythology. I have to warn you that this tale may be different from the ones you might have already heard. Since these stories were mainly passed down by word of mouth, they can take on variations. Is there such a thing as the correct mythology anyway? Ever since he was a boy, Orion, like a lot of boys, took a real liking to hunting. He developed the discipline of patience that he would need on long stakeouts. He also sharpened his senses of smell and sight, and especially night vision. That was essential since most serious hunting took place overnight. Back then hunting wasnt just a sport but a way of life that Orion embraced. Orion grew up to be a large and handsome young man, and like most hunters he preferred being a hermit hunter. While he didnt have human company, he traveled with two faithful hunting dogs that sniffed out potential prey and chased them down. Orion also traveled with a massive club and shield to fend off large human predators like lions, bears, or wild boar. Orions favorite prey was wild hare. Many times, the hares would outsmart and outrun him and his dogs, but when they caught one it was a sumptuous feast for both he and his hounds. He would also place a little bit of meat on hot coals to offer a sacrifice to Artemis, the goddess of hunting. ADVERTISEMENT Artemis would watch over hunters and do the best she could to keep them safe. Since he was so handsome, Artemis took a real liking to Orion and even accompanied him on some of his hunts. Orion began to respond to Artemiss affection. Suddenly though, Artemis had to cut off this fling, because gods and goddesses were not supposed to have romances with mortals. Zeus, the king of the gods, was Artemiss father and she didnt want to incur his wrath. Even though they remained friends, Orion was bummed out, but life and the hunts went on. Romance was still on his mind though. In his travels he would periodically run into seven orphaned daughters of Atlas, one of the former chief gods that Zeus overthrew. Even though he imposed never-ending punishment on Atlas, Zeus had a soft spot in his heart for his daughters. Orions interest in the seven daughters intensified and he began to pursue them much more aggressively. The young ladies pleaded for help from Zeus. He responded by changing them into a flock of doves and eventually into the bright Pleiades star cluster that still adorns our autumn and winter heavens. That incensed Orion! He became a madman, reckless hunter that ravaged the countryside, trampling fauna, as well as looting and destroying the camps of other hunters. The goddess Gaea, the grandmother of Zeus and the goddess of the earth had to stop this menace, permanently! She whipped up a significantly oversized scorpion to hunt down and kill Orion. Its deadly stinger was full of venom, much more potent and deadly than any snake. On a moonless night she sent the scorpion out after his human prey. A few nights later, he found Orion, snuck up, and jumped him from behind. Orion managed to shake him off but a battle ensued that went on all night. Orion was getting the best of the beast. He was just about to land a crushing and killing blow with his club when he tripped over a giant boulder and hit the ground. That was the Scorpions big chance. It quickly thrust its heavily poisoned stinger into Orion's heart and that was it; the hunter was history! Shortly after, Artemis discovered the lifeless body of Orion. She also could see in the distance the giant scorpion in retreat. Out of deep grief and anger the goddess grabbed the scorpion and flung it so far into the sky that it became the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. Artemis then returned to the slain Orion and wept over him for hours and hours. Finally, she cradled his body in her arms and flew off with him. When she was high enough in the sky, she gently tossed Orion a little higher, turning him into the bright constellation we still see on winter nights. She also tossed up Orions hunting dogs and a wild hare into the heavens along with him to keep her dead former boyfriend company. We still see them as the constellations Canis Major and Minor, the big and little dog respectively, and Lepus the Hare. As a bonus, she made sure Orion was close to the Pleiades so he could forever admire their heavenly beauty. Her father Zeus placed Taurus the Bull between the Seven Little Sisters and Orion. Even in death the rogue hunter couldnt be trusted! ADVERTISEMENT Such drama in the night sky! It seems that the Polisarios worst nightmare is coming true as the number of African countries opening consular representations in the Moroccan Sahara is increasing, deepening the isolation of the separatist group. In this vein, Guinea, one of the African countries strongly backing Moroccos territorial integrity, opened on Friday jan.17 a Consulate General in the southern city of Dakhla. The new diplomatic mission was officially opened by Guinean Foreign Minister Mamadi Toure in the presence of his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita. Last week, Gambia also opened its consulate in the same Moroccan Saharan city, dealing a bitter blow to the polisario and their Algerian and South African supporters. Guineas move also comes few weeks after the Comoros Islands opened a consulate in the city of Laayoune. These successive highly significant diplomatic victories enhance Moroccos stand against its enemies and confirm, if need be, the growing support of African countries to the Moroccan Sahara. In June, Cote dIvoire opened an honorary consulate in Laayoune where Senegal also has installed an honorary consulate. Researchers across the world have been trying to harness the power of hydrogen to release us from our dependence from fossil fuels -- but extracting hydrogen from water is easier said than done. IIT Madras/ Reuters Whats more difficult is storing hydrogen due to its extremely inflammable nature. However, now researchers at IIT Madras have developed a technology that extracts hydrogen from seawater. Whats different with their approach is that hydrogen can be produced on-demand, without the need arising of actually storing it. The reason people prefer hydrogen and call it the fuel of the future because unlike gasoline or diesel, its combustion doesnt release carbon dioxide. According to Abdul Malek from the Department of Chemistry (in a conversation with PTI), "As the hydrogen can be produced at the point of use on-demand, safety issues associated with the storage and transportation of hydrogen is avoided. The solid starting materials can be transported from one place to another place very conveniently. This bypasses the transportation bottleneck associated with hydrogen sector," According to the researchers, the production of hydrogen can be tuned to the application, without the need for heat, electricity or even sunlight. Moreover, it is scalable to all kinds of sectors including automotive, aviation etc. Seawater passes through a machine, from one compartment to another, and the rate of water addition can be altered depending on the environment. Conventional hydrogen extraction machines need temperatures going as high as 1000 degrees celsius with a 25 bar pressure. However, the technology developed by IIT Madras does this in room temperature with 1 bar pressure. Reuters Malek further added, "Our current estimates indicate that the cost is likely comparable to the available prices -- things could change with scale. However, the key selling point is enhanced safety, and elimination of point-of-use environmental pollution. Malek along with researcher Tiju Thomas, Associate professor at IIT Madras and his team is working on a way to create a hydrogen system that can be used in vehicles. The United Nations (UN) has reportedly urged members of the crypto community not to go to an international conference to be held in North Korea next month. News agency Reuters, which has seen an upcoming report by UN sanctions officials, reports that attendees of the conference, which will take place in capital Pyongyang between February 22 and 29, are likely to violate UN sanctions. The warning comes after former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith was arrested last year for allegedly assisting North Korea to evade international monetary sanctions. Last week, he was formally indicted in New York for conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Griffith, 36, was apprehended upon his return from a cryptocurrency conference in North Korea. If Griffith is convicted, he faces a maximum jail term of 20 years. Virgil Griffith North Korea Sanctions Evasion USA Ethereum Former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith While Griffith claims he was in North Korea to deliver a conference speech, FBI investigators have accused the 36-year-old developer of helping North Korea to learn technical aspects of blockchain technology. The US Attorneys Office for the SDNY gave a statement in December 2019 claiming Griffith had been formally warned on more than one occasion not to travel to the secretive Asian state, which officials described as one of the United States foremost adversaries. North Korea is attempting to exploit cryptocurrencies to get around US sanctions, and hackers from the country are believed to be behind a rash of crypto crimes. Since the beginning of 2019, North Korean agents have reportedly attempted five major cyber-thefts worldwide, including a successful $49 million theft from an institution in Kuwait. Kim Jong-uns regime recently angrily denied North Korea has been using an army of hackers to siphon off $2 billion from the worlds crypto exchanges and banks. The post UN warns against North Korea crypto conference appeared first on Coin Rivet. A journalist's tools: Pen, paper, coffee | Photo: Adobe Stock With colored pencils and sharpies scattered across a table, residents of Germantown, a majority-African American neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia, narrated images they had drawn as part of a focus group discussion. On one side of a paper, where several had made line drawings of police cars or guns, participants had drawn how they felt their community was represented in local news media. You see somebodys [mother] in a bonnet or a rag crying or fighting, Angela[1] explained of her picture. It seems like when I do turn on the news, its always something negative being reported, whether it be about the schools or about the communities.[2] On the other side of the paper, Angela and others drew how they wanted their community to be represented. Angela explained that she wanted the news to offer a fuller portrait of the neighborhoodpositive, negative, people working together to show a real representation of what this neighborhood is instead of scaring people to a pulp. Angelas words resonated with a previous study in which other residents of this neighborhood told us they felt stigmatized by negative coverageand that crime was overreported while many issues of substance received superficial coverage, if any. Initiatives to address these deficits sprouted up, and we returned to Germantown to find out whether and how these programs, had the potential to improve relationships between residents and local newsrooms. In this study, we focused on two interventions. First, we looked at NPR affiliate WHYY. As part of a larger initiative to build the cultural competency of their newsroom, the station held community workshops and meetings between staff reporters and community leaders. We also looked at the Germantown Info Hub, an engaged-research and community journalism project we helped to facilitate in response to recommendations that emerged from our previous study. This project was in a pilot phase during this study. It included a combination of community reporting, face-to-face tabling and mobile texting, and community discussions. The latter also involved WHYY. We explored whether either intervention could change how residents perceived media coverage of their community. We also explored what residents meant when they talked about trust in local news, and how they thought about coverage they perceived to be intended for their neighborhood as opposed to coverage about their community intended for broader metro-wide audiences. Sign up for CJR 's daily email To address these questions, we held five longitudinal focus groups, in which we followed a group of 19 residents over eight months.[3] We were curious whether participants were encountering the two interventions on their own in the wild, and whether exposure to the content over time affected participants perceptions. For this reason, we sent half of the participants updates on programming from these interventions a story covering Germantown, or a community workshopas part of a regular email, which also contained other local news stories about Germantown. The other participants did not receive these updates. At the focus groups, we invited participants to reflect on news stories about Germantown, including examples from Germantown Info Hub and WHYY. In these discussions, we found an overall enthusiasm for efforts to strengthen connections between local newsrooms and communities, as well as a number of areas where ongoing efforts needed improvement. Nowhere to go but up? In our initial discussions, when the interventions were just getting underway, we attempted to learn how residents perceived local news coverage of Germantown. As Angelas comments suggested, their assessment was grim. When participants expressed distrust or dissatisfaction with local coverage, they generally talked about some combination of three factors: perceived accuracy, respectful representation, and the perceived motives of the journalist or outlet.[4] Participants complained that reporters lacked an awareness of place and still seemed to make negative assumptions about Germantown. In one group, participants said that whenever something bad happened on Germantown Avenue, which runs through multiple neighborhoods, journalists reported that it happened in Germantown whether or not it was true.[5] At the same time, another participant said, Anything good that happens in Germantown, they call [it] Mt. Airy (an adjacent, more affluent neighborhood). Others worried that exclusively negative coverage distorted the communitys reputation: If I didnt know any better and I was listening to that story, I would think that all of Germantown was a giant blighted area, said one.[6] These observations were often followed by speculation that journalists had a dishonorable agenda. As one participant put it, It might be a conspiracy theory but I believe that the media has some agenda on some level to keep certain neighborhoods value high and other neighborhoods value low.[7] Participants said that they saw some coverage as about but not for local residents. During a discussion of a televised news story about Germantown, one focus group participant said the story seemed to be meant for everyone else. I think its the rest of the city saying oh wow, something really awful happened again in Germantown, the participant said.[8] Perceptions of public radio When conversations shifted from a local journalism generally to specific outlets, perspectives varied more. We were especially interested in how residents viewed WHYY, because the station was planning community engagement activities in Germantown and other neighborhoods. As participants shared their sources for local news, several mentioned WHYY. A few said coverage on WHYY was unbiased. As one participant put it, I dont have to question whether or not the narrative is true.[9] Some relied on WHYY for local news, but others turned to the station mostly for its national news coverage. One participant complained that WHYY rarely covered stories about their part of the region: We hear a lot more about whats going on the Main Line (an area of the suburbs) or like outside of Philadelphia, or just like downtown and Center City. So, I dont really trust that as like my local news source.[10] Without knowing what newsroom produced it, the group listened to a WHYY story about housing in Germantown . The response was mixed:. several said they appreciated the story and assessed the motives of the journalists favorably: It just felt like they wanted the person that was listening to be informed. It wasnt like a sway this way or that way, said one.[11] But because the story was about an issue with which many participants were familiar, they were critical of the storys details. One participant noted that the story did not mention the name of someone they saw as key: It wasnt very accurate. I mean, Im very close to all the information and so its just one side of how theyre telling the story.[12] In another group, participants suggested the storys tone was not pulling us in: I probably wouldnt have listened to the whole thing. I think it would have been like blah, blah, blah, blah, okay, got it, and then I would have been done. I dont think I would have had much patience for it. I was starting to fade in and out.[13] Another member of the group suggested that the story needed some kind of a hook so that I understand what it means to me. Outreach and intervention After our first round of focus groups, we observed efforts to connect local journalists and Germantown residentsand we emailed participants announcements for some of these events. As part of WHYYs cultural competency project, the station held workshops where residents developed personal stories with the help of a professional trainer. These sessions were small and did not necessarily result in stories distributed by WHYY. But they took place between WHYY engagement staff and Germantown residents in Germantownrather than WHYY inviting residents to come to WHYYs studios in Center City. The storytelling sessions did not involve WHYY reporting staff. The stations reporters were involved in two other initiatives. First, as a follow-up to a training on culturally competent sourcing practices, reporters and editors met with community organization representatives and advocates. Then too, the WHYY staffers came to Germantown, meeting at the Black Writers Museum, a local cultural institution. Community representatives recommended reporters build relationships within the community and spend more time there. Reporters asked community leaders for a list of sources; the leaders refused, saying that the reporters needed to build trust first. Additionally, WHYY participated in community discussions organized by the Germantown Info Hub, a community journalism project (which we co-facilitate with a project team and community advisory group) that seeks to improve the circulation of hyperlocal news in Germantown, and to offer fuller narratives of the community. These objectives grew out of our previous engaged research. The Info Hub puts at least as much emphasis on community outreach, organizing, and dialogue as it does on publishing stories. The project was just beginning during the period of this study. With the Info Hub, we invited participants to discuss WHYYs coverage of a plan to redesign a commercial corridor in Germantown, and the topic of redevelopment itself. Community members talked in small groups with reporters and editors from WHYY, where they offered feedback on the story and suggestions for follow-up. The group criticized WHYYs overreliance on the same sources. The reporter admitted to contacting a particular source frequently because she gave good quotes, and community members objected, saying it was important to them to hear from a greater range of people, including those who may be less accustomed to speaking in soundbites. Editors said they hoped to build relationships with community members that would expand their interactions with potential sources. Community feedback on stories Half of our participants received monthly emails sharing stories about Germantown, and, when available, announcements of WHYY or Info Hub community discussions or storytelling events. All participants were invited back for a second round of focus group discussions. This time, before getting into specific stories and their recommendations, we invited participants to draw images representing a few local news outletsincluding WHYY. Its a terrible drawing, Robert said of his drawing of WHYY. I drew the world, and theres pathways going out with a question mark. This is like a funnel which widens, which is how I feel my mind widens and my thought process widens, and I want to know more. I want to ask questions, and I want to hear more.[14] Robert was critical of his drawing skill, but his description could have come straight from a WHYY mission statement. Interestingly, Robert was not in the group that had received updates about WHYY stories or events. We found a mix of views about WHYY in both the groups that received updates and those who did not: Others in Roberts control group said they rarely listened to the radio, and suggested a need for more community outreach. Some African American respondents doubted WHYY (which many just referred to as NPR) would connect effectively with other African Americanseven though they themselves listened regularly. In the group that received emails including WHYY stories and announcements, a few said they only knew WHYY televisionSesame Street, in particular. Others in the group associated WHYY with more intellectual conversations or commentary.[15]Overall, perceptions of WHYY were more positive than negative, though participants were less likely to mention its local coverage, and did not reference its community outreach. Both groups had nuanced responses to a set of sample articles written as a result of community engagement efforts at WHYY and the Germantown Info Hub. The articles, one about the redevelopment initiative (by WHYY) and another about an initiative to open a new vegan grocery store (by the Info Hub) were presented without attribution to a newsroom. Overall, participants responded more favorably to the new set of stories than they had to stories presented in the earlier round which had included a television story about a crime, but also a WHYY story about housing management in Germantown that predated any community outreach. Participants were more likely to say the stories in the second round of focus groups were aimed at residents. While overall references to trustworthiness factors were more positive, participants did raise concerns in this round of discussions.In particular, they focused more on accuracy and respectful representation, and less on the perceived motives of the journalists. One participant saw WHYYs story as straight to the point and appreciated that they interviewed people who actually live in Germantown.[16] Another participant appreciated historical context in the piece about white flight and capital flight, and their continued toll on the community.[17] In another group, a participant called the same story an opinion-based article that was essentially their view of the history.[18] Participants largely expressed satisfaction that the stories represented the community where we are right now,[19] but there was an acute sensitivity to even the slightest hint of stigma. In the Info Hub story about a new vegan grocery store, the reporters mentioned that EBT (electronic benefits transfer, commonly used for WIC and SNAP means-tested food benefits) was accepted. Some participants bristled at the mention of this early in the story: Participant 5: Well Im not sure why thats so high up, so early in the article to talk about kinds of forms of payment theyll accept. That seemed kind of strange to me. I would think that would be something at the end of the article Im like why did he mention it so early? Participant 2: And you know, honestly and you look at a couple of things youre saying, well, why? What are they trying to say? Participant 5: Right, right. Right. Participant 2: Everybody in Germantown is on EBT, you know, what are they trying to say? Here, prominent reporting on the stores desire to welcome EBT suggested to some participants the implication that all Germantowners were receiving government food benefits. This was not the only time participants expressed ambivalence about solutions-oriented stories they felt were not unambiguously positive. Responding to WHYYs story about redevelopment plans for a commercial corridor, some participants were displeased that the story detailed previously stalled plans: I think the story gives a mixed message. I cant figure out if its meant to be a positive, that something really good is about to happen to bring this magnificent spot back to life, because theres so much focus on the negative, what happened to it. So, I understand they need to tell both sides of the story, but its a little bit of a mixed bag for me.[20] The same participant raised a similar concern with the Info Hub story about the vegan grocer: They seem to take a positive and find a way to introduce a little bit of negative whenever Germantown is mentioned. This concerned her because of Germantowns portrayal in the broader media: We talked about that in the last session when it was, you know, a crime. You know, its like any criminal act that occurs within a 10-mile radius of Germantown becomes Germantown. So, its like you cant just put out something really good and positive and let it be without introducing all these bad elements. Here, the standard reporting practice of seeking out multiple perspectives on an event, was seen through the prism of the neighborhoods stigmatization. For residents subscribing to this viewpoint, even solutions journalismthat is, reporting on responses to social problemscan fall short of their desire to see counter-narratives. Groups like the Solutions Journalism Network are quick to distinguish solutions journalism from good news journalism and emphasize the need for rigor and a discussion of the limitations of a response to a problem. But for some Germantown residents, a history of press participation in stigmatizing narratives about the community has left them hungry for unambiguously positive reporting. In the same group, we asked participants if they also saw a need for reporting about a neighborhoods problems: Participant 2: Sure, sure. Participant 3: Absolutely. Participant 2: You have to be informed. You cant be in la-la-land. One participant said she appreciated that a community paper from East Falls, a nearby neighborhood, had posted notices of break-ins or other crimes, and notices to look out for criminals posing as repairmen. For her, this was useful information, but another participant pointed out that it was different providing this kind of information about a less stigmatized neighborhood. When you think of East Falls, you dont automatically think crime, the second participant said. This person argued that, because the dominant narrative about Germantown centered on crime, media should be responsible to promote other aspects of the community. Another participant agreed saying that, for most problems, there were people in the community trying to solve them. He wanted articles to feature more calls to action: At the end of the article you can say, heres how you get involved. Repeatedly, participants outlined a role for community coverage that was more advocate for the community than distant, objective observer. Community feedback on interventions Despite these criticisms, participants responded very favorably when they learned about WHYYs and the Germantown Info Hubs outreach efforts. (Notably, almost no one said they had heard of these initiativesnot even the participants who had been getting email notices.) As one participant put it, I think one of the biggest complaints against media is that theyre not serving their local communities. But when youre making an active effort to go out and add the community and get their input on how the news is written, delivered, I think its great.[21] Another participant in the same group agreed, replying that seeking community input showed the media being sensitive for once, and that this would help to ensure that everyone is accurate.[22] Overall, participants believed these projects would help to improve trustworthiness factors, such as perceived accuracy, perceived motivations, and representation. But they also had a number of reservations about the limitations of the initiatives. Several participants suggested that they were unlikely to invest their energy in a project working to change narratives about the community if practical and concrete results did not come out of it. One participant was skeptical: Things like storytelling, I dont necessarily know that that would appeal to me. Maybe something more like job trainings storytelling is cool, but job training someone looking to get help on job placement or even something as simple as a GED isnt necessarily looking towards storytelling.[23] This skepticism was not universal. Another participant in their group suggested that the information gathered and shared by these projects could act as a kind of first step which could then be used to help inform more concrete activity that they would be more interested in participating in.[24] Participants also offered feedback on some of the tactics the outreach projects used. Several people mentioned that when they saw groups tabling in public spacessetting up a table with the projects name and information and trying to interact with people thereit made them feel defensive: Participant 3: When you see someone sitting at a table, what do you want from me? Participant 5: Yeah, its like a sales thing. Participant 3: Its like, are you selling cookies? You know, do you want me to buy magazines? Maybe people find that a little bit off putting.[25] One participant suggested that as an alternative, newsrooms could partner with groups that already have the trust of the community and join one of their meetings: You know, one of these local groups is having their monthly meeting or whatever and, on the agenda, or just in the back of the room, Were tabling for Germantown Info Hub. Stop by and give your opinion on blah, blah, blah.[26] Another person said they had seen an announcement about the Germantown Info Hub tabling on social media, but if you arent familiar with what the Info Hub is and what you mean by tabling, a lot of people may not get that.[27] She suggested that it may be more effective to offer more explanation and ask people to share opinions about a specific topic of concern in the community, such as gentrification. Takeaways and recommendations This study examined how residents of a neighborhood responded to two nascent efforts to build stronger relationships between their community and local media. For both the WHYY outreach efforts and the Germantown Info Hub, participants offered a combination of encouraging reflections, critiques that at times conflicted with one another, and important recommendations. In both cases, participants appreciated efforts that brought journalists and community members closer together. They suggested that, by spending more time hearing community perspectives, journalists would be motivated in ways that were more constructive to that community, and write coverage that was more accurate and respectful in its representationall key trustworthiness factors. Many participants expressed a desire for news media to play a role that diverges from traditional journalism norms of objectivity. They expressed expectations that journalism for the community should champion the community and be selective in its criticism of neighborhoods with a history of stigmatizing coverage. Participants also shared a desire for news and information that offered pathways to action and concrete ways to address community issues. While both projects were in their pilot stages, both suffered from a lack of awareness among residentsincluding those who had seen some of the articles they produced. This suggests journalists cannot assume brand recognition based on news stories alone. Initiatives must find multiple channels to build relationships with communities over time. These and similar projects would benefit from recommendations offered by participants. In particular, rather than attempting direct cold outreach via tactics like tabling in public spaces, initiatives may have greater success collaborating with existing community organizations and making presentations or tabling at their gatherings. his requires a prior step of establishing shared expectations and trust between community groups and media initiatives. It also requires media outlets to understand the local context enough to know how organizations are perceived by different sectors of the community. But when approached with care, this process offers the initiatives a degree of trust by proxy. It also helps to strengthen what communication infrastructure theory (CIT) calls storytelling network ties between community groups and local mediasomething CIT argues is needed for healthy local communication infrastructures. Finally, though it may be challenging, such initiatives would do well to offer participants more actionable information and opportunities, beyond storytelling, in order to address the concrete needs of community members. Journalism projects fear being perceived as advocatesbut, again, community organizations may offer a key. Community journalism projects can act as gatherers of information and as conveners of various groups that can work with residents to address local issues. Journalists cannot become service providers, but they can use the power and resources they have to connect residents to resources and to each other. WHYY and the Germantown Info Hub both continue to grapple with the issues raised in these focus group discussions. WHYY seeks to apply lessons learned from its outreach efforts to neighborhoods across Philadelphiaan ambitious, but needed, challenge. Meanwhile, the Germantown Info Hub is moving from its pilot phase to a more regular project, with a dedicated project team that includes a community journalist and an organizer. We will continue to follow the project as it seeks to build upon these findings and to grow into a sustainable resource for the neighborhood. [1] All names of participants have been changed or omitted. [2] Angela, focus group discussion 7/16/18 [3] From July 2018 to March 2019 [4] These align with an adaptation of what Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman (1995) call trustworthiness factors. [5] focus group discussion 7/17/19 [6] Participant G, focus group discussion 7/17/19 [7] Participant F, focus group discussion 7/17/19 [8] Participant D, focus group discussion 7/17/19 [9] Participant 6, focus group discussion 7/16/18071618 [10] focus group discussion 7/30/18 [11] focus group discussion 7/16/18 [12] Participant C, focus group discussion 7/17/19 [13] Participant C, focus group discussion 7/30/18 [14] Robert, focus group discussion 3/14/19 [15] focus group discussion 3/12/19 [16] Participant 2, focus group discussion 3/14/19 [17] focus group discussion 3/14/19 [18] Participant 1, focus group discussion 3/12/19 [19] Participant 3 focus group discussion 3/12/19 [20] Participant 3 focus group discussion 3/12/19 [21] Participant 4 focus group discussion 3/12/19 [22] Participant 2 focus group discussion 3/12/19 [23] Participant 1 focus group discussion 3/12/19 [24] focus group discussion 3/12/19 [25]focus group discussion 3/12/19 [26] focus group discussion 3/12/19 [27] Participant 3 focus group discussion 3/12/19 Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Andrea Wenzel and Letrell Deshan Crittenden are fellows for the Tow Center and co-facilitate the Germantown Info Hub project. Wenzel is an assistant professor at Temple University where her research focuses on initiatives to create more connected and inclusive communities through engaged journalism and solutions journalism. Crittenden is program director and assistant professor of communication at Thomas Jefferson University where his research focuses on issues related to diversity and inclusion in media, and community and engaged journalism. A devastated mother has shared a heartbreaking photograph of her twins, 3, kissing after one was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. It comes as Fox Parkin, from Plymouth, Devon, is separated from his sister Winter for the first time for cancer treatment following his Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia (APL) diagnosis. The disease - which affects just 200 people annually in the UK, according to charity Bloodwise - is a type of blood cancer which attacks the immune system. Parents Holly and Tom Parkin, thought little of it when their little boy came down with tonsillitis in October 2019 - but his symptoms returned despite receiving antibiotics. On Christmas Day, hairdresser Holly, 35, noticed a worrying rash coating the back of his legs and whisked him to nearby Derriford Hospital, where blood tests revealed that he had APL. A devastated mother has shared a heartbreaking photograph (seen above) of her twins, 3, kissing after one was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia Fox now faces months of gruelling treatment and is being parted from his beloved twin, Winter, for the first time. Holly, whose husband, Tom, 36, works in mobile advertising, said: 'As you would expect, we were utterly heartbroken by the diagnosis. No child should go through that. 'One comfort through all of this has been people's overwhelming generosity. I don't know what we'd have done without the charity CLIC Sargent. They have given us a room to stay in near the hospital and free taxis. 'Not having to worry about these kind of things on top of everything else has been incredibly helpful. Before this, I never even knew the charity existed, but I am so grateful for their support.' Until now, Fox and Winter, who turned three on 3 January, were happy, healthy twins, who always bounced back quickly from childhood bugs, according to Holly. It comes as Fox Parkin, from Plymouth, Devon, is separated from his sister Winter (pictured together) for the first time for cancer treatment following his Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia (APL) diagnosis But when Fox developed tonsillitis in October 2019 an inflammation of the tonsils, which can feel like a bad cold, or flu everything changed and, in December, it returned with a vengeance. 'I thought maybe Fox was going to be one of those poor kids who gets tonsillitis all the time,' she said. 'How I wish that was true.' Going back to the GP, Fox was given a fresh prescription of antibiotics but this time, they did not work, even when the dosage was upped. Then, when his temperature kept spiking, Holly called 111 the non-emergency number for the NHS and was given an out-of-hours appointment. 'That was on a Friday night,' she said. 'They told us to stick with it over the weekend and come back if he wasn't any better. By that point, Fox hadn't eaten properly in almost a week, so had lost lots of weight too.' Parents Holly and Tom Parkin, thought little of it when their little boy (pictured) came down with tonsillitis in October 2019 - but his symptoms returned despite receiving antibiotics When Monday arrived, thankfully, Fox appeared to have turned a corner, seeming a little more himself. And a few days later, on Christmas Day, he woke seeming perfectly happy and excited to open his presents with his sister. But soon things took a turn for the worse. 'Winter and Fox got scooters for Christmas and we said we'd all go to the park so they could play with them,' said Holly. 'Fox was getting changed out of his pyjamas when I noticed a rash on his legs that wasn't blanching. Straight away, my brain said, 'meningitis,' as I knew a rash could be a telltale sign.' Phoning 111 again, she arranged to go to Derriford Hospital, where doctors did not think he had meningitis, but agreed that he was very unwell. On Christmas Day, hairdresser Holly, 35, noticed a worrying rash coating the back of his legs and whisked Fox (pictured) to hospital, where blood tests revealed that he had APL 'They ran blood tests, but said it would be a few hours before the results were back,' Holly recalled. 'So, we went home to start our Christmas dinner and pass the time but within an hour, my phone was ringing with the doctors telling us to come back to hospital. With how quickly they'd called, I knew it wasn't going to be good.' Back at Derriford, medics explained that Fox had an abnormally low blood cell count and would require a transfusion. 'At that point, we still needed the full blood results before we could work out exactly what was going on,' explained Holly. So, Tom popped home to get some things, as it looked as if one of us would stay overnight with Fox. 'After he left, a consultant came over to ask where he was, saying they would wait until he was back to talk to us both. Fox now faces months of gruelling treatment and is being parted from his beloved twin, Winter (pictured together), for the first time Holly, whose husband, Tom (pictured together), 36, works in mobile advertising, said: 'As you would expect, we were utterly heartbroken by the diagnosis' 'I knew then it wasn't good news, but when Tom returned and we were led into this side room with tissues and sofas, my heart sank.' Doctors told the devoted parents that Fox had leukaemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. WHAT IS ACUTE PROMYELOCYTIC LEUKAEMIA? Leukaemia is cancer of the white blood cells. Acute leukaemia means the condition progresses rapidly and aggressively, requiring immediate treatment. Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APML) is a rare form of the Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), the form of the disease which affects the myeloid cells. APML accounts for around 10 -15 per cent of all cases of AML. The myleloid cells perform a number of different functions, such as fighting bacterial infections, defending the body against parasites and preventing the spread of tissue damage. In APML a change in a specific chromosome leads to a changes in white blood cells called Promyelocyte cells, which means they do not progress to maturity. This leads to a bleeding disorder due to abnormal clotting. The symptoms include pale skin, tiredness, breathlessness, frequent infections, and unusual and frequent bleeding, such as bleeding gums or nosebleeds. The main treatment for AML is chemotherapy, which is used to kill as many leukaemia cells in your body as possible and reduce the risk of the condition coming back (relapsing). In some cases, intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy may be needed, in combination with a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, to achieve a cure. Studies have shown that people with acute promyeloid leukaemia (APML), around 85 per cent will live for at least five years with treatment. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement After a night on the high dependency unit, he was transferred to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children for a bone marrow biopsy, to determine exactly what form of the disease he had. 'Up until that moment we held on to the hope that doctors could be wrong, that Fox may not have what they said he did,' said Holly. 'But the results showed that he had a form of leukaemia called APL. It's very rare. The hospital told us they hadn't seen a case themselves in years.' According to cancer charity Bloodwise, APL can affect any age group, but is less common in children under 10, and treatment, which begins immediately, is usually based on a combination of chemotherapy and other drugs. Fox began with a drug called all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), given orally as a capsule twice a day, before starting a course of arsenic trioxide - an effective treatment for APL, which works by speeding up the death of leukemic cells and encouraging normal blood cells to develop properly. 'He had it intravenously for two hours a day, five days in a row, then he had a break,' said Holly. Now, he's having it twice a week for seven weeks.' Currently, Fox is in what is known as the induction phase of treatment, which aims to destroy as many cancerous cells as possible. This will last for seven more weeks, after which he will move on to the consolidation phase, when treatment is made stronger to stop the disease coming back. After being struck down by a number of infections, the little boy's immune system is virtually non-existent, meaning his parents must be very careful about who they allow to visit him in hospital - which, heartbreakingly, means he has been parted from Winter for the first time in his life. 'She came up for their birthday on 3 January, but we want to keep things as normal as possible for her. She knows her brother is in the big hospital to make him better, but I'm not sure she understands exactly what that means,' said Holly. 'They'd never spent a night apart before this, so it's been really hard.' Because Holly and Tom are both self-employed, taking time off work to care for Fox (pictured) could also pose some financial difficulties so, to help, they set up a GoFundMe page, and were blown away when donations began to flood in Because Holly and Tom are both self-employed, taking time off work to care for Fox could also pose some financial difficulties so, to help, they set up a GoFundMe page, and were blown away when donations began to flood in. Setting a humble 500 target, the page has now raised more than 6,000. 'People have been so incredibly kind,' added Holly. 'We've been told that the first eight weeks are crucial, so we really need to be with Fox. 'Even if we weren't at hospital, we wouldn't be in the emotional head space to work. People's generosity has really helped take the pressure off. It'll mean things like all the travel to and from Bristol won't be as stressful.' Holly has now chosen to speak out about their experience to thank the kind friends and strangers who have donated, as well as the charities Bloodwise and CLIC Sargent for providing invaluable support. She concluded: 'Bloodwise do all the research and science, so without them, we wouldn't have the knowledge and the treatments we need to help Fox. And CLIC Sargent have been absolutely amazing. 'We're still in the phase where it doesn't feel real, but having so much support around us is such a comfort.' For more information visit CLIC Sargent and Bloodwise and to donate visit GoFundMe. The second-largest diamond ever discovered thought to be worth around 38million is to be turned into Louis Vuitton jewellery. London-listed mining company Lucara uncovered the 1,758-carat rough diamond in an open-pit mine in Botswana last April. It was named Sewelo, which means 'rare find' in the local Setswana language. But instead of being snapped up by one of the market's usual buyers, such as De Beers or Graff, the giant stone will go to fashion house Louis Vuitton, better known for its handbags and shoes. Louis Vuitton say the stone's 'full potential' will only be revealed after it has been polished. The 1,758-carat Sewelo diamond will be used to create a collection of fine jewellery Marcel Pruwer, former president of the Antwerp Diamond Exchange, said: 'There are less than ten people in the world who would know what to do with a stone like that or how to cut it, and be able to put the money on the table to buy it.' He believes the Sewelo stone could be worth around 38million, although it is still in rough form so its quality is not yet known. The stone took the title of second-largest in history, replacing the previous holder of that position - a 1,111-carat diamond, called Lesedi La Rona, that was found in the same Botswana mine. That diamond went on to sell for $53 million to luxury jeweler Graff Diamonds in 2017. The only larger diamond ever found was the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond (right), unearthed in 1905 in South Africa. It was eventually cut into smaller stones with two of the high-quality diamonds - one of 530.4 carats and one 317.4 - both now part of the British crown jewels (left) The only larger diamond ever found was the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, unearthed in 1905 in South Africa. It was eventually cut into smaller stones with two of the high-quality diamonds - one of 530.4 carats and one 317.4 - both now part of the British crown jewels. The move by Louis Vuitton, whose jewellery has been modelled by Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner, is a further sign of its parent company's efforts to dominate the luxury goods market. Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of Louis Vuitton's owner LVMH, bagged iconic US jeweller Tiffany in a 12billion deal last year. Louis Vuitton jewellery has been modelled by Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner Michael Burke, chairman and chief executive of Louis Vuitton, said jewellery was the 'biggest potential we have right now' and was 'one of the highest-growth categories'. Louis Vuitton, founded in Paris in 1854, has form in the jewellery market. Designer Marc Jacobs created the brand's first piece, a $20,000 charm bracelet featuring diamond-studded planes, in 2001. When the time comes for Louis Vuitton to cut up and polish the enormous Sewelo stone, it could also sell the diamonds to a number of other LVMH brands. It also owns Bulgari, historic French jeweller Chaumet and more modern brand Fred. Greece encouraged Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar to be constructive at an upcoming conference in Berlin to try end the war over Tripoli, its foreign minister said on Friday after meeting the commander in Athens, Trend with reference to Reuters reports. We encouraged the commander to take part with a constructive spirit in Berlins procedure and try ... to achieve a ceasefire and the restoration of safety in Libya, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias told reporters after the meeting. He said Athens should have been a participant in the Berlin conference on Libya on Sunday. The year 2020 is proving to be an exciting one on the trade front. This week, the much-awaited initial phase of the U.S.-China trade agreement was signed by the two countries and the U.S. Senate gave a green signal to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which now awaits President Donald Trumps signature. Mutual fund investors who wish to make the most of these trade deals would find it prudent to invest in a couple of funds that are set to gain ahead. U.S.-Chinas Initial Deal is Promising On Jan 15, Trump signed the first stage of the U.S.-China trade deal, which indicated a truce between the two countries. The trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, which started in mid-2018 is finally anticipated to be nearing a closure, beginning with the deal signed this week. Chinese vice premier Liu He joined Trump at the White House to sign the dealin the East Room. This initial deal boosts Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural, manufacturing and other products, and comprises enforcement mechanisms. China has promised to raise its purchases of U.S. goods and services by $200 billion over a period of two years. Agricultural purchases account for $32 billion of a total of $200 billion, and consist of oilseeds, meat, cotton and other commodities. Although tariffs on about $360 billion of Chinese products are still intact, the signed pact slashes U.S. tariffs to 7.5% on around $120 billion in Chinese imports, which is a promising start. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC that the United States will take proportionate actions if China doesnt abide by its commitments and defended the Presidents use of import tariffs to push Beijing for negotiation. U.S. Senate Approves USMCA In addition to the trade agreement with China, a trade deal with the United States biggest trade partners could be on its way. On Jan 16, the U.S. Senateoverwhelmingly approved the USMCA, sending across the agreement to Trump for approval. The Senates nod came after a 385-41 vote in the House of Representatives in December. Story continues This new agreement changes the trading rules between the countries. It includes details such as how much of an automobile must be manufactured in North America to trade vehicles duty-free, more penetration into Canadas dairy market and easier unionization for Mexican workers. 3 Funds to Set Eyes On We have, therefore, selected three mutual funds that carry a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and invest in companies that could gain from the aforementioned trade agreements. Specifically, investors could find consumer staples and industrial products mutual funds enticing at present. In addition, the minimum initial investment for these funds is within $5,000. We expect these funds to outperform their peers in the future. Remember, the goal of the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is to guide investors to identify potential winners and losers. Unlike most of the fund-rating systems, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is not just focused on past performance but also on the likely future success of the fund. The question here is why should investors consider mutual funds? Reduced transaction costs and diversification of portfolio without several commission charges that are associated with stock purchases are primarily why one should be parking money in mutual funds (read more: Mutual Funds: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How They Make Investors Money). Fidelity Advisor Consumer Staples Fund Class A FDAGX aims for capital growth. The fund invests the majority of its assets in securities of companies mostly engaged in the manufacture, marketing or distribution of consumer staples. The non-diversified fund invests primarily in common stocks and may invest in U.S. and non-U.S. companies alike. This Zacks sector Other product has a history of positive total returns for more than 10 years. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other 1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here. FDAGX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 and has an annual expense ratio of 1.05%, which is below the category average of 1.19%. It has returned 31.4% over the period of a year. FDAGX has no minimum initial investment. Fidelity Select Chemicals Portfolio FSCHX funds seeks capital appreciation. The fund usually invests a majority of its assets in common stocks of companies primarily engaged in the research, development, manufacture or marketing of products or services related to the chemical process industries. The non-diversified fund invests in both U.S. and non-U.S. issuers. This Zacks sector Other product has a history of positive total returns for more than 10 years. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other 1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here. FSCHX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 and has an annual expense ratio of 0.77%, which is below the category average of 1.36%. It has returned 8.2% over the period of a year. FSCHX has no minimum initial investment. Fidelity Select Industrials Portfolio FCYIX aims for capital growth. The fund invests the majority of its assets in companies that manufacture, supply or sell industrial products, services or equipment. The non-diversified fund invests mostly in common stocks and may invest in U.S. and non-U.S. companies alike. This Zacks sector Other product has a history of positive total returns for more than 10 years. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other 1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here. FCYIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2 and has an annual expense ratio of 0.76%, which is below the category average of 1.10%. It has returned 28% over the period of a year. FCYIX has no minimum initial investment. Want key mutual fund info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing mutual funds, each week. Get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (FSCHX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (FDAGX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (FCYIX): Fund Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. China and the U.S. officially signed the phase-one economic and trade agreement in the White House on Jan. 15, 2020 local time. The high-level signing ceremony was witnessed by over 200 executives and accompanied by lasting applauses, which signaled the aspiration for a truce of the trade war. It is recognized that this result is a step forward to a solution that conforms to the common interests of both China and the U.S., and benefits the world peace and prosperity. The active responses given by the international market on Dec. 13, 2019, when the two countries declared they have agreed on the text of a phase one economic and trade agreement, are still remembered today. It demonstrated the excitement of the enterprises and markets of both countries. A U.S. official even described that the agreement amounts to "probably the most momentous day in trade history ever." In contrast, before the message was released, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva of International Monetary Fund (IMF) cited Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin to describe the global economy in last October, saying "The breath of autumn begins to ice the roadway". That's why she hailed that China and the U.S. have reached a strong trade deal at the signing ceremony of the phase-one trade deal. China-U.S. trade relations had an unusual experience in the recent two years. The two countries went through confrontations and signs of reconciliation, which worried the international society and created uncertainties for the global economy. The public, from both China and the U.S., as well as the rest of the world, are in urgent demands of a global supply chain and a global value chain that run virtuously. They anticipate the general trend of economic globalization to bring prosperity. How to conform to and lead this trend has become the most important responsibility of the largest two economies of the world. To stop the trade war, both parties must meet each other halfway and manage disputes. Great philosopher Mencius in ancient China said, "Things are born to be different."China and the U.S. differ in history, culture, tradition, social system, and development path and phase. To treat the differences in an objective and rational manner, to explore the significance of mutual learning and common progress dialectically, and to profoundly comprehend the importance of cooperation remain the only right choice for the two countries. To blaze a trail of win-win results and seek common ground while shelving differences calls for remarkable strategic vision and political wisdom. Since 2018, the heads of state of both China and the U.S. have held two meetings and had seven phone calls, building consensus, setting principles and guiding the direction for solving the China-U.S. economic and trade issue. Under the guidance of the consensus reached between the two heads of state, the two countries held 13 rounds of high-level economic and trade consultations. The chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue had over 20 phone calls with U.S. Trade Representative and Treasury Secretary. It was an arduous progress, during which China had always stayed rational and calm and responded from the perspective of the common interests of both parties as well as the world trade order despite rains and storms. China has observed the principle of resolving disputes through dialogue and consultation, and answered the U.S. concerns with the greatest level of patience and good faith. The Chinese side has been dealing with these differences with an attitude of seeking common ground while shelving divergence. It has overcome many difficulties and proposed practical solutions. The trade deal is a hard-won result coming from alternative fights and talks, as well as setbacks - a process during which China and the U.S. have seen each other's resolutions and capabilities. Only by guiding practices with correct philosophy can the two countries be worthy of the efforts they have made. To be objective, the phase-one economic and trade deal manifests the concerns of both China and the U.S., and is reached based on the principle of equality and mutual respect. The trade deal proves that win-win cooperation is a mainstream that China and the U.S. must stick to during economic and trade cooperation. As long as they always respect each other's national dignity, sovereignty and core interests, they can overcome the difficulties as they march forward. To obey the agreement helps China and the U.S. expand trade cooperation, especially the optimization of resources and the restructuring of economy. It will also project a more stable expectation for both Chinese and U.S. enterprises, as well as global investors. This represents the common interests of global producers, consumers and investors. China-U.S. economic and trade relations went from the historic handshake between late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and late U.S. President Richard Nixon to the "cooperation across the Pacific Ocean", and both countries should maintain sound momentum for development of this relationship. The phase-one economic and trade deal reached between China and the U.S. is generally in line with the direction of China's efforts to deepen reform and expand openness, and conforms to the internal demand of China to promote high-quality economic development. China will continue to run its own affairs well, and deepen reform and expand openness according to its own development. The basic trend of steady long-term growth for China's economy remains unchanged. As China's domestic market keeps expanding, Chinese enterprises will increase the import of high-quality and competitive products and services from other countries including the U.S. in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organization as well as market and commercial principles, which will facilitate the consumption upgrading and help the country meet people's ever-growing needs for a better life. Cooperation is better than friction, and dialogue surpasses confrontation. The solving of the China-U.S. trade issue is long-term, complex, and onerous in nature, and it calls for unremitted efforts to safeguard the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. The practices over the past 40 years since China and the U.S. established diplomatic ties prove that a peaceful and harmonious bilateral relationship between these two countries will always make both winners, while a confrontational one will make both losers. As long as they respect each other's core interests and major concerns, obey the rules of equity and mutual respect, and have an unshakable resolution, there will always be more solutions than obstacles. At present, the two countries have agreed to establish a bilateral assessment and dispute settlement mechanism, which is of vital importance for them to jointly make constructive plans through consultation, avoid further escalation, and protect stable development of bilateral economic and trade relations. Xi said in his speech delivered at the 2017 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that in the face of both opportunities and challenges of economic globalization, the right thing to do is to seize every opportunity, jointly meet challenges and chart the right course for economic globalization. In the same year when meeting his U.S. counterpart, the Chinese President also stressed that there are a thousand reasons to make China-US relations a success, but not a single reason to break it. China and the U.S. share broad common interests and are very influential for the healthy and stable development of the world economy. At present, China-U.S. economic and trade relations are on a new starting point, and the two countries are shouldering huge responsibilities to take care of the interests of the people from both countries and the rest of the world, to propel a China-U.S. relationship based on coordination, cooperation and stability, and to always grasp the correct direction of history. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy.) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 16, 2020) - Fundamental Research Corp would like to cordially invite you to visit us at Booth #1101 at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) to be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West (1055 Canada Place, Vancouver) on Sunday January 19 - Monday January 20, 2020. The Vancouver Resource Investment Conference has been the bellwether of the junior mining market for the last twenty-five years. It is the number one source of information for investment trends and ideas, covering all aspects of the natural resource industry. Each year, the VRIC hosts over 60 keynote speakers, 350 exhibiting companies and 9000 investors. Investment thought leaders and wealth influencers provide our audiences with valuable insights. C-suite company executives covering every corner of the mineral exploration sector as well as metals, oil & gas, renewable energy, media and financial services companies are available to speak one on one. This is a must-attend for investors and stakeholders in the global mining industry. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://cambridgehouse.com/vancouver-resource-investment-conference. We look forward to seeing you there. For further information: Fundamental Research Corp Brian Tang 604-682-7050 info@researchfrc.com www.researchfrc.com An IndiGo airlines flight from Pune to Jaipur was diverted and made an emergency landing in Mumbai early on Thursday after one its engines malfunctioned, the latest in a string of incidents involving the Airbus A320Neo aircraft widely used in the industry. According to flight tracking data, the plane, with 183 people on board, turned around roughly an hour into its flight and landed shortly after 4.30am at Mumbai, where airport officials said a full emergency had been declared and firefighting vehicles put on standby as per protocol. The flight landed safely. The A320Neo aircraft was equipped with a Pratt&Whitney (P&W) engine, which has shown high failure rates and has prompted aviation authorities around the world including India -- to order airlines to replace it or curtail operations in the interest of passenger safety. When the problem came into focus in 2018, an estimated 40% of Indias domestic air traffic was believed to be on A320Neos. On Thursday, an official from Indias aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the incident occurred when Engine 2 stalled while cruising at 30,000 feet. A visual inspection later showed signs of damage to a specific part of the engine -- the low pressure turbine blades that is consistent with a known problem with some P&W engines. The other engine had been modified to correct the mechanical flaw. There are 127 P&W powered A320Neos in India, with IndiGo deploying the bulk of them at 98 aircraft. The rest are on GoAirs fleet. Air India and Vistara, too, operate A320Neo jets, but these are equipped with a different engine. IndiGo has replaced at least one vulnerable engine on its fleet, but has now been put on a May 31 deadline to replace all engines. According to the DGCA official, GoAir is likely to complete replacement of one engine across its fleet in the next week. Information on how many planes are still flying with at least one unmodified engine was not immediately available. A passenger aircraft can fly with one functioning engine, but will need to land as soon as possible. Replacing at least one of the potentially faulty engines minimises the risk of a catastrophe. It is an unsafe condition, which we are battling currently. With one modified (which fixes the vulnerability) engine on all aircraft, there is 100% passenger safety but symptoms from unmodified engines will have to be responded to and resolved, so these air turnback or diversions might continue, this official added. Problems with the P&W engines came into focus in India in 2018, prompting the DGCA to issue a series of advisories. At one point, it prohibited A320Neo flights from being used on services to Port Blair since the route put the planes more than an hour away from any airport along the way a potential safety issue in case of an emergency. The American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) too have put airlines on a deadline to replace vulnerable engines. FAA has ordered all engines to be replaced by November, 2020, while the EASA has till now called for only one engine to be replaced by March 2020. In November, DGCA asked airlines to expedite replacement of engines, warning, this situation cannot be allowed to go on indefinitely. On January 13, the DGCA noted that the work done by IndiGo was satisfactory, and that the deadline for IndiGo to get rid of all unmodified engines by May 31, 2020. On Thursdays incident, a statement from IndiGo said the flight was diverted after the pilot observed an engine vibration message and followed the laid standard operating procedures. The airline did not give any more details about the problems, but added that the aircraft was under inspection at Mumbai and all passengers were accommodated on another aircraft that left for Jaipur roughly four hours later. (With inputs from HTC in Mumbai) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday directed the state police to set up a special unit to crack down on multi-state cooperative societies fraudulently duping people of their money. For effective monitoring of law and order in the state to prevent crimes, he asked the senior police officials to visit the field areas at least two days in every two months. The chief minister said the law and order situation in the state will be reviewed in every three months. Gehlot said Rajasthan Police should prepare itself for better use of modern technology and resources for crime control. The government will leave no stone unturned in strengthening the police and providing them resources, he added. He said strict action should be taken against various types of mafia including liquor, land, mining, drugs, so that a positive message be given in the society. Director General of Police Bhupendra Singh said 683 arrests have been made in 337 cases against different kinds of mafias in the state. Describing the self-defense program run by the state government as important for the women, the chief minister said more and more girls should be trained in self-defense by women policemen in every district police line or any other proper place. He also directed the police to take action in accordance with the legal provisions to prevent misleading advertisements of miracle drugs in newspapers and magazines and TV channels and to make the public aware in this regard. He also directed to ensure strict compliance of the Supreme Court's order banning the use of DJs in the marriage functions after 10 pm. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telecom stocks will be in focus after Supreme Court, yesterday, 16 January 2020, dismissed the review pleas from telecom companies that sought relief on interest and penalty payments in connection to the verdict on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR). The deadline for telecom companies to meet the license fee dues as per the apex court's AGR judgement is 23 January 2020. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL technologies, ICICI Bank will announce their Q3 result today, 17 January 2020. GMR Infrastructure said that the Supreme Court of India has lifted suspension of the environment clearance on GMR Goa International Airport (GGIAL). This in effect will result in resumption of the construction activities at the project site to build a greenfield international airport at Mopa, Goa, by GGIAL. Wipro said that Wipro Ventures, announced the closing of its $150 million Fund ll. Buoyed by the success of its first $100 million fund launched in 2015, Wipro Ventures will continue to invest in early to mid-stage companies building innovative enterprise software solutions across key areas, including cybersecurity, application development, analytics, cloud infrastructure, test automation, and Al. Metropolis Healthcare said that the board of directors of the company have approved the acquisition of Shraddha Diagnostic Centre and the share purchase and shareholders' agreement were executed on 16 January 2020. UCO Bank informed that the board of directors of the Bank have approved the proposal for the issue of equity shares on preferential basis to Government of India against capital Infusion of Rs 2142 crore. Extraordinary General Meeting of the shareholders of the bank will be held on 14 February 2020 for seeking shareholders' approval. CEAT has informed that the board of directors of the company, will consider a proposal for issuance of listed/unlisted secured/unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures on private placement basis. HIL informed that informed that the board of directors of the company has approved sale and transfer of the company's calcium silicate insulation products division operated under the brand HYSIL to Calderys India Refractories through a slump sale arrangement on a going concern basis. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vietnam hopes to step up cooperation with the United Nations (UN) and the UN Resident Coordinators Office in Vietnam, said Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh on Jan 16. Officers and soldiers of the second 2-level field hospital Vinh made the remarks while meeting with UN Resident Coordinator to Vietnam Kamal Malhotra in Hanoi. He said the UN and UN Resident Coordinators Office in Vietnam have cooperated with and provided great support for Vietnam, notably in addressing post-war consequences and peacekeeping operation. Vietnam hopes to accelerate cooperation with the UN and UN Resident Coordinators Office in its term as a non-permanent UN Security Council member and the ASEAN Chair, the official noted. He also expected the UN to continue working with the Ministry of National Defence in organising a workshop on womens role in UN peacekeeping activities, and asked for its support for the establishment of ASEANs UN peacekeeping centre in Vietnam. Malhota, for his part, spoke highly of the ministrys active participation in UN peacekeeping operations in recent times, highlighting Vietnams dispatches of two Level-2 field hospital to South Sudan. The UN Resident Coordinators Office stands ready to back the establishment of a UN peacekeeping centre of ASEAN in Vietnam and to co-organise the workshop on womens in UN peacekeeping this April, the official added./.VNA Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 17) Communist leader Jose Maria Sison has revealed that the government agreed last year to release "sick and elderly" political prisoners for Christmas and New Year. In a video statement sent to a forum in Quezon City on Friday, Sison, who is on self-exile in the Netherlands, said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and former congressman Hernani Braganza held informal talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Utrecht from December 7 to 9 and December 19 to 21, 2019. The NDFP represents the Communist Party of the Philippines in talks with the government. Among the agreements reached during the informal talks, Sison said, was "the soonest release by the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) president of the sick and elderly political prisoners, especially the NDFP consultants, on humanitarian grounds and in the spirit of Christmas and the New Year." "It should be noted that not a single political prisoner was released on humanitarian grounds in the spirit of Christmas and the New Year, contrary to expectations of the NDFP Negotiating Panel, the political prisoners and their families," Sison said. PNP: Arrest warrant vs Joma Sison stands despite fresh peace talks The release of political prisoners and NDFP consultants has always been a sore point in negotiations to end the five-decade insurgency of the CPP and its armed wing, the New People's Army. The rebels claim the NDFP consultants were being held in violation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees an agreement the government says no longer holds water since President Rodrigo Duterte walked away from the peace talks in 2017. After allegations of ceasefire violations and back-and-forth tirades, Duterte finally reached out to the rebels again in December 2019 by sending Bello to talk to Sison. Sison said that during their informal talks he also agreed to meet Duterte in Hanoi, Vietnam in April, but only after the signing of the Interim Peace Agreement, a much sought-after deal seen to lead to the end of the communist insurgency. The agreement covers general amnesty and release of all political prisoners, approval of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social Economic Reforms, and a coordinated unilateral ceasefire agreement. Duterte on December 26, 2019 challenged Sison to a one-on-one talk in the Philippines but the CPP founding chairman said he would return to the country only after the resumption of formal peace negotiations and the signing of the Interim Peace Agreement. Sison said Bello also agreed with the NDF to hold another informal meeting on the second or third week of January 2020 to pave the way for the much-awaited resumption of formal peace negotiations. The goal is to reaffirm previous deals, supersede presidential orders against the peace negotiations, and set the agenda for finalizing the Interim Peace Agreement. So far, the only thing that has reached fruition among the agreements in the formal talks was the declaration of a holiday ceasefire, Sison said. However, this too, was marred by alleged violations. Authorities said NPA fighters attacked government forces in Camarines Norte and Iloilo on December 23, 2019, leaving one soldier dead and six others wounded on the first day of the ceasefire. The NDF, however, said the rebels just defended themselves from attacks initiated by the police and military. "On the whole, on a nationwide scale, the reciprocal unilateral ceasefire ran successfully from December 23, 2019 to January 7, 2020, despite a few incidents which became the subject of publicized complaints from the direction of the GRP and NDFP. These complaints ought to be submitted to the Joint Monitoring Committee under the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law," Sison said. The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process on Friday hit the CPP-NPA-NDF for pursuing its own brand of peace talks in insisting on the Comprehensive Agreement on Social Economic Reforms as a precondition to the negotiations. OPAPP Spokesperson Wilben Mayor stressed that what the rebels want was "flawed," and that talks should adhere to the Constitution. On the other hand, Bello earlier suggested that the signing of these reform and peace agreements can be done in the country. "We want that when he comes here, he will be prepared to sign a document either the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms, or better, the IPA, which is the Interim Peace Agreement. That would be the best reason for him to come here," Bello said in an interview with CNN Philippines' The Source on January 3. Early on, rich and powerful factions in business, also with social policy organizations, learned Donald Trump does things that benefit Trump. Apparently acting to benefit his re-election, President Trump asked newly, popularly elected Ukraine President Zelensky to do a favor. Not hearing a satisfactory answer, 90 minutes later Donald Trump ordered that military approved, congressionally approved security and military aid to Ukraine be stopped. Since then Donald Trump has obstructed our Congress investigation of events on both sides of his order to stop payment to Ukraine. Facing a Senate trial, he went against expert advice and ordered Qasem Soleimani assasinated, but did not consult back and forth with the gang of eight congressional leaders. What was his purpose? Perhaps to help him win re-election? During a Senate trial to acquit or convict, with floor manager Adam Schiff, would our president be mentally competent to evaluate his best available personal options while also evaluating what's best for the USA? Maybe the Senate will vote to change Senate rules, and vote to dismiss impeachment articles. Trump's base has the means and methods to keep him in power. They want us to not know why, without factual, vetted evidence, Trump ordered the assasination of Soleimani. Bob Williams, Stevensville You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the press at the end of his statewide homelessness tour in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. California Gov. Gavin Newsom ended his weeklong trip across the state in a city that has been hit harder by the homelessness crisis than any other: Oakland. He toured a site with more than a dozen FEMA trailers, now owned by the state, that soon will serve as temporary emergency housing for displaced locals. We own this issue it is the issue of our time, Newsom said, speaking from a podium inside a white emergency tent that will be used as a triage medical center at the new site. It has happened on our watch, and we need to beat this moment." Newsom said the officials gathered behind him at the site near the Oakland Coliseum including Assemblyman Rob Bonta and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf are up to the challenge. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and California Gov. Gavin Newsom tour a new site where the state will provide emergency housing for the homeless in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. The "homelessness tour" focused on understanding the crisis thats left more than 151,000 Californians without housing came just days after the governor released his budget proposal which called for more than $1 billion in new funding to address the issue, including a $750 million new Access to Housing Services Fund. Those funds are in addition to the more than $600 million in emergency grant funding, allocated in last years budget, which was doled out this week. Newsom said $38 million will go to the city of Oakland and Alameda County, distributed in real-time to meet this crisis head-on. He added that $19.7 million is available today, immediately, for the city of Oakland to address rapid rehousing and recuperative care." The Oakland site is a preview of how Newsom plans use up to 100 of these trailers, deployed across the state, to serve emergency shelters. The new program will rely on the roughly $1 billion the governor made available to tackle homelessness in his 2020-21 budget proposal. The budget also includes a $750 million fund to help providers pay rents for those on the brink of becoming homeless or fund affordable housing. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf joins Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assemblymember Rob Bonta and other officials to launch a new plan to tackle the state's homelessness crisis in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. Schaaf, a member of the governors statewide task force on homelessness, said she was excited to be first to deploy the emergency trailers. She said the 15 trailers could house between 50 and 70 people. Nine will be stationed at the coliseum and the other six will be used to housed homeless youth in partnership with the city of Berkeley and other organizations. Story continues This is what it takes every level of government cooperating, Schaaf said. Earlier this week, the council said it will push the California Legislature to draft a constitutional amendment that would allow the state to sanction localities that fail to get people experiencing homeless off the street. Schaaf said that would help ensure accountability. We know that shelter is not the ultimate answer, she said. That is why I, along with other members of the governors homeless council, are urging the legislature to bring to voters of California, a constitutional amendment that will create a legally enforceable mandate to end homelessness. The first step, is for us to be held accountable to the people of California that we are doing everything we can with the resources and regulatory powers that we have to put an end to this travesty. The number of Oakland residents who don't have housing rose by roughly 47% over a two-year period as rents continue to rise. The citys housing issues also made headlines after a group of displaced moms took residence inside an empty home. They were forcibly evicted this week, and four were arrested. Like stories about the Golden State? Click here to get our In California newsletter in your inbox. Newsom acknowledged that the shelter isn't a solution to the crisis, but said it would give the state more time to provide permanent housing and implement programs that would both prevent the numbers from rising. "No one is in denial about the scale and scope of the crisis," he said. "None of us are naive that 15 former-FEMA trailers now in state control and state-owned is going to solve the crisis. It is about catalyzing a focus, catalyzing investment, and beginning to leverage our resources and resourcefulness to meet this moment head-on." Earlier in the week Newsom visited Grass Valley, a city in Northern California, where he spoke with homeless service providers, and traveled to Southern California, with stops in Riverside and Los Angeles, before heading back north to Fresno to tour Exodus Recovery, Inc., an organization that services youth and adults struggling through mental health crises. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Calif. Gov. Newsom concludes statewide homelessness tour in Oakland Nominations are now open for the Inaugural Access Alliance Peoples Choice Accessibility Awards for Business. The Access Alliance is calling for nominations of New Zealand businesses doing great things in the name of accessibility. These businesses will then be put to the public to vote, and they will be recognised by the Minister for Disability Issues, the Hon. Carmel Sepuloni, at a special event on Friday February 21 2020. Every New Zealander knows someone with an access need, says Kapo Maori Aotearoa New Zealand and Access Alliance Chair, Chrissie Cowan. This event is unique because it asks people with lived experience of having access needs to tell us about businesses who are role models and champions for accessibility in their communities. At this time of year, most people are taking a break and catching up with friends and family. This can involve travel, which means navigating transport or finding accessible holiday destinations. Accessibility is not just about the width of the door its about information and communication, customer service, an accessible education and employment system, and universal design of public facilities, goods and services. Accessibility is an enabler to achieving wellbeing - Barriers to access are barriers to wellbeing, says Chrissie. For low vision blogger Ite Lemalu, this is certainly true. People with access needs need time to unwind, step out of their routine and enjoy our beautiful country too, but this can be an arduous task because you really have to plan ahead to make sure you dont arrive at a place and find you cant relax because youre constantly having to overcome barriers. So information has to be accessible and up to date so we can make informed choices. Accessibility is a big topic but it starts with having the right attitude. The awards, proudly sponsored by Sudima Hotels, will recognise businesses who are leading the way in championing accessibility and demonstrating that accessibility is good for business. A growing number of businesses and organisations are supporting #AccessLaw2020, the Access Alliances campaign for Accessibility Legislation. In doing so they are recognising people with access needs as valuable employees, customers and members of their communities. The Access Alliance is a movement comprising of the ten founding member organisations from the disability sector and partner supporters, individuals and supporting organisations representing people with access needs. Collectively the Alliance represents disabled people, seniors, carers of young children, the temporarily injured, migrants and people for whom English is a second language. The Access Alliance are urging government to put legislation at the heart of a fairer and more inclusive Aotearoa New Zealand. The Awards are part of the Access Alliances #AccessLaw2020 campaign. The Access Alliance member organisations include: Association of Blind Citizens New Zealand Incorporated Blind Low Vision NZ - formerly the Blind Foundation CCS Disability Action Cerebral Palsy Society Deaf Aotearoa NZ Disabled Persons Assembly NZ Kapo Maori Aotearoa New Zealand Incorporated National Foundation for the Deaf Parents of Vision Impaired New Zealanders People First, Nga Tangata Tuatahi Collectively, the founding member organisations assist over 763,000 disabled New Zealanders. The Access Alliance network of partner supporters and social media followers sit around just over 6,000 like-minded individuals, twenty-six supporting organisations and fourteen business champions. The Parliamentary Champions for Accessibility Legislation (PCAL), is a group of MPs across the parliamentary parties, who support the Access Alliances campaign. The Access Alliance is also contributing to the Governments Accelerating Accessibility Work Programme to advise on whats needed to improve accessibility. The Access Alliance Peoples Choice Accessibility Awards for Business event will be held at Sudima Auckland Airport on February 21 2020 from 6.15pm 7.45pm. I am writing a lot of sympathy cards these days. If you are middle-aged like me, chances are you are too. And even if youre not, you may have experienced the death of a parent or perhaps an untimely and unfair death from an accident, suicide or violence. My fathers death when I was 23 was the first major upset to my world. But it also revealed the truly humane ways people can provide consolation and primed me for an avocation of doing the same for others. Heres what Ive learned about the art of consolation. New concrete steps were made this Thursday to materialize the royal vision of a sustainable and integrated development of the rural world, through the launch of hydraulic, hydro-agricultural and drinking water projects in the province of Essaouira. King Mohammed VI, who started Wednesday a visit to Essaouira, has thus chaired the inauguration of the Moulay Abderrahmane dam, built on the Ksoub wadi. The dams construction cost amounted to about 87 million (920 million dirhams). The Monarch also dedicated a hydro-agricultural development project in the Ksoub perimeter, downstream the new dam. The project required an investment 22 million (238 MDH). The drinking water projects launched by the Monarch concern the construction of a water treatment station for the Moulay Abderrahmane dam and the laying of water supply pipes, to cost about 12 million (135 MDH). Another project to enhance access to drinking water in rural areas will cost about 18 million (192 MDH). These projects are all part of the National Program for the Supply of Drinking and Irrigation Water 2020-2027 that outlines different measures to guarantee regular water supply in the country over the next eight years for a total cost of 10.8 billion (115.4 billion dirhams). In 1981, the economist Gary Becker argued that free-market principles applied in the home as well. The family functioned like a small factory, with each person making rational choices to maximize value, he wrote in A Treatise on the Family (part of the body of work for which he would later win the Nobel Prize.) Its neoliberalism as an economic system the deregulation and the disinvestment in support and care, Ms. Orgad said. But its also neoliberalism as a rationality how we as individuals internalize this idea that we are responsible for our lives and its our fault if we fail, because we make choices. By the mid-1980s, the idea had solidified as A Mothers Choice, as a 1986 Newsweek headline put it. The choice was presented as either/or work or stay home or to explain why women choose lower-paying jobs. [In NYT Parenting:Working moms and stay-at-home moms are not at war.] Whats implicit in the conservative logic is that good mothers make the right choice, and the right choice is to prioritize your family, Ms. Swinth said though she said this logic applied primarily to married, middle-class, white women. Feminists pushed back, arguing that the choice they had been fighting for was never between working or staying home. They always wanted changes in workplace culture, public policy and mens involvement at home, along with career opportunities. The mother of the two children swept into the ocean on Saturday was not at a vigil held for them Thursday night, but she sent a message to everyone who had gathered there for her children. We are in uncharted waters, said Jamie Stiles, via a message read by the childrens aunt Kristin Romaine. But your words have been building up like a wave, bigger than the one that took my babies out to sea. Romaine read the brief statement on behalf of Stiles at Thursdays vigil at Vestal Elementary School, where Lola, 7, had been a first grader. Scores of friends, classmates and community members gathered to remember the two children. Jamie Stiles said her daughter Lola was so spirited, and son William, 4, had a heart of gold. She recalled how much they loved each other and adventure. We should take solace in the fact that theyre together, Stiles said. I will live on so that my babies can live on as a part of me. While visiting a beach near the Clatsop-Tillamook County Line on Saturday, Lola, William, and their father, Jeremy Stiles, were all engulfed by a sneaker wave. Jeremy Stiles was pulled out of the water and admitted to Seaside Hospital, expected to recover. As of Thursday night, hospital officials couldnt confirm whether hed been released. Lola was pulled from the water but died that day. William has not been found. Several other speakers remembered the children, including Vestal principal Sabrina Flamoe and first grade teacher Eric Swehla, who had Lola in his class this year. Each morning Lola would show up with her bright shiny face, often with William at her side, Swehla said. He recalled the first graders compassion and sense of kindness. She could see if a hand needed to be held and had the strength to go up and hold that hand, he said. Some people say when they look back on their lives, if they changed one life, they were successful. I think Lola led a pretty successful life. The school auditorium was full of people who knew the Stiles family, but others who had never met them decided to come as well. Its hard to put into words, said Danny Harvey, a father of three kids, including a kindergartener at Vestal. I know what its like to experience tragedy and grief, and now with three small kids you tend to glom together during grief. Tyler Hanns said his daughter and Lola were in choir together, and his son is the same age as William. The two boys didnt know each other, but they used to play together while waiting for their older sisters. We live in the same neighborhood as them, he said. We wanted to come out and show our support. In her message, Stiles asked people to remember her children during nice moments. Like Lola, be tardy to school every once in a while because you needed that one last cuddle, she said. As William would say, we love you all 20,000. The tragedy has deeply moved Oregonians and non-Oregonians alike. A fundraiser for the family has drawn more than 2,000 donors and collected more than $100,000. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Iran's supreme leader says its missile attack on US troops in Iraq earlier this month was a "blow to America's image" as a superpower, as he led prayers in Tehran for the first time since 2012. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said America had "cowardly" killed the most effective commander in the fight against the Islamic State group when it killed General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike in Baghdad. In response, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting US troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. As Iran's Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after it took off from Tehran's international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Khamenei has held the country's top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of Soleimani and vowed "harsh retaliation" against the US. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. Their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since President Donald Trump withdrew the US from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which had imposed restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The White House has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Trump has openly encouraged the protesters even tweeting in Farsi hoping that the protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a longtime adversary. After Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad, Iran announced it would no longer be bound by the limitations in the nuclear agreement. European countries who have been trying to salvage the deal responded earlier this week by invoking a dispute mechanism that is aimed at bringing Iran back into compliance and could result in even more sanctions. Khamenei was always skeptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the US could not be trusted. But he allowed President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, to conclude the agreement with President Barack Obama. Since Trump's withdrawal, he has said there can be no negotiations with the United States. Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called Israel a "cancerous tumour" and vowed to support anyone confronting it. He also warned against any US strikes on Iran over its nuclear programme, saying the US would be damaged "10 times over". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CHICO, Calif. - A stretch of Highway 99 is under threat of flooding in North Chico because of the rain, again. Action News Now spoke with neighbors living up and down Wilson Landing Road in Chico who all said they are all too familiar with the winter floods in the area. CalTrans tells our reporter the area has flooded at least seven times in the last year alone. The agency says it has applied for a $5 million dollar federal grant to make improvements to the area. "We'd raise the profile of the highway, to reduce the likelihood of flooding. then we would have cross culverts or drainage pipes that would go under that. Once we do secure funding, we can get working on the designs and within three years we can get that project off the ground," said CalTrans spokesperson Gilbert Mohtes-Chan. Action News Now asked Caltrans if the organization knows when it will hear back on the status of its grant application. They said they do not know but are very aware of the flooding issue at Highway 99 in north Chico. A spokesperson said the agency continues to do everything it can to ensure that stretch of road is safe. The agency also asks drivers to practice extra caution when passing through the area during bad winter weather. Sunita, who was accompanied by Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey, said that their car was stopped at an inter-district barrier, citing the enforcement of Section 144 in the temple town. Ayodhya, Jan 17 (IANS) American activist, Sunita Viswanathan, who runs a New York-based human rights organization called 'Hindus for Human Rights' was denied entry to Ayodhya by the administration. Two more people were in their car when it was intercepted at a barrier under Patranga police station by local police. The group, which was on way to Ayodhya to meet ailing seer Mahant Yugal Kishore Sharan Shastri, was told that their presence in Ayodhya could lead to disturbance in law and order in the town. Viswanathan, who has been honoured by the White House for her efforts towards climate change, has worked in various parts of the world. She has also done rehabilitation work for women in post-war Afghanistan. "We were four persons in a Tata Nano. We were not doing anything against the law but were denied entry unlawfully. Being a Hindu, I wanted to visit the temple town of Ayodhya and also wanted to meet Shastriji, but we were stopped. The administration cited the reason of Section 144 to refuse our entry to Ayodhya," Viswanathan said. SSP Ayodhya Ashish Tiwari said, "Because Section 144 is imposed in Ayodhya, they might have created a problem by giving irresponsible statements. Ayodhya is not the right place to give statements. We had inputs from intelligence that they could create disturbance in Ayodhya. Hence, we asked them to return." amita/skp/ Photo: Udom Khmer/Yelp A new Cambodian, Thai and Vietnamese spot has opened for business in the neighborhood. The fresh addition to Long Beach, called Udom Khmer, is located at 1223 E. Anaheim St. Udom Khmer provides Khmer food. On the menu, expect to see items like tom yum soup, beef fried noodle and duck. With a four-star rating out of four reviews on Yelp so far, Udom Khmer is getting solid feedback from clientele. Yi L., who was among the first Yelpers to review the new spot on Jan. 6, wrote, "The beef noodle is very good. The tom yum soup is great too." Head on over to check it out: Udom Khmer is open from 8 a.m.9 p.m. daily. Want to keep your finger on the pulse of new businesses in Long Beach? Here's what else opened recently near you. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. YEREVAN. Hraparak daily of Armenia writes: According to our information, Nairi Hunanyan, the criminal of October 27, [1999 deadly attack on parliament], sent a letter of petition to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan from the NSS isolation cell. He welcomed the decision to reopen the investigation on the separated part of the 27 [case], and expressed his willingness to take part in the investigation, promising to spare no effort and to assist in the discovery of the organizers [of this attack]. He said he had "something to say" about that case. Chromebooks may often be dismissed as cheap laptops that run a browser-based operating system. But thanks to support for Android and Linux apps, thats not exactly true and even if it were, theres a lot you can do in a web browser. Case in point when Googles Stadia game streaming platform launched last year, one of the supported platforms was the web. Fire up a Chromebook, connect to Stadia, and you can stream PC or console-quality games to a Chromebook regardless of whether its a budget device or one with high-end hardware. This year Google plans to roll out significant improvements for Stadia on the web, which could make Chromebooks even better for gaming. But that may not be the companys only play for the gaming space Android Police reports that Google wants to bring support for the Steam game client to Chrome OS. Theres no word on when we can expect that to happen, and theres always a chance that Googles plans could change before Steam support ever sees the light of day. But Steam has offered a Linux version of its game client for years, and its gotten more and more useful over time. While Steam for Linux initially only supported games that developers had ported to run on Linux-based operating systems, now Valves Proton project allows Linux users to run many made-for-Windows games without any modifications. In an interview with Android Police, Google Chrome OS product management director Kan Liu said that the companys work to add Steam support would leverage that Crostini software that allows Linux apps to run on Chromebooks. Of course, Chromebooks have a reputation for being cheap hardware with relatively low-performance processors, limited storage space, and no discrete graphics but there are exceptions. But PC makers including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Google have been offering premium Chrome OS hardware for years. And Liu suggests we could see more high-performance models in the future and models with, say, AMD Ryzen processors and Radeon Vega graphics could enable passable performance for gaming. Its unlikely that any hardcore gamer is going to consider any Chromebook with integrated graphics as a true replacement for a high-end Windows PC with discrete graphics (and its unclear if well see any Chromebooks with discrete graphics anytime soon). But support for casual gaming could help tempt some folks who may not have decided yet between Windows, Mac, Linux, or Chrome OS for their next computer and the benefit for Valve and/or game developers is the ability to reach a market of Chromebook users that previously had limited options for gaming. That said, Google isnt going all-in on native gaming. Some updates coming to its Stadia game streaming-over-the-internet service this year include: Support for 4K game streaming over the web Wireless gameplay on the web while using a Stadia controller New Google Assistant functionality for web users That means folks who want a console-quality gaming experience without spending console money may be able to leverage Googles servers to deliver a decent experience even on cheap Chromebooks assuming theyve got a fast enough internet connection to prevent slowdowns and glitches. Google also plans to bring Stadia support to additional smartphones this year though, which means Chromebooks (and other laptops and desktop computers) are only one of several ways to use the service. Chromecast Ultra users can also use Stadia to stream games directly to a TV. Project FINE has been selected as the February beneficiary in Hy-Vees Reusable Bag Program, the nonprofit announced. Hy-Vee describes the Reusable Bag Program as a way to make it easier for customers to give back to the community while supporting the environment. For every $2.50 My Heart Reusable Bag that is sold by Hy-Vee, Project FINE will receive a $1 donation, which amounts to approximately 40 percent of total profits, unless directed elsewhere by the purchasing customer. Project FINE has been serving Winona for 30 years and provides a variety of programs and services for refugees and immigrants to help them integrate into the community. One of the services the organization provides is language assistance. The organization relies on their small staff, volunteers, interpreters and extensive collaboration with local service providers to accomplish their goals. Fatima Said, executive director of Project FINE, said she is grateful to Hy-Vee for contributing to the organization and that the money will be used in operational support for their mission. Additionally, Said mentioned the significance of Project FINE by describing how the organization helps refugees and immigrants. We bring people together to eliminate fear by building a stronger and more vibrant community, Said said. Hy-Vee store director Dan Welsh said Project FINE was selected because of its contributions to the community. Weve worked with them on different projects and different things involving the community, Welsh said. They do so many great things in the community and were just trying to help them out in any way that we can. Welsh said there is not a set selection process to be made a beneficiary in the stores program, other than being a great nonprofit, and that anybody can request to be considered. 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. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Here are some stocks that are in the news today: Results: Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Blue Dart Express, HCL Technologies, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, L&T Finance Holdings, L&T Technology Services, Aarnav Fashions, AMAL, Avantel, Banaras Beads, Investment & Precision Castings, QGO Finance, Radhe Developers and Trinity League India are among the companies that will release their December quarter earnings on January 17. Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea: Supreme Court dismissed AGR review petitions filed by telecom firms. Yes Bank: Moodys placed the Bank's long-term foreign-currency issuer rating of B2 under review, with the direction uncertain. South Indian Bank: Q3 profit grew 8 percent to Rs 90.5 crore, NII rose 15.8 percent to Rs 601.8 crore YoY; gross NPA up 4bps QoQ. Board approved raising Rs 500 crore via bonds. Metropolis Healthcare: The company acquired 51 percent stake in Shraddha Diagnostic Centre in Gujarat for Rs 9.36 crore. Hathway Cable: Q3 profit at Rs 68.2 cr versus a loss of Rs 55.8 crore, revenue rose 12.3 percent to Rs 450.8 crore YoY. Adani Enterprises: CBI booked Adani Enterprises, 2 ex-NCCF officials for alleged irregularities in the coal supply contract. Cyient: Q3 profit jumped 10.4 percent to Rs 107.6 crore, revenue fell 4.6 percent to Rs 1,105.9 crore QoQ. Wipro: Wipro Ventures announced $150 million Fund-II to invest in emerging digital enterprise software leaders. GMR Infrastructure: The Supreme Court of India lift suspension of the environment clearance on GMR Goa International Airport. Tata Metaliks: The company's standalone revenue fell 5 percent YoY, but net profit rose 15.9 percent. Rallis India: Consolidated net profit rose almost 3 percent YoY. Revenue rose 27.8 percent. Unitech: The company clarified that it has not received any ED notice regarding the alleged siphoning of Rs 1,600 crore from the companys promoters. Dishman Carbogen approves buyback for an amount not exceeding Rs 72 crore CEAT board will consider a proposal for issuance of listed/unlisted secured/unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures on private placement basis on January 22 Fortis Healthcare - At the request of the Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre Limited (Subsidiary) - CARE Rating has withdrawn CARE BBB- Under credit watch with developing implications for long term bank facilities Music Broadcast to consider the proposal for the issue of bonus shares on January 27 CG Power - businesses of the company''s subsidiaries in Belgium have been severely affected due to paucity of funds and certain bank accounts have been blocked HIL approves sale and transfer of the company's calcium silicate insulation products division operated under the brand 'HYSIL' to Calderys India Refractories through a slump sale UCO Bank approves proposal for the issue of equity shares on preferential basis to Government of India against its capital Infusion of Rs 2,142 crore Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. With just one week left for them to pay over Rs 88,600 crore in past dues, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are left with the last legal remedy of filing a curative petition but such petitions are rarely admitted by the Supreme Court, analysts said on Friday. IMAGE: A file photograph of Union Minister for Law and Justice, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad meeting CEOs of telecom companies in New Delhi in July 2019. Photograph: ANI Photo. The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed review petitions filed by telecom companies against its October 24, 2019, order that asked for the inclusion of non-telecom revenues for calculating statutory dues such as licence fee and spectrum usage charge. Dues, which total to Rs 1.47 lakh crore for 15 telecom companies including Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), as per the October order, have to be paid by January 23. The January 23 deadline for payment may not apply to non-telecom companies which too have been asked to pay substantial amounts in past dues, Kotak Institutional Equities said in a note. "From a legal standpoint, the only option available to the telcos now is a curative petition," it said. The rules around curative petition are fairly tight as the petitioner has to establish that there was a genuine violation of principles of natural justice, it said adding that the court can impose 'exemplary' costs to the petitioner if the plea lacks merit. "We note that curative petitions are rarely admitted." ICICI Securities said Bharti Airtel has already raised capital of USD 3 billion, which should help it meet the burden. "But the same remains a herculean challenge for VIL -- a challenge that cannot be resolved without government intervention, in our view." Though Bharti Airtel and VIL can still file a curative petition, "the probability of resolution remains bleak," it said. UBS Group said the ruling raises risks for lenders to the companies. "IndusInd, Yes Bank and SBI appears to have relatively high exposure to Vodafone Idea," it said. "We do not have a view on whether the government will intervene and offer some relief in the form of a waiver and/or staggered payment terms," Kotak said. ICICI Securities said VIL promoters the UK's Vodafone Plc and Aditya Birla Group -- have already mentioned that if the entire adjusted gross revenue (AGR) liability has to be paid, they will have to shut shop. "We don't see the situation for Vodafone Idea being salvaged without government intervention. Apart from other stakeholders in VIL, the government too could be one of the most impacted parties if the company shuts down as it is owed Rs 90,000 in deferred spectrum dues, besides the AGR liability. We also see an indirect impact on PSU banks if VIL fails to cough up the money." Kotak said Vodafone Idea management and promoters have been quite vocal about not wanting to throw good money after bad in case there is no relief is granted by the Supreme Court. "We believe it makes sense." "From a government perspective, it needs to consider the serious ramifications of further consolidation in the sector including loss of revenues for itself, banking sector NPAs and temporary-but-severe inconvenience to consumers," it said. Morgan Stanley said the AGR ruling for the telco industry would benefit Reliance Industries from both higher subscriber growth and tariff increases. "This could raise earnings up to 8 per cent for FY21, with a similar NAV impact. This partly also negates some recent challenges in the chemicals business, where margins touched below industry cash costs in December 2019," Morgan Stanley said. Increased probability of further consolidation in the sector is a positive for Reliance Jio and Bharti, the immediate hit of massive payouts for the latter notwithstanding. "Upside from further consolidation will more than makeup for the payout impact for Bharti," Kotak said. Following the October 24 Supreme Court order, the department of telecom estimated that the total liability of 15 telecom companies, including penalties and interest, would be Rs 1.47 lakh crore. It has estimated another Rs 2.4 lakh crore in liability for non-telecom companies such as State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd and power transmission firm PowerGrid, which had taken licences to trade broadband on optic fibre running along their pipelines and transmission lines. Sources, however, said no demand notice was served either on GAIL or PowerGrid and only assessment orders were issued which the two companies contested putting across facts on revenues earned from such licences. The assessment put GAILs liability at Rs 1.72 lakh crore and that of PowerGrid at Rs 21,000 crore. Another Rs 40,000 crore liability was assessed of Oil India Ltd. However, a demand notice was served in the case of GNFC for Rs 15,097 crore. The statutory liabilities in the case of Bharti Airtel adds up to nearly Rs 35,586 crore, of which Rs 21,682 crore is licence fee and another Rs 13,904.01 crore is spectrum dues (excluding the dues of Telenor and Tata Teleservices). VIL stares at unpaid statutory dues of Rs 53,038 crore, including Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and Rs 28,309 crore in the licence fee. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Gregory Drake, Scott Messier, Jay Scoratow, Jason St. Amour, and David Wolfson with fraud for their participation in a matched-trading scheme involving dozens of microcap securities. The SEC also charged Thomas Brooks, Stephen Grossman, and Stephen Moleski for acting as unregistered brokers in connection with the matched-trading scheme. According to the SEC's complaints, between at least December 2014 and March 2018, Drake, Messier, Scoratow, St. Amour, and Wolfson ran boiler-room operations to carry out a matched-trading scheme to enable shareholders of microcap companies sell their shares. Solicitors working for the boiler rooms, such as Brooks, Grossman, and Moleski, allegedly cold called prospective investors and convinced them to purchase shares of microcap companies in the investors' own brokerage accounts at prices and volumes that were coordinated by the boiler-room operators and the selling shareholders. The complaint alleges that selling shareholders simultaneously entered sell orders at the coordinated prices and volumes, making it highly likely that the selling shareholders' sell orders and the solicited investors' buy orders would match. Through this matched trading, the selling shareholders were able to offload their shares into a ready market. The SEC's complaints, filed in federal district courts in California and Florida charge Drake, St. Amour, Wolfson, Messier, and Scoratow with violating the antifraud provisions of Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The complaints also charge Drake, Grossman, Moleski, St. Amour, Wolfson, Brooks, and Messier with violating the broker-dealer registration provisions of Section 15(a)(1) of the Exchange Act, and charge Scoratow with aiding and abetting Messier's violation of Section 15(a)(1). Drake, St. Amour, Brooks, Messier, and Scoratow have consented to the entry of final judgments that impose permanent injunctions, conduct-based injunctions from soliciting purchases or sales of securities, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil monetary penalties. Wolfson has consented to the entry of a permanent injunction and an injunction from soliciting purchases or sales of securities and reserves the issues of disgorgement and a civil penalty for determination by the court. The settlements are subject to court approval. The SEC seeks injunctions, disgorgement, and civil penalties against Grossman and Moleski. The SEC's investigation was conducted by James Thibodeau and Laurie Abbott, was assisted by David Whipple, and was supervised by Daniel Wadley, Regional Director of the Salt Lake Regional Office. The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy has issued an Investor Alert to encourage investors to check the background of anyone selling or offering them an investment using the free and simple search tool on Investor.gov. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 23:54:39|Editor: yan Video Player Close HONG KONG, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong police said on Friday that they have seized more than 500 bullets and firearm parts in parcels and arrested a male for possession of firearm without a license. The police mounted an intelligence-led operation on Friday morning and arrested the male who had one suspected pistol and about 100 rounds of ammunition in his flat. Senior Superintendent Li Kwai-wah of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) said at a media briefing that the case was detected based on an organized crime case in December 2019. Based on intelligence gathered in the December case, the police intercepted from Jan. 8 to Jan. 10 a total of 10 parcels from the United States which contained 362 long gun bullets, 150 short gun 9mm bullets, 99 detonating wires, as well as some gun parts. Superintendent Yeung Yiu-chung of OCTB said the arrested male was suspected to be associated with a criminal group and was making firearms for the group members. Li said the existing intelligence did not clearly indicate how the firearms would be used, but the group had planned to use firearms and explosives during assemblies and processions with an intention to create chaos and attack police and facilities. Possession and use of firearms are serious crimes in Hong Kong, Li stressed, adding that according to Hong Kong's Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance the offense could lead to 14 years' imprisonment. In a bid to further Indian business ties with Asean and East Asian markets, Institute of Directors (IOD) has signed a pact with Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organizations for collaboration in best corporate governance practices. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further Indian business ties with Asean and East Asian markets was signed by IOD and the Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organizations at the NUS Business School of National University of Singapore. "The main objective is for collaboration in the areas of advancing good corporate governance practices and sharing of experiences," said the Centre's Director Lawrence Loh. Singapore, a multi-national hub with operational centre for regional businesses, is strong in the East Asian practice, coming together will be good synergies for uplifting of corporate standards across India, Singapore, Asean and East Asia, Loh said. "There are many things we can still learn from the Indian systems, he said, cited the examples of Tata Group and Reliance Group and inheritance of business practices from the Commonwealth and former colonial regimes. He also noted the strength of good corporate governance of family-based business in India, calling it the best in the world. In exchange, we can give them the Asean and East Asian concepts," he said. Highlighting India's high business potential, Loh, nevertheless, pointed out that foreign investors were still focused on East Asian markets namely China. Calling the MoU a bride linking Indian businesses to Asean-East Asian entities, Loh said his centre has deep understanding of Asean and East Asia businesses. "Our Centre has done such collaborations with businesses in Asean member countries. We understand the concept through the centre's Asean Corporate Governance Score Card," he pointed out. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands (17 January 2020) - IMCD N.V. ("IMCD" or "Company"), a leading distributor of speciality chemicals and food ingredients, today announces that it has successfully completed the acquisition of the Israeli distributor Zifroni Chemical Suppliers Limited ("Zifroni"). Zifroni, based in Rishon Le-Zion, was founded in 1950 and is a leading distributor of pharmaceutical, personal care and other specialty chemical ingredients in Israel. The company has 9 employees and generated a revenue of 10.2 million in 2019 through their representation of world leading producers from the US, Europe and Asia. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Bridge to Koh Samui? Tip leads to skeleton discovery! Drone licences? || January 17 Post when: Jan 17 2020 17:49:05 on: Watch our latest features 0 Views PHUKET XTRA - January 17 || brought to you by PVCPhuket.com Tip leads to skeleton discovery |:| Phuket doesn't have 'enough waster for 2020' |:| Health chief issued advisory over air quality |:| Drone licences |:| Bridge to Koh Samui Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket Susanne Ultmann, well known across the island for her work with the Baan Rim Pa group and the Phuket Has Been Good To Us charity foundation, is personally calling for donations of O-negative blood. If you can help, Sue is calling for you to go to the Red Cross to donate. IMPORTANT! You must say it is for Susanne Ultmann Siroj Hospital. Previously Hospital International. We also recommend watching: RSS Booze shutdown in Phuket made legit, African swine fever detected in Thai slaughterhouse || January 11 Post when: Jan 11 2022 19:25:34 on: PHUKET XTRA - January 11 || Brought to you by @PVC Phuket Now legit: 9pm alcohol shutdown in Phuket |:| Thailand ranked as best place in Asia to retire |:| Body of 33-year-old found in Kathu canal |:| COVID update |:| African swine fever detected in Thai slaughterhouse Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket #PhuketNews #Thailand 1- Phuket 9pm booze shutdown made legit 2- Govt says African swine fever detected in slaughterhouse 3- Body of 33-year-old man found in Kathus Bang Yai Canal 4- Thailand ranked as best place in Asia to retire MORE: Worlds Best Places to Retire in 2022 5- Phuket COVID Update Transit rules for Sandbox tourists, Shrimp vendor killer caught, Hospital data leak || January 10 Post when: Jan 10 2022 18:52:24 on: PHUKET XTRA - January 10 || Brought to you by @PVC Phuket Not enough hospital beds says Phuket health chief |:| Hospital data leak |:| COVID Update |:| Police catch shrimp vendor killer |:| Transit rules for Sandbox arrivals |:| Project to boost aquatic life in Phuket waters Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket #PhuketNews #Thailand 1- Police catch shrimp vendor killer 2- Phuket COVID Update MORE: Thailand COVID Update 3- Not enough hospital beds, says Phuket health chief 4- Huge patient data leak from Siriraj Hospital 5- Sandbox tourists may not transit in Bangkok to Phuket, but can to Samui 6- Project to boost aquatic life in Phuket waters Test & Go suspended indefinitely, 4 Sandbox provinces, More Bangla cases || January 7 Post when: Jan 07 2022 18:22:18 on: PHUKET XTRA - January 7 || Brought to you by @PVC Phuket Test & Go suspended indefinitely |:| 4 total Sandbox provinces |:| Scores test positive in Bangla |:| COVID Update Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket #PhuketNews #Thailand 1- Test & Go suspended indefinitely, 3 more sandbox provinces MORE: Phuket to remain Blue Zone as COVID measures elevated 2- Scores test positive in Bangla ATK blitz 3- Pattani bombing sends rangers to the hospital 4- Phuket COVID Update MORE: Thailand COVID Update Thailand Covid alert level 4, More than 60k Moderna vaccine doses headed || January 6 Post when: Jan 06 2022 17:50:58 on: PHUKET XTRA - January 6 || Brought to you by @PVC Phuket Sambar deer on road to recovery |:| Thailand COVID update |:| Thailand raises COVID alert level to 4 |:| Nightlife venues warned over lax-COVID rues if cases found |:| 60k Moderna doses on the way to Phuket Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket #PhuketNews #Thailand 1- Thailand COVID alert level 4 2- More Moderna on the way for fourth booster shots 3- Warning shot fired over infections from COVID-lax pubs, restaurants 4- Sambar deer on road to recovery 5- Phuket COVID update MORE: Thailand COVID update Phuket officials work to secure more hotel quarantine rooms, Bangla deep clean || January 5 Post when: Jan 05 2022 19:39:51 on: PHUKET XTRA - January 5 || Brought to you by @PVC Phuket Thaksin plans to return to Thailand this year |:| Bangla Rd. to close for deep cleanse |:| Phuket scrambles for hospitels to keep tourists out of hospitals |:| Fewer injuries, accidents as Phuket closes 7 Days campaign |:| Phuket COVID Update Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket #PhuketNews #Thailand 1- Phuket scrambles for hospitels to keep tourists out of hospitals 2- Bangla to close for deep cleanse 3- Thaksin reveals plan to return to Thailand in 2022 4- Phuket closes 7 Days campaign with one death, 27 injured 5- Phuket COVID Update Collin County Sheriff's Office A 38-year-old Plano man was arrested and charged after investigators found 18 terabytes of child pornography in his residence during a search, according to the Collin County Sheriffs Office. Christopher Michael Chairez was arrested last Thursday and charged with possession with intent to promote child pornography and possession of child pornography. He was released from custody after posting a $30,000 bond, according to court records. Advertisement She's a world-renowned model with a catwalk career spanning 30 years. But Kate Moss looked happy to be watching on the sidelines as she and daughter Lila Grace Moss Hack put on a stylish display while watching the Dior Homme Menswear Fall/Winter 2020-2021 show in Paris, France on Friday. Kate, 46 and 17-year-old Lila were joined by David, Victoria and Brooklyn Beckham on the very star-studded front row amid Paris Fashion Week. Fashionistas: Kate Moss and daughter Lila Grace Moss Hack put on a stylish display while watching the Dior Homme Menswear Fall/Winter 2020-2021 show in Paris, France on Friday The mother and daughter duo looked relaxed and happy as they took in the show, sporting very chic ensembles as they did so. Proving why she's still at the top of her game, Kate looked flawless in a crisp white shirt, paired with a black blazer. She teamed this with sleek black leggings and a pair of black ankle boots stutted with buttons. Famous family: Kate, 46 and 17-year-old Lila were joined by David, Victoria and Brooklyn Beckham on the very star-studded front row amid Paris Fashion Week The Croydon native allowed her natural beauty to shine through by donning a very light palette of make-up for the ocassion, while she let her blonde tresses hang loose. Meanwhile, Lila opted for a more casual look in a pale grey patterned shirt and dark, freyed jeans which she wore grey and white lace-up trainers. The teen looked very much like her famous mother, sporting long, blonde locks and a sleek but subtle layer of make-up. The pair looked close as they sat together at the show, chatting and giggling away throughout. Kate's boyfriend Count Nikolai Von Bismarck was also in attendance. Stylish duo: The mother and daughter duo looked relaxed and happy as they took in the show, sporting very chic ensembles as they did so Smart appearance: Kate's boyfriend Count Nikolai Von Bismarck was also in attendance That's my girl: The teen looked very much like her famous mother, sporting long, blonde locks and a sleek but subtle layer of make-up What a trio: The pair were in good company at the show, as they sat alongside model Cara Delevingne, 27 Striking: All three ladies looked stunning as they posed for snaps The pair were in good company at the show, as they sat alongside model Cara Delevingne, 27. Cara was in very animated spirits as she cosied up to Kate, with the two seen laughing and giggling together. The model looked sensational as she showed off her washboard abs by opting to forgo a shirt and just wear a semi-sheer bra underneath a sleek grey blazer. Fun times: Cara was in very animated spirits as she cosied up to Kate, with the two seen laughing and giggling together Style: She complemented her ensemble by wearing a pair of loose-fitting slacks, that she paired with sturdy black boots for an androgynous chic look Mini me: Lila followed in her mother's footsteps as she later made a very stylish exit Star of the show: Cara was certainly the centre of attention as she was surrounded by a horde of fans as she left the event Model behaviour: Cara posed up a storm with Robert Pattison Chit chat: The pair chatted away as they sat in the audience Pals: Cara gave Tyga a peck on the cheek as they enjoyed the fashion show on Friday, with the model sporting some feathers in her hair She complemented her ensemble by wearing a pair of loose-fitting slacks, that she paired with sturdy black boots for an androgynous chic look. Adding a touch of glitter to her outfit, Cara accessorised with a green jewel necklace that fell over her slender torso, while she also wore a gold hand chain bracelet. The model wore her brunette locks in a slick gelled-down ponytail that was held in place with an elaborate feather hair-tie, while she wore a light palette of make-up to accentuate her pretty features. Strike a pose: Further lighting up the front row in Paris was the Beckham clan, consisting of matriarch Victoria, 45, husband David, 44, and their eldest son Brooklyn, 20 Aspiring photographer: Brooklyn showed off his camera skills as he documented the show Enthralled: Brooklyn, Victoria and David couldn't keep their eyes off the show as the runway went ahead Glamorous: Victoria looked sensational as she reclined on her chair beside her eldest son Style Queens: As expected by the fashion designer, Victoria look typically stylish as she paired a scarf neck blouse that she tucked into a pair of bottle-green high waist fitted trousers from her bespoke label's pre Autumn/Winter 2020 collection Doting: Victoria looked lovingly at her son as he enjoyed the fashion show What a picture: The front row of the runway was sure to delight other attendees as the A-List stars enjoyed the show Further lighting up the front row in Paris was the Beckham clan, consisting of matriarch Victoria, 45, husband David, 44, and their eldest son Brooklyn, 20. As expected by the fashion designer, Victoria look typically stylish as she paired a scarf neck blouse that she tucked into a pair of bottle-green high waist fitted trousers from her bespoke label's pre Autumn/Winter 2020 collection. The former Spice Girl showed off her keen eye for fashion as she cinched her outfit at the waist with a red belt that had a gold swan buckle. Delightful: The pair shared a sweet moment together at the event Happy: Kate and Lila were all smiles as they later left the show Fashion forward: David meanwhile was his usual dapper self in a black blazer and trousers, teamed with a white shirt Keeping warm: Meanwhile, Brooklyn opted for a more cosier ensemble, donning a chunky, cream cable-knit cardigan Good looking: The Beckham clan later posed with stylist Kim Jones Concentrating: Brooklyn appeared deep in thought at the star-studded event What a show: Brooklyn scraped his hair back for the show and wore two earrings as well as a gold necklace Star quality: David also shared a laugh with Cara and Tyga on the front row in Paris Popular girl: Cara happily mingled with Tyga, David and Robert at the star-studded fashion show Power trio: Noomi Rapace, Adwoa Aboah and Cara Delevingne slayed in their sharp trouser suits Embrace: Adwoa and Cara hugged as Noomi looked on during the show Great duo: Diplo and Cara coordinated in grey outfits at the show David meanwhile was his usual dapper self in a black blazer and trousers, teamed with a white shirt. Meanwhile, Brooklyn opted for a more cosier ensemble, donning a chunky, cream cable-knit cardigan. The aspiring photographer looked chilled as she squeezed himself in between his parents on the front row. All eyes on them: Victoria showed off her full outfit as she later left the show So chic: Victoria looked effortlessly stylish in her boot cut forest green trousers as she made an elegant exit from the event So in love: The power couple shared a sweet moment at one point in the evening as David wrapped his arm around his wife Details: David's full ensemble was seen as he left, with the football legend sporting white lace-up trainers, while carrying a small brown bag Other stars taking in Dior's latest collection included actor Robert Pattison, 33, who wowed in a black leather jacket. The Twilight star appeared in a cheerful mood as he sat alongside Cara at the event. The duo also posed up a storm alongside Kylie Jenner's ex and rapper Tyga, 30. Famous: face: Other stars taking in Dior's latest collection included actor Robert Pattison, 33, who wowed in a black leather jacket What's so funny? The Twilight star appeared in a cheerful mood as he sat alongside Cara at the event Star power: The duo also posed up a storm alongside Kylie Jenner's ex and rapper Tyga, 30 Turning heads: Adding a touch of glitter to her outfit, Cara accessorised with a green jewel necklace that fell over her slender torso, while she also wore a gold hand chain bracelet Also turning up to enjoy the show was model Bella Hadid where she showcased her new fringed hairstyle. The supermodel, 23, looked sizzling as she sported a bouncy 60s-inspired hairdo with a short fringe as she headed out in the City of Lights. Opting for an opulent ensemble, she donned a black sweater paired with a three-quarter-length black velvet coat with leather lapels. Style: Bella Hadid debuted a vampy new hairstyle as she arrived at the Dior Homme show during Paris Fashion Week Wow factor: The supermodel, 23, looked sizzling as she sported a bouncy 60s-inspired hairdo with a short fringe as she headed out in the City of Lights Wow: Opting for an opulent ensemble, she donned a black sweater paired with a three-quarter-length black velvet coat with leather lapels Looking sharp: Drawing the eye to her honed legs, she slipped on wet look trousers and chunky black trainers Dazzling: The star brought some sparkle to her look with crushed velvet silver gloves, which she showed off as she waved at fans Stunning: Her pretty features were enhanced with a radiant palette of make-up Drawing the eye to her honed legs, she slipped on wet look trousers and chunky black trainers. The star brought some sparkle to her look with crushed velvet silver gloves, which she showed off as she waved at fans. Her pretty features were enhanced with a radiant palette of make-up. Key pieces: The stars were out in force as they viewed Dior's Fall/Winter 2020-2021 menswear collection which featured eye-catching outerwear Out and about: Fashion designer Lulu Kennedy, 51, also stepped out for the star-studded show These boots are made for walking: The founder of Fashion East & MAN looked smart in an all black outfit, of which she broke up with baby pink slouchy boots Happy couple: Meanwhile, Sadie Frost and her boyfriend Darren Strowger looked happier than ever as they cosied up together at the show Close pair: The duo leaned in close to one another as they posed for pictures Say cheese: The couple later posed with Sonny Hall and Sonny Starkey Group shot: The couple also posed with Kim Jones, Rosemary Ferguson and Jake Chapman Fashion designer Lulu Kennedy, 51, also stepped out for the star-studded show. The founder of Fashion East & MAN looked smart in an all black outfit, of which she broke up with baby pink slouchy boots. Meanwhile, Sadie Frost and her boyfriend Darren Strowger looked happier than ever as they cosied up together at the show. Vampish attire: Kate Moss' BFF looked glam in a loose-fitting black dress, which she paired with black boots Lovely: Courtney Love was also in attendance, donning a shimmering grey satin shirt and black trousers Why so serious? There, she posed alongside Jordan Barrett, who cut a smart figure in a black ensemble Joyful: Courtney appeared to be in a good mood as she larked around in the snap Contrast: Jordan (left) donned an all black number while Douglas Booth rocked a white T-shirt with an off-white blazer Company: He sat alongside model Adwoa Aboah at the event Kate Moss' BFF looked glam in a loose-fitting black dress, which she paired with black boots. The designer added a slick of shimmering make-up to her look, while she added a touch of bling with pretty gold pendants. Courtney Love was also in attendance, donning a shimmering grey satin shirt and black trousers. Glam: Adwoa Aboah and Noomi Rapace looked stunning as they rocked pastel ensembles Hollywood star: Upping the A-list glamour was actress Christina Ricci, who put on a flawless display as she posed for snaps at the show Looking fabulous: The actress, 39, showcased her fashion prowess as she sported a midnight blue trouser suit There, she posed alongside Jordan Barrett, who cut a smart figure in a black ensemble. Actor Douglas Booth looked in high spirits as he enjoyed the show. He sat alongside model Adwoa Aboah and Noomi Rapace at the event. Dazzling: It was a very star-studded event at the Dior Hommes show Attendees: Robert Montgomery (right) and Rosemary Ferguson were in attendance Looking great: Isabella Boreman and Editor of AnOther Man Ben Cobb posed for snaps at the show Upping the A-list glamour was actress Christina Ricci, who put on a flawless display as she posed for snaps at the show. The actress, 39, showcased her fashion prowess as she sported a midnight blue trouser suit. The Casper star boosted her height with a pair of pointed navy heels, while she drew the eye with a quirky silver necklace. Christina styled her brunette tresses in loose waves, while she added a shimmering palette of make-up to her face. Actress Noomi Rapace also upped the glamour as she sported a pale pink coat teamed with an ivory two-piece. Gorgeous: Actress Noomi Rapace also upped the glamour as she sported a pale pink coat teamed with an ivory two-piece Stylish: Noomi, Adwoa and Robert cut stern figures as they sat in the audience Cuddles: The actress cuddled up to stylist Kim Jones at the event Stunners: Neneh Cherry and Adwoa put their best foot forward as they posed for a snap Once the fashion show came to an end, many stars decided to let their hair down at the Dior Perfume Dinner, which took place at the Caviar Kaspia eatery in the stunning French city. Kate looked as stylish as ever as she brought her daughter into the party, while Courtney continued to sport her stylist grey ensemble. Inside the dinner Kate and her daughter even got a snap with Bella, after they were all spotted in attendance for the fashion show. Party time! Once the fashion show came to an end, many stars decided to let their hair down at the Dior Perfume Dinner, which took place at the Caviar Kaspia eatery in the stunning French city (Kate pictured left and Courtney pictured right) Beaming: Kate was in high spirits as she made her way into the fashion show sported an array of different silver rings on her fingers Close: The model brought along her stylish daughter Lila Grace for the star-studded occasion as they posed up a storm together Say cheese! The mother-daughter duo certainly made for a picture-perfect pair as they posed together inside the fashion party What a match! Inside the dinner Kate and her daughter even got a snap with Bella, after they were all spotted in attendance for the fashion show Funky: Bella also made a bold statement in a thigh-skimming black dress and a leather jacket, along with thigh-high matching boots and silver gloves as she displayed her new fringed hairstyle United: Kate and Courtney displayed their effortlessly chic looks inside the bash Besties: Suki and Cara both displayed their own funky but stylish looks as they headed into the post-fashion show party together, along with Sonny Hall and Adwoa Aboah (right) After the fashion show, the stars were also seen exiting the venue in Paris, with Courtney leading the way alongside Suki, who opted to exit solo. Her beau and rumoured fiance Robert Pattinson followed close behind in a casual black ensemble and matching leather jacket. Cara also continued to flash the flesh in her perilously plunging grey trouser suit which flashed plenty of her black bra. Taxi! After the fashion show, the stars were also seen exiting the venue in Paris, with Courtney leading the way alongside Suki, who opted to exit solo. Low-key: Suki's boyfriend Robert Pattinson also made a solo exit from the after party, in a classic black leather jacket over a matching ensemble and grey trainers The stars were spotted leaving the party having attended the Dior Homme Menswear Autumn/Winter 2020-2021 show earlier in the evening. The show seemed to be driven by muted grey and black tones, and along with plenty of tailoring the models donned oversized silks and furs, with cheeky pops of colour from statement accessories. It came just two days before Men's Paris Fashion Week comes to a close, with designers including Lanvin, Hermes and Paul Smith still set to showcase their latest looks. The U.S. military has a mixed history with social media. Most recently, the U.S. Army came under fire for what many considered an inappropriate Facebook post about a Nazi fighter. One of the Pentagon's top officers says the military still has a long way to go to reach Americans online effectively. "I think the challenge that we have right now is, we're still adjusting to social media," Air Force Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview with Military.com on Thursday. "Now, social media is very, very stressful on the timing of information. I think we're still adjusting to learning how to effectively do that." The military's top leaders have been on a mission to better connect with the public. But the message sometimes falls flat on social media, whether they're trying to clarify a statement or to connect with potential new recruits. Related: Facing Accusations of Sexual Assault, General Says He Wants to Help Victims It doesn't help that bad actors and adversaries are also watching the message, Hyten said. He gave an example of a New Year's Eve tweet by U.S. Strategic Command that seemed to equate dropping bombs with the ball drop in New York City's Time Square. The post received a harsh response from the public. "When I was at STRATCOM, we screwed up a couple things really bad [on] social media. I had a public affairs officer who was being clever. ... He [had] just received a B-2 [Spirit] video of dropping a very large bomb. So he said, 'What a perfect time. I'll put that out on New Year's Eve,'" said Hyten, who was head of STRATCOM prior to moving to the Joint Staff. "[Sometimes] you end up screwing up," he said, adding that it became a lesson learned for the command. "But you have to still be able to push out your message. You just have to learn how to do that. So I think we're still learning [the best ways to] try to push out the message, and because of that we're still making some mistakes." Hyten spoke on a number of other topics, from Space Force to the threat of "unstoppable" missiles. His comments have been edited for clarity and brevity. Q: The Pentagon has spelled out to the best of its ability what the Space Force is supposed to do, but that hasn't stopped the general public from thinking that the newest military branch is supposed to fight off aliens someday. In your mind, what kind of culture does the Pentagon need to foster in order for the Space Force to be successful, and what's the message it needs to project to everyday citizens? A: On the Jimmy Kimmel show the other night, after the Space Force announcement, they [reenacted] the vice president swearing in Gen. [John] Raymond [the first-ever Chief of Space Operations]. And there was "Gen. Raymond" with his uniform on, and then with an alien head on top. And it was funny. Steven Carell is about to do a show on Netflix about Space Force, and I can't wait to see it. If you're a space geek, which I am, you just hope they get the technical stuff correct. ... But when we look at the military people that are going to be a part of this, and right now there's 16,000 people that are under the Space Force ... it's real simple: They need to have a warfighter's attitude. Number one, figure out how to defend and protect themselves at all times defend this nation at all times, and then to deny advantage to an adversary in a time of conflict. And to do it in a way that is advantageous to the United States and our allies. There'll be lots of humor and lots of jokes, and a lot of them will be funny. And I hope I can laugh along with everybody else. But this is deadly serious business. And it's all focused on war fighting. ... And if we make it any more complicated than that, we will actually screw up. Q: Is that part of the reason why Congress wrote language in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to limit redundancy and bureaucratic bloat? A: I think that's a great observation by Congress. And they're going to watch us like a hawk. And I've told the leadership in Congress that I applaud that and I support it. Because you can see how it could get out of control real easy. ... If you create the same overshoot, a structure that you have in the United States Air Force for the Space Force ... the overhead would just be outrageous. The good news is, is that we're all aligned. The secretary of defense, the president, the vice president, the secretary of the Air Force -- none of them want that overhead. We have the ability to design it from scratch. And Congress has said, "We'll watch you, and you'll have to come see us ... every 60 days to make sure that this is not happening."... That is their attitude, their approach, and I think it's perfect. Q: In 2018, you spoke at the Harvard Kennedy School, saying,"If you want to save money, change the threat. Don't change the level of security in this country, change the threat," referring to an enemy's behavior. I know at the time it was a broad-stroke way to talk about Russia's military advancements in recent years, but is that thought process synonymous with Iran's recent aggression? A: That idea is synonymous with every potential adversary we face on the planet. We don't want war. It's sad to me that people look at the military and think we want war. If you've ever experienced war, you don't want [it]. It should be the last resort. I was at Dover [Air Force Base, Delaware, where casualties are returned to the U.S.] the night before last, and those days are horrible days. Horrible days for families. Horrible days for the soldiers that were friends of the ones that were killed. You don't want those days, so the best way to do that is to avoid war. The best way to avoid war is to deter that war from happening. And so if the threat changes, that means our military posture can change. So that's China, Russia, Iran, North Korea . Every nation state has to be a whole-of-government approach, and the Defense Department is just a piece of that. Q: You mentioned you had concerns about Russia's "unstoppable missile" -- that the U.S. isn't completely prepared to stave off its hypersonic missile technologies -- during a Senate hearing in 2018. Russia recently claims to have unveiled its Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. How would you characterize its alleged advances in hypersonic tech? A: That was a continuing conversation in that hearing. [Hyten's spokeswoman, Maj. Trish Guillebeau, provided the full transcript of Hyten's remarks from the March 2018 hearing: "Our defense is our deterrent capability. We do not have any defense that could deny the employment of such a weapon against us. So our response would be our deterrent force, which would be the triad and the nuclear capabilities that we have to respond to such a threat."] We don't have the ability to shoot it down, but there's an "except" to that. And the "except" was what we've been defending ourselves with all along, which is our strategic deterrent. Our ICBMs, bombers, submarines. That provides our ability because the adversary can't do anything about our ability to respond if we're attacked. So the defense against the [supposed] Avangard is our strategic deterrent. We don't have a traditional missile defense capability against that because we have not developed it, but we do have a deterrence approach. But if anybody attacks us with those weapons, we'll be able to respond in an overwhelming fashion. So they should never think about using those weapons. Q: Deterrence doesn't seem like a one-size-fits-all approach. How is the Pentagon tailoring deterrence for specific threats? A: When you talk about deterrence, two things: Number one, deterrence is a whole-of-government responsibility. It's not just a military responsibility, and you have to use all the tools of the government in order to effectively deter. In my last job, I spent a lot of time thinking about it. The elements of deterrence really have not changed. The elements are the ability to impose costs on an adversary, the ability to deny benefit to that adversary, and the ability to communicate it credibly to that adversary, so they understand it. ... What we have to improve in this country is we have to improve how we communicate that to our potential adversaries. We have so many different avenues of communication. Now with the media, with speeches, with social media ... we have so many different elements, and it is very, very difficult in the United States to align all our messages so we have a clear, concise piece of the terms. ... That is the big challenge in a free society. How do you align all those different pieces?... So the elements haven't changed, but the means have changed. Q: In the last few years, the U.S. has seen massive disinformation campaigns on social media. How do you work through disinformation, and do you believe the Pentagon is at a crossroads in choosing to take a more reactionary approach instead of trying to get out ahead of a story? A: Some people call me "Pollyannaish." But I have a fundamental belief in the truth, that the truth is the most powerful thing that can be brought to bear on any problem. And if you just tell the truth, and you tell it straight, and you tell it right out, then truth is more powerful than any misconception. .... But you have to be aggressive with the truth, and you have to tell the truth right up front. Ideally, if you're aggressive with the truth, you're ahead of false narratives that come. And by the way, false narratives have been around forever. ... [Reporters like you] validate your sources as best you can, and you report on it. Most times, you're right. Sometimes you're wrong. And sometimes the source had information [that] was bad. Most times, it's just an honest mistake. And the way the press has worked in this country forever is it tends to be self-correcting. So, again, I was called "Pollyannaish" recently because I just have this hardcore belief that the truth is the most important thing in this country. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Read more: 11 US Troops Injured in Iranian Missile Attack on Iraq Base, Officials Confirm I never had much use for the queen. Maybe its the Irish in me. As Winston Churchill said: Weve always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English. Or maybe its the American in me. We did go to an awful lot of trouble to break away from that corgi-and-gin-loving racket 244 years ago. At some visceral level, though, America must regret being torn away from the royal family. How else to explain our enduring fascination with dynasties? Having spent my career covering four dysfunctional political dynasties, I rebel more than ever at the idea that biology entitles you to authority. The ghost of Diana gone rogue animates the fractured fairy tale of Meghan and Harry, and their intemperate attempt to upend centuries of starchy rules and break away from the Firm. Princess Dis dangerous tango with the tabloids left Harry with no taste to play that game again, especially with streaks of racism against Markle added to the mix. He recently confessed that every click or flash of a camera brought memories of his mothers death racing back into his mind. I covered Dianas first trip as the Princess of Wales to America in 1985. She seemed happy then, in that year before Charles resumed his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. She and the prince shared amused eye contact, winks and teasing remarks. Nancy Reagan planned an evening of candlelit dancing at the White House worthy of a 24-year-old Cinderella in a midnight blue velvet gown. The first lady arranged for the Marine Band to play Night Fever as John Travolta spun a euphoric Diana around the floor. (Shes a great little mover, he said afterward.) I wondered how Prince Charles would deal with a young wife with so much star power, absorbing so much attention. We were all mesmerized when she tucked her chin down in that shy pose and cast that modest yet saucy look up at us. The answer was: He did not deal with it well. Twelve years later, when the unimaginable tragedy hit, the royal ice cubes were furious at the expectation that they should emote for the woman who had publicly ripped the monarchy as a bloodless, soulless gang and christened herself the Prisoner of Wales. The Firm was out of its depth then, and it is again now. How can the queen and Prince Philip and Prince Charles possibly understand the desire of Meghan and Harry to rebrand as a Goopish lifestyle enterprise? The news that they have applied to trademark hundreds of items, from socks to hoodies, under the Sussex Royal logo makes Wallis Simpsons exile in the Bahamas, spent matching the color on the walls to her face powder, seem positively monastic. Can you really call yourself financially independent when all youre doing is cashing in on the royal name? Given the state of the world and the implosion of the British Empire with Scots once more contemplating an off ramp, Irish unity in play, Australia on fire and Boris Johnson tricking the queen into suspending Parliament in a Brexit ploy it is hard to feel sorry for the Duchess of Sussex complaining that her diamonds are heavy. The pathos for Markle, trapped in a designer cage, goes only so far. Its easy for royals to come to North America, where they are lavishly embraced as celebrities without all those pesky restrictions about class and role. (See The Crown episode about a wild, imbibing Princess Margaret charming LBJ.) Still, I think Meghan Markle should have wielded her wokeness where it is most needed in Buckingham Palace. She could have channeled the Obamas, who did a magnificent job of rising above racist taunts and working within the institution to imprint a new image of racial possibility in America. Markle had already successfully brought a refreshing dose of semi-radical chic to the royal family. Her visits to a mosque that housed Londoners displaced by the Grenfell Tower fire led to her putting out a 2018 cookbook, the proceeds of which went to the victims. At its best, the monarchy has been able to lift up people, as it did during the blitz in World War II. The collapse of the authority of the British monarchy mirrors the collapse of authorities generally, scarred by years of scandals about clergymen abusing children, athletes beating up girlfriends and university officials accepting bribes. And yet, even if the royals role in the culture is now akin to the Kardashians, it wasnt cool for Meghan and Harry to pants the 93-year-old queen, defy her instructions, dump their Megxit plan on Instagram and intensify the sad split between the brothers. (If ever there was a time for some dry gin. ) Whats the rush to give up real influence to be an Instagram influencer? Besides, who unfollows their own grandmother? Maureen Dowd is a columnist for The New York Times. The arrested funds will go to Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) Open source The court seized 10,2 million dollars belonging to the All-Ukrainian Development Bank and held in the accounts of the International Investment Bank and transferred them to the National Agency of Ukraine for finding, tracing and management of assets derived from corruption and other crimes (ARMA). This was reported by the press service of the Office of Prosecutor General of Ukraine. On January 13, a judge seized 10,2 million dollars of funds that were owned by PJSC All-Ukrainian Development Bank and were held in the accounts of PJSC International Investment Bank. On Thursday, January 16, the court ruled on the transfer of these funds to the management of Asset Recovery and Management Agency and ordered International Investment Bank to remmit them to the accounts of ARMA. Thus, on January 17, Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine appealed to the ARMA, requesting enforcement of the court's order for the arrest of 10,2 million dollars and their transfer to the ARMA. "These funds were arrested in a criminal proceeding on the legalization of illegally obtained income on financial transactions, which was conducted by the entourage of former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych," the statement reads. Law enforcement officers also study the legality of PJSC All-Ukrainian Development Bank's funds, which are held in the accounts of PJSC International Investment Bank and establish those involved in this decision. InDepth Pharmaceuticals, founded by Deepak Nihalani, Ph.D., the SmartState Endowed Chair in Renal Disease Biomarkers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), has taken a vital step toward commercializing an innovative diagnostic technique that could better predict kidney transplant success in patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a kidney disease that often leads to end-stage renal failure. The company has executed an option agreement with the MUSC Foundation for Research Development (FRD), which gives it rights to evaluate the diagnostic technique further, with an eventual opportunity to license it for commercialization. For the evaluation, the company will use funding from a small business technology transfer grant it received from the National Institutes of Health in 2019. With the option agreement executed, InDepth Pharmaceuticals can now continue to explore the feasibility of putting its novel diagnostic procedure into practice. Nihalani has dedicated the past fifteen years to the study of kidney disease, with a particular emphasis on FSGS, which has multiple forms. One of those forms can recur within hours to weeks after transplantation, leading to the loss of the donated kidney. Kidneys operate much like the water filters on top of water pitchers. The body goes through a multitude of processes, producing substances that one needs to live and those that can be toxic. The kidneys filter these toxins out of the blood while producing urine to rid them from the body. FSGS causes the filters within the kidneys, known as glomeruli, to scar and harden, making it difficult for them to eliminate waste products from the body. Eventually, this can lead to end-stage renal disease, leaving a patient with few options other than dialysis or a kidney transplant. Unfortunately, transplantation will not work for all patients with FSGS. In as many as 30% of these patients, the transplanted kidney will eventually fail. Being able to diagnose which patients are within that 30% is vital. "There is currently no way of predicting which FSGS patients who receive a kidney transplant will lose kidney function again," said Nihalani. Not knowing whether their transplanted kidney will eventually fail can be very emotionally taxing for patients with FSGS. Those whose kidneys do fail also face a huge economic burden. These emotional and economic burdens could be avoided if it were possible to predict more conclusively which patients with FSGS would benefit from kidney transplant and which would not. Alternative treatment approaches, including dialysis or even immunotherapy, could then be pursued for patients with FSGS for whom a kidney transplant would have no chance of success. Some years ago, Nihalani and his colleagues, including Milos N. Budisavljevic, M.D., a professor in the MUSC Division of Nephrology, brainstormed ways to predict transplant success in these patients. They were able to identify three different genes that, when put into stable cell lines, showed increased expression levels when interacting with plasma from patients with recurrent FSGS. Over the past two decades, Budisavljevic and his team had been collecting plasma samples from patients with recurrent FSGS, and these samples provided a perfect testing ground for their diagnostic concept. In a blinded study, they were able to test plasma from patients with FSGS and recurrent FSGS and found that they could diagnose recurrent FSGS with a sensitivity and specificity of over 80%. This procedure functions as a novel noninvasive diagnostic tool to detect recurrent FSGS. "For diagnostic procedures, we must identify what is causing the disease," explained Nihalani. "This was a dire case where some patients were having two or three kidney transplants and not getting better. Thus, we owed it to them to think outside of the box and come up with a new approach." To protect and begin to develop this novel technique, Nihalani was able to work with the MUSC FRD to patent the cell lines used for diagnosis. As a result, the startup company InDepth Pharmaceuticals was born. In addition to developing this diagnostic technique for recurrent FSGS, the company is working to come up with new therapeutics for other forms of kidney disease, as well as for liver fibrosis. With the recent signing of the option agreement, InDepth Pharmaceuticals must now estimate the market value of the diagnostic procedure to acquire more funding. This includes determining the cost of the procedure as well as validating it in a larger patient population. "There are approximately 1 million patients with FSGS worldwide, and 30% of them will have recurrent FSGS," said Nihalani. "However, we aim to serve all 1 million patients with FSGS, since any of them could potentially have recurrent FSGS." Unlike water filters on pitchers that can be replaced without repercussions, patients with recurrent FSGS cannot safely replace their kidneys. InDepth Pharmaceuticals aims to get its innovation to the clinic both to enable more preventive treatments for patients with recurrent FSGS and to avoid the loss of precious kidneys. ### About InDepth Pharmaceuticals InDepth Pharmaceuticals is a Charleston-based startup company focused on developing novel diagnostic procedures and therapies for kidney disease patients. Recently, the company has produced a novel cell-based technology that predicts the rate of survival for the transplanted kidney in patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. The availability of this procedure will help medical professionals to make informed clinical decisions to preserve the transplanted kidneys and prolong survival. The diagnostic is highly sensitive and requires minimal technical expertise. Further details will soon be available at indepthpharma.com. About the Medical University of South Carolina Founded in 1824 in Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is the oldest medical school in the South, as well as the state's only integrated, academic health sciences center with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and 700 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. The state's leader in obtaining biomedical research funds, in fiscal year 2018, MUSC set a new high, bringing in more than $276.5 million. For information on academic programs, visit http://musc.edu. As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality patient care available while training generations of competent, compassionate health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Comprising some 1,600 beds, more than 100 outreach sites, the MUSC College of Medicine, the physicians' practice plan and nearly 275 telehealth locations, MUSC Health owns and operates eight hospitals situated in Charleston, Chester, Florence, Lancaster and Marion counties. In 2019, for the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit http://muschealth.org. MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $3 billion. The more than 17,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers and scientists who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care. About MUSC Foundation for Research Development MUSC Foundation for Research Development is responsible for evaluating all intellectual assets the enterprise owns and generates, extracting value, and forging industry and other relationships resulting in products and services that provide real-life solutions to the world's medical needs. Whether our translations involve a technology license, research collaboration, or new startup venture, we serve as a dedicated one-stop shop for advancing innovation at MUSC. Our team is also dedicated to building an ecosystem of innovation whose activities contribute to MUSC's overall economic impact on our state and country. Please visit us online at frd.musc.edu. An Ohio mother is sharing her life-saving message after her family was poisoned by carbon monoxide last month. She said it happened because they didn't realize their car was damaged. "The fact that they may not have made it was very, very scary," Cherrica Floyd said. Floyd said her family now takes car maintenance seriously in an entirely different way. She said her fiance and their 1-year-old and 4-year-old children were poisoned by carbon monoxide in their Chevrolet HHR on Dec. 18. "There was no signs or anything," Floyd said. Her fiance noticed the car had a flat tire and pulled off to a gas station to try to figure out a solution. She said shortly after, their baby started crying and throwing up. Floyd said she told her fiance to call 911 as the baby started going "lifeless" but he did not have a chance before he passed out. She said she and her daughter arrived at the scene to find all three unresponsive. Floyd called 911 in a panic. "I think it's like a gas leak in my car and the kids and the baby daddy is here and they're not getting any air, whatsoever," she said to a dispatcher. "Right now, I have a 1-year-old, he's slumped over. I need somebody as soon as possible." "They were, you know, just very lifeless and I couldn't do anything but, you know, just stand there. I mean, my daughter had to help me and she was the one who actually ended up pulling them out of the car," Floyd said. Springfield Township police said the children were rushed to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. They said her fiance was taken to University Hospital and then to Columbus for treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. Floyd said they found their car had gotten damaged, somehow funneling carbon monoxide inside. She said they're all OK now, but this could happen to anyone and it could have ended very differently. "I'm very, very happy that I have all of my family," Floyd said. She said her fiance is back to work and the children are OK, but she said they are all still traumatized. Floyd also encourages people with exhaust system issues to get it checked out immediately. She is not sure if the car hit a speed bump or something else underneath caused the damage to their exhaust system. This pledge supports efforts statewide across Kaiser Permanente's footprint and builds on the $200 million in impact investments that Kaiser Permanente has announced in recent years in support of community health mainly focusing on affordable housing. It also complements ongoing sustainable rapid-housing programs and efforts to strengthen systems that can end chronic homelessness. Newsom announced the creation of the $750 million California Access to Housing and Services Fund in a preview of his 2020-21 budget on January 8, calling on corporate and philanthropic organizations to contribute to the fund as well. The fund will focus on prevention and early intervention by paying rent for individuals experiencing homelessness or on the verge of losing housing; supporting local governments to develop additional low-income housing units; and helping stabilize board-and-care facilities that house multiple people. "Chronic homelessness has been shown to cut 27 years from the average life span and is associated with communicable diseases such as hepatitis and typhus, increased hospitalizations, and frequent readmissions," said Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Greg Adams. "Safe and stable housing is key to a person's physical, mental and social health, so we applaud the governor's plan to address homelessness. Our investment in the fund aligns with Kaiser Permanente's overall strategy to preserve affordable housing and prevent displacement of existing residents, while addressing the root causes of homelessness in our communities." The California Access to Housing and Services Fund is the cornerstone of Newsom's budget proposal, which allocates more than $1 billion to address homelessness. Funds will be given directly to local providers throughout California by the Department of Social Services, providing flexibility to allocate resources to address communities' varying needs. "The homelessness crisis impacts every community in California and it's on all of us to step up and lean in to find solutions. Just nine days after challenging California's philanthropic and private sectors to partner with the state, Kaiser Permanente answered the call," said California Governor Gavin Newsom. "I thank Kaiser Permanente's leadership for meeting this moment head on with $25 million and joining with local and state efforts to get Californians off the street and into housing and health services." Affordable housing and homelessness are a significant focus of Kaiser Permanente's mission to improve the health outcomes of the 68 million people who live in the communities the organization serves. Overall mortality rates among people experiencing chronic homelessness are 3 to 4 times that of the general population. Homelessness increases the level and amount of care the health system must provide, even as it limits how successful that care can be. Common conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma are nearly impossible to manage without housing. "As a nonprofit integrated health system, we have strived to create total health for our members and our communities, and we know without a place to call home it is nearly impossible to maintain health," said Dr. Cynthia Telles, Community Health committee chair for the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals Boards of Directors. "Kaiser Permanente has moved beyond hospital walls to improve the lives of people in the communities we serve." Kaiser Permanente's work to combat homelessness includes a successful initiative with Bay Area Community Services to house 515 Oakland adults above the age of 50 and battling chronic health conditions; and a partnership with Community Solutions to enact system change that will end chronic homelessness in 24 communities that Kaiser Permanente serves. About Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.2 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/ For more information, contact: Marc Brown, [email protected], 510-271-6328 SOURCE Kaiser Permanente Related Links https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/ (Natural News) It appears that the Vatican used a respected charity to bail out a Church hospital plagued by corruption in a transaction that may have violated European regulatory commitments. Leaked documents show how Vatican officials used expensive and apparently deceptive means of diverting 50 million euros from the Bambino Gesu, a childrens hospital in Rome, to a bankrupt Italian dermatology hospital, going against warnings not to go through with the transaction from a cardinal who had been put in charge of financial transparency. Documents seen by the National Catholic Register showed that officials worked with two cardinals to arrange for the childrens hospital, which falls under Vatican authority, to guarantee the loan in question to the dermatology hospital, which is known as the Istituto Dermopatico dellImmacolata (IDI). Two lay consultants who were involved were given six-figure commissions in addition to their other salaries for their work on the transaction. At the time, the IDI was facing closure and debts of more than 600 million euros. A foundation was set up in 2015 in an effort to save the hospital and keep it as part of Catholic health care. The loan was strongly opposed by Cardinal George Pell at the time, but Pope Francis overrode him and let the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) move forward. Although the pope later canceled the hospitals loan guarantee when he realized his mistake, APSA has yet to return the 50 million euros to the childrens hospital. Vatican officials reportedly used APSA to hide the origins of the loan. They had the Bambino Gesu deposit the funds with APSA in the form of an APSA-issued certificate of deposit, which was used as collateral for guaranteeing the IDI loan. This made it appear that the financing came from APSA rather than the respected childrens hospital, which is mostly state-funded. One source told the Register that the move was all smoke and mirrors, and the paper saw documents showing the funds transfer to the foundation from the congregation. In a statement, the head of APSA, Bishop Nunzio Galantino, acknowledged that the central bank of the Vatican had loaned 50 million euros for the purchase of the IDI despite APSA being prohibited from making loans for commercial transactions by policies that exempt it from external oversight. Scandal-plagued Vatican cant stay out of the headlines Its not the only money laundering scandal to hit the Vatican recently. Reports emerged last fall demonstrating the movement of Vatican money though European slush funds, along with a $250-million-plus Vatican investment into luxurious London apartments through a financier who raked in profits while the Vatican investment tanked. Italian media outlets also reported that prosecutors found evidence of fraud, money laundering, embezzlement and abuse of office among the higher tier of Vatican management. Although Pope Francis made some strong initial moves toward cleaning up Vatican finances, seasoned Vatican bureaucrats always seem to be one step ahead of the group he assigned to reform their bureaucracy thanks to their immense influence and support. A powerful Vatican official canceled an external audit that had been planned for April 2016; the Vaticans auditor general was forced out the following year after allegedly discovering financial improprieties carried out by his superiors. A report by the anti-corruption authority of the Vatican last year showed that the Secretariat of State used around $725 million for off-book operations, most of which came from the popes charity fund. The Catholic Church has suffered scandal after scandal in recent years, and news like this wont do much to repair its reputation. Its time for the Pope to use his power to get serious about cleaning up the corruption in the Vatican and provide greater transparency about how funds are spent and improper behavior is addressed. Sources for this article include: LifeSiteNews.com NCRegister.com NYPost.com CatholicNewsAgency.com Yahoo Life Videos Gayle King is celebrating a decade on "CBS This Morning" and keeping tradition alive by wearing the same yellow and white dress that she's worn on each anniversary since her start. A Bellaire High School student accused of manslaughter in the Tuesday shooting death of a classmate will remain in custody pending the results of a mental health evaluation. The 16-year-old, whose identity hasnt been made public because he is a minor, appeared in handcuffs before a magistrate Friday. Despite his defense attorneys' arguments that he wouldn't pose any further threats, juvenile detention officer Samantha Davis determined that the teen was a danger to himself and others and could be reassessed for release at a later date. Kyiv [Ukraine], Jan 17 (ANI): Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk on Friday submitted his resignation to President Volodymyr Zelensky. "I have come to this post to fulfill the president's program. He is an example of openness and decency for me. However, to cast any doubt in our respect and trust in the president, I have written a resignation request and have submitted it to the president, with a right to submit it to the parliament," Honcharuk wrote on Facebook. The prime minister's resignation comes after an audio clip of a meeting headed by Honcharuk was leaked. The three-part audio recording capturing a part of the December 16 meeting hosted by Honcharuk was leaked online on the evening of January 15. The leaked recordings begin with Honcharuk asking those in attendance how to explain to Zelensky that the currency is strengthening after being highly undervalued before the April 21 presidential election that brought him to power. "He has that bullshit about obligations in his head," Honcharuk could be heard saying, referring to an allegation that Ukraine's sale of state bonds triggered the currency's improvement. (ANI) Josh Thomas has revealed the hilarious moment he left a room full of American TV executives baffled while trying his best to explain a common Australian medical term. The Aussie comedian told News.com.au he had awkwardly used 'descriptive words' to define the medical term 'thrush', better known in America as a yeast infection. The 32-year-old, who is promoting his new Stan series Everything's Gonna Be Okay, said: 'They didn't know what thrush was, and I didn't know what they called it!' Awkward! Josh Thomas has revealed the hilarious moment he left a room full of American TV executives baffled while trying his best to explain a common Australian medical term The term 'thrush' refers to a common vaginal infection caused by fungus that exists naturally in the body. It's an easily treatable condition, usually brought on by hormonal changes or as a side effect of certain medications - but can cause mild discomfort and a burning sensation. Josh continued: 'I had to try and explain it using descriptive words, and that's actually such a hard thing to do in a professional situation! 'Turns out, they call it a yeast infection...' Cringe! The Aussie comedian told News.com.au he had awkwardly used 'descriptive words' to define the medical term 'thrush', better known in America as a yeast infection. Pictured in his new show, Everything's Gonna Be Okay Josh's new series, Everything's Gonna Be Okay, premieres on Stan today. The show, which tells the story of a young man who is forced to look after his family after his father becomes terminally ill, was created, written and produced by Josh, who also plays the lead role. And it seems the program is already a hit, with critics labelling it 'sweet, silly and unapologetic'. The LA Times described it as an 'idiosyncratic and colourful series that treats adult and adolescent love, sex, pain and grief with remarkably funny candor'. Critically acclaimed: Josh's new series, Everything's Gonna Be Okay, premieres on Stan on Friday. The show has already been praised across the world TV Insider has called the series 'silly, sweet, poignant and unapologetic'. Meanwhile, The New York Times said the show is 'delightful, happy-sad [and] figuring it out one improvised step at a time'. Everything's Gonna Be Okay premieres today at 5pm, with new episodes weekly, same day as the US - only on Stan The Deputy General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Boamah Otukonor 17.01.2020 LISTEN The Deputy General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Boamah Otukonor has vowed to organize several demonstrations against the Electoral Commission (EC) if it insists on compiling a new voters' register despite the resistance by Ghanaians. The controversial politician accused the EC of being biased and sleeping with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). According to him, the current voters register is credible, the same register which declared Nana Akufo-Addo as President after the 2016 general elections. He added that the same register was recently used for the district level elections held on the 17th December, 2019. "We know that the same voters register that the NPP is struggling to discredit is the same register that gave birth to Nana Addo Dankwa as President of Ghana. What has suddenly gone wrong with the register, or what is likely to go wrong with the register between now and Election Day of 7th December 2020? We in the NDC are of the firm belief that a credible voters register is a sin qua non to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections, Peter Boamah Otukonor told Lawyer Ohene Gyan on Pae Mu Ka on Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7 This, the NDC has accused the EC of scheming to rig the upcoming 2020 elections in favour of the government with its plan to disenfranchise some known favourites of NDC. But the ruling NPP has denied all indicating that, once the Commission can justify the need to compile a new register, they would support it. Y es Minister star Derek Fowlds has died at the age of 82, his family has confirmed. The British actor was best known for playing Bernard Woolley in the hit political comedy. He also starred as Oscar Blaketon in ITV police drama Heartbeat for 18 years. Fowlds died at Royal United Hospitals Bath in the early hours of Friday (January 17) morning after suffering from pneumonia that led to heart failure caused by sepsis. Fowlds (left) with Sir Nigel Hawthorne and Paul Eddington in Yes Minister / PA He was surrounded by his family when he died and is survived by sons Jamie and Jeremy. Helen Bennett, his personal assistant and long-time friend, told PA: "He was the most beloved man to everybody who ever met him, he never had a bad word to say about anybody and he was so well respected, adored by everyone. "You couldn't have met a nicer person ever, he was just a wonderful man and I will miss him terribly." Fowlds (top left) with the cast of Heartbeat in 1996 / PA Born in London in 1937, Fowlds trained at RADA and went on to appear in films including Hotel Paradiso, Tamahine and East of Sudan throughout the 60s. He also starred in TV series including Z Cars, The Liver Birds and ITV Sunday Night Theatre, and found fame with a younger audience as Mr Derek on The Basil Brush Show. Fowlds joined the children's programme in 1969, replacing Rodney Bewes as the presenter, and appeared alongside the glove puppet fox until 1973. He joined Yes Minister in 1984 alongside Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne and appeared in the series for four years. He later reprised the role of Woolley for the sequel Yes, Prime Minister from 1986 until 1988. He joined Heartbeat in 1992 and stayed on the show for its entire 18 series run until it was cancelled in 2010. The actor was married to actress Wendy Tory from 1963 to 1973 and to Blue Peter presenter Lesley Judd from 1974 to 1978. A breakthrough in genetic research has solved the mystery of why children in the close-knit Amish community in the northeast US kept dying suddenly, and with no apparent explanation. The deaths occurred when the children were playing and running around, and one family lost four childrenover an eight year period. Post-mortem examinations failed to identify any known cause of death. It has been referred to in the Amish community as the curse of sudden death, according to Michael Ackerman, director of the Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, who led research on the cases. After the first two victims in 2004 the local medical examiner got in touch with Ackermans team as they were pioneers of molecular autopsy. The research team had suspicions that a mutation of a gene called RYR2 might be to blame. Small changes in the RYR2 gene had been linked to other cases of sudden death involving physical exercise linked to cardiac issues. However, the children all appeared to have normal hearts, and no genetic mutations showed up in the initial study. The case grew cold, but when another two siblings died, researchers realised that with better technology and more advanced tools at their disposal, they might stand a chance of solving the mystery. The breakthrough came in 2019, and a week ago the findings were published in a report in JAMA Cardiology. The new research once again picked up the thread of the RYR2 gene, and two large extended Amish families with multiple sudden deaths in young individuals from apparent sudden cardiac arrests were included in the study. The report noted a recessive gene inheritance pattern in young individuals with sudden cardiac arrests, despite unaffected parents. While the research had originally focussed on a mutation in a base pair in the genes, the use of a special analytical method that detects where entire genes or segments of genes might have been duplicated solved the mystery. Story continues The RYR2 gene was the culprit, but it was not a base pair of genes to blame. It was more than 300,000 base pairs that had been duplicated within the gene. If both parents carry the genetic marker then their children would be at risk from the cardiac issues that had already taken so many lives. The two families in the study were seemingly unrelated, but as Amish society is particularly tight knit, the appearance of the same genetic defect in two separate families suggests common lineage at some point. As a genetically isolated population, the Amish have developed unusual health problems from their closed gene pool, and given the close proximity in which they live, it is not uncommon for couples to be related in some way. While the Amish are known for forgoing modern technology, they do not completely avoid it, especially where it can be so useful. It is hoped that this research will help other families avoid similar heartbreak. The discovery of this genetic marker allows for testing for the presence of the mutation in individuals. This can potentially save lives as informed decisions can now be made regarding marriage and procreation, thereby helping prevent sudden death tragedies from occurring in the future. For those children that already have the mutation the only option currently available to prevent cardiac issues is an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), an expensive solution. Researchers are now working on developing medication in an effort to make treatment more accessible. Read more British hiker survives six-hour cardiac arrest in 'exceptional' case Genetic drug-testing could be used for 2020 Tokyo Olympics Lab worker accidentally injects herself with smallpox-related virus Mutant gene in Amish makes them live 10 years longer Friday, January 17, 2020 Kevin Jae, a member of our Emerging Fellows program initiates publishing a series of blog posts aimed at identifying the impact of migrations on the world order by 2050. This is his first post in our EF blog. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the APF or its other members. The figure of the migrant, diffused in media broadcasts across the world, is a political image that provokes polarizing reactions. The migrantis it a completely novel emergence in history? Even a cursory reading on the topic reveals that migration is not a new phenomenon. A peoplehowever nationalist myths construct themhave never been resting stagnant within nation-state borders. We are all migrants and mongrels of some sort. All desires for a pure nationalist phenotype are a nostalgic longing for idylls that have never existed. Why is migration important to understand? While we may look upon past histories of migration with the detached interest of an academic, our contemporary migrations are all-too-close and all-too-urgent: they present an ethical imperative, a duty to decide and to act. This challenge is not one that the global community can neglect and stay a safe distance from. The most recent mass migration has come from the Syrian Civil war, where an estimated population of 22 million Syrians were scattered about by the vagaries of historical circumstance 13 million were displaced and 5 million of those displaced found themselves outside of Syrian national borders. The rippling geo-political effects of Syrian mass-migrations (among others) have impacted the world. Liberal democracies around the world agreed to do their fair share and house migrants; however, recent response by recipient states have changed. They have adopted a hostile position to migrants and from the fringes, alt-right parties and their leaders have begun to take center stage in contemporary politics. One commonality in these parties platforms has been the rejection of and the anxiety toward the foreign migrant. Migration has changed national politics. National politics, in turn, have changed international politics as nationalist discourse has led to an inward-looking and parochial political vision. The British and American exits from free trade deals and international organizations suggest the first cracks in the liberal world order, with its goals for political and economic international co-operation. A comparatively small displacement led to profound effects around the world. The future is filled with the possibility of migration. Mass migrations will be a potent combination of push and pull factors: it will be a combination of aspirational desires in rich, urban metropolises and retreats from poverty and political instability. Of course, not all migrant populations will be undesirable. The growing, young demographics in the Global South will be welcomed in the Global North to fill labour shortages. These are likely to be in the minority compared to the potential migrations spurred on by existential threats like climate change, which has the potential to make large swaths of land mass uninhabitable. How might the introduction of a large migrant population, one that grossly outnumbers the current migrants, spark intra-national and international conflicts, both diplomatic and military? The future of mass migration that we head towards today provokes all of these questions. To neglect this question would be to drive without headlights in the darkness. Through analysis and by writing about this topic, I hope to turn on the metaphorical headlights and illuminate the faint contours ahead. Only in the crudest beliefs in human nature is the fate of humanity doomed to economic rationality and resource-related conflicts from migration. As human beingsand this, fellow futurists should be well awarewe have the power to construct the future. We are not mere passengers driven by fate. Why is migration important to understand? To shape the future. Kevin Jae 2020 TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's supreme leader lashed out at Western countries as he led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, dismissing American clowns who he said pretend to support the Iranian nation but want to stick their "poisoned dagger into its back. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE-In this file photo released on May 22, 2019 by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks to a group of students in Tehran, Iran. Iran's supreme leader will deliver a Friday, Jan. 17, 2020 sermon in Tehran for the first time since 2012, as the Islamic Republic grapples with the fallout from the targeted killing of its top general in a U.S. airstrike and popular anger at its accidental shootdown of a passenger plane. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File) TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's supreme leader lashed out at Western countries as he led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, dismissing American clowns who he said pretend to support the Iranian nation but want to stick their "poisoned dagger into its back. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used his rare appearance at the weekly prayers to deliver a fiery address in which he insisted Iran would not bow to U.S. pressure after months of crushing sanctions and a series of recent crises from the American killing of a top Iranian general to Iran's accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane. Khamenei said the mass funerals for Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this month, show that the Iranian people support the Islamic Republic despite its recent trials. He said the cowardly hit on Soleimani had taken out the most effective commander in the battle against the Islamic State group. In response to Soleimani's killing, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting U.S. troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. Khamenei said the strike dealt a blow to America's image as a superpower. In the part of his sermon delivered in Arabic, he said the real punishment would be in forcing the U.S. to withdraw from the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump later tweeted a sharp response to Khamenei: The so-called Supreme Leader' of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words!" In this Feb. 3, 2012 photo released by an official website of the Iranian supreme leader's office, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers his sermons of Friday prayers at the Tehran University campus in Tehran, Iran. Iran's supreme leader will deliver a Friday sermon on Jan. 17, 2020 in Tehran for the first time since 2012, as the Islamic Republic grapples with the fallout from the targeted killing of its top general in a U.S. airstrike and popular anger at its accidental shootdown of a passenger plane. (Office of the Supreme Leader via AP) After the missile strike on Soleimani, as Iran's Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after takeoff from Tehran's international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. When it came, their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Khamenei called the shootdown of the plane a "bitter accident" that he said had saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. He said Iran's enemies had seized on the crash to question the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard and the armed forces. In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, leads the Friday prayers at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. Iran's supreme leader said President Donald Trump is a "clown" who only pretends to support the Iranian people but will "push a poisonous dagger" into their backs, as he struck a defiant tone in his first Friday sermon in Tehran in eight years. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) Ukraine's foreign minister, Vadym Prystaiko, said Friday that his country wants Iran to issue a formal document admitting its guilt. Ukraine, Canada and other nations whose citizens died in the crash have demanded Iran pay compensation to the victims' families. The German airline Lufthansa, meanwhile, said its flights would continue to avoid Iranian airspace through March 28, citing the continued unclear security situation. Khamenei also lashed out at Britain, France and Germany after they triggered a dispute mechanism to try and bring Iran back into compliance with the unraveling 2015 nuclear agreement. Iran began openly breaching certain limits under the agreement last summer, more than a year after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal and began imposing sanctions. After the killing of Soleimani, Iran said it was no longer bound by the nuclear deal. In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to worshippers prior to deliver his sermon in the Friday prayers at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. Iran's supreme leader said President Donald Trump is a "clown" who only pretends to support the Iranian people but will "push a poisonous dagger" into their backs, as he struck a defiant tone in his first Friday sermon in Tehran in eight years. A portrait of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini hang in background. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) These contemptible governments are waiting to bring the Iranian nation to its knees, Khamenei said. America, who is your elder, your leader and your master, was not able to bring the Iranian nation to its knees. You are too small to bring the Iranian nation to its knees. Khamenei has held the country's top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of Soleimani and vowed harsh retaliation against the United States. Thousands of people attended the Friday prayers, occasionally interrupting his speech by chanting God is greatest! and Death to America! In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers his sermon in the Friday prayers at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. Iran's supreme leader said President Donald Trump is a "clown" who only pretends to support the Iranian people but will "push a poisonous dagger" into their backs, as he struck a defiant tone in his first Friday sermon in Tehran in eight years. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since Trump withdrew from the nuclear accord, which had imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The U.S. has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Trump has openly encouraged the protesters even tweeting in Farsi hoping that the protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a longtime adversary. Khamenei mocked those efforts, dismissing these American clowns who falsely and despicably say that they are standing with the Iranian people. He did not refer to Trump by name, but was clearly referring to him and his administration. In this aerial picture released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, worshippers attend Friday prayers ceremony led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. Iran's supreme leader lashed out at Western countries as he led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, dismissing American clowns who he said pretend to support the Iranian nation but want to stick their "poisoned dagger into its back. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) You are lying, he said. "If you do stand with the Iranian people it is because you want to stick your poisoned dagger into the back of the Iranian nation. Of course you haven't been able to do that so far, and you won't be able to do a damn thing. Khamenei was always skeptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the United States could not be trusted. But he allowed President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, to conclude the agreement with President Barack Obama. Since Trump's withdrawal, he has repeatedly said there can be no negotiations with the United States. Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called Israel a cancerous tumour and vowed to support anyone confronting it. He also warned against any U.S. strikes on Iran over its nuclear program, saying the U.S. would be damaged 10 times over. ___ Krauss reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police said a suspected terrorist attack was foiled in the province's tribal Bajaur district, bordering Afghanistan, on Friday. District Police Officer Pir Shahab Ali Shah said local people from Sango area in Salarzai Tehsil told the police about RPG-7 rockets installed in the area. The police along with a bomb disposal squad rushed to the spot and neutralised the rocket-propelled grenades, Shah said. While the police was investigating the matter, the DPO said the rocket launchers were installed for terrorist activity. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SEEING the need to uplift the livelihood of micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in the regions, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has allotted a budget of P200 million. Demphna Du-Naga, DTIs Assistant Secretary for the Regional Operations Group, said they are targeting to tap the regional ecosystem of MSMEs to implement some of DTIs projects. We now have the budget to fund more One Town One Product (Otop) programs as well as other priority projects aimed towards MSME development in the region, Du-Naga said, during the launching of the first Otop Philippine Hub in Cebu Province located inside the terminal of Pier 1 in Cebu City. Last year, our products already reached international markets like Germany and Paris. And we saw the potential of the Otop when our sales surpassed the target, she said. Du-Naga said their target when they joined an international fair in Cologne, Germany was US$6 million. When we went home, the sales were at $8.9 million, she said, noting that organic food items were a hit during the international fair. Organic food are really big in other countries since they are shifting to a lifestyle of healthy living, she added. She said Filipinos excel in discovering innovative products and the only thing that they need is a little push. There is a need for training and implementation in the business. We then guide them to find the right market, the DTI official said. Otop Philippines is a priority stimulus program for MSMEs as governments customized intervention to drive inclusive local economic growth. The program enables localities and communities to determine, develop, support and promote products or services rooted in their local culture and competitive advantage. (JOB) Duke Energy Corp.s DUK subsidiary, Duke Energy Renewables, recently acquired a portfolio of nine solar projects in the state of Georgia. The project comes under the Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI) of Georgia Power, a unit of Southern Company SO. Details of the Deal With the portfolio having total power generating capacity of 20 megawatt-alternating current (MWac), distributed solar projects of Duke Energy Renewables comes to 47.4 MWac in Georgia. The projects have been jointly built by Duke Energy Renewables' distributed generation arm, REC Solar, a leading European brand of solar panels provider and Inman Solar, which specializes in solar installations. The electricity generated from these solar farms, under a 30- or 35-year power purchase agreement, will be sold to Georgia Power as part of its REDI Distributed Generation RFP program. Georgia Power and Duke Energy Duke Energys partnership with Georgia Power dates back to 2016, when Duke Energy Renewables purchased six solar projects with a total capacity of 4.7 MW and agreed to sell the electricity to Georgia Power. In August 2019, Duke Energy Renewables, in collaboration with SolAmerica Energy, developed nine solar projects in Central Georgia. These renewable assets were added in accordance with Georgia Powers Renewable Energy Development Initiative. With Georgia Power offering electric service to customers in 155 of the states 159 counties, the latest project acquisition by Duke Energy seems to be a strategic decision by this utility to boost its presence in the expanding solar market of Georgia. Whats in View? With the whole world inclining toward renewables, the state of Georgia is taking strategic initiatives to promote solar power. Per the latest report of Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the state ranked 10th in the nation in terms of solar power production in the third quarter of 2019. A total investment of $2.3 billion has been made to promote solar power generation in the state. Story continues Looking ahead, solar projects worth 1.623 MW are expected to be installed over the next five years in Georgia. Such growth projections must have encouraged utility providers like Duke Energy, which boasts extensive plans to add more renewable assets to its generation portfolio. Price Performance Shares of Duke Energy have gained 12.7% compared with the industrys 24.8% rally in the past 12 months. Zacks Rank Duke Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the same space are Consolidated Edison, Inc. ED and Edison International EIX, both of which hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.. Consolidated Edison long-term growth estimate currently stands at 2%. The companys 2020 earnings estimate indicates year-over-year growth of 5%. Edison Internationals long-term growth estimate currently stands at 5.3%. The company delivered average positive earnings surprise of 0.09% in the last four quarters Free: Zacks Single Best Stock Set to Double Today you are invited to download our latest Special Report that reveals 5 stocks with the most potential to gain +100% or more in 2020. From those 5, Zacks Director of Research, Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. This pioneering tech ticker had soared to all-time highs and then subsided to a price that is irresistible. Now a pending acquisition could super-charge the companys drive past competitors in the development of true Artificial Intelligence. The earlier you get in to this stock, the greater your potential gain. See 5 Stocks Set to Double>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Consolidated Edison Inc (ED) : Free Stock Analysis Report Edison International (EIX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Southern Company (The) (SO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research ABC News Former President Donald Trump, his sister Maryanne Trump Barry and the estate of his late brother Robert Trump tried on Tuesday to convince a New York judge to dismiss a lawsuit by Mary Trump that accused her family of swindling her out of at least $10 million. Attorneys for the Trump siblings argued Mary Trump's claims are time-barred by a six-year statute of limitations and prohibited by legal releases she signed in 2001 when the family settled the estate of Fred Trump Sr., the former president's father. The Trumps also argued Mary Trump possessed "boxes and boxes of information" about the estate settlement that should have given rise to any claims at the time. DR Congo police fired tear gas to prevent anti-government protesters gathering in the capital Kinshasa on Friday, forcibly escorting an opposition leader back home to stop him participating in the rally. The attempted march was the latest protest by former presidential candidate Martin Fayulu since he lost a December 2018 election he claims was fixed in favour of President Felix Tshisekedi. One person was slightly injured on the head by police, who turned out in force, firing tear gas to break up small groups of opposition supporters trying to rally, an AFP correspondent said. The demonstration had been banned in advance by the authorities. "They confiscated my money. I wasn't even there for the march," said Jean-Paul, who was bleeding from his head after saying he was roughed up by police on a main road in the city. Security forces escorted Fayulu's car on foot and in vans back to his home, ensuring he could not march with his supporters following an early morning Roman Catholic Mass in the working-class Ndjili district. Fayulu had called the demonstration to denounce militant attacks and what he calls the "Balkanisation" of the country's east, accusing officials of breaking up the region to the benefit of neighbouring countries like Rwanda. "The DRC is already Balkanised. It just needs to be put into practice on the ground," said Blaise, a member of Fayulu's political party Ecide (Commitment to Citizenship and Development). Militants have killed dozens of civilians around the town of Beni in North Kivu province in eastern DRC since the army began a crackdown on the group three months ago. The massacres, blamed on the Allied Democratic Front (ADF), prompted local people to storm a base of the UN MONUSCO mission late in November, accusing peacekeepers of failing to protect them. Fayulu challenged the result of the December 2018 election in the constitutional court, but his claim was rejected and Tshisekedi was declared the victor. The European Union has said doubts remain over the results. Officials banned Friday's march to "prevent breaches of the peace" on the public holiday marking the anniversary of the death of national independence hero Patrice Lumumba, who was assassinated on January 17, 1961. Search Keywords: Short link: German Foreign Minister Maas Says LNA's Haftar Has Agreed to Libya Ceasefire - Reports Sputnik News 17:35 16.01.2020(updated 18:08 16.01.2020) Berlin will host a UN-led conference on Libya on 19 January with the participation of Egypt, Russia, the United States, and Turkey, among other countries. The heads of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) are expected to attend. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the leader of the Libyan National Army (LNA), had agreed to a ceasefire in Libya. "General Haftar has signalled his readiness to contribute to the success of the Libya Conference in Berlin and is willing to participate. He has repeated his commitment to observe the existing ceasefire", Maas said as quoted by the German Foreign Office. The minister said earlier in the day that no party could win the conflict by using force and that discussions concerning post-war Libya should be held under the auspices of the United Nations. Over the past week, Russia and Turkey have called on Libya's warring parties to end hostilities and mediated talks between Sarraj and Haftar in Moscow on 13 January. However, the meeting failed to result in an official ceasefire agreement. Libya is currently in the midst of a civil war between two rival administrations the internationally recognised GNA, based in Tripoli in the west, and the LNA-supported elected parliament in the east. Over the past several weeks, the situation has escalated amid LNA advances on Tripoli. In November, Turkey and the GNA signed an agreement on a new maritime border that runs through gas-rich zones in the Mediterranean, which Greece and Cyprus claim as theirs. The accord triggered a backlash from the eastern Libyan administration, as well as Athens, Nicosia, Paris, Rome, and Cairo. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Justin Wood (The Jakarta Post) Singapore Fri, January 17, 2020 16:25 725 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206055984 3 Opinion opinions,ASEAN Free The World Economic Forum will convene its 50th Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, this month under the theme Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World. Nearly 3,000 leaders from business, government, academia and civil society will discuss pressing issues and drive collective action to address them. Among the 118 countries taking part, Indonesia is sending a strong delegation of government ministers led by Luhut Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment. Many of the countrys business champions, thinkers and policymakers will join them. Two of the issues on the agenda at this 50th meeting are critical: the unfolding climate crisis, and the deepening social divisions arising from models of economic growth that are not inclusive. Addressing these challenges would be hard at the best of times. Today, given rising geostrategic tensions, a slowing global economy, and the disruptions of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the task is even tougher. But leaders cannot afford to wait. In Asia, the picture can sometimes seem deceptively bright. Economies are growing, and poverty is falling. Back in 1980, 80 percent of the people in East and South-east Asia lived in extreme poverty a daily income of less than US$1.9 (measured using purchasing power parity equivalent in 2011). Today, the figure is around 1 percent. But even in Asia, it would be wrong to be complacent. The need to build cohesive and sustainable social and economic systems is greater than ever. Here are four areas in need of attention. Strengthen ASEAN centrality in the architecture for regional relationships The countries of the Indo-Pacific make up the worlds most energetic region. Resilient economic growth and entrepreneurial passion are powering unprecedented prosperity. But the Indo-Pacific also faces rising geostrategic rivalry. Competing narratives are emerging for how to how to organise trade, how to manage investment, and how to structure regional security and cooperation. Trade is especially important. Asias prosperity has been driven by globalisation and the opening of economic systems. There is a clear need for nations to craft unifying approaches to these challenges. Sitting astride the border of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the 10 countries of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) are well placed to meet this need. Indonesia and its fellow ASEAN members have crafted a unique approach to cooperation. And with the deepening of the ASEAN Economic Community, they have demonstrated what is possible for economic integration. The ASEAN bloc should thus strengthen its position as a neutral platform for facilitating peace and cooperation. Its newly adopted ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific positions the region as a stabilising force for managing wider tensions and harmonising divergent priorities. Embrace new approaches to the environmental crisis At a global level, the speed of economic growth has far outpaced the ability of humankind to manage the environmental consequences of that growth, and Asia is no exception. Take plastic. Five of the 10 biggest contributors to marine plastic waste are ASEAN countries. Or consider the horrific bushfires raging in Australia and the recent floods in Indonesia that have been fuelled in part by rising global temperatures and changing weather patterns. Without action, the consequences of environmental pressures will become ever more serious. The World Economic Forum is contributing in many ways. At our Annual Meeting in Davos, we will launch an initiative to plant or restore an additional one trillion trees world by 2030. In ASEAN, the Forum runs the secretariat for the Tropical Forest Alliance, working with agricultural communities on new approaches to managing forest resources. And in the field of plastics, our Global Plastic Action Partnership set up a national task force in Indonesia in 2019 to catalyse new approaches to recycling and the circular economy. Prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution New technologies, from artificial intelligence to blockchain to the internet of things, are changing economies and societies at accelerating speed. Governments that understand these changes and can help their economies adjust could see huge benefits, including improving the productivity of workers, moving industries up the value chain, and unleashing new services in healthcare, banking, education and many other areas. In Indonesia, local companies like GoJek and Traveloka are inspiring pioneers. Foreign firms are just as important: Indonesias rich nickel and cobalt deposits are attracting investments to make batteries and could drive the production of new electric vehicles. But the Fourth Industrial Revolution also holds the potential for destabilisation and disruption. Regulatory systems for ensuring that technology works for the benefit of society must be upgraded. Here, the World Economic Forum is working with governments to pioneer new approaches to technology governance. Over the past three years, the Forum has set up a global network of Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution to bring government, business and other stakeholders together to craft new policies and protocols for emerging technologies. In Asia, centres are now open in Japan, China and India. Partnerships have also been set up with Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and New Zealand. Invest in training workers for the jobs of the future Given the accelerating pace of change under the Fourth Industrial Revolution, workers face mounting challenges to stay relevant. The World Economic Forums Future of Jobs Report 2018 estimated that, by 2022, the world would see the loss of 75 million jobs thanks to technological disruption, but would also see a gain of 133 million new roles. If workers are to transition from old jobs to new ones, they will need constant training and reskilling. Every year, the World Economic Forum conducts a survey of ASEAN youths aged between 15 and 35. In 2019, the survey polled 56,000 youths on the future of work. Some 62 percent believed that their skills were already outdated and needed to be constantly upgraded. And yet, only 14 percent said that they received any formal on-the-job training. At its meeting in Davos the Forum will unveil a bold new initiative called the Reskilling Revolution. Its goal is to set up a process for the reskilling of one billion workers by 2030. In ASEAN, the Forum is equally active. In November 2018, the Forum partnered with a coalition of local companies such as Indonesias Tokopedia, Singapores Sea, and Viet Nams FPT, as well as global tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Cisco to launch a skills programme. The target was to train 20 million ASEAN workers employed by SMEs in digital skills by the end of 2020. So far, the initiative has achieved 10.5 million. Governments clearly must upgrade education systems and ensure that learning becomes a lifelong endeavour. But companies too have a duty to invest in their staff. All of these issues will be on the table during the Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, this month. And theyll also be on the table when the Forum stages its regional meeting in Indonesia this year. The World Economic Forum will convene its annual World Economic Forum on ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific in Jakarta on 7-9 July 2020. We hope you can join the conversations. But most important of all, we hope that you can join the commitments for action. *** Head of Asia Pacific, and member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Topics : opinions ASEAN Re-elected West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, who is known for his hardline stance, said on Friday that NRC is a must in the state to weed out infiltrators and the party will "morally support" its implementation if it is voted to power in the 2021 state assembly election. Speaking in favour of implementation of NRC in the country, Ghosh, an old RSS hand known for refusing to retract from his statements, said every civilized country has a register of its citizens. "Then why won't India have one?" he asked while speaking to PTI in an interview a day after his re-election for the second consecutive term. His comment comes at a time when the BJP top brass has categorically said that the citizens register has not been discussed by the Centre. Ghosh, who has been at the eye of a storm for his controversial remark that anti-CAA protesters "were shot like dogs" in BJP-ruled states, said he will continue to speak his mind "if it helps the party". "No one will be able to shut my mouth even if it creates controversy," he asserted. The 55-year-old leader exuded confidence about winning both the 2021 assembly polls in West Bengal and the upcoming civic polls in 109 municipal bodies, including in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, in the state scheduled to be held in April this year. The civic election is being viewed as a mini Assembly poll. Ghosh, who is also known for taking BJP to a high growth trajectory in his first term as the party's state chief in the last four years, was re-elected on Thursday with an eye on the 2021 assembly polls for a tenure of three years till 2023. Asked whether BJP will implement NRC in Bengal if voted to power in 2021, Ghosh replied the party would morally support it. "There has been no dicussion at the Centre on NRC as of now. We had said that since the Supreme Court had ordered NRC updation in Assam, its implementation is also needed in Bengal as the rate of infiltration has been much higher in the state," he said. Elaborating, he said "It (implementation of NRC) does not depend only us, it depends on the Centre. But yes morally we (BJP) are in favour of NRC being implemented in Bengal. But when it will happen, who will do it, is a matter that will be decided in future. "BJP had been fighting for abolition for Article 370 in Kashmir for the last 70 years but it did not happen. It has been withdrawn now," he said citing an example. Asked whether the issue of NRC has backfired for BJP in Bengal, which witnessed widespread protests against it and Citizenship Amendment Act, Ghosh said it was the ruling Trinamool Congress which created "an issue out of nowhere". "NRC was made an issue by Mamata Banerjee. We had said we want NRC, but that does not mean it has become a reality. The masses were instigated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC and she should reply to the masses," he said. Commenting on his statements that had created furore, Ghosh said he never makes controversial statements but speaks just the truth. "Whatever I feel is right and is the truth, I will keep saying it. I don't make controversial comments, people try to create a controversy out of my comments. If playing in an offesive way helps my party, I will keep doing it. No body can silence me. I will stick to my views," he said. Speaking on his "shot like dogs" comments, Ghosh said he had said nothing wrong as he still feels that miscreants who are destroying public property should be punished. "What wrong did I say? If the Mamata Banerjee government can kill Maoist leader Kishanji because he was conspiring against the state then why won't miscreants who are destroying public property be shot at? The TMC government can kill a Maoist leader and I can't even speak (against miscreants)," he said. Ghosh, who is known for taking BJP to a high growth trajectory in the state in his first term as the party's state chief in the last four years, was re-elected on Thursday with an eye on the 2021 assembly polls in West Bengal for a tenure of three years till 2023. Asked to comment on the issue of BJP lacking a chief ministerial face to counter Banerjee and her TMC, he said it will not be a hinderance. BJP is a regimented party and there are several leaders who can take up the responsibility when asked to. "In Haryana and Jharkhand we(BJP) did not have any CM candidate prior to election. We had appointed the chief minister after we won. We are not a party based on individuals but cadre-based and our training and grooming is as such that we have several people who can take up the mantle of the chief minister," he said. Asked whether he is ready to take up the mantle of the chief minister if BJP is voted to power, Ghosh in a guarded reply said it for the party to decide and he will speak his mind only if his opinion is sought. Speaking on the alleged exodus from Trinamool Congress, Ghosh said several leaders are in touch with BJP but are waiting for an oppurtune moment to switch over. "Of course we need to filter when inducting new members. At the same time it is also true that as BJP is increasing its mass base, we need to induct people from other parties," he said. During Ghosh's first tenure as BJP state president, the party had witnessed a meteoric rise in West Bengal with the party bagging an unprecedented 18 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. He was deputed to the party in 2015 by the RSS and was elected MLA from Kharagpur Sadar seat in 2016. He resigned as MLA after being elected MP from Midnapore Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 parliamentary polls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six Burkina Faso soldiers were killed Friday when their vehicle was hit by a roadside explosive in a northern province, security sources said, in the latest attack on the country's armed forces. No group claimed immediate responsibility for the bomb, but jihadist violence in Burkina Faso has been blamed on militants linked to both Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups. "A homemade bomb killed six soldiers and inured another" during a patrol in a wildlife reserve in Soum province, the army said in a statement. Earlier, the number of dead had been put at five. A military sweep of the area was begun following the attack, the military added. "Reinforcements were sent to the zone to clear the area while the wounded were evacuated," a military source said. A wave of attacks at December killed 35 civilians, mostly women, and dozens of soldiers in an assault on a military base and a town in the north of the country. Burkina Faso, as well as neighbouring Mali and Niger, has seen frequent jihadist attacks which have left hundreds of people dead since the start of 2015 when Islamist extremist violence began to spread across the Sahel region. According to the UN, around 4,000 people were killed in jihadist attacks in the three Sahel countries last year. The Burkina Faso army is ill-equipped and poorly-trained to deal with the threat posed by jihadists in the country. However, in recent months they have enjoyed a series of successes, claiming to have killed a hundred jihadists in many operations. There are 4,500 French troops deployed in the Sahel region as well as a 13,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in Mali to fight insurgents, backing up national forces of the G5 -- Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Paul Walker attends the World Premiere of Fast & Furious 6 in London (Credit: Eamonn McCormack/WireImage) Walmart has said sorry after a joke about the late Fast & Furious star Paul Walker appeared from its official Twitter feed. The supermarket giant was replying to a tweet from another user following news that it is starting to sell Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls with pink strawberry and cream icing. Read more: 40,000 raised for injured Fast & Furious stuntman The user had posted a gif of a car speeding dangerously through traffic, captioned '*me racin to the nearest Wally World*', a nickname for Walmart in the US. *me racin to the nearest Wally World* pic.twitter.com/JYzQaCzCQ0 LSM (@iamlaurenmiles) January 14, 2020 The official Walmart account then replied to the gif tweet, now deleted, saying 'Hey, Paul Walker. Click it, or ticket'. Walker died in a high speed car accident in Valencia, California, during a break in the filming of Fast & Furious 7 in 2013. The phrase 'click it or ticket' came from a US campaign to encourage seat belt use launched in 2002, while the 'Hey Paul Walker' part was a line from the sitcom Workaholics. Read more: Dwayne Johnson teases F&F return Following complaints that Walmart's response was in bad taste, it issued a statement to People magazine apologising. Tributes are left to Paul Walker in Valencia, California (Credit: Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images) We apologize to Paul Walkers family, friends and fans, a spokesperson for Walmart said. The tweet was posted in poor judgement and has been removed. Walker died when a high-powered Porsche Carrera GT, being driven by his friend Roger Rodas, crashed into a concrete lamppost and caught fire, with both men trapped inside. Rodas was thought to have been travelling at between 80 and 93mph in the 45mph zone. Walker's father and daughter Meadow won a settlement with Porsche in 2017. Toronto police are warning the public about a string of food robberies targeting delivery people in Malvern. Police said in the news release that theyve received many reports of these robberies taking place near Morningside Avenue and Sewells Road since Jan. 10. Food would be ordered for delivery to addresses near the area while a group of people would wait for the food delivery person. The group would proceed to steal the food from the delivery person before fleeing the area. Police also say in some cases, the group would make threats to the delivery person and brandish a weapon. Police say no money has been stolen. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Weve recently seen much breathless news coverage of the Nightingale Project, Googles half-secret partnership with Ascension, the second-largest healthcare system in the United States. Thedetails of the project which involves sharing the healthcare data of tens of millions of unsuspecting patients have raised significant concerns. The concerns have centered around issues that by now are familiar: Many people are uncomfortable with Google knowing about their personal, sensitive and potentially embarrassing health complaints. We worry that employees at Google can read all about us. The reality is both less and more worrying. Heres the good news: Google doesnt really care about individual patients. The bad news? It uses partnerships like this to build artificial intelligence algorithms that eventually might recommend raising your health insurance premiums. This controversy raises three crucial issues: what Google is using this data for, whether this data use is legal, and what you can do to avoid having your data being used in this way. Why Does Google Want My Healthcare Data? Despite the implications in some of the news coverage of the recent Nightingale controversy, its important to realize that Google is not collecting health data in order to sell you products for your bad back. In fact, provisions in HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act) explicitly bar the company from doing that. Instead, the goal of partnerships like this one is more ambitious: to build AI algorithms that can predict the future healthcare needs of the general population. To do that, Google had to overcome a problem. In order for AIs to learn to make such predictions, they must be fed vast datasets. While Google has access to the expertise necessary to build AI systems, it also needs access to a massive quantity of data. Google has tried several ways of getting access to healthcare data before. It hasconducted medical studies via its own apps, and itsUS$2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit was in part to gain access to the healthcare data of its huge user base. However, Googles partnership with Ascension (and similar arrangements with several other healthcare providers) provide access to its single biggest source of healthcare data. No matter how uncomfortable this kind of data collection makes us feel, its noteworthy that it could have significant positive impacts on health outcomes. AIs could be used to make reliable predictions of the onset of preventable diseases, for instance. They also might be helpful in conducting large-scale automated reviews of health interventions in order to guide future treatments. A D V E R T I S E M E N T These are noble aims, of course. The problem is that AIs like those being developed by Google also are likely, perhaps more likely, to be used for two other purposes: for Google to make money by selling them to other healthcare providers; and for insurance companies to estimate and potentially raise premiums. This is to say nothing of the risk that the records might be leaked, hacked or stolen. In short, while Google might have the best of intentions, the widespread dissemination of healthcare data raises significant legal and ethical issues. Is This Legal? In the context of these concerns, many analysts have begun to reconsider the legal basis for health information storage and sharing. In the U.S., the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, provides the regulatory framework. Under this act, patient records and other medical details can be used only to help the covered entity carry out its healthcare functions. On the surface of things, this is exactly what the Nightingale project aims to do. Therefore, despite all the op-eds published in the last month, no one has claimed that it is illegal. Whether that makes you feel better about your records being shared is another matter. Indeed, as Dianne Bourque, an attorney at the legal firm Mintz, told Wired earlier this month, If youre shocked that your entire medical record just went to a giant company like Google, it doesnt make you feel better that its reasonable under HIPAA But it is. Worrying about the raw legality of the project doesnt address the range of issues adequately, either. HIPAA, for all its legal force, seems totally outdated when it comes to the kind of mass data collection now possible. The consent of patients is not required. Many patients find it difficult to access their own data, while commercial operations seem to have no trouble scooping up records and subjecting them to analysis. It is apparent that Google is aware of these issues: It took a whistle-blower to bring the project into the public realm, and Google is deploying significant resources in a reputation management strategy to reassure their customers that the company didnt try to do what it allegedly did. What Can I Do About It? If the views of patients are out of sync with the current law, perhaps it is time to replace HIPAA. This strategy, however, does not help people whose healthcare data already has been shared with Google. Its difficult to recommend a strategy that would keep your personal data from being shared in this way. Sadly, the best you can do is to ensure that you dont give up any more data than you have to. A D V E R T I S E M E N T You can achieve that in a variety of ways. You should audit your online accounts regularly in order to ensure that they have not been compromised. If you access your medical records online, always do so through a secure virtual private network The best VPNs use 256-bit AES military-grade encryption to create a private access portal. Pro tip: Read the fine print on logging practices. Less is better. Above all, you should conduct regular software updates to ensure that your Fitbit (or similar) device is not spying on you. Spyware in the Internet of Things wasone of the major cybersecurity concerns over the past year, and likely will be one of the most lucrative illegal sources of healthcare data over the next decade. In short, while consumers already may have lost the privacy war, and while HIPAA is of no help when it comes to Google collecting your health data, dont give away any more than you have to. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network. The family of a 47-year-old man who mysteriously went missing after being involved in a fiery crash last month in Cumberland County continues to hold out hope that he will be be found. Anthony Dellomos car veered off southbound Route 55 near milepost 24.6 in Millville around 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, slid down an embankment into the woods and caught fire, according to State Police. When troopers arrived, no one was in the Chevrolet Impala, which is registered to Dellomos mother. A search of the area immediately after the crash and again in the morning turned up no sign of any occupants. State Police learned Dellomo, a resident of the Franklinville section of Franklin Township in Gloucester County, had the car after speaking with shocked family members. Its devastating, its been a horrible 20 days, said Dellomos sister Lisa Dellomo-Racobaldo. Im just praying we can find him. Dellomo-Racobaldo said investigators have showed the family surveillance video gathered from several homes and a Wawa near the crash that shows a man who closely resembled Dellomo. His sister said the family is 95% sure the man on the dark, black-and-white video is Dellomo, noting he has a distinctive walk. Dellomo was wearing a Philadelphia 76ers hat and sweatshirt he received for Christmas when he left his mothers home in Franklinville about three hours before the crash, according to his sister. His cell phone hasnt been used since the crash and Dellomo has no credit cards or cash in his possession. Dellomo also requires medication, which he didnt take with him, his sister said. He is 5-foot-10-inches tall, about 200 pounds with brown hair and hazel-blue eyes, Dellomo-Racobaldo said. State Police continue to investigate Dellomos disappearance. Anyone with information is asked to call the State Polices Port Norris station at 856-785-0036. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. PORTLAND, Oregon, Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, "Flatbread Market by Product Type (Tortilla, Naan, Pita, Focaccia, Fry Bread, and Others) and Distribution Channel (Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumers): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026". According to the report, the global flatbread industry was pegged at $41.17 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $62.8 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 6.2% from 2019 to 2026. Chief reasons for market fluctuations Rise in demand for convenience foods, customer preference towards frozen flatbread products, and expansion in quick service restaurant drive the growth of the global flatbread industry market. However, rise in geopolitical tensions to restrict flatbread trade, and gluten in flatbread restrain the market growth. In addition, maintaining freshness and softness for prolonged period remains a challenge for the players. On the other hand, focus on improving quality, shelf life, and lessen production costs, clean label in flatbread packing, and consumer preference for gluten free and sugar free flatbread create new opportunities in the market. Request Sample Report at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/6262 The tortilla segment to rule the roost through 2026 Based on product type, the tortilla segment held the largest share in 2019, accounting for more than half of the global flatbread market. This is due to its health properties and low carb count. Furthermore, the demand for organic tortilla made with whole grain and gluten-free certified would boost the segment. On the other hand, the fry bread segment is expected to portray the fastest CAGR of 9.4% during the forecast period. The business-to-business segment dominated the market Based on distribution channel, the business-to-business segment held the lion's share in 2019, contributing to more than three-fifths of the global flatbread market. This is due to innovation in ingredients and new types of bread by manufacturers. However, the business-to-consumer segment is expected to manifest the fastest CAGR of 6.9% during the forecast period. This is due to increase in penetration of various online portals in developing regions and the rise in number of offers or discounts, especially in online channel. North America held the largest share in 2018 The global flatbread market across North America dominated in 2019, contributing to nearly two-thirds of the market. This is due to high penetration of ready-to-eat and convenient products in this region. On the other hand, Asia-Pacific region is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 9.6% during the study period. This is due to increase in urbanization, growing product awareness towards clean label products and health ingredients products. For Purchase Enquiry at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/6262 Major market players Kontos Foods Inc Klosterman Baking Company California Lavash Evron Foods Ltd Kronos S.A.B. de C.V. GRUMA Ole Mexican Foods Inc Tyson Foods La Brea Bakery Nina Bakery Europe Avenue Basic Plan | Library Access | 1 Year Subscription | Sign up for Avenue subscription to access more than 12,000+ company profiles and 2,000+ niche industry market research reports at $699 per month, per seat. For a year, the client needs to purchase minimum 2 seat plan. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter Get more information: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Similar Publish Reports: Flavored Yogurt Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Nanoemulsion Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Pre-book Offer 12% Discount: Packed Food Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 Fresh Food Packaging Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact us: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free (USA/Canada): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022, +1-503-446-1141 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 [email protected] Web: www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow us on: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allied-market-research SOURCE Allied Market Research It's a fight for survival for Vodafone Idea yet again. Nearly two months after filing the review petition in the Supreme Court, the incumbent Vodafone Idea has recently been denied relief from the court on their AGR (adjusted gross revenues) dues. The dismissal of petition has closed the doors for incumbents (Airtel and Vodafone Idea) who were hoping for a big succour from the Supreme Court. Even though incumbents are evaluating other options, such as filing of a curative petition, the chances of further relief from the court and the government seem unlikely. With this judgement, Vodafone Idea, which was already out on a limb, has been further pushed down on the path of collapse. Not just the AGR blow, Vodafone Idea has been struggling on nearly all fronts, which include posting net losses for three years in a row, losing subscribers by millions, and facing issues with its network integration programme. The telco has lost nearly 105.4 million subscribers since the merger between the erstwhile Idea Cellular and Vodafone India. Today, Vodafone Idea simply doesn't have money to pay up dues, and if it fails to clear the dues, there's a strong possibility that it might file for bankruptcy. "With the Aditya Birla and Vodafone groups unwilling to infuse equity in Vodafone Idea, we see a strong possibility of Vodafone Idea going for bankruptcy. We believe there is limited scope for government help given the involvement of SC," said Credit Suisse in a report. Analysts at Motilal Oswal said that the company has no source of cash to pay the liabilities and it was entirely dependent on the payment relief. "It has cash merely to continue operations for the next two-three quarters," it said in a report. If Vodafone Idea goes belly up, two of its private rivals - Reliance Jio and Airtel - will be the biggest beneficiaries. While Jio is expected to gain more than Airtel, given that Airtel has also been severely hit by the AGR order with dues of Rs 35,586 crore, the fall of Vodafone Idea would automatically give a life jacket to Airtel to save itself from drowning. Vodafone Idea's exit would mean that its 336 million subscribers would be up for grabs, for both Airtel and Jio. It's estimated that Jio would grab about 60 per cent of these subs, and the remaining would go to Airtel. While BSNL and MTNL would also be contenders, their gains would likely be negligible. "Airtel and Jio would not only gain subscribers in a short time span (which would have taken them ages otherwise), they would also benefit from the recent tariff hikes, which are going to play out well in the long run," says a telecom consultant. Analysts at ICICI Securities said that they continue to prefer Bharti Airtel in the telecom sector as it is better prepared for a worst-case scenario on the AGR front in addition to its superior operational execution. "Vodafone Idea promoters, Vodafone Plc and Aditya Birla Group, have already mentioned that if the entire AGR liability has to be paid, they will have to shut shop," an ICICI Securities report said. "Given the adverse situation for Vodafone Idea, Jio and Airtel could gain disproportionately. Irrespective of an adverse ruling, Airtel has best hedged position even if it is required to pay the AGR liability," said analysts at Motilal Oswal in a report. Experts say that the Airtel has handled the AGR situation better than Vodafone Idea. How? Airtel has been sparingly talking about its troubles unlike Vodafone Idea, which saw its promoters crying out loud, and pinning all their hopes on the relief from the government and courts. In fact, at one point, the telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had to slam Vodafone Group for threatening to quit India. By doing so, Vodafone Idea seems to have lost its appeal to the investors while Airtel managed to raise $3 billion (through QIP and overseas bond) to pay its AGR dues. Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that the despite the expected higher penalty for Airtel, they would be buyers of Airtel because a weaker third player (that is Vodafone Idea) is positive from a competition perspective for Airtel and could lead to faster than expected increase in revenue market. "We find Reliance Industries' subsidiary Jio well placed to capitalise on its competitor weakness. Jio could end up having a first mover advantage on 5G if these penalty payments impact incumbent telcos ability to invest in capex going forward," said BofA-Merill Lynch analysts in a report. Not just handling the issue better, Airtel is in a much better financial position than Vodafone Idea. For instance, Airtel has more cash on its book (about Rs 40,000 crore) compared to Vodafone Idea's Rs 15,400 crore. Airtel's net debt (Rs 1.14 lakh crore) is much lower than Vodafone Idea's net debt of Rs 1.59 lakh crore. After dethroning Airtel as the largest telecom operator in August 2018, Vodafone Idea has recently lost its top spot to Reliance Jio, which now has the highest number of subscribers (369.93 million). Even as the musical chairs in the telecom sector continue, there is strong possibility that the number of chairs would go down from three to two. Also read: Bharti Airtel share price hits fresh 52-week high despite Supreme Court's AGR verdict Also read: Vodafone Idea share price crashes 39% on Supreme Court's AGR verdict, falling subscriber base This is the heartwarming moment a preschooler with cerebral palsy takes her first steps after her mother taught her to walk despite the odds that might never be able to stroll on her own. Four-year-old Kinley Jones of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was diagnosed with the motor disability at age two. In the video, posted to Facebook just after New Years, Kinley ditches her walker and practices walking as her mother, Shanell Jones, cheers her on. 'Mom, I want to go to the house,' Kinley says Jones replies: 'You want to go to the house? We can go wherever you want to go... Look at you walking!' A video has gone viral of four-year-old Kinley Jones with cerebral palsy taking her first steps (left and right). Kinley, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was diagnosed with the motor disability at age two Her mother, Shanell, gave her daughter lessons, and said she was determined she would walk one day. Pictured: Kinley with her walker 'It brings joy to my heart that my daughter is bringing hope to people,' Jones told Good Morning America. 'People reached out saying, "I didn't feel like my child was ever going to walk, but this video helped me have faith."' When Kinley was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Jones said she wan't expecting the news. 'It was a shock to all of us, my parents as well,' she told the morning program. 'We were looking at each other thinking: "What can we do to help her out?" It does affect her when she walks.' Cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability in childhood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It occurs from a brain injury sustained during fetal development or birth, and about 8,000 babies are diagnosed every year. Sufferers muscles often develop improperly. Some may be too tight and stiff, others may be too loose, giving them the appearance of being floppy. Her mother, Shanell, said she and her grandparents help strengthen Kinley's leg muscles by practicing walking up and down stairs and jumping on trampoline. Pictured: Kinley Two videos showing Kinley's progress have a combined 2.7 million views and have been shared more than 52,000 times. Her mother says she hopes her daughter's progress brings hope to other parents of children with cerebral palsy There is no cure for cerebral palsy, and treatment consists of alleviating the symptoms of those with the condition. Kinley was in physical and occupational therapy and her mother and grandparents help strengthen her leg muscles by practicing walking up and down stairs and jumping on trampoline, reported Good Morning America. Jones, who was determined Kinley would take her first steps, shared two videos side-by-side on Facebook, one from January 2019 and one a year later showing her daughter walking. 'I cannot stop crying tears of joy for my precious Princess,' she wrote in the post. '...No matter how many people told me about good wheelchairs and why don't you push her instead of carrying her 'heavy' self, I just knew God was pushing her to 'exceed all expectations.' The two videos have a combined 2.7 million views and have been shared more than 52,000 times. Amid chants of Acche Beete Paanch Saal, Lage Raho Kejriwal, Mr Sisodia held a padyatra in which he sought blessings of the people. AAP leader and deputy CM Manish Sisodia along with supporters on way to file nomination papers from Patparganj Assembly constituency in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Senior AAP leader and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday filed his nomination from the East Delhis Patparganj constituency for the Delhi Assembly elections after holding a road show. He filed the nomination around 2 pm and there is no dummy candidate for him, said an official. Mr Sisodia, the sitting Patparganj MLA, said the upcoming elections in Delhi would be based on the work done by the AAP government in the last five years. Before filing his nomination, Mr Sisodia took out a rally in which hundreds of AAP supporters took part. His rally started with a padyatra followed by a bike rally to the election office in Patparganj. Amid chants of Acche Beete Paanch Saal, Lage Raho Kejriwal, Mr Sisodia held a padyatra in which he sought blessings of the people. People watched from their houses as the deputy chief minister waved to them and greeted them with folded hands. Exuding confidence, Mr Sisodia said the party will beat its previous record and win more than 67 seats in the upcoming polls. My nomination is about the future of education of Patparganj and Delhis children, peoples health and electricity, water to their homes, he said. He started his roadshow from the Talab Chowk of the Patparganj constituency and met the people to thank them for their support in these past five years. Addressing a gathering on the occasion, Mr Sisodia said: In the past five years, the government has not only developed the Parparganj constituency but the entire city of Delhi witnessed the benefits of our good work and now the time has come when Parparganj will grow to new heights in the upcoming five years. He appealed to the people of the area that they should trust the Aam Aadmi Party and press the Jhaadu button on February 8 to make Arvind Kejriwal their chief minister again. Mr Sisodias roadshow started from Talab Chowk onwards to Mandawali village and from there on it went to the Badrinath Mandir and Ram Chowk. After this, the rally came back to Talab Chowk from where a bike rally was flagged off that started from Alaap Chowk and went to the SDMs office. Before filing his nomination, Mr Sisodia said he feels that the people of Delhi will choose Arvind Kejriwal as their chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party as their government. In 2015, the AAP won 67 out of 70 assembly seats, BJP won three and Congress drew a blank. The Delhi election is slated to be held on February 8. Resistance is increasing in Nepal to the proposed Information Technology Bill (ITB), which curbs freedom of expression and social media. Senior journalists, prominent intellectuals and law professionals have voiced their opposition to the draconian nature of the bill, which is part of the ruling Stalinist Nepal Communist Partys (NCP) turn toward autocratic rule. The Federation of Nepali Journalists, Nepal Bar Association, NGO Federation of Nepal and other organisations have condemned the attack on free speech. Addressing a meeting last week in Kathmandu, Nepals capital, constitutional expert Bhimarjun Acharya said the bill must be scrapped entirely. The parliamentary Development and Technology Committee passed the bill on December 29. It will be presented to parliament for passage to replace the current Electronic Transactions Act, which the NCP government has used already to arrest people for making improper social media posts. The ITB sets heavy fines of up to 1.5 million rupees ($US13,145), or jail terms of up to ten years, or both, for harassing, bullying or defaming others via social media. Though the government claims this would not stifle freedom of expression, the bills vague language would put social media users at high risk for criticising business leaders, politicians and bureaucrats. Under the bill, the government would be able to block social media platforms if they are not registered in Nepal, including Facebook, Viber, and WhatsApp. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would also come under scrutiny. The bill authorises the federal, state and local governments in Nepal to direct ISPs to withdraw improper online content, without any court ruling. Equipment and software can be deemed illegal. Cases will be heard by an Information Technology Court, chaired by a legal expert and with IT and commerce experts as members. Acharya said this would be a kangaroo court designed to bypass the judiciary, violating the Nepal constitution. Expressing the concern of sections of the Nepali elite, the Himalayan Times wrote on December 31: Democracy will die in the absence of freedom of expression or opinion. A Kathmandu Post opinion piece noted that authorities could block social media, threatening to curtail freedom of speech online as well as increase surveillance of personal data. Responding to widespread public hostility, the countrys main opposition party, the Nepali Congress (NC), was forced to demand that the government revise the bills regressive provisions. However, the last NC government also attacked basic democratic rights and was widely discredited before it was voted out in the December 2017 general elections. A day before the parliamentary committee approved the bill, NCP chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal branded the press as the bourgeois media. This is a cynical attempt to justify the attack on basic democratic rights by a government that serves the interests of the capitalist class. Since its election, the NCP government has sought to gag free expression. The police have filled 106 cases in Kathmandu Valley, where the majority of Nepalis live, for improper posts on social media in the last three years. The ICB is not the only measure proposed by the Nepal government to attack media freedom. Under the Media Council Bill (MCB), the Nepal Press Council can fine editors, publishers and journalists up to one million rupees if found guilty of damaging someones reputation. Under the current legislation, the council can ask for clarifications and apologies, and blacklist press organisations, but must go to court for compensation orders. On December 30, the government tabled the Special Service Bill, which authorises Nepals intelligence agencies to intercept telephone and digital conversations under the basis of countering threats to national security, sovereignty and integrity. With more than half the planets population now using the internet, governments everywhere are increasingly taking measures to gag social media platforms, fearing their use to organise the struggles of workers and youth. At least 29 countries carried out deliberate internet shutdowns last year. As part of the Nepal governments increasing surveillance against the masses, 165 more CCTV cameras were installed by police in the capital Kathmandu during October. This takes the total number of CCTV cameras in Kathmandu Valley to 1,414, and to more than 3,000 throughout Nepal. A number of schools and colleges in Kathmandu are under CCTV surveillance also. These developments underscore the NCPs fear of the development of a mass movement against the government. In by-elections held in November for the parliament and provincial assemblies, the NCP lost most of the seats it had held. In an attempt to shield itself from the discontent, the Rastriya Janata Party withdrew its support from the government last March. Nepal is a social tinderbox. On average, the richest 10 percent of people now own property worth an astounding 26 times more than the poorest 40 percent, and the top 10 percent earn three times more than the poorest 40 percent. Nepali migrant workers in the Middle East and elsewhere sent home over $7 billion to their families in the last fiscal year, but they endure significant hardships, including 12-hour work-days in desert heat and gruelling hours in factories with no days off. Many are virtual slaves trapped in private homes as domestic helpers. Around 1,000 Nepali migrant workers die every year, mainly in the Gulf region, because of these appalling conditions. Mass opposition to the ongoing poverty and social problems under the previous Nepali Congress government resulted in the victory of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Olis administration in the 2017 election. But the NCP government has carried forward the same pro-market program of international finance capital, which is intensifying social devastation and political opposition. Claudia: I first met Lushani at a cafe near her home in Melbournes north-west seven or eight years ago. Straight away I got the sense that she was open to exploring a friendship. She was fairly reserved the first few times we caught up, but as you get to know each other and you get more comfortable, the relationship develops. Lushani and I became comfortable pretty quickly with each others company. Im a very sporty person and Lushani didnt have a huge interest in sport, but she was trying to get fitter. She knew I liked to run and she asked me to be her running buddy. We started jogging and walking, and we built up her ability to jog for longer. Id go there two or three times a week at 6am, and wed run for half an hour to 45 minutes, and then shed go to school and Id go to work. Wed run at a relaxed pace, so it enabled us to talk. We were getting to know each other in a very easy sort of way. It built up that she wanted to do a fun run, so we did the Mothers Day Classic. I always walk it with my mum, an aunt, my partner and one of my sisters. My mum and another aunt have both experienced breast cancer, so we have a personal connection to the cause the walk supports. We built up to doing a 10-kilometre fun run as well. Lushanis resilience is incredible. Even early on, I felt that. She had a quiet determination to not let what had happened define her and stop her from achieving. Its lovely to have seen her develop into the young person that she is today. She does a lot of things that I probably wouldnt have done she went overseas on university exchanges in Indonesia and Sweden. Shes probably had more life experience in her 24 years than Ive had. Its been lovely to see her have those opportunities, meet new people and work out her place in the world. These days we dont see each other heaps, but Lushani knows Im always here for her. Its lovely just to be able to keep the relationship going. Now we just catch up as two friends do whats going on with you, hows life? I have a friend now who I wouldnt have come across in any other walk of life shes much younger and has had a very different life experience. You learn things about life by engaging with somebody you wouldnt have met otherwise, and it gives you a really great appreciation for what you have. Soon after the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Friday that they are going to join Kerala in the Supreme Court on the matter. "We have sent a draft to Centre to make changes necessary to make CAA acceptable to everyone. Census is being carried out now, It will be done on old level. Every citizen will be counted whether he is Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian or anybody," the Chief Minister told media persons here. "We are going to join Kerala in Supreme Court on this issue," he added. Recently, the Kerala government had earlier passed the resolution against the CAA and also moved the Supreme Court against the Act which grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man Robert Downey Jr might not be a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe anymore, but it goes without saying that the actor is going to be quizzed about its films and his work as Iron Man for the foreseeable future. That was exactly the case when Downey Jr made an appearance on the Joe Rogan show this week, during which time the Oscar-nominated star revealed that the real genius behind the MCU is the creative team that repeatedly get themselves into corners that they then creatively have to get out of. I just think that the real genius of the Marvel creative team, and the Russo Brothers who did the last few, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. They go, We love writing ourselves into a corner. We love it. Because, then, it activates all of those, How do we get out of purgatory juices, and then you get the next right idea. Cast member Robert Downey Jr. attends the premiere for the film "Dolittle" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 11, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni While he is obviously right for giving the likes of Joe and Anthony Russo, as well as writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the credit they so clearly deserve, it should also be noted that Downey played just as integral a part in the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Read More: Iron Man could return to the MCU, admits Robert Downey Jr The casting of Downey as Iron Man ahead of its 2008 release immediately established the tone and humour that Marvel has repeated again and again over the course of the last 12 years. It also helped Downey earn hundreds of millions of dollars and turned him into a bona-fide national treasure, too. Both of which will come in handy over the next few weeks, as his first post Marvel film Dolittle has been savaged by critics, with the actors bizarre Welsh accent coming in for particular criticism. It comes to UK cinemas on 7 February. A four-day hearing has been set in June for a three-judge panel to hear evidence about whether Aubrey Trail should end up on death row for the killing of a 24-year-old Lincoln woman. Saline County District Judge Vicky Johnson issued an order Wednesday afternoon scheduling his aggravation and mitigation hearing to start June 23 in Wilber. Trail opted for a panel of three judges to consider evidence to decide whether prosecutors can prove an aggravating factor necessary for capital punishment after a Saline County jury last summer quickly convicted him of first-degree murder for the killing of Sydney Loofe. He since has challenged the appointment of one of the judges, Johnson County District Judge Julie D. Smith, because she was general counsel for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services prior to being named a judge. A hearing is set on that motion next week. Earlier this month, one of Trail's attorneys, Ben Murray, filed a motion asking Smith to recuse herself because of her work on the execution protocols while working for Corrections. Johnson and Cass County District Judge Michael A. Smith are the other two appointed to the panel. The Nebraska Attorney Generals office is alleging the murder "manifested exceptional depravity by ordinary standards of morality and intelligence. Trail and his co-defendant, Bailey Boswell, both were charged with killing Loofe, who went missing after going on a date with Boswell in November 2017. Loofe's body later was found dismembered in rural Clay County. Boswell is set for trial in March in Lexington. Aubrey Trail in court Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The targeting of Ms. Yovanovitch is under investigation by Ukrainian authorities, at least. Neither the Justice Department nor the State Department has announced an official inquiry into the matter, although on Thursday the F.B.I. visited Mr. Hydes home and business. Russians hacked the Ukrainian gas company central to the impeachment inquiry. President Trump wanted Ukraines new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to announce an investigation of Burisma, the gas company on whose board Hunter Biden sat, as a way of enhancing his re-election prospects. The Times this week reported that Russian military hackers had bored into the email accounts of a number of Burisma subsidiaries, perhaps searching for material embarrassing to the Bidens. The tactics used were similar to those of Russian hackers in the 2016 campaign, when they breached the servers of the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign. Ukraine has asked the F.B.I. to investigate. President Trump personally directed the scheme to gather Ukrainian dirt on Joe Biden. Mr. Trump and his allies have insisted that he was pursuing investigations of Joe and Hunter Biden, as well as of Ukraines alleged interference in the 2016 election, not for any personal political reason but as part of the American governments longstanding efforts to address corruption in that country. This claim was never believable, but now we know the presidents own top aides debunked it. In a May letter, Rudy Giuliani, Mr. Trumps personal attorney, requested a meeting with Mr. Zelensky, then Ukraines president-elect, in my capacity as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent. Mr. Giuliani has been leading the charge to drum up charges of corruption by the Bidens, even visiting Ukraine to do more digging while the inquiry was underway. If Mr. Trump truly cared about rooting out systemic corruption, why was he sending his personal lawyer to do the job? The answer is that the requested investigations were a domestic political errand, as Fiona Hill, a Russia expert who worked for the Trump administration, testified before Congress during the impeachment hearings. Nor were people like Mr. Parnas rogue actors. On Wednesday, Mr. Parnas told The Times, I am betting my whole life that Trump knew exactly everything that was going on that Rudy Giuliani was doing in Ukraine. President Trump personally ordered the hold on the Ukraine aid, even though top White House officials disagreed over the wisdom and legality of that move. Two students, having allegiance to the Left students unions of Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, were allegedly beaten up with rods, following which two arrests were made on Thursday. The two students accused of violence -- Achintya Bagdi and Sabir Ali -- have been sent to 10 days of police custody after the Wednesday night attack, even as an SFI leader alleged that the perpetrators were outsiders, owing loyalties to the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. "Students of VU have been attacked by ABVP goons from outside who also chased them to hospital where the injured students were taken. Teachers who stood in solidarity with the students were also targeted," said an SFI leader of VU. The attackers were armed with sticks, rod and wickets. The police cordoned off the hospital where the injured students were being treated. However, SFI state Secretary Srijan Bhattacharya said the two accused were earlier with the TMCP, but recently joined the BJP. "The attackers were saying why we had supported the strike on January 8, and why were we opposing the NRC-CAA and the policies of the BJP-RSS," said another Left students union leader. But the political identity of the attackers remained complicated amidst reports that the two accused claimed they belonged to the Trinamool Chattra Parishad (TMCP). The incident occurred around 11.30 p.m. on Wednesday while the Leftist students unions were carrying out a protest programme on the campus in Bolpur of Birbhum district. The two injured students - Swapnil Mukherjee and Falguni Pan - were members of Left students groups. Mukherjee is still in hospital, while Pan has been released after initial treatment. Bhattacharya clarified that neither of them were SFI members. "But that doesn't matter. They both belong to Left students unions. In VU, all left students move together in campus politics. We will do everything to register a strong protest over the incident," Bhattacharya told IANS. Meanwhile, VU authorities distanced themselves from the campus violence. "It was a clash between two group ofA students. The Visva-Bharati is not involved in the incident in any way. There is no political colour to the incident," said a VU official. "Our officials reached the spot as soon as they learnt about the incident and controlled the situation. We are looking into the matter," said the official. The violence has taken place almost a week after BJP Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta, on a visit to VU to deliver a lecture on the new citizenship law CAA, was confined by CPI-M affiliated Students Federation of India activists for close to six hours inside a locked room of the varsity. Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty and other varsity officials were also confined at the Social Work department at Sreeniketan, a little distance away from the main campus at Santiniketan late into the night by the protesting students. The university, founded by Nobel laureate polymath Rabindranath Tagore in 1921 has been on the boil over past few weeks over protest against the CAA. The campus saw huge protests on Thursday as leftist students union members camped outside the Vice Chancellor's office demanding stringent action against the attackers and those behind them, The Trinamool Congress condemned the attack on students. "On behalf of all peace loving citizens, especially students, we strongly condemn the violent acts of students affiliated to BJP on hallowed portals of Visva Bharati, a central university campus," Trinamool Congress tweeted. "We welcome swift action taken by police and appeal to the administration to continue action to book culprits." The sleepy town of Alanganallur, here popular for its 'world famous jallikattu,' tag turned live again for this year's season as hundreds of tamers and bulls tried to get the better of each other on Friday while two spectators died. Right from the start, there was no dearth of exciting moments as determined men chased evasive bulls keenly watched by thousands of men, women and children and several of them from roof-tops and from wherever they got a vantage view. Eventually, when the day-long event concluded, Ranjith Kumar, a local youth, who dominated 16 bulls in a single round won the first prize and he was awarded a Hyundai Santro car. "Chief Minister K Palaniswami will hand over the car in Chennai," Revenue Minister R B Udhayakumar said adding the owner of bull adjudged best will also get a car. The second prize winner got a motorbike and the man at the third spot received Rs 10,000 cash prize. According to administrators, reigning 16 bulls in a single round is an "achievement." The second and third prize winners got the better of 13 and 14 bulls respectively. The Alanganallur jallikattu is hugely popular and known for its 'world famous tag,' for reasons like the valour of bulls and men and the arrival of people from far and wide to witness it including foreigners. Similar bull taming events were held in a number of other places today including one at Rachandar Thirumalai near Tiruchirappalli. Also, similar events like 'Manjuvirattu' were held at Omalur near Salem and Puducherry. Several foreigners with their foreheads smeared with holy ash became the centre of attraction at the Puducherry event. Meanwhile, a 26-year-old 'jallikattu' spectator was gored to death by a bull outside the sporting arena at Alanganallur near here on Friday, police said. In what appeared to be a freak mishap, Sridhar sustained grievous injuries after he was attacked by a bull off the exit and bull collection point. A native of Sholavandhan village near here, he travelled to Alanganallur to witness the sport. Another onlooker, Chellapandi of Oothupatti village too died and the reason for his death is being ascertained, they said. A police official told PTI: "Both of them were spectators and they were not on the ground (as contestants) where the the bull-taming sport was held." Another official said: "It is suspected that Chellapandi might have had some pre-existing health condition. He fell down and sustained injuries. However, whether he was gored by a bull or not is unclear since there was a huge crowd." Their bodies were moved to the Government Rajaji Hospital, the official said. The ongoing jallikattu season began on January 15 at Avaniapuram and the second major event was held at Palamedu on Thursday, both in Madurai district. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) COLUMBIA Prisma Health is destined to be a game-changer in Columbia since it was born from the merger of the state's two largest health care providers, Palmetto Health and Greenville Health System. "In the Midlands, we already had a large footprint," Prisma Health CEO Mark OHalla said in an interview late last year. "Because of size and scope, I think we have the ability to do unique things for the community." But change isnt coming without some pain for the Midlands' main trauma center. Another round of layoffs were announced this week, bringing the total number of publicized eliminated jobs to about 530 since the merger was finalized. O'Halla previously said there had been a number of other administrative layoffs but declined to specify the number, with Prisma leadership hinting more changes could be coming. While the newly created Prisma works through the kinks of its massive merger, Lexington Medical Center has been on a hiring and building streak while trying to compete with its now even larger rival. With the expansion of its hospital in spring 2019, Lexington Medical Center became a 508-bed facility. The company also has three community medical centers and employs more than 6,500 health care providers. O'Halla said in the fall that Prisma needs a year of adjustment. This is normal in a merger where it takes a while for a new operation to get positioned, said Columbia health care consultant Emerson Smith. And Smith said Lexington has taken advantage of the lull. Lexington Medical has long had a stronghold on the Lexington County market, serving the most rapidly expanding communities in the region, including the wealthy population around the popular Lake Murray area. Now it's making moves into one of the fastest growing parts of Richland County. You have to build for what you see for the future, Lexington Medical CEO Tod Augsburger said at the groundbreaking of a new $80 million outpatient facility last year. "There's neighborhood upon neighborhood popping up in northeast Columbia," he added. Lexington already had 10 formerly independent doctors operating in the area who joined the hospital system's ranks. The new center brings services like MRIs, CT scans, operating rooms and therapy space closer to patients there. The 225,000-square-foot facility is being built larger than what is currently needed, Augsburger said, in order to accommodate what Lexington Medical sees as 20 years of growth in the northeast. It will build out the first floor to start and complete the other four as needed. O'Halla said when Prisma starts looking for opportunities to grow and expand again, he expects a focus on doctors' clinics and outpatient care. He said the hospital systems also have the advantage of sharing best practices, such as bringing the Richland center's expertise in neo-natal to the Upstate and Greenville's cancer expertise to the Midlands. O'Halla also said he wants to be "more aggressive" when it comes to expanding telehealth. "That's a key component of what we'll do going forward," he said. Smith said the deal that brought Palmetto and Greenville together and other mergers nationwide often come about when the cost of providing care runs beyond what the providers receive in federal insurance reimbursements. They get into real financial bind, he said. That was the case for Palmetto Health, which, as a stand-alone provider, ended 2016-17 with a $43.8 million operating loss, bondholder documents showed. So it joined with Greenville to stabilize their respective markets, and in 2018, the combined operation was able to refinance $1.5 billion in debt. Prisma now jointly serves 1.2 million patients a year and brings in $3.9 billion in annual revenue. O'Halla said it is his goal to bring the two systems, which largely acted separately in the last year, into one. Handling the changes With that in mind, the top two officials at both organizations have since left their posts in favor of O'Halla serving as solo CEO. Smith says uncertainty has led to some unhappy employees unsure which supervisor they report to or whether that supervisor would be there in another six months. Then Thursday, the hospital system announced the dismissal of 327 employees from its workforce of 32,000 and the elimination of another 200 positions through attrition. Palmetto Health workers had to reapply to be Prisma employees, staff members reportedly told Smith. Some didnt make the cut. Other remaining workers are commuting between Greenville and Columbia. OHalla said hes been driving the 100 miles to Columbia for a few days a week. I dont know how theyll keep employees doing that, Smith said. In the Midlands, Palmetto Health made its name as a trauma center and the place to go if parents had a sick newborn. Lexington has long been known for delivering babies 3,300 annually Smith said. The third provider and only for-profit hospital in the market, Providence Health, was once renowned for treating patients with heart disease between Columbia and Charlotte, Smith said. He said much of that has since been taken over by Prisma's Heart Hospital and even some by Lexington in its partnership with Duke Health. And Providence, once run by the Sisters of Charity Health System, has grown quiet, Smith said. The hospital did not respond to a request for comment. Trying to hold on to what Prisma has during its time of transition, O'Halla started by raising the hourly wage for support staff at both the system's hospitals to bring them in line with the market standard. Nurses, for example, saw a $3 to $5 per hour jump in pay. Prisma also officially brought the previously independent doctors of Columbia Heart, which already worked in conjunction with Prisma physicians on the Palmetto Health-USC Medical Group campus, under its umbrella in October. I think you need to work hard to bring everybody to the table to figure out a way to help workers with health insurance, with education, even with housing. We have a lot of jobs, but they dont really pay enough for people to feel comfortable that they can set aside enough for their kids education and for their retirement, or for any health emergency. So I hope my perspective on being a progressive who is also a pragmatist will help get things done. Are you concerned at all about the perception, particularly in the more progressive wings of the party, of you working with large corporate clients? When you were working with Lyft, you expressed opposition to Assembly Bill 5, for instance I wasnt opposed to A.B. 5. I wanted to amend it and make it more open to people like freelance writers, and drivers and other people who find themselves caught in a situation thats very difficult for them. I think Ive been proven right on that point. Its just a lot of anxiety out there. And I think theres a terrific opportunity to move forward in a progressive way. I dont care what people say, because I know what Im doing, and what Im doing is to make life better for people. If everyone loves you, youre not doing anything. I have a strong center. When I voted against the war in Iraq, 80 percent of the people of California were really mad at me. But I knew it was the right thing. When I voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, people said, Oh my god, youre in so much trouble. Of course, everyone loves to be loved by everybody, especially in public life. Its not possible, if youre doing something. El presidente @MartinVizcarraC participo de la Sesion Solemne por el 485. Aniversario de la Fundacion de la Ciudad de Lima. Celebremos juntos, con el firme compromiso de seguir forjando #LaLimaQueSonamos! pic.twitter.com/ztyg1Iz3wC The BSF on Friday recovered 22 kg heroin from the Border Out Post (BOP) at Chontra in Gurdaspur sector, officials said. BSF recovered 22 packets comprising around 22 kg heroin, 90 rounds and 2 magazines of ammunition, WiFi connectors, two smartphones,one normal phone and onepipe from BOP, Chontra of Gurdaspur sector in the wee hours, officials said. BSF troops saw some movement near the fencing at Chontra Post and opened fire, after which some smugglers ran towards the Pakistan side, they said. After a search, the BSF recovered the material from the spot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / Oceanus Resources Corporation (TSXV:OCN)(OTCQB:OCNSF) ("Oceanus" or the "Company") would like to cordially invite you to visit us at Booth #1039 at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) to be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre West (1055 Canada Place, Vancouver) on Sunday, January 19 - Monday, January 20, 2020. Each year, the VRIC hosts over 60 keynote speakers, 350 exhibiting companies and 9000 investors. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://cambridgehouse.com/vancouver-resource-investment-conference. VRIFY Presentation and Deck for the El Tigre Silver Project VRIFY is a platform being used by companies to communicate with investors using 360 virtual tours of remote mining assets, 3D models and interactive presentations. VRIFY can be accessed by website and with the VRIFY iOS and Android apps. Please review the VRIFY presentation for Oceanus' El Tigre Silver Project in Sonora, Mexico. Access the Oceanus Company Profile on VRIFY at: https://vrify.com/explore/companies/oceanus-resources-corporation View the 360 virtual tour of the El Tigre Project and interactive 3D model at: https://vrify.com/explore/projects/481/sites/4091 The VRIFY Deck presentation can be viewed at: https://vrify.com/explore/decks/492 The VRIFY Presentation and VRIFY Deck can also be viewed on the Oceanus website at: https://www.oceanusresources.ca/ About Oceanus Resources Corporation Oceanus Resources Corporation is a gold and silver exploration and development company operating in Mexico, with 100% ownership of the 35-kilometre-long, royalty free El Tigre property located in Sonora. A maiden resource estimate for the El Tigre project was reported on September 13, 2017 and filed on SEDAR on October 26, 2017 containing indicated resources of 661,000 gold equivalent ounces at 0.77 g/t (21 g/t silver and 0.51 g/t gold) and inferred resources of 341,000 gold equivalent ounces at 1.59 g/t (88 g/t silver and 0.52 g/t gold). The full National Instrument 43-101 technical report is posted to the Company's website, and can also be accessed by clicking here. Oceanus is managed by a team of mine finders with extensive experience exploring and developing large hydrothermal gold projects in Mexico. Oceanus is currently exploring the El Tigre Property in the Sierra Madre Occidental. For further information, please contact: Glenn Jessome President and Chief Executive Officer Tel: 902 492 0298 Email: jessome@oceanusresources.ca CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, resources and reserves, the ability to convert inferred resources to indicated resources, the ability to complete future drilling programs and infill sampling, the ability to extend resource blocks, the similarity of mineralization at El Tigre to the Ocampo mine, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Oceanus, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "may", "is expected to", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans", "projection", "could", "vision", "goals", "objective" and "outlook" and other similar words. Although Oceanus believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Oceanus's expectations include risks and uncertainties related to exploration, development, operations, commodity prices and global financial volatility, risk and uncertainties of operating in a foreign jurisdiction as well as additional risks described from time to time in the filings made by Oceanus with securities regulators. SOURCE: Oceanus Resources Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573401/Oceanus-Resources-Will-be-Exhibiting-at-the-Vancouver-Resource-Investment-Conference--Booth-1039 Northampton Countys libertarian party chairman was offered a really sweet deal to take a plea bargain in his perjury case, according to his attorney. But Jake Towne turned down the deal because he did nothing wrong, according to attorney Gary Asteak. Towne on Thursday was ordered to stand trial on five criminal counts for signing a nomination petition for a Libertarian congressional candidate even though Towne wasnt the person who collected the signatures. That person was Amber Correll. Correll, 39, of Nazareth, is charged with forging 25 of the signatures. Asteak said Towne paid Correll $2 per name to collect the signatures for the nomination petition for Tim Silfies. Silfies ran for U.S. Congress as a libertarian in 2018 against Susan Wild and Marty Nothstein. Asteak said Correll betrayed Towne. The government hasnt accused Towne of forging signatures, but says he broke the law by signing as the circulator of the nominating petition even though Correll was the circulator. After a preliminary hearing Thursday, District Judge John Capobianco ordered Towne to stand trial for perjury, making false statements, tampering with records, making an unsworn falsification and tampering with public records. Asteak said its common practice for party officials to sign off as circulators of nominating petitions even though they didnt physically circulate the petitions. He said Towne looked over the sheet, matched the names to the addresses and was satisfied they were authentic. If it were a crime as the attorney general suggests that it is, the prisons would be filled with politicians and political workers, Asteak said. Asteak said hes never heard of anyone charged criminally under these circumstances. If authorities believe the signatures are forged, they could be invalidated, he said. But its a stretch to charge Towne, he said. He also questioned five criminal charges for just one signature from Towne. The allegation might merit a charge of unsworn falsification, but not perjury, he said. Deputy Attorney General Nicole Forzato disagreed. The Commonwealth feels its met its burden on each of these five charges, she told Capobianco on Thursday. Towne, 40, of Easton, ran for Congress in 2010 and ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2018. Towne said he met Correll in middle school and remained acquainted with her after they graduated. She was among many friends and acquaintances who answered his plea for paid election help. Asteak said Republican officials brought the matter to the attention of law enforcement. The case went before an investigative grand jury which recommended charges against Towne and Correll. Asteak called the case a Republican hit job to try to get Libertarian candidates off the ballot. He said an official with the state Republican Party sent a letter to local Libertarian leaders warning them to pull your names off the ballot or were going to the authorities. This prosecution should never have happened, Asteak said. Messages left with the Republican Party of Pennsylvania and Northampton County Republican Committee werent returned Friday. Forzato told Capobianco the state is prosecuting the case due to the sanctity of ballot access, to assure voters of the integrity of the states elections. Forzato confirmed she made a plea offer to Towne but wouldnt comment on Corrells case. Correll waived her right to a preliminary hearing on charges of forgery, identity theft, making false statements and two counts of tampering with public records. She and Towne both await trial. Corrells attorney, Brandon Lauria of Philadelphia, didnt return a message. Special Agent Sean McGlinn testified Thursday he knocked on doors and made phone calls to invalidate the signatures. He also called in a handwriting expert. He works for the state attorney generals office. The allegedly forged signatures were for residents of Nazareth, he said. Catherine Reis testified she collected signatures for Towne. She said she collected them on two nominating forms but forgot to sign them as the circulator of the forms. Towne checked with her to make sure the signatures were valid, then he signed the forms as the circulator, she said. Towne was not charged with any crime in connection with these forms. Pennsylvania Director of the Bureau of Election Services and Notaries Jessica Mathis also testified. She said a circulator of a nominating petition must have knowledge of the authenticity of the signatures in order to sign the petition as a circulator. As long as the circulator takes reasonable steps to assure the signatures are valid, he doesnt have to be present when the signatures are collected, Asteak concluded. He called the case an attack upon the political process. Its so hard for Libertarians to get nomination petitions signed anyway. This is just a way to cut them off at the knees, Asteak said. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. Not long ago the two of us gave a talk to a group of mental-health professionals about the teaching of emotional intelligence. Afterwards, a leading child psychiatrist approached us to applaud our appeal for greater social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools. The psychiatrist added: Were going to need another 8,000 child psychiatrists in the United States to deal with all of the mental-health problems our children are having. You misunderstood us, Marc responded. We want to put you all out of business. The ultimate goal of the SEL field is to weave the teaching of social-emotional intelligence throughout childrens education so lives are enhanced and crises are rare. But, as the eminent psychiatrist was pointing out, we have a long way to go. This winter marks the 30th anniversary of the first scholarly publication on emotional intelligence. In it, Peter Salovey of Yale University and John D. Mayer of the University of New Hampshire challenged the proposition that emotions mostly cloud judgment and get in the way of rational thought. Instead, Salovey and Mayer said, when we use emotions wisely, we make better decisions and have improved mental health and relationships. Developing true social-emotional skills is hard and lifelong work, and, regrettably, Americans are attracted to quick fixes." A few years later, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL ) was founded to support high-quality, evidence-based SEL as essential curricula from preschool through high school. SEL was formally defined as attitudes and competencies that foster self- and social awareness and the abilities to manage ones own and others emotions and behavior, make responsible decisions, and nurture positive relationships. Over the past two decades, research has shown that SEL skills can be taught, and that when schools embed SEL into the school day with fidelity, it improves childrens lives, the culture of the school, and even teacher well-being. Schools report increased academic success, enriched relationships between teachers and students, and decreases in aggression. And SEL has been shown to be a financially sound investment: According to a 2015 cost-benefit analysis , for every dollar invested in SEL, $11 were saved from reduced delinquency, substance abuse, and the like. A January 2019 report from the Aspen Institutes National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development concluded that SEL is not an educational fad; it is integral to education. In addition, emotional intelligence is greatly needed in the workplace, say reports from CEOs, the World Economic Forum, and analysts of the future of work American youths now rank in the bottom quarter of developed nations in global comparisons of well-being and life satisfaction. Suicides among 15- to 19-year-olds have risen 47 percent over the past two decades. More than 1 in 3 college freshmen have a diagnosed mental-health condition. School bullying and harassment remain significant problems. Corporal punishment is still allowed in classrooms in 19 states, and suspensions and expulsions are disproportionately applied to black students. So while the importance of SEL has been formally and informally recognized, its promise has not been fulfilled. Why? Each year the two of us give dozens of presentations to educators, parents, and business professionals all over the world. When asked to describe their emotional state, three-quarters of the participants have difficulty coming up with a meaningful feeling word. And when we ask them for strategies theyll use to maintain their focus, they are equally at a loss. Ill leave my feelings at the door, they say, or Ill drink a lot of coffee. Or more fashionably, Ill be mindful. Are these strategies useful for someone exhausted at work, a teenager paralyzed with performance anxiety, or a preschooler going through her parents grueling divorce? Despite the fields firm grounding in science and widespread support for SEL among parents, educators, and students, SEL is not yet taken as seriously as subjects like math or physics. Emotions often are marginalized as a womans interest. And theyre frequently viewed as someone elses issues, not ones own. When we ask audiences if they need help learning to regulate their emotions, a few people usually raise their hands. If we ask them if the people around them need help regulating their emotions, nearly all the hands go up. Its also possible that many of us cling to the outdated belief that children require strict discipline, not a focus on their feelings, to attain success in adulthood. This, despite decades of evidence linking harsh discipline to detrimental outcomes, and emotion regulation and interpersonal skills to positive outcomes. Developing true social-emotional skills is hard and lifelong work, and, regrettably, Americans are attracted to quick fixeswe like to buy SEL kits, have a school assembly, make classroom rules, and move on. But it isnt enough for educators to attend a workshop, go on retreat, or adopt a school program for an hour a week. This is particularly so because the demands on our social-emotional skills are constantly changing, requiring the skills themselves to be dynamic. More funding is needed to implement SEL approaches that achieve the standards that states are adopting. And SEL must be incorporated upstream into preservice teacher training, rather than offered solely as professional development after teachers are already working in the field. CASEL encourages schools to adopt developmentally sequenced, learner-centered, and culturally relevant SEL approaches with demonstrated positive impacts. The approaches should include explicit training in competencies like emotion recognition, self-regulation, and interpersonal problem-solving for children and the adults interacting with them so they can be effective role models. Two comprehensive approaches to SEL that meet these criteria are PATHS, a SEL curriculum for K-5, and RULER, a pre-K-12 approach to SEL that we helped develop and named for the skills of recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating emotions. Of course, many emotional challenges have roots in systemic social problems like inequality, racism, sexism, and poverty, but we can still improve the ways we deal with the feelings that result. And there will always be a need for child specialists in cases of organically based mental illnesses or severe trauma. Its time to start acting on the evidence for what really works instead of treating emotional problems that could have been prevented in the first place. Lets address the biases, old-fashioned pedagogies, and ill-informed policies at the school, state, and federal levels that undermine what research shows is best for our children and the adults who are educating them. Heartbreaking video captures the moment RSPCA inspectors burst into a house to find a dog bloody and unconscious in the bath having been doused in flash household cleaner by her cruel owner. Tragic Smiler, nine, was repeatedly beaten by Gary David Bell, 50, of Keighley, West Yorkshire, who has now been sentenced to 16 weeks in prison and banned from keeping animals for life for hurting the American bulldog. When inspectors went to Bell's address alongside police on August 8, they heard heavy breathing through a ground floor bathroom window. Peering through the window, they saw the poorly animal lying prostrate in the bath and covered in blood. In video recorded at the scene by RSPCA inspector Sarah Bagley can be heard exclaiming 'flippin 'eck' as she finds the barely conscious pooch. Bell inflicted trauma on Smiler, failing to provide veterinary attention for her injuries and applying cleaning products to her head and eyes (pictured when the RPSCA found her) When inspectors went to Bell's address alongside police on August 8, they found Smiler covered in blood and cleaning product (Smiler is pictured when police found her) Bell had put Smiler in a bathtub and repeatedly hit her on the head before the pooch slipped into unconsciousness (pictured, the bloody bathtub where Smiler was found) Bell had previously been convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog by inflicting trauma on her, failing to provide veterinary attention for her injuries and applying cleaning products to her head and eyes. Insp Bagley became increasingly concerned for the dog's welfare after having several dealings with Bell. She had been informed that the dog had cherry eye - where a pup's eye reddens. Insp Bagley said: 'I went to Bell's home with police after having a couple of dealings with him about his dog Smiler, who had a condition called cherry eye, and becoming increasingly concerned about her. 'Initially there was no reply, then myself and one of the police officers heard heavy breathing through the ground floor bathroom window. I was horrified to see Smiler in the bath with a bloodied tea towel on her head. 'A friend of Bell's let us into the property and we found Smiler barely conscious. She and the bath were wet and there was a bottle of human shampoo and Flash household cleaner which appeared to have been used on her. 'Between us we were able to get her out of the flat and I rushed her straight to a local vet practice. 'By the time I got her there her eyes were swollen shut. 'She was found to have multiple injuries including two large wounds to the top of her head which needed to be stitched, bruising to the head and a loose tooth that needed to be removed. 'Her eyes were flushed to get rid of any cleaning product.' Smiler appears defeated after the constant abuse her owner subjected her to. Bell has now been sentenced to 16 weeks in prison and banned from keeping animals for life for hurting the American bulldog Blood trickles down the face of Smiler after she was found beaten and covered in cleaning product by RSPCA inspectors The pooch had large gaping wounds on her body following the repeated beating from Bell. He failed to source any veterinary treatment for her The vet's examination ruled that the injuries were not accidental and attempts to clean Smiler afterwards would have caused pain and suffering. Smiler spent a week under treatment and supervision at the vets during which time she slowly started to physically recover. Bell denied causing the injuries but he was found guilty at a trial on December 3. He was due to attend court on Tuesday January 7 to be sentenced but failed to appear and was arrested on warrant. Two days later he found himself in the dock at Bradford Magistrates' Court where he was handed the 16-week prison sentence. The dog was also removed from his care and he was ordered to pay a 121 victim surcharge. Smiler's condition is improving now she has been taken into RSPCA care. As well as being jailed for 16 weeks and disqualified from keeping all animals for life, Bell was deprived of Smiler and ordered to pay 121 victim surcharge Smiler is recovering well, gaining weight, her skin and coat are improving and she seems to be a much brighter, happier dog As well as being jailed for 16 weeks and disqualified from keeping all animals for life, Bell was deprived of Smiler and ordered to pay 121 victim surcharge. The dog has since found a new home. Insp Bagley added: 'Bell didn't offer any plausible explanation for Smiler's predicament - in interview he said that she had probably cut her head on barbed wire during a walk in the woods. 'She is recovering well, gaining weight, her skin and coat are improving and she seems to be a much brighter, happier dog. The cherry eye is being monitored on vet advice at the moment. 'Smiler is currently being cared for by the great staff at RSPCA Sheffield where everyone absolutely loves her and she will be put up for adoption soon. 'She is a very sweet dog who loves people and I can't wait to hear that she's thriving in a loving new home.' In Tripoli, they're building new homes for people to live in. But some have become occupied before they've even been finished. The people who've moved in are among 140,000 displaced Libyans. The capital has been a warzone for months. There's been a week-long lull in fighting - and some here believe that a truce could be found in crucial talks in Berlin over the weekend. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED LIBYAN, MOHAMED MAHMOUD, SAYING: "Very soon we will return to our homes and those who are displaced will go back to where they belong. The war will end and Tripoli will once again be the jewel of the Mediterranean." The summit will put pressure on Khalifa Haftar and his eastern Libyan National Army to halt a nine-month offensive against Fayez al-Serraj's government: The government backed by the U.N. and most of the international community. Both men are due in Berlin, along with the leaders of Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and other Western and Arab powers. But whatever the outcome, diplomats tell Reuters that they won't try to broker a power sharing agreement there. Libya's been in turmoil since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. A man walks past buildings on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh (Saleh Noman/AP) A Bangladeshi island regularly submerged by monsoon rains is ready to house 100,000 Rohingya refugees, but no date has been announced to relocate people from the crowded and squalid camps where they have lived for years, officials said. Flood protection embankments, houses, hospitals and mosques have been built on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, officials said. Bhasan Char is ready for habitation. Everything has been put in place, Bangladesh refugee, relief and repatriation commissioner Mahbub Alam Talukder said. The island is built to accommodate 100,000 people, just a fraction of the million Rohingya Muslims who have fled waves of violent persecution in their native Burma. Expand Close A common cooking area is seen inside a newly constructed building (Saleh Noman/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A common cooking area is seen inside a newly constructed building (Saleh Noman/AP) About 700,000 people came after August 2017, when the military in Buddhist-majority Burma began a harsh crackdown against Rohingya in response to an attack by insurgents. Global rights groups and the UN called the campaign ethnic cleansing involving rapes, killings and torching of thousands of homes. Foreign media have not been permitted to visit the island. Saleh Noman, a Bangladeshi freelance journalist who recently visited, described a community emerging there. Expand Close Newly built flood embankments stand near Bhasan Char (Saleh Noman/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Newly built flood embankments stand near Bhasan Char (Saleh Noman/AP) I saw a market with about 10 grocery shops and roadside tea stalls. Some were selling fish and vegetables, he said. All is set there with a solar power system and water supply lines. Bangladesh is a low-lying delta nation. The island, 21 miles from the mainland, surfaced only 20 years ago and was never inhabited. The Bangladesh navy has been implementing a multi-million-dollar plan to bolster the swampy island, which is submerged for months during annual monsoon season. International aid agencies and the United Nations have vehemently opposed the relocation plan since it was first proposed in 2015, expressing fear that a big storm could overwhelm the island and endanger thousands of lives. Mostofa Mohamamd Sazzad Hossain, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangladesh, said the agency is not ready to endorse the relocation and is waiting for a chance to visit the island after a November trip was cancelled. The UN has emphasised the importance of undertaking independent and thorough technical and protection assessments that consider safety, sustainability, and protection issues prior to any relocation taking into place. The assessment process should include onsite visits to Bhasan Char, Mr Hossain said. Expand Close Water storage tankers on the roof of a newly constructed building (Saleh Noman/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Water storage tankers on the roof of a newly constructed building (Saleh Noman/AP) The current refugee camps near the beach town of Coxs Bazar are overcrowded and unhygienic. Disease and organised crime are rampant. Education is limited and refugees are not allowed to work. Still, most Rohingya are unwilling to return to Burma due to safety concerns. Government officials did not have an estimate of how many refugees would be willing to be relocated to the island. On Thursday, two Bangladeshi contractors involved with development of the island described construction there. Bangladeshi villages have never seen such good workContractor We have built quality infrastructure. Bangladeshi villages have never seen such good work. This is like a modern township project, one contractor said. We have built multi-family concrete homes, hospitals, mosques, schools, playgrounds and roads. There are solar-power facilities, a water supply system. We constructed raised concrete buildings that could be used as cyclone shelters. Many trees have been planted, he said. Expand Close A Rohingya refugee hangs a blanket out to dry at Balukhali refugee camp, about 32 miles from Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh (Manish Swarup/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Rohingya refugee hangs a blanket out to dry at Balukhali refugee camp, about 32 miles from Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh (Manish Swarup/AP) Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly told the UN and other international partners that her administration will consult them before making a final decision on the relocation, and that no refugees will be forced to move. Bangladesh attempted to start sending refugees back to Burma under a bilateral framework last November, but no one was willing to go. The Rohingya are not recognised as citizens in Burma, rendering them stateless, and face other forms of state-sanctioned discrimination. A UN-sponsored investigation in 2018 recommended the prosecution of Burmas top military commanders on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the violence perpetrated against the Rohingya. Burma is defending itself in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, after the West African nation of Gambia brought a case backed by the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, Canada and the Netherlands. Gambia in its submission said there was a serious and imminent risk of genocide recurring and called for emergency measures to prevent Burma from committing any further atrocities or erasing any evidence. The court is expected to deliver a decision on January 23 on what measures should be imposed. Kamal Hossain, Bangladeshs top government official in Coxs Bazar, said that discussions attempting to convince refugee families to move to the island are continuing. We are ready. This is a continuous process, he said. Potential jurors in the trial of a New Jersey man on charges he was high on heroin when he slammed into a Wayne gas station and killed three people last year wont get to hear statements he made to a detective shortly after the crash, a judge ruled Friday. But Jason Van De Rees previous conviction for another crash while under the influence of narcotics would be fair game for prosecutors to introduce into evidence, the judge also ruled. The decisions by Superior Court Judge Ernest Caposela came in a hearing in Passaic County in preparation for a possible trial against Van De Ree, 30, on three counts of aggravated manslaughter, death by auto and related charges. Van De Ree, of Vernon Township, had previously rejected a plea deal that called for 30 years in state prison. Killed in the Feb. 19 crash were Jon Warbeck, 50, of Fair Lawn, his son, Luke Warbeck, 17, of Lincoln Park, and Lovedeep Fatra, 22, of Pequannock. The Warbecks were in a car at the Delta gas station on Route 23 when Van De Rees vehicle crashed into them and also struck Fatra, who worked at the gas station. Luke Warbeck, 17, and his father, Jon Warbeck were killed in a gas station crash in Wayne. At the time of the crash, Van De Ree was allegedly high on heroin laced with fentanyl and needed to be revived using Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug. Van De Rees attorney John Latoracca successfully argued that statements his client made to a detective in St. Josephs University Hospital while nodding in and out of consciousness were not admissible in his impending trial. But Latoracca said the ruling about the 2016 driving while under the influence conviction was a setback for the defense. The statements themselves either way were not of huge significance, said Latoracca. The single biggest issue is that prior incident. So obviously thats a significant blow, that being admissible in the states case. Assistant Prosecutor Julie Serfess declined to comment after the hearing. BREAKING: Don't think anyone has seen this yet. We asked one of our @PIX11News editors to highlight this tragic video and cut it at the moment of impact. So sad. 3 people killed in this crash on Rt. 23 in Wayne, NJ. The driver - survived. pic.twitter.com/aUWofhHt5R Jay Dow (@JayDowTV) February 19, 2019 There were no injuries in Van De Rees Nov. 3, 2016 crash, but it mirrors the 2019 crash in many ways. On that day in Fairfield, Van De Ree was also driving an SUV when he lost consciousness, crossed two lanes of traffic on Route 80 West and slammed head-on into a guardrail, according to a New Jersey State Police report. Troopers said they found Van De Ree unconscious. On the drivers side floorboard, the troopers found 20 decks of heroin and a syringe. Much like the 2019 crash, Van De Ree had to be revived with Narcan, needing two doses in each nostril. When Van De Ree came to, he reportedly said he couldnt remember the crash. All of a sudden I felt something was wrong and I didnt know what was happening, he told troopers. At the 2019 crash, a Wayne Township police officer found heavily damaged cars strewn across the Delta Gas station and the parking lot of a neighboring Mazda dealership. The officer saw the Warbecks in their Chevrolet Camaro, both showing no signs of life, according to records. Fatra could be seen laying on the ground, motionless, authorities said. All three were pronounced dead at the scene. The officer found Van De Ree apparently unconscious, slumped over his steering wheel, according to court records. On the drivers floor mat was an uncapped syringe, police said. Later, when searching Van De Rees clothing, an officer found nine glassine bags of suspected heroin, all stamped Death Row in blue ink, police said. While in the ambulance, Van De Ree floated in and out of consciousness, breathing shallow. Medical workers saw a fresh track mark on his arm and administered naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug, police said.. And similar to the crash less than three years prior, Van De Ree said he could not recall the incident, according to the paramedic report. Statements to police and medical workers. Little more than an hour after the crash, Van De Ree woke up in a hospital bed in Paterson to a police detective telling him he was under arrest and to handcuffs being clamped on his left wrist. The detective did not give Van De Ree a Miranda Rights form or card for Van De Ree to sign that acknowledged he understood his rights, saying that Van De Ree would not have been able to sign the card or forms due to his condition at the time, according to Caposelas ruling. The detective said he complied with Miranda by verbally telling Van De Ree of his rights. But Caposela cited case law that says people in custody must fully understand their rights before waiving them, saying that was not the case for Van De Ree. The statements made to Detective Polifrone at St. Josephs University Hospital are inadmissible as the defendant did not knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently waive his Miranda Rights, said Caposela. While in the ambulance, a medical worker asked Van De Ree how much heroin he had used, with Van De Ree unable to answer, authorities said. When Van De Ree arrived at the hospital, he denied taking any drugs the morning of the crash, but admitted to taking Xanax the night before. Since the statements Van De Ree made to medical personnel were not for purposes of an investigation, but merely for diagnosis and treatment, they would be admissible in court as hearsay, said Caposela. Next steps Last summer, Van De Ree rejected a plea deal of 30 years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to the three counts of aggravated manslaughter and serving 25 and years before being eligible for parole. Despite the damage done by Van De Rees prior conviction now being fair game, Van De Ree would not reconsider the deal unless the prison time is reduced, said Latoracca. Van De Ree is not going to accept a 30 year offer. Period," said Latoracca. Its far far in excess of what it should be. They kind of view this as shooting fish in a barrel. We made a counteroffer of 15 years which they rejected. Theyre where they are. Were where we are. Next up are oral arguments over a defense that Latoracca plans to use for Van De Ree and that Serfess plans to try to toss out. Latoracca previously filed notice that Van De Ree will rely on the defense of self-intoxication that is not self-induced, claiming that Van De Ree did not know the heroin he used was laced with fentanyl. Arguments over Van De Rees proposed defense are scheduled for March 27. Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. For a certain number of young Chinese, most of whom are under 30 years old, spending their lives commuting between home and office to work for other people is increasingly being seen as too mundane. Having grown up during China's economic rise, these youngsters are eager to develop their careers by fully exploring their abilities and creativity something which they struggle to do in private companies or public institutions. "Both my husband and I like working creatively without boundaries," explained Huang Yilai, a resident of Shanghai who quit a stable job in 2005 to help her French husband Jonathan Lucy put together magic shows. "I met Jonathan when he was still a university student in Shanghai. I was amazed by the shows he staged at the homes of French expats as a part-time job to finance himself," Huang recalls. The couple, who settled down in the city known for its fast pace and bustling economy, gave up their professions having majored in business and international trade, and started to arrange tours for their magic shows. In the beginning, they called performance companies and offered their services for free. "We put on shows free of charge so that potential customers could better understand us," Huang remembers. "Had it not been for the uniqueness of our performances, they'd never have realized that their brands could be promoted using magic. To them, it was a completely new concept." Fifteen years on, they now enjoy a relatively comfortable life in Shanghai. With a flexible work schedule, Huang explained that they have had plenty of time to stay at home with their child, and reiterated both how well the lifestyle works for them as well as their hope to continue it. Huang's experience of working from home epitomizes an emerging trend in today's job market. Young people aged 30 and under are becoming much more interested in working for themselves than being tied to an office chair. According to Ali Research, a new-business-centered research platform funded by Alibaba Group, there may be as many as 400 million people in China working for themselves by 2036. Meanwhile, according to the "Population and Labor Green Paper: Chinese Population and Labor Issues Report No.18 New Employment Styles in the New Economy," about 70% of those working in small offices or home offices (SOHOs) were born between 1985 and 1989. Another report published last month by the Institute of Population and Labor Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) states that those born between 1990 and 1995 prefer free and open corporate cultures, while many born after 1995 are pursuing such lines of work as hosts of live web-streams or are becoming online influencers. "Compared to sitting in an office, being self-employed makes me feel like I can use all my energies on working for things that I'm really interested in," explained one short video producer who preferred not to be identified. This producer is 25 and majored in television and broadcasting. He chose to start filming his daily life with his girlfriend and releasing videos on TikTok (known in China as Douyin), an app that allows anyone, professional or otherwise, to upload short videos. A single video on the platform has the potential to be viewed millions of times a number that is large enough to attract advertisers. However, the sheer quantity of short videos on TikTok means that views are unpredictable. As such, this video maker is considering opening a brick-and-mortar store to help cover his daily expenses. Despite the unpredictability, he still has a strong desire to work for himself since it allows him to follow his passion. The number of self-employed people surged in China around 2000 as the country embarked on a market-oriented economy, adopting policies centered around reform and opening-up. However, according to Qu Guanyin, deputy professor in the Industry and Commerce Department of the Beijing Vocational College of Labor and Social Security, today's self-employed people which consists of business consultants, lawyers, editors, writers and designers are engaged in more intellectual-based work. This is in marked contrast to the clothes vendors or brokers that mushroomed around four decades ago. "As a result of the market-oriented economy, self-employment adds vitality to the economy," Qu explained. "This has been achieved not only by helping release the liquidity of products, but also by improving the distribution of essential production factors." Niu Tian, an assistant research fellow at the CASS Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication, said that many of today's self-employed people who have left organizations, whether public institutions or large firms, often have a strong competitive edge. She added that the booming market economy has resulted in their work extending proactive ties with the platform economy, especially in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. At the same time, they have unleashed a strong creative power, thanks in part to their flexible work schedules. However, she warned that many young people, either currently self-employed or looking to become so, are seriously concerned about the issue of social insurance: "Many of them, particularly those just starting out in such a new business model, often feel distressed when they don't know where to find their next order or how they can receive social and medical insurance as well as pensions." Niu added, "We hope an organization can be established to coordinate between them and the government to protect and ensure their rights. Then they won't need to worry so much." Chico Police Chief OBrien announces his retirement Police Chief Michael OBrien will be stepping down from his role Chief of Chico Police. Chief OBrien said his last day will be June 5, 2020. OBrien served as chief for 5 years. During his tenure, he oversaw the creation of the retail watch program, was active in the police community advisory board, led staff through the aftermath of the Camp Fire, and the development of the public online crime portal. Man arrested for robbery with shovel Redding police arrested Allen Silva, they say for smashing a car and home windows with a shovel. Police said Silva broke into a home and tried stealing a woman's cell phone and car keys. She got away and called 911. Officers said Silva admitted he was under the influence of meth. He is charged with attempted robbery, vandalism, and parole violation. Wells Fargo robbery suspect faces judge The man accused of robbing a local bank in court and has entered a plea of not guilty. Chico police said Kevin Miers of Oroville is the man responsible for targeting a Wells Fargo bank and robbing the business at gunpoint. He faces charges of making terrorist threats, assault, felony possession, and robbery. Judge halts California labor law as it relates to truckers The new California law dictating whether workers are classified as either employees or independent contractors will not apply to independent truckers. A federal judge is blocking the law saying federal rules on interstate commerce preempt state law. The law that took effect this month makes it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees who are entitled to minimum wage and benefits. Judge threatens to force PG&E to hire more tree trimmers A federal judge is threatening to force Pacific Gas & Electric to hire more tree trimmers to reduce the chances of its electrical grid igniting fires in northern California. The judge notified PG&E on Thursday that he expects more precautions to be taken. It comes a day after the utility acknowledged that as many as 22,000 trees may still be creating fire hazards. PG&E has said it can safely maintain the millions of trees in its territory. Trump adds Ken Starr and Alan Dershowitz to impeachment defense team For only the third time in U.S. history, the Senate is holding an impeachment trial. Democrats continue to demand that new witnesses should be called. President Trump is adding three seasoned lawyers to his impeachment legal defense team, people familiar with the matter said, including Kenneth Starr, the hard-charging prosecutor whose work led to President Bill Clinton's impeachment. On Thursday, a government watchdog agency said the white house budget office violated the law when it followed President Trump's order to withhold millions in aid to Ukraine. Senate passes US-Canada-Mexico trade deal, a Trump priority A new trade deal between the U.S. Canada and Mexico made its way through the Senate. The deal opens Canadian dairy markets to American producers. It creates stricter rules for auto part rules of origin and requires at least 40% of the parts for a car to be produced in plants where workers make at least $16 an hour. The pact now requires just Canadas approval before going into effect. As the Long Beach Unified School District commits to keeping classes in-person, the city a new testing site opens for LBUSD employees and students only. The city is also ramping up its own testing efforts with a new 3,000-person per day testing site. Washington D.C. [USA], Jan 17 (ANI): US President Donald Trump is likely to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, a trip that is likely to coincide with the start of his impeachment trial in the Senate. "He is scheduled to go, and we're prepared to go, but we'll see what happens," White House principal deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley told reporters at the White House Wednesday, according to The Hill. Gidley said that Trump is "absolutely" comfortable travelling out of the country while his trial is taking place. "You've seen what the president has been able to do while the House is doing its best to play politics and ignore the needs of the American people," Gidley said. "The president is focused on doing his job, focused on making the lives of all Americans better," Gidley said, accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats of focusing "on their own selfish political desires." The White House previously announced that the presidential delegation attending the annual economic forum in Davos from January 20-24 would include advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and other top officials. Trump skipped the economic forum last year because of the ongoing government shutdown. The House voted on Wednesday to send the articles of impeachment accusing Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress to the Senate, paving the way for a trial likely beginning next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) predicted this week that the Senate trial would begin on Tuesday. The White House is expressing confidence ahead of the trial in the GOP-controlled Senate. A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday that the White House didn't expect the trial to extend beyond two weeks, characterising the Democrats case as weak. (ANI) A former Catholic Charities employee was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for her role in a fraud scheme that illegally siphoned more than $200,000 in emergency housing funds from the District, federal prosecutors said. Jude Law and wife Sadie Frost arrive at the premiere of the Dreamworks SKG film "Road to Perdition" at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City, July 9, 2002. Photo by Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect. It seems Sadie Frost has been reminiscing as shes shared a photograph of herself and ex husband Jude Law from the mid-1990s as a young crazy couple in love in a sentimental post to Instagram. The couple were married between 1997 and 2003 and share three children, Rafferty, Iris, and Rudy, with Frost having son Finlay with Spandau Ballets Gary Kemp before they met. Law reclines on a sofa in the image while Frost perches on a window ledge, looking toward the camera. Read more: Jude Law's daughter Iris is now enjoying a flourishing career in fashion She wrote alongside the snap: I love this image of me and my childrens dad .. think he was the same age as @rafflaw is now in this .. we were living in Chamberlain street with @zoegraceartist and @steve__mackey and little @mackeymarley had just been born.. @rafflaw was on the way. and @fin_munro was 6! @lirisaw and rudy were waiting in the wings.. We were just a young crazy couple in love who didnt know what was going on!! And how to navigate the chaos that was round the corner.....but 2 decades later and now our beautiful kids are all grown up & thankfully smarter than we were. It all makes sense. The fashion designer went on to say the image was a painting as well as a photo and it had been hung in The National Portrait gallery, although was stolen at some point in the following years. Law went on to have two more children, a daughter born in 2009 to US model Samantha Burke and another daughter with Catherine Harding in 2015. Rafferty Law and Sadie Frost attend the Tommy Hilfiger show during London Fashion Week September 2017 on September 19, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/BFC/Getty Images for The British Fashion Council) He has since remarried to Phillipa Coan, tying the knot last May. He and Frost's son Rafferty has followed in his parent's footsteps as an actor. The 23-year-old is due to star in the upcoming adaption of Oliver Twist having landed the lead role in the Sky Cinema reboot. The modern adaption of the Charles Dickens classic will also feature Rita Ora and Michael Caine. 5.8k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Rachel Maddow made history, as her Lev Parnas interview was the most-watched cable news program in history. According to a statement sent to PolitcusUSA by MSNBC: MSNBCs The Rachel Maddow Show scored record total viewership Wednesday night following Rachel Maddows exclusive interview with Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, with 4.5M total viewers and 844,000 viewers A25-54 tuning into Maddow on January 15, according to Nielsen. Parnas interview dominated the news cycle after he revealed explosive allegations against members of the Trump administration, including that President Trump knew exactly what Giuliani was doing in Ukraine. Parnas also claimed that Vice President Mike Pence did not attend the May 2019 inauguration of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky because Ukraine had not announced an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden. Last nights episode of Maddow was the programs highest-rated show ever in total viewers, kicking off 2020 with a huge ratings win for MSNBC. In the 9 pm hour, Maddow ranked #1 across all of cable, topping #2 FOX News Hannity by over half a million total viewers (3.7M). Maddow more than tripled CNN in total viewers and topped CNN by more than 500,000 in A25-54. Following Maddow at 9 pm, The Last Word with Lawrence ODonnell at 10 pm and The 11th Hour with Brian Williams at 11 pm were both #1 in total viewers, more than doubling CNNs total viewership for those hours. The Parnas interview has turned Trumps impeachment trial upsidedown. Republicans are under immense pressure to allow witnesses to testify, and there is a growing call to hear from Lev Parnas at the trial. The record level of viewership for this interview suggests that the American people are paying attention to impeachment. They arent, as Republicans have suggested, bored and tuned out. The historic ratings for Maddow are a warning shot to Senators that the nation is watching, and they will pay a political price if they try to pull off a sham impeachment trial. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook Akshay Kumar and wife Twinkle Khanna, known for their banter on social media and otherwise, are celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary on Friday. Akshay wished Mrs Funnybones on the occasion by sharing a hilarious picture on Instagram with a funnier message. Sharing the picture which shows him scaring Twinkle in the get-up of his 2.0 character, Pakshi Rajan, Akshay wrote on Twitter, Visual representation of what married life looks like...some days you wanna cuddle and some days look like...as you can see. All said and done, I wouldnt have it any other way, Happy Anniversary Tina...with love from Pakshirajan. His fans also did not leave the chance to have fun reacting to the picture. A fan wrote, Tu cheej lajab Tera koye Na jawab. Another said, Zor zor se bolke schemein batado sabko. @akshaykumar. One more viewer warned him, Sir if u remain doing same twinkle madam would call her bodyguard #chitti. Onion earrings gifted to Twinkle Khanna by Akshay Kumar. Twinkle had earlier shared a picture of onion earrings, gifted to him by Akshay. She captioned the picture: From one shoot to another:) I am glad I got the chance to wear my priceless gifts that were brought home from a shoot, before they started sprouting shoots themselves:) #OnionsAreAGirlsBestFriends. Akshay had spotted the earrings on The Kapil Sharma Show where the actor had gone to promote his film, Good Newwz. Talking about them, Twinkle wrote, My partner returns from performing at the Kapil Sharma show and says, They were showing this to Kareena, I dont think she was too impressed, but I knew you would enjoy them so I got them for you. Sometimes its the smallest things, the silliest things that can touch your heart. #onionearrings #bestpresentaward. Also read: Love Aaj Kal trailer: Sara Ali Khan, Kartik Aaryans melodrama is too much to handle; songs are saving grace Akshays latest release Good Newwz has become a blockbuster with collections of Rs 197 crore so far. He starred alongside Kareena Kapoor in the film which also had Kiara Advani and Diljit Dosanjh in prominent roles. He has several major projects this year, including Rohit Shettys Sooryavanshi, Laxmmi Bomb and Prithviraj. Follow @htshowbiz for more IMAGE: Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, right, with Union Minister Prakash Javadekar during the release of BJP's first list of 57 candidates for Delhi assembly polls, at BJP headquarters in New Delhi, on Friday. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo The Bharatiya Janata Party has banked on experience to take on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi assembly polls, scheduled for next month, as it released on Friday its first list of 57 candidates, which included four former mayors, and many councilors. The names of all three BJP MLAs, including Leader of the Opposition Vijender Gupta, former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma's brother and former mayor Master Azad Singh, as well as former AAP legislator Kapil Mishra figured in the first list. The candidature of Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, a sitting MP, has not been announced in the first list of candidates. Releasing the list, Tiwari said Gupta will contest from Rohini seat, Azad Singh from Mundka and Mishra from Model Town as he expressed confidence that the party will end its more than two decades of stint in opposition and come back to power on its 'positive' agenda. The list does not include nomination against AAP leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Tiwari, who was joined by Union minister Prakash Javadekar, party's poll in-charge for Delhi, said the party will soon name its remaining candidates. The party has fielded Khushi Ram from Ambedkar Nagar, Ravindra Gupta from Matia Mahal and Yogender Chandolia from Karol Bagh, all former mayors. It has also given ticket to its national secretary R P Singh, who will contest from Rajender Nagar. The list has 11 candidates from scheduled castes for reserved seats, four women nominations and seven from Poorvanchal, a region comprising eastern UP and Bihar. Most of the candidates announced on Friday were also nominated by the BJP in 2013 and 2015 assembly polls. The polls to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 8 and results will be declared on February 11. Tiwari said the names were finalised at BJP's central election committee meeting on Thursday night. The ruling AAP has already announced its candidates for all 70 seats. The Congress is yet to announce names of its candidates. The BJP's list also included six sitting and thirteen former councilors of the three municipal corporations in the national capital. Among several AAP leaders, who have joined the BJP, only two former MLAs have been given tickets by the saffron party, with names like Devender Sehrawat and Guggan Singh missing from the list. BJP sources said three seats --Kalkaji, Hari Nagar and Rajouri Garden-- may be given to its ally Shiromani Akali Dal. Rajouri Garden seat is currently held by Manjinder Singh Sirsa, an Akali leader who had won on the BJP ticket. Candidates on some seats including Krishna Nagar, New Delhi, Burari, Mehrauli and Kasturba Nagar have not been declared, amid speculations that the party could field sitting MPs in the Assembly polls for better chances of victory. The BJP had won only three seats in the previous assembly elections, while the AAP had won 67. Delhi is set for another triangular contest between AAP-BJP-Congress. While Kejriwal is relying on populist schemes like free electricity and water besides free ride for women in the government-run buses and efforts to boost education and health infrastructure, the BJP is hoping to reap the benefits of Modi government's decision to grant ownership rights to people living in unauthorised colonies and planks like the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The saffron party has also tried to corner the AAP government over violence during anti-CAA protests in the city. Web Toolbar by Wibiya The 2020 Ottawa Book Expo is expected to usher in an era of culinary tourism to the Ottawa area. To make this possible, restaurant vendors are encouraged to apply and to become a part of what could possibly be the biggest literary event in Canada. Over 200 vendors are expected to participate in the historical literary expo. Among those, local restaurants who are all eager to showcase their culinary masterpieces with the masses. The Ottawa Book Expo is providing local restaurants with an opportunity to reach hundredsif not thousands, of expo attendees all in one place. The Expo will give vendors access to not only bookworms but foodies as well. Hundreds of foodies are expected to flock to the expo to sample the best food that Canada has to offer. Its clear that the Ottawa Book Expo presents a prime commercial marketing opportunity for all vendors involved. It isnt getting any easier to promote local restaurants. However, with the help of the Ottawa Book Expo, local restaurants will have the opportunity to serve foodies who are actively looking for their next favourite restaurant. You may be concerned about the number of vendors present. However, the Ottawa Book Expo has employed the help of professional marketing and sales experts to provide an equal opportunity for all vendors to reach their full marketing potential. All you really have to worry about is serving your food fast enough to cater to hundreds of these hungry expo attendees. Due to the nature of this inclusive Expo, most of the attendees will be there solely to sample what local restaurants can serve them. Hundreds of foodies on the hunt for delicious food and a new restaurant to promote will be swarming your booth every day of the Expo. The Ottawa Book Expo is truly revolutionary. Its partnership with Smoque Shack to launch the Great Canadian Barbecue which will be held alongside the Expo itself is expected to spearhead an era of culinary tourism to the Ottawa area. Much like New York, the Ottawa area is expected to be turned into a melting pot of different cultures through culinary masterpieces. There is already an assortment of cultures that can be found in the Ottawa area. However, that is expected to double as talented chefs and experienced restaurateurs from all over the world prepare for the opportunity to cash in on Ottawas culinary future. Of course, it would only serve to benefit local restaurants to be a part of the event that makes this happen. Not only would restaurants gain valuable exposure but they would also gain experience in serving a multitude of clients within a short span of time. The Ottawa Book Expos Great Canadian Barbecue has also organized multiple all-singles events and a local foodie group on the Meetup website. The foodie group is geared toward individuals who share the love of barbecue, food and beer. The Great Canadian Barbecue hopes to encourage food lovers across Canada to come together in support of the historical event. Due to the efforts of the team behind the Great Canadian Barbecue, it is safe to say that hundreds of foodies will be joining in the festivities solely for the purpose of supporting the local food culture. Food and culture go hand in hand and it is incredibly important to keep the vitality of the culinary community thriving. The Ottawa Book Expos mission for cultural diversity goes beyond featured authors and publishers. The organizers are encouraging chefs and restaurants who serve food from other cultures to apply for the Expo. In addition to this, the Expo is also welcoming restaurateurs and chefs who prioritize Canadian cooking. There is no lack of benefit for all parties involved in the Ottawa Book Expo. Dont miss the chance to be a part of Ottawas history by participating in what could be the biggest literary event in Canada. The possibilities are endless and the expo attendees are ripe for the picking. Reach an audience you never could have imagined and fulfill your part in keeping the cultural vitality of the Ottawa area alive. Apply to be a vendor now on the Ottawa Book Expo website. Early bird rates are still applicable. However, vendor slots are running out fast. Dont miss the chance to be a part of Ottawas culinary history. New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday (January 17), issued a fresh death warrant for the execution of the four Nirbhaya convicts, with the convicts now scheduled to be hanged at 6 am on February 1. The four convicts, Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were sentenced to death in September 2013. Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind has rejected the mercy petition of Mukesh, one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape case.Rashtrapati Bhavan has communicated the decision of the President to the Union Home Ministry. Presidents decision came hours after plea was forwarded by MHA. The Union Home Ministry had on Friday forwarded to President Ram Nath Kovind the mercy petition of one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape case, recommending its rejection, officials said. Mukesh Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, had filed the mercy petition a few days ago. The Home Ministry has forwarded the mercy petition of Mukesh Singh to the President. The ministry has reiterated the recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for its rejection, the official said. The Delhi LG had sent the mercy petition of Mukesh to the Home Ministry on Thursday, a day after the Delhi government recommended its rejection. The four convicts Mukesh Singh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) were to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail. A Delhi court had issued their death warrants on January 7. However, the Delhi government had informed the high court during a hearing that execution of the convicts will not take place on January 22 as a mercy plea has been filed by Mukesh. Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital hosted a reunion event that gave stroke patients the unique opportunity to meet the men and women who cared for them, from the time their families called 911 through their recovery process. Dr. Nhu Bruce, medical director of the hospitals stroke program, welcomed patients and their families before presenting a video that showcased the remarkable stories of two patients - blogger, Marquis Clarke of Montgomery and Darin McKenzie, owner of McKenzies Barbecue in Conroe. Following the video, Bruce reunited Clarke and McKenzie with the EMS crews that initiated their treatment, as well as their ER physicians and nurses and the comprehensive stroke team that worked diligently toward their positive outcomes. For me, once EMS arrived at my house, I had already completely lost my vision, so I have never been able to put a face to their voices until now, said Clarke. It was such an amazing experience getting the privilege to reconnect with my entire team and the people that helped me have a successful outcome that day. Their training and giftedness truly blessed our family and we are forever grateful. I got to meet a lot of the people that were involved in my care - from the EMS guys to some of the nurses that were in the OR when they did my procedure - to the ER doctor and the therapists that had such an important role in my recovery, said McKenzie. Following the event, guests were invited to stay for the hospitals first stroke support group. The group is open to any stroke patients in the northern Houston region and occurs every third Wednesday of the month from 4 - 5:30 p.m. at Houston Methodist Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation at The Woodlands, 7990 State Hwy. 242, The Woodlands, Texas,77385. Visit houstonmethodist.org/events to register. BAY CITY, MI The owner of a classic car dealership in Bay City, who faces a criminal charge, was ordered in 2019 to pay more than $250,000 in a related civil lawsuit. An attorney for David F. Cotten says his client, the owner of The Bay City Motor Company/Bay City Auto Company, had no intent to defraud a customer, although a judge ruled otherwise last year. Cotten on Dec. 19 was arraigned in Bay County District Court on one count of larceny by conversion more than $20,000. The charge stems from an investigation conducted by the Michigan Department of State Regulatory Monitoring Division and Michigan State Police. Court records show Cotten was sued in 2019 by Douglas and Sharyn Chapman, a Florida couple who said they owned a vintage red 1963 convertible Jaguar XKE OTS that they bought from Cotten in December 2014 for $178,644.70. In September 2016, the parties agreed to have Cotten and his company resell the Jaguar, court records state. Cotten and the Chapmans exchanged numerous statements and emails. In them, Cotten claimed to have sold the Jaguar and refused to turn over the sales proceeds, the Chapmans alleged in the suit. Despite having made many claims that Bay City Motor sold the Jaguar and was repeatedly promising to pay Plaintiffs, Bay City Motor continues to market the Jaguar on the companys website as part of its inventory, the suit stated. In January 2018, Cotten agreed to return the Jaguar to the Chapmans or pay them $220,000, the lawsuit alleged. The cars owners claim neither action happened, which led them to file a civil lawsuit. On July 1, 2019, Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran issued an order granting final judgment in the Chapmans favor. Sheeran ruled the defendants owed the Chapmans $257,360, which includes the principal of $225,500 plus accrued interest. The judge also ruled Cotten and his business obtained the Jaguar or money by false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud. As of Jan. 16, Douglas Chapman said hes not received any money from Cotten regarding the judgment. Attorney Paul F. Beggs represented Cotten in his civil suit. He said Cotten had no malicious or illegal intent in his dealings with the Chapmans and that the business got away from him. Beggs added it is true Cotten has not yet repaid the Chapmans, saying he doesnt have the funds to do so. Attorney Michael P. Herzoff, who represented the Chapmans, declined to speak on the topic, referring a reporter to the public court record. The criminal case Cotten, 67, now faces a larceny by conversion charge that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $15,000, or three times the value of what was stolen. Investigators allege that although Cotten agreed to sell the Chapmans Jaguar on consignment for about $220,000, a truer estimate for the Jaguar would have been about $126,000. Officials allege Cotten later claimed the customer wanted to trade the Jaguar for a 1958 Cadillac Eldorado valued at $130,000, with an understanding that the balance of about $90,000 would be forwarded to the customer once the Jaguar sold. However, dealership records show the Eldorado was purchased outright by the customer, officials said. Officials allege Cotten then assigned the Jaguars title to Bay City Auto Company, transferring ownership of the Jaguar to the dealership, and brokered the sale of the car for approximately $118,300 with an auto auctioneering company in California. The vehicle was sold to a buyer in Germany and officials allege Cotten never remitted the sale proceeds to the Jaguars original owner, who, for the next two years, was led to believe that the car was still on the market. Cotten is represented by Bay City attorney Matthew B. Hewitt. His case is scheduled for a settlement conference on Feb. 28. ATHENS, Greece (AP) The commander of forces fighting the U.N.-supported government in Libya visited Athens Friday in a bid to counter Turkeys support for his opponents, ahead of a weekend summit on Libya in Berlin. Gen. Khalifa Hifters surprise trip to Greece came two days before the Berlin summit, which aims to halt the conflict in the oil-rich country that is being fueled by competing international support for the warring sides. Separately, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be attending the meeting in Germany. Turkey, which has sent troops to back Libya's government against Hifter's offensive, is at odds with Greece over oil-and-gas drilling rights in the East Mediterranean. In November, Turkey and the Libyan government in Tripoli signed a controversial maritime deal delineating a boundary between the two countries in the Mediterranean. Libya has been divided between two competing governments since 2015, one based in Benghazi in the east and the other based in Tripoli. The agreement would give Turkey and Libya access to an economic zone across the Mediterranean despite the objections of Greece, Egypt and Cyprus, which lie between the two geographically. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, speaking after meeting with Hifter, said the Greek government had encouraged the Libyan general to participate (in the Berlin meeting) constructively and to work toward achieving a cease-fire and restoring security in Libya by removing mercenaries and by the recognition of the invalidity of the illegal agreements between Turkey and the government in Tripoli. "l must tell you with great pleasure that the commander agreed to all of those remarks," Dendias said. The minister said Greece was willing to help police a European ban on arms shipments to Libya. Hifter made no comments after his talks with Dendias or a later meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Mitsotakis, who was not invited to Berlin, said late Thursday that Greece will never accept a political solution for Libya that does not require the cancellation of the maritime deal with Turkey. We will use our veto before the case gets to the summit meeting. We will veto it at a foreign ministers level, he said. Story continues However, it was unclear exactly what Greece could block. A Greek official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the veto would be applied to any decision concerning Libya on a European level if it doesnt include the annulment of the maritime deal. Asked in Berlin why Greece wasn't invited to Berlin, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Greece's participation in the Berlin Libya conference was never up for debate." Seibert said the substance of the conference was considered when determining who would attend. Those international actors with immediate influence in the Libya conflict are taking part in this conference and that's the focus of the event, he said. In Moscow, the Kremlin said Sunday's Berlin talks would focus on a cease-fire and the launch of a broad political dialogue under the United Nations. Russia and Turkey held talks with the warring sides in Moscow on Monday, focusing on a cease-fire agreement. Hifter and Fayez Sarraj, the head of Libya's U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, didn't meet directly and held separate talks with Russian and Turkish diplomats and military officials. But Hifter refused to sign the cease-fire document. Russia's acting foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said Friday the most important outcome of the talks was that the truce was still holding in Libya. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, expressed doubt that Hifter would abide by any cease-fire. This man is not a trustworthy man, he told reporters in Istanbul on Friday. Yesterday, they continued to bomb Tripoli. Erdogan, who will be attending the meeting in Berlin, said Turkey would monitor Hifters actions following the conference. My hope is that he will stand behind the promise he made, Erdogan said. Apart from the maritime deal made with the government in Tripoli, Turkey has also reached a security cooperation agreement with Libya and has sent troops to support the U.N.-backed government there. German foreign ministry spokesman Rainer Breul, asked about the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya, said that sending international troops to Libya breaches the United Nations arms embargo. Rights groups have urged participants at the summit to work toward reaching a lasting peace deal. Amnesty International said any deal must prioritize protection of civilians and justice for victims of violations. In a statement, it said a field investigation it released in October had unearthed evidence of potential war crimes by both the UN-backed Government of National Accord and the LNA, Hifter's Libyan National Army. The United Nations Children's Fund called on leaders attending the summit to reach a peace deal that would end the dire and untenable situation of children in Libya. UNICEF said 150,000 people, including 90,000 children, have been forced to flee their homes since Hifter launched his offensive in April. The Libya director of the International Rescue Committee, Thomas Garofalo, said in a statement that violence had forced the group to stop some of its relief operations in recent weeks for those displaced by the conflict. We call upon all parties gathered in Berlin to ensure that all civilians, including migrants and refugees, are protected in line with International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law," he said. Separately, The U.N. Support Mission in Libya called Friday for the immediate release of Libyan lawmaker Seham Sergiwa, who was kidnapped by gunmen from her house in Hifter's stronghold, the eastern city of Benghazi, in July. Her whereabouts remain unknown. The UNSMIL said Sergiwa's "enforced disappearance constitutes an attempt to silence one of Libyas prominent female voices and to intimidate others seeking to participate in the country's political life." The statement held the eastern government responsible for establishing her whereabouts. Following her disappearance, the Tripoli-based government accused forces loyal to Hifter of kidnapping her after she sharply criticized his offensive on Tripoli. The pro-Hifter, east-based government dismissed the allegations and said an investigation was underway to find Sergiwa. ___ Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Suzan Fraser in Istanbul, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Noha ElHennawy in Cairo contributed. ___ Follow Becatoros at https://www.twitter.com/ElenaBec A British Airways jet was forced to divert to Manchester after the pilot alerted Air Traffic Control about reports of smoke in the cabin. The Embraer E190LR was en-route between Dublin and London City when it turned off course while passing Wrexham. The aircraft was due to depart Dublin at 7.15pm but left the Irish capital at 7.40pm. It landed at Manchester around 8.20pm, according to data from Flight Radar 24, after declaring an emergency near Liverpool. A British Airways Embraer E190LR diverted to Manchester Airport earlier today after developing a technical fault over Liverpool. The 8-year-old passenger jet reportedly had smoke in the cabin when the captain decided to discontinue his flight to London City, file pic The aircraft was due to fly between Dublin and London City but diverted to Manchester Passengers on the flight, BA4473, will be transported onwards to London. Engineers will inspect the aircraft to determine the cause of the technical issue. The 8-year-old jet started this morning in Edinburgh, before flying to London and then Rome before returning to City Airport at 4.40pm. It then crossed the Irish Sea to Dublin before attempting to return to London. According to British Airways: The pilots decided to divert to Manchester as a precaution due to a technical issue, and the aircraft landed normally. We're assisting customers in the terminal and apologise for the disruption to their journey. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:25:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken speaks at a new year event of the Chamber of Commerce Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany, Jan. 16, 2020.(Xinhua/Wang Qing) Germany must, in its own interest, "speak out clearly against unilateralism and protectionism," says Chinese Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken, adding that "I hope that the German economy can have a keen eye and a rational voice on the subject of Huawei." VILLINGEN-SCHWENNINGEN, Germany, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken on Thursday invited more German companies to invest in the ever-wider opening China, and urged Germany to treat Chinese investment equally. "German companies are not only leaders in investing in China, but also witnessing reform and opening up and benefiting from China's economic development," said Wu at a new year event of the Chamber of Commerce Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg attended by 2,200 people, most of them business representatives. Wu said the total volume of trade between China and Germany in 2019 reached 200 billion U.S. dollars. According to the German Chamber of Commerce, exports to China have created around 900,000 jobs in Germany, and around 6,000 German companies are currently investing in China. At the beginning of the new year 2020, China published a new reform package and passed various laws and regulations on foreign investments, showing that the Chinese government is still endeavoring to open up to the outside world, according to Wu. "We invite even more German companies to invest in China and also encourage Chinese companies to come to Germany and Europe," said Wu. The Chinese ambassador said although Chinese investment is only a tenth of the investment of German companies in China, there are many voices such as "protection from China". The German Federal Government has revised the foreign trade regulation twice in recent years and tightened the investment review. "We often hear that Chinese investors are still warmly welcomed in Germany, but on the other hand, it is hard to miss the fact that the tightening of the investment review is aimed precisely at Chinese companies," said Wu, adding that in recent years many Chinese companies that have invested or want to invest in Germany have experienced explicit or implicit hurdles. "In China people wonder why Germany is closing its door, while the door of China is opening ever wider," said Wu. "In my opinion, Germany must, in its own interest, speak out clearly against unilateralism and protectionism," he said. Wu said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had said clearly that there had been no suspected cases of China's tech firm Huawei so far. According to the German Office for Information Security, no information has been received so far that there are intelligence activities in the field of technology, Wu said. "There is a saying in China: Real gold is not afraid of fire. I hope that the German economy can have a keen eye and a rational voice on the subject of Huawei," the Chinese ambassador noted. A Sikh businessman was assaulted by three persons in Laxmisagar area here when he protested their parking of vehicle in front of his house, police said. The three accused persons were arrested by police. They were released after the local SDJM court granted them bail, the police said. The businessman Parbinder Pal Singh on Thursday alleged that he was beaten up by the three persons allegedly close to a local BJD leader in the presence of policemen on Tuesday night. Singhs wife Kamaljit on Thursday said that some people visited their house on Wednesday night. "The bell started ringing around 1.10 am. I was too scared to open the door as I stay alone with my three children," she said. The CCTV footage revealed that four people, including Bhubaneswar Central MLA Ananta Narayan Jena (BJD) and DSP Anup Kanungo, visited Singhs house on Wednesday night. She said: "They again came to our house on Thursday morning and assured us not to fear. Was 1.10 am the time to visit the house of any person to express sympathy?" she asked. Jena, however, clarified that as a local MLA he had been to Singhs house on Wednesday night along with a Sikh community leader. "I had gone to their house as a local MLA to express sympathy and solidarity with the family," he said. Meanwhile, opposition BJP and Congress criticized the state government and the ruling party over the incident. "I strongly condemn the violent assault on Parvindar Pal Singh in front of the police in Bhubaneswar. This is clear dereliction of duty by the police, Legally, it can also imply complicity of the police in this crime," OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said in his twitter post. BJP leaders - Lekhasree Samangtasinghar and Jagannath Pradhan, visited Singhs house on Thursday and condemned the incident. "The attack took place in the presence of police personnel. How could the attackers secure bail despite murderous attack," Samantasinghar asked. She also criticised BJD MLA Ananta Narayan Jenas late night visit to Singhs house. "How can any sensible person visit the victims house in the dead of the night," she asked. Meanwhile, police has disengaged the concerned PCR in-charge officer in whose presence the three persons allegedly attacked Singh. A police team has been posted near Singhs house after the family expressed concern over their safety, a police officer said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced another movement against govt ISLAMABAD: The chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has announced to launch another movement against the incumbent government saying that they will send the rulers home with public power. While talking to the media prior to JUI-F Punjab meeting, he pointed towards another anti-government campaign expressing that the incompetent government is compelling people to suicide and sell their children in order to survive in these severe conditions of the country. He added that now the institutions themselves have also said that the economic situation will not improve for two to three years. JUI-F chief went on to say that with the support of the opposition, it feels that they have also become a part of the government. The dispersed opposition is in the interest of the government itself, so our responsibility has increased, he added. Maulana Fazlur Rehman asserted that there is no disruption with the Establishment, and they are against the interference in politics. He said that they will disqualify the current government with the public power and urged the people to take to the streets. Meanwhile, he said that the word madrassa reform is an insult itself. He added that the alliance organizations have had detailed discussed with the seminaries along with consensus on many issues. A new study shows that there is a huge disproportion in the level of funding for social science research into the greatest challenge in combatting global warming -- how to get individuals and societies to overcome ingrained human habits to make the changes necessary to mitigate climate change. The analysis argues that despite many of the key climate-change puzzles residing in the social sciences (such as anthropology, economics, international relations, human geography, development studies, political science, psychology etc), these fields receive least funding for climate research. Academics from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and the University of Sussex analysed research grants from 332 donors around the world spanning 4.3 million awards with a cumulative value of USD 1.3 trillion from 1950 to 2021. According to the study's estimates, between 1990 and 2018 the natural and technical sciences received 770% more funding than the social sciences for research on climate change -- USD 40 billion compared to only USD 4.6 billion for the social sciences and humanities. Only 0.12% of all research funding was spent on the social science of climate mitigation. Even the countries that spent the most on social science climate research in absolute terms -- the UK, the USA, and Germany -- spent between 500% and 1200% more on climate research in the natural and technical sciences. The report's co-authors say funding of climate research appears to be based on the assumption that if natural scientists work out the causes, impacts, and technological remedies of climate change, then politicians, officials, and citizens will spontaneously change their behaviour to tackle the problem. The academics argue the evidence from the past decades shows this assumption does not hold. With the window of opportunity for mitigating climate change narrow and closing, the researchers recommend more funding is made available for social science research on climate mitigation; improved global research funding coordination and transparency; prioritisation around key questions within the social sciences and an increase in the rigorousness of social science research. Benjamin K Sovacool, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Sussex, said: "Most people probably think that because climate change is so severe, responsive research would be a core priority. But the opposite is true. And, oddly, the smallest part of the funding goes into solving the most pressing issues." Indra Overland, who heads the Centre for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, said: "The one-sided emphasis on the natural sciences leaves one wondering whether funding for climate research is managed by climate sceptics. It's as if they don't quite believe in climate change, so they keep looking into out how it really works, rather than trying to work out how to actually stop it." The authors recommend: Donald Trump. (AP Photo) The latest on US President Donald Trump -- hurled insults at top officials in a meeting at the White House -- according to an excerpt from the book A Very Stable Genius by The Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig. An excerpt from the book quoted in an article by The Post details the incident, which took place during a meeting in July 2017, which had been called by the president's national security team at the time in order to brief him on the US' role in the global order. According to a Business Insider report, members of Trump's national security team, namely then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, all of whom left the posts since then, had concerns about his unawareness on certain key issues which were of significance from a diplomatic standpoint. They were hence trying to brief him on the same, when the president got annoyed and berated the officials. He reportedly called them "losers", "a bunch of dopes and babies" and launched a personal attack on the people present at the meeting, as per the BI report. Of all the people present at the meeting, only Tillerson interrupted the president when he started making a remark about how the US should start profiting monetarily from troops deployed overseas, as per the excerpt quoted in the report. Hyderabad, Jan 17 : On the fourth death anniversary of Hyderabad Central University research scholar Rohit Vemula, who committed suicide due to the alleged caste discrimination and oppression, his mother on Friday announced launching 'Mothers for Nation' yatra, a campaign for social justice and protection of the basic principles of the Constitution. In this yatra, she will be joined by mothers of Payal Tadavi and Najeeb Ahmed, Radhika Vemula said at a meeting held here to mark her son's fourth death anniversary. Payal Tadvai was a medical student of Mumbai who committed suicide in May last year following caste discrimination by her seniors while Najeeb Ahmed, a student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), is missing since October 2016. A meeting to pay tributes to Rohit Vemula was organized here by 'We the People by Citizens Against NRC-CAA-NPR', a nationwide platform. It was on this day in 2016 that Rohit committed suicide at the Hyderabad Central University hostel after he, along with five other Dalit students, were suspended by the university administration following a clash with students belonging to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The 27-year-old had left a suicide note in which he wrote how identity of an individual was reduced to a vote, a thing and a number. He expressed his anguish over the discrimination students like him have to face. "Rohit had said four years ago that a citizen is reduced to a vote and a number. Today they are trying to deny even this identity to people," said Radhika referring to Citizenship (Amendment) Act and proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). She said she lost her son because she did not know how to save him. "Now, we mothers have decided to work together to save our nation. As mothers who have lost our children to injustice and oppression, we will fight against CAA-NPR-NRC," she said. "Let Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah prove where they come from first," said Radhika adding that her blood is boiling to see the excesses being committed on students at Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University, JNU and other universities. Addressing the meeting, Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav said Rohit's letter can be read hundreds of times and hundreds of angles. He said freedom fighter Bhagat Singh had shared similar ideals in his letters. He said that justice day was being observed across the country to mark Rohit's death anniversary on Friday. He described Radhika as mother India. Rohit's suicide had triggered massive protests in Hyderabad Central University and triggered student unrest on campuses across the country. His death anniversary was observed at several universities on Friday with students protesting against the CAA, NRC and NPR holding meetings to pay tributes to Rohit. New Delhi, Jan 17 : The Supreme Court on Friday said it would henceforth not monitor the murder case of rationalist M.M. Kalburgi in August 2015 in Dharwad in Karnataka. The development came as a bench headed by Justice R.F. Nariman and comprising Justice S. Ravindra Bhat observed that a charge sheet had already been filed and the matter assigned to a sessions court for trial. The Karnataka government counsel told the apex court that the state High Court too had stopped monitoring the case's progress. The apex court observed that the status report filed by a Special Investigation Team had said that two of the main accused in the case were absconding and cannot be traced. Kalburgi, a former Vice Chancellor of Hampi University and well-known epigraphist, was gunned down at his residence in Kalyan Nagar in Dharwad on August 30, 2015. He was a Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer of old Kannada literature. Last year, the top court had directed the Karnataka High Court's Dharwad bench to monitor the case probe. The case was taken over by Karnataka police SIT, which also investigated the Gauri Lankesh murder case, and filed the charge sheet. Umadevi Kalburgi, the wife of the slain rationalist, had moved the apex court for a fair probe, alleging a link between the murders of her husband, rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and social activist Govind Pansare. She had pleaded for the probe's transfer to a central agency. The top court had said that if these killings are linked, one agency should probe them and that it should be monitored by the High Court. The Maharashtra Police SIT was probing the killing of Pansare in 2015 whereas the CBI was investigating Dabholkar's murder. Kalburgi, Dabholkar and Pansare were killed within a span of five years. Earlier, in its status report, the Karnataka Police had told the apex court that it seemed there was a connection between the killings of Kalburgi and that of Lankesh in 2017. Even if Anthony had a year to analyze and dissect each piece...(he couldn't tell if it would)... stand the harsh light of public exposure. WUWT insider Willis Eschenbach tells you all you need to know about Anthony Watts and his blog, WattsUpWithThat (WUWT). As part of his scathing commentary , Wondering Willis accuses Anthony Watts of being clueless about the blog articles he posts. To paraphrase: Click here to read more. Bank of England's Carney to advise UK PM on climate London, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday named the outgoing Bank of England Governor Mark Carney as his financial adviser for this year's UN climate change summit in Glasgow. "His expertise will help the UK to lead in mobilising businesses and investors to support our net zero revolution," Johnson said in a statement. Canadian-born Carney warned in December that global warming could erase the value of company assets unless firms stepped up investment in renewable energy research. He is due to leave his UK central bank post in March after seven years. Last month he became the UN's new special advisor for climate action and finance, replacing former New York mayor and now US presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg. Carney said the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) on November 9-19 "provides a unique opportunity to address climate change by transforming the financial system. "To seize it, all financial decisions need to take into account the risks from climate change and the opportunities from the transition to a net zero economy," he said. Britain last year became the first major economy to set the legally-binding target of reducing polluting carbon emissions to a net level of zero by 2050. Last month's COP25 summit in Madrid nearly collapsed as nearly 200 attending nations clashed over the pace and strength of carbon cutting commitments. They are trying to meet the goal of a landmark 2015 Paris Agreement to limit this century's rise in the global temperature to below two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit). The deadline to put teeth into the 2015 accord falls in Glasgow. Nearly 70 nations now have plans to be carbon-neutral by 2050. But President Donald Trump's administration will formally pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement when its 12-month notice period ends during the summit. 3 1 of 3 John Badman | The Telegraph Show More Show Less 2 of 3 John Badman | The Telegraph Show More Show Less 3 of 3 SOUTH ROXANA A vehicle crashed into the currently closed Dee-Lux Diner on Illinois 111 at Old Edwardsville Road in Roxana Friday as it was attempting to elude police. South Roxana police had tried to stop the Buick Regal in connection with a domestic dispute, but had discontinued the pursuit for safety shortly before the driver of the car crashed through the kitchen of the restaurant, which is currently closed for renovations. The Supreme Court allowed Vedanta access to Nalcos alumina if it fulfils certain conditions. Finally, some great news! Indias fastest-growing financial subscriptions service, Moneycontrol Pro, is available both on the website and mobile apps. Moneycontrol Pro offers curated markets data, independent equity analysis, insights into investment styles and exclusive trading recommendations. In sum, all the information you need for wealth creation. Tactical pick of the week: HEG Our independent research teams tactical pick this week is HEG, a company that is one of two domestic producers of graphite electrodes. These are mainly used to make steel. In the past one year, the global slowdown in the commodities space has adversely affected HEGs performance and seen its shares correct by 75 percent. But now is the time to buy. Why? Read more. Vedanta gets access to Nalcos alumina. How will it help? Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled on an appeal filed by National Aluminium Company (NALCO). It had appealed against high court ruling that had asked it to supply alumina to Vedantas SEZ aluminium unit in Odisha. The Supreme Court allowed Vedanta access to NALCOs alumina if it fulfils certain condition. What does this mean for investors in the company? Read more. What should investors do after Mindtrees Q3FY20 earnings? Mindtrees Q3FY20 performance should put to rest niggling worries whether its operations have stabilised under the new owner Larsen & Toubro. The results were encouraging with strong traction in key clients, healthy expansion in margin and positive commentary on the deal pipeline. However, the valuation has turned expensive at 16.8 times FY21 estimated earnings. Buy, hold or sell? Read more. A quality company in the construction space This company recently sold a road asset. That move will reduce leverage and turn its balance sheet net cash positive. It has a strong order book to accelerate revenue and earnings growth. The capital infusion from sale of assets will improve its ability to bid for large projects. The stock is trading at attractive valuations. Read more. Govt demands higher dividend from oil PSUs. An opportunity for investors? The government has sought a record dividend of Rs 19,000 crore from state-run oil companies at a time when the companies have reported lower profits in the first half of current fiscal as compared to last year. To meet the shortfall in its revenue target the government has asked its favourite milch cows to deliver some more. How does this benefit investors? Read more. Picks from our technical analysts (Please click on security name to access recos) Federal Bank Cummins India CARE Ratings Colgate Palmolive The Shelby Mustang is one of the most iconic muscle cars in America. A high performance variant of the Ford Mustang, the Shelby is an all time favorite, and one of the car communitys most beloved cars. Since the Shelby has been around since the mid-60s, it isnt uncommon to see an old one all dented and badly bruised. Older cars tend to age badly when not maintained properly. So when Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson, decided to restore two of the most exceptional vehicles from the 1960s, it is something to look forward to. The Green Hornet, one of the rarest and most remarkable Shelby Mustangs of all time, and Little Red, the long lost experimental coupe, are being revealed together for the first time ever. They will be joined by two new Shelby GT500 Mustangs, premiering at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction. The legendary Shelby Green Hornet has a very unique history. Originally developed in 1967 as a prototype, the car drove around for a while before Ford eventually decided to drop the vehicle. Fortunately, the Green Hornet ended up with Fred Goodell, Shelby Americans chief engineer at the time. Along with Caroll Shelby himself, Goodell immediately began to work on the car, modifying and adjusting it until he was satisfied. The Green Hornet has gone through various owners since, eventually wounding up with Craig Jackson, and is currently valued at over $3 million (Php 152.5 million). The backstory of Little Red is a little less glamorous. After being discarded as an experimental car, the 1967 coupe was thought to have been sent to the scrapper by Ford. Lost but never forgotten, car enthusiasts worldwide were astounded when Craig Jackson made the announcement: Little Red has been found! Little Red was spotted at a wide Texas field in early 2018, just rotting away. The whole front fascia had completely rusted away, as it had been sitting right in the middle of Tornado Alley for over 20 years. The one of a kind experimental notchback was back, with a great cult following. Story continues The restoration of the vehicles was led by Jason Billups of Billups Classic Cars, located in Colcord, Oklahoma. To commemorate the historic unveiling, Jackson will include two new Shelby Mustangs: a one off Candy Apple Green and a Rapid Red 2020 Shelby GT500. The two newbies will be displayed alongside their ancestors at the Barett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, opening at 9 a.m. on January 16th, 2020 MST. Also Read: The post Its Official: Green Hornet and Little Red Restored appeared first on Carmudi Philippines. LANSING, MI -- A smidge too much THC could render entire crops useless and financially ruin Michigans new hemp farmers. If your hemp is hot, its hot, and it has to be destroyed, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Legislative Liaison Nathan Kark said during a Michigan hemp farming presentation to the state Senate Agriculture Committee Thursday, Jan. 16. The federal government in 2018 legalized industrial hemp, strictly defined as cannabis sativa with less than .3% THC, the high-inducing compound found in marijuana. While the same plant, marijuana is usually grown for its THC and smoked or otherwise ingested for a recreational high or medicinal effects. Hemp is harvested for fiber used in fabrics, paper, construction materials, food, and cosmetics, or for its non-psychoactive compounds, like CBD, an extract used as a natural remedy for anxiety, insomnia, depression and pain, among other ailments. Michigan in 2019 took the federal government up on its offer allowing states to create their own pilot hemp farming programs. In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) worked to create federal hemp farming rules, some of which Michigan officials say are unrealistic. The federal rules arent yet finalized, as an extended public comment window remains open though January. Link to provide comment on the federal hemp production rules Once the federal rules are complete, they will remain in place for at least two years. Michigan is working on its own hemp farming program that must comply with and be approved by the USDA. Several federal rules of concern were highlighted during the MDARDs presentation Thursday: The .3% THC limit: Although marijuana is legal for medical or recreational use in most U.S. states, it remains illegal under federal law, listed alongside heroin as a schedule I controlled substance. In order to remain distinct from marijuana, hemp must have a negligible amount of THC. If the THC in hemp tests above that strict threshold, it muse be destroyed. Thats an area that I believe (the USDA is) probably getting quite a few comments on," Kark said. That .3% is a pretty hard and fast rule. Based on 847 samples tested by MDARD in 2019, 84% were within the acceptable THC range, MDARD Lab Division Director Craig VanBuren said. Of 603 licensed hemp farmers, nearly 40%, 242 growers, didnt submit any samples for testing last year. At this point, there is no flexibility in the destruction requirement, MDARD Industrial Hemp Program Director Gina Alessandri said. "They stressed that theyre not interested in putting anybody out of interest ... " she said. "They did say they are working with DEA to see if there are any area to where there would be some flexibility to redirect non-compliant hemp for maybe an industrial purpose, such as a building material or fiber, that kind of thing. 15 days to harvest: Under proposed federal rules, hemp farmers must harvest their crop within 15 days of receiving THC lab results. The reason is that THC levels arent stagnant and may continue to climb as the plant remains rooted, MDARD Industrial Hemp Program Director Gina Alessandri said. Thats the other area that USDA will receive a lot of comment on, she said. While the tight window is a concern, especially for large growers and the 58 percent of 2019 pilot program farmers who harvested by hand, Alessandri said only 8% failed to meet the deadline during the first year of the program. Sample collection: The Michigan pilot program allowed farmers to collect and submit their own samples for THC testing. That wont be allowed to continue under federal rules. Probably one of the biggest deviations ... from our 2019 pilot program is that those those growers that were previously able to collect their samples on their own, will no longer be able to do that, as we have to have DEA-registered or an other appointed law enforcement person brought and actually collect those samples for them with the chain of custody and some more steps in place, Kark said. " ... Were taking a deep dive into this internally and MDARD right now requires some additional inspectors. Were trying to figure out if theres a way we can do that within existing resources. Testing labs: Federal rules limit the number of labs allowed to test hemp. You see words like DEA, Drug Enforcement Agency, thats the federal government exercising some of their oversight and saying that, well, laboratories need to be DEA registered Kark said. Forunately for MDARD, our Geagley Laboratory over in East Lansing already is DEA registered. Based on pilot program data, the lab was able to test and provide results to farmers within three days during the first harvest season. Crop destruction: Based on MDARD projections, about 16.6% of hemp crops are expected to fail THC limit tests in 2020, which means those plants will require destruction. State Sen. Dan Lauwers, R-Brockway said hes a little disappointed in how the feds came down on destruction. If a producer has produced cannabis exceeding the acceptable hemp THC level, the material must be disposed of in accordance with the (Controlled Substances Act) and DEA regulations because such material constitutes marijuana, a schedule I controlled substance under the (Controlled Substances Act, proposed hemp farming rules say. Consequently, the material must be collected for destruction by a person authorized under the (Controlled Substances Act) to handle marijuana, such as a DEA-registered reverse distributor, or a duly authorized Federal, State, or local law enforcement officer. Lauwers said the most sensible thing to do would be to till the crop back into the field. Alessandri said the Controlled Substances Act destruction rules are geared mostly toward prescription drugs, clearly not anything close to destroying acreage. She said the USDA has indicated they are considering offering states flexibility in the way they require destruction of hot hemp. It has to be realistic, Alessandri said, and clearly it is not realistic right now. Michigan expects to finalize its own hemp farming rules by Oct. 31. MDARD is currently accepting license applications from hemp farmers and processors for the 2020 growing season. As of Monday, the agency had received 252 hemp grower applications and 237 from processors, a category that also includes hemp brokers. The 2019 growing season included 603 registered growers and 483 licensed processors. Hemp program presentation to Judiciary Committee: -- Gus Burns is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact him with questions, tips or comments at fburns@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, @GusBurns. Read more from MLive about medical and recreational marijuana. More on MLive: Hemp expo illustrates interest in new crop Hemp could become huge industry in Michigan USDA releases preliminary hemp farming rules Hemp program shrouded in secrecy Family Video all in on CBD oil Demand for mince pies and Bisto gravy over Christmas helped Premier Foods to higher sales in the third quarter driving shares up by 2.4 per cent to 44p in early trading. The food manufacturer said sales increased 2.6 per cent for the 13 weeks on the back of 3.6 per cent growth in its UK sales. It said this was particularly buoyed by leading brand Mr Kipling, which saw sales jump 10 per cent after it sold 201 million mince pies over the festive period. Premier Foods owns some of the UK's best known food brands including Mr Kipling Total sales in the group's sweet treats division increased by 8 per cent as a result, as it was bolstered by new product development, such as the launch of mini mince pies for the Christmas period. The company said it planned to continue this momentum by pushing forward with more new products in 2020, including making more mini Mr Kipling products. It also said that sales of its Cadbury-branded cakes increased from the same period last year. Meanwhile, sales from the group's grocery division increased by 0.3 per cent over the quarter, with the company highlighting growth for its Bisto and Ambrosia brands. Premier Foods also saw strong growth for its Nissin Soba noodles products, which jumped 70 per cent against the same period last year. Premier Foods also announced international sales were 'disappointing' over the period, declining by 17 per cent. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: 'The nation seems to have regained its taste for Mr Kipling cakes, judging by a 10 per cent rise in this brand's product sales in the 13 weeks to 28 December. A picture of Mr Kipling French Fancies. Mr Kipling is a Premier Foods leading brand 'That's fantastic news for its manufacturer, Premier Foods, which has been desperately trying to dig itself out of a hole created by the sheer weight of its debt. 'Group sales are advancing with the 2.6 per cent pace in the third quarter building on the 2.4 per cent seen in the first half of its year. 'Importantly it is outperforming the market and has achieved 10 consecutive quarters of revenue growth. He added: 'Premier Foods has previously been viewed as a company held back by its inability to invest properly in marketing and product development thanks to the burden of large debts and an underfunded pension scheme. A Mr Kipling Cherry Bakewell. 'However, it is now improving sales, profits and reducing debt under a new senior management team. 'Product innovation includes the roll-out of the Plantastic brand for vegan products, although it must be said this is already proving to be a very competitive marketplace. 'So many other food manufacturers and retailers are trying to jump on the vegan bandwagon that simply having a vegan product does not guarantee a sudden jump in earnings. He continued: 'Ultimately it looks like Premier Foods is regaining its mojo but at the end of the day the level of net debt is still very large relative to earnings, so the balance sheet issues still act as a restraint on the business. 'It also operates in a fairly low growth market, so Premier Foods needs to work hard just to take small steps forward.' Last year, Premier launched a strategic review after significant pressure from activist investors to look at how the business can reduce its debt mountain more quickly. The company attempted to sell its Ambrosia custard brand but took it off the market after interested parties failed to meet its valuation. Premier said its strategic review is now 'nearing conclusion' but provided no further details. Alex Whitehouse, chief executive at Premier Foods, said: 'Our UK business has now delivered 10 consecutive quarters of revenue growth and has consistently outperformed the market. 'Our biggest brand, Mr Kipling, has again been instrumental to this continuing momentum, with increased sales of 10 per cent supported by TV advertising and new product ranges. 'We are making good progress towards our cost savings goals and are on track to deliver 5 million savings over the next two years to further increase investment into the branded growth model.' Setting up a representative office offers a low-cost entry for investors to better understand Vietnams business climate. Representative offices are forbidden to earn revenue and their activities are limited to mainly market research, and acting as a liaison office for their parent companies. Foreign investors should seek the help of registered local advisors to ensure they understand the set up process. A Representative Office (RO) offers a low-cost entry for companies seeking to gain a better understanding of the Vietnamese market. As such, this option is among the most common for first-time entrants to the Vietnamese market and often precedes a larger presence within the country. What are ROs permitted to do? ROs are permitted to engage in the following activities: Conducting market research; Acting as a liaison office for its parent company; Promoting the activities of its head office through meetings, and other activities, that leads to a business at later stages. What do you need to get a license? Representatives offices are dependent on their parent company and are not allowed to generate their profits or enter directly into contracts. They are also not allowed to issue invoices. Pre-licensing checklist for setting up an RO: File an application for setting up an RO with company chop or seal; Appointment letter of Chief of RO with identification documents and company seal; Power of attorney in favor of consultant to submit the application dossier; Certificate of Incorporation for the Company and/or Business Registration Certificate of the Company; Audited financial report of the company for the latest fiscal year; Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of leasing office or leasing contract; Documents providing legal rights of landlord regarding the right of the leasing office. For steps 1 to 6, the foreign entity would require one notarized and consularized copy of each document and a translated copy in Vietnamese by a Vietnamese competent authority. A signed leasing contract is also required before registering an RO in Vietnam. What do you need to do after you get the license? Post-licensing checklist for setup an RO: Make a seal for the RO; License on the establishment of RO Passport of Chief of RO if a foreigner or passport/ID card if Chief is Vietnamese Register a Tax code for RO; Declaration to register a tax code Power of attorney Certificate of seal registration Certificate of RO in Vietnam Open a bank account of RO; License on the establishment of RO Certificate of seal registration Certificate of tax code registration Letter of authorization appointing the authorized signatories of the bank accounts Announcement of the establishment of RO of Company. For steps 8 to 10, notarized and translated documents will be required to complete the process. How long does it take to set up an RO? ROs can be set up in between six to eight weeks. We recommend hiring a professional service to deal with the myriad of laws and procedures. Given the absence of in-country revenue and associated licensing requirements, the setup process for this option does not entail as many bureaucratic procedures as others. An RO license is valid for five years but can be extended for another five years. What comes next? Hiring, tax, and reporting. There is no cap on the number of local and expatriate employees that a representative office can hire as long as their employment is properly documented. All expatriate hires including the chief representative are required to have a work permit. ROs can hire staff directly or use the assistance of recruiting agencies. An RO is not subject to Vietnamese corporate income tax (CIT). However, it is responsible for declaring its employees personal income tax (PIT). To determine payable tax, ROs have to undertake a tax audit which checks all revenues and expenses during the tax term to establish grounds for declaring and paying tax. The RO also has to send reports of its activities of the previous year to the Department of Industry and Trade before January 30 of each year. This article was originally published by Vietnam Briefing on March 22, 2019, and was re-posted by ASEAN Briefing on January 17, 2020. Japan is amending its law on foreign investment to better protect domestic companies and improve corporate governance. For foreign investors, the change in rules will mean more due diligence, but also a change in how they approach activism more generally. IFLRs latest primer looks at how Japan, following changes in similar rules in the US and EU, is changing its law to protect domestic enterprises from increasing foreign ownership. What does the investment law cover? Japan has passed a bill that will cut the threshold requiring foreign investors to notify regulators before their share purchases in sensitive companies from 10 to one percent. Changes will be made to the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, and are expected to be effective from May 2020. Sensitive companies are those related to weapons, nuclear energy, semiconductors and railroads. Japanese businesses will be allocated to one of three categories to differentiate between those that will be subject to the one percent threshold, those that may be exempt, and those that are not subject to the requirement. See also: US-China trade war part one: tariffs impact on deal flow is minimal How will foreign investment be affected? There will be increased regulatory requirements for equity investors operating at scale, explains Martin King, managing partner at Tyton Capital Advisors. For example, if a hedge fund wishes to take a short-term position in a small or micro-listed Japanese company, it will need to notify the Ministry of Finance when it breaches the one percent threshold. The investor's use of capital may change to avoid the added expense of the newly mandated reporting. This will have significant changes on the investment direction of foreign investors, and a drastic impact on the attractiveness of Japanese companies to investors. Foreign investors are working hard to quantify the cost of meeting the new requirements to inform their investment process moving forward, said King. Increased costs mean decreased profitability, so certain practices may come to an end. Those activities affected but still profitable will likely continue, but will create a compression in profitability. In terms of sectors affected, the focus will be on technology and telecommunications, such as semiconductor, integrated circuits, data processing services, and software development services. Hiroko Jimbo, partner at Nishimura & Asahi added that in addition to the changes being implemented, the Ministry of Finance changed its ministerial notification earlier in 2019 to expand the designated business category for ownership notifications to include all software development and service businesses. Combined with this business category change, the burden of pre-notification will increase dramatically, she said. Not only will investors need to notify the government of their investment plans, but these plans could be stopped should the government find them risky to national security. With the threshold dropping drastically from 10 to one percent, investments could easily be caught be the notification requirement. See also:Chinas new foreign investment law unpicked How will the law impact activist shareholders? According to Nicholas Smith, equity strategist at CLSA, hedge funds will be most affected by the change in law as its likely to limit their ability to influence company management and raise their costs of doing business. There will be an increase in administration and compliance costs to comply with the notification requirement as more due diligence will be necessary when investing in Japanese businesses. When it comes to activism, filing at one percent will hurt investors most related to activism and these tend to be hedge funds. In the long term, the stocks of companies targeted by the law will suffer. Japan has seen a growing trend towards shareholder activism in recent years as Prime Minister Abe continues to improve corporate governance. For instance, changes have been made to the Stewardship Code for businesses to increase engagement with investors and better manage conflicts of interest. Shareholders, including foreign institutional investors, are increasingly asking questions about their long-term investments, such as disclosure of voting activities and the inclusion of company policies on potential and actual conflicts of interest. Yuki Kimura, director at Japan Stewardship Forum, an industry organisation with more than 80 members in the asset management industry, said: The one percent threshold is simply too low and will discourage foreign investor involvement in Japanese companies. This is contradictory to the governments ongoing efforts to increase corporate governance. See also: PRIMER: Chinas new foreign investment law What areas of the law lack clarity? While the law will certainly be lowering the notification requirement to one percent, there remain a number of areas that lack clarity. Definitions are still missing for instance, the law doesnt define what foreigner or investor means, and who will be given exclusions, said Smith. Its also unclear whether the duration of ownership makes a difference, and whether there is a difference in the treatment of public versus non-public companies. While the Ministry of Finance has announced that a number of companies will be exempt from the notification requirement, it is unclear what these will be until the Cabinet Order and Ordinance are released in May 2020. How does it compare with similar laws in other countries? The change is in line with the efforts of other countries such as the US and Germany to increase investment controls amid concerns that sensitive technologies and businesses are being taken over by foreign countries, such as China. For instance, in the US, in 2018, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (Cfius) was given expanded jurisdiction to review foreign investments in the US, especially in sectors such as technology and critical infrastructure. Smith believes that while Cfius reviews in the US are stricter, what is not expressly prohibited is still permitted. However, Japan will likely be taking a strong approach on the laws implementation and the law will be interpreted more broadly. King added: I think the legislation will likely expand in the future using the US as a blueprint. Japan is a fiercely protectionist country, and such rules are necessary to maintain Japanese interests. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs. Share this article For almost twenty years - the brand was founded in 2001 - Golay Spierer has been working on the custom-made niche and offering its customers original unique pieces. The first piece came out of the Golay Spierer workshop in Carouge, Geneva, in November 2001 and since more than 150 unique watches have been delivered to the clients who had ordered them. The name Golay is not unknown in the world of watchmaking. Christophe Golay, the co-founder with Emile Spierer of the eponymous brand, has for ancestors Jacques David Golay, a watchmaker from the Vallee de Joux who settled in Geneva in 1829, and Auguste Golay, co-founder of the Golay-Leresche company in 1837, which took the name of Golay Fils & Stahl at the end of the 19th century. The company rubbed shoulders with Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin among the big names of Geneva watchmaking. Developing unique custom-made pieces involves a close collaboration between the client and the manufacturer. Golay Spierers art of custom-made rests on three stages: firstly, Golay Spierer meets the client in order to establish together the characteristics of the desired watch; this path to creation which can last several weeks and afterwards the production of the watch begins. Golay Spierer works with a network of more than twenty partners - craftsmen, artists and technicians - who will turn the customers dream into a unique piece. Eventually, the final assembly is carried out in Golay Spierer workshop in Carouge, where the watch will be handed over to its owner. La Salles Golay Spierer True to its motto "Time to measure", Golay Spierer creates unique pieces combining respect for heritage, history and craftsmanship with innovation and creativity. The range of achievements goes from simple pieces in the purest Geneva tradition, like La Seguin, to complicated timepieces such as La Michael, a chronograph and full calendar watch in yellow gold, with gold guilloche dial. Golay Spierer offers an overview of their creations on their website. La Seguin et La Michael Golay Spierer The WorldTempus team is delighted to welcome Golay Spierer on board as a brand partner. CSW is calling on the government of the United Kingdom to raise the general deterioration in security in Nigeria with President Muhammadu Buhari during his visit next week, amid a spike in violence and abductions in Kaduna state. President Buhari is scheduled to visit the UK on 20 January for the UK-Africa investment summit. There is still a worrying lack of information on the current condition of four Catholic seminarians who were abducted by armed men from the Good Shepherd Major Seminary in southern Kaduna state on 8 January. Pius Kanwai (19), Peter Umenukor (23), Stephen Amos (23), and Michael Nnadi (18), were abducted by men dressed in military fatigues who invaded the premises at around 10pm on 8 January, forced their way into the student dormitory and stole valuables. The assailants reportedly spent 30 minutes ransacking the seminary before absconding with the first year philosophy students. Their captors subsequently contacted their families on 11 January, but did not specify a ransom. The abductions form part of a renewed surge in violence targeting Christian communities in Kaduna state that has been ongoing since 2015. According to the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), in a four day campaign that began on 6 January 2020, militiamen of Fulani origin raided 10 Gbagyi communities in the Chikun and Birnin Gwari Local Government Areas (LGAs), killing at least 35 people. In addition, 58 people were abducted, and their captors are demanding a ransom of over N100 million (around US$276,000) to secure their release. On 6 January nursing mother Ladi Yusuf and her six-month-old baby were abducted, along with her brother-in-law Bulus Sule and his wife Rebecca following a raid on Kasso that claimed the lives of three other family members. In a call from captivity to his brother, Bulus Sule said the baby had fallen critically ill due to the conditions in which they were being held. On 8 January 40 people were kidnapped in attacks on the Badna Guruku Ward of Chikun LGA, including Baptist minister Rev Samaila Yusuf. On the same day, Rumana Gbagyi and Rumana Hausa villages in Birnin Gwari were looted of valuables and livestock. The Bademi community was also ransacked and looted, and 15 people were abducted in a raid on Unguwan Buji. In addition, militiamen ransacked the Maloma community, burning large quantities of grain before leaving. In a statement issued on 11 January and signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Luka Binniyat, SOKAPU expressed fears that the unchecked violence may mark a systematic plan to wipe out our communities and take over our land. The seeming inability on the part of the authorities to end militia violence definitively, coupled with a proliferation of small arms which may have been facilitated by ransom payments, has contributed to an increase in lawlessness that has ramifications beyond the targeted communities. Local reports allege that around 100 people were abducted on 14 January, when militiamen targeted the convoy of the Emir of Potiskum in Yobe state on the Kaduna-Zaria highway, killing around 30 people, including four members of his entourage. CSWs Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said: We are deeply troubled by the spike in militia attacks and abductions in Kaduna state, and extend our deepest condolences to all those affected. The failure of the Kaduna state and Federal governments to protect vulnerable communities and to bring these attacks to a definitive end is not only unacceptable; it has enabled this violence to transform into a threat to anyone residing in, or passing through, the state. CSW reiterates its call to the Kaduna state and the Federal governments to address this violence in a swift, decisive and unbiased manner, and to prioritise the return of abductees, and rehabilitation and justice for survivors. The relentless death and destruction is an appalling indictment of the continuing failure by both levels of government to fulfil their primary mandate of protecting all citizens impartially. The rising levels of insecurity throughout the country constitute a threat to investment and sustainable development. We therefore urge the Government of the United Kingdom to raise this general deterioration in security with President Buhari during his visit next week, impressing upon him the urgent need for a comprehensive and effective solution, and offering assistance if necessary. " For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press and Public Affairs Team Leader at CSW on +44 (0)782 332 9663 or email [email protected] . Pigs were found eating each other alive or with gaping wounds in scenes of extreme neglect and abuse at a farm certified as high quality, campaigners have claimed. Animal-rights activists filmed cannibalism, bodies left on the floor, and pigs covered in dirt in crowded pens at the farm in Northern Ireland. One activist said: This farm has some of the worst neglect and abuse I have ever witnessed in my life. Within hours of the footage emerging, the farm was suspended by the Red Tractor scheme, which says its members provide safe, traceable food thats farmed with care. The farmers union condemned the activists for risking causing panic in the animals by going into sheds without permission. Fish farming - in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Fish farming - in pictures Fish farming - in pictures Barramundi in tanks at a fish farm in South Australia, 2017 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Fish farming - in pictures Barramundi in tanks at a fish farm in South Australia, 2017 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Fish farming - in pictures A trout and sturgeon farm on the Yenisei River in the Siberian village of Primorsk in 2017 Reuters Fish farming - in pictures A sturgeon farm in the Polish village of Rus in 2014 AFP/Getty Fish farming - in pictures Barramundi in tanks at a fish farm in South Australia, 2017 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Fish farming - in pictures A fish farm outside the Siberian town of Nazarovo in 2019 Reuters Fish farming - in pictures A fish farm near Haifa, Israel in 2018 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Fish farming - in pictures Barramundi in tanks at a fish farm in South Australia, 2017 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Fish farming - in pictures A salmon farm on Lake Tagua Tagua in southern Chile in 2016 AFP/Getty Fish farming - in pictures Barramundi in tanks at a fish farm in South Australia, 2017 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Fish farming - in pictures Barramundi in tanks at a fish farm in South Australia, 2017 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Fish farming - in pictures A fish farm near Haifa, Israel in 2018 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Fish farming - in pictures Tanks at a fish farm in South Australia, 2017 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Fish farming - in pictures A fish farm on Lake Victoria in Kisumu, Kenya in 2018 AFP/Getty Fish farming - in pictures Barramundi in tanks at a fish farm in South Australia, 2017 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Campaign group Meat The Victims said its members saw pigs at the McGuckian Limited farm in Ballymena with gaping wounds in their hind legs, which had been slowly gnawed by others in the pen. They also photographed dead animals on the floor. Some photos were too harrowing for The Independent to show. Tuesday Goti, one activist, said the experience was absolutely harrowing. She told Metro.co.uk: One of the pigs actually had a hole in both of her sides and she was being cannibalised. They were eating her while she was alive. She didnt even have the strength to scream. She was just softly whimpering and there was nothing we could do but watch that. Casper Hilt, another member, wrote afterwards: Before we all went inside the one shed to do the actual lockdown protest, I got the chance to briefly scope some of the other sheds on the facility. I just opened the door, didnt step in, took some pictures and videos and then closed the doors and moved on. A shed photographed with a dead pig left on the floor (Casper Hilt) There were dead bodies everywhere, both inside the sheds and lying around outside on the ground. And again, clear evidence of cannibalism happening, with several bodies half-eaten. This is standard and Red Tractor animal welfare-approved pig farming, this is ordinary. But it doesnt make it less unspeakable cruel or wrong. These are babies forced in to insanity and cannibalism. Andrew Goti, a spokesman for Meat the Victims, said that as a general principle, mother pigs were typically kept in a farrowing crate where they could not turn around for more than half the year. They are impregnated, they have their litter of piglets who will suck on their teats. They can be terribly uncomfortable but they cant get away. They cant enjoy their natural behaviours of rooting and foraging, he said. The group of people who entered the farm said they came to an agreement with the farmer and police to take away one pig, which they took to an animal sanctuary. Mr Goti told The Independent they had not broken in, as the doors were unlocked and there was no gate. Northern Irelands Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said it was investigating the findings. Speaking on behalf of the farm, the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said it recognised animal welfare was important but it could not condone the groups tactics, adding that the claims did not reflect standards on family-owned pig units across Northern Ireland. As a body representing farmers, the UFU will never condone or seek to justify poor animal welfare standards. It has discussed this case with DAERA and the body that certifies standards in the industry. The UFU backs any official investigation undertaken on legitimate animal-welfare grounds. If what has been claimed proves accurate, the UFU will not seek to justify it. But it cannot accept the tactics of breaking into a farm, causing fear to individuals and seeking to hold them to ransom for a publicity opportunity. The end justifies the means defence simply does not hold water. If there were legitimate concerns, there are avenues through which these could have been raised. The union said the protesters actions risked causing still births or triggering panic. A spokesperson for Red Tractor said: We were shocked by the images we saw; protecting animal health and welfare is one of our top priorities and we take any breaches to our standards very seriously. We launched an immediate investigation to fully understand the extent of the issues on the farm and to substantiate the claims. Tourists who booked an all-inclusive getaway in Turkey were shocked to discover the hotel had been taken over by Islamic owners who banned alcohol and introduced segregated pools for men and women. Holidaymakers were drawn to Ova hotel, Oludeniz, by photos of families splashing in the pool while guests sunbathed on loungers and queued up at the bar for a drink. However, they have been forced to re-book after the 200-a-head idyll was bought by Zehra hotels, which has set about transforming the hotel into a venue 'good for your Islamic lifestyle'. As part of the shake-up, the destination will now also serve an all-halal menu and require women to cover-up while at the swimming pool. Tourists who booked an all-inclusive getaway at Ova hotel, Oludeniz, pictured in August 2018, have been forced to re-book after it was taken over by new management Zehra hotels, which took over the business, has banned alcohol and introduced segregated pools for men and women. Pictured above is the hotel before it was purchased Families that booked stays at the hotel on package holidays have been forced to re-book. Pictured above are men on the slide as families enjoy the pool in September 2017 British tourist Paul Rogers, who regularly stayed at the Ova, said: 'So sad to hear our hotel has been sold. I met so many fabulous people since Ive been going there.' Former guest Sarah Robins, 45, from East Sussex, said: 'We had nine wonderful years coming to the Ova resort. We used the hotel as our wedding base in 2013 and the staff did everything they could to make our day as wonderful as it was. 'We have spent our wedding anniversary there. The owners were kind nice people, and we will truly miss the resort.' Sam Taylor, 51, from Slough, Berkshire, told The Sun: 'I am absolutely gutted. This place was like a second home for a lot of us. 'But now they've banned booze we can't go back. You can't expect a Brit to take their holiday without a few pints by the pool.' Hotel staff pictured pouring what appears to be vodka into a bucket at the hotel before it was purchased by Zehra hotels Guests pictured lounging by the side of the pool and enjoying the sunshine before the sale The retreat, based in the pine-covered Mendos and Babadag mountains and less than three miles from the beach, had also offered guests a friendly atmosphere and late-night entertainment including belly-dancing. Waterslides, free Wifi, open buffets, billiards and Turkish baths and massages had also been offered by the business, based 24 miles from the airport. It had been sold by January the start of this year after offering an 'established business' with a 'healthy income' to potential buyers. In a message to guests posted online, the former owner said: 'It is a pleasure to see many had a good time at Ova and made new friends here. It had been like a family getting bigger with each season.' A guest standing with one of the hotel's performers at the bar. Two pints of beer are also visible A performer pictured during a show at the hotel during the 2017 season Package holiday titan TUI has apologised to customers who had booked to stay at the hotel and said it is in contact with them to offer alternatives.# They also said they would no longer offer holidays to this hotel. Ryanair stopped offering holidays to the resort last year. Religious publication celebrates history of DIY abortions Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A progressive secular Jewish magazine published an article this month instructing women on how to perform do-it-yourself abortions. Jewish Currents magazine published the article titled "How to Give Yourself an Abortion" that includes illustrations first published in its fall 2019 issue. The article uses gender-neutral terms as it suggests that attempting to abortion one's baby at home is a safe and simple procedure. "For as long as people have gotten pregnant, people have given themselves abortions," the article begins. Although the author added a disclaimer saying she wasn't encouraging women to endanger themselves by attempting to perform their own abortion, the article details a variety of methods women have used throughout the centuries in an attempt to kill their unborn child. "In 2020, however, the safest way to perform a self-managed abortion is with pills usually some variation of the same ones administered at doctors offices," the article insists. Obstetricians worldwide have warned against buying abortion pills online. And last year, the Food & Drug Administration banned online sales of abortion pills. In a medical abortion, women are given two drugs: mifepristone or RU-486, and misoprostol. Mifepristone works by blocking the effects of the natural pregnancy hormone progesterone. Misoprostol induces contractions and a miscarriage. Sue Turner, director of Physicians for Life, told The Christian Post that there are many websites that encourage women to take misoprostol to induce an abortion. I shudder to think what happens to her and what she goes through in that process because in about 30 minutes she starts having horrific contractions. And women can die. If the cervix doesnt open it can cause all kinds of horrible problems for her, she said. When mifepristone first came out, the U.S. FDA had a protocol for it to be used through seven weeks, or 49 days from conception. But the longer you wait, the less effective it is, Turner said. Because many abortion clinics in the U.S. were ignoring the FDAs protocol and using the drug in chemical/medical abortions up to 60 days, states began passing regulations saying they had to follow the FDAs protocol. They didnt want to have to follow the FDA protocol, so [then President] Obama made the FDA change it to the later date, the 60 days, to match up with what the abortion providers were doing," she explained. The drug was less effective and abortionists then had to also perform a surgical abortion, which meant that women were being charged for both chemical and surgical procedures. While few women have been arrested for attempting to abort their own child since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide, several states have since passed laws that either criminalize the harm done to preborn babies or regulate the disposal of aborted babies as medical waste, Jewish Currents noted. With the advent of the abortion pill, chemical abortions are becoming more common. The 2019 motion picture "Unplanned," which told the story of Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate Abby Johnson, showed an example of this type of abortion procedure. Johnson ended her second pregnancy from her first marriage by taking the series of abortion-inducing drugs that she bought at the same abortion clinic where she would later work for eight years. Jewish Currents also advised using deceptive tactics to get abortion-inducing drugs without going to an OB/GYN or abortion clinic, such as by convincing a man to try to buy them from a pharmacist, or by telling a pharmacist that one's grandparent suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and is visiting and left their medication at home, or by deceiving a veterinarian clinic that might have the pills in stock for use on animals. Many OB/GYNs in the U.S. have used abortion pill reversal treatments to successfully save babies lives in cases where mothers have started the process of a chemical abortion but then change their minds midway through. A network of Abortion Pill Rescue physicians exists around the country so that women who change their mind after taking Mifeprex (mifepristone) can be put in contact with a physician who will give natural progesterone to reverse the abortion, said Dr. Donna Harrison, a board-certified OB/GYN, as part of her testimony to the Kentucky House Health and Welfare Committee last March in support of Kentuckys Chemical Abortion Reporting Act. Turner told CP that if a pregnant woman who has taken the first of two abortion pills decides shes made a mistake and wants to keep her baby, she would have a relatively high chance of delivering a healthy baby if she was to undergo the reversal. That is why it is critically important that a woman be informed of all of her options, including abortion pill reversal, as part of a full informed consent process prior to starting a chemical abortion, added Harrison, who has authored peer-reviewed articles on the adverse events reported to the U.S. FDA after use of the abortion drug mifepristone. By giving a woman progesterone, the Mifeprex (mifepristone) abortion can be stopped and the chances of the baby surviving increase from 25 percent (the survival rate without natural progesterone) to 68 percent (the average survival rate after giving natural progesterone), she continued in her testimony, detailing how progesterone is an antidote to the abortion-inducing drug. Turner said that since 2012, over 500 healthy babies have been born because of the reversal process. As long as they have it early enough it works very well. They just cant take it after the misoprostol, which is the second pill. Ukraine asks Iran to hand over downed jet's black boxes Kiev, Jan 15 (AFP) Jan 15, 2020 Ukraine has asked Iran to hand over the black box flight recorders of a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed after being hit by an Iranian missile, prosecutors said on Wednesday. The Office of the General Prosecutor said it it would take "all measures" to properly decode the black boxes and "preserve evidence in the investigation of the accident". The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737, which had been bound for Kiev, slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran last Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board. The downing of the plane came hours after Tehran had launched a barrage of missiles at bases housing American troops in Iraq, in retaliation for the killing of commander Qasem Soleimani in a US strike. Iran initially denied Western claims that the airliner had been downed by a missile but eventually conceded that the plane had been accidentally shot down. The Ukrainian prosecutor's office said the country had sent "a request for legal assistance linked to the handover to the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 flight recorders". The statement added that Ukraine's SBU security service was in charge of investigating the crash. osh/as/jxb Authorities have released the name of a woman who was found dead Wednesday in her crashed vehicle in Jefferson County. The Jefferson County Coroners Office identified the victim as Cinnia Lyn Glaze. She was 27 and lived in Adamsville. Authorities said Glaze was last seen alive about 6 a.m. Wednesday after she dropped her boyfriend off at work. When she never returned home, family members became alarmed and filed a missing persons report with authorities. Glazes relatives went in search of the missing woman, retracing what they believed was her route earlier in the day. In the late afternoon 4:40 p.m. - they found her vehicle and Jefferson County sheriffs deputies were dispatched to the scene on Pleasant Grove Road between Cedar Drive and Fourth Place. Glazes vehicle was about 30 feet down an embankment. Deputy Chief David Agee said the car was heavily damaged. Glaze was found in the vehicle, and pronounced dead on the scene at 4:45 p.m. Investigators said no foul play is suspected in the crash. They believe Glaze may have fallen asleep while driving. Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], Jan 17 (ANI): Lambasting the opposition parties, BJP leader Mahesh Sharma on Thursday said those who are opposing the amended citizenship law are enemies of the country. Addressing media here, Sharma said, "The CAA is meant to provide citizenship to Hindu minorities of three Islamic neighbouring countries, who faced religious persecution and living in India as illegal migrants. Those who are opposing CAA are enemies of the country." Alleging that a confusion had been created among people by Congress and other opposition parties over the CAA, the former Union Minister said, "The Opposition should play a constructive role rather than destructive. Those opposing CAA are not well-wishers of the country and they want to create hurdles in the way of development of the country." On being asked about the slogan of "Azadi" raised by some protestors carrying tricolor, he said: "Had they not given freedom (Azadi) they would not have carried the national flag in their hands and raised such demand in the country." BJP MP questioned how Congress and opposition parties could oppose a law that was passed by the Parliament. He said CAA is not a new law as even former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Manmohan Singh had stood in favor of providing citizenship to persecuted Hindus of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Cornering Hyderabad MP and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi over massive rallies and protest against CAA, he said: "Owaisi is trying to prove himself as "messiah of Muslims" and trying to mislead them. (ANI) Packaging Innovations 2020 Announces Plans for The BIG Carbon Debate Industry experts from some of the UKs most respected authorities will come together on the Ecopack Stage at Packaging Innovations 2020 to debate one of the industrys hottest topics sustainability. The BIG Carbon Debate, which has evolved from the shows popular BIG Plastic Debate feature, will continue to move the conversation forward by unpicking the challenges of creating total-lifecycle eco-friendly packaging, instead of focussing on plastic and its alternatives. The debate will take place across both days of the event, which returns to Birminghams NEC on February 26 and 27. Kicking off day one will be the Ecopack Challenge which returns in association with Marks & Spencer. The Dragons Den style session will see six shortlisted companies showcase their eco-friendly packaging solutions and demonstrate why they should be voted best in show by an expert panel and the audience. The judging process will also see the products tested by the OPRL PREP tool, which assesses whether the packaging material can be easily recycled by consumers. Winners will be awarded the opportunity to develop their packaging concept with the retail giant. The topic of convenience versus sustainability will then be put under the microscope as a panel of experts discuss how brands can encourage consumers to play their part in the packaging ecosystem. The discussion will consider how the industry can educate consumers to understand different types of packaging materials, the resources and carbon required to produce them, and how to correctly dispose of them so they do not adversely impact the environment. The BIG Carbon Debate will be the focus of day two as authorities in their field take to the stage to discuss packagings impact on the governments target to achieve net-zero carbon output by 2050. The debate will consider how plastic bans would impact the UKs ability to reach its target by assessing the carbon footprint of plastic versus the sustainable alternatives. Victoria Blake, event director of Easyfairs UK packaging portfolio, said: We are very excited to be welcoming the BIG Carbon Debate to Packaging Innovations 2020. It is important to us that our seminar content is constantly evolving to reflect the current conversations taking place in the industry. Our new debate platform takes the concept of the BIG Plastic Debate even further to offer a holistic view of packaging and climate change, reflecting the fact that the conversation needs to be broader than just plastic. With the governments pledge to achieve net-zero carbon output by 2050, we want to address consumers plastic-phobic mentality and discuss how brands can produce truly eco-friendly packaging that can be easily composted, recycled or reused to have a positive impact on our environment and carbon footprint. To register to attend Packaging Innovations NEC 2020, please visit the registration page. For any further information, please visit the Packaging Innovations NEC 2020 website or contact the show team on +44 (0)20 8843 8800 or PackagingUK@easyfairs.com. 17 January 2020 - Donald Trump has named the team of legal minds who will defend him in his upcoming historic Senate impeachment trial. One of the names causing a stir is defence attorney Alan Dershowitz. The Harvard University law professor has worked on some of the worlds most famous and contentious legal cases, and is now offering his services to one of the most polarising presidents in United States history. The successful attorney is expected to focus on the constitutional arguments against the the charges made against the president by Democrats, which include accusations that he abused his power and obstructed Congress during its investigation. The teams statement, which Mr Dershowitz shared on his Twitter account, said: While Professor Dershowitz is nonpartisan when it comes to the Constitution he opposed the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and voted for Hillary Clinton he believes the issues at stake go to the heart of our enduring Constitution. Mr Dershowitz is joined by several other high profile attorneys, including former independent counsel Ken Starr and former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi. The trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Show all 6 1 /6 All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Alan Dershowitz Dershowitz is a controversial American lawyer best known for the high-profile clients he has successfully defended. Those clients have included OJ Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. One longtime Harvard Law associated told the New Yorker Dershowitz "revels in taking positions that ultimately are not just controversial but pretty close to indefensible." Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Ken Starr Starr became a household name in the 1990s as the independent counsel who led the investigation that led to Bill Clinton's impeachment. That investigation began as a look into a real estate scandal known as Whitewater, and eventually led to impeachment after Mr Clinton lied under oath about having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. AP All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Jay Sekulow Sekulow is the president's longtime personal attorney, and, now, personal lawyer in the White House. He has been accused by former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas of being "in the loop" during the Ukraine scandal. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pam Bondi Bondi is the former attorney general in Florida, and a longtime backer of the president's. She made a name for herself in Florida for taking hyper partisan stances on issues, and her penchant for publicity. She is likely to be a prominent public-facing figure during the trial. AFP/Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pat Cipollone Cipollone is the White House counsel, and leading the president's defence team. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Rudy Giuliani While not officially named as one of the president's impeachment lawyers, it is hard to ignore Giuliani's outsized role in this process. The former mayor of New York has been making headlines for months as he defends his client, and for his apparent role in the effort to compel Ukraine to launch the investigation into Joe Biden. We'll see how he figures in the actual trial, which he has said he would like to be a part of. Reuters Who has he previously defended and why is he so controversial? Mr Dershowitzs most notable cases read like a whos-who of controversial men. His first major legal victory came in 1976, when he successfully appealed the conviction of Harry Reems on charges of distributing obscenity for his pornographic movie Deep Throat. Then, in 1984, Mr Dershowitz had his second major victory with the case of Claus von Bulow, the British socialite who had been convicted of attempting to murder his wife, Sunny (who went into a coma in 1980, and died in 2008). In 1995 he joined the highest profile case of his career up until now, and worked as an adviser to OJ Simpsons defence team, going on to write a book about the case. Since then, he also defended the late Jeffrey Epstein in 2008 after the American financier was accused of soliciting sex from minors. Mr Dershowitz helped come to a non-prosecution agreement, which led to Epstein serving 13 months in jail. The convicted paedophile died in prison last year. And, in 2018, Mr Dershowitz worked as an adviser on disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinsteins case, which is currently in trial. Recommended Trump impeachment defence team includes former Clinton investigator He has been accused of some bad things as well Two women claim they were directed to have sex with Mr Dershowitz during the time he was associated with Epstein. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epsteins most vocal victims, stated in a 2014 court filing that Epstein lent her out for sex to his friends including Mr Dershowitz. The lawyer has denied all the allegations against him. He seems to enjoy the controversy of defending controversial figures In 2018, Mr Dershowitz said that the reaction he received to an op-ed he had written questioning the legitimacy of the special counsel investigation into Mr Trump's 2016 campaign, had proven that defending the president in the public eye was more difficult than defending OJ Simpson. When asked about his penchant for defending unpopular figures, and whether Mr Trump's case is more difficult, he told the New York Times that it is the more difficult than any of his highest profile cases: Of course. Or Claus von Bulow or Leona Helmsley or Michael Milken or Mike Tyson. This is much worse than all that." He continued: In those cases people were critical of me, but they were prepared to discuss it. They were prepared to have a dialogue. Here, the people that Im objecting to want to stop the dialogue. They dont want to have the conversation. Laurence Tribe, a longtime colleague of Mr Dershowitz's at Harvard, told the New Yorker that his colleague enjoys those types of challenges: He revels in taking positions that ultimately are not just controversial but pretty close to indefensible. He has moulded his career around the defence of civil liberties but has come to criticise the ACLU Form his first major case defending the pornographic film Deep Throat on First Amendment grounds Mr Dershowitz has focused on civil liberties, though he has come to criticise the American Civil Liberties Union in recent years. In 2018, Mr Dershowitz slammed the organisation for what he described as its leaning towards political activism, and the millions of dollars it has spent in recent years as it has taken a more active role in American elections. law professor Alan Dershowitz: 'Lying to the FBI is not a crime' He has endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 (if it comes down to the former vice president and Mr Trump) It's not the first time he has supported Democrats, and had previously endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2008, and Barack Obama in 2012. What's interesting about the Biden endorsement is the former vice president's prominence in Mr Trump's case the president was pushing for Ukraine to investigate none other than Mr Biden ahead of the 2020 race. "I'm a strong supporter of Joe Biden. I like Joe Biden. I've liked him for a long time, and I could enthusiastically support Joe Biden," he told SiriusXM radio last year. He is a strong supporter of Israel Mr Dershowitz self-identifies as "Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestine", even though he has been on record saying that the Palestinian people have supported genocidal war. While he supported Mr Obama's 2012 election, he also criticised that president's foreign policy after the Obama administration abstained from a United Nations security resolution condemning Israel for building settlements on occupied Palestinian territory. Burma Chinese President Xi Jinping Arrives in Myanmar for Two-Day Visit Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) is welcomed by Myanmar Vice President Myint Swe (left) at the airport in Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar, on Friday. / Ministry of Information YANGONChinese President Xi Jinping arrived Naypyitaw, Myanmars capital, on Friday, hoping to gain a strong commitment from Myanmars leaders to implement his ambitious infrastructure projects in Myanmar, and to pave the way for the construction of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Rakhine State, which will provide Beijing with direct access to the Indian Ocean. According to his official schedule, Xi will meet with Myanmar President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and leaders of the Myanmar Parliament. Xi is the first Chinese president to visit Chinas southern neighbor in nearly two decades. He will also attend an event to mark the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations this year. Myanmar was the first non-communist country to recognize the communist Peoples Republic of China after its foundation in 1949. Both sides have already made several homages in art and films to celebrate the anniversary. According to the Chinese president, Myanmar and China have designated 2020 as the China-Myanmar Year of Culture and Tourism. One day before Xis visit, an article appeared in state media with his byline under the title, Writing a New Chapter in Our Millennia-Old Pauk-Phaw Friendship. The term pauk-phaw was coined in the 1950s to describe the supposedly friendly and close relationship between China and Myanmar. In his article, Xi said he looked forward to renewing Chinas pauk-phaw ties with Myanmar and discussing future cooperation during the upcoming visit. He said practical cooperation by both sides was important for implementing the development projects that make up the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC). He stressed that both sides need to promote the three pillars of the CMEC, namely the Kyaukphyu SEZ, the China-Myanmar Border Economic Cooperation Zone, and the New Yangon City. According to Myanmar Deputy Commerce Minister U Aung Htoo, the two countries plan to sign a dozen agreements on the implementation of the Kyaukphyu SEZ, the border cooperation zones, road upgrade projects, trade relations, and social and economic development assistance, among other things. Two days before Xis visit, nearly 40 civil society organizations (CSOs) called on the Chinese president to permanently terminate the suspended Myitsone Dam project, saying it threatens the prosperity of the Myanmar people and that friendly relations between the two countries will be harmed if the project goes ahead. A Kyaukphyu SEZ watchdog group also urged the Myanmar government not to sign any more agreements during Xis visit if it could not ensure citizens rights and address public concerns over land confiscations in the project area. The watchdog also asked to be allowed to participate in the projects Strategic Impact Assessment (SIA). The SIA was recommended in the report issued by the late Kofi Annans Rakhine Advisory Commission. A few hours before Xi arrived, a prominent Shan political party issued a statement calling on the Chinese and Myanmar governments to seek approval from both local people and the Shan State parliament before implementing the China-backed cross-border economic cooperation projects in the state. The projects are part of the Chinese presidents ambitious infrastructure plans for the region. The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy warned that the China-backed projects would have a negative impact and disturb the stability and peace in those areas if they failed to respect human rights and dignity, lacked transparency and harmed the environment and society. You may also like these stories: Infographics: Chinese Leaders Visits to Myanmar Over 6 Decades Six BRI Projects in Myanmar to Monitor During Chinese President Xis Trip Myanmar, China to Sign Agreements on SEZ, Border Economic Cooperation During President Xis Visit The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) will support Deshdoot the leading Marathi dailies in North Maharashtra with a legacy of credible journalism of 50 years, in launching and judging a Pan India short film competition on the topic of Civic Sense. This competition is also accompanied by knowledge sessions on the final day of the screening. The Deshdoot Short Film competition is powered by ZEE and International Advertising Association (IAA) and is being supported by Indian Documentary Producers Association (ADPA), A ceremony on January 18, 2020 at Deshdoot Office in Nashik will mark the launch of the competition campaign and the release of the form to be filled by the contestants. Punit Goenka President IAA says, "We are happy to support this initiative which aims to inculcate a sense of civic consciousness in the public. The IAA has always stepped up to play its role in anything that is good for societal change. That's what being a responsible industry Association is all about". Adds Janak Sarda MD Deshdoot and Mancom Member IAA As a prominent entity within the social fabric of the region Deshdoot is also working on the creating awareness about civic sense among the people. Civic sense is the responsibility of living in communities, cities, towns and maintaining a dignified life for fellow beings as well as the nature around. The campaign run by Deshdoot has been received very well with lot of appreciation and the short film competition is a setup to further take forward this message to the society at large, while elaborating on the theme of the Deshdoot Short Film Competition. The competition also aims at nurturing talents and creative potential of the young film makers in the country. Speaking about this Sarda says, As part of the digital world, Deshdoot has been indulging in creative aspects of the form and has always encouraged the creativity of telling a story through the lense. During this period we have come across a plethora of talent both professionals and armatures in film making. We also realise that this talent needs a platform to be further nurtured and groomed. We also realise the potential of film making as a career and its attraction among todays youth. As such, living to its tradition Deshdoot, is organising this Deshdoot Short Film Competition The format of the competition is to make a short film of 50 seconds on the topic Civic Sense. Film makers from all over India can participate in any language. The top 50 films would be short-listed. A top creative jury will judge the shortlist and select the winners. Chinas president, on a visit to Myanmar, took in the sights with a tour of the Buddhist temples in Bagan and vowed to pour investment into the country even as the United Nations criticised the local government for violation of human rights. That was 19 years ago and the visitor was Jiang Zemin. On Friday, when President Xi Jinping arrives in Myanmar for the first state visit since 2001, he may well gaze upon the same temples his predecessor saw, he will repeat plans for investment in the neighbouring country, and again Myanmar faces condemnation over human rights abuses. Whats changed, though, is China and its ambitions. In between the two visits, China leapfrogged Thailand to become Myanmars biggest trading partner and eventually unseated Japan as the worlds second-largest economy after the US. With that economic clout, Beijing asserted itself in international affairs China now has more embassies around the world than any other country only to bang heads with the West, especially the US, as its influence spread. Then-president Jiang Zemin prepares to strike a giant bell during a visit to the Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon in 2001. Photo: AP Closer to home China has exercised claims over regions of the South China Sea, causing disputes with Asian neighbours from Vietnam to the Philippines and Indonesia. Myanmar is different. The two countries share a 2,200km land border, Chinas longest after Russia and Mongolia, and have 70 years of diplomatic relations, the longest held by the Peoples Republic of China. All of which presents a particular opportunity for Xi and Beijings broader ambitions when he arrives in the capital Naypyidaw for his first state visit of 2020. Oil and gas pipelines The opportunities are in more pipelines to expand alternative land routes for the Middle East oil and gas China now imports by tanker to keep its economy running, as well as access to other resources in Myanmar itself, including energy. With an eye on the economic benefits, Beijing has always taken a hands-off approach to Myanmar politics. That may also prove useful in Chinas dealing with the Association of South East Asian Nations, or Asean, which Myanmar is a member of and also includes nations in dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea. Story continues When Jiang visited, he said Myanmars military junta government must be allowed to choose its own development path. That was after world condemnation of a bloody crackdown by the military in 1988 on protesters demanding democratic reforms. The military government in 2010 began loosening its control and allowing some political freedoms, leading to installation of a government led by former opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. While the country is now less isolated, the Myanmar military has once again been accused of attacks on civilians, in this case the Rohingya Muslim ethnic group in August 2017, which caused the Rohingya to flee across the border into Bangladesh where as many as 700,000 live in refugee camps. The United Nations has labelled the attacks on the Rohingya as acts of genocidal intent, while UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has said the Rohingya lacked the most basic of human rights in Myanmar. Myanmars government has rejected the UN charges and China has said the issue was a domestic affair to be dealt with by the government. Chinas support of Myanmars opening and its stance on the Rohingya issue will be crucial for Suu Kyi before a general election in November as the West withdraws or imposes sanctions on the country, said Fan Hongwei, a professor at Xiamen Universitys Research School of Southeast Asian Studies. A friend in need Xis trip was to cement fraternal ties, Chinas ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai told state news agency Xinhua in an interview this week. China has been Myanmars closest ally for two decades, offering economic and military aid during Jiangs visit in 2001 amid Western sanctions after the militarys crackdown, said Yun Sun, a senior fellow at the Stimson Centre in Washington. Relations took a step back during Myanmars political reform, but now China has repaired its ties and regained its influence. For China to show support to Myanmar back in 2001, now China is saying a friend in need is a friend indeed, Sun said. China brings what Myanmar needs, said Herve Lemahieu, director of the Asian Power and Diplomacy Programme at Australias Lowy Institute think tank. Beijing may also play a role behind the scenes as a possible mediator between the military and Suu Kyis government over the Rohingya and other conflicts, he said. Xi will also, of course, come bearing gifts in the form of billions of dollars worth of investment projects, from a high-speed rail line to a makeover for the commercial heart of Yangon. The crown jewel, though, is the US$1.3 billion Kyaukphyu port project, which will serve as Beijings gateway to the Indian Ocean deep-sea port off Myanmars western Rakhine state, the centre of the Rohingya conflict. Alongside the port, the plan is to build a vast industrial park of garment and food processing factories on land now filled with paddy fields and teak forests. Officials from China and Myanmar said ethnic Rakhine would be the first in line for some of the 400,000 jobs the zone is slated to bring. If that brings jobs and benefits that can draw back Rohingya refugees and help stabilise Rakhine state, its all in the broader interests of Beijing, which is particularly sensitive to stability on its borders, as seen in its far western region of Xinjiang. China has been accused of human rights abuses in that area for a crackdown on ethnic Uygur Muslims and holding them in detention camps. Beijing argues its actions were in the face of a separatist, terrorist insurgency in Xinjiang, which borders Afghanistan and several other countries. If jobs and trade bring stability, Beijing will be pleased with its business with Myanmar. Its now the countrys largest investor and trading partner. In the first nine months of 2019, the value of that trade jumped 18 per cent year on year to US$13.54 billion. Chinas ties with Myanmar aimed to show that the so-called Washington model should not be the only development model for all nations, said Huang Jing, a US specialist at Beijing Language and Culture Universitys Institute of International and Regional Studies. Once the Kyaukphyu port is complete on the Bay of Bengal, it will give Beijing another link to oil supplies from the Middle East. Kyaukphyu is at one end of a massive oil and natural gas pipeline network that runs to Kunming in Chinas southwest Yunnan province. China, like other Asian nations such as Japan and South Korea, is reliant on oil imports from the Middle East and Africa, which are delivered in tankers through the narrow and congested Malacca Strait, long regarded as a choke point in Asia energy supply in the event of conflict or natural disaster. China gets more than 60 per cent of its oil and gas from Middle East and African suppliers and nearly 80 per cent travels through the Malacca Strait, which links the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea. Once its finished, the US$1.3 billion Kyaukphyu port project will give Beijing another link to oil supplies from the Middle East. Photo: Xinhua But development of Kyaukphyu is part of Beijings wider plan to expand its footprint in South Asia. It has invested heavily in Indian Ocean ports through its Belt and Road Initiative, much to the concern of New Delhi. China already has the oil and gas pipelines running [in Myanmar] so it is less about energy security, but more about the Indian Ocean access, Sun of the Stimson Centre said. Though China started negotiations on construction of projects in Myanmar years before the belt and road scheme began, the country officially joined Xis ambitious infrastructure plan in September 2018. Thats when they both agreed and signed the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor agreement, which is set to be part of the initiative. Strategic corner Sourabh Gupta, a policy specialist at the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington, said the US was being elbowed out of geopolitical space in this strategic corner of Southeast Asia. I dont think the US has an answer to Chinas infrastructure diplomacy in Myanmar, he said. And given Chinas political leverage and Myanmars historic inward-looking tilt towards neutrality, the Bay of Bengal will not become a second South China Sea any time soon, Gupta said. The most remarkable element considering Myanmars upheavals over the past 19 years is that Beijing has managed to retain its pole position in the country that sits at a highly strategic crossroads within the Indo-Pacific, said Gupta. Even Japan, which has partly broken from the Western positions on Myanmar and invested in the country, has had difficulty holding its own in Myanmar, he said. Geography, perseverance, attentiveness, diplomatic dexterity playing both peace process facilitator and key ethnic groups arms supplier, economic largesse, and having something real to offer, as well as soft-skills and soft institution-building, beats high-minded but mostly empty talk any day, every day, Gupta said. At the same time, China is diversifying and consolidating ties with Asean and showing the US the strong and unique influence China has over Southeast Asia, Sun said. Xi Jinping is expected to put the focus on the belt and road scheme. Photo: Reuters On the public diplomacy aspect, Xis visit is largely focused on the Kyaukphyu port and to show Myanmar as a willing party in the belt and road scheme, according to Lemahieu, of the Lowy Institute. That will be very important for Xi to show that [the belt and road] still has attraction and is still favoured by countries despite criticism in the West, he said. While this all looks good for China in Myanmar, there are other issues. One is whether Myanmar will endorse Xis diplomacy drive to establish his so-called community of shared future for mankind, said Xu Liping, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. If they do sign, it means recognition of Chinas peaceful rise, he said. Xi will also seek Myanmars support in Asean to help mute the criticism it faces from other member states over its South China Sea expansion, he said. China also wants to renegotiate one of its biggest investments in Myanmar, the US$3.6 billion deadlocked Myitsone dam project. It was suspended by Myanmar in 2011 in the face of fierce public opposition and environmental concerns that strained bilateral relations. Enormous changes have happened in the 19 years, not least the beginning of a decoupling between the US and China and the decision by Xi that Chinas moment has come for it to be assertive, said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London. China now needs to ensure Aung San Suu Kyi is on side and embraces the [belt and road], Tsang said. But in general terms Xi can still count Myanmar as on Chinas side as he projects Chinas image as a friendly giant in the neighbourhood. Additional reporting by Shi Jiangtao Sign up now for our 50% early bird offer from SCMP Research: China AI Report. The all new SCMP China AI Report gives you exclusive first-hand insights and analysis into the latest industry developments, and actionable and objective intelligence about China AI that you should be equipped with. More from South China Morning Post: This article China turns to Myanmar as the friendly giant in the neighbourhood first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. Los Angeles, Jan 17 : Actress Eva Mendes likes to "set an example" for her daughters with the roles she plays on screen. Mendes has not been seen in anything since she appeared in her partner Ryan Gosling's movie "Lost River" back in 2014, reports aceshowbiz.com. Since becoming a mother, her absence from the screen has not gone unnoticed by her fans, one of whom took to Instagram to question Mendes on when will she be seen in a film. "When can we the fans going to see u in some new movies @evamendes," the fan questioned. The actress replied: "hi! When there's something worthwhile to be apart of." "As a mother now, there are many roles I won't do. There are many subject matters that I don't want to be involved with, so it limits my choices and I'm fine with that. I have to set an example for my girls now. But no worry, I got some side hustles. Ha! Thanks for asking. All the best for 2020." Mendes shares two daughters -- Esmeralda, five, and Amada, three -- with Gosling. By Imani Moise Jan 16 (Reuters) - Bank of America Private Bank, formerly U.S. Trust, is doubling down on efforts to court more business from the country's wealthiest individuals, an executive told Reuters. By the end of this year, Bank of America Corp's private banking arm aims to double its adviser force from 2014 levels to 600 and expand to 40 markets from 20 in 2017. "We've made a massive investment in the business from a technology standpoint, people and real estate," said Katy Knox, president of Bank of America Private Bank. "Now, it's really making sure that our folks can hit the ground running." Last year those investments started showing results. The wealth division, which caters to individuals with at least $3 million to invest, added 64% more households in 2019, helping the unit end the year with a record of $288 billion in assets under management. Bank of America bought U.S. Trust, a storied firm that once handled money for families like the Astors, in 2007 in a deal that vaulted the bank to top of the U.S. private banking rankings with $270 billion assets under management. But asset growth has lagged competitors since then. JPMorgan Chase & Co's private banking arm now boasts more than $670 billion assets under management and Citigroup Inc has roughly $460 billion globally. Early in 2019, the bank dropped the 166-year-old U.S. Trust name in favor of its own, and moved to accelerate growth by streamlining management structures and integrating the private bank more deeply with Bank of America's other business lines. The business launched new initiatives in partnership with the investment and corporate banks to increase the amount of chief executives using the private bank to manage their personal wealth. That's helped grow referrals between the private bank and other businesses by 30% to 7,000 in 2019. In addition to tapping its corporate parent's existing client list, the private bank is taking share by re-entering markets it left behind after the financial crisis and pushing into new markets like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City, Knox said. Story continues The business is also looking to strengthen its presence in growth markets like Northern and Southern California. Bank of America has been deepening its bench of private advisers by training and promoting back-office staff internally, which has improved retention and productivity levels, Knox said. Last year, new relationships per adviser jumped 35% compared with 2018. The business is also poaching talent from rivals in new markets. When the bank moved into Cincinnati last year, it hired private client advisers away from regional and national competitors like PNC Financial Services Group Inc and JPMorgan, according to LinkedIn. Overall, adviser count was up 8% to 482 in 2019. "That is a big sales force out there taking share," Knox said. (Reporting by Imani Moise; editing by Jonathan Oatis) The hyperbole, amplified by the National Rifle Association, among others, along with expectations of large armed crowds of protesters, prompted Mr. Northam to declare a four-day emergency and ban weapons on the state Capitol grounds, starting Friday. The attempts at intimidation are a reckless overreaction to the legislation likely to emerge from the General Assembly, most of which is similar to laws already in effect elsewhere. The phones at the center of the dispute are an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 7 Plus. Those phones were released in 2012 and 2016, and they lack Apples most sophisticated software. Tools from at least two companies, Cellebrite and Grayshift, are able to break into those iPhone models, though they pose different challenges. The iPhone 5 is the simpler of the two. It no longer supports the latest iPhone software, and it has effectively the same technology as the device in the 2016 clash between Apple and the F.B.I., an iPhone 5C. In that case, the dispute abruptly ended when a private company broke into the phone for the bureau. The iPhone 7 Plus is tougher to hack. It has a special processor, called the Secure Enclave, designed to improve its security. But it is still part of a group of iPhone models that have a known, unresolvable flaw called Checkm8, said Jonathan Levin, an iPhone security consultant. We know exactly how to exploit it, he said. Its so trivial. Tools like those from Cellebrite and Grayshift dont actually break iPhones encryption; they guess the password. To do so, they exploit flaws in the software, like Checkm8, to remove the limit of 10 password attempts. (After about 10 failed attempts, an iPhone erases its data.) The tools then use a so-called brute-force attack, which automatically tries thousands of passcodes until one works. That approach means the wild card in the Pensacola case is the length of the suspects passcode. If its six numbers the default on iPhones authorities almost certainly can break it. If its longer, it might be impossible. A four-number passcode, the previous default length, would take on average about seven minutes to guess. If its six digits, it would take on average about 11 hours. Eight digits: 46 days. Ten digits: 12.5 years. If the passcode uses both numbers and letters, there are far more possible passcodes and thus cracking it takes much longer. A six-character alphanumeric passcode would take on average 72 years to guess. She's been previewing her upcoming fashion collection on social media. And Victoria Beckham was feeling celebratory on Friday as she took to Instagram to show off her sensational legs while donning a monogrammed robe and sipping a large glass of red wine. She later posed in a camel blouse over a turtleneck jumper as she unveiled the effects of her moisturiser to dazzling effect. New Collection: Victoria Beckham was feeling celebratory on Friday as she took to Instagram to show off her sensational legs while donning a monogrammed robe Victoria looked incredible in the robe which boasted her initials at the chest while she also clutched on to a glass of wine. In another snap, she donned a turtle neck cream jumper underneath a loose-fitting camel coloured blouse which featured a plunging neckline. Victoria added a pair of beige trousers with a black band and chain around her waist. She captioned the snap: 'So excited for today!!' And in another snap to her Instagram Stories she gazed upwards to showcase the effects of her moisturiser. The former Spice Girls star wore a nude palette of makeup to enhance her stunning features, and tied her brunette tresses back into a chic low ponytail. Glow: The designer, 45, shared a yellow-tinted snap showing her in her own brand's Cell Rejuvenating Priming Moisturiser and an outfit from her VBSS20 collection She penned: 'Today's look. Obsessed with my @victoriabeckhambeauty CRPM moisturizer!! Oh wait... another secret product!!! Coming soon for the perfect glow!!!' In the next, more lighthearted snap, she showed off the 'sort of bib' that she uses to keep her makeup off her clothes. She wrote: 'Always good to wear some sort of "bib" when putting your makeup on.' Chic: She donned a turtle neck cream jumper underneath a loose-fitting camel coloured blouse which featured a plunging neckline Fun: In the next, more lighthearted snap, she showed off the 'sort of bib' that she uses to keep her makeup off her clothes It comes after she proved she's posh by name and posh by nature on Tuesday after revealing she spends almost 6 on bread for her avocado and toast breakfast. Taking to Instagram, she shared a snap of the healthy breakfast staple made with bible inspired wholegrain Ezekiel 4:9 bread - and admitted her children love it. However fans hoping to replicate the simple dish will have to spend a little more on their humble loaf, which retails at a rather costly 5.95. Sweet: Victoria posted an adorable picture of her daughter in a white dress with a tulle overlay posing in front of a fireplace She captioned the snap: Sweet little Harper Seven [prayer hands emoji] kisses' The loaf, made from sprouted grains, is only available from Amazon's grocery store in the United Kingdom and takes its name from the Hebrew prophet, a central protagonist in the Book of Ezekiel. Created by health food company Food For Life, Ezekiel products are also developed in accordance with Holy Scripture verse Ezekiel 4:9 The passage reads: 'Take also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils and millet, and spelt and put them in one vessel.' Expensive: Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Victoria shared a snap of her avocado on toast, made with wholegrain Ezekiel bread work an unholy 5.95 a loaf Costly: The loaf, made from sprouted grains, is only available from Amazon's grocery store and takes its name from the Hebrew prophet, a central protagonist in the Book of Ezekiel Posh by name, posh by nature: The expensive bread, which is high in vitamins B1, B2, and vitamin E, is a hit with Victoria With the bread only available online in the United Kingdom, anyone looking to splash out will also have to spend an unholy 2.99 in delivery charges. The extortionate price is understood to be based on its inflated labour costs, caused by its use of sprouted grains and pulses. It is also is developed without the use of flour, genetically modified organisms and refined sugars While it retails at a significantly higher price than the standard loaf, Ezekiel has a series of nutritional benefits, including an increase in vitamins B1, B2, and vitamin E. What is Ezekiel 4:9 bread? Created by health food company Food For Life, Ezekiel 4:9 products are developed in accordance Holy Scripture verse Ezekiel 4:9 The passage reads: 'Take also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils and millet, and spelt and put them in one vessel' A mixture of sprouted certified organic grains and pulses are used to make the bread, which is also kosher The bread is developed without the use of flour, genetically modified organisms and refined sugars One slice of Ezekiel 4:9 contains 80 calories, while nutritional benefits including an increase in vitamins B1, B2, and vitamin E A single loaf retails at 5.95 in the United Kingdom and is available to purchase via the Amazon Grocery Store The higher price is understood to be based on labour costs, caused by its select group of ingredients Advertisement She's sold: The former Spice Girl admitted her children are big fans of Ezekiel bread Victoria is also said to be a fan of the Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain cereal, another costly buy at 7.56 a box. Taking to Instagram shortly after revealing her costly taste in bread, the health conscious mother-of-three shared a snap of her light lunch - a bowl of mixed fruit. Captioning the image, she wrote: 'Pretty snack.' Rebecca Long-Bailey revealed her radical plan to 'bring democracy to the economy' last night as a poll suggested she will lose to Keir Starmer in the final round of Labour leadership voting. Speaking at her campaign launch in Manchester, Ms Long-Bailey pledged to abolish the House of Lords, end the 'gentleman's club' of politics, devolve power to the regions and introduce a 'Green New Deal' to unite party heartlands. The leadership hopeful - described as a 'continuity' candidate to Jeremy Corbyn - emphasised that it was 'not enough to expect democracy in our politics - we need democracy in our economy too' in an apparent doubling down on the left-wing policies of the most recent Labour leader. Ms Long-Bailey, MP for Salford and Eccles and key Corbyn ally in the last election, used her campaign speech to admit 'many didn't trust [Labour in 2019], whether it was Brexit, whether it was tackling antisemitism - they didn't believe in us enough'. She added: 'We've got a lot of work to do to rebuild trust with the British public because it's no good promising the world if people don't trust you with the basics.' The speech came after the publication of a YouGov poll which showed the battle is increasingly a two horse race between Sir Keir and Ms Long-Bailey, suggesting the former is on course to win in the final round of voting by 63 per cent to 37 per cent. Speaking at her leadership campaign launch in Manchester this evening, Rebecca Long-Bailey told the party faithful she would replace 'the only unelected second chamber in the whole of Europe' with an elected senate and devolve power from Westminster to a regional or local level A YouGov poll of 1,005 Labour members, pictured, found that Keir Starmer was the clear favourite to win the nomination That is an increase for Sir Keir on the company's poll last month which put him on 61 per cent and Ms Long-Bailey on 39 per cent. The recent poll numbers are likely to cause alarm in Ms Long-Bailey's team as she appears to be losing ground to her fellow front runner. All the Labour leadership candidates are taking part in the first hustings event in Liverpool on Saturday. The docker's daughter aiming for Labour's top job Ms Long-Bailey, 40, is the hard-Left daughter of a Salford docker, groomed to take the helm of the Corbynite project by self-declared Marxist John McDonnell. She grew up in Old Trafford, Manchester, where she was exposed to left-wing politics from a young age. Her father Jimmy worked as a docker at Salford Quays and trade union representative at Shell at a time when workers' collectives wielded enormous power and threats of staff walkouts struck fear into ministers. On graduating from a Catholic high school, she worked in a pawn shop - an eye-opening experience which she says taught her 'more about the struggles of life than any degree or qualification ever could'. After holding down other jobs such as a call-centre operator, a furniture factory worker and a postwoman, she eventually studied to become a solicitor. Advertisement Ms Long-Bailey, who is said to be favoured by the current leadership and backed by campaign group Momentum, took to the stage for her campaign launch at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester last night with some of the 300 or so supporters at the event breaking into a chant of 'Oh Jeremy Corbyn'. Ms Long-Bailey told them: 'Hey guys, were going to have to think of a new song you know. No pressure.' She was asked why Labour had failed to win voters, returning their worst electoral result since 1935. Ms Long-Bailey said: 'I think for me we had some fantastic policies, I know because I helped write some of them, and really the message didn't resonate with our voters. 'And what we should have been talking about is aspiration. 'Because everything we are trying to build and I am going to try to build as leader of the Labour Party is about realising the potential, truly realising that quality of life increase, whether you are a business, whether you are an industry or an individual, our role as a party is to improve your living standards and the wealth you can accumulate as communities. 'And we didn't say that. We didn't match that with a message of aspiration. 'We want an economy where everyone does well.' She was introduced at the event by newly elected Coventry MP Zarah Sultana, who has apologised about alleged anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments, attributed to her before she entered Parliament - reportedly saying she would 'celebrate' the deaths of Tony Blair and Benjamin Nentanayu, and told someone who was pro-Israel to 'jump off a cliff'. That is an increase for Sir Keir, pictured, on the company's poll last month which put him on 61 per cent and Ms Long-Bailey on 39 per cent The speech comes after the publication of a new poll which showed the battle is increasingly a two horse race between Sir Keir Starmer and Ms Long-Bailey At her campaign launch last night Ms Long-Bailey told party faithful she would replace 'the only unelected second chamber in the whole of Europe' with an elected senate and devolve power from Westminster to a regional or local level. The leadership contender said Labour 'needs to look like a government in waiting - but we can't win by throwing away the very things that give power of purpose'. Sir Keir Starmer vows to rid Labour of its warring factions Sir Keir Starmer refused to say whether he is politically closer to Tony Blair or Jeremy Corbyn Sir Keir Starmer vowed to unite his party and refused to say whether he is politically closer to Tony Blair or Jeremy Corbyn. The Labour leadership frontrunner, viewed as a moderate candidate in the race to replace Mr Corbyn, said Labour must learn lessons from its last four general election defeats and not just 2019. But he would not be drawn on where he falls on the Labour political spectrum as he insisted he does not 'need somebody else's name or badge' to succeed. Meanwhile, he said that some of his friends are Tories and that he judges people 'by what they say and who they are' rather than by their political affiliation. He also vowed to rid Labour of its various warring factions to create a unified party capable of beating the Conservatives. Sir Keir stressed that one of the key tasks for the next Labour leader will be to unite the party which has been rocked by divisions and constant infighting since Mr Corbyn took charge in 2015. Advertisement She added: 'The fight for a liveable climate, for workers' rights, for democratic ownership - these struggles are ultimately indivisible, we cannot sacrifice one in pursuit of another and expect to succeed, so we must unite, we must rebuild, and when we win, we win for all of us, that's the Labour party I believe in. And that is our path to power.' Ms Long-Bailey recently hinted that she took cannabis during a trip to Amsterdam as she prepares to formally launch her Labour leadership bid this evening. She was asked during an interview with the Politics Joe website if she had 'ever taken illegal drugs'. She replied: 'Oh. Well, I've been to Amsterdam. That's all I will say.' The Left-wing hopeful seemingly voiced understanding for Brexit voters in her campaign speech, saying: 'The story from the last couple of years is that many people instinctively feel there is something wrong with their laws being drafted hundreds of miles away by a distant and largely unaccountable bureaucratic elite in Brussels.' She added that when she was growing up, Westminster did not feel much less distant to her - 'and it still doesn't today; that's why I want to shake up the way government works'. 'I want to sweep away the House of Lords - the only unelected second chamber in the whole of Europe - and I want to replace it with a new elected senate based outside of London. 'We will end the gentleman's club of politics and we will be setting out to go further by devolving power out of Westminster to a regional or local level. 'An elected senate would have a new democratic legitimacy and should have new powers to reflect that. 'In my view this should include holding the government to account on the impact of new legislation on our wealth, our wellbeing and our environment.' Ms Long-Bailey voiced support for a kind of socialism where everyone was free to climb and succeed in a society where 'structural inequality and financial insecurity are gone'. The Left-wing hopeful also seemingly voiced understanding for Brexit voters, saying: 'The story from the last couple of years is that many people instinctively feel there is something wrong with their laws being drafted hundreds of miles away by a distant and largely unaccountable bureaucratic elite in Brussels' A new YouGov poll showed Sir Keir Starmer is on course to win the Labour leadership race 'And that means expanding alternative models of ownership and collective bargaining rights in our economy, that means fighting racism and xenophobia that means fighting for LGBTQ+ rights and gender equality. 'And it means rebalancing our economy so every town, city and region can thrive again with renewed pride - pride rooted in solidarity, inclusivity and internationalism. 'But of course none of this will happen without a Labour government.' She also spoke about the trip to Amsterdam she had made before entering politics, being asked 'Did you inhale?' To laughter and cheers from the largely young audience at the event, Ms Long-Bailey replied: 'I'll leave it up to you to decide why I went to Amsterdam, for flower markets or to partake in local delicacies.' She added that the country needed a 'national discussion' on the 'war on drugs', and to address what she said was the under-funding of police services. An earlier Survation poll of Labour members for the LabourList website published on Wednesday suggested Ms Long-Bailey had the support of 42 per cent of members with Sir Keir second with 37 per cent. Jess Phillips had the support of nine per cent of members and Lisa Nandy had the backing of seven per cent. Emily Thornberry vows to be an 'unashamedly socialist' Labour leader if she wins the battle to take over from Jeremy Corbyn Emily Thornberry vowed to be an 'unashamedly socialist' Labour leader if she takes over from Jeremy Corbyn and pledged to quit if she did badly in the top job. Ms Thornberry formally launched her leadership campaign with a speech in her home town of Guildford on January 17 as she desperately tried to make an impact on the contest. 'We must not make the mistake of defining it as a choice between who will take us to the left, or to the centre or to the right, because the only issue that really matters now is who will take us forward,' she said. 'Who will stand up and lead the fight? Who will give us strength, experience and passion? Who will give us an unashamedly socialist but deliverable manifesto? Who will win back the voters we lost in the last two years? And crucially, who will take us to victory and take us back into government? 'And it's because I believe I have the skill, the values and the vision to achieve all of those goals that I decided to stand up and fight for the Labour leadership.' Emily Thornberry launched her leadership bid in Guildford as she pledged to bring forward an 'unashamedly socialist' manifesto if she takes over from Jeremy Corbyn She also promised that she would step down as Labour leader if people did not believe she was on course to win the next general election. She said: 'If I'm elected leader, and if I believe at any point, or you tell me, or my colleagues tell me, or the polls tell me, that I can't win an election and take us into power, I will always put the Labour party first. 'I will do what I believe is best to ensure we get a Labour government. So in those circumstances, I would stand down and give someone else the chance to achieve the only goal that counts for our country: getting a Labour Prime Minister back in power.' Ms Thornberry warned that Labour faces 'a long, tough road back to power' after the party last month suffered its worst general election defeat since 1935. She set out why she believes she is best placed to take the fight to the Tories. 'In my 42 years as a member of the Labour Party, there is no fight or campaign our movement has waged where I have not been on the frontline,' she said. 'And since coming to Parliament 15 years ago, I've also been on the frontline in the fights against climate change, Universal Credit, and anti-abortion laws in Northern Ireland. 'I've led the charge as shadow foreign secretary against Donald Trump and the war in Yemen. 'And in the two years I shadowed Boris Johnson as foreign secretary, I showed him up every time for the lying, reckless charlatan that he is.' Ms Thornberry squeaked into the next stage of the leadership race on Monday after managing to secure the backing of the required 22 MPs needed to progress. Authorities at Kianyaga Police Station in Gichugu, Kirinyaga County have in their custody a woman suspected of killing her inebriated husband and then hanging his body in their house in an attempt to cover up the murder as a suicide. Catherine Wambura Kinyua, 29, is said to have picked a quarrel with her husband Lawrence Kariuki, 36, on Tuesday night which degenerated into a fight. Investigators suspect that she took advantage of Kariukis intoxicated state to overpower him and knock him down. The mother of a two-year-old child then allegedly stuffed socks down her husbands throat, choking him to death. Gichugu OCPD Anthony Mbogo said Ms Wambura then alerted the police, informing them that Kariuki had committed suicide following a domestic dispute. He said an autopsy was carried out, ruling out suicide as the cause of death. We have conducted the postmortem and, according to the doctors report, the man did not commit suicidehe was unable to breathe after socks were put in his mouth by the suspect, Mbogo said. Kirinyaga East Police Commander Antony Wanjuu said his officers became suspicious when they visited the scene and found socks in the mouth of the victim. When we saw the condition of the victim we decided to have a post-mortem examination conducted on his body. The results have indicated that he didnt commit suicide and we are treating the matter as murder, he said. Adding: The suspect has committed a very serious offence and she must face the law. Area residents said Mr Kariuki, who was a cobbler at Kimunye shopping center, constantly fought with his wife whenever he was drunk. The wife used to accuse him of drinking instead of providing upkeep for his family. We suspect that day the woman was so angry when Kariuki arrived home drunk without food for the family and killed him, one of the residents is quoted as saying by Daily Nation. Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill on Friday sought an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the death of scores of people while protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. "Rather than giving lectures to the Congress on Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Amit Shah should apologize for the death of 30 plus people protesting against the anti-constitutional law," Shergill told ANI. He, additionally, demanded Shah's apology on West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh's alleged controversial comments on the protesters. Ghosh had recently sparked controversy by threatening to shoot those who damaged public property "like dogs". People have been protesting against the newly amended law ever since it received the Presidential assent last month. The agitation had resulted in clashes in various cities across the nation and also allegedly led to the death of several people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Which brings us to another point of comparison: the one between this trade deal and its zero-sum mind-set on the one hand, and a vision of truly free and reciprocal global commerce on the other. We do not doubt that the United States needed to pressure China, even through the blunt instrument of tariffs, if it was ever to force Beijing to abandon mercantilism and do business at home and abroad on the commercial merits. Yet this deal actually enshrines a norm of managed, i.e., politicized, trade, both in Chinas purchase guarantees and in Mr. Trumps retention of 25 percent U.S. tariffs on $250 billion in industrial goods and a 7.5 percent tariff on $120 billion worth of consumer items. A four-year-old whose fingers were blown off by an exploding lightbulb is finally able to 'be a little girl again' after getting a prosthetic hand. Aubry Harper was two when she suffered the life-changing injury while inspecting her mother's light-up vanity table at home in May 2018. As the curious toddler pawed the lightbulbs one exploded in her right hand, blowing off most of her fingers and leaving the rest 'dangling' off. Paramedics rushed to the family home in Athens, Alabama, and took Aubry straight to hospital to try salvage as much of her hand as possible. But doctors were unable to save her fingers and had to amputate all of them but her pinky. She was left with just a palm. Aubry was unable to cycle, trampoline and play on swings due to her injuries. But after being fitted with a mechanical hand she is able once again to take up her favourite hobbies. Aubry Harper, from Alabama, was just two when a lightbulb exploded in her hand and she suffered the life-changing injury. Here she wear a top that says 'I am an amputee princess' The youngster, now four, is all smiles after getting a mechanical hand fitted, giving her back her independence She was unable to cycle, trampoline and play on swings due to her injuries - but has now taken up her favourite hobbies Aubrey's fingers were blown off as she inspected her mother's light-up vanity table at home in May 2018 The curious toddler pawed the lightbulbs on the vanity table (similar to this one) and one of the bulbs exploded in her right hand The hand is operated by the muscles in the upper arm, as they move, they cause the artificial limb to open and close. Recalling the traumatic event, Aubry's mother Alesha, 36, said: 'I was in the next room and heard a pop and scream so ran in to find her fingers dangling from her hand and blood everywhere. 'We called the ambulance and when we arrived at the hospital doctors and nurses were already outside waiting and she was flown in a helicopter to a children's hospital in Alabama. 'When we got to the hospital she was rushed into surgery, but unfortunately after three hours we were told that they could not save any fingers except for part of her pinky. Doctors were unable to save her fingers and had to amputate all of them but her pinky After Aubry was discharged from hospital the family were referred to a clinic in New Jersey where they started work for her mechanical prosthetic, which moves like a normal hand The process took about a year but, now that she has it, it's changed her life, according to her mother 'Luckily they were able to save her palm also so we spent the next week learning how to change her dressings so that we could take her home sooner than expected.' After Aubry was discharged from hospital the family were referred to a clinic in New Jersey where they started work for her mechanical prosthetic, which moves like a normal hand. Ms Harper added: 'The process took about a year but, now she has it, it's changed her life - she's able to be a little girl again and do the things she loves like riding her bike. 'Having her second hand makes Aubry feel safe again - she can go on the swings, ride her bike and just go about her every day life again with two hands.' After the accident, Alesha was worried her daughter would never be able to use her right hand again. She said: 'I don't think there's a word to describe how we felt in that scenario, shocked is an understatement. 'We almost thought that was it for Aubry's right hand, so she relearnt how to do everything with her left. 'It was amazing when we found out she would be getting an amazing prosthetic free of charge, we felt like she had a chance at being an able bodied little girl again. 'Even though she was doing amazing without the prosthetic and was adapting to life without one, the extra hand has really helped her. 'After the incident she was scared of a lot of things, but having the use of her second hand back has made her feel better and less upset or confused about what has happened.' R.B. Gier has completed his new book Freedom Terminated with Malice: an autobiography and cautionary tale charting the downfall of a husband, father, and businessman and the redemption found while serving a six-year term in a Colorado prison. The author writes, This work is not fiction. Much of the story is taken from a diary I kept over a six-year period. There are several themes running throughout the story simultaneously, but the framework of the story is built around my life leading up to my arrest, followed my conviction of a white-collar crime and subsequent incarceration in a federal prison located in Colorado. The final chapter deals with my release on parole and my coming to terms with my family, integrating back into society, finding gainful employment, and most importantly, emotionally dealing with the reality of the damage I caused. One of the underlying themes addresses my emotional state and attitude leading up to my arrest, throughout my prison term, and into my first two years of parole. I have attempted to employ subtle and gradual changes in the voice and tone of the narrative as a way of engaging the reader with my state of mind in real time as I struggled to recover from narcissistic and grandiose issues. Intertwined, another theme speaks to walking a fine line between following prison rules of conduct while not violating the longstanding convict rules of behavior. Lastly, the reader will be introduced to individual convicts and their personalities and stories. The reader will get a feeling of what prison society is like and a realistic insight into the personalities and attitudes of people charged with guarding the inmates. Like most stories, there is drama, sadness, anger, humor, and violence. There is even an escape from the prison camp. The names used in this story are fictitious, but the people they are assigned to are real. The few exceptions are people who were famous before they became infamous. The target audience is the general public but more specifically those currently serving time in jail, doing prison time, their families, and those people on the verge of being sent to prison. The purpose of this work is to inform the public, encourage those locked up to do the right thing, and warn those considering a criminal career. Published by Page Publishing, R.B. Giers engrossing book is a compelling true story of criminality, justice, and redemption. Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Freedom Terminated with Malice at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues to focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) got good news on Friday when a Philadelphia judge drastically reduced the $8 billion punitive damage verdict the company was initially ordered to pay in October down to just $6.8 million. The original fine was awarded by a jury to a plaintiff who experienced unwanted side effects from the company's Risperdal medication, which is used to treat people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and it also helps people with autism. The plaintiff in the case, Nicholas Murray, began taking the medication as a child to treat behaviors related to autism, but the drug caused the young man to grow breasts -- a condition called gynecomastia. The punitive damages were in addition to a $680,000 compensatory award the plaintiff would receive. Johnson & Johnson challenged the ruling, and today it learned of the reduction to the punitive fees. Just one of many problems for J&J Friday's ruling offers some much-needed positivity for Johnson & Johnson, as it has been under pressure for the past few years from product liability litigation. Some consumers alleged the company's baby powder products led them to develop ovarian cancer. There have also been problems relating to vaginal mesh products in Australia, where the company lost a case last year. Oklahoma came after J&J for its role in the opioid crisis and a judge ruled the company would be fined $572 million, which was reduced to $465 million in November. Amid all these controversies, Johnson & Johnson's stock rose a modest 13% in 2019, well below what was a fantastic year for the markets that saw the S&P 500 climb 30%. Despite Friday's positive result, the healthcare stock was up less than 1%. Karnataka government on Friday said steps had been initiated for legal action and banning organisations such as the Popular Front of India (PFI) which are allegedly involved in anti-social and terror related activities in the state. It has directed the police and authorities concerned to gather information regarding activities of such organisations so that the required inputs could be sent to the Centre (seeking the ban), state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said. He made it clear that the action will not be limited against PFI and SDFI (Social Democratic Front of India) and all organisations involved in such activities and keep changing their names were under the scanner. His statement comes in the backdrop of recent arrests of terror suspects from Karnataka and weeks after the Uttar Pradesh police sought a ban on PFI. Two people with alleged links to some IS activists in Kerala and wanted in connection with the recent killing of a special sub-inspector in Tamil Nadu were arrested from the Udupi railway station on January 14. The UP police have sought the ban on PFI after its complicity was suspected in the recent statewide violent protests against the amended citizenship law. Several senior BJP leaders in Karnataka have been demanding a ban on PFI and other such organisations pointing to their alleged role in violence, including in Mangaluru during the recent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Because of certain recent incidents (anti-social and terror), it is necessary for us to take stringent action. Already Uttar Pradesh government has decided to take action, we also have taken all these activities seriously, Bommai said. Noting that there was a set of procedures for it, he said details about number of cases, complaints, prosecutions, convictions of members of such outfits and their links were required. "We are making all preparations to stop their activities completely and ban them... I have ordered officials to collect all such materials, the Minister said. Once the details were gathered, the law department would be consulted and information would be sent to the central government. We have records relating to their previous activities and several attempts have been made by them in Bengaluru, also their involvement in several murder cases is quite clear, he said. From recent arrests and action by the police from the state and Tamil Nadu and central intelligence bureau, the government has got a lot of information about the activities of various outfits, Bommai said. He said seveal murders and terror related activities and conspiracies to carry out such activities had been going on in places like Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mangaluru among others in the last 7-8 years and the police had been able to bust such modules. Stating that their activities have grown, he said "organisations like PFI and SDFI were involved in several murders, but cases against them were withdrawn by the previous government. So it helped them to continue with their activities and several incidents have occurred." Pointing to incidents like the attack on Congress legislator Tanveer Sait and also killings and attacks on workers of right wing organisations, the Minister said, there have been several attempts to create violence and unrest. They have links with terror outfits in various names that active in others states and countries, this has come across during several probes, he said. The organisations which involve in such activities keep changing their name, he said and alleged that PFI and SDFI were the "political face" of violence and terror activities. Responding to a question about a BJP MP from the stat being reportedly among the target of anti-social organisations, the Home Minister said We have taken the conspiracy to attack MPs very seriously, we are looking at all angles to take necessary actions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch leaves after testifying to the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Read more WASHINGTON Ukraines announcement on Thursday of an investigation into alleged surveillance of the U.S. ambassador has come as welcome relief to many in Americas diplomatic corps, but the State Departments silence on the matter has alarmed a number of current and former diplomats. They are demanding action from the Trump administration. The department has declined repeated requests to offer any public defense of its envoy, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, two days after allegations arose that allies of President Donald Trump had her under illegal surveillance while she was stationed in Kyiv. The allegations, if true, are central to the impeachment inquiry into Trump, who faces a charge that he abused his presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden, using military aid to the country as leverage. Trump says the inquiry is a hoax. At the time, Trumps allies were trying to have Yovanovitch, who was seen as a roadblock, removed from her post. She was recalled in May ahead of the end of her tour. House Democrats this week published text messages to and from Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, the presidents personal lawyer, suggesting Yovanovitch was under surveillance. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was traveling in California when the Parnas texts were released, has for months resisted calls for specific statements backing Yovanovitch. One of Pompeo's top aides, veteran career diplomat Michael McKinley, resigned in October after unsuccessfully pressing for an expression of support for Yovanovitch. U.S. diplomats have reacted to the new revelations with dismay and to the lack of public support for their colleague with disappointment. Nearly a dozen told The Associated Press that while surveillance by foreign intelligence and security services is expected and routine in many countries, such activity by Americans is of great concern, particularly if it's done by purported agents of the president. Although those officials all spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, former diplomats and senior lawmakers were outspoken in their criticism, especially after Ukraine announced it would open its own probe into what happened. U.S. diplomats serving in the post-Soviet space often expect to be under surveillance just not under surveillance organized by an American with links to the presidents personal attorney, said Steven Pifer, a former American ambassador to Ukraine. It would be ironic for Ukraine to be more interested in pursuing the security and what happened to a U.S. ambassador than the United States and the State Department is," said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. "Im looking for a vigorous investigation of what went on here, because Ambassador Yovanovitch testified that she felt intimidated. Rep. Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Parnas messages suggest a possible risk" to Yovanovitchs security in Kyiv before she was recalled. These threats occurred at the same time that the two men were also discussing President Trumps efforts, through Rudy Giuliani, to smear the ambassadors reputation," Engel said. Engel referred to messages to Parnas from Robert F. Hyde, a Connecticut man, who claimed to be watching Yovanovitch. Shes talked to three people. Her phone is off. Her computer is off, Hyde allegedly texted to Parnas, adding that Yovanovitch was under heavy security. "We have a person inside," another text message read. Another said: guess you can do anything in Ukraine with money ... is what I was told. Yovanovitch returned to Washington after being told in a late-night phone call to get on the next plane home for her own safety by the director general of the Foreign Service, according to witness testimony in the impeachment inquiry. The nature of any possible threat was not specified and remains unclear, although the Parnas documents suggest the surveillance was a prelude to some kind of action. Because the State Department has refused to respond substantively to questions about the Yovanovitch surveillance, it's unclear whether the Bureau of Diplomatic Security or another law enforcement agency is looking into the matter. One official, who was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, argued that the department had protected Yovanovitch by recalling her early from Kyiv. But the lack of clarity and the department's stonewalling of congressional demands for documents related to her recall have prompted an outcry. This has to be a first in American history, said Nicolas Burns, a former career diplomat who rose to become the third-ranking official at the State Department before his retirement and is now a foreign policy adviser to Biden's presidential campaign. A foreign government rushing to the defense of a senior U.S. career ambassador to defend her from people deputized by the President of the United States," Burns wrote on Twitter. And the Secretary of State refuses to say one word in her defense." Dana Smith, a former career diplomat who has been critical of the Trump administration, accused Pompeo of hypocrisy for staying mute about the possible threats to Yovanovitch after accusing the Obama administration and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of malfeasance in the deadly 2011 attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya. A threat on a U.S. Ambassador that would be treated with the utmost urgency if it came from a foreign person, she wrote in a tweet. Where is Mr. Benghazi now? The response is also in stark contrast to the quick and vocal protests that U.S. officials from Pompeo on down have registered about similar revelations elsewhere. As recently as this month, Pompeo and State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus have publicly condemned Iranian-backed militia for besieging the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and demanded that Iraqi authorities fulfill their obligations to protect U.S. facilities there. Our first priority is the safety and security of U.S. personnel, Pompeo said on Dec. 31. The United States has acted quickly, prudently, and decisively, taking additional security measures to address threats to American diplomats and facilities in Baghdad. Just last week, Ortagus used Twitter to denounce Iranian authorities for briefly detaining the British ambassador to Iran during anti-government protests in Tehran. The Iranian regime arrested the British ambassador to Iran, she said on Jan. 11. This violates the Vienna Convention, which the regime has a notorious history of violating. We call on the regime to formally apologize to the U.K. for violating his rights and to respect the rights of all diplomats. Potential violations of the Vienna Convention, the international treaty that governs diplomatic relations between states, was a reason cited by Ukrainian officials for opening their investigation. "The published messages contain facts of possible violations of Ukrainian law and of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, which protect the rights of diplomats on the territory of another state, Ukraines Interior Ministry said in a statement. TOKYO, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Three Nippon Express Group companies in Italy--Nippon Express Italia Srl, a Milan-based Italian subsidiary of Nippon Express Co., Ltd., Franco Vago SpA (hereinafter "Franco Vago"), and Traconf Srl (hereinafter "Traconf") --were merged to form Nippon Express Italia SpA (Head Office: Florence; President: Arnaldo Vivoli) on January 1, 2020. A ceremony was held in Milan on January 15 to mark the merger. Photo1: Merger ceremony https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202001155725/_prw_PI2lg_398ZjS2P.jpg Photo2: Speech by new president https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202001155725/_prw_PI3lg_qIr812fF.jpg Purpose of merger In 2013, Nippon Express Co., Ltd., acquired Franco Vago, which is engaged in apparel-related forwarding operations primarily for luxury fashion brands in Italy, and in 2018 it acquired Tranconf, which is involved in warehouse storage, distribution and other services connected with fashion and lifestyle in Italy and the rest of Europe as well as the U.S. and China, and which, like Franco Vago, has a customer base consisting principally of luxury fashion brands. The merger aims to accelerate and maximize synergy in sales and operations in one fell swoop and achieve dramatic growth, inclusive of existing Nippon Express Italia Srl, to step up efforts in the high-fashion sector, a priority industry in Nippon Express's corporate strategy, and to make the new company a leading provider of logistics services to the fashion logistics sector. The merger makes Nippon Express Italia SpA the largest Nippon Express Group company in Europe and the second largest overseas subsidiary after Nippon Express USA, Inc. Benefits of merger A new Lifestyle Division will go beyond high fashion to target lifestyle-related logistics, and the know-how of Franco Vago and Traconf as well as the integrated administration of the Nippon Express Group will be leveraged to expand sales to lifestyle industries. and Traconf as well as the integrated administration of the Nippon Express Group will be leveraged to expand sales to lifestyle industries. Rate competitiveness will be enhanced through joint sorting/collection/co-loading in forwarding and trucking operations. The lifestyle business model will be extended horizontally from Italy to the rest of the Nippon Express network, and know-how on forwarding, logistics and trucking operations dispersed among companies will be shared. Profile of new company https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202001155725/_prw_PI1fl_R28hVyl3.png Effective date of merger January 1, 2020 Nippon Express website: http://www.nipponexpress.com/ Official LinkedIn Account: NIPPON EXPRESS GROUP https://www.linkedin.com/company/nippon-express-group/ SOURCE Nippon Express Co., Ltd. Related Links http://www.nipponexpress.com/ Ukrainian and Polish border guards liquidated the cross-border channel of illegal migration of citizens of Turkey to the EU countries as the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported. Particularly, on January 14, the law enforcers detained three citizens of Turkey in one of the hostels of Lviv. They arrived in the territory of Ukraine illegally from Moldova and wanted to enter the EU countries outside the rule of law. Besides, the organizer of the illegal transfer was detained, the citizen of Uzbekistan who stayed in the territory of Ukraine with the violation of immigration rules. Investigating the chain of the illegal channel, the case officers detained another three citizens of Turkey at the border and on January 16 in Lviv, a citizen of Turkey was detained as he organized the transfer of his countrymen to the EU states, the message said. The organizers of the channels of the illegal migration notified on suspicion in the commitment of such crime as illegal transfer of people through the state border of Ukraine. Earlier, workers of Ukraine's State Border Guard detained a group of illegal migrants in Zakarpattya region, westernmost Ukraine. The incident occurred in Goronglab in Berehove district. OTTAWA - The number of people intercepted by the RCMP as they crossed into Canada between official border points fell in 2019, newly released federal figures show, but overall, the number of asylum claims being lodged in this country is up. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/1/2020 (726 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Asylum seekers line up to enter Olympic Stadium Friday, August 4, 2017 near Montreal. New figures from the federal government show 16,503 people were intercepted by the RCMP last year crossing between formal border points, likely to seek asylum in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson OTTAWA - The number of people intercepted by the RCMP as they crossed into Canada between official border points fell in 2019, newly released federal figures show, but overall, the number of asylum claims being lodged in this country is up. The data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada reveal that in all of 2019, the RCMP stopped 16,503 people as they came into Canada from the U.S. using informal entry points, such as the Roxham Road crossing between New York and Quebec. That's down from 19,419 the year before, and 20,593 the year before that. In total, however, there were 63,830 claims for asylum filed in Canada in 2019, up from 55,040 in 2018, and 50,390 the year prior. The data highlights the fact that despite multiple efforts by the Liberal government including dispatching politicians and bureaucrats around the globe specifically to discourage border-crossers the flow of people continues largely unabated. "Canada is continuing to experience unprecedented volumes of asylum claims, resulting in backlogs across the in-Canada asylum system and significant costs to all levels of government," reads a briefing note prepared for Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino in November and published online this month. The issue at the border is linked to a deal with the United States, which among other things precludes people from requesting refugee status at normal border offices, on the premise that someone who is in the U.S. is already safe. Thousands have begun coming into Canada at points where they can avoid that requirement, and then can claim asylum once they are in the country. The Liberals have repeatedly promised efforts to update the agreement, and in the mandate letter for Mendicino, he is tasked with taking on "continued work with the United States to modernize the Safe Third Country Agreement." But, the briefing notes prepared in anticipation of the minister being asked about the issue in the House of Commons suggest that work is limited. "At this time, Canada and the United States have not entered into formal negotiations on the STCA," reads a question-period note provided to the minister on Dec. 6. If he'd been pressed on how the U.S. was responding to requests to discuss the deal, the department suggested this response: "As Canada cannot unilaterally change the terms of this bilateral agreement, it would be inappropriate to speculate on how any possible changes might be implemented." Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. A Federal Court judge is now deciding whether the deal violates the charter rights of asylum seekers, after a court hearing on the subject late last fall. A decision is expected within the year. The briefing note says the overall volume of claims is rising due to increases in the number of asylum-seekers from India, Mexico and Iran. An increase in Mexican claims is related to a decision by the Liberal government to lift a visa requirement for Mexican nationals to enter Canada, a move that was expected to increase the number of refugee applications, while the increase from Iran has been tied in the past to people seeking to get around long delays in applications for permanent residency. The 2019 federal budget allocated $1.18 billion over five years, and $55 million a year after that, to increase the asylum system's capacity. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2020. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 17) Over 2.4 million school children have been affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said Friday. Briones said the DepEd is coordinating with local government units to address the problem since Taal spewed ash and smoke on Sunday. DepEd's report said 2,471,960 learners were affected by Taal Volcano's eruption. It is unclear how many of that number are students displaced or transferred to other areas. Briones added that 168 schools are currently being used as alternative evacuation areas. "Sana iwasan natin paggamit ng school buildings as evacuation centers dahil nadidisrupt ang classes (I hope we can refrain from using school buildings as evacuation centers because classes are being disrupted)," Briones noted. "Kapag 'di mo nasunod 'yung [school] calendar na 'yan (if they don't follow the school calendar), the next school year will be affected," she added. saying students are expected to make up for the lost days wherein classes were suspended. Those evacuated to other areas are also encouraged to enroll in nearby schools, while school officials must be lenient with their requirements as transferees. Nearly half a million people live within the 14-kilometer radius of the volcano that authorities have declared a danger zone and ordered evacuated. "Tanggapin with or without documentations. Saka na lang 'yung mga requirements (They should accept students with or without documentations. They can take care of the requirements later on," Briones said. Briones signed a memorandum on January 15 calling on public schools to accept displaced students from Region IV-A, following Taal's eruption. "All public schools where displaced learners from Region IV-A will seek to be accommodated are directed to accept these emergency transferees even with the unavailability or insufficiency of the required transfer credentials," the memorandum read. The Calabarzon region includes the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon. The receiving schools must collect and record necessary information of the emergency transferees, including their full name, age, address, learner reference number, school of origin, and other data that may reconcile existing records. Schools division offices with knowledge of evacuation areas within their jurisdiction must deploy available teaching and nonteaching personnel to conduct inventory of school children and facilitate their endorsement to receiving schools. The memorandum was signed after a consultation with key officials of DepEd Region IV-A, Briones said. Despite a lull in its "surface activity," Alert Level 4 remains in Taal, whch started to become restive over the weekend. Alert Level 4 is one step lower than highest level and means there is a threat of a hazardous explosive eruption. CNN Philippines' Glee Jalea contributed to this report. Mr. Hancocks analysis of about 226 studies on the well-being of phone users concluded that when you look at all these different kinds of well-being, the net effect size is essentially zero. The debate about screen time and mental health goes back to the early days of the iPhone. In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a widely cited paper that warned doctors about Facebook depression. But by 2016, as more research came out, the academy revised that statement, deleting any mention of Facebook depression and emphasizing the conflicting evidence and the potential positive benefits of using social media. Megan Moreno, one of the lead authors of the revised statement, said the original statement had been a problem because it created panic without a strong basis of evidence. Dr. Moreno, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin, said that in her own medical practice, she tends to be struck by the number of children with mental health problems who are helped by social media because of the resources and connections it provides. Concern about the connection between smartphones and mental health has also been fed by high-profile works like a 2017 article in The Atlantic and a related book by the psychologist Jean Twenge, who argued that a recent rise in suicide and depression among teenagers was linked to the arrival of smartphones. In her article, Have Smartphones Ruined a Generation?, Ms. Twenge attributed the sudden rise in reports of anxiety, depression and suicide from teens after 2012 to the spread of smartphones and social media. The Alabama Supreme Court today denied the city of Birminghams request for a rehearing on the courts decision that the city broke the law when it covered a Confederate monument in Linn Park. All nine justices concurred in todays decision to deny the request. Former Mayor William Bell ordered the covering of the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument with a plywood screen in 2017. That was after lawmakers passed the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, a bill that came in response to calls for removals of Confederate memorials from public property. Attorney General Steve Marshall sued the city, saying it was a violation of the law to cover the monument. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Michael Graffeo ruled in favor of the city, saying the law was unconstitutional because it violated the citys right to free speech. The law prohibits cities from moving or changing monuments in place 40 years or more. The Supreme Court overturned Graffeos ruling in a unanimous decision in November, upholding the constitutionality of the Memorial Preservation Act. Todays decision affirms that ruling, which sends the case back to circuit court with instructions to enter an order that the city broke the law and must pay a $25,000 fine. The Supreme Court did not issue an opinion with todays decision but did issue an opinion in November. A San Antonio police officer was arrested in connection with a domestic violence incident, according to the department. Officer Austin Wilke, 33, was arrested by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office on Friday morning and was charged with assault bodily injury-married. Wilke has been with SAPD for three years and was assigned to the patrol division. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox BCSO deputies responded to a North Side residence just before 5 a.m. for a disturbance. The victim said Wilke pushed her on the floor, causing injury, the report from BCSO said. The report also listed the victim's injuries as scratches to both knees and abrasions to the right forearm. Wilke will be placed on administrative leave pending the criminal investigation, SAPD said. The allegation of domestic violence against Officer Wilke is inexcusable," SAPD Chief William McManus said in a news release. "It's disheartening to learn that an officer has been arrested for domestic violence. It goes against our departments mission, vision and values. Our department takes every allegation of domestic violence seriously and these actions by any member will not be tolerated. Wilke was suspended by the department for two days on April 6 and 7 in 2018 for failure to operate a city vehicle in a safe manner after hitting a vehicle while in his patrol car, according to SAPD documents. The suspension report from the Firefighters' and Police Officers' Civil Service Commission said it was a five-day suspension but the three remaining days would be held in abeyance for a one year period and be vacated if Wilke wasn't involved in another accident for the next year. The documents stated that on Jan. 15, 2018, Wilke was on duty near the 300 block of Frio City Road when he "negligently struck a vehicle." Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, MySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway E-commerce giant Amazon's chief executive and world's richest person Jeff Bezos on Friday concluded his three-day India visit with meeting captains of Indian industry. Among those who met included Reliance Industries chairman and richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, who is also into retailing, and a host of other c-suite honchos. The meeting was held at a star hotel in South Mumbai this morning. Others who were present included SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar, Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, Zarin Daruwala of Standard Chartered Bank, Xiaomi's India Head Manu Jain, Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and Bank of America's Kaku Nakhate. Retail and Fast Moving Consumer Goods players, including Kishore Biyani of Fture Group (where Amazon has an investment), Hindustan Unilever's Sanjiv Mehta, Nestle India's Suresh Narayanan and Proctor and Gamble India's Madhusudhan Gopalan were also present. Sunil Mittal of Bharti Airtel was also present for the meeting wherein Bezos was accompanied by the head of Amazon in India, Amit Agarwal. Among others were Infosys' Salil Parekh, HSBC's Surendra Rosha and Ola's Bhavish Agarwal. The business leaders posed for a group photo on the hotel's stairs before departing. Bezos visited Rajghat in New Delhi on Tuesday, followed it up with a meet with small businesses on Wednesday and spent time with Bollywood celebrities on Thursday evening as part of the visit. He has announced investments of USD 1 billion over the next few years and also create 1 million new jobs in India by 2025. Bezos could not reportedly get an audience with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stoked a controversy by stating that the e-commerce giant which is being investigated for predatory pricing is not doing India any favour by the investment. Tang Street Chinese Restaurant. | Photo: Trinh L./Yelp On January 25, families around the world take part in the celebrations for Lunar New Year. To kick off the 15 days of celebration, Chinese families gather at home or at a favorite restaurant on New Years Eve for a reunion dinner, often featuring noodles for longevity, fish for prosperity and dumplings for wealth. If youre looking for a feast to celebrate the Year of the Rat with friends and family, Hoodline has crunched the numbers to find the top Chinese restaurants in San Antonio, based on Yelp ratings and our own methodology. Happy Lunar New Year! 1. Gin Chinese Restaurant Photo: James l./Yelp Topping the list is Gin Chinese Restaurant. Located at 5337 Glen Ridge Drive, Suite 103, the Chinese spot is the highest-rated Chinese restaurant in San Antonio, boasting four stars out of 84 reviews on Yelp. 2. T Jin's China Diner Photo: lori s./Yelp Next up is T Jin's China Diner, situated at 20835 US-281 North, Suite 502. With 4.5 stars out of 202 reviews on Yelp, the Chinese spot has proven to be a local favorite. 3. T-Jin's China Diner Photo: T-Jins China Diner/Yelp T-Jin's China Diner, located at 119 S.W. Loop 410, Suite 103, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the Chinese spot 4.5 stars out of 175 reviews. 4. China Inn Photo: ruthie w./Yelp China Inn, a Chinese spot, is another go-to, with four stars out of 238 Yelp reviews. Head over to 2241 N.W. Military Highway to see for yourself. 5. Tang Street Chinese Restaurant Photo: vickylin s./Yelp Check out Tang Street Chinese Restaurant, which has earned four stars out of 176 reviews on Yelp. You can find the Chinese spot at 16111 San Pedro Ave. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. SANTA FE Kyle Williamson special agent in charge of the El Paso division of the Drug Enforcement Administration said Thursday that legalizing recreational marijuana could worsen crime and drug abuse in New Mexico. In an interview, Williamson said he has a responsibility to educate the public about the potential harms of marijuana amid legislative efforts to legalize it in some states. His division investigates drug trafficking and enforces the nations drug laws in New Mexico and West Texas. Marijuana, Williamson said, will remain illegal under federal law creating the potential for federal prosecution regardless of whether New Mexico adopts legislation legalizing it. Were not going to turn our head away from it just because it is legalized in state law, he said. Williamson described Albuquerque as one of the most violent cities in the country, and he said New Mexico has had a worse-than-average problem with drug abuse. People should also expect the homeless population to climb, he said, if recreational marijuana is legal. A recent report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that New Mexico had the nations largest percentage increase in homelessness last year, an increase of 27%. When you have all these issues, Williamson said, why do you want to exacerbate the problem and legalize a drug that has the potential for harms that it does have? Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is asking New Mexico lawmakers this year to approve legislation legalizing, taxing and regulating recreational cannabis for adults. A legalization proposal narrowly passed the state House last year but died in the Senate. At least 21 people were killed in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province following an air raid by President Bashar al-Assad government and its Russian allies. The strikes were launched on Thursday defying a new ceasefire agreement brokered by Turkey and Russia. The ceasefire came into effect on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported. The United States has condemned the strike and called Russia and Assad regime to stop these "brutal attacks". "Distressed by news of more men, women, and children killed overnight in Idlib. Another ceasefire broken, more innocent civilians paying the price. We condemn this violence in the strongest terms and, once again, call on Russia and Assad to stop these brutal attacks," US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus tweeted. Since mid-December last year, Russia backed Syria government launched a fresh assault to capture the province. Syrian Bashar al-Assad regime, backed by Iran, has reportedly promised to take back the rebel-controlled area. They have since December 19 seized dozens of towns and villages from armed fighters amid clashes that have killed hundreds on both sides. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Great Religious Freedom Day: Pres. Trump Stands Up for Students' Freedom to Pray, Religious Expression NEWS PROVIDED BY Family Research Council Jan. 16, 2020 WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- Family Research Council applauds President Trumps announcement today that his administration will protect religious organizations and reinforce the freedom of public school students across the country to pray and express their religious beliefs. Local education agencies receiving federal education funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) must certify in writing to its state educational agency that "it has no policy that prevents, or otherwise denies participation in, constitutionally protected prayer in public schools as detailed in this updated guidance." The administration also issued nine proposed rules that protect religious organizations from being discriminated against by the federal government. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement: "President Trump and his administration are taking on the bullies that have been intimidating school officials and bullying students with their often baseless lawsuits. No longer will students have to stand alone in their defense of their religious freedom as these anti-faith organizations seek to rob students in public schools of any form of religious expression. He is also stepping up to protect religious organizations from government discrimination. This is a president who is putting freedom back in Religious Freedom Day. "For years, we've watched secularists pressure school administrators into telling students that they can't pray, read their Bibles, or talk about their faith in class. Some school officials are willing participants in the secularists' intimidation campaign while others fear the lack of funding to fight threatened lawsuits. Now the tables are turned. The onus is now on states to certify that they are compliant with U.S. Department of Education guidelines which protect students' religious freedom. If schools fail to protect religious freedom, they now run the risk of losing federal funding. "With this and his other announced rules, President Trump is continuing the drumbeat of religious freedom and the long march toward restoring religious freedom in the public square. No doubt, his announcement today will further galvanize both the attention and support of people of faith," concluded Perkins. SOURCE Family Research Council CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Joshua Arnold, 866-FRC-NEWS, 866-372-6397 Related Links https://frc.org A woman with a rare skin condition that leaves the surface of her body with dry patches has landed a swimwear campaign for Target. Model Jeyza Gary, 21, was born with a rare skin condition called lamellar ichthyosis, which causes the body to shed its skin every two weeks. What is left behind is rougher and dryer skin across the surface of one's body. But the North Carolina native is not letting her skin condition stop her from accomplishing her dreams, as she lands her first campaign with Target. Making her mark: Model Jeyza Gary was born with a rare skin condition called lamellar ichthyosis, which causes the body to shed its skin every two weeks Stunning: Target hired the model to star in its latest swimsuit campaign 'Im legit shaking typing this... New work featuring ME for @target swimwear,' Gary wrote on Instagram while sharing shots from the photoshoot. The model is pictured in a two-piece yellow swimsuit from the Target collection, all while serving looks to the camera. 'My spicy skin and I went to Cali on a moments notice and showed out! I cant imagine a more perfect first booking,' she exclaimed on social media. 'Starting the new year off like this!! Thanks to everyone on set who made my first job so memorable.' Her post ended with the model expressing how much it meant to her to have the opportunity to star in a campaign for Target. 'Im so full of gratitude omg...Everyone should go to target and buy this swim suit,' she wrote. Target is one brand in recent years that has focused on being more inclusive with the models they select when displaying their clothes. Model Kiara Marshall, who has a prosthetic leg, is another woman who's worked for the brand. When speaking to Refinery 29, Gary revealed it was a high school classmate who actually put the idea in her head about modeling. Exciting times: 'I cant imagine a more perfect first booking,' Gary wrote on Instagram Building her brand: The model officially signed with We Speak Model Management in May 2018. Her Target campaign is her first one Her message: 'Its not about me. Its about allowing other people to see me and be encouraged,' she previously said about paving her way in the industry 'My senior year in high school, a classmate wrote in my senior yearbook: Dear Jeyza, I am going to miss you so much. You always find a way to make a smile. I wish the best for you trulyP.S. You need to model,"' she told the publication. This encouragement from a classmate inspired Gary to go out and get headshots. She then submitted the shots to multiple agencies before going to college. We Speak Model Management got back to Gary in September 2018 to inquire about her joining their cast of models. Unfortunately, Gary had to push back meeting with them due to a natural disaster in North Carolina. But she later signed with the agency in May 2019. 'I walked into my first casting with a yellow shirt, overall bell-bottoms, and high-top sneakers, and I did feel a little different,' she detailed. 'There were people that looked like they were models for agencies, but at the end of the day, I am too. I have to focus on positive self-talk. I dont have to compare myself to anyone else.' Ultimately, Gary said her goal was to be the best model she can be, with aims to one day star in Vogue, while offering encouragement to others who are looking up to her. 'Its not about me. Its about allowing other people to see me and be encouraged,' she said. Landing the Target campaign is one of Gary's first steps in taking over the modeling industry. Shirley Ballas returned to the dancefloor for the Strictly Come Dancing live tour launch in Birmingham Arena on Thursday, three months after having her breast implants removed. Head judge Shirley stole the show as she took to the floor to perform a Latin mega-mix and was twirled around by two backing dancers. Clad in a black sparkly sheer costume, the award-winning Ballroom champion, 59, proved she still had it as she showed off her jaw-dropping moves to the crowd. Wow! Shirley Ballas, 56, showed off her impressive dance moves as she was twirled around by dancers during the opening night of the Strictly Come Dancing Arena Tour 2020 - just three months after she had her breast implants removed Shirley showed the contestants what to strive for as she span around the dancers, showing off her toned legs in the minidress. Her costume was adorned with black diamante gems and featured a fringed hemline which added extra drama to her silhouette- perfect for her numerous spins. During one of these sensational moves Shirley was held by the arms as dancers Jake Leigh and Joshua Keefe lifted her. The brunette beauty, who has her breasts reduced back to their natural A-cup after a cancer scare, looked every inch the dancing pro as she wowed on the floor. Head judge: Shirley stole the show in Birmingham as she wowed in a sparkling black dress with a fluffy trim Round she goes! Shirley impressed the audience with the spin, just months after she had her breasts reduced back to their natural A-cup following a cancer scare Strutting her stuff: The dancers was joined by Jake Leigh and Joshua Keefe to perform a Latin mega-mix, with the pair holding onto her for the spin Shirley's return to the dancefloor comes after she went under the knife for a four-and-a-half hour operation to have her breasts reduced back to their natural A-cup. However after the operation in November, the dancing sensation was back judging performances on Strictly just four days. Reflecting on her decision to go under the knife, Shirley told Lorraine: 'It wasnt a decision I made lightly. Wow: Clad in a black sparkly sheer costume, the award-winning Ballroom and Latin champion, 53, proved she still had it as she showed off her fancy footwork to the crowd Dazzling display: The costume was adorned with black diamante gems and featured a fringed hemline, adding extra volume to her silhouette for her numerous spins in the dance Grand arrival: Shirley defied her doctor's orders and returned to the judging panel four days after having her DD breast implants removed back in November (pictured during the show) 'Its a decision thats taken me a while to come to and to have the courage to do it, particularly during the run of the show.' In an interview with The Sun on Friday, Shirley admitted she was told by doctors not to return to work, but she was determined to appear on the show. She added: 'I have stuck to all of Dr Waterhouses rules apart from one, which was: "Dont go to work on Saturday!"' Her boys: AJ Pritchard, Johannes Radebe, Graziano Di Prima and Neil Jones all took to the stage for Shirley's big moment Passionate performance: Shirley showed the contestants what to strive for as she twirled around the dancers As well as having her implants taken out, Shirley also underwent a breast lift and was discharged just 18 hours after having the surgery. Shirley said Strictly bosses fully supported her decision regardless of whether she decided to miss the live show for the surgery. Speaking after her return to the show, Shirley said she was in 'pain' during the episode as she decided to use minimal painkillers. She first spoke about her decision to have her implants removed last September, after suffering a cancer scare as well as learning that there was a history of the disease in her family. Leggy display: Shirley showed off her toned legs in the minidress Glam: Stacey Dooley, who won the 2018 series with her now-boyfriend Kevin Clifton, hosted the show and added a touch of sparkle to the night with her glitterball inspired dress Also at the launch on Friday was Stacey Dooley, who won the 2018 series with her now-boyfriend Kevin Clifton. Stacey hosted the show and added a touch of sparkle to the night with her glitterball inspired dress. The floor-length dress sheathed her slender frame and featured puffball shoulders and a collared neckline. Champion: Winner Kelvin Fletcher, 35, took to the floor with Janette Manrara, who has stepped in for Oti due to her Greatest Dancer work commitments Shout: The pair performed his showdance, which was mash-up of the Jive, Argentine Tango, Quickstep and an impressive lift to finish it off Adding to her sparkly stage ensemble with gold diamante shoes, Stacey wore her ginger locks in a high plaited bun and finished off her look with a smoky black eye. Stacey was lifted up by a trio of hunky male backing dances during the opening number. The presenter threw her hands in the air, while her glamorous Strictly entourage posed in the background. Winner Kelvin Fletcher, 35, took to the floor with Janette Manrara, who has stepped in for Oti due to her Greatest Dancer work commitments. The pair performed his showdance, which was mash-up of the Jive, Argentine Tango, Quickstep and an impressive lift to finish it off. Snake-hips: The Emmerdale star then made a quick change to dance his Samba to La Vida Es Un Carnaval Shake your tail feathers: Kelvin and Janette proved a force to be reckoned with as they shimmied around the dancefloor Serious: Mike Bushell gave his best poker face as he performed the Paso Doble with Katya Jones to Tamacun The Emmerdale star then made a quick change to dance his Samba to La Vida Es Un Carnaval. Kelvin and Janette proved a force to be reckoned with as they shimmied around the dancefloor. And ahead of the live tour Kelvin said on Lorraine on Tuesday: 'It's been a whirlwind, from starting back in September to coming in as a replacement like I did. 'I had an amazing experience on the show with Oti and obviously we went onto win, whod have thought that? This is something very new and I've got a new partner in Janette.' Favourite dance: Finalist Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden recreated his Quickstep to Mr. Pinstripe Suit Trot till you drop: The duo appeared in the element as they whipped around the dancefloor, executing perfect lines and shapes and break-neck speed Standing out from the crowd: Catherine Tyldesley looked glamorous in a bright pink sparkly costume with a fringed miniskirt Dapper: Graziano and Emma Barton pulled out their best moves as they hit the dancefloor In the sky: Emma Barton was lifted by Graziano for her performance Feathers galore: Bruno Tonioli had his own burlesque inspired number Here come the girls: The Strictly pros later ditched their large pink feathers to show off the sparkly blue costumes True performer: The judge serenaded Karen during the performance Finalist Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden recreated his Quickstep to Mr. Pinstripe Suit. The duo appeared in the element as they whipped around the dancefloor, executing perfect lines and shapes and break-neck speed. The Emmerdale actor added: 'I'm sad to see Oti go and busy doing the Greatest Dancer. 'I am absolutely delighted to get a partner like Janette, who I've become quite close to the last few months anyway whilst we were filming for the show and managed to hang out quite a bit. Chemistry: AJ and Saffron Barker enjoyed a whimsical romantic dance It's a 10 from me! The judges (L-R) Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley and Bruno all posed with their paddleboards Dancing queen: Shirley later changed into a hot pink suit and silver metallic vest 'She's great as are all the other pros. I've been gifted with little Janette and we are really enjoying our time together and I just can't wait.' Last month, the creators behind the annual extravaganza revealed the names set for the string of performances. Set to raise the roof, finalist Karim Zeroual will be joined by Amy Dowden. Also featuring will be Saffron and AJ Pritchard, Emma Barton and Graziano Di Prima, Mike and Katya Jones, and Catherine Tyldesley and Johannes Radebe. The celebrities will be joined by professional dancers Luba Mushtuk, Karen Clifton, Dianne Buswell, Joshua Keefe, Jake Leigh and Robbie Kemetoni. First, staff reporter Guadalupe Gonzalez talks about Casper's IPO dreams. The direct-to-consumer mattress company filed its S-1 paperwork, which is a precursor to going public. The documents revealed that Casper spent big on marketing, contributing to $67.3 million in losses for the first nine months of last year. This news paired with already weak sentiment for startups among investors--given the bungled WeWork IPO--doesn't bode well for Casper's debut, which is expected in the first quarter of 2020. Next, managing editor Lindsay Blakely--who made her Inc. Uncensored debut on this episode--discusses Colorado Springs, Colorado's startup ecosystem. It is largely helped by its entrepreneur-minded population, 17 percent of which is comprised of veterans. Blakely outlines how the area is creating a startup haven for those who've served. Lastly, I discuss what happens when two Shark Tank contestants fight for a better deal. Husband-and-wife duo Jean-Baptiste and Yve-Car Momperousse--who created Kreyol Essence, a line of skin, hair, and body products made with organic black castor oil from Haiti--were seeking $400,000 for 10 percent equity in their business. But when Kevin O'Leary offered a less-than-ideal partnership, they negotiated for something better. A couple who went on luxury holidays to Dubai and US while posing as landlord and tenant as part of a 108,000 benefits scam have been jailed for total of four years. Jonathan Lucas, 38, and Melissa Ellis, 34, pocketed 108,754 of taxpayers' money by claiming benefits that they were not entitled to, Liverpool Crown Court heard earlier today. The pair had been pocketing the money for nine years despite living in a plush home in Huyton, Merseyside, and taking their three children on flashy holidays to America, Dubai and Portugal. Jonathan Lucas, 38, and Melissa Ellis, 34, pocketed 108,754 of taxpayers' money by claiming benefits that they were not entitled to for nine years Their home, which was protected by security gates, had a convoy of vehicles including a Jaguar, Mercedes, Range Rover and a Transit van with a trailer on their driveway. The garage at the side of the house contained building tools and materials as well as a 'J & L Landscaping' sign at the back. There were also four mountain bikes, one large scrambler bike and two smaller bikes. Suspicious fraud investigators for the Department for Work and Pensions eventually snared the couple after visiting the four-bedroom house. Lucas and Ellis, who illegally claimed the benefits between 2008 and 2017, were living together as husband and wife. But Ellis had been claiming housing benefit as a tenant before paying it to her partner Lucas, a self-employed businessman, as her landlord and the property owner. Lucas admitted to officers there was also cash belonging to him in a safe in the loft. They found 35,000 along with other stashes of cash in the kitchen and a handful of Mexican currency. In total, officers seized 55,931 and $437.59 in Mexican Pesos. The couple were arrested at the scene and taken to St Anne Street police station for questioning. Investigators will try and recoup some of the 108,000 in a Proceeds of Crime application. Pictured: Liverpool Crown Court Ellis was shown her applications for housing benefit and income support that she had made from both her previous and current address that were all made as a single parent. The 34-year-old admitted making false claims. Lucas claimed to live at an address in Abergele, North Wales, but investigators found it to be frequently booked up as a holiday cottage with paying guests. Ellis eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of making a dishonest representation to obtain benefit and three counts of dishonestly failing to notify a change of circumstances. She was jailed for two years and three months. Lucas pleaded guilty to two counts of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence. He was handed 21 months behind bars. Investigators will try and recoup some of the 108,000 in a Proceeds of Crime application. Maqsood Khan, from Merseyside Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Jonathan Lucas and Melissa Ellis are a pair of serial fraudsters who were falsely claiming a variety of benefits while living a very nice lifestyle indeed. 'The most that Jonathan Lucas would admit to was that Melissa Ellis was his 'on-off girlfriend', yet they were clearly living together as man and wife, bringing up their three children and going on expensive foreign holidays together. 'Lucas denied living at the house in St Mary's Road but was shown the tenancy agreements for both that property and the house in [Garston] and confirmed he'd completed them and then given them to Ellis knowing she would be using them for her housing benefit claim. 'He said he didn't see what was wrong with him charging Ellis rent for living in the house, even though his children were living there too. 'Nailing these two cheats has taken a lot of work, but they eventually pleaded guilty and have now been sent to prison. 'The benefits system is there to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our society. 'That clearly doesn't include Jonathan Lucas and Melissa Ellis.' Armenian investigators on Friday said they had found the dead body of a former security chief bearing a gunshot wound, but they did not elaborate about possible foul play. "The body of the former director of the National Security Service Grigory Kutoyan was found with traces of a gunshot wound," the south Caucasus country's investigative committee said in a statement. The 39-year-old was the second senior ex-security official to turn up dead recently after a former police chief was also discovered in September with a gunshot wound. From 2011-2016 Kutoyan worked as an aide to Armenia's former president Serzh Sarkisyan, who was ousted following a popular uprising in 2018 after he tried to remain in power by switching to prime minister. Kutoyan headed the security service for two years up to 2018 when he lost his job following Armenia's "velvet revolution". His successor as security chief, Artur Vanetsyan, complained that many documents were missing from the files. Last year he too was sacked. Former police chief Hayk Harutyunyan, who headed the force from 2003 to 2008, was found dead at his home with a gunshot wound to the head. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In mouse studies, a methylation clock on the ELOVL2 gene ticks toward impaired vision, but when gene expression was boosted, age-related visual function improved A lengthy-named gene called Elongation of Very Long Chain Fatty Acids Protein 2 or ELOVL2 is an established biomarker of age. In a new paper, published online January 14, 2020 in the journal Aging Cell, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine say the gene appears to play a key role in age-associated functional and anatomical aging in vivo in mouse retinas, a finding that has direct relevance to age-related eye diseases. Specifically, the research team, led by senior author Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, PhD, assistant professor in the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology at UC San Diego Shiley Eye Institute, found that an age-related decrease in ELOVL2 gene expression was associated with increased DNA methylation of its promoter. Methylation is a simple biochemical process in which groups of carbon and hydrogen atoms are transferred from one substance to another. In the case of DNA, methylation of regulatory regions negatively impacts expression of the gene. When researchers reversed hypermethylation in vivo, they boosted ELOVL2 expression and rescued age-related decline in visual function in mice. These findings indicate that ELOVL2 actively regulates aging in mouse retina, provides a molecular link between polyunsaturated fatty acids elongation and visual functions, and suggests novel therapeutic strategies for treatment of age-related eye diseases, wrote the authors. ELOVL2 is involved in production of long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are used in several crucial biological functions, such as energy production, inflammation response and maintenance of cell membrane integrity. The gene is found in humans as well as mice. In particular, ELOVL2 regulates levels of docosahexaenoic acid or DHA, a polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid abundantly found in the brain and retina. DHA is associated with a number of beneficial effects. Notably, its presence in photoreceptors in eyes promotes healthy retinal function, protects against damage from bright light or oxidative stress and has been linked to improving a variety of vision conditions, from age-related macular (AMD) degeneration to diabetic eye disease and dry eyes. Skowronska-Krawczyk said the work demonstrated for the first time that a methylation clock gene had a functional role in the aging of an organ. In this case, the eye. DNA methylation is used throughout the human body, essentially turning biological switches on an off to maximize efficient operation. It has key regulatory roles in the bodys cardiovascular, neurological, reproductive and detoxification systems. In recent years, there has been much work and progress in identifying possible biomarkers that predict the biological age (not chronological) of individuals. Such biomarkers would be useful in identifying risk and status of age-related diseases. ELOVL2 is among the genes attracting greatest interest. I have been asked whether I think ELOVL2 is the aging gene, said Skowronska-Krawczyk. After thinking about it, it is not unreasonable to think that lower ELOVL2 expression might be at the basis for many age-related conditions. Future work in our lab will address that question. Co-authors of this study include: co-first authors Daniel Chen and Daniel Chao as well as Lorena Rocha, Viet Ahn Nguyen Huu, Michal Krawczyk, Manish Dasyani, Tina Wang, Maryam Jafari, Mary Jabari, Kevin D. Ross, Bruce Hamilton, and Kang Zhang, all at UC San Diego; and Matthew Kolar and Alan Saghatelian, Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Funding for this research came, in part, the National Institutes of Health (grants R01-EY02701 AND R01-GM086912), Research to Prevent Blindness, Ruth L. Kirschestein National Research Service Award Institutional Predoctoral Training Grant and UC San Diego Vision Research Center (grant P30EY022589). Disclosure: In February 2019, a patent was licensed from UC San Diego to Visgenx, a startup company focused on developing new treatments for dry AMD. Skowronska-Krawczyk and Daniel Chao, MD, PhD, assistant clinical professor of ophthalmology and co-first author of the study, are co-founders and have equity interest. Chao is also a consultant. The company is developing therapeutics for dry AMD exploiting an approach described in the latest paper. UC San Diego To the editor: [Donald] Trump takes office in 2017 saying he wants to get the U.S. out of entanglements in the Mideast. At this time, relations with Iran were at least stable. An agreement with the U.S., several other countries and Iran limited Irans ability to increase their nuclear ability. It was a compromise agreement. Both sides got something and both sides gave up something. Iran recovered funds from the United States that belonged to Iran. Iran also was relieved of many economic sanctions by the United Nations and the other countries in the agreement with the caveat they could be reestablished if Iran violated the agreement. In return, Iran was limited in their nuclear capabilities and agreed to international inspections of their nuclear facilities. It was not a perfect agreement. It was a compromise. This is the real world. Even though that, according to the inspectors, Iran was adhering to the agreement, Mr. Trump unilaterally and individually pulled the U.S. out of the agreement and reinstated economic sanctions for Iran. In January, Mr. Trump orders the assassination of a high-ranking general in the Iran military amid the claims he wants to deescalate the tensions in the Middle East that he helped create and escalate in the first place. After the fact, Mr. Trump attempts to find rationale for the attacks and the timing of the attacks without showing any evidence or facts in support of his decision outside of that this was a bad guy who was plotting attacks on U.S. facilities. What if Iran or their proxies assassinated the head of the CIA or the head of the Joint Chief of Staff for their roles in plans for possible operations against foreign states or governments? And, yes, that is one of the things they do. This might be easier to understand if there was some sort of overall consistent policy involved. After helping us to rid Syria of ISIS, the Kurds wanted our military to stay in Syria. We pulled our military out. Iraq wants our military to leave Iraq. Mr. Trump says no. Mr. Trump sends around 3,000 new military troops to Saudi Arabia in September and October 2019. Mr. Trump sent another 3,000 military troops to the Middle East in January. Reduce our entanglements? Now, Mr. Trump is increasing sanctions on Iran. And Mr. Trump wants to deescalate tensions? Glen Phillips Jacksonville Bankrupt Indian airline Jet Airways Ltd said it had agreed to sell its assets in Netherlands to Dutch airline KLM. If the deal is finalised, it will only involve a sale of part of the company's business and not impact the shareholding pattern, Jet said in a statement dated Jan. 16. It did not detail the assets held in Netherlands. Once India's biggest private carrier, Jet stopped flying in April after running out of cash, leaving thousands without jobs and pushing up air fares across the country. It was admitted to bankruptcy court in June after its lenders, led by State Bank of India SBI.NS, failed to agree on a revival plan. KLM, a part of Air France KLM, was once codeshare partners with the defunct airline and in the wake of Jet's collapse had added flights to India. ALSO READ: Jet Airways crisis: Synergy Group, Prudent ARC submit EoIs; Hinduja Group backs out ALSO READ: Air India is finally going to a new owner, here's why Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 13:28:20|Editor: Liu Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Eleven U.S. troops were treated for concussion symptoms as a result of last week's Iranian missile attack on U.S. military base in Iraq, the U.S. military said Thursday in a statement. "While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement. After last week's attack in western Iraq, the Pentagon initially said that no casualty was reported. The statement said some service members received "follow-on screening" as a measure of caution and consequently the symptoms were found. Eight persons were transported to Germany and three sent to Kuwait for further screening, reported CNN Thursday, citing anonymous U.S. military official. CNN also reported that an anonymous U.S. defense official claimed that the symptoms of the injured troops emerged "days after the fact." Seeking revenge for the killing of Iranian senior commander Qassem Soleimani by a U.S. drone strike on Jan. 3 in Iraq, Iran retaliated on Jan. 8 by launching ballistic missiles on military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq's western province of Anbar and near the city of Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan. More than 5,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battle against Islamic State militants. Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in a peace conference on Libya in Germany on Sunday, as world powers step up efforts to find a lasting ceasefire. The peace talks in Berlin will focus on stopping the fighting and launching a "broad political dialogue" under the auspices of the United Nations, the Kremlin said. Libya has been in turmoil since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising. Last April, an assault on Tripoli by military strongman Khalifa Haftar's forces sparked fighting that has killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters, displacing thousands. "On January 19 Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Berlin to take part in the International conference on Libya," the Kremlin said. Earlier in the day, Russia's acting foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said preparations for the peace conference were nearly ready but lamented that the war-scarred country's rivals refused to speak to each other. "In my opinion, final documents look practically ready," Lavrov told reporters. But he underlined the huge tension between the heads of Libya's warring sides -- Haftar in the east and the head of Tripoli's UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj. "So far ties between them are very tense, they don't even want to be in the same room to say nothing of meeting each other," Lavrov said. Earlier this week, the two men attended talks in Moscow but Haftar left without signing a permanent truce. Lavrov said it was important for both sides not to "repeat past mistakes" and put forward additional demands after the Berlin conference. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 19:15:14|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close Tourists purchase candies during a gathering event held in Hulutao old street of Qianzhuang Village in Jiaxian County, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 16, 2020. A series of events were held in the old street to greet the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year. (Xinhua/Hao Yuan) Kobsak Pootrakool (center) the deputy secretary-general for Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha, speaks about a sharp uptick in foreign investment applications in 2019, at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, Jan. 16, 2019. In 2019, for the first time, China topped the list of countries seeking to invest in Thailand because of the effects of U.S.-Chinese trade disputes and Thailands connection with the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, a Thai official said Thursday. Foreign direct investment (FDI) applications from China, valued at U.S. $8.6 billion, comprised almost half of total foreign investment applications last year, $16.7 billion, according to data from Thailands Board of Investment (BOI). China became the number one foreign investor for the very first time, BOI Secretary-General Duangjai Asawaschinatachit said while presenting the statistics at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok. Japan was the second most active suitor in 2019, with investment applications valued at $2.4 billion, followed by Hong Kong ($1.2 billion), Switzerland ($800 million) and Taiwan ($700 million). The United States, which topped the chart in 2018, followed by Japan, then China, did not make top five in 2019, according to the BOI. Their respective application totals were $11.0 billion, $2.4 billion, and $1.8 billion, that year. Kobsak Pootrakool, the deputy secretary-general for Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, said trade disputes between the U.S. and China, as well as Thailands participation in Chinas One Belt, One Road initiative, played a part in the dramatic rise in investment pledges. The BOI has not released the actual value of foreign investments in 2019. The next two years is probably the best time in 20 years for foreign investment in Thailand, thanks to President Trump, Kobsak said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S.-China trade row. Many companies love to be in China, big market. They dont want to leave but because of the trade war, now they are thinking of finding an alternative ... and Thailand has been one of the choices for them, he said, referring to punitive tariffs Washington slapped on Chinese goods that have sent manufacturers fleeing. Officials meanwhile affirmed that Chinas transregional infrastructure initiative, OBOR, played a role in the flood of investment proposals. When we pay attention to this, Chinas investment application with the BOI increased and became the number one now, Kobsak told BenarNews. A whopping 59 percent of the 2019 investment proposals were related to the Eastern Economic Corridor where Chinese tycoon Jack Ma announced plans to invest in e-commerce and products distribution center, according to Duangjai, the BOI chief. EEC, the common name for Thailands eastern seaboard, is the nations center for export-oriented industries, where high-value goods such as Japanese automobiles are manufactured and shipped elsewhere. The region includes the provinces of Chonburi, Rayong and Chachoensao. China in 2017 laid out plans to invest more than $1 trillion in building a network of ports, roads, railways and other logistics-related projects stretching through Southeast Asia, South Asia and beyond. The infrastructure initiative is part of Chinas multi-pronged strategy to boost global trading links by developing routes connecting the worlds most populous nation to markets in Europe. China is involved in several rail projects in Thailand. In October 2019, State Railway of Thailand signed an agreement with a consortium including a Chinese state-owned company to build a $7.4 billion high-speed railway connecting three airports. The Sino-U.S. trade dispute, which threatened the global economy for around two years, has come to an end with the much-anticipated Phase-One trade deal on Jan 15. The signing of the deal was the first tangible indication of de-escalation of the trade brawl between the United States and China, the two largest trading countries. Energy Sector Stands 2nd While the Asian giant has agreed to purchase more goods and services from America, Washington has pledged to cut some tariff on Chinese imports. Notably, the U.S. energy sector is poised to gain heavily from this agreement as an export revival is expected. Of the additional $200-billion purchase of U.S. goods over the next two years (keeping 2017 imports as the base level), $52.4 billion will likely come from the energy sector. Per the deal, China will purchase $18.5 billion worth of energy products this year, followed by $33.9 billion imports in 2021. The energy sector stands second only to the manufacturing sector, which will likely witness $77.7 billion of exports. Effect of the Deal on Energy Products LNG Among the energy products such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, natural gas, petroleum products, LNG is expected to gain the most from the deal. Following the U.S. shale revolution, abundance of natural gas in the domestic market and growing demand for cleaner energy sources globally have led to the development of several LNG terminal projects in the past few years. As such, the Washington-Beijing deal can open up a huge market for the U.S. LNG industry. While China is set to become the biggest LNG importer by the end of the decade, the United States is likely to be the largest exporter by 2025, ahead of Qatar and Australia. This makes the two countries a perfect fit even though the whole vision is largely dependent on the fate of the existing 25% Chinese LNG tariff. This was levied during the trade war and its future is still uncertain. The existing LNG export facilities like Cheniere Energy, Inc.s LNG Corpus Christi, TX terminal are poised to gain from the renewed opening to the China market. Jack Fusco, chief executive officer of Cheniere was present at the trade deal signing ceremony. He said, The phase one agreement between the United States and China is a step in the right direction that will hopefully restore the burgeoning U.S. LNG trade with China,. Other companies like ConocoPhillips COP with Freeport LNG, Sempra Energy SRE with Cameron LNG will likely grab a share of this market. Tellurian Inc. TELL, a newcomer in the LNG game, is also expected to thrive from the recent developments. Story continues Ethanol Another energy product, ethanol, is considered in the "other agricultural commodities" basket. Notably, the U.S. agricultural products command $32 billion of Chinese imports in two years. The U.S. ethanol producers are currently watching over the movement of the 70% import tariff levied on the products that nearly wiped out Chinese exports. Resumption of ethanol export to China at 2016 levels will likely bring an addition $500 million against the U.S. trade deficit with China.", per Katie Bays, co-founder of Sandhill Strategy. Crude Oil China is the largest crude importer in the world with almost 11 million barrels per day imports. Notably, the trade war has eliminated Chinese crude purchases from the United States for six months through November, reflecting an opportunity loss. Still, U.S. crude exports touched a record 4.5 million barrels per day during 2019-end, as shipments to Europe and other regions rose significantly. This was supported by shale boom, Permian in particular, wherein companies like Pioneer Natural Resources Company PXD, Callon Petroleum Company CPE and others have significant operations. Both these companies have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The 5% tariff on U.S. crude levied by China reduced its economic advantage in the Chinese market. However, with trade tensions de-escalating, crude export to China can rise in the coming days, which makes investors optimistic. Coal & Propane It constitutes a small portion of the energy products basket in the trade deal. China is currently the biggest producer of coal. It bought $128 million of U.S. coal last year through November. Notably, China pledged to buy more U.S. metallurgical coal in the coming two years. Another product, propane carries a 25% tariff that was levied on Aug 23, 2018. Chinas petrochemicals industry is considered as a potential market for the U.S. propane. Imports were estimated at $2 billion in 2018. Conclusion The U.S. energy industry has welcomed the de-escalation of the trade war between the two countries, which removed billion dollars of export sales in the last two years. However, the industry heads are taking cautious steps while trying to make a better sense of this temporary trade deal and waiting hopefully for the second phase. With the existing tariffs in place, investors are wondering how China is planning to fulfil their end of the bargain. Nevertheless, China represents a huge opportunity for U.S. energy exports, especially for the natural gas industry. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers Most Likely for Early Price Pops. Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.6% per year. So be sure to give these hand-picked 7 your immediate attention. See 7 handpicked stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sempra Energy (SRE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Callon Petroleum Company (CPE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Pioneer Natural Resources Company (PXD) : Free Stock Analysis Report ConocoPhillips (COP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Magellan Petroleum Corporation (TELL) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Donald Trump is like a cult leader and many Republicans are now too scared to go against him, according to an alleged former ally at the centre of the impeachment inquiry. Lev Parnas claims to have been personally carrying out extensive efforts to discredit the Bidens in Ukraine at the direct behest of Mr Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, of whom he is a known associate. It was like being in a cult. When they say organised crime I dont think Trump is like organised crime, I think hes like a cult leader, Mr Parnas claimed to MSNBC on Thursday night. Right now the scary part and what people dont understand, is theres a lot of Republicans that would go against him. The difference between why Trump is so powerful now he wasnt as powerful in 16 and 17, he became that powerful when he got [attorney general] William Barr. People are scared. Am I scared? Yes. I think Im more scared of our justice department than these criminals right now. Because the scariest part is getting locked in some room and being treated as an animal when youve done nothing wrong. And thats the tool theyre using. Because theyre trying to scare me into not talking My wife is scared, my kids are nervous. Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Show all 26 1 /26 Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Donald Trump Accused of abusing his office by pressing the Ukrainian president in a July phone call to help dig up dirt on Joe Biden, who may be his Democratic rival in the 2020 election. He also believes that Hillary Clintons deleted emails - a key factor in the 2016 election - may be in Ukraine, although it is not clear why. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Whistleblower Believed to be a CIA agent who spent time at the White House, his complaint was largely based on second and third-hand accounts from worried White House staff. Although this is not unusual for such complaints, Trump and his supporters have seized on it to imply that his information is not reliable. Expected to give evidence to Congress voluntarily and in secret. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Second Whistleblower The lawyer for the first intelligence whistleblower is also representing a second whistleblower regarding the President's actions. Attorney Mark Zaid said that he and other lawyers on his team are now representing the second person, who is said to work in the intelligence community and has first-hand knowledge that supports claims made by the first whistleblower and has spoken to the intelligence community's inspector general. The second whistleblower has not yet filed their own complaint, but does not need to to be considered an official whistleblower. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rudy Giuliani Former mayor of New York, whose management of the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001 won him worldwide praise. As Trumps personal attorney he has been trying to find compromising material about the presidents enemies in Ukraine in what some have termed a shadow foreign policy. In a series of eccentric TV appearances he has claimed that the US state department asked him to get involved. Giuliani insists that he is fighting corruption on Trumps behalf and has called himself a hero. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Volodymyr Zelensky The newly elected Ukrainian president - a former comic actor best known for playing a man who becomes president by accident - is seen frantically agreeing with Trump in the partial transcript of their July phone call released by the White House. With a Russian-backed insurgency in the east of his country, and the Crimea region seized by Vladimir Putin in 2014, Zelensky will have been eager to please his American counterpart, who had suspended vital military aid before their phone conversation. He says there was no pressure on him from Trump to do him the favour he was asked for. Zelensky appeared at an awkward press conference with Trump in New York during the United Nations general assembly, looking particularly uncomfortable when the American suggested he take part in talks with Putin. AFP/Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pence The vice-president was not on the controversial July call to the Ukrainian president but did get a read-out later. However, Trump announced that Pence had had one or two phone conversations of a similar nature, dragging him into the crisis. Pence himself denies any knowledge of any wrongdoing and has insisted that there is no issue with Trumps actions. It has been speculated that Trump involved Pence as an insurance policy - if both are removed from power the presidency would go to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, something no Republican would allow. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rick Perry Trump reportedly told a meeting of Republicans that he made the controversial call to the Ukrainian president at the urging of his own energy secretary, Rick Perry, and that he didnt even want to. The president apparently said that Perry wanted him to talk about liquefied natural gas - although there is no mention of it in the partial transcript of the phone call released by the White House. It is thought that Perry will step down from his role at the end of the year. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Joe Biden The former vice-president is one of the frontrunners to win the Democratic nomination, which would make him Trumps opponent in the 2020 election. Trump says that Biden pressured Ukraine to sack a prosecutor who was investigating an energy company that Bidens son Hunter was on the board of, refusing to release US aid until this was done. However, pressure to fire the prosecutor came on a wide front from western countries. It is also believed that the investigation into the company, Burisma, had long been dormant. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Hunter Biden Joe Bidens son has been accused of corruption by the president because of his business dealings in Ukraine and China. However, Trump has yet to produce any evidence of corruption and Bidens lawyer insists he has done nothing wrong. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Barr The attorney-general, who proved his loyalty to Trump with his handling of the Mueller report, was mentioned in the Ukraine call as someone president Volodymyr Zelensky should talk to about following up Trumps preoccupations with the Bidens and the Clinton emails. Nancy Pelosi has accused Barr of being part of a cover-up of a cover-up. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pompeo The secretary of state initially implied he knew little about the Ukraine phone call - but it later emerged that he was listening in at the time. He has since suggested that asking foreign leaders for favours is simply how international politics works. Gordon Sondland testified that Pompeo was "in the loop" and knew what was happening in Ukraine. Pompeo has been criticised for not standing up for diplomats under his command when they were publicly criticised by the president. AFP via Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Nancy Pelosi The Democratic Speaker of the House had long resisted calls from within her own party to back a formal impeachment process against the president, apparently fearing a backlash from voters. On September 24, amid reports of the Ukraine call and the day before the White House released a partial transcript of it, she relented and announced an inquiry, saying: The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Adam Schiff Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, one of the three committees leading the inquiry. He was criticized by Republicans for giving what he called a parody of the Ukraine phone call during a hearing, with Trump and others saying he had been pretending that his damning characterisation was a verbatim reading of the phone call. He has also been criticised for claiming that his committee had had no contact with the whistleblower, only for it to emerge that the intelligence agent had contacted a staff member on the committee for guidance before filing the complaint. The Washington Post awarded Schiff a four Pinocchios rating, its worst rating for a dishonest statement. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman Florida-based businessmen and Republican donors Lev Parnas (pictured with Rudy Giuliani) and Igor Fruman were arrested on suspicion of campaign finance violations at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC on 9 October. Separately the Associated Press has reported that they were both involved in efforts to replace the management of Ukraine's gas company, Naftogaz, with new bosses who would steer lucrative contracts towards companies controlled by Trump allies. There is no suggestion of any criminal activity in these efforts. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Taylor The most senior US diplomat in Ukraine and the former ambassador there. As one of the first two witnesses in the public impeachment hearings, Taylor dropped an early bombshell by revealing that one of his staff later identified as diplomat David Holmes overheard a phone conversation in which Donald Trump could be heard asking about investigations the very day after asking the Ukrainian president to investigate his political enemies. Taylor expressed his concern at reported plans to withhold US aid in return for political smears against Trumps opponents, saying: It's one thing to try to leverage a meeting in the White House. It's another thing, I thought, to leverage security assistance -- security assistance to a country at war, dependent on both the security assistance and the demonstration of support." Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal George Kent A state department official who appeared alongside William Taylor wearing a bow tie that was later mocked by the president. He accused Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trumps personal lawyer, of leading a campaign of lies against Marie Yovanovitch, who was forced out of her job as US ambassador to Ukraine for apparently standing in the way of efforts to smear Democrats. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Marie Yovanovitch One of the most striking witnesses to give evidence at the public hearings, the former US ambassador to Ukraine received a rare round of applause as she left the committee room after testifying. Canadian-born Yovanovitch was attacked on Twitter by Donald Trump while she was actually testifying, giving Democrats the chance to ask her to respond. She said she found the attack very intimidating. Trump had already threatened her in his 25 July phone call to the Ukrainian president saying: Shes going to go through some things. Yovanovitch said she was shocked, appalled and devastated by the threat and by the way she was forced out of her job without explanation. REUTERS Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Alexander Vindman A decorated Iraq War veteran and an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Lt Col Vindman began his evidence with an eye-catching statement about the freedoms America afforded him and his family to speak truth to power without fear of punishment. One of the few witnesses to have actually listened to Trumps 25 July call with the Ukrainian president, he said he found the conversation so inappropriate that he was compelled to report it to the White House counsel. Trump later mocked him for wearing his military uniform and insisting on being addressed by his rank. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Jennifer Williams A state department official acting as a Russia expert for vice-president Mike Pence, Ms Williams also listened in on the 25 July phone call. She testified that she found it unusual because it focused on domestic politics in terms of Trump asking a foreign leader to investigate his political opponents. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Kurt Volker The former special envoy to Ukraine was one of the few people giving evidence who was on the Republican witness list although what he had to say may not have been too helpful to their cause. He dismissed the idea that Joe Biden had done anything corrupt, a theory spun without evidence by the president and his allies. He said that he thought the US should be supporting Ukraines reforms and that the scheme to find dirt on Democrats did not serve the national interest. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Tim Morrison An expert on the National Security Council and another witness on the Republican list. He testified that he did not think the president had done anything illegal but admitted that he feared it would create a political storm if it became public. He said he believed the moving the record of the controversial 25 July phone call to a top security server had been an innocent mistake. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Gordon Sondland In explosive testimony, one of the men at the centre of the scandal got right to the point in his opening testimony: Was there a quid pro quo? Yes, said the US ambassador to the EU who was a prime mover in efforts in Ukraine to link the release of military aid with investigations into the presidents political opponents. He said that everyone knew what was going on, implicating vice-president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The effect of his evidence is perhaps best illustrated by the reaction of Mr Trump who went from calling Sondland a great American a few weeks earlier to claiming that he barely knew him. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Laura Cooper A Pentagon official, Cooper said Ukrainian officials knew that US aid was being withheld before it became public knowledge in August undermining a Republican argument that there cant have been a quid pro quo between aid and investigations if the Ukrainians didnt know that aid was being withheld. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Hale The third most senior official at the state department. Hale testified about the treatment of Marie Yovanovitch and the smear campaign that culminated in her being recalled from her posting as US ambassador to Ukraine. He said: I believe that she should have been able to stay at post and continue to do the outstanding work. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Fiona Hill Arguably the most confident and self-possessed of the witnesses in the public hearings phase, the Durham-born former NSC Russia expert began by warning Republicans not to keep repeating Kremlin-backed conspiracy theories. In a distinctive northeastern English accent, Dr Hill went on to describe how she had argued with Gordon Sondland about his interference in Ukraine matters until she realised that while she and her colleagues were focused on national security, Sondland was being involved in a domestic political errand. She said: I did say to him, Ambassador Sondland, Gordon, this is going to blow up. And here we are. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Holmes The Ukraine-based diplomat described being in a restaurant in Kiev with Gordon Sondland while the latter phoned Donald Trump. Holmes said he could hear the president on the other end of the line because his voice was so loud and distinctive and because Sondland had to hold the phone away from his ear asking about the investigations and whether the Ukrainian president would cooperate. REUTERS It is the Soviet-born businessmans first round of interviews since being indicted for allegedly violating campaign finance laws by making outsize donations to Republican causes after receiving millions of dollars from Russian sources. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, making false statements and falsification of records after being arrested trying to flee the US. Mr Parnas claims to have been on a mission in Ukraine to dig dirt on Joe and Hunter Biden since 2018, meeting with top officials on the presidents behalf. On Wednesday claimed Mr Trump was aware of all my movements. I wouldnt do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president. I have no intent, I have no reason to speak to any of these officials. I mean, they have no reason to speak to me. Why would President Zelenskys inner circle or Minister Avakov or all these people or President Poroshenko meet with me? Who am I? They were told to meet with me. And thats the secret that theyre trying to keep. I was on the ground doing their work. Mr Trump has strenuously denied knowing Mr Parnas, despite there being extensive photo and video evidence of their having met on a multitude of occasions. Mr Parnas grew up in Brooklyn and has previously said he worked for the Trump Organisation in the Eighties selling real estate, but claimed he didnt properly get to know Donald until the 2016 campaign. I dont even know who this man is. I take thousands of pictures with people, Mr Trump repeated on Thursday, having previously said: Maybe you will have to ask Rudy. Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Mr Parnas addressed the presidents claims that they dont know each other, saying: I welcome him to say that even more. Every time he says that Ill show him another picture. Hes lying. Mr Parnas gave the television interviews days after his lawyer submitted a series of documents from his client to Congress. These included claims that Mr Giuliani told Ukrainian officials he was working on the presidents behalf and text messages suggesting Marie Yovanovitch the ousted US ambassador to Ukraine may have been under surveillance by a Republican donor named Robert Hyde. It has been suggested that Ms Yovanovitch was removed because she would have blocked attempts by the Trump administration to pressure Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky into announcing an investigation into the son of Joe Biden, Mr Trumps potential 2020 election rival, who worked on the board of an energy company in Ukraine called Burisma. Lev Parnas: 'Trump knew exactly what was going on' While underplaying the gravity of the text messages, saying Mr Hyde was drunk the whole time, Mr Parnas did claim he witnessed a furious Mr Trump telling an aide to get rid of the ambassador during a private dinner in spring 2018, after Mr Parnas told the president she was badmouthing him in Ukraine. Mr Giuliani has admitted he wanted Ms Yovanovitch out of the way, and she was abruptly recalled last year after a smear campaign against her in which Mr Parnas appears to be admitting to having taken an active role. I never thought I was doing anything wrong, he told MSNBC on Thursday. I regret certain things, like hurting the ambassador, because when youre in a war, you think casualties and things like that. Despite his assertions that he was fighting the presidents battles, Mr Trump and his allies have dismissed Mr Parnas claims as those of a desperate man seeking a plea deal. After the businessman claimed vice president Mike Pence was also aware of what was happening in Ukraine, Mr Pences chief of staff said: This is very simple: Lev Parnas is under a multi-count indictment and will say anything to anybody who will listen in hopes of staying out of prison. Its no surprise that only the liberal media is listening to him. But on Tuesday, the House of Representatives provided additional evidence to be used in the Senate trial alongside the articles of impeachment, including Mr Parnas newly submitted documents. In an indication of Washingtons polarisation as the trial begins, many Republicans railed against the inclusion of new evidence, yet provided few solid reasons why. When asked by CNN reporters whether the Senate should consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial such as Mr Parnas fresh documents Republican senator Martha McSally replied: Man, youre a liberal hack, Im not talking to you. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the justice minister have rejected Fianna Fail proposals to ease the threshold for evidence used to prosecute gangs in the wake of this week's crime spree. Nonetheless, Mr Varadkar pledged to put the killers of teenager Keane Mulready Woods "behind bars" and to make Drogheda safe again. As law and order moved centre stage in the election campaign, he also promised to set up up to seven task forces to help towns and areas impacted by around the country, including Drogheda. The comments came as senior gardai in Drogheda briefed Mr Varadkar and Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan about the gang warfare in region in the wake of the brutal killing of the Drogheda teenager. Mr Varadkar said he wants to reemphasise the revulsion over the brutal murder of the young boy and to reassure the people of Drogheda that the Government is behind them: We are going to get these people behind bars and we are going to make this town safe again. He said he wants to hear from gardai if there is anything else the Government can do. He said gardai and authorities need evidence and those who supply it will be protected: What has to happen is that we restore going law and order to any part of our country, where there are serious crimes occurring. Mr Varadkar pledged that increased garda numbers are helping the fight against crime around the country: We've pledged that there will be an extra 700 gardai recruited every year. "That's a very different approach to a previous government which ended garda recruitment we will get the garda service up to 21,000 people by next year. But Mr Varadkar said he would like to see a special task force, similar to one established in Dublin city centre, to help tackle crime and anti-social elements. That could be expanded, not only in Drogheda, but other parts of the country, he pledged: That hasn't solved all the problems in the northeast inner city by any means, but I do think it has made a difference. "I'd like to, if we are reelected to office, is to expand that to maybe six or seven other parts of the country. This would form part of the government manifesto, he said. While Fianna Fail yesterday called for an easing of the laws so garda opinions could be used to ultimately jail gangs, the Government ruled this out. Mr Varadkar said: They [gardai] say to me that they have adequate laws. "We don't need a new law against murder or new law against drug dealing or a new law against directing a criminal organisation because those things are already against the law. "What we need is convictions. We need to get these people behind bars and that's what we're going to do. Thank you for reading! To read this article and more, subscribe now for as little as $1.99. The first picture of the wife of Russia's new Prime Minister emerged on Friday as critics demanded to know where the family acquired their fortune. Mikhail Mishustin was the surprise nominee put forward by Vladimir Putin after the shock resignation of top parliamentarian Dmitry Medvedev earlier this week. The father-of-three was confirmed in a vote Thursday, but was immediately embroiled in financial scandal as critics demanded to know how he had acquired a multi-million pound property portfolio. Opposition leader Alexey Navalny also pointed out that wife Vladlena had earned almost 10million in 10 years, despite not officially having a job. 'How is he so damn rich?' Navalny asked on his blog. The first picture of Vladlena Mishustina (left, standing on the right), wife of Russia's new prime minister Mikhail Mishustin (right), emerged Friday as questions were raised about their wealth Mishustin was the shock nominee put forward by Vladimir Putin (pictured together) for the position of Prime Minister earlier this week after the sudden resignation of Dmitry Medvedev Despite being an unknown apparatchik until his sudden promotion, Mishustin is believed to be the owner of a 10,000sq ft mansion on a 60,000sq ft piece of land in Moscow's Rublyovka district - often named the city's most expensive. Similarly sized properties for sale in the same area go for around 7.6million. Mishustin and his wife Vladlena Mishustina - named after Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin - were listed as owners of the property between 2001 and 2005, according to investigative website Proekt. But after 2005, while Mishustin was working at the Federal Real Estate Agency, their names disappeared from the records and were replaced by the federal government. The tactic is common where the owners of a property are keen to obscure their connections to it. Mishustin has never declared an income that would allow him to afford such a home, the site adds. Mishustin is also linked with an apartment in Moscow's upscale Presnensky District, which is best known for the State Museum of Oriental Art and is a 10-minute drive from the Kremlin. While the exact value of the apartment is not known, it is not uncommon for flats in the area to sell for upwards of 1million. Mishustin, Russia's former tax chief, is thought to own a 10,000sq ft mansion worth some 7.6million in Moscow's Rublyovka district - often called the capital's most expensive (pictured, a similar mansion in the same district) Critics point out that Mishustin has owned the property since 2001, shortly after he joined the government, despite never declaring an income to match (file image of a similar home) As well as the mansion (file image), Mishustin has been linked with an apartment in Moscow's Presnensky District, where it is not uncommon for flats to sell for more than 1million Questions were also raised over 10million in income that Vladlena declared over the course of the last decade, without declaring a source for it. In recent years, she has earned up to four times her husband's salary, despite having no companies listed in her name. Strict laws in Russia limit the amount of income that government officials receive, but place almost no limits on the earnings of their families. Opposition leader Alexey Navalny revealed Vladlena's income in a blog, writing: 'Mishustin has been a "servant of the people" for 20 of the last 22 years. 'So why is he so damn rich?' Ilya Ponomarev, a former politician who has known Mishustin for 15 years, denied that he was corrupt - suggesting that he earned millions from IT ventures that he was involved with in the 1990s. Mishustin is known to have worked as laboratory head for a non-profit organisation in the early Ninties, before joining the tax bureau in 1998, He then quietly worked his way up Russia's power structure, being named chief of the tax office in 2010, before being thrust into the spotlight with Putin's announcement on Tuesday. Mishustin is a father-of-three (pictured left to right, sons Alexy, Alexander and Mikhail). It is thought the two eldest attended a prestigious Swiss school, as well as a top Moscow university Mishustin began his tenure as Prime Minister by announcing he will reform the tax system, cut red tape, and improve life for ordinary Russians It was claimed that his father Vladimir was a Soviet-era KGB spy - like President Vladimir Putin - and worked undercover at the Soviet embassy in Bulgaria. 'Later he spied in Afghanistan and Luxembourg,' claimed espionage expert Sergey Kanev. Mishustin Sr is also known to have worked for state airline Aeroflot, possibly as a cover for espionage. The appointment of Mishustin as Prime Minister was such a shock that it took the man himself by surprise, who said he 'couldn't sleep' after hearing his name mentioned. The country's parliament approved his appointment Thursday without a single vote against, as he vowed to modernise Russia's tax system, cut red tape and improve life for everyday people. Putin subsequently fast-tracked work on constitutional changes that could keep him in power well past the end of his term in 2024 while lawmakers quickly sealed his choice for new prime minister. Speaking to a working group created to draft constitutional changes, Putin cast his proposals as a way to strengthen parliament and to bolster democracy. Kremlin critics described the proposed changes as an attempt by Putin to secure his rule for life. The Russian leader proposed the sweeping amendments to the country's constitution in Wednesday's state of the nation address. Hours later, he fired Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who had the job for eight years, and named tax chief Mikhail Mishustin to succeed him. The Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, quickly approved Mishustin in a unanimous vote Thursday. The reshuffle has shaken Russia's political elites, who were left wildly speculating about Putin's intentions and future Cabinet appointments. A constitutional reform announced by Putin indicated he was working to carve out a new governing position for himself after his current six-year term ends in 2024, although it remains unclear what specific path he will take to stay in charge. The former KGB agent has been in power for two decades, longer than any other Russian or Soviet leader since Josef Stalin, who led from 1924 until his death in 1953. Under the law now in force, Putin must step down when his current term ends. Armed bandits on Wednesday attacked Baban Rafi community in Gummi Local Government Area, killing at least 14 persons, the police have said. A resident said the bandits stormed the community on over 30 motorcycles in the morning shooting sporadically. They killed over 20 persons in the process, he said. Im a survivor. After the the attack, we buried over 20 people. Some other people are missing either killed in the bush or are still hiding, a resident said, asking not to be named for security reasons. Before coming to our community, they reportedly robbed residents of Barikin Daji (neighbouring community) of their valuables, they rustled virtually all their livestock, the resident added. PREMIUM TIMES reported on Wednesday how the armed bandits killed two health workers supervising polio vaccination exercise at primary health care centres in Zurmi Local Government Area. Police react Meanwhile, the Zamfara State police spokesperson, Muhammad Shehu, in a statement to journalists said 14 people were killed. He said the bandits reportedly came from neighboring Kebbi State and launched the attack in Zamfara. His unedited statement is reproduced below: ATTACK ON BABBAN RAFI VILLAGE GUMMI LGA, NEAR DANKO IN KEBBI LGA BY DEVIANT BANDITS The Zamfara State Police Command has Confirmed the killing of Fourteen (14) people following attack on remote Village of Babban Rafi in Gummi LGA, near Danko in Kebbi State. The attack occurred on the 15th of January, 2020 where large number of armed bandits suspected to have come from neighbouring Kebbi state stormed the village in the night and started shooting sporadically, a situation that resulted to the death of 14 people. Combine teams of PMF/CTU/ FSARS attached to Operation Puff Adder in conjunction with Men from Operation Hadarin Daji Mobilized to the area with a view to trailing the perpetrators for arrest and to also avoid further attack on neighbouring villages. Discreet investigation will be conducted to unravel the circumstances surrounding this dastardly act. Recalled that Zamfara state is undergoing peaceful dialogue with local militia groups Yansakai, Armed bandits and other warring groups, a development that led to the return of peace and stability in the state and its environs. Despite the peace development recorded, the Command in collaboration with other security agencies are aware of some recalcitrant bandits who refused to tow the line of peace, such recalcitrant are being dealt with by the security agents action in collaboration with the repentant bandits. The Commissioner of Police CP Usman Nagogo psc+ condoles the families of the deceased and assures that the command will arrest the perpetrators of this bizarre crime so as to face the full wrath of the law. SP Mohammed shehu, Police Public Relations officer, For:- Commissioner of Police Zamfara State Command Gusau. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend: Azerbaijan's ADA University has hosted an event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy in Baku, Trend reports. The event was attended by Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijani Foreign Affairs Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, rector of the ADA University Hafiz Pashayev, as well as the university's academic staff and students. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva opened the event. Making opening speech at the event, Hafiz Pashayev spoke about Azerbaijan's January 20 tragedy of 1990, and the attitude of foreign countries to this tragedy. Pashayev noted that every year Azerbaijani people mournfully commemorate this day with dignity, because January 20 played a very important role in the establishment of the country's independence. Pashayev also made remarks on articles and books about the January 20 tragedy published in the US. "It was very important to tell Americans the truth about Azerbaijan's independence movement. They were deeply moved by this topic. Until 1990, Americans did not know much about Azerbaijan, and there was a lot of false information about the events that occurred at the time," Pashayev said. Other participants of the event talked about the goals pursued by the perpetrators of the January 20 tragedy, stressing that it was a bloody crime committed against the Azerbaijani people. WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Press Club and National Press Club Journalism Institute issued the following joint statement this morning in support of CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju, in response to an incident that took place Thursday, January 16 involving the reporter and Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) in the halls of the United States Capitol Building: "Manu Raju is a consummate professional who is respected by his journalistic peers and the people he covers, politics notwithstanding. Stating the contrary is factually and ethically wrong." The National Press Club is The World's Leading Professional Organization for Journalists. It represents more than 3,000 reporters, editors and professional communicators worldwide. The National Press Club Journalism Institute, the club's non-profit affiliate, promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement. PRESS CONTACT: John M. Donnelly, NPC Press Freedom Team chairman: 202 650 6738; [email protected] Jim Kuhnhenn, NPCJI Press Freedom fellow: 202 264 0783; [email protected] SOURCE National Press Club; National Press Club Journalism Institute Related Links http://press.org Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 19:53:08|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close COLOMBO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Friday lifted a ban imposed on drones within the island country, local media reports said. The CAA in a statement said drones can now be operated in conformity of civil aviation regulations. The CAA suspended the operation of all pilotless aircraft including drones last May, soon after the Easter Sunday terror attacks in April which killed over 250 people. The CAA had said the ban had been imposed considering the volatile situation in the country after the blasts. A member of China's 36th Antarctic expedition team releases a conductivity, temperature and depth measuring device on China's polar icebreaker Xuelong 2 on Jan. 15, 2020. Xuelong 2 passed through the westerlies Wednesday night local time. (Xinhua/Liu Shiping) Planned Parenthood will reportedly spend $45 million on upcoming elections. According to CBS News, the money will be used to fund large-scale grassroots programs and canvassing, digital, television, and radio and mail programs." The organization is calling the campaign We Decide 2020. Jenny Lawson, the Planned Parenthood Votes executive director, told CBS News that the organization wants to support more rights for women. "[The Trump Administration] has managed to undo so much over the last three years," she said. "The fact that this summer the Supreme Court might gut Roe v. Wade is an indicator of their intention and they've never been so bold." This summer the Supreme Court is set to consider a Louisiana law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. Abortion supporters, however, say the law would limit access to providers who perform abortions. Supports of the law say the rule would protect the health and safety of women. According to the Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthoods research group, state lawmakers proposed some 300 measures last year that restrict abortion. We Decide 2020 will target the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The group says some five million voters could be reached. Lawson said, for now, Planned Parenthood supports any of the Democratic candidates for president. "The Democratic candidates collectively have the boldest reproductive rights policies we've ever seen," Lawson said. "Every major candidate in the 2020 elections, except for Donald Trump, has spoken out against dangerous abortion bans and many of them have actually introduced real plans to protect the reproductive rights in this country." In response, the pro-life group, Susan B. Anthony List, is also planning to make a push in battleground states for candidates and laws that are pro-life. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the group, said they will spend more than $40 million in the 2020 elections. Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Andrew Burton/Staff Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner. New Delhi, Jan 17 : The risk for Indian banks on their loans to the telecom sector appear to have risen a notch higher for both public and private sector lenders who have a combined exposure of Rs 1.51 lakh crore, following the Supreme Court rejecting the review petition of the three incumbent telcos. The apex court has mandated that Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices pay nearly Rs 1.02 lakh crore as a statutory payments to the government by January 23. According to banking sources, state-run State Bank of India (Rs 42,400 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 24,500 crore), Axis Bank (16,600 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 14,400 crore) , Indusind Bank (Rs 8800 crore), Canara Bank (Rs 6,100 crore) and Punjab National Bank (Rs 8,400 crore) have high exposures to the telecom sector. These debts, however, are not classed as non-performing assets (NPAs or bad loans). Banks don't reveal client specific information and queries sent to them on their loans disbursed to the telecom sector did not elicit any response. The Union Bank of India which has loaned Rs 15,200 crore to the sector said it does not have any outstanding on account of Airtel or Vodafone Idea. Bank CMD Raj Kiran Rai its exposure is among the public sector undertakings (PSUs) and not in the privately-run Airtel and Vodafone Idea. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Federal Bank have Rs 4,700 crore and Rs 1,600 crore exposure to the telecom sector, while RBL Bank has lent the telcos Rs 500 crore There are other telecom companies who have to pay dues to the Department of Telecom but are defunct now or have been acquired. The Aircel group of companies, S Tel, Videocon Loop Telecom and Etisalat are among the companies who owe dues, but are not operating now. The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by mobile operators to review its order to pay $13 billion, or Rs 92,000 crore, they owe to the government. The apex court's dismissal has raised risks for the lenders to these companies, according to the UBS Group AG. Bachelor contestant Victoria Fuller found herself in the middle of some off-screen drama after photos emerged in which she appeared to be modeling 'White Lives Matter' merchandise. Fuller, a 25-year-old medical sales representative from Virginia Beach, Virginia, is facing backlash from Bachelor fans over newly-uncovered promotional photos for the brand WLM Apparel Clothing. The Maryland-based company - which claims to be advocating for the conservation of white and blue marlins - initially caused controversy in 2016 when it introduced the shirts with a slogan adopted from the Black Lives Matter movement. Bachelor fans pointed out that many of the brand's clothes feature 'racist' imagery like confederate flags - indicating that they may be sending another message beyond just conservation. Bachelor contestant Victoria Fuller found herself in the middle of some off-screen drama after photos emerged in which she appeared to be modeling 'White Lives Matter' merchandise Other photos of Fuller (second left) showed her on a fishing boat wearing what appeared to be WLM merchandise Fuller is facing backlash from Bachelor fans over newly-uncovered promotional photos for the brand WLM Apparel Clothing - which claims to be advocating for the conservation of white and blue marlins - initially caused controversy in 2016 when it introduced the shirts with a slogan adopted from the Black Lives Matter movement. Bachelor fans pointed out that many of the brand's clothes feature 'racist' imagery like confederate flags Fuller has not publicly commented on the WLM controversy. The 25-year-old medical sales representative from Virginia Beach, Virginia, posted this photo to Instagram Wednesday In one photo shared by the brand's Instagram account, Fuller is is seen wearing a royal blue cap with the letters WLM emblazoned on the front. The logo matches merchandise modeled in other posts on the account, which has since been deactivated. It's unclear when the photos of Fuller were taken. Some fans came to Fuller's defense and argued that the clothing was merely meant to support marlin conservation. Others, however, were convinced that the brand - and Fuller, by extension - was promoting a hidden message. A few fans came to Fuller's defense and argued that the clothing was merely meant to support marlin conservation Some fans are convinced the brand - and Fuller, by extension - was promoting a racist message 'ApPaReNtLy this is for white marlin conservation but I'm having a hard time believing that's the only message these clothes are sending,' one fan tweeted. Another fan called the photos 'problematic' and said: 'I feel like it belittles [Black Lives Matter]. Also what [does] the confederate flag have to do with fish!' 'It's clearly white supremacist. I'm glad you pointed it out,' a different critic added. 'Making a shirt using a racist slogan from the white supremacy movement "as a joke" is still terrible idk how that's unclear,' another fan wrote. 'Even if this campaign does refer to fish, they're using racism to make a point. Not a good look for her, who we probably already don't like,' a fan echoed. One critic went so far as to claim that Fuller's modeling 'niche is racism'. Other photos of Fuller showed her on a fishing boat wearing what appeared to be WLM merchandise. 'Seemed very confident during this shoot,' one person tweeted. Fuller is seen front left with other models wearing WLM merchandise on a fishing boat The fishing boat photos were posted by Twitter user @GameOfRozes, who wrote in the caption: 'Seemed very confident during this shoot' Fuller, who appeared on Tuesday night's episode of The Bachelor starring Peter Weber, has not responded to the social media storm surrounding her WLM photos. Representatives for Fuller and ABC did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. The racism allegations came after Fuller was targeted in another controversy in the Bachelor universe. Bachelor blogger Reality Steve, who is infamous for digging up dirt on each season's contestants, claimed in October that his email inbox has been flooded with tips from people who know Fuller and say she has a history of sleeping with married men. Fuller denied the rumors in an Instagram post on Tuesday, writing: 'The RUMORS you are hearing are FALSE.' Workforce Readiness 3 Trends in State Law that Link Education to Workforce Development The Education Commission of the States has released a rundown on state efforts to tie education with workforce development. The organization offers an interstate compact that tracks what's going on with education policy in every U.S. state and territory and advises education leaders. Last year, according to ECS, 258 bills were introduced in 49 states and lawmakers eventually enacted 49 of those in 26 states. In a recent note, one of ECS' analysts examined three trends that bubble up in those bills, related to connecting education and workforce development. The first trend was the use of policy to support the needs of the many different kinds of people who are pursuing "work-relevant education." For example, Vermont's H. 533 covers several aspects of workforce development addressing the support of a "diverse population." The state's Department of Labor must work with training and healthcare providers and the Department of Children and Families to boost the number of credential programs for healthcare, construction, manufacturing and child care. Likewise, the Departments of Labor and Education also need to work with the state's colleges and the Vermont Adult Career & Technical Education Association to figure out what would be involved in creating a "integrated postsecondary career and technical education system." The second trend among states was to set up systems that would go beyond federal mandates on workforce innovation and opportunity. In Arkansas, for instance, S.B. 522/Act 1079 requires the Office of Skills Development and the Workforce Development Board to work with other state agencies and organizations to launch and manage an apprenticeship office. The third trend involved using "existing data and financial investments" to align policy goals and projects. In Colorado, as an example, S.B. 19-097 established a grant program to provide up to $4 million each year to technical colleges for capital construction and equipment purchases. Maryland's H.B. 1115 lets community colleges get matching grants from the state for donations they've received specifically for improving the technology in their workforce readiness programs. ECS is tracking 2020 legislative activity in the areas of postsecondary and workforce development in its ever-growing State Education Policy Tracking database. The latest analysis of 2019 laws for education and workforce development is openly available on the ECS website. SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. - The Shasta County Sheriff's Office is searching for missing 26-year-old Nicholas Patterson who has not been seen since Jan. 4, deputies said. Patterson's family said this is not normal for him to not communicate on a regular basis. He is known to frequently visit Lookout, Lassen County, and the Hat Creek area. During the investigation, information was gathered that Patterson was possibly last seen in the Burney area on Jan. 9. As of Thursday, Jan. 16, Patterson has not been seen nor heard from by family, friends or acquaintances. Patterson is described as 510 approximately 230 lbs. black shaved hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a maroon t-shirt, black Carhartt jacket, grey Carhartt beanie, and blue jeans, deputies said. At this time there is no reason to suspect foul play. The Shasta County Sheriffs Office is asking for the publics help and if anybody has information as to Pattersons whereabouts, they are urged to contact the Shasta County Sheriffs Office Major Crimes Unit or by email at mcu@co.shasta.ca.us A values-driven tourism group from the University of Delaware got stuck into Bay of Plenty conservation efforts this week. The American university group spent their Thursday rebaiting automatic pest traps, clearing tracks and counting birds in the Dansey Road Scenic Reserve northwest of Rotorua. The group of 24 students are in New Zealand for a month as part of a cross-cultural communication paper focusing on happiness and wellbeing. University of Delaware assistant professor Dr Tracey Holden says the group is very excited to contribute to Kiwi conservation. Its such a vital part of the culture of New Zealand. The group are touring the country with Haka Tours, taking part in volunteering opportunities as their travel plan rather than just completing tourist experiences. They were hosted on Thursday by Rotorua Canopy Tours. General Manager Paul Button says it is rare for a group of international visitors to arrange in advance to take part in the ground work involved in maintaining the pest control programme. It's believed that this type of eco-tourism looks to be on the rise. Haka Educational Tours general manager Eleri Williams says educational tour groups are increasingly seeking authentic and meaningful experiences that give back to the communities they visit. Whatever the core subject area, the vast majority of our New Zealand tours now include service activities, such as beach clean ups, pest trapping or tree planting. W e may be seeing more vegan options on menus and supermarkets than ever before, but the vegan lifestyle extends to more than what's on our plates. The demand for vegan beauty has never been higher, leading to a welcome burst of fresh new makeup brands offering high performing products that perform just as well as their traditional predecessors. But with everyone from established brands to fresh-faced newcomers trying to win the hearts and pounds of customers with their green credentials, how can you tell what's truly vegan and what's not? Whats the difference between cruelty-free and animal-free? Natural, ethical, sustainable, organic: it can be hard to cut through the marketing noise and find out which products are truly vegan. PETA offers a helpful definition: Cruelty-free means that products were created without cruel, archaic testing on animals. Vegan products are defined as being cruelty-free as well as free of animal-derived ingredients. So that means beauty that contains none of the following on its ingredients list: beeswax, gelatine, lanolin, collagen, silk, dairy or honey. To cut to the quick, if it came from an animal - it's not vegan. How can you tell if a brand is ethical? The best way is to read the About Me section online, look out for Vegan trademark sign from the Vegan Society. Steer clear of products made in China as animal testing is required by law there. See our favourite all--vegan brands below MUA MUA has always been committed to bringing the masses cruelty-free beauty but it recently updated its entire collection to ensure it's 100 per cent vegan too, coming good on a pledge it made to its customers in January 2019. The brand ensured all new product launches over the last 12 months flew the flag for vegan beauty as well as working to reformulate the existing ranges to make them completely animal-friendly. MUA collected the data they found along the way to release its first ever Vegan Beauty Report, which also reveals that 68 per cent of people wouldn't know if an ingredient was vegan unless they looked it up. It's commendable that while we're all still grappling with veganism and trying to make better choices, this makeup brand has taken the confusion out by making its collection all-vegan. It doesn' hurt that the products are tantalisingly cheap either. MUA is the place to go to for quick thrills - prices rarely nudge beyond a tenner, even for the incredible 20-shade eyeshadow palettes - making it perfect for trying the latest trends without breaking the bank. Shop MUA now also available at Superdrug Kat Von D now KvD Vegan Beauty Formerly owned by the celebrity tattoo and makeup artist Kat Von D, the brand has changed hands to Kendo, the same producer who makes Fenty and Marc Jacobs Beauty. Built on 12 years of offering 100 per cent vegan makeup that challenged modern beauty ideals, the new owners are changing the name to KvD Vegan Beauty but the current collection will remain on shelves and the brand will continue to specialise in vegan-only products. Wrapped in black or Gothic packaging, KvD Vegan Beauty has all you need to create everything from a high-fashion look to off-duty makeup for the weekend. Lime Crime A favourite with makeup artists of every level, Lime Crime shouts about its vegan credentials about as loudly as some of the colours in its eyeshadow palette. Not that we're complaining, because the beauty offering is sensational. Sold in the UK on Cult Beauty, Boots and Lookfantastic, there's everything from wet-look lip glosses to semi-permanent hair dye to lust over, all 100 per cent vegan and cruelty-free. DearDahlia So often, the word vegan conjures a budget look or cut-rate alternatives. Not so with DearDahlia, where everything from the packaging and the richly-pigmented formulas say luxe with confidence. While the packaging might look familiar to a certain BadGals collection, all DearDahlias cosmetics are completely vegan - no compromises. Our star pick? The dual palettes which come with a mirror, two eyeshadows and a multi-balm to swipe across cheeks, eyes and lips as you wish. Cover FX Radiant glowy makeup thats vegan too? Just a click away at Cover FX, whose dazzling Custom Enhancer Drops are legendary. Available in no less than seven shades, use the integrated pipet to mix a few and we really mean only a few because each packs a blinding gleam of light drops into your foundation for an all-over glow or sparingly pat along the top of cheekbones for instant highlight. Theres also foundation, concealer and blush to add to your beauty kit as well as setting sprays to help your freshly crafted look last from dawn to dusk. As well as fully vegan and cruelty-free, the brand has a long-standing commitment to clean ingredients so you wont find talc, parabens, scent, mineral oil, gluten, sulphates or phthalates in any of their products either. Pretty fantastic. Milk From across the Atlantic comes this vegan beauty heavyweight, another wildly popular name on everyone's lips in the beauty community. Despite its name, the brand steers clear of animal by-products in its ingredients list, opting instead for vegan alternatives that are also chemical-free. Bestsellers include Kush High Volume Mascara, made with highly conditioning oils that come from plants and the multi-use Lip + Cheek stick which comes in five shades - a handbag heroes if ever we saw one. e.l.f Cruelty-free, vegan and inclusive, e.l.f stands for every eye, lips and face. The range is aimed at a 20s audience, with an even spread of makeup and skincare. Palettes are full of easy, wearable colours with a little glitter twist thrown in, while the Flawless Finish Foundation, which comes in 40 shades and costs just 7.50, will give you the long-lasting coverage that you would expect from a product triple its price. Cult Candy Cosmetics As well as making moves to become more ethical, beauty brands are becoming more inclusive too, acknowledging that men as well as women like to experiment with makeup. A nominee in the ASOS Beauty Awards, Cult Candy Cosmetics is built around the core belief that makeup is for everyone, whether they identify as him, her or non-binary. But be warned: it's not one for shy, retiring types. Palettes feature the sort of day-glo hues DC Comics Harley Quinn would kill for, but don't let that scare you off. There are a few more sober options for those who want to dabble in colour too. Weve got our eye on this bubble-gum pink liquid lipstick which dries matte the perfect colour to cheer up a grey day. Florence by Mills Full of gentle, softly enhancing colours at a budget-friendly price (from 10 - 34), this may have started off as beauty for Gen Z-ers, but it appeals to customers across the board thanks to the highly wearable palette of cheek and lip colours. It comes from 15 year-old Netflix Originals star Millie Bobby Brown, whose supernatural girl-next-door look has won fans across the world. Launched in September 2019, Florence is not only a committed vegan brand, but its also suitable for all skin types, dermatologically tested, infused with vitamins and botanicals, and free from irritants such as parabens, sulphates and synthetic fragrances. If youre not sure what to try first, we recommend the Cheek Me Later Cream Blush (available in six colours) which can be used sparingly on cheeks and dabbed onto lips for a fresh, rosy glow. When vegan beauty looks this good, the concept of anything else is a Stranger Thing (not at all sorry). Axiology Looking for stop-traffic lipstick that's vegan to boot? Look no further than Axiology, where luxe matte finish colour is the order of the day. They're formulated with leaf-derived candelilla wax rather than beeswax which works to keep your lips hydrated and plump. What's more, the collection is free of parabens, petrochemicals and animal testing while managing to be completely organic too. Is it any wonder we're obsessed? Code Beautiful Back when it launched in 2014, Code Beautiful was one of a handful of beauty brands who could confidently say they were 100 per cent vegan. While its a busier marketplace now, theyre continuing to up their game with innovative new products like CODE FFL, a pre-mascara plumper that fattens and lengthens lashes to new levels. Granted, Code Beautiful doesnt have a huge makeup offering but that means all the more care has gone into creating the hero products youll find in its online store. Boutique Sainsburys is doing more than ever to appeal to the nations 600,000+ vegans, from filling chiller aisles with new ready meals to making over beauty counters with all-vegan makeup and skincare. The 119-product collection, named Boutique, re-launched in September 2019 and is full of essentials as well as trend-led products. Prices top out at just 6, proving that vegan makeup can be found at budgets to suit everyone. B. By Superdrug Makeup, skincare and even a mens range its all vegan at Superdrugs B. Made with the highest quality cruelty-free and vegan-only ingredients and materials, there are some absolute treasures for your makeup kit, including double-ended contour sticks, setting powder and brow kits. Makeup brands with vegan beauty products Makeup brands are reflecting the nation's curiosity for vegan products with all-vegan products or special collections. Below are some notable names from the world of beauty who are making the effort to go greener in 2020. Glossier The brand of the moment, Glossier is one of the most coveted brands around. While not all the products are vegan, there are lots of makeup and skincare must-haves that are, such as Brow Flick, Perfecting Skin Tint, Wowder finishing powder and Generation G sheer matte lipstick which come in six shades to suit every complexion. Hourglass The beauty favourite, known for its incredible highlighters and blush in particular, has pledged to become fully vegan by 2020. Fenty Illamasqua Vegan friendly products from Illamasqua include Skin Base Foundation, Beyond Powder (various shades), Hydra Veil Primer, Iconic Chromes, Loaded Lip Polish and brushes. Eyeko All Eyeko eyeliners, the Yoga and Beach Mascara, Define It Brow Pencil, new Galactic Lid Gloss and Eye Boost Serum are all vegan. SportFX Made to withstand the most punishing of workouts, SportFX is a new makeup and skincare brand designed with fitness fans in mind. They promise that once applied their long-lasting formulas wont budge, even through a 45min spin class or run club in the rain. Theyre also paraben-free, non-comedegenic and lots of the range is vegan certified. Coco & Eve You've no doubt seen their hair masks all over Instagram, such is their popularity with everyone from your cousins to office junior. Slather on and enjoy luscious locks in as little as ten minutes. Urban Decay If Meghan had preferred a life in the U.S. as an actress, she could have stayed here. What she obviously didnt understand was that when you join the royal family, there are rules you have to uphold because thats how its worked for thousands of years. You cant whip in like a breath of fresh air and do whatever you want, however much some Americans think she should. It simply isnt British. Durham police chief Paul Martin is asking an Ontario court to remove an administrator overseeing the embattled force while its top officials are being investigated for alleged corruption and abuse of power. The appointment of an administrator by the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, a police watchdog agency, was done with complete disregard for procedural fairness and subverted the chiefs authority, according to court submissions made by the chiefs legal team. Before a panel of three judges in Toronto on Friday, lawyer Sean Dewart said the police watchdog made no meaningful inquiry into the reckless allegations against the chief before making the order, and never gave Durham Regional Police Services senior command a chance to respond. What was done here was drive-by justice, Dewart told the court. (Chief Martin) has been smeared and has no opportunity to address it, Dewart said. The procedure that has been adopted here thwarts his ability to clear his name. Jeremy Glick, a lawyer representing the commission, told the court that the watchdogs handling of the matter was appropriate in order to protect the integrity of its ongoing investigation. In late May, the commission opened an investigation into Durham police after receiving credible information that the forces top brass, including the chief might have covered up, attempted to cover up, allowed, tolerated, encouraged or participated in the alleged misconduct or criminal conduct. Durham police is Canadas 10th-largest municipal force, which patrols the region east of Toronto, including the cities of Oshawa and Pickering. As first revealed by the Star, several veteran officers had filed complaints to the province accusing Martin and other top officials Deputy Chief Dean Bertrim, former deputy chief Uday Jaswal and chief administrative officer Stan MacLellan of serious misconduct. The complaints include allegations that senior command threatened two officers with trumped-up accusations of misconduct in attempts to intimidate or dig up dirt on those who had fallen out of favour with the management, and an allegation of lying under oath to cover for the chief. Dewart has called the allegations against police officials baseless and defamatory, lobbed by disgruntled employees with axes to grind. At the request of Ontarios Solicitor General, the commission began to review the complaints in January 2019 before determining that a full-blown investigation was necessary. Worried that Durhams roughly 900 officers and 300 civilian employees would not openly participate in the investigation out of fear of reprisal by senior command, the commission appointed Mike Federico, a retired deputy chief with Toronto police, as administrator. The commissions preliminary review has revealed a deep sense of mistrust in the judgment, integrity and capacity of the Services leadership and the Boards oversight abilities, reads the commissions May 23 order installing the administrator. In light of the credible allegations that certain members of the senior administration have improperly interfered in previous investigations, it is also in the public interest to mitigate against any potential interference in the commissions investigation so that the public can be assured that a full accounting will be achieved. As administrator, Federicos responsibilities include approving promotions and overseeing all internal discipline. In an affidavit filed as part of his court challenge, Chief Martin alleged Federicos appointment is interfering with the proper operation of the police service, adding that it has gummed up the handling of disciplinary proceedings and promotions. It is undermining my role, harming my reputation and preventing me from performing the essential duties of a chief of police, Martin said. The Durham Regional Police Services Board also asked the court to quash the order appointing the administrator. The commissions order requires Durham police to foot the bill for the administrator, who receives $900 per half-day or $1,800 per full day with a maximum possible remuneration of $115,000. The commissions order stated that the crisis of confidence within Durham police constitutes an emergency and the appointment of an administrator is necessary in the public interest. Durham police has said many of the allegations against its senior members have already been investigated by independent police services or workplace harassment investigators and determined to be unfounded. There was no evidence before the commission on which it could conclude acting rationally that there is an emergency justifying the order installing an administrator, Dewart said in written court submissions. The commissions order says the agency does not yet have enough information to make any formal findings. The judges will release their decision at a later date. The family of the 21-year-old British backpacker who fell to her death taking photos at a popular selfie spot in Sydney has opened up about her struggle with internet fame before her untimely end. On January 12, Madalyn Davis reportedly climbed a fence at Diamond Bay Reserve, in Vaucluse, Sydney with friends after attending a party close by the night before. Emergency services were called to the scene at around 6.30am, and her body was pulled from the water at around 10.30am that same day. Madalyn Davis' family have released a statement regarding the relentless trolling, following the 21-year-old's death. Source: Instagram/madalyn_davis_ Following the news of her death, among the many comments which paid tribute to the 21-year-old, were relentless trolls who criticised Ms Davis and her actions which lead to her death. The fact she had the audacity to disobey the warning signs is absolutely sickening, one person said on social media, according to The Daily Telegraph. Ms Davis mother, Rebecca Smith previously clapped back to the nasty comments on her Instagram. Madalyn was loved, she had integrity and decency. If you need to believe otherwise in order to feel better about yourself... thats your pain, Ms Smith said. Now, the family has released a full and final statement, issued by a relative on Facebook, and speaks of how Instagram as a platform opened up Ms Davis to trolls, as the family begs for peace and space to mourn the loss and for character assassinations to cease. The statement says Ms Davis was a good person, who always saw the best in people, though she struggled with a world that could be so unkind. She believed in universal oneness, the fundamental belief that she couldnt hurt another human being, as to do so she would hurt herself, the family wrote. This caused a lot of pain in her life, as a lot of people dont believe in this sentiment and therefore, she was left vulnerable to abuse, resentment and manipulation. Madalyn Davis plunged to her death at Diamond Bay Reserve in Sydney, and people were quick to criticise her actions online. Source: Google Maps/BS Lu The family said Ms Davis would face everyday with optimism and a smile, and said she found fame on social media inadvertently. Ms Davis had multiple Instagram accounts - her personal account with 21,000 followers, an account where she showcased her makeup skills and an account promoting her eyelash business. Story continues This [her presence on social media] enabled her to find a way to function in this world that could be so judgemental and cruel, she was acutely aware of this contradiction but her passion and zest for life meant she was able to continually overcome it. The family described Ms Davis as an introverted extrovert, and explained it was her inquisitive nature and artistic drive which led her to travel, something her parents supported. She packed more into her short years than we could possibly have hoped for, her parents said, saying she was an inspiration to many, including them. Madalyn Davis fell to her death at a popular selfie spot, and her family has been inundated with both supportive and vile messages about Davis. Source" Go Fund Me Her accidental passing has been so sudden and has rocked us to our core. Addressing the relentless abuse which the family has seen since Ms Davis death, the family pleaded, during their time of grief, for all speculation and character assassinations to stop. Being able to read messages of support has given us so much strength, and we want to thank you for these kind words. Sadly, we have also had to read some abhorrent comments and vile opinions on Madalyns Instagram profile. The family said they cannot comprehend how those trolls could be so heartless to attack the family and Ms Daviss character days after her death. Ms Davis brother, sister and cousins are so hurt by the trolling, the family has announced they plan to lobby for the government and social media companies to tackle trolling, and deal with related issues more efficiently. The family has set up a Go Fund Me to raise money for the family to bring trolling to the forefront of the government and media companies attention and lobbying for change in the law and response mechanisms for social media companies. Madalyn Davis had a large following on social media, her personal Instagram account with 21,000 followers has been switched to private. Source: Instagram We want to prevent anyone else facing needless suffering from cyber bullying, the family said on GoFundMe. The statement also asks not just people online, but also journalists to respect the family and friends of Ms Davis at this time. Please accept this as our full and final statement on this devastating accident any continuance of negative or hateful comments regarding Madalyn on social media channels may face legal action, the family said. We cannot continue to endure this relentless persecution. Thank you for your understanding. 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. Municipalities in Alabama are about to get to work on 31 road projects to be funded by revenue from our relatively new gas tax. Governor lets go of $7 million for 31 projects. Apparently somebodys been throwing rocks at South Highland Presbyterian Church in Birmingham at night, including busting a sanctuary window there since 1891. Whos doing it? It looks like Sand Mountain Sam, a weather predicting possum, is being put out to pasture. You can read the story here. We recommend Ikes telling in the Down to Alabama daily show below. Watch for this post and an opportunity to sign up for our soon-to-be-released weekday Down in Alabama newsletter. And give Ike Morgan a listen every day on the device of your choosing. Click here for the Spotify podcast page Click here for the Alexa skill page on Amazon Click here for the iTunes podcast page Click here for the Stitcher podcast page Click here for the Google Play podcast page Click here to follow Ike on Twitter January 16, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - In groundbreaking news President Putin announced today, 15 January, in his annual address to the Nation, major changes in his government. First, he announced that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his entire cabinet resigned and will eventually be replaced by a new PM and a new cabinet. A timeline was not given. In the meantime, they would carry on with their functions as normal. Well, how normal can this be for a group of lame ducks? A second important point of Mr. Putins speech focused on shifting power away from the Presidency to the Duma, or Parliament. The Duma shall have more power in a better balancing act between the Presidency and the voice of the people, i.e. the Parliament. A move towards more democracy. Some interpret this as a reaction to western criticism of Russia being a dictatorial state and this move should alleviate Russia from this accusation. I dont think so. Western accusations are random, when it suits them, never based on facts. For example, the change in government power foresees some changes in the Russian Constitution, but not a rewrite at all, as Mr. Putin stressed. The term-limitation of the Presidency should also not change, no more than two. It appears the no more than two in a row should be amended, and the in a row deleted. That would mean, that President Putin would have to leave the Presidency definitely in 2024, when his current term is up. This may be one of those Constitutional areas to be confirmed by the Duma or not. But could Mr. Putin become PM and still run Russia from behind the scene? As he did from 2008 2012, under then President Dmitry Medvedev. This was not discussed. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter When PM Medvedev explained his resignation, he referred to Article 117 of the Russian Constitution, which states that the government can offer its resignation to the president, who, in turn, can either accept or reject it. Mr. Putin, of course, accepted it, thanking PM Medvedev and his Ministers for their good work and service to Russia. Although there was no visible hostility between Putin and Medvedev, this move has most likely been discussed and negotiated months ago. Mr. Medvedev was offered to post of deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, a job that first had to be created, according to Mr. Putin. This is clearly a few steps down from Prime-Minister. PM Medvedev and President Putin are both members of the United Russia Party, but Medvedev had the reputation of being an Atlantist, meaning, leaning strongly towards the west, western political philosophy. The Russian financial sector is still infiltrated with Atlantists, some may call them Fifth Columnists. All the while seeking to improve relations with Europe a logical step President Putin is adamant to detach from the US-dollar dominated sanction-prone economy. And rightly so. Might this explain the departure of PM Medvedev? As of this morning, there was no mention of a favored replacement as PM. This may take a while. Seemingly no problem, as all the key activities are still covered by the caretaker government. The entire change of government was presented as relaxed, no big deal, a natural process for improving the functioning of the Russian government. Yet, this has never happened in modern Russia, in the last 20 years, under Mr. Putins leadership. Duma members interviewed saw it generally as positive move. They will now have more power, and more responsibility. They will have a say in key appointments, including of the Prime-Minister and his cabinet, while the final decision rests still with the President. What is important to notice, is that the present democratization of the Russian government comes at a time when Mr. Putins public approval is still around 70%, a slight drop since his reelection in 2018 with 77%. The Duma with its new powers, will be asked to look at some aspects of the Constitution (as of yet no details are officially defined) with a view of possibly modifying them. Given Mr. Putins high popularity and Russias economic and political stability despite the constant western interference, or attempted interferences preserving that stability and continuous economic prosperity is important, i.e. continuity in the Presidency and the Government is crucial. Thus, wouldnt it be conceivable that the Duma might lift the term-limit for the Presidency altogether? Although, at this stage much of this is speculative. But assuming that some of the strategy behind this change the power equalizing move goes in this direction, then the timing is perfect. A new Decade, a new Era. And Putin remains the key player the one who has made of Russia what she is today a proud, independent, autonomous nation, that has despite all sanctions and western demonization not only prevailed, but come out on top brilliantly as a sovereign world super power. Why would the Russian people want to risk giving up this hard-deserved privilege? Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a water resources and environmental specialist. He worked for over 30 years with the World Bank and the World Health Organization around the world in the fields of environment and water. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for Global Research; ICH; RT; Sputnik; PressTV; The 21st Century; Greanville Post; Defend Democracy Press, TeleSUR; The Saker Blog, the New Eastern Outlook (NEO); and other internet sites. He is the author of Implosion An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed fiction based on facts and on 30 years of World Bank experience around the globe. He is also a co-author of The World Order and Revolution! Essays from the Resistance. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization. Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== A military deserter,who recently escaped from a hospital in Hoshiarpur,was arrested from Delhi on Friday morning, police said. Harpreet Singh (25), who had been booked for stealing rifles and ammunition from an army institute in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested from Connaught Place in Delhi at around 9 am. "Harpreet has been arrested from Delhi by a team of Hoshiarpur police," Hoshiarpur SSP Gaurav Garg said, adding that the accused had planned to escape to Nepal. On January 14, Singh had tricked police guards by making an excuse of going to the washroom and escaped from a civil hospital in Hoshiarpur by scaling its wall.He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for a hand injury since December 31. Singh, who was a sepoy in the Indian Army, isfacing charges for stealing two INSAS rifles and ammunition from the army's training institute in Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, they said. He was arrested from Chotala village near Tanda in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district in December after being declared a military deserter in October last year. Singh's three accomplices were also arrested at that time. Posing as army officers, the accused had stolen the rifles and ammunition in the early hours of December 6. The stolen arms and ammunition were recovered. Singh is facing charges under sections of 380 (theft), 399 (making preparation to commit dacoity) and 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, police had then said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After a white supremacist went on a shooting rampage in two Christchurch mosques last March that resulted in the death of more than 50 people, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern led from the front with compassion rather than hot-headed rhetoric. She visited mosques of course, but also pushed through a law disallowing the ownership of military assault weapons within a week of the attack. (The contrast with the US on this issue was stark) Ardern famously refused to refer to the terrorist by name, arguing that he desired notoriety. I implore you: speak the names of those who were lost, ... South African ICT service provider ATIO is under business rescue and is in the process of applying to be liquidated. ATIO was founded in 1986 and is a privately-held provider of information and communications technology services in South Africa. In its early days, the company focussed on providing telecommunications infrastructure to the defence industry. Through the years the company diversified and became a leader in providing specialised ICT services to niche markets within all sectors of business. ATIO became a particularly strong player in the South African call centre and voice market by partnering with companies who are specialists in this field. At its peak, ATIO had multiple offices in South Africa and customers in numerous countries across the globe. In 2012, ATIO sold some of its contact centre assets to the UK-listed provider of unified IP business communications solutions Interactive Intelligence for R54 million. Business rescue and liquidation MyBroadband has learned that ATIO was put under business rescue in November 2019 and has applied to be liquidated. The ATIO website is no longer active, and visitors to the Atio.co.za and Atio.com domains are greeted with the message, This Account has been suspended. MyBroadband tried to contact ATIO for further information but could not reach anyone at the company. Boise, ID, Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boise Cascade Company (Boise Cascade) (BCC) today announced the promotion of three of its business leaders to officer positions. Rob Johnson has been promoted to Vice President of Engineered Wood Products (EWP) Sales and Marketing. Johnson joined the companys Wood Products division as a Business Optimization Engineer in 2014, and accepted a Director position with EWP Sales and Marketing in March 2019. Rob had more than 20 years of broad industry experience in manufacturing and distribution prior to joining Boise Cascade. He holds a bachelors degree in Finance from the University of Oregon. Chris Seymour has been promoted to Vice President of Manufacturing Operations, Wood Products. Seymour began his career at Boise Cascade in 2000 and has held several leadership roles in the companys manufacturing division. Seymour earned both a bachelors degree in Business Administration and a masters degree in Wood Science from West Virginia University. Jeff Strom has been promoted to Vice President & General Manager, Eastern Region, Building Materials Distribution. Strom joined Boise Cascade in 2006 as a sales representative and has taken on increased responsibility over the last 14 years. Jeff has 27 years of industry experience. He has a bachelors degree in Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. We believe the internal development of leadership is a key element of our long-term success as a company, said Tom Corrick, CEO. Rob, Chris and Jeff are strong leaders, producing with significant accomplishments during their time at Boise Cascade. Additionally, they all have a proven commitment to living our values and building strong relationships with our associates, customers and suppliers." About Boise Cascade Boise Cascade is one of the largest producers of engineered wood products and plywood in North America and a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of building products. For more information, please visit our website at www.bc.com . Media contact: Lisa Chapman, 208-384-6552 Investor contact: Wayne Rancourt, 208-384-6073 The teenage daughter of a controversial Queensland MP has reportedly converted to Islam and married a man who is her co-accused in a cocaine trial. Brianna Costigan, 19, the daughter of embattled Whitsundays MP Jason, faces charges related to drug dealing in Sydney. The glamorous student changed her name to 'Brianna Taha' and appeared to share a picture of herself praising Allah while posing in a Burberry headscarf. Alongside the surprise picture, posted on an Instagram page apparently belonging to her, she wrote: 'Never question Gods plan #alhamdulillahforeverything'. Brianna Costigan announced her conversion to Islam and marriage to co-accused Ahmed Taha in a surprising Instagram post (pictured), and is now calling herself Brianna Taha She deleted all of her other pictures, with her profile now saying she is 'married' and a 'law student'. The teenager appeared in court in November accused of being a member of a dial-a-dealer cocaine syndicate. A student at UNSW, she is charged with two counts of supplying cocaine and knowingly taking part in supplying 2.31g on three or more occasions. Her co-accused and now reported husband, Ahmed Taha, 26, faces 14 charges in total. Six of those charges relate to the supply of cocaine between Pyrmont and Maroubra. The 19-year-old UNSW law student (pictured) is charged with two counts of supplying cocaine Her father is Queensland member of the Whitsundays Jason Costigan (pictured) who is himself a controversial figure Costigan was arrested in September following a police operation targeted at cocaine dealers throughout Sydney. She and her alleged accomplice are accused of dealing cocaine while unknowingly talking to undercover detectives. Her lawyer previously argued in court she was 'not the brains of the operation'. The court also heard she was relying on the income made from dealing drugs while studying her full time law degree at university. The teenager (pictured) is accused of being a member of a dial-a-dealer syndicate but has since married her co-accused Before she moved to Sydney, the teenager expressed an interest in local politics like her father. She was a youth member for the Whitsundays, with her father is the region's representative in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. In January, Mr Costigan was expelled from the Liberal Party following accusations he harassed an 18-year-old woman. She claimed he 'stroked her on the back and hair'. Mr Costigan denied the allegations. Brianna Costigan (pictured with her dog) appeared in court in November on cocaine charges Queensland's LNP booted out the embattled MP in January, insisting it was the right thing to do even though it will now be harder to win the next state election. A second young woman, aged 20, later made a similar complaint of predatory behaviour relating to text messages she says she received from him last year. However, MP Costigan later announced that he will not resign despite being expelled from the LNP, tweeting: 'I will NOT be resigning! #qldpol #auspol #costo2020' Details of the claims have not been publicly released and party leader Deb Frecklington says they will remain confidential. She called on the MP to resign from parliament. 'He has disgraced the office and he should go now,' she told reporters. The LNP received the second complaint as Mr Costigan was strenuously denying on any wrongdoing relating to the first complaint. He showed a selfie he had taken with the girl to the media at that press conference, and called her claims 'crap'. It was reported that the 18-year-old's mother sent an email to the LNP after Mr Costigan took topless selfies with the teenager. The mother called Mr Costigan's behaviour 'extraordinary'. Photo: Jeremy Keith/Flickr Here's what you need to know about what's happening in Minneapolis. Muslim refugee woman announces run for Congress as GOP challenger to Ilhan Omar Dalia al-Aqidi announced Thursday that she will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar for her seat in Congress. Read the full story on The Washington Times. Minneapolis unveils new early voting center as election approaches Early voting is open until Super Tuesday, which is March 3rd. That's just 46 days away. Read the full story on CBS Minnesota. How a walk around a Minneapolis lake led to love and an uptown restaurant Not many restaurant stories start with a run around a Minneapolis lake, but Kate Sidoti wouldn't live in Minnesota, running her own restaurant, if not for that one single moment when she saw the man who would become her husband. Read the full story on CBS Minnesota. TSA apologizes for pulling woman's braids during security check One woman passing through airport security in Minneapolis said what a TSA agent did with her hair was completely unexpected. Read the full story on WRAL TV. Minnesota masseur told cops he fondled 50 men Benjamin Lamb, 65, told police that he touched at least 50 men inappropriately while working at a fancy Minneapolis salon, the Star Tribune reported. Lamb, a St. Paul-native, worked at Mens Spa Salon for six years until he was fired on Jan. 2 following an internal investigation. Read the full story on New York Daily News. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. No referendum required to amend Russias Constitution rights advocate RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 17:13 17/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 17 (RAPSI) The renewal of the Constitution proposed by Russias President Vladimir Putin requires neither a referendum, nor convening of the Constitutional Assembly, a member of the Presidential Council of Human Rights Alexander Brod has stated. He believes that the use of such instruments will be superfluous since the proposals do not concern certain provisions of the Constitution protected by these procedural requirements. The rights advocate insists that amendments, after being formulated, are to be elaborated in the framework of a broad discussion and later, corrected if necessary, voted for. The voting process is to be controlled by public associations, Brod says, for what civic oversight mechanisms are to be put in place. The procedure is to be made transparent, clear, and accessible, it shall be most broadly publicized, the rights advocate stresses. Brods stand has been supported by lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky, who notes that although a referendum remains an option in case the authorities find it necessary, the measure is not required by law. As concerns the priority of the Constitution over international law, Agranovsky says, in this Russia follows the example of many developed countries, including U.S.A. and China. He believes this proposed change will not affect the work of the European Court of Human Rights and the application of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights in the territory of Russia, in what Brod agrees with the lawyer. TORONTO - A spring black bear hunt could soon be a permanent annual event in Ontario again, the provincial government suggested Friday as it launched a public consultation on the idea. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A black bear stands near the side of Highway 881 near Conklin, Alberta on Tuesday May 10, 2016. A spring black bear hunt could soon be a permanent annual event in Ontario again, the provincial government suggested Friday as it launched a public consultation on the idea. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward TORONTO - A spring black bear hunt could soon be a permanent annual event in Ontario again, the provincial government suggested Friday as it launched a public consultation on the idea. The move would mark a form of departure for the Progressive Conservative government by seeing it formalize a pilot project initiated by the Liberals in 2014, while reversing a position struck by a previous Conservative regime more than two decades earlier. Natural Resources Minister John Yakabuski described the move as a boon for the province's economy and tourism sector. "We are listening to the concerns of northern Ontarians and the tourism industry that an ongoing pilot spring season creates economic uncertainty," Yakabuski said in a statement. "A regular, monitored spring bear hunting season would enable tourism outfitters and camp owners to better plan their operations for the entire year, while also allowing hunters to better plan their activities and support local businesses." The spring black bear hunt has been a testy political issue since 1999, when the government led by Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris cancelled the event. That move was prompted by concern for cubs left orphaned when hunters inadvertently shot their mothers. Pro-hunting organizations began calling for its reinstatement almost immediately, citing an increase in the number of nuisance bear complaints among their reasons. The Liberal government that took office in 2003 and held power for the next 15 years countered that the spike in complaints was the result of a government education program dubbed Bear Wise, which urged Ontario residents to report any problematic encounters with the animals. Nonetheless, the Liberals partially reversed the decision in 2014 by re-establishing a spring hunting season as a pilot project. The hunt went ahead in every subsequent year, but supporters argued the pilot designation kept its status in flux and put a damper on the outfitting and tourism industry. One of those supporters, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, was quick to praise Friday's announcement. "The spring bear hunt was always a sustainable wildlife management activity," said federation wildlife biologist Keith Munro. "Nothing has changed in that regard since it was cancelled and todays proposal is a final step towards correcting a long-standing mistake. In our view, its long overdue." Yakabuski said all existing animal protections in place during the recent pilot projects would remain in effect under the new proposed rules, including an outright ban on killing bear cubs or mothers with their young during the spring. For Camille Labchuk, Executive Director of advocacy organization Animal Justice, such measures don't offer meaningful protection. She said hunters struggle to distinguish between male and female bears even at close range, adding that challenge all but ensures the issue that prompted the cancellation in the first place is bound to surface again. "This is a death warrant for innocent baby bear cubs who will be orphaned and die when their mothers are gunned down by hunters after emerging from hibernation in the spring," she said. "It's deeply disappointing that the current government has so little regard for the majestic creatures with whom we share this province." Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner sounded similar alarms about the proposal, calling the government's wildlife conservation record "spotty" and urging a broad-based approach to the public consultation process. "Any decision to reinstate a permanent spring hunt must be based on science," he said in a statement. "Hunting of any species cannot be driven purely by economic interests and should only be considered if the population is healthy. Consultations must include First Nations, scientists, and conservationists." The government's proposal also includes tightening commercial guide licensing requirements and shortening the hunting season on the Bruce Peninsula, where the Tories say the province's otherwise healthy bear population is more precarious. Members of the public can weigh in on the potential changes by submitting feedback on the Environmental Registry of Ontario until Feb. 18. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2020. By Steven L. Shields God did not write the Bible. Neither did Moses. The content of the Bible is not consistent. The Bible, as we know it, existed for millennia as a collection of disparate oral traditions. Finally, during and after the Babylonian Exile (500s BCE) documents began to be written, as religious personalities and community leaders tried to preserve and remember the Hebrew people's culture and faith. There was no single book until late in the history of humankind. The oldest known "book" containing much of the current content of the Bible was produced in the 300s CE in or near Alexandria, Egypt. The "codex" is a handwritten manuscript, with its leaves bound, like a modern book. When people sometimes refer to the Bible, as my grandmother did, as the "Good Book," they are using an inappropriate nickname. The Bible is not a single book. The word "bible" means library, so although bound as one, it is 66 individual books (in the Protestant canon), 73 in the Roman Catholic canon, and even more in some Orthodox traditions. Of course, the Jewish "Bible," or more correctly Tanakh, does not include any Christian documents (New Testament). More than 40 different writers contributed to the various books contained in the library. Nor, I would argue, is the Bible a "good" book. Frankly, many sections of the library are dull reading, with obscure references and meaning, whose cultural setting is not explained. There is an absence of goodness in much of the content, with stories of invasions and wars. The Old Testament God is vindictive and ruthless. God hits the Egyptians with terrible plagues, simply because they did not agree to the same ideas. God destroys Jericho so the Hebrews can take over the land of previous occupants. The Hebrews make war on other tribes and nations, all in the name of God. It's difficult to reconcile what Jesus described as a God of love. I reject the idea that cruel punishment is "tough love." The first five books of the Old Testament, often called the "five books of Moses," were not written by Moses. Scholars are largely agreed that what we have in the "five books of Moses" was composed by several writers, compiled and edited by others, over many centuries. While there are a few conservative scholars who reject this theory, they are a minority. Even a casual reader can detect different styles of writing through those books. The later history of the Hebrew people also contains hints about the composition and editing, reconciling different stories that are contained in the "five books." "Of Moses" doesn't necessarily mean "by Moses." That the writers of the books in the Bible had inspiration is a matter of faith. However, the writers came from a different perspective, the cultural setting varied, and they had a different purpose for writing their books. The books in the Bible include dozens of inspired writers; untold numbers of editors and compilers who worked over the centuries to bring together what they thought were the main understandings of the ancient faith. Such a view is freeing to the faith of most Christians, but for some reason is frightening to those who want to see God as an immovable, dispassionate, and stern rule-giver. The Bible may be inspired by God, but God did not dictate the contents of the Bible. The Bible is not clear about much of what many think it says. The Bible is not a history text; it is not a science book. The Bible is a book of faith. Many of the earliest stories in the Bible are more akin to folklore than fact. When certain communities argue, for example, the creation stories are fact, they are trying to make the Bible something that it is not and was never intended to be. Some of the historical events are inconsistent in their telling. In the books of Kings, one approach is written, but in the later books of Chronicles, the details and timelines are often inconsistent. We all pick and choose which parts of the Bible we promote, preach, teach, and claim as "fact." We must take the Bible as a collection of books of faith, containing truths, but realize that "truth" is not objective fact. The Bible has value for us in the modern world when we understand how the Bible came to be, what it is about, and how to apply the moral and ethical teachings found in the dozens of books it contains. Steven L. Shields (slshields@gmail.com) has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s. He served as copy editor of The Korea Times in 1977. He is a retired clergyman and vice president of the Royal Asiatic Society-Korea Branch. (TNS) It often takes a pack of volunteers to help a community become more sustainable and resilient, and thats what the BackPac app is aiming to do.Created by a handful of graduate students at the University of Michigan, the mobile application encourages others specifically their peers to volunteer with nonprofits in the community.Co-founder Maneel Grover said after learning that volunteer rates in Michigan were dropping , he and his team wanted to find a way to reach his own generation. When they started digging, they found three primary drivers of volunteering: Identification with a cause, technology and generational changes.One of the things we found was that in our parents generation, they cared about the organization, said Grover, an MBA student at the Ross School of Business. In our generation, its much more important to identify the cause that people are wondering about so they wont just go to a random place.The application is about as simple as it gets sign up, enter your zip code and it will find nonprofit events in the area. It shows the event date, time and distance from the users location, as well as the minimum duration of the event and a short description of what needs to be done.Once registered for the event, users can get an email and add the event to their calendar.Rather than using previously created content, co-founder Caio Brandao said the app was built from scratch specifically for nonprofits and volunteers.[Nonprofits] can reach a completely new segment of volunteers using the BackPac app, Brandao said. This is a convenient, no-cost and very effective solution that lets them focus on their responsibilities.Co-founder Brenda Pak, an MBA student at the Ross School of Business, said she had previously done work with nonprofits and found "a lot of need and opportunities for people to do good.She and another co-founder -- Guarav Dhir -- were looking for volunteer opportunities, but were overbooked, and some didnt have volunteers and were overwhelmed trying to find them.Thats when the BackPac team assembled and created the app.It was really an accumulation of those moments that brought the BackPac app to what it is today, Pak said. Weve spent endless hours speaking to coordinators, nonprofit staff, students and volunteers to figure out their frustrations and to help alleviate some of their pain points so people could spend time doing the work and less time figuring out the system.Grover noticed that nonprofits websites were old and outdated, and for that reason, the app will continually add updates. The app has already been through a few iterations and the team is always looking for ways to improve.Since launching in November 2019, BackPac has logged more than 300 downloads and over 225 volunteering hours so far. More than 10 nonprofit organizations use the app, and said they have been able to onboard almost every nonprofit they have spoken with. Nonprofits on the app include Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley Friends in Deed and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra So far, Grover said the co-founders have been funding the project themselves, but they have a third-party developer creating the app for them. In the future, the team is working to both gamify and democratize the app so volunteers can be even more selective about when and where they volunteer.Gamification is a fun element, providing a healthy and measurable competition to volunteers, Brandao said. Democratization means giving individuals and groups a choice of volunteering opportunities they care about and relate to. We hope both of these can improve volunteering rates.Pak added the team hopes to improve upon the technology, add nonprofits and expand across Michigan and Illinois by 2021.To download the apps, visit the App store or Google Play store and search BackPac. So for many allies, the idea that now is the time for them to take on more of the burden of stabilizing a region that has been destabilized in good part by Trumps actions is a bit much. Add to that the fact that Trump has spent three years denigrating allies and warning that NATO risked becoming obsolete, and the appetite for doing more so the United States can do less just isnt there. Islamabad [Pakistan], Jan 18 (ANI): Pakistani Foreign Office has dismissed reports of Egypt sanctions imposed on its nationals by Egypt. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aisha Farooqui clarified that Egypt has not placed any ban on the issuance of visas for the nationals, reported Pakistan-based Dunya News. The outlet in its report stated that the spokesperson debunked media reports on the visa refusal and said that Cairo has not taken any such action. This comes after reports of a ban on the visas of Pakistani industrialists and citizens emerged. Apparently, it said that the passports of Pakistani businessmen were held at the Egyptian Embassy for two months. The Foreign Office also termed the reports that the victims appealed to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Foreign Secretary to take notice on the matter as fake. (ANI) Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is sworn in prior to providing testimony before the House Intelligence Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 15, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Pompeo Breaks Silence on Reported Threats to Former Ukraine Ambassador Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the State Department would look into the alleged surveillance of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch by associates of Rudy Giuliani. We will do everything we need to do to evaluate whether there was something that took place there, he told radio show host Tony Katz, adding that he doubts Giulianis associates were tracking Yovanovitch, who testified in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump late last year. I suspect that much of whats been reported will ultimately prove wrong, but our obligation, my obligation as Secretary of State, is to make sure that we evaluate, investigate, Pompeo remarked. Any time there is someone who posits that there may have been a risk to one of our officers, well obviously do that. In another interview, Pompeo said he hadnt heard about the alleged spying before this week. Id never heard about this at all, Pompeo told Hugh Hewitt, a talk radio host. Until the story broke, I had, to the best of my recollection, had never heard of this at all. But he stressed in the Katz interview that his agency will work to ensure that officials, including ambassadors around the world, are safe. We do our best to make sure that no harm will come to anyone, whether that was what was going on in our embassy in Baghdad last week or the work that was going on in Kyiv up and through the spring of last year when Ambassador Yovanovitch was there, and in our embassy in Kyiv even today, he remarked. The allegations about surveillance attempt emerged on Tuesday when House Democrats released text messages and documents suggesting Lev Parnas, an associate of Giuliani, talked about tracking Yovanovitch last year. The messages suggest he was speaking to Robert Hyde, a congressional candidate in Connecticut, who claimed to have the former ambassador under surveillance. Shes talked to three people. Her phone is off. Computer is off, Hyde wrote in a message. In another message, he said, They will let me know when shes on the move. The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs stated Thursday that it would investigate the claims. Our goal is to investigate whether there were any violations of Ukrainian and international laws, the statement said, adding that it will determine if the messages were just bravado and fake talk in an informal conversation between two U.S. citizens. In an interview with CBS News on Jan. 15, Giuliani said he had no knowledge of any alleged efforts to track Yovanovitch. I have no idea about allegations of him tracking her, the former New York mayor told the news outlet. Hyde strongly denied tracking the former ambassador when he was asked by Sinclairs Eric Bolling this week on whether he had eyes on her. Absolutely not, are you kidding me? Im a little landscaper from [expletive] Connecticut, he said. That was just colorful, I thought we were playing. I didnt know he was so serious, Hyde said, referring to the released text messages. Democrats in the House had Yovanovitch testify amid the impeachment inquiry into Trumps dealings with Ukraine in November. She was recalled from her post in Kyiv months before that. New York, NY, Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New York Film Academy (NYFA) Filmmaking alum Issa Rae was up early Monday morning as the nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards were announced, with the usual mix of snubs, sure things, and surprises. Rae, a graduate of NYFAs Filmmaking workshop at our Los Angeles campus in 2005, presented this years nominees with actor John Cho. Raes star has been steadily on the rise since the debut of her HBO series Insecure in 2016. Shes appeared in music videos by Jay-Z and Drake, films like The Hate U Give, and starred in last years comedy Little. Additionally, Rae has been behind the scenes writing and producing, including executive producing HBOs A Black Lady Sketch Show, a few episodes of which she also acted in. Rae was a perfect choice by the Academy to announce this years Oscar noms. The New York Film Academy (NYFA) community celebrated some nominations as Rae and Cho made their way through the various categories. NYFA Filmmaking alum Anouar Smaine was one of the English-language voice actors for Best Animated Feature nominee I Lost My Body, the 2019 French drama fantasy film directed by Jeremy Clapin that premiered at last years Cannes Film Festival. The endearing and visually striking film tells the story of a dismembered hand that escapes from a dissection lab and goes on a journey through Paris to get back to its body, remembering the life with the young man it was originally attached to. Smaine, who voiced the Father in the film, graduated from the 8-Week Filmmaking workshop at NYFAs Los Angeles campus in early 2010. The Algerian-born actor, director, and playwright has numerous credits across several different disciplines, including as an actor in The Looming Tower, Westworld, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Veronica Mars, and the first Arabic-language original production from Netflix, Jinn. He also wrote, directed, and starred in the award-winning film Battle Fields. Additionally, NYFA Game Design alum Guillermo Quesada helped develop the technology that allowed last years remake of The Lion King to be filmed on a virtual reality set. The Lion King was one of the Best Visual Effects nominees named Monday morning. NYFA 1-Year Documentary Filmmaking alum Camille Bildse worked as the assistant to the director of Best Documentary Feature nominee The Cave, Feras Fayyad. Also competing in that category is The Edge of Democracy, directed by Petra Costa, who has taught master classes to NYFA Documentary Filmmaking students in the past. Several New York Film Academy guest speakers also received nominations, including Al Pacino, who earned a Best Supporting Actor nod alongside co-star Joe Pesci for his work in Best Picture nominee The Irishman. Pacino, whose daughter Julie Pacino is a NYFA alum, spoke with NYFA students at our Los Angeles campus in 2014. Adam Driver, who spoke with NYFA students at our New York campus in 2018, received an Academy Award nomination for Best Lead Actor for his work in Best Picture nominee Marriage Story. Best Animated Feature nominee Toy Story 4 co-starred NYFA guest speaker Tony Hale as new breakout character Forky. Hale spoke with NYFA students at our Los Angeles campus last summer, as did Nathan Kelly, who served as unit production manager on Best Picture nominee Once Upon a Time In Hollywood. Another guest speaker celebrating this years nominations is President of Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Kevin Feige, who spoke with NYFA students at our Burbank-based campus last October. Avengers: Endgame, the culminating film of his brainchildthe Marvel Cinematic Universewas nominated for Best Visual Effects. His Q&A with NYFA students recently made many headlines as Feige answered questions about the MCU as well as confirmed that an LGBTQIA+ character would be appearing in the upcoming Marvel film Eternals. New York Film Academy congratulates this years nominees and looks forward to seeing who goes home with an Oscar or two (or more) next month! Press Inquiries Contact: helen.kanti@nyfa.edu About New York Film Academy New York Film Academy (NYFA) is a leading visual and performing arts school that offers hands-on intensive programs across 15 areas of study in New York City, Los Angeles, South Beach/Miami, Gold Coast (Australia), Florence (Italy), and more. Thousands of aspiring artists come to study at the New York Film Academy each year from over 120 countries. For more information, please visit www.nyfa.edu. ### Attachment BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States have taken an important step in the right direction by formally signing their phase-one economic and trade agreement in Washington Wednesday. The hard-won deal signed by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. President Donald Trump came after 13 rounds of high-level consultations and more than 20 telephone consultations between the chiefs of the negotiation teams from both sides over nearly two years. The text consists of the preamble and eight chapters on intellectual property, technology transfer, trade in food and agricultural products, financial services, macroeconomic policies and exchange rate matters and transparency, expanding trade, bilateral evaluation and dispute resolution, and final provisions. A closer look at the deal would find the appearance of the phrase "the parties shall" which uses the collective reference of the Chinese and U.S. governments in almost all the articles, an indication that the text is based on equality and mutual respect and maximizes balance. "The deal reflects not only the interests and demands of the U.S. side but also those of the Chinese side," Zhang Yuejiao, former chair of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO), told Xinhua. "It is a balanced deal in the interests of the two countries." The deal mainly covers three major aspects: deepening two-way trade cooperation, further easing market access and continued improvement in the business environment. Under the deal, the two sides will establish the bilateral evaluation and dispute resolution arrangement to resolve issues in economic and trade relations in a fair, expeditious and respectful manner. The U.S. side also pledges to cancel some of its additional tariffs on Chinese products. Noting that the deal will see the U.S. side make the switch from hiking to cutting additional tariffs, Gao Lingyun, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said: "The signing of the deal came at the right time and it will help provide a more stable external environment for China to accomplish its great cause of national rejuvenation." The deal is generally equal and mutually beneficial as it fully addresses the reasonable concerns of both sides, Gao said. In terms of deepening two-way trade cooperation, China and the United States are committed to scaling up trade in sectors including manufactured goods, agricultural products, energy and services. "The two economies are highly complementary," said CASS researcher Dong Yan. "There is great potential in developing the two countries' trade given the extremely large size of their economies and markets." Enhancing two-way trade cooperation is expected to boost the confidence of the global market and maintain stability in global industry and supply chains. Zhang Yansheng, a researcher with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said: "Both sides have refuted claims of 'decoupling' with concrete actions, which is conducive to consolidating the foundation of their relations and increasing certainties for the stability and development of the global economy." The deal stipulates the principles of China's expansion of imports from the United States. The U.S. side will take appropriate steps to facilitate the availability of U.S. goods and services to be purchased and imported into China, and the Chinese side will make purchases based on commercial and market considerations. Enterprises are the ones that carry out the procurement, and the most important responsibilities of the Chinese and U.S. governments are to create conditions for normal and legitimate economic and trade exchanges between enterprises, Zhang Yansheng said. He also noted that China had repeatedly expressed its willingness to encourage Chinese enterprises to follow WTO and market rules in negotiating import agreements with U.S. enterprises and ensure that the agreements will not discriminate against goods and services from other countries and regions. In terms of trade in food and agricultural products, experts said while implementation of the deal will significantly increase China's imports of agricultural products from the United States, the surge will not deal a blow to China's agriculture industry or the country's food security. China is the world's largest importer of agricultural products, accounting for one-tenth of the world's total farm produce trade. Noting that China's population is 1 billion more than that of the United States while its arable land is about 66.7 million hectares less, Zhang Yansheng said the two countries have broad space for agricultural cooperation and expanding imports will help fill the gap in China's domestic supply. Commenting on the deal's arrangements on intellectual property protection and technology transfer, Zhang Yuejiao said: "Related texts of the agreement reflect the aspiration shared by both sides to provide high-level intellectual property protection for enterprises and peoples of the two countries." "They also comply with the existing Chinese laws and regulations as solid progress has been made in intellectual property protection in recent years," Zhang Yuejiao said. China's efforts to strengthen intellectual property protection aim to create a more enabling business environment for all enterprises including U.S.-funded firms and protect the legitimate rights and interests of all market entities, said Gao Lingyun, stressing that the U.S. should also provide protection of the same level to Chinese enterprises. Under the agreement, China and the United States will be committed to providing fair, effective and non-discriminatory market access in sectors including banking, securities, insurance, electronic payment and financial asset management. "China's commitments regarding financial services are consistent with the independent and orderly opening up of its financial sector in recent years," said Cheng Dawei, a professor with the Beijing-based Renmin University of China. Both sides also agreed to respect each other's autonomy in monetary policy in accordance with its domestic law, recognizing that flexible exchange rates where feasible can serve as a shock absorber. Ding Zhijie, director of the Foreign Exchange Research Center of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said that the deal was a result of consultation with mutual respect, reflected a consensus on multilateralism and provided a model of exchange rate policy coordination between major countries. The deal stipulates that the two countries shall refrain from competitive devaluations and not target exchange rates for competitive purposes, including through large-scale, persistent, one-sided intervention in exchange markets. Experts said they believe the text effectively offers an agreed definition of currency manipulation. Cheng Dawei said Washington's dropping its wrongful accusation of China as a currency manipulator helped clear the way for the signing of the agreement. Since both sides announced their agreement on the text of the phase-one deal on Dec. 13, global economic and financial markets have responded positively. Analysts expected the deal to further boost market expectation, restore confidence and stabilize the financial markets in both countries and across the world. Putin Introduces Post of Deputy Chairman of Russian Security Council, Appoints Medvedev Sputnik News 16:17 16.01.2020(updated 16:44 16.01.2020) Dmitry Medvedev, who resigned as Russia's prime minister a day earlier, will remain the leader of the governing party United Russia, according to secretary of the party's General Council Andrey Turchak. Russian President Vladimir Putin has introduced the position of deputy chair of the Security Council and appointed Dmitry Medvedev to the post, according to a presidential decree. Earlier in the day, the State Duma approved Putin's nomination of Mikhail Mishustin for prime minister. The entire Russian government resigned on 15 January, with ex-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev saying this was done to enable President Vladimir Putin to implement his goals outlined in the address to the legislature. Putin accepted the resignation and announced his intention to create a new post of Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, stressing that Medvedev would be a perfect fit for this position. Putin proposed the candidacy of Mishustin, then head of the Federal Tax Service, to take over the position of prime minister. In his annual address to the Federal Assembly on 15 January, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia should remain a strong presidential republic, with the president retaining the ability to dismiss prime ministers and their deputies. He said he did not see any need for Russia to adopt a new constitution after putting forward a suggestion to empower the Parliament to assign prime ministerial candidates. Putin also said that Russia's defence capabilities have been ensured for many years to come. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SKYKOMISH, Wash. More snow fell in the Northwest through Wednesday, causing Washington state officials to send food, water and fuel to an area hit hard northeast of Seattle and resulting in a hourslong rescue of a stranded couple southwest of Mt. Bachelor in Oregon. The Seattle metro area didnt see much new snow but many schools, including those in Seattle, remain delayed or closed because of lingering snow and ice. Reports from Port Angeles ranged up to 20 inches of snow. North of Seattle, Mount Vernon tallied 8 inches of snow while Anacortes recorded 12. Scattered power outages were reported throughout Western Washington including one that kept chairlifts from running temporarily at Crystal Mountain ski area. More than 26,000 customers were left in the dark Wednesday afternoon as winds increased, according to Puget Sound Energy and the Snohomish Public Utility District. Some of those customers live in areas along U.S. Highway 2 near Stevens Pass, where downed trees and power lines largely closed that part of the highway since Sunday. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday that the state Emergency Management Division brought food, water and fuel to that area between Gold Bar and Skykomish and that they were also offering voluntary evacuations. Patience was wearing thin for some n those areas Tuesday night, KING-TV reported. On a scale of 1 to 10, its a 10, said Baring resident Charlie Preston. Its hell. Skykomish Fire Chief James Knisley said Wednesday that he expected power to be out for a long time and that an emergency shelter was being set up at the school in town. Some places have over three feet of snow and people cant get out of their houses, he told KOMO-TV. Inslee said he was closely following the situation and that he and his staff had talked with mayors and other local leaders there. We will work to provide whatever these communities need. The safety of Washingtonians in this region is paramount, he tweeted. The state Department of Transportation opened portions of U.S. 2 on Wednesday for local access up to Skykomish while the highway from Skykomish to Stevens Pass remained closed because of power lines across the roadway, officials said. In Oregon, many schools were delayed because of concerns about icy roads. Two people southwest of Mt. Bachelor were rescued after they drove to Cultus Lake and became stranded after experiencing car trouble, according to the Douglas County Sheriffs Office. Brad Barron, 33, walked several miles in the snow Tuesday until he was able to get a cellphone signal and call for help, the sheriffs office said. It took rescuers nine hours to reach them but both Barron and his wife were found cold but in good condition, officials said. Oregon Department of Transportation officials warned of limited visibility and high winds on roads in the eastern part of the state Wednesday. Freezing rain in the Columbia Gorge Wednesday evening could make travel on Interstate 84 dangerous, the National Weather Service said. About the photo: Shoppers lean in to the wind and snow at the Shoreline Costco in a late afternoon snowstorm, Wednesday in Seattle. Another winter storm brought more snow to Western Washington through Wednesday morning, dropping more than a foot of snow on parts of the Olympic Peninsula. (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times via AP) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. UP govt likely to rename Yamuna Expressway after Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ahead of polls, Yogi kickstarts campaign to distribute tablets, smartphones to 1 Cr UP students 5 killed as train ploughs through bullock cart in Bihar India pti-PTI Samastipur, Jan 16: A train ploughed through a sugarcane-laden bullock cart killing at least five persons, riding on it, and leaving two others seriously injured in Samastipur district on Thursday, a senior official said. The mishap involving Samastipur Saharsa MEMU took place near a manned level crossing gate close to Hasanpur Road in Samastipur-Khagaria section of Samastipur Division at 1550 hours, said Rajesh Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer of the East Central Railway (ECR) zone. An accident relief medical van, carrying a team of doctors, has been rushed to the spot where DRM Samastipur is present along with other officials, he said. "Prima facie, it is a case of negligence on part of the person driving the bullock cart," Kumar said. Senior DCM, East Central Railway, Virendra Kumar who was camping at the site of the incident, about 50 kms from the district headquarter town, said the deceased were Suraj Yadav (35), Ram Babu (30), Praveen Kumar (30) and Kanchan Kumar (35), besides one unidentified person. Two others, including a 15-year-old girl, suffered serious injuries and were undergoing treatment at the local primary health centre, the senior DCM added. The matter came to light after the gateman informed about it to the officials, the CPRO said. "An investigation is underway," he told PTI. Samastipur is one of the Railway division under the ECR, having its headquarter at Hajipur. She's set to play Charles Ingram's wife Diana in a drama based on the Who Wants To Be Millionaire? coughing cheat scandal. And Sian Clifford joined Quiz writer James Graham to talk about her role in the much-anticipated drama on Thursday, at the AMC Network's portion of the Winter 2020 TCA Press Tour in Pasadena. The Fleabag star, 37, will star opposite Matthew Macfayden as the 'coughing Major' Charles Ingram in the ITV drama, which documents the couples' plot to cheat their way to the 1 million prize, and their eventual arrest and conviction two years later. Exciting: Sian Clifford joined Quiz writer James Graham to talk about their role in the much-anticipated drama based on the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 'coughing cheating' scandal Sian cut a chic figure in a fitted white bandage skirt and top by Herve Leger with a high neck and sheer detailing around her decolletage as she posed with acclaimed writer James. The star added a hint of colour to her look with royal blue suede heels as she chatted about her role in the much-anticipated drama. Sian will play Charles' wife Diana in the long-awaited ITV drama Quiz, which documents the scandalous moment Major Ingram cheated his way to 1 million pounds with the help of fellow contestant and college lecturer Tecwen Whittock. The former army man struggled to reach 4,000 during his first appearance on the show, and according to an ITV documentary based on the scandal that aired in 2003, he then formed a plan with Whittock to reach the top prize. Coming soon: The Fleabag star will appear as Charles Ingram's wife Diana, while Matthew McFayden will play the 'coughing major' who tried to cheat his way to 1 million Stylish: Sian cut a chic figure in a fitted white bandage dress with a high neck and sheer detailing around her decolletage teamed with electric blue suede heels They plotted that for each question, Whittock - who sat just feet away from the 'hot seat' - would cough when Charles read out the correct answer. The coughs would not have been heard by viewers at home watching the show (which was never aired apart from during the documentary) as a majority of the sound was focused on the hot seat. For the first few questions Charles and Tecwen's plan went unnoticed by the audience and watching crew members, but as they reached the higher figures they began to draw some attention. Exciting: She and James - who also wrote the play about the scandal - chatted about the drama ahead of its launch later this year on ITV in the UK and AMC in the US Praised: Sian recently earned critical acclaimed for her performance as Fleabag's sister Claire in the award-winning BBC drama written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge Quiz man: Michael Sheen (left) will take on the role of Chris Tarrant (right at the trial in 2003) in the series. The veteran host has always said he had no indication Charles was cheating By the time Ingram reached the final question - which he answered correctly - ITV bosses had noticed something was array, and he and Diana were reported to the authorities for fraud and banned from paying in their for 1 million cheque. Host Chris Tarrant - who will be played by Michael Sheen in the drama - has always said he had no idea Charles was cheating despite being sat just feet away from him during the filming of the show. The veteran host testified at the Ingrams trial, and said in the documentary he was 'amazed' to learn that they had been cheating. Explosive: Charles tried to cheat his way to 1 million on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2001, with the help of Tecwen Whittock Drama: Whittock (above) was sat just feet away from Charles in the studio, and would cough to indicate each correct answer After a four-week crown court trial in 2003, Charles and Diana were convicted of deception, and Ingram was given a 20-month suspended prison sentence. His two accomplices were given 18-month suspended sentences for their part in the scam. Quiz was directed by Stephen Frears, who made A Very English Scandal, and will air later this year on ITV and on AMC in the US. Helen McCrory, Mark Bonnar and Aisling Bea will also star in the production, penned by James Graham, whose play of the story hit the West End. The playwright said: 'I was gripped by this story over 15 years ago, and I'm still gripped now. It's a very English heist.' ITV's head of drama Polly Hill said the three-part series would be 'an extraordinary and thoroughly British story and is going to be a real treat for our audience.' Bermuda's regulatory regime has been assessed by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), and the global inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and confirmed for having some of the highest international standards when it comes to combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation. The mutual evaluation report (MER) of Bermuda's systems and framework, published today by the CFATF, highlights the outstanding work that has been done to comply with the FATF 40 Recommendations, used by 180 governments to protect the integrity of the international financial system. Of the more than 75 MERs published to date, Bermuda ranks first against the Technical compliance requirements, with 39 of the 40 Recommendations rated as Compliant or Largely Compliant, is in the top six for overall level of effectiveness and one of only two jurisdictions with a high level of effectiveness in relation to its risk assessment and domestic coordination mechanisms. Speaking at a press conference today, Bermuda's Minister of Finance, the Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson, said: "The Bermuda Government has on many occasions highlighted its commitment to a high level of compliance with appropriate global standards. As our results indicate, we have followed through on that commitment and established appropriate legislative and operational frameworks to ensure our regime is robust and effective. The results of this report confirm that Bermuda knows what it is doing and does it well." Roland Andy Burrows, CEO of the Bermuda Business Development Agency, commented: "Today's announcement is a significant accomplishment and serves to highlight the exceptional quality of Bermuda's offering when it comes to doing global business. Our blue-chip reputation is something that has been achieved through the hard work and dedication of the Bermuda government, the regulator and industry working together. We thank the Premier, the Minister of Finance and the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee (NAMLC) for taking the necessary actions to achieve the highest levels of compliance and effectiveness, setting Bermuda apart on the world stage." The FATF mutual evaluation is an intensive process and takes 14 months to complete. Bermuda's review commenced in March 2018 with its first submission in relation to Technical Compliance. Further submissions were made during the subsequent six months and were followed by an on-site review. The visit lasted for two weeks and included interviews with relevant authorities including the Bermuda Police Service, Customs, the Financial Intelligence Agency, the Attorney General's Chambers, the Department of Public Prosecutions, the Bermuda Casino and Gaming Commission, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Registrar of Companies, the Registrar General, the Barristers and Accountants AML/ATF Board the Office of the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee and the Ministries of Finance and Legal Affairs. CONNECTING BUSINESS The BDA encourages direct investment and helps companies start up, re-locate or expand their operations in our premier jurisdiction. An independent, public-private partnership, we connect you to industry professionals, regulatory officials, and key contacts in the Bermuda government to assist domicile decisions. Our goal? To make doing business in Bermuda smooth and beneficial. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005478/en/ Contacts: Nicola Stevens Director of Communications PR nstevens@bda@bm +1 441 292 7774 After nearly a decade of digging, New York authorities probing the murders of at least eight women whose remains were dumped along a deserted stretch of highway near Long Islands Gilgo Beach shared a single piece of evidence: a photo of a belt that may have belonged to the killer. That belt, embossed with the letters HM or WH, has been in police hands since the initial stages of the investigation, according to Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart, who spoke at a much-hyped press conference in Yaphank Thursday. But even as she was peppered with questions about the belt and the timing of the photos release, which came the same day that Netflix announced a film on the saga, Lost Girls, will debut March 13, Hart took pains to pitch a new crowd-sourcing website to solicit tips from the public in the case, Gilgonews.com. Reporters in the room noted almost immediately that this attempt at engagement with the public did not appear to be loading in their browsers. Authorities had better luck showcasing a picture of what Hart described as a black leather belt found at one of the crime scenes along Ocean Parkway that police believe was handled by a suspect in the long-unsolved case. She said it was either embossed or stamped with the letters HM or WH, and expressed hope that its release might assist in the investigation. We remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver justice and in doing so give a sense of closure, she added. Despite previous indications that the evidence was discovered after a new scientific technique was employed in the case long believed to be the work of one or more serial killers, any link between those techniques and the photo of the belt was left unclear Thursday. The saga of the Gilgo Beach Killer or Long Island Serial Killer has consumed residents, the public, and investigators for the better part of a decade. On Dec. 11, 2010, a Suffolk police officer and cadaver dog were conducting a routine search for a missing New Jersey prostitute, Shannan Gilbert, who had gone missing after fleeing the home of a clientand instead found the body of a different woman in Gilgo Beach. Story continues Authorities eventually discovered 10 bodiesincluding eight womenin the same area between December 2010 and April 2011. At the time, police said the first four bodies were women in their 20s who worked as prostitutes. Six of the women who were later identified had been reported missing between 2007 and September 2010. Not all the bodies fit the same profile, however. The remains also included those of a young Asian male and an infant who have yet to be identified. Gilberts body was later found in December 2011, but police could not determine her cause of death or whether she was the victim of the same suspected serial killer. The Serial Killer Sisterhood Among the women identified were Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, and Melissa Barthelemywho had all advertised themselves as escorts on Craigslist. All four women had been found wrapped in burlap. Authorities were also able to identify body parts belonging to Jessica Taylor, whose mutilated body was found in Manorville in 2003. The legs of an unnamed woman described as Fire Island Jane Doe were found in 1996 on Blue Point Beach. Her skull was later discovered on Ocean Parkway. Body parts of another woman, described as Jane Doe 6, were later matched with another torso found in Manorville in 2000. No arrests have been made in the investigation. The unsolved crimes have been the subject of a novel, a true-crime thriller, several television specials, and the upcoming Netflix movie. In September, state officials revived the case after determining Suffolk investigators could ask the FBI to deploy genetic technology to run through genealogical databases to find potential relatives. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Nine students from the alternative Eastlake High School walked across the stage at Stargazers Theatre to accept their diplomas Thursday in the Pikes Peak regions final winter graduation ceremony. All had been at risk of dropping out due to multiple factors in their personal and educational lives, said Jeff Walker, dean of students. We pride ourselves on being available to these students, helping them overcome those risk factors, he said. For example, the ninth- through 12th-grade charter school authorized by Colorado Springs School District 11 provides a school psychologist and a family advocate for its 140 students. Once we get to know the students, we talk with them about what they need, Walker said. That might be bus passes to get to school and back home, clothes from a school-based community closet or food for kids who are hungry from the schools food bank. Still, alternative schools usually struggle to get kids to stay in school. Last year, out of 105 potential Eastlake graduates, only 11 got their diplomas, for a four-year graduation rate of 10.5%, according to data the Colorado Department of Education released this week. Students, though, can stay in school until theyre 21 to graduate, and the schools six-year graduation rate increased to 26.4%. The school holds a winter graduation in January as part of the schools flexibility in students juggling studies with work and other commitments, Walker said. Another ceremony is held in June. Along with other differences, finals are not the traditional exams. Ana Rico, who graduated Thursday, took work home over the holiday break to complete her final assignments. What she likes best about the school: The staff always has a smile on their face, and they dont treat you poorly. Also, The teachers see your future and help you see it, too. Rico, 18, works for her dads drywall and painting company and wants to attend cosmetology school. She struggled at a traditional high school, getting in with the wrong crowd and making bad choices that she says carry repercussions to this day. Every morning when you walk in here, the woman at the front desk says, Good morning, she said. The small things help you a lot. Eastlake was known as Life Skills Center until management company problems led to the system closure for schools in Colorado, Ohio and Arizona. The local school was reinvented for the 2018 fall semester as Eastlake, and relocated to where another now defunct charter school, STAR Academy, used to be near Circle Drive and Airport Road, with a similar curriculum. After trying an online school that also didnt work because she didnt like sitting at her home computer for six hours a day, Ana decided to try Eastlake. If its not the right fit for me, Im going downhill, she said. I was falling behind. Here, my self-confidence and everything went up, and I got the support I needed. Ana considered quitting school. I let it get in my head, but the staff believed in me and pushed me to graduate, she said. It means a lot to get my diploma because I can finally say, I did it and show everyone who doubted me that I did it. A couple accused of murdering their daughter are mounting legal bids to be allowed to attend her funeral. Five-year-old Nadia Zofia Kalinowska was discovered at the family's home in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim in the early hours of December 15 last year. The child's mother, Aleksandra Wahab, 25, and stepfather, Abdul Wahab, 31, are currently in custody jointly charged with her murder. They also face counts of causing or allowing the death of a child, and grievous bodily harm with intent to the little girl over a year-long period. Both defendants have applied for compassionate bail to be let out of prison for Nadia's funeral service in Belfast next Wednesday. The city's magistrates court was told on Friday that police and prosecutors are not opposing their temporary release on strict terms. Those conditions include a ban on discussing the case, and a prohibition on being left alone at any stage. But District Judge Amanda Brady adjourned their applications, insisting she wanted more information about proposed sureties. "Just because the police are happy with it doesn't mean the courts are happy," she said. "I'm not satisfied those conditions are robust, given the seriousness of the charge." The husband and wife, who are originally from Pakistan and Poland respectively, deny all of the charges against them. A previous court heard they claim Nadia sustained the fatal injuries when she fell down a flight of stairs at their Fernagh Drive home in the middle of the night. Lawyers for Aleksandra Wahab also confirmed they are seeking medical evidence as part of her defence. They want the pathologist report disclosed to establish if she has a case to answer. Meanwhile, the couple's attempts to secure compassionate bail will resume at the start of next week. IRBIL, Iraq -- An Iraqi SWAT team this week captured a hefty high-ranking Islamic State official who was pictured crammed into the bed of a police pickup truck after his arrest in Mosul. The arrest of ISIS mufti Abu Abdul Bari, also known as Shifa al-Nima, was announced by the Iraqi government's security media cell in a statement Thursday. Bari, a preacher known for "provocative speeches against the security forces" is considered one of the top leaders of "ISIS gangs," the statement said. Considered by ISIS to be an authority in Quranic law, Bari issued religious rulings, or fatwas, ordering the execution of scholars and clerics who refused to pledge allegiance to the terrorist group when it occupied Mosul, the statement said. He also ordered the July 2014 destruction of a mosque built at the site believed to be the burial place of the biblical prophet Jonah, who once had a notable encounter with a whale. The mosque was one of several cultural sites the extremist group destroyed as it swept across Syria and Iraq, claiming large swaths of territory for its self-styled caliphate. The group has been ousted from all the territory it once held but remains an insurgent threat in the region. Memes including "He puts the fat in fatwa" spread on social media after photos were posted of Bari seated on cushions inside his apparent hideout in one image and loaded into the back of a pickup truck in another. The images of his arrest would strike a psychological blow against ISIS, Maajid Nawaz, founder of the London-based counter-extremist organization Quilliam, wrote on Facebook. "Gluttony is frowned upon by jihadists. But also, ISIS branded themselves as fighters possessing rare courage & discipline ... meanwhile this walrus was their top religious cleric," he said. Macer Gifford, a British anti-ISIS activist who fought with a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in Syria, applauded the arrest in a Twitter post. "I'm delighted to say that the Islamic State's very own Jabba the [Hutt] has been captured," he wrote, comparing the cleric to the slug-like gang lord of the Star Wars universe who lived on the desert planet Tatooine. "Good luck hanging him in Iraq." Iraqi officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about the raid, which occurred as U.S.-led coalition forces reportedly resumed their support for government anti-ISIS operations. Nawaz also compared Bari to Jabba the Hutt and offered a Star Wars-themed joke about the arrest. "Today was a good day for the Force & a bad day for evil," he wrote. Nagaland Governor R N Ravi on Friday said with the "successful" conclusion of negotiations between the Centre and Naga political groups, Nagas could be now "very close" to settlement of the decades-old Naga political issue. Delivering his maiden address in the Assembly after taking up the gubernatorial post in August 2019, Ravi said the Peoples Democratic Alliance (PDA) government in Nagaland has always considered the early settlement of the Naga political issue as its most important agenda. Ravi, who is also the Centre's interlocutor for Naga peace talks, told the legislators, "It gives me great pleasure to share with you that we could be now very close to it. "The negotiation which were going on for the past many years between the Government of India and the Naga political groups have been successfully concluded. "My government conveys its deepest appreciation to all the stakeholders for exhibiting utmost sincerity, foresightedness and a spirit of understanding in helping create a conducive atmosphere for conclusion of the talks in a positive manner." The governor thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their unwavering commitment, determination and constant guidance, which he said, ensured the progress of talks in the most purposeful and determined manner leading to its successful conclusion on a positive note. Mentioning that it is imperative that all the various organizations unite for an early settlement, the governor said, "If we fail this time, then we will be missing a golden opportunity." On behalf of the Nagaland government, Ravi also made a sincere appeal to the governments and people of the neighbouring states to extend all cooperation so that the peace process, which has now reached a very critical juncture, concludes in a successful manner in the interest of enduring peace and stability in the entire region. Delving on the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2019, the governor said before the Bill was laid in Parliament, there were concerns raised on the possibility of the indigenous people of the state getting demographically overwhelmed and seriously marginalized by the people from outside because of the provisions of the said legislation. The Nagaland government, he said, had brought to the notice of the Centre about the special status being enjoyed by the state under Article 371(A), in addition to the Inner Line Permit system in force under provisions of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation(BEFR), 1873. Both Article 371(A) and provisions of the BEFR, 1873 did not provide any ground for applicability of the CAB 2019 in the northeastern state, the Nagaland government had said. He mentioned that in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, along with the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, the areas covered under 'The Inner Line' has also been exempted from the applicability and purview of the Act. Protection and safeguarding of the rights and identity of the indigenous people of the state has always remained at the forefront of the state government's concerns for which the government has taken a decision to create a Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN). The RIIN exercise envisages identification and making a master list of all the indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland, he said, while maintaining that the creation of RIIN by clearly identifying the indigeneous people of the state as well as non indigenous persons who have permanently settled will also help in proper and effective implementation of the ILP system in the state. He told the House hat once the RIIN Commission submits its report along with recommendations to the government, the same will be tabled in the Assembly for further deliberations. The exact modalities of all the matters concerning the RIIN exercise will be finalized only after that, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fine Gaels social housing plan for Government will see 60,000 such homes built at a rate of 12,000 per year for the next five years, the party said at its launch this afternoon. A total of 11.6 billion has been committed to that end up to 2027, 2.6 billion for 2020, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, in his first presence at an official event since the campaign event, said at the event at party HQ in Dublin. Joined by party colleagues Paschal Donohoe, Damien English, and candidate for Dublin Central Deirdre Duffy, the minister announced that a social housing passport would be introduced to enable people to better choose where they wished to live by moving from one local authority to another. Mr Murphy, echoing one of several party mantras for the campaign, said that the 11,000 homes built last year is not enough, hence the commitment to come up with 60,000 such homes by 2025. Overall the needs of 27,500 people and families on housing lists will be met in 2020, this builds on the progress already made, Mr English, the Minister for Housing and Urban Development, said. Asked why the rates applied to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan package had been raised, apparently within the last seven days, from 2% and 2.25% to 2.75% and 3% respectively, Mr Murphy acknowledged that this means that any new applicants will be paying a higher rate than existing customers. He said this minimal change was necessary on guidance from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in order to help fund existing mortgage resolution processes. The rate is still below 3%, he said. Mr Murphy denied that Rebuilding Ireland had been a failure since its inception in 2016, Mr Murphy said that the plan had been to build 50,000 social housing units over a five-year period from that date. Data courtesy of The Irish Times The Minister said that, should Fine Gael be re-elected, it would be his desire to remain on as housing minister. He said that the Government had been reducing its reliance on the private rental sector. Ive been quite clear that wed make some clear inroads into the problems we have in this country. I think Ive introduced some important reforms, Mr Murphy said. He meanwhile described the severe injuries Read More: BERLIN - President Donald Trump's approval of a "Phase One" trade pact with China on Wednesday, a step back from a trade war that has lasted nearly two years, met with cautious optimism in the United States. In Europe, however, the partial deal gave rise to frostier reactions. Many European economists view the pact as "blatantly discriminatory," a weakening of the "multilateral trade order" and "harmful for Europe," said Gabriel Felbermayr, president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany. Under the deal, China has agreed to buy around $200 billion more of U.S. goods over the next two years, which may put the EU at a disadvantage, according to researchers. An even bigger concern among some economists is a possible escalation of Europe's lingering trade dispute with the United States this year, despite EU officials' attempts at conciliatory moves. "Why would they [de-escalate]?" asked Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of European Centre for International Political Economy, referring to U.S. negotiators. "They have the leverage now." -What is the EU-U.S. trade dispute about? Trump complains frequently about what he has described as an unbalanced and unfair trade relationship between the United States and the European Union. In 2018, the U.S. goods trade deficit with the EU amounted to $169 billion, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. U.S. pressure on Europe has manifested itself in multiple ways since Trump took office. The United States recently proposed new tariffs on French products, in retaliation against a French tax on digital services, including those provided by U.S. tech companies. But Trump has directed his personal ire at one EU country in particular: Germany. Even before he become president, Trump lashed out at German high-end car manufacturers, such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Trump and other critics of the EU's trade policy argue that the bloc is creating an unfair advantage by charging 10% on U.S. car imports, compared with the United States' 2.5 percent tariff on EU car imports. European officials have argued that the overall U.S. trade deficit is a lot smaller once investments and services are taken into account, which makes their trade relationship more equal. The EU has also criticized Trump's official justification for imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum and threatening similar measures against carmakers. In 2018, Trump urged the Commerce Department to examine whether automotive imports may constitute a threat to U.S. national security - appearing willing to exploit a unique clause in WTO treaties that allows for exceptions if national security is at risk. The U.S. and Europe "have always engaged in tit for tat," said Lee-Makiyama, "but we never went as far as going after each other's core national interests, like cars." -Why is Europe concerned about an escalation? After becoming president, Trump increased trade tensions on multiple fronts, most notably with China, Canada, Mexico and Japan, triggering a warning from the International Monetary Fund that the escalation was putting the global trading system at risk. But recently, in some parts of the world, Trump has adopted a more conciliatory tone. After the China pact was announced Wednesday, the Senate approved a new North American trade agreement with Mexico and Canada on Thursday. Analysts warn that relations between the United States and Europe are different. The European Commission's responsibility for trade talks means that the Trump administration would not negotiate with directly elected world leaders who might fear losing office in case of an escalation and subsequent economic downturn. Instead, technocrats would lead the negotiations. As a result, the political pressure to get a deal, said Felbermayr, would be smaller than in Mexico, Japan or other countries. In addition, Washington would probably want Brussels to make concessions on EU subsidies for farmers and European aircraft maker Airbus, which appears to be a no-go on the European end. "Since the new commission in Europe has very little policy space to offer the Americans any concessions, whether it's agriculture or civil aircraft or taxes . . . I think we are looking at a pretty bumpy road ahead," Lee-Makiyama said. But if tensions were to escalate, the EU would have more leverage over the United States than China does, analysts said, given the significant share of U.S. exports and investments tied up in Europe. "This makes the conflict much more symmetric," Felbermayr said. EU representatives appear to be concerned that the looming 2020 election might make Trump a more erratic negotiator. During a visit to Washington this week, EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan criticized Trump for "short-term thinking." "Between now and the November elections is what Mr. Trump is thinking about," he said in an interview. "[I]f we fail to [go about this the right way], the damage will be significant, not alone for us both, but for the world." ATLANTA, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SwissWatchExpo Inc., Atlanta's leading retailer of pre-owned luxury watches, opened their newly renovated showroom in time for the new year. SwissWatchExpo's newly renovated showroom. Located in the upscale district of Buckhead, Atlanta, the new showroom is a standout among luxury watch retailers, with its hip, industrial design. The distinctly urban feel of the interiors was meant to mirror the modern and innovative spirit of the company and its people -- traits necessary in order to thrive in an age-old industry like watchmaking. Collectors often comment that the showroom is unlike any they have ever seen and very different than one would expect for a luxury watch retailer. The unique space carries thousands of watches for SwissWatchExpo's local clientele. What sets SwissWatchExpo apart from other luxury watch retailers is that all the watches listed on their website are available in their showroom and can be inspected and fitted with the assistance of their staff. SwissWatchExpo is also one of the most trusted dealers of pre-owned luxury watches online but has customers fly in from other cities to visit the showroom and try on a few watches before making a final purchase. About SwissWatchExpo Established in 1996, SwissWatchExpo prides itself with their passion for beautiful Swiss timepieces, unparalleled customer service, and an excellent track record over many years and thousands of watches sold. SwissWatchExpo offers a curated selection of watches from 34 of the best watch brands, including Rolex, Omega, Cartier, Breitling and Patek Phillipe. While most other luxury retailers 'diversify' across product categories, the retailer specializes exclusively in luxury watches. They add hundreds of new arrivals every month, each inspected by expert buyers to ensure that only the best brands and models make it to their showroom and website. Afterward, their team of expert watchmakers certify the authenticity of each timepiece and do restorations as needed as part of their commitment to delivering the watches in "like-new" condition. Exceptional shopping experience SwissWatchExpo is known for the exceptional buying experience they provide, whether customers are visiting in-store or online. Their online buying environment is enhanced by providing only the highest details in all representations. Every product page features 10 high-resolution photos of the actual watch on sale and a very detailed product description to simulate the experience of being in the showroom and physically examining a timepiece. Their expert staff is trained on all the watches that they carry, allowing them to provide personalized product advice and education so that each customer finds the perfect watch for their individual needs, taste, budget and occasion. The staff is easy to reach via email, phone, or online chat. SwissWatchExpo is also able to deliver faster than most retailers. Since they own their inventory, there are no waiting lists - all watches listed for sale are in stock and ready to ship. Moreover, SwissWatchExpo is also the only retailer to offer a Same Day Shipping Guarantee. All orders placed before 4 p.m. EST are expected to ship out the same day. Risk-Free, Worry-Free Shopping SwissWatchExpo's guiding conviction is that buying luxury timepieces pre-owned creates the maximum possible value for the consumer. Their global network of dealers and collectors helps them search for the best deals on watches, allowing them to offer better prices on premium items compared to other watch retailers. As they stand behind every purchase, they offer a full 18-month Limited Warranty, along with a liberal No Hassle Return Policy. Call SwissWatchExpo at +1 404-814-1814 to visit their newly renovated showroom or shop watches on their website. Related Images swisswatchexpo-showroom.jpg SwissWatchExpo Showroom SwissWatchExpo's newly renovated showroom. swes-renovated-showroom.jpg SWE's Renovated Showroom Authentic pre-owned luxury watch showroom in Buckhead Atlanta. swe-showroom-staff.jpg SWE Showroom Staff Visit the SWE showroom to inspect and fit watches while being helped by expert staff. Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVa1X0dYZ2o SOURCE SwissWatchExpo Related Links https://www.swisswatchexpo.com BOSTON, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tusk Philanthropies applauds the Massachusetts Senate for unanimously passing An Act Regarding Breakfast After the Bell, following the unanimous House passage late last year. Thank you to Senator Sal DiDomenico and Representatives Aaron Vega and Andy Vargas for sponsoring this bill. Your leadership means that as many as 150,000 at-risk students in the state will now begin the school day with breakfast after the bell. Study after study proves what we already know: hungry kids can't learn. One in nine Massachusetts children faces food insecurity. Implementing Breakfast After the Bell makes their health and education a priority, while tapping into an estimated $25 million in USDA reimbursements every year. It is a win-win for the state. Tusk Philanthropies, the family foundation of venture capitalist and political strategist Bradley Tusk, supported Project Bread, Massachusetts' statewide anti-hunger organization, in this legislative effort. Tusk Philanthropies has seen recent success securing Breakfast After the Bell for students in Maine, New Jersey, Tennessee, Washington, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, and expanded access to food stamps in North Carolina. For nearly 25 years, Project Bread has been partnering with the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to implement breakfast after the bell programs in districts and schools across the state, and worked in partnership with the Rise and Shine coalition to support this legislative effort. Media Contact: Kate Preziosi | [email protected] SOURCE Tusk Philanthropies They're two of the most popular comic actors working in Hollywood. Now Issa Rae, 35, and Kumail Nanjiani, 41, will combine their charisma for the upcoming romantic comedy The Lovebirds. The first trailer for the upcoming film dropped Thursday and stars the actors as a couple enveloped in a convoluted murder scheme. On the run: Issa Rae, 35, and Kumail Nanjiani, 41, combine their charisma and comic skills in the first trailer for The Lovebirds, a romantic comedy about a couple who are framed for murder The trailer opens innocently enough with Issa and Kumail as Julie and Eric, a couple of lovebirds overcome with affection. 'You are unbelievable,' says Eric as he embraces her from a diner booth. 'I love you.' There's a quick montage of the couple on their date as things start to heat up. But a cut to the future shows Eric driving their car just as he crashes into a man on a bike who shatters their windshield. Heating up: The trailer opens innocently enough with Issa and Kumail as Julie and Eric, a couple of lovebirds overcome with affection during a lunch date in a diner Hot pursuit: Later, Eric crashes into a man on a bike while driving. A stranger (Paul Sparks) says he's a police officer and commandeers the vehicle to chase the man on the bike Something's fishy: Instead of arresting him, he runs the man down, then backs over him to make sure he's dead. 'I don't think he's a cop,' Eric realizes too late as the man flees The shocked lovers are interrupted by an unnamed man (Paul Sparks) who commandeers their vehicle. 'I'm a police officer! He's a criminal!' he shouts before taking the wheel. But instead of chasing the man down to arrest him, he runs him down and backs the car over him to ensure he's dead, before running away. 'I don't think he's a cop,' Eric realizes too late, as another couple see the scene of the crime and assume they've murdered the man on the bike. 'He's f***king dead!' cries the man by the crumpled body. 'We know he's dead, but we didn't kill him,' Eric tries to reassure. 'I'd like to report a murder, or whatever,' the woman says after calling 911. The quick-thinking couple start referring to themselves by made up names in hopes of confusing the searchers. 'OK, the guy's name is Jibran. And the girls' name is actually Leilani,' she says on the phone. Mistaken identity: 'I'd like to report a murder, or whatever,' says a woman who passes by the scene of the crime and assume Eric and Julie are responsible Switcheroo: The quick-thinking couple start referring to themselves by made up names in hopes of confusing the searchers Wrong track: 'OK, the guy's name is Jibran. And the girls' name is actually Leilani,' she says on the phone Eric and Julie flee to the diner we first saw them in to come up with a new strategy. 'We have to go to the police because we have nothing to hide,' he concludes. 'Then why did you run from the scene of the crime?' she says. 'Good question, officer.' The trailer also works in a bit of social commentary about police brutality as Julie puts her hand over her chest. 'That's me covering up my body-cam so I can beat your a**.' Good point: Later, Eric says they should turn themselves in, but Julie thinks it's a terrible idea. 'That's me covering up my body-cam so I can beat your a**,' she jokes The hunt: The lovebirds decide their best plan of attack is to try to find the real murderer. The put on a pair of ridiculous disguises and try to break into an apartment building The lovebirds decide their best plan of attack is to try to find the real murderer. The put on a pair of ridiculous disguises, including a unicorn hoodie for her, and try to break into an apartment building. After she finds the door locked, he steps in to give it a try. 'Did you think it was one of those "men only" doors?' Julie asks incredulously. Surprise! After making their way up a fire escape, they ambush a man who suggests they're in over their heads In too deep: 'These people are super dangerous and they're really powerful,' he says After making their way up a fire escape, they ambush a man who suggests they're in over their heads. 'These people are super dangerous and they're really powerful,' he says. Their quest takes them to some kind of experimental theater show where all of the elite guests wear plague doctor masks. 'This is some Handmaid's Tale bulls***,' whispers Julie, though it seems like an Eyes Wide Shut reference. Out of place: Their quest takes them to an experimental theater show where the elite guests wear plague doctor masks. 'This is some Handmaid's Tale bulls***,' whispers Julie, though it seems more like an Eyes Wide Shut reference Whoops: The show is interrupted when a masked figure says an intruder is in their midst and orders everyone to unmask. 'Oh s***, nobody else took their masks off,' Eric realizes too late The show on stage is interrupted when a masked figure says an intruder is in their midst and orders everyone to unmask but it's a trap. 'Oh s***, nobody else took their masks off,' whispers Eric. The now-captured couple find themselves tied up in a barn in the countryside, where an unnamed woman (Anna Camp) threatens them. 'I'm gonna give you lovebirds a choice: what's behind this door, or bacon grease to the face,' she says with a thick southern drawl, showing a bubbling skillet of cooking bacon. All alone: The now-captured couple find themselves tied up in a barn in the countryside, where an unnamed woman (Anna Camp) threatens them Option 1: 'I'm gonna give you lovebirds a choice: what's behind this door...' Option 2: '...or bacon grease to the face,' she says with a thick southern drawl, showing a bubbling skillet of cooking bacon. 'I don't want grease on my face,' says Eric while imitating her accent 'I don't want grease on my face,' says Eric while imitating her accent. The woman reveals what's behind the door: a horse's back side. 'Is it gonna s*** on me?' asks Eric, before the horse kicks him across the room. 'Take the grease,' he whimpers while on his back. The Lovebirds will have its world premiere in March 2020 at the South by Southwest Film Festival and will be released nationwide on April 3, 2020. Even worse: The woman reveals what's behind the door: a horse's back side. 'Is it gonna s*** on me?' asks Eric, before the horse kicks him across the room Lesser of two evils: 'Take the grease,' he whimpers while on his back Japan Confirms Case of Coronavirus Behind Outbreak in China By VOA News January 16, 2020 Japan has confirmed its first case of a strain of a coronavirus that has killed one man and sickened 41 others in China since last month. The Health Ministry says a man in his 30s who lives in Kanagawa prefecture was hospitalized last week suffering from a persistent cough and a fever, which developed after visiting the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. The ministry says the man has since recovered and been released. This is the second reported case of the virus outside of China, after a Chinese woman traveling in Thailand was diagnosed with the virus. Neither person had visited the seafood market in Wuhan that has been identified as the center of the outbreak and that had sparked fears that the virus could spread through human-to-human transmission. The virus is a new strain of the same family of viruses that caused the outbreak of several acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, that killed over 600 people in China and Hong Kong between 2002 and 2003. The detection of this outbreak comes ahead of the Lunar New Year, when hundreds of millions of Chinese normally travel. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A farmer who was wrongly convicted for murdering his wife's sister has spoken out about his shock that his parents covered up for his killer brother. Floyd Bledsoe was caged for life in 2000 after his brother Tom killed 14-year-old Camille Arfmann the year before in Kansas. Tom was arrested and admitted it but retracted his confession after Floyd failed a polygraph test and was put on trial. Floyd Bledsoe (pictured in 2018) was caged for life in 2000 after his brother Tom killed 14-year-old Camille Arfmann the year before in Kansas Tom (pictured) was arrested and admitted it but retracted his confession after Floyd failed a polygraph test and was put on trial He served nearly 16 years in prison until new DNA evidence cleared him and implicated Tom for killing Camille (pictured) in 2015 He served nearly 16 years in prison until new DNA evidence cleared him and implicated Tom in 2015. The murderer killed himself just a week later and was found with three letters admitting the 'rape and murder of a 14-year-old'. His parents had testified saying Tom was at home with them at the time of the murder, with his mother telling Floyd: 'I know Tom didn't do it... you'll be blaming your dad next.' Writing in the Guardian today, Floyd said: 'My brother had withdrawn his confession and my parents testified that, at the time of the murder, he was home with them, sleeping. I can't describe how much that hurt. They didn't look at me.' On his time in prison, Floyd (pictured) said he battled bouts of depression, especially around Christmas and birthdays The then father of two (left), who was 23 when he was convicted, went through appeals with Kansas University School of Law and undertook DNA testing at the end of 2014. Right: Floyd's then wife Heidi On his freedom, Floyd wrote: 'It felt like bliss. I walked out at 3.30pm and went to a restaurant to celebrate with my attorneys and interns. I couldn't thank them enough.' He also revealed he has seen his parents since his release during a visit to his sick mother in hospital. Floyd said all 'I saw this sick old lady, struggling to breathe, and all I had was compassion', adding that his father was 'stand-offish but I learned in prison that I had to forgive them'. The farmer got remarried, to a volunteer from prison, and had a daughter, to whom he gave the middle names Alice and Jean after the two attorneys who helped him prove his innocence. On his time in prison, Floyd said he battled bouts of depression, especially around Christmas and birthdays. The then father-of-two, who was 23 when he was convicted, went through appeals with Kansas University School of Law and undertook DNA testing at the end of 2014. It found his brother's DNA on Camille's body, leading officials to realise Floyd was innocent. Tom was found dead soon after in a car with three letters. In a letter to his wife, Tom Bledose apologized for taking his own life, saying: 'I really loved you but I cannot go on. It's tearing me up inside, reported Topeka Capital-Journal. It found his brother's DNA on Camille's body, but he was found dead on November 9 in a car with three letters. Pictured: Floyd during his release in 2015 In the note to his parents, he asked them to 'please tell Floyd I am sorry'. And in a missive addressed to 'whomever cares' he details how and why he killed Camille. Tom said in the note that he picked her up from his brothers trailer and took her to his parents' house, where the two had sex in their bed. When he found out Camille was just 14 years old, Tom wrote that he 'freaked out'. He went to his truck, grabbed his 9mm gun and pulled Camille to the ground in an attempt to scare her, but he accidentally fired a round to the back of her head, he wrote. 'I didnt mean to kill her,' Bledsoe claimed. But the letter did not explain why he shot the girl three more times and then hid her body in a trash heap. CLEVELAND, Ohio A 33-year-old Cleveland woman is charged in a New Years Day crash that killed one woman and injured five others. Rhonda Butler is charged with fleeing the scene of a crash that caused serious injuries, a second-degree felony. She is not in police custody, and a warrant was issued Thursday for her arrest. Butler admitted that she caused the crash that killed Natalia Woody, 31, of Cleveland Heights, according to court records. The crash happened about 2 a.m. on Superior Avenue near East 71st Street. Butler turned left from Superior Avenue and crashed into a 2004 Saturn Vue, according to court records. The Saturn careened into a traffic-light pole and the engine caught fire. Several bystanders saw the crash and pulled all six people out of the Saturn before flames engulfed the car. Five others in the car, ranging in age from 15 to 25, suffered injuries including fractured hips, neck trauma and other unspecified injuries, according to police. Butler ran away and left her car at the scene, according to police. To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments page. Read more from cleveland.com: Teens carjacked man filling up tires at Cleveland gas station, court records say Cleveland man accused of punching 1-year-old boy, police investigating case as possible hate crime Cleveland man accused of shooting at federal agents faces new sex trafficking charge Gambling house targeted in armed home invasion in Clevelands Glenville neighborhood By Express News Service Ayushmann Khurrana plays a gay man in Hitesh Kewalyas Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan. Produced by Aanand L Rai, the film is a spinoff of Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017). Ayushmann says he did this film to do his bit for the LGBTQ community in India. I was born and brought up in a small city and growing up, I did not have adequate knowledge, understanding on same-sex relationships, Ayushmann says. I have seen my perspective about the LGBTQ community evolve and I slowly recognised the societal stigma and stereotypes associated with the community at large and it pained me. The actor says he was a proud Indian when Article 377 was struck down by the Supreme Court. Human beings are born equal and should be treated as equals. Who they are, whom they love, what their choices are should never be questioned in a free country. But, sadly, that doesnt really happen anywhere and evolution to becoming a better society is always a process, always a work in progress. Im grateful that our nation has also evolved with time and striking down of Article 377 was a historic step towards fostering inclusivity. Kolkata, Jan 17 : In keeping with his penchant for abusive attacks on opponents, BJP West Bengal's President Dilip Ghosh on Friday described as "creatures", "devils" and "parasites" the intellectuals who hit the streets protesting against the new citizenship law. "Some creatures called intellectuals have come out on the streets of Kolkata. These parasitic intellectuals, who live and enjoy out of other's pockets, where were they when our predecessors were tortured in Bangladesh? "These devils live on our food, and oppose us," said Ghosh, referring to a protest march taken out by theatre personalities through the streets of Kolkata. Stooping further low, he commented that those opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act were doing so as "they did not know who their parents are". "That's the reason they say they can't show the birth certificate of their parents," he said. Theatre personality Dulal Mukherjee expressed his dismay over Ghosh's remark. "We are shocked that a Bengali can talk like thus standing in Bengal. Bengal has always fought and won, and shown how battles have to be fought," he said. Chief Minister of Puducherry and senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy on Friday paid floral tribute to a statue of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and founder of the AIADMK M G Ramachandran (MGR) here on his 103rd birth anniversary. All legislators in the union territory were also present. AIADMK legislature wing leader A Anbalagan led a procession of his partymen to pay tribute to MGR's statue amid raising slogans in praise of the late leader. AIADMK legislators and functionaries of its different wings were among those present. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) IRVING, Texas, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 7-Eleven, Inc. announced that it has entered in an agreement to acquire "7Eleven Stores" of central Oklahoma, which includes more than 100 7-Eleven-branded locations that have been operating independently for 67 years. The transaction is anticipated to close in 60-90 days, subject to standard closing conditions and regulatory approvals. All of the stores being acquired are located in the greater Oklahoma City metropolitan area, bringing the total number of 7-Eleven stores in the U.S. and Canada to more than 9,700. "Oklahoma has a growing economy, and this acquisition provides a great opportunity for us to expand regionally," said 7-Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto. Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., the parent company of 7Eleven, Inc., operates almost 70,000 stores in 17 countries globally. About 7-Eleven, Inc. 7Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience-retailing industry. Based in Irving, Texas, 7Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 70,000 stores in 17 countries, including 11,800 in North America. Known for its iconic brands such as Slurpee, Big Bite and Big Gulp, 7Eleven has expanded into high-quality sandwiches, salads, side dishes, cut fruit and protein boxes, as well as pizza, chicken wings and mini beef tacos. 7Eleven offers customers industry-leading private brand products under the 7-Select brand including healthy options, decadent treats and everyday favorites, at an outstanding value. Customers can earn and redeem points on various items in stores nationwide through its 7Rewards loyalty program, place an order in the 7NOW delivery app in participating markets, or rely on 7-Eleven for bill payments, self-service lockers and other convenient services. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com, via the 7Rewards customer loyalty platform on the 7-Eleven mobile app, or on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. SOURCE 7-Eleven, Inc. Related Links http://www.7-eleven.com by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, January 16, 2020 Efforts to pass federal privacy legislation are moving slowly on Capitol Hill, but state lawmakers appear willing and able to pick up the slack. This week, Washington officials unveiled a bill (SB 6281) that would give consumers new privacy rights, including the right to opt out of targeted advertising. The measure -- explored at Wednesday hearing of the state Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee -- would specifically give consumers the right to access, delete and correct data about themselves, as well the right to prevent the use of their data for targeted ads or profiling. The proposed bill also would explicitly prohibit companies from charging different fees, or providing different levels of service, to consumers who don't want their data stored or used by companies. advertisement advertisement The new proposal comes just two weeks after the sweeping California Consumer Privacy Act came into effect. That bill also allows consumers to learn what personal information about them is held by businesses, request the deletion of that data, and opt out of its sale or transfer. California isn't the only other state to tackle privacy. A bill in Maine, set to take effect in July, will require Internet service providers to obtain consumers' opt-in consent before drawing on their web activity for ad targeting. And a new measure in Nevada now requires website operators to allow consumers to opt out of the sale of information traditionally considered personally identifiable -- like names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers. The proposed law in Washington is similar to one that was introduced in the state last year, and passed overwhelmingly by the state Senate, but ultimately stalled in the House. That prior proposal was criticized by some consumer advocacy groups on the grounds that it had too many loopholes. The Association of National Advertisers also opposed the bill, contending that privacy legislation should be nationwide, not state-by-state. This year's bill appears to be meeting with a more favorable reception by some privacy advocates -- though not the ad industry. Justin Brookman, director of consumer privacy and technology policy at advocacy group Consumer Reports, testified this week that the new proposed bill marks an improvement over last year's because it more clearly spells out consumers' rights. On the other hand, Dan Jaffe, executive vice president for government relations at the ANA, says the measure has some troubling provisions, including the one that bans companies from treating customers differently based on whether they allow their data to be used. He says that absolute prohibition on differential treatment is very problematic, because it will prevent companies from instituting loyalty or rewards programs. Jaffe adds that inconsistencies between the proposed bill in Washington and laws in California, Nevada and other states increase the likelihood of fragmentation. States do not seem, at least as of now, to come up with any sort of unified approach, he says, adding that variations in the law can pose problems for advertisers. Keeping up with all this is -- if not impossible -- very, very difficult. Britain will rejoin the EU in the coming decades because young voters will realise leaving the bloc was a mistake, according to the European parliaments chief Brexit coordinator. With just 14 days to go until the UK legally severs its ties with the EU, Guy Verhofstadt also insisted he had received assurances from the Brexit secretary regarding anxieties about citizens rights. After British MEPs packed up their offices in Strasbourg for the last time on Thursday, the former Belgian prime minister raised the prospect of the UK rejoining the bloc due to the demands of younger generations. Taking his seat for the last time in the building on Thursday, the Labour MEP Seb Dance, said: One day British MEPs will get to sit here again and represent our interests and work with our neighbours to solve common problems. Britain is taking a sabbatical. When the comment was put to Mr Verhofstadt on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, he replied: I think that will happen, yeah. Its difficult to say when actually. 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 there will be a young generation in the coming decades who will say look what we have done and we want to go back. I think it will happen. Maybe I will not see it in my life, but it will happen. Appearing later on the programme, the Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan said he disagreed with Mr Verhofstadts prediction that the UK would return to the EU, but he supported holding another referendum in the future to test the theory. Maybe Im wrong, said Mr Hannan. Im perfectly happy to have another referendum in a generations time and let people decide. On associate membership of the EU, Mr Verhofstadt confirmed plans are still being pushed in a move that would allow Britons to sign up to be citizens of the bloc even after Brexit. My idea is that the European Union and European citizenship has to be possible for the European living somewhere else in the world, he said. Mr Verhofstadt , who was in London yesterday for meetings with Steve Barclay, the Brexit secretary, also told the programme the government had conceded by allowing EU citizens to have a hard copy of their settled status confirmation. Those who have been successful in claiming settled status were previously told to use a screenshot of their confirmation on their mobile phone as evidence. They said they were going to look at it so people can print it so they have a physical document, the former Belgian prime minister said. People will have the opportunity to have a printout, probably a PDF document. That was the conclusion of our conversation. Flagstaff Police Department cars lined West Route 66 after reports that a man armed with a rifle wearing a bulletproof vest had entered The Standard student housing development Thursday evening. After almost two hours of officers clearing each floor, officers arrested 25-year-old Kestin Gary, who was allegedly visiting friends, said Charles Hernandez, the FPD spokesman who was at the scene. Police found the reported rifle and ballistic vest, which is believed to be owned by Gary. After locating and interviewing Gary, he was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, Hernandez said. He was very cooperative, Hernandez told the Arizona Daily Sun. He is not charged with any weapons related violations, but it did cause panic with the residents here and we are happy that the outcome of this incident was a peaceful and successful one. Some confused residents stood outside the building along Route 66 after police arrived, while others were asked to stay in their rooms by The Standard's management. Many residents stuck inside their rooms crowded onto balconies as they tried to find out what was going on. After the man was arrested, residents were allowed to return to their rooms. Given the increased awareness of large scale shooter situations across the country, Hernandez said at least 12 officers were sent to the scene as a show of force. Flagstaff police officers were joined by others from Northern Arizona University and United States Marshals, all carrying assault rifles. Hernandez said The Standard has a no-firearms policy and because the man was a visitor, he caused a panic when staff and residents saw a stranger entering with a gun. As the evening turned to night and the temperature dropped, residents were allowed to sit in the buildings lobby, but were not allowed to return to their rooms until the man was taken into custody. The incident caused the closure of one lane on West Route 66 in the middle of rush hour. Updated for correction at 1:25 p.m. on January 17. Adrian Skabelund can be reached at the office at askabelund@azdailysun.com, by phone at (928) 556-2261 or on Twitter @AdrianSkabelund. Love 0 Funny 6 Wow 4 Sad 1 Angry 7 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. Haftar did not sign up to ceasefire deal in Moscow but agreed to comply with terms before talks in Berlin. Libyas renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar said he agreed with the terms of the ceasefire deal in Moscow, in spite of not signing it before he left Moscow. Haftars forces have been fighting the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord for control of the capital, Tripoli, since April. The UN has proposed a monitoring mission in Libya to make sure the ceasefire is not violated. Haftar is expected to attend further talks in Berlin this weekend. Al Jazeeras James Bays reports from the UN. A man charged with the murder of community worker Ian Ogle is believed to be under threat of "imminent physical attack", the High Court has heard. Prosecutors raised further concerns for 33-year-old Glenn Rainey's safety as he failed in a new bid to move to different accommodation in Belfast. Rainey, whose bail address cannot be disclosed, is among three men accused of murdering Mr Ogle on January 27 last year. The 45-year-old victim was beaten and stabbed 11 times by up to five men near his Cluan Place home in the east of the city. The attack occurred against the background of a long-running feud. CCTV evidence allegedly links those charged with the killing. Rainey returned to court to mount a fresh application for permission move to another location closer to the scene of the murder. His legal team argued that he is currently living at an isolated location, enduring conditions made worse by his accommodation being flooded. "It's difficult to imagine a more austere and uncomfortable environment," barrister Sean Devine said. During a previous hearing it was claimed that Rainey is under threat from the UDA in east Belfast. Opposing his latest attempt to switch address, a Crown lawyer disclosed further details on what police believe represents a potential risk to his safety. "The information they have received is there may be some form of imminent physical attack, and the subject of that has the surname Rainey," she said. "That was served on the applicant, he was advised of that." Mr Devine countered that the suspected threat to his client was "ambiguous". But Lord Justice Treacy ruled that Rainey's attempt to vary his bail terms must be refused. He said: "It's quite obvious from the document handed to me that police have reasonable grounds to believe this applicant is the subject of a serious threat. "Given the nature and severity of the threat, and the overall context of this case, I do not consider the address put forward is appropriate." Lev Parnas, an associate of Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is speaking out. In an interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night, the man who was reportedly a go-between for the Trump administration and Ukraine said, "President Trump knew exactly what was going on." Parnas and fellow Ukrainian-American businessman Igor Fruman were arrested in October of last year and indicted for campaign finance fraud. Since then he's been implicated in Giuliani's behind-the-scenes efforts to influence U.S.-Ukrainian relationsa shadow campaign that involved Trump's threat to withhold military aid from the country unless president Volodymyr Zelensky opened a corruption investigation against former vice president Joe Biden's son Hunter for his business dealing in Ukraine. Trump, for his part, has denied that he ever knew Parnas and Fruman. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham responded to MSNBC, saying, "These allegations are being made by a man who is currently out on bail for federal crimes and is desperate to reduce his exposure to prison." When Maddow asked about the president's denial, Parnas was blunt: "He lied." The biggest issue Parnas wanted to correct, he told Maddow, was the White House's claim that Trump was in the dark about demanding political favors in exchange for aid: "He was aware of all my movements. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president. I have no intent, I have no reason to speak to any of these officials." He added, "I mean, they have no reason to speak to me. Why would President Zelensky's inner circle or Minister Avakov or all these people or President Poroshenko meet with me? Who am I? They were told to meet with me. And that's the secret that they're trying to keep. I was on the ground doing their work." Furthermore, the Trump administration was allegedly willing to withhold more than military aid. "It wasnt just military aid," he said. "It was all aid. Basically the relationship would be sour. We would stop giving them any kind of aid." Story continues Parnas also disputed the Trump administration's claim that the president was primarily concerned with corruption in Ukrainea claim that strains credulity considering how little Trump seems to care about corruption in his own administration. "It was never about corruption. It was strictly about Burisma, which included Hunter Biden and Joe Biden," Parnas said. The most potentially explosive part of Parnas's interview, though, is the revelation that other Trump officials and Republicans were well aware of the pressure campaign against Ukraine, including Attorney General Bill Barr. "Barr had to have known everything," he said. "Barr was basically on the team." California congressman Devin Nunes, a Trump ally, has also been implicated. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News last month, Nunes claimed he couldn't remember ever speaking to Parnas. A cache of phone records released this week confirms that the two had been in touch, though, and Parnas told Maddow that Nunes was well aware of his and the administration's work to pressure Ukraine: "I was in shock when I was watching the hearings and when I saw Devin Nunes sitting up there. I texted my attorney. I said, 'I cant believe this is happening. In a Fox News interview on Wednesday, Nunes said he now remembers talking to Parnas: "I just didnt know the namethis name 'Par-nas.' " The most unexpected accusation is against a member of the administration who, so far, has managed to keep his hands clean of any Trump scandal. "Do you know if Vice President Pence was aware that that was the quid pro quo?" Maddow asked, referring to the allegation that Pence's presence at Zelensky's inauguration was dependent on the Ukrainian president announcing an investigation against the Bidens. "Everybody was in the loop," Parnas replied. Rudy Giuliani at The White House, May 30, 2018. The Decline and Fall of Rudy Giuliani The former New York City mayor once polled as the most popular politician in Americaof either party. Today, hes at the center of the scandal that threatens to bring down a presidency. Originally Appeared on GQ General view of WeWork Weihai Road flagship is seen on April 12, 2018 in Shanghai, China. World's leading co-working space company WeWork will acquire China-based rival naked Hub for 400 million U.S. dollars. (Photo by Jackal Pan/Visual China Group via Getty Images) Temasek Holdings and Trustbridge Partners have held talks with WeWork China over increasing their stake in the China branch of the troubled co-working startup to take majority ownership, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The plan values WeWork China at around $1 billion, two of the people said. The proposal was submitted to WeWork's major stakeholder, Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group, at the end of last year, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. Singapore state investor Temasek and Shanghai-based private equity firm Trustbridge want to buy more shares to give them a combined majority stake in WeWork China, according to the people. WeWork currently owns 59% of WeWork China, with the remainder held by other investors including SoftBank, Hony Capital and Trustbridge, according to the group's prospectus for its initial public offering. The Chinese unit had raised $500 million in July 2018 from investors including Temasek, Trustbridge, SoftBank and Chinese fund Hony Capital in a deal valuing the firm at about $5 billion. That was the second round, with the firm having previously raised $500 million in 2017. A new deal giving Temasek and Trustbridge a majority stake would likely mean that WeWork China would go through a down round a fall in valuation following a new investment if the proposal got passed but could significantly ease the financial burden on WeWork and SoftBank. They added that the discussions were at an early stage and a deal was not certain. SoftBank, Temasek and WeWork declined to comment. Trustbridge did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The larger WeWork group is undergoing a broad restructuring after it was thrown a $9.5 billion lifeline by SoftBank following a failed public offering and the ouster of founder Adam Neumann. However, SoftBank's plan to secure $3 billion from Japan's three biggest banks have stalled, likely complicating its rescue package for WeWork, Reuters has reported. WeWork China has set out ambitious revenue goals for 2020, Reuters reported last month, even though it faces staff cutbacks and weak occupancy numbers at its properties across China. In 2018, WeWork China generated $99.5 million in revenue, according to WeWork's IPO prospectus. WeWork's woes have had a ripple effect across the sector, impacting the likes of UCommune, WeWork China's rival, which is trying to launch an initial public offering. Citigroup and Credit Suisse walked away from underwriting UCommune's IPO because they decided they could not deliver the offering at a previously discussed valuation. UCommune has now tapped little-known U.S. investment bank Benchmark Company to launch its listing, Reuters reported earlier this month. Chinas birth rate has fallen to its lowest in nearly 70 years despite the Communist Party of China (CPC)-led country easing the strict one-child policy three years ago, the latest official statistics revealed on Friday. The birth rate in China is now 10.48 per 1,000, official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday said. In real terms, the number of newborns dropped by 5,80,000 to 14.65 million. Chinas birth rate has been falling for years and that was why the government gradually eased the one-child policy, which was in place since the late 1970s. The latest figures reflected severe structural and demographic problems, which is alarming and merits policy attention, analysts told the state-controlled media. In simple terms, it means that China now has an ageing population and the smaller, younger and working population would have to support older generations. The new statistic marked consecutive declines in the countrys newborn figures. Chinese mothers gave birth to 15.23 million in 2018, marking the lowest number since 1961. The birth rate of 2019, lower than the 10.94 per 1,000 in 2018 and 12.43 per 1,000 in 2017, was also the lowest recorded since 1952, Ning Jizhe, head of the NBS said at a press conference on Friday. Zhai Zhenwu, president of the School of Sociology and Population Studies at the Renmin University of China believes the number of newborns in 2019 conformed to expectations of around 14.5 million. The number of 14.65 million newborns is still quite large compared to the US, where the annual newborn population stands at around 4 million, Zhai told the tabloid, Global Times. An official book on Population and Labour co-released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Social Sciences Academic Press in January 2019 said the turning point of Chinas population could arrive around 2028 after the population peaks to 1.44 billion. However, many demographic experts said this estimation is too optimistic. They estimated the year 2023 or 2024 to be the threshold for population negative growth, the news report said. Many of those surveyed for a government report last year had said the primary factor for not wanting a second baby could be the rising cost of raising a child especially financing education. The generation born in the 1980s and 1990s no longer perceives having children as an essential part of their marriage, thus driving down the fertility rate, local authorities from a county had told state media, adding that those in their 30s and 40s find it difficult to balance work and their personal life and tend to discard the idea of having a second child. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/17/2020 -- The global cross-laminated timber market was valued at US$ 712.74 Mn in 2017 and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 14.7% from 2018 to 2026, according to a new report titled 'Cross-laminated Timber Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20182026,' published by Transparency Market Research (TMR) The global cross-laminated timber market is driven by rising demand for cross-laminated timber and its increasing acceptance from the construction industry. Rise in Demand for Cross-laminated Timber from the Construction Industry is projected to Drive the Market Cross-laminated timber offers various advantages over conventional construction materials such as concrete and steel. It is considered a highly advanced building material due to its superior properties. It is safe, acoustically sound, fire proof, seismically resilient, light in weight, and easy to transport and fabricate. Moreover, it can be prefabricated, which reduces construction time significantly. It is an eco-friendly and sustainable material. It is being increasingly used in the construction industry, mainly in residential construction. A rise in the use of cross-laminated timber in construction is anticipated to drive the market over the forecast period. Cross-laminated Timber is Considered to be the Future of Sustainable Construction Increase in awareness about deforestation and climate change has increased demand for cross-laminated timber across the globe. In most countries, forest and climate sustainability is a top priority. Hence, government agencies, timber trade federations, and large construction companies are promoting the use of cross-laminated timber. Awareness regarding sustainable forest management by substituting soft and temperate wood species is on the rise. Usage of wood in buildings has clear advantages. Cross-laminated timber reduces fresh water consumption. It enhances the quality of the indoor environment. It also helps in keeping the environment clean, as it generates no waste during production. The only constituents of a CLT building system are wood and a non-toxic/non-VOC adhesive. Cross-laminated timber building materials do not release any toxins into the indoor environment, thereby providing clean indoor air. Cross-laminated timber wall systems can breathe naturally. When integrated with appropriate mechanical systems, they create a healthy indoor environment. Wood is a naturally occurring product that serves as a moisture management system in construction. Ideally manufactured with 12% moisture content, wood has the ability to absorb and release moisture. This can naturally stabilize the indoor environment. Constructing with timber reduces the carbon footprint. The raw material for cross-laminated timber is timber i.e. wood , which is a renewable resource and has carbon locked in it. Higher Cost of Cross-laminated Timber and Lack of Awareness about the Material are Hindering the Cross-laminated Timber Market Construction by using cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a relatively new concept. CLT was first developed and used in Germany and Austria in the early 1990s. It was only after the mid- 1990s that extensive research on the product was conducted. By the 2000s, CLT was being used much widely in Europe, in single-storied as well as multi-storied buildings. The construction sector is largely dominated by the use of conventional materials such as concrete and steel. Construction using cross-laminated timber is currently more expensive as compared to that using concrete and steel. This is likely to restrain the market. Moreover, awareness about cross-laminated timber and its properties is low across the world. Cross-laminated timber can be used for constructing tall buildings, but its use is limited to low- and mid-rise buildings currently, as there are no codes and regulations available for the use of cross-laminated timber in construction. Adhesive-bonded Cross-laminated Timber Segment to Dominate the Global Cross-laminated Timber Market Based on type, the global cross-laminated timber market has been segmented into adhesive-bonded cross-laminated timber and mechanically fastened cross-laminated timber. Both segments are anticipated to expand at a rapid pace during the forecast period. However, the adhesive-bonded cross-laminated timber segment is likely to expand at a faster pace. Compared to mechanically fastened CLT, adhesive-bonded CLT is used on a larger scale during construction. Cross-laminated timber panels consist of several layers of lumber boards stacked crosswise and glued together. Adhesive is used to assemble CLT panels. Very few manufacturers of cross-laminated timber use the process of mechanical fastening to manufacture CLT. Manufacturers use aluminum nails or wooden dowels to connect wood layers vertically. Residential Construction Segment Dominates the Global Cross-laminated Timber Market In terms of application, residential buildings is a prominent segment of the cross-laminated timber market. In residential buildings, cross-laminated timber is used in walls, roofs, and ceilings. Flooring and walls made from cross-laminated timber can be assembled fully before reaching the project site. This prefabrication helps in decreasing the construction time and cost. Cross-laminated timber is less commonly used in construction in industrial and commercial spaces. They require strict building codes of strength to be followed. In order to achieve that, the number of cross-laminated timber panels used increases, and the cost of construction rises significantly. Currently, the use of cross-laminated timber is limited to low-rise and mid-rise buildings. Europe Dominates the Global Cross-laminated Timber Market In terms of geography, the global cross-laminated timber market can be classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Europe is a leading consumer as well as producer of cross-laminated timber across the world. The region held a major market share in 2017 and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. Key drivers of the cross-laminated timber market in Europe include the green development movement, changes in building codes, and consistent efforts for marketing by CLT manufactures. Building codes in Europe are focusing on the use of wood in construction to promote sustainability. In terms of volume, North America holds a prominent share of the global cross-laminated timber market. High demand for and wide-scale adoption of cross-laminated timber as a construction material in the region has boosted the market in North America. Asia Pacific is another significant region of the cross-laminated timber market. Demand for CLT in the region primarily comes from countries such as Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. The demand in these countries is estimated to be high during the forecast period. In 2017, Latin America and Middle East & Africa were minimally significant regions of the cross-laminated timber market compared to other regions. However, both regions are estimated to witness significant growth in the consumption of cross-laminated timber during the forecast period. However, lack of technical knowhow is expected to inhibit the rapid growth of the cross-laminated timber market in these two regions. Strengthening of distribution channels in these regions is anticipated to help market players expand their footprint in the near future. Request a Sample Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=51738 High Degree of Competition among Market Players High degree of competition exists among market players operating in the cross-laminated timber market. The market is dominated by large players and is moderately consolidated. Key players account for a major share of the market. Major players profiled in the report are Stora Enso, Mayr-Melnhof Holz Holding AG, Binderholz Bausysteme GmbH, KLH Massivholz GmbH, HASSLACHER Holding GmbH, Structurlam Mass Timber Corporation, Nordic Structures, Ed. Zublin AG, Eugen Decker Holzindustrie KG, Sterling Lumber Company, Inc., and W. u. J. Derix GmbH & Co.. San Jose Police Department A 14-year-old girl was kidnapped and brought to a San Jose motel, but police said the teen used the social media app Snapchat to free herself from the kidnappers. The San Jose Police Department said in a news release that the 14-year-old, whose name was withheld, encountered 55-year-old Albert Thomas Vasquez in Capitola on Tuesday. Vasquez allegedly "gave the victim drugs," and with the assistance of 34-year-old Antonio Quirino Salvador and 31-year-old Hediberto Gonzalez Avarenga, put the incapacitated victim in a vehicle against her will. The Ukrainian side proposed to withdraw forces near the railway bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska, near Avdiyivka, Novoselytsia 2, and at the Hnutove checkpoint. Ukrainian and Russian officials during another round of Minsk talks on Donbas settlement Thursday, January 16, discussed nine possible sites in the Donbas warzone for disengagement of forces, but only one was ultimately agreed. The Ukrainian side insists on disengagement in the area of the railway bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska, near Avdiyivka, Novoselytsia 2, and in the vicinity of the Hnutove checkpoint, hromadske reported with reference to two sources in the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk. Read alsoSBU busts "LPR" attempt to recruit official from Ukraine's Justice Ministry For its part, Russia is insisting on forces withdrawal in the area of Shchastia, Veselohorivka, Rassadky, Shyrokiny, near Avdiyivka and the Hnutove checkpoint. As a result, the parties ultimately agreed only on the disengagement of forces near the Hnutove checkpoint, one of the sources told hromadske. The parties shared the coordinates with the OSCE and agreed to hold their next meeting on January 29, 2020. The executives of four small and medium-sized tech companies urged Congress on Friday to curb what they call the monopolistic power of the giant firms in the industry, including Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. During testimony before a special hearing held by the House subcommittee on antitrust matters in Boulder, Colorado, the heads of smaller rivals said they are at a competitive disadvantage against the tech titans. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence, PopSockets CEO David Barnett, Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson and Tile General Counsel Kirsten Daru took the stand and told Democratic and Republican lawmakers about their struggles to gain a foothold in a marketplace dominated by the giant firms. Big Tech firms often co-opt ideas for new products first developed by the smaller companies and then use their dominant position in the marketplace to undercut their competitors on price, the executives told lawmakers in Boulder on Friday. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence (left) and Tile General Counsel Kirsten Daru (right) testified before a House subcommittee on antitrust affairs on Friday about ways in which big tech firms stifle competition In April 2019, Tile.com, which helps users find lost or misplaced items, suddenly found itself competing with Apple Inc, after years of enjoying a mutually beneficial relationship with the iPhone maker. Apple carried Tile on its app store and had sold its products at its stores since 2015. It had even showcased Tile's technology at a big event in 2018. The startup had sent an engineer to Apple's headquarters to develop a feature with the company's voice assistant, Siri. Then, in early 2019, Tile's executives read news reports of Apple launching a hardware product, along with a service that resembled what Tile sold. In June, Apple stopped selling Tile's products in its stores and has since hired its engineer. The smaller companies are seeking to urge Congress to look at how big tech use their considerable clout to hurt rivals. Similar investigations are underway at the Justice Department, at the Federal Trade Commission, and with a bipartisan collection of attorneys general from dozens of states. 'After thoughtful consideration and months of bringing our concerns to Apple through regular... channels, Tile has made the decision to continue raising concerns over Apple's anti-competitive practices,' Tile's general counsel Kirsten Daru told Reuters in an interview ahead of the hearing. An Apple spokesman said the company has not built a business model around knowing a customer's location or the location of their device. In September, House lawmakers asked more than 80 companies for information about how their businesses may have been harmed by anti-competitive behavior from Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Alphabet's Google. In October, Committee Chairman David Cicilline said he expected to have a final report on its probe by the 'first part' of 2020. On Friday, Cicilline delivered a scathing statement against big tech. 'Companies... both large and small, have found themselves dependent on the arbitrary whim of these platform giants, one algorithm tweak away from ruin,' Cicilline said. PopSockets CEO David Barnett is pictured in the above undated file photo. Barnett accused Amazon on Friday of forcing the company to lower prices on its popular collapsible phone grips while also offering for sale counterfeit grips on its platform 'Because their decisions are largely unaccountable, opaque, and result in sweeping consequences, the dominant platforms effectively serve as private regulators,' he said. PopSockets, a seller of collapsible phone grips, testified against Amazon. The company's chief executive, Barnett, said the firm started as a seller on Amazon's third-party marketplace and then sold items directly to Amazon as a vendor, but decided to end its relationship with the company after two years in 2018. Barnett said Amazon required PopSockets to pay almost $2 million in marketing so it could market its products as originals in the face of a wave of counterfeits. The online retailer 'frequently lowered their selling price of our product and then expected and needed us to help pay for the lost margin,' he said. 'On multiple occasions we found that Amazon Retail was itself sourcing counterfeit PopGrips and selling them alongside our authentic products,' he told lawmakers. Amazon spokesman Jack Evans said PopSockets was free to choose which retailers it supplies and could choose to stop selling via Amazon. Third party sellers continue to sell the product on the platform. 'We've continued to work with PopSockets to address our shared concerns about counterfeit,' Evans said. Basecamp, which sells an online project management tool, complained about Google allowing competitors to bid to have their own ads run when its trademarked name was typed into the search engine. David Heinemeier Hansson is chief technology officer of Basecamp, which sells an online project management tool. Hansson complained about Google allowing competitors to bid to have their own ads run when its trademarked name was typed into the search engine It said the practice allowed competitors to purchase ads that made it hard for consumers to reach Basecamp's website, co-founder Hansson told Reuters in an interview ahead of the hearing. The company has opened multiple trademark infringement investigations with Google but the process is 'onerous and slow,' he said. 'Google's monopoly on internet search must be broken up for the sake of a fair marketplace,' Hansson said. Basecamp is now forced to run a more than $70,000 annual advertising campaign to counteract the effect, he said. Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said for trademarked terms like names of a business, the company's policy balances the interest of both users and advertisers. Google allows competitors to bid on trademarked terms because that offers users more choice when they are searching, but if a trademark owner files a complaint, Google blocks competitors from using their actual name in the text of the advertisement, Castaneda said. A federal judge might force Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to directly employ tree trimmers enough to make its power lines less likely to start more catastrophic wildfires. U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Thursday ordered PG&E to show why he should not make a new tree-trimming employment requirement part of the companys probation arising from the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion. Specifically, the judge said he might direct PG&E to hire and train, as part of its own workforce, sufficient crews, and equipment to inspect and to trim and remove all vegetation that could collide with power lines as required by state law and PG&Es own fire-prevention plan. PG&E currently relies on contractors to trim and remove trees around power lines. Alsups filing indicates he is considering making PG&E shift toward hiring tree trimmers directly. The judges order came one day after PG&E in response to questions Alsup posed admitted the company fell short on some aspects of its fire-prevention plan last year. PG&E also said it cannot always assure perfect compliance with vegetation management rules. Alsup is overseeing PG&Es probation from the pipeline blast, which killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes. He already made fire prevention part of the probation terms in response to a series of deadly and destructive fires caused by PG&E power lines, including the 2018 Camp Fire that killed 85 people and destroyed about 14,000 homes. The Camp Fire was caused by high-voltage electrical equipment that broke in the wind. But other fires caused by PG&E, including fires that tore through the North Bays Wine Country in October 2017, began after vegetation collided with power lines. PG&E must file a written response to Alsups latest order at least one week before a Feb. 19 hearing. The company said in a statement that it was aware of the ruling and will respond within the deadline set by the court. Alsup wrote that that PG&E had admitted it was not in full compliance with its probation. He also cited comments from PG&E CEO Bill Johnson that electrical blackouts could be required at some level for a decade during dry windstorms. The judge said it was due, at least in substantial part, to PG&E having failed to comply with California law regarding trimming and removing hazard trees. PG&Es next response must rely entirely on facts under oath, Alsup said. He also asked the company to include details from the era during which PG&E did, in fact, have its own vegetation removal/trimming crews. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California More Information Correction: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect figure for the number of deaths from the 2018 Camp Fire. It is 85. See More Collapse In its response to the judge on Wednesday, PG&E said that part of the problem with perfectly maintaining trees around power lines stems from the size of its vast electric system and its dynamic natural conditions that can and do change on a daily basis. A tree that was compliant at the time of a prior inspection might become a non-compliant hazard tree one day later when it is damaged by a natural event or human intervention, including lightning strikes, car accidents, ground disturbances and extreme weather, or three months later after a bark beetle infestation has taken hold, PG&E attorneys said. The company exceeded its goal for an expanded vegetation management program last year but told Alsup that only 60% of it initially passed work-quality reviews. PG&Es original goal was 92%. All power-line miles that did not initially pass inspections had to be reworked, attorneys said. J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris "He (Singh) was given many chances to use his right of follow up on his mercy petition pending with the President but his advocate did nothing about it. Even the Patiala House court gave them 20 days time to find out," he said. Badrinath said that there was a 99 per cent possibility that the execution would take place on January 22. The convict had asked that he be given 14 days time between the rejection of his mercy plea and the scheduled date for execution. "He has already exhausted that fourteen days time," Badrinath said. "Why did he file the curative petition two days ago, what was his lawyer doing all this while when the jail authorities and Patiala House court had given him time? We are happy that the mercy petition has been rejected. I congratulate the President for his decision. It will instill fear in criminals who commit such ghastly crimes. We are confident that the hanging of criminals will take place on January 22 itself," he added. President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy petition of the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case convict Mukesh Singh. The President's decision comes a day after the Union Home Ministry on Thursday night sent Singh's mercy petition to him recommending its rejection, hours after the plea was received from the Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal's office for review. A Delhi court on Thursday had directed the Tihar Jail authorities to submit a report regarding the pendency of the mercy petition, one of the four death row convicts in Nirbhaya's gang rape and murder. The 23-year-old woman was brutally gang raped and tortured on December 16, 2012, which later led to her death. All the six accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused was a minor and appeared before a juvenile justice court, while another accused committed suicide in Tihar Jail. The remaining four were convicted and sentenced to death by a trial court in September 2013, and the verdict was confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014 and upheld in May 2017 by the Supreme Court, which also dismissed their review petitions and curative petitions. (Sfoorti Mishra can be contacted at sfoorti.m@ians.in) ---IANS sfm/bc Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 01:50:52|Editor: yan Video Player Close TIRANA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Albania's Interior Ministry plans to improve road safety by introducing a series of tough measures in 2020, Interior Minister Sander Lleshaj said here on Friday. Lleshaj made the statement while attending a meeting on road safety organized jointly by his ministry, the Albanian State Police and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy. Road accidents kill five times more people in Albania than criminal acts, Lleshaj said. "A lot of people are killed in the streets of the country and their number should be reduced. Only in one week, police penalized 371 drivers by suspending their driving licenses," Lleshaj said. Lleshaj said that the so-called "idiot test" practised in Germany will be introduced in Albania, whereby drivers will have to undergo a medical-psychological assessment. The Interior Ministry will propose to the government amendments to the Road Code in order to decrease the number of road accidents and increase the awareness of drivers, the minister said. Lleshaj said that the ministry will also take measures to increase the responsibility of driving schools. The Director General of the State Police, Ardi Veliu, said that in 2019 a total of 227 people died in Albania due to road accidents, 14 more than in 2018. President Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump appeared to mock the stutter of former vice president Joe Biden, telling him at a Women for Trump event: 'Let's get the words out, Joe.' Trump, the wife of Trump Organization exec Eric Trump and a senior advisor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, made the comments on stage at the event in Iowa Thursday. 'I feel kind of sad for Joe Biden,' she said, while tearing into the Democratic presidential pool and ripping his debate performance. 'And you know that's when it's not going well for him, right?' "Let's get the words out, Joe,' Donald Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump said at a Women for Trump event, mocking former VP Joe Biden's stutter 'Because I'm supposed to want him to fail at every turn, but every time he comes on stage or they turn to him, I'm like, 'Joe, can you get it out?' she remarked. 'Let's get the words out, Joe,' she mocked. 'You Kind of feel bad for him. The problem is that's their front-runner, guys, Okay?' she said, earning laughs at Biden's expense. She said the Democratic field has 'zero chance' of beating her father-in-law, in video clipped by CBS News. Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh wrote on Twitter that Lara Trump was not referring to stuttering. 'Biden was a terrible candidate the first 2 times he ran for president & hes no better this time. He doesnt know what state hes in half the time & thinks Thatcher is still British PM. Nothing to do w/speech impediment. Just bad candidate,' he wrote. On Tuesday night, Biden briefly stammered during some of his answers on the Democratic debate stage, something he has done occasionally at his public events. It is a problem he has spoken about openly before, including about his efforts as a teen to overcome the problem and begin a decades-long career in politics that included long speeches in the Senate. Lara Trump made the comment at a 'Women for Trump' event in Iowa Former Vice President Joe Biden has spoken about overcoming his stutter, which has briefly revealed itself during debates Lara Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, is a senior advisor to her father-in-law's campaign Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders apologized after tweeting about Biden's debate performance last month Biden shot back on Twitter Lara Trump's swipe came weeks after former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders apologized after mocking Biden's stutter in a tweet. 'I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what Biden is talking about #DemDebate,' she said after mocking his stutter in a December presidential debate. 'To be clear was not trying to make fun of anyone with a speech impediment,' she tweeted after her earlier post drew condemnation online. 'Simply pointing out I can't follow much of anything Biden is talking about.' She deleted her tweet. Biden's comment which drew Sanders' ridicule referenced talking talking to kid who stutters and says 'I-I-I can't talk, what do I do?' Biden shot back from his Twitter account at the time: 'I've worked my whole life to overcome a stutter. And it's my great honor to mentor kids who have experienced the same. It's called empathy. Look it up.' Minh, who is also head of the Vietnam sub-committee in the Vietnam-China Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation, said 2020 carries an important meaning in the two countries traditional friendship as they celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of their diplomatic ties and look back at the neighbourly friendship built and nurtured by the late Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong along with the two countries revolutionary predecessors. According to the Deputy PM, January 18, 1950 was a year featuring one of the most important milestone in the history of Vietnam-China relations as. Not so long after its establishment, the Peoples Republic of China became the first country in the world to set up diplomatic ties with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam). Over the course of 70-years of development, the Parties, States and people of the two countries have stood side by side and have always supported each other whenever possible, contributing to the success of the respective revolutionary causes of national liberation and the building of a socialist society. Over the past seven decades, relations between Vietnam and China have experienced many ups and downs, but the friendship and cooperation remains salient, Minh wrote, adding that the amity built and nurtured by late Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong and generations of leaders of the two nations has become common valuable asset for both countries that helps maintain the trends of stable development of bilateral traditional ties that benefit both peoples. Particularly, since the normalisation of relations in 1991, Vietnam and China have deepened their rapports in all fields from politics and economy to culture, security and defence. High-level exchanges and meetings between the two Parties and States have regularly been maintained in diverse forms. The two countries leaders have reached many important common outlooks, which contribute to the reinforcement and enhancement of political trust and comprehensive cooperation in all arenas, as well as serve as the long-term strategic direction for the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations, Minh said. He added that the two sides have agreed to develop bilateral relations under the motto friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, and looking forward to the future (set in 1999) and in the spirit of good neighbours, good friends, good comrades, and good partners (set in 20050. In 2008, Vietnam and China entered into a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. This is the highest level of cooperation framework in Vietnams relations with any country around the world, and China was also the first country to build this framework with Vietnam. With joint efforts, the bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has maintained stable development and achieved a lot of exciting progress over the past years. So far, Vietnam and China have set up nearly 60 mechanisms of exchange and cooperation from central to local levels in almost all fields, according to the Deputy PM and FM. The two Parties cooperation has been strengthened, contributing to building a deep trust between the two countries. The two sides have maintained regular delegation exchanges in personnel training and Party building; organised high-level meetings and theoretical workshops for experience sharing in Party building, State management, reforms and international integration; and signed and effectively implemented cooperation agreements between the two Parties. Vietnams National Assembly and Chinas National Peoples Congress, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, and ministries and sectors of the two countries have constantly expanded their exchange and cooperation. To date, Vietnam and China have successfully held 11 meetings of the Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation, along with other undertakings such as border defense friendship exchanges, strategic security dialogues and defence strategy dialogues. The two nations have maintained mutual visits by naval ships; conducted joint patrols on land and the Gulf of Tonkin and joint fishery inspections; and held young officer exchanges. The two sides have also seen dynamic cooperation among their localities and Chinese cities and provinces, which have produced practical benefits for both sides. Nearly 50 Vietnamese cities and provinces have set up friendly ties with those in China with exchange events held. The most notable events include spring meetings of Party Secretaries of four Vietnamese provinces Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang and Ha Giang and Chinas Guangxi as well as of the joint working committee of those five localities; conferences reviewing cooperation between Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities and Chinas Guangdong; the joint working group between Vietnams Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Dien Bien and Chinas Yunnan; economic corridor cooperation between Vietnams Hanoi, Lao Cai, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh and Chinas Yunnan. During these meetings, the two sides discussed ways to enhance mutual understanding and trust, bolster substantive ties in all areas, remove barriers and together build a border of peace, friendship and stability which plays a vital role in developing the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic partnership in a stable and healthy manner. Exchanges between mass organisations have been expanded to strengthen trust and mutually benefit cooperation and create a solid basis for bilateral relations. The two countries have jointly organised many cultural events, for example the peoples forum, the peoples friendship festival, the border peoples festival and youth friendship meeting. Bilateral ties in economics, trade, investment, science-technology, culture, education and tourism have also witnessed significant progress. In November 2017, Vietnam and China signed a memorandum of understanding on promoting connectivity between the Two Corridors, One Belt initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative. Since 2004, China has remained Vietnams largest trade partner. Today, China is Vietnams biggest import market and second largest export market, while Vietnam is Chinas biggest trade partner in ASEAN and the 8th largest trade partner in general. Two-way trade hit 106.7 billion USD in 2018, 3,300 times higher than that of 1991. In the first 11 months of last year, the bilateral trade totalled US$105.75 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.71 percent. As of the end of last November, China was the seventh biggest foreign investor in Vietnam with 2,739 FDI projects, worth US$16.1 billion in total. China has provided Vietnam with long-term soft credit packages and non-refundable financial aid to support the latters socio-economic development. About five million Chinese tourists visit Vietnam annually. Currently, there are 11,000 Vietnamese students pursuing their studies at Chinese universities while some 2,000 Chinese nationals are studying in Vietnam. Under stated agreements and common perceptions reached by the two countries leaders, outstanding problems in bilateral ties have been step by step solved. The two countries signed a wide range of important documents that create the prerequisite to build a Vietnam China borderline that boosts peace, stability and development, contributing to enhancing the traditional relations as well as cooperation between the two sides. The agreements include the Land Border Treaty (signed in 1999), the agreements on maritime boundary delimitation and on fishery cooperation in the Gulf of Tonkin (2000), and three documents on land border management (2009). At present, disagreements and different perceptions remain still between the two countries on issues at sea. High-ranking leaders of the two Parties and countries have reached many important common outlooks on controlling disputes and maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea. The two sides signed an agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues in 2011 while establishing and maintaining a governmental-level negotiation mechanism on borderlines and territories, meetings between deputy foreign ministers, and three negotiation mechanisms of expert-level working groups on the area off the mouth of the Tonkin Gulf, cooperation in less sensitive sea-related areas, and cooperation for common development at sea. Regarding recent developments in the East Sea, Vietnam persistently protects its legitimate rights, while patiently pursuing peaceful dialogues to handle any differences. Valuable experiences during the negotiations on the land borderline and delimitation of the Tonkin Gulf, together with the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues and common perception between leaders will create the prerequisite and trust for the two sides to continue talking to seek measures to step by step settle the East Sea issue in a peaceful manner on the basis of the two countries long-lasting friendship, respect for legitimate rights and interests of each other, and in accordance with international law, particularly the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) between ASEAN and China. In conclusion, Deputy PM and FM Minh affirmed that the achievements in the Vietnam China relations in the past seven decades are valuable assets of both peoples. This year, the two countries will join hands to organise a multitude of celebration activities, which Minh said are expected to create a new driving force for bilateral relations. He expressed his hope that 2020 will mark a new period of development of the relations between the two Parties, States and peoples. Leaders of several opposition parties differed on Pakistan prime minister Imran Khans possible visit to India this year as some remained guarded and others said they supported the government in its decisions on foreign affairs. Imran Khan could be in New Delhi as India will play host to the annual meeting of the council of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) later this year. However, it remains unclear whether he will accept an invite that India is going to send out. Congress leader Anand Sharma said that since India, as a host, has to extend an invitation to Pakistan, the party would reserve its comments. It would be Pavlovian to comment on the development at this moment. As a host country, India is bound to invite Pakistan. We dont know yet if Pakistan would accept, said Sharma. The Nationalist Congress Partys (NCPs) Majeed Memon said that when it comes to external affairs, the party stands with the government. It is only on internal matters like the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Population Register that the party stands opposed to the government. We want cordial relationships with our neighbours and a shrewd and successful diplomatic policy by the Indian government. We need India to articulate among global partners that it is a victim of terrorism emanating from ones neighbourhood, said Memon. He added that it will be in Pakistans interest, as well, to understand that Kashmir is a bilateral issue which can only be discussed on the table in a peaceful manner. Theres no room for intimidation, he added. The Rashtriya Janata Dals Manoj Jha said that there is a complete lack of consistency on the governments position on Pakistan. At one point we are severing ties, and at another, we are inviting them. Mature democracies do not work like that, Jha said. India will be hosting the meeting of the council of heads of government of the China-led SCO for the first time this year. India and Pakistan were admitted to the eight-member economic and security bloc in 2017, sixteen years after it was founded in 2001 by Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Known in the country and internationally for its impeccable sense of taste, a celebrated household name, Society Teas brand campaign, The Tea Society Called India celebrates the unifying and proudly home-grown tea drinking culture across the length and breadth of our country. The premium tea makers and a celebrated household name, Society Teas wonderful human interest campaign The Tea Society Called India- is a visually appealing photo essay campaign, capturing the tea drinking culture of India. Talking about this wonderful campaign, Karan Shah, Director, Society Tea said, Society Tea has always been invested in the cause of charity. 'The Tea Society Called India' campaign gave us an opportunity to go back to our roots. It is a unique campaign to unlock the human bond. These artistically shot images can be framed in households, offices or can be gifted to your loved ones, while at the same time, making a difference to the society. Through this campaign we are hopeful to reach out to underprivileged children, deprived women & living creatures, who will get to see a better day because of the support. To essay a wonderful human interest brand story campaign idea, the right set of photographers and filmmakers were arduously handpicked for lyrical, documentary style of photography and film. An extension to their brand campaign The Tea Society Called India, https://teasocietycalledindia. com/ offers photo essays of human interest. These pictures can be bought on the website, proceeds of which will be donated to the NGO of buyers choice. Donate to your choice of charity and make a difference. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: Eurogas has taken one more step towards reducing methane emissions, as it joined the Methane Guiding Principles initiative a voluntary partnership of industry and civil society organizations aimed at reducing methane emissions across the natural gas supply chain, from production to end consumer, Trend reports citing Eurogas. Eurogas is an association representing the European gas wholesale, retail and distribution sectors towards the EU institutions. Founded in 1990, Eurogas currently comprises 46 companies and associations from 21 countries. This development stresses the gas industrys commitment to reducing methane emissions in relation to natural gas. The European Commission is expected to bring forward an EU methane strategy in the first quarter of 2020, said the association. Eurogas Secretary General, James Watson noted that members of Eurogas have always been committed to limiting methane emissions in their networks and will continue to work on and implement best practices. Joining the Methane Guiding Principles partnership is another step in this direction. It includes cooperation on advancing strong performance across value chains, improving transparency and data accuracy, and positively engaging in dialogue on methane regulation with policymakers, noted Watson. He pointed out that gas will play a crucial role in supporting countries across Europe to address their carbon emissions. Using gas for power generation, industry, transport and heating will help meet future energy demand while achieving decarbonisation. Therefore, working together with serious partners from across the spectrum of energy sector interests to reduce methane emissions is the right and responsible action to take. The Methane Guiding principles focus on five priority areas for action along the natural gas supply chain: Continually reduce methane emissions; Advance strong performance across the gas supply chain; Improve accuracy of methane emissions data; Advocate sound policy and regulations on methane emissions; Increase transparency. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn by Sumon Corraya Atiqul Islam is running in North Dhaka. About 300 Protestants and Catholics, clerics as well as lay people, throw their support behind the party of the countrys prime minister. Caritas Asia president backs fast-paced economic development. Dhaka (AsiaNews) Hundreds of Dhaka Christians came out yesterday to show their support for Atiqul Islam, who is representing the Awami League (Al) in the race for the post of North Dhaka City Corporation mayor. The election is scheduled for 30 January. The capital of Bangladesh is divided into municipal bodies, the North Dhaka City Corporation (DNCC) and the South Dhaka City Corporation (SNCC). A total of 14 candidates are running for the two top jobs. Atiqul Islam is a modern person, said Pankaj Gilbert Costa, president of the Christian Co-operative Credit Union of Dhaka. To make the city more modern, we have to vote for him. Some 300 Christians attended at a press conference with the candidate at a restaurant. Protestant clergymen and lay leaders were also present, but no Catholic priests. According to Pankaj Gilbert, a lay Catholic, "the only option for making Bangladesh a secular country is the Awami League. I urge Atiqul Islam to support the Christian community in case of victory. As the incumbent mayor, Islam expressed gratitude for the support of the Christian community and promised to "remove all difficulties and modernise the city. Noting that We have a lot of challenges, he told those present: Let us make a new modern Dhaka. Having already started some new projects, he wants voters to give me more opportunities to deserve your vote. The DNCC includes neighbourhoods with an important Christian presence. Islams challenger is Tabith Awal from the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The BNPs Ishraque Hossain and the ALs Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh are running for the post of mayor in South Dhaka. Some 3.3 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots in North Dhaka, whilst 2.3 million can do the same in South Dhaka. Benedict Alo DRozario, former executive director of Caritas Bangladesh and current president of Caritas Asia, also attended the meeting. The Awami League is doing a lot to develop our country, he said. We want this fast pace to continue. This is why we support the party in the municipal elections. Rev Philip P Adhikary, founder of the Talitha Koumi Church of Bangladesh, an evangelical Christian organisation, is also an AL supporter. We have supported the Awami League from the beginning. We must vote for this party and we hope our candidate wins. The Protestant prelate especially wants to see the citys streets cleaned and hawkers removed. We support the Awami League for the new generations, said Nirmol Rozario, one of the organisers of the event. We believe the party can make Dhaka a better city for Christians. The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether former FBI Director James Comey illegally leaked classified information to the media regarding the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server, according to a new report. The active investigation centers on media leaks to the New York Times and the Washington Post in early 2017, describing a secret Russian document that played a role in the Clinton investigation, people familiar with the matter told the Times. In 2016, Dutch intelligence hacked Russian computers and obtained the document, which they shared with the FBI. The document was a purported Russian intelligence analysis of an email exchange between Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, then head of the Democratic National Committee, and Leonard Benardo, who worked with the George Soros-backed group Open Society Foundations. The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether former FBI Director James Comey (above) illegally leaked classified information to the media The Russian summary said that Schultz had assured Benardo that then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch wouldn't let the Clinton email investigation go too far, implying that the Obama administration would protect Clinton. The Post and the Times reported on the Russian document in 2017, and the Post, citing 'people familiar with its contents,' said that it 'has long been viewed within the FBI as unreliable and possibly a fake' by Russians. The new investigation is examining whether Comey was one of the 'people familiar with the matter,' and disclosed information about the highly classified document in a possible effort to both discredit it and defend his actions in the Clinton investigation. Schultz and Benardo have denied that they ever traded the email described in the document. The Russian document, whether it is real or fake, is believed to have played a key role in Comey's handling of the Clinton email investigation. Hillary Clinton was cleared of criminal charges in the probe after Comey made an unusual public announcement that he would not recommend prosecution The Russian document described an alleged email exchanged in which Debbie Wasserman Schultz (left) claimed that AG Loretta Lynch (right) would go easy on Clinton Fearing that the contents of the document would be leaked by Russia, Comey decided to hold his highly unusual press conference saying that the FBI did not recommend criminal charges, but blasting Clinton for poor judgement in the matter. Typically, the FBI privately informs federal prosecutors of its charging recommendation. It is the second time federal prosecutors have investigated Comey for possible leaking of classified information. Last year, the DOJ decided not to prosecute Comey for leaking classified information for handing over memos on his meetings with President Donald Trump to a Columbia law professor after Trump fired him. The professor went on to describe the contents of the memos to the media. After the fact, the FBI classified two of those memos as 'confidential.' Its been four months since 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez was reported missing from a Bridgeton playground and her whereabouts remain a mystery. Supporters gathered at Bridgeton City Park on Thursday morning for a vigil marking the grim milestone. Jackie Rodriguez, who has acted as a spokeswoman for Dulces family, said they want to keep the missing girls name out in the public in hopes that someone will step forward with information. Today marks four months since Dulces disappearance, she said. We should have the same hope since day one. Dont give up on her. She needs you. Noema Alavez Perez took her two kids, Dulce and Manuel, to the park on Sept. 16 after stopping for ice cream. The mom remained in the car with her 8-year-old sister while the kids ran off to a nearby playground. A short time later, Alavez Perez found 3-year-old Manuel in tears at the playground and her daughter was gone. In a 911 call, she told a dispatcher that her daughter may have been taken. The disappearance prompted several searches of the park and surrounding areas, as well as several searches by concerned residents. Dulce Maria Alavez was reported missing from Bridgeton City Park on Sept. 16. Police issued an Amber Alert for a man who may have taken the child in a van, but authorities later said the man was someone they just wished to interview. In October, police released an image of a man they wanted to speak with who was spotted in the park that day with two kids under the age of 5 around the time Dulce was reported missing. Bridgeton Police Chief Michael Gaimari told Bridgeton City Council last week that investigators have made significant progress in their investigation recently, but he has declined to elaborate. Officials say Dulces family continues to cooperate in the investigation. Alavez Perez shared her story on the Dr. Phil TV program in December and Dr. Phil McGraw contributed to the reward in the case, bumping the total up to $75,000. As the search continues, Rodriguez has also launched a petition drive to get surveillance cameras installed at the park. Anyone with information about Dulce asked to call the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at 609-882-2000, ext. 2554, or the Bridgeton police at 856-451-0033. Tips may also be phoned in to 1-800-CALL-FBI and select option 4, then select option 8. Anonymous tips may be sent by text to TIP411 with Bridgeton in the message line. Investigators released this image in October of someone they want to speak with in connection with the September disappearance of 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez. Today marks the 4th month since 5-year old Dulce Maria Alvarez went missing from a park in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Please help the #FBI and law enforcement to #finddulce. Call the tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI and select option 4, then select option 8. https://t.co/a0P8iW9t5z pic.twitter.com/z9H5yI22jp FBI Newark (@FBINewark) January 16, 2020 Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. THE owners of Northern Ireland cafe business Synge & Byrne are scouting for the chain's first location in the Republic as they seek to Brexit-proof their firm. Director and co-owner Adrian Garvey said the chain hoped to open its first outlet here by the second quarter of this year, and would target regional and commuter towns for expansion. Synge & Byrne has seven outlets in Northern Ireland, in towns and cities including Belfast, Newry, Derry and Dungannon. But Mr Garvey, who runs the business with his brother Damien, told the Irish Independent that the chain had put expansion in Northern Ireland on hold in the last few years due to a more subdued business environment there. He said that finding staff in Northern Ireland also remained difficult, although with near full employment in the Republic, the chain is likely to encounter similar difficulties here. He said the company's plan was always to expand into the Republic. "That's where the growth is for the future," he said. Mr Garvey said that Synge & Byrne believed growth would be in what he called "community cafes", which have deep local roots and become focal points in the towns and villages in which they operate. "We have done very little in Northern Ireland in the last two years," he said, citing business uncertainty there. "But you have to move on from that." He said that around Dublin, Synge & Byrne would steer away from locating premises inside the M50 due to the higher costs associated with stores closer to the city. The Garveys - whose BWL Group also operates the O'Brien's Sandwich Bars chain in Northern Ireland - developed the Synge & Byrne concept in 2013 and initially opened three outlets, with plans for almost 20 by 2018. Native American Woman Calls Out TSA Agent for Pulling On Her Braids and Saying Giddyup A Native American woman is standing up for herself after she says she was disrespected by a TSA agent at airport security earlier this week. Tara Houska was at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on Monday when she was put in an uncomfortable situation while undergoing a pat-down at security, she wrote on Twitter Monday. She explained that the TSA agent said she needed to pat down my braids, to which Houska complied. Then, however, Houska said the agent pulled [the braids] behind my shoulder, laughed & said giddyup! as she snapped my braids like reins. Houska added that as a Native woman, she felt angry and humiliated by the situation. My hair is part of my spiritYour fun hurt, she wrote. Going through @TSA at @mspairport, the agent said she needed to pat down my braids. She pulled them behind my shoulders, laughed & said giddyup! as she snapped my braids like reins. My hair is part of my spirit. I am a Native woman. I am angry, humiliated. Your fun hurt. tara houska (@zhaabowekwe) January 13, 2020 While Houska tried to explain to the middle-aged blonde woman who had casually used her authority to dehumanize and disrespect [her] how she felt, she did not receive the response she was looking for. Well it was just in fun, Im sorry. Your hair is lovely,' Houska recalled as the womans response. That is NOT an apology and it is NOT okay. AP Photo/Alan Diaz TSA told PEOPLE in a statement that it had been made aware of allegations made by a traveler about her screening experience at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Monday morning, and that officials investigated the incident Tuesday afternoon. Story continues RELATED: TSA May Cut Passenger Screening at 150 U.S. Airports as Experts Call Idea Completely Nuts To further understand the situation, Cliff Van Leuven, TSAs Federal Security Director for Minnesota, reached out to Houska. Van Leuven apologized to her for the insensitive comment and actions that occurred during the screening, the statement said. TSA holds its employees to the highest standards of professional conduct and any type of improper behavior is taken seriously, it continued. Van Leuven sent an additional email to the airports TSA agents, fully owning up to Mondays incident. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Did it actually happen? Yes. Exactly as described? Yes, Van Leuven wrote in the email, which was obtained by PEOPLE. He continued that during his very pleasant phone call with Houska, she asked that TSA take the chance to continue to educate our staff about the many Native American Tribes/Bands in our state and region to better understand their culture. RELATED: 84-Year-Old Army Veteran Challenges TSA Agent to Push-Up Contest Before Her Flight As a frequent traveler, Houska told Van Leuven, she has never had an issue in Minnesota, which is why the incident took her by surprise. We all make mistakes, he wrote in the email. Treating the public we are sworn to serve and protect with dignity and respect is our calling every passenger, every day. Well learn from this After speaking with Van Leuven and seeing TSAs statement, Houska said she felt the response was a good resolution from a bad situation. Miigwech for uplifting this @kare11 & miigwech @TSA for being responsive & professional. My braids are not reins, I should be treated with dignity, as should everyone else. Good resolution from a bad situation. We need more education & empathy for one another. #TeachingMoment https://t.co/uFRMvqtSY7 tara houska (@zhaabowekwe) January 15, 2020 We need more education & empathy for one another, she wrote on Twitter, adding that she found the situation to be a teaching moment. I should be treated with dignity, as should everyone else, Houska wrote. Taliban offer temporary ceasefire to US in Afghanistan Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 7:03 PM The Taliban have offered a brief ceasefire to the United States, a move which could lead to the resumption of talks between the two sides and withdrawal of thousands of American troops from Afghanistan. The ceasefire offer was reportedly handed to Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington's envoy for talks with the insurgents, late Wednesday in Qatar, a Persian Gulf Arab country where the Taliban maintain a political office. Taliban officials familiar with the negotiations on Thursday confirmed that the offer was made to US negotiators in Doha. "It is an offer for a ceasefire either for seven or 10 days," media outlets quoted an unnamed source as saying. "It has been finalized and given to the Americans. It is going to pave the way for an agreement," the source added. A second insurgent source, based in Pakistan, also said the offer had been handed to the US. This came hours after Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the Taliban had shown "a willingness" to reduce its attacks. "Today, positive progress has been made, the Taliban have shown their willingness to reduce the violence, which was a demand... it's a step towards the peace agreement," said Qureshi in a video statement. Islamabad has helped facilitate the talks between the Afghan Taliban and Washington in Qatar. Pakistan was one of only three countries to recognize the Taliban regime, and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency stands accused of backing the bloody insurgency in Afghanistan, but Islamabad denies the accusation. The Taliban and the US had been negotiating the deal for a year, and were on the brink of an announcement in September 2019 when President Donald Trump abruptly declared the process "dead". Talks were later restarted between the two sides in December in Qatar, but were suspended again following an attack near the Bagram military base in Afghanistan, which is run by the US. Washington has for weeks been calling on the militants to reduce attacks on US forces, posing it as a condition for resuming formal negotiations on an agreement that would see US troops begin to leave the country after a near two-decade war. On Saturday, two Americans were killed in a Taliban-claimed bomb blast targeting a US military vehicle in southern Kandahar. More than 2,400 US service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Last year was the deadliest in five years for the US in Afghanistan, with 23 American troops killed in the country. The US invaded the Central Asian country after the September 11, 2001 attacks under the banner of seeking to fight "terror" thousands of kilometers away from its own borders. The invasion deposed the Taliban, but the group has never ceased its operations across Afghanistan, and has vowed to keep up its attacks until the withdrawal of all US-led forces. The US began negotiations with the militants under President Donald Trump. The Taliban, however, abandoned the talks, citing lack of resolve on the part of Washington to end the military intervention. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Flipkart Flipkart has partnered with vendors in Hyderabad to test delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables, as per a report by The Economic Times. The e-tailer has applied for a food retail permit for its newly registered entity Flipkart FarmerMart, sources told the publication. This will help the Walmart-owned company's food inventory in India, as directed under the foreign direct investment (FDI) norms. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story. Flipkart plans to open six brick-and-mortar grocery stores after receiving the license, a process that might take six months, the report said. Flipkart has so far partnered with Waycool Foods & Products and other sellers on the platform, the report said. Ninjacart, which recently received a joint investment from Flipkart and Walmart, is expected to support a part of the supply in future, the report added. "Grocery is one of the key categories at Flipkart...the pilot project with fresh food in Hyderabad aims to get a better understanding of consumer behaviour and the supply chain that we are developing to address the demand for this category," Flipkart told the paper. Flipkart FarmerMart currently has an authorised equity capital of Rs 1,845 crore. The new development comes in face of stiff competition in the food and delivery segments in India. The food retail license will be granted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). By PTI BEIJING: China on Thursday played down Russia's backing for India and Brazil's entry into the UN Security Council as a permanent member, saying all parties have "major differences" in the matter and instead advocated for a "package solution". Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during his visit to New Delhi on Wednesday, backed India and Brazil to be permanent members of the UNSC. "We are convinced that the overriding trend of the global development is the objective process of the formation of new centres of economic might, financial power and political influence and India is obviously one of them," Lavrov said. Reacting to Lavrov's statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said member countries of the UN have differences over reforms in the world body. China, which has veto power in the UNSC being one of its five permanent members, has been stonewalling India's efforts to become permanent member of the powerful UN body for years, pointing out lack of consensus even though the other four -- US, UK, France and Russia -- have backed New Delhi's membership. ALSO READ | China should reflect on global consensus; refrain from raising Kashmir at UNSC: India Beijing's all-weather ally, Pakistan, is also opposed to India becoming a permanent member. India, Germany, Brazil and Japan have formed the G4 bloc to press for their permanent membership demand as part of the reforms in the United Nations. China, however, has backed India for non-permanent membership of the UNSC for the year 2021-22. In his reply on Thursday, Geng said reform of the UNSC is very important as it concerns the long-term development of the UN and interests of all members. "Now all parties have major differences on this and we do not have broad consensus on the reform. So, China would like to work with other members to find a package solution that accommodates the interests and concerns of all parties through dialogue and consultation," he said. He said the UNSC is the core of international collective security mechanism and any reform to better implement its duty enshrined in the UN charter and the reform should enhance the representation and say of developing countries so that more medium-sized and small-sized countries can participate in the decision-making process of the security council, he said. 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 04:52:05|Editor: yan Video Player Close GAZA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian officials and observers warned on Friday that the living situation in the Gaza Strip has reached the bare minimum in all aspects of life. Amid worsening humanitarian crises, the narrow impoverished coastal enclave, home for over 2 million Palestinians, needs a serious and immediate international intervention to end the people's sufferings. The United Nations has repeatedly warned of a humanitarian deterioration in Gaza. In 2019, it issued a report warning that the Gaza Strip will not be suitable for living if Israel continues imposing blockade on the enclave. Palestinian officials said it is essential and urgent to allow comprehensive relaxations based on economic development to achieve dramatic changes of the daily life in the Gaza Strip. Jamal al-Khodari, chairman of the Popular Committee for Ending Gaza Siege, said the UN report was a real warning of the humanitarian deterioration in the Gaza Strip suffering the Israeli blockade. "The situation in the Gaza Strip is expected to get worse during this year in all aspects of life, where humanitarian sufferings will increase with rising rates of poverty and unemployment," he told Xinhua. "Gaza might still be an area that fits for living, but at a bare minimum or below the international or Arab criteria. This makes the Gaza Strip one of the poorest areas in the world," al-Khodari said. About 85 percent of the Gazans live under the poverty line with the individual income of two U.S. dollars per day, and 300,000 are unemployed in the coastal enclave, according to the Palestinian official. Besides poverty and unemployment, hospitals in the Gaza Strip face 50-percent shortage of medications and medical facilities, forcing many patients to seek medical treatment abroad. Electricity shortage is another nightmare for the Gaza Strip. The majority of Gazan households have power cuts at least eight hours per day although Qatar has been providing fuels for the operation of the sole power station in the coastal enclave. The Gaza Strip is also suffering a severe shortage of healthy water even with the inauguration of several desalination projects because not every family can afford to buy such water on a daily basis. Israel has been imposing a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip since Hamas seized control of the enclave in the summer of 2007 from the security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Notably, Israel has waged three large-scale air and ground offensives against the militants in the Gaza Strip. The longest came in the summer of 2014 which lasted 50 days, causing devastation to housing and infrastructure in the coastal enclave. Over more than a year and a half, Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations have been mediating cease-fire understandings between Hamas and Israel in order to ease the humanitarian situation and prevent mass confrontations between the two sides. "There might be some positive indications that the economic situation in the Gaza Strip would improve in 2020 in case Israel fulfils its promises to ease the blockade," said Ali el-Hayyek, chairman of the Gaza Businessmen Association. Lifting the Israeli restrictions on export and import and speeding up the reconstruction projects "would certainly put an end to the hard living situation," he noted. Tens of thousands fled towns in the Philippines when the Taal volcano erupted Sunday, blanketing the region in ash and raising worries that a more dangerous eruption could come. But while residents have emptied out towns, many pets and farm animals have been left behind. Evacuation centers are supposed to have spaces for animals, but many people could not ferry their livestock and pets without assistance. Operations to rescue abandoned animals have been organized by animal rights organizations and by citizens through social media. On the main highway in the town of Talisay, Bantiling, 21, cradled her cat Lala. Two more cats, Tony and Pikachu, meow and stick their noses out from the bag slung on her back. She has three bundles of clothes, her neighbor's two dogs - Queenie and Bimpo - and a box of three puppies. Bantiling's family evacuated on Sunday, but she said she couldn't sleep knowing their pets were left behind. She is waiting for volunteers to pass by, hoping they can pick up her pets for her to eventually retrieve once the eruption dies down. The Burlington County man accused of masterminding a sham fundraiser for a once-homeless Philadelphia vet that collected more than $400,000 from well-wishing donors appeared for his arraignment in federal court Thursday. Mark DAmico stood before U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman in Camden for a formal acknowledgment of the 16 indictment counts a federal grand jury hit him with earlier this month. With his attorney Mark Davis, he pleaded not guilty to all counts in the indictment. Federal authorities charged DAmico, 40, in October 2019 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment announced Jan. 8 2020 added 14 counts, focused on specific transactions within the alleged conspiracy: four wire fraud counts, and 10 for money laundering. DAmicos ex-girlfriend, Kate McClure, and the vet, Johnny Bobbitt, have pleaded guilty in two courts for their roles in the scam. And DAmico has pleaded guilty to one crime in New Jersey state court. On Thursday, Davis and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Bender and Jason Richardson told Hillman they expect a significant amount of time will be needed to review the discovery evidence in the case. A hard drive from the Burlington County Prosecutors Office, who also brought charges in the case, contains about 250 gigabytes of data, and files Davis has yet to receive from the federal government could bring that total to 450 gigabytes, Davis said. Its voluminous. Hillman ruled DAmico will remain free on bail conditions set in October 2019 when he was federally charged. A trial could potentially begin in October 2020 or January 2021, Bender said, but no future court dates have been firmly set. There is an order to continue the case until at least June 30 to allow for discovery. Davis is looking at hiring third-party litigation support and an outside investigator, he said in court. Hillman said the prosecution and defense will need to meet and determine who will pay for those services. All counts in the indictment announced Jan. 8 focused on the viral Paying it Forward GoFundMe campaign launched in late 2017, featuring a fake story about Bobbitt giving his last $20 to a stranded McClure, who had run out of gas on I-95 in Philadelphia. In truth, McClure and DAmico - who were living in Florence at the time - met the homeless Bobbitt, a former Marine helicopter technician, when he was asking for change near the SugarHouse Casino. At one point, they gave him $10. A Facebook message asking a friend to donate to the 2017 campaign resulted in one wire fraud count. Another count came when the friend charged $50 to their Visa card while making a donation. Two status updates on the GoFundMe page were also included in the indictment as wire fraud charges. The money laundering counts include loading more than $12,000 onto a prepaid card for McClure, a separate deposit of more than $327,000 into her account, the purchase of a Palomino Solaire trailer for Bobbitt, a $25,000 transfer to Bobbitt and a BMW purchase. DAmico, along with McClure and Bobbitt, were charged in both state and federal courts after investigators learned the campaign was a scam. McClure, 29, and Bobbitt, 36, have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in state and federal courts. Neither have been sentenced in federal court, a U.S Attorneys Office spokesman said Thursday. Bobbitt is serving a five-year sentence in state drug court. DAmico pleaded guilty in state court in December to misappropriating entrusted property - meaning he admitted only to spending the money from the campaign. Davis - a Hamilton, Mercer County attorney who represented DAmico in both his state and federal cases - has noted the state plea is not an admission to fraud conspiracy, or in other words, masterminding the campaign. Johnny Bobbitt with Kate McClure and Mark DAmico in happier times. Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Dubai, Jan 17 : A Dubai court has ordered an Indian expat teacher to pay a 10,000 dirham ($2,722) fine after he was found guilty of a defamation charge. The 31-year-old was convicted of posting an altered picture of another man on his Instagram account, depicting him as a dog, the Khaleej Times said in a report on Thursday. The court confiscated his smartphone, took down the post and shut down his Instagram account. According to public prosecution records, the case dates back to April 2019. On June 4, 2019, the complainant, a 40-year-old Indian manager, learned that the defendant posted a photo of him on his Instagram account by altering it and adding a dog's picture with a caption reading "we have a new breed of dogs for sale". The manager reported him to the criminal investigation department and the cybercrime department, after which the teacher was apprehended. The complainant told the investigator that he learned from an Indian woman about the post which the latter claimed was also shared on Twitter and other social media platforms. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Miami, January 16, 2020Chilean authorities should immediately investigate an attack on the daily newspaper El Mercurio de Antofagasta and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Masked men broke into the newspapers headquarters in Antofagasta, a city in northern Chile, on January 13, damaging several offices, stealing equipment, and setting several fires, according to an El Mercurio de Antofagasta journalist who spoke with CPJ, and news reports. Local press reported that at around the time of the attack a protest passed in front of the papers headquarters. The outlets general manager, Carlos Rodriguez, told Radio Cooperativa on January 13 there was no sign of the protest outside during the attack. He added that he believes the attack was orchestrated against El Mercurio. It is the third attack in less than three months against the El Mercurio media conglomerate. CPJ previously documented an October 19 attack against El Mercurio de Valparaiso in Valparaiso and a November 26, 2019 attack against the headquarters of El Lider in San Antonio. Journalists at those outlets told CPJ at the time they believed they may have been attacked because of their editorial stance. Constanza Caldera, a journalist who was in the El Mercurio offices at the time of the January 13 incident, said it was not clear if the attack had been planned. Protests started in Chile in October over a raise in subway fares in the capital, according to news reports. President Sebastian Pinera reversed the measure days later, but protests continued. Caldera told CPJ yesterday that since protests began, demonstrators have attacked the outlet, including by throwing stones, breaking windows, equipment and cameras, and setting fire to the entrance door. Caldera said that anonymous accounts on social media sent messages threatening to set the paper on fire. It is alarming that a third violent attack has been carried out against the El Mercurio group, CPJ Central and South America Program Coordinator Natalie Southwick said from New York. Authorities must take swift action to bring those responsible for the attack on El Mercurio de Antofagasta to justice, to send an unequivocal message: attacking the press is never justified. During the attack, which took place around 8 p.m., around 20 employees had to take cover and try to put out the fires, according to press reports. Caldera told CPJ the attack lasted around 15 minutes and caused panic, especially when fires were set. The Chilean police is investigating the attack, according to press reports. The Chilean Investigative Police did not answer a phone call from CPJ seeking comment. A statement from the National Press Association, an independent association of Chilean media outlets, said that attacks on the press like the one on El Mercurio de Antofagasta have been clearly organized and seek to silence the press. [EDITORS NOTE: This alert has been updated to correct the spelling of Constanza Calderas name.] Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Friday hit out at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for violating constitutional norms after the State government approached the Supreme Court against the new citizenship law and said he will seek a report in connection to the matter. The Governor also said that his duty is to ensure that the constitutional machinery does not collapse in the state. "The role of the Governor is clearly spelt out in the oath which is prescribed by the Constitution. I shall preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and law and shall devote myself to service and welfare of the people of Kerala," Khan told reporters here. He read out the clause of Rule of Business and said he was informed about the state government's decision to move the Supreme Court challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "My role is to see the business of the government is transacted in accordance with the Constitution. I am there to ensure that the Constitution is respected and followed in letter and spirit," Khan said, adding he was not claiming supremacy and that no one is above the law. "I was not even informed that the government is going to challenge a Central law which is none of the concern of the State government. The CAA is a subject of the Central list as specified in the Constitution," he said. The Governor further said, "The government cannot issue any order without the approval of the Governor. If the government wants to issue an order to go to the Supreme Court, they should first seek approval from the Governor. The Rule of Business is clear. My duty is to ensure that the constitutional machinery is not collapsed." Khan later told ANI that there are no differences between him and the Kerala government. "There are no differences between us. It is my responsibility to ensure that things do not reach a stage where there is a collapse of the constitutional machinery," he said. The Vijayan-led government has moved the top court against the new citizenship law alleging it violates the basic principle of secularism. The Kerala Assembly had also passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of the CAA that grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and who entered 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.) A 20-year-old from Toronto has been charged in a crash that killed a Brampton teen in Caledon last summer. Malik Singh, 19, was one of several passengers in a van that crashed into the ditch on Shaws Creek Road, north of Highpoint Road in the Caledon on July 24, 2019. Singh was killed; four other passengers were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries in the single motor vehicle collision, police said. Palwinder Singh, 20, of Toronto, was charged on Friday with dangerous operation causing death and four counts of dangerous operation causing bodily harm. Read more about: Arakhamia also believes there are no objective reasons for Honcharuk's resignation. Chairman of the of Servant the People parliamentary faction David Arakhamia has said the faction is ready to vote for the resignation of Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk if it is backed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. "If the president backs the idea of his resignation, I guarantee you that we will back it within one day. If he doesn't support it, everything will be fine, we will continue our work," Arakhamia told journalists on Rada sidelines, RBC-Ukraine reports. Read alsoUkraine's PM Honcharuk submits resignation letter He said there were no objective reasons for Honcharuk's resignation. "Never change horses midstream. We have a Cabinet. It has been formed, there is a government action program, and a new budget has been adopted for this program... We are one team, we don't have covert arrangements," Arakhamia added. While support for Spelman remained consistent throughout the year, conversations about the future of federal funding for historically Black colleges and universities came to a head during the fall of 2019 after a bill to permanently fund HBCUs stalled in the Senate before eventually being signed into law. Known as the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act, the law, which received bipartisan support, will provide HBCUs with a minimum of $255 million in permanent annual federal funding. As Spelman gears up for 2020, the support of donors and permanent federal funding through the $255 million allotted to HBCUs through the FUTURE Act, will allow the College to continue to thrive. In addition to earning its No.1 HBCU status for the 13th year in a row from U.S. News & World Report, the College secured the No. 6 spot on U.S. News' inaugural list of Top Performers on Social Mobility. A hot topic in 2019, the designation is an indication of how a Spelman degree plays a dominant role in moving alumnae from one economic strata to another. "Social mobility is a critical measure of college outcomes," said Spelman President Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D. "The recognition that our undergraduate teaching, academic innovation, and overall value contribute to the increased social mobility of our graduates is important as we strengthen programs and develop new initiatives and partnerships to continue providing students with the competitive advantage they need to be successful in this 21st century environment." Elevating the Spelman Difference In 2019, Spelman's name could be found at the top of numerous national rankings and members of the College's administrative team were acknowledged for their leadership. The College also received funding to assist in its support of professional development for faculty. Dr. Campbell led the College to new heights in 2019 while achieving some milestones of her own. Before the turn of the decade, she spoke to Curbed Atlanta about the future of the West End and how Spelman and its partners in the Atlanta University Center have supported educational improvements in the district. In addition to winning book awards, and lending her arts expertise to numerous public discussions, she formally joined the J. Paul Getty Trust Board of Trustees. Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell Wins Hooks Institute Book Award The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis selected "An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden" as the winner of its 2018 Hooks National Book Award. Written by Dr. Campbell, "An American Odyssey" is a telling biography of the full and vibrant life of artist Romare Bearden. The Hooks Institute's National Book Award is presented to a published nonfiction book that best furthers understanding of the American Civil Rights Movement and its legacy. "It is an honor to receive an award named for the transformative civil rights leader, Benjamin Hooks," said Dr. Campbell, who presented a lecture at the University of Memphis this fall. "I am honored, as well, to join the distinguished lineage of past awardees and to have been among the outstanding finalists for this recognition." Spelman College President and Arts Historian Named to the J. Paul Getty Board of Trustees In July of 2019, Dr. Campbell was named to the board of trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts. "We are delighted to welcome Dr. Campbell to the Getty Board," said David Lee, Ph.D., incoming board chair. "Her wealth of experience and leadership in the arts and philanthropy make her an invaluable addition." Getty's 12-member board, which consists of leaders from a range of industries, works to set policies related to spending, management, governance and grant making. Trustees are elected to four-year terms, and may serve no more than three terms. Spelman College, Morehouse College & Prairie View A&M University Receive $3M in Grants from Carnegie, Mellon and Rockefeller Foundations to Support Faculty Development Spelman was among three HBCUs selected to receive a total of $3 million in grant funding to support faculty development. The Carnegie Corporation of New York and The Rockefeller Foundation awarded $1 million to Spelman. Morehouse College and Prairie View A&M University each received $1 million from Carnegie Corporation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, respectively. The grant will support Spelman faculty plans to grow the curriculum in areas of emerging importance while nurturing the trajectory of leaders on campus and in their respective fields, as well as share best practices with the broader HBCU community. Spelman Remains No.1 HBCU, Ranked in Top 10 for Social Mobility and Innovation by U.S. News & World Report Spelman earned several top spots on the 2020 U.S. News list of college rankings. For the 13th year in a row, the College was ranked No. 1 HBCU and debuted on two lists, including No. 22 on the list of Best Undergrad Teaching Programs and No. 32 on the Study Abroad list. In addition, the College ranked No. 6 on the inaugural list of Top Performers on Social Mobility, which is an indication of how a Spelman degree plays a dominant role in moving alumnae from one economic strata to another. Spelman also made a significant jump to No. 6 on the list of Most Innovative Colleges, up from No. 35 in 2019. The College was No. 57 on the list of National Liberal Arts Colleges and No. 98 on the list of Best Value Colleges, up from No. 104 in 2019. Provost Sharon Davies Named as One of 35 Top Women in Higher Education Celebrating women in the academy, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education included Sharon Davies, J.D., Spelman provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, in its 2019 Top 35 Women in Higher Education . In its second year, the list honors the contributions of women to higher education who stand out for their ability to forge solutions to the unprecedented challenges facing the nation's higher education community. Provost Davies, along with representatives from several other UNCF-member institutions, was formally recognized in the magazine's March 2019 issue. Promoting Academic Innovation The Atlanta University Center Consortium, the world's oldest and largest association of HBCUs in the country, celebrated more than an anniversary last year. In addition to marking 90 years of excellence in higher education, the AUCC and its member schools implemented key initiatives in STEM and the arts that will benefit students on all three campuses. UnitedHealth Group Invests $8.25 Million in AUCC Data Science Initiative Spelman is part of a new initiative designed to prepare students within the AUCC to meet the growing demand for data scientists and data analytics experts. Initial funding by the UnitedHealth Group, a five-year $8.25 million investment in the AUCC and its members - Spelman, Clark Atlanta, Morehouse and Morehouse School of Medicine - will support the launch of the AUC Data Science Initiative. The new initiative will offer technical classes for students who want to specialize in data science or learn data analysis to give them a competitive edge in the job market. The Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective Launches Inaugural director Cheryl Finley, Ph.D., took the helm of the AUC Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective last year. The program, which is designed for future art historians, curators, museum professionals and those pursuing a career in the visual arts, enrolled its first cohort of students from Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, and Spelman, desiring degrees in art history and curatorial studies. In addition, the Collective debuted its Early College Program for high school students. Philanthropist Jon Stryker Awards Spelman With $2 Million Match for Endowed Queer Studies Chair Named After Poet and Activist Audre Lorde The College will establish a new chair in Queer Studies, backed by a matching gift from philanthropist Jon Stryker of up to $2 million. This first-ever chair of its kind housed at an HBCU will be named after celebrated poet and civil rights activist Audre Lorde and attached to the Comparative Women's Studies Program housed at Spelman's Women's Research and Resource Center. Last year, Spelman began a fundraising campaign to raise $2 million. The chair is expected to be hired in 2021. Leonard & Louise Riggio Donate $2 Million Gift for New Center for Innovation & the Arts The College is closer to breaking ground on a new academic facility designed to bring the arts, technology and innovation into close collaboration with one another thanks to Leonard Riggio, founder and former chairman of Barnes & Noble, and his wife Louise who made a $2 million gift toward the construction of the Center for Innovation & the Arts. The Center will be home to a community of innovators, collaborators, artists, filmmakers, dancers, musicians, curators, art historians and scientists. Delivering the Spelman Promise In 2019, the College worked to develop programs that will ensure that each and every student who enrolls graduates. From supporting budding healthcare professionals to developing a program to make sure more Black women pursue Ph.D.s in economics, Spelman is working to ensure that students graduate, not just with a degree but, with a competitive edge, prepared to step into leadership roles. The Department of Defense Funds Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM The College received a $2 million grant from the Department of Defense to support its continued growth in STEM education. The Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, which is affiliated with the Office of Research, Innovation and Collaboration, is the first center of its kind and serves as the hub for all STEM undergraduate research and training activities at the College. "The Center aligns with the College's strategic priorities and ensures that our students are empowered and equipped to enter competitive STEM fields," said Dr. Campbell. Spelman Prepares Students to Succeed in the Healthcare Field The Health Career Opportunities Pipeline Preparation Program celebrated its 10th anniversary in April 2019. Founded by Rosalind Gregory-Bass, M.D, C'92, director of Spelman's Health Careers Program , chair and associate professor of environmental and health sciences, this unique program supports aspiring health professionals. The concept for HCOPPP grew out of a summer science program funded by the federal government's Health Resources and Services Administration and Health Careers Opportunity Program. Spelman's Career Pathways Initiative Designed to Give Students a Competitive Edge The Career Pathways Initiative, Spelman's UNCF grant-funded project, celebrated the third year of its five-year term in 2019. Directed by Tinaz Pavri, Ph.D., division chair of social sciences, and co-directed by Harold Bell, director of Career Planning and Development , CPI ensures that faculty, staff and administrators work together as a team to achieve goals. Grant From the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Will Support Black Women Economists Nationwide, there are very few African Americans in economics professions, and fewer than 10 percent of minorities are awarded advanced degrees in the discipline. Through the support of a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a not-for-profit grant-making institution dedicated to the advancement of scientific knowledge, members of the Department of Economics at Spelman are working to develop curriculum and programming to address the scarcity of Black women Ph.D.s in economics. The College will utilize the Sloan Foundation award to develop learning modules focused on economics for its annual summer bridge program and launch an initiative that provides financial support to students with an interest in economics graduate programs. Notable Leaders Share Wisdom With the Spelman Community Whether they were on campus to receive awards or making a surprise appearance while on a book tour, several notable leaders showed their support for the Spelman community in 2019. Former First Lady Michelle Obama Visits Spelman Class to Discuss "Becoming" On May 11, Former First Lady Michelle Obama surprised students enrolled in "Black Women: Developing Public Leadership Skills" a course taught by Marilyn A. Davis, Ph.D., associate professor of political science. For nearly two hours, Mrs. Obama discussed her autobiography, "Becoming," which Dr. Davis assigned as a required text in class. "Do not hide your story," Mrs. Obama told the class of 18 students. "Do not hide the truth of who you are." The message that most resonated with Dieudonnne Mundy, C'2020, a political science major, was Mrs. Obama's insistence that students make themselves visible in every space they occupy. "That message came at a perfect time for me. It was really reaffirming," she said. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Delivers Commencement Address to the Spelman College Class of 2019 The Honorable Keisha Lance Bottoms, current mayor of Atlanta, served as the keynote speaker for the Spelman College 132nd Commencement ceremony. The 60th mayor of Atlanta addressed 474 graduates in the Class of 2019 and 9,000 of their family and friends on Sunday, May 19, at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta. Mayor Bottoms also received the National Community Service Award in recognition of her service as a lifelong public servant and commitment to addressing local, state and national issues. SOURCE Spelman College Related Links http://www.spelman.edu Wu Huayan is talking about her life at a hospital in Guiyang city of southwestern China's Guizhou province in Oct. 2019. (Screenshot) Case of Young Chinese Woman Who Died From Malnutrition Sparks Outrage at Government The death of a 24-year-old Chinese woman on Jan. 13 because of severe malnutrition is sparking widespread outrage against officials for failing to address persistent extreme poverty in the country. Weighing 47 pounds and standing at 4 feet, 5 inches tall, Wu Huayan suffered from stunted growth and a host of health problems; she often couldnt afford her meals. In October 2019, after Wu was diagnosed with heart disease, she appealed to the public for help to pay for an urgent operation via a crowdsourcing platform. While a charity foundation run by a central government ministry raised money on her behalf, her family said they received just a fraction of the money, local media reported. Many netizens suspect government malfeasance. She died shortly thereafter. Ironically, just a day before her death, the central government released a documentary about an official from the province where Wu lived, Wang Xiaoguang, who was convicted of corruption. Wang, a former vice governor of Guizhou Province, was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of 173.5 million yuan ($25.18 million) in April 2019 for embezzlement and bribery crimes. Background My grandma and my father died because we had no money to cure their diseases. I dont want to experience again the feeling of waiting for death because of poverty, Wu wrote on Shuidichou, a GoFundMe-like platform in China, on Oct. 17, 2019. Her story spread quickly in China; dozens of Chinese media interviewed her and published her backstory. Wu, who was from a small village in Songtao county, Tongren city, had been a junior studying at a local vocational institute when she died. When Wu was 4 years old, her mom died suddenly from an unknown disease, Chinese media reported. The little girl lived in poverty together with her grandmother, father, and younger brother. While Wu was in high school, her father was diagnosed with cirrhosis. Without money to pay for treatment, he died after half a year. Soon after, Wus grandmother also died from a chronic illness. As teenage orphans, Wu and her brother moved to their uncles house. The local county paid them 300 yuan ($43.50) per month as part of a national poverty relief program. During the most difficult times, I only had one steamed bun every day. Because pickled chiles were cheap, I mixed it with plain rice as my meal. I ate this for five years, Wu said in a media interview. Becoming Ill When Wu was a senior in high school, the malnutrition caused her to begin losing her hair; soon, she lost her eyebrows. At the same time, her brother was diagnosed with psychosis. My younger brother suddenly started to speak nonsense he didnt recognize who I was, Wu said in a media interview. But I couldnt give up because he is my only family in this world. Wu and her uncle borrowed 5,000 yuan ($725.60) to be able to send her brother to the hospital. After more than a year of treatment, his condition stabilized and he was allowed to go home. Meanwhile, Wu couldnt afford to go to the doctor herself. Fortunately, Wus teacher paid her high school tuition, and she worked two part-time jobs while in college, earning 600 yuan ($87) a month. When a high school classmate visited her at the college, she found Wu had developed severe edema in her feet. Worried about Wus health, the classmate took her to the hospital, where it was discovered that three of Wus four heart valves were damaged. Doctors told her that she needed an operation that would cost more than 200,000 yuan ($29,024). Donations The China Charities Aid Foundation for Children, a subsidiary of the national governments Civil Affairs Ministry, began asking for donations on Wus behalf on Oct. 25, 2019. In the first five days, one fundraising campaign received more than 600,000 yuan ($87,070). Another raised more than 400,000 yuan ($58,050). Meanwhile, Wus family wasnt aware that the foundation had even been collecting money, state-run media Beijing News reported. Only 20,000 yuan (about $2,900) ended up in her bank account. Ultimately, doctors said they couldnt operate because Wu was too weak to withstand the procedure. She died at the hospital. Some non-governmental donation platforms also helped Wu to raise money. Her family confirmed donations of about 470,000 yuan ($68,210). The foundation made a public response about Wus case on Jan. 14, explaining that the fundraising platform it operates charges 6 percent for handling fees, adding that disbursement of the remaining amount of donations will be discussed with Wus family. This isnt the first time the foundation has faced scrutiny. In December 2012, Chinese citizen Zhou Xiaoyun obtained a copy of the foundations annual report after submitting a legal request, according to a report by state-run Beijing News. Zhou found that the foundation had on one occasion spent 4.84 billion yuan ($702.4 million)far higher than the 80 million yuan ($11.6 million) total donations it collected that year. Beijing News tracked down the foundations accountant, who claimed that she mistakenly input an extra zero. The foundation didnt provide any further explanation. ROME - The supreme Court of Cassation on Friday rejected an appeal by Agrigento prosecutors against a July ruling that released Sea-Watch3 captain Carola Rackete from house arrest. The 31-year-old woman from Germany was arrested after allegedly hitting a finance police vessel as she defied a ban in order to land 40 migrants on the island of Lampedusa, saying she was afraid some might commit suicide after being at sea for 17 days following a rescue off Libya. She said she could not avoid the finance police vessel and had not rammed it deliberately. The Sea-Watch3 is run by the German migrant rescue NGO Sea-Watch and flies a Dutch flag. The supreme court ruling was slammed by former interior minister Matteo Salvini, Rackete's old antagonist, who may face trial for allegedly kidnapping migrants on board a coastguard ship last summer. "The injustice in Italy is incredible," said Salvini, leader of the opposition nationalist and anti-migrant League party. "It is deemed that a German young woman, who risked killing Italian (police), should not be tried," he said, referring to the ramming. "And on the contrary they want to try a minister who defended his country's borders. "Let them do so, let them send me to trial, but they'll need a very big court because I think the overwhelming majority of the Italian people will be with me". A parliamentary immunity panel will meet January 20 to rule on lifting Salvini's immunity to face a possible kidnapping trial. In the past, when he was in government withe the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), a panel ruled not to lift his immunity and he escaped trial. But the parliamentary dynamics have now changed. Many observers expect him to have to face trial this time, in the case of the Gregoretti ship. India vice-captain Rohit Sharma was taken off the field after hurting his left hand while fielding in the second ODI against Australia here. Rohit awkwardly dived to save a boundary at deep point when he hurt his left-shoulder in the 43rd over. Rohit running from sweeper cover made a tumbling effort and was in seen writhing in pain. He then walked out with the physio Nitin Patel and was replaced by Kedar Jadhav in the field. An update on Rohit is expected to be shared after the match. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Pentagon received a new request from the Trump administration for the construction of approximately 435 km of fencing on the US border with Mexico. The White House also asked the military to evaluate the cost and feasibility of this construction, said senior official of Defense Department. The Pentagons message could provoke the Congressional Democrats, who oppose Donald Trumps efforts to spend billions of dollars on defense, to fulfill his promise in 2016 and build a wall on the border with Mexico, Voice of America reported. A source said the Pentagon would consider the administrations request for nearly another two weeks. He added that previous requests by the Ministry of Homeland Security regarding the construction of the fence were only partially satisfied by the Pentagon. Passengers and crew's personal belongings, as well as positioning of most of the aircraft's elements, helped the experts determine the cause of the Boeing's crash. Ukrainian experts who had arrived at the UIA Boeing 737-800 passenger jet's crash site near Tehran airport were the first to figure out what actually brought the plane down, says chief of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, Oleksandr Ruvin, whose experts were part of a group of Ukrainian experts deployed in Iran in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. Ruvin says it was passengers and crew's personal belongings, as well as positioning of most of the aircraft's elements, that helped the experts determine the cause of the Boeing's crash. "We found several tablets, the remains of mobile phones, bags with documents, and bank cards at the wreckage assembly site. In them, we saw the effect of striking elements and some other factor. Later, during the inspection of each aircraft detail, we determined and identified the spots where a missile or an explosive device directly hit the aircraft. We also laid out all the elements the way they were assembled on the plane. Then we understood what had happened, and how," he said. Read alsoUkraine wants to know "who gave the order" to shoot down PS752 in Iran Prystaiko Ruvin said the experts had discovered the spots where they saw the strike of missile elements, and came to the corresponding conclusion as early as January 10. "Representatives of the Iranian authorities saw this, many officials arrived, they looked with us and asked to cover everything, not to film anything on mobile phones, and said they would deal with this 'tomorrow'. We agreed that we would arrive tomorrow morning, at 09:00. But they let us to the site only after 11:00 there were no officials there anymore, it had already been officially announced by then that the plane had been shot down by a missile from the TOR-M1 complex of the Iranian Air Force," Ruvin said. In addition, he said the crash site had not been properly guarded: "We saw a lot of strange people at the crash site... Iranians who collected stuff, debris. Someone took it for scrap and someone kept it." 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. Read alsoTime: Nations of Iran plane crash victims seek compensation for families On January 11, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani officially admitted that the Ukrainian airliner had been shot down by accident as a result of a "human error." Democratic moderates warn that a leftward tilt in the partys presidential nomination could alienate potential swing voters like Mr. Brady. Some point to Mr. Obamas recent warning that the average American doesnt think we have to completely tear down the system. Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision, we also have to be rooted in reality, Mr. Obama told a group of donors in November. Candidates like former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind. and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have sought to dominate the political center lane. But none has matched the degree of enthusiasm and devotion that Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders have generated among supporters inspired by prospects of visionary change. The belief that voters are yearning for another moderate alternative recently helped motivate former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York and former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts to reverse their decisions to forgo the 2020 election. The billionaire Mr. Bloomberg, who announced his candidacy in November, has emphasized his background as a self-made business executive. In an early advertisement, he described himself as a middle-class kid who made good. Mr. Patrick, a friend of Mr. Obamas, has positioned himself as someone who wants to bring people together and looks for middle ground. But even with the first Democratic contests weeks away, the November presidential election can seem far off. She's the long-term partner of The Deer Hunter star John Savage. Blanca Blanco lit up the Hollywood premiere of the new Vietnam War film The Last Full Measure, which features her actor beau. The 38-year-old actress was joined by other celebrities on the red carpet, including Batman Begins' Linus Roache and Get Out's Bradley Whitford. Sparkler: Blanca Blanco, 38, lit up the Hollywood premiere of the new Vietnam War film The Last Full Measure, which features her actor beau John Savage Blanca looked festive in the silver dress, which was adorned with hundreds of reflective squares that dazzled in the night air. The designer is LA-based Sarmy Reyes. Her look was enlivened with set of beaded tassels draped over her shoulders and sleeve cuffs. The prolific actress wore her brunette locks in tight curls, and she added to her 5ft9in stature with a pair of black heels. Unmissable: Blanca looked festive in the silver dress, which was adorned with hundreds of reflective squares that dazzled in the night air Stunner: Her look was enlivened with set of beaded tassels draped over her shoulders and sleeve cuffs Standing tall: She added to her 5ft9in stature with a pair of black heels Brunette beauty: The prolific actress wore her brunette locks in delicately styled curls She and other stars were celebrating The Last Full Measure, which tells the true-life story of a Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman (played by Avengers: Endgame's Sebastian Stan) as he tries to obtain the Medal of Honor for William H. Pitsenbarger. The pararescueman was able to save more than sixty men in Vietnam before being killed. But as Huffman interviews Pisenbarger's family and fellow soldiers, he discovers a conspiracy that has kept the dead soldier from receiving the medal he deserves, which also threatens to stymie his own career. Secret history: Sebastian Stan stars in The Last Full Measure as a Pentagon staffer who tries to get the medal of honor for a pararescueman who save over 60 men in Vietnam, only to discover a conspiracy that threatens his career; pictured with William Hurt Fierce: Also featured at the premiere was actress Charlotte Ross, who sizzled in a black leather dress and a leopard-print coat Also featured at the premiere was actress Charlotte Ross, who sizzled in a black leather dress and a leopard-print coat. She stayed on theme with a pair of thigh-high boots, and she wore her blonde tresses down over her shoulders. Ser'darius Blain, who plays one of Pitsenbarger's fellow soldiers, looked elegant in a lustrous black tuxedo. Linus Roache, who plays Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters, looked dapper in a navy blue suit, which he paired with a vest and a pale pink shirt. Travis Aaron Wade also looked classy in a black three-piece suit. Stacked cast: The film's stars assembled in force, including (L-R) Ser'darius Blain, Linus Roache, Travis Aaron Wade, John Savage, the director Todd Robinson, Amy Madigan, the late Peter Fonda's wife Margaret DeVogelaere and Bradley Whitford Blanca's partner John Savage spiced thing's up with a bright blue tuxedo jacket. The film's director, Todd Robinson, kept his look simple with a black suit and matching shirt and tie combo. Amy Madigan, who plays the wife of one of Pitsenbarger's friends, looked chic in a black suit with a black and gray plaid shirt on underneath. Margaret DeVogelaere was at the premiere in all black representing her late husband Peter Fonda. The iconic Easy Rider star made his final on-screen appearance in The Last Full Measure prior to his death from lung cancer in August. The West Wing's Bradley Whitford mixed elegant and casual elements. He wore a classic black suit, but skipped the tie and wore a pair of white and red Nike sneakers. Getting ready: Blanca was spotted out in Beverly Hills earlier on Thursday as she got her long brunette locks styled for the evening's premiere Classic: The Showgirls 2 star rocked a retro look with her beige overcoat and her brown and white striped linen dress Representative image A Delhi court on January 17 issued a fresh death warrant for the execution of the four Nirbhaya convicts, with the convicts now scheduled to be hanged at 6 am on February 1. The four convicts, Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were sentenced to death in September 2013. They were to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail, a Delhi court had announced on January 7 while issuing their death warrants. However, the Delhi government informed the high court during a hearing that the execution of the convicts will not take place on the designated day as a mercy plea had been filed by Mukesh. On January 16, the Patiala House Court had said the four convicts won't be hanged on January 22, the scheduled date. Earlier on January 17, the President had rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh, one of the four men facing the gallows in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, according to reports. The rejection came after the Union Home Ministry forwarded the petition to the President late on Thursday night, they said. Rawat said that to end terrorism, ideology and radicalisation have to be addressed on priority. New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Bipin Rawat on Thursday suggested that highly radicalised young people in the country could be put in de-radicalisation camps as a way to deal with terrorism. He said that to end terrorism, ideology and radicalisation have to be addressed on priority. Anything that has started can be put to an end. To say that radicalisation cannot be countered, I dont quiet agree with it. Radicalisation can be countered, said Gen Rawat. He said that one has to start countering radicalisation by looking where it is happening and who are the people who are radicalising people. It is happening from schools, universities, from religious places and sites and then there are group of people who are spreading it, said Gen Rawat. He said that one has to get to the nerve of the whole thing by identifying who is radicalising the people. You can start isolating these people gradually. And then start a counter-radicalisation programme by identifying people who have been radicalised to what degree. You got to segregate them in degrees and then look at those who have been completely radicalised, first target them, he said. But then also start looking at the future like what we are seeing in Kashmir. We saw radicalisation happening. Today we are seeing radicalisation being undertaken even among the people, girls and boys as young as 10 and 12, are now being radicalised, said Gen. Rawat. He said that these people can still be isolated from radicalisation in a gradual way. But there are people who have been completely been radicalised these people need to be taken out separately, possibly taken into some de-radicalisation camps, said the CDS. He said that we have got de-radicalisation camps going on in our country. Let me tell you that even Pakistan is doing the same. Pakistan also has got de-radicalisation camps. They have understood that some of the terrorism they have been sponsoring is actually hitting back at them, said Gen. Rawat. Gen. Rawat also said there is a need to take a hard-line approach in dealing with terrorism, the way the US went after terror groups after the 9/11 terror attacks. As long as there are states which sponsor terrorism, we will have to live with the menace. We need to take the bull by its horns and strike at the root cause, he said in an oblique reference to Pakistan. If we think war on terrorism is going to end, we are wrong, Gen Rawat said. He said the countries which are sponsoring terrorism cannot be part of global fight against terror networks. You cannot have partners who are partnering global war on terrorism and yet sponsoring terrorism... There has to be diplomatic isolation of those sponsoring terrorism. Any country which is sponsoring terrorism has to be taken to task, he said. Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas said he was giving media interviews about his role in President Trumps attempts to convince Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden because he wanted to protect himself from Attorney General William Barr. Parnas made that claim in an interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, the second part of which aired Thursday night. Trump, Parnas said, was made more powerful when he got William Barr. Lev Parnas arrives to court in New York City, Dec. 2, 2019. (Photo: Seth Wenig/AP) They're trying to scare me into not talking, Parnas said of officials in the Justice Department, adding that My wife is scared. My kids are nervous." People are scared, he said of Trumps supporters. Am I scared, yes. Parnas, who is under indictment on campaign finance charges in the Southern District of New York, which is overseen by Barrs office, went on to describe Trump as a cult leader. I dont think Trump is like organized crime, Parnas said, I think hes a cult leader. Parnas, who is free on bond, described a tense meeting in jail with his former lawyer John Dowd, who also represented Trump. According to Parnas, Dowd and Kevin Downing visited Parnas in jail to try to talk him out of cooperating with the House impeachment inquiry. Were they telling you to sacrifice yourself to protect the president? Maddow asked. Thats the way I felt, Parnas replied, adding that he told the two lawyers, If you dont get out of here right now, something bad is going to happen. He then fired them. His current lawyer, Joseph Bondy, was at his side for the interview. Lev Parnas. (Photo: Kelli R. Grant/Yahoo News) Parnas has turned over voluminous documents and cellphone records to House investigators pertaining to his role as a go-between in the efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden. On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also criticized Barr in harsh terms. Does anyone think that the rogue AG is going to appoint a special prosecutor? Pelosi said in Washington in reference to the revelations stemming from Maddows interview with Barr. No, because hes implicated in all of this. This is an example of all of the presidents henchmen. And I hope that the senators do not become part of the presidents henchmen. Story continues Trump, meanwhile, continued to assert that he did not know Parnas. I know nothing about him but I can tell you this, I dont know him, I dont believe Ive ever spoken to him, Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday. There are numerous photographs of Trump and members of his family with Parnas, and he has turned over to the House emails indicating that Trump personally signed off on Dowd taking on Parnas as a client. Parnas also said that after spending months pressing Ukraines government to announce an investigation into Biden and his son Hunter, he has come to conclusion that such an investigation was not warranted. After analyzing all the evidence and sitting back and, whats it called, really understanding whats going on, I dont think Vice President Biden did anything wrong, Parnas said. I think he was protecting our country and getting rid of probably a crooked attorney general. A night earlier, Parnas described the direction Trump had given Giuliani, including linking the release of nearly $400 million in congressionally approved military aid to an announcement of an investigation of Biden. Parnas told Maddow that everybody was in the loop, including Vice President Mike Pence. Trumps Senate impeachment trial begins Tuesday. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Photo: Bakeshop on 20th/Yelp Looking to try the best bakeries in town? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable bakeries in Philadelphia, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to fill the bill. 1. Beiler's Bakery Photo: Dan B./Yelp Topping the list is Beiler's Bakery. Located at 51 N. 12th St. in Center City, the bakery is the most popular low-priced bakery in Philadelphia, boasting 4.5 stars out of 1,237 reviews on Yelp. This spot also boasts locations in University City, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Germantown, Maryland. Look for doughnuts in flavors of caramel cake, chocolate mousse and coconut custard. 2. The Bakeshop On 20th Photo: john b./Yelp Next up is Rittenhouse's The Bakeshop on 20th, situated at 269 S. 20th St. With 4.5 stars out of 284 reviews on Yelp, the bakery, brunch and coffee spothas proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a budget-friendly option. We looked there for an overview of The Bakeshop on 20th. "The Bakeshop on Twentieth is a homestyle American bakery and luncheonette," it notes on Yelp in the section highlighting specialties. "We are a small-batch bakery specializing in pastries such as scones, muffins, sticky buns, chocolate babkas, fudge brownies and cookies." 3. Nook Bakery & Coffee Bar Photo: Emily Y./Yelp Rittenhouse's Nook Bakery & Coffee Bar, located at 15 S. 20th St., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the budget-friendly bakery, which offers coffee, tea, cupcakes and more, 4.5 stars out of 288 reviews. We turned there for an overview of Nook Bakery & Coffee Bar. "[This is a] small-batch bakery and coffee roastery," it states on Yelp in the section about specialties. "[We serve] breakfast, brunch and lunch, along with custom cakes and cupcakes." 4. Essen Bakery Photo: Essen Bakery/Yelp Essen Bakery, a spot in Passyunk Square, is another much-loved, cheap go-to, with five stars out of 85 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1437 E. Passyunk Ave. to see for yourself. We turned there for an overview of Essen Bakery. Story continues In terms of signature items, "We specialize in Jewish-style breads and pastries," it states on Yelp in the section highlighting specialties. "We are well known for our babkas and our challah bread." 5. Cake Life Bake Shop Photo: boom b./Yelp Finally, over in Fishtown, check out Cake Life Bake Shop, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 223 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the bakery and cafe, which offers desserts and more, by heading over to 1306 Frankford Ave. The site has lots more information on Cake Life Bake Shop. "All baked goods from Cake Life Bake Shop are prepared to order using fresh, wholesome ingredients," it states on Yelp in the section explaining specialties. "Whenever possible, we work with local purveyors to source our food carefully and respectfully." This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Sudharma was the brain child of Kalale Nadadur Varadaraja Iyengar, a renowned Sanskrit scholar. Iyengar decided to start a Sanskrit daily as he felt a newspaper was the perfect medium to popularise the language. It is a little past noon as I enter the sleepy by-lanes of Ramachandra Agrahara, in the city of Mysore. A bit of asking around leads me to the rather humble and unassuming office-cum-printing press of Sudharma. Inside, it is business as usual for KV Sampath Kumar and his wife KS Jayalakshmi, who are busy composing and finalising the newspaper for the next day, while a small team of three other individuals is engrossed in sealing as many as 3,500 envelopes for dispatch. The setting may evoke that of any other small newspaper office, but this unpretentious venue is where Indias (or for that matter, the worlds) only Sanskrit daily is printed and circulated. Completing 50 years in July this year, Sudharmas is a story of dedication to and passion for the language of Sanskrit. Sudharma was the brain child of Kalale Nadadur Varadaraja Iyengar, a renowned Sanskrit scholar. Iyengar decided to start a Sanskrit daily as he felt a newspaper was the perfect medium to popularise the language. Earlier, Sanskrit was perceived as a language accessible only to certain classes of people. Hence, not all could read or write the language. My father wanted to change this view and make Sanskrit available to all. Thats how the idea of a daily newspaper was born, says KV Sampath Kumar, Varadaraja Iyengars son. While many including other Sanskrit scholars scoffed at the idea of a Sanskrit daily and its long-term viability, Varadaraja Iyengar sent his proposal to the government, along with five possible names for the publication. Sudharma (meaning 'assembly hall of the Gods') was chosen. The first edition of the paper was released in the premises of the Shriman Maharaja Sanskrit college in Mysore on 15 July 1970, and we have been continuing the legacy till date, says Sampath Kumar. The paper received a postal concession of 2 paise the very next day after its launch; the cost of the paper then was 5 paise, including postage. Varadaraja Iyengar later became part of the Sanskrit Advisory Committee, formed in 1974 during the prime minister-ship of Indira Gandhi. He was instrumental in getting Sanskrit news broadcast on the Akashvani channel of All India Radio. After Varadaraja Iyengars death in 1990, Sampath Kumar and Jayalakshmi took over Sudharmas reins. Both are proficient in Sanskrit: while Sampath, the editor, is a Commerce graduate with a Sahitya in Sanskrit, Jayalakshmi has a Masters degree in the language and oversees the papers composing, printing and publishing. Mornings are spent finalising the content for the next days edition; printing occurs in the evening. The subscribers copies are then dispatched by post. Sudharma has a circulation of 3,500, and the annual subscription fee is Rs 500. Eleven years ago, Sudharma gained an online avatar as well the e-paper is available for free. (The website is currently down, so the couple is looking for someone to get it up and running for a nominal fee.) To my question about the publications financial viability, Jayalaskshmi responds: It is not viable. We are hardly able to cover costs, but are somehow pulling through... probably only through the grace of God. In its current iteration, Sudharma runs over two pages: page 1 carries news, page 2 has features from contributors. Apart from domestic subscribers, the edition also reaches readers in Germany, Japan and Sri Lanka. People read our paper because they see value in the language, not for the news which is anyway only a click away these days. For instance, our paper is read daily by the students of a Buddhist school in Sri Lanka, says Sampath Kumar. Jayalakshmi adds that senior citizens and foreigners continue to express interest in Sudharma. The papers golden jubilee also marks 100th birth anniversary of its founder, Varadaraja Iyengar. Grand celebrations have been planned for the occasion, including Sanskrit competitions for children, a meeting of Sanskrit publishers, screening of Sanskrit cinema, staging of plays, etc. We have many plans and dreams to take the paper forward in a big way, says Jayalakshmi. But the issue is shortage of both funds as well as people to run the show. There is very little support from the government as well. But come what may, the paper will always continue as a daily. [January 17, 2020] Honeywell And Lockheed Martin To Provide Critical Components For NASA's Orion Spacecraft CLEARWATER, Fla., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) has been awarded a contract by Lockheed Martin to support production of NASA's Orion spacecraft fleet for the upcoming Artemis missions, which will bring humans back to the moon for the first time since 1972. The contract to supply key components of the Orion crew module and service module will be managed and performed out of Honeywell's facility in Clearwater, Florida. Work will also be conducted at the company's facilities in Glendale, Arizona, and Puerto Rico. Honeywell will provide 14 product types for Artemis missions III through V, including both hardware and software solutions, to support NASA's lunar missions. NASA awarded Lockheed Martin a long-term, multibillion-dollar production contract for the Orion spacecraft, aimed to meet the space agency's anticipated needs into the 2030s. "This is a major win for our team in Clearwater, our Space business and for Honeywell as a whole," said Mike Elias, vice president, Space, Honeywell Aerospace. "Honeywell was present on all of NASA's previous crewed space missions, including those that brought humans to the moon for the first time, and we're proud to be working with Lockheed Martin to help shape the future of human space exploration." Working in collaboration with the Orion team over the next decade, Honeywell will support Lockheed Martin and its partners through the development and production of essential guidance and navigation systems, command data handling, and display and control products. The focus of the missions is to conduct science and gather learnings that will help take umans to Mars. Honeywell will supply the following types of technology for the Artemis missions: Guidance and Navigation Systems: Key navigation and guidance solutions, including the barometric altimeter, which track the altitude of the Orion capsule in Earth's atmosphere, as well as the inertial measurement system and GPS receiver, which track the position and movements of the capsule. Key navigation and guidance solutions, including the barometric altimeter, which track the altitude of the Orion capsule in Earth's atmosphere, as well as the inertial measurement system and GPS receiver, which track the position and movements of the capsule. Command Data Handling: Several data-handling products, including the vehicle management computer, which acts as the central computing platform supporting flight and vehicle control, as well as spacecraft communication functions. Several data-handling products, including the vehicle management computer, which acts as the central computing platform supporting flight and vehicle control, as well as spacecraft communication functions. Displays and Controls: Three display units and struts, seven control panels, and two hand controllers used inside the spacecraft to help astronauts in the Orion capsule monitor and control the vehicle. Three display units and struts, seven control panels, and two hand controllers used inside the spacecraft to help astronauts in the Orion capsule monitor and control the vehicle. Core Flight Software: Includes the integrated modular avionics software, a key system responsible for supporting maintenance functions sharing flight data information. More information on Orion: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/index.html. About Honeywell Honeywell Aerospace products and services are found on virtually every commercial, defense and space aircraft. The Aerospace business unit builds aircraft engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, wireless connectivity systems, mechanical components and more. Its hardware and software solutions create more fuel-efficient aircraft, more direct and on-time flights and safer skies and airports. For more information, visit www.honeywell.com or follow us at @Honeywell_Aero. Honeywell ( www.honeywell.com ) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/honeywell-and-lockheed-martin-to-provide-critical-components-for-nasas-orion-spacecraft-300988142.html SOURCE Honeywell [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] STAMFORDA city man who killed two people during a drug-fueled wrong-way crash on Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk in January 2018 will be sentenced to a decade in prison when he returns to the Stamford courthouse later in March. Anthony Domond, 35, of Prince Place, appeared before Judge Gary White and pleaded out to two counts of first-degree manslaughter. According to the plea deal presented by Judge John Blawie, Domond will be sentenced to 10 years in jail followed by five years of special parole. Police said Domond was behind the wheel of of his BMW when he slammed into Stamford residents Frank Peterson III, 50, and Anthony Johnson, 40, killing them both. Domond was going north in the southbound lanes of Connecticut Avenue when the crash occurred, police said. Stamford States Attorney Richard Colangelo, who is prosecuting the case, said Domond was high on PCP at the time and doing over 100mph when he crashed into Peterson and Johnson. Blawie is scheduled to sentence Domond on March 20. The special parole sentence means that if Domond violates his parole by breaking the law at any time during that period, he can immediately be sent back to jail to serve the remainder of his sentence. Colangelo said he contacted the attorneys representing the families and they did not object to the plea deal. Domonds attorney, Audrey Felson, declined comment after the hearing. But Stamford resident Johnny Peterson, the father of one of the victims said he did not like the deal. For killing my son and his friend, do you really think that is fair, what they have done to him? Johnson asked. This is not justice. Johnson said he would have attended Wednesday's hearing, but his doctor has told him that if he had another heart attack, it would be very bad. I know this is not going to bring back my son and it never will, Johnson said. I think if I went to court, I would really want to beat the hell out of this guy. Johnson said the two men were heading up Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk to grab a hamburger at the time of the crash. After picking up the food, police say they were in the eastbound lanes when Domond crashed into them head-on in front of the Double Tree Hotel. Frankie was a very careful driver and a wonderful person, Johnson said at the time. Domond has been held in jail since his arrest in April 2018, unable to post a $200,000 court appearance bond. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com (CNN) -- The families of Canadian citizens or permanent residents killed in the downing of a passenger plane in Iran will receive $25,000 per victim from the Canadian government to help with immediate needs, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. The assistance, which could go toward funeral expenses and travel, will be delivered "in the coming days," Trudeau said. "I want to be clear: We expect Iran to compensate these families," Trudeau told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa. "But I have met them (the families). They can't wait weeks. They need support now." The announcement comes after Iran admitted last week that its military unintentionally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight shortly after takeoff January 8 from Imam Khomeini Airport near Tehran. Fifty-seven of the 176 people aboard the flight were Canadian, Trudeau's government has said. "We haven't looked at what the full compensation would end up looking like from Iran," Trudeau said. "But I can assure you that any money from Iran to the victims would go straight to them -- it wouldn't be to reimburse the Canadian government." The downing of the plane 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. The plane was bound for Ukraine's capital, Kiev. Trudeau has said many of the passengers intended to fly on to Canada. Iran's military initially denied shooting down the plane before admitting to it several days later, saying the plane was "accidentally hit by human error." Iranian foreign minister expresses 'profound regret' Also Friday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne discussed the plane's downing with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Oman. "Minister Zarif conveyed his profound regret for this terrible tragedy, and Minister Champagne noted that he had met with families of victims this week who are deeply hurt and angry," according to a statement from Champagne's office. "The ministers discussed the necessity of full access to Iran for officials from Canada and other grieving nations to: provide consular services, assist in ensuring victim identification meets international standards and participate in a thorough and transparent investigation," the statement reads. Champagne and Zarif talked about "the need for a transparent analysis of the black box data, to which Iran agreed," and about " the duty Iran has towards the families of the victims -- including compensation," the statement says. "Minister Zarif expressed his support for Iran continuing to work with Canada and all grieving nations in these respects," the statement reads. Remains of some victims will arrive soon, Trudeau says So far, no remains of Canadian victims have been returned to Canada, Trudeau said. "But we're expecting the first ones to come back in the coming days," he said. It shouldn't matter whether a victim was a dual national, because Iran recognizes the families' desires about where the burials take place should take precedence, Trudeau said. About 20 families have asked for their loved ones remains to be returned to Canada, Trudeau said. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Families of Canadians killed in Iran crash to receive $25,000 to help with first expenses, Trudeau says" Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called President Donald Trump a "clown" who merely pretends to support Iranian citizens but would push a "poisonous dagger" into their backs. The 80-year-old said Friday that the U.S. showed its terrorist nature in killing the former Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, according to a Reuters translation, before adding the "assassination" was a disgrace to the U.S. administration. He also described Tehran's decision to attack military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq earlier this month as a "day of God." His comments came as he led Friday prayers for the first time in eight years. The Islamic Republic is currently grappling with elevated tensions since the death of Soleimani and widespread protests following the accidental downing of a passenger jet that killed all 176 people on board the majority of whom were Iranian citizens. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gives his first Friday sermon after eight years in the Imam Khomeini Musalla, in Tehran, Iran on January 17, 2020. (Photo by Iranian Supreme Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Iranian Supreme Leader Press Office | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Many of those taking part in the rallies have called for the country's top leaders to resign. Iran's government admitted to the accidental downing of the Ukrainian International Airlines passenger jet on Jan. 11, after days of denying a role in the crash. Delivering the weekly sermon for the first time since 2012, Khamenei also said Iran would not yield to U.S. sanctions imposed over a dispute on its nuclear program. The White House was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC Friday morning. Elevated tensions Iran's Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike on Jan. 3. It marked the most dramatic escalation between Washington and Tehran in a series of tit-for-tat attacks. Western forces and embassies in the region have been on high alert since then. The attack prompted Iran to retaliate by launching more than a dozen ballistic missiles at the Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq's western Anbar province and a base in Irbil in the country's north. No U.S. service members were killed in the attack but several were treated for concussions, the Pentagon said in a statement earlier this week. The US military said 11 troops were treated for concussion after Iran launched a rocket attack at the Al-Asad air base in western Iraq, despite initially saying no service members had been hurt. The attack took place on 8 January in retaliation for the US-launched drone strike in Baghdad that killed Qassem Soleimani, a commander in Irans Revolutionary Guard. Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for the US Central Command, said: While no US service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed. He added some service members were taken to US facilities in Germany or Kuwait for follow-on screening as a cautionary measure and would return when deemed fit for duty, in his statement released on Thursday. President Donald Trump said there were no attacks in an address to the nation in the morning following the attack. Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Show all 23 1 /23 Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather in front of Amir Kabir University AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranians demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of the Ukraine Boeing 737 crash in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans during a gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University - People hold flowers as tear gas fired by police rises Online videos purported to show that Iranian security forces fired both live ammunition and tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting against the Islamic Republic's initial denial that it shot down a Ukrainian jetliner AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University AFP correspondents said hundreds of students had gathered early in the evening to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster ISNA/AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian protester prepares to throw a tear gas canister back at police AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University A protester confronts an Iranian police officer AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gathe AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranians light candles for victims EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran People burn British and Israeli flags during a protest in front of the British embassy, in Tehran. Hundreds of Iranian hardliners gathered for a protest against Britain, a day after the UK ambassador to Iran Robert Macaire was detained after attending a a vigil for the victims of Ukraine passenger jet EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protestBritish embassy protest in Tehran Chanting "Death to Britain", up to 200 protesters rallied outside the mission a day after the brief arrest of British ambassador Rob Macaire AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran AFP via Getty Images Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Protesters chant slogans while holding up posters of Gen. Qassem Soleimani during a demonstration in front of the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. AP He said: We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases. It has been reported that the US had advance knowledge that missiles had been launched, thanks to an early-warning defence system, but the extent of damage to the bases was not immediately known. As many as 1,500 Americans were deployed at the Al-Asad air base deep in Iraqa Anbar desert. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a sermon on Friday the missile strikes on US targets were such a slap to a world power and showed support by the hand of God. His appearance at Friday prayers in Tehran was his first since 2012 and he addressed thousands of Iranians gathered in and around the prayer hall, chanting Death to America, reported Reuters. Mr Khamenei also called Mr Trump a clown during his sermon, adding the US president had only pretended to care about Iranians and will push a poisonous dagger into their backs. He renewed his call for US troops to leave Iraq and the wider Middle East and said: Resistance must continue until the region is completely freed from the enemys tyranny. In his sermon, he also accused Iran's "enemies", a term usually used to refer to the US and its allies, of using the accidental downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 to direct attention away from Soleimani's death. It took days for Iranian forces to admit to the mistake, initially blaming it on technical failures, but the delay sparked protests across Iran. The case against a councillor accused of blacking out Queen Victoria-related street names in Cork almost three years ago has been scheduled for trial at Cork District Court on May 11. It was indicated to Judge Mary Cashin that the case was to be listed for hearing by a judge who is fluent in the Irish language. Inspector Pat Murphy said, We have a date now May 11 in Court 2 for hearing. The judge was told it was anticipated that the case could take a full day. Diarmaid O Cadhla, of 8 Upper Beaumont Drive, Ballintemple, Cork, faces five counts of criminal damage to street signs at three separate locations in Cork city. He is charged with two counts of criminal damage at Victoria Road, two counts of criminal damage at Victoria Cross and one count of criminal damage at Victoria Street, Military Hill, in Cork city on February 2, 2017. Defence barrister, Pat Barrett, has previously represented the accused. Defence solicitor, Shane Collins-Daly, said co-accused, Thomas OConnor, from 44 Mangerton Close, the Glen, wanted to have his case heard in English. Judge Mary Cashin was told that the third defendant Tony Walsh, from 25 Carrigmore Park, Ballinlough, represented by Pat Horan, solicicitor, also wanted to have his case dealt with in English. A group called Cork Street Names Campaign was set up to have streets in Cork named after the British queen renamed. They describe the naming of streets after Queen Victoria as an insult to the dignity of the famine victims. All three defendants are aged in their fifties. Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said he was deeply moved by his visit to Auschwitz. This year, Auschwitz is the focus of events marking the 75th anniversary of the concentration camps liberation, and it was the last stop on the Alternate Ministers visit to Poland. Mr. Varvitsiotis visited Auschwitz I, which houses the permanent Greek exhibit, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. With respect and awe, I paid my respects to the memory of the victims of Nazi brutality all those who suffered and were tortured and exterminated in this place of horror and torment. We, the next generations and the ones who follow us, have a duty not to let anything so inhuman happen again. Never again! Mr. Varvitsiotis stressed. During the Holocaust, 1.1 million people mainly Jews, including some 60,000 Greeks met their deaths at Auschwitz. Five Burkina troops killed in roadside bomb attack Ouagadougou, Jan 17 (AFP) Jan 17, 2020 Five Burkina Faso soldiers were killed Friday when their vehicle was hit by a roadside explosive in a northern province, security sources said, in the latest attack on the country's armed forces. No group claimed immediate responsibility for the bomb, but jihadist violence in Burkina Faso has been blamed on militants linked to both Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups. "A homemade explosive was used in an attack Friday morning against a military unit," on patrol in a wildlife reserve in Soum province, leaving five dead, a security source told AFP. "Reinforcements were sent to the zone to clear the area while the wounded were evacuated." A wave of attacks at December killed 35 civilians, mostly women, and dozens of soldiers in an assault on a military base and a town in the north of the country. Burkina Faso, as well as neighbouring Mali and Niger, has seen frequent jihadist attacks which have left hundreds of people dead since the start of 2015 when Islamist extremist violence began to spread across the Sahel region. According to the UN, around 4,000 people were killed in jihadist attacks in the three Sahel countries last year. There are 4,500 French troops deployed in the Sahel region as well as a 13,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in Mali to fight insurgents, backing up national forces of the G5 -- Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The last call is out for entrants for Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year 2020, Irelands festival celebrating young filmmakers from Ireland. The closing date is January 24, 2020. Fresh Film is an advocate for young filmmakers year-round and encourages young people to make films by hosting the annual Fresh International Film Festival which incorporates Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards. Fresh International Film Festival 2020 takes place in Limerick from March 23 28, 2020 and is open to young people from 7-18 years of age. 2020 will be its 24th year encouraging young people from Ireland and overseas, aged 7 to 18 years, to create, exhibit and share films. The Fresh International Film Festival provides an opportunity for young filmmakers to see their work on the big screen and to compete for the title of Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year and to win 1,000 towards their next film. All submissions are also considered for a range of Specialist Awards including the Radharc Trust Award for documentaries, the Animation Award, the RTE 60 Second Award, the Film in the Irish Language award and the RTE Factual Award, in addition to the International and Audience awards. The Festival has Junior (7-12 years), Senior (12- 18 years) and International categories for individual and group projects. Young filmmakers can enter as independents, as part of their school or in a group. Films must be original and can be up to 15 minutes duration for Seniors or 10 minutes duration for Juniors. Senior films will be screened at one of the Regional Heats, which take place in Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Limerick during early March. The Senior and Junior finalists films will be screened during Fresh International Film Festival 2020 from March 23-28 in Limerick. The awards will be announced at the final screenings on March 25 and 26, 2020. Fresh Film runs a number of initiatives under strand headings. The Fresh Production strand features the 'Fresh Blood' horror film workshop, the 'Hothouse' programme and the 'Fresh Film Squad' designed to bring young people together to share their film experiences and create new work. Under its Fresh Education strand, it devises film programmes for the classroom such as the You Judge It school juries, and the 'young programmer' project. As part of its Fresh International strand, it distributes Irish films made by young people to festivals all over the world and seeks opportunities for young people to participate in international exchanges. Speaking about the final call for entries, Festival Director and Founder Jayne Foley said: From filmmaker exchanges to film shares, awards to workshops, Fresh continues to seek new and innovative ways of engaging with international young filmmakers and audiences. "We are an international film festival and we distribute Irish films to festivals all over the world. Freshs relationship with filmmakers and festivals from all over the world began in 1993 with a screening of Kids in America a collection made by young people from the USA. We are looking forward to great things from our 2020 crop of films. Understanding the basic building blocks of storytelling, camera and editing will stand you in good stead in the media-driven future. "We are seeking filmmakers, the makers of dreams, the ones who challenge us with their alternative vision and the ones who show a mastery of the art. We give you this gentle nudge again. Write your story. Grab your camera. Get your friends or your classmates or do it on your own. We await the new crop. We look forward to the harvest. The closing date for entries is Friday, January 24, 2020. The full festival programme will be available shortly. Further details and application forms can be found at www.freshfilmfestival.com. Also read: Met Eireann issues weather warning for this weekend The burning issue of population control Many are calling for increased population control but is this a solution to decrease the rate of climate change? The increasing human population is putting large amounts of pressure on our natural resources and is contributing to climate change, leading many people to call for increased population control especially for poorer communities. Beth Amato investigates whether this could be a solution to decrease the rate of climate change. While the worlds resources are limited, increasing population figures are adding pressure on both our available resources and the rate of climate change. The human population has doubled since 1960 and currently stands at 7.7 billion. The United Nations estimates that it will continue to 9.8 billion by 2050. It is no secret that humans have too large an impact on the sustainability of our planet. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), we currently need 1.6 Earths to produce all the renewable resources we need. We are using far too many resources, and every person living on the planet is adding to that impact. Concerns over climate change have led to ever increasing calls for population control to mitigate our impact on the planet. In a letter to The Star Newspaper in May 2019, for example, a letter writer voices this call, writing that work needs to be done to educate Africas people about the benefits of having small families. Unless Africa gets a good handle on its out-of-control population growth, the continent will continue to be the beggar of the world, unable to take care of its own, the letter writer said. Like many others, this letter writer believes that overpopulation is the elephant in the room and the direct cause of deepening poverty and environmental degradation. Celebrity environmentalists such as Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough are only some examples of people who have added their voices to the plea for greater population control to avoid the devastating freefall into ecological mayhem. Thriving (selectively) together As an ambassador for the Thriving Together campaign, led by the Margaret Pyke Trust, Goodall is at the forefront of advocating for the removal of barriers to family planning for the health of women, all humans and our fragile ecosystems. The trust is supported by 150 global organisations, including the United Nations. Women everywhere must be able to choose whether to have children, how many children, and the spacing between them. This is critical for their own wellbeing. But, they also need to be equipped with the knowledge as to how their choice affects the health of the planet and thus the future of their own children, says Goodall. The Thriving Together statement demonstrates the widespread support and attention that this issue is finally beginning to receive from both the conservation and reproductive health communities. While women and girls should have autonomy over their bodies and have access to reproductive health services, Goodall has been criticised for not necessarily and primarily being motivated by womens freedom and justice. UK columnist Ella Whelan wryly asserts that Thriving Together is prioritising beetles over black people There is something deeply unpleasant about white environmentalists like Dr Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough fronting these campaigns to strongly discourage women in developing countries from giving birth to too many children. While the worlds resources are certainly limited, highlighting the link between climate change and fertility rates in poor countries fails to confront the deep systemic issues that have driven mass ecological damage, says Distinguished Professor of Public Health and Medical Anthropology at Wits University, Lenore Manderson. The World Economic Forum, and data analysis organisation Our World in Data, both show that North America, home to five percent of the worlds population, is responsible for 18 percent of carbon emissions. On the other hand, Africa with 16 percent of the worlds population emits only four percent of the total carbon dioxide (CO2). The top 10 richest countries in the world are responsible for 75 percent of the worlds CO2 emissions, and 100 countries emit just three percent. Comfortably numb A (hypothetical) Joburg businessman wakes up in his Dainfern Townhouse and puts on a pot of coffee while he runs a shower. In the shower, which took a minute to get hot, he is spoilt for choice in shampoos and shower gels, all in plastic containers. He makes a mental note to buy a new shampoo only when the others are finished. Deep in thought of the business day ahead, he enjoys an eight minute shower. In the middle of the winter, he makes sure that his towels are on the heated towel rail, while his house is heated throughout. He chooses to wear an outfit he bought a few months back, but because his checked shirt is a fast fashion item, it is already starting to fray. He makes a mental note to buy a new one on his way to the airport later that day. His office in Sandton is 45 minutes from his house in a gated estate, and he gets into his SUV. He travels alone to work, stopping at a local drive-through ATM to withdraw some cash. He then drives to a fast food outlet and joins the long queue to order his meat-based breakfast and a grande latte in a non-recyclable cup. His breakfast comes with a plastic fidget toy, which he tosses out of the window. At lunchtime, he orders lunch after forgetting to take his packed lunch in the morning. His wife often complains of having to throw out a fortune of expired food. After a days work, he heads on to the airport to fly to the US on a five city business tour. His wife and children will join him a few days later for a short holiday. Living the (high risk) life Two hours before our businessman hits his shower, his domestic worker has already been busy, getting her family ready for the start of their day. She has three children, with a fourth on the way. The businessman often chastises her for having too many children. Upon waking in cramped accommodation in Alexandra township, Johannesburg, the woman prepares a simple breakfast of pap [mielie meal] on a gas stove. The night before, she collected water for washing and drinking from a local communal tap. Ready to leave, the woman starts her 23km commute to Dainfern, where she works. It takes her two taxis and around two hours to get to work. Her children walk to the local school with their lunch tins. No food is wasted. Sometimes there is spare change for the children to buy sweets from the informal shop. With nothing else to do at night, the whole family winds down in front of the television. Being a conscientious person hes actually labelled a greenie at work the businessman decides to calculate his carbon footprint while waiting for his airplane meal. He is shocked to see that, should every person on the planet lead the same lifestyle as him, we would need 2.7 planets to support ourselves. His family produced at least 13.80 metric tonnes of CO2 per year, which is just under double the average footprint for people in South Africa (8.98 metric tons) and just under three times the global average (5 metric tons). His domestic workers family, on the other hand, produces just about the same amount of CO2 per year as what is needed globally to combat climate change, at 2,07 metric tonnes per year (worldwide target is 2 metric tonnes). If each person on earth lived the same lifestyle as her family, we would need just one planet to sustain ourselves. If our Dainfern businessman lived in Texas, in the United States, things would have been much worse. According to Our World in Data, an average Africans carbon emissions is 17 times lower than the average American, with the average Africans carbon footprint coming in at 0,3 metric tonnes and the average American being responsible for 19,8 metric tonnes. Removing the beam from ones eye Professor Matthew Chersich of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, says countries with low fertility rates are those which emit the most amount of carbon dioxide owing to their lifestyles. The WWF has said that if everyone lived like an average resident of the USA, a total of four earths would be required to regenerate humanitys annual demand on nature. By using poor peoples family sizes as a scapegoat, wealthier people feel they dont need to alter their carbon-rich and consumerist lifestyle, he says. Chersich acknowledges that unintended pregnancy can lead to mortality and morbidities, especially in poorer communities. Programmes to improve access to contraception and other family planning resources are a key health priority. Reducing the population number in poorer settings will lower the nutritional consequences of climate change and increase the resources available to countering climate change impacts. However, reducing unintended pregnancies in these settings will probably do little to prevent further greenhouse gases and halt climate change, he says. As far as climate change is concerned, Chersich says family planning initiatives should be implemented in carbon-loving countries. We should strongly encourage wealthy people to have as few children as possible. Each additional child means a whole lot more carbon dioxide and considerable harm to people elsewhere." Manderson concurs that supporting women to have fewer children contributes to sustainable development, and food and water security. It is critical to note, however, that climate change will affect demography more than demographic change will affect the climate. Telling poorer people to have less children is a wonderful way to shift responsibility, given that the people who have the most children use the technologies that contribute to climate change the least, says Manderson. Climate injustice Those who contribute the least to climate change those in low to middle-income countries will suffer the most from its effects. Richer countries (and people who live more comfortable lifestyles) should therefore focus less on the red herring that poorer countries with high populations contribute to climate change, and more on the idea that existing inequalities and poverty will only worsen on a warmer planet. Jacklyn Cock, Professor Emerita in Sociology and Honorary Research Professor in the Society, Work and Politics Institute (SWOP) at Wits, has noted that the climate crisis is less about the poor other overpopulating and destroying the planet, and more about the outcome of an unjust global system, where so few reap the benefits of capitalism. Cock believes that alleviating climate change begins with establishing alternative social forms, institutions and practices outside of capitalism. These are mainly collective arrangements and mobilisation: bulk buying, decentralised, community-controlled forms of renewable energy, community food centres and seed sharing. In an article in The Conversation, Cock says: The concept of environmental justice provides a radical alternative to the discourse of conservation, questioning the markets ability to bring about social or environmental sustainability. It affirms the value of all forms of life against the interests of the rich and powerful. It is wealthy and educated people, Cock says, that have to change by consuming less and conserving more. Indeed, activists from the global south should forge ahead with alternatives, lobby powerful fossil fuel interests and certainly impress upon countries in the global north to have fewer children to save the planet. Calculate your carbon foot p rin t : https://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx Calculate your ecological footprint: http://ecologicalfootprint.com Thomas Motsoahae Thabane, Prime Minister of Lesothoaddresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane announced his intention to resign on Thursday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. The alert on its TV news channel gave no reason, but police are looking for Thabane's wife, Maesaiah, to question her in connection with the murder of his other, estranged, wife, Lipolelo. Lipolelo was shot days before Thabane was sworn in as leader of the mountain kingdom in June 2017. An arrest warrant is out for Maesaiah after she failed to turn up for questioning, although she has not been charged with anything. Lesotho, a mountain state encircled by South Africa, three-quarters of which lies more than 1,800 metres above sea level, is one of the world's poorest countries and has one of Africa's highest levels of HIV/AIDS prevalence. (Reporting by Tim Cocks; Editing by Kevin Liffey) It seems like every company making lidar has a new and clever approach, but Baraja takes the cake. Its method is not only elegant and powerful, but fundamentally avoids many issues that nag other lidar technologies. But it'll need more than smart tech to make headway in this complex and evolving industry. To understand how lidar works in general, consult my handy introduction to the topic. Essentially a laser emitted by a device skims across or otherwise very quickly illuminates the scene, and the time it takes for that laser's photons to return allows it to quite precisely determine the distance of every spot it points at. But to picture how Baraja's lidar works, you need to picture the cover of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." GIFs kind of choke on rainbows, but you get the idea. Imagine a flashlight shooting through a prism like that, illuminating the scene in front of it now imagine you could focus that flashlight by selecting which color came out of the prism, sending more light to the top part of the scene (red and orange) or middle (yellow and green). That's what Baraja's lidar does, except naturally it's a bit more complicated than that. The company has been developing its tech for years with the backing of Sequoia and Australian VC outfit Blackbird, which led a $32 million round late in 2018 Baraja only revealed its tech the next year and was exhibiting it at CES, where I met with co-founder and CEO Federico Collarte. "We've stayed in stealth for a long, long time," he told me. "The people who needed to know already knew about us." The idea for the tech came out of the telecommunications industry, where Collarte and co-founder Cibby Pulikkaseril thought of a novel use for a fiber optic laser that could reconfigure itself extremely quickly. "We thought if we could set the light free, send it through prism-like optics, then we could steer a laser beam without moving parts. The idea seemed too simple we thought, 'if it worked, then everybody would be doing it this way,' " he told me, but they quit their jobs and worked on it for a few months with a friends and family round, anyway. "It turns out it does work, and the invention is very novel and hence weve been successful in patenting it." Story continues Rather than send a coherent laser at a single wavelength (1550 nanometers, well into the infrared, is the lidar standard), Baraja uses a set of fixed lenses to refract that beam into a spectrum spread vertically over its field of view. Yet it isn't one single beam being split but a series of coded pulses, each at a slightly different wavelength that travels ever so slightly differently through the lenses. It returns the same way, the lenses bending it the opposite direction to return to its origin for detection. It's a bit difficult to grasp this concept, but once one does it's hard to see it as anything but astonishingly clever. Not just because of the fascinating optics (something I'm partial to, if it isn't obvious), but because it obviates a number of serious problems other lidars are facing or about to face. First, there are next to no moving parts whatsoever in the entire Baraja system. Spinning lidars like the popular early devices from Velodyne are being replaced at large by ones using metamaterials, MEMS, and other methods that don't have bearings or hinges that can wear out. Baraja's "head" unit, connected by fiber optic to the brain. In Baraja's system, there are two units, a "dumb" head and an "engine." The head has no moving parts and no electronics; it's all glass, just a set of lenses. The engine, which can be located nearby or a foot or two away, produces the laser and sends it to the head via a fiber-optic cable (and some kind of proprietary mechanism that rotates slowly enough that it could theoretically work for years continuously). This means it's not only very robust physically, but its volume can be spread out wherever is convenient in the car's body. The head itself also can be resized more or less arbitrarily without significantly altering the optical design, Collarte said. Second, the method of diffracting the beam gives the system considerable leeway in how it covers the scene. Different wavelengths are sent out at different vertical angles; a shorter wavelength goes out toward the top of the scene and a slightly longer one goes a little lower. But the band of 1550 +/- 20 nanometers allows for millions of fractional wavelengths that the system can choose between, giving it the ability to set its own vertical resolution. It could for instance (these numbers are imaginary) send out a beam every quarter of a nanometer in wavelength, corresponding to a beam going out every quarter of a degree vertically, and by going from the bottom to the top of its frequency range cover the top to the bottom of the scene with equally spaced beams at reasonable intervals. But why waste a bunch of beams on the sky, say, when you know most of the action is taking place in the middle part of the scene, where the street and roads are? In that case you can send out a few high frequency beams to check up there, then skip down to the middle frequencies, where you can then send out beams with intervals of a thousandth of a nanometer, emerging correspondingly close together to create a denser picture of that central region. If this is making your brain hurt a little, don't worry. Just think of Dark Side of the Moon and imagine if you could skip red, orange and purple, and send out more beams in green and blue and because you're only using those colors, you can send out more shades of green-blue and deep blue than before. Third, the method of creating the spectrum beam provides against interference from other lidar systems. It is an emerging concern that lidar systems of a type could inadvertently send or reflect beams into one another, producing noise and hindering normal operation. Most companies are attempting to mitigate this by some means or another, but Baraja's method avoids the possibility altogether. "The interference problem they're living with it. We solved it," said Collarte. The spectrum system means that for a beam to interfere with the sensor it would have to be both a perfect frequency match and come in at the precise angle at which that frequency emerges from and returns to the lens. That's already vanishingly unlikely, but to make it astronomically so, each beam from the Baraja device is not a single pulse but a coded set of pulses that can be individually identified. The company's core technology and secret sauce is the ability to modulate and pulse the laser millions of times per second, and it puts this to good use here. Collarte acknowledged that competition is fierce in the lidar space, but not necessarily competition for customers. "They have not solved the autonomy problem," he points out, "so the volumes are too small. Many are running out of money. So if you don't differentiate, you die." And some have. Instead companies are competing for partners and investors, and must show that their solution is not merely a good idea technically, but that it is a sound investment and reasonable to deploy at volume. Collarte praised his investors, Sequoia and Blackbird, but also said that the company will be announcing significant partnerships soon, both in automotive and beyond. South Korea's top three telecommunication firms said Friday they have joined hands to offer 5G services on subways in major cities. The three SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. said they have recently completed setting up 5G infrastructure on the subway system in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers southwest of Seoul. The three mobile carriers plan to establish 5G networks for subways and metro stations in major cities, including Daegu, Daejeon and Busan, by the first quarter of the year. For the subway system in the metropolitan area of Seoul, the country's largest subway network, the companies said they aim to set up 5G infrastructure by the end of this year. Currently, local telcos' 5G services can cover only several sections of Seoul's subway lines. "Since more than 6.7 million people use subways every day, we are doing our best to establish 5G infrastructure quickly," the companies said in a release. "To speed up the work, we have divided subway lines and sections." (Yonhap) Canadas health regulator has told an Etobicoke beauty store to stop selling unauthorized products after seizing skin creams and gels it says may pose serious health risks to the public. About a month after the Star began asking questions about products sold at Excel Beauty Supply in Albion Centre mall, Health Canada inspected the store. The six seized products were sold on shelves like other cosmetics, but they contained prescription drugs. Marketed for removing skin spots or discolouration and for whitening, these products could lead to skin deterioration, low or high blood pressure, blisters or scarring, according to a Health Canada safety alert issued Dec. 27. The alert said they should not be taken without the supervision of a healthcare professional. The inspection occurred Dec. 18. That morning, the Star published its investigation that found cosmetics sold across the GTA, in both big-box and small retailers, contained banned and potentially hazardous chemicals even though many of the risks they contain are listed right on their labels. Some of the products featured in the article were sold at Excel. When asked if the suppliers, distributors or manufacturers of the products at Excel will face any regulatory action, Health Canada told the Star its investigation is ongoing and the regulator will take additional action should any other unauthorized products be identified. A man who identified himself as the owner of Excel but refused to give his name, told the Star he had no idea the products in his store, including the skin creams, were unauthorized. He said that as a small business owner, for whom English is a second language, he relied on the honesty and expertise of his suppliers to provide him with products that he assumed had been approved by the Canadian government. How do I know whether the products were legal and safe? he told the Star. How did the product come into Canada? How did it come here in the beginning? I dont know! Cosmetic regulations allow companies 10 days to sell their products before telling Health Canada what they are or whats in them. Since 2005, Health Canada has received nearly 422,000 new cosmetics notifications, with significant increases in 2019 over 2018, and Health Canada is straining to keep up with the deluge of creams, sprays, toothpastes and shampoos. The oversight system tasked with ensuring the safety of cosmetics is designed to catch problems based on information that manufacturers are required to submit. Health Canada reacts to consumer complaints as well as incidents the industry shares. But it conducts the majority of its oversight by scanning for banned substances in ingredient lists in new products that are submitted to its online notification system. Ninety-seven per cent of these lists comply with regulations, according to Health Canada. A significant majority of the remaining three per cent that are found with a problem such as a banned ingredient or an incorrect label, for instance are resolved after Health Canada seeks clarification from the company. Health Canada recently said that it has improved the time it takes to deal with banned ingredients it finds through its notification system from nine months to 49 days. The federal government defines cosmetics as products, including deodorant and perfume, that are intended to improve the appearance and cleanliness of our hair, skin or teeth. Companies flying under Health Canadas radar, such as distributors who buy about-to-expire lots and sell them to retailers who offer consumers discounted prices, likely arent submitting ingredients lists to the government. Among the products the Star found that listed banned ingredients on their labels are a leave-in hair detangler for kids, a kohl eyeliner flagged repeatedly by Health Canada and other health authorities around the world for containing lead, a known neurotoxin, and a nail kit for kids with a label that said it contained a banned ingredient that can rip the flesh right off a childs finger. During its investigation, the Star went to Excel, a store specializing in cosmetics marketed to ethnic communities, and found an entire section devoted to creams and gels that lighten, fade and remove skin spots. The Dec. 27 safety alert warned consumers that such unauthorized products with prescription drugs are illegal to sell in Canada. The alert said these products havent been assessed for safety, effectiveness or quality and may be contaminated or may contain dangerous ingredients not listed on the label. Several of the products the Star found during its reporting contained hydroquinone, an ingredient Health Canada said is not permitted for use in cosmetic products intended to be used on the skin and has been deemed toxic because it has been shown to cause cancer in some animal studies. The alert said it wasnt recommended for children, pregnant and breastfeeding women and should be used with caution in those who have previously had cancer. Side effects, according to the alert, range from cracked skin and peeling to skin discolouration... that, in some cases, can be disfiguring. Health Canada says hydroquinone-containing products may also be regulated as natural health products or drugs and that as of June last year certain products with the ingredient need a prescription. Some products with hydroquinone that were sold over-the-counter have been recalled since June, the alert says. Among the skin creams the regulator said it seized during its inspection were products with other prescription ingredients including corticosteroids used to treat inflammatory skin conditions, and that can cause severe fatigue, weight gain, high blood pressure and other symptoms. One skin whitener contained a prescription drug used to treat vaginal yeast infections. Possible side effects include nausea, low blood pressure and hives. What you should do Health Canada says in the alert. Stop using these products. The second of at least 17 Russian prison guards charged in a high-profile inmate torture case has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. A court in Yaroslavl, some 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow, on January 17 convicted Maksim Yablokov of abuse of authority for beating three inmates. The court handed down the sentence the same day. Two days earlier, former prison guard Sergei Yefremov, who made a deal with investigators, was sentenced to four years in prison. Yablokov, who also made a deal with investigators, was arrested along with other prison guards of the Correctional Colony No. 1 in Yaroslavl in 2018 in the wake of public outcry after the Moscow-based independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta released a video that showed a group of guards severely beating an inmate as he was pinned face down on a table. Russian authorities announced at the time that similar complaints by inmates across Russia would be investigated. Another probe was launched months later into the alleged torture of 25 inmates in a second prison in the Yaroslavl region. The cases have shone a spotlight on what activists say is widespread abuse and torture in Russian prisons. Valery Maksimenko, deputy head of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN), said in 2018 that the country needs more prisons to hold police officers, prison guards, and other law enforcement agents who have been convicted of crimes. He said that two new prisons that were opened for such prisoners earlier in 2018 were already full. "It looks like an anti-corruption effort is under way, a cleansing is under way," Maksimenko said. In Russia and some other former Soviet republics, convicted former law enforcement officers, prison guards, judges, and prosecutors serve their terms in detention facilities that are separate from regular prisons. With reporting by Mediazona Obtaining a new trial requires more than proving that expert testimony relied on faulty science, however. You have to show they wouldnt have been convicted if jurors knew this information, Ms. Garcia said. Thats not easy. Ms. Bryan, a fourth-grade teacher, was found in her bedroom with four gunshot wounds on Oct. 15, 1985, in Clifton, Texas. She initially appeared to have been the victim of a burglary-turned-homicide. Mr. Bryan, a school principal, had been attending an education conference about 120 miles away in Austin at the time of the killing. Sometime after Mr. Bryan returned from Austin, he let Ms. Bryans older brother, Charlie Blue, use his vehicle. Mr. Blue would later tell the authorities that when he opened the trunk, he found a flashlight with what appeared to be bloodstains on the lens. It was among a series of details that led the authorities to focus more on Mr. Bryan; they arrested him eight days after his wife was found dead. And as lawyers squared off in the State of Texas v. Joe D. Bryan, the stains on the flashlight and in the bedroom appeared to help the prosecutors substantially. They called Robert Thorman, a police detective who was trained in bloodstain-pattern analysis, as an expert witness. Pointing to the patterns of blood as evidence, Mr. Thorman tied the strands of the case together in a narrative that involved Mr. Bryan driving from Austin to Clifton, shooting his wife at close range, changing his clothes and driving back to the conference. But in the years since, many key pieces of evidence, including the blood-splatter analysis methods used by Mr. Thorman, have come under suspicion. The case was investigated extensively by Leon Smith, a longtime reporter and newspaper editor in Texas, and other journalists. Australia's higher education watchdog will ramp up cooperation with international regulators to tackle industrial-scale contract cheating, which is challenging institutions the world over. Anthony McClaran, who this week announced he would step down after more than four years as chief executive of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, said the providers of paid cheating services were becoming more sophisticated and cracking down was a priority for the regulator. Anthony McClaran, outgoing chief executive of the higher education regulator. Credit:Arsineh Houspian In an interview ahead of his departure from the role, Mr McClaran welcomed the government's introduction of stiff penalties for providers of essay ghostwriting and other cheating services and said his agency had escalated its efforts in recent years but more work was needed. "I think it is necessary to ramp up the efforts," he said. "Unless action is taken, it certainly will grow." To make fish cakes, Asuka Uchida forms black cod into spheres, stuffs them with cheese curds and drops them into a light beer batter. After a bath in hot oil, they emerge golden brown, bouncy and delicate. They also ooze cheese, an elegant take on comfort food. On Tuesday, she and Yoshika Hedberg will open their first Japanese restaurant, Fish & Bird Sousaku Izakaya, in downtown Berkeley. Taking over the space of the former Middle Eastern restaurant Saha, theyve refinished the tables, darkened the walls and brought in loads of Japanese ceramics. We wanted to do something no one is doing here: a modern style of Japanese cooking, Hedberg said. We dont want to call it fusion. Its something truly Japanese but with a flair of local flavors. Sousaku means creative cuisine in Japanese, and Hedberg described it as a genre of restaurants in Japan where raw fish is prepared with crudo-like flourishes instead of the purity of sashimi, and French and Italian influences make their way into many dishes. Japan has a history of taking foreign dishes and making them its own. Tonkatsu, for example, is a reformulation of schnitzel from Germany. This sensibility speaks to Fish & Birds vision, paired with the Bay Area tradition of using top-notch local, seasonal ingredients. The restaurant will source real wasabi not the electric green powdered stuff found in many restaurants from Sonoma County Wasabi in Santa Rosa and Japanese vegetables from Hikari Farms in Watsonville. Fish & Bird Sousaku Izakaya Those ingredients will contribute to dishes like chawanmushi, the ethereal Japanese egg custard; thinly sliced duck tataki with black vinegar and a runny quail egg; a soulful nabe with Berkshire pork and mizuna; and a chrysanthemum greens salad with white anchovies. Hedberg expects most diners will spend $35 to $45 to split a few small plates. As an izakaya, a Japanese bar serving small plates, Fish & Bird will emphasize drinks with an eye toward smaller, less-known producers. It will be one of few Bay Area restaurants to serve Japanese wine alongside sake, shochu, Japanese beer and tea. Uchida, who previously cooked at Spruce and Yuzuki Japanese Eatery in San Francisco, met Hedberg while working at B-Dama, Chikara Onos izakaya inside Swans Market in Oakland. They went on to work at Utzutzu, Onos tiny omakase restaurant in Alameda, and began talking about starting their own place. They brought on chef Shin Okamoto, also from B-Dama. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. I was really impressed with their craftsmanship, Hedberg said of Uchida and Okamoto. The concept evolved from there. Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker Larry Birkhead's relationship with Anna Nicole Smith was infamously complicated, but more than a decade after her passing, he now sees some of Anna's positive qualities in their daughter, Dannielynn. The first year of Dannielynn's life was certainly a roller coaster: She was three days old when her older half-brother died of an accidental drug overdose while visiting her and Anna in the maternity ward; five months later, Anna would also die of a drug overdose. It would take a highly-publicized paternity test to prove that Birkhead, an on-and-off boyfriend, was Dannielynn's father. Despite the early difficulties, life has settled quite a bit, and now that Dannielynn is a bit older, Birkhead is ready to open up about their family. Above: Larry Birkhead with Dannielynn in 2008. Credit: Getty "So many people come up to [Dannielynn] and say, you know, 'I was a big fan of your mom's,' and 'I loved your mom,'" Birkhead says in the Jan. 17 episode of Lifetime's docuseries "Hopelessly In Love." "People think it was like a one-night stand that I had with Anna and then I got lucky and won this DNA lottery, when it was, like, a two-year relationship with, admittedly, highs and lows. But it was a crazy love story." He added, "In fact, when they called me and said, Do you want to do this show? I said, Do you got the right person? Because our story was not like your Disney love story or Cinderella story. It was one of those crazy things. Dannielynn, now 13 years old, has several qualities in common with her late mother, including "the ability to spend money!" Birkhead recently joked to Us Weekly. "Thats probably there. Thats probably the biggest. But beyond that, you know, shes got some personality traits of her moms, and shes funny, but I think shes a good mix of the two of us." Birkhead has largely avoided the spotlight over the past decade, living instead with his daughter in his native Louisville. He and his daughter do, however, usually make an annual appearance at the Kentucky Derby. Story continues Above: Larry and Dannielynn at the Kentucky Derby in May 2019. Credit: Getty The teen likely won't watch her dad's docuseries episode anytime soon, "but she's excited. She's seen me work on it for a long time," he said. "And so its probably something that Ill want her to watch down the road, in its entirety. Not now. But I hope that shell see and appreciate [it]." "Hopelessly in Love: Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead" will air on Lifetime Friday, Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. ET. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 04:17:03|Editor: yan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Kenneth Starr, a well-known prosecutor whose work led to the impeachment of former U.S. President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, has joined U.S. President Donald Trump's impeachment legal defense team, multiple media outlets reported Friday. Alan Dershowitz, a constitutional lawyer, and Robert Ray, Starr's successor at the Office of Independent Counsel during the Clinton administration, are also joining the team, said the reports. Dershowitz will present oral arguments at the Senate trial, set to open on Jan. 21, a spokesman for Trump's legal team said. "He is participating in this impeachment trial to defend the integrity of the Constitution and to prevent the creation of a dangerous constitutional precedent," said the legal team, noting Dershowitz opposed Clinton's impeachment and voted for his wife, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 presidential election. Trump's legal team will be headed by White House counsel Pat Cipollone and outside attorney Jay Sekulow, who are still expected to deliver statements on the president's behalf on the Senate floor, according to media reports. The White House did not mount a formal defense during the House impeachment inquiry as it refused to cooperate with the Democratic-led committees. Trump allegedly pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into launching investigations that could politically benefit him, and the White House allegedly tried to cover it up after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initiated an impeachment inquiry in September. A whistleblower raised concerns about the White House's interactions with Ukraine in an anonymous complaint last summer. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, repeatedly calling the impeachment "a hoax." Under the U.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. By Abdul Kerimkhanov Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev has said that Mikhail Gorbachev must be stripped of his Nobel Prize Peace Prize over sending troops to Baku in January 1990 that was aimed at crushing the making of Azerbaijans independence and killed dozens of civilians. "It is not too late to deprive Gorbachev of the Nobel Prize. The Soviet government tried but failed to break the will of the Azerbaijani people. Azerbaijan gained independence, and we must preserve it. We are proud of our martyrs who gave their lives for Azerbaijans independence," Hajiyev said during an event at ADA University in Baku to mark the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy. The official said that the crackdown on Baku residents was carried out after Heydar Aliyev was dismissed from his position in the political bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. "A plan of occupation of Baku as a foreign city was prepared. Tanks and other armored vehicles were used. There was not only artillery. The goal was the mass destruction of people on the streets," Hajiyev stressed. He underlined that the massacre took place during Azerbaijans information blockade, adding that foreign journalists were accredited in Moscow and were not allowed to visit Baku. "After a small number of journalists covered the press-conference of Heydar Aliyev, who appeared in the Azerbaijani Permanent Mission in Moscow, the international community learned about the events from other viewpoint. The international media reported on the tragic events in Baku," he stressed. "The January 20 tragedy must be considered as a process which followed the Sumgayit events and then continued in Khojaly city," Hajiyev stated. He underlined that a policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis was conducted in Armenia, adding that this process also occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh region. Furthermore, Hajiyev said that January 20 tragedy must be considered as a process which followed the Sumgayit events and then continued in Khojaly city. He underlined that a policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis was conducted in Armenia, adding that this process also occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh region. Black January, also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on a civilian population of Baku on the night leading to January 20 in 1990. According to official estimates, 147 Azerbaijani civilians were killed, 800 people were injured and five people went missing. However unofficial number put the number of victims at 300 dead. In 1995 Gorbachev apologized to Azerbaijan by stating: "The declaration of a state emergency in Baku was the biggest mistake of my political career." --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The nationwide anti-CAA protests are spontaneous and there is little to no coordination within these. There has been considerable debate about the slogan of La Ilaha Illallah and its place, if any, in the anti-CAA protests. It has given rise to questions about assertions of Muslim identity in India today. In his tweet, Shashi Tharoor has equated implicitly the credal statement of Islam La ilaha illallah to Islamist terrorism. The statement is the foundation of Islam, and as sweeping a statement as Mr Tharoors is, to say the least, problematic. The nationwide anti-CAA protests are spontaneous and there is little to no coordination within these. Many have erroneously thought that La ilaha illallah is the slogan of the anti-CAA protests! Rather, it is an assertion of identity by those facing state-sponsored terror because of their identity. The shared faith in La Ilaha illallah is what unites the Muslims across the country, and Mr Tharoor, the most prominent opponent of this slogan, need not have fear of Islamist terror. India has been immune to Islamist terror from normal Indian Muslims because of a very strong sense of belonging to the country. It is this sense of belonging that has impelled us to protest against the CAA and the NRC. The slogan of La ilaha illallah was raised in Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University and in Kerala in solidarity with those students who were attacked by the state apparatus in these two universities. The state, through the police, was targeting Muslims as Muslims, hurling the filthiest abuses at them for being Muslims, and attacking them as Muslims. Mr Tharoor is respected across the board for his views, articulation, and commitment to the values of India. For such a tweet to be coming from him was a shock to a community already reeling under a multitude of blows across the nation. The disenchantment with Mr Tharoor is perhaps reflective of the larger disappointment with the Congress, which has always claimed to stand up for the idea of India. The handwringing of the Congress over a vast array of injustices to Muslims, individual and institutional, had already spelt out its demise, even as Mr Tharoor seemed a whiff of fresh air. Yet, it seems that he embodies all the Muslim complaints with the Congress: selective action, an inherent bias towards Hinduism, an attempt to explain away that bias, and a ready explication of anti-Muslim sentiments. Those disapproving of the slogan of La ilaha illallah warn of non-Muslim alienation from the anti-CAA protests. That may very well be the case. However, how is it any different from asking Muslim voters to consistently support the Congress, despite its flagrantly anti-Muslim nature, for the greater good of the nation? On October 17, 1919, the Khilafat Movement, which was started at the call of Indian Muslims, abounded in Islamic symbols. Apprehensions were rife among the British government and Indians about the impact of pan-Islamism on Indian Muslims. However, as Gail Minault points out, the symbolism contributed to the creation of a pan-Indian Islam. It was a source of pride for Muslims to be Indians, and this pride was fostered by the use of Islamic symbols in the Khilafat Movement, which merged with the Non-Cooperation Movement. Staunch Hindu figures such as Swami Shraddhanand and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya were actively involved in the Khilafat Movement, and spoke at Jama Masjid in Delhi, prompting many to draw parallels with the Bhim Army chief, Chandrashekhar Azad. It is risible to think that Muslim protesters expect non-Muslims, or even all of the Muslims, supporting the movements across India to chant La ilaha illallah. But is it too much to ask that we not be obstructed from raising our slogans? The liberal resentment against public expressions of Muslim identity is well-documented, with the narrative being that while Muslims may have started this movement, now that the mainstream figures have arrived at the scene, the burqa-clad women, and topi-wearing and beard-sporting Muslims must relegate themselves to following the leaders. This sidelining of Muslims is not limited to only this protest: it is a mental ghettoisation, much like the physical ghettoisation of Muslims in urban centres. NRC ka masla kya? La ilaha illallah Tera mera rishta kya? La ilaha illallah The slogan had circulated much before the violence of December 15 on the campus of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University. It was an attempt to mobilise Indian Muslims, and to strengthen the bond of pan-Indian Islam which had first been forged in the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement. If the Muslims of India do unite and fight for their stake in the country, as Indians by invoking the Constitution, as they have always done, and also as Muslims, by saying La ilaha illallah, is that not a good sign? By chanting La ilaha illallah, we are espousing the idea of India where we can have an unhyphenated existence, as Indians as well as Muslims. The unease with Muslims is hardly a new phenomenon. Writing about how Dr Syed Mahmud was bypassed for the first chief ministership of Bihar under Provincial Autonomy because of the communal demands of Dr Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad regretted that the Congress nationalism had not reached a stage where it could ignore communal considerations and select leaders on the basis of merit without regard to majority or minority. One feels that the Congress, as embodied in Mr Tharoor, has still not reached a stage where it could ignore communal considerations and support a demand for rights and assertion of identity without regard to majority or minority. Statements refuting the anti-Muslim nature of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act abound, stating it should not be opposed as an anti-Muslim act, but as an unconstitutional one owing to its criterion of naturalisation of foreign citizens being religion. The anti-CAA protests are immediately against the CAA, NRC and NPR, and by extension, the lynchings, mob violence and the Ayodhya case verdict, but in its essence, it is a movement for us to live in India with dignity, to reclaim our right to our country which is being eroded with the approval of Parliament. This movement is unique for Indian Muslims, as they are fighting not for religion-specific demands. Rather, it is a movement geared towards Muslims being considered equal citizens in the secular democratic republic that is India. As such, it is all the more important to ensure that identity assertion does not become the only message which we take away from the anti-CAA protests. This slogan and indeed this movement should not be used to sketch a nation within which Muslims remain an insular and isolated unit. After all, it is a movement to reclaim our identity as Indians as well as Muslims. The Muslims of India have marched with the tiranga at all of the anti-CAA protests, and we abide by the Constitution, and invoke constitutional values in our opposition to the CAA. Why then is our Muslim identity such a red rag? We have placed our trust in the Constitution, in the civil society of our country, and in the idea of India. It is high time that we receive similar trust. Thousands of high earners could get a tax break as part of a radical move to end the doctors' pensions crisis. The Treasury is believed to be looking at giving relief on pension contributions to people earning more than 110,00. It is designed to tackle the issue of doctors turning down extra work because it hits them with an increased tax bill. Thousands of high earners could get a tax break as part of a radical move to end the doctors' pensions crisis. It is designed to tackle the issue of doctors turning down extra work because it hits them with an increased tax bill (stock image) Under the proposal higher charges on pension contributions would kick in at 150,000, the Times reported. This would apparently free up 90 per cent of consultants to take on extra shifts. But the tax break would apply to all high earners. And doctors' union the British Medical Association claimed it was a 'half measure'. Dr Vishal Sharma, chairman of the BMA pensions committee, said: 'Many doctors will still in effect be paying to go to work.' If the Treasury agrees the overhaul, an announcement is expected by Chancellor Sajid Javid (pictured) in the Budget in March All workers start with a tax-free annual pension allowance of 40,000 but, when earnings hit 110,000, for every extra 1 earned above the threshold, 50 pence is taken off the allowance. This continues until the tax-free allowance stands at 10,000 for the year. The problem has been blamed for increased NHS waiting lists. If the Treasury agrees the overhaul, an announcement is expected by Chancellor Sajid Javid in the Budget in March. HOLYOKE The Community Preservation Act Committee (CPAC) reviewed applications for Historic Preservation awards. CPAC reserves a portion of its revenues for historical projects, along with funding for housing. Marcos Marrero and Ben Murphy, of the Planning and Economic Development Office, requested $400,000 for the Armory Building at 164 Sargeant St. The building suffered two collapses in 2016, with only the structures facade remaining. Murphy, who also serves on the Holyoke Historical Commission, said the Armory tops the citys Endangered Properties list. The commission hired an engineer and architect through a MassDevelpment grant to find ways to redevelop the property and identify structural deficits. Murphy said the buildings interior is likely not salvageable as the flooring system is in rough shape. The buildings middle portion remains solid by unsound on the sides, according to Murphy. The possibility is to save the facade. Were looking into that with the architect and engineer. Hopefully, well have better information later on, he said. Murphy said the best reuse is for an institutional entity interested in preserving a signature building. Converting the Armory for housing would take significant subsidies, he added. The $400,000 request included construction costs. In the last round of CPA funding, Marrero said a $125,000 grant paid for predevelopment work and not for bricks and mortars. Kip Foley, the committees chair, said CPAC saw an uptick in applications for the current funding cycle. The current applicants seek $2 million in funding. CPAC holds $600,000 in its coffers. Committee Member Mimi Pantich said the $400,000 is for shoring up the Armorys masonry to attract a developer. Were doing to this be economically viable to develop, she said. Murphy said a developer would perform the masonry work and not the City of Holyoke. It wouldnt be city-owned. The plan would be to sell it to someone and develop it. Marrero said the Armory is the most historic site the city controls and that preservation remains a priority. He added that a bond expenditure was another route for the project. Weve had multiple interests over the years. The problem is the buildings condition scares folks away, Marrero told the committee. We are working on the first part of not getting people scared, which is uncertainty on the structure itself, and a better understanding of the costs. Mike Sullivan, who represents the City Council on CPAC, said the neighborhood needs investments. We got people who invested in the Churchill homes. They put a substantial financial, emotional investment in the neighborhood, Sullivan said. They need all the support we can give them. This is a key piece in the neighborhood. CPAC also heard from Don Sanders, the artistic director of the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA), the organizations that own the long-shuttered Victory Theater on Suffolk Street. MIFA seeks $100,000 in funding to restore murals. The Victory, which opened in 1920, was a 1,600 seat Broadway-style theater in its heyday. It is an extraordinary economic development factory to bring joy and people into our wonderful city, Sanders said. It will attract six to eight Broadway touring shows every year along with other specialty shows such as opera, ballet, and dance from all over the world. In 1942, the Victory primarily became a movie theater, Sanders noted. The theater removed viewing boxes and erected the murals, which flanked the stage. Vincent Maragliotta, under the Works Progress Administration, painted the murals. Maragliotta, who had a studio in Grand Central Station in New York City, painted decorative art for the Waldorf Astoria and the Pennsylvania statehouse. Sanders said the Massachusetts Historic Commission commissioned a report on the value of the Victory Theater. They came to the conclusion that it must be restored. To date, we have $10 million in Historic Tax Credits, he said, based on the experts who have gone through the theater. The commission recommended restoring the viewing boxes, but no photos exist of when they were in use. Restoring and reinstalling the murals became the viable alternative as they hold artistic and historical value, Sanders said. One mural depicts Lucifer and Mars, the symbol of war, and the other piece represents Liberty, Peace , and Justice. The artist painted the murals on canvas as opposed to a fresco or applying paint to plaster. Vitek Kruta, a local artist and restorer, painstakingly removed the canvases and placed them in storage. Its time for Vitek to actually restore them and put them back up where they belong, Sanders said. Its very important that we do this right. MIFA recently acquired a former funeral home at 134 Chestnut St. The Victory plans to construct an annex on the parcel, which is part of the project. We are expecting to have a soft part of the theater done in September 2020 and going forward for a full opening in 2021, Sanders said. Historic restoration projects that employ tax credits are not incremental. You have to have the full amount of money in order to go to the contractor with the architects. He added that MIFA had raised close 70% percent of the construction funding. If awarded, CPAC would impose a Dec. 1, 2020, deadline for the mural restoration project provided construction was underway. CPAC also reviewed the following applications: Yesterday, over a half-million French strikers and youth marched for a 43rd day of strikes against President Emmanuel Macrons pension cuts. They rejected Prime Minister Edouard Philippes announcement this weekend of a temporary withdrawal of a planned two-year increase in the pension age from the text of the bill, which Philippe intends to rework and add back into the bill after four months of talks with the unions. According to the unions, 550,000 people marched across France, including 150,000 in Paris and tens of thousands in cities including Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Nantes. In Toulouse, they interrupted a ceremony held by right-wing mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc, holding a banner saying Emmanuel Moudenc, mayor of the rich and singing yellow vest songs. The protest in Paris Among workers, there is growing opposition to Macron and support for the strike. An Odoxa poll for France-Info and the right-wing daily Le Figaro found that 66 percent of the population still considers the strike justified, even though 57 percent would like it to stop, as rail and mass transit strikes lengthen commutes to work. Moreover, 67 percent told Odoxa they agreed that Philippes announcement this weekend was a half-measure that comes too late. Philippes proposed talks with the unions to identify possible spending cuts only underscore that such talks are a dead end for the workers. There is nothing to negotiate with Macron. The way forward is to organize independently of the unions, in committees of action mobilizing broader layers of workers in a struggle to bring down Macron. Emma, a schoolteacher protesting in Paris, told the WSWS: We demand the pension cuts not be implemented. Philippe can say whatever he wants to anybody about his announcements on the pension age, we dont careat all. She added, What is unprecedented is that the strike belongs to the strikers. The workers have escaped the control of the unions. So, the union leaderships can negotiate whatever they want. We will not give up anything. This is not a pension reform...it is armed robbery Emma added that her pension could fall by up to 1,036 per month due to Macrons cuts: she is a teacher with three children and, in addition to cuts specifically to teachers pensions, Macrons reform slashes bonuses paid to women for bearing children. She said: Women are unjustly attacked by this reform, though media peddle the line that this is a pro-woman reform, that things will be much fairer for them if their careers were interrupted by childbirth. Sylvie, who works in Paris mass transit, said Macrons pension cut is bad for everyone. It is a swindle. They cannot tell us how much it will take away from the French people But weve seen such cuts in other European countries. Cutting our pensions twenty to thirty percent or more, is that good? Who wants to earn lessand I mean much, much less? They aim to impoverish the people. Sylvie Sylvie stressed that she did not trust the unions negotiating with Macron in Philippes four-month conference: They are negotiating for themselves, not for the people. That is all that I can say. They are negotiating for themselves, not for Paris mass transit workers The media are denouncing us, but it is just to impose a pension reform that is harmful to everyone, that will impoverish people. The discrediting of the French union bureaucracy and the emergence of a militant movement in the working class reflects an explosive, international resurgence of the class struggle transforming class relations worldwide. Recent months have seen mass strikes of tens of millions of Indian workers, of US autoworkers and teachers, of Polish teachers, and mass protests in dozens of countriesfrom the Czech Republic in Europe to Iraq, Lebanon and Algeria in the Middle East to Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador in Latin America. This upsurge of international class struggle unfolds amid a descent of the capitalist class into criminality and militarism, epitomized by Washingtons drone murder of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani on January 3 in Baghdad. This assassination, carried out with blatant contempt for international law, exposed the danger of all-out war between the major powers in the Middle East. As the strike against Frances president of the rich continues, it is ever clearer that this struggle raises far broader issues that ultimately workers can resolve only via international, revolutionary action against the financial aristocracy and the capitalist system. Jules Jules, a Paris high school student, told the WSWS: There is a lot of concern among high school students about the danger of war in the coming years. When certain individuals start bombing the Iranian military then its not even a proxy war anymore, it is America and Iran that are nearly at war, or at least in violent armed conflict. And there is a lot of concern about the future of the peace we had in Europe for the last few decades. Jules linked the war danger to the aggressive domestic repression and austerity measures against workers at home. He said, After attacking pensions, Macron will attack public health care and the universities If he has given the Legion of Honor medal to the head of BlackRock, it is that he has very close links to BlackRock, the $6 trillion global asset management firm that discussed Macrons pension cuts with him just after his election in 2017. The WSWS also interviewed Adrien, a worker at the Grandpuits refinery that is on a three-day strike. French refinery workers are discussing a possible indefinite national strike, which in 2010 rapidly led to a national fuel shortage and a direct clash with the state. Isolated by the unions, the refinery workers in 2010 were forced to return to work. Adrien In 2010, Adrien said, we arrived for our 5a.m. shift and discovered 17 trucks of riot police in front of our workplace. They came with the police prefect with requisition letters addressed to each of us by name, threatening us with three years of prison and 45,000 fines if we did not return to work. The UN International Labor Organization later ruled against the prefectures position, calling it illegal: they cannot requisition a private company except to supply critical public services It was completely illegal, and a violation of our constitutional right to strike and of democracy. Workers are discussing what Macron might do against a nationwide refinery strike today. Adrien said, This government and the bosses behind it dream of just one thing: outlawing the right to strike in France. They will not hesitate to requisition us, even with illegal requisition orders. They will try to requisition us; we will struggle for our right to strike. This experience of the class struggle underlines the need to build committees of action, organizations independent of the unions, to mobilize broader layers of workers to defend strikers. This entails a struggle against the diktat of the banks and of the police-state machine raising key political questionsabove all, that of revolutionary perspective and leadership. When all the poor get involved in the struggle ... Eva, a student protesting in Paris against Macron and students precarious living conditions due to low scholarships, said she absolutely supports bringing down Macron: I never supported Macron and never will. However, she added, today I see no one I could support to take his place: as always in the last years and decades, we only have politicians who want power to serve capitalism. We are ruled by finance. The emergence of a strike consciously impelled by the workers against the union bureaucracy is rapidly transforming the political situation. While strike participation rates in rail, mass transit and education are fallingwith workers temporarily returning to work part-time to earn some money, financially exhausted after weeks of striking, or striking in shiftsthe radicalization of the working class continues to grow. The class gulf separating workers from the ruling class and its political agencies is ever more evident. The Parti de legalite socialiste advances in this context the perspective of an international, revolutionary struggle by the working class to take power, expropriate the financial aristocracy, and build a socialist society as the alternative to the bankrupt capitalist system. The increasing presence of high-speed railways in rural China has not only expanded the national railway network, but also brought rural areas into the sphere of prosperity, Chinanews.com reported on Jan.16, 2020. Danjiangkou high-speed railway station. Photo by Zhang Qin from China News Agency Wang Wanli is one of the villagers whose living conditions have become better and better thanks to the high-speed railway connecting her hometown with the rest of Hubei province in central China. Wang runs a grocery store in Jinshan village, Danjiangkou city in central Chinas Hubei province. It never occurred to her that her 16-year-old neighborhood store could receive so many customers from outside her hometown. On Nov.29, 2019, a high-speed railway link between the provincial capital Wuhan and Shiyan went into operation. For many counties in northwest Hubei, it was their first ever high-speed railway. Wangs store is only 500 meters from the Danjiangkou railway station. The short distance makes her store a popular choice for many passengers stopping or taking a break at the station. Wang Wanli at her grocery store near the Danjiangkou high-speed railway station. Photo by Zhang Qin from China News Agency Wangs husband, who used to work outside their hometown, has returned home to work as a truck driver. Her son, who just retired from the military last year, became a patrolman at the railway station. More and more local villagers have gone back from the cities to their hometown to work in jobs directly or indirectly related to the railway, such as sanitary workers and security inspectors. Some even opened agritainment restaurants in their hometown. A train runs through the Danjiangkou high-speed railway station. Photo by Zhang Qin from China News Agency Danjiangkou city got rid of poverty in April 2019, and at the end of the year it was listed as one of the 100 most competitive tourist cities in China. Guizhou province in southwest China saw its first high-speed railway in 2014, then the second, third, and fourth in the years that followed. The high-speed railways have turned Guizhou into an important transportation hub in southwest China. Credible sources indicated that the number of tourist arrivals in Guizhou have been increasing by 37.2 percent in recent years, and the annual tourism revenue by 37.7 percent. In the first three quarters of 2019, the province received 253 million tourists and saw tourism revenue of nearly 1 trillion yuan. Dixons Carphone will update the market on its performance over the key Christmas period with a trading statement on Tuesday January 21. Investors will be hoping the electronics chain has outperformed its rivals during what has turned out to be a difficult Christmas for retailers. The update comes amid a testing period for electronics retail, with some of Currys PC World's rivals in the sector posting declining sales over the festive season. Chief executive Alex Baldock of Dixons Carphone said the sector has been 'challenging' John Lewis & Partners said electronics and home technology sales dived 4 per cent for the seven weeks to January 4, despite a jump in Black Friday sales. Meanwhile, retail analyst Nick Bubb said that Dixons Carphone shareholders may have been 'concerned' after Sainsbury's claimed its Argos business 'outperformed the market' in consumer electronics. Sainsbury's said this despite revealing a 3.9 per cent sales slump in its general merchandise business for the 15 weeks to January 4. Nevertheless, investors in Dixons have had hopes raised by investment bank Goldman Sachs advising investors to buy shares in the company and raising its target share price from 130p to 170p ahead of the trading update. On Friday the company was trading at 144.8p per share. Some analysts turned bullish about the retailer following its trading update last month, despite it saying it expects to post significant annual losses. Dixons Carphone said it was in line with previous forecasts to post losses of 90million in the UK and Ireland this year, after a pre-tax loss of 86million for the half year to October. In December, chief executive Alex Baldock said the mobile sector continued to be 'challenging', but said he expects its mobile division to break even by 2022. Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the company was 'still in the midst of a reboot' but highlighted its confidence for a gradual recovery. The latest update will also come a fortnight after the retailer was slapped with a 500,000 fine over a computer hack which compromised the personal information of at least 14 million people. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found that hackers were able to access the names, postcodes, email addresses and failed credit checks of millions. Dixons Carphone apologised to customers impacted, but said it had 'no confirmed evidence of any customers suffering fraud or financial loss as a result'. Amazon Great Indian Festival 2021: Use 'diamonds' to get cashback offer on your orders, here is how Netflix vs Amazon Prime vs Hotstar: Who Provides Cheapest Plan? Check Out New Rates Amazon to create one million jobs in India by 2025: CEO Jeff Bezos India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jan 17: E-commerce major Amazon on Friday said it plans to create one million new jobs in India over the next five years through investments in technology, infrastructure and its logistics network. These jobs are in addition to the seven lakh jobs Amazon's investments have enabled over the last six years in the country. "Amazon plans to create one million new jobs in India by 2025," the company said in a statement, adding that the jobs - created both directly and indirectly - will be across industries, including information technology, skill development, content creation, retail, logistics, and manufacturing. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos commits USD 1 bn investment to digitise small businesses in India Amazon.com Inc chief Jeff Bezos had on Wednesday announced USD 1 billion (over Rs 7,000 crore) investment in India to help bring small and medium businesses online and committed to exporting USD 10 billion worth of India-made goods by 2025. "We are investing to create a million new jobs here in India over the next five years," Bezos said. "We've seen huge contributions from our employees, extraordinary creativity from the small businesses we've partnered with, and great enthusiasm from the customers who shop with us-and we're excited about what lies ahead," Bezos added. NEWS AT 3 PM, JAN 17th, 2020 The India has prioritised job creation and skilling initiatives - including the training of more than 400 million people by 2022 - in rural and urban areas. "Amazon's job creation commitment and investment in traders and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) complement these social inclusion and social mobility efforts by creating more opportunities for people in India to find employment, build skills, and expand entrepreneurship opportunities," the statement said. The new investments will help hiring talent to fill roles across Amazon in India, including software development engineering, cloud computing, content creation, and customer support. Since 2014, Amazon has grown its employee base more than four times, and last year inaugurated its new campus building in Hyderabad - Amazon's first fully-owned campus outside the United States and the largest building globally in terms of employees (15,000) and space (9.5 acres). Not doing favour to India: Goyal on Amazon's Billion commitment The investments will also help in expanding growth opportunities for the more than 5,50,000 traders and micro, small, and medium-sized businesses - including local shops - through programs like Saheli, Karigar, and "I Have Space". For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 17, 2020, 12:47 [IST] Milla Jovovich draped her bulging baby bump in a floral dress while out with her husband Paul W.S. Anderson in Los Angeles this week. The star is expecting her third child. The Kiev-born 44-year-old strolled hand in hand with her man as they headed into a Japanese restaurant to enjoy a spot of lunch. Out and about: Milla Jovovich draped her bulging baby bump in a floral dress while out with her husband Paul W.S. Anderson in Los Angeles this week Milla teamed her dress with a pair of black leggings and some attractive suede shoes, carrying one of her beloved pooches in a handbag. Her husband was at the ready with a second bag, a stylish Gucci number that complemented his medallion necklace. The movie star announced her pregnancy last August and revealed her complex emotions, given she had to have an emergency abortion two years prior. Company: Milla teamed her dress with a pair of black leggings and some attractive suede shoes, carrying one of her beloved pooches in a handbag Growing family: Paul and Milla welcomed their daughter Ever in 2007, got married in 2009 and then in 2015 brought their son Dashiel into the world 'After I found out I was pregnant 13 weeks ago, I had a mixture of feelings ranging between complete joy and utter terror. Because of my age and losing the last pregnancy I didnt want to get attached to this potential baby too quickly,' she said. 'That was obviously not fun and the last few months have been my family and I living on pins and needles waiting for a slew of different test results to come in and spending most of our time in doctors offices. 'Thank goodness were in the clear AND we found out that weve been blessed with another girl!' In pain: She took to Instagram to share that she had back pain and her hips hurt Paul and Milla welcomed their daughter Ever in 2007, got married in 2009 and then in 2015 brought their son Dashiel into the world. Milla's first husband was her Dazed And Confused co-star Shawn Andrews, whom she tied the knot with in 1992 during filming, only to annul the marriage. Her next husband was French director Luc Besson, who has denied accusations of sexual assault and harassment. Milla famously starred in the film franchise of the Resident Evil video games, in movies directed by her current husband. The meeting is being held to discuss the process for the house-listing phase for the next census along with the NPR. New Delhi: In another issue that could snowball into a political controversy, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has said that officials from her state will not attend the meeting of chief secretaries and census directors of states to be held on Friday to finalise the modalities for Census 2020 and the National Population Register (NPR). Minister of state for home Nityanand Rai will chair the meeting which will also be attended by home secretary Ajay Bhalla. Along with West Ben-gal, states like Kerala and some others are opposed to NPR on the grounds that it will form the basis for the nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). The meeting is being held to discuss the process for the house-listing phase for the next census along with the NPR. The exercise is to be conducted from April 1 to September 30 this year across the country except in Assam. Home ministry officials clarified that the NPR would merely be a database for usual residents of the country and have some demographic as well as biometric particulars. Notification for the NPR and house enumeration was issued in the wake of largescale protests across the country against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Home ministry officials claimed that most of the states have already issues the notification for NPR which is primarily a document for the usual residents of the country. The NPR is being documented at different levels, like the local which comprises a village or a sub-town, subdistrict and district followed by state and then the national level under provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. These rules provide for a fine of the upto Rs 1,000 for those found to be violating the exercise. The last data for NPR was compiled in 2010 along with the house-listing phase for the census conducted the next year, in 2011. The NPR data was further updated by conducting a door to door survey in 2015. During the exercise for updating the register in 2015, details related to Aadhaar and mobile numbers was also collected while this time, officials added, some additional information like driving licence and voter ID card may also be gathered. However, no details on PAN card will be asked during the process. During the NPR exercise information is collected from residents living in a particular locality for the last six months and if they intend to stay in the same area for next six months. The NPR will collect details like name of a resident, father and mothers name, date of birth, sex, relation with head of the household, whether married or not, date and place of birth, details of permanent address, duration of stay, educational qualification and professional details. Recently, the Union Cabinet sanctioned Rs 3,941.35 crore for the NPR exercise. Oil bulls will get no help this week before the weeks end, with Baker Hughes reporting that the number of oil and gas rigs in the US increased this week, to 796an increase of 15 rigs. It is the first weekly gain in four weeks. The total oil and gas rig count is now 254 down from this time last year. For oil rigs, this week saw an increase of 14 rigs, according to Baker Hughes data, bringing the total to 673a 179-rig loss year over year. The total number of active gas rigs in the United States increased by 1 according to the report, to 120. This compares to 198 a year ago. The WTI benchmark at 12:55pm was $58.53 per barreldown just $0.40 per barrel from this time last week, and flat (0.00%) on the day. The Brent benchmark was trading at $64.76, down $0.20 on the week, and up $0.14 (+0.22%) on the day. This nearly flat trading on the day is despite yesterdays news that the US had signed the new USMCA with Mexico and Canada that would ostensibly lift the quantity of US oil exported to those countries. The Phase 1 trade deal signed with China, too, improved the demand outlook, but a sustained bump in prices was not in the cards. Canadas overall rig count increased this week, with oil and gas rigs adding 41 rigs. Oil and gas rigs in Canada now stand at 244, up 35 year on year. At 9 minutes past the hour, WTI was starting to slide and was trading at $58.49, while Brent was trading at $64.68. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Jamesway appoints Jerry Yap as new Regional Sales Manager for the APAC region He will support Jamesway's APAC team activities by taking responsibility for sales in Pakistan, Taiwan and South Korea. All forecasts indicate the Asian market will be the most significant growth area for poultry in the coming months. Aware of the trend and consequently adapting to accommodate the recent upswing in the industry, Jamesway is pleased to announce that Mr. Jerry Yap will now assume the position as new Regional Sales Manager for the APAC region. He will be supporting the activities of our team in that region by taking responsibility for sales in Pakistan, Taiwan and South Korea. He will also be working under the close direction of Naresh Nair in Bangladesh, Philippines and Malaysia. Jerry has a great deal of experience in selling hatchery equipment, including time with Vencomatic Automation Systems and several incubation machine suppliers. He is well versed with hatcheries in Asia Pacific and supports this technical knowledge with strong business management skills. Jerry speaks English, Bahasa Malaysia (Indonesia), Cantonese and Mandarin. Jerry Yap can be contacted at jerry.yap@jamesway.com (+6011 1234 2808). Flash The outgoing 12th Chinese medical team stationed in Namibia managed to administer Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to over 20,000 patients during their one year and a half tenure at the Chinese Acupuncture Department of Katutura State Hospital as well as other facilities in the country. Namibia's medical officials together with Chinese Ambassador, Zhang Yiming on Thursday commended the outgoing team at the welcoming ceremony of the incoming Chinese team at an event held in Windhoek. In her opening remarks, acting chief medical superintendent of Katutura State Hospital, Mwadina Shiweda praised the work administered by the outgoing team led by Chu Hailin, as it contributed immensely to the country's public health care system. "Their efforts were welcomed by the patients, especially the elderly who upon hearing of TCM's effectiveness, often opted for TCM rather than modern medication," she said. Despite some challenges experienced by the team, they managed to overcome and portray exceptional professionalism, she said, adding that it was a pleasure and privilege for the local team to work hand in hand with the Chinese, she added. "We look forward to working with the new team," she said. Namibia Health Executive Director, Ben Nangombe, welcomed the cooperation between the two countries, citing that 90 percent of Namibia's public health care is dependent on partnerships. "Namibia has benefited greatly and the number of patients of more than 20,000 translates that," he said. Meanwhile, the Chinese ambassador, Zhang Yiming said the China Namibia medical team has become a showcase for China-Namibia friendship, noting that TCM is fast becoming a household service in the medical field as it continues to gain popularity. Zhang further welcomed the 13th Chinese medical team led by Fang Lianqiang. The first agreement between China and Namibia in the area of health was signed in 1996 and the specific protocol for acupuncture services was extended every two years since 2010 at the request of the Namibian government. In casting Chang and Park So Dam, respectively, Bong seems to have sought out two distinctly different actresses with the same edge of steel. One sign of the filmmaker's mastery is his economy, the way he allows his actors to convey character details without exposition. Park's cool, unflappable authority is all we need to grasp that Ki-jung is the most intuitively gifted con artist in a family full of them; we don't know exactly how she tames the wild young Da-song into submission, and we don't need to. Chung-sook, for her part, is the last of the Kims to infiltrate the Parks' household, but in Chang's shrewd, sardonic performance, we see that she is also the first one to suspect the full gravity and terror of what's at stake. Beijing [China], Jan 17 (ANI): China on Friday claimed that "a majority of the members" of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have voiced their concerns over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, and called on relevant parties to remain restrained and seek early de-escalation. The statement made by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang came a day after India asserted that an overwhelming majority of the 15-member UNSC believe that the world body was not the right forum to discuss the Kashmir issue. China had made a fresh pitch to raise the Kashmir issue in a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council in New York on Wednesday, more than five months after India revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir. "At the request of Pakistan, the UNSC reviewed the issue of Kashmir and heard a briefing by the UN Secretariat and other sides on January 15," Geng said. "Members of the Security Council are concerned about the current situation in Kashmir and call for observance of the UN Charter and international law, and peaceful resolution of disputes through political dialogue. They believe relevant parties should remain restrained and deescalate the tension," he said in response to a question on India's assertion that the Kashmir issue did not receive much support from the UNSC members. The spokesperson said that China "believes that the Kashmir issue is a dispute left over from history and should be resolved properly and peacefully in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements". The UNSC's closed-door meeting was called to discuss an issue relating to an African country. China made a request to deliberate on the Kashmir issue under the agenda of "Any Other Business Points." No other UNSC member, barring China, commented on the meeting after it ended given that it was an informal consultation. India has maintained that the abrogation of Article 370 is its internal matter -- a stance which has been supported by several nations around the world, including the SAARC nations (with the exception of Pakistan). (ANI) Franz (August Diehl) is first seen working the fields with wife Franziska (Valerie Pachner), then in 1941, in training after being drafted by the Nazis. There hes befriended by another draftee who finds humor in the process. But Franz is ever more troubled, realizing that Hitler is evil and that he cannot serve. Because hes a farmer, hes sent home to work. There, he and Franziska band together against the scorn of the villagers who know of his opposition to the war, confident that he wont get called up again. Then, the conscription letter arrives. Going against counsel of the local Roman Catholic priest and a bishop, who might be compromised because of the churchs relationship with Hitlers regime, as implied in the film, Franz refuses to give the Nazi salute on his induction day, is immediately handcuffed and thrown in jail. From there, Malicks film cuts back and forth between the village, where Franziska and her sister endure increasing hardships as the result of his protest, and his solitary life in prison, where he endures beatings and verbal abuse, free in his mind. Sinn Fein has officially suspended Tallaght South councillor Paddy Holohan from the party after further excerpts from his infamous podcast showed him claiming that loads of young women are committing acts of sexual extortion. Party leader Mary Lou McDonald, at a campaign stop in Bray, Co Wicklow, declared the comments to be beyond offensive and said that she actually found them upsetting. Im very, very shocked, she said, adding that she had initiated party disciplinary procedures against Mr Holohan. "Though she initially denied that those procedures amount to a suspension, the party subsequently said that Mr Holohan, who topped the poll in his constituency at last years local elections, had been suspended with immediate effect. It petrifies me that somebody could turn around and say Im literally just going to say that you attacked me if you dont give me 10 grand, Mr Holohan had said on an edition of his No Shame podcast. I put my hand on my heart and tell you it does happen. And it is happening out there. There is some f***ing scum women out there as well, the councillor, who is not a candidate for the coming election, said. The former MMA star had earlier this week been reported to have made disparaging comments regarding Taoiseach Leo Varadkars Indian heritage and the fact that he in Mr Holohans opinion does not represent a family man, comments which on Thursday prompted an apology, which was accepted by Ms McDonald. Asked what had changed since that apology the Sinn Fein leader replied have you seen todays comments?. I have and Ive made my own judgement on that, she said, adding that she had only heard them in the previous 40 minutes. On the policy front, Ms McDonald said we have a set of proposals to deal with the trolley crisis, to open more beds, and to end the embargo on recruitment of staff, of doctors and nurses and midwives. She also said with regard to the ongoing gangland crisis being seen that SinnFein wanted to see the nature of the Special Criminal Court reviewed. The Special Criminal Court is a juryless court which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases. We have a Special Criminal Court and yet these thugs and gangsters are still on the streets, she said. Most of us believe fundamentally that where you can trial by jury is democratically the best option. Our strong preference is for jury trials. Meanwhile, remarks suggesting that Sinn Fein and his party Fianna Fail are very alike made by Donegal TD Pat The Cope Gallagher were dismissed by Ms McDonald. Mr Gallagher, speaking on RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta with regard to what coalition partners Fianna Fail might consider should they be in a position to form a Government, had bucked the trend of his own leader Micheal Martin, not to mention that of Fine Gael and Labour, all of whom who had suggested that they would not share power with Sinn Fein. Were actually very different in our political approach and political style. What we do have in common is those of us who are elected and have a democratic mandate, we do have that in common, she said. I would like us also to have in common a basic level of respect for the people who vote for us. To disrespect the people who vote for us is simply not acceptable, she said. She said however that she is glad that Mr Gallagher had broken the trend and bucked the trend. "The global market for bioplastics is steadily growing, thanks to increasing demand for eco-friendly products by consumers worldwide, strong support from the public sector and technological innovation from the private and industrial sectors," said BOI Secretary General Duangjai Asawachintachit. "With our strong agricultural base and with Southeast Asia projected to become the world's major bioplastics manufacturing region in the next 10 years, Thailand is well positioned to grow as a bioplastics hub, regionally and globally," she added. Thailand grows a wide range of agricultural products, including around 30 million tons of cassava a year, a commodity for which it is the world's top exporter. As for supporting industries, Thailand currently has thousands of companies covering various stages of the bioplastics value chain. The opening, in September 2019, of the world's second largest PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) plant by Total Corbion PLA (Thailand) Ltd., a joint venture between French energy group Total and Amsterdam-based biochemicals company Corbion, represented another important step in the development. "It's an important contribution to the sector as it adds to other bioplastic makers already invested in Thailand, including international companies such as Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, as well as local and regional players," Ms Duangjai said. The Total Corbion PLA factory, which is located at the Asia Industrial Estate in Rayong Province, has a production capacity of 75,000 tons per year of PLA, a versatile biopolymer with a low carbon footprint, using renewable resources such as sugar cane as raw materials. PTT MCC Biochem, a joint venture between Thailand's PTT Global Chemical PCL, and Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC), has also received BOI's investment incentives for its production facility in Rayong. The plant of a biochemical called bio-butanediol (BIO BDO) made from raw materials including raw sugar and cassava. With the growing trend towards circular economy, bioplastics is seen by many as a sustainable alternative to chemically produced plastics, as they help limit the use of fossil resources and reduce the emission of CO2 and greenhouse gases. The global bioplastics production capacity is set to increase from around 2.1 million tonnes in 2019 to 2.4 million tonnes in 2024, European Bioplastics, the European association representing the interests of the industry, said in December. Application for bioplastics is largely in packaging, but other sectors including textiles, consumer goods, transport and automotive, building and construction also illustrate an increasing share of the global demand for bioplastic materials. "The trend towards Bioplastics not only boosts economic growth in the manufacturing sector but also agriculture production and the circular economy as a whole," Ms Duangjai said. The BOI offers a wide range of investment incentives to activities related to the sector to support the manufacture of eco-friendly chemicals and of eco-friendly products. Investment in bioplastics-related projects are granted 8-year corporate income tax (CIT) exemption, import duty exemption for machinery as well as other non-tax benefits. For more information, please contact: Thailand Board of Investment Tel. +66 (0) 2553 8111 Website: www.boi.go.th SOURCE Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) Related Links http://www.boi.go.th Among the expected steps doing the rounds in the markets is a merger with a deep-pocketed public sector bank as Yes Bank, unlike other struggling private companies, is systemically important. Mumbai, Jan 17 (IANS) As uncertainty over Yes Bank's capital raising continues, Dalal Street is busy guessing if the central bank will rescue the country's fourth-largest private bank in case it fails to raise capital again. Sources said that one of the stronger PSU banks, which is not part of the ongoing merger exercise, may be asked to take over the Yes Bank. The exercise would not be unprecedented as earlier (in 2003) the Oriental Bank of Commerce was asked to take over scam-ridden Global Trust Bank to rescue thousands of depositors having exposure in the bank. "If a private sector solution is unsuccessful, and a regulatory-led resolution is implemented, Moody's expects that the Indian authorities will strive to maintain systemic stability and avoid losses to depositors and senior creditors," Moody's said. Earlier this month, Yes Bank rejected Erwin Singh Braich's $1.2 billion investment offer and said it will raise Rs 10,000 crore by issuing securities. The bank also said it will take up Citax Holdings, and Citax Investment Group's investment offers in the next board meeting. Uncertainty on the banks future have also found roots owing to the corporate governance issues. Recently, Independent Director and Audit Committee Chairman Uttam Prakash Agarwal resigned, alleging that CEO and MD Ravneet Gill was misleading the bank's board and shareholders. Besides, the bank's financials have also come under heavy scrutiny. Rating agency ICRA noted that Yes Bank's solvency profile remains weak with net NPA/CET of 36 percent as on September 30, 2019. A number of rating firms have red flagged the bank's exposure to stressed projects. Owing to uncertain news flow, Yes Bank, once the traders favorite, has proved to be one of the biggest wealth destroyers. Its stock price on Friday closed at Rs 39.25 a share from a high of Rs 285.90 in April 4, 2019. Citing continued uncertainty with regards to Yes Bank's capital raising plan, Moody's Investors Service placed Yes Bank's long-term foreign currency issuer rating of B2 under review. The agency noted that standalone viability of Yes Bank is getting increasingly challenged by its slowness in raising new capital. Moody's said that because the viability of the bank absent a large capital injection is in question, Moody's has downgraded the bank's standalone credit profile or its BCA to caa2 from b3. ravi/sn/vd A Thank You Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also manage your communication preferences by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. PHILADELPHIA - In the eight years since he became a pastor at First Immanuel Baptist Church, Todd Johnson says hes seen his congregations politics make a subtle shift. The Philadelphia church, which recently hosted a Donald Trump campaign event reaching out to black voters, has more people now who are more open to voting for someone other than a Democrat, Johnson said. The presidents meagre support among African Americans has shown few signs of increasing from the 6% of black voters he won in 2016, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. The presidents standing with black evangelical Protestants is similarly low. According to AP VoteCast, about 8 in 10 black evangelicals who voted in the 2018 midterm elections disapproved of his performance. But that isnt stopping the campaign from trying to make inroads, hoping to persuade African Americans to back a president known for racially provocative rhetoric. The campaigns visit to First Immanuel suggests that, as tough as that pitch will be for the GOP, faith-based appeals may provide a valuable way to start the conversation. All black people are not the same, but in the larger scale, were very religious and very family-oriented people, said South Carolina pastor Mark Burns, a black televangelist who led Republicans in a prayer for Trump at the partys 2016 convention. So therefore, the black church is still the gateway to the black community. Johnson described himself as a longtime Republican and a conservative constitutionalist evangelical. He also acknowledged that his congregation has a diversity of views. Discussion at Thursdays event at First Immanuel focused on the Trump-era economy, which has been strong enough to reduce black unemployment to a record low in 2018, even as the president exaggerates his involvement in a shift that began under former President Barack Obama. But abortion was on the mind of Melanie Collette, one of a few dozen people in the audience. Collette, first vice-president of the New Jersey Federation of Republican Women, touted Trumps opposition to abortion and wondered whether the issue had been ceded to just the white evangelicals to talk about. I dont hear us talking about it in the black community, added Collette, 49, who described herself as a non-evangelical Christian. Trumps anti-abortion stance is out of step with most black Protestants, 64% of whom said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to Pew data from last year. But as Republicans boost their outreach to Latinos, women and black voters by visiting swing states, even a small uptick could pay dividends. Another attendee, 53-year-old John Petty of Philadelphia, supports Trump. He said some of his relatives hardly ever go to church, but they have strong moral standards. If you tell them, You agree a lot with the evangelical community, they balk at that, Petty said. DeJuana Thompson, a Democratic National Committee veteran who founded WokeVote to communicate with young black and faith-based voters, noted that the black church is not monolithic. Just because its a black church, just because members of that church come from communities that are historically under-served, under-engaged and under-resourced, I cant say there are people there who dont align with some of the value sets of this administration, Thompson added. Even so, she pointed to a much broader consensus among African Americans and their faith leaders calling for a standard of justice that is not seen in this administration. Democrats are making their own concerted efforts to speak to black voters of faith as well as the broader African American community. Former Vice-President Joe Biden warned Wednesday in a speech to a meeting of the National Baptist Convention which describes itself as the nations largest African American religious convention, with 7.5 million members that Trump has given oxygen to forces of hate. Biden, who has led with black voters throughout his partys primary campaign, will be joined Monday by at least three Democratic rivals for events at South Carolina churches to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Black Voices for Trump is set to hold its own Monday event for the King holiday in Raleigh. Rev. Traci Blackmon, a leader in the United Church of Christ and the Black Lives Matter movement, acknowledged that abortion is a deciding factor for some voters of all races. But she said Trump would face problems courting people of faith because of broader policies that fall short of biblical values. It is impossible for me to only recognize that element of pro-life and see what is happening to health care coverage, see what is happening to children who are being separated from their parents at the border people who are watching wealthy peoples income grow exponentially, Blackmon said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through the Religion News Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Nacogdoches, TX (75965) Today Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low around 40F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low around 40F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Public Health Officials run thermal scans on passengers arriving from Wuhan, China at Suvarnabumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan. 8, 2020. (Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images) Three US Airports to Screen Passengers for Pneumonia Virus From China NEW YORKThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they will start screening passengers traveling from central China at three U.S. airports to check whether they have contracted a new and potentially deadly virus, beginning on Jan. 17. The virus, which causes a severe form of pneumonia, has sickened many people in China and across Asia. Screenings will begin in New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport, and San Francisco International Airport for anyone with connecting or direct flights from the Chinese city of Wuhan, CDC officials announced on Friday. The agency has dispatched over 100 staffers. The first direct flight from Wuhan is expected to arrive Friday night at around 10 p.m. in JFK. The second one will arrive Saturday morning in San Francisco. The health officials said they will take temperatures and check for signs of fever and other pneumonia-like symptoms. The CDC will also collect biological samples from passengers suspected of contracting the virus for laboratory testing. Results may take up to a day to come out. Wuhan authorities first confirmed the outbreak in late December. Meanwhile, Thailand has confirmed two cases of infection as of Friday, and Japan one caseall visitors who recently traveled to Wuhanprompting fears of a possible international epidemic. Suspected cases have gone up to five in Singapore, while Vietnams Ministry of Health also quarantined two Chinese tourists who appeared feverish. Hong Kongs public hospitals have admitted 81 suspected cases. Passengers walk in front of a notice for passengers from Wuhan, China displayed near a quarantine station at Narita airport in Narita, Japan, on Jan. 17, 2020. (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images) The last time the U.S. agency issued such measures was during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, when authorities screened thousands of travelers coming from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in West Africa. As many as 5,000 people could go through the screening over the next few weeks, Martin Cetron, director of the division of global migration and quarantine at the CDC, said at a media briefing held over the phone. Roughly 60,000 to 65,000 people travel from Wuhan to the United States annually, according to Cetron. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday encouraged all countries to continue preparedness activities in light of the Japan case, the second confirmed outside of China. It said that there are likely more cases in other countries given the global travel patterns. The CDC on Friday expressed a similar view. The WHO did not rule out the possibility of human to human transmission. This is a serious situation, Nancy Messonnier, the head of CDCs National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on Friday, noting that the virus looks similar to the pathogens responsible for serious and complex outbreaks of MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) in 2012 and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in 2002. She said that the agency is taking a cautious and proactive approach to the pathogen while awaiting further information. It doesnt take much for a virus in general to go from being worrisome to being especially worrisome, because they tend to morph and mutate a lot, she said. As it is the flu season, the officials did acknowledge that screenings are likely to flag cases of common viruses such as influenza. There are no known cures to the disease at this time. There are no screening measures in the Wuhan airport or anywhere else in China, according to Cetron. He stressed that screenings are only taking place on the receiving end so far, adding that the CDC will continue requesting Chinese authorities to do exit screenings. A health surveillance officer monitors passengers arriving at the Hong Kong International airport on Jan. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) Authorities have linked the outbreak to a seafood market where a number of patients have worked or frequented, but said they are still investigating the cause. The market has been shut down since Jan. 1. The patient in Japan did not stop by the market but had potential close contact with pneumonia patients in China, according to the Japanese Ministry of Health. Pedestrians wear protective masks as they walk through a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) Multiple countries and regions, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, South Korea, and the Philippines, have stepped up their screening measures at ports of entry to detect possible cases of the Wuhan pneumonia. The Institute for Virology at Berlins Charite hospital said on Thursday they have developed a diagnostic test that would allow labs to diagnose the novel coronavirus in a very short period of time. Christian Drosten, head researcher at the institute, said that the virus is the same type of virus to the SARS pathogen in a different variant, according to German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH. WASHINGTON The Supreme Court entered the 2020 presidential fray Friday by agreeing to decide a threshold question before Election Day: Must the 538 members of the Electoral College vote for their states' winning candidates? Yes, the Supreme Court of Washington State ruled in May, upholding $1,000 fines against three Democratic electors who cast their votes in December 2016 for Colin Powell rather than Hillary Clinton, who had won the state a month earlier. No, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled in August, upholding the vote cast for Republican John Kasich rather than Clinton by a Democratic elector in Colorado. Amber Dahlin urged Colorado electors to vote their conscience outside the state Capitol in Denver on Dec. 19, 2016, as the 538 members of the Electoral College confirmed Donald Trump's election. Never before have the freewheeling inclinations of some Electoral College members flipped an election, so the impact of the high court's decision may be just mathematical. But the 2020 race between President Donald Trump and his eventual Democratic opponent could be too close for such comfort. "This court should resolve this conflict now, before it arises within the context of a contested election," Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig urged on behalf of the three Washington State electors. He noted that 10 electors either went rogue or tried to do so in 2016, enough to change the results of five previous presidential elections. "As the demographics of the United States indicate that contests will become even closer, there is a significant probability that such swings could force this court to resolve the question of electoral freedom within the context of an ongoing contest," Lessig warned. Under the Constitution, each state appoints electors to cast the electoral ballots apportioned by the popular vote. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia require electors to vote for their party's candidate; some block nonconforming ballots from being counted or replace the electors, while a few provide for criminal penalties. The Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the state was within its rights to issue the first-ever fines for so-called faithless electors. Story continues "An elector acts under the authority of the state, and no First Amendment right is violated when a state imposes a fine based on an electors violation of his pledge," the court ruled in an 8-1 decision. The 10th Circuit appeals court set a different precedent in the Colorado case. "The states may not interfere with the electors exercise of discretion in voting for president and vice president by removing the elector and nullifying his vote," the court ruled. The split between the two courts as well as the real prospect that free-thinking electors could decide who wins the White House this year or in the future likely swayed the justices into action. Even the Colorado elector whose vote for Kasich was upheld agreed that the Supreme Court should weigh in. Only Washington State urged the justices to stay away. To grant electors such independence, state Solicitor General Noah Purcell wrote the justices, "would mean that only 538 Americans members of the Electoral College have a say in who should be president; everything else is simply advisory." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Presidential elections: Supreme Court weighs power of voters, electors An award-winning Queensland milk company has accused the state government of 'hogwash' after a lucrative contract to supply hospitals went to foreign-owned companies. Sunshine Coast dairy company Maleny Dairies is seeking an urgent meeting with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to explain why it was overlooked in favour of offshore interests. 'The Queensland government has spent last year saying it will support local Queensland owned businesses and Queensland jobs and then gives a milk tender to a Chinese and French owned company,' the company said in a Facebook post challenging the decision. 'Maleny Dairies farmers needed that contract and so did we. Local farmers will struggle to stay in business if we cant get the kind of support that Norco enjoys from their state government (in NSW).' Owner and director Ross Hopper said claims his company could not supply enough milk for the Metro North Hospital and Health service's 19,000 staff and one million patients were rubbish. He also said the decision made a mockery of the government's Buy Queensland strategy to support Queensland jobs. 'We're currently doing over 200,000 litres a week. That tender was only five per cent,' Mr Hopper has told ABC radio on Friday. 'It's hogwash. Why would we put the tender in if we couldn't supply it?' In a statement on Thursday, the government spruiked the fact staff and patients would continue to get 'fresh milk', sourced 'as much as possible' from Queensland dairies. It said the government 'knows the importance of supporting local providers wherever possible' and pointed out the successful bidder, Lactalis Australia, began with the Pauls milk factory on the banks of the Brisbane River in the 1930s and had a head office at South Brisbane. But it made no reference to the fact that Lactalis Australia is owned and operated by the Lactalis Group, a French business and the world's largest fresh dairy company. A small part of the supply contract will be serviced by Lion dairy, which is owned by Japan's Kirin Holdings but is about to be bought by the China Mengniu Dairy Company, with that deal subject to a review by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Acting Minister for Health Leeanne Enoch said the government chose the only tenderer able to supply the full range dairy products needed. A Metro North spokesperson told the ABC Maleny Dairies could not supply enough product to service the contract. The local company, which employs 50 staff and buys milk from 11 Queensland dairy farmers, hopes to secure a meeting with the premier and the health minister. Violent solar storms are created much closer to the Earth than previously thought - as close as GPS and weather satellites, according to a new NASA study. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles used NASA data to show that storms form when solar winds interact with the Earth's magnetic field. It is very difficult to detect these high intensity bursts of magnetic energy due to the fact intense storms are 'very rare', according to lead author Vassilis Angelopoulos. Understanding exactly how and where these storms form could give us 'critical minutes and hours' to protect electricity grids from their impact, he said. Scroll down for video An illustration shows the Earth's magnetosphere during a magnetic storm including satellites on the right of the picture in geosynchronous orbit The strength of a solar storm can vary dramatically from small ones with minimal impact to 'the big one' that could knock out the electricity grid. They work in a similar way to winds and storms on Earth - solar wind arrives from the Sun, interacts with the magnetosphere surrounding the planet and generates magnetic storms with powerful electric currents. A new study by the NASA THEMIS mission team is the first to show that such storms can originate much closer to Earth than previously thought. The satellites observed the origins of the storms about three to four Earth diameters away - that is about 23,752 miles or a tenth of the distance to the Moon. So close in fact that they overlap with the orbits of critical weather, communications and GPS satellites, says Professor Angelopoulos from UCLA. A magnetic storm can be beautiful - it can produce the dazzling northern lights shown as colourful swirling effects in the atmosphere, normally nearer the poles. They can also generate hazardous particles careening toward spacecraft and astronauts, zapping them out of commission, said Angelopoulos. Under certain conditions, magnetic storms can disable the electrical grid, disrupt radio communications and corrode pipelines. A particularly strong one could create extreme aurora visible close to the equator. There was a particularly dramatic illustration of the power of a magnetic storm in 1921 when it disrupted the telegraph communication network. It also caused power outages that resulted in a New York City train station burning to the ground. Another storm in 1972 was narrowly missed by Apollo 16 and 17 astronauts. Had it hit them it would have been fatal. 'These incidents underscore the potential dangers that should be assessed as more humans venture into orbit', UCLA said in a statement. If a similar storm occurred today, a separate study estimated, economic losses in the US due to electrical blackouts alone could surpass 30billion ($40billion) a day. Brilliant aurora borealis is captured over Yukon, Canada, during a geomagnetic storm. They are created when solar wind interacts with the atmosphere on Earth The impact of a big storm in 1921 is why researchers are keen to understand as much about the Sun and solar storms as possible. This new discovery will ultimately help scientists refine predictive models of how the magnetosphere responds to solar wind. It could then provide precious extra hours or even days to prepare satellites, astronauts and the energy grid for the next 'big one'. How electric currents in space influence the aurora and magnetic storms has been long debated in the space physics community, said Angelopoulos. Because the storms occur so rarely and satellite coverage is sparse, it has been difficult for researchers to detect the dynamic process that powers those storms. When solar wind magnetic energy is transferred into the magnetosphere, it builds up until it is converted into heat and particle acceleration through a process called magnetic reconnection. Recently, observations by a number of satellites have shown that magnetic storms can be initiated by magnetic reconnection very close to Earth. Sun with corona showing the start of a solar storm. One day a massive solar storm will hit Earth and could knock out the electricity grid The researchers did not expect they could be created so close, due to the comparatively stable magnetic field configuration near Earth. A weather satellite, which was nearer to Earth in geostationary orbit, detected energised particles associated with magnetic storms. This pose a hazard to hundreds of satellites operating in that area of space. Such particles can damage electronics and human DNA, increasing the risk of radiation poisoning and cancer for astronauts. 'By studying the magnetosphere, we improve our chances of dealing with the greatest hazard to humanity venturing into space,' Angelopoulos said. Some particles can even enter the atmosphere and affect airline passengers. 'Only with such direct measurements of magnetic reconnection and its resulting energy flows could we convincingly prove such an unexpected mechanism of storm power generation,' said Angelopoulos. 'Capturing this rare event, nearer to Earth than ever detected before, forces us to revise prior assumptions about the reconnection process.' The findings have been published in the journal Nature Physics. Erupting volcano still threatening lives despite weaker emissions and fewer tremors. In the Philippines, an erupting volcano is still threatening lives despite weaker emissions and fewer tremors. Government officials have been travelling by helicopter to monitor the volcanos crater. Al Jazeeras Jamela Alindogan reports from Batangas province. A married man has been sentenced to life for killing his secret boyfriend when he learned that he was planning to leave him. Prosecutors say William Morgan, 37, shot Brian Campbell, 43, in the head, twice, while at the Atlanta apartment they shared. The killing happened in October 2016 after Morgan found out about Campbells intention to end their romance. Prosecutors say William Morgan, 37, left, shot Brian Campbell, 43, right, in the head, twice, while at the Atlanta apartment they shared Further complicating matters was the fact both men were already married to women, although Morgan was separated from his wife at the time. Campbells family lived in Delaware, but he had to be in Atlanta because of his job. Morgan and Campbell met at a club in 2015. Morgan ended up becoming addicted to methamphetamine and became financially dependent on Campbell just before the killing, according to the New York Post. Morgan's downward spiral saw him stealing Campbells Land Rover, guns and expensive watches over the Labor Day Holiday according to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard. Campbell, pictured, was already married, as was Morgan. Morgan became financially reliant upon him and stole Campbell's car, guns and expensive watches Morgan's drug addiction, continual reliance on him for money and the fact that both were already married, eventually made Campbell reconsider their love affair. Upon learning of Campbell's plan to leave him, Morgan fatally shot him in the head after coming back from a trip to the car race track with some friends. Morgan hid Campbell's body in his apartment and did his best to disguise the fact by lowering the temperature to 45 degrees and placing a scented candle outside the closet where Campbell's corpse had been wrapped and stored in trash bags. Just before he left, Morgan took another two of Campbell's pricey watches along with his gun, iPhone, iPad and his wallet. Upon learning of Campbell's plan to leave him, Morgan, pictured, shot him in the head twice, killing him. He wrapped his body in trash bags and his him in a closet before fleeing Campbells wife ended up contacting police in Atlanta and filed a missing person's report after he stopped replying to her messages. Campbells Land Rover was found abandoned in Jacksonville, Alabama four days later and Morgan was taken into custody after a police standoff. Prosecutors say although Morgan confessed to living with Campbell and stealing his belongings but he denied killing his former lover. Morgan was convicted on charges including murder, theft and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Houston police say an undercover officer last week shot Keith Martin through the windshield of an unmarked pickup because the man threatened the officer and appeared to reach for a gun in a backpack. In a statement issued Wednesday, Martins lawyer said his client was only offering to wash the truck. Martin, 45, survived the shooting and has since been charged with misdemeanor terroristic threat. His backpack did not contain a gun, but rather his car detailing equipment and cellphone, said his lawyer Andre Evans. Martin runs his own mobile car detailing service, Evans said. In the statement, Evans said the shooting was unjustified and that the officers actions displayed racial bias. Martin, who is black, remains in Harris County Jail in lieu of a $2,000 bond. The undercover officer has not been identified due to the nature of the officers assignment, police said. A Houston police spokesman said the department could not respond to the new allegations, citing the ongoing investigation. Mr. Martin was simply trying to earn a living when he was met with several bullets, Evans said in the statement. On the afternoon of Jan. 9, two plain-clothed undercover officers were conducting surveillance in an unmarked Chevrolet Silverado in a Walgreens parking lot in the 8000 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard. Martin unwittingly interrupted their operation around 1:20 p.m. Police said he walked around the truck and looked inside. He gestured for the officers to get out and, at one point, struck the hood of the truck with his hands, police said. Martin tried to open the driver side door and claimed he had something for the officers, according to police. Police described Martin as incredibly angry and agitated that the pickup doors were locked and that the officers wouldnt exit the vehicle. Martin, again stating he had something for the officers, walked to the front of the truck and removed his backpack, police said. He stuck his hand inside and raised the bag in a manner that looked like he had a gun in it and was about to begin firing at (the officers), according to the departments news release. At the time of the shooting, police said the investigation would determine whether the officer identified himself before pulling the trigger. Only the officer in the passenger seat opened fire. From the evidence gathered, only one of the two officers sitting in the vehicle fired their weaponindicating that the officers belief that Martin was reaching for a weapon was unreasonable, according to Evans statement. Evans said Martin disputes several points in the police narrative. According to Evans, Martin said he did not attempt to open the doors of the vehicle or ask the officers to get out. While Martin did verbally offer his services, he denies saying I got something for you, according to Evans. Evans said Martin walked to the front of the pickup because the windows were rolled up and he did not think the occupants could hear him. Martin didnt realize he was shot until he felt moisture and saw blood coming from his wounds, Evans said. In the statement, Evans asked the Harris County District Attorneys Office drop the charge against his client. He also requested a civil rights investigation into the case. julian.gill@chron.com - Twalib Mbarak has boosted the anti-graft war by repositioning EACC at the heart of the multi-agency anti-graft team - The CEO has overseen the prosecution and suspension of three governors from office in less than a year - The commission recovered public assets worth over KSh 22.56 billion in 2019 up from KSh 2.4 billion in 2018 When Twalib Mbarak took over as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) CEO one year ago, President Uhuru Kenyattas invigorated war on corruption was facing a serious threat. Despite being the countrys most authoritative institution in unearthing financial crimes, EACC had gained a notorious reputation as a massage parlour for the corrupt. READ ALSO: Ex-Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo claims William Ruto conned him KSh 1M in 1992 Twalib Mbarak appearing before members of parliament in a past session. Photo: EACC Source: UGC READ ALSO: Kiunjuri aanza kuhisi baridi ya kuwa nje ya serikali, anyang'anywa walinzi Deep-rooted sibling rivalry saw the commission actively undermine, rather than complement, the relentless efforts of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) to tighten the noose on the necks of the corrupt. The refusal to cooperate with other agencies prompted Uhuru to sideline the commission in the anti-graft drive. READ ALSO: Atwoli declares himself third most powerful person in Kenya after Uhuru, Raila But it has been a totally different story ever since Mbarak stepped in, joined hands with the dynamic duo of DCI boss George Kinoti and DPP Noordin Haji, and positioned EACC at the heart of the multi-agency anti-graft team. DCI boss George Kinoti (left) DPP Noordin Haji (centre) and Twalib Mbarak. Photo: EACC Source: UGC True to his promise to make corruption a high-risk venture in Kenya, the EACC has under his leadership so far played a leading role in the prosecution of governors Mike Sonko (Nairobi), Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu), Moses Lenolkulal (Samburu) and Sospeter Ojaamong (Busia), who have been charged in court with graft-related cases. Sonko, Waititu and Lenolkulal have been suspended from office as a result. Among the other high-profile individuals charged during his tenure are former governors Evans Kidero and Daniel Waithaka, not to mention Kisumu Speaker Onyango Oloo, former National Land Commission chairman Muhammad Swazuri and Deputy Auditor-General Stephen Kinuthia. According to Mbarak, EACC has also managed to recover public assets worth around KSh 22.56 billion that had been illegally acquired by individuals and averted loss worth approximately KSh 135 billion through disruptions in 2019 alone. This was a noteworthy improvement compared to the KSh 2.4 billion recovered and KSh 14.5 billion of loss averted in 2018. It is an indication that the focus in strengthening our asset tracking and recovery units bearing fruits, Mbarak said in an interview with The Standard. He confirmed that the commission is currently enjoying a great working relationship with ODPP, the DCI and ARA after the silo mentality that existed among the agencies was removed through the Multi-Agency Team approach. For example, EACC investigators undertake basic investigations course upon employment which is facilitated by the DCI. We also facilitate specialised joint training of officers from DCI, ODPP and ARA, he reveals. Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko arrested over corruption charges. Photo: Original Source: Original With successful prosecution of corruption cases by the ODPP highly dependent on the quality of investigations by EACC as well as the DCI, Mbarak says the agencies currently hold bi-weekly meetings to plug any investigative gaps. The commission's lawyers also support the ODPP during prosecution of cases in court. We are continuously working to strengthen the criminal justice system as we are as strong the weakest link, the CEO states. Mbarak, however, points a finger at the Judiciary, which has been widely singled out as the weakest link in the anti-graft war. He says there are at least 357 cases worth approximately KSh 8.5 billion currently pending at various Land and Environment courts across country where EACC seeks to recover public property. The backlog in the court hinders expeditious disposal as the next available date for hearing afresh matter is sometime next year, he noted. 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. I chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Russia's ruling party approves Putin's candidate for prime minister Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 9:25 AM Russia's ruling United Russia Party has unanimously approved the candidacy of President Vladimir Putin's pick, Mikhail Mishustin, for the post of prime minister. Anastasia Kashevarov, an aide to Russia's parliament speaker, announced the decision on social media on Thursday ahead of a formal parliamentary vote. Russia's lower house of parliament the State Duma is expected to hold a meeting later in the day to vote on Mishustin's candidacy. President Putin picked Mishustin as prime minister after Dmitry Medvedev and his cabinet stepped down on Wednesday. Medvedev, who had been prime minister since 2012, announced his resignation after Putin proposed a series of constitutional reforms. Medvedev said his government's resignation gave room to the president to carry out the reforms. Putin has ordered the government to fulfill its responsibilities until a new government is appointed. He has offered Medvedev to oversee defense and security affairs in a new Security Council role. Mishustin, 53, was born in Moscow in 1966. He became a civil servant in 1998, joining the Russian State Tax Service, which then was transformed to the Taxes and Levies Ministry. In 2008, Mishustin moved to business, becoming the head of the United Financial Group (UFG), one of the Russia's largest investment banks. Since 2010, he has again been head of Russia's federal tax authority. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The reason for the outrage was not so much the tired cliche that France loves its food, which, of course, it does. This was more about a diminished national symbol in a country deeply proud of its traditions but increasingly anxious about its place in the world. French cuisine used to be seen as the pinnacle of sophistication, but these days not so much. A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a 2015 lawsuit by nearly two dozen young people to force the U.S. government to take more aggressive action on climate change, saying that the children did not have legal standing to bring the landmark case. Judge Andrew Hurwitz wrote that the plaintiffs had made a compelling case that action is needed to slash emissions and combat climate change. But the three-judge panel ruled 2-to-1 that the courts were not the place to compel such action. We reluctantly conclude, however, that the plaintiffs case must be made to the political branches or to the electorate at large, the latter of which can change the composition of the political branches through the ballot box, Hurwitz wrote. In a blistering dissent, U.S. District Court Judge Josephine Staton, who served on the panel, criticized the notion that the courts have no role to play, saying that the government itself has acknowledged that the United States has reached a tipping point crying out for a concerted response yet presses ahead toward calamity. It is as if an asteroid were barrelling toward Earth and the government decided to shut down our only defences. Seeking to quash this suit, the government bluntly insists that it has the absolute and unreviewable power to destroy the Nation, Station wrote. My colleagues throw up their hands, concluding that this case presents nothing fit for the Judiciary. The lawsuit, filed in 2015 by 21 young people who argue that the failure of government leaders to combat climate change violates their constitutional right to a clean environment, had been scheduled to go to trial in late 2018 before a district judge in Oregon. But it was delayed at the last minute while the Supreme Court considered an emergency request from the government. In early November, the court refused to grant the Trump administrations plea to stop the case before trial, instead sending it back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. That is where the case, known as Juliana v. United States, got its latest hearing last June and where the appeals panel quashed it on Friday. This is far from over, Julia Olson, the attorney for the plaintiffs and executive director of Our Childrens Trust, said in an interview Friday, adding that the group plans to ask for an en banc hearing before the entire 9th Circuit bench. That the judiciary cannot act as check on two branches that are causing an existential threat to the lives of these young plaintiffs, to Americas children and to the future of our nation is an idea that would make our founders roll over in their graves. Olson also said there is an urgency to move the case forward as quickly as possible, given the intensifying impacts of climate change. For someone who reads the science and talks with experts watching the changes on a daily basis, Olson said, its excruciating to watch the delay and all the missed windows of opportunity to actually address this crisis for all of our kids. The Trump administration, like the Obama administration before it, has repeatedly argued that the lawsuit should be tossed out before going to trial. Both administrations have insisted that the youths some of whom are now adults do not meet the legal requirements to bring such a suit and because there is no fundamental constitutional right to a stable climate system. Supporters of that position praised Fridays decision. I know that climate activists are disappointed, but the result is not a surprise to any lawyer in the country. No U.S. court has ever even come close to ordering the kind of relief that the activists were seeking in this case, Jeff Holmstead, an attorney with the legal and lobbying firm Bracewell, which represents energy industry clients. With todays decision, the question of how to deal with climate change is now squarely before Congress. Under our system of government, thats where it belongs. Read more about: A group of ultra-wealthy guests worth a total of $500billion are to arrive for the Davos summit where President Trump is expected to renew his feud with teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg. The guest list for this year's World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland next Tuesday stretches to more than 2,000 names, representing around 100 countries. The elite group includes regular attendees such as Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates LP, Steve Schwarzman, chairman of Blackstone Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO, Jamie Dimon. It is thought President Donald Trump will renew his running battle with young climate campaigner, Greta Thunberg, when they join the A-list movers and shakers attending the 50th anniversary of the Davos conclave. Six of those attending are in the world's 500 richest people, with the biggest amount of guests coming from the US, which has 33, followed by India with 19 heading to Davos. President Trump is expected to renew his attacks on teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week. He is pictured at the White House today in Washington, DC today Greta Thunberg carrying her placard after a speech during 1st Anniversary Climate Strike in Lausanne Switzerland today ahead of the Davos summit Many attendees arrive by private jet and prices for food is said to be at eye-watering levels, including $43 for a hot dog. From climate change to tensions in the Middle East, via trade conflicts and fears of pandemics, the more than 3,000 delegates at the World Economic Forum will thrash out challenges as imposing as the surrounding Swiss Alps. The WEF has come a long way since its inaugural edition in 1971 and if the main business of Davos remains deal-making among corporate titans, climate change has come to dominate the catalogue of long-term planetary risks identified in a pre-meeting report compiled by the forum. After trolling each other on Twitter, Trump and the 17-year-old Thunberg will bring rival messages to the well-heeled crowd. The Swede's impassioned speech, and famously hard stare at the US leader, at the UN General Assembly in September symbolised anger over climate inaction. Climate denier Trump, escaping his Senate impeachment trial back home, said his keynote address on Tuesday would tout 'the most incredible' economy ever seen. 'I expect him to send a message to the American people and not to the international community,' Carlos Pascual, a former US diplomat and now a vice president at IHS Markit, said. Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. is likely to be on the list of mega-rich guests at the World Economic Forum next week in Davos, Switzerland The Alpine resort of Davos in eastern Switzerland. The World Economic Forum 50th annual meeting will be held from January 21 to 24 'The purpose of that message is to reinforce with the elector in the United States that his number one concern in international policy is America firs'.' Swedish activist Thunberg and a crowd of some 10,000 protesters marched in the Swiss city of Lausanne today before many of them head to Davos to challenge the political and business leaders over the climate crisis. Thunberg, who launched the #FridaysforFuture movement that has sparked global protests, denounced a lack of government action to cut heat-trapping emissions before it is too late. 'So, we are now in a new year and we have entered a new decade and so far, during this decade, we have seen no sign whatsoever that real climate action is coming and that has to change,' Thunberg said in a speech in Lausanne. 'To the world leaders and those in power, I would like to say that you have not seen anything yet. You have not seen the last of us, we can assure you that. And that is the message that we will bring to the World Economic Forum in Davos next week.' Protesters held signs including 'Wake up and Smell the Bushfires' and 'It is late but it is not too late'. Blackstone Group CEO and Co-Founder Steve Schwarzman speaking at an event in New York last November. His is thought to be on the 2,000-name guest list for the Swiss meeting US businessman and founder of investment firm Bridgewater Associates LP, Ray Dalio, is expected to attained this year's Davos summit. He is pictured (above) during a meeting at LinkedIn in 2016 Hundreds of campaigners will take trains over the weekend and then march to Klosters near Davos, which Thunberg is attending for the second year in a row and will take part in two panel events. Climate change and environmental destruction top the risks highlighted by world decision-makers in a survey ahead of the 2020 gathering of the global elite. This year's gathering takes place against the backdrop of some of Australia's worst ever bushfires. While the government there has avoided making a link to climate change, the fires have added to public concern about the heating of the planet. Last year was the Earth's second-hottest since records began, and the world should brace itself for more extreme weather events like the bushfires ravaging much of Australia, the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday. 'We are...an alliance that is organising next week in 20 countries to say: 'time is up' to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Time is up,' a Kenyan activist, Njoki Njoroge Njehu, told the crowd in Lausanne. 'It is time to abolish billionaires. It is time to abolish billionaires, because we cannot afford them, the planet cannot afford billionaires,' he said. In the courtroom of the Bangui Court of Appeal, the tension is rising. Sitting on four rows of benches, some 30 defendants are waiting, handcuffed two by two or individually, closely watched by prison guards, along with about 10 members of the Central African Armed Forces. Outside, two armoured vehicles of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) guard the area. The court is preparing to try more than 30 anti-Balaka militiamen, including three of their key leaders, Romaric Mandago, Kevin Bere Bere and Crepin Wakanam, alias Pino Pino. These names take us back more than three years, to the Bangassou region in the south-east of the Central African Republic (CAR). Under the pretext of protecting Christian populations against the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC, led by Ali Darass), a faction of the Seleka armed coalition dominated by Muslims, self-defence groups were formed in this region. They quickly gained a reputation for their cruelty against civilians, especially Muslims suspected of collusion with the Seleka and persecuted as far as the camps for displaced persons, but also Christians. These anti-Balaka are also blamed for the deaths of around ten UN soldiers, five of whom (four Cambodians and one Moroccan) were killed during the attack on a convoy in Yongofongo. They also directly attacked humanitarian NGOs. Their internal rivalries also caused many victims within each faction, such as General Ngade, whose assassination in December 2017 is attributed to Pino Pino. Pino Pino and 33 of his men were arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 15 May 2018 and extradited to Bangui the following month. Bere Bere and Romaric surrendered themselves to MINUSCA in January 2018. Why not the SCC? In the courtroom, after the jurors have been drawn by lot and the presence of the defendants has been verified (one of them has died in custody, another has been remanded in custody and is not present), the referral order is read out. Before their participation in a militia, the defendants were ordinary citizens fishermen, bricklayers, farmers , some of them from Bangassou (one of the witnesses, a former prefect of Bangassou, stated that 75% of them were not from the city), and others from Mobaye, Bakouma, or Boali. The charges are heavy: war crimes and crimes against humanity, criminal conspiracy, assassinations, illegal possession of weapons and ammunition and offences against internationally protected persons. The Penal Code provides for prison sentences with fines, forced labour and even the death penalty (although the CAR has a moratorium on executions). In the last trial of a senior leader of armed groups before the Bangui criminal court, that of Alkali Said (considered by the prosecutor to be the number 2 of the Patriotic Movement for the Central African Republic, MPC), the charges were similar but the weakness of the case due to the impossibility of investigating on the spot allowed the defence to get most of the charges dismissed for lack of evidence. But this new case seems to be much stronger. We have produced some evidence, the gendarmerie has brought some, and so has MINUSCA, says Albert Panda, a lawyer for the victims group and vice-president of the Central African Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH). As part of their joint programme, the OCDH, the Central African League for Human Rights (LCDH) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) became civil parties on 10 July 2018, after having worked hard to collect evidence and find witnesses. Why choose to bring a civil action before the criminal court rather than before the Special Criminal Court (SCC), a jurisdiction established by the Central African government and the United Nations and which has still not issued any indictment? The criminal sessions can very well judge the most serious crimes, says Panda. This procedure began before the Special Criminal Court was actually set up. There are mechanisms for collaboration between these courts. The SCC was informed of this procedure. It preferred to let the Criminal Court continue because it could have asked to take the case, which was sufficiently substantial, adds the lawyer. Pointing to a heavy canvas bag containing the case files, he smiles: You see, there was a lot of information, a lot of evidence. Recommended reading Central African courts outpace the ICC and Special Court Evidence and Denial The first target of the interrogations, General Kevin Bere Bere, 33 years old, wearing sweatpants and a plain shirt, first stands with his arms folded, answering all the questions with aplomb. He says he arrived a month after the events in Bangassou, after working on sites in the region as an artisan miner. No, he was never part of former President Bozizes presidential guard (as he has claimed on numerous occasions in the past). He has never even held a gun. But he seems suddenly dizzy. He asks for a chair and a rest. He is pretending, says Attorney General Tambo. Dont let him get too clever! After discussion with his defence, Bere Bere says hes ready to continue. Prosecutor Tambo then takes over again. He presents his pieces of evidence one by one, some of which seem overwhelming. A letter bearing the signature of General Bere Bere, a logbook also signed by him containing an inventory of the weapons possessed by his group (about a hundred AK 47 machine guns, three RPG grenade launchers, missiles and several million rounds of war ammunition), and a photo showing him surrounded by these same weapons of war. Two written testimonies mention his presence at the scene of the attack on the MINUSCA convoy in Yongofongo. He was even reminded how much his men charged at the roadblock they held: 2,500 CFA francs (just under 4 Euros) for vehicles and 250 for pedestrians. Sitting down, the defendant takes a moment and then denies everything, point by point. He did not sign the letter nor the logbook, he does not recognize himself in the photo with the weapons. He was not present in Yongofongo. He presents himself as a mediator. I did a good job in Bangassou. I worked for the religious platform, I risked my life for the people, he says. Theres nothing that links me to the vigilantes. At this point there is a stir in the public gallery. A victim gets up and wants to talk. At the bar, this Muslim woman does not let herself be impressed by the presence of the General at her side. On the contrary, she shows a photo of her house and accuses Bere Bere of having made it his base. He said he was a general who served from Bangassou to Obo [in the east of the country] and controlled six thousand men, she testified. He killed many people. He killed a Muslim man and tore his genitals off. Bere Beres wife said that a Muslims house deserved only litre of gasoline. Her opponent stuck to his strategy: You have to show proof that I was there, Bere Bere said. Albert Panda thinks this attitude will have its limits in a trial that promises to be longer than usual: You cant stop him from having such a line of defence. We will watch and see how things evolve. There are witnesses and victims who will testify, and when you dont tell the truth, it will catch up with you in the end. Chinese Ministry of National Defense holds a reception to greet the upcoming Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on January 17, 2020. (mod.gov.cn/photo by Fan Xianhai) BEIJING, Jan. 17 -- Chinese Ministry of National Defense held here a reception to greet the upcoming Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year on Friday. Nearly 260 guests including military attaches and their spouses from more than 80 countries attended the reception upon invitation. Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, who is also member of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and state councilor, Li Zuocheng, Miao Hua and Zhang Shengmin, who are also CMC members, attended the reception. At the beginning of the reception, a leader of the CMCs International Military Cooperation Office delivered a speech on behalf of the Chinese side. He said in his speech that in the past year, the Chinese military fully implemented Xi Jinpings thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era and Xi Jinpings thought on building a strong military, and guided by the Party's goal of strengthening the military in the new era, the whole military focused the strength on war preparedness and reform and innovation, taking new steps in the cause of building a strong military. By holding high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win, China pushes forward the efforts of building a community with a Shared future for mankind, he said. In 2020, the Chinese military will firmly safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests, faithfully implement the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, actively fulfill the international responsibilities of the military of a major country, comprehensively advance international military cooperation in the new era and continuously deepen exchange and cooperation with militaries to jointly cope with risks and challenges and maintain peaceful development, he stated in the speech. Mr. Perry, Zambian defense attache to China and head of the delegation of foreign military attaches to China delivered a speech on behalf the foreign side. He expressed appreciation for the contributions made by the Chinese military in maintaining world peace and development. He also wished China finishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled and the Chinese military making new achievements in the modernization drive. Leaders from the CMC departments, Beijing-based major units of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army and the Chinese Peoples Armed Police Force attended the reception. Chinese Ministry of National Defense holds a reception to greet the upcoming Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on January 17, 2020.(mod.gov.cn/photo by Fan Xianhai) I owe my career to Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. Not only in the opportunities they and other civil rights veterans opened for people like me through their sacrifice, but in a specific way. The first writing I had published anywhere was in these pages when I was a political science student at St. Marys University. My op-ed in the Jan. 16, 1983, Express-News advocated for Kings birthday being a national holiday. My grandmother suggested I send the piece to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, which Id never heard of. I mailed the column, expecting nothing in return but a few weeks later received an application for the centers Scholar-Internship program. I applied and was accepted for the summer of 1984, the transformative summer of my life. Family friends dropped me off on the front steps of the King Center with a suitcase and footlocker filled with books. Greeting me was the programs director, Liliane Kshensky Baxter, who remains one of the most important people in my life. Lili was the daughter of Holocaust survivors. Her father was liberated from Bergen-Belsen and her mother from Auschwitz. Their son, the older brother Lili never met, died in Auschwitz. Lili was born in a displaced persons camp in Sweden. She took me into her office and after telling me about the six other interns, leaned across her desk, smiled, and said, And youre the writer. My first-grade teacher, whod also been my mothers first grade teacher, had told Mom Id be a writer. By then I was writing semi-regular unsolicited and unpaid columns for a black weekly called The San Antonio Snap, which I dropped over the transom, being too shy to hand them to the publisher, Eugene Coleman. But this was the first time anyone told me I was a writer. Lili declared with such certainty and enthusiasm that I was a writer that I started to reach for a pen to autograph for her the many books of mine she no doubt owned but Id yet to write. My intern class included three African American men, one African American woman, a Sri Lankan man, Hindu Pakistani woman, and a white Canadian man. We lived in sparse apartments a few blocks from the King Center. We soon became joint owners of a stray black dog. In thinking of names for the dog, the white Canadian male, Dave, innocently suggested Blackie. Dave, I told him. I dont think it would be a good idea for you to be going down the street in this neighborhood yelling, Blackie. I named her Sheba. Over the course of the internship program, we studied the philosophy of nonviolence not only as an instrument of social change but as a way of life. We met with veterans of the Civil Rights Movement like the Rev. C.T. Vivian, Dorothy Cotton and James Orange. On my last night, we had dinner at the home of then City Councilman John Lewis and his wife Lillian. On the Fourth of July, Mrs. King had us over to her house for dinner, where I sat next to Daddy King, Martin Luther King Sr. Where you from, son? he asked me. San Antonio, sir. Welcome to Atlanta. As part of the internship, we were placed in a King Center department related to our individual interests. Since I was the writer, I was placed with Coretta Scott Kings gifted speechwriter, Steve Klein. The writing I did for Mrs. King was some CNN commentaries she regularly delivered. She was a great lady who was much more than a reflection of her husband. She created the King Center and the internship program to spread the legacy and use of nonviolence. I would come to know her better over the years but never shook the awe of being in her presence. Lili made me think of myself as a writer. Mrs. King made me believe a writing career was possible. Through the years, I would return to the King Center many times to teach workshops in nonviolence. Beyond the personal relationships created, the three greatest gifts I received from that summer in Atlanta were: a belief in the necessity and possibilities of nonviolence; a deep interest in the Civil Rights Movement; and a career. And while Ive often failed and fallen short of what I intended, everything Ive written since has been informed by the greatest lesson of nonviolence: our obligation to love one another. Cary.Clack@express-news.net The number of Indian students enrolling into UK universities registered a 42 per cent hike 2017-19, according to latest data. The UK's Higher Statistics Agency (HESA) in the figures released in London this week said that student numbers from India have increased from 18,325 in 2014-15 to 26,685 in 2018-19, pegging it in second place after China. The 42 per cent growth in the number of new Indian student enrolments in 2018-19 is particularly notable. Visa application numbers indicate that this growth will continue, suggesting that Indian student numbers are set to reach numbers not seen since 2011 in the coming years, said Vivienne Stern, Director, Universities UK International (UUKi). UUKi is the higher representative body which works with government on an international student strategy and had lobbied for the reinstatement last year of a post-study work offer to international graduates after they complete their degree courses. Indian students numbers are expected to register a further growth spike once the post-study work scheme is fully operational later this year. We know that students in India, and around the world, will be encouraged by the announcement of a new two-year graduate visa route and we are working with government to ensure that this is implemented as quickly and smoothly as possible," Stern said. Overall, the UK proved an attractive study destination with China accounting for the largest chunk of international university enrolments in 2019. Since 2014-15 the number of Chinese students enrolled in the UK has risen from about 89,500 to more than 120,300. The latest HESA figures also show that despite the Brexit turmoil as the UK prepares to leave the European Union (EU), the number of new students coming from EU countries rose by 2 per cent with the numbers from outside the EU up by 10 per cent. UK universities minister said: I am delighted to see a continued increase in both EU and non-EU students, and we want to grow the number of international students to 600,000 by 2030. Our universities thrive on being open, global institutions, which is why we're allowing international students to remain in the UK for two-years post-graduation. The new Graduate visa route, set to launch for the 2020-21 intake to UK universities, will offer students the chance to switch onto the skilled work visa after two years if they find a job which meets the skill requirements of the route. The new visa, more details of which will be unveiled in the coming weeks and months, will offer opportunities to work or look for work after an overseas student has graduated. The UK government stressed that the new route will also include safeguards to ensure only "genuine, credible students" are eligible. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In 2019, the world situation continued to have many complicated developments, with fierce competition between major countries. This has reduced confidence in multilateralism and international law. At this time, Chief Representative of the UNESCO Office in Viet Nam Michael Croft said that the office is facing limitations in human resources and budget allocation for the fields of information communication and national and social science, making it difficult to actively participate in forums and UNESCO projects in the international arena. However, he believes that with the support of UNESCO Vietnam, relevant sub-committees and agencies of Vietnam, the Hanoi office can overcome these difficulties. At the meeting, Prof. Dr. Dang Nguyen Anh, Vice President of UNESCO Vietnam, assessed the effectiveness of the organisation regarding activities in 2019, such as: Proactively participating in UNESCO and member countries' issues of common concern; contributing to raising Vietnam's image in the international arena, while protecting the interests of the country; and strengthening Vietnam-UNESCO relations. In 2019, the finalising of the UNESCO-recognition dossier for Vietnams heritages has achieved encouraging results, contributing to asserting Vietnam's cultural identity and enriching cultural diversity and human creativity. Ministries, branches and localities have focused on effective management of UNESCO-recognised titles. In order to promote heritage values for sustainable development and the preservation of national identity, ministries, branches and localities have focused on the effective management of UNESCO-recognised titles. On the basis of summarising, drawing experience and evaluating the activities of the last year, UNESCO Vietnam identified a number of operational orientations for 2020. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Devina Heriyanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 08:55 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c3227861d 1 National Chinese-Indonesians,names,history,Chinese-New-Year Free Almost nobody gets it right on the first try. Since Ailen was in elementary school until university, people often misread her name as Alien. It does not help that she only has one name. "My parents prepared my name before I was born. They had two or three names, and since my family is a traditional one, they conducted jiaobei [the moon blocks ritual]," Ailen told The Jakarta Post. The jiaobei ritual is commonly held by Chinese people, either at home or in a temple, as a form of divination over a yes or no question. The ritual is often held after a fortune-telling ritual known as kau cim or ciam si. The name Ailen is derived from "Ai", which is the Chinese word for love. There's also a variation of the name in Scottish, Aileen, which means light. According to Ailen, her mother wished that she would be a love that shone like the sun. Ailen is not the only name that she has. Like many other Indonesians of Chinese descent, she also has another name: Huang Xiu Hua, which means yellow fragrant flower. It was given by her grandparents, who could speak Mandarin. Still, even at home, with a family that holds on to rites and tradition, people do not call her by her Chinese name. "They call me Elen or 'Tot, which is short for bontot [the youngest child]," Ailen said. Cynthia Natalia Ongga, who works in Jakarta but hails from Medan, North Sumatra, has a different story. She was born into a Cantonese family, but her family does not speak the dialect. "We were not taught because my dad is the only one from my grandparents' six children unable to speak Cantonese," Cynthia told the Post. She and her siblings speak Hokkien instead, as the dialect is commonly used in Medan -- a city with a large Chinese-Indonesian population. Indonesianized family names All members of her family have Chinese names. Hers is Wang Qi Hui. In Hokkien dialect, the name Wang becomes Ong, hence her Indonesian family name Ongga. "I have no idea how this sounds in Hokkien or Cantonese," she said of her Chinese name. "It's pronounced like chi hui so it sounds like cihui [woohoo]. I never heard it made fun of until I came here though. Back home it was just a name." Still, some people teased her over her name. In Medan, it was her family name that became a source of ridicule. "[People in Medan] teased me over Ongga, because it's not a very common way to nationalize the surname Wang or Ong. I guess it sounds weird to people," she said. "But they have the full context of it being a Chinese name that has been 'Indonesianized'." In Jakarta, she finds people call her by her family name. "Here I think people mainly just think it's weird and catchy, not knowing it's a marga [family name]," Cynthia added. "It's unnatural. Who calls people by their surnames?" she asked. Many Indonesians of Chinese descent have a complicated story behind their names, as a result of the country's history in its nation-building process. Even before Indonesia declared its independence in 1945, many Chinese-Indonesians found themselves torn between two citizenships because of different principles that were applied in China and the Dutch colony. China applies the jus sanguinis principle, which means that every individual who is born from a Chinese parent is automatically Chinese. The Dutch colony, and later Indonesia, applied the jus soli principle, which classified every individual who was born within its borders as its subject. Despite this, the then Dutch East Indies had three classes of people, dividing society into European, Far-Eastern (including people of Chinese and Arab descent) and the native Indonesians, making Chinese-Indonesians outsiders, hence the term non-pribumi (non-native). After Indonesia declared its independence, the first law that tried to resolve the dual-citizenship problem was the 1948 Citizenship Law, which granted all Chinese-Indonesians citizenship with the right to refuse. In 1955, then-foreign minister Sunario met his Chinese counterpart Zhou Enlai and signed the Sino-Indonesian Dual Nationality Treaty, which required Indonesians of Chinese descent to choose one nationality and to declare this in court. This requirement was then incorporated in the 1958 Citizenship Law. According to Lan Thung Ju in his paper "Contesting the post-colonial legal construction of Chinese Indonesians as foreign subjects", which was published in the Journal of Asian Ethnicity in Sept. 2012, the requirement canceled out the citizenship granted to Chinese-Indonesians in 1948 and turned them automatically into foreigners until they chose to become Indonesian citizens. "The process made [...] the Chinese objects of exploitation for immigration officers, a situation that continued until after the fall of [Soeharto] in May 1998," the author wrote in his paper. Ditching Chinese names When Soeharto took power in 1965 and formally became president in 1966, beginning the New Order period, Chinese-Indonesians were under heightened pressure to prove their Indonesian-ness. The regime introduced several policies that suppressed the Chinese part of Chinese-Indonesian people in a strategy known as assimilation. The supporters of assimilation believed that the Chinese-Indonesians would never truly become Indonesians if they did not shed the culture and habits that separated them from other Indonesians. One of the ways was the Cabinet Presidium Decision 127 of 1966, which instructed Chinese-Indonesians to change their names into Indonesian-sounding ones. Before the New Order, some Chinese-Indonesians, mostly assimilation supporters, had changed their names, but this was by choice. Many tried to incorporate their Chinese names in the Indonesian version. Today, people can still guess someone's Chinese family names by their Indonesian version, some notable examples being business tycoon Sudono Salim, whose Chinese name is Liem Sioe Liong, Kompas founder Petrus Kanisius Ojong, whose Chinese name is Auwjong Peng Koen and businessman Sukanto Tanoto, whose Chinese name is Chen Jianghe (Chen can be read as Tan in some dialects). Another popular surname among Chinese Indonesians is Wijaya, usually used by people whose Chinese family name is Oei (pronounced like "we") in the Hokkien dialect. In a now-viral Twitter thread, Christa Sydney, who describes herself as "unapologetically Chinese-Indonesian", told the story of how she grew up without a Chinese name. She only asked her grandfather for a Chinese name when she was 13, and even then, she still did not know how to pronounce the name correctly. My name is Christa Sydney. I am Chinese Indonesian. In 1st grade I was asked by a teacher what my Chinese name was, I told her I forgot. When I went home I asked my mom and I found out that I didn't have one. Vernon Choi stan account (@christasyd) December 21, 2019 The younger generation of Chinese-Indonesians sometimes did not know the reason behind their parents' choice of "assimilated" names. Felicia Sugita, who was born less than a year after the 1998 Reform era, admitted that she did not know the meaning of her father's name, Sugiarto. In the Javanese language, the name is made of two words: sugih (many) and harto (fortune). The name is a common last name among Chinese-Indonesians in the island, a result of the forced attempt at assimilation. Other discriminatory policies included a ban on celebrating Chinese New Year, locally known as Imlek, in public, the ban on speaking Chinese languages and their dialects, as well as a ban on practicing Chinese beliefs -- which forced those who believed in Confucianism to convert to other religions, mostly Buddhism, and temples to masquerade as vihara. The policies' enforcement was strictest in Java, resulting in the loss of the ability of many Chinese-Indonesians to speak Chinese dialects. In other cities with large Chinese settlements, such as Medan and Singkawang in West Kalimantan, many traditions and dialects are still preserved. It has only been since the Reform era that some of the pressure has been alleviated. In 2000, Chinese-Indonesians celebrated Imlek openly for the first time after then-president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid revoked the 1967 presidential decree that banned public celebration of the spring festival. During the rule of president Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2002, Chinese New Year became a national holiday. There is a joke among Chinese-Indonesians, which resurfaces every time there is an incident that increases tension among the Tionghoa, or when the lunar new year is near: Despite the hate, some people will come and wish us a happy new year -- if only for the angpao [red envelope filled with money]. Journalists called to conferences with U.S. ambassadors expect to receive news. On Thursday, Harry Harris, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, offered something else to correspondents in Seoul: little black mustaches. The dapper 63-year-old U.S. diplomat, appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2018, has been a staunch defender of the administration's policies on the Korean Peninsula, including its demand that Seoul increase by some 400 percent its share of the cost of keeping nearly 30,000 U.S. troops stationed there. Trump's take on burden-sharing aside, Harris has had another controversial item to defend: his mustache. That's because his styled chevron mustache reminds many South Koreans of the hairy upper lip often sported by their former Japanese colonial rulers. Harris, who was born in Japan and whose mother is Japanese, has dismissed the criticism as a swipe at his heritage. "I have been criticized in the media here, especially on social media, because of my ethnic background, because I'm a Japanese American," he told reporters at the news conference Thursday. "And those that will criticize me for having a mustache link me with the Japanese governor generals who ruled Korea during the occupation of Korea 1910 to 1945. To those people, I say that you're cherry-picking history." The ambassador went on to list several Korean independence movement leaders who he said he had similar 'staches. Harris defended his decision to keep the look - which he's likened to "a superimposition of cat's whiskers" - as no more than a lifestyle change after leaving the Navy. "I wanted to make a break from my military life to my new life," he said. "I couldn't grow taller. I couldn't grow hair on top of my head." But he could grow a mustache. "Nothing more nefarious than that," he added. His mustache apologism hasn't snipped the outrage. Japan occupied the Korean Peninsula with an iron first, traumatizing Koreans. This history remains highly contentious today: The two countries still clash over Seoul's calls for Tokyo to pay reparations to Korean victims of forced labor, forced sexual slavery and other abuses during World War II. With a nuclear North Korea just across the 48th parallel, Trump's erratic engagement with the region has left many South Koreans worried. His calls for the U.S. ally to pay more for hosting U.S. troops has further deepened resentment. In October, Seoul police arrested at least 19 Korean students for trying to scale the walls around Harris's residence in protest of the presence and cost of U.S. troops in the country. Harris is hardly the only U.S. ambassador facing flak for Trump's foreign policies. But at least on the matter of his mustache, he's not backing down. - - - The Washington Post's Min Joo Kim contributed from Seoul. The developments around Sputnik Estonia, whose employees were threatened with criminal prosecution unless they stop working for the media outlet, should not be ignored at the European level, Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Russian lower house's foreign affairs committee, told Sputnik on Friday MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) The developments around Sputnik Estonia, whose employees were threatened with criminal prosecution unless they stop working for the media outlet, should not be ignored at the European level, Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Russian lower house's foreign affairs committee, told Sputnik on Friday. At his annual news conference earlier in the day, acting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Estonian authorities' actions against the news agency were outrageous, and accused the European Union of not doing enough to help. "The situation with Sputnik's employees in Estonia is beyond all moral and legal norms. This is actual Russophobic blackmail by the authorities. Their argumentation does not stand up to criticism. Just as the lack of reaction from the EU structures. Such things are a direct violation of human rights and freedom of speech and should not be silenced at the pan-European level," Slutsky said. The lawmaker expressed confidence that the Russian delegation would speak up about the illegality of such actions against media at all interparliamentary platforms, including the OSCE and the Council of Europe's parliamentary assemblies. In October, the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, Sputnik's parent company, said that the employees of Sputnik Estonia had received letters from the Baltic country's Police and Border Guard board that warned they would face criminal prosecution unless they quit working for the news agency by January 1. The Estonian authorities cited the 2014 EU sanctions against several Russian nationals and companies as grounds for their actions. Rossiya Segodnya has since insisted it is not mentioned in any EU sanctions lists. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told Sputnik on Thursday that pressure on the Estonian branch of the agency had nothing to do with the news agency, per se, and everything to do with the EU sanctions against Dmitry Kiselev, the head of Rossiya Segodnya. During his annual end-of-year press conference in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would do everything to support Sputnik's work abroad, and that it was important to continue to work in countries that are afraid of the media's "influence on the minds of people." OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir has criticized Estonia for unfairly punishing Sputnik agency for Kiselev's presence on an individual EU sanctions list. The parents of a teenage motorcyclist killed in a car crash have claimed Boris Johnson has no wish or intention to meet them, as they continue their fight to get an American citizen to face trial in the UK. They said that despite repeated assurances to the contrary, the prime minister has not spoken with them in person after Harry Dunn died in a collision last August and the suspect fled to the US. For all his multiple faults, even US president Donald Trump took the time and trouble to meet with Harrys parents and extend his condolences personally, said the familys lawyer. Radd Seiger, who is representing Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, said: Mr Trump looked the parents in the eye and told them how sorry he was. Mr Johnson, on the other hand, has done his level best to steer clear of Harrys parents and continues to do so. Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital Show all 10 1 /10 Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital The father of a young girl, who is being treated in the Acorn childrens' ward, expresses his anger over hospital waiting times to Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his visit to Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, east London PA Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital PA Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital PA Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital AP Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital PA Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital PA Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital PA Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital PA Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital PA Parent confronts Boris Johnson in hospital PA Mr Dunn was killed in a crash outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire last year. Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official, claimed diplomatic immunity after the collision and returned to her home country, sparking an international controversy. The victims parents have been campaigning for the suspect to return and face trial, however, the US said the UKs extradition request is highly inappropriate and would be an abuse. They have met with the British foreign and home secretaries, but their lawyer claimed promises to speak with the prime minister face-to-face have not been followed through. I have made numerous attempts to arrange the meeting and said we will meet anytime, anywhere, Mr Seiger said. Each offer has either been rebuffed or ignored. He claimed the parents were deeply suspicious at the outset that he would be more concerned about his relationship with Mr Trump than Harry and them, which now appears to be the case. Mr Johnson has urged the US president to extradite Ms Sacoolas, and a formal request was put in last week. However, the prime minister has since said that the chances of the suspect returning to the UK are very low. Ms Sacoolas is accused of driving on the wrong side of the road when she collided with Mr Dunns motorcycle last August. She claimed diplomatic immunity, but has now been charged with causing death by dangerous driving. Asked whether Mr Johnson would meet the family, a Downing Street spokesman said: The legal process is ongoing and the UK has submitted the extradition request. The prime minister will continue to work to get justice for Harry. Additional reporting by Press Association India on Friday issued an advisory for Indians travelling from China especially from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where hundreds of Indian students study, following the outbreak of a new virus that has claimed the life of two persons and infected dozens of others. More than 500 Indian students study in Wuhan, mostly in medical universities in and around the city, which is known as Chinas university town. Many Indian students would be or already are -- travelling back to India for the Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays, which have already begun. The novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan and until now, all cases of the viral infection have been detected in people from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, or among those who travelled to the city. Both deaths have been reported in Wuhan. Agency reports said Thailand had found a second case of the new Chinese coronavirus as authorities ramp up checks on Chinese visitors, nearly a million of whom are expected for the CNY holidays next week. Japan too has reported one case of the virus. An infection with a novel coronavirus has been reported from China. As on 11th January, 2020, 41 confirmed cases have been reported so far, of which one has died, the advisory from the Indian embassy said. Only travel-related cases have been reported (one each) in Thailand and Japan. The clinical signs and symptoms are mainly fever with a few patients having difficulty in breathing. The mode of transmission is unclear as of now. However, so far there is little evidence of significant human-to-human transmission, it added. The advisory specifically mentioned those who are travelling from Wuhan. All travelers to China (in particular Wuhan city) to monitor their health closely, it said. It outlined a set of precautionary measures for them. If you feel sick on flight, while traveling back to India: Inform the airlines crew about illness, seek mask from the airlines crew, avoid close contact with family members or fellow travelers, the advisory said. The advisory added that if someone felt sick on flight or at the time of disembarkation, they should take the following steps: Report to airport health authorities/immigration, follow the direction of the airport health officer. Keeping in mind, the incubation period of the virus, travellers from China should remember to take these steps: If you feel sick with in a span of one month after return from China, report the illness to the nearest health facility and also inform the treating doctor regarding your travel history. The USs State Department issued a travel advisory on Wednesday, alerting American citizens travelling to China especially Wuhan. The alert referenced a Watch Level 1 Alert by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Under the travel alert, the State Department advised citizens to avoid animals and to avoid contact with any sick people. Chinese health authorities have said it is possible that the new coronavirus which has sparked fears of an outbreak as hundreds of millions begin travelling in China and outside for the upcoming CNY holidays could be passed through human contact but the risk of person-to-person transmission is low. Sheffield United's vice chairman Joseph Giansiracusa (above) is a lawyer who wanted the beheading of flogging of two British nurses convicted of murder in Saudi Arabia The vice chairman of Premier League Sheffield United is a lawyer who demanded the beheading and flogging of two British nurses in Saudi Arabia, MailOnline can reveal. Joseph Giansiracusa is the right-hand man of Saudi Royal Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who controversially gained control of the club in September 2019 after a High Court ruling. The legal battle continues with the club's former owner Kevin McCabe who has put 100m into the club over past 20 years. McCabe had sold a 50 per cent share for 1 to the Saudi Prince Abdullah. In return Prince Abdullah agreed to invest 10m over three years. The two men then signed an investors agreement in August 2013. United were a League One team who were haemorrhaging money but then all changed with the appointment of Chris Wilder as Manager in May 2016. Two seasons later Sheffield United were back in the Premier League and the TV money was rolling in. However under a clause in the agreement, now disputed by McCabe, he was forced to sell his 50 per cent share for 5m in a club now valued at 104m. It has now come to light that Mr Giansiracusa represented the brother of murdered Australian nurse Yvonne Gilford against Britons Lucille McLauchlan and Deborah Parry in the controversial 1997 trial. Mr Giansiracusa wanted Brits Deborah Parry (left) and Lucille McLauchlan (right) executed after they murdered nurse Yvonne Gilford in 1996 while he was representing Gilford's family Former Sheffield United director Jim Phipps also acted for Yvonne's brother, Frank Gilford. Both Giansiracua and Phipps were employed by a Saudi based law firm, Jones Day. The lawyers demanded the death penalty for the accused nurses, Lucille McLauchlan and Deborah Parry who were found guilty of the crime. However legal and forensic experts from all over the world said the proceedings were a farce and that the nurse had been threatened with rape and beatings if they didn't sign a confession. Then Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Robin Cook personally made a plea for clemency with Saudi's ruler, King Saud. For months Giansiracusa and Phipps aggressively pushed for the death sentence, saying Yvonne's brother Frank was in favour of it. Italian-born Giansiracusa said 'He (Frank) has not changed his position. He is demanding the death penalty in the event of a conviction.' Saudi Royal Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - seen meeting Wayne Rooney in 2008 - controversially gained control of Sheffield United in 2019 after a High Court ruling The lawyers said Mr Gilford took very seriously the decision he had to make, since the fate of the nurses was in his hands if they were convicted. Phipps said: 'He thinks about this every day, but the thought of the brutal way his sister was murdered also weighs heavily on him.' During the case Parry's brother-in-law Jonathon Ashbee said the Saudi based lawyers were 'Dogged in pursuit of the death penalty.' He later added: 'Phipps' behaviour has been a disgrace. He is a disgrace to his profession and a disgrace to himself.' Prince Abdullah's right-hand man is Italian-born Mr Giansiracua (pictured) at a game Both lawyers are right-hand men to new Sheffield United owner, Phipps resigned as co-chairman in 2016. The two Saudi lawyers' part in the nurses trial never come to light as their client Prince Abdullah wrested control of the club. Lucille McLauchlan was sentenced to eight years and 500 lashes for her part in the death of Yvonne Gilford. She died in 2014 after suffering a brain hermorrhage. Parry still works as a nurse in Hampshire. She was sentenced to beheading after being found guilty of the murder. All three nurses had worked at the King Fahd Military Medical Complex in Dhahan. The pair were eventually given a royal pardon after Frank Gilford agreed to accept $1.2m so-called 'blood money.' Following subsequent convictions for theft and fraud in Tayside, McLauchlan was struck off the nursing register by the UK Central Council for Nursing. Last night Mr Phipps said he was only doing his job as a lawyer, which sometimes involves 'unpleasant business'. He told MailOnline from his home in Utah, USA: 'During the course of the trial, I recall that counsel for Ms Parry and Ms McLaughlin publicly criticised my handling of the matter in the terms you use. Sheffield Utd is at the centre of a legal battle over its controversial takeover by Prince Abdullah who bought 50 per cent of the club for 1 in 2013 then forced the owner to sell his remaining shares for 5million after the club was promoted to the Premier League and worth 104m Businessman Kevin McCabe (left) is at loggerheads with Prince Abdullah (right) over the sale of Sheffield United in which McCabe says he was effectively forced out by the new owner 'I recall only doing my job as a lawyer. As you may appreciate, sometimes being a lawyer means being involved in unpleasant business, as this case surely was. 'A fellow expatriate had been murdered in her apartment, stabbed in every vital organ. If I recall correctly, the victim was stabbed over 13 times. 'The victim's family wanted to see justice done. As counsel, I sought to help them accomplish that purpose.' Sheffield United and Mr Giansiracusa declined to comment. BERN, Switzerland, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A+ World Academy announced today that it has earned accreditation by the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools, a worldwide leader in accreditation and continuous school improvement. "Middle States accreditation serves as an independent validation of the good work we do, and the accreditation process focused our attention on strategic planning and continuous improvement practices," said Dr. Kevin E. Kessler, CEO & Head of School. "We are proud to have earned accreditation and look forward to continuing to work with our administrators, teachers, and parents to provide high-quality education for all students." Accreditation is a multifaceted evaluation process that schools and school systems voluntarily use to demonstrate they are meeting a defined set of research-based performance standards. The 12 Middle States Standards for Accreditation are: mission; governance and leadership; school improvement planning; finances; facilities; school organization and staff; health and safety; educational program; assessment and evidence of student learning; student services; student life and activities, and information resources. The accreditation process begins with a self-study that is conducted by the school or school system and requires input from school leaders, teachers, parents and students. Following the self-study, a team of volunteer educators from Middle States member schools conducts an on-site peer review visit to observe school operations and interview various stakeholders. The visiting team makes its recommendation to the Middle States Association Commissions, which votes on the accreditation. "The Middle States accreditation process brings together school leaders, teachers, parents and students to develop a strategic plan for the future that is built upon continuous school improvement," said Lisa Marie McCauley, Ed.D., president of the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. "Middle States accredited schools benefit from the power of peer review and should be commended for their commitment to collaboration, growth and advancing student achievement." About A+ World Academy A+ World Academy is a fully-accredited international high school with a selection of Advanced Placement (AP) courses and the option to graduate with the AP Capstone Diploma. Students take only the courses necessary to graduate and typically have 2-4 classes per day. International teachers lead, guide, and support our students around the clock to prepare them for the most elite universities. We offer Junior and Senior level courses in Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, Social Sciences, and World Languages. In addition, we offer our signature Self, System, and Society course of self-reflective learning throughout the journey as well as a comprehensive maritime training program. For the AP Capstone Diploma, we offer AP Seminar and AP Research and enough Service Learning Projects to count as 0.5 credits. Students explore the world outside of the classroom in 15+ ports around the world. We balance our time between free-time ('Shore leave'), community service, and organized activities ('Field Studies') with cultural and academic objectives. Is there a more relevant place to study apartheid than in South Africa? Or to study the impact of volcanic hot-spots at the junction of three major tectonic plates in the Azores archipelago? Through an academic year traveling around the world, you will be able to see and experience what you learn in class and read in books. Each port will have a different emphasis. Our students become confident, independent world travelers with an understanding and appreciation for the social and cultural differences that make the world the best classroom. About Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS) Based in Philadelphia, the Middle States Association is the worldwide leader in accreditation and school improvement. For over 125 years, Middle States has been helping school leaders establish and reach their goals, develop strategic plans, promote staff development and advance student achievement. With more than 2,500 accredited schools and school systems in 34 states and over 100 countries, MSA-CESS is proud of its continuing legacy and its ongoing innovations to meet the challenges of improving education in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.msa-cess.org. Contact Dr. Kevin E. Kessler, Head of School +1.407.766.6369 [email protected] Related Images image1.png SOURCE A+ World Academy Iran's Supreme Leader lashed out at European signatories of the Iran nuclear deal as he delivered his first Friday sermon in Tehran in eight years. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a large crowd that Britain, France and Germany, which this week triggered a dispute mechanism to try and bring Iran back into compliance with the unravelling of the 2015 nuclear agreement, were "contemptible" governments and "servants of the United States. He added that the nations were too weak to "bring Iranians to their knees." However, Khamenei said Iran is willing to negotiate the terms of the deal, but not with the United States, who withdrew from the accord with world powers. Thousands of people attended the Friday prayers, occasionally interrupting his speech by chanting "God is greatest!" and "Death to America!" Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called Israel a "cancerous tumor" and vowed to support anyone confronting it. Kiev, Jan 17 : Ukraine's Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk on Friday tendered his resignation after a leaked audio recording apparently revealed him criticising President Volodymyr Zelensky. A voice sounding like Honcharuk's, but not officially confirmed as his, says President Zelensky, a TV comedian and businessman who was elected last April, only has a "primitive" understanding of economics, reports the BBC. "To remove any doubts in our respect for and trust in the President, I have written a resignation letter and submitted it to the president with the right to hand it to the Parliament," Honcharuk, 35, made the announcement on his official Facebook page. "He is a man in whom Ukrainians have expressed unprecedented confidence. And he has every right to evaluate the effectiveness of every member of his team." The presidential office said Zelensky had received the resignation and would consider it, reports Xinhua news agency. The controversial audiotape was uploaded to an anonymous YouTube channel on Wednesday evening. Honcharuk was apparently discussing the national budget with some other government ministers and finance chiefs. Great news: The unemployment rate in the United States was 3.5 percent in December, representing a historic low. Not-so-great news: We're on track for a historic flu season. There have been 9.7 million cases as of the beginning of January (with five more months to go). Now, a study led by three U.S. economists suggests the two trends may be related. For every 1 percent improvement in the employment rate, the researchers found, we get a 16 percent jump in the number of flu-related physician visits. The rate correlates highest in the retail and health care industries, which are the industries that have the highest levels of human contact. Let's talk about the flu Disclosure: I have the flu as I write this, and it is no joke. Aches, chills, fever, cough, and lethargy like I can't even tell you. I must have slept nearly 20 hours out of the past 24. In fact, as soon as I finish this article, it's back to bed. I got my flu shot, and I got to the doctor and went on oseltamivir (also known as Tamiflu) quickly, and I'm generally a healthy person. So, basically, if you're going to get the flu, I'm probably in about the best situation to get it. But, still, it's no fun. And you should do everything you can to keep yourself -- and your employees -- from getting it. The modern workplace As the economists wrote in an earlier working paper version of their article, the flu is transmitted when healthy people either touch surfaces that have the virus on them or inhale it when an infected person coughs or sneezes. That means that the modern workplace is almost tailor-made for transmission. Among the factors: Commuting via public transportation Working in climate-controlled indoor offices Sharing workspaces Placing young children in daycare "If the features of the working environment promote the spread of the flu, then being out of the labor force and away from these environments could help reduce the spread of the flu," they wrote. The study, by professors Sara Markowitz of Emory University, Erik T. Nesson of Ball State University, and Joshua Robinson of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was published in the journal Economics & Human Biology. What to do As an employer, you're basically the first line of defense for the rest of us. So here's what you can do: Proactively tell your employees that if they think they may have the flu, they should stay home -- and see a doctor. Similarly, flu or not, ask anyone who gets a fever of more than 100 degrees to stay home for at least 24 hours. Encourage everyone who works for you to get their flu shots. If it's not practical to offer them onsite, offer paid time off for people to go get them. Remind them that it's not too late: The Centers for Disease Control says the peak flu season runs through February and into March, but lasts overall until May. Be especially lenient on remote working policies, especially when you have employees who may have children or other family members who become sick, and need care. On the easiest practical level, make sure there are lots of "tissues, no-touch trash cans, hand soap, and/or hand sanitizer" in your workplace (this via the CDC). On that last point, some other studies have shown hand sanitizer might not be as effective as hand washing in killing the influenza virus. It's sort of like the chicken soup of remedies: couldn't hurt. "Since a person may be infectious while experiencing mild symptoms, this greatly increases the probability that the virus will spread to other workers," Nesson told U.S. News. "This implies that firms should consider more generous sick day policies, particularly during the flu season." Donald Trump has repeatedly denied knowing a new central figure in the impeachment inquiry, despite extensive photographic and video evidence of the two together. Lev Parnas claims to have worked to persuade Ukrainian officials to investigate the presidents political rivals at the request of Mr Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, of whom he is a known associate. After an explosive interview on MSNBC on Wednesday, during which Mr Parnas a Trump donor claimed the president knew exactly what was going on and was aware of all my movements, Mr Trump managed to deny any knowledge of his existence 13 times in two minutes. I dont even know who this man is, other than I guess he attended fundraisers so I take a picture with him, he said. I take thousands and thousands of pictures with people all the time. Oftentimes Ill be taking a picture with somebody and say I wonder what newspaper thats going to appear in. I dont know him at all. Dont know what hes about. Dont know where he comes from. Know nothing about him. I can only tell you this thing is a big hoax ... Perhaps hes a fine man, perhaps hes not. Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Show all 26 1 /26 Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Donald Trump Accused of abusing his office by pressing the Ukrainian president in a July phone call to help dig up dirt on Joe Biden, who may be his Democratic rival in the 2020 election. He also believes that Hillary Clintons deleted emails - a key factor in the 2016 election - may be in Ukraine, although it is not clear why. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Whistleblower Believed to be a CIA agent who spent time at the White House, his complaint was largely based on second and third-hand accounts from worried White House staff. Although this is not unusual for such complaints, Trump and his supporters have seized on it to imply that his information is not reliable. Expected to give evidence to Congress voluntarily and in secret. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Second Whistleblower The lawyer for the first intelligence whistleblower is also representing a second whistleblower regarding the President's actions. Attorney Mark Zaid said that he and other lawyers on his team are now representing the second person, who is said to work in the intelligence community and has first-hand knowledge that supports claims made by the first whistleblower and has spoken to the intelligence community's inspector general. The second whistleblower has not yet filed their own complaint, but does not need to to be considered an official whistleblower. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rudy Giuliani Former mayor of New York, whose management of the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001 won him worldwide praise. As Trumps personal attorney he has been trying to find compromising material about the presidents enemies in Ukraine in what some have termed a shadow foreign policy. In a series of eccentric TV appearances he has claimed that the US state department asked him to get involved. Giuliani insists that he is fighting corruption on Trumps behalf and has called himself a hero. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Volodymyr Zelensky The newly elected Ukrainian president - a former comic actor best known for playing a man who becomes president by accident - is seen frantically agreeing with Trump in the partial transcript of their July phone call released by the White House. With a Russian-backed insurgency in the east of his country, and the Crimea region seized by Vladimir Putin in 2014, Zelensky will have been eager to please his American counterpart, who had suspended vital military aid before their phone conversation. He says there was no pressure on him from Trump to do him the favour he was asked for. Zelensky appeared at an awkward press conference with Trump in New York during the United Nations general assembly, looking particularly uncomfortable when the American suggested he take part in talks with Putin. AFP/Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pence The vice-president was not on the controversial July call to the Ukrainian president but did get a read-out later. However, Trump announced that Pence had had one or two phone conversations of a similar nature, dragging him into the crisis. Pence himself denies any knowledge of any wrongdoing and has insisted that there is no issue with Trumps actions. It has been speculated that Trump involved Pence as an insurance policy - if both are removed from power the presidency would go to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, something no Republican would allow. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rick Perry Trump reportedly told a meeting of Republicans that he made the controversial call to the Ukrainian president at the urging of his own energy secretary, Rick Perry, and that he didnt even want to. The president apparently said that Perry wanted him to talk about liquefied natural gas - although there is no mention of it in the partial transcript of the phone call released by the White House. It is thought that Perry will step down from his role at the end of the year. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Joe Biden The former vice-president is one of the frontrunners to win the Democratic nomination, which would make him Trumps opponent in the 2020 election. Trump says that Biden pressured Ukraine to sack a prosecutor who was investigating an energy company that Bidens son Hunter was on the board of, refusing to release US aid until this was done. However, pressure to fire the prosecutor came on a wide front from western countries. It is also believed that the investigation into the company, Burisma, had long been dormant. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Hunter Biden Joe Bidens son has been accused of corruption by the president because of his business dealings in Ukraine and China. However, Trump has yet to produce any evidence of corruption and Bidens lawyer insists he has done nothing wrong. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Barr The attorney-general, who proved his loyalty to Trump with his handling of the Mueller report, was mentioned in the Ukraine call as someone president Volodymyr Zelensky should talk to about following up Trumps preoccupations with the Bidens and the Clinton emails. Nancy Pelosi has accused Barr of being part of a cover-up of a cover-up. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pompeo The secretary of state initially implied he knew little about the Ukraine phone call - but it later emerged that he was listening in at the time. He has since suggested that asking foreign leaders for favours is simply how international politics works. Gordon Sondland testified that Pompeo was "in the loop" and knew what was happening in Ukraine. Pompeo has been criticised for not standing up for diplomats under his command when they were publicly criticised by the president. AFP via Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Nancy Pelosi The Democratic Speaker of the House had long resisted calls from within her own party to back a formal impeachment process against the president, apparently fearing a backlash from voters. On September 24, amid reports of the Ukraine call and the day before the White House released a partial transcript of it, she relented and announced an inquiry, saying: The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Adam Schiff Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, one of the three committees leading the inquiry. He was criticized by Republicans for giving what he called a parody of the Ukraine phone call during a hearing, with Trump and others saying he had been pretending that his damning characterisation was a verbatim reading of the phone call. He has also been criticised for claiming that his committee had had no contact with the whistleblower, only for it to emerge that the intelligence agent had contacted a staff member on the committee for guidance before filing the complaint. The Washington Post awarded Schiff a four Pinocchios rating, its worst rating for a dishonest statement. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman Florida-based businessmen and Republican donors Lev Parnas (pictured with Rudy Giuliani) and Igor Fruman were arrested on suspicion of campaign finance violations at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC on 9 October. Separately the Associated Press has reported that they were both involved in efforts to replace the management of Ukraine's gas company, Naftogaz, with new bosses who would steer lucrative contracts towards companies controlled by Trump allies. There is no suggestion of any criminal activity in these efforts. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Taylor The most senior US diplomat in Ukraine and the former ambassador there. As one of the first two witnesses in the public impeachment hearings, Taylor dropped an early bombshell by revealing that one of his staff later identified as diplomat David Holmes overheard a phone conversation in which Donald Trump could be heard asking about investigations the very day after asking the Ukrainian president to investigate his political enemies. Taylor expressed his concern at reported plans to withhold US aid in return for political smears against Trumps opponents, saying: It's one thing to try to leverage a meeting in the White House. It's another thing, I thought, to leverage security assistance -- security assistance to a country at war, dependent on both the security assistance and the demonstration of support." Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal George Kent A state department official who appeared alongside William Taylor wearing a bow tie that was later mocked by the president. He accused Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trumps personal lawyer, of leading a campaign of lies against Marie Yovanovitch, who was forced out of her job as US ambassador to Ukraine for apparently standing in the way of efforts to smear Democrats. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Marie Yovanovitch One of the most striking witnesses to give evidence at the public hearings, the former US ambassador to Ukraine received a rare round of applause as she left the committee room after testifying. Canadian-born Yovanovitch was attacked on Twitter by Donald Trump while she was actually testifying, giving Democrats the chance to ask her to respond. She said she found the attack very intimidating. Trump had already threatened her in his 25 July phone call to the Ukrainian president saying: Shes going to go through some things. Yovanovitch said she was shocked, appalled and devastated by the threat and by the way she was forced out of her job without explanation. REUTERS Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Alexander Vindman A decorated Iraq War veteran and an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Lt Col Vindman began his evidence with an eye-catching statement about the freedoms America afforded him and his family to speak truth to power without fear of punishment. One of the few witnesses to have actually listened to Trumps 25 July call with the Ukrainian president, he said he found the conversation so inappropriate that he was compelled to report it to the White House counsel. Trump later mocked him for wearing his military uniform and insisting on being addressed by his rank. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Jennifer Williams A state department official acting as a Russia expert for vice-president Mike Pence, Ms Williams also listened in on the 25 July phone call. She testified that she found it unusual because it focused on domestic politics in terms of Trump asking a foreign leader to investigate his political opponents. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Kurt Volker The former special envoy to Ukraine was one of the few people giving evidence who was on the Republican witness list although what he had to say may not have been too helpful to their cause. He dismissed the idea that Joe Biden had done anything corrupt, a theory spun without evidence by the president and his allies. He said that he thought the US should be supporting Ukraines reforms and that the scheme to find dirt on Democrats did not serve the national interest. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Tim Morrison An expert on the National Security Council and another witness on the Republican list. He testified that he did not think the president had done anything illegal but admitted that he feared it would create a political storm if it became public. He said he believed the moving the record of the controversial 25 July phone call to a top security server had been an innocent mistake. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Gordon Sondland In explosive testimony, one of the men at the centre of the scandal got right to the point in his opening testimony: Was there a quid pro quo? Yes, said the US ambassador to the EU who was a prime mover in efforts in Ukraine to link the release of military aid with investigations into the presidents political opponents. He said that everyone knew what was going on, implicating vice-president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The effect of his evidence is perhaps best illustrated by the reaction of Mr Trump who went from calling Sondland a great American a few weeks earlier to claiming that he barely knew him. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Laura Cooper A Pentagon official, Cooper said Ukrainian officials knew that US aid was being withheld before it became public knowledge in August undermining a Republican argument that there cant have been a quid pro quo between aid and investigations if the Ukrainians didnt know that aid was being withheld. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Hale The third most senior official at the state department. Hale testified about the treatment of Marie Yovanovitch and the smear campaign that culminated in her being recalled from her posting as US ambassador to Ukraine. He said: I believe that she should have been able to stay at post and continue to do the outstanding work. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Fiona Hill Arguably the most confident and self-possessed of the witnesses in the public hearings phase, the Durham-born former NSC Russia expert began by warning Republicans not to keep repeating Kremlin-backed conspiracy theories. In a distinctive northeastern English accent, Dr Hill went on to describe how she had argued with Gordon Sondland about his interference in Ukraine matters until she realised that while she and her colleagues were focused on national security, Sondland was being involved in a domestic political errand. She said: I did say to him, Ambassador Sondland, Gordon, this is going to blow up. And here we are. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Holmes The Ukraine-based diplomat described being in a restaurant in Kiev with Gordon Sondland while the latter phoned Donald Trump. Holmes said he could hear the president on the other end of the line because his voice was so loud and distinctive and because Sondland had to hold the phone away from his ear asking about the investigations and whether the Ukrainian president would cooperate. REUTERS His vehement denials came after the House Intelligence Committee released a trove of documents on Tuesday, which revealed various photographs taken from Mr Parnas phone that showed the Soviet-born businessman with Mr Trump and his close relatives, including his son Donald Jr, his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. Mr Parnas grew up in Brooklyn and has previously said he worked for the Trump Organisation in the 1980s selling real estate, but claims he didnt properly get to know Donald until the 2016 campaign. At this point, he began to work closely with Mr Giuliani, who allegedly sent him on his Ukrainian mission late in 2018. After Mr Trumps denials, Mr Parnas lawyer released a video showing the two together in a group of people at Mr Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort. Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Mr Parnas challenged the presidents denials, saying: I welcome him to say that even more. Every time he says that Ill show him another picture. Hes lying. Also in the documents released on Tuesday was a note belonging to Mr Parnas, handwritten on a pad from the Viennas Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which reads get Zalensky [sic] to announce that the Biden case will be investigated. One of the impeachment articles against Mr Trump is the charge that he abused his power by withholding military aid to Ukraine in an attempt to force president Volodymyr Zelensky to launch a corruption probe into Hunter Biden, who had served on the board of Ukraine-based energy company, Burisma. In October, Mr Parnas was indicted for allegedly violating campaign finance laws by making outsize donations to Republican causes after receiving millions of dollars from Russian sources. He was arrested in Washington as he boarded a flight to Vienna. Mr Giuliani also planned to be in the city at that time, but later denied having any plans to meet with Mr Parnas while there. Facebook screengrab shows Mr Parnas with Donald Trump Jr (The Campaign Legal Center via AP, File) Mr Parnas lawyer also alleged in November that Vienna was where the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes, met with Ukraines former top prosecutor Viktor Shokin, to discuss a probe into the Bidens in December 2018. Mr Nunes denied the allegation to Breitbart News and threatened to sue various publications for linking him to Mr Parnas. But on Wednesday Mr Nunes admitted to having had several calls with Mr Parnas, claiming he received so many calls in his committee role that he had been unable to remember. Meanwhile, the increasing evidence linking the businessman to Mr Trump could be used in the impeachment trial, which began on Thursday. Mr Parnas has indicated that he wants to testify in the trial, although it remains to be seen if the Senate will vote to call him as a witness, particularly that he is currently under indictment on charges of conspiracy, making false statements and falsification of records. Amid his numerous fresh denials about Mr Parnas on Thursday, Mr Trump said: It doesnt matter what he says. Hes trying to probably make a deal for himself. New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) on Thursday announced it has undertaken a new initiative to train drivers under the Haryana Skill Development Mission (HSDM). It is to be noted that the objective of Maruti Suzuki India is to make countrys youth employable. Under the program, as many as 800 candidates will be trained. In a statement, the automaker stated that training will be conducted at Maruti Suzuki operated Institute of Driving & Traffic Research (IDTR) at Bahadurgarh and at Rohtak. Maruti Suzukis association with Haryana Skill Development Mission is targeted to create a pool of better vehicle drivers and make the roads safer in the state, it added. The project for driver training of light motor vehicles also aims to impart good driving behaviour. The candidates would be provided the opportunity to understand various aspects of driving-fatigue and stress management, developing the right attitude, controlling road rage and sensitive situations, respect for other road users and preventive maintenance of vehicles, the statement noted. Maruti Suzuki India Limited Executive Advisor Ajay Kumar Tomer said, Maruti Suzukis collaboration with Haryana Government is to make the Haryana local youth employable with good driving skills. The candidates will under-go a comprehensive training module, which will include training on driving as well as good driving behavior. This skill training and behavioral change is important to make our roads safer. Raj Nehru, Mission Director-Haryana Skill Development Mission, Government of Haryana said, We are extremely glad to be working together with Maruti Suzuki to impart LMV (Light Motor Vehicle) driving training to the youth through the IDTRs. Through the skill development training, youth can access skilled employment opportunities and set up self-employment ventures to help them attain a sustainable livelihood and better quality of life. It is worth mentioning here that Maruti Suzuki operates 2 IDTRs in Haryana, at Rohtak and Bahadurgarh. These institutes have trained over 4.5 lakh candidates since its start in 2010. Also Read: Marutis Nationwide Republic Day Service Camp Underway: Know More Both the IDTRs are state-of-the-art training facilities equipped with modern and latest technologies to impart driving training and also educate them on road etiquettes. Maruti Suzuki has been imparting driver training since 2000 and currently operates 7 IDTRs and 480 Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) across the country. Over the years Maruti Suzuki has trained more than 50 lakh drivers in safe driving through these institutes. There are now three U.S. stocks with a market capitalization above $1 trillion but, judging by the average view on Wall Street, none of these stocks will climb much farther this year. Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet are all now in the $1 trillion club, thanks to the latter joining on Thursday. But the average Wall Street estimate shows an expectation for meager to no returns in the next 12 months, according to FactSet. The consensus view is that Apple will drop 8.2%, Microsoft will rise 3% and Alphabet will gain 4.5% in the next one year. Analysts are normally very bullish on most of the stocks they cover. But Wall Street's more tepid view comes after each of the stocks have had excellent and in the case of Apple, spectacular run-ups in the past year. In 12 months, Apple is up 102%, Microsoft is up 57% and Alphabet is up 33%. The strong gains of the tech giants also means they dominate the stock market: Combined with Amazon and Facebook, the five companies now make up 18% of the total market value of the S&P 500, according to Morgan Stanley. That's unprecedented, as its the highest percentage in history, the firm said. Apple shares have doubled in value in the past year, putting the stock "at its highest relative multiple in a decade," Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in a Jan. 10 note. "We see risk-reward on Apple as balanced," Sacconaghi said. A few analysts are still bullish on Apple's prospects this year, such as Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty. She thinks the stock is set to climb further, saying "Apple has proven less earnings dependency on iPhone with the success of Services and Wearables which now make up 27% of revenue and 37% of profits." Microsoft and Alphabet both have a few optimistic analysts still recommending investors buy shares. Two recent notes one from Credit Suisse on Microsoft and the other from UBS on Alphabet both recommended the stocks in part because of the potential of their cloud businesses. Credit Suisse said "Microsoft can reasonably achieve Commercial Cloud revenues of $100 Billion" by fiscal year 2024," while UBS said cloud computing is "an area where GOOG mgmt will continue heavy levels of investment to maintain/build upon recent end market success." CNBC's Michael Bloom and Yun Li contributed to this report. Union Culture Minister Prahlad Patel on Friday said there was "no question of replacing" a panel of the prints of the original photographs of Mahatma Gandhi's last moments clicked by legendary photographer Henri Cartier Bresson at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti. Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, Tushar Gandhi had on Thursday alleged that Bresson's gallery of photographs of the Father of the Nation's last moments has been digitised and displayed on LED screens in a loop without any text. "There is no question of replacing the photographs. Both the LED screens and the photographs will be displayed at the same time albeit at different spots. This is a non-issue and a completely unwarranted controversy," Patel told reporters. Patel said that while visitors will watch the LED screens with the photographers as content, the prints by the renowned French photographer will also be on display for a detailed understanding. Bresson clicked the Mahatma an hour before he was assassinated on January 30, 1948, and also took photographs of the funeral, capturing the grief of ordinary citizens. A part of Birla House, where Gandhi was shot by Nathuram Godse shortly before the evening prayers, was converted into a museum, where Bresson's photographs, among other memorabilia and images, were displayed. The previous photo panels were six feet by four feet large whereas the LED screens on which the images scroll are three feet six inches and four feet five inches, thereby displaying a much scaled down version. On Thursday, Tushar Gandhi alleged that the removal of the prints was an attempt to obliterate historical evidence, likening it to removing Renaissance paintings at the Louvre and replacing them digitally. Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti director Dipankar Shri Gyan denied the charges and said the display was still "under construction". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Get this newsletter in your inbox Monday-Friday by signing up at subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters. Top stories for Friday, Jan. 17 SEX ABUSE SCANDAL: The Washington County Sheriffs Office said Thursday that it had served a search warrant on Catlin Gabel School as part of its criminal investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse by staff members over the past three decades. (Oregonian/OregonLive file photo) CITY COUNCIL: Former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith is the fifth candidate to file to seek late Portland Commissioner Nick Fishs open seat on the Portland City Council, according to the city auditors office. Meanwhile, fellow council candidate Sam Adams' attorney has released a report on whether the former mayor sexually harassed a staffer while in office. NOVEMBER BALLOT: Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno has rejected a sixth proposed ballot measure for the November election, this one a pro-timber industry initiative. Clarno said it violated a constitutional clause that says ballot measures can deal with only a single subject. OREGON LEGISLATURE: Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer announced Thursday that she wont seek another term in the Oregon House of Representatives, making the veteran Southeast Portland legislator at least the 16th Oregon lawmaker to decide against running again. WATER CONTAMINATION: Health and environment groups are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take emergency action because they say Oregon regulators have failed to curb nitrate contamination in drinking water sources near large dairies and feedlots in eastern Oregon. NOTE TO READERS: Weve launched an Oregon Opinion newsletter featuring editorials, commentary pieces and letters to the editor. Sign up for free to get it in your inbox every Sunday morning. Snap of the day Michael Lloyd/Special to the Oregonian IN MEMORIAM: A community center in Manzanita held a public vigil Wednesday night for the two Portland children who were swept out to sea Saturday in the nearby Falcon Cove area. Meanwhile, their mother, Jamie Stiles, thanked the public for supporting her. A Portland vigil was held Thursday night at Vestal Elementary School, which the older child attended. (Michael Lloyd/Special to The Oregonian/OregonLive) More news Mt. Hood Community College board votes to get rid of 7 programs Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2020 in Portland: Where to celebrate, whats open, whats closed Vancouver to host 2020 womens march Saturday Peak Northwest podcast: Finding the best fish, chips and chowder on the Oregon coast Find more at oregonlive.com Weather and traffic A chance for snow showers continues until about 10 a.m. Friday, then turns over to rain. Snow levels rise to 1,500 feet by the afternoon. Expect cloudy skies and showers. High 42, low 41. Northwest Rock Creek Road in western Multnomah County remains closed for a culvert repair. Crews hope to begin work in early February. Get the latest forecast at oregonlive.com/weather Stay up to date on traffic conditions at oregonlive.com/commuting Advice Ask Amy: Ex text drama puts new relationship on shaky ground Dear Abby: Disabled man haunted by his parents inaction when he was injured Dear Annie: Man wants brother to join him in therapy about their inappropriate past Find more, including todays horoscope, at oregonlive.com Todays comics Click here to see today's comics Todays obituaries Click here to find area deaths reported recently Today in history In 1873: A U.S. Army attack on fewer than 60 Modocs in southern Oregon ended in defeat for the Army in a key event of the Modoc War, which began when troops were sent to enforce a treaty requiring the Modocs to leave their home territory for a reservation. In 1977: Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore, 36, a former Oregonian, was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade. In 1995: More than 6,000 people were killed when an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 devastated the city of Kobe, Japan. Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 09:56:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing Friday for a state visit to Myanmar. Xi is paying the visit at the invitation of Myanmar's President U Win Myint. Xi's entourage includes Ding Xuexiang, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee; Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee; State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi; and He Lifeng, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the National Development and Reform Commission. [January 16, 2020] OPPO Partners With Bug Bounty Leader HackerOne to Enhance Cybersecurity SINGAPORE, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- HackerOne , the number one hacker-powered pentest and bug bounty platform, today announced a partnership with OPPO . One of the world's most well-known mobile phone manufacturers, OPPO, will improve the security of its products and services, and contribute to a safer internet by engaging the world's security research community with HackerOne. OPPO has always attached great importance to the security of its products and services. With over 320 million monthly active users of ColorOS , and a rapidly expanding online presence, cybersecurity remains at the forefront. In 2018, OPPO established the OPPO Security Response Center (OSRC) to enhance their cybersecurity. By working with the security research community they found and safely resolved security weaknesses. Today, the goal of the OSRC remains to promote cooperation and communication with ethical hackers and to identify security vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by cybercriminals. This partnership with HackerOne further signifies OPPO's support of the global security research community and their vital role in reducing cyber risk. "HackerOne works with the world's largest community of security researchers to help companies around the world reduce cyber risk," Peng Xing, OSRC Operation Manager. "We are excited to partner with HackerOne to strengthen the protection for our customers and provide a beneficial environment for security researchers." OPPO and HackerOne's partnership includes the launch of a private, invite-only bug bounty program hosted on HackerOne. A private program invites a select group of trusted security researchers to look for security vulnerabilities in exchange for a reward. A future public ug bounty program is expected. OPPO joins HackerOne's more than 1,750 customer programs, including The U.S. Department of Defense, General Motors, Google, PayPal, Hyatt, Twitter, Nintendo, Microsoft, MINDEF Singapore, Qualcomm, Starbucks, and Dropbox. "Cyber incidents have increased in volume, complexity and impact at internet speeds and organizations like OPPO are seeing the benefits of hacker-powered security to safeguard their most critical digital assets," said Attley Ng, HackerOne Vice President, Asia-Pacific. "We are thrilled to partner with a leader like OPPO to help protect their 320 million active monthly users while creating more opportunities for the research community." To find out more about the OPPO ongoing program scope or rewards, visit the official website of the OSRC. Hacker-Powered Security Growth in APAC This partnership comes on the heels of a momentous year of growth in the region for HackerOne. HackerOne opened its APAC headquarters in Singapore in early 2019 and continues to bring on notable customers including Ministry of Defence Singapore (MINDEF), GovTech Singapore, Xiaomi, Zomato, Toyota, Nintendo, Grab, LINE, and Alibaba. In addition, the region's first ever live-hacking event (h1-65) was held in Singapore, where Dropbox awarded over $300,000 in bug bounties to participating hackers. In late 2019, HackerOne launched hacker-powered security programs with industry leaders - OnePlus and LINE Corporation , as well as its fifth bug bounty program with Singaporean Government Agency (GovTech) in addition to an official vulnerability disclosure program for GovTech. APAC continues to be one of the fastest growing regions for hacker-powered security. According to HackerOne's 2019 Hacker Powered Security Report , hacker-powered security programs increased 30% in the region year over year. About HackerOne HackerOne is the #1 hacker-powered pentest & bug bounty platform , helping organizations find and fix critical vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. More Fortune 500 and Forbes Global 1000 companies trust HackerOne than any other hacker-powered security alternative. With more than 1,750 customer programs, including The U.S. Department of Defense, General Motors, Google, Goldman Sachs, PayPal, Hyatt, Twitter, GitHub, Nintendo, Lufthansa, Microsoft, MINDEF Singapore, Panasonic Avionics, Qualcomm, Starbucks, Dropbox, Intel, HackerOne has helped to find over 150,000 vulnerabilities and award more than $79M in bug bounties to a growing community of over 600,000 hackers. HackerOne is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in London, New York, the Netherlands, France and Singapore. Logo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200116/2694577-1logo SOURCE HackerOne [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] GENEVA, Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ellisys, a leading worldwide provider of test and analysis solutions for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and other wired and wireless communications technologies, today announced the availability of qualification testing and protocol analyzer features supporting the latest version of the Bluetooth Core Specification. Last week, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) approved the adoption of version 5.2 of the Bluetooth Core Specification and at CES in Las Vegas, introduced LE Audio as the next generation in Bluetooth audio. This latest version of the specification defines the underlying isochronous capabilities needed to support audio on the Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) radio. This week, the Bluetooth SIG also released qualification testing documentation and associated requirements based on the updated specification. Tests defined in this documentation are supported by the Ellisys Bluetooth Qualifier (EBQ) dual-mode radio controller qualification test system, enabling a Day One qualification of Bluetooth 5.2 radio controllers. Industry's First and Most Advanced Bluetooth Radio Controller Qualification Tester supporting all Bluetooth 5 low energy and BR/EDR qualification tests. "While our statement today publicly announces the availability of support for LE Audio and Bluetooth Core Specification 5.2, we've actually been engaged since the conceptual phases, enabling radio controller manufacturers and stack developers with early support for test and protocol analysis," said Mario Pasquali, Ellisys president and CEO. "This involvement included complex updates to our qualification tools and to our analyzer products that allowed our customers to conduct testing and characterizations far in advance of official, public updates to the core specification, related ancillary specifications, and new qualification test requirements. Being engaged, and indeed being ready at the initial stages of development with critical tools significantly compresses the time needed to create reliable, market-ready products and drives better interoperability between devices from different manufacturers." New Specification Addresses Three Major Areas This latest iteration of the Bluetooth Core Specification defines three major updates for Bluetooth, each aimed for implementation over the Low Energy radio. These include the addition of an isochronous framework, power-versus-signal quality optimizations, and protocol enhancements to enable multi-device access to a common software stack. Low Energy Audio to Enable a New Wave of Applications and Development Bluetooth audio has historically operated solely over the Bluetooth Classic (BR/EDR) radio, but with the release of version 5.2, Bluetooth LE will now support traditional BR/EDR audio use cases and enable interesting applications, which are expected to drive development of a new wave of audio products. Making it possible for Bluetooth LE to transfer audio and support these new applications is the addition of LE Isochronous Channels, a complex feature set that underpins LE Audio by providing the framework needed to support features like audio sharing and synchronized multi-streaming. A new codec is added, Low Complexity Communications Codec (LC3), which delivers high-quality audio at a bit rate much lower than SBC, resulting, quite importantly, in lower power requirements. "The Bluetooth community continues to drive the technology forward to meet evolving market needs and create new opportunities," said Mark Powell, CEO of Bluetooth SIG. "LE Audio is a prime example. Not only will it enhance the performance of existing Bluetooth audio products, it introduces Audio Sharing, a new audio use case poised to transform the way we experience audio and connect with the world around us." Ellisys Bluetooth Solutions Support Ellisys Bluetooth test and analysis solutions are used by developers worldwide, including radio and controller manufacturers, IP companies, including software stack creators, makers of consumer electronics, cyber security services, automotive companies, test labs, and others. The company's solutions include the Ellisys Bluetooth Qualifier (EBQ) platform, and several protocol analyzer tools supporting both Bluetooth radio types Low Energy and Classic (BR/EDR). EBQ is a comprehensive compliance, validation, and development system for Bluetooth technology, targeting the behaviors of the lower communications layers, including implementation of more than a thousand test cases defined by the Bluetooth SIG. Ellisys protocol analyzers include the ubiquitous Tracker, Explorer, and Vanguard systems, offering deep features sets designed to meet a variety of customer requirements. Availability, Photos, and Product Information The EBQ is available from stock to Bluetooth SIG-recognized test labs, known as Bluetooth Qualification Test Facilities (BQTF) and Bluetooth Recognized Test Facilities (BRTF), and to Bluetooth SIG member companies involved with radio controller and IP development. Ellisys protocol analyzer systems are available from stock either direct from Ellisys or from authorized distributors worldwide. For more information, please visit www.ellisys.com/ebq for EBQ, www.ellisys.com/products/btcompare.php for our Bluetooth analyzers, or contact Ellisys at [email protected]. About Ellisys Ellisys is a leading worldwide supplier of advanced protocol test solutions for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB 2.0, SuperSpeed USB 3.1, USB Power Delivery, USB Type-C, DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt. More information is available on www.ellisys.com. Ellisys | Chemin du Grand-Puits 38 | CH-1217 Meyrin Geneva | Switzerland World Class Protocol Test Solutions for Bluetooth, USB, and Wi-Fi Ellisys, the Ellisys logo, Better Analysis, Bluetooth Qualifier, Bluetooth Explorer, Bluetooth Tracker, Bluetooth Vanguard, and Type-C Tracker are trademarks of Ellisys, and may be registered in some jurisdictions. The Bluetooth word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Ellisys is under license. Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi Alliance logo are trademarks of Wi-Fi Alliance. USB Type-C and USB-C are registered trademarks of USB Implementers Forum. DisplayPort and the DisplayPort logo are trademarks owned by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) in the United States and other countries. Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners. Media Contact: Chuck Trefts, VP Marketing Phone: +1-866-724-9185 Email: [email protected] Related Images ellisys-bluetooth-qualifier.png Ellisys Bluetooth Qualifier Industry's First and Most Advanced Bluetooth Radio Controller Qualification Tester supporting all Bluetooth 5 low energy and BR/EDR qualification tests. Related Links Ellisys Website SOURCE Ellisys Related Links http://www.ellisys.com DETROIT Toyota Motor will shift all production of the Tacoma midsize pickup from Texas to Mexico as it restructures its North American footprint and invests $13 billion in U.S. manufacturing operations through next year. Toyota says no U.S. jobs will be lost as a result of the change, which also includes bringing the Sequoia SUV to the San Antonio plant by 2022. The Texas plant, which also assembles the Tundra full-size pickup, has produced the Tacoma since 2010. The announced shift comes a month after Toyota started Tacoma production at a new plant in Central Mexico in addition to another Mexican plant in Tijuana that has been producing Tacoma pickups since 2004. Tacoma production at the new plant in Mexico had previously been announced, however not Toyota's plans to end Tacoma production in Texas. Toyota's production plans come a day after the U.S. Senate approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, sending one of President Donald Trump's top priorities to his desk for ratification. Trump, via Twitter, criticized Toyota two years ago for its plans to build the plant in Mexico, which at the time was expected to produce Corolla cars. Trump tweet Months after the tweet, Toyota announced it had altered those plans to produce Corollas at a new jointly-operated plant with Mazda in Alabama and use the new Mexican plant for additional Tacoma production. It once again changed those last year to assemble an SUV at the new Alabama plant, which is expected to begin production in 2021, and Corollas at its Mississippi plant. Prince Charles, the future king, has long been seen as a potential modernizer who wants a more modest monarchy in line with other European royal households and the streamlining process has already begun with the astounding developments of recent months. But the changes have come at a terrible cost for Charles, who has seen his brother Prince Andrew disgraced and his once close sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, become estranged. The trials and tribulations of Andrew and Harry one tainted for a close friendship with a convicted sex offender, the other unwilling to continue his high-profile role will take both out of their royal duties, leaving a smaller, more modest royal apparatus. Charles has been saying for years and years, 'Let's make it smaller,' said Majesty magazine editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward. "He feels quite strongly that with such a big House of Windsor, there are too many opportunities for things to go wrong. And it's too expensive. And they need too many houses, too much public expenditure." She does not expect Charles to take any joy in recent events, though, particularly because of the breakdown between William and Harry. He's very saddened, as any parent would be if their children have fallen out. But I think he probably feels that in the fullness of time, hopefully, it will get back on track, she said. The royal focus going forward was neatly summed up by a rare formal portrait released two weeks ago by Buckingham Palace to mark the dawn of a new decade: Queen Elizabeth II with her three direct heirs: Charles, 71, William, 37, and 6-year-old Prince George. It is a serene image of a 93-year-old monarch surrounded by the three people expected to follow her to the throne, and it masks the behind-the-scenes turmoil and disappointments surrounding Andrew and Harry. Andrew's fall is a full-blown scandal. His conduct has raised ethical issues in the past, but he had managed to retain his royal role until he completely miscalculated the impact of using an extended TV interview in November to defend his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier. The queen's second son seemed to have a moral blind spot, defending his relationship with Epstein who died in a New York prison in August in what was ruled a suicide as honorable. He did not express a word of sympathy for the girls and young women victimized by Epstein. Andrew still faces possible questioning from law enforcement in the US and Britain over allegations that he had sex with a teen trafficked by Epstein, which Andrew denies, as well as questioning from lawyers representing women who have filed civil suits against Epstein's estate. When the tempest of bad publicity became unbearable, Andrew announced a decision to step down from royal duties. There was no public comment from the queen or from Charles, who was said by the British press to have advised the queen that Andrew could not continue. There is no scandal surrounding Harry, but it seems painful for all concerned. Even the stoic queen, who seems to refer to private matters roughly once per decade, has spoken of her disappointment. With his charming smile and ginger hair, Harry has long been one of the most popular royals, and with his brother, William, was seen as a key part of making the creaky monarchy vital to younger Britons. Much of the world watched enthralled in 2018 when he married Meghan Markle, a successful American actress, at a storybook event at Windsor Castle. The fairy tale has since fractured. Harry and Meghan, feeling trapped by their duties and warring with the British press, have announced plans to drastically reduce their royal roles and spend much of the year in Canada. In a major breach of family etiquette, they announced their plans without prior approval from his grandmother, the queen, earning a rare display of royal pique from Elizabeth. Harry seems torn between the wishes of his wife, Meghan, and his fealty to queen and country. The queen, whose 98-year-old husband, Prince Philip, is ailing, has slowly cut back on her official duties in recent years and passed more to Charles, who often represents her at overseas events. But Elizabeth took center stage earlier this week when she summoned Charles, William and Harry to a crisis meeting at her rural retreat to deal with issues raised by Harry's plan to break away. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Wisconsin woman with severe chest pains waited for several hours to see a doctor at a hospital's emergency room but then died on her way to an urgent care facility after posting on social media that she had had to wait up to six hours to receive medical attention. Tashonna Ward, 25, died on 2 January after visiting Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee with her sister after complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath. Doctors discovered that she had cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A medical examiner's report says she was first admitted at 4.48pm. At 5.45pm, she posted on Facebook: "I really hope I'm not in this emergency room all night." In March, doctors told Ms Ward that she had developed cardiomegaly during her pregnancy, which doctors discovered following the death of her baby when its umbilical cord was caught around its neck, according to the newspaper. 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 Nearly an hour after she posted her Facebook update, Ms Ward texted her family that she was still in the waiting room. An hour later, she posted on Facebook that she would have to wait up to six more hours to see another doctor. She wrote: "Idk what they can do about the emergency system at freodert [sic] but they damn sure need to do something ... I been here since 4:30 something for shortness of breath, and chest pains for them to just say it's a two to SIX hour wait to see a dr." After waiting for further treatment without any monitoring or care for more than two hours after she was first admitted, she was taken to a nearby urgent care clinic but collapsed before she reached the doors. After 9pm, an ambulance was bringing Ms Ward back to the hospital. She was unresponsive at the time, according to the report. She was pronounced dead at 11pm. The family said in a statement that it had "never anticipated that checking in to the emergency room for shortness of breath and chest pain she would be gone", adding: "She was an amazing daughter, sister, cousin, niece and friend loved by all. Tashonna was always positive and she always put her family first." In a statement to the Journal Sentinel, the hospital said: "The family is in our thoughts and has our deepest sympathy. We cannot comment further at this time." Ms Ward's family has established a GoFundMe fundraiser to assist in funeral costs. As of press time, it had reached about $3,200 of its $8,000 goal. The average hospital emergency department patient in the US waits more than an hour and a half to see a doctor and more than two hours before they're discharged, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gaudville, Kate and Goda from St Patricks College with the Best School in Northern Ireland award Pupils from St Patrick's College, Dungannon, who participated in the BT Young Scientist competition secured a win for their research into how different types of foundation make-up can increase the likelihood of acne. The girls scooped third place in the junior category and also won the prize for best school in Northern Ireland. School principal Catherine McHugh commended the trio, saying: "These young girls had to showcase, explain and then present their project research, rationale and conclusions and they did so very articulately and with confidence. "They are wonderful ambassadors for the progressive work that goes on in St Patrick's College, Dungannon." Protesters take to the streets in Paris According to the Interior Ministry, the estimate was 187,000. Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris on Thursday in a massive mobilization as the transport strike that has gripped the country marked its 43rd day, officially the longest of its kind for the country. 11 PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED They marched from Montparnasse to Place d'Italie, down the Boulevard du Montparnasse and Boulevard de Port Royal, with police almost acting as an escort as they went. Each street that gave way was blocked by large plastic shields, a police van or two, and more armed officers. Those guarding the streets appeared as fierce as the protesters. Liberte and fraternite was clearly at work. The Paris Police Department said in a statement that 11 people were arrested in the capital. Every union was represented, including the CGT, CFE-CGC, FSI, FO and Solidaires and three student unions. UNIONS REJECTS GOVERNMENT'S OFFERS A group of gay students, workers from the Paris Opera and the Sorbonne also took part. The gathering was peaceful with no reported violence as of early evening. Despite the offer of a compromise in the battle for pension reform by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, the unions still want more. His concession: to keep the maximum retirement age at 62, eliminating the proposed increase to 64. But this, for many, is not good enough. "It is not a compromise. It is merely a first step. There are so many more that he needs to take. The whole matter is that our work will be compromised. There will be less payout for more work. For now, it does not work," said Latitia, a member of the RATP. The last day of the inter-professional mobilization was held on Jan. 11. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will attend the Berlin conference on Libya, jointly hosted by Germany and the United Nations, said the State Department on January 16. Pompeo will advocate for the continuation of a ceasefire in Libya, the withdrawal of all external forces and return to a UN-facilitated, Libyan-led political process. Successful outcome would be the number one, the primary issue there is the ceasefire, said a senior State Department official at a teleconference. Other things, of course, would be nice to have and, in fact, theyre important...but the imperative would be the continuation of a ceasefire, the official added. Read: Libya's Military Commander Haftar Secretly Flees To Greece Ahead Of Berlin Summit According to the US official, Washington will continue to support Libyan parties in achieving a long-term cessation of hostilities. The United States wants the stakeholders to reach a political settlement that will enable all Libyans to enjoy a more peaceful future. When asked about Turkeys intervention by announcing to send more troops to Libya, the State Department official said that they are very keen to see that there are no external or foreign interventions. The official added that the foreign interventions are only exacerbating humanitarian crises in the country and the US does not want the conflict widened beyond the present situation. Read: Libya's Khalifa Hafter Leaves Moscow, Snubs Peace Truce Signing Seizure of Sirte Recently, Foreign Ministers of the UK, France, Germany and Italy met to discuss the Libyan crisis as the self-styled Libyan National Army, headed by Khalifa Haftar, seized Sirte, a coastal city. Libya is currently going through a severe political and humanitarian crisis after Haftars Army launched a battle against the Tripolis U.N.-recognised government. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas' office said on January 16 that Haftar wants to contribute to the success of the Libya conference in Berlin and willing to participate in it. The Foreign Ministry added that Haftar has agreed to comply with the existing armistice. Meanwhile, the Libyan strongman has secretly fled to Athens by private plane amidst Greece's exclusion from the conference. Read: PM Modi, Putin Discuss Situation In Persian Gulf, Libya Over Phone Call Read: Turkish President Erdogan Meeting Libyan GNA Prime Minister Seoul, Washington should overcome differences in inter-Korean issues The Moon Jae-in government is considering allowing South Koreans to travel to North Korea on an individual basis. The move is designed to promote inter-Korean cooperation and exchanges amid the stalled dialogue not only between Seoul and Pyongyang, but also between Washington and Pyongyang. In a New Year's press conference Tuesday, President Moon floated the idea of individual tours to the North. The government is now studying ways of allowing South Koreans to travel to the North via a third country such as China if they obtain a visa from Pyongyang. Currently individual tours are available only for South Koreans with permanent overseas resident status. The envisioned measure reflects Seoul's position that it cannot wait for Washington and Pyongyang to resume their talks which have been in limbo since the failure of the February 2019 summit between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un. Moon is apparently worried that his policy of active engagement with the North may falter further if the denuclearization talks slide into a prolonged impasse. In this situation, allowing individual tours to the North appears to be a realistic step to move inter-Korean reconciliation and peace forward. If things goes well, enhanced cooperation and exchanges between the two Korea could hopefully lead to the resumption of the nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Officials said individual tours are not affected by U.N. sanctions on the North. Now the question is whether the Kim regime will accept the South's would-be proposal which is different from group tours under the Mount Geumgang tourism project. The North had called for the resumption of the project which was suspended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean guard. Last October it threatened to end the project permanently as the South failed to meet its demand due to the international sanctions. Some North Korea experts say that Pyongyang may not accommodate individual tours by South Koreans, considering its hardened stance toward both Seoul and Washington. If the North accepts the proposal, there would be many thorny issues to be tackled. Also at stake is the U.S.'s firm stance on "maximum pressure" and sanctions against the North. The Trump administration wants to ensure that the pace of inter-Korean detente should be in lockstep with the progress of the North's nuclear disarmament. Such a position could cause a dispute between Seoul and Washington. U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Harry Harris touched off a controversy Thursday by calling on the South to consult closely with America about its inter-Korean exchange plans, including individual tours to the North. He certainly meant that such consultations are necessary to avoid any "misunderstanding" about Seoul's plans for engagement with Pyongyang. But his remarks infuriated some South Korean lawmakers and officials. Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea denounced him for trying to serve as "governor general." Lee Sang-min, spokesman of the Ministry of Unification, said Seoul's inter-Korean policy was a matter of sovereignty. The presidential office also condemned Harris for making "very inappropriate remarks." It is disappointing to see the conflict taking place between the allies over the issue. We hope both sides will narrow their differences and step up collaboration in dealing with the North. A play from the blindside, Delhi-based UV Asset Reconstruction Company (UVARCL) has emerged as the highest bidder for Reliance Communications (RCom) and Reliance Telecom, both of which are under National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) proceedings. UVARCL has put Rs 16,000 crore on the table for the distresses telcos and is willing to pay 30 percent of the sum upfront within 90 days, Business Standard reported. Both the companies are part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) and have dues worth of Rs 47,000 crore. Interestingly, the same company put in the highest bid for Aircels assets in 2019, offering an upfront payment of Rs 150 crore by selling the assets. The deal is under consideration as the sale would mean banks take 99 percent haircut on the Rs 20,000 crore dues. Experts, thus, say the bid would likely be turned down by banks who are part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC). The paper quoted a banker as saying that the offer for RCom is based on deferred payments, which may not be accepted. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report. The banker added that the low upfront money offered by UVARCL was one reason why the Aircel debt resolution was not cleared. Analysts are also unclear on whether the company plans to tie-up with a telco for the license-bound spectrum housed by RCom and Reliance Telecom. The company did not respond to queries on this, BS said. What is UVARCL? As per the company website, UVARCL is a securitisation/reconstruction company registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It was set up in 2007 and promoted by professionals with equity from six public sector banks (Central Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, United Bank of India, Allahabad Bank) and two insurance companies (United India Insurance Company and National Insurance Company). The company acquires Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) from various banks and financial institutions evaluate possible turnaround options and formulate the best fit strategy to create a win-win situation for all its stakeholders, the website statement reads. Business Standard, however, notes that the March FY19 annual report of the company shows the largest shareholder as Shilpi Sharma, who is also a promoter with a 35.47 percent stake. While the banks collectively hold 7.7 percent, and the insurance companies 0.52 percent. In fact, Central Bank of India, with a 5.4 percent share, was the only one among the top 10 investors. Other key investors are Anubhav Securities, Anubhav Buildtech and Sanmati Trading and Investment, which hold 9.17 percent each. Neither Sharma nor the company responded to BS queries on the same. UVARCL is among the top 10 asset reconstruction companies in the country in terms of book building with a CAGR of 109 per cent over the last three years, the website said. The assets listed in its annual report of 2017-18 are concentrated in the infrastructure sector (53.68 per cent in value), followed by food processing (9.44 per cent) and steel (5.53 per cent). Majority of churchgoers, especially evangelicals, share political opinions of clergy: study Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A majority of churchgoers say they share the opinions of their clergy when it comes to politics, and evangelical Protestants are more likely than others to align with their spiritual leaders, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. The analysis, based on data collected in 2019, shows that 62% of Americans who attend religious services at least a few times a year generally agree with their clergy about politics. Evangelical Protestants are particularly likely to do so (76%), compared with fewer who say this in the historically black Protestant (65%), mainline Protestant (58%) and Catholic traditions (53%), Pew said. While the study did not say how frequently politics is discussed in church, it noted that respondents to the survey were generally satisfied with the amount of political talk they hear from the pulpit. Among Americans who attend worship services a few times a year or more often, 72% say there is about the right amount of political discussion in sermons, while fewer say theres too much (11%) or not enough (14%), Pews Claire Gecewicz noted. Among U.S. adults who attend religious services a few times a year or more often, however, a significant minority, 45%, were not sure if the clergy at their congregation are Democrats or Republicans. Some 27% say their clergy are a mix of both, while 16% of respondents who felt they knew the political affiliation of their religious leaders say they are mostly Republican, while 11% identified their religious leaders as Democrats. The study also noted that a majority of Americans in general feel churches should keep out of political matters even as evangelical Christian voters remain a loyal voting bloc for President Donald Trump. Many Americans are uncomfortable not only with clergy endorsing candidates from the pulpit at election time, but also with churches and other houses of worship speaking out on day-to-day social and political questions. Overall, more than six-in-10 U.S. adults say places of worship should keep out of political matters (63%); only 36% think they should express their views on day-to-day social and political issues, Pew added. Evangelical Christians and historically black churches disagree with that position. They were found to be the only major U.S. religious groups that believe churches should express their social and political views. Only about a third or fewer in other religious groups share this view, the study said. Many evangelicals believe President Trump has been a strong supporter of the churchs role in society. Televangelist Paula White was named last year as a staff member at the White House working in the Office of Public Liaison with the Faith and Opportunity Initiative established by the president in May 2018. The Faith and Opportunity initiative was established by executive order to assist faith-based and other organizations in their efforts to strengthen the institutions of civil society and American families and communities. These organizations lift people up, keep families strong, and solve problems at the local level. The executive branch wants faith-based and community organizations, to the fullest opportunity permitted by law, to compete on a level playing field for grants, contracts, programs, and other federal funding opportunities. The efforts of faith-based and community organizations are essential to revitalizing communities, and the federal government welcomes opportunities to partner with such organizations through innovative, measurable, and outcome-driven initiatives, Trump wrote in part in the order. The Orlando Sentinel's editorial board vehemently opposed White's appointment, however, and declared in an editorial that religion was being weaponized in politics. Were particularly appalled though not surprised by Paula White. Not because shes a conservative but because of her naked use of religion as a weapon. Shes trying to frighten believers with apocalyptic consequences if they dont get in line behind this president, the board wrote referring to comments made by White that Christians will have to answer to God if they vote against him in 2020. Unfortunately, the national attention on these self-promoting evangelical opportunists risks overshadowing the selfless work of Christian churches and missions that help people who are hungry, poor, sick and homeless. Evangelical leaders some of them, anyway exploit elements of religion not to further the cause of faith but to achieve a political end. Its not hard to figure out why: Paula White and her kind will never be more visible or relevant in politics than they are with Donald Trump in office. Thats why they go about the cynical work of weaponizing religion, in contrast to the many Christians who quietly go about the hard work of growing their faith and using it to aid the afflicted, the board added. Haiti - Politic : Jovenel Moise visited the Unit for Combating Corruption Thursday, as part of an open day, President Jovenel Moise, accompanied in particular by Jean Roudy Aly, the Minister of Justice, by Mr. Claudy Gassant, the Director General of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC ), ministers, former parliamentarians, lawyers and human rights activists visited, the ULCC. This day of activities was organized to raise awareness of the work, missions and responsibilities of this institution. During the guided tour, the employees and executives of the institution explained to the visitors the instruments and means available to ULCC to lead the fight against corruption in the country. The opportunity for the Head of State to recall "In 2019, I asked the Organization of American States (OAS) to help strengthen the institutions involved in the fight against corruption. It has agreed to make $18 million available to the government over the next four years to support them.e Recall that the ULCC has the mission to fight corruption and its manifestations in all its forms. As part of an investigation, the ULCC can check at any time, for legal consequences, the final declaration of income taxes of any citizen for cases of illicit enrichment for example. The ULCC can check, at any time, the public expenditure commitments recorded by the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The law of 12 February 2008 relating to the declaration of assets allows the ULCC to combat and prevent illicit enrichment. This law represents a civic engagement and a legally shared responsibility to effectively fight against money laundering and illicit enrichment. This law obliges civil servants and all other subject persons to declare their assets 30 days after they take up their function or their installation and thirty days after the end of their mandate or when they leave office. Any person who knowingly made an incomplete, inaccurate or false declaration, or made false observations, is prosecuted for false and use of false in accordance with the provisions of the Penal Code. The ULCC is empowered to ascertain corruption offenses, to collect evidence thereof, to search for the perpetrators and to refer them to justice. If necessary, he may directly request the assistance of the police. Since the creation of the ULCC, more than fifty files have been forwarded to the prosecution authorities for follow-up, of which only two have been convicted ... Claudy Gassant deplores the fact that most of the ULCC's investigation files were closed without further action by the Port-au-Prince Prosecutor's Office, out of some fifty files filed since its creation, only two have been convicted... He recalled that in the field of finance, these cases should not be treated like other files, recalling that the legislation on corruption does not grant any privilege or immunity to officials and elected officials. HL/ HaitiLibre Audio files emerged in which Oleksiy Honcharuk reportedly criticised the presidents understanding of the economy. Ukraines prime minister has submitted his resignation to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a day after audio files were posted online in which he reportedly criticised the presidents understanding of the economy. Oleksiy Honcharuk, 35, announced his decision on social media on Friday morning. He said the audio files had been doctored, cobbled together from fragments of other recorded speech to create the impression he and his colleagues did not respect Zelenskyy, a political novice who came to power after a career as a TV comedian. Many groups of influence, which are trying to gain access to financial flows, benefit from such presentation but this is not true, Honcharuk wrote, according to the Kyiv Post. I came to this post to execute the presidents programme. He is for me a model of openness and honesty. However, I wrote the resignation letter to cast away any doubts of our respect and trust to the president. The president will consider the resignation letter, said Zelenskyys office. The audio files appeared to be a recording from a December meeting of Honcharuks finance officials ahead of a Cabinet meeting with the president. A voice, said to be Honcharuks, explains to his colleagues including the finance minister that Zelenskyy had misunderstood the strengthening of the national currency, and says the discussion with him had to be simple, because the president did not understand how the economy worked. Zelenskyy has a very primitive understanding of the economy, the voice believed to be Honcharuks, said, adding that he himself was a dummy when it came to economics. Reacting to the publication of the audio files, Honcharuk said on Thursday in a video address: There have been many attacks in the media and online against me personally and the government. This indicates that our team is on the right track. We have already blocked a lot of corruption schemes and are stopping robbers from continuing to rob the country. Liu makes sure the train departs with all passengers on board. Nearly 25 trains arrive and depart under her watch every day. (Photo/People's Daily Online) At the Fulingbei railway station, messages from the radio spread a feeling of warmth and encouragement to the travelers. The voice that spreads them comes from Liu Peihan, a 26-year-old staff member at the station. After graduating from Chongqing Normal University studying broadcasting and hosting, Liu secured a job on the railways. It is her friendly voice on the radio that reminds travelers to check their tickets, watch their step and wishes them a safe trip. Because of her strong abilities and sense of responsibility, Liu has been selected as an attendant at the station and entrusted with greater duties. Besides helping the passengers get on and off trains, she also has to assign tasks to the team members, oversee security inspections, patrol the waiting room and handle all kinds of emergencies. She sometimes walks more than 20,000 steps on a shift. As the Spring Festival travel rush, and also the first one Liu is facing in her new position, is approaching, more trains are now arriving and departing from the station, which poses great challenges for Liu and her team. Up to six trains will be running at the station between 7:20 a.m. and 8:20 am, Liu said. Liu works hard to get the team members, who come from different places and have very different personalities, to be more united and provide better services for the passengers. Since 12 out of the total 14 team members are aged below 35, Liu helps them solve problems in both work and life and share her experience with them. During breaks at work, she often shows elderly people where to go at the station, lends a helping hand to women with kids and luggage and helps travelers solve problems with a smile on her face. She considers patience and consideration important qualities in her job. A decade ago, Myanmar's generals, setting out to show they were serious about liberalizing after half a century of brutal military rule, made a bold play: They snubbed China, canceling a joint multibillion-dollar dam project, and embraced the West. In the period that followed, President Barack Obama visited Myanmar twice. He was photographed kissing Aung San Suu Kyi, the former democracy activist who later became Myanmar's civilian leader, on the cheek. He met with former generals, signaling a readiness to open a new chapter with a nation long encumbered by American sanctions. Then came the exodus of nearly 1 million Rohingya Muslims, driven from their homes by Myanmar's military in a scorched-earth campaign that drew Western outcry and charges of genocide. Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate, led Myanmar's defense at the International Court of Justice last month; a provisional ruling is expected next week. China sensed its moment. As Chinese leader Xi Jinping landed in Myanmar on Friday - almost 20 years since his government's last state visit there - he hoped to send a clear signal that his country is back in the driver's seat. Having backed Myanmar, also known as Burma, while Western nations recoiled at its atrocities against the Rohingya, Xi is poised to cash in by reviving stalled strategic projects - notably a Chinese port and special economic zone - that would deepen Beijing's reach into the Indian Ocean. The method is a familiar one for Beijing: where the West is taking a moral stance or retreating, China's Communist leaders step in with promises, goodies and demands of their own in pursuit of a strategic advantage. "China is declaring it has regained its position in Burma, and repaired its damaged influence," said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, using the older name for Myanmar. "This of course has happened in the wake of the Rohingya crisis. Burma is getting a top visit at a time where it has returned to pariah status in the eyes of the rest of the international community." An article in the Global Times, China's state-run nationalist tabloid, put it more plainly, describing Myanmar as briefly "derailed" when it courted the West. "But after some turbulence, Myanmar realized there were double standards in the approach Western countries had taken on human rights issues and began to turn to China for diplomatic and economic help," the article said, quoting an expert who described China as "willing to pull Myanmar from the sludge." Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which runs the country with the still-powerful military, has embraced the overture and expressed gratitude for the state visit. As the country prepares for the international court's provisional ruling, Xi's visit represents a strong gesture of "moral support," said NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt. "We can assume, as a good friend, [China] is coming to us to support us morally," he said. "We are an Eastern country, as in China, and so they understand our situation more than others do." It is a position Myanmar's generals had hoped to avoid. The military has long been suspicious of China's role in funding armed ethnic militias in Myanmar's hinterlands and is wary of overreliance on its giant neighbor. Min Aung Hlaing, commander in chief of Myanmar's military, traveled the world - India, Russia, Serbia, Pakistan, Germany and Austria - in the years after the country returned to nominally civilian rule after 2015, hoping to diversify relationships and inject professionalism into the armed forces. This became harder after the Rohingya atrocities led to visa bans and travel restrictions on some in the Myanmar military, also known as the Tatmadaw, including against Min Aung Hlaing. "Myanmar is just about as nationalist as others in the region," said Murray Hiebert, senior associate of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Southeast Asia program and author of an upcoming book on China and Southeast Asia. "They don't want to be a client state of China," he added. "The Tatmadaw is not impressed with this." Randall Schriver, who until last month was the Pentagon's lead on Indo-Pacific security affairs, said even in their limited interactions with the Myanmar military, American defense officials "certainly got the message that the [Tatmadaw] wanted an improved relationship with the U.S. and a strong defense relationship." The United States "echoed that only as aspirational," said Schriver, now the chairman of the Project 2049 Institute, an Asia-focused think tank. "They would make pretty inspiring presentations to us, and were not willing to take any responsibility for the atrocities, explaining them as though they were legitimate counterterrorism operations," he said in an interview. "It may be the case that this creates some openings for China, but, when you weigh policy options and how we should be positioned, it is not in the interest of the U.S. to be glossing over these mass atrocities." As Xi landed on Friday afternoon in Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw, schoolchildren lined the roads, waving Myanmar and Chinese flags, and ethnic minority representatives performed a traditional dance. During his two-day visit, Xi is expected to push for progress on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, a project under China's Belt and Road Initiative that includes railways, economic zones and other infrastructure, including a deep-sea port at Kyaukphyu, on the Bay of Bengal. The port's location close to major shipping lanes allows China to avoid the more vulnerable Straits of Malacca and gain a foothold in a region of increasing strategic competition. Xi will meet with both Min Aung Hlaing, the military leader, and Suu Kyi. Chinese officials have also played up their role in securing an agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingya refugees more than two years after they were driven into squalid camps. (Very few have taken up the offer.) On Thursday, Myanmar's state run newspaper, the Global New Light of Myanmar, published a commentary by Xi promising to renew "pauk-phaw," or brotherly, ties with the Southeast Asian country. He wrote of the need to bring more "impetus" to economic cooperation and speed up the Belt and Road projects. Still, experts say Myanmar is a long way from a full embrace of China, and that Xi's visit will not gloss over a relationship marred by mistrust, particularly on the part of the military. Activists, too, are planning a protest on Saturday outside the Chinese embassy against what they say is Beijing's exploitation of their country's resources. Suu Kyi's NLD party, while close to officials in Beijing, is also still largely welcome by Western nations and maintains close ties to U.S. lawmakers, giving Myanmar options it did not have when the country was under American economic sanctions. "Myanmar won't be back in China's pocket," said Stimson's Sun. "The Burmese and the NLD government are using American acquiescence and Chinese desire to gain influence in Myanmar to their own advantage." - - - Cape Diamond reported from Yangon, Myanmar. Sixty-four years ago, on January 8, 1956, five men between the ages of 27 and 32, were speared to death trying to reach a violent, indigenous tribe in Ecuador with the gospel. They all left behind wives and four had young children. The men knew the task was dangerous, even life-threatening. So, who were these men and what would cause them to willingly lay down their lives? The Missionaries James Jim Elliot (Christian Missions in Many Lands) and his wife Elisabeth or Betty were both graduates of Wheaton College near Chicago. They had one daughter, Valerie, together. Jim and Elisabeth were both single missionaries to Ecuador before they were married. Peter Pete Fleming (Christian Missions in Many Lands) was married to Olive. He studied philosophy at the University of Washington before becoming a missionary. Pete and Jim Elliot went to Ecuador as missionaries together in 1952 before they both got married in 1954. They continued their attempts to reach the Huaorani together with Ed, Nate, and Roger. Edward Ed McCully (Christian Missions in Many Lands), also a graduate of Wheaton College, married Marilou (graduate of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago) and was father to Stephen, Michael, and Matthew. (Marilou was eight months pregnant with Matthew at the time of Eds death.) Nathanael Nate Saint (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) was married to Marjorie and father to Kathy, Stephen, and Philip. He had also attended Wheaton College. According to From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian History Missions, Perhaps the best-known missionary pilot has been Nate Saint, whose role in the Auca tragedy made him a household name in evangelical circles. It was due to Nate Saints skill as a pilot that the five missionaries were able to land on Palm Beach. Nate served in World War II with the Army Air Corps. Roger Youderian (Gospel Missionary Union) attended Montana State College, enlisted in the U.S. Army, was a paratrooper in World War II, and afterwards attended Northwestern College to prepare for missions. He married Barbara and had two children, Beth and Jerry. The Mission The interdenominational, evangelical missionaries, Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, Nate Saint, and Roger Youderian, were speared to death by the very people they were attempting to reach with the gospel. The five men left behind five widows. The Huaorani Indians (otherwise known as the Waodani, Waorani, or Auca Indians), totaling around 500 tribe members in 1955, were a violent tribe of indigenous, Amerindians living in the Amazonian region of Ecuador. The tribe was fearful of outsiders and had been known to kill any that entered their territory. They were also internally violent. The missionaries chose to go to the Huaorani tribe because they were known to be completely unreached by the gospel. The tragedy was featured in the January 30, 1956 edition of Life Magazine which was the first time the Huaorani tribe was ever photographed in their natural surroundings. According to that 1956 edition of Life Magazine, the missionaries discovered the Aucas or Huaorani as they and their wives were ministering to Quechua-speaking and Jivaro Indians. The term Auca means savages in Quechua. They physically found the tribe flying over Auca territory in Nate Saints plane. The men spent weeks dropping gifts from the plane to the Aucas in a bucket before finding the courage to land the plane on the shore of the Curaray River. They believed the Aucas to be friendly when they finally landed on the riverbank that they referred to as Palm Beach. Between October 6 and December 23, Saint, accompanied by either McCully or Elliot, made 13 flights over the Wao clearings. Fleming provided prayer and financial support from his station. Saint lowered gifts to the ground. First, they sent down an aluminum cooking pot decorated with floating ribbons, then buttons, pants, shirts (the Waorani wore only cotton G-strings), an ax head, knives, photos, machetes. The Waorani received these gifts with smiles and laughter. They began to return gifts: a headband, woven thread, smoked monkey tail, two squirrels, a parrot. During these exchanges, the men shouted carefully mouthed phrases in the Wao language, which they had picked up from Dayuma, a young Wao woman who had fled tribal violence only to live in servitude at a nearby hacienda. To Lay Down Ones Life In early January, all five men, believing that God was providing an open door to reach the Huaorani with the good news of Jesus Christ, landed on the banks of the Curaray River in Nate Saints plane. Although initial contacts seemed friendly, all five men were ultimately speared to death by the Huaorani (who believed that all outsiders would eventually shoot them with guns). Elliot, Fleming, McCully, Saint, and Youderian, of course, had no intention of shooting the Indians, but, rather, were hoping and praying to be able to share with them the hope of eternal life that they had in Christ. Again, what would cause five young men with families to willingly lay down their lives? Did they truly believe that their mission to reach the Aucas was worth risking everything? They absolutely did. They believed the story of the New Testament, that Jesus Himself had laid down His life to save those who were spiritually lost. The Aucas, or Huaorani, had never heard of Jesus love and sacrifice on the cross. They didnt have a Bible in their language and had not heard the message of salvation. They needed someone to come tell them, and yet that required great courage as the Huaorani were known for violence. The five men who went believed it was what Christ would have done and what Christ wanted them to do! If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:9-15, NIV). Not in Vain So, did the men die in vain? Did the Huaorani ever hear and receive the message about Jesus? It turns out that the men werent the only courageous ones. Following their deaths, with the help of Dayuma, Jims wife, Elisabeth (along with daughter, Valerie), and Nates sister, Rachel, returned to live among the Huaorani, offering them forgiveness and completing the task the men had begun. This led to the conversion of many in the tribe, including at least one of the murderers. Ultimately, the New Testament was translated into the Wao language. Nate Saints eldest son, Steve, and his family lived among the Waorani for a year in 1995. Sources https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/martyrs-to-the-spear/ https://www.christiantoday.com/article/i-miss-my-father-but-he-gave-his-life-for-christ-daughter-of-murdered-christian-missionary-speaks-out/104967.htm https://www.inspirationalchristians.org/evangelists/jim-elliot-biography/ Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliot Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot These Strange Ashes by Elisabeth Elliot iStock/Getty Images Plus/Kalistratova Kristi Walker has been a missionary in Berlin, Germany for over 15 years working with an international church as the Director of Student Ministries. Her birthday is January 8, and the story of the five missionaries who died in Ecuador has greatly impacted and inspired her. She is the author of two books: Disappointment: A Subtle Path Away from Christ and Convinced. Applying Biblical Principles to Lifes Choices. Kristi Walker has been a missionary in Berlin, Germany for over 15 years working with an international church as the Director of Student Ministries. She is the author of two books - Disappointment: A Subtle Path Away from Christ and Convinced. Applying Biblical Principles to Lifes Choices. Three fish sauce producers in the Mekong Delta provinces of An Giang and Vinh Long have been fined a combined VND780 million (US$33,660) for using a banned chemical in their manufacturing, according to the findings of inspections carried out in mid-2019. Inspections of factories belonging to Dieu Huong Company in An Giang Province and Hoa Hiep Company and Tan Phat Company in Vinh Long Province found that each of the three companies was using sodium carbonate, a banned chemical in food, to make what they called fish sauce. Sodium carbonate, also known as washing soda, is a common ingredient in the production of soaps and detergents, as well glass, paper, pottery, and dyed products. To produce their fish sauce,' Dieu Huong, Hoa Hiep, and Tan Phat had been boiling 17,000 liters of MSG and shrimp stock with 120 kilograms of sodium carbonate for 40-50 hours to produce 800 liters of a liquid they marketed as fish sauce. According Nguyen Van Tien, chief inspector for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the sodium carbonate was added to neutralize the acidity of the MSG while the shrimp stock was meant to supplement the mixture with protein. Tien also noted that including sodium carbonate in the recipe is a serious food safety violation. Tiens team forwarded the results of the inspections to the Ministry of Public Security following their completion but the findings and punishments were only announced this month. Aside from the fines, all three companies were ordered to return their stock of sodium carbonate to their distributors and issue official recalls for their fish sauce. As of January, all three firms have shut down their operations. In a short discussion with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper after the case caught public attention, Le Van Diep, director of Dieu Huong Company, admitted that his family-run business had been using the prohibited chemical compound in its fish sauce production for 60 years. I havent seen anyone affected by this chemical since I started using it a long time ago, Diep claimed. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! By Express News Service KOCHI: Coming to work proved to be a nightmare for employees of Infopark here on Thursday as the acute water shortage on the campus continued for another day. The water supply was not fully restored despite the intervention of District Collector S Suhas. Though the collector, who is in New Delhi for a meeting, allowed tanker lorries supplying water to Infopark to source the same from Kerala Water Authority hydrants and other water bodies except abandoned quarries it only provided temporary relief to many of the employees working on the 100-plus-acre campus. The Thapasya, Vismaya and Carnival Infopark buildings were worst affected on Thursday by the water shortage. Many TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) employees working in the Vismaya building had to go all the way to the firms main building some 200m away for their needs. Some firms also had a heated exchange with Carnival Infopark authorities over the water shortage as several of their employees left before office hours, affecting productivity. Many employees working in firms at Thapasya building opted to work from home on Thursday. Of those who worked, many left during office hours. The Carnival Infopark building and Vismaya were hit the worst as air conditioners were not working, said a woman member of Progressive Techies, a non-profit organisation working in Infopark. Though water was supplied in tankers in some of the buildings after the collector intervened, we are not sure if it will be a permanent solution to the problem. I heard many employees working in Vismaya and TCS are not planning to come to work on Friday, she said. Raj Krishna, an official of Carnival Infopark, asked, If the government is not providing basic facilities to companies, how is it going to boost the IT sector here? collectors intervention brings relief to techies Several employees were relieved to know that the collector had allowed lorries to take water from other water bodies and not just KWA hydrants for supplying water to Infopark. Many cafeterias are using reusable paper plates to save water. However, everyone has used the water stored in the fire tanks and the situations will normalise only after two-three days of water supply. A permanent solution is possible only when Kinfra starts pumping water from the Kadambrayar, said an employee of Infopark. The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin continues to welcome the largest number of visitors of any other attraction in Ireland while the Cliffs of Moher are still standing tall in second place over Dublin Zoo. The final visitor figures for the Guinness Storehouse for 2019 have confirmed that 1,732,528 people visited the St Jamess Gate attraction last year. This was just 2,528 or 0.15% more than the 2018 figure of 1.7m. Visitor numbers at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience (CoMVE) in County Clare increased by 1.58% to 1,605,131 in 2019, another record year for visitors to the iconic attraction in the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Geopark. 1,580,010 people visited the spectacular cliffs in 2018. The 214m (702 feet) high cliffs on the Wild Atlantic Way leapfrogged Dublin Zoo into second place for the first time in 2014 and has continued to increase it visitor numbers every year since. While the final figures for Dublin Zoo for 2019 have not yet been published, 1,230,145 visit the Phoenix Park attraction in 2018. Figures released by the CoMVE reveal that the Fully Independent Traveller (FIT) market showed greater growth than the group market with 56% of all visitors being FITs (up 38,225 on 2018) and group tour business is down 1.86% (-13,104) for the first time since 2010. CoMVE online value tickets for morning and evening visits, 8am-9pm opening times in peak season and a new visitor shuttle have yielded a 15% redistribution of total visitors into the off-peak times, resulting in improved onsite visitor experience and traffic management. Last year, contracts were signed by Clare County Council with Haley Sharpe Consultants to prepare a new Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040. The consultants comprise a multi-disciplinary team who will devise the Strategy that will inform future developments at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience. This is a joint initiative between Clare County Council and Failte Ireland. The strategy has been described as a fantastic opportunity for Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience to work with experts who will take a holistic perspective to develop the much needed site improvements. Director of Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience Geraldine Enright said: Popularity and growth is down to providing a holistic experience, from safe pathways and viewing areas, a genuine welcome from staff, to interpretation, retail, dining and visitor services. Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience employs 75 staff during the peak season and is a significant employer in rural North Clare. Additionally, more than 85 staff employed by tenant companies is supported at the site. Failte Ireland's annual listing of top attractions, due to be published later in the year, is expected to confirm the Guinness Storehouse, Cliffs of Moher and Dublin Zoo as the county's top three. BEIJING China's economy weakened to its slowest pace in three decades in 2019 as weaker domestic demand and trade tensions with the United States took their toll, official data showed on Friday. The world's second-largest economy grew by 6.1 per cent last year, its worst performance since 1990, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The figure matches an AFP analyst forecast and is within Beijing's official target of 6.0-6.5 per cent. But last year's growth was down from 6.6 per cent in 2018. While China's economy had been gradually losing steam over the first three quarters, growth stabilised at 6.0 per cent in the last three months of 2019 -- the same pace as in the third quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Ning Jizhe, commissioner of the NBS, said China's economy generally sustained a stable momentum of growth in 2019. "However, we should also be aware that the global economic and trade growth is slowing down," he said at a news conference. He added that there were more sources of instability and risk, with the economy facing "mounting downward pressure". The figures were released after a truce was reached in the nearly two-year-old trade war, as President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a "phase one" agreement on Wednesday. The mini-deal includes a pledge by China to purchase $200 billion worth of US goods over two years. In return, the US has pledged to slash in half some of the tariffs imposed on China, but levies remain in place on two-thirds of more than $500 billion in imports from the Asian country. New normal The World Bank said in a report this month that weakening exports in China had compounded the impact of its ongoing slowdown in domestic demand. Policy uncertainty and higher tariffs on exports to the US also cast a pall on manufacturing activity and investor sentiment, it added. The latest data showed that China's industrial production grew by 5.7 per cent last year, down from 6.2 per cent in 2018. Retail sales growth came in at 8.0 per cent, down from 9.0 per cent in the year before. In December, sales grew 8.0 per cent, and the NBS noted that online retail sales in particular had a strong showing. But analysts note that China's slowdown is structural, as it becomes a more developed economy and faces demographic challenges such as a shrinking number of people of working age. Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics, said that Beijing considers such a slowdown part of a "new normal". He added that major policy easing is unlikely as well, given the improvement in external outlook after the phase one trade deal and other signs of stabilisation. He noted that Beijing likely wants to keep its powder dry, with policymakers aiming for a stabilisation rather than pick-up in growth. "What they don't want to see is a too-rapid slowdown," he said. AFP WASHINGTON The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump has barely started and already journalists are getting a glimpse of how hard it will be cover the event under harsh new media restrictions imposed by the Senate. Thursdays impeachment events were largely ceremonial, with the Senate formally receiving the articles of impeachment from the seven appointed managers from the House of Representatives. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the full Senate were also formally sworn in. The trial begins in earnest on Tuesday. Thursday also served as a preview of how the new restrictions will warp the daily functioning of the congressional press corps, who are accustomed to approaching senators as they walk through the hallways or emerge from the Senate subway. Security was heavily beefed up with at least 10 uniformed Capitol Police officers where there are usually one of two manning the so-called Ohio clock corridor just outside the Senate chamber. In the Senate basement, where reporters often wait to ask senators questions, at least a dozen officers gathered to enforce the new rules, which were set by the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, Michael Stenger. Stenger was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. All throughout the Capitol building, reporters were prevented from stopping to wait for senators or talking to them outside the designated media pens. Senators were also given cards by the Capitol Police that suggested phrases for fending off journalists, including Please get out of my way and You are preventing me from doing my job. The Standing Committee of Correspondents, representing credentialed congressional reporters, has already appealed unsuccessfully to Senate leadership and the sergeant at arms to reverse the restrictions. On Thursday, many of those reporters turned to social media to air their grievances. Several recounted instances of friendly interviews with willing senators that were interrupted by security. Miami Herald reporter Alex Daugherty reported on Twitter that he was talking to Florida Republican Marco Rubio about aid for Puerto Rico when they were interrupted by security and prevented from continuing the interview. McClatchy correspondent Emma Dumain was in mid-conversation with Indiana Republican Mike Braun when they were told she would have to step behind the press pen ropes to continue to interview. Dumain wrote on Twitter that Braun was happy to accompany me to my cage so he could finish his thought. The free speech NGO PEN America decried the media limitations on Thursday, calling them an unacceptable effort to block the free flow of information at a time when that information is necessary to the functioning of our democracy. PEN Americas Washington office director Thomas Melia called the limitations really amazingand pointed out that the House of Representatives just conducted a weeks-long and equally acrimonious impeachment investigation of Trump without such restrictions in place. If it aint broke, dont fix it, he said. What exactly is the problem thats being solved here? Melia said it remains unclear exactly who is pushing for the new restrictions and said it seems to be an extension of a Republican Party animosity toward journalists that comes straight from the top. Where did this come from? Who conceived of this as a useful and appropriate step, he said. It feels like an institutional escalation of the White Houses systematic denigration of the press. People will be able to plead guilty to certain offences online as part of radical proposals aimed at unclogging Ireland's overburdened courts system. Virtual courtrooms will also be introduced where parties to disputes can take part in case-progression hearings online. The initiatives are part of a revolutionary package of measures that would bring the biggest shake-up in the running of the courts system since the establishment of the Courts Service in 1999. They are part of an as-yet unpublished 10-year strategy signed off by the service's board, headed by Chief Justice Frank Clarke. Recently installed Courts Service chief executive Angela Denning told the Irish Independent the "digital-first approach", in tandem with other initiatives, would make the experience of court users "quicker, cheaper and easier". A former High Court registrar who has also worked for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Ms Denning became the Courts Service's first female chief executive last September. The ambitious plan would require a complete overhaul of the courts system's creaking IT infrastructure and tens of millions of euro in Government funding to implement. But it will be difficult for the next government not to row in behind it as much of what is being proposed will be seen as crucial to efforts already under way to position Ireland as an international centre for legal services following Brexit. Among the core aims of the strategy are to minimise the number of cases that need to be dealt with by the courts, seek to resolve as many cases as possible before a formal hearing is required and to require attendance at physical hearings only where absolutely necessary. Under what is being proposed, Ms Denning said it would be possible for offenders to plead guilty online and pay a fine for less serious non-custodial matters, including road traffic, litter and television licence offences. Road traffic offences account for around 60pc of all business in the District Court and Ms Denning said the idea was to free up valuable court time by "taking the churn work out of the system". Another issue the plan seeks to tackle is the amount of time, resources and expense involved in procedural hearings and administrative adjournments. The Private Residential Tenancies Board currently allows Skype hearings for disputes between landlords and tenants so neither party has to take a day off work. Ms Denning said something similar could be used for case-progression hearings in the civil courts, with proceedings also being streamed online to satisfy the constitutional requirement for justice to be administered in public. A large amount of time is taken up in the High Court and Circuit Court applications for adjournments for one reason or another. Ms Denning said that under the plan it would be possible for consent adjournments to be applied for online. "If it is your first adjournment and it is by consent, why should both sides have to pay a barrister to come into the Four Courts?" she said. "If they have agreed to an adjournment, should they not be able to go into some kind of online portal and both firms consent to withdrawing it from the list and putting it in for four weeks' time or whenever it might be. That would reduce costs significantly and free up judges." The strategy was developed by the Courts Service with the assistance of PA Consulting over the course of 18 months. A large part of the research involved discussions with court users. Ms Denning said there would need to be a major overhaul of IT infrastructure to bring this vision to fruition and that the Courts Service had studied technological innovations in other jurisdictions, including Victoria in Australia, as part of the development of the strategy. She said that during the recession, it invested in buildings because the infrastructural funding was available, but under-invested in IT. "I think that ship needs to be turned around now. We really need to invest strongly in our IT unit because we intend to deliver our services in a digital manner," she said. Basic issues, such as the lack of an online portal to pay court fees and the inability of court offices to accept credit and debit card payments, would be among the first things to be tackled under the plan. Ms Denning said the Courts Service had to ensure the move away from current, largely paper-based, processes didn't just result in "the digitising of bad habits" and that lessons would be learned from previous mistakes. For example, there has been "a low take-up" since the introduction last year of online filing for Supreme Court appeals. "That is because we didn't do our market research correctly in advance. We didn't go and see what practitioners actually needed. We haven't linked it to our Court of Appeal system and High Court system so that the documents that were in court could be uploaded automatically," she said. "None of this is rocket science. It is just joined-up thinking and it is about us doing our market research properly and checking what our customers actually want as opposed to what we think they want." Better informing the public of services and what to expect in court is also a key part of the strategy. "One of the things I am very conscious of in this job is how we can make things better for ordinary people who use the courts," said Ms Denning. "The courts can be an intimidating place, particularly on the criminal side of things. I suppose part of my job is to make that journey easier for people." While this will involve better and easier to understand online information, improving access to alternative dispute mechanisms is also seen as crucial. Ms Denning said the District Court spent a huge amount of time sorting out issues, such as child access arrangements, which would be better resolved through mediation. Building the public's trust in mediation and locating mediation services in court buildings are both part of the plan. With billboards, banners, fanfare and flags, the government of Myanmar is welcoming Xi Jinping, president of the Peoples Republic of China, for a two-day state visit beginning Friday that is expected to mark the 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar relations with agreements for infrastructure projects key to Beijings ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. As with any long-term connection, there have been ups, downs and detours. This will mark Xi's first visit to Myanmar since 2009 before Xi became president and party chief, Murray Hiebert, senior associate, South Asia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., told VOA. After that visit, Myanmar launched reforms, including freeing political prisoners, creating more independence for the media, opening up the economy, deepening relations with the U.S., and cancelling work on the Myitsone Dam which was a big priority for china. Since 2017, Myanmar has again had a falling out with the U.S. because of the expulsion of nearly a million Rohingya Muslim refugees. This [visit] provides an opening for China to build deeper ties with Myanmar again. Yun Sun, co-director of the East Asia Program and director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, told VOA, that Xis visit is uniquely high-level, pointing to last weeks official media briefing conducted by Chinese vice foreign minister Luo Zhaohui. With the visit Xi is consolidating his kingdom, Priscilla Clapp, the chief of mission and permanent charge d affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Burma from 1999-2002 told VOA. Myanmar represents to China the far western province. I think it is Chinas ambition to control Myanmar through economic and other means. Clapp continued, I think China is making a determined effort to harness all of Southeast Asia to the Chinese sphere of influence so its not just Myanmar. Myanmars a gateway not only to the Indian Ocean but other parts of southeast Asia. The close post-World War II association of the two nations, which share a long border, began when Myanmar, then known as Burma, was the first non-Communist country to recognize the People's Republic of China in 1949. The two nations established diplomatic relations a year later. China defends Myanmar Today, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, China has defended Myanmar since it began a military campaign against the Rohingya in 2011. A United Nations fact-finding mission described the campaign as the gravest crimes under international law, and called for Myanmars senior military officials to face investigation and prosecution for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. This week, Amnesty Internationals Regional Director, Nicholas Bequelin, said China must stop using its position in the U.N. Security Council to shield Myanmars senior generals from accountability. This has only emboldened the militarys relentless campaign of human rights violations and war crimes against ethnic minorities across the country. Despite international outcry about treatment of the Rohingya, China stepped up its investments in Myanmar, filling a void left by those departing in part because of the human rights issues. China is the second biggest investor in Myanmar, after Singapore, according to the World Bank. Myanmar's exports to China, its largest trading partner, were worth $5.5 billion in 2018, while imports were worth $6.2 billion. "We have seen that China has achieved a great success in exploring and following a path suitable for its economic development since the reform and opening up, Pe Myint, the Union Minister for Information told Reuters. For Myanmar, we are happy for China, as it's like our relative and friend that has achieved success. It's worth our learning." And it is those investments that will be in the spotlight during Xis visit. Last Friday Chinas Luo told reporters in Beijing the purpose of the visit was to strengthen relations and cooperation on Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and materialize the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), a series of projects connecting China with the Indian Ocean. Launched in 2013 by then Chinese president Xi Jinping, BRI includes hundreds of infrastructure projects financed and constructed in part or in whole by Chinese entities that are envisioned as connecting almost all of Asia and Africa. Belt and Road In Myanmar, the CMEC is a Belt and Road component. If you look at the design of the CMEC, you can see that its designed by China to harness all of the basic infrastructure of Myanmar to Chinese infrastructure, and effectively create another western province beyond Yunnan, said Clapp. It is also an area notable for long-running conflicts between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups, which are widely believed to receive their weaponry from Chinese sources even as Beijing plays a role in negotiating peace. China is playing a big role in the peace process but theyre playing both sides of it, said Clapp. I think that Chinas interest in the long term is keeping some instability on the border so you have a firewall, as it were, between developing democracy in Myanmar, and the lack of democracy in China. Xis visit comes after Myanmar pulled away from China in 2011 over public opposition to the Myitsone Dam, a $3.6 billion hydropower project. It remains a heated topic, with more than 50 civil society organizations calling on Xi to scratch the project in Kachin State in an open letter issued on Wednesday. Nau Kai Tu Kaung, a Kachin environmentalist told VOAs Burmese Service that Chinese companies are also involved in destructive environmental endeavors such as rare earth mining. [The dam] is highly unpopular, said Clapp. It would erupt as a political issue in Myanmar if the project were revived. She pointed out that the dams original design sent more than 90% of the generated electricity to China. But there were no plans for a transmission line, even into China, she added. So it didnt make sense. To succeed today you have to completely redesign it, and it has to feed in to the grid in Myanmar, it has to serve the electrical needs of Myanmar, not China. Yunnan doesnt need the electricity now. Xi is scheduled to meet Myanmars de factor leader Aung San Suu Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyitaw, as well with the heads of an array of political parties. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai said dozens of agreements will be signed during Xis visit. Clapp said that while the countries may sign memoranda of understanding those are not final agreements. Even the CMEC, the China Myanmar Economic Corridor is an MOU so its aspirational. The talks are also expected to touch on a project that involves a deep-sea port in Rakhine state that would give China access to the Indian Ocean. The port project was scaled back in 2018 over fears of a debt-trap, a move critics believe China uses to gain influence by bankrupting its partners and bending them to its will. Clapp said none of the massive infrastructure projects is going to happen quickly. The projects cannot become final until environmental, social and economic assessments are completed, and a business plan completed for each project. Financing for the projects is unclear because the Myanmar government is not going to take any sovereign debt and any financing by big Chinese companies and their partners will take a long time to put together, especially for large projects. I think the most that were going to see in the near term is small projects; for example, there are several economic zones along the border that are already under development. The problem with those is that theyre largely unregulated, and theyre going to erupt at some point because theyre bringing in a lot of Chinese migration into Myanmar, [which is] going to cause a big problem with the Myanmar population. In the Karen State, in places where these economic zones are already underway, its going to start causing social problems. And this is something that China, Beijing needs to think about over the long terms because it could really destroy the relationship between the two countries if theyre not careful. Liyuan Lu is with VOAs Mandarin Service and Kyaw Zan Tha is with VOAs Burmese Service. The arrest of deputy superintendent of police Davinder Singh for helping terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir has once again brought to focus what happens when a law officer goes to the other side. There are 20 lakh odd police officers in 29 states/Union Territories and close to 25 lakh army and central paramilitary personnel across the country other than reserve forces and central intelligence and investigation agencies who take an oath to be truthful to the Constitution and play a role of primary shield from any threat to India when they join services. Pakistans spy agency ISI and the terror groups it harbours often manage to penetrate this shield - either through money, honey traps (when officers are lured through women) or other means. Also Watch l Seeking Davinders sacking: J&K police chief on cop caught with terrorists A senior intelligence official said that they havent come across cases like DSP Davinder Singh, where a serving officer was caught with terrorists, but there are many other cases in J&K when former police officers joined the terror ranks or worked for ISI. Last year, around the time when Article 370 was being abrogated by the government, weapons of around 250 SPOs (special police officers) were taken away after indications that some of them may join terror groups. One of the most famous scandals involving the jawans the Samba Spy case between August 1978 and January 1979, in which 50 jawans who served in the 169 Infantry Brigade and its subordinate units at Samba, 40 km from Jammu on the international border, were arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan at the instance of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (MI). Those arrested included a Brigadier, three Lieutenant Colonels and a number of Majors, Captains, Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs), Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and personnel of other ranks, plus 11 civilians who had worked in the Samba sector. In July 2018, a BSF head constable Abdul Rasheed was arrested by Delhi Police for trading secret and confidential information with ISI. More recently, seven sailors based in Vishakapatnam were arrested last month for passing on critical information to Pakistan after being entrapped on social media by Pakistani agents posing as women. Official cited above said there are hundreds of instances in last 70 years - be it insurgency in the north east, J&K militancy or Maoists affected states - when police officers, army or paramilitary forces have betrayed their country either for money, ideology or because of threat to their families from the terrorists. Usually the officers/jawans caught in the past shared classified information or helped any terrorist when they either left the service or were not on the job. In the cases of honey traps, they shared information without realising that it could be misused, the officer added. Indian army and paramilitary forces have often come up with directions for their personnel on the use of social media and certain apps purportedly run by Pakistanis, Chinese or terror groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda, asking them to be careful. Another intelligence officer said that there is a need to routinely have motivational exercises within the armed forces and police to remind them of their duty and to make sure they dont move away from it. In the age of social media, it is very difficult to keep an eye on every Jawan or police officer but discipline is necessary and strictest action should be taken against traitors. The second officer added that officers like Davinder Singh should be taught a tough lesson. The vice president for the NYPDs Sergeants Benevolent Association slammed New York mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday for instituting sanctuary city polices despite the fact that every single one of the unions approximately 13,000 members wanted to help ICE take criminals off the street. SBA vice president Vincent Vallelong delivered the message during a Friday press conference on the citys failure to prevent the death of 92-year-old Maria Fuertes earlier this month. I can guarantee you every single one of our members wants to help them out. Unfortunately, the way the policies are set up, they dont allow us to, Vallelong said while standing beside acting ICE director Matthew Albence. Its another law enforcement group how do we have our own hands handcuffed to not be able to work with these guys? Were here not to go pick and choose what crimes are out there, were here to actually enforce the law, and thats exactly what these guys are doing, and thats why were here to support them today. Vallelong also challenged de Blasio to step up and defend his sanctuary policies, saying that ICEs efforts would absolutely impact crime. Albence said in the press conference that the city has refused 7,526 of ICEs detainer requests, a much higher figure than the citys reported number of 2,916. The mayor can say what he wants to say, he owns this, and thats right, Vallelong said. He should step up and say that these are his policies, that he owns it. The dispute between ICE and the mayors office, which has instituted a directive from de Blasio to not comply with ICEs attempts to enforce immigration law, came to a head earlier this month with the case of Fuertes, who was raped and murdered on the street outside of her home by Reeaz Khan, a 21-year-old Guyanese national. On Tuesday, ICE released a statement revealing that the agency had lodged a detainer request for Khan in November after he was arrested for assaulting his father, but the detainer was ignored and Khan was subsequently released. Story continues New York Citys sanctuary policies continue to threaten the safety of all residents of the five boroughs, as they repeatedly protect criminal aliens who show little regard for the laws of this nation, Thomas Decker, ICEs field office director for Enforcement and Removal Operations in New York, said in a statement Monday. De Blasios office responded by saying they would potentially hand over Khan if he is convicted, and accused ICE of politicizing the tragedy. The mayor himself took to Twitter Wednesday to accuse acting DHS secretary Chad Wolf of spreading lies about the good work of the NYPD. The Trump administrations scare tactics destroy trust in law enforcement. The day our police ask for immigration status is the day people stop reporting crimes & sharing information, de Blasio tweeted. Its the day we stop being the safest big city in America. We wont let that happen. More from National Review Landslides and avalanches bury hundreds of homes in Himalayan region of Neelam Valley as 77 people die. Military helicopters flew rescue missions for a fourth day running in an avalanche-hit area of Pakistan-administered Kashmir as the death toll from the disaster rose to 77, officials said. Khursheed Mir, a disaster management official in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told Al Jazeera that relief and rescue operations were continuing in the Himalayan region of Neelum Valley on Friday. More than 100 people have died after avalanches and landslides hit Neelam Valley in the Himalayan region, also claimed by India, and Balochistan province as the South Asian nation witnessed its worst winter in decades. The latest victim of the avalanches in Neelum Valley was a six-year-old girl, Safia, who died in hospital on Thursday. The child had been pulled out alive on Tuesday after being buried for close to 20 hours, a doctor, quoting Safias family, said. She had suffered fractures in her skull and orbital bones and left leg and despite our best efforts died of her brain injuries, the doctor, Adnan Mehraj, told Reuters news agency. Safias family were elated when she was found alive, her uncle, Naseer Ahmed, told Reuters, but now relatives were in shock. Safia was the 19th member of the family to perish in Neelam Valley. I am not in my senses We have lost almost everyone in the family from young kids to elderly members, said a visibly disturbed Ahmed. A helicopter transporting injured takes off, after a heavy snowfall and avalanches in Neelum Valley [Reuters] Relief supplies This extreme weather has played havoc with the lives of people living in high altitude mountains, Pakistan-administered Kashmirs top administrative official, Mathar Niaz Rana, said. We are trying our best to alleviate their sufferings, he told Reuters as two helicopters were being loaded with relief supplies, including food and medicine, in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. 200115150910673 Meanwhile, in a separate area in Pakistan, further north, five Pakistan army personnel were killed when an avalanche hit them as they were carrying out rescue efforts, according to a senior official. The five were from the engineer corps and helping clear roads covered by landslides in an area of Gilgit-Baltistan, a mountainous region that borders China. Avalanches in the area had earlier killed a woman and a child, Farid Ahmed, an official from the local disaster management authority, said. At least 104 people have died across Pakistan in snow and landslide-related incidents over the last five days, including 20 deaths in the southwestern province of Balochistan. Pakistans National Disaster Management Authority said 96 people were injured and 236 houses had been damaged. The first cannabis startup to raise big money in Silicon Valley is in danger of burning out. TechCrunch has learned that pot delivery middleman Eaze has seen unannounced layoffs, and its depleted cash reserves threaten its ability to make payroll or settle its AWS bill. Eaze was forced to raise a bridge round to keep the lights on as it prepares to attempt a major pivot to "touching the plant" by selling its own marijuana brands through its own depots. TechCrunch spoke with nine sources with knowledge of Eaze's struggles to piece together this report. If Eaze fails, it could highlight serious growing pains amid the "green rush" of startups into the marijuana business. Eaze, the startup backed by some $166 million in funding that once positioned itself as the Uber of pot a marketplace selling pot and other cannabis products from dispensaries and delivering it to customers has recently closed a $15 million bridge round, according to multiple sources. The funding was meant to keep the lights on as Eaze struggles to raise its next round of funding amid problems with making decent margins on its current business model, lawsuits, payment processing issues and internal disorganization. An Eaze spokesperson confirmed that the company is low on cash. Sources tell us that the company, which laid off some 30 people last summer, is preparing another round of cuts in the meantime. The spokesperson refused to discuss personnel issues, but noted that there have been layoffs at many late-stage startups as investors want to see companies cut costs and become more efficient. From what we understand, Eaze is currently trying to raise a $35 million Series D round, according to its pitch deck. The $15 million bridge round came from unnamed current investors. (Previous backers of the company include 500 Startups, DCM Ventures, Slow Ventures, Great Oaks, FJ Labs, the Winklevoss brothers and a number of others.) Originally, Eaze had tried to raise a $50 million Series D, but the investor that was looking at the deal, Anthos Capital, is said to have walked away at the eleventh hour. Story continues Eaze is going into the fundraising with an enterprise value of $388 million, according to company documents reviewed by TechCrunch. Its not clear what valuation its aiming for in the next round. An Eaze spokesperson declined to discuss fundraising efforts, but told TechCrunch, "The company is going through a very important transition right now, moving to becoming a plant-touching company through acquisitions of former retail partners that will hopefully allow us to more efficiently run the business and continue to provide good service to customers." Desperate to grow margins The news comes as Eaze is hoping to pull off a verticalization pivot, moving beyond online storefront and delivery of third-party products (rolled joints, flower, vaping products and edibles) and into sourcing, branding and dispensing the product directly. Instead of just moving other company's marijuana brands between third-party dispensaries and customers, it wants to sell its own in-house brands through its own delivery depots to earn a higher margin. With a number of other cannabis companies struggling, the hope is that it will be able to acquire at low prices brands in areas like marijuana flower, pre-rolled joints, vaporizer cartridges or edibles. An Eaze spokesperson confirmed that the company plans to announce the pivot in the coming days, telling TechCrunch that it's "a pretty significant change from provider of services to operating in that fashion but also operating a depot directly ourselves." The startup is already making moves in this direction, and is in the process of acquiring some of the assets of a bankrupt cannabis business out of Canada called Dionymed which had initially been a partner of Eazes, then became a competitor, and then sued it over payment disputes, before finally selling part of its business. These assets are said to include Oakland dispensary Hometown Heart, which it acquired in an all-share transaction (Eaze effectively bought the lawsuit, is how one source described the sale). This will become Eaze's first owned delivery depot. In a recent presentation deck that Eaze has been using when pitching to investors which has been obtained by TechCrunch the company describes itself as the largest direct-to-consumer cannabis retailer in California. It has completed more than 5 million deliveries, served 600,000 customers and tallied up an average transaction value of $85. To date, Eaze has only expanded to one other state beyond California (Oregon). Its aim is to add five more states this year, and another three in 2021. But the company appears to have expected more states to legalize recreational marijuana sooner, which would have provided geographic expansion. Eaze seems to have overextended itself too early in hopes of capturing market share as soon as it became available. An employee at the company tells us that on a good day Eaze can bring in between $800,000 and $1 million in net revenue, which sounds great, except that this is total merchandise value, before any cuts to suppliers and others are made. Eaze makes only a fraction of that amount, one reason why its now looking to verticatlize into more of a primary role in the ecosystem. And thats before considering all of the costs associated with running the business. Eaze is suffering from a problem rampant in the marijuana industry: a lack of working capital. Because banks often won't issue working capital loans to weed-related business, deliverers like Eaze can experience delays in paying back vendors. Another source says late payments have pushed some brands to stop selling through Eaze. Another drain on its finances has been its marketing efforts. A source said out-of-home ads (billboards and the like) allegedly were a significant expense at one point. It has to compete with other pot-purchasing options like visiting retail stores in person, using dispensaries' in-house delivery services or buying via startups like Meadow that act as aggregated online points of sale for multiple dispensaries. Indeed, Eaze claims that its pivot into verticalization will bring it $204 million in revenues on gross transactions of $300 million. It notes in the presentation that it makes $9.04 on an average sale of $85, which will go up to $18.31 if it successfully brings in "private label" products and has more depot control. Selling weed isn't eazy The poor margins are only one of the problems with Eazes current business model, which the company admits in its presentation have led to an inconsistent customer experience and poor customer affinity with its brand especially in the face of competition from a number of other delivery businesses. Playing on the on-demand, delivery-of-everything theme, it connected with two customer bases. First, existing cannabis consumers already using some form of delivery service for their supply; and a newer, more mainstream audience with disposable income that had become more interested in cannabis-related products but might feel less comfortable walking into a dispensary, or buying from a black market dealer. It is not the only startup that has been chasing that audience. Other competitors in the wider market for cannabis discovery, distribution and sales include Weedmaps, Puffy, Blackbird, Chill (a brand from Dionymed that it founded after ending its earlier relationship with Eaze), and Meadow, with the wider industry estimated to be worth some $11.9 billion in 2018 and projected to grow to $63 billion by 2025. Eaze was founded on the premise that the gradual decriminalization of pot first making it legal to buy for medicinal use, and gradually for recreational use would spread across the U.S. and make the consumption of cannabis-related products much more ubiquitous, presenting a big opportunity for Eaze and other startups like it. It found a willing audience among consumers, but also tech workers in the Bay Area, a tight market for recruitment. I was excited for the opportunity to join the cannabis industry, one source said. It has for the most part gotten a bad rap, and I saw Eazes mission as a noble thing, and the team seemed like good people. Eaze CEO Ro Choy That impression was not to last. The company, this employee was told when joining, had plenty of funding with more on the way. The newer funding never materialized, and as Eaze sought to figure out the best way forward, the company cycled through different ideas and leadership: former Yammer executive Keith McCarty, who co-founded the company with Roie Edery (both are now founders at another cannabis startup, Wayv), left, and the CEO role was given to another ex-Yammer executive, Jim Patterson, who was then replaced by Ro Choy, who is the current CEO. I personally lost trust in the ability to execute on some of the vision once I got there, the ex-employee said. I thought that on one hand a picture was painted that wasnt the truth. As we got closer and as Id been there longer and we had issues with funding, the story around why we were having issues kept changing. Several sources familiar with its business performance and culture referred to Eaze as a "shitshow." No 'Push for Kush' The quick shifts in strategy were a recurring pattern that started well before the company got into tight financial straits. One employee recalled an acquisition Eaze made several years ago of a startup called Push for Pizza. Founded by five young friends in Brooklyn, Push for Pizza had gone viral over a simple concept: you set up your favorite pizza order in the app, and when you want it, you pushed a single button to order it. (Does that sound silly? Dont forget, this was also the era of Yo, which was either a low point for innovation, or a high point for cynicism when it came to average consumer intelligence maybe both.) Eazes idea, the employee said, was to take the basics of Push for Pizza and turn it into a weed app, Push for Kush. In it, customers could craft their favorite mix and, at the touch of a button, order it, lowering the procurement barrier even more. The company was very excited about the deal and the prospect of the new app. They planned a big campaign to spread the word, and held an internal event to excite staff about the new app and business line. They had even made a movie of some kind that they showed us, featuring a caricature of Jim the CEO at a the time hanging out of the sunroof of a limo. Then just one week later, the whole plan was scrapped, and the founders of Push for Pizza fired. It was just brushed under the carpet, the former employee said. No one could get anything out of management about what had happened. Something had happened, though: The company had been taking payments by card when it made the acquisition, but the process was never stable and by then it had recently gone back to the cash-only model. Push for Kush by cash was less appealing. They didnt think it would work, the person said, adding that this was the normal course of business at the startup. Big initiatives would just die in favor of pushing out whatever new thing was on the product teams radar. Eaze's spokesperson confirmed that "we did acquire Push for Pizza . . but ultimately didn't choose to pursue [launching Push for Kush]." Payments were a recurring issue for the startup. Eaze started out taking payments only in cash but as the business grew, that became increasingly problematic. The company found itself kicked off the credit card networks and was stuck with a less traceable, more open to error (and theft) cash-only model at a time when one employee estimated it was bringing in between $800,000 and $1 million per day in sales. Eventually, it moved to cards, but not smoothly: Visa specifically did not want Eaze on its platform. Eaze found a workaround, employees say, but it was never above board, which became the subject of the lawsuit between Eaze and Dionymed. Currently the company appears to only take payments via debit cards, ACH transfer and cash, not credit card. Another incident sheds light on how the company viewed and handled security issues. Can Eaze rise from the ashes? At one point, employees allegedly discovered that Eaze was essentially storing all of its customer data including users signatures and other personal information in an Azure bucket that was not secured, meaning that if anyone was nosing around, it could be easily discovered and exploited. The vulnerability was brought to the companys attention. It was something that was up to product to fix, but the job was pushed down the list. It ultimately took seven months to patch this up. I just kept seeing things with all these huge holes in them, just not ready for prime time, one ex-employee said of the state of products. No one was listening to engineers, and no one seemed to be looking for viable products. Eaze's spokesperson confirms a vulnerability was discovered but claims it was promptly resolved. Today, the issue is a more pressing financial one: The company is running out of money. Employees have been told the company may not make its next payroll, and AWS will shut down its servers in two days if it doesnt pay up. Eaze's spokesperson tried to remain optimistic while admitting the dire situation the company faces. "Eaze is going to continue doing everything we can to support customers and the overall legal cannabis industry. We're excited about the future and acknowledge the challenges that the entire community is facing." As medicinal and recreational marijuana access became legal in some states in the latter 2010s, entrepreneurs and investors flocked to the market. They saw an opportunity to capitalize on the end of a major prohibition -- a once in a lifetime event. But high government taxes, enduring black markets, intense competition and a lack of financial infrastructure willing to deal with any legal haziness have caused major setbacks. While the pot business might sound chill, operations like Eaze depend on coordinating high-stress logistics with thin margins and little room for error. Plenty of food delivery startups, from Sprig to Munchery, went under after running into similar struggles, and at least banks and payment processors would work with them. With the odds stacked against it, Eaze has a tough road ahead. It took a fairly long time for the Martin Luther King holiday to receive national recognition, and even today - 37 years after it was passed - it remains one of our less understood holidays by too many Americans. Twenty years after Kings legendary I Have a Dream speech in Washington, D.C., and 15 years after he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, King was finally recognized with a day of commemoration. Even by 1983, North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms tried to block passage by introducing FBI smear tactics collected under J. Edgar Hoover, whose own legacy has diminished with history while Kings has risen. The legislation passed. Today, Kings life and mission remain one of the most vivid memories of his era to those who lived through it, and also to those with awareness of the civil rights movement. But King died nearly 52 years ago, and his impact has been left to be carried on by others, unfortunately with inconsistent or tepid results. Many Americans dont even know why the holiday is in January. Its because King was born on Jan. 15, 1929. Some salute Kings mission and sacrifice but maintain that other African-Americans deserve such recognition at least as much. What King represented to the 20th Century, as perhaps the most obvious example, was reflected by Frederick Douglass in the 19th. This has caused many Americans to look at Martin Luther King Day as a composite holiday which recognizes the overall African-American contribution to our society - in our social fabric, our military, our employment sector and our culture. To this view, Kings life becomes the linchpin for honoring the far deeper, longer fight for civil rights, equality and respect. While that is not the formal reason for the day, it does not diminish Kings legacy, and is one King might have embraced. His dream was always focused on the bigger picture. Its important to recognize that to those for whom this day carries its deepest meaning, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is not a holiday, but a Day of Service. Coming so soon after the Christmas season, the meaning of this day is too often overlooked or worse, trivialized. It deserves much more. It deserves our attention and respect, along with a renewed sense of purpose that the cause of civil rights and respect for all people is ongoing, and as relevant today as when King preached for non-violent awareness and humanity, more than half a century ago. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: Azerbaijans Energy Ministry received 4,092 appeals related to the issues of consumer rights protection, electricity and gas supply as well as metering devices in 2019, Trend reports with reference to the ministry. As many as 1,887 appeals were related to electricity supply, 820 - to gas supply, while 1,385 - to other issues, according to the report. Appeals regarding power supply were related to connection to the power supply network, defects in metering devices, unsuitability of electrical installations and equipment, quality of electricity, power outages and other shortcomings, the report said. The appeals related to gas supply included issues of debt and fines, interruptions in gas supply, gas leakage and metering devices. During the reporting period, 3,533 appeals were considered by the Energy Ministry and the Energy Issues Regulation Agency, the report said. During the reporting period, Azerbaijans Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and deputy ministers received citizens in Baku and the districts. Thus, 362 citizens were received in the cities of Baku, Shirvan, Lankaran, Masalli, Lerik, Khachmaz, Guba, Siyazan, Sheki, Gabala, Zagatala, Ganja, Goranboy, Gadabay, Tovuz, Gazakh, Shamkir, Imishli, Agdam, Beylagan, Yevlakh, Mingachevir, Barda Kurdamir, Goychay and Zardab. Their appeals were heard and measures were taken in accordance with the requirements of the legislation on the issues raised and the appropriate instructions were given to the structural units of the ministry, the report said. Brazil's culture secretary Roberto Alvim resigned on Friday over a speech in which he appeared to quote Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. In a video, Alvim, a member of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro's government, announced a new arts funding program to the background of music by Richard Wagner, a composer many associate with Nazism. "Brazil art over the next decade will be heroic and national," said Alvim, sitting behind a desk as he stared intensely at the camera, with a picture of Bolsonaro behind him, a Brazilian flag to one side and two-barred cross to the other. "It will be endowed with a great capacity for emotional involvement and will also be imperative, because it will be profoundly linked to the urgent aspirations of our people, or it will be nothing," he said, speaking in Portuguese. The wording was similar to phrases attributed to Goebbels in a biography written by German holocaust expert Peter Longerich and published originally in German in 2010. "German art over the next decade will be heroic, it will be resolutely romantic, it will be objective and free of sentimentality," Goebbels was quoted in the book as saying in German. "It will be national with great poignancy and also imperative or it will be nothing." Having initially claimed any similarities between the two speeches were a "rhetorical coincidence," Alvim later stepped down. "Given the huge discomfort caused by this unfortunate episode, I presented my immediate resignation," Alvim wrote on Facebook. "I deeply repudiate any totalitarian regime and declare my absolute repugnance of the Nazi regime." - 'There was a coincidence' - Earlier Rodrigo Maia, the president of the House of Deputies, called for Alvim to be sacked over the speech, which lasted several minutes. The Israeli Confederation of Brazil, which represents Jews in the country, described the comments as "unacceptable" and also demanded his removal. Alvim initially blamed the furore on "the left" and said the similarities were "a fallacy of remote association." "The whole speech is based on a nationalist ideal for Brazilian art and there was a coincidence with one phrase from a speech by Goebbels... I didn't quote him and I never would," he said. However, Alvim admitted he was a fan of what Goebbels said. "The phrase, in itself, is perfect: heroism and the people's aspirations is what we want to see in national art." Bolsonaro described the speech on Twitter as "an unfortunate statement" and said it made Alvim's position "untenable." The president too expressed "rejection of totalitarian and genocidal ideologies, such as Nazism and communism." Alvim had struck an unexpectedly solemn tone in the speech, which announced the creation of an arts prize worth 20 million reais (around $5 million). When taking on his current role in November, he promised to launch a "cultural war" against progressiveness and vowed to align public policy to conservative values. At a gathering of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, two people watch a phone showing a speech by Brazil's culture secretary Roberto Alvim in which he was accused of quoting Joseph Goebbels Brazil's culture minister Roberto Alvim, a former theatre director, denied quoting Joseph Goebbels in a speech but resigned over the scandal Palencia was impressed by the quality of research performed by Lozano Ramos, comparing his work ethic and intelligence to a first-year doctoral student. Hes an amazing student, a very brilliant student, Palencia said. Lozano Ramos was equally impressed by UNK. After graduating from the University of Colima, he hopes to return to Kearney to pursue a masters degree in biology. For UNK, the opportunity to boost international enrollment at the graduate level is one of the advantages of joining DELFIN. When undergraduate students are here, we want to make sure they fall in love with UNK and our programs, and hopefully theyll return as graduate students, said Juan Guzman, director of the Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion. The native of Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico, played a key role in UNKs decision to join DELFIN. Because visiting students must pay for room and board funding is provided by their home institutions, families and Mexicos National Council of Science and Technology hosting undergraduate researchers creates an additional summer revenue source for UNK. The program is also a valuable networking tool. A day after former Congress president Rahul Gandhi attempted to politicise the arrest of Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy SP) Davinder Singh, giving a clean chit to Pakistan over the Pulwama terror attack, he has now questioned the NIA. Taking to Twitter on Friday, he has claimed that the "best way to silence" a matter is to hand it to the NIA. Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi has added that NIA is headed by "another Modi." However, in a massive goof-up - he has misspelt the initials of the NIA chief. While he has written it as "YK", the name The DG of NIA is Yogesh Chander Modi (YC Modi). He has also said that under YC Modi - the case is "as good as dead" because he is the one who investigated Gujarat Riots and Haren Pandya's assassination. He has reiterated the questions he raised the previous day - "Who wants to silence terrorist Davinder and who?" The best way to silence Terrorist DSP Davinder, is to hand the case to the NIA. The NIA is headed by another Modi - YK, who investigated the Gujarat Riots & Haren Pandyas assassination. In YKs care, the case is as good as dead. #WhoWantsTerroristDavinderSilenced And why?? Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 17, 2020 Rahul Gandhi breaks silence on J&K DySP Davinder Singh's arrest, toes Pakistan's line Rahul targets PM, HM NSA Breaking his silence on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and said that Singh should be tried in a fast track court and if he is found guilty, he must be given "harshest possible sentence." The Gandhi family scion also claimed that he should be charged with treason. However, sharing a poster, Rahul Gandhi has asked why the Central government is silent on the matter. He has also similarly attempted to absolve Pakistan of the Pulwama terror attack by seeking details of the DySP's 'role'. He has questioned the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the National Security Advisor and claimed that they are maintaining a silence over the issue. DSP Davinder Singh sheltered 3 terrorists with blood on their hands at his home & was caught ferrying them to Delhi. He must be tried by a fast track court within 6 months & if guilty, given the harshest possible sentence for treason against .#TerroristDavinderCoverUp pic.twitter.com/gc2BlhBOwM Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 16, 2020 READ: BJP slams Cong's religious spin on J&K DySP, asks 'what's your Pak-Pulwama attack doubt?' Dy SP Davinder Singh arrested with Hizbul terrorists On Sunday, deputy superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir Police and two terrorists were detained from a car in south Kashmir. Davinder Singh, who has now been suspended, was posted at the airport, as per news agency PTI. He was arrested allegedly while ferrying Hizbul terrorists - Naveed Babu and Altaf, from the Shopian area on Saturday, officials said in a media briefing. 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. READ: BJP's Tajinder Bagga demands capital punishment for arrested J&K DySP Davinder Singh Davinder Singh had also received Rs 12 lakh from the terrorists to ferry them to Jammu and then Chandigarh for their onward journey to New Delhi, IG (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar told. Notably, he was awarded 'Police Medal for Meritorious Service' in 2019. He is being interrogated by various intelligence agencies, including IB, military intelligence and RAW, besides the police. Singh had disclosed that he had put up the terrorists at his Indira Nagar house in Srinagar, right next to the Army''s 15 Corps Headquarters, and thereafter accompanied them to Jammu in a car driven by the Hizbul overground worker, news agency PTI stated quoting intelligence sources. Currently, he was also on duty ensuring security cover for the envoys of 15 countries who visited Srinagar at the Union governments invitation last week. READ: J&K DGP says politicisation of Davinder Singh's arrest unfortunate, assures zero tolerance A 68-year-old German tourist died in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district on Friday, police said. Rozowski Adelheid had been living in Malkota village in Bharmour tehsil for the last about four months, they said, adding no foul play was found behind her death. Her visa was found valid till February 2 and the German embassy has also been informed about her demise, police said. The body was sent to Medical College Chamba for autopsy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress leadership has decided to offer four seats to its alliance partner RJD and for the remaining seats, its screening committee comprising Chopra, AICC Incharge of Delhi PC Chacko and senior leaders Ahmed Patel and KC Venugopal have been asked to finalise candidates. New Delhi: The Congress is expected to announce Friday the list of candidates for the ensuing Delhi Assembly polls scheduled to be held on 8 February. The candidates were finalised after a meeting of the Congress election committee late on Thursday evening, the party's Delhi unit president Subhash Chopra said. "We have discussed most of the seats and the list will be out soon," Chopra told ANI. When asked if senior leaders will contest the polls in the National Capital, he said, "This will be decided by the high command." However, Chopra said that he will not contest as he has been given the responsibility to manage the elections. The Congress has not yet been able to finalise candidates for the New Delhi seat from where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is set to contest elections. According to party sources, Congress' senior leader Arvinder Lovely is all set to contest from Gandhi Nagar seat. However, Ajay Maken has left to the United States as his daughter is unwell. The party has also given tickets to young faces. Congress leadership has decided to offer four seats to its alliance partner RJD and for the remaining seats, its screening committee comprising Chopra, AICC Incharge of Delhi PC Chacko and senior leaders Ahmed Patel and KC Venugopal have been asked to finalise candidates, party sources told ANI. "Some senior leaders have managed to get the berth for their relatives," sources said. Voting for the 70 Assembly seats in Delhi will take place on 8 February. The counting of votes will take place on 11 February. Fire at Kronospan now in recovery phase This article is old - Published: Friday, Jan 17th, 2020 The fire at the Kronospan factory in Chirk is now in the recovery phase, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed. Firefighters had been at the site since the early hours of Monday morning when a fire broke out at the factorys log yard. The incident involved a quantity of logs and wood chip material. Today a spokesperson for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that crews were no longer in attendance. However staff on site are continuing with the process of damping down the affected wood pile. The spokesperson added that the fire service will continue to monitor the situation. Earlier this week the scale of the smoke coming from the Kronospan site meant that residents were asked to keep their windows and doors shut. Ysgol Y Waun also took the decision on Wednesday to keep pupils indoors all day as a precaution. Advice was issued by Public Health Wales, however there has been criticism from members of the community and local politicians about the lack of information available about the scale of the fire. Last night an emergency meeting of residents and representatives of Kronospan, Natural Resources Wales and Wrexham Council took place in Chirk to raise concerns and discuss the incident. On Tuesday Clwyd South MP, Simon Baynes, also met with members of the Chirk Town Council about the incident. Mr Baynes said that he is keeping closely in touch with residents who have written to me about the problems and with Chirk Town Council itself and that he is due to meet with the chief executive of Wrexham Council and Kronospan. He added: I wanted to express my sympathy and concern again to all the residents of Chirk and the surrounding area about the air quality problems that they have experienced over the last days due to the fire at Kronospan. I would also like to thank North Wales Fire & Rescue service for the great work they have done in dealing with the fire. I am very pleased that Wrexham Council convened a multi-agency meeting on 15th January, with key partners including North Wales Fire and Rescue, North Wales Police, Natural Resources Wales, Public Health Wales and the North Wales Emergency Planning team. The group has agreed to the deployment of Air Quality monitoring equipment and personnel provided by Natural Resources Wales to Chirk to provide actual air quality monitoring readings. I have also been keeping the Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart MP, in touch with developments at Kronospan. I will be available to meet residents in Chirk from 9am 5pm on this Saturday, 18th January, at a walk-in surgery in the Parish Hall, Holyhead Road, Chirk LL14 5NA please email me at simon.baynes.mp@parliament.uk if you would like to attend or come on the day and hopefully you wont have to wait long. Looking to the future, I think it is vital that the planned investigation into the causes of the fire is conducted in an open and transparent manner. We also need to continue the multi-agency approach and ensure that there is independent monitoring of noise and environmental emissions. We all want Kronospan to thrive as a business given the many benefits that it brings to Chirk and the surrounding area in terms of jobs, investment and prosperity and this will be best achieved by open and transparent communication between the company and the surrounding community. Another governor who has maintained his private business interests is West Virginias Jim Justice (R), a former coal and agribusiness tycoon who, since taking office in 2017, has put only a few of the more than 100 companies he owns into a blind trust. In August, state lawmakers called for a reexamination of ethics laws after the Charleston Gazette-Mail and ProPublica found that West Virginia government agencies paid for more than $106,000 in meals and lodging at a luxury resort that the governor owns and that his adult children run. Justice has also denied any wrongdoing, and like Hogan, he has vilified the news organization that covered his conflicts. I think the Charleston Gazette has become the Charleston Enquirer, he said, seemingly referring to the National Enquirer tabloid. . . . Theyre a waste of time. They make no news. All they do is throw garbage. Haiti - Health : 10 years after the earthquake, the Haitian health system at the edge of the abyss 10 years after the earthquake that devastated Haiti, the NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warns of the current deterioration of the Haitian health system, seriously affected by the current political and economic crisis and which is now "at the edge of the abyss." MSF stresses that health facilities, including those run by the NGO, are struggling to provide basic services due to "shortages of medicines, oxygen, blood, fuel and staff" while medical needs are important. The NGO recalls that in 2019, "the Emergency Stabilization Center in the Martissant district of Port-au-Prince received an average of 2,450 patients per month, 10% of whom were with gunshot wounds, lacerations or other injuries caused by violence. [...] The MSF hospital in the Drouillard district of Port-au-Prince, the only care structure in the country for severely burned people, experienced a peak in activity in September https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-28891-haiti-security-explosion-of-gas-in-les-cayes-sympathies-and-care-of-victims.html , when he admitted a total of 141 patients suffering from severe burns , mainly caused by accidents. [...] In Delmas, where MSF runs a program for victims of sexual violence, the number of patients decreased during this period of increased violence, simply because it had become too difficult to access the establishment. [...] In rural areas, such as Port-a-Piment where MSF supports emergency and maternal health services, the effect of the crisis on the Haitian health system is also evident: the referral hospital and the South Department blood bank closed last October after being looted, and is still not fully functional. To organize the transfer of patients in critical condition, it sometimes takes 5 hours to find a hospital that can accept them. [...] In the north of the country where MSF was preparing to open two care facilities for victims of sexual violence, activities could not start due to the lack of fuel and access difficulties." Faced with the worsening of this crisis, MSF has set up new projects to treat patients that the Haitian medical system cannot take care of. In November 2019, MSF reopened a 50-bed trauma center in the Tabarre district of Port-au-Prince https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29462-haiti-crisis-msf-opens-new-hospital-specialized-in-serious-injuries.html The NGO also reinforced its aid to the Ministry of Health by donating medical equipment and materials, rehabilitating medical structures, training the staff of the main public hospital in Port-au-Prince, as well as supporting a hospital in Port-Salut in the South department and 10 health centers throughout the country. HL/ HaitiLibre The remarkable story of Angela Rayners rise from teenage single mother to Labour MP and Corbynista poster girl has made her favourite to be the partys new deputy leader. But the flame-haired Left-winger has been left embarrassed by a political thriller titled Betrayal written by her former chief aide. The book is about a northerner called Abigail Jeffers who had her first child at 16, became a union official, an MP with a gobby mouth and Labour education spokesman determined to be leader. She wears bright green jackets, colourful scarves, flashy shoes and is known as The Diva by her Commons staff. Anyone who knows Miss Rayner, 39, might be forgiven for saying the protagonist bears a striking similarity to the politician, though author Matt Finnegan is insistent it is a complete work of fiction. To add to the intrigue, a Daily Mail investigation has established how Labour secured a controversial gagging order after a bitter fall-out between Miss Rayner and former special adviser Mr Finnegan, 62. The remarkable story of Angela Rayners rise from teenage single mother to Labour MP and Corbynista poster girl has made her favourite to be the partys new deputy leader But the flame-haired Left-winger has been left embarrassed by a political thriller titled Betrayal written by her former chief aide Matt Finnegan He was secretly paid 20,000 compensation by Labour after suing her for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. Government records show he withdrew the claim in February 2018 before it reached a full employment tribunal hearing. At Labours request, Mr Finnegan signed a controversial non-disclosure agreement ensuring it was covered up. SOUND FAMILIAR, MISS RAYNER? Abi has a child who she gave birth to at the age of 16 and figured in many of her speeches. Miss Rayner has often spoken of her life since giving birth at 16 Abi tells how Labours Sure Start saved her and her baby daughter. Miss Rayner once said: If I hadnt had access to the local Sure Start centre, I would never have had the help I and my son needed. Abi gets her first job as a Unison shop steward. Miss Rayners first proper job was as Unison shop steward Abi becomes Labour MP for a North East seat and is soon promoted to become education spokesman. Miss Rayner became Labour MP in 2015 for Ashton-under-Lyne and soon became education spokesman Abi is described as gobby but bright. Miss Rayner once said she was seen by colleagues as a gobby northern ginger lass Abi has long hair, wears a trademark green designer jacket and colourful scarves. Miss Rayner has long hair, wears a bright green designer jacket and colourful scarves Advertisement Mr Finnegan said last night: The book draws on my experience in the Labour Party over 30 years. But it is a work of fiction. Asked if MP Abigail was based on Miss Rayner, he said: People who read the book will draw their own conclusions about the characters in it and what happens when politicians pursue power ruthlessly. The book is full of detail about the kinds of plotting and partying that go on at Labours annual conference accumulated by Mr Finnegan in his roles as a press officer, activist and candidate. He became Miss Rayners special adviser after she won her Ashton-under-Lyne seat, near Manchester, in 2015. His 28,000 salary was jointly funded by the Commons authorities and the Labour Party, although his compensation was funded wholly by Labour. Labour sources say Mr Finnegan was sacked when he was on sick leave after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The novel features numerous characteristics a reader may think point to similarities between Miss Rayner known to friends as Angi and Abigail known as Abi in Betrayal. Abi has a child who she gave birth to at the age of 16 and who figured in many of her speeches as an MP just like Miss Rayner. The book tells of Abis back story as a teenage mum, how she never had a proper education, and was rescued by the Labour governments Sure Start scheme. Miss Rayner wrote in 2017: If I hadnt had access to the support of my local Sure Start centre, I would never have had the help I, and my son, needed. In the novel, Abi says: I remember when I was a young, unmarried mum, and every day I had to count the pennies to see what I could afford, to feed my baby daughter. Miss Rayner has told how she grew up so poor there was never any breakfast in the morning. After having a baby she was determined to be the best parent I could because Mum couldnt give me those things. Both the real and fictional characters became shop stewards for public sector trade union Unison. In the book Abi is called gobby but bright. Sure enough, in 2018 Miss Rayner said she was seen as a gobby northern ginger lass. They even look the same: the character in the novel appears resplendent in a bright green jacket, as Miss Rayner did at the 2016 Labour conference. Both prefer long hair and colourful scarves. And they share a weakness for shoes. In real life, Miss Rayner was so incensed at missing out on a limited edition pair of Star Wars shoes she complained on Commons headed notepaper The fictitious Abis aide curses her for demanding he bring her a different pair of shoes for each day of a week-long event. In real life, Miss Rayner was so incensed at missing out on a limited edition pair of Star Wars shoes she complained on Commons headed notepaper. The incident seems to be thinly disguised in the book, with Abi using official stationery to try to book a table at Londons trendy Ivy restaurant. The novel, however, then veers well into the realms of fiction as Abi is caught out in an 80 expenses hotel scam after a drunken one-night stand with a fellow shadow cabinet member. Ordered to quit by the shadow chancellor, Abi takes advantage of his diabetic coma to give him a fatal insulin overdose and so cover up her expenses scandal and position herself to be Labour leader. The book ends with her crime being exposed by a hard-partying Daily Mail political reporter. Miss Rayner declined to comment last night. The Labour Party failed to respond to requests for a comment. Subscriber content preview Photo by Brian Miller [enlarge] The 1890s Delmar Building has about 10,700 square feet of offices on three levels. The Delmar Building, at 108 S. Washington St., has sold for a little over $7.3 million, according to King County records. The buyer was Delmar Plus Inc., a Delaware corporation associated with Seattle Gummy Co. That children's drug-delivery-systems maker currently leases offices nearby in Pioneer Square. . . . According to Marcelo Zanusso, Latin America Regional Manager for Buehler, "We are excited to partner with Grupo Mess, an outstanding distributor with in-depth technical knowledge, experienced service team and impeccable standards. Mess's management is familiar with Buehler's metallographic products and the unique requirements of industrial customers. With three locations and a complete service department, Mess will provide all of Mexico with saws, grinder / polishers, mounting presses, microscopes, hardness testers, hardness blocks and consumables. I look forward to working with Mess and providing outstanding care to Mexico's fabricators, research centers and universities." Oscar Morales, Grupo Mess General Manager notes, "We are honored to take on the Buehler line of metallographic and Wilson hardness testing products. As a solution-based company, we promise Buehler customers uncompromising support, a dedicated sales team, knowledgeable application specialists and expert installation, training and service. Our team includes seasoned professionals in metallography and we look forward to continuing this legacy throughout Mexico. We are focused on offering top solutions to our customers and for this we have aligned with Buehler for the most innovative metallographic equipment and consumables that helps customers exceed their expectations." Mess Servicios Metrologicos S. de R.L. de C.V. offers integral metrological solutions in the following areas: dimensional, force/strength, torque, temperature, electrical, pressure, mobile area, surface finishing, patrons, CMM's, metallography, microscopy, inspection and measurement, fixtures/gages design and manufacturing, hand tools calibration, vision/optics, energy quality, high accuracy, calibration and hardness. Grupo Mess will additionally have onsite a Buehler metallography and hardness testing laboratory for customer solutions. Grupo Mess supports manufacturers and metal shops with process solutions, equipment solutions and related services. Grupo Mess will be exhibiting at ExpoManufactura 2020, stand 1112 February 11-13, 2020 in Monterrey, Mexico. Grupo Mess complies with the requirements of ISO / IEC 17025: 2005 / NMX-EC-17025-IMNC-2006, where all laboratory personnel are familiar with the Quality Management System for its correct application and continuous improvement. Grupo Mess is recognized by three accreditation bodies: Entidad Mexicana de Acreditacion, a.c. (EMA), Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation Inc. (PJLA) and the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). For information, visit www.mess.com.mx/, email [email protected] or by telephone in Mexico 800-347-0773. Buehler, An ITW Company, is a global industrial manufacturer of value-added consumables, materials sample preparation equipment, and the Wilson line of hardness testers along with related service businesses. Buehler is celebrating the 100 years of Wilson excellence in hardness testing in 2020. Buehler innovates solutions and offers expert service and support throughout the materials preparation and analysis market. For additional information on the Buehler product offering please visit in Mexico www.buehler.mx or in the United States www.buehler.com or contact Buehler at [email protected] or call 1-847-295-6500. SOURCE Buehler Related Links http://www.buehler.com "India has not only emerged as the largest democracy but has flourished and strengthened as a parliamentary system in which the Constitution protects the rights of every society," said the Union Minister while addressing the 7th conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region here.Naqvi, who spoke on 'Enhancing Focus of Legislators on Legislative Business', said that the public representatives should have a vision of honesty towards their duties and responsibilities."Just as we remain aware of fundamental rights. In the same way, we have to understand the responsibility towards the basic duties. The fundamental rights of citizens are based on the discharge of fundamental duties as both rights and duties cannot be separated from each other. There is a need to take the duties towards the nation seriously by citizens," he said.Naqvi said that it is extremely important to uphold fundamental rights related to life, liberty, equality, and freedom of expression. He said that the rights and fundamental duties are equally important."Civil rights and responsibility are two sides of the same coin and both go hand in hand. If we hold rights, then we also have some obligations associated with those rights wherever we are living -- whether it is at home, society, village, state or country, rights and responsibilities go with us, step by step," he added.Naqvi stressed that public representatives in legislatures must contribute their time, energy, information, and ideas to make effective legislation."It is in this context that the focus of legislative work and the people's representatives and increasing their capacity is very important for the success of parliamentary democracy," he said.The minister said that in today's era, the process of policymaking is constantly evolving and becoming scientific."In view of the changing socio-political conditions, it is necessary for public representatives to strengthen the order of interaction with the various groups associated with the people," he said.Naqvi said that the main function of public representatives is to make laws for which they should have the ability to identify the issues related to the policy, find possible legislative options to resolve that issue.However, he said that in the successful functioning of parliamentary democracy in India, various challenges related to political, social, economic and technological development are hindered, which can be dealt with only when the people's representatives are aware and sensitive to various issues related to legislative importance and they have updated information related to these issues is available. (ANI) Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Friday slammed Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his "fascist approach" and asserted that he is taking "political mileage" by protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and lying to people about Population Register (NPR) updation. "Kerala government is slapping cases against those protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. It is a fascist approach. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is trying to take political mileage pretending to protest against it and is lying to people on NPR updation," Ramesh Chennithala told media persons here. Chennithala, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly, further alleged that the chief minister is publically opposing the newly amended law but is secretly trying to implement it in the state. The comments came in the backdrop of a resolution moved by the state assembly seeking withdrawal of the law. Vijayan recently wrote letters to his counterparts in 11 states asking them to consider passing a similar resolution like that of his state. The Kerala government has also moved the Supreme Court against the Act which grants Indian citizenship to minorities from three countries - Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.In the petition, the government stated that the act violates "Articles 14, 21, and 25 of the Constitution of India" and is violative of the basic structure principle of secularism as well. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The directorial debut of University of San Francisco alum Rosana Sullivan will look familiar to San Franciscans: The Mission's famous street art as well as Bernal Hill play starring roles in her Oscar-nominated short film produced by Pixar. Plus, California has its eye on a glorious East Bay ranch to be our next state park; Green Day wants to play a show in your backyard; and one developer wants to charge big bucks for underground sleeping pods to settle our serious housing problem. These and more local stories to chew on over brunch. East Bay lawmakers desperate to buy gorgeous $72M ranch, Curbed SF While they're still more than $20 million short, a 50,500-acre East Bay ranchcomplete with "steep canyons, rolling woodlands, grasslands, rugged rock outcroppings, secluded meadows, and impressive watersheds" could become California's next state park. Read more. Green Day Looking to Play a Fan's 'Big Backyard,' Barn or Garage for Album Release Show, Billboard If you're luckyand have California real estateGreen Day could headline your next backyard bash. Read more. youtu.be Mission Districtset cartoon 'Kitbull' is nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short, SF Gate San Franciscans will recognize the Mission's mural filled streets and the view from Bernal Heights Park in USF alum Rosana Sullivan's tale of a kitten and a pit bull. Read more. See the proposed plans for underground 'sleeping pods' in San Francisco, SF Gate Developer Chris Elsey is convinced that his plans for 88 so-called sleeping pods located deep below the streets of the Mission could help solve the SF housing crisis. If approved, expect a $1,000 price tagand up. Wanna come back to my underground pod to Netflix and chill? Read more. Lingering too long over breakfast? At one Nob Hill hotel, that'll cost you $30, SF Chronicle Thanks to the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the Fairmont's swanky Laurel Court restaurant is tacking on an extra $30 per person per hour if your leisurely breakfast lasts more than 90 minutes this week. Read more. By Michael R. Czinkota President Donald Trump ordered the termination of Major General Quassim Soleimani of Iran in retribution for his terrorist plans and activities. Iran retaliated with a missile strike on Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops. As a result, President Trump announced new economic sanctions against Tehran. Many now wonder whether the U.S.' involvement is worth it. But these exchanges are mostly imagery. Our policy planners need to have a vision of how our relationship with the world should be 20 years from now. Future generations should know that our policies, activities, efforts and investments were worth the effort. At issue is the long-term outcome of these policy measures. Today, if you ask the State Department for travel advice, you will be referred to the "Travel Warnings" website. On it, you will find many admonitions of where not to go and what not to do. For example, the State Department issued a global security alert Jan. 8 to warn U.S. citizens of heightened tension in the Middle East. Americans are advised to "keep a low profile, avoid demonstrations or large gatherings, be aware of surroundings and stay alert in locations frequented by tourists." The travel advisory puts Iran on a Level 4: Do Not Travel, which indicates a growing risk of the kidnapping, arrest and detention of U.S. citizens. Iraq and Syria are also ranked Level 4 due to potential instances of terrorism, kidnapping and armed conflict. U.S. citizens who decide to travel to Iraq or Syria are advised to "draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney" and to "discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, funeral wishes, etc." All these measures are helpful but what is needed is continued long-term thinking as to how we will achieve globally a rating of Level 1 as we have for Canada and Hungary, which encourages travel with normal precautions. Being American should eventually be a sign of safety and security, as it was for the biblical St. Paul. A brief review of the life of St. Paul, also called the 13th apostle, may provide guidance and inspiration. His birth name was Saul. He was a Jew and converted to Christianity. He was born in Tarsus of the Roman Empire, which made him a Roman citizen. He was an indefatigable traveler, an early globalist who wrote numerous letters, many of which significantly challenged the status quo, and therefore were written missives of equivalent to many missiles. He established churches in Asia Minor. He evangelized in Macedonia, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth and Malta. During his life and travels, he was often met with great hostility and persecution. The Roman emperor himself was none too pleased with Paul's preaching and traveling. In an era of multi-deities, Christianity was not exactly popular in the reigning circles of the day. What are the lessons here? St. Paul reached out to the world. His message was controversial, but it has survived quite well until today. He was not popular for his message but he got the word out. He did not hesitate to go to the far corners of the world of his day. In spite of all the controversy and hatred that he faced, the people he encountered abroad did not harm him. Even when he was a captive in the provinces, he was untouchable and treated with respect and hospitality because he was protected by his citizenship of Rome. St. Paul's circumstances can be our guide for a vision of the future. We are proud to be Americans and the world should know it. There are special conditions associated with American citizenship and our exposure and policies should enhance rather than hide that fact. Some of that "specialness" is reflected in our international policies. In a statement addressing the nation the day after the strike against Major General Soleimani, President Trump stated that "under my leadership, America's policy is unambiguous to terrorists who harm or intend to harm any American. We will find you. We will eliminate you. We will always protect our diplomats, service members, all Americans and our allies." In order to find out whether the effort was worth it, we should see where we are in the next generation. By then, when requesting a travel advisory from the State Department, here is what I'd like to see: "As a traveler, you are advised to carry identification of being a U.S. citizen with you at all times. Wear an American flag pin to let everyone know that you are an American. This way, you will carry an umbrella of respect, safety and security. Remember, you represent your country. We wish you success in your travels." Some might think of such a vision as perhaps lacking in humility. I see it as a worthwhile goal to strive for, as a translation of a national effort onto individual well-being, and as an outcome that will truly help bring peace to the world. After all, if Americans are secure, others will be as well. Professor Michael Czinkota teaches international marketing and business at Georgetown University. His most recent book is "In Search for the Soul of International Business." He served as deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Commerce in the Reagan and Bush administration. At least three Turkish military personnel were killed in a car bomb explosion in the area of Ankara's military operation in northeastern Syria, the Turkish Defense Ministry said. "On January 16, our three comrades died as a result of the car bomb explosion in the Operation Peace Spring area," the ministry said. On Thursday, a source in the Free Syrian Army (FSA) told Sputnik that six soldiers, including two Turkish officers, were killed in a car bomb blast in front of the military headquarters in Syria's Tel Abyad border town. In early October, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring in northeastern Syria to clear the territory of Kurdish and IS (terrorist group, outlawed in Russia) fighters. Shortly after, Ankara reached two separate conditional deals with the United States and Russia. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated in mid-December that Kurdish units were not removed from the safe zone, and that Ankara would continue military operations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By PTI KATHMANDU: Nepal will allow India to take home 173,072 kgs of red sandalwood that it had confiscated during the last 10 years while it was being smuggled to China from India through the Nepalese territory, according to a media report. Both Nepal and India are parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a multinational treaty which has stipulated a provision of returning confiscated contraband to the country of origin. The Nepal government said that India can take home 173,072 kilograms of red sandalwood within 90 days, the Himalayan Times reported on Thursday. "The red sandalwood would be handed over to the concerned Indian authority through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as per Article VII of the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Control Act-2016," Minister of Communications and Information Gokul Prasad Baskota said during a press conference here. He also said that the transportation cost for returning the precious wood will be borne by India. Baskota said that Nepal's Ministry of Forests and Environment was having a hard time in managing the stash of red sandalwood seized from smugglers. The value of the seized sandalwood was not provided. "At least four to five armed police personnel have been deployed to guard the red sandalwood on the premises of the Department of Forest in Babar Mahal," he said. Matthew Aimers (seen in February 2019 after he was charged with assault) was sentenced on Thursday to six years' probation A New Jersey groom who allegedly forced himself on an underage waitress during his wedding reception will avoid prison time and won't have to register as a sex offender as part of a negotiated plea deal with prosecutors. Matthew Aimers, 32, of Willingboro was sentenced on Thursday to six years' probation after he pleaded guilty to two counts of simple assault, indecent exposure, and disorderly conduct - all misdemeanors, according to records. The simple assault charges stem from a separate incident involving Aimers and another staff member who told him he could not take alcohol outside. In Pennsylvania, indecent exposure to a minor is a first-degree misdemeanor that carries a maximum prison sentence of two years. It also requires registration as a sex offender. Simple assault is also a misdemeanor charge that carries with it a maximum penalty of two years in prison. But Aimers' lawyer, Louis Busico, told DailyMail.com that he would never have agreed to any deal with prosecutors that would have required his client to serve time in prison or to register with the commonwealth as a sex offender. DailyMail.com reached out to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office for comment on why prosecutors didn't insist on prison time for Aimers. A spokesperson declined to get into specifics, saying that the plea bargain was agreed to during the course of negotiations with Aimers' attorneys. As part of the plea agreement with prosecutors in Bucks County, the more serious charges, including indecent assault, false imprisonment of a minor, harassment, and other offenses, were dropped. If Aimers was convicted at trial of the most serious charge - false imprisonment of a minor, a second degree felony in Pennsylvania - he would have faced between five and 10 years in prison. A Bucks County official said Aimers was ordered to have no contact with the victim. The victim's age has not been made public. Aimers is also required to undergo anger management and must continue treatment with a therapist. He is also not permitted to possess or consume alcohol during the duration of his probation. Aimers (seen above with wife Kayla at their wedding in Northampton Valley Country Club in Richboro in November 2018) is alleged to have sexually assaulted an underage waitress during his own wedding reception Aimers is alleged to have exposed himself to the underage waitress. 'Can you kiss me like you mean it?' Aimers is said to have told the waitress during the encounter Aimers was supported publicly by his wife, Kayla, who was seen holding her husband's hand as they made their way into court for proceeding last April Courtesy of KYW Newsradio If he complies with the terms of his probation, his punishment could be reduced even further. Bucks County Assistant District Attorney Megan Hunsicker told The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday that prosecutors decided it was best to negotiate a plea agreement with Aimers after consulting with the alleged victim. Hunsicker said that the plea deal was 'the best outcome.' 'The victim in this case was highly traumatized by what he did to her,' Hunsicker said. 'His actions were inappropriate and unwarranted. 'This conviction will, I hope, provide her with a resolution that allows her life to move on.' The waitress alleged that Aimers (pictured with his wife, Kayla) propositioned her, offering $100. After she refused his advances, he allegedly followed her into the ladies' bathroom and cornered her in a stall Busico expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the case. 'As of last week, we were fully ready and prepared to proceed to trial on all charges in both cases,' Busico said. 'However, when additional discussions and negotiations produced a result which would not incarcerate Mr. Aimers, which would not result in any felony convictions, and would not have any registration requirements, we believed it was in the best interest to resolve this case in this fashion, so his life can go on.' Busico told DailyMail.com: 'Once the DA saw fit to remove felonies, incarceration and registration requirements in Pennsylvania, it didnt seem intelligent to risk losing that kind of a resolution.' Aimers was arrested and charged in connection with the alleged incident, which took place during his wedding reception at Northampton Valley Country Club in Richboro, Pennsylvania, in November 2018. Authorities alleged in court documents that Aimers approached the waitress and propositioned her for sex, offering $100. She refused. Moments later, Aimers allegedly followed her into the ladies' bathroom and cornered her in a stall. He then began kissing and touching her inappropriately, according to investigators. Aimers is then alleged to have exposed himself to the waitress. 'Can you kiss me like you mean it?' Aimers is said to have told the waitress during the encounter. The waitress was then able to push Aimers away and escape, according to authorities. Aimers was arrested a few hours after the reception on unrelated charges after he punched an employee who tried to stop him from taking alcohol outside. At his previous court appearance, Aimers was supported publicly by his wife, Kayla, who was seen holding her husband's hand as they made their way inside. His attorney said at the time that their united front was proof of his innocence, telling the court: 'If he committed a crime, not even Dr. Phil could keep them together. 'And the fact that they still are together shows that my client is an innocent man.' On Wednesday afternoon, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency ahead of a gun rights rally set for this Monday in Richmond, the state capital, temporarily barring anyone from carrying a firearm on the grounds of the Capitol building. According to the governors executive order, to take effect today at 5 p.m., there is credible intelligence, gathered by the states law enforcement agencies, that thousands of advocates will be descending on the city, many armed, with the intent to engage in violence, rioting, and insurrection. The anti-gun control group Virginia Citizens Defense League is organizing the event, which takes place on the national holiday honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The groups Facebook page reports more than 5,700 people plan on attending, with over 9,900 interested. Some commenters on the Facebook page say they will not abide by the weapons ban. GQ reports that armed militia groups, including the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, plan to attend. In Virginia, along with controlling the governors seat, Democrats recently took control of both houses, marking the first time since 1994 that the Democratic Party controls both the executive and legislative branches. Democrats in Virginia campaigned largely on promising stronger gun control, sparking Mondays planned rally by far-right and neo-Nazi groups. The governors order provides that no weapons will be allowed on the Capitol grounds and surrounding state property from 5 p.m. today through 5 p.m. Tuesday. At his press conference announcing the state of emergency, Northam referenced the August 2017 events in Charlottesville, Virginia, where fascists rampaged through the city, beating protesters, and James Fields, a neo-Nazi, intentionally drove his car into an anti-fascist demonstration on the citys downtown mall, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. Northam stated, No one wants another incident like the one we saw in Charlottesville. We will not allow that mayhem and violence to happen here. The 2017 anti-fascist demonstration was called in response to a Unite the Right rally, in which fascist slogans such as Jews will not replace us and Blood and soil were shouted during a far-right torch-light march on the campus of the University of Virginia. The Unite the Right rally also saw right-wing demonstrators openly carrying weapons, including semi-automatic firearms. In response to the far-right violence in Charlottesville, President Donald Trump infamously stated that the far-right thugs were very fine people. On Twitter, Northam added that the intelligence gathered by the state includes extremist rhetoric similar to what has been seen before major incidents, such as Charlottesville in 2017. This intelligence suggests militia groups and hate groups, some from out of state, plan to come to the Capitol to disrupt our democratic process with acts of violence. In the press conference, Northam went further, stating that officials believe that armed militia groups plan to storm the Capitol during the rally. Underscoring the potential for violence at Mondays rally, on Thursday the FBI announced the arrest, in the nearby state of Delaware, of three alleged members of the neo-Nazi group The Base. According to the FBI, the three had discussed traveling to Mondays rally in Richmond. Arrested were 27-year-old Patrik Jordan Mathews, a former Canadian soldier dismissed from the military after his white supremacist views came to light; 33-year-old Brian M. Lemley Jr., a former US Army soldier; and 19-year-old William G. Bilbrough. Lemley and Bilbrough allegedly helped smuggle Mathews across the Canadian border into the United States. According to the FBI, Mathews was trained as a combat engineer and considered an expert in explosives. An affidavit filed with the federal complaint states that Lemley and Mathews bought about 1,650 rounds of ammunition. The three were indicted on various weapons charges, while Lemly and Bilbrough were charged with transporting and harboring an alien for facilitating Mathews entry into the US. According to the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), The Base describes itself as an international survivalist and self-defense network, which seeks to train members to fight a race war that will overthrow the government. The CEP further reports that The Base has organized training camps around North America on weaponry and military tactics and has also distributed manuals for lone-wolf terror attacks, bomb-making, counter-surveillance and guerrilla warfare. In addition to North America, The Base is active in Europe, South Africa and Australia. It is unclear if the neo-Nazi group takes its name and/or tactics from Al Qaeda, the Arabic phrase for The Base. According to the CEP, The Base draws inspiration and membership from the fascist Atomwaffen Division (AWD). Back in October, two Washington state police departments seized a cache of firearms from a suspected leader of AWD. Implicated in at least five murders since 2017, AWD has been tied to plots to bomb synagogues and nuclear power plants. Its members include active and retired US military. It gained prominence in 2016 when it distributed a flyer urging students to Join Your Local Nazis! In September 2019, The Base member Richard Tobin from New Jersey allegedly orchestrated the vandalism of synagogues in Michigan and Wisconsin. The FBI charged him in November. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported after Tobins arrest that he told federal investigators that he envisioned the synagogue attacks as part of a wider nationwide campaign he termed Operation Kristallnacht, a chilling reference to the notorious operation carried out by German Nazis against Jewish synagogues, homes and businesses in 1938, which prefigured the Holocaust. According to court documents, Tobin also plotted violent actions against African Americans outside a shopping mall in New Jersey, waiting in the parking lot with a machete to let loose on black shoppers. Tobin said that he was triggered by the state of the country, such as when he saw a Pride parade or a large number of African Americans in one location, FBI Special Agent Jason D. Novick wrote. There were so many African Americans around [the mall] that enraged him. The international links of The Base are consistent with the activities of neo-Nazi Brenton Tarrant, the Australian who murdered 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March of 2019. Prior to carrying out the massacre of Muslims, Tarrant met openly with neo-Nazis all over Europe and Asia. Additionally, in 2018, Tarrant donated 1,500 to the Austrian extremist Identitarian Movement. The Identitarians emerged 16 years ago in France and have connections with neo-Nazi groups across Europe. Tarrant, in his manifesto, estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of European soldiers and police who belong to nationalist groups, a contention that comports with the presence of US and Canadian military veterans in AWD and The Base. While there currently is no large movement or mass constituency for fascism, workers must be warned that the ruling elite all over the world is vomiting up reaction. From Bolsonaro in Brazil to the growth of the AfD in Germany, to Macrons rehabilitation of Vichy Nazi collaborator Marshal Petain, to Modi in India, the ruling class is prepared to answer the deepening crisis of the capitalist system with authoritarian forms of rule. In the US, Trump seeks to build an extra-constitutional movement linking fascist elements within the state with isolated far-right elements, such as those who will be gathering in Richmond on Monday, promoting the growth of such movements. No support can be given to the Democratic Party in the fight against the far right. It opposes Trump on the right-wing basis that he is insufficiently ready to carry out war with Russia, while doing nothing to oppose the drive to war with Iran or his attacks on immigrants and the working class as a whole. The Democrats fecklessness and complicity enable Trump. The fight against fascism instead requires attacking it at its source: the rotting capitalist system. To defeat the rise of the far right, workers of all races and nationalities must unite in a political struggle against capitalism and for social equality. Andrew Constance, the state Liberal member for Bega, called the bushfire destruction on the NSW South Coast a 'humanitarian crisis' Thousands of bushfire survivors in New South Wales still haven't received any money in a situation described as a 'humanitarian crisis'. Since New Year's Eve, more than 1,200 homes have burnt down on the state's South Coast. Andrew Constance, the state Liberal member for Bega, said his community was suffering from trauma. 'It's one in our backyard. This is not happening overseas, this is happening a couple of hours drive from Canberra and Sydney,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Friday. 'There's the short-term humanitarian crisis versus the long-term hope that we need people to see a future and that's just not happening at the moment.' Mr Constance, who is also a NSW government minister, was frustrated at the slow distribution of funds from Centrelink - for those who had lost their homes and now also faced losing their jobs as firestorms destroyed towns. Scroll down for video Since New Year's Eve, more than 1,200 homes have been burnt on the New South Wales South Coast (pictured is a home at Lake Conjola that was destroyed on January 1) Bushfire survivors on the South Coast are now entitled to a $1,000 payment along with $400 for each child at school as part of a federal government response to the natural disaster. 'If announcements are going to be made about money from government, we've got to make sure that the money is in people's accounts that day,' Mr Constance said. 'It's not a case of make the announcement, then try and work it out because that is a false hope. 'People are needing the support right now at this very minute.' Mr Constance said the community was grateful for the generous donations but was frustrated at charities for being slow to distribute funds to the needy. 'The outpouring of gratitude for the generosity of Australians has been amazing but there's too many people in the middle,' he said. 'The welfare bureaucracies, and I'm talking the Salvation Army types, they're getting all this money coming in. How the hell's it going out? 'It's got to compute. You can't collect a dollar then spend 30 cents of that dollar administering it. 'It's got to go to the people who need it now who are in this crisis and not next week, not the week after, right now.' Mr Constance, who is also a NSW government minister, was frustrated at the slow distribution of funds from Centrelink for those who had lost their homes and now faced also losing their jobs (pictured is a burned-out Mazda6 wagon at Rosedale on the NSW South Coast) Biggest donors to Australian bushfires Andrew and Nicola Forrest: $70 million ($10 million in direct support) Celeste Barber Facebook fundraiser: $50 million WIRES animal Facebook fundraiser: $14 million Paul Ramsay Foundation: $30 million Commonwealth Bank: $9 million Crown and the Packer family: $5 million NAB: $5 million Coles: $4 million ($1 million cash, $3 million gift cards) BHP: $2 million Westpac: $1.5 million Woolworths: $1.5 million ($1 million goods, $500,000 cash) Leonardo DiCaprio's Earth Alliance: $US3 million ($4.3 million) Amazon: $1 million ANZ: $1 million Rio Tinto: $1 million Orica: $1 million Pratt Foundation: $1 million Qantas: $1 million John and Pauline Gandel: $1 million Sir Elton John: $1 million Chris Hemsworth: $1 million Atlassian Foundation: $1 million Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar: $1 million Shane Warne fundraiser (baggie green cap auction): $1 million Metallica: $750,000 Kylie and Dannii Minogue: $500,000 Justin Hemmes: $500,000 Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban: $500,000 Pink: $500,000 Lewis Hamilton: $500,000 Canva: $500,000 Russell Crowe's Rabbitohs cap auction: $500,000 Master Builders Australia: $150,000 Law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler: $100,000 Advertisement Mr Constance said the bushfire crisis had traumatised his son and daughter, aged 10 and 12. 'I can't describe it any other way but pain and trauma and people are still scared,' he said. 'It's bad. It's so hurtful, so painful and traumatic. We're seeing anxiety in our kids, it's off the charts. 'The littlies, this has changed so many lives and it's going to hit people in waves in different ways.' The Liberal MP of almost 17 years said he needed counselling, after almost losing his house at Malua Bay as bushfires destroyed 40 houses in his suburb in early January. This is where 1,000 people fled to the beach on New Year's Day to escape the danger of the blazes. 'I'm the first to put up and say, "Look, I'm going to need trauma counselling after this because I saw the front, I saw terrible things",' Mr Constance said. Since New Year's Eve, 1,200 homes have burnt down on the NSW South Coast, including 453 in the Eurobodalla Shire Council area. 'Hundreds of homes in these areas that have been burnt out and just because someone doesn't live in a town or a village, doesn't mean this isn't affecting them very badly,' Mr Constance said. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Salvation Army for a response. Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], Jan 17 (ANI): A local special court on Thursday sentenced former IPS officer Rajendra Chaturvedi to five years of imprisonment for taking bribe for recruiting of jail wardens when he was the additional director general (prisons). Additional Sessions Judge S Pandey awarded the punishment to the Chaturvedi who allegedly accepted in excess of Rs 12 lakh between January 1 and May 26, 2003 on false promise of appointing some people as jail guards. In 2006, a complaint was lodged against him with the Economic Offences Wing. The court has also imposed on him a fine of Rs 8.75 lakhs. (ANI) Thursday was a day of pomp and ceremony in the Senate at the opening of the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. But apart from all the scripted theater, the formalities marked a new and important test for the Republicans who control the upper chamber and therefore what kind of trial the country sees and what history remembers of those who sat in judgment. The challenge for Republicans is not the question of the ultimate disposition of the case against Trump contained in the two articles of impeachment read into the record on the Senate floor at midday on Thursday. That appears to be a foregone conclusion, given the partisan makeup of the Senate. Instead it is the question of how they will address and digest evidence of the president's actions with regard to Ukraine that has come out over the past four months. It is not just the president's legacy that will be affected by the conduct of the proceedings over the next few weeks. It will also be the legacy of the Republican senators and their party. Will they follow the lead of their House colleagues, who in the face of damning testimony, embraced the president's explanations, that his interactions with Ukraine were "perfect," and that he was acting in the interests of the country rather than for personal political gain? Or will they judge him more independently, and critically, even if eventually stopping short of casting guilty votes? The House managers, who will begin to present their case Tuesday, will come with the evidence developed during weeks of testimony and debate that resulted in the party-line vote to impeach Trump at the end of December. That evidence includes testimony from a series of career Foreign Service and national security officials outlining the months-long effort to pressure Ukraine. But that won't be the only thing that senators sitting as jurors will have to take under consideration, as it is likely that additional evidence will emerge from outside the chamber that will weigh on their decision-making. Already, in the month since the House voted to impeach Trump, there have been a series of revelations and statements that pose new challenges for the president's defense team and, importantly, for those in his party. Hours before Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in as the presiding officer for the trial, and before he in turn swore in the members of the Senate, the Government Accountability Office issued a report stating that the White House had broken the law by withholding $391 million in military aid for Ukraine that had been authorized by Congress. A spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Budget took issue with that finding. The GAO report followed the release of documents given by Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, to House investigators and television interviews Parnas gave on Wednesday. Those interviews and the documents further highlighted Giuliani's role in Ukraine, including the efforts to force the removal of Marie Yovanovitch as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Parnas' description of events also tied the president more directly to the activity. He is under indictment in federal court and his word must be viewed with skepticism, but what he has said and the documents he has offered further raise the stakes. Shortly after the House's impeachment vote, new emails from within the administration surfaced, including one from Michael Duffey, a senior official in the Office of Management and Budget, directing Pentagon officials to put a hold on the aid to Ukraine. The email was sent less than two hours after Trump had spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he had requested "a favor": an investigation into a discredited theory about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election as well as into former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter. There was also one other surprise during the interregnum between the House vote and this week's formalities. That was the statement from John Bolton, the former national security adviser, who said that, if subpoenaed, he was prepared to testify at the Senate trial. As one of a handful of White House officials with direct knowledge of the events under scrutiny, Bolton was offering something that has made Republican senators squirm. It will take 51 votes for any witnesses to be allowed into the Senate trial, which means support from at least four Republicans. When it happens, it will trigger another partisan battle over who should be called, particularly what witnesses the president's defenders might demand - such as Biden or his son. That fight will not come for some days, not until after the House managers and the president's defense team present their cases. Members of the Senate took an oath to render impartial justice, but in the hyperpartisan climate that exists today, many lawmakers already have declared their verdicts. Some Democrats, including some of the senators seeking the presidential nomination, have said they have seen enough to persuade them that Trump should be convicted and removed from office. On the other side are Republicans who have declared Trump not guilty and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said weeks ago he was working closely with the White House in preparation for the trial. But if, as everyone expects, the verdict is a predictable acquittal on what is likely to be a vote that runs closely if not exclusively on party lines, the question of how seriously the evidence is weighed and examined is another. The president would have preferred a breezy dismissal, though that was never realistic. On Thursday, shortly after the senators had been sworn, he said he hopes for a quick trial, declaring the whole matter a "phony hoax." Many of Trump's loyalists believe Democrats have been looking for any reason to bring down the president and treated the current impeachment process accordingly. What they did not do in the House was to effectively rebut the testimony of those career officials. Instead they challenged that evidence on the basis that it was not firsthand knowledge, even as the White House blocked those with such knowledge from testifying. The Senate trial will give the president an opportunity for his team of lawyers to present a defense. Whether they accede to witnesses is another matter, particularly the White House officials who have not yet been heard from. Being a Republican during the Trump presidency demands much. He is quick to anger at any Republican who strays from absolute loyalty and at times has sought to punish those who have. Few have had the wherewithal to question him and they have generally paid a price. Their examples have shaped the behavior of others in the party. That's a major difference between this impeachment proceeding and the one two decades ago involving then-President Bill Clinton. That Senate trial ended in an acquittal, largely on party lines. But the year-long episode also included condemnations of the president's behavior by members of his own party, both what he did and that he lied about it. If Clinton's Democratic colleagues did not believe his conduct ultimately warranted removal from office, they nonetheless found it worthy of rebuke. That is one way to measure how those in the president's party handle the allegations contained in the two articles of impeachment against Trump and ultimately the meaning of "impartial justice" as defined by each individual senator. A popular downtown Colorado Springs retailer has changed hands, but hasnt changed the way it will do business. Terra Verde, the 27-year-old clothing and lifestyle boutique at 208 N. Tejon St., has been sold by owner Chris Sondermann to employees Carrie Hibbard Baker and Leah Fitzgerald Riehl. They took over this month as co-owners. The sale of Terra Verde, which offers trendy womens clothing, jewelry, handbags, accessories, home decor and gifts, has been in the works for a while. Sondermann founded Terra Verde in 1992 with her then-husband and became sole owner in 2007. She began considering retirement a few years ago, but said she didnt want to close the business. Instead, she sought a new owner whod be loyal to customers, the downtown community and the stores staff, which includes more than 20 personal stylists and sales associates. In 2016, Sondermann approached Baker and Riehl, who immediately were interested in buying Terra Verde. I didnt have to look very far, Sondermann said. Right in my own backyard were Leah and Carrie. They had the perfect complementary skill set. From the very initial presentation of the idea, they were so positive and the thought of just closing, really, there wasnt room to entertain that. Riehl, a Colorado Springs native, worked at Terra Verde as a summer intern in 2011, graduated from the University of Wyoming with a bachelors degree in fashion and merchandising and then joined Terra Verde full time. She was promoted to store manager in 2016. Baker, a fifth-generation Springs resident, is part of a downtown retail legacy. Shes a descendant of the family that founded the Hibbard & Co. department store, which operated on Tejon for more than a century before closing in 1996. She worked 12 years for Starbucks, training employees and traveling around the country to open new stores. Baker also was a business manager for Picnic Basket Catering in the Springs before she joined Terra Verde as financial officer in 2016. Sondermanns plan in 2016 to sell Terra Verde to Baker and Riehl allowed her to mentor the pair over the last four years before the deal took place. She said she looked for red flags that might signal the sale wouldnt be successful or that Baker and Riehl couldnt work together as partners. But she didnt see any. I really set an agenda for them, and weve stuck to it, to make sure we were covering all the bases, Sondermann said of running the business. They worked really, really hard at it. The four-year mentorship was the smartest move Sondermann ever made, Baker said, and she and Riehl feel at home running the store. Its an original, Baker said. Theres no other store in Colorado Springs like Terra Verde. I think what Chris has done, as a smart business owner, shes kept a great mix of different products available and shes also changed with the times. If were talking about womens fashions or something like that, shes always kept the store current. Leaving Terra Verde is bittersweet and shell miss the staff and customers, said Sondermann. She plans to enjoy hiking, biking, reading and traveling and spending time with husband Don Hawley, a retired Colorado Springs Fire Department captain. Im comforted knowing its in really good hands, she said. One piece of advice that Sondermann gave to Baker and Riehl? Have fun at this, she said. Part of what makes Terra Verde Terra Verde is that the ownership has fun doing it and the staff has a good time putting together this great collection and coming up with novel merchandising and interesting marketing. The business needs to carry on in that same mode of people really enjoying running it. The proposed distribution of funding under the EU's Just Transition Mechanism is good for Poland, PM Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday in Prague, the Czech capital. The mechanism is to help the EU members adapt their energy systems to climate demands. Morawiecki, in Prague for a meeting of government heads of the regional Visegrad Group (V4, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), with Austria's chancellor also present, said the Wednesday-presented distribution proposal showed "understanding" for Poland's position regarding energy transformation. Recounting the V4 meeting at a press conference, Morawiecki said the talks concentrated on the economic growth and competitiveness of the EU countries with a special focus on foreign trade. He added that crucial in this respect were "good" trade agreements with markets like the US and China, which would allow EU members to sell their goods and services worldwide. Morawiecki said the Prague talks also addressed climate affairs, including the EU's climate neutrality plans. In this context he stated that Wednesday's proposed division of the Just Transition Mechanism Funds was very favourable for Poland. "This is good, or even very good news for Poland, our European partners understand that we have a much longer and more difficult path to neutrality, which will take more time, hence we need more funding," the PM said. According to unofficial PAP sources, Poland is to receive over one-fourth of the Just Transition Mechanism funding. Asked if Poland was content with this solution, Morawiecki admitted that it was a good starting point, but observed that "you always want as much as possible" and that Poland planned to negotiate for the highest possible funding. Turning to migration, Morawiecki noted that Poland was one of the major contributors to a special European Investment Bank (EIB) programme whose aim was to curb illegal migration. He also declared Poland's aid to the southern countries for protection of their borders. Morawiecki added that the V4 countries "spoke in one voice" when it came to the migration problem. (PAP) mb/jch/ But a degree of insecurity still lingers. The former vice president has faced strikingly few challenges from his rivals or from debate moderators in recent months a boon to his candidacy that could evaporate if his opponents tactics change. A core part of his support has never been driven by enthusiasm for him its driven by a sense that hes the safe choice, said Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. Unlike Sanders, whose core support is very much gung-ho for him and knows what they signed up for, Bidens supporters are looking for the strongest candidate, Mr. Murray added. He has so far survived that examination, but that doesnt mean it cant change over the next few weeks. Indeed, Mr. Bidens support dipped for weeks in the fall amid a surge from Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who was seen as possibly more capable of uniting the moderate and left wings of the Democratic Party. But her polling numbers began to waver after her support for Medicare for all drew criticism, and much of Mr. Bidens support appeared to stabilize. Democratic voters have grown more liberal over the past two decades, but moderates now feel more alienated from an increasingly ideological Republican Party than they did a generation ago. As a result, moderate voters still tend to lean Democratic, and they make up a big enough share of the party to play a decisive role in choosing its nominee. You have a lot of Democrats who are not beholden to an ideological position but feel comfortable with him, Mr. Murray said of Mr. Biden. Theyre coming from all walks of life. About as many women support Mr. Biden as do men, and he is the most popular candidate among black Democratic voters a key constituency, particularly in the primaries. (Mr. Sanders has encroached on that lead, however, and now trails by less than 10 points among African-American voters and other nonwhite voters, according to some national polls.) Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion Winnipegs drinking water hit headlines last month for all the wrong reasons. Samples of tap water from Winnipeg homes revealed that residents in seven wards across the city would have to let their taps run for at two minutes to ensure lead levels fell below national guidelines for safe drinking water. This comes hot on the heels of another damning year-long investigation by more than a 120 journalists revealed shockingly high levels of lead in drinking water supplies in multiple jurisdictions across Canada. We should worry because lead poisoning can have a whole host of physical and mental impacts on its victims. We should care because in these instances of compromised standards of basic resources, it is often the most vulnerable populations that are impacted the most. And we should act because our confidence in drinking water is essential for a fair and sustainable society as articulated clearly in the U.N.'s sixth global Sustainable Development Goal. Right now, we need to be asking ourselves how Canadian towns and cities can still be delivering water to citizens in service lines that are laced with lead. The problem is complex, ranging from multiple latent sources of lead within our buildings and infrastructure to an awkward split in responsibility between homeowners and water providers in terms of tracking and fixing sources of lead poisoning, mostly leaching from old pipes. When it comes to solutions, as is often the case, we already have the data. We just need to use it better. In Alberta, the environment and parks department has just released an innovative new document that champions the idea of taking existing data that reveal, however obliquely, the likelihood of a street or neighbourhood being vulnerable to lead poisoning, and then using the power of data analysis to determine where to focus energies and resources. Lets say, for example, a city has records on when a building was constructed and undergone assessments, the history of the permits that have been granted, and how many people can live there. On their own, those data dont reveal much about whether a given propertys water supplies is likely to deliver lead to its inhabitants and we should note that very few cities have access to all these data on paper, let alone in a digitized format. 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. However, seizing on new means of analyzing, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, an algorithm can predict which neighbourhoods, streets and houses are most likely to be connected by lead piping. Then they can target specific spots in the city that are most likely to be plagued by lead poisoning and focus their limited resources on remediation efforts. Ironically, Flint, Mich., is one of the "luckier" municipalities to have access to much of this digitized data, and is making the most of it in an exciting new project. City officials are running their data into a machine that indicates on which streets and neighbourhoods they should be focusing their very limited resources. And its working! According to Michigan Radio, "When the city stopped using the algorithm to target neighborhoods, the lead lines found in excavations fell from more than 80 per cent to 15 per cent." Provision of drinking water is a basic right, but requires tackling complex questions that involve aging infrastructure, multiple layers of governing entities and limited resources. Digital technologies are being embraced globally to address those very questions, to avert another Flint or Cape Town situation. Its now time for Canada proud guardian of much of the worlds fresh water to follow suit. Matthew McCandless is senior director, fresh water and executive director of the IISD Experimental Lakes Area. Meghan Markle inevitably became the victim of British tabloids ever since she married Prince Harry. When royal watchers felt like she does not have anyone to defend her, that is when Meghan's supporters show how kind her heart is. Before the Sussexes decided to take a break away from the Royal Palace, Meghan continued her battle with U.K. tabloids through her lawyers. She filed new legal documents that voluminously detailed the libelous acts of U.K. tabloids. The Archbishop Defended Her The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby blocked all claims aimed at destroying Meghan. The Archbishop described Markle as someone with "profound humanity and deep concern for people." He has always seen the Duchess of Sussex that way after officiating her wedding with Prince Harry last year. "These sorts of portrayals of her you sometimes see... she's a person of profound humanity, and deep concern for people, seeking to carry out her role with every ounce of her being, and I think she's a remarkable person," the Archbishop went on. Even Meghan proved what the Archbishop claimed about her long before she became the Duchess of Sussex. She used to be a simple women's advocate and a champion for equality before she continued it under the title of Sussex. Three years before she and Prince Harry tied the knot, Markle became the 2015 United Nations Women's Advocate for Women's Political Participation and Leadership. In the same year, she proudly said that she is "proud to be a woman and a feminist" during her speech on International Women's Day for U.N. Aside from these activities, she made a fan feel special after she showed her heart to her. Meghan's True Colors A clip from the taping of the BUILD Series way back in March 2016 went viral again after a fan shared the almost a minute-long video on Twitter. this is the kind of person she is dont forget meghan did this.this is the kind of person she is pic.twitter.com/Izqgp9Z95T michelle (@ddarveyy) January 12, 2020 A Twitter user named Michelle shared the aforementioned video of Meghan showing her "kindhearted act" for a fan alongside the caption, "Don't forget Meghan did this, this is the kind of person she is." In the said series, Markle opened up to the host Donna Freydkin about social media and how she saw it as "a great way to connect with people." She suddenly cut the discussion and called out a fan in the audience named Emily Sorrells. Markle revealed, "I only know (Emily) through Twitter, and I knew she was coming because I saw it on social media. She's going on a trip soon to Costa Rica to do some aid work because she said that my U.N. stuff inspired her. She surprised the said fan with a small parcel which allegedly contained a letter for Emily and embraced her as she handed the gift to her. After the tweet raked over thousands of retweets and likes, Emily took to TikTok and explained her relationship with the "Suits" actress. The fan referred to Meghan as the "genuinely the most inspiring human" she ever met. A video of me meeting Meghan Markle just went viral. Allow me to explain. She is genuinely the most inspiring human Ive met. Through her social media & blog she taught me to be a more confident and passionate version of myself. The hate against her is garbage pic.twitter.com/euHjKkxp7D emily sorrells (@dinosorrells) January 14, 2020 "I was one of her biggest fans, and she noticed me from following her for a long time," Emily revealed. "I'm posting this because, although there's a lot of hate going around, I know (Markle) as the most genuine, passionate, and caring human being who had an impact on my life," she ended the video. With the little support she received from the tabloids since they one, she is still lucky to have a fan like Emily. READ MORE: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Exit: Royal Rebels' Return to U.K. Now Impossible? Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nina A. Loasana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17 2020 The Depok administration in West Java has issued city Bylaw No. 2/2012 on traffic implementation, requiring car owners in the city to park their cars in a garage effectively banning on-street parking. Officials said the new regulation was a response to residents' complaints that rampant on-street parking had disrupted the flow of traffic in the city. "Many residents complained about a lot of parked cars occupying roadsides, so we decided to pass the bylaw on traffic implementation," Depok deputy mayor Pradi Supriatna said on Jan. 9, as reported by kompas.com. 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 Boris Johnson is poised to allow Chinese firm Huawei a limited role in Britains 5G network, despite warnings it will lead to a rift with Donald Trump. Government sources said the Prime Ministers National Security Council is set to give the green light to Huawei when it meets at the end of this month. It follows private warnings from officials that banning the controversial firm could delay the rollout of 5G the fifth generation of mobile phone technology by two years and lead to higher prices. The Trump administration has threatened to limit security co-operation over the issue. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, pictured, is set to allow Chinese firm Huawei a limited role in Britain's 5G network The United States wants western companies to ban Huawei from any involvement in sensitive infrastructure because of the close links between the firm and the Chinese state The US is pushing for a blanket ban on Huawei, arguing that the company, which has close links to the Chinese state, cannot be trusted to play a role in sensitive infrastructure. But Mr Johnson is said to be comfortable with allowing Huawei a limited role excluding it from contracts involving the most sensitive parts of the network following assurances from British security officials. One Whitehall source said: The security world does not endorse the need for a blanket ban on Huawei. They are not naive they are well aware of the risks but they believe they can be contained. Another source said: From a security point of view the risk is manageable. The only question is whether you want to risk a row with Trump. But if you go down the route of a ban then you are telling consumers they will have to wait longer for a service available in other parts of the world and pay more in their monthly bills when they finally get it. Suspected Israel strike kills 3 Iran-backed fighters in Syria: monitor Beirut, Jan 15 (AFP) Jan 15, 2020 A missile strike on a Syrian airbase that Damascus blamed on Israel killed at least three Iran-backed militiamen, a monitor said on Wednesday. Four missiles hit the T4 base in Homs province, north of the capital, at around 10:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Tuesday, state news agency SANA reported, blaming the attack on Israel. It said the strike caused damage but no casualties. But the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least three Iran-backed militiamen were killed. It said the strike damaged an Iranian arms depot, two military vehicles and a building still under construction. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said the dead were all non-Syrians, adding that Israel was likely behind the attack. He said both Iranian forces and Russian military advisers were stationed at the base, which has been hit by Israeli forces in the past. An Israeli army spokeswoman made no comment when contacted by AFP. The missile strike adds to the growing tension in the Middle East after a US drone killed senior Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a targeted strike in Baghdad on January 3. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Israel has carried out many raids against forces of the Syrian government and its allies, Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Israel insists it will not allow Syria to become a bridgehead for Iranian intervention in the region. U.S. officials near a crater caused by Iranian airstrikes inside the Ain al-Asad base near Anbar, Iraq, on Jan. 13, 2020. Read more WASHINGTON Eleven U.S. troops were injured following the Jan. 8 Iranian strikes on a base in Iraq, defense officials said Thursday, reversing assurances from President Donald Trump and the Pentagon that no Americans had been hurt. Those troops are still being assessed for concussion symptoms following the blast, Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement. Eight U.S. troops were evacuated to a U.S. base in Germany, he said, and the other three were sent to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. "When deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq," Urban said. U.S. officials disclosed numerous concussions as early as Jan. 13 but did not disclose the evacuations until Defense One reported those details. The acknowledgement marks a sharp turn from initial reports from defense officials and the president, who described the effects of the missile salvos launched in retaliation for a U.S. strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. "No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered no casualties. All of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases," Trump said soon after the attack. But concussions are not always as immediately evident as shrapnel or gunshot wounds, and in the ensuing days, U.S. troops were assessed for blast injuries. The 11 evacuated were sent for further care and screening "in an abundance of caution," Urban said. The missile barrage last week against the sprawling Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq left deep craters and the crumpled wreckage of living quarters and a helicopter launch site. At least two soldiers were thrown through the window of a meters-high tower. Although there was some speculation that the attacks were designed to avoid casualties, commanders at the base believe that the strikes were intended to kill U.S. troops. At least "a couple of dozen" personnel were treated for concussions across the base, a U.S. military official said. The base hosts about 2,000 troops, 1,500 of them from the U.S.-led coalition. It is not clear when the personnel were evacuated. On Jan. 12, two days after the attack, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper described damage to facilities and equipment but offered assurances that there were "no casualties." Casualties are typically described by the U.S. military as personnel both wounded and killed. The Washington Posts Louisa Loveluck in Baghdad contributed to this report. The ex-wife of a Russian billionaire will go head to head against her own son in the High Court in the latest round of her acrimonious divorce battle. Tatiana Akhmedov and her 26-year-old son Temur will be on opposing sides of the court as the Britain's biggest ever divorce takes a new twist. Her lawyers want to use private emails sent between multi-millionaire Temur and his father Farkhad as part of their legal fight to get half of his 1.1bn fortune. Tatiana Akhmedov (right) will go head to head against her son Temur, 26, at London's High Court on Monday as she tries to use his emails to prove her former husband's vast wealth Tatiana is trying to divorce the oil tycoon Farkhad Akhmedov (above) in the UK. She was awarded 453m - but he is refusing to pay, claiming that they divorced in Moscow in 2000 The 64 year old oil and gas magnate was ordered to hand over 453 three years ago by a judge in the High Court. But he has refused to pay claiming he and his wife of eight years were divorced in Moscow in 2000 and did not recognise the ruling handed down by a British judge. Mr Akhmedov doesn't recognise the British judge's ruling giving Tatiana the huge sum An attempt by Surrey based Tatiana to seize his 330m luxury yacht called MV Luna failed after a court in Dubai ruled she had no right to the vessel. Tatiana,52, is using a litigation finance firm called Burford Capital to bankroll her multiple court hearings with the legal bill for the couple running into the tens of millions. Lawyers for Burford Capital are seeking to get Temur added to the High Court battle and if successful could go after his assets which include a London home. His QC plans to argue that the agreement between Burford and Tatiana is illegal and Temur should not be made part of the bitter legal battle. During the multiple court hearings in London, Dubai and Russia Temur, a commodities trader, has remained on good terms with both his father and mother. But he will be pitched against her for the High Court hearing as he seeks to avoid being dragged into the most expensive but messiest divorces ever heard in the UK. Mr Akhmedov says he has given millions to his ex-wife so she can still live in luxury. Tatiana, a British citizen, was given the family's 20m Surrey home (pictured) and a 30m art collection As a result of the High Court's ruling, Mr Akhmedov had his 300m superyacht (pictured) -once owned by friend Roman Abramovich - seized in Dubai as the pair argue over ownership While they were together, the Akhmedov's lived a life of luxury flying around the world to their various mansions in a private jet (pictured) with an army of domestic staff in tow A legal source said: 'Temur does not want to get involved as he is on good terms with both his parents. It is Burford Capital who now control what Tatiana does who want him involved.' Much of the evidence to be heard will centre on emails obtained by a British banker who previously worked for Akhmedov before he switched sides after being fired by the billionaire. A judge had previously ruled that the personal correspondence can be used in the ongoing court battle. Tatiana (pictured left with her divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton) is involved in Britain's biggest divorce settlement worth 453m from her ex-husband Frakhad who made his billions in gas Since being awarded the 453m Tatiana and her legal team have been attempting to secure the payout by freezing her ex's worldwide assets. Much of the focus was on the 377ft super yacht that has a crew of up to 50 and was originally built for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. Burford attempted to have the yacht seized when it docked for repairs in Dubai. It was moored for 13 months while lawyers wrangled over the ownership. After initially winning their case a court in Dubai ruled that it belonged to the billionaire. Akhmedov had said he would rather sink the luxury vessel than hand it over to his ex. The billionaire, who divides his time between Dubai, Azerbaijan and the US, has said he was more than generous to his wife when they split giving her their 20m Surrey mansion and a 30m art collection. EVENTS 2020 Women's March is Saturday From noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, on the 100th anniversary of womens right to vote, Montanans from all over the state will converge on the Capital City at Memorial Park to join the 2020 Womens March in Helena to promote women in leadership. Kathleen Williams, three-term state legislator, is the keynote speaker, along with: Bella Nyman, Montana's Children's Miracle Network champion; Elsie Harrington of Montana Youth Action; Jessica Lahr of the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; Nancy Leifer, the president of Montana League of Women Voters; Melissa Romano, 2018 teacher of the year; and Whitney Williams, sixth generation Montanan and business woman. There will also be poetry by Montana Poets Laureate Mandy Smoker Broaddus and Melissa Kwansy, music by Judy Fjell and the Montana Womens Chorus, and a special welcome by Helena City Manager Ana Cortez. Emcees are Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell, Judy Fjell and Rachel Carroll Rivas. Marchers are encouraged to bring donations for Helena Food Share, The Friendship Center and Gods Love. Their needs list includes canned food, socks, blankets, hats, gloves, sweatpants, hoodies, conditioner, dish soap, or garbage bags. The complete list is on the Womens March Facebook Page. Plan on coming early to visit with our organization supporters, meet new friends and speakers, and pick up your "Put a Woman in Charge" pin. March for Life 2020 is Saturday Pro-Life Helena is sponsoring the March for Life 2020 Montana, an annual demonstration against abortion, at the Montana State Capitol in Helena from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. This free event will feature three guest speakers from Montana, including a representative from U.S. Sen. Steve Daines' office. Initiative I-187 is focus of presentation Dodie Andersen, Missoula Organizing Director for 2020 Montana Initiative I-187, will present information about the initiative process to get I-187 on the election ballot at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19, at St. Paul's United Methodist Church Fireside Room at Susana Wesley Place, 512 Logan St. Responding to climate change challenges, this citizen initiative establishes a cohesive renewable energy policy; funds fossil fuel and railroad worker retraining and pension security; and replaces coal tax revenue. Discussion includes: What is the I-187 initiative? Why is I-187 good for Montana? How can you help qualify I-187 for the November 2020 ballot? Andersen has lived in Missoula for 10 years was one of the founding members of 350 Montana, advocating for a livable planet and renewable energy. Currently she is Coordinator of Transition Missoula and serves on the board of AERO which is working for a sustainable Montana. For more information, call Frank Kromkowski, 406-443-0843 or Dodie Andersen, 406-493-0606, or www.mtcares.org/ or www.facebook.com/groups/1737254959850983/. Helena High, Capital High to participate in weld-off Helena High School American Welding Society is holding eighth annual weld-off against Capital High School on Thursday, Jan. 23, from 7:30-8 p.m. at the Helena High Welding Shop, 1300 Billings Ave. Come and enjoy the students' work. Helena High School American Welding Society Club is also collecting old cell phones for Cell Phones for Soldiers Inc. Collection will continue until Jan. 31. Cell phones can be dropped off at the Helena High School main office or the Welding Shop at 1300 Billings Ave. during school hours. Supplemental food available to seniors Rocky Mountain Development Council, Inc. (Rocky) will have supplemental foods available to qualified Helena- and East Helena-area senior citizens. East Helena Monday, Jan. 27, from 2-3:30 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, 50 Prickly Pear Ave., East Helena Helena Wednesday, Jan. 29, from 8-10:30 a.m. at Helena Food Share, 1616 Lewis St. Thursday, Jan. 30, from 8-10:30 a.m. at Helena Food Share, 1616 Lewis St. Foods consist of canned fruit, vegetables, meats, juice, cereals, dry milk, evaporated milk, cheese, and peanut butter. Persons 60 years and older will be certified to receive the food by categorical income, and residency eligibility. For further information or questions, call Rocky at 406-447-1680 or Helena Food Share at 406-443-3663, or visit our website at www.rmdc.net. ANNOUNCEMENTS HVBC announces new pastor Helena Valley Baptist Church has announced Rev. Jason A. Rioux has accepted the call to be pastor. He began his ministry with HVBC on Jan. 1. Rioux is a Montana native and was raised in Red Lodge. He attended Red Lodge Baptist Church with his family during his youth and graduated from Red Lodge High School in 1997. In 1997-98, while attending Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, to become a minister of music, he answered the call of God to be a minister of the gospel. He returned home to Montana where he attended and graduated from Yellowstone Baptist College, now known as Yellowstone Christian College, in Billings in 2002 with a bachelors degree with emphasis in Biblical languages and theology. In 1998, he was licensed to the gospel ministry by Red Lodge Baptist Church and in 2000, he was ordained to gospel ministry by Calvary Baptist Church, Laurel, where he was serving as youth and music leader while attending YBC. In 2009, Rioux received his Master of Divinity degree with an emphasis in Biblical and historical theology from Multnomah Seminary, Portland, where he also studied multiple years of Greek and Hebrew, and church history. He and his wife, optometrist Nichole Rioux, moved to Helena in the late summer of 2018. HVBC is located at 1315 Sierra Road East. Sunday services are Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. and worship service at 10:45. Wednesday evening prayer meetings and Bible study are at 6:30 p.m. Celebrate recovery meal and meetings are held Friday evenings at 6 p.m. STUDENT NEWS Area students named UMW's 2019 fall dean's list The University of Montana Western has released its 2019 fall semester deans list. To achieve this honor, students must be enrolled full-time or for 12 semester credits and carry a minimum 3.33 grade point average. An asterisk after a name indicates a student received deans list high honors. Area students include: Avon: Savanna Bignell Boulder: Jeremias Auch *, Jessica Craft *, Breanna Humphrey, Nolan Sonsteng; Clancy: Keair Adgerson, Margaret Dean, Hunter Gilbert Clancy, Amber Nelson, Jessica Pickens *, Kendra Woodland East Helena: Samantha Burke, Justine Christianson, Isaac Nelson, Sydney Schell *, Gabriel Sommers, Amber Turpin Helena: Susan Anderson *, Shelby Austin, Brooklyn Bennett *, Katherine Brown, Lindsey Buckley, Emily Clark *, Justin DesRosier, Jessica Elkins, Kirsten Greil *, Augustus Hanson *, Mary Harbert, Mary Hartman, Tona Iwen *, Olivia Laib, Seth Lang, Tate Langel, Miranda LeMieux, Jacob Leo, Shayla Mcgregor *, Konner McKay, Dene Mech, Kristen Muffick *, Malin Nelson, Alyssa Owen *, Kerste Pierce, Danielle Pouliot, Matthew Romasko, Sydney Sheridan *, Kamaria Sinnott, Meagan Steffan, Jeffrey Taylor, Jayden Tripp, Therese Vanisko, Savannah Vannett, Taylor White, Abbie Witham * Jefferson City: Alexia Winstead Lincoln: Danielle Cyr *, Cailey DenBoer, Cade Estes Townsend: John Bakkum *, Harley Barnett, Sean Eichinger, Morgan Nunn, Tommiejo Steele, Reagan Turcotte White Sulphur Springs: Zane Frisbie *, Marena Stidham Carroll students receive scholarships for civic engagement Carroll College students Connor Hague and Sarah Swingley were recently awarded the 2020 George M. Dennison Civic Engagement Scholarship by Montana Campus Compact for volunteering significant time, energy, and resources while pursuing a degree to projects that make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. They were two of 11 Montana college students statewide to receive this scholarship. Swingley, a sophomore from Helena, is a double major in public health and psychology. As a volunteer for Youth Aware of Mental Health, Swingley helps freshmen students learn effective methods of tackling lifes stressors through role play and group discussion. As a YAM instructor, she also teaches her peers about depression and suicide. As the co-founder of the Niceness is Priceless Club, she helps spread kindness through small random acts of kindness and working with high school and elementary students to help them develop emotional intelligence, empathy and kindness skills. Hague, a senior double major in biochemistry and molecular biology from Tucson, Arizona, Hagues volunteer service includes everything from answering the crisis line to accompanying survivors in their road to recovery through the Friendship Center; introducing girls to the STEM fields, her passion and area of study, through her work at ExplorationWorks; and advocating for and connecting with senior citizens through Compassus Hospice, Palliative Care and Home Health. Montana Campus Compact, an 18-campus higher education network that advances the public purposes of higher education, awarded the 11 students across the state with the scholarships. Half of the funds for each $1,000 scholarship have been donated in memory of George M. Dennison by Jane Dennison and sons, Rick and Robert Dennison, and their families. The other half of each scholarship is matched by the winners institutions. Carroll students awarded as 'Your Skin Is In' ambassadors Carroll College students Karissa Dykstra, of Bigfork, and Courtney Schroeder, of Livingston, were recently announced as recipients of the IMPACT Melanoma winter 2019 Your Skin Is In Ambassador scholarship program. The Your Skin Is In program awards college students and high school seniors a $1,000 scholarship for becoming Your Skin Is In ambassadors at their respective schools. By taking a pledge to actively spread awareness of skin cancer, ambassadors make a strong and lasting impact on their campuses and communities by promoting education and risk prevention around this important public health issue. Dykstra and Schroeder were two of three students nationwide recognized with this honor. In order to be considered for one of the programs scholarships, each student needed to complete IMPACT Melanomas Your Skin Is In eLearning course, take the Your Skin Is In Pledge, encourage classmates and community members to do the same, and submit a written application outlining their accomplishments. Dykstra and Schroeder were also instrumental in Carroll College being awarded the Skin Smart Campus Platinum Award by the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention during the Councils fall conference in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes Carrolls commitment to ensuring the well-being of our students by providing a safe, healthy learning and living environment on and off campus. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Despite its opening ceremony, the TurkStream pipelines prospects of reaching large European markets remain elusivefor as long as the EU upholds its own energy rules AA Photo In a grand ceremony in Istanbul, on January 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, officially opened the TurkStream natural gas pipeline, running from Russia to Turkey along the Black Sea seabed. The pipeline is intended to deliver Russian gas to the Turkish market and further to the Balkans and Central Europe, while bypassing Ukraine. As Moscow expects Bulgaria and Serbia to play a major role in transmitting natural gas from TurkStream to Europe, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov were present as honorary guests at the ceremony. Bulgaria began receiving Russian gas from TurkStream on January 1, through the new gas transmission point Strandja-2, at the border with Turkey, instead of (as had heretofore been the case) via the Trans-Balkan pipeline coming from Ukraine through Romania. However, the fanfares in Istanbul seemed mostly for Turkey rather than Russia. While Erdogan could be proud of successfully diversifying his countrys natural gas supplies, Putin looked far from victorious in his attempt to fully divert Russian gas transit from Ukraine to the two new direct-supply pipelines under the Baltic and Black seasNord Stream Two and TurkStream, respectively. The construction of Nord Stream Two was suspended in December 2019, as a result of sanctions by the United States; while potential gas deliveries to Europe via TurkStream also remain uncertain, since they will fall under the provisions of the European Unions Gas Directive. Consequently, Moscow was forced to sign a new gas transit contract with Kyiv at the end of 2019. Turkish President Erdogan, however, appeared triumphant. He stressed that Turkey now has the infrastructure to become an important hub of global energy supply. Sharing the stage with Putin, he switched from TurkStream to praising the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) for Azerbaijani gas to Turkey. The Turkish leader opened TANAP a month earlier, alongside his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, whom he again referred to during that ceremony as my dear brother (APA, November 30, 2019). With the Russian president standing next to him in Istanbul, Erdogan stressed that TANAP will soon increase transmission volumes from 16 billion to 31 billion cubic meters per year (bcm/y) of natural gas from Azerbaijannearly equal to the annual flows of Russian gas via TurkStream. The newest Russian transBlack Sea gas pipeline starts at the Russkaya compressor station (near Anapa, Krasnodar Krai), which had been built for the purposes of the now-defunct South Stream pipeline project; and TurkStream comes ashore at the receiving terminal at Kiyikoy, Turkey. The pipeline consists of two strings, each with a capacity of 15.75 bcm/y, to a total of 31.5 bcm. The first string, TurkStream One, will bring Russian gas to the western part of Turkey, while the second, TurkStream Two, is planned to deliver gas to the Balkans and further to South and Central Europe. Gazprom considers Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary as potential markets. TurkStream Twos capacity of 15.75 bcm is only a quarter of the demised 63 bcm South Stream natural gas pipeline, which would have stretched under the Black Sea, from Russia to Bulgaria. This small capacity will not allow Gazprom to flood Central and Eastern Europe with Russian gas, will limit Gazproms ability to control the markets in Southeastern Europe, and will impede its ability to compete with the Southern Gas Corridor from Azerbaijan and increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries to Europe. In addition, the EU may constrain Gazprom from using the full capacity of the on-shore extension of TurkStram Two. According to the EU Gas Directive, half of the pipelines capacity would have to be reserved for alternative gas suppliers, such as delivering Azerbaijani gas or LNG. The recent decision by the European Court of Justice on limiting Gazproms use of the OPAL pipeline in Germany to 50 percent, would serve as a precedent for Bulgaria. Despite efforts by Sofia and Belgrade to build the necessary infrastructure for transiting Russian gas to Europe, Gazprom may end up shipping no more than 7.5 bcm/y through the prospective Balkan Gas Hub, a pet project of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. Borisov has been unsuccessful in securing an exemption from the EU energy regulations for the Balkan Gas Hub. Arguably, TurkStream is set to face the same challenges that led to the demise of the 63 bcm South Stream natural gas pipeline mega-project, which was canceled after Russia refused to comply with EU energy regulations. Moscow is now in a hurry to start supplying Russian gas to the Balkans ahead of its competitors and thus lock the local markets to alternative suppliers. Putin is becoming visibly impatient with Sofia for not completing its part of the project on time. He accused Bulgaria of deliberately delaying the implementation of TurkStream on its territory and warned that Moscow could find alternative routes to sidestep the Eastern Balkan state if needed. Considering Putins criticism and facing staunch opposition to TurkStream by both the EU and the United States, Borisov has undertaken steps to diversify gas supplies to the prospective Balkan Gas Hub. Brussels has already stated that the project would be approved only if Bulgaria can secure gas supplies from three different sources. Apart from TurkStream, Sofia listed local gas production and the Southern Gas Corridora project of strategic interest to the EU. After a decade of delays, work on the BulgariaGreece Interconnector finally commenced in May 2019, and the 182-kilometer cross-border pipeline, designed to deliver Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria, is expected to become operational this year. Its transportation capacity will be 3 bcm/y, scalable to 5 bcm/y by installing a compressor station in future ( NS Energy , accessed January 16, 2020). Sofia is working to increase the contracted volumes of Azerbaijani gas from 1 bcm/y to 3 bcm/y. Additionally, Bulgaria decided to purchase a 20 percent share in the prospective floating LNG storage and regasification terminal in Alexandropoulos, Greece. The terminal will receive LNG from the US and Qatar. Notably, the decision was made the day after TurkStream was officially inaugurated in Turkey. Despite its opening ceremony, the TurkStream pipelines prospects of reaching large European markets remain elusivefor as long as the EU upholds its own energy rules. Moscow court to hear case over $950 mln embezzlement in BTA Bank on January 31 RAPSI 15:31 17/01/2020 MOSCOW, January 17 (RAPSI) The Moscow Tagansky District Court is to hear a criminal case against ex-Chairman of the board of directors of Kazakh BTA Bank Mukhtar Ablyazov, charged with embezzlement of over 58 billion rubles (about $950 million) of the banks controlled structure, RAPSI reports from the courtroom. This Friday, the court had to adjourn the hearings due to the absence of the businessmans representative. Among other defendants in the case are ex-president of the same bank Roman Solodchenko, as well as a number of other former BTA Bank employees, who currently reside in Europe and whose extradition is sought not only by Russia, but also by Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The Moscow court is to hear the case in absentia. According to investigators, Ablyazov has developed several complex and complicated schemes aimed to finance investment projects in Russia, which permitted him to systematically embezzle the Kazakh banks funds in especially large amounts. The case materials make more than 400 volumes. Ablyazov stands charged with 9 instances of serious fraud, 3 instances of money laundering, abuse of office, and causing especially large damages by way of fraudulent misrepresentation carried out by an organized group. In Kazakhstan, Ablyazov was sentenced to 20 years in prison in absentia for a $7 billion embezzlement and organizing a criminal gang in 2017; last year he was also sentenced for life for organization of a contract murder. During the day, passengers are taken on a city tour of Ho Chi Minh City, and short trips to Cu Chi tunnel, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province hosted by Saigontourist travel company. The ship is scheduled to leave Phu My port and conclude their visit to Vietnam in the evening of the same day. According to Saigontourist, in the first two weeks of 2020, it welcomed 16,500 tourists and crewmembers of international cruise ships. Vietnams sea tourism has reported annual growth of only 2% to 3%, while other Asian countries have witnessed robust growth in cruise tourism in recent years. Even as large, fast-growth companies, paced by tech favorites like Apple and Amazon, have chalked up huge gains over the last decade, the stocks of smaller companies, known more for their solid but plodding value propositions than their breakneck growth, have lagged. The numbers for the last decade are grim. The large-company Russell 1000 Growth Index has returned 15.2 percent a year in the 10 years through Dec. 31, 2019, vs. 10.6 percent annually for the small-company Russell 2000 Value Index, reports Dougal Williams, chief investment officer for the asset manager Vista Capital Partners. But small-cap value has actually outperformed growth over the longer term. Since Jan. 1, 1979, through Dec. 31, 2019, the Russell 2000 Value Index has returned 12.7 percent a year, compared with 11.6 percent for the large growth stocks of the Russell 1000 Growth index, Mr. Williams said. Small-cap value stocks have, in short, had a relatively poor 10 years, but a fine long-term record. That implies opportunity for investors, strategists like Lori Calvasina say. She heads United States equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets and says she now favors small-cap value stocks. Ukrainian, Iranian officials discuss plane crush over phone On Jan. 8, all 167 passengers and nine crew members died when the plane was brought down by Iranian missiles, shortly after takeoff from an airport in Tehran. Ukrainian and Iranian foreign ministers on Thursday spoke over the phone and discussed the Jan. 8 plane crash near Tehran. UKRAINE DEMANDED BLACK BOX We discussed repatriation of the bodies of the Ukrainian victims and also Ukraine's role in the joint investigation, in particular - access to the 'black boxes'," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Twitter. Our demands remain unchanged, he added. The victims were from six countries: Iran (82), Canada (57), Ukraine (11), Sweden (10), Afghanistan (4) and the UK. (3). Initially, Iran said it did not shoot down the plane, but later admitted human error culminated in the firing of the missiles. The announcement was followed by anti-regime demonstrations in Iran. President Giammattei issues order two days after taking office as Caracas calls his administration as a bad joke. Guatemalas new president announced on Thursday that his government was breaking off diplomatic relations with Venezuela. Two days after his inauguration, President Alejandro Giammattei said he had ordered Guatemalas foreign secretary to recall the last person remaining in the countrys embassy in Venezuelas capital and close the building. Giammatteis announcement came after a meeting with the head of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro. It is an issue that concerns the entire continent, the new president said. His inauguration was attended by Maria Romero, a representative of Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader recognised as that countrys rightful leader by the United States and more than 50 other nations inauguration. In January 2019, Guatemala already recognised Guaido as Venezuelas president. In October, the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro did not allow Giammattei, then president-elect, to enter the country. He was sent back to Guatemala on another flight. Jorge Arreaza, Maduros foreign minister, accused Giammattei of throwing himself at the feet of Donald Trump and said the Guatemalans presidency was destined to become another joke in bad taste. His government will surely become another bad joke. Our respect and affection for the people of Guatemala. CITY HALL -- Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a $95.3 billion preliminary budget for fiscal year 2021 Thursday, up by $2.5 billion from the budget adopted for fiscal 2020. The latest city spending plan represented what de Blasio described as a cautious budget with the states looming $6 billion budget shortfall -- the largest deficit the Cuomo administration has faced to date, which could mean a number of cuts to New York City. The challenge is from Albany, sometimes, I talk to you about other challenges we face, sometimes we face multiple challenges, this time its really straight forward, its all coming from one place, the numbers are huge, de Blasio said. The mayor warned that the largest deficit came in the form of a $4 billion Medicaid deficit, which could hit the citys Health and Hospitals Corp. the hardest by cuts. The mayors latest budget did not include any new major projects or policies, but he promised he would unveil new initiatives in the coming weeks, though he declined to say what those new initiatives would be. Right now is not the time, the mayor said when asked what kind of big ideas did not make it to his preliminary budget because of the budget shortfall in Albany. Well know more after next week, theres a lot on the agenda. The mayors preliminary budget includes $178 million in capital for curb cuts citywide to help street accessibility, a $12.9 million investment to make improvement at NYCHAs community centers, as well as $106 million to help low-income New Yorkers with transportation. The city said the budget increase was being driven primarily by labor settlements and benefits, which account for two-thirds of the growth, debt, service, education and criminal justice mandates. ISLAND REPS WEIGH IN; CITE PROPERTY TAX RELIEF Minority Leader Steven Matteo (R-Mid Island) and Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore) called on the mayor to include property tax relief in the final budget. The mayor vowed Thursday that the Property Tax Commissions long-awaited report would be ready by the months end. Given the substantial budget deficit the state faces this year and potential shortfalls in our own budget, it is more important than ever that the city exercise fiscal restraint and not continue down a path of uncontrollable spending, Matteo said. As we move forward with the budget negotiating process this year, I will continue to use my position on Council leadership and the Budget Negotiation Team to fight for property tax relief for hardworking families in the borough and to secure programs, projects and initiatives that will help improve the lives of the residents of Staten Island without adding to their financial burdens, Matteo continued. Councilwoman Debi Rose avoided weighing in on the budget without having seen the entirety of the 2021 preliminary budget, but she was pleased the property tax commission would release its final report soon. As a member of the Budget Negotiation team, I will continue to work with my colleagues through active negotiations with the administration to develop a final budget that serves all New Yorkers, Rose said. My constituents have been waiting nearly two years for reform and relief from our regressive property tax system that penalizes working class homeowners in the outer boroughs. A commission was empaneled in 2018, and I am glad to hear that the property tax commission will release their preliminary report by the end of the month, Rose continued. Councilman Joe Borelli simply said: And thus we begin the dance to stave off the bad and hopefully bring back some benefits to Staten Island. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. Lesothos Prime Minister Thomas Thabane has bowed to pressure to step down over evidence allegedly linking him to the murder of his estranged wife, according to the ruling party. The announcement followed accusation by senior members of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party that Thabane was hampering investigations into the killing. ABC had called for his resignation last week. Mr Thabane has already made known his decision to resign to the cabinet in its seating on Tuesday, ABC spokesman Montoeli Masoetsa told the AFP, Masoetsa said the next step for the party was to appoint a replacement, which would then need to be approved by the parliament. There is no exact date in place as to when Thabane shall step down but its going to be soon, Masoetsa said. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said that he was pleased with the results of the Jan. 11, 2020 Presidential Election in Taiwan, which saw the re-election of the incumbent Tsai Ing-wen and her running mate William Lai of the Democratic Progressive Party. They defeated Han Kuo-yu and his running mate Chang-San-cheng and the third party candidate James Soong. Addressing his partys (ULP) Convention last Sunday at the Bethel High School in Campden Park, Gonsalves said he was not only pleased that the people of Taiwan had returned President Tsai for a second term, but that the party had also obtained the majority in the legislative assembly. "This means that their excellent work will continue, and in so far as St Vincent and the Grenadines is concerned, our cooperative programme will continue without any hiccups, Gonsalves said. "We dont have to go and negotiate, or re-negotiate anything over. What we have signed, we have signed, and what we have agreed upon for this year and continuing, we have agreed upon in the certainty that there will be benefits for the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines, he continued. This country opened an embassy in Taiwan on August 8, 2019. Taiwan opened its embassy in this country in 1983, two years after diplomatic relations were established between the two countries. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Barbara Goldberg (Reuters) New York, United States Fri, January 17, 2020 08:09 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c3227487e 2 Art & Culture new-york,Museum,Holocaust,art,Jews Free Michael Morris, a curator at New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage, was trying to fulfill a run-of-the mill request when he uncovered a treasure trove of eyewitness depictions of the Holocaust, drawn in pencil, ink and crayon. "It was a light bulb moment," said Morris, who put together an exhibit of art created by some of the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazi regime. "Rendering Witness: Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony", which opens this week at the lower Manhattan museum, comes at a time when US anti-Semitic hate crimes have spiked and memories of the horrors of the Holocaust are fading. This exhibition stands against and educates about the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism, bigotry of any kind, said Morris, describing the 21 powerful depictions of the Holocaust, mostly by Jewish prisoners. It all started with another institution's request to borrow some of the pieces in the museum's collection. As Morris reviewed the dozens of works in its vaults, he knew immediately that it was high time for the museum to mount an exhibition of its own. Behind the statistics, and behind the numbers and behind the scenes where we see hundreds of thousands of people in concentration camps, these are actual people who had multi-faceted lives, Morris said. Among them was a 12-year-old girl, Helga Weissova, who brought art supplies with her when she was sent to Terezin Ghetto and concentration camp, about 30 miles (48 km) north of Prague in the Czech Republic, in October 1944. Before Weissova was deported from Terezin to Auschwitz, the infamous slave-labor camp in southern Poland, she gave her drawings to her uncle, a fellow prisoner who hid them behind a wall. The show features her 1943 work in colored pencil on paper, "Transport Leaving Terezin", which shows gun-toting guards ushering a huddled group of prisoners carrying suitcases. Read also: Holocaust survivors meet their savior 75 years later Weissova is now in her 90s and living in Prague, but many of the artists never made it out of the deadly camps. Before Peter Loewenstein of Czechoslovakia was deported in 1941 to Terezin and then in 1944 to the notorious Auschwitz camp, he gave 70 drawings to his mother. His mother and sister would soon be deported to Auschwitz as well but not before turning over the art to a family friend. His sister, the only family member who survived the camp, recovered the portfolio after the war, including "Eight Men in Coats with Stars", a 1944 ink on paper depiction of Jews forced to wear identification badges. Equally powerful is a watercolor by Marvin Halye, a member of the 104th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, who liberated Nordhausen concentration camp in Germany in 1945. After seeing the few surviving prisoners tending to thousands of bodies, he rushed to paint "Liberation of Nordhausen, Civilians Covering Corpses". The show, which runs Jan. 16 through July 5, opens amid a spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes across the United States and particularly in New York City, home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. Anti-Jewish hate crimes in New York in 2019 were at a 28-year high, according to professor Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. In the most recent attack, a machete-wielding man wounded five people gathered last month for a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi's home in the New York City suburb of Monsey. Just weeks earlier, a shooting at a kosher supermarket in nearby Jersey City, New Jersey left two Hasidic Jews dead. Hate crimes are escalating at a time when many American adults lack basic knowledge of the Holocaust. The greatest gaps in understanding are among US millennials - people in their 20s and 30s. Two-thirds of them do not know what Auschwitz is, according to a recent survey by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Its January, and we know what that means. Its a time-honored tradition as old as dancing around a maypole or looking for a groundhogs shadow: Glassdoors annual best jobs list is here. Were living in the midst of a shift in attitude towards work. Company culture and values are a bigger factor for young people when considering which job is best. And were switching jobs more often, too. The median time U.S. women spend at a job is 4 years, and for women 25 to 34 years old, its just 2.7 years. So what makes a job the best in 2020? Glassdoors list calculates its superlatives based on median base salary, job satisfaction, and the number of positions available right now. Bad news for luddites: 2020 is the first year since Glassdoor started its best jobs lists that the top seven are all tech jobs. In fact, 20 of the 50 best jobs on the list are in tech. Ahead are the ten shiniest jobs to kick off this shiny new decade. 1. Front End Engineer $105,240 Without front end engineers, the rabbithole of the internet would be unnavigable. They build the look and performance of websites, software, and apps. Called front end because they design the features that users see and interact with, these engineers usually know HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Even though its a tech job, technical know-how isnt the only crucial skill. You also need good taste and the ability to keep up with trends in web design. Some jobs may require a BS in computer science, but others may ask for certifications. 2. Java Developer $83,589 Yes, the median base salary is almost 20K lower than a front end engineers, but there are more job openings for Java developer than for front end engineers right now. Java is a popular programming language used to develop software, apps, and websites. Android apps are also written in Java. Even though its not a new language at all, it remains in high demand. Most jobs will require a bachelors degree. If youre a creative problem solver maybe Java development is for you. Story continues 3. Data Scientist $107,801 Were drowning in data, so its not exactly shocking that data scientists are so sought after today. Like soothsayers of the past (except using data and reasoning), data scientists read patterns and signs to forecast what companies could do for growth or to solve problems. As an extremely important player in developing strategy, youll also have to be able to communicate your ideas to those who arent data scientists. Thats a tall order, but the pay is high and the possibilities for engaging work are endless. Unfortunately, there are roughly 60% fewer data scientist jobs than Java developer jobs, which is maybe why its #3 on the list. 4. Product Manager $117,713 What does a product manager do? Its probably easier to say what they dont do. Basically, product managers take a birds-eye view to determine what a company whether thats a software company, a media platform, a fashion brand, etc. should do and how they should do it. Theyre master strategists who leverage data to execute a vision and set priorities. You dont have to know how to code, though it can be helpful. The majority of product manager positions listed on Glassdoor are in the tech sector, which is why its counted as a tech job. Typically, a bachelors degree is required. 5. DevOps Engineer $107,310 A DevOps engineer contains multitudes; theyre both a developer and a manager who monitors the code being released, making sure the workflow of software development is well implemented. Its a role that can make a crucial difference in how efficient a company is. Again, being able to communicate clearly is one of the must-have skills for this job. A DevOps engineer should have a computer science or computer engineering background. 6. Data Engineer $102,472 We werent kidding when we said that 2020 is heralding an era of tech job domination. Not to be confused with data scientist (or data analyst), a data engineer prepares, stores, and distributes data so its ready to be used by analysts and scientists. They often create tools to optimize the handling of data and its organization. To join their ranks, youll probably need a degree in computer science, engineering, or applied mathematics. 7. Software Engineer $105,563 A software engineer plans and builds the software that we use every day. They usually have either a computer science or software engineering degree. They can use a variety of programming languages, but some of the most popular right now are Java (as seen above), Python, C, C++, and Ruby. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, these jobs are projected to grow by over 20 percent between 2018 and 2028. And with over 50,000 open jobs on Glassdoor right now, the future looks pretty bright for software engineering. 8. Speech Language Pathologist $71,867 Finally, a top job that isnt about programming languages. This ones about the kind of language you speak, as speech language pathologists diagnose and treat communication and swallowing issues. They often work in schools so if you know you enjoy helping children, this could be a great career to work toward, though the highest salaries in the field belong to those working in nursing and residential facilities. This job requires a masters degree, but theres an overwhelming demand for it currently. The states that pay the most are New Jersey, where the median base salary is $95,000, Washington, D.C. ($93,570), and California ($93,510). Connecticut comes in at a close fourth at $92,280. 9. Strategy Manager $133,067 Are you good at taking in an avalanche of information, analyzing the trends, and coming up with a plan? You might just be the perfect strategy manager. Within any company, a good strategy manager is needed to make informed decisions on what its goals should be. Depending on what kind of company youre strategically managing, of course, your day to day and background will be different. A Corporate Strategy Senior Manager at a financial firm might use market research and a background in finance, marketing or econ to come up with a corporate strategy. You might even need an MBA. The incredible power you wield to mold the direction and success of a company may be why strategy manager has the highest satisfaction rating in the top 10. 10. Business Development Manager $78,480 Similar to a strategy manager, a business development manager has a big impact on the direction of a company. But a business development manager focuses more heavily on generating leads, setting up meetings with potential clients, and cultivating fruitful relationships with them. Its all about sniffing out where the best opportunities are for the business. A bachelors degree will help, but you dont always need one, especially if youre a great people person. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? (Newser) Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, and Octavia Spencer are just some of the Oscar winners and nominees starring in Dolittle, the latest film about an animal doctor sprung from Hugh Lofting's imagination. Just don't expect any Academy Awards here. The filmcredited to director Stephen Gagha, though it underwent extensive reshoots under director Jonathan Liebesmanhas a 17% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes (with an audience score of 75%). Four blistering reviews: "Dolittle is a crime scene in need of forensic analysis" because "something terrible" happened, writes Scott Tobias at NPR, noting that "even after 120 years of cinema, it's still possible to get the basics wrong." He complains of awkward interactions between the CGI animals and human actors. To boot, Downey Jr.'s performance in the title role is "utterly charmless ... a combination of desperate improvisation and a Welsh accent that sounds pushed through a mouthful of marbles and indifference." Downey actually "seems determined to sabotage this movie" with an accent that "slips into Irish, Indian, and Jamaican intonations," writes Vulture's Bilge Ebiri, who was left "questioning reality." "I wasn't expecting it to be quite this bad" but it's "the kind of movie whose incompetence boggles the mind and corrupts the soul," he writes. "It is anti-cinema""a calamity for the ages" that "looks and feels so cheap, uninspired, and broken." story continues below Lara Zarum questions "the time-and-space-defying logic of the film's plot." But her main gripe is with the way the animals are "reduced to wisecracking helpmeets for the swashbuckling doc," per the Globe and Mail. "There's something outrageous, at this particular moment in time, about a fantasy wherein animals eagerly and unquestionably assemble to help save the lives of people," Zarum writes. "Do little? They could not have done less," according to Katie Walsh. "The character development is negligible, the jokes unoriginal" and "everyone on screen seems to be in a stumbling daze, especially Downey," she writes at the Tribune News Service. She concludes the "utterly halfhearted" film is "at-best mediocre, at-worst deeply upsetting dreck." (Read more movie review stories.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 02:45:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close PARIS, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- France will deploy Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to back military operations against the Islamic State (IS), Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly announced on Friday. Parly told local broadcaster Europe1 that the warship deployment "had been already planned" to pursue the combat against IS insurgents in Middle East, amid growing tensions in the region. "France has been engaged in the fight against Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS) for five years... It's in this context that the aircraft carrier will be deployed," she said, stressing that the fight against the terrorist group "is decisive for the security of the Europeans." French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the warship would be sent to Middle East to back Chammal operations (the French component of the anti-IS coalition) from January to April 2020 before deploying to the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. Charles de Gaulle, Europe's only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, would be used in joint operations with European countries, including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Macron added. The aircraft carrier, which can operate a fleet of up to 40 aircraft, was deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean in November 2015. Crow was among a group of seven freshmen from conservative-leaning districts all veterans or former intelligence analysts who wrote an op-ed urging Congress to impeach Trump if the allegations were true that he withheld military aid to Ukraine as part of an attempt to get the country to investigate his political rivals. The piece was seen by many as a crucial development that encouraged Democratic lawmakers by indicating they had enough backing including among their politically vulnerable colleagues to press ahead and open an inquiry into the president. Elaine Scattergood received a citation for her Virginia creeper vines that grow across her home in Avalon, N.J. Read more AVALON, N.J. An Avalon homeowner at war with the beach town for more than a year over the vines growing on her house has placed the future of her Virginia creepers in a judges hands. After a daylong trial Friday, Municipal Court Judge Andrew Cafiero said he needed more time to decide if Elaine Scattergood must cut the vines on her beach-block home. The judge said he would rule on March 9. That followed a seven-hour hearing featuring allegations of political retribution alongside expert testimony about invasive, leafy plants. At one point, landscape architect Scott Taylor, called by the borough attorney to testify about the potential hazards of allowing vines to grow unchecked, was asked to define a weed. Every single plant has the potential to be a weed, he said. A weed is any plant out of place. A beautiful rose in a cornfield is a weed to that corn farmer. To Scattergood, the Virginia creepers she has been cultivating for decades are right where they belong, climbing the walls of her home on 30th Street. When a code enforcement official cited her for violating a town ordinance on overgrowth, Scattergood refused to cut them, saying the ivy produces berries that nourish birds during the winter. READ MORE: Avalon officials told her to cut the vines growing on her house. Now, the case is going to trial. Scattergood, a full-time resident who lives in a house formerly owned by her parents, said that as Avalon morphed from a quaint beach town to a posh resort community, the development of multimillion-dollar homes has edged out food sources for birds and other wildlife. She believes safety concerns are just a pretext and that town officials only care about making sure Avalons properties look pristine. Scattergood has spent tens of thousands fighting the case, she said Friday. And Im a taxpayer, she said. Im paying to prosecute myself! Her attorney, Joseph Grassi, sought during the trial to undermine the boroughs case with a plethora of arguments: that Scattergood was unfairly singled out while vines on other Avalon homes are allowed to remain; that borough officials never followed proper protocol when notifying her of their concerns regarding her property; that the citations were too vague; and that she was the victim of retaliation stemming from her history as a well-known environmental activist. Municipal prosecutor Frank Guaracini III said Scattergoods vines violate an ordinance requiring that properties be maintained in a clean, safe, and sanitary condition. The plants are starting to dislodge the houses siding and twist around electrical wires, he said. Its spreading quickly, and theres a concern that the damage will only be exacerbated as time goes on, he said. Town officials have said multiple residents complained about Scattergoods property and that hers was one of several cited for overgrown weeds and grass. The town code calls for vines to be trimmed to less than nine inches in length. Fridays trial drew about a dozen residents and friends of Scattergood, some of whom said they were outraged by what they saw as government overreach and others who said they supported her commitment to environmental causes. Scattergoods history of activism has included protests of construction projects and the creation of an organization called Save Avalons Dunes. Stan Sperlak, a horticulturist and landscape designer hired by Scattergood to rebut the boroughs expert witness, said that when he examined her yard, he was delighted to find it a thriving haven for butterflies and plants that grow elsewhere in the borough. Here, he said, was an oasis of what Avalon used to be like. The Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) on Thursday has called for a Maharashtra bandh on January 24 against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Register for Citizens (NRC) and current economic crisis. "In today's meeting, we had invited people, who protested against CAA and NRC in Maharashtra. To bring this issue before people, it has been decided to call for a bandh in Maharashtra on January 24," Ambedkar told ANI. "Besides these two issues, the issue of economy should be raised too," he added. Earlier, Ambedkar had said that the CAA and the NRC will "adversely affect Scheduled Castes (SCs) and tribes as well. Protests have erupted across the country over the newly-enacted citizenship law, which 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.) No place to run the risk of dehydration, Las Vegas likes to keep you well oiled from the get go. Behind the glass window of one of the liquor stores in McCarran Airports arrivals area, Conor McGregor smiles and stares out at the newcomers. A cardboard version of course, with a box of Proper 12 whiskey under one arm and the other cradling a bottle of the stuff. According to those on the ground, both the imitation and the real-life McGregor will have laid eyes on far fewer Irish arrivals than had so quickly become a new Las Vegas custom during the Dubliners rise to the top of the fight game and gatecrashing of the cultural mainstream. A lot has changed since those fevered days and nights of four and five years ago. Plenty has changed even since the Dubliner was most recently in the desert, a chastening night 15 months back when he was sent scurrying across the sands by Khabib Nurmagomedov, McGregor humbled during the nights sanctioned combat and faring little better during a riotous outbreak in the aftermath. And yet in spite of all that has changed that aura-stripping loss, the fake retirements, the very real, almost unceasing legal troubles Conor McGregor is back. Back headlining a UFC pay-per-view card, back selling out a cavernous arena on the Strip. The gate for his meeting with Donald Cowboy Cerrone at UFC 246 surpassed $10 million (9m) once tickets sold out in the space of three minutes. So for the thousands who have flown in, and for the millions who whether paying or pirated will switch on, what have they come to see? A rebirth or the death of a salesman? Perhaps those two things arent mutually exclusive. Perhaps the latter is a crucial piece of the process of the former. Or perhaps the sins of recent years are just too great for Conor McGregor to be born again. As ever with McGregor, defining the current step, never mind predicting the next, remains a vexing proposition. His star may well rise again. Saturday nights showdown with the journeyman Cerrone offers a pretty perfect launchpad for that. But there can be no doubt that it has waned. That chaotic spell in 2015 and 2016 when McGregor fought four times in the space of 13 months in Las Vegas can already be looked back upon through nostalgic eyes. A time that was once but is not now. Each fight week seemed to outdo the previous as an Italia 90 fever dream for a new generation of Irish men and women, those on the junction of millennial and Gen-Z. J1 students and credit union-rich weekend-trippers traipsing tricoloured through casinos at all hours, high on that potent mix of Vegas and victory. Four years on, the desert isnt so much quiet (an impossible feat) as quieter. But so too is McGregor. The salesman may not be dealing with something terminal but the early test results couldnt be described as positive. Given his myriad legal issues, McGregor has no doubt intentionally toned things, everything really, down in the build-up to this second comeback. A one-man marketing department not that long ago, the best trash talk the 31-year-old version of the Dubliner could seem to come up with was that he could beat Cerrone even if he had the flu, an offering that is likely very true but is highly unlikely to make the final cut of a hype video. Wednesdays pre-fight press conference was a marked departure from the old scripts. McGregor was on time, he entered the stage from the same side as Cerrone, shook his opponents hand before taking a seat and proceeded to exchange pleasantries with the 36-year-old Colorado native, the UFCs all-time wins leader. At one early stage, McGregor even appeared to glance up to the organisations chief, Dana White, for approval after a tepid answer. Things only really got heated when a reporter asked McGregor directly about his legal issues and was showered in boos and jeers from those Notorious footsoldiers who will likely never switch off. All in all, it was almost boring. Whatever about the salesman, McGregor the fighter cannot afford for Saturday night to be highlight-free. He insists UFC 246 is just the start of a huge 12 months to follow, with at least another two fights to come. If that is to be the case, then things need to get off on the right note inside the octagon. Cerrone is the most journeyed of journeymen, his all-time wins mark the result of longevity and bravery rather than brilliance. Yes, he is a welterweight and McGregors best nights have come 15 and 25lbs further down the ladder. But he doesnt like being pressured and isnt fond of left-handers either, which means he shapes as the most promising of prospects for a fallen fighter looking for that relaunch, particularly a left-handed one who lives to pressure opponents. I have not changed too much, McGregor said this week. I am who I am. Im in a position where Im very eager to perform for the fans. Although there will be blood spilledit will not be bad blood. The salesman has given way... perhaps to the fighter. McGregors next act awaits. The impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump is now underway. The trial adjourned after supreme court chief justice John Roberts was sworn in to preside over the trial. He then swore in the senators, who also signed an oath book. Lead impeachment manager Adam Schiff read from resolution impeaching Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors. "President Trump used the powers of the presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and undermined the integrity of the United States democratic process," the Guardian cited Schiff as saying. Trump was impeached in December for an alleged scheme in which he pressured Ukraine to announce false investigations of the former vice-president Biden and then fought an inquiry into the scheme. Trump, in his turn, says he just wanted to fight corruption in Ukraine. He is the third U.S. president to be impeached. The senior research fellow at the European Research Centre of the International Relations Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Olenchenko, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that the impeachment issue has entered the stage of discussing the results of the impeachment vote in the Senate. "To preserve pathos, the speaker of the House of Representatives formally delivered documents to the Senate. As a rule, this is done by courier," he said. "Today there will be a vote on whether to approve impeachment or not," the expert noted. The senior research fellow at the European Research Centre of the International Relations Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences further noted that a new alleged evidence - a video recording of Trumps conversation with Ukrainian businessman Lev Parnas - is being discussed in the media. "But this record is of poor quality and cannot be considered as a convincing argument. Nevertheless, the fact of the conversation is not refuted, so it is media-fueled now," the expert said. Speaking about how this situation may affect U.S.-Ukraine relations, the expert drew attention to the need to consider two possible scenarios. "If the Senate succumbs to the pressure of the Democrats and votes for impeachment, then this will be one situation, when the issue of Ukraine will go far aside. If the Senate rejects impeachment, then I think that American democracy will he threw back at Ukraine's sources and leadership everything," Olenchenko concluded. Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the rights to the U.S. and select international territories for The Father, which stars Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman and is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival later this month. The Father is based on French writer Florian Zellers own adaptation of his acclaimed stage play. Zeller directed the film based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Osfar winner Christopher Hampton (Atonement, Dangerous Liaisons). In the upcoming film adaptation, Hopkins and Colman star as father and daughter one mischievous, the other caring who battle the universal prophecy of loss that comes with age. The Father hums and bristles with compassion; celebrating an intimate, absorbing, comedic, and moving story about our own real-life human condition, according to Sonys description. No release information has yet been set for the film. Also Read: Elizabeth Debicki, Claes Bang Thriller 'Burnt Orange Heresy' Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics The Father also stars Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell and Olivia Williams. Florian and his talented team of filmmakers have made a highly distinctive and surprising movie that speaks directly to the heart and soul of its audience. Im very thankful to SPC and all our international distributors with whom my team now prepare for a global theatrical release, Christophe Spadone, the films principal investor, said in a statement. The play, written and directed by Zeller, was first launched in Paris in 2012 and won the Moliere Award for Best Play. Simon Friend produced Christopher Hamptons translation in Londons West End, where it won an Olivier Award for Best Actor, a feat it repeated on Broadway with a Tony Award. Also Read: Ethan Hawke, Dee Rees, Emily Mortimer Among Sundance 2020 Jury Members The domestic sale completes the movies global theatrical distribution. Embankment pre-sold international territories to independent distributors including Canada (Elevation), U.K. (Lionsgate), Benelux (Cineart), Germany (Tobis), Switzerland (Ascot Elite), Italy (Sunfilm), Spain (A Contracorriente), Scandinavia (Atlantic), Japan (Hakuhodo), Australia/New Zealand (Sharmill), Latin America (California). France is distributed by UGC, Orange and Canal Plus. Story continues The Father is a co-production of Trademark Films, FCommeFilm and Cine-@ and is presented by Les Films Du Cru and Film Four. The producers are Philippe Carcassonne, David Parfitt and Jean-Louis Livi. Production investment was provided by Elarofs Christophe Spadone and UKs Film4. Financing was arranged by London finance houses, including Paul Grindeys Viewfinder and Embankment Films. CAA, Embankment and UTA Independent Film Group represent the producers for the sale to Sony Picture Classics. Read original story The Father Starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics Ahead of Sundance At TheWrap Two of the main accused in the murder of rationalist M M Kalburgi have absconded and cannot be traced, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has told the Supreme Court on Friday in its status report. Kalburgi, a former vice-chancellor of Hampi University and well-known epigraphist, was shot dead at his residence in Kalyan Nagar in Dharwad, Karnataka, on August 30, 2015. Born in 1938, he was a Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer of old Kannada literature. The SIT, in its status report filed before a bench of Justices R F Nariman and S Ravindra Bhat, said that investigation has been completed and charge sheet filed in the murder case. "We have gone through the status report filed by the SIT. It says that two of the main accused have been absconding and cannot be traced. They also say that a charge sheet has been filed in the case and matter has been remitted to a Sessions Court for trial," the bench said. As the Karnataka High Court is monitoring the case, nothing survives in the petition filed by Kalburgi's wife Umadevi and disposed of her plea, it said. Umadevi moved the apex court in 2017 for a probe by a National Investigation Agency (NIA) or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claiming that no substantial probe has been carried out so far in the murder case by the state police. She alleged that there was a common link between the murder of her husband and that of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and social activist Govind Pansare, and hence the probe should be done by a Central agency. On February 26 last year, the top court had transferred the probe into the killing of Kalburgi to the SIT, already investigating the murder case of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh after Karnataka government said there were common links in the two cases. The state's Crime Investigation Department was earlier probing Kalburgi's killing and a SIT was investigating the murder of Lankesh in September 2017, in Bengaluru. The apex court had asked the Dharwad bench of the Karnataka High Court to monitor the SIT investigation into Kalburgi's killing. It had said that if killings of Kalburgi, Lankesh, Pansare and rationalist Dabholkar are linked, it should be probed by one agency and monitored by one high court. Maharashtra's SIT was probing the killing of Pansare in 2015 and CBI has been investigating the murder of Dabholkar on August 20, 2013. The apex court, which had earlier termed the plea "very serious case" had initially favoured a CBI probe into the murders of Kalburgi, Pansare and Lankesh, if there was any "common thread" in these incidents. The killings of all these three activists happened within a period of five years. Karnataka police had earlier in its status report told the top court that there appears to be an "intimate connection" between the killings of Kalburgi in 2015 and Lankesh in 2017. The court had observed that one probe agency should investigate all the four cases if prima facie it appears that there is a "common thread" in the murders. The top court had earlier pulled up Karnataka government for "doing nothing and just fooling around" with the investigation and indicated it may transfer the case to the Bombay High Court. The apex court on January 10, 2018 had sought responses of probe agencies NIA and CBI and the state governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka on the allegation of Umadevi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pot stocks have struggled over the past year but that could change in 2020. With marijuana bills in the works that could loosen up some of the laws surrounding the cannabis industry, this year could be a much stronger one for pot stocks. The upcoming federal election may have an even bigger effect, especially if new leadership decides to make an even bigger change: legalizing marijuana. Any progress toward legalization could make the following three stocks scorching buys this year: 1. Curaleaf Curaleaf Holdings (OTC:CURLF) is one stock that would benefit significantly from a change in government policy on marijuana. The company has been busy acquiring cannabis companies and licenses over the past several years. Its largest acquisition is the still-pending Cura Partners. Whether it's banking reform that grants cannabis companies easier access to financial institutions, or federal legislation that would permit marijuana outright, either change would have a positive impact on the company's financials over the long term. Although Curaleaf has done an exceptional job of growing its business, with sales over the past 12 months totaling $178 million, the problem is that its net losses over that period have come in at $57 million, or 32% of revenue. A key part of that is selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses of $118 million, which are more than enough to wipe out the company's gross margins of $98 million. Marijuana reform will help the company bring down the unnecessary admin costs that result from all the red tape in the industry. Just the ability to transport pot across borders will improve operational efficiencies, helping the company get much closer to breaking even. In turn, that will make the company much more investable and get investors excited about the stock. Although those are long-term benefits that won't be realized right away, they will result in a better outlook for the company's future which is sure to get investors more bullish on Curaleaf. 2. Acreage Acreage Holdings (OTC:ACRGF) is another multistate operator that could stand to benefit, potentially even more than Curaleaf. Not only could cannabis reform help bring down its expenses, but it could also open the door for its deal with Canopy Growth to finally go through. Although the two companies initially reached an agreement where Canopy Growth would acquire Acreage, it remains in limbo until the deal is legally permissible to go through. And the easiest way for that to happen will be if the U.S. government legalizes pot at the federal level. That's a long shot today and won't likely happen this year, but the election of a presidential candidate who promises to legalize pot could be enough to make investors bullish on Acreage. The deal with Canopy Growth is a long-term bet on the industry and any move to suggest that legalization could happen sooner rather than later will definitely send Acreage's stock soaring in a hurry. For Acreage, the situation is even more critical, as over the trailing 12 months its net losses have been a whopping $301 million on just $64 million in sales. 3. Green Thumb Green Thumb Industries (OTC:GTBIF) doesn't have a big deal waiting in the wings like Acreage does, but similar to Curaleaf, shedding some costs could make breakeven a real possibility for the company. Its losses over the trailing 12 months have been a bit more modest at $52 million as its SG&A costs are also making up a substantial (84%) piece of its operating expenses, which at $119 million are 74% of revenue and well above gross margin. The Chicago-based pot producer also has an additional incentive in its home state where CEO Ben Kovler estimates the market there could be worth between $2 billion to $3 billion in revenue. Federally legalizing pot would make it easier for the company to tap into that potential by transporting supply as Kovler notes that people have less variety of products in Illinois than in other states that have already legalized pot and where Green Thumb has a more developed supply chain. Legalization would eliminate that problem as the company would be able to ship products across the country, improving its supply chain in Illinois and generating more revenue in the process. What does this mean for investors? As marijuana stocks keep treading water, investors should remain on the sidelines -- the lower these stocks go, the more potential there will be for a rally. If federal marijuana legislation passes this year, or if a new, pot-friendly president is elected, these stocks will take off in no time. The stocks listed above may have struggled over the past year but investors shouldn't count them out just yet. They are dominant forces in the industry today and will get even stronger once marijuana is legalized. I ran's supreme leader today described President Donald Trump as a "clown" as he lead Friday prayers for the first time in eight years. Addressing the gathering in Tehran for the first time since 2012, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Mr Trump had a "poisonous dagger" which he would "push into the nation's back". He also said the outpouring of grief at the funeral for Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike earlier this month, shows that Iranians support the Islamic Republic. He added that America had killed the most effective commander in the fight against the Islamic State group in a "cowardly" manner. Ayatollah Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called Israel a "cancerous tumour" and vowed to support anyone confronting it. Iran's supreme leader leads prayer over the caskets of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, both killed in the US strike / KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images He also used that opportunity to warn against any US strikes on Iran over its nuclear program, saying the US would be damaged "10 times over." Friday's sermon came amid high tensions between the US and the Middle East. As Iran's Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counter attack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after it took off from Tehran's international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Qasem Soleimani funeral in Iran 1 /24 Qasem Soleimani funeral in Iran An Iranian man reacts during a gathering to mourn General Qasem Soleimani VIA REUTERS Mourners wave flags as they gather during the funeral procession of slain Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani AFP via Getty Images Mourners gather during the funeral procession of slain Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (image), Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and eight others in the Iraqi central city of Karbala AFP via Getty Images Thousands of Iraqis chanting "Death to America" today as they mourned an Iranian commander and others killed in a US drone attack AFP via Getty Images Mourners gather in the Iraqi central city of Karbala AFP via Getty Images Mourners take part in the funeral procession of slain Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani AFP via Getty Images Iranians gather to mourn General Qasem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, who was killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Tehran, Iran VIA REUTERS A mourner holds up a picture AFP via Getty Images Thousands of Iraqis chanting "Death to America" today as they mourned an Iranian commander and others killed in a US drone attack AFP via Getty Images Mourners chant slogans against the U.S. during the funeral of Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani, AP Iran has vowed "harsh retaliation" for the US airstrike near Baghdad's airport AP Mourners carry the coffins of Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani AP Mourners carry the coffin of slain Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis AFP via Getty Images People attend a funeral procession for Iranian Major-General Qasem Soleiman VIA REUTERS An aerial view shows mourners attending a funeral ceremony for Gen. Qasem Soleimani AP Qassem Soleimani and his comrades who were killed in Iraq by a U.S. drone strike, are carried on a truck surrounded by mourners AP Mourners carry the coffins of Iran's top general Qasem Soleiman AP Iran has vowed "harsh retaliation" for the U.S. airstrike near Baghdad's airport AP Ayatollah Khamenei called the shootdown of the plane a "bitter accident" that saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. Their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Ayatollah Khamenei has held the country's top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of General Soleimani and vowed "harsh retaliation" against the United States Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since Mr Trump withdrew the US from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which had imposed restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Ayatollah Khamenei described Donald Trump as a "clown" / AP The White House has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Mr Trump has openly encouraged the protesters - even tweeting in Farsi - hoping that the protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a longtime adversary. After General Soleimani was killed, Iran announced it would no longer be bound by the limitations in the nuclear agreement. European countries who have been trying to salvage the deal responded earlier this week by invoking a dispute mechanism that is aimed at bringing Iran back into compliance and could result in even more sanctions. Ayatollah Khamenei was always sceptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the United States could not be trusted. DECATUR, Ill. The last three census counts brought bitter confirmation of what Decatur residents could already see for themselves, after the factories cut shifts and the neighbors moved away. Their city, whose welcome sign boasts of being the original home of the Chicago Bears, was shrinking. But ahead of this years official head count, Decatur officials are trying a new way to boost their numbers: If people wont move to Decatur where downtown coffee shops are nestled amid mid-rise buildings, factories are hiring again and the areas first Chipotle just opened Decatur will move to them. Over the last year, the City Council pushed Decaturs boundaries outward, annexing hundreds of properties despite vehement objections from new residents whose spacious houses and half-acre lots contrast sharply with the smaller, aging homes in neighborhoods closer to downtown. The annexation drive in Decatur, where the population in the latest federal estimate was just over 71,000, down from 94,000 in 1980, is part of a once-a-decade land rush across the country. Ahead of a 2020 census that will shape government budgets for the next 10 years, officials in cities in Wyoming, Arizona, Alabama and elsewhere pitched plans to broaden their borders. JACKSONVILLE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / January 17, 2020 / ParkerVision, Inc. (OTCQB:PRKR) announced that the Orlando federal court has denied Qualcomm's motion for partial summary judgment in ParkerVision's pending patent litigation against Qualcomm and HTC Corporation in Orlando, Florida [case no. 6:14-cv-00687]. Qualcomm filed a motion with the court in September 2019 in an effort to eliminate all of the receiver technology patents cited in the ParkerVision litigation. Qualcomm attempted to support its motion with non-infringement decisions reached by the court in prior litigation between the parties (the "ParkerVision I Case"). ParkerVision asserted to the court that the patents, patent claims, infringement arguments, and infringing products are different in the current case from those litigated in the ParkerVision I Case. In its January 16, 2020 order, the court struck down Qualcomm's assertions. The court concluded that Qualcomm failed to carry its burden of proving that there is no material difference between the patents-at-issue in the ParkerVision I Case and the claims asserted by ParkerVision in the litigation now underway. According to the court, Qualcomm also failed to carry the burden of proving there is no material difference between the accused products in the ParkerVision I Case and the accused products at issue now. Qualcomm and HTC are accused of infringing an aggregate of four patents, including the two receiver patents that are the subject of the court's recent order and two transmitter patents. The case is scheduled for trial beginning December 1, 2020. Jeffrey Parker, Chief Executive Officer of ParkerVision, stated, "We are pleased with the court's denial of Qualcomm's attempt to remove the receiver patents from this case. We are confident the evidence will show Qualcomm's unauthorized use of our patented technologies and their knowledge of our patents well in advance of the infringement in their products." Additionally, ParkerVision has brought litigation against Qualcomm and Apple in the Middle District of Florida in Jacksonville which is scheduled for trial beginning in August 2020. About ParkerVision ParkerVision, Inc. has designed, developed, and patented proprietary radio-frequency (RF) technologies which enable advanced wireless solutions for current and next generation wireless communication products. ParkerVision is engaged in a number of patent enforcement actions to protect patented rights that it believes are broadly infringed by others. For more information, please visit www.parkervision.com Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, each of which speaks only as of the date made. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which are disclosed in the Company's SEC reports, including the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, June 30, and September 30, 2019. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated or projected. Contact: Cindy Poehlman Chief Financial Officer ParkerVision, Inc. 904-732-6100 cpoehlman@parkervision.com SOURCE: ParkerVision, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/573373/Orlando-District-Court-Denies-Qualcomm-Motion-for-Summary-Judgment-in-ParkerVision-Infringement-Litigation Sheku Kanneh-Mason has just stumped me with a revelation I did not think possible. The young cellist, whose long list of accolades could probably stretch the length of three football fields if they were lined up end to end, has admitted that he didn't feel at all fazed when playing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. His performance of three pieces of music, including his tear-jerking rendition of Ave Maria, is believed to have been watched by an estimated two billion people across the world. But for 20-year-old Kanneh-Mason, it was no big deal. Not a dot of anxiety. It was just another chance for him to do what he loves most. "No, I didn't really get nervous," he reflects, markedly honest and humble, without even the slightest hint of arrogance. "It was such an exciting thing and I just thought about the music, which is more important." He is unsure of whether it was the best thing to have ever happened to him, but he explains: "It was amazing to perform for so many people around the world. "I love performing and the opportunity to be able to do that more is really nice." As well as using his passion to keep himself focused (and to stop him from getting distracted by the truly terrifying thought of millions of pairs of eyes watching him perform live), throughout our chat, Kanneh-Mason often highlights the simple fact that his main goal is simply to make and perform music to the best of his ability, and that nothing else matters. His humility and introverted temperament is a breath of fresh air, but it's somewhat surprising to discover that he's retained these traits given the last few years he's had. Kanneh-Mason has had the most remarkable rise to fame since 2016, after years of honing his craft alongside his musical family of siblings. The Nottingham-raised wunderkind is the third of seven children born to immigrant parents from Antigua and Sierra Leone. His siblings include sister Isata, who last year released her debut album of piano music, and his violinist brother Braimah. Kanneh-Mason made history when he became the first black musician to win the BBC Young Musician award in 2016. He rose to international acclaim in 2018 after playing at the royal wedding in May that year, and he also became the youngest ever cellist to score a top 20 album in the Official Albums Chart when his first collection, Inspiration, debuted at number 18. The album later peaked at number 11. Shortly after the nuptials, Kanneh-Mason nabbed a Brit Certified Breakthrough Award for his album, as well as two Classic Brit Awards. He added another string to his impressive bow when he was recently named in the New Year Honours list for services to music. Kanneh-Mason says the notice of the MBE was a "big surprise" and, rather than letting it go to his head, he says that the honour is mainly "a real motivation for me", and that he was proud to tell his family of his achievement. The softly-spoken young star said that it would be "really, really nice" if Harry were to be the one to give him the MBE at Buckingham Palace, commenting that it would be "a great reunion". However, not-so-fortuitously, we speak hours before Harry and Meghan make their bombshell announcement about stepping back from royal duties, so it is now looking highly unlikely that would be the case. He may just have to settle for Prince Charles or the Queen instead. For now, Kanneh-Mason is focusing on his latest album, a new collection of works based on Elgar's Cello Concerto that he recorded at the Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, one of his heroes. The musical prodigy lights up when talking about his second album, seemingly preferring to discuss his work, than having to think about his triumphs and rise to super-stardom. "I grew up listening to Elgar's Cello Concerto a lot, it's my favourite piece of music ever," he enthuses. "And in terms of other pieces on the album, I wanted to have pieces that relate to the Elgar Concerto in some way, so either by being something by Elgar or sharing a kind of mood or character with the concerto, or written at a similar time, like pieces that were written just after the First World War, so there's a theme in terms of mood and character." He says that Elgar's work resonates with him because of "the personal nature of the music". "It's not music that shouts and tries to announce itself to everyone. It's very intimate and very personal, and that's what makes it so moving." He could have been describing himself: he's certainly not an artist who needs to shout or announce himself when entertaining a crowd, be it at his school, the Royal Academy of Music, or indeed in St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle at the wedding of one of the most famous couples in royal family history. I ask him how he keeps himself grounded, because it seems astonishing that someone could have so much talent and achieved so much at such a young age and still have such a cool head on his shoulders. He laughs softly and replies: "My cello lessons are a big thing in keeping me focused on my development, and the people around me are really helpful in that. "Also, listening to my favourite recordings remind me why I do what I do. "I'm always aware that... just because I've had the opportunity to perform at the royal wedding for so many people, I am still developing as an artist and I have a long list of things I want to do and how I want to change as a musician. "That's why studying is such a big part of what I'm doing at the moment. "There's so much more I can do." Sheku Kanneh - Mason's album Elgar is out now A Pakistani court has sentenced more than 80 Islamists to 55 years in prison each after protests linked to the 2018 acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, one of their senior leaders told AFP. The sentence -- an unusually harsh one in Pakistan, where blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue -- was announced by a lower court in the garrison town of Rawalpindi on Thursday, said Pir Ejaz Ashrafi, a senior leader of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP). The Islamists were members of the radical TLP, an anti-blasphemy party which had spearheaded violent protests across Pakistan in the wake of Bibi's acquittal in late 2018. At the time Pakistan took its leader, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, into custody as part of a broad effort to quell the unrest. Ashrafi said 86 members of the TLP were convicted after a trial which lasted for more than a year but he argued that the protests had been against Rizvi's arrest, not Bibi's acquittal. "This is murder of justice and the sentences given are quite ruthless and harsh," he told AFP. Ashrafi said the party would challenge the verdict in the Lahore High Court. Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even the whiff of an unsubstantiated allegation of insulting Islam can spark death at the hands of mobs. TLP -- or the Movement at the Service of the Prophet -- has in recent years become one of the most powerful groups in Pakistan weaponising the ultra-sensitive issue, including at the ballot box. Rizvi had demanded the execution of Asia Bibi, a labourer from central Punjab province and minority Christian who had been convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and sent to death row, but was dramatically acquitted on appeal in 2018. Bibi now lives in Canada with her family. Another TLP spokesman, who confirmed the convictions to AFP but was unsure of the numbers, said the government was trying to subdue the party. "But they can never succeed as we are not standing for Khadim Rizvi or any organisation, but for a pure Islam," he said. Search Keywords: Short link: Sompo Holdings and Slice Labs are partnering on a product in Thailand. FRISS will be working with Snapsheet to provide technology designed to enhance the claims process. *** A division of Japanese insurer Sompo holdings is partnering with Slice Labs, an on-demand insurance cloud platform provider, to release an enhanced version of a travel insurance product in Thailand. Slice is working with Sompo Holdings (Asia) Pte. Ltd. on the project, involving the travel insurance product TravelJoy. It will be released in Thailand using social distribution through the LINE LIFF web app platform making on-demand trip protection services available to 44 million LINE users in the country. Sompo Insurance Thailand (Sompo Thailand) CEO Chayanna Siripirom said in prepared remarks that most of Thailands mobile internet users are already using LINE commercially and socially, and that adopting the app will help boost its services and market reach. TravelJoy, will include life and medical, flight delay/cancellation, and baggage/belongings coverage. As part of the offering, Slice ICS will integrate with pan-Asian payments provider, 2C2P, that serves 620 million banked and unbanked Southeast Asia customers. Available in English and Thai, the Slice and SOMPO TravelJoy is purchased via Sompo Thailand LINE Official Account on the LINE platform in under three minutes and costs 500 (Thai baht) (USD$16) per average customer. *** FRISS will be working with Snapsheet to provide technology designed to enhance the claims process. FRISS develops fraud and risk analytics for P/C insurers using artificial intelligence, and Snapsheet is an InsurTech that develops and markets software services for insurance carriers. The companies say that their partnership will help bring to Snapsheet customers seamless fraud protection thats built into their core system and everyday workflows. The FRISS product lets carriers automatically detect fraudulent claims using AI and machine learning, expert knowledge rules, internal and external database checks, text analysis and network link analysis, the company said. Its FRISS Score instantly indicates the likelihood that a claim is fraudulent, and provides actionable insights non-technical staff can use to decide the next best actions to take. A FRISS indication within Snapsheet uses these indicators: Green means go, encouraging the fastest possible processing of legitimate claims; yellow indicates a need to slow down and look both ways; while a red light, indicative of a high likelihood of fraud, should cause a carrier to stop and investigate before paying a claim. Sources: SOMPO/Slice Labs, Snapsheet/FRISS Other board members include Darian Pickett, Acosta's CEO, and the following representatives from Acosta's largest investors funds associated with Elliott Management, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., Davidson Kempner Capital Management, and Nexus Capital Management which collectively manage nearly $200 billion in assets: Dave Miller , Equity Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager, Elliott Management , Equity Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager, Austin Camporin , Portfolio Manager, Elliott Management , Portfolio Manager, Jeremy Grant , Associate Portfolio Manager, Elliott Management , Associate Portfolio Manager, Morgan Blackwell , Managing Member, Davidson Kempner Capital Management , Managing Member, Davidson Kempner Capital Management Kaj Vazales , Managing Director, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. , Managing Director, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. Michael Cohen , Partner, Nexus Capital Management "We're entering a new decade feeling energized and more confident than ever with the addition of our new board members," said Pickett. "The depth of experience among this impressive group of leaders will provide Acosta with an unparalleled competitive edge as we set our sights on strategic growth and innovation for the benefit of our clients, customers and people." The new board of directors assumed responsibilities January 1, 2020 and will be supplemented by an advisory board, which will be appointed early this year and will provide additional industry expertise and other benefits to the Company. For further detailed information regarding each board member, visit www.Acosta.com. About Acosta Acosta is the sales and marketing powerhouse behind most of the trusted brands seen in stores every day. The company provides a range of outsourced sales, marketing and retail merchandising services throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. For 90 years, Acosta has led the industry in helping consumer packaged goods companies move products off shelves and into shoppers' baskets. For more information, please visit www.acosta.com. SOURCE Acosta Related Links http://www.acosta.com The Union home ministry has called a meeting of state government officials on Friday to discuss the modalities for carrying out the house-listing phase of the Census and the 2020 National Population Register (NPR), officials said on Thursday. The meeting, which will be chaired by minister of state for home, Nityanand Rai, will also be attended by the Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla and chief secretaries and census directors of states. A ministry official said that modalities for the Census and NPR, to be carried out from April 1 to September 30, are on the agenda. However, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Wednesday that representatives from her state would not attend any meetings of this nature because of her decision not to implement NPR in the state. There was no clarity whether officials from Kerala, which has also announced that it will not carry out the NPR enumeration exercise, would attend or not. Home ministry officials said Census Commissioner of India, V K Joshi, would give a presentation in the meeting on the entire census exercise and the protocol for collecting and saving the data on secure servers. States will also share their experiences during the pre-test of the Census house-listing exercise carried out between August and September 2019, a Rajasthan government official said, asking not to be named. The meeting is to take place at a time when three state assemblies of the Congress-ruled states -- Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh -- will discuss the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, NPR and a proposed all-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) in their respective states. Wait till Friday, was the reply of Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, when asked whether a resolution would be introduced in Punjab assembly on Friday against CAA, NPR and NRC. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel also said that decisions on the three controversial exercises would be taken on the floor of the house on Friday. An official from the Madhya Pradesh government, who asked not to be named, said there was no official communication from the state government that NPR would not be carried out in the state. We have prepared the detailed chart for carrying out the exercise in summer months, he said. The Union government has said the objective of NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country, containing demographic and biometric details. For the purposes of the NPR, a usual resident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for the past six months or more, or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months. Home ministry officials said that most states have notified provisions related to NPR, which is being prepared at the local (village/sub-town), sub-district, district, state, and national levels under provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. The rules have a provision for fine of up to Rs 1,000 on those violating norms. Kyiv, Ukraine Police in Ukraine are investigating whether the U.S. ambassador came under illegal surveillance by an unknown party before the Trump administration recalled her from Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday. The announcement came two days after Democratic lawmakers in the United States released documents and text messages that showed an associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer communicating with Rudy Giuliani about Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch's removal. In announcing the investigation, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said the country's police "are not interfering in the internal political affairs of the United States" by conducting the probe. The ambassador's firing last spring was at the center of the inquiry launched by House Democrats that led to the president's impeachment. But it was the trove of newly released information from smartphones belonging to Giuliani associate Lev Parnas that prompted the Ukrainian police investigation. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. In text messages to Parnas, Republican congressional candidate Robert F. Hyde gave updates on Yovanovitch's location and cellphone use. Hyde suggested in a tweet this week that the messages that made it sound like the ambassador was being watched were a joke. Parnas has said Hyde's texts shouldn't be taken seriously, but officials in Ukraine indicated they have a legal obligation to determine if the former ambassador was subject to surveillance by an unknown party. "The published messages contain facts of possible violations of Ukrainian law and of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, which protect the rights of diplomats on the territory of another state," the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Cheers . . . to the Ohio Department of Education for blocking a loophole that would have rewarded some poorly performing charter schools with millions of extra tax dollars. Cheers . . . to Clevelands homicide detectives for significantly improving their solve rate in 2019. Cheers . . .to Ohio Attorney General David Yost for convening a summit to address human trafficking and creating a human trafficking initiative within his office. Jeers . . . to Cuyahoga Countys Fiscal Office for mistakenly omitting special assessments from at least some of the original tax bills sent to property owners in Cleveland Heights, East Cleveland and Shaker Heights. About our editorials: Editorials, including Cheers & Jeers, express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization. Have something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. 1. Govt feels telecom sector is out of financial stress Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea should not expect any relief from the government, which feels with the tariff hikes and the deferment of the regime of zero interconnect usage charges (IUC) by another year, the sector is out of financial stress and does not require help from the Centre. "All the companies have increased tariffs by 40 per cent in December and the IUC regime has also been extended. This is enough relief for them," an official told Business Standard. Read on... 2. Govt to push back the deadline for ... A growing number of Nepali teenagers are marrying young by choice despite child marriage outlawed about 50 years ago. Teenager Asha Charti Karki told her parents she was going out to study, but instead, she ran off to wed her boyfriend one of a growing number of Nepali teenagers who are marrying young by choice. There were rumours about us in the village and I had fights at home. I felt I had no choice but to run away, Karki told AFP news agency at her home in the western district of Surkhet. Nepal has one of the worlds highest rates of child marriage even though the practice was banned about 50 years ago and the legal marrying age is 20. Some 50 percent of Nepali women aged between 25 and 49 were married by their 18th birthday, according to the Himalayan nations 2016 Demographic Health Survey. Marriages in the conservative country were traditionally arranged by parents, with many forcing their children to marry for cultural reasons or out of poverty. Such marriages are declining but child rights activists warn an increasing number of underage couples are eloping for love marriage a term used to describe unions by choice. A 2014 survey by Girls Not Brides Nepal, which is part of a global network set up to end child marriage, found that one-third of such unions were initiated by young couples, and that the trend was increasing. This practice is posing a challenge for us and for the government. We can tell the parents but it is hard to convince young boys and girls when they marry by choice, Anand Tamang of Girls Not Brides Nepal told AFP. Betraying my future Tamang said voluntary child marriages, like forced unions, still pose the same risks, including dropping out of school, domestic violence and health problems. Girls in particular lose the support of their families when they elope, he added. Karki was among those who quit school early after getting married, as she struggled to cope with household chores and family responsibilities. Soon after, she found out she was pregnant. I was only 16, too young to understand what I was getting into, she said, cradling her two-year-old daughter. I had lied to my parents and run away, but I was actually betraying myself and my future. Her early pregnancy left her with uterine prolapse, a painful condition which sees the uterus or womb descend and protrude out of the vagina. It is difficult. I often see my friends and wonder where I would be if I had not married, she added. While the Nepali government has implemented a national strategy to end child marriages punishable by jail terms and a fine by 2030, it acknowledges the programme can only be successful if the roots of the problem are tackled. It was a mistake Some girls elope to avoid a potential forced marriage, or to escape poverty or chores at home. With teen romances seen as socially unacceptable in much of rural Nepal, young couples feel they have to run away and get married to legitimise their relationships. Others feel pushed to marry if they get pregnant. Meanwhile, underage love marriages are rarely reported to authorities, with families only seeking legal recourse if they disapprove of unions such as intercaste marriages. [The] main [thing] is education. It is important that they understand that being sexually active does not equate to marriage, Krishna Prasad Bhusal of the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens told AFP. Karki hopes she can help other girls by sharing her experiences with them as part of a programme called Sisters for Sisters Education, run by British charity VSO Nepal. I tell them that they should not have to marry and teach others like me that they should learn from my mistakes now, she said. In her role as big sister, Karki persuaded 17-year-old Aradhana Nepal to leave her abusive marriage and return to school. Nepal was only 13 when she eloped with a teenaged youth she barely knew. There had been gossip about them and she did not know what else to do to protect her reputation. It was only after they married that she discovered he was a violent drug addict. She endured beatings for months before she escaped. She recalled: It was a mistake. Leaving that marriage saved my life. Channel Seven has announced The Farmer Wants a Wife 2020 will still go ahead, despite raging bushfires destroying farmland all over Australia. The popular match-making show, which last aired on Nine in 2016, involves farmers from isolated parts of the country trying to find love with single city girls. And while the out-of-control fires have destroyed thousands of homes, the network has confirmed the farmers from this year's season haven't been affected. Grand return: Channel Seven has confirmed The Farmer Wants a Wife 2020 will still go ahead, despite raging bushfires destroying farmland all over Australia 'The fires have not affected our farmers to date, and filming has commenced to plan this week,' a Seven spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. The Farmer Wants a Wife is one of Australia's most successful dating shows, having produced nine marriages and 19 children. The reality series first aired in 2007, and was originally on Channel Nine. Wholesome: The popular match-making show, which last aired in 2016, involves farmers from isolated parts of the country trying to find love with single city girls. Pictured: Farmer Alex It ran for eight seasons before it was cancelled, before being renewed in 2016 only to be axed again due to disappointing ratings. The first adverts for the new series were released in November, showing the new lineup of handsome farmers. Queensland sheep and cattle farmer Alex says he's eager to have a 'whole tribe of barefoot, grubby, snotty kids' with his future wife. Safe: While the out-of-control fires have destroyed thousands of homes, the network has confirmed the farmers from this year's season haven't been affected. Pictured: Farmer Harry Farmer Harry is also looking for a woman who values trust and has a 'passion for enjoying life, not just living it'. Meanwhile, Tasmanian vineyard owner Nick wants to meet someone special with whom he can have children as soon as possible. Channel Seven is yet to release a premiere date, but the show is expected to air later this year. " " People buy life insurance generally to provide a benefit to their family members. But there are many different types available. Nitat Termmee/Getty Images The life insurance industry offers several different flavors of life insurance to meet the various coverage needs and financial goals of clients. But which life insurance policy is for you? Let's run through the major types of life plans and their respective pros and cons. Advertisement Term Life Insurance Term life insurance is by far the most popular type of life insurance policy. It's called "term" life insurance because the policyholder is covered for a specific length of time, typically 30 years. Term life insurance is also called "pure" life insurance, because your monthly premiums only pay for a death benefit, not any kind of investment component. Term life insurance is so popular because it fulfills the most basic need for life insurance, which is to replace lost income following the death of a spouse, parent or other financial provider. People often buy term life insurance when they get married or have a child, because they want a policy that will cover them through retirement age, or until their children are financially independent. Because term life insurance only pays out a death benefit, and because it only provides coverage for a limited time, the premiums are generally much less expensive than other types of life insurance. According to Policy Genius, a healthy person in their 20s or 30s can expect to pay between $30 and $40 a month for a 30-year term life policy with a $500,000 death benefit. Pros: The chief benefits of term life insurance are low monthly premiums and the peace of mind that survivors will receive a substantial death benefit if the policyholder dies young. Cons: The downside of term life is that it only covers the policyholder for 30 or 40 years, so survivors receive no death benefit if the policyholder dies after the term has expired. Advertisement Whole Life Insurance Whole life insurance falls under the larger umbrella of "permanent" life insurance policies. Unlike term life insurance, which only covers the policyholder for a 30- or 40-year term, permanent life insurance policies are, well, permanent the policyholder is covered for their entire life. As we'll see, though, that extra coverage comes at a cost. Whole life insurance is the simplest type of permanent life insurance. There are two components to a whole life insurance policy: the death benefit and the "cash value." The death benefit component of a whole life policy works exactly the same as term life insurance, except there's no expiration date. No matter when the policyholder dies unexpectedly at 35 or understandably at 95 their beneficiaries receive the death benefit. The cash value component of whole life insurance policies is basically a savings account that grows with interest. Part of your fixed monthly premium with whole life insurance goes toward the death benefit and part goes into this savings account. Pros: The benefits of whole life insurance are lifetime coverage, fixed monthly premiums and extra cash stashed away in a savings account. And before you die, you can withdraw money tax-free from the savings account up to the cash value you've contributed. Cons: The main downside of whole life insurance is its cost. You'll pay six to 10 times more in premiums compared to term life for the same death benefit. As for the savings account, financial experts like Dave Ramsey say you'd get a much better return by investing that same money in a mutual fund. "Permanent life insurance policies get the cold shoulder by some in the financial-planning community who say, 'Why not buy term and invest the difference?'" says Jack Dolan, vice president of public affairs at the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). "The truth is, a lot of people buy term and they spend the difference." Advertisement Universal Life Insurance Universal life insurance is another type of permanent life insurance policy. It's very similar to whole life insurance in that there's a death benefit component and a cash value component. The difference is that universal life offers more flexibility in how to pay the monthly premiums. The major selling point of universal life insurance is that you can potentially use the accumulated cash value of the account to lower the cost of monthly premiums or pay for them entirely. Dolan says that this type of policy is most appealing to people whose income varies from year to year. If money is tight one year, universal life insurance policyholders can dip into their savings account to help pay for the premiums. Pros: The benefits of universal life are permanent coverage and flexible out-of-pocket costs for paying the monthly premiums. Cons: Management fees are higher than whole life, and if your cash value account runs low, you may not have the funds to cover the monthly premium, rendering the policy void. Advertisement Variable-Universal Life Insurance Even Dolan admits that variable-universal life insurance is "not for everyone." Variable-universal life insurance is similar to straight universal life insurance, but instead of accruing cash value in a savings account, you invest the money in "sub accounts" that are similar to mutual funds. As a policyholder, you can choose which sub accounts to invest your money based on the risk level you're comfortable with, or you can have a life insurance agent manage the investments for you. Either way, there's far more inherent risk with these mutual fund-style investment vehicles than with a simple savings account. Like a universal life insurance policy, though, you can use the accrued cash value of a variable-universal policy to lower the cost of monthly premiums or pay them entirely. Assuming the investments pan out and the cash value grows over time. Pros: If you're comfortable with the risk and prefer to have hands-on involvement with your investments, a variable-universal policy might be an attractive option. Dolan says that variable-universal policies are typically picked by "higher-income individuals." Cons: Dave Ramsey calls variable-universal policies "one of the worst life insurance options on the market" because of their high management fees, poor performance compared to other investments and the fact that the policyholder assumes all risk for the investments, not the insurance company. Advertisement Other Types of Life Insurance In addition to term life insurance and permanent life insurance, there are a few alternative and less-common types of life insurance. Joint Life Insurance: This is a life insurance policy (usually permanent, not term) that covers more than one person, often a married couple. With a "first-to-die" policy, the surviving spouse is paid a death benefit if their husband or wife dies. With a "second-to-die" policy, the death benefit is paid out when the second policyholder dies. In those cases, the children or other beneficiaries get the death benefit. Second-to-die policies are sometimes used to manage estate and inheritance taxes. Mortgage Life Insurance: These policies are marketed as a way to pay off a mortgage if the main financial breadwinner passes away. Most financial planners agree, however, that mortgage life insurance is a bad investment. Premiums can spike unexpectedly and the value of the policy actually goes down as time passes, since the balance on the mortgage reduces year after year. Credit Life Insurance: Like mortgage life insurance, credit life insurance is designed to pay off the balance of a specific loan home equity loan, car loan, etc. if the policyholder dies. The benefit of such a policy is the peace of mind of knowing that the debt won't be passed on to surviving family members. The drawbacks are that the value of the policy decreases over time even as premiums stay the same, and that the real beneficiary is the lender, not the survivors. Final Expense Insurance: You've probably seen the touching ads for this one on TV. This insurance takes care of any costs associated with one's funeral and burial, so your loved ones aren't stuck with the expenses. It may pay out anywhere between $5,000 and $25,000 for usually a small amount of money in premiums. However, many experts say it's a bad deal. You could probably get the same benefit without buying a policy, simply by putting away $50 a month toward funeral expenses in a savings account. Or you might be able to get a term life policy with a lot more benefits for the same monthly premium. HowStuffWorks may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Now That's Good Advice Before you buy any type of life insurance, sit down with a life insurance agent who can suggest policies that match your specific financial situation and goals. And beware of targeted solicitations in the mail or online that seem too good to be true. (That's because they are.) Starting in March 2020, Chrome Web Store will no longer accept new applications. In June 2020, Google will end support on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Chrome Apps are going away for good. Google has announced the final timeline for the removal of the Chrome Apps to favour the web. According to 9to5 Google, starting in March 2020, Chrome Web Store will no longer accept new applications. However, the existing apps can be updated until June 2022. In June 2020, Google will end support on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Enterprise and education customers have until the year's end. Consumer Chrome OS users will lose access in June 2021 with a final shutdown for all Chromebook users coming a year later. Google has promised that it will continue to support in Chrome Extensions on all existing platforms. Contrary to the story published in some newspapers and social media platforms, Barr. Osita Nwosu is never an ex auditor general, Local government, Imo State. He is still the incumbent Auditor General, Local government, Imo State by law and could not have been smuggled out by any official document from his own office. According Barr. Nwosu, he was confounded by the sponsored stories by some of his detractors who felt he could be swayed by their wicked mischief. He wondered why Journalists would not insist on hearing from both sides even if takes time rather than rushing to make headline while defaming an innocent person. In his explanation, he said: "As an Auditor General, I am required by law to retire at a specific age of 60. I was surprised when I received a letter that I should proceed on a leave by civil service a rule, an action he considered improper and unfounded going by the spirit of the law. "I was appointed Auditor-General for Local Governments in August 2011 and would retire on 7th June, 2020 on attainment of Sxty (60) years of age. "Auditor-Generals in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 127(2), retire by age of Sixty (60) years and not length of service of 35 years. It is also entrenched in Imo State Local Government Law; Law 15 of 2000, Section 001001 of Imo State Public Service Rules. He revealed that he has reported to Governor Hope Uzodinma for justice. "I know my right and I cannot allow some few persons to mess up the image of the State over an issue that boarders on politics. I have only five months to live. I don't mind to pursue this case in court but I believe the Governor will settle this matter in his wisdom". "The most painful aspect is the defamation of my person by some journalists without insisting on getting my side. This is how innocent people are rubbished on the pages of newspaper and on social media." Speaking to one staff who spoke on condition of anonymous, he said: "Our Auditor-General is just a victim of Mbaise-Obowo politics. I do not think that they felt he could protect their interest, especially the Chief of Staff who has done everything to remove Barr. Nwosu from the office." He added that Nwosu is from Orlu, Obowo and Mbaise people are feeling unsafe. But the law is clear. If they want him out, they should remove him through the House of Assembly after he must have been found guilty of any administrative irregularities, misappropriation, abuse. Here no panel. I don't think they understand the law and what they are doing. He confirmed that Mr. Nwosu's office was flagrantly locked up by Mr. Edomobi. He also revealed that he molested and violently attacked Mr. Nwosu with some staff and hired thugs who were said to be speaking the same dialect with Edomobi. Meanwhile, Mr. Dominic Edomobi from Ihitte-Uboma is said to be the person claiming to be the Acting Auditor-General, Local Governments, Imo State. Efforts to reach Me Edomobi to respond was abortive as no one seemed to know his whereabout. It is confirmed that the matter is already under investigation by the police. See attached documents for a better understanding of Barrister Nwosu's plight. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada Minister of Foreign Affairs, speaks during a press conference beside Ukraine Minister of Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystaiko. (Frank Augstein/AP) Countries of Crash Victims Demand Compensation for Their Families From Iran Five countries whose citizens were killed when Iran accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet demanded on Jan. 16 that Tehran pay compensation to the victims families and accept full responsibility, warning that the world is watching. In a statement issued Thursday following a meeting in London, the governments of Canada, Sweden, the UK, Afghanistan, and Ukraine urged Iran to conduct a thorough, independent and transparent international investigation. The countries foreign ministers also urged Iran to allow a criminal probe and impartial judicial proceedings against the individuals found responsible for shooting down the airliner with ballistic missiles. All 176 people on board Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 were killed just after takeoff from Tehrans Imam Khomeini International Airport on Jan. 8. Those killed included 11 Ukrainians, 57 Canadians (including many Iranians with dual citizenship), 17 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and four Britons. Speaking after a meeting with officials at the Canadian High Commission, Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the five countries wished to pursue closure, accountability, transparency and justice, for the crash victims. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko, Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Ann Linde, Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Idrees Zaman, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, and UK Middle East Minister Andrew Murrison were in attendance. They lit candles at a vigil to commemorate the victims before the meeting. After initially claiming the plane crashed due to a technical fault, Iran over the weekend admitted that its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard shot down the plane by accident, but has denied a cover-up. The news triggered widespread protests in Tehran and elsewhere. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wrote that human error at time of crisis caused by United States adventurism led to disaster our profound regrets, apologies, and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations. President Hassan Rouhani meanwhile wrote that following an internal investigation, Iran fired missiles due to human error. Champagne said it was a good first step that Iran had accepted responsibility. From that admission obviously flow consequences, he added, including the need to pay compensation for the victims families. The eyes of the international community are on Iran today. I think that Iran has a choice, and the world is watching, Champagne warned when asked about what pressure could be applied if Iran did not cooperate. Ukraine, Canada, the United States, and France have been invited by Iran to take part in the crash investigation, but it is not yet clear whether the nations will be granted full access from Iran or whether it will share all key details. Iran shot down the plane as its forces were on alert for possible United States retaliation after Iran launched ballistic missiles on two military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq. No one was hurt in that attack, which was carried out in response to the killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a United States airstrike in Baghdad. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Junior Spirit Cottle, liaison officer with the Medical Cannabis Authority, refuted the claim that the raid on the farm was politically motivated. Head of the Cannabis Revival Committee (CRC) Junior Spirit Cottle is calling on the politicians to stop playing party politics with the medical marijuana issue. Cottle was responding to remarks made in some circles questioning whether government masterminded a raid on a Marijuana Farm at Richmond Vale, belonging to Cecil Hamilton Edwards. The Raid Awaiting Licence Edwards is a member of the North Leeward Medical Cannabis Cooperative, a legally registered entity. He farms a range of other crops, and has formed a partnership with Traditional Marijuana Cultivators. He has applied to the Medical Cannabis Authority (MCA) for a Cultivators Licence to plant medical marijuana. Edwards told THE VINCENTIAN on Wednesday that members of the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) raided his farm around 1pm on Tuesday, burned about 50 pounds of marijuana, carried away about 60 to 70 pounds which he had already harvested and was hoping to sell under the amnesty, yet to be triggered. Edwards said the police chopped down the remaining trees, leaving him with only young plants. Two traditional cultivators, who were met on the farm, were arrested but later released, without charges. Something amiss On last Tuesday nights edition of the programme Current Affairs co-hosted by Bert Francois and Brian Alexander and aired on Nice Radio, Opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) parliamentary representative for North Leeward - Roland Patel Matthews noted that the police action was carried out less than 24 hours after Edwards son had given the NDP a hook-up (electricity) from his business place at Fitz Hughes, to hold a public meeting. Matthews said that there were other farmers in the area who were growing marijuana close to the road, but the police by-passed them, and targeted one farm. He noted that owner of the farm had applied for a Traditional Cultivators licence, and his farm was inspected by the Medical Cannabis Authority. Matthews also highlighted said that there are RRU bases in Chateaubelair and Layou, but the RRU officers who carried out that raid came from Kingstown. (See related article on page 6.) No order from above However, Cottle who gave his official designation as liaison officer with the MCA, but said he was speaking on behalf of the Traditional Marijuana Cultivators, told THE VINCENTIAN, "I can tell you that the MCA dont have any bias towards one grower over another. "People are blaming the Authority and government for what happened. I dont buy that. A government would have to be a dundo head to have an election scheduled within the next 14 months, and currently holds a one seat majority, to make a blunder like that, especially in light of the fact that they lost the North Leeward seat by a few votes, Cottle said. He, however, expressed the view that there was a lot of jealousy in that community against marijuana farmers, because some of those farmers are now planting marijuana on lower farm land, while others failed to seize that opportunity. He added that, more significantly there was a small clique in the Police Force, who are afraid of losing their power to arrest and harass people for marijuana, as the Modern Medicinal Marijuana Industry unfolds. "They (police) want the process to be eroded, he declared. Cottle added that some police officers are also playing party politics with the marijuana issue. The CRC Head said that following the police action at Richmond Vale, he received calls from the community, and he contacted those in authority. "So when people say it was ordered from above, I know different, because those who I contacted expressed disgust over the action, Cottle reported. "I am extremely hurt because this is happening at a time when traditional cultivators are increasingly showing interest in the unfolding Modern Medical Cannabis Industry, and are coming on board, and lands are being cleared by traditional cultivators from the same community to plant cannabis for this purpose. Cottle concluded.. Burge and his so-called midnight crew of detectives have been accused of torturing or abusing dozens of mostly African American men into confessing to killings in the 1970s and 80s. The scandal has stained the citys reputation and cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in settlements, legal fees and other compensation to victims. It was MFA Ukraine's work that made Iranian officials cooperate in the crash probe, the top diplomat says. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko has told CNN about the efforts of the Ukrainian side in the aftermath of the Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 crash near Tehran Airport in the early hours of January 8. " I had the talk with ministers of foreign affairs of Iran the first days and he never mentioned that it was -- the plane was shot down by the rocket. Now, at least, we have this piece, which is bringing some peace to the families of the perished ones. So, we are starting as the nation grieving nations, this coalition of nations from this point and we hope that we'll be able to bring to criminal accountability the perpetrators of this crime. And we are not just talking about some poor soldier who pushed the button. We made it clear when President Zelensky talked to President Rouhani that we want to know who gave the order, the whole link. We have to find out who is responsible for the deaths of our people," Prystaiko told CNN. According to Prystaiko, it was MFA Ukraine's work that made Iranian officials cooperate in the crash probe. "We understand that our message and the message of the international community are coming through and that's what's made the Iranians cooperate. I can tell you that we have good cooperation right now. The practical level, people working throughout the day, 24 hours a day, the technicians, the experts on both sides. We have our team be working. We have now Canadians joined our effort. The site is cleared, which we had the problem. We now have access to everything we needed. We managed to identify bodies, at least Ukrainians. And we are ready to repatriation. By the way, we are offering now assistance for other nations for repatriation," said the minister. The last missing piece in this equation Prystaiko named the access to data stored in black box flight recorders. "We've been told by Iranians that we will be able to repatriate the boxes. Now, there's discussion raised from I don't know where that it can be sealed on in Iranian territory. It's not a big deal where it would be done. We just want to know that nobody is tampering with the recordings and we have right expertise on hands when it's done," the top diplomat said. Read alsoUkraine wants Iran to hand over PS752 flight recorders Asked whether the Ukrainian government wants its officials or others internationals to be present when this black box is investigated and decoded, Prystaiko answered affirmatively, adding that the perfect way would be to have black boxes physically on Ukrainian territory because the crashed plane was operated by a Ukrainian carrier. 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, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani officially admitted that the Ukrainian airliner had been shot down by accident as a result of a "human error." A Renaissance historian has unearthed the oldest known image of Venice dating from the 14th century, showing how even then the city of canals gripped the imagination of visitors. Sandra Toffolo, a researcher at the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland, found the sketch in a manuscript describing Italian pilgrim Niccolo da Poggibonsi's 1346-1350 voyage to Jerusalem which took him through the bustling port city. "The discovery of this view of the city is of great importance for our understanding of images of Venice, because it shows that even from very early on, the city held great fascination for contemporaries," Toffolo said in a statement published by Saint Andrews earlier this month. The drawing in pen, while quite rudimentary and lacking the linear perspective which was only to be adopted in the following century during the Renaissance, shows what appears to be a crowded city with churches, palaces with parapets, canals and even gondolas. Besides the Holy Land, da Poggibonsi's travels also took him to Damascus in Syria and Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt. The manuscript was likely written shortly after his return to Italy in 1350. A specialist in Venetian Renaissance history, Toffolo discovered the image in a library in Florence in May while working on a detailed study of Venice, due to be published this year. Throughout history, the city-state has fascinated visitors, not only for its watery mazes of islands, lagoons and canals, but for its unique architecture and international flair. At its height during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Venice was a powerful maritime and financial centre, and the city has inspired more contemporary artists and writers including Thomas Mann, Marcel Proust and Ernest Hemingway. Only maps and nautical charts indicating the city of Venice predate the newly discovered sketch. The oldest such map was made in about 1130 by Friar Paolino, a Franciscan monk from Venice, according to Saint Andrews. Toffolo found that the original manuscript image contained small pinpricks, suggesting that it had been subsequently copied. A common copying technique at the time was to sift powder through the holes onto a new surface, thus transferring the image to a new piece of paper. Toffolo subsequently found other images in later manuscripts and books that were "clearly based on the image in the manuscript in Florence". Renaissance art historian Kathryn Blair Moore has written that da Poggibonsi's manuscript would have been an early example of a new genre of writing, a "pilgrimage guidebook." At its height during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Venice was a powerful maritime and financial centre The sketch was found in a manuscript describing an Italian pilgrim's voyage to Jerusalem King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, on Friday handed over to six top laureates of the 2018-2019 literacy program the Mohammed VI Prize. The ceremony took place after the Friday prayer at the Lalla Amina Mosque in the Atlantic city of Essaouira. The prize winners are, in the womens category, Naima Amine (Beni Mellal), Nabila El Khabchi (MDiq-Fnideq) and Khadija Id Abdellah (Agadir), and in the mens category, Mbarek Id El Mehdi (Boujdour), Abdelmalek Al Merdi (Errachidia) and Abdelkarim Kaaouas (Taza). The National anti-illiteracy program in mosques was launched after King Mohammed ordered in a speech in August 2000 that Mosques remain open to dispense literacy as well as religious, civic and health education courses. From 2000 to 2019, some 3.3 million people benefited from the program to combat illiteracy in mosques. In the 2018-2019 academic year, 314,854 enrolled in the program that is also followed on the Mohammed VI channel of the Holy Quran, broadcast twice a day, and on the website of the ministry of Islamic Affairs. Thanks to these programs, mosques have regained their place, not only as worship shrines, but also as venues for spiritual orientation and literacy, and their role in building a democratic, modern, open society, based on the rejection of exclusion and marginalization, and the fight against poverty and ignorance. The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, which supervises the literacy program, vows to pursue the implementation of the recommendations of the Higher Council for education, in accordance with the 2015-2030 strategic vision for the reform of the education and training system. The Ministry also vows to improve the programs coverage rate in rural areas, increase the number of beneficiaries, promote and diversify means and methods of education and teaching, by investing more in new information and communication technologies. Under the literacy program, a graduation system will be set up to enable beneficiaries access different national training structures. STAMFORDTwo civilian clerks in the Stamford Police Departments record room are being congratulated for helping their police boss arrest a Bronx man for driving under the influence after being involved in a head-on collision on Long Ridge Road in November. Besnik Muriqi, 28, of the Bronx, New York, on Monday came to pick up a report of the three-car accident that occurred on Nov. 30 near the intersection of Hazard Lane at 5:25 p.m., records room Sgt. Chris Weed said. According to the arrest report, Muriqi was driving a BMW southbound when a witness behind him said he saw the BMW swerve into the northbound lane as if he were trying to pass the car right in front of him. Muriqis BMW then crashed head-on with a white SUV traveling in the opposite direction, police said.The BMW then bounced back into the southbound lane and struck a red Alpha Romeo SUV, the accident report said. Murqi and the driver of the white SUV were both taken to the hospital and a search of Muriqis car turned up a small bottle showing he may have been driving under the influence at the time of the crash, according to police. When receiving a request for the report Monday at about 1:45 p.m., the civilian aide began looking but had a little trouble finding it because of a record keeping error and enlisted the help of another aide. That aide was able to help find the report, and while reading it discovered that a search warrant had been obtained to determine if charges against Muriqi should be filed. The aides then found out that a warrant had recently been issued for Muriqis arrest. Seeing that, they went back and enlisted Weeds help to determine whether Muriqi had already been arrested and released. Weed said he quickly found out the arrest warrant had not been executed and he went out to talk to Muriqi. I went out to the lobby and apologized to Mr. Muriqi for it taking so long to find a copy of his accident report, Weed said. I then informed him he was under arrest for driving under the influence. According to the arrest warrant, obtained by officers John OMeara and Andrew Czubatyj, the investigators found probable cause to suspect that Muriqi was under the influence of a legally prescribed narcotic when the crash occurred. He is also charged with second-degree assault with a motor vehicle and was released after signing a promise to appear in court. Muriqi told Weed he did not think there would be any criminal repercussions because he was not arrested on the night of the accident. Weed said the aides dealt with the incident very professionally and that its a very rare occurrence for an arrest to be made out of the records office. Had it not been for those employees going above and beyond their normal course of duty and understanding the bigger picture that they are a part of, that man could have obtained his copy and walked right out the door without arrest, Weed said. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com Executed pastor's grave desecrated in Iran after 29 years; Family's heart 'wounded' yet again Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The family of a Christian convert pastor executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran is grieving after the grave of their loved one was desecrated. A cement slab commemorating the burial site of pastor Hussein Soodmand and other political dissidents was recently removed, according to the nonprofit watchdog group Article 18. Soodmand was killed over 29 years ago on Dec. 3, 1990. The Assemblies of God pastor who converted to Christianity in the 1960s served in ministry for over two decades. He was accused of apostasy and sentenced to death by hanging. Article 18, which promotes religious freedom and tolerance for Christians in Iran, reports that Soodmand was buried on the edge of the Beheshte-Reza cemetery in the northeast city of Mashhad. But the only indication that he was buried in that location was the nondescript concrete slab above his grave. An Article 18 spokesperson told The Christian Post that the family discovered that the slab was missing when they went to visit the grave for the 29th anniversary of his death on Dec. 3. We don't know when it happened but we know when they found out, the spokesperson told CP. The family had gone to the gravesite for the anniversary and saw what had happened. Article 18 was told that there had been talks about the possibility of demolishing graves at the cemetery for years. The organization reports that it can be said that "official authorities" are responsible since they want to "give way to new luxury families graves that wealthy can buy. Article 18 can't say for sure whether the pastor's body was exhumed from the grave. "All we know is that this place where he was buried, which used to be outside of the main cemetery by quite a distance [but] has over time come to be just on its outskirts," the Article 18 representative explained. "So it is for this reason that now, after all this time, they have sought to use the space for further development of the cemetery. [It's] so they can offer the site for other families to bury their own dead." "Rev. Soodmand was not the only one buried on the plot," the spokesperson continued. "There were around 20 in total, all of whom were considered dissidents most if not all the others were part of the MKO or MEK, which even today seeks to overthrow the Iranian regime and is therefore considered a pariah." According to Article 18, the family was told by the people who maintain the cemetery that they had been ordered to expand the cemetery. "So we know it was officially sanctioned but just not precisely by who, though the land is owned by the local mayor's office, so that's our best guess," the Article 18 spokesperson said. "When the family asked who was responsible, they were just told 'they did it' meaning the government, but when they tried to press for clarification, they were not given a precise response." Soodmands daughter, Rashin, told Article 18 in an interview that the recent disrespect shown to our fathers grave wounded our hearts yet again. Our father was killed cruelly and contrary to the law, she said. They buried him in a place they called laanatabad [accursed place] without our knowledge and did not even give our family the opportunity to say goodbye to him or to see his lifeless body. Rashin Soodmand explained that for years, the family had to travel to the remote site to visit his unmarked grave. [W]e were not even allowed to construct a gravestone bearing his name, she recalls. And now, they want to completely remove the only thing of him left for us. We will take our appeal to any relevant national or international institution about this disrespect and cruelty. According to Article 18, Soodmand was tortured and held in solitary confinement after his arrest in 1990. Even though he was granted a short reprieve from prison, Soodmand refused pleas from friends and family for him to flee the country. He reportedly told loved ones that he was willing to sacrifice my life for my sheep. My escape from these dangers would weaken the flock of God and discourage them, he was quoted as saying by the nonprofit. I dont want to be a bad example to them, so I am ready to go to jail again and, if necessary, even to give my life for them. Soodmand was executed about two weeks after he returned to prison and his family wasnt told about his execution until after it was carried out. His son, Ramtin, a pastor of an evangelical church in Mashhad, was arrested by authorities in 2008. He was charged with anti-government activities and released months later. Iran has for years been listed by the U.S. State Department as a country of particular concern for having engaged in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom. Iran also ranks as the ninth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2019 World Watch List. Open Doors USA reports that it is illegal to hold church services or produce Christian literature in the native language Farsi. The regime also cracks down heavily on converts from Islam. Despite the immense persecution that converts from Islam face in Iran, the underground church movement in Iran has shown exponential growth in the last several years. Open Doors estimates that there are over 800,000 Christians in the country of about 82 million people. The Iranian government has imprisoned several underground church leaders. Among them is Youcef Nadarkhani, who was arrested along with others in 2016 for promoting Zionist Christianity. Before his arrest in 2016, he was sentenced to death in 2012 but was later acquitted. Nadarkhani recently went through a hunger strike to protest the regime for barring his children from completing their education. Last month, an Iranian pastor and eight other Christians were reportedly sentenced to five years in prison each. In 2017, a court in Iran sentenced pastor Victor Bet Tamraz to 10 years in prison for acting against national security while his wife was sentenced to five years in prison. Together, they helped run a Farsi-language church. In August 2018, it was reported that 12 Christian converts were sentenced to one year in prison for holding worship meetings and evangelism. Merrick Watts and his wife Georgie are set to auction off their epic Lilyfield converted warehouse next month. The father-of-two, 45, and his wife of over 20 years are set to sell the incredible Sydney property in a matter of weeks - which features four bedrooms, a five metre library wall and a rooftop pool as some of it's best selling points. According to realestate.com.au, the epic home currently has no formal price guide - but properties in the area have previously sold for up to $5million. For sale! Merrick Watts (right) and his wife Georgie (left) are set to auction off their epic Lilyfield converted warehouse next month The happy couple snapped up the home - which was a former sweet factory - back in 2009 for $2.1million, and have transformed it into a sustainable family home. The sprawling two-storey property features a jaw-dropping 'above-ground' pool on the rooftop, which cleverly uses water preheated from the home's solar water panels. The light and airy area is fully decked and bursting with natural light from the glass windows above, and opens out onto the spacious kitchen. Incredible: The sprawling property features a jaw-dropping 'above-ground' pool on the deck, which cleverly uses water preheated from the home's solar water panels Inside, the vast lounge area unusually features a five-metre high book shelf, and a phenomenal suspended fireplace which rotates as it heats. Thick beams run throughout the roof of the property, while Merrick and Georgie also opted for recyclable materials to be used in all of the living areas. The kitchen is prided as a 'low maintenance and high impact' area, with a nine metre long island bench taking centre stage - perfect for entertaining visiting guests while preparing dinner. Stunning: Inside, the spacious lounge area unusually features a five-metre high book shelf, and a phenomenal suspended fireplace which rotates as it heats Ready to party! The kitchen is prided as a 'low maintenance and high impact' area, with a nine meter long island bench taking centre stage - perfect for entertaining visiting guests while preparing dinner Adding a hint of shabby-chic to the property, the bedrooms opt for plywood instead of plaster and heated polished concrete floors. Speaking about the home to The Australian in 2016, Merrick said: 'Id driven past this place so many times and Id spoken to the owner, but I couldnt make it stack up. 'I knew what the potential was, so when I figured out a way, I knew it would be the best decision Id ever make.' Merrick and Georgie married in 2006 and now have two children together - son Wolfe, 9, and daughter Kinga, 7. Get new posts by email: Subscribe ORLANDO More police officers died by suicide than in the line of duty in 2019, and the number of reported police suicides rose for the fourth consecutive year, according to data from Blue Help, a mental health advocacy group for police and their families. In 2019, 228 police officers died by suicide, and 132 were killed in the line of duty. In comparison with 2018, duty deaths for police officers decreased 20% while suicides increased 35%, according to Blue Help, which says it is the only group in the country tracking law enforcement suicides. Florida had the fourth-most officer suicides in 2019. The state has the same ranking in total officer suicides since 2016, Blue Help reported. Blue Help has reported two suicides in 2020 already. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said suicides by law enforcement officers have been swept under the rug for many, many years. As part of an awareness campaign, the Orange County Sheriffs Office released a video in December encouraging deputies to reach out if they need mental health assistance with the slogan, Its OK to not be OK. In the video, Mina said seeking help would not affect officers careers. I tell deputies all the time, I would think even more highly of you if you recognize that youre having an issue, he told the Orlando Sentinel. (The messaging says,) We know this is a difficult job, we know you see a lot of things that our residents dont see every day and its OK to get help, he said. Doug Wyllie, media relations adviser for Blue Help, said the data on officer suicides is aggregated from a number of sources, including law enforcement agencies, news reports and families of fallen officers. Death reports are verified with secondary sources, he said. Blue Help has been collecting data on law enforcement suicides for over four years, but the organization has not interpreted the data to identify specific trends yet, Wyllie said. Katie Rice is a Orlando Sentinel writer. Members of the childrens publishing community, teachers, and students broke out into instant applause as author Jason Reynolds entered the Library of Congresss Coolidge Auditorium on January 16, where he was inaugurated as the seventh National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature. Addressing the crowd of several hundred, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden said, Its wonderful to see this auditorium filled with young people. Books and reading saved my life; they helped me through good times and bad times. That is why the National Ambassador program was created. Hayden recalled the transformative moment when, at age seven in Jamaica, Queens, she was given a copy of Marguerite de Angelis picture book Bright April by a local librarian. That was the first time I saw myselfa brown girlin a book. Hayden, who was appointed to the role of Librarian of Congress in 2016, is the first woman and the first African-American to serve in the position. Next, Hayden welcomed author Jacqueline Woodson to the stage and thanked her for her work as the sixth National Ambassador. Through her platform Reading = Hope x Change, she said, Jacqueline encouraged all of us to think beyond the moment were living in, about the ways that we can create the change we want to see in the world. Thank you so much for being the best ambassador we could have. Woodson expressed her gratitude to the Library of Congress and to program co-sponsors the Childrens Book Council and Every Child a Reader. This position takes so much support, she said. As ambassador, one thing we want to do is spread the gospel of reading. And it has been magical. To young people, she said, Youre so badass; I love you so much, and she apologized on behalf of all adults for having jacked up the world and leaving it for the next generation to fixalthough she has confidence in childrens ability to save us. It is with great delight that I take this medal off and pass it on, she said, adding that when it came to nominating her successor, I couldnt think of anyone else. Donning his medal, Reynolds said, Its an honor to receive such an incredible responsibility. He promised Woodson, I will do what I can to push the line, to take all youve done as a seed. As ambassador, Reynolds plans to travel to small towns across the country, offering kids the opportunity to Grab the Mic: Tell Your Story. The inspiration for Reynoldss platform comes from his experiences directly engaging with children. During his author appearances, he always opens the floor to questions, inviting kids to ask me anything at all. When students ask him to rap or otherwise put on a song and dance, he challenges them to come up and perform something themselves. Maybe young people dont know that their voice can have power. Were not giving the mic to them, he said. In a closing q&a with Reynolds, Hayden pointed out the many friends and family members in the audience who were cheering him onas well as a few surprise guests, including Reynoldss former teacher, Chris Williams, classmates from his alma mater Bishop McNamara High School in Maryland, and current BMHS students, who came bearing gifts. Above all, Reynolds hopes that his words ignite young readers imaginations. I want you to love my stories, but not as much as I want you to love your own stories, he said, pledging, Im the Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature, not the Ambassador for Young Peoplethats you. I want to put the power back into your hands. You are the bearers of a new code, and I cant wait to pass it onto the rest of the world, to let them know you all are geniuses. To see the video of the inauguration, click here. Editors note: Kantor served on the 20202021 National Ambassador selection committee, along with Philip Nel, Cristina Nosti, Karli Pederson, Laura Pegram, Eva Volin, and Jacqueline Woodson. - Ruto's last visit to the coast region saw him humiliated by being locked out his official residence in Mombasa - He is expected to meet all elected Jubilee Party leaders in Taita Taveta county ahead of the party's March 2020 nomination exercise - The meeting will be his first public appearance after a Cabinet reshuffle that saw his ally Mwangi Kiunjuri axed from Agriculture docket - It is not clear if the deputy president will meet with his boss who has been in Mombasa since late December 2019 Deputy President William Ruto has followed President Uhuru Kenyatta in Coast region in the wake a frosty relationship that continues to play out between the two leaders. Ruto who is keen to succeed Uhuru in 2022, an obsession that has seemingly irked his boss, is expected to meet and address Jubilee Party leaders in Taita Taveta county ahead of the party's anticipated March 2020 nominations. READ ALSO: Babu Owino arrested over shooting incident at Nairobi's B Club William Ruto is expected to meet Jubilee leaders in Taita Taveta county. Photo William Ruto Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Nakuru senator Susan Kihika vows to keep covenant by backing William Ruto in 2022 While he is set to host a series of other meetings in the Coast county for the better part of Friday, January 17, it remains unclear as to whether or not the DP will meet with Uhuru who has pitched camp in the region since late December 2019. The Taita Taveta tour will be Ruto's first public appearance after a Cabinet reshuffle that saw his close ally Mwangi Kiunjuri dismissed from the Agriculture docket and replaced by Peter Munya. The erstwhile blossoming relationship between Uhuru and Ruto has slowly been dying down since march 2018. Photo: Dennis Itumbi Source: UGC The realignment of the Cabinet which caught many Kenyans by surprise sparked instant debate on social media platforms with majority of netizens demanding to know why Ruto was conspicuously missing in such a critical function. It is believed Uhuru held a closed-door meeting with Opposition leader Raila Odinga for long hours before coming out to address the nation on a myriad of issues that culminated in the reorganisation of the Cabinet. Since their handshake deal in March 2018, the relationship and political ties between Uhuru and Raila has been blossoming, consequently pushing Ruto out of their political power equation. During his last visit to coast region, the DP encountered one of most the embarrassing moments when security officers locked him out of his residence in Mombasa. A few days later, while on a private visit to Khartoum in Sudan, Uhuru reorganised his Cabinet and left out Kiunjuri, the DP's point man in Mt Kenya region. Reports further indicated the president was considering to replace Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen with Baringo Senator Gideon Moi in a move aimed at silencing Ruto's most vocal allies. Despite these developments, the second in command has put on a brave face and is relentlessly pushing for his agenda through a series of meetings and rallies, some of which are guised as development-oriented tours. In Taita, Ruto is believed to have invited all elected leaders across the political divide although those allied to Raila's ODM party are reportedly under firm instructions not to attend the function. 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. I chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV | Inspire Kenya Source: TUKO.co.ke Rashidul Islam, 32, of Brent, North London, anonymously called police 45 minutes before his flight from Gatwick was due to take off An easyJet passenger who caused a bomb scare on his own flight because he was running late and feared he would miss it was today jailed for 16 months. Rashidul Islam, 32, of Brent, North London, anonymously called police 45 minutes before his flight from Gatwick Airport was due to take off, warning: 'Someone may have a bomb on the plane, you need to delay the flight'. The hoaxer made two further threats in the following minutes last year - causing crew on the 5.40pm flight to Marrakesh to be evacuated and all 147 passengers to be checked again by security. Luggage also had to be removed and rescreened, resulting in a three-hour delay at Britain's second busiest airport on May 4 during a bank holiday weekend, which is thought to have cost the Luton-based airline about 30,000. Islam, who was flying to Morocco to visit his fiancee, made the bomb hoax after faced travel disruption en route to the airport from Cricklewood, North London. Passengers disembark an easyJet aircraft in this file picture. The hoax call is thought to have cost the Luton-based airline about 30,000 After being arrested, Islam told police he had panicked about missing his flight because he would not be able to afford another ticket. Natalie Smith, a senior crown prosecutor with CPS South East, said: 'Rashidul Islam suggests his 999 calls were simply a misguided solution to running late and not intended to cause genuine fear. 'But the bomb hoax was intended to make authorities fear there was a genuine enough threat that they needed to search the plane. 'The consequences were so serious that flight crew had to be evacuated, passengers rechecked and luggage removed at a cost of three extra hours on the runway and 30,000 to the airline.' The hoax initially succeeded in giving Islam time to check in at Gatwick Airport (file image) but he was arrested at the gate after police traced him as the anonymous caller Islam was jailed for 16 months at Lewes Crown Court today after admitting communicating false information at an earlier hearing. Islam first faced trouble when his train to Gatwick unexpectedly terminated at St Pancras. He instead took a taxi from the London station but traffic meant he would have arrived at the airport with only minutes to get through security. The hoax initially succeeded in giving Islam time to check in but he was arrested at the gate after police traced him as the anonymous caller. The flight eventually took off at 8.50pm, after cabin crew had to be swapped having exceeded their hours due to the delay. Islam was jailed for 16 months at Lewes Crown Court (file image) after admitting the charge Ms Smith added: 'This sentence should send a message that creating a bomb scare is no trivial matter. 'These threats have a major impact on everyone in the airport diverting multiple agencies from core duties such as assisting passengers, providing security or carrying out counter-terrorism checks.' He admitted one count of communicating false information at Crawley Magistrates' Court on December 20 last year. He was also banned from Gatwick Airport. Islam made the threat a few months before he was caught for unconnected money laundering offences - for which he was sentenced to 42 months in jail. The two sentences are concurrent. One year after news of their affair sent Jeff Bezos' marriage into a tailspin, the Amazon founder and his girlfriend are making their public debut. Lauren Sanchez donned a plunging crimson gown with a thigh-high split while Bezos sported a marble-hued tuxedo jacket as they arrived at an Amazon Prime event in Mumbai this week. They posed together for paparazzi snaps on the red carpet, marking a first for the couple. Social media reactions erred on the negative side, with many people questioning their outfit choices both individually and as a a couple. "Money can't buy good taste," one tweeted. Vanity Fair agreed that Bezos and Sanchez haven't nailed the "coordinated wardrobe" thing: "The pairs outfits werent even on the same planet ... Theyre learning firsthand that its really difficult to coordinate outfits with another person." Credit: Getty When word of Bezos and Sanchez's ongoing affair went public in January 2019, both were married to other people; Bezos, 56, and his wife, MacKenzie, finalized their divorce relatively quickly, wrapping up the loose ends by early April. The two had been married for more than 20 years, and they share four children. Months later, Sanchez, 50, and top Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell finalized their own divorce. She is a mother of three. Although they've been spotted jet-setting all over the place, the last time the two were extensively photographed together was back in July at Wimbledon. Time will tell whether more glamorous events are in their near future, but awards season remains in full swing and when you're the richest man in the world, you can usually snag an invite. I'm in an upmarket bar in central Singapore, working on an investigative piece and looking for information, and I've just started talking to Lena*. She looks at me like I have rocks in my head. Singapore : "You haven't been here before, have you? Let me explain how it works. It's $500 for a short time and $1000 for the night." Prostitution is rife in Singapore despite police raids and legal restrictions. Credit:iStock Everything about the bar oozes money the entry fee, the decor, the expensive fitout, the upmarket business suits through to the fake breasts some of the women possess. On the surface, it's a story of the city-state's sanitised image of a law-abiding place where everyone is safe, everything is well managed and money can buy you can anything. But sub rosa, this place is nastier than the overnight casinos of Cambodia's Sihanoukville, dirtier than the dive bars of Chicago and seedier than the sex strips of Bangkok. Lena has impossibly perfect red lipstick lips, and a black dress with spaghetti straps. She's 24, she tells me soon after we start talking, and this isn't her first stint in Singapore. She's here to sell herself to one of the multinational clientele who have blown into town and ended up in this place. Lena studies during the day and works at night, she tells me, imposing herself confidently on the conversation in a way I cannot, making herself heard and steering the conversation away from my fishing-expedition questions and back towards the business at hand. But I'm not looking to hire a prostitute, I'm looking for information information she doesn't have, and probably wouldn't share if she did so I'm wasting her time. Eventually, she stands up from her bar stool and excuses herself, wandering off into the dark of the club. GLENVILLE First, it was Walt and Sophie. Then Bill. Now, Grant and Taylor. The first names may change, but for 60 years, the last name has stayed the same: Socha. You may recognize it: The Sochas run Socha Management, a real estate development company, which oversees Socha Plaza, a collection of restaurants, doctor's offices and small businesses on a stretch of Saratoga Road in Glenville. It's a family business that has its roots in 1959, when Walt and Sophie started building homes and then transitioned to residential and corporate leasing. Their son, Bill the company's current president took over in 1995, he said. This year, he will hand over the company to his children, 32-year-old Grant and 28-year-old Taylor, who will serve as CEO and CFO, respectively. "It's just fallen into place," Bill, 58, said. "It's been very natural, very easy." Over the past six decades, the Sochas have made their mark in Schenectady, establishing Socha Plaza as a go-to space for restaurants, doctors' offices and small businesses. The plaza contains four buildings with about 30 tenants in total including AT&T, Manhattan Bistro & Bagel and State Farm and, across the street, the company manages Shady Lane Apartments, a group of one- and two-bedroom apartments designed to look like "large, well-kept houses." The company's buildings all operate under the name "Socha Plaza," so managers just refer to them by their street numbers on Saratoga Road: 113, 115, 123 and 133. Socha Management's headquarters is tucked in the corner of 123, where the inside of the office looks like a second home for the roughly 15 employees who work there. The walls are lined with family photos and newspaper clips highlighting the company's work, while Taylor's dog, Dora, moseys around the carpeted floor. The real estate industry has certainly changed over 60 years, but Socha Management has been able to adapt, Bill said. There have been and continue to be some hardships including a slew of new tenant regulations recently enacted by the state Legislature. The new rules, which include changes to the eviction process and the behind-the-scenes work to maintain properties, keep managers on their toes as they make sure they're up to speed on constantly changing regulations, Bill said. "It's a little bit easier for the kids to deal with, but they even see it themselves," he said. "They're going to have to keep weighing this industry and how it is to work in it." But the industry also offers opportunities for growth, especially in upstate New York, he said. Late last year, Socha Management opened flex office suites similar to a coworking space after realizing that several potential tenants just wanted a small office space but couldn't find one in Glenville. The company has vacant flex offices in Socha Plaza 113 and is looking for permanent occupants in two spaces in building 115. While the company is not currently considering new properties, Socha Management doesn't rule out new endeavors, Bill said. "One of the things that we've done over the years we've been a first," he said. "We've brought things that exist in the Capital Region, often in the urban environment, but not in the suburbs. If you look in Glenville, there's not another Class A office building or mixed-use, even." As he slowly transitions out of his role heading the company, Bill has been splitting his time between New York and Florida, where he plans to move after his retirement. There's a lot of "trust" and "pride" in handing off the business to his children, Bill said, so he has been trying to take a back seat as Taylor and Grant envision a future for the company, which he said has been set apart by its attention to detail: the cleanliness of a unit, maybe, or the way a menu box is presented outside a restaurant. "It's that dedication to our business, you know? And caring about it," he said. "The way you're able to have quality and you keep things up is someone's got to care about it and drive around or whatever, see it and make sure it gets done. If you lose that, then you do become almost like any other property, where it's OK." Shannon Clark replayed disturbing details of what she described as years of sexual abuse by a man she trusted during the opening day of a new trial for the leader of a religious sect whose 2015 convictions for sex crimes were tossed out by the Oregon Supreme Court. Clark, 33, testified Thursday that Michael Sperou, 69, was the spiritual leader of a small nondenominational congregation that he established in the early 1980s and operated out of two homes in Southeast Portland. Sperous original conviction came after a two-week trial that included testimony from Clark and six other women who also accused him of abuse. He was sentenced to 20 years and imprisoned at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. Last year, the Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Sperou after concluding that witnesses had improperly referred to the accuser as a victim. The court found that the reference may have undermined Sperous presumption of innocence and affected his right to a fair trial. Sperou has been out of custody since he posted $75,000 bail shortly after the ruling. As Sperous second trial began, about a dozen of his followers gathered in the courtroom. Sperou sat with his lawyers wearing a gray suit jacket and tie. He faces the same accusations as before: three counts of first-degree sexual penetration of a person under the age of 12. Prosecutors depicted Sperou as a powerful leader who presided over the lives of his followers. Members of the North Clackamas Bible Community lived in a communal arrangement and sought to please him, said Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marrero. He controlled who they lived with, how they decorated their bedrooms, how they raised their children, how they spent their money, Marrero told the jury. Shannon Clark was born into this environment, she said. The Oregonian/OregonLive generally does not disclose the names of alleged sexual abuse victims. But the women connected with the case have come forward over the course of the states prosecution of the case, asking that their stories be told. Sperous defense centered on what his lawyer Steven Sherlag called Clarks unreliable memory. He characterized her child sexual abuse allegations as 11th hour claims intended to beat the statute of limitations, which had run out for other women who alleged Sperou had abused them. Sherlag did not dispute Clarks poor treatment by Sperous followers, who she alleged beat her and were otherwise cruel. He said he also would not contest Clarks allegations of sexualized touching by Sperou. But he questioned what he described as an inconsistent account of sexual abuse, suggesting Clark has a poor memory, is exaggerating or that she lied to help the prosecution. He questioned why Clark had offered different accounts of how often Sperou had abused her. The ends justify the means, Sherlag said. She had to come up with something new whether it was true or not and what does it really matter? Clark described a grim childhood with rampant physical abuse and neglect. She said Sperou was the unquestioned ruler over the families who followed him. Where would you rank yourself in the hierarchy? asked Marrero. The bottom, Clark said. All the way at the bottom. Clark said she was routinely isolated, beaten and was once forced to eat her own vomit. She said she was ordered to sleep in a cold and unfinished basement; she said her only comfort on those terrifying nights was the sound of another childs voice through a vent in the wall. It was other men in the sect who beat her, she said. Sperou, she said, groomed her for sexual abuse with affection and attention she so longed for. Its hard to describe because it was so awful, she said, losing her composure on the stand. I honestly felt like I was all alone the whole time. The only time I got focused on was with (Sperou), she said. That was the only attention I got from anybody. including my parents. She said Sperou sexually abused her countless times from the age of 3 until she was about 10. She described aggressive hugs and kissing that made her uncomfortable as well as penetrating her with his finger. She could not identify the number of times she was abused, saying it became so ordinary that it was like eating breakfast in the morning. I never knew a time when it wasnt happening, she said. The trial continues Friday and is expected to last for one to two weeks. -- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. I ran for mayor of this great city so that kids that look like me and came from families like mine would never, ever, ever have to 'beat the odds to get a good education, a good job, and blaze a trail towards their wildest dreams. Those are things that should not require beating the odds, Lightfoot told a packed crowd at the Marriott Marquis. "The opportunity for our children, all of our children, must be at our fingertips. We have work to do to make that bold and audacious goal a reality but I know that we can get there. A newspaper says it found high levels of a toxic chemical in the drinking water near one of South Carolinas largest military bases. The Post and Courier paid University of Rhode Island researchers to examine tap water at the Crescent Mobile Home Park near Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter County. The researchers found significant amounts of a compound known as PFOS, according to the newspaper. Such chemicals have been linked to a variety of health problems, including cancer and liver and thyroid problems. They have been used by the military in firefighting foam since the 1970s. The EPAs recommended limit is 70 parts per trillion, but the water sample from the trailer park contained chemical concentrations of 96 parts per trillion, the newspaper said. A 2019 environmental study by the Air Force found the same chemical in groundwater under the base and noted that the mobile home park draws its water from less than a mile away from the contamination. It also suggested that the chemicals may have spread off the base. But the newspaper reported that neither state nor federal officials moved to test the groundwater at Crescent or neighboring communities. The Air Force has promised on multiple occasions to replace drinking water sources, if significant contamination is found and the pollutants can be traced back to Shaw. That could involve the Air Force paying for an advanced filtration system to remove the chemicals from the drinking water wells. Or it could require the military to hook up communities to another public water source. Neither of those options have been implemented yet. Mark Kinkade, an Air Force spokesman, said the military would take The Post and Couriers lab results into consideration, but will need to conduct its own testing at a federally approved laboratory before it decides whether to replace the drinking water at Crescent. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Pollution South Carolina Chemicals In 2011, in Syria, widespread protests broke out over the leadership of Bashar al-Assad and widespread discontent with his government. Initially peaceful, the protests calling for his removal were violently suppressed, and over a period of years, protestors were pushed into a smaller and smaller section of Aleppo while major world powers backed different governments to either depose Assad or root out the protests. Iran and Russia sided with Assad; the United States and Turkey, with the Syrian opposition and against The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Meanwhile, the nearly 300,000 citizens of Aleppo who did not, or were not able to flee to uncertain shores at the outset of the Syrian civil war were being squeezed in on all sides. They were cluster bombed by Russian warplanes, they were getting killed while walking outside or sitting in civilian-run hospitals. Waad and Hamza al-Kateab, who met just before the protests broke out, were two of those people. Hamza, a doctor, ran a hospital until it was bombed out of existence, killing dozens of people, their friends and loved ones, inside. He eventually relocated to a different hospital, off of any known map of Syria. Waad, who began filming the protests, slowly turned into a journalist, telling the world about what was happening to them. In the midst of the years they were in Aleppo, they also fell in love, got married, and had their first baby, Sama. Waad and Hamza stayed in Aleppo for quite some time after Sama was born. Hamza attempted to save those who were injured in the bombings; Waad, meanwhile, filmed everything: children carrying their siblings bodies into the hospital, the clouds of smoke when bombing took place nearby, hours spent huddled in the new hospitals basement. She chronicled their life, too, filming the first home they moved into and leaving it when it became far too unsafe to stay. She filmed a very pregnant mother, shelled by fighters, being carted into the hospital and the attempts to save her baby. Story continues At the time, amassing some 500 hours of footage, Waad wasnt sure what she was going to do. But when they were forced to leave Aleppo, as the city was overtaken by pro-Assad forces, a new idea took hold: a documentary. For Sama, which was just nominated for the 2020 Oscars for Best Documentary and which was released in the UK in July of 2019, where Waad, Hamza, Sama and their new baby, Taima, who Waad became pregnant with in their final months in Aleppo, now live as refugees, is an excruciating look at the horrors of a siege and what it means to raise a baby in it. Part love letter to Aleppo, to Sama, and to the families who chose to stay, For Sama weaves images of war and destruction with happy moments of families laughing, singing, and fighting to stay in the home that they loved. The film switches time periods frequently from the outset of the siege and until the end of it and the devastation is astounding. The film is, perhaps, a living testament to the old proverb, When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. As the families who stayed in Aleppo are squeezed on all sides and the bombing is endless viewers across the world will wonder how something like this could happen. In For Sama, Waad, the director, narrator and filmographer, minces no words. People were watching her videos, but no one stepped in to do anything. Fatherly spoke to Waad and Hamza about raising Sama in Aleppo during the siege. While watching the film, I kept thinking about how you parented Sama and how you managed to raise her in Aleppo during the siege. How did you, on a day-to-day level, create an environment for her that was normal or as normal as possible? Waad: Unfortunately, we really werent able to do that. We were trying to as much as we can, to literally ignore everything thats happening outside, and just focus on us, and her, and our relationship together. And the basic needs for her, which is, you know, so hard, and even heartbreaking for us, that we cant provide her with everything she wants at some moments when the siege was in a very bad situation. One important thing we really tried to do was to keep the environment close to other children in the same situation like the other families in the film, and their kids. We wanted that relationship to be together, so that she can be with children, and as feel natural as we can. When I was pregnant with her, for example, I was using my phone to play music, to take her [and me] out from the fear and the bad environment that we were in. Id put the phone next to my tummy, and would just try to not think about whats happening now. And sometimes, even when the sounds of the aircrafts were so loud outside, I was just trying to really hear the music and not think about that. You will see, in many, many places, that situation when something bigger than what you can control will happen. But at the same time, you just need to have that faith. The only thing, I think, that helped us a lot was that. We knew what we were doing there. It was for the future of our children. So, I think thats why we really tried to adapt to the situation as much as we could. Absolutely. Yeah. Speaking of the other families and the other children that you were living with and that were in the documentary, how did you feel like you were able to create moments of joy for them? W: Yeah. Actually, you have no option. When you see this child in front of your eyes, and you are responsible for them, and you love them, and you want to enjoy that time with them. There were many moments we were just trying to ignore everything happening. For example, when we painted the bus [Editors Note: Waad is referring to a moment in the documentary when she and other parents painted a bombed out bus in Aleppos streets with the children] that was just an activity to make them feel that they were able to change their situation; to be happy and at least like they were chilling out. And they were enjoying that. Children, its surprising, they dont know. They dont see the situation the same as we do. But also, at the same time, they are the most victimized by this situation. For Sama, in particular, she was so young while you were living in Aleppo. But around the end of the documentary, as you narrated, you said that you felt that she was starting to realize what was going on during sieges. At what point did you start to feel like she was really becoming aware of her environment? And did that change anything for you? W: Yeah. [As our situation changed over time] we needed to ask many many things about what we should do. When the baby was born. And then, what should we do when the baby turned three months, six months, or one year old? I felt many times hopeless that we cant do what needs to be done. But other times, I felt I had no other option. I was just trying to think about what was worth it. And how we can give more possibilities to her. And some fun and safe environments or safe moments, living through that. And that, really, just kept me afloat to just focus on the moments. Because, also, the situation was so bad. When you look at other children, who had been injured or were dead, you have to think that we are lucky. That we are lucky that we are able to be, like, at least have some fun while others lose their family members. So we were even trying to think about the moment. For every one minute of normal life, we were living in that [one minute] as much as we could. Were there any moments where you felt like it was harder to choose to stay in Aleppo? Did you ever feel like, maybe we do have to leave, before you really had to go? Or was it even a choice? W: There were many moments. I dont know how to explain this but for me and Hamza, there were some moments where we felt like if we werent sure if this was the right thing for Sama or not. But we never thought that we wanted to leave. Especially when you are part of that community. We werent the only family who lived there. There were more than 300,000 people inside the city. Most of them were children and women. So, you cant really just think about yourself, and take your concerns away from these people. Also, we were dealing with the children and we were helping these people. You felt like you were responsible for being with them. Not just as individuals, but also as a family. And youre part of that community, which is trying to be resilient all the time. When you look at these children in these very bad circumstances, and you look at your child, you have lots of fears, of course, and you always fear bad things will happen. But at the same time, you feel like, I need to stay here because of her. And I need to do everything I need to do because of her, too. Obviously, you were a journalist throughout the initial uprising and then through the siege. When you first started filming, did you consider yourself a journalist, or was this something you just naturally moved into as the horrors unfolded? W: I wasnt a journalist before, and I never thought about what I was doing during. I didnt think, is this my career? It was just naturally, a thing I felt I had to do, for myself and for my community. For everything that was happening in Syria and Aleppo. Now, I started to think about, yeah, do I really want to make this my career and continue this? Now, I want to do that. But at the time, there was no plan at all. Even the whole film I filmed everything I filmed and I never thought about how this material would be one, big film, For Sama. So, how old is Sama and your second daughter now? [Editors note: Waad and Hamza learned they were expecting their second child a few months before leaving Aleppo.] W: Sama is four years old, and Taima is two and a half. Has Sama started to ask about her homeland? If she has, what do those conversations look like, when you discuss Aleppo, her early childhood, and what home is to you? W: She still doesnt literally understand location like, where is this, and where is that. But, were trying to tell her about home. But I dont want to put her under a lot of pressure to understand everything now. She knows Aleppo. She knows Syria. She knows that we now live in London. But she literally doesnt exactly understand where this is, where is that, and how far this is from that. We went to one of our friends houses for the New Year, who is from Aleppo. And she thought we were going to Aleppo. She really knows that theres something called Aleppo but she doesnt know, so far, what it is exactly. Thats cute. W: But I dont want to tell her, yet, exactly about everything. I will tell her, naturally, as much as I can. Im not going to put any pressure on her about everything. We already feel that pressure. Leaving Aleppo behind, relocating to London, how has that transition been for you? Do you miss home? W: We really love London, and this community has many, many different people from different backgrounds and different countries around the world. So, I feel like this is the best place for me to live now. But, of course, we still hope that we can be able to be back to Aleppo as soon as possible. We wish it wasnt so complicated. Its not something we feel that could happen now. But of course, we want it. And also, wanting to go back to Aleppo thats the reason why were doing this. We know that we cant be back in Aleppo now. But what were doing now, in our way, is to be back. And it gives us a lot of relief, feeling that, yes, we miss Aleppo, but we know that we cant be back now and were doing everything we can do to be there. What do you want your kids to take away from your fight? W: I really want my children to think about Syria, and what happened there. And think about what we were trying to do for them and for the future. And, I want them to be very open to the whole world. Like, of course, I want them to know that they are Syrian and I hope they will be proud of being Syrian. At the same time, I want them to not feel close to any one culture or country. Instead, I want them to feel like their responsibility is to the whole world, not just where we lived. And also, for all of the parents we need our children to understand that the door of the house is not the end of the world. It is the first step to go out into the world. We need to have this understanding, to accept everyone. Everyone in this world is equal and similar and theres no difference. There are more things to share, and theres more that we have on the same side, than things that divide us. The moments where, Hamza, youre treating all of these injured children and civilians; and then the next moment in the film, is you all painting the bus, or singing together, or making dinner and laughing or playing games while in a basement, hiding from the bombs. The juxtaposition was incredible. After living through this moment-to-moment experience of joy, pain, and danger, how is it to walk through the world in London, today? What do you feel when you think about what you went through? Hamza: Its very different. When we were in Aleppo, we never thought a lot about the future. We were definitely living day by day, and maximum, like, we have future plans for a maximum of five or six days. Now, in London, its a little more difficult. We need to plan for the long-term, for the children, where we want to live, what the schools are like, and all of that. Its just different. When we were in Aleppo, we were just looking for essential needs. So for the children to have a good time, to have healthy food, to be protected when they are sleeping from missiles and stuff like that. To be in a safe environment. And the difference, in London, the essentials are always there. You never have to worry if your child is warm or cold. Thats provided. You just turn on the heater and thats it. In London, were up on the next level on Maslows [hierarchy of needs.] Weve completed the essentials. Now, were looking for the other needs. Related Articles: The post The Academy Award Nominated Filmmakers of For Sama on Parenting During War appeared first on Fatherly. An Ohio teenager fell ill with flu on Christmas Eve. She died on New Year's Eve. In the last several weeks, nearly 40 children have died of the flu as the virus spreads across the US early. Kaylee Roberts is among the latest children to succumb to the virus. The 16-year-old had been otherwise healthy - though she hadn't gotten a flu shot - then she started to feel sick four days before Christmas. 'She was a healthy, happy, normal 16-year-old,' said Kaylee's uncle, Matthew Roberts told CNN. 'We knew she had the flu, but we figured it would knock her on her butt for a few days, and then she'd get better. We were never expecting such a grave outcome.' Kaylee Roberts of Ohio developed the flu days before Christmas and died of the infection on New Years Eve at just 16 The flu has ramped up much faster than usual this year, and it's been particularly unkind to children. An unusual strain - influenza B - has been unexpectedly dominant. Children and teenagers' immune systems are less likely to have been previously exposed to this strain, meaning they don't have antibodies against it built up. This strain has accounted for 28 pediatric deaths so far this year. Influenza A viruses have killed 11 children. It's not clear which strain of the virus Kaylee had. Doctors know why B viruses tend to cause more infections - and more serious ones - in kids, but it's not clear why the illness becomes so dire for some and not others, excluding children with otherwise weakened immune systems. Kaylee toughed out her symptoms for a few days, but by late on Christmas Eve, her parents were getting concerned. They rushed Kaylee to the ER. It didn't take long for doctors there to confirm she had the flu. Her uncle told CNN the doctors gave her dad a hard time about not getting Kaylee vaccinated against the flu this season. Despite being diagnosed with flu, Kaylee felt well enough to celebrate Christmas with her family after a trip to the hospital The virus had left Kaylee quite dehydrated, so the hospital staff kept her overnight to put her on IV fluids. In the morning, they sent her on her way with a Tamiflu prescription. Fluids seemed to have done the teenager good. She even told her parents she was up for Christmas at her aunts house. Her uncle remember the girl's coughs that day and that she looked a bit sick. 'But just like, normal sick' Matthew told CNN. 'I didn't look at her and imagine that she's near death.' After a day of rest, Kaylee still seemed worryingly sick. The following day, her parents took her to the ER once more. An X-ray image of her lungs looked fine. On December 30, Kaylee was diagnosed with pneumonia, a complication of her flu, and placed on a ventilator. By the next day, doctors told her father, Chris (right) that Kaylee was 'gone' But they didn't stay that way for long. Two days later another X-ray at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland showed the virus had triggered pneumonia. Still, she managed to shoot a selfie, and the family was optimistic. On December 30, she was suddenly unable to breathe on her own, and had to be intubated. From then on, Kaylee was kept alive only by a ventilator. The next day, the unthinkable happened. Kaylee, who had seemed happy and healthy just a week prior was 'gone,' doctors told their family. 'My brother called out, "No, what do you mean?" He was screaming and moaning and yelling. I'd never seen him like that,' Matthew said. 'We were all there when they took her off the machines. 'I was trying to hold my brother up. He was breaking down because this was his baby. I was trying my hardest to stay strong and help him, but most of us just lost it.' The family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of the treatment Kaylee received and her funeral. An angry painter and decorator who claims he is owed 500 for a job has got his revenge - by daubing a message on the side of the pub he worked on demanding he is paid. Dean claims builder Terry Turner paid him just 650 of the 1,150 agreed price for the work, but refused to pay the rest until he had done additional work on the building. Dean Reeves, 50, wrote in large black letters: "Want your house painting? Dont be like Terry, pay the bill! Now you will! over the cream exterior he had painted on the property in Bolsover, Derbyshire. Painter and decorator, Dean Reeves (pictured) claims builder Terry Turner paid him just 650 of the 1,150 agreed price for work on the house - but refused to pay the rest until Dean carried out additional work on the building (SWNS) He claims he worked through his lunch for a week to get the job done on time on the former North Star Club in Bolsover, Derbs, which is being converted into flats. However, he says Mr Turner told him he wouldn't be getting paid the remainder of the cash until he "gave the back of the house another coat". But the father-of-two says when he did what was asked, Mr Turner told him "you're not getting paid a penny until you've done the fascias" - which was not part of the original quote. Read more from Yahoo News UK: Mother jailed for supplying teenager with drugs that killed him EU citizens will not be deported from Britain after Brexit, says Guy Verhofstadt Moment Range Rover drives through jeweller's window before robbery thwarted by public Dean said: "I did seven days hard work on it. I didn't have lunch breaks, I worked hard all week to get it done. "He kept saying, 'I'll pay you tomorrow', but tomorrow never came. "I did the work and he said if I go back to give the back of the building another coat, he would pay me. Painter and decorator, Dean Reeves 50, painted black graffiti on a house accusing the owner of not paying him, pictured in Bolsover in Derbyshire (SWNS) "I went back on Tuesday and did that, but when I sent him a picture, he just said 'that looks better' with a smiling face. "I asked him where my money was and he said I wasn't going to get a penny until I did the fascias, which we'd never agreed on." Dean says he took the drastic action two days after being told he was not going to get the 500 he was owed. The house on Welbeck Road, Bolsover, was daubed in black paint (SWNS) He added: "I went back on tea time on Thursday (16 Jan) and did it off ladders. It was my first job back since Christmas, I have bills to pay and need to make money. It just got too much and I wanted to prove the point. I don't regret it and I'd do it again if I had to. Story continues "I was never going to get paid, but I wanted to make sure he had to pay something to get it cleared off. When contacted for comment, Mr Turner has denied ripping Dean off and said he was going to pay in full once the work had been completed. The graffiti reads: "Want your house painting? Don't be like Terry, pay the bill! Now you will!" (SWNS) Mr Turner said: "The bloke is a prat. He should have just done the work and he would have been paid in full. Its standard. "None of what he says is true. He wasnt asked to do additional work, it was offset work by other jobs he was meant to do but didnt. "Ive spoken to police now and they will be looking to arrest him. Hes going to be done for criminal damage. A Derbyshire police spokesman said: We received a call this morning reporting that a property in Welbeck Road, Bolsover had had graffiti painted onto it. It appears to be a dispute between two parties and we will be getting in touch with those involved in due course. Houstons Fuller Realty Partners, in partnership with Miami-based Independencia Asset Management, has purchased The River Oaks Bank Building at 2001 Kirby Drive. The 14-story office building sits on nearly 2.4 acres at the southeast corner of Kirby Drive and San Felipe in River Oaks, one of the nations most affluent neighborhoods where homes sold for an average of $2.7 million last year, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. Renovated in 2017, the 170,233-square-foot building is about 85 percent leased. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Built in 1967, the property is valued at $24.9 million, according to Harris County Appraisal District records. It last changed hands in 2010. Its a well-known building and has a great tenant base, said Steve Darnall, a principal with Fuller Realty. The purchase comes as Houstons office market is showing signs of improvement, absorbing nearly 2 million square feet in the last quarter, according to real estate services firm JLL. Still, area-wide office vacancy stands at 22.8 percent. The building served as headquarters for River Oaks Bank, which was acquired by Compass Bank (now BBVA) in 1991. BBVA is the buildings largest tenant, with approximately 23,000 square feet, according to Fuller Realty. Floor sizes average 12,400 square feet in the building, which is leased to tenants in the insurance, finance, business services and nonprofit industries, among others, according to JLL, which represented the seller, a client advised by Dallas-based L&B Realty Advisors. The property has 185 surface parking spaces and a two-story, 323-space attached parking garage. The new ownership plans further enhancements to the common areas, possibly adding a small deli or restaurant. Well continue to spend some money upgrading the building to keep and attract the tenants, Darnall said. That building is so well located that if we take care of the building, take care of the tenants, we think well be very successful. Kevin McConn, Rudy Hubbard and Rick Goings of JLL Capital Markets represented the seller. JLLs John Ream, Wally Reid and Cameron Cureton arranged the acquisition loan on behalf of the buyer. Independencia Asset Management, Fuller Realtys partner in the River Oaks building, is the U.S. arm of an investment firm based in Santiago, Chile. With the acquisition, Fuller Realtys portfolio totals 3.3 million square feet, including the Park Laureate, an office building at 10000 Memorial Drive near Chimney Rock in the Tanglewood/Memorial Villages area. That building served as George H.W. Bushs office for more than 25 years after he left the presidency. Similar to Park Laureate, The River Oaks Bank Building will be a longer-term hold for Fuller Realty than a typical deal, Darnall said. Last year, Fuller invested in the Parkview I and II office buildings in the Energy Corridor on Houstons west side. The company has boosted occupancy from 11 percent at the time of purchase in June to 42 percent today. Looking ahead, commercial real estate firm Avison Young does not see a strong recovery for Houstons office market this year as growth at energy companies is restrained. Investors are still showing confidence in real estate, despite conflicts in the Middle East and the uncertainty that typically surrounds an election year, Jimmy Board, a principal in Avison Youngs capital markets group, said at a recent media roundtable. Tangible assets are seen as one of the best places to put money today, Board said. katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser A drill sergeant-style teacher motivated his students with an adorable puppy, but his comical rant ended with a faux threat to kill the cute dog if they failed to win a vocabulary competition. Ryan Price is a high school teacher at Buckingham Charter Magnet High School in California. The 42-year-old introduced the new bizarre motivational tool to his class on January 10. Ryan Price brought an adorable puppy into his class at Buckingham Charter Magnet High School in California to motivate his students In a viral video posted on TikTok of the speech, Price told his students they are just ahead in their national vocabulary contest, but their nearest rivals are closing in. He then had an unusual way of getting the students motivated to continue their run at the top of the Vocal Bowl table. Price began by telling the class: 'Hey, listen up you guys, let's talk about the Vocab Bowl. 'I know we are winning right now, but I want to expand our lead. Ash County Middle School is closing the gap, so to motive you I've got us a mascot.' Students cheered when Price carried the new mascot into class (left), but he added 'I kill the dog' if his pupils lost their lead in the Vocab Bowl against their rivals He then went out of the classroom and returned with an adorable golden retriever puppy named Buck, to which the children cheered with joy. On his return, Price said: 'This is Buck - Buck the vocab mascot to encourage you to do your bucking vocab. 'If you don't do your vocab and we lose the Vocab Bowl...I kill the dog.' Children in the class then screamed, with some shouting 'no', before the video cut out. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The global server market size is expected to reach USD 83.06 billion by 2025, expanding at a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period, according to a study conducted by Grand View Research, Inc.Demand for servers is anticipated to grow considerably in near future, owing to the growing need for IT infrastructure and advancements in digital technologies. Rising adoption of data analytics by enterprises to understand consumer trends has resulted in the growing adoption of IT networking equipment. The market for server has witnessed a shift from colocation data centers to managed data center services. Owing to the cost advantages achieved by managed data center services, enterprises are adopting virtual servers that help in extending the server adoption by renting the networking equipment, connecting devices and peripherals, and cloud space. The cloud space server adoption can be private or shared, resulting in enterprises to reduce the total-cost-of-ownership. The growing competition between Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) is an emerging trend in the server market. ODMs not only assemble and manufacture the components in OEM products but also produce customized products. Thus, the growing demand for customization requirements for specific configurations is driving the demand for ODM servers. Further, increasing use of data-intensive functions such as cloud computing, streaming services, and others is expected to provide an impetus to server adoption. Rising use of data is attributed to the increasing number of smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other such devices. The rise in number of digitally connecting devices fuels the need for reliable and fast data transfer, thereby propelling the demand for cloud servers. Further key findings from the report suggest: The blade type segment is expected to witness healthy growth over the forecast period owing to the benefits they provide in terms of energy saving and low carbon footprints Several government initiatives are focused on IT infrastructure development also the rise in digital platforms across the globe has subsequently attributed to the growing demand for servers Owing to several benefits offered by Linux OS, such as open source free version OS platform, high security settings, and easy availability, the segment is expected to record the highest growth over the next six years Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness healthy growth over the forecast period owing to the development of new data centers in the region Development of VMware server for virtualization through cloud computing is propelling the growth of data centers assisting for cloud servers. Thus, the scalability achieved by the virtualization is also positively affecting the server market growth Grand View Research has segmented the global server market based on product, OS, and region: Server Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Blade Server Rack Server Tower Server Micro Server Server OS Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Windows Linux Unix Others Server Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) North America U.S. Canada Europe U.K. Germany Asia Pacific China India Japan Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East & Africa Access full research report on global server market: www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/server-market A former commander of the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay was convicted Friday of interfering with an investigation into the death of a civilian with whom the commander had fought and argued over his affair with the mans wife. A federal jury in Jacksonville convicted Navy Captain John R Nettleton on charges of obstruction of justice, concealing material facts, falsifying records and making false statements. Nettleton was removed from command shortly after civilian Christopher Tur was found floating in the waters off the base on the southeastern coast of Cuba in January 2015. Nettleton had commanded the base since June 2012, but not the detention centre where suspected terrorists are held. Nettleton wasnt charged with Turs death. He could get 75 years, but sentencing guidelines suggest his term will be significantly less. Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site Show all 8 1 /8 Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site A Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates the torture he faced in US custody. The graphic illustrations show the various forms of torture Abu Zubaydah said he experienced at a US black site in Thailand. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site The detainee was tied up in painful positions. Mr Zubaydah illustrated multiple examples of the ways he was forced to suffer while chained and tied in painful positions. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site He was confined to a small box. Unable to stand or sit up straight, Mr Zubaydah described being forced to crawl into a box for endless hours while in the fetal position. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site Mr Zubaydah suffered through "walling" according to his illustrations The "walling" process involves slamming a detainee's head against the wall. Mr Zubaydah said he was slapped and dragged across the floor by a towel. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site Officials waterboarded the detainee 83 times. Mr Zubaydah told his lawyers: "They kept pouring water and concentrating on my nose and my mouth until I really felt I was drowning and my chest was just about to explode from the lack of oxygen. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site Mr Zubaydah shows how he was forced to stand. With his hands tied high above his head, the detainee was forced to endure long hours while standing on his tiptoes. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site He also faced significant sleep deprivation. Officials doused the detainee with water and forced him to stay awake for prolonged hours, according to his statements and illustrations. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Guantanamo Bay detainee illustrates torture he faced at US black site The detainee was not provided proper hygiene. On top of the "enhanced interrogation" techniques Mr Zubaydah endured, he was also forced to defecate in a bin underneath him in a small box, or at other times as he was strapped to a chair. Abu Zubaydah, Courtesy Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Seton Hall University School of Law Nettleton dishonoured his oath and impeded the investigation into a civilians tragic death, preventing much needed closure for the family and friends of the deceased, Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said after the verdict, according to The Florida Times-Union. Todays verdict demonstrates the departments steadfast commitment to holding accountable those who abuse their positions of public trust and obstruct justice. Turs siblings issued a statement thanking prosecutors and the jury, but added unfortunately this trial has brought us more questions. ... We will not stop until we have answers. Nettleton denied to his superior officer and others that he had the affair, but investigators later determined that it had happened, according to prosecutors in Jacksonville, where Nettleton had been on temporary duty. Turs wife confirmed the affair during her testimony. Defense attorneys argued that Nettleton couldnt be found guilty of any of the charges merely for violating provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice or for violating any Navy regulations. An autopsy found that Tur, 42, died from drowning but that his ribs had been fractured before he went into the water and he had a cut to his head. The investigation also turned up Turs blood inside the entryway of Nettletons residence on the base and on a paper towel in the backyard. Tur came to Guantanamo in May 2011 with his wife, Lara, and two children and worked as the loss prevention safety manager at the Navy Exchange, the main shopping complex on the base. Recommended The Guantanamo prisoner whose fate was changed by a single Trump tweet On the night of his disappearance, Tur confronted the commander and Turs wife in front of witnesses at a party at the on-base nightclub. Each had consumed several alcoholic drinks, according to the indictment. Later that night, Tur went to Nettletons residence, where the two men fought. Nettletons daughter heard the commotion and came down to see her father on the ground and Tur standing over him shortly before he left the area and wasnt seen again. Around that time, a friend of Turs reported getting a call from Tur, who said he was at Nettletons house and had just knocked the skipper out. After Tur went missing, Nettleton failed to tell people leading the search for him that he was last seen at Nettletons house when they fought, and the commander instead led them to believe he was last seen at the nightclub, according to prosecutors. Associated Press Anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests are not being allowed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, where marches in favour of the controversial legislation are permitted by the administration, the Amnesty International India (AII) has claimed in a report. The AII urged the Prime Minister and the Uttar Pradesh government to end the "gross violations of the right to peaceful assembly" in Varanasi and other parts of the state. After interacting with people in Varanasi, the AII claimed permission for peaceful agitations have been denied, protesters have been arrested while the police have used excessive force besides "openly" threatening and intimidating those protesting against the CAA. It said "brutal crackdown" on peaceful protest, which is "continuing", must end immediately. Protesters said that the police have asked them not to protest again. The district administration supports those who organise solidarity marches for CAA but "denies space for anti-CAA protesters displaying differential treatment," the protesters claimed. "This type of policing appears deliberate, raising concerns that state law enforcement actors may favour pro-government and nationalist demonstrations over other types of assemblies," the AII warned. "Arbitrary detention, use of excessive force, differential treatment of assemblies and torture in custody have sadly become commonplace in Uttar Pradesh. The way the Uttar Pradesh government has by and large chosen to respond to the anti-CAA protests in Varanasi and other regions of UP has been massively disproportionate, unwarranted and unlawful," it said. The AII also claimed that arrested protesters were kept in custody for over 15 days, despite securing bail. It also found fault with the continuous imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), saying peaceful protest is a fundamental aspect of a vibrant society. The body emphasized that any restrictions imposed under the blanket imposition of Section 144 CrPC, which prevent people from assembling together in Varanasi, do not meet all elements of legality, necessity and proportionality constituting violations of the right. The AII said activists told them the administration impose Section 144 "359 out of 365 days" in Varanasi. "The days it is not imposed are those when Prime Minister Modi comes to Varanasi," it quoted a student of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), who was arrested, as saying. Separately, the jury report of a Peoples' Tribunal hearing on Thursday in the national capital claimed that the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh shows a "complete collapse" of the rule of law. "In fact, the very state administration that is charged with protecting the rule of law is perpetrating violence upon its own people," the Peoples' Tribunal jury report said. "The entire state machinery, led from the top, acted with grave prejudice and perpetrated violence targeting one particular community, the state's Muslim population, and the social activists leading the movement," the report said on the police and administration actions against anti-CAA protesters in the state. A woman whose thighs and genitals were scalded when coffee was spilled in her lap at a McDonald's drive-through in Clondalkin, Co Dublin, has been awarded 30,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court. Ciara Corboy (29) told Judge Francis Comerford that while being handed an Americano at the takeaway at the Mill Shopping Centre, a lid that had not been properly secured came off, causing her to be scalded in her thighs and groin. Barrister Noel Cosgrove, for Ms Corboy, said she suffered extensive burns and had to attend St James's Hospital six times to have her wounds treated. The hospital had provided her with a nappy-type dressing. Mr Cosgrove said the defendant, Gerla Restaurants Ltd, of Lucan, Co Dublin, had denied negligence in a full defence and had pleaded contributory negligence on Ms Corboy's part over the incident in November 2017. Ms Corboy, of Oatfield Avenue, Clondalkin, said she had been in her car with her then partner, Amanda Garvey, who had applied first aid gel to her wounds while she was being treated in the restaurant office. She said she experienced excruciating pain at the time and had suffered ongoing pain for at least six weeks afterwards. She and her partner had been unable to have any intimate relations for almost eight months. Painful Ms Corboy denied in cross-examination by Moira Flahive, counsel for Gerla Restaurants, that she had put the coffee cup between her legs, which had caused the lid to pop off. She also denied the spillage had been caused by her car jolting forward. Judge Comerford said he accepted that McDonald's training policy of providing a cup carrier with every hot drink handed out had been breached, which tipped the decision in Ms Corboy's favour. The judge said her injuries had not fully resolved for up to eight months and photographs of her wounds were indicative of a stressful and painful injury. "They were bad burns in an extremely sensitive area and I accept there would have been some impact on sexual activity for five months or so after the incident," he said. "There was also a high degree of indignity involved in the way things occurred." The judge said that, despite the effects of the injuries not having lasted for a long period, the court was of the view that Ms Corboy should be awarded 30,000 damages together with her legal costs. One of the most famous coffee scalding cases in legal history involved McDonald's and a 79-year-old Albuquerque woman who scalded herself while sitting in her grandson's car in 1992. Stella Liebeck, who acknowledged that the spill had been her fault, having placed the coffee cup between her legs, suffered third-degree burns on her legs and genitals. She asked McDonald's to pay her medical expenses of $20,000 (18,000) but the company offered her only $800 (720), leading to her filing a lawsuit in 1994. A jury suggested she be awarded $3m (2.7m) but Ms Liebeck eventually settled for less than $600,000 (540,000). Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday joined a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the Register of Citizens (NRC) here at Park Circus Maidan in Kolkata. Opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, have been protesting against the CAA and NRC calling them "unconstitutional". During his visit here, the Congress leader was surrounded by hundreds of protestors who were raising slogans against Centre's anti-people policies. Recently, during a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee demanded that both the CAA and NRC should be withdrawn. "While speaking to Prime Minister, I told him that we are against CAA, Population Register (NPR) and NRC. We want that CAA and NRC should be withdrawn," Banerjee had informed media persons immediately after her January 11 meeting with the Prime Minister at the Raj Bhavan. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, 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.) Students take part in a STEM NOLA workshop, learning about the science and engineering of Mardi Gras at Pierre Capdo Charter School in New Orleans, La., Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019. Lucknow, Jan 17 : A special POCSO court here on Friday sentenced to death a man convicted for raping and murdering a six-year-old girl in September last year. Babloo a.k.a. Arfat, a resident of Baba Hazara Bagh, had gone to the victim's house on September 15, 2019 and lured her out on the pretext of giving her a toffee. He brought the girl to his house where he raped her and slit her throat. He then hid her body under his bed. When the girl did not return home after three hours, her family started searching for her. Her grandmother then told the family members that Babloo had taken the girl with him. The police was informed and when Babloo's house was searched, the girl's body was found. The post-mortem report confirmed rape and serious injuries in her private parts. Babloo was arrested and booked under Sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and 364 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code. Produce is neatly arranged in the "Garden" section before the opening of the Giant Heirloom Market in Northern Liberties. Read more Lidl, the German grocer, has abandoned plans for a supermarket on part of the South Philadelphia site along the Delaware River where a Foxwoods Casino was once proposed, according to a published report. The property, on Christopher Columbus Boulevard between Reed and Dickinson Streets, will instead be occupied by Giant Food Stores, which has a deal to build a 46,000-square-foot shop at the property, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported Friday. . Developer Bart Blatstein declined to comment to the Business Journal and did not return a phone message from The Inquirer. A Lidl spokesperson also did not return a message. A Giant spokesperson confirmed that the company plans a store at the site but said no details were available. The supermarket site is located at the northwest quarter of the the 21-acre property that Blatstein acquired following a failed effort by another development group to build a casino there. Blatstein has been working for more than four years to get permits for a Wawa gas station to be built on part of the property just to the south. Neighborhood groups, open-space advocates, and civic organizations have opposed the plan for gas pumps, which require explicit permission from Philadelphias zoning board. It began hearing arguments for and against the proposal in November and will resume its consideration of the project at a meeting Tuesday. Giant announced this month that it planned to invest $114 million in Pennsylvania operations over the next 18 months, including the construction of a distribution center at 3501 Island Ave. in Southwest Philadelphia to support its e-commerce business. Blatstein disclosed plans for the South Columbus Boulevard Giant store about a week after, saying that the grocer would open another location at a property he owns at Broad Street and Washington Avenue. The grocer, a unit of Dutch supermarket giant Ahold Delhaize, also plans a store at PMC Property Groups River Walk development project under construction on the Schuylkills eastern bank and has been opening smaller-format shops under its Heirloom brand around the city. Lidl (rhymes with needle) opened its first Philadelphia location last month in the citys Port Richmond section. Another Philadelphia location, on Roosevelt Boulevard in the Northeast, is slated to open before the end of 2020. As part of its plan to generate a mass movement akin to the one it helped create in 1992, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is all set to honour kar sewaks who had played an active role in the demolition of Babri mosque. VHPs Kashi pranth having around 25 UP districts, including Ayodhya under its purview has also decided to felicitate kin of kar sewaks who had sacrificed their life in 1992 Babri mosque demolition. The public functions to felicitate such people will be held at block and district level, said senior VHP office-bearers. The VHP leadership is preparing a list of all such devotees in 25 UP districts. Their unfailing love for the Sanatan Dharam made them leave their families behind and join the movement which ended in demolition of the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992. They deserved to be felicitated now when the temple construction is all set to begin, said a VHP office-bearer. The Supreme Court on November 9 backed the construction of a Ram temple by a government trust at the disputed site, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in Ayodhya. According to VHPs Purvi Prant Sangathan Mantri Ambrish Singh, much restraint was shown at the time of Supreme Court judgment as celebration at that time could have jeopardized peace in country. But now it is time to celebrate and real joyous celebrations are on cards in March and April after end of the ongoing Magh Mela in Prayagraj. Ram bhakts will go to every Hindu household rendering bhajans, holding idol of Lord Ram as well as small wooden model of the proposed temple slated to come up in Ayodhya across the country. The processions would be part of forthcoming Ram Mahotsav celebrations which the VHP has been organizing every year at the beginning of Hindu New Year but this year it would be special, he said. As per Singh, in-charge of Eastern UP districts of VHP, struggle of kar sewaks cannot be ignored without whom the Babri mosque could not have been brought down. He claimed the VHP had decided to organise programmes at each and every temple of the country, irrespective of its size or location during Ram Mahotsav. Special Ram Pujan ceremonies would be organized in 3.5 lakh villages of the country where Shila Pujan was held in 1989, he added. VHP working president Alok Kumar Upadhyay confirmed that joyous processions as part of Ram Janmohatsav celebrations would be held nationwide between commencement of Hindu New Year (March 25) and Hanuman Jayanti (April 8). Strategists, however, maintain that the VHP initiative was a fight back from efforts of the ruling BJP in claiming the credit for the paving the way for Ram temple construction. VHPs vice president Champat Rai after unveiling the proposed model of Ram temple in the Magh Mela-2020 in Prayagraj had also said that VHP had waged a long struggle for construction of Ram temple and making the Hindu society strong over the years and role of Ram Bhakts in the struggle can never be forgotten. VHPs Prayagraj district unit office-bearer Ashwani Mishra said the list of kar sewaks from Prayagraj and neighbouring districts was being prepared in earnest. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Harbour View:--- The Governor of Sint Maarten, His Excellency drs. E.B. Holiday, following the outcome of the January 9, 2020 elections held consultations from January 10 through 14, 2020 to gather information to decide on the process for the formation of a new government. The Governor, considering the ongoing discussion regarding compliance with the standards set forth by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), also convened a meeting with the political leaders and the bankers association to underscore the importance and urgency of handling this matter for Sint Maarten irrespective of which parties form the new government. The Governor also received the governing accord signed by the NA and the UP representing a majority in Parliament from the leader of the NA during the consultations. A common thread in the consultations is that political stability is a necessary condition for the further development of Sint Maarten. Considering the results of the January 9, 2020 elections, the information received during the consultations, the Governor requested the leader of the NA, Ms. Silveria Jacobs, to accept an assignment as formateur. In that capacity, the Governor requested Ms. Jacobs to form a new government which has the support of a broad majority in Parliament to foster political stability, that consists of ministers who are committed to the development and execution of a governing program aimed at the promotion of the wellbeing of Sint Maarten, its people, its economy, its infrastructure, and its security. Considering the challenges facing the country, the Governor requested the formateur to form a new government which will give priority to: concluding the legislation regarding the combating of money laundering and financing of terrorism, including the penal procedure code; the development of initiatives aimed at the sustainable social-economic recovery of Sint Maarten including the execution of the agreements made with The Netherlands and the World Bank regarding amongst others the rehabilitation of the airport and the construction of the new hospital; realizing sustainable government finances, including the completion of the 2020 budget; the safety and security of Sint Maarten by investing in the strengthening of the law and order services, amongst which the police force and the prison; the improvement of our environment with an emphasis on realizing sustainable waste management solutions; and the amending of the electoral laws by bringing the Ordinance Registration and Finances of Political Parties and the Election Ordinance in accordance with the Constitution. The Governor further emphasized the importance of the strict observance of the regulatory requirements including the screening criteria, applicable to the appointment for candidate-ministers. The formateur took the commission into consideration and will inform the Governor regularly during the formation process. The Governor requested Ms. Jacobs to present him the final report of the formation process by February 23, 2020. AMMAN, Jordan Jordanian citizens and residents opposed to normalization of ties with Israel have not been shy in making their opinion known when it comes to the prospect of Jordan acquiring natural gas from neighboring Israel. In their most recent effort to be heard, thousands took to the streets of Aqaba, Irbid, Karak and Zarqa, chanting From north to south, we refuse looted gas, voicing their rejection of a deal that continues to inch closer and closer to full implementation. The protests, held Jan. 10, followed the launch of a three-month trial run by the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) to pump gas from Israel's offshore Leviathan field, for which the US-based Noble Energy Company and an Israeli conglomerate hold the concession. NEPCO signed a deal with Noble and the conglomerate to import gas from the Mediterranean in 2016. Opponents of the agreement cite political and economic reasons for their rejection of the arrangement. Jamal Jit, a political activist from Irbid who took part in the Jan. 10 protests, told Al-Monitor, The government will not force us to normalize [relations] with Israel by lighting Jordanians houses with this gas. Jit views the gas as rightfully belonging to the Palestinians and thus in his eyes looted. Protesters in Zarqa, east of Amman, cast Israel as the enemy, carrying photos of Jordanian soldiers who had died in the Battle of Karameh (1968), at which the Jordanian army and Palestinian factions fought against the Israeli military. On the photos was written, Do not trade my blood for gas. Mohammad al-Abssi, an activist with the Enemys Gas Is Occupation, a campaign challenging the agreement, asserted, Jordan does not need to link the fate of its energy [supply] to Israel. We can also rely on alternative energy. Meanwhile, Jordanian parliamentarians are trying to pressure Prime Minister Omar Razzaz into reneging on the agreement by threatening a no-confidence vote against his government. To that end, 29 members of the House of Representatives signed on to a motion to hold a non-confidence vote. If an absolute majority of the House votes no-confidence, the government must resign. Mustafa Assaf, spokesperson for the Reform Bloc and a signatory to the no-confidence motion, told Al-Monitor, We will proceed with the no-confidence motion, because the government did not listen to the demands of MPs to annul the agreement, which we have rejected since its signing in 2016, as it serves Israel. We tried to hold an urgent session to discuss starting to pump Israeli gas, but the speaker of parliament did not approve, Assaf continued. The discussion of the gas agreement was delayed two weeks, and I expect the session to be heated. Even the state budget discussions that began Jan. 12 and ends Jan. 15 will not be easy for the government, since the budget includes sums allocated to logistic issues involving the gas agreement. After a heated parliamentary session to discuss the deal in March 2019, the government decided to seek an opinion from the Constitutional Court on the deal's legality. In September, the court held in part that the parliament has no say in the deal, because it was signed by two companies. After the court's decision, parliamentarians seized on a no-confidence vote to gain leverage. The government moved earlier this month to buy some time. On Jan. 5 Razzaz asked members of parliament to postpone discussing the gas agreement until Jan. 19, and they agreed. On Jan. 15, parliament passed the 2020 budget after week-long debates, during which representatives criticized the government over the gas deal. The Jordanian opposition considered the delay a waste of time. The Enemys Gas Is Occupation, a coalition that includes opposition parties, professional and labor syndicates and independent figures, had called on parliament to reject the 2020 budget and to withdraw confidence from Razzazs government. Halima al-Darbashi al-Absi, a member of the campaign, told Al-Monitor, Parliament can foil the agreement by rejecting the budget, which includes direct allocations related to implementing this catastrophic deal. There are financial allocations for compensation for land acquisitions for the gas pipeline in northern Jordan and indirect allocations related to protecting the pipeline as well as legal consultation fees and salaries of government employees at the Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Finance overseeing this affair. Absi further asserted, Parliament also has the possibility of a vote of no-confidence in Razzazs government and to topple his government, which has the constitutional mandate [to cancel the gas agreement] and is directly responsible for implementing the criminal and treacherous deal. This deal supports Zionist terrorism with the money of Jordanian taxpayers, and it has placed Jordan, its security and future, in the hands of Zionists. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Abdul Majid Dnaidess, member of the leftist Wihda Party, charged, The stance of the members of parliament does not express the peoples will, despite their vocal rejection of the gas agreement. The parliament was stripped of its actual role when the executive authority [the government] took over and steered it according to its whims. Representing the government, Amjad Rawashdeh, director general of NEPCO, said in a Jan. 5 statement to Petra, Jordan's official news agency, The contract with the Noble Energy company to import gas to Jordan was the only choice for the kingdom after disruption of Egyptian gas imports. There have been studies on the options available to import gas from neighboring countries through pipelines. Given the regional conditions, [Israeli gas] was the only source available. In making the case for importing gas from the Leviathan field, Rawashdeh touted the reliability of importing natural gas through pipelines, the savings realized by skirting transport costs and impacts from oil price fluctuations and the importance of diversifying Jordan's energy sources. Egypt's supply of gas to Jordan went offline in 2011 due to the bombing of a pipeline in Sinai by radical Islamists and resumed only in early 2019. Booking a trip can be hard to do, especially when you have to shell out tons of money upfront. While there are lots of affordable trips out there, you cant always go to your dream destination on a shoestring budget. To make things easier, adventure travel tour operator Intrepid Travel is offering customers the opportunity to book their dream vacation for only one dollar. From now until Jan. 30, customers can pick from over 1,000 trip itineraries on the Intrepid Travel website and book them for only $1. Bookers can either search for their trips by destination, popularity, trip length, or other fine-tuned options on the Intrepid Travel website. Trips are still priced as advertised, but the upfront deposit is only one dollar. %image1 Or, if youre looking to knock out some New Years resolutions while you see the world, Intrepid Travel is also offering some custom-made trips centered around the most popular resolutions people make every time Jan. 1 rolls around. For instance, if youre looking to exercise more, the companys surfing and kayaking trip in Costa Rica is sure to get your muscles moving. This week-long trip includes rafting on the Pacuare River, surfing in the Caribbean near Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, and kayaking through Tortuguero National Park in search of monkeys, toucans, and jaguars. For those who are on a healthy eating kick, the company has an eight-day Italy Vegan Food Adventure. Travelers will get to eat at delicious vegan restaurants in Venice, try a cooking class in Bologna, and visit local markets for fresh ingredients. Those who want to reduce stress or focus on their spiritual growth can take a 10-day Portuguese Camino Tour or a nine-day Spirit of Bali & Nusa Lembongan tour. Travelers can enjoy a more relaxed way of life while visiting historical and cultural sites from Porto, Portugal to the Spanish wine region of Caldas de Reis. In Bali, travelers can dive into Balinese culture by diving into the sights, sounds, and tastes of the country, including special ceremonies, visiting lush rice fields and terraces, and learning about local cuisine and customs. Story continues If youre just looking to learn something new, the company has a 15-day India Wilderness & Wildlife tour that lets you discover all kinds of diverse animal life on safaris and see ancient tribal art in Bhopal, as well as tasting plenty of delicious, local cuisine. There are plenty of amazing trips to explore on Intrepid Travel, many of which are only being offered to book for a $1 deposit. The offer ends on Jan. 30 and all trips must be scheduled for between Feb. 15 and Dec. 31, 2020. So, this is the ultimate opportunity to keep your New Years resolution. More information can be found on the Intrepid Travel website. Labour rising star Rebecca Long-Bailey said her party did not talk enough about aspiration as she officially launched her bid to become leader. The shadow business secretary also vowed to shake up the way government works, and put power into the hands of voters, as she bids to replace Jeremy Corbyn. Described as a continuity Corbyn candidate said to be favoured by the current leadership and backed by campaign group Momentum, supporters have bridled at the description. Thanks so much to everyone who came to the launch of my campaign in Manchester tonight. The atmosphere was incredible. Together we can unite all of our heartlands - and win. Join our movement: https://t.co/xmR2lDo0tx#RLB2020 pic.twitter.com/xwce7W6pEE Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) January 17, 2020 As she took to the stage for the launch at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, some of the 300 or so supporters at the event broke into a chant of Oh Jeremy Corbyn. Mrs Long-Bailey told them: Hey guys, were going to have to think of a new song you know. No pressure. She was asked why Labour had failed to win voters, returning their worst electoral result since 1935. Mrs Long-Bailey said: I think for me we had some fantastic policies, I know because I helped write some of them, and really the message didnt resonate with our voters. And what we should have been talking about is aspiration. Because everything we are trying to build and I am going to try to build as leader of the Labour Party is about realising the potential, truly realising that quality of life increase, whether you are a business, whether you are an industry or an individual, our role as a party is to improve your living standards and the wealth you can accumulate as communities. And we didnt say that. We didnt match that with a message of aspiration. We want an economy where everyone does well. Expand Close TV screens on show as Rebecca Long-Bailey launches her campaign (Peter Byrne/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp TV screens on show as Rebecca Long-Bailey launches her campaign (Peter Byrne/PA) She also spoke about a trip to Amsterdam she had made before entering politics, being asked Did you inhale? To laughter and cheers from the largely young audience at the event, Mrs Long-Bailey replied: Ill leave it up to you to decide why I went to Amsterdam, for flower markets or to partake in local delicacies. She added that the country needed a national discussion on the war on drugs, and to address what she said was the under-funding of police services. In her speech, Mrs Long-Bailey promised to end the gentlemens club of politics by devolving power out of Westminster while promising to introduce a Green New Deal that unites Labour heartlands. She said: The story of the last few years is that many people feel there is something wrong with their laws being drafted hundreds of miles away by a distant and largely unaccountable bureaucratic elite in Brussels. But Ill be honest, Westminster didnt feel much closer, and it still doesnt today. Thats why I want to shake up the way Government works and deliver a clear message to voters: we will put power where it belongs in your hands. Mrs Long-Bailey also vowed to root out anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. She was introduced at the event by newly elected Coventry MP Zarah Sultana, who has apologised about alleged anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments, attributed to her before she entered Parliament reportedly saying she would celebrate the deaths of Tony Blair and Benjamin Nentanayu, and told someone who was pro-Israel to jump off a cliff. Mrs Long-Bailey added: We didnt tackle it properly, we didnt act quickly enough. I wont ever let that happen again. All the Labour leadership candidates are taking part in the first hustings event in Liverpool on Saturday. Residents in several neighbourhoods in Alexandria, Egypt have been forced to wade through smelly water full of rubbish since their area flooded in early January. They say they are exhausted by the authorities repeated empty promises to find a solution. Wastewater mixed with rainwater flooded the streets of the El Falaki neighbourhood. Polluted water has flooded the entrances of certain buildings. On social media, Alexandria residents have been calling on the government to finally start to implement proper drainage and sewage systems in the neighborhood - a promise that authorities have been making for years. After floods in 2015, the governor of Alexandria announced that 75 million Egyptian pounds (equivalent to 4.42 million euros) had been allocated for the construction of a proper sewage and drainage system. Ahmed Alchaeur, who lives in the El Falaki neighbourhood, said that he is sick of hearing the authorities make empty promises to improve local infrastructure, which he says theyve been making since 2008. He says his neighbourhood is currently sitting in a pool of polluted water, which he worries may destroy the foundations of local buildings. For years, weve been living in inhumane conditions. The sanitation project in El Montazah should have been finished years ago. There are some roads that are now flooded because of construction thats been going on for years. The governorate allocated 40 million Egyptian pounds (2.26 million euros) to improve sewage systems in our neighbourhood. However, each time we bring in the contractors who were employed by the city to lay the pipes, they claim that there is no way they can connect the pipes in our neighbourhood with the main system in Alexandria. This meeting between El Falaki neighbourhood residents and local officials in April 2019 led to renewed promises to start renovations on the sewage system. Weve been living in this situation since 2008. The pipes spew out polluted water into our streets. This is a threat to the health of the local population, especially as polluted water running through our neighbourhood might seep under our buildings. Its a tragedy for many people living in El Montazah. Each time, its the same promises but there is never a solution. Story continues Ali Sabri, who lives in the El Falaki neighbourhood, says that the authorities hired a private company to work on the sewage system. But the company says it hasnt been able to find a way to connect local sewage pipes with the wider network. During the rainy winter months, life gets even more difficult for residents. Sabri is calling on the authorities to put an end to what he says is an unbearable situation. For years, weve been calling on the authorities to find a solution to connect our neighbourhood to the general city-wide sewage system. In 2019, we held several meetings with local representative Aboul Abbas Tourki who assured us that this construction work was moving ahead and that all the obstacles that stood in the way of its progression would be removed, but for the time being, we havent seen the results. The streets of the El Falaki neighbourhood are flooded with a mix of rainwater and wastewater during the winter months. Residents are calling on authorities to urgently find a solution to the crisis. The France 24 Observers team reached out to the Alexandria government but, thus far, havent received a response to our queries. Article by Omar Tiss. Hyderabad: Hitting out at the Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat who said de-radicalisation camps are operating in the country, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has questioned who would deradicalise attackers of Muslims and Dalits. Speaking at a public meeting at Adilabad on Thursday night, the Hyderabad MP said de-radicalisation is needed for those who lynch and kill innocent Dalits and Muslims. I want to inform the chief of Defence Staff, General Saab, if you want to deradicalise, then listen, you first read the Juvenile Act. IPC is not applicable to children. What kind of de-radicalistion you are talking about, he said. General Saab says that they will bring new law to deradicalise children. Meerut SP says in Muslim localities that they (Muslims) eat here and sing songs in favour of Pakistan. He says go to Pakistan. Who will de-radicalise such SPs. Dalits and Muslims are being lynched. Who will de- radicalise those attackers?, the AIMIM chief said. Rawat on Thursday in an address at the Raisina Dialogue, said de-radicalisation camps are operating in the country as it was necessary to isolate people who are completely radicalised. The MIM supremo alleged that names of five lakh Bengali Hindus and an equal number of Muslims are missing in Assam and the Hindus will be given citizenship under CAA, leaving out the Muslims. He said the names of some family members of former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed were also missing in Assam and questioned who would de-radicalise those responsible for the blunder. In series of tweets, Owaisi said this is not the first time that Rawat uttered comments undermining the civil administration. This is not the first ridiculous statement he has made. Policy is decided by civilian administration not by any General. By speaking on policy/politics, he is undermining civilian supremacy, he tweeted. Who'll deradicalise lynchers & their political masters? What about those opposing citizenship for Assam's Bengali Muslims? Maybe deradicalise Badla Yogi & Pakistan jao Meerut SP? Maybe deradicalise those imposing hardship on us through NPR-NRC? the MIM leader sai in another tweet. Officials advise thousands of displaced villagers not to return to danger zone after signs point to imminent eruption. An erupting Taal volcano in the Philippines remains life-threatening despite weaker emissions and fewer tremors, according to an official who advised thousands of displaced villagers not to return to the danger zone. Maria Antonia Bornas, an official with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said on Friday that continuing volcanic quakes, the drying of the crater lake and other signs indicated magma was moving beneath. When there is an explosion, that will be life-threatening, especially if people get very near, like on Volcano Island, Renato Solidum, head of the institute, told The Associated Press news agency. Al Jazeeras Jamela Alindogan, reporting from Batangas province, said she accompanied several top government officials on their very first reconnaissance flight over Lipa City towards Taal Lake in a helicopter. What we saw there was beyond human comprehension. What was once a popular tourist destination is now unrecognisable. From above, we can see the animals killed when Taal Volcano spewed steam and lava. Farmlands destroyed, communities damaged. A province in crisis, she said. Residents herd cows past a checkpoint after they were briefly allowed to return to their homes [Ezra Acayan/Getty Images] Brigadier General Kit Teofilo of the Philippine army told Al Jazeera after the flight: It was heartbreaking to see. The devastation was terrible. As far as the military is concerned, we know that a lot needs to be done and we encourage our citizens to calm down and focus. Since Sunday, the volcano has remained at alert level 4, the second-highest warning, indicating a hazardous explosive eruption is possible in hours or days. Solidum said assessing whether the volcanos restiveness has eased may take up to two weeks. Retrieving belongings Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from areas now under a security lockdown, and soldiers and police have been stopping desperate villagers from returning to retrieve belongings and save their poultry and cattle. Police have allowed batches of residents to check their homes for a few hours during the day in some high-risk villages. Jerick Oco, a 21-year-old who worked as a tourist guide on Volcano Island which sits in the middle of Taal Lake south of Manila, was relieved to hear that the volcano was calming down but said poor villagers like him face more daunting problems, like finding new homes and jobs. They should help people retrieve belongings from their homes instead of blocking them. They should help them restart [their lives] again, Oco said. Many houses and farms are damaged by ash, though no deaths or major injuries directly caused by the eruption have been reported. Authorities have reported one traffic fatality on an ash-covered road and an evacuee dying from a heart attack. About 125,000 people fled their homes in hardest-hit Batangas province, more than 65km (40 miles) south of Manila. At least 373 evacuation sites were crammed with the displaced and needed more face masks, portable toilets, bottled water and sleeping mats, according to a provincial disaster-response office. Residents were briefly allowed to return to their homes to recover belongings [Ezra Acayan/Getty Images] The governments main disaster agency reported a little more than 77,000 people were displaced in Batangas and the nearby provinces of Cavite and Laguna. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear. Among those displaced were about 5,000 people who live on Volcano Island. It is a popular tourist destination renowned for its stunning view of the volcanos crater lake and lush hills teeming with trees and birds. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has recommended that villagers should not be allowed back. The 311-metre (1,020-foot) Taal is the second-most restive of about two dozen volcanoes across the Philippines. The archipelago lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the string of faults around the ocean basin where much of the worlds seismic activity occurs. Massive swarms of up to 360 billion desert locusts are devouring crops across East Africa in the most devastating outbreak of the bugs in 25 years. One swarm in north east Kenya is 37 miles long and 25 miles wide and can destroy food for thousands of people every day. The desert locusts - considered the most dangerous locust species - are also blighting parts of Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea. Two men who work for a county disaster team identifying the location of the locusts are surrounded by a swarm of desert locusts near the village of Sissia, in Samburu county, Kenya a Samburu boy uses a wooden stick to try to swat a swarm of desert locusts filling the air, as he herds his camel near the village of Sissia, in Samburu county, Kenya Samburu men attempt to fend-off a swarm of desert locusts flying over a grazing land in Lemasulani village, Samburu County, Kenya A local tour guide holds a handfull of dead desert locusts after an invasion in Shaba National Reserve in Isiolo, northern Kenya The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) warned that parts of South Sudan and Uganda could be next. The IGAD said in a statement: 'A typical desert locust swarm can contain up to 150 million locusts per square kilometre. 'Swarms migrate with the wind and can cover 100 to 150km in a day. 'An average swarm can destroy as much food crops in a day as is sufficient to feed 2,500 people.' A motorcyclists rides through a swarm of desert locusts in Kenya Mohamed Omar, left, from the Ministry of Agriculture, and farmer Abdilahi Bataax, right, hold desert locusts in the Salal region of Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Somaliland Unusual climate conditions are said to be partly to blame. The locust swarms hang like shimmering dark clouds on the horizon in some places. Roughly the length of a finger, the insects fly together by the millions and are devouring crops and forcing people in some areas to wade through them. Kenyan officials reported an 'extremely dangerous increase' in locust swarm activity this week. The outbreak is making the region's poor food security situation worse, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned, with hundreds of thousands of acres of crops already destroyed. Already millions of people cope with the constant risk of drought or flooding, as well as deadly unrest in Ethiopia, extremist attacks in Somalia and lingering fighting in South Sudan as it emerges from civil war. The further increase in locust swarms could last until June as favourable breeding conditions continue, the IGAD said, helped along by unusually heavy flooding in parts of the region in recent weeks. Desert locusts are considered the most dangerous locust species and are blighting parts of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea A boy walks behind his camel as a swarm of desert locusts fills the air, near the village of Sissia, in Samburu county, Kenya A view of the Tungai Manyatta village, which was affected by a desert locust invasion in Shaba National Reserve in Isiolo, northern Kenya A Samburu man walks through a swarm of desert locusts flying over a grazing land in Lemasulani village, Samburu County, Kenya Villagers attempt to fend off a swarm of desert locusts flying over a grazing land in Lemasulani village, Samburu County, Kenya Desert locusts are seen within a grazing land in Lemasulani village, Samburu County, Kenya A Samburu man attempts to fend-off a swarm of desert locusts flying over a grazing land in Lemasulani village, Samburu County, Kenya A Samburu man attempts to fend-off a swarm of desert locusts flying over a grazing land in Lemasulani village, Samburu County, Kenya A Samburu man and a Kenya Police reserve member attempt to fend-off a swarm of ocusts A desert locust feeds on a plant after an invasion in Shaba National Reserve in Isiolo, northern Kenya A desert locust is seen after an invasion in Shaba National Reserve in Isiolo, northern Kenya a swarm of desert locusts covers the ground in Chidhi village, in the Awdal region of Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Somaliland Mohamed Omar from the Ministry of Agriculture holds an adult desert locust in Aisha Ade, in the Salal region of Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Somaliland Samsung introduced the Galaxy A51 a few weeks ago and now the devices are reaching more and more markets. Now the phone is arriving in Europe, according to multiple press releases from various European divisions of Samsung. The price of the Samsung Galaxy A51 starts from 370, but it gets a bit more expensive if you want more memory. Samsung Galaxy A51 Looking at the map of Europe, countries from all corners are getting the midranger - French customers can head to Amazon and other retailers. The phone with the L-shaped camera starts from 340 and goes to 410, depending on what version you select - 4/64 GB or 6/128 GB. Dutch users can go at Belsimpel and select the best deal with a carrier or not. The 4/64 GB variant is discounted from 369 to 350, but there are plenty of payment options with Vodafone, Tele2 or T-mobile. Eastern European fans of the Korean company should head to carriers because they seem to have better options. Telenor in Bulgaria offers the phone with no plan whatsoever for the equivalent of 430 for the 4/128 GB phone. Citrus in Ukraine has what appears to be the best deal of all Galaxy A51 deals - the phone is offered in Black, Blue, or White for just 9,499 UAH, and that's equal to 350 for the 6/128 GB option. As usual, prices will fall down in a few months time, so there is absolutely no rush getting the phone on launch day. Part of the reason for the discrepancy and the decision to conduct a mass burial was the condition most of the bodies were in. The impossibility of identification simplified the work of the police in keeping back the inquirers after missing friends and relatives. There is no hope of your knowing father, son, or brother, was the set reply of the police stationed at the doors of the coroners office, when relatives came to ask about the remains of their loved ones, the Tribune reported. "We are excited about expanding into the heart of Chester County with our brand-new financial center located across from the historic Devon Horse Show and neighboring our Main Line Loan Production Office at 80 W. Lancaster Avenue," says Husic. "In a region renowned for its innovation and enterprise, we are introducing world-class, concierge financial services with a local team focused on delivering the finest customer experience." The new, state-of-the-art, 2,500+ SF Devon Financial Center will host a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, January 22, with Centric Bank management and team members, as well as leaders from the Main Line Chamber, Easttown Township, and VISTA Today. At the ceremony, Centric Bank will make a $2,500 donation to FLITE and $2,500 to the Berwyn Fire EMS. "We look forward to meeting Chester County's entrepreneurial spirit with people-first banking, as well as a strong focus on small business lending, cash flow financing, and commercial real estate. Our team's knowledge of the SBA lending programs and consultative resources are a business advantage to startups, women-owned businesses, medical practices, and companies in growth mode," says Husic. "In a constantly changing, cloud-focused environment, it's crucial to have strategic brick-and-mortar locations. This financial center is wholly focused on the customer experience, allowing for customized solutions from our local, experienced team of professionals," says Leslie Meck, SVP, Chief Retail Officer. "Our universal bankers are here to serve businesses, non-profit organizations, individuals, and families in every possible way." Throughout January, customers may enter a raffle to win an Echo Show. Information is available at the Devon Financial Center. Courier service will be available to commercial clients for non-cash deposits. Hours for the Devon Financial Center are Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m., Friday 8:30 a.m. 6:00 p.m., and Saturday 8:30 a.m. 12 noon. ABOUT CENTRIC FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND CENTRIC BANK An American Banker 2019 and 2018 Best Banks to Work For, three-time American Banker Most Powerful Women in Banking Top Team, three-time Best Places to Work, and Top 50 Fastest-Growing Companies for six years, Centric Bank is headquartered in south central Pennsylvania with assets of $830 million and remains one of the leaders in organic loan growth. A locally owned, locally loaned community bank, Centric Bank provides highly competitive and pro-growth financial services to businesses, professionals, individuals, families, and to the health care and dental industries with our Doctor Centric Bank Division. Centric Bank is a Top 10 SBA 7(a) Lender in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007, Pennsylvania-based Centric Bank has financial centers located in Harrisburg, Hershey, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Doylestown, and Devon, loan production offices in Devon and Lancaster, and an Operations and Executive Office campus in Hampden Township, Cumberland County. To learn more about Centric Bank, call 717.657.7727 or visit CentricBank.com. Connect with them on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Centric Financial Corporation is traded over the counter (OTC-Pink) with the ticker symbol CFCX. Contact: Anne Deeter Gallaher Tel. 717.580.4856 [email protected] SOURCE Centric Financial Corporation, Inc. Related Links https://www.centricbank.com Russian Ambassador to India, Nikolay R Kudashev, on Friday said that he does not feel there is a reason to travel to Kashmir as it is an internal matter of India. "I do not feel that there is a reason for me to travel to Kashmir. Your decisions, as far as Jammu and Kashmir are concerned, this is your internal matter belonging to the constitutional space of India," said Kudashev, when asked whether he is planning to visit Kashmir in near future. "Those who are concerned about the situation in Kashmir, those who put in doubt the Indian policies in Kashmir, they could travel if they wish. They could see for themselves. We never put it in doubt," he added. The ambassador made these remarks during a press conference on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to India for Raisina Dialogue 2020. The envoy's remarks come a week after a 15-member delegation of envoys from different countries visited Jammu and Kashmir on a two-day visit to see first hand the efforts being made by the government in the region since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that accorded special status to the region. The group of foreign envoys included those from United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Maldives, Morocco, Fiji, Norway, Philippines, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, and Guyana. When asked about Wednesday's United Nations Security Council (UNSC) closed-door meeting over Kashmir that was called by China on the behest of Pakistan, the envoy said that Russia was never in favor of bringing the issue to the platform as it is strictly bilateral between New Delhi and Islamabad. "We were never in favor of bringing the issue in the UNSC because this is strictly a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan on the basis on Simla and Lahore Declaration," he said. China and Pakistan managed to hold an informal closed-door consultation on Kashmir in the UNSC in New York. However, the meeting ended without an outcome after the overwhelming majority of the UNSC conveyed that the body was not the right forum to discuss the Kashmir issue, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Thursday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Annual Buddha tangka displaying ritual is held in Tashilhunpo Monastery in July 2019. Young Tibetan people from poverty-stricken families in Southwest China's Sichuan Province can attend free Tangka art classes, allowing them to follow their dreams and change their lives. There are three Tangka institutes or bases in Aba county of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan. These institutes offer free courses for poor farming or herding families, the China News Service reported on Wednesday. More young Tibetan people, including those born after 2000, have picked up the art of Tangka painting at these institutes. Their participation in Tangka painting also provides new opportunities for the survival of this ancient art. Tangka, a style of Tibetan art involving painting on embroidery, can be admired by tourists thanks to the thriving development of tourism in Tibet, where over 2,000 Tangka artists can create about 1,000 pieces of Tangka paintings every year, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Tebuge, an inheritor of the Gula Pandita school of Tangka painting, published a textbook on Tangka. The book was reprinted for the eighth time in 2019, said the China News Service. In April 2013, Tebuge founded a small Tangka teaching base and recruited 39 students. Tebuge taught them for free. According to the report, the Tangka courses have three levels by complexity. Zhaxi Lamu, a local-level culture and sport department official, said that painters in the base help students acquire painting skills for free. Most of the students go on to open their own studios or teach Tangka painting in other places. "This benefits not only local employment, but also preserves the traditional culture," he said, according to a report by the Sichuan News Website in 2017. Students are working on Tangka. A painter is drawing a Tangka featuring yaks on a stone. The colors for painting Tangka Sonam Drolma, a Tangka painting student born in 2000s, is at the Teguo Tangka base in Aba county of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest Chinas Sichuan Province on January 13. Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar secretly flew to Athens on Thursday for talks as Greece criticised its exclusion from a UN-backed peace conference in Berlin this weekend. The Berlin conference is the latest international effort to end the nine months of fighting between Haftar's forces based in the east of Libya and the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, according to Al Jazeera. Greece was not invited to take part in Berlin negotiations despite its stated interest and Athens was angered by the Tripoli government signing a maritime and military cooperation deal with regional rival Turkey. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also attend the Berlin summit, and push for maintaining the ongoing ceasefire and getting all foreign powers to withdraw from the conflict in the North African country, according to the State Department. Officials from Russia, Britain, France, China, United Arab Emirates, Turkey as well as several African and Arab countries have also been invited to attend the conference. In a surprise move, Haftar flew to Athens by private plane on Thursday for meetings not previously announced by the Greek government. He was taken to a luxury Athens hotel where he was met by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias for an initial round of talks, according to local TV footage cited by Al Jazeera. Dendias is scheduled to meet Haftar again on Friday at the foreign ministry, where the latter is also expected to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis later in the day. Greece has sought a more active role in Libya after the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli signed a maritime and military cooperation memorandum with Turkey in November seeking more influence in the Mediterranean. The Turkish deal claims much of the Mediterranean for energy exploration, conflicting with rival claims by Greece and Cyprus. Greece expelled the GNA ambassador in protest over the Turkish agreement, and sought to boost links with Haftar. The Greek foreign minister flew to Benghazi to see him last month. The talks in Berlin come as powers step up efforts for a lasting ceasefire, since Haftar's assault on Tripoli in April last year sparked fighting that has killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters, displacing thousands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) According to a source from Ingrid International, which is active in Singapore, China, Vietnam, Japan, and Indonesia in design branding and investment, its Singaporean client is seeking to expand to Vietnam by acquiring a stake in a Vietnamese firm. The client is looking for stake acquisition in wastewater, and is monitoring the situation, said the representative. Elsewhere, another Singaporean company is said to have completed a stake sale in a Vietnamese logistics services provider. These new movements have intensified M&A interest among Singaporean investors in Vietnam, where growth is expected to be robust in 2020, bringing further potential for such transactions. In a move to provide its members with increased access to the Vietnamese market in the future, the Singapore Business Association Vietnam last week held a discussion about M&A trends in Vietnam in 2020 amid growing interest and new possible movements in the market. Yoong Nim Chor, advocate and solicitor at Unilegal LLC, told VIR, More Singaporean investors are looking to expand in and to Vietnam by stake acquisition. Real estate and finance are their traditional areas of interest, with the addition of fintech amid the growing impact of Industry 4.0. Sci-tech is one of the most attractive sectors to international ventures in Vietnam, and the countrys future prospects are expected to be even more promising in 2020 when a number of the governments supporting policies will take effect. Nirukt Sapru, CEO for Vietnam and ASEAN and South Asia Cluster Markets at Standard Chartered Bank, said that Vietnam has strong growth potential for M&A transactions. Vietnam is emerging as an attractive destination for investors looking for high growth, Sapru said. There is substantial interest across sectors, with the majority of transactions focusing on real estate and financial services. According to Sapru, three key factors of M&A growth in Vietnam are strong economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI), and equitisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Vietnams GDP grew by 7.02 per cent in 2019, and is forecast to stay the same in 2020, before falling to 6.8 per cent in 2021. Standard Chartered Bank projected Vietnams GDP to grow at 6.5 per cent on-year for the next five years. Vietnam has other advantages such as the third-largest population in Southeast Asia, a dynamic and young society, increasing affluence and consumer spending, and ease of doing business. Importantly, FDI continues to grow. After recording disbursed FDI of $19.1 billion in 2018, an increase of 9 per cent over 2017, Vietnam saw $20.4 billion in 2019. The manufacturing and processing sector received the most interest from foreign investors, followed by real estate and retail. Looking forward, international financiers are exploring opportunities resulting from SOE equitisation, a course which has been delayed thus far. However, there is a renewed push from the government to accelerate the process. For SOE equitisation, foreign investors may partake either as normal funders during a public auction or as strategic ones. Industry insiders are forecasting strong inbound activity and domestic transactions in key sectors. Experts predicted that M&A activity will be dominated by inbound activity, with Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand expected to remain the major foreign financiers. Real estate will continue to draw a major share of investment interest, and other industries to watch include industrial goods and services and construction and materials. The trend is led by the shifting of foreign manufacturing to Vietnam due to free trade agreements and trade disputes, supported by strong domestic demand amid a growing population and rapid urbanisation, said Sapru. Other opportunities will come from banking and financial institutions, aviation and logistics, pharmaceuticals, and others. Vietnamese banks are in dire need of foreign capital to meet Basel II standards as required by the central bank. For example, Military Bank aims to raise $240 million from the sale of a 7.5 per cent stake to foreign investors. Foreign ownership limits (currently at 30 per cent) are likely to prove a roadblock if kept unchanged. However, there are plans to allow European investors to purchase up to 49 per cent of two local banks, an offer which will be valid for five years after the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement takes effect. Vietnam is on the radar of international investors. There are a number of potential deals in the pipeline including Bamboo Airways proposal to launch an initial public offering in 2020 and FV Hospitals plan to renew its strategic options, according to Standard Chartered Bank. According to statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam wooed $15.5 billion worth of stake acquisitions from foreign investors in 2019 ($2.7 billion from Singapore), up 56.4 per cent on-year, and accounting for 40.7 per cent of the countrys total registered FDI. Directed by Sam Mendes; screenplay by Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns 1917, directed by British filmmaker Sir Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Skyfall), recounts a fictionalized episode set during World War I, loosely inspired by stories told to the director by his grandfather. George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman in 1917 Co-written by Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, the movie concerns two young British soldiers on a mission to halt an attack by a British battalion. That offensive would fall into a German ambush leading to the possible destruction of the unit. While the film graphically shows some of the horrors of trench warfare, it fails to indict those responsible for the carnage and is oblivious to the wars socio-historical context. To put it bluntly, 1917 does not qualify as an anti-war film. In fact, the movie, treating one of the titanic events of modern times, is largely conventional and intellectually shallow. Fully accepting national divisions and enmities, it opens the door to British and other patriotisms. While 1917 is something of a technological tour-de-force, ideologically it represents a significant regression from anti-war films on the subject of World War I such as Lewis Milestones All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Jean Renoirs Grand Illusion (1937) and Stanley Kubricks Paths of Glory (1957), as well as Peter Jacksons 2018 documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old. Mendes movie opens in Northern France on April 6, 1917 and unfolds over a 24-hour period. Two young British lance corporals, Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Will Schofield (George MacKay), receive instructions from General Erinmore (Colin Firth) about a high-risk mission to get a message to a British battalion planning to attack German forces, believed to be in retreat. Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay in 1917 Aerial intelligence has learned that the Germans are not retreating but have only made a tactical withdrawal in order to ensnare their enemy. With communication lines cut, Tom and Will must hand-deliver an urgent message to the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment to call off their planned offensive. Some 1,600 lives are at stake, including that of Toms brother. Passing through British trenches strewn with damaged and war-weary soldiers, many of them boys, the duo cross No Mans Land, reaching abandoned German bunkers. A rat trips a wire, causing the tunnels to collapse, burying Will alive. Rescued by Tom, the pair continue their journey through a hellish landscape of rotting, bloated corpses, blown-up artillery, bombed-out buildings. It is destruction on an almost unimaginable scale and scope. During their perilous expedition, the more cynical Will tells the naive Tom that he traded a combat medal he won for a bottle of wine (Its just a bloody bit of tin). But when tragedy strikes, Will becomes an unstoppable fighting machine. He is warned by a captain (Mark Strong) to make sure there are witnesses, when he delivers the message to halt the attack, because some men just want the fight. In considering 1917 as a whole, it should be noted, first of all, that while Mendes grandfather, the future writer Alfred Hubert Mendes, carried a message through hazardous territory in 1917 during the mutual mass slaughter known as the Battle of Passchendaele (in which hundreds of thousands of British, French, German, Canadian, New Zealand, Australian, Indian, South African and Belgian soldiers died pointlessly), the life-saving character of the mission and the personal element (the desire to save a brother) are entirely invented. The film has a melodramatically manipulative character from the outset. Moreover, the title, 1917, displayed in large typeface in the films advertising campaign, is bombastic and even deceptive. For much of the worlds population, its most politically conscious elements certainly, 1917 is identified primarily with the October Revolution in Russia, the event that, above all, helped bring about the end of the bloody madhouse of the imperialist war. If not for the Russian Revolution and the threat of revolution elsewhere (the German Revolution erupted in November 1918), the various Great Powers would have carried on the death and devastation, resulting in even more catastrophic human suffering. Whether intentionally or not, the titling of the film is an effort to reclaim the year 1917 for the cause of national honor, patriotism and military valor. Leaving the October Revolution aside, the title is disproportionate to the story it tells, which hardly encompasses even the purely military side of the conflict in 1917. The movies principal strength is its remarkable cinematography (Roger Deakins), creating an exhausting two hours of terrifying war imagery. As previously noted, the spectator is overwhelmed by visuals and unimpressed by the historical analysis. While there is sympathy for the British casualties, there is none for the German victims. In one scene, Will and Tom try to minister to a gravely wounded German fighter and pay dearly for their merciful efforts. It is a historical fact that the biggest danger to the British soldiers, in the end, came from their own commanding officers and ruling elite. Jean Gabin in Grand Illusion (1937) The unceasing, tension-filled momentum of the film serves to conceal its essential lack of ideas or criticism. Alonso Duralde at The Wrap noted legitimately that the movie is more successful as a thriller than as a thoughtful examination of war and its horrors; Mendes seems less interested in bigger ideas about the nightmare of battle and its effects on his characters than he is in Hitchcockian audience manipulation. Duralde contrasted 1917 with tales like Paths of Glory or Gallipoli [Peter Weir, 1981] or [Renoirs] La Grande Illusion, which used the conflict as a way to discuss class or military injustice or the last gasp of the European aristocracy. Along those lines, it is worth recalling director Jean Renoirs comments in his autobiography: If a French farmer should find himself dining at the same table as a French financier, those two Frenchmen would have nothing to say to each other, each being unconcerned with the others interests. But if a French farmer meets a Chinese farmer they will find any amount to talk about. This theme of the bringing together of men through their callings and common interests has haunted me all my life and does so still. It is the theme of La Grande Illusion and it is present, more or less, in all my works. Mendes movie never asks who was responsible for one of the most barbaric episodes in world history, a calamity that resulted in some 40 million civilian and military casualties, including an estimated 22 million dead. In fact, 1917 s one political comment on the war comes when a British general utters The only one way this war ends is the last man standing. The claims that the films depiction of numerous atrocities makes it an anti-war work are spurious, as is the case in regard to various contemporary movies on the subjects of the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Lions for Lambs, Mendes own Jarhead, etc.). It is entirely possible to picture the awfulness of such conflictsparticularly as they affect ones own sideand still insist, or imply, that such conflicts are necessary, inevitable, or, once begun, have to be carried through to the end in the national interest. The uncritical, narrowly focused treatment of the immediate facts of the war in 1917 helps plant it firmly in the pro-British establishment camp. George MacKay in 1917 Media accounts suggest that Mendes and Wilson-Cairns, described as a a World War I buff, were unserious in their approach to the deeper, starker meaning of the events depicted in 1917. Indiewire describes Mendesappointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2000 and only recently knighted, and fresh from directing two empty-headed James Bond extravaganzas (Skyfall and Spectre)and Wilson-Cairns spreading maps showing front line locations in April 1917 on the London kitchen table where Mendes perfected Skyfall . Indie wire continues: The writers figured out where the French towns were, then tracedand timedthe treacherous route the two infantrymen would take on foot, throwing in incidents and stories they had each picked up over the years. There is no indication that Mendes and Wilson-Cairns carried out substantive historical research into the processes that made the ghastly situation in 1917 possible, much less consulted critics of war and imperialism. If they had, they might have learned that not everyone conceives of the bloody inferno of World War I as a clash between the good British and the evil Germans, the conception the film leans toward. As the WSWS explained in November 2018, the 1914-18 war was not fought, as the British authorities propagandized, to defend the right of small nations against the depredations of Germany. Nor was it fought for any of the self-serving, lying justifications provided by the other belligerents, Germany, France, Austria, Russia or the US. The relentless blasting of the guns, the senseless mass slaughter in what was later to be falsely labeled the war to end all wars or the war to make the world safe for democracy, was pursued for the sake of markets, profits, resources, colonies and spheres of influence. Mendes epic film has no interest in such matters. When the gauntlet was thrown, Ms Bridget John, Manager of the Avenue Dancers for over thirty years, immediately accepted the challenge of travelling with a group of her dancers to one of the most attractive and beloved capitals in the world, London. In 2018, Bridget visited London to support Krystal Clarke, Manager/Choreographer of the Caribella Dance Companys Inaugural Dance Showcase. Krystal previously danced with the Avenue Dancers as a child, and as an adult served as the groups Business Manager and Shows Coordinator. Bridget promised that she would return with a group of her dancers to partner with the Caribella Dance Company and showcase the talents of the Avenue Dancers and the culture of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In 2020, the Avenue Dancers are working steadfastly to ensure that this is the year they visit the United Kingdom. The cost of travelling to and from and accommodation in London is extremely high, but with the help of monthly fundraisers, the support of corporate entities and the generosity of others, The Avenue Dancers is determined to propel this dream and ensure its fruition. The group anticipates generous public patronage of its fundraising events and welcomes donations through its crowd funding page: (https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/london2020avenuedancers). Should the Avenue Dancers travel to London, they have a packed schedule. Activities planned include sharing the stage at the Caribella Dance Companys Annual Dance Extravaganza on 18th July; visits to and performances at charities and clubs for elderly persons of West Indian Heritage; visit to primary schools where they will perform mini concerts and carry out Soca Dancing workshops with students. The dancers will also spend a day with Afro-Caribbean families and visit High Wycombe and Reading, areas just outside London that have a large Vincentian population. Plans are also being made for them to portray their talents in the form of mini performances in these cities. A courtesy call will also be made to the High Commissioner in London, where the dancers will perform for the members of staff. This opportunity, the Avenues Dancers management recognises as a truly amazing one which, however, can only be exploited with the assistance of the corporate community and generous Vincentians. The race for U.S. Rep. Pete Olsons seat did not take long to escalate into a political free-for-all. Less than two weeks after the Sugar Land Republican announced he would not seek a seventh term, the GOP primary had its first candidate. By the filing deadline four months later, the Republican field contained a bustling mix of 15 conservatives from an array of backgrounds and locations. The two major constants: Every candidate claims impeccable conservative bona fides and each touts steadfast support for President Donald Trump. With little room to waver on either point, the Republicans are trying to stand out from the pack by emphasizing their distinct backgrounds, convincing voters they are best suited to keep the seat in GOP hands and, in some cases, rebuking primary foes for living outside the district. When it's that crowded of a field, you've got to have the resources to cut through the noise, and if you don't have the resources, you have to have something that makes you stand out, said Ben McPhaul, a Houston Republican strategist who is not involved in the primary. It's an incredibly uphill battle for the people that don't have the money or some sort of very unique strategy to grab the attention of voters. Though every major candidate in the primary is conveying public support for Trump, some are doing so more enthusiastically than others. Perhaps the most passionate Trump advocate is Kathaleen Wall, a tech startup investor and GOP donor who spent $6.2 million of her own money running in a different district last cycle and failed to make the primary runoff. More Information Republican candidates Pierce Bush Jon Camarillo Douglas Haggard Aaron Hermes Greg Hill Matt Hinton Dan Mathews Diana Miller Troy Nehls Brandon T. Penko Shandon Phan Bangar Reddy Howard Steele Kathaleen Wall Joe Walz Democratic candidates Sri Preston Kulkarni Nyanza Davis Moore Carmine Petrillo III Derrick A. Reed See More Collapse This time Wall again is spending amply and running TV ads prominently featuring the president. "Kathaleen Wall is the Wall who will help Donald Trump build a wall and protect our countrys sovereignty, a smooth-voiced narrator reads in one recent spot. "Like Donald Trump, Kathaleen Wall is a successful conservative businessperson who wants to make America great again. Not everyone is making Trump a centerpoint of their campaign. Marine veteran Jon Camarillo said Trump is not an essential part of my talking points, because as a leader in Congress I must be able to stand on my own ideas, merits, and vision. Former Brazoria County judge Greg Hill said he supports the president for deregulating the economy, appointing conservative judges and creating jobs, despite disagreeing with some of the presidents tones and tactics and his mannerisms. That is about as far as anyone is willing to go, with Republican primary voters showing little tolerance for candidates who defy Trump. Trump's support among Republican primary voters is anywhere between 85 and 95 percent, depending on which poll you look at, so there just isn't enough margin among non-Trump supporting Republican primary voters, said Texas Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak. You can differ on an issue here or there, but for the most part you need to be supportive. Bush all in Where Trumps shadow may play the biggest role is the candidacy of Pierce Bush, a nonprofit executive whose family famously has clashed with the president. Bushs uncle, Jeb Bush, frequently butted heads with Trump during the 2016 presidential primary, and his grandfather, former president George H.W. Bush, called Trump a blowhard and voted for Hillary Clinton. Pierce Bush is taking the opposite approach in his congressional bid, going all-in for Trump, promising to partner with him on economic policy and slamming congressional Democrats last month for impeaching the president. Like many normal families in this country, mine has their disagreement on politics, Bush said. While we agree on a lot, we do not agree on everything, and thats perfectly fine to have a healthy discussion about important issues. But this election isnt about my family. Despite his professed support for the president, some of Bushs opponents are questioning whether the sentiment is sincere. The same day he filed for Congress, the Daily Caller, a conservative news site, published a story showing a photo of Bush participating in a January 2017 march against Trumps executive order that blocked citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Asked if he still feels the same way about the ban, Bush said he believes the U.S. should be a welcoming nation that can also be focused on our security by vetting people who want to come here. Ultimately, Bush said, I support the president's responsibility to protect our country. Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls, a longtime border hawk, is running a campaign styled in some ways after Trump, making border security a top issue and embracing his own tendency to make blunt or controversial comments that sometimes garner unwanted media attention. In 2017, Nehls made national news and drew more than a few rebukes when he threatened on Facebook to bring disorderly conduct charges against the driver of a truck displaying a profane anti-Trump message on its rear window. That prompted the driver to add a correspondingly profane anti-Nehls sticker to the truck. I think all Texans value straight talk, Nehls said. For far too long weve suffered from smooth-talking politicians who promise the world during election time, only to break those promises once re-elected. Im running for Congress to change that and deliver on my promises like I have as sheriff. Democrats eye GOP primary Democrats, meanwhile, are watching the primary unfold in the hopes that their Republican counterparts continue to warmly embrace Trump. There are four Democrats seeking the District 22 nomination: 2018 nominee Sri Kulkarni, attorney Nyanza Moore, former Pearland councilman Derrick Reed and retired electrician Carmine Petrillo III. Drawn to comfortably elect a Republican, the district saw its narrowest margins yet in 2018, when Olson beat Kulkarni by about five percentage points. Trump won the district by eight points, with 52 percent of the vote. Dallas Jones, a Houston-based Democratic strategist, said the eventual Republican nominee may struggle to moderate their conservative primary message for the general electorate, with many first-time anti-Trump voters expected to turn out. I think that its a dual problem for them, Jones said. They have to be conservative enough to get out of the primary, yet somehow find a way to tone that down for a district that almost turned blue in the last election. Some Republican candidates argue that Democrats run a similar risk of lurching too far to the left. And they say Trumps economic record will play well in a district that still has a natural conservative lean. Mackowiak said the race likely will be close, but he argued that the last cycle presented more favorable conditions for Democrats than 2020 will. If they were going to win that district, the single best time to do it was 2018, given the advantages they had: wind at their back, Trump not in a strong position politically, straight-ticket voting, the Beto (ORourke) wave of new voters. All those things conspired, and none of those effects are going to be in place in 2020. Some of the Republican candidates are talking in explicit terms about their plans to appeal to moderate voters, including Camarillo, who said he plans to vote for Trump like he did in 2016, but also wants to seek support from the presidents critics. In a general election I will speak to both Republicans and Democrats, said Camarillo, who is touting his foreign policy background. My focus on keeping America safe is a bipartisan issue that all residents of CD-22 can get behind. jasper.scherer@chron.com Sir David Attenborough warns of climate 'crisis moment' by David Shukman January 17,2020 | Source: BBC News "The moment of crisis has come" in efforts to tackle climate change, Sir David Attenborough has warned. According to the renowned naturalist and broadcaster, "we have been putting things off for year after year". "As I speak, south east Australia is on fire. Why? Because the temperatures of the Earth are increasing," he said. Sir David's comments came in a BBC News interview to launch a year of special coverage on the subject of climate change. Scientists say climate change is one of several factors behind the Australian fires; others include how forests are managed and natural patterns in the weather. Sir David told me it was "palpable nonsense" for some politicians and commentators to suggest that the Australian fires were nothing to do with the world becoming warmer. "We know perfectly well," he said, that human activity is behind the heating of the planet. He's highlighting the fact that while climate scientists are becoming clearer about the need for a rapid response, the pace of international negotiations is grindingly slow. The most recent talks - in Madrid last month - were branded a disappointment by the UN Secretary-General, the British government and others. Decisions on key issues were put off and several countries including Australia and Brazil were accused of trying to dodge their commitments. "We have to realise that this is not playing games," Sir David said. "This is not just having a nice little debate, arguments and then coming away with a compromise. "This is an urgent problem that has to be solved and, what's more, we know how to do it - that's the paradoxical thing, that we're refusing to take steps that we know have to be taken." 2020 BBC Theme(s): Others. Two Chinese passengers who were in quarantine for fever symptoms upon their arrival in Da Nang this week have been discharged after doctors determined their conditions are not related to a pneumonia outbreak in China. Xiong Tianzuo, 23, who hails from Wuhan in China, arrived at Da Nang International Airport in the namesake central Vietnamese city on Tuesday. The Chinese national was detected with high body temperature by non-contact body temperature meters, which were installed at the airdrome following an order by the health ministrys General Department of Preventive Medicine last week. Along with Xiong, another child from Wuhan was also found with high body temperature at the same time. Xiong and the child were immediately isolated for health checks while passengers who had been seated near the two Chinese nationals on the same flight were also examined. The child was later determined as merely suffering from a heatstroke from the flight and discharged from quarantine. Meanwhile, Xiong had his samples collected and sent to the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa for testing. Test results found that the Chinese condition is not linked to the pneumonia cases in Wuhan City, located in Chinas central province of Hubei, said Nguyen Tien Hong, deputy director of the Da Nang Department of Health. Although this patient comes from Wuhan and was detected with a fever of 38 degrees Celsius [his condition] is not related to acute pneumonia, Hong said. According to Hong, the Chinese patient was discharged from quarantine on Thursday. Dozens have so far been diagnosed with a new pneumonia-like virus in Wuhan. Two people have died from the illness in China as of Friday. The Chinese outbreak of pneumonia appears to be linked to Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan Citys center, where multiple pneumonia patients worked. The market is still cordoned off after being shut down on Jan 1. The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that there could be a wider outbreak, and that it is possible the virus may have limited human-to-human transmission. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Last week, the Texas State Securities Board released its list of 11 top threats to individual investors. Losing money on investments isnt funny. But if you, like me, have a perverse sense of irony, a few of these are worth spending a little time on. The securities board wants to warn us about patterns of fraud. You should share this frequent-flier fraud list with your loved ones, especially your elderly relatives. In fact, elder-targeting is No. 3 on the list, partly because seniors often have more money and partly because criminals take advantage of the loneliness or cognitive decline of their victims. I was pleased to read Nos. 1 and 5 on the list warning about precious metals investing and cryptocurrency because gold and bitcoin in particular form part of Mikes Four Horsemen of Your Personal Financial Apocalypse. More from Taylor: Gold is the train wreck trophy wife of your financial portfolio The securities board isnt saying gold and cryptocurrencies are always bad although I am but they are saying that an unusual number of frauds involve these investment vehicles. So we should watch out. Threats No. 3, 6 and 7 involve oil and gas investments, promissory notes and private placements, respectively. Unlike gold and crypto, there are plenty of reasonable investments involving those three types of assets. The key point from the securities board is to use extra caution with these assets, since bad folks have a pattern of taking advantage of the credulous investors. The board also warns against investments that require self-directed IRAs. I greatly enjoy investing via my own self-directed IRA. But I agree the extra level of complexity, work and due diligence required isnt for everyone, and you should think twice and then a third time before jumping into the deep end of self-directed IRAs. There are much easier ways to make money with investments. More from Taylor: Do it yourself IRAs Finally, lets talk about two of the warnings that sort of tickled my irony bone. The No. 2 threat on the list is purchasing investments from unregistered salespeople. This means someone selling you stocks, bonds, currencies or a private placement and then getting paid for that service without being a licensed securities salesperson. Something that doesnt get talked about enough in Texas is the 2015 Collin County grand jury indictment of Attorney General Ken Paxton for felony securities fraud and selling investments without a license. That was followed by the federal Securities and Exchange Commissions civil enforcement action against Paxton for receiving a commission worth $100,000 for encouraging associates to invest more than $600,000 in a private technology company. The SEC said Paxton claimed in the past that the $100,000 was a gift from the company, not a commission. Paxton claims he attempted to invest $100,000 of his own money in the technology company, but the CEO, during a meeting at a Dairy Queen in the summer of 2011, replied: I cant take your money. God doesnt want me to take your money. You can understand why Paxton and his CEO friend wouldnt want to defy God. Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox You can always check the Texas State Securities Board website for registered representatives, and whether they are licensed or have any black marks on their record. A search of the website would tell you that in 2014, Paxton received a reprimand and was fined $1,000 for unlicensed sales of investments dating from 2004, 2005 and 2012. In other words, he was reprimanded for the No. 2 threat named by the securities board. The 2016 SEC claim was ultimately dismissed. Since 2015, however, the criminal case has gone unresolved. The court venue switched from Collin County, Paxtons home base, to Harris County, and then back to Collin County at the request of Paxtons lawyers. The states appointed special prosecutors invoices for fees were denied by a judge in 2018, possibly ending the prosecution, or maybe just extending it for a few years while new prosecutors get appointed. Selling investments without a license is always bad, as the securities board warns. But its both bad and ironic when a person in Paxtons position is suspected of doing something like this. Hes the chief legal officer of the state. He serves as legal counsel to all state boards, including the Texas State Securities Board. As a Beaumont Enterprise editorial argued in December, It is virtually unheard of for an attorney general to face something as serious as felony charges. On the rare occasions that it has happened, the case was either resolved or the attorney general resigned while it played out. Nevertheless, Paxton was re-elected in November 2018 with 50.6 percent of the vote. Theres one other ironic warning from the Texas State Securities Board. The example of this threat also comes from Collin County. Warning No. 8: Beware of financial experts. A radio host and author of the book Robbed With a Pen Again: A Guide to Protecting Your Assets named Bob Guess was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2018. The securities board first brought a complaint against Guess in 2016. Does it get any more ironic than the guy writing a book with that title was himself a fraud? Alanis Morrissette herself couldnt write a better lyric. As the securities boards news release says: Its easy to believe that someone who dispenses financial advice on the radio, online, or in books has special expertise that can put you on the safe and secure path to wealth. Not bloody likely. Well said, securities board, well said. I shouldnt joke too much. Fraud is a serious problem, not at all hilarious to victims. Alleged victims of the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and convicted fraudster Bob Guess are not laughing. And always remember Texas State Securities Board warning No. 8: Never take investing advice from a finance columnist. Michael Taylor is a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News and author of The Financial Rules for New College Graduates. michael@michaelthesmartmoney.com | twitter.com/michael_taylor Tempers flared up this week at a Connecticut mall over portion sizes, leading at least two diners to physically attack an employee at a Japanese eatery. The food fracas took place at the Westfield Trumbull Mall at around 4.30pm on Wednesday and was caught on video, which has been making its rounds on social media. The video shows a man and a woman hurling trays and napkins and other items at staff working at Sarku Japan restaurant situated in the mall food court. Food fight! A group of diners at Sarku Japan at the Westfield Trumbull Mall in Connecticut were involved in a brawl with staff after complaining of portion sizes Hilary Nolasco-Delobre, 18, believed to be pictured in jeans and boots, complained about her order, leading to a physical altercation, according to police Video recorded at the scene shows the woman and her companions hurling napkins and treys at employees, before Nolasco-Delobre jumps over the counter (pictured) The woman, dressed in light-colored skinny jeans tucked into black boots, walks over to the other side of the counter and proceeds to throw additional things at the workers. With the help of her companions, she then scales the service counter and lunges at one of the workers, delivering several ferocious blows before a mall security guard intervenes, A second video that has been uploaded to Twitter shows a uniformed security guard pinning down one of the suspects laying on the floor. According to the Trumbull Police Department, the altercation was sparked by a complaint from Sarku diner Hilary Nolasco-Delobre, 18, of Bridgeport, who was not satisfied with the size of the portion she had received. The 18-year-old is seen pummeling one of the workers in the restaurant's service area behind the counter A mall security guard arrives at the scene and steps in to stop the assault Another video shows a uniformed security guard pinning down one of the members of the group that accompanied Nolasco-Delobre A verbal dispute ensued, resulting in Nolasco-Delobre jumping over the counter and attacking the employee, according to police. As fists were flying, police say Davon Myles 26, and other members of the group began throwing food and napkin containers around, causing $1,100 in damage and lost revenue to the eatery. The employee allegedly targeted by Nolasco-Delobre suffered minor injuries during the melee. Both Nolasco-Delobre and Myles were charged with second-degree breach of peace and released on a promise to appear. Nolasco-Delobre is scheduled to appear in court on January 24, and Myles is due before a judge on January 22. The pair told News 12 Connecticut that not is all as it seems from the video, and that Sarku employees threw food and containers at them first. Born out of the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption agitation which intended to root out corruption by bringing in the Jan Lokpal Bill, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is once again in ballot battle of Delhi Assembly elections. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party, having won 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly in 2015, is eyeing to retain the power in the state. But, after being five years of power, the party has lost some of its prominent members who have either joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the Congress or just distanced themselves from politics. Take a look at some of the influential members who were either ousted or left the Aam Aadmi Party by choice: Shazia Ilmi One of the co-founders of the AAP, Shazia Ilmi left the party in May 2014, saying it has deviated from its core values. She joined the BJP later. Yogendra Yadav One of the co-founders of the AAP, Yogendra Yadav was expelled from the party in March 2015 on the grounds of anti-party activities amid high drama. He later founded a separate party Swaraj India with a mission to usher in probity, transparency and accountability in electoral politics. Prashant Bhushan The senior Supreme Court lawyer joined AAP in 2012 with a hope that this party would be free from corruption. However, he was sacked from the party along with Yadav on the grounds of anti-party activities in March 2015. Ashutosh Every journey has an end. My association with AAP which was beautiful/revolutionary has also an end.I have resigned from the PARTY/requested PAC to accept the same. It is purely from a very very personal reason.Thanks to party/all of them who supported me Throughout.Thanks. ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) August 15, 2018 A journalist by profession, Ashutosh joined the AAP after leaving a high-level post in a news channel. Considered to be one of the most credible aides of Kejriwal, Ashutosh resigned from the party in August 2018. The journalist-turned-politician said that the resignation was because of a very very personal reason. But, there were rumors that the move was due to the fact that Kejriwal had denied him a seat in the Rajya Sabha. Kapil Mishra AAPs Political Affairs Committee (PAC) suspended Kapil Mishra in May 2017 after he had gone public to allege corruption charges against CM Kejriwal and Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain. He even claimed himself as an eyewitness to the Rs 2-crore scam between both of them. Anjali Damania A senior party leader from Mumbai Anjali Damania quit the party in the wake of reports that Arvind Kejriwal allegedly tried to poach Congress MLAs to form the government in Delhi. Kumar Vishwas The poet-turned-politician Kumar Vishwas distanced himself from the party citing differences with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. Alka Lamba The time has come to say "Good Bye" to #AAP and to resign from the primary membership of the Party. The past 6years journey was a great learning for me. Thanks to all. #JaiHind #ChandniChowk #MLA #AlkaLamba #Delhi Alka Lamba - (@LambaAlka) September 6, 2019 Disgruntled AAP MLA Alka Lamba resigned from the party in September. She urged Kejriwal to "accept her resignation" on Twitter, sneering that AAP was now "Khas Aadmi Party". She joined the Congress later. Members of the Teachers Union of Ireland are to strike on Tuesday, February 4. The union represents 19,000 members in second-level schools, colleges of further education, as well as Institutes of Technology/Technological universities. A British prosecutor launched a fresh attempt on Thursday to confiscate tens of millions of pounds stolen from an oil-producing state in Nigeria by its former governor, who was convicted of laundering his loot in Britain. James Ibori, who was governor of Delta State from 1999 to 2007, pleaded guilty at Londons Southwark Crown Court in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering. He received a 13-year jail sentence. The case was a rare example of a prominent Nigerian politician being punished for his part in the endemic corruption that has blighted Africas most populous country for decades. Since then, several other Nigerian former state governors have been convicted in their own country. Having served half of his sentence in pre- and post-trial detention, Ibori was released from jail in December 2016 and is now back in Nigeria. In 2013, a first attempt was made in Britain to confiscate his assets, but it was aborted after three weeks of hearings because of unresolved legal disputes. Then the confiscation process was stalled for several years while Ibori and several of his associates, who had been convicted for their roles in laundering his money, appealed unsuccessfully against their convictions. Restarting the process at Southwark on Thursday, prosecution counsel Jonathan Kinnear began listing assets that Britain seeks to confiscate from Ibori and return to Nigerian public funds. The total value of the known proceeds of his crimes came to 117 million pounds ($153 million), he said. However, only a portion of that sum is likely to be recoverable. During his time in office, Ibori, 57, amassed a portfolio of luxury properties in Nigeria, London, Washington, Houston and Johannesburg. He traveled all over the world, staying in the most expensive hotels and spending lavishly in luxury stores. His lifestyle during those years was a far cry from his modest beginnings in life. As a young man, he had worked as a shop assistant at a branch of the home improvements chain Wickes in London, where he was caught trying to steal from the store and was convicted of theft. Britains National Crime Agency estimates that around 1 billion pounds in dirty money moves into or through the United Kingdom every year. Ibori is one of the only ultimate beneficiaries of such practices to have been convicted. The case is expected to last around four weeks. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Film Forums latest series, Black Women: Trailblazing African American Performers & Images, 1920-2001, opening Friday, is an event. Not just something to mark on your calendar, but an event to line up for. Among the women featured here are Josephine Baker, Evelyn Preer, Pam Grier, Diahann Carroll and Janet Jackson. Its rare to see a film series of this size devoted to black actresses, many of whom like Theresa Harris and Francine Everett were underappreciated in their lifetimes, relegated to uncredited roles as maids and servants. (Though, interestingly, the Museum of Modern Art is about to host an eclectic series of its own, Its All in Me: Black Heroines, from Feb. 20-March 5.) With over 60 films and special events, including tributes to Ella Fitzgerald and the archivist Pearl Bowser, the Film Forum series has many themes. Maybe too many. But what is clear is that each work helps tell the history of black women in film and how they operated both subversively and overtly to tell their stories, even when scripts failed to flesh out their characters. To put the series in perspective, I spoke recently with the film historian Donald Bogle, author of books like Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films, who programmed this wide-ranging series with Ina Archer, an experimental filmmaker and media preservationist. While things are changing, black actresses and other actresses of color still struggle in a white, male-dominated industry (just look at this years Oscar nominees), fighting for some control over their roles. We do have more women working now, more women in general, but these problems continue, Bogle said in a recent phone interview. Of all the stereotypes, the mammy figure is the one that America cherishes the most. ISRO's GSAT-30 satellite successfully launched its first space mission of 2020, aboard Ariane rocket India oi-Madhuri Adnal Bengaluru, Jan 17: India's 'high power' communication satellite GSAT-30, aimed at providing high-quality television, telecommunications and broadcasting services, was successfully launched onboard Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in the early hours of Friday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. Blasting off from the Ariane Launch Complex in Kourou, a French territory located in the northeastern coast of South America at 2:35 am IST, European space consortium Arianespace's Ariane 5 vehicle-injected GSAT-30 into the orbit in a flawless flight lasting about 38 minutes. Explained: Why ISRO chose Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu as the second spaceport "#GSAT30 successfully separated from the upper stage of #Ariane5 #VA251," ISRO said in a tweet. Confirming the successful launch, Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel tweeted, "A strong start to 2020 as #Ariane5 successfully deploys its two satellite passengers - EUTELSAT KONNECT and GSAT-30 - into geostationary transfer orbit! I appreciate the trust of the two customers on this mission: @Eutelsat_SA and @ISRO #VA251 #MissiontoSuccess." NEWS AT 3 PM, JAN 17th, 2020 The 3,357-kg satellite, which was deployed from the lower passenger position of Ariane-5 launch vehicle (VA 251) into to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), is configured on ISRO's enhanced I-3K Bus structure to provide communication services from Geostationary orbit in C and Ku bands. The satellite derives its heritage from ISRO's earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series and is equipped with 12 C and 12 Ku band transponders. GSAT-30 is to serve as a replacement to the "ageing" INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage, ISRO has said, adding the satellite provides Indian mainland and islands coverage in Ku-band and extended coverage in C-band covering Gulf countries, a large number of Asian countries and Australia. With a mission life of 15 years, GSAT-30 is an operational communication satellite for DTH, television uplink and VSAT services. The Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO has said the communication payload of GSAT-30 is specifically designed and optimised to maximise the number of transponders on the spacecraft bus. According to the space agency, the spacecraft would be extensively used for supporting VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) network, television uplinking and teleport services, digital satellite news gathering (DSNG), DTH television services, cellular backhaul connectivity and many such applications. One Ku-band beacon downlink signal is transmitted for ground-tracking purpose, it added. ISRO, Xiaomi in advanced talks over NaVIC chipsets For its initial flight of 2020, Arianespace on its website said, it would orbit EUTELSAT KONNECT, a telecommunication satellite for the operator Eutelsat, along with GSAT-30, using an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Centre. EUTELSAT KONNECT - which was produced by Thales Alenia Space for Eutelsat - was riding in the upper position of Ariane 5's payload arrangement, and was released first in the flight sequence at 27 minutes following liftoff. Since the launch of India's APPLE experimental satellite on Ariane Flight L03 in 1981, Arianespace has orbited 24 satellites, including GSAT-30, for the Indian space agency. Just Mercy Director - Destin Daniel Cretton Cast - Michael B Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, OShea Jackson Jr, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall As with any other genre, there are more bad courtroom dramas in the world than good ones. This skewed ratio is probably why we have such an inaccurate perception of films that belong to this category. We expect melodrama from legal thrillers; sudden twists accompanied by rousing speeches and sweeping music. But its sort of understandable why filmmakers, more often than not, fall into these traps. There are only so many ways a director can dramatise an environment as uncinematic as the inside of a courtroom, or the process of rifling through paperwork. Watch the Just Mercy trailer here Director Destin Daniel Cretton decides to do away with the tropes altogether. Like any good true-crime drama think the Paradise Lost trilogy or Ava DuVernays When They See Us he relies almost exclusively on the power of the fact-based story he is telling. There are no grand speeches in Just Mercy, nor is the plot particularly surprising. And the only manipulation youre likely to witness wont be from the background music, but corrupt cops. What you can expect, however, is an inelegant but solidly crafted drama about the cracks in the justice system that allow innocent men like Walter McMillian to be arrested, tried, and convicted based on unethically gathered and shoddily presented evidence. Fans of the genre, especially after the phenomenal success of the Serial podcast, dramas such as The Night Of, and documentary series like Making a Murderer, would no doubt be more familiar with the intricacies of the American legal system than with the realities of our own. Just Mercy counts on you to be aware of the racial context of Walters story, and the historical relevance of the town it takes place in. Monroeville, Alabama will forever be synonymous with tales of social injustice, thanks to Harper Lees seminal novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. And it was in the same town in 1987 that Walter McMillian, a black man with no criminal record and an airtight alibi, was arrested for the brutal murder of a white teenager. But Cretton doesnt dwell on the violence, nor is he concerned with highlighting the victims tragedy in any way. Even McMillian isnt the subject of his film. He focuses instead on Bryan Stevenson, the young black lawyer who defends him years later, and despite intense societal backlash, sustained humiliation and constant obstacles, attempts to get McMillian exonerated. This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Michael B. Jordan, left, and Jamie Foxx in a scene from Just Mercy. (AP) Stevenson, played by an earnest Michael B Jordan, was up against a community that simply refused to believe that McMillian could, in fact, be innocent. Anybody who made such a suggestion was called an enemy of the people. We see several scenes of Stevenson being railroaded by the system, mocked by the police, and ill-treated by white men of authority, and yet we never quite get a sense of why hes doing what hes doing. Theres a vague conversation he has early on in the film with his mother, about doing right by his community. Its also not lost on him that, as a black man, he could very easily have been the one behind the bars, and not on the outside looking in. Cretton bookends the film with scenes of the police pulling McMillian and Stevenson over. To the racist cops eye, there is no difference between a manual labourer and a Harvard grad if theyre both black. It reminded me of Chris Rocks silent protests on social media; the legendary comedian posts selfies every time he gets pulled over. Just Mercy is an angry film, but not in the ways that youd expect. It wants to rally people not against those who do not look like them, but against a system thats been rigged against them for centuries. This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Michael B. Jordan, left, and Brie Larson in a scene from Just Mercy. (AP) But as relaxed as the films pace is, I wouldve liked Cretton to have spent more time on the minutiae of the job. It wouldnt have made too much difference to the plot, but it would certainly have nudged the film away from coming across like a Wikipedia summary, which it sometimes does, thanks to on-the-nose exposition and stock supporting characters. Its obvious that the film is speaking directly to an audience predisposed to liking it, regardless of its flaws and a glaring lack of mystery we know that McMillian is innocent, of that there is no doubt. And Jamie Foxxs stunningly internalised performance goes a long way in earning the audiences affections. Since conventional marketing techniques havent worked for Just Mercy, perhaps positive word of mouth will. Heres a tease for the Marvel crowd: This is the only time youll see Killmonger and Captain Marvel being directed by the guy whos going to make Shang-Chi. Follow @htshowbiz for more The author tweets @RohanNaahar When I was a child, my parents moved often. After years of losing friends, changing schools and missing grandma, I said that when I grew up, I would never move again. As it turned out I fell in love with a sailor who was stationed on the USS Norton Sound and spent the next 20 years of my life moving. It was a wise decision. Those were some of the most challenging and happiest years of my life. With recent troop deployments there seem to be a new appreciation for the military and the sacrifices that they make. This is long overdue. Less is known about the families of those who serve. The military mans first priority is serving his country. The military wifes first priority is keeping the home and family together while he serves. Today with so many women serving, this becomes the priority of husbands and extended families as well. I learned first-hand that a young wife of a serviceman must grow up quickly. She is often hundreds of miles away from family. When the transmission in the car goes out, her husband will be at sea. When Johnny breaks his leg sliding in to third he will be on operations. When she feels that first labor pain, he will be deployed to she knows not where because it is classified. In my days as a Navy wife there were no computers so we had to rely on letters to keep us both going. Sometimes there was no mail and sometimes letters would come two or three at a time. Sometimes phone calls were possible if the ship came into a port. Today with all the technology it is much easier to remain in contact when it is allowed. Starting over is a way of life for military families. They have little say in where they will be transferred and how long they will be there. In my own case we were transferred from New London, Connecticut to San Diego so the Chief could attended a training school. We drove across country with two toddlers thinking we would probably remain in California. However, we repeated the same trip back across the United States 10 months later to our new duty station in Newport, Rhode Island. Most military families try to become part of a new community as if their stay would be permanent. They dont live their lives for when we retire we will do this or that. They plant trees that they will never see mature and roses that they will never see bloom. They paint rooms and make repairs in houses they dont own. They take part in community activities and support each other. Along with the pride of life in the military life, there are problems. There are some who cannot take the separations, relocations, and uncertainty about the future. The families are not immune to social ills. Just like in civilian society, there is divorce, depression and problems with children who cannot adjust to the lifestyle. The efforts of the average servicemen and women who go on about the business of keeping the peace are often unnoticed until there is news of troop deployments headed for places that can put them in harms way. While most Americans are supportive, there are those who like to call our patriotism flag waving. So be it. America could use a lot more flag wavers. We must remember those who gave their lives for their country, our veterans and those who still keep the watch and are ready to put their lives on the line for us at any moment. We must also remember the families they love. Jean Spillman , a retired teacher and past guest columnist for the Corpus Christi Caller Times lives in Montgomery. Jean welcomes responses at jcspillman@consolidated.net . Ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours has been deteriorating since 2016. New Delhi: New Delhi on Thursday confirmed it would invite Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Governmment meeting that will be hosted by India later this year, possibly in October or November. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an eight-member Central Asian Grouping that comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. India and Pakistan became SCO members in 2017. India will be hosting the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting later this year. The meeting is held annually at the Prime Ministers level and it discusses the SCOs programme of multilateral economic cooperation as per the established practice and procedure within the SCO. All eight members of SCO as well as four observers states and other international dialogue partners will be invited, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Thursday. But there is speculation that the Pakistan PM may choose to send a senior minister instead if he is not keen on attending the meeting in view of the dismal state of Indo-Pakistan ties. Sources said it was too early to say whether the Pakistan PM would attend or not, given that there was still about nine months to go for the SCO meeting in a situation wherein even a week is a long time in Indo-Pak ties. New Delhi has always maintained it will continue to stand by its multilateral commitments. Ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours has been deteriorating since 2016. (CNN) Microsoft is making an ambitious commitment to eliminate its carbon footprint by pledging to go "carbon negative" in the next decade and investing $1 billion to help develop clean technologies. The tech giant said Thursday it will seek to remove more carbon than it emits by 2030. "While the world will need to reach net zero, those of us who can afford to move faster and go further should do so," Microsoft's president Brad Smith said in a statement. The company's plan involves cutting its carbon emissions projected to be around 16 million metric tons this year by more than half, both in its own operations and across its supply chain. "We will fund this in part by expanding our internal carbon fee," added Smith, referring to the $15-per-metric-ton tax that all of Microsoft's business units pay based on their emissions. The fee, which was instituted in 2012 and nearly doubled last year, will be broadened to include indirect emissions from activities such as manufacturing, business travel and the electricity customers may use on its products. Measures to reduce its direct emissions include buying enough renewable energy to offset 100% of its electricity consumption by 2025 and using only electric vehicles on its global campuses by 2030. It will also set up a $1 billion "climate innovation fund" to develop carbon reduction technologies. By 2050, Microsoft said it "will remove from the environment all the carbon the company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in 1975." Microsoft's pledge comes as tech companies face mounting pressure from shareholders and even their own employees to do more to address the threat of climate change. Amazon last year said it would buy and deploy 100,000 electric delivery vans by 2024, as part of a broader climate pledge that involves taking its carbon emissions to net zero by 2040. The next day, Amazon employees staged a previously planned walkout over the company's perceived inaction on climate change. The group applauded Amazon's climate pledge at the time, but said it was still not enough. Apple has set a long-term goal of making all its products only from recycled or renewable materials. The iPhone maker said all its stores, data centers and corporate offices now run on 100% clean energy. But Apple has also pushed back at some climate change proposals from shareholders. Other big players are being called on by their workers to do more. In a letter to Google CFO Ruth Porat published in November and signed by more than 1,100 employees, staffers demanded that the company commit to zero emissions by 2030, not sign contracts enabling the extraction of fossil fuels and stop funding climate change-denying think tanks, lobbyists or politicians. Google has been carbon neutral since 2007, partly thanks to offset programs that involve purchasing carbon credits. The company's latest environmental report says it put 1.2 million metric tons of carbon emissions into the environment in 2018. Smith admitted that it "won't be easy" for Microsoft to go carbon negative by 2030. "This is a bold bet a moonshot for Microsoft," he said. "And it will need to become a moonshot for the world." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Microsoft says it will go 'carbon negative' by 2030." Despites having won nine international awards for his tea, Nguyen Cao Son still wants to work harder to preserve the Vietnamese tea culture and tell the world about the tradition. Bui Quynh Hoa reports Tea artisan Nguyen Cao Son wants more world tea lovers know about Vietnamese tea and its culture. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Cao Son Can you tell us about yourself? Im Nguyen Cao Son and I'm 30 years old. People call me a "tea artisan" but I'd prefer it if they just called me a tea lover. I was chosen to promote Vietnamese tea at the Heritage House on 87 Ma May Street in Hanoi in 2014. The Hanoi Department of Culture and Tourism worked with me to introduce Vietnams tea culture on Korea Day in 2017. A year later, I was chosen to represent Vietnamese tea products in Japan and France. The same year, I took part in the AVPAs first international tea contest, titled the Teas of the World in Paris, and I won three medals. Last year, I was awarded six medals at the event. The AVPA (Agence pour la Valorisation des Produits Agricoles) contest is quite unique. It is the only one in Europe to offer a sensory assessment of tea, where an excellent taste profile is remarkable rather than consensual. What brought you to the tea making craft? I was born in Vi Xuyen, a flower village in the northern province of Nam Dinh. My passion for tea started when I was a little boy in the village where I lived with my paternal grandfather, who was famous nationwide for his planting techniques and his art of making scented green tea. My childhood days were spent playing around him, watching him making tea, and sometimes I would also help him do minor things. He used to make lotus-scented tea in the summer and chrysanthemum tea in the autumn. Time has flied by, but my passion for the tea has become stronger and stronger. Vietnamese people believe that tea has many philosophical values and is a source of spiritual purity. Drinking tea is considered a normal yet noble activity. What do you believe about its philosophy and culture? As early as the 13th century, Vietnamese people believed that tea had many philosophical values, and was a source of spiritual purity. It linked people together and expressed hospitality. Now you can drink tea everywhere with friends and family, either at small street vendors or a cafe. Its also trendy for youngsters to hang out and drink street tea. Tea is also the essential beverage for all types of rituals and celebrations. In a traditional Vietnamese wedding, the bride and groom serve tea to their parents in front of their friends and family. Their parents also take turns to give their blessing and advice about marriage to the couple. Most Vietnamese people use tea as an offering to worship their ancestors during important ceremonies such as Tet (Lunar New Year), when spring is in the air. What constitutes good tea? What are your secrets? I have only two secrets: quality ingredients and the correct tea-making process. I travelled to many places across Vietnam before I finally choose Shan Tuyet tea in the northern mountainous region, which is home to the oldest tea trees in Viet Nam, and situated at an altitude of nearly 1,400m. The trees there are over 300 years old. Their trunks and buds are very big, which makes them different from other types of tea. Due to the special climate, local people dont have to use any pesticides because insects cant develop. In the winter, theres little sunlight and fog covers the entire region. The buds are also covered by fog and they're cold to touch. Shan Tuyet features a rich aroma, strong taste and greenish tinge. It leaves a bittersweet taste on the tongue, and then a persistent sweetness in the throat. Shan Tuyet tea varieties have all three factors including aroma, strong taste and green water. How about the process to absorb the scent of the lotus? How many kinds of lotus tea do you make? Its said that the lotus symbolises beauty, purity and elegance. Vietnamese lotus tea is a kind of green tea that is imbued with the scent of the lotus. I have two kinds of lotus tea, one is instant lotus tea which is put directly inside lotus flowers to absorb the scent, but the other is a more complicated process. For the first tea, workers have to row out to the lake in the middle of the night to collect nectar of the lotus flowers are at their fullest. Then they carefully open up flower, fill it with green tea, tie the petals together tightly with string, and allow them to rest overnight. In the early morning, the workers row back out into the lakes to retrieve the tea. They also collect dew that forms on the lotus leaves to brew the tea. The second tea involves a more complicated and meticulous process. The first step is to select the flowers. Hanoi's West Lake lotus flowers, which have up to 100 petals and rich fragrance, are the best for a pleasant fragrance. The flowers must be picked early in the morning, between 4am and 5am, when they are still filled with fragrance. Lotus stamen, which are used to scent the tea, must be gathered straight after the flowers are cut. Gathering lotus stamen is also an art, as they must be handled with extreme care. Dried tea must be rinsed in water to get rid of the dust, then dried again before it is mixed with the stamen. One kilogram of tea needs 1.4kg of lotus flowers, which means 1,200 lotus flowers are used in the process. Does Vietnamese tea have potential in international markets? Along with the strong development of Vietnamese tea, it has also won the hearts of demanding foreign customers in Japan, Canada, France and Germany. At present, due to the complicated and labour-intensive process, one kilogramme of Vietnamese lotus tea costs about 1,000 euros. Its sold at a high price but the supply doesnt meet the demand. Have you found a comparison between life and the way you make tea? Spring is approaching, so lets enjoy a cup of tea, enjoy happiness, and forget about all our sadness and worries. Lets live our lives the same way we make tea: boil your zeal, evaporate your worries, dilute your sadness, purify your mistakes, and enjoy your happiness. VNS Tea in Vietnamese culture In Vietnam, tea is said to appear in almost every social activity: from weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and ritual ceremonies. Ha Giang's ancient tea trees get top recognition and protection Ha Giang Provinces signature shan tuyet tea trees have been recognised as part of the Ancient Tree Heritage of Vietnam. LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) Lafayette police have arrested two murder suspects who are accused of stabbing a 57-year-old man in an Alabama Street home. The Tippecanoe County Coroner found 54 stab wounds on Charles Sandefur's body. Police arrested Thomas Loveless, 28, and Matthew Mace, 29, Friday on a preliminary charge of murder. According to Lt. Matt Gard, detectives said Sandefur's debit card was used at the Village Pantry at 1008 South 4th Street on Dec. 9. That is just days before a landlord found Sandefur's body. That purchase led police to Loveless and Mace Wednesday, who are also facing a preliminary fraud charge for the purchase. Police were called to an apartment located at 619 Alabama Street on Dec. 13. Officers found a man dead of stab wounds. The coroner said Sandefer appeared to have been dead for several weeks. Lt. Gard was unable to say Friday when the original crime happened. Lt. Gard could not comment further on the charges. Fianna Fail has said it will increase the headcount in An Garda Siochana by 2,000 at a cost of 47 million per year. At a briefing to launch the partys drug and crime policies in Dublin, the partys justice spokesman Jim OCallaghan said that, should the party be in a position to form the next Government, a number of heightened measures would be employed in order to deal with the expansion of gangland crime across the country. The recent days have seen a spate of violent crimes including the horrific murder and dismemberment of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods in Drogheda and the killing of Cameron Blair in Cork. Mr OCallaghan said that his party would reform the law so that gangland figures could be dealt with in a similar manner to that in which the Provisional IRA were tackled. He also said that harsher legislation would see a belief on the part of a Garda chief superintendent that someone was involved in a gangland crime be rendered admissible as evidence in criminal trials. Mr OCallaghan, the partys TD for Dublin Bay South, said that the current Government has done virtually nothing to confront the threat of gangland crime. Such crime has become a pillar of the election campaign, with Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar spending his morning in Drogheda in order to reassure the public there that the gangland feud which has erupted in the town in recent months will be met head-on with increased Garda resources. Mr OCallaghan, who began the press conference with an expression of condolences to the family of Cameron Blair, the 20-year-old Cork student stabbed to death the previous night, said that his party would raise the number of gardai from 14,000 to 16,000. We need to confront gangland criminality. We know from how we dealt with these issues in Limerick that they can be defeated if there is a concerted effort on the part of the political system to fund the gardai, he said. He added he would be prepared to march in solidarity on January 25 with the people of Drogheda at a protest to be held against the feud which has enveloped the town. With regard to the killing of Keane, Mr OCallaghan expressed his belief that the horrendous murder would represent a turning point with regard to the savage feud in the north-east. The Harris County District Attorneys Office on Thursday retracted a statement a spokesman made about defense attorneys in Antonio Armstrong, Jr.s capital murder trial, days after those lawyers threatened legal action. Dane Schiller wrote the statement to be included in a Jan. 7 article in the Houston Chronicle, responding to allegations that prosecutors lost 22 pieces of evidence during Armstrongs original trial in April 2019. Armstrongs attorney, Rick DeToto, alleged that prosecutors were responsible and were violating his clients constitutional right to a fair trial. The district attorneys office contended no one was at fault, citing Judge Kelli Johnsons same assessment of the situation the day attorneys realized the evidence was missing. Schiller told the paper that defense lawyers are once again lying to the public and potential jurors about the facts in the murders of Armstrongs parents. DeToto retained his own attorney, who sent a letter Monday to the district attorneys office. While it is understandable that the Harris County District Attorneys Office would be overly sensitive about losing evidence in a high-profile case, however, for the District Attorneys office to issue a written statement to the media calling my clients liars, is beyond the pale and will not stand, said Dean Blumrosen, DeTotos lawyer. The district attorneys office sent the Chronicle a retraction of the statement on Thursday. The Harris County District Attorneys Office should not have characterized the Armstrong defense lawyers as lying in that email message, the statement reads. Armstrongs re-trial is scheduled to begin in late March. A jury deadlocked in 2019 over a verdict in the summer 2016 shooting deaths of his parents. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) stated here on Friday that it had nothing to do with a a document circulating on social media titled 'new constitution' with a picture of Sangh supremo Mohan Bhagwat on it. The Sangh has full faith in the Constitution of India and it had not proposed any new constitution, it said. It was an attempt to defame the organization, said RSS leader Shreedhar Gadge here. A 15-page PDF document with the title "Naya Bhartiya Sanvidhan" and Bhagwat's photo on the cover was being circulated on social media, he said. "No such book has been published by the RSS or the RSS chief. That PDF contains condemnable content, the Sangh has nothing to do with it," he said. "The Sangh has full faith in the Constitution of India and it has not proposed any such new constitution," he added. The RSS had lodged a complaint over this with the Kotwali Police Station here, he said. "This is being done to defame the RSS and RSS chief. We do not know who is behind this, so we have filed a police complaint," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Massachusetts couple said 'fight or flight' kicked in when they spotted a car wanted in the abduction of a young girl who was snatched at knife-point after getting off a school bus. Amanda Disley and her husband, Benny Correa, appeared on Good Morning America to discuss the harrowing moment they helped save 11-year-old Charlotte Moccia on Wednesday. The couple was driving home from dinner with their five children when they recognized a blue Honda Civic as the vehicle Springfield authorities identified in the kidnapping. Charlotte was walking home from Hampden Charter School of Science on Wednesday around 1.26pm when a knife-wielding man allegedly grabbed the girl and forced her into into his vehicle. The abduction occurred shortly after she walked off her school bus. 'We just had a gut feeling it was the car,' Disley said during the interview. Correa, who was behind the wheel, began following the Honda Civic after the couple double-checked a photo of the suspect's vehicle released by the Massachusetts State Police. Meanwhile, Disley called 911 and spoke with a dispatcher as the suspect sped through the streets and ran red lights. Benny Correa (left) and Amanda Disley (right) revealed that it was a 'fight or flight' instinct when they chose to pursue a vehicle wanted in the kidnapping of a young girl 'It was just an instinct of fight or flight that kicked in,' Disley said. Correra was forced to chase behind the suspected car, even running a red light, in an effort to get close enough to read the license plate. The possibility of saving Charlotte resonated with Correa, who took extra caution to pursue the car safely with their children in tow. Correa said: 'I cut off people and I got up close to the car. I had to do what I had to do, being a father.' 'We would never put our kids in danger,' Disley added, noting that her husband slowed down and looked both ways before running the red light. Charlotte Moccia (pictured) says her abductor threatened her with a knife, saying that he would kill her if she screamed for help or tried to escape During the encounter, Disley said they saw 'someone getting pushed down under the backseat' of the suspects car as it passed a street lamp. The heroic family was eventually forced to give up the chase after they ran out of gas. Luckily, the couple had read the suspect's license plate to a dispatcher and authorities had already leaped into action. Charlotte was discovered by authorities in the backseat of 24-year-old Miguel Rodriguez's vehicle after it was stopped at a construction site along the Massachusetts Turnpike. Correa (left): 'I cut off people and I got up close to the car. I had to do what I had to do, being a father' Rodriguez was sitting in the driver's seat where a knife was visible in the pocket of the door. He was apprehended by authorities at gunpoint. Charlotte would later tell authorities that Rodriguez threatened her with the knife, saying that he would kill her if she tried to escape or screamed for help. She was taken to a local hospital for a precautionary evaluation. Springfield Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood said: 'It was an absolute life and death situation for this little girl.' Rodriguez was taken into police custody for several charges, including assault by means of a deadly weapon and aggravated kidnapping. He was denied bail on Thursday. The girl was forced into a car by a man who was walking behind her. Miguel Rodriguez (pictured) was arrested and is pictured in Springfield District Court Thursday Records show an open case from August 24, 2018 against Rodriguez for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. 'We're eternally grateful to the motorists that paid attention to the Amber Alert and called and reported seeing the vehicle,' said Lt. Charles Murray. 'There were a number of those calls and they made this rescue possible,' he added. Charlotte's parents, Carl and Denise Moccia, released a statement thanking several involved parties. 'In particular we'd like to thank Amanda Disley and her husband for their vigilance and courage for putting themselves in harm's way to make sure she wasn't out of their sight,' they wrote. 'The outpouring of love and support, near and far, is overwhelming. We are eternally grateful.' The heart-racing moment the couple drove 100mph to keep up with Rodriguez after the abduction was captured on cell phone footage and shared on Facebook. Disley is heard on the phone telling a 911 dispatcher 'they're trying to lose me' and 'he's blowing through red lights' as they frantically try not to lose the car containing Charlotte Moccia. Amanda Disley and her husband Bobby are heard on the phone with a 911 dispatcher Wednesday Charlotte Moccia, 11, was abducted on Wednesday at 1.26pm shortly after getting off her school bus in Springfield, Massachusetts Disley is heard yelling 'they're trying to lose me' as they keep up with Miguel Rodriguez, 24. They decided to pursue the blue Honda Civic around 6.21pm and are heard yelling 'he's blowing through red lights' over the phone 'Sorry for dramaticness but when I saw the person in the back seat being pushed down all we could think about is her and the danger she was in,' Disley captioned the video of the chase. 'Wasnt even sure if it was the right car just the gut feeling my husband and i had by the rims and the funny movements in the car.' In the minute-and-a-half-long clip the woman tells the dispatcher: 'They're turning down streets trying to avoid me. They're trying to lose me, they're trying to ditch me!' At one point they report the suspect vehicle turning into a liquor store and Correa helpfully gives street names. 'There's a kidnapper!' they yell. 'A Puerto Rican dude, it's him, it's him!' Cops said the man who forced her into the car was either white or Hispanic, and hours later Disley spotted them. Authorities issued an Amber Alert Wednesday evening. Despite the pursuing vehicle traveling at close to 100 mph, the husband stays determined not to lose sight of the abductor's car. 'That's that f**king car, I know it is!' Correa yells. Springfield Police had earlier identified the car as a 2001 to 2005 model with two doors, dark tinted windows, distinctive after-market rims, a moonroof, and no front plate. The Springfield girl (left and right) was abducted shortly after she got off her school bus and was forced into a car around 1.26pm on Wednesday Authorities described the suspects and the vehicle in an Amber Alert. State Police stopped that vehicle on the Massachusetts turnpike Wednesday night and found Charlotte inside 'safe and sound' As the chase continues Disley is clearly feeling the pressure for police to come to the rescue. The time stamp on her phone shows the video was capture around 6.21pm and the chase occurs in the dark. 'He's blowing through red lights,' shouts three times, repeatedly. The video ends with Disley telling the dispatcher that they're passing Kennedy Middle School. State Police said Charlotte was 'safe and sound' and does not have any apparent injuries. Disley said she 'wasnt even sure if it was the right car just the gut feeling my husband and I had by the rims and the funny movements in the car' Massachusetts State Police eventually caught the suspects on the Turnpike in Charlton. More than a dozen police officers responded. Pictured is Rodriguez being arraigned in Springfield District Court Records show an open case from August 24, 2018 against Rodriguez for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 After the pursuit, Disley said she'd never seen so many police in her life and praised authorities for their great work. She was on the verge of tears in a Facebook Live post after she heard the suspects has been caught. But has also since come under fire for what she says is a fake GoFundMe page set up by others to profit from her actions. Disley also highlighted the work of the dispatcher. 'Shout to Jackie the 911 dispatcher she was amazing through my husband and I screaming she calmed us down and handled business she was in point,' Disley posted on Facebook. 'She even called us later to let us know the plates we gave caught him. Thank you Jackie.' The dispatcher Jacqueline Gerry posted on Facebook: 'Wasn't sure what my purpose was when I came to work today ... now I know. Amanda Disley, you and your husband were incredible and from our dispatch family to you ... THANK YOU!' Cops had earlier said there was a female suspect driving the car but only one person was inside when the child was rescued. They're investigating whether there ever was a second suspect. 'The SPD Detective Bureau under the direction of Captain Trent Duda are not looking for any additional suspects in connection with Wednesdays abduction,' Ryan Walsh of the Springfield Police said. 'The one and only suspect, Miguel Rodriguez, is in custody.' Springfield Police Department pleaded for help from the public in locating the child Charlotte was last seen walking on Lafayette Street in Springfield before her rescue Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 17, 2020) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged convicted criminal Boaz Manor, his business associate, and two businesses, CG Blockchain Inc. and BCT Inc. SEZC, with raising over $30 million from hundreds of investors in a fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO). According to the SEC's complaint, between August 2017 and September 2018, the defendants marketed and sold digital asset securities in a purported effort to develop technologies for hedge funds and other investors in digital assets. As alleged, Manor, a resident of Toronto, Canada, darkened his hair, grew a beard, and used aliases to hide his identity and conceal the fact that he had served a year in prison after pleading guilty to criminal charges arising from the collapse of a large Canadian hedge fund. According to the complaint, Manor portrayed his New Jersey-based associate Edith Pardo as the owner of the businesses, and presented himself as an employee of hers named "Shaun MacDonald." Manor allegedly admitted to certain investors that he concealed his identity because its disclosure would result in "the company being destroyed." The complaint alleges that the defendants claimed to have 20 hedge funds testing technology to record transactions on a distributed ledger or blockchain. In reality, the defendants had only sent a prototype to a dozen funds, and none of the funds used it or paid for it. "Learning about the identity and background of the individual or individuals behind a venture is one of the first things we tell investors to do before trusting anyone with their money," said Joseph G. Sansone, Chief of the SEC's Market Abuse Unit. "As alleged in our complaint, Manor's brazen scheme to conceal his identity and criminal history deprived investors of essential information and allowed defendants to take over $30 million from investors' pockets." In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey today announced criminal charges against Manor, a dual citizen of Canada and Israel, and Pardo, an Israeli citizen. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in New Jersey, charges Manor and Pardo with violating the antifraud and securities registration provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus interest, penalties, and injunctive relief. The SEC also seeks orders barring Manor and Pardo from acting as officers or directors of public companies and from participating in future securities offerings. The SEC's investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Tracy Sivitz, Jordan Baker, and Sandeep Satwalekar of the SEC's New York Regional Office and by Ann Marie Preissler and Simona Suh of the SEC Enforcement Division's Market Abuse Unit. The case has been supervised by Lara Shalov Mehraban of the New York Office and by Mr. Sansone. The SEC's litigation will be led by Ms. Sivitz, Ms. Preissler, Mr. Satwalekar, and Ms. Suh. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Ontario Securities Commission, the Israel Securities Authority, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and the Bank of Lithuania Supervision Service. Matt Kilcoyne is Head Of Communications at the Adam Smith Institute. Westminster is obsessed with the High Street. For many, theyre the embodiment of the soul of the community. Their faded glory, following the rise of out-of-town complexes and now online shopping, strikes a symbolic blow to their local community. While it would be neither possible nor desirable to shut down the supermarkets or close off the internet, we can do something to return life to where we live. Little-known red tape contained in the National Planning Policy Framework has prevented high streets, and retail more broadly, from adapting to the modern age. To fix the problem of shop closures and loss of community life in our town centres, we need to totally rethink town planning. For years in my hometown of Wrexham which thanks to the newly elected Sarah Atherton is a proud Conservative seat now I would wander down the high street, witnessing shops shutting down. I watched as people no longer make the drive into town, and instead just nip into the supermarket complexes on the outskirts. The Council acted as if they could create an atmosphere with public art and pot plants, but in reality there just werent the people there to sustain the shops down the old shopping streets. Truth is, the town centre just isnt where people work anymore, and its been decades since they lived there. Governments of all stripes have failed to grasp the problem. Think about heading to the high street for your average Brit: driving through traffic, finding a place to park, walking to the shop, looking for what you want, dealing with other customers and the weather, and sometimes getting cash out because they dont accept card. If youre buying online, you dont have to do any of those. Its often cheaper too because of the economies of scale offered by online services, the lack of rent they have to pay without physical stores, and the fact they dont have to send goods back and forth to their shops before getting them to you. Time after time, politicians of all stripes at all levels have thrown good money after bad at pet projects at local levels promising to boost footfall. This has been coupled with renewed demands for business rate reform, which would largely benefit landlords rather than retailers. There have also been calls to tax online businesses, forgetting that this is just increasing peoples cost of living. Central government demands grand plans from the local level that have to last decades. While companies and shops react in real time to millions of purchases by customers, councils react to diktat from above and electoral cycles that dont easily match up. Plans are based on evidence gathered around a year or two before publication, and local authorities are in constant political flux with a third of the council being reelected on three out of every four years. A ten-year plan is liable to be at odds with the policy direction of a new administration within a year or two of its adoption, or sometimes even before its adoption. Thats before you even think about the impact of national elections and you have to, because we have a one-size-fits-all national planning framework that actually ends up suiting next to no-one. A lack of central control can actually be a good thing when it comes to local planning. I know, that seems utterly counter-intuitive and I know itll irk a few councillor readers but Im sorry, it is true and weve done the research. The Adam Smith Institutes latest paper, High Street Heist, authored by town planner Thomas Walker, looks at best practice at home and abroad. In the UK, Walker analyses high street planning in Milton Keynes, Stone, and Aylesbury. All three are Conservative seats but only one, Aylesbury, has got it right. To keep the other two long-term, Tories will need to learn the lessons from the latter. Aylesbury has been creative with the definition of a town centre after its local plan for 2013-2033 was rejected in 2014 (it remains un-adopted). What has followed is the adoption of a strategy to maximise the space available for commercial development. Shops are allowed throughout the town, rather than being arbitrarily restricted to a single high street. It has also meant that shops, cafes, recreational spaces, and community hubs can all set up around houses as they spring up, so organic communities are again being created where people live and work. Retail is supported not through subsidy, but because its what consumers want and where they want it. Make it easier to have people living above and on our streets, to change commercial buildings to office space and back again too, and well have a vibrant economy that meets the demands we place on it as consumers and citizens. If this model was rolled out across the country we could break the yolk of big landlords and make ourselves a nation of cafe owners and shopkeepers, running businesses that people actually want to visit. Whose streets?, the socialists ask on their unending marches. Our streets should be the reply. Owned by the many millions of us. Vibrant and alive, rather than left to decay. Its time to remove the red tape thats strangling Britains high streets and hand them back to this nation of shopkeepers. A pedigree Angus heifer imported by Michael O'Leary nearly a quarter of a century ago is continuing to deliver a valuable legacy for Irish breeders. HFE Intent was imported from Canada in the mid-1990s by the Ryanair boss. O'Leary has a keen interest in breeding quality Angus, but he was unlikely to have visualised the long-term contibution his investment would make to Irish herds. His Gigginstown herd in Westmeath has become the focus for many Irish breeders searching for quality breeding lines. John Appelbe, a former president of the Irish Angus Society, is one of many who speaks highly of what the HFE Intent genes have contributed. His 13-month-old Carrigroe R Dakota - bred in his herd at Carrigroe, Clonakilty, Co Cork -became the highest price Angus heifer for 2019, when sold at 5,700, the latest in the lengthening list of quality progeny of the Dakota cow family, decendants of the Canadian import. Carrigroe R Dakota was judged Champion Heifer at the Angus Society elite show and sale at Carrick-on-Shannon last month before topping the heifer sale and being knocked down to a north Tipperary breeder. Expand Close John Appelbe (Exhibitor) with Overall Female Champion Carrigroe R Dakota sold for 5700to become the highest price Angus Heifer of 2019, Sinead Conroy, Beatrice Appelbe, Shelia Cronin (presenting the Mary Smith memorial cup), Michael Cronin (Judge), Anthony Flatherty (Show Sponsors Connolly Redmills), Oliver Flanagan (Ring steward), Padraig O'Connor (Irish Angus President), John Appelbe (Exhibitor) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Appelbe (Exhibitor) with Overall Female Champion Carrigroe R Dakota sold for 5700to become the highest price Angus Heifer of 2019, Sinead Conroy, Beatrice Appelbe, Shelia Cronin (presenting the Mary Smith memorial cup), Michael Cronin (Judge), Anthony Flatherty (Show Sponsors Connolly Redmills), Oliver Flanagan (Ring steward), Padraig O'Connor (Irish Angus President), John Appelbe (Exhibitor) "She was a nice one that ticked all of the boxes. I knew before the sale that there was a lot of interest in her, but some of them didn't think that she would make as much," said John. Performance figures In the show programme he described her as a "special heifer", combining "a blend of true Irish Angus style, excellent pedigree and tremendous performance figures". With a Terminal Index of 108 and Replacement Index 209, she was the kind of heifer that any breeder would want to take home. She was in the top 1pc for the breed in this country under most of the traits. Her sire, Rathosheen Hugo, has bred stock that have won all the main Irish Angus shows and her dam, Carrigroe Lady Tinge, comes from an 18-month old heifer purchased from the Gigginstown herd "at a reasonable price". "Over the last decade they have done very well for me. Her great-grandmother had the second highest terminal and replacement index and she bred a daughter that was higher," said John. The Carrigroe herd, one of the largest in this country, has several generations of the bloodline in the herd, breeding a fine record of show champions and price leaders. In 2016, a reserve champion heifer sold for 8,300 and the following year, 4,750 was paid for a Carrigroe-bred heifer, the top female Angus price for the year. WASHINGTON Jay Sekulow, who will lead President Trumps impeachment defense team with Pat A. Cipollone, is one of Mr. Trumps longest-serving personal lawyers, an achievement in itself as the legal teams revolving door spins wildly. Mr. Sekulow, 63, coordinates the work of eight lawyers from a cooperative working space a few blocks from the White House, under the name Constitutional Litigation and Advocacy Group. He is a conservative media personality with deep ties to the evangelical community, a critical part of Mr. Trumps base. But Mr. Sekulow does not possess extensive experience in the proceedings that Mr. Trump will face in the Senate. Jay is not a criminal lawyer, and hes not even a checks-and-balances constitutional lawyer, said Paul Rosenzweig, who was senior counsel to Ken Starr for the Whitewater investigation during the Clinton administration. But hes been at it for two years, so maybe hes got more experience in defending this president than anybody. One man's gym used an unconventional method to push him to continue his workout when it literally locked him inside the facility as he squeezed in a late-night sweat session. Dan Hill was swimming laps at a 24 Hour Fitness in Sandy, Utah, around midnight on Jan. 12 when employees at the supposed 24-hour facility locked up shop, allowing the oblivious gym-goer to continue his workout all by his lonesome. Hill said he slowly began to realize what had happened after getting out of the pool to discover a completely empty gym. Baffled by the apparent employee error, the stranded customer walked around the gym to try and find a way out but only discovered an emergency exit that was armed with alarms, he explained to KTVX. Hill decided to call the Sandy Police Department for assistance, concerned that authorities would mistakenly believe he was breaking in if he tripped the security system. "I called dispatch and the guy pauses for like 10 seconds and says, 'You're where?'" Hill told the station. "And I said, 'I'm in 24 Hour Fitness, and there's an alarm system here and I don't want to get busted for breaking and entering.'" RELATED: Follow these easy steps to break out of your workout rut! Once he knew help was on the way, Hill started having fun with his unusual circumstance, taking a series of empty gym selfies and sharing them on Facebook. His post has since been shared more than 13,000 times and racked up over 33,000 reactions. "I am literally locked inside 24 hour fitness right now," he wrote. "They closed the doors and went home while I was swimming my laps in the pool. Doesn't the name suggests [sic] that they stay open 24 hours?" "I called my wife, she said find a comfortable place to sleep," he added. "LOL." Deputies arrived to rescue Hill after he had spent more than an hour alone in the gym. He later took to Facebook to share a photo with himself and his saviors, captioning it, "Free at last! Free at last! Thanks to three nice cops I am free at last." Story continues Reflecting on his ordeal, Hill described the incident as comical and compared his situation to the movie "Home Alone." "I just thought it was kinda funny at the start," he told KTVX. "You know, it was kinda like Home Alone. Like, 'Oh my gosh. I have this gym to myself.'" The gym, however, found the situation mildly less funny and promptly issued an apology, explaining it recently changed hours at certain locations from open all day and night to open Monday to Sunday from 4 a.m. to midnight. "On behalf of 24 Hour Fitness, we apologize to Mr. Hill and the unfortunate experience he had in the 24 Hour Fitness Sandy club, 10365 South 1300 East, when it closed Saturday evening," the company said in a statement. "We made the decision recently to close select clubs in the overnight hours of 12:00 to 4:00 a.m. based upon low usage, among other factors. In doing so, we have been helping members locate to nearby clubs that are open during the overnight hours. We clearly did not do a good job of our closing procedures for this club on Saturday night and will reinforce our club procedures so that this incident doesnt occur in the future. We continue to be committed to providing our members and guests with the best possible fitness experience at a great value." Hill later took to Facebook to clarify that he still loves 24 Hour Fitness and "felt bad" about any poor publicity he may have caused the franchise. The self-described "smart alec" also proposed what he believes might be a "workable" solution for his future nighttime workouts a giant red arrow pointing into the gym's pool that reads, "I'm here." One imagines that when Robert Oppenheimer looked at the first successful atomic bomb test, it was with the same concern and implacability that George Lucas had looking at Baby Yoda. Now I am become Death, Creator of Puppets. Jon Favreau posted a shakey photo of Lucas meeting the Child on Twitter Thursday night, although whether George found the puppet as heartbreaking as Werner Herzog did is not known. Also unknown is the context in which this photo was taken. One can see director chairs in the background, behind the epic meeting. And I think theres a starship window behind that? The foreground of the photo is almost as enigmatic as the background. Lucas and the BB look at each other; the viewer is denied entry to whatever secrets theyre sharing in that moment. What prompted George Lucas to visit the set of The Mandalorian season 2? (If thats even where the photo was taken.) Lucas has been ambivalent at best about Disneys tinkering with his brain babies. In 2015, he said selling Star Wars to Disney was like giving his IP to white slavers. And at the opening of Disneylands Star Wars: Galaxys Edge, Lucas looked like he was only there because Bob Iger was holding his family hostage. Heres hoping a friendship with Baby Yoda is Georges first step to healing. Related Knowledge is power. Knowledge is also the basis for good policy-making. Thats why Ohio should create a centralized criminal-sentencing database: Such data would help the states judges in enforcing our laws, and the Ohio General Assembly in writing them, base decisions on facts, not suppositions. The Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission, as well as state Supreme Court Justice Michael P. Donnelly and Judge Ray Headen, of the Ohio Court of Appeals (8th District), both Greater Clevelanders, are among those calling for such a database. The database would track all criminal sentences meted out by Ohios courts. That would help bring fairness, transparency and uniformity to Ohios judicial and penal systems. (These are precisely the kind of data that Cuyahoga Countys Common Pleas judges have shown no interesting in tracking in the past because they dont want to be held accountable.) Justice Donnelly and Judge Headen, citing research by Policy Matters Ohio, recently observed in a cleveland.com op ed that Ohio prisons held roughly 50,440 people as of 2017: That was roughly the population of Ohios most densely populated city, Lakewood at an average cost of $67.84 per inmate per day. (Thats roughly $25,000 per inmate per year.) For this fiscal year, which ends June 30, Ohios budget, which Gov. Mike DeWine signed last summer, earmarks $1.9 billion for the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which runs Ohios prisons. (That amount was an increase of more than 3 percent over the previous year. Meanwhile, though the Consumer Price Index rose only 2.3 percent and the prison systems inmate count, 48,858 in November, is less than it was.) The Criminal Sentencing Commission, in recommending a year ago the creation of the criminal-sentencing database, made this crucial point. The database would not only help the Ohio General Assembly in specifying appropriate criminal penalties, and help judges in meting them out, it would also help Ohios public safety forces in fashioning and mobilizing crime-fighting strategies. We would be remiss, however, in not noting, as the sentencing commission did, that Ohios county courts do not preserve such data in a uniform way, thus posing a major obstacle and likely cost challenges to implementing the database. But logistical hurdles and cost concerns should not impede such a vitally important project. Ohioans expect and deserve courts and prisons that not only aim at justice but also do justice. The creation of a statewide criminal sentencing database would help assure that. About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization. Have something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions about our editorial board or comments on this editorial to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com. * Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Follow option at the top of the comments, & look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. MUMBAI: Jalees Ansari, a doctor by profession and convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case who was out on parole, has gone missing from his home in Mumbai. According to reports, Jalees Ansari, who is also known as Dr Bomb for his alleged expertise in bomb-making, was staying at his Mumbai residence after being released on 21-day parole. However, he mysteriously disappeared on Thursday morning following which his family members lodged a ''missing'' complaint at the Agripada Police Station. In their complaint, one of Ansari's four sons Zaid told the police that his father was missing since Thursday morning. The Mumbai Police then launched a manhunt to trace Jalees Ansari, who is wanted in over 50 bomb blast cases all over the country. The Mumbai Police have also deputed several teams to locate him. Ansari has been serving a life term and was recently released from the Ajmer Central Prison in Rajasthan. Live TV During the parole period, Ansari was directed to visit the Agripada Police Station to mark his attendance every day. Over 250 people died while 713 others were injured after a series of bomb blasts rocked Mumbai City on March 12, 1993. But as the years passed, the hours got harder to keep. He cut back to 80 hours a week, eventually to 50. He felt the work in his knees and his back and his mind. He trimmed the shops hours. By the end, one barista, Mat Smith, who had been with him since the beginning, staffed the counter. Russia will deliver the five S-400 air defence systems ordered by India under a $5.4-billion deal by 2025 and the two sides are creating a comprehensive system of payments insulated from US sanctions, Russian diplomats said on Friday. At a briefing at the Russian embassy, ambassador Nikolay Kudashev described New Delhis actions in Jammu and Kashmir as an internal matter, and said the Kashmir issue should be handled bilaterally by India and Pakistan instead of being taken up at the UN Security Council. Roman Babushkin, the deputy chief of mission, said production of the S-400 systems for India has started. We are expecting the deliveries to be completed by 2025, he said. Indias armed forces will soon receive the first batch of 5,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles made in India, and the two sides are close to signing a contract for 200 Kamov Ka-226 helicopters, under which 60 will be supplied by Russia and the rest made in India, Babushkin added. As reported by HT, India last year made the first payment of $850 million for the S-400 systems through a special mechanism aimed at averting sanctions under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) of the US. A senior US State Department official said on January 8 that India wont receive a blanket waiver for the S-400 deal signed in 2018. Under CAATSA, countries making purchases worth more than $15 million from Russias state-owned defence firm could be subject to sanctions, though the US president has the authority to issue a waiver. Kudashev described the system created by Russia and India to protect deals from US sanctions as a work in progress. The sanctions triggered by payments have complicated trade and investment, he said. [The two sides] are developing inter-bank cooperation, and enhancing and strengthening the position of national currencies in their trade and investment cooperation. They are developing and testing the means of payments that are an alternative to the SWIFT system, which became one of the instruments for sanctions, he said. The two sides are considering other ways to clear the way for growing cooperation in many spheres, be it military, energy and space, he added. Asked about Chinas move to discuss the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council, Kudashev said: Weve never been in favour of bringing this issue into the UN agenda because, in our take, this is strictly a bilateral matter for India and Pakistan to discuss on the basis of the Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration. This is our continuous position and its well known. Replying to another question on whether he wished to visit Kashmir to assess the ground situation, Kudashev said he hadnt joined other envoys on a recent trip to the region as he hadnt been invited. Quite frankly, I do not feel there is a reason for me to travel [to Kashmir]. Your decisions, as far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, this is your internal matter, belonging to the constitutional space of India, he said. Kudashev echoed Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrovs criticism of the US-backed concept of the Indo-Pacific, saying it was divisive and omitted China and Russia. He acknowledged Indias position on the Indo-Pacific wasnt aimed at containing anybody. I would say quite frankly that we expressed to India, time and again, our concern about the American strategies [and] the Quad. As far as I understand, our concerns are taken into consideration and our dialogue on these issues is continuing, he said. Kudashev also said external affairs minister S Jaishankar will visit Russia from March 22-23 to attend a meeting of the Russia-Indian-China trilateral. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Obaahemaa Nana Ago, queenmother of Benaho a farming community in the Prestea Huni-valley Constituency of the Western Region has commended the Member of Parliament for the area, Lawyer Barbara Oteng-Gyasi for honouring most of the promises made in the run-up to the 2016 parliamentary elections. The queenmother described the legislator as a woman who has displayed qualities of motherhood, selfless leadership and commitment to development thereby bringing honour to the constituency since assuming office as the MP. Obaahemaa Nana Ango made these remarks when the MP visited Benaho as part of her new year "Thank You Tour" over the weekend. She stated, I told my people to put their trust in you because you are a woman and you will not neglect us when you get to parliament, truely you have played a key role in bringing development to most communities and the constituency as a whole, you deserve four more years". According to the queenmother, Mrs. Barbara Oteng-Gyasi has initiated and facilitated intervention projects in various sectors which seeks to improve the living standards of residents especially women and to ensure the stability, progress and long-term development of the constituency. Key amongst them included Obaapa Micro Loan Scheme which falls under her foundation Wassa Hemaa which is tailored at empowering women within the constituency by extending small loans and other basic financial assistance to women that do not have access to capital. She applauded the MP who also doubles as Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture for taking time off her busy schedules to interact with Benaho community and assured the MP of their support whenever the need arises. She, however, appealed to the legislator to give the necessary support to make sure the construction of a KG block for Benaho community sees the light of day. On her part, the MP, Mrs. Oteng-Gyasi indicated that the input of individuals into Ghanas growth was important and that she would continue to prioritize the needs of her constituents especially those in rural communities. She donated street lights to help improve security and two engine spraying machines to assist farmers to fight pesticides to improve crop production. She, therefore seized the opportunity to urge the residents to rally behind her and President Akufo-Addo to develop the Constituency. Source: Daniel Kaku HBO's Watchmen was one of the most critically-acclaimed shows of 2019, but the cable network confirmed that a second season is not happening. During HBO's panel at the TCA Winter Tour on Thursday, HBO programming president Casey Bloys said another season likely won't happen because creator Damon Lindelof is not interested in another season. Lindelof, 46, who also created HBO's The Leftovers, recently told USA Today that he has no interest in a second season, but he has given HBO his 'blessing' to continue the series without him if they would choose to do so. No second season: HBO's Watchmen was one of the most critically-acclaimed shows of 2019, but the cable network confirmed that a second season is not happening No Lindelof: During HBO's panel at the TCA Winter Tour on Thursday, HBO programming president Casey Bloys said another season likely won't happen because creator Damon Lindelof is not interested in another season But Bloys revealed at the TCA Winter Tour in Pasadena that, 'It would be hard to imagine doing it without Damon involved in some way.' Still, Bloys praised Lindelof's work on the show, stating he, 'brilliantly took this graphic novel and just kind of broke it open and created a whole new world.' Bloys added that if Lindelof ever had the inclination to make another season of Watchmen, he'd be interested. Bloys: But Bloys (above) revealed at the TCA Winter Tour in Pasadena that, 'It would be hard to imagine doing it without Damon involved in some way' 'It's really in Damons thinking about what he wants to do. If there's an idea that excited him about another season, another installment, maybe like a Fargo, True Detective (anthology) take on it, or if he wants to do something different altogether,' he said. 'Were very proud of Watchmen, but what Im most interested in what Damon wants to do,' Bloys said. Watchmen is set 34 years after the events of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' iconic Watchmen comics, showing what this world from the comics would look like in 2019. Setting: Watchmen is set 34 years after the events of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' iconic Watchmen comics, showing what this world from the comics would look like in 2019. The show was centered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where police officers cover their faces to protect themselves from criminals, and where a vast conspiracy is afoot. Regina King stars as Angela Abar, a small business owner who has a secret life as a cop known as Sister Night, who learns shocking secrets about her family. The show was named the TV Program of the Year by the American Film Institute and King won Best Actress in a Drama Series at the Critics Choice Awards, while her co-star Jean Smart, who played FBI agent Laurie Blake (a character from the comics), won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Critics Choice Awards. Regina as Angela: Regina King stars as Angela Abar, a small business owner who has a secret life as a cop known as Sister Night, who learns shocking secrets about her family Winner Jean: Jean Smart, who played FBI agent Laurie Blake (a character from the comics), won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Critics Choice Awards Watchmen is also nominated for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series at the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards. The show's writers were also nominated for Best Drama Series and Best New Series for the Writers Guild of America Awards. Two of the show's directors, Nicole Kassell and Stephen Williams, were nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series for the Director's Guild Awards. The first-ever Global Refugee Forum drew 3,000 participants from across the world to Geneva from 16-18 December. It aimed to reboot responses for the millions uprooted by wars and persecution and to support the communities that host them. Now is a moment to look back at the wide-ranging and substantial commitments made at the Forum to improve the lives of 25.9 million refugees, together with their hosts, most of whom are in developing nations. Some 840 pledges have been made, and they continue to come in a month after the event wrapped up at the Palais des Nations. Participants also shared more than 400 examples of good practices that show how the Global Compact on Refugees is already making a difference in the lives of refugee and host communities Participants made 100 pledges in support of inclusive national policies. States and others pledged, for example, to support policies for refugees living outside camps, strengthened asylum systems, refugees access to work and financial services, and the inclusion of refugees in national and local development plans and national systems for education and health. More than half of the worlds refugees are children. Above 140 pledges focused on expanding access to quality education for refugees and their hosts. Commitments ranged from early childhood, primary, and secondary education to tertiary, technical, and vocational education. While away from their homes, refugees want to work. Over 100 pledges addressed jobs and livelihoods. These included commitments towards job creation, work in digital services, microfinance, and womens economic empowerment. There were also pledges to support infrastructural services, including health, water, sanitation, and hygiene, connectivity, and shelter. At a time of deepening concern at the climate crisis, over 40 States and other stakeholders committed to support green energy and conservation efforts in areas hosting large numbers of refugees. Thirty entities signed up to UNHCRs Clean Energy Challenge to achieve access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all refugee settlements and nearby host communities by 2030. Some 160 pledges focused on achieving lasting solutions. A small number of host countries pledged to integrate specific groups of refugees. Several countries of origin pledged to create conditions for refugees to return in the longer term. They announced efforts to resolve conflicts, promote the rule of law and build peace. Many States and other participants also pledged to use their political and financial resources to address the root causes of displacement. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi makes closing remarks at the first Global Refugee Forum. UNHCR/Andrew McConnell In keeping with the Compacts call for a Three-Year Strategy on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways, there were also more than 100 commitments to expand third-country solutions, such as resettlement, private or community sponsorship, labour mobility schemes, and scholarships for refugees. Complementing the pledges of policy change, new programmes, and technical support, over 250 pledges contained a financial commitment. These commitments will support countries in both responding to refugee situations and implementing inclusive policies. As this support is translated into action on the ground in the coming years, refugees will no longer be resigned to living in states of limbo and dependent on humanitarian aid. They will instead be able to live with dignity, rights, and a sense of purpose and hope. The Forum drew four heads of state, the UN Secretary-General, business leaders and representatives of international relief and development organizations among others. Seventy refugees themselves attended and their contribution energized and inspired the gathering. Building further on its ground-breaking work over the last few years, the World Bank Group announced a new funding and financing window of US$2.2 billion for refugees and host communities. They also announced a window of US$2.5 billion to boost the private sector and create jobs in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence. The Inter-American Development Bank similarly announced financing of US$1 billion. And the OECD INCAF adopted the Common Position on Financing for Refugee Situations, setting out principles for addressing humanitarian assistance, development, and peace interventions in refugee contexts. Additional pledges of financial support from States and others came to over US$2.3 billion, including more than US$250 million from the private sector, underlining its growing role in mobilizing vital resources to support millions of refugees worldwide. Businesses committed to bringing not only financial resources, but also technology, new business models, expertise, and investments to refugee responses. There were announcements of 15,000 job opportunities for refugees, more than 125,000 hours of pro bono legal services per year, and support for education and training, womens economic empowerment, connectivity, business development services, innovative financing, and Islamic philanthropy. Many pledges also recognized the importance of protection for individuals with diverse specific needs. They included commitments to address sexual violence, empower women and girls, address disability, and include refugees in decisions that affect them. The Forum was a key milestone in implementing the Global Compact on Refugees, a framework for more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing affirmed by the UN General Assembly in late 2018. The international community made ground-breaking commitments at the forum. Now these commitments must be rapidly translated into concrete outcomes for the future. NEW DELHI: Ahead of President Donald Trump's speculated India visit next month, a security team responsible for his security paid a visit to the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra, reports said on Friday. According to reports, the forward US team comprising about 20-25 security officials, arrived at the world-famous monument of love for inspection, triggering speculations that Trump is indeed visiting the country in February. The advance team arrived in Agra on a special flight and went back in the evening after visiting the Taj Mahal. The forward US team interacted with local officials and sought details about the venue, security forces deployment, cameras placement, public movement and details of the last visit of VVIPs to the monument. All this comes in the wake of reports that Trump is considering visiting India next month. This would be Trump's first visit to the world`s largest democracy since he took office three years ago, sources with knowledge of the matter had said on Tuesday. Live TV Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking to build close ties with Washington, had previously invited Trump to attend India`s annual Republic Day parade later this month, but the US officials said it would clash with the president`s State of the Union address. "There has been an open invitation for him to visit, both sides are working out the dates," one of the sources said. Another source said Trump could come in the second half of February and that he may visit a second city besides the national capital Delhi. India and the United States have built close political and security ties, but in recent years trade frictions have come to the fore. Trump has frequently named India as one of the countries with the highest tariffs in the world and withdrawn a key trade concession for that reason. The two sides have been trying to work out a new and limited trade pact on lowering tariffs, but these negotiations have run into problems over broader issues of data privacy and controls over e-commerce. WILTON MANORS, Fla., Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Later this month Art Gallery 21 and the City of Wilton Manors will welcome a new exhibit, "Speaking Volumes", curated by 6 Hands Collaborative. The third exhibit in the 6 Hands Collaborative Project Series, the exhibit will showcase artwork made with, about, or inspired by books. It will kick off with a grand opening on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 7 p.m. at Art Gallery 21 (600 NE 21st Ct., Wilton Manors, Florida). "Books are brought to life by ideas, words, and machines, and continue to survive and take on new life in an increasingly digital world," 6 Hands Collaborative says in their description of the exhibit. "In 'Speaking Volumes' you will see how artists can breathe new life into works of literature by transforming them into works of art." The exhibit, which will run from January 18, 2020 through February 8, 2020, will feature curated book art as well as a variety of community workshops. On Saturday, January 25, 2020, Debora Gregg will host a workshop on making miniature leather book necklaces. The following Friday, January 31, 2020, Andrea Huffman will show participants how to create fold out travel journals from old map books. Finally, on Saturday, February 1, 2020, Janet Gold will host "Life is Wiggly": a bookmaking project that will allow participants to create a work of art that reflects their life journeys. To RSVP for the grand opening on January 18, 2020 send an email to [email protected]. Due to the intimate nature of the workshops seating will be limited. Interested parties are encouraged to register by visiting: http://bit.ly/WMSpeakingVolumes19. The materials for each workshop are included with a fee of $35.00 per participant. ABOUT THE CITY OF WILTON MANORS Wilton Manors was laid out in 1925 by Edward John "Ned" Willingham, a land developer from Georgia, as an upscale residential community. It was recognized as a Village in 1947 and incorporated as a City in 1953. Today, the City of Wilton Manors offers all the benefits of a big city from shopping, to hip restaurants and bars, a burgeoning arts community and tons of community events, yet still maintains a cozy, community-feeling offering miles of natural waterways perfect for kayaking, paddle boarding and other outdoor activities. In 2018, Wilton Manors was named the "Second Gayest City" in the United States, celebrating a diverse population of approximately 12,000 residents. To learn more about the live, work and play opportunities in Wilton Manors call (954) 390-2100 or visit www.wiltonmanors.com. CONTACT: Aimee Adler Cooke (954) 732-0754 (or) [email protected] SOURCE City of Wilton Manors Related Links http://www.wiltonmanors.com Melbourne's major Australia Day fireworks display has been scrapped by the state government as firefighters continue grappling with this summers devastating bushfires. The government has decided to cancel the Docklands fireworks given Parks Victoria staff who are usually involved in the event have been fighting bushfires in East Gippsland and the state's north-east. A family watches the New Year's Eve fireworks in Melbourne. Credit:Chris Hopkins "Given the huge resources Parks Victoria has invested in fighting fires and protecting our parks and people over recent weeks, the Victorian government has decided to cancel this year's fireworks at Docklands," a spokeswoman said. "While we understand that this decision may disappoint some families, the focus right now of Parks Victoria is, and has to be, on working with our other emergency services in the firefighting effort and the recovery of communities and wildlife." China creating system of persecution for the future, Open Doors warns Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment WASHINGTON China is creating a blueprint system of persecution for the future that could be sold to persecute people across the globe, head of the prominent Christian persecution watchdog agency Open Doors USA has warned. Open Doors CEO David Curry, joined by pastors from China, issued the dire warning about how China could be shaping the future of international religious minority oppression through its use of surveillance technologies to monitor Christians and other religious adherents. Open Doors, which operates in 60 countries, released its influential annual World Watch List data report Wednesday at an event attended by representatives of the Trump administration, Congress and human rights activists. The annual report ranks the top 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted. During a briefing, Curry warned that the greatest threat, in his opinion, to human rights worldwide is China, which rose in the rankings from No. 27 to No. 23 in the 2020 report. Although the communist nation is not ranked as highly as other violators on the list, Curry stressed that the implications lie in Chinas development of surveillance to control its people. Its implications are not just for Christians within China but for every country and for religious freedom generally, Curry said. Let me put it together. It is like a puzzle. The pieces are there but it is not until you put it together that you see it clearly. When you see it clearly, it is frightening. The pieces of this puzzle, Curry said, involve Chinas use of a social score system that grades its citizens based on their actions and the governments creation of a network of surveillance cameras that have been put on street corners and in churches. Imagine a system where citizens are given 2,000 points and every time you do something they government disagrees with, you are marked down for it, Curry detailed. Eventually, your travel is restricted, your children wont get into the best schools. You lose points for taking your children to Sunday School. That is what the experience is like for many Christians in China. Curry traveled to China just a few weeks ago. I saw with my own eyes the surveillance on the street but also in the churches, watching their congregation, he said. Facial scans when you come in and then tracking you and generating reports [with] assumptions built into their artificial intelligence system that is tracking Christian behavior. Curry said that the more often a person is seen going to church, the more often they are to be labeled a radical. They are shutting down house churches at a massive rate 5,596 churches shut down, many because they refuse to put surveillance cameras up to watch their congregation. Pastor Jian Zhu, who was raised in China but now is the director of the China Institute at Lincoln Christian University in Illinois, told those in attendance that Chinas persecution against house churches is now the worst he has seen since 1979. The Chinese government now has placed severe restrictions and policies on the house churches, asking neighbors to spy on one another, pressures school teachers and college professors to betray and sign a statement to denounce their faith as well as to do the same to the students, Zhu said. Zhu explained that many churches are asked to take down crosses inside and outside their buildings and put up pictures of President Xi Jinping at the center of their worship stages. Underground churches are also accused of illegally fundraising because they collect offerings from congregants. Zhu said he has heard of cases where some cities have shut down all house churches. Now, they are trying to eliminate Christianity from public life, he said. Cameras are all over to watch church and Christians go to Sunday service. Families are threatened to not go to church or they will be punished or their relatives could be in trouble. One Christian from China who attended the Open Doors event told The Christian Post that he and his family fled from China after the house church he attended was shut down. Curry stressed that the data seems to point to the fact that China seems to be resurrecting the god-as-government state. We are all threatened by this: atheists, Jews, Muslims, everyone, Curry said. They are using this artificial intelligence and surveillance to a whole new level, he added. All indications show that in 2020 and this is why we are highlighting this they are bringing these two systems together. They are merging the social scoring system and surveillance and artificial intelligence to give them the tools and the power to oppress the people. Curry said that the indications are not just fear or unfounded. It is already happening in a very grave way: not to Christians but to Uighur Muslims, he said, noting that hundreds of thousands if not millions of Uighur Muslims have been sent to re-education centers in Western China. Muslims are forced to give up their faith and their culture. Its only a matter of time before the world is going to jump on this technology because China is selling it to Iran, theyre looking to sell it to Egypt and other countries as well. When asked why China was not ranked lower on the World Watch List, Curry told CP that the World Watch List scores across measurements of private life, national life, violence, and others. So while China is No. 23, we are highlighting it because of what I think is this blueprint, Curry contended. They are creating a system of persecution for the future and we have to call it out now. Otherwise, it will be too late. Otherwise, they will sell it to Iran and others to oppress their religious minorities. That is why it needs to be really highlighted. Within five years, it would be almost too late to stop them. Curry said that Open Doors has asked the White House and others to support proposed legislation that he says would provide steps to control the use of artificial intelligence and facial recognition around the world. What assumptions are being built into this that we need to know? Curry asked. Does going to church make you a terrorist in China? These are things we need to know. EU urges Iran to 'preserve' nuclear deal Brussels, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 The European Union's top diplomat met Iran's foreign minister in India on Thursday to press Tehran to "preserve" the increasingly fragile nuclear deal, according to a statement released in Brussels. In his talks with Mohammad Javad Zarif in New Delhi, Josep Borrell warned that the deal was "more important than ever" given rising tensions in the Middle East, the statement said. The two had "a frank dialogue" in which Borrell "underlined the continued interest of the European Union to preserve the agreement". The accord between Iran and world powers was struck in 2015 to ensure that Tehran could not develop nuclear weapons. But the deal has been weakened, first by a US withdrawal in 2018 and the return of sanctions on Iran, and by a series of subsequent retreats by Tehran from its obligations under the agreement. Heightened military tensions between the United States and Iran, spurred by America's assassination of a top Iranian general in Iraq and a retaliatory Iranian missile salvo on bases used by US soldiers, has put the deal under greater pressure. This week, European powers France, Germany and Britain said they were triggering a dispute mechanism over Iran's pullbacks. While that could theoretically eventually lead to a return of UN and EU sanctions on Iran, European officials have made clear that the decision was made in a bid to bring Tehran back into compliance and save the accord. The EU sees itself as an "honest broker" in the accord's implementation, but takes its lead on Iran's degree of compliance from the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, which continues to monitor Iranian atomic activities on the ground. - 'Assertive' Europe - Iran has reacted angrily to the European countries' decision. Zarif accused them of having "sold out" what remains of the nuclear deal to avoid new US tariffs on European exports. His comment referred to a report by the Washington Post saying President Donald Trump's government had renewed a threat to slap a 25 percent tariff on European car exports if the three EU governments held back. The EU's position is further complicated by Britain's exit from the European bloc, expected in two weeks. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has voiced support for the tottering Iran nuclear accord to be replaced by a "Trump deal" -- something France and Germany do not see as possible given Tehran's steadfast refusal to negotiate with the US. "Those who want to kill this agreement, claiming that they can negotiate a better one -- better for whom? -- should bear in mind that it took 12 years to negotiate it and that this nuclear deal succeeded in making the world a safer place," Borrell said later in a speech at a New Delhi conference on global challenges. He also slammed "great powers" using trade, technology and currency devaluations as a "weapon" to bend other nations to accept their foreign policy objectives. Given the breakdown of the multilateral system, he said, "Europe needs to be more assertive... otherwise the law of the jungle will prevail." KAMPALA The Human Rights Watch has accused the Ugandan government of continuing to violate freedom of association, assembly, and expression. The Human Rights Watchs World Report 2020 says the government continued to undermine freedom of expression by imposing new regulations on bloggers, website owners and stifling independent media. In 2019, the government introduced new regulations requiring online operators to apply for authorization to host blogs and websites or risk being shut down. The government arrested its political opponents and blocked political and student rallies. These restrictions on expression and assembly, arbitrary detentions and prosecutions of outspoken critics and the governments failure to ensure accountability for past abuses, do not abode well for the 2021 general election, says the report. Mr Kenneth Roth, the executive director at Human Rights Watch while releasing the report on Tuesday said decades of progress that has allowed people around the world to speak freely, live without fear of arbitrary imprisonment and torture, and enjoy other human rights are at risk. In a 652-page World Report 2020, its 30th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in nearly 100 countries, including Uganda. It summarises key human rights issues drawing from late 2018 through November 2019. Roth noted that many other threats to human rights around the world, including in Syria and Yemen, where government forces from Syria, Russia, and the Saudi-led coalition blatantly disregard the international rules designed to spare civilians, including the prohibitions against attacking civilians and bombing hospitals. In Uganda, the Constitutional Court in May 2019 declared unconstitutional section 36 of the Police Act, which allowed police to use unlimited force when dispersing crowds and gatherings with no liability for deaths and injuries. Police have also been using the 2013 Public Order Management Act (POMA) to block, restrict, and disperse peaceful assemblies and demonstrations by opposition groups, often with excessive force. The decision signals the need for reform of other laws that allow police and other security forces to arrest and disperse crowds without limits on the use of force or firearms, says the report. The report also cites a lack of accountability for torture, killings at safe houses kept by the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) to illegally detain and torture people, and alleged torture of Kyadondo East Member of Parliament, Robert Kyagulanyi and 33 others in Arua in August 2018. To date, police have made no public announcements regarding the progress and conclusion of the investigations and have made no arrests in connection with the allegations, it says. According to the report, several governments that in their foreign policies once could be depended upon to defend human rights at least some of the time have largely abandoned the cause. Others, faced with their own domestic challenges, mount a haphazard defense. Elsewhere, it says autocratic populists gain office by demonizing minorities, and then retain power by attacking the checks and balances their rule, such as independent journalists, judges, and activists. Related Now Open 17 January 2020 Fusion's newest hotel, Fusion Suites Vung Tau, is set to open on January 24th, 2020 in southern Vietnam's popular coastal playground. The new 19-storey property features 171 well-appointed suites and apartments, a multitude of dining options, a maritime-inspired spa, and the city's only rooftop infinity pool. For dining options, the hotel boasts a restaurant, bar, and market stalls in the lobby. Fusion's signature 'Fresh' restaurant will offer all-day dining, serving up Vietnamese cuisine with a global twist and meals that highlight the abundant local seafood. The roof-top bar 'Breeze' serves light snacks as a complement to a selection of cocktails and locally brewed craft beers. On the ground floor, food stalls adorn a village square-inspired reception area, where guests and locals can gather to enjoy a coffee at 'Roast', an ice-cream at 'Scoop', or takoyaki (Japanese octopus balls) at 'Taco.' The hotel features a 12 treatment room spa and one therapy is included per person per night. In concert with the spa's maritime theme, and its salt crystal lighting scheme, sea salts anchor the Maia Spa's signature therapies. These include a Himilayan salt stone massage, a gentle salt facial, and a sea salt body scrub. Other therapies include East- and West-style massages, body wraps and scrubs, facials, and Fusion's signature foot reflexology. Other wellness services and facilities include yoga and meditation, a fitness studio, a Jacuzzi, and a rooftop pool. The hotel is also committed to a sustainable corporate social responsibility programme that supports the local community through working with the Vung Tau Tourism College to employ graduates. Conveniently located in the heart of Vung Tau, the hotel is just a short trip by boat or road from Ho Chi Minh City. The contemporary property is close to the city's major tourist attractions, such as Bai Truoc Park, the cultural center, and Vung Tau Lighthouse. The city currently welcomes over 15 million international and domestic travelers each year. Presbyterian College in South Carolina has recognized Ms. Taylor Kate Gardner, of Signal Mountain, for making the Deans List during the 2019 Fall semester. The Deans List is composed of students who have earned between a 3.3 and a 3.9 grade point average. Presbyterian College is between Columbia and Greenville, S.C., in the college town of Clinton, S.C. For more information about Presbyterian College, visit www.presby.edu. Today we'll evaluate China Aluminum Cans Holdings Limited (HKG:6898) to determine whether it could have potential as an investment idea. 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. First, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Second, we'll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. And finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities are impacting its ROCE. What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)? 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. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike. So, How Do We Calculate ROCE? 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 China Aluminum Cans Holdings: 0.27 = HK$95m (HK$381m - HK$31m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.) Therefore, China Aluminum Cans Holdings has an ROCE of 27%. Check out our latest analysis for China Aluminum Cans Holdings Is China Aluminum Cans Holdings's ROCE Good? When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. China Aluminum Cans Holdings's ROCE appears to be substantially greater than the 13% average in the Packaging industry. We would consider this a positive, as it suggests it is using capital more effectively than other similar companies. Setting aside the comparison to its industry for a moment, China Aluminum Cans Holdings's ROCE in absolute terms currently looks quite high. We can see that, China Aluminum Cans Holdings currently has an ROCE of 27% compared to its ROCE 3 years ago, which was 19%. This makes us think the business might be improving. The image below shows how China Aluminum Cans Holdings's ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth. Story continues SEHK:6898 Past Revenue and Net Income, January 17th 2020 It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. You can check if China Aluminum Cans Holdings has cyclical profits by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow. China Aluminum Cans Holdings's Current Liabilities And Their Impact On Its ROCE Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets. China Aluminum Cans Holdings has total liabilities of HK$31m and total assets of HK$381m. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 8.2% of its total assets. Modest current liabilities are not boosting China Aluminum Cans Holdings's very nice ROCE. The Bottom Line On China Aluminum Cans Holdings's ROCE This should mark the company as worthy of further investigation. China Aluminum Cans Holdings shapes up well under this analysis, but it is far from the only business delivering excellent numbers . You might also want to check this free collection of companies delivering excellent earnings growth. If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies 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. Iran's supreme leader lashed out at Western countries as he led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, dismissing "American clowns" who he said pretend to support the Iranian nation but want to stick their "poisoned dagger" into its back. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used his rare appearance at the weekly prayers to deliver a fiery address in which he insisted Iran would not bow to US pressure after months of crushing sanctions and a series of recent crises from the killing of a top Iranian general to the accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane. Khamenei said the mass funerals for General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike earlier this month, show that the Iranian people support the Islamic Republic despite its recent trials. He said the "cowardly" hit on Soleimani had taken out the most effective commander in the battle against the Islamic State group. In response to Soleimani's killing, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting US troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. Khamenei said the strike had dealt a "blow to America's image" as a superpower. In the part of his sermon delivered in Arabic, he said the "real punishment" would be in forcing the US to withdraw from the Middle East. After the missile strike, as Iran's Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after takeoff from Tehran's international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. When it came, their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Khamenei called the shooting down of the plane a "bitter accident" that had saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. He said Iran's enemies had seized on the crash to question the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard and the armed forces. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Friday that his country wants Iran to issue a formal document admitting its guilt. Ukraine, Canada and other nations whose citizens died in the crash have demanded Iran pay compensation to the victims' families. Khamenei also lashed out at Britain, France and Germany after they triggered a dispute mechanism to try and bring Iran back into compliance with the unravelling 2015 nuclear agreement. Iran began openly breaching certain limits under the agreement last summer, more than a year after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal and began imposing sanctions. After the killing of Soleimani, Iran said it was no longer bound by the nuclear deal. "These contemptible governments are waiting to bring the Iranian nation to its knees," Khamenei said. "America, who is your elder, your leader and your master, was not able to bring the Iranian nation to its knees. You are too small to bring the Iranian nation to its knees." Khamenei has held the country's top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of Soleimani and vowed "harsh retaliation" against the United States. Thousands of people attended the Friday prayers, occasionally interrupting his speech by chanting "God is greatest!" and "Death to America!" Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since Trump withdrew from the nuclear accord, which had imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The US has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Trump has openly encouraged the protesters even tweeting in Farsi hoping that the protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a longtime adversary. Khamenei mocked those efforts, dismissing "these American clowns who falsely and despicably say that they are standing with the Iranian people". He did not refer to Trump by name, but was clearly referring to him and his administration. "You are lying," he said. "If you do stand with the Iranian people it is because you want to stick your poisoned dagger into the back of the Iranian nation. Of course you haven't been able to do that so far, and you won't be able to do a damn thing." Khamenei was always sceptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the United States could not be trusted. But he allowed President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, to conclude the agreement with President Barack Obama. Since Trump's withdrawal, he has repeatedly said there can be no negotiations with the United States. Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called Israel a "cancerous tumour" and vowed to support anyone confronting it. He also warned against any US strikes on Iran over its nuclear program, saying the US would be damaged "10 times over". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man killed Tuesday by authorities attempting to arrest him on a federal warrant in a Southeast Side neighborhood was identified Thursday. Randy Glen Goodale, 45, died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said a federal task force was looking for Goodale to arrest him on a warrant for felon in possession of a handgun. RELATED: Convicted killer Genene Jones learns fate in S.A. infant's 1981 death Members of the task force, as well as supporting SAPD officers, surrounded him at about 1 p.m. Tuesday in the 4400 block of Stetson View, the chief said. McManus said Goodale was in a vehicle and began ramming police vehicles when a task force member and an SAPD officer shot him. Paramedics then dragged Goodale away from the home and performed CPR on him, McManus said. Goodale was pronounced dead at the scene. The chief said officers pulled the man away from the home in case there was anyone else posing a threat to them. Police have not released any new details about the incident, which was followed by a standoff lasting about 4 hours. Three people were inside the home as a police negotiator talked to them through a loud speaker. The standoff ended peacefully when the three reportedly emerged from the home at about 5:30 p.m. Police have not said what led to the standoff, and whether or not anyone else is facing charges as a result of the incident. Jacob Beltran is a reporter covering San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The share price of Reliance Industries (RIL) rose over 2 percent on BSE in the morning trade on January 17, the day the company is to announce its December quarter earnings. The company is expected to continue to report robust growth in the consumer segment, telecom and retail, with steady refining business, but petchem is likely to be under pressure due to reduced margin for the quarter ended December 2019. Overall, consolidated revenue could be higher by 2-7 percent sequentially, but profit and operating income may be flat to moderately high, as strong telecom and retail segments could be offset by weaker petchem business. Brokerages expect Q3 gross refining margins (GRM), which are closely watched by the Street, at around $9-10 per barrel against $9.4 a barrel reported in the September quarter, which may support standalone earnings but could be offset by weak petchem margin. Read more: Reliance Jio, Retail likely to be strong in Q3; petchem could see some pressure Key things to watch out for would be the commentary on the number of subscribers added due to the impact of ARPU changes, closure of Aramco deal as a part of debt reduction strategy and IPO plans for retail business. The Supreme Court, on January 16, dismissed a review petition filed by telecom companies seeking relief from the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) verdict. According to brokerage firm Edelweiss Securities, Bharti Airtel would be able to repay the dues and gain market share. It maintains a positive stance on Bharti and Reliance Jio. However, the telecom companies may file a separate petition seeking a payment extension, it added. In total, 15 telecom companies will have to pay dues worth Rs 1.47 lakh crore. The latest order indicates that licence fee dues will have to be made by January 23, 2020. The stock was up 1.93 percent at Rs 1,567.45 at 1120 hours. Washington Montessori School in Washington will offer a variety of programs in the coming weeks. A parent-child program for children ages 6 to 18 months and their caregivers are available. A CPR training course for parents will be offered Jan. 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The course will include training for adult, children and infant CPR, use of the AED and how to administer the Heimlich Maneuver. Participants will receive a two-year certification. The cost is $90. A green swap cleaning products workshop with ACTIVE by Altorelli Health will be held Feb. 4 at 8:45 a.m. Participants will create a sample low-cost green cleaning solution and learn simple ways to swap out everyday items for more environmentally friendly options. Discussion topics will also include the effects of BPAs, synthetic fragrance, and parabens along with ways to lower the toxic load of the home. For more information and RSVP to programs, call the 240 Litchfield Turnpike (Route 202) school at 860-868-0551, ext. 2161. Prisoners could be dying from drug use while dealers operating behind bars are amassing significant wealth according to the Inspector of Prisons. In her annual report, Ms Patricia Gilheaney urges the Irish Prison Service not to accept the drugs trade and contraband as normal. She says the drugs trade in jails is different, due to the higher price behind bars. Prisoners selling illicit drugs and mobile phones can amass significant wealth whilst in prison and conversely place the prisoner who is buying the contraband in significant debt, she said. The Inspector says contraband trade can lead to bullying and intimidation of prisoners in jails and their family and friends on the outside. This has led to fatal consequences. The Inspector met with a number of families who died in custody or while on temporary release in 2017 and 2018. They have expressed concern that illicit drug use may have been a factor in their loved one's death, said the report. Ms Gilheaney urged the Irish Prison Service not to accept the contraband trade as the norm and continue to improve security at entry and use technology to prevent mobile phones and tackle drones. A former Texas nurse who is suspected to have killed dozens of children has received a life sentence that a prosecutor said should ensure she dies in prison. Genene Jones, 69, pleaded guilty on Thursday in the 1981 death of an 11-month-old boy. Jones was imprisoned in 1984 for killing one child and giving an overdose to another, but is believed to have killed up to 60 babies during her time working as a nurse. She had been set for release in 2018 under a mandatory release law that was in place when she was convicted. But prosecutors in 2017, citing new evidence, filed five new murder charges against her related to the deaths of children in the early 1980s. Convicted child killer Genene Jones is escorted out of the Bexar County 399th State District Court in San Antonio, on Thursday, January 16 Victim Joshua Sawyer, who investigators say overdosed on an anti-seizure drug 'With this plea, the odds are she will take her last breath in prison,' prosecutor Catherine Babbitt said after the hearing in San Antonio. Judge Frank Castro said: 'You took one of God's most precious gifts. Babies, defenseless, innocent. 'I truly believe your ultimate judgment is in the next life.' Children died of unexplained seizures and other complications when Jones worked at a San Antonio hospital and clinic in Kerrville, about 55 miles northwest of San Antonio. Prosecutors at Jones' 1984 murder trial said she had injected children with drugs to demonstrate the need for a pediatric intensive care unit at a nearby hospital. Other prosecutors had theorized that her tactic was to take swift medical action and save some of her victims so she could appear to be a sort of miracle worker. But Babbitt said in an interview after the hearing that they never determined what Jones' motivation was. 'I can only speculate. I mean, I never came across anything that would tell me why she committed such evil acts,' she said. Convicted child killer Genene Jones is sworn in before a hearing in the Bexar County 399th State District Court in San Antonio on Thursday Jones, who had been set for trial in February, was sentenced on Thursday in the death of Joshua Sawyer, who investigators say overdosed on an anti-seizure drug. The other four cases were dismissed, prosecutors said. Jones will be eligible for parole in 18 years, when she's about 87, Babbitt said. Several family members gave victim impact statements at the hearing, including Joshua's mother, Connie Weeks. 'I hope for you to live a long and miserable life behind bars. Goodbye,' Weeks said to Jones. Rosemary Vega. Jones was charged with the killing of two-year-old Rosemary in 2017 Jones is suspected of killing up to 60 babies during her time working as a nurse in San Antonio and Kerrville throughout the late 70s and early 80s, but much of the evidence was lost as the hospital she worked for shredded many of its medical records. She was sentenced in 1984 to 99 years in prison in the killing of 15-month-old Chelsea McClellan. Later that year, she was sentenced to 60 years in prison in the sickening of 4-week-old Rolando Santos, who recovered. Chelsea was given a fatal injection of a muscle relaxant and Rolando received a large injection of a blood thinner. In 2017, she was charged in Joshua's death; the 1981 killing of 2-year-old Rosemary Vega; the 1981 killing of 8-month-old Richard 'Ricky' Nelson; the 1982 killing of 4-month-old Patrick Zavala; and the 1981 killing of 3-month-old Paul Villarreal. Convicted child killer Genene Jones, shown in 1984. It's possible no one but Jones will ever know how many children she killed Jones pictured in custody in 1984. Jones is suspected of killing up to 60 babies during her time working as a nurse in San Antonio and Kerrville throughout the late 70s and early 80s, but much of the evidence was lost as the hospital she worked for shredded many of its medical records 'We trust our nurses - our nurses are specifically trained to provide comfort and medical care for their patients,' Babbitt said after the hearing. 'And these patients were not only children, but they were often critically ill children. And for her to decide on her watch who lived and who died is nothing short of evil.' In 2017, then-Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood said Jones may have killed up to 60 children. Babbitt said that as they prepared for trial that prosecutors felt Jones could have been responsible for about 20 deaths. But it's possible no one but Jones will ever know how many children she killed or injured, Babbitt said. Wager, also known by his African name, Apongo, was a leader of the largest slave rebellion in the 18th century British Empire. But long before taking his part in the great Jamaican insurrection of 1760 1761, commonly called Tackys Revolt, he had been on a remarkable odyssey. Apongo had been a military leader in West Africa during a period of imperial expansion and intensive warfare there. During this time, he had even been a notable guest of John Cope, a chief agent of Cape Coast Castle, Britains principal fort on the Gold Coast. Captured and sold at some point in the 1740s, Apongo became the property of Captain Arthur Forrest of HMS Wager, who renamed him for the Royal Navy warship. Wager came in bondage to Forrests plantation in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, where he again encountered John Cope, who had retired to his own Jamaican estate. Occasionally, Cope would entertain his acquaintance from the Old World, laying a table for weekend visits, treating the slave as a man of honor, and insinuating that Apongo would one day be redeemed and sent home. Whatever understanding there was between the two men did not outlast John Copes death in 1756. In the ensuing years Wager began plotting and organizing a war against the whites, and awaiting an opportune moment to strike. Taking advantage of Britains Seven Years War against its European opponents, Wager and more than a thousand other enslaved black people on the island engaged in a series of uprisings, which began on April 7, 1760, and continued until October of the next year. Over those 18 months the rebels managed to kill 60 whites and destroy tens of thousands of pounds worth of property. During the suppression of the revolt and the repression that followed, over 500 black men and women were killed in battle, executed or driven to suicide. Another 500 were transported from the island for life. Considering the extent and secrecy of its plan, the multitude of the conspirators, and the difficulty of opposing its eruptions in such a variety of different places at once, wrote one planter who lived through the upheaval, this revolt was more formidable than any hitherto known in the West Indies. Story continues According to two slaveholders who wrote histories of the conflict, the rebellion arose at the instigation of an African man named Tacky, who had been a chief in Guinea, and was organized and executed principally by people called Coromantees (or Koromantyns) from the Gold Coastthe West African region stretching between the Komoe and Volta riverswho had an established reputation for military prowess. Slaveholders knew these Africans to be rebellious, and their notoriety has endured to this day. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Wagers involvement in the revolt might further justify this martial reputation, but it is also part of a less familiar story. Although we are accustomed to hearing about rebels reacting against their enslavement by rising up against their masters, and about elite people in Africa falling into the hands of slavers, rarely have these accounts acknowledged the complex patterns of alliance and antagonism over time and great distance that defined relationships like those among Apongo, John Cope and Arthur Forrest. Recognizing how life histories like theirsstories of displacement, belonging and political predicamentwere intertwined helps us understand how the slave trade triggered the diasporic warfare that both created and convulsed the 18th century Atlantic world. Apongos Atlantic odyssey spans the martial geography of Atlantic slavery, highlighting the entanglement of African and European empires with the massive forced migrations of the 18th centuryand suggesting a new way to understand slave insurrection. Rather than a two-sided conflict between masters and slaves, the 17601761 revolt was the volatile admixture of many journeys and military campaigns. The people who took part in it traveled far and endured many turns of fortune, entangling their numerous episodes into a single story. In its causes and consequences, what we know as Tackys Revolt combined the itineraries of many people: merchants, planters, imperial functionaries, soldiers and sailors from Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, and enslaved men, women and children, all engaged in life-and-death struggles to accumulate wealth, build state power, strike for freedom or merely survive. Step Into History: Learn how to experience the 1963 March on Washington in virtual reality The transatlantic slave trade extracted people from a vast region of Atlantic Africa and spread them throughout the Americas. People who had been administrative or military leaders suddenly found themselves uprooted from sustaining landscapes, scattered by currents and trade winds, and replanted in strange territories where they labored to build new social lives and regain a level of influence. Inevitably, some of them concluded that only war could end their enslavement. Mostly it was common people who found themselves caught up in slaving raids and expansionary wars, cast across the ocean and set down in alien lands where slaveholders exploited and brutalized them. When new conflicts promised to liberate them or offered rewards for serving their masters, slaves might take up arms for whichever faction presented the prospect of a better life. This process of dispersal from a native land, transplantation and adaptation to a new and strange one is familiar to students of cultural change, who pull African, American and Atlantic history into one large, common frame to see large-scale patterns of transformation in African religion, expression and identity. A similarly expansive approach can reveal how the turmoil of enslavement and the daily hostilities of life in bondage ignited a militant response that erupted in widespread rebellions reverberating across the Americas and back to Europe. The effect when Africans from the Gold Coast staged a series of revolts and conspiracies in the 17th and 18th centuriesmost dramatically in Cartagena de Indias, Surinam, St. John, New York, Antigua and Jamaicawas to form an archipelago of insurrection stretching throughout the North Atlantic Americas. The Jamaican insurrections of 17601761, and further uprisings there in 1765 and 1766, were among the largest and most consequential of these. The aims and tactics employed by the rebels made it clear to observers that many had been soldiers in Africa. As John Thornton has argued, Africans with military experience played an important role in revolts, if not by providing all of the rebels, at least by providing enough to stiffen and increase the viability of revolts. Beyond one or two exceptional leaders, whole cadres of people had military training and discipline, or had at least gained knowledge of defensive tactics in Africa. Indeed, many American slave revolts might be seen as extensions of African wars. Casting them as such does more than assert the importance of Africa in the making of the Atlantic world; it helps to reveal how complex networks of migration, belonging, transregional power, and conflict gave the political history of the 18th century some of its distinctive contours. Recognizing slave revolt as a species of warfare is the first step toward a new cartography of Atlantic slavery. Harvard University Press Excerpted from Tackys Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War by Vincent Brown, published by Harvard University Press. Copyright 2020 by Vincent Brown. Used by permission. All rights reserved. A second person has lost his life in China from an unknown virus that has affected dozens and appeared in two other Asian countries, according to the officials on January 16. The local authorities confirmed that a 69-year-old man died on Wednesday in Wuhan, the central Chinese city which is considered to be the epicenter of an epidemic of a coronavirus from the same family as the deadly SARS pathogen. The epidemic has triggered fears among the people because of its link with the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus, that killed 349 people in mainland China and 299 in Hong Kong in 2002-2003. READ: Chinese Man Infected With Mystery Coronavirus Quarantined In Nepal WHO is working with officials in #Thailand and #China following reports of confirmation of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in a traveler from #Wuhan, China, who traveled to Thailand pic.twitter.com/pj20trsUCE World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 13, 2020 Infections triggered panics At least 41 people are suffering from the coronavirus related pneumonia in China. Wuhan health commission informed the media that 12 people have recovered from the mystery illness and have been discharged from the hospital. The recent pneumonia outbreak in China that has killed one person and infected 40 others appears to be linked to a single seafood market in the central city of Wuhan according to a WHO report. According to the report, the pneumonia outbreak has not spread beyond the central seafood market. The initial infections had caused a panic regarding fears of a potential epidemic in China. READ: China On US Trade Deal, Russia, Coronavirus, UNSC WHO reports The virus causing the disease was previously unknown but was later revealed to be a member of the same family of viruses that caused the SARS and MERS epidemics. Despite the fears of the infection spreading, WHO has reported that the virus has not spread and seems to be contained within the seafood market in Wuhan which is a major domestic and international transport hub. According to the WHO report, all evidence suggests that the infection spread through the interaction with one particular seafood market located in Wuhan. Additionally, WHO also added that none of the health workers has shown signs of infection and therefore there is no evidence that the virus can be transmitted from one person to another. A total of 717 individuals that were in close contact with infected individuals are still under close observation as per the claims made by Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. READ: Patient In Japan Confirmed As Having New Virus From China READ: Japan Confirms First Infection From New Coronavirus Two thought leaders and change agents will headline a regional health conference at Saginaw Valley State University Friday, Jan. 24. This eleventh annual conference, titled "The Region's Health and Health Care Systems: Communities Achieving Excellence and Moving Upstream," will be held from 8:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. This conference will bring two world-renowned speakers to the Great Lakes Bay Region, Dr. Rishi Manchanda and Dr. Brian C. Castrucci, who will highlight their innovative discoveries and implementation strategies within public health and upstream health care. Manchanda is a physician, author, and health care leader who currently serves as the president and CEO of HealthBegins. With this mission-driven consulting and technology firm, Manchanda has dedicated his career to helping health care and community partners improve the care and social factors of health for vulnerable populations. On an international stage, Manchanda's 2013 TEDbook, "The Upstream Doctors," has become recommended reading in medical schools and universities worldwide. In this book, he introduced the "Upstreamists," a new model of health care workers who improve care and equity by addressing the entire scope of patients' health-related social needs. In addition, his TED talk on the subject has reached over 1.8 million views. Manchanda currently serves on the board of the Beyond Flexner Alliance, on the California Future Health Workforce Commission, and was a member of the HHS Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network's Primary Care Payment Model Work Group. As a pillar in his community, he also served as the director of social medicine for a network of community health centers in south central Los Angeles, was the lead physician for homeless veterans at the Greater Los Angeles VA hospital, and was the first chief medical officer for a self-insured employer with a large rural immigrant workforce. Castrucci, is the president and CEO of the deBeaumont Foundation, as well as an award-winning epidemiologist with 10 years of experience working in state and local health departments. The deBeaumont Foundation brings together research and practice by advancing policy, building partnerships, and strengthening the public health system. These objectives are accomplished under Castrucci's leadership through projects that include CityHealth, the BUILD Health Challenge, and the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey. As a scholar, Castrucci has published more than 70 health care articles, with his most current work focusing on the public health needs of large cities, the need for better data systems, and public health system improvements. One of his recent articles, "Meeting Individual Social Needs Falls Short of Addressing Social Determinants of Health," was featured by Health Affairs as the second-most read health affairs blog post of 2019. The event will be held in the Ott Auditorium of Gilbertson Hall at SVSU. Registration is now open with a cost of $75 per person or $25 for students. The conference will also be simulcast at Central Michigan University and Kirtland Health Sciences Center in Grayling. Registration information is available online at https://www.hcecm.org/HCECM/SVSU-Event-Registration/. THE silent classrooms in Glenroe National School could be noisy again after the Minister of Education made a commitment to reopen it. Minister of State Patrick ODonovan announced this Friday that Minister for EducaJoe McHugh TD has advised him that it is "his intention to reopen Glenroe NS". "In January 2019 I along with members of the Glenroe NS working group met with Minister McHugh in Dublin with a view to reopening the school which had closed in 2015. In the intervening time I have been working closely with the Minister and the local community group to have the school reopened under the new patronage of the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board," said Minister O'Donovan. He said he was delighted that Minister McHugh was convinced by the argument they put forward to him to reopen the school. "I have worked tirelessly on this issue and I like to thank the Minister for Education and the local community for all the work they have put in getting their school re-opened, concluded Minister O'Donovan. Pranshu Upadhyay In recent years, we have seen companies across sectors in India hiring more females in a bid to maintain gender balance and diversity within the workforce. These companies recognise the benefits and growth potential in diversifying their teams and acknowledge that each group brings different strengths and abilities to the table, contributing to the companys overall success. While there is still much room for improvement, many qualified females are already making their mark across various industries, from private firms to government-run organisations. Though for some industries like manufacturing, engineering, mining, power generation, striking a gender balance at work is proving to be a tough challenge. In order to figure out how to achieve this balance, we first need to identify the underlying problems. Inaccessibility to manufacturing locations and infrastructure Companies having manufacturing in remote and under-developed regions face the biggest challenge in their bid to enlist more women. Many of these companies have their hands tied with regards to their location, because of their industrys limitations. For instance, cement companies need to be located near limestone quarries. Similarly, industries in ports management need to be closer to ports and similar challenges with mining organisations. While these organisations may see active participation of women at headquarter level, their presence in sites is quite limited due to the above reason. To add more strain, commuting daily to these areas from the city is not an option for the majority, because of time of travel. While a lot of corporations try hard to provide for better infrastructure in remote locations, it falls fairly short for any candidate who has worked in a metro/tier II city before. Industrial hubs close to cities better-off Compared to remote locations, manufacturing hubs in places like Hosur in Tamil Nadu, Ranjangaon and Talegaon around Pune that are a couple of hours drive away from big cities find it much easier to attract and retain women employees. While some females are willing to make the commute daily to advance their career, some are also more willing to relocate to these manufacturing hubs because there is a proper infrastructure and amenities in these areas because of a proper township being established. So, how can organisations promote and encourage more participation by women in these sectors? Many companies recognise the needs and challenges of women at the workplace and are beginning to address them in order to secure top female talents. Create fulfilling and meaningful benefits for employees Since inaccessibility is one of the key factors preventing women from being more involved in the sector, companies that are able to help relocate these women or provide suitable transport to and from the site would make roles within their organisations much more attractive. Another interesting trend is to provide a job to the spouse when an employee agrees to move from a city to a project site. The attraction of a dual income in many cases, is able to compensate for the other cons of location. Furthermore, big companies in steel, cement and power generation are working towards building integrated townships that provide many comforts and facilities at the site that are not available outside the plant site. These include schools, hospitals, playgrounds and more. Not only do these set-ups provide more amenities to its employees, it also helps to generate more jobs, like teaching positions for schools and nursing vacancies for clinics. Integrated townships also create a strong employer brand in the region and help attract more women. Lastly, females returning to work after seven or eight months of maternity leave often find it challenging to catch up to their peers who are now ahead of them career-wise. Inculcating proper company practices to help to facilitate reintegration back at the office through good management, learning courses and upskilling can help to give women more confidence. Inspire your female staff Many women still may not feel confident about their place at work of their career progression path. A good practice may be to post women in senior roles on secondment for a few years to sites that can benefit from their long tenure and domain expertise. You need to have a story to sell and create an employer brand. If you have women in leadership positions at such locations who have catapulted their careers by such stints, it looks more believable and attracts a large female workforce to such companies almost as a ripple effect. They can become role models in attracting female talent from the region as well as outside the region. Instil fair practices at work Lady candidates need not apply. That sentence in a TELCO (now Tata Motors) advertisement in the 1970s led Sudha Murthy, then a post-graduate from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, wrote a letter to JRD Tata, protesting against gender discrimination. It worked. The small-town girl from Hubli got the job. We have come a long way since then. Women are more than welcome in engineering and manufacturing firms. While India has come a long way in terms of gender equality at the workplace, it still has a long way to go. Creating an environment where women know they have an equal chance to succeed is a larger pull factor than most. Getting more women into manufacturing is an uphill journey, but it is happening at a slow and steady pace. Organisations have also started working with their recruitment partners internal and external to drive specific gender diversity initiatives and going through entire mapping of talent available before hiring for crucial positions. The writer is Regional Director, Michael Page India OTTAWA - A national organization representing Inuit women in Canada is calling for a radical shift in the way police work is done in the North. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/1/2020 (726 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A Canada flag flies beside an Nunavut flag in Iqaluit, Nunavut on Wednesday, July 31, 2019. A new report on how police respond to violence against women in Canada's four northern Inuit regions says researchers have uncovered "systemic racialized policing" there. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - A national organization representing Inuit women in Canada is calling for a radical shift in the way police work is done in the North. The demand comes after a new report released Thursday described "systemic racialized policing" in the Arctic. Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada and Elizabeth Comack, a sociology and criminology professor at the University of Manitoba, co-authored the report, which examined how police respond to violence against women in Canada's traditional Inuit territory, known as Inuit Nunangat. The report says that interviews with about 45 Inuit women, and nearly as many service providers, revealed many women encounter such high rates of gender-based violence they have come to expect it in their lives. The authors home in on actions of police officers responding to cases of domestic violence in these regions, with women saying they are often not believed when reporting abuse. Sometimes, according to the report, the women reporting the violence, rather than their abusers, are the ones removed from their homes. "Racialized policing persists in Inuit women's encounters with the justice system and it goes well beyond a few individual officers holding stereotypes about Inuit," said Rebecca Kudloo, president of Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada. "Police can respond more effectively to gendered violence by adopting a 'decolonizing framework' that helps officers move from being an outside force to becoming more integrated with northern communities they serve." Rebecca Kudloo, President of the Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, speaks during an Inuit panel in relation to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls held Thursday, January 16, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Women in Nunavut are the victims of violent crime at a rate more than 13 times higher than women in Canada as a whole and are 12 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than in other provinces and territories, according to data cited by the report. Also, in 2016, Nunavut had the highest rate of female victims of police-reported family violence in Canada, with the Northwest Territories coming in second. Inuit women from across Inuit Nunangat including Nunavut, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest Territories, Nunavik in northern Quebec and Nunatsiavut of Newfoundland and Labrador told the study's authors they feel victimized by police protocols when they do report incidents of abuse. The RCMP said in a statement Thursday it could not comment directly on the findings in the report because it had just been released. But spokeswoman Catherine Fortin did outline steps the national police force is taking to reduce and respond to gender-based violence, including a new online training course, which is currently being developed, to teach officers how to deal sensitively with victims of trauma when conducting investigations, especially in cases of gender-based violence. The course will be available to RCMP staff in weeks, Fortin said. The report also emphasizes the historical context of the gendered violence that has been experienced by Inuit women over many decades, arguing it has been perpetrated or exacerbated in many cases by RCMP officers. It provides a detailed account of how Mounties were involved in moving Inuit people to permanent settlements and transporting children to residential schools. This echoes findings of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which was highly critical of the RCMP's overall dealings with Indigenous peoples and communities. The inquiry made note of many of the same concerns and gaps in policing services for Inuit in the Arctic. The federal government has said it will release its national plan to respond to the inquiry findings by June. Further findings in the new study highlight concerns about inadequate dispatching systems in Arctic regions. A panel of women from all four Inuit regions held in Ottawa Thursday shared their urgent concerns about emergency calls being transferred to regional dispatching offices, slowing responses. 'When a woman is being beaten up and calls the police, how long do they wait?" Kudloo said. "When a woman is in danger, she needs somebody right there as soon as possible." The authors of the study found that officers spend limited stints in particular communities. This, coupled with many officers' lack of knowledge of the Inuit language, has created a perception that police are outsiders fuelling a widespread feeling of distrust. Participants did note the challenges faced by police officers in the regions, including having to respond to high-risk situations of domestic violence with backup sometimes hours away. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Nunavut New Democrat MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq called the report "damning" and called on the Liberal government to take swift action to address systemic issues in the North that can lead to violence, such as poor housing and mental-health services. "It is shameful that the federal government has failed to uphold the basic human rights of the people of Nunavut by refusing them housing and health care that could prevent this violence and often loss of life," Qaqqaq said. "We see a lot more cultural programs for women, but we also need to provide men opportunities for cultural healing to address intergenerational trauma and have healthy outlets to break the cycles of violence. We need to do better. People's lives count on it." The report comes with 15 recommendations, including calling for a cultural shift in policing to adapt to Inuit tradition and history in these regions. That should involve police officers becoming more connected and integrated into their communities, the report says. It also calls for more female police officers, more Inuit civilian positions in policing to help with healing and translation and for the RCMP to revisit its posting terms for northern officers. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2020. E ver since Facebook bought WhatsApp for a cool $22 billion in 2014, users have been worrying about how the tech giant was going to monetise its expensive acquisition, mainly fearing that it would fill the popular messaging app with ads. Facebook had been looking at placing ads in the WhatsApp status section and had previously said it was going to roll out the new look in 2020. But, youll be happy to hear that Facebook has disbanded the team that was exploring ways to integrate ads into WhatsApp according to the Wall Street Journal. All the teams work has been deleted from the apps code. For now, ads will remain a long-term opportunity but not be subject to a specific timeline, a spokesperson told Business Insider. Instead, the social media company has said it's going to focus on building other features that could potentially lead to monetisation, such as allowing businesses to communicate with customers in the app and provide payment services to other countries. These elements are particularly interesting it sounds similar to the way Chinas uber-popular app WeChat works, a central platform in which consumers do all their communicating whether that's with brands or their friends. WhatsApps founders will surely be happy with the news. The co-founders Brian Actor and Jan Koum had long been critical of ads, with Acton telling Forbes that he resigned from Facebook in protest against its policy to place advertising in the app. In addition, the plans werent very popular with WhatsApps 300 million daily users. According to research by marketing tech company Pure360, only five per cent of Brits would have been open to receiving marketing messages from brands. In particular, the respondents thought marketing messages would distract them during working hours. WASHINGTON - Republican campaign officials are deploying targeted marketing techniques to identify where undecided female voters will have the greatest impact in the 2020 election, amid warning signs that parts of the crucial bloc are abandoning the president. President Donald Trump carried non-college-educated white women - 20% of all voters in presidential election years - by 27 points in 2016. But the group shifted by 13 points in the 2018 midterm elections, and in recent months warmed to the prospect of impeaching and removing Trump from office over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate a domestic political rival. The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee are responding with an aggressive organizational effort to shore up these voters. "We've talked a lot about how we're a data-driven campaign," said Hannah Castillo, director of coalitions for the Trump campaign. "We are all over the country where we're doing these events." The campaign launched its Women for Trump group last year and says it has attracted 30,000 members ever since. Out of all of its "coalition" events targeting individual subgroups - including veterans, Latinos, evangelical Christians and African Americans - 63% have been held for women voters. ADVERTISEMENT But it is unclear whether the campaign is making progress, as polls show growing disapproval of Trump among white working class women and suburban women - two critical subgroups in the upcoming general election. "The share of the white working class in the industrial states are where we need to look to see if we're going to have major, consequential gaps going forward," said Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and an expert on American public opinion. "It's clear that something's happening, that there's a division." The RNC is planning a host of "Women Empowerment Days" in various states throughout the country, hoping to engage wider networks of female voters. The Trump campaign and RNC are both using "Designated Market Area" research - often used in advertising to target consumers based on geographical metadata - to identify undecided communities. "When we have a Women for Trump event, it's obviously in substantial turf for target DMA where we see women can be impactful in those target states," a campaign official said. Democratic super PAC Priorities USA released polling this fall that found Trump "under water" in key battleground states with white women - and specifically with white non-college-educated women, of which 45% approved of his job performance, while 55% disapproved. "His overall numbers have been stable - low, but stable. But within these groups, there's been some movement," said Mark Mellman, a Democratic pollster and CEO of the Mellman Group. "There is no question that women are much more hostile to this president than men - there's no question that college-educated women are particularly hostile. But there's been movement among non-college-educated women, as well. He's suffered some meaningful defections from his high points." Trump campaign officials look at the entirety of the women vote and express optimism. ADVERTISEMENT "We hear a lot about women, women, women," said a second senior campaign official. Drawing on polling from NBC and The Wall Street Journal, the official compared Trump's current approval among women, 37% nationally, to exit polling in 2016, in which 41% of women supported the president. That difference, within the average margin of polling error, has given the campaign a "quiet confidence" its numbers have remained consistent - despite signs that suggest Trump faces growing problems among white working class women, a pillar of his political base. Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law and senior adviser, said the Women for Trump group is based on a loose concept from 2016. "After the president was inaugurated, and we had time to really focus on getting things set up the right way for this campaign, something we talked about was very early on rolling out our coalitions, so that we could do things the right way this time," she said. She said half of the campaign's donations come from women. The number cannot be independently checked because the campaign is not required to disclose donors who give under $200 and it does not voluntarily provide itemized information for many of those supporters to the Federal Election Commission. At the end of September, the time of the last available donation tally, the Center for Responsive Politics found that women who gave more than $200 provided 34.7% of Trump's campaign cash. They accounted for 43.9% of recorded donors. The president's campaign team says it is investing the money in states like New Hampshire and Minnesota that Trump barely lost in his first election. The outreach to women is in line with their goal to win those close contests in 2020. ADVERTISEMENT That strategy was aimed at winning states he lost in 2016, rather than worries about losing women voters. "I don't know that it's that we're concerned about women," Lara Trump told McClatchy in an interview. "Of course, strategically we're targeting areas that we know we have to win," she said. Jessie Jane Duff, a Women for Trump advisory board member, said many of the events she attends on behalf of the group are at the invitation of organizations not directly affiliated with the campaign. "It's like all of these coalitions, that we're demonstrating that there are active voices out there that are supporting this president from every demographic group, because the left have labeled us as a bunch of ignorant white people," she said. "That's not a label that any campaign or president should be just sitting there and ignoring." Duff and other women supporters of Trump who spoke to McClatchy said they believed that some people who might publicly say they don't support Trump, vote for him at the ballot box. Amy Kremer, a conservative activist who runs a political action committee aimed at increasing support from women for Trump, told McClatchy that women frequently show their support for the president in subtle ways such as a thumbs up when she's traveling in pro-Trump gear. "Do you know how many people tell me pollsters call their house and they lie to them, because they don't want people to know how much they love Donald Trump?" she said. Kremer said the women are "afraid of the backlash" they would receive for backing Trump publicly. She said she expects women who backed Trump in 2016 to vote for him again in 2020. She identified the economy and health care as the two issues most important to women. In their research, the campaign and RNC have also identified those as motivating policy issues for women voters who support Trump. Education also tops the list. Lanae Erickson, senior vice president for social policy and politics at the left-aligned Third Way, said the think tank's battleground state polling also reflects education, the economy and health care as top priorities. She said congressional Democrats who beat their Republican opponents in the midterm elections with the help of women focused on baseline economic issues. Based on the president's approval rating among women, "It's hard to picture any woman who didn't vote for Donald Trump the first time voting for him," Erickson said. "He's not picking up any new female voters," she said. "Spending a lot of money to shore women up shows that they know that and they're trying to hold the ones they got the first time." Erickson added, "But I just think that Trump is not doing anything to appeal to swing women at this point, he's just trying not to hemorrhage as many as possible." Specific reforms that have found an advocate in the president's daughter and senior adviser, Ivanka Trump, provide the campaign with some identifiable policy victories. The administration supported a provision of this year's National Defense Authorization Act that included paid family leave for federal workers. "President Trump is delivering on his promises with his policies benefiting women across the country," Allie Carroll, the RNC's assistant national press secretary, said. "With near record-low unemployment for women, paid family leave for federal workers, and a doubling of the child tax credit, women are winning across America and they will play a crucial role in ensuring that the success of the Trump administration continues for four more years." Christina Reynolds, vice president of communications at EMILY's List, a groups that supports female candidates who back abortion rights, said that Democratic candidates tend to hold positions that are more in line with women's views on the issues that turn out voters. Reynolds said that Trump's advertising may not mention issues that will deter women from voting for him, "So it will be our job to go out, offer our own agenda and to point out where they're getting it wrong." --- (c)2020 McClatchy Washington Bureau Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau at www.mcclatchydc.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The actor allegedly staged a hate crime and was accused of hiring two men to pretend to assault him while using racist and homophobic slurs and shouting that he was in MAGA country a reference to President Donald Trumps campaign slogan. Smollett was charged with faking the crime, but Foxx later dropped all 16 counts filed against the actor, who is best known for his role on the Fox series Empire. India on Thursday delivered an unusually blunt message to China for its attempt to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council, asking it to seriously reflect on the global consensus and refrain from taking such action in the future New Delhi: India on Thursday delivered an unusually blunt message to China for its attempt to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council, asking it to seriously reflect on the global consensus and refrain from taking such action in the future. India also slammed Pakistan for trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue with the help of China, saying Islamabad's "desperate" measures to "peddle" baseless allegations and presenting an alarming scenario about the Valley lacked credibility. "Pakistan can avoid this global embarrassment time and again by putting their energy in something constructive," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a media briefing. China, an 'all-weather ally' of Pakistan, on Wednesday made a fresh bid to raise the Kashmir issue at an informal closed-door meeting of the UNSC in New York. Noting that the meeting concluded without any outcome, Kumar said an overwhelming majority of the UNSC members were of the view that the top decision-making body was not the right forum to discuss the Kashmir issue. "China should seriously reflect on this global consensus, draw proper lessons and refrain from taking such action in future," Kumar said, replying to a question on why India has not reacted strongly to Beijing raising the Kashmir issue at the UNSC. "I suggest that this question should be posed to the Chinese side as well," he said. Kumar said the views by an overwhelming majority at the UNSC reflected the global consensus that if there was an issue between India and Pakistan, then it should be discussed bilaterally. "An effort was made by Pakistan through a member of the UNSC to once again misuse the platform of UNSC for discussing a bilateral matter," he said. "The overwhelming majority of the UNSC members were of the view that UNSC was not the right forum for such issues and this should be discussed bilaterally between India and Pakistan. The informal closed-door meeting, therefore, concluded without any outcome," he said. The current move by China was the third such attempt since August when the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution was scrapped by the government, and the state was bifurcated into two union territories. "We sincerely hope that the message has gone across loud and clear to Pakistan that if at all, there is any matter between India and Pakistan that needs to be discussed, it should be discussed bilaterally," Kumar added. Asked how many member countries out of 15 opposed the move, the MEA spokesperson said an overwhelming view was that the UNSC should not be misused by Pakistan through a member. However, he did not give a specific number of countries. In August, China pushed for a UNSC meeting on Kashmir after the government scrapped Jammu and Kashmir's special status. However, the meeting did not yield the desired results for China as the member-states maintained that India's move was an internal issue. Last month, France, the US, the UK and Russia foiled an attempt by China to discuss Kashmir at a closed-door meeting of the UNSC. China has been critical of India's reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir and has particularly criticised New Delhi for making Ladakh a union territory. China lays claim over several parts of Ladakh. After the meeting, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin told PTI that, "we once again saw an effort made by one member state of the UN, fail in plain view of all others. We are happy that neither alarmist scenario painted by the representatives of Pakistan nor any of the baseless allegations made repeatedly by representatives of Pakistan in the UN fora were found to be credible today." On his part, Chinese envoy Zhang Jun in New York said, "I am sure the meeting will help both the parties to understand the risk of further escalation and will encourage them to approach each other and have a dialogue and seek solutions through dialogue. I think that will be helpful." WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with his Brazilian and Bolivian counterparts during his upcoming visit to Bogota, Colombia, a senior State Department official told reporters on Thursday. "While in Bogota, the Secretary will also meet with Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo to highlight our close partnership in the global fight against terrorism and to reaffirm US support for Brazil's accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD," the official said. "Finally, in Colombia the Secretary will meet with Bolivian Foreign Minister [Karen] Longaric to underscore the US government's strong, fair, transparent and inclusive support for free new elections in Bolivia on May 3. We will highlight areas for US and international cooperation to support them." Earlier on Thursday, the State Department announced that Pompeo will travel to Bogota, Colombia on January 20 as part of his trip to Germany, Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Florida January 18-23. In Bogota, Pompeo will speak at the Third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial and will hold meetings with President Duque and other regional leaders. TikTok, the social media app that is surging in popularity with teens and young adults, is to establish a new European base in Dublin with 100 people. The companys Emea trust and safety hub is to be headed up by Facebooks Dublin-based head of community operations, Cormac Keenan. Mr Keenan is expected to become the companys liaison with Irish and European regulators, including the new Online Safety Commission proposed by the government. TikTok, which has almost 1bn users and is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, is not making the Dublin office an official European headquarters, with London set to remain the platforms second biggest global office, behind Los Angeles. TikToks Dublin office will remain in WeWorks Harcourt Road premises. It also operates from a WeWork facility in London. The Dublin office will become TikToks third global trust and safety hub, after San Francisco and Singapore. An Ipsos MRBI survey this week put TikTok as the fastest-growing social network in Ireland, with 6pc of all adults using it, up from 2pc six months ago. However, it is most popular with teenagers, with some surveys claiming that it is installed on the phones of over a third of Irish teens. TikTok was the second-most downloaded app in the US app store last year, with similar rates of adoption in Europe. Earlier this month, the platform was discovered to have a security flaw that could redirect users to a malicious website. However, the company has said that no TikTik user accounts were breached or attacked through the flaw. TikTok has also courted controversy in recent months with accusations of censorship over Hong Kong protests against a Chinese security crackdown. For people to feel comfortable expressing themselves, they must feel safe, said Alex Zhu, president of TikTok. The establishment of this new EMEA hub in Dublin and Cormac's appointment is part of our ongoing commitment to prioritise user safety by continuously strengthening the policies, technologies and strategies that both facilitate freedom of creative expression and protect users from harm. This hub, under Cormac's leadership, will shape a more localised content policy approach that aligns with the values, standards and norms of our key markets across the region." Cormac Keenan said: "TikTok is a totally unique content platform. I'm excited to have the opportunity to lead this new hub and shape a more locally-relevant content policy approach that helps our community to continue to feel as comfortable as possible expressing themselves to the full." Keenan joined Facebook in 2010 from Google, where had worked since 2003. He rose to become the companys head of community operations, working from Facebooks international headquarters in Dublin. Lviv Airport mulling direct flights to China, Qatar 12:20, 17.01.20 4032 The airport in 2019 opened new flights to eight destinations. France to deploy aircraft carrier to Middle East Nuclear aircraft carrier to be sent to the region to back French military operations, says Emmanuel Macron. France will deploy its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Middle East to back its military operations in the region, President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday. JOINT OPERATIONS WITH EU COUNTRIES The nuclear aircraft carrier will be deployed to support Chammal operations until April, Macron said at a New Year speech to the French military in the city of Orleans. It will also be used in joint operations with European countries, he said, highlighting the increasing threat of Daesh/ISIS. Following Daesh/ISIS-linked terrorist attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in 2015, the Charles de Gaulle, with an air wing that typically includes 24 Rafale fighter jets, was deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean. The ship was sent to the South China Sea last year. France launched the Chammal Operation on Sep.19, 2014 in a bid to counter the expansion of Daesh/ISIS and support the Iraqi army and the coalition. The operation was later expanded to include the Daesh/ISIS threat in Syria. Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo The Bruce Museum in Greenwich will host an MLK Family Day on Monday, Jan. 20, to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Participants can create artwork inspired by Kings values of compassion, love, courage and forgiveness. Pervez Musharraf moved SC against verdict of special court ISLAMABAD: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Thursday moved Supreme Court (SC) against the verdict of the special court which sentenced him to death in a high treason case. Barrister Salman Safdar, the counsel for the former army chief, submitted the petition challenging the special court verdict in the apex court. In the petition, the former president urged the Supreme Court to declare the special courts ruling null and void. In the 90-page petition filed before the top court, Musharraf claimed that he was not given a fair trial by the special court. The petition argued that the SC should suspend the ruling of the special court until the top court reviews the case. In the appeal, Musharraf pleaded that the special court ruling in the high treason case is not consistent with the principles of Islam. The appeal claims that the ruling in the case is against the basic tenets of an Islamic state. It further noted that Musharraf was not allowed his right to appoint a lawyer in the case, and the verdict was announced without his presence in the courtroom. The complaint registered against the former president which resulted in the trial has also been challenged in the apex court, with counsel for Musharraf claiming that the permission of the federal government had not been sought before the case was brought to trial. In his appeal, Musharraf said that based on the grounds of the application, since the trial has been conducted and completed in sheer violation of the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, the special courts judgement should be set aside. Any other remedy that the honourable court deems fit and proper may also be granted, the appeal added. As per the preliminary submissions, In a nutshell, it is the case of the appellant (Musharraf) that he was being tried for an alleged constitutional crime in an entirely unconstitutional manner. According to Musharrafs appeal, the prosecutions case had suffered from an admitted, noticeable and unexplained delay of over five years from the date of the alleged offence and the intiation of proceedings. That the malice of the federal government is apparent from the selective, discriminatory and biased nature of the investigation and prosecution, the appeal stated. The grounds for the application challenging the special courts verdict included: a delay (noticeable and unexplained in initiating high treason case), no offence of high treason made out, prosecutorial misconduct and discriminatory/selective prosecution, complaint filed without federal government/cabinet approval, coram non-judice the special court was not constituted in the appropriate manner, special court had concluded the proceedings without examining the accused, the mode, manner and language of the judgement, status as absconder and trial in absentia, right to counsel and judicial bias. Christopher Tolkien, the son of J. R. R. Tolkien who was responsible for publishing many of his father's works, has died aged 95, the Tolkien Society said. He had been living in France since the 1970s. The academic, a former lecturer in Old and Middle English as well as Old Icelandic at the University of Oxford, is credited with drawing the 1954 map of Middle-earth for his father's novel "The Lord of the Rings". After his father's death in 1973, he became the literary executor of the Tolkien Estate. Tolkien's legacy He spent years compiling and editing his father's material before publishing many of his works, including "The Silmarillion" in 1977 and "The Fall of Gondolin" in 2018. "We have lost a titan and he will be sorely missed," Tolkien Society chairman Shaun Gunner said in a statement Thursday. "Christopher's commitment to his father's works has seen dozens of publications released, and his own work as an academic in Oxford demonstrates his ability and skill as a scholar," Gunner added. "Millions of people around the world will be forever grateful to Christopher for bringing us 'The Silmarillion', 'The Children of Hurin', 'The History of Middle-earth' series and many others." Tolkien scholar Dimitra Fimi hailed him for enriching the public's understanding of Middle-earth. "Tolkien studies would never be what it is today without Christopher Tolkien's contribution," she said. "He revealed his father's grand vision of a rich and complex mythology. "He gave us a window into Tolkien's creative process, and he provided scholarly commentary that enriched our understanding of Middle-earth. He was Middle-earth's cartographer and first scholar." Devoted curator Tolkien's death was confirmed by his brother-in-law Daniel Klass, according to The New York Times. He died in Draguignan, southeastern France, local newspaper Var-Matin said. "Christopher was a devoted curator of his father's work and the timeless and ongoing popularity of the world that J. R. R. Tolkien created is a fitting testimony to the decades he spent bringing Middle-earth to generations of readers," he said. Christopher Tolkien was born in Leeds, northern England, on November 21, 1924, his father's third and youngest son. He joined the Royal Air Force during World War II and was stationed in South Africa. Tolkien then studied English at Oxford's Trinity College. He had a son, novelist and former lawyer Simon, by his first marriage, and two children, Adam and Rachel, with his second wife Baillie, with whom he lived in France since the 1970s. Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said on Friday that the South China Sea remains a top agenda item for 2020 after meeting with his counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. As the rotating chair of the bloc, Vietnam chose to focus on issues concerning the South China Sea, where several ASEAN nations have overlapping claims with China. China is intensifying its military presence on the expanding artificial islands and the recent deployment of ships to Vietnam's and Malaysia's exclusive economic zones have sparked concerns and have been met with protest from the countries. Also on the agenda is Myanmar's plan to repatriate Rohingya Muslims from refugee camps in Bangladesh. Minh said the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership may be signed in Vietnam this year as 15 of its 16 prospect members have concluded negotiations. RCEP includes 10 ASEAN countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam; three East Asian countries China, Japan, South Korea and two Oceania countries with Australia and New Zealand. India was initially among the countries negotiating for the trade deal but dropped out in 2019. Japan and China are calling on the country to return to the partnership. A few non-BJP-ruled states on Friday raised objections over the new methodology to be adopted in the NPR exercise but the central government defended the steps saying certain answers to be given by people are not mandatory but voluntary. The objections by Rajasthan and a few other states were raised at a day-long conference convened by the Union Home Ministry to discuss the modalities to be adopted during the house listing phase of the Census 2021 and the National Population Register to be carried out from April 1 to September 30, 2020. Rajasthan Chief Secretary D B Gupta said he and the representatives of a few other states raised objections to a few questions to be asked by enumerators to people during the NPR exercise. "We said certain questions in NPR are impractical, like questions related to the birth place of parents. There are many people in the country who even don't know what was their birth place. I don't know what is the purpose of such questions and we have told the meeting to remove such questions," Gupta told reporters after the meeting. He said the central government officials told them that answers to all such questions are not mandatory but voluntary and no one is going to force anyone to reply any question. "They said such questions were asked earlier also and this time they have just linked with an individual's place of birth with his or her parent's place of birth. But they said answer to this question is not mandatory," he said. Rajasthan is ruled by the Congress, which has announced its opposition to the NPR exercise. Assemblies of Kerala and Punjab have adopted resolutions announcing their opposition to the exercise. During the meeting, presentations were given on the objectives of the census and the NPR exercises and their benefits. Also, presentation was given on the use of mobile app, which will be used in the census for the first time in its history. The conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai and attended by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, chief secretaries and census directors of many states. A few states were represented by principal secretary, instead of the chief secretary. No official from the West Bengal government attended the meeting, an official said. In his inaugural address, Rai put the emphasis on the need for conducting Census 2021 and the role of the states in doing the same. He said the data collected in the census will help the country in framing policies for the welfare of the people. The minister also inaugurated the Official 'Mascot' for Census 2021. The Union home secretary remarked on the vastness of this exercise and involvement of the state functionaries. A few state governments, including West Bengal, have declared that they will not participate in the NPR exercise now as it is prelude to a country-wide National Register of Citizens. Officials said the objective of NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country. The database would contain demographic as well as biometric particulars, they said. The notification for the house listing census and NPR exercise came recently amid furore over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The ministry officials said most of the states have notified provisions related to the NPR. The NPR is a register of usual residents of the country. It is being prepared at the local (village/sub-town), subdistrict, district, state and national levels under provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. The rules have a provision for fine of up to Rs 1,000 on those violating it. The data for NPR was last collected in 2010 along with the house listing phase of the Census 2011. Updating of this data was done during 2015 by conducting door to door survey. While updating the register in 2015, the government has asked details like Aadhaar and their mobile number. This time, the information related to their driving licence and voter ID card may also be gathered, the officials said, adding that PAN card details will not be collected as part of this exercise. For the purposes of the NPR, a usual resident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for the past six months or more, or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months. The law compulsorily seeks to register every citizen of India and issue a national identity card. Assam has been excluded because the National Register of Citizens exercise has already been conducted in the state. The demographic details of every individual are required for every usual resident: name, relationship to head of household, father's name, mother's name, spouse's name (if married), sex, date of birth, marital status, place of birth, nationality (as declared), present address of usual residence, duration of stay at present address, permanent residential address, occupation, educational qualification. The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 3,941.35 crore for the NPR exercise. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Vivek Joshi made a brief presentation on the Strategy for Census 2021. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WESTFIELD Barnes Air National Guard Base officials are seeking members to serve on a stakeholder group that will meet regularly to discuss and watch the cleanup of contamination in the citys municipal water supply. The Restoration Advisory Board enables people interested in the environmental cleanup to exchange information with representatives of regulatory agencies, the base and the community. It offers a focused and interactive opportunity for residents to participate in the cleanup process. The city, U. S. Air Force and Air National Guard have detected PFAS, which are chemicals used in firefighting foam, have leached into several wells in the citys water supply, forcing them to be turned off until they are deemed safe. A temporary filtration plant for Well 2 has worked well since it started operating last year. A similar but larger permanent plant for Wells 7 and 8 was scheduled to go online in the late fall. Members will be responsible for providing community input to the Air National Guard and representatives of the state Department of Environmental protection on the investigation and cleanup activities, reviewing and commenting on technical documents about the site and communicating the issues to the community. Any residents interested in serving on the board should contact the Barnes Air National Guard Public Affairs at usaf.ma.104-fw.mbx.restoration-advisory-board1@mail.mil by Feb. 1. Applicants should include their name, address, email address and phone number. In a letter read out during Wednesday's trade deal signing at the White House, Chinese leader Xi Jinping asked President Donald Trump to take steps to "enhance mutual trust and cooperation between us." That won't be easy: Apart from the trade agreement, the U.S. and China are butting heads on everything from technology to human rights to territorial disputes. Just this week, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo told executives in Silicon Valley the U.S. is "facing a challenge from China that demands every fiber of your innovative skill and your innovative spirit." A return to acrimony could have major consequences for China, and for Xi. In the short term, renewed tensions with the U.S. risk weakening an already fragile economic situation, while investment restrictions could hamper plans to secure technologies essential to driving growth. For Xi, a perceived failure to manage U.S. ties could also dent support for a third term in office at a key Communist Party meeting in 2022. "This is China's most important bilateral relationship by a country mile, and Xi Jinping has made it clear that he's in charge from the beginning," said Trey McArver, co-founder of Beijing-based research firm Trivium China. "He's under pressure to do a good job because if he doesn't it opens him up to criticism that he's not a good statesman and not a good steward of the nation." Early on, Xi himself defined the terms of a successful relationship. Even before taking the top job in 2012, he called for a "new type of great power relations" that would see the two powers respect each other's "core interests" and abandon a "zero-sum" mentality. Just days before Trump took office in 2017 after campaigning on an "America First" platform, Xi sought to claim the mantle as a defender of free trade by preaching "openness" and "economic liberalization" at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Later that year, he declared that China was "approaching the center of the world stage" as he outlined a road map for turning the country into a leading global power by 2050. Trump, however, sought to thwart those plans. His move to raise tariffs has disrupted China's export-led economic model, accelerating a shift in global supply chains as lower-cost manufacturers look for cheaper places to set up shop. It also opened the door for his administration to blacklist Huawei Technologies Co. and other burgeoning Chinese tech companies that still rely on U.S. firms for vital components. "If you go back five, six, seven years, in 2019 they say China was going to catch us as the world's largest economy," Trump told supporters at a rally last month. "Guess what? They're way behind. They're way behind." For Xi, the phase-one deal reached Wednesday helps stop the bleeding on the trade war. And while he's struck an optimistic tone along with other Chinese officials, the text of the deal itself speaks to the wide gap between the world's biggest economies. Its limited scope, highlighted by whopping agricultural and energy purchases, defers tougher issues like Beijing's controversial state subsidies, industrial policies and state-owned enterprises. Compromise on state-owned enterprises will prove difficult because they are an "organic component of China's political and economic governance," said Wang Peng, associate research fellow at Renmin University's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies. In other words, they are a crucial lever for keeping Xi and the Communist Party in power. Opening certain parts of the economy to foreign competition could spark instability as the government seeks to maintain economic growth and employment. And more than leaders before him, Xi has sought total control over any potential threats to power, from corrupt officials to ethnic Uighurs to even a free-market think tank. In San Francisco this week, Pompeo urged technology companies to "confront tough questions about the national security consequences of doing business in a country controlled by the Chinese Communist Party." "We need to make sure that our companies don't do deals that strengthen a competitor's military or tighten the regime's grip of repression in parts of that country," Pompeo said. "We need to make sure American technology doesn't power a truly Orwellian surveillance state." Even with the trade deal, Trump is moving to further curtail Huawei's ability to operate as it continues a campaign to dissuade other countries from using its 5G technology. This week, Reuters reported that the Commerce Department has drafted a rule that would allow it to block U.S. exports to Huawei if U.S. components make up more than 10% of product value. Lawmakers from both parties are also taking action. Congress voted overwhelmingly last month to pressure China over Hong Kong, and they are pushing for measures to punish Beijing for its detention of an estimated one million ethnic Uighur Muslims in "re-education" camps. Then there are military tensions. Since the Pentagon officially labeled China a "strategic competitor" in 2018, the Trump administration has challenged China on multiple fronts. It increased patrols in the South China Sea and approved an $8 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, the first such deal in almost 30 years. Just last week, the U.S. Army announced it would deploy a specialized task force to the Pacific capable of conducting information, electronic, cyber and missile operations against Beijing. 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. On Thursday, the U.S. sailed a warship through the Taiwan Strait. The U.S. Navy conducted nine transits through the waterway last year, the most since former President Barack Obama's final year in office in 2016. Xi's goal now is to sure up political support at home while also softening China's image abroad. A Pew Research Center Survey poll last month found that China's favorability ratings fell dramatically last year in countries from Canada and Australia to Indonesia and the Philippines. China has sought to allay fears that Xi's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative would saddle poorer countries with debt. He's also prioritizing "neighborhood diplomacy" to assert leadership in Asia, mending ties with Japan and South Korea while also reaching out to places like Vietnam where tensions have risen. He'll take his first foreign trip this year on Friday to Myanmar. At home, Xi is also taking steps to bolster China's ability to modernize without the U.S. if necessary. After the last round of talks broke down in May last year, Xi renewed long-standing calls for "self-reliance" in key technologies and even called for a "new Long March." It also appears that concerns in the party over his push for a more assertive foreign policy, which marks a departure from former leader Deng Xiaoping's call for "hiding brightness and biding time," haven't impacted his official ascent. The Communist Party's elite Politburo last month dubbed Xi the "people's leader" -- a term once used to describe Mao Zedong -- after previously agreeing to remove presidential term limits and enshrine his name in the constitution. Either way, while businesses are relieved at the temporary easing of tensions, few are under any illusions that deeper tensions will abate. "This trade deal is a good thing if it can reduce tension," said James McGregor, China chairman of APCO Worldwide, which advises foreign companies. "But only time will tell if it puts us on a path to finding a way for two incompatible development models to coexist and work together. That is something way beyond the parameters of any trade deal." Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk, together with President Volodymyr Zelensky, will take part in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos (Switzerland) on January 22-23. "Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk together with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will pay a working visit to Davos, Switzerland, on the days of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum on January 22-23," the Government portal reported. During the visit, the head of the Ukrainian Government will hold a series of bilateral meetings with leaders of foreign countries and international organizations, as well as with representatives of the international business community. Earlier, a source in the Office of the President said that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky would visit Davos and hold a meeting of the National Investment Council of Ukraine there. The visit is expected to take place on January 22. On January 21-24, the World Economic Forum will take place in Davos, Switzerland. ish Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) has been recognized among this years most awarded winners in the One Planet Awards program, an initiative acknowledging business and professional excellence in industries around the world. The company earned four awards for its achievements in delivering a smoke-free future from the more than 50 judges, who represent a wide spectrum of global industry experts. PMI received Gold awards in the Achievement of the Year in Diversity and Milestone of the Year categories in recognition of becoming the first multinational company to achieve global EQUAL-SALARY certification; PMIs president of South & Southeast Asia, Stacey Kennedy, was awarded Gold in the Woman of the Year in Business & the Professions category; and the company earned a Grand Trophy for being among this years most-awarded winners. We are passionate about our work at PMI to achieve a smoke-free future and make better alternatives to cigarettes available for men and women who would otherwise continue to smoke, said Stacey Kennedy, PMIs president of South & Southeast Asia. Its an honor to be recognized by other business leaders for the progress were making and for our drive to transform our company internally and externally to unsmoke the world. For PMI, cultivating an inclusive, diverse and gender-balanced workplace is a key priority as it transforms from a cigarette manufacturer to a science- and technology-driven company with a pipeline of innovative smoke-free products. To be successful in our mission, we have to foster the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of our people, enabling their skills and ideas to flourish in an inclusive and diverse environment, said Charles Bendotti, PMIs senior vice president of People & Culture. Our global EQUAL-SALARY certification was an important step in our work to achieve greater gender balance, and I am hopeful that our recognition by the One Planet Awards further highlights the role of the business community in championing positive change. In March 2019, PMI became the first multinational company to be certified globally for equal pay by the independent third-party EQUAL-SALARY Foundation. The companys global EQUAL-SALARY certification confirms its commitment to equality and verifies that PMI pays all its employees, in more than 90 countries worldwide, equally for equal work, regardless of gender. For more information about PMIs transformation, visit www.PMI.com. Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products and associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the United States. In addition, PMI ships a version of its IQOS Platform 1 device and its consumables authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Altria Group, Inc. for sale in the United States under license. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMIs smoke-free IQOS product portfolio includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of September 30, 2019, PMI estimates that approximately 8.8 million adult smokers around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to PMIs heat-not-burn product, available for sale in 51 markets in key cities or nationwide under the IQOS brand. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com. # # # View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005168/en/ The Nazis created the 'ultimate' fighter plane during World War Two by upgrading a captured British Spitfire plane - that would outperform anything else in the sky. The seized aircraft, which had mistakenly landed in a turnip field on occupied Jersey in 1942, was enhanced to make it travel faster and climb quicker than either its German or British counterparts. To achieve this, the Germans welded a Messerschmidt 109 fighter's head to the front and replaced its engine with a more powerful fuel injected Daimler-Benz model. The 'Messer-Spit' was fortunately never replicated during the war, as the Nazis did not know how to build a Spitfire, but may well have impacted the outcome if it had been brought into production. The single Frankenstein-plane was eventually destroyed by an Allied bombing raid on the Daimler-Benz factory, near Stuttgart, in 1944. The British Spitfire was upgraded to a more sinister 'Messer-Split' (pictured) which could travel faster and climb quicker than either its German or British rivals To make the upgrade, the plane had a German Messerschmidt's head welded to the front, and a Daimler-Benz engine installed. (Pictured above is a Messerschmidt 109 fighter) However, the aircraft was never replicated as the Nazis did not know how to build a Spitfire (pictured) 'The Germans took the Spitfire then tried putting the front end, the engine, of their Me109 fighter, on the front end of it, producing this ghastly looking hybrid,' said British aviation historian Nik Coleman. 'Funnily enough it worked great, better than either of the original aircraft. They never pursued the project, but used the information to improve their future fighters.' Aviation historian Ian McLachlan said that the new aircraft had performed 'rather well' after the parts were added. 'It went through extensive testing and did very well on all the key factors such as speed and rate of climb. 'However, only one was made as it was not a realistic proposition to do this on a larger scale as there were just not enough captured Spitfires for the Germans to use. 'Also, the Me 109 was more than capable of handling itself against the Mark 5 Spitfire in its own right and the Focke-Wulf 190 was generally superior any way.' British aviation historian Nik Coleman said the aircraft 'worked great, better than either of the originals' when it was tested. The plane is pictured above It was eventually destroyed during an Allied bombing raid over the Daimler-Benz factory in Stuttgart in 1944, two years after the Spitfire was captured Above a captured Spitfire daubed with Nazi symbols is pictured. It was seized at Dunkirk The illusive photographs of the mutant plane were dug up for PBS America series Plane Resurrection after film maker and British aviation historian Nik Coleman spotted them on German military history forums. The plane's pilot, Lt Bernard Scheidhauer (pictured), took part in the Great Escape masterminded by Sq Ldr Roger Bushell The Spitfire, piloted by German-born Frenchman Lieutenant Bernard Scheidhauer from the RAF no 101 Squadron, was captured after it touched down on Jersey when the pilot believed he had reached the Isle of Wight. The plane had taken off from RAF Westhampnett, West Sussex, in November 1942 to carry out attacks on railways and other infrastructure when it was hit by an anti-aircraft gun and began to limp back to Britain. Lt Scheidhauer was also captured on Jersey and taken to Stalag Luft III PoW camp, in Silesia, Germany, where he paired up with mastermind Squadron Leader Roger Bushell to take part in the Great Escape. They were among the first to exit through the tunnel but were arrested a few days later at Saarbrucken railway station. On March 29, both of them were driven out into the country and told to get out for a toilet break, at which point they were shot with their backs turned. The 'Messer Spit' (pictured) combined the fuel injected Daimler-Benz engine with the Spitfire's more manoeuvrable frame Photographs of the plane were dug up for PBS America series Plane Resurrection by Nik Coleman (pictured), after he saw them in forums on Nazi military technology Over 33,000 Me 109s and 20,000 Spitfires were produced during World War Two, often duelling in the skies as the adversaries sought to establish aerial supremacy. The Me 109s had heavier armament and were slightly faster, but were not as well suited for dogfighting as the more agile Spitfires with their better turning ability. The fourth series of Plane Resurrection will be premiering on PBS America on March 30. An ambitious management plan for the buffer zone around Nepals most famous national park has resulted in transformed relations between the locals, the Army, and the administration. Fifteen years ago, when the Nepal Army patrolled in and around the Chitwan National Park, the villagers of Bankatta in Madi municipality were filled with fear. According to Narayan Bote, a local resident, villagers either used to stay inside their homes or fled the area. The army and local people used to treat each other as enemies, Bote recalled. The situation was almost the same in other villages near the national park. According to Pratap Pun Magar of Madi Municipality-8, the only source of grass, wood and pasture for the people was the national park but army personnel used to beat locals when they took their livestock near the park. Sometimes, said Mohan Bahadur Pun, this spilled over into violent clashes. In one instance Dhakaram Timalsena was returning home from the national park with dry grass for the roof of his house. According to him, he did this during the time that the park was open to locals, but Army personnel beat him nevertheless, triggering a clash between them and the villagers. In another clash, local people captured a rifle from the Army personnel. Changing situation Much has changed in the last decade and a half, especially in civil-military relations. A month ago, a wild elephant came in Ayodhayapuri village which panicked local people. Army personnel came to the village to chase away the elephant. The local army unit has provided a telephone number to call if villagers face any problems. In the past, there was no interaction between the army and local people. Now, the Nepal Army has joined hands with people from the buffer zone to undertake the tasks related to conservation. In the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park, a community-based youth awareness campaign is in place. Under this plan, 22 committees have joined hands with the army in conservation efforts. The army is offering free-of-cost services in the construction-related works in the buffer zone. According to Krishna Raj Adhikari, ward chair of Madi Municipality-8, Nepal army personnel assisted in the construction of the National Primary School. According to Adhikari, civil-military relations have substantially improved. Spokesperson of Nepal Army Bigyan Dev Pandey said conflicts with local people has been minimised as a part of national armys larger objectives of improving civil-military relation. According to the Nepal Army, a health check post, various awareness programs, sapling plantation campaign and other activities related to disaster risk management are being implemented as part of conflict reduction. The army is providing training to its personnel and officers who are deployed in conservation areas. We provide training both to personnel and officers before we deploy them in the conservation which has contributed to improve civil-military relation, Pandey said, Army personnel who made mistakes were punished and arrangements were made where common people can file their complaints. Impact of buffer zone in conservation efforts The real driver, though, is probably the buffer zone management programme, which has played a large role in bringing local people, the Nepal Army and national park administration together for the conservation. Implemented initially for the years 2013-17 to protect the countrys first national park, and deal with the needs of more than 260,000 people living in the area, it has been very successful. The buffer zone has helped to bring all concerned together. If people have any complaints, buffer zone group helps to take them to administration and army, we seek a solution through collective discussions and consultations, said the former chairperson of Panch Pandav buffer zone users group. There are 1,779 such groups 856 of them female, 850 male, and 73 mixed groups, to cover all the needs of the people and receive their feedback. According to the department of national parks and wildlife conservation, the key purpose of declaring a buffer zone was to minimise the conflict between government and people, protection of the habitat of wildlife and providing relief to people. One major intervention was that the programme linked income for the region to community development. It stated that the buffer zone generates a large amount of money by tourism in the BZ [Buffer Zone] through resource mobilization. The BZMC [Buffer Zone Management Committee], the Users Committees/Subcommittees and User groups have to allocate 30% of their budget for conservation, 30% for community development, 20% for income generation and skill development, 10% for conservation education and 10% administration. The committees receive NPR 120-300 million (USD 1.05-2.63 million) from the park. This year it was NPR 130 million (USD 1.14 million). Shifting professions There are other factors too that have contributed to minimise the conflict between the national park and local people. Local people have been changing their profession, there is growing awareness among people and both the government administration and army have made changes in their behaviour. This has helped to minimise the conflict and there is the growing participation of local people in the conservation efforts. Earlier, the main profession of local people was livestock so local people were forced to go to the jungle to fetch feed for their cows and buffaloes. This is changing. For example, Pratap Pun Magar used to own six cows, for which he had to procure grass and other feed. Now he operates a home-stay. He is earning NPR 35-40,000 (USD 307-351) per month and is planning to run a fishery business. Similarly, Khil Bahadur Pun, Prabin Thapa Magar, Mohan Bahadur Pun and Sukmaya Rai have sold their cows and buffaloes and have started to operate a homestay business as tourists have started to increase in the area. This has substantially changed their income status. According to Prabin Thapa, each family earns approximately NPR 600,000 (USD 5,267) a year. Bankatta is dominated by the Bote community composed of fisherfolk. They have changed their profession from fishing to tourism and about a dozen youth have joined the Nepal army. Now, it is not necessary to go for fishing for bread and butter, they are choosing alternative professions and there the important thing is there is an increased awareness and wildlife conservation, he said. According to Conservation Officer Narayan Rupakheti of Chitwan National Park there 115 homestays in eight places adjoining the national park providing employment to more than 3,000 locals. Human-wildlife conflict increasing Though the conflicts between national park administration and local people are decreasing, there is a growing trend of human-wildlife conflict. Wildlife attacks local people and destroys crops; and it is in the increasing trend, according to the department. In the 2018-19 fiscal year (April 2018-March 2019) 30 people were killed and 140 injured by wildlife. 595 houses and sheds were destroyed or damaged and 1,593 domestic animals were killed. In the 2017-8 fiscal year, 17 people were killed, 65 injured, and 434 houses and sheds were destroyed, while 806 domestic animals were killed. In 2016-17, 22 people were killed, 43 were injured, 271 houses and sheds were destroyed, and 277 livestock animals killed. This rising trend of human-animal conflict will need to be confronted, but with some trust created between the administration and locals, the region is far better placed to deal with it. The article first appeared on The Third Pole. Read the original post. Passengers walk past a sign at Narita Airport in Chiba prefecture on January 16, 2020. Japan has confirmed a case of a mystery virus that first emerged in China and is from the same family as the deadly SARS pathogen, authorities said on January 16. (STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images) Second Person Dies From New Viral Pneumonia in China as Japan Confirms First Case Chinese authorities announced a second death from a new type of pneumonia originating from the central city of Wuhan, as Japan confirmed its first case of the disease. Wuhan health authorities said late Jan. 16 that a 69-year-old man, Xiong Moumou, who became ill on Dec. 31, 2019, had died. Xiong developed inflammation in his heart and abnormal organ function and died on Jan. 15. He became the second patient to die from the new type of coronavirusa family of virus that includes the common cold, SARS, and MERS. The first death occurred last week, a 61-year-old man who had other health issues. The news came hours after Japanese health officials confirmed its first patient with the new coronavirus, becoming the second infection outside of Wuhan, after Thailand reported a case earlier this week. The man, in his 30s, developed a fever and a cough while traveling in Wuhan on Jan. 3. After returning to Japan, he was hospitalized on Jan. 10 as his symptoms persisted, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare said. Tests conducted on Jan. 14 confirmed he was carrying the same coronavirus as those infected in Wuhan. He has since been released from the hospital as his condition improved. The man, reported by local media as a Chinese national, told Japanese health officials he didnt visit the seafood market in Wuhan linked to the pneumonia outbreak, but that he had close contact with at least one person with pneumonia symptoms at a place where he had stayed during his visit. The market, which also sold meat from exotic animals, has been closed since Jan. 1 for disinfecting. In Thailand on Jan. 13, health authorities confirmed a 61-year-old Chinese woman visiting from Wuhan had contracted the virus. Health officials said the woman, who came down with symptoms on Jan. 5, hadnt visited the seafood market, but had visited a smaller market in Wuhan, where live and freshly slaughtered animals were sold. The World Health Organization (WHO) hasnt reached a definitive conclusion on whether the virus could be spread among humans. On Jan. 14, Maria Van Kerkhove, acting head of the WHOs emerging diseases unit, said that it was possible the disease has limited human-to-human transmission, potentially among families. The following day, the WHO Western Pacific stated in a series of Twitter posts that there is no clear evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission and there are no infections reported among health care workers, but the fact that some cases do not seem to be linked with the Huanan seafood market means we cannot exclude the possibility of limited human-to-human transmission. Earlier this week, Wuhan authorities confirmed that among those infected were a husband and wife. While the husband worked at the market, the wife hadnt been there recently. The confirmation of new cases comes just ahead of the Lunar New Year, when hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists are expected to travel around Asia. Health authorities across the region, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Thailand, are on high alert, increasing screening at ports of entry, stockpiling protective gear, and preparing isolation beds. The U.S. State Department issued a notice on Jan. 15, referring to an alert by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urging citizens traveling to Wuhan to avoid contact with animals, animal markets, or animal products, among other precautions. Meanwhile, German researchers on Jan. 16 said they have developed the first diagnostic test for the new coronavirus. The test, which is being made available through the WHO, will allow labs to reliably diagnose the virus within a very short period of time, said Christian Drosten, director of the Institute for Virology at Berlins Charite hospital, whose team developed the test. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report. Fund utilisation levels under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) are satisfactory. However, challenges related to staff shortages, capacity, transparency and accountability in public financial management remain, finds the Tata Trusts report on fiscal governance. The Budget Trails by Tata Trusts and Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) is the result of a two-year project that analyses bottlenecks in fund utilisation at district level across 10 development schemes. The idea was to develop a roadmap for fiscal governance reforms required to ensure improvement in resource absorption. Poornima Dore, Head of Data Driven Governance at the Tata Trusts said the study is an attempt to understand fund-flow mechanisms and factors that can enhance the district's ability to utilise its potential as a local-level planning and implementation authority. While information of budgetary resources and its utilisation is available and accessible at the Union and state levels, that does not hold true for district and sub-district levels. To monitor performance of schemes at district level, the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA Committee) was instituted in August 2016. Yet, problems of resource absorption in social-sector schemes and challenges around data remain. This directly impacts common citizens or beneficiaries of programmes, as quality of services gets affected due to poor utilisation of funds. Budgetary resources flow into a district through five channels - treasuries; Societies; Member of Parliament Local Area Development fund; District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) fund created in tribal-dominated districts, and Direct Benefit Transfers to beneficiaries. During the period of analysis (2017/18 and 2018/19), districts have shown improvement in fund utilisation under various CSS which suggest resource-absorption capacity has become better. Fund utilisation rates in Sarva Shikshya Abhiyan (SSA), Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) exceeded 85 per cent during the years. However, fund utilisation across schemes and districts is not uniform even within these well-performing schemes. Major challenges are how capacity issues, staff shortages and monitoring mechanisms have not received adequate priority in implementation of schemes. The reasons for poor utilisation were: Delays in flow of funds, rigid scheme guidelines, staff shortages and capacity issues, and transparency and accountability issues have been found to be the most important factors affecting the quality of utilisation. The analysis of factors causing under-utilisation of funds in CSS is based heavily on the perception and insights shared by implementing officers in the project districts. Commenting on the report, Abhijit Sen, Former Member 14th Finance Commission & Planning Commission said, "This exercise emphasises the need for good quality sub-district data which is key to improve decision making at the district level. Additionally, it is pertinent for the Centre to empower districts to ensure better development outcomes." Subrat Das, Executive Director, CBGA said "Given the limited public resources available to government and competing demands from a large number of sectors, India cannot afford constrained utilisation of the available budgets in any sector. Hence, it is pertinent to identify the factors constraining fund utilisation in important schemes and address those through coordinated policy measures by the Centre and States." The report recommends awareness and enhancing community participation to overcome issues related to rigid scheme guidelines, to strengthen Budget Information Architecture at the District Level to Improve Transparency and Accountability, Streamlining Fund Flow Mechanisms for expediting Fund Utilisation in Development Schemes amongst others. The schemes it looked at are SSA, Mid-Day Meal (MDM), National Health Mission (NHM), ICDS, SBM, NRDWP, MGNREGS, NSAP, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana in Balasore and Bolangir (Odisha), Chandrapur in Maharashtra, East Singhbhum in Jharkhand, and Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. The science is clear that environmental sustainability must factor in a corporation's growth plans, or the capitalist and economic system the U.S. enjoys "will fundamentally be in jeopardy," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told CNBC Thursday. "The corporation's purpose is to find profitable solutions to the problems of people and planet," he said in a sit down with Jim Cramer on "Mad Money," citing author and University of Oxford business professor Colin Mayer. "'Profitable' is the key word, but 'problems' is the other key word for people and planet." The comments came after Microsoft, the world's largest software company, announced an ambitious green plan intended to eliminate its carbon footprint and remove the amount of carbon it has emitted over the decades. Climate change has emerged as a top global concern and many executives are rolling out new models to become more eco-friendly. Microsoft wants to be carbon negative by 2030. By 2050, the company's goal is to remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as it produced since it was founded in 1975. "So I think what happens is if you're creating a lot of profit and creating more problems for planet or people, I think it'll catch up with you," Nadella said. "I'm always saying our shareholders are the ones who are giving us permission to be able to think about [this] ... and therefore we are accountable to them to execute on these commitments that we are making, and that's good for business." Microsoft said the effort will demand development of new technologies by 2030 that do not exist today. The company is creating a "Climate Innovation Fund" of $1 billion to invest in carbon-removal technology over the coming years. More and more companies are putting out sustainability goals at a time where President Donald Trump has tapped the brakes on a number of the country's climate initiatives, such as pulling the U.S. out of the multilateral 2017 Paris Agreement. Last year, almost 200 chief executives who were part of the Business Roundtable, made a pact to change the "purpose of a corporation" to take social, economic and environmentally issues into account just as much as shareholders. Investors historically have thumbed their noses when companies make moves that could impact their bottom line negatively, but sustainable-focused investing has been heating up on Wall Street in recent years as the public increasingly demand officials and executives reduce their impact on the planet. Earlier this week, BlackRock, the world's largest money manager, made sustainability its "new standard for investing" in an annual letter to executives from CEO Larry Fink. Microsoft's CFO Amy Hood, appearing alongside Nadella later in the interview, said the eco-friendly program along with the company's $750 million commitment to affordable housing in Seattle, Washington "are good return investments." She stopped short of projecting what the return on investment in these initiatives would be, but explained that it will be measured and the company will hold itself accountable. "I take a very long-term view. I think that's one of the things that we've prided ourselves on, whether that's investing in the region through the housing or whether the announcement this morning on climate," Hood said. "I mean, these are fundamentally issues of business return and I look at that ... quite closely." Microsoft is the second largest company in the U.S. with a market value of $1.27 trillion, just behind Apple. Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet make up the three companies trading on Wall Street that are worth more than $1 trillion. On Thursday, Microsoft shares advanced almost 2% to an all-time closing high of $166.17. By PTI MUMBAI: A case has been registered against the owner of a chemical factory in Palghar, where eight people were killed in an explosion, police said on Friday. Eight people were killed and seven injured in a blast that took place at an under-construction plant of Ank Pharma at Boisar in Maharashtra's Palghar district on January 11. A case has been registered against Natwarlal Patel (50) under section 304A (causing death by negligence) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, a senior police official said. Patel, who was also injured in the blast, had only acquired a permit from Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and had failed to get requisite permissions from Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and other agencies, he said. The accused owner had also reportedly employed unskilled workers at the factory, where he was testing a product when the blast took place, the official added. Rajnandagaon (Chhattisgarh) [india], Jan 17 (ANI): Locals in Rajnandagaon on Thursday vandalised a toll plaza here demanding free movement for local vehicles. Locals armed with sticks and stones threw them at the Thakurtola toll plaza aiming to destroy it. They raised slogans against the government and demanded "toll-free movement for local vehicles". "During a demonstration by locals, some miscreants vandalised the toll plaza. Police were present at the location," a police inspector said. He added that so far no case has been registered in the matter. (ANI) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 16:09:38|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close NAIROBI, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 affordable housing units built by a Chinese firm in Nairobi were on Thursday handed over to the government to pave way for their allocation to the public at a subsidized cost. Charles Hinga, principal secretary in the State Department of Housing and Urban Development said the 228 housing units will be available to buyers through a transparent process. "The first batch of the flagship housing units demonstrates the government's commitment to deliver the affordable housing agenda," said Hinga, adding that the remaining housing units will be completed at the end of 2020. Kenya plans to develop 500,000 housing units by 2022 to help meet growing demand in major cities and towns. Government statistics indicate that the east African nation has an annual demand of 250,000 housing units but has only been developing 50,000 units due to financing bottlenecks. Hinga said the implementation of affordable housing projects has gathered steam in Nairobi and adjacent satellite towns to help realize the dream of homeownership among low to middle-income earners. He said the government has rolled out incentives that include speedy issuance of permits, removal of value-added tax (VAT) on construction materials and reduction of corporate taxes for private developers, to help achieve the affordable housing agenda. He said that an electronic platform has been developed to facilitate transparent allocation of the 228 housing units located near downtown Nairobi to potential buyers. People from Kachin state take part in a protest against the Irrawaddy Myitsone dam project in Waimaw, near the Myitkyina capital of Kachin state, on April 22, 2019. - The controversial dam, a $3.6 billion Beijing-backed project originally designed to supply most of its electricity to China, was halted by Burma in 2011 following protests over environmental and safety concerns. (Zau Ring Hpra/AFP via Getty Images) As Chinas Xi Visits Burma, Ethnic Groups Rue Disrespectful Dam Investment MYITKYINA, BurmaThe streets of Burmas capital Naypyitaw were festooned with banners celebrating 70 years of Burma-China relations ahead of the arrival of Xi Jinping on Jan. 17 for his first visit to the Southeast Asian nation as Chinas leader. But for thousands of villagers living in northern Burma (also known as Myanmar) close to the Chinese border, there is another anniversary that nobody can celebrate. It is 10 years since they were kicked off their land for a $3.6 billion dam, an unfinished project backed by Beijing that dogs relations between the two neighbors. The Myitsone hydropower dam in Kachin state is one many multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects that form part of Xis flagship One Belt, One Road (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road) initiative. The Chinese leader intends to discuss his grand plan for what has been described as a 21st century silk road during his two-day visit to Burma. Construction of the dam was suspended in 2011 after a public outcry over evictions and expected environmental damage, which included the flooding of an area the size of Singapore, but villagers have not been allowed to return home, and Burmas leader Aung San Suu Kyi has indicated it could still move ahead. The major losses were the farmlands, said Reverend Tu Hkawng, a member of the ethnic Kachin minority, who are mostly Christian, adding that residents had been moved into sub-standard housing provided by China and many had been forced to look for work across the border. I would say our social structure was destroyed, he said. We used to help and care for each other. Such things are gone. An open letter from dozens of Kachin civil society groups published a day ahead of Xis arrival called on the Chinese leader to permanently scrap the project and said broader Chinese investment in the region, including massive banana plantations, had a broad social and environmental impact including land problems and threats to nature and historical sites. Chinese investment has disrespected local traditions and values and failed to consult local people, it said. Xi is scheduled to meet state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyitaw, as well as the heads of minor political parties. Protesters plan to gather outside the Chinese embassy in Yangon on Saturday to oppose the exploitation of natural resources in Burma, including the Myitsone project. Aung Soe Myint, an activist opposed to the dam, said Suu Kyi should beware of what China offers, or risk being punished at a general election expected in November. If Aung San Suu Kyi agrees to it, it would be political suicide, said Aung Soe Myint. Uncritical Relations Burma has had a historically fraught relationship with China, with many people suspicious of Beijings clout in its smaller neighbor. But relations warmed after China avoided joining the international condemnation of Burma over the expulsion of ethnic Rohingya Muslims in 2017. More than 730,000 Rohingya were forced to flee western Burma after a military crackdown the United Nations has said was executed with genocidal intent, though the government maintains it was a legitimate counter-insurgency operation launched in response to militant attacks on security forces. China has defended Burma on the global stage and is viewed as the biggest obstacle to a prosecution of its leaders at an international war crimes tribunal. China is the second biggest investor in Burma, after Singapore. In an editorial published in Burmese state media on Thursday, Xi said the visit was about result-oriented Belt and Road cooperation and move from the conceptual stage to concrete planning and implementation of projects like the y-shaped Myanmar-China Economic Corridor, connecting China to the Indian Ocean, which has seen slow progress. Analysts say while the Kachin state dam may feature in discussions, Burma is unlikely to agree to a full resumption ahead of elections coming up at the end of the year. Chinas Yunnan Province, the intended destination of the dams electricity, now has a surplus. Talking to reporters last week, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui said the two sides were in contact over the dam, and any co-operation would be in line with the long-term plan of the Myanmar side. By Sam Aung Moon Those switching between coverage of the impeachment proceedings on Fox News and the signing of the Phase 1 China trade deal saw the stark election choice between the two parties and their priorities, between President Donald J. Trump and those Lilliputian Democrats who would remove him from power. Trump offers continued growth and prosperity freed from the power of government and the shackles of a command economy. The comedy team of Pelosi, Nadler, and Schiff offer a palace coup to undo the hopes and free choice of the American people and lead to economic collapse and a Third World justice system where there is no due process, no right to confront your accuser, or to call witnesses in your defense, and an Alice-In Wonderland world where hearsay and presumption trumps, no pun intended, actual facts, actual crimes and real evidence.. Ironically, the China trade deal is the ultimate quid pro quo, doing more to boost Trumps reelection chances than any Ukrainian phone call, real as in a transcript Democrats ignore, or imagined as in Adam Schiffs feeble screenwriter wannabe imagination. America gets more winning, more economic growth and prosperity. China gets a deal its staggering economy badly needs after being confronted by an Uncle Sam with sleeves rolled up, not hat in hand. The Democrats want to cook the goose laying the golden eggs and redistribute them. Trump is more worried about the health of the goose. It is they who are interfering with our elections, not the Russians or the Ukrainians. Maybe colluding with the Chinese to increase the economic well-being of both countries is an impeachable offense. Can we please have a transcript of all the phone calls between the White House and China? The Democrats want power, pure and simple, Trump wants -- wait for it -- power to the people as they control their own lives with their own money, have jobs for the first time in years, maybe the first time ever, as rising incomes and fat 401-Ks and pensions fuel their dreams for themselves and their children. When Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and President Trump signed the deal Wednesday it put the lie to the Democrats mantra that Trump is a danger to the America people and their well-being. The China deal, along with USMCA and a deal with a Britain freed from the European Union, promises boundless growth and opportunity and jobs, jobs, jobs. So many jobs that even Hunter Biden could find one. On the day of the China trade deal, the Democrats asked for the removal of the duly elected President who unleashed Americas entrepreneurial spirit, unchained American energy development, slashed oppressive regulations, cut taxes and fostered real wage growth, pulling people off the couch and out of mommys basement and into the workforce. By impeaching the President, Democrats hope to repeal the tax cuts, restore the regulations, ban cars and cows, offer free education and free health care. They offer economic collapse with programs that cant be paid for while punishing success and rewarding failure. Soak the rich? They want to waterboard the rich. The China trade deals first phase is not a perfect deal, or a final one. But it signals another major step in Trumps plan to put America, the American taxpayer and consumer, and particularly the American entrepreneur first: The USTR (U.S. Trade Representative) has also said the deal reiterates U.S. opposition to currency manipulation and a commitment by China to buy at least $200 billion in U.S. exports over two years including manufactured goods, food, agricultural, energy products and services. Estimates of the value of goods by industry the White House believes Beijing will buy include about $80 billion in manufactured goods, $53 billion in energy, $32 billion in agriculture and $35 billion in services. Andy Puzder, successful business leader and once Trumps nominee for labor secretary, summed up the benefits of the China trade deal in an opinion piece for Fox News: It is a huge deal, fulfilling yet another Trump campaign promise and confirming his strategy of using Americas enormous economic leverage to compel our trading partners to deal with us fairly. the president was able to announce an historic and enforceable agreement on a Phase One trade deal that requires structural reforms and other changes to Chinas economic and trade regime in the areas of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange. The current strength of Americans labor market, rising wages, plentiful jobs and declining income inequality are all a direct result of President Trumps successful policies, and we are all benefitting. With deals like the USMCA and China Phase One, prosperity is likely here to stay for quite some time. Indeed, if the USMCA, delayed by Pelosi and the Democrats while they worked on impeachment, is any indication of the possible impact of a China deal, fasten your seat belts. USMCA will provide those good-paying jobs that Pelosi's climate accord would destroy: The Office of the United States Trade Representative today released an analysis of the estimated impact the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will have on investment and jobs in the U.S. automotive sector. The analysis, based in large part on information provided by North American automotive manufacturers, estimates that over a five-year period the USMCA will result in: $34 billion in new automotive manufacturing investments in the U.S.; $23 billion in new annual purchases of U.S.-made automotive parts; and 76,000 jobs in the U.S. automotive sector. Critics have tried to minimize the impact of the USMCA on the overall U.S. economy, but the fact is that Canada and Mexico are our two largest trading partners, ahead of China, and the impact would not be insignificant, reports Fox Business: A new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada would add $68.2 billion to the U.S. economy and create 176,000 new jobs, according to a study from the International Trade Commission released on Thursday. The USMCA is a win for manufacturers. This agreement will level the playing field for manufacturers in the United States and support the 2 million American manufacturing jobs that depend on our exports to Canada and Mexico, said Linda Dempsey, vice president of international economic affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers. Trumps rising tide is lifting all boats. Median household income, for example, a better measure of economic gains than most, has soared under President Trumps economic and trade policies: Real median household income has grown by $4,144 or 6.8 percent since President Trump took office, according to an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal. This data is based on a report released by Sentier Research analyzing the Census Bureaus monthly Current Population Survey. As noted in the op-ed, authored by Stephen Moore, real median household income is at an all-time high: Real median household income -- the amount earned by those in the very middle -- hit $65,084 (in 2019 dollars) for the 12 months ending in July. Thats the highest level ever and a gain of $4,144, or 6.8%, since Mr. Trump took office. By comparison, during 7 years under President Obama -- starting from the end of the recession in June 2009 through January 2017 -- the median household income rose by only about $1,000. Wage growth has risen for the first time in decades with growth significantly higher percentage wise at the lower income levels. The China trade deal will only accelerate our economic, job, and wage growth. Our boats will continue to rise unless the Democrats drill holes in the bottom through impeachment. On Wednesday, we saw a tale of two cities -- one a shining city on a hill being rebuilt by President Trump -- or one giant homeless shelter offered by the Democrats should they oust him. Your choice, America. Daniel John Sobieski is a former editorial writer for Investors Business Daily and freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications. He's set to reprise his role as Jean-Luc Picard, 18 years after he last played the part. And Sir Patrick Stewart continued to support his hotly-anticipated new show Star Trek: Picard as he stepped out with co-star, and fellow show alum, Jeri Ryan at the Zoo Palast cinema in Berlin, Germany, for a fan screening on Friday. The actress, 51, portrayed Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager from 1997 to 2001, while the actor, 79, appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987 to 1994, so the new show marks the first time the two characters appear onscreen together. Handsome: Sir Patrick Stewart looked dapper in a blue suit as he joined Star Trek alum Jeri Ryan at Picard fan screening in Berlin on Friday Sir Patrick looked dapper in a dark blue suit, which he paired with a matching tie and a crisp white shirt. While Jeri looked sensational in a chic red coat that she teamed with a black turtleneck top, denim jeans and sleek thigh-high boots. Her golden tresses were styled into glamorous waves that fell over her shoulders, while she wore dark eyeliner and nude lipstick to complete the look. The pair were also joined at the event by their co-stars Isa Briones, Michelle Hurd, Jonathan Del Arco, and Evan Evagora. Glamorous: Jeri looked sensational in a chic red coat that she teamed with a black turtleneck top, denim jeans and sleek thigh-high boots Icons: The actress, 51, portrayed Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager from 1997 to 2001, while the actor, 79, appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987 to 1994 Dapper: Sir Patrick paired his tailored suit with a matching tie and a crisp white shirt, as he joined Jeri and their co-stars Isa Briones (L) and Michelle Hurd (centre) on the red carpet Sweet: Jeri wrapped her arms around co-star, and fellow Borg, Jonathan Del Arco at the event Speaking with IGN about what to expect of Picard and Seven's dynamic, Jeri said: 'They know each other by reputation. 'And as I've said before, Seven's not on the "Oh, he's a god" bandwagon I think initially when she meets him because she holds him partially responsible for what Starfleet has done in her view.' While executive producer Alex Kurtzman added that the writing team wanted to bring Seven and Picard together because of their shared experiences of being 'assimilated by the Borg' as they would 'both be haunted' by it. He explained: 'We certainly know that both of them have been individually, and now what does it mean for them to see that in each other. Is it too painful? Is it a little like staring into the sun? Is it comforting?' Intriguing: Speaking with IGN about what to expect, Jeri said: 'She holds him partially responsible for what Starfleet has done in her view' [pictured, cast of Star Trek: Voyager] Interesting: Executive producer Alex Kurtzman said they wanted to bring Seven and Picard together because of their shared experiences with the Borg as they are 'both be haunted' by it Dream team: Sir Patrick, Isa, Michelle, Jeri and Evan Evagora looked delighted as they posed for photos together The show is set 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), and will also see more familiar faces returning, including Seven of Nine, played by Jeri and Data, played by Brent Spiner. CBS All Access revealed at the TCA Winter press tour that they were renewing the series for a second season, Deadline reported earlier this month. 'The energy and excitement around the premiere of Star Trek: Picard has reached a magnitude greater than all of us at CBS All Access could have hoped for,' CBS exec Julie McNamara said Sunday. She continued: 'We're thrilled to announce plans for a second season before the series' debut, and we are confident that Star Trek fans and new viewers alike will be captured by the stellar cast and creative team's meticulously crafted story when it premieres on January 23.' Supportive: Sir Patrick was also joined by his wife Sunny Ozell A vision in red: Michelle looked stylish in a sleeveless jumpsuit which she offset with a striking gold bracelet Gothic: Isa looked sensational in a black sequinned dress that had a sweetheart neckline While the network has not yet announced when the second season is slated to hit the air, sources told Deadline that it would likely be a 10-episode run later this year or early next. Sir Patrick revealed he didnt want to say yes to returning to the role Captain Picard again in an appearance on the Graham Norton Show. The actor told the host that he was going to make a pass on returning to the series - until producers gave him 'an offer I couldn't refuse'. Beaming: Sir Patrick couldn't help but smile beside his co-stars Plot: The show is set 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), and will also see more familiar faces returning, including Seven of Nine 'Its a big deal for me because I have so many times publicly said, "Im done. Star Trek was wonderful, and it changed my life and my career, but I have said it all and there is nothing more to say",' said Sir Patrick about being offered a return in Star Trek: Picard. 'I didnt just want to say, "No. Pass," so I went to the meeting to explain to them face-to-face why I couldnt do it. And then they made me an offer I couldnt refuse!' But the X-Men star did ask for some changes to get him on board, including not wearing his character's classic red uniform and a reduced role for the iconic Starship Enterprise. To boldly go: CBS All Access revealed at the TCA Winter press tour that they were renewing the series for a second season, Deadline reported earlier this month 'There were conditions no uniform and no Enterprise. They said they could live with that and they have made a huge commitment to the series. We hope it is amazing. Host Graham also asked the Shakespearean actor if he ever watches old Star Trek episodes. Sir Patrick replied saying he would 'look for it', but would come across an episode every so often while channel hopping. Star Trek: Picard will be released globally on Amazon Prime Video, and on CBS All Access in the United States, on January 23, 2020. The FBI is asking for the public's help in finding a convicted gang member from New York who is reported to be in the Charleston area. Jamar Manners, also known as "Gutter," violated the terms of his probation twice after serving time in federal prison for a gang conviction, according to the FBI. "Manners was once the leader of the Elm Street Wolves, a violent street gang in Yonkers, NY," the agency said. Agents spotted him in Yonkers on Dec. 17 but he jumped out of a car and ran away, the FBI said. Agents found a loaded gun in the car. Don Wood, an FBI Columbia bureau spokesman, said Manners is believed to be in the Charleston area. An award of up to $5,000 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest, the FBI said. Anyone with information regarding Manners' whereabouts is asked to call the FBI Westchester Safe Streets Task Force at 212-384-1000. US tech sector sees only modest relief in China trade deal Washington, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 The US tech sector is getting some relief from a trade truce with China signed this week, but the deal leaves many of the industry's concerns unresolved. The "phase one" agreement signed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday canceled $160 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, which could have impacted electronics like cell phones and computers and been especially painful to US consumers, but leaves many new tariffs in place. The pact also provides some improved patent protections for US technology. Robert Atkinson of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a think tank which often aligns with the tech industry, said the deal only partly resolves some of the issues around technology between the two powers. The deal "represents good progress toward curbing the systemic problems of intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers in China," Atkinson said in a statement. "But some of the thorniest issues confronting innovation-driven industries are still on the table, including the lavish industrial subsidies China showers on its companies, including its state-owned enterprises." Atkinson added that it remains unclear how the phase one agreement will be enforced, noting that "China has shown itself to be a master of obfuscation when it comes to living up to its agreements." - Undoing the damage - Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Technology Association, said the deal will not undo the damage from the tariffs already imposed by the president. "Tariffs are taxes on Americans -- not the Chinese," Shapiro said. "The postponement of tariffs is a temporary reprieve on many of Americans' favorite tech products. But market uncertainty remains until we see permanent tariff removal -- or return the billions of dollars our nation has paid because of these tariffs." According to the association, which represents some 2,000 large and small tech firms, tariffs have added about $19.2 billion to the cost of tech product imports through November 2019, including nearly $1.7 billion for products critical to 5G deployment. Chris Mitchell of IPC, an association representing the electronics manufacturing industry, welcomed the agreement as a "pathway" to resolution of broader issues. But he added: "The deal leaves many issues unaddressed including cybersecurity, structural economic reforms, and the high level of tariffs that are still in place on many products that are traded in our industry." Peter Navarro, a White House trade official, said the deal signed in Washington addresses a key issue for the tech sector on theft of trade secrets, or intellectual property. "They'll steal things, it's very destructive to our businesses. They promised back in 2015 to stop doing it. They didn't stop doing it," Navarro told CNBC television. "We got a great start on these structural issues." - Tougher questions ahead - The trade agreement "is just the first stage of what will be a protracted process, but it looks likely that a working relationship will be established," said Richard Windsor, an analyst following the tech sector and who writes the Radio Free Mobile blog. Windsor said the two governments are still battling over the question of leadership of the global tech sector, and must resolve questions around Huawei, which Washington has accused of supporting Chinese espionage. "While tensions appear to be thawing on trade, the rivalry over technology standards is heating up and I continue to see many other countries being forced to make a choice between two separate supply chains," the analyst said. Susan Aronson, a George Washington University professor who specializes in international trade, called the pact "mediocre" and said it fails to deal with fundamental issues. Aronson said the deal does nothing about the "Great Firewall" which China uses to control its online ecosystem nor does it address the rise of Chinese tech giants which operate under a different set of rules governing data protection. "China wants to set the standard for governance of data, and we are moving into an economy where more firms use personal data to improve their products and services," she said. The deal also is flawed because it is "discriminatory toward other nations," according to Aronson. "The US should join the EU and Japan and other like-minded nations and say China should become a free-market economy with a transparent set of rules," she said. Russia is not eager to know what is happening in Kashmir and those having doubts over New Delhi's policy for the region as well as the situation in the Valley can visit it, Russian Ambassador Nikolay Kudashev said on Friday. His assertion came during a press conference when asked why he was not part of a group of 15 foreign envoys including the US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster who visited Jammu and Kashmir last week. On China's failed attempt to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, the Russian envoy said Moscow has never been in favour of taking it to the global body as it is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan. On the visit of envoys to Jammu and Kashmir, he said Russia was not interested in knowing what was happening in the union territory as it does not have any doubt over India's approach for the region. "I do not feel that there was a reason for me to travel there. India's decision on J and K is its internal matter which belonged to the constitutional space of India. "It is not an issue in our bilateral ties. Those who believe this is an issue, those who are concerned about the situation in Kashmir, those who have doubt about Indian policy in Kashmir can travel to Kashmir. They could see for themselves. We never had any doubt," he said. At the same time, Kudashev said he did not receive an official invitation for the trip. "My view is that Russian Ambassador to India should not be associated with any kind of activities which would put in doubt about India's internal policies. This is not in our habit," he said. The government had taken a group of 15 envoys to Jammu and Kashmir to help them see for themselves the situation in the union territory. The envoys interacted with select political representatives, civil society members as well as security officials. Asked whether he would like to visit Kashmir if invited, he replied in a lighter vein: "Yes, I would." In August, India announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two union territories. Pakistan reacted sharply to the move and even scaled down the diplomatic engagement with India by expelling its envoy. Pakistan mounted a major diplomatic offensive against India on its decision on Kashmir. India also reached out to major countries explaining the rationale behind the move. Kudashev also said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Russia on March 22 and 23 to attend a meeting of the Russia-Indian-China trilateral. On China's attempt to raise the Kashmir issue in the UN Security Council, the Russian envoy said it has never been supporting such action. "We have never been in favour of bringing this issue into the UN's agenda as it is strictly a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan to discuss on the basis of Shimla and Lahore declarations. It is not a matter to be discussed at the UNSC," he said. China, an 'all-weather ally' of Pakistan, on Wednesday made a fresh bid to raise the Kashmir issue at an informal closed-door meeting of the UNSC in New York. However, the attempt was stalled by an overwhelming majority of the member nations. This is the third time China demanded a discussion on the Kashmir issue. In August, it pushed for a UNSC meeting on Kashmir after the government scrapped J-K's special status. However, the meeting did not yielded desired results for China as the member-states maintained that India's move was an internal issue. Last month, France, the US, the UK and Russia had foiled an attempt by China to discuss Kashmir at a closed-door meeting of the UNSC. China has been critical of India's reorganisation of J-K, and has particularly criticised New Delhi for making Ladakh a union territory. China lays claim over several parts of Ladakh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) VALPARAISO More than a decade after a Hebron man is accused of molesting a girl starting when she was 6 years old, he will face a jury. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in the felony child molesting trial involving 73-year-old Thomas Sutherlin. The case, which was filed three years ago, alleges that Sutherlin first sexually assaulted the young girl when she was 6 after the girl witnessed him watching pornography at his Hebron home, according to court records. Sutherlin had the girl sit on his lap and watch the pornography, police said. The alleged victim remembers asking Sutherlin about a woman in the video crying and his responding in a sexual manner. Sutherlin molested her during the incident and then justified it to the girl by saying he was punishing her, police said. A second incident occurred when the girl was 7 and Sutherlin again said it was punishment, according to charging information. "Mr. Sutherlin instructed her not to 'tell anyone or you will get punished,'" the girl reportedly told police. "Sutherlin told (the alleged victim) that he would tell her parents about cuss words that she knew." Tennessee Legislature Kicks Off Second Half Of 111th General Assembly The Second Regular Session of the 111th General Assembly officially convened this week in Nashville as Republican leaders continued to focus on building upon their recent achievements. Speaker Cameron Sexton gaveled members into session and also welcomed everyone back before sharing brief remarks with the body about the upcoming session: The 2020 legislative session is here, and I believe we are all poised for a very successful year in the Tennessee House of Representatives. "Over the last four months, I have enjoyed visiting with you in your communities, and I am reminded every single day of how diverse and unique all three Grand Divisions are in our state and how fortunate we are to call Tennessee our home. "I admire your dedication and your willingness to answer the call to serve others. Additionally, I appreciate our shared desire to build upon the solid foundations left behind by those who have previously served. "We have had many great leaders over our years, and now is the time to accept the task that lies before us the task to propel our state and our communities to new heights together. "Our job is to represent, serving as the voices for all Tennesseans from middle to west to east to urban to rural. Each and every voice is distinctive, and while we may not always agree on every issue, lets remain respectful to one another and remember that each one of us represents 65,000 Tennesseans. We have a tremendous opportunity to ensure Tennessee continues to grow and that our state prospers. "Thank you for your continued service; I appreciate your partnership; I am honored to serve as your speaker. I am very eager to begin and continue working alongside each of you for the betterment of all Tennesseans. -Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton The bill filing deadline for this year is set for Wednesday, Feb. 5. This means all proposals, except bills of local application, must be filed by that deadline in order to be heard for consideration during the 2020 legislative session. Tennessee General Assembly Officials Welcome New State Rep. Rusty Grills As part of the opening chapter of the new legislative session, the General Assembly welcomed State Rep. Rusty Grills (R-Newbern) to Nashville. The former Dyer County Commissioner overwhelmingly won Decembers special election to fill the vacant District 77 seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Rep. Grills was joined in Nashville by his family as he officially took the oath of office. House Republicans Set 2020 Legislative Agenda As the new legislative year officially begins, House Republicans have an array of issues they will prioritize over the course of the next several months. Their work in 2020 will build upon last years momentum and accomplishments. Last year saw passage of a fiscally conservative balanced budget that included more than $35.2 million in tax cuts for all Tennesseans. The budget provides a $239 million investment in the states Rainy Day Fund bringing the state savings account to $1.1 billion. The budget included a record-breaking $11.3 billion investment in education and multiple initiatives that support businesses by providing opportunities to expand and create new jobs. Education will remain front and center over these next several months. A key goal will be to improve early childhood literacy rates across this state. This can be accomplished through targeted investments, attracting and incentivizing educators who specialize in these areas, and through community programs and partnerships. Every student should have the same resources and opportunities, so current and future workforces are prepared for successful futures and Tennessee continues to thrive. Health care remains a priority in 2020. Republicans will further examine ways to create a health care system that improves access and quality of care available, while lowering overall costs. We will look to continue to increase access through telemedicine, and we will focus on promoting competition through Certificate of Need (CON) reform. Improving transparency so patients can determine the type of care that is most affordable to them will also remain a priority. Our current health care system must continue to shift toward a more patient-centered approach. This will allow patients and their loved ones to make all medical decisions, rather than insurance companies or the government. Additionally, we will advance discussions about overhauling our current criminal justice system so it meets present day standards, not those of 30 years ago. As we work to create a system of justice tempered with mercy, Republicans will focus on remaining smart on crime, but not at the expense of safer communities. Conversations will also likely focus on strengthening responses to individuals with behavioral health needs, sending a strong message to criminals through truth in sentencing laws, and continuing to remove barriers to successful re-entry for those who desire to become productive citizens. Finally, members of the bi-partisan TANF Working Group will continue to examine the current surplus within the states Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in order to determine ways we can best support those looking to become self-reliant. The groups overall focus will be to find innovative solutions that support our working families as they strive to overcome obstacles keeping them from achieving their independence. Under GOP leadership, Tennessee remains near record low unemployment levels. As of November 2019, statewide unemployment was 3.3 percent. Additionally, our income levels are increasing at the second fastest rate in the entire Southeast. Tennessee has the lowest debt and is the most fiscally stable state in the entire country. The Volunteer State remains the best place in the entire nation to live, work, raise a family and retire, thanks to the efforts of the Tennessee House Republicans. Republican Leaders Introduce Right to Work Constitutional Amendment Republican leaders have introduced a resolution that would add Tennessees Right to Work law to the state constitution. The resolution is sponsored by more than a dozen high ranking Republican House members. It guarantees future generations of Tennessee workers their right to work regardless of whether they choose to join a union. Tennessees Right to Work statute has been state law since 1947. It protects workers from being hired or fired based on their membership in, affiliation with, resignation from, or refusal to join or affiliate with any labor union or employee organization. When introduced in 1947, supporters of the bill argued that it would be of great advantage to the average member of organized labor. It also protects the rights of those who choose not to join a union. Twenty-seven other states have Right to Work laws, and nine of those have passed constitutional amendments including neighboring states Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. The Alabama amendment passed most recently in 2016. Another neighbor, Virginia, is presently considering repealing its Right to Work statute. A constitutional amendment would offer greater protection for workers against such repeal efforts. Tennessee is a highly sought location for companies seeking hard workers and a friendly business environment. Having this constitutional amendment that forever protects our workers and job growth in this state further solidifies Tennessees status as a national economic leader. House Republicans Partner With Department Of Transportation For Aeronautics Grant Announcements Recently, members of the House Republican Caucus partnered with the Tennessee Department of Transportation on a series of seven grant announcements across the state totaling $6 million to support our local airports. The grants are part of the departments Aeronautics Economic Development Fund, which is designed to impact job creation and investment opportunities within the states aviation industry. A full list of the award recipients can be found by clicking here. Republican lawmakers remain committed to fighting for additional resources to promote continued economic growth across all three Grand Divisions of Tennessee. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, January 17, 2020 14:22 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32285e53 1 Business Indonesia,GDP-growth,investment,standard-chartered,business-forum,household-consumption,exports Free Indonesia will need to boost investment to ensure sustainable growth as household spending, currently the main driver of economic growth, is not expected to see any significant growth in the future, a senior economist has said. "Going forward, the challenge is to maintain economic growth and the key is investment," Standard Chartered economist Aldian Taloputra said at the bank's annual Global Research Briefing and Investor Forum in Jakarta on Wednesday. "We need an expansion and a new source of economic growth that can add more value, he said. The government is drafting an omnibus law on job creation to amend more than 1,000 investment unfriendly articles in more than 70 existing laws as part of its efforts to attract more investment. The amendments are expected to make obtaining business permits easier, lower the corporate tax rate and improve the job market, among other things. "I think the omnibus law will remove some of the hurdles facing investors," Aldian said. "When we talked to investors, they said land acquisition was very difficult ." Indonesias economic growth rate in the third quarter of 2019 was recorded at 5.02, the lowest level in more than two years. Investment growth slumped to 4.21 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the third quarter, considerably lower than the 6.96 percent booked over the same period in 2018. "Why did investment [growth] fall? First, some of the government's policy packages were not effective and second, imports of raw materials declined, which indicated that the manufacturing sector was not expanding," Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) researcher Bhima Yudhistira told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. Imports of raw materials fell 11.07 percent in 2019 year-on-year (yoy), Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data show. Bhima added that investment from state-owned enterprises (SOE) in infrastructure projects made a greater contribution to economic growth than foreign direct investment (FDI) last year . According to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), total investment increased to Rp 800 trillion last year from Rp 721 trillion in 2018. It also exceeded the government's 2019 target of Rp 790 trillion. However, in the third quarter of 2019, more than half of the 5.02 percent economic growth was driven by household spending, followed by net exports and investment. To increase investment, the government needs to further develop the digital economy and tourism in regions outside Java to reduce reliance on commodities such as coal and palm oil, Bhima said. INDEF projected that this year Indonesia's economy would grow 4.8 percent, lower than the government's 5.3 percent target. The World Bank and Standard Chartered have a more optimistic outlook, each expecting the economy to grow 5.1 percent this year. "For the long term, I think the prospects [of Indonesia's economy] still look very good," said Standard Chartered chief executive officer Andrew Chia. (dfr) The United States will make a decision on the level of its presence in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, in about two months, Washington's top military officer said Thursday. Washington has some 7,000 special forces on rotation in Africa carrying out joint operations with national forces against jihadists, particularly in Somalia. "There is no explicit timeline," the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, told journalists. Milley was on a plane to Washington after a meeting in Paris with his French counterpart General Francois Lecointre. "We'll probably get Secretary-level decisions in a month or two, maybe six weeks, something like that," he added, referring to Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Esper has announced his intention to implement the national defense plan outlined by his predecessor, Jim Mattis, that refocuses the Pentagon's efforts on the US' strategic competitors -- China and Russia -- at the expense of the anti-jihadist fight. On Monday, Milley said the US wants to reduce its military presence in Africa, just as French President Emmanuel Macron was gathering his counterparts from Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Mali and Mauritania in an effort to bolster the fight against jihadists in the Sahel. French officials were alarmed, with a presidency source saying the US made "irreplaceable" contributions to Sahel operations -- particularly in surveillance and air-to-air refuelling. France has 4,500 soldiers deployed as part of the so-called Barkhane operation in the Sahel-Saharan strip, an area as large as Europe, to fight against armed extremist groups. The Sahel countries also said they hoped Washington would maintain its "crucial support" in combating the Islamist extremists. Milley said that the US has no intention of withdrawing completely from Africa. "A lot of people think that we are 'pulling out of Africa.' I think that is a mischaracterization and an overstatement," he said. "The question that we are working with the French on, is the level of effort we are supporting the French with. Is it too much? Too little? About right?" he said. Milley added that, upon his return to Washington, he would pass on the requests from Paris to Esper for a decision. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ESQUIPULAS, Guatemala More than 1,000 Honduran migrants broke through a police barrier on the border with Guatemala on Thursday in a bid to join hundreds of others heading for the United States. The migrants, many fleeing poverty and gang violence at home, passed through a police cordon without difficulty and without going through migration protocol at the southeastern city of Agua Caliente. The latest Central American migrant caravan formed despite increased attempts by President Donald Trump to keep them out of the US. Last year the US signed a deal with Guatemala that obliges migrants traveling through it and seeking asylum in the US to first request protection in the Central American nation. Dozens of Guatemalan security forces were deployed at border areas to check that Hondurans had passed through immigration control. They also checked that children were traveling with either a parent or guardian. Around 3,000 migrants were believed to be heading through the country towards its border with Mexico, Guatemalan immigration authorities said. Several US Customs and Border Protection officers were assisting local authorities, the US Embassy in Guatemala said. Before the migrants were allowed to cross into Guatemala, local and US officials took part in joint ID checks, also aimed at detecting gang members. The migrants, including some children, left San Pedro Sula in northern Honduras on Tuesday night and from Wednesday began entering Guatemala. Authorities in Guatemala say more than 2,200 people passed through either the Agua Caliente checkpoint in the southeast or El Cinchado in the northeast. It's better to flea "We're heading on towards the American dream," Kelvin Ramos said from a migrant center at the border town of Esquipulas. "I've heard they pay well in the United States to paint houses," he added. That was his job in Honduras. Many migrants that pass the El Cinchado border split up at that point, said Aleida Serrato, the local human rights department spokeswoman. "It's better to walk (and) flee the country," said Mariano de Jesus as he waited to cross into Guatemala, while blaming Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez for his country's troubles. De Jesus used to work as a builder's assistant but said his job "is worth nothing." Thousands of Central Americans from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala started forming migrant caravans heading for the US towards the end of 2018. It angered Trump -- who, while campaigning for election, vowed to build a wall along the southern US border with Mexico to keep out migrants -- so much that he threatened punitive measures against Central American governments if they did not stem the tide. Last year, Trump sent 6,000 troops to the southern border with Mexico and warned of an "invasion" of gang members and criminals. Around 30,000 Honduran migrants remain in Mexico waiting for a response to their US asylum requests. New Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei, who was sworn in on Tuesday, said on Wednesday that he would not allow the Honduran migrants to cross into Mexico. AFP Iraq denies report it has restarted joint military operations with US Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 7:09 PM The Iraqi government has denied claims that the country's military is resuming joint operations with the US-led coalition after Washington's assassination of top Iranian and Iraqi commanders. "The joint operations have not resumed and we have not given our authorization," Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf, the spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, said on Thursday. He added that the coalition did not have a permission from Baghdad to carry out any joint missions. The remarks came after the New York Times, citing two American military officials, reported Thursday that the US had resumed the operations. Khalaf said the Iraqi government had ordered the coalition to halt its joint operations following the US assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). Last month, another US airstrike killed 25 members of PMU in the Arab country's west. On January 3, a US drone strike outside Baghdad airport killed General Soleimani and al-Muhandis. Washington began the pause on January 5, two days after the strike, but furious Iraqi lawmakers voted to expel more than 5,000 US troops based in their country. The Pentagon said it had no information with regard the the alleged resumption of joint operations with Iraqi troops. The US-led coalition's spokesman in Baghdad also declined to comment. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A ruling party heavyweight in South Korea strongly criticized U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris on Friday for his remarks on President Moon Jae-in's push for inter-Korean cooperation. "It's good to express his personal view, but if South Korea follows whatever a foreign ambassador says, he or she would be like a 'governor general' of the Japanese colonial government of Korea," Rep. Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party told a local radio program. Korea was a colony of Japan from 1910 to 1945. The four-term lawmaker, who serves as chairman of the party's special committee on peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia, was responding to news reports of the envoy's call for prior consultations between Seoul and Washington on Moon's plans to attempt the resumption of joint ventures with North Korea, such as individual tourism to Mount Kumgang, that are not subject to U.N.-led sanctions on the communist neighbor. Harris was quoted as telling a group of foreign reporters in Seoul on Thursday that it would be "better" for South Korea to run such an issue "through the working group." He was referring to a working-level consultation channel between the allies on North Korea affairs. Song, who used to lead the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation, then publicly accused Harris of making "rather reckless" comments that are not suitable for his ambassadorial job. The lawmaker said he thinks Harris, a retired four-star admiral, is a little unfamiliar with diplomacy. Many regarded the envoy's remarks as thinly-veiled pressure on the Moon administration. They pointed out a string of controversial comments Harris has made in public so far in regard to sensitive alliance issues. Moon's aides, speaking privately to reporters, also expressed uneasiness about the U.S. ambassador's attitude. "We have no official comment (on his remarks). Personally, however, I feel deeply troubled," a Cheong Wa Dae official said. Cheong Wa Dae officials take a dim view of the envoy's public remarks, which have repeatedly raised eyebrows, either on efforts for improved inter-Korean ties or such alliance issues as Seoul's potential military role in the Strait of Hormuz and defense cost-sharing talks. In an interview with the KBS broadcaster aired early this year, Harris said South Korea gets large amounts of energy from the Middle East: "So, I would hope that Korea will send forces out there." He also said it's not the time yet to relax sanctions, speaking just days after Moon extended an olive branch to the North in his New Year address, in which the president again voiced hope for the re-linking of inter-Korean roads and railways. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine considers the court sentence to Markiv harmful to the sovereign rights of the state of Ukraine. The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has appealed to the president and parliament of the Italian Republic with a request to ensure transparency, objectivity, and impartiality of appeal proceedings of senior sergeant of the National Guard of Ukraine, Vitaliy Markiv. The relevant resolution was backed by 323 MPs registered at the session hall. The statement says that the parliament respects independence and authority of Italy's judicial branch, but believes the court decision violates the rights of the Ukrainian military and damages the image of Ukraine. "The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine considers the judgment by the court of the town of Pavia (Lombardy comune, Italian Republic) of July 12, 2019, regarding citizen of Ukraine Vitaliy Markiv harmful to the sovereign rights of the state of Ukraine," the statement says. The Verkhovna Rada believes the case against Markiv "demonstrated obvious violations of principles of the rule of law, guarantees for a fair trial, and one of the key principles of criminal proceedings presumption of innocence." Read alsoUkraine appeals against Ukrainian guardsman Markiv's sentence in Italy (Video) Parliament of Ukraine draws attention to the fact that the proceedings "took place in a deeply anti-Ukrainian atmosphere, the prosecutors' evidence was based on rumors and prejudices, the court rejected the request to inspect the scene of the incident on Mount Karachun (submitted by Markiv's lawyers), while probable involvement of the Russian and pro-Russian sides, who were present there at the time of the tragedy, was never investigated." It is also noted no clear or unequivocal evidence of guilt of the Ukrainian military, including Markiv, had been provided during trial. The parliament protests against accusing Ukraine of violating international humanitarian law and attracting the Ukrainian state in this case as a civil defendant since this contradicts basic principles of international law regarding jurisdictional immunities of foreign states. The Rada categorically condemns the use of unacceptable language in the verdict, according to which the Ukrainian Army is "rebel Ukrainians who captured Karachun," it is stated that "shooting at civilians was the usual behavior of the Ukrainian Army and National Guard of Ukraine," while military operations in eastern Ukraine are branded an "ongoing civil war." As UNIAN reported earlier, despite convincing evidence that Markiv could not have been involved in the mortar shelling, which is believed to have killed an Italian freelance photo reporter, Andrea Rocchelli, and his Russian interpreter Andrei Mironov in Donetsk region in May 2014, the jury in the court of Italy's Pavia on July 12, 2019, sentenced the Ukrainian guardsman to 24 years in prison. Read alsoInterior Minister Avakov briefs Italy's Ambassador on important details in Markiv case Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prosecutor General's Office to immediately address the issue of Markiv's return to Ukraine. On October 10, the court made public the motivational part of the verdict. On November 20, Ukraine filed an appeal against the verdict against Markiv. Few days after announcing a 10.8 billion (115.4 billion MAD) national plan to meet Moroccos increasing water needs over the next seven year, King Mohammed VI inaugurated a dam near Essaouira worth about 87 million (920 million dirhams). Built on Oued Ksoub, Moulay Abderrahmane dam, with a 65 million m3 capacity, will secure drinking water supply to Essaouira and neighboring villages, preserve groundwater, protect plains from floods and provide water for irrigation, in a region whose economy is mainly based on agriculture, livestock breeding and handicrafts. This new hydraulic infrastructure brings to six the number of large dams in the Tensift watershed. A plant for the treatment of the dams surface water was also set up to increase drinking water supply capacity. The plant has a production capacity of 250 liters/second. The King also oversaw the launch of works to develop 1300 hectares adjacent to the dam in the Ida Ouguerd, Sidi El Jazouli and Ounagha areas benefiting some 1,207 local farmers. Moroccos water strategy, spearheaded by King Mohammed VI, aims at diversifying drinking and irrigation water supply notably through dam-building with a view of bringing up Moroccos water storage capacity to 27.3 billion m3. The water plan also provides for better management of water consumption and increasing supply to rural areas as well as building desalination plants adding to the already operational plants in Laayoune, Boujdour, Tan Tan and Akhfenir. Morocco is expected to tender this year for the construction of a dam with a capacity of 1.35 billion m3 to meet needs of Tangier and Oujda. Since his accession to the Throne in 1999, King Mohammed VI has consolidated the legacy of late King Hassan II to equip Morocco with water infrastructure through dams of different sizes. More than 191,000 penalty-point notices were issued to drivers last year. It is an increase of 14,000 in 2018, according to new Freedom of Information figures. 64% of last year's offences relate to speeding, while 27,000 notices were issued for holding a mobile phone while driving. Brian Farrell, from the Road Safety Authority, said the new figures are disappointing. "If there's something to take out of these figures, it shows that the gardai are out there in force," he said. "I think it needs to serve as a reminder out there, who do take chances on the road, that there is a garda presence out there and they are detecting drivers who are committing the killer behaviours of speeding, using a mobile phone while driving, and of course drink driving." by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, January 16, 2020 When two of Madison Avenues most venerable agency brands J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather spun off their media departments to form a new dedicated media services unit in 1999, parent WPP chose to brand it with a name that was more of a promise than a reality: Mindshare. Two decades later, it is living up to that brand name in the most literal way possible, creating the first lab inside a media agency and quite possibly an agency of any kind to research peoples minds. The launch of Mindshares NeuroLab in 2019 speaks volumes about the commitment the agency is making to understanding how media, content and creative impacts the way consumers think, feel and behave. And most importantly, how that impacts the agencys clients brands. Its also an interesting zig at a time when the rest of Madison Avenue appears to be zagging. While interest in so-called neuromarketing research appeared to peak a few years ago, it has waned as a mainstream topic in conversation. The dedicated lab has co-lead researchers a trained neuroscience researcher Arafel Buzan, and data scientist James Kelly using state-of-the-art biometric technologies such as EEG (electroencephalogram) and GSR (galvanic skin response) sensors to measure second-by-second neurological responses to media. The team supplements this data with pre-and-post implicit bias testing as well as quantitative data, which is how we know when consumers are deceiving themselves. The lab is a significant commitment to a media services agencys P&L, but Mindshare USA CEO Adam Gerhart says it is already paying off on the agencys bottom line, attracting new-to-Mindshare clients drawn by the unique research service, as well as enhancing the insights and strategies of existing Mindshare clients. I can tell you anecdotally, it was instrumental in the (chocolate marketer) Ferrero win, Gerhart acknowledges, referring to one of its big 2019 account wins. (Other major wins during the year included: Allergan, Wondery, Blue Buffalo, Tourism New Zealand, CEVA, Spirit Airlines, and Hearing Life, and it successfully defended and retained clients in some of the years biggest reviews, including the United States Marine Corps and Dyson.) Mainly, Gerhart says the lab has already brought in clients that Mindshare has had no media relationship with, suggesting it is both a diversification strategy, as well as a potential lead generator. Beyond that, it has created some industry attention, goodwill and buzz, including a presentation on the impact of audio that was one of the most talked-about sessions during Advertising Week in New York last September. Using its proprietary neuroscientific research, Mindshare found that while the industry typically obsesses on visual media, audio can convey things and register an impact on consumers in non-conscious ways that may be even more powerful for some brands and forms of messaging. Another powerful insight developed by the labs Buzan is what is the best content and context for brand advertisers ads to run in. Significantly, the labs researchers are building a database of what works and what doesnt in order to have a benchmark for future insights, as well as potential changes in the way people respond to media, content and advertising over time. While the lab is the most material rationale for MediaPosts selection of Mindshare as our 2019 Media Agency of the Year hitting all three of our major criteria: vision, innovation and industry leadership it is part of a broader mandate and culture being fostered by Gerhart, all of which falls under a unique philosophy the agency dubs provocation with purpose. One of the best manifestations of such provocation is a series of near-futuristic thought pieces it produces under the banner of Media Dystopia, in which it strives to imagine not just the upside of media technology, but the unintended consequences. Think Madison Avenue meets Netflixs Black Mirror. A more practical and immediate manifestation of the agencys provocation work also took root in 2019 around building a better way to use media targeting the LGBTQ community. While its common for media technology to be used to blacklist certain media and content for the sake of brand safety, Mindshare realized there could also be a way of whitelisting it in order to identify the most meaningful ways to reach the LGBTQ community. The result was the industrys first private marketplace for brands supporting queer voices in journalism. Gerhart says Mindshare already has dozens of LGBTQ media partners participating in the private marketplace, and that its already beginning to have an impact on some of the agency's brands, as well as the media outlets. Hyderabad: Four years after his suicide, Rohith Vemulas memory lives on, at the University of Hyderabad campus and outside as well. Scores of students gathered at the Velivada on campus a protest site built by Vemula and his colleagues after being suspended by the administration in 2016 to raise slogans hailing him along with Dalit icons such as B.R. Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram and Jyotirao Phule. The students also raised slogans in support of Payal Tadvi, the doctor from Mumbai who committed suicide after facing caste-based harassment, and P. Pranay, the Dalit youth who was killed by his father-in-law for marrying the daughter. Vemula and four other student-colleagues were suspended after they were accused of assaulting an ABVP leader. Indicating caste-based discrimination in his suicide letter, Vemula famously wrote: My birth is a fatal accident. The Ambedkar Students Association (ASA), to which Vemula belonged, organised a meeting on campus to mark Rohit Shahadath Din, to bring attention to caste-based discrimination. Vemulas mother Radhika was invited to garland her sons bust; she broke down while doing so. It was also attended by the parents of Payal Tadvi and Pra-nays father P. Balasw-amy. Chief guest AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, however, dropped out of the meeting. Shahal, a student of the communication department and member of ASA, said Rohith Vemula continued to be an important person on campus. Though he enrolled in 2017 after Vemula died, he knew about the sordid affair. I spoke to countless seniors who knew Rohit personally, worked and lived with him. Shahal said his seniors had told him about the problems they faced during the episode. Some of them had to sleep in the open (during their sit-in protest after the suspension), he said. Shahal said the Rohith Vemula episode is remembered with a mixture of hope and hopelessness. Prashanth Dontha, one of the four suspended alongside Vemula, said the four years since the ordeal have been very long. Dontha said police cases filed against him and the others have made their lives difficult. I tried to apply for a passport sometime ago, he said. It was denied due to the chargesheet against me (in the assault case). Dontha said Vemula was missed. His was a fearless voice. He spoke up against everything he considered wrong. I am happy to see that he has not been forgotten. Solidarity marches in his memory are being organised across the country, he said. Dontha, a research scholar in UoH, cried foul that while he and his colleagues have been chargesheeted, the complaint of caste-based discrimination against the vice-chancellor has not yet been investigated. The student community has also accused the administration of trying to erase Vemulas memory. The previous night, the administration reportedly ordered the erasure of the Preamble and quotes of Ambedkar graffiti-ed near the Velivada. Inyivan, the president of ASA, said this was not new. In the past, they tried to remove the Velivada structure entirely. They always do this at the dead of the night, when we arent there to object. Four years on, Rohits memory still haunts them, he said. A teenage girl was allegedly kidnapped by a man and forced to sit in a bathtub full of bleach and a cocktail of other chemicals. The 18-year-old called police after she escaped from the property in southwest Sydney on Thursday at around 12.30pm. She suffered skin irritation as a result of the bath and was known to the man, police said. The teen was allegedly kept against her will in the home for as long as 10 hours, after being allegedly abducted at around 2am the same day. An 18-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped by a man and forced to sit in a bathtub full of bleach and a cocktail of other chemicals (stock image) Police are now investigating after setting up a crime scene at the home. The 40-year-old man also fled the scene, but was caught by police when he crashed into a parked car on Waterside Crescent in Carramar. He was refused bail in Fairfield Local Court on Friday. He faces charges of detaining a person for advantage, malicious damage, intimidation and possessing a prohibited drug. His next court appearance will be video link on March 13. A pickup truck slammed into an Illinois Starbucks on Thursday, injuring several people and causing massive damage to the coffee shop, police said. Patrick Polidori, public affairs officer for McHenry police, told The Associated Press that the driver and four people inside the cafe were injured. Fire and rescue personnel extracted one person from beneath the vehicle, police said in a statement. Four people were transported to the hospital, while the other was released at the scene. One person was in critical condition and the other three hospitalized were listed in fair condition. Police said it wasnt known why the Dodge Ram ran off the roadway in McHenry, about 50 miles northwest of Chicago, and struck a vehicle at the drive-thru window before colliding with the building. Polidori said the roof of the building collapsed, and photos from the scene showed almost an entire wall of the shop knocked down by the truck. The police department closed a portion of Route 120 after the crash and advised motorists to avoid the area. Starbucks, in a statement, expressed its sadness over the incident. Were focused on supporting our partners and customers who have been affected. Details around how the vehicle ended up in the shop are unknown. The CNN Wire contributed to this report. "ATII will deliver innovative solutions to disrupt human trafficking networks by assisting financial gatekeepers in identifying, reporting and terminating relationships with associated customers," says Aaron Kahler, CEO of ATII. For example, nestled into a pristine part of the Poconos, Stroudsburg is an idyllic borough in Pennsylvania, a vibrant town, a vacation haven. Last week in Stroudsburg, the US Attorney's Office in Pennsylvania announced that Sirvonn Taylor, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for heading-up a conspiracy that forced women to engage in prostitution. In this bucolic town, "Females were 'sexed-in' to the gang, forced to engage in sex with members and recruited to engage in prostitution." PR 1.6.2020 Technological Outreach ATII will disrupt the way traffickers operate around major events nationwide starting at this year's Super Bowl in Miami, FL with the release of a human trafficking awareness and victim outreach mobile application. The application allows victims to scan a QR code where necessary help can be accessed in her primary language. Driving Corporate Social Responsibility Relying on technology/data partnerships and corporate social responsibility leadership, ATII has been able to curate initiatives and provide resources to organizations including: High Risk Trafficking Data that can be leveraged through any transaction monitoring, sanctions or onboarding technology E-learning that can be utilized by institutions to comply with anti-money laundering regulatory requirements Networking and Partnerships Extend the Battle Against Human Trafficking Leveraging ATII's programs, best practices, data, technology and reporting mechanisms in as many financial institutions as possible will directly result in Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) being filed on human trafficking and ultimately save lives while bringing traffickers to justice. About ATII The Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative is a non-profit organization established in 2019 in Beaufort, South Carolina. ATII's mission is to combat global human trafficking by leveraging corporate social responsibilities directly through advocacy awareness, intelligence integration, technology advancement and strategic data collaboration. ATII aspires to pioneer necessary change in the approach to trafficking prevention, detection, reporting and collaboration to achieve justice and save lives. www.followmoneyfightslavery.org SOURCE Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative Related Links http://www.followmoneyfightslavery.org South African police arrest a suspect in connection with the murder of a Belgian priest in a village west of Johannesburg. By Linda Bordoni Authorities in South Africa have arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with the presumed murder of a Belgian priest, found dead inside his home. 83-year-old Oblate Father Joseph Hollander was found dead in his house in the village of Bodibe, some 200 kilometers west of Johannesburg. The Flemish priests body was reportedly found tied up, but with no signs of visible violence on 12 January. Authorities suspect Hollanders was the victim of a break-in and robbery which took place shortly after he returned home from Sunday Mass. Bishop Victor Phalana of Klerksdorp described him as a man with a big heart, who lived for his community. Everyone knows he had no money. He served a poor community. He used every penny he ever owned for his people. He gave away everything he had. He spoke Afrikaans fluently and Tswana, a Bantu language spoken in South Africa and Botswana. He liked to create new parishes or parish stations, he said. Local media reported that the arrested man was found in possession of Joseph Hollanders phone and will be facing murder charges when he appears before a court on Friday. Father Hollanders funeral will take place on Wednesday 22 January in a Klerksdorp Cathedral where he will be laid to rest. * U.S.-China sign Phase 1 deal * Singapore shares hit near 10-week high * Philippines sole loser in the region By Anushka Trivedi Jan 16 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian markets rose on Thursday, with Thailand leading the pack, as risk sentiment improved after the United States and China signed an interim trade deal to diffuse their 18-month-long dispute. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Wednesday signed the pact that will roll back some tariffs and see Beijing boost purchases of U.S. goods and services by $200 billion over two years. The deal, however, does not fully eliminate the tariffs or address several structural differences that led to the dispute. "The most difficult topics such as Chinese industrial subsidies are pushed to a phase 2 deal, which we do not expect before the U.S. elections in November," ING analysts said in a note. "At least the deal takes away some of the trade uncertainty that affected businesses in the past two years", they added. The Thai benchmark index jumped 0.9% to a near two-month high amid broad-based gains. Electricity retailer Gulf Energy Development PCL climbed 3.4% and property developer Central Pattana PCL added 4.5%. Trade-reliant Singapore shares closed at their highest in about ten weeks, helped by gains in financials and telecommunication stocks. Southeast Asia's largest lender DBS Group Holdings Ltd rose 1%, while Singapore Telecommunications Ltd advanced 2.2%. Vietnam's index rose 0.7%, while Indonesian shares were largely unchanged. Malaysia's stock index pared some early losses to close flat, with gains in telecom stocks offsetting weaker consumer stocks. Palm oil producer PPB Group Bhd and rival IOI Corp Bhd fell 0.4% and 1.5%, respectively. An industry regulator said Malaysia's palm oil exports are expected to drop by 2.5% this year. Additionally, an official said the U.S.-China trade deal could hurt Malaysian palm oil exports to China as Beijing will ramp up its uptake of soybean oil from the United States. Meanwhile, Philippine stocks closed at their lowest since Oct. 3, as consumer and financial stocks weakened. Conglomerate SM Investments Corp slipped 0.9%, while JG Summit Holdings Inc fell 1.4%. For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS STOCK MARKETS Change on the day Market Current Previous close Pct Move Singapore 3278 3256.98 0.65 Bangkok 1595.87 1581.05 0.94 Manila 7653.18 7664.4 -0.15 Jakarta 6286.048 6283.365 0.04 Kuala Lumpur 1587.88 1585.14 0.17 Ho Chi Minh 974.31 967.56 0.70 Change so far in 2020 Market Current End 2019 Pct Move Singapore 3278 3222.83 1.71 Bangkok 1595.87 1579.84 1.01 Manila 7653.18 7,815.26 -2.07 Jakarta 6286.048 6,299.54 -0.21 Kuala Lumpur 1587.88 1588.76 -0.06 Ho Chi Minh 974.31 960.99 1.39 (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath) The data privacy protections that just took effect in California are rippling through other states, and Florida businesses will soon feel its effects.Beginning this month, large businesses around the country that operate in California must disclose to their Golden State customers who ask for it any data the companies collect about them. Those customers can then request that the information be deleted or demand that it not be sold. Companies that fail to comply could face significant fees and penalties.Companies put themselves at risk if they develop a wait-and-see attitude to the law, said Jack Clabby, a cybersecurity and privacy attorney in Tampa.The California Consumer Privacy Act is the first sweeping data privacy measure in the country. It is intended to give consumers more control over their personal data at a time when breaches are rampant and personal information is mined, sold and used in ways consumers have little say over. A recently proposed Florida bill seeks to take similar steps for consumer data privacy.The law applies to for-profit companies that operate in California and meet one of three criteria: They have a gross annual revenue of at least $25 million; they buy, sell or share personal information for at least 50,000 California consumers; or they make at least half of their annual revenue by selling consumer data.The companies that the law covers are mostly large private and public companies with significant reach. A report by Californias attorney general estimated that compliance will cost businesses roughly $55 billion initially, and the U.S. Department of Justice expects between 15,000 and 400,000 businesses to be affected nationwide.Fines for failing to comply range from $2,500 to $7,500 per violation.Californias law provides a broad umbrella for what constitutes personal information, going beyond the typical name and drivers license number to include information such as Internet browser history, geolocation data and audio.All those kinds of information can be associated with a person and contain intensely private information, said Jacob Snow , an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, who focuses on technology.One of the most significant aspects of the California law is a clause that gives the states consumers the right to sue over a data breach that meets certain criteria. If they are successful, companies who expose consumer data could be forced to pay between $100 and $750 per Californian affected by a breach and any other fees the court deems appropriate.The regulation is widely considered to be the first in what will likely be a tide of similar state laws and potential federal legislation. That means companies will need to figure out how to comply with multiple laws and still do business effectively.You could end up with a federal floor and then still have different states that set different levels of privacy protections for consumers, even if those privacy levels conflict, Clabby said. Its not what the regulation is, its having certainty so companies can plan their business activities.Some companies are expected to take a segmented approach for now, where they would have one division for California and one for the rest of the country, as many do to comply with Europes significantly more stringent data privacy laws.Others, such as Microsoft , are complying with Californias law and offering the same protections to customers around the country. Son of Latin American Anglican bishop detained by ICE, denied asylum Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The son of an Anglican bishop based in Latin America who was detained by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement last year has been denied asylum. Josue Alvarado Guerra, 34, the son of Bishop David Alvarado of the Diocese of El Salvador, was denied asylum earlier this month and is awaiting possible deportation. Alvarado Guerra originally left El Salvador for the U.S. after being threatened by a San Salvador gang for refusing to work with them, according to the Episcopal News Service. ENS noted that he worked as an undocumented laborer in the U.S. for a period of time until Nov. 27, 2019, when he was detained in Ohio, where he is presently being held. The Episcopal Church has been actively supporting Guerra. In addition to some bishops writing in support of the detainee, the Rev. Aaron Gerlach of Old Trinity Episcopal Church in Tiffin has been visiting him and offering pastoral support. My sense is hes been scared from day one about being deported back to El Salvador, said the Rev. Margaret DAnieri, the canon for mission for the Diocese of Ohio, in an interview with ENS. Bishop Alvarado has implored the U.S. to not deport his son back to El Salvador, arguing that it would be dangerous for him to return. If he returns, the gangs will go after him again, Alvarado said, Reuters reported. He fled because of the threats. Even though theyve signed deals between the Central American governments ... and the United States that they are safe countries, we know that theyre not so safe. We live here under a structure of violence going back many years because of the gangs. Under the Trump administration, there has been an increased effort to deport people who illegally entered the country as well as reduce the number of refugees resettled on an annual basis. Last September, the administration released a fact sheet announcing their intention to lower the refugee resettlement cap to 18,000 for fiscal year 2020 (Oct. 1, 2019 Sept. 30, 2020), the lowest it has been since the program was created in 1980. This proposed ceiling takes into account the ongoing security and humanitarian crisis on our border and the massive asylum backlog, which now includes nearly one million individuals, stated the fact sheet. The overwhelming backlog is completely unsustainable and needs to be addressed before we accept large numbers of refugees. File picture of a protest march in Nigeria against victims of violent attacks across the country (AFP or licensors) The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria are appealing for the release of four major seminarians kidnapped in Kaduna, Nigeria, by unknown gunmen on the night of 8 January. Vatican News Vatican City RECOWA, the Catholic Bishops West African regional office based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast says the Catholic Bishops of Nigerian have appealed to the kidnappers to release the seminarians. No further details were made available. Sources in Nigeria further told RECOWA that the kidnappers have made contact with the families of the abducted seminarians but did not demand a ransom. First-year philosophy students The four missing seminarians, Pius Kanwai, 19; Peter Umenukor, 23; Stephen Amos, 23; and Michael Nnadi, 18 are first-year philosophy students at Kadunas Good Shepherd Seminary. The students were kidnapped from the seminary in Kaduna, in northwestern Nigeria at about 10.30 pm when gunmen wearing military fatigue breached the seminary security fence and started shooting indiscriminately. Fortunately, there was no loss of life. The seminary has 268 students. Boko Haram have a history of mass kidnappings The assault on the seminary was all too familiar in a region where Boko Haram and other Islamist groups use brutal and brazen methods to reinforce their reign of terror. Kidnappings, especially mass kidnappings, are a reprehensible but common ploy for the militants to court media attention, forced recruitment to their ranks but also as a way to extort money through demands for ransom. White House aides hope the process will wrap up by the State of the Union address on Feb. 4, the day after the Iowa caucuses. But top Senate Republicans have indicated that they expect the trial could easily extend past then, running into the New Hampshire primary and maybe even beyond if the Senate votes to call witnesses. The campaigns are trying to make the best of a bad situation, chartering planes for middle-of-the-night flights back to Washington and organizing town hall events hosted via phone or video chat. Mr. Sanders plans to leverage his social media following by hosting live-stream events. (In the first week of January, Mr. Sanderss live streams received 6.5 million views, according to his campaign.) Theyre also dispatching top surrogates, like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York for Mr. Sanders and Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts for Ms. Warren. But, of course, supporting cast members can never really replace the star of the show. The dynamic is probably most damaging to Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who lacks the national brands of Mr. Sanders and Ms. Warren and has predicated her success on a strong finish in Iowa, where she is polling in fifth place. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, who has less than 1 percent support in the polls, will also be pulled off the campaign trail. Meanwhile, Mr. Biden and Mr. Buttigieg plan to spend much of the next three weeks in Iowa. Aides to Mr. Biden say the trial could be an asset, reminding voters that Mr. Trump fears Mr. Biden as a political opponent. (Revelations that Mr. Trump tried to collect political dirt on Mr. Biden and his family from Ukrainian officials kicked off the impeachment inquiry.) Theyve released a new ad arguing that Mr. Trump is obsessed with their candidate. Mr. Buttigieg is planning to spend 15 of the 18 days before the caucuses barnstorming the state. Ill leave it to the analysts to figure out the political impacts, Mr. Buttigieg said in Iowa on Wednesday. Were going to use every moment available to us to continue making the case and to continue listening to voters. For Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders, there might be a tiny sliver of sunshine in all this impeachment doom. The hearings will distract from their escalating and mutually distracting feud. An 'Indiana Jones of the art world' has recovered a stolen 850,000 15th-century book by a Persian poet after an international race against the Iranian secret service. The gold-leafed volume by famous poet Hafez, was found to be missing from the collection of an Iranian antiques dealer after his death in Germany in 2007. It sparked a decade-long search for one of the oldest surviving copies of the 'Divan of Hafez' - the collected works of the poet who remains extremely popular in Iran and has inspired artists worldwide. But Arthur Brand, who has traced a series of lost works, finally tracked down the work via the murky stolen arts underworld. The gold-leafed volume by famous poet Hafez was discovered to be missing from an Iranian antiques dealer's collection after he died in Germany in 2007 The 15th century book, worth 850,000, sparked an international race between investigators and the Iranian government. It was handed back in London late last year 'This is a hugely important find for me, because this is such an important book,' Mr Brand said as he brought out the recovered book at an Amsterdam apartment. Along with Rumi, Hafez - full name Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafiz Shirazi - is one of the best known mystical bards. American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson called him the 'Prince of Persian poets'. Hafez's Divan can still be found in most Iranian homes where it is traditionally read out during family celebrations for the Persian New Year. The theft of the manuscript, which dates from 1462 to 1463, was discovered by the family of book dealer Djafar Ghazy after he died in an old people's home in Munich in 2007. While going through Ghazy's computer, they realised the reclusive pensioner had in fact collected hundreds of ancient manuscripts - but that they were all gone. The book was tracked down by Arthur Brand, dubbed the 'Indiana Jones of the art world' The 'Divan of Hafez' remains popular in Iran and can still be found in many families homes for reading during family celebrations for the Persian new year In 2011 German police recovered 174 of them raiding the home of another Iranian pensioner who had befriended Ghazy. 'But the most important piece, one of the earliest and most accurate copies of the famous 'Divan of Hafez', was still missing,' said Brand. Mr Brand, pictured, said this find was 'hugely important' due to the book's importance German police announced a 50,000-euro reward and issued a flyer describing the book in 2016 but there was still no trace of it, until late 2018. Brand then received a phone call from an Iranian dealer, asking the Dutchman to 'urgently' meet him in Germany. 'The man told me he was visited by two officials who said they were 'linked to the Iranian embassy'.' The men - alleged by the dealer to be Iranian secret agents - told him to 'report any news of the missing Divan', Brand said. 'My informant was clearly scared, felt threatened and decided to call me into the case,' Brand told AFP. Iran had already shown an interest in the case, saying it would take 'all legal means' to get back the manuscripts that were found in 2011, after Germany gave two back but decided most of the rest were legally owned by the collector, German news reports said. 'After my informant was contacted, I knew that Iran was also looking for the missing Divan and I started a race against time to see if I could find it first, as the book belonged to Ghazy's family,' Brand said. The book was tracked down after it was sold, and the buyer eventually agreed to hand it over in London late last year The book will be taken back to Germany on Wednesday to be reunited with the dead art collectors family The Dutchman then flew to London to meet an unnamed man 'who became extremely nervous' when shown the flyer of the missing book, and confessed he had seen it as a friend of his had sold it to a major buyer. By then Iranian agents were also in London asking questions about the manuscript, Brand said. 'The buyer was shocked and furious. After all, he was sold a stolen book and now everybody including the Iranian government was looking for it,' Brand said. By now afraid, the buyer flew to Paris to demand his money back from the original seller. But Brand persuaded him to go back to London and finally the collector handed over the book via an intermediary in late 2019. Brand said he will travel to Munich next Wednesday to return the Divan to German police. 'The next steps are currently being discussed together with the heirs' of Ghazy, police spokesman Ludwig Waldinger told AFP. Experts said this edition could be of great historical and literary value for scholars and admirers of Hafez, whose works were published after his death. The recovered book is 'one of a handful still in existence,' said Dominic Parviz Brookshaw, associate professor of Persian literature at Oxford University. 'It's an extremely early edition - although not the earliest - which would make it very rare and valuable,' Brookshaw told AFP. T roubled NMC has brought in former FBI man Louis Freeh to investigate allegations made by US hedge fund manager Carson Block. The hospitals operator, the biggest private healthcare provider in the United Arab Emirates, was the victim of a short selling attack by Blocks firm Muddy Waters in December. Block published a damning report over NMC Healths accounting practices, claiming its finances pointed to possible fraudulent asset values and the theft of company assets. Freeh and his risk management company FGIS has been picked to examine and report on the claims. Jonathan Bomford, chairman of the Independent Review Committee set-up by NMC, said Freeh will provide a completely independent, unbiased, comprehensive and transparent report that will address all of these allegations. The former federal judge and FBI director is a controversial character, who was last year appointed by Israeli businessman Dan Gertler to lobby the US Treasury on his behalf. Gertler was placed on a US sanctions list in 2018 and had his assets frozen, having been accused of getting rich from corrupt mining deals in Africa. Freeh also lobbied on behalf of Kuwaits KGL Investment. The appointment raised eyebrows, as a City law firm would typically conduct such a probe. One analyst said: Clearly NMC dont believe the accusations but it has to convince the market. A big name sends a message that the company is not guilty. The shares, battered by Muddys attack, rose to the summit of the FTSE 100 today, up 7% at 1541p. Underpinning the study is the researchers use of Agilents specialized Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technology Agilent Technologies Inc. is collaborating with researchers at two UK universities who are looking into the risk factors for atopic eczema (also known as atopic dermatitis), a chronic skin condition that affects one in five children and one in 12 adults. The aim of the collaboration is to help the medical community diagnose the condition early and to administer the best possible treatment. To that end, UK researchers at the University of Sheffield and the University of Manchester are conducting a study to follow a group of 175 babies during their first year of life to see how skin matures, and identify which babies are most at risk of developing eczema. Underpinning the study is the researchers use of Agilents specialized Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technology. Agilent has developed a prototype sampling approach that enables researchers to work non-invasively, and with speed and accuracy. This technology, built around Agilents 4300 Handheld FTIR, is already being used in studies for direct skin measurements, where it provides higher-quality data more reliably when compared to prior methods. Agilent is currently considering making the new sampling device available so that others working in skin research can take advantage of its unique capabilities. The early identification of high-risk babies creates an opportunity to prevent eczema developingand could also potentially be used to prevent the development of other inflammatory skin disorders. The countrys 2019 production reached a further post-Soviet high, marking another year Moscow fell short of cuts promised to its Opec partners, Petroleum Economist reports in its article Russian oil hits another peak. Russias oil and gas condensate output totalled 560.2mn t in January-December 2019, or 11.25mn bl/d, according to data from the countrys energy ministry data, up from 555.8mn t (11.16mn bl/d) in 2018. December production totalled 47.63mn t (11.26mn bl/d), a 3.4pc month-on-month increase month, but a 1.7pc decline year-on-year. Growth came largely on the back of increased contributions from a number of greenfield projects operated by national oil champion Rosneft, says Vasilii Tanurkov, director at Moscow-based ratings group Acra. These included the Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoye, Srednebotuobinskoye, Kuyumbinskoye and Taas-Yuryakh fields in eastern Siberia and Kondinskoye, Russkoye, and East-Messoyakhskoye in western Siberia. Eastern Siberiaone of Russias less developed basinshas been a key supply growth driver over the past decade, since the launch of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (Espo) pipeline in 2009. The western Siberian basin has been flowing since the 1960s and is now mostly mature, but operators have begun exploiting new fields in its remote north. Rosnefts 2019 output inched up by 0.6pc to 195.1mn mt (3.92mn bl/d). Other producers posting gains were Novatek, up by 1pc, Tatneft, up 0.9pc, and Gazprom Neft, up 0.3pc. Russias three production-sharing agreements (PSAs) also boosted yields by 5.4pc, on the back of growth at the ExxonMobil-led Sakhalin-1 project. Russian exports were up by 3.3pc at 266mn t (5.34mn bl/d). Flows were curbed in April and May owing to a partial shutdown of Druzhba, the countrys main oil export pipeline, because of oil contamination. But this was more than offset by increased European shipments later in the year, as well as expanded exports to Asia-Pacific markets via Espo. Conventionally, Russia has had a two-pronged strategy for growing production. On the one hand, it has targeted new fields in frontier areas like the Arctic and eastern Siberia. On the other, it has sought to manage decline at older deposits in western Siberiaa region that still accounts for around 60pc of national supply. This changed when Russia began co-operating with Opec and other non-Opec producers to try to prop up oil prices. Last year, Russian oil firms intentionally scaled down output at brownfield sites to enable increases of more profitable greenfield production while still fulfilling Opec+ cut quotas, according to Tanurkov. Russian gas output also set a post-Soviet record of 737.6bn m last year, up by 1.7pc year-on-year, according to the energy ministry. Novateks Yamal LNG terminal was able to make a full-year contribution after it reached its 16.5mn t/yr capacity at the end of 2018a little over a year after its launch. State-controlled Gazproms Bovanenkovo field also ramped up to its third-stage capacity of 115bn m/yr during the year. Gazprom, the countrys top producer, saw its output edge up by 0.5pc last year to just over 500bn m, marking its highest level since 2012. But the firms exports to countries outside the former Soviet Union fall by 1.3pc to 199.2bn m, in part due to lower European demand, down by 1pc last year, as well as rising competition from LNG suppliers. Compliance Opec+ efforts to bolster oil prices, which, barring brief spikes on geopolitical uncertainty, have stubbornly remained at around $60-65/bl, have been undermined by US shale oil companies and other producers not party to the Opec+ deal. But non-compliance within the group is another issue, with Russia a headline offender. By far the largest non-Opec producer in the Opec+ group, it promised in late 2016 a 300,000bl/d reduction from an October 2016 baseline level of 11.247mn bl/d. Russia came close to meeting this goal in 2017, when it produced 10.98mn bl/d, missing its commitment by only just over 30,000bl/d. But output then rebounded to 11.16mn bl/d in 2018. Under a revised deal, Russia then pledged to keep output 228,000 bl/d lower than a new October 2018 baseline of 11.42mn bl/d. Its commitment to this new quota was, though, more lacklustre. Russian authorities repeatedly insist they are doing all they can to enforce cuts, proffering various excuses. In early 2019 the energy ministry claimed that the harsh climate and geological conditions of many oil-producing regions made sharp reductions difficult to implement. It also cited its lack of control over output at PSA projects involving international partners such as ExxonMobil and Shell. Russia more than fulfilled its quota between May and July, but not out of choice. It was forced to slash output in response to Druzhbas closure, making its previous excuses sound slightly hollow. And, once the pipeline was back on stream, production spiked, more than compensating for the reductions. Russias compliance has also been difficult to gauge, as the country measures its output in tonnes but the cuts quotas are agreed in barrels. The extent it is keeping its promises therefore depends on what barrel-to-tonne conversion rate is used. Russias complaint that the inclusion of condensate in the cuts agreements makes it difficult to comply has some validity. Condensate output in Russia rises and falls with gas production, which is not subject to Opec+ restrictions. And producers cannot cut condensate flows without also lowering their gas output. Following negotiations for quotas for the first quarter of 2020. Russia agreed to deepen its crude production cuts to 300,000 bl/d below the October 2018 baseline, but condensate is now exempt. Russian outlook Russian condensate output typically fluctuates at between 800,000 and 950,000bl/d, depending on season, according to a report by Vienna-based consultancy JBC Energy. And Russia forecasts growth this year on the back of the launch of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline in December, although JBC is sceptical, foreseeing lacklustre demand for Russian pipeline and LNG in an oversupplied 2020 global gas market. Experts say the impact of the exclusion of condensate from production targets is difficult to predict. It is totally unclear what the condensate exemption would mean for Russian liquids production in 2020, Fitch Ratings analyst Dmitry Marinchenko tells Petroleum Economist. It could remain broadly flat year-on-year despite the pledge to cut production What is clear is that Russias continued co-operation with Opec is holding back considerable growth. Without the restrictions, production could have exceeded 575mn t (11.55mn bl/d) in 2019 and could exceed 580mn t (11.65mn bl/d) in 2020, says Acra. The ratings agency points to spare capacity at Taas-Yuryakh, Kuyumbinskoye, Tagulskoye, Lodochnoye and other Rosneft fields. Some wells could also be brought back on stream at brownfields, including those that receive lucrative tax breaks such as Samotlor and Priobskoye. Fitch estimates that Russia could ramp up production by 200,000-300,000 bl/d if restrictions ended, although it could take several months to restart previously plugged wells to achieve this. With the restrictions still in place, though, ACRA expects 2020 output at around 558mn t (11.2mn bl/d). The energy ministry has kept an open view, giving a forecast range of this year of 555-565mn t (11.15-11.35mn bl/d). But it may be that the Opec+ producers efforts are in vain. The market looks well supplied in 2020 because of growing production in the US, Brazil and Norway, and the committed cuts may thus be insufficient to fully absorb the surplus, but it is definitely better than nothing, says Marinchenko. Opec+ interventions should support average oil prices above $60/bl this year. Russia is in a good position to weather such conditions, given its low production costsestimated by Fitch at $20-25/bl before tax. This makes Russian producers more resilient than their shale-focused counterparts in the US. And, on a national level, Russia has a fiscal break-even oil price of $50/bl, whereas lead Opec member Saudi Arabia needs $80/bl oil to balance its budget, according to Fitch. Russias resilience gives it more leverage in quota negotiations. The Opec+ group is due to convene against in early March to discuss options for co-operation on supply. All eyes will be on Russia, both its compliance and even on whether it remains on board. A poster of the TV drama New World. [China Daily] New World, a 70-episode TV series set on the eve of the liberation of Beijing, has made a splash since it began its run on Beijing Satellite TV and streaming sites iQiyi and Tencent Video on January 13. Boasting a stellar cast, the drama gathers actors Sun Honglei, Zhang Luyi and Yin Fang to play three brothersa prison warden, a Kuomintang secret service agent and a local police officer, respectively. The story revolves around their choice, whether to stay in Beijing to strive for the Communist Party's New China or flee to the South with the defeated Kuomintang troops. During a sneak preview recently held in Beijing, Writer and Director Xu Bing, best known for the critically acclaimed espionage drama The Red, revealed the twisty-turny drama unfolds over the course of 22 days before the People's Liberation Army took Beijing on January 31, 1949. A poster of the TV drama New World features Actress Wan Qian. [China Daily] To recreate the city landscape of that time, the crew rented an area of around 270,000 square meters in the outskirts of Beijing to build replicas of Beijing hutong and courtyards, as well as a "prison" with an area of around 3,000 sq m. Unlike most revolutionary dramas, New World shakes off cliche depictions and employs a thriller-like narrative to develop its nerve-shattering storyline. A-list Actress Zhou Dongyu, known for the runaway hit Better Days, is also in the cast. But her character, the girlfriend of Yin's police officer, is brutally murdered in the second episode. Depicted as the victim of a serial killer, Zhou's character has stirred discussion online, exemplified by a vote to guess the murderer has drawn many netizens on Douban, the country's top review aggregator for movies and TV series. Now ranked as the second-highest rated TV series in prime hours, some critics predict the drama may ascend to the top slot in a few weeks. Director Xu Bing (left) and cast promote the TV drama New World in the Beijing press conference on January 10. [China Daily] (Source: chinadaily.com.cn) In step with many cities around the United States, Vancouver will host a Womens March on Saturday. According to a news release from organizers, the event will start at noon at Esther Short Park and will feature several speakers including community leaders and people from national organizations that represent the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, refugees and BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color). The speakers will then lead the march at the park. The event will also feature informational booths from several local and national organizations, and community members will be collecting donations for Free Hot Soup Vancouver, a local organization that feeds houseless people. Portland will have a womens march too, but not for a few weeks. The 2020 Womxns March and Rally for Action will take place March 1 at the Park Blocks. That event will begin at noon, and organizers will release more details closer to the event. Many cities have held annual Womens Marches since January of 2017, the day after President Donald Trumps inauguration. Millions across the country showed up to protest his election, his proposed policies that some said would harm women and marginalized communities, and his personal history with women, which includes multiple accusations of sexual assault. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. WILLEMSTAD/PHILIPSBURG - The statement made by the Curacao Business Association (VBC) in their press release of January 14, 2020, that an increase in the license fee, as proposed by the Government of Curacao, would imply a devaluation of the Netherlands Antillean guilder, is incorrect. An increase in the license fee will make the import of goods and services more expensive, but this is also the case when import duties or other taxes at the border are introduced or increased. A devaluation implies a change in the peg of the Netherlands Antillean guilder to the US dollar, which is not the case. SANTA ROSA (BCN) A Sebastopol woman who worked as a volunteer for a nonprofit education foundation was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of embezzling more than $40,000, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said. Melissa Ann Riley, 46, is scheduled to appear in Sonoma County Superior Court Friday afternoon. She was booked in the Sonoma County Jail on one count each of embezzlement and grand theft. Riley worked as volunteer treasurer for the Twin Hills Apple Blossom Education Foundation since August 2018, sheriff's Sgt. Juan Valencia said. The foundation is an all-volunteer parent group that raises money to supplement children's education through music, art and other enrichment programs in the Apple Blossom Elementary and Twin Hills Charter Middle schools in the Twin Hills Unified School District in Sebastopol. A former bookkeeper for the nonprofit discovered a zero balance in the nonprofit's bank account in December, and Riley is suspected of transferring the money to several bank accounts she controlled, the sheriff's office said. Valencia said the monetary loss to the foundation is believed to be more than $40,000. "There was no way of tracking all donations," Valencia said. Anyone who donated to the foundation, especially cash, is asked to call the sheriff's office. "We need to know the exact amount," Valencia said. Copyright 2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. EDWARDSVILLE A Bethalto man originally charged with first-degree murder pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of aggravated driving under the influence causing a death. Caleb Lenhardt, 22, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and will begin serving immediately. He was escorted from the Madison County courtroom in handcuffs. Lenhardt must serve 85% of his sentence. The agreement came after Madison County Circuit Judge Kyle Napp announced at 11 a.m. Thursday that the jury had become deadlocked 7-5, as they were trying to decide between a charge of first degree murder or a charge of reckless homicide. In exchange for his plea, the prosecution agreed to drop the first-degree murder charge in the death Katie Bunt, 21, of Wood River, on July 22, 2018. The reckless homicide charge was considered as a lesser included charge, according to jury instructions. The sentence for the reckless homicide count would be five years with a day off for every good day he served, with credit for about eight months time served in the Madison County Jail. Probation would have been presumed, under state law. The sentence for first-degree murder is a prison sentence of between 20 and 60 years. Because of the jury deadlock, and the impending mistrial and retrial of the case, plea negotiations began, according to a spokeswoman for the Madison County States Attorneys Office. First Assistant States Attorney Crystal Uhe said she was confident in the first-degree murder conviction, prosecutors met with the victims family members who said who expressed they could not withstand another trial. Family members and other supporters of both Lenhardt and Bunt sat in silence for several minutes after the court session ended. Out of respect and understanding for the family and all of the witnesses who have felt the pain of this trial, our prosecutors consulted with the defense to negotiate a plea for the defendant, Uhe said. Every case presents unique challenges, Uhe said. This case was no different. It is not in my nature to back down from difficult cases like this. I will continue to try the hard cases in order to seek justice for victims of violent crimes. My heart goes out to all of the many victims in this case and their families. Lenhardt also pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated battery for injury to Ashley Allgood, who was standing next to Bunt. The agreement on that charge is for a four-year sentence to be served concurrently with the 10-year sentence. Lenhardt had been free on $100,000 cash bond, which was revoked. He was taken the Madison County Jail for later transport to the Illinois Department of Corrections. ROCKY HILL The American Cancer Society recently announced the appointment of David W. Glidden, president and CEO of Liberty Bank as the new chairman of the Southern and Western New England Area Board. Gliddens term as chair began on Jan. 1. Glidden is the former chairman of the New England Division Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society and is a 2017 recipient of the St. George National Award, the American Cancer Society's highest volunteer honor in recognition of outstanding service to the community in support of the Society's mission. Glidden was a consistent presence in the Springfield community on behalf of our mission for over 20 years, with his signature event being the Springfield Gala. He comes to the Southern and Western New England Area Board from the Eastern New England Board, for which he served prior to joining the Liberty Bank team. As a longtime supporter and advocate of the American Cancer Society, I look forward to leading and playing a role in Connecticuts fight against this terrible disease, said Glidden in a statement. Working together with board members and the Society, we will continue to advance the cause, expand its community presence, and provide hope to everyone affected by cancer. Glidden became Liberty Banks president and CEO on March 18, 2019 and has more than 30 years of industry leadership experience. Prior to joining the Liberty team, he served as TD Banks Regional President for the Northern New England and Upstate New York. He was responsible for managing retail banking, small business, wealth management, commercial and specialty banking operations and lending services. Glidden began his banking career at Shawmut Banks Commercial Lending Division in Boston and joined TD Bank in 1994, embarking on a path that led to numerous positions of increasing responsibility. Glidden is an active banking industry leader and advocate. Over the years, in addition to his involvement with the Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York state banking associations, Glidden has held several leadership positions. He has been involved with organizations such as BDC Capital of New England, Inc., Turnaround Management Association, Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, SIS Charitable Funds Treasurer and Trustee, and the TD Bank Charitable Foundation. He previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society (ACS) New England Division and the ACS National Delegate. In addition to his previous involvement with the American Cancer Society, Glidden and the team at Liberty Bank recently donated $10,000 to the American Cancer Society in 2019 to support their local efforts. A graduate of Providence College, Glidden attended The National School of Banking in Fairfield, CT and The Ivey School of Executive Management in Toronto, Ontario. He is originally from Western Massachusetts and currently resides in Glastonbury with his wife. They have two adult daughters. Liberty Bank Investment Services welcomes financial adviser MIDDLETOWN - Sophie Stevens has joined Liberty Bank Investment Services, headquartered in Middletown, as Vice President, Investment Services, and a Raymond James Financial Advisor, following their recent merger with Simsbury Bank & Trust. She has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry also as a Financial Consultant with Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney. Stevens offers comprehensive financial planning services, specializing in investment management, retirement and estate planning. As a member of the Liberty Bank Investment Services team, Sophie covers the towns of Avon, Bloomfield, Granby, Simsbury and West Hartford. She is a trusted financial professional and partner, providing the knowledge and expertise clients need to make educated financial decisions when planning for the future. Stevens has her Connecticut Partnership for Long Term Care Certification, among other accreditations. She currently resides in Avon. She is a member of the Simsbury and Avon Chambers of Commerce. Formerly, she was the Co-President and on the Finance Committee for Interval House, Hartford. To reach Sophie Stevens or the Liberty Bank Investment Services Team, more information can be found at www.liberty-bank.com/retirement-planning-CT; call 888-570-0774; or use the contact page. Root Center for Advanced Recovery opens clinic MIDDLETOWN - The Root Center for Advanced Recovery, one of Connecticuts leading substance use treatment organizations and oldest nonprofit agencies, opened its new Middletown clinic at 520 Saybrook Road on Jan. 6. The Root Center is focused on treating the whole person, offering an array of services, including group, individual and family therapy as well as medication assisted treatment. The new Middletown clinic is staffed by a diverse team that includes highly trained and qualified addiction medicine physicians, including psychiatrists, physician assistants, advanced practicing registered nurses and clinicians. Headquartered in Manchester, the Root Center for Advanced Recovery offers an array of mental health and addiction treatment services, including Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Intensive Outpatient Programming (IOP), and general Outpatient services, for more than 5,500 adult patients per day. In addition, the organization also provides Intensive Outpatient Programming (IOP) for adolescents to treat a diverse array of emerging substance abuse treatment issues. The Root Center for Advanced Recovery has ten clinics across the state, including Bristol, Hartford (2 locations), Manchester, Middletown, New Britain, New London, Norwich, Torrington, and Willimantic. For information go to https://rootcenter.org/ or call France's prestigious Michelin Guide is among the world's most influential references on gourmet dining, its star ratings highly coveted and sometimes controversial. Amid shock in France after it dropped one of the three stars held by the restaurant of the late world-renowned chef Paul Bocuse for 55 years, here is some background. - 120 years old - French tyre manufacturer Michelin brought out a travel guide in 1900, the early days of the automobile, to encourage motorists to take to the road and so boost its business. The free, red guidebook included maps, a how-to on changing tyres and lists of mechanics and hotels along the route. The first run of 35,000 copies was such a success that guides for Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Spain followed. - Star rating - The guide included restaurant listings from 1920, when it started charging for the publication. It began sending out undercover inspectors, and from the early 1930s introduced its famous star ratings. Michelin says it issues up to three stars based on the quality of the ingredients used; mastery of flavour and cooking techniques; the personality of the chef in his cuisine; value for money; and consistency between visits. One star indicates "High quality cooking, worth a stop"; two stars is for "Excellent cooking, worth a detour"; and three rates "Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey". Of about 20,000 international restaurants listed, only around 130 have attained the highest distinction. - Michelin goes global - In 2005 the Michelin Guide branched out of Europe with a New York guide, followed in 2007 by editions for San Francisco then Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It moved to Asia with a Tokyo version in 2008 when 90,000 copies, in English and Japanese, flew off the shelves in 48 hours. Michelin published its first Shanghai guide in 2016 and today there are versions for several Asian cities, with Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo also covered. Having long been criticised as biased towards formal dining, the guide in 2016 awarded a star to a Singapore street food outlet known for a braised chicken dish. A famed Tokyo sushi restaurant, where Barack Obama is said to have enjoyed the best sushi of his life, was meanwhile dropped from the 2020 edition after it stopped accepting reservations from the general public. - A lot of pressure - A handful of French restaurateurs have relinquished their Michelin status because of the stress of being judged by its inspectors, including Joel Robuchon (1996), Alain Senderens (2005), Olivier Roellinger (2008) and Sebastien Bras (2017). The 2003 suicide of three-star chef Bernard Loiseau was linked, among other reasons, to hints that his restaurant was about to lose its three stars. Star Swiss chef Benoit Violier took his life in 2016, a day ahead of the release of the Michelin Guide, although his restaurant maintains its three-star rating. The guide was taken to court for the first time in 2019 when celebrity chef Marc Veyrat sued it for stripping one of his restaurants of a third star and suggesting -- wrongly, he insists -- that he had used cheddar cheese in a souffle. His lawsuit was rejected. A collection of old copies of the Michelin Guide, which was launched in France 120 years ago and is now the world's top guide on gourmet dining Two men have been sentenced to prison on charges in connection with working on behalf of the government of Iran to monitor a Jewish centre in Chicago and Americans who are members of an exiled Iranian opposition group. Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, 39, a dual Iranian-US citizen, was sentenced to 38 months in prison on Wednesday by US district judge Paul Friedman in Washington after pleading guilty on 8 October to one count of conspiracy and one count of acting as an undeclared agent of the Iranian government. Majid Ghorbani, 60, an Iranian citizen and US permanent resident living in Costa Mesa, California, was sentenced to 30 months in prison by Mr Friedman on one count of violating US sanctions by giving photographs to Doostdar that he knew Doostdar would take to Iran, according to court records. Ghorbani was arrested in August 2018, and Doostdar that September. Both were accused of conducting surveillance and collecting information about Americans involved with the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK), or People's Mujahideen of Iran, an Iranian dissident group that seeks regime change in Iran. US officials said law enforcement will pursue those acting covertly to intimidate Americans. Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Show all 23 1 /23 Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather in front of Amir Kabir University AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranians demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of the Ukraine Boeing 737 crash in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans during a gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University - People hold flowers as tear gas fired by police rises Online videos purported to show that Iranian security forces fired both live ammunition and tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting against the Islamic Republic's initial denial that it shot down a Ukrainian jetliner AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University AFP correspondents said hundreds of students had gathered early in the evening to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster ISNA/AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian protester prepares to throw a tear gas canister back at police AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University A protester confronts an Iranian police officer AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gathe AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranians light candles for victims EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran People burn British and Israeli flags during a protest in front of the British embassy, in Tehran. Hundreds of Iranian hardliners gathered for a protest against Britain, a day after the UK ambassador to Iran Robert Macaire was detained after attending a a vigil for the victims of Ukraine passenger jet EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protestBritish embassy protest in Tehran Chanting "Death to Britain", up to 200 protesters rallied outside the mission a day after the brief arrest of British ambassador Rob Macaire AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran AFP via Getty Images Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Protesters chant slogans while holding up posters of Gen. Qassem Soleimani during a demonstration in front of the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. AP This case illustrates Iran's targeting of Americans in the United States in order to silence those who oppose the Iranian regime or otherwise further its goals, US assistant attorney general for national security John Demers said in a statement. The defendants, working for Iran, gathered information on Americans that could then be used by the Iranian intelligence services to intimidate or harm them or their families." In a statement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a Paris-based group linked to the MEK, called the defendants Iranian Intelligence Ministry agents, and said that since 2018, European countries have expelled seven people operating under diplomatic cover for Iran and arrested more than a dozen others for alleged terrorism or spying charges against dissidents. The arrest and sentencing of these two MOIS [Iranian Ministry of Intelligence] agents in the US is not sufficient, said Alireza Jafarzadeh, the deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and one of the Washington-based men Ghorbani surveilled. Mr Jafarzadeh added: Terrorism is a survival tool for the Iranian regime to eliminate members of its main opposition movement... The United States must dismantle the entire network of spying and terror of the Iranian regime in America. As part of his plea, Doostdar admitted travelling three times to the United States to meet with Ghorbani and to direct his activities on behalf of the government of Iran. Recommended Iran has been changed forever by admitting its great mistake Ghorbani admitted that he was paid $2,000 (1530) by Doostdar in late 2017 after turning over notes and photographs of demonstrators at a rally against the Iranian government on 20 September, 2017, in New York City, money that Doostdar said came from his Iranian government handler. Ghorbani also took photos at an Iran Freedom Convention for Human Rights in the Washington DC, on 4 May, 2018, according to court documents. Doostdar admitted that he spoke with Ghorbani about how the latter could provide the information to Doostdar in Iran. Both events were supported by the Iranian opposition group. In sentencing documents, lawyers for the two men requested leniency; they obtained sentences about half as long as the government requested. While Doostdar admitted to targeting the politically charged and controversial MEK, he is not a proxy for the government of Iran and should not be sentenced to achieve some symbolic victory in a geopolitical conflict that has now escalated to perilous levels. Doostdar is an individual and must be sentenced as such, his attorney, Joshua Herman, wrote. Ghorbani's attorney, assistant federal public defender Mary Petras, said her client did not attend the dissident group's events for any nefarious purpose, but rather at the request of its members. He did nothing to harm the group, Ms Petras said. The Washington Post A Kent farming business has been ordered to pay out over 35,000 after an employee was crushed by a concrete beam in March 2018. Trevor Ted Elson of A.A. Clifton Ltd was working with other employees to move six-metre-long concrete beams from the farmyard to the farmhouse. An extension was under construction at the site at Haguelands Farm, Burmarsh, Kent, Folkestone Magistrates Court heard last week. Each beam weighed more than 300 kg and needed to be lifted by a mechanical telehandler. Whilst on the trailer, attaching lifting chains to unload a beam, the deceased tripped and fell from the edge, catching one of the beams which was unstable from the way previous beams had been removed. This beam then fell from the trailer, landing on his upper body and crushing him to death. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the operation to move the beams was carried out at short notice and had not been properly planned. The employees were left to decide how to do it themselves, leading to an unsafe system of work. None of them had been trained in lifting and slinging operations. A.A. Clifton Limited of Haguelands Farm, Burmarsh, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and were fined 30,000, with full costs of 5446.50. Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Stephen Green said: This tragic incident led to the avoidable death of a long-term employee. It could easily have been prevented if his employer had acted to identify and manage the risks involved, and to put a safe system of work in place. Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers in the safe system of working. Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor / Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise For a corporation like German Pellets, a $12,000 fine is not going to bother management or the board of directors very much. Its just not a lot of money for company officials used to dealing with six- or seven-figure amounts. And to get a small fine like that for the 102-day struggle that Port Arthurans went through in 2017 is almost inconceivable. On top of everything, that fine by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality board was reduced $3,000 from the original penalty. The ordeal was even defined actually redefined as four separate events instead of one long cycle of problems. The cumulative effect of all this is breathtaking like trying to breathe when smoke and ash particles are floating through your neighborhood for weeks at a time. An office worker claims a mobile app saved his life after it warned him about a tiny mole on his arm which turned out to be skin cancer. Jason Sheridan, of Liverpool, initially thought nothing of the 1cm-wide mole when it cropped up on his left arm in 2018. But the 31-year-old started to worry when it turned pink 12 months later. He decided to check his mole using an app called SkinVision. The app, which checks moles for potentially dangerous changes, showed it was high risk and suggested he visit a doctor. Medics diagnosed Mr Sheridan with melanoma, which can be fatal if it is caught too late. He had an operation to remove the mole and is now cancer-free. Mr Sheridan who had always used sun cream and never used a sun bed believes the app, which he first read about in a news article, 'saved my life'. Busy office worker Jason Sheridan, 31, from Liverpool, has credited a mobile app for saving his life after he was diagnosed with skin cancer when it warned him about a tiny mole on his arm Mr Sheridan, from Liverpool, discovered he had melanoma after using the app, called SkinVision, which checks moles for potentially dangerous changes Mr Sheridan believed that the app, which he first read about in a news article, 'saved my life' after it branded the mole 'high risk' and he had an operation to remove it Mr Sheridan, who now lives in Vauxhall, South London, said: 'I had a new mole grow on my left arm, which I first noticed in March 2018. 'Because I am olive skinned, I have used SPF my whole life and am generally sensible in the sun, I never worried about skin cancer. 'But eventually, the mole started to change, going from quite a dark colour to light pink. 'This made me think I should get it checked out, but even then it still wasn't a massive worry for me so I didn't prioritise it over my busy job. 'After downloading SkinVision, the app immediately came back with a high-risk rating, and I was urged to go see a doctor as soon as possible.' Recalling his diagnosis, Mr Sheridan added: 'When the dermatologist told me I had stage 1A melanoma, I was in complete shock. 'I would never have thought it would have happened to me, but without the app, I would have left this to develop and it would have gone undetected. 'If I'd kept on waiting, who knows what would have happened. I am extremely lucky to have caught this early, and I genuinely believe that SkinVision saved my life.' SkinVision is an app based on AI, which uses a phone's camera to take photos of a mole or blemish and analyse whether it poses a cancer risk. The app checks the dimensions and shapes of moles to spot signs it might be more likely to be cancerous, then classes it as either low, medium or high risk. Mr Sheridan, who now lives in Vauxhall, South London, had always used sun cream and never used a sun bed, initially thought nothing of the 1cm-wide mole Healthy moles are fairly symmetrical in shape and have a smooth, consistent edge, whereas a melanoma is more likely to have a jagged, irregular outline. And non-cancerous moles are usually one colour whereas a melanoma is made up of multiple shades. If the user gets a high-risk rating on a mole, they are automatically sent advice from a dermatologist within the next 48 hours. Mr Sheridan said that he did not think to go to the doctors when he first spotted the mole. But the warning from the SkinVision app spurred him into action and he booked an appointment. 'I only go to the doctors if I'm absolutely desperate, I won't just go if I've got a cold or something, so I didn't think to go in with my mole first,' he said. But he had to have an operation to remove it after the app warned him the mole was 'high risk' and he was subsequently diagnosed with melanoma by a dermataologist Mr Sheridan said: 'I am extremely lucky to have caught this early, and I genuinely believe that SkinVision saved my life'. Pictured above: The tiny mole on his arm Mr Sheridan is now hoping to raise more awareness of the potentially deadly impact of melanoma, especially among young adults Mr Sheridan's GP referred him to a dermatologist and two weeks later, the mole was removed in a 40-minute operation before being sent away to be checked. But he thought nothing of the procedure because his GP had not appeared worried and he had previously had a harmless mole removed from his face. However, the biopsy led to Mr Sheridan being diagnosed with stage 1A melanoma and he was told he needed an additional biopsy to check whether the cancer had spread. He said: 'It was weird because the dermatologist called after the mole was removed, and I missed it because I was at work so they left a voicemail. 'As soon as I saw the missed call, I knew it was something - if it was nothing they would have probably just sent a letter. 'There was a week between the call and my appointment to have the mole removed, which really stressed me out because there was nothing I could do to speed up the process. It was all just a waiting game. 'I started to think that it actually might be something to worry about and it was quite scary.' Tests showed his melanoma had not spread to the rest of his body and the only reminder of his ordeal is the scar on his arm. 'Considering the size of the mole, the scar left is big but I don't mind, because it's a reminder that it's happened and to be careful in the future,' Mr Sheridan said. 'I would never have thought that this would happen to me - I'm healthy and fit, always careful in the sun. 'Ihave used SPF my whole life and have no family history of skin cancer or anything that would otherwise deem me high risk. If I can get it, I assume anyone can.' Mr Sheridan is now hoping to raise more awareness of the potentially deadly impact of melanoma, especially among young adults. He added: 'I think that message isn't out there enough about the fact that skin cancer can impact young people. 'Some people think skin cancer happens in older people or the more fair skinned but it should be put out there that it can form in everyone.' A Chinese national accused of exploiting foreign workers in Western Australia's food processing industry has been detained. The 28-year-old was taken to the Yongah Hill immigration detention centre after Australian Border Force officers raided his Cannington home. He was found hiding in the roof space of the unit, an ABF spokesperson said. It's alleged the man set up shell companies acting as labour hire intermediaries to recruit workers into the food processing industry. Those companies are alleged to have been involved in money transfers worth $4 million. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 By Elchin Mehdiyev Trend: The meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers is scheduled for late January, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters in Baku. The minister stressed that he had a meeting with Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, who supported holding of the meeting at the level of foreign ministers, Trend reports on Jan. 17. "If no other issues occur, the meeting is planned to be held at the end of this month," Mammadyarov added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, 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. A Newark municipal court judge has been censured for sending a woman to jail for 23 days because he believed she was being disrespectful towards him. The New Jersey Supreme Courts Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct (ACJC) in August recommended a two-month suspension for Marvin C. Adames. But the Supreme Court on Thursday decided that the appropriate punishment for his unethical conduct was censure - a formal reprimand. Linda Lacey ultimately spent Christmas and New Years in jail, and Adames acknowledged in court that her stay was "longer than [she] probably should have been incarcerated. Lacey appeared before Adames in November 2016 for a disorderly persons landlord-tenant dispute. The case stemmed from Lacey not allowing the landlord to show a property that was listed for sale, according to a complaint filed with the committee. After seeing her violently yank a pen from a court employee, the judge told Lacey, You must have some mental condition maam. Youve been disrespectful." The judge told her he intended to hold a contempt of court hearing and that she would remain jailed while she underwent a psychological evaluation because she had "some mental condition," the committee previously wrote. Lacey was removed from the courtroom and later apologized to the judge. She was not sent to jail at that time. She appeared before the same judge a month later, where Adames brought up what happened in November. He ordered Lacey be detained while she awaited a contempt hearing because, he said, "of her actions in court over the course of the time, the advisory committee wrote. She couldnt pay the $10,000 bail with a $1,000 release option Adames had set, so she remained in jail. Adames declined to have the contempt of court hearing he had scheduled just before Christmas because the psychological evaluation he ordered had still not been performed. On Jan. 3, 2017, Adames said the evaluation still hadn't been done and the contempt hearing hadn't officially been held. He released her anyway because she had been jailed "longer than [she] probably should have," the committee found. Ive attempted my part, but the system hasnt worked the way its supposed to work, he said. I think Ms. Lacey has suffered quite a bit already. She stayed in jail for another four days before she was released. It was unclear why. The judge later admitted through his attorney that he violated Lacey's rights to due process. He also said he violated the law by setting bail and jailing her before a summary judicial finding for contempt of court. Jailing her for the psychiatric evaluation also violated the judicial code of conduct, Adames admitted. Adames told the ACJC that he sent Lacey to jail while she awaited her contempt hearing because he doubted whether she would come back to court. He said the eviction appeared certain and her whereabouts would be in question. The committee said it was struck by his lack of appreciation for the judicial process, particularly given his extensive experience in the municipal court, both as a judge and a prosecutor. Adames was appointed as a municipal judge in 2012 and formerly worked as an assistant prosecutor in Essex County. Lacey filed a federal civil lawsuit against Adames last year, but a judge dismissed her complaint. Her suit, which was written by herself, was dismissed because she failed to properly state her claim. She appealed the decision and asked for the court to appoint a lawyer because she cannot afford to retain one. Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @BeccaPanico. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. The House impeachment proceedings had a farcical element from start to finish. They began with Adam "Pencil Neck" Schiff making up facts; continued with secret hearings, something a prosecuting party would never do if the facts favored it; moved to a partisan vote on two made-up articles of impeachment; and finally, contradicting the Democrats' earlier insistence that impeachment was an urgent necessity to preserve the nation, the House sat on the articles of impeachment for a full month. Yesterday, with great fanfare, bizarrely slurred speech, strange poetic references, ceremonial pens, and giggles and grins belying Nancy Pelosi's words about solemnity, the House finally transferred the articles of impeachment to the Senate. Then the serious politicking began. One of Trump's greatest accomplishments has been to restore the rule of law to the federal court system by appointing judges who are strict constructionists. They apply the Constitution and law as written. This differs from progressive judges, who believe that the Constitution and laws are living documents that should be stretched; flexed; folded; spindled; mutilated; and, if necessary, judicially rewritten to encompass progressive political and social goals. To date, 25% of federal lower court judges are Trump appointees, and Trump, working with Mitch McConnell, shows no sign of slowing. To preserve their longstanding stranglehold over the federal judicial system, the Democrats must stop more appointments. This is especially true should Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg leave the Supreme Court in the near future. For Trump to appoint a third conservative Supreme Court justice would dramatically alter the Court's judicial philosophy for years, maybe decades. So it was that, right on cue, failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris stepped up with a procedural demand: Today, the United States Senate will receive articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump and begin to determine whether the president's actions warrant his removal from office," said Harris. "The president is charged with high crimes and misdemeanors, and the Senate must take seriously its constitutional role in this process. During the time when articles of impeachment are before the Senate, it would be wholly inappropriate to advance the president's nominees to the federal judiciary. With Democrat primaries looming, there's another benefit to the Democrats delaying impeachment proceedings as long as possible. Elizabeth Warren; Amy Klobuchar; and, most especially, Bernie Sanders, are all current senators. Because presidential impeachment is a significant event, all three of them must attend. As long as the proceedings last, they'll be sidelined from campaigning. They can still tweet and make media appearances, but they can't go around glad-handing with primary voters. Of the remaining top primary candidates, it will be Biden and Buttigieg who can get up close and personal with the voters. (It's to be hoped, of course, that Biden doesn't get too up close and personal with women and little girls. That always looks kind of icky.) Buttigieg is a good speaker and quick on his feet, but black voters haven't warmed up to him, and it's unlikely that American voters as a whole will vote for a 39-year-old nonentity who has a mediocre track record as mayor of a mid-sized American city with a crime problem. That leaves Joe Biden, although there's a possibility that the impeachment proceedings will implicate Biden. Because Democrats are desperate to call in witnesses they couldn't be bothered to question during the rushed House proceedings, they run the risk that President Trump will demand (as he should) that both Joe and Hunter Biden testify. He may also want to call other witnesses who can talk about the way in which Hunter Biden, despite having no qualifications, profited in Ukraine while that country was part of Vice President Biden's portfolio. Still, that's a risk the Democrats are willing to take if it means sidelining Bernie and Warren. Again, the one thing we know with certainty is that the point of this impeachment is not to remove a president who engaged in treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors in a way that shocked the nation's conscience. It is, instead, to remove an unusually successful president without the risk of an election, to hamper his ability to function while in office, and to throw a lifeline to Joe Biden's flailing candidacy. GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemalas new president announced a state of alert for two municipalities with high crime rates to combat gang activity Friday, a measure that allows the deployment of military troops. Alejandro Giammattei said it will remain in place for seven days in Mixco and San Juan Sacatepequez, both of which are on the outskirts of the capital, and the army and National Civil Police will be tasked with arresting gang members operating in the area. The battle begins against crime, killings, extortion and the organized groups of gangs, said Giammattei, who took office Tuesday. The Defence Ministry said 1,000 soldiers were assigned to the operations. Under Guatemalan law, the measure allows for the militarization of public services, restricting public gatherings, prohibiting the circulation or parking of vehicles in determined areas and barring the carrying of firearms. The decree was signed by all of Giammatteis Cabinet ministers and took effect with its publication in the official gazette. Carlos Menocal, a former interior minister, applauded the measure and said it targets gangs in two areas where they have near-total control over the communities and extortion has been on the rise. But you also have to promote a culture of denouncing (crime) on the part of the population so that the gang members can be captured, Menocal said. On the campaign trail and at his inauguration, Giammattei, a conservative physician said he would present a bill to lawmakers that would declare gangs to be terrorist groups. The rule of law, protection of investment and promotion of jobs will be the planks of our government, but that will be achieved through security, Giammattei said. That proposal has yet to be submitted. Troops have been used for domestic security before. In March 2018, soldiers were withdrawn from deployments supporting police and reinforcing borders. According to government figures, Guatemala recorded a homicide rate of 21.9 per 100,000 inhabitants last year, which would put it somewhere in the 20 worst in the world, though below Central American neighbours El Salvador and Honduras. Guatemalas police force has been boosted in recent years, from 36,200 in 2016 to 42,500 today. The immediate threat from ISIS is not on the battlefield anymore, but in civilian spaces, says a new book which seeks to explore the psychology of South Asian jihadists. "The ISIS Peril: The World's Most Feared Terror Group and its Shadow on South Asia" tries to uncover the ideological underpinnings of the movement in South Asia, deconstruct its strengths and expose its fault lines. "The Islamic State's designs and methods were ambitious, perhaps too ambitious, which is why its fall was prophesied early into its rise itself. Recapturing territory from the Islamic State was never going to be the difficult job, the difficult job of fighting ISIS starts now," writes Kabir Taneja. He argues that just because a US declaration pronounced the end of the Islamic State and Russian bombings of the same do not mean the organisation has taken the defeat in its stride and retired into history. The author feels that while for India, "Pakistan-based terror groups may be trying to infiltrate the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir or the international border in Punjab, others such as ISIS have created direct access using the power of modern communication tools, the internet, and so on to get access to our living rooms". From the Holey Bakery attack of 2016 in Bangladesh to Easter weekend 2019 in Sri Lanka, from the flag-waving in Kashmir to the Twitter accounts in Bengaluru, from the young converts of Kerala to online recruitment by way of Facebook and Telegram, the book explores the psychology of the jihadists. According to the author, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of ISIS fighters today who are unaccounted for, or those who have melted away into obscurity of refugee camps and general towns and villages of both Iraq and Syria. "These people may be former citizens of the caliphate, but their commitments to ISIS and its ideologies would more often than not remain strong," he says. That means a situation has come forth where revival of cities and towns in Iraq and Syria affected by ISIS would also include ISIS fighters themselves, the book says. There is no way of knowing whether they have now decided not to commit themselves towards the caliphate or they are just waiting for the opportune time to strike once again, with the black flag' in tow, it adds. "The immediate threat from ISIS is not on the battlefield anymore, but in civilian spaces. The SDF (Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces) along with the few international aid organisations working on the ground have been left with the job of taking care of the land and people in a post-ISIS region, capacity that the Kurds-led group does not have," the book, published by Penguin Random House, says. "With hundreds of people living in makeshift camps, and many ISIS fighters being held in makeshift prisons, in close proximity with each other, there is complete confusion on how to handle these camps, who will pay for them and what to do with the ISIS fighters," writes Taneja. "In fact, the celebrations of an ISIS defeat at this rate could be short-lived, as the Kurds, who first took on the weight of actually defeating ISIS and now are having to host the stateless citizens of the caliphate may have no choice but to slowly release these radicalised people back into society," he says. According to Taneja, most ISIS fighters in captivity would still be what they set out to be, those who believed in the caliphate and would still like to see it make a return. And considering the political landscape in both Syria and Iraq, many would also like to think that resurgence is fully plausible. "ISIS may be defeated geographically, but as an idea it persists. This persistence will have no easy solutions, and the world has a long battle against an idea in front of it," he says. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SOFIA -- International media organizations have reported on ties between assassinated Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and a 2012 terrorist bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian bus driver. But Bulgarias current political leadership and its judicial system are not making the link -- backtracking from statements made by previous government officials. We cannot make such a connection, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov told reporters in Sofia last week after consultations with his National Security Advisory Council. This is related to a publication in foreign media that is making this link, and it is retransmitted here in Bulgaria, Borisov said. "So the more quiet and the more careful we are in our statements.... Peace and diplomacy are our aims." Borisov did not specify which foreign media he was referring to that was linking the 2012 bus bombing to Soleimani, who was killed on January 3 by a U.S. air strike near Baghdad International Airport. Irans alleged links to the July 18, 2012, suicide bombing at Burgas Airport have been reported by The New York Times, the BBC, Britains The Guardian, The Jerusalem Post, France24 television, and others. Those reports implicate Soleimani through his ties to proxy fighters in the military wing of Lebanons Iranian-funded Hizballah. As commander of Irans Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Soleimani had coordinated operations involving Hizballah. He also was responsible for coordinating operations with Tehrans other proxy militias in the region -- in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and the Palestinian territories. Both Iran and the Lebanese Shiite militant group deny any involvement in the Bulgarian bombing. But the Burgas bombing has played a role in a European Union decision to blacklist Hizballahs military wing as a terrorist organization. Senior officials in previous Bulgarian governments also have accused Hizballah of carrying out the bus bombing in the Black Sea resort city. In February 2013, Bulgarias then-Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov announced that two suspected accomplices in the attack were Hizballah operatives of Lebanese descent. In July 2013, on the first anniversary of the bombing, Bulgarias Interior Ministry said it had no doubt the Iranian-funded Hizballah was behind the attack. It said intelligence agencies from other European Union countries, the United States, Israel, Australia, Canada, and Lebanon had all helped in the investigation. Bulgarian prosecutors and the state security agency DANS later identified the suspected accomplices as Meliad Farah, an Australian, and Canadian Hassan El Hajj Hassan. Bulgarian investigators in 2014 also announced that the suicide bomber had been identified through DNA analysis of his fingers as Lebanese-born French citizen Muhammad Hassan el-Husseini. They said Husseini was using a fake driver's license from the U.S. state of Michigan with the name Jacque Felipe Martin when he carried out the attack. Bulgaria has issued warrants for the arrests of both suspected accomplices and has notified Interpol that they are wanted for extradition. Both are thought to have lived in Lebanon for several years before the attack but are no longer residing there. Their current whereabouts are unknown. In early 2018, a special court in Sofia began a trial in absentia against them. That court is allowing civil claims of more than $60 million to be made against the suspects. But the Bulgarian court is refusing to allow financial claims against Hizballah on the grounds that Hizballah was not named in the indictments. Relatives of the Israeli victims are demanding that the Bulgarian court also hold Hizballah accountable -- urging in July for the Bulgarian government to overcome its political considerations and add the Hizballah terrorist group to the indictment. Israel was the first to blame Iran, claiming just a day after the bombing that the attack had been carried out under orders from Tehran by Irans proxy fighters in Hizballah. Israeli intelligence reportedly received that information from an informant within Hizballah. Israel said it was just one in a series of terrorist attacks around the world carried out by Iran's Quds Force and Hizballah operatives. The time has come for all countries that know the truth to speak it, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 19, 2012. Yesterdays attack in Bulgaria was perpetrated by Hizballah, Irans leading terrorist proxy. The New York Times reported the same day that senior officials in then-U.S. President Barack Obamas administration had corroborated Netanyahus accusations -- saying the suicide bomber was a member of a Hizballah cell in Bulgaria that was looking for Israeli targets. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The New York Times that the attack was carried out by a Hizballah bomber acting under broad guidance from the militant groups main sponsor, Iran, to strike Israeli targets when opportunities become available. Washington also has linked the Burgas bus bombing to a wave of attempted attacks by Hizballah operatives under the Quds Force command who "have been caught preparing attacks as far afield as Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Cyprus, Egypt, Peru, and Thailand." Israel says a coordinated twin magnet-bomb attack against Israeli motorists in Tbilisi and New Delhi in February 2012 also was part of the global terrorist campaign by Hizballah and the Quds Force. Such attacks are seen as retaliation by Tehran, which blames Israel for the February 2008 assassination in Damascus of Imad Mughniyeh, Hizballahs second-in-command, and the killings of four Iranian nuclear scientists from 2010-2012. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:04:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The outgoing 12th Chinese medical team posed for photos with Chinese and Namibian officials in Katutura State Hospital in Windhoek, capital of Namibia, on Jan. 16, 2020. (Photo by Musa C Kaseke/Xinhua) China plans to explore cooperation in specialist clinical services in Namibia as medical assistance to the southern African nation brings huge benefits to locals. The outgoing 12th Chinese medical team stationed in the country has received over 20,000 patients in one and a half years. WINDHOEK, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government seeks to further expand cooperation in Namibia's health sector and explore cooperation in the specialist clinical services like brain surgery in the future, an official has said. Chinese ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming highlighted this on Thursday when they bade farewell to the outgoing 12th Chinese medical team that was stationed in Namibia since 2018. The 13th Chinese Medical Team of four which arrived in Namibia on Jan. 10 comprises two acupuncturists and two nurses. Chinese doctor Chu Hailin was giving treatment to a patient at the Katutura State Hospital in Windhoek, capital of Namibia, on Nov. 5, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei) Zhang said China is pondering the establishment of sister hospitals between the two countries as well as provide more opportunities in training and scholarships for Namibia specialists. "So far the Namibian nation has benefited greatly from the Chinese acupuncture services and it is one of the services that are highly in demand among Namibians," he said, adding that China also seeks to set up a medical center in the country to promote the Chinese medicine. Speaking at the event, Namibia Health Ministry Executive Director, Ben Nangombe, also stressed that the two countries should look into other areas of specialization while praising telemedicine that was introduced last year in Windhoek by the Chinese. Stocks in the news today: Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Friday's trading session based on recent and latest news developments. Investors are also awaiting December quarter earnings that are scheduled to be released today. Companies set to announce their earnings are Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, L&T Technology Services, Blue Dart Express, HCL Technologies, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, L&T Finance Holdings among others. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea: Shares of telecom companies Bharti Airtel and Vodafone will be in focus today after the Supreme Court dismissed AGR (adjusted gross revenue) review petitions by the companies seeking relief on interest & penalty payments. IRCTC: Shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation will be in focus as the company is set to launch Tejas Express on Ahmedabad-Mumbai route from January 19, 2020. Aditya Birla Money Q3: Consolidated net profit of the company stood at Rs 2.78 crore for the period ended December 31, 2019, as against Rs 2.36 crore for the period ended December 31, 2018, registering a rise of 17.8%. The company's net sales declined 4.25% to Rs 39.86 crore for Q3FY20, 2019 as compared to Rs 41.63 crore recorded during Q3FY19. Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Q3: Company's net profit grew 12.68% to Rs 2.4583 crore for the December quarter as against Rs 2.18 crore recorded in the same period last year. Company's total income fell 2.36% to Rs 24.42 crore during the period ended December 31, 2019, as compared to Rs 25.01 crore recorded during the period ended December 31, 2018. Cyient Q3: Company's profit after tax stood at Rs 108 crore for the December quarter, registering a growth of 17.6% YoY and 10% QoQ. Company's revenue stood at Rs 1,106 crore, registering a de-growth of 6% YoY and 4.6% QoQ. Q3 YoY margin improvement stood at 400bps, while the net margin improvement during Q3 stood at 200-250bps. Future Enterprises: The company informed the exchanges that Acuite Ratings & Research has reaffirmed ACUITE A+ rating for Commercial Papers and reaffirmed rating on Proposed Non-convertible Debentures and assigned it ACUITE AA/ Negative rating. Future Group: Future group stocks would be under investors' scanner as Future Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kishore Biyani and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will have a one-on-one meeting in Mumbai today to chalk out future partnership plans amid protests from traders against e-tailers. Q3 Earnings: Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, L&T Technology Services, Blue Dart Express, HCL Technologies, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, L&T Finance Holdings, Trinity League, Radhe Developers, Avantel, Aarnav Fashions, ATV Projects India, Investment & Precision Castings, Ashirwad Steels & Industries are the companies set to announce their December quarter earnings today. EUGENE, Ore. -- After isolated morning rain and snow showers, the threat will shift to mainly isolated rain showers as temperatures rise into the mid-40s. This afternoon, shower chances will increase as a warm front becomes more energized as it interacts with cold air that is already in place. This will also trigger about 2 to 5 inches of snow across the Cascades, with a snow level of 1,500 to 2,000 feet. Fast Forecast: Friday: Iso. showers. Snow level 1,000, rising to 2,000 ft. Highs in mid 40s Saturday: Rain. Snow level 3,500 ft, increasing to 5,000. Highs in mid to upper 40s. Sunday: Partly Sunny. Highs in the low 50s. Monday: PM Rain. Snow level 5,000. Highs near 50. Tuesday: Rain. Snow level 4,000 ft. Highs in upper 40s Wednesday: Chance of rain. Snow level 3,000 ft. Highs in upper 40s. Thursday: Chance of rain. Snow level 3,500 ft. Highs near 50. STORMTRACKER 9 FORECAST WEATHERCAM 9: Corvallis, Eugene, Roseburg and more MAPS & RADARS: Temperatures, Day Planner, Pollen Tracker and more INTERACTIVE RADAR A strong cold front will usher in more valley rains and mountain snow Friday night into Saturday. Showers will start to taper off during the evening as the storm pushes into British Columbia. Behind the front, milder Pacific air will move in, allowing temperatures to rise into the 50s. Fog will likely develop overnight in the Valleys. Sunday will be the drier day of the weekend, with partly sunny skies and temperature in the low to mid 50s. Sunday will definitely be a day to get outside, if you can, before the rain returns. Rains will return on Monday evening/Tuesday night as the active weather pattern continues to stack mid-latitude cyclones off the coast. This storm will likely bring in a solid amount of moisture as it strengthens over southeastern Alaska. The next system moves in right behind, on Wednesday bring more rain to the region. This pattern will continue next week with freezing level around 3,000 feet. For more information, visit the KEZI 9 News StormTracker 9 weather page. Kanye West has been announced as the headliner for a mass prayer rally that will also be attended by a number of anti-LGBT preachers, including one who previously compared same-sex marriage to incest. Awaken 2020, a free 10-hour event that will take place at the 50,000-capacity Sun Devil stadium in Tempe, Arizona, will include a performance by West and his Sunday Service choir. The events website says it will be time for you to be part of the Jesus awakening that is shifting HISTORY. Open the door and enter into a new era, a new decade, of revival that is bringing a movement of signs and wonders, healing of the sick, and preaching of the gospel. The New York Daily News has pointed out that among those named on the lineup are a number of controversial religious leaders who have expressed anti-LGBT+ views. 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes Show all 10 1 /10 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes "I was the best new artist this year" Kanye asserted this after losing the New Artist of the Year award at the 2004 American Music Awards Getty Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes I am the number one human being in music. That means any person that's living or breathing is number two. Kanye made this claim while appearing on the Wendy Williams show in 2007. He had recently released the album 'Graduation' to critical acclaim Getty Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish, but Beyonce has one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time! In arguably the most famous incident of his career, Kanye bravely stole the microphone from then 19 year old Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for the Female Music Video of the Year at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards REUTERS 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes "I walk through the hotel and I walk down the street and people look at me... like I'm Hitler" Kanye said this during a mid-set rant while on stage at the Big Chill festival in 2011. Despite releasing the acclaimed 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' in 2010, he was still widely disliked following the Taylor Swift incident PA Archive/PA Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes "I am Picasso. I am Michelangelo. I am Basquiat. I am Walt Disney. I am Steve Jobs" Kanye compared himself to these visionaries in a mid-set rant on stage in Paris, 2013 AFP/Getty Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes My greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live. In 2013, Kanye opened up to reveal more Kanye. His pain is understandable, considering such performances as his at the BRITs in 2015, where he came on stage with an entourage of flamethrower wielding grime artists (pictured) Getty Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes I have to dress Kim everyday so she doesnt embarrass me. Kanye tweeted this in 2014, around the time that he was designing the first Yeezy range AFP/Getty Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes By 50 percent [I am more influential than] Stanley Kubrick, Apostle Paul, Picasso f***ing Picasso and Escobar. By 50 per cent more influential than any other human being. Kanye made this claim backstage after appearing on Saturday Night Live in 2016, he did not show his working out Getty Images for Yeezy Season 3 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes "My wife just called me and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I don't agree with everything Trump does. I don't agree 100% with anyone but myself." This quote followed Kanye's recent expression of love for Donald Trump on Twitter, in which he claimed that he and Trump were "dragon energy" Getty Images 'Imma let you finish' - Kanye West's most controversial quotes "When you hear about slavery for 400 years... for 400 years? That sounds like a choice." Kanye made this comment in a May 2018 interview with TMZ. He later clarified that, in saying slavery was a choice, he meant "we can make our own reality" PA Wire/PA Images These include Cindy Jacobs, a self-proclaimed prophet who has spoken against the Equality Act, and Che Ahn, the president of Harvest International Ministry who compared same-sex marriage to incest and also likened gay rights to racist laws, claiming: Just beccause its legal does not mean that its right, at one time we had a law saying blacks were not citizens, that didnt make that right. Also on the billing is Lou Engle, a senior leader of the International House of Prayer who once claimed Nazism was fuelled by homosexuality. In an interview with the Western Journal, Engle said Wests recent recommittal to Christianity was testament to the power of god. We believe Kanye is a sign to this nation that in a moment, thousands and thousands can be swept into the kingdom when [God] converts key people and their voices will be like thunder, he said. John Gimenez, a gay student at Arizona State University, told the Arizona Republic: I can give him the benefit of the doubt, but I think it is disappointing [West] is going to associate himself with people like Lou Engle. As someone who grew up listening to Kanye, only to see him embrace people who, if they had their way, would see people like me marginalised, is a very bitter feeling. Awaken 2020 takes place on Sunday 19 January. By Abdul Kerimkhanov Azerbaijanis mark the 30th anniversary of the Black January, meaning the killing of Azerbaijani civilians when Soviet troops took to the streets of Azerbaijan on the night leading to January 20, 1990 to crash the making of Azerbaijans independence. Operation Strike (Udar) Union killed over hundred Azerbaijani civilians. A few hours before the deployment of troops, the power unit of the Azerbaijani television was blown up, which cut off information communications both within the country and with the outside world. All major highways, airports, train stations and the seaport were blocked. Soviet troops totaling 40,000 people began to fire at civilians without warning. During a large-scale military operation, 147 Azerbaijani civilians were killed, 800 people were injured and five people went missing. The massacre marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet rule and served as a trumpeter for the national awakening movement in Azerbaijan. People were shocked that the Soviet Union could turn against them and kill them. Countless number of people started renouncing their Communist Party membership and some even burnt their party membership cards publicly. The crackdown on Baku residents was carried out after Heydar Aliyev was dismissed from his position in the political bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In 1995 Gorbachev apologized to Azerbaijan by stating: "The declaration of a state emergency in Baku was the biggest mistake of my political career." Its worth mentioning that Armenian armed forces, taking advantage of the critical situation in Baku, on the night of January 19 to 20, occupied the village of Karki of Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) and also attacked the village of Sadarak in Nakhchivan. Heavy Armenian artillery shelled other Azerbaijani villages in Nakhchivan causing civilian casualties. The horrors of January 1990 failed to break the will of the Azerbaijani people and their desire for freedom. If anything, it made them stronger and more united. Today, 30 years after the shocking massacre, thousands of people visit the Alley of Martyrs to pay their tributes by laying flowers and paying their tribute to the Azerbaijani heroes who gave their lives for their countrys independence. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Jan. 17, 2020 | GRAND RIVERS By West Kentucky Star Staff Jan. 17, 2020 | 10:53 AM | GRAND RIVERS The Lake Barkley Resource Managers Office invites the public to attend one of three public workshops and provide input concerning the upcoming Lake Barkley Shoreline Management Plan five-year review. The workshops are scheduled for the following dates and locations: Feb. 3: Stewart County Visitor Center in Dover, TN Feb. 11: Lake Barkley State Resort Park (Sunrise Room) in Cadiz Feb. 13: Lee S. Jones Park (Lyon Convention Center) in Eddyville Each workshop begins at 6 p.m. and concludes at approximately 8 p.m. In case of inclement weather, please call the Lake Barkley Resource Managers Office at 270-362-4236 by 4 p.m. to verify scheduling. Ideas and comments concerning the 2020 Draft SMP and shoreline allocation provide valuable insight to help the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers improve the plan. Individuals attending the workshops are being given the opportunity to make a brief public comment. Anyone wishing to receive a written response to questions and/or comments must submit a comment card at the workshop or mail a written request to the Resource Managers Office, Lake Barkley, P.O. Box 218, Grand Rivers, KY, 42045. Written questions and/or comments are being accepted for 30 days after the last meeting. For additional information, contact the Resource Managers Office at 270-362-4236. The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the districts website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps. The Congress on Friday demanded restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, safeguards to jobs and property for the local people and release of all political leaders to facilitate early assembly polls in the erstwhile state. A resolution in this regard was passed in an executive committee meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC), chaired by senior party leaders Gulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni and Gulam Ahmed Mir, here. "We passed a unanimous resolution here demanding restoration of full statehood, protection to jobs and property rights to the people of J and K and release of all political leaders and workers to facilitate early assembly polls," Azad told reporters after the conclusion of the meeting. He said Jammu and Kashmir is one of the oldest states and restoration of the statehood will do justice to its people. "J and K is a border state, which shares borders with China and Pakistan. The BJP government should take on board the people of J and K and the northeast and not play with fire," Azad said. The Congress expresses its deep solidarity with the people of J and K who underwent numerous kinds of curbs and curtailments of their civil rights and liberties during the past over five months after the abrogation of the special status to their state under Article 370 of the Constitution, he said. "The erstwhile state was put into a state of undeclared emergency whereby all mainstream opposition leaders and activists were put to severe restrictions including detentions and some of them under the stringent provisions of law for undeclared periods," he said. "GoI hurt the self-esteem of the people by reducing status of J and K from statehood to a UT, a phenomena never happened in the 72 years of India's independence," he added. Azad said the party also expresses its grave concern over the continued escalation along the Indo-Pak border. While condemning such actions of Pakistan against our soldiers and civilians in the strongest possible words, we urge the Centre to take all possible and urgent steps to prevent and check Pakistan from indulging in such mischiefs and misadventures on borders, he added. The Modi government continues to harp on its diversionary tactics, the most recent being the dispatching of a large team of central ministers to J and K in view of the growing resentment against the government on various issues and to cover up the failures of the BJP government on various fronts especially the economic crises facing the Jammu and Kashmir, he said. Azad said those who restored the democracy in J and K by participating in elections despite militancy have been put behind bars and it is time for the government to take everyone on board. Azad parried a question on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's tweet hitting at the NIA chief over the case of DSP Davinder Singh, saying he was not aware about it. Ambika Soni said that there is no question of any Congress leader joining any group or front allegedly being created in the UT. Mir, who is the JKPCC president, said, "We are sure that unless the established mainstream political parties and other political entities are not allowed to function and perform their usual political activities, no meaningful and credible political process can take off and succeed." The resolution by the Congress said, "The party demands restoration of full statehood status to Jammu and Kashmir, adequate legal and constitutional guarantees to safeguard the rights of locals over land, jobs and admissions in professional courses, the resolution said." All leaders and activists of the Congress and other political entities, detained during the period should be released forthwith and all curbs and restrictions on mainstream political parties, their leaders and activists should be lifted to allow them to resume their usual political activities to create a congenial and conducive political atmosphere for a meaningful and credible political process to pave way for holding of early Assembly elections, it further said. The Centre had on August 5 last year abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcated it into union territories. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reports leaked to the Washington Post and confirmed by two sources in the New York Times indicate that the Trump administration is repeating last years unconstitutional violation of the congressional power of the purse. It is invoking a mythical national emergency to divert $7.2 billion dollars from the obscene $738 billion Department of Defense budget to hasten the construction of the border wall and further cultivate his fascistic base of support ahead of the 2020 election. Congressional Democrats gave Trump a clear path to once again circumvent congressional authority by passing the National Defense Authorization Act this past December, which provided the Trump administration with record funding for the military and stripped out language that would have barred the siphoning of funds from the Pentagon to border wall construction. The Constitution of the United States explicitly states that, No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law. This has become a dead letter, like many other constitutional provisions, as decades of aggressive war, years of extrajudicial assassinations, the building of concentration camps on the border, the suspending of habeas corpus, and the continued support for unlimited NSA spying and warrantless wiretapping has shown. The funding, similar to last year, will be pulled from military construction projects such as repairing schools and water treatment centers on US bases, counter-drug insurgency operations, and the minimal funds that have been made available to the Puerto Rico National Guard for rebuilding efforts following 2017s Hurricane Maria and the recent barrage of earthquakes that have struck the island. While last year the Trump administration shifted $2.5 billion from counter-drug programs and $3.6 billion from military construction, those figures increased this year to $3.5 and $3.7 billion respectively. Overall, the Trump administration, with Democratic acquiescence, has allocated $18.4 billion to the construction of a symbol to the anarchy, stupidity, and cruelty of the capitalist system. For the 2019-2020 school year, Collegeboard.org estimated that the average US college student spends an estimated $21,950 for four years of in-state tuition with room and board included. If the $18.4 billion that is currently being used for border security were instead put towards funding higher education, some 833,268 students could attend state public colleges at no cost for the next four years. If one just allocates the funds to tuition, not including room and board, then over 1,762,452 students would be able to further their education. According to the plans revealed to the Post , the additional funding would be sufficient to complete approximately 885 miles of wall by 2022. Trump has pledged throughout his presidency that by November 3, 2020, US election day, 450 miles of the wall would be complete. As of today, roughly 101 miles has been completed, nearly all of it on federally owned land. Trump is using the threat of eminent domain to intimidate landowners along the border into selling their property. A legal barrier to the continued construction of the wall was lifted this past week by the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in New Orleans, which overturned a ruling from a federal district court in El Paso, Texas that had frozen the $3.6 billion in military construction funds from last year, barring them from being used towards a purpose that had not been approved by Congress. This ruling, along with the Democrats complete withdrawal from any defense of immigrants rights, has according to the Post, provided the administration with additional encouragement to continue to violate the Constitution. There were mild grumblings about the Trump administrations actions from a few Republican Senators such as Richard Shelby (R-AL). In statements to reporters, Shelby wished that theyd get the money somewhere else, instead of defense, before quickly adding that he support(s) building the wall. And I support funding money directly ... to help the president. Playing their part as a resistance party in name only, the Democrats have continued to center their so-called resistance to Trump on a right-wing anti-Russia campaign. This latest violation of the Constitution was not brought up before the committees involved in the impeachment inquiry, despite the obviousness of the transgression. The Democrats, striking a similar tone to their GOP collaborators, once again bemoaned that the Pentagons war machine was being denied resources; Representative Katie Porter lamented that the diversion hurts military readiness, and that we should stand by our troops. In prepared statements Tuesday, three leading Democrats, House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), all issued statements which made reference to the further violence to the Constitutional separation of powers that is inherent to our democracy. However, their main objection was once again centered on the fact that the funding would be forcing service members and their families to pay for his wall, while funding that was intended for meaningful counter-drug priorities, would be neglected. The truth is none of these funds, whether they remained in the Pentagon or were unconstitutionally shifted to border wall construction, will do anything to help better the lives of working people either within the borders of the US, or outside of them. YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - Yosemite National Park is investigating about 170 reports of gastrointestinal illnesses and has confirmed two cases of norovirus, officials said Thursday. The National Park Service began investigating after visitors and employees started reporting illnesses this month. Most cases occurred in early January. Weve had very few the last week or so, park spokesman Scott Gediman said. Were hoping that were over the hump. Norovirus is highly contagious and can be spread through direct contact with an infected person, touching a contaminated surface or eating or drinking contaminated food. It can cause vomiting and diarrhea and its symptoms are especially severe for elderly people, young children and people with health issues. Most of those who reported becoming sick in Yosemite had symptoms consistent with norovirus, although some might have had food poisoning or the flu, Gediman said. The origin of the outbreak was unclear. Park officials also havent determined whether people who became ill contracted something inside or outside of the park. Most of the people who got sick had spent time in Yosemite Valley, where park offices, visitor services, snack shops, hotels and restaurants are clustered. The park hasnt tested food or facilities in the park for traces of norovirus, but Gediman said the park and its concession operators have been working to clean and disinfect public buildings, including the famous Ahwahnee Hotel. Aramark, which operates the hotel, received numerous complaints from visitors about poor food quality, shuttle and other services since it began managing Yosemites concessions four years ago. The company is working with the park to prevent future illnesses, Gediman said. Theyve been a great partner, he said. Good morning. I wrote a column for The Times this week about a sandwich that came out of the borscht-belt Catskills in the 1950s and that still inhabits the menus of diners in Brooklyn and down the south shore of Nassau County on Long Island: thin-sliced, Cantonese-style char siu married to Italian-American garlic bread beneath a veil of sweet-sticky duck sauce. The ultimate assimilation crossover food is what the food writer and radio host Arthur Schwartz called it when I interviewed him about it, a taste of illicit exoticism, unkosher and delicious in the extreme. You can make the sandwich with store-bought char siu, of course, but my recipe (above) calls for a homemade variety because not everyone has a Chinese barbecue place down the block. (Also, homemade char siu is easy to prepare and, if you use top-flight pork, its juicier and more flavorful than anything you can find at the market.) Just layer the meat onto your favorite preparation of garlic bread, and add a drizzle of duck sauce for that, I use leftover packets from Chinese takeout orders or make my own with apricot preserves cut through with vinegar. Some people add a slash of hot mustard. Others fresh pickles, or coleslaw. Its tummler food. Itll have you laughing and thinking, all at once. Make that sandwich this weekend, please! Other ideas for what to cook in the next couple of days: cheese grits with saucy black beans, avocado and radish. The galbijjim I learned to make from Peter Cho at Han Oak in Portland, Ore. (If you want to play varsity ball, try smoke-roasting the vegetables and short ribs on your grill, instead of making them in the oven.) Pearl couscous with creamy feta and chickpeas. Some really big, really crisp pancakes, oh my. The idea is simply to try something new, something slightly ambitious, something to knock you out of your routine and alert you to the fact that change is possible, that deliciousness can be a regular part of your life, that you can deliver to your family and friends a taste of the new: coconut-braised chicken thighs with turmeric and peppers, perhaps; or the double chocolate cookies known as chocolate extremes. Giuliani claimed enormous private influence. But at the Trump hotel, he sat out in public, spending hours at his private office, a table in the lobby steakhouses bar. One former Trump hotel staffer said that Giuliani was so comfortable there that he sometimes left without paying like he was at home. The restaurant often had to eat the bill, the former employee said who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships in the hospitality business. What led a Springfield couple on a chase of a man accused of kidnapping an 11-year-old girl? I had to do what I had to do, being a father. Benny Correa and his wife Amanda Disley appeared on Good Morning America Friday to speak of the search for an 11-year-old who was abducted while walking home from her bus stop in Springfield. The search began for the girl on Wednesday after she was walking home in Springfields McKnight neighborhood around 1:30 p.m. Neighbors reported seeing her struggle with a man before being forced into a vehicle. That vehicle - described as a blue Honda Civic with tinted windows - would become a crucial detail in the search. A neighbors security camera captured a blue Honda Civic driving past her the day prior as she walked home. The Springfield Police Department released that video and sought help in their search. Disley saw a photo of the car shared on Facebook Wednesday afternoon and showed it to her husband. A car enthusiast, Correa recognized not only the make and model, but the rims on the vehicle. Then, they spotted the car again. While driving home after picking up dinner Wednesday evening, they noticed a blue Honda Civic with tinted windows. We just wanted to get the plates, she said. Then Disley noticed movement in the backseat. It was an instinct of fight or flight, she said of their actions next. Correa followed the vehicle as Disley dialed 911. She stayed on the phone with the operator, giving the plate number and updates on the movement of the vehicle. I cut off people and I got up close to the car, Correa said. As they followed, the vehicle sped up and ran through a red light. Rodriguez reached speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour, Disley said. Their pursuit ended after their family vehicle ran out of gas. By then, police mobilized a plan to stop the vehicle. As the blue Honda Civic traveled eastbound on the Massachusetts Turnpike, Massachusetts State Police slowed traffic using a road construction site. Troopers pulled Miguel Rodriguez out at gunpoint and found the girl in the backseat. Police found a knife in the vehicle. She later told police Rodriguez threatened to kill her if she screamed or attempted to escape. Rodriguez, a 24-year-old from Springfield, was known to local authorities. Family told MassLive of his erratic behavior and the need for a family member to take a restraining order out against him due to past violence. He pleaded not guilty to aggravated kidnapping, witness intimidation and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Rodriguez was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Jan. 22. 5 Miguel Rodriguez arraigned in abducting an 11-year-old girl in Springfield She was reunited with family on Wednesday. She wasnt physically injured and is recovering with support from family and her larger community. Her parents issued a statement thanking all involved for bringing their daughter home. In particular wed like to thank Amanda Disley and her husband for their vigilance and courage for putting themselves in harms way to make sure she wasnt out of their sight, they said in the statement. The outpouring of love and support, near and far, is overwhelming. We are eternally grateful. After chasing Rodriguez, Correa and Disleys vehicle was left damaged. Disley said they were contacted by Balise Chevrolet who offered to fix their vehicle for free. Disley said the gesture was unexpected but theyre grateful to the support from their community. After three full days of campaigning, it is time to look back and examine what we have learned about General Election 2020 so far: Brexit Fine Gael seems to want to talk about Brexit. A lot. Even if most people don't care, as evidenced by Richard Chambers' report on Virgin Media TV from Birr. When Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was asked what was he going to do for the area, he said he will negotiate a good Brexit deal. The voters he was talking to dismissed his answer, saying they don't care about that, stressing they wanted to hear about health and housing. Fine Gael has pinned its hopes of success on Brexit and while it may have given the party some comfort in the opinion polls last year, it is not working so far. Fianna Fail is slow to reveal its plans While doing what it is supposed to in kicking Fine Gael's record in office, a trend has emerged about Fianna Fail's approach to the campaign. And that approach appears to be not to reveal any of its plans. At the party's campaign launch press conference, Micheal Martin was pressed on matters relating to housing, the economy and justice and what he planned to do to improve matters. Every time, he said he was not going into specifics and they would come another day. The party's Housing spokesman Darragh O'Brien took part in a panel discussion on RTE Radio with Minister Eoghan Murphy and other party spokespeople and again refused to detail his plans to fix the housing crisis. His defence was he is planning to reveal all sometime next week. The lack of detail could lead a cynic to conclude that either their plans are not yet ready, which is worrying or the party cannot decide what it wants to do. Events Despite the best efforts of the parties to set out their stalls, a series of shocking events this week have dominated the agenda. Similar to the 2016 General Election campaign, justice and law and order have been catapulted to the top of the political agenda. The horrific abduction, killing and dismembering of a 17-year-old boy Keane Mulready-Woods shocked many across the country and dominated the first 48 hours of the campaign. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar travelled to Drogheda today to offer support to the town. But Mr Varadkar scored a spectacular own goal on Wednesday when he sought to politicise the tragic incident of a homeless man being left with life-changing injuries after a city council vehicle picked up his tent along the Grand Canal. He called on Fianna Fail Dublin Lord Mayor Paul McAuliffe to take political accountability for the incident, a call which Mr Martin described as extraordinary. Presidential Campaign As had been predicted, much of the focus of the campaign so far has centred on the two men who are seeking to be the next Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin. Fine Gael has deliberately sought to capitalise on Varadkar's personal popularity and will also seek to lean on Tanaiste Simon Coveney's increased standing following a solid Brexit for him. But the most consistent and most energetic performer from Fine Gael's side has been Paschal Donohoe, who is at risk of over-exposure. For Fianna Fail, Martin has managed to get through the first few days without any major calamities and clearly is seeking to present himself as more human, more empathic, more understanding than Varadkar. The other parties have struggled for airtime and oxygen but week two of the campaign is likely to see more focus on who are likely coalition partners. Goodbye to the independents One of the consequences of the election being called, is that it brought declarations from senior politicians who have decided their race in national politics is run. Independent ministers Finian McGrath and John Halligan as well as Dublin-Central TD Maureen O'Sullivan were among the most prominent TDs who have decided not to run for another term. DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) A judge in Pennsylvania has sentenced a New Jersey man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage waitress at his wedding reception to probation. Matthew Aimers, 32, of Willingboro, N.J., pleaded guilty on Thursday to indecent exposure, disorderly conduct and simple assault. Under terms of a plea agreement, he was sentenced to six years probation. The more serious charges of indecent assault, imprisonment of a minor and harassment were dropped. The agreement was reached after close consultation with the victim. She called this resolution "the best outcome," Assistant District Attorney Megan Hunsicker told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "The victim in this case was highly traumatized by what he did to her," Hunsicker said. "His actions were inappropriate and unwarranted. This conviction will, I hope, provide her with a resolution that allows her life to move on. Matthew Aimers (Bucks County District Attorney's Office/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, File)AP Authorities said Aimers approached the waitress at his November 2018 wedding reception at the Northampton Valley Country Club in Richboro, Pennsylvania, and asked her to "go outside and make out." Police said Aimers then followed her into a bathroom, where he exposed himself and sexually assaulted her. The waitress was able to break free. Aimers attorney, Louis Busico, told the newspaper said his client was satisfied. We believed it was in the best interest to resolve this case in this fashion, so his life can go on. Ghosn 'very comfortable' after Lebanon questioning: lawyer Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn's news conference in Beirut By Laila Bassam and Chang-Ran Kim BEIRUT/TOKYO (Reuters) - Carlos Ghosn's lawyer said he was "very comfortable" with legal proceedings in Lebanon on Thursday, after the fugitive ex-Nissan boss was questioned over an extradition request from Japan where he faces financial misappropriation charges. Ghosn fled Japan to Lebanon, his childhood home, last month as he awaited trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies. His dramatic escape has raised tension between Tokyo and Beirut at a time when Lebanon is seeking an international bailout to help it tackle a deep financial crisis. 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. After questioning in Beirut about Japan's Interpol warrant, two judicial sources said the prosecutor had imposed a travel ban, a step Carlos Abou Jaoude, a Beirut-based lawyer for Ghosn, described as procedural to broadcaster Al Jadeed. Lebanon has no extradition agreement with Japan. "He (Ghosn) is very comfortable with the path," Jaoude told another broadcaster, MTV, adding that Ghosn was also comfortable in himself "especially after what he went through". One of the judicial sources said authorities had asked Japan for its file on Ghosn, including the charges against him, and would not question him again until the information is received. Ghosn would surrender his French passport on Thursday, he said. Ghosn said later he was more comfortable with the Lebanese judiciary than that of Japan. "I will fully cooperate," he told broadcaster LBCI. Japan's Justice Minister Masako Mori said Ghosn's allegations that he had had "zero chance" of a fair trial in Japan were unfounded. "Defendant Ghosn was looking to justify his unlawful exit from Japan by propagating a false recognition of our justice system," she said at the second of two news conferences, the first of which was held shortly after midnight. Story continues "I felt that we needed to respond immediately to broadcast a correct understanding to people around the world." Ghosn told LBCI her comments were "ridiculous". "Today my concern is clearing my name and reputation because all the accusations against me are fabricated," he told Al Jadeed. TRIAL IN LEBANON? Ghosn's arrest after his private jet touched down in Tokyo in November 2018 shook the global auto industry and jeopardized the Renault-Nissan alliance of which he was the mastermind. The Brazilian-born executive said on Wednesday he was prepared to stand trial anywhere he could get a fair hearing but also that he was ready to stay for a long time in Lebanon. A source close to the 65-year-old has said his legal team is pushing for him to be tried in the country. Ghosn said, however, that he did not want to put pressure on Japan-Lebanon bilateral ties, two days after Japan's ambassador to Lebanon requested greater cooperation from President Michel Aoun in dealing with the case. The decision by Lebanon's prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Ouiedat, after Ghosn's questioning at Beirut's Justice Palace requires Ghosn to keep the authorities informed of his place of residence, the judicial sources said. Ghosn was given the same instruction after accompanying questioning over a formal legal complaint filed by a group of Lebanese lawyers who accuse him of "normalisation" with Israel over a visit he made there in 2008. Ghosn said on Wednesday he had made the trip as a French citizen and an executive of Renault to sign a contract with a state-backed Israeli firm to sell electric vehicles, and had been obliged to go because the board had requested it. He said he had apologized for the trip and had not meant to hurt the people of Lebanon, which deems Israel an enemy state. During the visit, Ghosn met Ehud Olmert, who was Israel's prime minister at the time of the 2006 war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. Nearly 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, died in the 2006 war and 158 people died in Israel, mostly soldiers. (Additional reporting by Nadine Awadalla, Tom Perry and Eric Knecht; writing by Tom Perry; editing by Philippa Fletcher) (Newser) Greta Thunberg gained an international following when she condemned world leaders at the UN last year over inaction on climate change. She's apparently ready for more. To the world leaders and those in power, I would like to say that you have not seen anything yet," the 17-year-old Swedish activist told supporters at a rally in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday. "You have not seen the last of us, we can assure you that." Thunberg said she will carry the message to the world economic forum in Davos next week, where she will be a participant on two panels, reports Reuters. story continues below At the Lausanne rally, Thunberg bemoaned a continued lack of progress. So, we are now in a new year and we have entered a new decade and so far, during this decade, we have seen no sign whatsoever that real climate action is coming and that has to change, she said. At Davos, Thunberg will call on governments and financial institutions to end investments into fossil fuels, per the Local. (Thunberg has been at odds with President Trump, but she has an ally in Michelle Obama.) In the wake of anti-CAA protests, the Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed at the majestic Charminar on Friday.(Photo: P. Surendra) Hyderabad: A signature campaign was launched on Friday by a group of youths to pressurise the Telangana government to act against the Union governments Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register. Youths took signatures from people leaving 15 mosques in the Old City after Juma prayers on Friday. The petition addressed to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao wants the government to pass a resolution in the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council against the CAA, and stay the implementation of the NPR in the state. These legislations and procedures are unconstitutional and discriminatory and violate the constitutional rights of Indian citizens, the petition says. It requests the Chief Minister to intervene in the matter and challenge the constitutionality of the CAA in court to safeguard the democratic and secular fabric of the country. The group said it had collected about 20,000 signatures on the first day in the prescribed format. They contended that though the TRS had voted against the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament, it was silent on the issue since, while the Kerala government has passed a resolution in the Assembly against the CAA and has challenged it in the Supreme Court under Article 131 of the Constitution. S.Q. Masood, who initiated the signature drive, said, We have launched a 10-day drive and plan to get two lakh signatures from people of different faiths and communities. We will be collecting signatures from places of worship of all faiths and from colleges. He said, We are not able to understand why the TRS is maintaining silence... on citizenship issues. Kansas City Winter Storm Waring Late Start Tomorrow Metro school districts delay, cancel classes for Friday as winter weather moves in KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Multiple metro school districts have delayed or canceled classes for Friday as winter weather is expected. A Winter Weather Advisory begins at midnight with our next storm arriving early Friday morning. Light snow will likely develop overnight, transitioning to sleet and freezing rain in the morning. Keyboard Warriors Unite Telecommuting's an increasingly viable option for many workers facing treacherous drive Friday KANSAS CITY, Mo. - According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 4.7 million Americans now regularly work from home, up 173% since 2005. On a day like Friday with snow sleet and freezing rain all in the morning forecast, there could be a lot of people in the metro joining that group. Sharing Kansas City Bus Tech For Tomorrow's Commute KCPS uses new app to track school buses in real time Kansas City Public Schools is one of the largest districts in the metro, with 175 school buses carrying 8,000 students twice a day.That's a lot of vehicles to track, especially in winter weather."It does cause delays for us and really, it's not the delay that's the most critical thing, it's communicating with our families so they're not at risk," said Chris Walls, director of transportation for KCPS.That's why KCPS now offers a free app called SafeStop. Last Year, We Still Think Lucy Looked Hawt!!! Page 3 girl Lucy Pinder looks worse for wear as she parties with Elijah Rowen Former Page 3 girl Lucy Pinder looked a tad worse for wear as she partied at the British Photography Awards on Monday. The model-turned-actress, 35, was spotted flirting with Vikings actor Elijah Rowen, 25, as they stepped outside for a cigarette break. Candidate Spouse Reveals She Suffered Attack From Caregiver Exclusive: Evelyn Yang reveals she was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN while pregnant Wife of presidential candidate Andrew Yang says she and other survivors never got justice after doctor avoided jail time Democratic Party Lacks Confidence Ahead Of 2020 Iowa Democrats view flawed front-runners with anxiety The four front-running contenders are all battling to prove they are the most likely to defeat Trump, a reflection both of the president's looming presence over the race and the anxiety felt by Democratic voters, who fear fatal flaws with each candidate could doom their hopes of winning back the White House. Retail Hobbles Forward Topeka-based Payless Shoesource bringing back brick-and-mortar stores NEW YORK (AP/KSNT) - After shutting down all of its stores, a major Topeka-based shoe outlet is coming back to brick-and-mortar. Payless ShoeSource has emerged from bankruptcy for the second time, with a focus on international markets. The Topeka-based business said it wants to reinvigorate its largest business market, Latin America. Attack Aftermath Iran rocket attack on Iraqi military base injured 11 US service members, official reveals Eleven U.S. service members were treated for concussion symptoms after Iran's rocket attack targeting Iraqi military bases earlier this month, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command revealed Thursday night. President Trump and U.S. officials had said earlier that no Americans were killed or injured in the Jan. 8 attack. Tech Cleanup Declaration Microsoft Pledges To Remove From The Atmosphere All The Carbon It's Ever Emitted Microsoft has announced an ambitious plan to not just reduce its carbon emissions, but actively remove carbon from the atmosphere - going "carbon negative" by 2030. And by 2050, the tech giant pledges it will "remove from the environment all the carbon the company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in 1975." More Drama Over Politics 43 Of The Most Surprising, Least Surprising, And "Oh Really?" Celebrity 2020 Presidential Endorsements Here's who famous people want to be President. Hollywood Shares Top Secrets 'Homeland' Declassified: Battles, Backlash, CIA Meetings and a Secret Call With Edward Snowden Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, Damian Lewis and the creators of the era-defining Showtime drama - now entering its eighth and final season - reveal in The Hollywood Reporter's oral history never-told tales of a show that smashed records, captivated presidents and predicted everything from terrorist attacks to Russian election hacks. Snow, Ice, Rain & More Many schools close as winter storm tracks closes in on KC area Up to 2 inches of snow, sleet expected Friday {copyShortcut} to copy Link copied! Hide Transcript Show Transcript THE RED LIGHT FOR THE MORNING DRIVE WITH SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN COMING DOWN AT THAT TIME. A BE A BIT OF SNOW. THAT COULD CAUSE SOME POTENTIAL ISSUES AND SLOWDOWNS. This evening we share this glimpse of pop culture, community news and just a few interesting items inspired by Lucy Pinder's body of work and with more weather news and other fun stuff on the way . . .And this is thefor the late night and maybe early morning . . . Authorities in Wuhan, Hubei province, have intensified efforts to prevent the spread of a virus that has caused a pneumonia outbreak in the city, resulting in one death so far. Outside China, a second case linked to the virus has been reported in Japan, following a case in Thailand. All outbound travelers from Terminal 3 of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, a major airport in Central China, have had to receive temperature tests before boarding flights since Wednesday, and those displaying fever symptoms are quarantined, the airport authority said on Thursday. The airport authority said it had requested airlines to cooperate with affected travelers in refunding or changing tickets for free. At Wuhan Railway Station, employees told China Daily on Thursday that they had received notification from the authorities to start checking travelers' temperatures. In the waiting room of Wuchang Railway Station, another major railway station in the city, medical services were provided to passengers in need on Thursday. Forty-one confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus had been reported in the city as of Wednesday night, including seven people who were cured and discharged from the hospital, six still in critical condition and one death, according to the Wuhan Health Commission. The city authorities had traced 763 people who had close contact with the patients as of Wednesday night, and 313 of them were still under medical observation. Observation of the others had been discontinued, the commission said, adding that it has intensified monitoring and search efforts in hospitals and clinics across the city to identify suspected cases. People confirmed to have the illness mostly displayed symptoms of fever and coughing at the early stage of the disease, it said. Although investigations have shown no clear evidence that the new coronavirus can be transmitted between human beings, the possibility of human-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out, it said earlier. Japan confirmed its first case of the virus, public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday, quoting officials from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The man was released from a hospital after his condition improved, and no related sickness has been found in his family or among the medical staff who treated him, the report said. Earlier this week, the World Health Organization urged all countries to intensify monitoring and preparedness following the confirmation of the first case of the virus outside China. "The possibility of cases being identified in other countries was not unexpected," it said in a statement following the case in Thailand. The US State Department issued a health alert update on Wednesday about travel to the Wuhan area. It referenced a Watch Level 1 Alert by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which urged people traveling in the region to avoid contact with animals, animal markets and animal products, among other precautions, Reuters reported. Thai health authorities said on Wednesday they were stepping up monitoring of passengers arriving at airports ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when 800,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit the country, the report said. China's National Health Commission and the WHO did not respond to questions from China Daily on Thursday. Wang Yuedan, an immunology professor at Peking University's Health Science Center, said he thought the virus would not spread globally to any great extent, due to the limited capacity of its human-to-human transmission. In addition, the disease control and prevention measures taken by the authorities in Wuhan, such as temporary quarantines of people who have had close contact with patients, are very strict, and a pandemic similar to the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003 is unlikely, he said. Disease outbreak on Fermanagh, Northern Ireland poultry farm not serious strain Investigations on a disease outbreak on a poultry farm at Fermanagh, Northern Ireland have concluded and Dr Robert Huey, Northern Ireland chief veterinarian has concluded that the disease is not a serious strain, reported BBC Movement restrictions on the farm, which has seen a higher than normal mortality rate, have been lifted. Tests have found that the disease strain discovered on the farm is not one that must be notified to international organisations. Animal health related international organisations must be notified of serious disease outbreaks such as Newcastle disease and bird flu. Dr Huey said the alert is a reminder for poultry farms in the country to step up biosecurity. The Fermanagh case is now classified as a standard animal disease and the department will no longer be involved, besides offering advice. Several cases of H5N8 bird flu have been discovered recently in Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. Migratory birds infected with disease can pass it on to poultry flocks on farms through contact. - BBC MONTREALThe RCMP says a Quebec man has been charged in connection to alleged online threats made against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Muslim community. Andre Audet, 62, appeared at a courthouse in Longueuil, Que., on Jan. 9 in connection with two charges public incitement of hatred and wilful promotion of hatred. Charges filed at the courthouse say both alleged crimes occurred between Jan. 1 and Oct. 22, 2019 the day after last years federal election. The RCMP said in an emailed statement that the investigation was carried out by its Integrated National Security Enforcement Team. Given a rise in online threats, the RCMP said it has focused resources on online surveillance, and investigators are now better able to identify and deal with threats made on the web. RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Melanie Cappiello-Stebenne said in an email that the force takes all threats seriously and violent comments are not tolerated. Individuals who write such comments are liable to severe penalties, Cappiello-Stebenne wrote. Although the individuals being investigated may not have been in direct contact with the persons or groups they targeted, their comments are just as worrisome and could lead to acts of violence. According to court filings, Audet, of Boucherville, Que., had been given a summons to appear in court on Dec. 19. The Prime Ministers Office declined to comment on the charges. We never comment on matters relating to the prime ministers security, said spokesperson Elanore Catenaro in an email. Audet returns to court on Mar. 24. Read more about: Mr. Earles government service spanned three decades, beginning with his appointment in 1968 as a Pentagon aide for international security affairs. A decade later, President Jimmy Carter appointed him to succeed Paul C. Warnke as chief negotiator for the second round of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, known as SALT II. Mr. Earle, whose post accorded him ambassadorial rank, had previously acted as Warnkes deputy. 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. To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Ever Harvest Group Holdings Limited (HKG:1549). Ever Harvest Group Holdings has a ROE of 2.9%, based on the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every HK$1 worth of equity in the company, it was able to earn HK$0.03. Check out our latest analysis for Ever Harvest Group Holdings How Do I Calculate Return On Equity? The formula for ROE is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) Shareholders' Equity Or for Ever Harvest Group Holdings: 2.9% = HK$3.4m HK$117m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 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 earnings retained by the company, plus any capital paid in by shareholders. You can calculate shareholders' equity by subtracting the company's total liabilities from its total assets. What Does Return On Equity Signify? ROE measures a company's profitability against the profit it retains, and any outside investments. The 'return' is the yearly profit. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, all else being equal, a high ROE is better than a low one. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses. Does Ever Harvest Group Holdings Have A Good Return On Equity? One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Ever Harvest Group Holdings has a lower ROE than the average (5.3%) in the Shipping industry. Story continues SEHK:1549 Past Revenue and Net Income, January 17th 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. Still, shareholders might want to check if insiders have been selling. How Does Debt Impact ROE? Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first 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. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used. Ever Harvest Group Holdings's Debt And Its 2.9% ROE Although Ever Harvest Group Holdings does use debt, its debt to equity ratio of 0.36 is still low. Its ROE is certainly on the low side, and since it already uses debt, we're not too excited about the company. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality. But It's Just One Metric 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 the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt. Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. So I think it may be worth checking this free this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow. But note: Ever Harvest Group Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading. Ministers have refused a plea to give EU citizens physical proof of their right to stay in the UK after Brexit needed to prevent another Windrush they say triggering fresh anger. Hopes were raised after Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's co-ordinator, hailed a partial climbdown after a meeting with Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary. But officials quickly stamped on his claim that the ability of millions of EU citizens to print out a letter confirming they had been granted settled status amounted to a concession. It has always been the case that people could print a copy of their confirmation letter, but this cant be used as evidence of status, the Home Office said. The estimated 3.6m EU residents in the UK fear victimisation by prospective employers and landlords and potentially immigration enforcement, as happened in the Windrush scandal without physical documents. But the Home Office defended its digital-only approach, saying: The EU settlement scheme grants people with a secure, digital status which future-proofs their rights. Physical documents can get lost, stolen, damaged and tampered with. The stance was again condemned by the3million group, representing EU citizens, which is also furious to have been shut out of recent meetings on the controversy. Being able to print a PDF document to provide evidence would raise many concerns of forgery and fraud, said Nicolas Hatton, the organisations founder. When we campaign for a physical document, we mean a biometric card similar to the one issued to non-EU residents in the UK. Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Nigel Farage speaks at the launch of his new Brexit Party's campaign for the European elections Reuters Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Brexit Party candidate Annunziata Rees-Mogg, sister of Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, speaks at the launch AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures A supporter waits for Farage to speak AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Supporters wait for Farage to speak AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Farage's socks Reuters Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Farage and prospective candidate Annunziata Rees-Mogg wait at the launch AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Supporters listen as Farage speaks AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Free T-shirts for all attendees AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Posters on the seats for supporters of the Brexit Party AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures A safety sign is pictured AFP/Getty Mr Verhofstadt also spread confusion by claiming he had been reassured that there was no risk of deportation for EU citizens who fail to secure settled status by the deadline of June next year. The idea would be that even these people, after the grace period, they will have the possibility to apply giving the grounds for why it was not possible [to apply for settled status] within the normal procedures, he said he had been told. But it was quickly pointed out that this was an easy promise to give, but failed to address the fact that anyone in the UK without a legal right to stay whether from the EU or not is at risk. It was revealed this week that up to 900,000 of the estimated 3.6 million UK-based EU nationals have yet to apply to secure their status. Many appear to be holding back because they wrongly believe they will be rejected because they earn less than at least 30,000. In fact, that is the salary threshold currently applied to skilled migrants from outside the EU and may not even be extended to new arrivals from the EU after Brexit. Luke Piper, a legal adviser to the3million, said on Twitter: This is an easy promise, what about those who face hostile environment without status? What happens to their rights to access health care, jobs. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As cities across the country continue experimenting with free public bus service, the leader of New York Citys most transit-starved borough wants in on the act. Borough President James Oddo is asking the MTA to consider launching a one-year pilot program, offering free rides on Staten Islands SIM express bus system to reduce congestion by incentivizing mass transit use. Lets try it for a year. Lets see what the impact is on ridership. Lets see what the impact is in terms of getting cars off the road. Ultimately, if you are going to break the car culture, youre going to have to reach into your pocket as a government and underwrite mass transit service to make up for it, Oddo said. The borough president began floating the idea on Twitter earlier this week, though he admitted his initial statements were a bit tongue-in-cheek, directed at city officials hell-bent on breaking the car culture in New York City. The intent of the original tweets was a bit more snarky in nature and a little sarcastic in that it was directed to the folks who want to break the car culture," Oddo said. I get it. I understand that. But in places like Staten Island, you cant just break the car culture and leave us with nothing in the middle of a transit desert. Hmmm, a 1 year pilot of free SIM Express Buses to get as many Staten Islanders out of their cars as possible? Someone get my friend Andy Byford on the line...and a bottle or two of Tumshttps://t.co/m8R9xtBtz0 Jimmy Oddo (@HeyNowJO) January 13, 2020 The MTA commended the borough presidents efforts to get more Staten Islanders out of their cars and onto buses, expressing a willingness to consider such a program, should funding be made available. I appreciate my friend the borough president for keeping a focus on encouraging more people to ride our buses. Were always happy to work with our partners to get more people in public transportation and we dont need that bottle or two of Tums (as long as these free rides are being paid for by someone)," said MTA NYCT President Andy Byford. Although the original tweets were sent with a tinge of sarcasm, Oddo began seriously contemplating the idea when considering the traffic implications of the looming rehabilitation of a crucial portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), a project he said he fears will result in a Traffic Armageddon. The farcical nature of this idea begins to fall away when you ponder the BQE project, said Oddo. Theyre going to move that highway from three lanes of 10 feet to two lanes of 12 feet and theyll argue that theyll be more efficient. I say good luck with that. So what starts out as kind of a farcical idea to make a bigger point becomes a little bit more real when you start thinking how were going to get people out of their cars... One way or another, you are going to have to incentivize people to take mass transit, the borough president continued. In other cities that have experimented with the idea -- like Lawrence, Mass., Kansas City, Mo., and Olympia, Wash.-- it has often been framed in the context of economic equity, noting that bus ridership is typically higher for lower-income residents, placing an additional financial burden on those already stretched thin for cash. But Oddo contended that introducing a similar program on Staten Island would be about a different kind of equity: transit equity. Equity can be defined in other ways too, like equity in terms of transit service. Clearly, based on that version of equity, if they were to try this in New York, then it should be in a transit desert like Staten Island, Oddo said. Critics of such programs often argue that the financial burden will be shifted to the taxpayers, with transit agencies required to make up the deficit caused by lost fare revenue. In 2018, the Staten Island express bus network serviced 8,861,648 customers at a fare rate of $6.50 per ride, generating $57,600,712 in revenue. At the current express bus fare of $6.75, the same ridership numbers would have generated $59,816,124. Annual ridership numbers for 2019 have not yet been made available by the MTA. Im not talking about a systemwide pilot. Im talking about a Staten Island-specific pilot, so the overall cost would be much less than making all of New York Citys buses free, Oddo said. I get it, this is a system thats strapped for cash. But, I also know that congestion pricing is coming online and I know that theres going to be additional resources that theyre going to divvy up." Though the idea may seem far-fetched at the moment, Oddo argued that other city officials will start taking it more seriously as concerns of catastrophic congestion continue to mount. As farcical as it might sound in January 2020, the closer we get to the reality of the BQE project, and the more government is going to be pulling their hair out trying to get people out of cars, the more people might look to something like this," said Oddo. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), accompanied by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and other senators, speaks during a news conference outside of the Senate chamber, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 14, 2020. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo) Debating War Powers During Divisive Times Commentary The House of Representatives recently passed a resolution it says is aimed at reining in the presidents power to wage war against Iran. It did so on an almost completely partisan basis, with three Republicans voting in favor of the resolution and eight Democrats voting against it, on Jan. 9. We will wait to see what action, if any, takes place in the Senate on a similar resolution introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). War, and the power to take us to war, is something we desperately need to discuss, but weve proven unable to do so amid our partisan divisions. I offer a modest proposal to help get us to think constitutionally and prudently about war powers, even in an environment as challenging as ours. Here are the three basic problems we face today when trying to have a prudent and constitutionally grounded discussion about war powers. First, presidents have taken so much control over foreign policy and war over the past century that most Americans have come to assume a bias in favor of presidential action is the constitutional norm and doesnt need to be discussed. Second, our political and pundit classes have let partisanship distort their constitutional arguments for generations. When we have Democratic presidents, such as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, the aligned congressmen tend to embrace the strongest exertions of presidential power. When we have Republican presidents, Democrats switch back to become doves and Republicans cede congressional power to their president. Third, we have the added challenge that we live in the age of Donald Trumpa time when every argument is taken to be (and often is) a partisan shot aimed at the president personally and where every challenge is met with an equally vociferous personal attack in return. In this environment, it has proven impossible to have the kind of serious, constitutionally based discussion of war powers that our country needs. I would offer the following proposal. Lets embark upon a serious discussion of war powers. Let us begin by revisiting the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) thats now older than our new military recruits who will fight under it and was written for a profoundly different world. That authorization was passed in the hazy days after the attacks of 9/11 and is still being used to justify war for an America and a world profoundly changed. We now live in a world shaped by nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan and 17 years in Iraq. We now live in a world of a more aggressive Russia and China and after the rise and fall of ISIS. We now live in a world where fracking has made us much less dependent on oil from the Middle East. We now live in a world where Osama bin Laden is dead and our national debt has soared nearly beyond comprehension. Its time to revisit the AUMF and decide what our business is in Afghanistan and Iraq and across the Middle East, and how we can best use our resources in the world of the 2020s. Lets also embark upon a serious reading of our Constitution and study the war powers laid out by our Founding Fathers. Most Americans would be surprised by what theyd find there and what our founders had to say about questions of war and peace. In our current divisively partisan environment, theres only one way to conduct such a national discussion. Rather than the House Democrats passing resolutions directly aimed at the current president and in the immediate aftermath of a major military action, lets look dispassionately to the future. Lets talk about principles rather than personalities. Lets focus on setting rules for the future rather than settling the scores of the moment. To have such a mature discussion about the power to take the United States to war and our place in the world, members of Congress and the media will have to conduct themselves as if they were above the immediate political fray. They will need to divorce this important discussion from the divisiveness that comes with any challenge to the current administration or current policy. They will need to debate and pass resolutions to set rules for the unknown presidents to come in 2021 (and beyond), not the current office-holder during this term. They will all need to carefully avoid the temptations to partisan warfare and short-term victories. The American founders warned us of the problems political parties would bring to the American constitutional order. We didnt heed those warnings and have to operate within the partisan world we live in. Since we dont seem able to discuss such important issues as adults to affect the moment we are in, lets at least take up responsibility for the future, and calmly and deliberately settle on rules of war and our engagement with the world, and a balance of power that will operate for all presidents and Congresses in the futurewhether they are of our party or any other. Such a debate is what our founders had as they looked to the future and debated on principle, as divorced from personality and partisanship as they could get. Lets pause the partisan battles of 2020 and conduct a national discussion thats worthy of our inheritance and that will set neutral rules to bind and guide our political leaders to come. Gary L. Gregg is director of the McConnell Center and host of the great books podcast Vital Remnants. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. While the number of deaths as a result of coronavirus is low and the disease seems to be contained, there have been some concerning revelations. Coronavirus from central China's Wuhan city has claimed its second victim: a 69-year-old man in China, who was admitted to hospital with pneumonia, had abnormal kidney function and severe damage to multiple organs and died on 15 January. Separately, Japan health officials reported a case of the virus in their country as well: a 30-year-old resident of Tokyo who had just returned from a trip to Wuhan presented with the symptoms of coronavirus infection. Local health officials also reported that the case has been resolved: according to them, the patient was given treatment and was no longer found to have the virus. The patient has been discharged from the hospital. Thailand, which reported its first case of coronavirus infection on 13 January, has also reported another case: a traveller returning from a trip to China. According to local health workers, this patient is too out of danger but still quarantined as further testing will reveal if the virus is out of their system. Rising concerns While the number of deaths as a result of this so-called novel coronavirus is low and the disease seems to be contained, there have been some concerning revelations. For example, the Japanese traveller had not visited the Wuhan fish market which has been identified as the source of infection. Instead, they likely contracted the disease from a human carrier. The market was closed on 1 January and disinfected. The fact that new cases are still emerging suggests that human-to-human transmission could be possible. Further, the Chinese New Year is at the end of this month, which means it is a busy travel period: efforts will need to be bolstered to ensure that infection doesnt spread and breach the border. The Chinese response has been competent so far, but this coincidence may derail the hard work. A new test Researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have designed a new laboratory assay that can detect the new coronavirus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the assay as a diagnostic tool and it is now publicly available. This means that the virus can be detected quickly and cheaply. Given that the virus has the potential to become a global threat, the ability to diagnose it timely can give doctors the edge when it comes to treatment. Delays in providing care can cause the infection to spiral out of control and lead to more serious complications. Previously, the WHO had said that it is safe to travel to China as long as certain basic precautions are taken. Maintaining good personal hygiene is key and it is a good idea to keep a distance from people displaying signs of the common cold. For more information, read our article on Infections: Symptoms and Causes. Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, Indias first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health. COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Students from Georgia Cyber Academy will visit the Coca Cola Space Science Center in celebration of National School Choice Week. They will tour the center and enjoy a planetarium show on Friday, Jan. 31. This event is planned to coincide with the history-making celebration of National School Choice Week 2020, which will feature more than 50,000 school choice events across all 50 states. "Our National School Choice Week event is a field trip for our students, which allows for students to connect in person, where they normally connect online only," said Tonette Price, Community Partnerships Manager at Georgia Cyber Academy. "We want families to see that school choice also includes virtual learning, which provides flexibility and a strong academic environment." Georgia Cyber Academy is focused on student achievement and building a strong community among students, parents, faculty and staff. The school is a tuition-free statewide online public charter option serving children from grades K-12 in the free online program. More than 8,000 students are enrolled across the state. As a nonpartisan, nonpolitical public awareness effort, National School Choice Week shines a positive spotlight on effective education options for students, families, and communities around the country. From January 26 through February 1, 2020, more than 50,000 independently-planned events will be held in celebration of the Week. For more information, visit www.schoolchoiceweek.com. SOURCE National School Choice Week Related Links http://www.schoolchoiceweek.com (PHOTO: Getty Images) SINGAPORE The Ministry of Health (MOH) has been notified as of Friday afternoon (17 January) of two more suspect cases with pneumonia, who had travel history to the Chinese city of Wuhan where a mysterious virus has afflicted dozens and left two people dead. Both cases in Singapore, involving a 64-year-old male Chinese national and a 61-year-old female Singapore resident, have been admitted for further assessment and treatment, and isolated as a precautionary measure, the MOH said. The two cases did not visit the Huanan seafood wholesale market associated with the pneumonia cluster in Wuhan. They are in stable condition, and investigations are ongoing. MOH also gave an update on the 69-year-old Singaporean man with pneumonia who had travelled to Wuhan. The case is not linked to the pneumonia cluster in Wuhan and has also tested negative for coronavirus. A 69-year-old man died from the coronavirus in China on Wednesday, following the death of a 61-year-old man linked to the outbreak last Saturday. A total 41 people in Wuhan have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, a family of viruses that can cause severe diseases like SARS and MERS. Twelve patients have been cured and discharged while five were being treated for acute conditions in the Chinese city as of late Thursday. One person in Japan and two people in Thailand have been diagnosed with the virus. Related stories China reports 2nd death from virus behind pneumonia outbreak Wuhan virus: Third suspected case, 69-year-old man, detected in Singapore Wuhan virus outbreak: Second suspected case not linked to China cluster China believes new virus behind mystery pneumonia outbreak Wuhan virus outbreak: 3-year-old girl's case not linked to China cluster, says MOH MEXICO CITY The bodies of six children and a pregnant woman were found in a freshly dug grave in a remote, predominantly indigenous community on the Caribbean coast of Panama, possibly the sacrificial victims of a ritual performed by a religious sect, the Panamanian authorities said Thursday. The victims had been kidnapped from their homes by other members of the community, beaten and killed, said Rafael Baloyes, the chief prosecutor for the province of Bocas del Toro. The woman was the mother of five of the children; the sixth child was a neighbor, Mr. Baloyes said. The children ranged in age from 1 to 17. The authorities raided the community, Alto Terron, on Wednesday after receiving a tip that people were being abused there, the prosecutor said, adding that officials saw a post on social media about someone being burned. The Avengers may have gained a canine sidekick after a North Carolina familys dog gave birth to a bright green puppy named Hulk. Gypsy, a white shepherd owned by Haywood County resident Shana Stamey, delivered eight puppies Friday morning. Gypsys three-hour labor was going smoothly until the fourth puppy came out as a small, but mighty tuft of lime green fur, Stamey said. I started freaking out, Stamey told news outlets. But everybody was healthy. Experts said theres a normal explanation for the puppys colouration and no, he wasnt exposed to any gamma rays. Liquid from inside Gypsys stomach likely stained the white dogs fur during pregnancy, Suzanne Cianciulli, the manager of Junaluska Animal Hospital in Waynesville, told news outlets. Several people took to Twitter and Facebook to share images of this unusual ball of fur. Heres one such image: A lime green puppy was born in North Carolina and its owners named him Hulk. This is the only content that matters today. pic.twitter.com/K42HKev6vx Monica Rix (@MonicaRix) January 16, 2020 People had a lot to say about Hulk, the bright green coloured puppy. While some were at awe, others suggested names for the little one too. Hulk rules! Its time for Mr. Lime. wrote a Twitter user. I love him, commented another. Aww!!! look at the little one, commented a third. Regular baths and daily licks from Gypsy are expected to fade Hulks green hue in a few weeks, Stamey said. However the puppys newfound superpower, which the family has deemed an aggressive appetite, will likely remain. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar was holding talks in Athens on Friday, just two days ahead of a peace conference in Berlin which he and the head of Tripoli's UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj are expected to attend. His visit comes as world powers step up efforts for a lasting ceasefire, nine months since an assault on Tripoli by Haftar's forces sparked fighting that has killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands. An interim truce that came into force on Sunday has mostly held, despite accusations of violations from Haftar's forces and the rival Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Haftar walked away from ceasefire talks in Moscow on Monday, but German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited his eastern Libya stronghold of Benghazi on Thursday to persuade him to join the Berlin conference. He flew to Athens on a surprise visit on Thursday, with Greece seeking to build ties with Haftar after the GNA signed a maritime and military cooperation deal with Turkey in November. Athens is vehemently opposed to the contentious Turkish deal with Libya, which claims much of the Mediterranean for energy exploration, conflicting with rival claims by Greece and Cyprus. Haftar met Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias after his arrival on Thursday and they were holding further talks on Friday. He is also set to meet Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Greece is seeking to take part in the Berlin talks but has yet to be invited. Haftar agreed in principle Thursday to go to Berlin after Sarraj signalled he would be present, Germany's Maas said, adding that he had agreed to abide by the current ceasefire. He "wants to contribute to the success of the Libyan conference in Berlin and is in principle ready to participate in it," he tweeted, calling it "the best chance in a long time" for peace. But Sarraj, whose GNA did sign up to a permanent truce deal in Moscow, cast doubt over Haftar's intentions after he refused to also sign. Haftar "has chosen not to sign the agreement and asked for a delay", he said, calling that "an attempt to undermine the Berlin conference before it starts". The oil-rich North African state has been in turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi, and multiple foreign powers have become embroiled. The GNA is backed by Turkey and Qatar, while Haftar, who backs a rival administration in Libya's east, has the support of neighbouring Egypt as well as Russia and the United Arab Emirates. - External interference - The United Nations said the Berlin talks aim to end foreign interference and division over Libya. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will take part and voice support for truce efforts, the State Department said Thursday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Wednesday for firm support for the peace talks and asked for a halt in the fighting. In a report to the Security Council he urged all parties to "engage constructively towards that end, including within the Berlin process". Guterres also warned against "external interference", saying it would "deepen the ongoing conflict and further complicate efforts to reach a clear international commitment to a peaceful resolution of the underlying crisis". The conference will aim to agree six points including a permanent ceasefire, implementation of a much-violated UN arms embargo and a return to political efforts for peace, Guterres said. Turkish troops have been deployed to support the GNA, while Russia, despite its denials, is suspected of supporting Haftar with weapons, money and mercenaries. Some 11 countries and several international organisations are set to attend along with the Libyan parties. The fighting has spurred a growing exodus of migrants, many embarking on rickety boats towards Italy. Nearly 1,000 intercepted at sea have been forced to return to the war-ravaged country since January 1, mostly ending up in detention, the UN's International Organization for Migration said Tuesday. burs/txw/wdb The fighting in Libya has killed more than 280 civilians and 2,000 fighters and displaced tens of thousands Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias (left) welcomed Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar to Athens The key players in the Libyan conflict after a ceasefire started Sunday Fayez al-Sarraj (left) and Khalifa Haftar are both expected to attend the Berlin peace summit Washington (AFP) - Ethiopia made progress with Egypt and Sudan in US-brokered talks in easing concerns over a hotly contested mega-dam on the Nile, with a tentative agreement to fill it only during the rainy season. The three countries had set a deadline of Wednesday to reach an accord over the Grand Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia, which Egypt fears could deplete its scarce drinking water. After three days of talks in Washington, the countries' foreign ministers "noted the progress achieved," a joint statement said. But they stopped short of announcing a resolution, saying the three countries would meet again in the US capital on January 28-29 to finalize an agreement. Analysts have feared that the three Nile basin countries could be drawn into a conflict if the dispute is not resolved before the colossal 1.8-kilometer-long dam, under construction since 2011, begins operating. In a draft deal, Ethiopia agreed that it will fill the dam -- set to be Africa's largest hydroelectric project -- only in the wet season from July to August, or also in September if conditions are right. Ethiopia will aim rapidly to reach the level of 595 meters (1,952 feet) above sea level, with later filling to be determined based on the conditions of the river. The filling "will be executed in stages and will be undertaken in an adaptive and cooperative manner that takes into consideration the hydrological conditions of the Blue Nile and the potential impact of the filling on downstream reservoirs," said the statement released by the United States. The three foreign ministers "reaffirmed the importance of transboundary cooperation in the development of the Blue Nile to improve the lives of the people of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, and their shared commitment to concluding an agreement," it said. The draft deal also calls for special mitigation measures for Egypt and Sudan on years that they are especially dry. In early negotiations, Ethiopia had said it would fill the dam's reservoir in three years while Egypt wanted the process drawn out over 15 years. Story continues - Appeals for mediation - Ethiopia says the $4.2 billion hydroelectric barrage would double its electricity and be indispensable for a growing economy. It is expected to begin generating power by the end of 2020 and be fully operational by 2022. But Egypt fears disruption in the river that provides 90 percent of its drinking water. Discussions between the three countries broke down, prompting Egypt to call for international mediation. The US Treasury Department agreed to broker talks after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made a pitch to President Donald Trump, his close ally. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his democratic reforms, promised Sunday to take into consideration the other Nile nations' concerns. "Ethiopia always believes in a win-win approach with Egypt and Sudan," Abiy said on a visit to South Africa, adding that peace was essential to "realize our vision of development and growth." Abiy also invited South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, the incoming chairperson of the African Union, to help push forward negotiations on the dam. The International Crisis Group, in a report last year, urged the three nations not to see the dam dispute as an "existential conflict" but as a way to improve resource-sharing. "Waiting until the dam is operational -- when its impact on downstream countries is clearer -- would raise the risk of violent conflict," it warned. Sarah Wairimu Cohen was Thursday finally granted access to her house in Kitusuru for purposes of collecting personal effects. However, Lady Justice Stella Mutuku set strict conditions for the widow of slain Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen to adhere to. For instance, Wairimu, who is charged with the murder of her late husband, should collect the items under the supervision of officers from the Director of Criminal Investigations and her lawyer. She is also only allowed to pick particular items from her matrimonial home. Ms Wairimu is allowed to collect her clothes, shoes, handbags and grooming tools from the premise, ordered Justice Mutuku. The items to be collected shall be the ones deemed necessary to afford her comfortable life under the circumstances of this case, she added, further directing the DCI to facilitate the process. The collected items should also be itemised in a list signed by Ms Wairimu and the DCI. The Court directed that the collection of the items should be restricted to the rooms that Sarah occupied before her arrest. It also declined to grant her access to all the other rooms in the house to pick other items that she had listed in her application last November. Read: 2 Dogs, Golf Equipment, Liquor Things Sarah Wairimu Wants From Kitisuru Home / -- Chitkara University today announced that it has been selected in the group of elite 150 finalists in Asia's most exciting startup competition, The 10th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC), organized by Singapore Management University (SMU). The final of the competition will be held during BLAZE 2020 from 16th March to 20th March 2020. Asia's most exciting smart city startup competition 10th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition is being organised by the Singapore Management University's Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship with an objective to promote entrepreneurship among youths. The 10th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition received a record breaking number of more than 850 submissions with applicants from over 650 universities across the globe. The 10th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC) offers a stage to the world's brightest innovators, game changers and entrepreneurs to address the challenges of the 21st century and to Reimagine Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities. The elite 150 announced on 13th January 2020 include the top ranked institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, University of California, US, University of Cambridge, UK, Harvard University US, Stanford University US, Imperial College, London, National University of Singapore, University of Oxford UK and Texas University, US including Chitkara University from India. Speaking on the achievement, Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor of Chitkara University, said, "Being part of the elite 150 at LKYGBPC 2020, talks about the excellent innovation infrastructure that Chitkara University possess is on par with the global universities. I would like to congratulate the team e-Pancreas for their innovation that offers painless and prick free insulin management in diabetic kids, made its way to the elite 150. Wish them good luck to make it into elite 50 at the final week in March." Dr. Madhu Chitkara continued, "The research work carried out at global level research facility Chitkara University Research and Innovation Network (CURIN) and made commercially feasible by Chitkara center for Entrepreneurship and Development (CEED), the oldest incubation facility of the region, could make the achievement possible for the team. The competition offers the investment opportunities worth 1 Mn Singapore dollars and the team of e-Pancreas are expected to attend the finals of the event." About Chitkara University:In the year 2002, Chitkara Educational Trust established its Punjab campus 30km from Chandigarh, on the Chandigarh-Patiala National Highway. In the year 2010, Chitkara University was established by the Punjab State Legislature under 'The Chitkara University Act'. Chitkara University, one of the best university in Punjab is a government-recognized university with the right to confer degrees as per the Sections 2(f) and 22(1) of the UGC Act, 1956. Chitkara University has been founded by Dr. Ashok Chitkara and Dr. Madhu Chitkara who have been passionate teachers for more than 40 years now. Chitkara brings with it, a reputation that has been earned through years of serving the career - needs of the student community. It is a reputation for excellence and innovation among coveted employers for preparing graduates who have the knowledge and skills they need for success in their workplace. Chitkara University graduates go on to have great careers, as they have their hands on the responsive teaching methodology. Students from around the country are attracted to Chitkara University because of their commitment to teaching excellence, their research that makes a difference, their industry partnerships and their tailored courses. This difference has been acknowledged by students, parents, alumni, government, and industry since the inception of the university. Within a decade, most of Chitkara University academic programs are ranked among the top 50 programs in the country which speaks volumes about their string of academic heritage, highly committed faculty, extensive industry collaborations, great international connections and state-of-the-art campus facilities. For more information, please visit https://www.chitkara.edu. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on an appeal filed by expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar challenging a trial court`s verdict which had sentenced him to life imprisonment for raping a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh`s Unnao in 2017. A Division Bench of Justices Manmohan and Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal sought response from the investigating agency and rape survivor`s family and posted the matter to May 4. The court also granted Sengar time of two more months to deposit the amount levied on him for the commission on crime.The trial court, in its judgement, had directed him to give Rs 10 lakh amount to the victim and Rs 15 lakh to the court`s registry within 30 days. Advocate N Hariharan, who represented Sengar in the court, argued that the trial court`s order was full of "misconclution". "Evidence was ignored. My client presence was not at the location where this alleged incident took place," he told the court.Sengar has approached the Delhi High Court challenging his conviction and sentencing in connection with the rape case. On December 16 last year, Sengar was found guilty by a Delhi court for raping a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh`s Unnao district 2017. The court convicted him under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 5 (c) and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which pertains to penetrative sexual assault committed against a child by a public servant. It had awarded him the maximum punishment of life term with a rider that the convict will remain in jail for "remainder of his natural biological life" and also imposed an exemplary fine of Rs 25 lakh on him to be paid within a month. Sengar, a four-time BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Bangarmau, had raped the girl at his residence in Unnao in June 2017, where she had gone seeking a job. Later he was arrested and is currently lodged in Tihar jail. In yet another attack on Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday sought the immediate sacking of Punjab Advocate General for allegedly failing to defend the interests of the state "effectively" in courts. In a missive to the Amarinder Singh, the MP said Atul Nanda's appointment as the state's Advocate General was due to his proximity to the chief minister. "Nepotism is against the interests of the state and the appointment of Atul Nanda as Advocate General, Punjab is a perfect example of the same, as his appointment had been solely guided by his proximity to you," Bajwa said. He said the "incompetence of Nanda to defend the interests of the state effectively is reflected in the repeated failures he faced in the courts" in various cases, including those related to drug menace, mining, environment protection and sacrilege. He urged the chief minister to sack Nanda immediately and appoint a "competent person" in his place. Punjab ministers had on January 14 sought disciplinary action against Bajwa for raising a "banner of revolt" against Amarinder Singh. The demand for action against the former Pradesh Congress Committee chief came days after his announcement of not supporting Amarinder Singh's leadership for a second term unless action is taken on the desecration of religious texts. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Muhammadu Buhari held a crucial security meeting with his military chiefs and other heads of security agencies on Friday. At the end of the meeting, an attendee told journalists that they critically looked at everything and are satisfied with the progress being made to tackle the security challenges. The Chief of Air Staff, Sadigue Abubakar, also told journalists at the State House in Abuja that the air force had acquired two helicopter gunships as part of the equipment to tackle the criminals including armed bandits in the North West. Some of the equipment we are acquiring have started arriving. For the Nigerian Air Force, two helicopter gunships have arrived on the 15th of January and we are now in the process of putting them together which will add to whatever we have, he said. Nigeria is battling with various forms of armed gangs and criminals across the country. These include the Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east, armed bandits in the North-west and armed kidnappers across the country. At least 30 people were killed a couple of days ago and about 100 kidnapped when armed bandits attacked an emirs convoy in Kaduna. Fridays security meeting is the first in 2020, the air chief said. Read the full briefing by the air chief below. You recall that we had a meeting on the 30th December 2019 and today we held another one. The whole essence of the meeting is to critically evaluate what the armed forces of Nigeria, as well as other security and intelligence agencies, are doing with regard to ensuring that the territorial integrity of Nigeria is not undermined by any individual or group of individuals. We also looked at the emerging situations in some of our areas particularly acts of banditry in some of the North Western states and other parts of the country and we have critically looked at everything and we are satisfied with the progress we are making, we are satisfied with the support of the federal government is giving the armed forces and other security agencies in terms of procurement of platforms. Substantial number of these equipment are expected by the end of February. Some of the equipment we are acquiring have started arriving. For the Nigerian Air Force, two helicopter gunships have arrived on the 15th of January and we are now in the process of putting them together which will add to whatever we have. READ ALSO: We are equally expecting other equipment like I said that are meant for the armed forces of Nigeria which we are hoping to get by the end of February. I am sure you are also familiar with the equipment acquisition by the Nigerian Police Force. I am sure you are also aware of the policy on community policing that was approved by Mr. President and it is going to be funded. The whole idea is to ensure that Nigeria is secured and Nigerians can go about pursuing their legitimate aspirations without any hindrance. I think basically that is what this meeting is all about and what we want to do here is to reassure Nigerians that the armed forces of Nigeria and indeed security and intelligence agencies in Nigeria are going to continue to work round the clock to ensure that our country is secured and to ensure that nobody undermines the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Nigeria. We are going to keep a very close watch on what is going on and with the equipment that we are getting. Definitely, the challenges we are facing in some of the theatres of operation particularly the North-east will be addressed adequately. We are doing everything with the other sister countries in the Lake Chad Basin working together to ensure that the Boko Haram terrorism is brought substantially to an end as quickly as possible. I think our appeal is for all Nigerians and other stakeholders to join hands with the armed forces of Nigeria and other security and intelligence agencies to ensure that our country is secured rather than looking at other methods that are likely going to negate the national policy and community policing policy that the Federal Government has approved. What we expect is for all stakeholders, local government, state government, other stakeholders to join hands with us, let us work together to ensure that our country is secured. - Rio lost his first wife in 2015 to breast cancer His wife left him with three pre-teens Ferdinand has since found love again through Kate wright The couple will let fans in on their life and what it is like living with a step mum in a new documentary Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is set to star in an anticipated documentary alongside his wife Kate Wright which will focus on the transition to a step family. Wright, a former Towie star , blended in with Ferdnands family and has since played the role of step mum to the United legends three children. READ ALSO: Pep Guardiola hilariously suggests Riyad Mahrez rarely gets injured due to lack of leg muscles READ ALSO: Liverpool vs Man United: Red Devils front three have outscored Salah, Firmino and Mane combined this season The journey presumably has not been the easiest one, and the lovely couple is set to lay it all on the documentary dubbed Rio and Kate: Becoming A Step Family. As TUKO.co.ke reported, the pair was introduced two years after Ferdinand, 41, lost his first wife Rebecca Ellison in 2015. Rebecca tragically lost the battle with breast cancer, leaving Ferdinand to take care of their three children - Lorenz, 12, Tate, 10, and Tia, eight. READ ALSO: Xavi says he rejected Barcelona job because it was too soon for him In the documentary, Kate will explore all the challenges she faced trying to be a step mom to children who were all too aware of their biological mother and were still grieving when she came to the picture. This will not be the first time Ferdinands personal life has been documented since the death of Rebecca. In 2017, the six-time Premier League winner featured in Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum And Dad - an emotional documentary which earned him an award. 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 I chose rabbit farming over office job - Maureen Wanyaga | Tuko TV | Inspire Kenya: Source: TUKO.co.ke Mark Carney, the outgoing governor of the Bank of England, has been named as the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's finance advisor for this year's COP26 climate change conference in Scotland. In an announcement Thursday, the Bank of England said Carney's "key focus" in the role would be on "mobilizing ambitious action from across the financial system needed to help achieve the 1.5C goal of the Paris Agreement." The Paris Agreement was reached at COP21 in 2015. It was at COP21 that world leaders committed to making sure global warming stayed "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. They also agreed to pursue efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In a statement, Carney said he was "honored" to have been appointed to the role of finance advisor for the summit. "To seize it, all financial decisions need to take into account the risks from climate change and the opportunities from the transition to a net zero economy," he added. Carney's newly announced position will dovetail with his role as the UN's special envoy for climate action and finance, which was announced in December. He will begin both appointments when he leaves the Bank of England on March 15. The Canadian, who has been at the Bank of England since 2013, has previously said that climate change "will affect the value of virtually every financial asset." COP26 will take place in the city of Glasgow in November. The U.K. government said delegates at the conference will discuss "ambitious ways in which the world can lower emissions to keep global temperatures below 1.5 degrees of warming." The pair has two songs together, The Way and My Favorite Part. Photo: GC Images One question has been on Mac Miller and Ariana Grande fans minds since his final album, Circles, dropped last night: Is that Ariana Grande on the song I Can See? Followed closely by, Should we or should we not be crying right now? Fans are convinced that Grande harmonizes alongside Miller on his new posthumous song I Can See. Producer Jon Brion brought Millers unfinished album, Circles, together after the rappers unexpected death in September 2018. Miller and Grande dated for two years. They collaborated on Grandes song The Way and Millers song My Favorite Part. While he and Grande broke up months before his death, Grande has been open about her love and grief ever since. So, you see why Grande and Miller fans heard harmonies from a female voice on the new album and immediately thought that it must be Grande. In #MacMiller newest album #Circles the track I Can See appears to have hidden vocals from Ariana. pic.twitter.com/or0PMMx2qL Ag4Culture | Fan | (@Ag4Culture) January 17, 2020 A representative for Miller told Vulture they had no comment on whether or not Grande is on the track; Miller is the only credited vocalist. Grande herself hasnt confirmed or denied her involvement (shes only reposted the album cover on her Instagram story), nor has anyone else who contributed to the project. But Grande did tweet something on Thursday that may or may not be a reference to the harmonies. I love adding more harmonies than anyone will ever notice or hear that no one ever asked for or needed, she tweeted. Well, if this is about I Can See, Grande should know by now to never underestimate an Arianator. They most definitely noticed. i love adding more harmonies than anyone will ever notice or hear that no one ever asked for or needed Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) January 16, 2020 arianas vocals in i can see by mac. my heart is broken pic.twitter.com/oSX0NqA8a9 (@notneedyatall) January 17, 2020 i do not want to be that bitch but are those arianas vocals in i can see pic.twitter.com/pU6imKgjtm aaliyah!$$ (@aaliyahsk8s) January 17, 2020 Me hearing Arianas vocals in the back of I Can See #Circles pic.twitter.com/IpfOKuo69C Little Bitch (@bbenitez4899) January 17, 2020 someone tell me if its Ariana singing the harmonies on I can see before I cry maybe: britt (@bjhags) January 17, 2020 Update, January 21, 7:50 a.m.: Brion, who took over Circles after Millers death, revealed to the New York Times that he doesnt actually know if Grande sings the harmonies on I Can See, but said, I believe they are. Somebody just told me something about that, he said. That was a pre-existing track I played some things on those tracks to make them feel like the others, but those vocals were already there. It wasnt like an executive decision or anything. I Can See, Complicated, Blue World, and Everything were all songs that Miller worked on independently from Brion, but the producer brought them in because they worked thematically with the new album. So, its unclear who knows whether or not its Grande on the track. It might just be a little secret between her and Miller. CAMDEN, N.J. The Burlington County, N.J. man accused of masterminding a sham fundraiser for a once-homeless Philadelphia vet that collected more than $400,000 from well-wishing donors appeared for his arraignment in federal court Thursday. Mark DAmico stood before U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman in Camden for a formal acknowledgment of the 16 indictment counts a federal grand jury hit him with earlier this month. With his attorney Mark Davis, pleaded not guilty to all counts in the indictment. Federal authorities charged DAmico, 40, in October 2019 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment announced Jan. 8 2020 added 14 counts, focused on specific transactions within the alleged conspiracy: four wire fraud counts, and 10 for money laundering. DAmicos ex-girlfriend, Kate McClure, and the vet, Johnny Bobbitt, have pleaded guilty in two courts for their roles in the scam. And DAmico has pleaded guilty to one crime in New Jersey state court. On Thursday, Davis and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Bender and Jason Richardson told Hillman they expect a significant amount of time will be needed to review the discovery evidence in the case. A hard drive from the Burlington County Prosecutors Office, who also brought charges in the case, contains about 250 gigabytes of data, and files Davis has yet to receive from the federal government could bring that total to 450 gigabytes, Davis said. Its voluminous. Hillman ruled DAmico will remain free on bail conditions set in October 2019 when he was federally charged. A trial could potentially begin in October 2020 or January 2021, Bender said, but no future court dates have been firmly set. There is an order to continue the case until at least June 30 to allow for discovery. Davis is looking at hiring third-party litigation support and an outside investigator, he said in court. Hillman said the prosecution and defense will need to meet and determine who will pay for those services. All counts in the indictment announced Jan. 8 focused on the viral Paying it Forward GoFundMe campaign launched in late 2017, featuring a fake story about Bobbitt giving his last $20 to a stranded McClure, who had run out of gas on I-95 in Philadelphia. In truth, McClure and DAmico met the homeless Bobbitt, a former Marine helicopter technician, when he was asking for change near the SugarHouse Casino. At one point, they gave him $10. A Facebook message asking a friend to donate to the 2017 campaign resulted in one wire fraud count. Another count came when the friend charged $50 to their Visa card while making a donation. Two status updates on the GoFundMe page were also included in the indictment as wire fraud charges. The money laundering counts include loading more than $12,000 onto a prepaid card for McClure, a separate deposit of more than $327,000 into her account, the purchase of a Palomino Solaire trailer for Bobbitt, a $25,000 transfer to Bobbitt and a BMW purchase. DAmico, along with McClure and Bobbitt, were charged in both state and federal courts after investigators learned the campaign was a scam. McClure, 29, and Bobbitt, 36, have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in state and federal courts. Neither have been sentenced in federal court, a U.S Attorneys Office spokesman said Thursday. Bobbitt is serving a five-year sentence in state drug court. DAmico pleaded guilty in state court in December to misappropriating entrusted property - meaning he admitted only to spending the money from the campaign. Davis - a Hamilton, Mercer County attorney who represented DAmico in both his state and federal cases - has noted the state plea is not an admission to fraud conspiracy, or in other words, masterminding the campaign. Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. The Mysore Bar Association passed a resolution this week announcing that none of its members will represent the journalist student, Nalini Balakumar. She is currently facing sedition charges for holding a 'Free Kashmir' placard during a protest organised earlier this month, by the Dalit Students' Association and Mysore University Research Students Association, in Mysuru The Mysore Bar Association passed a resolution this week announcing that none of its members will represent the journalist student, Nalini Balakumar. She is currently facing sedition charges for holding a 'Free Kashmir' placard during a protest organised earlier this month, by the Dalit Students' Association and Mysore University Research Students Association, in Mysuru. At the outset, the association's resolution brings into focus two crucial issues of constitutional importance: First is the legality of the resolution depriving Balakumar of her fundamental right to be represented in a court of la and second is the cliched absurdity of invoking the vague, colonial sedition law, which clamps down on free speech. Right to legal representation In terms of the legality of the resolution, it is an established law under the Indian Constitution that every person has the basic right to legal representation. Article 22(1) provides that no person shall "be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice". Additionally, the Supreme Court, in landmark decisions such as Hussainara Khatoon versus Home Secretary, State Of Bihar (1979); Khatri versus State of Bihar (1980); and Ajmal Amir Kasab versus State of Maharashtra (2012), has clearly observed that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution implicitly includes the accused person's fundamental right to legal aid. Legal rights are, in the strictest sense, correlative of legal duties, and they constitute interests that are protected by imposing corresponding duties on others. In other words, if an accused person has the right to legal representation, a lawyer has an unequivocal duty to provide that legal representation. The nature of the alleged crime, and determination of innocence or guilt of the accused, go to the substance of the trial, and are irrelevant to the issue of the accused person's procedural right to counsel. Further, Chapter II (Part VI) of the Bar Council of India Rules stipulates the Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette. In that, the relevant portion of Rule 15 of the BCI Rules provides that an advocate must "defend a person accused of a crime regardless of his personal opinion as to the guilt of the accused, bearing in mind that his loyalty is to the law which requires that no man should be convicted without adequate evidence". Moreover, the Supreme Court, in the case of AS Mohammed Rafi versus State of Tamil Nadu (2010), expressly ruled that the resolutions passed by bar associations that they will not defend a particular person in a particular criminal case, "are wholly illegal, against all traditions of the bar, and against professional ethics". The court went to state that "[e]very person, however, wicked, depraved, vile, degenerate, perverted, loathsome, execrable, vicious or repulsive [as] he may be regarded by society has a right to be defended in a court of law and correspondingly it is the duty of the lawyer to defend him." It is in this backdrop that one has to view the legitimacy of the Mysore Bar Association's resolution not to represent Balakumar, who held the 'Free Kashmir' placard during a peaceful protest. It is harrowing, to say the least, that the association would pass such a resolution, despite the established law, morality and professional etiquette dictating otherwise. The archaic sedition law When it comes to the second issue the sedition law, it is public knowledge that this law is a colonial offering that the British enacted to muzzle all forms of dissent in India, and that it was invoked the most during the freedom struggle, to imprison and therefore suppress the vociferous freedom fighters. The sedition law prohibits words (spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation) that "[bring] or [attempt] to bring into hatred or contempt, or [excite] or [attempt] to excite disaffection towards the government" Given the vague and the broad contours of the key words of the provision "hatred", "contempt" and "disaffection", and given that it was likely to be (and has indeed been) misused by the ruling dispensation on numerous occasions in Independent India to illegitimately scuttle the constitutional right to free speech and expression, the courts have, over the years, narrowed down the construct of these words. The law as it stands today is this: Merely spreading "hatred", "contempt", or "disaffection" against the government does not suffice to constitute sedition, but it must also incite public disorder. This sweeping chasm between the text of the law and the actual import of the law, is perhaps one of the dominant reasons why the law is, with impunity, wrongfully being used to the advantage of the establishment. In light of the above, and with a focus on the Balakumar case, the question is whether the 'Free Kashmir' placard caused "hatred", "contempt" or "disaffection" against the government to an extent that it incited violence and public disorder. From the perspective of a reasonable person of ordinary prudence, it is eminently far from it. If anything, this case is demonstrably a textbook case of misuse of the sedition law, that has the inevitable effect of chilling free speech. The applicability and relevance of the sedition law in the 21st Century is debated time and again, and it is perhaps about time that we reconsider its existence on the statute book. Photo: The Capital Grille/Yelp Looking to try the top steakhouses around? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best high-end steakhouses in Boston, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to fill the bill. 1. The Capital Grille PHOTO: THE CAPITAL GRILLE/YELP Topping the list is a member of the chain The Capital Grille. Located at 900 Boylston St. (between Hereford and Gloucester streets) in Back Bay, the steakhouse and wine bar is the highest-rated high-end steakhouse in Boston, boasting 4.5 stars out of 918 reviews on Yelp. The site can tell you a thing or two more about The Capital Grille. "African mahogany paneling and Art Deco chandeliers provide a warm, stately setting for our nationally renowned dry-aged steaks, fresh seafood and acclaimed world-class wines," per the history section of the business' Yelp profile. Concerning signature items, "The Capital Grille is best known for its expertly prepared steaks, which are dry-aged in-house for 18 to 24 days and then hand-cut by our restaurant's on-premise butcher." 2. Grill 23 & Bar Photo: tiffany l./Yelp Next up is Back Bay's Grill 23 & Bar, situated at 161 Berkeley St. (between Stuart and Stanhope streets). With four stars out of 1,021 reviews on Yelp, the steakhouse has proven to be a local favorite. As to what the business is known for, "For more than 30 years, Grill 23 & Bar has been New England's premier steak and seafood grill," it states on Yelp in the section explaining specialties. "Grill 23 & Bar is renowned for its prime, all-natural, dry-aged beef exclusively from Brandt Beef, and fresh, creative seafood presentations." 3. Mooo Restaurant Photo: thanh l./Yelp Beacon Hill's Mooo Restaurant, located at 15 Beacon St. (between Tremont Place and Somerset Street), is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the fancy steakhouse, wine bar and brunch spot four stars out of 873 reviews. The site can tell you a thing or two more about Mooo Restaurant. "Mooo is a modern steakhouse within the luxurious XV Beacon Hotel," the business says in the history section of its Yelp profile. "Chef/Owner Jamie Mammano uses his culinary expertise to create classic, yet modern steakhouse dishes. The warm modern decor provides a relaxed, sophisticated atmosphere." Story continues 4. Strip By Strega Photo: vivian c./Yelp And Strip By Strega, a steakhouse, cocktail bar and traditional American spot in Back Bay, is another pricey go-to, with four stars out of 306 Yelp reviews. Head over to 64 Arlington St. (between Columbus and St. James avenues) to see for yourself. We turned there to learn more about Strip By Strega. "Inspiring dishes, creative cocktails, elegant environment" it notes on Yelp. 5. Morton's The Steakhouse Photo: morton's the steakhouse/Yelp Finally, over in South Boston, check out this outpost of the national chain Morton's The Steakhouse, which has earned four stars out of 331 reviews on Yelp. Treat yourself at the steakhouse and seafood spot by heading over to 2 Seaport Lane. We turned there for an overview of Morton's The Steakhouse. "What began in Chicago in 1978 is now one of the most award-winning steakhouses around," it states on Yelp in the section about specialties. "For over 30 years, Morton's The Steakhouse has been on a mission to provide the best steak...anywhere." This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Richarlison and Sigurdsson ruled out of Hammers clash Friday, 17 January, 2020 Carlo Ancelotti announced during his pre-match press conference that the Brazilian star has a twisted knee while the Iceland captain has sustained a groin injury. Jean-Philippe Gbamin has returned to full training but the club are taking a cautious approach with him following surgery on a thigh tendon so he is unlikely to be risked. The news leaves Ancelotti short again on options in midfield where Andre Gomes is a long-term absentee and Alex Iwobi isn't due to resume training until next week. Mason Holgate, used effectively as a midfielder already this season, is an option as it doesn't look as though he will be needed in defence where Yerry Mina was a doubt with an injury problem of his own but is now available. Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer About these ads Turkey 'not pessimistic' about ceasefire in Libya but wary of Haftar Iran Press TV Thursday, 16 January 2020 8:05 AM Turkey says it is not pessimistic about the prospect of a ceasefire in Libya, even after the collapse of peace talks in Moscow, but accuses renegade Libyan general Khalifa Haftar of seeking continued conflict. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made the remarks in the capital, Ankara, on Wednesday, two days after Haftar left peace talks mediated by Ankara and Moscow without signing a truce agreement that was meant to put an end to the months-long fighting around Libya's capital, Tripoli. "We are not pessimistic, but the truth is Haftar does not want peace. Haftar does not want a political process... and seeks a military solution," Turkey's top diplomat said. Since 2014, Libya has been divided between two rival camps: the internationally-recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, seated in the capital, and another group based in the eastern city of Tobruk. Haftar is the self-proclaimed commander of an array of militia groups apparently supporting the eastern camp. His militia launched an offensive to capture Tripoli in April last year, interrupting peace negotiations underway at the time. Despite intense and deadly clashes between the two sides, Haftar has so far failed to achieve his objective and his offensive has stalled outside Tripoli. In a declared attempt to restore peace in Libya, Turkey and Russia mediated peace talks between Sarraj and Haftar, who spent about eight hours of indirect talks in Moscow on Monday. But the talks ended without result when Haftar walked away. Sarraj had already signed a draft agreement on a truce. "I saw it as a disappointment for our Russian friends as well. They did everything in their power and continue to do so," Cavusoglu further said on Wednesday, adding that efforts were still going on to have a ceasefire deal before the Berlin summit later this week. Germany will host an international conference to achieve a truce between the Libyan government and Haftar's militia on the weekend. Turkey supports the Libyan government and has sent troops to the North African country to help Sarraj's government defend itself against Haftar's offensive. Separately on Wednesday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar expressed hope that both the Libyan leader and Haftar would show up in the German capital. "We are in favor of ceasefire and peace. We do not want the continuation of clashes. Efforts should be focused on a ceasefire so that Libyan parties can engage in talks for a political solution," he told reporters. Without mentioning names, Akar blamed third parties for prodding Haftar to leave Moscow without reaching a peace accord with Serraj. "Some powers dislike the Turkish-Russian dominance in pushing for peace. They have given some advice to Haftar. As seen, he did not fully burn the bridges but delayed the ceasefire," he said. Libya plunged into chaos in 2011, when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi and his execution by unruly fighters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address After declaring 2020 'the year of health', Rebel Wilson has enlisted the help of renowned personal trainer Jono Castano. The 39-year-old actress has been working out with the Men's Health 'transformation trainer' in Sydney recently. And on Friday, Rebel shared a video of herself being put through her paces during a rigorous training session. Working it: After declaring 2020 'the year of health', Rebel Wilson (right) has enlisted the help of renowned personal trainer Jono Castano (left) Crushed it: On Friday, Rebel shared a video of herself being put through her paces during a rigorous training session Standing in the middle of a darkened gym, Rebel is seen repeatedly whipping two thick black ropes onto the ground. She then proudly walked over to her trainer, who was filming the video, victoriously outstretching her arms. 'My Friday is SLAMMING! Thanks @jonocastanoacero,' she captioned it, adding an emoji of an arm flexing. And Jono seems to be equally thrilled with his star client's progress, sharing a series of photos and videos on his Instagram, too. 'Friday vibes but @rebelwilson has been putting in the yards 7 days a week! Proud of you gurl,' he captioned a photo and video, adding a love heart emoji. On January 2, Rebel, who recently debuted her dramatic weight loss, said she was focusing on her health this year, in an effort to make 'some positive changes'. No sweat: She then proudly walked over to her trainer, who was filming the video, victoriously outstretching her arms Proud: Jono seems to be equally thrilled with his star client's progress, sharing a series of photos and videos on his Instagram, too Looking ahead: On Jauary 2, Rebel (pictured left in January 2018, and right in December 2019) vowed to focus on her health in 2020 and 'make some positive changes' 'Okay so for me 2020 is going to be called 'The Year of Health' - so I put on the athleisure and went out for a walk, deliberately hydrating on the couch right now and trying to avoid the sugar and junk food which is going to be hard after the holidays I've just had but I'm going to do it!' she wrote. She added: 'Who's with me in making some positive changes this year?' Her candid post came after she revealed that she lost eight pounds in just four days while shooting the musical movie Cats. The actress explained that the weight loss was down to her taxing dance number, and the fact that the set was heated to 'almost 100 Fahrenheit'. 'I lost eight pounds shooting my number, in four days,' she told Entertainment Tonight. 'One, because theres a lot of physicality but also, they heated up the set very high, to almost 100 Fahrenheit, so that we could never cool down.' Although Rebel has not publicly revealed how much weight she has lost overall, fans have been praising her 'amazing' appearance in recent months, with some Twitter users estimating that she has lost up to 40 pounds since 2016. Then and now: It's been a busy few months for Rebel, pictured left in 2014 and right in January 2020, who had starring roles in two major movies, Cats and Jojo Rabbit Focus: The Pitch Perfect star has showed off a slimmer figure in recent months, and fans have been gushing about her appearance, estimating that she's lost up to 40 pounds since 2016 'I am with you. You are looking amazing Aussie sista!!' one person wrote on Instagram, while another chimed in: '100% with you Rebel!!! This year is a year of health and self care for me. Your look amazing.' One Twitter user then chimed in: 'Holy s**t, you look amazing!!! Well done!' In a July 2016 interview with The Telegraph, Rebel said she deliberately gained weight to make herself stand out in her acting career. She said she noticed early on that one of her co-stars in a project was getting a better response from the audience, and it made her stop and take stock. 'I was like: 'Oh. That girl's getting a lot of laughs, a lot easier than me. What is it?' Because I don't think there's much difference in talent. And I remember distinctly thinking: 'I think it's because she's fatter,'' she confessed. 'And then, I don't know if it was mega-conscious, but I thought: 'How can I get more laughs? Maybe if I was a bit fatter' And then suddenly I was fatter, and doing comedy.' Minority Leader, Haruna Idrisu, has accused the EC Chairperson, Mrs. Jean Mensah, of refusing to work with reports that were left behind by the former Chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan. 17.01.2020 LISTEN The Minority in Parliament is accusing the Electoral Commission of not being open and transparent regarding the contract to secure the services of an IT Consultant to manage its data centre. According to the minority, the EC has not been forthcoming with reports and details of the IT Consultant they are working with. They further lamented that the EC has turned down their request to furnish them with the information they are looking for. Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Idrissu, shared these frustrations. According to him, the country has made use of the same register for the very recent general elections and other significant electoral activities hence debunking claims that the country needs a new voters register. We said share with us your IT consultants report in order that we make an informed decision [but] she never availed that report even to the committee of Parliament as I speak, he said. The same register was used for the creation of additional regions. We have a voters register which undoubtedly produced Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo as President. Are we doubting his legitimacy that what gave birth to him was not legitimate, the Minority Leader quizzed on Joy FMs Super Morning Show Friday, January 17. According to him, the EC should liaise with other bodies like the National Identification Committee to obtain a more current biological data of Ghanaians rather than calling for them to queue for registration all over again. Since when has it gone so bad that it cannot be used for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2020 in Ghana? However, he reiterated that the Minority did not endorse the budget that was brought before Parliament due to the various lapses they identified. We as a Minority didnt partake in the ECs budget [approval] and even during the appropriation, we raised those major red flags, he said. He disproved earlier claims that the current data centre used by the EC was run on proprietary software. You cannot contract somebody to work for you and say you have a problem with access. He accused the Chair of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Jean Mensah, of refusing to work with reports that were left behind by the former Chairman, Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan. ---MyJoyOnline Four alleged Contra Costa County gang members arrested between October and December appeared in court Thursday and are facing charges that the group assaulted a UC Berkeley student in October. Berkeley Police arrested Brad Williams Jr., Mitchell Monroe, Marlon Johnson, and Jordan James and charged them with felony assault, according to a report by Berkeleyside, after a student was attacked at Abes Pizza on 2340 Telegraph Ave. According to the report, at about 2:25 a.m. on Oct. 20, 2019, the student was dining with two female friends at the pizzeria when the men entered the restaurant and accosted the women. When the student tried to intervene, he was allegedly punched and kicked by the four men and knocked with soda cans, metal chairs and tables. He was hospitalized and treated for head lacerations, a concussion, facial swelling, and a broken nose. Surveillance cameras from surrounding businesses captured the men on footage and helped law enforcement identify the assailants, Berkeleyside reported. The men were recognized by Antioch Police, who assisted Berkeley Police in their investigation. They identified the men as members of the "Family over everything," or "FOE" gang in Contra Costa County. According to court documents obtained by Berkeleyside, Antioch Police stated the "FOE" gang have had "extensive criminal history in Contra Costa County." The first wave of arrests was made days after the assault when Marlon Johnson and Brad Williams Jr. were apprehended on Oct. 23, 2019 and allegedly admitted to their involvement in the attack. "Police said both men, who live in Antioch, told relatives in jail phone calls that they were wanted 'for the fight that happened in Berkeley,'" Berkeleyside reported. Shortly after Johnson and Williams arrests, detectives found evidence that James and Monroe were also involved, police wrote in documents submitted to the court. Court documents show that James was arrested on Dec. 11 but did not indicate the specific date of Monroes arrest, according to Berkleyside. Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3 Travelex, UK retail in 2019, and royal departures In this weeks episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Caroline Donnelly, Clare McDonald and Brian McKenna talk about the Travelex ransomware attack, the retail sectors poor performance in 2019, and Harry and Meghans Instagram-powered separation from the Windsors. Caroline summarises the developing story of the Travelex attack, as well as the attackers trying to extort Travelex and threatening to publish sensitive customer financial data. Clare discusses figures from the British Retail Consortium, which confirmed that 2019 was the worst year for retail in 25 years. The team round off by talking about Harry and Meghan, who announced their plans on Instagram to step back from the UKs Windsor family firm and move to Canada. The Village of Meyerland announces a four-part series 2020 Definition to Live Life Well. Designed to educate the community about brain-healthy lifestyles, the presentations are offered by the Houston Health Department Area Agency on Aging, and are free events. Feds seize more than 5 million in fentanyl from bus Opodepe, Sonora A check stop in Opodepe in the state of Sonora lead authorities to the discovery of 695 grams of fentanyl. In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense said the finding was made by members of the army when bus luggage and packages were inspected via x-ray. Authorities found the drug hidden inside a computer case in a cardboard box of a courier package. The discovery was made on a commercial passenger bus that had left Guadalajara, Jalisco heading for Tijuana, Baja California. The National Defense Secretariat said that the insured drug has an estimated market value of 5.2 million peso, noting that activities of this criminal organization have been significantly affected. In a statement, CNN said, It is extremely unbecoming for a U.S. senator to sink to this level and treat a member of the press this way for simply doing his job." It is extremely common for reporters to roam the hallways of Senate and House offices, asking questions of reps as they move from place to place. Informal press gaggles in the hallways are common as well. Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who was released on bail from Tihar Jail on Thursday, will visit Jama Masjid and other religious places including Ravidas temple, Gurudwara and a church on Friday. Azad will later go to Jama Masjid at 1 in the afternoon to mark his protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and Register of Citizens (NRC). Azad was released after a Delhi Court granted him bail and directting him not to hold any protest in Delhi till February 16 till the elections in the capital. "I am here to visit Ravidas temple, then I will go to a gurudwara and a church and later to Jama Masjid at 1 pm. The purpose is to mark protest against Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC and also to tell people that such black laws cannot be imposed on us," he said while speaking to ANI. The Bhim Army chief was charged with rioting, unlawful assembly and inciting the mob to indulge in violence after vandalism in Delhi's Daryaganj area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bhopal, Jan 17 : Chief Minister Kamal Nath threw a challenge before the state bureaucracy asking it to offer "new ideas for a change" and win awards. Addressing the inaugural session of IAS Service Meet 2020 at Naronha Academy of Administration here on Friday, Kamal Nath said just as India is a nation full of diversities, Madhya Pradesh is a state full of diversities. This diversity needs to be transformed into positive energy. Kamal Nath said that the country which matched India in diversity was the Soviet Union. Today it does not exist, because it did not have a culture of reflection and tolerance like India. He said the IAS officers who are in the middle of their service and the ones who are about to complete the service must ponder on where they want to leave the state. Those who are just setting out on their career should think about where they want to see the state. Administrative officers are providers of justice, the Chief Minister adding that there can be limitations of values like freedom and equality offered in the constitution, but there is no such limit to administering justice to the society which can be afforded at all times and in all circumstances. There is change needed in the outlook. He said the ability and skill the administrative officers possess is not always there with the political leadership. He said each political change leads to change in administrative system. However, knowledge, statecraft and skills are the qualities that perennial. The administrators can draw from their repertoire to take the state forward. The Chief Minister also floated three awards for transformative 'New Idea of Change'. A jury of three former Chief Secretaries will be constituted to select the best idea for the award, he said. The Chief Minister said that every state has its own profile. All of us will have to contribute to bring about a change in the profile. The current profile needs to be changed. A new identity of Madhya Pradesh will have to be created. For this maximum economic activity should be introduced in the state. The technology is changing every moment. The whole of India is changing. The access to the knowledge and information has increased today like never before. The bureaucracy must tap it to yield best results. Bobbin Singh had no idea, two years ago, why he was meeting Ben Sand at a coffee shop in Southeast Portland. Singh is the founder of the Oregon Justice Resource Center, a legal-services organization fighting to reform the criminal-justice system. On that December morning in 2017, Sand, through the Portland Leadership Foundation, had already spent four years coming to the aid of Oregons child-welfare system and the Department of Human Services. And Sho Dozono, the Portland businessman who ran for mayor in 2008, wanted to introduce them on the chance they might find common purpose in these uncommonly contentious times. They talked, Singh and Sand. For the first of many times, they discussed the states most beleaguered agencies, DHS and the Department of Corrections, and a restorative response to both the agencies clients and employees. And Sand left that coffee shop thinking, Maybe what were building isnt just a foster-care solution but a delivery system to mobilize neighborhoods. Can we take our skills, our outreach experience, and our statewide contacts, Sand wondered, and spearhead an entirely new rescue operation? Oregons about to find out. On Friday, The Contingent as the Portland Leadership Foundation is now known will unveil Know Me Now, a community mobilization effort with the following goals: Reconnect foster children with their incarcerated parent by providing transportation services to prisons within 60 miles of Portland. We will care for the child by making sure they can see, touch and hear their parent in prison, Sand says. Recruit a crew, a supportive social network, for each mother and father leaving prison, to ease their re-entry into the community and strengthen their commitment to remain and prosper outside the walls. Renovate the visitation areas at two Oregon prisons each year, and provide radical hospitality to all Department of Corrections employees The planning for this initiative has already rocked the state prison system. Im pinching myself to make sure this is real, says Kelly Raths, the former prison chaplain now working as the agencys community advocacy administrator. Were cautious and humbled. It feels too good to be true. When I look at the work (The Contingent) did with DHS, adds agency Director Colette Peters, it can be a real game-changer. We release 400 people every month. We want to put the right training into place to make those transitions successful. These people are going to be our neighbors. Over the last seven years, Sand, Anthony Jordan and The Contingent staff have made extensive efforts to support Oregons child-welfare system. The nonprofit has recruited new foster families and renovated branch offices. Through its Every Child initiative, The Contingent responds to volunteer inquiries about foster care in all 36 Oregon counties. Dozono contacted Sand two years ago because he was frustrated that the state spent twice as many general fund dollars on corrections than it did on higher education in 2013. As former Gov. John Kitzhaber told Willamette Week at the time, The relentless growth of the Department of Corrections is one of the reasons we cannot adequately invest in education. What Sand heard from Singh and Dozono was this: We cant cut the recidivism rate in Oregon, much less the corrections budget, without a unique community response. The only model we see out there is Every Child. Can you replicate it for the thousands of Oregonians with family members in a state prison? The cost of saying yes is formidable, Sand admits. But what does it mean if we say no? For the children of the 15,000 people incarcerated here? For the corrections employees who dont recognize themselves in the cast of Orange is the New Black? For the 400 people each month who, having served their time, need a job and a stable support network, not a reunion with an old addiction? We want our volunteers to understand those dynamics, Raths says. How do you support someone who only knows how to hustle? Or who might slip back into addiction? We want to equip them to be safe. Sand wants to remind us that Human Services and Corrections cant heal our wounds in isolation: Government is never going to be a great parent. The government is never going to build neighborhoods. And in Know Me Now, which will be funded without a dime of public money, Singh sees something essential to us all. This is bigger than public safety and bigger than the recidivism rate, Singh says: Its a deeper conversation about the people who have been harmed and the people doing the harm, and one that honors both victims and the possibility of change. Its an important pivot, and a much broader cultural change: helping people come back into community. That shouldnt be limited to people coming from incarceration. Thats how communities should work. -- Steve Duin stephen.b.duin@gmail.com SINN Fein has watered-down its policy to abolish the Special Criminal Court and now says the non-jury court should instead be put under review. Party leader Mary Lou McDonald said the court was "not unproblematic" but said it would put its existence under review, rather than outright abolish it, if in government. This represents a shift from Sinn Fein's policy during the 2016 general election when it committed to repeal the Offences Against the State Acts, which gives legislative underpinning to the court, in its manifesto. The party has consistently voted against the renewal of the Act in the Dail over recent years. "We accept that we have to have mechanisms that work to keep the community safe. So Special Criminal Courts aren't unproblematic, they are. I want us to see a review of that," Ms McDonald said on a campaign stop in Bray, Co Wicklow on Friday. "The principal issue here is about keeping people safe, and we have special criminal courts, and still these people are at large. Sinn Feins shift in policy comes in the wake of growing concerns about serious violent crime in this general election campaign. Ms McDonald accepted there needs to be "special provisions" for violent crimes and gangs. She said the review would have to involve the judiciary, law enforcement agencies and the Department of Justice. Asked if Sinn Fein would retain the court if the review recommended this, she said: "We will accept, not alone abide by, we will champion any and every measure that has the ability to keep communities safe and put these thugs and gangsters behind bars. That's our position. I am not going to play a game on this issue. It's a very, very important issue. "It's not just about the Special Criminal course itself, although the judicial process is, of course, a matter of concern for people. The bigger concern is that these people are on the streets and lots of folks believe that there isn't a real capacity to take them off the streets, and to keep our citizens safe." Earlier, Fianna Fail justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan highlighted opposition to the existence of the Special Criminal Court as one of the reasons the party would not go into government with Sinn Fein. "Sinn Fein dont even support the existence of the Special Criminal Court. Each year in Dail Eireann we have a vote on the Offences Against the State Act and extending the powers to keep the Special Criminal Court going. They dont vote in favour of it, Mr OCallaghan said. "Theyre ambiguous about it and if youre serious about confronting gangland crime the one thing you must be 100pc supportive of is the continued existence of the Special Criminal Court, because these are people who have murdered journalists. We saw recently theyve murdered a child. They will murder anyone who gets in their way and that would include jurors. And we should not be asking jurors to deal with these types of cases when their lives could be put under threat. An issue was raised about social media clips. A 27-year-old man was remanded into custody today charged with attempted murder following a stabbing in north Belfast. Matthew Dowd appeared before the city's magistrates' court in connection with a suspected knife attack on another man at Fortwilliam Parade. Police said the alleged victim was taken to hospital after sustaining a number of stab wounds early on Thursday morning. Dowd, of Chichester Park North in Belfast, faces counts of attempted murder and possessing a bladed article. He is further charged with having a quantity of Class C drugs, namely Xanax tablets and Pregabalin capsules. Entering the dock in handcuffs, the accused nodded to confirm that he understood the allegations against him. No bail application was made during the brief hearing. However, defence solicitor Owen Beattie, of KRW Law, stressed that a statement of complaint has yet to be made in the case. He claimed that the alleged victim is "well known to the PSNI in Belfast". An issue was also taken about social media clips said to have been put to Dowd during police interviews. "There was reliance on Snapchat footage, and I have raised concerns about the potential provenance of that," Mr Beattie said. He added that his client may mount a bid to be released in the coming days. Remanding Dowd in custody, District Judge Fiona Bagnall ordered him to appear again by video-link on February 14. ends Officials said the objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country. (Photo Credit: File Photo) New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry has convened a meeting on Friday to discuss the modalities for the 2020 Census and the National Population Register (NPR), officials said. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai will chair the meeting which will be attended by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and Chief Secretaries and Census Directors of all states. The meeting will discuss the modalities for the house-listing phase of the census and the NPR, to be carried out from April 1 to September 30, a Home Ministry official said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already announced that representatives from her state will not attend the meeting. A few state governments, including West Bengal, have declared that they will not participate in the NPR exercise now as it is a prelude to a country-wide National Register of Citizens (NRC). Interestingly, Kerala has decided to attend the meet. Officials said the objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country. The database would contain demographic as well as biometric particulars, they said. The notification for the house-listing and NPR exercise came amid furore over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The ministry officials said most states have notified provisions related to the NPR, which is a register of usual residents of the country. It is being prepared at the local (village/sub-town), subdistrict, district, state and national levels under provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. The rules have a provision for fine of up to Rs 1,000 on those violating it. The data for NPR was last collected in 2010 along with the house-listing phase of the Census 2011. Updating of this data was done in 2015 by conducting door to door survey. While updating the register in 2015, the government had asked for details like Aadhaar and mobile numbers. This time, the information related to their driving licence and voter ID card may also be gathered, the officials said, adding that PAN card details will not be collected as part of this exercise. For the purposes of the NPR, a usual resident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for the past six months or more, or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months. The law compulsorily seeks to register every citizen of India and issue a national identity card. The NPR exercise will be carried out between April and September 2020 in all states and UTs, except Assam, along with the houselisting phase of the census exercise. Assam has been excluded because the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise has already been conducted in the state. The demographic details of every individual are required for every usual resident: name, relationship to head of household, father's name, mother's name, spouse's name (if married), sex, date of birth, marital status, place of birth, nationality (as declared), present address of usual residence, duration of stay at present address, permanent residential address, occupation, educational qualification. The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 3,941.35 crore for the NPR exercise. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian had a meeting with Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, the Chairman of the Emirati side of the Armenian-UAE intergovernmental commission, Sarkissians Office said. The meeting took place in the UAE, where Sarkissian is on a working trip. The sides discussed the process of the agreements that were reached during the first session of the commission. Minister of State Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh presented the steps that have been done and the planned activities. President Sarkissian highlighted the commissions role and said that it is an important and practical measure to discover and enhance new opportunities of bilateral ties. They also exchanged ideas over the upcoming works of the commission. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan McConnell has said it will be mutual assured destruction if the floodgate of witnesses opens up, which sounds more like a dare than a threat. As it now stands, Trumps acquittal in the Senate seems like a certainty given that 67 out of 100 votes would be required to convict, so to make the best of the situation the Democrats should, at the very least, make a loud clamor for a full airing and force Republican lawmakers to cast difficult votes against hearing additional testimony. World's largest online shopping platform Amazon on Friday announced plans to create one million new jobs in India over the next five years as it firefights comments from Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the firm not doing a favour to the country by making the investments. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, in a statement on Friday, said the company plans to create one million new jobs in India over the next five years. The new jobs - created both directly and indirectly - will be across industries, including IT, skill development, content creation, retail, logistics, and manufacturing. These jobs are in addition to the seven lakh jobs Amazon's investments have enabled over the last six years in the country. The statement comes a day after Goyal said the US-based company was not doing a favour to the country by the investments, andquestioned how the online retailing major could incur such "big" losses but for its predatory pricing. Bezos, who is in India this week, had on Wednesday announced USD 1 billion (over Rs 7,000 crore) investment in the country to help bring small and medium businesses online and committed to exporting USD 10 billion worth of India-made goods by 2025. "We've seen huge contributions from our employees, extraordinary creativity from the small businesses we've partnered with, and great enthusiasm from the customers who shop with us - and we're excited about what lies ahead," Bezos said in the statement on Friday. The company noted that the Indian government has prioritised job creation and skilling initiatives including the training of more than 400 million people by 2022 in rural and urban areas. "Amazon's job creation commitment and investment in traders and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) complement these social inclusion and social mobility efforts by creating more opportunities for people in India to find employment, build skills, and expand entrepreneurship opportunities," the statement added. The company's new investments will help hiring talent to fill roles across the company in India, including software development engineering, cloud computing, content creation, and customer support, it said. Since 2014, Amazon has grown its employee base more than four times, and last year inaugurated its new campus building in Hyderabad Amazon's first fully-owned campus outside the United States and the largest building globally in terms of employees (15,000) and space (9.5 acres). The e-tail giant had previously committed USD 5.5 billion investments in India - Amazon's most important market outside of the US and a key growth driver. The investments, Amazon said, will also help in expanding growth opportunities for the more than 5.5 lakh traders and micro, small, and medium-sized businesses including local shops through programs like Saheli, Karigar, and I Have Space. In a post on the Amazon.in website, Bezos said more than 60,000 businesses are exporting 'Make in India' products globally with cumulative exports exceeding USD 1 billion. "I fall more in love with India every time I return here. The boundless energy, innovation, and the grit of the Indian people always inspire me," he wrote. Bezos' visit has been marked by Competition Commission of India initiating a formal investigation into alleged deep discounts, preferential listing and exclusionary tactics adopted by Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. Many store owners, led by traders' body Confederation of All India Traders, had also organised protests in 300 cities against online retailers alleging that these e-commerce companies were violating FDI rules and following predatory pricing in India. 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. The government has asserted that e-commerce companies have to follow Indian rules in letter and spirit and not find loopholes to make a back-door entry into multi-brand retail segment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tanden Dojo Karate School Ltd provides Karate classes for all people of all ages and abilities. Everyone can participate and anyone can become a KarateKa (person that participates in Karate). At Tanden Dojo Karate School, they dont teach people to hit people, they teach them not to be hit by anyone. Their Dojo Alan Smith started in the Temperance Hall almost 20 years ago and has advanced into the full time Karate School situated upstairs in Leader House, Dublin Road, Longford town. They are fully qualified in not just teaching Karate, but also first response and child protection. They are also garda vetted and have direct affiliation to Japan as they are the Irish representatives for Kodokai Japanese Karate. Class types include: beginners, advanced, sparring, grading and competition preparation , private fitness, children, adults, special needs. Sensei Alan Smith stated: When I started karate I never wondered what it was or how it worked. I wore glasses and I was small, so I knew why I was in my 1st karate class. I was bullied and this made me shy, I spent a lot of time on my own. My parents had tried everything else, but for reasons I didnt understand at the time I seemed to be good at karate. I was following the people around me copying what they were doing and noticed I was able to do it. 30 years later I have come to realise it suited me. Karate was different for me. I became challenged in areas like competition and grading tests for belts and this helped with the bullying issues outside. In the time I have been involved in karate, I have had success in many competitions around the world. I have attained a high level of standard within my own karate and my main focus has always been to provide the same service, Alan Smith concluded. GLEN CARBON Six local school districts will receive more than $14,000 in grants through the Illinois secretary of states School Library Grant program, State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) announced today. The grants, which are issued by the Illinois State Library, are meant to help public schools offer more library books and materials to students. YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Ukraine Alexei Goncharuk announced that he has submitted his resignation letter to President Vladimir Zelensky, reports Interfax. I came to the position of fulfilling the program of the President. He is for me a model of openness and decency, Goncharuk said on Facebook, Reuters reported. However, in order to take away any doubts about our respect and trust in the President, I wrote a letter of resignation and handed it to the President with the right to submit it to Parliament, he added. The presidential office said President Zelensky will consider the letter. A few state governments, including West Bengal, have declared that they will not participate in the NPR exercise now as it is a prelude to a country-wide National Register of Citizens. Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has asked its district collectors to ensure that National Population Registry (NPR) process is not carried out and warned of disciplinary action against the officials if the state government's decision is not followed. Principal Secretary (General Administration), KR Jyothilal on Thursday wrote to all district collectors of state. "As you are aware, the government has stayed all the activities connected with the NPR operations in the State proposed to be conducted along with the first phase of Census operations-2021. Now it has come to the notice of the government that some Census functionaries are mentioning NPR operations also while sending communications connected with the Census operations-2021 to the other Census functionaries," he wrote. Further, it asked district collectors to personally ensure that such activities are not repeated. "Hence l am requesting you to personally ensure that such actions are not repeated in future failing which disciplinary action shall be initiated against the delinquent officers," said the communication by Principal Secretary. The Union Home Ministry has convened a meeting on Friday to discuss the modalities for the 2020 Census and the NPR, officials said. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai will chair the meeting which will be attended by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and Chief Secretaries and Census Directors of all states. The meeting will discuss the modalities for the houselisting phase of the census and the NPR, to be carried out from 1 April to 30 September, a Home Ministry official said. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has already announced that representatives from her state will not attend the meeting. A few state governments, including West Bengal, have declared that they will not participate in the NPR exercise now as it is a prelude to a country-wide National Register of Citizens (NRC). And then there were 155. The competition to name NASA's next Mars rover has entered the home stretch, with the space agency culling the field from 28,000 student entries to 155 semifinalists. The 2,300-lb. (1,040 kilograms) robot, which currently goes by Mars 2020 , is scheduled to launch this July and touch down inside the Red Planet's Jezero Crater in February 2021. Mars 2020 will search for signs of ancient life, characterize the geology of its surroundings, collect and cache samples for eventual return to Earth and test out tech that will aid human exploration of the Red Planet, among other tasks. Related: NASA's Mars Rover 2020 Mission in Pictures And it will do this work with a much catchier name. "This rover is the first leg of a round-trip mission to Mars that will advance understanding in key science fields like astrobiology," Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, said in a statement Monday (Jan. 13). "This contest is a cool way to engage the next generation and encourage careers in all STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] fields. The chosen name will help define this rover's unique personality among our fleet of Martian spacecraft." NASA selected 4,700 volunteer judges to sort through the deluge of submissions from K-12 students around the country. The newly announced semifinalists proposed a wide variety of names, from the grand (Excelsior) to the playful (Dusty). NASA's three previous Mars rovers Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity were also named by students. Many of the Mars 2020 semifinalists went down a similar path as those winners, proposing monikers such as Ingenuity, Imagination, Inspiration and Courage. You can find all 155 semifinalists on the Mars 2020 naming-contest website here . The next cull will whittle the field down to nine finalists, who will get a nice intellectual reward for making it that far. The nine students "will talk with a panel of experts, including Glaze, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, NASA JPL [Jet Propulsion Laboratory] rover driver Nick Wiltsie and Clara Ma, who proposed the name for the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, as a sixth-grade student in 2009," NASA officials wrote in the statement. The public will be able to vote for their favorite of the nine finalist names starting in late January, NASA officials added. This public vote will be one factor considered in the selection of the final name, which will be announced in early March. Mike Wall's book about the search for alien life, " Out There " (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate ), is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook . Everyone seems to be talking about pork legs in Venezuela, demanding to know where they are being sent, where they are being imported from, and who is ultimately getting them. The intrigue surrounding this particular cut of meat highlights the intersection of forces shaping Venezuelan life in 2020: a battle for control of parliament, severe undernourishment, United States sanctions, and Russias growing influence in the South American country. Carmen Graffe is a retired public school teacher. In December, she was hoping to snag some of the pork that President Nicolas Maduro promised his people for their end-of-year celebrations, but getting the free meat was not easy. Its humiliating how [we the] retired who are already over 70 must queue for hours to get food, Graffe told Al Jazeera. She was one of about 500 people who stood in line for up to 11 hours at a distribution centre on December 11, hoping to get meat imported from Russia. The scene underscores the severity of the countrys economic and food crisis. Undernourishment has significantly increased in Venezuela in recent years, according to the United Nations, with the portion of the Venezuelan population that is undernourished rising from 6.4 percent between 2012 and 2014 to 21.2 percent between 2016 and 2018. You attend without knowing what they will give you, but you have no other choice because with the money [that the state] gives [me] monthly after 30 years of working, I cant even buy two kilos of meat, Graffe said as she cooked the rice, beans and fried bananas that she felt grateful to have because so many people have far less. Guaido, who many nations recognised as interim ruler, at a protest march against President Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela [File: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters] After Graffes three-decade career as a teacher, her monthly state pension is only equivalent to about $8 barely enough for her to buy sufficient amounts of the pork that is such a central part of big family gatherings in Venezuela. The pork battle, as this chapter of Venezuelas crisis is known by its people, is only one of several challenges facing Maduros government. Dozens of countries recognise opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas interim president. Just this month, the 36-year-old was re-elected president of the National Assembly of Venezuela for a second one-year term. All this comes despite Maduro loyalists trying to physically block the US-backed Guaido from entering parliament so that his former ally Luis Parra could be sworn in as congressional chief. The US punished Parra and other Maduro loyalists for their role in this attempted shake-up with a fresh round of sanctions directly aimed at the politicians. Pork as a political tool Maduros administration started giving away holiday pork about three years ago as part of a promise to deal with chronic hunger and undernourishment, but securing and paying for the pork proved very difficult. While the presidents promise offered hope to hungry Venezuelans, some years, many were left wondering Where is my pork?. President Maduro started giving away pork legs three years ago as part of a promise to deal with chronic hunger and undernourishment [File: Carlos Barria/ TPX] At first, a private Portuguese company supplied the meat. But it refused to do so in 2017. Maduro accused the Portuguese of sabotaging the pork giveaway. For its part, the meat supplier claimed it had to stop making deliveries because the Venezuelan government never paid the 40 million euros ($44.6m) it was owed for the 2016 shipment. In late 2017, the Venezuelan regime promised to distribute 2,000 tonnes of pork for the holiday season enough to feed only about 20 percent of the population. But the meat never arrived. Maduros regime blamed the Colombian government for the shortage, saying it had closed off the two countries shared border so the imports could not come through. The 2018 pork giveaway was also disappointing. Not only was the meat sparsely distributed, but it was also of low quality. This is when Moscow stepped in. In November 2019, a new deal with Russia made it possible for Maduro to commit to distributing some 13,500 tonnes of pork at a cost of almost 12 million euros ($13.4m). It was enough meat to feed everyone who wanted to eat a holiday meal. I approve [those funds] immediately to guarantee the people a balanced December, with their pork legs, and whatever our people need, Maduro told the country in a televised address. Russian deals circumvent US sanctions In August 2019, the US issued an executive order placing Venezuela on its Office of Foreign Assets Control list. President Trump has sanctioned Maduros financial lifelines, including the Venezuelan Central Bank, the Venezuelan Development Bank, and Petroleos de Venezuela, read a statement issued by the US Department of State. During the past two years, Venezuela has paid $5bn to Russia, and that is the only debt that has been honoured. Angel Alvarado, member of the National Assembly of Venezuela US sanctions against Venezuela are designed to isolate Maduros regime from the global financial system, according to a statement issued by Trumps government. The US can do this because its banks and currency play central roles in global finance, facilitating cross-border transactions for governments, businesses, assorted entities and individuals. By ordering its banks not to process Venezuelan transactions, the US drastically reduced the countrys options for trade, which increased the value of the Latin American nations relationship with Russia. In April 2019, Yomana Koteich, Venezuelas Minister of International Trade, told state-owned news channel Russia Today that the two countries were halting transactions in US dollars and moving to local currencies and the euro. By October 2019, Moscow and Caracas had signed 264 cooperation agreements across 20 different strategic areas. They also struck $4bn in economic, technological, and military deals. Angel Alvarado, an opposition leader and member of the National Assembly, the countrys legislative body, said Russias support has played a key role in helping Maduros regime stay in power despite the wide recognition that Juan Guaido has around the world as the countrys interim president. It is because transactions between Caracas and Moscow bypass the US that Maduro was able to get around the sanctions and pay for the pork. During the past two years, Venezuela has paid $5bn to Russia, and that is the only debt that has been honoured [by the regime], Alvarado told Al Jazeera. Out of these billions of dollars, the payment of the pork legs is something almost marginal, he said. The reality is that Venezuela is still in a deep nutrition and healthcare crisis. Holiday pork is unlikely to solve the countrys food, economic and health crises. Yet that is what makes the pork battle all the more significant. It speaks to the need to influence voters who are not only angry and anxious, but also weakened by hunger. Sergio Held contributed to this story out of Bogota, Colombia. Two American alligators came within metres of freedom on Friday morning as a flash flood engulfed the Australian Reptile Park. Dramatic video shows staff at the popular conservation zoo at Somersby on the NSW Central Coast fending off one of the giant predators with a broom as he made his way onto the interior fence of the Alligator Lagoon, buoyed by floodwaters that rose rapidly on Friday morning. Australian Reptile park director Tim Faulkner carried two koalas over a swollen raging creek to safety from the deluge in the Australian Reptile Park video. The park was closed on Friday as staff moved quickly to protect the animals after flood waters began rapidly rising about 7.30am. Staff fended the large male alligator off the Alligator Lagoon's first fence with a broom The giant predators became highly excited by the rain and rapidly rising floodwaters An alligator looks out to freedom. The floodwaters rapidly rose beyond the first fence line The biggest flood waters in 15 years quickly rose to the top of the first fence. Daily Mail Australia understands the Lagoon is guarded by two fences so they were not at risk of escape The Bureau of Meteorology's rainfall map on Friday. Spot thunderstorms dumped heavy rain in localised areas causing hotspots of flash flooding, including on parts of the Central Coast. The wet weather is likely to continue until Wednesday Mr Faulkner said keepers were stationed at the Alligator Lagoon to monitor the water levels, which were rising beyond the fence line. 'We havent seen flooding like this at the Park for over 15 years,' he said in an emailed statement. The park's enormous alligator lagoon is home to 35 of the potentially dangerous reptiles, native to north America, which grow up to 3.5m and weigh up to 400kg. It is ringed by two fences for safety. Even if an alligator made it past the first fence, it is understood that it would be in no position to escape into the wild - but it would be quite difficult to catch them between the two fences and put them back in the lagoon. A wet koala at the park enjoys the rain after months of dry weather and nearby bushfires Australian Reptile park director Tim Faulkner acted fast to move these wet koalas to a safer area as a precaution Australian Reptile Park staff immediately closed the park and moved the animals to safety Floodwaters pour down a road at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, NSW, near Gosford Mr Faulkner checks the soundness of a bridge barricade during the rapid flood The Australian Reptile Park was closed Friday as staff cleaned floodwaters from the buildings The alligators are said to have become highly excited in the rain after months of dry weather and are understood to be 'having a ball' in Friday's flood. The waters rose so rapidly on Friday they dislodged a small dinghy which can be seen in the video crossing the Alligator Lagoon with nobody at the helm. Fortunately, it later floated back onto shore. Mr Faulkner said the contrast to the bushfire crisis was striking. 'This is incredible,' he said. Workers probe the ground for hazards and inspect a flood-damaged fence on Friday This wet koala may have been surprised by the sudden flood after months of drought FACTS ABOUT THE AMERICAN ALLIGATOR - Males grow to an average of 3.4m and can weigh up to 454kg - Females grow to an average of 2.6m - Carnivorous reptiles native to the USA and found from North Carolina to the Rio Grande in Texas - They eat fish, turtles, birds and mammals that come to the waterline - Live in fresh water favouring slow rivers, marshes and swamps - Cannot tolerate salt water for long - Live about 50 years in the wild - Deemed not as deadly to humans as Australia's native saltwater crocodiles - Are smaller than saltwater crocodiles - Have wider, U-shaped snouts than saltwater crocodiles which have more pointed, V-shaped snouts Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute Advertisement 'Just last week, we were having daily meetings to discuss the imminent threat of bushfires, just 8km away from the Park here in Somersby.' Mr Faulkner said the staff are aware that the bushfires are still burning and the rain doesn't replace the millions of hectares of lost animal habitat. The Australian Reptile Park works to protect native animals including the bushfire survivors through its conservation charity Aussie Ark. He had just returned from a mission to the drought-shrivelled creeks in the Barrington Tops area to rescue endangered Manning River turtles and platypus when the flash flood suddenly struck on Friday morning. On Friday, staff at the park were busy mopping out the offices and display areas, and checking all the enclosures, repairing any damage. Mr Faulkner said the staff's quick action had got the flooding under control and he said he expected the park to reopen on Saturday. 'Well be open and ready to welcome visitors for the rest of the summer school holidays,' he said. Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Neale Fraser said 30mm to 40mm of rain had fallen quickly on Somersby and surrounding Central Coast areas from about 7am to 8.30am on Friday causing some localised flooding. 'There were showers overnight but they intensified with thunderstorms for about an hour,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'Things are so dry it's (the water) probably running off rather than soaking in.' Mr Fraser said the Central Coast could expect lighter showers today and tomorrow. Lauri Menditto makes glistening mobiles whose glass pieces are retrieved from the riverbank, as are the lengths of driftwood from which they hang. The elements are artfully chosen and assembled, but retain their random character. Doug Dupin manipulates objects found along the Potomac more extensively, turning wood, metal and quartz chips (the remains of American Indian stone-tool making) into a portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Its a companion piece to the artists Baby With a Death Ray, long on display outside the gallery. Rocket Man has no face, but a slab of curved wood, a few metal appendages and some Korean text suffice to conjure the latest in Dupins little tyrant series. In a tragic incident, a 34-year-old man in West Bengal's Contai sub-division stabbed himself and his family members because he was worried about the fall-out of a possible National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise, the police said. Tahiruddin SK, a resident of Basantia village, has now been admitted to the NRS Medical College and Hospital in a serious condition after he attempted to take his own life. A senior police officer of East Midnapore district said Tahiruddin, a mason, could have been "mentally distressed". "He has multiple stab injuries. Now, the priority is his medical attention. He may be mentally distressed also. But till the doctor gives clearance we cannot talk to him," said the police officer. A relative of the victim said that Tahiruddin was worried about the fallout of the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens. "He was not directly linked to any political party, but recently took part in several protests against the CAA and NRC. "He looked worried. He used to discuss with various people what will happen. He was always worried about the mistakes in his documentation. He used to run from one person to another detailing them," said the relative. State's ruling Trinamool Congress leader and Contai-2 Panchayat Samiti Vice President Tarun Jana said people in Muslim populated areas are living in fear now. "The government has to increase efforts to assure the people". But the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has blamed the Trinamool for the incident. "The Trinamool Congress and its leadership have to take responsibility. The state ruling party is misleading people on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. They are evoking fears among the people through their campaigns against NRC," BJP's Contai Organisational District Vice President Anup Chakraborty told IANS. Assam had already released the final draft of NRC last year. The final draft of the Assam NRC (National Register of Citizens) was published on July 30, 2019, and caused massive panic as several names did not make it to the list. Over 40 lakh applicants found their names excluded out of the 3.29 crore registered names in the final draft. A total of 36.2 lakh had claimed inclusion in the final draft of Assam NRC. SPRINGFIELD Everyone is very excited, said Maxine Stein, president and chief executive officer of Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, a nonprofit whose work includes refugee resettlement here in partnership with Maryland-based HIAS. It is a fair and right decision. Stein was asked her reaction to the Jan. 15 federal court ruling that temporarily blocks President Donald Trumps executive order of Sept. 26 establishing new requirements that refugee resettlement agencies obtain prior consent from state and local officials to continue to resettle refugees in their jurisdictions in the next fiscal year. Some nine such national agencies have contracted for decades with the U.S. State Department to assist refugees allowed to legally enter the country in numbers set annually by the president without such consent for resettlement and under legislation enacted by the U.S. Congress. Three of the nine - HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), Church World Service and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland arguing the order violated federal law and was done without following any established protocol. U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte, a senior U.S. judge at the districts Greenbelt division and an Amherst College graduate, issued the ruling temporarily halting Trumps order and essentially agreeing with the plaintiffs in his 31-page opinion. The order, he wrote, appears to be unlawful and one that may also fairly be characterized as arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law. "It is a very strong ruling and opinion, said Stein who had been in the process of seeking orders of consent to meet a June deadline for the next round of federal funding under the order from a number of municipalities where JFS, the largest refugee resettlement agency in Western Massachusetts, has resettled refugees. She said JFS would no longer be seeking such consent since Messittes ruling temporarily bars Trumps order, and that its current work resettling refugees continues unaffected as the order requiring consent for resettlement only would have gone into effect at the start of the next fiscal year in June. Other area refugee resettlement agencies in the Pioneer Valley include Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, which partners with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Ascentria Care Alliance, which has an office in West Springfield, and partners in its resettlement work with Church World Service and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. In December, Mayor Domenic Sarno stated he would not give consent for refugees to continue to be resettled in Springfield, saying the city has done its fair share on the issue, even though the City Council voted unanimously in favor of resettlement, and Governor Charlie Baker is among some 42 governors who have given their consent to date. Stein said the temporary halt of the executive order means agencies involved in resettlement work are no longer under any obligation to seek written consent from municipalities and will revert back to instructions in place prior to the order. She said the State Department is expected to issue a new deadline for the national agencies to apply for funds since the Jan. 21 deadline required applicants to submit written consent approvals and that the June date for the awarding of monies for the next fiscal year would also likely change as the State Department was reportedly requiring that states and localities provide written permission by June 1 if refugee resettlement was to continue in their jurisdictions during the next fiscal year. Stein, who said she hopes to meet with Sarno to re-establish a relationship and find way to work well together, said since November her agency has resettled about 22 refugees in Springfield and in other cities with current fiscal year funding. Stein said previously JFS had asked a number of municipalities, including Agawam, Amherst, East Longmeadow, Greenfield, Longmeadow, Pittsfield and Westfield, for letters of consent and said the other area resettlement agencies had received letters of consent from some municipalities. She listed Chicopee, Easthampton, Holyoke, Northampton and West Springfield as among the municipalities whose letters of consent were received by either Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield or Ascentria Care Alliance. Kathlyn Buckley-Brawner, who serves as Catholic Charities director, also said previously her agency had resettled refugee families in Northampton, Westfield, Chicopee, and Amherst" and will continue to resettle refugees in these towns and cities going forward. Related stories: Some 37 states agree to resettle refugees as lawsuit proceeds Springfield Diocese supports spirit of letter on refugee resettlement Jewish Family Service sees promise, not poverty in refugee lives Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker vows to keep accepting refugees escaping persecution, but Springfield is not on board HISTORY LADIES CANT CLIMB LADDERS by Jane Robinson (Doubleday 20, 368 pp) The British Press reported in the early 1930s that, after exhaustive research, professors in the psychology department of a German university had concluded that women cannot calculate, and when confronted with abstract mathematical problems the female intellect breaks down entirely. Margaret Partridge (1891-1967) could not have cared less about the professors blinkered opinion of her gender. In 1917 (a year before women over 30 won the right to vote) she joined thousands of women taking on traditionally male roles in the workplace during World War I and applied for an office role at an engineering firm, where she quickly progressed to become a shop floor supervisor before designing her own engines. Jane Robinson reflects on the experiences of the first professional women in a fascinating new history book Although she lost her job once the surviving servicemen came home, Partridge set up her own business as a Country House Lighting Engineer and in 1927 became the first woman to wire an English village for electric light. When she switched on the streetlights of Bampton, Devon, villagers ran from their homes to gasp in awe and one man began taking his newspaper outdoors to read under a streetlight in the evenings. Indoors, children of the period were so terrified by the artificial glare they refused to be left alone with the lights on. This weird woman with her miles of magic cable advised other women seeking to break into traditionally male professions that they would need: The impudence of a small monkey, the epidermis of a hippopotamus, the patience of a small elephant, the energy of an ant, a modicum of knowledge of the job and as much capital as possible. In varying degrees these qualities were certainly possessed by many of the women profiled in Jane Robinsons account of the pioneering adventures of the first professional women. I was gobsmacked by how little I knew of the first female lawyers, doctors, architects, academics, engineers, civil servants, churchwomen and politicians who flourished in the face of Establishment prejudice. I vaguely recalled the name of Elizabeth Garrett the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the UK, in 1865 but did not know the gripping tale of courageous clergymans daughter Dr Frances Hoggan (1843-1927) who set up the first husband-and-wife general practice in Britain, despite giving birth to an illegitimate child (who she later passed off as a sister) in her late teens. Women aspiring to become doctors had to fight the prejudice of a medical establishment whose knowledge of human biology was so flaky that senior psychiatrists such as Sir Henry Maudsley argued that too much thinking could shrink a womans womb. Elizabeth Garrett (pictured) became the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the UK, in 1865 Men like Maudsley believed the delicate sex should be protected from the gory facts of life without considering that they were already dealing with the sharp end of human reproduction and were often nursing the sick and dying. Those battling to become lawyers fought the legal principle of precedent. In 1913 Gwyneth Bebb Thomson sued the Law Society for refusing to allow women to train for the legal profession, but lost on the Catch 22 grounds that no woman had ever proved capable of the training . . . because none had ever been allowed to train. This barrier was finally removed with the passing of The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act in 1919. Thomsons application to Lincolns Inn was accepted the next day. The SDRA got women through the doors of the profession but many minds were still closed against them. In 1926 the prominent lawyer Edmund Haynes published an essay in which he argued that most normal women would be happier doing domestic work. The suffrage movement, he said, was dominated by intermediates or homosexuals. He cautioned his readers against the rise of newly masculine women who sought to compete with men in the professions, concluding that those too closely focused on making money were much less useful to society than a common prostitute. Amy Johnson (pictured) who is the daughter of a fishmonger from Hull, flew solo from England to Australia in 19-and-a-half days in 1930 This was, of course, the age of the flapper: a word derived from the old slang for a prostitute. Flappers eschewed constricting corsetry, cut their hair short and danced all night fuelled by cocktails and cigarettes. Now professional women were making money, they could spend it on having as much fun as men. A male students poem from the period laments the woman who would go out to dinner and go out to dance/ Apparelled in priceless creations from France/ But she laughs when the victim begins on his dreams/ Though by no means averse to his chocolate creams. When the press interviewed Amy Johnson at the aerodrome where she was studying for her engineers licence, she rubbed her greasy palms on her overalls and faked a fluster: Oh hurry! Wheres my heart-shaped helmet, my manicure set and my powder puff? She said it was important she looked good for the photographer because: Ive been told that every pilot has several proposals weekly, so I must spread abroad my beauty! Born in 1903, the fishmongers daughter from Hull learned to fly after turning up at the aerodrome with a pound note in her pocket, demanding a lesson. LADIES CANT CLIMB LADDERS by Jane Robinson (Doubleday 20, 368 pp) In May 1930, she flew solo from England to Australia in 19-and-a-half days and married the pioneering Scottish aviator Jim Mollison in 1932. But competing for the same flight records (along with Mollisons heavy drinking) saw The Flying Sweethearts divorce in 1938. Johnson served as a pilot in the ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) in 1940 and was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal for Lifesaving (later renamed the George Cross) after adverse weather brought her plane down in 1941. Nearly 80 years later, would Amy Johnson be pleased or disappointed to learn that just 11 per cent of the UKs current engineering workforce is female? Im sure Frances Hoggan and Gwyneth Bebb Thomson would be thrilled to know that 50 per cent of medical students and practising solicitors are women. Although some of the modern professional women interviewed by Robinson still encounter prejudice in the workplace, we are finally being permitted to shine as brightly as Margaret Partridges electric bulbs. Tipton Health Communications, a full-serviced healthcare consultancy and strategic communications agency, is happy to welcome Isabella Antignani this winter as its communications and marketing intern. In her new position, Isabella will help create strategic campaigns for clients, providing writing support and developing concepts for marketing and social media campaigns. Were fortunate to have Isabella join us, said Dan Tipton, president and CEO of Tipton Communications. Weve had great success hiring talented rising communications students from the University of Delaware. Isabella will be a great addition to our team. Isabella is a senior at the University of Delaware, where she is studying media communications with minors in advertising and writing. Along with her studies, she serves on the executive board of the universitys Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) as their meetings director. She acts as the liaison between the board and the professional speakers she recruits to speak with PRSSA members. Previously, Isabella interned with Student Media Group (SMG) as a proofreading intern and with bloom daily planners as a social media intern. She proofread advertisements before print for SMG and helped support blooms social platforms. I am thrilled to be working with and learning from Tipton, because everyone here puts so much care into the work they do for their clients, Isabella said. About Tipton Health Communications Tipton Health Communications supports clients nationwide with healthcare consulting and award-winning marketing communications services, including employee communications, human resources communications, public relations, marketing communications, intranet and Internet design, graphic design, and strategic communications. Tipton is one of the fastest-growing providers of Magnet, Pathway to Excellence and Practice Transition Accreditation Program consulting support to the nations hospital and healthcare systems. For more information, please visit http://www.tiptonhealth.com. Tipton Health Communications products and services are neither sponsored nor endorsed by the ANCC. ANCC Magnet Recognition, ANCC National Magnet Conference, Institute for Credentialing Innovation, Magnet, Magnet Recognition Program, The Magnet Prize and Pathway to Excellence Program are registered trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Journey to Magnet Excellence and Pathway to Excellence in Long Term Care are trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. In Excess of 60% of Round Top Materials Have Clean Green Energy Applicability USA Rare Earth CEO: FPISC Decision and Action by the President and the Administration a Major Step in Developing a U.S. Critical Minerals Supply Chain NEW YORK, NY, Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE USA Rare Earth LLC, the funding and development partner of the Round Top Heavy Rare Earth and Critical Minerals Project in West Texas, together with Texas Mineral Resources Corp. (OTCQB: TMRC), commends the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC) decision to add mining as a covered sector. The action, taken under the FPISCs authorities as set forth in its founding legislation in 2015, took place on January 15, 2020. The Round Top Project was nominated as a high-priority infrastructure project by Texas Governor Greg Abbott under his authority as established by Executive Order 13766 (January 24, 2017). The Round Top nomination was accepted by the Council on Environmental Quality, and advanced to FPISC. Aside from the significant concentration of heavy rare earths (HREEs) and lithium, the Round Top deposit also includes aluminum, beryllium, gallium, hafnium, uranium, and zirconium all of which are on the U.S. Governments Critical Minerals List. Production at Round Top will contribute significantly to renewable energy applications. The rare earths and lithium are essential to electric vehicles, solar and wind power and efficient lighting, while aluminum sulfate is used in wastewater treatment. The Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) with its mandate to support green technologies is a strategic investor in both USA Rare Earth and TMRC. At the time of its investment in 2019, NTECs CEO noted, We consider the mineral deposits being developed by USA Rare Earth and TMRC to be vital to future battery and other green energy related technologies. All told, more than 60% of the materials produced at Round Top will be used directly in green or renewable energy technologies. We are pleased to see the President and the Administration take action to encourage domestic production of critical minerals and metals that are essential to green tech, renewable energy and to our national security, said Pini Althaus, CEO of USA Rare Earth. This is a major step towards reestablishing a U.S. critical minerals supply chain and moving away from the reliance on China for these materials. With revitalizing a robust and efficient mining sector, through a streamlined permitting process, the President and the Administration are ensuring that the United States is future-ready, and once again an exporter of innovation and not only a consumer. We thank the President, Presidential advisor and Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow and Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt for their commitment to see the U.S. develop its own sustainable supply of rare earths and other critical minerals. We also commend FPISC Director Alexander Herrgott for his leadership on this issue and his commitment to an unprecedented level of transparency, predictability and accountability to the public, all while ensuring the private sector always has a reliable Federal partner as we advance critical infrastructure projects, added Mr. Althaus. We thank Governor Abbott for nominating Round Top, and for the support our nomination has received from Congressman Will Hurd and Texas General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush. Round Top will become a significant economic asset to U.S. manufacturing and technology development, and the innovation economy the U.S. needs to dominate the 21st Century, said Anthony Marchese, Chairman of TMRC. This designation by the FPISC marks a critical component of bringing the Round Top project into production in a timely manner. We are encouraged by the efforts of the Federal government to prioritize the importance of critical mineral self-sufficiency. About USA Rare Earth, LLC USA Rare Earth, LLC has an option to earn up to an 80% interest in the Round Top rare earth and technical metals industrial minerals project located in Hudspeth County, Texas. Round Top hosts a large range of critical heavy rare earth elements, high-tech metals, including lithium, uranium and beryllium, and is among the lowest-cost rare earth projects in the world. The Round Top Deposit hosts 15 of the 17 rare earth elements, plus other high-value tech minerals (including lithium) and is well located to serve the US internal demand. In excess of 60% of materials at Round Top will be used directly in green or renewable energy technologies. Round Top contains 13 of the 35 minerals deemed critical by the Department of the Interior and contains critical elements required by the United States; both for national defense and industry. For more information about USA Rare Earth, visit www.usarareearth.com About Texas Mineral Resources Corp. Texas Mineral Resources Corp.'s focus is to develop and commercialize its Round Top heavy rare earth technology metals and industrial minerals project located in Hudspeth County, Texas, 85 miles southeast of El Paso. Additionally, the Company plans on developing alternative sources of strategic minerals through the processing of coal waste and other related materials. The Companys common stock trades on the OTCQB U.S. tier under the symbol TMRC. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the potential development of the Round Top project, estimates and projections regarding the economic feasibility of the Round Top project from the update PEA, including, NPV, IRR, payback period, capital cost, pricing assumptions, mining rate, average recoveries, oxide production amounts and methodologies, mine life, employment requirements, resource amounts and grades, projected revenues, initial capital costs, life of mine sustaining capital, cash flow projections, capital and operating cost estimates and projections, and sensitivity analysis, inclusion of uranium in future economic analyses, the potential to render high purity oxides, the Round Top facility generating critical technology oxides, release of the full PEA within a short period of time and other such similar statements. When used in this press release, the words potential, indicate, expect, intend, hopes, believe, may, will, if, anticipate, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, uncertainty of mineralized material and mineral resource estimates, risks to projected and estimated economics not reflecting actual economic results due to the uncertainty of mining processes, potential non-uniform sections of mineralized material, potential mining hazards and accidents, changes in equipment and labor costs, changes in projected REE prices and demand, competition in the REE industry, risks related to project development determinations, the inherently hazardous nature of mining-related activities, potential effects on the Company's operations of environmental regulations, risks due to legal proceedings, liquidity risks and risks related to uncertainty of being able to raise capital on favorable terms or at all, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's latest annual report on Form 10-K as filed in November 2018 and other documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements. Attachment [January 16, 2020] Global Silicon on Insulator (SOI) Market 2019-2023 | Ongoing Investments in New Fabs to Boost Growth | Technavio The silicon on insulator (SOI) market is poised to grow by USD 1.28 billion during the period 2019-2023, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005471/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled global silicon on insulator (SOI) market 2019-2023. (Graphic: Business Wire) Consistent innovation in the electronics industry is driving the development of smaller and more efficient chipsets and processors, which can offer greater performance in smaller die sizes. Thus, the demand for chipsets for battery-driven devices with limited power supply has increased, which has led to the adoption of SOI wafers in chipset manufacturing. The SOI technology offers several benefits over the traditional bulk CMOS technology. The FD-SOI technology can be used in low-cost applications that use libraries with smaller logic transistor widths. SOI devices also help in achieving a high transistor gain because of its shorter gate length compared with bulk planar metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFETs). SOI technology also helps to reduce the die size, allowing more dies to be extracted from a single wafer. Such benefits help in driving down the cost of wafer fabrication and the power consumption of chipsets. Thus, the growing need for low-power, low-cost semiconductor solutions is expected to drive the growth of the silicon on insulator market. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30277 As per Technavio, the ongoing investments in new fabs will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other important trends and market drivers that will affect market growth over 2019-2023. Silicon on Insulator (SOI) Market: Ongoing Investments in New Fabs The growing demand for SOI from end-users have encouraged several established foundries to expand their 200 mm and 300 mm fabrication capacity for RF-SOI and FD-SOI processes. Major foundries, including Soitec, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, TSMC, and TowerJazz, have announced their plans to construct new fab facilities to gain first-mover advantages in the 5G and next-generation wireless technology markets. In October 2018, GlobalWafers announced its plan to set up a new 300 mm (12 inches) wafer line in Cheonan, South Korea, with an investment of USD 438 million. Such ongoing investments in New Fabs will drive the growth of the SOI market during the forecast period. "Factors such as the increase in outsourcing of activities in semiconductor industry and growing adoption of AR and VR technologies will have a positive impact on the growth of the silicon on insulator (SOI) market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Silicon On Insulator (SOI) Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the silicon on insulator (SOI) market by type (organic and inorganic), application (transportation lubricants and industrial lubricants), and by region (Americas, EMEA, and APAC). The APAC region held the largest share of the market in 2018, followed by the Americas and EMEA respectively. During the forecast period, the APAC region is expected to maintain its dominance and register the highest incremental growth as more foundries are expected expand their manufacturing capacity over the next five years. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Landscape Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market size and forecast Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation Geographical Segmentation Regional comparison Key leading countries Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005471/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Lori Weisberg Lori Weisberg covers the tourism and hospitality industry, writing extensively about San Diego County hotels; restaurants; cruise ships; visitor attractions; air travel; and the convention center. A Southern California native and graduate of UCLA, she joined The San Diego Union-Tribune in 1980 and over the years has been awarded a number of fellowships in specialty reporting, multimedia and social media. She has regularly produced multimedia packages for the paper's website and is able to shoot and edit video. Before joining the newspaper, she worked at the Vista Press and the Orange County Register. Security is the principal obligation of government, because it is the most important need of man. Life is universally considered sacred, but only the lives of the ruling oligarchy is sacred in Nigeria. Being alive is a privilege as Boko Haram, killer herdsmen, kidnappers, armed robbers, ritualists, trigger-happy officers, and other messengers of death are around you, ready to send you home. Governors of the six Southwest states moved to combat the insecureness by establishing the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Operation Amotekun. The initiative has been sternly criticized in the North and declared illegal by the Northern dominated federal government. The declaration which was made by the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami has deepened the cold war between the North and South (six) geopolitical zones. The Southwest, supported by the Southeast and Southsouth, has vowed to carry on while the Northwest, Northeast, and parts of the Northcentral are insisting that would not be. Operation Amotekun wouldnt have evolved if the Southwest is secured. The saying all politics are local made the governors act to save their jobs. Buhari can no longer contest, but five of the six governors are in their first term. Apart from Governor Kayode Fayemi, who is in his second term, the fear of losing reelection pushed the other five governors to act, despite the fact that four out of them are members of President Muhammadu Buharis party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). Buharis sectionalism gave birth to Operation Amotekun. Aside appointing the security chiefs from his tribe, his refusal to sack them in the face of underperformance, unprofessionalism and partisanship made him lose the confidence of the Southwest. Another remarkable flaw is Buharis failure to deal decisively with the killer herdsmen of his ethnic extraction, as he did to the less violent Shia movement, and Biafra secessionist group. Buhari seems unaware that people always look out for how the community disciplinarian would discipline his own children when they go wrong. While Buhari swiftly repress dissenting voices, the killer herdsmen that allegedly perpetrated genocide in Benue and Taraba states are yet to face justice. In Yoruba land, the killer herdsmen that allegedly kidnapped Chief Olu Falae; destroyed several farmlands; sacked Orin Ekiti residents and hoisted flag; killed several persons, including the daughter of the leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoronti, are all yet to be brought to book. Buhari would have saved his government backlash, if he had scared the killer herdsmen as ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo did to the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in 1999. His shoot-at-sight order buried the OPCs prospect of violence. The group may have grown monstrous and untamable if Obasanjo pampered them the way Buhari is handling the killer herdsmen. While one may argue that Buhari soft pedaled to win a second term, nothing has changed since he got reelected. Buhari may mean well for Nigeria, but nepotism and sectionalism are hindering him from making significant impact. Call it politics, but he has an unstable character. He indicatively preaches national unity, but remains grossly partisan. He habitually says one thing and does the other, thinking everyone is blind, without realizing all eyes are on him. We are really not in the mood to talk about his several failed manifestos, including the forsaken subsidy, electoral reforms and restructuring promises. Greed for power has kept the Southern politicians nursing presidential ambition silent; they would never speak out even if their hometown is razed. Many are criticizing Tinubu, but in fairness to him, anyone that would speak on the Amotekun issue would have no ambition to occupy Aso Rock. Even the Twitter vocal ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar has been silent because he doesnt want to bag criticisms in the North. In the same vein, Tinubu is keeping mute in order not to offend the North and to keep his Southwest support intact. His calculative politics of silence may either work for him or ruin him, depending on what the cabal thinks. Tinubu is the Southwest political godfather and Amotekun couldnt have been created without him being in the know. If tackled on this, Tinubu could argue that his absence and that of his three most loyal governors of Lagos, Osun and Ogun states at the launching of Amotekun is an indication of his disinterest in the project. If queried in the Southwest, he would argue that the states he holds sway wouldnt have donated funds and vehicles to the Amotekun project if hes against it. Tinubu is being calculative and tactical; hoping to eat his cake and have it, but time will tell. One must be suspicious of the neighbor that criticizes someone for improving on security after being robbed. Such neighbor is either the robber or planning its own operation. The northern opposition of Amotekun lends credence to the alleged Fulanization agenda. It is discomforting that majority of the Northerners are criticizing the Southwest over Amotekun, when they have similar paramilitary and community policing corps such as the Hisbah Sharia police, and the civilian Joint Task Force (JTF). Amotekun is even more important than Hisbah. The former is a security outfit, while the latter is a religious doctrine enforcement body. Those condemning Amotekun but seeing nothing wrong in Hisbah failed to realize that you can live without practicing any religion, but cant practice religion without life. By the notion of Maslows hierarchy of needs, you will only remember religion when youre safe. The most devoted Muslims would be the first to seek protection in the Church (and vice versa) during war. The only outfit that could be compared with Amotekun is the civilian JTF assisting the military to combat Boko Haram. It is dishonorable that the same government that has allowed Hisbah operate unchecked - despite Nigerias secularity - is kicking against Amotekun. The argument that Amotekun would be used for political purposes is clearly untenable as they dont bear arms; one of the major instruments that makes rigging possible. Insecurity in the Southwest is alarming and any viable means of ending it - including Amotekun - must be embraced by every Nigerian that cherishes life. Unlike parts of the Southeast, the Southwest has no secession plan, but has vehemently clamored for restructuring which is one of Buharis campaign promise. Those claiming that Amotekun is the manifestation of a secession plan dont value cooperation. The Southwest governors should be applauded for collaborating to resolve the regions challenges. It is no fault of theirs that the governors of other troubled regions cant unite to tackle their problems. Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Associations statement that Amotekun may cost the Southwest 2023 presidency is a show of ignorance. Emeka Ihedioha woke up as the Governor of Imo State on January 14, but slept as an ordinary citizen after the Supreme Court unexpectedly sacked him from office. Can Miyetti Allah stop the Southwest from taking over power today if (God forbid) the president pass away? Moreover, who gave Miyetti Allah the power to decide who will rule and when to rule? The word on the street is that the federal government is kicking against Amotekun because members of Miyetti Allah are not enlisted in the outfit. It is practically impossible for the Southwest to enlist the same herders suspected of killing the daughter of the leader of Afenifere. If absorbed into Amotekun, would Miyetti Allah absorb and agree to a rotational leadership of their organization with the Yoruba tribe? As laudable as the Amotekun initiative is, one must be cautious of the dangers of operating with a programmed mindset. Amotekun may bring about ethnic persecution that would transmute into a civil war, if its handlers should conclude that the crimes in the Southwest is being committed by the herdsmen and the Hausa-Fulani ethnic group. It is dangerous and unfair to create an orientalist view of a tribe with several intellectual and successful people as criminals and terrorists. Amotekun was created to assist the already overwhelmed Nigerian security agencies. For one thing, Amotekun would drastically reduce the death of security officials who lose their lives while hunting for criminals in unfamiliar terrains. Amotekun is an integration of all the vigilante and local security outfits in the Southwest under one umbrella. Nigerian security agencies have always engaged the services of these outfits during difficult operations. For instance, the military once engaged the OPC to help them drive out notorious criminals from their hideouts in the Mile 2 and Ojo area of Lagos state. The police also contracted the OPC to help them decimate the infamous Badoo cult in Ikorodu, Lagos. Amotekun is a way forward; a step towards getting lasting solutions to Nigerias insecurity. It is a timely, commendable and laudable initiative that evolved from Buharis inability to provide adequate security, despite being a retired Major General. Any further attempt to outlaw Amotekun may lead to crisis as the outfit has gained tremendous public support. Beyond citizens protection, Amotekun must survive out of love for the country. Additional security measures are needed at this trying time. We cannot keep overworking and risking the lives of our security agencies in unfamiliar terrains. The officers are someones brother, sister, father, mother, husband and wife. Those opposing Amotekun certainly wont be happy to lose any of the listed persons on their own end. Omoshola Deji is a political and public affairs analyst. He wrote in via HYPERLINK "mailto:[email protected]" [email protected] IDAHO FALLS U.S. Highway 20 West is expected to remain closed as law enforcement work to clean up spilled diesel fuel from a Wednesday morning crash. According to a news release from Idaho National Laboratory, the crash involved a bus carrying 30 INL employees, as well as a fuel tanker, two government vehicles and two private vehicles. Idaho Transportation Department Public Information Specialist Megan Stark said the highway was expected to be closed for the rest of Wednesday. The department is recommending traffic between Idaho Falls and Arco take Interstate 15 down to Blackfoot, then U.S. 26 northwest to Arco. The INL news release states 33 people were transported to the Central Facilities Area Medical Dispensary at the desert site west of Idaho Falls for treatment. The release stated all injuries appeared to be minor and not life-threatening. Idaho State Police posted a news release stating the crash happened after Brenda Deans, 64, of Ammon, stopped while traveling west on the highway in an area of low visibility, blocking the westbound lane. Miles Muir, 34, of Idaho Falls, was driving the INL bus and stopped behind Deans. David Taylor of Ammon, 62, was driving a Volvo semi hauling a diesel fuel tanker and was unable to stop. According to the news release, he swerved left to avoid a head-on collision, striking the bus, which in turn struck Deans car. Three other cars attempted to avoid the first crash but were caught in a second crash. One of the cars was hit from behind and collided with Deans car, the release said. The fuel tank was punctured and spilled an estimated 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Taylor was transported to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for treatment. The Idaho State Police are investigating the crash. Troopers were assisted on scene by the Idaho Transportation Department, INL Emergency Medical Services, INL Security and INL Site Safety. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Facebook and Instagram logo is seen on a mobile phone , on March 17, 2019. Tech giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter should be slapped with a "turnover tax" to fund research into the harms caused by their social media platforms, according to leading U.K. psychiatrists. The Royal College of Psychiatrists released a report on Friday calling for the British government to force such tech companies to hand data over to universities that would help researchers understand how children and teens are affected by harmful online content. In that report, the doctors also recommend "a levy on tech companies proportionate to their worldwide turnover." "This would be used to fund independent research and training packages for clinicians, teachers and others working with children and young people," the college said. Representatives for Facebook, Google and Twitter were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC. Britain is set to establish an industry-funded regulator that could have the power to slap internet firms with heavy fines, block people's access to certain websites and potentially hold top tech executives personally liable for violations, under proposals set out by the government. By PTI LUCKNOW: Prominent OBC leader Swatantradev Singh was elected unopposed the chief of UP BJP on Friday, the party's media co-incharge Alok Awasthi said. The announcement about Singh's election was made by party's national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav at Uttar Pradesh BJP office, Awasthi told PTI. The 55-year-old Singh, who will have a three-year tenure, was appointed UP BJP chief in July last year after Mahendra Nath Pandey was re-elected to Lok Sabha and joined the government at the Centre. Belonging to the influential Kurmi caste, Singh made his presence felt during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as in-charge of party affairs in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP bagged 28 out of the 29 seats. "The task was indeed challenging as the BJP had lost the 2018 MP Assembly elections to the Congress hardly six months back," UP BJP leader Rakesh Tripathi said. Singh's efforts to boost the morale of party workers and ensure a swing in favour of the BJP paid dividends as Congress bigwigs such as Digvijaya Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia had to taste defeat, Tripathi said. Currently, a member of the UP Legislative Council, Singh joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1986 and held various positions in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He also held various positions in the BJP from 2004 to 2014. Congratulating him, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "After he took over as the UP BJP chief, the ruling party has won 9 out of 12 assembly seats in bye-elections." Tehran, Jan 17 : Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that Tehran was ready to handover the remains of the Ukrainian passengers who were killed in the January 8 downing of an airliner. Zarif made the remarks during a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Vadym Prystaiko on Thursday, the state-run IRNA news agency said in a report. On his part, Prystaiko appreciated Iran for the speedy declaration of responsibility for the incident and its cooperation in all stages. The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS75 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran, killing all the 176 people on board. The victims comprised 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, four Britons and three Germans. Three days later, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps admitted that one of its missiles had downed the Kiev-bound plane due to "human error" and mistaking it for a US cruise missile. Earlier this week, it was reported that Iran has arrested some of the people involved in the downing of the airliner. 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. Hillary Clinton has some advice for voters planning to participate in the Democratic primaries when voting begins in a few short weeks: "Try to vote for the person you think is most likely to win." The former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee spoke at the Television Critics Association press tour on Friday while promoting Hulus new four-part documentary series based on her life, titled Hillary. This is an election that will have such a profound impact, so take your vote seriously, Ms Clinton said. And for Democratic voters, try to vote for the person you think is most likely to win. Because at the end of the day, that is what will matter and not just in the popular vote, but the electoral college. Despite winning the popular vote by nearly three million ballots, Ms Clinton lost to Donald Trump in a shocking upset during the 2016 presidential election. She said Mr Trumps administration has since implemented a form of politics that is incredibly negative, exclusive and mean-spirited. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty Its going to be up to every voter to recognise this is no ordinary time, she added. This is an election that will have such a profound impact. Ms Clinton declined to reveal who she may be supporting in the 2020 Democratic primaries, and has not endorsed any candidates for the White House. The former nominee has previously indicated she met with and gave advice to several of the contenders currently running for the Democratic ticket. There has been a contentious debate in recent months about electability and long-espoused sentiments expressed along the campaign trail that a centrist pick like Joe Biden was a safer choice than some of the more progressive candidates like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. The former vice president endorsed Ms Clintons candidacy in 2016. It was not clear whether Ms Clinton was encouraging voters to support Mr Biden in the Democratic primaries, however. Lord knows what will happen if we dont retire the current incumbent and his henchmen, as Nancy Pelosi so well described them, Ms Clinton said. The new documentary series focusing on Ms Clinton follows her on the campaign trail and delves into personal areas of her life, including her marriage to former President Bill Clinton, as well as his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. In watching the documentary series, Ms Clinton said she felt humbled by several moments and experienced a recognition that I have been often, in my view, mischaracterised or misperceived, adding: I have to bear a lot of the responsibility for that. She added: Whatever the combination of reasons might be, I certainly didnt do a good enough job to break through the perceptions that were out there. El Molino Central in Boyes Hot Springs serves some of the best Mexican food in the region. The restaurants strong reputation is built on tamales, fresh organic tortillas and general masa wizardry the owner, Karen Waikiki, also operates retail brand Primavera Tamales. Theres rarely a miss on El Molinos seasonally changing menu, which sees Waikiki collaborating with her cooks, who are immigrants from all over Mexico. One regional specialty that makes an appearance in the winter is cochinita pibil, Yucatan-style roast pork. The traditional version marinated in achiote paste and Seville orange juice is slowly cooked for hours in a Mayan pib, an underground oven lined with hot stones. Thats obviously not going to happen in a California kitchen, but the pork still comes out wonderfully tender when wrapped in banana leaves and roasted in a home oven. Seville oranges, also known as bitter oranges, are most commonly found in grocery stores in the form of marmalade. Its worth seeking them out for this recipe in January and February, when they can sometimes be found at Latin American markets, online via Good Eggs or at some farmers market stalls like Eatwell Farms. Cochinita pibil is delicious served alongside rice and beans, or use it as a filling for tacos. Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker El Molino Centrals Cochinita Pibil Serves 6 to 8 You can find achiote paste and banana leaves at Latin American markets. If you cant find Seville oranges, substitute with a mixture of cup fresh lime juice, cup fresh orange juice and cup fresh grapefruit juice. Note: Youll need to marinate the pork overnight. 1 boneless pork shoulder or butt, with fat, about 5 pounds 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste 1 cup Seville orange juice 2 banana leaves Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. 4 cloves garlic 3 tablespoons achiote paste 12 to 16 corn tortillas, warmed Onions, cilantro and lime wedges to garnish Instructions: The day before you plan to cook the pork, cut the meat in half and season with salt and cover the pieces with cup orange juice. Refrigerate overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Quickly sear the banana leaves over an open flame to slightly soften. Use a knife or mortar and pestle to mash the garlic until almost a pulp, then combine with the remaining cup of orange juice and achiote paste. Rub the mixture all over the pork pieces and wrap each piece in banana leaves. One concern involved the location of a proposed exit and right turn only sign from the parking lot onto Northwest Highway. Two residents of Tomawadee Drive, which is located west of the property, said the exit would be so close to their street that it would be difficult for them to exit onto Northwest Highway if cars were turning out of the parking lot. Hitting out at the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat who said de-radicalisation camps are operating in the country, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has questioned who would deradicalise attackers of Muslims and Dalits Hyderabad: Hitting out at the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat who said de-radicalisation camps are operating in the country, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has questioned who would deradicalise attackers of Muslims and Dalits. Speaking at a public meeting at Adilabad on Thursday night, the Hyderabad MP said de-radicalisation is needed for those who lynch and kill innocent Dalits and Muslims. "I want to inform the chief of Defence Staff, General Saab, if you want to deradicalise, then listen, you first read the Juvenile Act. IPC is not applicable to children. What kind of de-radicalistion you are talking about," he said. #WATCH Telangana:AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi speaks on Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat's statement, "...There are people who've been completely radicalised. These people need to be taken out separately,possibly taken to some de-radicalisation camps",in Adilabad.(16.1) pic.twitter.com/nDqbZwB9bB ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2020 "General Saab says that they will bring a new law to deradicalise children. Meerut SP says in Muslim localities that they (Muslims) eat here and sing songs in favour of Pakistan. He says go to Pakistan. Who will de-radicalise such SPs? Dalits and Muslims are being lynched. Who will de-radicalise those attackers?," the AIMIM chief said. Rawat on Thursday in an address at the Raisina Dialogue, said de-radicalisation camps are operating in the country as it was necessary to isolate people who are completely radicalised. The MIM supremo alleged that names of five lakh Bengali Hindus and an equal number of Muslims are missing in Assam and the Hindus will be given citizenship under CAA, leaving out the Muslims. He said the names of some family members of former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed were also missing in Assam and questioned who would de-radicalise those responsible for the blunder. In a series of tweets, Owaisi said this is not the first time that Rawat uttered comments undermining the civil administration. "This is not the first ridiculous statement he has made. The policy is decided by a civilian administration, not by any General. By speaking on policy/politics, he is undermining civilian supremacy," he tweeted. This is not the first ridiculous statement he has made. Policy is decided by civilian a dministration not by any General. By speaking on policy/politics, he is undermining civilian supremacy Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) January 16, 2020 "Who'll deradicalise lynchers & their political masters? What about those opposing citizenship for Assam's Bengali Muslims? Maybe deradicalise "Badla" Yogi & "Pakistan jao" Meerut SP? Maybe deradicalise those imposing hardship on us through NPR-NRC?(sic)" the MIM leader said in another tweet. NEW DELHI: Cold wave conditions are likely to persist across northern India as rains soaked several areas in the region and snowfall was recorded in Kashmir and Ladakh in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. Overnight rainfall in the national capital brought the maximum temperature down, the weather department said. The minimum temperature recorded in the national capital was 11, while the maximum temperature is expected to be around 17. According to the weather office, fog at many places and dense fog at some places have been predicted. However, overall, the fog will be moderate. Temperatures will fall between a minimum of 7 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 17 degrees," an IMD official said. The NCR-Delhi area will witness a cloudy day on Friday, with weather conditions slightly improving from January 18 onwards, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had said on Thursday. Live TV On Friday, the overall air quality index stood at 265 (poor), up from 281 on Thursday. The AQI recorded in Noida - 326 and in Gurugram - 302. The India Meteorological Department has also predicted that states of Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan are likely to receive rain/thunderstorm on Friday and Saturday due to the prevalence of Western Disturbance (WD) as a cyclonic circulation lies over east Afghanistan and adjoining Pakistan. According to IMD, widespread rain is also likely to occur over Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi in the next two days. "Isolated thunderstorm accompanied with lightning also likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Rajasthan on January 17," the IMD said in its All India Weather Warning Bulletin. Dense fog in isolated pockets is very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and Tripura during the next two days. Meanwhile, at least 12 trains were reported to be running late due to low visibility in the Northern Railway region. Delhi experienced fog on Thursday morning, with air quality recorded as `poor`, accompanied by showers in various parts of the capital and adjoining areas. At least 12 Delhi-bound trains were delayed by several hours due to fog, according to Northern Railway officials. According to System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the air quality index (AQI) may deteriorate slightly on Friday though it will remain between the upper end of `moderate` to `poor` category. According to SAFAR, the overall AQI of Delhi on Thursday was 245. The maximum temperature recorded in the Safdarjung area on Thursday was 16.4 degrees Celsius, which was 4 degrees below normal, giving no respite to people from the cold. The minimum temperature was 9 degrees. OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with the two Brians Monday, as the federal Liberals hold their cabinet retreat in Winnipeg. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with the "two Brians" Monday, as the federal Liberals hold their cabinet retreat in Winnipeg. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman will meet separately with Trudeau on Monday, likely in the morning. "The prime minister is very much looking forward to having meetings with both Premier Pallister and Mayor Bowman to work together and deliver for the people in Winnipeg and across the province," Prime Ministers Office spokeswoman Eleanore Catenaro said in a statement. "These will be important conversations about making life more affordable for people, protecting the environment and keeping our communities safe and healthy." Keystone Agricultural Producers has requested a meeting with Trudeau, but the PMO has announced no sessions with stakeholder groups. However, as Trudeaus special adviser for the region, Winnipeg MP Jim Carr will brief cabinet ministers on the major issues and concerns facing residents of the Prairies. Conservative MP Raquel Dancho said she hopes the cabinet hears about Manitobas methamphetamine crisis. Police officers and nurses have reported being exhausted by dealing with meth-related incidents. Newly elected Dancho (Kildonan-St. Paul) said groups such as the Klinic community health centre and Rainbow Resource Centre have received more requests for help for meth-related issues. "This is a dangerous situation and they are stretched to the max," Dancho said Friday. Ottawa has put up millions for care beds in Manitoba and to boost research on meth. Dancho said it would be "a no-brainer" for the Liberals to fund the Bear Clan Patrol and other front-line intervention programs. "The federal government, I do feel, is in the position to do significantly more than they are," she said. Pallister has said he intends to talk to the prime minister about the federal carbon tax and the Interlake flood channel outlets. Trudeaus staff said hell be receptive. "The prime minster is always open to working collaboratively with premiers and finding solutions together," Catenaro wrote. Most ministers are scheduled to arrive in Winnipeg Saturday. The retreat kicks off early Sunday and continues until Tuesday. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Defense Secretary Mark Esper was only made aware of possible brain trauma suffered by US troops during a Jan. 8 Iranian ballistic missile attack on al-Asad air base in Iraq a full 24 hours after injured service members were evacuated, the Pentagons top spokesman said today. Esper was informed of the possible injuries when vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John Hyten, interrupted a meeting to inform him, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said. The 11 US troops, eight of whom were evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and the rest to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, are expected to return to Iraq after follow-on screening. He was informed that the [US Central Command] commander had sent up a report that there had been 11 individuals that had been transported from al-Asad air base to receive additional treatment and screening based on exhibiting concussion-like symptoms and the possibility of TBI, Hoffman said, using an acronym to describe traumatic brain injuries. The Defense Departments top spokesman also shot back at claims that the Donald Trump administration was trying to de-emphasize possible American injuries in the wake of the attack. This idea that there was an effort to de-emphasize injuries for some sort of amorphous political agenda doesnt hold water to what the administration has said on the record, he said. The Pentagon is required to be informed of injuries to US troops that threaten life, limb or eyesight, which Hoffman said explained the delay in Central Command chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie notifying Esper. Hoffman said the extent of the symptoms were not immediately known outside the units at the base, though the Washington Post first reported news of brain trauma screenings earlier this week. Defense One reported on Thursday night that 11 US troops had left the base, though the service members did so under their own power and were not medically evacuated, officials said today. The majority of troops exhibiting symptoms of traumatic brain injuries left Iraq on Tuesday, while one service member left the base Jan. 10 after it was hit with 10 Iranian ballistic missiles. In some ways, the Defense Department is still learning to diagnose and treat traumatic brain injuries, a signature injury to US troops during the 17-year war on terror, as insurgents and al-Qaeda-linked groups in Iraq and Afghanistan learned to utilize improvised explosive devices that can emit trauma-inducing blast waves. The impacts of mild TBI can resolve themselves, or symptoms can show up later, as officials said was the case at al-Asad. Last year, the US Armys special operations command wrapped up the first round of an eight-year, 350-soldier cohort to establish a neurological baseline for the impacts of the condition. The Pentagon is still looking into follow-on studies that will improve TBI detection, drawing upon computer models and interviews with sufferers of the condition. Top US officials, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, credited American early warning systems and the instinct of commanders at al-Asad to send troops into their bunkers as moves that prevented loss of life among US troops. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 17:43:49|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close HANGZHOU, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- After two years confined to his bed, a 72-year-old paralyzed Chinese man finally takes a sip of cola "on his own" with mind control, becoming the oldest patient to achieve the feat in China. "Hold the can, move it toward your mouth and make some adjustments." The patient, surnamed Zhang, followed instructions to move a mechanical arm with his mind as onlookers urged him on. When he finally did it, he received a round of applause inside a ward of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. "Fabulous!" Doctors and his family cheered and celebrated. The whole process took about 30 seconds. It has been two years since a car accident left Zhang, a retired teacher, paralyzed from the neck down, but completely aware of his surroundings. In August 2019, he and his family signed an agreement with the hospital and a research team at Zhejiang University to conduct a brain-computer interface (BCI) program, hoping to break the physical barriers and improve his quality of life. Now, after five months, he can drink, eat, shake "hands" and even play mahjong on the computer, which he has always been fond of. How did he achieve it? The team used a surgical robot with a precision of 0.1 millimeters to send two microelectrode arrays in the cerebral cortex to detect neural signals. The computer then captures the signals and translates them into specific instructions. "The BCI technology is to build a direct path between the brain and external devices so as to establish a channel to decode the brain's electrical language," said Zhang Jianmin, director of the neurosurgery department at the hospital. "When the spinal cord and motor nerve pathways are damaged but the cerebral cortex functions are still sound, the brain can directly control the external devices," he added. But science can only do part of the job. The patient still has to work on his own. After the implantation, Zhang received over four months of adaptive training to help himself master the skills. First, he was trained to learn how to control the cursor on the screen with his mind and move it in a two-dimensional space and a three-dimensional space. Then he moved a step further by learning to use his mind to control the robotic arms to move in nine directions. When all that had been achieved, the old man finally was able to control the robotic arms with his mind to conduct complex actions such as shaking hands, drinking water and eating. The retired teacher has become the oldest patient to mind-control a robotic arm in the country. BCI-based mind control has been a focus in the field of scientific research in recent years. Research teams at the University of Pittsburgh and the California Institute of Technology have successfully enabled paralyzed patients to control robotic arms through this technology. Tesla's CEO Elon Musk in 2017 launched a startup called Neuralink, hoping to industrialize this technology. In China, the technology, too, is under the spotlight. In 2014, a team from Zhejiang University placed an electrocorticography (ECoG) grid electrode into a volunteer's brain, which enabled her to control the robotic arm with her mind to play rock, paper, scissors. "The ultimate purpose of basic medical research is to solve practical problems for patients," said Zhang Jianmin. "This achievement can help patients with limb paralysis begin motor function reconstruction so as to improve their quality of life." But the doctor also admitted that some technical bottlenecks must be settled before its large-scale application. "For instance, we have to solve the problem of signal attenuation after the chip implantation, do more research on how to avoid damage to the brain, and how to further improve safety and efficiency," he said. (Ke Lele contributed to the story) The former chief police enforcer of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs will be charged with corruption for allegedly protecting officers linked to the narcotics trade, the justice department said Thursday. Oscar Albayalde resigned in October after serving as Philippine police chief for more than a year, having presided over an anti-narcotics crackdown that left thousands of drug suspects dead. The episode that led to his sudden fall from grace cast an unwelcome light on a drug war that is immensely popular with Filipinos, but which has faced international criticism over allegations that police were summarily executing suspects. The justice department said prosecutors found "probable cause" to charge Albayalde for not punishing officers accused of failing to account for 163 kilograms (359 pounds) of drugs and 9.7 million pesos ($191,000) sized from a drug raid. A justice department statement said 13 other police officers would be charged with drug offences, corruption, and taking bribes for their role in the operation in Pampanga province, north of Manila. Albayalde has repeatedly denied having protected the officers or profiting from the seized drugs. The charge levelled against him carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The raid took place in November 2013 when Albayalde was Pampanga's police chief. Allegations of police graft and abuse are not rare in the Philippines, with Duterte twice ordering police to stop the anti-narcotics campaign because of allegations of corruption and murder by officers. The Pampanga controversy, however, went right to the top of the force. Police said last month they had killed 5,552 suspects in anti-drug operations since Duterte came to office in June 2016. Human rights groups allege the real number is four times higher, and say the killings are a crime against humanity. International Criminal Court prosecutors have launched a preliminary probe of the campaign, and the United Nations' top rights body voted in favour of an in-depth review. While overwhelmingly backed by Filipinos, critics allege the drug war targets the poor and leaves the rich and powerful untouched, while reinforcing a culture of impunity. For several months, catastrophic fires have been raging in Australia. Collectively, theyve torched some 38,000 square miles nationwide, killing at least 28 people and, according to the University of Sydney, more than a billion animals. In recent weeks, heart-rending stories of death and displacement have spread across the worlds media. Reports have scrutinized the regressive climate policy of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a man who once brought a lump of coal to Parliament as a prop and who vacationed in Hawaii as his country burned. Apocalyptic imagery has adorned the front pages of newspapers, as if to show that the apocalypse is unfolding before our eyes. For Australia, dangerous climate change is already here, Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Penn State who has been on sabbatical in Australia, wrote earlier this month in The Guardian. Its simply a matter of how much worse were willing to allow it to get. Bushfires are nothing new in Australia. Still, climate change has indisputably played a big part in making them more frequent and more dangerous. That hasnt stopped an onrush of disinformation attempting to deny the climate link. Theres the online bilgephotoshopped images, old footage masquerading as new, unverified rumors. Much of it is coordinated: research by Timothy Graham, an academic at Queensland University of Technology, found that a group of automated social-media accounts has spread misleading reports exaggerating the role of arson in the fires and downplaying that of climate change. And then theres irresponsible journalism, for which nobody gets more credit than Rupert Murdoch. ICYMI: A reporter asked for 20 years of lottery winner data. After analyzing the records, he noticed something unusual. News Corp Australia, which Murdoch owns, runs nearly 60 percent of the countrys dailies. As Damien Cave of the New York Times reports, in recent weeks, Murdoch has amplified the arson emergency line and other phony narrativesfor example, that the fires are no worse than in the past, and that environmentalists have opposed fire-prevention measureswhile staunchly backing Morrisons government amid mounting public criticism. (After residents of a town destroyed by fire reacted angrily to a visit from Morrison, Chris Smith, a broadcaster on Sky News, which Murdoch owns, called them ferals.) In early January, Murdochs biggest paper, The Australian, was accused of ignoring the fires; on the same day that many international outlets featured horrifying fire photos on their front pages, The Australian centered a New Years Day picnic. (No suits, just banter at Hanging Rock, the headline read.) Writing for Time yesterday, Malcolm Turnbullwho preceded Morrison as prime minister and belongs to the same partyaccused the Murdoch press of having joined with fossil-fuel interests and right-wing politicians in a toxic, climate-denying alliance. News Corp Australia has denied climate denialism. In a recent editorial, The Australian accused other outlets, including the Times and The Guardian, of wilfully and ineptly misrepresenting its stance. Yet the recent failings of the Murdoch empire on climate are consistent with a pattern. Yesterday, in the Sydney Morning Herald, Zoe Samios laid it out: in the 2010s, she wrote, Murdoch briefly seemed to take climate change seriously, but in the years since, News Corp has run many pieces that have questioned the legitimacy of widely-accepted climate-change science, including references to it as a cult and a socialist plot. Many have noticed the growing influence of Lachlan Murdoch, Ruperts arch-conservative son, who recently accumulated more power within his fathers business. Last year, in a piece on the Murdochs for the New York Times Magazine, Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg wrote that Lachlan questions what he sees as the exorbitant cost of addressing climate change and believes that the debate over global warming is getting too much attention. That view is not universally embraced in Murdochworld. In recent days, the Australia fires have forced internal dissent out into the open. In an email obtained and published by the Sydney Morning Herald, Emily Townsend, a News Corp staffer, excoriated management for its coverage: I find it unconscionable to continue working for this company, knowing I am contributing to the spread of climate change denial and lies, she wrote. Later, James Murdoch, another son of Ruperts, told the Daily Beasts Lachlan Cartwright that he has been disappointed in the ongoing denial of climate change presented by his familys Australian titles. In some ways, Jamess comment wasnt that surprising: hes a liberal who, along with his wife, Kathryn, has supported climate initiatives, and his power within the family business has ebbed. Still, James remains on the company board, and some insiders were surprised that he took his concerns public. They are pissing inside the tent and thats unusual, a News Corp executive told Cartwright, of James and Kathryn. The majority of people who work here agree with James. We are hoping this may be the tipping point. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Arson is not the driving factor behind the Australia fires. In a broad sense, however, they are the product of a global political and business elite that has set the world aflame. That includes the Murdochs. As Richard Cookea writer who excoriated the Murdochs last year in a viral essayputs it in the Washington Post, When we think of industries that must change to prevent further global warming, we tend to imagine carbon-intensive concerns such as mining, aviation and energy production. But the Murdoch media and the rest of the climate denialist industry will also need a transition plan. Below, more on the fires in Australia and climate change: Mitigation or greenwashing?: In November, Stephen Mayne, an activist shareholder in News Corp, asked Rupert Murdoch why his outlets give so much airtime to Australian climate deniers. There are no climate change deniers around I can assure you, Murdoch replied. Then he discussed his companys efforts to slash its carbon footprint. More recently, in the wake of the fires, News Corp pledged to donate $3.5 million to relief efforts. Murdoch has personally pledged an additional $1.4 million. In November, Stephen Mayne, an activist shareholder in News Corp, asked Rupert Murdoch why his outlets give so much airtime to Australian climate deniers. There are no climate change deniers around I can assure you, Murdoch replied. Then he discussed his companys efforts to slash its carbon footprint. More recently, in the wake of the fires, News Corp pledged to donate $3.5 million to relief efforts. Murdoch has personally pledged an additional $1.4 million. The need to do better: According to Media Matters for America, since September, major news shows on ABC, NBC, and CBS have aired 59 segments on the Australian fires. Only nine of them mentioned climate change. The finding is an example of US news organizations repeated failure to adequately contextualize climate disasters. According to Media Matters for America, since September, major news shows on ABC, NBC, and CBS have aired 59 segments on the Australian fires. Only nine of them mentioned climate change. The finding is an example of US news organizations repeated failure to adequately contextualize climate disasters. Another damning climate report: This week, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released findings showing that 2019 was the second hottest year on record, after 2016. Predictably, the news got buried by stories about Iran, Iowa, and impeachment. Other notable stories: ICYMI: The survivor who broke the Shambhala sexual assault story Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop. An outraged mother has claimed a coconut face mask she bought from Poundland left her 10-year-old daughters skin red raw for four days - as other shoppers say it 'burnt' their features. Stacey Foley, from Willenhall, West Midlands, took to Facebook to share a shocking image of her little girl Jayde's inflamed face after using a Beautifully Scrumptious Coconut Face Mask. A Poundland post promoting the beauty product to its social media page has also been inundated with photos of red raw features in recent weeks, after customers used the face mask. Shoppers are now calling for the British bargain store to recall the product, which is made by Health Point LTD. Stacey Foley, from Willenhall, West Midlands, took to Facebook yesterday to share a shocking image of her little girl Jayde's inflamed face (pictured) after using a Beautifully Scrumptious Coconut Face Mask Shoppers are now calling for the British bargain store to recall the product (pictured), which is said to be provided by Health Point LTD Writing in Facebook's Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group (pictured above), concerned mother Stacey said: 'My daughter's face was so red' Writing on Facebook's Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group, concerned mother Stacey said: 'My daughter's face was so red. 'I had photos and everything and because I didn't have the receipt they said they couldn't do anything about it. 'She's fine now. It lasted about four days. Will never buy anything from there again for her face.' Stacey was prompted to share a picture of her daughter's inflamed faced after a member of the social media group said she had purchased the coconut mask as well as a charcoal clay mask from a brand called V10. A Poundland post promoting the beauty product to its social media page was also inundated with photos (pictured above) of red raw faces over the last couple of weeks after customers used the face mask The woman updated the group after using the beauty products and wrote: 'The coconut one was a failure! Thought it was a super good bargain but burnt my face. 'As someone whos super into skin care and taking care of my face I do not recommend! She added: 'After seeing a lot of you had reactions similar to mine I have taken some pictures of my face and Im going to contact the company. This isnt okay and this product should be recalled. Ill give an update on the reply if I ever receive one.' A final update read: 'So I contacted the original company last night (Health Point Ltd) and explained the situation. I now have to send over the photos I took of my reaction and give a formal statement that they will use to start an investigation, also my face is still red.' A Poundland spokesperson said: 'We appreciate Jaydes mum getting in touch. Weve given her feedback to the supplier whove confirmed these masks are formulated to the highest standards. They also stress how important it is customers do a patch test before use.' Stacey was prompted to share a picture of her daughter's inflamed faced after a member of the social media group said she had purchased the coconut mask. The woman updated (pictured above) the group after using the beauty products Other shoppers were quick to contact Poundland after it boasted about stocking the face masks on Facebook (pictured) last year Mail Online has contacted Health Point LTD for comment. Other shoppers were quick to contact Poundland after it boasted about stocking the face masks on Facebook last year. The store wrote: 'Refresh your skin with these Beautifully Scrumptious face masks. They smell yummy but don't eat them.' But despite the post being months old, customers are still expressing their dissatisfaction with the beauty product, filling the comment section with pictures of their inflamed faces. But customers expressed their dissatisfaction with the beauty product, filling the comment section with pictures of their inflamed faces and negative reviews One wrote: 'Got these in a stocking from my mother. Turned my face bright red. I used the kale one. These need to be taken off the shelves. Awful. Another said: 'Please don't use this mask! I complained and they basically said it was my own fault and I was in agony for days, my skin felt like it had been chemically burnt despite it being advertised as "all natural".' A third commented: 'Got as a Christmas present from my boyfriend. Tried it for the first time today and Im absolute agony. 'Left on for no longer than two mins because it started burning and now look like Ive been sunburnt and my face is on fire! Not happy.' A B-52H Stratofortress deployed from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, takes off from RAF Fairford, England, Oct. 14, 2019. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Stuart Bright US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers are no longer approved to carry nuclear gravity bombs, according to the latest Air Force strategic bomber guidance document. As nuclear expert Hans Kristensen first noticed and The Drive first reported, the update notes the "removal of B61-7 and B83-1 from B-52H approved weapons configuration." US Air Force Global Strike Command told Insider that B-52 crews no longer train to employ these nuclear gravity bombs. There have long been concerns that the B-52 lacks the capability to penetrate modern air defenses to deliver a nuclear strike with gravity bombs. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The B-52 bomber, a critical component of the US strategic bomber fleet, is no longer approved to carry nuclear gravity bombs. The latest update to the US Air Force "Safety Rules for US Strategic Bomber Aircraft" instructional guidance identifies the "removal of B61-7 and B83-1 from B-52H approved weapons configuration" as a change to the previous version. The change was first noticed by nuclear expert Hans Kristensen and first reported The Drive, and it comes amid concerns the bomber isn't able to penetrate enemy defenses and deliver such a strike. The B61 is the main thermonuclear gravity bomb in the US arsenal, and the B83 is the US nuclear gravity bomb with the largest explosive yield. Only the stealthy flying wing B-2A Spirit will carry these weapons. "The B-52 remains an instrument of national security and a universally recognized symbol of American airpower, able to deliver the widest variety of stand-off and direct-attack nuclear and conventional weapons for the Nation," Global Strike Command told Insider in a statement Thursday. The command further explained that "as the nature of modern warfare has changed, so have our tactics and weapons," adding that "as a natural progression in the development of the airframe, B-52 crews do not currently train to employ the B83 and B61." Story continues B61 nuclear bomb USAF The B-52H, the latest variant of the 1950s bomber, carries AGB-86B air-launched cruise missiles, which are expected to eventually be replaced by the Long-Range Stand Off (LRSO) weapon. Gen. John Hyten, current Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former head of US Strategic Command, said in 2017 that without LRSO, "you don't have the B-52 as a viable platform" a statement reflecting the need for stand-off capabilities. While the B-52 has been receiving a number of upgrades to keep it flying until at least 2050, the long-range bomber remains vulnerable to modern strategic air defenses. Unable to conduct penetrating strikes, stand-off is necessary to keep the bomber in the fight. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, first noted nearly two years ago that the B-52H was likely no longer carrying nuclear gravity bombs. He found that the National Nuclear Security Administration had stopped listing the B-52H as a combat platform capable of delivering nuclear gravity bombs. He further reported that US Strategic Command had not been assigning nuclear gravity bombs to B-52s since at least 2010. Read the original article on Business Insider Australias foreign minister said on Friday she had raised with her Iranian counterpart the fate of an imprisoned Australian-British academic, who has gone on hunger strikes and urged the Australian government to do more to free her. Foreign Minister Marise Payne declined to detail her conversation with Mohammad Javad Zarif about convicted academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert on Thursday on the sidelines of a global leadership conference in India. 'We have been very, very focused on Dr. Moore-Gilbert and the circumstances of her imprisonment, ' Payne told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. in New Delhi. Foreign Minister Marise Payne declined to detail her conversation with Mohammad Javad Zarif about convicted academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert on Thursday on the sidelines of a global leadership conference in India Australian officials had recently been allowed consular visits to the Melbourne University lecturer on Middle Eastern studies and was working to support her, Payne said. 'I dont think its appropriate to talk about the details of that conversation, but to assure Australians and to assure Dr. Moore-Gilberts family that I have raised that matter again,' she added. Moore-Gilbert has been held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran since September 2018. She was arrested at Tehran airport while trying to leave the country after attending an academic conference. She was convicted of spying and sentenced to 10 years in prison. A recent appeal was rejected. T he Center for Human Rights in Iran on Friday released to The Associated Press letters Moore-Gilbert wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison which she said she had been imprisoned 'to extort' her and the Australian government. She wrote in June : 'I beg you to act faster to bring this terrible trauma that myself and my family must live through day after day to a resolution.' She wrote again in December: 'Six months have passed ... during this time I have remained in the same prison without any improvement in my intolerable conditions.' 'Over the past nine months I have been completely banned from any contact with my family, with the exception of a three-minute phone call (with my father), which was only granted after I took desperate measures which put my own life at risk,' she wrote. 'I have undertaken five hunger strikes as my only means to raise my voice, but to no avail. As predicted, I have now received a conviction of 10 years in prison, and my appeal ... has failed,' she wrote. 'I beg of you, Prime Minister Morrison, to take immediate action, as my physical and mental health continues to deteriorate with every additional day that I remain imprisoned in these conditions,' she added. Moore-Gilbert has been held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran since September 2018. She was arrested at Tehran airport while trying to leave the country after attending an academic conference Moore-Gilbert said she had been 'subjected to grievous violations of my legal and human rights, including psychological torture and spending prolonged periods of time in solitary confinement.' 'I am writing to you to beseech your government to do more, to make difficult diplomatic decisions if necessary,' she said. Payne said last week that Moore-Gilbert's plight was a factor in Australia's consideration of whether it would follow the United States in ratcheting up sanctions against Iran in retaliation for a missile strike on two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. troops. 'The government has been working extremely hard in relation to the ongoing detention of Kylie Moore-Gilbert,' Payne said. 'We dont accept the charges on which she has been held and are concerned for her protection and the conditions under which she is held.' 'It is always a focus for us in terms of important consular matters such as this, but we make every decision that we make in Australias national interests,' Payne added. Australia has yet to announce new sanctions. Last July, Ren Ruiting fled to Taiwan with five other family members after the raid by Chinese authorities on the Early Rain Covenant Church in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu. The family entered the democratic island, which has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, on visas enabling medical tourism, and have lodged a refugee application they hope will see them resettled in the United States. Ren spoke to RFA's Mandarin Service about her reaction to watching her first fully democratic election, which resulted in the re-election of the Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai Ing-wen to the presidency: A campaign team for one of the candidates is canvassing in the market. They are really making a big song and dance of it. One minute they're handing out flyers, and the next, a group of students starts addressing people through a megaphone. I don't think this could ever happen in China. We have handed out gospel tracts before in China, so we know what that feels like, but then we got detained. It's pretty amazing that you have people on the streets here talking in public about which candidate they support, and why, or talking about all the things they want to do if they get elected. These people really are serving the people; they are communicating with them, building bridges. There is a feeling that the whole population is participating [young and old alike] which shows you that the people really are the masters of Taiwan. Young people in particular seem really worried about the future of their country. Back in China, everyone used to say that Taiwanese people were unfriendly to people from mainland China, and they would look down on you, and that the young people were all separatists. We couldn't watch Taiwanese TV for more than a couple of minutes without switching channels. All [the Chinese government] knows how to do is spout slogans about how China must "unify" with Taiwan and that there is only "one China." But these people are telling them that they're not against China, or mainland Chinese people, they're just not going to do what China says. But it's not surprising we don't get a feeling of friendship from Taiwan if all we do is shove these premises down their throats, saying they have to accept them or we can't be friends. I have thought about [what this might look like in China]. But I would only dare to talk about it in Taiwan. I might go so far as to think that it might be better for everyone's development if China was peacefully divided into several different countries, such as Xinjiang, Tibet, Mongolia, Hong Kong and Macau ... Like Europe, where the countries have a separate existence, but also a lot of connections. In China, there is no freedom of expression, nor of religion, and the rules and regulations govern the exact times and places in which you are allowed to spread the Gospel. It's pretty much the same as not being allowed to spread it, because you never know which times or places are allowed, nor who is making the rules. For example, our pastor said something, a single sentence, which was "[Chinese president] Xi Jinping will regret it if he doesn't repent." He was talking about the persecution of churches in China, which is a reality that we have all experienced. It was in keeping with his religion, and in keeping with the facts of the situation. But he was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment. I think the government tries to make examples out of cases like this to warn the others not to say anything rash. Reported by Hwang Chun-mei for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. Gazprom Armenia CJSC discusses the issue of revising the gas tariff for consumers, the company told Armenpress. Its not ruled out that the company will submit a respective application to the Public Services Regulatory Commission, the company said. Gazprom CJSC increased the gas price supplied to Armenia from 150 USD to 165 USD starting from January 1, 2019. Following this Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the gas tariff for the domestic consumer will not increase, noting that the Armenian government will continue the talks with the Gazprom Armenia CJSC to reach a final agreement. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan The U.S. notes a continued flow of personnel and military hardware from Russia to the areas of eastern Ukraine beyond government control. The United States calls for the reinstatement of Ukrainian control of its international border with Russia, U.S. Permanent Representative to the OSCE, James Gilmore, said in a statement on Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine and illegal occupation of Crimea. "Free and fair elections should take place under Ukrainian control and in a secure environment, with Russia-led forces and illegal armed formations withdrawn from Ukraine's territory," the statement reads. Also, the official noted a continued flow of personnel and military hardware from Russia to the areas of eastern Ukraine beyond government control. "OSCE Observers document an unrestricted flow of train cars, trucks, and military vehicles every day crossing from Russia into Russia-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine. This unchecked flow of personnel and materiel is a direct challenge to efforts to prepare for free and fair local elections in the Donbas," Gilmore said. Read alsoEnemy forces launch remotely delivered mines by Ukrainian positions in Donbas report "The United States again calls on Russia to direct its proxies to cease their harassment of the Special Monitoring Mission, as required by Moscows commitments under the Minsk agreements," reads the statement. As UNIAN reported earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine must first regain control of the border with Russia before local elections are held in Donbas. "The Russian president and I probably have a completely different view on the transfer of the border and on when it's possible, I'd say frankly," the head of state told a joint press conference with French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin following the Normandy Four summit in Paris December 9. Acquired Brain Injury Ireland is urging the people of Offaly to call on election candidates to secure more rehabilitation funding Brain injury survivors face a lottery to access neuro-rehabilitation services in Ireland, according to the nations leading provider of community rehabilitation for brain injury. As voters put election candidates through their paces on the doorsteps, Acquired Brain Injury Ireland is calling on the people of Offaly to demand more funding for community neuro rehabilitation in the next Programme for Government. Acquired Brain Injury Irelands Chief Executive Barbara OConnell said: This country cannot continue to save a life on the one hand but rob quality of life on the other hand by not providing neuro rehabilitation in the community to brain injury survivors. Without investment in rehabilitation, our hospitals are clogged up unnecessarily by keeping brain injury survivors in acute beds that dont need to be there. Families are pushed to breaking point because of severe under-resourcing of neuro rehabilitation. The reality is if you have a brain injury outside of Dublin, there are no specialist beds for you and very little rehabilitation in your community. Thats why Im calling on the people of Offaly to ask about funding for rehabilitation on the doorsteps when election candidates come to call. With 19,000 brain injuries acquired every year in Ireland, there isnt a family in the country that hasnt been touched by it in some way. The biggest causes of brain injury that we see are from stroke, road traffic accidents, falls, tumours and assault. We hear every day about the crisis situation in our acute health services but what about the people who have survived a massive trauma like brain injury? We need to fight for them too. According to Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, an appalling lack of neuro rehabilitation services is devastating thousands of brain injury survivors and their families across the country who are left merely to exist. The national brain injury charity said that despite more people surviving the major trauma of a brain injury, many young survivors are forced to live indefinitely in nursing homes or community hospitals without access to any rehabilitation to aid their recovery. Acquired Brain Injury Ireland is calling on election candidates to prioritise investment in neuro-rehabilitation in 2020. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people in Ireland are living with the consequences of brain injury at any given time. The charity is calling for: - 2m annual investment to sustain Acquired Brain Injury Ireland into the future - 5m to develop a regional neuro-rehabilitation centre - 0.5m to provide a basic case management service nationally - Benefits of community neuro-rehabilitation: - Improved quality of life and independence - Better health outcomes - Reduced social and economic isolation - Reduced stress on national health system - Reduced stress on families as caregivers - Benefit of investment in new regional neuro-rehab centre: - Free up acute hospital beds - Free up places in National Rehabilitation Hospital - Save time and money across health system by improving flow of brain injury survivors from hospital to home Acquired Brain Injury Ireland is the nations leading provider of community rehabilitation for those of working age (18-65 years) living with and recovering from an acquired brain injury. For more information or to support Acquired Brain Injury Ireland visit www.abiireland.ie. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, January 18 2020 Indonesia will need to boost investment to ensure sustainable growth as household spending, currently the main driver of economic growth, is not expected to see any significant growth in the future, a senior economist has said. "Going forward, the challenge is to maintain economic growth and the key is investment," Standard Chartered economist Aldian Taloputra said at the bank's annual Global Research Briefing and Investor Forum in Jakarta on Wednesday. "We need an expansion and a new source of economic growth that can add more value, he said. 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 Sandy Allen in Guernica: I have read before with fascination about the neurology of London cab drivers. Prospective London cabbies must memorize a preposterous amount of geographic information in order to pass the rigorous cab driver exam. Researchers have put drivers in brain scanners, wondering, is there something inherently different about their brains that allows them to memorize so much? Or does the memorization change their brains? Theyve found that in London cabbies brains, the area associated with memory is larger. This raises an enormous question, one that medicine still hasnt figured out: when it comes to what happens inside our skulls, what makes an individual fall into or out of some standard called normal? I thought about this on a Friday morning in early 2016, after my red-eye landed at Heathrow and I walked to find a cab. There was a particular museum just south of London that I desperately wanted to go to. For some months, Id been visiting its website over and over. More recently, Id been trying to convince my boyfriend that we needed to go to London for a weekend. He had some days off coming up and the means to go, I reasoned. Itd be romantic. Plus, I said, as if it were an afterthought, I can go to that museum Ive wanted to go to! The day we were to fly was also the day I was supposed to file a draft of my first book to my publisher. In the days leading up to the deadline, I hardly slept. I woke early and worked continuously, eventually closing my eyes past midnight but rising again in the dark, making another pot of coffee and continuing on. I paced the apartment. I read aloud to myself. I printed pages and wrote profanity in the margins. I muttered and cursed. I looked out the windows and wept. I handed in the draft just hours before we left for the airport. I felt good! I felt great! The book was done! I told anyone who asked, and some who didnt. Some weeks later, my editors would summon me and make clear, as gently as they could, that the work wasnt finished, not at all. As they explained this to me in a small conference room over the course of an hour and a half, I tried not to cry. I managed to hold back tears until I was on the train home, and then kept at it for many days after. Eventually Id tear the draft apart and rewrite the book entirely. Some months later, Id do it again. The actual the book is finished! feeling wouldnt arrive for another year and a half. More here. MADRID - Authorities in Spains tourist-magnet Balearic Islands are clamping down on binge-drinking tourism in three hot spots, introducing what they claim is the first law of its kind in Europe. The islands regional government based in Palma de Mallorca on Friday passed a law prohibiting the organization and promotion of pub crawls and publicity promoting of alcohol sales by means of open bars and happy hours. It also prohibited the practice of jumping from hotel balconies into swimming pools popularly known as balconing throughout the Mediterranean islands. The practice has led to many injuries and several deaths. Those caught taking part in the activity will be obliged to leave their hotel and may face fines. The legislation will apply to a long stretch of the capital, from Palma Beach to the SArenal area, as well as the Magaluf spot on Mallorca island, and the West End area of Ibiza, initially for the next five years. Mallorca and Ibiza are two of Europes most popular tourist destinations, and its nightclub-filled beachfront promenades are particularly popular with young people from Britain, Germany and Ireland. The regional government said the law is a novelty in Europe and that its aimed at improving the quality of tourism on the islands and the wellbeing of both tourists and residents. The regulation bans alcohol-selling machines, and shops selling alcohol must close between 2030 GMT and 0700 GMT in the areas. It freezes new licenses for so-called party boats and forbids them from taking on or offloading revelers in the three areas. The legislation envisages fines ranging from 6,000 euros ($6,660) to 600,000 euros. By Abdul Kerimkhanov Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov has said the non-use of resources of the Azerbaijani territories under Armenian occupation impedes the overall development of Azerbaijan's economy. He also said that the expulsion of around one million Azerbaijanis from their homes due to the occupation presents a social burden to the country. Ahmadov made the remarks at a conference on identifying priority areas of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UN for the next five years on January 16. "A significant part of the resources of the country is directed towards meeting the needs of internally displaced persons. The Azerbaijani government is carrying out important work to this end, spending major amounts of funds on it," the official said. Ahmadov added that in the context of ongoing injustice against Azerbaijan, international organizations must demonstrate a tougher position against Armenias policy of aggression. Industries located in Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region and the surrounding seven districts played an important role in the overall economy of the country prior to the war in the early 1990s. The food, construction and light industry which were highly developed in this region, were positively influenced by the availability of agriculture, raw materials and natural resources. The agriculture sector in Nagorno-Karabakh accounted for 14,3 percent of grain, 31,5 percent of grapevine, 14,5 percent of meat, 17,1 percent of milk, 19,3 percent of wool and 17 percent of silkworm farms produced in Azerbaijan prior to the war in the early 1990s. Dairy, wine making and light industry were the most developed industrial sectors in the occupied territories and played an important role in providing the local population with food supplies. In terms of industry and development rates, Nagorno-Karabakh ranked fourth among the other economic hubs of Azerbaijan. The industrial potential of the occupied territories had been concentrated mainly in the above mentioned region. Over 100 of the industrial and construction sites were located there. Some 25,000 km of paved and country roads, 160 bridges with a total length of 3,984 m, electric lines with a total length of 14,500 km, 2,500 electrical transformers, 2,300 km of water pipes, 2,000 km of gas pipes, 240 km of sewage lines, 160 water basins, more than 34 gas distribution stations and phone stations for 35,000 numbers were destroyed in the area. Presently, there are four airports, two railway systems and one gas pipeline located in the now occupied territories. Over 300 agricultural plants, collective grapevine and wine farms equipped with up-to-date technology, the Aghdam horse collective farm breeding the well-known Karabakh pedigree horses, hundreds of collective farms, over 7,000 hydraulic pumps, 40 pumping stations, 30 irrigation systems, 1,200 km of inter-economic irrigation channels were destroyed in the occupied territories and over 127.7 thousand hectares fertile lands still remain there. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The ruling Congress party in Punjab passed a resolution in the state assembly on January 17 demanding scrapping of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA, according to news agency ANI. Punjab is the second state to pass a resolution against the amended citizenship law. The Kerala Assembly had already passed a resolution demanding the scrapping of the controversial law, becoming the first state in the country to do so. The resolution moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra was passed after over three hours of discussion. While the ruling Congress and main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supported the resolution, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposed it. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh: We've sent draft to Centre to make changes necessary to make #CAA acceptable to everyone. Census is being carried out now, it'll be done on old level. Every citizen will be counted whether he is Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian or anybody https://t.co/Wfe7vVlZSS pic.twitter.com/PtXzPWEo0e ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2020 Asked about the resolution, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said that they have sent a draft to Centre to make changes necessary to make CAA acceptable to everyone. The CM had reportedly tipped off about the possibility of bringing a resolution against the amended citizenship law on January 16. "Wait till tomorrow," Singh had said when asked by reporters if the government will bring in a resolution, on the lines of Kerala, against the Act. On January 14, the state Congress government had said it will proceed according to the "will of the House" on the issue of CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). After a cabinet meeting on January 14, his colleagues in the ministry had expressed concern over the implications of the "blatantly unconstitutional and divisive CAA, NRC and NPR." "The ministers were of the view that the matter was bound to be raised during the two-day session of the assembly on January 16-17 and it was unanimously decided that the government should accept the will of the House," an official statement had said. Singh had recently said that his government would not allow the implementation of the "brazenly divisive CAA". He had said neither he nor the Congress was against granting citizenship to minorities persecuted on the basis of religion but they were completely opposed to the "discrimination in the CAA against certain religious communities, including Muslims". (With inputs from PTI) Brazil's culture minister was today fired after using phrases used by Nazi propagandist and Hitler's right-hand man, Joseph Goebbels. Roberto Alvim made the comments while discussing a new art prize and called it 'heroic' and 'national'. Lohengrin by Wagner, Hitler's favourite composer, played in the background. Alvim, who has disavowed Nazism, acknowledged the similarity between his speech and one of Goebbels but said it was merely a 'rhetorical coincidence.' Roberto Alvim was today fired after using phrases used by Nazi propagandist and Hitler's right-hand man, Joseph Goebbels Alvim, who has disavowed Nazism, acknowledged the similarity between his speech and one of Goebbels (pictured) but said it was merely a 'rhetorical coincidence' In his speech Alvim said: 'The Brazilian art of the next decade will be heroic and will be national, will be endowed with great capacity for emotional involvement... deeply linked to the urgent aspirations of our people, or else it will be nothing.' While Goebbels is quoted as saying: 'The German art of the next decade will be heroic, it will be steely-romantic, it will be factual and completely free of sentimentality, it will be national with great pathos and binding, or it will be nothing.' Alvim said in a radio interview that he chose the music himself, because the work is transcendent and stemmed from Wagner's Christian faith. The president of Brazil's lower house said on Twitter the video went beyond the pale, and that Bolsonaro should remove Alvim from his position immediately. On Twitter, Alvim regularly uses the hashtag DeusVult, or 'God wills it,' echoing the Christian battle cry of Middle Ages crusaders. It's also popular with white nationalists in the U.S. Lohengrin by Wagner, Hitler's (pictured with Goebbels) favourite composer, played in the background Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro made the decision to fire Alvim after a backlash from Jewish organizations, key lawmakers, political parties, artists and the country's bar association Following release of his taped video, Brazil's Israel confederation Conib said in a statement that Alvim's emulation of Goebbels was a 'frightening signal of his vision of culture that should be combated and contained,' and called for Alvim's dismissal. Goebbels led the Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda, designed to brainwash people into obeying the Nazis and idolising leader Adolf Hitler. Its methods included censorship of the press and control of radio broadcasts, as well as control of culture and arts. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro made the decision to fire Alvim after a backlash from Jewish organizations, key lawmakers, political parties, artists and the country's bar association. On Wednesday, January 15, 2020, Deborah Adams Kearnaghan, mother of two young men, gained her wings. Deborah was born on November 4, 1964, in Norfolk, Va., to Hugh and Druscilla Adams. She received her degree in accounting from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee in 1986. She was an accountant and human resource manager at TVA for over 28 years. She had two sons, Jackson and Weston, both of Chattanooga. Her greatest passions were being a mother and traveling. She visited forty-seven of the fifty states and four continents. Her favorite trip was to Paris, France with her Gal Pals. She treasured her many adventures with her high school friends, The Parns. Deborah enjoyed cheering on her Tennessee Volunteers at sporting events with dear friends from TVA. Deborah loved monograms, Dolly Parton, the Braves, cross-stitching, her dogs, and being with her friends and family. Deborah was a strong and courageous woman who battled breast cancer for many years. She never let this stop her from living life to the fullest and touching every persons heart she met. She was preceded in death by her beloved parents Hugh and Druscilla and her niece Casey. She is survived by her brother Mark, sister Donna, sons Jackson (Hannah) and Weston, and her fur babies Bentley, Cooper, and Nash. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 2 p.m. Receiving of friends will begin at 11 a.m., followed by celebration of life service. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Americas Adopt-a-Soldier, as Deborah adopted many soldiers in her lifetime. Please share your thoughts and memories of Deborah with the family at www.chattanoogaeastbrainerdchapel.com Arrangements are by the East Brainerd Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 8214 E. Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421. Ukraine and its institutions have repeatedly been the victims of cyber attacks. Ukraine's top state security body acknowledged on Friday that some citizens' personal data had been leaked from a portal advertising jobs for government employees. The National Security and Defense Council did not specify if the leak was the result of a cyber attack, how much data was involved or who was responsible, Reuters said. But it said had "identified the vulnerability" and the portal, www.career.gov.ua, had been secured. It gave no further details. Ukraine and its institutions have repeatedly been the victims of cyber attacks, including an incident in February in which a virus was downloaded in a tax accounting program and spread to wreak havoc around the globe. Read alsoBloomberg: U.S. spy agencies tracking Russian hack of Biden-linked Burisma Kyiv this week asked the U.S. FBI for help investigating a suspected cyber attack by Russian military hackers on Burisma, an energy company caught up in the impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump. Russia's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Meanwhile, the interior ministry announced an investigation into the possible illegal surveillance of former U.S. ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, following the release of text messages by the U.S. Congress as part of the impeachment case. Illicit transmission of information has this week also impacted the highest levels of the Ukrainian government. On Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky asked law enforcement agencies to determine who was involved in making a secret recording in the office of Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk. Honcharuk offered his resignation after the recording suggested he had criticized Zelensky, whose office said measures should be found to improve ways of protecting information to avoid future such incidents. The woes for a Kean University fraternity have not ended nearly five years after a student was shot at by a Hillside man during a party. Joseph Koch was shot in May 2014 at a party in Hillside that was well-attended by Sigma Theta Chi members. Shaquan Landrum, 29, pleaded guilty in 2016 to an attempted murder charge and was sentenced to nine years, court records show. Koch filed a civil suit against the fraternity and others in 2015, alleging negligence after his attorney says he suffered life-altering injuries. A Superior Court judge in Union County dismissed claims against Kean University, the fraternity and others in Kochs original suit. But the state Appellate Division this month sent the allegations against Sigma Theta Chi and Sigma Theta Chi, Inc. back to the lower court. An attorney for the fraternity did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Koch was not a member of the fraternity, his attorney told NJ Advance Media. He attended Kean at the time, but never completed college after the shooting, she said. Hes a nice kid, said Kochs lawyer, Maria Noto. He was on the porch trying to gather his friends. He was the designated driver. He had not even been drinking. Hillside police in 2014 said an argument ensued after Landrum was asked to leave the party and was forced out. He returned to the party in the early morning hours with a gun and shot at party-goers standing on the porch, striking Koch. Sigma Theta Chi was suspended by Kean University at the time of the shooting, the appellate court decision says. The organization was suspended after the fraternity had tweeted a photo of women who were topless with writing that suggested new members should join. The appellate court decision also upheld the dismissal of the claims against Kean University. The fraternity was suspended before this incident for unrelated issues," Kean University spokeswoman Margaret McCorry said. "It was reinstated in 2016 and remains in good standing. Landrum is currently in state prison and is eligible for parole in May of 2022. Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @BeccaPanico. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. More than a year after joining the Janata Dal (United), Prashant Kishor has of late been playing the part of an active politician. A hyper-active one, in fact. While the seniors in his party watch on with apprehension, the JD (U) vice president has gradually emerged as the second-in-command to Nitish Kumar. And he has asserted his importance in a curious way by raking up one controversy after another. Some still believe that Prashant Kishor is acting like a loose cannon. But it is becoming increasingly clear that Kishor is no maverick. Rather, there is a method behind his moves that are slowly beginning to resemble a long-term game played on behalf of his political mentor, Nitish. The Bihar CM and JD (U) chiefs prime ministerial ambition are, of course, legendary. In other words, the celebrated election strategist, who shot to fame for being the brain behind Narendra Modis historic 2014 campaign, is now working on another strategy. A reading of the tea leaves shows that his calibrated acts could well be in preparation for Nitish Kumars eventual rise as an acceptable prime ministerial face for non-Congress Opposition parties. Effectively, a challenger to the might of the BJP power machine that the JD (U) now backs. Lets look at the chain of events in the last fourteen months to see what they reveal. Prashant Kishor was allowed to join the JD(U) without giving up I-PAC, the election consultancy firm that he runs as a professional service. Then, over the last one year, he went to work for parties that are non-aligned (neither in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), nor in the United Progressive Alliance). The list includes Jaganmohan Reddys YSR Congress, Mamata Banerjees TMC, and Arvind Kejriwals AAP. Now, he is set to be associated with M K Stalins DMK. All these parties are anti-BJP by nature, and all of them have distanced themselves from Congress in recent times. None of these parties, for example, were at the recent Opposition meeting convened by Congress Sonia Gandhi. Are these not signs of the forging an alternative opposition front a third front that would compel the Congress to support it not only in the states (as it has done in Karnataka and Maharashtra), but also at the Centre? Apart from what he can do through I-PAC, Prashant Kishor has also started asserting himself as an ideologue of the party. Nitish Kumar was under heavy pressure from the BJP to support the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAA) in parliament, mainly to enhance the governments strength in the Rajya Sabha. He yielded. Then Prashant Kishor spoke. He questioned his leader on the party's move to support to such a controversial Bill. And then, as though yielding to Kishors pressure, the Bihar CM announced there would be no need for any National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Bihar. And now, on the floor of the Assembly, he has proposed that the Bihar Assembly may have a discussion on the CAA if the members so want. Meanwhile, Kishor recently congratulated Congress for deciding to launch a movement against CAA-NRC. This is inappropriate for a top leader of a party in alliance with the rival of the Congress. But this has emerged as the new style in Indian politics, and the credit for its invention goes to Shiv Senas Uddhav Thackeray. The Sena, under his command, regularly criticised Narendra Modi and praised Rahul Gandhi while his party was part of the NDA government both in the state and at the Centre. Interestingly, Prashant Kishor is also known to have good ties with Uddhav, who has become the CM of a three-party front in Maharashtra that includes the Congress after his acrimonious fall-out with long-time ally BJP. With the Bihar Assembly polls due in October 2020, Kishor has raised although prematurely the demand for allotting more seats to his party in the assembly elections than its alliance partner, BJP. It appears to be a pressure tactic to ensure that the JD(U) gets a few more seats than the BJP during the distribution of seats. In that case (or even in the case of a 100 seats for BJP and JD(U) each and 43 for the Ram Vilas Paswans party and smaller groups), Nitish Kumar is likely to win enough seats as to enable him to play the Uddhav Thackeray of Bihar. Nothing would prevent him from crossing over to the Opposition camp. But just to set the record straight, it is Uddhav who has followed Nitishs example when he dumped the BJP. Nitish has done it twice earlier. After winning the 2010 polls in alliance with the BJP, he dumped them in 2013. That time his minority government (a few seats short of majority) stayed in power with the tacit support of Lalu Prasads RJD. Again, after allying with RJD-Congress in 2015, he walked over to the BJP camp in 2017. Nitish will not be shy of doing it again if he is projected as the prime ministerial candidate by all non-Congress opposition parties. This explains why he is allowing Prashant Kishor a long rope. But will this strategy work? Tejashwi Yadav, the Opposition leader of Bihar who has named Nitish Deceit Lord, is bored with the senior leaders regular flips. Recently, on the floor of the Assembly he told the CM: What is your fear? Now your stint is ending. You have seen everything. You should take decisions to benefit future generations. It was an exhortation to Kumar that if he has plans to change sides, he should do it now. But other anti-BJP parties may be compelled to accept Nitish even if he changes sides a year before the 2024 general elections. Whether the people themselves will endorse such a deceitful but brilliant strategy is quite another matter though. (Diptendra Raychaudhuri is a Kolkata-based journalist and author of books including, A Naxal Story. He is a deputy editor at the Bengali daily, Aajkal) Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the authors own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH. Press Release 17 January 2020 Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) and Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announce the inaugural HITEC Asia to take place December 8-10, 2020 in Macau, SAR, China. The two international, nonprofit associations are the sole organizations that bring hospitality professionals together for education, networking, best practices, innovation and exclusive marketplaces. Advertisements "The HITEC brand of conferences is celebrating its 48th year and has become known as 'the' place to learn about and purchase hospitality technology around the globe," said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, CAE. "After years of requests from stakeholders to bring the HITEC brand to Asia, HFTP is excited to announce this event and also very pleased to have HTNG as co-producers for this new venture." HITEC Asia expects to attract over 300 hoteliers and feature some of the best technology suppliers in the region. It will also feature educational seminars presented by global experts and leading-edge innovation pitches from regional start ups. "HTNG has been successful in the region for over a decade solving industry standards problems and developing best practices," said HTNG CEO Mike Blake. Due to the strength of HFTP's HITEC brand and HTNG's success and network in the region, we mutually decided that our nonprofit organizations could make a much larger impact by teaming up for a stellar conference and exhibition." For continued information about HITEC Asia visit www.hitec.org About Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) The premier technology solutions association in the hospitality industry, HTNG is a self-funded, nonprofit organization with members from hospitality companies, technology vendors to hospitality, consultants, media and academic experts. HTNG's members participate in focused workgroups to bring to market open solution sets addressing specific business problems. HTNG fosters the selection and adoption of existing open standards and also develops new open standards to meet the needs of the global hospitality industry. Currently, more than 400 corporate and individual members from across this spectrum, including world-leading hospitality companies and technology vendors, are active HTNG participants. HTNG's Board of Governors, consisting of 22 top IT leaders from hospitality companies around the world, has technology responsible for over 3 million guest rooms and world-leading venues. HTNG publishes workgroup proceedings, drafts, and specifications for all HTNG members as soon as they are created, encouraging rapid and broad adoption. HTNG releases specifications into the public domain as soon as they are ratified by the workgroups. For more information, visit www.htng.org. HITEC and HFTP are registered service marks of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals Andrew Yang takes a breather with his wife, Evelyn, while texting at a phone bank event in November in Atlanta. Read more WASHINGTON The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang says she was sexually assaulted by her obstetrician-gynecologist while she was pregnant with the couples first child. Evelyn Yang said in an interview televised Thursday by CNN that the assault happened in 2012, and she was initially afraid to tell anyone. She and 31 other women are now suing the doctor and hospital system, saying they conspired and enabled the crimes. Yang said she she was encouraged to speak out after seeing the positive reception she and her husband had been getting on the campaign trail by being open about their son's autism. "Something about being on the trail and meeting people and seeing the difference that we've been making already has moved me to share my own story about it, about sexual assault," she told CNN. Yang said she first began seeing Dr. Robert Hadden in New York in early 2012. As the months went on, Yang said, Hadden began asking her inappropriate questions about her sexual activity, and he spent more time conducting examinations. When she was seven months pregnant, Yang said, she believed her appointment was done and she was getting ready to leave when the doctor told her abruptly that he thought she might need a cesarean section. She said Hadden pulled her to him and undressed her, then used his fingers to examine her internally. I knew it was wrong. I knew I was being assaulted, she said. But Yang said she just kind of froze and didn't react. I remember trying to fix my eyes on a spot on the wall and just trying to avoid seeing his face as he was assaulting me, just waiting for it to be over," she told CNN. After the doctor left the room, she left the practice and didn't return. Hadden's lawyer has denied Yang's allegations in legal filings. His attorney declined a request to be interviewed by CNN. Yang said she initially didn't tell anyone what had happened to her. She said she blamed herself, thinking she must have done something to invite this kind of behavior. Months later, after the couple's son was born, Yang got a letter in the mail saying Hadden had left the practice. Curious, she looked him up online and saw that another woman had made a police report accusing him of assaulting her. She said she realized then that she wasn't to blame for his actions. "This was a serial predator, and he just picked me as his prey," she told CNN. She said only then was she able to reveal the abuse to her husband. In a statement Thursday, Andrew Yang said he was extraordinary proud of his wife and no one deserves to be treated as she was. When victims of abuse come forward, they deserve our belief, support, and protection, Yang said. "I hope that Evelyn's story gives strength to those who have suffered and sends a clear message that our institutions must do more to protect and respond to women." He later tweeted, I love my wife very very much. Evelyn Yang said several women came forward with similar stories about Hadden, and she learned the Manhattan District Attorney's Office had an open case against him. In 2016, she said, the DA's office agreed to a deal with Hadden in which he pleaded guilty to one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual assault. He also lost his medical license and had to register as the lowest level of sex offender. Yang said she felt betrayed by the plea deal, which allowed the doctor to avoid jail. The counts he pleaded to didn't involve her case, she said. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement to CNN, Because a conviction is never a guaranteed outcome in a criminal trial, our primary concern was holding him accountable and making sure he could never do this again -- which is why we insisted on a felony conviction and permanent surrender of his medical license." Yang and 31 other women are now suing Columbia University, where Hadden worked, along with its affiliates and the doctor itself, saying they "actively concealed, conspired, and enabled" Hadden's crimes, according to CNN. The lawsuit claims that medical assistants who worked with the doctor knew of the abuse but didn't intervene because of a power imbalance and lack of training, CNN said. Hadden has denied the additional allegations in court papers, CNN reported. Columbia University and the hospital system are fighting the lawsuit on procedural grounds, according to CNN. A university spokeswoman told CNN in response to a detailed list of questions that the accusations are abhorrent and they deeply apologize to those whose trust was violated. (Alliance News) - Egdon Resources PLC on Friday said it won its appeal and has been granted planning consent to develop the Wressle oilfield in north Lincolnshire. Shares in Egdon were up 23% at 5.40 pence in London in morning trading. The North Lincolnshire Council Planning Committee rejected the application for development of Wressle in licences PEDL180 and PEDL182 in November 2018. However, the council did not present evidence at the appeal as it withdrew its case following the agreement of acceptable planning conditions in August. Nonetheless, operator and 30% Wressle owner Egdon still had to present its own case to the planning inspectorate in November in order to obtain planning permission for Wressle. Its appeal was upheld and planning consent granted. The planning inspector also allowed Egdon's application for an award of costs against the council. Egdon Managing Director Mark Abbott said: "I am delighted that the planning inspectorate has made this positive determination in relation to this important asset for Egdon and our [joint venture] partners. "We will now begin work on discharging the planning conditions and the detailed planning for the development works. We will continue to keep shareholders and the local community informed." Europa Oil & Gas Holdings PLC, which has a 30% working interest in Wressle, and 28% economic interest holder Union Jack Oil PLC, both noted the announcement. The other 13% stake is held by Humber Oil & Gas Ltd. Shares in Europa Oil & Gas were up 8.9% at 2.94p, while Union Jack shares were up 5.4% at 0.17p. By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. But there was a snag. Those who had chosen tomatoes and some of the other voters who had been unaffiliated banded together under tomatoes. Three delegates had been assigned to our "caucus location" that meant out of three possible candidates, four groups had hit the threshold needed for a delegate and had a chance to receive a delegate. What to do? In that case, our instructors explained, the smallest group is disbanded and has a chance to align a third time. That didnt go over well with some of the attendees, as their choice had hit the threshold. After the third alignment, three groups surpassed the threshold, and each received a delegate. Heres some back-of-the-envelope math for how many delegates are assigned to a group: Take the number of people in the group, multiply by the number of delegates in the precinct, and divide by the number of caucus attendees. So for us devotees to blueberries, the number is 12 times 3 divided by 40. That equation equals 0.9%, rounded up to one delegate elected from our group to represent at the county convention. A bit messy, a bit confusing, but good all the same CADILLAC, Michigan, Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AAR (NYSE: AIR) Mobility Systems has been awarded a sole-source Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to produce specialized shipping/storage containers and accessories. The containers and accessories will be manufactured in Cadillac. The sole-source IDIQ contract with the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support in Philadelphia includes a two-year base period, with an option to extend thereafter for three additional years, for an estimated value of $90 million. This contract provides the U.S. Armed Forces and its allies with a direct method for procuring AARs rapid deployment products, which have been used by troops around the globe for over five decades. The products are designed to offer militaries worldwide a robust, modular and secure method for transporting their mission-critical equipment and for use by troops once deployed. We take pride in providing these critical assets to support the warfighter, said Jeffery Jackson, AAR Mobility Systems Vice President of Business Development. This contract will ensure that the U.S. Armed Forces and its allies maintain their full spectrum dominance. For more information on AAR Mobility Systems, visit aarmobilitysystems.com . # # # About AAR AAR is a global aerospace and defense aftermarket solutions company that employs more than 6,000 people in over 20 countries. Headquartered in the Chicago area, AAR supports commercial and government customers through two operating segments: Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services. AARs Aviation Services include Parts Supply; OEM Solutions; Integrated Solutions; and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Services. AARs Expeditionary Services include Mobility Systems and Composite Manufacturing operations. Additional information can be found at www.aarcorp.com. About AAR Mobility Systems AAR Mobility Systems is a division of AAR and a leading global supplier of rapid deployment equipment, including mobile tactical shelters, pallets and expeditionary containers that enhance the militarys ability to mobilize, deploy, maneuver and sustain forces. AAR Mobility also manufactures large lightweight structural assemblies and platforms that support mission essential functions. Products are supported through a network of service centers, field service teams and strategic partners. More information can be found at aarmobilitysystems.com . Media contact: Jeffery Jackson, Vice President of Business Development, at jeffery.jackson@aarcorp.com or +1.231.779.4829. This press release contains certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions and estimates based on information currently available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated, including those factors discussed under Item 1A, entitled Risk Factors, included in the Companys Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2019. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described. These events and uncertainties are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many are beyond the Companys control. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. For additional information, see the comments included in AARs filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Attachments Dazzling and deadly: Five facts about volcanoes Manila, Jan 13 (AFP) Jan 13, 2020 The eruption of a volcano near the Philippine capital has delivered a dazzling but highly dangerous spectacle since it began spewing superheated steam on Sunday. Taal volcano's bursts of lightning and monster clouds of ash have drawn crowds of gaping observers, but also prompted thousands to flee from its fury. Here are five facts about the mix of beauty and terror that volcanoes produce: - Lightning - Large eruptions sometimes put on a stunning display of lightning strikes that illuminate the massive cloud of ash surrounding them. This has happened repeatedly above the Taal volcano and been captured in videos shared widely across social media. It is a relatively unusual and difficult to study phenomenon, so there is some scientific dispute about how and why it happens. One theory posits that particles bashed together in the chaos of the eruption create static electricity which eventually results in lightning. However, Indriati Retno Palupi, a volcanologist and geologist, told AFP lightning can be created when ashes containing chemical elements react with gasses in the surrounding air. - Tsunamis - A violent eruption could trigger a deadly rush of waves by displacing water with rising magma or an avalanche of debris, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). In fact, the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in the US state of Washington produced a 780-foot (235-metre) tsunami, according to the International Tsunami Information Center. The wall of water was unleashed by the partial collapse of the volcano's flank and a fast-moving avalanche of debris. - Million volcanoes? - Around 1,500 potentially active volcanoes are present around the world, many of which are found on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide deep below the earth's surface. However, around 75 percent of volcanic activity on Earth occurs underwater. Undersea eruptions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say, are "a constant process that shapes the features of the ocean". Oregon State University geologists estimate there could be as many as a million Called "submarine volcanoes". - Global cooling - The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Manila, was the Philippines' most powerful in recent years and killed more than 800 people. However, the eruption had worldwide impact. Nearly 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide were shot skyward by Pinatubo, which then drifted globally. "This gas cloud... caused global temperatures to drop temporarily (1991 through 1993) by about 1F (0.5C)," according to a US Geological Survey account of the eruption. On top of the cooler temperatures, the gases and ash sent high in the sky by Pinatubo also caused "brilliant sunsets and sunrises", USGS said. - Indonesia's killer volcanoes - Indonesia is the world's most volcanic area. The Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and islets -- and nearly 130 active volcanoes -- is situated on the Pacific "Ring of Fire". In 1815, Mount Tambora on the island of Sumbawa exploded in one of the most violent eruptions in recorded history. An estimated 12,000 people died, while a resulting famine killed another 80,000. The island of Krakatoa was practically wiped off the map in 1883 by a volcanic explosion so powerful that it was heard some 4,500 kilometres (2,800 miles) away. Around 36,000 people were killed in the eruption and the resulting tsunami. A new volcano emerged in 1928 on the same site. burs-mff/jm/fox For decades neighbors put up with noise, odors and ground fires at the Stine stump dump in Lower Mount Bethel Township. They thought their problems were over when the government shut it down. Now theyre confronted with a new company proposing a new stump grinding business on the old site without cleaning up any of the mess. It has been a long, long fight, local resident Arlene Tishuk said during a community meeting Thursday to discuss the dump. How can we even do it again? The new owners, Gravel Hill Enterprises, say theyll follow all DEP regulations and will comply with a 2015 settlement agreement with the township, according to Gravel Hill Senior Project Manager George White. The settlement agreement put restrictions on operational hours, truck trips, truck routes, noise emissions at the property at 10143 Gravel Hill Road. It requires old stumps and illegally dumped materials be removed over a 25-year period, which began when the agreement was signed in 2015. The property was operated for years by Clayton and Michael Stine. It was the subject of years of lawsuits and environmental violations. Michael Stine went to prison in 2004 for illegal dumping. Clayton Stine was put on probation. Gravel Hill has absolutely nothing to do with the Stine family, White said. We realize that there have been significant problems in the past here. We are looking to clean up those problems and start up a legitimate business. Many of the people who attended Thursdays meeting expressed cynicism about allowing the stump grinding operation to begin again. Regulations and assurances didnt stop the Stines for over two decades, some of the speakers said. Many people questioned why a new business can begin before the site is cleaned of illegally dumped materials from the past. White said it would not be financially feasible to spend the time and money to clean the site unless Gravel Hill can begin making money on new operations while the cleaning takes place. There is an extreme cost to cleaning up the site, White said. This is the only way, economically, the site can be cleaned. Roger Bellas, a program manager with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, said the permit will require a $350,000 bond from Gravel Hill. If the business doesnt live up to its end of the bargain, that money can be used to clean the property. The only viable way to get the site cleaned up is to do it while operations are going on, Bellas said. The Department of Environmental Protection hosted the a public question and answer meeting. Gravel Hill Enterprises is seeking a DEP permit. Northampton Countys conservation district is also reviewing a permit for the business. Upper Mount Bethel Township resident Charles Cole urged that an environmental assessment of the property be done before any new operations begin. It is impossible to tell what has been dumped under the stumps, Cole said. Bellas said some contaminated material has already be removed from the site and continuing groundwater monitoring has not revealed the presence of any contaminants. There is nothing to lead us to believe that there is a problem out there, Bellas said. If materials other than stumps are found, the permit will require a plan for Gravel Hill to identify and handle the contaminants, Bellas said. Gravel Hill is proposing a wood grinding operation that would grind timber waste, including tree stumps, tree limbs, clean pallets, and untreated and unpainted wood, and create mulch and compost to be sold wholesale. Gravel Hill Enterprises owner. Gerald DiDomenico bought the property at a 2008 U.S. Marshals sale. Lower Mount Bethel Township resident Tim Smith, along with many others at the meeting, remained unconvinced that the new business is a good idea. We heard this before, Smith said. He (Stine) had to stay open to clean this up. Weve been lied to before. DEP and the conservation district are continuing to review the permit applications. A rendering shows Gravel Hill Enterprises' plan to begin a wood and stump grinding operation in Lower Mount Bethel Township. John Best | lehighvalleylive.com contributor John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin David Randall (Reuters) New York, United States Fri, January 17, 2020 17:47 725 48be62e941b44f04afae568c32291ea7 2 Business Google,valuation,business,market,technology,tech-companies,Alphabet Free As Google-parent Alphabet Inc became on Thursday the fourth US company to top a market value of more than US$1 trillion, some funds holding its shares are wondering whether now is the time to cash in on the stock's extraordinary gains. Shares of the Internet search giant are up nearly 17 percent over the last three months, outpacing a broader rally in the S&P 500 index over the same period by 6 percentage points. Short interest in the stock, a measure of how many investors are betting on a price decline, is at 1 percent, near a 52-week high for the company and higher than competitors such as Microsoft and Facebook, according to Refinitv data. Alphabet joins Apple, Amazon.com and Microsoft as the only US companies to hit $1 trillion in market value. "Google is a stock that won't get you fired," said Kevin Landis, a portfolio manager at Firsthand Funds who hasn't added to his current Alphabet position since the first quarter of 2019. Will I be able to double my money in this stock from here? I'm not sure about that. Alphabet's shares are among a small group of stocks found in the top holdings of both mutual funds and hedge funds, two types of institutions whose investing styles tend to be markedly different, a Goldman Sachs analysis showed. That could leave it exposed to volatile price swings if sentiment suddenly changes. Despite those concerns, many investors are finding it hard to say goodbye. The 28% climb in Alphabet and the performance of other technology and tech-related stocks helped money managers post big gains in 2019, making it difficult for many to justify cutting their exposure even as they fret over the implications of its run-up. Ernesto Ramos, portfolio manager of the BMO Large-Cap Growth Fund, has held onto his shares, betting that Alphabets exposure to online advertising will eventually justify its above-average valuation. Alphabet trades at 26.6 times future earnings, compared with 18.5 for the S&P 500. Scott Goginsky, a portfolio manager of the Biondo Focus fund, has held off adding to a longstanding position over the last year, concerned that the company's costs are likely to increase due to its efforts to pre-empt any additional regulatory measures from Washington. That could cut into the margins of businesses like YouTube if it needs to hire additional workers to vet user-posted content, he said. Alphabet is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 3. In its latest report, the company missed analysts' estimates for third-quarter profit by about $1.7 billion, though it beat revenue expectations. That news did little to dent investors' bullishness on the company: Alphabet's stock retreated briefly on the report, only to resume its climb several days later. Bearish investors, however, can point to Amazon.com, which saw its market value fall below $1 trillion after its streak of record profits ended in July. Shares of the company are down nearly 7 percent over the last six months, compared with a 10 percent gain in the S&P 500 overall. Donald Trump, shortly into his presidency, unleashed a wave a fury upon his military advisers and national security team, calling them 'dopes and babies' who he wouldn't go to war with, a new book revealed. 'You're all losers,' Trump told an assembled group of military brass and cabinet officials during a security briefing at the Pentagon. 'You don't know how to win anymore.' The details are revealed in, 'A Very Stable Genius' a 417-page book on the presidency by Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol D. Leonnig being published next week. The Washington Post printed an excerpt on Friday. 'I wouldn't go to war with you people,' he said. 'You're a bunch of dopes and babies.' The president was reacting to a tailored tutorial his then officials - Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson - arranged for him in room 2E924 of the Pentagon - know as 'The Tank.' 'Losers!' Donald Trump unloaded on top officers including Marine General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (second right) and Paul Selva, his deputy and a four-star Air Force General (right). On their way in: Jim Mattis and Donald Trump appeared not to exude positive body language before the morning-long briefing session 'Wax museum guy.' Those at the meeting were astonished that Mike Pence did not intervene to stop Trump but instead sat there 'like a wax museum guy.' Trump spoke in the corridor of the Pentagon afterwards to civilians and military Allies: The meeting was organized by Rex Tillerson and Jim Mattis - both who have now quit the Trump cabinet - as they became alarmed about gaping holes in Trump's knowledge Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., was in the main seat, in front of a painting of Lincoln meeting with his generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman and Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter. Around the table were then deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the heads of the branches of the military and Vice President Mike Pence. The room was lined with other staff officers and White House aides. They included Sean Spicer, then press secretary, Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, and Reince Priebus, then chief of staff. The sit-down took place six months into the Trump administration. Mattis organized it because of mounting concerns he shared with Tillerson and Gary Cohn, then the chief economic adviser, about Trump's knowledge of history, and in particular post-war alliances. It started with Mattis giving a presentation in front of a screen saying: 'The post-war international rules-based order is the greatest gift of the greatest generation.' Steve Bannon, then one of Trump's most senior adviser was sitting behind the table and told the authors he thought the meeting would be 'f***ing wild.' 'If you stood up and threatened to shoot [Trump], he couldnt say "postwar rules-based international order,"' he told them. It was the start of an extended rage. He railed against General John Nicholson, in charge of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, saying: 'I don't think he knows how to win.' The general was not at the meeting and Dunford tried to defend him, saying they were following orders on how to leave Afghanistan. The authors say the participants 'felt sick to their stomachs' at the president's words. Tillerson later said he saw one female officer silently crying. During the meeting, Trump complained Pentagon brass were missing opportunities to make money. 'We are owed money you haven't been collecting!' the president said, according to the book. 'You would totally go bankrupt if you had to run your own business.' He asked why Middle East nations weren't giving the U.S. oil in return for American troops. 'We spent $7 trillion; they're ripping us off,' Trump said. 'Where is the f***ing oil?' 'Doesn't know how to win.' Army General John Nicholson, who was in charge of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, was the target of Trump's rage despite not being at the meeting How Trump spun it: The video he tweeted, with Proud To Be An American as the soundtrack He said of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, from which he would later withdraw the United States: 'It's the worst deal in history!' Tillerson tried to talk to him about that. 'I don't want to hear it,' the president responded. 'They're cheating. They're building. We're getting out of it. I keep telling you, I keep giving you time, and you keep delaying me. I want out of it.' As the president complained about how the United States should make money from American troops - he suggested South Korea pay for the U.S. soldiers there or he'd remove them - Tillerson spoke up. His father and uncle both saw combat and a great-uncle was a career officer. 'No, that's just wrong,' the authors quote him as telling Trump. 'Mr. President, you're totally wrong. None of that is true.' 'The men and women who put on a uniform don't do it to become soldiers of fortune,' Tillerson added. 'That's not why they put on a uniform and go out and die. They do it to protect our freedom.' Throughout it all Mike Pence sat beside Trump without any expression on his face. One participant called him 'a wax museum guy.' His son is a commissioned Marine aviator. Shortly after that the meeting ended. After Trump left the room, Tillerson spoke up again: 'He's a f***ing moron,' he said of Trump. In contrast Trump said tersely to reporters that the meeting was 'absolutely great' and when asked if he was going to make a decision on cutting troop numbers in Afghanistan brushed it off saying: 'You'll be hearing.' Then he tweeted a video of himself and Pence shaking hands with members of the military in the Pentagon, with the audio cut to make way for 'I'm proud to be an American.' Mattis was only fleetingly visible. Tillerson was to attack Trump again on the issue of foreign allies paying for U.S. military presence on their territory at a White House Situation Room meeting where Trump demanded money. Tillerson stood up, turned his back on the president, and turned to uniformed officers and other staff to say how the country valued their service and knew 'they don't do it to make a buck.' In March the following year, Tillerson was fired while he was on a diplomatic tour of Africa. In December 2018 Mattis quit over Trump's sudden decision to pull out of Syria and released a letter saying he 'deserved' a Pentagon chief who agreed with him but would serve until he was replaced. Trump made him leave almost immediately. Dunford served the standard four-years as chair The book details the president's first three years in the White House and all the drama that filled that time, including special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. It is scheduled to be released on January 21. The two authors were part of The Washington Post's team that won a 2018 Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on Trump and Russia. SULLIVAN'S ISLAND Palmetto logs famously helped Fort Moultrie absorb a pounding from British cannonballs in 1776, and many palmettos there survived Hurricane Hugo in 1989. But the iconic trees are no match for the coming buzz of Dominion Energy's chainsaws. The utility plans to cut down nearly 250 palmettos on the island where some residents are still smarting from the extensive tree-trimming Dominion conducted there last year. "They've already butchered things here and in Mount Pleasant and West Ashley and James Island," said William Fuller, who has lived on the island since before Hugo. "Dominion, 'schmominion' I don't know what they are doing." Utility tree-trimming is often controversial, but it's particularly fraught when palmetto trees are involved. That's because those trees can't be trimmed shorter, so it means removing them entirely. Its very disturbing to a lot of residents," said Sullivan's Island Administrator Andy Benke. I actually have three near my yard that are coming out." They are just such wonderful trees to have, and Im sad to see them go," he said. "I dont know that theres anything the town can do." Trees in the right of way at 122 properties will be removed by Dominion starting this month. The town posted a list of addresses and the number of trees to be removed in each location on its website sullivansisland.sc.gov. The right of way is typically the edge of otherwise private property along roads, and often includes landscaping. "Trees within close proximity to energized lines are both a fire hazard and an issue of public safety," Dominion spokesman Paul Fischer said. "Trees and tree limbs continue to be the No. 1 reason for power outages across our system, and the safety and reliability of our system remains our primary focus." Island resident Dorinda Borroughs said that unlike the utility company, residents need a town permit to cut down a tree and must plant a new tree if they remove one. She doesn't have any palmettos threatened by the latest round of work but is upset about the way trees were trimmed last year by a Dominion contractor. "I know that Dominion has a job to do and they have to have the lines clear," she said. "It just seems there could have been a more artful way to do it." Most of the palmettos were likely planted decades ago and eventually grew to be as tall as overhead electric wires. Benke said many of the trees were planted locally, rather than being imported from Florida. Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email Sign Up! Dominion did reach out to its customers, explaining its intentions. "While we respect and appreciate the natural beauty of the landscape surrounding communities in which we live and work, the safety, reliability and resiliency of our electric system remains our top priority," the company said in a letter to property owners. Trees on power lines represent a significant trouble spot during the state's annual hurricane season from June to November. About 270,000 homes and businesses statewide lost power during Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Fischer said crews are out trimming trees "practically every day" in some part of Dominion's service area in an effort to prevent future outages. The utility says trees with a maximum height above 15 feet should not be planted along rights of way near overhead lines. Sullivan's resident Karen Biko said she understands the need to protect against power outages but said the planned removal of palmetto trees seems like overreach. "Is it really possible that 247 palmetto trees suddenly grew into their power lines and need to be removed?" she said. "These are protected trees (by local ordinance), our state tree, and they are just going to pluck them out of the ground." "They should be required to replant them somewhere," Biko said. "But no, they are not." Fischer said that "it is virtually impossible to safely relocate" trees that require removal. "We will dispose of the trees scheduled for removal," he said. "There are no plans to plant replacement trees." Across Breach Inlet the next barrier island, Isle of Palms, expects to be next. Mayor Jimmy Carroll said he doesn't yet know how many palmetto and palm trees will be targeted for removal. "It's coming," he said. "It's not going to be pretty, and we're not going to be happy about it." Carroll said he would like to see more power lines moved underground, to remove the need for tree-trimming and help keep the power on during storms. That's a costly endeavor, but Carroll said he thinks most residents would be willing to bear some of the cost. The company, which is under the Liberty Mutual umbrella, pointed to the challenged performance of the business the demise of which will bring two other lines down with it. The absence of a liability offering, Liberty Insurance explained, makes it extremely difficult to grow a critical mass in the other supporting lines of commercial property and development bonds, and therefore, we have made the decision to exit these lines also. In a statement, the firm announced that the market exit is slated for April. In the meantime, existing contracts under the business lines will continue to be honoured; they will, however, not be renewed upon expiration. Liberty Insurance, the Irish operations of which came to life in 2011 by way of acquisition, will instead be focussing on personal and fleet coverage in the country. Embakasi East member of parliament Babu Owino has been arrested after a shooting incident at a popular night club in Kilimani. The MP reportedly shot someone at the popular B-Club on Thursday night, leaving him critically injured. Police say the victim, who is thought to have been the DJ, was rushed to hospital shortly after the incident, and further reports have it that he is admitted at Nairobi Hospital ICU. According to the Star, Babu drew his gun at the club and shot the man, leaving everyone in panic mode. Even the watchmen were in panic mode. Apparently Babu Owino had drawn his gun and shot somebody at B Club. Same Babu has now taken the guy to hospital, a source told the paper. The MP was taken to Kilimani Police Station. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has convened an all-party meeting on January 23 to evolve a comprehensive strategy to tackle the critical water situation in the light of the fast-depleting water resources in the state. CM Amarinder disclosed this in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday, on the second day of the 2-day special session of the House. He was intervening in a discussion on `The Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Bill 2020, introduced by his government. Invitations for the meeting had already been sent out, he disclosed, adding that all matters related to water issues in the state, including the SYL issue, poor quality of groundwater and pollution caused by industrial and domestic waste, would also be thoroughly discussed during the all-party meeting, in a bid to evolve consensus to chalk out a detailed strategy to address these problems. READ | Punjab Cabinet Summons 2-day Special Sessions Of Assembly, Approves Change Of Timing Bill passes in the state assembly The Bill, introduced by Irrigation Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, was later passed by the House unanimously, thus paving the way for the creation of Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority to manage the critical water resource in the state. Both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supported the Bill, expressing grave concern over the scarce water resources and the depleting groundwater table in the state. During his intervention, in response to certain issues raised by the Leader of the Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema, the Chief Minister flayed the Opposition for their constant criticism of his government on the issue, while themselves failing to contribute in any way to tackling the problem. READ | Punjab Government To Bring White Paper On PPAs Signed By The Previous Akali Government Pointing out that he and his colleagues had already given up power subsidy for tube wells, CM Amarinder challenged Opposition leaders to show if any of them had heeded his appeal, yet, to do the same. The appeal, he said, was aimed at ensuring judicious use of groundwater and inculcating the habit of water-saving. Describing the depleting groundwater table, and the growing pollution of river water, as serious issues, the Chief Minister reiterated his governments commitment to resolving the problem, which was particularly acute in the districts of southern Punjab, such as Sri Muktsar Sahib, leading to heavy incidence of cancer. READ | Punjab Govt Approves 'Right To Business Act' 2020 To Ease Regulatory Burdens On MSMEs CM Amarinder's visit to Israel on the matter Citing his visit to Israel to explore ways and means to tackle the problem of water scarcity, the Chief Minister said that the West Asian country was also facing an acute crisis and facing exhaustion of its water resources in the next 15 years. He, however, said that Israel had a vast sea in its vicinity, from where they could cater to their countrys water requirement after desalinating the seawater. Unfortunately, Punjab did not have the option and could risk overexploitation of its water resources only if it was prepared to become a desert in the coming years. CM Amarinder apprised the House that his government had already signed an agreement with the National Water Company of Israel M/s Mekorot for the formulation of a Water Conservation and Management Master Plan (WCMMP) for conservation and management of water resources in the state. READ | Punjab Govt Set To Move Resolution Against CAA In State Assembly Role of Water Regulation and Development Authority The Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority, provided by the Bill, will consist of a Chairman and two other members to be appointed by the Government. The Authority will be responsible for the management and conversion of water resources of the state in a judicious, equitable and sustainable manner, and will be empowered to take all such measures as it deems necessary or expedient for this purpose. The authority will also be empowered to issue directions and guidelines for the conservation and management of the water resources, besides issuing tariff orders specifying the charges to be imposed by entities supplying water for drinking domestic, commercial or industrial use. READ | Punjab Government To Fill Over 3000 Teaching And Non-Teaching Posts In Schools The Bill also proposes the constitution of an Advisory Committee on Water Resources, to be notified by the Government. It will consist of experts and ex-officio members from various government departments, to advise the authority. The authority may also engage experts on its own. The authority shall have and maintain, a separate fund, to be called the Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority Fund, in which the grants/loans would be credited by the Punjab Government. The Bill also proposes to empower the Government to issue to the Authority general or specific directions in writing, in the matters of policy involving public interest, and the Authority shall be bound to follow and act upon such directions. Tariff fixation would be done by the Authority as per the policy prescribed by the Government. READ | Opposition Mounts Attack On Punjab Govt Over Power Tariff Hike Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska defeated her third top 20 opponent in a row to make the Adelaide International finals with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) win over Aryna Sabalenka on Friday. The 19-year-old's blitzed world number 20 Donna Vekic in the quarter-finals of the Memorial Drive tournament a day after 18th-ranked Angelique Kerber retired from their match with back pain from a set down. Yastremska, ranked 24th, will play for the fourth title of her career on Saturday against either Australian world number one Ashleign Barty or American Danielle Collins. "I'm pretty happy, this new season is off to a good start," Yastremska said after defeating Sabalenka of Belarus for their third match in as many meetings. "I'm just doing my job on court, playing my game. I do what I can on court. "I feel confidence heading to the Australian Open." Yastremska broke once per set while losing her own service once in the 106-minute showdown. She finished on a third match point in the tiebreaker as Sabalenka hit the net on a return. Yastremska claimed two WTA trophies last season at Strasbourg and Hua Hin, Thailand. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hanoi still falls behind many major cities in the region and the world regarding foreign tourist arrivals, according to a survey of the municipal Department of Tourism which was revealed on January 16. Foreign tourists at Hanoi's Hoan Kiem Lake In 2019, Hanoi welcomed 7.02 million foreign visitors, a year-on-year surge of 17 percent. However, the figure wasonly one fourth of the foreign arrivals in Hong Kong (China), and one third ofthat of Bangkok (Thailand) and Singapore. Average spending of foreign tourists whostayed overnight in Hanoi reached 119.8 USD, rising nearly 7 percent comparedto 2018. The average length of stay of tourists in Hanoi stood at 3.67 days,longer than that of Dubai (3.5 days), which came third among the worlds 20 leadingdestinations selected by Mastercard in 2018. Visitors to Hanoi mostly belong to the18-44 age group, with the 25-34 group accounting for the highest number offoreign tourists to the capital city. Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism Tran Duc Hai said in the coming time, the city needs to bolster tourism productdevelopment and promotion campaigns to lure more holidaymakers. In 2020, the capital city strives towelcome approximately 32 million visitors, including 8.22 million foreigners,up 10.2 percent and 17 percent year-on-year respectively. The city targets 116.7 trillion VND intourism revenue, a yearly rise of 12.5 percent./. VNA A DUP councillor has celebrated the flying of the rainbow flag at the Army headquarters in Northern Ireland to mark the 20th anniversary of the ending of the ban on gay people serving in the armed forces. Belfast councillor Guy Spence last night said that he wanted to send out a message that members of the LGBTQ community had "served with distinction in the military". The DUP has opposed councils across Northern Ireland flying the rainbow flag. Ards and North Down councillor Tom Smith, who went against his party to support lighting up his local town hall in rainbow colours, was deselected by the party last year. Mr Spence tweeted on Tuesday: "Today the MoD building in London was lit up alongside the rainbow flag flown here in NI to celebrate 20 years since our LGBT community were legally allowed to serve in the armed forces. I hope today has given people a chance to reflect on how wrong homophobic behaviour is!" The DUP councillor told the Belfast Telegraph: "I wanted to celebrate the lifting of the archaic rule that banned people from the armed services on the basis of their sexuality. Until the year 2000, gay people were dishonourably discharged and stripped of their medals. "I know many gay men and women who have served with distinction in the military. They are people who have shown great courage and I wanted to pay tribute to them." Mr Spence said he strongly supported a legal challenge by Falklands veteran John Ousalice (68), a radio operator who did six tours of duty in Northern Ireland. "He was forced out of the Royal Navy because he was bisexual," he said. "The MoD last month admitted his treatment was unacceptable and agreed to return the medal taken from him. "If any LGBT member of the armed forces from Northern Ireland experienced similar treatment, I would like them to contact me. I will support and represent them in any challenge they make." Last summer, gay DUP councillor, Alison Bennington, voted against the flying of the rainbow flag at Antrim and Newtownabbey Council offices to mark Pride celebrations. DUP councillors in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Council also challenged a decision to fly a rainbow flag on council premises. And DUP members of Causeway Coast and Glens Council also walked out of a council meeting in apparent protest at a proposal to fly the flag. Foodies of the 21st Century are notoriously fickle beings, most of them always on the lookout for the next great thing to ingest and to post on Instagram. Other folks, however, have a soft spot for tradition, happy to pay homage to those dining spots that continue to endure despite the vagaries of fads and the economy. In the Greater Capital Region, perhaps the oldest European-settled part of New York State, long-running restaurants abound, from fine dining to hot dog shacks, seasonal venues, and many other levels in between. Determining the oldest restaurant in the region depends upon definitions. For example, a case can be made that the continuous operation award has to go to The Whitehouse Restaurant in the Saratoga County village of Ballston Spa. It has been around since 1856, but it began as a hotel and took a while to become what today passes for a restaurant, so it gets an asterisk (*) since were not sure when it slung its first hash. The oldest documented restaurant is the Orchard Tavern, a venerable purpose-built Albany pizza joint and bar founded in 1903. After that come a pair of spots founded in 1913 the upscale Jacks Oyster House, just down the State Street hill from the state Capitol building in Albany, and the uber-casual Manorys in downtown Troy, the citys oldest eatery. As far as lineage goes for that trio, only Jacks remains in the hands of its founding family, with third-generation proprietor Brad Rosenstein grandson of the namesake founder handling the reins of a spot long famous for hosting political horse trading and business deal-making meals. The other two both came under new ownership in 2018 -- The Orchard purchased by Chris Montefore (who recently opened a satellite venue in suburban Guilderland), and Manorys by Anthony Marchese, son of former owners Lou and Jen Marchese, plus partners Brendan Jones, Jack Engster, and Connor McGrath. And then there is New Way Lunch in Glens Falls that celebrated its 100th birthday last August, still dishing out its signature hot dogs as founder John Floro began doing when he arrived here from Greece. Another hot dog emporium, the similarly-named Newest Lunch in Schenectady, is a comparative toddler at age 98. All that said, lets take a tour of the Capital Region dining spots that have been in business for 50 years or more, with capsule descriptions of the 10 oldest (11, actually, since theres a tie for the No.10 slot). Bear in mind that several restaurants are not doing business in their original locations, and several others have branched out into multiple venues. (*) WHITEHOUSE RESTAURANT & BAR (1856) Whitehouse Restaurant and Bar 95 Milton Ave., Ballston Spa 518-885-6797 | website This venerable spot in the quaint Saratoga County villages downtown is a touch shopworn, but with a lot of historic appeal, including local-topic paintings created a couple of generations ago by a visitor in exchange for lodging. A dark-but-inviting barroom separate from the dining area instantly evokes the 50s. The dining areas are very popular for the breakfast offerings, and the diner-style menu includes a rotating line of imaginative house-made soups of all sorts, plus house-made baked goods. ORCHARD TAVERN (1903) Orchard Tavern 68 North Manning Blvd., Albany 518-482-5677 | website The license plate collection over the bar is a tipoff this is a homey, dress-down spot. It hasnt changed much in the past few decades, still sporting green-and-white checked tablecloths, acoustic tile ceilings, and restaurant supply house chairs. But people dont come here for ambiance. They come for the pizza (20 different toppings available), chili, French onion soup, burgers, and wings. Basic, tasty stuff that has met with public approval for a very long time, and it has stayed that way under recent new ownership. JACKS OYSTER HOUSE (1913) Jack's Oyster House 42 State St., Albany 518-465-8854 | website One of those rare places where the wait-staff is tuxedo-clad, an elegant touch that endures nicely. It has never closed its doors since onetime oyster shucker Jack Rosenstein founded the place several blocks from its current location the same year Richard Nixon, Jimmy Hoffa, and Mark Felt (Deep Throat of Watergate fame) were born. Although the vibe is upscale, the folksy greeting all patrons receive -- Welcome home, something the late Arnold Rosenstein, Jacks son, dreamed up helps avoid stuffiness. An expansion project several years ago was accomplished without disturbing the clubby Old New York atmosphere, all wood and leather banquettes, historic framed photos, and soft lighting. The menu is a classic, too, with several original 1913 recipes in use along with such old school offerings as steak Diane, calves liver and onions, and grilled Delmonico steaks. Wonderfully stocked bar presided over by well-trained mixologists. MANORYS (1913) Manory's 99 Congress St., Troy 518-272-2422 | website The citys oldest eatery has undergone a few minor updates since changing hands several years ago, but retains a comfy if shopworn vibe that continues to be appreciated by multiple generations -- students from nearby Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Russell Sage College flocking there just as much as a clientele ranging from retirees who have been visiting for decades to young parents with boisterous kids in tow. The main drawing cards are the big breakfasts, the quirky milkshakes (PB&J, caramel latte, Fruity Pebbles, brown sugar Pop Tart, etc.), tantalizingly greasy burgers and an outward-facing ice cream window that doles out goodies to walk-up patrons. PENNELLS RESTAURANT (1922) Pennell's Restaurant 284 Jefferson St., Saratoga Springs 518-583-2423 | website This icon celebrates its age in numerous ways -- with a wall-hanging collection of old photos, framed newspaper clippings, and other esoterica; a mix of painted and finished wood surfaces in a crisply-decorated dining room, and a menu of Italian-American classics frequently employing a marinara recipe developed here in 1922. Overall, the menu leans toward seafood -- nearly all the appetizers and about half of the entrees -- and will be familiar to anyone who has ever visited an Italian restaurant. RALPHS TAVERN (1929) Ralph's Tavern 1328 Central Ave., Albany 518-489-8290 | website The nondescript exterior is a fooler. Inside, the long, narrow space is an Italian-American time capsule, with a color palette of red, green, and dark wood, a menu relying on familiar parms, seafood, pizzas (two dozen toppings), and the like. Cocktails are generous and priced below what one usually finds in the market ($8 for a generous Manhattan, for example). The place hasnt changed much in its 90-year run perhaps with the exception of adding the requisite chicken wings a dozen years ago -- and that is intentional. When Joseph Fagan bought the restaurant a little over a decade ago, he promised not to change a thing, saying, "You don't change something that works. And, he hasnt. PANZAS RESTAURANT (1930) Panza's Restaurant 129 South Broadway,Saratoga Springs 518-584-6882 | website A grandiose plan to raze the original restaurant on the shore of nearby Saratoga Lake to make room for a new restaurant, hotel, and docking facilities didnt fare well with local planners, so the project has been delayed. With a building in need of major renovations, the Panza family went with Plan B, packing up and heading for the fringes of downtown Saratoga Springs last spring to lease and set up shop in a sprawling stone-clad building that had been vacant for a number of years after being home to such restaurants as Paradiso Ristorante and the Trade Winds. The menu is a paen to family, with Jillian, Michael, Ma Panza, Andrew, Alexander, and Aunt Celia incorporated into the names of many dishes. While reliably Italian-American, the menu includes a few other touches, such as a boursin-stuffed chicken breast, crispy Long Island duckling with a fig honey glaze, and steak au poivre. SPERRYS (1932) Sperry's 30 Caroline St., Saratoga Springs 518-584-9618 | website Consistency must be in the DNA of this venerable establishment since its part of the charm no matter who has run the show over the years. That and the atmosphere created by the large-checked floor, leather banquettes, and dark wood wainscoting. Key staffers are highly trained. General manager Kareem NeJame, a native Central New Yorker, studied business management at Villanova University and culinary arts at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, and has stops at several Manhattan gems on his resume. Executive chef Scott Carlton, born on Long Island but raised Upstate, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1997, has a resume that ranges from Cape Cod and Boston to such well-regarded local kitchens as 43 Phila, Glen Sanders Mansion, Provence, and Milano. His menu shows a deft balance of classic and modern offerings. Among the appetizers: lamb lollipops with a white bean salad and a rosemary-mint gastrique; meatballs stuffed with aged provolone and broccoli rabe, and wasabi shrimp with bacon, bok choy, and chili sauce. And, among the entrees: a braised lamb shank with Parmesan risotto, roasted cippolini, baby carrots, and a Chianti reduction; a 14-ounce prime New York strip with Bordelaise sauce, roasted fingerlings, and shiitake mushrooms, and a prosciutto wrapped cod loin with a soft herb polenta, roasted asparagus, and lemon caper butter. THE WISHING WELL (1936) The Wishing Well 745 Saratoga Road, Gansevoort 518-584-7640 | website The restaurant opened in 1936, but the historic structure has been on the site since it was built in 1823 by Perry Stiles, one of the Town of Wiltons founding families. Current proprietors Bob and Mary Alice Lee keep it seriously entrenched in the 1950s. Not stuck, mind you. Entrenched. In a good way. Comfy wood walls, a crackling fire in the hearth, a few tables to use for drinks or a bite, frequently enhanced by live piano music, friendly bartenders who can make old school cocktails with the best of them. The dining room gives the impression youre seated in someones well-maintained home. The menu ranges from a three-course select-your-own prix fixe dinner for $35 to a middle American range of entrees that have endures over the generations steaks, chops, salmon, chicken parm, and so forth. SMITHS RESTAURANT (1937) Smith's Restaurant 171 Remsen St., Cohoes 518-237-9809 | website This is one of the most politically historic venues in an area replete with them. In most instances, wed be referring to patrons meeting for drinks, steaks, and deal making. Here, were talking about who founded it Big Mike Smith, a local Democrat party boss who held court in the 1930s and 40s in what began in 1873 as a pool hall, became a silent movie theater, and then a tavern around the turn of the 20th Century. Its eye-catching 50-foot-long mahogany and walnut bar was obtained from another political stronghold, the notorious Tammany Hall political club in New York City. Smiths has had a variety of owners since the 1960s, and were waiting to see what happens to the proprietorship since the latest owner, developer Joseph Hostig, died recently. Meanwhile, the operation perseveres with a menu that would do any old-fashioned steakhouse proud: Big Mikes 14-ounce pork porterhouse, 18-ounce beef porterhouse, 16-ounce bone-in ribeye, shepherds pie, stuffed chicken or salmon, pierogis and kielbasa, and other hefty possibilities. JACKS DRIVE-IN (1937) Jack's Drive In 24 Main Ave., Wynantskill 518-283-5110 | website This roadside shack doesnt serve haute cuisine, but it does dish out hot cuisine from March through November to locals who see its annual opening as a harbinger of spring. The Deeb family is the owner, a bunch of people who are whirling dervishes keeping pace with heavy demand from a menu of hot dogs with meat sauce, cheeseburgers, fries, sliders, milk shakes, and the like. Plenty of parking on the grounds located right on the Troy city line, with picnic tables for those who cant wait till they get home to eat their bounty. AND, some younger oldies but goodies: HATTIES RESTAURANT (1938) 45 Phila St., Saratoga Springs 518-584-4790 | website DUNCANS DAIRY BARN (1939) 890 Hoosick Road, Brunswick 518-279-9985 | website MASSIES RESTAURANT (1939) 69 Main St., South Glens Falls 518-792-3383 | website TURF TAVERN (1940) 40 Mohawk Ave., Scotia 518-393-3344 | website VERDILES (1943) 572 2nd Ave., Troy 518-235-8879 | website REDS RESTAURANT (1944) 12005 Route 9W, West Coxsackie 518-731-8181 | website NOTTY PINE RESTAURANT (1946) 2301 15th St., Troy 518-272-4557 | website JACKS DINER (1947) 547 Central Ave., Albany 518-482-9807 | website WINSLOWS (1948) 801 Saratoga Road, Gansevoort 518-584-2489 | website THE CENTURY HOUSE (1949) 997 New Loudon Road (Route 9), Latham 518-785-0834 | website TEDS FISH FRY (1949) 350 2nd Ave., Troy (and 5 other locations) 518-235-5552 | website TOPS AMERICAN GRILL, BAKERY & BAR (1953) 351 Duanesburg Road, Rotterdam 518-55-9864 | website GUSS HOT DOGS (1954) 212 25th St., Watervliet, 518-273-8743 | website TINNEYS TAVERN (1954) 498 Lake Desolation Road, Middle Grove 518-450-1066 | website JUMPIN JACKS (1956) 5 Schonowee Ave., Scotia 518-393-6101 | website VALENTES RESTAURANT (1958) 315 8th St., Watervliet 518-273-3314 | website KAYS BURDEN LAKE PIZZA (1958) 10 Walsh Lane, Averill Park 518-674-5413 | website BUBBLES RESTAURANT (1958) 150 South Central Ave., Mechanicville 518-664-4946 | website THE FOUNTAIN (1962) 283 New Scotland Ave., Albany 518-482-9898 | website CHEZ PIERRE (1964) 979-1144 Saratoga Road, Gansevoort 518-793-3350 | website RED FRONT RESTAURANT & TAVERN (1964) 71 Division St., Troy 518-272-9241 | (2nd location in Clifton Park) | website SCOTTIS RESTAURANT & PIZZERIA (1966) 1730 Union St., Schenectady 518-393-7440 | website BROADWAY LUNCH (1967) 2101 Broadway, Schenectady 518-372-3222 | website INFERNO PIZZERIA (1968) 496 Albany Shaker Road, Colonie 518-459-2121 | (and 5 other locations) | website THE BEARS STEAKHOUSE (1969) 8254 Duanesburg Road, Duanesburg 518-895-2509 | website COUNTRY DRIVE-IN (1969) 1455 Crescent-Vischer Ferry Road, Clifton Park 518-371-3455 | website Read More Finding Funkytown: A guide to 6 offbeat eateries in the Capital Region 2019 restaurant openings and closings in the Greater Capital Region A dining guide to the 518: 50 cant-miss places to eat from Plattsburgh to Albany to Hudson Hungry for something new? A tour of food halls in the Capital Region Eat like royalty: 12 places in Upstate NY where you can dine in a mansion 1920: Syracuse is dry and dreary on the first day of Prohibition (William M. Dowd, a longtime journalist and author and a judge in the fields of food and drink, lives in Troy, . His daily blog, Notes On Napkins, covers those fields in the Greater Capital Region, Adirondacks, Catskills, and western New England.) A temple priest in neighbouring Chitrakoot district was allegedly shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants while his driver sustained injuries, police said on Friday. According to Chitrakoot Superintendent of Police Ankit Mittal, the priest of Balaji temple in town Mahant Arjundas (46) and his driver Ashish Tiwari were shot by unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants on Thursday night. The SP said, "Around 9 pm on Thursday, Arjundas and his driver Ashish Tiwari were shot at by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants in Ramghat. They were returning from a meeting with the Mahant of Nirmohi Akhara on a motorcycle." He added that two bullets hit Arjundas on his head, while the driver sustained a bullet injury on his hand in the shootout. Both men were admitted to a government hospital where the priest was declared brought dead, Mittal said. The officer also informed that two persons, who have been detained in the case, are being interrogated while a search is on for the assailants. There was a dispute in a local court between the slain priest and Mangaldas, another priest in the temple, over priesthood duties, the SP said adding that the matter is being investigated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The illegal immigrant charged with the rape and murder of a jogger in a Hudson County park last year admitted to killing her, it was revealed at a pre-trial hearing in Hudson County Superior Court Friday. Jorge Rios, 33, was seated as Judge Patrick Arre read into record his statement where he admitted to the murder of 45-year-old Carolina Cano, who had been out on an early morning jog in Lincoln Park in Jersey City on March 24, 2019. Cano, 45, was raped and strangled and her half-naked body was found in the lake inside the park. Rios was in the country illegally and authorities have said that he was deported twice previously. He was arrested on March 31 and eventually ordered detained through his prosecution. The two sides will be in court again in Jan. 23 to talk about the status of plea negotiations. If Rios goes to trial, his admission of the murder will be admissible in court, the judge said. Rios remained handcuffed during the 13-minute proceeding while an interpreter translated what the judge was saying. Rios did not speak during the hearing. Canos murder spurred the county to introduce new security measures at the park. A blue light system, which consists of seven emergency stations spread throughout the park, will allow park visitors to get help from emergency services at the click of a button. The stations, which are similar to those found on college campuses, each contain a camera and blue light at the top. The county also added 11 surveillance cameras, bringing the total in the park to 55, not including the cameras attached to the blue light stations. The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Congress MP Karti Chidambaram to withdraw Rs 20 crore which he had deposited with the court's registry as a condition for being allowed to travel abroad. Earlier, the apex court had in January and May last year granted Karti Chidambaram permission to travel abroad after depositing Rs 20 crore (Rs 10 crore for January and 10 Crore for May) with the Secretary-General of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had allowed Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union Minister P Chidambaram, to travel to the United States, Spain and Germany in May and June 2019. Providing the relief, the bench headed by the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi directed Karti to deposit a security of Rs 10 crore. Karti has been questioned on several occasions in the INX media case in which both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are probing how Karti managed to obtain clearance to the tune of Rs 305 crore from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 2007 when his father was the finance minister. The ED had registered a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) case based on FIR by the CBI and alleged that irregularities took place in the FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ALBANY, N.Y. Jessica Pascale, 34, of Troy, recently pleaded guilty to defrauding the Social Security Administration (SSA) by diverting and stealing the benefit payments of two children while she was employed as a Social Security claims representative. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and John F. Grasso, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, New York Field Office. As part of her guilty plea, Pascale admitted that in July and Sept. 2019, she used the SSA computer system in the SSAs Troy office to divert two Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit payments intended for two minor children, totaling $3,309.34, into her personal bank account. Neither the children, nor their parents, were aware of the thefts, which were discovered through internal controls at SSA. Pascale pled guilty to four felony charges: two charges of theft of government property and two charges of fraud in connection with identification information. At sentencing on May 20, 2020, Pascale faces up to 15-years in prison and up to 3-years of supervised release. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-18 01:11:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Myanmar President U Win Myint in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Myanmar President U Win Myint here on Friday, stressing the importance of the "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between China and Myanmar. Xi said that Myanmar turns to be the destination of his first overseas trip this year when the two countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, highlighting the great importance of the "Paukphaw" friendship and deepening bilateral ties. Xi arrived here earlier Friday for a state visit to the Asian neighbor. It is the first visit to Myanmar by a Chinese president after an interval of 19 years. WASHINGTON For the first time, the Iowa Democratic Party will report three sets of results from the partys presidential caucuses. And there is no guarantee that all three will show the same winner. Each set of results represents a different stage of the caucus. The new rules for the Feb. 3 contest were mandated by the Democratic National Committee in a bid to make the process more transparent. In the past, Iowa Democrats reported only one set of results: the number of state convention delegates won by each candidate through the caucus process. Democrats choose their partys eventual White House nominee based on national convention delegates, and the state delegates are used to determine those totals in Iowa. Now, there will be three sets of results: tallies of the first alignment of caucus-goers, their final alignment and the total number of State Delegate Equivalents each candidate receives. Caucuses are different from primaries. In a primary, voters go to the polls, cast their ballots and leave. At a caucus, voters gather at local precincts and declare support for their chosen candidate then some have an opportunity to switch sides. In Iowa, voters arriving at their caucus site will fill out a card that lists their first choice. Those results will be tabulated and will determine the results of the first alignment. Caucus-goers whose first-choice candidate fails to get at least 15% of the vote can switch their support to a different candidate. The threshold can be higher at some precincts. If voters dont choose another candidate, their vote wont count in the final alignment. They can choose uncommitted but that choice only gets reported if it, too, gets at least 15% of the vote. The results of this stage will be tabulated to determine the caucuses final alignment. Only candidates who receive at least 15% of the vote at that precinct the so-called viable candidates will be counted in the final alignment. Non-viable candidates get zero votes in the final alignment. The final alignment votes are then used to calculate the number of state convention delegates awarded to each candidate. Stephen Ohlemacher is an Associated Press writer. On TV shes the prickly uptight older sister of Fleabag. But in real life Sian Clifford has learned how to celebrate a softer side. The 37-year-old actress, who plays Claire in the Phoebe Waller-Bridge sitcom, has revealed that she launched her own wellness website after having a breakdown. And she says it later helped her to cope with the overwhelming success of the cult BBC comedy. Sian Clifford, 37, (pictured with Phoebe Waller-Bridge) who plays Claire in the Phoebe Waller-Bridge sitcom, has revealed that she launched her own wellness website after having a breakdown I started running meditation classes in London, she told Porter magazine. But also, I had a breakdown, because I had three jobs: One for the money and two for love. 'And I gave myself six weeks to create, launch and brand this whole thing. Miss Clifford launched Still Space in 2015 in an effort to destroy the delusion that business and burnout equal success. And she says it later helped her to cope with the overwhelming success of the cult BBC comedy She said she had been inspired by watching Star Wars. I took myself to see Star Wars and I swear to God that it saved my life, the energy it gave me, she said. I was doing absolutely nothing. And that was the true reason that Still Space existed. I wrote the name Still Space at the top of the page and it felt like a gift. 'Its not until you find yourself on the floor, and you cant get up, that you deal with it. Miss Clifford launched Still Space in 2015 in an effort to destroy the delusion that business and burnout equal success Addressing the success of Fleabag, she said: If I hadnt been in that place, it could have been extremely unsettling and overwhelming, because we never could have anticipated what happened to Fleabag last year. She said she wants to continue collaborating with Miss Waller-Bridge, who won a Golden Globe for the comedy, because it is so easy and fluid and they have an implicit trust. Miss Clifford will next be seen playing Diana Ingram in ITV series Quiz, a dramatisation of the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? coughing scandal. A 21-year-old woman was seriously injured after she was allegedly stabbed by a man who wanted to marry her in the Kavi Nagar area here on Friday, police said. The woman is undergoing treatment at a hospital, they said, adding the man has been arrested. Deputy Superintendent of Police Atish Kumar said the woman and the man are relatives and both hail from Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. The man is the brother-in-law of the elder sister of the woman and he was friends with the victim. They would often meet, he said. On Friday morning, the man proposed her for marriage and she rejected it. The accused got angry and stabbed the woman on her neck, Kumar said. He tried to slit her throat but passersby caught hold of him and called police, the DSP said. The incident took place in Sanjay nagar near the district government hospital, he said. The woman was rushed to a private hospital where she is undergoing treatment, police said. The accused was arrested and sent to jail, they said. The woman is pursuing nursing, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lisa Armstrong has made her feelings clear on social media after liking a tweet which branded her ex Ant McPartlin 's****y and spineless' amid their divorce battle. The make-up artist, 43, took to Twitter following claims the former couple agreed to settle their divorce agreement during a 'productive and civil' meeting on Tuesday. It has been reported that Ant is set to hand over 31million to his ex-wife in the settlement, including their 5million former marital home in West London. Fuming: Lisa Armstrong has made her feelings clear on social media after liking a tweet which branded her ex Ant McPartlin 's****y and spineless' amid their divorce battle Following the alleged agreement, Lisa liked a tweet which suggested that the money she is about to receive 'means nothing' because it 'can't buy respect'. The post read: 'I bet the money means nothing in some respects, it certainly can't buy the respect she deserves... The tweet also suggested that she was forced into silence, adding: 'Or make-up for the s****y spineless way he scurried off & tried to silence her.' It continued: 'What the sum is I'm sure it will be put to much better use & I wish her all the best. [heart emoji].' Settlement: It has been reported that Ant is set to hand over 31million to his ex-wife in the settlement, including their 5million former marital home in West London Not happy: The make-up artist, 43, took to Twitter following claims the former couple agreed to settle their divorce agreement during a 'productive and civil' meeting on Tuesday This comes following reports that Ant is keen to 'move on' with girlfriend Anne-Marie Corbett, now that the former couple have managed to come to an agreement. It was reported by The Mirror on Thursday the TV presenter, 44, wanted to ensure that he focused on his girlfriend now he and his ex wife had decided to settle. Claiming that Ant wants things to be 'all about' Anne-Marie, a source told the publication: 'Its all about her now. He just wants them to be happy.' Claims: After allegedly reaching a settlement with his ex, it was reported that Ant wants things to be 'all about' Anne-Marie, as he 'just wants them to be happy' Anne-Marie was seen for the first time since since the report while she took their two Maltipoo dogs, Milo and Bumble, for a walk in London on Wednesday. The former PA, 44, couldn't wipe the smile off her face during the outing as she walked around the common with their pet pooches. This claim comes after Ant allegedly agreed to Lisa more than half of his estimated 50 million fortune. According to The Sun, the I'm A Celebrity host is 'delighted' the case has come to an end as he can 'move on', two years after announcing their split. A source close to both sides told the paper: 'Ant and Lisa agreed to settle and sign their divorce agreement during a productive and civil meeting on Tuesday. Pay out: This comes after it was reported that Ant has allegedly agreed to give his estranged wife Lisa 31 million in their divorce settlement (pictured together in 2015) 'Ant made a very generous settlement that works out to be more than half of everything that he has. 'He is delighted because it means he can put what has been a very difficult chapter in his life behind him and move on.' MailOnline has contacted representatives for Ant and Lisa for comment. However, as the news broke, Lisa took to Twitter to deny the claims, posting: 'Nope a load of nonsense AGAIN....' Battle: However, as the news broke, Lisa took to Twitter to deny the claims, posting: 'Nope a load of nonsense AGAIN....' (pictured in April, 2019) Denial: Lisa denied reports the couple have finally reached a divorce settlement on Twitter, calling it a 'load of old nonsense' She went to 'like' tweets which stated: 'no amount of money could ever compensate for what this poor girl has had to endure', and 'Get what you can! 'You deserve it! Terrible treatment of you since you found out when we did! And with a so called friend! Its heartbreaking behaviour'. Ant and Lisa married in July 2006 and announced they were divorcing in January 2018. Their union legally came to an end during a 30-second hearing in October that year. The tech industry's stories about itself always start with nimble startups with great ideas typically founded, from Hewlett-Packard to Apple to Google, by two people in a garage. But today, many small tech companies feel like they're fighting for survival in an industry where giants have grown entrenched and domineering. Driving the news: That latter perspective will be on display for lawmakers Friday at a House antitrust subcommittee hearing in Boulder, Colo., where four smaller companies will detail how Google, Amazon, and Apple have smothered their growth. The big picture: Silicon Valley once maintained that its small-and-scrappy ethos was the key to innovation, as Alexis Madrigal has described in The Atlantic. But today's giant companies argue that important change happens only "at scale," and only operations their size can compete with China. What they're saying: The executives speaking at Friday's hearing will air their complaints about how the practices of tech's biggest companies are stifling smaller firms. "Amazon has gotten used to dictating the terms of its partnerships because it can and most of its young partners are unable to survive if they say, 'Im not happy with these terms so Im going to go elsewhere.' Theres nowhere for them to go." David Barnett, founder of PopSockets, to Axios PopSockets versus Amazon: Barnett, whose company makes eponymous circular grips that stick to the back of phones, grew so frustrated with Amazon's treatment of his company that he eventually stopped selling on the platform. Amazon failed to take real action against counterfeit PopSockets grips until the company agreed to a nearly $2 million marketing deal, he said. Only then did Amazon start requiring vendors listing PopSockets products to provide evidence that they were authentic. Eventually PopSockets decided to stop selling directly to Amazon and instead sell its products through a reseller on the platform. But Amazon shut that down, citing policy violations. PopSockets subsequently returned to selling on Amazon. "To me it was a bit ironic that one of the main reasons I had given for wanting to try a different model was we were being strong-armed, and the response was, 'No, youre not going to leave this relationship,'" Barnett said in an interview. Amazon says marketing fees or payments do not play a role in its efforts to police counterfeits, and that it requires some popular, widely available brands to sell directly to the company to ensure customers receive lower prices. PopSockets has been a valued retail vendor at Amazon and also supplies its products directly to other major retailers, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. We sought to continue working with Popsockets as a vendor to ensure that we could provide competitive prices, availability, broad selection and fast delivery for those products to our customers. Like any brand, however, PopSockets is free to choose which retailers it supplies and chose to stop selling directly through Amazon. Even so, weve continued to work with PopSockets to address our shared concerns about counterfeits, and continue to have a relationship with PopSockets. The company also unveiled a survey earlier this week that found that small businesses don't rely on Amazon alone for their online sales. Lawmakers will also hear from: Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos: The speaker maker said it worked with Google to include Google's voice assistant with its speaker only to have Google steal Sonos technology for its own speakers. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda accused Sonos of making "misleading statements," and said, "Our technology and devices were designed independently." The speaker maker said it worked with Google to include Google's voice assistant with its speaker only to have Google steal Sonos technology for its own speakers. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda accused Sonos of making "misleading statements," and said, "Our technology and devices were designed independently." Kirsten Daru, vice president and general counsel of Tile: Tile makes small devices to help track lost items like keys or a wallet. The company was part of a group of companies that complained when Apple changed its settings to prevent apps including Tile's from obtaining "always-allow" location tracking during the set-up process, according to a Washington Post report. Apple said the change was to protect users' privacy, but the company is working with developers interested in setting location tracking to "always allow" at set-up to include that option in a future software update. Tile makes small devices to help track lost items like keys or a wallet. The company was part of a group of companies that complained when Apple changed its settings to prevent apps including Tile's from obtaining "always-allow" location tracking during the set-up process, according to a Washington Post report. Apple said the change was to protect users' privacy, but the company is working with developers interested in setting location tracking to "always allow" at set-up to include that option in a future software update. David Heinemeier Hansson, CTO and co-founder of Basecamp: Hansson called for Google to be broken up after complaining that paid ads for competitors appeared before Basecamp's website does in Google search results. To spotlight the issue, Basecamp bought Google ads that accused the search company of demanding ransom. Castaneda said competitors can bid on trademarked terms because "it offers users more choice when they are searching," but if a trademark owner files a complaint Google will block competitors from using its business name in the actual text of their ads. What to expect: Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline will focus on the power dominant platforms have to dictate terms or tweak algorithms at the expense of competitors or smaller players in his opening statement at the hearing at the University of Colorado Law School. Lawmakers are also expected to meet with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser during the trip. Weiser is involved in multi-state antitrust investigations of Facebook and Google. Between the lines: Companies that rely on online platforms to reach consumers could stand to lose a lot by publicly complaining about them. Despite PopSockets' recent return to Amazon, Barnett acknowledged he's worried about possible retaliation. "Im concerned but I hope theres no retaliation," Barnett said. "I hope Amazon and especially Jeff Bezos listens to whats going on and tries in good faith to solve these problems before legislators or the Justice Department step in and try to solve them for Amazon." The bottom line: Americans often root for the little guy, but antitrust enforcement in the U.S. has mostly focused on harm to consumers rather than protecting the rights of smaller companies. Russia's envoy to India on Friday said Moscow did not have any doubt over India's approach to Kashmir. "Those having doubts over India's approach on Kashmir can go there; we don't have any doubt," Nikolay Kudashev said when asked about not being invited to visit Jammu and Kashmir. On China's attempt to raise the issue of Kashmir at the Security Council, Kudashev said, "It's a strictly bilateral matter to discuss between India and Pakistan based on Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration." The ambassador made these remarks during a press conference on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to India for Raisina Dialogue 2020. The Russian envoy to India had earlier said he did not receive an invitation from the Indian government to be part of the group of envoys which paid a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir last week. A group of 15 envoys visited Kashmir A group of 15 envoys, including the US ambassador to India Kenneth Juster, visited the erstwhile state where they interacted with select political representatives, civil society members as well as the military top brass. The visit came after India abrogated Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir and imposed communication restrictions on the region, which is being lifted in a phased manner. The group of foreign envoys included those from United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Maldives, Morocco, Fiji, Norway, Philippines, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Guyana. China-Pakistan's flop meeting China and Pakistan managed to hold an informal closed-door consultation on Kashmir in the UNSC in New York. However, the meeting ended without an outcome after the overwhelming majority of the UNSC conveyed that the world body was not the right forum to discuss the Kashmir issue, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Thursday. READ | Putin-nominated Mikhail Mishustin appointed Russia's new Prime Minister READ | All S-400 missiles to be delivered to India by 2025: Russian deputy chief of mission S-400 missiles to be delivered to India by 2025 Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin also met Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Friday and said all S-400 air defence missile systems will be delivered to India by 2025. The production of S-400 missiles to be delivered to India has started, he said. The S-400, an upgraded version of the S-300, had previously only been available to the Russian defence forces. It is manufactured by Almaz-Antey and has been in service in Russia since 2007. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Russia on March 22 and March 23 to attend a meeting of the Russia-Indian-China trilateral. READ | Poland, Lithuania vow to resist Russian historical offensive READ | China on US trade deal, Russia, coronavirus, UNSC (With agency inputs) A meeting of the synod of the Syro Malabar Church, the apex body of Catholic Bishops, chaired by Cardinal Mar George Alencherry at St. Thomas Mount, Kakkanad, Kochi. Kochi: A controversy has erupted within the Syro Malabar Church over its official statement that love jihad is a reality in Kerala and that it is being used as a tactic to convert non-Muslims and recruit for radical organisations. Not just activists but priests of the church and leaders of laity groups have criticised the right-wing stand taken by the church. Startled by the synods open declaration on a hotly debated topic, the National Commission for Minorities has sent a notice to the states director-general of police Lokanath Behera, asking him to submit a report on allegations that the police have failed to curb conversions by inducement. The DGP has been asked to submit a report in 21 days. Love jihad is the right-wing term for tactics allegedly employed by Muslim men to entice, through love and romance, young non-Muslim women into their faith. The official statement issued by the synod of the Syro Malabar Church had said that love jihad was indeed happening, and went on to suggest that this has become a channel of recruitment to the Islamic State and other radical Islamic organizations. The synod is the apex body of Catholic bishops chaired by Cardinal Mar George Alencherry. Fr. Kuriakose Mundadan, a dissident senior priest of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese and a former secretary of the Presbyterian Council, has written an article in the latest edition of Sathyadeepam (Light of Truth), a publication managed by the archdiocese, sharply criticising the synods statement. In the article Fr. Mundadan pointed out that even the courts have dismissed the notion that there is a phenomenon of love jihad. Several girls and boys have converted to Christianity for love and marriage. Does the church have any data on such conversions? he asked. Fr. Mundadan has previously hit out at Cardinal Alencherry over a controversial land deal that allegedly caused a huge financial loss to the Church. Laity groups too come out strongly against the synods statement. Prof. Joseph Varghese, joint secretary of the Kerala Catholic Church Reformation Movement, said the statement is an attempt to divert attention from serious issues in which (the Church) is entangled. From sex scandals to corrupt land deals, the Church has much to hide, and it is using love jihad for that purpose. Jose Pallipadan, vice-president of the Cherupushpam Mission Leagues Edappally unit said the statement on love jihad is a ploy by the Church leadership to cosy up to the NDA government at the Centre. Church leaders questioned Fr. Mundadans claim to speak for sections of the church. The Syro Malabar Church Media Commissions secretary Fr. Antony Thalachelloor said the priests article in Sathyadeepam does not reflect the churchs stand. The publication is not an organ of the Syro Malabar Church. It is run by the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese. The views expressed by the priest are personal; the synods statement is the official stand of the Church, he added. The sudden and unexpected stance taken by the Catholic Church in Kerala has set social media abuzz. According to activists, it will only help the BJP and Hindutva organisations. Senior CPM leader and Kerala finance minister T M Thomas Isaac brushed aside as baseless the allegations made in the Catholic Church statement. He said the police should be left free to conduct an inquiry if any new cases (of love jihad) are reported. But no Congress leader has made any comment on the controversial statement released by the church. The Syro Malabar Churchs statement contended that the practice of induced conversions through love jihad was a growing concern in Kerala and that it is a threat to the social fabric of the state. The synod expressed apprehensions over the killings of Christian girls in the name of Love Jihad. The Church drew upon a 2016 report tabled by the then chief minister in the Kerala Assembly, in which it was reported that 21 missing youths from Kerala, including women and children, were reported to be in Islamic State (IS) camps. More than half of the 21 youths who joined IS from Kerala were Christians who were forcibly converted to Islam. There are many others who are not accounted for in the official records who are victims of Love Jihad and are being used for terrorist activities, said Fr. Antony Thalachelloor, in an official communique released by the Church Media Commission. Fr. Thalachelloor alleged that though complaints against forcible conversion of girls by seducing or blackmailing them with intimate photographs are on the rise, police have failed to take prompt action to curb such incidents,. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan welcomed the Church statement and sought a probe into the allegations levelled. Lightfoot reflected on her path from blue collar upbringing in rust belt Ohio to University of Chicago Law School and her time in the federal prosecutors office and as a corporate attorney. I ran for mayor of this great city so that kids that look like me and came from families like mine would never, ever, ever have to 'beat the odds to a get a good education, a good job, and blaze a trail toward their wildest dreams. Those are things that should not require beating the odds, " Lightfoot said. Your free time is precious, so how to spend it? Here are five ideas for Birmingham, Jan. 17-24, 2020. Terry Wyatt/Getty Images CONCERTS Cheer for Miranda Lambert. The country star returns to Birmingham on Saturday, kicking off her "Wildcard" tour, and the show promises to be a high-energy twangfest. Lambert is a dynamo on stage, and her setlist is bound to be packed with hits "Kerosene," "Little Red Wagon," "The House That Built Me" and more. Cody Johnson and LANCO open, starting at 7 p.m. at the Legacy Arena at the BJCC. Miranda Lambert, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m., Legacy Arena at the BJCC, 2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North, $23-$239 via Ticketmaster. Don't Edit Image by annca from Pixabay BENEFITS Support two downtown treasures and celebrate the Mardi Gras season at the Lyric Masquerade Ball. Saturday's event will raise money for the Lyric and Alabama theaters, via music, dancing, a silent auction, hors d'oeuvres, a bourbon tasting, an open bar and lots of socializing. Black tie and masks are encouraged for revelers at the Lyric, starting at 7 p.m. Lyric Masquerade Ball, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m., Lyric Theatre, 1800 Third Ave. North, $50, $75 VIP via Ticketmaster. Don't Edit Courtesy photo BOOKS Take a selfie with Charlaine Harris, author of the fantasy novels that inspired the "True Blood" TV series. She's back with a new character, Gunnie Rose, a gunslinging mercenary who's living in a magical, splintered version of America after the Great Depression. Harris will sign copies of "A Longer Fall," the latest installment in the Gunnie Rose series, on Tuesday at Books-A-Million in Homewood. Look for her there at 7 p.m. Charlaine Harris, signing copies of "A Longer Fall," Jan. 21 at 7 p.m., Books-A-Million, 757 Brookwood Village, 205-870-0213. Don't Edit Image by Parox Dark from Pixabay THEATER Ready for some divine decadence? Sally Bowles, the heroine of "Cabaret," certainly would approve. If you've never seen this award-winning musical, it's time to rectify that. The Virginia Samford Theatre launches its production on Thursday with Chelsea Reynolds as flawed and fabulous main character. The story takes place in a Berlin nightclub in the early 1930s, as the Nazis are rising to power. Sally's there, performing nightly and trying to become a star. That's all you need to know right now except that the show is filled with unforgettable tunes, political tension and wicked dance moves. "Cabaret," Jan. 23-Feb. 9, Virginia Samford Theatre, 1116 26th St. South, $100 patron party Jan. 23, otherwise $35-$50, 205-251-1206. Don't Edit Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com SPECIAL EVENTS Build, build, build. LEGO fans in Birmingham will have their hands full this weekend when BrickFair comes to the BJCC Exhibition Halls. The annual LEGO extravaganza features millions of colorful bricks, displays, games and family-friendly activities. It's all happening on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 10 a.m. daily. BrickFair LEGO Fan Expo, Jan. 18-19, BJCC Exhibition Halls, 2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North, $8.25-$13 daily in advance, $14 at door. Hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Don't Edit Don't Edit Image via Pixabay More on entertainment in Alabama: 100 must-see concerts coming to Alabama in 2020 The hottest new restaurants in Birmingham in 2019 Billie Eilish, Post Malone, Chili Peppers top 2020 Hangout Music fest lineup Grammy Awards 2020: 5 acts with Alabama ties among nominees Alabamas first cat cafe, Gatos and Beans, aims to make animal lovers purr Theres new life at Bessemers historic Lincoln Theatre President Donald Trump speaks at a Keep America Great campaign rally at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio, on Jan. 9, 2020. (Brittany Greeson/Getty Images) Assessing American Normalcy in the Age of Trump Commentary In Canada and the United Kingdom there is no shortage of skeptical opinion about Donald Trumps America. A year-end opinion column in the Globe and Mail provided a reminder that we are living in an odd time in which the lot of ordinary Americans is better than ever but is constantly presented as never having been worse. Headlined by a graphic image of an angry Donald Trump superimposed on a red flag, the Globe piece supported this curious habit with the dark prophesy that: In the 2020s, abnormal will remain the new normal. The columnist, Tom Fletcher, a former British Ambassador to Lebanon and principle elect of his alma mater, Hertford College, Oxford, wrote in a way remarkably in sync with the permanent state employees who testified at the inquiry leading to the U.S. presidents impeachment by the House of Representatives. Fletcher began by asserting that sensible diplomats dont make predictions. But he went on to freely prognosticate about the coming decade. The 2020s he said, will be no less erratic than the period since the (hopefully temporary) 2016 resignation of America as the most influential driving force for liberty in history. In a breathtaking anti-trump diatribe, Fletcher contended that we are living through a particularly abnormal period in history clearly brought on by the election of a disruptive American president. He suggested that if Trump remains in the White House, abnormal will remain the new normal. In his view, the presidents re-election would extend the vacancy for leader of the free world, cripple efforts to slow the climate crisis and delight the growing club of autocrats and despots who have profited. Fletcher also predicted that world affairs would be reduced to division, distraction, hatred, intolerance, craziness, tyranny, lies, chest thumping, and damage control. For a man concerned about the decline of diplomacy, the former ambassador was anything but diplomatic. Examining the Origins of Our Division Should the sources of American division and civic intolerance be so thoroughly attributed to the Trump campaign and the presidents razor-edge personal demeanour? Another U.K. scholar might beg to differ with Fletchers contentions. In his recent book The Madness of Crowds, British author Douglas Murray sets out to explain why post-modern societies are so filled with conflict. But he doesnt lay blame at the feet of Donald Trump or any other particular politician. Murray examines some of the most divisive issues in the present century: sexuality, gender, technology, and race. He clearly demonstrates that divisive culture wars were playing out in schools, universities, homes, and workplaces years before Trump ever considered running for president. Readers may recall that it was Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton who exposed the existing rift in American society when, during the 2015 election campaign, she described Trump supporters as a basket of deplorables. From that point on, ordinary Americans better understood the degree to which their own elites held them in contempt. Murray contends that we are living in a postmodern era in which traditional, religious, and cultural narratives have already collapsed. In their place, narrow sets of interests seek to weaponize identity and crusade against imagined enemies. Mutual intolerance is accelerated by powerful new forms of social and news media. Post-modern intellectuals reject the ideal of national unity in favour of tribal identities and global politics. Most academics no longer view society as a complex system of trust and traditions that developed over the centuries. They view everything through the prism of contemporary power relationships and intersectionality. This distorts rather than clarifies what should be considered as normal or abnormal. Hardings Appeal for Normalcy Belittled One hundred years ago, on the eve of the 1920s, middle America was seeking a return to what former president Warren Harding called normalcy. Harding said: Americas present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality. Like Trumps Make America Great Again, Hardings appeal for normalcy was belittled and maligned by progressive journalists. But he won the election of 1920 with 60.3 percent of the popular vote. A Troubling Form of Vengefulness Journalism is sometimes practiced in a very retributive mood. One consequence appears to be the normalization of a troubling form of vengefulness which has, over past decades, seeped into our everyday life and language. In that part of the world formed by a Judeo-Christian culture, this unforgiving manner might be regarded as spiritually abnormal. But it didnt begin with Donald Trump. Nor will it end if the secular left succeeds in bringing down Americas president. All of us know clever people with well-stocked minds and free-ranging intellects who speak well and influence crowds. But they seldom convince all of us because they clearly lack the virtue of good judgement. With so many middle-class, working Americans enjoying the benefits of the Trump economy, it is unlikely that sensible people will be inclined to vote against their own pocketbooks. One cant help thinking that this is really what Tom Fletcher is unhappy about. William Brooks is a writer and educator based in Montreal. He currently serves as editor of The Civil Conversation for Canadas Civitas Society and is an Epoch Times contributor. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A day after he scoffed at Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos' offer to invest USD 1 billion in India, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday tried to do damage control saying the country welcomes all kinds of investments that follow the "letter and spirit" of the law. Goyal clarified his remarks on Twitter as well as to reporters saying some people have misconstrued his remarks by suggesting that he had said something negative against Amazon. "I was only saying that investment should come as per the rules and regulation," he told reporters in Ahmedabad. Big-ticket investments in the retail space should not hurt small traders who do not have "lakhs and crores" of rupees, Goyal said. "We welcome all kinds of investment. However, the necessary legal process would follow if any investment is made outside the purview of law," he said. While Goyal had on Thursday raised questions about Amazon's business practices saying the company had done no big favours to India by announcing a new USD 1 billion investment, his party's foreign cell head Vijay Chauthaiwale tweeted barely-veiled criticism of Bezos-owned the Washington Post, which has been criticized by the BJP for its coverage of the Modi government's increasingly right-wing policies. Bezos who topped up his announcement of investing USD 1 billion to help bring small and medium business online, with an announcement of creating one million new jobs in India over the next five years. With an association of small traders aligned with the BJP holding demonstrations against his visit and India plans, the world's richest person visited a neighbourhood store in Mumbai, met Bollywood stars and captains of industry. "Our country has some rules for e-commerce industry. We welcome all those investments which come as per these rules. However, it should not create unfair competition for the small traders of India. They do not get zero per cent loans. They do not have lakhs and crores of rupees. They do business with small capital," said Goyal on Friday. On Thursday, he had questioned why the e-commerce market place should make losses but for its predatory pricing. "My statement should be seen in a perspective," he said in Ahmedabad on Friday adding that all countries welcome foreign investment but it should be within the framework of the law. "Our laws say that the interests of such small traders should not get hurt. Investment should be in the purview of set parameters. That is the view of me and the government," he added. If investments are not within the framework of law, then legal action would be initiated, he said. The minister in a tweet also expressed similar views. "We welcome all kinds of investments that follow the letter & spirit of the law. If some investment is outside the legal purview, appropriate action will be taken. Our government wants to ensure that unfair competition is not created for crores of small traders and retailers of the country," Goyal said in a tweet. Goyal has stated that e-commerce companies have to follow Indian rules in letter and spirit and not find loopholes to make a back-door entry into multi-brand retail segment. India does not allow foreign investment beyond 49 per cent in multi-brand retailing and has not yet approved any application of overseas retailers. "They (Amazon) may have put in a billion dollars but if they make a loss of a billion dollars every year, then jolly well will have to finance that billion-dollar. So, it is not as if they are doing a favour to India when they invest a billion dollars," Goyal said at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi on Thursday. The USD 1 billion investment by Amazon.com to help bring small and medium businesses online is on the top of USD 5.5 billion funding it had previously announced. The minister wondered why an e-commerce market place model, where a firm provides an IT platform for buyers and sellers, incurring huge losses adding that it needs to be looked upon. "They are investing money over the last few years also in warehousing and certain other activities, which is welcome and good. But if they are bringing in money largely to finance losses and those losses in an e-commerce market place model," Goyal said. He has added that in a fair market place model in a turnover of USD 10 billion if a company is incurring a loss of billion dollars, it "certainly raises questions, where the loss came from". Goyal has said that how can a marketplace make such a big loss unless they are indulging in "predatory pricing or some unfair trade practices". Fairtrade regulator CCI (Competition Commission of India) has recently ordered a probe against e-commerce majors Flipkart and Amazon for alleged malpractices, including deep discounting and tie-ups with preferred sellers on their platforms. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A government committee asked to review U.S. approval of new passenger planes after two deadly crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max has found that the system is safe and effective but could be improved. The committee differed sharply with legislators who are investigating Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration, which approved the Max. Key lawmakers have said they may try to stop the FAA from letting Boeing do some inspections and safety analysis on its own planes. Thursday's report came from a committee appointed by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in April, after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people and led regulators to ground Max jets worldwide. The committee said the FAA's system of delegating some safety work to aircraft manufacturers is effective and helps the U.S. aerospace industry thrive. Lee Moak, a former airline pilot and union leader who co-chaired the committee, said members did not look at internal communications in which Boeing employees raised safety alarms about the Max while it was being developed, and admitted misleading regulators. "It was not the purview of, or charter of, the committee to look at or investigate email traffic," he told reporters. In some of the Boeing employee messages, test pilots and other unnamed workers questioned the safety of the Max, called the plane a "joke" and talked about concealing problems from regulators. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Last week, leaders of the House Transportation Committee cited those messages and accused Boeing of deceiving regulators. Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said they will introduce legislation to strip the company of all or part of its authority to help approve its own aircraft as safe to fly. Yet the special committee to review the FAA's certification process wrote that the agency's system of delegating work to aircraft manufacturers is "rigorous, robust and overseen by engineers, inspectors, test pilots and managers committed to the primacy of safety." The committee wrote that it didn't do an investigation, but took a collaborative approach. Its mission was "to collect and analyze information, not find fault." Asked about possible mistakes in approving the Max, Moak said that was for other groups to investigate. The committee recommended that the system of delegating inspections to manufacturers should continue, and the FAA and industry should work together to address concerns about "potential undue pressure" on company employees designated to do inspections as planes go through the approval process. Police said the family had been dead inside the entire time and Todt sent messages to relatives as he lived with the bodies Neighbors hadn't seen the family since mid-December and relatives said they last heard from them January 6, sparking an investigation Neighbors of the three Todt children, their mother and dog are still in shock over their senseless murders as the stench of death lingers in the air of the home in Celebration, the town that Disney built. Anthony Todt, 44, who was crippled with debts, has confessed to killing his wife Megan, their children Alek, 13, Tyler, 11, and Zoe, 4, and dog Breezy and then lived with the corpses for more than a week before he was arrested by Osceola County Sheriff's deputies. Bobbie Sedwick became music teacher to the two Todt boys in September 2018 and would teach at their home twice a week. She taught her last lesson to the children on December 12. Sedwick tells DailyMail.com that she received a text from Megan on December 30 telling her the classes would start again on the second week of January. She never heard from her again. Anthony Todt, 44, confessed to killing his wife Megan, his three children Alek, 13, Tyler, 11, and Zoe, 4, and the family dog at home in Celebration, Florida The children's music tutor Bobbie Sedwick provided DailyMail.com with exclusive photos of the children during their music performances. The eldest Alek, 13, is pictured playing the violin Sedwick said Zoe Todt 'was friends with my daughter. She would eagerly wait my arrival every Monday and Thursday' 'Tyler constantly challenged me with his quest for music knowledge,' Sedwick said of 11-year-old Tyler who is pictured playing the piano If there's one word neighbors and acquaintances use when asked about the Todt children and wife, it's 'beautiful.' A proud Tyler Todt poses with his beloved music teacher Bobbie Sedwick Anthony Todt, a physical therapist, is believed to have killed this entire family sometime after the new year near Orlando. The children's music teacher has shared exclusive photos with DailyMail.com that show the Todts looking like the perfect family. 'The kids, I feel so bad,' said neighbor Monica Augustin, who lives next door to the Todts' rented house on a tree and white picket fence-lined street of Norman Rockwell homes in Celebration, a suburb of Orlando originally built by the Walt Disney Corporation. 'They were just darlings. I saw them outside three times a day. ''Good morning, ma'am,'' the older one would say. Then later, the second boy would greet me with ''Good evening, ma'am.'' The little girl was just funny. She was always following her brothers everywhere. 'My bedroom window overlooks the pool and I still hear them splash around and giggle in there for hours. 'This whole thing has changed my life. I can't look out the window without thinking of them.' Anthony Todt confessed to killing his entire family. They were reported missing by family members a week ago but neighbors hadn't seen them since mid-December The family was about to get evicted from this house, which they rented for $5,000 a month from a landlord who lives down the street This is the backyard pool area of the home where four members of the Todt family and a dog were killed by Anthony Todt Music teacher Sedwick said she taught her last lesson to the children on December 12 and was looking forward to classes starting again on the second week of January. She said she taught the boys piano, violin and guitar twice a week at their home. She added that she was 'blessed to be the family's friend.' 'Megan and I immediately bonded,' Sedwick said. 'We both have three kids, two boys, and four-year-old daughters. We were both homeschooling moms, and we both loved Siesta Key (an island on Florida's west coast). 'Megan made meals for my whole family during weeks my son had three surgeries last year.' She continued: 'Zoe was friends with my daughter. She would eagerly wait my arrival every Monday and Thursday. Just as I knocked, she would open the door and greet me with the most excited smile and giggles. 'Alek is among the most talented young piano students I ever had the honor to teach. Tyler constantly challenged me with his quest for music knowledge. 'Breezy would often sit at my side during the boys' lessons.' 'Alek is among the most talented young piano students I ever had the honor to teach,' Sedwick said of the eldest Todt child Sedwick said she taught the boys piano, violin and guitar twice a week at their home and added that she was 'blessed to be the family's friend' The eldest child Alek, 13, poses with a Certificate of Achievement for his musical talents Meanwhile, neighbors and residents in Celebration still wonder why Todt killed the family then lived with the corpses for more than a week before he was arrested by Osceola County Sheriff's deputies. Details are scant after the sheriff's office convinced a judge to seal the arrest affidavit when Todt was charged with four counts of premeditated murder and animal cruelty. But Sedwick, who may have spent more time with the family than anyone else in Florida, said she can't think of any reason for anyone, let alone the man she called Tony, to harm the children and their mother. 'All this is incomprehensible,' she said. 'Nothing ever seemed out of place. They were happy and had it all together.' Todt was heavily indebted to financial institutions and was under investigation for bilking Medicaid for services to patients who didn't exist. The family was about to get evicted from the house, which they rented for $5,000 a month from a landlord who lives down the street. 'I don't think Megan knew about any of the massive debt or fraud charges,' Sedwick said. 'Life was normal as it always had been. There were no red flags in behavior in her, the kids, or Tony for that matter.' Todt was charged on Wednesday with their deaths and later confessed to the slayings and was cooperating with detectives, according to Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson. Anthony Todt in court yesterday. Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said he confessed to killing his wife and three children at their Florida home Robert Todt, the father of Anthony Todt, was convicted of the attempted murder of his wife Loretta in 1980. He was also convicted of criminal solicitation and conspiracy charges and received a 10 to 20-year jail sentence It's been revealed that Todt's father was convicted of trying to murder his own spouse 40 years ago. And Todt appears to have a troubled past, witnessing a stranger try to murder his mother in 1980, when he was aged four. The youngster heard his mother scream before she was shot at their home in Philadelphia during the middle of the night, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer article in 1981. He told a detective at the time he heard his mother scream and saw a man 'wrestling with her on a bed'. Todt's mother, Loretta, survived being shot in the face, despite losing an eye in the attack and was left with a bullet lodged in her skull. His father, Robert, was later convicted of hiring a former special education student at the school where he worked to try and murder his wife. John Chairmonte was convicted in the 1980 'failed murder for hire plot', according to the Bucks Courtier Times. Chairmonte reportedly cut a deal to testify against Robert, so he was only sentenced to four years in jail Robert was handed a prison term of 10 to 20 years for attempted murder, criminal solicitation and conspiracy charges. Anthony Todt with his three children and their dog. Police found the bodies in the family home on Monday but were unable to definitively identify them until Wednesday Wrestling teacher, Robert, who admitted having an affair, denied being involved in the plot and launched appeals against his conviction, even with the support of his wife Loretta who refused to believe the prosecution's version of events. Robert Todt was convicted of ordering a former student at the school where he worked in Pennsylvania to try and kill his wife in 1980 She later moved away from Pennsylvania and divorced Robert, according to the Hartford Courant. Fast-forward 40 years and Anthony was accused of killing his own family. Court documents revealed the physical therapist was being investigated in Connecticut for health care fraud motivated by his need to pay off personal loans. The files, which were unsealed this week, state Anthony Todt was being investigated for submitting fraudulent claims for physical therapy by the FBI and agents with the US Department of Health and Human Services, according to an affidavit and criminal complaint. According to agents, the allegations involved Todt and his Colchester, Connecticut-base clinics submitting claims to Medicaid and private insurers for physical therapy services that weren't given to patients. The family had recently moved from Connecticut to the rented home in Florida on the outskirts of Disney World and in December were served with an eviction notice for their rented home The Tods were married for 20 years and their anniversary fell on January 1, right around the time of the murders (pictured as a young couple in an undated photo) One relative said she was worried about Todt's state of mind and had asked deputies in Florida to do a well-being check on the home in Celebration in late December. Deputies made the check but didn't see anything suspicious. The bodies were found Monday when the federal agents and deputies went to the house in Celebration to serve an arrest warrant. The family had not been seen since January 6 and friends and family had started a Facebook group to look for them and share information. That prompted police to begin investigating their disappearance. Celebration, to the south of Orlando and the Disney theme parks, was developed in the 1990s by Disney World, which no longer owns the properties. The community has long been the subject of urban myths, such as the apocryphal tale that people were hired to walk dogs in the early days to make it look more homey, or that the almost 8,000 residents get free annual passes to the Disney parks. EUGENE, Ore. -- With the May primary elections approaching, the fight over Oregon's fourth congressional district is in full swing as Doyle Canning sets her sights on longtime incumbent Peter DeFazio's seat. Canning launched her campaign in September and said her efforts have accelerated as the election approaches. Volunteers are manning phone banks and canvassing on the streets. They said Canning's grassroots methods are what reeled them into the campaign. "Well I'm definitely not a political insider, that's for sure," Canning said. "Business as usual, the way Washington works with lobbyists and corporate political donations, has really failed my generation and is failing future generations." According to Canning, her campaign is not accepting corporate donations. Her efforts appear to be courting progressive voters. She said she believes that issues like Oregon's housing crisis can be tackled with policies addressing the affordability of everyday life for average Americans. "The way to move forward is to raise wages, to provide universal healthcare, to make college more affordable," she said. "Here in Oregon and across the country, everyday people are suffering because they can't afford lifesaving medications and health care that should be made affordable to all of us." Canning supports policies like the Green New Deal, universal healthcare and wants action on climate change. "When there is a rally taking place, Doyle will be there and she will show me and the community that she really cares about the situation or the issue, either immigration issues, kids being locked up in cages or the climate crisis," said supporter Silver Mogart. Steven Kiernan said this is the first political campaign he's ever volunteered for. "I really like the underdog, scrappy nature of it. We don't have like dozens of people out supporting us canvassing yet, but since I've gotten involved, we've been growing steadily," he said. DeFazio's campaign said that his legislative record shows he's also opposed to money in politics and also supports progressive policies like the Green New Deal and universal healthcare. His campaign provided KEZI 9 News with the following statement: "Rep. DeFazio is a lifelong Democrat and a founder of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Peter has a long and proven track record of being a progressive leader in the House of Representatives, fighting for Oregon families. Rep. DeFazio has championed several policies that Canning claims to support, such as the Green New Deal, of which Rep. DeFazio is an original co-sponsor, and universal single-payer healthcare policies like Medicare-for-All," said Carly Gabrielson, DeFazio's campaign manager. "Congressman DeFazio was the first Member of Congress in history to be attacked by a dark money SuperPAC in 2010 and knows firsthand the negative impact that big money can have in elections. Peter is one of only 23 members of the House with a 100% rating from Common Cause for his ability to "help amplify the voices of everyday Americans who have been silenced by big money in politics." Canning isn't the only Democrat candidate challenging DeFazio. Eugene psychologist and mental health advocate Cassidy Clausen is also in the race. Alek Skarlatos, Jo Rae Perkins and Nelson Ijih are on the Republican ticket. Radhika Vemula mother of Rohith Vemula, a research scholar of the University of Hyderabad whose suicide on the campus four years ago triggered a nationwide uproar on Friday announced launch of Mother for Nation Yatra to campaign for social justice and protection of the basic principles of the Constitution of India by opposing Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Radhika made this announcement at the commemorative meeting on the fourth death anniversary of Rohith Vemula held under the banner of We the People by Citizens Against NRC-CAA-NPR, in the evening. She would be joined in her mission by Abeda Tadvi mother of Payal Tadvi, a post-graduate medical student from Mumbai who had committed suicide in May last year following alleged caste discrimination by her seniors and Fatima Nafees, mother of Najeeb Ahmed, a student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, who has been missing since October 2016. Recalling the suicide note of Vemula, Radhika said her son had said four years ago that a citizen was reduced to a vote and a number. Today, things have become even worse, they are trying to exclude people even from getting a vote and a number, she regretted. She said she had lost her son as she had no idea as to how to save him at that time. Now, we have decided not to let our sons and daughter die and to see that we shall not lose our nation as well. We will oppose the CAA-NRC-NPR as mothers who have lost our children to injustice and oppression, she said. Referring to the ongoing protests at JNU and Jamia Millia against CAA, NRC and NPR, Radhika said, My blood is boiling again. Let Modi and Shah prove first as to where they have come from. They are Aryans, whose ancestors invaded India. They should first prove their citizenship, she said. She accused the Modi government of turning India into a Hindu rashtra by implementing CAA. Noted social activist and politician Yogendra Yadav attended the event as chief guest. What the country needs today is not NRC. We urgently need NRU - National Register of Unemployment, he said. Rohith Vemula committed committed suicide at his hostel room on January 17, 2016, leaving a suicide note in which he had spoken about caste discrimination on the campus. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON During a royal visit by the Yaa-Na to the President Nana Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House today, the president reiterated that a year on after the enskinment of a new Yaa-Na, everything is working for the good of Dagbon. Akufo-Addo praised the Yaa-Na for proving to be a man of experience and dignity who has discharged his duties with distinction so far. Addressing the gathering, the President stated that policies and programmes being implemented by the government will guarantee greater days ahead for Dagbon under the new Yaa-Na. With Government determined to exploit and add value to the iron ore deposits at Sheini, to finish the second phase of the Tamale Airport project, to construct the Tamale Interchange, the first of its kind in the northern sector of the country, to see to the imminent completion of the Tamale Teaching Hospital, to upgrade the Yendi Government Hospital to a befitting status, to promote the sustainable development of agriculture in the area, and, soon, to commence the Yendi Water Project, it is evident that great days lie ahead for Dagbon under the stewardship of Yaa-Na Mahama Abukari II, he added. President Akufo-Addo, however, noted that fruits these developments can only be appreciated by the people of Dagbon if the peace being enjoyed there is nurtured and maintained. If chieftaincy disputes are not allowed to become a part of the fabric of the great state of Dagbon nor of any part of our country. Development can never take place in an atmosphere of chaos and confusion, he said. The President further acknowledged Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Nayiri, Naa Bohugu Abdulai MahamiSheriga, and the Overlord of Gonja, the Yagbonwura, Tuntumba Boresa Sulemana Jakpa for finding a permanent solution to the crisis in Dagbon, to aid the process of enskinning Ya-Na. He thanked the Committee of Eminent Chiefs for not giving up on the people of Dagbon, even when, at times, the situation seemed hopeless, adding that their display of tenacity, statesmanship and patriotism is worthy of emulation by all, and I am certain that posterity will continue to applaud their efforts. President Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment to do everything in his power, so long as he is President, to assist the Yaa-Na to administer Dagbon in an atmosphere of peace, serenity and tranquility. You deserve the support of all well-meaning Dagombas, and, indeed, all Ghanaians, for your efforts to rebuild this ancient kingdom, he added. ---MyJoyOnline Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during a Gospel Music Association ceremony in Nashville. He plans to sign an adoption bill that the LGBTQ community and many businesses say is discriminatory. Businesses are expressing disappointment in response to Gov. Bill Lee's plans to sign an anti-LGBTQ adoption bill into law. The bill protects businesses, adoption agencies and foster-care homes that exclude LGBTQ families and now allows them to use taxpayer dollars, and it has been opposed by major corporations since last April, when the state's house passed the measure. It was passed by the state's senate earlier this week. Amazon, which plans to bring 5,000 jobs to Nashville as part of Tennessee's largest jobs deal ever, said in a statement: "Amazon does not support this legislation. We have a long history of supporting equality and we're opposed to laws that discriminate or encourage discrimination." The bill is the latest in a stream of Tennessee legislation that limits the rights of LGBTQ people and protects organizations that deny service to the LGBTQ community from legal consequences. Dubbed the "Slate of Hate" by activists, the proposals have prompted several businesses to reaffirm their opposition to anti-LGBTQ laws. In April of last year, 11 companies signed a letter in coalition with the Human Rights Campaign denouncing Tennessee's anti-LGBTQ legislative momentum, including Nike, Hilton, Lyft, IKEA, Marriott and several others. However, companies including Amazon contacted by CNBC did not indicate any change in plans in response to Lee's announcement. Warby Parker co-founder and co-CEO Dave Gilboa said in an email to CNBC, "Nashville is Warby Parker's second home, and we want to see the city and state continue to thrive. We strongly urge Governor Lee to reconsider." A Nike spokesman said the company did not have anything to add beyond the HRC letter it signed in April. Hilton also declined to comment further. Asurion, one of Nashville's top 10 biggest employers, said in a statement that the bill "does not align with our company's commitment to inclusion." It declined to comment on potential business consequences. PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Nacre -- the iridescent part of mollusk shells -- is a poster child for biologically inspired design. Despite being made of brittle chalk, the intricately layered microstructure of nacre gives it a remarkable ability to resist the spread of cracks, a material property known as toughness. Engineers looking to design tougher materials have long sought to mimic this kind of natural layering, which is also found in conch shells, deer antlers and elsewhere. But a new study by Brown University researchers serves as a caution: Not all layered structures are so tough. The study, published in Nature Communications, tested another layered microstructure renowned for its physical properties -- the anchor spicules of a sea sponge called Euplectella aspergillum. The spicules are tiny filaments of layered glass that hold the sponges to the sea floor. The layered structure of the spicules is often compared to that of nacre, the researchers say, and it's been assumed that the spicule structure similarly enhances toughness. This new study finds otherwise. "Despite the similarities between the architectures of nacre and Euplectella spicules, we found that the spicule's architecture does relatively little in terms of enhancing its toughness, contrary to a long-held assumption," said Max Monn, a recently graduated Ph.D. student at Brown and a study coauthor. For the study, the researchers compared the toughness of Euplectella spicules to those of another sponge species, Tethya aurantia. Tethya spicules have a similar chemical composition to Euplectella spicules but lack the layered structure. To test toughness, the team put tiny notches in the spicules and then bent them. By measuring the energy consumed when cracks propagated from the notches under bending strain, the researchers could quantify the toughness of both types of spicules. The experiments showed very little difference in toughness between the two spicules, which suggests that Euplectella's layering doesn't provide much of a toughness enhancement. Using computer modeling, the researchers were able to look deeper into why layering enhances toughness in some materials and not others. The models showed that the curvature of the layering in cylindrical spicules seems to turn off the toughness enhancement of layered structures. Flat layers, like those found in nacre, seem to prevent cracks from spreading from one layer to the next, the researchers say. But in materials with curved layers like the Euplectella spicules, cracks are able to jump from layer to layer rather than being stopped between the layers. The findings reveal a previously unknown relationship between curvature and toughness in layered materials and have implications for the design of bio-inspired composite materials, says Haneesh Kesari, an assistant professor in Brown's School of Engineering and the paper's senior author. "Specifically, it shows that if you adopt a layered architecture in order to enhance the toughness of a material, you should be careful of areas that require the layers to be curved," Kesari said. "Our measurements of the spicules and results from our computational model show that curved layers don't provide the same magnitude of toughness enhancements as when layers are flat." The findings don't mean that the layered structure of Euplectella spicules isn't interesting. Previous work from Kesari's lab has shown that the layered structure seems to vastly increase the spicules' bending strength -- to withstand large bending curvatures before failing. But bending strength and toughness are very different mechanical properties, and helping to dispel the idea that layering always enhances toughness is a useful insight for bio-inspired design in general, the researchers say. "Our study indicates that not all layered architectures provide significant toughness enhancement," said Sayaka Kochiyama, a Brown graduate student and study coauthor. "That better understanding of structure-property relationship is necessary to avoid naive biomimicry." ### The research was supported by the Office of Naval Research (N000141812494), the National Science Foundation (1562656), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the NASA Rhode Island Space Grant Consortium. Greta warns world leaders at climate protest before Davos Lausanne, Jan 17 (AFP) Jan 17, 2020 Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg issued a warning to world leaders at a protest in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Friday, days before the start of the Davos summit of the world's political and business elites. "So far during this decade we are seeing no sign whatsoever that real climate action is coming," the 17-year-old eco-warrior said to a rock-star welcome from the mostly teenage crowd. "That has to change," she told several thousand protesters, adding in a message to world leaders: "This is just the beginning. You haven't seen anything yet. We assure you of that!". Thunberg is due to address the summit in the Swiss Alpine resort town of Davos next week with a call on governments and financial institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels. Friday's carnival-like protest brought the cobbled streets of the Lausanne city centre to a standstill, with demonstrators calling for urgent climate action and booing as they passed a branch of Credit Suisse, which campaigners criticise for its fossil fuel investments. "One, two, three degrees! It's a crime against humanity!" they chanted, while a group at the head of the march held up a banner saying: "Let's Change The System, Not the Climate". Some of the young protesters took inspiration from the latest extreme weather events around the world. One held up a soft toy koala with a sign around his neck reading simply "HELP" -- a reference to the bushfires that have ravaged Australia, while another brandished a cardboard sign reading "Wake Up and Smell the Bushfires". "Fear for the glaciers", read another sign -- echoing concern among residents of the Alps about the rapidly shrinking mountain ice formations due to climate change. "There Is No Planet B", "I Have a Green Dream" and "We Want A Cooler Planet", read some of the other signs. Klimastreik Schweiz, who organised the march, said on Twitter that 15,000 people were taking part. "We're here to show the governments and the people and the media and everyone that we're not happy with the situation as it is," said 17-year-old Deborah Hausser, one of the protesters. Luana Bonetti, 14, said she felt it was "important" to take part in the demonstration, adding that Thunberg's words "touched me emotionally". Thunberg is taking part in the Davos summit for the second time and will be one of the main attractions at the annual meeting, alongside US President Donald Trump. dt/nl/dl The fallout from The Kan Dapaah saga continues but the tenor and direction of the public discussion misses the mark completely. Mr. Dapaah is Minister for National Security, which means as a nation, we rely on him for our safety. Many may be too young to know about the Profumo Affair but that is the gold standard for discussing this episode. The Profumo Affair was a 1961 British political scandal in which it was revealed that, John Profumo, then-Secretary of State for War in the conservative British government of Harold MacMillan had a brief sexual dalliance with a 19-year-old would-be model, Christine Keeler. After initial denials in the House of Commons, Mr. Profumo eventually admitted to the facts of the case as they were widely understood. He then went on to resign from parliament and the government. It is believed that this episode contributed to the conservatives electoral loss, later in 1964. The real issue was a security matter not a moral one, as our discussions of Mr. Dapaahs case have become. Ms. Keeler it seemed was simultaneously involved with Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, the naval attache at the Soviet embassy at the height of the Cold War. An official inquiry was called into the matter. After it was all over, John Profumo who had resigned from Parliament, later took on volunteer work at a charitable trust. Closer to home and more in recent national memory is the Soussoudis-Scranage affair of 1983-84. Michael Agbotui Soussoudis a Ghanaian citizen who was said to be a relative of then Head of State J. J Rawlings, became romantically involved with Sharon Scranage, an employee of the US Embassy in Accra. It turns out that she was an Operation Support Assistant for the CIA. On her return to the US, she failed a polygraph test and it was revealed that through the course of her 18 month relationship with Soussoudis, she had revealed the identities of eight Ghanaian CIA agents in the country. Soussoudis is an example of employing what is known as a successful honey trap to gain classified information in the intelligence world. Through this, a planned US supported coup was foiled. Mr. Soussoudis who held US permanent residence, was eventually lured to the US by Ms. Scranage after her own arrest. He was arrested and eventually sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was freed in exchange for the 8 Ghanaians whose identities he had exposed. They were eventually resettled in Virginia and he returned to a heros welcome to Ghana. This is a situation in which the honey trap worked in Ghanas favor. The main concern of most right-thinking Ghanaians is that very question of whether a man who has been publicly compromised in this manner, can inspire confidence in the security agencies he superintends. With this vulnerability of his exposed, he may already have caused the nation harm, or is most likely to do so, if he stays in his position with the great responsibilities entailed in his job. This is a situation in which the national interest must remain supreme, well ahead of any partisan, parochial or other interest. This is not a situation in which a man is forgiven by the president and all is well. The national interest is the only consideration here. The radio rantings by pastors and other politicians, debating the morality of all this, are largely irrelevant and miss the point completely. Our safety as a people is all that matters and must trump the individual issues of the minister or the governing party. If the minister has any shred of integrity left, he needs to hand over his job back to the president, so he can appoint an alternative person in the interest of our nation and its security. If he doesnt resign, the president should follow the courage of his convictions and thank him for his service, then replace him. That would be best for all of us. T. P. Manus Ulzen is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the University of Alabama, Annual Visiting Professor at the University of Cape Coast School of Medical Sciences and author of Java Hill: An African Journey A historiography of Ghana [email protected] www.javahillelmina.wordpress.com Twitter: @thaddeusulzen www.javahillelmina.com Research Work, Financial Pressures Are Top Reasons for Stopping Out of College American adults without postsecondary degrees are most likely to withdraw from college due to competing demands of school, employment and other responsibilities, according to a new survey from Lumina Foundation, Strada Education Network and Gallup. And while the majority of respondents said they would like to complete their education, the barriers of work, time and money were their biggest impediments to returning to school. The survey polled 42,190 adults ages 25-64 who have some college but no degree, and who are not currently enrolled. Seventy-six percent of them are currently in the workforce, and just 19 percent said they are no longer interested in college or don't need to complete their education. In addition to work-related issues, a lack of academic guidance may also have played a part in students' withdrawal from college. More than half of stop-outs rated their academic and career advising as poor or fair, while most adults who attained an associate or bachelor's degree rated their advising as good or excellent. What would help incentivize stop-outs to re-enroll? Free community college tuition would have the biggest impact, respondents said, followed by courses and training that fit their schedule, a guaranteed employment outcome (such as a job placement or wage increase) and low-cost tuition. Many also said they would be more likely to enroll in courses or training offered by an employer. "As policymakers, education and business leaders look to re-engage individuals who have not completed their degree, it's important to remember that they didn't have the support needed to manage school alongside the realities of life," said David Clayton, senior vice president of consumer insights at Strada Education Network, in a statement. "Consumers are telling us that in order to make the investment of time and money needed to return to college, they need learning experiences that are flexible, affordable, and clearly linked to career outcomes." The full report, "Some College, No Degree: How Individuals Who Attend and Don't Graduate Feel About Education," is available on the Strada Education Network site (registration required). The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Allahabad High Court verdict annulling the election of Samajwadi Party MP Mohammad Azam Khan's son to the UP Assembly on grounds that he was underage and not qualified to fight the 2017 polls. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde issued notice and sought response from the Election Commission and defeated BSP candidate Nawaz Ali Khan, who had challenged Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan's election from Suar Assembly constituency in Rampur. The bench also comprising justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant said they will hear the matter as some doubts have been created by placing documents other than school records to show that Mohammad Abdulla was qualified to contest the election. "We have read the Allahabad High Court judgment, it is based on evidence," the bench said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 13:21:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MANILA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Masatsugu Asakawa from Japan assumed office as the 10th president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday, the Manila-based bank said. Asakawa said he is honored to assume the role of ADB president and looks forward to working in close cooperation with ADB's 68 members. "ADB has been a trusted partner of the region for more than half a century, supporting strong growth that has improved the lives of people across Asia and the Pacific. I will strive to ensure ADB remains the preferred choice of its clients and partners," Asakawa said in a statement. Asakawa succeeds Takehiko Nakao, who stepped down on Jan. 16, 2020. The ADB said that Asakawa has had frequent engagement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including as chair of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs from 2011 to 2016. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran had delivered a "slap to the U.S.'s image as a superpower" in this month's military confrontation, seeking to rally Iranians around an embattled establishment as he led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years. His speech came amid unprecedented international scrutiny over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's unintentional shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane just hours after Iran had fired missiles into Iraqi bases housing American troops without causing fatalities. That attack had been in retaliation for the killing of a top Iranian commander by the U.S. "They're hit by strikes in Syria, in Iraq, in Lebanon and in Afghanistan at the hands of the power of resistance, but this strike was greater than all of those, it was a strike on prestige," Khamenei said of the Iranian action in Iraq. U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, who claimed to be on the side of the Iranian people are "clowns," he said. Khamenei branded the U.S. "terrorists" for the Jan. 3 killing of General Qassem Soleimani, whom he credited with being the most effective force in defeating Islamic State. Soleimani was a hero to many Iranians for his leadership of an elite unit of the Guard which orchestrated Iran's military policy overseas, playing a major role in destroying the extremist group's rule in Syria and Iraq. His killing brought the nation together in mourning but that sense of unity was shattered by the downing of the Ukraine International Airlines plane, which killed all 176 people on board. Most of the victims were Iranian citizens or dual nationals. Khamenei called the jet disaster an "extremely bitter incident" but said public opinion over the tragedy had been manipulated by U.K. and U.S.-based television channels. The top cleric directly instructed the Revolutionary Guard to carry out a full investigation and guarantee that there could never be a repeat. Once Iranian officials finally accepted responsibility, after days of denials, protests against the government broke out in Tehran and other cities. Just weeks earlier, security forces had crushed some of the biggest and most sustained anti-regime demonstrations in more than a decade. Human rights groups say hundreds of people were killed in that crackdown. While Iran's leaders admitted culpability for the jet disaster they have also blamed the U.S. for creating the sense of crisis that preceded it. In the part of his sermon conducted in Arabic, Khamenei said the "real punishment" for the U.S. would be its forced ouster from the Middle East. Under pressure from Democrats at home, Trump has offered various justifications for the decision to kill Soleimani, including intelligence that he said pointed to imminent attacks on U.S. embassies, as well as past American military deaths due to Iranian actions supervised by Soleimani 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. A report on Friday said that nearly a dozen U.S. troops were treated for concussion after Iran's missile attacks in Iraq. The U.S. and Iran have since both signaled they want to back away from further military conflict, but with the two arch foes locked in a deepening confrontation over Iran's nuclear program and American sanctions, tensions in the Gulf remain high. On Tuesday the U.K., Germany and France angered Tehran by announcing they would activate a dispute resolution mechanism contained in the 2015 nuclear deal which Trump exited before reimposing sanctions. The European move nudged the accord closer to the brink of collapse. Khamenei accused the European countries of working with the U.S. to try and force Iran "to its knees," and said he had "never trusted them since day one." Vietnams aviation market presents a stiff challenge, even for a conglomerate like Vingroup, which has decided discretion is the better part of valor. The biggest private group in the country recently withdrew its proposal to establish private airline Vinpearl Air, just weeks after announcing it was planning first flights in a few months. Vingroup CEO Nguyen Viet Quang said in a statement that the companys heavy investment in the aviation market, currently dominated by big, experienced, players, could lead to an "oversupply." With state-owned Vietnam Airlines and budget carrier Vietjet dominating the Vietnamese skies, there are valid grounds for Quangs concern. Vietnams aviation infrastructure is already stretched, with the current five commercial airlines expanding over the years to accommodate growing travel demand. Officials had actually warned Vinpearl Air of parking space shortage for its jets if it chose the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi as base. "Vingroup should note that after 2020 Noi Bai International Airport will run out of parking space and Tan Son Nhat International Airport will also have no space and flight slots available by 2022," the Ministry of Transport said in an evaluation report on Vingroups proposal. The aviation market has been recording double-digit growth in the last four years, but the growth rate is declining. Annual growth in the number of passengers carried by domestic carriers reached 30.3 percent in 2016, but fell to 11.3 last year, according to the General Statistics Office. The slower growth makes it difficult for carriers to make bigger profits. Vietjets gross profit margin in the first nine months of last year was 14.24 percent, down from 15.48 percent in 2017. Vietnam Airliness gross profit margin in the third quarter last year also dropped by almost one percent year-on-year, with costs rising faster than revenue. "Vingroup choosing to step out the aviation market is a correct decision, as it would have had to bear big losses, given that the market has adequate players now, serving different categories of passengers," said aviation expert Nguyen Thien Tong. A new airline will take years to establish and win the trust of its customers, while profitability remains uncertain in a market with signs of oversupply, he added. New player Bamboo Airways last year ignited hope for aspiring carriers by breaking years of dominance by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet and taking 5.4 percent of the market share as of September, according to data from brokerage MB Securities Jsc. Other carriers waiting in the wings were Vinpearl Air, Vietravel Airlines of tourism company Vietravel, and KiteAir of hospitality firm Thien Minh Group. But Tong said that as new players seek to fly, Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet will also expand their fleet to ensure their dominance. Bamboo Airways share of 5.4 percent is still far away from the 42.9 percent of Vietnam Airlines and 35.9 percent of Vietjet. "The increasing number of jets, combined with declining air travel growth rate, will lead to lower occupancy and bigger losses for new airlines," Tong added. Wheels firmly on the ground Another reason for Vingroups withdrawal is a desire to direct its resources optimally to developing technology and industry, CEO Quang said. The group has been pouring big bucks into its auto business VinFast. The subsidiary had an asset value of VND84 trillion ($3.62 billion) as of September last year, second only to Vingroups real estate business, and accounted for a quarter of the groups total assets. Vingroup has also been making new smartphone and TV models, and plans to produce more smart devices in its factory in the northern Hai Phong City which is capable of manufacturing 26 million devices a year. In this situation, an initial investment of VND4.7 trillion ($202.9 million) in an airline that has to be expanded in upcoming years is likely to be a spoke in the conglomerates wheel, dilute its priority and take attention away from the auto and tech business. Although an airline could feed Vingroups network of 43 Vinpearl resorts across the country with 17,000 rooms, the group has other options to increase the number of customers. "Most airlines in Vietnam are starting to have an oversupply in transport capacity, so instead of competing, we will partner with them to bring more customers to our Vinpearl resorts," Vinpearl CEO Vu Tuyet Hang said in a statement. Although the decision to shut down an airline before it began flying might "shock" observers, this is part of the groups development strategy, she added. Czech Republic military looks to SATMO to develop NCO training By Richard Bumgardner January 16, 2020 VYSKOV, Czech Republic -- Recently two mobile training team soldiers from U.S. Army Security Assistance Command's Security Assistance Training Management Organization, out of Fort Bragg, N.C., traveled to the Czech Republic to teach an Army Basic Instructor Course to a core group of Czech NCOs (noncommissioned officers). "The Czech military has been working to standardize their NCO Corps similar to how the U.S. Army manages its NCO Corps," said Sgt. 1st Class Amanda Henderson, one of the SATMO instructors. The Czech Republic, like many of the former eastern bloc countries following the breakup of the Soviet Union, continued Soviet-era military norms and structures that often considered enlisted personnel as 'gofers' and assigned menial tasks. Only the officers were given important duties and responsibilities. "Right now there is a huge shift to educating their NCOs and mirroring how we train and develop NCOs in the Army," Henderson said. "It started to shift a few years ago and now we see that Czech NCOs have a voice, have responsibilities and have a seat at the table." The Czech students spent two weeks learning about training psychology and methodology, had to successfully complete multiple practice training classes, an end-of-course practical exercise and numerous culminating evaluations. "They have great instructors but there wasn't a training standard," Henderson said. "This course will help them spearhead their instructor program to come up with a legitimate NCO academic program, and to standardize and professionalize their NCO instructor program as well." The course also taught instructors how to motivate soldiers and solve soldier performance problems using positive reinforcement, on-the-spot corrections and soldier counseling. "Courses like this will lead to a stronger NCO Corps here in the Czech Republic, making them a more capable partner for the USA and NATO," said U.S. Army Major Joshua Passer, chief at the Office of Defense Cooperation, at the U.S. Embassy in Prague. The goal is to provide a group of highly trained NCO instructors, ready to open the Czech Instructor Sergeant Major Course, at the Military Academy in Vyskov, in late 2019. Two SATMO instructors traveling to a foreign country to teach a class may seem like a relatively small security assistance effort, but, "The impact of this small U.S. team that came here and taught the basic instructor course to Czech NCOs will end up spreading through their entire training establishment," Passer said. Henderson and her co-instructor, Sgt. 1st Class Carlos Roderte, felt that even though they were a small team, the impact of teaching 15 instructors on proper instruction methodologies and techniques, will in turn reach and benefit hundreds, if not thousands, of Czech soldiers over the next generation of soldiers in the Czech military. Helping to develop the NCO Corps of our NATO partner forces will also enhance the life-cycle development of their enlisted force, builds professional relationships between NATO partners, and improves interoperability during future operations with allies and partner forces. "Mobile training teams are a vital part of our security cooperation goals here in the Czech Republic and these low-cost, 'small' events have a very positive effect for our security assistance goals," Passer said. USASAC's Debra Valine contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Friday held a meeting with high-powered committee constituted for development of Andhra Pradesh and issue related to three capitals proposal. Meanwhile, the ongoing protest against the Andhra Pradesh government's tthree-capital proposal on Thursday entered the 30th day. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Jayadev Galla, CPI secretary K Narayana, and leaders from other political parties visited the protesters and expressed solidarity to the movement. 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 decentralising development and putting 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.) SPRINGFIELD - Less than 24 hours after a Springfield girl was snatched off a city street in broad daylight on her way home from school, she had a harrowing six-hour ride, her alleged captor was in police custody, then faced charges in court before a throng of media. It was a dramatic and terrifying afternoon and evening after a man -- 24-year-old Miguel Rodriguez, who his family says is schizophrenic -- allegedly forced 11-year-old girl into the back seat of his Honda Civic. It was around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on Lafayette Street. The child had been walking home from her school bus stop. The alleged abduction touched off an intense hunt for the car by Springfield police detectives and state police, with help from a smattering of tips from the public, law enforcement officials said. The public really played a very heroic role in this, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said after Rodriguezs arraignment in Springfield District Court. Rodriguez pleaded not guilty to aggravated kidnapping, witness intimidation and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Police said Rodriguez threatened the child with a knife, warning that he intended to stab her if she screamed or tried to escape. During a press conference late Wednesday, Springfield Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprrood said she had not suffered any visible injuries. Rodriguez was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Jan. 22. Rodriguez appeared in court wearing a hooded white prison jumpsuit and looking pained through the proceeding. His court-appointed attorney, Michael Gillingham, tried to resist forcing his client to physically appear to answer to the charges, but Judge Michele Ouimet-Rooke shut the attempt down. Ill determine whats relevant, she said, later ordering a competency evaluation over Gillinghams objections. Im looking at paperwork here, from restraining orders from a year ago ... I have some concerns about his mental illness and mental health, Ouimet-Rooke said. In the immediate aftermath of the race to apprehend Rodriguez and retrieve her safely, Rodriguezs father told a MassLive reporter that his son was schizophrenic, was on medication and had been exhibiting bizarre behavior for years. We heard about it in the news, when we heard the Amber Alert," said Rodriguez father, Henry, at the familys home on Bay Street in Springfield. "The kids came and told me and they say 'yeah, this looks like Miguels car. We knew that sooner or later he was going to do something of this nature, said Henry Rodriguez. But not something this crazy. Family members assisted in tipping off police to the cars owner, those familiar with the investigation said. The alleged abduction mobilized a community -- prompting a prayer vigil, an Amber Alert, a flood of tips from the public, and some eagle-eyed city residents, most notably Amanda Disley and her husband. The couple spotted the car as they stopped at a convenience store in this city, provided police dispatchers with a license plate number and tailed the car for some time. Theyre trying to lose me -- theyre trying to ditch me! Its the kidnapper! Disley is heard saying on a video she captured on her phone about 6:30 p.m. Rodriguez reached speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour, she said. Home surveillance video from the neighborhood where she was grabbed, carrying her winter coat and wearing her backpack, suggests Rodriguezs blue Honda had been tailing her the day before. State police ultimately stopped the car on the Massachusetts Turnpike near Sturbridge, investigators reported. Her parents sent out a heartfelt message via a police spokesmans Twitter account late Thursday afternoon. They thanked police, the school systems, their neighbors, the public, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, the emergency room staff at Baystate Medical Center, and the Disleys. But, they also asked for solace. The outpouring of love and support, near and far, is overwhelming. We are extremely grateful, her parents said. Staff writer Patrick Johnson and MassLive writer Douglas Hook contributed to this report. The State solicitor for Roscommon said he is hopeful that a file will be ready in the coming weeks for the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the investigation into the abduction and false imprisonment of Quinn Industrial Holdings director Kevin Lunney. Kieran Madigan said a very extensive investigation was being carried out and that over 1,000 lines of inquiry were involved. Mr Madigan, the State solicitor for Roscommon, told Harristown District Court in Castlerea that the case was progressing as quickly as possible. Four men appeared before the court this morning charged with assault causing harm and false imprisonment of Mr Lunney in Cavan in September last year. Judge James Faughnan was told that the four men were in custody since November 26 last year. Darren Redmond, 25, from Caledon Road, East Wall, Dublin and Alan O'Brien, 38, of Shelmalier Road, East Wall, were remanded to appear again before Harristown District Court next Friday, January 24. Luke O'Reilly, 66, from Mullahoran Lower, Kilcogy, Co Cavan, was remanded to appear before the same court on February 14. A fourth defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was remanded to appear before Harristown District Court next Friday. Mr Madigan said that it was hoped to have a file ready for the DPP by the end of the month or early in February but said that it was a complex case. He said that there were over 1,000 lines of enquiry, 400 statements and very extensive CCTV footage had been harvested and that it took considerable time to analyse all of this. In addition, Mr Madigan said that there was a large amount of phone data which had to be investigated. Judge Faughnan said it was a complicated matter as he remanded three of the men in custody until next week and the fourth man until February 14. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 19:37:06|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Photo taken on Jan. 17, 2020 shows the site of a bus accident in Chitwan, Nepal. At least 21 Chinese tourists were injured in a bus accident in Chitwan district in central Nepal on Friday morning, the police confirmed. The bus set off from the capital to Chitwan's popular tourism spot of Sauraha located within the Chitwan National Park on Friday morning, then collided with a moving truck in Ramnagar of Bharatpur municipality and knocked a roadside house at around 11:00 a.m. local time. (Xinhua) KATHMANDU, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 21 Chinese tourists were injured in a bus accident in Chitwan district in central Nepal on Friday morning, the police confirmed. The bus set off from the capital to Chitwan's popular tourism spot of Sauraha located within the Chitwan National Park on Friday morning, then collided with a moving truck in Ramnagar of Bharatpur municipality and knocked a roadside house at around 11:00 a.m. local time. "Over 30 people sustained injuries in the accident, while two Nepali nationals died later in the course of treatment. The Chinese tourists have received general injuries," Ek Narayan Koirala, deputy superintendent at District Police Office Chitwan, told Xinhua over phone. The officer said the identities of the two deceased passengers are yet to be ascertained. Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal said all together 25 Chinese citizens were slightly injured in the accident, adding the embassy has directed relevant authorities to provide assistance to the injured tourists. Dr Asish Bhattarai, in-charge at emergency department at Chitwan Medical College Teaching Hospital, told Xinhua that the Chinese patients are undergoing treatment for general injuries, and that "their state is not severe, everyone is safe." The medical officer said the Chinese patients might be discharged from the hospital after a couple of hours. District Police Office Chitwan said over-speeding of the vehicle might be the cause of the accident. However, an investigation report is yet to come out. The rainy weather could be another reason for the accident, as there has been a moderate rainfall across the country since Thursday night. Over-crowded vehicles, poorly-maintained roads and shoddy conditions of public vehicles have led to frequent road accidents in recent years in Nepal. According to the Nepal Police, more than 22,000 people lost their lives in the past 10 years in road accidents. Updated February 14, 2020 The number of people who have had flu illnesses has increased to 26 million, up from 15 million just a few weeks ago. 250,000 people have been hospitalized and 14,000 people have died from influenza, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The American Red Cross urges everyone to get their influenza vaccine now. Influenza is widespread in Puerto Rico and 48 states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Its not too late to get vaccinated. Flu vaccination is always the best way to prevent flu and its potentially serious complications. It takes about two weeks after receiving your vaccine for the antibodies that protect against flu to develop in the body so its important to get your vaccine now. DO I HAVE THE FLU? The common signs of influenza are high fever, severe body aches, headache, being extremely tired, sore throat, cough, runny or stuffy nose and vomiting and/or diarrhea (which is more common in children). If you think you have the flu, call your health care provider. Seek immediate care if you have any of these symptoms: Fast breathing, trouble breathing or bluish skin color Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen (adults) Confusion or sudden dizziness. Not drinking enough fluids, not being able to eat, or severe or persistent vomiting. Flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and worse cough. Not waking up, being so irritable that the child does not want to be held or not interacting (children). Fever with a rash (children). No tears when crying or significantly fewer wet diapers than normal (children). CARING FOR SOMEONE WHO IS SICK If someone is ill, they should: Stay in a room separate from common areas of the home and avoid contact with others as much as possible. Stay at home for at least 24 hours after their fever is gone without using medicine to reduce the fever. Get lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids. Consider wearing a facemask, if available and tolerable, when sharing common spaces with household members. Check with their healthcare provider about whether they should take antiviral medication, or if fever persists, whether antibiotics are needed. If caring for someone who has the flu, people should: Disinfect door knobs, switches, handles, toys and other surfaces that everyone touches. Use detergent and very hot water to do dishes and wash clothes. Its okay to wash everyones dishes and clothes together. They should wash their hands after handling dirty laundry. Designate only one adult as the caregiver. People at increased risk of severe illness from the flu should not be caregivers. Deal with crisis situations calmly and confidently to give the best support to the person being cared for. Remember their own needs as well. Practice healthy habits. Eat a balanced diet. Drink plenty of water. Get regular exercise. Get enough sleep and rest. YOU CAN HELP STOP THE FLU FROM SPREADING Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing and throw the tissue away after use. If a tissue isnt available, cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hands. Wash hands often, especially after coughing or sneezing. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand-sanitizer. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Stay home if youre sick. More information about how to help keep you and your loved ones protected from the flu is available on this website and in the free Red Cross First Aid App. See all the Red Cross apps at redcross.org/mobileapps. KAMPALA With fourth-generation (4G) technology still a long way off from full or even significant adoption in Uganda and the region, market leaders, MTN Uganda is looking to take things to another level and score yet another first. MTN Uganda has showcased the first live demo of 5G network in Uganda in an even presided over by Prime Minister Dr. Ruhana Rugunda who represented President Yoweri Museveni. This comes after an earlier announcement by the telco to commercially roll out 5G in before 2020 ends. Earlier in 2018, MTN announced at its headquarters in South Africa, that they have begun the first 5G technology applications trial in Africa, in collaboration with network equipment provider, Ericsson. The completion of MTNs first 5G technology and application trials in South Africa saw the telco achieve a throughput of over 20Gbps with less than five minutes latency in the 5G trial. And now the company appears to be finally bringing the technology to its third-largest market, Uganda, where the company currently has a 4G license. 5G will make our life better, drive incremental capacity and open up new businesses. MTN as a company is constantly making efforts to break barriers by democratising voice and data connectivity in order to improve subscriber experience, said MTN Ugandas CEO, Wim Vanhelleputte. It is also expected that with an adequate spectrum allocated to the 5G standard, the increased capacity would result in lower data cost to Uganda. MTN is working with Chinese firm ZTE the market leader in 5G. ZTE is already working with operators to out 5+. Yi Yahua, ZTE corporation vice president for Southern Africa, said ZTE is fully supportive of MTN Ugandas strategy to tap into the potential of modern mobile technologies to serve this country better and move forward with 5G industrialization. Related BRUSSELS - The number of migrants entering Europe from Turkey rose significantly last year as people fleeing strife in Syria and Afghanistan flooded into the country and then set out for Greece, the head of the European Unions border agency said Friday. More than 82,000 migrants tried to enter Europe without authorization in 2019, an increase of 46% over the previous year, Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri said in Brussels. This was mainly due to the situation in Syria, but also instability in Afghanistan, and changing policies towards Afghan nationals by Iranian and Pakistani authorities, Leggeri told reporters. He refused to blame the Turkish coast guard, saying it is working well to intercept people who leave. The EU agreed in 2016 to give Turkey up to 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in Syrian refugee aid money and other incentives to persuade the government in Ankara to stop migrants leaving for Greece. But since last summer, Greeces eastern islands have struggled to ease severe overcrowding at refugee camps where outbreaks of violence frequently occur. On the Greek island of Lesbos, protests broke out Friday in front of the countrys largest refugee camp after an asylum seeker died of stab wounds. Several dozen migrants set fire to trash bins and blocked traffic outside the camp before riot police were called in to disperse them. Authorities said the 20-year-old man from Yemen died while being taken to a hospital by ambulance late Thursday following a clash at the Moria camp on Lesbos. A 27-year-old Afghan migrant was arrested in connection with the incident and was being questioned, police said. Overcrowding at Moria has steadily worsened over the past year as the number of arrivals of migrants and refugees using clandestine routes from Turkey to the Greek islands remains high. Frontex said the number of arrivals last year was the highest since the EU-Turkey deal came into force. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that his country cannot shoulder the burden of hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees alone and has in the past threatened to open the gates for migrants to head for Europe. He is seeking more EU money and the Europeans appear likely to acquiesce. Ankara also sought EU political and financial help in setting up a safe area in northern Syria, where people fleeing the conflict could take refuge or be sent to from Turkey, but the Europeans are reluctant to get involved. ___ Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece, contributed. (Natural News) There is an old saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Sometimes good intentions combined with a lack of knowledge can make for a really toxic combination. An excellent example of this is State Representative Katherine Rogers proposed legislation as outlined in New Hampshire House Bill 1389. The bill would impose criminal penalties on pet owners who do not provide adequate food, water or shelter for their animals. While the architects of this bill clearly have good intentions and are trying to ensure that pets are treated humanely, provided with decent shelter and given access to food and water, some elements of the way it is structured reflect a lack of understanding a dangerous thing. (Related: FDA approves anxiety drug for your dog so he doesnt react to his normal animal instincts.) No dog shall be left outside As reported by the organization Sportsmens Alliance, HB 1389 would make it illegal to leave your dog outside for any period longer than 30 minutes, even in a fenced backyard, if the pet owner has not purchased a special dog house manufactured to meet strict state building codes. The bill stipulates: For any dog left outside and unattended for more than 30 minutes during any period, the dog shall be provided a shelter that is moisture-proof, wind-proof and of suitable size to accommodate the dog, allowing for freedom of movement to make normal postural adjustments, including the ability to stand, turn around and lie down with limbs outstretched. Such shelter shall be made of durable material with a solid, moisture-proof floor raised at least 3 inches from the ground. The roof shall extend 8 inches over the doorway and not permit rain to enter inside the shelter. Such shelter shall not be constructed of metal or any other material that readily conducts heat or cold. The power of the elements: Discover Colloidal Silver Mouthwash with quality, natural ingredients like Sangre de Drago sap, black walnut hulls, menthol crystals and more. Zero artificial sweeteners, colors or alcohol. Learn more at the Health Ranger Store and help support this news site. In addition, the bill would also make it a crime to leave a dog outside for any period longer than 15 minutes, even when the special shelter has been provided, if the temperature is below 32 degrees. No dog shall be left outside and unattended, regardless of access to an outdoor shelter, for more than 15 minutes during any period in which a severe weather advisory or warning has been issued for the area by the National Weather Service, or if the temperature is below 32-degrees Fahrenheit or above 90-degres Fahrenheit. This includes but is not limited to a dog in a securely fenced in yard, a dog in a kennel, or a tethered dog. Again, the bills architects clearly believe that they are protecting the welfare of the animals in this way. But, again, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. As explained by Sportsmens Alliance, certain dogs are accustomed to cold weather and would far rather be outside playing, even in very cold weather, than being trapped inside in an artificially controlled temperature. Labrador retrievers and huskys, for example, have cold weather coats ideally suited to spending long periods outdoors. (Related: Scientific study confirms that dogs grasp what their owners are saying.) In addition, for sporting and hunting dogs, spending time outdoors acclimating to extreme weather can mean the difference between life and death. These dogs need to be exposed to cold weather over a period of several weeks so that their dense winter coats can grow in. What is important for these dogs, however, is making sure their caloric needs are met. Hunting dogs can burn between 3,000 and 4,000 calories a day, and depending on their workload, with every 10 degree drop in temperature, their caloric needs will increase by 7 to 7.5 percent. Clearly, good intentions and a little knowledge are not enough when it comes to the welfare of mans best friend. Different species have very different needs, and a one-size-fits-all bill that will essentially criminalize activities that are really in the best interests of some dog species will do more harm than good. This is what happens when we try to legislate common sense. Learn more about the best way to care for your fur babies at NaturalNewsPets.com. Sources include: SportsmensAlliance.org LegiScan.com AKCCHF.org WideOpenSpaces.com NI Water has said it needs at least 2.5bn to address capacity issues and to continue providing essential water and wastewater services - despite the Government providing a total of only 2bn to the new Stormont Executive. Finance Minister Conor Murphy has said the proposed extra 1bn in new funding from Westminster as part of the New Decade, New Approach deal was "woefully inadequate". NI Water explained that the 2.5bn figure includes an infrastructure investment requirement of approximately 1bn for the Living With Water Programme (LWWP). The LWWP outlines the significant investment in sewerage treatment and drainage infrastructure specifically needed in Greater Belfast during the 2020s to support the existing population and to allow Belfast to grow. One of the top priorities in the deal states that the Executive will invest urgently in wastewater infrastructure, which is already at or close to full capacity in many places. Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said she was determined to take forward as many flagship projects as possible and outlined her staunch opposition to water charges. The SDLP deputy leader did say, however, that discussions "will have to be had" over possible rates rises instead as Stormont attempts to find necessary funding for infrastructure, health, education and justice. Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Secretary of State Julian Smith suggested that the public here should foot the bill for commitments made in the agreement, rather than the Executive relying on handouts from London. Mr Smith said he was "slightly disappointed" the parties had ruled out introducing water charges. A spokesperson for NI Water said the organisation welcomes the deal, which restored the power-sharing Executive at Stormont after three years and "in particular" the priority set out in the document to invest urgently in wastewater infrastructure. NI Water added the wastewater infrastructure is at or nearing capacity and is limiting growth of the local economy. "The new minister for the Department for Infrastructure has made it clear that investment in water and wastewater is the key to unlocking investment and growth," stated NI Water. "Without it, Northern Ireland will not meet a number of the Programme for Government objectives. "NI Water is currently developing its investment plan for the next Price Control period, 2021-2027 (PC21). "It is looking at a requirement that is in the order of 2.5bn to address capacity issues and to continue providing essential water and wastewater services across all of Northern Ireland." NI Water added that it is ready to work with the Infrastructure Minister, department officials and the utility regulator to identify funding streams for the economy. "NI Water has been making representations to stakeholders over a number of years to ensure everyone is aware of the funding requirements and the issues that are arising as a result of curtailed funding to date," it said. "Without adequate investment, there will be further impacts on service delivery, the local economy and the environment," it added. Rouhani says Iran wants dialogue, working to 'prevent war' Tehran, Jan 16 (AFP) Jan 16, 2020 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he wants to avoid war after Tehran and Washington appeared on the brink of direct military confrontation in early January for the second time in less than a year. Ahead of parliamentary elections on February 21 -- predicted to be a challenge for Rouhani's camp -- and amid high tensions between Tehran and the West over Iran's nuclear programme, the president said on Thursday dialogue with the world was still "possible". "The government is working daily to prevent military confrontation or war," Rouhani said in a televised speech. The region seemed on the brink of new conflict earlier in January after the US killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad, prompting Iran to retaliate against US military targets in Iraq with a volley of missiles days later. The strike caused significant material damage but no casualties, according to the US military. Rouhani said the strike amounted to "compensation" for the death of Soleimani, the architect of Iran's Middle East military strategy. The tensions between the two enemies seemed to subside in the wake of the accidental downing of a Ukrainian passenger airliner hours after the retaliatory strikes, as Iran was on high alert for US reprisals. The tragedy killed 176 people, mostly Iranians and Canadians. Canada's foreign minister on Thursday vowed to push Iran for answers about the tragedy. "Families want answers, the international community wants answers, the world is waiting for answers and we will not rest until we get them," Francois-Philippe Champagne said in London. - Better governance - Ottawa said earlier that US President Donald Trump's policies had contributed to the heightened tensions that led to the catastrophe. In June 2019, Iran and the US had also appeared to be on the brink of direct military confrontation after Tehran shot down a US drone it said had violated its airspace. Trump said he called off retaliatory strikes at the last minute. The animosity between Washington and Tehran has increased since Trump withdrew the US from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions. In Iran, the air disaster sparked public outrage and anti-government demonstration took place every day from Saturday to Wednesday. Security forces were deployed across the capital in response to the protests. According to an AFP journalist, around 50 riot police with batons, motorbikes and what appeared to be tear gas launcher were posted at a major junction in north Tehran on Thursday evening. Concentrated in the capital, the protests appeared smaller than a wave of national demonstrations in November, prompted by a fuel price hike. They had been met with a crackdown that left at least 300 people dead, according to Amnesty International. Rouhani implicitly acknowledged a crisis of confidence in authorities, but called Wednesday for "national unity", better governance and greater pluralism. On Thursday, Rouhani also defended the policy of openness to the world that he has pursued since his first election in 2013, and which Iran's ultra-conservatives criticise. "Of course, it's difficult," he acknowledged, but added, "the people elected us to lower tensions and animosity" between the Islamic republic and the world. Rouhani said that with the nuclear deal "we have proven in practice that it is possible for us to interact with the world." Rouhani was speaking the day before supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is expected to lead the main weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran for the first time since 2012. Khamenei, who maintains that the West is not trustworthy, bans dialogue with Trump. - 'High school bully' - On Thursday, Rouhani said Iran's "daily enrichment" of uranium was currently "higher" than before the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal. Rouhani, who instigated the negotiations, made the comments while justifying his nuclear policy and Iran's progressive disengagement from the accord. He also stated his willingness to continue dialogue on the agreement. In response to the US withdrawal from the deal and sanctions, an increasingly frustrated Iran has hit back with a step-by-step suspension of its own commitments under the deal, which drastically limited its nuclear activities. On Tuesday, Germany, the UK and France -- the three European parties to the deal -- announced they had triggered a dispute mechanism in response to the latest step back from the deal by Tehran. Germany on Thursday confirmed a Washington Post report that the US had threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars if EU governments continued to back the nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the European parties of having "sold out" the deal to avoid trade reprisals from the US, and said Trump was again behaving like a "high school bully". According to a European Union Statement, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met Zarif in New Delhi on Thursday and urged Iran to "preserve" the increasingly fragile nuclear deal. Chief Justice Roberts made the (extremely short) trip from the Supreme Court to the Capitol this afternoon to be sworn in as the presiding officer of the trial. He donned his judicial robe in the Senate but left in a suit. Whats going on in Ukraine, continued There was dramatic news out of Kyiv: Ukraine opened a criminal investigation after reports that allies of Mr. Trump had the American ambassador under surveillance. The news came after days of eye-opening revelations related to documents from Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, that Democrats say call for more attention in the trial. Heres a rundown of how we got here. House impeachment investigators released a cache of text messages, photos and calendar entries that were turned over by Mr. Parnas and his lawyer. We saw text messages showing Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Trumps personal lawyer, referring to an effort to obtain a visa for a former Ukrainian official who leveled corruption allegations against Joe Biden. The documents also contain a series of exchanges between Mr. Parnas and a Ukrainian prosecutor helping Mr. Giuliani unearth damaging information about the Biden family. The new evidence also showed that the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine might have been under surveillance. In a series of cryptic text messages, Mr. Parnas talked to a man named Robert Hyde, who appeared to be monitoring the movements of the ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, whom Mr. Trump recalled under mysterious circumstances. F.B.I. agents have visited Mr. Hydes home and business, according to a law enforcement official. Mr. Parnas said he was betting my whole life that Mr. Trump knew about Mr. Giulianis activities in Ukraine. In an interview with The Times, Mr. Parnas expressed regret for having trusted Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani. His lawyer said he was eager to cooperate with federal prosecutors in New York who are investigating Mr. Giuliani. Ukraine said that the alleged surveillance was a possible violation of domestic and international law. The Internal Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the published messages contain facts of possible violations of Ukrainian law and of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, which protect the rights of diplomats on the territory of another state. US Customs and Border Protection statistics reveal that the Trump administration has constructed nearly 100 miles (160 kilometers) of Mexico border wall until late December. The work consisted of replacing existing structures. Donald Trump had promised the wall during his 2016 campaign. It was to prevent the entry of unwanted elements like drug smugglers and illegal immigrants from across the border into the United States. Trump had said at the time that he would ensure Mexico bore the cost of the wall. Once he took over the White House as President, he got his people to lay down rigid specifications, finalize the design and erect prototypes. However, Mexico refused to foot the bill and there was a problem of finance. Trump even went to the extent of enforcing a shutdown to get funds for the Mexico border wall. The Pentagon not Mexico will again be paying for the construction of President Donald Trumps wall on the USs southern border in 2020, to the tune of $7.2 billion. https://t.co/2QHTSyn2Zy Vox (@voxdotcom) January 15, 2020 Channel News Asia says the Trump administration has now requested the Pentagon to assess the financial implications for building 270 miles (435 kilometers) of the wall on the Mexican border. A senior official of the Defense Department confirmed undertaking evaluation of its viability and working out the cost estimates. He added that the cost would be borne by the Pentagon and would be to counter drug smuggling. The Trump administration is determined to construct at least 400 miles (644 kilometers) of the wall by November 2020. That will coincide with Trump's bid to get re-elected for another term. Hurdles for Mexico Border Wall There are Democratic party members in Congress who do not agree to the diversion of funds earmarked for military spending to boost security on the border. Discuss this news on Eunomia That is what President Donald Trump intends to do. Obviously, the disclosure of the request by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could lead to another showdown. A media report says the Trump administration wants billions of dollars towards the wall. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has indicated that diversion of funds for Mexico border wall construction was in order. This is because it falls in the category of a security issue at the border and the Pentagon was committed to supporting the DHS's mission. A federal appeals court has lifted a lower courts order blocking the Trump administration from using $3.6 billion in military construction funds on a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. DETAILS: https://t.co/BnHjwZQcfo FOX 35 Orlando (@fox35orlando) January 10, 2020 Channel News Asia adds the Pentagon's review of the DHS request would have to cover several aspects. It is difficult to take a call on when construction might begin, but there is a time limit on the utilization of funds, which is Sep 30 or the end of the fiscal year. There will also be involvement from the military. They have to work out the impact of such diversion on military readiness. Building the Mexico Border Wall is the objective According to CNN, Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf described the completion of 100 miles of the wall as "a milestone achievement." The target of the Trump administration is to construct 450 miles by the end of this year. Already there is some work done on old, dilapidated designs. The wall was the key campaign promise of Donald Trump last time and could figure prominently in the current election year. There was a financial constraint last year, and Trump declared a shutdown for diversion of funds from other projects to build the Mexico Border Wall. Chad Wolf is confident that 450 miles of the promised wall will either be completed or under construction by the end of 2020. Trumps Mexico Border Wall to fulfill his promise So far, 100 miles of the wall have come up. In some areas, it was new construction and in other areas, it was the replacement of run-down barriers with an enhanced system. The White House insists that the construction should be labeled as the new wall. Since taking over the reins, President Donald Trump has faced a number of legal challenges over his border wall. There are also issues related to the availability of necessary land owned by private parties in California, New Mexico, and Texas. Hence, with election-year round, the corner, his key campaign promise of 2016 could take on new urgency. AMMAN, Jordan - Hundreds of Jordanians demonstrated in downtown Amman on Friday, calling on the government to cancel an agreement in which Israel began pumping natural gas to the kingdom this year. Jordanian security forces prevented the protesters from reaching symbolic Al-Nakheel Square in the capital, where the turnout had been expected to grow larger. Earlier this month, Jordans National Electric Power Co., said gas pumping had started as part of a multi-billion-dollar deal with Texas-based Noble Energy aimed at lowering the cost of power in the energy-poor kingdom. Noble Energy and Israels Delek Group are, among others, partners in the newly operational Leviathan gas field off Israels Mediterranean coast. In a statement then, NEPCO said importing the gas from Israel was the last option after supplies of Egyptian gas came to an end after its pipeline was repeatedly targeted by Islamic State-affiliated militants in Sinai. NEPCO said Israel was the only available source. At odds with the kingdoms official policy, many Jordanians still see Israel as an enemy and often meet steps toward normalization with great public backlash. Over half the population are believed to be Palestinian refugees or their descendants. Dozens of police Friday formed lines to prevent protesters from marching. The demonstrators chanted anti-Israel slogans and held banners reading, The gas of the enemy is an occupation! and Down with the gas deal. The Jordanian flag-waving protesters also threatened to overthrow the government if it sticks by the gas deal. Murad al-Adayleh, secretary general of the Islamic Action Front Party, called on the government, which has allowed the start of importing the gas, to step down. When the deal was signed in 2016, it was not reviewed by Jordans lower house of Parliament. Last year, that body issued a non-binding resolution against the agreement. A parliament session was planned for Sunday to submit an urgent memo requesting a ban on gas purchases from Israel. The $10 billion deal is expected to provide 45 billion cubic meters of Israeli gas to Jordan over the next 15 years. From the same Leviathan gas field, Israel has also begun exporting natural gas to Egypt. On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted about the move, saying on Twitter that he has laboured to make Israel a world power exporter. ___ Associaed Press writer Fares Akram in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, contributed reporting. In following the Moms4Housing eviction, it occurred to me how the Alameda County sheriffs handled the eviction. They showed up in the early morning, officers in riot gear, in armored vehicles, used a battering ram, and finally used a robot to check out the house before entering looking for traps. Two of the moms were arrested along with several supporters. For many years, there has been a movement to end the program called Urban Shield supported by Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern and the Department of Homeland Security. They had been training their officers as well as emergency medical technicians and firefighters thoughout the Bay Area. One of the forces doing the training for several years was the Israeli military. This has contributed to the increasing militarization of the police. Due to pressure by many community groups and the discomfort of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, they voted to not allow the acceptance of monies for sponsoring the Urban Shield exercises for this year and hopefully beyond. Lastly, the sheriff allowed the Oath Keepers to have a booth at one of the recent trainings. Cindy Shamban, Berkeley GOP plans a swift acquittal Regarding Presidents fate now up to Senate (Jan. 16): Now that the articles of impeachment against President Trump have been submitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate, expect the calls for truth and justice by impeachment manager Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) to fall on deaf ears. After all, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already stated that he is not impartial, and has been coordinating with the White House to ensure a swift acquittal for Trump. Why would GOP leaders bother allowing witnesses to be called or evidence to be presented when the outcome is a fait accompli? Hopefully, voters will remember this November that the Senate Republicans, especially their leader, McConnell, who is up for re-election, put their party before their patriotic duty in order to exonerate their Dear Leader. Donna Delvecchio, Santa Clara Climate activists give hope As someone who is over 70 years old, I feel a bit more hopeful about the future after reading Climate case (News of the Day, Jan. 16). This news story describes how young climate activists in Germany are seeking to join a lawsuit that aims to force their government to enact measures that would significantly cut emissions of planet-heating carbon dioxide. Meanwhile in our own country, the Trump administration has cruelly denied the science of global warming and deregulated pollution control standards. Have our leaders forgotten the fact that they will be leaving this world to the people who should matter most to them, their children and their grandchildren? Gloria Curazon, Daly City Inadequate school funding There will likely be more news stories like S.F. schools budget woes challenge to leadership (Jan. 16) in the future because there is inadequate funding to meet the needs of many districts increasing special education populations and the cost of hiring related personnel. Unfortunately, California cannot sufficiently rely upon statewide tax revenues to help pay for education, as other states do, because of the 1978 passage of Proposition 13, which capped local property taxes. So when it comes to assessing the growing budget problems of our states school districts, a line from William Shakespeares Julius Caesar provides an appropriate reason: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Vice President Mike Pence urging Senate Democrats to follow the example of Edmund G. Ross, who bucked his party and voted to acquit Andrew Johnson. Pence praised Ross, who served as a Republican senator during Johnsons presidency, for resisting pressure from his party and staying true to his own convictions to render a fair judgment. He favorably cites John F. Kennedys 1956 book Profiles in Courage, which depicts Ross who resisted legislative mob rule and partisan impeachment. The vice president draws parallels between Johnson and Donald Trump, asking, Who, among the Senate Democrats, will stand up to the passions of their party this time? Advertisement Pences op-ed is profoundly ahistorical, inaccurate, and oddly reliant upon a view of Johnson promoted by the Ku Klux Klan during its resurgence in the early 20th century. Far from a principled independent, Ross was an unscrupulous politician who exploited his impeachment vote to obtain favors from the president and may well have been bribed to acquit. Historian Brenda Wineapples extraordinary book The Impeachers, published in 2019, details the true story of Ross corrupt bargain to save Johnsons catastrophic presidency. We spoke on Friday about the many errors in Pences op-ed. Our interview has been edited for length. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slate: Pence writes that Johnson shared Lincolns desire to bring the Southern states back into the fold as soon as possible and wished to continue Lincolns policies. Is that true? Advertisement Advertisement Brenda Wineapple: No. Johnson was not continuing Lincolns policy. First of all, no one knew exactly what Lincolns policy would be in the first placehe hadnt formulated one, but he was open-minded, which Johnson never was. Second, Lincoln had suggested that he was very open to giving the vote to black men, particularly those who had served in the Union army. Johnsons position, by contrast, was very clear; he said, This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men. Johnson not only opposed votes for blackshe opposed political and civil rights for blacks, too. He vetoed civil rights legislation. He campaigned against the 14th Amendment. And instead of calling a special session of Congress after Lincolns assassination, he began to reconstruct the Southern government along his own lines. That included pardoning nearly 100 former Confederates a day, allowing them to rejoin the legislature, and letting those legislatures pass Black Codes, which were ordinances that reinstituted slavery by another name because they denied all civil rights to blacks, including the right to marry, to serve on a jury, even to move freely. Advertisement Advertisement Before we get to Edmund Ross, lets talk about Pences framing of the Johnson impeachment. He writes that Republicans hatched a plot to impeach him and found their grounds in a rather pedestrian law, the Tenure of Office Act. Pence cites John F. Kennedys Profiles in Courage for authority. Are Pence and Kennedy right? What Kennedy said in that book is absolutely egregious. Kennedy wrote that the actual cause for which the President was being tried was not fundamental to the welfare of the nation. Johnson was being tried for abuse of power and obstruction of justicein particular, squandering the Union victory, turning back the clock, reinstating white supremacy, and keeping black people as third-class citizens. How could that not be central to the welfare of the nation? Its absolutely outrageous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Republicans did cite the Tenure of Office Act, which barred Johnson from removing Cabinet secretaries without congressional approval, in their articles of impeachment. Johnson violating the Tenure of Office Act was the straw that broke the camels back. Republicans had been very reluctant to impeach Johnson. The Republicans were trying to find ways to curb him, to pass legislation and an amendment that would consolidate the Union victory and make sure that the effects of slavery were abolished. They didnt vote to impeach until Johnson just went too far and broke a law. That law was the Tenure of Office Act. Eight of the impeachment articles dealt with that. But the real reason underneath it all was Johnsons abuse of power, his rejection of the legitimacy of Congress. Johnson was eroding the tripartite government and arrogating all power to himself. Two articles of impeachment dealt with thathis abuse of power and the denigrations of democracy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pence writes that Republicans led a stampede to impeach Johnson There was no stampede! There were seven Republicans who voted against impeachment. Impeachment had not come quickly or easily. It only came when Johnson actually broke the law. Remember, it was 1868, and Republicans thought they would be rid of Johnson after the upcoming election. There was no stampede. Thats just historical bullshit. Lets talk about Ross. Kennedy viewed him as a profile on courage, and Pence concurs. He writes that Ross was determined to render a fair judgment and stayed true to his convictions. Accurate? No. Ross was a junior senator from Kansas and he needed money and favors. His constituents wanted him to vote to remove Johnson from office. There was no reason to vote the way he didexcept that he was importuning Johnson for favors. He wanted all kinds of favors for his family. And treaties for the railroads interests pushing him. He wanted Johnson to support a treaty that would sell 8 million acres that belonged to Native Americans to a railroad for a fraction of what it was worth. He wanted his brother to get a government position in Florida. Then he wanted two friends to be appointed as Indian agents, and another friend to be Southern superintendent of Indian affairs, and another friend to be a surveyor in Kansas. In view of Ross vote, Johnson delivered on absolutely all of it. As we say today, there was plenty of quid pro quo. Advertisement Advertisement "As we say today, there was plenty of quid pro quo." Theres also substantial suggestion, if not hard proof, that Ross actually received money for his vote. Ross lived in the same boarding house as Vinnie Ream, a sculptor. It appears he had a crush on her. Reams brother-in-law, Perry Fuller, was a very shady character, known for bribes and corruption, who was working behind the scenes on Johnsons behalf. He had also contributed to Ross campaign. And Fuller paid Ross to vote for acquittal? So people said at the time. We do know that Ross asked Johnson to nominate Fuller as commissioner of internal revenue. Johnson complied, but the Senate wouldnt confirm Fuller, so Johnson gave him a big plum job as the customs agent in New Orleans. [Note: Fuller was arrested for embezzling $3 million, and Ross guaranteed his bond.] Advertisement Lets turn back to Johnson. One obvious goal of Pences op-ed is to favorably compare Trump to Johnson by framing Johnson as a principled president unfairly vilified and undermined by a partisan Congress. Where does Pences rosy view of Johnson come from? Until the rise of the KKK in the early 20th century, Johnson was a toxic figure. The Democrats, his own party, wouldnt even nominate him for president in 1868. He was inept, vulgar, and an abuser of power. He was unfit for office, and across the board, it was understood that he was in over his head. His reputation was in the cellar until Birth of a Nation, the 1915 movie that popularized the lost cause point of view. It depicted Radical Republicans as power-hungry fanatics. After Birth of a Nation, the KKK began popularizing Johnson again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What can todays senators learn, if anything, from Johnsons impeachment? The Johnson impeachers felt the president was unfit and wanted him out of office. They focused on the Tenure of Office Act and, as a result, got into a lot of legalistic wrangling rather than dealing with the larger issue of abuse of power. The impeachers were standing for the proposition, from the Declaration of Independence, that all people are created equal and have equal rights and opportunities under the law. If they had stayed with that, they would have had a better chance of convicting the president. How should we remember Edmund Ross? As a weak person. As a profile in cowardice. He should be forgotten. 1 big thing: Small tech firms with Big Tech gripes The tech industry's stories about itself always start with nimble startups with great ideas in a garage. But today, many small tech companies feel like they're fighting for survival in an industry where giants have grown entrenched and domineering. Driving the news: That latter perspective will be on display for lawmakers Friday at a House antitrust subcommittee hearing in Boulder, Colorado, where four smaller companies will detail how they believe Google, Amazon, and Apple have smothered their growth. The big picture: Silicon Valley once maintained that its small-and-scrappy ethos was the key to innovation, as Alexis Madrigal recently described in The Atlantic. But today's giant companies argue that important change happens only "at scale," and only operations their size can compete with China. Here's the lineup for Friday's hearing: 1. David Barnett, founder of PopSockets: Barnett, whose company makes eponymous circular grips that stick to the back of phones, grew so frustrated with Amazon's treatment of his company that he eventually stopped selling on the platform. Amazon failed to take real action against counterfeit PopSockets grips until PopSockets agreed to a nearly $2 million marketing deal, he said. Only then did Amazon start requiring vendors listing PopSockets products to provide evidence that they were authentic. Eventually, PopSockets decided to stop selling directly to Amazon and instead sell its products through a reseller on the platform. But Amazon shut that down, citing policy violations. PopSockets subsequently returned to selling on Amazon. Amazon says marketing fees or payments do not play a role in its efforts to police counterfeits, and that it requires some popular, widely available brands to sell directly to the company to ensure customers receive lower prices. 2. Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos: The speaker maker said it worked with Google to include Google's voice assistant with its speaker, only to have Google steal Sonos technology for its own speakers. Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda accused Sonos of making "misleading statements," and said, "Our technology and devices were designed independently." 3. Kirsten Daru, vice president and general counsel of Tile: Tile makes small devices to help track lost items like keys or a wallet. The company was part of a group of firms that complained when Apple changed its settings to prevent apps, including Tile's, from obtaining "always-allow" location tracking during the set-up process, according to a Washington Post report. Apple said the change was to protect users' privacy, but the company is working with developers interested in setting location tracking to "always allow" at set-up to include that option in a future software update. 4. David Heinemeier Hansson, CTO and co-founder of Basecamp: Hansson called for Google to be broken up after complaining that paid ads for competitors appeared before Basecamp's website does in Google search results. To spotlight the issue, Basecamp bought Google ads that accused the search company of demanding ransom. Castaneda said competitors can bid on trademarked terms because "it offers users more choice when they are searching." The bottom line: Americans often root for the little guy, but antitrust enforcement in the U.S. has mostly focused on harm to consumers rather than protecting the rights of smaller companies. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 13:50:22|Editor: ZX Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested three alleged white supremacists on charges ranging from illegal transport of a machine gun to harboring aliens days before a pro-gun rally in eastern U.S. state of Virginia, local media reported Thursday. The detainees, including Patrik Jordan Mathews, a 27-year-old Canadian national who entered the United States illegally last summer, are suspected members of The Base, which authorities describe as a "racially motivated violent extremist group," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland. The other two men are Brian Mark Lemley Jr. aged 33 and William Garfield Bilbrough IV, 19. Both are Americans from eastern U.S. state of Maryland. The arrest came just after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency and banned firearms on the Capitol grounds in Richmond in anticipation of the gun rights demonstration next week. "We have received credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies that there are groups with malicious plans for the rally that is planned for Monday," Northam said Wednesday. In January, Lemley and Mathews "purchased approximately 1,650 rounds of 5.56 mm and 6.5 mm ammunition; traveled from Delaware to a gun range in Maryland, where they shot the assault rifle; and retrieved plate carriers (to support body armor) and at least some of the purchased ammunition from Lemley's prior residence in Maryland," a NPR report quoted the U.S. Attorney's Office as saying. Lemley and Mathews could each face a maximum of 10 years in prison if they're convicted of "transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony offense," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. In addition, both Lemley and Bilbrough could face a maximum sentence of five years for allegedly transporting and harboring Mathews. The Base's members use encrypted chat rooms to discuss their supremacist agenda, the FBI said. According to court documents, the extremists frequently discuss topics such as "recruitment, creating a white ethno-state, committing acts of violence against minority communities (including African-Americans and Jewish-Americans), the organization's military-style training camps, and ways to make improvised explosive devices." The enterprise-grade solution will be shown at The Bett Show In London next week MONTREAL, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- X2O Media today announced the enterprise-grade Virtual Classroom experience, an innovative solution that has changed how remote students access, communicate and collaborate with their peers, will be demonstrated at The Bett Show next week. X2O Media, part of the STRATACACHE family of marketing technology companies, designed the experience to enable higher education institutions to offer remote students a unique learning experience to allow them to participate in everything that is taking place within the live classroom. X2O Media can be found in booth SE24 at The Bett Show, which features marketing information technology in education, being held January 22 - 25, 2020 in London. The X2O Media Virtual Classroom blended learning environment connects users as an effective way to provide an interactive, real-time learning experience for in-class and remote participants alike. The Virtual Classroom features next-generation technology complete with high-definition, directional audio/visual communication, an intuitive interface, interactive large whiteboards and presentation monitors with numerous content sharing and collaboration tools. Multiple camera views, including a unique perspective view camera for each remote participant, enables presenters to deliver the same instructions and content simultaneously to onsite as well as remote participants. "We see that as a result of the accessibility of high-speed internet, enrollment in distance learning courses is increasing. Coupled with shifts in global economies, students are turning to online courses to complete degrees or to improve their career potential. Universities worldwide need to step up and meet the unique needs of their growing distance learning students. With X2O Media's virtual classroom higher education institutions can supply the increasing demand for online courses. The highly social peer-to-peer communication gives remote students an unparalleled experience and helps them achieve a high level of success in their online course," said Mansour Brek, President of X2O Media. Rob Brinklow, Sales Manager at X2O Media Europe adds, "Today, technology enables forms of communication and collaboration undreamt of in the past. X2O Media is bridging distance learning spaces to link the global remote learning community with a common purpose. We look forward to showcasing the classroom's power and features during The Bett Show where you can experience first-hand the X2O Virtual Classroom at Stand SE24." For more information about the advantages of X2O Media's Virtual Classroom technology, contact sales@X2Omedia . About X2O Media X2O Media provides technology and services for higher education and corporate learning centers to build virtual classrooms as well as, solutions to provide emerging visual communications, and real-time data visualization. The award-winning X2O Platform brings advanced education opportunities to people across the globe. Remote students can experience and participate in everything that takes place in the live classroom. X2O Media is part of the STRATACACHE family of digital media/marketing technology companies and is headquartered in Montreal. For more information, contact X2O Media at sales@x2omedia.com and follow X2O updates on LinkedIn and Twitter . About STRATACACHE STRATACACHE provides scalable customer experiences, empowering retailers to learn deeply about their customers' shopping preferences and behaviors, allowing for personalized shopper interaction. Our solutions deliver consumer activation at the point-of-decision, generating new sales opportunities and enhanced retail profitability. With 3 million+ software activations globally, we power the biggest digital networks for the world's largest brands. Across the STRATACACHE family of complementary digital media/ad tech solution companies, we have the technology, expertise and track record to bring retail innovation that delivers results. Learn more about the STRATACACHE family at stratacache.com , follow on LinkedIn or on Twitter . Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/704941/X2O_STRATACACHE_company_Logo.jpg Maharashtra Minister of State for Public Health, Medical Education, FDA and Textiles Rajendra Patil-Yadravkar who had come here to participate in the martyrs day programme of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) was detained by the police and escorted back till the state borders on Friday. MES had organised its annual martyrs day programme at Hutatma Circle here. Its leaders had earlier been asked by the District Administration and City Police to ensure that none of the political leaders from Maharashtra participate and create law and order problems by their anti-state statements. Patil had managed to sneak into the city through a route which was not manned by the police. He came in an auto-rickshaw to the programme venue. Police personnel present for security took him into their custody and later escorted him till the states borders with Maharashtra at Kognoli on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway. MES leaders alleged that the police personnel violated protocol while taking the incumbent minister into their custody and they also roughed him up. All vehicles entering the city from different routes and particularly from Maharashtra were screened to confirm that political leaders from the neighbouring state do not participate in the martyrs day programme and create problems by their statements that also affect law and order along with linguistic harmony. It was not known if Patil had landed in the city on Thursday and managed to reach the programme venue without getting noticed by using an auto-rickshaw. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 21:51:23|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close CHENGDU, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Sichuan Province registered 676.6 billion yuan (around 98.65 billion U.S. dollars) in foreign trade in 2019, up 13.8 percent year on year, customs figures showed Friday. Sichuan's exports in 2019 reached 389.23 billion yuan, up 16.8 percent from 2018, while its imports rose by 9.9 percent to 287.36 billion yuan, according to Chengdu Customs. Pan Xudong, director of the statistic analysis department of Chengdu Customs, ascribed the growth to Sichuan's stable economy, exploration of emerging markets and the positive effects of foreign trade policies. Statistics showed the mechanical and electrical products accounted for 82.1 percent and 87.5 percent of the province's total exports and imports, respectively. In 2019, Sichuan's imports and exports to countries along the Belt and Road and Latin American countries increased by 20 percent and 36.3 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the province's foreign trade with the United States, ASEAN and the European Union maintained growth. Foreign-invested enterprises in the province achieved a total import and export value of 456.59 billion yuan in 2019, up 17.3 percent year on year. Imports and exports of private enterprises reached 162.27 billion yuan, with an increase of 20.2 percent. Imports of consumer products of Sichuan saw rapid growth last year, according to Chengdu Customs. It said the province imported 5 billion yuan of consumer goods, up 4.5 percent, of which fruit, cosmetics and aquatic products increased by 36.9 times, 1.6 times and 1.9 times, respectively. The customs said that the imports and exports of the capital hit 582.27 billion yuan, with an increase of 16.9 percent, accounting for 86.1 percent of the province's whole imports and exports. 'Power Star' Pawan Kalyan makes electoral debut but will he pose challenge to TDP, YSR Congress 'Vakeel Saab': Pawan Kalyan wraps up shoot, producer says, 'we all had a BLAST working with Power Star' 2024 in focus, BJP and Pawan Kalyan announce alliance, emerge as third alternative in Andhra India oi-Madhuri Adnal Amaravati(AP), Jan 17: Old allies Jana Sena and BJP came together once again and announced an alliance on Thursday, seeking to emerge as the "third alternative" in Andhra Pradesh. The reunion of the two parties, which comes after a separation of three years due to what they termed "communication gap," may alter the political scenario in the state, where the local body elections are round the corner. Describing it as a "historic and important development," Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and state BJP president Kanna Lakshmi Narayana announced the alliance at a press conference, after a four-hour-long meeting of leaders of the two parties in Vijayawada on Thursday. Plan to introduce electric buses in Andhra Pradesh dropped They exuded confidence that the partnership would clinch power in the state in 2024. NEWS AT 3 PM, JAN 17th, 2020 Right from the upcoming polls to the local bodies, the alliance will go on to fight the 2024 general elections as well. "Our alliance is intended to protect the state," they said. Alleging that the YSRC government completely failed the people in a very short time, the alliance leaders promised to fight against its policies. The state BJP chief said the Sena agreed to ally with his party "unconditionally" in the interest of Andhra Pradesh and its people. A coordination committee would soon be constituted with leaders of the two parties to carry forward their agenda. Pointing to the "communication gap" beween his party and the BJP, which led to a fallout three years ago, Kalyan said, "We held a series of discussions over the past few months and bridged that gap. Thus, we are back in alliance." The actor-turned-politician held talks with BJP working president J P Nadda in New Delhi on January 13. "BJP was our first (political) ally," Kalyan recalled. The Telugu film star claimed that the people of AP were yearning for a third alternative, vexed with the "dynastic, despotic and corrupt" politics of both TDP and YSRC. "The BJP and the Jana Sena will be the third alternative that people are looking for. We will emerge as a formidable force by 2024," Kalyan noted. "We have over four years time to strength ourselves in the state and we will certainly clinch power in 2024," he asserted. BJP state in charge Sunil Deodhar stressed that there was no question of any realignment with the TDP. "We have already made it clear that the TDP is no longer welcome. There will not be any type of alliance with either the TDP or the YSRC," he added. As soon as the Sena was founded in March 2014, Kalyan supported the BJP-TDP combine in the elections in AP and Telangana. The Sena remained out of contest in the two states. Two years down the line, it fell out with the BJP and the TDP for various reasons and allied with BSP and the Left parties for the 2019 elections. Sena bit the dust in the elections to both Lok Sabha and Assembly in the state last year, managing to win just one seat in the 175-member Assembly. Rajya Sabha member G V L Narasimha Rao, former Union Minister Daggubati Purandeswari, MLC Somu Veerraju represented the BJP while Political Affairs Committee chairman Nadendla Manohar, retired bureaucrat Rama Mohan Rao and others attended the meeting on behalf of the Sena. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, January 17, 2020, 9:31 [IST] Lithuanian national Roman Seselj, who has been sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of spying for Russia, will challenge this ruling in Lithuania's Supreme Court, his lawyer, Arunas Marcinkevicius told Sputnik, after the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction VILNIUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) Lithuanian national Roman Seselj, who has been sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of spying for Russia, will challenge this ruling in Lithuania's Supreme Court, his lawyer, Arunas Marcinkevicius told Sputnik, after the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction. "We will definitely challenge this decision. We have three months to file the cassation appeal with the Supreme Court, and we will definitely do it," the lawyer said. The lawyer also said that the defense did not agree with the charges, citing the lack of substantiating evidence. Seselj was detained by Lithuanian law enforcement authorities in December 2017 on suspicion of transferring information to Russia about strategic Lithuanian facilities located at the Klaipeda Port. Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Friday unanimously ratified the Constitution (126th) Amendment Bill, which proposes to extend the quota to SC/STs in Lok Sabha and state assemblies by another 10 years. After the bill was ratified, the House was adjourned sine-die. A two-day special session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly was convened to ratify the bill. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had passed the bill last month that required approval from at least 50 per cent of the state assemblies before implementation. In his address, Chief Minister Kamal Nath said it is very rare that any bill is passed unanimously in the House. He urged the Centre to re-introduce the tribal sub plan (TSP) in the country. "The end of TSP may not affect other states, but it is useful for Madhya Pradesh as a large number of tribals reside in the state," Nath said. On the first day of the special session on Thursday, the Assembly was adjourned after tributes were paid to Congress MLA Banwarilal Sharma and former legislator Rugnath Singh Anjana, who died recently. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "In a way, he is a hero," says August Diehl, who plays Franz. "But you know, what is special about him is he is not doing anything. He is not like Edward Snowden or other people in the Third Reich who were hiding Jews or helping people escape. He is passive in this, but his passivity triggers something very, very strong." Valerie Pachner as Fani, who supports her husband's decision to challenge the Nazis. Like most of the cast, Diehl is German but performs mostly in English, with a few smatterings of Austrian-German asides. In any other film, that linguistic pretence would feel clunkily performative. "At the beginning, I asked myself about this," Diehl says. "Normally I would not like it, but when I see the movie now, it feels normal. I dont even want to dub it." Fani is played by Valerie Pachner; many notable actors from the European cinema, such as Franz Rogowski, Matthias Schoenaerts and the late, very great Swiss actor Bruno Ganz appear in smaller but powerful roles. Shooting with Malick, the actors confirm, is unlike working on any other film. There was a script, but Pachner says she set hers aside after the first days shooting. "We would just jump into scenes without knowing what they were," she says. "The call sheet would say something like, 'Fani confronts Franz with his decision', but we would just do whatever." Malick would tell them they were "catching fish": the telling moments that would reveal themselves in the editing suite. There was no rehearsal, but they spent weeks beforehand learning how to use a scythe and milk cows by hand. That process continued once shooting began. "I remember driving to set thinking not so much about the scenes, but whether the hay would be dry that I cut three days ago and hoping the cattle were fine," Diehl says. "We were working, working, working like peasants do and then Terry would say, 'OK, this is this little moment when you doubt', or, 'This is a moment of love'. We did scenes over and over again but in different places, so a dialogue starts and then it's another day and another costume but still the dialogue goes on and it works!" We would just jump into scenes without knowing what they were. The call sheet would say something like, 'Fani confronts Franz with his decision', but we would just do whatever. Actor Valerie Pachner The title comes from a quote from George Eliot, which appears as an end-title: "For the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs." But nobody can prove that; it is an assertion everyone from Fani to Franzs Nazi tormentors and the film itself continually call into question. When Franz is arrested, interrogated and brought to trial, he is told over and over again that he is sacrificing his family for nothing. That his little protest is futile, because nobody will ever know about it. Valerie Pachner and August Diehl as Fani and Franz Jagerstatter. Clearly that is not true: Jagerstatter was canonised by Pope Benedict, who came from a part of Bavaria not far from St Radegund, in 2007. And now, of course, he is recognised by this film. The act, however, was a complicated and compromised heroism; he faced leaving his wife without a husband, his children fatherless, without a provider and scorned by their neighbours. "The situation is one a lesser film would milk for easy feelings of moral superiority its a nice farmer versus the Nazis, after all," wrote a Variety critic. "But A Hidden Life isnt interested in push-button morality ... It uses its story as a springboard for questions meant to spark introspection in viewers." Jagerstatter is intransigent but torn; he knows he is doing harm to those he loves. Reviews for A Hidden Life in Cannes ranged from appreciative to rapturous, but Malicks triumphant return will still be divisive not just because it is indulgently long or because his pastoral romanticism drives some urban viewers up the wall, but because Franzs lonely resistance, supported by his soulmate Fani, is not part of any larger political struggle. For Malick, the question he faces is moral and personal, which is not going to stop Nazis in their tracks. "But I think that is also something that their story tells us," says Pachner. "That you dont necessarily have to think about the big picture. What you do in your own life, what you think is right, that is enough. Thinking about what others will think is just distracting sometimes. And I think having this feeling of being connected with yourself that comes from a silent place." Its a bit weird being the leader of a party at an election for the first time, Leo Varadkar said. Speaking as an aside to a local while leaving the CoWorx enterprise hub in Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, the Taoiseach seemed in decent form. If he was feeling the after effects of the various crises that popped up on day one of the campaign, he wasnt showing it. What do you need from central Government to make this a reality? he asked of the assembled throng at the CoWorx site, who had just given him a spiel on developing the enterprise hub. We want you to remember us when youre elected in four weeks time, was the response form Frank Greene, chair of the local district development association. Edgeworthstown needs a school, a bank, and an industrial hub to attract investment into the town is the gist. The Taoiseachs countenance suggested hed do his best, while he vowed to return in November to open the towns new library. Longford as a county is something of an oddity in that it has both no Fine Gael TDs and also no Longford TDs. Mr Varadkar was in town to promote the Dail chances of local councillor for Granard Micheal Carrigy, who hopes to amend that statistic. Other celebrities were out to meet the Taoiseach also, with both MEP Maria Walsh and Westmeath representative Peter Burke in attendance. This is one of five counties in Ireland with no Fine Gael TD, so its very high up our target list. We have a top-class candidate in Micheal and I hope to see him in the Dail in a couple of weeks, Mr Varadkar said. For someone generally credited as not being a natural flesh-presser, the Taoiseach is certainly doing his best, although a request for him to stay on for the yoga at Fabiani, a sort of cafe cum hairdresser cum fashion outlet in Longford Town, received no definitive response. In both towns, the Fine Gael leader was on friendly ground, though there were mutterings of protest out on the streets on both occasions. Is he doing autographs, one man said breathlessly. Nah, just photos, replied another as a picture opportunity with a local primary school looking for a new building presented itself. Data courtesy of The Irish Times The Taoiseach seemed to respond positively to the well-wishing, and kept the political point-scoring to a minimum, even when asked about South Dublin Sinn Fein councillor Read More: I think that if somebody makes a remark that they regret, and they apologise, I think that should be accepted and in this case the apology has been made, Mr Varadkar said. He was more tone deaf when asked about the homelessness crisis, starting off well in describing the current situation as totally unacceptable and something that brings shame on us all quite frankly. But then the urge to bait Fianna Fail got the better of him when discretion was probably the better part of valour, saying it would be possible to continue to invest in homeless services over the next five (years) but only if we keep the economy strong, only if we mind the public finances, and really were the only party that can do that. 17.01.2020 LISTEN The Electoral Commission of Ghana has reiterated its readiness to cooperate and rely on the National Identification Authority's database from the Ghana Card registration if only the database is complete. According to the EC, since the NIA has not completed the Ghana Card registration, it is not feasible to fall on such national record let alone allow it to be used for voting. Dr. Yaw Ofori-Agyei, a consultant at the Electoral Commission made these observations during an engagement with journalists in Accra. Yes, we can use the [National Identification Authoritys] data but is the NIA data ready? That notwithstanding, the EC still needs to compile a new voters register for the December 2020 general elections since the current one is not fit for purpose, the EC has argued. The new register is expected to have enhanced biometric features and also an added layer of security in facial recognition. The EC has also argued most of the biometric devices in the current electoral system are burnt out, necessitating the compilation of a new register. However, some opposition parties are suspicious of the EC. The biggest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress has argued the EC wants to connive with the government to stymie eligible voters in NDC strongholds from registering. The NDC and other like-minded opposition parties have staged a protest march in Tamale, Northern Region to register their opposition to the proposed new register. They are expected to replicate the same in other parts of the country. Also, some 15 civil society organisations have also joined the cry for the EC to abandon its plans for a new register. In a statement, Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), IMANI, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and others among other recommendations, said the EC should update the existing software in ways to make it more efficient. Compiling a new register, they said would be a wasteful duplication of efforts at great expense. ---MyJoyOnline According to the charges, Arroyo had sought an undisclosed state senators support on legislation involving video gambling sweepstakes games that would benefit one of Arroyos lobbying clients. The state senator was wearing a wire for the FBI when Arroyo delivered the first of the promised $2,500 checks at a restaurant in Skokie on Aug. 22. DALLAS, Jan. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a string of significant jury verdicts and settlements, Texas trial lawyer Frank L. Branson is among the finalists for the national Elite Trial Lawyers honor for his work in products liability and brain injury litigation. The 2020 list of finalists marks the third time Mr. Branson has been recognized for the prestigious honor. In 2019, Mr. Branson and his firm were named Products Liability Trial Team of the Year based on a record $242 million automotive product liability jury verdict. In 2014, he was among the Top 50 Elite Trial Lawyers for Plaintiffs Litigation. Mr. Branson and his firm were selected from more than 300 nominations for the latest honor, which is awarded by American Lawyer Media and the National Trial Lawyers. Honorees will be announced Jan. 20 in Miami at the National Trial Lawyers Summit. The awards are based on "repeated success in cutting-edge work on behalf of plaintiffs" over the last 15 months, plus a "a solid track record of client wins." Verdicts and settlements earned by the Law Offices of Frank L. Branson have been certified among the largest in the nation by VerdictSearch and the National Law Journal four alone in the last six years. Mr. Branson also has earned some impressive legal profession honors, including designation among Texas Lawbook's "Lions of the Bar," D Magazine's Best Lawyers in Dallas, the Belli Society's Mel Award, the Southern Trial Lawyers Association's "War Horse" award, the National Law Journal's "50 Most Influential Lawyers in the U.S.," and D CEO's "Dallas 500: The Most Powerful Business Leaders." In November, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association honored Mr. Branson with its Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been named among the Super Lawyers Top 10 lawyers in Texas every year since 2007 and named among the Texas Super Lawyers Top 100 annually since 2003. In addition to the recent $242 million verdict, the firm recently secured several record outcomes, including a $10.9 million verdict against Choctaw Casino for a multi-fatality crash of a charter bus and multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements in all types of transportation crashes. The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson represents clients in cases involving complex product liability, catastrophic injury, commercial air crashes, professional negligence, and business torts. To learn more about the firm visit http://www.flbranson.com . Contact : Robert Tharp 800-559-4534 [email protected] SOURCE Law Offices of Frank L. Branson Related Links http://www.flbranson.com Banned NDFB, an insurgent group active in Assam, has signed an agreement with the government for suspension of operations, officials said on Friday New Delhi: Banned NDFB, an insurgent group active in Assam, has signed an agreement with the government for suspension of operations, officials said on Friday. According to the pact, the National Democratic Front of Boroland under the leadership of its 'president' B Saoraigwra will abjure violence and join in peace talks with the government. The tripartite agreement was signed by representatives of the NDFB and the central and Assam governments, the officials said. GRAYLING, MICH. -- A new program at Hartwick Pines State Park is seeking volunteers to shepherd a historically significant, nearly century-old building into its next chapter. The Hartwick Pines Memorial Building host program was launched to help staff the parks 1929-built Memorial Building, which served as the parks first visitors center. The log-cabin-style building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was re-opened in 2019 after being closed for more than two decades. Host duties include presenting programs and leading tours at the Memorial Building. Hosts can participate for a minimum of one week up to one month, during which time they can camp for free at the parks campground. The 2020 program will take place from May 19 through Oct. 31. This is great for somebody who is really into spending time at state parks and wants to share what state parks have to offer with others, said Hillary Pine, the programs coordinator and the Michigan DNRs Northern Lower Peninsula Historian. Obviously its a plus if youre into historic architecture, because youll be spending a lot of time in a historic building. The Memorial Buildings history is tied to the very founding of Hartwick Pines State Park. When Karen Hartwick, daughter of a prominent Northern Michigan lumberman, donated the parks original 8,000-acre parcel to the state of Michigan in 1927, she requested that a building be erected to memorialize her late husband, Grayling native Edward Hartwick. Related: How a lumbermans daughter saved Hartwick Pines magical forest for Michigan For six decades, the red-pine log building provided visitors with an impressive introduction to Hartwick Pines, boasting a large stone fireplace and a big porch for gazing out at the surrounding old-growth forests. After the parks current, modern visitors center opened its doors in 1995, however, the Memorial Building sat closed and virtually untouched for 24 years. But in 2019, coinciding with the Michigan state park systems centennial anniversary, the Memorial Building was finally re-opened. Pine says the volunteer host program will help keep the building open for visitors while park staff considers some structural updates, like upgrading electrical and plumbing systems, and solicits public input on how to use the space going forward. Were still at the very early stages of the renovation of the structure, so hosts are also there to talk to visitors about what they would like to see done with the building, she said. Its really important to the parks history, so were trying to make this building more accessible and visible to the public, and raise awareness of how important this structure is. More information on the Hartwick Pines State Park Memorial Building host program can be found on the Michigan DNRs website. The Hartwick Pines Memorial Building was constructed in 1929. (Photo courtesy the Archives of Michigan) RELATED: U.P.s Porcupine Mountains seeking artists for rustic cabin art residencies Historic Michigan lighthouse seeking keepers for two-week stays in 2020 Sheplers ferry night sky cruises include midnight Perseids trip in 2020 lineup Snowshoe making, cross-country ski lessons on tap for DNRs lodge and learn weekend getaways DNR camera project shows century of changes in Michigan woods Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has convened an all-party meeting on January 23 to evolve a comprehensive strategy to tackle the critical water situation in the state. Intervening in a discussion on'The Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Bill 2020', introduced by his government, Singh said invitations for the meeting have already been sent out. All matters related to water issues, including the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL)issue,poor quality of ground water and pollution caused by industrial and domestic waste, would be discussed during the meeting in a bid to evolve consensus and chalk out a detailed strategy to address these problems. The Bill introduced by Irrigation Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria was later passed by the House unanimously, paving the way for creation of Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority to manage critical water resources in the state. Both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supported the Bill while expressing concern over scarce water resources and depleting ground water table in the state. In response to issues raised by the Leader of the Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema, the chief minister flayed the Opposition for criticising his government on the issue, while themselves failing to help tackle the problem. Pointing out that he and his colleagues have already given up power subsidy for tubewells, Singh challenged Opposition leaders to show if any of them had heeded to his appeal and done the same. The appeal, he said, was aimed at ensuring judicious use of groundwater and inculcating the habit of water saving. The depleting ground water table and growing pollution of river water are "serious issues", the chief minister said while expressing his government's commitment to resolving the problem which was particularly acute in districts of southern Punjab such as Muktsar, leading to heavy incidence of cancer. Citing his visit to Israel to explore ways and means to tackle the problem of water scarcity, the chief minister said Israel was also facing acute crisis and facing exhaustion of its water resources in the next 15 years. However, Israel has a vast sea in its vicinity from where they could cater to their country's water requirement after desalinating the sea water, he noted. Unfortunately, Punjab did not have the option and should risk over exploiting its water resources only if it was prepared to become a desert in the coming years. The chief minister told the House that his government had signed an agreement with the National Water Company of Israel M/s Mekorot for formulation a Water Conservation and Management Master Plan (WCMMP) for conservation and management of water resources in the state. The Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority, provided by the Billwill be responsible for management and conversion of water resources of the state in a judicious, equitable and sustainable manner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Premier Doug Ford insists he has no regrets about how the Progressive Conservatives treated MPP Amanda Simard, who defected to the Liberals over his governments treatment of Franco-Ontarians. Speaking with reporters on Friday in Parry Sound, Ford was asked what he could have done differently to keep Simard from bolting to the Grits. I just wish her all the best, the premier said in his first public statement since the Glengarry-Prescott-Russell MPPs announcement Thursday. Were going to continue working hard in her riding representing her constituents, but I wish her all the best, he said. Pressed on whether he had any regrets about how Simard was dealt with, Ford bristled. We treated her absolutely phenomenal, by the way, he said. Youre going to have to ask Amanda that. Were going to continue working hard and we look forward to winning that riding in the next election. After Fords comments about his lack of regret at their parting of ways, Simard tweeted in French: A perfect divorce, right? Conservatives strategists, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private deliberations, confide that the party has little hope of winning her Eastern Ontario seat in the 2022 election. The first-term MPP made headlines across Canada when she quit the Tory caucus in November 2018 after Ford scrapped the independent French-language services commissioner post, putting it under the ombudsmans office, and scaled back plans for a French university. Simard was outraged that even though she was the parliamentary assistant to Caroline Mulroney, the minister responsible for francophone affairs, she was not informed of the cuts beforehand. On Thursday, she said she was joining the Liberals after sitting as an Independent for 14 months because they are the party of the future. Its not just about French-language services. Its really about, generally, the direction and position on education, climate change, said Simard, pointing to the Tories cancellation of the previous Liberal governments cap-and-trade environmental alliance with Quebec and California. Thats not the party that I signed up for. Thats not the way to run a province. Since leaving the Tories, Simard has become a prominent face for the provinces 622,000-member Franco-Ontario community. She has enlisted with a Liberal party that has surged in recent public-opinion polls even though a leader will not be selected until March 7. While Simard has not expressed support for any of the six candidates in the contest, she said she wants to help rebuild a party that governed Ontario from 2003 until Fords Tories toppled them in 2018. MPPs Michael Coteau (Don Valley East) and Mitzie Hunter (Scarborough-Guildwood), former minister Steven Del Duca, past candidates Kate Graham and Alvin Tedjo, and lawyer Brenda Hollingsworth are in the leadership race. All welcomed Simard into the Liberal fold. Hunter said on Friday that if she triumphs in the leadership and wins the next election, she would improve access to French-language services and programs throughout the province. I have a long history of supporting Franco-Ontarians from my time at TVO/TFO, she said, referring to Ontarios public broadcasters. I will be a leader who respects and restores the rights of all French-speaking people in Ontario. Read more about: Trump: Impeachment Trial Is Designed to Hurt Bernie Sanders President Donald Trump claimed Friday that the impeachment trial against him is an attempt to rig the upcoming 2020 election against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The president highlighted the importance of the upcoming Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3, which is the first nominating contest in the Democratic presidential primaries, in a post on Twitter. During the impeachment trial, Sanders and three other senators who are seeking their partys nomination will have to attend the trial in Washington for six days each week and wont be able to use electronic devices. Trump suggested Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was attempting to aid the 2020 candidacy of former Vice President Joe Biden by timing the impeachment trial to keep Sanders, Sen. Elizbeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) from campaigning on the ground. They are rigging the election again against Bernie Sanders, just like last time, only even more obviously, Trump wrote. They are bringing him out of so important Iowa in order that, as a Senator, he sit through the trial, giving Biden a strong edge, Trump added. Pelosi has repeatedly denied that politics was a factor in considering impeachment against Trump. She and other Democrats said they withheld the articles of impeachment from the Senate to secure a more fair trial. This isnt about politics at all. This is about patriotism. Its not about partisanship. Its about honoring our oath of office, she said in December during a CNN town hall. On Thursday, after all 100 senators were sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts, Sanders told reporters that he is worried about losing time ahead of the Iowa caucuses. The New Hampshire primary is just eight days after the Iowa caucuses. I would rather be in Iowa today. Theres a caucus there in two-and-a-half weeks. Id rather be in New Hampshire and Nevada and so forth. But I swore a constitutional oath as a United States senator to do my job and Im here to do my job, he said. Sanderss campaign has not responded to a request for comment. A Sanders campaign adviser, Jeff Weaver, said the senator may use a private jet to travel around during the impeachment trial. Theyre not going to be meeting at night [for the trial], so we can obviously fly from D.C. to states and hold events in the evening and fly back, you know, so he can be back in the morning to do his work in the Senate, Weaver told NBC News in early January. Hes an energetic candidate, he added. He has a very vigorous schedule, and, you know, he can do that. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Thursday that the trial will begin in earnest on Tuesday, Jan. 21, but its not clear how long the trial will take. In 1999, it took five weeks for the Senate to acquit then-President Bill Clinton, although a White House official told reporters that Trump believes it will be finished in just two weeks. An influencer claims to have spent five days in an Egyptian jail after climbing one of the Pyramids of Giza. Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, who has 3.1 million Instagram followers, shared a picture of himself atop a pyramid on social media with the caption: No words can explain what I just went through the past five days. Ive been in jail many times but this one was by far the very worst. I saw horrible things and I dont wish this upon anybody. However, he added, Was it worth it? F*** yeah! Zdorovetskiy later shared a video of his experience in which he said the stunt was for a good cause and called for viewers to stop the war and donate to the Australian bushfire crisis. Absolutely breathtaking, this is incredible guys, he says in the video, which has been viewed nearly 710,000 times as the time of writing. Stop the war. Help Australia. Lets raise money. He added: Egypt, I love you. No disrespect to you. I just want to bring awareness to the world millions of animals are lost, millions of people are hurting. The footage shows what Zdorovetskiy calls the military waiting for him at the base of the pyramid. They take his passport and appear to escort him to a vehicle. The video is a far cry from his usual posts, which frequently feature him posing next to naked or scantily clad women. Some Instagram users criticised the move, with one writing, THIS IS NOT OK! Respect other countries rules and culture! Pyramids is history for the next generation and shouldnt be taken as a joke! and another adding, It was not for war or raising money but for a public stunt. However, other praised the controversial stunt. Thanks Vitaly for using your social media presence to help others, commented one fan. Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public Show all 10 1 /10 Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public A man walks through a passage into the bent pyramid of Sneferu, which was reopened after restoration work, in Dahshur, south of Cairo, Egypt, 13 July, 2019. Mohamed Abd El Ghany/REUTERS Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public King Sneferus 4,600-year-old 'bent' pyramid in the ancient royal necropolis of Dahshur, in Egypt, has opened to the public. A man walks in front of one the Bent pyramid satellites, in the ancient royal necropolis of Dahshur on the west bank of the Nile River, south of the capital Cairo, on 13 July, 2019. Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public A sarcophagus on display near the bent pyramid. Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public Egyptian minister of antiquities Khaled El-Enany speaks in front of the bent pyramid of Sneferu. Mohamed Hossam/EPA Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public Egyptian tourist police stand with recently-discovered artefacts at the Memphis necropolis during an event opening the bent pyramid to tourists. Maya Alleruzzo/AP Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public A sarcophagus on display near the bent pyramid. Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public A man walks through a passage in the bent pyramid. Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public The bent pyramid of King Sneferu. Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public A man brushes off dust from a sarcophagus on display near the bent pyramid. Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images Egyptian bent pyramid dating back 4,600 years opens to public A sarcophagus on display near the bent pyramid. Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images The Giza pyramid complex is an Unesco World Heritage Site and is home to The Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Khafre, the largest pyramids built in ancient Egypt. The Great Pyramid is the only one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World still in existence. It is illegal to climb the pyramids. The Independent has contacted the Egyptian Ministry of Justice for comment. The owners of three adjoining Melbourne commercial buildings have opted to take them to the market together following a strong 2019 Melbourne office market. They have reported $75 million hopes. They recently received a major planning permit across the combined site which allows for a hotel and mixed-use development project. The property, comprising around 30,000 sqm of buildable area, is expected to attract the attention of larger domestic and international development groups. CBRE Melbourne Middle Markets agents Mark Wizel, Josh Rutman, Lewis Tong and Scott Orchard are offering the properties either in one line or separately. Hotelier Aziz Ozzie Kheir, Prebuilt founder Phil Merton and developer Frank Palazzo did have hotel plans. The largest of the asset is the former Sands & McDougall building at 355 Spencer Street (pictured above). The historic 7,363sqm corner office building once housed Melbournes leading printing and publishing firm for well over a century. Sands & McDougall was best known for its annual Directory of Melbourne publication a near encyclopaedic book that captured the identity and address of every business in Melbourne which ran from 1862 to 1974. The companys main printing house was located within the building and the proud horse logo still adorns the facade. Mark Wizel said the repositioning and rejuvenation of older character buildings has become extremely lucrative in recent years, and this asset is perfectly placed to capture unsatisfied tenant demand for unique, but well-located, accommodation. With office vacancy at record lows and the residential market also showing strong signs of recovery, theres little wonder why investors are showing such strong appetite for buildings in and around the Melbourne CBD, Wizel added. In a similar transaction of a heritage building in late 2019, 22 William Street, known as Swann House, sold for $52,000,000 which will see the buyer embark on a refurbishment program, targeting rents of over $700/sqm. Manhattan's ultra-high-end condo market appears to be in a slump, with nearly half of all units built in the past five years sitting unsold. Of new condo units in Manhattan that came to market after 2015, 48 percent, or 3,695 of 7,727 apartments, remain unsold, according to an analysis of sales data by Nancy Packes Data Services, a real estate consultancy and database provider. During the same period though, resales of older condos have skyrocketed highlighting the growing divide between older units and newer construction that was built with Saudi and Russian oligarchs in mind. 'The extraordinary oddity of the current cycle is that the real estate market has decoupled from the national economy and local economy, where job growth has been steady and stock market values have been reaching new highs,' according to the Nancy Packes report. A view of Central Park is seen from Billionaire's Row. Manhattan's ultra-high-end condo market appears to be in a slump, with half of all condos built since 2015 remaining unsold The view is shown from inside the tallest residential skyscraper 'One57' in New York on Billionaire's Row, where Michael Dell spent $100.47 million on a penthouse A chart shows the growing difference in price between new condos (green) and resale units (yellow) from an analysis by Nancy Packes Data Services The report, which looked at buildings with 30 units or more, says the slowdown was 'not obviously caused by supply,' and suggests that pricing may be the key factor. In recent years, Manhattan has seen an explosion of new condo units targeted at the obscenely wealthy most prominently on Billionaire's Row near the south end of Central Park. The price of a new condo is now 118 percent higher than a resale unit on average, up from just a 9 percent difference in 2005. Last month, one penthouse on Billionaire's Row was sold to hedge-fund billionaire Dan Och for a staggering $92.7 million, making it the third-priciest unit ever sold in New York City. Nearby, computer mogul Michael Dell spent $100.47 million on a penthouse at tower One57 off West 57th Street, and another unit in 220 Central Park South, the same building as Och's, sold for close to $240 million to hedge fund manager Ken Griffin. Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin bought New York's most expensive home in 22 Central Park South (above) where he paid nearly $240 million for a penthouse However, the foreign billionaires that the buildings were intended to attract do not appear to be flocking in as expected. 'Developers bet huge on foreign plutocratsRussian oligarchs, Chinese moguls, Saudi royaltylooking to buy second (or seventh) homes,' writes Derek Thompson for The Atlantic. 'But the Chinese economy slowed, while declining oil prices dampened the demand for pieds-a-terre among Russian and Middle Eastern zillionaires,' he says. In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department in recent years began to aggressively crack down on attempts to launder foreign billions through the U.S. real estate market. The result: some of the most expensive real estate on the planet sitting empty, and half-vacant skyscrapers gazing over Central Park. ROSEVILLE, MI -- A 50-year-old Roseville woman is in police custody after she allegedly killed her mother in November and posed as her for two months, according to WXYZ Detroit. The suspect -- who has not been identified by police -- is expected to be arraigned Friday on charges. Roseville Police say the woman allegedly shot her 69-year-old mother in the head inside of a house on Congress Street in November and hid the body inside a plastic storage tote. That tote was taken to the garage at the house before being discovered by police on Jan. 14. Following the mothers death, police say financial transactions took place on her accounts and cell phone records show the daughter sent several messages to family posing as her mother. A motive for the alleged murder has not been released. Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep was born in June of 1949 and is described as one of the best actresses of her generation. Over the years, she has been nominated for over 21 Academy Awards and has won three Academy Awards. Other than this, she has also been nominated for 32 Golden Globes Awards, out of which she has managed to win 8. Although she is considered one of the best actress of her generation, Meryl Streep has still been working to keep up the name she has earned. Here is a list of Meryl Streep movies that you must watch. Read Also| Meryl Streep Fixing Helen Mirren's Dress At The Golden Globes Leaves Fans Impressed Best Meryl Streep movies Sophies Choice In this movie, we can see Meryl Streep in the shoes of a survivor from a Nazi concentration camp. Streeps portrayal of Sophie was loved by the fans. In the film, Sophie finds a reason to live with Nathan, an unsteady American Jew, who is obsessed with the Holocaust. Meryl Streep won an award for the best actress for this movie. Read Also| Meryl Streep, Keanu Reeves And Other Celebs Spotted At Subway Stations Adaptation In this movie, we can see Meryl Streep in the role of a writer who has written a non-fiction book. A producer wants to make a live-action film of the book by adapting it as his screenplay. At the same time, the man who tries to adapt the book is played by Nicolas Cage tries to do so but fails to adapt it. This is one of the best Meryl Streep movies to date. Read Also| Greta Gerwig Believes That Saoirse Ronan Is Her Generation's Meryl Streep The Deer Hunter In this movie, we see Meryl Streep the role of a leading lady. The movie is about three boys from a small town in Pennsylvania who have joined the army to fight within the U.S. Vietnam War. But after they join the army, they are at their farewell party when the leads of the film get in danger and are brought to a prison camp. At the camp, they are forced to play Russian roulette after which they get separated only to meet each other in the end. This is one of the best Meryl Streep movies. Read Also| Little Women Starring Meryl Streep & Saoirse Ronan In The Oscar Race? Image courtesy: Shutterstock 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. Details added (first version posted on 12:24) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: It is not too late to deprive First President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev of the Nobel Prize, Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev said. Hajiyev made the remark at an event at ADA University in Baku dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy, Trend reports on Jan. 17. "The January 20 tragedy was not just an event that happened on the night of January 19 to January 20, 1990, the head of the department said. The January 20 tragedy must be considered as a process which followed the Sumgayit events and then continued in Khojaly city." Hajiyev stressed that a policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis was conducted in Armenia. "This process also occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh region, the head of the department added. It was carried out after Heydar Aliyev was dismissed from his position in the political bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It is also necessary to consider the January 20 tragedy from a military point of view, Hajiyev said. A plan of occupation of Baku as a foreign city was prepared. Tanks and other armored vehicles were used. There was not only artillery. The goal was the mass destruction of people on the streets." Moreover, these events occurred during information blockade of Azerbaijan, Hajiyev added. "Foreign journalists were accredited in Moscow and were not allowed to visit Baku. After a small number of journalists covered the press-conference of Heydar Aliyev, who appeared in the Azerbaijani Permanent Mission in Moscow, the international community learned about the events from other viewpoint, the head of the department added. The international media reported on the tragic events in Baku. However, Gorbachev was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize on October 15 [1990], Hajiyev added. It is not too late to deprive Gorbachev of the Nobel Prize. The Soviet government wanted to break the will of the Azerbaijani people, but failed. Azerbaijan has gained independence, and we must preserve it. We are proud of our martyrs who gave their lives for Azerbaijans independence." Trade unions at (KoPT) have started protesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement to change the name of the port after Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, saying the move will hurt the history of the organisation. A mass signature campaign from the employees of the riverine port against the Centre's decision has been launched by the Union of Waterfront Workmen(I), backed by the West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress. Modi, while speaking at the 150th anniversary programme of KoPT on January 12, had announced that it will be renamed after the Bharatiya Jan Sangh founder. "It is not acceptable. We commenced our protests and have been holding meetings and rallies in offices and docks. We plan to continue such programmes at every corner of the port area mobilising support from employees, until the decision is revoked," Union of Waterfront Workmen (I) general secretary Asim Sutradhar told PTI. He said the union has collected 1,000 signatures and hopes to garner 1,500 more in few days, following which a memorandum will be sent to the shipping ministry to reconsider the name-change decision. CITU-backed Calcutta Port and Shore Mazdoor Union general secretary Prabir Sarkar said they are supporting the campaign as they oppose the Modi's announcement. The name-change will hurt "the history of the organisation", he said. "In Kolkata, we have Netaji Subhas Dock and Satish Samanta berth at Haldia, both named after freedom fighters. We had also sent a letter to the port chairman, urging him to celebrate Netaji's birthday on January 23," Sarkar said. Hind Mazdoor Sangh-backed trade union leader Chinmoy Roy said the Centre's announcement was "unexpected" as there was no demand for it. "Our stand and strategy will be decided at the union's meeting on January 20," he said. Leaders of the union affiliated to INTUC will also decide their stand on the same day. The port management, however, has been maintaining silence on the issue. The CPI(M) and the TMC have already criticised the Centre for its decision to rename the port, contending that the rechristening will have no material impact on the its performance. Hours after NJ Advance Media published a detailed report on an unlicensed sober living home in Long Branch, the city and state dispatched investigators who determined the property was violating local and state housing codes. The City of Long Branch is taking swift action to protect vulnerable people from exploitation, Mayor John Pallone said in a statement. Taking advantage of those undergoing recovery is unacceptable. The City will make sure the state holds them accountable. An NJ Advance Media investigation published Thursday found that Dean Molin, a convicted felon, is running an unlicensed sober living home on Norwood Avenue in Long Branch. The investigation also found Molin, 59, sometimes houses more than double the legal limit of residents permitted in his homes. He charged people hundreds of dollars upfront to get in the door and punished clients who broke house rules with tedious, sometimes labor-intensive chores. Molin, the program director at Recovery Placement Services, disputed many of the findings and insisted his program does not fall under the states classification of a sober living house. When reached Thursday evening, Molin hung up the phone after his wife, Alicia, said the reporting was unethical" and put the lives of the residents at risk. In the statement, Pallone said the state Department of Community Affairs sent an inspector, who determined the property was an illegal boarding house. Long Branch housing officials, the statement continued, found that the residents names did not match those on the Certificate of Occupancy, which is against City Code. Long Branch is also looking to work with the Department of Community Affairs to crack down on any other sober living homes who exploit their clients. Dean Molin is the program director at Recovery Placement Services in Long Branch. This photo of him was taken in 2017. Sober living houses are meant to provide residents with a support network of fellow recovering addicts, as well as mandate them to attend 12-step programs and obtain employment. By some estimates, there are tens of thousands of recovering addicts in these houses across New Jersey. Sober living houses can be profitable, generating a steady flow of cash for operators with little overhead. And because regulation of these facilities is often piecemeal, depending on the state and municipality, shady operators have been allowed to operate unchecked for years, according to experts. In New Jersey, the Department of Community Affairs started issuing licenses for sober living houses on Jan. 16, 2018. To date, 81 properties in New Jersey have received a Cooperative Sober Living Residence license. Any facility operating as a sober living home without a license is subject to a maximum $5,000 fine, DCA spokeswoman Tammori Petty said. Its unclear if Molin received a fine Thursday. Petty did not immediately return an email seeking that information. Did you live in a sober living home? What was your experience like? We want to hear about it. Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. To the Editor: Re Are We Ready to Elect a Woman President?, by Michelle Cottle (Editorial Observer, Jan. 16): Of course a woman can be elected president. If some 40,000 Trump voters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania had voted for Hillary Clinton, she would have added an Electoral College victory to her three-million-vote popular victory. The more immediate question for Democratic voters is: If we nominate a woman this year, are we less likely to beat Trump? The answer is, probably. Sexist attitudes about women candidates cost them votes, and this is most true for president, since some voters have trouble envisioning a woman in the commander in chief role. Amy Klobuchar or Elizabeth Warren might have qualities that offset that inherent disadvantage, but its legitimate for Democratic voters to ask if thats a risk that they want to take. Ms. Warrens debate statement that she and Ms. Klobuchar are undefeated, but the male candidates have collectively lost 10 elections, says nothing about the eventual nominees prospects this year. The two women have won their races in solidly blue states. GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told the Guatemalan government that a caravan of migrants heading towards the United States from Honduras would not be allowed to enter Mexico, new Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said on Wednesday. "Today in the conversation with foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard we asked about that caravan," Giammattei said after meeting the Mexican minister. "The Mexican government told us that they won't let it pass ... that they will do everything in their powers to stop it from passing," he added. Mexico's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Giammattei's remarks. (Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Editing by Dave Graham) Apart from celebrating these scientific achievements and milestones, the public has also developed a growing interest in the missions' unique names, of which many are derived from China's myths and legends. Here are some examples. China's spacecraft are called Shenzhou. This literally means "heavenly ship" in Chinese, and is also a homonym for the Chinese words "divine land," which is a term used in literary works to refer to the country. China's moon exploration project and its lunar probe, which made the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon, are both named after a Chinese goddess of the moon, Chang'e. According to ancient legends, the goddess lived in solitude on the moon with a rabbit, known as Yutu. In 2013, the Chang'e-3 lunar probe landed on the moon and was carried around by a lunar rover called Yutu. The two names perfectly match the legend of the moon fairy and her pet. In another example, the relay satellite for the Chang'e-4 moon exploration mission is called Queqiao, or "magpie bridge." The magpie bridge, in a Chinese folk tale, was formed by millions of magpies, so that a separated couple could meet each other despite the Milky Way. Likewise, the Queqiao relay satellite serves as a "space-bridge" for communication between the moon and the earth. China's dark matter probe satellite, Wukong got its name through public solicitation. It was launched in 2015, and was named after the Monkey King (Wukong) from the classical Chinese novel "Journey to the West." This is because people hoped the probe could find dark matter in the vast reaches of space just like Wukong's "eyes of fire" from which nothing escapes. Chinese people's aspiration to the universe dated back to ancient times. Besides typical Chinese poetry demonstrating their curiosity for the great and beyond, some even tried to explore. Lu Ban, a great inventor living in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 BC-256 BC), made a flying bamboo bird, and Wan Hu, a legendary official in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), tried to shoot himself into space with a crude rocket. On the one hand, Chinese people spared no effort to explore the laws of planetary motions to develop their lunar calendar. On the other hand, the ancient Chinese were also perplexed by the mysteries of space so they created many myths and legends, such as "Kuafu Chases the Sun," to explain phenomena that they could not explain. These traditional stories have become the source of inspiration for Chinese scientists in the naming of major space missions. The famous spacecraft and rovers built by the United States include the Challenger, the Opportunity and the Spirit, whose names reflect a positive and enterprising spirit. This is quite unlike how the Chinese name their spacecraft, which reflects the Chinese people's sense of romance and awe for space as well as their efforts to pass down traditional culture and their ancestors' spirit of scientific discovery. Nevertheless, all these names, Chinese or foreign, showcase the dreams of humankind and our collective pursuit to discover the secrets of space. We mentioned in a previous episode that when Apollo 11 prepared to land on the moon, the control center on earth told the astronauts onboard to "watch for a lovely girl with a big rabbit," which refers to Chang'e and her rabbit Yutu. With the stellar progress of China's aerospace industry, more and more Chinese stories embodying Chinese romanticism will be shown to the world. China Mosaic http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm Space mission names embody Chinese romanticism http://www.china.org.cn/video/2020-01/17/content_75622633.htm SOURCE China.org.cn (Newser) Seven peopleincluding a pregnant woman and five of her childrenwere murdered by preachers in a remote area of Panama holding a bizarre ritual to make them "repent their sins," authorities say. Ten people, including the children's grandfather, were arrested in an area controlled by the "New Light of God" religious sect, the BBC reports. Authorities say residents of the remote area were rounded up by lay preachers and tortured in an exorcism ritual. Authorities were alerted by three people who escaped and made their way to hospitals. Some 15 people who had been held against their will were freed. Authorities say the victims were burned, hacked with machetes, and beaten with wooden cudgels and Bibles. story continues below The seven bodies, including children as young as a year old, were found about a mile away from the building where the ritual was carried out. "They searched this family out to hold a ritual and they massacred them, mistreated them, killed practically the whole family," prosecutor Rafael Baloyes says, per the AP. The victims, and apparently all of the suspects, are members of the Ngabe Bugle indigenous group. Baloyes says the sect had only been active in the area for about three months. He says the grim events unfolded after a church member said "God had given them a message." Ricardo Miranda, leader of the Ngabe Bugle semi-autonomous zone, called for the eradication of the "Satanic" sect. (Read more Panama stories.) It has emerged at a public hearing of a Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC) that the Eastern Region is leading region of infractions on the management and utilisation of District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) and other statutory funds. The Committee, sitting at the Parliament House, in Osu, Accra, on Tuesday described the situation as not good enough. We have gone round the whole country and we noted the infractions are almost the same. But the Eastern Region has more infractions than any other region, Nana Marfo Amaniampong, Ranking Member of the PAC, and MP for Afigya Kwabre North Constituency said. He made the observation at the turn of some Districts of the Eastern Regions-Nsawam Adoagyiri, Upper West Akyem, Lower West Akyem, Kwaebibirem and Kwahu South at the hearing. These were to respond to infractions, which included withholding taxes, payments without official documentation, payment of delayed debts and abandoned projects. One area for which Nana Amaniampong expressed so much worry and concern was the use of monies from the from Disability Fund and later reimbursed by the Assemblies. The Disability Fund makes three per cent of the DACF. Nana Amaniampong was at a loss as to why the Assemblies would compound the challenges of the physically challenged by taking from the Fund, a situation that makes the monies allotted to the disabled not readily available for them. The Assemblies, officials from the Auditor General's office observed, have worked or were working to satisfy the issues raised in the reports. By the programme released by the PAC, Assemblies in the Greater Accra Region appeared on 14th January and those in the Eastern Region on 15th January. Volta and Oti regions would have their turn on Thursday 16th January; Friday, 17th January for Assemblies in Western and Western North Regions; and 20th January for some Technical Universities, for the period ending 31st December 2016. The Public Accounts Committee is a committee of Parliament consisting of not more than 25 members and is chaired by a member who does not belong to the party which controls the Executive branch of Government. The duty of the Committee is to examine the audited accounts showing the appropriation of the sums granted by Parliament to meet the public expenditure of the government as presented to the House by the Auditor-General of Ghana. citinewsroom It was a radical idea, Malcolm Gladwell wrote in the New Yorker in 2011. The printer, since Gutenberg, had been limited to the function of re-creation: if you wanted to print a specific image or letter, you had to have a physical character or mark corresponding to that image or letter. What Starkweather wanted to do was take the array of bits and bytes, ones and zeros that constitute digital images, and transfer them straight into the guts of a copier. That meant, at least in theory, that he could print anything. A plan by US officials to halt a civilian drone program used by scientific and rescue teams has been criticized by agency employees. Last October the US Department of the Interior, which oversees federal land management, said it had grounded all its aerial drone program of more than 800 craft. Concerns over Chinese spying and drone-aided cyber attacks were cited as the reason behind the move to potentially shelve the devices permanently. Drones have been used by US government departments to rescue people, including a man following a volcanic explosion in Hawaii in 2018. They are also used by scientists to map terrain, survey land, monitor earthquakes and inspect pipelines. A DJI Mavic Pro pictured (above). The US Army banned troops from using leading Chinese drone maker DJI's drones due to fears of unspecified cyber-security concerns But as the US Department of the Interior's drones are all either manufactured in China or use some Chinese-made parts, their use has been suspended pending a review. Officials are investigating if they pose a risk to national security and could permanently end the program. Drones that are used to fight wild fires and help rescue people are still allowed to fly, the department said. Staff at several agencies have protested about the proposals to halt the use of the drones for good as it could put lives at risk. Gary Baumgartner, who retired from the Bureau of Land Management last June, said concerns were widespread among staff. He told the Financial Times: 'Without drones, we often have to fly manned aircraft, which is much more expensive, and frequently dangerous for those involved.' A document by the Fish and Wildlife Service outlined ways its operations had already been affected by the temporary ban. These included cancelled flights to monitor controlled burns in order to reduce wildfires and an operation to help count animals in specific areas. DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone displayed at a DJI store in Guangzhou. Last October the US Department of the Interior grounded all its aerial drone program of more than 800 Chinese-made craft The Geological Survey said its staff use drones in eight different ways, such as flood response, monitoring agricultural sites and preparing for earthquakes. One staff member told the FT: 'Unmanned aircraft systems are a unique tool that fit into this mission and allow us to make high-quality surface observations at a fraction of the price of manned aircraft operations.' In August 2017, the US Army banned troops from using leading Chinese drone maker DJI's drones due to fears of unspecified cyber-security concerns. A spokesman for DJI told DailyMail.com: 'While we have not seen the new policy, we look forward to reviewing the findings of DOI's ''comprehensive review'' of its drone program given the lack of credible evidence to support a broad country-of-origin restriction on drone technology. 'DJI drones continue to be among the industry's most safe, secure and trusted drone platforms, and we urge policymakers and industry stakeholders to come together to create clear standards that will give commercial and government drone operators the assurance they need to confidently evaluate drone technology, no matter where it is made. A DJI Drone Store in Shenzhen, China. US officials are reviewing their use of Chinese-made drone equipment Despite deep suspicion of Chinese technology among US officials, tensions between the two countries eased this week when President Trump signed the first phase of a new trade deal with China. The agreement, signed in the White House on Wednesday, appeared to end a trade war, begun when Trump imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018. The Trump administration previously put Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei on a trade blacklist on national security concerns last May, banning it from buying supplies from American firms without US government approval. It prompted other global tech giants to cut ties with the Chinese company and putting pressure on European countries to follow suit. Washington has also been putting pressure on its Western allies to stop using the Chinese company's equipment. It has also taken measures to crimp exports of artificial intelligence software. Pham Duy Khuong, managing director of ASL Law firm Thanks to favourable policies on improving the business environment, along with the potential coming from bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, Vietnam in 2019 reported huge M&A transactions involving overseas investors, creating momentum for business development as well as attracting more foreign financing to Vietnam. Leading the largest M&A deals in the country last year were investors from South Korea, Hong Kong (China), Singapore, and Japan, with activities continuing to develop in sectors such as consumer goods, retail, real estate, telecommunications, energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and education. The top M&A deals in this period included SK Group which, through its investment arm SK Southeast Asia Investment decided to invest $1 billion to acquire 6.1 per cent of Vietnams leading conglomerate Vingroup, while becoming the largest foreign shareholder of Masan Group in accordance with an agreement worth $470 million. In addition, Hanwha Asset Management also paid $400 million for 84 million preferential shares in Vingroup. Among countries taking on transactions in Vietnam during the 2018-2019 period, Singapore ranked third with total value of deals being worth $1.6 billion. In the first 10 months of 2019, Singapores M&A transactions doubled compared to the same period in the previous year. Singaporean groups have invested in almost every sector in Vietnam, especially in the processing industry with 574 projects and total registered capital of $20.17 billion, accounting for 40 per cent of total capital. Moreover, the fields of household electronics, apparel, food production, and auxiliary services such as automation and logistics, have also drawn quite a large investment from Singapore. GIC Pte, Singapores sovereign wealth fund, tops the list of Singaporean investors with a series of M&A deals worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. GIC named itself among major investors in the initial public offering of Vietnams giants Vietjet Air, Vinhomes, The PAN Group, Vinasun, Techcombank, Vietcombank, and FPT. Recently, the fund has continued to buy Vinhomes shares and provided it with a loan-like debt instrument, while spending $101 million on acquiring 27.4 million more shares in Masan. Although the Vietnamese M&A market has been signalling a bright future, Vietnam is still in need of revising its legal framework to eliminate obstacles to attract more quality investors. The market is governed by different laws on enterprises, foreign investment law, land, and competition, among others. In addition, M&A is also subject to commitments of the World Trade Organization and various trade agreements. In order for activities to be accomplished smoothly, foreign investors to Vietnam should pay attention to several issues. Under previous regulations, foreign investors can hold up to 49 per cent of the shares in public companies, including all listed companies. However, this limit was removed in 2015. Accordingly, public companies operating in unconditional businesses can increase the foreign ownership limit to 100 per cent. Though the ownership limit has been removed, there are barely any specific instructions to follow these regulations, especially the legal status of the company after raising the ownership rate to over 49 per cent. This ratio may change daily, depending on the investors decision to buy and sell shares and make foreign investors hesitant to increase their ownership to more than 49 per cent. Within the first three years after being granted a business registration certificate, founding shareholders in a joint-stock company may only transfer their shares to a party other than the other founding shareholders, when the transfer was passed by the general meeting of shareholders. In some fields, such as securities, only foreign securities companies can buy shares or contribute capital to a domestic securities company. Other cases are also limited regarding the form of investment, ownership or the right to use specific assets to keep foreign investors from owning 100 per cent of a companys capital. Meanwhile, M&A activities in the active and thriving international market are carried out flexibly under many different structures. However, the current legal framework for such transactions in Vietnam has not completely kept up with these advanced structures and concepts, causing many investors to be confused and uncertain. According to current regulations, most M&A transactions in Vietnam need to be approved by authorised agencies, which can take up to several months. Especially when the deal involves conditional business, the time of waiting will even be longer as it is carried out by many different agencies. Furthermore, under the provisions of the Law on Competition, M&A transactions that lead to a market share acquisition of 30-50 per cent in a relevant market must be notified to the Vietnam Competition Authority. Transactions leading to a combined market share of over 50 per cent are prohibited, except in certain cases. In fact, the implementation of these regulations is challenging for both businesses and authorities because it is difficult to determine what constitutes a relevant market according to the law. Due to this ambiguity, investors must make their own decisions and determine if they have to go through a merger control process before proceeding. This creates a potential risk that the parties involved might get penalties for violation, or that the transaction might be cancelled. In Excess of 60% of Round Top Materials Have Clean Green Energy Applicability Texas Mineral Resources Corp. :Texas Mineral Resources Corp. USA Rare Earth CEO: FPISC Decision and Action by the President and the Administration a Major Step in Developing a U.S. Critical Minerals Supply Chain NEW YORK, NY, Jan. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE USA Rare Earth LLC, the funding and development partner of the Round Top Heavy Rare Earth and Critical Minerals Project in West Texas, together with Texas Mineral Resources Corp. (TMRC), commends the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC) decision to add mining as a covered sector. The action, taken under the FPISCs authorities as set forth in its founding legislation in 2015, took place on January 15, 2020. The Round Top Project was nominated as a high-priority infrastructure project by Texas Governor Greg Abbott under his authority as established by Executive Order 13766 (January 24, 2017). The Round Top nomination was accepted by the Council on Environmental Quality, and advanced to FPISC. Aside from the significant concentration of heavy rare earths (HREEs) and lithium, the Round Top deposit also includes aluminum, beryllium, gallium, hafnium, uranium, and zirconium all of which are on the U.S. Governments Critical Minerals List. Production at Round Top will contribute significantly to renewable energy applications. The rare earths and lithium are essential to electric vehicles, solar and wind power and efficient lighting, while aluminum sulfate is used in wastewater treatment. The Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) with its mandate to support green technologies is a strategic investor in both USA Rare Earth and TMRC. At the time of its investment in 2019, NTECs CEO noted, We consider the mineral deposits being developed by USA Rare Earth and TMRC to be vital to future battery and other green energy related technologies. All told, more than 60% of the materials produced at Round Top will be used directly in green or renewable energy technologies. Story continues We are pleased to see the President and the Administration take action to encourage domestic production of critical minerals and metals that are essential to green tech, renewable energy and to our national security, said Pini Althaus, CEO of USA Rare Earth. This is a major step towards reestablishing a U.S. critical minerals supply chain and moving away from the reliance on China for these materials. With revitalizing a robust and efficient mining sector, through a streamlined permitting process, the President and the Administration are ensuring that the United States is future-ready, and once again an exporter of innovation and not only a consumer. We thank the President, Presidential advisor and Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow and Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt for their commitment to see the U.S. develop its own sustainable supply of rare earths and other critical minerals. We also commend FPISC Director Alexander Herrgott for his leadership on this issue and his commitment to an unprecedented level of transparency, predictability and accountability to the public, all while ensuring the private sector always has a reliable Federal partner as we advance critical infrastructure projects, added Mr. Althaus. We thank Governor Abbott for nominating Round Top, and for the support our nomination has received from Congressman Will Hurd and Texas General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush. Round Top will become a significant economic asset to U.S. manufacturing and technology development, and the innovation economy the U.S. needs to dominate the 21st Century, said Anthony Marchese, Chairman of TMRC. This designation by the FPISC marks a critical component of bringing the Round Top project into production in a timely manner. We are encouraged by the efforts of the Federal government to prioritize the importance of critical mineral self-sufficiency. About USA Rare Earth, LLC USA Rare Earth, LLC has an option to earn up to an 80% interest in the Round Top rare earth and technical metals industrial minerals project located in Hudspeth County, Texas. Round Top hosts a large range of critical heavy rare earth elements, high-tech metals, including lithium, uranium and beryllium, and is among the lowest-cost rare earth projects in the world. The Round Top Deposit hosts 15 of the 17 rare earth elements, plus other high-value tech minerals (including lithium) and is well located to serve the US internal demand. In excess of 60% of materials at Round Top will be used directly in green or renewable energy technologies. Round Top contains 13 of the 35 minerals deemed critical by the Department of the Interior and contains critical elements required by the United States; both for national defense and industry. For more information about USA Rare Earth, visit www.usarareearth.com About Texas Mineral Resources Corp. Texas Mineral Resources Corp.'s focus is to develop and commercialize its Round Top heavy rare earth technology metals and industrial minerals project located in Hudspeth County, Texas, 85 miles southeast of El Paso. Additionally, the Company plans on developing alternative sources of strategic minerals through the processing of coal waste and other related materials. The Companys common stock trades on the OTCQB U.S. tier under the symbol TMRC. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the potential development of the Round Top project, estimates and projections regarding the economic feasibility of the Round Top project from the update PEA, including, NPV, IRR, payback period, capital cost, pricing assumptions, mining rate, average recoveries, oxide production amounts and methodologies, mine life, employment requirements, resource amounts and grades, projected revenues, initial capital costs, life of mine sustaining capital, cash flow projections, capital and operating cost estimates and projections, and sensitivity analysis, inclusion of uranium in future economic analyses, the potential to render high purity oxides, the Round Top facility generating critical technology oxides, release of the full PEA within a short period of time and other such similar statements. When used in this press release, the words potential, indicate, expect, intend, hopes, believe, may, will, if, anticipate, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, uncertainty of mineralized material and mineral resource estimates, risks to projected and estimated economics not reflecting actual economic results due to the uncertainty of mining processes, potential non-uniform sections of mineralized material, potential mining hazards and accidents, changes in equipment and labor costs, changes in projected REE prices and demand, competition in the REE industry, risks related to project development determinations, the inherently hazardous nature of mining-related activities, potential effects on the Company's operations of environmental regulations, risks due to legal proceedings, liquidity risks and risks related to uncertainty of being able to raise capital on favorable terms or at all, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's latest annual report on Form 10-K as filed in November 2018 and other documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements. Attachment Company Contact: USA Rare Earth LLC Pini Althaus, Chief Executive Officer Email: pini@usarareearth.com Email: amarchese@tmrcorp.com Twitter: @USARareEarth Company Contact: Texas Mineral Resources Corp. Anthony Marchese, Chairman Email: amarchese@tmrcorp.com Twitter: @TexasMineralsRes The Dark Tower TV series based on Stephen King's books has reportedly been cancelled after the pilot, which had been in development since 2017, failed to impress Amazon executives. The opening episode is said to have left bosses disinterested as it was 'not on the level' of other series in the works such as Lord Of The Rings and Wheel Of Times, reports Deadline. They online publication added: 'The production company is shopping the two original scripts that were the basis for the pilot pickup.' 'Cancelled': The Dark Tower TV series based on Stephen King's books has reportedly been cancelled after the pilot failed to impress Amazon executives (EastEnders' Sam Strike was set to play the role of Roland/Gunslinger - pictured in 2014) The Dark Tower TV series was adapted by one of The Walking Dead's writers Glen Mazzara and MRC studios, it is based on the eight book horror/sci-fi/western series of the same name by Stephen King. It is believed that the novels have always been 'difficult to adapt' with the 2017 film adaptation of The Dark Tower, starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, scoring a low 16% score on movie review website Rotten Tomatoes. The online publication claims that due to the 'challenges translating the material' Amazon chose a pilot instead of a straight-to-series option. EastEnders star Sam Strike was set to play the role of Roland Deschain/Gunslinger, previously played by Elba in the movie. Unimpressed: The opening episode is said to have left bosses disinterested as it was 'not on the level' of other series in the works such as Lord Of The Rings and Wheel Of Times, reports Deadline (Idris Elba pictured in the 2017 movie adaptation) While Jasper Paakkonen was said to play The Man In Black, otherwise known as Randall Flagg and Walter O'Dim, previously played by McConaughey in the film. The TV series is reported to have revisited Roland's past and look at the first showdown with The Man In Black, also looking into how he became a Gunslinger. MailOnline has contacted Amazon for comment. Glen Mazzara had previously said it was a 'great honour' to adapt The Dark Tower TV series, revealing he was a big Stephen King fan. Popular series: The Dark Tower TV series was adapted by one of The Walking Dead's writers Glen Mazzara and MRC studios, it is based on the eight book horror/sci-fi/western series of the same name by Stephen King He told The Hollywood Reporter: 'I've been a Stephen King fan for decades, and the opportunity to adapt The Dark Tower as a TV series is a great honour. 'The events of The Gunslinger, Wizard and Glass, The Wind Through the Keyhole and other tales need a long format to capture the complexity of Roland's coming of age. 'How he became the Gunslinger, how Walter became the Man in Black, and how their rivalry cost Roland everything and everyone he ever loved. I could not be more excited to tell this story.' Supplier News 17 January 2020 NEW YORK - Infor, a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry, today announced that Pechanga Resort Casino entered into an agreement with Infinium Software, Inc., an Infor company, expanding their long-term technology partnership. Pechanga, the largest resort/casino on the West Coast, chose Infor CloudSuiteTM solutions to further integrate core business processes into a centralized location connected to the reservation department. The new, integrated system will allow the resort/casino to make more informed business decisions from anywhere, anytime, on any device. Infor's innovative cloud technologies, built to work hand in hand with the world-class capabilities of Amazon Web Services, will provide Pechanga with more adept abilities to query data within seconds. Pechanga has been an Infinium customer since 2001, and an Infor HMS and EzRMS customer since 2016. Pechanga will implement Infor CloudSuite solutions created specifically for the hospitality industry to better support financials, supply management, human capital management, analytics, and workforce management. These flexible applications can provide business leaders with new insights and real-time data to make decisions quickly that may improve bottom-line results. Specifically, workforce management software and human capital management applications will help support better labor optimization, planning, and time and attendance. An integrated finance and supply management software solution suite will couple modern financial functionality with tools to track supplies and streamline order processes. For years, Pechanga has found success with Infor HMS, which has provided it a complete view of all guest value information within one system. This has enabled Pechanga to provide tailored recognition of known players and new guests who are seeking the broader resort experience Pechanga offers. In addition, Infor EzRMS has helped Pechanga automatically calculate demand forecasts for each future use of their hotel rooms and determine the appropriate selling strategies, such as open/close rates, stay controls, open/close room categories, and overbooking levels. Its deep learning AI algorithms recognize patterns dynamically to help ensure accurate business forecasts and optimal pricing recommendations. "Infor Hospitality has been a partner to our organization for a long time and expanding our technology partnership with them gives us a more streamlined approach and flexibility," said John Kenefick, chief information officer, Pechanga Resort Casino. "Their cloud infrastructure, network services and industry-specific application design will give us more reliability, security, and scalability." With Infor solutions, teams at Pechanga will benefit from a simple and predictable path to upgrade from on-premise applications to the cloud. The organization will immediately benefit from quick user interaction experiences and deeper industry functionality that helps retire customizations to provide more thorough analytics and simpler integration. "We are able to provide our customers with industry-first cloud technology, unmatched depth of functionality, and low-risk implementations," said Jason Floyd, general manager, Infor Hospitality. "The gaming industry continues to become more crowded, so partnering with a technology provider that understands specific pain points in the business and what successful bottom-line results should look like, is a competitive advantage in today's industry. Infor's hospitality-specific cloud applications quickly automate timeworn processes, decrease costs, and ultimately improve the guest experience." For more information please visit http://www.infor.com/industries/hospitality/. An atmosphere of dialogue, discussion, empathetic understanding on the part of the university and district administration and a feeling of learning, understanding and moving on, on the part of the students, will go a long way in bringing the university to its normal course. With even the chilling cold of north Indias coldest winters failing to dumb down the numbing trauma of the 15 December incident at the Aligarh Muslim University and the recent revelation of its vice-chancellors urgent secret letter to the police demanding security for himself and family, it is but imperative for someone who teaches security at AMU to dispassionately dissect the how, when and why of the incident so as to have an informed understanding which might help in charting out a direction towards some sort of redress. It becomes particularly important because in the shrilling din of the cacophony of voices coming to the mainstream, the power dynamics, which is at its display in the most brutal form throughout the country, can easily be discerned in terms of the space given to differing narrative in the mainstream regarding the incident. At a time when the mainstream media space and the social media both are bubbling with video footages of their own claims and counter-claims on the why of the incident, and those who are more concerned about their image, it becomes all the more urgently important not just to try deciphering the reason for the incident but also to delve deeper into the structural factors which lead to the creation of a situation in which incidents like these happen and keep happening. Not to speak of the current rightward tilt of the polity and its concomitant repercussion which specifically targets minority institutions flagrantly violating all constitutional ethos. At the heart of the present problem at AMU are frustrated students, regimented teachers, and stubborn administrators compounded by the severe sense of despondency coming to the students, abysmal myopia capturing the teachers, extreme insecurity engulfing the academic administrators and the over-ambitiousness of some police officers. As a longtime student of this university studying international politics and currently teaching security to the students, I am more than perturbed at the response of some of the students in coming out with threatening show-cause notices, though their sense of anguish and betrayal at the way things unfolded in the campus as a result of the university administrations unpragmatic and indecisive handling of the issue, may not be passed as misplaced altogether. Whereas the undemocratic and unilateral action of the university administration is reprehensively unfortunate, dare I say, even bordering on extreme callousness, the responsibility of teachers and well-wishers of the university may be ignored only at the risk of trivializing the seriousness. The use of such massive force (buttressed by video footages) by the police that too under the legal authority of its Registrar with due approval from the Vice-Chancellor himself (unlike the case in Jamia Millia) who in the tradition of AMU is considered as the guardian of students and the Students' Union has even a long-held tradition of keeping the VC its patron, it is justifiably incomprehensible even to the extent of reasonable pessimism for the student fraternity of AMU. This institution which unlike many newly established modern atomised campuses carries a rich heritage of its communitarian inclination. Most, if not all the graduating students of the university get acquainted with the rich culture, tradition and tehzeeb of the university in which relationship between seniors and juniors and the resulting love and affection, respect and regards are internalised in the psyche of the students. Among the many other such parables on which the university tries to build its distinctive cultural capital, an important university anecdote which does the round revolves around another famous protest of some of the students against some action of the then vice-chancellor, Zakir Husain. It is said that, on their demands not being met, the students sat on dharna in front of the VCs residence and when the night befell they slept there. In the middle of night when some of the students woke up, they saw an old man sleeping with them. That old man sleeping with them was their VC himself. On being asked the reason for joining the sleeping students, Zakir Sb., their VC, replied, Beta aap log baahar thand me khule aasmaan ke neeche pade the, to mujhe ghar ke andar neend kaise aa sakti thi. So maine ye behtar jaana, ka mai apne bacchcho ke saath hi aake so jaaoo !!! We do understand, to expect this from a VC in this age of heightened neo-liberal ethics and hierarchized academic bureaucracy will be too much but at the same time, denying to the extent of perceived mocking our own culture and ethos come at their own cost. Zakir Hussain, later on, rose on to become the President of the Republic, thus, very explicitly underlining this fact too that personal ambition need not demand to sacrifice everything at its altar. Coming back to the incident again, however important it might seem at this moment to quickly forget, forgive and move forward, for a durable solution to prevent incidents like this, as such incidents are taking place in very quick succession, fixing of responsibility for the lapse is critically important. As there has arisen a plethora of allegations and counter-allegations and out of context peddling of concocted narrative, what can't be denied is the fact that student bore the brunt and their bodies still carry the marks even though the circumstantial evidence might have been wiped out with the connivance of unscrupulous elements as injured students claim. Police personnel, it is alleged also faced some stones. An impartial judicial enquiry, therefore, becomes crucial to clear the air of allegations, counter-allegations and complicity. The sense of fear, retribution and limitless angst permeate the environment in which the undue and unapologetic arrogance of those at the helm of affairs will not just be stifling towards normalization but may also prove counter-productive. An atmosphere of dialogue, discussion, empathetic understanding on the part of the university and district administration and a feeling of learning, understanding and moving on, on the part of the students, will go a long way in bringing the university to its normal course. University teachers are certainly required to play a very crucial role in this, as unfortunately, hitherto in the whole incident their role as a whole had been quite wanting on many fronts if it was not insensitively indifferent altogether. Teachers of AMU, barring a few exceptions, have most often failed in their duty of providing rightful guidance to their students during testing times. They must realise that their responsibility augurs much more than the mundane teaching hours, invigilation duty and lab-periods. Teaching just doesnt mean engaging students for 55 minutes in classes, delivering power-packed lectures, assisting them in their lab experiment, assignment, thesis writing etc. It requires the shaping of the personality of the students and more so internalising in them the pervasively negative effect of violence of any sort be in class-room, playfield or street. When the mayhem of 15 December last year was going on, the fact that there was only a few teachers at the spot though majority of them live in the vicinity of the campus, speaks volume about their failure and their post-event smug justification that they were not asked to come by the authorities may only create scope for casting doubt on their ability of being called a truly eligible teacher. Apart from this, teachers of institutions like AMU and Jamia have the additional task to bring out the young Muslim mind from the imminent fear of the unchecked authority of the state. An intimidated citizenry or a fearful minority is not just unhealthy sign of a democracy but is dangerous from the strategic point of view too. Youths from the minority community need to be nurtured and educated in a more delicate manner because on their shoulders lie the twin task of claiming the constitutional rights for their deprived ilk and at the same time proving their own worth in these times of increasing doubting Thomases at times abetted by the state itself. The collective rot in the entire body polity creeps with strategic silence in a hushed manner, when once, the outer shell of what I may call the guarding moat of minorities is sailed through. Youths from the minority community and more so those studying at institutions like AMU and Jamia as such carry a precarious position and their teachers, therefore, must be mindful of this. They may do well to recall what Edward Said counselled intellectuals, "Nothing in my view is more reprehensible than those habits of mind in the intellectual that induce avoidance, that characteristic turning away from a difficult and principled position which you know to be the right one, but which you decide not to take. You do not appear too political; you are afraid of seeming controversial; you need the approval of a boss or an authority figure; you want to keep a reputation for being balanced, objective, moderate; your hope is to be asked back, to consult, to be on a board or prestigious committee, and so remain within the responsible mainstream; someday you hope to get an honorary degree, a big prize, perhaps even an ambassadorship. For an intellectual, these habits of mind are corrupting par excellence. If anything can denature, neutralize, and finally kill a passionate intellectual life it is the internalization of such habits." Whereas the immediacy of the problem and the consequent urgency of response is something obviously warranted instantly, the coldness of response from the university authorities wrapped in intertwined bureaucratic reaction representative at times of the erstwhile Muslim elite and dare I say elitist arrogance, is something not just worryingly disturbing but also strategically dangerous. Leadership, more so, of academic institutions, we teach in our classes, also demands rising up to the occasion, read the pulse of the lot and channelise their ferment in the positive direction. The district police and its SSP (Aligarh), only a day before the 15 December incident provided a good example of mediating students restlessness by addressing the students crowd and assuring them not just their right to conduct peaceful protest but even promising them to be of utmost help in conveying their demand to the President, not even shying away from even personally going to the Presidents Office for the same. This proves that exercising the required will and responsibility expected of administrators, any crowd could easily be managed. Such presence of mind and deft handling of the emergent crisis was unfortunately found missing from the part of those at the helm of affairs of the university. And add to that, the immediate closure of the university with an ultimatum to vacate hostels, thus, bringing additional misery to the already distraught students who were in the last lap of their semester exams, will only go as one of the worst decision in the annals of any universitys history. Howsoever justification and self patting the university administration does, in claiming that they provided buses for the students to go home, they can't absolve themselves of the responsibility rather irresponsibility of such a decision that was, as far as, we know was taken without due process of consultation. Procedures, apart, at least in an academic institution, consideration of humanity and rule of law must trumpet any other deliberation. Again, though it is very tempting to point fingers at the unfolding of the emergent crises of 15 December on the academic bureaucrats of the university only, yet, the entire AMU fraternity as a whole also can't absolve themselves of their part by shirking off their responsibility, prodding the plea of hyphenated-helplessness. The governing council of the university, its advisory board, concerned alumni etc., all need to revisit the processes of the university administration to see as to why situation like this emerge and as a countering mechanism, introduce, the processes of due checks and balances, accountability, righteousness etc., in the administration of the university. This is a very critical juncture in the nation's history and all universities and institutions of advanced learning are at heightened risk. AMU being a minority institution has got added gaze and as such it is high time attempts towards the rightful corrective need to be flagged in immediately. We all must come together to convert this moment of crises into a time of opportunity to introduce urgently needed reforms in the university particularly in terms of its structural framework. As to why it is important, I would like to quote Zakir Hussain, an illustrious son of India, a freedom fighter, former vice-chancellor of AMU and a former President of India. The way Aligarh participates in various walks of national life will determine the place of Muslims in Indias national life. The way India conducts itself towards Aligarh will determine largely, the form which our national life will acquire in the future. The government of the day must also understand that the minorities, in the prophetic words of Cohen are like coalminers canary indicating the health of the polity. Let's sensibly pray and fervently wish for better sense to prevail on all fronts in this New Year. The author teaches at the Department of Strategic and Security Studies, Faculty of International Studies, Aligarh Muslim University and is a part of AMU Teachers and Seniors Collective. THUNDER BAY, ON, Jan. 15, 2020 /CNW/ - Wolfden Resources Corporation (WLF.V) ("Wolfden" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has secured up to USD 4.5 million in non-dilutive funding for its exploration projects by selling-forward timber from its wholly owned Pickett Mountain Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag-Au Project in Maine, USA. Under the terms of a 5 year stumpage agreement with H.C Haynes of Winn, Maine, the company will receive USD 3 Million upon closing and an additional USD 1. 5 Million between the 4th and 5th anniversary of the agreement. Haynes has the right to harvest USD 5 Million of timber from the property over 5 years. The agreement has been signed and the deal is expected to close on or before January 22, 2020. In addition, Haynes has also granted Wolfden an option to earn a 100% interest (less an NSR) in the mineral rights of the property that adjoins Pickett Mountain as well as long-term road access rights for the current forest road used reach the Pickett Mountain deposit. "We are very pleased with this unique and non-dilutive form of financing for a publically listed junior mining company and thankful to the continued support and relationship with H.C. Haynes who has been doing an excellent job of cutting timber on our property and generating revenue for Wolfden for the past two years," stated Ron Little Chief Executive Officer for Wolfden. "The funding will be sufficient to execute our 2020 programs and allow us to be more aggressive in our exploration efforts as we commence immediately to follow-up several recently discovered prospective drill targets. Our goal is to significantly increase our total resources through exploration while we technically advance and de-risk the project so that it can be developed into a high-grade, low cost underground producing polymetallic mine." About Wolfden With the support of major investors Kinross Gold Corporation and Altius Minerals, Wolfden plans to explore and develop its wholly owned Pickett Mountain Project in Maine, USA, which is one of the highest-grade polymetallic projects in North America (Zn, Pb, Cu, Ag, Au) and located near excellent infrastructure. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation) that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information includes statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance of the Company, and include, without limitation, statements relating to information about future activities at the Pickett Mountain Project that include plans to complete additional drilling and technical studies in 2019 to support a preliminary economic assessment of an underground mining scenario on the Project. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information in this news release, including without limitation, the following risks and uncertainties: (i) risks inherent in the mining industry; (ii) regulatory and environmental risks; (iii) results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; (iv) risks relating to the estimation of mineral resources; (v) stock market volatility and capital market fluctuations; and (vi) general market and industry conditions. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. This forward-looking information is based on estimates and opinions of management on the date hereof and is expressly qualified by this notice. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the Company's disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada at www.sedar.com. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such information unless required by applicable law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Wolfden Resources Corporation For further information: Please contact Ron Little, President & CEO, at (807) 624-1136. Related Links www.besttvshowever.com The Russian ambassador also said he had not received an invite to be part of that delegation. New Delhi: Backing the Indian government to the hilt, Russian ambassador Nikolay Kudashev on Friday said there was absolutely no reason for him to travel to Jammu and Kashmir to see the situation there since Russia has never doubted the governments policies there, adding that it is an internal matter belonging to the constitutional space of India and an issue which was settled some 60 years ago. He also added that the ambassador of Russia should not be associated with any kind of opinion which will put Indias internal polity in doubt. The comment was made in response to a question on his absence from a 15-member foreign envoys delegation that had visited J&K a week ago. In response to another question on the informal discussions on the Kashmir issue that took place at the UN Security Council on Wednesday at Chinas instance, the Russian envoy again expressed his countrys firm support for the Indian government, saying the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan and therefore there is not much to discuss under the aegis of the United Nations. On why he was not part of the foreign envoys delegation that visited J&K, Mr Kudashev said, I do not feel there is a reason for me to travel. Your decision as far as J&K is concerned, this is your internal matter belonging to the constitutional space of India. This is an issue which was settled... some 60 years ago... We have repeated it (our views) multiple times. Those who believe this is an issue, those who are concerned about the situation in Kashmir, those who put in doubt Indian policies in Kashmir, they could travel if they wish to. They could see for themselves. We (Russia) never put it in doubt. The Russian ambassador also said he had not received an invite to be part of that delegation. Sources had told this newspaper earlier that a formal invitation was not sent by the Indian government since Russia had already conveyed its reluctance during prior informal consultations to be part of the delegation. But the Russian ambassadors remark that if any country had doubts on the situation in Kashmir, they were free to travel there as part of a delegation is being seen by some as a veiled barb at the United States whose ambassador Kenneth Juster was part of the 15-member foreign envoys delegation. Observers point out that Russia a time-tested friend of India for several decades has been concerned about the growing proximity between India and the United States. Despite that, the US has been raising its concerns on the situation in Kashmir. So far as the informal meeting of the UNSC on Wednesday to discuss the Kashmir issue is concerned, it may be recalled that Russia a permanent member of the UNSC had completely backed India along with the other UNSC member-nations with the exception of China. As already reported, 14 out of the 15 UNSC members had backed Indias position that it is a bilateral matter. The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Brazos Valley announced Thursday afternoon it received a $2 million donation from Donald Adam, chairman and CEO of American Momentum Bank, and his wife, Donna Adam. The donation supports the nonprofits $5 million capital campaign to build a new facility, which will replace the existing clubhouse originally built in the 1960s. This generous gift from the Adam family solidified our plans to move forward on the new facility and confirmed our ability to break ground in 2020, which is our 61st year of continuous operation, said Tiffany Parker, chief executive officer of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Brazos Valley, in a statement sent to local media outlets Thursday. This will be truly life-changing for the kids we serve. It will help us reach more kids in the neighborhoods that need us most, making a greater impact in our community. The club in Brazos Valley opened in 1959, and today serves more than 1,500 youth annually. The capital campaign currently underway will fund a new facility on a six-acre tract of land at the corner of Cedar St. and Beck St. in Bryan. By Abdul Kerimkhanov A member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul Gosar, has condemned the killing of 147 Azerbaijani civilians by Soviet troops in Baku on January 20, 1990. "I rise today in remembrance of the 30th anniversary of the events in Azerbaijan culminating in what is now known as Black January. In January 1990, the former U.S.S.R. attempted to continue to suppress freedom and impose its political will on the people of Azerbaijan. At that time, however, the people of Azerbaijan decided that they had enough of Soviet control and resisted," Gosar said in a statement made on January 15. The senator reminded that the attack was aimed to crash Azerbaijans independence movement. "While the Azeris used peaceful protests and calls for freedom, the Soviets responded with guns and tanks. These actions resulted in 147 civilian deaths, with hundreds more wounded and imprisoned. "This tragedy only emboldened them in their cause, carrying on the mission of their countrymen which culminated in their August 1991 independence," he said. Gosar reminded that Azerbaijan has been the U.S. friend and ally since its independence in 1991. He urged other senators to recognize Black January and join in the honoring of allies in Azerbaijan and their quest for liberation. Black January, also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on a civilian population of Baku on January 20, 1990, following a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. According to official estimates, 147 Azerbaijani civilians were killed, 800 people were injured and five people went missing. However unofficial number put the number of victims at 300 dead. In 1995 Gorbachev apologised to Azerbaijan by stating: "The declaration of a state emergency in Baku was the biggest mistake of my political career." In a resolution of 22 January 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR declared that the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 19 January, used to impose emergency rule in Baku and military deployment, constituted an act of aggression. Black January is seen as the rebirth of Azerbaijan. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz China State Construction Development Holdings Limited (HKG:830), which is in the building business, and is based in Hong Kong, saw significant share price movement during recent months on the SEHK, rising to highs of HK$0.84 and falling to the lows of HK$0.70. 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 China State Construction Development Holdings's current trading price of HK$0.70 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 China State Construction Development Holdingss outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. Check out our latest analysis for China State Construction Development Holdings What is China State Construction Development Holdings worth? According to my valuation model, the stock is currently overvalued by about 25%, trading at HK$0.70 compared to my intrinsic value of HK$0.56. Not the best news for investors looking to buy! If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Given that China State Construction Development Holdingss share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility. What kind of growth will China State Construction Development Holdings generate? SEHK:830 Past and Future Earnings, January 17th 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. 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. China State Construction Development Holdingss earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 87%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value. Story continues What this means for you: Are you a shareholder? 830s 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 830 should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards its real value can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed. Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on 830 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 positive outlook is encouraging for 830, 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 China State Construction Development Holdings. You can find everything you need to know about China State Construction Development Holdings in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in China State Construction Development Holdings, 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. A Delhi Court on Friday, January 17, has granted bail to one of the accused in the Jafrabad violence case during the Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests. The accused has been identified as Rahis Ahmad Lalu Kababi. The Delhi police on December 17 had arrested around six persons after a protest in Jafrabad had turned violent. According to reports, the accused were presented before the court of January 2. However, on December 31, the court had granted bail to two of the accused- Sajid Ali and Daniyal and asked them to pay Rs 35,000 each. It was also reported that prior to the bail, Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) A K Srivastav had opposed the plea on the grounds that they had formed an unlawful assembly and threw petrol bombs. Read: 'Who keeps a birth certificate?': Telangana Home Min indicates KCR will reject CAA, NRC Protests in Delhi The mood in the capital has been tense since December 15, when buses and police vehicles were set ablaze in an outbreak of violence near Jamia Millia Islamia University. The varsity's students denied involvement, and police action inside the campus had later sparked nationwide protests. The police had claimed that the protesters torched DTC buses and a fire tender was damaged. However, the students had claimed that the police baton-charged them when they were holding a peaceful protest. Read: Manjinder Sirsa slams Pakistan for its treatment of minorities, explains why CAA is needed Protests against CAA across the country The protests against CAA that first broke out in Assam, spread across the country. Violent protests have been witnessed in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Delhi, and Maharashtra. Several universities across the country witnessed clashes between the police and the students after the violence in Jamia Millia. The Citizenship Act was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 9 and then by the Rajya Sabha on December 11. The Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Read: Bhim Army chief Azad defies court order, fearmongers about CAA at Jama Masjid protest Read: Congress accuses Kerala CM of gaining "political mileage" by opposing CAA in public (With ANI Inputs) China Announces Second Death From Wuhan Pneumonia Virus 2020-01-16 -- Authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan have announced the death of a 69-year-old man from a coronavirus that causes pneumonia, bringing the total number of fatalities to two after 41 cases were confirmed in the city. The Wuhan municipal health commission said in a statement issued late on Thursday that the man, identified only by his surname Xiong, had died in the early hours of Jan. 15 in Wuhan's Jinyintan Hospital after being admitted with severe myocarditis, abnormal renal function and multiple organ failure. The latest fatality came after Japan confirmed it had one patient infected with what the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling the novel coronavirus (nCoV) China, which the U.N. agency says is from the same family as the deadly SARS pathogen that killed hundreds of people in 2002-2003. Japan's health ministry said the man was hospitalized on Jan. 10, four days after his return to Japan from China, having reported traveling to Wuhan. Tests on the patient, who was discharged from hospital on Wednesday, confirmed he was infected with the new virus. "This is the first domestic discovery of a pneumonia case related to the new coronavirus," the ministry said in a statement. Multiple cases of nCoV have also been reported in Hong Kong and one in Thailand. While the virus was initially traced to a now-shuttered wholesale seafood market in Wuhan, there are concerns that it may be jumping from person to person, possibly within families. The WHO is warning hospitals to prepare for the possibility of limited human-to-human transmission of nCoV. "Some coronaviruses can be transmitted from person to person, usually after close contact with an infected patient, for example, in a household workplace, or health care center," the U.N. health agency said in an FAQ on its website. Person-to-person transmission The WHO is also warning hospitals to apply standard precautions to prevent person-to-person transmission "at all times." Maria Van Kerkhove, acting head of WHO's emerging diseases unit, told a news conference in Geneva on Jan. 14 that human-to-human transmission can't be ruled out. "From the information that we have it is possible that there is limited human-to-human transmission, potentially among families, but it is very clear right now that we have no sustained human to-human transmission," Van Kerkhove said. She said the WHO is preparing for a wider outbreak, although that is by no means certain. "It is still early days, we don't have a clear clinical picture," she said. Japan's health ministry official Eiji Hinoshita said thorough checks had been carried out on those who had been in close contact with the patient. "At this point, we feel it is unlikely this will lead to a dramatic outbreak," he said, adding that the patient was no longer suffering a fever and was recuperating at home. According to local media reports, the patient is a Chinese national in his 30s living in Kanagawa, just southwest of Tokyo. Meanwhile, authorities in Hong Kong updated their advice to medics to report cases involving people with severe respiratory symptoms and fever who had traveled to Wuhan or had close contact with a confirmed nCoV case, or visited any hospital in mainland China. A one-year-old baby girl and a 34-year-old woman were recently hospitalized in Hong Kong after traveling to Wuhan and presenting with fever and respiratory symptoms, but were later found to have contracted a seasonal flu virus, the Hospital Authority said in a statement. Wuhan pneumonia The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection has reported a total of 78 suspected cases of Wuhan pneumonia, with six patients remaining in isolation wards in Hong Kong hospitals. "There have been no confirmed cases of new coronavirus infections in public hospitals," the statement said. It said passengers arriving from Wuhan would continue to be checked for elevated body temperatures at ports, airports and railway terminals, and high-speed trains and aircraft would be subjected to additional cleaning and disinfection. The democratic island of Taiwan has yet to report any cases of nCoV, but has sent a team of health experts to Wuhan to monitor the situation. Health expert Hung Min-nan said concerns that human-to-human transmission is already taking place are legitimate. "It may be difficult to rule out the possibility of human-to-human transmission within families," Hung said. "We always had our suspicions, but we are much more confident now that human-to human transmission is occurring." He said 13 confirmed cases had no link to the seafood market that China said was the source of the virus. "Some of the sources of infection are unknown," Hung said. Hwang Li-min, director of the Children's Infectious Diseases Department at National Taiwan University Hospital, said there are fears that the virus could spread as hundreds of millions of people take to trains, planes and automobiles to travel home for Lunar New Year on Jan. 24. "Wuhan is a very large city, and it's unclear whether every hospital in Wuhan has started looking into this," Hwang said. "Wuhan is a super metropolis with very dense connections with other major cities, and we don't yet know if anyone [infected with the virus] has already traveled to other cities." "We are now watching what China does very carefully, and we are making our own preparations," he said. Reported by Hwang Chun-mei and Jia Ao for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Copyright 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content January not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Delhi [India], Jan 17 (ANI): The richest man on the planet, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos left India last night after being snubbed by the government during his three-day visit to the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal did not give an appointment to Bezos during his visit, government sources told ANI. A senior official said the meetings did not take place this time as the world's largest e-commerce player is surrounded with controversies. India's anti-trust body Competition Commission of India is probing the model of Amazon and its subsidiary company Flipkart following allegations of predatory pricing, deep discounting, exclusivity and preferential seller treatment. Amazon is facing a similar investigation in the United States and Europe. On Wednesday, Bezos announced plans to invest one billion dollars (about Rs 7,092 crore) in India and enabling 10 billion dollars in cumulative exports in the next five years by digitally enabling micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and traders. But more than five lakh traders came together under the umbrella of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) to protest against Bezo's visit. CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said Amazon follows unethical and monopolistic practices, and the trade body will organise protests in 300 cities to oppose them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-17 18:01:52|Editor: zyl Video Player Close File photo taken on Jan. 15, 2020 shows Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk (1st R) attending a meeting of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers in Kiev, Ukraine. Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk on Friday issued his resignation following a leaked audio recording of him reportedly criticizing President Volodymyr Zelensky's understanding of the economy. (Photo by Sergey Starostenko/Xinhua) KIEV, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk on Friday issued his resignation following a leaked audio recording of him reportedly criticizing President Volodymyr Zelensky's understanding of the economy. "I took office to implement the president's program. I see him as a model of transparency and decency. However, to remove any doubts in our respect for and trust in the president, I have written a resignation letter and submitted it to the president with the right to hand it to the Parliament," Honcharuk wrote Friday morning on his official Facebook page. The presidential office confirmed on Facebook that Zelensky had received the resignation and would consider it. On Wednesday evening an audiotape was uploaded to social media in which a voice sounding like Honcharuk was reportedly heard discussing the national budget with some other government ministers and senior officials from the national bank. According to local media, Honcharuk was reportedly heard saying that Zelensky has a very "primitive" understanding of economics. If Honcharuk's resignation is approved, all cabinet members will have to leave their posts, according to Ukrainian law. Honcharuk, 35, took the position of the prime minister of Ukraine on Aug. 29, 2019, following Zelensky's nomination. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17 Trend: A traditional tourism exhibition was organized at the Jaarbeurs Exhibition and Convention Center in Utrecht city in the Netherlands, at which Armenia was represented by three and Georgia by eight tourism companies, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijans State Committee for Work with the Diaspora. Emil Aliyev, an employee of the Coordination Council of the Netherlands-Belgium Azerbaijanis, while familiarizing himself with the exhibition, found provocative materials that contradicted the principle of Azerbaijans territorial integrity. Distorted information about the occupied Azerbaijani territories was reflected in booklets of Armenian travel companies and in promotional materials of the Georgian GroosCom Travel company and the Dutch Kaukasus Reisen Plus company. These companies used maps where the occupied Azerbaijani territories were painted in a different color, and were indicated as Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Artsakh. Provocative actions caused a dispute, and Emil Aliyev demanded that these materials be immediately removed from the exhibition. His demand was met with serious protest, and representatives of the companies even used physical force against him. Representatives of Georgian travel agencies said that they used these maps because they couldnt find other maps for the exhibition and will remove them if there is an instruction from the exhibitions management. Emil Aliyev held several meetings with the organizers of the exhibition, and thanks to his efforts and perseverance materials of a provocative nature were removed from the exhibition. The Coordination Council employee told the organizers that until Jan. 19, Azerbaijans representatives will control the exhibition every day, insistently demanding that maps and booklets with provocative elements not be used again. Dozens of Amazon indigenous leaders have gathered in the heart of the threatened rainforest to form an alliance against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's environmental policy and his threats to throw their homelands open to mining concerns. The main objective of the meeting is to present a united front against Bolsonaro's plans, which they say pose a threat to the Amazon and their way of life, as well as threaten open conflict over land rights. "I don't want anyone to die in front of me. I don't want everyone to kill each other, the white people against the indigenous," Brazil's leading indigenous chief, Raoni Metuktire, told the meeting, which began on Tuesday. "Bolsonaro says a lot of bad things about us. He doesn't attack only the indigenous, but he attacks us more than anyone," said the chief, his head adorned with an array of colorful feathers, his body smeared with black paint. Wearing a labret -- the ceremonial disc worn by warriors -- in his lower lip, the 89-year old chief said he would personally travel to the capital Brasilia to present the meeting's conclusions to Congress. "Over there, I'm going to ask Bolsonaro why he speaks so badly about the indigenous peoples," said Metuktire, leader of the Kayapo tribe. He also highlighted the importance of "seeking political support" for the Amazon peoples in Europe. Last August, Metuktire had a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz, amid a raging international controversy over the Amazon wildfires that environmentalists said were the result of Bolsonaro's policies. The far-right president strongly criticized the indigenous leader during his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York the following month. Bolsonaro, accused of favoring Brazil's powerful agribusiness sector with a policy of deforestation, warned that "Raoni's monopoly of the Amazon is over." The meeting -- held deep in the rainforest in the village of Piaracu in Brazil's western Mato Grosso state -- echoes a previous effort to bring Amazon communities together to fight economic interests. In 1986, environmentalist Chico Mendes formed the Alliance of Forest Peoples but was shot dead by a rancher two years later. "More than 30 years ago, in a scenario very similar to this, a great alliance of the peoples of the jungle was being discussed. The political scenario is as worrying today as it was then," said Mendes' daughter Angela Mendes, who is among those attending the meeting. Mendes, apart from being an environmentalist, was a rubber tapper, and non-indigenous extraction communities -- who live off rubber and fruit harvesting -- are also joining forces here with the indigenous tribes. "We are living in a dramatic moment, almost a war situation," said Sonia Guajajara, coordinator of the Association of Indigenous People of Brazil (APIB). She said Bolsonaro's policies foreshadow "a tragedy" for the Amazon's "indigenous peoples, traditional peoples and extraction communities." In her native northeastern state of Maranhao, four indigenous people have been killed during a recent six-week period, she said. "We do not accept trading our territories and our lives to resolve an economic crisis that we have not caused," said Guajajara, a vice-presidential candidate for the leftist PSOL party in last year's elections. Deforestation of the Amazon has almost doubled since Bolsonaro came to power a year ago. Preliminary data collected by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) shows an 85 percent increase in deforested areas in 2019 compared to the previous year. "Bolsonaro, why don't you respect us? Why do you want to finish the natives?" shouted Tuira, the local Kayapo leader, before launching into a high-pitched song in his language. Approaching his 90th birthday, Chief Raoni Metuktire said he hopes that the next generation is ready to continue his fight. After shuffling a few steps of a ceremonial dance, he said: "I am old, tired." Indigenous tribesmen listen to chief Raoni Metuktire (out of frame) during a press conference in Piaracu village, near Sao Jose do Xingu, Mato Grosso state, Brazil Chief Raoni Metuktire gestures during a press conference in Piaracu village in Mato Grasso state Chief Raoni Metuktire -- seen here with a labret or ceremonial disc worn by warriors on their lower lip -- says he will ask Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro "why he speaks so badly of the indigenous peoples" An indigenous tribesman listens to Metuktire during a press conference in Piaracu village, near Sao Jose do Xingu in Brazi's Mato Grosso state Indigenous tribesmen perform a dance at their gathering in Piaracu village on the banks of the Xingu river in the Amazon An indigenous tribesman looks on at proceedings during the meeting of Amazon tribal leaders in Brazil's Mato Grosso state Iran's supreme leader said President is a "clown" who only pretends to support the Iranian people but will "push a poisonous dagger" into their backs, as he struck a defiant tone in his first Friday sermon in Tehran in eight years. said the mass funerals for Iran's top general, who was killed in a US airstrike earlier this month, show that the Iranian people support the Islamic Republic despite its recent trials. He said the "cowardly" killing of Soleimani had taken out the most effective commander in the battle against the Islamic State group. In response, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting US troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. Khamenei said the strike had dealt a "blow to America's image" as a superpower. In part of the sermon delivered in Arabic, he said the "real punishment" would be in forcing the US to withdraw from the Middle East. As Iran's Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after it took off from Tehran's airport, killing all 176 passengers on board, mostly Iranians. Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially blaming the crash on a technical problem. Their admission of responsibility triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas. Khamenei called the shooting down of the plane a "bitter accident" that saddened Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. He said Iran's enemies had seized on the crash to question the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard and the armed forces. He also lashed out at Western countries, saying they are too weak to "bring Iranians to their knees". He said Britain, France and Germany, which this week triggered a dispute mechanism to try and bring Iran back into compliance with the unravelling 2015 nuclear agreement, were "contemptible" governments and "servants" of the United States. He said Iran was willing to negotiate, but not with the United States. Khamenei has held the country's top office since 1989 and has the final say on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of Soleimani and vowed "harsh retaliation" against the United States. Thousands of people attended the Friday prayers, occasionally interrupting his speech by chanting "God is greatest!" and "Death to America!" Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since President withdrew the US from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which had imposed restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. The US has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Trump has openly encouraged the protesters even tweeting in Farsi hoping that the protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a longtime adversary. After Soleimani was killed, Iran announced it would no longer be bound by the limitations in the nuclear agreement. European countries who have been trying to salvage the deal responded earlier this week by invoking a dispute mechanism that could result in even more sanctions. Khamenei was always skeptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the United States could not be trusted. But he allowed President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, to conclude the agreement with President Barack Obama. Since Trump's withdrawal, he has repeatedly said there can be no negotiations with the United States. Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called Israel a "cancerous tumor" and vowed to support anyone confronting it. He also warned against any US strikes on Iran over its nuclear program, saying the US would be damaged "10 times over". When Namibia wildlife enthusiast Naude Dreyer received a phone call saying some sharks had been spotted cut off from the ocean in a shallow tide pool near Walvis Bay, he headed directly for the beach to see if he could help. In a video Dreyer posted to YouTube on January 15, he approaches the tide pool and attempts to grab the uncooperative sharks to release them back into the ocean. The tide was still dropping, and they would dry out and die in the low tide, Dreyer told Storyful, so he had to act fast. Dreyer struggled to get a hold of any of the sharks, which he identified as smoothhound sharks, until a few onlookers stepped in to assist. Working together, Dreyer and the concerned beachgoers were able to wrangle the sharks from the tide pool and release them back into the sea. Thrilled he was able to rescue three sharks from the pool, Dreyer told Storyful, the sharks were fast and very strong and put up a huge fight! Credit: Naude Dreyer via Storyful A "fifth-generation dynast" Rahul Gandhi has no chance in Indian against a "hard-working and self-made" Narendra Modi, and Kerala did a disastrous thing by electing the the Congress leader to Parliament, historian Ramachandra Guha said here on Friday. Guha said the reduction of the Congress from a "great party" during the freedom movement to a "pathetic family firm" now is one of the reasons for the ascendency of Hindutva and jingoism in India. "I have nothing against Rahul Gandhi personally. He is a decent fellow, very well-mannered. But young India does not want a fifth-generation dynast. If you Malyalis make the mistake of re-electing Rahul Gandhi in 2024 too, you are merely handing over an advantage to Narendra Modi," said Guha on the second day of the ongoing Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) during his talk, "Patriotism Vs Jingoism". Addressing the crowd, full of Keralites, he said, "Kerala, you have done many wonderful things for India, but one of the disastrous thing you did was to elect Rahul Gandhi to the parliament." Gandhi, who in 2019 general elections lost from his family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, had won from the Wayanad seat in Kerala. "Narendra Modi's great advantage is that he is not Rahul Gandhi. He is self-made. He has run a state for 15 years, he has an administrative experience, he is incredibly hard working and he never takes holidays in Europe. Believe me I am saying all this in all seriousness," he said. But, even if Rahul Gandhi was "much more intelligent, more hard-working, never took a holiday in Europe, as a fifth generation dynast he still will be at a disadvantage against a self-made person", the 61-year-old author said. He took on Congress president Sonia Gandhi too who, he said, reminded him of the "late Mughal dynasty" and how aloof they were of the state of their kingdom. "India is becoming more democratic and less feudal, and the Gandhis just don't realise this. You (Sonia) are in Delhi, your kingdom is shrinking more and more but still your chamchas (sycophants) are telling you that you are still the badshah," he said. Further, he quoted his teacher and noted Indian sociologist Andre Beteille to describe the story of Nehru-Gandhi family as a classic "reversal of the famous Biblical injunction": the sins of the father will be visited upon seven successive generations. "In the Nehru's case, it is the sins of the seven successive generations have been re-visited upon Nehru... look at the national debate today. Why is Nehru evoked everytime? Why does Modi always say Nehru ne kashmir mein yeh kiya, China mein yeh kiya, Triple Talaq mein yeh kiye ... because Rahul Gandhi is there. "Now if Rahul Gandhi disappears, Modi has to talk about his own policies and why they failed," he said. According to Guha, "Hypocrisy of the Indian Left -- the fact that they loved other nations more than India", "rise of aggressive nationalism worldwide" and "the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in neighbouring countries" are some other reasons behind the evident leap of Hindutva in India in the recent times. Historian William Dalrymple, novelists like Benyamin, Namita Gokhale, Chetan Bhagat and journalists Karan Thapar and Rajdeep Sardesai are among the many other writers who will be attending the four-day festival. The focus theme of KLF 2020 is environment and climate change. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump is likely to attend the Economic Forum in Davos next week, a trip that is likely to coincide with the start of his impeachment trial in the Senate. "He is scheduled to go, and we're prepared to go, but we'll see what happens," White House principal deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley told reporters at the White House Wednesday, according to The Hill. Gidley said that Trump is "absolutely" comfortable travelling out of the country while his trial is taking place. "You've seen what the president has been able to do while the House is doing its best to play and ignore the needs of the American people," Gidley said. "The president is focused on doing his job, focused on making the lives of all Americans better," Gidley said, accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats of focusing "on their own selfish political desires." The White House previously announced that the presidential delegation attending the annual economic forum in Davos from January 20-24 would include advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and other top officials. Trump skipped the economic forum last year because of the ongoing government shutdown. The House voted on Wednesday to send the articles of impeachment accusing Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress to the Senate, paving the way for a trial likely beginning next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) predicted this week that the Senate trial would begin on Tuesday. The White House is expressing confidence ahead of the trial in the GOP-controlled Senate. A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday that the White House didn't expect the trial to extend beyond two weeks, characterising the Democrats case as weak. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump began in the Senate on Thursday with a reading of the House-passed articles of impeachment and a swearing-in of 100 senators in front of Supreme Court Justice John Roberts. Roberts placed his hand on the Bible after 2 p.m. ET and was sworn in by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R.-Iowa), the Senates president pro tempore. He then called on all 100 senators to stand to be sworn in. The senators took an oath when they are to try the impeachment case. Justice Roberts asked them: Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of President Donald John Trump, president of United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God? We do, the senators repled. Senators were then called to the Senate clerks desk to sign their names in an oath book. The House voted to transmit the two articles of impeachment on Wednesday before seven House managers named by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) carried the articlesabuse of power and obstruction of Congressto the upper chamber later that day. Pelosi named two House chairmen who led the impeachment inquiry as prosecutors for the Senate trial: Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who led the probe, and Judiciary Chair Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), whose committee approved the impeachment articles. Other managers in the trial will include Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Val Demmings (D-Fla.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), and Jason Crow (D-Colo.). During the swearing-in, Schiff read out the two articles of impeachment on the Senate floor, saying a president can be removed from office for committing treason, bribery, or high crimes and misdemeanors. Trump solicited the government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations to bolster his chances at reelection, Schiff alleged, adding that Trump also withheld aid to Kyiv as a condition. This moment will mark only the third time in U.S. history that a president will face the prospect of being convicted and removed from office by the Senate. But in this case, it is highly unlikely, as removal requires a 67-vote supermajority, meaning that around 20 Republicans would have to break with their party and join the Democratic minority. After the articles were read aloud by Schiff, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham wrote on Twitter that Democrats manufactured the articles of impeachment, which she described as a sham. They are trying to stop [Trump] from his continued success on behalf of the United States, she said. Ahead of the trial, a White House spokesperson told reporters in a phone call the Trump administration does not believe the Senate trial will call any witnesses or last longer than two weeks. It is extraordinarily unlikely that we would be going beyond two weeks. We think that the case is overwhelming for the president and the Senate is not going to have any need to be taking that amount of time, the senior official said. New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday rejected allegations that his government deliberately delayed the execution of Nirbhaya convicts. Delhi government has no role in delaying their hanging, Kejriwal said while addressing media. In fact, he countered the claims saying, Why would Delhi government try to delay anything related to this case? We want the convicts to be hanged at the earliest." He also said that, All the work that was under Delhi government was completed by us within hours. We never delayed any work related to this case. Delhi government hardly has an any role in it. We want convicts to be hanged at the earliest. He also alleged that the BJP was politicising the issue. War Of Words On Thursday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said, give us Delhi Police and law-and-order responsibility for two days and we will hang Nirbhaya convicts." The war of words erupted after Union minister Prakash Javadekar blamed the AAP government's "negligence" for the "delay" in the hanging of the four convicts, saying it took more than two-and-a-half years for the Arvind Kejriwal government to give notice to the rapists after the Supreme Court rejected their appeal against the death sentence in 2017. Why The Delay? The AAP government told the Delhi High Court on Wednesday that Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case -- will not be hanged on January 22 as scheduled because one of them has moved a mercy plea and according to the prison rules, they cannot be executed till they exhaust all of their remedies under the law. Mercy Plea Rejected Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind rejected Nirbhaya convict Mukesh Singhs mercy petition. With this, Singhs final recourse is exhausted. However, the other three death row convicts in Nirbhaya case have yet not filed the mercy plea. The Union Home ministry had recommended to President of India to reject mercy petition filed by Singh. The development comes a day after Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal rejected the mercy plea and sent his recommendations to the Union Home ministry. Earlier, the Delhi government had also dismissed Singhs mercy plea. Meanwhile, Nirbhayas mother Asha Devi has reacted bitterly over the politics in the case. Till now, I never talked about politics, but now I want to say that those people who held protests on streets in 2012, today the same people are only playing with my daughter's death for political gains, Devi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. OTTAWA - Families of the Canadian victims on the Ukrainian passenger jet shot down over Iran last week will receive $25,000 each to help with immediate costs they have for travel or funerals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/1/2020 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers his sermon in the Friday prayers at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. Iran's supreme leader said President Donald Trump is a "clown" who only pretends to support the Iranian people but will "push a poisonous dagger" into their backs, as he struck a defiant tone in his first Friday sermon in Tehran in eight years. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) OTTAWA - Families of the Canadian victims on the Ukrainian passenger jet shot down over Iran last week will receive $25,000 each to help with immediate costs they have for travel or funerals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. Trudeau said the victims' families face difficulties in paying bills now and cannot wait for a legal or international compensation process to play out. In the interim, Trudeau said, the government and families agreed that $25,000 per victim would be a helpful "first step" to cover funeral arrangements and travel. Trudeau said 20 families have asked to bring the remains of loved ones back to Canada for burial, though none had been transported by Friday. "Obviously this is immediate assistance for a range of needs that they might have," Trudeau said during a late-morning press conference. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada Minister of Foreign Affairs, speaks during a press conference after a meeting of the International Coordination and Response Group for the families of the victims of PS752 flight that crashed shortly after taking off from the Iranian capital Tehran on Jan. 8, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) "It is not the compensation that we expect will come, and should come, from Iran in due course, but these families need help now." The federal government could pay out about $2.15 million for the 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents who died when the plane crashed after an anti-aircraft strike Iran says was made in error as the plane left Tehran's international airport. Trudeau said the money would be paid out as quickly as possible in the coming days. He was less clear about what amount he expects Iran to pay out. "We haven't looked at what the full compensation would end up looking like from Iran," Trudeau said, "but I can assure you that any money from Iran to the victims would go straight to them, it wouldn't be to reimburse the Canadian government." After a similar tragedy three decades ago, the U.S. government paid US$61.8 million to the families of the 290 victims aboard Iran Air flight 655. A U.S. naval ship shot it down on July 3, 1988. The American government said the crew of the ship misidentified that plane as possibly hostile fighter jet and didn't accept liability as part of a settlement with Iran in the International Court of Justice. Likewise, Libya didn't admit responsibility for the bombing of a French passenger jet in 1989 when it agreed in 2004 to pay US$170 million to the victims' families. Like Iran now, Libya faced crippling economic sanctions in the lead-up to the payment. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Rod Winsor is a Toronto-based lawyer who worked on the Air India disaster, in which 329 people were killed when a terrorist bomb brought down a jet flying from Montreal to London in 1985. He said precedents suggest getting compensation from Iran could be a long and winding road with uncertain results. In the meantime, families could sue Ukraine International Airlines and potentially get settlements in months to years from the moment a claim is filed; an international process is driven by governments and would likely take a bit longer. Interim payments to the families like the one Trudeau announced could also come from Ukraine International Airlines or even Iran, he said. "In terms of the government's payment, they're absolutely right: The families are not going to get their final settlements for some time," Winsor said. "Everybody talks about this is going to take years and years and years. Well, that's a possibility, it's not a probability." Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne delivered the request for compensation during a face-to-face meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, in Oman on Friday. The demand was one of five that foreign ministers from Britain, Sweden, Afghanistan and Ukraine agreed on during a meeting Thursday in London, U.K. An Iranian summary of the conversation posted online said Zarif reiterated his country's regret over shooting down the airliner and promised co-operation in a probe of how it happened. A global team of investigators, led by Iran under international rules, is trying to determine the sequence of events that led to one and possibly a second surface-to-air missile taking down the passenger jet. Canada is seeking a formalized role in the probe to allow its investigators greater access, including to the voice and flight-data recorders, known as the "black boxes." Champagne told Zarif about the need for "a transparent analysis of the black-box data." The recorders were badly damaged in the incident and are likely to be sent to France for analysis, Trudeau said. Few countries have the capability to do the work. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Iran initially denied it fired on the airplane. It was only after Trudeau went public citing intelligence to the contrary that Iran admitted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired on the civilian airliner, with the government pinning the blame on the military not being forthcoming with information. Days of protesters flooding the streets in anger prompted Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to make a rare sermon during Friday prayers in Tehran it had been years since the last time. He called the downing a bitter accident that saddened Iran and made its enemies happy by giving international rivals a chance to question the country and its armed forces. He also attacked the United States for its killing of a top Iranian general, which was a factor in putting Iranian air defences on high alert the day the Ukraine airliner was shot down. The Canadian Press has independently confirmed at least 90 victims with ties to Canada, many of them students and professors returning after spending the December break visiting relatives in Iran. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2020. With files from The Associated Press A Kerala-based doctor has filed a complaint with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Cyber Cell of Kerala Police alleging that he is being targeted by 'jihadi' groups for supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Ranjit Vijayahari, a gastroenterology surgeon, told ANI: "Several doctors have faced gang attacks. Why I thought these people are 'jihadis' is their attitude on many issues which are the same including support for terrorists. They can be seen supporting Afzal Guru, Ishrat Jahan and have been abusing Indian Army." "For supporting CAA, I am facing online attacks from jihadi groups. This includes the threats of professional isolation, asking doctors not to send referrals, warning and intimating patients about the political ideology of doctors, and spreading lies and demeaning respectable members of our association," he said. Vijayahari also said that he has filed a complaint attaching the screenshots of the social media posts to the police's cyber cell and IMA. "There has been a series of discussions and debates regarding CAA and several issues which involve the country on social media platforms. In these discussions, I have been targeted for supporting CAA," he added. "Those who targeted me through their profiles are also spreading hate messages against the Indian Army, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah," the doctor alleged. The CAA grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and who entered 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.) OTTAWACanada is still vying to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council but its already warming up the chair with a plan to hire trainers for Canadian officials. The federal government issued a notice Friday saying it intends to award a contract worth an estimated $120,000 to New York-based organization Security Council Report to educate Canadian personnel. The contract is expected to run from Feb. 24 through the end of the year, the notice says. Canada is seeking a non-permanent seat on the Security Council, considered the most powerful UN body, for two years beginning Jan. 1, 2021. It faces tough competition from Norway and Ireland for one of two available seats in the June election. The council, which has five permanent members and 10 elected, non-permanent ones, can authorize military action, organize peacekeeping missions and apply economic sanctions. The government notice says the training must address thematic and country priorities of interest to Canada in its preparation for a seat on the council. Canada has five priorities it hopes to pursue through a seat: sustaining peace, addressing climate change, promoting economic security, advancing gender equality and strengthening multilateralism. Global Affairs Canada plans to give the training contract to Security Council Report, an independent, non-profit body, unless another potential supplier indicates by the end of the month it can meet the departments detailed requirements. The organizations website says it works to advance the transparency and effectiveness of the security council by providing information about its activities, encouraging analysis of issues and assisting incoming members. Global Affairs spokeswoman Angela Savard said Friday that as Canada pursues a council seat, it must get ready to fulfil the roles and responsibilities expected of elected members. This training will enhance Canadas ability to engage multilaterally on key global security issues relating to the UN Security Councils work, Savard said. It will be valuable irrespective of the result of the June vote. The tender notice indicates the sessions will teach Canadian officials about the councils mandate, dynamics, working methods, tools and powers including use of force, sanctions and fact-finding missions. They will also delve into council relations with other international and regional organizations, resolution-drafting and negotiation, considerations about peace operations, the councils recent actions on various issues, and members positions and interests. Canada is deeply committed to working with our international partners and has been leveraging all opportunities to discuss how we can build a more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable world together, says a note on the council bid prepared last month for Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. By the end of October, Canadas campaign to win a seat had spent just under $2 million on operational expenditures. That does not include the salaries of 13 full-time employees assigned to work on the campaign in 2019-20. A campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN requires time and resources, the note for Champagne says. Canada is running a fiscally responsible campaign, which will allow us to strengthen our diplomatic ties in the process and advance other priorities. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked former prime minister Joe Clark and former Quebec premier Jean Charest to serve as special envoys for Canadas candidacy. They have both travelled to a number of countries to discuss shared priorities and to help advance Canadas bid, the note says. Read more about: DUP councillor Nicola Verner has been sworn in as High Sheriff of Belfast DUP councillor Nicola Verner has been sworn in as the new High Sheriff of Belfast. Ms Verner succeeds party colleague Tommy Sandford, becoming the 120th High Sheriff of the city and the 13th woman in the position. The traditional swearing in ceremony took place in the reception room of Belfast City Hall and was attended by Ms Verner's fellow councillors as well as family and friends. The DUP politician represents the Court area. Ms Verner said she is looking forward to an exciting year ahead. She said: "It's an honour to take on such a prestigious role and I will do my best to support both the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor throughout my year." Historically, the role of High Sheriff has been 'protector of the monarch's interests', although it is now largely ceremonial. Donald Trump's impeachment defence team will include a controversial lawyer with a history representing men like Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein, as well as one who was a prominent figure in the most recent presidential impeachment in the 1990s. Ken Starr, the former independent counsel who led the investigation that led to the impeachment Bill Clinton, has signed on and will reportedly help present constitutional arguments to the Senate when Mr Trump's impeachment trial begins in earnest next week. Working alongside him is a team that includes defence attorney Alan Dershowitz, the controversial lawyer who has made a name for himself with high-profile clients who have or do include Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and OJ Simpson. Mr Dershowitz's controversial past clients have reportedly given some in the White House pause, but ultimately Mr Trump took a liking to him after seeing him numerous times on TV, according to Axios. The legal team has been formed to represent the president as he faces charges of abuse of power for pressuring Ukraine to launch an investigation into a potential 2020 presidential rival, and of obstructing Congress during the hearings in the House that ultimately resulted in Mr Trump becoming the third president in US history to be impeached. White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Mr Trump's personal attorney Jay Sekulow have been tasked with leading the team, which includes other prominent lawyers including Robert Ray and former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi. Mr Ray succeeded Mr Starr as independent counsel in 1999 and filed the final reports on the Whitewater scandal, which formed the basis of the investigation that led to Mr Clinton's impeachment. Ms Bondi is a well-known backer of the president with a penchant for publicity, and has reportedly been called on to act as the public face of the defence team. All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Show all 6 1 /6 All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Alan Dershowitz Dershowitz is a controversial American lawyer best known for the high-profile clients he has successfully defended. Those clients have included OJ Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. One longtime Harvard Law associated told the New Yorker Dershowitz "revels in taking positions that ultimately are not just controversial but pretty close to indefensible." Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Ken Starr Starr became a household name in the 1990s as the independent counsel who led the investigation that led to Bill Clinton's impeachment. That investigation began as a look into a real estate scandal known as Whitewater, and eventually led to impeachment after Mr Clinton lied under oath about having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. AP All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Jay Sekulow Sekulow is the president's longtime personal attorney, and, now, personal lawyer in the White House. He has been accused by former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas of being "in the loop" during the Ukraine scandal. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pam Bondi Bondi is the former attorney general in Florida, and a longtime backer of the president's. She made a name for herself in Florida for taking hyper partisan stances on issues, and her penchant for publicity. She is likely to be a prominent public-facing figure during the trial. AFP/Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pat Cipollone Cipollone is the White House counsel, and leading the president's defence team. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Rudy Giuliani While not officially named as one of the president's impeachment lawyers, it is hard to ignore Giuliani's outsized role in this process. The former mayor of New York has been making headlines for months as he defends his client, and for his apparent role in the effort to compel Ukraine to launch the investigation into Joe Biden. We'll see how he figures in the actual trial, which he has said he would like to be a part of. Reuters "The president asked me to do this, and the legal team asked me to do this," Mr Dershowitz said on Friday morning during an interview with CNBC. Mr Trump's Senate impeachment trial is set to start on Tuesday, after House impeachment managers read the charges they have approved on Thursday. While the impeachment drama in the Senate has been kept to a minimum so far the highlight of the mostly sombre proceedings on Thursday came when Chief Justice John Roberts, who is overseeing the affair, seemingly forgot to gavel the Senate out of session that is likely not to last. In the months since House speaker Nancy Pelosi announced their investigation into Mr Trump's apparent effort to leverage American foreign aid to Ukraine to compel that country's government to launch an investigation into Joe Biden and his family, the White House and Mr Trump's lawyers have remained relatively quiet on the president's side of the story. While Mr Trump has spoken out loudly and frequently to claim he has done nothing wrong, it will be up to his lawyers in the Senate to provide a compelling argument for why the president used his powers in the way he did. It will mark the first time that lawyers representing the president will directly engage in the process, after Mr Trump declined to send his legal team to the House Judiciary Committee hearings as they investigated the allegations against the president. In their stead, Republican lawmakers have been forced to defend the president themselves, and have in the process underscored an unwavering support for Mr Trump through this process. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has promised to work hand-in-hand with the White House throughout the trial, and the odds against Mr Trump's being thrown out of office remain astronomical at this point. Mr Trump is unlikely to testify in his own defence. Clint Eastwood's 8 Most Awesome Military and Veteran Characters Few actors play a salty old veteran better than Clint Eastwood. Eastwood was drafted into the Army during the Korean War, but never quite made it over to the Korean Peninsula. He was a swimming instructor at Fort Ord and survived a plane crash where he had to swim to safety. Four years later, the one-time soldier was on the silver screen, in 1955's Never Say Goodbye. Ever since, the veteran's life has been a critical aspect of many of his onscreen characters, of which there have been many. 1. Mitchell Gant, "Firefox" Clint Eastwood plays Gant, a Vietnam veteran and pilot who's assigned to sneak into the Soviet Union and steal the most advanced fighter aircraft ever built. Part action-adventure, part spy thriller, Firefox may not wow you today, but the character of Mitchell Gant is a fun one. He is a former USAF prisoner of war who was held captive in Vietnam, but now, because he speaks Russian (his mother was Russian), he gets to embark on a top-secret spy mission to infiltrate the USSR. 2. Frank Corvin, "Space Cowboys" Space Cowboys doesn't just have Clint Eastwood, it has a digitally young version of Eastwood as Frank Corvin shows his disappointment with the Air Force for abandoning his crew's mission to go into space. After 40 years and the crew much aged, Eastwood's Corvin, along with Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland, get their chance to show off the right stuff. There aren't many movies about the USAF test pilots' glory days, and Space Cowboys is a great example. 3. Walt Kowalski, "Gran Torino" Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran who is very content with the way things are, even as the rest of his world is crumbling around him. Kowalski is very much prejudiced against Koreans, long after the war ended. This fact is only highlighted when a Korean family moves in next door, and the youngest son attempts to steal his well-kept 1972 Gran Torino. Gran Torino features at least one of Eastwood's most badass lines: "Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn't have f**ked with? That's me." Awesome. 4. Josey Wales, "The Outlaw Josey Wales" Josey Wales is a farmer turned Confederate bushwhacker who ends the Civil War on the run from Union soldiers, but Josey Wales wasn't fighting for the Confederacy, not really. He was fighting to avenge the murder of his family by pro-Union militias. With a bounty on his head, Wales is joined by a group of extraordinary adventurers who help Josey Wales on his quest to stay alive, stay free, and escape to Mexico. He gets revenge against the man responsible for his family's death, but his escape is a lot less of a shootout than expected. Way before that, though, Josey Wales wipes out a whole unit with a Gatling gun. 5. Pvt. Kelly, "Kelly's Heroes" In the closing days of World War II, Private Kelly once a Lieutenant Kelly, who ended up court-martialed for a failed infantry attack gets wind of $16 million in gold bars hiding just behind enemy lines. While his unit is halted near the town of Nancy, Kelly enlists some of his men to go AWOL and make a dash for the gold. They fight their way to the gold against overwhelming odds. When they can't fight anymore, they offer the Germans a cut of the action. 6. Luther Whitney, "Absolute Power" Luther Whitney is a Korean War veteran who left the military and became one of the world's best and most formidable cat burglars. While robbing the home of a wealthy industrialist, he witnesses the President of the United States attempt to sexually assault the rich man's wife. She fights him off until she's killed by the Secret Service, who attempt to cover up the episode. After being framed for the killing, Luther decides to use his skills, along with evidence he took from the crime scene to re-frame the President. With Ed Harris, Gene Hackman, Scott Glenn, and Dennis Haysbert, there's so much testosterone in this movie, it might as well be a war film. 7. Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Highway, "Heartbreak Ridge" When Gunny Highway stands up to his Major and says "with all due respect, sir, you're beginning to bore the hell out of me" while smoking a cigar, it was the one time I wanted to join the Marine Corps. 8. Harry Callahan, "Dirty Harry" All badass characters who came before and after are all trying to live up to one character: "Dirty" Harry Callahan. A hard-boiled cop who operates using his own set of rules, Harry Callahan remains cool under fire but gets heated when the bad guys win. Not much is known about Dirty Harry, and you pretty much have to watch the whole series to get a picture of the character. We don't even find out he was a Marine until the second Dirty Harry movie, Magnum Force, when we learn Harry didn't finish his 20 years. In the final film, The Dead Pool, Harry drinks from a Marine Corps mug. He had to learn to stay frosty somewhere. MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY: The 'Yucca Man' is a beast that stalks Marines at 29 Palms 11 scary ghost stories, legends, and haunted military bases 6 urban legends about Wright-Patterson Air Force Base - Americas We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty. Researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) at Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berlin have developed a new laboratory assay to detect the novel Chinese coronavirus. The assay protocol has now been published by WHO as a guideline for diagnostic detection. The new assay enables suspected cases to be tested quickly. The coronavirus, which first emerged in Wuhan, China, and can cause severe pneumonia, can now be detected in the laboratory. Developed by a group of DZIF researchers working under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten, Director of the Institute of Virology on Campus Charite Mitte, the world's first diagnostic test for the coronavirus has now been made publicly available. Following its online publication by the WHO, the test protocol will now serve as a guideline for laboratories. An international consortium is currently conducting a joint evaluation study. "Now that this diagnostic test is widely available, I expect that it won't be long before we are able to reliably diagnose suspected cases. This will also help scientists understand whether the virus is capable of spreading from human to human," explains Prof. Drosten. He adds: "This is an important step in our fight against this new virus." Background Previous successes recorded by Prof. Drosten and his research groups include the development of novel Zika virus tests and the development of a standard test for the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) pathogen, which is now being used worldwide. A BIH Professor and one the co-discoverers of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus in 2003, Prof. Drosten was also responsible for developing and making available the first diagnostic test for SARS. The next few years will see members of the DZIF's 'Virus detection and preparedness' group at Charite continue their efforts to increase our preparedness for the emergence of new viruses. ### Australias 2030 target is the weakest of the developed countries. That makes us a drag on the global effort. In UN meetings in 2020, we can choose to remain a drag, or to substantially upgrade our commitments. If electoral promises block immediate change in targets, it is better to beat than just to meet them, pending revision of commitments in future parliaments. Australian actions will not determine global outcomes. But we should not underestimate the effect of Australia moving from the discouraging to the encouraging side of the chasm. Writing Superpower after the Coalitions electoral victory in May, I accepted that the government through the current parliamentary term would avoid breaching its 2019 electoral commitments. It would not introduce carbon pricing - the economists preferred means of achieving climate objectives at lowest cost or largest gain. It would not take any steps that increased power prices above the giddy heights of early 2019, or take steps that led directly to diminution of the coal industry. Within these constraints, I proposed a set of policies that would lead to Australian emissions falling by 50 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, and increasing the contribution of renewable energy to half or more of our electricity use. This would be a credible base for Australia to launch towards zero net emissions before 2050. The role of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency would be expanded to support innovation across the range of low-emissions technologies; and of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to cover the ACCCs Recommendation 4 on underwriting new supply of power to major users. Private investors in new unregulated transmission would be rewarded for their contributions to low prices, security and reliability in the regulated system. Measures would be taken to enhance electricity reliability. Australias participation in the global trend towards greater use of electric vehicles would be accelerated by public provision of vehicle charging facilities. Reform of electricity pricing rules would ensure that the electric car reduced the cost of electricity in other uses. Recognising that the increase in Australian emissions in recent years has been driven by unconstrained release of methane and carbon dioxide from coal mines and gas processing, such fugitive emissions would be reduced, and those that remained offset by purchases of credits from the Australian farm sector. This would be achieved through the Abbott governments safeguard mechanism, phased in over a decade. Offsets for fugitive emissions would provide a major boost for sequestration of carbon in Australian soils, pastures, woodlands, forests and plantations. Carbon farming would be supported by research and development to understand the opportunity and to lower costs of measurement. The Australian carbon farming opportunity would be enhanced as we earned access to European and other markets for carbon credits. Loading These steps would reveal large economic gains from reducing emissions. Bumps along the way will attract attention, but will be short-lived. Expanding supplies of low cost renewable electricity place pressure on established coal generators. One after another, the coal generators will close. But these are interruptions on a downward trend in prices driven by the rise of renewables. Much was made of the effects of closure of the Northern Power station at the end of 2015-16 on SA wholesale power prices. SA prices had always been much higher than NSW or Victoria, because SA coal was poorer and located further from the big city. On average 2007-16, SA wholesale prices were 22 per cent higher than NSW and 32 per cent higher than Victoria. Immediately after the Northern closure, SA prices rose to 34 per cent above NSW and 63 per cent above Victoria in 2016-17. But the rise of renewables to over half total supply set prices powerfully on a downward course, absolutely and relative to the big states. In the current financial year so far (July 1, 2019 to January 15, 2020), NSW prices have been 34 per cent and Victorian 63 per cent above those in renewables-rich SA. SA this summer has also had less reliability anxiety than the two big states. Superpower explains four big changes that have reduced the economic cost of Australia playing its full part in the global effort to reach the Paris requirement of zero net emissions by 2050 -and turned them from an economic cost to a benefit. The cost of renewable energy and electricity storage has fallen dramatically - far more rapidly than anticipated in my 2008 and 2011 reviews. Australia has by far the richest endowment per person of renewable energy resources. This makes us naturally the country with lowest energy costs in the emerging zero emissions world. Naturally, but not inevitably, as poor policy and business leadership could diminish the opportunity. Loading We also have exceptional abundance of fossil energy resources. However, these do not confer a large advantage on domestic industry, as coal, and gas are traded internationally at prices that are similar to those in Australia. High costs of transporting electricity between continents, directly or as hydrogen, will make renewable energy permanently a source of large advantage for Australian energy-using industries in the zero emissions economy. This makes us naturally the low-cost country for processing Australian iron and aluminium and other ores and raw minerals. The industries of the future can contribute many more jobs and much more income than todays coal and gas industries. Capital is overwhelmingly the main cost of renewable energy. So the costs of renewable but not fossil energy have been lowered exceptionally by the dramatic fall in the global cost of capital over the past decade. Loading Progress in applied science has greatly increased awareness of the capacity to capture carbon in the landscape. Australian science and farm and forest skills, and a per capita endowment of woodlands and soils suitable for carbon sequestration far greater than in other countries, mean that carbon farming can be a great Australian rural industry. Similar endowments make us a globally competitive source of biomass for plastics and other carbon-based chemical industries. This will be an important source of advantage in industry when the use of oil, gas and coal is blocked in a zero carbon world. Australia also has advantages in a zero emissions world from known geological structures of exceptional quality for securely storing carbon dioxide. I am encouraged by Prime Minister Morrisons statements that we will be evolving climate policies. We need not be discouraged by his statements that this will be done without introducing a carbon price, or raising the price of electricity, or destroying Australian jobs. I accepted these constraints in designing the bridge. Within these constraints, we can move as fast over the next decade as the Paris temperature goal requires. Do it right, and faster progress on renewables and carbon farming and the electric car will make us more prosperous. One defendant accused former Houston police officer Gerald Goines of lying about a drug buy. Another, of linking him to a phone he didnt own. A third said he was falsely accused of possessing drugs. As the fallout from the Harding Street drug raid scandal continues, prosecutors have begun receiving legal challenges known as post-conviction writs from a growing number of people who accuse Goines and his former partner Steven Bryant of misconduct in the cases that led to their convictions. The officers are accused of lying about a fatal Jan. 28, 2019 drug investigation and raid that left two people dead and five police officers injured. Goines faces murder charges in state court and additional crimes in federal court. Bryant faces tampering charges in state and federal court. The case sparked investigations by the Houston Police Department, the FBI, and the district attorneys office, and prompted prosecutors to mail notices to defendants in cases handled by Goines and Bryant informing them of the investigations into the two officers. District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Wednesday that two grand juries would be investigating other Squad 15 officers, as well as the shooting that claimed the lives of Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle on Jan. 28, 2019. Prosecutors are reviewing more than 14,000 of the officers old cases. While they dont plan to reinvestigate each one, Ogg has said that if their review uncovers evidence of additional wrongdoing by police, prosecutors will send more notices to current defendants as well as people already convicted. So far, five current or former prisoners with cases that involved Goines or Bryant have filed habeus writs. Prosecutors have agreed that one former defendant deserves a new trial; urged judges to appoint lawyers in three other writs and in another case that they believe was also tainted by misconduct. Goines defense attorney, Nicole DeBorde, said she could not comment on specific cases because Goines is facing allegations of criminal conduct. Its smart lawyering for those filing the writs, she said. They can file whatever their fantasy allegations are and because he cant respond, theyll prevail. Because Goines alleged misconduct spans decades, more cases could well surface, Ogg said in a news conference earlier this week in which she announced grand jury indictments against him and Bryant. Regarding such challenges, she said Friday: It is important that every conviction have integrity behind it, and these cases strike at the very heart of that bedrock principle. Harris County Chief Public Defender Alex Bunin said that given the scope of alleged misconduct, a more detailed review might be in order. One of the impediments to getting anything done is all the DA has done is sent letters, he said. There may be people out there who dont know what to do about it. Narcotics Division investigation: Botched Houston drug raid not the first Otis Mallet, the first defendant to publicly challenge Goines casework, was arrested in 2008 after Goines said he met up with Mallets brother, Steven Mallet, at a house on Danube Street to make a $200 drug buy. Police arrested both brothers. Goines was the only witness to testify to seeing the alleged deal. But Mallets appellate attorney discovered Goines expense reports showed hed reported paying a confidential informant months after the arrest - something hed never mentioned in relevant case paperwork or at trial. Mallet, 64, appealed his conviction in 2013. In a Jan. 9 court hearing, Oggs office filed an affidavit from Jamie Burro, the prosecutor who initially handled Mallets case, who said she would have asked to have the case dismissed if shed known about those discrepancies. Judge Ramona Franklin is set to rule on the case Feb. 3. On Thursday, prosecutors filed a formal Brady notice related to Stevens case, and urged that he be appointed counsel in order to appeal his conviction. Steven Mallet pleaded guilty in his case to time served -- but refused the first plea offer that would have required him to attest to his brothers guilt. If a Brady violation occurred for one brother, it unquestionably occurred for the other, said Josh Reiss, chief of the post-conviction division at the district attorneys office. For subscriber: Key Houston police narcotics officers at center of fatal Harding Street drug raid tallied few arrests, low-level busts Marcus Murphy, 45, appealed his 2017 drug conviction in May. He pleaded guilty to a possession charge and received a 10-year deferred adjudication, a form of probation. In March, he received a letter saying Goines former partner was under investigation. In his appeal, he said he pleaded guilty because he was scared and unaware of evidence that showed the officers were involved in unlawful acts of setting defendants up and making up scenarios in order to obtain illegal search warrants. Reiss said prosecutors oppose relief in his case because Goines only involvement was as a member of the raid team that arrested him the former cop did not develop probable cause, head up the investigation into Murphy or handle evidence. In August, Antoine Christian appealed his conviction. The 52-year-old prisoner filed his appeal himself. Police detained him in 2006 after he walked out of a Specs liquor store, according to his court filing. An officer drove him to the scene of a disturbance so a witness could identify him. When the witness said Christian wasnt the suspect, the officer let him go back to the liquor store. Then, Goines showed up and accused Christian of lying about money he had with him, court records show. Goines searched a car in the lot and reported that he had found cocaine and a gun. Christian accused police of fabricating a police offense report that led to his arrest for a crime he says he didnt commit. The car was never impounded or recorded with enough detail to tie the drugs in it to Christian. His fingerprints were never found on the gun. He was sentenced in 2009 to just under three years in prison for possession of one to four grams of drugs. On HoustonChronicle.com: A botched drug raid led to a wave of leaks. Cops peeking at internal records then found themselves under investigation. Frederick Jeffery appealed his conviction in October. Jeffery, 58, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2018 for drug possession charges. In his appeal, Jeffery claimed his conviction was based on illegally seized evidence that did not belong to him. He also accused Goines of lying during trial and falsely linking him to a phone that did not belong to him. The petitioner was allegedly linked to the aforementioned narcotics based solely on the testimony of a corrupt police officer who offered falsified testimony on trial," he wrote in an 85-page appeal. Pat McCann, Jefferys appointed defense attorney, said: We're finally getting some light shed on these cases. The tragedy is it took death of this couple for the courts to realize how long theyd been lied too. In November, James Alan Lewis appealed his 2016 drug conviction. Lewis, 37, was arrested and charged with possession with intent to sell cocaine, court records show. But Lewis argued he was picking up trash in the yard of a home when police arrested him, and said he was falsely accused of having cocaine Lewis does not yet have an attorney to handle the appeal, court records show, but prosecutors said they will ask the judge handling Lewis case to appoint one. The number of appeals is likely to grow. On HoustonChronicle.com: Court documents reveal origins of botched narcotics raid on Harding Street Gene Walker, 44, readily admits he dealt drugs -- and did his time for convictions for theft, drug possession, and other crimes. But in early 2014, he said, the only thing he admits to is visiting the Third Ward and running to the home of his friend, Big E to use the bathroom after a Taco Bell #5 gave him the bubble guts. Minutes later, police broke down the door, he said, according to a warrant filed in the case. They were looking for Big E, whom they suspected of dealing crack. They found Walker inside and arrested him and said the drugs they found in the house belonged to him, an assertion he denies. At one point, Walker said Goines threatened to charge him with assaulting a police officer a claim that still baffles him. Who did I assault?, he said indignantly. Eventually, he pleaded guilty to a tampering charge and another for possessing drugs with intent to deliver and was sentenced to seven years in prison. He said he pleaded guilty only after being told that if he didnt, prosecutors would seek more than 30 years. He ended up spending four year inside before he was paroled early last year. Soon after his release, he got a job working construction. He said he plans to appeal his conviction in the coming weeks. They should have never booked me that day, he said. He thinks about moments he missed; with his kids, his wife, and his mom. She died in January 2017. I've been robbed of time, he said. I couldn't even get the last moments with my mother before she passed. A subsided section of a taxiway at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, August 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Duy. The Ministry of Transport has proposed a VND4.15 trillion ($179 million) plan to repair runways at Vietnams two largest airports over two years. Renovating runways at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi is set to cost VND2.28 trillion ($98.2 million) over 23.5 months, the ministry proposed to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. At Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, upgrades would cost VND1.87 trillion ($80.6 million) over 26.5 months. If state budget were to be used, the ministry requested VND950 billion ($41 million) from the 2016-2020 medium term period, and the remaining VND3.2 trillion ($138 million) from 2021-2025. Another option would be to let state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) take over the projects using its own fund. An official at ACV, which manages 22 airports across the country, said if the funding plan is approved this month, repairs would commence in August. Inspections since 2017 revealed runways and taxiways at Vietnams two largest airports show cracks, factures, subsidence and crumbling expansion joint material between concrete slabs as a result of overload. Although renovation plans have been repeatedly discussed, no work has been carried out as the state failed to allocate funding. Tan Son Nhat, the largest airport in Vietnam, received over 40 million passengers in 2019, 1.6 times higher than its intended capacity of 25 million per year, while Noi Bai handled 29 million compared to design capacity of 21 million, official data showed. Greta joins thousands at climate protest before Davos Lausanne, Jan 17 (AFP) Jan 17, 2020 Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg joined several thousand protesters in the streets of the Swiss city of Lausanne on Friday, days before the start of the Davos summit of the world's political and business elites. "So far during this decade we are seeing no sign whatsoever that real climate action is coming," the 17-year-old eco-warrior said to a rock-star welcome from the mostly teenage crowd. "That has to change," she said, adding in a message to world leaders: "This is just the beginning. You haven't seen anything yet. We assure you of that!". Thunberg is due to address the summit in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos next week with a call on governments and financial institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels. Friday's carnival-like protest brought the cobbled streets of the city centre to a standstill, with demonstrators calling for urgent climate action and booing as they passed a branch of Credit Suisse, which campaigners criticise for its fossil fuel investments. "One, two, three degrees! It's a crime against humanity!" they chanted, while a group at the head of the march held up a banner saying: "Let's Change The System, Not the Climate". Some of the young protesters took inspiration from the latest extreme weather events around the world. One held up a soft toy koala with a sign around his neck reading simply "HELP" -- a reference to the bushfires that have ravaged Australia, while another brandished a cardboard sign reading "Wake Up and Smell the Bushfires". "Fear for the glaciers", read another sign -- echoing concern among residents of the Alps about the rapidly shrinking mountain ice formations due to climate change. "There Is No Planet B", "I Have a Green Dream" and "We Want A Cooler Planet", read some of the other signs. Klimastreik Schweiz, who organised the march, said on Twitter that 15,000 people were taking part. dt/nl/ach BANGKOK As the leader of China, Xi Jinping, touched down in Myanmar on Friday, his two-day visit is designed to celebrate Beijings expanding presence in the region, both as an economic and political role model. But relations between the two neighbors have never been so simple. China has been a top foreign investor in Myanmar, which boasts a trove of natural resources. And China also provides a road map for how one of Asias poorest nations might lift its citizens out of hand-to-mouth existences. Chinas remarkable poverty reduction has led it to become a modern developed nation, said U Thein Myint Wai, a Myanmar economist and former commerce ministry official. There will be a positive impact of working with such a nation. Beijing also reliably defends its smaller neighbor in the international arena, where the Myanmar military has been accused of a genocidal campaign against Rohingya Muslims in the countrys far west. Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad was greeted with a loud cheer by hundreds of supporters as he stepped out of Tihar jail on Thursday After a long wait, the silence and murmur outside Tihar Central Jail finally broke into a loud cheer as Bihm Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad stepped out of central prison at 9 pm on Thursday. Dressed in a black jacket and a pair of trousers with a whitish muffler around his neck, Aazad, flanked by his core party members and lawyer Mehmood Pracha, waved at the crowd with a smile. Armed with a degree in Law, Aazad (33), a Dalit activist from Saharanpur and co-founder of the Bhim Army, which he now heads, was arrested near the Jama Masjid by the Delhi police on 21 December. He was sent to judicial custody in connection with the violence during an anti-CAA protest in Old Delhis Daryaganj. Aazad was granted conditional bail by a Delhi court which allowed him to visit religious places but not join anti-CAA protests, whether at Shaheen Bagh or any part of the national capital. Outside the Gate 3 of Tihar Jail, Asias largest prison complex, the cheer soon turns into a moment of celebration. The large area outside the prison complex reverberates with high-pitched slogans of Jai, Jai, Jai, Jai Bhim as the frenzied youth hundreds in number holding the National Flag, garlands, banners and posters bearing the photos of BR Ambedkar and Aazad push each other to get closer to their leader in a bid to congratulate him, garland him or shake hands with him. The crowd seems visibly in awe of this young Dalit leader. Before boarding the car, which was a part of a large procession of vehicles carrying workers and supporters of the Bhim Army from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, Aazad announced loudly, "We abide by the Constitution of India, and well fight till end to ensure that this kaala kanoon (black legislation) of CAA and NRC dont get implemented. We believe in and follow what Baba Saheb (BR Ambedkar) had said and written." Even the chilling cold and moisture in the air due to an evening shower couldnt deter the enthusiastic crowd from constantly raising slogans, waving flags and joining the long procession from Tihar to Karbala at Jor Bagh in Delhi. Does Aazad's popularity, in any anyway, indicate the emergence of new leadership in the Dalit movement space which has been lying vacant with the diminishing popularity of Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati? The procession led by Aazad received a warm welcome with fireworks when it reached Shah-e-Mardan Dargah, a holy shrine of Shias at Karbala in upscale Jor Bagh at 10.45 pm, which the Bhim Army chief visited on Thursday night to pay obeisance at the shrine and meet Shia men, women and children waiting eagerly for him. In between the celebration and procession, Firstpost caught up with Aazad to find out about his next move and his plans to drive the nationwide movement. What's next? Were here by choice and not by chance. Well follow the Constitution of India and carry forward this anti-CAA and anti-NRC movement. The governments dictatorial attitude cant go on. Will implementation of CAA harm backward class and Dalits? The government has been giving a message that (only) Muslims are protesting against CAA and NRC, which is completely wrong. Implementation of CAA will not only cause damage to the Muslims but the backward classes, Dalits, Adivasis and the poorest of the poor. Today, every section of society is protesting. We cant allow the ruling dispensation to divide our society on the basis of religion. See, CAA is a kaala kanoon (Black legislation) and well fight to bring an end to this. What do you have to say about your arrest from Jama Masjid area? The police arrested me with no valid reason. The fact is that I was reading out the Preamble of the Constitution at Jama Masjid. Is reading Preamble, a crime? And, if its so, Ill do it again and again, and Im ready to go to prison a hundred times for it. Demonstration and protest against anything bad is my constitutional right. The government and police are suppressing peoples voice and well fight against it. We will follow what Baba Saheb had said. The Court has imposed a restriction that you cant enter Delhi over the next four weeks and you have to go back to Saharanpur. Given this situation, you wont be a part of the upcoming Delhi assembly election... I havent gone through the order and my lawyer knows about it. But, I have faith in the judiciary, which has granted me bail and Ill plead the court for relief. A Dalit also has the right to contest an election. How can this be prevented? What do you have to say about the killing of 21 people in your home state Uttar Pradesh during anti-CAA protests? I wasnt there at that time, but now Ill go there and find out. Well chart our course of action, accordingly. Are you supporting or joining any other political party? Do you have any plan to form a new party? Well support all who support this movement. Regarding the formation of a new party, well announce soon. Bahujan Samaj Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has maintained silence on this anti-CAA movement. What's your take on that? Woh humaari buaji hain (Shes my aunt).... Though Aazad tactically avoided speaking anything on Mayawati with a smile on his face, the patron of Bhim Army, Pyarelal Jathav promptly remarked, Bahujan Samaj chose Mayawati as their leader but she disappointed the Dalits, and the backward Muslims, who entrusted faith in her leadership. And thats why today people want to see Aazad as their new leader. Hadnt Mayawati and other Dalit leaders in the mainstream political parties ignored the grievances and problems of Dalits, the need of Aazad as a new leader wouldnt have arisen. Jathav, whos addressed as Guruji by Bhim Army workers and followers, added, At present, a strong Dalit voice is missing in the country that can steer Dalit movement ahead. Well form our own party about which we had made an announcement last December in Lucknow. No political party fought with honesty for Dalit cause, so joining hands with any party is out of the question. Dalits have lost faith in all political parties. Bhim Army has finalised the constitution of their new political outfit, and once the partys name and symbol get finalised, a formal announcement will be made. There had been rumours that Aazad might join or support Congress, especially after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited him in a Meerut hospital in March 2019. See, Priyankaji considers Aazad as brother. She told him that if needed, he could contact her anytime. Shes there for any kind of help. But that doesnt mean Aazad will join Congress, Aditya Singh Gujar, a doctor by profession from Meerut who was part of the procession and is said to be close to Aazad told Firstpost. Now the Dalits whether Hindus or Muslims want to see Aazad as their new leader to lead the Dalit movement. We cant let the society get divided on the basis of religion, Gujar added. Aptly summed up Bahadur Abbas Naqvi, general secretary of Anjuman-e-Haideri, a socio-religious body of Shia Muslims, The large gathering of Bhim Army workers and followers comprising both Hindus and Muslims, the sloganeering in Aazads favour and the way he has been received here at Karbala indicate his rising popularity and the need of a young and firebrand Dalit leader. Only time will tell whether Aazad as a new Dalit leader is able to carry forward the objectives of All India Backward And Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF), an organisation founded by Dalit ideologue and Mayawatis mentor, Kansi Ram, to fight the system of inequality that divides Indian society into castes. Two independent studies published by Cell Press on January 16, 2020, report that the mechanism by which Zika virus enters brain cells has been identified and even more, exploited to prevent Zika infection and to kill cancer cells instead. 3D human brain organoids. Left: normal, uninfected. Center: infected with Zika virus. Right: infected with Zika virus and treated with cilengitide, which protects the cells from destruction by the virus. Image Credit: UC San Diego Health Sciences What is Zika virus? The Zika virus causes an infection that can seriously impair the development of the fetal brain. An epidemic affected several areas of the world in 2014-15, especially in South America. In 2019, Zika infection hit Europe for the first time. Transmitted through mosquito bites, it also spreads from pregnant mothers to the babies in the womb, and through sexual intercourse, putting half the worlds people at risk as a result. There is no cure for this infection, and scientists have been studying how the virus makes its entry into brain cells in order to develop a preventive and therapeutic strategy. As part of such research, two different teams at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine approached the question in two different ways but came up with the same answer in a surprising meeting. What they found was that the Zika virus uses a molecule called v5 integrin to enter the brain stem cells. Zika virus in blood with red blood cells, a virus which causes Zika fever found in Brazil and other tropical countries. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock Integrins what are they? Integrins are molecules that are found within the cell membranes bounding the different cells of the body. They are essential for helping cells adhere to each other and to underlying fascia or tissue, and in facilitating cell-cell communication. These molecules are therefore also involved in the loss of cell adherence and abnormal cell signalling that occurs in spreading cancer, where cells lose their mooring and travel from their host organ to a distant location to proliferate in an uncontrolled fashion and produce a metastatic growth. Many other integrins have already been found to offer weak points through which adenoviruses, foot-and-mouth disease viruses and rotaviruses sneak into the cells to cause infections. This pair of studies offer the first proof that the v5 integrin is involved in enabling infection by the Zika virus. Study One The first approach, published in the journal Cell Reports, was by systematically deleting genes one by one from cultured human glioblastoma cells in a 3D culture. Glioblastomas are particularly nasty brain cancers. Each of the mutant cell cultures was exposed to the Zika virus to see how it responded. This enabled them to detect the key genes and encoded proteins for viral entry into the cell. The virus was labelled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) to make its detection easier following infection. The experiment showed that the Zika virus requires not less than 92 separate human genes found in brain cancer stem cells to enter and replicate within brain cells. However, among the crowd, the v5 integrin-encoding gene attracted a lot of attention. This is because it is the only integrin that occurs at high levels in brain stem cells - the very cells that are most readily infected by the virus. Researcher Tariq Rana explains, I was expecting to find Zika using multiple integrins, or other cell surface molecules also used by other viruses. But instead we found Zika uses v5, which is unique. When we further examined v5 expression in brain, it made perfect sense because v5 is the only integrin member enriched in neural stem cells, which Zika preferentially infects. Therefore, we believe that v5 is the key contributor to Zika's ability to infect brain cells. Study Two In the second experiment, which was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, the scientists used one specific antibody against each of the many integrins to find out which inhibitor would act most powerfully. Researcher Jeremy Rich describes the results: When we blocked other integrins, there was no difference. You might as well be putting water on a cell. But with v5, blocking it with an antibody almost completely blocked the ability of the virus to infect brain cancer stem cells and normal brain stem cells. They then used two methods to inhibit the integrin - using a blocking antibody and disabling its encoding gene. They observed that both methods prevented Zika infection, and prolonged survival of treated mice compared to exposed untreated mice. Using glioblastoma cells from surgical patients, they also found that inhibition of this integrin blocked Zika virus infection of the cell. At this point the stories converge, because the first team also used two experimental cancer drugs called cilengitide and SB273005 in mice to block the v5 integrin. The mice thus treated were then exposed to Zika virus. After 6 days of daily treatment, the researchers found that there was only half as much of the virus in the brains of the treated mice as in the brains of controls. The findings not only add to the knowledge about the virus but also open up a new field of possibilities in antiviral strategies blocking the entry of other similar viruses into specific tissues by inhibiting integrins, according to Rana, whose team is now working on developing a unique mouse model. This animal will not have v5 integrin in the cells of the brain. This will prove once for all that this molecule is essential for the entry and replication of the virus in brain cells. v5 integrin and brain cancer Talk of serendipity! When Rich first saw the effect of Zika virus on the developing brain, shrinking it drastically, he saw something different a possible way to kill glioblastoma cells, a goal he has been pursuing for years. This led to a 2017 study which showed that the Zika virus prefers to infect and kill glioblastoma cells. This observation was exciting because glioblastomas are not only very aggressive tumors that have a high mortality rate but are also poorly responsive to standard therapies. This is the major reason for their poor outcomes, with most glioblastomas, if not all, being found to recur after treatment. The current study by Rich explains why glioblastoma stem cells are preferred by the Zika virus to other brain cells. The scientists found that there are two parts to the v5 integrin, namely, -- v and 5. Both are expressed at high levels by glioblastomas. However, the first subunit is typically expressed by stem cells, while the second is linked to cancer cells. The complete molecule is essential for glioblastoma cells to survive. For this reason, the Zika virus preferentially infects and kills glioblastoma stem cells compared to either normal brain stem cells or other types of brain cell. In other words, says Rich, It turns out that the very thing that helps cancer cells become aggressive cancer stem cells is the same thing Zika virus uses to infect our cells. By transplanting human glioblastomas into 3D brain cell cultures or brain organoids, they tested their theory in a more realistic way. They found the Zika virus selectively removed glioblastoma stem cells from the organoids, but this was reversed simply by blocking v5 integrin. Since this inhibition blocked the removal of the cancer cells, it prevented anticancer effects. The researchers have thus leveraged their findings by exploiting it to block virus entry into brain cells and also how to use this integrin to shrink cancer cells in the brain. They would like to increase the specificity of brain cell destruction by engineering viral genes. Future research will be twofold: engineering the Zika virus to improve the safety profile in its use in brain tumors and look for drugs that block the integrin to prevent Zika infection. Minnesota state representative Steve Drazkowski is the gentleman who filed the complaint against Ilhan Omar with the state campaign finance board. The board found Omar responsible for numerous infractions and released its investigative file early this past June. Thanks to the board investigation, we learned that Omar filed joint tax returns with Ahmed Hirsi (to whom she was not married) while she was legally married to her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Trying to embarrass the Star Tribune into covering the revelations of the board investigation, we explored the board file in depth on Power Line. The Star Tribune finally got around to it in the June 23 story New documents revisit questions about Rep. Ilhan Omars marriage history. It was the Star Tribunes most-read news story of 2019. Rep. Drazkowski is a persistent gentleman. Drawing on David Steinbergs work at PJ Media and on Power Line, he has contacted the United States Attorney for Minnesota and presented it for investigation of possible criminal misconduct by the FBI. David is of course the genius researcher who has established himself as the foremost investigative reporter on the web of Omars tangled life. Rep. Drazkowski met with the FBI to present his file and request an investigation this past October 10. (Like David, I declined an invitation to attend, in my case because of the need to protect the confidentiality of my sources.) David reports on Drazkowskis October 10 meeting and subsequent events in the Blaze column Finally. The Feds including ICE appear to be investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar. Several of the events in issue occurred so long ago that legal action based on them may well be barred by applicable statutes of limitations. Omars more recent false representations in state court filings seem to make an unlikely candidate for federal law enforcement. Omars fraudulent tax filings about which she has refused to say anything other than that she is square with the IRS raise other complications. I am afraid that if no charges are brought, Omar will claim some kind of vindication, although it would be nothing of the kind. Anyone who looks seriously at the available evidence, including the evidence David has produced at PJ Media and on Power Line, will conclude that Omar is an unprecedented fraud. The Star Tribune labored mightily to find a shred of evidence supporting Omars story, such as it is, in its June 23 article. Read the article closely; the Star Tribune was unable to find a shred of evidence supporting Omar. We have never seen Omars likes before, at least not in the upper reaches of American politics. In his reporting on Omar, David always takes care to credit my own work on Power Line along with Preya Samsundars 2016 work at Alpha News, as in his tweet yesterday (below). Make no mistake, however, Steinberg himself is the man and he remains on the case. Please check his Twitter feed and consider supporting his work. The story is out there for the asking, but the Star Tribune simply does not want to close the loop on Omar frauds. Please support independent media. Cancel an MSM subscription today, and instead support folks like @ScottWJohnson, @PSamsundar, and @JudicialWatch. And Id be extremely thankful if you think Ive earned your support as well > https://t.co/RZOl3O9Dha (10/10) David Steinberg (@realDSteinberg) January 16, 2020 David tweeted out a nine-part thread on his Blaze column yesterday. The sixth (below) links to his monumental Power Line post of this past July 19.